Jakarta – Minister of Finance Boediono expressed optimism on Thursday that the economy will grow by 4 percent this year, despite a downturn in the global economy.
"We are continuing to project it at 4 percent. We are optimistic about it because our exports remain strong," Boediono said as quoted by Antara here on Thursday.
Jakarta – Indonesia's increasing economic stability is not translating into higher growth, the World Bank said on Thursday.
The bank, in its East Asian outlook as quoted by AFP, forecast gross domestic product growth of 3.3 percent this year, lower than the government's projection, and 4.0 percent in 2004.
Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesian State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi plans a spinoff of two renegade state enterprises, PT Semen Padang and PT Semen Tonasa, from their publicly listed parent company PT Semen Gresik.
Samarinda, E Kalimantan – Some 400 workers of the Indonesian forestry company, PT Wana Rimba Kencana, staged a rally in front of the East Kalimantan governor's office here Friday to reject the Industry and Trade Ministry's unilateral decision to freeze the company's permit to export plywood.
Jakarta – Some 2,000 workers of PT EDS Manufacturing Indonesia, a cable producer on Jl. Raya Serang, Balaraja district, staged a rally at the regency manpower agency office here on Thursday to demand that the company's contract system for workers be scrapped.
Jakarta – A small pipe bomb exploded near the main United Nations building in Indonesia's capital yesterday, just a day after the trial of the leader of a radical Islamic group opened here.
Ambon – Police have found five flags of the separatist Republic of South Maluku (RMS) hoisted in different areas here.
"Two flags were found hoisted on a 7-meter bamboo pole," local police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Teguh Budi Prasodjo told Antara here on Thursday.
Slobodan Lekic, Jakarta – Frustrated by Washington's long running embargo over arms sales because of human rights concerns, Indonesia plans to buy dozens of high-performance fighter bombers from Russia over the next several years.
Moscow – Indonesia's armed forces commander, General Endriartono Sutarto, has disclosed that the Indonesian air force wants to have 48 Russian-made Sukhoi fighter planes to enable it to secure the country and maintain its sovereignty.
In East Timor, continuing militia infilitration has put a spotlight on the United Nations failure to properly secure the border. Local police say militia groups have returned to East Timor, through numerous tracks along the West Timor border. The warning comes as the UN forces prepare to withdraw, leaving border security to the local police.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The military police unit of the Trikora Military Command overseeing Papua has arrested nine soldiers and seven civilians for their alleged involvement in the April 4 arsenal burglary in Wamena, in which two soldiers and a Free Papua Movement (OPM) rebel were killed.
Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – One of the world's great mysteries, right up there with how Jiang Zemin's hair stayed black for all those years, is that amazing strength of the Indonesian rupiah on foreign-currency markets, defying the gravity of Indonesia's economic situation.
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Activists have urged the international community to ensure that justice is served against all perpetrators of the gross human rights violations in East Timor, now that hopes for a fair trial have evaporated.
Dili – The head of the United Nations' civil police department urged East Timor Thursday to rapidly draft and approve legislation for its police forces. Calling on Dili for action "as quickly as possible", Kiran Debi challenged a seminar in the East Timorese capital "not to waste this opportunity" because "you are losing time and put the future at risk".
Matthew Moore, Jakarta – He was the first person to be accused of planning the Bali bombings, but when Indonesia's most notorious preacher, Abu Bakar Bashir, goes on trial in a Jakarta court today it will not be for his role in that crime.
Arya Abhiseka, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) admitted on Tuesday that many flaws were evident in the voter registration process as revealed by a resistance to the program in some regions.
Gde Anugrah Arka, Bali – Made Suarsa's minibus is almost empty these days as he winds through the narrow streets of Denpasar, capital of one of the world's best-known travel destinations, Bali.
M. Rizai Maslan – Although they have been convicted for the murder of the chairman of the Papaun Presidium Counicil, the convicted men are seen differently in the eyes of the chief of staff of the army, General Ryamizard Ryacudu. In his eyes, these men are heroes.
Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reiterated here on Wednesday that there is no place for separatist movements in the country – in Aceh, Papua or Maluku.
Jakarta – Prodemocracy activists, analysts and mass media are certainly not the only ones longing for the emergence of a strong, fair and wise national leader to bring the nation out of its prolonged crisis, uphold justice and build peace.
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Indonesia is seeking one of the 53 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) for 2003-2004, hoping that its own poor human rights track record will not count against it.
Jakarta – An Indonesian court yesterday sentenced a half-brother of former president Suharto to four years' jail for corruption involving US$11.4 million in state funds.
Probosutejo, who was head of a timber company, failed to repay interest-free loans from a state reforestation fund totalling 100.9 billion rupiah, Judge Mohammad Soleh ruled.
Sarah Stephen – Ebrihim Sammaki fled Iran after the fall of the Shah, and fell in love with an Indonesian woman, Endong, while he was living in Indonesia. Nine years ago, they married and had two children. Then, two years ago, Ebrihim decided to seek a better life for his family.
Jakarta – People in the East Timor regency of Belu expressed disappointment over the country's recent ruling to impose a US$25 visa on visitors from Indonesia, which it borders.
A number of local figures warned on Tuesday that the visa ruling, which took effect on April 19, would burden East Timor more than it would Indonesia.
Indonesian police said they have arrested 18 more suspected members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network and seized guns and explosives.
As the Muslim cleric accused of leading JI went on trial for treason, national police chief General Da'i Bachtiar said the seizures indicated that suspects were planning fresh terrorist attacks before next year's general elections.
Cleric Abu Bakar Bashir who heads the conservative Indonesian Mujahidin Council, has faced court in Jakarta charged with attempting to overthrow the Indonesian state. Mr Bashir is accused of setting up the outlawed Jemaah Islamiyah group 10 years ago, as part of a plan to replace the Government with an Islamic state.
Next month – our northern neighbour is celebrating it's first birthday as a free country. But while there's much to celebrate – the country's justice system is struggling. Critics say the government isn't doing enough – to bring those responsible for past violence – before a court of law.
Solo – About 1,000 protesting Islamic students Monday demanded the release of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir – the alleged leader of the al-Qaida-linked group Jama'ah Islamiyah – who is to face trial for treason this week.
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Despite the decision of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) to drop from its agenda human rights abuses in East Timor, the opportunity to reopen the rights cases, which have implicated a number of Indonesian Army generals, is still available, a noted lawyer has said.
Moscow – Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin signed a friendship treaty yesterday, as Jakarta seeks to revive a Soviet-era relationship in the face of growing distance with Washington.
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – An activist from the radical group Islamic Youth Movement (GPI) was on trial on Monday for allegedly insulting President Megawati Soekarnoputri during an antigovernment protest in mid-February.
Indonesian music sensation Inul Daratista is getting complaints from muslim clerics. She may be one of the country's most popular artists but the clerics say her gyrating dance movements and skimpy costumes are indecent and immoral.
Transcript:
Nani Farida and Tiarma Siboro, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – The effort to bring peace back to Aceh faces another stiff test after the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group threatened to boycott a Joint Council meeting if it went ahead in Tokyo as planned.
Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – The trial of an Aceh activist in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh, on Monday turned tense when more than 150 supporters of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) staged a demonstration to protest the trial and the arrest of two other SIRA activists.
An Indonesian military court has sentenced four special forces soldiers for up to three and a half years jail for the murder of Papuan pro-independence leader Theys Eluay in November 2001. Another three Kopassus soldiers are still awaiting their verdicts. Mr Eluay was killed while being driven home from a dinner hosted at the Kopassus headquarters in the Papuan capital Jayapura.
Seven of Indonesia's Kopassus special forces soldiers have been found guilty by an Indonesian court over the murder of Papuan pro independence leader They's Eluay in 2001. But the seven men face at most three and a half years in jail, and in some cases haven't even been stripped of their place in the Army.
Presenter/Interviewer: Tim Palmer, Indonesia Correspondent
Jakarta – Human rights groups on Tuesday called for a deeper investigation into the killing of an independence leader in Indonesia's Papua province, saying the conviction and jailing of seven soldiers haven't uncovered who gave the order for the slaying.
Jakarta – In a bid to secure its "dignity and honour" the Supreme Court is considering imprisonment without trial for people deemed to be in contempt.
Megan Saunders – Ami is only six, but she knows her family is at crisis point. "What have we done wrong?" the youngest of five children asked her mother as the family fought to remain in Australia. "I said to her: 'I don't know, darling' and she starts crying," says her mother, Teresinha Maia.
Dili – The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR) has already heard over 2,000 statements on human rights violations committed during the 25-year independence struggle against Indonesia, but needs an extension of its mandate, the independent body announced Monday.
Jakarta – At least 2,000 people marched through the streets of Yogyajarta in central Java on Sunday, calling for a holy war against the United States in one of the largest protests here against the US-led coalition in Iraq in recent weeks.
Four Indonesian special forces soldiers who killed a Papuan provincial leader while trying to silence his calls for independence were jailed for between 36 and 42 months.
"The defendants were proven guilty of jointly engaging in mistreatment that led to the death of Theys Hiyo Eluay," said Judge Colonel Yamini in a military court.
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The chance to bring justice to the victims of the 1999 human rights violations in East Timor has vanished, after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) agreed over the weekend to drop the agenda from its future meetings.
Dozens of supporters of a hardline Indonesian Muslim cleric snatched him from prosecutors and spirited him away shortly before he was due to be taken to jail, reports said.
Wamena – With the apparent approval of the governor of Papua, Yab Solosa, a joint military unit composed of Kopassus, Kostrad 413 and Rapid Reaction Force troops took action in the direction of the District of Kuyawage, west of Wamena, and burnt down the homes of inhabitants, as well as schools, medical centres and teachers' homes.
Nani Farida, Jakarta/Aceh – President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Sunday dismissed speculation that the Indonesian Military (TNI) would launch an immediate military operation in Aceh should peace talks fail to settle the Aceh problem.
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri is eyeing Romanian tanks and other military hardware to beef up Indonesia's military strength, yet few know how she plans to pay for the purchases.
Jakarta – Police in Maluku province arrested seven suspected separatists on Sunday during a dawn raid on a house in the provincial capital of Ambon, police said.
Jakarta – An Indonesian Muslim militant turned himself in to authorities on Monday after supporters had spirited him out of police custody, a prosecutor said.
As a confirmed candidate in the 2004 direct presidential election, President Megawati Sukarnoputri and her ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) seem well aware that the choice of a running mate will be as vital as building solid and stable party coalitions.