Karina M. Tehusijarana, Jakarta – The Gerindra Party's list of potential running mates for chairman and presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto is down to five names.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A shootout between unknown armed assailants and the Police's elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob) broke out in Nduga regency in Papua on Wednesday.

Christopher Knaus – Australian federal police (AFP) say they are assessing a request to investigate the lawfulness of Australia's controversial spy operation against Timor-Leste during

Matthew Doran – Intelligence whistleblower turned independent MP Andrew Wilkie has called on the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to launch an investigation into the role the nation's in

Unprecedented legal action against two men for allegedly breaching the intelligence services act has sparked fierce debate about the balance between national security and the public's r

Danielle Bochove, Viriya Singgih and Yoga Rusmana – In what has become a pattern of two steps forward and one back, Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

Jakarta – State-owned mining holding company Inalum now owns a 51 percent share of gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia after years of "tough" negotiations, President Joko "Jokow

Jakarta – Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has said that the government plans to develop 10 new airports to support the development of tourism in the country.

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo says the list of potential running mates for his reelection bid next year has been narrowed down to five names.

Former Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok "Tjahaja" Purnama was sentenced to two years in prison on May 9, 2017, at the conclusion of his extremely controversial blasphemy trial.

Jakarta – Greater Jakarta train operator PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI) has received 13 reports of alleged sexual harassment inside trains since January, but none of the victims hav

Solomon Islands police have defended removing a West Papuan flag from outside the Indonesian stall at the Melanesian Arts and Cultural Festival in Honiara.

Harry Pearl, Jakarta – As a university student, Luna Atmowijoyo prayed five times a day, refused to shake hands with men who weren't relatives and was "more fundamentalist" than her pio

Jakarta (Antara) – House Speaker Bambang Soesatyo encouraged the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) to respond to a finding that 41 out of the 1

Jakarta – The Surabaya Legal Aid Institute (LBH) has reported local security personnel to the East Java Police for allegedly committing unethical acts during a raid at a Papuan student

Robertus Wardi, Jakarta – Indonesia on Tuesday (10/07) ratified a defense cooperation agreement with South Korea, providing legal footing for continuing joint military projects, includi

Greg Fealy – At first glance, Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has never been in a stronger position. It has a record number of members in cabinet.

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – This year's political chess match is nowhere near the endgame, with political bigwigs holding closed-door meetings to determine who will run in next yea

Michael Vincent – Australian lawyer and former legal representative for East Timor, Bernard Collaery, says the charges against him for allegedly breaching the Intelligence Services Act

Jakarta – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has admonished the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI), saying the quality of education had not improved, although teachers were rece

Kharishar Kahfi, Jakarta – Indigenous communities from 19 villages at the Dampier Strait Marine Protection Area (MPA) in Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua, declared on Tuesday the customar

Devina Heriyanto, Jakarta – Ahead of the 2018 Asian Games, the Jakarta Police are carrying out a crackdown on thieves and robbers in the capital.

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, confirmed on Wednesday the selection of two Supreme Court justices proposed

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Fahri Hamzah disagree if Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan runs for president.

We're just about a month from the official registration deadline for candidates competing in Indonesia's 2019 presidential election but with neither President Joko Widodo nor his most l

Jakarta – West Jakarta Mayor Rustam Effendi suspects that factories in Daan Mogot may be contaminating the Mookervart River that runs through the area.

Jakarta – National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro has said that the government is committed to creating new centers of economic growth outside Java in its effort to

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura, Papua – The victory of incumbent candidate pair Lukas Enembe-Klemen Tinal during the Papua gubernatorial election on June 27 will not affect support for Pr

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – The General Elections Commission (KPU) in Makassar, South Sulawesi, will rerun the election for Makassar mayor and deputy mayor in 2020 after a blank box won

Activists linked to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) have savaged the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) online, comparing it to the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and claiming it spreads ho

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has picked his running mate in the 2019 presidential election and will announce it "at the right moment".

Fadli, Batam, Riau Islands – US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph R. Donovan Jr.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) continuous to persistently offer its party member to be the vice presidential candidate for Gerindra Chairman Prabowo

Sheany, Jakarta – The Surabaya Legal Aid Institute, or LBH Surabaya, has called on the East Java Police to investigate violence exercised by its officers who dispersed a meeting hosted

Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman, Jakarta – The approval of the 26 plans of development in the first half has resulted in additional oil and gas production of around 580 million barrels of oil

Anton Hermansyah, Bogor, West Java – The government is aiming to strengthen the Indonesian manufacturing industry and secure big investment projects in the face of global uncertainty an

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – A newspaper named Bintang-Barat published in Batavia (now Jakarta) in 1871 is displayed on the wall of Bentara Budaya, an exhibition hall in Yogyakarta.

Vilimaina Naqelevuki – Papua is still a sensitive subject for Papua New Guinea, says Prime Minister Peter O'Neill.

Papua New Guinea's prime minister has reportedly encouraged regional countries to take the issue of West Papua to the United Nations decolonisation committee.

Solomon Islands police says they confiscated a West Papuan flag at the Melanesian Arts Festival to stop any provocation aimed at the Indonesian delegation.

Max Lane – The laying of criminal charges under the Intelligence Services Act 2001 against Witness K and lawyer Bernard Collaery in relation to their exposure of the Australian governme

Marie Leadbeater – A few years ago I wrote about New Zealand's betrayal of the people of East Timor during the 24 years they suffered under brutal military rule from Indonesia.

Titus Ruban, Jayapura – There was alleged harassment occurred following the civil registration drives dubbed as 'operasi yustisi' in a Papuan student dormitory in Surabaya on Friday (6/

Arjuna Pademme, Jayapura – Human Rights National Commission (KOMNAS HAM) Papua Representative said people should not underestimate the Amnesty International (AI) because the agency is q

Lalu Rahadian – "I don't agree. The Jokowi-JK vision, mission and program has been socialised since May 2014, how many years is it now?

We're almost exactly one month away from the registration deadline for candidates competing in the 2019 presidential election and as of yet no tickets have been officially announced.

Jakarta – Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto has deflected journalists' questions about his planned meeting with Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono [SBY].

Jakarta – Pro-democracy activists held an event campaigning for freedom of expression and assembly over the weekend, amid recent reports that public discussions were being dispersed eit

Aisyah Llewellyn – Regional elections took place across Indonesia on 27 June, when local voters went to the polls to elect governors, regents, and mayors.

This is an edited extract from Tim Lindsey's essay 'Retreat from Democracy', which appears in Australian Foreign Affairs #3, published 9 July.