Heru Sri Kumoro, Jakarta – Scores of workers from the Association of Independent Trade Unions (GSBI) commemorated Kartini Day on Sunday April 21 with a protest action at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.

Zico Nurrashid Priharseno, Jakarta – To this day many women workers become victims of sexual crimes. In Jakarta, there are around 80 thousand workers and as many as 90 percent of these are women. Seventy-five of women workers in Jakarta have experienced sexual violence.

Susi Fatimah, Jakarta – The failure of law enforcement officials to protect women from sexual violence and rape has prompted an alliance of women from Free Women (Perempuan Mahardika), the Cross-Factory Labour Forum (FBLP) and Marsinah Radio FM to form a movement called the Progressive Labour Front (Barisan Maju Buruh, BAMBU) for Women.

Crate reads National Exam problems, smoke reads Performance, number plate reads (Ministry) of Education and Culture.

A group of West Papuan students from Solidarity for Papua (SUP) held a demonstration in front of the Abu Bakar Ali Park in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on April 15.

Man: Are you prepared to take on thugs like these? Now that’s what you’d call a knight in black (shining) armor!

Syarifah Nur Haida, Jakarta – Commissioners from the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) were startled when during a break in a Komnas HAM press conference on the Cebongan prison killings, demonstrators wearing military fatigues descended on Komnas HAM’s office calling for the commission to be disbanded.

Imran MA, Lhokseumawe – Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers and Sharia police (Wilayatul Hisbah) began conducted raids on motorcycle riders on the main roads of Lhokseumawe city in Northern Aceh on April 12.

Criticism continues to mount against the controversial Draft Law on Mass Organisations (RUU Ormas) ahead of its expected passage this week by the House.

Yogyakarta – The murder of four prisoners at the Cebongan prison in Sleman, Yogyakarta, could potentially be used for political image building. This can be seen from widespread efforts to garner public support and divert the issue away from one of human rights violations to the eradication of thuggery.

Ikhwanul Habibi, Jakarta – The Cebongan Prison case in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta involving 11 members of the army’s elite Special forces (Kopassus) is a result of the law falling silent, so the murder of former Kopassus First Sergeant Heru Santoso by thugs at a cafe in Yogyakarta on March 19 resulted in guns doing the talking.

Septiana Ledysia, Jakarta – Five men calling themselves the New Men’s Alliance (ALB) held a silent action opposing all forms of violence and rape against women at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Sunday April 7.

Chair reads: Judicial mafia, corruption, drugs, Lapindo mud disaster, Bank Century scandal, Hambalang corruption scandal, Cebongan prison attack.

Gun reads: Missing persons, law of the jungle, political banditry

Public mistrust in the legal system accompanied by an alarming trend toward street justice appears to be on the rise, with a new LSI survey finding 57% of the public are dissatisfied with law enforcement and the majority believe that the police act unfairly and easily accommodate vested interests.

MI/Rommy Pujianto/ip, Makassar – Student Solidarity Concern for the Papuan People (SMPRP) along with advocacy and human rights groups held a protest action in front of the Mandala Monument Commemorating the Liberation of West Irian on Jl. Jenderal Sudirman in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar on Monday March 25.

Cart reads Prices.

Critics warn that Indonesia’s food supplies are currently under the control of a politically connected “food mafia”, who are taking advantage of market liberalisation to throttle supplies and jack up prices, and have little concern about empowering farmers or contributing to food security.

Munawwaroh, Jakarta – Former Pancasila Youth (PP) chairperson Yorrys Raweyai objects to the bad image sometimes held by the public about the youth organisation PP, which is now more than 50 years old, with the world of thuggery and violence.

Bag reads Political Thuggery, gun reads Politicisation of Thugs.

Safari Sidakaton – International Women’s Day (IWD) was commemorated by a variety of different women’s communities and organisations that united under the International Women’s Day Action Committee (KAHPS), which presented a “Claim for Payment” to government institutions and agencies on Friday March 8.