The violence in West Papua this week is deeply worrying – and raises uncomfortable foreign policy questions for the Australian government, writes Senator Richard Di Natale.

Richard Chauvel – Last Wednesday the Papuan People's Congress was closed down by the violent intervention of Indonesian police and military.

The forceful dispersal on Wednesday of the concluding session of a three-day gathering of indigenous Papuans – self-proclaimed by the organizers as the third Papua People's Congress – i

International Lawyers for West Papua
http://www.ilwp.or
secretariat@ilwp.org

21 October 20

The latest Cabinet shake-up announced by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the eve of the third year of his second and last term in office has sent a negative signal to the market a

Should the nation let itself be trapped by greedy elites and their cronies, and should we simply wait for a miracle when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono eventually regains enough cou

Sahil Mahtani – In the parlor game of flavor-of-the-month economics, Indonesia is doing rather well.

Governor Fauzi Bowo's decision to issue a gubernatorial decree to restrict the issuance of shopping mall construction permits is commendable, considering that the city is already overcr

Ali Abdullah Wibisono, Nottingham, UK – Indonesia is not alien to the use of military in counterterrorism.

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to announce his new Cabinet lineup very soon.

Setyo Budi – The Jakarta-Papua dialogue is a test of political will for the Indonesian government and the West Papuan leadership in their search for a long-lasting, peaceful resolution

Fitri Bintang Timur, Singapore – When one comes across new legislation, they should ask: What does this bill regulate?

The fresh unrest, which broke out on Monday morning at the mining site of Timika-based copper and gold company PT Freeport Indonesia in Papua and killed one company employee and wounded

Benny Wenda – As a child growing up in the remote highlands of West Papua, we often heard stories from the elders about how our ancestors' spirits lived in the mountains and forests.

If criticism is analogous to nutrient food that helps democracy mature and grow stronger, the persistent demands from Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Fahri Hamzah for the diss

Yohanes Sulaiman – Last week, Indonesia was again entertained by the embarrassing spectacle of a standoff between the Corruption Eradication Committee and the House of Representatives B

Tobias Basuki, Jakarta – Religious liberty is the proverbial canary in the mine," according to Doug Bandouw, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

After a long deliberation process – costing three successive parliamentary hearing sessions – the House of Representatives' Commission I defense, foreign affairs and information and the

Armando Siahaan – In the world of Marvel comics, "With great power comes great responsibility," as the oft-quoted Spider-Man line goes.

Max Lane – On September 20, the State Electricity Company Trade Union of Indonesia issued a call for support for a campaign against the privatisation of the state-owned company, and aga

Bramantyo Prijosusilo – Just as he did following the Cirebon Police mosque bombing in April, after last Sunday's suicide bombing at a Solo church, the minister for communications and in

Michael Vatikiotis – A suicide bomber attacks a church in Solo, a homemade bomb is found near another church in Ambon, more bombs are hurled at police posts in South Sulawesi and two me

Tumbang Saan, Central Kalimantan – In this village near the heart of Borneo's great, dissolving rainforest, Udatn is regarded as a man of deep spiritual knowledge.

Is Indonesia headed for another round of deadly sectarian violence?

Julia Suryakusuma, Jakarta – We all know about "four-letter words" in the English language. Considered profane they've been used for many centuries for cursing.

The House of Representatives unanimously endorsed on Tuesday a new bill on electoral administration, which politicians claim will improve the quality of elections and democracy in the c

Max Lane – On Sunday, September 18, around 100 women staged a lightning protest in Jakarta's main thoroughfare, Jalan Thamrin, to protest statements by Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo in re

Taufik Ramadhan Indrakesuma – For several months now, residents of South Jakarta have been forced to endure road closures and detours because of the Antasari flyover project that aims t

Arto Suryodipuro, Jakarta – Members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) are regrouping on Sept.

Links between the state security apparatus and militia groups, such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), have long been alleged but remain unsubstantiated as no real proof has ever eme

Max Lane – It is 13 years since the Indonesian dictator Suharto was forced to resign by a student-led mass protest movement.

Simon Roughneen, Dili – Land, corruption and poverty are all on the table as Timor-Leste gets into political mode ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for 2012, w

Klas Lundstrom – Blackouts remain a significant part of East Timor's capital, Dili, although Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has promised the country's thirteen districts electricity by th

John McBeth – When criminal court judges are fearful of dishing out tough punishment or, worse, allow a certain empathy for the accused to colour their judgment, it is important to look

It happens so frequently that expectation does not live up to reality.

Elaine Pearson – What do US Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Patrick Leahy, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have in common?

Elisabeth Oktofani – The government must quickly set up a long-awaited body to oversee political and economic development in the restive province of Papua if it is to stem a rising tide

What new excuse will Bogor's controversial mayor Diani Budiarto come up with next to prevent the GKI Yasmin church from opening, one wonders?

Yanto Soegiarto – The summit conference of International Lawyers for West Papua held earlier this month in Oxford, England, should not be regarded by Indonesia as merely a focus group d

A.

Nazaruddin terrorized his former political allies and proteges while on the lam with taunts that they were bandits just like him.

Veby Mega Indah – When I ask Indonesian bureaucrats about the latest proclamations from some environmental group, I often get the same question: "Why are you journalists so close to the

Aris Ananta – As Indonesia grows richer and its citizens acquire increasing mobility, domestic migration between the country's five major islands and 30 smaller island clusters, which f

David Webster – What does a mining company need to do to get a top score for "corporate social responsibility"?

Vidhyandika D.

Wider autonomy granted to Papua in 2001 and a new deal to accelerate development in the resource-rich region in 2006 raised fresh hopes for its people to realize their long-standing que

Yohanes Sulaiman – Last week, House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie barged into the headlines, displacing Muhammad Nazaruddin's allegations of corruption within the Democratic P

John McBeth – A recent public opinion survey showing a drop in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's approval rating from 56.7 per cent to 47.2 per cent over the past six months is the c

Zely Ariane – It was not just for the sake of democracy that the Indonesian people overthrew Suharto's New Order dictatorship in May 1998, but also for justice and prosperity.

Pandaya – It seems that national politics gets more muddled every day. The media is filled with depressing news, from corruption, malfunctioning bureaucracy to communal violence.