Ref: TG ASA 21/2009/43. AI Index: ASA 21/019/2009

Anthony Deutsch, Jakarta – Public calls mounted Monday for Indonesia's president to defend the top corruption-fighting body in what is seen as a major test of his commitment to democrat

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The now-infamous saga between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the National Police, and the arrest of two KPK leaders, must be resolved immedi

Jakarta – Bank Mandiri, the country's largest bank by assets, claims its outlook is positive despite more than Rp 3 trillion (US$313 million) in non-performing loans (NPLs).

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – A new law on lobbying might ensure public accountability towards politicians, but on the flip side, such a law could also serve as justification for the

Adianto P.

Nurfika Osman – A Halloween party in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Saturday night got more spooks than it hoped for when public order officers arrived to break up the festivities appar

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Nurfika Osman – Public support for detained Corruption Eradication Commission deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah continued to build o

Public figures and students gathered outside the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building in South Jakarta on Monday to show their support for arrested KPK officers Bibit Samad

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Golkar, the long-time political vehicle of former President Suharto, presented the deceased dictator with a posthumous award over the weekend for contribution

Emmy Fitri – The residents of Kalisari in East Jakarta used to dread the annual rainy season not just because of the floods.

Tensions were high in Banten early on Sunday when radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was confronted by angry residents and asked to leave their village.

Irawaty Wardany and Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Supports is mounting for the two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chiefs arrested by the police on Thursday, including from fo

James Balowski, Jakarta – Street protests across Indonesia greeted the inauguration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Budiono on October 20.

The Second National Unity Cabinet has finally been formed. For those who had been eagerly tinkering around with possible elite political constellations, many were shocked.

Jakarta – The poor teaching of the Indonesian language is to blame for the low literacy rates of students at the elementary level, according to a study.

Jakarta – The recent arrests of two suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M.

Irvan Tisnabudi, Ulma Haryanto & Nurfika Osman – It took two days and more than 1,500 people to make a wish list for the next 100 days and five years of government.

Emmy Fitri – Inextricable traffic jams, even on toll roads, barely breathable air, heavily contaminated water and dwindling open spaces – problems suffered daily by Jakarta residents –

Jakarta – Public demand for National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri and chief detective Comr. Gen.

Indra Harsaputra, Pamekasan – A number of ulemas in Madura have been urging the regional administration to issue bylaws against the use of torture on cows used in the traditional karap

Nurfika Osman – The government's lack of political will was part of the reason why women did not have the same access as men to quality education, health services and economic and polit

John McBeth, Jakarta – Florida's Dade County police special weapons and tactics (SWAT) squad conducts as many as five forced entries a day.

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – Thousands of dead fish and clumps of oil have been found drifting near Indonesia's coastline more than two months after an underwater well began leaking in the

Venisa Tjahjono & Aditya Wikrama – Consumer spending is continuing to drive Indonesia's economy, with telecommunications firms leading the gains in major companies' results through

Bandung – Hundreds of workers rallied outside the West Java governor's office in Bandung on Thursday, demanding that the governor pressure municipal and regency administrations to raise

Jakarta – Indonesia expects remittances from its overseas workers to rise to around $10 billion next year as the global economy improves, the head of a state agency in charge of migrant

Dicky Christanto and Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – In a move that has incited a public outcry, the National Police arrested Thursday two suspended antigraft officials, just a day after the

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Activists and NGOs signed a statement on Friday requesting that the president establish a team to investigate an alleged plot by the Attorney General's Office

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Indonesia on Friday gave an Australian customs boat another week to end a standoff with 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who are refusing to disembark on

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Tanjung Pinang, and Paul Maley – Senior Indonesian officials have rejected outright a claim by Kevin Rudd that women and children asylum-seekers aboard the Oceanic

Berni Moestafa – Indonesia's stocks fell, with the benchmark index set for its biggest loss in almost a year, on concern a global economic recovery is slowing, reducing demand for the n

Maarten Kallenberg, Head of Consumer Confidence Index – Indonesian consumer confidence has seen a steady increase over the last six months.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The government is likely to reject an Australian push for its navy to be allowed to patrol Indonesian waters, in what could be a blow to Australian Prime Mini

Women trail men in economic and political power, but the Nordic countries come closest to closing the gender gap, according to a World Economic Forum survey.

Heru Andriyanto – National Police efforts to make criminal charges stick to two Corruption Eradication Commission deputies were highly inconsistent, antigraft activists said on Thursday

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has expressed doubts over the House of Representatives' commitment to settling past human rights violation

Nurfika Osman – An official warned on Thursday that child kidnapping cases across the country had risen by an alarming 20 percent as traffickers troll the archipelago for vulnerable you

Jakarta – The government must ratify Convention No.

Motorists beware – nine demonstrations to be held in Jakarta on Thursday are likely to cause traffic havoc in the capital.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday ordered an investigation into wiretapped telephone conversations in which his name was cited in an alleged effort to weaken the Corruptio

Heru Andriyanto & Farouk Arnaz – The National Police, seemingly unable to find enough evidence to link two suspended antigraft commission deputies to bribery charges, have fallen ba

Emmy Fitri – With the fiery spat between the Corruption Eradication Commission and the National Police unlikely to end soon, activists are bemoaning President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's

AHRC-OLT-030-2009

An Open Letter to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances by the Asian Human Rights Commission

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The House of Representatives and the Ministry of Defense on Wednesday agreed to prioritize the deliberation of bills on state secrecy, military tribunals and

Nurfika Osman – The State Ministry for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection has successfully pushed seven ministries to implement a gender-responsive budget system, a tool to achiev

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has denied any links to a plot to frame Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders in criminal cases, an allegation revealed in voice r

AHRC-PRL-039-2009

Amir Tejo – Surabaya is famous, or infamous, for having the largest prostitution complex in Southeast Asia, a distinction the local government would rather not have.

Zal Gibran – Hundreds of university students in Makassar, South Sulawesi, celebrated Youth Pledge Day on Wednesday with protests demanding that the government fulfill its promises, incl