Farmers protest imported sugar MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: Dozens of sugarcane farmers in South Sulawesi flocked to the provincial legislative council on Friday to protest the influx of allegedly smuggled sugar into the province. The protesters, from the People's Sugarcane Farmers Association, said the circulation of the foreign product on the market had caused the price of domestic sugar to fall during the harvest season.

Reflection on independence From Koran Tempo When Aug. 17 arrives each year we celebrate our independence at many locations across the country. But we must ask, are we really independent? If we analyze the situation carefully we find that a lot of policies were made under the influence of foreign powers. In the economic sector, for example, various subsidies were lifted because of pressure from foreign countries.

Victoria Cattoni's reading of 'kebaya' Carla Bianpoen Contributor Jakarta Kebaya, the traditional blouse found in virtually every country in Southeast Asia, has evolved with the changing tides of history. Marked by the culture of the country in which it is worn, it varies from a relatively loose blouse to a high-corseted jacket in lace or other luxury material.

House set to discuss 30 bills next session Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta After enjoying a six-week break, the House of Representatives (DPR) on Friday opened a new session and promised to finish the deliberation of some 30 bills, including the ones that could not be finished in past sessions. In his speech marking the opening of the session, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung acknowledged that the House had been criticized for its poor performance in legislation.

MPR and President'saccountability The 2003 annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has ended. Altogether four decrees were produced, among other things Decree No. 5/2003 on suggestions to state institutions (the President, House of Representatives, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), and the Supreme Court (MA)). However, being a decree and merely a recommendation, as agreed upon by the assembly, it is not binding. The President can just ignore it without penalty.

On the president From Kompas Recently there have been articles and political comments about whether the president should be a Javanese or non-Javanese. And Jusuf Kalla said some time ago that we should no longer have the perception that the Indonesian president must be Javanese. My comment is that, in our country's history, out of the five presidents that the nation has had so far, only Soeharto was pure Javanese. Let us consider them one by one.

What August 17 means Simon Marcus Gower, Executive Principal, High/Scope Indonesia, Jakarta What does Independence Day mean to you? A simple but a hugely important question; but sadly this simple question too often gets a pitiful and really rather simplistic answer. An answer often comes that does not speak of the great significance of Independence Day and the remarkable history which it represents, but instead speaks of this great day as representing little more than a carnival.

Golkar boycotts plenary session Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra All 19 councillors of the Golkar Party skipped attending a plenary session on Friday in a protest against the presence of Deputy North Sumatra Governor Rudolf Pardede. The plenary session was scheduled to hear President Megawati Soekarnoputri's annual speech, which was televised across the country.

Artist Iwan running for Bandung mayor Wawan Hussein, Contributor, Bandung California has Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bandung has Iwan "Abah" Abdulrachman, who hopes to become the city's next mayor. They are both entertainers, Arnold a film star and Iwan a musician and composer. And both are eager to enter the "busy world of political gossip".

Enjoy Bali's beauty From Bali Post The adage, "the grass is always greener on the other side," may be applicable to daily life. One may wonder why many Balinese like to visit Jakarta, and other major cities in the country, while Bali itself offers beautiful landscape and a wonderful cultural experience. Look at Bali's mountain ranges, beaches and terraced rice- fields; all these enchant tourists. Bali seems to have cast a magic spell on foreigners, but not on its own people.

Where to go in Jakarta: Saturday, August 16, 2003 Exhibitions * Contemporary Art Childhood Objects, Cemara 6 Galeri (kafe), Jl. HOS. Cokroaminoto 9 - 11 Central Jakarta, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., until Aug. 18. * Photo The Transfixed Spectator, by Kassian Cephas, Erasmus Huis, Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, Kav S-3, Kuningan, South Jakarta (Tel. 5241069), until Aug. 30. * Caricature Menafsir Kemerdekaan by Augustin Sibarani, Galeri Milenium, Diamond Plaza, Blok B-23, Jl. R.S. Fatmawati No.

Government to double expenditure on defense A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government asked on Friday for a 100 percent increase on defense and security spending to Rp 10.5 trillion for fiscal 2004, most of which would go toward strengthening the military and police in dealing with threats against the state. Defense expenditure makes up 15.4 percent of total proposed 2004 state spending, which amounts to Rp 68.1 trillion.

Aguswandi Post Graduate Student London Metropolitan University The conflict in Aceh does not run straight along the line of the rise of Acehnese nationalism. The Acehnese have long devoted their energy to ending the abusive acts of the Indonesian government and its armed forces. The new rise of contemporary nationalism in Aceh is a reaction to the resulting unending feeling of oppression.

PDI Perjuangan may remove outspoken legislators A'an Suryana and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta After repeated denials, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) dropped on Friday the clearest hint of its intention to remove its nonconformist legislators from the House of Representatives.

FUNCINPEC boycotts cabinet meeting CAMBODIA: Royalist FUNCINPEC politicians put on a show of unity on Friday and boycotted Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's first cabinet meeting called to establish a new government after the July 27 polls.

Scholars oppose attempts to link Islam with terror Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Noted religious leaders and scholars expressed their objections to increasing attempts at home and overseas to equate Islam with terror following the attack on the JW Marriott Hotel, which was allegedly committed by persons linked to regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).

'Thai baht at normal level' BANGKOK: Bank of Thailand Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula said on Friday the Thai baht wasn't too strong and was quite fairly valued. "The baht is not too strong. It's at a normal level because investors have confidence in the Thai economy," he told reporters. The governor's comments came as the baht continued a gradual appreciation from levels above 42 baht to the dollar last week after the terrorist bombing in Jakarta.

Legislators regret Mega's remark Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta A group of legislators claimed on Friday they regretted President Megawati Soekarnoputri's statement that Indonesia never had sovereignty over Sipadan and Ligitan islands, and vowed to press ahead with their plan to demand an explanation from the President.

1. BATU: 1 LINE, 28 COUNTS Tracing civilization at Batujaya temples 2. CHINA: 1 LINE, 36 COUNTS Overseas Chinese return to better life

A new force in Indonesian education Raden Dunbar Chairman Association of National Plus Schools Jakarta raden@citabuana-jkt.sch.id. It is now just over 10 years since the first "National Plus" (NP) private school was established in Indonesia. Over the subsequent decade many more of these schools have opened as the popularity of bilingual education has increased.

A champion of intellectual property K.L Wijaya Contributor Jakarta If you heard the phrase "intellectual property rights", cheap bootleg DVDs, fake designer clothes, and pirated computer software, would usually come to mind. But, for Henry Soelistyo Budi, intellectual property is the potential engine of economic development in Indonesia.

Thousands of teachers unpaid for three months Nana Rukmana and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Majalengka/Banyumas Thousands of teachers temporarily employed by the governments in West Java and Central Java have not been paid for the last three months. An administrative problem was blamed for the payment delay. Around 1,617 temporary teachers in Majalengka regency, West Java, should have each been paid Rp 460,000 per month since June.

E. Java complains of water theft SURABAYA: The East Java administration lodged a strong protest with the Central Java government over their siphoning water from Bengawan Solo river, which crosses the border areas of the two provinces. "A inter-provincial agreement has been prepared to distribute the allocation of water from Bengawan Solo. But in fact, the Central Java had already been stealing our water," head of the East Java irrigation office Hartoyo said on Friday.

Students rally against PDI-P sales CILACAP, Central Java: Hundreds of students staged a rally here on Friday to protest an incident involving local bureaucrats and the leader of the local chapter of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan). The incident centers on the sales of books and T-shirts bearing the red logo of the party, of which President Megawati Soekarnoputri is chairwoman. The sales campaign was apparently approved by the local administration.

Police arrest dozens of thugs BEKASI: Police have netted dozens of hoodlums in a raid in several locations in Bekasi for inciting fear among the public and causing violence. The thugs were arrested on Thursday at Bekasi bus terminal on Jl. Ampera, and on Jl. Bulak Kapal. "The arrests were made based on complaints filed by people in the areas," an official at Bekasi police station said on Friday.

Megawati inaugurates boat JAKARTA: President Megawati Soekarnoputri inaugurated on Friday the Samudraraksa boat, which is scheduled to sail the "Cinnamon Route" from Indonesia to Ghana, during a ceremony at the Ancol port. The Samudraraksa expedition, which will include stops in Seychelles, Madagascar, Cape Town and Ghana, is expected to be completed in December. The route was used in the cinnamon trade in the past.

JP/3 /INSIGHT Our independence: In the shadows of violence and seduction B. Herry-Priyono Lecturer Driyarkara School of Philosophy Jakarta The river of time has brought us again to the eve of Indonesia's 58th anniversary. It may be time to prepare a celebration. A celebration could be a moment of hurrah; it could be a moment for soul searching as well. Either way, it is a virtuous moment to briefly escape from the torments of living in our present predicament.

DPR asked to evaluate Aceh operation SURABAYA: The country's largest Muslim organization, Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), has called on the House of Representatives to evaluate the military operation in Aceh. Also, noted rights activist Todung Mulya Lubis has urged the government to end the military offensive that has left almost 700 suspected rebels dead.

Homeland security begins abroad ND Batra, The Statesman, Asia News Network, Calcutta When a bomb explodes in Jakarta, Americans feel threatened and rightly so, which means Indonesia needs more help and greater U.S. presence. Homeland security, not neo-imperialism, is driving the U.S. diplomacy and is pushing Americans into everyone's face.

'Indonesia is free in name only' The commemoration of the country's 58th Independence Day is getting closer. Residents focus their attention on preparation for the festivities. However, some consider that there is nothing to celebrate due to the hardships still suffered by people here. They blame the country's leaders in their negligence of the people's welfare. The Jakarta Post talked about the issue with them. Jumari, 47, is a vendor selling flags in Jatinegara, East Jakarta.

Little people's education From Media Indonesia The little people, who make up more than 50 percent of Indonesia's population, are people in the middle to lower classes. It is a reality that Indonesia is still embroiled in a variety of problems. One of these problems lies in the educational field. Of course, the government has tried to address the problem in the education sector. One of the efforts made is to privatize education.