Dili – It's been 10 years since Rudolfo dos Santos, then 14, watched as his neighbours and friends were shot, beaten and hacked to death by East Timorese and Indonesian anti-independenc

When Mirini was appointed No. 1 on the National Awakening Party's list of national legislative candidates in Aceh Province, she put it down to her local connections.

Achmad Faisal, Surabaya – A surplus in rice production is no guarantee that farmers' well being – measured by their buying power – will improve, as the latest statistics released this m

Camelia Pasandaran – The candidate sons of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and a senior Golkar Party lawmaker are under investigation for alleged vote-buying, elections officials sai

Alfian, Banda Aceh – Aceh's leading local parties have promised sharia law during their recent campaigns, bidding to win the upcoming legislative elections and a political chance to rei

Medan – On April 5 scores of people from the North Sumatra Union for the Politics of the Poor Front (FPPRM-SU) held a protest action at the Mejestik roundabout in the North Sumatra city

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Certain circles in Aceh have remained pessimistic that female politicians contending in the legislative election have the capacity to improve the life of

Palu, Central Sulawesi – On April 5, scores of activists from the Central Sulawesi Union for the Politics of the Poor (PPRM Sulteng) declared their opposition to the 2009 general electi

Irwan Firdaus, Jakarta – Motorcycle gunmen fatally shot a rebel-turned-politician in Indonesia's Aceh province, officials said Sunday, raising fresh fears of violence during parliamenta

Jakarta – With Indonesia lurching uncertainly towards national legislative elections next week, the shabby beer bars and brothels of Rawa Malang may seem like an unlikely spot for a bit

Andra Wisnu, Jakarta – Nationalist-oriented parties tend to turn a blind eye to polygamy as a women's group found in a recent study showing they endorsed legislative candidates who publ

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) denounced a report alleging its members and the Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) group were undermining moderate Islam in t

Balongsari, Indonesia - Ponari was just like any other kid in Indonesia until he was struck by lightning.

Pandaya – Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid has painfully lost his grip on the National Awakening Party (PKB) to his less popular cousin Muhaimin Iskandar, following a bitter leadership rift

'PBR is open to new ideas, in contrast to the more established parties' - Dita Indah Sari, PBR

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – More than 600 non-government organisations have warned that three second-hand power plants under construction in East Timor may endanger the health and livelih

A decade after a massacre intended to blunt East Timor's demands for independence, Lindsay Murdoch finds that the appetite for justice continues unabated.

Jakarta – For the fifth month in a row, the central bank slashed its key interest rate to bolster domestic demand and stimulate economic growth slowed by a sharp drop in exports.

Christian Motte & Putri Prameshwari – Thousands of people took part in a pro-independence rally in Papua Province on Friday, calling for a boycott of the legislative elections.

Jakarta – After attending a Friday prayer at a Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) mosque near his house in Surabaya, a young man said the cleric had told the congregation to vote in the upcoming gene

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – If Aceh's young reformists have their way in the coming legislative election the province can expect major changes in the education sector.

The threat to next week's voting day – Indonesia's 10th elections since independence – may not be so much the violence as the ignorance.

Rallies, posters, commercials and smiling politicians have abounded over the past weeks and months. But what do the parties really stand for?

Muninggar Sri Saraswati – This week's campaign sorties saw at least two Islamic parties try to boost their sagging popularity by calling for the government to outlaw Ahmadiyah, a contro

Timika, Indonesia – Thousands of people rallied in Indonesia's eastern Papua region Friday to call for independence from Jakarta and a boycott of elections amid a police crackdown on di

Joe Cochrane – Throwing a gauntlet down at the feet of radical Islam, a group of mainstream Muslim leaders led by former President Abdurrahman Wahid on Thursday announced the release of

Dili – The tiny impoverished nation of East Timor will need several more years of international assistance to ensure stability and tackle poverty, the head of the United Nations mission

Jakarta – Islamic extremists have infiltrated deep into Indonesia's government, businesses, schools and religious bodies, and are using cunning new tactics to seize control of mosques a

Jakarta/Bandung/Makassar/Jambi – With the legislative elections less than a week away, the eligible voter lists are still unavailable to the public in some areas of the country.

Thousands of people rallied in Indonesia's eastern Papua region on Friday to call for independence from Jakarta and a boycott of elections amid a police crackdown on dissent, activists

Dili – International donors to East Timor kicked off a three-day meeting Thursday to discuss how to lock in security gains and promote development in the young nation, one of the world'

A group of student who call themselves South Sumatra Students' Committee for Concern of the nation staged a rally Thursday to oppose the presence of the founder of Great Indonesia Movem

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – An annual performance report released Wednesday by the Supreme Court shows that it exonerated almost 70 of 205 corruption suspects and 36 of nearly 100 others

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Exports have continued falling, by another third in February, signaling a further drop in forecast growth, says the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

Rallies, posters, commercials and smiling politicians have abounded over the past weeks and months. But what do the parties really stand for?

A group of Australian forensic scientists may have solved one of East Timor's greatest mysteries.

The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation says the Indonesian military may be sponsoring militia groups to masquerade as the Free West Papua Movement, or OPM, in ongoing fighting

Andra Wisnu, Jakarta – Djoko Hariyanto, a food vendor working just outside the House of Representatives building in Jakarta seemed quite content on Tuesday afternoon.

Jakarta – More than 150 million eligible voters desperately need more information on various facets of the electoral process to make sure that they will vote correctly during balloting

Desy Nurhayati and Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Political parties have once again shown that allies and foes do not last forever if interest is at stake, as they continued discussions on

Jakarta – A survey released on Thursday found that Indonesian sinetron (soap operas) were publicly regarded as having poor moral and aesthetic quality.

After four years of struggle to recover from the devastating tsunami and decades of bloody insurgent uprising, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam is seemingly taking a further step to unplug itse

Rendi A.

Khairul Ikhwan, Medan – Some 50 or so students in the North Sumatra city of Medan demonstrated on April 2 against the general elections that will take place on April 9.

Camelia Pasandaran – In a decision that could trigger mass protests ahead of next week's national polls, the General Elections Commission, or KPU, said on Tuesday that 32 political part

Jakarta – "I have promoted you as a legislative candidate here, but people will only vote for you if you have something to offer," a text message read on a candidate's cell phone.

A decade on, East Timor is still linked to Indonesia

Dion Bisara & Muhamad Al Azhari – The nation's exports continued to fall in February, off by nearly 33 percent year-on-year and 1.02 percent month-on-month to $7.08 billion, the Cen

Indonesia's export performance in February dropped by 36.86 percent in terms of value compared to the same period last year, the Central Statistics Agency reported on Wednesday.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Jakarta's secretive criminal gang structure, with links right up to national politics and next week's elections, has taken a serious blow with the sudden