On February 22, Iwan Irama Putra, a member of Student Solidarity for the People (Solidaritas Mahasiswa Untuk Rakyat, SMUR) and the Linge University and High-school Students Association (Ikatan Mahasiswa dan Pelajar Linge, IMPEL) was arrested.

Hundreds of civilians have died, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, hundreds of school buildings have been burnt to the ground, journalist Ersa Siregar has been killed, the tabloid Beudoh was threaten and forced to cease publishing, scores of people have become hostages of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) or victims of arrests and a

Malang – The visit by President Megawati Sukarnoputri to the city of Malang in East Java on Saturday February 14, was greeted with a demonstration by students from the University of Brawijaya (Unibraw) Student Executive Council (BEM) and the Indonesian Muslim Student United Action Front (KAMMI) in front of the Unibraw campus..

Banda Aceh – The Emergency Military Commander in Aceh, Major General Endang Suwarya, has said that they are waiting to see what the government’s decision will be on foreign observers in the 2004 election in Aceh.

Surabaya – Around 100 students held a demonstration in front of the Grahadi State building in Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday February 12. They were demanding that the Supreme Court reject the appeal by [Golkar Party chief] Akbar Tanjung in the corruption case involving 40 billion rupiah of Bulog (State Logistics Agency) non-budgetary funds.

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta – Non-government organisation (NGO) activists from the Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Institute for Public Research and Advocacy (Elsam), the Indonesian Legal Aid Association (PBHI) and the Association of Families of Missing Persons (Ikatan Keluarga Orang Hilang, Ikohi) are again

[The following is a translation of a statement issued by the Trade Union Alliance Against Rotten Politicians (Aliansi Serikat Buruh Anti Politisi Busuk) on February 3, 2004. The original statement was untitled and the one used here was the choice of the translator.]

Djoko Tjiptono, Jakarta – The 2004 general elections will not be able to provide a solution to the various problems which are being faced by the Indonesian people. This is because in terms of the political parties’ programs, the majority are rotten.

Jakarta – Old names are still dominating the candidate members for the People’s Representative Assembly (DPR) in the lists submitted on Monday, December 29, to the General Election Commission (KPU) by the political parties who will participate in the 2004 general elections.

Jakarta – In Jakarta on Thursday December 25, army chief of staff General Ryamizard Ryacudu, explained that army intelligence has obtained indications that the 2004 elections will be tainted by disturbances. He gave the example of the 60,000 foreign agents from large foreign countries which are in Indonesia at the moment.

Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri has questioned the motives behind the assumptions which have been made about the organisation of the 2004 general elections which claim they will be susceptible to turmoil and disturbances.

Jakarta – There has been almost no meaningful progress in the functioning or political performance of the executive, legislative and judicial institutions in 2003, either at the national or local level.

Jakarta – Human rights violations perpetrated in 2003 cannot be separated from military control, particularly the army. The government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri has not worked as hard as its predecessors, like [former presidents] B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid to control the TNI [Indonesian armed forces].

Suwarjono, Jakarta – Around 1000 demonstrators held a demonstration commemorating world human rights day at the Presidential Palace on Jalan Merdeka Utara on Wednesday December 10. Although the palace was empty – President Megawati Sukarnoputri is currently visiting Japan – it did not diminish the spirit of the human rights activists.

Based on Law Number 31/2002 on Political Parties, no less than 209 political parties in the country – including those who already had the status of a legal body and those who did not – have had their status annulled. As a result, there are now 50 recorded political parties in the country.

Jakarta – TNI (armed forces) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has asserted that the TNI are not soldiers for hire. Therefore if there are companies which need security services, the companies concerned do not have a contract with the TNI, but with the government.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Commemorating Hero’s Day on Monday November 10, scores of student activist from the Yogyakarta Indonesian Youth Front for Struggle (Front Perjuangan Pemuda Indonesia, FPPI) held an action rejecting the extension of the military emergency in Aceh.

Jakarta – Although the initial suit was rejected by the panel of judges, the case against Presidential Decree Number 28/2003 on the declaration of a dangerous situation at the level of a military emergency in Aceh will continue.

Jakarta – The involvement of the Armed Forces Intelligence Body (Badan Intelijen ABRI, BIA) and ABRI’s Social and Political Unit (Sospol ABRI) in the takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters on Jalan Diponegoro in Central Jakarta on July 27 19961, was revealed in a Central Jakarta State Court hearing on Tuesday October 21.

Jakarta – Prospective presidential candidates who are involved in cases of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN), as well as those who have been involved in violations of human rights will not get support from the public.