News items on indahnesia.com

2007

20 killed, 52 missing in Sulawesi landslide
Twenty people have been killed and 52 others were still missing after a landslide and flood hit areas in the province of Central Sulawesi on Sunday evening, the Disaster Management Agency told Tuesday. The disaster in Batu Bare and Tomboyali districts in the regency of Morowali had destroyed over one hundred houses, including transport facilities, ... ( read on )

2006

Indonesia faces obstacles in eradicating bird flu
The huge territory and people's ignorance had hampered Indonesian health authorities' efforts to eliminate bird flu, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said here on Friday. Since the government launched massive efforts to combat the spread of the virus a few years ago, many chicken and bird traders and owners have been reluctant to kill their ... ( read on )

2006

Lone Indonesia bird flu survivor goes home
Jones Ginting can't remember much of his battle with bird flu, and it's probably for the best. For the first two weeks, he slipped in and out of consciousness at Adam Malik Hospital. His skin stuck to the sweaty sheets as a fever raged. His arms were as rigid as steel pipes. When he did ... ( read on )

2006

Java tsunami death toll increases to 650 people
The death toll from the July 17 earthquake and tsunami in south Java, Indonesia, rose to as many as 650 people, according to Rustam S. Pakaya, head of crisis management at the Health Ministry, said. There are 120 people still missing, while 1,800 were injured and 42,639 are homeless, Pakaya said. The health ministry is starting ... ( read on )

2005

Monas park has new Las Vegas-style fountain
A touch of glamor has been lent to the National Monument (Monas) park -- already home to deer and colored pigeons -- with the opening on Saturday night of a fountain that emulates the Las Vegas Bellagio fountains. With music and choreographed laser beams, the Rp 26 billion fountain, which is in the west of ... ( read on )

2001

The moment of Megawati
Megawati Soekarnoputri could well have been thinking, "She who laughs last laughs longest," as she was sworn in as the country's president on Monday. Before the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) members who voted against her in the 1999 presidential election, Megawati vowed to cooperate with all elements of the nation to cope with the problems ... ( read on )

Other events on this day

2001

Australian Prime Minister John Howard congratulates Megawati Soekarnoputri as Indonesia's fifth president, expressing sympathy for the ousted Abdurrahman Wahid but saying his downfall was part of democracy.

2001

A homemade bomb explodes at Central Sulawesi Police Headquarters in the provincial capital of Palu at a time when dozens of refugees from Poso are outside protesting the police's inability to resolve the prolonged conflict in their hometown.

2001

Following the ouster of former president Abdurrahman wahid, the Papuan Presidium Council announces its wish to separate the easternmost province of Irian Jaya from Indonesia.

2001

The Papuan Presidium Council deputy chairman, Tom Beanal, opens the Papuan Women's Conference in Jayapura. Five hundred people are attending the conference, including representatives from European and Asian countries.

2001

National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro, who resisted being replaced by president Abdurrahman Wahid last month, hands over his command baton to newly inducted President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who immediately returns it to him.

2000

Thousands of members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) burn and destroy 82 kiosks on the Tahang riverbank in Salembaran Jati village of Kosambi district, Tangerang, West Java, accusing the owners of running vice activities.

2000

Acting Aceh governor Ramli Ridwan discloses that the govt has allocated Rp 1.4 trillion (US$155 million) to finance the implementation of the Joint Understanding on Humanitarian Pause in Aceh.

2000

The House approves amendments to five tax laws in which middle-income individual taxpayers will bear a lighter tax burden, regional administrations will receive 20% of individual income tax receipts and luxury taxes can be raised to a maximum of 75%.

2000

President Abdurrahman Wahid while addressing 312 middle and high-ranking Army officers at Commanders Call 2000 in Malang, East Java, promises to improve the welfare of military personnel in exchange for their loyalty to the government.

2000

The leader of the Hizbullah Muslim Front organization, Cecep Bustomi, is shot dead by four unidentified men armed with a pistol and an automatic weapon in Pandeglang, West Java.

2000

A New Zealand soldier who joined the UN peacekeeping force in E. Timor, Priv. Leonard William Manning, is shot dead in Fato Mean, just two kilometers from the Indonesian border in E. Nusa Tenggara, allegedly by E. Timor prointegration militiamen..

1999

Four leading Muslim politicians -- Amien Rais (PAN), Yusril I. Mahendra (PBB), Yusuf Hasyim (PKU) and Hamzah Haz (PPP) -- agree to push for a presidential election by setting up an alliance expected to become an alternative to Megawati and Habibie.

1998

Several actors led by Harri Capri stage a protest against "Pos Kota" in Jakarta for defaming actress Camelia Malik, Capri's wife, and demands the daily discontinue its series on actors.

1998

President BJ Habibie enacts the law on freedom of expression, which governs street demonstrations to prevent uncontrollable incidents and to enforce the law. A street demonstration now requires a police permit if it involves more than 50 people.

1998

Floods hit Serui, Irian Jaya, killing nine people.

1998

The government releases 50 political prisoners and pledges to restore the good name of the late HR Dharsono, a soldier and diplomat jailed for subversion by the Soeharto regime in 1985. Dharsono was freed in 1990 for good behavior after serving five years

1998

The House of Representatives unanimously passes a new bill on bankruptcy, replacing the old law dating back to 1905, in a move the government hopes will attract foreign investors to the country.

1998

Chief Justice Sarwata swears in 36 new members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), among them replacements for seven relatives of former president Soeharto recently expelled by Golkar, among others, Bambang Trihatmodjola Putra (son).

1998

Floods caused by three days of incessant rain hit Yapen Waropen district, Jayapura, Irian Jaya, killing seven people, while landslides in Abepura district in the same regency kill five gold miners. Flood in Serui, Manokwari, also kills nine people.

1995

President Soeharto opens the 40th Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Jakarta, saying films can have a positive impact on the life of a nation if produced correctly.

1995

Muslim scholar Hasan Basri is reelected for a third consecutive five-year term to lead the influential Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) at its congress in Jakarta for his skills in acting as a bridge between the government and the Muslim community.

1993

President Soeharto receives former defense minister/ Armed Forces chief Gen. (ret) AH Nasution, a long standing critic of the President's policies, at Merdeka Palace, 20 years after their last meeting.

1992

The four-day International Botanical Garden Conference in Bogor, West Java, concludes with a resolution on the strategy for the conservation of Indonesia's flora.

1992

The House of Representatives passes a bill on sea transportation into law, with tighter safety requirements for ship operators but with more lenient requirements for port administrators.

1992

A Mandala Airlines four engine-turboprop plane slams into a rocky mountain in Liliboy village, 15 kilometers northwest of Pattimura Airport in Ambon, Maluku, during bad weather, killing all 63 passengers and seven crew members.

1992

Pres. Soeharto meets with Vietnamese PM Vo Van Kiet in Jakarta and invites Vietnam to resolve disputes over common boundaries between the two countries by discussing technical details to enable them to tap natural resources in border areas.

1991

Two former activists of the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), Rewang, 63, and Marto Suwandhi, 69, are released from prison. They were initially sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in the abortive September 1965 coup.

1991

Singaporean President Wee Kim Wee arrives in Jakarta for a five-day visit and meets with President Soeharto to enhance bilateral and regional cooperation.

1989

President Soeharto in Jembrana, Bali, sets guidelines for developing the political openness desired by Indonesian citizens.

1988

Unprecedented Cambodian peace talks, called the Jakarta Informal Meeting, is held in Bogor, West Java, bringing together for the first time in nine years the two warring camps (Hun Sen, Prince Sihanouk, Khieu Samphan, & Son Sann).

1986

President Soeharto inaugurates the country's biggest hydroelectric power plant in Saguling on the Citarum River, West Java. The 700 mw capacity plant was built at a cost of more than US$665 million and is capable of producing 2.1 million kw of electricity

1986

Prof. Ibrahim Hasan, 51, is elected governor of Aceh, replacing Hadi Thayeb.

1986

Midian Sirait, the Indonesian director general for drug and food control, receives the Klasse des Verdienstordens der Bundes Republik Deutschland from the German government for promoting bilateral relations.

1981

Well-known Muslim scholar and man of letters Prof. Hamka dies in Jakarta at the age of 73.

1959

The House of Representatives (DPR) holds a special session to hear President Sukarno's explanation on a decree he issued on July 5, 1959.

1947

President Sukarno calls on American President Truman to use his influence to stop the raging battle in Indonesia.

1947

Gen. Mustopo tells his commanders in East Java that they must thank God because they have been permitted to kill and burn Dutch people, while Indonesian military chief Gen. Soedirman states those who do not recognize the scorched-earth policy are traitors

1947

President Sukarno in a radio speech states that the Dutch have violated Indonesian independence, and therefore the nation must defend itself to the death, and yells: "Once Free, Always Free!"

1946

Indonesia orders a stop to the transportation of internees and prisoners of war (APWIs) because the Allied Forces commander in Jakarta has not heeded Indonesia's demand that it give a written guarantee that it's not a violation of an agreement.

1946

169 Dutch-Indonesian women among 1,369 Dutch internees in Magelang, C. Java, ask not to be sent to the Allied-occupied region, saying they would prefer to be Indonesian citizens.

1942

The Japanese-formed Board of Muslim Unity (BPUI) establishes the Association of Muslim Scholars (PAU) in Jakarta which excludes two influential Muslim organizations, the Muhammadiyah and the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

1908

De Locomotief publishes the Boedi Oetomo organization's objective, which is for the development of the Dutch East Indies, not only Java.