The year of lies!

Kid: The year of lies!

For most Indonesians, 2011 will be remembered as the year of lies and broken promises, with President Yudhoyono's (pictured left) government not only failing to make headway in any of its stated policy objectives, but loosing ground on almost every front, whether it be the fight against corruption, bureaucratic reform, the judicial mafia, human rights, religious tolerance, law enforcement, poverty alleviation, the environmental or social justice. Few expect 2012 to be any better.

Kompas - December 31, 2011

Palm oil rights!

Skull with gun: Palm oil rights!

Body: Human rights

With 11.5 million hectares of palm oil plantations throughout Indonesia and licenses pending on another 28.9 million hectares, environmental groups predict that disputes will intensify. In 2011 alone there were 664 unresolved land disputes involving palm oil companies, many resulting in the fatal shooting of local people defending their land against police and military employed by companies for security.

Kompas - December 24 2011

Traditional land rights

Traditional land rights

Shocking reports have emerged of mass killings in Lampung after dozens of farmers from Mesuji met with lawmakers on Wednesday and alleged that 30 farmers had been murdered between 2009 and 2011 as part of attempts by a plantation company to evict them from their traditional land.

Kompas December 21, 2011

Mastermind

Arm: Mastermind behind BI deputy governor bribery case

Speculation is rife over whether the capture of graft fugitive Nunun Nurbaetie (centre) will finally reveal who arranged for the election of Miranda Goeltom as a Central Bank (BI) deputy governor in 2012, and why. With 30 former lawmakers already convicted for accepting millions of dollars in bribes to elect Goeltom, allegedly from Nunun, powerful vested interests are working to ensure the case goes no further than Nunun.

Kompas - December 14, 2011

Raised eyebrows

More than a few eyebrows were raised when relatively unknown legal activist and lawyer Abraham Samad (pictured left) emerged as the country's new anti-graft czar on Friday. Garnering 43 of the 56 votes by the House of Representatives legal commission, Samad's selection prompted angry cries from anti-corruption activists who described the appointment as "completely political" and aimed at accommodating the interests of the political parties, not the public agenda of corruption eradication.

Kompas - December 10, 2011

High tides?

Man: High tides? Ahh, it'll be safe enough until [the] 2014 [elections]

After a week of tidal flooding in North Jakarta and years of ignoring warnings about the impact of clearing mangrove forests and land reclamation projects for luxury coastal housing estates, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo says he has short-term and long-term plans to deal with the problem. The short-term plan is to raise the height of seawalls, and the long term plan is to, well, sometime before 2014 build higher sea walls.

Kompas - December 7, 2011

Kartanegara bridge tragedy

Men: The Kartanegara bridge tragedy isn't my responsibility...

Rat: Who's responsible? Me! That's the way it is with projects!

An all too familiar blame game has erupted following the sudden collapse of the Kutai Kartanegara suspension bridge on Saturday, killing more than 20. While there's no official explain yet as to why the structure build only 10 years ago gave way, anti-graft activists say it's just another example of how quality materials are substituted with low-grade ones, a practice common in all of Indonesia's infrastructure projects.

Kompas - December 3, 2011