Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign minister Monday defended peace talks between Jakarta and Aceh separatists amid growing criticism from lawmakers and the army, saying that other efforts to

Jakarta – More than 200 ex-separatist fighters have been freed in the tsunami-wracked province of Aceh after taking an oath of loyalty to a unified Indonesia, a local media report said

John Aglionby, Jakarta – If the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, thought he could get closer to his people by giving out his mobile phone number and inviting complaints,

Jakarta – It was a Tuesday morning when a group of women gathered to chat on a narrow veranda of the house of a subdistrict head in Pangkalan Jati Baru, Depok.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – It is not exactly like a subtle rejection by a fellow who dutifully gives his number and asks you to call him but never picks up the phone.

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – We frequently shake our heads in frustration at the misconduct and profiteering of public officials.

On Thursday, US President George W. Bush announced that Congress would extend the government's surveillance and law enforcement powers to track down potential terrorists.

Timor Leste – Canberra will on Monday begin withdrawing its last peacekeeping troops from Timor Leste, signaling the end of a six-year mission that heralded a controversial new era of r

Dan EatonSat – Fury in Australia over the jailing of a young woman in Bali for drugs smuggling has puzzled ordinary Indonesians, and given the world's most populous Muslim nation a chan

Rendi Witular, PurwakartaWest Java – For those of you who find the notoriously inept bureaucracy is posing a stumbling block in seeking a solution to your problems, add 0811109949 to yo

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – At least 8,455 children under five in Jakarta are suffering from malnutrition, the City Health Agency reported on Friday.

Banda Aceh – At least 35 women academics, legal practitioners, activists and students visited the Aceh Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) at midday on Friday June 10.

Rendi A.

Jakarta – The need for wood in Aceh's rehabilitation in Aceh post tsunami waves will be supplied from domestic sources.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The price of rebuilding houses demolished by the tsunami in Aceh province jumped 40 per cent in three months as labourers insisted they get paid for work tradit

Jakarta – A number of non-government organisations support the government's efforts to resolve the Aceh problem by continuing the dialogue with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Fabio Scarpello, Jakarta – While negotiations between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and Indonesian government officials in Helsinki, Finland, have given rise to a moderate optimism, figh

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Two members of the National Commission on Human Rights held an unannounced meeting with former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto on Friday.

Jakarta – As malnutrition cases across the country hit the headlines, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) has drawn attention to the government's failure to disburse the fund for

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar – In what pro-democracy activists are describing as a blow to freedom of expression, a court here jailed a university student on Friday for insulting Pres

Rendi A.

Dozens of East Timorese asylum seekers could be granted permanent visas after having their cases reviewed by Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone.

Jakarta – Yesterday, Megawati Sukarnoputri inaugurated the Volunteers for Democratic Struggle (Relawan Perjuangan Demokrasi, Repdem), a social organisation affiliated with the Indonesia

Jakarta – The government will soon negotiate an out-of-court settlement with PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR), a local unit of a US-based gold mining company, which non-governmental organ

Jakarta – Caning was officially allowed Friday in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh, with 20 law breakers set to be caned in the near future, a local government official said.

Rusman and Blontank Poer, Samarinda/Surakarta – Although East Kalimantan is popularly known as natural resource-rich province, malnutrition is still rampant in the area.

Jakarta – Indonesia's military threw its backing on Friday behind a controversial government anti-terror plan to revive a far-reaching intelligence network used to quell dissent during

Jakarta – Non-governmental organizations are seeking public support to file a request for a judicial review of a new presidential decree on land which has widely been deemed as authorit

"I did this so that we would not be a nation of coolies and a coolie among nations" - Indonesia's founding President Sukarno

Bangil (East Java) – An Indonesian court on Thursday jailed for three years the wife of a top Malaysian terrorism suspect, wanted in connection with a string of deadly bombings, for hid

Rendi A.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Indonesian Muslims donate about Rp 19.3 trillion (about US$2 billion) annually, but poor management prevents much of this money from really helping the poor, accor

Jakarta – A number of former activist who were part of the popular struggle against the New Order regime have formally joined the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Alisa P, Jakarta – In a report on the results of the military operation over the two years that Aceh was under a state of emergency to members of the People's Representative Assembly's

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) rejected a cease-fire demand from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and said it would continue to crush the rebel group until they ful

Barry Neild, Jakarta – Hopes that talks between Indonesian leaders and separatists from tsunami-hit Aceh would end a long-running war were evaporating Thursday as rebels reacted with an

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Colonized by the Dutch, occupied by the Japanese and led by authoritarian leaders for several decades, Indonesia has entered the final phase of its transition int

David Adam – Another catastrophic giant earthquake similar to the one that caused carnage across the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day last year is lurking off Indonesia, say scientists.

The Indonesian military claimed Wednesday to have killed almost 4,000 rebels of the Free Aceh Movement during the two-year-long martial law and civil emergency that ended last month, wh

Sunariah, Jakarta – Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi has said that the time limit for the Fact Finding Team (TPF) investigation into the death of human rights activist Munir will be exte

Rendi A.

It is hard to get excited about suggested "breakthroughs" on resolving the conflict in Aceh. Promises have been broken and repeated initiatives have fallen by the wayside.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – With just two weeks left of its mandate, a government-sanctioned fact-finding team remains unable to speak with former National Intelligence Body (BIN) chief A.M.

Dusk had only just fallen when a black Land Cruiser entered the grounds of the national police headquarters on Jalan Trunojoyo in South Jakarta on Sunday May 29.

Jakarta – The Minister of Defense, Juwono Sudarsono, says that the Helsinki meetings which are an informal forum for discussions between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are a

The perpetrators of the 2004 bombing at the Australian embassy in the Indonesian capital felt no remorse for the 10 innocent people who died in the attack, a suspect in the blast told a

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – With the glamor of life in the metropolis a constant attraction for the young and a source of frustration for those who cannot afford to enjoy it, the family of

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Helsinki – The Helsinki peace talks on Aceh may have to find a way to respect the Acehnese right to their own political parties, which the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)

East Timor will soon start opening up its untapped oil and gas reserves to investors, the Timorese government says.

Krystof Obidzinski, Bogor – Barely a day goes by without a story appearing in the Indonesian media about illegal logging.