Jakarta – Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda said Indonesia and Timor Leste have agreed to settle their problems in the past through the Truth and Friendship Commission (TFC) and focus on pursuing restorative justice.

Jayapura/Jakarta – Heeding public pressure, the National Police moved Sunday to stop retaliatory measures by ordering its Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in Papua to return to their barracks in Jayapura.

Jayapura – Paramilitary police in Papua pulled people from cars Saturday and beat them, an official said, two days after a mob bludgeoned to death four security officers during protests to demand the closure of a US-owned gold mine in eastern Indonesia.

Jakarta – Hundreds of people have attacked and torched a mining camp run by a local subsidiary of US giant Newmont on Indonesia's Sumbawa island.

The attack on Sunday followed in the wake of deadly clashes in Indonesia's Papua province last week during protests to demand the closure of a gold and copper mine run by US firm Freeport-McMoRan.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Balkan Kaplale, the head of the deliberation of the controversial pornography bill, has been accused of misleading the public.

Legislators critical of the bill said Saturday Balkan misled the public when he announced last week that all members of the team deliberating the bill had agreed to drop its controversial elements.

A military crackdown is under way in Indonesian controlled West Papua in the wake of the violent end of a Jayapura demonstration against the Freeport McMoran mine two days ago. Reports indicate that riot police opened fire on the demonstrators using rubber bullets and possibly live ammunition as well as tear gas.

Soeryo Winoto, Jakarta – Thank God! Finally, the government has made its position clear on the controversial pornography bill.

State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta Swasono said Wednesday the focus of the bill should be on limiting the distribution of obscene materials, not prosecuting personal conduct, especially the conduct of women.

Hon Alexander Downer MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

18 March 2006

Dear Mr. Downer,

I am writing to you concerning the dangerously deteriorating situation in West Papua.

Jakarta – The Supreme Court lost all credibility years ago and has long been corrupt and its judges unprofessional, a new book on the history of the institution says.

The Indonesian Supreme Court: A Study of Institutional Collapse blames the Sukarno and Soeharto regimes for undermining the power of the Supreme Court and using it as a political tool.

Rendi A. Witular and Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla confirmed Friday the government would drop a planned increase in electricity rates this year amid widespread opposition.

Yemris Fointuna and Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Kupang, Bandarlampung At least 16 children in West Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, have died this year from complications caused by malnutrition.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Indonesian paramilitary police beat and kicked Papuan students yesterday in reprisals for the deaths of three policemen and an air force officer.

Human rights worker Albert Rumbekwan, from the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights, said the police had blocked roads and were searching every vehicle.

Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have detained another 11 people in Papua province after three policemen and a soldier died in clashes with protesters demanding closure of a giant US-run mine, police said on Saturday.

Mark Forbes, Jayapura – Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has called for restraint following the brutal murder of four security officers by Papuan demonstrators. He promised to respond to concerns about the giant Freeport goldmine but vowed it would remain open.

Jakarta – An alliance of NGOs has condemned Thursday's violence in Jayapura, Papua, but demanded the authorities not exact reprisals for the killing of three policemen and an Air Force officer.

Greens Senator Kerry Nettle has urged Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to press Indonesia for an end to violence in West Papua.

Senator Nettle said its time for Mr Howard and Mr Downer to do something. "The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister often boast of the close relationship we have with Indonesia," she said in a statement.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Legislators should drop the controversial pornography bill because its implementation would only lead to human rights violations, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says.

Tantri Yuliandini, Jakarta – Activists and community groups plan to file a request for judicial review with the Supreme Court next week on a 2005 Tangerang mayoralty bylaw on prostitution, which they deem tramples on the rights of women.

Jakarta – The Foreign Ministry said Friday it had uncovered cases of corruption worth more than Rp 28 billion (US$3.1 million) at Indonesian missions in Malaysia and Japan.

Dili – East Timor's military commander said Friday he would not accept the return of 591 soldiers who deserted from the tiny nation's military last month even if the country's president asked him to.

Ian Pearson MP
Minister of State
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 1AA

17 March 2006

Dear Mr Pearson,

We very much appreciated the opportunity of meeting you yesterday with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on West Papua.

Reporter: Peter Cave

Mark Colvin: Three policemen and an Indonesian air force officer have been beaten to death, and an unknown number of demonstrators have been shot in the last 24 hours in escalating violence in Indonesia's Papua province, or as it used to be known, Irian Jaya, West Papua.

Papuans and officers of the Police Force and TNI (Armed Forces of Indonesia) have fallen victim of the Misguided Policy of the SBY/Kalla government.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Istana Negara, Jakarta
Fax: 00 6221 385-5481

17 March, 2006

Dear Mr President,

We have followed with great alarm the events in Jayapura yesterday.

Irwan Firdaus, Jayapura – Troops rounded up suspects Friday after mobs bludgeoned to death three police officers and a soldier during a protest to demand the shutdown of a massive US-owned gold mine in eastern Indonesia.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – A number of legislators backed Thursday a call for the inclusion of articles into the bill on Aceh governance specifically disbanding the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Desi Anwar, Bali – The Balinese are calling it the third Bali bomb, threatening to frighten even more foreign tourists away from their beaches.

Jayapura – Enraged Indonesian police fired live bullets to root out about 1,000 protesters from a university in Papua after the students beat several officers to death, eyewitnesses said.

Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – Dozens of students of Sakra No. 1 high school in Sakra district, East Lombok regency, were reportedly possessed by "evil spirits" Thursday and dropped into trances while in the classroom.

Jakarta – Over 500 fishermen from Kalam Muara, North Jakarta, held a rally at noon Thursday in front of the City Council, to protest land reclamation at their fishing grounds.

"We want the government to get rid of regulations that burden the people. Our fishing grounds are our only source of income," said one of the fishermen, Asep.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Islamic conservatism is a growing force to be reckoned with across the country, with research indicating about 40 percent of citizens would support the replacement of state laws with sharia and one in 10 consider suicide bombings justified in some circumstances.

Shinta Shinaga, Banda Aceh – The peace process in Aceh has encountered a stumbling stone. Militia groups still exist and recently their level of activity has even been increasing. Added to this is the spread of illegal weapons.

Nur Raihan Banda Aceh – Not long from now a local political party will enliven the political dynamics in Aceh. An embryonic Acehnese political party has already been officially launched.

The embryonic local party is called the Acehnese Peoples Party Preparatory Committee (KP-PRA) which already has representatives in 11 regencies/cities across Aceh.

Dili – The leader of a group of nearly 600 East Timorese soldiers dismissed from the armed forces for going on strike appealed Friday to President Xanana Gusmao to mediate in their row with the military leadership.

Jane Perlez, Jakarta – Indonesia's top military and police generals took control of the provincial capital of Jayapura in Papua on Friday, ordering the arrests of university students and directing the riot police to fire into the air as they patrolled the streets.

Radzie, Banda Aceh – Civilian activist have launched the Acehnese Peoples Party Preparatory Committee (Komite Persiapan Partai Rakyat Aceh, KP PRA), which represents the precursor for the formation of the first local political party in Aceh.

Jakarta – Armed police clashed with rock-throwing demonstrators during a protest against the world's largest gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua province leaving up to five people dead and many more injured, police and witnesses said.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Spurred by the personal intervention of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia has brought to a dramatic end a four-year dispute between US oil giant ExxonMobil, the world's largest oil company, and Pertamina, Indonesia's largest state enterprise. The dispute involved rights to a massive oil discovery.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Golkar Party, the biggest faction in the House of Representatives, has led the way in declaring its support for independent candidates to contest direct elections in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

The Australia West Papua Association believes the time is not right for either the Australian or US Governments to renew ties with the Indonesian military.

Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – International aid group Oxfam has suspended some of its tsunami-relief operations in hard-hit Aceh province while it investigates suspected financial irregularities there, a spokesman said Thursday.

Jayapura – Protesters beat three police officers to death Thursday during a violent demonstration to demand the closure of a US-owned gold mine in Indonesia's Papua province, police and witnesses said. At least 19 people were injured in clashes.

Two members of the police paramilitary unit and a regular officer were killed, said Col. Kertono Wangsadisastra.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Mimika Police on Wednesday arrested 15 people for an attack on the Sheraton Timika Hotel in Timika, Papua, on Tuesday, and are searching for five more suspects.

Jakarta/Denpasar/Surakarta – The government made its position clear on the pornography bill on Wednesday, stating the focus should be on limiting distribution of obscene materials instead of criminalizing personal conduct, particularly of women.

I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar – The room fell into an uneasy silence as Satria Naradha, one of the most influential community figures in Bali, made a point to the visiting members of the House of Representative's special committee on the pornography bill.

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Strong words from human rights activists and grumbles from lawmakers greeted US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the second day of her two-day visit to the country on Wednesday.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – It is pretty easy to imagine what will happen to workers and their families if the House of Representatives and the government endorse amendments to the 2003 Labor Law allowing companies to outsource not only additional and/or temporary work, but also their core businesses, and to recruit contract-based employees.

Jakarta – Opposition lawmakers and the independent Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) doubted Wednesday whether the new supervisory board members of state broadcaster TVRI would be able to stay neutral doing their jobs.

Jakarta – Lawmakers slammed Wednesday an invitation by from House Speaker Agung Laksono for legislators to participate in a launch of budget airline AdamAir's new flights in Singapore.

"(Participating in the event) could constitute a conflict of interest," House transportation commission member Afni Ahmad of the National Mandate Party said Wednesday.

Dili – East Timor's military commander today said he had fired about 500 soldiers, or about a third of the country's regular armed forces, for deserting last month.

"As of March 1, the soldiers have been declared civilians. The door has been closed for them," Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak said.