Indonesia

Indonesia to participate in developing Timor Leste`s infrastructure

“We will encourage investment between the two countries,” he said in a joint press conference with Timor Leste Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo on Wednesday.

President Jokowi said he will also try to encourage mutually beneficial trade relations between Indonesia and Timor Leste.

He further said the issue of Indonesia-Timor Leste borders particularly two land borders is expected to be settled at the end of this year.

Both countries will discuss the settlement of northern sea borders before the southern sea border, he said.

Tighter new media rules likely to have impact on West Papua

The director-general of political and general administration at the Home Ministry, Soedarmo, said the new regulation was a follow-up policy drawn up after ministries and state institutions in charge of supervising foreigners in Indonesia, with the Foreign Ministry as the leading institution, agreed that it was important to monitor all activities of foreign journalists in Indonesia.

Attempt to smuggle bullets to Papua foiled

A Jakarta police spokesperson says they are still investigating the case, but it's suspected the ammunition had been ordered by Papuan separatists.

The police say the ammunition was found without proper paperwork on Monday, and was ready to be dispatched to Papua.

After arresting the man who checked in the baggage, the police say they learned that a Papua separatist group member had ordered the bullets.

The ammunition is now being kept at the airport while investigations continue.

 

Balibo widow angry over implicated Indonesian spy chief

Almost 40 years since the killing of the five journalists in Timor-Leste, Shirley Shackleton fears the appointment of retired lieutenant-general Sutiyoso has dashed hopes of her husband's remains ever being returned.

The 70-year-old Sutiyoso, who President Joko Widodo named in June as the new chief of the Indonesian Intelligence Agency (BIN), was an army captain in charge of a special forces unit in East Timor when the newsmen were killed on October 16, 1975.

38 bodies found in plane wreckage in Indonesia's Papua

The operations director at the national Search and Rescue Agency, Major-General Heronimus Guru, says the passengers' remains are being put into body bags and recovered.

Officials have declined to comment on the cause of the crash, but Mr Guru says the terrain could have been a factor, with a possibility the plane hit a peak and fell into a ravine.

The mountainous jungle terrain has hampered rescue efforts to reach the crash site, but they managed to recover the aircraft's black box flight recorder early this afternoon.

Jailed Papuan activist rejects Indonesia's freedom offer

Karma is serving a 15-year jail sentence for treason after he raised the banned Morning Star flag at a political rally in 2004.

The former public servant was told he could be freed from Abepura prison on Indonesia's Independence Day, August 17, due to usual remissions in a sentence for good behaviour.

But Karma rejected the package of release on the national holiday.

He said he would be happy to walk free the day after, if his release was “unconditional”.

Papua police reaffirm legal process over Tolikara

A boy was killed and around eleven people injured in the shootings in the Tolikara centre of Karubaga, amid unrest in which shops and a small mosque were burnt.

Religious leaders signed a peace treaty following the incident a month ago.

The Jakarta Post reports Papua's police chief Paulus Waterpauw has said closure resulting from the treaty would not last long as it would not be accepted by certain groups.

He says the incident must be legally processed and not just dealt with by customary settlement.

MSG leaders must respond to issues - O’Neill

He said this after the MSG group granted Indonesia application to be an Associate member and gave the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Observer Status.

“As a Melanesian Group, it is important that we hear what our communities are demanding,” O’Neill told leaders at the closing of the MSG meeting.

He says the decision to include Indonesia and ULMWP is one that is very historic.

“As everyone else in the region, we want the same things. We want peace, we want security and we want better standards of living for our families.” Says O’Neill

Indonesia is into the MSG, says PNG

In a break from tradition where announcement of the MSG Leaders decision is supposed to be made by its chair, host of the summit, Prime Minister Mannaseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands, O’Neill’s office announced that Indonesia is an associate member of the MSG and that the United Liberation Movement of West Papua has been granted observer status.
 
“Today is very a important day for peace and goodwill for our brothers and sisters living in Indonesia’s Melanesian provinces,” said O’Neill’s press announcement.