Canberra – It may have become a big deal later, but East Timor did not figure prominently in the deliberations of the Whitlam government in its final year.

Abdi Mari, Palu – A bomb tore through a meat market crowded with people shopping for New Year's celebrations Saturday in an Indonesian province plagued by sectarian violence, officials

Tb.

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu/Jakarta – Conservative Muslim groups have openly campaigned against transvestism and the use of condoms.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) announced on Friday its latest reshuffle affecting three-star generals, including former Aceh commander Lt. Gen.

Jakarta – NGO activists consider think that the security of foreign companies such as Freeport McMoran must be provided as a compensation for tax payments to the state.

Rendi A.

This time last year, we ended 2004 on an extremely subdued note.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – The Tangerang municipal administration destroyed on Thursday thousands of bottles of name-brand alcoholic drinks, pornographic pirated VCDs and six gambling ma

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – For over 30 years, Wati has never enjoyed "free" public services.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) complained on Thursday over a lack of support from other state institutions in its ambitious anticorruptio

Before the tsunami, Banda Aceh was a ghost town at night except for patrols of feared paramilitary police.

Jakarta – An EU-led team monitoring a peace deal in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province will extend its mission by at least three more months to oversee crucial elections, Indonesia's vice pr

Jakarta – In spite of mounting criticism of his administration following the fuel price increases, the latest survey shows that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's popularity remains h

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Jakartans' out of sight, out of mind attitude to domestic and industrial waste has caused the city's 13 rivers to become so polluted that if the city administr

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – In a move that many saw as unnecessary, Jakarta Police declared on Thursday Lia Eden and 32 of her followers suspects for defamation of religion a day after memb

Jakarta – Indonesia's defense minister called Friday for an investigation into allegations that a US gold-mining giant paid US$20 million to military commanders guarding its mine on Pap

Jakarta – Twenty-two women's non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Indonesia and foreign countries have urged the Indonesian government to give security protection to Munir's famil

Jakarta – Dozens of local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, urging him to instruct the police to further

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono has told local and international companies not to make direct payments to the military officers guarding their operations a

Muridan S.

Mark Dodd – Notorious former East Timorese militia leader Eurico Guterres is to return home with a personal guarantee for his safety by the country's President, despite a UN war crimes

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A group of human rights activists has asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to order the police to continue the investigation into the murder of noted human

Slobodan Lekic, Jakarta – Indonesia's military acknowledged for the first time Thursday that its commanders in Papua had received "support" from a US gold-mining giant – responding to a

Tiarma Siboro and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Former Trikora Military Commander in Papua Maj. Gen.

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – Some 250 residents observed the 7th anniversary of the Poso conflict on Wednesday by staging a protest outside the Central Sulawesi Police Headquarters.

Rita A. Widiadana, Kuta – Only a few days before the deadly bombing of Oct.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – Indonesia is today scheduled to complete the withdrawal of its 21,000 non-local soldiers from Aceh as part of a peace agreement to end a 29-year separatist insu

Lisabona Rahman and Paul F.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has requested that the government immediately halt illegal logging in Southeast Aceh and Aceh Singkil which has been disguised

A'an Suryana and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) announced the dissolution of its military wing here on Tuesday in another move to achieve long-lasting peace in t

Dorothy Kosich – It was only a matter of time until the New York Times "investigative" series on gold mining would highlight the track record of Freeport McMoRan's Grasberg operations i

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Jayapura Military Court on Tuesday sentenced a soldier to six years in jail for killing a civilian in Papua.

Jakarta – The Reform Star Party (PBR) has ended its internal rift during a meeting mediated by Aksa Mahmud, a deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) who is also a Go

Jakarta – An object of resentment as it often seen as a source of sound and air pollution in the capital, the three-wheeled diesel-fueled bajaj will soon be modernized.

A'an Suryana and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Ignoring mounting criticism, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has approved a plan for the Indonesian Military to deploy troops to help speed

A'an Suryana and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Tearful mourners gathered here on Monday to offer prayers and lay flowers on the first anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, one of the wor

Nani Afrida, special to The Seattle Times – It has been one year since the tsunami devastated Aceh.

Banda Aceh – General Endriartono Sutarto, Commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI), has said that the TNI operational command based in Lhokseumawe would be closed down following the w

Banda Aceh – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono denied earlier reports saying he planned to send more than 15,000 troops to Aceh, saying the soldiers would number less than 1,000 and wo

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao and former pro-Jakarta militia leader Eurico Guterres agreed Tuesday to work toward reconciliation in the first meeting of the two former arch-foes

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's Aceh rebels formally disbanded their armed wing on Tuesday in a major step toward ending one of Asia's longest separatist conflicts.

Kupang – East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao has said some 16,000 refugees from his country living in Indonesia's neighbouring West Timor province would be welcome to return home.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – From elementary school on, students have the postulate drummed into them that Indonesia is rich in natural resources, including abundant oil and gas, to be used

Greg Poulgrain – Supporters of Papuan Governor Jacob Salossa have raised allegations of foul play over his sudden death last week.

Jane Perlez and Raymond Bonner, Jakarta – The closest most people will ever get to remote Papua, or the operations of Freeport-McMoRan, is a computer tour using Google Earth to swoop do

Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – The already-ailing Indonesian textile sector had the ladder kicked away from it this year.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – "Philip Morris buys Sampoerna for US$5.2 billion." If there was one sentence that could summarize Indonesia's investment sector in 2005, that could well be it.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Jakartans can easily recount the promises made by media-savvy Governor Sutiyoso for the city in 2005 by delving into his well-documented statements in various

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The 75 city councillors have been in office for almost 18 months, long enough for them to illustrate commitment to their election pledges.