AI Index: ASA 21/007/2010

Yesterday's decision by the Parliamentary Commission IX to postpone the drafting of a Domestic Workers…

• Stop the slaughter of the Palestine people
• Fight Zionism and Israel's political apartheid
• Justice and freedom for…

Peace in Aceh was Tengku Hasan Muhammad di Tiro last wish before he died at the age of 84 on Thursday, his trusted aide Farid Husain said. "He…

Yogyakarta – Demonstrators from the People's Challenge Alliance (ARM) held a protest action at the University of Gajah Mada (UGM) traffic circle…

Reza Yunanto, Jakarta – Anti-Israeli demonstration will continue to rock the capital city today. The United States Embassy and the…

Semarang (Central Java) – Dozens of students protested against the humanitarian aid group attack, demanding the UN Security Council…

Indonesia is a democracy. But many Papuans do not want to be part of it.

The hotel provides free mosquito repellent and closes its pool bar…

Ulma Haryanto & Fidelis E Satriastanti – In defiance of a Supreme Court ruling, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said on Wednesday that the city…

Armando Siahaan – A Protestant congregation in Bogor, which has been forced to hold services on the street after its half-finished church was…

Greenpeace on Thursday said a promised moratorium on deforestation would have little impact on Indonesia's huge carbon footprint unless it is…

Anita Rachman – Lawmakers on Wednesday said that after meeting with the National Police, they were increasingly convinced that the country's law…

Nivell Rayda – Corruption Eradication Commission deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Riyanto and Chandra M Hamzah now face the possibility of being…

Farouk Arnaz – Poor coordination among authorities, weak laws and a prison climate conducive to recruitment are allowing regional terrorist…

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday marked the anniversary of the official national ideology, Pancasila, by calling on all Indonesians…

Niluksi Koswanage, Yogyakarta – Contrary to previous statements, the government will not revoke existing forestry licenses for palm oil firms as…

Farouk Arnaz, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Nivell Rayda – The Witness and Victim Protection Agency said on Wednesday it had failed to convince…

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Observers expressed worry on Tuesday that the lack of credible figures on the list of candidates for the chairmanship…

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday called on the Indonesian people to end the debate on the place of…

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Despite objections from the new minister of finance to a proposal that would give each House of Representatives…

Irvan Tisnabudi – Tax reform and infrastructure development are among the keys to achieving the economic growth target in 2011, Finance Minister…

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Pundits say elections are a prerequisite for democracy, but for others elections are just a business – or a…

Jon Lamb – The East Timorese government is refusing to accept a proposal by Australian-based exploration company Woodside Petroleum to develop the…

Asvi Warman Adam, Jakarta – Since its conception in 1945, Pancasila (the five principles of the national ideology) has gone through four stages of…

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – Victims of the Lapindo mudflow disaster have been claimed to be the targets of the political elite running in the…

Ismira Lutfia – A cabinet minister has promised to sign and ratify an international convention to protect people from enforced disappearance, but…

Jakarta – Both Indonesian and international activists are pressuring the Indonesian government to ratify the International Convention for the…

James Balowski, Jakarta – Worker, student and non-government organisations commemorated May Day across Indonesia, taking up a range of themes. The…

Farouk Arnaz & Camelia Pasandaran – The hard-line Indonesian Mujahideen Council has sent an open letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono…

Dili – East Timor on Tuesday accused Australian company Woodside Petroleum of trampling its sovereign rights as it again rejected plans to process…

Arti Ekawati, Irvan Tisnabudi & Fidelis E Sastriastanti – As producers of coal and palm oil continued to howl, the government on Tuesday…

Kinanti Pinta Karana – Is the ice beginning to thaw between former President Megawati Sukarnoputri and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono?

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Armando Siahaan & Anita Rachman – Lawmakers on Monday were divided over whether the legislative threshold should be increased from the current…

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The National Democrats social organization founded by media magnate and former Golkar Party heavyweight Surya Paloh is…

Heru Andriyanto & Farouk Arnaz – Lawyers for graft suspect Susno Duadji on Monday renewed calls for him to be put into the custody of the…

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Indonesia may face disintegration if its national ideology, Pancasila, is replaced by sharia, said politicians and…

Alarm bells not wedding bells are ringing over Indonesian proposals to demand a 55,000-dollar "security guarantee" from foreign men who marry…

Alex de Jong – Twelve years after one of the bloodiest military regimes worldwide ended, the radical left still faces a hard struggle in Indonesia…

A Papuan church leader says creating another province out of the Indonesian half of New Guinea is not the answer to the ongoing…

Putri Prameshwari – The government's intentions may be good, but education experts have serious doubts about whether the government can pull off…

Canberra – East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao is prepared to block the multi-billion dollar Timor Sea development of the Greater Sunrise gas…

Lindsay Murdoch – The Prime Minister of East Timor, Xanana Gusmao, has vowed to make a historic stand against corporate giants that plunder the…

Jakarta – Earlier this month on May 3, mass media workers throughout the world commemorated World Press Freedom Day. Three Indonesian journalist…

Desy Nurhayati, Denpasar – The Bali Tourism Union is calling on the provincial administration to immediately set a minimum wage for their members…

Sunanda Creagh – Indonesia will revoke existing forestry licences held by palm oil and timber firms to save natural forests under a $1 billion…

Jakarta – Indonesia's failure to ban tobacco advertising or enforce laws against smoking in bars and restaurants came under heavy fire Monday as…

The Hon Stephen Smith MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra
ACT 2600

30 May 2010

Dear Mr Smith…

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Hundreds of people and activists staged a rally to mark the fourth year since the Sidoarjo mudflow submerged…

Aditya Suharmoko, Oslo – Existing palm oil contracts will be exempt from a two-year moratorium on new concessions to clear the nation's natural…

Jakarta – More than 60 people have officially expressed interest in leading the country's antigraft commission, many of whom are surprisingly…

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) launched Thursday an…