[Department of Defense News Briefing Torie Clarke, ASD (PA) Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 12:00 p.m. EST. Also participating was Air Force Brig. Gen. John W. Rosa, Jr., deputy director for current operations, Operations Directorate, the Joint Staff.]

Jakarta – Noted lawyer and founder of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) Adnan Buyung Nasution resigned on Tuesday from the Indonesian Military (TNI) defense lawyer team for East Timor human rights case, saying that he wouldconcentrate more on the consolidation of LBH.

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Hundreds of students and young people from a number of universities and non-governmental organizations rallied on Tuesday to demand that all officials implicated in a prominent smuggling case in Cirebon resign.

The incident involved 19 shipping containers, which contained luxury cars and electronic equipment.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – More than 500 workers of PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) marched to the state railway company's headquarters in the West Java capital of Bandung in yet another move to pressure the newly installed president director to resign.

[The following statement was issued on March 8 by Dita Sari, chairperson of the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggles (FNPBI).]

Tangerang – Some 250 workers of PT Sandang Indo Pratama staged a protest rally at the Municipal Manpower Agency's offices on Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan I on Tuesday, demanding the dismissal of the company's production supervisor.

Catharine Munro, Jakarta – Indonesia's top military brass descended on a courthouse in Jakarta yesterday to give moral support to a group of low-level commanders accused of human rights abuses in East Timor.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Islands), which became a new regency in November 2001, has been unable to stop illegal trawling and dynamite fishing that is severely damaging its coral reefs.

Indonesia finally has begun prosecuting the military soldiers, police officers and government officials in charge of East Timor in 1999, the year the territory overwhelmingly voted to become an independent nation.

Jakarta – A member of Indonesia's once omnipotent Suharto clan goes on trial for his life Wednesday amid heavy security in a case certain to cause a storm of interest.

Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, youngest son of the former dictator Suharto, is accused of murdering of a judge, possessing weapons and fleeing from justice. The first two offences are punishable by death.

Rendi A. Witular and A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Some 3,000 students from various universities staged a protest rally demanding the formation of a special House of Representatives inquiry into the alleged misuse of State Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds, in which House Speaker Akbar Tandjung is implicated.

Debbie A.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Detained Parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tandjung looks set to be ditched by his Golkar party in a move to avoid a damning probe into a financial scandal that could implicate several other party leaders.

Jakarta – Two international press freedom groups have strongly criticised the Indonesian government's decision to ban an Australian correspondent from working in the country.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia's longest-running television station, the state-owned Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI), may go off air if it fails to pay the millions of dollars it owes to a satellite operator.

Ignatius Stephen in Bandar Seri Begawan – Some 76,000 Indonesian workers, including those deported from Malaysia, have turned to Brunei to look for jobs as tailors, construction workers, drivers and cleaners, among others.

Manila – Two of the three Indonesians arrested in the Philippines last week have claimed links with leading political parties, police sources said yesterday.

Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – The government on Monday stood by its decision to ban an Australian journalist whose reports on rights abuses included an article alleging that Indonesian soldiers poured boiling water over a baby.

Jakarta – It hurts to see Indonesia being tagged as the most corrupt nation in Asia, said President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday while calling on Indonesians to work hard to shed the image.

Jakarta – A leading Australian media group said Sunday its correspondent had been barred from working in Indonesia because of his reporting on human rights issues.

The "Sydney Morning Herald" (SMH) and its affiliated newspaper "The Age" said they were "gravely troubled and deeply regret" the decision to refuse Lindsay Murdoch an extension of his working visa.

Vaudine England, Yogyakarta – Revelations from Australian spy transcripts on the degree to which senior generals directed the violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 independence vote have failed to stir public debate.

Jakarta – FBI director Robert Mueller has praised Indonesia's efforts against terrorism and says he is looking forward to more cooperation with law enforcers from the world's most populous Muslim country.

Don Greenlees, Jakarta – Police chief Timbul Silaen is only hours away from a crowded courtroom in Jakarta, where prosecutors will accuse him of condoning mass murder.

It is a moment that has haunted him since the day Indonesia's attorney-general added his name to a list of 22 people accused of taking party in the destruction of East Timor in 1999.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesian civil servants will be asked to get their urine tested for drugs, and the results could affect their performance appraisal.

Catharine Munro, Jakarta – Indonesia began landmark trials focused on human rights abuses in East Timor yesterday, with two high-ranking officials answering charges of crimes against humanity.

Dan Murphy, Jakarta – Munir had dreamed of this day for years, and as head of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), he had helped to bring it about: the nation's first trial of senior leaders for crimes against humanity, committed in East Timor in 1999.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – In an encouraging sign that Indonesia is willing to prosecute even top officials for corruption, central bank governor Sjahril Sabirin was yesterday sentenced to three years in prison and fined 15 million rupiah (S$2,700) over a bank scam.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Wielding sticks and swords, hundreds of supporters of City Governor Sutiyoso threatened and chased away dozens of flood victims who staged a protest in front of City Hall on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Jakarta – A landmark Indonesian human rights court on Thursday began hearing its first case concerning atrocities in East Timor in 1999, with former governor Abilio Soares accused of failing to prevent the massacre of more than 100 people by militia gangs.

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – Foreign lenders have questioned Vice President Hamzah Haz's plan to announce an economic recovery program, fearing it could push aside reforms agreed on with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an economist said.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Human rights activists were cautioned on Wednesday of what they called an escalation of terror against them after dozens of people attacked the office building of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on Jl. Mendut in Central Jakarta.

Jakarta – US investment firm Farallon has won the bidding to buy Bank Central Asia (BCA), Indonesia's largest retail bank, the government said Thursday.

In January 2000, the United Nations International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor and the Indonesian government's own human rights commission both found the Indonesian military responsible for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor in 1999. The UN commission called for the establishment of an international tribunal.

Jakarta – The country's long-delayed human rights trial commences on Thursday amid public skepticism that justice will be done to those responsible for gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999.

Jakarta – Indonesia's economy will grow by up to 3.8 percent this year and inflation will be fall to 9.5 percent under an optimistic scenario, Central Bureau of Statistics head Sudarti Surbakti said Wednesday.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A highly-commended plan by the House of Representatives (DPR) to open public access to information more widely will face a tough challenge as the government plans to submit a state secrecy bill for deliberation later this month.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's government yesterday delayed announcing a new owner for Bank Central Asia (BCA) following nationwide protests by thousands of the bank's workers, but stressed that the much-awaited deal would be concluded soon.

Jakarta – Britain's Standard Chartered Bank Plc (StanChart) said on Tuesday it had no plans for massive job cuts as it rushed to assuage thousands of Bank Central Asia (BCA) employees protesting the sale of the bank to a foreign consortium, who they fear may streamline operations and cut jobs.

Nglinting Darmono, Yogyakarta – Two hundred protesters from across central Java gathered in Yogyakarta on March 8 to mark International Women's Day.

Jakarta – A mob vandalized the offices of Indonesia's most prominent human rights group on the eve of unprecedented trials for atrocities in East Timor that were allegedly committed by Indonesia's army and allied paramilitary gangs. Three generals are among those to face the courts for crimes against humanity.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The country's human rights record worsened in 2001 as the state continued to neglect its obligations to promote and protect human rights, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said.

Jakarta – Victims of last month's devastating floods in the Indonesian capital and a neighboring province on Wednesday filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against President Megawati Sukarnoputri and two governors for their failure to deal with the disaster.

Rita A. Widiadana, Denpasar – Illegal trading of endangered and protected species has reached an alarming level in Indonesia, with the provinces of Bali and East and West Nusa Tenggara serving as centers for the illicit practice, State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim said.

The head of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency at Polonia Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, hinted on Tuesday that the haze which had been covering the city since Saturday had the potential to become a very serious problem.

Jakarta – The leader of an Islamic paramilitary force which has waged "holy war" against Christians in Indonesia's Maluku islands denied Wednesday that its radio broadcasts are aimed at destroying a recent peace pact.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Employees of Bank Central Asia (BCA) staged protests nationwide against its impending sale to foreign bidders, signaling that whoever takes over could face a hostile reception from the staff.

Jakarta – Indonesia on Thursday will begin trying suspects over human rights abuses in East Timor in 1999, when the territory voted to break from Jakarta's rule. Following are details on the suspects, the process and also trials taking place in East Timor that relate to the bloodshed:

Suspects:

Dean Yates, Jakarta – Indonesia will begin trials on Thursday over violence that swept East Timor in 1999, putting Jakarta under international scrutiny and testing the president's willingness to hold the military accountable for rights abuses.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta/Medan – The parents of dozens of students killed in several incidents that took place in 1998 and 1999 gathered at the residence of former Armed Forces chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto on Monday to mount pressure on him to comply with a summons for an inquiry scheduled later in the day.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Students on a hunger strike in the province of East Nusa Tenggara threatened on Monday to encourage locals not to pay taxes if the province's budget was not revised to ensure that public interests were placed above all others.