Moch. Andriansyah – A street protest opposing the recent fuel (BBM) price hike by scores of students from the Islamic Students Association (HMI) at the East Java governor’s office in the provincial capital of Surabaya on Wednesday November 19 ended in a clash.

Jakarta – As much as 60-70 percent of the 2007 state budget (APBN) or between 457-534 trillion rupiah was depleted for the bureaucratic costs of the government, legislator and law enforcement agencies. The total state budget for 2007 was 763 trillion rupiah.

The real reason why the imperialist government does not pay attention to the human rights violations in Aceh is due to the importance of international capital, such as Exxon-Mobil International, which has a symbiotic relationship with military control and civil bureaucrats in Aceh.

[The following is a translation of discussion paper presented by Indonesian labour leader and general chairperson of the People’s United Opposition Party (Popor), Dita Indah Sari, at a public meeting titled “An evaluation of three months of the military emergency in Aceh” which was held in Jakarta on August 14.