Jakarta – A group of legislators urged the House of Representatives leadership on Thursday to revive a probe into the killings of student demonstrators in Jakarta between 1998 and 1999.
"House Commission II (on home affairs) recommended last year that the investigation be resumed. Why hasn't the House leadership followed this up?" legislator Nursyahbani Katjasungkana said.
[Joseph Nevins: A Not-So-Distant Horror: Mass Violence in East Timor. Cornell University Press. Reviewed by Maire Leadbeater.]
Will the world forget the paroxysm of murderous violence that erupted when the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence on August 30, 1999?
His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmco
President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
C/o The Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
3415 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20007
Via facsimile: 202 965-1517
Your Excellency:
As reported in this paper, hundreds of containers containing goods meant for Aceh tsunami survivors have been languishing in Indonesian ports for at least nine months.
Jakarta – When it comes to the forestry industry, development and conservation always seem to be at loggerheads. While the government is happy to see that investment in the timber-consuming pulp and paper industry is on the rise, environmentalists warn that it should be more prudent in giving new concession rights to industry players.
Dwi Atmanta, Jakarta – Lawmakers from the House of Representatives resumed their sitting on Thursday, with their wish for a prosperous New Year fulfilled.
Dan Box, John Kerin – East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has declared that the fledgling nation does not need Australia's help to deal with border skirmishes.
Dr Alkatiri, who is in Australia to sign a resources deal, was responding yesterday to an incident in which East Timorese police shot and killed three Indonesians and former militia members.
Nigel Wilson – Maritime boundary negotiations between Australia and East Timor have been put on hold for 50 years under a deal to share the Timor Sea's petroleum riches that will deliver up to $25 billion cash to the fledgling democracy.
The Australian Government has been accused of bullying and short-changing East Timor.
Australia and East Timor have formally signed a treaty to share the revenue from the main oil and gas field in the Timor Sea, ending a two-year dispute.
Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – By now most Jakartans have either seen or heard about the special report on TransTV on meatballs made from rats. The report aired on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, and many people have stopped eating meatball soup, or bakso, as a result.
Foster Klug, Washington – The US government is welcoming Indonesia's arrest of a dozen suspects in the 2002 ambush killings of two American teachers. Rights activists demanded more information.
"The Australia East Timor Friendship Association (SA) [AETFA SA) Inc joins the Timor Sea Justice Campaign and other NGOs in expressing concern that the Australian Government is again shortchanging Timor Leste (TL), the poorest nation in the SE Asian region.
The current furor over rice imports flared up when late last year the trade minister gave clearance to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to import over 70,000 tons of rice to supplement its buffer stock.
Tedi Hikmah, Jakarta – The non-government organisation Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) has again raised questions about the investigation of gross human rights violations that have taken place in Aceh.
Hera Diani and Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – With containers of tsunami aid gathering dust at ports in Jakarta and Belawan, North Sumatra, the government is relying on oft-heard excuses to explain the delay in clearance.
Jakarta – A lawyer apologized to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday for publicly accusing his son and aides of receiving Jaguar cars as gifts from a business tycoon.
"(The story) was merely a rumor and untrue. It has been made into a political commodity by certain parties. I extend my apology to the President," Eggy Sudjana said in a statement.
Tiarma Siboro and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A government's plan to go ahead with an earlier administration's plan to split the province into five has met with strong opposition from Papuan leaders.
The leaders were responding to the government's determination to go ahead with the plan, despite an Supreme Court ruling that the split was unconstitutional.
Nana Rukmana, Indramayu – Thousands of houses in 12 villages in the West Java regency of Indramayu have been inundated by floodwaters, and residents fear the flooding will lead to crop failures in the rice-producing region.
No casualties have been reported in the flooding, which began on Sunday, but material losses are estimated at billions of rupiah.
With the Governments of Australia and East Timor today signing another interim resources sharing agreement for contested petroleum resources in the Timor Sea, an Australian lobby group has vehemently attacked the Australian Government's failure to address the larger and more important issue of permanent maritime boundaries.
Jakarta – A "procedural error" meant the government lost up to Rp 1.7 trillion (about US$180 million) in unpaid rent from the Hilton Hotel, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) was told on Wednesday.
Tedi Hikmah, Jakarta – A non-government organisation concerned with upholding human rights, Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), believes the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has taken a selective approach and has not supported efforts to uphold human rights. Moreover, excessive violence that violates the basic rights of citizens continues to take place.
Jakarta – A draft bill on languages being considered by the education ministry will not forbid the use of foreign languages in public, minister Bambang Sudibyo says.
Previous reports said the bill would limit the use of foreign languages in advertising and the media, penalizing organizations that disobeyed the regulation.
Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – There is cause for concern. The level of work-related incidents in Indonesia appears to still be high. Data from the state insurance company PT Jamsostek notes that between 2004-2005 there were 95,418 work-related accidents. Of this total, 1,336 were fatal.
Triono Wahyu Sudibyo, Semarang – Fuel price increases at the end of last year are still resulting in "casualties". Based on 2006 data from the Surabaya Social Revelation Foundation (Yawas), at least 2,786 workers in Central Java are threaded with dismissal.
Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandar Lampung – Ten-year-old Sururi helped his father unload empty containers and dozens of kilograms of fresh fish caught during two nights at sea. The empty containers had held formaldehyde.
A recent public scare over the use of formaldehyde in food has not deterred fishermen from using the dangerous chemical to keep their catches looking fresh longer.
Jakarta – Chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputri has vowed to be the voice of opposition in keeping the government in check.
Woodside Petroleum on Thursday welcomed the Timor Sea gas agreement between Australia and East Timor but said the Greater Sunrise gas project would remain on hold for now.
Canberra – Australia and East Timor today signed off on a deal to share revenue from the Timor Sea's lucrative energy reserves, resulting in a potential $US10 billion windfall for the tiny nation.
Semarang – A group of Timorese-Indonesians living in Central Java demanded on Wednesday a thorough investigation into an incident on Friday in which three former militia members were killed by Timor Leste border police.
"We strongly condemn the shooting," said Batista Sufa Kefi of the National Committee for East Timorese Political Victims.
Jakarta – Jakarta's factory workers and laborers will be getting a pay raise this month, but it falls short of accommodating higher-priced commodities amid soaring inflation.
The provincial monthly minimum wage is to increase at rates ranging from 5 percent to 8 percent in designated industrial sectors, effective as of Jan. 1.
Tom Allard – Australia and Indonesia are poised to sign a security treaty that will pave the way for a new era of close relations between the two nations.
Indonesian government sources say the pact is wide-ranging, encompassing not only counter-terrorism, intelligence and military co-operation but social, humanitarian and joint political concerns.
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Banjarnegara, Central Java – Policeman Supriyanto has a tale to tell about what the simple villagers' feel about the sufferings that last week's deadly landslide has brought them.
Suherdjoko, Semarang – A joint study by three Yogyakarta universities has found that 97 districts in 27 of Central Java's 35 regencies and cities are at risk for landslides.
Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – Indonesia has banned three films about its long and bloody occupation of East Timor, saying allowing local audiences to see them could "reopen old wounds" as the two countries try to move forward.
The films were due to be shown at a film festival last month in the Indonesian capital.
Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – Already shaken by religious violence and terrorist attacks, residents of Poso regency in Central Sulawesi were forced to take cover late on Monday when rival police and military units became involved in an armed clash.
Also on Monday night, a small explosive device went off on a street near a church, police said.
Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) confronted on Monday Transparency International Indonesia over Transparency International's recent report, which singled out the legislative body as the most corrupt institution in Indonesia along with political parties.
Dmli – The Timorese dioceses of Dmli and Baucau and 12 non-governmental organizations today criticized in Dmli the initiative of the Government to sign Thursday an agreement to share petroleum revenues from the Timor Sea with Australia.
Dili – East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said Wednesday that his country's police force had acted in self defence when they shot dead three former pro-Jakarta militiamen near the border.
He also criticised Indonesia for failing to prevent militiamen from infiltrating East Timor.
Dili – Police in East Timor who shot dead three ex-militiamen trying to enter the country last week were acting in legitimate self-defense, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said Wednesday.
Damien Kingsbury, Indonesia expert and Associate Professor of International and Political Studies at Deakin University, writes:
Journalists and freedom of expression advocates in East Timor are calling for international opposition to a new law that would punish defamation with jail time and unspecified fines.
Jakarta – The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) on Wednesday denounced the shooting of three Indonesians by Timor Leste border police last Friday (Dec. 6).
"We should remind (the Timor Leste police) that the shooting should be the last. Don't repeat it, or face the consequences," Hopuse Speaker Agung Laksono said.
Nigel Wilson – The Maritime Union of Australia is threatening an international industrial campaign to force oil giant ConocoPhillips to employ more East Timorese on projects north of Darwin.
However the first step in the campaign – a bid to disrupt the loading of the first cargo from the new Darwin Liquefied Natural Gas project – appears to have failed.
Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Despite current unfavorable economic indicators, optimistic 2006 budget parameters set by the Indonesian government assume the country's US$280 billion economy will grow by 6.2% to $304 billion, and that inflation will be pegged at about 8%, as will interest rates be pegged.
Bambang Parlupi, Jakarta – As Jakarta's population has grown to over 11 million, the city has failed to balance this expansion by increasing the size of its greenbelts, or open green spaces (RTHs). This problem has been exacerbated by the continued loss of open spaces meant to serve as an urban buffer zone.
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – The saying "home sweet home" no longer applies to Sijeruk residents in the Central Java town of Banjarnegara, who lost most of their property after a massive mudslide buried their village last week.
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – After living in a tent in a tsunami refugee camp for months, Cut Samsidar left Aceh Besar regency for Medan two months ago to work as housemaid.
She said she could no longer stand the conditions in the camp as aid was no longer forthcoming. She still is at a loss to know why the assistance has been cut off.
The Australian lobby group that has been calling on the Australian Government to negotiate permanent maritime boundaries with East Timor, is now hoping that the temporary resource sharing agreement set to be signed in Sydney this week, will pave the way for Woodside Petroleum to commit to an onshore processing facility in East Timor.
Fadli, Batam – The number of foreign tourists visiting Batam city last year fell short of expectations with only 1,005,000 vacationing in the city between January and December last year, far below the government target of 1.5 million.
Tantri Yuliandini, Jakarta – A woman in Tangerang, Banten, was sentenced to five years in jail for torturing her five-year-old daughter, and another mother was accused of burning her two small children, also in Tangerang.
Meanwhile, in a house in Cilincing, North Jakarta, seven-year-old Eka Rosiana was found strangled to death.