John Aglionby, Jakarta – Hundreds of people have been killed in two weeks of ethnic unrest in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan in Borneo, a military source said yesterday.
Other reports said Indonesian soldiers had shot 17 people in quelling the violence between indigenous tribes and migrants from Madura, an island north-east of Java.
Jakarta – The Indonesian military has banned a book by two dissident groups about the July 27 riot in Jakarta that killed five people, the official news agency Antara said Thursday.
"The July 27 Incident," released in January, accused President Suharto's government of fueling a power struggle within an opposition party that led to the violence.
Kuching – The Sarawak-West Kalimantan border post at Tebedu, 100km from here, was reopened at noon yesterday, about 10 days after the gate was closed to control the movement of people following racial riots on the Indonesian side.
An Immigration Department official at the Tebedu checkpoint said the police instructed them to reopen it.
Around one-hundred people are believed to have been detained by authorities in East Timor, following more than a week of unrest. Church sources say rioting was sparked by military heavyhandedness in the Viqueque district.
Indonesia correspondent Michael Maher reports:
Jakarta – Militant Muslim leaders in Indonesia have attacked as insufficient a planned government decree which will limit sales of alcoholic drinks, a newspaper said Thursday.
It has all the hallmarks of a great saga: members of Indonesia's most powerful political family vying for control of a spectacular treasure, with most of the international intrigue going on behind the scenes. LOUISE WILLIAMS reports on the battle to mine Busang, the world's richest gold deposit.
David Hencke – The Foreign Office is investigating allegations that the Indonesian government has broken its undertaking not to use British-made water cannon and armoured vehicles to crush peaceful dissent.
Tomas Caiware (35), Fransisco Ximenes (28), Celestino Jerronimo, Armindo Soares (30), Gaspar Pinto (19), Agostinho Orlandor (19), Evangel Menezes (22), Fransisco Jesus (18), Armando (25), Paulo (28), Paulo Soares (27), Adelino (27), Agustinho da Silva (19), Gaspar (18), Acacio (20), Napoleon Amaral (27), Luis (27), Luis (20), DomiNGOs Pinto (22), Eduardo Amaral (20), Alberto (16), L
Jakarta – A supporter of Indonesia's ousted opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri has been named as a suspect for allegedly organizing an illegal meeting at her home, a daily reported here Wednesday.
Jakarta – The House of Representatives will pass the controversial bill on nuclear power in its plenary meeting scheduled assage omittefor Feb. 26, a legislator said yesterday.
Jakarta – Ethnic unrest in a troubled Indonesian province has left dozens of people dead since the start of the year, a military source told AFP Wednesday, as unconfirmed independent figures put casualties in the hundreds. "Dozens of people have died since the start of the unrest," said a source in the military information office here, who declined to be identified.
Mataram – Army Chief of Staff General R Hartono has called for continued efforts to "socialize" the presence of alert posts to balance the fact that certain quarters in the country were still questioning the legality of their formation.
Speaking to the press here on Sunday, Hartono said actually there was no fundamental problem in the presence of the alert posts.
The Australian government has approved a massive oil project in the Timor Sea, involving the world's biggest offshore floating oil production facility.
Federal Resources Minister, Warwick Parer, issued a production licence for the Laminaria and Corallina oil fields, which are believed to contain 200 million barrels of oil.
Craig Skehan – New Zealand had created a foreign policy "headache" for Australia by revealing that it did not believe Indonesia's incorporation of East Timor was irreversible, according to a confidential foreign affairs department cable.
Michael Shari, Jakarta – Indonesian labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan looks remarkably calm for a man who could soon face a long prison sentence or even the death penalty. He's on trial in Jakarta for insulting President Suharto – a capital crime – and no one has ever been acquitted on that charge.
Ian McPhedran – The Indonesian Government has been severely embarrassed by a campaign of misinformation in the wake of a visit to Canberra last week by Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos Horta.
S N Vasuki – Indonesian banks are suffering a long-expected shakeout as higher capital requirements and increased competition force gut-wrenching change in the industry.
In recent weeks, several banks have announced merger plans while larger, listed entities are on a cash-raising binge to boost their capital levels.
Jakarta – The Jakarta High Court has returned the case file of Romo Sandyawan SJ and his brother Benny Sumardi to the Metro Jaya police on the grounds that it is not enough to present in court.
Jakarta – The arrest and trial of an activist caught with copies of a banned magazine was Saturday branded by a human rights watch dog as the latest assault on freedom of expression in Indonesia.
Jakarta – A prominent Indonesian Moslem leader known as a frequent government critic has made the surprising move of cooperating with President Suharto's oldest daughter, news reports said Saturday.
Jakarta – The Indonesian province of West Kalimantan remained tense Saturday following days of ethnic unrest, with the authorities barring street processions for the Moslem Idul Fitri celebrations Sunday.
"Pontianak (West Kalimantan's capital) is calm but still tense. We continue to have neighborhood patrols at night," a resident told AFP by telephone.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas had brushed off reports that a team from the U.S. is to come in Jakarta to inves tigate alleged illegal foreign campaign donations, saying it would be better to conduct an inquiry in America rather than come all the way to Indonesia.
Bandung – At least three persons suspected of instigating the Tasikmalaya riot on December 26 have been questioned by the provincial attorney's office.
Deputy chief of the West Java attorney's office, Armin Aribowo, told ANTARA Wednesday that his office is still searching for MH(24), another suspect who went into hiding right after the riot.
Jakarta – Indonesia must be vigilant of maneuvers by the international communist network which wants to play one side off against the other with issues of tribe, religion, race and inter-group (SARA) along with human rights to split the nation, said the head of the Indonesian Islamic Scholars Association (ICMI), B.J. Habibie.
Jakarta – The government-appointed National Commission on Human Rights will investigate allegations that military personnel raped an East Timorese woman last year, an English-language newspaper said Friday.
Pontianak – New unrest broke out in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province despite a security clampdown, sources said Friday.
Pontianak – The large Chinese community in the troubled Indonesian province of West Kalimantan celebrated the Lunar New Year on Friday in solemn mood.
124 Napier St Fitzroy 3065 Australia.PO BOX 1413 Collingwood 3066 AustraliaTel: 61 3 9415 8225 Fax: 61 3 9416 2746E-mail: etchrmel@peg.apc.org
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Ref: UA 3/977 February 1997
Names:
The recent ruling announced by Waluyo, the deputy secretary general of the General Elections Institute that all campaign television speeches broadcast in the run-up to the upcoming general elections must be screened by the government before they go on air, sounds familiar.
Jakarta – Megawati Sukarnoputri, a member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, yesterday did not comply with a summons by the South Jakarta District Police to be interrogated over the holding of a political meeting at her residence on Kebagusan Road in South Jakarta on 10 January.
Jakarta – The head of the Jakarta Police, Hamani Nata said that if Megawati and her husband, Taufiq Kiemas, are called twice and do not fulfill the order, both of them can be brought forcibly by the police.
Jakarta – Prosecutors have demanded that an Indonesian court ignore an appeal by defence lawyers and continue the trial of three Moslem radicals charged with sowing hatred against the government, a report said Friday.
Jakarta – Minister for Women's Affairs Mien Sugandhi will soon leave for Saudi Arabia to probe into an allegation that hundreds of Indonesian women are working as prostitutes in the Middle East country.
Indonesian stocks rose to a record as investors continued to warm to Indonesia's improving economic picture and the outlook for faster profit growth in the coming year.
Canberra – The family of Indonesian President Suharto jumped to ninth on an annual ranking of Asia's richest people published yesterday – up from 93rd last year – with a combined wealth estimated at US$6.3 billion (S$8.9 billion).
Han Jei, Moluccan archipelago, Indonesia – "Blast" and poison fishing and the growing use of dragnets are threatening traditionally abundant fisheries in Indonesia's Moluccas islands.
The practices are not simply indiscriminately killing fish but are also depleting coral reefs and the rest of the underwater ecosystem.
The word is finally out. On Jan. 23, Indonesia's best-known Muslim leader (and anti-establishment figure) Abdurrahman Wahid announced that he was inviting Suharto's daughter Siti Hardyanti Rukmana ("Tutut"), a leading member of the ruling Golkar party, to appear with him at religious schools loyal to his 300-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama organization.
Jakarta – The presiding judge of Central Jakarta State Court trying the case of Budiman Sujatmiko, the chair of the PRD, Sjoffinan Sumantri has asked the public prosecutor to have Bambang Widjojanto appear as a witness.
Jakarta – A private company set up last year by Indonesian President Suharto to finance the country's first passenger jet project plans to go public Feb. 17 and is looking for a clear and simple way to offer its shares, the state-run news agency Antara said Thursday.
Jakarta – Indonesian authorities suspect four men of inciting a violent riot in the West Java town of Tasikmalaya last December which left four people dead, a report said Thursday.
Pontianak – Tension was running high Thursday in a flashpoint district of this Indonesian provincial capital amid mounting fears of a fresh outbreak of ethnic violence.
Groups of indigenous Dayak people were seen Wednesday night patrolling the city's northern Siantan district where many of them live.
Security forces were conducting random checks of identity papers.
[It is interesting to note that "self-determination" is not included in ACFOA's recommendations - JB]
The Australian Council for Overseas Aid today welcomed the decision of the Foreign Minister, Mr Alexander Downer, to meet with Mr Jose Ramos Horta in Adelaide on Friday 14 February, 1997.
Bandung – Legal action has been taken against those involved in a riot at PT [Company Limited] Kahatek. "Police have arrested 17 persons," Police Major General Nana Permana, West Java Provincial Police chief, said after a rally by members of the Indonesian Association of Children of Retired Military Personnel.
Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – The talk about A takeover began to emerge among Jakarta journalists in September, after businessman Peter Gontha signed an agreement that let him take control of The Indonesian Observer and reportedly approached veteran journalists to edit the English-language newspaper.
Organizations Participating in the Election (OPP) stated their disagreement with the election rules regulated by decrees issued by the minister of internal affairs and the minister of information. In addition to damaging the OPPs, especially the political parties, regulation by those two decrees will also reduce the independence and autonomy of the OPPs themselves.
Indonesia, with a population of 200 million in 1997, has been struggling to reduce income inequalities and social disparities among its diverse ethnic groups inhabiting the country's 13,000 islands. Chronic poverty is the worst kind of social unrest and political instability are not to disturb national development.
Jakarta – Indonesian pro-democracy leader Megawati Sukarnoputri on Thursday rejected a police summons for questioning over a celebration held by supporters at her residence.
Authorities said the Jan. 10 celebration was an 'illegal political gathering.'
PT Dua Satu Tiga Puluh (DSTP) which will fund the engineering development and construction planning of the jet aircraft N-2130, produced by PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nasional (IPTN) will reach the breakeven point when 326 aircraft units are produced in the year 2013.
S N Vasuki – Indonesia reported higher inflation and a sharply lower trade surplus yesterday in line with the expectations of most economists.
But economists cautioned that the continued fall in non-oil exports was a worrying sign of an erosion in the country's competitiveness.
S N Vasuki – Indonesia's Lippo Group has positioned itself as a major player in the retail sector with last week's acquisition of a 50.1 per cent stake in PT Matahari Putra Prima which runs the country's largest department store chain.