Jakarta – A number of non-government organisations from the Aceh Working Group (AWG) are urging the Aceh Rehabilitation Agency (BRA) to give greater focus to its task and initial role as mandated in Section 3.2 of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding on the stages of the reintegration process.

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – The Aceh Reintegration Agency (BRA) continues to be criticised with its poor performance considered to be threatening the peace process.

Endang Purwanti, Jakarta – An Ad Hoc Team from the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) is currently searching for 13 pro-democracy activists that disappeared between 1997 and 1998.

Banda Aceh – Dozens of students from Student Solidarity for the People (SMUR) held a peaceful action at the Simpang Lima roundabout in the Acehnese provincial capital of Banda Aceh on May 19. The action was protesting the decision by the Attorney General to terminate the legal case against former President Suharto.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Environment Forum (Walhi) plans to build a green political front as an alternative political force. The environmental political block will be based on popular and organised political forces.

Banda Aceh – National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) member MM Billah believes that there is strong resistance from a certain circles against trying the perpetrators of human rights violations in Aceh during the period of armed conflict. In general this resistance is most likely from those groups of people who committed the violations.

Ken Yunita, Jakarta – The appearance of Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) paraphernalia and symbols is natural and can be understood because the Constitutional Court has already declared that former PKI members have the right to participate in the 2009 elections.

After triggering a wave of protests, the government’s version of the draft revision of the labour law has been canceled.

Political figures in Aceh will soon be launching the Preparatory Committee for the Acehnese Peoples Party (KP-PRA). The committee will be tasked with preparing a local political party in Aceh to struggle for the Acehnese people’s future.

Jakarta – Around 100 women activists from the Women’s Anti-Poverty Movement (GPAK) held a peaceful action at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday March 8 to commemorate International Women’s Day.

Triono Wahyu Sudibyo, Semarang – Among the convicts interned at the Nusakambangan Correctional Institution, it’s likely that Hutomo Mandala Putra alias ‘Tommy’ Suharto is the most fortunate. Sentenced to 15 years jail, every year he consistently gets extraordinarily large remissions.

Rilis, Banda Aceh – A meeting of the Commission for Security Arrangements (COSA) on Saturday February 25 has discussed a number of crucial issues that have taken place in Aceh such as violence against members of the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) and the vandalism of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) offices in Blang Pidie, West Aceh.

Ken Yunita, Jakarta – It has not just been once or twice that the families of pro-democracy activists that were abducted in 1997-98 have expressed their disappointment with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Ad Hoc team.

Fitraya Ramadhanny, Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) has protested the unearthing of 23 sites suspected to be graves of victims of human rights violations in the North Aceh town of Bireun. Imparsial also expressed its disappointment with police for allowing it to happen.

Ken Yunita, Jakarta – The debate over the question of giving voting rights to the TNI (Indonesian military) and the police continues to provoke discussion. The People’s Democratic Party (PRD) agrees with members of the TNI and police participating in the 2009 general elections.

Yophiandi Kurniawan, Jakarta – The general chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Megawati Sukarnoputri, is pessimistic that the implementation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government and the Free Aceh Movement will be in accordance with expectations.

Maruli Ferdinand, Jakarta – The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) opposes the Indonesian military (TNI) being given the right to vote in the 2009 general elections. The problem is that the TNI has yet to complete its agenda of reform.

Iqbal Fadil, Jakarta – The murder of human rights activist Munir will never be solved. This is because the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the national police are holding all of the respective facts and will never reveal them.

Jakarta, Antara – Former Army chief of staff, retired General Tyasno Sudarto, says that the Draft Law on a Government for Aceh or RUU-PA will endanger the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) because it has a number of clauses that lead in the direction of federalism.

Eko Nopiansyah, Jakarta – Edwin Partogi, the operational head of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), has said that retired Major General Muchdi Purwoprandjono’s request to the Muslim Defender Team to assist him in the case of the murder of human rights activist Munir proves that the TNI (Indonesian military) doe