Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Ministry of Defense has finalized the first drafts on the revision of legislation on security and defense, which aim, among other things, to help create mor

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Some members of the House of Representatives have expressed opposition to articles in the draft revision of the Criminal Code that could threaten press freedom

Semarang – An Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Reform Movement was launched at the Panti Marhaen Building on Jalan Brigjen Katamso in Semarang, East Java on Friday aftern

Jakarta – Prosecutors recommended that hard-line cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir be sentenced to eight years in jail for his alleged role in a string of terrorist acts.

Fadli, Banda Aceh – Hundreds of Syiah Kuala University students protested on the Banda Aceh campus on Thursday to demand that their tuition be waived and that the rector resign for atte

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A grouping representing 52 trade unions expressed disappointment about what it said was the poor performance of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during h

Dear Secretary Rice,

M.

Not too long ago there was a time when the public, and journalists in particular, lived with a collective daily dose of fear.

Ken Guggenheim, Washington – Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz praised "a new era" of democratic rule in Indonesia, but said no decision has been made yet about lifting restrictio

Indonesia's capital Jakarta and five provinces have been placed under alert for a possible dengue epidemic following a growing number of fatalities and infections, officials said.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Religious leaders have confessed that strict law enforcement and harsh punishments are more effective than religious teachings in combating corruption.

Nana Rukmana and Rusman, Indramayu/Samarinda – Central government needed to inject more funds into the Indramayu regency because the administration was short of money to run the local e

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – What's in a name? Lawmakers on Monday questioned the move by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to create a new Ministry of Communications and Information.

An Indonesian prosecutor sought an eight year jail sentence for hardline cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for allegedly engaging in terrorism acts linked to a series of deadly bombings in recent

John Mcbeth – Moulding tragedy into a political turning point in disaster-stricken Aceh presents both a glittering opportunity and a dangerous pitfall for President Susilo Bambang Yudho

The measure of a nation's greatness lies in its ability to reconcile its diversity.

Jakarta – The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has focused its efforts on sea supervision and the issuance of permits in an effort to stop illegal fishing during the first 100

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The government has set up a team tasked with reviewing Indonesia's membership of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) due to the cou

The public furor over the 8.14 percent increase in tap water rates charged by PAM Jaya could scare off investors intending to submit bids for 91 infrastructure projects over the next fe

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for equal treatment before the law for Malaysian employers who failed to pay the salaries of their Indonesian workers.

Jim Lobe, Washington – As US President George W.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was behind his deputy Yusuf Kalla's successful bid to take the leadership of the country's largest political party Golkar, a report said.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – "I don't know what to say," novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer, overwhelmed by the moment, finally uttered at his 80th birthday party with family and friends on Sunda

Two human rights groups today called the US Department of State's plan to allow Indonesia to again participate in the full International Military Education and Training (IMET) program s

Samarinda – The state has suffered at least Rp 267.4 billion (US$29.6 million) in losses from 15 graft cases in East Kalimantan in recent months, in which 21 people have been named susp

Rendi A. Witular and Zakki P.

Kenji Hall, Jakarta – Human rights groups on Tuesday called on the United States not to ease restrictions on ties with Indonesia's military saying it continues to commit "brutal human r

Hera Diani, Jakarta – In what looks like a return to the New Order bullying of the press, the government's draft of the new Criminal Code contains numerous articles that could threaten

Padang – Some 7,000 members of the Padang Market Traders Association (KPP) held a protest against the Padang municipality's plan to build a shopping mall on the site of the Goan Hoat bu

Diane Farsetta – "I hope that, as a result of our efforts, as a result of our helicopter pilots' being seen by the citizens of Indonesia helping them, that value system of ours will be

Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao
President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

Your Excellency

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government is altering the rules on how regional elections should be carried out in the resource-rich provinces of Aceh and Papua, a move which so

Jambi – Pancakarya residents in Limun district have their own way of fighting illegal loggers, by declaring 400 hectares of forest area as the village's restricted forest.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Residents of Sukabumi Selatan subdistrict in West Jakarta will likely win the battle against 51 illegal denim processing plants, which have been blamed for

After years of much talk and effectively no action at all, Jakarta's administrators seem at long last to have arrived at the realization that the problem of pollution in the Indonesian

Jane Perlez, Jakarta – After a 13-year break, the Bush administration is acting to mend relations with the Indonesian military, the largest in Southeast Asia and a potentially crucial p

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – After declaring that his declining popularity did not really matter to him, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono invited two chief editors to his office

Rendi A.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Watch out all you lovebirds out there – there is now a chance that lip-locking in public could send you to jail for 10 years and cost you as much as Rp 300 million

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – Three teachers for an entire elementary school could be considered a lot in Bogor, because many schools in the regency only have one teacher for over 200 students

Jakarta – The Indonesian Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – TNI) is still failing to respect human rights enforcement.

Public kissing and cohabitation may become crimes in Indonesia in future as the world's largest Muslim nation seeks to overhaul its Dutch-inherited criminal laws, an official said.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Opposing planned fuel (BBM) price increases by the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice-president Jusuf Kalla (SBY-JK), scores of demo

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – The World Bank expects investment in Indonesia to grow by 15 percent this year, but warns that further measures to improve the investment climate must be taken t

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – While the legal battle involving Total E&P Indonesie – a local affiliate of French oil giant Total SA – and its contractors is only in its early sta

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The government will raise fuel prices by up to 30 percent in the first quarter of this year in a bid to lower the fuel subsidy.

Jakarta – Experts testified at the graft trial of suspended Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh on Thursday and stated that the defendant violated administrative procedures in the purchase of

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed concern on Friday over internal bickering in the Democratic Party, one of the parties that supported him for the presidency.

Yenni Djahidin, Washington D.C. – A soon-to-be published study recommends that the United States remove its restrictions on the Indonesian military (TNI).