John Saltford, London – In his July 30th article in this newspaper, Foreign Affairs official Andri Hadi argues against any discussion of the 1969 Indonesian-organized act of self determ

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – The Islamic card may not be a sure vote-winner in secular Indonesia, but candidates in the first direct presidential election are not taking any chances.

An Indonesian independent rights watchdog has found evidence that the country's police and military were involved in gross human rights abuses in the troubled eastern province of Papua,

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has completed the report on its investigation into bloody incidents in the Papua towns of Wamena an

Dan Eaton, Jakarta – East Timor urged its friends on Monday not to push for a U.N tribunal for Indonesian forces accused of abuses during its bloody 1999 vote for independence, saying s

David Gollust, State Department – The United States Monday expressed dismay over an Indonesian appeals court ruling overturning convictions of security officials for crimes against huma

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – "I saw seven police firing their pistols at L-7, a volley of bullets directed at his legs. It would be surprising if he hadn't been hit."

John Aglionby, Jakarta – A UN prosecutor and human rights groups called for international action yesterday after an Indonesian appeal court quashed the four outstanding convictions of m

Jakarta – Foreign rights groups Saturday demanded the establishment of an international tribunal to punish Indonesian security officers implicated in the 1999 violence in East Timor aft

New York – US-based rights groups called for a UN inquiry to bring to justice Indonesian security officers let off the hook for atrocities during East Timor's 1999 violence-marred indep

Andrew Burrell, Jakarta – The only four Indonesians found guilty of the wave of killings and destruction in East Timor in 1999 have all had their convictions and jail terms overturned b

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Three Indonesian soldiers and a police officer have won their appeals against convictions for gross human rights abuses in East Timor, in a decision that means

A dispute over the killing of two Americans in a remote Indonesian province two years ago shows no sign of abating, despite a recent US indictment against an Indonesian man believed to

East Timor's first lady, Kirsty Sword Gusmao has called on the Alkatiri government to listen to the needs and demands of rebel Cornelio Gama or L-7.

Evelyn Rusli, Jakarta – An Indonesian appeals court has overturned the convictions of three army officers and one policeman for crimes against humanity during violence in 1999 over East

It was a bloody event that Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, then a human rights activist and University of Indonesia law student working part-time at the Legal Aid Institute (LBH), can nev

Melbourne – East Timor's first lady today accused the federal government of making the Timor Sea oil negotiations a political football.

Jakarta – Rights groups in Indonesia's Papua province Wednesday accused US Attorney General John Ashcroft of a cover up over the killing of two US teachers and an Indonesian near Papua'

Oil wealth was always expected to play an important role in rebuilding East Timor after independence.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Three human rights groups in Papua province have accused the US Attorney-General, John Ashcroft, of withholding evidence of the Indonesian military's involvemen

John Roberts – US Attorney General John Ashcroft announced in late June that the Justice Department and FBI had indicted Anthonius Wamang over the August 2002 ambush of employees of the

[This transcript was kindly supplied by Tony O'Connor as ABC TV no longer provides transcripts.]

Reporter: Anthony Balmain (AB)

Max Lane – On July 27, outside the office of the Jakarta governor, scores of civil service police – the governor's security corps – attacked a peaceful demonstration as it was dispersin

Jon Lamb – Australian Labor Party federal leader Mark Latham's comments on July 22 that a government led by him would start new negotiations with East Timor over the maritime boundary i

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military said on Tuesday its warplanes attacked two suspected rebel bases in Aceh province, in the second use of air power against the separatists in a week.

Antony Balmain – West Papuan leaders, including several from the Free Papua Movement, OPM, have decided to lay down arms and pursue self-determination from Indonesia through peaceful me

Sydney – The Australian-born first lady of East Timor, Kirsty Sword-Gusmao, Monday appealed to Canberra not to force her country beg for a "fair share" of the Timor Sea oil and gas rese

The former leader of the largest Muslim group in Indonesia and possibly its next Vice President says its time for the religious group to rule the country.

There are claims that the Indonesian military and police have been extorting bribes from Acehnese asylum seekers and selling them into slavery.

Jakarta – A former general who led the first round of Indonesian presidential polls agreed yesterday to join forces with a defeated rival, a move that could usher in a strategic allianc

Brad Howarth – The East Timorese and Australian Governments have agreed to proceed with negotiations over the Timor Sea oil and gas fields without discussing permanent seabed boundaries

Kurniawan Hari and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Despite the growing opposition toward the Indonesian Military (TNI) bill, major factions in the House of Representatives are insisting on del

Indra Harsaputra and Blontank Poer, Surabaya/Surakarta – East Java's General Elections Commission (KPUD) is investigating a report that a number of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) clerics had rece

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Police are struggling to hold Abu Bakar Bashir on terrorism charges.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – While the July 5 election proceeded orderly and peacefully, democracy may prove to take much longer to develop in the world's largest archipelagic country, ana

Rowan Callick – The Timor gap is getting wider. And both Australia and East Timor are set to delay or lose substantial income as a result.

Nigel Wilson – The Howard Government has told East Timor it will get no revenue from the Bayu Undan and Greater Sunrise gas fields if it pursues its claim for a maritime boundary set at

Richard Norton-Taylor – The government approved a significant increase in arms exports to Indonesia in the first few months of the year despite serious concern from MPs, Foreign Office

Jakarta – Oil prices remained high on Thursday but fell from record peaks, reviving fears over a ballooning fuel subsidy and widening state budget deficit.

Darwin – Federal and state mining ministers have shot down a proposal to include East Timor in their talks on the exploitation of oil and gas resources.

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court has summoned three ministers of economic affairs to provide a clarification on a petition for a judicial review of Law No 20/2002 on the electricity s

By annulling Law No.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – It was tipped to be the battle of the generals. But in the end, it was not.

After transporting Jakartans for nearly three decades, the city's bajaj will begin disappearing from the streets over the next few days.

Abdul Khalik and Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – Water consumed by residents living near Buyat Bay in North Sulawesi, where US-based PT Newmont Minahasa Raya has a mine, contained higher mer

Abdul Khalik and Agus Maryono, Jakarta/Banjarnegara – In an apparent demotion, the National Police have transferred the Banyumas, Central Java, Police chief, Sr. Comr.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – While unable to implicate Abu Bakar Ba'aysir in the Bali bombings, the National Police said on Thursday they would charge the Muslim cleric with involvement in t

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – An official of the Leuser Management Unit (UML), which manages the Leuser Ecosystem area, has stated that 25 percent of the vast 2.6-million-hectare area has be

An ex-general who was ruled out of the running in Indonesia's presidential race after finishing third in initial round voting has petitioned for a Supreme Court review of the poll.

Andri Hadi, Jakarta – Efforts by certain quarters, within and outside Indonesia, to question the decolonization process in Papua gain a momentum by the declassification of restricted do