Mathias Hariyadi

Laity and Justice and Peace Commissions come out against the proposed legislation because it favours divisions and ethnic conflicts. Proposed law stems from an attempt to introduce Sharia and turn the country into another Saudi Arabia. The bill is opposed by the country’s middle class and cultural elite.

Ethnic minorities and religious groups denounce the attempt to introduce Islamic law. The proposed law, which is not clear and is subject to various interpretations, leaves broad scope for the fundamentalists to repress "popular customs and traditions" that constitute the true "riches of the nation".

The country's political landscape is divided between those who want the law to be enacted in order to "moralize" customs, and those who denounce the destruction of "a pluralist society" and the introduction of sharia. Also at risk is the tourism industry, hampered by the strict observance of Islamic precepts.

A pipeline stretching for dozens of kilometers is planned to channel the more than 100,000 cubic meters of mud that spill out every day. The controversy continues over the lack of adequate aid for the more than 50,000 displaced people, many of whom have been left in temporary shelters, and without means of support.

There is a danger that the attempt to stop the sea of mud covering villages, roads, and railways will be abandoned. The company "responsible" complains that it has spent a billion dollars, with no results. But the locals are asking that efforts not be given up, while new villages are in danger.

The tremors struck this morning in quick succession. Danger of Tsunami avoided. So far no reports of victims.

Fr Susetyo was taken from his home and beaten by unknown assailants. He is known for his activity in interreligious dialogue, frowned on by radical Muslims. At the hospital, he has been visited by the younger brother of former president Wahid.

In the Indonesian Papua, Christians are opposing the possible introduction of sharia. The provincial government is reassuring them, but many doubts remain.

The perpetrators show no remorse for the deaths of more than 200 Western tourists on vacation in the island, and ask to be killed according to the dictates of sharia, which provides for decapitation. The sentence will be carried out in the next few weeks on an island in central Java.

Two attorneys from the Bali Attorney’s Office visit the location where terrorists are waiting their execution, which should take place next month before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

On July 15, the two countries signed an agreement intended to overcome the crimes and violence of the past. Relief expressed by retired general Wiranto, former head of the army, among those most responsible for the massacres of 1999.

Police sources reveal this following the capture of a fundamentalist group linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, an Indonesian cell close to al-Qaeda. 22 high-power bombs discovered, intended to strike sensitive spots on the island.