Damien Kingsbury – The government's East Timor asylum seeker solution is dying a death of a thousand cuts. It is a slow and painful process and unedifying to watch it writhe in agony.

Rizal Ramli, Jakarta – Recent revelations from WikiLeaks documents, stating that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his family were involved in corruption are, frankly, not a big su

Jakarta – As our intelligence community is struggling hard to improve itself and provide early and accurate information to the country's top decision makers in the wake of several incid

Yohanes Sulaiman – Early on Saturday, on Twitter, I read the news about how Roy Suryo, Democratic Party lawmaker, managed to delay the 6:15 a.m. flight of Lion Air to Yogyakarta.

Hasyim Widhiarto and Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – Supported by solid constituencies, mainly comprising young and educated Muslims living in urban areas, the Prosperous Justice Party

Armando Siahaan – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will be remembered for a lot of things, but being a bastion of pluralism is definitely not one of them.

Socratez Sofyan Yoman, Jayapura – The people of Indonesia outside Papua are clearly confused and keep asking: Why have indigenous Papuans never recognized and accepted the Act of Free C

Bruce Gale – "We shall not ignore democratic values.

Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a force working against corruption and poor governance in Indonesian society.

Armando Siahaan – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should consider himself a lucky man.

Wimar Witoelar, Jakarta – The brouhaha surrounding the trouble in the ruling coalition between the Democratic Party, the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) might seem c

Joe Cochrane – I see nothing wrong with people changing their minds about an important issue. Nobody's perfect and a bit of self-reflection and calm, cool reasoning is healthy.

Johannes Nugroho – In spite of the state's stated efforts to combat corruption, Indonesia's record on clean governance is invariably dismal.

The young nation's application to join Asean should be approved despite the problems it may cause to the grouping's integration plan

Vincent Lingga – This week was abuzz with wide speculation that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would rebuke and oust the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) from his

Marcel Thee – The latest national sex video scandal involves a clip of Iwan Fajarudin, a National Mandate Party lawmaker from the Purworejo Legislative Council and a woman he claims is

Keith Loveard – The government is finding out the real cost of a free press: Nobody's reputation is safe, particularly if a media owner decides to take sides politically.

Taufik Darusman – Didik Setyo Handono, a judge at the South Jakarta District Court, deserves a medal: He is the first judge to apply the legal principle of reverse burden of proof since

Geradi Yudhistira, Jakarta – The government has responded to the impending food crisis by developing a food estate in the Papua regency of Merauke (MIFEE).

Hamish McDonald – With popular uprisings turfing out rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and perhaps elsewhere in the Arab world, a lot of analysts have focused on fears of "contagion" in other re

Elaine Pearson – Last July, violence erupted when municipal police and hundreds of people organized by militant Islamist groups tried to break into an Ahmadiyah mosque in Manis Lor vill

In the foreword to the Indonesian translation of "Suharto and His Generals: Indonesian Military Politics 1975-1983," the author, veteran Australian journalist David Jenkins, described a

Idries de Vries – The Indonesian Armed Forces recently announced it had accepted a grant of 24 F-16 jet fighters from the United States, and that during the course of 2014 it plans to b

Katherine Demopoulos, Jakarta – Indonesia's status as a thriving pluralist democracy is under threat as the country's religious minorities face increasingly violent persecution and Pres

Elaine Pearson – Last July, when the United States lifted its ban on military assistance to Indonesia's elite Special Forces, Kopassus, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised the Ind

The murder of three Ahmadiyah followers in Banten on Sunday is a concrete example of state-sponsored terrorism against the country's own citizens.

Dalih Sembiring – East Timor, officially known as Timor-Leste, is experiencing an economic boom.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar, Bali – After three decades of unchallenged rule, the president clings to power amid massive street protests calling for his resignation and reform.

Nick Chatterjee – A booming economy, falling debt and market-friendly reforms could see Indonesia secure an investment grade credit rating as early as this year, putting it on a par wit

Al Araf, Jakarta – The Jayapura Military Court sentenced three Army soldiers to between eight and 10 months of imprisonment for their role in the torture of civilians in Puncak Jaya, Pa

Alex Walls – "Do you sell child pornography?" I ask the bewildered sales girl at the DVD store politely.

Vidhyandika D.

Ron May – In his Independence Day address to the Indonesian Parliament in 2005, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he wished to resolve the Papua question in a just, peaceful and d

Testriono – Two studies on religious life in Indonesia released at the end of 2010 showed significant increases in the number of religiously motivated attacks and discrimination against

Aleksius Jemadu – When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told senior officials from the military and police last week that he had not received a pay raise in seven years, the statement

Joe Cochrane – I've been spending a lot of time in my front yard lately. Not that I'm an avid gardener, mind you.

There are two conventions in this country that obstinately evade a resolution.

The horrific torture of two Papuan men by military officers last year caught the nation by surprise and sullied the image of the Indonesian armed forces.

Desi Anwar – Now that we're becoming a nanny state, set on protecting our citizens by filtering all sorts of unsavory stuff, why stop at just BlackBerry?

Jia You – Many things could come to mind when one imagines a hospital; but could livestock be one of them?

Rinaldi Ridwan, Jakarta – Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring's plan to ban BlackBerry service in Indonesia unless it filters pornographic content is a

In a decision that not only upholds the Constitution but also sends a strong message to all Indonesians, the Supreme Court has struck down the Bogor administration's request to uphold t

Local military chiefs in two regencies in East Java set an unwanted political precedent last week by heavily – and effectively – demanding two local TV stations cancel the scheduled bro

Oktovianus Pogau – It's been almost 10 years since the 2001 Law on Special Autonomy in Papua came into being.

Donny Syofyan, Padang – The newly revised Law on Political Parties has sparked public concern after the House of Representatives recently passed it.

Joe Cochrane – Black it out, Indonesia, black... it... out.

Jakarta – A booming economy, falling debt and market-friendly reforms could see Indonesia secure an investment grade credit rating as early as this year, putting it on a par with BRIC n

Nicholaus Prasetya – As the euphoria of New Year celebrations draw near and we begin to reflect on the events of the past year, one trend in particular should add a sobering touch to ou

It has been more than a decade since Indonesia bid farewell to Soeharto's authoritarian regime and dove into the pool of democracy.

Tom Allard – In September, Indonesia's leader Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was moved to put pen to paper, composing a letter to Barack Obama.