Jakarta – Internal conflict within the National Mandate Party (PAN) has risen to new level with the resignation of co-founder and current…

Jakarta – Rights activists Usman Hamid and Rachland Nashidik have been named suspects arising out of a defamation complaint filed with the police…

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – An atmosphere of peace prevailed in Aceh ahead of an historic day that many hope will mark an end to…

Associated Press in Banda Aceh – As a ship carrying hundreds of troops leaves Aceh's port, soldiers and police wonder if an accord being signed by…

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – The gunfire that marked 30 years of bitter secessionist fighting in Aceh has given way to another sound – the beating of…

Banda Aceh – Separatist guerrillas in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh will respect a peace pact to be signed with the government, one of…

Helsinki – The Indonesian government and Muslim Aceh rebels signed a historic peace accord aimed at ending decades of bloodshed in a region…

AK-17, Banda Aceh - A day before the signing of the peace agreement, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has protested the continued presence of TNI (…

Allan Nairn – Today (August 15, 2005) the Aceh Freedom Movement (GAM, Gerakan Aceh Merdeka) will sign a deal with the government of Indonesia…

Jakarta – The Hizbut Tahir Indonesia (HTI) activists staged a peaceful rally with about 5,000 Indonesian Muslims against what they called "the…

Banda Aceh – Hopes are high that a peace deal to be signed Monday will finally end decades of bloodshed between troops and separatist rebels in…

Stockholm – Rebel leaders from Aceh accused the Indonesian government of failing to disarm militias in the province, a day before both…

Michael Casey, Jakarta – A militant cleric jailed for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings will be among 53,000 inmates receiving sentence…

Jakarta – Not everybody is impressed by the nationwide campaign for the use of condoms to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. Among those who are…

Jakarta/Medan – The authorities say they are trying to identify companies responsible for the current forest fires in the Sumatra region which…

How often we are reminded. How quickly we forget. Like a recurring bad dream that is cyclical in nature, nations in Southeast Asia are again…

Jakarta – Environmentalists have criticized a draft presidential regulation on forest use as not providing protection for forests because of its…

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – At least 10,000 Papuans stormed into the office of the Papua provincial legislative council in Jayapura on Friday,…

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – With the Helsinki peace deal only a few days away, some Acehnese figures urged the government on Thursday to prepare the…

Alan Sipress, Lhok Bubon – The massive tsunami that crashed into Sumatra island in December ripped Ibu Yusniar's home from its concrete foundation…

John McBeth, Jakarta – Indonesian officials can be excused for feeling just a little outraged over the US House of Representatives passing…

Jakarta – People in war-torn Aceh province are cautiously optimistic that three decades of fighting will come to an end when the Indonesian…

The Free Aceh movement or GAM and the Indonesian government will sign an agreement in Helsinki next Monday designed to bring an end to hostilities…

Sweden – After a mere five meetings, The Free Acheh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government is scheduled to sign a historic agreement on…

Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court ruled on Wednesday that last year's dismissal of chief welfare minister Alwi Shihab as the National…

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Multa Fidrus, Jakarta – Condemning Garuda Indonesia management's move to close the offices of the Association of Garuda…

Jakarta – Controversy over the issue of special autonomy for Papua has shifted to allegations of the misuse of Rp 5.6 trillion (US$577.3 million)…

Washington – As a peace deal nears in a 29-year war in Aceh, US lawmakers are seeking support for an independence movement in another Indonesian…

Aguswandi, Jakarta – A greater devolution of power to the regions in Indonesia than that accommodated by present autonomy law provisions should be…

Denpasar – The leaders of Indonesia and East Timor launched a truth commission into the violence that marred the push for independence in what is…

No endeavor will succeed if it does not have the genuine support and blessings of the primary stakeholders in the process. No matter how ingenuous…

Hon Alexander Downer MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

11 August 2005

Dear Mr. Downer,

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government will not ban the teachings of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) nor dissolve the group…

Jakarta – Thousands of workers at state oil and gas company Pertamina say they will hold a nationwide strike on Wednesday in protest against a…

Jakarta – Efforts to end three decades of bloodshed in Aceh received a major boost on Tuesday as the government secured full support from the…

The following is abridged from a July 27 article by Thamrin Ananda, the chairperson of the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA…

The trial over the murder of Indonesia's top human rights campaigner has been criticised by activists who doubt that it will reveal the truth…

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – The trial of a Garuda pilot accused of poisoning Indonesia's leading human rights campaigner is becoming a key test for…

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto stood trial at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday on charges of…

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – United Nations and rudimentary SOS flags were unfurled during a ceremony commemorating International Indigenous Day…

The trial of Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto for the murder last September of Indonesia's foremost human rights activist Munir, which commenced in…

A former Indonesian minister, who during his career in the government was deeply involved in handling rebellious provinces, has reportedly told…

The Secretary of State
The Honorable Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Dear Madam Secretary:

The West Papua Advocacy Team at the Robert F.…

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – Industry players slammed the government for requiring local factories to comply with environmental regulations that…

Sibylle Kaczorek, Sydney – On August 2, Sister Susan Connelly, assistant director of the Mary MacKillop Institute for East Timor Studies, said…

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Less than two weeks after the US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a $20 million program of assistance…

Scott Baldauf, Banda Aceh – When the tsunami came to sweep away her seaside home, her three children, and her husband, Yuniarti thought that she…

Jakarta – The leaders of the House of Representatives are divided on whether or not the body's official seal of approval is needed for the peace…

Jakarta – The Indonesian military says it is readying its troops in case a peace agreement with rebels in Aceh province collapses.…

Jakarta – An Indonesian pilot hs gone on trial for the arsenic-poisoning murder of a leading rights activist in a case seen as a test of President…