David Barber, Wellington – An ethnic-Chinese Indonesian businessman freed by former New Zealand SAS troops was allegedly held captive for five years in a tiny room in a Javanese village

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have identified at least 10 companies responsible for starting fires in the Riau province but are facing problems prosecuting them.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Investment Minister Laksamana Sukardi has pleaded for time to reform the country's graft-ridden legal system and promised to honour contracts agreed with past regi

John Aglionby, Kembang Tanjung – When Mohammed Assegaf and his two friends finished describing how Indonesian soldiers had killed some people and terrorised dozens of others in their pa

Jakarta – Indonesia appeared to back down yesterday from a multi-million dollar fight with the United States after Washington threatened to seize Indonesian assets abroad.

Banda Aceh – Four bodies, believed to be the latest victims of conflict between separatist rebels and Indonesian security forces, have been found in troubled Aceh province, residents an

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said Friday he will pardon former president Suharto if a court finds him guilty of corruption and abuse of power during his 32 years in

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Crime is shooting up and guns are the rage in Jakarta these days.

Jakarta – In another move aimed at promoting a civil society and human rights principles, President Abdurrahman Wahid decided on Wednesday to disband the military-controlled Agency for

Jakarta – The main challenge facing the Indonesian government is the reform of the legal system, a senior minister said Thursday.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Past and present came together yesterday when President Abdurrahman Wahid met former Indonesian leader Suharto for the first time since taking office four mont

Jakarta – Indonesia's military now acknowledges the legitimacy of the country's new government and realises that a coup attempt would trigger a bloodbath, a senior US official said yest

Yogyakarta – Surakarta-based radio station PTPN Rasitania was silent on Wednesday after it was forced to suspend broadcasting after airing a talk show that some accused of being blasphe

Jakarta – Conflicts between local communities and timber companies will likely increase in the future because the people are now more aware of their rights, a senior government official

John McBeth, Jakarta – For both admirers and critics of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, the picture is disturbing: At the presidential palace in Jakarta there are signs of a new

Indonesia's environmental monitoring agency, Bapadal, has been trying to get hard evidence to nail those responsible for the dangerous levels of haze that has covered the Riau province

Marina Carman – One hundred and fifty students staged a protest outside the office of the regional legislative assembly in Surabaya, Indonesia, on February 22.

Dili – The UN Transition Administration of East Timor (UNTAET) has denounced the "disinformation campaign" waged by militia groups in Indonesian West Timor, whose aim is to make East Ti

Mark Dodd – United Nations peacekeepers have captured a suspected pro-Jakarta militiaman after a gun battle in highland country deep inside East Timor.

Peter Johnston, Dili – On arriving in East Timor, one is struck by how little has been repaired in the months since the militia destruction.

Vanya Tanaja, Dili – Whilst independence from Indonesian rule has been won, some things in East Timor have changed little.

Vaudine England and Agencies, Pekanbaru – The end of Indonesia's rainy season is once again revealing the chaos created by allowing plantation owners and farmers to clear land by settin

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces are allegedly targeting human rights activists in the violence-hit province of Aceh as President Abdurrahman Wahid asks for Malaysia'

Jakarta – President Abdurrachman Wahid has signed a law ratifying a convention of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on immediate prevention of abuse of child workers.

May Sari – Attended by 50 of its leading members, the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) held its national council meeting in Cisarua, West Java, on February 13-15.

Jakarta – Abortion is strictly prohibited under both the Criminal Code and the Health Law. But despite the legislation, women continue to seek abortions.

Jakarta – The World Bank has questioned the decision by a Jakarta court to acquit the director of a politically linked company accused of involvement in Indonesia's multi-million dollar

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – More than 10 senior military officers, at least one of them holding a three-star rank, threatened to quit the Indonesian defence forces (TNI) last week after c

Jakarta – Leading politicians and observers said on Monday the attack on National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Matori Abdul Djalil was politically motivated, speculating that it might

Jakarta – A new presidential decree will be issued allowing the government to take over Rp 4 trillion (US$540 million) in assets from former president Soeharto's seven foundations.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – The baby sits in rags among the filth, a commodity for sale.

Jakarta – The director of a politically linked company accused of involvement in Indonesia's multi-million dollar Bank Bali fraud scandal has been acquitted on a technicality, reports s

Mark Dodd, Dili – In the local Tetum language it is known as Uma Mutuk, or Burnt House, restaurant.

Eric Wright, Dili – The former colonial power of East Timor, Portugal, is creeping back through an open door, more than 25 years after fleeing ignominiously from the mainland.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Heavily armed intruders from across the Indonesian border are believed responsible for a weekend attack in which one person was killed, another injured and a third per

Jakarta – Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights on Tuesday set up a team to probe the 1984 shooting in Jakarta's northern port area that left scores dead.

Marianne Kearney, Riau – Where there's smoke there is fire but in Riau province, central Sumatra, finding the source of the fire and who started it is not always easy.

Dili – A vice president of the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT), Jose Ramos Horta, said Friday he was "amazed" by a news report that Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid

On February 28, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid appointed an unusual new advisor: former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) Commander Adm. Widodo approved a large-scale reshuffling of the military this week, shifting 74 officers and several top positions.

Jakarta – A loan scandal involving Indonesia's biggest textile magnate, Marimutu Sinivasan of the Texmaco Group, is turning into a major challenge for President Abdurrahman Wahid's four

Jakarta – Suspended Cabinet minister General Wiranto has denied that Lt-General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the military's former chief of territorial affairs, proposed that he should sei

Jakarta – Indonesia's best-known writer, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, is a surprise critic of the country's new President, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Australian and New Zealand peacekeepers based along East Timor's border with Indonesia have come under sustained fire from suspected militia in the most serious test s

Marianne Kearney, Pekanbaru – Just across the Malacca Strait from Singapore, was yesterday enveloped in a blanket of haze as over 100 fires blazed for the third day this week.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The Indonesian armed forces (TNI) plans to reduce the number of its extensive territorial commands in the country in a move that could diminish the military's

Dili – More than 600 people are known to have been killed in East Timor last year , but the actual toll is likely to be higher, the United Nations said yesterday.

Jakarta – A visiting senior US official Friday called the prevailing situation in camps holding tens of thousands of East Timorese in Indonesian West Timor since September "untenable."

Jakarta – The House Commission VIII in charge of mining and energy said it would ask the Mines and Energy Ministry to clarify the position with regard to higher fuel price and electrici

Banda Aceh – Six more bodies have been found at separate locations in the troubled Indonesian province of Aceh, as a handgrenade exploded in the office of the North Aceh district chief,