Dessy Sagita – Misperceptions about freedom of expression and gender equality have been blamed for the growing number of female smokers in Indonesia.

Twenty three farmers and three activists of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) have been arrested in connection with violent protests in Palembang, South Sumatra, police c

Sita W.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Ramadhan Pohan, the deputy chairman of House Commission I that oversees defense issues, questioned the validity of results from a recent survey conducted by w

Indonesia's growing regional prominence is being held back by the government's failure to confront intolerance of the country's diverse political and religious views.

Dion Bisara – Rising consumer income in Indonesia has prompted citizens to shop till they drop and spend more on discretionary goods and services, according to a survey by Credit Suisse

A video depicting ill-treatment and excessive use of force by police officers has recently been released to the public.

Ina Parlina and Margareth S.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Legislators' recommendation for an ad hoc human rights court to be set up to probe past rights violations will likely be discussed in an upcoming meeting betw

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-010-2013

Dear friends,

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Concerned by the increasing number of communal conflicts throughout the country, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued on Monday Presidential Instruction No.

Activists are condemning as repressive a draft bill on mass organizations currently under deliberation by the House of Representatives.

Jakarta – Bickering between Bank Indonesia and some oil and gas companies has returned to the public domain when the bank's governor revealed that some firms refuse to deposit their dol

Jakarta – This year's Indonesian Military executive meeting (Rapim TNI), which takes place from Jan.

Lisa Siregar – After the end of the New Order, Indonesian press became free from government control. Anyone can now run and publish their own news without a permit.

Spiritual leaders say that religious-based clashes in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, have highlighted the inability of the government to address the root causes of conflicts that have pl

Amid all the controversy on illegal wives and polygamy is the silent hope among some women – the hope for a spouse, one way or the other.

Jakarta – Urban planners are urging the central government and the Jakarta administration to leave behind their old-fashioned ways to counter the capital's endemic flooding problem and

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is under growing pressure to raise fuel prices and curb oil imports as currency risks persist and the window to act narrows ahead of elections in 2014

Torrential rains across Indonesia triggered a pair of fatal landslides in Sumatra and another one in Bogor on the weekend and prompted flood evacuations in parts of Kalimantan, reigniti

Jakarta – Indonesia's army special forces (Kopassus) and Japan's self-defense forces army will continue to develop their cooperation to later even cover natural disaster mitigation.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Around 200 members of the Banua Niho Keriso Protestan (BNKP) or the Nias Protestan Church in Bandung, West Java, were unable to conduct Sunday service following loc

Margareth S.

Sulthoni Farras is a worker that became a victim of layoffs at a company in the capital city of Jakarta when the crisis hit in 1998.

Fitri, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – Advocates of ethnic and religious tolerance have demanded that police immediately bring to justice those responsible for instigating an attack on Tu

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & SP/Robertus Wardi – They can sing, dance, act and walk the runway, but the question on voters' minds is whether they represent the people and can pass qua

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The NasDem Party's first national congress in Jakarta on Friday was filled with uplifting and encouraging remarks from the fledgling party's leaders in the

Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – Indonesian Logistics Association (ALI) has predicted that logistics costs in the country will increase by about 3 percent this year following a rise in port fee

Tito Summa Siahaan – Frustrated over the low realization of investment commitment in the exploration of oil and gas sector, the government will tighten its supervision over oil and gas

Jakarta – The National Police on Friday defended their plan to spend Rp 1.366 trillion (US$140 million) for a number of procurements including the purchase of seven horses and 90 dogs t

The National Police Commission has criticized law enforcers' recent naming of a woman as a suspect in a traffic accident in Banyumas, Central Java, that killed her 11-year-old daughter

Nurfika Osman and Raras Cahyafitri, Jakarta – As the government has withheld its approval for PT Pegadaian and PT Pos Indonesia to debut on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), it is alm

Jakarta – The government officially started its campaign to strike off three zeros from the rupiah on Wednesday, with top officials expressing their optimism that the "redenomination" w

Margareth S.

Nurdin Hasan – Women's rights activists in Aceh have urged the chief of police in Simeulue district to show more seriousness in addressing a case in which three policemen allegedly drug

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The Religious Affairs Ministry's office in Blitar, East Java, has finally recommended the closure of six Catholic schools for refusing to provide Islamic te

Ina Parlina and Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono again called for religious tolerance in the country, a demand that will ring hollow among members of the S

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Representatives of displaced Shia adherents from Sampang, East Java, met with presidential advisor on human rights Albert Hasibuan on Wednesday to convey the

Chris Brummitt, Jakarta, Indonesia – Cheering crowds greeted the new leader of this Asian megacity as he toured its flooded business district atop a handcart typically used to haul garb

Dion Bisara – Foreign direct investment in Indonesia accelerated in the final quarter of last year due in part to investment in the metal, machinery and electronics industries.

Bandung – The Bandung State Court has decided to add one more year to the prison term of Sebastian Joe, who was sentenced to four years imprisonment for blasphemy of Islam by the Ciamis

Margareth S.

Yoseph Kelen, Kupang – Police in the East Nusa Tenggara island district of Lembata are closely monitoring a group who have syncretized various religions and are suspected of spreading d

Kusumasari Ayuningtyas, Klaten, C.

SP/Edi Hardum – Legislators have urged Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar to crack down on officials who extort illegal fees from migrant workers returning from over

Tasikmalaya – Thirty six followers of Ahmadiyah "converted" to Sunni Islam during a ceremony conducted at Agung grand mosque in Tasikmalaya, West Java, on Thursday.

Margareth S.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is bucking a United Nation's campaign to ban female circumcision, demanding that the government keep the practice legal.

Ezra Sihite – Indonesia has sent a team to London to negotiate the purchase of warships from Britain, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said over the weekend, several days after meet

Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has forged ahead in its investigation of the Koran procurement case at the Religious Affairs Ministry, by reques