Jakarta – It is as though state has no presence any more. Thus was an assessment by Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud MD in depicting the endless cases of violence in this country. Law enforcers, which it would be hoped are the means to resolve social conflicts, instead generate injustice.

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

Toto Suryaningtyas – Efforts by certain politicians to pull the military back into the political arena has tended to receive little public agreement. This disagreement however has in fact been expressed at time when the public’s sense of satisfaction with the performance of the Indonesian military (TNI) has improved.

M Zaid Wahyudi – The growing number of ordinary people’s votes that are needlessly lost is a direct consequence of the application of an increasingly higher parliamentary threshold.

Israel’s attack on a convey of six ships transporting humanitarian assistance for Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla, in international waters, resulted in the death and injury of civilians

Yogyakarta – Activists from the United People’s Movement (GRB) in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held a protest action by placing flowers on a grave at the zero kilometer point near the Yogyakarta central post office on Friday May 21.

Let us unite to overthrow the pro-imperialist government of SBY-Boediono and the rotten political elite. Replace them with a United Government of the Poor!

Marsinah was a woman worker who was militant and courageous.

Anung Wendyartaka – To this day there has yet to be any visible sign of a breakthrough in the improvement of workers’ standard of living. On the one hand, the basic rights possessed by the working class are still felt to be inadequate and on the other, workers themselves appear to fail to appreciate their existence.

It’s Thursday afternoon, March 18, and dozens of family members of victims of human rights violations are holding another “Kamisan” (Thursday Action), a silent protest in which they hold black umbrellas with the names of human rights cases written on them.

Women are not just housewives. They are not second class citizens.

Surabaya – During the colonial era communism flourished in Indonesia. One of the reasons was the behaviour of the native elite (elite bumiputra) who failed to defend the ordinary people. This however is unlikely to be repeated now.

A new alliance or united front organization was formed in January in Indonesia to fight the current neo-liberal policies of the Indonesian government. Its leaflet calling for a January 28 protest action lists 17 organisations.

Wicak Hidayat, Jakarta – The Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), an organisation banned in Indonesia, has again resurfaced. This time on Facebook.

Wisdom cannot be measured by how long one has lived...

Jakarta – Like previous years, 2008 was marked by a variety of actions by students who took to the streets opposing government policies that they believe harm the people.

Only, in concert the approach of the 2009 legislative and presidential elections, so too has the tendency for these student actions to end in clashes and violence.

Irwan Nugroho, Jakarta – The Indonesian Film Society (MFI) believes that the banning of a film about the deaths of five Australian journalists in East Timor or the Balibo Five makes no sense, saying it was surprised over why the government is so afraid of the film being seen by the Indonesian public.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Hundreds of students from various groups in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held an action opposing the inauguration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and Vice President Boediono on October 20. The protest was marked by the burning of T-shirts with pictures of Yudhoyono and Boediono.

This is their melody, a nice song from Jakarta, I’m like this because sadly I have no choice...

Sign reads: Bylaw No. 8/2009