Jakarta – The commander of Indonesia's armed forces believes that invasive virginity tests for female recruits are a good thing and the only way to gauge the women's morality.

Jakarta – Indonesia Military (TNI) chief Gen.

About 150 people turned out at a protest in Fiji's capital, Suva, on Friday to call for West Papua's inclusion in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda says he has no idea why he was blocked from travelling to the United States last week.

Jakarta – After giving amnesty to five political prisoners in Papua recently, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo plans to free 90 more political prisoners in the country's easternmost, resource-rich pr

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has renewed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Republic of West Papua (FRWP), pledging support for the cause of West Papuan self-determination.

Ati Nurbaiti, Jakarta – The families of those who died in the May 1998 riots, as well those who survived, expressed relief on Wednesday that a monument marking the unresolved violence had finally b

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – Former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioner Busyro Muqoddas has criticized South Jakarta District Court judge Yuningtyas Upiek Kartikawati's decision to orde

Members of the civil society organization under the umbrella body of Solomon Islands in Solidarity for West Papua gathered in numbers on Thursday to renew their call on the Solomon Islands Governme

Lauren Razavi – Indonesian healthcare has traditionally been fragmented: private insurance schemes for those who could afford it, basic state provision for the very poorest, and NGOs in specialised

Bambang Muryanto and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Yogyakarta/Surabaya – The Indonesian Sugarcane Farmers (APTRI) has complained over the cooperation between the Agriculture Ministry and the Indonesian Mil

Marie Dhumieres – It could be a game-changing step for West Papua. That is, if it gets implemented and foreign journalists are any good at their jobs.

Beh Lih Yi, Jakarta – Indonesia has been urged to drop a "discriminatory and invasive" virginity tests for female military recruits, but the military insisted the practice was necessary to check wh

Jakarta – A House of Representatives lawmaker says President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's decision to revoke tight requirements applied to foreign journalists wanting to report on Papua is a reactive mov

Jakarta – New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says virginity tests have been recognized internationally as a violation of human rights.

Jakarta – Indonesia's chief welfare minister claims not to know anything about having resigned from the House of Representatives last year, following revelations that she and another minister from

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – Two additional Golkar Party members have been named as suspects in an alleged document forgery scandal within the political party.

Katharina R.

Muhammad Hamzah, North Aceh – Authorities in Indonesia's North Aceh district are set to impose a new bylaw segregating men and women in all public places, as part of the enforcement of shariah prac

Dylan Amirio, Jakarta – In response to a move by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to remove barriers to access for foreign journalists seeking to report in Papua, an Indonesian Democratic Party of St

Ina Parlina, Port Moresby – Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister Peter O'Neill expressed support on Tuesday for Indonesia's inclusion as an "associate member" of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MS

An outspoken Papua New Guinea MP says the Melanesian Spearhead Group has failed its original mandate and should be disbanded.

Jayapura, Jubi – Indonesian President Joko Widodo's visit to Papua from 9-10 May included a stop at Pasar Pharaa, traditional market, at Sentani, the launch of the Institute of Public Administratio

London (Amnesty International/Pacific Media Watch) – Dozens of individuals have been arbitrarily arrested and tortured or otherwise ill-treated by Timor-Leste security forces as part of security op

Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) said on Wednesday it was probable that seven unresolved gross human rights violations, including the Talangsari case, would be settled via non-judicial

Margareth S.

Jakarta – President Joko Widodo has vowed to set aside a budget of Rp210 trillion for the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) next year, up from the Rp98 trillion allocated this year, if the economy gr

Jakarta – The Jakarta administration and the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) officiated on Wednesday a monument in remembrance of the May 1998 tragedy.

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has suffered another blow in its fight against graft after the South Jakarta Court District ordered it to drop its corruption cas

Jakarta – Most city-run water companies across the country have failed to meet national targets for clean water access due to poor planning and management, according to the Supreme Audit Agency (BP

Jakarta – Kusmiyati, 51, showed photos of the funeral for her 15-year-old son, Mustofa bin Topik, who died in the Central Plaza shopping mall fire – now Citra Mall – in Klender, East Jakarta, on Ma

The thorny issue of West Papua has stirred controversy during a state visit by Indonesia's President, Joko Widodo, to Papua New Guinea.

James Giggacher – This weekend has seen some possibly big developments in Papua, where Indonesia President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has released five political prisoners in the disaffected provinces.

Following his campaign pledges, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has signaled a different approach to Papua, announcing on Sunday in Merauke that Papua and West Papua are now open to the foreign pres

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – The lawyer who made the explosive claim that the judges who sentenced Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to death were corrupt says he no longer wishes to comment on the ca

Following Indonesian leader Joko Widodo's move to free five political prisoners and lift media curbs in Papua, DW speaks to Gregory Poling about why so little progress has been made in solving the

Port Moresby (PNG Today/NBC/PNG Loop/Pacific Media Watch) – Seven protesters were arrested and detained for staging a "mini gathering" during the arrival of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to Papu

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr.

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Indragiri Hilir/Jakarta – Thousands of hectares of peatland in Indragiri Hilir regency, Riau, are under threat by the advance of palm oil company PT Setia Agrindo Lestari (PT

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Biak Numfor Regent Thomas Ondy has apologized to all members of the Indonesian press over a recent violent incident he committed against a local journalist.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has criticized the state's inability to uncover the perpetrators behind the May 1998 tragedy and to make them responsi

Merauke, Papua – Foreign journalists must first obtain permits if they want to cover Papua, and there will be screening, according to Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs

Church leaders, human rights organisations, academics and international observers have gathered in the capital of the European Union, Brussels, to discuss the human rights situation in Papua.

Ina Parlina, Merauke – In a bold move to fulfill his campaign pledge, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo opened access for foreign journalists and international organizations to enter Papua and West Pa

Bayu Marhaenjati & Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – The National Police have pledged full assistance to the South Jakarta Police as the latter investigate an upscale prostitution ring said to involved h

A New Zealand-based rights group has welcomed the Indonesian President's latest promise to open up West Papua to foreign media.

Haeril Halim, National – Former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto has filed a pretrial motion at the South Jakarta District Court, challenging National Poli

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The House of Representatives, antigraft campaigners and several high-profile figures have rejected the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) plan to recruit Indonesian M

Kanupriya Kapoor & Gayatri Suroyo, Jakarta – When Indonesian President Joko Widodo summoned his economy ministers to the palace last week to discuss growth slumping to its lowest level since 20

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Around 70 journalists from various print and electronic media outlets in Papua on Monday staged a rally at the Imbi Park in Jayapura, urging the police to take action