Ahmad Pathoni, Jakarta – Indonesia's press welcomed the country's wide-ranging military reshuffle here Tuesday, hailing it as an early victory for efforts to assert civilian control over the armed forces.
One newspaper said the changes might be intended to strengthen power of the President Abdurrahman Wahid and his loyalists in the military.
Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's fledgling civilian Government has come under renewed pressure from separatists in the far-flung province of Papua as a military crackdown reignites tensions in the staunchly Muslim province of Aceh.
The last year of the twentieth century was a transition for both East Timor and Indonesia. East Timor finally exercised its long-denied right to self-determination, and is now becoming an independent nation. Next year, East Timor will merit its own Country Report.
Jakarta – The Indonesian economy may be showing signs of recovery from the financial crisis two years ago. However, still left behind in the turmoil created by that crisis are tens of millions of poor Indonesians.
In fact, the problems are still so severe, that the United Nations has agreed to extend by 18 months an emergency relief programme to deliver food.
Mark Dodd, Ermera – The coffee trees in this prime highland growing area are laden with berries, promising aficianados of arguably the world's finest arabica renewed supplies from East Timor and a welcome flow of cash to its destitute population.
Debra Yatim, Banda Aceh – While students and a largely-male delegation are still in a quandary on how to map out a future for troubled Aceh, the women have already created a blueprint outline.
Tim Dodd, Jakarta – After a year's pause for breath Indonesians are about to face another economic squeeze with tax hikes and subsidy cuts set to raise prices on basic goods as part of the Government's effort to prune its budget.
Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is prepared to leave the House of Representatives (DPR) after the next elections in 2004, but insists on maintaining a presence in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Jakarta – Former state secretary Moerdiono on Thursday pointed the finger at ex-president Soeharto, saying Soeharto gave his approval to the disbursement of billions of dollars under the controversial Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance (BLBI) program.
Ambon – Fresh communal clashes broke out in Central and North Maluku on Friday resulting in the death of at least three people. Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. Max Tamaela confirmed the incident but claimed that the situation was now calm as security forces immediately stepped in to establish a buffer zone separating the warring groups.
Jakarta – At least three of Indonesia's airports under the state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura (AP) I, will be offered to private investors, a company official said.
Sangwon Suh and Dewi Loveard, Jakarta – After two weeks of tense standoff, it was over. Late on Sunday, February 13, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid finally carried out what he had been promising to do: remove Gen. Wiranto, coordinating minister for security and political affairs, from his cabinet. The announcement was received with surprising grace and composure by Wiranto.
Sharon Labi, Sydney – At least 100 police officers were called in to disperse a blockade formed by East Timorese refugees refusing to leave Sydney's East Hills safe haven and return home. About 250 refugees formed a blockade at the site, protesting against their imminent return to East Timor.
Rome – Both sides in the Christian-Muslim conflict in Indonesia are using child soldiers, sending boys as young as seven into fighting with firebombs in their backpacks, the Vatican missionary news service said Thursday.
Washington – Indonesia has moved toward a more pluralistic democracy but human rights abuses remain rife, according to a US State Department human rights report released Friday.
Mark Riley, New York – The United Nations Security Council has shelved plans for a UN human rights tribunal in East Timor, ignoring the recommendations of its own inquiry into the mayhem that followed August's independence ballot.
Vaudine England, Jakarta – Officials and residents of Jakarta on one of its more peaceful days were surprised yesterday to hear President Abdurrahman Wahid proclaim a state of "high alert" in the capital to guard against a large demonstration that no one could find.
Jakarta – Thirteen people were injured when students and police clashed outside the Attorney General's Office in South Jakarta on Wednesday in the first violent protest in the capital this year.
Indonesian police are threatening to imprison or deport Australian trade unionist Roger Smith. Smith, who works in Indonesia for the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity, has been detained and interrogated over his participation in labour rallies and his meetings with Indonesian unionists.
Jon Land, Dili – East Timorese workers at the floating Hotel Olympia and Amos W. complex have won better wages and conditions following a 24-hour sit-in strike. The action, which began on February 10, involved 40 hospitality and housekeeping workers. The dispute reflects increasing discontent within East Timorese society at low wages and high prices for basic commodities.
Jon Land, Dili – The Socialist Party of Timor (PST) held its first national congress here on February 10-11. The event marked an important stage in the development of the PST and the socialist movement in East Timor. Some 250 delegates from across East Timor discussed and debated the way forward for the party.
Paul Daley – Operatives from Indonesia's special forces, Kopassus, made extraordinary efforts to implicate Australia in illegal spy flights in East Timor last year, according to Australian intelligence sources. The Indonesian operatives are also alleged to have posed as United Nations employees in an attempt to influence political outcomes in Timor.
Jakarta – The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) and the Information System and Legal Education Institute (Sisbikum) have urged workers to reject the new regional minimum wages, saying the level was too low and against international standards.
Interview with Juwono Sudarsono, Indonesia's first civilian defense minister. Juwono Sudarsono, Indonesia's first civilian defense minister, is a soft-spoken intellectual who served as education minister under former president B.J. Habibie and environment minister under Habibie's predecessor, Suharto.
General Wiranto has been a pivotal player in modern Indonesia. Appointed head of the armed forces by Suharto in 1998, he helped ease the dictator out of power, then saw the military through a series of crises: pro-democracy demonstrations in Jakarta, ethnic and religious violence in the provinces, the referendum on independence in East Timor.
Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – They call them Black Operations – kidnapping, killing, torturing, raping, burning and looting designed to intimidate opposition or set communities against each other. Sometimes they wear black masks, other times they pose as local thugs.
Jakarta – Official minimum wage levels throughout the country will increase between 15 percent and 55 percent from April 1, the Ministry of Manpower announced on Monday. Although representing significant increases, the new minimum wages for most regions barely cover the monthly living expenses of a single person, the ministry said.
Agence France Presse, Canberra – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Australian Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday that the Indonesian judicial process should be given a chance and played down the need for an international war crimes tribunal for East Timor.
Dow Jones, Jakarta – As Asia's only member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Indonesia's coffers are filling with cash, according to analysts and Indonesian government officials, as the rally in crude oil generates a windfall for the struggling economy.
Jakarta – In relation to the government's plans to cut fuel and electricity subsidies, on February 21, the People's Democratic Party (PRD), led by chairperson Budiman Sudjatmiko, met with President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) at the Bina Graha presidential offices [in Central Jakarta].
Reuters, Dili – World Bank president James Wolfensohn yesterday signed over its first US$21.5 million in reconstruction aid for East Timor, amid criticism the bank has dragged its feet in providing funds to help rebuild the ravaged territory.
Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Monday the government would push ahead with plans to increase electricity tariffs and fuel prices despite the public's protests, citing that it was part of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Reuters in Dili – Australian troops in East Timor have been accused of sexual harassment of local women, the second such incident since multinational troops were sent in, a force spokesman said on Monday.
Jakarta – Political activist Andi Arief has attracted public attention by announcing that he no longer believes 14 fellow activists who disappeared in 1998 are still alive.
"I am sure that they died a long time ago. I have no proof of this, I just want those who killed them to get what they deserve," Andi told The Jakarta Post last Monday.
Arnold Zeitlin, Dili – In impoverished, war-devastated East Timor, the most urgent needs are food, water, shelter, clothing – and a printing press.
Banda Aceh – Horror and tension again reigned here over the weekend when three suspected rebels were killed in a gunfight with police in North Aceh, while in Central Aceh the stench of rotting bodies led residents to a hidden mass grave.
Jakarta – World Bank President James Wolfensohn on Sunday catagorically denied reports millions of dollars of the bank's funds for Indonesia's poor had been funnelled to the militia that devastated East Timor last year.
Mota'ain – Indonesian troops fired in the air yesterday to halt fighting that broke out among East Timorese refugees and residents at an informal reunion at this border crossing point between East and West Timor, witnesses said.
Tangerang – Traffic heading to and from the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport here was blocked for at least three hours on Saturday afternoon by some 300 angry protesters, causing delays of several international and domestic flights.
Banda Aceh – Nine more people were reported killed in Aceh in the last two days, raising the death toll for the year to 179.
Vaudine England, Jakarta – The World Bank says it knew of allegations concerning misuse of its money to fund East Timor militias but found no evidence when it checked the claims last June. Indonesian bureaucrats named in an Australian television documentary broadcast on Wednesday have, so far, remained silent.
Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Jakarta – The Defense Department has quietly resumed training Indonesian military officers in the United States, restoring one element of its relationship with Indonesia that was suspended last year after Indonesian soldiers participated in the violence that engulfed East Timor.
Bandung – The newly created Office of the State Minister of Human Rights Affairs has received some 3,000 reports of missing persons, most of them alleged abductions in Aceh, East Timor and Jakarta.
Jakarta – A total of 72 national banks suffered combined losses of Rp38.7 trillion (US$5.5 billion) last year, while 92 others managed to register profit, a study said.
The study conducted by the research bureau of Infobank magazine on 164 national banks, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, suggested the loss was lower than the previous year's Rp62.49 trillion.
Jakarta – A team of seven prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office are investigating the alleged misuse of reforestation funds by five major figures linked to former president Soeharto.
Jakarta – Former Indonesian armed forces chief General Wiranto appeared on television here Wednesday to defend himself against allegations that he let his troops go on a bloody rampage in East Timor last year.
Jakarta – It will much longer to reduce the Indonesian military's influence on the economy than on politics or government, an observer said.
Jakarta – Nine policemen were injured and three residents suffered gunshot wounds when police opened fire during a riot in a town in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, a report said Thursday.
Jakarta – UN Secretary General Kofi Annan wound up a protest-peppered, two-day visit to Indonesia Wednesday urging the government not to use force against separatist rebels and warning Jakarta to bring East Timor rights abusers to trial or face UN action.