FALINTIL activist Constancio stunned the court at the hearing of his trial last week when he angrily tore up the prosecutor's response to his demurrer which had challenged the indictmen

Hamish Mcdonald – He is short, speaks shrilly and gesticulates wildly, has a decidedly Teutonic manner from his German education, has the ear of his president, and wants to build aircra

By Darren Mcdermott and Jay Solomon

Indonesia's failure to present a plan for repaying a crushing load of corporate debt is helping sink the rupiah to new depths.

John McBeth, Jakarta – Supremely accomplished in the art of political survival, President Suharto had little trouble stifling opposition at home as long as the economy – flawed as it ma

Without doubt it is the women of East Timor who have suffered the most.

Jakarta – Two provincial leaders of the opposition Indonesian United Democracy Party (PUDI) were arrested when Indonesian security forces raided a branch of the small party in Malang, E

Lisbon – The five East Timorese who have sought refuge last Thursday on the French embassy in Jakarta are expected to arrive in Lisbon on Tuesday, a source at the Portuguese Red Cross t

Jon Land – Foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer announced on January 12 that the federal government now recognises that East Timor has the right to self-determination.

The East Timor Human Rights Centre (ETHRC) has received a report from a reliable source that Lucas da Costa, 49, an East Timorese professor from Surabaya, Indonesia, who disappeared on

Jakarta – A bomb exploded in an apartment in a central Jakarta slum area Sunday night, local residents and police said Monday, while a top military official accused a left-wing party un

Jay Solomon and Kate Linebaugh, Tangerang – On a lazy Saturday afternoon in this industrialized zone 40 kilometers west of Jakarta, a group of workers lounge near the gates of the Korea

Indonesia's best-known labor leader, Muchtar Pakpahan, has long been a vocal opponent of President Suharto.

Seth Mydans, Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund got virtually everything it wanted from President Suharto.

Jenny Grant, Jakarta – Tension over soaring prices once again spilled over into rioting yesterday in East Java.

Jakarta – Some twenty prominent government critics, including Megawati Soekarnoputri, Amien Rais, Ali Sadikin and Supeni, urged the government to make urgent economic and political refo

Jakarta – Anti-Indonesian rebels shot dead two militiamen in the former Portuguese colony of East Timor in an ambush on a car carrying a village leader, the official Antara news agency

Louise Williams, Jakarta – Indonesia's President Suharto today sacrificed the business privileges of his children and cronies in a sweeping economic reform agreement with the Internatio

Following a meeting with General Feisal Tanjung, commander in chief of the armed forces, US Secretary for Defence William said that the IMET programme would be continued.

Jenny Grant, Jakarta – Almost 1,500 employees of Indonesia's top timber tycoon have taken voluntary retrenchment from six of his plywood companies in east Kalimantan.

Jakarta – Five youths from the troubled Indonesian territory of East Timor spent the night in the French embassy here today after jumping the gate and demanding to be allowed to leave f

ETHRC has received reports that Elizio Pinto Guterres Soares (also known as Mito), 25, an East Timorese man studying in Semarang, Indonesia, was arrested and tortured by members of the

Jakarta – Some 70 percent of the 286 newspaper publishers in Indonesia are facing dissolution or cessation of publication, if the increase in price of paper continues.

Louise Williams – These are terrible times, a taxi driver says openly.

Dili – Four East Timorese have been found dead days after they were abducted from their village by a group of unidentified armed men, a local official said.

Jakarta – Small groups of Indonesian students protested in Jakarta on Tuesday, shouting their support for opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri and their anger at an IMF bail-out agre

It is highly unlikely that the Indonesian Opposition leader, Megawati Sukarnoputri, will unseat President Soeharto when the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) convenes in March.

Louise Williams, Jakarta – President Soeharto promised a new round of economic reforms during crisis talks with the International Monetary Fund yesterday, in an attempt to turn around I

It has been reported that a National Dialogue will take place on Friday, 16 January.

Raju Gopalakrishnan, Jakarta – President Suharto has ruled Indonesia with a strong and sometimes ruthless hand for more than 30 years but analysts fear his indulgence of his six childre

Jakarta – Two prominent government critics supported yesterday Megawati Soekarnoputri's bid for presidency, lauding the bold move as a boost for democratization.

Jenny Grant, Jakarta – Opposition figurehead Megawati Sukarnoputri may have nominated herself as a presidential candidate, but she has little chance of success.

Louise Williams, Jakarta – Indonesia's wealthy, including expatriate staff, faced growing community resentment over the weekend as queuing shoppers blamed the greedy upper and middle cl

According to Kompas (12 January 1998), the military authorities claim to have shot dead two members of the armed resistance during an encounter with an armed group of 25 people.

Jakarta – Hundreds of Indonesians marched some 100 kilometres in East Java to protest high food prices, damaging a shop and one vehicle, a report said Tuesday.

A number of youth organisations went to Parliament on Monday, 12 January, to deliver a statement rejecting the nomination of retired General Suharto for president from 1998-2003.

PIJAR, the Network for Information and Change, has launched a new slogan, Tritura 1998, a Triple People's Demand, which calls for:

[The following is a translation of an interview with Nur Hikmah the General Secretary of the National Committee for Democratic Struggle (Komite Nasional Perjuangan Demokrasi, KNPD)]

Jenny Grant, Jakarta – Chinese Indonesians were yesterday preparing for an eruption of social violence as the economic crisis threatened to widen the gap between the haves and the have-

Raju Gopalakrishnan, Jakarta – Pressure mounted on Indonesian President Suharto on Saturday as the country's best-known opposition figure demanded the former general quit at the end of

Six East Timorese men will now go to trial for their alleged involvement in the manufacture and possession of home-made bombs. The trials are expected to commence soon.

Jakarta – Army troops patrolled the streets of Karawang town east of here Saturday a day after rioting and looting left two dead when police opened fire to stem the violence, residents

Louise Williams, Jakarta – An Indonesian Muslim leader has called for President Soeharto to be replaced and has proposed an alliance for political reform between key Muslim figures and

The rupiah fell in value today, Thursday, to below 10,000 to the dollar, from just over 8,000 on Wednesday.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – Demands for an end to President Suharto's 32 years of autocratic rule and outbreaks of social disorder are the signs of increasing political discontent in Indon

Shops in Jakarta are reporting panic buying by people worried about price rises after another days sharp falls in the value of the rupiah.

Margot Cohen, Jakarta – The rupiah has plunged and urban unemployment is up. Hard times for Indonesia – and hard times call for courage, not caution.

Salil Tripathi, Jakarta – When it comes to cronyism, few can match Indonesia's first family.

Sander Thoenes, Jakarta – President Suharto presented a draft budget to parliament yesterday that would breach targets agreed with the International Monetary Fund and presumes exchange,

Employers affiliated to a number of employers associations have pleaded with the government not to increase the minimum wage for 1998 because of the grave crisis which now has the count

The armed forces will not hesitate to cut to pieces (membabat) all anti-government groups, said the commander of ABRI, the armed forces, General Feisal Tanjung, after a meeting with Pre