Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on Wednesday he was proposing Rp 5 trillion (US$538 billion) in additional funds from the state budget to improve the capability of the Navy and Air Force.
He, however, could not say what kind of equipment that the two forces needed, pending further meetings with the two chiefs of staff.
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A Banda Aceh military court on Wednesday sentenced Capt. T. Syuib Mahmud to three months jail for assaulting activist Farid Faqih, who is currently in custody for allegedly stealing donated items destined for tsunami victims in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.
Indonesia says it will provide evidence to Canberra that Australian-funded aid groups are helping separatists in Aceh and Papua.
Ade Irawan, Jakarta – High cost has become a pressing issue in the operation of schools in Indonesia. In fact, various regulations, like the National Education Law (No.20 of 2003), stipulate that the central government and local administrations are jointly responsible for covering the cost of primary school and junior high school education, or their equivalents.
Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arrest of Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, in relation to the death of human rights activist Munir.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Labor exporters have accused Malaysian employers of fishing for cheap illegal workers from Indonesia, with Malaysian government authorities only issuing recruitment permits for a very limited number of foreign workers.
Jambi – Some 80 employees of financially strapped Berkah Husada Hospital been protesting this week over unpaid salaries for the past four months.
The demands came after all the hospital's employees were suspended indefinitely due to poor revenues.
Jakarta – The Constitutional Court's decision to allow minor political parties to nominate their own candidates in upcoming direct regional elections was a positive contribution towards the development of the nation's democracy, an expert has said.
Dili – Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta strongly criticized the Vatican's representative in East Timor Thursday for what he said was "unwanted interference" in Dili's plans to demote religion classes to an optional subject in the country's public schools.
Canberra – Australia's treatment of East Timor over oil and gas revenues has been compared to the actions of the late disgraced businessman Christopher Skase.
Melbourne businessman Ian Melrose has funded television advertisements, which will air over the Easter weekend, criticising Australia's position on talks with East Timor over sea boundaries.
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar – Indonesia and Malaysia began negotiations on Tuesday behind closed doors in Bali to seek a peaceful solution to the Ambalat border dispute.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono says the US government and legislators now have a better understanding of the Indonesian Military (TNI) after his delegation's week-long visit to the country.
Hera Diani, Jakarta – The reaction continued on Tuesday to the news that a woman led a mixed-gender Friday prayer service in New York last week, with Muslim scholars calling for more public discussion of the role of women in Islam.
The House of Representatives finally came to its senses on Monday and reached a wise compromise that provides more leeway for deliberation of the contentious issue of fuel subsidies within the broader context of proposed revisions to the 2005 state budget.
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Jakarta residents may have to put aside their dream to be able to drink piped water directly from the tap, as was previously promised by the City-owned tap water corporation and its two foreign partners, Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ) and PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja).
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta – Small political parties will now be allowed to propose candidates to run in the upcoming direct elections of provincial governors, regents and mayors, according to a ruling issued by the Constitutional Court on Tuesday.
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Just days after the government extended the deadline for all foreigners to leave Aceh by March 26, an immigration official said on Tuesday some 1,175 foreigners have to leave the province to get their visas-on-arrival renewed.
Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – Nine out of 12 corruption suspects from West Nusa Tenggara legislative council were arrested on Tuesday for their involvement in a case involving Rp 24 billion in losses.
Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Karti is worried. It has been almost a month since the government raised fuel prices, but she still has not heard when, or if, her two children, a sixth grader and a third grader, will get their school fees paid for, as promised.
Eva C. Komandjaja and Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Police investigators said on Monday that Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, the only suspect so far in the murder of human rights activist Munir, was not the main executor, but "facilitated" the murder to happen.
The Indonesian army will set up 22 new territorial commands in the next five years, from 2005-2009, said army chief of staff Lt General Djoko Santoso, in a meeting with Parliament's Commission I.
Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Two retired military generals stated on Monday they had played no part in alleged corruption in the procurement of a total of 100 British Scorpion tanks in the 1990s.
Greg Poulgrain – The Indonesian military is planning to increase troop numbers in restive Papua province by an additional 15,000 personnel from Kostrad, the Strategic Reserve Command.
Kostrad Commander Lieutenant-General Hadi Waluyo announced the increase last Wednesday.
Lisbon – Foreign Minister Diogo Freitas do Amaral says Lisbon's new Socialist government intends to increase its cooperation with Portuguese-speaking African countries and East Timor, while simultaneously seeking a more dynamic role within the European Union.
The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has asked the President to approve the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission. Based on a law enacted by the House of Representatives last year, the deadline for the setting up of this 21-member Truth and Reconciliation Commission is next month.
Hera Diani, Jakarta – Liberal Muslim scholars here welcomed on Monday the news of a woman leading a mixed-gender Friday prayer service in New York last week. They were not convinced, however, that a woman could ever lead an Islamic prayer service here.
Jakarta – Indonesia is hoping the Experts Commission the UN has set up to reinvestigate the 1999 human rights violation cases in Timor Leste will not need to carry out its mandate or come to Indonesia because Indonesia and Timor Leste already have set up a Truth and Friendship Commission to deal with the matter, Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said here on Tuesday.
Jakarta – A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on Monday urged the government to start deliberating the draft law on witness protection and to set up a special agency to protect witnesses.
Danang Widoyoko of Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said that the witness protection law was crucial in helping to curb rampant corruption.
Jakarta – Dozens of residents of Kebon Kacang sub-district in Central Jakarta protested on Monday a road elevation project in the area, fearing that it would only worsen floods there.
The owner of Plaza Indonesia is currently raising the surface of Jl. Kebon Kacang 30 by one meter, making it higher than the foundations of houses in the area.
Jakarta – Paul Wolfowitz' candidacy for World Bank president has triggered criticism from rights activists in Indonesia, where he served as US ambassador during Suharto's dictatorship but never spoke out publicly against the regime's violent abuses or endemic corruption.
Theresia Sufa, Bogor – The gigantic and pungent Titan Arum or Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum), which can reach up to three and a half meters in height, is slowly disappearing from its native Sumatra rain forests and increasingly blooming in foreign places.
An Indonesian plan to build two full-size nuclear reactors has outraged green groups and surprised analysts, who warned it would be a disaster-in-waiting for the volcanic island chain that is plagued by earthquakes and terrorism.
Hera Diani, Jakarta – The unprecedented direct presidential and legislative elections last year were widely praised as free and fair.
One of the organizations that contributed a great deal to the successful elections was the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES).
Jakarta – A faction in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), calling itself the Reform Group, has suggested the upcoming party congress form a presidium to provide transitional leadership as the party moves away from current leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Kupang – The Government of East Timor still did not have enough funds to reimburse the Indonesian government, state owned enterprises, and private Indonesian citizens for assets left behind in East Timor, following the 1999 ballot on independence.
Timothy Mapes, Jakarta – As Indonesia embarks on a massive effort to rebuild swaths of Aceh province wiped out by the Dec. 26 tsunami, government officials say coordination is being complicated by foreign agencies' focus on shielding their aid from corruption.
Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The Dutch government has agreed to hand over to Indonesian authorities much awaited information and evidence in the poisoning death of rights campaigner Munir.
Theresia Sufa, Bogor – The majority of 277 animal conservation areas across the country are left unprotected, threatening the sustainability of animals here, a noted ornithologist warns.
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Army plans to set up a new division of elite troops and station it in the country's westernmost province of Papua, where rebel groups have been fighting a low intensity guerrilla war for the independence of the mineral-rich region for decades.
Jakarta – Activists assisting victims of last year's police shooting in Manggarai regency on Flores island have criticized the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) for "not being serious" about the case.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – House faction leaders ignored an invitation from the government to discuss the fuel price increases on Friday night, saying they were preparing for a plenary session on Monday to discuss the controversial policy.
Kalinga Seneviratne, Jakarta – From Medan to Jakarta, Yogakarta, Surabaya, Solo and Batam, all across this vast archipelago Indonesian konfrontasi, or confrontation volunteer militias, are undergoing martial-arts training to attack what they call "arrogant Malaysia".
The establishment of a Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) by the Indonesian and East Timorese governments has been severely criticised by a group of non-governmental organisations in East Timor and Indonesia.
They see this as a hasty move and suspect that it is the result of political deals struck between the two states.
Dili – "Lia Foun", East Timor's first fully bilingual newspaper, hit the streets Friday, with the weekly's director forecasting it will underline the importance of Portuguese to the country's cultural identity.
Indonesia has backed down on a threat to expel foreign aid workers from Aceh, granting them a two-month extension to continue relief efforts.
Aguswandi, London – It is almost impossible to imagine what the lives of tsunami survivors is like. Not only have they lost many members of their families and all their worldly goods, but they will have to try and rebuild a life in an ongoing conflict area that is little more than a man-made disaster.
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A former top official of the defunct Election Supervisory Commission (Panwaslu) said the central government should delay the country's first direct elections for local government officials because most regions still did not have election supervisory commissions.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government's plan to rehabilitate the civil and legal rights of past former political prisoners is expected to finally end all forms of discrimination against them and their families.
[The following is an abridged translation of a selection of articles from Detik.com which were posted on its web site between March 15-18. Demonstrations have continued almost daily throughout the country after the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla (SBY-Kalla) announced the decision cut fuel (BBM) subsides on March 1.]
Those acquainted with politics looked on in amusement. The majority of those who had held their representatives in something like reverence stared in bemusement.