Jakarta – Economists said the government was being too optimistic with its economic growth target of 5 percent for next year, as stated in its 2003 state budget draft, as they argued th

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI)'s surrender of its seats in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has been applauded by many, but one analyst says the retreat is symbolic, no

M. Munab Islah Ahyani, Bandung – A demonstration by workers in Bandung [West Java] has resulted in a worker being shot.

Jakarta – Indonesia's national assembly chairman Amien Rais yesterday slammed Malaysia over what he called the "inhumane" caning of several illegal Indonesian migrant workers.

The influential chairman of Indonesia's national assembly says his chances of winning the presidency in 2004 have been greatly improved by the assembly's decision to hold direct electio

Tommy Suharto is among more than 35,000 prisoners – almost half of all Indonesian inmates – who have had their sentences cut to mark the country's 57th independence day.

Efforts to stem or halt the rapid disappearance of Indonesia's rich and sprawling forests are stumbling in the face of weak law enforcement in this vast and corruption-prone archipelago

A new upsurge in violence in the Poso region of Central Sulawesi is believed to be not only a conflict between Muslims and Christians but more a struggle between local elites.

Nani Farida and Apriadi Gunawan, Banda Aceh/Medan – A series of bomb explosions punctuated the celebration of Independence Day in conflict-torn Aceh, as another bomb explosion rocked a

[Bitter Dawn: East Timor, A People's Story; by Irena Cristalis; ZED Books, London, 2002; 286 pages. Reviewed by Carmel Budiardjo, Contributor, London.]

[As the fledgling nation of East Timor finds its feet, Maree Curtis talks to Kirsty Sword, the Australian-born former spy playing first lady to a legend.

We are in the back of an old Toyota Ute, heading for the hillside village of Ermera. It is only about 100km from the East Timorese capital, Dili, but the road is rough and winding.

A thick haze caused by fires in Indonesia has disrupted internal air services and forced flight cancellations in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island, an airport official said.

R.K.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The ethnically distinct and mostly conflict-free districts of central Aceh want Jakarta to let them break free from Aceh and establish a new province, prefer

Bernarda Rurit, Jakarta – TNI did not force the Acehnese to display the Red-and-White flag to celebrate Indonesian Independence Day on August 17, according to Indonesian Army spokespers

At least 10 people were wounded when a bomb exploded among a crowd of civil servants preparing to celebrate Indonesia's independence day in the Acehnese capital, officals said.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – As he stood in the courtroom and hugged his wife on hearing his not guilty verdict, a hand reached out to Brigadier General Timbul Silaen.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – Almost the entire population of East Timor's main jail broke out yesterday in protest against the long delays in processing their cases.

Matthew Moore – The man who ran the United Nations mission that oversaw East Timor's referendum has branded the trials of alleged Indonesian war criminals a complete failure and said it

About 60 human rights activists have demonstrated in the East Timorese capital Dili demanding an international tribunal into the 1999 violence that devastated the former Indonesian prov

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – East Timor's president, who has asked Indonesia's human rights court not to single out scapegoats for killings during the territory's 1999 independence vote,

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – The sentencing of their former governor, Abilio Soares, to three years in prison for failing to stop the 1999 violence drew a mixed response from the people of Eas

Muhammad Nafik, Jakarta – Poor service at public health centers in West Kalimantan has been blamed for the province's high mortality rate among babies and their mothers.

Victor Tjahjadi, Jakarta – A conspiracy between the military and the Indonesian government was likely behind the acquittal of six military and police officers for gross human rights vio

East Timor is preparing a "joint position" on the verdicts of the Jakarta court, currently trying those deemed responsible for the violence in Timor in 1999, and Dili will examine all o

Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund praised Indonesia's 2003 draft budget on Friday, describing it as "sound" and saying it made big headway in reducing the country's hefty debt b

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Jafaar Umar Thalib, who heads one of Indonesia's top militant groups that is allegedly involved in bloody sectarian clashes in the Malukus and Sulawesi, went

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Indonesia's human rights court yesterday acquitted four mid-ranking soldiers and two policemen, including the former East Timor police chief, of charges they we

The United States has called on the Indonesian government to redouble efforts to prosecute human rights abuses by its security forces in East Timor.

Dennis Schulz and Fernando de Freitas report – Opposite the clerk in the Government's Office of Foreign Affairs, Maria Gutierrez stares blankly at the official application, mouth agape.

[The Indonesian Government is refusing to act on requests from Singapore, Malaysia and the US for one of its leading Islamic clerics to be arrrested because of his alleged links to t

Fitri Wulandari and Lela E. Madjiah, Jakarta – Indonesia is mobs burning alive criminals, would-be criminals and even the innocent – and taking great delight in doing so.

Jakarta – The top United States military officer in the Pacific yesterday urged Indonesia to avoid bloodshed in Aceh, where there are increasing signs that the government is preparing t

Jakarta – More than 700 Achenese demanded independence from Indonesia during a demonstration in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on Thursday, just two days before the anniversary of

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – A major shake-up of courts in Jakarta and other big cities is in the offing.

The youngest son of former strongman Suharto was transferred to an Indonesian prison island where he will serve his 15-year sentence alongside his father's golfing buddy.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The Indonesian government will impose a quota on sand supply to Singapore from next month as part of efforts to block illegal sand mining, and at the same time, to

Kuala Lumpur – Choking haze from forest fires in Indonesia has blanketed parts of Peninsular Malaysia, reducing visibility to as low as 1.5 km near the capital Kuala Lumpur, government

Peter Kammerer – Reconciliation between East Timor and Indonesia has become a tussle of diplomacy versus justice – and it seems clear the latter will lose.

Jakarta/Palu – Armed assailants involved in attacks in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso remain a mystery, but the authorities' failure to capture them or uncover their identities and w

Jakarta – Indonesian prosecutors on Thursday accused the head of the best-known Muslim militant group of inciting hatred when he delivered a speech earlier this year in the strife-torn

Steven Gutkin, Jakarta – Women in miniskirts gyrate in all-night discotheques, where designer drugs circulate as freely as alcohol. Friday, the Islamic sabbath, is a regular work day.

Jerry Norton, Jakarta – Indonesia's military must stay the course on reforms toward civilian control and respect for human rights if it wants normal ties with the United States, the top

Stephanie Mann, Washington – The United States is moving toward restoring full military relations with Indonesia after a three-year hiatus.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The government refuted on Wednesday a report which detailed the Indonesian Military's (TNI) involvement in establishing terrorist groups in the country,

[Pro-independence activists from Indonesia's Papua province, formerly known as Irian Jaya, are still agitating for a task force to investigate human rights abuses.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Hundreds of hoodlums, gambling bosses and prostitutes grouped under the The Poor People's Union (SKM) went on strike on Wednesday in Kupang, capital of East Nu

Jane Perlez, Unukan – Bent with the strain of balancing 12 years' of belongings, Zainal, a migrant worker who had just been expelled from Malaysia, struggled to board a navy boat that w

Joaquim Fonseca's anger is clear as he recalls the massacre at a police station in the East Timor town of Maliana and the cold-blooded shooting of a young man by police in the capital,