Jakarta – Several activist organizations have committed support to Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and his deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat to run in the 2017 gubernatorial elec

Fedina S.

Jakarta – The government granted sentence reductions to 128 corruption convicts on Independence Day amid a controversial plan by the Justice and Human Rights Ministry to revise a 2012 government re

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – The abrupt sacking of Arcandra Tahar from his post as Energy and Mineral Resources Minister shows the tug of war between two influential camps in President Joko Wid

Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – As a result of an increase in rape cases, the government has opened a 24-hour call center to receive reports of rape.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan, North Sumatra – Acts of violence by Indonesian Air Force personnel during a clash with residents of Sari Rejo subdistrict, Medan Polonia district, on Monday, were recorded b

Bambang Nurbianto, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia – The Indonesian government, plantation companies and communities need to take immediate action to prevent forest fires as hot spots have started to em

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's Independence Day speech on Tuesday – which covered the direction of the country's economy – was overshadowed by weak data on exports, cons

Ken Setiawan – After the latest round of executions, and with the death penalty seen as a justified response to drug-related crimes, is there any hope for human rights reform in Jokowi's Indonesia?

Djemi Amnifu and Panca Nugraha, Kupang/Mataram – The spread of HIV in the nation's eastern provinces has prompted local administrations to raise awareness about the virus and roll out more HIV prog

Faiza Mardzoeki, Jakarta – Indonesia has now been independent for 71 years. What has been achieved, especially for women?

Rizal Harahap, Jon Afrizal and Hans Nicholas Jong, Pekanbaru/Jambi/Jakarta –Fire is raging through more areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan as the dry season has worsened in the regions.

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – Despite the high enthusiasm seen in every tax amnesty program dissemination event held throughout the country, the number of program participants are still below the gover

Ina Parlina and Haeril Halim, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo officially dismissed on Monday Arcandra Tahar from his position as energy and mineral resources minister after serving just th

Farida Susanty, Jakarta – The government said Monday it would tighten supervision on the management of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal 3 to ensure immediate service improvement amid

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – Indonesia's balance of payments (BoP) ended in positive territory in the second quarter, thanks to improving exports and hefty foreign funds inflows.

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – One day in the 2015 fasting month, the field commander of the Yogyakarta chapter of the Indonesian Islamic Front (FUI), Muhammad Fuad Andreago, led dozens of his men

Yogyakarta has been famous as the Javanese cultural capital and a center of excellence.

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – Indonesians think highly of Australia – but it would seem the feeling isn't mutual.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Bandung Mayor Ridwan "Emil" Kamil says he has not given the nod to a program for Islamic preachers to board city buses and give sermons.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – With growing Islamic conservatism in the country, spiritualism has become a popular leisure activity – or at least that's what a local administration has in mind.

Independence day speeches need clear signal on human rights

Attorney-General George Brandis went to the Indonesian province of Papua last week, boasting his trip was a first by an Australian minister.

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – The government will set minimum and maximum prices – technically referred to as price floors and ceilings – for staple foods as part of efforts to prevent volatility in th

Margareth S.

Djemi Amnifu, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – Care for West Timor Foundation (YPTB) chairman Ferdi Tanoni expressed his thanks for the Australian Greens' support of the class action lawsuit filed by I

Jakarta – Following uproar on social media on Friday, a painting entitled #The Indonesia Idea (.ID) by Galam Zulkifli at the new Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has been taken do

Jakarta – With the public standing behind it in opposition to the possible prosecution of its leader for defamation, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has pushed

Farida Susanty, Jakarta – In an effort to boost infrastructure development, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in January instructed the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry to speed up its budget

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – Indonesia will need to offer more than tax incentives in order to propel competitiveness with its peers in ASEAN, especially if it wants to compete with renowned business

Ni Komang Erviani, Bali – The government is preparing a legal instrument that will allow closer monitoring of the funding of non-profit organizations after authorities detected that many of them we

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The US-Indonesia Council on Religion and Pluralism will tackle intolerant movements within Indonesia, the council's co-chair has said.

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The government encouraged an unprecedented attack against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in early 2016, violating the minority group's secur

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has not responded to an urgent call to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, Kyle Knight, a researcher at rights

Callistasia Anggun Wijaya, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration has called on the House of Representatives to ensure that the prohibition bill, which it is deliberating, will not negatively affect

Samantha Hawley, Indonesia – A peak human rights group has accused the Indonesian Government of fuelling a campaign of hate against the LGBT community.

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Haeril Halim, Jakarta – "If we can't express our opinions in social media, then where?

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Politicians might employ propaganda maligning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people to gain support from intolerant groups in the upcoming regional

Tens of thousands of endangered birds are being sold illegally at markets across Indonesia, threatening these species with extinction.

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – A brief video showing a father and his son engaging in an arm-wrestling duel went viral on YouTube a month ago.

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – Most factions at the House of Representatives have rejected the national security bill, which if passed would extend the role of the military, making it as strong a

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has revealed hundreds of drug-related cases involving its own personnel in the first half of this year on the back of controversy sur

Melbourne – Gadjah Mada University (UGM) historian Dr Abdul Wahid has put forward a hypothesis that intellectual genocide occurred in Indonesian tertiary education institutions following the 1965 a

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – Finance Ministry's taxation director general Ken Dwijugiasteadi expresses hope that corporate income tax can reach as low as 10 percent, from the current 25 percent, in th

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has urged the National Police to investigate the testimony made by the now executed drug lord Freddy Budiman about bribes he allegedly gave

Stefani Ribka – The consumer goods sector will remain the jewel of the Indonesian economy's crown, thanks to the country's large population and rising disposable income.

Indra Budiari, Jakarta – Andro Supriyanto, 21, a street performer, recalled the night he spent with his friend in the custody of the Jakarta Police.

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-101-2016

Dear Friends,

Agnes Anya, Jakarta – The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) has urged the police not to issue investigation termination warrants (SP3) in the alleged sexual assault of an intern

Indonesia is in the midst of a government-incited meltdown about LGBT rights. In January, the country's high education minister said he wanted to ban LGBT student groups from university campuses.