The Constitutional Court could not have come up with a worse decision when it ruled that the carving of Papua into three provinces was illegitimate while also recognizing the presence o

H.S. Dillon, Jakarta – The forensic results recently released by the Dutch authorities have served to confirm a nagging suspicion.

Evan Jones, Batam – It is welcoming news to see that our new State Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik is looking at extending the number of countries whose tourists will be elig

The saga over the massive corruption case at Bank BNI has taken a new turn this week with new allegations of bribery and extortion between the suspects and their investigators.

Our society is so image conscious. We love the ceremony, the symbolism, the pageantry, but without grasping the substance.

The restive Indonesian province of Papua was a ticking time bomb that could drag Australia into its wreckage, a prominent Papuan human rights campaigner has warned.

The end of Ramadhan is the time of year when Indonesia's transportation system, its bureaucracy and network is the most severely tested.

The country has been through an enormous political transformation in the last few weeks.

As the nation clamors for change, the conduct currently being exhibited by the honorable members of our national legislature, the House of Representatives, does not bode well for the im

Dan Kingsley, Jakarta – We have read quite a bit recently about how Indonesia's non-oil manufacturing exports have been decreasing.

The press in our former colony, the tiny East Timor, is much more free than ours; the new nation ranks number 57 together with Ghana and a notch above Thailand on a newly released list

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – When asked about the decision of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to oblige his ministers to sign a "political contract" before their appointments, a senior

It all sounds too familiar.

Agus Sumule, Manokwari – The downfall of former president Soeharto on May 21, 1998, undoubtedly fueled the widespread revival of free speech among the people – including Papuans – in de

For much of the past week, the nation has been so consumed by speculating about who President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will pick as his Cabinet ministers.

While it offered little that was exceptional in this kind of address, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's inaugural speech gave us a picture of the concerns foremost in his mind.

Allan Behm – The pundits might want to dismiss Alexander Downer's thinking out loud on a security agreement with Indonesia as a volte-face or the cynical repackaging of a Keating legacy

A new security treaty between Indonesia and Australia would symbolise the increasingly close relationship between the two countries.

Ben Terrall – Shortly after being declared victor over Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesian President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters, Our big theme will be reconciliation an

"A mouse dying in a rice barn" is perhaps the most suitable adage to describe the dire condition of PT Asean Aceh Fertilizer (AAF), after the decision early this week by the outgoing ad

After all the praise that has been heaped by the public and the media on President Megawati Soekarnoputri for the contribution she made in smoothing the path towards democracy in Indone

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's promise this week to put national reconciliation at the top of his government's agenda once he is installed as president on October 20 could not have come at

Muhammad Qodari, Jakarta – Victory for presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is almost certain.

Harry Bhaskara, Jakarta – "Change" has been Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's campaign mantra, which brought him into the top position using the tiny and little-known Democratic Party as his s

With extraordinary swiftness the National Police are pursuing the alleged pollution case in Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi.

Although slashing fuel subsidies should be at the top of president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's economic agenda during the first 100 days of his administration, raising fuel prices

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – A week after his apparent landslide victory, the policies of presumptive president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono remain unclear.

Satish Mishra, Jakarta – As Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono starts on his final preparation to take over the reins of – ower, it is worth remembering what most observers and pundits were sayin

If politics were reality TV, democracy would mean electing the most-popular idols on TV shows through a cellular phone short message service (SMS).

As the vote count rolls on it has become clear that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate Jusuf Kalla are going to win in a landslide and lead the nation for the next five years

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Indonesia's first direct presidential election has ended with a Bambang and a whimper.

Manjit Bhatia – In Indonesia's July 5 direct presidential poll – the country's first since the corrupt Suharto dictatorship's downfall in 1998 – contender Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono thump

Flick through the channels on any given night and chances are you will come up against reality – reality TV that is.

The inadequate 10-year sentence handed down to self-confessed Bali bomber Idris, after the charges relating to Bali were dropped, is a slap in the face to victims and their families and

Megawati Sukarnoputri was right.

Indonesia's outgoing parliament is preparing for an historic send-off.

Paul Barber, London – Indonesia is fast learning the lesson that while elections are an important part of the transition from dictatorship to democracy, the more difficult parts include

A public debate is raging over the Indonesian Military (TNI) bill.

Kusnanto Anggoro, Jakarta – There are quite a few positive sides to the territorial structure of the Indonesian Military (TNI), as ID Nugroho and Netty Dharma Somba wrote in this newspa

John Saltford, London – In his July 30th article in this newspaper, Foreign Affairs official Andri Hadi argues against any discussion of the 1969 Indonesian-organized act of self determ

[This transcript was kindly supplied by Tony O'Connor as ABC TV no longer provides transcripts.]

Reporter: Anthony Balmain (AB)

The recent declassification of documents by the US National Security Archive pertaining to the 1969 referendum on Papua has put this vast and resource-rich westernmost province of Indon

It is certainly gratifying to hear, straight from the horse's mouth as it were, that fighting corruption is so close to the hearts of our presidential election candidates.

Earlier today Mark Davis spoke to Indonesia's Ambassador to Australia, Imron Cotan, from Canberra.

Given the attention that is currently being paid in both government and media circles to the Swedish court's decision to release two leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) from custody

Farish A. Noor – Aceh has played a crucial role in the development of Indonesian national identity and the Indonesian nation-state.

As required by law, the 10 candidates opened their purses and publicly reported their wealth last week to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Amsterdam – They opted for ballots and promised changes; yet, the rise of former generals in the presidential election raises questions as to ex-militaries' potenti

Sidney Jones – On Sunday morning, my colleague from the International Crisis Group and I left Jakarta – expelled, apparently, for being a threat to Indonesia's security and damaging its

The expulsion from Indonesia of the American terrorism expert Sidney Jones can only undermine the democratic credentials of the Megawati Government.