Since the Indonesian armed forces launched new military operations at the beginning of May, conditions for the population of Aceh have rapidly deteriorated.

Pip Hinman – At 4am on July 22, a tent occupied by hunger strikers in the Sumatran town of Lampung was doused with petrol and set alight by thugs, suspected to be military personnel in

Will Hardie, Stockholm – Rebels from Indonesia's restive Aceh province warned new president Megawati Sukarnoputri on Wednesday that she must rein in her military and release jailed rebe

Kanis Dursin, Bekasi – Indonesia is the biggest rice importer in Asia. This is sadly ironic, because almost 70 percent of the country's 213 million people are farmers.

Max Lane – In October 1999, when Megawati Sukarnoputri won the consolation prize of being elected Abdurrahman Wahid's vice-president, tens of thousands of her supporters paraded around

Banda Aceh – Five people – four suspected rebels and an Indonesian soldier – have been killed in the restive province of Aceh, police and the military said Wednesday.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – A lawsuit seeking to dissolve former president Suharto's political party, Golkar, was thrown out by the Supreme Court yesterday.

On 6 and 7 June, the Indonesian government went ahead with controversial plans to register East Timorese refugees in West Timor and determine whether they wished to remain in Indonesia

On 23 July, Vice President Megawati was installed as Indonesian president after the People's Assembly sacked the man it had appointed two years ago.

Widespread police operations have been underway since March this year in the district of Manokwari in the Bird's Head region of West Papua, following armed attacks on two logging compan

UN transition administration officials acknowledged Monday that issues of justice and human rights in East Timor remain a problem but dismissed a negative Amnesty International report a

Ongoing corrections to preliminary voters lists in East Timor have included an additional 18,000 names and will bring the total electorate for August 30 constituent assembly elections t

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The fate of Indonesia's Nation Awakening Party (PKB) looks increasingly uncertain as internal politicking threatens to divide it and its iconic founder Abdurrah

Vaudine England, Jakarta – American officials are trying to recall a published history of how the United States supported anti-communist moves that brought former president Suharto to p

Manila – A Chinese agricultural scientist and agovernment official are among the seven winners of the 2001 Ramon Magsaysay Awards for excellence, the award foundation said on Monday.

Tapol today expressed dismay at a controversial decision on Wednesday by the Dili District Court to release Dr Sergio Lobo – a surgeon at the Dili Hospital and candidate in the forthcom

Craig Skehan – The Australian Prime Minister, Mr Howard, said yesterday he was impressed by the "warmth and spontaneity" of an invitation for him to visit Indonesia from the nation's ne

Associated Press in Jakarta – Police in the Indonesian capital were yesterday questioning 18 witnesses and working with intelligence agencies to determine whether deposed president Suha

Jakarta – Indonesian journalists are mounting a campaign to dissuade new president Megawati Sukarnoputri from re-opening the Information Ministry, closed by her reformist predecessor Ab

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Politicians will dominate the new Indonesian Cabinet.

Enrique Soriano and Devi Asmarani – Deposed and dejected, Mr Abdurrahman is helped down the stairs of the presidential palace on Thursday before catching a flight to the US for medical

Sydney – Justice and human rights in East Timor are still not guaranteed even though a UN administration in the former Indonesian territory will end its mission there in a few months, A

Hamzah Haz, leader of Indonesia's largest Muslim political party, was elected Vice-President on Thursday.

Reuters in Jakarta – New President Megawati Sukarnoputri left Jakarta yesterday for the provinces, putting the critical task of forming a coalition cabinet on hold and reinforcing perce

Kanis Dursin, Jakarta – The unreserved support of new President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) for the vice presidential bid of Hamzah Haz, chai

Just 48 hours after banding together to oust Abdurrahman Wahid from the country's presidency on charges of "incompetence" (a most extraordinary article of impeachment) and install Megaw

Mark Dodd, Kupang – In what will probably be the last refugee repatriation voyage, 179 East Timorese boarded the Patricia Anne Hotung this week homeward bound for Dili and a fresh start

Four groups of international observers and eight East Timorese organizations have already registered with Dili electoral officials to monitor the territory's first free vote on August 3

International reactions to Megawati Sukarnoputri becoming Indonesia's new president on July 23 were swift but measured.

Jakarta – Indonesia's new president Megawati Sukarnoputri stayed away Friday from the commemoration of a 1996 brutal military-backed raid on her party's former headquarters, which left

America is still looking mainly for military allies in Southeast Asia – as if the cold war never ended.

Jakarta – The Indonesian rupiah spiked to around 9,800 to the dollar on Thursday and the stock market gained 1.40 percent, welcoming Muslim politician Hamzah Haz as the country's new vi

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesian legislators on Thursday elected an unlikely deputy for their first female president – a Muslim politician who has said women are not fit to lead t

Jakarta – Hamzah Haz, who became Indonesia's ninth vice president on Thursday, is a seasoned lawmaker and politician and the first in more than three decades to come from a Muslim party

G.K. Goh, Jakarta – Abdurrahman Wahid's farewell to his followers Thursday was much like his 21 months as Indonesian president – chaotic, confusing and sadly anti-climactic.

Hanoi – The United States is watching the Indonesian military closely after the rise to power of President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Jakarta – The World Bank yesterday welcomed the appointment of Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri as Indonesia's new president, and urged her to assemble a strong economic team to tackle the coun

Sonya Ross, Washington – Federal investigators looking into alleged fund-raising abuses by Democrats questioned President Clinton extensively about his ties to Indonesian businessman J

Irwin Arieff, United Nations – The United Nations said on Wednesday it would reduce its presence in East Timor after the tiny territory gained its independence, expected early in 2002,

In the months leading up to President Abdurrahman Wahid's removal as president yesterday, American State Department officials and the National Security Council developed a contingency p

Mark Dodd – The Nobel laureate Bishop Carlos Belo has indicated support for a Fretilin victory at the election for a Constituent Assembly on August 30.

I Made Sentana, Jakarta – Indonesia's new President Megawati Sukarnoputri faces a tough balancing act between building a workable political coalition and fulfilling hopes among financia

Hong Kong – Megawati Sukarnoputri may well put Indonesia on the path to political stability, but even then it may not be smooth enough to tempt back emerging market investors whose sent

Jakarta – Indonesian police authorities have arrested seven of their own senior officers and are hunting down another one in what appeared to be a clean up of the force following Abdurr

East Timor's official television and radio station's have begun broadcasting the second round of campaign messages allotted political parties and independent candidates contesting the A

A joint campaign by seven political parties to hit the hustings in Lospalos Monday was called off because transportation promised by UNTAET failed to turn up.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Despite two bombs in the morning and a gathering of forces for a major political showdown today, it was hard to find signs of concern outside Parliament build

Jakarta – Indonesian MPs Monday opened a special session which could impeach President Abdurrahman Wahid, even though he issued a decree disbanding parliament.

Seth Mydans, Jakarta – In the most peaceful transfer of power in Indonesia's history, Megawati Sukarnoputri was sworn in as president today, moments after the nation's top legislative b