Usman Hamid, Jakarta – Indonesia and other Asian countries have for better or worse to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The freedom of religious belief and the right to practice one's faith are protected by our Constitution.

Anita Rachman – House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie has found himself in a familiar position, back on the defensive over the extravagance of legislators.

Bandung – The hard-line Islamic Defenders Front is calling for those convicted of corruption to lose either their head or their hands, depending on the severity of the crime.

Anita Rachman – The official announcement that Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie will run as the presidential candidate for Indonesia's grand old party will be made next year, the m

Dofa Fasila & Ismira Lutfia – The Jakarta administration's threat to close the Greenpeace office on Monday fizzled after the environmental group asked for more time to move out of i

Andreas D.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Local business associations have complained about recent demands by workers for wage increases above the proper-living needs (KHL) standard set by regional lab

Camelia Pasandaran & Rangga Prakoso – The fledgling National Democratic Party vowed on Tuesday to fight any efforts to bar it from the general and presidential elections in 2014.

Jakarta – Members of the Center for Orangutan Protection protested in front the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday demanding that the President support the legal protection of or

President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500

November 15, 2011

Dear President Obama,

Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Via facsimile: +1-202-456-2461

The Obama administration's deepening relationship with Indonesia means being frank about Indonesia's serious human rights challenges.

November 14, 2011

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

Ulma Haryanto & Lisa Siregar – Over the past few weeks, we have been bombarded with survey after survey about public perceptions of corruption in government, law enforcement and bus

Human rights organization Setara Institute has urged the House of Representatives to cancel a bill that aims to boost tolerance in the country, arguing that it would instead exacerbate

Jakarta – Members of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) congregation were again prevented from holding mass as police officers and soldiers blocked access to their seale

A new survey says villagers on the Indonesian side of Borneo killed at least 750 endangered orangutans over a yearlong period, some to protect their crops and others for the apes' meat.

Dessy Sagita – Thirteen years after at least 12 university students and other civilians were killed by security forces in a demonstration at the Semanggi cloverleaf in South Jakarta, th

Anita Rachman – The country's second-largest Islamic group has thrown its full weight behind efforts to rid Indonesia of its heavy smoking habit.

North Maluku students demonstrated outside the Ternate mayor's office on Monday demanding the resignation of Deputy Mayor Arifin Djafar after he was recently photographed clubbing in a

Farouk Arnaz – Three more people with links to a high-profile terror suspect have been arrested by the police's Densus 88 counterterrorism unit, officials said on Monday.

Anita Rachman – The National Social Security Law may have passed, but a troubling question lingers about the fate of the existing health insurance scheme and its beneficiaries.

Constitutional Court (MK) chief Mahfud MD says that he has no objections to the Judicial Commission's (KY) authority to be able to tap into the phone calls of judges, a law which will b

Hundreds of Islamists rallied in Central Jakarta on Sunday to protest against this week's visit by US President Barack Obama.

The municipal government of Depok, one of Jakarta's satellite cities, banned advertisement billboards featuring 'sexy' women this month.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives have been told to immediately review the controversial 2003 Labor Law to better protect labor and revive th

Jakarta – The plan to convert tea plantations in North Sumatra to palm oil plantations could be detrimental to local economies and the environment, a local councilor said.

Ulma Haryanto – Legal aid activists and supporters showed on Friday their backing for under-fire environmental group Greenpeace, which is being evicted from its office by the Jakarta ad

Emily Rauhala – A year ago Barack Obama returned to Indonesia, where he lived as a boy, as President of the United States.

Hans David Tampubolon and Theresia Sufa, Jakarta, Bogor – Religious Affairs Deputy Minister Nasaruddin Umar says the government has been slow to resolve religious conflicts, particularl

Ulma Haryanto & Anita Rachman – It's official: the media mogul-backed National Democratic Party will contest the 2014 elections.

Agus Triyono – Revealing that it had kept convicted Central Jakarta Commercial Court Judge Syarifudin Umar under surveillance for three years, the Judicial Commission says it has anothe

Jakarta – Despite its extensive media resources, the Nasdem Party remained a "young and small party", and its odds of a strong showing in the 2014 general elections were low, political

Ezra Sihite – With its new media and financial clout, the four-month-old NasDem Party is aiming for a top-three finish in the 2014 legislative elections, but it still isn't ready to tal

Jakarta – As political parties prepare for the 2014 general elections, many have started to project their presence through advertisements running in the media, raising suspicions that s

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Amid various acts of discrimination and the persecution of followers of the Ahmadiyah sect, a UN official says blasphemy should not be categorized as a crime

Jajang Jahroni, Boston, Massachusetts – The phenomenon of our mosques today reflects the idea of incongruity.

Southeast Asian Games organizers insist the event will be a roaring success, but a raft of problems including corruption and unfinished venues threatens to turn it into a laughing stock

Jakarta – The Communication and Information Technology Ministry has announced plans to begin screening media following an earlier finding that media reporting was prone to misinformatio

Jakarta – An official from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has confirmed that party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri is still interested in running for president in

Jakarta – The newly established Union of Independent People Party (SRI) says that it has no intention of following fellow newcomer Struggle Work Party (Pakar Pangan), which recently for

Jakarta – United Development Party (PPP) secretary-general M.

Elisabeth Oktofani – Danu Pratama (not his real name) has worked as a journalist for nearly seven years, covering beats ranging from technology and politics to human rights and legal is

About 2,500 workers at Indonesia's largest mobile-phone carrier, Telkomsel, went on strike on Thursday demanding better pay and pensions, the latest dispute over labor in Southeast Asia

I Wayan Agus Purnomo, Deddy S, Jakarta – Violence against women in Papua has remained high over the past two years.

Yemris Fointuna and Elly Burhaini Faizal, Kupang/Jakarta – Women belong to a group which has thus far been frequently sidelined in human resources development in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT

Robert Finlayson – No one I know loves Soetta, aka Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, except me.

Jambi – The Jambi provincial administration has decided to ban female students from wearing short skirts that reach above the knee, Governor Hasan Basri Agus said.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) confirms a sharp rise in halal food products coming from China, but it remains skeptical over China's halal industry, which is presumed to still be in