The head of Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation has rejected a breakfast invitation from the US Congress, blaming the possible war against Iraq and new US immigration rules.

Vannessa Hearman, Melbourne – Fivo Freitas is 28 years old, he sought asylum in Australia after leaving East Timor in 1999.

Lisbon – The Bishop of Dili called Wednesday for the creation of an independent body to oversee the exploitation of Timor Sea oil reserves, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

Tony Sitathan, Jakarta – A retired stockbroker who once assisted Indah Kiat Paper and Pulp – considered the darling of the paper and pulp industry at one time before being swallowed up

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Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed his deep concern over the ongoing meeting of Free Aceh Movement (GAM) figures in Ac

About 200 students have urged monitors overseeing a peace pact between the Indonesian government and Aceh separatist rebels to investigate the shooting of two brothers.

Jakarta – The government threatened on Wednesday to end diplomatic ties with the Republic of Vanuatu if the country continued to support the Free Papua Organization (OPM) in its struggl

Raymond Bonner – Bush administration officials have determined that Indonesian soldiers carried out a deadly ambush that killed two American teachers returning from a picnic in a remote

Kurniawan Hari and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Each faction in the House of Representatives (DPR) agreed to adopt an "open-list" election system for the 2004 elections, paving the

Jakarta – Speaking again before supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) at her private residence in Kebagusan, South Jakarta on Tuesday, President Meg

Jakarta – Indonesia is considering issuing a decree to allow mining firms to operate in areas protected by the country's forestry law, Mines and Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said

The United States is expected to bypass Congressional restrictions on funding the Indonesian military or TNI as early as this week.

Arpiadi Gunawan, Medan – Thousands of residents including activists from various non-governmental organizations, clergymen and ulemas again staged a protest on Monday against the reopen

Indonesian state human rights investigators have begun a wide-ranging probe of violations committed during the long dictatorship of former president Suharto.

Leo Wahyudi S – The antidrug campaign seems to be getting more intensive support from the police as drug abuse problems become more serious.

Denpasar – The chief of Indonesia's National Terrorism Desk, Police Inspector General Ansaad Bay, expressed his belief yesterday that Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) was behind all the bombing in

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Max Lane – In the Jakarta Post, on January 27, Juwono Sudarsono is quoted as stating that there was too much political party involvement in the wave of recent student demonstrations.

Reports from Jakarta say large numbers of rare and protected animals are being smuggled out of Indonesia with the complicity of officials.

Jim Lobe, Washington – The administration of US President George W Bush has moved a major step closer to normalizing military ties with the Indonesian military (TNI), which it hopes wil

There are warnings today about a negative fallout in the region from the Howard Government's decision to deploy forces to the gulf before any United Nations decision on war against Iraq

David Fickling – The spectacle of someone large and powerful picking on a weak and desperate neighbour passes as bullying in the average playground.

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Jakarta – Drug trafficking and abuse in Jakarta are increasing at an alarming rate due to big supplies and easy access to it in the market, an expert said.

Imanuddin, Jakarta – The general elections is still a year ahead, but prospective candidates for the next presidency, who have their roots in the top ten political parties, have either

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Zakki Hakim, Jakarta – Despite staging street rallies almost every day, the current student protests against the government are insignificant mainly due to the

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – North Sumatra Police must go all out to stop drug trafficking from the war-torn province of Aceh following last week's arrest of three Acehnese women here with

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – The highest-ranking commander of the military wing of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has publicly announced his support for the agreement with the gov

A former rock star has led three-thousand Indonesian protesters in a rally outside the British embassy to condemn a possible war on Iraq.

Jakarta – The first weapon-free zone will open in Indonesia's Aceh province this week to help cement a peace deal that both sides have violated less than two months after signing it, me

Jakarta – About 1,000 Muslims chanted anti-American slogans outside the US embassy in Jakarta on Sunday saying any war against Iraq would be an attack on the entire Islamic world.

Jakarta – Indonesia's former armed forces chief, General Wiranto, denied yesterday that he has tried to seize power from President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

A committee monitoring a ceasefire in Aceh province has for the first time criticised both the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist group and the Indonesian government for truce violatio

John Martinkus – Almost three weeks after a series of militia incursions into East Timor from neighbouring Indonesia left five people dead, the two largest contingents of the peacekeepi

Ainur Sophiaan, Surabaya – The panel of judges trying seven of the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) personnel charged with killing Papuan proindependence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay rejected

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – Members of an armed militia group arrested here last week say they agreed to return as guerillas because Indonesian officials in West Timor had prevented them from

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After fervently voicing support for alleged terrorists last year in the name of Islamic brotherhood, Vice President Hamzah Haz has ventured onto safer ground by braying about the danger

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – One of Indonesia's most senior politicians, Parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tandjung, yesterday declared that three of the largest political parties in the country

Jakarta – Father Raphael dos Santos, an East Timorese priest, said on Thursday Indonesian Military soldiers and policemen were among the attackers of his refugee-packed church in the to

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Complicated procedures have put an early damper on moves to show House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung the door as the steering committee (Bamus) tha

Jakarta – Jakarta Police released on Friday 20 protesters who staged a rally in front of the residence of President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday, El Shinta radio station reported

US senators voted down an attempt to limit US military training for Indonesia, triggering outrage from campaigners striving to bring East Timor war crimes suspects to justice.

Bill Guerin – A key Indonesian Christian leader working for an end to the violence in the Spice Islands (Malukus) is reported to have been poisoned while in police custody in Palu, the

Jakarta – With war looming in Iraq, Quds Production garment workshop owner Syahrul Arief mass produces tee-shirts supporting Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

John Roberts – After inconclusive Indonesian investigations into an ambush near the Freeport mine in West Papua last year, a team of US FBI investigators is due to arrive this week to t

Jakarta – In another effort to curb illegal logging, the government has issued a joint ministerial decree on the transportation of logs and a minister of trade decree on the exports of

Jakarta – Human rights groups reacted angrily Friday to a US Senate decision not to block military ties with Indonesia over reports that army troops killed two American schoolteachers i