The pro-independence movement in the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh expressed optimism on peace moves, a day before an EU delegation was to add weight to negotiations in Finland.

Canberra – The long-awaited, multi-billion dollar oil and gas deal between Australia and East Timor will soon be presented to cabinet for a final tick of approval.

Jose Ramos-Horta – I want to clarify where negotiations now stand between Canberra and Dili regarding the wealth lying beneath the Timor Sea.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – While many take peace for granted, for the Acehnese it is a treasured, yet elusive goal, reflected in the mixed reactions to the ongoing dialog between the gov

Michael Casey – Former President Clinton said Monday he favored easing restrictions on sales of military equipment to Indonesia, maintaining that America should do all it can to help it

Mark Dodd – Fears have been raised for the safety of scores of witnesses to the atrocities committed against East Timor's final struggle for independence in 1999 as the UN unit responsi

Yuliawati, Jakarta – The former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), A.M.

Sunariah, Jakarta – Two members of the Fact Finding Team (TPF), Rachland Nasidik and Usman Hamid say they regret the actions of the former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN

Ahmad Dani, Jakarta – The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) doesn't need to get into a panic over recent developments in the investigation into Munir's death because it is still uncert

Jakarta – The former chief of State Intelligence Body (BIN) Gen. (ret) A.M.

Dita Indah Sari, Jakarta – The debate over the pros and cons of the fuel price increase has begun to become dreary.

Whether the work of shadowy Islamic extremists from outside the region or local agitants, a deadly bombing on Indonesia's Sulawesi will unravel months of painstaking effort to reconcile

Jakarta – The National Awakening Party (PKB) is veering away from internal reconciliation as a group of Muslim clerics who helped found the party demanded on Sunday a new congress to el

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Economic, religious and racial discrimination and cronyism are widespread in Jakarta's public service at the subdistrict level, a new survey says.

Police forensic experts picked through the debris after two bombs ripped through a market in the Christian dominated town of Tentena, killing at least 20 people and leaving dismembered

Matti Huuhtanen – Indonesian government and rebel negotiators discussed proposals for amnesty and self-government Sunday in the fourth day of talks in Finland aimed at ending the decade

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government-sanctioned fact-finding team (TPF) tasked with assisting police in probing the murder of human rights campaigner Munir is complaining that the St

Separatists from the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh said they will push for a ceasefire in their almost 30-year-old conflict with the Indonesian authorities, at peace talks in Fin

Hera Diani, Jakarta – After seven years, the reported rapes of more than 60 women, mostly Chinese-Indonesians, during the riots in May 1998 remain unresolved.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – In order to ensure regional autonomy, the government has been urged to amend the law on regional administrations, which still places governors, mayors and regents

Matthew Moore – A banana, some pawpaw, five slices of white bread and half bowl of vegetables is the daily ration that is supposed to sustain about 20 Westerners like Schapelle Corby se

The United States has lifted a ban on the government sale of non-lethal defense equipment to Indonesia as part of a step-by-step process to restore full military ties frozen due to huma

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A Papua district court sentenced Papuan separatist leaders Philep Karma and Yusak Pakage to 15 and 10 years in jail respectively on Thursday for "treason

It has been nine months since the murder of rights activist Munir in September and the government appointed fact-finding team is scheduled to end its investigation next month.

Iman Dwianto Nugroho, Surabaya – A loud ring breaks the silence, and in a rush Budi S. quickly picks up his phone.

Aguswandi, London – Post-tsunami reconstruction in Aceh is difficult work. It is not made any easier by the public being rendered illiterate by the process.

Brad Adams, New York – On Dec. 25, 2004, eighteen people were reported killed in Aceh during clashes between the Indonesian military and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A week after the government lifted the state of civil emergency in Aceh, residents remain unsure exactly what, if anything, has changed.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Smita Notosusanto may be petite physically, but it seems she has not lost the energy to articulate the need for reform of the country's electoral syst

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – A senior police officer was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Thursday for destroying evidence in the murder case of journalist Muhammad Syarifudin, but j

Stephen Senise – October 16 marks the 30th anniversary of the slaying of five Australian-based journalists during an Indonesian assault on the East Timorese border village of Balibo in

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – A former aide to Indonesia's pro-business President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono took over the reins of Indonesia's powerful Investment Coordination Board (BKPM) last

Michael A.

Washington – More than 50 international organizations have appealed to US President George Bush to use a White House meeting Wednesday with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Jakarta – A persistently high unemployment rate and the problem of chronic graft in the bureaucracy leading to a high cost economy are overshadowing the current administration's success

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – Fresh clashes have erupted in West Maluku Tenggara regency, Maluku on Friday, killing three people and injuring 51 others, police said on Monday.

James Balowski, Jakarta – At midnight on May 18, the Indonesian government declared an end to its two-year civil emergency in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh.

The World Bank exposed corruption in the implementation of a 203,000 dollar poverty-busting grant in Indonesia, saying it has blacklisted five individuals and two firms in the scandal.

Dean Yates, Jakarta – Indonesian negotiators and Acehnese rebels Will begin a fourth round of peace talks in Helsinki on Thursday, with the atmosphere badly strained by the government's

It has been seven years since Soeharto stepped down as president on May 21, 1998, after 32 years in office.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Legislators and the government have agreed not to open the door for more talks with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) should the next round fail to strike a deal to p

Jakarta – More than 2,000 Indonesian workers have staged a strike in a garment factory that produces famous US designer brands to protest ill-treatment and unpaid overtime fees, a labor

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Hundreds of containers of humanitarian relief aid are still stranded in Belawan port in North Sumatra despite central government instructions that all of them b

Len Garae, Port Vila – Vanuatu's Prime Minister has blamed "foreign elements" for an incident last week where the Indonesian flag on the vehicle of Jakarta's ambassador to Port Vila was

The Australian-led military intervention in East Timor is considered one of the most successful peacekeeping missions in history.

Margie Mason – Big tears stream down Siti Fauziah's cheeks as she snuggles her doll and buries her face into her mother's shoulder.

Astrini D Anindita, Jakarta – The People's Representative Assembly (DPR) is calling on the government to end negotiations with Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders in Helsinki because they

Wimar Witoelar, Jakarta – Time stood still for a moment on the morning of May 21, 1998. Millions of hearts skipped a beat upon hearing the announcement on television.

Dozens of Indonesian students have burned a picture of ex-dictator Suharto in a rally to mark the seventh anniversary of his fall after 32 years of iron-fisted rule.

Rendi A.