Joyce Hor-Chung Lau, Hong Kong – Suciwati Munir looks every inch the modern, media-savvy campaigner, flying from country to country with her bags of matching red-and-black banners, butt

Hong Kong – Four Indonesians who took part in an anti-WTO sit-in that occupied a major thoroughfare in Hong Kong over the weekend have been charged with unlawful assembly, an activist s

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A non-governmental organization (NGO) has reported that child trafficking and illegal adoptions were continuing in the tsunami-ravaged areas of Aceh and Nias.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid led thousands of Muslims in a march through the capital on Sunday to promote "Islam for Peace" and counter militant

Machendra Setyo AtmajaIntania Nur Kusuma, Jakarta – Symbols of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have been burnt by demonstrators from the Indonesian People's Anti-Imperialist Union (P

Machhendra Setyo Atmaja, Jakarta – Calls for Indonesia to walkout of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are growing stronger as it is believed that the Indonesian government gains no be

Ahmad Dani, Jakarta – Coinciding with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Level Conference (KTM) in Hong Kong, 2,000 farmers gathered at Victoria Park on Saturday December 17

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta – Around 100 people from the Indonesian People's Anti-Imperialist Union (Perisai) demonstrated in front of the State Palace on Sunday December 18.

Ahmad Dani, Jakarta – Actions opposing the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will also been held in Indonesia.

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – The first thing on Sujono's mind when he decided to move from his hometown of Pacitan to Sidoarjo city six years ago, was to improve the financial state of his fa

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee has written to the Prime Minister to express its support for her statement made at the East Asia Summit that re-starting military ties with Indonesi

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ID Nugroho, Surabaya – The cemetery was quiet in the afternoon, with only the sounds of birds chirping in tamarind trees and the bleat of grazing goats being audible.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The true picture of the country's unemployment is much worse than is being acknowledged by the government, a prominent labor analyst said.

Urip Hudiono and Mustaqim, Jakarta – As high inflation and interest rates continue to climb, the economy is expected to remain sluggish until the end of 2006, Bank Indonesia said, wrapp

Benteng Reges, Jakarta – Following the revelations of Fabianus Tibo-one of three Catholics sentenced to death for the 2000 sectarian violence in Poso-demands are growing that the real c

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Members of several Muslim organizations will help guard churches over the Christmas and New Year period, a city official says.

M. Aziz Tunny, Ambon – The Southeast Maluku regency administration has ordered the closure of a radio station that often aired stories criticizing the local authorities.

Jakarta – Aiming to boost efficiency, the world's largest instant noodle maker, PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, has dismissed thousands of workers and plans to keep on doing so until at leas

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Human rights campaigners on Wednesday blamed the slow investigation into last year's murder of pro-democracy activist Munir on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyon

Members of the House of Representatives Commission I on defense Permadi and Djoko Susilo examine various types of weaponry belonging to the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) at the unit's

Ben Terrall – As the US empire continues its so-called "war on terror" via blank checks for the military-industrial complex, the Bush Administration recently overrode a congressional ba

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Jakarta Police are requiring all hotels across the capital to report the identities of their guests to police as soon as they check in.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin was sentenced on Wednesday to seven years in jail for corruption in a high profile case t

The reports coming out of Papua about a famine that has taken the lives of 55 people since November punctuate the suffering of a country still reeling from the recent fuel price increas

Joyce Barnathan – It has been a tough road for Indonesia.

Jakarta – In spite of the public uproar, the government has disbursed Rp 10 million (US$1,030) in monthly operational allowances for each of 550 House of Representatives lawmakers, Anta

Jakarta – The USA, according to US-Indonesia (USINDO) society President Alphonse Laporta, might impose a new military embargo on Indonesia because every year the Congress has a differen

Jakarta – No matter what verdict is delivered in the murder trial of prominent Indonesian rights activist Munir on Friday, activists and legal experts say the true mastermind may never

Jakarta – The Islamic-oriented Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has claimed it senses a conspiracy to alienate it from the coalition that supports the current administration.

Arin Widiyanti, Jakarta – Concerned about their livelihoods that are being ground down by the advanced countries, though policies being driven by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), far

Jakarta – The National Police have announced the largest-ever reshuffle under chief Gen. Sutanto, which an analyst claims kick-starts a new paradigm that will promote meritocracy.

Rusman, Balikpapan – Illegal logging on Borneo along the Indonesia-Malaysia border has increased in recent years, leading to rapid deforestation, a non-governmental organization (NGO) a

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Deddy Prihambudi, the chairman of the Surabaya Legal Aid Institute, who usually speaks in an explosive manner, was, for a moment, unusually quiet.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Australia has invited Indonesia's special forces Kopassus to join a two-week counterterrorism exercise next year, a move which rights activists say is inconsist

Reporter: Alexandra Kirk

Mark Colvin: There's been a mixed reaction to the Federal Government's decision to resume training with Indonesia's special forces.

Labor says the Government must ensure proper safeguards are in place when Australia resumes training exercises with Indonesia's notorious Kopassus special forces early next year.

We are shocked and disappointed by the Australia-Indonesia Institute's (AII's) last-minute withdrawal of support for this year's Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest) – funds th

Jakarta – Indonesia welcomed Australia's decision Sunday to resume ties with its elite commando unit to help fight terrorism, but human rights activists questioned whether the force had

Human rights have become part of the daily vocabulary of people at all levels of society.

Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) foresees stronger coordination between the fiscal and monetary authorities in navigating Indonesia's economy through the high inflationar

Eva C.

As the world community prepared to commemorate International Human Rights Day on Dec.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has urged the government to address environmental problems from a human rights point of view.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Australia has left organisers of an Indonesian film festival in the lurch on the eve of its opening by withdrawing funding because it objects to a documentary abo

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Freedom of association is not being upheld in many workplaces here in spite of the seven-year reform movement, a labor union has reported ahead of Internat

Cirebon – An NGO activist lashed out on Friday at new minimum wage set up by the local administration, saying that it was well below workers' expectations.

Anna Piekarski – Yan Christian Warinussy is a wanted man. Not because he has committed a crime, but because he is trying to protect the law.

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Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Rendi A.