Iggy Kim – The Indonesian government has again violated the December 10 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA). The agreement was supposed to bring an end to violence in Aceh.
Indonesian authorities have arrested Acehnese civil rights activists and unleashed military raids into territory controlled by the Acehnese independence movement.
Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The Islam Defenders Front (FPI) is reactivating its feared paramilitary wing, with the same mission as before – fighting against immorality in its own way if necessary.
Don D'Cruz – When John Howard met recently with Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri he got an important assurance from her: that Indonesia does not regard Australia as anti-Islam. This was crucial in the light of the war against terrorism and possible conflict in the Gulf.
Jakarta – A prime suspect in the Bali bombing will recant in court his confession implicating Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir in the blasts because it was made under police torture, the suspect's lawyer said yesterday.
Iggy Kim, Sydney – The Indonesian government's decision to divide West Papua into three provinces is a further attack by Jakarta on the Papuan people's right to self-determination, West Papua Institute for Human Rights supervisor John Rumbiak told a February 20 forum organised by the Uniting Church and the Australia-West Papua Association.
The international rights group Human Rights Watch called on Indonesia to turn over for trial its officials accused of organizing atrocities committed in East Timor in 1999.
In a statement released here, Human Rights Watch urged Jakarta to extradite the officials for trial in the East Timor capital Dili.
Danang Sangga Buwana, Jakarta – Just because they refused to withdraw a class action launched against Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri which was linked to prince increases to fuel, electricity and telephone charges, the offices of the People's Lawyers Union (Serikat Pengacara Rakyat, SPR) in South Jakarta, was attacked by a group of unknown assailants.
Jakarta – A leading US newspaper, The Washington Post, on Tuesday said it had found "no substantiation" to one of its reports published last year that implicated senior Indonesian military officers in plans for an attack in Papua, AFP reported.
The paper printed a statement on an inside page, following a settlement with lawyers for the military in Jakarta.
Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) said on Tuesday it had found irregularities amounting to the value of Rp 456.3 trillion (about US$60 billion) in the use of state funds in 2001 and 2002, providing yet further evidence that efforts to stamp out graft and corruption have been fruitless.
Jill Jolliffe, Darwin and Tom Allard, Canberra – United Nations prosecutors have charged the former Indonesian defence chief General Wiranto with crimes against humanity for his role in the violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 referendum on independence.
Five other officers have also been accused, along with ex-governor Abilio Osorio Soares.
Tangerang – Hundreds of workers of bag producer PT Tasindo in Carewet village of Cikupa district and security guard supplier for Soekarno-Hatta International Airport PT Tri Otomat Pratama Guard staged separate rallies on Monday, demanding severance pay.
Jakarta – The Indonesian military has withdrawn from Papua province a special forces unit, some of whose members are on trial for the murder of a pro-independence leader there.
Suwarjono, Jakarta – An action by workers against the promulgation of a new labour law at the national parliament in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday, ended in a clash. The demonstrators who tried to break down the gates, were repelled by water cannon.
Jakarta – Police used tear gas, water canons and sticks to disperse 1,000 protesters who attempted to storm the House of Representatives building before legislators approved a new labor bill, Elshinta radio reported.
Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – An employers association hailed on Monday the planned endorsement of the labor bill, but trade unions remained divided over the draft.
Djimanto of the Indonesian Employers Association said the final draft of the bill accommodated both employers and trade unions.
Jakarta – Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said Tuesday Indonesia would ignore UN indictments of former armed forces chief Gen.(ret) Wiranto along with six other generals for crimes against humanity during East Timor's bloody independence vote in 1999, AP reported.
"He is a free man ... Why take action?" Hassan said on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Dili – Some 200 East Timorese staged a rally in the new nation's capital Dili on Tuesday to demand compensation for their past services to former ruler Indonesia.
Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The Indonesian military has drafted a bill that would allow it to deploy troops anywhere in the country without having to inform the civilian government, sparking fears that it could be used to advantage by coup plotters.
Vice President Hamzah Haz urges his opponents not to resort to slander to destroy his political career. Meanwhile, labor rights activists clash with police; and President Megawati Sukarnoputri enjoys diplomatic duties.
Tiarma Siboro and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Two more military analysts have criticized the draft law on the military currently being prepared by the government, saying the bull, which gives more power to the military, could jeopardize democracy.
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – A controversial Bill, being drafted, is set to revive the supremacy of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and even allow its commander to declare an emergency without first seeking the President's approval.
Many see it as a sign that the once-powerful military is capitalising on the frail and divided civilian leadership to make a comeback.
Jakarta – Choose a rank, the security force, shell out Rp 300,000 (S$59), and a well-known shop in Central Jakarta will outfit its customer with everything one needs to be a military or police officer. From the caps and shirt with all the trimmings, to trousers, belt, boots – everything is available for a fee.
Dili – East Timorese officials blamed anti-independence militias Tuesday for an attack that killed two people, injured four and heightened security fears in the world's newest nation.
A man aged 29 was killed on the spot in Monday's attack in the Maliana district bordering Indonesian West Timor. A 64-year-old man died in hospital Tuesday, his relatives said.
Yemris Fointuna and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur – The military commander overseeing the West Timor province promised tighter security along its border with East Timor where one person died on Monday in an attack allegedly staged by pro Jakarta militia who crossed the border to West Timor.
Jakarta – In what could mark the country's first judicial review under the amended 1945 Constitution, six political parties, each with less than 2 percent of seats at the House of Representatives, plans to request that the Supreme Court review the new elections law, which had been described as "unfair".
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Kuala Lumpur – President Megawati Soekarnoputri made her first address on the Iraq crisis when she spoke before the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit which opened on Monday, but she fell short of detailing initiatives to prevent war.
Jakarta – Hundreds of demonstrators from the People's Democratic Party (PRD) demonstrated on Monday against US plans to attack Iraq.
They began gathering at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout then moved off to the British Embassy where they held speeches for around 10 minutes then moved off to the United Nations offices.
The United Nations Serious Crimes Unit has indicted General Wiranto, the former governor of East Timor, Abilio Soares and six other senior military officers, for murder and persecution in the lead-up to East Timor's independence in 1999. But with the Indonesian Government unlikely to hand any of the men over for trial, will justice ever be done?
Jakarta – The United Nations on Tuesday indictedthe former armed forces chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, along with six other senior generals and East Timor's ex-governor for crimes againsthumanity during the territory's bloody independence vote in 1999, AP reported.
Hestiana Dharmastuti, Jakarta – Threats by the Minister of Labour and Transmigration, Jacob Nuwa Wea, in which he called for demonstrators to end their actions, if not they will face Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) masses, has been greeted by cynicism.
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government has been preparing a controversial bill giving authority to the Indonesian military commander to deploy military personnel in an emergency without the approval of the president.
Jakarta – A senior member of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) warned student protesters as well as a Jakarta-based newspaper not to criticize his party.
Jakarta – Although the wave of protests and street actions have raised strategic issues, the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice-President Hamzah Haz has yet to be shaken. This is because the opposition movement is not prepared to work together.
The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) released investment figures for the month of January late last week revealing a steep fall in foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals but an upsurge in domestic investment.
Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has finally settled the issue of dismissal, the most controversial issue in the bill on workers' protection, paving the way for its endorsement on Tuesday.
Shepard Forman, New York – Even as the United Nations focuses like a laser on Iraq, it must not lose sight of its other commitments.
Kanis Dursin, Jayapura – The decision to split up Papua into three provinces has eroded what little trust the Papuans had developed toward the government since the implementation of the special autonomy law on January 1, 2002.
Dili – Unidentified gunmen killed one person and seriously injured two pregnant women in an attack Monday on a minibus in East Timor, officials said.
The group fled after the attack at 12:45 pm near the village of Aidabaleten in Maliana district, said Deputy Defence and Security Minister Roque Rodrigues. He gave no further details.
Dili – Anti-independence militias have launched a "terrorist strategy" to undermine Timor Leste's government before the planned United Nations withdrawal from the country next year, a top UN peacekeeper said.
Jakarta – The military on Monday denied accusations by the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) that troops had raided a rebel base in violation of a peace pact signed in December, AFP reported.
The separatist Free Aceh Movement in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh has accused government forces of several serious violations of the peace pact signed in December.
A Free Aceh Movement or GAM representative in the Joint Security Committee said that dozens of soldiers raided a base in Central Aceh district on Wednesday, killing one rebel and injuring five others.
Robert Go, Jakarta – As war clouds loom nearer and the prospects for more mass demonstrations against a United States-led invasion against Iraq grow in Indonesia, at least one man is ready to capitalise on a money-making opportunity.
Jakarta – Lawyers for the Indonesian armed forces said Monday they have agreed to settle their dispute with the Washington Post over a report that implicated senior officers in plans for an attack in Papua province.
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Gang Macan (Tiger Lane), a densely populated alleyway in North Jakarta, was notorious for its tiny brothels and deadly fights between vicious gangs. A fire in 1995 took care of all that.
These days the neighbourhood provides a service high in demand in Indonesia today – mob rental.
On Thursday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu met hundreds of active and retired top army officers, where he reiterated that the role of the country's army is different from the expected "professional" army role elsewhere, as he claimed there were unique problems in this country such as disintegration.
The election bill passed by the parliament last week, with its demand for a 2% electoral threshold, predictably created dissatisfaction and disappointment among small political parties.
Even the promising Islamic-based Justice Party (PK), which won seven seats in the 1999 general election, branded the bill as unfair.
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The State Intelligence Agency (BIN) demanded on Friday that it be given extra powers that would enable it to carry out crucial tasks to prevent terrorist attacks throughout the country.
Tim Dodd, Jakarta – With Indonesia facing a new round of instability if war goes ahead in Iraq, the country's top political and military leaders say the army will not "return to barracks" but will retain its domestic security role.
Yuliansyah, Banjarmasin – Fearing the legal consequences, some South Kalimantan legislative councillors say they are planning to return a "reward" given to them by the local government for approving the 2003 provincial budget.
Banda Aceh – Twelve days have passed since the crucial "demilitarisation" phase of the Aceh agreement but separatist rebels have not started placing weapons in arms dumps and Indonesian troops have not begun withdrawing to defensive positions.