Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Raids on gambling dens have started in the capital, but the public at large complained Wednesday that police were only targeting small-time gamblers.

Damien Kingsbury, Melbourne – Representatives of the Government of Indonesia (GoI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are again meeting in Helsinki for the fifth and probably last round o

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Mohamad Mova Al 'Afghani, Jakarta – The recent caning of people convicted for gambling offences in Aceh has sparked controversy about the extent of the implementation of sharia law ther

Vaudine England, Hong Kong – The recent acquittal of 12 soldiers in a politically sensitive court case in Indonesia is seen to indicate the failure of the nation's human rights tribunal

Jakarta – A recent investigation conducted by the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) revealed that parents are still being burdened by various school fees for their children attending el

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – As lawmakers gear up to deliberate the long-awaited law on the protection of witnesses and victims of violence, experts have said that it must be comprehensively

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar – A senior legislator revealed on Monday that 80 percent of the penitentiaries in the country, including those in Bali, were currently way over capacity.

Contributor to The Jakarta Post Riedo Panaligan is a recipient of the 2005 Journalism Fellowship Program of the Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance.

Leaders should lead by example. And the thriftiness of a government plays an exemplary role in setting the pace of a nation's consumptive habits.

The recent appeals court acquittal of twelve soldiers convicted last year of the 1984 massacre of demonstrators in Jakarta shows the almost complete failure of Indonesia's human rights

Jakarta – Police arrested three people on Sunday for allegedly provoking violence during a rally at the State Palace against a decree on land seizures.

With its Gucci-filled shopping malls, Indonesia's capital shares the emerging superficial affluence of many other Asian cities, but while many in Jakarta are now better off, new wealth

New York – A US-based human rights group on Monday blasted an Indonesian appeal court's decision to overturn the convictions of 12 soldiers in the massacre of Muslim protestors in 1984.

Jakarta – Hundreds of teachers who have been working for the government on a contract basis demanded permanent status as the government plans to hire some 300,000 new public servants th

Ridarson Galingging, Jakarta – The government is expected to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Riyadi Suparno, Jakarta – The rupiah's plunge over the past few weeks may not have spoiled last weekend's wedding party for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's son, but it could eventu

Hera Diani, Bogor – The Bojong waste treatment plant case, the 20 year-old unresolved Kedung Ombo land eviction case, land confiscation by military officers in Sidoarjo, East Java – the

The Constitutional Court's unanimous ruling last Thursday that Law No.

Jim Lobe, Washington – A recent appeals court decision to acquit 12 soldiers convicted last year of a notorious 1984 massacre in Jakarta could complicate efforts by the administration o

Tomi Soetjipto – Sun-bathing topless on Bali's famed Kuta beach, Joanna Lee seems unfazed by the sight of giggling Indonesian tourist policemen buzzing by on a golf cart.

Jakarta – Environmental organizations have slammed the recent Constitutional Court verdict allowing mining companies to continue operations in protected forests, saying it set a bad pre

Muhammad Nafik and ID Nugroho, Malang – In a foregone conclusion, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) secretary-general Din Syamsuddin was officially declared the new chairman of Muhamma

Jakarta – The government is moving toward closure in the case against US giant Newmont Mining Corp.

Muhammad Nafik, Malang, East Java – In villages across Java, you will rarely find Muhammadiyah Muslims and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslims praying together in the same mosque.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court has cleared the way for 13 mining companies to resume mining in protected forests, citing the government's need to improve th

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – Although the government claims otherwise, Indonesia remains the least attractive among East Asian countries for foreign direct investment (FDI).

An Indonesian appeal court has overturned the convictions of 12 soldiers for massacring Muslim protestors in 1984, a lawyer for the soldiers said, a move likely to anger rights activist

Jakarta – Following a political move by lawmakers to push for the reopening of the investigations into shooting incidents in 1998 and 1999, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victim

Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is the first faction in the House of Representatives to openly oppose the controversial proposal for a hike in the salary and allowances of

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Four presidents and seven years since the fall of Suharto's authoritarian regime in Indonesia, his New Order acolytes are still cast as the dalang, the unseen m

Jakarta – The government has decided to continue the construction of a controversial highway project in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, but will create a new route to avoid passing through a

Kupang/Yogya/Batam/Samarinda/Jambi/Manado – The price of premium gasoline soared by up to 500 percent in some provinces on Wednesday as the country's fuel shortage bit deeper, with the

In recent weeks, there has been much talk about efforts to eradicate poverty. The Jakarta Post's Hera Diani talked to H.S.

Eva C.

Masduki Attamami, Antara, Yogyakarta – Direct regional elections have taken place around the country, and despite some protests they have in general been orderly and peaceful.

James Balowski, Jakarta – "Based on everything we have obtained, the [National Intelligence] Agency [BIN] is believed to have played a major role in a well-planned conspiracy to murder

James Balowski, Jakarta – After criticisms that intelligence agencies had failed to prevent a May 28 deadly bomb blast at a crowded market in central Sulawesi, President Susilo Bambang

The House of Representatives' Commission III on law and human rights agreed recently to reopen the investigation into the shootings of students who staged antigovernment protests in Jak

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – At least 50 members of religious hard-line group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) sought an explanation from Governor Sutiyoso about the latter's stance on gambling

ID Nugroho, Malang – The gender issue could become a serious problem for Muhammadiyah, which claims to be a modern Islamic organization, with all of the 39 nominees selected as eligible

Muhammad Nafik, Malang – Despite its pledge to stay away from politics, Muhammadiyah says its decision to give its support to last year's failed presidential bid by Amien Rais was not a

Dan Eaton – An Indonesian murder mystery set in the skies and involving spies, arsenic poisoning and the national airline is becoming a dramatic test of democracy in the world's most po

Jakarta – Indonesia's production of dry un-hulled rice is forecast to slide 2 per cent to 53.10 million tons this year from last year because of a decline in harvest area.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – They come, stay a while, murmur a few words, laugh, leave and get paid.

Harry Bhaskara, Surabaya – The loudspeaker in the office, half the size of a village classroom, was blaring; while graphics, projected on the wall, showed the preliminary results of bal

Victor Tjahjadi, Jakarta – A delicate balancing act of resisting international concern over past atrocities while appealing for foreign military help has begun to pay off for Indonesia

[Indonesia in the Soeharto Years. John H. McGlynn, Jeffrey Hadler, Bambang Bujono, Margaret Glade Agusta, Gedsiri Suhartono, et al. The Lontar Foundation. 507 pp.]

Reporter: Tim Palmer

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