Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – A leading environmental group is suing Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf for allegedly approving a permit for an palm oil…

Mike Corder, The Hague, Netherlands – The Dutch government is discussing compensation for relatives of men executed by Dutch forces in a notorious…

Index: ASA 21/035/2011

To mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Amnesty International reiterates its…

Sara Everingham – East Timor says it is interested in taking part in joint military training with the Australian and US defence forces in Darwin…

Mong Palatino – With 37 votes in favor, 19 against and 3 abstentions, Timor-Leste's parliament initially approved on November 11 the general terms…

Fadli and Arya Dipa, Batam/Cimahi – A massive rally involving nearly 10,000 workers demanding a pay rise in Batam, Riau Islands, ended in chaos as…

Ismira Lutfia – A UN committee has approved a draft resolution presented by Indonesia on violence against women migrant workers, but activists…

Puguh Sadadi, London – The call by Eni F. H. Faleomavaega and Donald M. Payne in The Jakarta Post on Nov. 18 on Indonesia to "Step up and end…

Ishomuddin, Edi Faisol, Jakarta – The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) as well as public and religious leaders yesterday urged…

Farouk Arnaz – After a series of violent attacks in the restive region of Papua, the National Police announced on Thursday that they…

Jakarta – Papua Acting Governor Syamsul Arief Rivai has denied allegations the province's special autonomy had failed to bring progress for its…

Singapore – Nigeria, Indonesia and North Korea have the world's highest rates of deforestation while China and the United States, the top two…

Agus Triyono & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – While experts and activists agree that mutual dialogue is the only way to solve problems of growing…

Jakarta – Bandung Language Center chief Abdul Khalik announced on Wednesday that the writing culture among Indonesian youths was in a…

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Women continue to make up the majority of victims of natural disasters but not enough is being done to empower…

Melody Kemp – The low hill in front of us was bathed in golden light as the sun set gloriously over Sumba, Eastern Indonesia. Markus Todo, a…

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Scores of anticorruption youth protesters in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, grouped under the Bantul Corruption…

Sandra Parker – Father Domingos Gusmao is passionate about education and its role in the development of East Timor.

The principal of the…

Dili – The secretary general of the Revolutionary Front of Independent Timor-Leste (FRETILIN), Mari Alkatiri, will host a fundraising…

David McRae – The planned deployment of 2500 US Marines to Darwin has only periodically been front-page news in Indonesia, with coverage in some…

Banjir Ambarita – Two people were injured on Tuesday in the latest ambush on a vehicle on the road leading to Freeport Indonesia's mining…

Jayapura, Papua – Chief of Staff of the Cendrawasih Military Command Brigadier General Indra Hidayat said National Defense Forces (TNI…

Nethy Dharma Somba and Bambang Muryanto, Jayapura/Yogyakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI), lawmakers and experts all agree that Jakarta must…

Jim Elmslie – NM has kept a close eye on West Papua as pressure in the breakaway Indonesian province builds. Long-time Papua watcher Jim Elmslie…

The Hague – Dutch authorities are discussing a possible settlement with families of victims executed by Dutch colonial troops in an Indonesian…

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The House of Representatives has maintained that the Corruption Eradication Commission will have four new commissioners…

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya – Last year's plan by Surabaya's municipal administration to close down Dolly, one of the most notorious red-light…

These written warnings are a slap on the wrist. They do not provide accountability for the deaths of three people, or for the use of excessive…

Neil Chatterjee – At a time when many countries are slipping off investors' radar screens, Indonesia is a beacon with stable finances and the…

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Controversial legislator Adang Daradjatun has angrily rejected claims his wife is healthy after a photo was released…

Jakarta – With help from a prominent lawyer who stepped in to negotiate with the Jakarta governor, a building supervisory agency's…

Armando Siahaan – Under normal circumstances, the media serves as an institution that covers political stories. In Indonesia, where abnormal is…

New York – Timor-Leste is making significant progress in consolidating its social, security and political stability despite a number of challenges…

Jakarta – The government's lack of supervision has knocked special autonomy in Papua and West Papua off track, leaving residents in the midst of…

John McBeth – A three month-long strike has paralyzed Freeport Indonesia's giant copper and gold mine in the Central Highlands of Papua. It has so…

Ulma Haryanto – The teachings of radical Islam do not appear to be taking root in Central Java despite it being home to many hard-line…

Jakarta – Former Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) chief Yunus Husein says a campaign has been lauched to…

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Bandung/Surabaya – Rejection of both workers and employers marred the passage of the ruling of the…

Bramantyo Prijosusilo – Transparency and accountability are universally accepted as the cornerstones of good governance. With neither present in…

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Traditional fishermen in Medan, North Sumatra, have complained about fish that they allege are being imported by…

Religious Freedom

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Ulma Haryanto – Ten years ago today, a law was passed that was supposed to accelerate development in the nation's impoverished easternmost…

Camelia Pasandaran – Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa will likely be declared the presidential candidate for the…

Bastiaan Scherpen – After a brief controversy, a ruthless former governor-general of the Dutch East India Company is back on his pedestal in his…

Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – Blue-collar workers in Jakarta typically have to work a second job to meet their daily basic needs, as many are…

Dofa Fasila – A planned week-long strike by workers across the capital was averted after the Jakarta wage council approved a more substantial…

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Labor-intensive manufacturers may have to settle with modest export growth targets next year as they grapple with…

Dessy Sagita – HIV/AIDS is a growing health problem in Indonesia, but as the rate of infection shows no signs of slowing down and the disease…

Agus Triyono & Dessy Sagita – Antigraft activists have urged lawmakers to drop a prosecutor and a retired policeman from the list of…

Theresia Sufa, Bogor, West Java – Two groups engaged in a scuffle on Sunday, hurling verbal abuse at each other in defending their position over…