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Politics & democracy

Big plans for Papua

DTE 91-92, May 2012

In our special edition newsletter on Papua published in November 2011, DTE drew attention to the long and sorry history of top-down resource exploitation in Papua. Now, a whole raft of new development plans are being pushed through, under the government’s nation-wide effort to speed up development (MP3EI), launched last year. An additional layer of plans specifically for Papua is being promoted by UP4B, a special unit to speed up development in Papua.

Ending conflict in West Papua

DTE 89-90, November 2011, Special Papua edition

The brutal crackdown by Indonesian security forces on the Third Papuan Congress in October has brought up to six deaths and hundreds of beatings and arrests.

Deadly Coal comes to Europe

Down to Earth 87, December 2010

For many years, DTE has been working with JATAM, the Indonesian Mining Advocacy Network on a variety of mining campaigns in Indonesia.

Following the launch of JATAM's 'Deadly Coal' campaign earlier this year,  DTE and JATAM decided to bring the campaign directly to the UK and Europe.

Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism

Down to Earth No.85-86, August 2010

The case of Rio Tinto, BP, the Bakrie Brothers and Kaltim Prima Coal.

By Andrew Hickman, DTE

It is a sad fact that more than 10 years after the fall of Suharto and the establishment of democratic rule in Indonesia corruption, collusions and nepotism, known in Indonesian as KKN - remain key problems and challenges faced by Indonesia today.

Indigenous rights in West Kalimantan revisited

Down to Earth No.84, March 2010

An interview with Erma Ranik


In 2003 we interviewed Erma Ranik for the DTE newsletter. At the time, Erma, a volunteer for the indigenous peoples' alliance in West Kalimantan (AMA Kalbar), was in London on a series of mini-internships facilitated by DTE, as part of a joint programme with the national indigenous peoples' alliance, AMAN.

Seven years on, Erma now sits in the DPD (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah - the Regional Representatives Council) and lives partly in Jakarta and partly in West Kalimantan. DTE got in touch to ask how things have changed.

Twenty years of DTE

Down to Earth No.80-81, June 2009

In January 2009 DTE marked its 20th birthday by inviting friends to a gathering in Bogor. On the same occasion we launched an Indonesian language compilation of climate change articles taken from recent DTE newsletters. The following review of our activities was published as the introduction to that book.

Ecological justice in Indonesia: in whose hands for the next five years?

Down to Earth No.80-81, June 2009

In April the Indonesian people elected their paliamentary representatives. Partai Demokrat, the party of incumbent president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), secured the strongest position with around 20% of the seats. On 8th July are the elections for president and vice-president, with three pairs of candidates in the running: SBY and Boediono, Megawati and Prabowo, and Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto. What are the prospects for ecological justice?