Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The government's campaign against graft seems to be coming unstuck at the prosecutor's office, with a mountain of cases still to be tried. A paltry two of about 2,000 corruption cases have been processed in the past six years, head of the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office Rusdi Taher said Wednesday.

Jakarta – About 3,000 workers took to the streets outside Merdeka Palace on Wednesday to show their opposition to a plan by the government and the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) to revise the 2003 Labor Law.

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – Calm returned to Ambon on Tuesday following a weekend of violence between police and military personnel that left one police officer and one soldier dead, and one civilian injured.

Residents have resumed their daily routines in the conflict-torn city, and joint police and military patrols are helping to keep the peace.

Jakarta – The government should take the fight against graft to the regions where malfeasance is still widespread among officials, the National Coalition of NGOs against Corruption says.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Legislation protecting state secrets should be passed before the freedom of information bill is made law, or there could be complications, the government says.

Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – Following complaints from local manufacturers over the extent of recent reductions in import duties, the Finance Ministry's tariffs committee will accommodate further requests for lower duties on imported raw materials, an official has said.

Jakarta – Cases of violence against women sharply increased last year and it is feared they will soar in the future with more regions introducing shariah bylaws, which trample on women's rights, a report says.

Zaky Almubarok, Jakarta – The government is targeting to send 700,000 Indonesian overseas contract workers this year, an increase of 225,900 compared to last year's total of 474.310.

"They will be placed in Japan, Korea, Australia, and other countries," said the Minister of Manpower & Transmigration, Erman Suparno, in Jakarta yesterday (8/3).

Jakarta – The business community, tired of the government failing to deliver on promises, is demanding it come through this time by implementing its latest economic policy package to increase investment and infrastructure development in the country.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Edward "Edo" Hutabarat held up the coffee-table book he wrote on traditional Indonesian fashion, including attire with plunging necklines and tightly cinched corsets, during a House of Representatives hearing on the pornography bill.

[The Battle of the Banners is underway in Surabaya and many other cities. They scream "SAY NO TO DRUGS". They're part of Indonesia's war against narcotics – a conflict doomed to fail, according to experts. The Jakarta Post contributor in Surabaya Duncan Graham reports.]

Dozens of employees of Klub Golf Senayan in Central Jakarta demonstrate on Tuesday outside the management's office.

The gardeners, housekeepers, waitresses and security guards demanded a transportation and a meals allowance on top of their basic salary.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – In a closely watched, highly contentious court case, a German bank is in the dock in an ongoing legal battle against a Singapore-registered company over ownership of Indonesian assets that are now partly owned by the Singaporean government.

P.O. Box 15774, Washington, DC 20003

8 March 2006

Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
US Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Via Facsimile 202-647-7350

Dear Mr. Assistant Secretary:

Ratih Syara Maretta, Jakarta – Wednesday March 8 is International Women's Day. A number of beautiful and stylish women wearing sun-glasses and hats commemorated IWD by holding an action opposing the Draft Anti-Pornography Bill (RUU APP).

Jakarta – Commemorating International Women's Day which falls on March 8, today, thousands of women in Jakarta held an action at the State Palace and the House of Representatives (DPR).

Jakarta – Around 100 women activists from the Women's Anti-Poverty Movement (GPAK) held a peaceful action at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday March 8 to commemorate International Women's Day.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Hundreds of students in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held an action commemorating International Women's Day on March 8 where they expressed their opposition to the Draft Anti-Pornography Bill (RUU APP).

Radzie, Banda Aceh – Acehnese women are asking to be involved in the process of public policy making in Aceh. In addition to this they are also calling for the enforcement of Islamic law not just be for women but for crimes such as corruption.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Jakarta military commander Major General Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo is asking the public to be on guard against the reemergence of the communist movement. This can be seen from their activities that have become increasingly noticeable of late.

Fadli, Batam – Entertainment and tourism businesspeople in Batam expressed their concerns Monday over the controversial pornography bill following a meeting with a House special committee, but received little assurance their worries would be addressed.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The House of Representatives should exercise extra caution before passing the pornography bill into law because many of its contentious articles have not been resolved, a respected Muslim cleric says.

Jakarta/Ambon – An Ambon Police officer was questioned Monday following a clash between police and military personnel which sparked a weekend of violence in which two people died.

Two Indonesians suspected of having links to the Bali bombings and an attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta are being interrogated in East Java.

News of their arrest came as the Indonesian parliament ratified two international treaties the government says will help it fight the global war on terrorism.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – A band of former 1980s student activists have joined the chorus of protests against the mining industry here, demanding the government review all work contracts with mining companies.

Jakarta – Following the arrests of two soldiers Saturday for transporting marijuana, the Marine Corps conceded Monday that at least four other marines could be involved.

It vowed to take stern measures against any member of the marines who was transporting or selling drugs.

Jakarta – The Indonesian army has lost 129 billion rupiah (14 million dollars) in an alleged embezzlement scheme involving a colonel and an official from the state bank Mandiri, it has been reported.

During the years of bloodshed in Maluku and North Maluku one of the most fervent wishes of residents was for law enforcers to do their jobs, and do them properly. At one point "An eye for an eye" became a common motto and the Ambonese feared for their survival, with the death of at least 6,000 people out of a total population of about 2.1 million in the two provinces.

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – At a glance, there was nothing significant about the proposal by departing Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto that soldiers be allowed to exercise their right to vote in the 2009 general election.

Triono Wahyu Sudibyo, Semarang – Among the convicts interned at the Nusakambangan Correctional Institution, it's likely that Hutomo Mandala Putra alias 'Tommy' Suharto is the most fortunate. Sentenced to 15 years jail, every year he consistently gets extraordinarily large remissions. But most surprising is that Tommy gets permission to leave the jail every month. Cool!

A looming morality crackdown in Indonesia may spare Bali so bikini-clad tourists are not arrested on the beach.

A special committee in Indonesia's parliament is reviewing proposed laws to ban pornography, erotic dancing and even adults kissing in public across the mainly Muslim nation.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Following a visit by legislators to Bali, Batam and Papua to gauge public opinion on the pornography bill, it's still a guessing game whether there will be major changes to the controversial bill.

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Household goods manufacturing company PT Maspion has been hit by the double blow of cheaper products from China and Vietnam, and a massive strike by workers demanding higher pay.

Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – With the failure to properly address recurring transshipment and dumping allegations against Indonesian businesses, analysts say the government should learn that it's better to act now than pay later.

Jakarta – Observers of the country's judicial system have suggested a one-roof process under the Anticorruption Court, viewing the current system as failing in the prosecution of corruption cases.

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – Peace was shattered in conflict-torn Ambon in Maluku province when a soldier was stabbed to death Saturday and in a separate incident, a student was seriously injured when the police allegedly shot into a crowd of people.

Jakarta – The deadly avian influenza virus continues to take its toll on the population as the government discusses the formation of a national commission on bird flu.

Jakarta – Thousands of Muslims took to the streets of the Indonesian capital and marched towards the US embassy, denouncing Washington as the enemy of Islam and calling on Jakarta to embrace Sharia law.

Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, Denpasar – Balinese involved in the tourist industry are increasingly worried about the imminent threat of massive layoffs due to the drastic drop in tourist arrivals on the island.

Four months after Bali was rocked by suicide bombings on Oct. 1, 2005, the tourist industry has yet to bounce back.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – The Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has intervened in the growing controversy surrounding Papua's giant Freeport mine, warning that continuing, violent demonstrations could scare off investors, and questioning the protesters' motives.

As if to keep up with other regions in the campaign for moral values, the Tangerang municipality is promoting what it calls "morality building" by enforcing anti-alcohol and anti-prostitution regulations through a series of raids.

I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar – About 1,000 protesters here greeted a visiting delegation of legislators deliberating the pornography bill by threatening to organize acts of civil disobedience if it becomes law.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The anti-discrimination bill currently before the House of Representatives is too narrow in scope and will do little to end unfavorable treatment against minority groups, say legislators, analysts and activists.

Jakarta – The Jakarta administration conceded Thursday that high levels of overcrowding and low levels of staffing in city prisons may have left the door wide open for four inmates to escape from Cipinang Penitentiary on Tuesday.

Jakarta – A US envoy said that ongoing reform in Indonesia's powerful armed forces (TNI) was on the right path and the United States wanted to provide more support for the changes ahead.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The Bandung Military Court sentenced Chief Pvt. Yuli Harsono on Thursday to four years in prison for illegal possession of explosives, which he was planning to give to a militant Muslim group, the Indonesian Mujahiddin Council (MMI).

The court also ordered that Yuli be dishonorably discharged from the Indonesian Military (TNI).

The stated motives behind the series of recent street demonstrations by Papuans in Jayapura, Jakarta, Semarang and Makassar, demanding the closure of Freeport's giant mine in Papua, are said to be because the mine does not benefit the local people. But such complaints are highly questionable, even mind-boggling.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – The 1958 Law on Citizenship is doing more to harm Indonesian families than it does to help or protect them, experts say.

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – Poso Regent Piet Ingkiriwang might be experiencing sleepless nights after residents and civil servants in the Central Sulawesi town continued protesting against him Wednesday following a report that his university degree was issued by a questionable institution.

Australia's decision to buy long-range stealth cruise missiles for the RAAF will make Jakarta "feel safer", a senior Indonesian defence official said. The comment was another sign of warming defence ties between the two neighbours.