Jakarta – More than 600,000 Indonesian migrant workers, mostly women, face labor exploitation in several countries as they are employed illegally, while hundreds are stranded at several

Eric Ellis, Dili – A warrior of the East Timor Defence Force stands guard outside the offices of Aderito Hugo da Costa, editor-in-chief of Dili's Timor Post.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The economy grew by 2.47 percent in the first three months of 2002 compared to the same period last year, fueled mainly by strong consumer spending, the Centr

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – High, strong fences were erected surrounding some malls and shopping centers here in the wake of the May 1998 riots, yet they fail to ensure business safety, a

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Television and radio broadcasting operators warned on Wednesday they would go off air if the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government failed to revise

Dean Yates, Dili – Caitono Soares erupted in anger when he saw East Timor's national flag being peddled from the back of a car in the capital Dili.

Lely T.

As Bill Clinton leads the US delegation to East Timor's independence celebration, the East Timor Action Network (ETAN) urged that the history of US support for Indonesia's military occu

Chris McCall, Dili – Nearly 20 years ago, the remote East Timor community of Muapitine was shaken by a string of killings.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The complicated process for obtaining permits for advertising billboards or outdoor advertisement has been used by certain officials of the city administrat

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Indonesia said it would not follow the Philippines in allowing US troops into the country, even as it held out the prospect for resuming military ties with the

The Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggles (FNPBI), the militant trade union federation, organised mass actions across the country on May 1.

Pip Hinman, Sydney – "We have no relationship with Indonesia anymore.

The commemoration of the forced integration of West Papua (formerly known as Irian Jaya, now Papua) with Indonesia on May 1 was marked by peaceful protests by pro-independence supporter

[Dita Sari is a former Indonesian political prisoner and is chairperson of the militant Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) union federation.

Kautsar, chairperson of the Acehnese Peoples Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA), attended the second Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference in April to build support for the

Aceh rebels said they had detained nine female students because of their "close relationship" with Indonesian troops.

Colum Lynch, United Nations – The United States is seeking assurances from the United Nations that all UN personnel serving in a peacekeeping mission in East Timor would be shielded fro

Bogor – Drivers of public minivans in Bogor, West Java, went on strike on Tuesday, demanding that the Bogor city council legalize the increase in bus fares from Rp 900 to Rp 1,000.

Asia's newest nation has been officially listed by the UN as the poorest country in the region.

Joanne Collins, Dili – Paint is being slapped on fences, scaffolding is coming down from buildings, weeds are being ripped up and soccer fields are getting new goal posts.

Sibylle Kaczorek, Darwin – The fourth solidarity brigade to East Timor organised by Action in Solidarity with East Timor/Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific will leave for Di

Stephanie Coop – After a lifetime dedicated to fighting for a free East Timor, Jacinto Alves will finally see his country move to full independence Monday, when the United Nations' tran

Chris Brummitt, Dili – Children in East Timor are having trouble getting their tongues around their new official language.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Increasing rice shortages could force many Indonesians into having to give up their favourite dish of nasi goreng by the end of the decade.

East Timor has traditionally been a patriarchal society with limited opportunities for women, but Maria Domingas, an ex-guerilla, says that it is now necessary to "start from scratch" i

Leo Wahyudi S., Jakarta – The Jakarta administration's plan to increase bus fares does not necessarily mean improving drivers' welfare.

Berni K. Moestafa and A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Chatting to a number of commuters at the Gambir station, a man complains about rampant crimes.

Tim Dodd – Dili, which becomes the capital of the independent state of East Timor at midnight this Sunday, is a relatively prosperous town for a developing country.

Don Greenlees, Dili – Francisco Alves voted in favour of East Timor remaining a part of Indonesia in the 1999 referendum on independence.

Rod McGuirk – East Timor has a good chance of becoming financially independent in a few years through Timor Sea energy royalties, the World Bank told donor nations yesterday.

Jon Land – On the eve of East Timor's independence on May 20, the crucial issue of the Timor Gap has still to be fully resolved.

John Martinkus, Kupang – On the outskirts of the West Timorese capital, Kupang, a dusty former bus terminal still serves as the home for some of the estimated 60,000 East Timorese refug

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Several non-governmental organizations (NGO) officially proposed on Monday to City Council a draft bylaw that aims to replace the controversial No.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Advocates and Lawyers Association (HAPI) reprimanded on Monday a lawyer defending Tommy Soeharto on weapons and murder charges for influencing witnesses to chan

Denpasar – A violent clash erupted here on Monday afternoon after police officers attacked 60 student protesters from Udayana University who were staging a peaceful protest to commemora

Jakarta – In a move to commemorate the bloody May riot in 1998, about 200 activists and students staged an anti-violence demonstration in Blok M, South Jakarta on Sunday.

Jakarta – The chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum, Azaz Tigor Nainggolan, failed to answer a summons from the city police on Monday morning, when he was to be questioned as a suspec

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Army chief Endriartono Sutarto looks set to become Indonesia's next military commander by the end of this month after President Megawati Sukarnoputri forwarded

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged the US Congress to ease restrictions on military relations with Indonesia, saying Jakarta was dealing with past human rights violations "in an or

Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave a positive report on the Indonesian economy on Monday, saying that macro economic indicators in the first few months of the year wer

Muhammad Nafik, Jakarta – Lies and irregularities uncovered during the ongoing trial of a corruption scandal implicating House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung have failed to e

Tim Dodd – The infant Government of East Timor is supposed to have a car registration system and, indeed, there are plenty of vehicles on the road sporting the new TLS plates standing f

Former Indonesian militia leader Eurico Guterres is being questioned in Jakarta today at the trials of 18-military, police and civilian officials accused of human rights abuses in East

Nusa Dua, Bali – Udayana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Willem T.

jakarta – A civilian and policeman testified on Monday at the trial of four soldiers and one policeman accused of gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999 that they saw all t

Tangerang – Around 400 workers of PT Mawar Nirwana, a plastic flowers manufacturer in Tangerang, went on strike on Monday, demanding the management dismiss the company's production mana

Kasparman and Apriadi Gunawan, Padang/Medan – Hundreds of public minivan drivers in Padang, West Sumatra went on strike Monday, forcing thousands of students, civil servants and other c

Simon Montlake, Jayapura – When a tall, stocky Army officer came to his home last October with a dinner invitation, Willy Mandowen was reluctant to accept.

Banda Aceh – A Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist leader in Aceh Besar, Ayah Sofyan, alias Zakaria Yahya, 37, was shot dead during a raid at a rebel base in Kuta Baro village on Saturd