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Indonesia & East Timor Digest

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May 23, 2003

openDemocracy - May 23, 2003

[The West Papuan campaign against rule by Indonesia and corporate exploitation of the territory's rich resources is one of the world's most important and least known resistance movements.

Illawarra Mercury (Australia) - May 23, 2003

Chantal Rumble – As East Timor celebrates its first year of independence, Batemans Bay human rights campaigner James Dunn has launched a book about the country's extraordinary road to freedom.

East Timor: A Rough Passage to Independence, was launched by NSW Premier Bob Carr in NSW Parliament House last night.

ASAP Statement - May 23, 2003

Nick Everett, from Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP) and co-convenor of the Sydney Walk Against War Coalition and Kylie Moon, coordinator of Books Not Bombs, a youth coalition against the war, say that calls for an end to martial law in Aceh prompted Indonesian police to retaliate.

Asia Times - May 23, 2003

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Despite predictions that Indonesian state oil and gas company Pertamina faces a bleak and uncertain future after the government lifted its decades-long oil and gas monopoly, Pertamina president Baihaki Hakim this week announced his blueprint for the future.

Agence France Presse - May 23, 2003

The Indonesian military's attempts to stop reporters quoting rebel statements in Aceh province put journalists covering the war there "at grave risk", a New York-based journalists' organisation said Saturday.

Radio Australia - May 23, 2003

In Aceh where Indonesia's biggest military offensive in a quarter of century continues to gather pace. The Indonesian armed forces, the TNI, say they have killed more than 30 rebels of the separatist Free Aceh Movement, or GAM in a series of clashes, and continue to deny claims that civilians are among the dead.

BBC News - May 23, 2003

The BBC's Orlando de Guzman has made a second visit to the site of Wednesday's incident, in the northern village of Mapa Mamplam, and has been told by witnesses that boys, one as young as 12, were among the victims.

Military chiefs have denied the allegations, saying that civilians are never targeted.

Straits Times - May 23, 2003

Robert Go, Jakarta – As fighting intensifies in Aceh, Indonesia's government plans to start rounding up thousands of civilians in tent camps and intern them for short spells as the military cleanses hot spots of rebel fighters.

Agence France Presse - May 23, 2003

Indonesia's military said it has now killed 31 rebels during an all-out attack on separatist guerrillas in Aceh province and the government denied that civilians are among the dead.

Melbourne Age - May 23, 2003

Banda Aceh – Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda has gone on the defensive in the face of international concern over Jakarta's military operation against the independence movement in Aceh, the military's biggest offensive in decades.

Melbourne Age - May 23, 2003

Matthew Moore, Lhokseumawe – In Indonesia's new war against Aceh's rebels, 12 is now old enough to get shot in the back as you run for your life through a rice paddy.

ABC News - May 23, 2003

Two Australian peace activists arrested at a rally in Indonesia earlier this week are expected to arrive in Sydney tonight.

Kylie Moon from Books Not Bombs and Nick Everett, from Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific, were among a number of activists arrested on Wednesday during a protest outside the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

May 22, 2003

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2003

Tangerang – Hundreds of motorcycle taxi (ojek) drivers blocked Jl. Rawa Bokor near the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Wednesday as part of their rally to protest PT Angkasa Pura's decision to ban them from entering the airport.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2003

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – An antiwar rally here ended in the arrest of four foreign and two Indonesian participants on Wednesday while they were expressing solidarity for the Acehnese people who have seen violence return to their home soil.

ASAP Statement - May 22, 2003

Nick Everett, from Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP) and co-convenor of the Sydney Walk Against War Coalition and Kylie Moon, coordinator of Books Not Bombs – a youth coalition against the war, were arrested in Jakarta on Wednesday, May 21.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2003

Apriadi Gunawan and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Medan/Jakarta – In support of the government's pledge to quash the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the police rounded up activists and other individuals and charged them with subversion over their alleged connection with the separatist group.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2003

Jakarta/Lhokseumawe – Casualties rose on Wednesday as the Indonesian Military (TNI) mounted massive attacks on strongholds of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Bireuen, North Aceh, and Aceh Besar.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2003

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Truth risks becoming another casualty in the conflict in Aceh after the military ruler instructed the media not to print statements from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members.

Straits Times - May 22, 2003

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's government is moving to label leaders of separatist group Free Aceh Movement (GAM) as "terrorists", following arson attacks on nearly 200 schools and other public buildings in the region during the past three days.

Agence France Presse - May 22, 2003

A state-appointed human rights court acquitted the former commander of Indonesian troops in East Timor of crimes against humanity in the territory in 1999, prompting protests by rights groups.

The "dignity and position of Brigadier General Tono Suratman should be restored to him" following the verdict, said Chief Judge Andi Samsan Nganro.

Sydney Morning Herald - May 22, 2003

The launch this week of the biggest Indonesian military operation since the 1975 invasion of East Timor suggests an impending bloodbath in the contested northern province of Aceh.

ASAP news list (original source not quoted) - May 22, 2003

Greg Sheridan – When in 1978 Dick Woolcott paid his last call as Australian ambassador in Jakarta on then Indonesian president Suharto, Suharto told him the real threat to Indonesian stability would eventually come from Islamic extremists, who already had a stronghold in Aceh, especially if they received outside support.

The Australian - May 22, 2003

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Bullets cracked through the smoke from three blazing vegetable trucks and a flaming bus in the village of Teupin Raya as the battle for Aceh grew more heated yesterday.

The Guardian (UK) - May 22, 2003

John Aglionby – Indonesia's military chief warned Britain yesterday not to try to dictate how he should use his country's British-made Hawk fighter jets in its operations against separatists in Aceh.

BBC News - May 22, 2003

I got there just as the Indonesian army patrol was leaving. These men are part of the Indonesian army's notorious specials forces. They told us they'd just been in a gunfight with GAM (Free Aceh Movement) rebels earlier in the morning.

Radio Australia - May 22, 2003

Indonesian troops have been stepping up their operations against separatist rebels in Aceh province. Local reports say that in one incident, at least eight villagers were shot dead in the eastern Bireun area after being lined up by security forces. Indonesia's Foreign Ministry dismissed these reports saying they were stories aimed at discrediting Jakarta.

May 21, 2003

Radio Australia - May 21, 2003

With the war in Aceh set to to intensify, Jakarta says its preparing for the evacuation of some 300,000 people. Since the weekend declaration of martial law after the collapse of peace talks, an estimated 12,000 Acehnese have already been displaced. And with that number expected to rise, Jakarta has launched a humanitarian operation, designating refugee shelters.

Radio Australia - May 21, 2003

Locals in the Indonesian province of Aceh are accusing forces they won't name of setting about destroying the island's very future, its schools. Hundreds have been torched in just one day, at the same time as Indonesia's military chief ordered his soldiers to exterminate the separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement, or GAM.

Green Left Weekly - May 21, 2003

Max Lane, Jakarta – A report issued on May 9 by the conservative Brussels-based International Crisis Group, headed by former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, declared: "The Indonesian military is not using the phrase 'shock and awe', but the stream of reports on the number of troops, tanks, and weapons being prepared for Aceh is designed to have the same effect."

Melbourne Age - May 21, 2003

Annabel Crabb, Canberra – Australian military co-operation with the Indonesian army and its special forces unit, Kopassus, would not be affected by their involvement in Jakarta's attack on the rebellious Aceh province, Defence Minister Robert Hill said yesterday.

Reuters - May 21, 2003

Patrick McLoughlin, Stockholm – The leadership of separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province, under attack by government forces after peace talks collapsed, called on the United Nations on Wednesday to intervene immediately in the conflict.

Asia Times - May 21, 2003

Quinton Temby, Perth – At an international conference on regional security held in East Timor last year, the frustration of many Timorese officials was obvious. It was just over two years since East Timor had voted for independence from Indonesia and been ravaged by its scorched earth retribution. But the frustration wasn't directed at Indonesia.

Radio Australia - May 21, 2003

In Aceh's western district, government troops have clashed with separatist rebels as the military continues to boost its strength, sending more troops and and police. So far, 17 civilians and five rebels have reportedly been killed in the battle and some 200-schools torched. But each side is blaming the other for the destruction.

Presenter/Interviewer: Linda LoPresti

Associated Press - May 21, 2003

Jakarta – Indonesian police with water cannons drove back hundreds of students Wednesday protesting the slow pace of reform since the downfall of ex-dictator Suharto five years ago.

At its peak, the nighttime rally had about 400 demonstrators, some of whom tried to tear down the main gate to the tightly guarded Parliament in Jakarta.

Sydney Morning Herald - May 21, 2003

Indonesian troops have killed or captured dozens of insurgents in its north-western province of Aceh in a major offensive aimed at destroying a separatist rebellion. The guerrillas have pledged "a drawn-out war".

May 20, 2003

Radio Australia - May 20, 2003

Twelve months ago there was great fanfare when East Timor was declared the world's newest nation. But today the celebrations were muted as President Xanana Gusamo lamented the nation's problems in his address to the East Timorese people.

Radio Australia - May 20, 2003

For a second straight day, the Indonesian military has continued its offensive against Aceh's separatist rebels, with an order to exterminate those who refuse to surrender. The assault began yesterday after last-ditch peace talks between Jakarta and the rebels broke down in Tokyo on the weekend.

Asia Times - May 20, 2003

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – On May 20 last year the Democratic Republic of East Timor became the first new nation of the second millennium.

Agence France Presse - May 20, 2003

East Timor, the world's newest nation, marked its first birthday but President Xanana Gusmao found little to celebrate.

East Timor was Asia's poorest country when it declared independence one year ago, after 31 months of United Nations stewardship and 24 years of often brutal Indonesian rule. Gusmao, in a national address Tuesday, summed up the problems bluntly.

Melbourne Age - May 20, 2003

Matthew Moore – Two things are certain about the newly resumed war in Aceh: a lot of innocent people will die and not many people will care, at least outside this province on Sumatra's furthest tip.

May 19, 2003

Papua Post - May 19, 2003

Biak – Nine hundred inhabitants in the district of Kuyawage have fled their homes and sought sanctuary in Sinak district, Puncak Jaya, because Indonesian troops are conducting operations in their area.

Associated Press - May 19, 2003

Michael Casey, Dili – A year after independence, dozens of burned-out buildings dot East Timor's capital – haunting reminders of the country's bloody history.

Unemployed men hang out on Dili street corners hawking phone cards, oranges and cigarettes. In the countryside, residents live on as little as 55 cents a day. Clean water and electricity are luxuries most do without.

Radio Australia - May 19, 2003

President Megawati Sukarnoputri's declaration of martial law brings to an end a six month cease-fire. The Free Aceh rebels say they are ready to return to war and Indonesian troops have already begun military attacks against the rebels. But does President Megawati's decision have the solid backing of the Indonesian people?

Associated Press - May 19, 2003

Maumeta – Cancio dos Santos readily admits he joined pro-Jakarta militias and torched three homes in East Timor when it voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

May 18, 2003

Radio Netherlands - May 18, 2003

[The following is a translation of an interview in Tokyo with Erwanto, a representative Aceh People's Freedom Front (FPDRA).]

The talks between RI and GAM in Tokyo could have succeeded. As a representative of civil society, Erwanti attended the talks between the two sides in Tokyo on 17 and 18 May, the day before martial law was proclaimed in Aceh.

May 17, 2003

Jakarta Post - May 17, 2003

Nani Farida, Lhokseumawe – Despite the apparent normalcy, hundreds of thousands of residents of North Aceh, a stronghold of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), are preparing to flee their villages and take refuge if the government launches a military operation.

Jakarta Post - May 17, 2003

Jakarta – United States President George W. Bush welcomed on Thursday a decision by the Indonesian government and Aceh separatist rebels to hold weekend talks in Tokyo in a last-ditch effort to save their peace pact.

Jakarta Post - May 17, 2003

Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) officers troops said Friday they had shot dead two suspected separatist rebels in the jungles of Papua province.

Jakarta Post - May 17, 2003

Jakarta – Discrimination against women remains rampant in Indonesian workplaces, the International Labor Organization (ILO) says.

In its report titled Time for Equality at Work, the ILO said that discrimination took various forms, but the most blatant example was discrimination over wages.

Jakarta Post - May 17, 2003

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The country's commercial courts, renowned for being ineffective and corrupt, must be reformed to encourage more investment and in turn boost economic recovery and growth, an expert said.