Paul Cleary – When Australian workmen turned up with an enormous crane to renovate and reinforce the office of the East Timor prime minister in early 2004, they looked like Paul Hogan i

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – The history of modern Indonesian politics – represented by a series of political events in the post-1945 independence era to this day – has basically been cha

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – A group of armed men attacked a police station in the Kurik district of Papua's Puncak Jaya regency on Saturday, taking hold a number of guns and ammunition

Budi Hernawan, New York – The 2013 Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) summit undoubtedly marked a historic moment on the long journey of Papua's international diplomacy.

Semarang – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will decide on its presidential and vice presidential candidates in April, or after the general election to select members

Haeril Halim, National – The Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) has said in its year-end report that media bias toward certain political parties and presidential hopefuls was a ma

Indah Setiwati and Corry Elyda, Jakarta – Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the inaugural Religious Harmony Day at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta on S

Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – A political gimmick or not, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Anis Matta's decision to go public with his polygamous life does not seem to bode well for t

Herman & Made Arya Kencana – Activists have called for the government to conduct a thorough audit into Askes and Jamsostek, the two biggest state-run insurance companies, which on W

Carla Isati Octama – Most online conversation about Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) portray the body in a negative light, according to the results of a study conducted by Pra

Robertus Wardi – The National Mandate Party has called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take concrete action toward building tolerance in the country and to not only engage in e

Erwin Sihombing – When a child was killed and six buildings razed to the ground on Monday in West Manokwari district in the province of West Papua, in a clash between neighboring commu

Effendi – A new report released by the Central Statistics Agency, or BPS, shows an increase in the number of Indonesians living below the poverty line between March and September last y

Edi Hardum – Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto has lauded an ongoing campaign to demolish holiday homes built in no-development zones, an initiative that has long been called for but

Lenny Tristia Tambun & SP/Fana FS Putra – A gubernatorial instruction asking Jakarta municipal officials to use public transit on Fridays was finalized by Jakarta Governor Joko Wido

The Australian National Archives has released ten thousand previously secret cabinet documents from the years 1986 and 1987.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – In a bid to meet rising domestic demand, the government will more than double the import volume of fruit and vegetables in 2014 from last year.

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – The recent killings of six suspected terrorists on the outskirts of Jakarta have triggered a wave of criticism of the police's Densus 88 counterterrorism uni

Indonesian society is showing a growing intolerance toward corruption, deeply entrenched in virtually all levels of government and the provision of public services, but analysts say the

Richard Ackland – Loose ends tend to clutter our lives and, supposedly, a new year is a good time to tidy them up or burn them to cinders.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Enforcement of the law and human rights remained shaky throughout 2013 in Aceh, a legal advocacy group says.

Edward Aspinall – Everyone in Indonesia is familiar with the case of Ariel, arguably Indonesia's best-known pop star, who went to jail in early 2011 when videos of him having sex with a

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – In defiance of a ban placed on New Year's Eve festivities, thousands of residents of Banda Aceh gathered downtown to celebrate the occasion with fireworks and

ID/Grace Dwitiya Amianti, Berau – Deep in the forests of Borneo island, workmen from an Indonesian timber company fell a tree with a chainsaw, stick a red tag with a serial number onto

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – Indonesia's elite anti-terrorism squad shot and killed six suspected militants and arrested another amid New Year's Eve celebrations in an all-night standoff a

Antonius Made Tony Supriatma – The killing of four detainees in a civilian prison on 23 March 2013 in Cebongan in Yogyakarta, and the ensuing investigations and trials, have put Kopassu

SP/Robertus Wardi & Edi Hardum, Bogor – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday launched the government's new health insurance scheme, the first step toward its target of cove

Novy Lumanauw – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday officially revoked two presidential decrees he had signed on Sunday, which allowed ministers and other high-ranking governme

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says it has completed 5,234 investigations out of the 6,600 complaints it received throughout 2013.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Shariah police in Aceh have confiscated thousands of fireworks, firecrackers and trumpets in the provincial capital as they enforce local ulemas' call for a b

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – In 2013, the National Police saw 27 officers killed and 72 others injured on duty, with some falling victim to public outrage at the force's actions.

Anggi M.

Anggi M.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Nearly half of infant deaths in Aceh were caused by poor nutrition, an official said on Saturday.

SP/Yoseph Kelen, Kupang – Police on Monday said they named the head of the East Nusa Tenggara district of Ngada as a suspect after he ordered the forced closure of a local airport follo

Yeremia Sukoyo – Court charges and physical abuse topped the list for the most common threats against witnesses in criminal cases in Indonesia in 2013, a witness care body said.

Surabaya – The problems faced by Indonesian migrant workers are not only that their salaries are being held back by their employers or that they have been forced into slavery.

I should thank Mr. Prabowo Subianto for his response (The Jakarta Post Dec. 27) on my article titled "What ever happened in Kraras, Timor Leste, 'Pak' Prabowo?" (The Jakarta Post Dec.

Rizky Amelia – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) announced on Sunday that it had whittled down to five contenders the selection pool for the party's 2014 presidential nomination.

Sydney – The indigenous struggle for liberation in West Papua on the western half of the island of New Guinea in the south-west Pacific, with the loss of thousands of lives, is far from

Tom Allard – For Kirsty Sword-Gusmao, the news that Australia spied on her adopted homeland under the cover of an aid program cut especially deep.

Tangerang – Hundreds of factory workers held a rally in Tangerang regency on Friday, disrupting a ceremony to commemorate the regency's 70th anniversary.

Tom Allard – A balmy summer morning, the leafy back streets of Narrabundah in suburban Canberra, and some 15 besuited ASIO agents are ringing the doorbell of a modest red brick home tha

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party and People's Conscience (Hanura) Party appear to have bested the country's major political parties in terms of fina

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – A group of gunmen fired on a convoy of trailer trucks owned by US mining giant Freeport Indonesia in Timika, Papua on Friday.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) plans to target corporations that have been implicated in graft next year to boost its efforts to combat rampan

Andreas Harsono – Here's a seasonal snapshot from Indonesia's Aceh province: on 20 December, dozens of militant Islamists rallied outside one of the largest hotels in Banda Aceh, the pr

Despite the party's efforts to restore the its reputation, not a single figure joining the Democratic Party convention to select a presidential candidate is popular enough to win the el

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said on Thursday that the number of alleged human rights abuse cases in the country rose from 448 cases in

Corry Elyda, Jakarta – Supporters of breast-feeding and government officials are encouraging state and private companies to provide proper lactation rooms at workplaces, saying that the