Jakarta – Around 100 people held a protest action in front of the United States Embassy in Central Jakarta on November 15 demanding that a G20 ministerial level meeting in Washington be dissolved. The protesters, who came from the People’s Struggle Front (FPR), said that the meeting would not solve the problems facing ordinary people.

Ramadhian Fadillah, Jakarta – ExxonMobil is to be taken to court for allegedly supporting human rights violations by the Indonesian military (TNI) in Aceh.

B. Josie Susilo Hardianto – The lunch boxes had only just been handed out when they began to discuss the story of Mardi – a worker in Tangerang, Banten province. He had just sent his two children back to his village. “They’ve being entrusted with Mardi’s parents so they can go to school”, said Bagus, who provides support to workers.

Jayapura – Some 300 fully armed personal from the Indonesian military (TNI) and the national police (Polri) intercepted three trucks of protesters in the Arso Tujuh area bordering on the Keerom regency and the Jayapura city who were planning to demonstrate in Jayapura today.

Jakarta – The commemoration of International Women’s Day (IWD) was marked by the accumulation of bitter gifts in the form of the soaring price of basic commodities and soybean, the bacteria infection of powdered milk products and the high cost of education and healthcare.

Gede Suardana, Denpasar – The United States’ stand in refusing to reduce emissions in order to overcome global warming has received a strong reaction with hundreds of students demonstrating in Bali on Monday December 10.

Rofiqi Hasan, Denpasar – Hundreds of Balinese student activists held a demonstration at the US Consulate General in provincial capital of Denpasar on Monday December 10. The action was part of International Human Rights Day commemorations and at the same time to protest the United States’ intransigence on climate change.

Erna Mardiana, Bandung – Three foreign environmental activists, who have been in Bandung (West Java) municipal district police detention since Sunday afternoon, have been threatened with deportation. The three foreign nationals are Maria Virginia Cruz from the Philippines, Neil Tangri from the United States and Shibu K Nair from India.

Agus Rakasiwi – The 1998 reform movement finished the task of removing Suharto from the Indonesian presidency. But have Indonesia’s problems now ended?

Rofiqi Hasan, Denpasar – Scores of activists from the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) held a demonstration in the Balinese provincial capital of Denpasar on Tuesday October 23.

Jakarta – The support for political parties based upon Islam and with an Islamic mass base is stagnating and tending to decline. The situation is the reverse of political support for parties without a religious basis.

Dikhy Sasra, Jakarta – Around 100 people who said they were students originating from West Papua demonstrated in front of the United States Embassy on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta on Thursday July 5. Some of the demonstrators wore traditional clothing and T-shirts with pictures of the Morning Star.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I on foreign affairs has commended the measures being taken by the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) in conducting a counter campaign against foreign parties linked to the issue of West Papua.

The national liberation of the people of Latin America, which has been inspired by the people’s struggle in Venezuela led by President Hugo Chavez, should be able to inspire similar methods and ideologies in the Indonesian national struggle.

[Understanding the Venezuela Revolution, a Discussion Between Hugo Chavez and Martha Harnecker. Published by Progressive Youth Alliance (AMP) and the Institute for Global Justice (IGJ), February 2007. Reviewed by Zely Ariane.]

The following is an open letter issued by the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) following the March 13 attack on Papernas’s regional office in the Central Sulawesi provincial capital of Palu.

Budiarto Shambazy – On April 12, 1963 rebels in Brunei were involved in an armed contact with British troops in North Kalimantan. The “rebels” (the TNI or Indonesian National Defense Force, Indonesian volunteers and Brunei opposition) launched a subversive rebellion against the sultanate that was considered a British puppet.

Banda Aceh – The chairperson of the Preparatory Committee for the Acehnese People’s Party (KP-PRA) is urging the government to immediately ratify the Draft Government Regulation on Local Political Parties in Aceh.

J. Osdar – Indonesian journalists roared with laughter when they witnessed the general elections or great election in the Malaysian state of Sabah in 1985. The total number of voters was only 300,000 out of a population of 1.2 million. But more than 30 political parties had registered to contest the elections.

Yogyakarta – Scores of protesters demonstrated in front of the Agung State Place Building in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta yesterday criticising the state of the nation, particularly in relation to the foreign debt.