The recent appeals court acquittal of twelve soldiers convicted last year of the 1984 massacre of demonstrators in Jakarta shows the almost complete failure of Indonesia's human rights courts, Human Rights Watch said today.

Jakarta – Police arrested three people on Sunday for allegedly provoking violence during a rally at the State Palace against a decree on land seizures.

With its Gucci-filled shopping malls, Indonesia's capital shares the emerging superficial affluence of many other Asian cities, but while many in Jakarta are now better off, new wealth has brought an embarrassing and unusual side-effect: child malnutrition.

New York – A US-based human rights group on Monday blasted an Indonesian appeal court's decision to overturn the convictions of 12 soldiers in the massacre of Muslim protestors in 1984.

The court ruling "shows the almost complete failure of Indonesia's human rights courts," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement.

Jakarta – Hundreds of teachers who have been working for the government on a contract basis demanded permanent status as the government plans to hire some 300,000 new public servants this year.

They said that at least 70 percent of the new permanent teaching jobs should be allocated to them, particularly those whose contracts would expire this year.

Ridarson Galingging, Jakarta – The government is expected to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ratification will make the ICCPR a binding legal instrument that can be enforced domestically.

Riyadi Suparno, Jakarta – The rupiah's plunge over the past few weeks may not have spoiled last weekend's wedding party for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's son, but it could eventually undermine his government.

Hera Diani, Bogor – The Bojong waste treatment plant case, the 20 year-old unresolved Kedung Ombo land eviction case, land confiscation by military officers in Sidoarjo, East Java – these are just a few drops in the ocean of flawed justice in this country.

The Constitutional Court's unanimous ruling last Thursday that Law No. 19/2004 on forestry is constitutional certainly disappointed and angered environmentalists as the ruling boils down to a license for a number of firms to conduct open-pit mining in protected forests.

Jim Lobe, Washington – A recent appeals court decision to acquit 12 soldiers convicted last year of a notorious 1984 massacre in Jakarta could complicate efforts by the administration of US President George W. Bush to normalise military ties with the Southeast Asian nation.

Tomi Soetjipto – Sun-bathing topless on Bali's famed Kuta beach, Joanna Lee seems unfazed by the sight of giggling Indonesian tourist policemen buzzing by on a golf cart.

"We're happy that tourism in Bali is back because our job is more fun now," says police officer I Wayan Karna, laughing and joking with a colleague about sun-loving travelers.

Jakarta – Environmental organizations have slammed the recent Constitutional Court verdict allowing mining companies to continue operations in protected forests, saying it set a bad precedent and would create more environmental destruction.

In a joint statement, the NGOs which lost the court battle said the judges were inconsistent in their stance on environmental issues.

Muhammad Nafik and ID Nugroho, Malang – In a foregone conclusion, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) secretary-general Din Syamsuddin was officially declared the new chairman of Muhammadiyah here on Thursday after winning unanimous support from the newly elected executive board of the country's second biggest Muslim organization.

Jakarta – The government is moving toward closure in the case against US giant Newmont Mining Corp. subsidiary over the alleged pollution of Buyat Bay in Sulawesi with the two parties seeking an out-of-court settlement.

Muhammad Nafik, Malang, East Java – In villages across Java, you will rarely find Muhammadiyah Muslims and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslims praying together in the same mosque. It is even rarer to find them living peacefully alongside members of different religions.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court has cleared the way for 13 mining companies to resume mining in protected forests, citing the government's need to improve the investment climate in the country.

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – Although the government claims otherwise, Indonesia remains the least attractive among East Asian countries for foreign direct investment (FDI).

An Indonesian appeal court has overturned the convictions of 12 soldiers for massacring Muslim protestors in 1984, a lawyer for the soldiers said, a move likely to anger rights activists.

Jakarta – Following a political move by lawmakers to push for the reopening of the investigations into shooting incidents in 1998 and 1999, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has urged a new probe into another gross human rights violation, that shootings in Tanjung Priok in 1984.

Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is the first faction in the House of Representatives to openly oppose the controversial proposal for a hike in the salary and allowances of legislators.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Four presidents and seven years since the fall of Suharto's authoritarian regime in Indonesia, his New Order acolytes are still cast as the dalang, the unseen master controlling the characters in Javanese shadow puppet shows.

Jakarta – The government has decided to continue the construction of a controversial highway project in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, but will create a new route to avoid passing through a conservation forest area known as the Leuser Ecosystem.

Kupang/Yogya/Batam/Samarinda/Jambi/Manado – The price of premium gasoline soared by up to 500 percent in some provinces on Wednesday as the country's fuel shortage bit deeper, with the National Police stationing officers at gas stations around the country to prevent outbreaks of violence among frustrated customers.

In recent weeks, there has been much talk about efforts to eradicate poverty. The Jakarta Post's Hera Diani talked to H.S. Dillon, executive director of the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia, about poverty eradication and the effectiveness of running programs.

Question: There have been so many poverty eradication programs, but few seem to work.

Eva C. Komandjaja and Blontank Poer, Jakarta, Surakarta – The National Police announced on Tuesday that 11 out of 17 alleged terrorists arrested last week had been officially charged as suspects in relation to a string of terror activities around the country, including the deadly bomb blast in front of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta last year.

Masduki Attamami, Antara, Yogyakarta – Direct regional elections have taken place around the country, and despite some protests they have in general been orderly and peaceful.

James Balowski, Jakarta – "Based on everything we have obtained, the [National Intelligence] Agency [BIN] is believed to have played a major role in a well-planned conspiracy to murder Munir", Asmara Nababan, the deputy chairperson of the Fact Finding Team (TPF) investigating the renowned human-rights activist told Agence France Presse on June 23.

James Balowski, Jakarta – After criticisms that intelligence agencies had failed to prevent a May 28 deadly bomb blast at a crowded market in central Sulawesi, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered regional governments to revive the Regional Intelligence Coordinating Body (Bakorinda) – a network of intelligence offices used to quell dissent to the Suharto dictatorship.

The House of Representatives' Commission III on law and human rights agreed recently to reopen the investigation into the shootings of students who staged antigovernment protests in Jakarta in 1998 and 1999.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – At least 50 members of religious hard-line group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) sought an explanation from Governor Sutiyoso about the latter's stance on gambling and transsexuals.

ID Nugroho, Malang – The gender issue could become a serious problem for Muhammadiyah, which claims to be a modern Islamic organization, with all of the 39 nominees selected as eligible candidates to vie for its top posts in the organization being men.

Muhammad Nafik, Malang – Despite its pledge to stay away from politics, Muhammadiyah says its decision to give its support to last year's failed presidential bid by Amien Rais was not a violation of its nonpartisanship.

Dan Eaton – An Indonesian murder mystery set in the skies and involving spies, arsenic poisoning and the national airline is becoming a dramatic test of democracy in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Jakarta – Indonesia's production of dry un-hulled rice is forecast to slide 2 per cent to 53.10 million tons this year from last year because of a decline in harvest area.

Floods and drought would contribute to the decline in addition to a change in the planting season, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – They come, stay a while, murmur a few words, laugh, leave and get paid.

A few of the House of Representatives lawmakers do raise their voices and deliver critical points, but most of the time they are overshadowed by a host of others who are busy with their cellular phones and cigarettes, or just taking a comfortable nap.

Harry Bhaskara, Surabaya – The loudspeaker in the office, half the size of a village classroom, was blaring; while graphics, projected on the wall, showed the preliminary results of ballot counting.

Victor Tjahjadi, Jakarta – A delicate balancing act of resisting international concern over past atrocities while appealing for foreign military help has begun to pay off for Indonesia with Washington on course to revive ties frozen due to human rights violations.

[Indonesia in the Soeharto Years. John H. McGlynn, Jeffrey Hadler, Bambang Bujono, Margaret Glade Agusta, Gedsiri Suhartono, et al. The Lontar Foundation. 507 pp.]

Reporter: Tim Palmer

Hamish Robertson: When Tommy Suharto, the mega rich son of Indonesia's former dictator, was sent to jail for organising the assassination of the judge who'd been investigating him, many saw it as a hopeful sign. At last, it seemed, a new Indonesia was emerging where no one was above the law.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Defending its stance over the privatization program, the government has asked for public understanding for its plans to sell state firms that make little contribution to the state, arguing it would eventually benefit the economy in general.

Jakarta – A surge in demand for industrial products and high global metal prices caused exports in the first five months of the year to jump 30.79 percent from the same period last year, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

The central government has ordered local administrations to protect the interests of foreign investors by extending a helping hand to settle disputes, including those related to property ownership, said Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Jakarta – Students at religious and private schools fared worse in the national examinations than their state-school counterparts, while the low quality of teachers nationwide is cause for concern, an official says.

Retired four-star Army general Abdullah Makhmud Hendropriyono is likely to remain in the spotlight, as the government-sanctioned fact-finding team (TPF) has submitted its report to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on its investigation into the murder of human rights activist Munir.

Jakarta – The government will "right-size" or find the most appropriate form for 145 state-owned companies to optimize their profitability and operational cost efficiency, State Enterprises Minister Sugiharto disclosed the plan after a a meeting of 10 ministers led by Vice President Jusuf Kalla here Thursday.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Haj pilgrims will have to pay more in the upcoming haj season, even though the government has recorded Rp 525 billion (US$54.17 million) in unused haj funds from the last pilgrimage.

Several Muslim militants have been arrested in Indonesia in connection with a series of bloody attacks on Western targets in the country in recent years, police and media reports said Friday.

Police chief Gen. Dai Bachtiar declined to discuss the arrests in detail until the suspects had undergone questioning. He indicated the interrogations would take a week to complete.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House secretariat has proposed awarding legislators generous increases in salaries and allowances, despite the generally poor performance of the lawmakers.

Jakarta – Over 1,000 street vendors from across the city protested in front of City Hall on Thursday over a series of evictions.

The demonstration caused serious traffic congestion as the vendors marched from Jl. Kramat Raya to Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan.

Jongker Rumteh, Buyat – Some 66 families living in Buyat Bay decided to take their fate in their own hands, relocating from their homes in Ratatotok district, South Minahasa regency to a new location in Duminanga subdistrict in Bolaang Mangondow regency, some 130 kilometers away.