[The following essay by Surya Anta was written in response to a series of questions, I emailed him yesterday, August 4, 2011 - Max Lane]

‘I am here to give solidarity, not as a provocateur’

Politician: Say no to corruption!

Ari Saputra, Jakarta – The Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta has been ‘attacked en masse’ by scores of labour and youth activists condemning the arrest of 30 Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM) activists by the Malaysian government.

Kid: There’s no need to get disheartened by screwed up surveys like this Mr, lots of people are still applauding you! How bout we just do a hand clap survey?

Samarinda – Scores of students from the Student Struggle Center for National Liberation (PEMBEBASAN, formerly LMND-PRD) held a protest at the East Kalimantan Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) yesterday calling on the assembly to reject the Draft Law on Intelligence and State Security (RU

Jakarta – The number of floating voters is tending to increase. This can be seen not just from the decline in participation levels in elections between 1999 and 2009, but the political parties in general would be unable to hold on to their constituents if an election was held today.

M Hernowo – Case of human rights violations that took place around the time of the fall of the New Order regime have still not been fully resolved. Moreover President Suharto’s decision on May 21, 1998 to release his grip on the reigns power, which he held for 32 years, has been taken advantage of by some groups.

E Mei Amelia R, Jakarta – Indonesian police arrested three Malaysian citizens in relation to the 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on May 7-8. The three were questioned for allegedly taking part in a demonstration at the ASEAN Secretariat on Jl. Sisingamangaraja in South Jakarta on May 5.

Jakarta – Conflicts between the Indonesian military (TNI) and the people shows that internal reform within military as an institution is not fully complete. The security approach, like the era of Suharto’s New Order regime, is still being used by the TNI, particularly when confronted by problems.

Hendra A Setyawan, Jakarta – The discourse on the simplification of political parties such as by increasing the parliamentary threshold (the minimum number of votes required to obtain a seat in the national parliament) is the principle challenge facing new political parties seeking to get into the parliament through the 2014 general elections.

Jakarta – It would be better if the deliberations on the Draft Law on Land Acquisition for Development be delayed while legal uncertainty over the control of land by communities remains unclear.

Medan – Protesters calling themselves the Women’s Liberation Progressive Committee (KP3), which is an alliance of the North Sumatra Islamic University (UISU) Islamic Students Association Commissariat (HMI-KOM) faculty of agriculture, the UISU HMI-KOM faculty of literature, Free Women (Perempuan Mahardhika), the Political Union of the Poor (PPRM)

M Hernowo and Anita Yossihara – The Joint Secretariat (Setgab) of political parties supporting the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. This was one of the important political “breakthroughs” in 2010, and the controversy surrounding it has continued to this day.

Jakarta – On Tuesday November 9 activists from the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and other organisations working against violence and crimes against humanity visited the Coordinating Ministry of Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Kemko Polhukam) on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta.

M. Hernowo – On September 28, 2009, a House of Representatives (DPR) plenary session decided to accept the recommendations of the Special Committee on Missing Persons on the results of an investigation into the forced disappearances of activists in 1997-1998.

The attacks by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) against the two-week International Q! Film Festival which opened in Jakarta on September 24 is a violation of basic human rights and threatens democracy in Indonesia.

Jakarta – Concerns that if the parliamentary threshold is increased it will impact on the number of valid votes that are wasted may be excessive because it will actually reduce the number of valid votes lost.

Umi Kalsum, Eko Huda S – Around 700 people held a protest action against the recent basic electricity rate (TDL) increases in front of the State Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta on Saturday August 7. They demand that the government cancel the increase that took effect last month.

Over the eight years of Venezuela Bolivarian Revolution, it has never been free of intervention, harassment and provocation by the United State government.

Alie Usman, Jakarta – Scores of demonstrators from the group Solidarity for Papua (SUP) that had gathered at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Monday June 28, ended up stopping at several points along the length of Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat on their way to the State Palace.