Vaudine England, Hong Kong – The recent acquittal of 12 soldiers in a politically sensitive court case in Indonesia is seen to indicate the failure of the nation's human rights tribunal

Irwin Arieff – The Security Council is sitting on a UN expert panel's recommendation for an international tribunal to try Indonesian and local militia leaders blamed for a deadly 1999 r

Jakarta – Human rights groups on Wednesday called on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to back a plan for international trials for Indonesian military officers accused of atrocities in Ea

Rendi A.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – The government will not grant amnesty to members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) who have been involved in criminal activities.

Mohamad Mova Al 'Afghani, Jakarta – The recent caning of people convicted for gambling offences in Aceh has sparked controversy about the extent of the implementation of sharia law ther

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar – A senior legislator revealed on Monday that 80 percent of the penitentiaries in the country, including those in Bali, were currently way over capacity.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – As lawmakers gear up to deliberate the long-awaited law on the protection of witnesses and victims of violence, experts have said that it must be comprehensively

Leaders should lead by example. And the thriftiness of a government plays an exemplary role in setting the pace of a nation's consumptive habits.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have agreed to a demand by the Indonesian government that the tsunami-hit province should remain a part of Indonesia, bu

AK-1, Jakarta – The meeting between representatives of Acehnese civil society and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Stockholm on July 9-19 has resulted in a number of recommendations on A

AK-38, Jakarta – The Aceh Working Group (AWG) says there have been systematic efforts to ensure that the peace negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) fail.

Anton Aliabbas, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has denied that it supports the dialogue between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)

Contributor to The Jakarta Post Riedo Panaligan is a recipient of the 2005 Journalism Fellowship Program of the Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance.

Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels in tsumami-ravaged Aceh province said Tuesday they are prepared to lay down their weapons if a peace agreement is reached this week in Finland.

Jakarta – Hundreds of teachers who have been working for the government on a contract basis demanded permanent status as the government plans to hire some 300,000 new public servants th

With its Gucci-filled shopping malls, Indonesia's capital shares the emerging superficial affluence of many other Asian cities, but while many in Jakarta are now better off, new wealth

The Constitutional Court's unanimous ruling last Thursday that Law No.

Hera Diani, Bogor – The Bojong waste treatment plant case, the 20 year-old unresolved Kedung Ombo land eviction case, land confiscation by military officers in Sidoarjo, East Java – the

Riyadi Suparno, Jakarta – The rupiah's plunge over the past few weeks may not have spoiled last weekend's wedding party for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's son, but it could eventu

The exiled leadership of the Aceh separatist movement has agreed to a demand by Jakarta that the tsunami-hit province should remain a part of Indonesia, the rebels said in a statement.

Jim Lobe, Washington – A recent appeals court decision to acquit 12 soldiers convicted last year of a notorious 1984 massacre in Jakarta could complicate efforts by the administration o

Ridarson Galingging, Jakarta – The government is expected to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

New York – A US-based human rights group on Monday blasted an Indonesian appeal court's decision to overturn the convictions of 12 soldiers in the massacre of Muslim protestors in 1984.

Jakarta – Police arrested three people on Sunday for allegedly provoking violence during a rally at the State Palace against a decree on land seizures.

AK-17, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Coalition of Human Rights Non-Government Organisations (Koalisi NGO HAM Aceh) believes that the shooting of foreign volunteers in Aceh is an attempt by cert

Tomi Soetjipto – Sun-bathing topless on Bali's famed Kuta beach, Joanna Lee seems unfazed by the sight of giggling Indonesian tourist policemen buzzing by on a golf cart.

Jakarta – The government said on Friday that the disarmament of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam would be the final crucial issue to be discussed during the upco

Jakarta – The government is moving toward closure in the case against US giant Newmont Mining Corp.

Muhammad Nafik and ID Nugroho, Malang – In a foregone conclusion, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) secretary-general Din Syamsuddin was officially declared the new chairman of Muhamma

Jakarta – Environmental organizations have slammed the recent Constitutional Court verdict allowing mining companies to continue operations in protected forests, saying it set a bad pre

Trudy Harris, Mark Dodd – East Timor president Xanana Gusmao yesterday defended a lucrative weapons deal between his Government and the Prime Minister's brother.

Tom Allard – It has to be the most unlikely of alliances, a concord that has defied a bloody history forged in battle.

Muhammad Nafik, Malang, East Java – In villages across Java, you will rarely find Muhammadiyah Muslims and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslims praying together in the same mosque.

East Timor on Friday stood by its former occupier, Indonesia, in jointly rejecting a UN panel's recommendation that an international tribunal be created to try those accused of violence

Jakarta – A number of human rights non-governmental organizations questioned the Indonesian government's rejection of the recommendation of a UN appointed panel of experts following the

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – Although the government claims otherwise, Indonesia remains the least attractive among East Asian countries for foreign direct investment (FDI).

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court has cleared the way for 13 mining companies to resume mining in protected forests, citing the government's need to improve th

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Hopes of peace in Aceh have received a boost after leaders of 10 major political parties expressed their cautious support for the government's plan to allow form

Mark Dod – East Timor is Asia's poorest country.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Four presidents and seven years since the fall of Suharto's authoritarian regime in Indonesia, his New Order acolytes are still cast as the dalang, the unseen m

An Indonesian appeal court has overturned the convictions of 12 soldiers for massacring Muslim protestors in 1984, a lawyer for the soldiers said, a move likely to anger rights activist

Jakarta – Following a political move by lawmakers to push for the reopening of the investigations into shooting incidents in 1998 and 1999, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victim

Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is the first faction in the House of Representatives to openly oppose the controversial proposal for a hike in the salary and allowances of

In recent weeks, there has been much talk about efforts to eradicate poverty. The Jakarta Post's Hera Diani talked to H.S.

Jakarta – The government has decided to continue the construction of a controversial highway project in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, but will create a new route to avoid passing through a

Wilhendra Akmam, Jakarta – Ten political parties have agreed to support the nomination of former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members in regional elections in Aceh in 2005-06.

Mark Dodd – The East Timorese Prime Minister's brother has been granted a lucrative monopoly to sell weapons to the country's Government, with a licence to broker sophisticated military

Sydney – East Timor is in danger of becoming a failed state without outside aid, the fledgling nation's President Xanana Gusmao said on a visit to Australia Thursday.

Dennis Shanahan, Nigel Wilson – East Timor is expected to get more than $13 billion in gas royalties after a new deal with the Australian Government that is $8 billion more generous tha