The Golkar party of former dictator Suharto officially won Indonesia's parliamentary election but now faces a tougher battle for the presidency in July.
Golkar took 21.58 percent of the vote in the April 5 election compared to 18.53 for President Megawati Sukarnoputri's ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the national election commission announced.
Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – Foreign arrivals in the country hit a six-year high of 1.03 million in the first quarter of this year despite the introduction of a stricter immigration policy and security concerns due to the general election.
Budi Hartadi, Surabaya – Scores of activists from the Indonesian National Student Movement (Gerakan Mahasiswa Nasional Indonesia, GMNI) in Surabaya, East Java, held a demonstration [on May 5] rejecting presidential candidates with a military background. They also called on the people to be on their guard against ex-military officers becoming involved in politics.
Fredolin Adhysa Pelupessy, Jakarta – On Wednesday May 5, demonstrators from a number of Islamic mass organisations went to the national parliament to demand the dismissal of Indonesian police chief Da'i Bachtiar.
Kurniawan Hari and Nani Farida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – House of Representatives members have thrown their weight behind the Aceh Prosecutor's Office tackling several corruption cases allegedly involving administration officials, including Governor Abdullah Puteh.
"In principle, prosecution should be conducted by the prosecutor's office.
Jason Koutsoukis, Canberra – Prime Minister John Howard may face further pressure to call a royal commission on Australia's intelligence services following new claims that the Defence Department for six weeks ignored warnings that a spy was operating in the army with impunity.
Alisa P, Banda Aceh – According Acehnese People's Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA) chairperson, Thamrin Ananda, the plan by the interim coordinating minister for politics and security, Hari Subarno, to reduce the status of martial law in Aceh to a state of civil emergency following a meeting with the armed forces chief in Cilangkap, is a mealy a form of political bribery in the l
Bogor – More than 230 mostly female staff laid off from the PT Sahabat Unggul Internasional textile factory staged a protest at the Bogor City Council on Tuesday about their dismissal.
The workers said management had dismissed them after a dispute about about employee insurance payments and allowances on April 23.
Slamet Susanto and Rusman, Yogyakarta/Samarinda – Hundreds of students staged protests in Yogyakarta and Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday to demand the government pay more attention to education in the country.
Jakarta – Thousands of students across the country hit the streets on Tuesday to condemn a brutal police attack against university students over the weekend in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar.
Makassar, Kompas – On Tuesday May 5, massive demonstrations and rallies by thousands of students from almost all schools of higher education in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar brought activities in the city to a stand still for the entire day.
Robert Go, JaKarta – Mr Fektur claims he earns 20 million rupiah (about S$3,900) a month – a sum that firmly puts him in Indonesia's middle class.
All that the 24-year-old needs is a computer hooked up to the Internet for three to four hours a day so that he can collect information from chatrooms.
The country's exports increased by 3.43 percent in March to US$5.07 billion from $4.90 billion in February, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Tuesday.
The agency said that the increase was driven by higher exports of oil and gas commodities and non-oil and gas products.
Khairul Ikhwan, Medan – Calls for President Megawati Sukarnoputri to sack Indonesian chief of police General Da'i Bachtiar have been raised again. [This time] the demands were made by two groups of demonstrators in an action held at the North Sumatra parliament on Jalan Imam Bonjol in the provincial capital of Medan on Wednesday May 5.
Dian Intannia, Jakarta – Actions by police on the campus of the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) in Makassar, South Sulawesi continue to attract protests.
Jakarta – At least 50 teachers assigned to the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) have been killed in the armed conflict there between 1999 and 2003. Among them, 22 alone were killed by members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), an official said.
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – In marking World Press Freedom Day on Monday, a press organization noted that the press here is still regarded as "the enemy". Also, it noted that under martial law in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was just as bad as the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police as regards intimidating the media.
Dadan Wijaksana, Singapore – Indonesia's pulp and paper industry still has plenty of room for improvement if it wants to be internationally competitive, according to a major player.
Martha Warta Silaban, Jakarta – Hundreds of students and elements from the social movements held a demonstration in front of the national police headquarters at 1pm on Tuesday May 4.
Dili – Just two years after gaining independence, East Timor has one of Asia's freest presses, an international watchdog group said.
Jakarta – Indonesia's annualised inflation rate rose to 5.92 percent in April due to higher food prices compared to 5.11 percent in March, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.
The consumer price index (CPI) was up 0.97 percent month-on-month, said bureau deputy chairman Slamet Mukeno. He said all items in the index recorded price increases in April.
Lisbon – East Timor's Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, who was awarded the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, has ruled out running for president in 2007.
"I have decided to leave politics to politicians," he said today in comments broadcast on Portuguese state television RTP.
A reduced number of Australian troops and police are set to stay in East Timor after United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today proposed that the UN extend its mission in the fledgling nation for another year.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer welcomed Mr Annan's call for a one-year extension of the UN mandate in East Timor.
Budi Hartadi, Surabaya – Although the South Sulawesi chief of police has been dismissed, actions condemning police violence at the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) in Makassar continue. In an action on Tuesday May 4, calls for Indonesian police chief Da'i Bachtiar to resign form his post continued to grow.
Ahmad Fikrij, Bandung – On Tuesday May 4, hundreds of students blockaded the intersection of Jalan Wastu Kencana and Jalan Taman Sari in Bandung, West Java. The demonstration was organised as a solidarity action over the violence against Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) students in Makassar, South Sulawesi, [when police stormed their campus on May 1.]
Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Police investigators named nine police personnel as suspects on Monday, following a brutal police attack on Saturday at the Indonesia Muslim University (UMI) that seriously injured 65 students.
Taufik Wijaya, Palembang – On Tuesday May 4, thousands of students from Palembang in South Sumatra held an action over the attack on the Indonesian Muslim University campus in the South Sumatra provincial capital of Makassar [in which scores of students were wounded by police on May 1]. They demanded that the Indonesian chief of police be sacked.
M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – A meeting of Christian and Muslim leaders and National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar ended in disarray here on Monday, after conflicting parties failed to reach an agreement to cease the renewed clashes in Ambon, Maluku.
The police chief of Indonesia's Maluku province has been replaced following week-long Muslim-Christian battles in which 38 people died and hundreds of buildings were torched.
Brigadier General Bambang Sutrisno has been shifted to a new assignment at police headquarters in the capital Jakarta, national police spokesman Paiman announced on local radio.
Lawyers protesting at the arrest of terror suspect Abu Bakar Bashir have won support from several members of Indonesia's parliament.
The lawyers, accompanied by representatives from the Indonesian Muhjahedeen Council which Bashir heads and the Surakarta Muslim Youth Front, met members of a parliamentary commission.
Toni Somes – It is an arduous task being "mother of the nation" when you are also the mother of two small boys, but Kirsty Sword Gusmao has never been one to sidestep challenges.
But East Timor's first lady did admit to being slightly weary in Charters Towers yesterday.
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Presidential aspirant Amien Rais is fading into the background as his competitors step up their campaigns ahead of the July 5 election.
The language in the border negotiations between Australia and East Timor is heating up. East Timor says Australia is trying to steal its oil reserves while Canberra responds that Dili is trying to stir up emotion to create controversy. The latest idea from East Timor is a call for a third country or neutral umpire to step in to the border negotiations.
Jakarta – While some officials claim that militants who raided armories in southern Thailand are selling weapons to rebels in Indonesia's neighboring Aceh province, an expert said Monday there is no clear evidence of such a trade.
Jakarta/Medan/Surabaya – Thousands of workers across the country took to the streets on Saturday to demand the government revoke rules and regulations that fail to protect workers and their welfare.
Muhammad Fasabeni, Heru C.N., Jakarta – Hundreds of people from a number of organisations such as the Greater Jakarta Student Executive Council (BEM-Sejabotabek), the United Opposition Front (BOB), the National Student League for Democracy (LMND) and the People's Dem Party (PRD) held a demonstration in front of the faculty of medicine at the University of Indonesia in Salemba, Centr
Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The political fortunes of Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are on a high as his soaring popularity has made him the favourite to win the presidency in July.
Ilham M., Jakarta – On May 3, 50 activists from the United Opposition Front (Barisan Oposisi Bersatu, BOB) held a free speech forum on the University of Indonesia (UI) campus in Salemba, Central Jakarta.
Ilham M, Jakarta – The coordinator of the United Opposition Front (Barisan Oposisi Bersatu, BOB), Dita Indah Sari, says that the dismissal of the Makassar provincial police chief does not mean that the bloody Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) incident in South Sulawesi has been resolved.
Devi Asmarani – It was a week before the April 5 election and a group of women was attending a workshop on political empowerment in Tentena, a charming highland in Central Sulawesi that has turned into a refugee town after religious conflicts in neighbouring Poso.
East Timor President Xanana Gusmao says his country will cooperate with former general Wiranto, indicted for crimes against humanity in the territory, if he was elected Indonesian president.
"We will support anyone who is elected democratically in the July presidential election [in Indonesia], including Wiranto," Gusmao told a news conference.
Indonesian police re-arrested radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir moments after he stepped free from prison and said he would be charged with the Bali bombings and other terror attacks.
Istiqomatul Hayati, Jakarta – Thousands of workers came out into the streets to commemorate May Day on Saturday May 1. Demonstrators began gathering at three points in the city, at the parking lot of the Danamon Aetna building, the national parliament and the Hotel Indonesia roundabout then began linking up in front of the Radio Republic Indonesia radio station at 11.30am.
Jakarta – Around 1,000 workers from scores of different organisations demonstrated in front of the national parliament in Jakarta on Saturday May 1. During the action, the workers shouted and listened to a series of speeches by a number of labour activists.
Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Court yesterday rejected former president Abdurrahman Wahid's appeal for a judicial review of a health rule for candidates.
The decision dealt another blow to his hopes of making a comeback.
Brian Toohey – The appointment of a new police chief in western Papua might seem of little interest to the British Foreign Office. When Timbul Silaen's appointment was announced on December 1 last year, however, the Foreign Office had good reason to take notice.
Banda Aceh – Military troops rescued two boatmen held by Aceh separatist rebels on Friday, a military spokesman revealed on Saturday.
"The two hostages are from neighboring North Sumatra province and have been identified as Subur Mardi, 42, and Zainal Abidin, 53," military operation command spokesman Lt. Col. Asep Sapari said in Lhokseumawe.
Tom Allard – Defence Intelligence Organisation chief Frank Lewincamp ordered that a crucial flow of intelligence to Australian troops during the East Timor conflict remain shut down, in an extraordinary act that came amid a major row among Defence spies.
Brendan Nicholson – Prime Minister John Howard has rejected the calls of army intelligence analyst Lieutenant-Colonel Lance Collins for a royal commission into Australia's intelligence agencies.
Mr Howard dismissed Colonel Collins's claims that there were serious systemic failures in the military intelligence agencies.
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The ad hoc rights tribunal sentenced on Friday a retired general to 10 years in prison for committing gross human rights violations in the massacre 20 years ago, which killed, according to official accounts, at least 14 protesters and injured dozens of others.