Ridwan Max Sijabat, Pematang Siantar – North Sumatra has long been known for its large oil palm, cocoa and rubber plantations, but they have…

The Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, or GAM) was founded on 4 December 1976 by Hasan di Tiro – a descendant of the last sultan of Aceh.…

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The many promises and projects offered by the government during last week's Infrastructure Summit apparently were not…

Jakarta – With US helicopters dropping noodles instead of bombs and soldiers carrying rice rather than guns, the United States was confident its…

Philip Cornford, Banda Aceh – "They come as angels. They are our friends," said Almascaty after the fundamentalist's first meeting yesterday with…

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – In a bid to speed up the investigation into the alleged murder of top human rights campaigner Munir, members of the…

Businessman Ian Melrose has recommenced his campaign of television commercials criticising the Australian Government's unfair treatment of East…

Indonesia ramped up its peace bid for tsunami-hit Aceh, saying it would consider anything except independence in talks with separatist rebels,…

Vaudine England – Father Fernando, aged 70, is more comfortable speaking Indonesian or his native Italian, rather than English. A resident of Aceh…

Ridwan Max Sidjabat and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta/Jayapura – Papua's provincial leaders have expressed concern over a rumor that the central…

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Employers, labor unions and the government have agreed to eliminate the high-cost economy in an endeavor to help…

Jakarta – Ali Imron, who is serving a life sentence for the 2002 Bali bombings, testified in the trial of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir on Thursday that the…

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A rift between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his deputy, Jusuf Kalla, has reached a critical stage and if…

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Foreign creditors grouped in the Consultative Group for Indonesia (CGI) have reiterated their calls for the government…

Sian Powell – The Indonesian military has a toxic reputation, based on a long history of gross human rights abuses across the archipelago,…

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – State Intelligence Agency (BIN) head Syamsir Siregar has called on the government to be alert to possible spying from…

Rebels in Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh province accused the government of abandoning an informal cease-fire after the military said it had…

The Indonesian government will consider anything except independence for tsunami-hit Aceh province as it tries to broker a peace with separatist…

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reiterated his support for press freedom, promising that the government…

Kobe, Japan – Political constraints in Indonesia are discouraging international non-governmental organizations from assisting victims of Asia's…

Deborah Cameron, Jakarta – The tears pool in her deep, wise eyes. Yes, parcels of baby food and milk have been sent, but the greatest of all needs…

Andre Vltchek – Mr. Peter M Baki has been interviewed while attending UNESCO EFA (Education for all) Forum for the Pacific, held in the city of…

Veronica Brooks, Canberra – Australia is hopeful East Timor will in the next week or two accept its invitation to return to the negotiating table…

Dili – Former pro-Indonesian militiamen are gradually slipping back into East Timor and resorting to banditry, a military source in…

Manuela Badawy, New York – A US Muslim group on Thursday accused evangelist Jerry Falwell of using money donated for tsunami relief to convert…

The United States yesterday called for a political solution of the conflict in the Indonesian province of Aceh, with a top Pentagon official…

Banda Aceh – A massive world outpouring of aid to tsunami-stricken Aceh had relief agencies rushing to reach survivors, but many are now…

Indonesia's army and the Free Aceh separatist movement, GAM, have agreed to an unconditional ceasefire in the province so devasted by the tsunami…

Abigail Abrash Walton and Bama Athreya – Aceh, so long isolated from international view by the Indonesian government and military, is now –…

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta - National Intelligence Agencey (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar says that foreigners in Aceh definitely have specific…

Suliyanti, Jakarta - People's Representative Assembly Commission I for Defense and Foreign Affairs is urging the military (TNI) to remain resolute…

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta - The Aceh Working Group (AWG) opposes the plan to form the Special Authority Agency for Aceh because it has the…

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The recorded number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the capital doubled from 12,000 in 2003 to 24,000 in 2004, the…

Jakarta – Despite a health ministry circular instructing pharmaceutical industries to "self-assess" the prices of their products in order to make…

Devi Asmarani – Thousands of residents were forced to flee to safety while traffic flow in Jakarta was disrupted. Jakarta's main…

Jakarta – Airport workers in 13 cities, including Denpasar, Surabaya and Yogyakarta, have canceled their plan to strike over the government's…

Ian Fisher, Banda Aceh – Business is coming back to Banda Aceh, a city hit hard by the tsunami, and not all of it fits into neat moral boxes.

The United Nations said the destruction in Indonesia's Aceh province, the worst-hit area in the December 26 Asian tsunami, is "truly staggering"…

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Despite assurances from the President, Vice President and other top government officials…

Jim Lobe, Washington – Aside from improving Washington's image in South and Southeast Asia, the administration of US President George W Bush is…

[Interview with US Deputy Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz. Sections not directly related to South-East Asia and Aceh have been edited out -…

Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces have allowed unprecedented access to Aceh province since it was devastated by last month's tsunami, but…

Jakarta – Environmentalist Ahmad "Puput" Safrudin blasted the Jakarta administration's policy to allow aggressive conversion of open…

Ellen Nakashima, Aceh Besar – A rebel commander, Muharram Idris, said he knew the risk when he sent his men down from the mountains on a rescue…

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Accelerating hostilities in the tsunami-devastated Indonesian province of Aceh have killed as many as 110 people since the…

Philip Cornford in Banda Aceh, Cynthia Banham and agencies – The infamous former pro-Indonesian militia commander in East Timor, Eurico Guterres,…

Max Lane – On December 26, one of the worst earthquakes in a century sent a massive tsunami travelling at 800 kilometres per hour out from an…

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Several human rights campaigners welcomed on Tuesday the appointment of Indonesia's Makarim Wibisono as a new…

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Corruption is widespread throughout the country's 32 provinces, with the tsunami-devastated Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam…

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A vice presidential office circular criticizing recent hearings between the government and the House of Representatives…