Jakarta – Politicians are stepping up their attempts to spare former president Soeharto from sitting trial for corruption and human rights crime allegations dating back to his 32 years

"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." - George Orwell

Fitri Wulandari and Harry Suhartono, Jakarta – As a student activist, Heri Akhmadi was beaten and jailed.

Jessinta Tan, Solo – Astana Giribangun, a solemn and beautiful graveyard on the slope of Mount Lawu on the outskirts of Solo city, has been temporarily closed for what is said to be "ro

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Indonesian anti-riot police briefly clashed with about 100 demonstrators on Saturday as they called for former Indonesian president Suharto to be brought to ju

Suharto, who ruled Indonesia from 1966 until he was ousted in 1998, decisively shaped the post 1965 political and economic trajectory of Indonesia.

Suharto, who ruled Indonesia from 1966 until he was ousted in 1998, decisively shaped the post 1965 political and economic trajectory of Indonesia.

Jakarta – Media observers and activists said Thursday the countless reports on Soeharto's ill health could evoke sympathy from the public, which would then lead to forgiveness over his

Anthony Deutsch, Jakarta – Indonesia endured decades of bloodshed during Suharto's dictatorship.

Blontank Poer, Surakarta – To have been branded a communist was without doubt painful during Soeharto's reign.

It seem almost quaint now, but Indonesia's longtime president Suharto, who now lies dying, was once praised by the Washington for his strong anti-Communism, backed by a muscular, US-sup

Fabio Scarpello, Denpasar – Some want him pardoned and remembered as the "Father of Development." Others say his name should forever be linked to the crimes he committed.

Ahmad Pathoni, Solo – About 30 Indonesian protesters performed a traditional mask dance in the royal city of Solo on Tuesday to demand that former president Suharto, who is critically i

There was great hope nearly a decade ago that victims of state violence and all Indonesian people would have justice, when president Soeharto stepped down after 32 years in power.

Should he go or should he stay home and send a lower-ranking proxy?

Robin McDowell, Jakarta – Ten years ago, Amien Rais led thousands of demonstrators chanting "Hang Suharto!" to the halls of parliament, where they demanded the resignation of a man wide

Adianto P.

Sultani – Each time Suharto falls ill and is taken to hospital, the public is inevitably faced with the choice of forgiving him for his mistakes or continuing legal proceedings against

General Suharto of Indonesia is fading fast, the news bulletins say. So when I came into the country, I started asking how people felt about their dying killer.

Budi Kurniawan – Indonesia's former dictator Soeharto remains in a critical condition in a Jakarta hospital.

Richard Lloyd Parry – Indonesia was at the end of an era last night, as its former dictator Suharto, the general and mystic who for 32 years dominated the world's largest Muslim nation,

Jakarta – The Indonesian government and Suharto family have agreed to settle out of court a civil corruption suit against the former president, who is critically ill, the attorney gener

Jakarta – As former president Soeharto lies ill in hospital, politicians and political experts are trying to decipher a message he reportedly sent to Megawati Soekarnoputri instructing

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – The Golkar Party has shown its teeth.

Aubrey Belfor – While Indonesia's Suharto is reviled overseas, critics say a mix of fear, self-interest and affection among the country's political elite means the ailing former dictato

Adianto P.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – As the country's longest serving former president lay in hospital over the weekend his loyalists appealed for all charges against him to be dropped.

John Aglionby – The powerful speaker of Indonesia's parliament has called for legal proceedings to be dropped against Suharto, the 86-year-old former dictator who is in critical conditi

John Roosa – Taciturn, reserved, reclusive, emotionless, Suharto ruled Indonesia for 32 years as a mystery man, a dictator who presented himself as a faceless, replaceable figure in an

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Decades of development of injustices and resurging sense of ethnicity may serve as indications that Indonesian unity as a nation was still far-fetched or even lo

Anthony Deutsch, Bekasi – The downfall of former Indonesian dictator Suharto, one of the most corrupt and brutal rulers of the last century, swept in an era of political freedom and hop

Rafiqa Qurrata A, Jakarta – Dissatisfied with the process of reform that they believe has failed, 1998 activists are threatening to make a comeback.

Jakarta – The commemoration of nine years after President Suharto's resignation on May 21, 1998, was held yesterday (21/5) by a number of student organizations and non-governmental inst

[The following is a compilation of abridged translations taken from Detik.com on demonstrations commemorating nine years since the fall of former President Suharto on May 21, 1998.]

By Peter King, Sydney University

Abstract

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Former chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto denied Thursday that he berated then president B.J.

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – The much-vaunted reform movement has helped Indonesia build a democratic infrastructure but the country has yet to develop democratic practices, a noted politi

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – When reform swept across the country in 1998, forcing authoritarian ruler Soeharto to step down, everybody hoped the movement would improve the life o

Dozens of Indonesian students have burned a picture of ex-dictator Suharto in a rally to mark the seventh anniversary of his fall after 32 years of iron-fisted rule.

Michael Casey – Thousands of protesters across Indonesia marked the seventh anniversary of the fall of former dictator Suharto on Saturday by burning his portrait and demanding his pros

Jakarta – Dubbed a country undergoing the transition to democracy, Indonesia still appears unable to make a clean break with the old perceptions that consider the ruler and symbols of t

Indonesia's ex-dictator Suharto, who has escaped trial on massive graft charges because he was deemed too ill to follow proceedings, has made a rare public appearance and appeared quite

Jakarta – The development of Indonesian democracy after more than six years of transformation from an authoritarian regime has failed to usher in significant change in the country's pol

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Representatives of more than 200 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) began a three-day national conference here on Monday to discuss their roles in society an

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Six years after the onset of the reform movement that was triggered by the death of four Trisakti University students in Jakarta in May 1998 at the hands of se

The impact of Indonesia's election has been widely debated, but little attention has been paid to the movements for change in the country.

Alisa P, Jakarta – Speaking at the offices of the Dakwah Muhammaddyah, Munir SH, the executive director of Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) said that National Mandate Party (PA

M.

Jakarta – The public at large are disappointed with the sluggish process of reform, including in the legal sector, and have begun to hope for the return to the old system under former a

Anindhita Maharrani, Jakarta – Cleaning up the New Order [regime of former President Suharto] is truly a super difficult job.