Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund has concluded its high-profile role in designing the country's economic reform program over six years with the announcement late last week of i

Jakarta – The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said that it would transfer all remaining unsold assets to new companies operating under the Office of State Minister of State

Dili – President Xanana Gusmco challenged East Timor's parliament Monday to make 2004 "the year of stability" for the newly independent nation.

Jakarta – Indonesia made progress in promoting respect for religious freedom, but in a number of cases the government failed to punish extremists responsible for murder and other crimes

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – With the elections fast approaching, Indonesians of Chinese origin have set conditions for legislative and presidential candidates to win their support, namely t

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A group of 13 political parties, mostly Muslim-based, have agreed to form a coalition immediately after the legislative election on April 5 next year, one part

Banda Aceh – Four suspected separatist guerrillas and one civilian became the latest casualties of fighting between rebels and government forces in the Indonesian province of Aceh, the

Palembang – Indonesia will fail to attract any foreign direct investment (FDI) next year if chaos occurs in the general elections, prominent businessman Sofyan Wanandi said.

Jacqueline Mackenzie, Jakarta – Gadis Arivia is the Executive Director of Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan (YJP, Women's Journal Foundation), which initiated the Suara Ibu Peduli (Voice of Conc

An Indonesian court imposed an 18-year jail sentence on a man who supplied Islamic militants with the explosives used in a McDonald's restaurant bombing.

Atambua – Indonesian military and police personnel assigned to the border regions shared by Indonesia and East Timor have shown reformed attitudes in accordance with current era of refo

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – The minister known as the strongman in East Timor's Government wept like a child as he confessed publicly to beating a prisoner during the 1975 civil war.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) has removed one major hurdle to judicial independence by placing all courts under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court, but a noted l

Jakarta – The House of Representatives passed on Thursday the long-awaited state treasury bill into law, which Minister of Finance Boediono claimed will greatly improve the management o

Jakarta – The newly elected chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Mr Taufieqqurrochman Ruki, has vowed to develop it into a credible institution.

Jakarta – Indonesia has extended the detention of four Muslim students deported from Pakistan because they are suspected of links to an accused terror kingpin and several bombings, poli

Jakarta – More than 100 university students rallied outside the Supreme Court on Thursday, demanding the court to process the case against Speaker of the House of Representatives Akbar

Given this country's poor record in industrial relations in the past, it is not surprising that the new Law on the Settlement of Industrial Disputes, which the House of Representatives

Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri's son, Mohammad Rizki "Tatam" Pratama, has decided to withdraw from a business project in the Jakarta Fairground after intense scrutiny by legi

Banda Aceh – The involvement of civil society in efforts to fight the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are becoming increasingly enthusiastic in a number of regencies in Aceh.

Jakarta – Indonesia has described as baseless a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report alleging gross abuses by troops fighting separatist rebels in Aceh province.

Banda Aceh – Three armed Aceh rebels were killed in gunfights with government troops in North Aceh and East Aceh districts on Wednesday, a military spokesman said Thursday.

Shawn Donnan and Taufan Hidayat – From the perspective of Hansen Kurniawan's cookie shop in Jakarta's Pasar Minggu market, the International Monetary Fund's performance in Indonesia is

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The idea was to ease traffic along Jakarta's busiest streets by encouraging people to abandon their cars, but a new bus system due to start running next month i

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – A hearing on evictions between Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and House of Representatives Commission II for home affairs turned into a farce on Thursday as commission

Samarinda – The condition of East Kalimanatan forests has now become cause for worry, in view of continuing illegal logging activities, while bids of conservation have not been very eff

Jakarta – House Commission IV for settlement and telecommunications failed on Wednesday to endorse the controversial water resource bill, ordering the Ministry of Settlement and Infrast

Patrick Walters – East Timor is calling for the United Nations to deploy a 400-strong paramilitary force at least until 2006 to bolster its tiny security forces.

Jakarta – Indonesia's peak Islamic body has put a religious ban on terrorism and suicide bombings.

Jakarta – An Indonesian human rights group on Thursday accused President Megawati Sukarnoputri of giving the national intelligence agency too much power.

As East Timor continues to delve into its painful past, there's been a suprising confession from Timor's last European governor.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – It looked like just another rally on Wednesday, when about 50 people holding cardboard posters stood inside the Ministry of Health compound in South Jakarta, cha

Banda Aceh – Two Indonesian soldiers of the Army Strategic and Reserve Command (Kostrad) were killed by rebels in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province on Tuesday, it was reported here on W

Urip Hudiono and Nani Farida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – Indonesia risks losing its international credibility if it fails to stop abuses by the military against civilians in Aceh and ensure t

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papuan people concluded a two-day meeting here on Tuesday, recommending that the central government speed up the establishment of the Papuan People's Asse

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Apriadi Gunawan, Bandung/Medan – Labor protests erupted separately in Bandung and Medan on Wednesday after their respective 2004 minimum wage pay increases were app

Tangerang – Hundreds of workers of shoe producer PT Dongha Perkasa staged a rally at the Tangerang Municipal Council building on Wednesday starting at around 10:30 a.m., demanding their

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The huge increase in the number of cases reported of rape and domestic violence against women and children is an indication of the growing level of willingness a

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta - The Centre for Electoral Reform (Cetro) and Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) have stated that they reject holding the 2004 general elections in A

Kasparman Piliang, Padang – At least one man was killed, and three kiosks and a local community health center (Puskesmas) were set ablaze during a clash between residents from two villa

Klaten – Hundreds of supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) occupied and seized the party's local office in Klaten regency, Central Java, on Wednesday.

Jakarta – A former police general will head Indonesia's first five-member anti-corruption commission, dubbed a "super agency", given its authority to summon and investigate state offici

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Despite a declining trend among most recorded crimes in the city, the number of rape cases has significantly soared – by 25 percent – this year.

Rampant illegal mining in Indonesia is inflicting annual losses of Rp3.3 trillion ($389.38 million) on the state, a government official said Tuesday (16/12/03).

The Indonesian military in Aceh is pursuing a campaign of killings, "disappearances" and beatings of civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Distressingly little has changed in Indonesia from the previous received wisdom that the country's leaders could use state-owned enterprises, including financial

Dan Eaton, Jakarta – Indonesia's military is waging an extensive campaign of extra-judicial killings, kidnapping and torture in Aceh province, mostly targeting young men and forcing tho

Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakkir, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – In a bid to ensure that the Acehnese can exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections, rights campaigner Todung M

East Timor's tiny military has discharged 27 soldiers and will soon fire more than 60 others for being absent without leave or skipping training, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – A legislator expressed concern on Tuesday about a price war among the country's generic medicine producers, fearing it would prompt drug trade in the black marke