Jakarta – A law that was specifically designed to handle social conflict across the country is considered ineffective as the legislation does not touch any of the potential root issues in communal clashes.

The Social Conflict Management Law, which was passed in April this year, has become a target for criticism by a number of experts.

George Roberts, Indonesia – Indonesia's Foreign Minister has vowed to review any cases of journalists being refused entry to the country's disputed Papua regions.

Marty Natalegawa has told a foreign journalists' group that 35 reporters have been granted access to Papuan provinces in the past year.

Sampang, Indonesia – Condemned as heretics, a community of around 200 Shiite Muslims have for months lived as pariahs in a sports hall, driven from their Indonesian village after a deadly clash with Sunnis.

Lenny Tristia Tambun & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – With the Jakarta branch of the Great Indonesian Movement Party on Saturday announcing its nomination of party founder Prabowo Subianto as its presidential candidate for the 2014 election, questions have arisen about his ability to garner wider support.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has told Democratic Party executives to brace for the worst in anticipation of the graft probe of the party's board of patrons member and former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng.

Jakarta – Holding on to the belief that the majority of Indonesian people long for the calm and order of the Soeharto era, members of the former strongman's family appear to have found the confidence to make a political comeback.

Fully aware that the political landscape has changed, some of them have joined the democratic process by setting up political parties.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Despite an outward appearance of solidarity in support of demands for improving the welfare of the nation's workers, local labor unions are divided and out of touch with a majority of their members.

AHRC-STM-256-2012

[A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the Human Rights Day 2012.]

Camelia Pasandaran – Things continue to go from bad to worse for Aceng Fikri, the embattled head of Garut district in West Java.

Rizky Amelia – In an announcement that could potentially shock millions of civil servants across the country, the Corruption Eradication Commission said it will require all state officials to explain where their wealth came from in cases where their net worth is suspiciously higher than their accumulated salaries.

The National Police Traffic Corps and the Corruption Eradication Commission have failed to settle a lawsuit out of court, regarding the handling of documents in the driving simulator graft case.

A new health project in East Timor is hoping to harness the power of the mobile phone to promote better infant and maternal health.

Ronna Nirmala & Faisal Maliki Baskoro – Hundreds of human rights activists gathered in Jakarta on Saturday to commemorate the 47th birthday of slain activist Munir Said Thalib and urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to bring Munir's killers to justice.

Loic Vennin and Olivia Rondonuwu, Pararawen, Central Kalimantan – The roar of chainsaws has replaced birdsong, the once-lush, green jungle scorched to a barren grey. The equivalent of six football pitches of forest is lost every minute in Indonesia.

Jakarta – It appears that fans of English singer and songwriter Sting expect more than just a few songs during his upcoming Jakarta concert next Saturday.

They want their idol to play an active part in the human rights campaign in Indonesia by dedicating his song They Dance Alone for murdered activist Munir.

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Earlier this year, the government framed its plan to implement a fuel-to-gas energy conversion program as the answer to the country's growing dependency on fuel consumption.

Tito Summa Siahaan – While the Indonesia government is being applauded for introducing the world's first carbon credit mechanism, the country's civil society organizations believe the initiative is missing several key details that will derail the mechanism's real purpose to protect the environment.

Neil Chatterjee, Jakarta – Indonesia's first minister to be named a suspect in a bribery scandal resigned on Friday, becoming the highest profile victim of an increasingly aggressive push by the country's anti-graft body to take on rampant institutional corruption.

Ezra Sihite – Although the members of the House of Representatives Ethics Council have found four lawmakers guilty of violating the House's code of ethics, the council said that none of them will receive the harshest sanction.

Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – One day after naming former Youth and Sports Minister Andi Alfian Mallarangeng as a suspect in the Hambalang sports complex scandal, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Friday that the antigraft body would move fast on the case.

Jakarta – The transgender community has been keeping out of sight in the wake of rising intimidation from the unruly Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the National Police's reluctance to protect them, activists have said.

Thousands of workers staged a rally in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Thursday, demanding that the provincial administration raise their monthly wages, as their current pay was far from enough to meet their daily needs.

Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) made another bold move in naming Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng a suspect in the Hambalang sports complex case, the first active cabinet minister to be attributed the status.

Robert Isidorus, Jayapura – A legal aid activist in Papua has said the recent unrest in Manokwari, West Papua, is a clear indication of efforts to destabilize the region to prompt a need for a stronger security presence. He urged tribal leaders in Papua and West Papua not to allow themselves to be provoked.

Rossie Indira and Andre Vltchek – Indonesia's Shi'ite minority is under heavy attack. Men, women, and children have been assaulted, schools damaged, and villages burned to the ground. Many have been killed. It is becoming increasingly clear that Saudi Arabia's intolerant brand of Wahhabi Sunni Islam – propagated far and wide by Saudi oil money – is behind most of assaults.

Jakarta – Indonesians remain confident about their country's economic outlook, but their worries about employment opportunities and inflationary pressures persist.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Hundreds of angry protestors set fire to two police posts at Sanggeng market and Amban in Manokwari, West Papua, on Wednesday after police shot dead escaped convict Timotius AP as he attempted to avoid being returned to Manokwari penitentiary.

Rizky Amelia – The Corruption Eradication Commission urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to enact a government regulation to give the antigraft body more power to recruit its own investigators and block the premature recall of police investigators on loan to the agency.

Rabby Pramudatama and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Oblivious to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's order for the police to stay out of the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) business, the National Police headquarters has decided to withdraw Comr. Novel Baswedan and 12 other officers seconded to the antigraft body.

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Nusa Dua – Although some may consider abortion to be an uncontroversial issue, participants at the three-day Global Youth Forum (GYF) in Bali are still debating its pros and cons.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – In what could be seen as a consolation prize for the embattled Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the anti-graft body has won an award as one of the most accountable state institutions for the year 2012.

The National Republic Party (Nasrep), the political party of former president Soeharto's favorite son, Tommy Soeharto, was upbeat that it would pass the factual verification process and compete in the 2014 general elections.

Jakarta – Thousands of workers rallied on Wednesday at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, in front of several embassies and at the Presidential Palace, resulting in severe traffic congestion around Central and South Jakarta's commercial and government office areas.

Apriadi Gunawan and Fadli, Medan/Batam – Thousands of workers staged a protest in Medan on Wednesday over the provincial minimum wage increase that was set at Rp 1.35 million (US$140.63) per month because it was far less than the Rp 2.2 million they demanded, thereby "paralyzing" daily activities in the North Sumatra capital.

Francezka Nangoy – Despite hefty minimum wage increases across the country next year, Indonesia remains an attractive destination for foreign companies due to the solid pace of its economic growth, global banks UBS and Deutsche Bank say.

Jakarta – Political parties in the House of Representatives (DPR) remain at odds on setting the threshold of support needed to nominate a presidential candidate in 2014.

SP/Robert Isidorus – The fatal shooting of an escaped convict by police in West Papua's provincial capital led a mob to damage several shops and burn a police outpost there on Wednesday, residents said.

Tunggadewa Mattangkilang, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan – The village of Mulawarman used to be surrounded by lush tropical trees and wildlife. But fast forward 13 years and the area is a barren wasteland, blackened by the coal dust from thousands of small pit mines scattered across the landscape.

Ethan Harfenist & Erwida Maulia – Berlin-based Transparency International has released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index for 2012, with Indonesia sliding in this year's rankings despite increased foreign investment and a bigger global profile.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Despite significant growth, exports to new markets are still unable to offset demand for Indonesia's goods and commodities from the country's existing major trading partners.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – A recent study by human rights watchdog Setara Institute reveals that the government has failed to guarantee equal opportunities for followers of minority faiths, despite evidence of stepped up measures to promote and protect human rights in the country.

David Fogarty, Singapore – Indonesia on Wednesday approved a rainforest conservation project that sets aside an area roughly the size of Singapore and rewards investors with tradeable carbon credits in the first of its kind to win formal backing in the country.

Mikael Niman & Bayu Marhaenjati – Thousands of workers marched on foreign embassies in Jakarta on Wednesday in the latest labor protest demanding the end of Indonesia's controversial contract worker laws.

Fadli, Batam – As many as 130 companies have requested that the Riau Islands administration postpones the implementation of the new Batam minimum wage of Rp 2.04 million (US$212).

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya – Roies Al Hukama, 36, a Sunni religious leader who allegedly masterminded the deadly attack on Shia followers in Sampang, East Java, stood trial on Tuesday at the Surabaya District Court.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – In spite of possible support from the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party (PPP), it will be a steep climb for the self-styled king of dangdut Rhoma Irama to fulfill his presidential ambitions.

Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – After five months of tug-of-war that involved members of the National Police besieging the headquarters of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the antigraft body has finally detained the main suspect in the driving simulator procurement graft case, Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo.

Salim Osman – After weeks of review, Indonesia's Education Ministry eventually succumbed to societal pressure that English lessons be retained in elementary schools.

This about-face should be good news for parents. But it is not unexpected given the national swing towards English as an important foreign language in recent years, which the government has acknowledged.

Linda Yulisman and Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Indonesia's biggest trade deficit, recorded in October, is likely to cause jitters in the currency market, with economists warning of the impact it poses to the already weak rupiah.

Jakarta – Voters turn to independent political candidates when they feel disappointed in party-affiliated politicians. Most times, independent candidates stand out for their integrity as has been shown by candidate Faisal Basri in the Jakarta gubernatorial election. Alas, this has not been the case in Garut, West Java.