Faced with the serious threats posed by other political parties in the 2004 general elections, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has closed ranks in a move to consolid

Commentary by Sayidiman Suryohadiprojo, Jakarta – It seems that Americans are wondering why more and more Muslims in Indonesia are getting annoyed with the US, including "moderate" Musl

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Minister of Finance Boediono warned bankers on Friday to remain prudent as the economy would continue to face uncertainties next year.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – It has been an exciting two years in the relationship between the United States, the world's only remaining superpower, and Indonesia, the nation with the world

The Islamic militant who masterminded the Bali bombings was sentenced to death by firing squad after an Indonesian court found him guilty of an "extraordinary crime against humanity."

Jakarta – Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Tuesday the revised antiterrorism law would not allow intelligence officers to arrest or investigate suspects

Jakarta – The government has acknowledged that one of the intentions of the revisions or amendments to Law Number 15/2003 on the Elimination of Criminal Acts of Terrorism is to give a r

Sari P. Setiogi and M.

Jakarta – Coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) declared force majeure on overdue shipments to a number of its customers in response to a worker strike that has entered its sec

Jakarta – It is hoped that society will be on its guard against the possibility that Regional Representative Assemblies (DPD) will not become an platform for "old" politicians to make a

Max Lane, Jakarta – On August 28, the Party of United Peoples Opposition (POPOR) submitted the necessary documentation to the Indonesian authorities to be registered as a legal politica

Apriadi Gunawan, Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra – Smuggling has persisted in a seemingly unchecked manner at perhaps 15 small seaports in North Sumatra province despite the presence of se

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The prosecution of those alleged to have taken part in the massacre of at least 33 people by the Indonesian Military in Tanjung Priok in 1984 would be

Pip Hinman & Vannessa Hearman – The Kopassus chief, Commander Major General Sriyanto, invited to Australia to cement a military deal with Canberra, will shortly be tried for human r

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government has already conceded that its 2003 reforestation target is unlikely to be met, even before the program has been launched.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Members of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I for security affairs rejected on Monday a resolution to officially hold President Megawati Soekarnop

M.

Jakarta – Indonesian prosecutors yesterday charged two retired army generals in the massacre of more than 30 Muslim protesters two decades ago during the rule of former president Suhart

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Camping on the rubble of their old houses on Jl.

A controversial new policy abolishing visa-free entry for citizens of 39 countries and reducing the length of a tourist visa from 60 to 30 days will come into force on December 1, the g

Matthew More, Jakarta – The head of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation has questioned the existence of Jemaah Islamiah in Indonesia.

Jakarta (Agencies) – Indonesia has begun freezing the assets of militants whom the United States identified last week as suspected members of the al Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiah Muslim

R.

Rather than point her finger at endemic corruption and poor law enforcement, President Megawati Sukarnoputri says rampant illegal logging in Indonesia is due to rising international dem

Zakki Hakim, Jakarta – "When kancil is released, common people like me will suffer the most," said Sukim, 35, a Bajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) driver in Rawamangun, East Jakart

Public radio in the early 1960s aired patriotic songs every one hour or so. The lyrics of one song were "Liberate Irian, Liberate Irian" (Seize Irian, Seize Irian).

Robert Go, Kutai Kartanegara – Children go to school for free, college students get scholarships, and child labour will be abolished by 2005 in this small town on the edge of the vast r

Bengkuliu, Bengkulu – Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) Aburizal Bakrie reminded everyone that Bank Indonesia was the country's monetary authority.

Robert Go – Decentralisation has resulted in dubious enterprises in Kutai Kartanegara and strange regulations in various parts of the archipelago.

Robert Go – Kebumen and Semarang in Central Java are two places which have used their increased powers wisely.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's military (TNI) showed signs this week of tightening its hold on Aceh and Papua, two resource-rich regions at either ends of the sprawling archipelago th

Bandung-More than 400 people from Sumedang regency, West Java, protested at the provincial governor's office in Bandung on Thursday against the government's revived plan to build the Ja

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Indonesia's Vice-President, Hamzah Haz, has accused the US of being the "king of terrorists" in a scathing attack that echoed the language of many of the Bali b

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta-The Jakarta Composite Index surged on Thursday to its highest level in more than three years as foreign funds continued flowing into the bourse.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' inquiry into the highly publicized and controversial Russian jet fighter purchase reached an anticlimax on Thursday with just a c

Moch. N.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky said "there is no subject so old that something new cannot be said about it".

David Isenberg – Despite the four-year sentence handed on Tuesday to radical Islamist cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and the August 11 capture of top Jemaah Islamiya leader Riduan Isamuddin,

Supporters of radical Indonesian cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, say the four year jail term handed down by a court in Jakarta is only a token sentence to spare the Indonesian Government the

James Balowski, Jakarta – Taking a leaf out of US President George Bush's cynical manipulation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the Indonesian military (TNI) is

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The four-year jail sentence on Abu Bakar Bashir proved a disappointment for both supporters and detractors of the militant cleric.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir did not have to shed any tears in court when his verdict was read out yesterday.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Abu Bakar Bashir ended his day in court yesterday in the same way that he had begun it.

Matthew More, Jakarta – Indonesia has failed in its attempts to prove Abu Bakar Bashir is the head of the terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiah that was responsible for carrying out th

The Australian government's support for closer military ties with the Indonesian armed forces (TNI), including the Kopassus special forces, is a discredited form of interference in Indo

Jakarta – The water table in Jakarta has dropped by two meters due to the severe drought in Java this year, threatening water supplies to nearly half of Jakarta's 8.6 million population

Nugroho and Ainur R.

A'an Suryana and Mochammad N.

Jakarta – The reform movement which has the principle aim of eliminating corruption, collusion and nepotism can no longer be left to the large political parties who obtained significant

Jakarta – Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), rose in August by 0.84 percent, bringing the rate for the first eight months of the year to 2.11 percent, the Central