Yogyakarta – Freedom of association in the era of reformasi (the reform process beginning in 1998) is, as it turns out, still little more than jargon.

Wahyu Aji, Jakarta – It seems that not everybody has a negative assessment of Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi’s appeal to regional governments to foster closer ties with the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) as a partner in development.

Pito Agustin Rudiana, Sleman – A social gathering by victims of the 1965 tragedy at the Santi Dharma Retreat in Godean sub-district, Sleman regency, Yogyakarta, was attacked by the Indonesian Anti-Communist Front (FAKI) on Sunday October 27.

Sulistiyono, Jakarta – Labour Movement National Committee (KNGB) member Said Iqbal has confirmed that a national strike will be held in late October and will be joined by millions of workers and include, among other things, demands for the abolition of outsourcing.

Raka F Pujangga, Semarang – An Indonesian labour movement workshop at the Pandanaran Hotel in the Central Java capital of Semarang facilitated by the Trade Union Rights Centre (TURC) has been forcibly closed down by police who claim they did not have a permit for the event.

Jakarta – Thousands of workers from Jakarta and surrounding areas demonstrated demanding welfare improvements on Thursday October 17. The action created traffic jams between Jl. Jenderal Sudirman, Jl Thamrin, the Indonesia traffic circle and in the vicinity of the State Palace. Similar protest were held in West and East Java.

Ahmad Romadoni, Jakarta – The momentum of Car Free Day along the length of Jl. Sudirman-Thamrin in Central Jakarta on Sunday September 15 was used by scores of students to call for actions rejecting the planned virginity test for high-school students that have been making the rounds of late.

Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform (KMSRSK) is calling for reform to military justice to be accelerated.

Anggi Kusumadewi, Erick Tanjung – Indonesia’s newly appointed military (TNI) chief, General Moeldoko, will deploy TNI forces to maintain state security and protect investments in Indonesia. This was conveyed by Moeldoko at a ceremony to hand over command at the TNI’s headquarters in Cilangkap in Jakarta on Wednesday September 4.

Palmerah – The number of farming households over the last 10 years has declined by 5.04 million. Over the same period, the number of agribusinesses has grown by 1,475 companies. Meaning a formalisation (formalisasi) has taken place. What is alarming however is that the number of marginal farmers is increasing.

Fransisca Ria Susan, Jakarta – The kidnappings, forced disappearances and killing of more than 1 million Indonesians between 1965-1967 were not a tragedy, because they did not occur as part of a two-sided conflict.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government is being called on to ratify the International Convention on Enforced Disappearance of Persons.

Jakarta – The long fight to uncover and moreover reconcile the 1965-66 affair is slowly starting to show results. Still needed of course is hard work and a readiness on the part of several parties to uncover the truth and come to terms with the facts of the affair.

Jakarta – The Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and several other labour associations have emphatically rejected the issuance of a presidential instruction (Inpres) on limiting wage rises in order to stimulate the economy and overcome a slump in the value of the rupiah.

Zulfi Suhendra, Jakarta – A number of companies and industrial zones have been included as Indonesian National Vital Objects (OVNI) in the industrial sector and now come under government protection. This protection covers security threats against OVNIs.

Bekasi – The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) held its 3rd National Conference (Munas) at the Wisma Haji building in Bekasi, West Java, between Thursday and Saturday, August 22-24. Conference participants discussed broadening the organisation’s social role and continuing to defend the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Jakarta – As of mid-August this year the number of discriminative regulations has risen two-fold, from 154 in 2009 to 342. Of these 334 are regency or municipal regulations and the province with the most discriminative regulations is West Java.

Jakarta – The Australian government does not have the authority to stop its citizen from sailing out of Australian ports as long as it is legal. However Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr confirmed that the Indonesian government has the authority to deal with the matter if the ships enter Indonesia illegally.

Alsadad Rudi, Jakarta – The Cross-Factory Labour Forum (FBLP) disputes the claim that four South Korean companies have left Jakarta. The companies that were cited as having closed, PT Hansol 1, PT Hansai 5, PT Winner 3 and PT Olimpic, are still operating in the Nusantara Bonded Zone (KBN) in the Cakung industrial area of East Jakarta.

Jakarta – Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Rieke Diah Pitaloka has criticised President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s (SBY) state of the nation speech as being no different from a work of science fiction.