INDONESIA: FREE JAILED TRADE UNIONIST BIN SARIM:

Over in Indonesia Sarta bin Sarim, chairman of the local union at the P.T. Tambun Kusuma furniture plant, was part of a May Day march in Tangerang, an industrial city near Jakarta. He joined the march, organized by a coalition of local unions, as it passed his workplace and later returned to work. The demonstration was entirely peaceful. later that night police came to arrest him at his house. When he refused to sign a confession that he had "organized the demonstration" police incited other inmates to beat him until he finally signed a statement admitting his role in the demonstration. Sarim is presently housed in the Pemuda Prison in Tangerang charged under an old Dutch colonial law with committing "unpleasant acts" and "inciting disruption". He has repeatedly been beaten by other inmates demanding money with at least the connivance if not the incitement of the prison authorities. Police have refused union appeals for Sarta's release and have also refused to provid ethe inion's lawyer the police investigation report, a requirement under Indonesian law. The Indonesian Federation of Construction,Informal and General Workers Unions (FKUI) has asked for solidarity letters from across the world demanding his release. To learn more and to participate in this campaign go to the Labour Start solidarity site at http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=259 .