Robert Go – Decentralisation has resulted in dubious enterprises in Kutai Kartanegara and strange regulations in various parts of the archipelago.

Robert Go – Kebumen and Semarang in Central Java are two places which have used their increased powers wisely.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's military (TNI) showed signs this week of tightening its hold on Aceh and Papua, two resource-rich regions at either ends of the sprawling archipelago th

Bandung-More than 400 people from Sumedang regency, West Java, protested at the provincial governor's office in Bandung on Thursday against the government's revived plan to build the Ja

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Indonesia's Vice-President, Hamzah Haz, has accused the US of being the "king of terrorists" in a scathing attack that echoed the language of many of the Bali b

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta-The Jakarta Composite Index surged on Thursday to its highest level in more than three years as foreign funds continued flowing into the bourse.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' inquiry into the highly publicized and controversial Russian jet fighter purchase reached an anticlimax on Thursday with just a c

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Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky said "there is no subject so old that something new cannot be said about it".

David Isenberg – Despite the four-year sentence handed on Tuesday to radical Islamist cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and the August 11 capture of top Jemaah Islamiya leader Riduan Isamuddin,

Supporters of radical Indonesian cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, say the four year jail term handed down by a court in Jakarta is only a token sentence to spare the Indonesian Government the

James Balowski, Jakarta – Taking a leaf out of US President George Bush's cynical manipulation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the Indonesian military (TNI) is

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The four-year jail sentence on Abu Bakar Bashir proved a disappointment for both supporters and detractors of the militant cleric.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir did not have to shed any tears in court when his verdict was read out yesterday.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Abu Bakar Bashir ended his day in court yesterday in the same way that he had begun it.

Matthew More, Jakarta – Indonesia has failed in its attempts to prove Abu Bakar Bashir is the head of the terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiah that was responsible for carrying out th

The Australian government's support for closer military ties with the Indonesian armed forces (TNI), including the Kopassus special forces, is a discredited form of interference in Indo

Jakarta – The water table in Jakarta has dropped by two meters due to the severe drought in Java this year, threatening water supplies to nearly half of Jakarta's 8.6 million population

Nugroho and Ainur R.

A'an Suryana and Mochammad N.

Jakarta – The reform movement which has the principle aim of eliminating corruption, collusion and nepotism can no longer be left to the large political parties who obtained significant

Jakarta – Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), rose in August by 0.84 percent, bringing the rate for the first eight months of the year to 2.11 percent, the Central

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – As many as 150 out of 250 timber and sawmill companies in East Java have closed down due to the increasing number of levies being imposed by some government

The Australian government's support for closer military ties with the Indonesian armed forces (TNI), including the Kopassus special forces, is a discredited form of interference in Indo

Jakarta – Hundreds of squatters staged a rally in front of West Jakarta Mayoralty on Monday, protesting Mayor Sarimun Hadisaputra for issuing an eviction order against them.

Leo Wahyudi S – Governor Sutiyoso's idea to plate the Arjuna Wijaya statue in bronze, along with his plans to beautify the city – by placing statues of heroes on streets named after the

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Behind every man is a powerful woman, or so runs an old cliche. In the corridors of Indonesia's presidential palace, the roles have been reversed.

John Kerin – Indonesia's notorious Kopassus special forces soldiers are eager to resume counter-terrorism training with the Australian military and do not understand lingering concern a

The Jakarta Transportation Office's plan to have all private vehicles undergo periodic road worthiness tests starting next year has evoked strong reactions from the public, and has beco

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – State-owned insurance company PT Jamsostek and labor unions have strongly urged the House of Representatives to maintain the government's monopoly in runni

Indonesia's pesantren schools have been accused of breeding JI terrorists. Matthew Moore and Karuni Rompies talk to teachers and pupils and find deep suspicion of the West.

Matthew Moore, Solo – A man accused by two members of Jemaah Islamiah of being a member of the outlawed terrorist group's central command is living openly in central Java, where he says

Jakarta – The Defense Department through the Directorate General of Defense Strategy has admitted that one of the intentions in revising Law Number 15/2003 on Anti-Terrorism is to incre

Leo Wahyudi S.

Kafil Yamin, Jakarta – Indonesia's former armed forces chief and would-be president, General Wiranto, is all for reforms to make the country truly democratic and have a more professiona

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government appears to be undeterred by a recent massive demonstration in Bali against the new visa policy and vows to start charging incoming tour

Former Udayana military chief Maj. Gen. Williem T.

The information disclosed by new media watchdog Aceh News Watch on Wednesday that most national newspapers and television stations had failed to practice the very basic media principles

How should Australia respond to the growing terrorist threat in Indonesia?

M.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The North Sumatra legislative council approved on Thursday a controversial bylaw on spatial planning for the province, which critics say fails to protect the in

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – One of two packages exploded in the front yard of the residence of renowned human rights activist Munir on Jl. Cendana XII No.

As drought continues to grip much of Indonesia, it was little surprise to see agricultural policies in the news last week.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The involvement of public order officers, policemen and military officers in the eviction of around 10,000 illegal occupants of private-owned land at

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia took delivery of its first two Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets yesterday as officials declared that the arms embargo by the United States and its allies

At least three people have been killed and 45 injured in clashes between supporters and opponents of the setting up of Central Irian Jaya province in Timika since Saturday, when the pro

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – A noted woman activist and legislator called on Wednesday for a specific revisions to Marriage Law No.

Oyos Saroso HN, Lampung province – Many thousands of people from Lampung have been forced to start eating cassava as the drought continues its stranglehold over the impoverished provinc

Jakarta – Plans by a large number of foreign companies here to relocate their operations to other countries is an apparent reaction to their frustration over the slow progress by the go

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Yusuf Kalla said on Wednesday that the government had distributed 1,800 tons of relief rice to 250,000 farmers in Java, which is suf