Andrew Thornley – Information, as the axiom goes, is the oxygen of democracy.

Neles Tebay, Abepura, Papua – The year 2010 has been very special for Papuans. It is in this year that the central government has turned its attention to Papua.

Peter Alford, Jakarta – Densus 88, the Indonesian counter-terrorism police, used every day of the four months available to substantiate its charges against Abu Bakar Bashir before deliv

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The job of any defense lawyer is to prove his client innocent, or failing that to ensure the lightest punishment possible.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – The Australian and US governments have urged Indonesia to bring to justice soldiers who tortured two Papuan men in May, in a case that has emerged as a key test of

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar, Bali – An Indonesian tax official who claims he helped some of Indonesia's most powerful companies reduce their tax bills through millions of dollars in bribes p

Vincent Lingga – It has indeed not been without strong reason that national and international surveys have consistently singled out the National Police as the most corrupt public instit

In the continuing struggle against terrorism, the nation must employ every resource at its disposal.

Teguh Surya – Climate change has brought forest protection into the forefront of the global agenda.

The seven-month imprisonment given to a junior Army officer in Papua, who was shown on YouTube leading the torture of Papuan civilians, defies the sense of justice of any decent and san

Trefor Moss – Indonesia has long been the individualist of Asian geopolitics – a big country that behaved like a small one when all those around it were trying to do the opposite.

Robin Lee Santoso – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's speech against the persecution of minorities last month received much acclaim.

Walter Balansa – This month, Indonesia will celebrate National Health Day. For the second year in a row, it will pass with the Health Law's tobacco control regulation still pending.

Zoe Kenny, Yogyakarta – Thousands of mainly student protesters took to the streets in cities across Indonesia – including Jakarta, Palu, Makassar, Medan, Ternate, Samarinda, Bandung, Su

It doesn't get any lower than this. Or does it?

Trefor Moss – Southeast Asia's sleeping giant has begun to make some surprisingly wakeful noises.

Torture has no place in a modern, civilized society. Period.

Aubrey Belford, Jakarta – To millions, Suharto, the military strongman who ruled Indonesia for 32 years, was a tyrant, a thief and a murderer.

Peter Alford, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finished the first year of his second term yesterday beset by criticism from every direction.

By now there may be only a few of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's 34 Cabinet ministers who are confident that their positions are secure.

What a difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago there was so much hope and optimism when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took the oath of office for his second five-year term.

Radicalism is a cancer that is slowly devouring our nation.

That religious conservatism, or more precisely Islamic conservatism, is creeping into our state affairs comes as no surprise.

There is nothing more worrisome in a sovereign, rule-based state than the absence of legal certainty to ensure that laws and regulations are imposed and justice is upheld.

Muh Taufiqurrohman & Suharsana Aji – With just a day remaining before Comr. Gen.

It is no wonder that the government is having to respond to criticism about its tardy response to the flashfloods that swept across Wasior area in West Papua.

Jakartans had high hopes when they picked Fauzi Bowo to be the city's governor three years ago.

Could President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's skin be any thinner? Once again the president has lashed out after perceiving an incident as a personal transgression against him.

Christian Donny Putranto – Just moments before what was to be a historic flight to the Netherlands on Tuesday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono surprised quite a few people – his ento

Stanley A Weiss, Jakarta – One of the mesmerizing dances performed here is Jaipongan, a style that mixes Indonesian martial arts with village ritual music.

Bramantyo Prijosusilo – In the wake of the threats and wrath coming from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) against the gay film festival in Jakarta, a Democratic Party politician questi

"If you want to borrow some too, I have some [money] here," Gayus Tambunan, a defendant in a tax corruption mega-case told the judge during a hearing last week at South Jakarta District

Duncan Graham – Traffic jams are expected to vanish throughout Indonesia once a new edict by a leading agency takes effect.

Zely Ariane – We undertake united front work because it is a principal tactic with which to bring broader layers of the poor majority into the movement challenging the power of the ruli

Max Lane – In the Indonesia News Digest 31, August 16-23 there are more than 70 news items covering a wide range of issues relating to struggles for social justice and full democracy in

Neles Tebay, Abepura, Papua – The central government under the leadership of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is committed to continue establishing constructive dialogue with Papua.

Hendra Teja, Jakarta – Indonesia in the reform era has made significant strides in its efforts to eradicate corruption.

The right to worship freely is clearly enshrined in our Constitution. But to our nation's chagrin, this guarantee may only exist in theory, and not yet in practice.

Teddy Lesmana – Poverty remains a serious problem in Indonesia, despite the country's improved economic performance and robust economic growth in recent years.

Damien Kingsbury – As the new consolation prize, Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd's first job will be to try to implement the government's "East Timor solution" for asylum seekers.

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – We are not in competition with each other.

Taufik Darusman – It is only a matter of weeks or even days before the Corruption Eradication Commission ushers in a new chairman.

"The greatest threat facing the US is the tyranny of the majority," penned nineteenth-century French writer Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America.

Putri Prameshwari& Arientha Primanita – FPI flexing its muscle again. The Brown Shirts in Nazi Germany did that too – and no one stood up to them – and look what happened.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar, Bali – Six years ago, academic Greg Barton understood why Indonesian moderates were reluctant to clash with the country's radical Islamist minority.

Robert M Cutler, Montreal – Jakarta's principal stock market index has more than doubled since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the July 2009 presidential elections with a margin

Pandaya, Jakarta – The generous presidential pardon and remissions granted to graft convicts has strengthened Indonesia's status as a haven for corruption and eroded public trust in Pre

Clifford McCoy – The arrest last week of radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was the highlight of a government crackdown on Islamic militants following the discovery in February

Pandaya – The House of Representatives needs to make a breakthrough to improve its poor legislative performance as indicted by its almost certain failure to reach its target of endorsin

Jason Tedjasukmana – Rising tensions in Papua have Indonesian authorities worried about possible international intervention in the nation's easternmost province, reports the head of a g