Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – For many Jakartans, being choked by highly polluted air while sitting in a seemingly endless traffic jam is daily occurrence and irritant.
And things are going to get worse, with air pollution set to increase in the future rather than improve mainly due to the growth in the number of motor vehicles.
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Following an attack on the office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) by the Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM) group last week, about 20 of the group's members paid a visit to the Tempo news magazine office on Wednesday to protest the way the weekly described the nationalistic group.
Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – An Indonesian prosecutor demanded on Thursday a court acquit the top general on trial over violence in East Timor in 1999, saying he had not been proven guilty of committing crimes against humanity there.
Prosecutors had been expected to announce their sentencing demands for Major-General Adam Damiri on Thursday.
The pathetic performance of Jakarta's special human rights court dealing with atrocities perpetrated by the military and its militia proxies in East Timor in 1999 will no doubt inspire the notoriously corrupt and brutal Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) to act with virtual impunity in Aceh province, where troops are waging a campaign to destroy separatist rebels.
Indonesia's Golkar Party which was used by former President Suharto to impose decades of authoritarian rule, is undergoing a makeover. The party is even considering appointing one of Indonesia's most respected Islamic scholars, a man who played a central role in Suharto's overthrow, as its presidential candidate.
Presenter/Interviewer: Tricia Fitzgerald
Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Countrywide risk factors, legal risk, a weak banking sector and weak capital markets, community violence and the like, affect sentiment over doing business in Indonesia, but there are few factors more important on would-be investor's score cards than a regular and reliable supply of electrical power at an affordable price.
Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – State-owned electricity company PT PLN said that power reserves on Java and Bali had been depleted, but stopped short of saying there could be more blackouts in the future.
Jakarta – Still smarting from the loss of Sipadan and Ligitan islands, the government plans to resettle people from densely populated areas to 88 uninhabited islands on borders with neighbouring countries.
With incentives such as subsidies to start fishing and palm oil businesses, Jakarta hopes to persuade 300,000 people over a period of five years to make the move.
Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – Indonesia is rated the world's third worst country in its commitment against and law enforcement on women and child trafficking, with an estimated population of 230,000 women and child sex workers trafficked throughout Indonesia.
Moch. N. Kurniawan and Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta/Medan – More provinces in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi islands are showing hot spots, a strong indication of forest fires, with haze already shrouding some areas of these provinces.
International environmental organisation Greenpeace says Indonesia has the world's highest rate of forest loss and may see much of its lowland forest disappear by 2010.
In a new report, 'Partners in Crime', Greenpeace has investigated the links between Britain and Indonesia's timber barons. The report says the findings are alarming.
Jakarta – Some 5,000 people from the group, "Society Concerned with National Education" staged a rally in front of the House of Representatives here on Thursday, rejecting a House plan to approve the bill on education.
Jakarta – Sony Electronics Indonesia Ltd has ended its Indonesian operations and is offering severance pay to its 884 workers.
Wayne Arnold (New York Times) – Between separatist rebellions, corrupt courts, slumping tourism and rising youth unemployment, Indonesia has plenty to worry about.
Dili – Foreign donors have confirmed their support for the struggling new nation of East Timor, a World Bank spokesman said at the end of a semi-annual meeting here.
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and A'an Suryana, Jakarta – A visiting British minister warned on Wednesday that the use of HS-Hawk warplanes in the current military offensive against rebels in Aceh could damage military cooperation between the two countries.
Jakarta – The martial law administrator in Aceh has decided to close off Aceh waters to foreign ships, but has failed to communicate the move to the public.
John Roberts – Despite attempts by the Indonesian government to block information on the military's activities, it is becoming clear that the offensive by the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) in the northern-most province of Aceh against the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) involves a deliberate campaign of mass terror against the civilian population.
Anna Peltola, Stockholm – Rebels in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua hope the separatist war in distant Aceh will bring their demands into the international limelight, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Pip Hinman, Sydney – Lesley McCulloch, who spent five months in an Acehnese prison last year, said the current level of repression against ordinary Acehnese by the Indonesian military and police is "extreme".
Dili – East Timor President Xanana Gusmao said Wednesday his government would implement a plan that would make the impoverished nation agriculturally self-sufficient in five years.
"We now urgently need a phased program able to guide towards self-sufficiency in basic agricultural commodities," Gusmao said at a meeting with the World Bank in Dili.
James Balowski, Jakarta – Amid mounting reports of civilian casualties and human rights violations by Indonesia's armed forces (TNI), the government is moving to suppress opposition to the so-called "restoration of security" operation in Aceh, Indonesia's northern-most province.
Jakarta – On June 3 a number of press and non-government organisations from the Coalition for Violence Against Journalists (Koalisi Antikekerasan terhadap Wartawan) declared their concern over the repressive situation facing the press and the safety of journalists during the military operation in Aceh.
Two-thirds of East Timorese asylum seekers living in Darwin have been told they can stay in Australia, subject to further checks.
Federal Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock indicated that more than 1,500 East Timorese asylum seekers were expected to be granted permanent residency in Australia by October.
Jakarta – Governor Sutiyoso told Muslim preachers on Tuesday not to use mosques as a forum to rally people against the military operation now taking place in Aceh province.
Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Indonesia's military chiefs have accused seven soldiers of beating civilians in Aceh province, but say they have received no complaints and have no evidence of widely-reported killings of more than 20 unarmed villagers in the first week of a renewed offensive against pro-independence fighters.
Indonesia's attack on Aceh separatist rebels and the imposition of martial law in the province have brought new dangers for human rights activists, Amnesty International said.
More than 25,000 civilians are now living as refugees in Indonesia's Aceh province, where a major attack on separatist rebels continues, and the military said it may have forced some to quit their homes.
Banda Aceh – Students and other activists who support separatist guerillas in Indonesia's Aceh province will face subversion charges that can carry the death penalty, police warned yesterday. The authorities said they have a list of activists who support or assist the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), as well as evidence against them.
Dili – The creation of jobs to invigorate East Timor's feeble economy is the Dili government's main objective, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said Wednesday at the opening of an international donor conference in the Timorese capital.
Pip Hinman – Since Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri declared martial law in Aceh on May 19, defence minister Robert Hill and foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer have been repeating ad nauseum that it is in Australia's "national interest" to support the "territorial integrity" of Indonesia.
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The British government has questioned the use of HS-Hawk warplanes by Indonesia during the military operation against rebels in Aceh, saying the pre-purchase deal restricted the planes from offensive missions.
Relations between Indonesia and Sweden sink to a new low, over the fate of Aceh's rebel leaders. Some 50-exiled leaders of GAM or the Free Aceh Movement – live in and are citizens of Sweden, including GAM founder, Hasan di Tiro.
Washington (Agencies) – The following is a summary of results for Indonesia from the 2003 Global Attitudes Survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
Rachel Watts, Dili – As official celebrations took place in Dili on May 20 to mark the first anniversary of East Timor's independence, more than 120 demonstrators gathered outside the government palace to express solidarity with the Acehnese people.
Something is not quite right with this picture: Key Cabinet ministers arriving in their chauffeur-driven Volvo sedans to a Cabinet meeting on Monday to consider which direction to take on the status of Indonesia's relations with Sweden. It is not terribly ironic in itself that they are driven around in Volvos – a fine Swedish automobile.
Nick Everett, Jakarta – On May 19-21, more than 60 peace activists from 26 countries met at Hotel Wisata to assess the challenges faced by the global peace movement and to develop a plan of action. The conference coincided with the Indonesian government's resumption of its all-out war against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Average incomes across Bali are down 40 per cent, one in five Balinese is out of work, and children are increasingly dropping out of school, according to the first surveys on the impact of last October's bombings on Bali and neighbouring East Java and Lombok.
Robert Go, Jakarta – Tourist arrivals in Bali have recovered only to a third of the level that tourism experts had said it would. The monthly visitor figures for the resort stand at 60,000.
Robert Go, Jakarta – Major donors, who pledge billions of dollars in loans to Indonesia on a yearly basis, called on the government yesterday to start making progress on its reform promises.
Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said he would intervene to grant 379 East Timorese asylum seekers permanent residency in Australia. He said he had made the decision to intervene before the Labor Party began suggestions he had been bribed to grant visas.
East Timor's court system could take months to clear a backlog of cases relating to the bloodshed before and after the United Nations-backed ballot for independence in 1999.
The landslide vote to break away from 24 years of Indonesian rule unleashed a wave of killing and destruction by gangs of pro-Jakarta militia which were backed by elements of the Indonesian military.
Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – Indonesia's traditional donors grouped under the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) have welcomed the country's macroeconomic improvements, but warn that slow progress in structural reform could impede economic growth.
Police in Indonesia's Aceh province said they were hunting civilian activists suspected of supporting separatist rebels.
"We will use the [criminal code] article on subversion, which carries up to the death sentence, against them," said Sayed Husaini, police spokesman in the province where a major military assault on the rebels is in its third week.
Kevin McQuillan and agencies – Indonesian authorities in Aceh have rejected requests from about 10 overseas journalists to cover the war.
The Marshall law Administrator, Major General Endang Suwarya, says he does not need "foreign observers" in the province.
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said on Monday it would investigate over 20 cases of alleged rights violations in Aceh during the first two weeks of military operations in the province.
Jakarta, Kompas – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has found strong indications of human rights violations – including the murder of civilians since the emergency military operation in Aceh came into force.
R. William Liddle – How likely is it that Indonesia will once again be ruled by the Indonesian Military (TNI)?
Darren Goodsir, Denpasar – Waving his arms and yelling at his lawyers to respond to his religious chants, Imam Samudra – the alleged brains behind the Bali bombings – strolled into court on the first day of his trial yesterday, displaying his now-familiar bravado.
Public demand for action to uncover the mystery behind the 1998 May riots that led to the downfall of the Suharto regime apparently still has a long way to go before it achieves success.