Samarinda – The condition of East Kalimanatan forests has now become cause for worry, in view of continuing illegal logging activities, while bids of conservation have not been very eff

Jakarta – House Commission IV for settlement and telecommunications failed on Wednesday to endorse the controversial water resource bill, ordering the Ministry of Settlement and Infrast

Patrick Walters – East Timor is calling for the United Nations to deploy a 400-strong paramilitary force at least until 2006 to bolster its tiny security forces.

Jakarta – Indonesia's peak Islamic body has put a religious ban on terrorism and suicide bombings.

Jakarta – An Indonesian human rights group on Thursday accused President Megawati Sukarnoputri of giving the national intelligence agency too much power.

As East Timor continues to delve into its painful past, there's been a suprising confession from Timor's last European governor.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – It looked like just another rally on Wednesday, when about 50 people holding cardboard posters stood inside the Ministry of Health compound in South Jakarta, cha

Banda Aceh – Two Indonesian soldiers of the Army Strategic and Reserve Command (Kostrad) were killed by rebels in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province on Tuesday, it was reported here on W

Urip Hudiono and Nani Farida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – Indonesia risks losing its international credibility if it fails to stop abuses by the military against civilians in Aceh and ensure t

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papuan people concluded a two-day meeting here on Tuesday, recommending that the central government speed up the establishment of the Papuan People's Asse

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Apriadi Gunawan, Bandung/Medan – Labor protests erupted separately in Bandung and Medan on Wednesday after their respective 2004 minimum wage pay increases were app

Tangerang – Hundreds of workers of shoe producer PT Dongha Perkasa staged a rally at the Tangerang Municipal Council building on Wednesday starting at around 10:30 a.m., demanding their

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The huge increase in the number of cases reported of rape and domestic violence against women and children is an indication of the growing level of willingness a

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta - The Centre for Electoral Reform (Cetro) and Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) have stated that they reject holding the 2004 general elections in A

Kasparman Piliang, Padang – At least one man was killed, and three kiosks and a local community health center (Puskesmas) were set ablaze during a clash between residents from two villa

Klaten – Hundreds of supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) occupied and seized the party's local office in Klaten regency, Central Java, on Wednesday.

Jakarta – A former police general will head Indonesia's first five-member anti-corruption commission, dubbed a "super agency", given its authority to summon and investigate state offici

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Despite a declining trend among most recorded crimes in the city, the number of rape cases has significantly soared – by 25 percent – this year.

Rampant illegal mining in Indonesia is inflicting annual losses of Rp3.3 trillion ($389.38 million) on the state, a government official said Tuesday (16/12/03).

The Indonesian military in Aceh is pursuing a campaign of killings, "disappearances" and beatings of civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Distressingly little has changed in Indonesia from the previous received wisdom that the country's leaders could use state-owned enterprises, including financial

Dan Eaton, Jakarta – Indonesia's military is waging an extensive campaign of extra-judicial killings, kidnapping and torture in Aceh province, mostly targeting young men and forcing tho

Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakkir, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – In a bid to ensure that the Acehnese can exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections, rights campaigner Todung M

East Timor's tiny military has discharged 27 soldiers and will soon fire more than 60 others for being absent without leave or skipping training, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – A legislator expressed concern on Tuesday about a price war among the country's generic medicine producers, fearing it would prompt drug trade in the black marke

Kafil Yamin, Jakarta – Some Indonesians see the presidential candidacy next year of former strongman Suharto's daughter, Siti Hardianti Rukamana – on the heels of that of her father's f

Max Lane – Most of the 24 parties which gained registration for the 2004 general elections trace their origins back to groups or parties that were participants in the New Order politica

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Employers can no longer arbitrarily dismiss their workers as a new bill on industrial dispute settlement that the House of Representatives endorsed on Tues

Jakarta – Central Jakarta police arrested 54 protesting students, six of them girls, just as they were dispersing after staging an anti-election rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic cir

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Two witnesses for the adhoc human rights trial of Col.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – In the hope that the seasonal spirit will prevail, East Timor's Truth and Reconciliation Commission is asking former political leaders to seek forgiveness for trig

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – The education of women plays a more pivotal role than the use of contraceptives in curbing population growth, an expert said on Monday.

Joseph Kirschke, Jakarta – It's not the cool tile floors, the open courtyard, or the rendering of Picasso's "La Guernica" hanging on the wall by the front door.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Chief Justice Bagir Manan said on Monday the country's failure to speed up reform within the judiciary was the result of conflicting laws and regulations.

Rob Taylor – An East Timorese human rights crimes court today sentenced a former member of Indonesia's military to 11 years in jail for murder and torture committed during the wave of v

Banda Aceh – Three rebels and three civilians have been killed in Aceh province over the past two days as an offensive against separatist guerrillas continues, the military said on Tues

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Farida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – Amid mounting criticism over restrictions on the press and independent groups in the war-torn province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, t

Mataram – Indonesia's human resources development index (IPM) remains low among 175 countries in the world and it is worrying, chairwoman of the Family Planning Board (BKKBN) Sumarjati

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Nearly 1,000 Papuans from all walks of life began a two-day meeting sponsored by the local legislative council on Monday to seek a solution to the central

Eony Aurora, Jakarta – A group of lawyers will sue at the Cibinong District Court, Bogor regency, on Tuesday large companies for allegedly producing untreated toxic waste that had pollu

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Some 1,000 public minivan drivers in Tangerang municipality drove around the city in convoy before staging a protest on Monday in front of the municipal admini

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A military court here began the trial on Monday of 18 police officers charged with attacking protesters in Medan, North Sumatra, three years ago killing two stu

Kasparman Piliang, Padang – Despite controversy, President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband Taufik Kiemas will soon be bestowed with a customary title by leaders of a clan in West Sumat

Indonesian lawyers have complained that police had refused them permission to see six students who were deported from Pakistan on suspicion of terror links.

Since gaining independence in 2002, the people of East Timor have struggled with the legacy of violence of Indonesia's 24-year occupation.

Australia will leave some 50 to 60 troops to assist with training of the East Timorese military once the peacekeeping force comes home, defence chief General Peter Cosgrove said today.

Corruption and weak law enforcement are the price which Indonesians are paying for reforms, former Indonesian president B.J. Habibie was quoted as saying.

Banda Aceh – The troubled province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam still needs 20,000 more teachers for elementary schools, junior high schools and senior high schools in 20 districts and m

[Intel: Inside Indonesia's Intelligence Service Ken Conboy, Equinox Publishing, Jakarta, 2004 253 pp.]

Ainur R.