Indonesia will investigate atrocities including the East Timor slaughter after agreeing on a truth and reconciliation commission.
Parliament agreed to set up the panel yesterday after a three-month row sparked by the military's objection to the inclusion of "truth" in its title.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Attempts to heal the wounds of those victimized by large scale human rights violations in the past should be the priority of the truth and reconciliation commission, which is due to be set up next year, activists said.
Jakarta – Indonesian security forces killed 11 suspected rebels during gunbattles in the country's restive Aceh province, a military spokesman said Thursday.
The Malaysian government has again deported Indonesian illegal workers, which has added to the unemployment issues here.
Last week was the fifth anniversary of the independence vote in East Timor and the Indonesian atrocities that followed. At the time of the killings there was an international uproar and some confidence that the perpetrators would be prosecuted. That confidence has now turned to dust. As promised, Indonesia put its own military on trial.
Papang Hidayat and Usman Hamid, Jakarta – Amid the fanfare and bustle of this year's general elections, the trial of the gross human right violations in 1984's Tanjung Priok incident has gone almost unnoticed by the public. While the elections seem to promise a brighter future, the trial is a reminder of a dark past that few will remember with fondness.
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Defying criticism from human rights activists and victims of rights abuses, the House of Representatives unanimously endorsed the bill for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Tuesday.
Jakarta – Indonesian troops shot and killed five alleged separatist rebels – all but one of them unarmed – in the country's westernmost province of Aceh, a military spokesman said Wednesday.
The men were gunned down in separate incidents Monday and Tuesday, said Lt. Col. Asep Sapari. Soldiers seized one handgun and ammunition from the men, he said. He gave no more details.
Jane Perlez and Evelyn Rusli, Uyat Bay Beach – First the fish began to disappear. Then villagers began developing strange rashes and bumps. Finally in January, Masna Stirman, aided by a $1.50 wet nurse, gave birth to a tiny, shriveled girl with small lumps and wrinkled skin.
East Timor's foreign minister reaffirmed his opposition to an international rights tribunal Wednesday, telling parliament that the country's economic future depended on good relations with its former occupier.
Samarinda – Hundreds of Mulawarman University students held a rally on Monday here, demanding that the local government allocate a greater budget for education.
The students said the provincial administration had allocated only Rp 2.6 billion of the Rp 3 trillion 2004 provincial budget toward education, or only 0.087 percent.
Together with journalists of other printed media, The Jakarta Post's Sri Wahyuni was recently invited to join an investigative team formed by the Yogyakarta-based Silvagama Foundation.
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Supporters of terror suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir fought a running battle with police officers and hurled shoes and other debris inside a courtroom, shortly after a judge dismissed on Monday the lawsuit against the arrest of the elderly cleric.
Jakarta – Thick haze from forest fires and farmland burnings blanketed the Indonesian province of Jambi, delayed flights to and from the eastern Sumatra region, officials said on Tuesday.
ID Nugroho and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Two weeks to go before the election runoff on September 20, both presidential candidates are availing of every opportunity they can to woo the voters.
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) blamed on Monday flawed campaign regulations for "disguised campaigning" by the presidential candidates' election teams.
Jakarta – Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) clerics have issued conflicting statements to voters grouped in the country's largest Muslim organisation in the run-up to the September 20 presidential poll.
Jakarta – The Golkar Party has officially reprimanded all members who have defied the party's official decision to support Megawati Soekarnoputri in the presidential election runoff on September 20.
Semarang – Some 25 former residents of East Timor descended upon the Central Java provincial administration on Monday, demanding that the Indonesian government pay the compensation promised to them after they fled East Timor in 1999.
The East Timorese relocated to Indonesia, mostly to areas in Central Java, after East Timor claimed independence in 1999.
Lisbon – East Timor's religious leader, Catholic Bishop Basilio do Nascimento, is optimistic over efforts, backed by Portugal, to re-introduce the use of Portuguese in his newly independent country.
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The government demanded on Monday that the Indonesian Military be granted the power to take preemptive measures against groups suspected of threatening national unity before they were capable of launching an armed rebellion.
Richel Langit, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tanjung is not contesting the September 20 election, nor is he a member of either political party whose candidates advanced to the second round of the presidential election.
Maryadi, Jakarta – Hundreds of people from the Committee Against the Criminalisation of the Press (Komite Anti Kriminalisasi Terhadap Pers, Kakap) held a demonstration at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout on Sunday September 5 at 3pm.
Kiki Verico, Jakarta – On July 31, 2004 in Geneva, Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi successfully led the meeting of 147 WTO member governments to approve "the package of frameworks and other agreements" considered as vital in supporting the Doha round.
Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Hundreds of villagers in East Lampung blocked off a section of the Sumatra East Coast Highway that is under repair in protest of a company they accuse of failing to honor its promise to provide electricity for their villages.
Munir, one of Indonesia's most respected and courageous – yet also most humble – human rights activists, passed away Tuesday (7/9/04), apparently due to cirrhosis of the liver, while on a flight from Jakarta to the Netherlands, where he had planned to pursue a masters degree in law. He was 38.
Munir was in a class by himself. He had an electric intelligence and an encyclopedic memory. In meetings, he was able to draw on a kaleidoscope of detailed fact and sharp analytical insight to present a clear image of what needed to be done.
Muhammad Uzair and Suherdjoko, Palembang/Semarang – In observance of Jilbab (Muslim headscarf) International Solidarity Day on Saturday, hundreds of Indonesian Muslim women staged separate protests in two cities against alleged discrimination against them.
Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Nearly 1,250 of 1,784 state schools in Tangerang regency are in need of renovation, but the regency administration has only allocated enough money, about Rp 60 billion (US$6.45 million), to renovate 75 of the schools.
Jakarta – A non-governmental organization (NGO) expressed its concern about the presence of 19 alleged militias in Aceh, which all fall under the supervision of the local military command.
In a statement signed by coordinator Bonar Tigor Naipospos, the Friends of Aceh said the militias could trigger conflict among civilians in the war-torn province.
Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Pekanbaru/Jambi/Samarinda – A senior official at the Office of the State Minister of the Environment said on Sunday that at least two-thirds of the over 1,000 forest fires that recently hit Kalimantan and Sumatra sprung up in areas owned by plantation companies.
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – New shopping malls and lavish condominium buildings are sprouting up across the capital city and hypermarkets such as Carrefour are expanding fast, at the expense of smaller supermarkets and traditional grocers.
Cellphones sell like hot cakes and new motorcycles and cars abound. But these trends belie reality.
Jakarta – International and national pressure has intensified against settling disputes over media reports using criminal charges, saying the trend will sacrifice press freedom and curb the public's right to information.
Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives seems set not to learn from the debacles that have arisen under the existing bankruptcy legislation, as proposed amendments of the law still contain many loopholes that could allow creditors to easily bankrupt solvent companies.
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is expected to endorse the bill on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Tuesday, but a human rights campaigner doubts the effectiveness of the commission to fulfill its tasks.
Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, still the subject of an ongoing corruption investigation, is now facing accusations of supporting the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
[The Invisible Palace: The True Story of a Journalist's Murder in Java, Jose Manuel Tesoro, Equinox Press, August 2004, Rp 139,000.]
Bruce Emond, Jakarta – Some of us, most of us, perhaps, prefer to let painful matters slide, unconcerned about finding solace in the now hackneyed term of "closure".
Jakarta – The presidential election runoff will mark the end of the political career of the outgoing Vice President Hamzah Haz, who announced on Friday that he would retire from politics after September 20, the date of vote.
Jonathan Head, East Timor – Five years ago the people of East Timor had their first opportunity to choose their own future and a staggering 98% of registered voters turned out to cast their ballots in favour of independence.
What do people have a right to expect five years after winning a Titanic struggle for independence?
Phar Kim Beng – With the price of oil hovering around US$40 per barrel, it is easy to assume that the oil-producing countries are laughing all the way to the bank. After all, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)has affirmed that all its members can make do with $30 per barrel.
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A soldier from the Siliwangi Military Command posted in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam recently complained about his length of duty in the province.
"I have been posted in Aceh for nearly 13 months. There is still no sign of us returning home. I always long for my family," he said.
Jakarta – State officials, particularly those in the regions, should be wary of people posing as Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officials demanding money, the KPK warned on Friday.
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – With the government's term nearing its end, the National Awakening Party (PKB) is giving the thumbs-down to law enforcers' efforts to eradicate corruption during the past five years.
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Three days before the Central Jakarta District Court hands down its verdict on a case against Tempo chief editor Bambang Harymurti, who is on trial for defamation against businessman Tomy Winata, activists are scrambling to their feet in an attempt to rescue the country's press freedom.
Indonesian security forces carried out gross human rights abuses including murder, torture and arbitrary arrests during two incidents in remote eastern Papua province, a rights body says.
Indonesian officials reacted with outrage after a man jailed for life for his key role in the deadly Bali bombing was treated to coffee in a Jakarta Starbucks by police, who say the outing was a "proper procedure".
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Soldiers involved in non-military crimes will be subject to trials in district courts in the near future, if the House of Representatives and the government agree on the amendment to Law No. 31/1997 on military tribunals.
Banda Aceh – Indonesian troops shot dead three suspected separatists in the restive province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, while 11 other suspected rebels surrendered in six separate areas of the province, the military said on Saturday.
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – At least 421 separatist rebels have been killed since Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam was placed under a state of civil emergency three months ago, an official has said.
Sr. Comr. Sayed Hoesainy of Aceh's civil emergency administration said on Tuesday that the rebels were killed during military operations since May 19.
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Frustrated by their inability to complete case files on the main suspects in the scam involving state bank BNI 46 and the resulting low recovery of state losses, police have decided to allow the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to take over the probe. National Police Chief Gen.