Jakarta – Although admitting that they may contains some truth, statements by a number of public officials on human rights violations during the National Human Rights and State Defense Seminar at the Department of Defence on Thursday December 18 are believed to be incomplete have the potential to mislead the public.

Oleh Ahmad Arif – The global financial crisis, which began far away in the United States, appears to have also become a bugbear for workers in Indonesia. Starting with national industries that are dying because global markets are stagnating, millions of workers are faced with the threat of dismissal.

Oppose the 2009 elections of the political elite – an election of the human rights violators, capitalists, corruptors and opportunist!

Suwardiman – Young voters, particularly first time voters, are a potential vote base that political parties should consider targeting in the 2009 legislative and presidential elections.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Scores of residents in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held an action today opposing the enactment of the Draft Anti-Pornography Law. The reason, the draft law will harm the Indonesian nation’s spirit of diversity.

During the era of Suharto’s New Order regime, People’s Democratic Party (PRD) activists were very popular. The socialist based organisation was known as a group of young people who resisted Suharto. During the era of reformasi however, they have been unable to find a place for themselves and remain unpopular.

Jakarta – Waves of protesters commemorating 10 years of reformasi took to the streets on Wednesday May 21. At least 6,000 people from a number of mass and student organisations gathered at the State Palace and the House of Representatives (DPR) between 11am and 6pm. The protesters presented seven people’s demands to the government.

[The following is a compilation of abridged translations from Detik.com and Tempo Interactive covering protest actions around the country on May 21 against the Indonesian government's planned fuel price increases.]

Anti-fuel price hike protest in Bogor ends in clash

Nurvita Indarini, Jakarta – A number of organisations are endeavouring to thwart the government’s plan to increase the price of fuel and are planning to besiege the State Palace in Central Jakarta on May 21 (the 10th anniversary of the overthrow of former President Suharto) and June 1.

Rofiqi Hasan, Denpasar – Hundreds of workers, students and journalists in Bali commemorated International Labour Day at the Bajra Sandhi Monument in the provincial capital of Denpasar, where they called for wage increases, the abolition of contract labour and guarantees of the freedom to associate.

Basic changes in the struggle by the working class before and after reformasi represent a shift from a struggle for wages and conditions to a struggle for job security.

Greetings to all working people,

[The following is a translation of a leaflet and poster being circulated by the Working People's Association (Perhimpunan Rakyat Pekerja, PRP) as part of a campaign by radical Indonesian trade unions to socialise May Day.]

Bandung – Ten years since process of reformasi started, Indonesia has not undergone any significant political or economic reform. This has been demonstrated by lack of government policies that side with the ordinary people.

Khairul Ikhwan, Medan – On Thursday afternoon, January 31, hundreds of people from the Try Suharto People’s Committee (Koras) held a protest action in front of the North Sumatra Regional House of Representatives building on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Medan.

Sultani – Each time Suharto falls ill and is taken to hospital, the public is inevitably faced with the choice of forgiving him for his mistakes or continuing legal proceedings against him.

Nograhany Widhi K, Jakarta – Demonstrations have consistently dogged the life of former President Suharto, both when he was in power and when he has been sick. “Try Suharto!”.

Bima Baskara and Sultani – With one-and-a-half years to go before the 2009 general elections, political party discussions about finding a national leadership candidate have already sprung up.

Usman Hamid – We appreciate efforts to develop the TNI’s professionalism and civil supremacy that has been undertaken through various means at legislative and institutional levels.

Jakarta – Although efforts to develop the Indonesian military or TNI and civil supremacy are continuing, the process of reform is seen as being too slow. The obstacle being encountered is that civil institutions such as the Department of Defense and the political parties are not yet prepared to implement reform within the TNI.