Medan – The commemoration of International Women’s Day in Medan, North Sumatra, was marked by a protest action at the Regional House of Representatives building by hundreds of women workers who said they were victims of discrimination by their employers.

Jakarta – International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8, was commemorated by around 100 women activists with a protest action in Central Jakarta.

Bandung – In greeting International Women’s Day, on Monday March 8 scores of students from the People’s Struggle Front (FPR) demonstrated in front of the Gedung Sate building in Bandung, West Java.

Women are not just housewives. They are not second class citizens.

R.A. Khairun Nisa, Jakarta – The Indonesian People’s Opposition Forum (sic) (FOR Indonesia) believes that the first 100 days of the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono (SBY-Boediono) has been a failure.

The North Sumatra Pro-Democracy Movement says that the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and Vice President Boediono, as well as the rotten political elite, have failed to implement the mandate to end the Indonesian people’s suffering.

A new alliance or united front organization was formed in January in Indonesia to fight the current neo-liberal policies of the Indonesian government. Its leaflet calling for a January 28 protest action lists 17 organisations.

Shohib Masykur, Jakarta – Thirteen protest actions will be held in Jakarta today. As usual, it seems that traffic jams will be unavoidable, particularly on roads such as Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta and HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta, which will be the most frequent targets of the protests.

Muchus Budi R., Solo – Labour Day, May 1, was commemorated in a number of cities and in various ways. In the Central Java city of Solo, scores of workers from the Solidarity Trade Union Federation (FSBSK) held a ‘squatting’ action to symbolise the oppression of workers, including domestic workers.

I respectfully bow my head
To all of you the victims
Because to you alone I shall bow my head
[But] to the oppressors
Never will I bow in submission
I shall always stand erect

Yogyakarta – Hundreds of students and non-government organisation activists in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta took to the streets on December 10 to commemorate Human Rights Day.

Andi Saputra, Jakarta – Hundreds of environmental activists from several different non-government organisations held an action at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta on December 6 in which they painted a miniature globe on a 20 metre length of white cloth symbolising a bomb that is about to explode.

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.

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.

Jakarta – Believing that the government has failed to side with them, workers have started campaigning for people not to vote in the 2009 legislative and presidential elections. The reason, they feel that it is pointless giving political support to the government.

Marcellus Hernowo – As well as celebrities and family members of core political party leaders, the provisional list of legislative candidates that will take part in the 2009 general elections also contains a number of 1998 student movement activists.

Samarinda – Hundreds of workers from the East Kalimantan National Liberation Front (FPN) in the provincial city of Samarinda plan to take to the streets again to day, Monday July 14, to demand that the regional minimum wage be raised to 1.3 million rupiah per month.

[The following is a slightly abridged translation of a statement by the People's Struggle Front (FPR) condemning recent acts of violence by police against peaceful protests opposing the Indonesian government's planned fuel price hikes.]

Greeting of struggle,

The battle drum of the Indonesian people’s resistance to the planned fuel price increases has been sounded – students, the urban poor, workers, farmers and women in every corner of the country are daily holding actions that are growing and uniting day by day.

Neli Triana – Its 10am on Thursday May 1, and nine-year-old Nur Alfi is standing in the middle of a sea of workers at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta.