Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) Army headquarters (HQ) is to deploy 40 company units, amounting to around 6,000 personnel, in Aceh in order to carry out the program of "TNI Building Villages."
Their assignment there is to open areas that are difficult to reach," said Army chief of staff General Ryamizard Ryacudu
Jakarta – A prominent human rights group in Aceh on Friday criticized Finnish mediator Martti Ahtisaari for allegedly backing the Indonesian government's side and its proposal to resolve the decades-long independence struggle.
Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed concern on Friday over internal bickering in the Democratic Party, one of the parties that supported him for the presidency.
"The President has showed his concern several times over the existence of signs of a split," presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said at the Presidential Palace.
M. Taufiqurrahman and Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – Clarly worried that she could face the same fate as former Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri warned President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government not to try to oust her from her post at the party's congress next month.
Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda will host a meeting with his East Timor counterpart Ramos Horta to have talks on the planned establishment of the commission for truth and friendship, a foreign spokesman said Friday.
Jakarta – The first 100 days of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration have passed. But criticism of his government continues unabated, with most considering that he had so far failed to improve the country's investment and business climate.
Jakarta – Experts testified at the graft trial of suspended Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh on Thursday and stated that the defendant violated administrative procedures in the purchase of a Russian-made chopper and that the aircraft was indeed a used product.
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Ministry of Defense is drafting a review of Defense Law No. 3/2002 and Indonesian Military (TNI) Law No. 34/2004 aimed at eliminating the intervention of the House of Representatives in the appointment of TNI commander.
Yenni Djahidin, Washington D.C. – A soon-to-be published study recommends that the United States remove its restrictions on the Indonesian military (TNI). The study, to be released in March, says that both countries would benefit from a restoration in military to military cooperation.
Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The government will raise fuel prices by up to 30 percent in the first quarter of this year in a bid to lower the fuel subsidy.
To limit the inflationary impact, Bank Indonesia has indicated it will raise interest rates or absorb the circulation of base money.
Irwan Firdaus, Banda Aceh – An Indonesian anti-corruption activist detained on allegations of stealing aid in the tsunami-ravaged province of Aceh was hospitalized Friday after complaining of injuries sustained while in police custody.
Sarah Crichton – The Federal Court has ruled it cannot hear a US oil company's multi-billion dollar compensation claim against the Commonwealth for loss of rights to vast oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.
Katherine Arie – Just weeks after the December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami left over 230,000 people dead or missing in Indonesia's Aceh province, a decades-old conflict between government forces and Acehnese separatists flared up once again.
It all sounds very good, but what does it all mean? The government's recent announcement that it would "allocate" savings from the discontinuation of the fuel subsidy to provide free basic education and health care for the country's poor sounds wonderfully appealing.
Indonesia has rejected a suggestion by Singapore's mentor minister Lee Kuan Yew, that it considers an instrument such as the island's Internal Security Act, to fight terrorism. The controversial ISA, which is also present in neighbouring Malaysia, allows for the indefinite detention without trial or charge, of suspects.
Almost five months after the murder of acclaimed human rights campaigner Munir, police are yet to come up with a single suspect, increasing concerns of a high-level cover-up.
Chris Brummitt – Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, Indonesia The United States wants to boost military ties with the Indonesian military on the back of the two countries' close cooperation in helping victims of the December 26 tsunami, America's ambassador to Indonesia said Thursday.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government should offer a power-sharing arrangement to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in governing oil and gas-rich Aceh as part of an effort to end the decades-long conflict in the province, a number of experts have said.
Andreas Harsono, Banda Aceh – The Indonesian Red Crescent – claiming there is an oversupply of "do-gooders" who "do not speak the language" – has said it wants all foreign doctors helping the Indian Ocean tsunami survivors in Aceh to leave and hand over their emergency medical functions to local doctors instead.
Indonesia's vice president said he believed the current talks with Aceh separatist leaders will bring an end to decades of armed conflict in Indonesia's tsunami-hit province, a report said.
Urip Hudiono and Fadli, Banda Aceh – With the emergency relief stage in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam officially declared to have ended, the government will now commence with rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the tsunami-stricken province, which includes the establishment of relocation barracks for refugees.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he was unperturbed by criticism of his early performance, indicating he was prepared to take unpopular measures to fix the sluggish economy.
"I don't care about my popularity. What matters is I will not stop working for the welfare of the people," he said in a speech opening a meeting of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce.
Letta Tayler, Bukit Barisan mountain range – The armed rebels huddled in the drizzle in their remote mountain hideout, a cluster of bamboo platforms and tattered tarps in a mosquito-infested jungle.
Under a makeshift canopy, two fighters who had been ambushed by the Indonesian army a few days earlier fretted that they had no fresh bandages for their gunshot wounds.
Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The City Council is set to endorse the draft bylaw on air pollution on Friday, but clean air is still long way off in Jakarta, long listed as one of the world's most polluted cities.
Councillor Muhayar Rustamudin, chairman of the City Council's bylaw drafting committee, said on Wednesday that the bylaw would only come into effect next year.
Jakarta – The city administration has secretly increased tapwater rates by between 4 and 16 percent, depending on the level of water consumption and customer classification.
Jakarta – The Jakarta administration's decision to change three city hospitals into corporate entities in a bid to boost their professionalism, has received a negative reaction from several hospital staff and local residents.
Prime Minister John Howard has declared tension between Indonesia and Australia a thing of the past after he toured tsunami-struck Aceh, saying he was stunned by the scale of the devastation.
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) said on Monday it planned to deliberate 55 bills this year, including three bills on the ratification of an international convention to suppress terrorism and transnational crimes.
Theresia Sufa, Bogor – The Cibinong District Court sentenced on Tuesday four members of the Oman Rahman religious community to jail term ranging between three years and five years for assembling and storing bombs at a house in Cimanggis, Depok municipality.
New York/Jakarta – The US has provided tsunami-hit Indonesia with spare parts for five of its 24 US-made C-130 cargo planes without lifting its long-standing ban on weapons sales to its military, the Dow Jones Newswires reported on Tuesday quoting an US official as saying.
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Some two hundred former employees of Hotel Indonesia filed a report against the hotel's former board of directors on Tuesday, alleging that they had corrupted workers' pension and insurance funds.
Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – Indonesia's exports last year reached an historic high of US$69.71 billion, or up 11.49 percent from the year before, boosted by strong sales of non oil and gas commodities including palm oil, electronics, clothing, coal and tin.
Jakarta – Aceh administration secretary Tantawi Ishak testified at the graft trial of Abdullah Puteh on Tuesday that the suspended governor had not returned all of the Rp 7.75 billion (US$861,111) transferred to his account.
Those who regularly follow the summaries of the Supreme Audit Agency's reports on the state budget accounts would find nothing surprising in the latest findings related to the government's 2003 budget accounts.
[Indonesia's Secret War in Aceh. By John Martinkus, Random House. 340 pages, $32.95 (pb).]
Most Americans know little about the Indonesian province of Aceh. In fact, before the earth's crust shook and the sea turned homicidal-killing somewhere between 166,000 and 220,000 in Aceh alone-it is fair to guess many Americans had never even heard of Aceh. But they should have.
Veronica Brooks, Canberra – East Timor is poised to formally accept Australia's invitation to resume negotiations on a permanent maritime boundary.
Dili – The United Nations should maintain a trimmed-down operation in East Timor after the scheduled withdrawal of its UNMISET mission in May, a Portuguese government official said Wednesday.
Nani Afrida and Apriadi Gunawan, Banda Aceh/Medan – Prominent Aceh figures and scholars appeared lukewarm on Tuesday about the recent peace talks between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki, saying that the talks were "elitist".
Max Lane – "The death toll in Aceh from the tsunami is closer to 300,000 people", Thamrin Ananda, chairperson of the Aceh People's Democratic Struggle Front (FPDRA), told Green Left Weekly by phone from Jakarta on January 27.
Mark Forbes, Banda Aceh – There are growing concerns that the Indonesian Government's plans to hastily relocate about 60,000 tsunami victims into 36 supervised barracks could spark outbreaks of disease.
Adirito de Jesus Soares, Dili – Many people have commented about the first 100 days of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency. One of his campaign promises, as we know, was to deal specifically with corruption – one of most acute problems facing Indonesia.
Melbourne – Tiny East Timor will open the door to a growing queue of foreign oil and gas explorers later this month when its parliament is due to pass the country's first petroleum laws.
Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta – Army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu says that a resolution to the conflict between the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) doesn't really need to be achieved through negotiations or a cease-fire. The only way that the conflict will end is if GAM surrenders to the TNI (armed forces).
Jakarta – Aceh's treasurer testified at the graft trial of Abdullah Puteh on Monday that he had transferred some Rp 7.75 billion (US$855,555) into the suspended governor's personal account to buy a Russian-made helicopter in 2002.
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Responding to public pressure for justice, the House of Representatives said on Monday it would reopen the Trisakti and Semanggi cases, which allegedly involved high-ranking military officers. Agustin Teras Narang, chairman of House Commission III for law, legislation and human rights, said the commission would soon reopen the cases.
Hera Diani, Jakarta – A report released on Monday by a human rights watchdog said that human rights abuses perpetrated by the state continued to be widespread over the past year, with the government still placing heavy emphasis on security while denying people their civil rights.
Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The trade of protected animals is still flourishing in the country, despite warnings from environmentalists that certain species could become extinct due to the activity.
Jakarta – After a rigorous debate between the President and lawmakers over the replacement of the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief, a Presidential aide disclosed on Monday that a reshuffle of the military's top leadership would take place in February.
Julian Lee and Cynthia Banham – An advertising campaign accusing the Prime Minister of stealing billions of dollars in oil and gas revenues from East Timor has been branded "deceptive and misleading" by the Government.
The Government has gone on the defensive as it attempts to resume stalled talks over disputed maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea.