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Indonesia A Â Indonesia consists of a necklace of some
17,000 islands, over 300 ethnic groups and some 500 different
languages. The main island is Java. The population is 85% Muslim.
Indonesia has 32 provinces.
   (WSJ, 5/22/98, p.A15)(SFC, 12/18/98, p.D2)(SFC,
12/8/01, p.A6)(Econ, 12/11/04, Survey p.8)
 The Toadja of Sulawesi use ancestral bones for talismans.
 (NH, 6/97, p.14)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Flight
KI-574, an Indonesian passenger plane carrying 102 people,
disappeared in stormy weather off Sulawesi island. Rescue teams were
sent to search in the area where the Boeing 737-400 sent out a
distress signal. In 2008 investigators said the pilots had
accidentally disconnecting the plane's autopilot. A speed boat
capsized in poor weather off the coast of Borneo island, killing 15
people.
   (AP, 1/1/07)(AP, 1/2/07)(AFP, 3/25/08)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, A landslide in a
western Indonesian village killed up to 13 people, burying several
homes and a small mosque.
   (AP, 1/9/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, A 14-year-old
Indonesian boy died from bird flu, just days after being
hospitalized. It was the first H5N1 fatality in the country in six
weeks.
   (AP, 1/10/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Indonesian police
raided a house on Sulawesi Island where several alleged Islamic
militants were staying, sparking a fierce gun and bomb battle that
left one suspected terrorist dead.
   (AP, 1/11/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, An Indonesian
passenger train jumped its tracks, sending a crowded rail car
plunging nearly 20 feet near the central Javanese town of
Purwokerto. Five people were reported killed and more than 250
injured.
   (AP, 1/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, A major
6.5-magnitude undersea earthquake has rocked Indonesia's northern
Sulawesi province. The earthquake left four people dead and four
injured.
   (AFP, 1/21/07)(AP, 1/22/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, In Indonesia 16
people, including a policeman, were shot dead and others wounded in
a shootout with residents on Sulawesi, as police searched for
suspected militants in the restive town of Poso.
   (AFP, 1/22/07)(Econ, 1/27/07, p.42)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Indonesia’s
Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said Indonesia will pursue its
plans to develop nuclear power as part of efforts to find
alternative energy sources to address its growing needs. Officials
said flooding has killed at least 44 people and left more than
340,000 others homeless in Jakarta, as neck-high waters submerged
large sections of the city. The flooding in Jakarta eventually left
52 people dead.
   (AP, 2/3/07)(AP, 2/6/07)(Econ, 3/17/12, p.48)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, An Indonesian ban
on sand exports went into effect. The ban was directed at Singapore,
which purchased sand to reclaim land from the sea.
   (Econ, 2/10/07, p.42)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, In Indonesia fresh
rains triggered more flooding, compounding the misery for hundreds
of thousands forced from their homes. Irwandi Yusuf, a former rebel
leader, was inaugurated as governor of Aceh province, cementing a
peace deal to end 29 years of fighting that killed more than 15,000
people.
   (AP, 2/8/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, The death toll
from massive flooding in Indonesia rose to 80.
   (AFP, 2/10/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Twin landslides
hit Indonesia's Java island, killing at least 12 people after they
were buried under mounds of earth.
   (AP, 2/18/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, A fire broke out
on an Indonesian ferry carrying 300 passengers. The number of dead,
soon climbed to 49. Scores of passengers jumped into the sea and 120
people remained missing.
   (AFP, 2/23/07)(AP, 2/26/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Levina 1, a
charred Indonesian ferry, sank while investigators and journalists
were on board inspecting the damage from a fire last week. At least
one cameraman drowned and three other people were missing. The death
toll from the Feb 22 fire continued to rise.
   (AP, 2/25/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Indonesian
engineers dropped several large concrete balls into Lusi, a volcano,
to try to stem a gushing mud eruption that has engulfed hundreds of
homes and displaced 11,000 people. Over the next few weeks,
authorities plan to drop nearly 1,500 balls, each weighing up to 88
pounds, into the crater that started spewing mud at a gas drilling
field on Java island nine months ago.
   (AP, 2/26/07)(Econ, 3/10/07, p.79)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Indonesia said it
is planning to ban local carriers from operating jetliners more than
10 years old as part of a safety campaign following a string of
crashes and accidents.
   (AP, 2/28/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, A UN report said all
lowland forests on Indonesia’s Borneo and Sumatra islands could be
lost by 2022 at current logging rates of 2.8 million hectares a
year.
   (WSJ, 1/3/07, p.A5)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, In eastern
Indonesian a bomb packed with nails exploded at a port in the city
of Ambon, wounding 12 people. Landslides triggered by days of heavy
rain killed at least 40 people in eastern Indonesia, and nearly 30
more were believed to be buried under the mud.
   (AP, 3/3/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, In western
Indonesia a 6.3 earthquake crumpled houses across a large swath of
Sumatra Island, killing over 70 people and injuring hundreds.
   (AP, 3/7/07)(AP, 3/10/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, A packed Garuda
Indonesia jetliner crash-landed and erupted in flames at Yogyakarta
airport, killing 22 people trapped inside the burning wreckage. More
than 115 others escaped through emergency exits as black smoke
billowed behind them.
   (AP, 3/7/07)(Econ, 3/10/07, p.40)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, In Indonesia an
official said Bird flu has killed a 32-year-old man, taking the
death toll in the nation worst hit by the disease to 65.
   (AP, 3/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, In Indonesia an
official announced that bird flu has killed a 21-year-old man,
taking the death toll in the nation worst hit by the disease to 66.
In Bali the Hindu majority marked the start of the Muslim year 1386
with the new year holiday called Nyepi, a day of silence, rest and
reflection.
   (AP, 3/19/07)(Econ, 3/24/07, p.49)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, In Indonesia 3
Islamic militants were found guilty of decapitating three Christian
schoolgirls in 2005 and dumping their bloodied heads in nearby
villages. They were sentenced to between 14 and 20 years.
   (AP, 3/22/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Indonesia reopened
its border with East Timor because the fugitive rebel who caused its
closure is no longer considered a threat.
   (AP, 3/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told a meeting of Islamic clerics
that Muslim nations should ultimately replace coalition forces in
Iraq after a period of national reconciliation. Cliff Muntu (21), a
student at Indonesia’s Institute of Public Administration (IPDN),
died from wounds due to hazing by his seniors. This was the 35th
death in the school since 1993.
   (AP,
4/3/07)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Muntu)(Econ, 4/21/07,
p.49)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, The editor-in-chief
of Playboy Indonesia was acquitted of charges that he violated the
Muslim nation's indecency laws by publishing pictures of scantily
clothed women.
   (AP, 4/5/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, Health officials
said teenage girls in Cambodia and Indonesia have died of bird flu
as the virus continues to stalk across Asia.
   (AP, 4/6/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 12, India test-fired a
new missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads with a 1,900-mile
range. Indonesia said the missile forced 2 of its jetliners off
course.
   (AP, 4/12/07)(WSJ, 4/14/07, p.A1)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, Blind British
aviator Miles Hilton-Barber, With the aid of co-copilot Richard
Meredith-Hardy, landed his microlight aircraft in Jakarta to
complete another leg of his London-Sydney charity flight.
   (AFP, 4/15/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 20, Thousands of mine
workers in Indonesia's remote Papua province protested for a third
day as marathon talks with US firm Freeport McMoRan over pay and
benefits showed signs of progress.
   (AP, 4/20/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 24, In Indonesia
Richard Ness an American director of Newmont Mining Corp., the
world's largest gold producer, was acquitted of charges the company
dumped dangerous amounts of toxic waste into a bay off Sulawesi
Island.
   (AP, 4/24/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 25, In Indonesia the
MT Maulana, an oil tanker that had just unloaded its cargo, exploded
on a Sumatran river, killing four crew members.
   (AP, 4/26/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, It was reported
that pro-Indonesian militias had regrouped in the mountainous center
of Aceh as the Communication Forum for Children of the Nation
(Forkab).
   (Econ, 4/28/07, p.47)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, In Indonesia tens
of thousands of workers marked May Day by taking to the streets to
demand better wages and job security, amid a heavy police presence.
   (AP, 5/1/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, The armed forces
of Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to step up cooperation to boost
security along shared borders after successful patrols in the
Malacca Strait.
   (AFP, 5/10/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â May 29, In Indonesia a
teenage girl died of bird flu, taking the death toll in the nation
worst hit by the virus to 79.
   (AFP, 6/1/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â May 30, Indonesian marines
shot and killed five people on Java island during a violent protest
over a plot of land allegedly owned by the force.
   (AP, 5/30/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 8, In Indonesia Dago
Simamora (59), a junior high-school teacher in South Sumatra, was
shot dead by a killer on a motorcycle. It was later alleged that he
was killed because he was accused of trying to convert girls in his
class to Christianity. In 2009 ten members of the Palembang jihadist
group that killed him were jailed on terrorism charges. One member
said: “Dago Simamora was killed because he forbade his students to
wear headscarves at school.”
   (Econ, 9/12/09, SR
p.8)(http://tinyurl.com/mdzqrl)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 9, Indonesian police
captured Abu Dujana (37), a leader of the Southeast Asian terror
network blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings and a string of other
devastating attacks in recent years. Indonesian police also captured
Zarkasih (37), aka Mbah, the head of Southeast Asian extremist
network Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for some of the deadliest terror
attacks in the region.
   (AFP, 6/13/07)(AFP, 6/15/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 11, Indonesia's
tropical rain forests were disappearing 30 percent faster than
previously estimated as illegal loggers raid national parks,
threatening the long-term survival of orangutans, according to a new
UN report.
   (AP, 6/11/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 12, In Bali,
Indonesia, a gathering of religious leaders and victims of terrorist
attacks, sponsored by the US Libforall Foundation, denounced Iran’s
president for claiming the Holocaust was a myth.
   (SFC, 6/13/07, p.A15)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, The European
Commission said all Indonesian airlines and several from Russia,
Ukraine and Angola will be banned from flying to the EU due to
safety concerns.
   (AP, 6/28/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, In Sudan China's
No. 1 oil company, CNPC, and Indonesia's PT Pertamina agreed to
co-develop a Sudanese offshore oil block, ignoring international
efforts to isolate Sudan over the crisis in its Darfur region.
   (AP, 7/1/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Indonesia barred
Eni Faleomavaega, the Democrat congressman for American Samoa, from
visiting Papua, but has denied the move is to cover up alleged human
rights abuses in the remote region. Faleomavaega has been a critic
of Jakarta's policies in Papua.
   (Reuters, 7/3/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Human Rights Watch
released a report saying Indonesian security forces have killed and
beat unarmed civilians, and on two occasions raped women during
recent operations against separatists in Papua province. The 96-page
report detailed 8 alleged killings by police and military officers
in the province's central highlands since 2005 and several vicious
beatings.
   (AP, 7/5/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, China's Foreign
Minister Yang Jiechi visited Indonesia and said their countries
should cooperate to defend the interests of developing nations as
they work to enhance bilateral ties.
   (AFP, 7/5/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, In Indonesia a
speeding bus carrying a group of junior high school students and
their teachers plunged into a 30-foot ravine on the main island of
Java, killing 14 people. Poisonous fumes from the Indonesia’s Salak
volcano killed six teenagers who were camping on the mountain.
   (AP, 7/7/07)(AP, 7/8/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, In Indonesia
prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit against former dictator Suharto
(1921-2008), toppled in 1998, seeking $1.54 billion in damages and
funds allegedly stolen from the state during his 32 years in power.
He allegedly forced state banks and others to contribute millions to
the Supersemar Foundation, much of which was siphoned off to
companies run by members of his family and cronies.
   (AP, 7/9/07)(Econ, 7/14/07, p.48)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, A passenger ship
carrying 70 people disappeared off eastern Indonesia after reporting
engine failure in stormy seas. The bodies of two children were found
drifting in nearby waters along with several survivors.
   (AP, 7/11/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Officials said
flash floods and landslides in central Indonesia have inundated
villages, destroyed bridges and roads, and sent thousands fleeing
their homes with over 80 people killed.
   (AFP, 7/24/07)(AP, 7/26/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, In Indonesia a
dozen Christian men were convicted and sentenced to up to 14 years
in jail for beating to death and beheading two Muslims to avenge the
government executions of three Christians last year.
   (AP, 7/26/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, In Indonesia the
Constitutional Court again struck out clauses in the criminal code
that made it a crime to insult senior figures.
   (Econ, 5/24/08, p.64)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Denmark, France and
Indonesia offered to contribute to a joint UN-African Union mission
for Darfur, a 26,000-strong force expected to be made up mostly of
peacekeepers from Africa with backup from Asian troops. Sudan
accepted a UN resolution approving a joint African Union-UN
peacekeeping force in Darfur.
   (AP, 8/1/07)(AFP, 8/1/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, China banned
Indonesian seafood after checks turned up dangerous contamination.
Indonesian authorities called the move an apparent reaction to an
Indonesian ban on some tainted Chinese products. The Chinese
administration said Indonesian products have been found to contain
mercury and cadmium, metals that can accumulate in water and soil
from burning garbage, mining or other industrial processes.
   (AP, 8/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Millions of people
in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, voted for governor for the first
time, the latest in a wave of local elections hailed as key to
strengthening democracy in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
   (AP, 8/8/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Researchers from
the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill reported that coral
coverage in the Indo-Pacific, an area stretching from Indonesia's
Sumatra island to French Polynesia, had dropped 20 percent in the
past two decades. They said the decline was driven by climate
change, disease and coastal development.
   (AP, 8/8/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, In Indonesia
nearly 90,000 followers of Hizbut Tahrir, a hard-line Sunni
organization with an estimated million members, packed a stadium in
Jakarta, calling for the creation of an Islamic state.
   (AP, 8/12/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, A woman (29) in
Bali died from infection with the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
   (www.news-medical.net/?id=28736)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Armed pirates
attacked a Malaysian barge in the Malacca Strait and kidnapped 2
Indonesian crew, in the first high sea abduction in the busy
waterway in more than 2 years.
   (AP, 8/14/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Dozens of Muslim
clerics issued an edict against the construction of Indonesia's
first nuclear power plant on seismically charged Java island, saying
the potential dangers far outweighed the benefits.
   (AP, 9/3/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Indonesia and
Russia signed a $1 billion defense deal that will allow Indonesia to
buy dozens of helicopters, tanks and submarines, part of visiting
Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to boost his country's
military clout in Asia.
   (AP, 9/6/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Indonesia’s
Supreme Court ordered Time magazine to pay $106 million in damages
for defaming former Indonesian dictator Suharto by alleging in a May
1999 story that his family amassed billions of dollars during his
32-year rule. Lower courts had earlier ruled in Time’s favor. Time
appealed the decision.
   (AP, 9/10/07)(Econ, 5/10/08, p.70)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, A massive 8.4
earthquake struck Indonesia, killing at least 10 people, injuring
dozens and triggering a tsunami that hit one city on the island of
Sumatra.
   (AP, 9/12/07)(Reuters, 9/13/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Three powerful
earthquakes jolted Indonesia in less than 24 hours, triggering
tsunami alerts and sending panicked residents fleeing to high
ground. At least 10 people were killed in the tremors.
   (Reuters, 9/13/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Powerful
earthquakes struck Indonesia for a third day, terrorizing thousands
of people who slept outside in fear of tsunami and falling debris.
The death toll reached 21 and seismologists warned that the
worst may be yet to come.
   (AP, 9/14/07)(Reuters, 9/15/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, The death toll
from Indonesia's massive earthquake rose to 23 as more villagers
started returning home.
   (AP, 9/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, In Indonesia's
Papua region rival tribes armed with bows and arrows clashed close
to a US-owned gold mine, killing eight people.
   (AP, 10/17/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, In eastern
Indonesia a crowded passenger boat capsized, killing at least 15
people, with several others possibly missing.
   (AP, 10/18/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, An Indonesian
court dismissed a legal challenge to the death penalty brought by
lawyers for members of an Australian drugs gang on death row for
heroin smuggling.
   (AFP, 10/30/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct, Hardline Indonesian
cleric Abu Bakar Bashir likened tourists to "worms, snakes, maggots"
and called for signs to be placed in Muslim areas warning them to
dress modestly in a speech to an Islamic youth organization in east
Java.
   (AFP, 3/23/08)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, In Indonesia
continuous tremors beneath the Mount Kelud volcano, in the heart of
densely populated Java island, became so strong that they could no
longer be read on seismological instruments, leading scientists to
evacuate their posts and warn that an eruption appeared to have
occurred. It was a false alarm but the volcano showed signs of an
imminent eruption.
   (AP, 11/3/07)(AFP, 11/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, IUCN, a
Geneva-based conservation group, said the world's smallest bear
species faces extinction because of deforestation and poaching in
its Southeast Asian home. The sun bear, whose habitat stretches from
India to Indonesia, has been classified as vulnerable by the World
Conservation Union.
   (AP, 11/12/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, A coroner urged
the Australian government to seek war crimes charges against former
Indonesian military officers over the 1975 killing of five
Australian newsmen during Indonesia's invasion of East Timor.
   (AP, 11/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, In central
Indonesia a fire on a crowded passenger bus killed 12 people,
including three children.
   (AP, 11/24/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 25, Two strong
earthquakes struck Indonesia’s eastern island of Sumbawa and killed
at least three people, including a child, and injured 45 others.
   (AP, 11/26/07)(Econ, 12/1/07, p.58)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, In Indonesia the
capital of Jakarta was partially flooded, forcing thousands of
people to flee homes and cutting off a highway to the international
airport.
   (AP, 11/27/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, The Mezzanine, a
Panamanian freighter, hit rough seas off Taiwan's north coast and 26
Indonesian sailors were feared dead.
   (AFP, 11/28/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 28, Indonesia, which
is losing its forests at a faster rate than any other country,
launched a campaign to plant 79 million trees ahead of a critical
climate change conference on the resort island of Bali.
   (AP, 11/28/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, In Jakarta,
Indonesia, 6 Islamic militants were sentenced to up to 19 years in
prison for terrorist acts in eastern Indonesia that include
beheading three Christian schoolgirls in 2005 and shooting to death
Rev. Irianto Kongkoli in 2006.
   (AP, 12/3/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, In Bali, Indonesia,
climate experts at a massive UN conference urged quick action toward
a new international pact to stem global warming. The UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) hoped for an agreement to
mitigate climate change after the Kyoto protocol runs out in 2012.
   (AP, 12/3/07)(Econ, 12/1/07, p.73)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 6, In Indonesia
American climate negotiators refused to back down in their
opposition to mandatory cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, even as a
US Senate panel endorsed sharp reductions in pollution blamed for
global warming.
   (AP, 12/6/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 8, The chief US
negotiator at the climate conference in Bali, Indonesia, said the US
will come up with its own plan to cut global-warming gases by
mid-2008 and won’t commit to mandatory caps.
   (SSFC, 12/9/07, p.A17)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said a 10-year program has begun
to save endangered orangutans from extinction by protecting tropical
jungle habitat from logging, mining and palm oil plantations. As
many as 50,000 orangutans have been lost over the past 35 years due
to shrinking habitat. As of January 2004, about 6,650 Sumatran
orangutans and 55,000 Borneo orangutans remained in the wild.
   (AP, 12/10/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 12, In Indonesia new
Australian PM Kevin Rudd completed ratification of the Kyoto
Protocol as he pressed for all nations, rich and poor, to commit to
fighting global warming.
   (AP, 12/12/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 13, Nobel laureate Al
Gore accused the United States of blocking progress at the UN
climate conference, and European nations threatened to boycott
US-led climate talks next month unless Washington compromises on
emissions reductions.
   (AP, 12/13/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, Indonesia, the
nation hardest hit by bird flu, announced its 93rd death due to the
H5N1 virus. In China, the military in eastern Nanjing banned the
sale of poultry this week after a father and son came down with the
disease earlier this month. Health officials confirmed the
24-year-old man died from the virus a day before his father, 52,
became sick. It was the country's 17th bird flu death. The WHO
confirmed Myanmar's first human case of bird flu and praised the
secretive country for its quick and open handling of the infection.
State media reported a girl (7) was hospitalized on Nov. 27 and
released on Dec. 12 in good condition after being treated with the
antiviral drug Tamiflu.
   (AP, 12/15/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, In Indonesia 2
weeks of international climate talks marked by bitter disagreements
and angry accusations culminated in a last-minute US compromise and
an agreement to adopt a blueprint for fighting global warming by
2009.
   (AP, 12/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, In western
Indonesia rescuers dug for survivors after landslides and floods
triggered by days of torrential rain killed over 87 people.
   (AP, 12/26/07)(AP, 12/27/07)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, In Indonesia a
small cargo plane disappeared and apparently crashed during a short
flight over Borneo island, and all three people aboard were feared
dead.
   (AP, 1/26/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Indonesia, the
nation hardest hit by bird flu, recorded its 100th human death as
the virus picked up speed across Asia.
   (AP, 1/28/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Former Indonesian
President Suharto (b.1921) died. The US Cold War ally led one of the
20th century's most brutal dictatorships over 32 years that saw up
to a million political opponents killed.
   (AP, 1/27/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, An Indonesian
health ministry official said floods in Jakarta have killed three
people and displaced nearly 100,000 after two days of torrential
rain.
   (AP, 2/2/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, A new security pact
between Australia and Indonesia came into force at a ceremony in
Perth attended by the foreign ministers of the at-times testy
neighbors.
   (AP, 2/7/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Libya’s National
Oil Corp and Indonesia signed a deal for the north African state to
supply the world's most populous Muslim nation with crude oil for
the next 20 years.
   (AFP, 2/7/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, A stampede at an
Indonesian punk rock concert left 10 people dead and dozens more
injured, most of them teenagers.
   (AP, 2/10/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, A 3-year-old
Indonesian boy died of bird flu, the country's second death from the
illness in one day. The two cases, which were apparently unrelated,
brought Indonesia's bird flu death toll to 105.
   (AP, 2/16/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, A powerful
earthquake struck western Indonesia, killing three people and
injuring 25 others.
   (AP, 2/20/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, An Indonesian
court rejected a civil case against the youngest son of ex-dictator
Suharto for alleged corruption and awarded him 550,000 dollars in a
countersuit he filed.
   (AP, 2/28/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Indonesia and
South Africa agreed to reduce obstacles to trade and business and
jointly explore new avenues for electricity generation.
   (AFP, 3/17/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Officials said
Indonesia plans to restrict access to pornographic and violent sites
on the Internet after the country's parliament passed a new
information bill.
   (Reuters, 3/25/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Indonesian police
said they were investigating the deaths over the last 2 weeks of 21
people who drank a concoction labeled an herbal remedy.
   (AP, 3/28/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Indonesia's Supreme
Court overturned the conviction of a notorious militia leader
accused in attacks that left about 1,000 people dead following East
Timor's 1999 independence vote. With Eurico Guterres' upcoming
release, all 18 suspects originally indicted will have been
acquitted or set free.
   (AP, 4/5/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Indonesian Internet
companies blocked access to YouTube and MySpace, heeding a
government order aimed at stopping people from watching an
anti-Islam film by a Dutch lawmaker.
   (AP, 4/8/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Mount Egon volcano
on Flores island in eastern Indonesia spewed ash and smoke 2 1/2
miles into the sky, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of nearby
villagers.
   (AP, 4/16/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 20, In Indonesia
several thousand hardline Muslims protested outside the presidential
palace in Jakarta demanding that Pres. Yudhoyono ban Ahmadiyah, an
unorthodox but moderate Muslim sect founded in India in the 19th
century.
   (Econ, 4/26/08, p.59)
2008      Apr 21,  Â
 In Indonesia Self-proclaimed Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leaders Abu
Dujana and Zarkasih, blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings, were
sentenced to 15 years each at separate trials in the South Jakarta
district court.
   (AFP, 4/21/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 22, In Indonesia
torchbearers ran laps with the Olympic flame in front of an
invitation-only crowd after officials changed the relay route from
Jakarta's streets to a sports stadium amid pressure from China to
keep away demonstrators.
   (AP, 4/22/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, In Indonesia
hundreds of protesters in West Java province chanted "Kill, kill"
and set fire to a mosque belonging to the Muslim Ahmadiyah sect they
claim is heretical. Last week, a team of prosecutors, religious
scholars and government officials said the sect "had deviated from
Islamic principles" and recommended it be outlawed.
   (AP, 4/28/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â May 6, Officials in
Indonesia said at least 13 illegal gold miners were killed in a
landslide in remote Papua province.
   (AP, 5/6/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, In Indonesia
thousands of students took to the streets across the country to
protest the government's plan to raise fuel prices.
   (AP, 5/21/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, Indonesians faced
runaway inflation and higher interest rates after the government
vowed to hike subsidized fuel prices by an average 28.7% despite
widespread protests.
   (AP, 5/22/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â May 23, Indonesia's
government raised gasoline pump prices by nearly 30 percent because
of the surging cost of oil and gas on the global market. The move
triggered generally peaceful protests throughout the vast Indonesian
archipelago.
   (AP, 6/24/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â May, Churchill Mining, a
London-listed firm, announced that it had found 150 million tons of
coal in Indonesian Borneo. In 2011 it raised the amount to 2.8
billion tons.
   (Econ, 10/1/11, p.72)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, Indonesian police
launched a major crackdown on Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a
radical Islamist group blamed for a weekend attack on a rally for
religious tolerance, arresting 59 including the outfit's firebrand
leader.
   (AP, 6/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 9, Indonesia issued a
quasi-ban against a minority Islamic sect in the face of violent
protests by Muslim hardliners. Liberal Indonesians accused the
government of caving in to extremists. Ahmadiyah leaders said they
did not recognize the decree and would appeal.
   (AFP, 6/10/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 12, In Indonesia a
local health official said at least 21 toddlers have died of
malnutrition in eastern Indonesia in recent months due to a food
shortage that threatens the lives of thousands more children.
   (AP, 6/12/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, The leaders of
Australia and Indonesia pledged to join forces to fight climate
change by saving forests and promoting carbon trading.
   (AFP, 6/13/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, Maftuh Fauzi 27) a
student at Indonesia’s National University, died in hospital. He had
been among 100 fuel price protesters arrested May 24, but there were
conflicting reports about the cause of death.
   (AP, 6/24/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 24, In Indonesia about
1,000 Indonesian protesters angered by a student demonstrator's
death after his arrest burned tires and hurled stones at police
guarding the Parliament. Participants in the demonstration in
Jakarta also demanded that the government revoke a 30 percent fuel
price increase imposed last month.
   (AP, 6/24/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, In Indonesia a
1984 Casa-212 plane disappeared during an aerial surveillance
mission about 60 miles south of the capital, Jakarta. All 18 aboard
were killed.
   (AP, 6/27/08)(AP, 6/28/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In Indonesia a
police source said that a group of 10 suspected Muslim militants
detained in raids on Sumatra island by Indonesia's anti-terrorism
unit was plotting to attack Western targets. The raids followed the
capture of a suspected militant after a tip-off by authorities in
Singapore.
   (Reuters, 7/3/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, At Developing Eight
summit of Islamic nations, meeting in Kuala Lumpur, the leaders of
Indonesia and Malaysia called for boosting world food production and
finding a permanent solution to skyrocketing oil prices, saying the
twin problems have become "grave threats" to the world economy.
   (AP, 7/8/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Indonesia executed
Ahmad Suradji (57), a man convicted of killing 42 women and girls in
a series of ritual slayings he believed would give him magical
powers.
   (AP, 7/11/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, In Indonesia
Asnawi Sandri, a 38-year-old father of two, died in the hospital,
days after he came down with symptoms of bird flu. This raised the
unofficial toll in the world's hardest hit nation to 111 in three
years.
   (AP, 7/17/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, In Jakarta,
Indonesia, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pledged cooperation on biofuels
during talks in a bid to take advantage of surging oil prices.
   (AFP, 7/12/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Algeria’s
government newspaper El Moudjhaid said a consortium of British-based
oil services company Petrofac and Indonesian engineering company
IKPT provisionally won a contract to build an LNG plant in western
Mediterranean port of Arzew.
   (AP, 7/13/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Indonesia's
president acknowledged that his country carried out gross human
rights abuses during East Timor's 1999 break for independence, but
stopped short of offering a full apology and said no one would be
prosecuted.
   (AP, 7/15/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, In Indonesia a top
health official said a factory worker had died of bird flu west of
Jakarta, bringing the death toll in the country worst hit by the
virus to 112.
   (AP, 8/3/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Japan accepted over
200 Indonesian nurses into the country, an unprecedented move as
Tokyo struggles to quell a labor shortage triggered by sinking
fertility rates.
   (AP, 8/7/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, On Indonesia's
Sumatra island at least nine people have died and dozens were
injured when a slow-moving passenger train hit a parked freight
locomotive.
   (AP, 8/16/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, In Indonesia at
least 23 people were killed in a stampede as they crowded an alley
to receive $4.25 in cash handouts for the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan.
   (AFP, 9/15/08)(WSJ, 9/16/08, p.A20)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, In eastern
Indonesia a packed ferry caught fire and sank between two coastal
villages in the Maluku islands, killing at least eight people.
   (AP, 9/27/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, Indonesia's
parliament ratified the Southeast Asian charter committing ASEAN
member nations to promote democracy and human rights, clearing the
way for its formal adoption before year's end. Anti-terrorism police
seized bomb-making materials and a large cache of weapons and
ammunition during a raid on a house in Jakarta. Anti-terrorism
squads arrested five suspected Islamic radicals believed to have
been plotting to blow up Indonesia's largest fuel depot.
   (AP, 10/21/08)(AP, 10/22/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Indonesia's
parliament passed a bill banning pornography, ignoring opposition
from lawmakers and rights groups who worry it will be used to
justify attacks on artistic, religious and cultural freedom.
   (AP, 10/30/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 9, Indonesia boosted
security after three Islamic militants (Imam Samudra, 38, and
brothers Amrozi Nurhasyim, 47, and Ali Ghufron, 48) were executed
for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. Emotional
supporters thronged ambulances carrying their caskets through narrow
streets, some calling for revenge.
   (AP, 11/9/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, Indonesian health
officials said test results from two laboratories in the capital
came back positive confirming that a girl (15) died of bird flu last
week.
   (AP, 11/12/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 14, In Indonesia 5
people were killed and 14 were feared dead after a landslide
triggered by heavy rain crushed scores of houses in West Java.
   (AFP, 11/14/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, In eastern
Indonesia a 7.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sulawesi
killed at least 6 people, damaged hundreds of homes and briefly
triggered a region-wide tsunami warning.
   (AP, 11/17/08)(SFC, 11/17/08, p.A3)(AP, 11/18/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, Indonesia rescued
Bank Century at a cost of 6.76 trillion rupiah ($730m). In 2010
Indonesia’s parliament ruled that the bailout was illegal and
suggested that indications of corruption be investigated.
   (Econ, 3/6/10, p.55)(http://tinyurl.com/y8l28yq)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, In Indonesia
health workers and rights activists sharply criticized a plan by
lawmakers in remote Papua province, who have thrown their support
behind a controversial bill requiring some HIV/AIDS patients to be
implanted with microchips, part of extreme efforts to monitor the
disease.
   (AP, 11/24/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Indonesia launched
the Bali Democracy Forum to promote human rights and democracy. The
forum was attended by foreign ministers from around 20 countries,
with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Australian PM Kevin Rudd
as co-chairs.
   (Econ, 2/19/11, p.43)(http://tinyurl.com/6hbsxh5)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, Indonesia and
Malaysia agreed to heighten intelligence cooperation to anticipate
rising cross-border crime due to the impact of the global economic
crisis.
   (AP, 12/11/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, An Indonesian
province beleaguered by a spiraling HIV infection rate scrapped
plans to implant microchips in those with full-blown AIDS, following
strong opposition from government officials, health workers and
rights activists.
   (AP, 12/16/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â In Indonesia Prabowo
Subianto (b.1951), a former son-in-law of Suharto, formed the Great
Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindara) with backing from his
billionaire brother Hashim Dojohadikusumo. Subianto had led a
special forces unit under Suharto (1995-1998) that over the years
was accused of many atrocities.
   (Econ, 3/14/09,
p.45)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prabowo)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Indonesia achieved rice
self-sufficiency for the first time in 24 years.
   (Econ, 1/10/09, p.38)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, In eastern
Indonesia a series of powerful earthquakes toppled or badly damaged
more than 100 buildings and left one person dead and dozens injured.
   (AP, 1/4/09)(AP, 1/5/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, In Indonesia
scores of people were feared dead after a ferry carrying more than
260 passengers and crew sank in stormy seas off Sulawesi island.
   (AP, 1/11/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, Indonesia’s Health
Ministry said 2 people have died of bird flu, apparently after
contact with sick chickens, raising the country's death toll to 115.
   (AP, 1/21/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Indonesian police
opened fire on hundreds of people in Papua province during a protest
against alleged police violence. 4 people were injured.
   (AP, 1/27/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, Indonesia said it
will repatriate 174 "economic migrants" who fled Myanmar claiming
persecution, as new accounts emerged of their harrowing sea journey
and alleged abuse by the Thai navy. The 174 Rohingya and 19
Bangladeshis being kept at an Indonesian naval base landed in Weh
Island off northern Sumatra on January 7.
   (AFP, 1/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Indonesia's navy
picked up 198 starving, dehydrated boat people from Myanmar who said
they drifted for three weeks after authorities in Thailand forced
them to sea in a boat without an engine. Indonesian fishermen had
discovered the 40-foot (12-meter) boat off Aceh's coast in northern
Sumatra and towed it to shore.
   (AP, 2/3/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Indonesia’s central
bank cut its key interest rate a half point to 8.25%.
   (WSJ, 2/4/09, p.A10)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, In Indonesia at
least 42 people were injured and hundreds of homes and buildings
damaged when a major earthquake struck off Sulawesi island near the
Philippines.
   (AP, 2/12/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, About 12 pirates
armed with guns attacked the tug and barge in the Malacca Strait and
kidnapped two crew members as the vessel was en route to Singapore.
   (AP, 2/20/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In western
Indonesia a Sumatran tiger mauled two illegal loggers to death,
bringing to 5 the number of people killed by the critically
endangered cats in less than a month.
   (AP, 2/22/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, An official said 4
Indonesians have died of bird flu over the last 2 months, bringing
the death toll in the country over the past several years to 119.
   (AP, 3/3/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, Indonesia and South
Korea agreed to cooperate more closely on a range of issues
including defense, the global financial crisis and alternative
sources of energy.
   (AP, 3/6/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Two cargo ships
collided off the coast of a central Japanese island, leaving 16
South Korean and Indonesian crew members missing.
   (AP, 3/10/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Forbes magazine
released its list of 793 of the world’s richest people. Joaquin "El
Chapo" Guzman, a suspected drug lord and Mexico's most-wanted
fugitive, made the list of billionaires with a fortune described as
"self made." He was No. 701 on the list. The list included 5
Indonesians.
   (AP, 3/11/09)(SSFC, 3/15/09, p.A4)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, The leaders of two
of Indonesia's biggest political parties signed an agreement on
shared goals amid speculation they could join forces against
President Yudhoyono.
   (AFP, 3/12/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, In Indonesia
Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, the head of a state-owned pharmaceutical
company, was shot dead. On May 4 Jakarta police arrested Antasari
Azhar, chairman of Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission, as
the alleged mastermind of the drive-by murder.
   (Econ, 5/9/09, p.46)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, In eastern
Indonesia 2 Komodo dragons mauled a fruit-picker to death. An
8-year-old boy was killed in 2007, the first recorded deadly attack
on a human by one of the endangered lizards in three decades.
   (AP, 3/24/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Indonesia's
controversial Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said she wants to
end vaccinating children against meningitis, mumps and some other
diseases because she fears foreign drug companies are using the
country as a testing ground.
   (AP, 3/25/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, In Indonesia
rangers found the bodies of 2 rare Sumatran elephants with gunshots
to the head hours after they were used for a patrol against illegal
loggers and several hundred yards from their camp.
   (AP, 3/31/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, In Indonesia
torrential rain caused a dam to burst outside Jakarta, sending a
wall of muddy water crashing into a densely packed neighborhood and
killing at least 96 people with some 130 still missing. The earthen
dam, built in 1933 when Indonesia was still under Dutch rule,
surrounded a man-made lake in Cirendeu on the southwestern edge of
Jakarta.
   (AP, 3/27/09)(AP, 3/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, An Indonesian
military plane carrying 24 people crashed into an airport hangar
during heavy rains and burst into flames, killing everyone on board.
   (AP, 4/6/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, Indonesians flooded
polling stations across the sprawling island nation, capping a
decade of democracy in a parliamentary election that boosted the
reform-minded president's chances of re-election. Pres. Yudhoyono’s
party won 20.8% of the popular vote. Nine parties appeared to have
passed the 2.5% threshold to win seats in the 560-member parliament.
   (AP, 4/9/09)(SFC, 4/10/09, p.A2)(Econ, 4/18/09,
p.44)(AP, 5/10/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Indonesia's top
court cleared Time Magazine of charges it had defamed former
dictator Suharto in a cover story that alleged his family amassed
billions of dollars during his decades-long rule.
   (AP, 4/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Five people were
killed and dozens wounded when a blast tore apart a boat carrying
more than 40 Afghan refugees off Australia's northwest coast. The
Australian Broadcasting Corporation later said it was told the
refugees had doused the boat in petrol to try to force the navy to
land them in Australia and not turn them back to Indonesia, but that
the blast was an accident. On Oct 28 two Indonesian fishermen were
jailed for five years for smuggling the boat full of Afghan
refugees.
   (AFP, 4/20/09)(AFP, 10/28/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 19, The annual Goldman
Environmental Prize was awarded to 7 activists from 6 nations.
Rizwana Hasan (40) of Bangladesh was awarded for exposing
environmental damage and exploitative practices used in the
country’s ship dismantling industry; Marc Ona Essangui (45) of
Gabon, the founder of Brainforest, was awarded for exposing secret
agreements for a Chinese mine project that threatened Gabon’s rain
forests; Yuyun Ismawati of Indonesia was awarded for designing
environmentally safe waste management systems for poor Indonesia n
communities; Olga Speranskaya (46) of Eco-Accord in Russia was
awarded for her efforts to control and store chemicals in Russia and
former Soviet republics; Wanze Eduards (52) and Hugo Jabini (44) of
Suriname, leaders of the maroon community, were awarded for their
efforts that led to a landmark ruling ending tribal exploitation by
the government. Maria Gunnoe (40) of West Virginia was awarded for
her fight against the practice of removing of the tops of mountains
and filing valleys below with tailings.
   (SSFC, 4/19/09, p.A18)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, An Indonesian
court sentenced a Singaporean man to 18 years in prison on terrorism
charges. Mohammad Hasan bin Saynudin (36), who claimed to have met
Osama bin Laden on many occasions, was convicted of plotting to kill
a teacher and planning a deadly attack on a bar frequented by
Western tourists.
   (AP, 4/28/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, Indonesia's top
graft-buster, Antasari Azhar (56), was named a suspect and a
mastermind in a murder case, dealing a blow to the agency that's
played a key part in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's fight
against corruption. He was one of several suspects in the March 14
murder of Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, a businessman who, according to local
media reports, had been a witness in a corruption case investigated
by the agency.
   (Reuters, 5/1/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 4, Indonesia's top
graft-buster, Antasari Azhar (56), was arrested as a suspect and a
mastermind in the March 14 murder of businessman Nasrudin
Zulkarnaen.
   (AP, 5/5/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 7, In northwestern
Indonesia 2 rare Sumatran elephants, believed to have been poisoned
with cyanide-laced pineapples, were found dead with their tusks
removed. Just 3,000 Sumatran elephants are believed to still be
living in their natural surroundings.
   (AP, 5/8/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, In Indonesia 6
Asia-Pacific countries, meeting at the World Oceans Conference,
agreed on a management plan to protect one of the world's largest
networks of coral reefs, promising to reduce pollution, eliminate
overfishing and improve the livelihoods of impoverished coastal
communities. The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries
and Food Security covered an area defined as the Coral Triangle,
which spans Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea,
the Solomon Islands and East Timor.
   (AP, 5/15/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 19, Environmental
groups in Indonesia said Singapore-based Asia Pulp &
Paper, one of the world's largest paper companies, plans to
clear a large swath of unprotected forest in Indonesia being used as
a sanctuary for critically endangered orangutans.
   (AP, 5/19/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 20, An Indonesian
C-130 Hercules military transport plane, carrying troops and their
families, crashed into a row of houses in East Java and burst into
flames, killing 99 people.
   (AP, 5/20/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, A ship packed with
Afghan migrants sank off Indonesia's western coast, killing at least
9 people and leaving 11 others missing.
   (AP, 5/28/09)(AP, 5/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 29, Indonesian
government marine geologist Yusuf Surachman said that a massive
underwater mountain discovered off the island of Sumatra could be a
volcano with potentially catastrophic power. It was discovered
earlier this month about 330 kilometers (205 miles) west of Bengkulu
city during research to map the seabed's seismic faultlines.
   (AFP, 5/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 7, In Indonesia 19
leading agricultural exporting nations, including Australia, Brazil
and South Africa, kicked off talks in Bali aimed at pushing forward
troubled world trade negotiations. The Cairns Group of nations
accounted for more than 25% of the world's agricultural exports was
also expected to take aim at US and European dairy export subsidies.
   (Reuters, 6/7/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 12, In Indonesia a
male Sumatran elephant was found dead in a pulp plantation in Riau
province, Sumatra with its tusks removed. Six other endangered
Sumatran elephants had been killed in Riau in the last two months
and two were found with missing tusks.
   (AP, 6/15/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 16, In Indonesia 16
miners were rescued after a massive explosion of methane gas
collapsed a coal mine owned by local residents in West Sumatra
province. 5 of the rescued miners died in hospital and the death
toll rose to 31 the next day after rescuers unearthed more bodies.
One more miner was believed to be buried.
   (AFP, 6/16/09)(AP, 6/17/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, Indonesia
committed to the conservation of its dwindling tropical forests in a
multimillion dollar debt-swap deal signed with the American
government. Jakarta's payments to Washington will be reduced by $30
million over the next eight years under the US Tropical Forest
Conservation Act.
   (AP, 6/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won a second term. Exit polls
gave him a massive lead in only the second presidential vote since
the fall of Suharto. Yudhoyono won 61% of the vote. Jusuf Kalla, his
former vice-president, won 12%. Megawati Sukarnoputri won 27%.
   (AP, 7/8/09)(Econ, 9/12/09, SR p.4)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, In Indonesia
gunmen killed a security guard working for US mining conglomerate
Freeport, then ambushed police responding to the attack blamed on
separatist rebels in one of Indonesia's most underdeveloped and
remote regions.
   (AP, 7/12/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, In Indonesia a
policeman's body was found at the bottom of a ravine near the
Indonesian operations of US mining conglomerate Freeport, raising
the death toll from a series of weekend ambushes in restive Papua
province to three.
   (AP, 7/13/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, In Indonesia
suicide attacks at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in
Jakarta killed 9 people including 2 suspected suicide bombers and
wounded 53. Suspicion quickly fell on Jemaah Islamiyah and
anti-terror desk chief, Ansyaad Mbai, said evidence pointed to
Malaysian-born extremist Noordin Mohammed Top. In 2010 the South
Jakarta District Court found Amid Abdillah guilty of violating the
Anti-Terror Law by helping a splinter of the Southeast Asian terror
network Jemaah Islamiyah plan the suicide bombings. The same court
has earlier sentenced Saefudin Zuhri, an in-law of Top, and Aris
Susanto to eight years in prison for assisting and harboring Top and
two other suspects.
   (AP, 7/17/09)(AFP, 7/18/09)(AP, 7/21/09)(AP,
8/7/09)(AP, 6/14/10)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, In eastern
Indonesia a plane carrying 16 people disappeared over a jungle-clad
and mountainous region of Papua. All aboard were killed.
   (AP, 8/2/09)(AP, 8/5/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, A seven-minute
video, apparently made by the Korps Brigade Mobil, or Brimob, the
paramilitary police, shows prisoner Yawen Wayeni lying in a jungle
clearing in eastern Indonesia moments after troops allegedly sliced
open his abdomen with a bayonet. Police said Wayeni, captured for
allegedly vandalizing several of their buildings and vehicles, was
shot in the thigh and stomach while resisting arrest and that he
died on the way to the hospital. The video was made public in the
Internet in 2010.
   (AP,
8/4/10)(http://hub.witness.org/en/upload/killing-yawan-wayeni)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Indonesia's
anti-terrorism unit engaged in a shootout in Central Java during a
raid targeting suspected militants behind deadly bomb attacks in
Jakarta last month.
   (Reuters, 8/7/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Indonesian police
reportedly killed Noordin Mohammad Top, the self-proclaimed
Southeast Asian commander of al-Qaida, in a 16-hour siege of a
village hide-out in Central Java. Authorities said they could not
confirm that a recovered body was that of the militant leader
without DNA tests. DNA tests failed to confirm Top’s death. Police
raided a house on the outskirts of Jakarta where they killed two
suspected militants and seized bombs and a car rigged to carry them.
The house was just 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the president's
residence.
   (AP, 8/8/09)(AP, 8/9/09)(AP, 8/12/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, In Indonesia
UNAIDS regional director Prasada Rao cited a new report saying more
than 1.5 million women living with HIV in Asia were infected by
their partners and 50 million more are at risk of infection. Rao
spoke on the sidelines of the ninth International Congress on AIDS
in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP), which is being held on the
Indonesian resort island of Bali.
   (AFP, 8/11/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In Indonesia a
dump truck, packed with more than 60 plantation workers and their
families, overturned and killing at least 25 with dozens injured. At
least three children were among the dead near Sampit town in Central
Kalimantan.
   (AP, 8/19/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, In Indonesia a
group of thieves killed an endangered Sumatran tiger in a zoo in
Jambi province on Sumatra island and stole most of its body. Police
suspected the theft was motivated by the animal's valuable fur and
bones. The number of Sumatran tigers has dwindled to about 250 from
about 1,000 in the 1970s, according to the Washington DC-based World
Wildlife Fund.
   (AP, 8/23/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, A small Indonesian
ferry sank off the resort island of Bali, killing nine people while
three others are still missing.
   (Reuters, 8/26/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, In Indonesia the
overcrowded ferry Sari Mulia capsized in the Negara River in the
South Kalimantan province, leaving at least 19 people dead and 15
others missing.
   (AP, 8/29/09)(AP, 8/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, A powerful 7.0
earthquake rattled southern Indonesia, killing at least 64 people
crushed by falling rock or collapsed buildings and sending thousands
fleeing outdoors for safety in the middle of the work day. More than
10,000 buildings were severely damaged.
   (AP, 9/2/09)(AP, 9/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, A small Indonesian
military plane crashed on Borneo with nine passengers and crew
aboard, killing four.
   (AP, 9/7/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Australia announced
that it has launched a war crimes investigation into the 1975
killing of five Australian-based journalists during an attack by
Indonesian forces in East Timor.
   (AP, 9/9/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, In Indonesia
expanded Islamic law was passed by the regional parliament in Aceh
province. One key article regarding adultery threatened 100 cane
lashes for the unmarried and stoning to death for those who are
married.
   (AP, 9/14/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Armed Indonesian
police stormed an Islamic militant hideout in a raid that killed
fugitive terror mastermind Noordin Mohammed Top (41) and 3 other
militants in central Java. Putri Munawaroh (21) was wounded and
arrested after police raided her house, sparking the gunbattle. In
2010 she was sentenced to 3 years in prison for harboring
terrorists.
   (AFP, 9/17/09)(AP, 7/29/10)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, In Indonesia a
strong earthquake shook the popular resort island of Bali, injuring
at least seven people and sending panicked tourists and residents
fleeing out of homes and hotels.
   (AP, 9/19/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, In Indonesia Akbar
Risuddin came into the world at a national record 19.2 pounds (8.7
kilograms). He was born to a diabetic mother in a 40-minute cesarean
delivery that was complicated because of his unusual weight and
size. Guinness World Records cites the heaviest baby as being born
in the US in 1879, weighing 23.75 pounds (10.4 kilograms). However,
it died 11 hours after birth. The book also cites 22.5-pound
(10.2-kilogram) babies born in Italy in 1955 and in South Africa in
1982.
   (AP, 9/25/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, A 7.6 underwater
earthquake rocked western Indonesia, briefly triggering a tsunami
alert for countries along the Indian Ocean and sending panicked
residents out of their houses. The quake toppled buildings, cut
power and triggered a landslide on Sumatra island. The UN
later said 1,100 had been killed in and around Padang, a port city
of 900,000 that sits atop one of the world's most active seismic
fault lines along the Pacific "Ring of Fire." At least three
villages were obliterated by earthquake-triggered landslides that
buried as many as 644 people including a wedding party under
mountains of mud and debris.
   (AFP, 9/30/09)(AP, 10/2/09)(Reuters, 10/2/09)(AP,
10/3/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, Indonesia’s
Parliament, regarded as the most corrupt of Indonesia’s
institutions, passed a law weakening its Corruption Eradication
Commission (KPK).
   (Econ, 10/10/09, p.44)Â
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 1, In Indonesia rescue
workers used excavators to pull out victims from the heavy rubble of
buildings felled by the previous day’s 7.6 earthquake. The death
toll was expected to rise. The region was jolted by another powerful
earthquake, causing damage but no reported fatalities.
   (AP, 10/1/09)(AP, 10/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 2, A boat carrying
about 100 asylum seekers left an Indonesian port bound for Australia
but never arrived. The information was made public in May, 2010, by
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service chief executive
Michael Carmody during a routine Senate inquiry into government
operations.
   (AP, 5/25/10)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 8, In Indonesia
controversial tycoon Aburizal Bakrie was elected to lead the Golkar
party after the Suharto-era ruling party suffered its biggest
electoral defeat.
   (AFP, 10/8/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, Indonesian police
raided a house near the capital, shooting dead suspected
al-Qaida-linked militants Syaiffudin Djaelani and his brother,
Mohamad Syahrir, wanted in the suicide bombings of luxury hotels in
Jakarta. Djaelani was believed to have recruited two young bombers
for the July 17 strikes on the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton.
   (AP, 10/9/09)(Reuters, 10/12/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, Indonesia’s
customs chief said a group of 10 alleged Iranian drug smugglers,
including eight veiled women, were caught with $12.5 million worth
of methamphetamines at the main airport. The group had arrived on
flights from Malaysia, Syria and Qatar on Oct 19-20.
   (AP, 10/21/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Indonesian
officials and fishermen said thousands of dead fish and clumps of
oil have been found drifting near the coastline more than two months
after an Australian underwater well began leaking in the Timor Sea
on Aug 21.
   (AP, 10/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 9, In central
Indonesia 6.7 undersea earthquake killed one person, injured dozens
and damaged hundreds of houses on remote Sumbawa Island. Local
officials said torrential rains have triggered a series of
landslides on Sulawesi island, killing at least 14 residents and
burying many more.
   (AP, 11/9/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, Indonesian
authorities picked up Abdul Basir Latip, a co-founder of the Al
Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf extremist group, at Jakarta airport for
using a false passport.
   (AFP, 12/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, Nearly 250 people
were pulled from the sea after the Dumai Express went down in heavy
rain and huge swells off Karimun island in the north of the
Indonesian archipelago. At least 29 people were killed and 20 were
missing.
   (AFP, 11/22/09)(AP, 11/23/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, In Indonesia
police broke up a protest by the environmental group Greenpeace
against deforestation on the island of Sumatra, arresting 12 foreign
and six Indonesian demonstrators.
   (AP, 11/26/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 1, Indonesia banned
the film “Balibo,” an Australian-made film on the alleged murder of
six Australian-based journalists by Indonesian troops during the
1975 invasion of East Timor.
   (AFP, 12/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 5, In Indonesia an
ecumenical group launched more than 10,000 twinkling paper lanterns
into the night sky above Carnaval Beach in Jakarta, setting a world
record. Freedom Faithnet Global said it organized the lantern
release as a symbol of hope and prayer as part of annual
celebrations. This year's celebrations have an environmental focus.
   (AP, 12/7/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, Australian
scientists reported the discovery of an octopus in Indonesia that
collects coconut shells for shelter, unusually sophisticated
behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool
use in an invertebrate animal.
   (AP, 12/15/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, Indonesian police
killed Kelly Kwalik (60), one of the most active Papuan rebel
commanders, sparking angry protests in a region scarred by unrest
and rights abuses. Police said they shot Kwalik after he threatened
to open fire on them during a raid on a house in Timika. Kwalik
commanded the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in southern Mimika district.
   (AFP,
12/16/09)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Kwalik)(Econ, 6/5/10,
p.49)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 19, Hundreds of
supporters of a slain Papuan rebel leader Kelly Kwalik pelted
Indonesian police with stones as tensions flared ahead of the
commander's funeral.
   (AFP, 12/19/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, Former Indonesian
President Abdurrahman Wahid (69) died. He briefly ruled during the
nation's first tumultuous years of democracy (1999-2001) and sought
peace in far-flung secessionist provinces.
   (AP, 12/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec, In Indonesia the
attorney-general’s office banned 5 books, which it considered a
threat to national security.
   (Econ, 1/23/10, p.43)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Andrew Beatty,
anthropologist, authored “A Shadow Falls: In the Heart of Java,” a
look at the cultural conflict between Javanism, a pre-Islamic
mystical tradition, and orthodox Islam.
   (Econ, 4/4/09, p.87)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Marcus Mietzner authored
Military Politics, Islam and the State of Indonesia: From Turbulent
Transition to Democratic Consolidation.”
   (Econ, 8/15/09, p.37)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Indonesia joined the G20
club of major economies.
   (Econ, 2/19/11, p.43)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Indonesia’s population at
this time numbered about 240 million people.
   (Econ, 4/4/09, p.18)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Australia’s Defence
Signals Directorate (DSD), an intelligence agency, tried to tap the
phones of Indonesia’s Pres. Susilo Bambang, as well as his wife and
several of his innermost circle. This only became public in 2013.
   (Econ, 11/23/13, p.43)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â The world Muslim
population was estimated at 1.57 billion, or about 23% of the global
population of 6.8 billion, including 203 million in Indonesia, 174
million in Pakistan and 160 million in India.
   (Econ, 10/10/09, p.62)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, The Indonesian
government, which has promised to stamp out corruption, was
embarrassed by revelations that rich and powerful prisoners are
living in luxury behind bars.
   (AFP, 1/12/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, In Indonesia
hundreds people pelted each other with stones outside parliament as
lawmakers grilled Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati over a
controversial bank bailout. Some 400 anti-graft protesters from
rival groups set upon each other in the latest sign of mounting
anger over pervasive corruption.
   (AFP, 1/13/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, In Indonesia
incessant rain caused floods in two remote villages in eastern
Indonesia leaving eight people dead and 13 others missing.
   (AP, 1/22/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, In Indonesia
gunmen attacked a convoy near the world's largest gold mine in
Papua, wounding at least seven people including a foreigner.
   (AP, 1/24/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, In Indonesia Eko
Budi Wardoyo (32), a suspected Islamist militant, was arrested in
East Java province. He was allegedly involved in the 2005 bombing of
a market that killed 22 people and the murder of a Christian priest
in 2004.
   (AP, 1/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, It was reported
that Italian fashion house Armani has stopped selling online a
T-shirt bearing a logo similar to Indonesia's national symbol,
Garuda Pancasila, after some bloggers protested and other people
called for the label to be sued.
   (Reuters, 1/27/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Thailand and the
United States began their annual Cobra Gold military exercise, now
in its 29th year, with South Korea taking part for the first time.
Singapore, Japan and Indonesia will also participate in the
three-week training exercise, describes as the largest of its type
in the world.
   (AP, 2/1/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Indonesian police
said 8 people have died after drinking liquor laced with methanol on
the country's main island of Java. The victims had bought the drink
from the same stall on Feb 5.
   (AP, 2/9/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Indonesia's former
anti-graft chief, Antasari Azhar (56), was convicted of plotting the
murder of a businessman and sentenced to 18 years in prison, in a
case that has undermined the country's fight against corruption.
   (AP, 2/11/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, In Indonesia
contestants took part in the Social Cultural Transvestite Queen
beauty pageant in Banda Aceh, Aceh province. The transvestite beauty
pageant was held for the first time in the country's only province
that officially adopted Islamic sharia law.
   (AP, 2/14/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, In Indonesia a
villager was killed in crossfire and three suspected militants were
arrested when police raided a possible paramilitary training ground
for the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah in Aceh
province.
   (AP, 2/23/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, In Indonesia a
rain-triggered landslide at a tea plantation on the main island of
Java buried scores of workers. At least 46 people were killed or
missing.
   (AP, 2/23/10)(AP, 2/24/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, In Indonesia a
group calling itself "al-Qaida in Aceh" claimed to be the target of
a police crackdown. Police have arrested 16 suspected militants in a
series of raids in the deeply conservative province of Aceh since
Feb 22.
   (AP, 3/6/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Indonesia’s
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono flew into Canberra with PM Kevin
Rudd and Governor-General Quentin Bryce waiting on the red carpet.
He was soon appointed an honorary companion of the Order of
Australia for his work after the 2002 Bali bombing. Yudhoyono will
become the first Indonesian leader to address a joint sitting of
Australia's parliament on March 10.
   (AFP, 3/9/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, In Indonesia 3
terror suspects were killed during raids near Jakarta. One of the
dead included Dulmatin, one of the masterminds of the 2002 Bali
bombings. Police soon confirmed his identity. An additional terror
suspect was arrested in Jakarta earlier in the day, bringing to 24
the number of suspects taken into custody on Java and Aceh since
Feb. 22 in a police crackdown on a suspected Jemaah Islamiyah cell.
   (AP, 3/9/10)(AFP, 3/10/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Indonesian police
killed two suspected Islamist militants in a firefight in remote
Aceh province during the latest in a series of raids made since an
extremist training camp was discovered there last month. Eight other
suspects were arrested.
   (AP, 3/12/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, In Indonesia a
rare Sumatran tiger dragged a man, identified as Darmilus (26), from
a hut in Seponjen village near the protected Berbak National Park,
and broke his neck as friends tried to rescue the victim.
   (AP, 3/22/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Indonesian police
ordered the cancellation of a conference of Asian gay activists,
saying it could prompt violent protests by conservative Muslim
groups.
   (AP, 3/24/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 7, In Indonesia a
magnitude 7.7 earthquake shook Indonesia's northwest island of
Sumatra, triggering a small tsunami, snapping power lines and
sending panicked residents rushing for higher ground.
   (AP, 4/7/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, In Indonesia
police arrested 6 terror suspects including Abu Musa (35), a suspect
in the 2004 attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, and Yusuf
Arifin (25), who is said to have received militant training in the
southern Philippines. The other four were wanted in connection with
a failed plot to assassinate Indonesia's president last year.
   (AP, 4/12/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 12, Indonesian police
raided a home used by suspected terrorists in the far western
province of Aceh, fatally shooting Enal Tao (38), allegedly involved
in the beheadings of 3 Christian girls. Two other suspects were
arrested at the house in Cot Irie village on the outskirts of Banda
Aceh.
   (AP, 4/12/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, In Indonesia
protesters wielding machetes, sticks and petrol bombs clashed with
riot police near the main seaport of Tanjung Priok in northern
Jakarta in a series of running battles over a Muslim cleric's tomb,
wounding 90 people. The bloody clashes left three dead and 156
wounded.
   (AP, 4/14/10)(AP, 4/15/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 19, Indonesia’s
Constitutional Court ruled 8-1 that a 45-year-old law banning
religious blasphemy was constitutional. The law limited officially
recognized religions to six: Buddhism, Catholicism, Confucianism,
Hinduism, Islam and Protestantism. Up to 5 years in prison could be
imposed for anyone found guilty of heresy.
   (SFC, 4/20/10, p.A2)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, In Indonesia an
earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 rattled the North
Sumatra province, prompting a brief local tsunami watch, knocking
out power and damaging some homes.
   (AP, 5/9/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 11, Indonesia's former
chief detective, Gen. Susno Duadji, who has recently exposed
corruption among government and police officials, was arrested on
allegations that he accepted a bribe in 2008.
   (AP, 5/11/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 12, In Indonesia 5
suspected terrorists were killed in two raids, the latest in a
series of anti-terror operations nationwide. 3 were killed in
Cawang, East Jakarta, and 2 others in the West Java city of
Cikampek. One of the suspects killed in the second raid was Saptono,
who was involved in a suicide car bomb attack which killed 10 people
outside the Australian embassy in 2004. Two days of raids around
Java also detained 20 people.
   (AFP, 5/12/10)(Econ, 5/22/10, p.45)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, An Indonesian
official said police have foiled a plot to assassinate the president
and other top officials, massacre foreigners in Mumbai-style
terrorist attacks and declare an Islamic state.
   (AP, 5/14/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, In Indonesia
authorities in a devoutly Islamic district of Aceh province have
distributed 20,000 long skirts and prohibited shops from selling
tight dresses as a regulation banning Muslim women from wearing
revealing clothing took effect.
   (AP, 5/27/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, Indonesia said it
will impose a 2-year moratorium on large-scale clearance of
rainforests, effective as off January 2011, in return for $1 billion
grant from Norway to fund projects as part of the REDD plan (Reduced
Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation).
  Â
(http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0527-hance_moratorium.html)(Econ,
10/30/10, p.44)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, Indonesia's
failure to ban tobacco advertising or enforce laws against smoking
in bars and restaurants came under heavy fire as the UN marked world
anti-tobacco day.
   (AP, 5/31/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 6, In western
Indonesia 10 children died when a suspension bridge collapsed.
Rescuers were searching for three others still missing.
   (AP, 6/7/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 16, Indonesia was hit
by a series of powerful earthquakes. At least 17 people were killed
and more than 4,600 others left homeless.
   (AP, 6/16/10)(AP, 6/21/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, In Indonesia the
discovery of three dead Javan rhinos has intensified efforts to save
one of the world's most endangered mammals from extinction, with an
electric fence being built around a new sanctuary and breeding
ground.
   (AP, 6/21/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 23, In Indonesia an
elite anti-terrorism squad arrested Abdullah Sunata, the country’s
most-wanted man, and two other suspects after raiding their hide-out
on the country's main island of Java. At least one person was killed
and several weapons seized, including a bomb in a backpack.
   (AP, 6/23/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, In Indonesia 10
people were killed in a fire that ripped through the packed Redboxx
Café nightclub in Surabaya in the early hours, including a mother
and the baby she apparently gave birth to during the tragedy.
   (AP, 6/25/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, An Indonesian
court sentenced 8 Iranians to life in prison for smuggling hundreds
of methamphetamine tablets in their stomachs into the resort island
of Bali. The Jakarta Post newspaper, quoting police, said Iranian
drugs syndicates have become the main suppliers of heroin and
crystal methamphetamine to Indonesia, replacing West African
countries.
   (AFP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun, Indonesia’s Tempo
news magazine ran a cover story revealing that over a dozen senior
police officials had suspicious bank accounts, some of which held
millions of dollars. A week later an anti-corruption activist, who
helped expose the accounts, was brutally beaten by unknown men.
   (Econ, 11/6/10, p.56)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Jakarta's annual
month-long flora and fauna expo opened. It included sales of the
world's most threatened ploughshare tortoise and the critically
endangered radiated tortoises, both from Madagascar. While the
government has passed legislation banning such illegal trade,
dealers continue to blatantly sell endangered species without fear
of arrest or prosecution.
   (AP, 7/3o/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, The US said it was
dropping a ban on ties with Indonesia's special forces, imposed over
human rights abuses in the 1990s, a move that may eventually allow
combat training of the once-notorious unit.
   (Reuters, 7/22/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, In Indonesia the
Trisal Pratama sank shortly after a collision with another cargo
vessel near Selayar island off South Sumatra province. Rescuers
saved 11 people, including a 1-year-old girl, but searched the next
day for nine others still missing.
   (AP, 8/5/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, In Indonesia the
Mount Karangetang volcano erupted, sending lava and a searing gas
cloud tumbling down its slopes. At least four family members were
swept away and feared dead.
   (AP, 8/6/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Indonesian police
arrested top radical Islamist preacher Abu Bakar Bashir. He was
accused of funding and training extremists who were planning a wave
of attacks in Jakarta.
   (AFP, 8/10/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, In Indonesia the
Hastina III sunk off East Nusatenggara province after a large wave
slammed into the wooden ship, sending panicked passengers running to
one side. It capsized between Adonara and Lembata islands. 10 people
were killed with one missing.
   (AP, 8/9/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Indonesia and the
US launched a biodiversity research centre on the holiday island of
Bali to further studies of the archipelago's rich and diverse
species.
   (AFP, 8/10/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Indonesia's
best-known radical cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, was charged with
helping plan terrorist attacks in the world's most populous Muslim
nation, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of death.
   (AP, 8/11/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, In Indonesia the
Sinabung volcano on the island of Sumatra erupted for the first time
in 400 years, spewing a vast cloud of smoke and ash into the air and
sending thousands of people fleeing from their homes.
   (AFP, 8/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Indonesian police
killed five villagers as dozens of people ransacked a station in
central Buol district to protest a person's death in custody. The
protest followed a motorist's death in police custody on Aug 30. It
was unclear why he was detained, but the protesters suspected he was
tortured by police.
   (AP, 9/1/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, An international
maritime group urged Indonesia to increase patrols in the South
China Sea after pirates attacked nine vessels in less than three
weeks.
   (AP, 9/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Thousands of
Indonesian Muslims rallied outside the US Embassy in Jakarta to
denounce an American church's plan to mark the anniversary of the
9/11 terrorist attacks by burning copies of the Quran. The Dove
World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, has said it will burn
the Islamic holy book on Sep 11, the ninth anniversary of the NYC
terror attacks.
   (AP, 9/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Indonesia’s Mount
Sinabung volcano shot a towering cloud of black ash high into the
air, dusting villages 15 miles (25 km) away in its most powerful
eruption since awakening last week from four centuries of dormancy.
   (AP, 9/7/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, In central
Indonesia flash floods on Borneo Island killed 10 people and left 14
others missing.
   (AP, 9/12/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, In Indonesia
assailants stabbed Asia Sihombing, a Christian worshipper, in the
stomach and pounded Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak in the head with a
wooden plank when she tried to help him as they headed to morning
prayers in Bekasi, 25 miles east of Jakarta.
   (AP, 9/12/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, In Indonesia Yusuf
Sipakoly (52), a political prisoner being detained in Ambon, Maluku,
died while under police custody. His family claimed that he was
tortured by police.
   (Econ, 11/6/10, p.56)(http://tinyurl.com/3533o26)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, In western
Indonesia Muslim militants wearing black masks stormed the tiny
police precinct and unloaded their assault rifles, riddling 3
officers with bullets and shining a spotlight on the country's
changing face of terrorism.
   (AP, 10/10/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Mohammed Sofyan
Tsauri, a former Indonesian police officer, said he helped al-Qaida
train 170 members of a new terror network in Aceh province soon
after he left the police force in 2008. On Jan 19, 2011, Tsauri (34)
was sentenced to 10 years in prison for supplying weapons to a
terrorist cell allegedly plotting a series of attacks on foreigners.
   (AP, 9/23/10)(AP, 1/19/11)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Indonesia and
France served as co-chairs of the Group of 20 Working Group on
Anti-corruption during a 2-day meeting in Jakarta. The WGAC was
among the most significant outcomes of the G20 summit in Toronto in
June 2010.
  Â
(www.deplu.go.id/Pages/PressRelease.aspx?IDP=1002&l=en)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 2, In central
Indonesia a train crashed into another parked at a railway station,
killing at least 36 people and injuring dozens, many seriously. The
next day Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said Halik Rudianto,
the train’s engineer, had failed to stop at a red signal. Rudianto
was arrested for negligence.
   (AP, 10/2/10)(AP, 10/3/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 4, In Indonesia heavy
rain unleashed flash floods and mudslides, killing at least 91
people in West Papua province's village of Wasior. Rescuers
struggled to reach the area.
   (AP, 10/5/10)(AP, 10/6/10)(AP, 10/7/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 6, In Indonesia
helicopters dropped food to isolated villages and security forces
helped clear debris and search for survivors as the number of people
killed by floods and landslides across Asia climbed to nearly 110.
Three-quarters of the deaths were in eastern Indonesia. In Vietnam
11 bodies were recovered in the worst-hit province of Quang Binh,
where authorities were also searching for five sailors from a sunken
barge. At least seven other bodies were found in Ha Tinh province,
five in Nghe An and three in Quang Tri. On China's nearby island
province of Hainan, seven straight days of heavy rains left two
people missing and forced 64,000 to evacuate.
   (AP, 10/6/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, Erwin Arnada (47),
the former editor-in-chief of Playboy Indonesia, began a two-year
prison sentence for publishing pictures of scantily clothed women,
riling free speech activists in the world's most populous Muslim
nation. The Supreme Court had found Arnada guilty of violating
indecency laws during a closed-door session in August, overruling a
2007 acquittal by the South Jakarta District Court.
   (AP, 10/9/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, Australia and
Indonesia agreed to further discuss plans for a refugee centre in
East Timor to stem the flow of asylum seekers through Southeast Asia
on their way to Australia.
   (AFP, 10/13/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 15, In Indonesia a
rabies outbreak on the resort island of Bali has to date killed 100
people. Bali, an island of 3 million people and one of Asia's top
tourist destinations, has been grappling with the outbreak for
nearly two years.
   (AP, 10/15/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 22, In eastern
Indonesia the Tersanjung, a small passenger ship, sank off the cape
of Watumanuk on Flores island. It was reportedly carrying 66 people.
44 people were rescued and 22 remained missing.
   (AP, 10/22/10)(AP, 10/23/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 23, In Indonesia a
small freighter with seven crew was reported to be going down off
Flores. Three people were apparently missing while the others
survived.
   (AP, 10/23/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 25, In western
Indonesia a 7.7 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra’s coast triggered a
10-foot (3m) tsunami that pounded remote island villages, killing
over 400 people and leaving scores more missing.
   (AP, 10/26/10)(AP, 10/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 26, Indonesia’s Mount
Merapi volcano erupted, prompting terrified villagers to flee and
join the thousands already evacuated from its slopes.
   (Reuters, 10/26/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, In Indonesia
helicopters with emergency supplies finally landed on the remote
islands slammed by a tsunami that killed over 400 people. Elsewhere
in the archipelago the toll from a volcanic eruption rose to 30,
including the mountain's spiritual caretaker.
   (AP, 10/26/10)(AP, 10/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, Indonesia's Mount
Merapi erupted for the second time in a week, blasting vast plumes
of ash into the sky, as the death toll from the initial eruption and
a tsunami that hit remote western islands reached 377.
   (AP, 10/28/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, In Indonesia
clouds of gray ash rumbled down the slopes of Mount Merapi in its
most powerful eruption of a deadly week, prompting soldiers to force
reluctant villagers to evacuate amid fears of a larger blast as the
death toll reached 36. Storms again prevented aid deliveries to
increasingly desperate survivors of a tsunami, including a teenage
girl with an open chest wound, that killed 413 people in the
Mentawai islands. The number of missing dropped by half to 163 as
searchers discovered survivors who had fled to the hills.
   (AP, 10/30/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 1, Indonesia's most
volatile volcano, Mount Merapi, one of 22 that have been
increasingly active, spewed searing clouds of gas and debris for
hours in its most powerful eruption in a deadly week that has left
38 dead.
   (AP, 11/1/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, In Indonesia clouds
of hot ash gushed from the Mount Merapi volcano, forcing motorists
in cities 20 miles (30 km) away to use their headlights in broad
daylight and raising aviation concerns. The death toll climbed to
44.
   (AP, 11/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, In Indonesia
searing gas avalanched down the Mount Merapi volcano with a
thunderous roar, torching houses and trees and incinerating
villagers as they fled. About 70 more people were killed raising the
death toll to 122.
   (AP, 11/5/10)(Econ, 11/13/10, p.50)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 6, Airlines cancelled
at least 36 flights to and from Jakarta, affecting international
carriers from Europe to Asia, because of ash from the Mount Merapi
volcano.
   (AFP, 11/6/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, In Indonesia
frightened residents abandoned their homes in Yogyakarta, a bustling
city of 400,000 at the foot of Mount Merapi, as authorities warned
the volcano could erupt again at any time. 153 people have been
killed in the last two weeks.
   (AP, 11/8/10)(AP, 11/9/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 9, President Barack
Obama arrived in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.
He voiced support for Pres. Yudhoyono's efforts to nurture a rapidly
growing society even in a time when Indonesia has been hit by
earthquakes, a tsunami, and now a volcanic eruption. He also
expressed deep concern that Israelis and Palestinians aren't making
the "extra effort" to secure a breakthrough for achieving Middle
East peace.
   (AP, 11/9/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, Indonesia's Mount
Merapi volcano spewed clouds of ash high into the sky, forcing some
international airlines to again cancel flights and President Barack
Obama to cut short his visit.
   (AP, 11/10/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 14, In Indonesia
rescuers digging through several feet of ash discovered nine more
bodies on the slopes of Mount Merapi, whose explosive eruption a
week ago buried whole villages. Confirmation of more deaths trickled
in and the toll from a series of blasts at the volcano rose to
at least 250.
   (AP, 11/14/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, In Indonesia Gayus
Tambunan (31) broke into tears when he admitted in a hearing at the
South Jakarta District Court that yes, he was the wigged man
captured by photographers at the international tennis match on Nov
5. Tambunan, a midlevel tax official with a salary of just $1,300 a
month, was supposed to be in jail. He has been charged with
pocketing at least $2.7 million from dozens of big companies to help
them avoid paying taxes. 9 wardens have been arrested and face
charges of accepting up to $40,000 from the tax official. Tambunan
allegedly left the jail at least 60 times since his detention in
April. On Jan 19, 2011, he was sentenced to seven years behind bars
for corruption.
   (AP, 11/16/10)(AP, 1/19/11)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Indonesia’s
disaster agency said that the death toll due to Mount Merapi had
risen to 275 and that most of the people were killed by searing gas
clouds. Others died during panicked evacuations or from respiratory
problems and other illnesses linked to the volcano.
   (AP, 11/18/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that an inquiry will be
launched into a female migrant's suspicious death in Saudi Arabia.
Kikim Komalasari, who had worked in Abha city in Saudi Arabia since
June 2009, had died from abuse. She was from Cianjur in West Java
province.
   (AFP, 11/19/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, In Indonesia the
death toll from the Mount Merapi volcano rose to 304 after more
victims succumbed to severe burns and illnesses.
   (SFC, 11/22/10, p.A2)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, A global tiger
summit meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, approved a wide-ranging
program with the goal of doubling the world's tiger population in
the wild by 2022 backed by governments of the 13 countries that
still have tiger populations: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China,
India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam
and Russia. Experts said wild tigers could become extinct in 12
years if countries where they still roam fail to take quick action
to protect their habitats and step up the fight against poaching.
   (AP, 11/21/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, Saudi media said a
Saudi woman (53), accused of torturing her Indonesian maid, has been
sent to jail while the maid, Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa (23),
receives extensive hospital treatment for burns and broken bones.
   (AFP, 11/23/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, Indonesian Muslim
cleric Pujiono Cahyo Widianto (46), who sparked a national outcry by
marrying a 12-year-old girl, was sentenced to four years in prison.
   (AP, 11/24/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 1, Human Rights Watch
urged Indonesia to overturn the Shariah laws in Aceh province, in
effect since 2001, due to alleged widespread rights abuses.
   (SFC, 12/2/10, p.A11)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Indonesian police
arrested Abu Tholut (42), one of the country's most-wanted Muslim
militants, accusing him of plotting high-profile assassinations and
bloody attacks on foreigners at luxury hotels in the capital. Tholut
identified four more militants. Anwar Effendi, Wardi, Sukirno, and
Sri Puji Mulyo Siswanto were suspected of concealing information
about terrorism and of hiding Tholut. All 4 were arrested by the
next day.
   (AP, 12/10/10)(AP, 12/14/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, The Jakarta-based
Legal Aid Foundation said in a new report that law enforcement
officials from police to prison wardens routinely torture Indonesian
suspects and convicts to extract confessions or obtain information.
   (AP, 12/31/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â In Indonesia WHO reported
that some 400,000 people die each year from smoking-related
illnesses. Anti-smoking groups teamed up with Muhammadiyah, the
country’s 2nd largest Islamic organization, to issue a fatwa
declaring smoking haram, i.e. forbidden under Islam.
   (Econ, 5/1/10, p.44)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â In Indonesia a video
circulated widely on the Internet late showed men in uniform burning
the genitals of a suspected separatist and running a knife across
the neck of another, sparking an international outcry. In 2011 three
soldiers were charged with the relatively minor offense of
disobeying orders, which carried a maximum penalty of 30 months in
prison. The 3 soldiers were sentenced on Jan 24 for up to ten months
in prison, angering rights activists who slammed the lenient verdict
as a sham underlining the military's impunity.
   (AP, 1/14/11)(AP, 1/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Canada-based
Research In Motion said it will filter pornographic internet content
for its Blackberry smartphone users in Indonesia, following
government pressure to stop access to porn sites or face its
browsing service being shut down.
   (Reuters, 1/10/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, In Indonesia a
group armed with guns and arrows attacked an army post in Papua, and
one Papuan was killed and another wounded in the exchange.
   (AP, 1/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Canada-based
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry, promised
Indonesia it will meet the country's request to filter out
pornographic content on its smartphones in the next four days.
   (AP, 1/17/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Two Indonesian
passenger trains crashed killing 3 people in West Java province. A
crowded ferry burst into flames off Java, killing at least 18 people
and sending hundreds to the hospital, many in critical condition.
   (AP, 1/28/11)(AP, 1/31/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, In Indonesia
popstar Nazril “Ariel” Irham was sentenced to 3½Â years in
prison after sex tapes with his celebrity girlfriends found their
way to the Internet.
   (SFC, 2/1/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Indonesian
prosecutors formally charged Abu Bakar Bashir (72), spiritual head
of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah network, with planning
terrorist attacks. He was also was charged with helping fund a new
terror cell in Aceh province and mobilizing foot soldiers.
   (AP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, In central
Indonesia a machete-wielding mob of Muslims attacked the home of a
minority sect leader, killing 3 and wounding 6 others in Tamanggung.
Some 1,500 people, many with machetes, sticks and rocks, attacked
about 20 members of the Ahmadiyah Muslim sect who were visiting
their leader in his house in Banten province. Java Island. Dani bin
Misra (17) smashed a rock repeatedly into the skull of Roni Pasaroni
as the crowd yelled "Allahu Akbar" or God is Great. Ahmadiyah is
considered deviant by most Muslims and banned in many Islamic
countries because of its belief that Muhammad was not the final
prophet. Police later arrested 10 suspects related to the attacks.
On July 28 twelve members of the mob were received sentenced of 3-6
months. Dani bin Misra was released from jail after 3 months.
   (AP, 2/6/11)(SFC, 2/12/11, p.A2)(SFC, 7/29/11,
p.A2)(AP, 8/9/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, In Indonesia more
than 1,500 Muslims went on the rampage in Central Java, setting two
churches alight and ransacking a school, after a Christian man was
sentenced to five years' jail for blaspheming Islam. The group
wanted him punished with death.
   (AP, 2/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Indonesia's biggest
palm oil producer (Golden Agri) pledged to follow new standards to
protect carbon-rich forests and peatlands, in a move cautiously
welcomed by environmentalists including Greenpeace. A suspect was
arrested in his Jakarta art shop during a raid carried out by police
and forestry officials for allegedly using the Internet to sell
hundreds of illegal wildlife parts, from ivory and tiger skins to
the teeth of the world's smallest bears.
   (AFP, 2/9/11)(AP, 2/17/11)(Econ, 8/1/15, p.59)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Indonesian marine
police said they have up 129 starving men from Myanmar off the coast
of Aceh. The refugees all belonged to the Rohingya minority, who are
not recognized by Myanmar’s military rulers.
   (SFC, 2/17/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, An Indonesian
court sentenced Islamic preacher Murhali Barda (37) to
five-and-a-half months in jail for misusing his status to encourage
"Muslim lions" to rally at a church, which led to the beating and
stabbing of two Christians. He had already served about five months
and was expected to walk out of jail within days.
   (Reuters, 2/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, Indonesian
journalist Banjir Ambarita, who covered a police sex scandal, was
treated in the hospital after being stabbed in the stomach and
chest. Ambarita had written about three police officers who
confessed to sexually abusing a female detainee.
   (AP, 3/3/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, In Indonesia a
small mail bomb addressed to a moderate Muslim leader exploded in
Jakarta as police were trying to defuse it, wounding four people.
   (AP, 3/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Intelligence
officials in Indonesia and Philippines said Umar Patek (40), a
suspected member of the al-Qaida-linked militant group Jemaah
Islamiyah, has been arrested in Pakistan. The senior Indonesian
al-Qaida operative was wanted in the 2002 Bali bombings. Patek's
exact whereabouts were not immediately known.
   (AP, 3/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, Indonesia arrested
43 Afghans who were trying to reach Australia illegally.
   (AP, 3/31/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, Indonesian
authorities arrested a Filipino woman, coming from Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, with more than two pounds (one kg) of heroin at the Adi
Sumarmo Airport in Solo. She was allegedly paid $8,000 by an
international drug syndicate to carry the heroin.
   (AP, 4/7/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Indonesian
lawmaker Arifinto (50), a member of the staunchly Islamic Prosperous
Justice Party who helped pass a tough anti-pornography law, resigned
after he got caught watching sexually explicit videos on his
computer during a parliamentary debate.
   (AP, 4/11/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, In San Francisco
the annual Goldman Environmental prize was awarded 6 people from
around the world. The winners included Hilton Kelly for his efforts
to cut pollution in Port Arthur, Texas; Francisco Pineda for
resisting mining in El Salvador; Ursula Sladek of Germany for
creating for reducing her community’s reliance on nuclear power;
Prigi Arisandi for her efforts to protect Indonesia’s Surabaya
River; Dmitry Lisitsyn for his efforts to protect the Russia’s
Sakhalin island; and Raoul du Toit for defending wildlife in
Zimbabwe.
   (SFC, 4/11/11, p.A12)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, In Indonesia
suicide bomber Muhammad Syarif (32) blew himself up as police were
praying in the West Java town of Cirebon, wounding 30 people in the
first attack on a mosque since extremists started targeting the
predominantly Muslim country a decade ago.
   (AP, 4/15/11)(AP, 4/16/11)(AFP, 10/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 21, In Indonesia
police arrested 19 terror suspects who then led them to five massive
bombs buried beneath a gas pipeline near a church just outside the
capital. The explosives had been set to detonate by cell phone at
around 9 a.m. on Good Friday.
   (AP, 4/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 7, In Indonesia a
passenger plane carrying 25 people plunged into the ocean as it
approached an airport in bad weather in the eastern province of West
Papua. There were no survivors.
   (AP, 5/7/11)(AP, 5/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, Indonesia's
anti-terrorism forces killed two suspected militants in a predawn
raid in Central Java. A nearby rice vendor was killed in crossfire
in Sukoharjo district. "Team Hisbah" founder and leader Sigit
Qurdowi was killed. Team Hisbah was thought to be behind a series of
failed bomb attempts around the city of Solo. The group splintered
and some formed an anti-vice squad in the city. Many others became
associated with a former Solo resident called Bahrun Naim.
Authorities later believed him to be a leading Indonesian
coordinator for Islamic State (IS).
   (AP, 5/14/11)(Reuters, 8/26/16)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 3, A global maritime
watchdog warned ships traversing the South China Sea bordering
Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore following the hijack of three
tugboats and a barge in recent weeks.
   (AFP, 6/3/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, In Indonesia two
suspected terrorists were killed during a gunbattle in a raid in
Poso, Central Sulawesi province. The two were allegedly linked to
the assailants who killed two police officers and wounded another
last week in Palu.
   (AP, 6/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 16, Indonesian Muslim
cleric Abu Bakar Bashir (72), known as spiritual leader of the
militants who carried out the deadly 2002 Bali bombings, was
sentenced to 15 years in prison for his support of a terror training
camp uncovered last year. On Oct 20 an appeals court reduced the
sentence to 9 years.
   (AP, 6/16/11)(AP, 10/26/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, Saudi Arabia
beheaded Ruyati binti Satubi (54), an Indonesian grandmother, for
killing an allegedly abusive Saudi employer. In response Indonesia
later enacted a moratorium on labor exports to Saudi Arabia
effective August 1.
   (SFC, 8/10/11, p.A3)(http://tinyurl.com/3wvhbpm)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, In Indonesia Abu
Tholut (50), one of the nation’s top terrorism suspects, went on
trial on charges of helping set up a terrorist training camp for a
group that plotted attacks on foreigners and assassinations of the
country's moderate Muslim leaders. Arrested in December, Tholut is
one of more than 120 alleged members of the "Tanzim Al Qaeda in
Aceh" group to have been captured or killed since the camp was
uncovered.
   (AP, 6/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, Three Indonesians,
radicalized by the teachings of a firebrand Muslim cleric, were
sentenced to six years in prison for involvement in a terror plot.
   (AP, 6/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, In Indonesia
indigenous peoples of Borneo demanded a halt to internationally
backed forest conservation schemes, saying they are trampling their
rights and robbing their lands.
   (AFP, 6/22/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 24, Playboy
Indonesia's former editor was released from prison after the
country's top court overturned his indecency conviction for
publishing pictures of scantily clad women.
   (AP, 6/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, In Indonesia a
passenger bus plunged from a hill into a trench on Sumatra island,
killing 14 people.
   (AP, 6/26/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed his brother-in-law, who
rights groups say may have been responsible for abuses in East Timor
in 1999, as the nation's new army chief.
   (AFP, 6/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, In Indonesia an
18-month-old Sumatran tiger died seven days after it fell into a
trap and within three hours of being tranquilized by local
conservation officials. The trap was on the border of an acacia
forest and an APP logging concession. Estimates of the number of
Sumatran tigers remaining in the world range from 300 to 400.
   (AP, 7/26/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In Indonesia the
Mount Soputan volcano erupted on Sulawesi island.
   (SFC, 7/4/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Australia announced
it would lift a ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia and resume
trade with additional safeguards in place to address animal cruelty
concerns.
   (AFP, 7/6/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In Indonesia a man
reportedly trying to show students how to make explosives was killed
by a homemade bomb inside an Islamic boarding school on Sumbawa
Island.
   (AP, 7/12/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In Indonesia Mount
Lokon on Sulawesi island burst into life late at night and continued
to spew ash and searing gas into the air well into the next morning,
prompting more than 4,500 residents to head to safety.
   (AFP, 7/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Indonesian police
arrested Abrori Ali, the headmaster of an Islamic boarding school in
the Sumba island town of Bima, after a man there died earlier this
week, reportedly while trying to teach students how to make homemade
bombs.
   (AP, 7/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, In Indonesia the
Mount Lokon volcano on northern Sulawesi island erupted again and
released the greatest amount of energy so far, shooting soot and
debris 11,400 feet (3,500 meters) into the sky.
   (AP, 7/17/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, In Indonesia some
15,000 underprivileged Indonesian newlyweds from various faiths
joined a mass reception to receive free marriage certificates that
they otherwise could not afford.
   (AP, 7/19/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, In Indonesia
unidentified gunmen ambushed soldiers and killed one of them in the
easternmost province of Papua. A small, poorly armed separatist
group, known as Free Papua Movement, or OPM, has battled for
independence since 1969.
   (AP, 7/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, In eastern
Indonesia clashes between supporters of rival candidates in upcoming
local elections killed 17 people and injured dozens in remote Papua
province.
   (AP, 7/31/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, In Indonesia
unknown gunmen killed four people in a pre-dawn ambush on a road
outside Jayapura, Papua province.
   (AFP, 8/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, In Indonesia some
10,000 Papuans protested for independence, defying a heavy police
presence a day after a deadly ambush that police blamed on
separatist rebels.
   (AFP, 8/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, In Indonesia 9
people, including two Australians, two South Africans and five
Indonesians, were killed when a helicopter flying to a Newcrest mine
crashed with 10 on board.
   (AFP, 8/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, In Colombia
Muhammad Nazarruddin (32), the ex-treasurer of Indonesian President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's party, was reported arrested in Cartagena
after weeks on the run over corruption allegations. Nazarruddin has
been on the run since May when anti-graft investigators linked him
to a bribery scandal involving contracts on a 23-million-dollar
athletes' village for the Southeast Asian Games scheduled in
November.
   (AFP, 8/9/11)(Econ, 2/25/12, p.51)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Umar Patek (41), a
key suspect in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, was
escorted home to Indonesia under tight security to stand trial, six
months after he was captured in the same northwestern Pakistani town
where Osama bin Laden was killed. The al-Qaida-linked militant, had
a $1 million bounty on his head when authorities caught up with him
on Jan. 25 in Abbottabad.
   (AP, 8/11/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, In Indonesia Deden
Sudjana (48), wounded when Islamic hard-liners launched a deadly
attack on his minority sect, was sentenced to six months in prison,
more than some of those caught on video taking part in the Feb 6
lynching.
   (AP, 8/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, In Indonesia Aceh
Gov. Irwandi Yusuf (51) agreed to give PT Kallista Alam, a palm oil
company, a permit to convert 4,000 acres of peat swamp forest. The
land was in the heart of the renowned Leuser Ecosystem already
identified as off limits under a presidential moratorium enacted in
May.
   (SSFC, 12/11/11, p.A22)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, Off eastern
Indonesia a ferry sank off southern Sulawesi killing at least 12
people. 93 people were rescued, but others were feared trapped.
   (SSFC, 8/28/11, p.A6)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, In Indonesia the
colorful 137-page comic "I Found the Meaning of Jihad," began
appearing in bookstores authored by former al-Qaida-linked militant
Nasir Abas (42).
   (AP, 9/9/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Malaysia’s
Environment Minister Douglas Uggah Embas sent a letter to his
Indonesian counterpart about hundreds of suspected fires on Sumatra
island.
   (AFP, 9/10/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, In eastern
Indonesia clashes between Muslim and Christian gangs left 5 people
dead and more than a dozen injured in Ambon, Maluku province.
   (AP, 9/11/11)(AP, 9/12/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Thai PM Yingluck
Shinawatra, in her fist state visit to Indonesia, vowed to improve
economic cooperation with Indonesia, particularly in the
agriculture, energy and tourism sectors.
   (AFP, 9/12/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, In Indonesia
Jakarta city governor Fauzi Bowo called on women not to wear
miniskirts when riding on public transport in the capital after a
27-year-old woman was attacked in a public minivan early this month.
The next day Governor Bowo apologized for his remarks as some 50
women donned miniskirts to protest his remarks.
   (AFP, 9/18/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, In Indonesia
suicide bomber Achmad Yosepa Hayat attacked the packed Bethel Injil
Church in Solo, central Java, wounding at least 27 people, some
critically, and sending terrified worshippers rushing out into the
streets in panic.
   (AFP, 9/25/11)(AFP, 10/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, In Indonesia a
Casa 212 turboprop plane, carrying 14 passengers including four
children, and four crew, went down after departing Medan city, in
Sumatra. All 18 were killed.
   (AFP, 9/30/11)(AFP, 10/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 4, An Australian boy
(14) was arrested in Indonesia for having bought 0.13 ounces (3.6
grams) of marijuana. He faced 12 years in detention under tough
narcotics laws. The boy was released on Dec 4 because he admitted
the purchase and repeatedly expressed remorse.
   (AP, 12/4/11)   Â
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 8, Indonesia's
counter-terrorism police arrested five people in connection with the
April 15 suicide bombing of a mosque.
   (AFP, 10/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 10, Indonesian police
shot and killed one protester and wounded another as they clashed
with striking workers at a mine run by US company Freeport McMoran.
The clash erupted when police tried to stop more than 1,000 workers,
who began their strike on September 15, from entering a facility at
the Grasberg mining complex.
   (AFP, 10/10/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 12, Indonesia
lawmakers passed a new security bill, the Law on State
Intelligence.”
   (Econ, 11/19/11, p.53)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, In Indonesia a 6.0
earthquake jolted the island of Bali, injuring dozens of people and
causing panic as hundreds of tourists fled violently shaking
buildings.
   (AFP, 10/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, Greenpeace UK
director John Sauven was blocked by immigration officials on arrival
at Jakarta international airport and was sent back that night to
Britain. He had arrived to campaign against deforestation.
   (AFP, 10/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 19, In Indonesia at
least three people were killed and more than 90 injured during a
pro-independence celebration in the Papuan capital Jayapura. Local
TV footage showed paramilitary police shooting into the crowd and
beating participants with batons and bare fists.
   (AFP, 1/30/12)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, In Indonesia
gunmen shot dead three people at a strike-hit gold and copper mine
in the eastern Papua region, raising the number of killings this
month to eight at the troubled Grasberg mine, operated by Freeport
McMoRan. The strikers, mostly indigenous Melanesians, say they are
the lowest paid Freeport workers in the world, earning between $1.50
and $3.50 an hour.
   (AFP, 10/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct, Indonesia promised to
provide all of its citizens with health insurance by 2014.
   (Economist, 9/8/12, p.11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, Indonesian police
said they had arrested a British-born man accused of molesting nine
children following a tip-off from authorities in Britain. The
61-year-old man, who became an Indonesian citizen after changing his
nationality, was also allegedly involved in an online child
pornography network.
   (AFP, 11/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, The International
Union for Conservation of Nature said the Western Black Rhino of
Africa has been declared officially extinct. The Javan Rhino was
said to be "probably extinct" in Vietnam, after poachers killed the
last animal there in 2010. A small but declining population of the
Javan Rhino still survived on the Indonesian island of Java.
   (AP, 11/10/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, Indonesia opened
the 26th Southeast Asian Games with more than 6,000 athletes from 11
countries participating in the biennial games.
   (AP, 11/12/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, The 3-day East
Asia Summit (EAS), bringing together the 10-member Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and eight dialogue partners, opened
on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. President Barack Obama
became the first US leader to attend an East Asia summit. Leaders
from 18 nations gathered to discuss territorial disputes in the
South China Sea, democratic reforms in military-dominated Myanmar,
mitigating natural disasters, currency, trade and other issues.
   (AP, 11/19/11)(Econ, 11/12/11, p.50)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 18, Indonesia’s Lion
Air said it is planning to buy 230 planes from Boeing Co. The list
price of $21.7 billion will be paid over 12 years though bank
financing.
   (AP, 11/18/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 18, In eastern
Indonesia gunmen killed a mining company guard and wounded two
policemen in a patrol car near the large Freeport-McMoRan gold mine.
   (AP, 11/18/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, China’s Premier
Wen Jiabao told US President Barack Obama that China would increase
the flexibility of the yuan while stressing that reforms had already
had an effect. The spoke on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in
Indonesia.
   (AFP, 11/19/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, In Indonesia the
Southeast Asian Games were formally closed by Indonesia Vice
President Budiono. Indonesia earned a table-topping 182 golds among
476 medals, followed by Thailand with 109 among 329.
   (AP, 11/22/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, Indonesian police
said they have arrested two plantation workers for killing 20
endangered orangutans and other apes as pest control for palm oil
companies. They were paid one million rupiah ($111) for each dead
orangutan and 200,000 rupiah for every monkey killed.
   (AFP, 11/23/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, In central
Indonesia a busy bridge collapsed in East Kalimantan province,
killing at least 4 people and injuring 17 others as a bus, cars and
motorcycles crashed into the Mahakam river. 40 people were missing.
   (AP, 11/26/11)(AP, 11/27/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 4, In Indonesia 11
people were killed when a high concrete wall collapsed in a housing
complex during a heavy downpour in Makassar, Sulawesi island.
   (AP, 12/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Indonesian police
in Aceh, the country's most conservative province, raided a
punk-rock concert and detained 65 fans, buzzing off their spiky
mohawks and stripping away body piercings because of the perceived
threat to Islamic values.
   (AP, 12/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, Indonesia's
Parliament passed a long-awaited law allowing the government to
acquire land for public projects by paying compensation. The law
must be signed by the president within 30 days before taking effect.
   (AP, 12/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, An overcrowded
ship of asylum seekers sank off the island of Java. Indonesian
rescuers battled high waves as they searched for survivors. Nearly
250 people fleeing economic and political hardship in Afghanistan,
Iraq, Iran and Turkey were trying to reach Australia in search of a
better life when their fiberglass ship broke apart. Only 47 people
survived.
   (AP, 12/18/11)(AFP, 12/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 21, In Indonesia 4
people were killed but 100 rescued when an overloaded boat sank. The
wooden boat was carrying villagers returning home for the Christmas
holidays.
   (AFP, 12/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 22, Indonesian police
arrested eight people in connection with an overloaded boat carrying
250 asylum seekers that capsized on Dec 17 en route to Australia, as
the confirmed death toll reached 90.
   (AFP, 12/22/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 24, In eastern
Indonesia 2 people were killed and 10 others injured during a
violent protest as some 1,000 people protested to stop a gold mining
project by Australia's Arc Exploration Ltd. and Indonesian partner,
PT Sumber Mineral Nusantara. Villagers feared the project will
destroy their land and threaten forests and water resources.
   (AP, 12/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 24, In Indonesia a
rampaging wild elephant trampled a farmer to death on Sumatra
island. Only 3,000 Sumatran elephants are believed to remain in the
wild.
   (AP, 12/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 27, In eastern
Indonesia mudflows streaming from a volcano killed four villagers
and about 1,000 others have fled their homes. Mount Gamalama in the
Molucca Islands sprang to life this month with a powerful, non-fatal
eruption.
   (AP, 12/28/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 29, In Indonesia a mob
led by Sunni fanatics torched Shia property in eastern Java. Local
police did nothing to protect the minority Shias.
   (Econ, 1/21/12, p.52)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â In Saudi Arabia Satinah
Binti Jumadi Ahmad, an Indonesian maid, was sentenced to death for
murdering her employer's wife in 2007 and stealing money. In 2014
the Indonesian government agreed to pay $1.8 million to free Satinah
(41).
   (AFP, 3/24/14)(Reuters, 4/4/14)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Indonesia’s population was
about 237 million.
   (Econ, 2/19/11, p.43)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, In Indonesia 30
Pakistani and Afghan immigrants tunneled their way out of an
detention center in Surabaya using spoons, nails and wooden sticks.
Police soon arrested 11 of the escapees leaving 19 at large.
   (AFP, 1/18/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Indonesia's
forestry ministry said it would conserve nearly half its share of
Borneo island, which is covered with dense rainforest, so as to meet
a presidential pledge to reduce gas emissions.
   (AFP, 1/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, In eastern
Indonesia a crocodile swallowed a 10-year-old girl while she played
in the Wailolong river with her father, the second death in the same
place in two months.
   (AFP, 1/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, Indonesian police
said a civil servant, who declared himself an atheist on Facebook,
has been arrested and is now facing jail for blasphemy after being
attacked by an angry mob. Alexander Aan (30), who wrote "God doesn't
exist" on his Facebook page, was beaten by a mob of dozens on Jan 18
in his hometown in Pulau Punjung, West Sumatra province. An was also
an administrator of a Facebook group promoting atheism with 1,243
followers. His postings no longer appeared online following his
arrest.
   (AFP, 1/20/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, In Indonesia 7
people were killed and 51 injured as heavy rains from by Tropical
Cyclone Iggy lashed the country, bringing down trees and power lines
and damaging hundreds of homes.
   (AFP, 1/26/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, An Indonesian
court indicted five activists for treason in the restive Papua
region after they raised an outlawed Papuan flag on Oct 19 and
declared its independence.
   (AFP, 1/30/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, An Indonesian
woman died of H5N1 bird flu a day after being admitted to a hospital
in Tangerang district on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta. This
was Indonesia's third human death from the deadly disease this year.
   (AFP, 2/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, Some 200
Indonesians converged on a Jakarta square to denounce the Islamic
Defenders Front (FPI), an Islamic vigilante group known for its
armed attacks on minorities and moderates.
   (AFP, 2/14/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Indonesian police
and military forces opened fire at the Kerobokan prison on Bali
island after a second night of riots. The violence was triggered by
the stabbing of an inmate during a brawl a week ago. By night
inmates had chased away all 13 guards and seized full control of the
compound.
   (AFP, 2/22/12)(AP, 2/23/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Indonesia's top
court upheld a 15-year jail term against Islamist militant Abu Bakar
Bashir for terrorist acts, reversing an earlier decision to slash
the sentence to nine years.
   (AFP, 2/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, It was reported
that thousands of male Indonesian civil servants had their monthly
pay transferred to their wives' bank accounts this week in a bid by
a local government to stop men having affairs.
   (AFP, 3/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Britain’s
Environment Agency said Indonesia has asked Britain to take back
1,800 tons of waste after inspectors found liquid and illegal mixed
waste in containers marked as "scrap metal."
   (AFP, 3/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Indonesia police
fatally shot five men who were suspected of planning robberies of
money changers, jewelers and other targets on the resort island of
Bali so they could fund terrorist attacks.
   (AP, 3/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, In Indonesia at
least 10 members of one family were killed, as their minivan spun
out of control after colliding with a moving train and flipped over
in a nearby rice field in West Java province.
   (AFP, 3/18/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, In France a
package bomb exploded at Indonesia’s embassy in Paris. French
investigators soon confirmed that the main suspect is Frederic C.
Jean Salvi, who is believed to have studied for several years with
Islamic militants in Indonesia.
   (AP, 3/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, In Indonesia
thousands protested nationwide to reject the government's plan to
hike the subsidized fuel price, with sporadic violence breaking out
and injuring several people.
   (AFP, 3/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, A coalition of
environmental groups warned that some 200 critically-endangered
orangutans in a protected area of Indonesia’s Aceh province will be
wiped out by the end of the year if land clearing in Tripa Swamp is
not stopped.
   (AFP, 3/28/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Thousands of
Indonesians rallied nationwide against a planned fuel price hike
they say will cause great hardship. Parliament was expected on March
30 to approve raising the fuel price by a third.
   (AFP, 3/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Indonesian police
killed two suspected terrorists in a raid on the outskirts of
Jakarta. Anti-terror police confiscated a revolver, explosive
materials, several books about jihad and documents outlining a bank
robbery.
   (AFP, 3/30/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, A tanker travelling
from Australia to Singapore found some 120 asylum seekers, all
believed to be men from Afghanistan and Iran, on a sinking boat in
Indonesian waters and rescued them.
   (AFP, 4/8/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, Indonesia's only
province ruled by Islamic law went to the polls to elect its
powerful governor, testing a fragile peace following a 30-year war
by separatist rebels. Irwandi Yusuf (51), the incumbent who was
elected in December 2006, sought a second five-year term as governor
of Aceh. Challenger Zaini Abdullah (71) of the powerful Aceh Party
won 55% of the vote. Yusuf took 29%.
   (AFP, 4/9/12)(Econ, 4/14/12, p.51)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 10, In Indonesia some
120 asylum seekers, mostly Afghans and some Iranians, demanded that
Indonesia provide a vessel to allow them to continue to Australia,
refusing to leave a tanker that rescued them at sea.
   (AFP, 4/10/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Indonesian carrier
Garuda International and European plane manufacturer Airbus signed a
$2.5 billion deal in Jakarta, as British PM David Cameron visited
Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
   (AFP, 4/11/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, A huge earthquake
struck beneath the Indian Ocean and triggered a burst of large
quakes around the world. At least 4 faults ruptured within 100
seconds to create a giant quake with a combined magnitude of 8.7 off
the island of Sumatra.
   (AFP, 4/11/12)(SFC, 9/27/12, p.A1)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, Indonesian police
arrested two suspected terrorists in the town of Bima in West Nusa
Tenggara province. The suspects were part of a terror group that
killed a police officer in a 2010 bank robbery in the north Sumatra
town of Medan.
   (AFP, 4/15/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, Indonesian
authorities said they had found a boat reported missing en route to
Australia and that some 60 asylum seekers it was carrying were
believed to have fled. The mostly Afghan asylum seekers on board
made a distress call to Australia on April 11, saying they were in
rough seas and their boat was sinking.
   (AFP, 4/14/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 20, Dive operators and
conservationists said Indonesia's government is not doing enough to
keep illegal fishermen out of the boundaries of the Komodo National
Park, a UN World Heritage site. They said enforcement declined
greatly following the exit two years ago of a US-based environmental
group that helped fight destructive fishing practices.
   (AP, 4/20/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 21, Indonesian
authorities questioned more than 70 mostly Afghan asylum seekers
bound for Australia after their boat was hit by a powerful wave,
forcing them to swim to shore. There were between 83 and 100 people
on the boat. Police made no connection between this case and another
reported on April 14.
   (AFP, 4/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 25, In central
Indonesia a South African pilot and his Australian passenger were
killed when their Susi Air Pilatus PC-6 aircraft crashed. The
airline identified the pilot as Jonathan James Willis (28).
Indonesian officials identified the passenger as photographer Ian
McDougall (57).
   (AFP, 4/25/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, May Day moved
beyond its roots as an international workers' holiday to a day of
international protest, with rallies throughout Asia demanding wage
increases and marches planned across Europe over government-imposed
austerity measures. Thousands of Indonesian workers held Asia's
biggest May Day rally, demanding better pay and protection of job
security, watched warily by a heavy police and army presence.
   (AP, 5/1/12)(AFP, 5/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, The Indonesia
Embassy in Singapore said it is pushing for a ban on cleaning
outside windows. 8 Indonesian maids in Singapore have fallen to
their deaths from high-rise apartments this year.
   (AP, 5/8/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, In Indonesia a
Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed into a volcano south of Jakarta
during a demonstration flight. All 45 people on board were feared
dead. The Superjet, Russia's first new model of passenger jet since
the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago, was in Indonesia as
part of a 6-nation tour of Asia aimed at drumming up new customers.
   (AFP, 5/9/12)(AP, 5/10/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, In Indonesia a
critically-endangered Sumatran elephant was found dead in Aceh
province, the second death from suspected poisoning within a month.
   (AFP, 5/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, In Indonesia a
landslide killed 8 of 16 people illegally mining for gold, after
days of heavy rain hit a mountainous part of western Java, the
country's main island.
   (AFP, 5/25/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, In Indonesia 3
people were killed and five badly injured when fans pelted each
other with rocks and bricks in a violent clash at a football match
in Jakarta.
   (AFP, 5/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, Lady Gaga canceled
her sold-out June 3 show in Indonesia after Islamist hard-liners
threatened violence, claiming her sexy clothes and provocative dance
moves would corrupt the youth.
   (AP, 5/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 30, Indonesian maids
began returning to work in Malaysia three years after a ban was
enforced because of numerous abuse cases. Fewer arrived than had
been expected.
   (AFP, 6/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, In western
Indonesia 3 critically-endangered Sumatran elephants were found dead
in an oil palm plantation. They were believed to have been poisoned.
   (AFP, 6/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, In Indonesia mobs
stabbed an onlooker to death, injured four other people and burned
five shops, four cars and more than 20 motorbikes, hours after they
learned police had shot and killed Mako Tabuni, the deputy chairman
of the National Committee for West Papua.
   (AP, 6/15/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, In Indonesia
Alexander Aan (30) was sentenced to 30 months of prison and a
$10,600 fine for posting pro-atheist and anti-Islam comments on
Facebook. He was also fined the equivalent of $10,600. Aan was
arrested in January after an angry mob reacting to the Facebook
posts stormed his office, where he worked as a civil servant.
   (http://tinyurl.com/7nvh7m3)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 17, In Indonesia a
boat carrying at least 70 passengers and crew on board, went down
after it was battered by waves up to five meters (16 feet) high in
Maluku province. 12 people were rescued and 58 remained missing.
   (AFP, 6/17/12)(AP, 6/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, In Indonesia 2
tribesmen were killed when rival groups armed with bows and arrows
clashed in Indonesia's restive Papua province.
   (AFP, 6/18/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, An Indonesian
court sentenced bombmaker Umar Patek (45) to 20 years' jail for his
role in the 2002 Bali bombings, bringing to an end a 10-year probe
into the nation's deadliest act of terror.
   (AFP, 6/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, An Indonesian air
force plane, a Fokker F-27, slammed into a military housing complex
and ignited a huge fireball while trying to land in Jakarta, killing
all seven people aboard as well as two toddlers, their grandmother
and aunt in one of 8 damaged homes.
   (AP, 6/21/12)(AP, 6/22/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, Indonesian and
Australian navies launched efforts to rescue survivors after a Sri
Lanka refugee boat carrying about 200 people, mostly men from
Afghanistan, capsized on its way to Christmas Island. Scores were
feared drowned in an apparent attempt to seek asylum. 110 people
were rescued and about 90 remained missing. On Jan 28 an Indonesian
court sentenced Javaid Mahmood (55), a Pakistani man, for attempting
to smuggle the asylum seekers. He was the 2nd man found guilty in
the case.
   (AFP, 6/21/12)(AFP, 6/22/12)(SFC, 1/29/14, p.A2)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived in Australia as a
political storm over people-smuggling raged.
   (AFP, 7/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Australia and
Indonesia agreed to work more closely to crack down on
people-smuggling, with visiting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
saying his people were victims of the trade as well.
   (AFP, 7/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, In Indonesia a
group of 150 youths, some as young as 13 and carrying swords and
golf clubs, raided the De Most bar in south Jakarta late at night,
smashing bottles of alcoholic drinks and damaging the property.
Police arrested 62 people, most of them minors, who attacked the bar
for serving alcohol during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
   (AFP, 7/30/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In Indonesia a man
died of bird flu, the country's ninth fatal case this year.
   (AFP, 8/11/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In Indonesia a
magnitude-6.3 quake struck near Palu city on Sulawesi Island. At
least 6 people were killed.
   (AP, 8/20/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In Indonesia a
Sunni mob attack on Shiites in Sampang, East Java province, saw two
men killed with sickles and dozens of homes torched.
   (AFP, 8/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, An asylum-seeker
boat heading for Australia disappeared off the Indonesian coast with
150 people aboard. Over the next 24 hours rescuers recovered 54
survivors, mostly males from Afghanistan.
   (AFP, 8/30/12)(AFP, 8/31/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Indonesian
fishermen found 50 Sri Lankan asylum seekers, who were trying to
reach Australia, on a boat with a broken engine and brought them
ashore.
   (AFP, 9/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Indonesian
fishermen rescued 43 starving, dehydrated Sri Lankans who had been
adrift in a boat for nine days after their engine broke down while
trying to reach Australia to seek asylum.
   (AP, 8/31/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, In Indonesia 2
suspected militants were killed in a shootout with police in central
Java’s Solo town. The shooting also left one officer dead. Police
were attempting to capture a group responsible for the death of a
policeman a day earlier.
   (SSFC, 9/2/12, p.A7)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Indonesia's justice
minister said that his country would extradite Sayed Abbas, an
Afghan-born human trafficking kingpin, to Australia next year. He
was suspected of having arranged the voyage of a vessel that sank in
December, killing some 200 Australia-bound asylum seekers.
   (AFP, 9/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, In Indonesia a
suspected militant was critically injured when a bomb apparently
being prepared for a terrorist attack exploded in a house near
Jakarta. At least three other people living nearby were injured
along with two suspects who fled.
   (AP, 9/9/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, In Indonesia
hundreds of people clashed with police outside the US Embassy in
Jakarta.
   (SFC, 9/18/12, p.A4)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, In Indonesia a
passenger ferry collided with a ship believed to be carrying
liquefied natural gas and sank west of Sumatra island, killing at
least eight people.
   (AP, 9/26/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 3, In Indonesia more
than 2 million factory workers went on a one-day strike across the
country demanding better benefits and protesting the hiring of
contract workers.
   (AP, 10/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, Indonesia's
anti-terror squad arrested 11 people over the last 24 hours
suspected of planning a range of attacks on domestic and foreign
targets including the US and Australian embassies. The suspects
belonged to a new group called the Sunni Movement for Indonesian
Society, or HASMI.
   (AP, 10/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, An Indonesia
conservationist said that and orangutan, recently shot with an air
rifle, has been rescued in the Indonesian part of Borneo. Rescuers
worked to remove 104 pellets from her body. In 2011 conservationists
found that villagers living on the Indonesian side of Borneo killed
at least 750 endangered orangutans in a year, some to protect crops
from being raided and others for their meat.
   (AP, 10/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Indonesian
anti-terrorism forces shot and killed an alleged militant and
arrested another in a predawn raid in Central Sulawesi province.
   (AP, 11/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 13, Indonesia’s
Constitutional Court said parts of the country’s 2001 oil-and-gas
law were unconstitutional. The court dissolved BPMgas, the state
regulator.
   (Econ, 11/24/12, p.72)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 5, In Indonesia
Jakarta police spokesman Col. Rikwanto said any police officer over
100kg (220 pounds) must follow a weight-loss program started because
of the growing number of overweight officers and the perception that
they are unable to provide public protection.
   (AP, 12/5/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, An Indonesian
health official said a boy (4) has died of H5N1 bird flu bringing
the total to 160. At least 360 people have died worldwide from this
virus since 2003.
   (SFC, 12/19/12, p.A2)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Indonesia’s population was
about 238 million.
   (Econ, 2/25/12, p.51)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, Indonesia
anti-terror police shot and killed 5 suspected Islamist militants
over the last 24 hours in raids on the island of Sumbawa.
   (SSFC, 1/6/13, p.A4)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Indonesia's army
deployed rubber boats in the capital's business district to rescue
people trapped in floods that inundated much of the city of 14
million people. At least 20 people died and some 40,000 were
displaced.
   (AP, 1/17/13)(Econ, 1/26/13, p.38)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, In Indonesia
police said flooding in Jakarta has killed at least 26 people and
sent more than 100,000 fleeing from their homes.
   (SFC, 1/22/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, An Indonesian
court sentenced British grandmother Lindsay June Sandiford (56), to
death for smuggling 8.4 pounds of cocaine worth $2.5 million in her
suitcase onto the resort island of Bali — even though prosecutors
had sought only a 15-year sentence. Indonesia has not carried out an
execution since 2008, when 10 people were put to death.
   (AP, 1/22/13)(SFC, 4/9/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, A magnitude 6.0
earthquake rocked parts of western Indonesia, killing a 9-year-old
girl, panicking residents and ruining homes.
   (AP, 1/22/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, In Indonesia the
death toll from two separate landslides in West Sumatra province
rose to 16.
   (AP, 1/28/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, In eastern
Indonesia a mob of wild monkeys has gone on a rampage in a
village in South Sulawesi province, entering houses and attacking
residents. Seven people were injured.
   (AP, 1/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, An Indonesian
court sentenced British citizen Julian Anthony Ponder (43) to six
years in prison for his role in a cocaine-smuggling case that led to
a death sentence last week for a British grandmother.
   (AP, 1/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, The Harita
Bauxite, a bulk carrier, sank near the Philippines. 10 of 24
crewmen, mostly from Myanmar, were rescued. One later died and the
rest remianed missing. The vessel was thought to be carrying nickel
ore from Indonesia.
   (SSFC, 4/7/13, p.46)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In Indonesia some
20 assailants killed eight soldiers killed in two attacks in Papua
province. The assailants were identified as members of a local
separatist group led by Goliat Tabuni.
   (AP, 2/21/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, In Indonesia 8
members of the Kopassus special forces forced their way into
Cebongan prison in southern Java. Sgt. Ucok Tigor Simbolon shot dead
4 men, who had been detained on suspicion of killing a soldier. In
Sep Sgt Simbolon was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 11
years in prison. Two accomplices were sentenced to 6 and 8 years.
   (Econ, 9/14/13, p.53)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, In Indonesia’s in
North Sumatra province Buddhist fishermen and Rohingya Muslim asylum
seekers from Myanmar brawled with knives and rocks at an immigration
detention center, leaving 8 dead and another 15 injured. On Dec 5 a
court in medan sentenced 14 Rohingya to nine months in jail for the
role in the deadly brawl.
   (AP, 4/5/13)(SFC, 12/6/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, In Indonesia a
Lion Air plane carrying more than 100 passengers overshot a runway
on the Indonesian resort island of Bali and crashed into the sea.
All of the passengers and crew were evacuated from the plane. 7
passengers were taken to Sanglah hospital with head wounds and
broken bones.
   (AP, 4/13/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, The annual Goldman
Environmental Prize was awarded to six activists for their efforts
to protect the world ecosystem. They included Nohra Padilla (50) of
Colombia, who began organizing waste pickers in Bogota in 1990 into
the Bogota Recyclers’ Assoc.; Rossano Ercolini (57) of Italy for
setting up a trash collection and conservation system; Kimberly
Wasserman (36) of Chicago her grassroots campaign to close polluting
coal-fired power plants; Aleta Baun (50) of Indonesia for organizing
villages on west Timor against mining companies clearing forests for
marble; Azzam Alwash (54) of Iraq for his efforts to restore
Mesopotamian marshland; Jonathan Deal of South Africa for his
efforts against hydraulic fracturing in Karoo.
   (SFC, 4/15/13, p.A10)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, In Indonesia an
Australia woman (28) was attacked and raped while vacationing with
her family near Bali’s popular Kuta beach. Her assailant also stole
stole three iPads, two cellphones and $154 in cash.
   (AP, 4/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 2, Indonesia police
arrested Achmad Taufiq (22) and Sefa Riano (29). They were members
of a cell allegedly involved in recent attacks against Indonesian
police. The suspects told authorities they wanted to retaliate
against Myanmar for recent attacks on Rohingya Muslims there.
   (AP, 5/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 3, In Indonesia up to
2,000 police were deployed to secure the Myanmar Embassy and its
ambassador's house before a demonstration by the Islamic Defenders
Front. Several hundred protesters showed up dressed in white with
some holding banners that read: "We want jihad" and "Stop genocide
in Myanmar."
   (AP, 5/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 13, Indonesia approved
a two-year extension to a landmark ban on clearing primary
rainforests and peatlands. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed
the decree to continue the 2011 moratorium, which barred new logging
and palm oil plantation permits under a $1 billion deal with Norway.
   (AP, 5/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, In Indonesia 25
workers were trapped after the collapse at a giant gold and copper
Grasberg mine in Mimika district in Papua. On May 22 the last of 28
miners killed was recovered.
   (AP, 5/15/13)(SFC, 5/20/13, p.A2)(SFC, 5/23/13,
p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, Indonesia’s Pres.
Yudhoyono extended a 2-year moratorium on forest clearing
concessions for another 2 years.
   (Econ, 5/25/13, p.40)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 1, In Indonesia a
truck driver died at the Grasberg mine, owned by Arizona-based
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., a day after he was injured
when liquid ore material flowed into his vehicle.
   (AP, 6/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 3, Indonesia's
government said it has ordered that production be halted at a gold
and copper mine owned by Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper &
Gold Inc., during an investigation into recent fatal accidents at
the Grasberg mine in easternmost Papua province.
   (AP, 6/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, WWF Indonesia said
killings of Sumatran elephants are on the rise, with 29 either shot
or poisoned last year, including 14 in Aceh province. The report
came 3 days after 2 dead Sumatran elephants were found near a paper
plantation in Riau, allegedly poisoned by poachers.
   (AP, 6/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 6, Organizers said
Miss World has axed the famed bikinis from this year's pageant in
Indonesia, replacing the skimpy swimsuits with conservative beach
sarongs amid mounting protests from hard-line Muslim groups.
   (AP, 6/6/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, In Indonesia Rusli
Zainal, governor of Riau since 2003, was arrested on charges that
included dishing out illegal logging permits to finance a
forthcoming re-election campaign.
   (Econ, 6/29/13, p.39)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 16, Smoke from fires
in Indonesia, an annual result of land clearing for palm oil
production, again began to smother Singapore and large parts of
Malaysia.
   (Econ, 6/29/13, p.39)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, In Singapore the
Pollutant Standards Index, surged to a record reading of 371. People
were urged to remain indoors as a smoky haze wrought by forest fires
in neighboring Indonesia worsened dramatically. Nearby Malaysia
closed 200 schools and banned open burning in some areas.
   (AP, 6/20/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, In Indonesia a
magnitude 6.1 earthquake killed at least 22 people and injured
hundreds in Aceh province.
   (AP, 7/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In Indonesia some
200 prisoners escaped from a maximum security prison in Medan after
a protest over a lack of water and electricity turned violent.
   (Reuters, 7/11/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, In Indonesia
security forces regained control of a Tanjung Gusta prison in Medan
where inmates had set fires and started a deadly riot that left 5
people dead and hundreds of prisoners, including convicted
terrorists, on the loose.
   (AP, 7/12/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In eastern
Indonesia 17 people were killed in a stadium stampede after
spectators rioted just before midnight to protest a local boxer's
loss in a championship match at the Kota Lama Sport Stadium.
   (AP, 7/15/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, A boat sank off
the southern coast of Indonesia. At least 15 people died. 189 of an
estimated 204 suspected asylum seekers were rescued. Most were from
Iraq, Iran and Sri Lanka.
   (Reuters, 7/24/13)(SFC, 7/27/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, In eastern
Indonesia gushing hot lava from the erupting Mount Rokatenda volcano
killed 6 people sleeping in a beach village on Palue island. Ash and
smoke shot up to 2 km into the air.
   (AP, 8/10/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Indonesia's
anti-graft agency arrested Rudi Rubiandini the head of energy
regulator SKKMigas to probe allegations he took more than half a
million dollars from an oil firm. Pres. Yudhoyono suspended him the
next day.
   (Reuters, 8/14/13)(Econ, 8/24/13, p.38)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Indonesian police
said unidentified gunmen have killed 2 police officers near Jakarta.
   (SSFC, 8/18/13, p.A3)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, In Indonesia some
1,000 members of the Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia resumed
protests against the Miss World pageant to be held this weekend in
Bali.
   (SFC, 9/6/13, p.A4)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Indonesia moved the
final round of the Miss World pageant from Java island to Bali amid
protests by hard-line Muslims.
   (SSFC, 9/8/13, p.A3)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, The Netherlands
sought to "close a difficult chapter" with its former colony
Indonesia by publicly apologising for mass killings carried out by
the Dutch army in the 1940s war of independence.
   (AFP, 9/12/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, At least 22
people, mostly children, drowned and scores were missing after an
Australia-bound boat, carrying asylum-seekers from Lebanon, Pakistan
and Iraq, sank off Indonesia in rough seas.
   (AFP, 9/27/13)(SFC, 9/28/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Miss Philippines,
Megan Young 23), was crowned Miss World 2013 in a glittering finale
on the Indonesian resort island of Bali amid tight security
following weeks of hardline Muslim protests.
   (AFP, 9/28/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 2, Indonesia’s
anti-corruption commission (KPK) detained Akil Mochtar, the chief
justice of the contitutional court, and seized almost $260,000 in
cash. KPK said the money was a bribe to rig a court ruling over a
disputed district election.
   (Econ, 10/12/13, p.52)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 7, The 2-day
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit opened in Bali,
Indonesia. At its end leaders agreed that that the Doha round of
global trade talks were at an impasse and urged trade ministers to
reconvene in December to get negotiations back on track.
   (SFC, 10/8/13, p.A4)(SFC, 10/9/13, p.A5)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, Indonesian police
shot dead Suardi, a suspected militant, and arrested two others, in
an ongoing clampdown on terrorism. All three were said to be part of
a network led by Abu Uswah, who allegedly taught bomb-making and was
shot dead in a raid in January.
   (AFP, 10/18/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 22, Greenpeace said
consumer products such as Oreo cookies and Gilette shaving cream
were among an array of products driving the destruction of
Indonesia’s forests. Greenpeace accused Singapore-based Wilmar
Int’l. for destroying forests in Indonesia to produce palm oil.
   (SSFC, 10/27/13, p.A3)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 24, Indonesian police
probing the murder of a young woman at a luxury villa stumbled upon
a secret collection of exotic animals, including a cross-breed of a
lion and tiger. The woman (23) had allegedly had her throat slit by
a maintenance worker at the property south of the capital Jakarta
after she refused his sexual advances.
   (AFP, 10/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, In Indonesia tens
of thousands of workers went on strike across the country as its
citizens seek a greater share of the spoils from stellar growth.
   (AFP, 10/31/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 1, In Indonesia tens
of thousands of workers went on strike across the country for a
second straight day, calling for huge salary hikes as Southeast
Asia's top economy enjoys a prolonged boom.
   (AFP, 11/1/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Hackers claiming
links to international activist group Anonymous (Anonymous Indonesia
and Anonymous Philippines) defaced dozens of websites belonging to
Australian businesses and Philippine government agencies.
   (Reuters, 11/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Indonesia’s Mount
Sinabung volcano erupted for the third time in as many months on the
western island of Sumatra, forcing hundreds of villagers to
evacuate.
   (Reuters, 11/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 9, In Indonesia 13
people died when an Indonesian army helicopter carrying construction
workers to build a military outpost crashed in the jungles of
Borneo.
   (AFP, 11/9/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, Indonesia's
military halted training with Australia as a decision to suspend
cooperation due to spying claims took effect, while angry
demonstrators in Jakarta declared they were "ready for war" with
Canberra.
   (AFP, 11/21/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, In South Africa
dozens of Indonesian fishermen, who spent months stranded in Cape
Town's harbor, sleeping in cramped and suffocating quarters, were
taken ashore to a repatriation center after being stuck at sea on
Taiwanese vessels for years without pay.
   (AFP, 12/1/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, Indonesia's
anti-graft agency questioned the energy minister over a corruption
scandal that has ensnared top oil officials and threatened to
tarnish President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's final year in office.
   (Reuters, 12/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, In Indonesia top
trade officials began talks that will either produce an eleventh
hour deal that could boost the global economy by $1 trillion or
possibly spell the end of the World Trade Organization's relevance
as a forum for negotiations.
   (AP, 12/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 5, Australia and
Indonesia announced that they would set up a hotline as part of
efforts to repair relations following media reports last month that
Canberra had spied on top Indonesian officials.
   (Reuters, 12/5/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 7, In Bali, Indonesia,
WTO leaders, ending a 4-day meeting, reached a deal to boost global
trade. The Trade Facilitation Agreement was approved by the 159
member economies for the first time in nearly two decades, keeping
alive the possibility that a broader agreement to create a level
playing field for rich and poor countries can be reached in the
future.
   (AP, 12/7/13)(Econ, 2/4/17, p.64)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 9, In Indonesia a
crowded commuter train crashed into a fuel tanker on the outskirts
of Jakarta, killing at least 10 people in a huge explosion and
injuring scores.
   (Reuters, 12/9/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, In Indonesia
Canadian activist Jeremy Ball visited jailed independence supporters
in Papua at the end of a six-month bicycle tour to highlight human
rights concerns about the restive eastern region.
   (AP, 12/17/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 25, Hundreds of
Indonesian Christians held a Christmas service in front of the
presidential palace in Jakarta to protest at the closure of their
churches due to pressure by Muslim hardliners.
   (AFP, 12/25/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 27, In Indonesia Ambar
Arianto Mulyo (59), a Bali Hyatt hotel security employee, was
strangled to death after he tried to capture a 15-foot python.
   (SFC, 12/28/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, In Indonesia
Islamic police in the sharia stronghold of Banda Aceh seized
thousands of firecrackers and cardboard trumpets after the city
administration banned New Year's Eve celebrations for the first
time.
   (AFP, 12/31/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, In Indonesia more
than 19,000 people were displaced by the Mount Sinabung volcano on
Sumatra that has been erupting for months and shot lava into the air
nine times overnight.
   (AFP, 12/31/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, Indonesian police
shot dead six suspected terrorists and arrested another in a New
Year's Eve raid near Jakarta that broke out into an hours-long gun
battle.
   (AFP, 12/31/13)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Indonesia's
anti-graft agency arrested a former senior member of President
Yudhoyono's party, in a long-running case that has damaged the
ruling party's popularity ahead of elections.
   (Reuters, 1/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, An Indonesian law
banning the export of unprocessed minerals took effect, with the
government aiming to boost local operations and create more jobs and
mining companies warning of losses.
   (AP, 1/12/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, In Indonesia at
least 13 people were killed after torrential rain triggered flash
floods and landslides on northern Sulawesi island. Some 40,000 fled
their homes as water surged through the city of Manado and
surrounding areas.
   (AFP, 1/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Indonesia said
that it would increase naval patrols after territorial violations by
Australia as it tried to turn back asylum seekers. The Australian
government apologised unreservedly to Jakarta after its navy
"inadvertently" violated Indonesian waters during border security
operations.
   (Reuters, 1/17/14)(AFP, 1/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, In Indonesia
monsoon rains inundated parts of Jakarta, forcing more than 30,000
people to evacuate.
   (Reuters, 1/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, Law Wan-tung (44)
of Hong Kong was arrested on suspicion of abusing her Indonesian
maids as she tried to leave for Thailand. The case sparked
widespread outrage and drawn fresh attention to the risks faced by
the migrant community. Erwiana Sulistyaningsih (23), a maid who said
she had been badly beaten by her employer, was recovering at a
hospital in Sragen, central Java, after flying out from Hong Kong in
early January.
   (Reuters, 1/20/14)(SFC, 1/23/14, p.A2)(AP,
4/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, An Indonesian
court sentenced an Islamist militant to 7½ years in prison for
masterminding a plot to bomb the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta.
   (SFC, 1/22/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, In Indonesia
Andrea Waldeck, British woman, was jailed for 14 years but escaped
the death penalty after admitting that she smuggled crystal
methamphetamine into Indonesia from China. she had confessed to
taking the drugs through the airport in Surabaya.
   (AFP, 1/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, In Indonesia two
landslides triggered by torrential rain killed at least 19 people
and left 10 others missing on the main island of Java.
   (AP, 1/28/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, In Indonesia
construction began on the Pertamina Energy Tower, a 99-story, 530
metres (1,740 ft) skyscraper in Jakarta. Designed and planned by
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) it will be the tallest
building in Indonesia upon completion in 2020.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertamina_Energy_Tower)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Indonesia’s Mount
Sinabung volcano, that has been rumbling for months, unleased a
major eruption killing at least 15 people just a day after
authorities allowed thousands of villagers who had been evacuated to
return to its slopes.
   (AP, 2/1/14)(AFP, 2/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Indonesia’s Mount
Sinabung shot hot ash and rocks high into the air again, halting a
search for any more victims from its Feb 1 eruption.
   (AFP, 2/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, In eastern
Indonesia a police officer and a suspected Islamic militant were
killed in gunfire near a mountainous village believed to be a
terrorist hideout. Preliminary investigation indicated that the men
were part of a terrorist group led by Abu Wardah Santoso,
Indonesia's most wanted terror suspect.
   (AP, 2/6/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, In Indonesia a
volcanic eruption on Java sent a 17 km (10 mile) ash cloud into the
air. More than 56,000 people were forced to flee their homes and
four 4 were killed when Mount Kelud erupted.
   (Reuters, 2/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, In Indonesia seven
female Japanese divers went missing off the resort island of Bali as
strong winds and heavy rains hit Crystal Bay. Five of the divers
were found alive on Feb 17. On Feb 18 the body of a female diver was
found 18 miles west of the rescued divers.
   (AP, 2/15/14)(AP, 2/17/14)(AP, 2/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Rights groups
criticized an agreement between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia aimed at
giving Indonesian maids more protection in the kingdom, with one
saying "justice is still far away" for them.
   (AFP, 2/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Indonesian
officials said floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains
killed at least 11 people in Papua province.
   (SFC, 2/25/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Japan pledged more
than $200 million in aid to help the Palestinian Authority, as
representatives in Indonesia from 22 nations reiterated their
support of the Palestinians' quest for their own state.
   (AP, 3/1/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, In Indonesia an
explosion at a navy ammunition warehouse killed one man and injured
more than 80 other navy personnel.
   (AP, 3/5/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Two Indonesian
naval personnel were killed during an inspection aboard a Thai
fishing boat in Indonesian waters. Thailand police soon arrested
three suspects. Four more were arrested in April.
   (AP, 4/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, In Indonesia Rusli
Zainal, a former governor of Riau, was found guilty of graft and
sentenced to 14 years in prison. He had issued logging licenses that
resulted in forest destruction.
   (Econ, 3/22/14, p.42)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Indonesia reported
that Pres. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered relevant ministers
and local authorities in peat-rich Riau province to handle forest
fires that have been sending out heavy smoke threatening health and
disrupting flight operations. Officers in the armed forces were said
to be involved in illegal logging and burning.
   (AP, 3/14/14)(Econ, 3/22/14, p.42)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Indonesia’s
Mega42wati Sukarnoputri, a former president and head of the
opposition PDI-P, anointed Joko Widodo, Jakarta’s popular mayor, as
her candidate for president.
   (Econ, 3/22/14, p.41)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Indonesia police
said they arrested three suspected Islamic extremists last week
after intercepting a bomb shipment intended to attack brothels. The
arrests included Ambo Intang, who was sought for his alleged
involvement in the 2012 killings of two policemen in in the Central
Sulawesi district of Poso.
   (AP, 3/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 7, Film censors in
Indonesia and Malaysia banned the biblical epic "Noah," saying that
the portrayal of the ark-building prophet by Russell Crowe was
against Islamic laws. Depictions of any prophet are shunned in Islam
to avoid worship of a person rather than God.
   (AP, 4/7/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, Indonesia held
parliamentary elections. 190 million citizens were eligible to vote.
Exit polls gave the opposition PDI-P 19% of the vote.
   (Reuters, 4/9/14)(Econ, 4/5/14, p.33)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, Off eastern
Indonesia a boat loaded with people in a Good Friday procession
capsized in high waves, leaving dozens of people missing and at
least 7 dead.
   (AP, 4/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, Six environmental
advocates won this year's Goldman Prize. India's Ramesh Agrawal
received the prize for helping villagers fight a large coal mine in
Chhattisgarh state. American lawyer Helen Slottje received the award
for helping communities fight fracking in New York State. Peru's
Ruth Buendia was recognized for helping to prevent construction of
two large dams that would have displaced nearly 10,000 indigenous
people in the Peruvian Amazon. Russian zoologist Suren Gazaryan won
for defending protected areas around Sochi from illegal land
seizures for Olympic construction projects. South Africa's Desmond
D'Sa won for helping to close down one of the country's largest
toxic waste dumps. Indonesian biologist Rudi Putra won for helping
to shutter 26 illegal palm oil plantations that were causing
deforestation in northern Sumatra.
   (AP, 4/28/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 29, In Indonesia Rudi
Rubiandin, the former head of energy regulator SKKMigas, was
sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a major graft
scandal that reached the top levels of the oil ministry.
   (Reuters, 4/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 7, An Indonesian
official said a woman who was gang-raped by men accusing her of
having extramarital sex may be caned publicly for violating Islamic
law. The widow (25) said she was raped by eight men on May 1 who
allegedly found her with a married man in her house. The men
reportedly beat the man, doused the two with sewage, and then turned
them over to Islamic police in conservative Aceh province.
   (AP, 5/7/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 12, Indonesia said it
has banned the popular video sharing site Vimeo, because it contains
nudity, which officials in the world's most populous Muslim country
consider to be pornographic material.
   (AP, 5/13/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 13, Canada-based
BlackBerry launched a new lower-cost smartphone designed
specifically for Indonesia in an attempt to win back market share
that has plunged in recent years but remains higher than in many
other nations.
   (AP, 5/13/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, Indonesia’s
anti-corruption agency identified the head of parliament's energy
committee and a company executive as suspects in an ongoing graft
scandal involving energy regulator SKKMigas.
   (Reuters, 5/14/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 19, The Philippines
said it has reached an agreement over the weekend with Indonesia on
a sea border dispute after 20 years of negotiations, and hopes to
sign the pact soon.
   (AP, 5/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, In Indonesia Anne
Marie Drozdz (40), a British woman, was found dead in the cultural
tourism district of Ubud, Bali island, and that there were signs her
villa had been broken into. Police on May 24 arrested construction
worker Hambali (32) in Jakarta, where he fled following the robbery
and murder of Drodzd.
   (AFP, 5/23/14)(AFP, 5/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 3, In Indonesia a
building under construction collapsed on the island of Borneo,
killing two workers and burying at least 13 others in Samarinda, the
provincial capital of East Kalimantan.
   (AP, 6/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, Indonesian
officials officially shut a massive prostitution complex in Surabaya
amid protests by sex workers, who said their livelihoods were being
destroyed. Tri Rismaharini, the first female mayor of Surabaya, had
pledged to close down all brothels in the city.
   (AP, 6/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, An apparently
overloaded boat carrying Indonesian illegal migrants heading home
for Ramadan sank overnight in rough seas off western Malaysia. 27
people were missing and 9 were confirmed dead. Nine people were
missing after a boat carrying 27 Indonesian workers overturned off
Malaysia's west coast in a 2nd similar accident. By the weekend the
confirmed death toll from two boat accidents rose to 16 with dozens
of others still missing.
   (AFP, 6/18/14)(AP, 6/19/14)(AFP, 6/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 24, Indonesia became
the newest country to mandate graphic photo warnings on cigarette
packs, joining more than 40 other nations or territories that have
adopted similar regulations in recent years. Authorities said major
tobacco companies have largely ignored a deadline to put graphic
health warnings on all cigarette packs.
   (AP, 6/24/14)(AP, 6/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, In Indonesia an
antigraft court sentenced Akil Mochtar, a former chief
constitutional court justice, to life imprisonment for accepting
bribes to fix results in two local elections.
   (SFC, 7/2/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, In Indonesia some
190 million voters headed to the polls in a hotly contested election
for president in Indonesia. Jakarta Gov. Joko Widodo and ex-army
general Prabowo Subianto both declared a win after the quick count
results were released. The election commission, which began tallying
the votes, will produce the official results by July 22.
   (AP, 7/9/14)(AP, 7/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, An overloaded
fishing boat carrying some 70 illegal Indonesian migrants capsized
off southern Malaysia, killing at least 2 people with 9 left
missing.
   (AFP, 7/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Indonesia
officials said Jakarta Gov. Joko Widodo won the country's
presidential election with 53 percent of the vote. Former Gen.
Prabowo Subianto, declared he was withdrawing from the contest
shortly before the final numbers were released by the Election
Commission, saying there was massive fraud during the election, and
that it was unfair and undemocratic.
   (AP, 7/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Indonesia
Prabowo Subianto, the ex-general who lost the presidential election
to Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, mounted a legal challenge to the
result, alleging widespread electoral fraud and irregularities in
vote counting.
   (AFP, 7/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, In Indonesia the
body of Sheila von Wiese-Mack (62), a Chicago-based woman, was found
in a bloodied suitcase on the resort island of Bali. Her daughter,
Heather Mack (19) and boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer (21) were arrested
on Aug 13 and detained as suspects. Schaeffer later confessed to the
murder and Heather Mack acknowledged helping him stuff the body into
the suitcase.
   (AP, 8/15/14)(AP, 9/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Australia and
Indonesia signed a new security agreement to mend a relationship
badly damaged by allegations last year that Australia was listening
to the telephone conversations of Pres. Susilo Bambang.
   (AP, 8/28/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Indonesia's elite
anti-terrorism squad arrested 7 suspected militants, including 4
Turks believed to be planning to join a jihadist group in eastern
Indonesia with possible links to the Islamic State group. Four of
the suspects were members of China's ethnic Uighur minority
community.
   (AP, 9/14/14)(AP, 9/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Indonesia added
more water-dropping helicopters to fight forest and plantation
wildfires that are spreading haze across the region, limiting
visibility and increasing air pollution.
   (AP, 9/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, In Indonesia Anas
Urbaningrum, a former top leader of the ruling Democratic Party, was
sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption and money
laundering.
   (AP, 9/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, In Indonesia
scientists released some 3,000 tiny wasps in a secure tent-like
habitat to monitor their success in an effort to halt an infestation
of cassava crops by mealybugs. Scientists hoped their number would
multiply to 450,000 prior to release in a month following government
approval.
   (SFC, 9/25/14, p.A6)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Indonesian
authorities arrested Hans Peter Naumann (48), a German man, for
allegedly trying to smuggle 239 (8.4 ounce) of cocaine onto
Indonesia's resort island of Bali, some of it hidden inside his
stomach.
   (AP, 9/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, In Indonesia
lawmakers in Banda Aceh, a conservative Muslim province, passed a
law that punishes gay sex by public caning and subjects non-Muslims
to strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
   (AP, 9/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 8, In Indonesia
rescuers and fishermen found 8 survivors and 17 bodies after two
days of searching for a motorboat lost since its captain reported an
engine failure on Oct 6 off of Java island. Local reports said it
was carrying 49 people who were to have attended a wedding ceremony.
   (AP, 10/8/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, Indonesia
officially launched a $263 million project to build a giant sea wall
along the coast of its capital, Jakarta, in an attempt to protect
businesses and homes from flooding.
   (Reuters, 10/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, US plane giant
Boeing said Indonesian flag carrier Garuda has placed an order for
50 planes worth almost $5 billion.
   (AFP, 10/13/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 20, Indonesia's Joko
Widodo took over as president of the world's third-largest
democracy. Widodo said that he wanted his nation to be
self-sufficient in food staples sugar, rice and corn within four
years.
   (Reuters, 10/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, In Indonesia
Robert Ellis (60), a British man, was found dead with his throat
slashed and dumped in a ditch on the resort island of Bali. His
Indonesian wife admitted to the killing day later.
   (AFP, 10/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Indonesia began
issuing cards to give the poor access to three programs that
included health care, education and cash handouts.
   (Econ, 1/10/15, p.54)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Indonesia's
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced a sharp increase in fuel
prices, saying costly government subsidies would be better spent on
infrastructure and development.
   (AP, 11/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, Indonesian
authorities said two endangered Sumatran elephants were found dead
this week near a palm oil plantation in the Tebo district of Jambi
province on Sumatra island. Authorities believed they were killed by
poachers.
   (AP, 11/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, A magnitude 6.5
earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s North Maluku
province.
   (SFC, 11/22/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 8, In Indonesia at
least 4 people, including 3 high school students, were killed in the
volatile Papua region in clashes between protesters and security
forces. The clash had started the previous night when the youths
reprimanded a soldier who was riding a motorcycle without the
headlights on.
   (Reuters, 12/8/14)(AP, 12/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 13, In central
Indonesia a mudslide set off by torrential rains rushed down hills
into a village and swept away scores of homes. At least 56 people
were killed and 52 others missing.
   (AP, 12/13/14)(SFC, 12/13/14, p.A2)(AP, 12/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 19, In eastern
Indonesia the Mount Gamalama volcano on Ternate island in North
Maluku province erupted, spewing towering clouds of hot ash into the
air and leaving four hikers injured and one missing when they
scrambled to safety.
   (AP, 12/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 22, An Indonesian
court sentenced five janitors to up to eight years in prison over
the rape of a kindergartner boy (6) at an international school in
Jakarta. A sixth suspect committed suicide while in custody after
drinking bathroom cleanser.
   (AP, 12/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 28, Indonesia AirAsia
Flight QZ8501, an Airbus 320-200 with 162 people on board, went
missing after pilots asked to change course to avoid bad weather
during a flight from Surabaya city to Singapore. It was later rfound
that the plane had climbed at excessive speeds to an unusually high
altitude before plunging and disappearing.
   (AP, 12/28/14)(SFC, 1/21/15, p.A3)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, Indonesian
rescuers searching for AirAsia Flight QZ8501 pulled bodies and
wreckage from the sea off the coast of Borneo. The plane was
carrying 162 people when it disappeared on Dec 28.
   (Reuters, 12/30/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec, In Indonesia Antony
de Malmanche of New Zealand was arrested at Bali's airport with 1.7
kg (3.9 pounds) of methamphetamine in his baggage. On June 30, 2015
Malmanche (53) was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined
$300,000 or an additional three months in prison.
   (AP, 6/30/15)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Elizabeth Pisani authored
“Indonesia Etc: Exploring the Improbable Nation.”
   (Econ, 6/21/14, p.79)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Indonesia’s population was
about 250 million, making it the 4th most populous country in the
world.
   (Econ, 10/18/14, p.44)(Econ, 2/27/15, p.9)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â According to the World
Bank half of Indonesia’s population lived on less than $2 per day.
   (Econ, 8/30/14, p.36)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â In Indonesia the number of
Asian elephants on Sumatra Island fell to an estimated 1,700 from an
estimated 2,800 in 2007.
   (SFC, 1/12/18, p.A6)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Heavy seas stopped
divers reaching the possible wreck of an AirAsia Indonesia jet off
Borneo. Nine bodies have so far been recovered from the Airbus
A320-200, which crashed Dec 28 en route to Singapore.
   (Reuters, 1/1/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Rescue teams
battling monsoon rains recovered 21 more bodies from Indonesia’s
AirAsia Flight 8501, which crashed on Dec 28. To date 30 of 162
bodies were recovered.
   (AP, 1/2/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Search teams
hunting for the wreck of Indonesia’s AirAsia Flight QZ8501 that
crashed with 162 people on board reported four large parts of the
plane on the sea bed.
   (Reuters, 1/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, Indonesia’s
transportation ministry announced harsh measures against everyone
who allowed AirAsia Flight 8501 to take off without proper permits,
including the suspension of the airport's operator and officials in
the control tower.
   (AP, 1/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, Search teams
scouring the ocean for the wreckage of an AirAsia jet, which went
missing on Dec 28, found two new metal objects. Indonesian officials
believe they may have located the tail and parts of the fuselage of
Flight QZ8501 30 meters below the surface, but have been unable to
properly investigate the debris so far. Two more bodies were
recovered from the sea, bringing the total found so far to 39.
   (Reuters, 1/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Indonesia's search
and rescue agency said the tail of the Dec 28 crashed AirAsia jet
Flight QZ8501 has been found on the sea bed about 30 km (20 miles)
from the plane's last known location. Forty bodies and debris from
the plane have been plucked from the surface of the waters off
Borneo.
   (Reuters, 1/7/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Indonesian divers
found the crucial black box flight recorders of the AirAsia plane
that crashed in the Java Sea a fortnight ago with 162 people aboard.
The data recorder was retrieved on Jan 12 and the cockpit voice
recorder on Jan 13.
   (AFP, 1/11/15)(SFC, 1/13/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, Indonesia's
anti-graft agency named three-star general Budi Gunawan, President
Joko Widodo's sole nomination for police chief, a bribery suspect.
Widodo told reporters a day earlier he had chosen Gunawan on
recommendation from the National Police Commission.
   (Reuters, 1/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, A Singapore Navy
ship located the fuselage of Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501, the
passenger jet that crashed more than two weeks ago off the coast of
Indonesia, raising hopes that more bodies will be found.
   (Reuters, 1/14/15)(AP, 1/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Indonesia’s
President Joko Widodo said he had postponed the nomination of
three-star general Budi Gunawan as police chief, but not cancelled
it. Gunawan had been named as a bribery suspect on Jan 13.
   (Econ, 1/24/15, p.35)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Indonesia executed
6 drug traffickers, five of them foreign nationals. The next day
Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors from Jakarta
and expressed fury following the executions of two of their
citizens.
   (AP, 1/18/15)(Econ, 1/24/15, p.36)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Indonesia’s police
arrested Bambang Widjojanto, the deputy head of the top
anti-corruption body, days after it accused a senior police officer
of graft, sparking accusations of police retaliation and demands
that the president defend the agency.
   (AP, 1/23/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Indonesia’s armed
forces officially halted the search for victims of AirAsia Flight
8501 that crashed Dec 28. Teams had recovered 70 of 162 people
aboard.
   (SFC, 1/28/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, A Hong Kong woman
was convicted of assaulting her Indonesian maid, Erwiana
Sulistyaningsih, in a case that sparked outrage for the scale of its
brutality. A judge found Law Wan-tung guilty of 18 charges including
grievous bodily harm.
   (AP, 2/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, In Indonesia a
crowded bus overturned on a toll road on the main island of Java,
killing 16 people near Semarang.
   (AP, 2/20/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, In Hong Kong Law
Wan-tung (44) was jailed for six years for beating and starving her
Indonesian maid, Sulistyaningsih, and keeping her prisoner, as the
judge called for action over laws which leave domestic workers
exposed to abuse.
   (AFP, 2/27/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, In the Netherlands
a court ruled that the Dutch government must pay compensation to
nine widows and children of Indonesian men summarily executed in
their country's war for independence, a ruling that could open the
door to many more claims.
   (AP, 3/11/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Turkish
authorities said they have have detained 16 Indonesians from three
families who were trying to cross into Syria, a route frequently
used by sympathizers of Islamic State militants..
   (Reuters, 3/11/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, In eastern
Indonesia an estimated 4,000 foreign fishermen were reported
stranded on a number of remote islands, including men reported to
have been enslaved. Some migrant workers from Myanmar said they had
been brought to Indonesia from Thailand and forced to work on
trawlers with Thai captains.
   (AP, 3/27/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 2, An Indonesian court
sentenced Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman (45) to 10 years in jail
on charges of sexually abusing three young children at a prestigious
international school in Jakarta. The principal and a number of other
teachers have said they believe Bantleman is innocent. Ferdinant
Tjiong, an Indonesian teaching assistant, was also sentenced to 10
years and both men planned to appeal.
   (AP, 4/2/15)(AP, 4/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, The Indonesian
government began moving foreign fishermen from an isolated island
where slavery in the fishing industry was exposed last, out of
concern for their safety.
   (AP, 4/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, In Indonesia the
number of enslaved fishermen found on a remote island reached nearly
550, after a fact-finding team returned for a single day to make
sure no one had been left behind nearly a week after more than half
of the men were removed in a dramatic rescue.
   (AP, 4/9/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, In Indonesia a
Sumatran elephant was found dead in Aceh province with its tusks cut
off, raising suspicion it was killed by poachers. The International
Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the animals as
"critically endangered" after their numbers dropped to between 2,400
and 2,800 from an estimated 5,000 in 1985.
   (AP, 4/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 21, An Indonesian
court found an American couple guilty of premeditated murder on the
resort island of Bali. The Denpasar District Court sentenced Tommy
Schaefer (21) to 18 years in prison and Heather Mack (19) to 10
years for intentionally killing Sheila von Wiese-Mack while
vacationing last August.
   (AP, 4/21/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 22, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of
a summit in Indonesia.
   (Reuters, 4/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 23, In Indonesia Asian
and African leaders agreed to develop concrete ways to cooperate in
fighting extremism and the financing of terrorism at the conclusion
of the Asian African Conference in Jakarta.
   (AP, 4/23/15)  Â
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, In Indonesia nine
drug traffickers held emotional farewell meetings with their
families at a prison, after Jakarta rejected last-ditch pleas from
around the world for clemency and ordered their mass execution to
proceed within hours.
   (Reuters, 4/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 29, An Indonesian
firing squad executed 8 drug traffickers, including seven
foreigners, in the early hours, sparking condemnation from Australia
and Brazil who had made final, desperate pleas to save their
nationals. Mary Jane Veloso from the Philippines was spared at the
last minute as part of a deal between Jakarta and Manila to seek
more information and go after drug syndicates operating in the
region.
   (Reuters, 4/29/15)(SSFC, 5/3/15, p.A4)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 4, Indonesian police
arrested a suspected wildlife smuggler after discovering nearly 22
rare live birds, mostly yellow-crested cockatoos, jammed inside
plastic water bottles in his luggage.
   (AFP, 5/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 5, It was reported
that Indonesia will stop sending new domestic workers to 21 Middle
Eastern countries, after the recent execution of two Indonesian
women in Saudi Arabia angered Jakarta.
   (AFP, 5/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, A Pakistan military
helicopter carrying diplomats to inspect a tourism project crashed
killing 7 people, including the ambassadors of Norway and the
Philippines and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian
ambassadors. 17 people were on board the Mi-17 when it crashed into
a school in Gilgit and caught fire. The
Taliban later claimed responsibility.
   (Reuters, 5/8/15)(AP, 5/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, Indonesia's Pres.
President Joko Widodo announced the lifting of a travel ban for
foreign journalists to the country's easternmost province, a day
after freeing five Papuan political prisoners.
   (AP, 5/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, In Indonesia
rescuers brought ashore 469 migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh
after their wooden boat arrived off Aceh.
   (AFP, 5/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 11, Indonesian and
Malaysian authorities said nearly 2,000 boat people from Myanmar and
Bangladesh have been rescued or swum to shore, warning that yet more
desperate migrants could be in peril at sea.
   (AFP, 5/11/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 12, Indonesia police
said seven people have been arrested on charges of human trafficking
including two Indonesians and five Thais.
   (SFC, 5/13/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, In Indonesia more
than 1,000 weak, hungry people fleeing persecution in Myanmar and
poverty in Bangladesh came ashore, describing murder, extortion and
near starvation after surviving a harrowing journey at sea. Dozens
were reported killed in violent clashes between the Bangladeshis and
Rohingya on board. A group of 106 people were found on a Thai
island.
   (AP, 5/15/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 20, Indonesia and
Malaysia said they would offer shelter to 7,000 "boat people" adrift
at sea in rickety boats but, anxious not to encourage a fresh
influx, made clear that their assistance was temporary and they
would take no more. Indonesian authorities said they have bombed and
sank 41 foreign fishing vessels as a warning against poaching in the
country's waters.
   (Reuters, 5/20/15)(AP, 5/20/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, Indonesia's
anti-terrorism squad killed two suspects and arrested seven others
in raids on a jihadist organization with possible links to the
Islamic State group.
   (AP, 5/25/15)  Â
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, Indonesia's
National Disaster Mitigation Agency said that starting next week, it
would begin the repatriation of 720 Bangladeshi migrants over the
next month.
   (Reuters, 5/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, In western
Indonesia a dump truck carrying children of plantation workers to
school plunged into a ditch, killing 17 of them.
   (AP, 5/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May, As many as 5,000
foreign vessels a day were reportedly fishing Illegally in
Indonesian waters.
   (Econ., 5/2/15, p.35)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May, Singapore-based Grab
launched its motorbike taxis in Jakarta, Indonesia.
   (Econ, 2/11/17, p.54)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, In western
Indonesia the Mount Sinabung volcano on Sumatra unleashed a new
powerful burst high into the sky sending hot ash far down the
mountain's slopes.
   (AP, 6/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, Australian PM Tony
Abbott refused again to deny allegations an official paid thousands
of dollars to turn back a boatload of asylum-seekers, despite calls
from Indonesia for answers.
   (AFP, 6/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, In western
Indonesia hundreds more villagers were evacuated on Sumatra island
as Mount Sinabung volcano spewed at least 28 hot ash avalanches.
   (SFC, 6/16/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 17, In Indonesia a
cliff at a beach resort on Java collapsed, killing 3 people and
burying several others.
   (AP, 6/17/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, An Indonesian air
force Hercules C-130 plane crashed into two houses in a residential
neighborhood in the country’s third largest city Medan. 141 people
were killed including non-military passengers.
   (AP, 6/30/15)(AFP, 6/30/15)(AFP, 7/1/15)(SSFC,
7/5/15, p.A4)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, In Indonesia Mount
Raung in East Java province began spewing ash sparking chaos for
holidaymakers. Airports were closed and international airlines
canceled flights to tourist hotspot Bali, stranding thousands.
   (AP, 7/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, In Indonesia the
airport on Bali reopened after the erupting Mount Raung volcano
forced its closure for the second time in just a few days and caused
fresh travel misery for stranded holidaymakers.
   (AFP, 7/12/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Indonesian
authorities said an orangutan trader has been jailed for two years
after he was caught trying to sell a baby ape from a backpack, a
rare conviction for wildlife crime in the country. A court in Medan
also ordered Vast Haris Nasution to pay a 10 million rupiah ($750)
fine after he was found guilty last week under laws that ban the
trade in orangutans.
   (AFP, 7/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, In Indonesia
eruptions at Mount Raung and Mount Gamalama caused closures at three
airports, including Juanda International serving Surabaya, the
country's 2nd-largest city.
   (AP, 7/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, In Indonesia
eruptions of ash at five volcanoes shrouded the skies over parts of
the archipelago, forcing three airports to close.
   (AP, 7/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Indonesia and
Turkey agreed to strengthen their intelligence cooperation as a way
to bolster their efforts to combat terrorism and prevent the spread
of radicalism.
   (AP, 7/31/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Indonesia’s Pres.
Joko Widodo fired four Cabinet ministers in a much anticipated
reshuffle as the government struggles to improve the economy.
   (SFC, 8/13/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Indonesian
authorities seized the Thai-owned Silver Sea 2, a massive
refrigerated cargo ship believed to be loaded with slave-caught
fish. It was escorted about 80 miles (130 km) to a naval base in
Sabang.
   (AP, 8/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, In Indonesia
Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman (45) and local teaching assistant
Ferdinant Tjiong, sentenced to 10 years in prison for child sexual
offenses, were released after a Jakarta court overturned their April
2 convictions.
   (AP, 8/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, In Indonesia an
aircraft with 54 people on board crashed in the remote and
mountainous region of Papua. The 27-year-old Trigana ATR 42-300
crashed into Tangok mountain. All 54 people on board the aircraft
were killed.
   (Reuters, 8/16/15)(Reuters, 8/18/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, An overloaded
wooden boat believed to be carrying about 70 Indonesian illegal
immigrants sank off the coast of Malaysia, killing 61 people, among
them 23 women. The number of survivors stood at 19.
   (Reuters, 9/3/15)(AP, 9/7/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Indonesia made it
easier for foreigners to open bank accounts, struck down import
restrictions on some goods, and eliminated some onerous business
regulations.
   (Econ, 10/17/15, p.79)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Air pollution in
Singapore reached its highest level in a year as smog from
Indonesian forest fires shrouded the island nation in a veil of
gray, irking tourists and alarming authorities with hours left
before general elections.
   (AP, 9/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Indonesia said it
has agreed to share with Singapore the names of companies suspected
of causing forest fires that have led to a deterioration of air
quality in the city state.
   (Reuters, 9/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Indonesian police
said they have identified seven companies and 133 individuals
suspected of causing forest fires that are spreading choking smoke
and polluted air across parts of western Indonesia and neighboring
Malaysia and Singapore.
   (AP, 9/17/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Indonesia pledged
to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 29 percent by 2030,
relative to a business-as-usual scenario without climate action. It
pledged to raise that target to 41 percent with international
support, including access to finance and clean technology.
   (AP, 9/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Singapore ordered
emergency school closures as air pollution reached "hazardous"
levels due to suffocating smoke from agricultural fires raging on a
nearby Indonesian island.
   (AFP, 9/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Indonesia arrested
the Thai captain of a seized cargo ship carrying an estimated $2
million worth of seafood on suspicion of illegal fishing.
   (AP, 9/26/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 2, In eastern
Indonesia a passenger plane carrying 10 people was reported missing
on a domestic flight. The DHC-6 Twin Otter plane lost contact 11
minutes after taking off in good weather from Masamba in South
Sulawesi province. On October 5 wreckage of the plane was reported
found.
   (AP, 10/2/15)(AP, 10/5/15)  Â
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 4, Malaysian
authorities ordered most of the country's schools shut for two days
because of possible health risks posed by the thick haze from
Indonesian forest fires.
   (AFP, 10/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, In western
Indonesia a helicopter carrying five people went missing shortly
after takeoff from Samosir island in Toba Lake. On Oct 13 a survivor
was found floating on plants in Toba Lake and told rescuers the four
other people on board also survived by jumping before the craft hit
the water.
   (AP, 10/12/15)(AP, 10/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, In Indonesia 2
endangered Sumatran elephants were found dead in Aceh province and
were believed to have been poisoned a few days earlier.
   (AP, 10/15/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, Officials from
China and a domestic consortium signed an agreement to build the
first high-speed rail line in Indonesia. The deal was estimated at
$5.5 billion.
   (AP, 10/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, Indonesian
officials said 182 ethnic Rohingya have fled their encampment in
Aceh province. Officials suspected they may have been persuaded by
human traffickers to flee.
   (AP, 10/17/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, In Indonesia 7
hikers died after being caught in a forest fire on Java island. The
fire was believed to be caused by a bonfire started by hikers.
   (AP, 10/19/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 22, Southern Thailand
was hit by the most severe haze ever from forest fires in Indonesia,
forcing all schools in a province to close and disrupting flights in
a popular tourist area.
   (AP, 10/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 23, In Indonesia a law
that makes gay sex punishable by public caning took effect in
conservative Aceh province.
   (AP, 10/23/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 23, Philippine
aviation authorities said haze from Indonesian forest fires has
spread to the southern and central Philippines, disrupting air
traffic and prompting warnings for residents to wear face masks.
   (AFP, 10/23/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 24, Indonesian
officials said warships have been put on standby to evacuate people
affected by acrid haze from forest fires which has killed at least
10 and caused respiratory illnesses in half a million.
   (AFP, 10/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 25, In Indonesia 17
people were killed in a fire that raced through a karaoke bar early
today on Sulawesi island. 71 others were hospitalized for smoke
inhalation.
   (AP, 10/2515)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 25, Indonesian police
on Bali arrested Rajendra Nikalje, one of India's most wanted
gangsters, sought in more than two dozen murder cases. On Nov 5 he
was deported to India after being on Interpol's most-wanted list for
two decades.
   (Reuters, 10/2615)(AP, 11/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, In Indonesia 12
miners were buried under a landslide while digging illegally at a
state-run gold mine on the main island of Java.
   (AP, 10/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, An Indonesian
minister said the death toll from acrid haze blanketing parts of the
country has climbed to 19.
   (AFP, 10/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, In Indonesia
thousands of tourists were stranded on three islands after ash from
Mount Rinjani on Lombok Island forced the closure of airports and
blanketed villages and farmlands.
   (AP, 11/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, In Indonesia an
earthquake measuring 6.1 magnitude struck 107 km south of Sibolga,
Sumatra.
   (AP, 11/8/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, In Malaysia ASEAN
nations (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) established a formal
community that attempts to create freer movement of trade and
capital in an area of 625 million people with a combined economic
output of $2.6 trillion.
   (Reuters, 11/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, Sixteen migrants
from India, Nepal and Bangladesh and their Indonesian skipper were
found stranded in Indonesia's part of Timor Island. The next day
Indonesia said Australian officials had destroyed a boat carrying
asylum seekers and then pushed them back to sea in another vessel.
   (AP, 11/27/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 1, An Indonesian
report said a faulty component and the crew's inadequate response
caused an AirAsia A320 to crash into the Java Sea last Dec 28,
killing all 162 people on board.
   (AFP, 12/1/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, In Indonesia two
rain-triggered landslides left 5 villagers dead and 15 others
missing on Sumatra Island.
   (AP, 12/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 6, In Indonesia a
commuter train slammed into a passenger minibus at a railroad
crossing in Jakarta, killing at least 18 people and seriously
injuring six others.
   (AP, 12/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 9, Millions of
Indonesians voted in nationwide elections for regional leaders in
the sprawling archipelago.
   (AP, 12/9/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 13, Benedict Anderson
(1936-2015), a scholar on South-East Asia, died in Indonesia. He was
best known for his 1983 book “Imagined Communities,” which explored
the origins of nationalism. In 2016 his book “A Life Beyond
Boundaries” was published.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Anderson)(Econ, 5/21/16,
p.77)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, The embattled
speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives resigned over his
involvement in one of the biggest political scandals in years. Setya
Novanto allegedly sought kickbacks from a giant US-owned gold and
copper mine in exchange for helping it extend its operating
contract.
   (AP, 12/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, Indonesia deported
49 Taiwanese and one Chinese citizen who were members of a
cross-border telephone and Internet fraud ring.
   (AP, 12/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, The Danish cargo
ship Thorco Cloud collided with the chemical tanker Stolt Commitment
and sank off western Indonesia. Six Filipino crewmen were missing.
   (AP, 12/17/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 20, Rescuers pulled
out 39 survivors and three dead from the Marina Baru 2B passenger
boat that sank in central Indonesia. By Dec 24 the death toll stood
at 63 as more bodies were recovered leaving 15 still missing.
   (AP, 12/20/15)(Reuters, 12/22/15)(AP, 12/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 22, Indonesia’s
Forestry Ministry's investigations director said the government has
punished 23 companies for causing forest fires that spread thick,
smoky haze around Southeast Asia.
   (AP, 12/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 23, Indonesian police
in Bekasi, West Java, arrested two suspected militants, including
Arif Hidayatullah, a member of China’s ethnic Uighur minority who
was allegedly preparing to be a suicide bomber.
   (SFC, 12/25/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 27, In Indonesia a
group of about 15 gunmen attacked a police station in Sinak town,
Papua province, killing 3 officers and wounding two others.
   (AP, 12/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Indonesia’s top clerical
council passed a fatwa condemning homosexuality.
   (Econ, 8/13/16, p.28)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Tuberculosis claimed the
lives of an estimated 1.8 million people around the world this year,
60% of whom lived in China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and
South Africa.
   (AFP, 3/23/17)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Indonesia signed a
$1.3 billion deal with South Korea to jointly develop Seoul's
next-generation fighter jets.
   (AFP, 1/7/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, In Indonesia 8
people were killed in an attack by suicide bombers in Jakarta
including 4 of the attackers themselves. 20 people were wounded in
the attack claimed by the Islamic State. Police identified Bahrun
Naim as the mastermind behind the deadly attack, pulling the strings
from Raqqa.
   (Reuters, 1/14/16)(AP, 1/17/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Indonesian police
killed one suspected militant and arrested two more in raids across
the country a day after an attack on a busy shopping district.
   (Reuters, 1/15/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Indonesian police
named the five men they suspect launched the Jan 14 gun and bomb
attack in Jakarta. Police also said they had arrested 12 people
linked to the plot who planned to strike other cities.
   (Reuters, 1/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, Malaysian police
said 13 bodies, believed to be Indonesian illegal immigrants, were
found washed ashore after their boat capsized in bad sea conditions.
Five more bodies were found the next day raising the death toll to
18.
   (AP, 1/26/16)(AFP, 1/27/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Indonesian
security forces evacuated hundreds of members of a group authorities
have called a deviant religious organization to the capital,
Jakarta, after sectarian violence drove them from their homes in
West Kalimantan province. Men, women and children associated with a
group called Gafatar, which the country's highest Islamic council
considers a deviant sect, were attacked last week by other West
Kalimantan residents who oppose their beliefs.
   (Reuters, 1/27/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The UN children's
agency released a report saying at least 200 million girls and women
in 30 countries are estimated to have undergone female circumcision
— half of them in Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
   (AP, 2/4/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, An Indonesian court
sentenced seven men for conspiring with the Islamic State group, the
first time the country has sent anyone to prison for IS links, as
radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir appealed his conviction.
   (AP, 2/9/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, An Indonesian air
force plane crashed into a house on the main island of Java, killing
both people on board and two people in the house.
   (AP, 2/10/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, The Indonesian
government told instant messaging apps to remove stickers featuring
same-sex couples in the latest high-profile attempt to discourage
visible homosexuality in the socially conservative country.
   (AP, 2/12/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, In Indonesia
thousands of high school students held rallies rejecting the
celebration of Valentine's Day. Officials and clerics have banned
young Indonesian Muslims from celebrating Valentine's Day, arguing
that the observance runs against Islamic teachings.
   (AP, 2/14/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Indonesia's most
influential Muslim leaders said they reject all promotion and
support for lesbian and gay groups and encouraged the government to
make gay sex and the promotion of LGBT activities illegal.
   (AP, 2/17/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Indonesian police
detained 38 Islamic militants in a raid on the main island of Java,
as authorities get set to tighten anti-terrorism laws following last
month's deadly attacks in Jakarta. Another 5 miitants were arrested
in East Java a day earlier. Most of the men were released the next
day as officials lamented weaknesses in the current anti-terrorism
legislation.
   (AP, 2/20/16)(AP, 2/21/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, An official said
Indonesia plans to close all red-light districts in the country by
2019, stepping up a campaign against prostitution after a
controversial push to clear up a brothel area of Jakarta.
   (AFP, 2/24/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Indonesia's top
court overruled the acquittals of Canadian Neil Bantleman and
Indonesian teacher Ferdinant Tjiong and ordered longer prison terms
for sexually abusing three young children at a prestigious
international school in Jakarta. Both had been sentenced to 10 years
last April by the South Jakarta District Court. Appeals to the High
Court had acquitted them in August, ruling there was not sufficient
evidence to support their conviction. In July 2019 Bantleman was
granted clemency and returned to Canada.
   (AP, 2/25/16)(SFC, 7/13/19, p.A2)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, An earthquake of
magnitude 7.9 that struck off Indonesia's island of Sumatra killing
a number of people.
   (Reuters, 3/2/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, In Indonesia the
Rafelia II ferry sunk in the Bali Strait, killing 5 of the 81 people
on board including a mother and her infant child.
   (Reuters, 3/6/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, Indonesia's
anti-graft commission said government agencies have agreed on a plan
to combat corruption in the forestry industry that costs the state
billions of dollars in lost revenue and is behind fires that pollute
Southeast Asia.
   (AP, 3/7/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, In Indonesia the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit ended with a call
for a ban on products from Israeli settlements in the occupied
territories and pledged full support for the "inalienable rights" of
the Palestinians. the move was not binding on member states.
   (AFP, 3/7/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Indonesian police
killed two suspected Chinese Uighur militants in Central Sulawesi
province during a hunt for Abu Wardah Santoso, the country's most
wanted Islamic radical.
   (AP, 3/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Indonesian
security forces killed 3 more suspected militants linked to the
country's most wanted Islamic radical near Siliwanga village in Poso
district, Central Sulawesi.
   (AP, 3/18/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, An Indonesian
fisheries ministry patrol ship intercepted a Chinese fishing vessel
within Indonesia's exclusive economic zone which overlaps with the
southernmost reaches of the South China Sea. Indonesia arrested
eight fishermen for illegal fishing. The fishing vessel Kway Fey was
being towed when a Chinese coastguard vessel collided with it,
allowing its escape by a 9th crewman.
   (AP, 3/21/16)(AP, 3/23/16)(Econ, 4/16/16, p.34)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, An Indonesian
military helicopter crashed during a mission to capture Abu Wardah
Santoso, the country's most wanted militant, killing 13 people in
Central Sulawesi.
   (AP, 3/20/16)(AP, 3/21/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Indonesian cabbies
clashed with motorbike drivers working for online apps, pulling them
off their bikes and assaulting them as thousands of drivers took to
the streets of Jakarta calling for a ban on ride-hailing apps like
Grab and Uber.
   (Reuters, 3/22/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, An Indonesian
patrol ship fired shots at two Taiwanese vessels suspected of
illegal fishing after they ignored repeated warnings to leave
Indonesian waters.
   (SFC, 3/25/16, p.A2)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, In western
Indonesia rioting prisoners started a fire at the Malabero prison in
Bengkulu on Sumatra Island. Five inmates were killed.
   (AP, 3/26/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, The Indonesian the
tug Brahma 12 and the Anand 12 barge en route to Batangas province,
south of the Philippine capital, were reported hijacked with 10 crew
members. On May 1 Abu Sayyaf militants freed the 10 Indonesian
crewmen.
   (AP, 3/29/16)(AP, 5/1/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 2, In Indonesia a
teenage girl was raped and murdered by 14 men. This went largely
unnoticed at a national level until social media users began
highlighting its brutality. The rape and murder reignited calls for
Parliament to pass the Elimination of Sexual Violence Act.
   (AP, 5/3/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 7, Two Indonesian
military skydivers plunged to their deaths during an airshow
rehearsal in Jakarta.
   (AP, 4/7/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 12, In Indonesia three
Thai fishing captains were detained when they were found operating
trawlers under Malaysian flags that were fishing off Kalimantan,
Indonesia's part of Borneo island. The captains escaped on May 7
after scaling the wall of their detention center in the middle of
the night.
   (AP, 5/17/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, In eastern
Indonesia rain-triggered floods and landslides left six villagers
missing in a remote mountainous district of West Papua province.
   (AP, 4/18/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 19, Indonesia said it
has called for joint maritime patrols with the Philippines and
Malaysia, after a spate of kidnappings in waters near the southern
Philippines by suspected militants.
   (Reuters, 4/19/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 2, Survivors of
Indonesia's anti-communist massacres in 1965 submitted a list of
what they say are more than 100 mass graves to the government after
the president called for an investigation into the killings.
   (AP, 5/2/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 2, Indonesian police
fatally shot Amokrane Sabet (49), a French citizen, after he stabbed
a policeman to death while resisting arrest on the resort island of
Bali.
   (AP, 5/2/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 5, Indonesia, Malaysia
and the Philippines agreed to conduct coordinated maritime patrols
after a spate of ship hijackings by Islamist militants in the
southern Philippines.
   (Reuters, 5/5/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, Indonesia’s VP
Jusuf Kalla spoke before the Int’l. Summit of the Moderate Islamic
Leaders meeting in Jakarta and called on Islamic leaders to spread
messages a tolerant Islam to curb extremism.
   (SFC, 5/10/16, p.A2)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, In western
Indonesia rescuers found the bodies of 17 people who were among 20
university students and two guides who went missing in
rain-triggered floods and landslides at a popular waterfall. One
student was found alive. 4 people remained missing.
   (AP, 5/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, In Indonesia Mount
Sinabung in North Sumatra province blasted volcanic ash as high as 3
km (2 miles) into the sky. At least 7 people were killed while
working on their farms in the village of Gamber.
   (AP, 5/22/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, Indonesian Pres.
Joko Widodo issued a regulation that provides tougher penalties for
child rapists, including chemical castration and the death penalty.
   (AP, 5/25/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, Indonesia's navy
fired shots at a Chinese trawler when it refused to stop fishing in
Indonesian waters, and then seized the vessel and its eight
crewmembers.
   (AP, 5/30/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, Indonesian police
detained more than 300 demonstrators who were demanding the release
of political prisoners in restive Papua province.
   (AP, 5/31/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 3, In Indonesia about
a thousand members of hard-line Islamic groups marched in Jakarta to
denounce a government plan for an investigation into anti-communist
massacres in 1965, saying it would help revive communism in the
world's most populous Muslim nation.
   (AP, 6/3/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 8, Scientists working
in Indonesia reported fossil bones of Homo floriensis dating back
some 700,000 years. Earlier remains had dated back to 60k-100k
years.
   (SFC, 6/9/16, p.A9)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, In Indonesia more
than 30 pilot whales began stranding themselves during high tide on
the coast of Pesisir village in Probolinggo district in the province
of East Java. At least 10 died as a mass rescue operation managed to
pull most of the stranded whales into the deep sea.
   (AP, 6/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 16, Indonesia's
central bank cut its benchmark interest rate again by a quarter
point to 6.50 percent amid slow and uneven recovery of the global
economy.
   (AP, 6/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, The Indonesian
navy opened fire at a Chinese fishing boat in the South China Sea,
injuring a fisherman and detaining its seven-man crew, for illegally
fishing in Indonesian waters.
   (AP, 6/19/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 19, Indonesia reported
that at least 35 people have been killed by landslides and floods on
Java island this weekend with many others missing. By the next day
the death toll rose to 47.
   (AP, 6/19/16)(AP, 6/20/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, Indonesia,
Malaysia and the Philippines agreed to designate a transit corridor
for commercial vessels crossing a maritime zone hit by a spate of
hijackings by Islamist militants in the southern Philippines.
   (Reuters, 6/20/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, Al Fatihin, an
online newspaper published in the Indonesian language and linked to
the Islamic State militant group, was launched in the southern
Philippines. It was soon distributed in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Singapore, and southern Thailand.
   (Reuters, 7/22/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Indonesia's Pres.
Joko Widodo ordered an expansion of offshore oil exploration and
commercial fishing in the waters near the Natuna Islands, the latest
in a new campaign to assert sovereignty over the area in the South
China Sea.
   (Reuters, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun, Indonesian
authorities broke up a drug-counterfeiting ring that had been
operating for more than a decade. At least 28 health care facilities
throughout the country, including Jakarta and the tourist resort
island of Bali, were suspected of buying fake booster vaccines for
hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.
   (Reuters, 7/18/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, In Indonesia major
palm oil producers and traders, including Wilmar and Cargill ditched
a "no deforestation" private agreement, saying the government's
recent efforts to strengthen its certification standards were
sufficient.
   (Reuters, 7/1/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, An Indonesian
suicide bomber believed to be a supporter of the Islamic State
militant group attacked a police station in the city of Solo,
killing himself and wounding a police officer.
   (Reuters, 7/5/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, In Indonesia a
military helicopter crashed into a house in a village near the city
of Yogyakarta, killing 3 of the six people aboard.
   (AP, 7/8/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Gunmen kidnapped
three Indonesian members of a tugboat crew off Malaysia's eastern
state of Sabah. Four other crew members were left behind by the
kidnappers who came in a speedboat.
   (Reuters, 7/10/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, Indonesia began
re-vaccinating nearly 200 children who received fake versions of
imported inoculations from a drug-counterfeiting ring broken up last
month after operating for more than a decade.
   (Reuters, 7/18/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, Indonesia's most
wanted Islamic militant, Abu Wardah Santoso, was one of two
militants killed in a shootout in the jungles of Sulawesi island.
The other was an extremist known as Mochtar.
   (AP, 7/19/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Indonesia
organizers of a recent poll on rape said more than 90 percent of
cases go unreported, highlighting the country's "deafening silence"
around sexual violence as victims fear being blamed.
   (Reuters, 7/25/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, Indonesia began a tax
amnesty program. It ended on March 31, 2017, after more than 8,000
tax evaders declared some 4,700 trillion rupiah ($350 billion) in
assets previously hidden from authorities.
   (Econ, 4/1/17, p.68)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Indonesian
President Joko Widodo urged citizens to take part in the country's
new tax amnesty and pledged his government will "go all out" to keep
the law behind it from potentially getting blocked in court.
   (Reuters, 8/1/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Indonesian police
arrested six suspected militants who they believed to be linked to
the Islamic State group and plotting a rocket attack on Singapore.
The six arrested were suspected of having links to Bahrun Naim, an
Indonesian fighting with Islamic State in Syria.
   (Reuters, 8/5/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, In Indonesia a
court ruling found plantation company Sampoerna Agro negligent in
relation to fires on 3,000 hectares of its concessions in Riau in
2014, and handed down fines totaling 1.07 trillion rupiah ($81.62
million), the country's largest ever fine for forest fires.
   (Reuters, 8/15/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Indonesian
authorities seized 657 critically endangered pangolins, known as
"scaly anteaters," found hidden in freezers and arrested a man (55)
for allegedly breaking wildlife protection laws.
   (AFP, 8/26/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Two Indonesians
escaped together on Jolo Island, an Abu Sayyaf jungle stronghold,
but fled in separate direction as their captors chased them. They
were among seven tugboat crewmen who were abducted near Philippine
waters in June.
   (AP, 8/18/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Indonesia's
disaster agency urged prompt action against slash-and-burn
plantation fires as the annual smoke "haze" begins to drift across
the Malacca Strait to neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.
   (Reuters, 8/19/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, In Bali,
Indonesia, British citizen David Taylor (45) and his Australian
girlfriend, Sara Connor (33), were arrested, two days after the
bloodied body of traffic police officer Wayan Sudarsa was found on
the beach outside the Pullman Hotel in Kuta, a popular tourist area.
On August 23 Taylor confessed to bashing the Indonesian man with a
beer bottle and leaving him unconscious.
   (AP, 8/23/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Indonesia a
small wooden tourist boat capsized in rough seas off Bintan island,
south of Singapore. Only two of 17 people survived.
   (AP, 8/22/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Singapore's air
quality deteriorated to unhealthy levels as winds blew smoke from
fires on Sumatra, where millions of people are already affected by
haze, across the city-state and into southern Malaysia. Six
Indonesian provinces have declared states of emergency.
   (AP, 8/26/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, It was reported
that private banks in Singapore are sharing with local police the
names of clients embracing an Indonesian tax amnesty. The Monetary
Authority of Singapore (MAS) confirmed in a statement that it has
advised local banks to encourage their clients to use tax amnesty
programs to regularize their tax affairs.
   (Reuters, 9/15/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, An Indonesian
official said three men were arrested over the weekend for allegedly
trading in protected species, with police seizing animal parts
including a tiger skin, deer genitalia and pangolin scales.
   (AFP, 10/17/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Indonesian police
said they had broken up an online male prostitution ring and
identified 148 young men and boys, at least one as young as 13,
offering sexual services.
   (Reuters, 9/5/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Philippine Pres.
Rodrigo Duterte gave Indonesian forces the right to pursue pirates
into Philippine waters saying: “blow them up.”
   (SFC, 9/10/16, p.A2)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Indonesian police
captured Muhammad Basri, a senior figure from the East Indonesia
Mujahideen militant group, and killed one of the group's members in
a joint operation with the military.
   (AP, 9/14/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Indonesia said the
country’s highest Islamic council has issued a fatwa on burning land
and forests in an effort to halt the toxic smog that blankets the
region each year.
   (Reuters, 9/14/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, The European Union
said it has admitted Indonesia to a special licensing system it
hopes will prevent the illegally felled tropical timber that makes
up a substantial part of the country's wood production from being
shipped to the 28-nation bloc.
   (AP, 9/15/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, In Indonesia 2
foreign tourists were killed and about 20 other people were injured
in an explosion on a speedboat that was ferrying them from the
tourist island of Bali to neighboring Lombok.
   (AP, 9/15/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, In Indonesia
torrential rains triggered floods and landslides on the island of
Java, killing at least 19 villagers.
   (AP, 9/21/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Indonesian
authorities detained a ship carrying an unregistered cargo of nearly
30 tons of fertilizer that may have been intended for use in making
illegal fishing bombs.
   (AP, 9/22/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, BlackBerry, the
Canadian firm that helped pioneer the smartphone market, said it
will stop making handsets, outsourcing production to an Indonesian
partner.
   (AFP, 9/28/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, It was reported
that slum dwellers in Indonesia have launched a landmark legal case
to challenge a decades-old law which has been used to forcibly
remove thousands of families, amid a wave of evictions in the
country's capital. A 1960 law prohibits the use of land without
permission from the rightful owner, but land rights advocates argue
it has long been invoked in favor of the authorities.
   (Reuters, 9/30/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, In Indonesia more
than 100 multi-colored paragliders filled the sky over Bali island,
as they set a new world record for the largest number of gliders
flying at the same time.
   (AFP, 10/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 19, Indonesia, one of
the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, ratified a landmark
climate rescue pact but environmentalists expressed skepticism about
the government's plans to limit global warming.
   (AFP, 10/19/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 20, Indonesia’s police
said Sultan Azianzah (21), a suspected militant who attacked police
on the outskirts of Jakarta, has died from gunshot wounds. Azianzah
was unemployed and a member of Daulah Islam, a hardline group in
Ciamis, West java province.
   (SFC, 10/21/16, p.A2)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, In Indonesia a
Jakarta court sentenced Jessica Kumala Wongso (28), accused of
killing former classmate Wayan Mirna Salihin last January with
cyanide-laced coffee, to 20 years in prison, in a dramatic climax to
a trial that was broadcast live and became a national spectacle.
   (AP, 10/27/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, In Indonesia
thousands of union members protested in Jakarta demanding an end to
a campaign that granted tax amnesty saying it rewards the
tax-evading rich.
   (Econ, 10/8/16, p.37)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Indonesia said it
will resume some shipments of coal to the Philippines, after a
months-long halt due to concerns about piracy in seas between the
two archipelagos
   (Reuters, 10/30/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, In Indonesia a
cargo plane carrying four people was reported missing in a remote,
mountainous area of easternmost Papua province.
   (AP, 10/31/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 2, In Indonesia an
overcrowded speedboat carrying workers home from Malaysia capsized
off the island of Batam. At least 54 people were killed and 41
survived. After three days 6 people were still missing.
   (AP, 11/2/16)(AP, 11/4/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, Indonesian police
fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse hardline Muslims
protesters, after tens of thousands had rallied to demand the
resignation of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahja Purnama, who they said
had insulted the Koran. At least one person was killed. Some Muslim
groups have accused Purnama of blasphemy after he said his opponents
had deceived voters by attacking him using a verse from the Koran.
   (Reuters, 11/4/16)(AP, 11/4/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, Two Indonesians
were kidnapped from fishing vessels in waters off Malaysia's Sabah
state in two separate incidents.
   (Reuters, 11/6/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, In Indonesia
Qienabh Tappii (28) won the country’s Miss Transgender pageant and
was crowned Miss Waria Indonesia. Waria is the Indonesian word for
transgender. Journalists were notified just a few hours in advance
to prevent any attempt by Islamic hardliners to shut down the event.
   (SFC, 11/15/16, p.A2)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Indonesian police
named Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, the Christian governor of
Jakarta, as a suspect in a blasphemy investigation in a major test
of the Muslim-majority nation's reputation for religious tolerance.
   (AP, 11/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Indonesia refused
to take the blame for the disappearance of at least six British and
Dutch World War II shipwrecks -- considered war graves -- that
investigators believe could have been salvaged for scrap. It is
believed the military wrecks -- lost in 1942 during the Battle of
the Java Sea -- were removed by illegal scavengers looking for scrap
metal, an effort that could have taken years.
   (AFP, 11/17/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, In Indonesia
thousands of people rallied in Jakarta, calling on fellow citizens
not to be divided by political and religious interests.
   (AP, 11/19/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, Another two
Indonesian fishermen were abducted by armed men off Malaysia’s
eastern Sabah state on Borneo island, the second such case this
month and the latest in a spate of sea attacks.
   (AP, 11/20/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, The Vietnamese
cargo ship MV Thaison 4 and the Indonesian sailboat KM Mulya Sejati,
which was carrying 27 people, collided before dawn off Tuban
district. At least three people were left dead and 12 others
missing.
   (AP, 11/20/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, An Indonesian
court jailed an extremist for nine years for his role in a deadly
gun and suicide bombing attack in Jakarta claimed by the Islamic
State group. Saiful Muhtorir was found guilty of helping funnel cash
to the militants behind the January assault, which killed four
civilians and four attackers.
   (AFP, 11/23/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, Indonesia's
military lost contact with an army helicopter carrying four soldiers
in Indonesia's part of Borneo. On Nov 27 a search team found the
wreckage and rescued an injured pilot. Four people remained missing.
   (AP, 11/24/16)(AP, 11/27/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 28, An Indonesian
woman screamed in agony as she was caned in Aceh, the latest in a
growing number of women to be publicly flogged for breaking the
province's strict Islamic laws. Two women and three men were flogged
in front of a cheering crowd at a mosque in the provincial capital
Banda Aceh.
   (AFP, 11/28/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, Indonesia's
parliament reappointed Setya Novanto as its speaker, reinstating him
despite a scandal last year when he was accused of trying to extort
$1.8 billion of shares from the local unit of US mining giant
Freeport McMoran Inc.
   (Reuters, 11/30/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, Amnesty
International warned that multinational companies are selling
consumer products containing palm oil from Indonesian plantations
where workers suffer rights abuses, listing problems including child
labor and exposure to toxic chemicals.
   (AFP, 11/30/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, Indonesian police
arrested 11 people including prominent citizens for suspected
treason and other crimes and said they were planning to use a mass
protest in the capital to cause chaos and overthrow the government.
Eight of those arrested were released the next day.
   (AP, 12/2/16)(AP, 12/3/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, In Indonesia at
least 200,000 conservative Muslims rallied peacefully in Jakarta in
the second major protest against its minority Christian Gov. Basuki
"Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who is being prosecuted for alleged
blasphemy.
   (AP, 12/2/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, The Dutch
government backed a multi-year inquiry into the end of its colonial
period in Indonesia in the 1940s, when troops from the Netherlands
are accused of massacres in Southeast Asia's largest nation.
   (Reuters, 12/2/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, An Indonesian
police plane lost contact during a flight to the island of Batam
near Singapore. All 13 policemen aboard were feared dead.
   (AP, 12/3/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 5, Indonesia announced
that companies were banned from turning peatlands into palm oil and
other types of plantations, and must restore peatlands they have
degraded.
   (Reuters, 12/6/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 7, In Indonesia a
magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocked Aceh province early today, killing
more than 100 people and sparking a frantic rescue effort in the
rubble of dozens of collapsed and damaged buildings.
   (AP, 12/7/16)(AP, 12/8/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Indonesian police
safely detonated a bomb in a neighborhood on the outskirts of
Jakarta after arresting a female would-be suicide bomber and other
suspected Islamic militants who were planning to attack the
presidential palace this weekend.
   (AP, 12/10/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, It was reported
that Greenpeace and WWF have suspended their relationship with Asia
Pacific Resources International (April), one of Indonesia's leading
pulp and paper companies, saying it didn't live up to promises to
improve its environmental record.  Â
   (AP, 12/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, A World Trade
Organization dispute panel ruled that the EU had been largely within
its rights to impose anti-dumping duties on Indonesian fatty
alcohols, rejecting most of Indonesia's complaint at the
Geneva-based trade body.
   (Reuters, 12/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, An Indonesian
military transport plane crashed in bad weather in the country's
easternmost province of Papua, killing all 13 people on board.
   (AP, 12/18/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 21, Indonesian
anti-terrorism police killed three suspects in a gunfight on the
outskirts of the capital, Jakarta, and foiled a suicide bomb plot.
   (Reuters, 12/21/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 25, In Indonesia
members of the elite anti-terrorism squad fatally shot two suspected
militants and arrested two others during a raid on the main island
of Java.
   (AP, 12/25/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, President Joko
Widodo announced that Indonesia would return 13,000 hectares of
customary lands to nine indigenous communities, and committed to
giving back a total of 12.7 million hectares to local and indigenous
groups.
   (Reuters, 1/11/17)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â The population of
Indonesia was about 261 million, half of whom were under 30.
   (Econ, 12/10/16, p.42)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, In Indonesia a
massive fire erupted in a boat carrying hundreds of local tourists
to an island north of Jakarta, leaving at least 23 dead and 17
injured. Another 17 people were missing and 194 were rescued
following the blaze on the Zahro Express.
   (AFP, 1/1/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, An Indonesian
government minister clarified that the country was suspending only
part of its military cooperation with Australia, as that country
promised its investigation of an alleged insult of Indonesian
beliefs was nearly complete. Australian Defense Minister Marise
Payne said the issue began in November, after an Indonesian military
officer raised concerns about teaching materials and remarks made at
an army language-training facility in western Australia.
   (AP, 1/5/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Indonesia and
Japan said they have agreed to step up maritime security and start
discussions on a major railway project to link the Southeast Asian
nation's capital and second-biggest city.
   (Reuters, 1/15/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, The bodies of 10
people believed to be Indonesian migrants were found washed ashore
in Malaysia not far from a capsized boat. 2 Indonesians were
rescued.
   (AP, 1/23/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, In Indonesia a
deputy chairwoman of the independent Corruption Eradication
Commission, Basaria Panjaitan, announced that Constitutional Court
Judge Patrialis Akbar and 10 other people were caught "red-handed"
in an anti-graft sting.
   (AP, 1/26/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, In Indonesia tens
of thousands gathered at the national mosque in Jakarta for mass
prayers urging people to vote for a Muslim governor of the city as
the country prepares for regional elections next week.
   (AP, 2/11/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Indonesian
officials said up to 40,000 people were caught in severe flooding
following days of torrential rain in West Nusa Tenggara province.
The death toll from landslides on Bali resort island rose to 13.
   (AP, 2/11/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, Indonesia held
local elections. In Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of
Chinese descent also known as Ahok, won with 43% of the vote,
forcing him into a runoff against Anies Baswedan on April 19.
   (Econ, 2/18/17, p.33)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Indonesia's
national police chief said Siti Aisyah, the Indonesian woman
arrested for suspected involvement in the killing of the North
Korean leader's half-brother in Malaysia, was duped into thinking
she was part of a comedy show prank.
   (AP, 2/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Australia and
Indonesia said that full military ties between the two countries had
been restored, after Indonesia’s military suspended cooperation in
January because of "insulting" teaching material found at an
Australian base.
   (Reuters, 2/26/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Indonesia and Saudi
Arabia signed agreements in areas ranging from trade to aviation as
the kingdom's monarch visited the world's most populous
Muslim-majority country for the first time in almost half a century.
   (AFP, 3/1/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Indonesia's
government said that a British-owned cruise ship must pay
compensation for the destruction of coral reefs in a popular tourist
area known for its extensive marine biodiversity. The 4,200-ton
cruise ship M.V. Caledonian Sky ran aground in the waters of Raja
Ampat in West Papua province last week, causing extensive damage to
the coral reefs.
   (AP, 3/15/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, An Indonesian
court sentenced people-smuggling kingpin Abraham Louhenapessy, known
as Captain Bram, to six years in jail for organizing a trip for
migrants to New Zealand in early 2015.
   (AP, 3/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, Indonesian police
killed a suspected radical and detained three during a
counter-terrorism operation in an industrial area just hours away
from Jakarta.
   (Reuters, 3/23/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, Indonesian farmer
Akbar (25) failed to return home from a trip to the family's
plantation on Sulawesi Island. His body was found the next day
inside the belly of a giant python.
   (AFP, 3/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Indonesian
residents in a neighborhood of Banda Aceh, reported two men, aged 23
and 20, to police for having gay sex. If found guilty, the men will
be the first to be caned for gay sex under a new code implemented
two years ago.
   (AP, 4/8/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, In Indonesia
rescuers searched for more than three dozen people who were missing
after a rain-triggered landslide struck a village on the main island
of Java. Three were found over the next few days. 28-38 villagers
remained missing.
   (AP, 4/1/17)(SSFC, 4/2/17, p.A4)(AP, 4/3/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, Indonesian
authorities destroyed 81 foreign ships after seizing the vessels for
fishing illegally in the country's waters. Most of the vessels were
from Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand.
   (AP, 4/2/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Indonesian police
saved a young sun bear, a clouded leopard and a baby orangutan from
the wildlife trade after a tip from conservationists who tracked the
illegal activities through Instagram. Abdul Malik was arrested in a
raid on his southern Jakarta house where the animals were found
caged.
   (AP, 4/4/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 7, Indonesian
counter-terrorism police arrested three suspected militants who were
planning to attack a police station in East Java.
   (AP, 4/8/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Indonesian police
killed six suspected Islamic militants in a gun battle that followed
a failed attack in East Java.
   (AP, 4/8/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 19, Former Indonesian
education minister Anies Baswedan won the race for Jakarta governor
after a polarizing campaign. Baswedan won with 58% of the votes
versus 42% for Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known by his Chinese nickname
as "Ahok", based on 100 percent of the votes in an unofficial "quick
count" by Indikator Politik.
   (Reuters, 4/19/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, In Indonesia
female Islamic clerics declared a series of fatwas, including one to
tackle child marriage, a rare example of women taking a leading
religious role in the Muslim-majority country.
   (AFP, 4/27/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, In Manila the
leaders of Indonesia and the Philippines pledged to boost bilateral
ties and launch maritime patrols of their sea border to prevent
kidnappings.
   (AP, 4/28/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 29, In Indonesia
torrential rain triggered flooding in the villages in the Central
Java district of Magelang. Thirteen people died in flash floods that
inundated five villages on Java island.
   (AP, 5/2/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 30, In Indonesia a
multiple car collision involving a tour bus killed at least 11
people on Java island.
   (AP, 4/30/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 5, In Indonesia scores
of prisoners escaped after they were let out of their cells to take
part in Friday prayers and overwhelmed the six guards on duty on
Sumatra island. Police estimated the number of prisoners who escaped
at 200 to 250, of whom 130 had been recaptured.
   (AP, 5/5/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, Top Indonesian
security minister Wiranto said President Joko Widodo has ordered the
dissolution of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), a hard-line Islamic
group that seeks a global caliphate for Muslim nations and was
behind massive blasphemy protests in Jakarta.
   (AP, 5/8/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, In Indonesia Basuki
Tjahaja Purnama, Jakarta's Christian governor, was sentenced to two
years in jail for blasphemy, a harsher-than-expected ruling critics
fear will embolden hardline Islamist forces to challenge secularism
in Indonesia.
   (Reuters, 5/9/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, The Philippine
navy welcomed a second Indonesian-made amphibious landing dock as
part of the military's modernization program.
   (AP, 5/10/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, Four Indonesian
soldiers were killed and 8 wounded after they were hit by accidental
artillery fire during a rapid response training exercise in the
Natuna islands north of Borneo in the South China Sea.
   (Reuters, 5/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, An Islamic Shariah
court in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province sentenced two gay
men to public caning for the first time. The court said each would
receive 85 lashes for having sexual relations.
   (AP, 5/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 19, The Indonesian
passenger ferry Mutiara Sentosa 1 ferry that caught fire in the Java
Sea, killing at least five people. 193 people were rescued and the
number of missing was unclear.
   (AP, 5/20/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 19, Standard &
Poor's raised Indonesia's sovereign credit rating to investment
grade to “BBB minus” in recognition of a stable governing coalition
and improved control over government finances.
   (AP, 5/19/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, Indonesian police
detained 141 men for questioning in a raid this evening on a gay gym
and sauna in north Jakarta.
   (AP, 5/21/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 23, In Indonesia two
gay men were publicly caned 83 times in Aceh province after a
remission for time spent in prison. On May 17 a court said each
would receive 85 lashes for having sexual relations. Four
heterosexual couples also were caned, receiving a far lesser number
of strokes for affection outside marriage.
   (AP, 5/23/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, Indonesian police
in West Java said they have set up a task force to investigate
activities by gays in the country's most populous province.
   (AP, 5/24/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, In Indonesia twin
suicide bombings targeting police killed three officers, in the
deadliest attack by suspected militants in Jakarta in a year. On May
26 three suspects were arrested for alleged involvement in the
bombings.
   (AP, 5/25/17)   (AP, 5/26/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, Indonesia deported
Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, whose trial and
imprisonment on the tourist island of Bali mesmerized her homeland
following her arrest in 2004.
   (AP, 5/27/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 7, In Indonesia six
Islamic militants accused by police of plotting to fire a rocket at
downtown Singapore from a nearby island were sentenced to prison on
charges of harboring and training extremists. The six men were
arrested last year on Batam island, about 25 km (15 miles) southeast
of Singapore.
   (AP, 6/7/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, In Indonesia
dozens of inmates swam to freedom from a flooded jail after one of
its walls collapsed. At least 32 inmates escaped in Jambi city on
western Sumatra island late today by swimming through the
floodwaters after they smashed through the wall. Most were
recaptured but about 10 are believed to still be on the run.
   (AFP, 6/14/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, Indonesian
authorities said they have arrested two suspected wildlife smugglers
after a raid on a port warehouse in Sumatra uncovered more than 200
pangolins, many of them dead from stress and dehydration.
   (AP, 6/14/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 19, In Indonesia four
foreign inmates escaped early today from a prison on the resort
island of Bali.
   (AP, 6/19/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, East Timor police
captured Bulgarian Dimitar Nikolov Iliev and Indian Sayed Mohammed
Said, who had escaped from a prison on the Indonesian island of Bali
this week by crawling through a tunnel under the walls.
   (Reuters, 6/22/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, In Manila security
officials from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to
closely cooperate to halt the flow of militants, weapons, funds and
extremist propaganda across their borders.
   (AP, 6/22/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, In western
Indonesia two suspected militants attacked a provincial police
headquarters in Medan, leaving an officer and an assailant dead
during Islam's most important holiday, the first day of the Eid
al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of
Ramadan.
   (AP, 6/25/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, Indonesian
officials said authorities have issued a travel ban against
billionaire Hary Tanoesoedibjo, the Indonesian business partner of
US President Donald Trump, after he was accused of threatening a
deputy attorney general.
   (AP, 6/26/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, In Indonesia a
helicopter carrying crashed while on the way to help with
evacuations near a volcano that erupted on the main island of Java.
All eight people aboard were killed.
   (AP, 7/2/17)(SFC, 7/3/17, p.A2)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, In Indonesia a
Pilatus Porter PC-6 from PT Associated Mission Aviation went missing
on a short flight from Wamena. Five people aboard a plane were
killed.
   (AP, 7/6/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Indonesia’s Pres.
Joko Widodo signed a decree allowing the government to ban
organizations with goals at odds with the constitution.
   (Econ 7/22/17, p.30)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Indonesia’s
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said that it
was preparing for the total closure of the Telegram app in
Indonesia, where it has several million users, if it didn't develop
procedures to block unlawful content.
   (AP, 7/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, The encrypted
messaging app Telegram said it is forming a team of moderators who
are familiar with Indonesian culture and language so it can remove
"terrorist-related content" faster, after Indonesia limited access
to the app and threatened a total ban. Pavel Durov and his brother
Nikolai founded the app in 2013.
   (AP, 7/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Indonesia's
anti-graft agency named speaker of Parliament Setya Novanto as a
suspect in a corruption scandal in which officials allegedly
pocketed more than $170 million in government money.
   (AP, 7/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, In Indonesia
conservative Islamic groups protested in Jakarta denouncing
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's attempt to ban radical
organizations.
   (AP, 7/18/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Indonesia’s Pres.
Joko Widodo banned Hizbut Tahrir, an Islamic organization that wants
to establish a global caliphate, under a new presidential decree
criticized as draconian by rights groups.
   (AP, 7/19/17)(Econ 7/22/17, p.30)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Indonesia's
President Joko Widodo instructed law enforcement officers to shoot
drug traffickers to deal with a narcotics emergency facing the
country.
   (AP, 7/22/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Indonesiaa
speed boat capsized off Borneo island, killing at least 10 people
with several others believed missing.
   (Reuters, 7/25/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Indonesian
officials said five provinces have declared states of emergency as
peatlands burn in Aceh and the risk of fires spreading elsewhere
increases during the annual dry season.
   (AP, 7/26/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, In Indonesia a
six-nation summit co-hosted by Indonesia and Australia agreed to set
up a forum to strengthen cooperation between intelligence services
to counter extremist threats in Southeast Asia. Security ministers
and officials from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Brunei, the
Philippines and New Zealand held a one-day meeting in Manado.
   (AP, 7/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Indonesian police
said they have detained 148 Chinese nationals and some Indonesians
over the weekend accused of carrying out a sophisticated scam that
netted around $450 million by tricking their compatriots into paying
to make legal cases go away.
   (Reuters, 7/31/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, In Indonesia a
brightly-painted statue of Guan Yu, a former general who is
worshipped by some Chinese, was inaugurated in a temple complex in
the fishing town of Tuban and is claimed to be Southeast Asia's
tallest such representation of the deity. In August Muslim and
nationalist protesters called for the 30-meter-tall (100-ft) statue
in the East Java town to be torn down.
   (Reuters, 8/11/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Indonesia and
encrypted messaging service Telegram said they have agreed to
establish better procedures to stamp out distribution of terrorist
propaganda on the platform. Indonesian authorities blocked access to
some Telegram channels last month, saying it had several forums that
were "full of radical and terrorist propaganda".
   (Reuters, 8/1/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Indonesian police
opened fire on indigenous Papuan villagers, killing one person and
wounding several others, including two children, during a
confrontation that erupted after workers at a company in the remote
area refused to take a dying villager to a hospital.
   (AP, 8/2/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, An Indonesian court
on Borneo island jailed a man for eight months after he grew
medicinal marijuana to help ease the suffering of his
cancer-stricken wife, who died shortly after his arrest.
   (Reuters, 8/2/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Indonesia sent 143
suspects to either the Chinese cities of Chengdu or Tianjin. Taiwan
protested to Indonesia for sending more than 100 telecoms fraud
suspects, including 22 Taiwan nationals, to China.
   (Reuters, 8/3/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, A district in
central Indonesia said it has invited the army, police and local
hunters to help battle bands of wild long-tailed macaque monkeys,
which were raiding plantations and attacking villagers in Boyolali
district in central Java.
   (AP, 8/4/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Indonesia said that
it will barter coffee, palm oil and other commodities for 11
Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets, calling US and European sanctions
against Russia an opportunity to boost the Southeast Asian nation's
trade.
   (AP, 8/7/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, In Los Angeles
Yohanes Marliem died in West Hollywood after a standoff with police
involving several hostages. He was a witness in a graft
investigation implicating dozens of politicians in Indonesia.
   (Reuters, 8/12/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Indonesian police
arrested five suspected Islamist militants and seized chemicals near
Jakarta, that they said were being used to make bombs for attacks on
the presidential palace at the end of August.
   (Reuters, 8/15/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Indonesian police
said three people were arrested this week on suspicion of being part
of a syndicate being paid to spread incendiary material online
through social media. The material involved religious and ethnic
issues and posts defamatory to government officials.
   (Reuters, 8/24/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, A former Indonesian
Constitutional Court judge was jailed for eight years for accepting
bribes to influence court rulings. Patrialis Akbar, the second
constitutional court judge to be convicted of corruption in three
years, was also fined 300 million rupiah ($22,500).
   (Reuters, 9/4/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Thousands of
Indonesians, led by Islamist groups, held a rally near the Myanmar
embassy in Jakarta to protest against the treatment of Rohingya
Muslims and demand the snapping of ties between the two countries.
   (Reuters, 9/6/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, In Switzerland West
Papua separatist leaders marched in Geneva and said would press
their case with a petition to the United Nations in New York. They
said the people of West Papua are facing a "slow motion genocide"
and demand independence from Indonesia.
   (Reuters, 9/6/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, In Indonesia
thousands of residents were evacuated from villages near Mount
Agung, an active volcano, on the island of Bali, as the alert status
was raised to the highest level, meaning an eruption could be
imminent.
   (Reuters, 9/22/17)(SSFC, 9/24/17 p.A2)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, An Indonesian
court sentenced Juhanda, an Islamic State group sympathizer, to life
imprisonment for an attack last November on a church in Borneo that
killed a 2-year-old girl and injured three other children. In a
separate trial four co-conspirators (Supriyadi, Ahmad Dani, Rahmad
and Joko Sugito) were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to
seven years.
   (AP, 9/25/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Indonesia’s
country's disaster agency said warnings that the Mount Agung volcano
on the island of Bali will erupt have sparked an exodus of more than
75,000 people that is likely to continue to swell.
   (AP, 9/26/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, In Indonesia the
exodus from the menacing Mount Agung volcano on Bali neared 100,000
people, as hundreds of tremors from the mountain were recorded
daily.
   (AP, 9/27/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Indonesia said it
is set to end a moratorium on a $40-billion land reclamation project
involving 17 artificial islands off the northern coast of the
capital Jakarta. The ban was slapped on the project in April 2016
amid a bribery investigation by the anti-corruption agency and
opposition from environmentalists.
   (Reuters, 9/28/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 6, In Indonesia dozens
of men, including several foreigners, were arrested in a raid of a
gay sauna in Jakarta, as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
people faced increased hostility in the world's most-populous Muslim
nation.
   (AP, 10/7/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, Pope Francis
accepted the resignation of Bishop Hubertus Leteng (58) of
Indonesia's Ruteng diocese. Leteng resigned following reports that
he had a mistress and siphoned off more than $100,000 in church
funds.
   (AP, 10/11/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, The UN human
rights office said Azerbaijan, Egypt and Indonesia have all unjustly
arrested dozens of people during anti-gay crackdowns in recent
weeks, subjecting many to mistreatment in custody.
   (Reuters, 10/13/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, Thousands of files
from the US Embassy in Jakarta covering 1963-66 were made public
after a declassification review that began under the Obama
administration. They revealed new details of US government knowledge
and support of an Indonesian army extermination campaign that killed
several hundred thousand civilians during anti-communist hysteria in
the mid-1960s.
   (AP, 10/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, In Indonesia Asia
Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) suspended forestry
operations at its pulp and paper subsidiary after the government
canceled a long-term work plan citing environmental non-compliance.
   (Reuters, 10/21/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, In eastern
Indonesia gunmen launched attacks near a US-owned gold and copper
mine, wounding two policemen and a civilian. Freeport Indonesia is a
unit of Phoenix, Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold
Inc. The gunmen were said to be from the Free Papua Movement.
   (AP, 10/21/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, US Customs and
Border Protection agency refused entry to Indonesia’s military chief
General Gatot Nurmantyo. He was due to attend a conference in
Washington at the request of General Joseph F. Dunford, chairman of
the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Earlier this year Nurmantyo abruptly
suspended all military cooperation with Australia in a row over
teaching materials, and has been rebuked by members of Widodo's
cabinet for making misleading public remarks.
   (AFP, 10/22/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 24, Indonesia’s
parliament endorsed a presidential decree that gives officials
sweeping powers to ban organizations deemed as threats to national
unity. The decree was signed in July by President Joko "Jokowi"
Widodo.
   (AP, 10/24/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 24, Indonesian
government officials said Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd
(APRIL) can resume forestry operations at its pulp and paper
subsidiary, amid a dispute over environmental rules.
   (Reuters, 10/24/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 26, In Indonesia an
explosion and inferno at a fireworks factory in Tangerang, a city in
Banten province on the western outskirts of Jakarta, killed at least
47 people, most of them female workers who were apparently locked
inside.
   (AP, 10/26/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, Indonesian police
said that the inferno at a firework factory near Jakarta that killed
48 people on Oct. 26 was started by sparks from a welder's torch.
   (AP, 10/28/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, In Indonesia
Jakarta city officials said the Alexis Hotel and spa complex,
describes it as a “dreamland for men,” has been closed down for
alleged vice. Islamist groups in the Muslim-majority country had
urged Jakarta's governor to act on a campaign pledge to shut the
premises.
   (Reuters, 10/30/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Police in eastern
Indonesia killed two suspected militants believed to have been
involved in the Sept. 11 shooting of two law enforcement officers
who had just taken their children to school in Bima. Nine others
were arrested on Nov. 1. The arrested men were said to be members of
militant group named Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid, a splinter cell of the
Southeast Asian network Jemaah Islamiyah.
   (AP, 11/2/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, In Indonesia a
magnitude-6.3 quake was centered about 32 km (20 miles)
west-southwest of Hila, a town on Ambon, the main island in Maluku.
   (AP, 10/31/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 2, Researchers said a
new species of orangutan has been discovered in the remote jungles
of Indonesia, immediately becoming the world's most endangered great
ape. The species, called 'Tapanuli orangutan', lives in the Batang
Toru forest on Sumatra island, and numbers only about 800 in total.
   (AFP, 11/3/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, In Indonesia the
corpse of Robert Gilhooad (80) of the Netherlands was found at his
rental property in Jimbaran, a resort area in the southern part of
Bali. Two suspects were later detained in connection with the crime.
   (AFP, 11/12/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, Indonesia's first
international gallery of contemporary art, the Museum of Modern and
Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN), opened, bringing
together works by Ai Weiwei, Mark Rothko and Indonesian masters in a
freeflowing modern space overlooking the Jakarta skyline. Its nearly
800 paintings and sculptures were mostly acquired by businessman
Haryanto Adikoesoemo over the past 25 years.
   (AFP, 11/3/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, Indonesia's top
court overturned a law that denied recognition and legal rights to
followers of indigenous faiths in a surprise advance for religious
freedom in the world's most populous Muslim nation. It said articles
in the 2013 Civil Administration Law were discriminatory and
violated the principle of equality before the law.
   (AP, 11/7/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, Indonesian
authorities detained a Malaysian man (30) at the Bali airport with 3
grams (0.1 ounces) of marijuana and 0.65 grams (0.02 ounces) of
cocaine.
   (AP, 12/19/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 9, Indonesian police
said that gunmen have occupied two villages in easternmost Papua
province near a US-owned gold and copper mine in a possible
escalation of a separatist conflict in the region.
   (AP, 11/9/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, Indonesia's
speaker of parliament, Setya Novanto, was named for a second time as
a suspect in a huge embezzlement case involving electronic identity
cards that caused state losses of more than $170 million.
   (AP, 11/10/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, The Indonesian
unit of Freeport-McMoRan Inc said it has temporarily shut the main
supply route to its Papua mine after a shooting incident. A string
of shootings since Aug. 17 have killed one police officer and
wounded six.
   (Reuters, 11/12/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, Indonesian police
fatally shot two men suspected of burning down a remote police
station on Sumatra island. The fire had totally destroyed the main
building of the Dharmasraya police station.
   (AP, 11/12/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, An Indonesian
police officer was killed and a second wounded, after both were shot
in the back in an area near Freeport-McMoRan Inc's giant Grasberg
copper mine in the eastern province of Papua.
   (Reuters, 11/15/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, Human Rights Watch
said Indonesia’s military and police continue to perform abusive
virginity tests on female recruits three years after the WHO
declared they had no scientific validity.
   (SFC, 11/22/17, p.A2)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, The Indonesian
basketball league said eight Indonesian pro-basketball players and a
team official have been banned for life over match fixing,
reportedly to help their cash-strapped squad pay salaries.
   (AFP, 11/23/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 25, Indonesia’s Mount
Agung volcano on island of Bali erupted for a second time in less
than a week, sending a grey-black plume of ash and steam at least
1,500 meters into the sky and leading several airlines to change
flight plans.
   (Reuters, 11/25/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, Indonesian and
regional authorities heightened flight warnings around Bali's Mount
Agung as the volcano's eruptions sent a plume of volcanic ash and
steam more than 6,000 meters into the skies above the popular
holiday island.
   (Reuters, 11/26/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, In Indonesia
nearly two dozen villages were emptied of their inhabitants,
including farmers reluctant to leave precious livestock behind as
so-called cold lava flows appeared on Bali’s Mount Agung.
   (AP, 11/27/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 28, In Indonesia Mount
Agung continued to erupt on Bali, spitting ash 4,000 meters (2 ½
miles) high and stranding tens of thousands of tourists for a second
day.
   (AP, 11/28/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, Indonesian
authorities detained an American citizen as he was picking up a
package containing 336.6 grams (12 ounces) of marijuana at a post
office.
   (AP, 12/19/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov, Indonesian officials
in Bali declared a "garbage emergency" across a six-km (3.7-mile)
stretch of coast that included popular beaches Jimbaran, Kuta and
Seminyak.
   (AFP, 12/28/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, Airlines canceled
more flights departing the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, citing
forecasts of deteriorating flying conditions due to a risk of
volcanic ash from the erupting Mount Agung volcano.
   (Reuters, 12/2/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 4, Indonesian
authorities detained Australian Isaac Emmanuel Roberts (35) at
Bali's airport for carrying 19.9 grams (0.7 ounces) of
methamphetamine and 6.2 grams (0.2 ounces) of the party drug
ecstasy.
   (AP, 12/19/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, In Indonesia
thousands protested outside the US Embassy in Jakarta against US
Pres. Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's
capital.
   (AP, 12/10/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, Two Indonesian
assembly members said The speaker of parliament, who is being
investigated for his suspected involvement in a $170 million graft
scandal, has tendered his resignation. Setya Novanto was arrested
last month over his suspected role in the scandal linked to a
national electronic identity card scheme.
   (Reuters, 12/11/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, Indonesian
activists burned US and Israeli flags in front of the American
embassy in Jakarta in a fourth day of protests in Indonesia against
President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's
capital.
   (AP, 12/11/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, Indonesian police
searched for American citizen Christian Beasley (32), who escaped
from an overcrowded and understaffed prison on the resort island of
Bali. He had been arrested in August at a post office in the Kuta
tourist area of Bali with a package containing 5.7 grams of hashish.
On Dec. 16 authorities recaptured Beasley in an alley near a beach
on Lombok after a five-day manhunt.
   (AP, 12/11/17)(AP, 12/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, It was reported
that Indonesia is immunizing millions of children and teenagers
against diphtheria after the disease killed 38 people, mostly
children, since January.
   (AP, 12/11/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 13, Indonesian
prosecutors charged former parliament speaker Setya Novanto in
connection with a $170 million graft scandal after he held up
proceedings for hours at the opening of his trial, saying he was
ill.
   (AP, 12/13/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, It was reported
that the Indonesia Asbestos Ban Network (INA-BAN) estimates at least
4,000 people are directly involved in the manufacturing of asbestos
products, but that does not include contract and other non-permanent
employees or construction workers.
   (AFP, 12/14/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, An Indonesian
court sentenced 10 men arrested in a raid at a gay club and sauna to
between two and three years in prison.
   (AP, 12/15/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, In Indonesia a
magnitude 6.5 earthquake shook Java island, killing two people and
severely damaging dozens of homes near the epicenter.
   (AP, 12/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, In Indonesia
Muslim clerics in Jakarta called for a boycott of American products
in the country’s largest protest against President Donald Trump's
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. An estimated 80,000
people rallied in the capital of the world's largest Muslim nation
in the 10th straight day of protests.
   (AP, 12/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, In Indonesia eight
people were found dead after being buried in a landslide while
excavating a sand pit on the island of Java.
   (AP, 12/18/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 20, The environmental
group Greenpeace called for an investigation into the relationship
between paper giant Sinarmas and its wood suppliers after The
Associated Press found substantial ties between them despite the
Indonesian conglomerate's assertions the suppliers are independent.
   (AP, 12/20/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 21, Hong Kong woman
Law Wan-tung, jailed for six years for starving and beating Erwiana
Sulistyaningsih, her Indonesian domestic helper, was ordered by a
court to pay more than $100,000 in damages for the "inhumane" abuse.
   (AP, 12/21/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 22, In Indonesia the
remains of a pregnant elephant, already dead for about ten days, was
found in a palm oil plantation in Aceh on Sumatra island, in what
authorities suspect was a deliberate poisoning.
   (AFP, 12/27/17)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, In Indonesia a
speedboat carrying 51 people capsized off of Borneo island, killing
at least eight in North Kalimantan province. Rescuers found 42
survivors and searched for one man still missing.
   (AP, 1/1/18)(AP, 1/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, In Indonesia some
200 protesters organized by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI)
marched in Jakarta to protest Facebook's blocking of accounts
belonging to their group. The group has a long record of vandalizing
nightspots, hurling stones at Western embassies and attacking rival
religious groups.
   (AP, 1/12/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, In Indonesia the
mezzanine floor inside the Jakarta Stock Exchange tower collapsed,
injuring nearly 80 people and forcing a chaotic evacuation.
   (AP, 1/15/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, In Indonesia a
Bornean orangutan, a critically endangered species, was been found
stabbed to death in Central Kalimantan province. The World Wildlife
Fund estimates there are 104,700 Bornean orangutans left in the
world. A necropsy carried out by police and the Center for Orangutan
Protection found 17 air rifle bullets in the male orangutan corpse.
It had died three days earlier from air rifle wounds before it was
decapitated.
   (Reuters, 1/16/18)(Reuters, 1/20/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, In the Philippines
two Indonesian fishermen, identified as La Utu bin Raali and La Hadi
bi La Adi, from the Wakatobi islands in Southeast Sulawesi province,
were freed in the southern province of Sulu. They were kidnapped
November 5, 2016, from different fishing boats in waters off Sabah,
Malaysia.
   (AP, 1/20/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, In Indonesia a
magnitude 6.0 earthquake shook the island of Java, killing at least
one person and damaging hundreds of homes.
   (AP, 1/23/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, In Indonesia a
survey showed that nearly 90 percent of Indonesians who understand
the term LGBT feel "threatened" by the community and believe their
religion forbids same-sex relations.
   (Reuters, 1/25/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Indonesian
President Joko Widodo arrived in Bangladesh on a two-day visit to
discuss bilateral issues and visit sprawling refugee camps for
hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar.
   (AP, 1/27/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani welcomed his counterpart from Indonesia, President Joko
"Jokowi" Widodo, as he arrived in Kabul for an official visit.
   (AP, 1/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Indonesia
Muslims in the conservative and semiautonomous Aceh province
protested an investigation into local police who rounded up and
publicly humiliated transgender women. Videos circulated online
showed that police had forced 12 transgender women to dress as men,
shaved their heads and berated them about not being masculine.
   (AP, 2/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Indonesia
villagers spotted a wounded orangutan in a lake in the Kutai Timur
district, East Kalimantan province. The male orangutan had been shot
at least 130 times with an air gun and was apparently stabbed and
clubbed. He died in a hospital on Feb 6 in the second known killing
of a critically endangered orangutan this year. Police later
arrested four farmers and a 13-year-old boy who admitted they
stabbed, clubbed and shot the orangutan to protect their pineapple
crop.
   (AP, 2/7/18)(AP, 2/19/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, An Indonesian court
sentenced an Islamic militant to 10 years in prison after finding
him guilty of procuring weapons for his network to use in attacks.
Suryadi Mas'ud (45) was arrested in March along with three other
suspected militants who according to police were trying to establish
a jihadist training camp in eastern Indonesia.
   (AP, 2/6/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Indonesia's navy
seized more than a ton of crystal methamphetamine and arrested four
Taiwanese crew members in a major drug bust. The boat crew told the
military they planned to bring the drugs to Australia.
   (AFP, 2/10/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, In Indonesia a bus
plunged from a hill and killed at least 27 people on the island of
Java.
   (SSFC, 2/11/18, p.A4)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Police in
Indonesia shot and wounded a sword-wielding man (22) who attacked a
church congregation during Sunday Mass in Yogyakarta, injuring four
people, including a German priest.
   (AP, 2/11/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Malaysian police
said three members of a Malaysian family have been detained in the
death of their Indonesian maid, who suffered injuries and was forced
to sleep outside on a porch with the family's dog. Adelina Lisao
(26) had died a day earlier. The alleged maid abuse prompted calls
by activists and lawmakers for better laws to safeguard migrant
workers.
   (AP, 2/12/18)  Â
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Indonesia’s Mount
Sinabung on the island of Sumatra shot billowing columns of ash more
than 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the atmosphere and hot clouds
down its slopes.
   (AP, 2/19/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Indonesia seized a
record 1.6 tons of crystal methamphetamine from a ship off the
northern island of Batam, the second major drug bust this month.
   (Reuters, 2/20/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Malaysian
prosecutors charged a 60-year-old woman with murdering Adelina Lisao
(28), an Indonesian domestic helper, who was found with bruises on
her face and died from her injuries. M.A. Ambika was charged with
murder, while her daughter was charged with hiring a foreigner
without valid documents.
   (Reuters, 2/21/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, In Indonesia a
landslide on the island of Java engulfed farmers working in their
rice paddies leaving at least five people dead and 18 missing.
   (AP, 2/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Indonesian
authorities seized a luxury yacht sought by US authorities off the
tourist island of Bali, with the vessel reportedly linked to a
corruption scandal at Malaysia's state investment fund. The Cayman
Island-registered vessel Equanimity is reportedly worth some $250
million and is owned by Jho Low, a former unofficial adviser to the
Malaysian fund 1MDB.
   (AFP, 2/28/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Indonesia's
anti-terrorism agency held a controversial meeting of 124 former
Islamic militants and 51 survivors of a string of attacks in the
country, including the deadly Bali bombings.
   (Reuters, 2/28/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, It was reported
that Indonesia’s government is stepping in with the seemingly
impossible goal of making the Citarum river's water drinkable by
2025. The World Bank declared it the most-polluted river in the
world a decade ago.
   (AFP, 3/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, In Indonesia Yusri
Effendi (34), a construction worker, died after he was mauled by a
rare Sumatran tiger in the Indragiri Hilir district of Riau
province.
   (AP, 3/11/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, In Indonesia the
Law on Representative Assemblies, passed last month by the
560-member Parliament, came into force automatically after 30 days
despite President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's refusal to sign it because
of public opposition. Critics say the law could protect legislators
from investigations by the powerful anti-graft commission.
   (AP, 3/15/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, An Indonesian
court found Papuan activist Yanto Awerikon guilty of treason and
sentenced him to ten months in prison for promoting a petition
calling for a referendum on independence for the region.
   (SFC, 3/17/18, p.A2)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Indonesia's
normally bustling Bali shut down social media, turned away flights
and shuttered all shops for a Day of Silence that marks New Year on
the predominantly Hindu island.
   (AP, 3/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, An Indonesian
court sentenced Putu Astawa, a Balinese man, to 15 years in prison
for robbing and murdering an elderly Japanese couple last year on
Bali.
   (AP, 3/26/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, An Indonesian
court ordered Australian Baker Joshua James to undergo
rehabilitation after finding him guilty of possessing a small amount
of drugs on the tourist island of Bali.
   (AP, 3/27/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, In Indonesia four
people died after fuel from an oil spill caught fire, filling skies
around Balikpapan city on Borneo island with choking black smoke. A
cracked underwater pipeline was later said to have caused the oil
spill (see April 5).
   (AP, 4/4/18)(Reuters, 4/4/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, In Indonesia one
solider was killed in an ongoing clash between security forces and
Papuan independence fighters near the US-owned Grasberg copper mine
in the country's east.
   (AP, 4/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, Indonesian police
said a group of people have been arrested after a video emerged of
them skinning and cooking four sun bears that they had slaughtered.
The sun bear population is in decline in Indonesia because of rapid
deforestation, which has led to habitat loss.
   (AFP, 4/3/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, In Indonesia
hardline Islamic groups filed a blasphemy complaint against
Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, a daughter of Indonesia's first president,
accusing her of reciting a poem insulting Islam and prompting fresh
concerns over intolerance in the world's most populous
Muslim-majority country.
   (Reuters, 4/4/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, An Indonesian
energy ministry official said a coal ship that dropped anchor off
the coast of the port city of Balikpapan on Borneo island was likely
to blame for an oil spill, after dragging a pipeline more than 100
meters and causing it to crack. The spill and fire on March 31
killed five fishermen.
   (Reuters, 4/5/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, An Indonesian
fishing boat rescued a group of five Muslim Rohingya found in weak
condition off westernmost Aceh province after a 20-day voyage that
killed five other people.
   (AP, 4/6/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, Indonesia's navy
seized a fishing boat carrying 20 crewmembers, including 14
Indonesians believed to be trafficking victims who were forced to
work for years without pay. The boat was carrying six Russians,
including the captain, and 14 Indonesians.
   (AP, 4/9/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, In Indonesia eleven
people died and several others were critically ill after drinking
bootleg liquor in West Java province, days after the death of 24
others from illicit alcohol in Jakarta.
   (AFP, 4/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, In Indonesia Kiki
Muhamad Iqbal (38), the convicted mastermind of a deadly twin
bombing in Jakarta in May, 2017, claimed by the Islamic State group,
was sentenced to nine years in prison.
   (AFP, 4/9/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, Indonesian
officials said more than 50 people have died in little more than a
week after drinking bootleg liquor in western Indonesia, including
in the capital, Jakarta.
   (AP, 4/9/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 10, Indonesian
authorities said at least two dozen people have died in the past day
from drinking toxic bootleg liquor, raising the toll to 82 this
month and highlighting how attempts to curb legal alcohol have
tragically backfired. The homemade alcohol had been tainted with
ingredients such as mosquito repellent.
   (AP, 4/10/18)(Reuters, 9/19/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, An Indonesian
court sentenced Australian accountant Isaac Emmanuel Roberts (35) to
15 months of rehabilitation for drug offenses on the tourist island
of Bali. Roberts was arrested at Ngurah Rai airport on Dec. 4 after
arriving from Bangkok with 14.3 grams (0.5 ounce) of crystal
methamphetamine and 14 ecstasy tablets.
   (AP, 4/11/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 12, The governor of
Indonesia's conservative Aceh province said canings will no longer
be allowed to be carried out in public for violations of Shariah
law. Caning will only take place inside prisons or other places of
detention. Adults can still witness the punishment but recording
won't be allowed.
   (AP, 4/12/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, Indonesia's new
anti-narcotics chief Heru Winarko called for an expansion of
rehabilitation centers across the country, flagging a new approach
in contrast to the blood-soaked war on drugs underway in its
neighbor, the Philippines.
   (Reuters, 4/18/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, In Indonesia a
shallow 4.4 magnitude earthquake in central Java killed three people
dead and damaged more than 300 homes.
   (SFC, 4/20/18, p.A2)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 20, Indonesia's deeply
conservative Aceh province caned several unmarried couples for
showing affection in public and two women for prostitution before an
enthusiastic audience of hundreds.
   (AP, 4/20/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 24, An Indonesian
court sentenced politician Setya Novanto, the former speaker of
Indonesia's parliament and former chairman of the Golkar party, to
15 years in prison for his role in the theft of $170 million of
public money. Novanto has been praised by President Donald Trump.
   (AP, 4/24/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 25, In western
Indonesia a newly drilled unregulated oil well exploded into flames,
burning 18 people to death and injuring dozens of others in Pasir
Putih village, eastern Aceh province. The death toll rose the next
day to 22 following the deaths of four more victims.
   (AP, 4/25/18)(AP, 4/26/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, In Indonesia about
10,000 workers from various labor groups rallied near the
presidential palace in Jakarta to voice their demands.
   (AP, 5/1/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 7, Indonesian
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo hosted China's Premier Li Keqiang and
the two oversaw the signing of several memorandums aimed at boosting
trade between the nations.
   (AP, 5/7/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, In Indonesia
Islamist militant prisoners killed five members of an elite
counter-terrorism force at a high-security jail in Depok and held
one of them hostage. The counter-terrorism police force, known as
Detachment, or 'Densus', 88, was set up in 2003 and received
training and funding from Australia and the United States.
   (Reuters, 5/9/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, In Indonesia
dozens of Islamic militant prisoners, who took over a police
detention center in Depok and killed five officers, surrendered to
police. A suspected Islamic militant (23) fatally stabbed a police
officer at the headquarters of the elite Mobile Brigade in Depok
before being shot and killed by another officer. A police
counter-terrorism squad arrested four suspected militants in Bekasi,
just outside Jakarta, after receiving information they planned to
attack the Mobile Brigade headquarters to support fellow militants
following the clash at the headquarters' prison.
   (AP, 5/10/18)(AP, 5/11/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 11, In Indonesia
Muslim scholars from Afghanistan, Indonesia and Pakistan issued an
edict saying that violent extremism and terrorism, including suicide
attacks, are against Islamic principles, in an effort to convince
the Taliban to end its violence.
   (AP, 5/11/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 13, In Indonesia a
family of six launched suicide attacks on Christians attending
Sunday services at three churches in Surabaya, killing at least 13
people and wounding 40. Police blamed the bombings on the Islamic
State-inspired group Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD).
   (Reuters, 5/13/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, An Indonesian
family brought its 8-year-old daughter to a suicide bomb attack it
launched on the police headquarters in Surabaya. The girl, who was
with two of the attackers on a motorcycle, survived being thrown by
the blast at the police headquarters. The attack killed the four
perpetrators.
   (AP, 5/14/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, Indonesian police
fatally shot a militant and arrested 13 others suspected of links to
suicide bombings carried out by two families in Surabaya.
   (AP, 5/15/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, Indonesian police
shot dead four sword-wielding men who attacked a police headquarters
in Sumatra's Riau province, killing one officer. A fifth man was
arrested trying to escape.
   (AP, 5/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, Greenpeace
announced it has ended a five-year truce with one of the world's
largest paper companies, accusing it of cutting down tropical
forests in Indonesia during the entire time the two were cooperating
on conservation. This ended a landmark 2013 agreement in which the
environmental group suspended a global campaign against Indonesia's
Sinarmas and its Asia Pulp & Paper arm in exchange for
commitments to end deforestation, land grabs and conflicts with
local communities.
   (AP, 5/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, A letter to
Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was released in which
International stars of acting, music and sports urged Widodo to ban
what they say is a "brutal" trade in dog and cat meat for human
consumption.
   (AP, 5/21/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, A letter from the
Forest Stewardship Council made four demands of Sinarmas, one of the
world's largest paper companies, and the Widjaja family, its
billionaire Indonesian family owners, that it insists must be met
within days.
   (AP, 5/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 30, In Indonesia
Zulfiqar Ali, a terminally ill Pakistani prisoner on death row,
passed away in a hospital, shortly after rights activists in
Pakistan sought his release on humanitarian grounds. He had been
arrested in November 2004 and convicted on drug smuggling charges.
   (AP, 5/31/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 2, Indonesian
anti-terrorism police detained a former student and questioned two
others after a raid on a university campus in Pekanbaru, on Sumatra
island, where crude bombs and other explosive material were seized.
   (Reuters, 6/3/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 5, Greenpeace said its
investigations at Indonesia's Sungai Putri forest on Borneo showed a
logging operation underway with at least six illegal settlements
that operate at night and some in areas with orangutan nests.
Indonesia's forestry and environment ministry had ordered a halt to
the forest's exploitation over a year ago.
   (AP, 6/5/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 8, The United Nations
General Assembly voted to elect Germany, Belgium, South Africa, the
Dominican Republic and Indonesia for a two-year term in the Security
Council starting on Jan. 1, 2019.
   (Reuters, 6/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, An Indonesian
passenger boat overloaded with people heading home to celebrate the
end of Ramadan with their families capsized off Sulawesi island,
killing at least 13. A speed boat carrying 30 people capsized near
Palembang city. Rescuers recovered three bodies. There were 27
survivors.
   (AP, 6/13/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, In central
Indonesia a 7-meter-long (23-foot-long) python swallowed Wa Tiba
(54) as she checked her vegetable garden near her village on Muna
island, Southeast Sulawesi province.
   (AP, 6/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, EU negotiators
agreed to phase out the use of palm oil in transport fuels from
2030, setting up a clash with producer countries such as Malaysia
and Indonesia.
   (Reuters, 6/14/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, In Indonesia a
ferry carrying about 80 passengers sank in Lake Toba on the island
of Sumatra, killing at least one person. A day later 94 people were
reported missing and the number was expected to rise. By June 20
more than 190 people were presumed drowned after the ferry sank on
Lake Toba
   (AP, 6/18/18)(SFC, 6/20/18, p.A4)(AP, 6/20/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, In Indonesia
radical cleric Aman Abdurrahman was sentenced to death by a court
for ordering Islamic State group-affiliated militants to carry out
attacks including the January 2016 suicide bombing at a Starbucks in
Jakarta.
   (AP, 6/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, In Indonesia three
bystanders were killed and a small child was wounded when separatist
fighters in Papua province opened fire on a small plane bringing in
security personnel ahead of regional elections due later this week.
   (Reuters, 6/25/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, In Indonesia the
Mount Agung volcano on Bali shot ash 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) into
the atmosphere, disrupting the travel plans of thousands as several
airlines canceled flights from the tourist island.
   (AP, 6/28/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Indonesia's Mount
Agung volcano on the tourist island of Bali erupted this evening,
ejecting a 2,000-meter-high (6,560-foot-high) column of thick ash
and hurling lava down its slopes.
   (AP, 7/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Amnesty
International said Indonesia's police and military are responsible
for at least 95 unlawful killings in the easternmost Papua region
since 2010, including targeted slayings of activists.
   (AP, 7/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In Indonesia at
least 31 people were killed and a frantic rescue operation was
underway off the island of Sulawesi for passengers of a sinking
passenger ferry. The captain steered the 48.5-meter-long
(159-foot-long) vessel toward shore after it began sinking on a
voyage from the port of Bira to Selayar island. Three people
remained missing and believed drowned inside the vessel.
   (AP, 7/3/18)(AP, 7/4/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Indonesia's deeply
conservative Muslim province of Aceh publicly caned 15 people found
guilty of violating Shariah law, despite pledging not to carry out
the punishment in public.
   (AP, 7/13/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Indonesian
anti-terrorism officers shot dead three suspected Islamic militants
in the central Java city of Yogyakarta. The men were believed to be
members of Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), a loose grouping of
hundreds of Islamic State sympathizers.
   (Reuters, 7/14/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In Indonesia a mob
illegally slaughtered 292 crocodiles at a breeding ground in West
Papua province in retaliation for the death of a local man.
   (AP, 7/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, In Indonesia the
chief executive of electricity utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara
(PLN) denied wrongdoing after the country's Corruption Eradication
Commission (KPK) searched his house for evidence in a power station
graft probe.
   (Reuters, 7/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Indonesian police
said they have killed 11 suspected petty criminals and shot dozens
more in a heavy-handed campaign to free the capital, Jakarta, of
street crime before next month's Asian Games.
   (AP, 7/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, In Indonesia a
girl (15) who was raped by her brother was sentenced to six months
in prison for having an abortion. The brother (18) received a
two-year prison sentence for having sex with a minor.
   (AP, 7/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Human rights
groups called for an independent investigation, after Indonesian
police shot dead 11 men earlier this month as part of a security
clampdown ahead of the Asian Games.
   (Reuters, 7/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, In Indonesia a
magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the tourist island of Lombok. At
least 14 people were killed, scores inured and thousands of homes
damaged. More than 120 aftershocks were recorded.
   (AFP, 7/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Indonesia's
Renewable Energy Director General Rida Mulyana said the use of
biodiesel blended fuels will be compulsory for all vehicles and
heavy machinery from Sept. 1, amid efforts to reduce the current
account deficit.
   (AP, 8/1/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, An Indonesian
fishing boat capsized in bad weather off the island of Java, leaving
13 people missing.
   (AP, 8/3/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Indonesian police
arrested Australian Brandon Johnson (43) and his Indonesian
girlfriend at a rented room in the tourist hotspot of Kuta on Bali
Island. Police reportedly found 11.6 grams of cocaine packed into 13
plastic bags. Johnson faced between five and 20 years in prison if
found guilty.
   (AP, 8/9/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, In Indonesia a
magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the tourist island of Lombok,
killing more over people. More than 230 were seriously injured
and thousands of buildings were destroyed. Different death
tolls later ranged from 226 to 381.
   (Reuters, 8/6/18)(AP, 8/7/18)(AP, 8/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, An Indonesian
police official said a luxury yacht allegedly bought with funds
stolen from a Malaysian state investment company is being returned
to Malaysia after a months long legal battle. Malaysian financier
Jho Low, who the US Justice Department alleges was a key figure in
the theft and international laundering of $4.5 billion from 1MDB,
protested the handover of the yacht.
   (AP, 8/5/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Malaysian PM
Mahathir Mohamad thanked Indonesia's government and President Joko
Widodo for returning the $250 million yacht, Equanimity, which was
seized by Indonesia off Bali in February in cooperation with the US
FBI.
   (AP, 8/6/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, In Florida SpaceX
used its newest style booster for a second time at Cape Canaveral to
put a communications satellite into orbit for Indonesia.
   (AP, 8/7/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, The Indonesian
island of Lombok was shaken by a third big earthquake in little more
than a week as the official death toll from the most powerful of the
quakes topped 300.
   (AP, 8/9/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Indonesian
officials said the death toll from the huge 6.9 magnitude earthquake
on Lombok island on August 5 has climbed to more than 320, even as
relief efforts picked up pace.
   (Reuters, 8/10/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Indonesia's
National Disaster Mitigation Agency said that 387 people died in the
August 5 earthquake on Lombok, jumping from the 321 it reported a
day earlier. Scientists said the powerful earthquake lifted the
island it struck by as much as 25 centimeters (10 inches).
   (AP, 8/11/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, In Indonesia a
12-year-old boy was the only survivor from the crash of a light
commercial plane that left eight other passengers dead near Oksibil
airport in a mountainous region of Papua province.
   (AP, 8/12/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Indonesian
authorities said the holiday island of Lombok suffered damage
running into more than 5 trillion rupiah ($342 million) from last
week's 6.9 earthquake as the death toll climbed to more than 430.
   (Reuters, 8/13/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Indonesian
prosecutors demanded an 18-month prison term for a woman who was
charged with blasphemy after she complained about the volume of a
mosque's loudspeakers. The ethnic Chinese defendant, Meiliana (44),
was arrested on May 18, about two years after her case triggered a
riot in Tanjung Balai.
   (AP, 8/14/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Indonesia deployed
100,000 police and soldiers to provide security for the Asian Games,
the biggest event ever held in its terror attack prone capital
Jakarta. Some 11,000 athletes and 5,000 officials from 45 Asian
countries were expected for the August 18 to September 2 Games.
   (AP, 8/14/18)(AFP, 8/15/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, In Indonesia
veiled children dressed head-to-toe in black carrying wooden guns in
a street parade in the East Java city of Probolinggo. A video of the
event sparked an outcry in the world's most populous Muslim-majority
nation. A kindergarten principal, who organized the Independence Day
parade, was soon dismissed and reduced to an ordinary staff member
in the education office.
   (AP, 8/23/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Amnesty
International said Indonesian police fatally shot dozens of petty
criminals in a deliberate campaign of "unnecessary and excessive"
force ahead of the Asian Games.
   (AFP, 8/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In Indonesia the
18th Asian Games officially opened in Jakarta.
   (AP, 8/18/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, In Indonesia a
strong earthquake jolted the tourist island of Lombok, causing
landslides and damaging buildings. At least 12 people were killed as
the island strived to recover from a temblor earlier this month that
killed hundreds of people.
   (AP, 8/19/18)(AP, 8/20/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, An Indonesian
court sentenced Meiliana (44), an ethnic Chinese woman, to 18 months
in prison for blasphemy. She had complained about noisy mosque
loudspeakers. Mobs burned and ransacked at least 14 Buddhist temples
throughout Tanjung Balai, a port town on Sumatra, in a July 2016
riot following reports of Meiliana's complaint.
   (AP, 8/21/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Indonesia detained
Jakub Fabian Skrzypski of Poland as a suspect in a conspiracy to
smuggle arms to separatists in Papua. He was later charged along
with three Papuans under the law governing treason, which carries a
maximum sentence of life in jail.
   (Reuters, 9/10/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In Indonesia a
crew comprising South Koreans and North Koreans won the 500-meter
dragon boat final at the Asian Games co-host city of Palembang. This
was the first gold medal by a combined Koreas team at a major
multi-sport event.
   (AP, 8/26/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, In Indonesia a
15-year-old girl jailed for six months for terminating her pregnancy
after being raped by her brother was cleared by a higher court. The
girl's mother was still being investigated over whether she had
helped her daughter to have the abortion.
   (Reuters, 8/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Indonesian police
said they have arrested more than a dozen people suspected of
starting forest fires that have killed four people in the past month
in West Kalimantan.
   (AP, 8/28/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, A district in
Indonesia's deeply conservative Aceh province banned unmarried
couples from sitting at the same table in restaurants, cafes or
coffee shops. The regulation also prohibits restaurants and coffee
shops from hiring lesbians, gays, or bisexual or transgender people
as waiters or waitresses.
   (AP, 9/5/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, In Indonesia
Australia's new PM Morrison met President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in
his first trip overseas since becoming leader. Morrison said they
would sign an agreement by the end of the year that aims to boost
trade and investment.
   (AP, 8/31/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, President Joko
"Jokowi" Widodo said Indonesia will bid to host the 2032 Olympics
following the success of the Asian Games held there over the past
two weeks.
   (AP, 9/1/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, In Indonesia the
Asian Games closed in a ceremony emphasizing the country's diversity
and the ties linking the 11,000 athletes who competed for 45
nations. The 2-week-long games ended with Indonesia fourth on the
medal table behind China (289), Japan (205) and South Korea (177).
   (AP, 9/2/18)(AP, 9/3/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, In Indonesia 21
people were killed when a tourist bus plunged into a ravine on the
main island of Java.
   (AP, 9/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Speaking in
Vietnam Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said that his
country and Vietnam have agreed to cooperate more in fighting
illegal fishing and hope to boost two-way trade.
   (AP, 9/11/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, An Indonesian
court sentenced Islamic militant Wawan Kurniawan (43) to 11 years in
prison after finding him guilty of conducting training in
preparation for a terrorist attack. Wawan was the local leader of
Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, an Indonesian militant network affiliated
with the Islamic State group.
   (AP, 9/13/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Muslim militants
freed three Indonesian men they kidnapped at sea early last year off
Malaysia then brought them to their jungle hideouts in the southern
Philippines.
   (AP, 9/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Indonesia's
president signed a three-year moratorium on all new palm oil
plantation development, in a move hailed by environmentalists.
   (AFP, 9/20/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, In Indonesia
Greenpeace activists scaled storage tanks at a palm oil refinery
along with a popular rock band which played pro-environment songs,
protesting against a commodity found in everything from soap to
biscuits. The protest ended after 12 hours.
   (AFP, 9/25/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, A critically
endangered Sumatran tiger pregnant with two cubs was found dead in
the Indonesian province of Riau after being caught in a pig trap.
The tigers are estimated to have dwindled to about 400.
   (AP, 9/27/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, In Indonesia a
magnitude 7.5 earthquake rocked the island of Sulawesi, triggering a
3-meter (10-foot) -tall tsunami that an official said swept away
houses in at least two cities. At least 384 people were killed in
the hard-hit city of Palu alone. The death toll soon jumped to more
than 1,200.
   (AP, 9/28/18)(Reuters, 9/28/18)(AP, 9/29/18)(AP,
10/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Indonesia's
disaster agency said the death toll from the Sept. 28 7.5 earthquake
and tsunami more than doubled to 832, and nearly all of those were
from the hard-hit city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi.
   (AP, 9/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 3, In Indonesia Mount
Soputan on Sulawesi island spewed a massive column of ash more than
6,000 meters (19,700 feet) into the sky. The official death toll
from the Sept. 28 earthquake and tsunami on Sulawesi increased to
1,407, with thousands injured and more than 70,000 displaced from
their homes.
   (AP, 10/3/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 4, In Indonesia
electricity was restored and some shops reopened in the quake and
tsunami stricken city of Palu. The official death toll stood at
1,424, but was expected to rise.
   (Reuters, 10/4/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 5, In Indonesia the
official death toll from the Sept. 28 earthquake and tsunami rose to
1,571, and was expected to rise.
   (Reuters, 10/5/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 6, Indonesia's
disaster agency said the death toll from the powerful earthquake and
tsunami has climbed to 1,649, with at least 265 people still
missing. It also said that number could be higher.
   (AP, 10/6/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 7, In Indonesia the
official death toll from the Sept. 28 earthquake and tsunami rose to
1,763 but bodies were still being recovered. Disaster agency
spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said large-scale searches with many
personnel and heavy equipment would cease on October 11. An official
said number of people believed missing in Palu city has soared to
5,000.
   (Reuters, 10/7/18)(AFP, 10/7/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 8, In Indonesia the
death toll from the Sept. 28 devastating earthquake and tsunami on
Sulawesi island neared 2,000. Thousands more are believed
unaccounted for and officials said search teams plan to stop looking
for victims later this week.
   (AP, 10/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, Indonesia's
disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the toll from
the Sept. 28 earthquake and tsunami had climbed to 2,010.
   (AP, 10/9/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 10, Indonesia's
disaster agency said the death toll from the double disaster on
Sept. 28 has risen to 2,045, with most of the fatalities in the
coastal city of Palu. More than 80,000 people were living in
temporary shelters or otherwise displaced.
   (AP, 10/10/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, In Indonesia
leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
reaffirmed their commitment to open trading systems that have
underpinned their economic growth. The leaders met in Bali, on the
sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund
and World Bank.
   (AP, 10/11/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 12, In Indonesia
torrential rains triggered flash floods and landslides on the island
of Sumatra, killing at least 27 people, including a dozen children
at a school.
   (AP, 10/13/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, In Indonesia
global financial leaders meeting in Bali wrapped up an annual
meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank by urging
countries to brace for potential risks from trade disputes and other
tensions.
   (AP, 10/13/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, It was reported
that Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has
arrested nine people, including a top district government official
and a company director, in a bribery investigation linked to the
Lippo Group's $21 billion Meikarta real estate project near Jakarta.
   (Reuters, 10/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, Indonesia's
disaster agency said helicopters are dropping disinfectant on
neighborhoods in the earthquake- and tsunami-stricken city of Palu
to reduce disease risks from the thousands of victims believed
buried in obliterated communities.
   (AP, 10/18/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, Indonesian police
arrested two men who allegedly operated a Facebook account to
facilitate meet-ups for gay people and other sex-related services.
   (Reuters, 10/21/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, Indonesia's
anti-graft agency said it has arrested seven people, including a
senior executive of palm firm Sinar Mas Agro Resources and
Technology, in connection with a bribery case.
   (Reuters, 10/28/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 29, In Indonesia a
Lion Air plane crashed into the sea likely killing all 189 people on
board. The 2-month-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet plunged into the Java
Sea early today, just 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta for
an island off Sumatra. The privately owned carrier was founded in
1999 to provide access to air travel to everyone.
   (AP, 10/29/18)(AP, 10/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 2, In Indonesia
thousands of conservative Muslims protested Jakarta about the
burning of an Islamic flag last month, sparking criticism from the
government's top security minister that the country was in mourning
after a plane crash and back-to-back natural disasters.
   (AP, 11/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 2, Indonesian rescue
diver Syachrul Anto (48) died while diving to search for victims of
the crashed Lion Air aircraft.
   (Reuters, 11/3/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, An Indonesian
conservation official said a Sumatran elephant was found dead
earlier this week in Aceh province with its tusks removed in an
apparent poaching case targeting the critically endangered animal.
   (AP, 11/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Greenpeace said
six of its activists boarded a tanker off Spain loaded with "dirty"
palm oil to protest against a Nature-damaging commodity found in
everything from soap to biscuits. The ship was travelling from
Indonesia, the world's top palm oil producer, to Rotterdam in the
Netherlands.
   (AFP, 11/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, In Indonesia the
rotting carcass of a 31-foot sperm whale in Southeast
Sulawesi province. Researchers found 13 pounds of plastic inside the
animal's stomach. A study plublished last January said Indonesia
produces 3.2 million tons of mismanaged plastic waste a year, of
which 1.29 million tons end up in the ocean.
   (SFC, 11/21/18, p.A5)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, The Indonesian
city of Pariaman, West Sumatra, approved a bylaw to fine gay or
transgender people up to 1 million rupiah ($70) for behavior that
could "disturb public order" or be considered immoral.
   (Reuters, 11/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 1, In Indonesia about
300 West Papuan demonstrators calling for independence for the
restive Indonesian region faced off with counter protesters in
Surabaya, the country's second-largest city and capital of East Java
province.
   (AP, 12/1/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, In Indonesia tens
of thousands of Muslims held a rally in Jakarta led by hardline
groups who had agitated to remove the city's Christian governor,
underscoring the growing influence of Islamist groups ahead of
elections in 2019.
   (Reuters, 12/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, In Indonesia 24
workers were killed when gunmen stormed a government bridge
construction project in a remote mountainous village in Nduga
district of Papua province. Eight other workers on the trans Papua
highway fled to the nearby house of a local parliament member. An
armed group came a day later and killed seven of them.
   (AP, 12/4/18)(AP, 3/8/19)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 7, Rebels in
Indonesia's troubled Papua province demanded that the government
hold negotiations on self-determination for the province and warned
of more attacks.
   (AP, 12/7/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, An Indonesian
official vowed to do more to combat human trafficking after an
investigation by the Associated Press revealed that scores of
trafficked girls have quietly disappeared from one of the nation's
poorest regions.
   (AP, 12/14/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, In Hawaii ten
Indonesian fishermen, who were arrested and charged with attempting
to smuggle shark fins, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge that
they attempted to export the fins. A judge sentenced them to time
they already served in jail.
   (AP, 12/14/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, In Indonesia Mount
Soputan, located on the northern part of Sulawesi island, erupted
twice. Local residents were urged to avoid activities near the
mountain.
   (AP, 12/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 21, Indonesia said it
has finalized the transfer of majority control over a giant gold and
copper mine from US company Freeport-McMoRan.
   (AP, 12/21/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 21, In Indonesia
hundreds of Muslims held a rally outside the Chinese embassy in
Jakarta to protest against the treatment of members of the mostly
Muslim ethnic Uighur minority in China's far western Xinjiang
region.
   (Reuters, 12/21/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 22, In Indonesia a
deadly tsunami struck in the dark, without warning, killing at least
222 people late today along the Sunda Strait. The disaster followed
an eruption and possible landslide on the volcanic island of Anak
Krakatau. The death toll soon climbed to 430, with at least 159
missing and more than 1,400 injured.
   (AP, 12/23/18)(AP, 12/24/18)(Reuters, 12/26/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 28, Indonesia's
disaster agency said that 426 people died in the Dec. 22 Sunda
Strait tsunami. That was slightly lower than previously announced
due to some victims being recorded twice. It said 23 are missing and
more than 40,000 displaced.
   (AP, 12/28/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, In Indonesia
rescuers recovered six more bodies buried under tons of mud from a
landslide that crashed onto a hilly village on the main island of
Java, bringing the death toll to 15. At least 20 people were
missing after landslides during heavy rain buried 30 houses in
Sukabumi regency, West Java.
   (AP, 1/1/19)(Reuters, 1/1/19)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â In Indonesia Nuril Maknun,
a part-time bookkeeper at a highschool, was found guilty of
distributing obscene material. She was sentenced to six months in
jail and a fine of about $35,000 for recording her boss' lewd phone
call as proof that she was being harassed. In 2019 a court denied
her request for a review of the case.
   (SFC, 7/6/19, p.A4)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â The North Korean ship
"Wise Honest" was detained in Indonesian waters. It was used to
transport coal and import heavy machinery in violation of sanctions
over its nuclear arms program. Its seizure by the US was announced
on May 9, 2019.
   (SFC, 5/15/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Indonesia said
navy divers have recovered the cockpit voice recorder of a Lion Air
jet that crashed into the Java Sea last October.
   (AP, 1/14/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Indonesia's
president said Abu Bakar Bashir (81), the radical Muslim cleric and
alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings, will be granted early
release from jail on humanitarian grounds.
   (Reuters, 1/18/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, Indonesia's
government said it is reviewing the president's decision to release
radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.
   (AP, 1/21/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Indonesia's Pres.
Joko Widodo said that elderly Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who
inspired the Bali bombers and other extremists, won't be released
from prison unless he renounces radicalism, backing down from plans
to free him without conditions.
   (AP, 1/22/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Indonesian
officials said torrential rains have overwhelmed a dam and caused
landslides that killed at least eight people and displaced more than
2,000 near Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi.
   (AP, 1/23/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, In Indonesia
Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, the former governor of Jakarta, was
freed after serving nearly two years in prison for blasphemy.
   (AP, 1/24/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Indonesia's
national disaster agency said floods and landslides in South
Sulawesi province hit by torrential rains this week have killed 30
people and left more than two dozen missing.
   (AP, 1/24/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, A separatist
movement in Indonesia's West Papua province delivered a petition
with 1.8 million signatures demanding an independence referendum to
UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet.
   (Reuters, 1/27/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, A disaster
official in Indonesia said the number of people killed after days of
torrential rain triggered flash floods and landslides on Sulawesi
island has climbed to 59 with 25 others missing.
   (AP, 1/25/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, In Indonesia Eka
Tjipta Widjaja (97), patriarch of one of Asia's richest families and
the founder of the sprawling Sinarmas conglomerate, died. Forbes
last year estimated Widjaja's fortune at $8.6 billion.
   (AP, 1/27/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, In Indonesia
separatists opened fire on an aircraft carrying military personnel
and local government officials in the easternmost Papua region,
killing one soldier.
   (AP, 1/28/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, In Indonesia the
1,784-meter (5,853-foot) Mount Karangetang volcano located on Siau
island of North Sulawesi province started spitting clouds of gas and
lava.
   (AP, 2/5/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, Indonesian police
found 193 Bangladeshis locked up in a shop house in Medan on the
island of Sumatra, after human traffickers had lured them with the
promise of getting them to Malaysia. Some of the group had been held
by the traffickers for three months.
   (Reuters, 2/7/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, An Indonesian court
jailed Auj-e Taqaddas (42), a British woman, for six months for
slapping an immigration officer in an argument over a fine for
overstaying her visa.
   (Reuters, 2/6/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, An Instagram
account that published comic strips depicting the struggles of gay
Muslims in Indonesia disappeared from the site following a frenzy of
moral outrage online in the world's biggest Muslim nation. The
Ministry of Communications said that the account under the username
Alpatuni was pornographic.
   (AP, 2/13/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, In Indonesia an
unlicensed gold mine collapsed and buried dozens of people. Rescuers
dug desperately with their bare hands and farm tools to unearth
victims calling for help from beneath the rubble. Three people were
confirmed dead and 14 were rescued. It was estimated that 43 people
were still buried.
   (AP, 2/27/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, A court in Bali
has sentenced Australian Brandon Johnson and his Indonesian
girlfriend Remi Purwanti to five years and four months in prison
each for possessing cocaine.
   (AP, 2/27/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Indonesian
officials said 19 people had been rescued alive from a gold mine in
North Sulawesi's Bolaang Mongondow district as of this evening. The
death toll rose to seven and about three dozen miners remain trapped
by the Feb. 26 collapse.
   (AP, 2/28/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Indonesia and
Australia signed a free trade agreement in Jakarta that will
eliminate many tariffs, allow Australian-owned hospitals to operate
in the giant Southeast Asian country and increase work visas for
young Indonesians.
   (AP, 3/4/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, In Indonesia a
court ruled that construction of a Chinese-backed dam, that will cut
through the habitat of a the most critically endangered orangutan
species, can continue.
   (SFC, 3/5/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, In Indonesia the
effort to find victims in the Feb. 26 mine collapse recovered more
bodies and body parts as the death toll rose to at least 13.
   (AP, 3/5/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, Three Indonesian
soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with Papuan independence
fighters. They were part of a contingent to provide security for
military engineers on the trans Papua highway.
   (AP, 3/7/19)(AP, 3/8/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Indonesia's
military said hundreds of soldiers will be deployed to continue work
on the trans Papua highway.
   (AP, 3/8/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Authorities in
China, Ethiopia and Indonesia grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft
following the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner that
killed 157 people.
   (AP, 3/11/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, In Malaysia
Indonesian Siti Aisyah, one of two women accused of killing North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother by smearing VX nerve agent
on his face, was freed after two years of detention when prosecutors
unexpectedly dropped the murder charge against her.
   (AP, 3/11/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, In Indonesia the
wife of an Islamic militant arrested for plotting attacks in Jakarta
detonated a bomb during a siege of their home in North Sumatra,
killing herself and her two-year-old child.
   (AP, 3/13/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Indonesia's
anti-graft agency named Muhammad Romahurmuziy, a prominent Islamist
politician backing President Joko Widodo's re-election campaign, as
a suspect in a bribery case. Romahurmuziy, chairman of the United
Development Party (PPP), was arrested a day earlier.
   (Reuters, 3/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Indonesian
disaster officials said flash flood and mudslides triggered by days
of torrential downpours have torn through mountainside villages in
Papua province, killing at least 58 people and injuring 59 others.
   (AP, 3/17/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, In Indonesia a
magnitude 5.5 earthquake triggered a landslide that hit a popular
waterfall on the tourist island of Lombok, killing at least two
people and injuring dozens.
   (AP, 3/17/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Indonesian
officials said the number of people killed after torrential
downpours triggered flash floods and mudslides that tore through
mountainside villages in Papua province has climbed to 79.
   (AP, 3/18/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, An Indonesian
official and veterinarian said that an endangered orangutan with a
young baby on Sumatra island was blinded after being shot at least
74 times with an air gun last week. The baby died from malnutrition
as rescuers rushed the two animals to an orangutan veterinary
clinic.
   (AP, 3/18/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Indonesian
officials said the number of people killed after torrential
downpours triggered flash floods and mudslides in Papua province has
climbed to 89.
   (SFC, 3/20/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Indonesian airline
Garuda said it plans to cancel a $6 billion order for Boeing 737 MAX
jets, saying some passengers would be frightened to board the plane
after two fatal crashes. Analysts said the deal had long been in
doubt.
   (Reuters, 3/22/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Indonesian
authorities detained a Russian man at Ngurah Rai airport in Bali as
he was caught trying to smuggle a young orangutan in a suitcase.
Zhestkov Andrei also had two live geckos and five lizards in his
luggage and was scheduled to fly to Russia.
   (Reuters, 3/23/19)(AFP, 3/23/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Indonesia's
long-awaited first subway opened in Jakarta with the aim of
relieving crippling traffic gridlock in Southeast Asia's biggest
economy. President Joko Widodo then presided over a groundbreaking
ceremony to mark the beginning of the second phase 8-km (5-mile)
northward line.
   (AP, 3/24/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Indonesia's
Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Meliana, an ethnic Chinese
woman, whose complaint about the volume of mosque loudspeakers led
to an 18-month prison sentence for blasphemy.
   (AP, 4/8/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, It was reported
that air quality in Indonesia has deteriorated from among the
cleanest in the world to one of the most polluted over the past two
decades. A study blamed coal-fired power stations, burning land for
agriculture and rising car ownership.
   (SSFC, 3/31/19, p.A4)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Indonesia's
Election Commission said it is sending officials to investigate
after videos circulated online of thousands of ballots for next
week's polls scattered throughout a warehouse in neighboring
Malaysia.
   (AP, 4/11/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, Tens of thousands
of Indonesians flocked to presidential campaign rallies ahead of a
final debate between President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Prabowo
Subianto.
   (AP, 4/13/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Indonesia's
Election Supervision Agency said about 320,000 overseas voters in
neighboring Malaysia's biggest city should vote again in
presidential and legislative elections after finding evidence that
postal ballots had been tampered with.
   (AP, 4/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, Indonesia held
elections. Five survey organizations showed Widodo winning 54-56% of
the vote, a modest improvement on his 2014 showing, as unofficial
results put him in a comfortable lead over firebrand ex-general
Prabowo Subianto.
   (AP, 4/17/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, Indonesia's navy
intercepted a Vietnamese fishing vessel in waters off Indonesia's
Natuna island chain. One of its patrol vessels was rammed by two
Vietnamese coast guard ships after intercepting the fishing boat.
Indonesia detained 12 Vietnamese fishermen from the boat, which sank
in the clash.
   (AP, 4/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, An Indonesian
official said more than 270 election staff have died following the
April 17 elections, mostly of fatigue-related illnesses caused by
long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand.
   (Reuters, 4/28/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 29, Indonesia's
disaster agency confirmed 29 deaths and said at least 13 more people
were missing in Sumatra island's Bengkulu province following floods
sparked by torrential rains.
   (AFP, 4/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 2, In Indonesia a
Polish tourist was sentenced to five years in prison for treason
after meeting with Papuan independence supporters. Jakub Skrzypski
denied any wrongdoing and said he was the victim of a show trial.
Papuan student Simon Magal, who met Skrzypski and communicated with
him on Facebook, was sentenced by the same court to four years in
prison.
   (AP, 5/2/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 4, Indonesian
authorities resumed their tough stance against illegal fishing in
the country's waters by sinking 51 foreign ships. The seized ships
were sunk at five ports across the archipelago.
   (AP, 5/4/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, In Indonesia
hundreds of supporters of an opposition presidential candidate
marched to protest against what they called election fraud, as the
government warned that efforts to cast doubt on the outcome could
amount to treason.
   (Reuters, 5/10/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, Indonesian police
said that they have arrested dozens of Islamic-State linked terror
suspects, including some who planned to detonate bombs at political
demonstrations when election results are announced next week.
   (AFP, 5/17/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, The US embassy in
Indonesia advised US citizens to avoid areas where large
demonstrations may occur in Jakarta, and in other cities including
Surabaya in East Java and Medan in North Sumatra.
   (Reuters, 5/18/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 20, An Indonesian
court sentenced Frenchman Felix Dorfin (35) to death for smuggling 3
kg (6.6 pounds) of drugs to the tourist island of Lombok, even
though prosecutors had only sought a 20-year sentence.
   (AP, 5/20/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, Indonesia’s
Election Commission said Pres. Joko Widodo won 55.5% of the vote in
the April 17 election to 45.5% for his challenger, ultra-nationalist
former Gen. Prabowo Subianto. Supporters of the opposition gathered
in Jakarta to protest the result.
   (AP, 5/21/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, In Indonesia
clashes began late today when supporters of former Gen. Prabowo
Subianto tried to force their way into the downtown offices of the
election supervisory agency and have continued unabated.
   (AP, 5/22/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, In Indonesia riots
by supporters of losing rival Gen. Prabowo Subianto in last month's
presidential election left seven people dead. Police arrested at
least 20 people accused of provoking riots in Jakarta following the
official results.
   (AP, 5/22/19)(Reuters, 5/22/19)(SFC, 5/24/19,
p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, Indonesia said it
will partially block social media to prevent the spread of hoaxes
after violence in the capital, Jakarta, following the announcement
of official election results.
   (Reuters, 5/22/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 23, Indonesian police
said seven people have died in the last two days in election
violence in Jakarta, as calm returned to the city and the losing
presidential candidate prepared to challenge the result in court.
   (AP, 5/23/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, In Indonesia Mount
Agung volcano erupted overnight on the holiday island of Bali,
causing some flight cancellations to and from Australia as an ash
cloud rose into the sky.
   (Reuters, 5/25/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, Indonesian police
said they have arrested six people suspected of plotting to
assassinate four state officials during a wave of civil unrest in
Jakarta last week.
   (Reuters, 5/27/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, Indonesia’s police
said four top officials, including two Cabinet ministers and the
national spy chief, were targeted for assassination as part of a
plot possibly linked to last week's election riots. Details of the
plot were obtained from interrogations of six arrested individuals.
   (AP, 5/28/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, Indonesian police
paraded an American, two Spaniards and two Russians at a news
conference in Bali’s capital, Denpasar. They had been arrested days
earlier for selling cocaine and marijuana on Bali.
   (SFC, 6/1/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 1, Former Indonesian
first lady Kristiani Herrawati Yudhoyono (66) died of leukemia in a
Singapore hospital.
   (AP, 6/1/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 11, Indonesian police
aired video testimony from three suspects who alleged a retired
soldier backing the political opposition had offered them money and,
in one case, a family vacation to join a plot to kill government
officials.
   (Reuters, 6/11/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, Indonesia returned
five containers of rubbish to the United States and said it will not
become a "dumping ground".
   (AFP, 6/15/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 17, In Indonesia an
overloaded boat carrying people home to celebrate the end of Ramadan
with their families capsized off the main island of Java, killing at
least 17 and leaving four others missing.
   (AP, 6/18/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, In Indonesia at
least 30 people including children were killed in a fire that swept
through a house that doubled as a match factory in North Sumatra
province. Police the next day arrested the owner and two managers of
an unregulated factory in North Sumatra that was engulfed by the
fire.
   (AP, 6/21/19)(AP, 6/23/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 24, A 7.3-magnitude
earthquake struck remote eastern Indonesia. There were no reports of
casualties or any major damage.
   (AFP, 6/24/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, An Indonesian
military spokesman said that any use of child soldiers by Papuan
independence fighters would be a violation of human rights that
implicates both the rebels and state institutions.
   (AP, 6/25/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 27, Indonesia's
constitutional court rejected a bid to overturn President Joko
Widodo's election victory and dismissed his defeated challenger's
claims of widespread voter fraud as groundless.
   (AFP, 6/27/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, In Indonesia a
Russian-made Mi-17 military helicopter carrying 12 people went
missing in the country's troubled easternmost province of Papua. The
missing bodies were found in February 2020.
   (AP, 6/28/19)(SFC, 2/15/20, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Indonesian police
arrested Para Wijayanto, a man believed to be the leader of the
al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah network, who has eluded capture
since 2003. Counter-terrorism police also arrested at least four
other suspects linked to Wijayanto, a student of Abu Bakar Bashir,
the alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more
than 200 people.
   (AP, 7/1/19)(Reuters, 7/1/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In Indonesia an
earthquake hit North Maluku province killing four people and
damaging nearly 1,000 houses.
   (SFC, 7/17/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, In Indonesia a
magnitude 6.8 undersea earthquake struck off the islands of Sumatra
and Java. Four people were killed and hundreds of buildings left
damaged.
   (Reuters, 8/3/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, In Indonesia a
widespread 8-hour blackout hit Jakarta and other parts of Java
island affecting tens of millions of people. State power company PLN
estimated it would take several hours to restore power to Jakarta
after a major blackout, blaming technical issues for cutting power
to tens of millions of people in the capital and surrounding
provinces.
   (Reuters, 8/4/19)(SFC, 8/5/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Indonesia's capital
announced new curbs on private cars as it moved to rein in choking
air pollution. Experts warned the measures were unlikely to stamp
out the problem.
   (Reuters, 8/7/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Indonesia said it
has sealed parts of palm oil and timber concessions owned by 10
companies on Borneo island after a spate of forest fires, warning
those involved in forest burning would be severely punished.
   (Reuters, 8/15/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, In Indonesia a
suspected Islamic militant (30) launched an attack on a police
station in Surabaya, East Java, slashing one officer with a sickle,
before being shot and taken into custody.
   (Reuters, 8/18/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In Indonesia
police fired tear gas into the dormitory before arresting 43
students in Surabaya, East Java.
   (Reuters, 8/19/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, In Indonesia
thousands of Papuans took the streets of the cities of Sorong,
Manokwari and Jayapura, blocking roads, damaging an airport and
torching government buildings. The protests were triggered by the
detention of Papuan students in the East Java city of Surabaya over
accusations that they had disrespected the Indonesian flag in front
of a dormitory during celebrations of Independence Day on Aug. 17.
   (Reuters, 8/20/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Indonesia sent 200
more police officers to Papua and reined in internet speeds to
"prevent hoaxes from spreading" as civil unrest persisted in some
parts of the country's easternmost area.
   (Reuters, 8/20/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, The ferry KM
Santika Nusantara, travelling between Indonesia's second-largest
city of Surabaya and the town of Balikpapan on Borneo island, caught
fire this evening. Rescuers found three people dead and evacuated
300 from the blazing wreckage off the coast of Java island.
   (Reuters, 8/24/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Indonesia revealed
the long-awaited site for its new $33-billion capital on the
forested island of Borneo to replace the crowded, polluted megacity
of Jakarta, which is slowly sinking into the sea.
   (Reuters, 8/26/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In Indonesia
thousands of Papuans staged another series of rallies in several
towns of the easternmost region, after protests that erupted last
week over perceived ethnic discrimination provoked some calls for
independence.
   (Reuters, 8/26/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, In Indonesia
shooting broke out at a protest in the easternmost province of
Papua. Police there said that one soldier and two protesters were
killed.
   (Reuters, 8/28/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, In Indonesia
protesters in the easternmost region of Papua set buildings ablaze,
forcing the state power firm to cut off electricity in parts of the
provincial capital of Jayapura.
   (Reuters, 8/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Indonesia said it
has partially lifted an internet blackout imposed following civil
unrest in the country's easternmost region of Papua, but is yet to
restore access in areas where the most violent protests erupted.
   (Reuters, 9/5/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Former Indonesian
president B.J. Habibie (83) died. He came to power during the
country's turbulent transition to democracy after former strongman
leader Suharto stepped down in 1998. He held power for 17 months
until the late Abdurrahman Wahid became president.
   (Reuters, 9/11/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Indonesia's
environment minister said some forest fires in its territory had
started on land used by subsidiaries of Malaysian companies, as the
two neighbors traded blame for blazes that have spread haze across
the region.
   (Reuters, 9/13/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Indonesia's
finance ministry said it will raise the minimum price of cigarettes
by more than a third from January next year, as part of the
government's efforts to reduce smoking rates. According to the WHO
nearly 70% of adult men smoke in Indonesia.
   (Reuters, 9/14/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, A local government
official said schools in two cities in the Indonesian part of Borneo
island will be closed for a week after smoke from forest fires
caused air quality to hit "dangerous" levels. Indonesia and
neighboring countries in Southeast Asia are regularly hit by smoke
from slash-and-burn clearances of forests for farms and palm oil
plantations.
   (Reuters, 9/15/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Indonesian police
said authorities have arrested nearly 185 people suspected of
starting forest fires.
   (SFC, 9/17/19, p.A4)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Indonesia sent
nine containers with at least 135 tons of waste back to Australia
after discovering that they were contaminated with used plastic and
hazardous materials. 547 containers were to be returned to wealthy
nations.
   (SFC, 9/18/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Indonesian police
said they have arrested 230 people suspected of starting some of the
fires that are spreading haze across a large part of Southeast Asia.
   (SFC, 9/20/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, In Indonesia at
least 32 people died after fresh unrest broke out in the restive
Papua region, with some victims stabbed, shot with arrows or burned
alive as protesters set fire to buildings during violent
demonstrations.
   (The Telegraph, 9/24/19)(SFC, 9/25/19, p.A4)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, In Indonesia
police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse rock-throwing
students protesting a new law that they said has crippled the
country's anti-corruption agency.
   (SFC, 9/25/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, The United Nations
warned that air pollution from Indonesian forest fires is putting
nearly 10 million children at risk. Scientists said the blazes were
releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gases.
   (AFP, 9/24/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Indonesian police
said at least two people have died in violent demonstrations by
students protesting a new law they say has crippled the country's
anti-corruption agency.
   (SFC, 9/27/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, In Indonesia a
magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the eastern province of Maluku. The
death toll soon rose to 30 people.
   (Reuters, 9/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Indonesian police
fired tear gas in several areas of Jakarta as a protest against
legal reforms descended into running battles, causing traffic
gridlock and chaotic scenes in parts of the central business
district.
   (Reuters, 9/30/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 10, In western
Indonesia a knife-wielding man, suspected of belonging to a radical
Islamic greoup, wounded security minister Wiranto and another
person.
   (SFC, 10/11/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 20, Indonesian
President Joko Widodo (58) was sworn in for a second five-year term
leading the world's third-biggest democracy, after an election
dominated by economic issues but also the growing influence of
conservative Islam.
   (Reuters, 10/20/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, In Indonesia
Mukhlis bin Muhammad (46), a member of the Aceh Ulema Council (MPU),
was caned 28 times in a public park by a religious officer for
adultery in Aceh province. The woman he had the sexual relationship
with was flogged, also in public, receiving 23 lashes.
   (Reuters, 11/1/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 4, It was reported
that plastic is burned on a large scale to ease Indonesia’s
overflowing rubbish dumps, while truckloads of waste are sold to
local communities.
   (http://tinyurl.com/rsq9bqn)(SFC, 12/20/19, p.A4)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 7, Indonesian
authorities arrested five suspected poachers of a pair of critically
endangered pregnant Sumatran tigers and seized four fetuses that had
been preserved in a jar. About 400 Sumatran tigers remained because
of forest destruction and poaching.
   (SFC, 12/9/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, Indonesian police
arrested two men suspected of being part of a ring that poaches and
trades in endangered animals and seized from them several lion and
leopard cubs and dozens of turtles.
   (AP, 12/15/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, Indonesian
authorities said they have arrested six foreigners since Nov. 4 for
allegedly trying to smuggle drugs onto the tourist island of Bali.
   (SFC, 12/19/19, p.A4)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, Indonesian
officials said nearly 30,000 pigs have died from African swine fever
(ASF) in North Sumatra province as of Dec. 15, causing millions of
dollars of economic losses as authorities try to quarantine the
areas affected.
   (Reuters, 12/18/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 23, In Indonesia a bus
plunged into a ravine on Sumatra island just before midnight after
its brakes apparently malfunctioned, killing at least 28 people and
injuring 13 others.
   (AP, 12/24/19)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, In Indonesia at
least nine people were killed as monsoon rains and rising rivers
submerged at least 90 neighborhoods in Jakarta. The city has been
rapidly sinking due to uncontrolled extraction of groundwater.
   (SFC, 1/2/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, In Indonesia the
death toll from floods in Jakarta rose to 43 as rescuers found more
bodies amid receding floodwaters.
   (AP, 1/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Indonesian
officials said landslides and floods triggered by torrential
downpours have left at least 60 people dead in and around Jakarta,
as rescuers struggled to search for people apparently buried under
tons of mud.
   (AP, 1/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Indonesia and the
United Arab Emirates affirmed deeper economic ties during a visit by
Indonesian President Joko Widodo in which he sought billions of
dollars to finance his country's infrastructure and energy projects.
   (AP, 1/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Eight Indonesians
were abducted in Malaysian waters in Sabah. Three were released,
while the remaining five were probably brought by their captors to
the southern Philippine province of Sulu.
   (AP, 1/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, In Indonesia a
footbridge packed with people on Sumatra Island broke. Nine bodies
were pulled from the water as far as 12 miles from the bridge. One
boy (14) remained missing.
   (SFC, 1/21/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Indonesia's
disaster agency said landslides and floods from torrential monsoon
rains killed at least seven people on Sumatra island.
   (SFC, 1/30/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, Indonesia deported
US journalist Philip Jacobson who has written stories about
environmental destruction in Indonesia after being arrested over
alleged visa violations.
   (Reuters, 1/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Indonesian
officials said that around 250 of its nationals being evacuated from
China's Hubei province, the center of the coronavirus epidemic, will
be quarantined in its Natuna Islands military base.
   (Reuters, 2/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In Indonesia at
least six students in the province of Yogyakarta were killed and
five more were missing after a tidal surge swept them away during a
school trip.
   (AP, 2/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 29, In Indonesia
gunmen, believed to be members of the West Papua Liberation Army,
attacked security forces in Papua province . One police officer was
killed and three others were wounded.
   (SFC, 3/4/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Andorra, Armenia,
Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Iceland and Indonesia confirmed
their first cases of coronavirus.
   (AP, 3/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, Indonesia's Mount
Merapi, the most active of the country's 500 volcanoes, erupted
spewing pyroclastic material and sending as 19,680 feet.
   (SFC, 3/4/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Indonesia confirmed
that two more people had tested positive for the coronavirus, taking
the total of confirmed cases in the country to six.
   (Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, In Indonesia
visiting Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologized for his country's
agression during its colonial rule and formally recognized the
country's independence date in his first formal visit to the former
Dutch colony.
   (SFC, 3/11/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Indonesia reported
that Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has been hospitalized in
Jakarta after he contracted coronavirus. Indonesia reported 27 more
coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed infection
to 96 with five deaths.
   (Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Indonesia reported
21 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of
confirmed cases to 117.
   (Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Indonesia's death
toll jumped from five to 19. Thousands of Muslim pilgrims from
across Asia gathered at Gowa, just two weeks after a similar event
in Malaysia caused more than 500 infections.
   (Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Indonesia reported
six more deaths due to coronavirus for a total of 25, the most in
Southeast Asia, and its biggest daily jump of 82 cases to 309. The
government halted a mass congregation of nearly 9,000 Muslim
pilgrims and began quarantining them and checking their health to
prevent the further spread of the coronavirus amid a spike in cases.
The four-day gathering at a boarding school in a rural area in south
Sulawesi province was organized by a Muslim missionary movement,
Jamaat Tabligh, and was not approved by authorities.
   (AP, 3/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, Jakarta,
Indonesia, declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus
pandemic. Indonesia had 369 confirmed cases and 32 deaths. Jakarta,
a city of 10 million people, had 215 confirmed infections and 18
deaths.
   (Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Indonesia
confirmed 81 new coronavirus cases and 6 more deaths, bringing the
total number of cases to 450 and deaths to 38.
   (AP, 3/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Bill Hayden former
governor-general of Australia proclaimed that Indonesia will be one
of the great powers by this time.
   (SFC, 4/26/96, p.A-12)