Step Vaessen, Papua – Culturally distinct Papua is rich in resources but home to some of the country's poorest people.

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – With the public purse strings still tight and most government spending being used to cover day-to-day costs and servicing the country's sovereign debt, Indonesia

Slobodan Lekic, Brussels – All Indonesian airlines and several from Russia, Ukraine and Angola will be banned from flying to the European Union due to safety concerns, the European Comm

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – A decision made by Lampung Governor Sjachroedin Z.P.

Jakarta – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has made several recommendations to stop the criminalization of the press, which include the issuance of a Supreme Court circular

In East Timor, half a million people will cast their votes on Saturday to elect their second government since gaining independence just five years ago.

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Despite few residents turning up, the first day of extended voter registration caused headaches and mixed responses at the offices of the Jakarta Electio

Erwin/Gunanto/Tomi, Jakarta – Akil Mochtar, a Golkar Party politician, has said that internal competition inside his party is heating up after the meeting between Golkar and the Indones

Jakarta – Marijuana possession should remain a crime in Indonesia, but chefs who use the herb as a traditional way to season curries should not be arrested, the country's vice president

Tito Belo, Dili – A number of people were hurt in clashes between rival political supporters in East Timor on Wednesday as campaigning ended ahead of parliamentary elections in three da

Too much media hype has surrounded the gathering of the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politicians in Medan last week.

Haryanto Kurniawan, Jakarta – Stipulations on the establishment of political parties contained in the draft law on political parties will make things more difficult and conflicts with t

Jakarta – Lawyers for hardline Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir on Wednesday filed a class action suit demanding the disbanding of the police's anti-terror unit, accusing it of rights

Tony Hotland and Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – A fragile coalition between Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is facing another challenge – this time from

Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, Sidoarjo – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has issued a series of instructions to speed up compensation for people displaced by the mudflow in Sidoar

Jakarta – Victims of a devastating "mud volcano" in Indonesia complained Wednesday that a fresh compensation scheme thrashed out by the president during a visit to the disaster area in

Further revisions should be made to the political party bill to increase accountability among political parties, anti-corruption activists have said.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on Tuesday criticized the President's tour of mudflow-affected Sidoarjo, East Java, saying i

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Green activists renewed their calls Tuesday for more attention to be paid to environmental preservation and economic compensation for those whose lives have been

The media was vilified at rallies and one journalist was beaten during elections in East Timor this year, according to a report by observers from New Zealand that calls for criminal pro

Flaky-skinned Jenny is two weeks old.

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – The Javanese saying "you will learn to love someone if you see them every day" has been lost on Jakarta voters.

Jakarta – Atul Khare, special envoy of the UN secretary general for East Timor, urged Jakarta and Dili on Tuesday to enhance the efficiency and credibility of a truth commission tasked

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Political games and low wages have prevented the Indonesian Military (TNI) from achieving full reform, the head of the TNI's information division, Col.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Lawmakers have blamed mediocre coordination between the labor and foreign ministries for the increasing number of poorly protected Indonesians working abroad who

Jakarta – East Timor's top UN official warned Tuesday that it would take months to resolve the refugee crisis in the troubled nation, where an estimated 10 percent of the population rem

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Indonesian Muslim hardliners demanded on Tuesday the government disband an American trained special anti-terror unit, saying it was a tool of the United States

Indonesia has pulled nine small airlines from service as it intensifies safety efforts following a string of crashes.

An Australian Parliamentary committee has recommended ratification of an broad security treaty with Indonesia – but emphasised what it calls "widespread concerns" about human rights in

Syaipul Bakhori, Jakarta – The oil and gas exploration activities carried out by a Malaysian company, Petronas, in Jambi's east coastal waters, is worrying fishermen in West Tanjungjabu

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono shed tears and became angry Sunday as he listened to the stories of people displaced by the mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java.

Iqbal Fadil, Jakarta - The construction of the Muria nuclear power plant (PLTN) in Central Java continues to attract criticism from various circles who say the construction as bring a n

Adianto P.

Jakarta – To address the core problems facing the educational system, the government must look beyond the national examination and address the root causes of the system's failures, an e

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesia is taking steps to ramp up its Islamic banking sector, which some financial analysts believe has the potential of creating the largest sharia finance ar

The DPR's Legal Affairs Commission begins selection of candidates for members of the National Human Rights Commission.

United Nations Special Representative for Human Rights Affairs, Hina Jilani, listened intently to the comments of the speakers who converged at Goethe Haus in Jakarta on Thursday, two w

Anissa S.

Jakarta – Nan Main knows that she is a registered voter, but doesn't know who she'll be voting for in August.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – More than 6,000 families that fell victim to the tsunami in Aceh are living still in temporary shelters because many newly built houses were not yet equipped wi

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The door has officially been shut on voters not registered for August's gubernatorial election, with hundreds left off the rolls.

Jakarta – Too many activists in the list of hopefuls for the new National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) leadership was the reason only a few made it through, a lawmaker said F

Jakarta – Indonesian hardline cleric Abu Bakar Bashir never headed the Islamic militant network Jemaah Islamiyah, a spokesman for his organisation said on Friday.

A parliamentary committee has criticised the Howard Government for rushing the controversial treaty on exploiting natural gas in the Timor Sea.

Jakarta – Results from a recent survey indicate that the majority of Indonesian Muslims are tolerant toward other religions and reject the imposition of religious bylaws but believe tha

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A likely alliance between Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the 2009 presidential election is projected to be short-lived,

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Around 1.2 million of Jakarta's eligible voters have not been registered for the August gubernatorial election, two national institutions announced Thurs

Tito Belo, Dili – East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta on Friday urged the winner of next week's parliamentary elections to form a unity government in a bid to heal divisions in the

Twenty per cent of East Timor's people need food aid after severe droughts and locust plagues battered crops in the troubled young nation, two UN food agencies say.

Jakarta – The commission overseeing legal and human rights issues at the House of Representatives selected Wednesday 11 applicants for membership of the National Commission for Human Ri