Jakarta – While noting an improvement in the Indonesian investment climate, the government still has a long way to go to provide a sense of policy certainty to firms doing business here

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The West Java Indonesian Ulema Council issued an informal edict Thursday, declaring that a hunger strike by Ciseeng residents as haram, forbidden according t

Throughout history there are examples of relatively minor incidents having far-reaching consequences.

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – It is apparent that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has heard the demand that the post of Indonesian Military (TNI) chief be rotated among the three milita

Jakarta – Four Indonesians arrested last week have been named suspects under anti-terrorism laws in October's restaurant bombings on Bali island and for hiding a key militant, police sa

Leony Aurora and Anissa S.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – With Supreme Court justices miffed at plans for an assessment of their suitability to sit on the bench, legislators have taken their side in what threatens to be

Jakarta – The United States said it was working towards a closer relationship with Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic nation, despite past strains between the two countries.

Damien Kingsbury, Indonesia expert and Associate Professor of International and Political Studies at Deakin University, writes:

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Indonesia's Kopassus special forces have been directly implicated in thousands of human rights violations in East Timor in a new report documenting instances of m

Andi Widjajanto, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has nominated Air Marshal Djoko Suyanto to be the next Indonesian Military (TNI) commander.

Tiarma Siboro and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Reorganizing the military and reviewing the Army-focused national defense concept will be the main tasks for the new military chief, analysts s

Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla expressed disappointment Wednesday after the political parties supporting his government failed to block a petition by the House of Representatives

Tantri Yuliandini, Jakarta – A bus stopped, took on passengers, then quickly departed in a choking cloud of smoke.

Jakarta – Ever wondered why big-time graft criminals frequently avoid prison and jet out of the country, to spend their days and ill-gotten gains in "safe" countries like Singapore or t

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – "Jono" is a junior official in an East Jakarta tax office, and regularly parks his silver BMW sedan, which he drives from his luxury home in Cibubur, Bog

The city of Probolinggo is one of the poorest areas on the north coast of East Java, with the municipal administration only taking in Rp 16.31 billion (US$1.73 million) in revenue in 20

A report prepared by the newly established investigative division of the Finance Ministry's Inspectorate General shows that there are various methods regularly used by tax officials to

Duncan Graham, Surabaya – The treaty now being negotiated between Australia and Indonesia raises some interesting questions: The foremost is – who benefits?

Tb.

An American teacher has survived a traumatic experience in Papua in which her husband was killed, and has returned here in a bid to speed up the search for justice for herself and the o

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Although they deny the claims they are a breeding ground for terrorists, pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) are a fertile spot for conservative, intolerant views

Tiarma Siboro and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Although the nomination of the first Air Force chief to head the military has been hailed as a fresh start in reform efforts, an analyst fears

Jakarta – A total of 1,099 people died of dengue fever in Indonesia in 2005, a health ministry official said here on Tuesday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Had the New Order leader Soeharto – a former Army general – not been deposed, few Indonesian Air Force officers would likely hold important roles within the Ind

Tom McCawley, Jakarta – A security pact expected to be signed this year between Indonesia and Australia will mark a formal end to a six-year rift over violence in East Timor and signals

Jakarta – A petition signed by more than 100 legislators calling on the House of Representatives to investigate the government's plan to import rice from Vietnam has suffered a blow.

Tb.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Three Army soldiers involved in a violent attack last November on a village in Jeneponto regency, South Sulawesi, were each given 10-week jail sentences and

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – A clash erupted between thousands of protesting workers demanding the minimum wage be raised and police in the East Java capital Surabaya on Monday, with dozens o

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – As widely expected, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has nominated Air Marshall Djoko Suyanto to lead the Indonesian Military (TNI

Jakarta – With the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on freer trade of non-agricultural products to be finalized in April, local industries must immediately make preparations

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – An internal rift is again threatening the work of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), flatteringly dubbed the "locomotive of democracy" during the auth

M.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's dream to have a corruption-free and efficient immigration office, which does not embarrass him at international f

[Gerakan-gerakan Rakyat Dunia Ketiga (Mass movements in the third world). Noer Fauzi, ed. Resist Book Yogyakarta, September 2005. xvi + 304 pp.]

Tb.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – An event in the remote Indonesian province of Papua, thousands of kilometers from Washington, seems certain to result in a much stronger position for Jakarta with

Jakarta – A study into a graft case involving a prominent businessman and politician shows the strange and shoddy way the law is applied in the country, two judicial watchdogs say.

Tb.

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandung/Bandarlampung – Members of the West Java Legislative Council charged on Friday rice was being hoarded at production centers in West Java,

Blontank Poer, Surakarta – A thick cloud of suspicion hangs over the country's pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), with many convinced they are a breeding ground for terrorists.

Adianto P Simamora, Jakarta – There are no floods in the city for months and then they happen all at once. In Jakarta, when it rains, it does indeed pour.

Jakarta – The promise of free education for many elementary and junior high school students in Jakarta and the Thousands Islands regency from late January onward has been welcomed by pa

Dwi Atmanta, Jakarta – Lawmakers from the House of Representatives resumed their sitting on Thursday, with their wish for a prosperous New Year fulfilled.

Suherdjoko and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung/Semarang – A number of cities across the country are experiencing rice shortages, pushing up prices by 25 percent and raising suspicions over ho

As reported in this paper, hundreds of containers containing goods meant for Aceh tsunami survivors have been languishing in Indonesian ports for at least nine months.

Jakarta – When it comes to the forestry industry, development and conservation always seem to be at loggerheads.

Jakarta – An alliance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) urged the government on Thursday to take serious measures to protect citizens from natural disasters.