In this episode of The Editors, we discuss the commission of truth and friendship set up after Indonesia's occupation of East Timor and deaths of up to 200,000 people. Grace Phan speaks to Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, and human rights lawyer, Adirito de Jesus Soares.

Mr. Eddy Pratomo
Deputy Chief of Missiom
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia

Dear Sir,

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Critics of the military are worried that the government's proposal to increase the defense budget this year would be used to expand the Army's much-criticized territorial function.

Separatist leaders from the Indonesian province of West Papua say they are not troubled by Australian Prime Minister John Howard's latest statement that Australia will recognise the territorial integrity of Indonesia. Mr Howard reiterated the policy on Monday as part of a joint declaration on partnership with the visiting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Reporter: Tanya Nolan

Tanya Nolan: The Australia-Indonesia relationship has been tense at best since East Timor's transition to independence.

Things have improved slightly since the Boxing Day tsunami and the Nias earthquake, which has seen Australia commit money, aid and resources to help the country rebuild.

Hundreds of students and National Alliance for an International Tribunal members demonstrated Tuesday at Dili Airport to press a UN Commissions of Experts to seriously investigate abuses in East Timor in 1999.

The protesters underlined the lack of action on abuses perpetrated on East Timorese by wearing black gags emblazoned with "We need Justice" across their mouths.

Dili – Dozens of demonstrators demanding justice greeted the UN Commission of Experts on its arrival Tuesday in Dili to assess progress made by East Timor and Indonesia in trying those responsible for crimes against humanity in 1999 when the Timorese broke from Jakarta's occupation.

Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President Republic of Indonesia

Via Facsimile: +62 21 3452685/5268726/3457782

Dear President Yudhoyono,

Jakarta – The government has called on local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to obey the laws governing the establishment of such groups, and has asked foreign NGOs to obtain official permission to carry out work in the country.

This week Prime Minister Helen Clark will meet with the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The Indonesia Human Rights Committee has urged the Prime Minister to take the opportunity to reaffirm that New Zealand will maintain the ban on military ties, which was imposed in 1999.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hailed a "new era" of relations with Australia here as a spate of shared tragedies brought the once-rival neighboring nations closer together.

Following talks with Prime Minister John Howard, Yudhoyono announced that he would press his fellow Southeast Asian leaders to accept Australia into Asian-bloc talks later this year.

The decision to establish a KOSTRAD headquarters in Timika and to station three new battalions in Papua is likely to upset public opinion. In this era of special autonomy, people want attention to be paid to improving welfare and the quality of life, not another army HQ or more battalions.

Jayapura – The number of people with HIV/AIDS is on the rise in Papua, with around 500 people testing positive for the virus every year.

Latest data from the Papua province health office in March this year showed that 1,874 people were HIV/AIDS positive, an increase from the 1,749 people in December last year.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Poor Jakarta residents cannot look forward to improved access to affordable health care after the central government decided to exclude the capital from a subsidized health care program.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The city police have received over 100 reports of bomb threats since the Australian embassy bombing that killed 10 people last September, an officer has said.

Richel Dursin, Jakarta – Campaigners against smoking are pressuring the Indonesian government to embrace an international anti-tobacco treaty and warn that if it fails to do so the country could fast become the "ashtray of Asia".

A West Papuan church leader has urged the federal government not to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in his homeland as it contemplates a new security pact with Indonesia.

The call from West Papua Baptist Church President Reverend Sofyan Yoman comes as Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrives in Canberra for his first visit to Australia.

John Roberts – Despite its limited character, the official investigation into the murder of Indonesian human rights activist Munir Said Thalib last year has exposed evidence indicating a high-level conspiracy in what has all the hallmarks of a politically-motivated assassination.

Jambi – Dozens of students claiming to be from the United Regional Students Movement have urged the Jambi administration to investigate the ownership of two luxury cars still being used by former Jambi governor Zulkifli Nurdin.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Human rights activists criticized on Friday the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s recent promotion of senior Army officers close to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and several allegedly linked to human rights violations. They said the promotions were a setback to TNI's reform efforts.

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – Indonesia and the United States met and revived bilateral talks on trade and investment here on Friday – a move that could lead to free trade negotiations between the two countries.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Dwi Atmanta, Denpasar – It was a Hollywood film type of happy ending for most of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) members attending its second national congress here, which concluded on Thursday night.

Jakarta – An Acehnese forum here on Friday criticized the newly issued blueprint for the reconstruction of Aceh, calling it incomplete.

The blueprint required major revisions in order for the reconstruction work to focus on human development, added the Aceh Recovery Forum (ARF) for 10 working groups in the province.

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Lina's nimble hands, as if programed, were busy packing a stack of hand-rolled cigarettes, her left hand positioning a piece of paper between a wooden device for the soft pack of the Dji Sam Soe kretek cigarettes and her right hand feeding the cigarettes horizontally into the pack.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – The Dutch parliament on Thursday pledged to push its government to closely observe the ongoing investigation of the murder of prominent Indonesian human rights activist Munir.

Louise Williams – A proposed new security treaty between Australia and Indonesia is likely to face political sniping in Jakarta, despite the goodwill generated by Australia's response to the Boxing Day tsunami and this week's earthquake.

Australia wants a final decision on the boundary in the Timor sea to be deferred for up to 100 years so that oil and gas projects worth 40 billion dollars can go ahead, and has offered Dili $3 billion to put aside its concerns about sovereignty.

Jakarta – Activists here criticized the media for contributing to the tension between Indonesia and Malaysia over the disputed Ambalat offshore oil block in the Sulawesi Sea.

The Indonesian media failed to promote peace in its coverage of a dispute that prompted the two neighboring counties to deploy warships to the disputed maritime area, the activists said.

Paul Kingsnorth – Nona Kogoya was two years old when she died. She had been a normal, healthy young girl; but that was before the soldiers came.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Judges at the South Jakarta District Court have jailed a swindler for life for his part in the embezzlement of Rp1.2 trillion (US$126 million) from state-controlled Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).

Jambi – The Jambi provincial police have named 25 people as suspects for their alleged involvement in illegal logging in the province. They were arrested during a number of police operations in three regencies of Jambi this month, said Jambi Provincial Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Djoko Turrochman on Thursday.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) said on Thursday it was facing difficulties in auditing the use of humanitarian funds in Aceh due to the presence of more than one authority in charge of the funds.

Seattle – Evidence has emerged that Tuesday's massive earthquake off Indonesia generated a significant tsunami.

American scientists who arrived on the scene yesterday said a tsunami estimated at almost half the size of the one that struck Thailand on December 26 hit some areas along the north-west coast of Sumatra.

M. Taufiqurrahman and Dwi Atmanta, Denpasar – Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri was unanimously reelected for another five-year term on Thursday, two days before the party's national congress was scheduled to close in Bali.

Jambi – Sixteen small parties are eyeing the possibility of a coalition after a Constitutional Court ruling allowing small parties to nominate their own candidates during the direct election of local government chief executives.

Dwi Atmanta and M. Taufiqurrahman, Denpasar – The attempt to challenge Megawati Soekarnoputri's control of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) fizzled on Wednesday after leading figures in the reform-minded group made a last-minute decision to jump on the Megawati bandwagon.

Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court threw out on Wednesday a civil lawsuit filed by youth organization Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM) against Tempo magazine, ruling that the suit was "not grounded in law".

[Book review. In the Time of Madness. Author By Richard Lloyd Parry.]

Indonesia's former chief peace negotiator in Aceh agrees that now is the best, perhaps the only, chance for a peaceful end to the 30 year conflict. Wiryono Sastrohandoyo is a former Ambassador to Australia and was Indonesia's chief negotiator in ceasefire talks with the Free Aceh rebels in 2002.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – While the Jakarta Council is still considering the idea of legalizing prostitution and gambling as suggested by former governor Ali Sadikin, a hand grenade exploded at the Boker prostitution complex in Ciracas, East Jakarta, late on Tuesday.

Alecia D. McKenzie, Siem Reap (Cambodia) – The first lady of the world's newest nation, East Timor, is sitting in the audience of an international meeting, listening to the prime minister of Cambodia give an impassioned speech. In her arms she cradles a cherubic-looking baby, who smiles frequently.

Jakarta – After 32 years as the mouthpiece of the ruling Golkar Party during the Soeharto regime, the Suara Karya daily is changing its look and content in a bid to attract more readers.

Golkar, led by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, relaunched the newspaper on Wednesday evening at the Mulia Hotel in Jakarta, vowing not to use the daily to serve its political interests.

The internal bickering of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), may deal the major party a massive blow at a time that it is still reeling from a double election defeat last year. Mochtar Buchori, a senior PDI-P advisor, shares his views with The Jakarta Post's Dwi Atmanta and M. Taufiqurrahman on how to rebuild the party in a bid to regain public trust.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has met with survivors on the earthquake devastated island of Nias in western Sumatra and has urged residents to be patient. At least 500 people have been confirmed dead from Monday's quake which measured nearly 9 on the Richter scale and rescue workers continue to search for survivors trapped under rubble.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) Headquarters launched a major reshuffle on Wednesday affecting high-ranking military officers, including Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya from commanding Iskandar Muda Military Command in the troubled Aceh province to his new post as deputy Army chief of staff.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – While media reports often focus on doom and gloom – price hikes and the rampant corruption, poor investment climate and widespread social injustice and poverty in the country – a recent national survey made public on Tuesday revealed that most Indonesians are a happy, content lot, who are positive about the future.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – The government is being urged to design a clear policy framework for the reconstruction of tsunami-devastated Aceh, particularly one that is based on the participation of the Acehnese people.

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – Apparently buoyed by its success in ushering in the unpopular policy of increasing fuel prices, the government is preparing another politically sensitive measure – tax amnesty – to lure back billions of dollars, which Indonesian businesspeople reportedly transferred overseas during the height of the economic crisis in 1998.

Jakarta – The plan of the Indonesian National Army to form a Regional Army Force in Merauke – West Papua and the plan to add a third division of Army Strategic Force Reserve in West Papua is considered as disturbing the efforts to build human rights and conflict resolution in that region.

The commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces General Endriartono Sutarto, the commander of KOSTRAD Lt.General Hadi Waluyo, and spokesman for the Armed Forces, Brig.General Hotmangaridja Panjaitan recently declared that the Indonesian Army will shortly establish 22 new Territorial Commands throughout Indonesia, including a new Korem (Resort Command) to be located in Merauke, as well as