Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono defended on Tuesday "brutal" actions committed by the military against insurgents in Talangsari village, Lampung, in 1989.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – In what is being denounced as a major blow to press freedom in the country, a court – dubbed "the graveyard for press freedom" – on Tuesday found Tempo guilty

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a long-awaited bill aimed at strengthening the authority of the National Ombudsman Commission (KON) in its superv

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Stigmatized as rebels, victims of the bloody Talangsari tragedy in East Lampung asked the government on Friday to rehabilitate their names and give the

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is set to push through the pornography bill in October, despite ongoing controversy over the draft law's vague definition of pornogr

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – State prosecutors on Thursday defended their charges of premeditated murder against former State Intelligent Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono, a

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – While police, prosecutors and judges are busily denying accusations of wrongful arrest and prosecution over the murder of Muhammad Asrori, the case has revealed

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Former senior intelligence official Muchdi Purwopranjono pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the 2004 murder of a prominent human rights campaigner, claiming the ch

Jakarta – A former top Indonesian spy pleaded not guilty Tuesday to ordering the murder by poisoning of a celebrated human rights activist who had exposed military abuses.

Another State Intelligence Agency (BIN) official had a stronger motive for murdering human rights activist Munir, Muchdi Purwopranjono's team of lawyers said Tuesday.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary
I. Introduction
II. The Security Sector

For the part six weeks, a group of forensic anthropologists from Australia and Argentina have been in East Timor searching for a mass grave allegedly used to bury hundreds of East Timor

Jakarta – Indonesia has seized 134 million dollars from a firm linked to Suharto's youngest son, reports said Saturday, in the latest move to bring the ex-dictator's family to account f

Jakarta – The majority of suspects in Jakarta are subjected to brutality while in police custody, a recent study claims.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Legal experts and civil society groups welcomed a US Federal court ruling Thursday to proceed with a trial against US energy giant ExxonMobil, which stands accus

Stephen Coates, Jakarta – The Indonesian military's links to human rights abuses while helping foreign mining firms are being exposed in a lawsuit by local villagers against US energy g

Ramadhian Fadillah, Jakarta – ExxonMobil is to be taken to court for allegedly supporting human rights violations by the Indonesian military (TNI) in Aceh.

Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces chief dismissed Thursday a US federal court judge's ruling that ExxonMobil must face a lawsuit over alleged killings and torture by troops in Aceh pro

Washington – ExxonMobil must face a lawsuit filed by Indonesian villagers alleging that the US oil giant is liable for killings and torture committed by military security forces, a fede

Hayley J. Campbell, Jayapura – A New Zealand MP along with Human Rights Groups are calling on Pacific countries to confront Indonesia on human rights abuses in West Papua.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – In an effort to shed its tarnished image as a violent and abusive institution, the Indonesian Military (TNI) on Friday began a three-day training program for sen

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Former top intelligence official Muchdi Purwopranjono premeditated the 2004 murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib out of ill will and revenge, a c

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, or ETAN, has welcomed the removal of Colonel Burhanuddin Siagian from his command in Papua.

The human rights situation in West Papua should be raised with Indonesia at the Post-Forum Dialogue in Niue, Joe Collins of AWPA said.

Jakarta – A former top Indonesian spy could face the death penalty after he was charged Thursday with orchestrating the poisoning murder of a celebrated rights activist who had exposed

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) and the West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) today welcomed the removal of Col. Burhanuddin Siagian from his command in West Papua.

Jo Chandler – Two weeks ago, the families of "disappeared" victims of the 1991 Santa Cruz Cemetery massacre gathered at a site west of the East Timor capital, Dili, and held a ceremony

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Bimo B. Basworo, 12, never met his grandfather, Nyoto, once a leader of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

[Joint statement by Amnesty International USA, East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN), and the West Papua Advocacy Team concerning Congressional letter to President Yudhoyono

Abdi Purmono, Pasuruan – The sentences handed down by the III-12 Surabaya Military Court against 13 marines who were charged over the shooting of Alastlogo village residents in the Leko

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The Surabaya Military Court on Thursday sentenced 13 marines to prison terms of 18 months to three-and-a-half years for fatally shooting four villagers and

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – In the past three years child trafficking has increased in West Nusa Tenggara, according to the provincial chapter of LBH APIK.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Prisoners convicted last year of corruption, illegal logging, terrorism and drug abuse will not be eligible for annual prison term reductions granted in observ

Former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono has requested a city arrest, as the Attorney General's Office (AGO) prepares to indict him for his role in the m

The Australia West Papua Association in Sydney has written to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders who will meet in Niue on the 19 August for the opening of the 39th PIF Leaders Summ

Tito Belo, Dili – The United Nations urged on Thursday East Timor not to let those responsible for bloodshed surrounding Dili's 1999 independence vote from Indonesia off the hook, pledg

Bernarda Rurit, Yogyakarta – The Home Affairs Department has cancelled 968 of 6,500 regional regulations and draft regulations made by regional governments throughout Indonesia.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Prosecutors will seek the death sentence for Maj. Gen.

Washington – The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) today congratulated U.S. congress members for their letter to Indonesian president, Dr. H.

Canberra – East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta has defended his decision to pardon a notorious Timorese militia leader, saying it was unfair to keep him in prison while Indonesians re

Jeff Kingston – On July 15 in Bali the leaders of Indonesia and East Timor met and received the final report of the Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) and issued a joint statement

[Unfinished Nation: Indonesia before and after Suharto. By Max Lane. Verso 2008 312 pages. RRP (Australia) $49.95. Reviewed by Nick Everett.]

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Justice for victims of conflict and human rights abuses in once-restive Aceh could be a long time coming, with the government and the court yet to show a

Stephanie March, Dili – East Timor's inaugural Journalist of the Year awards last week provided much-needed encouragement for professionals facing an uncertain future, as authorities dr

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Calls are mounting for the government to immediately finalize drafting a bill on governance administration which is intended to promote bureaucratic reforms i

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The press community has warned against the emergence of a new form of censorship as evident in a recent ruling between Koran Tempo and a paper company, a discu

Dili – The report of the Commission for Truth and Friendship on who was behind the violence surrounding East Timor's independence vote in 1999 ignores justice, a Catholic Church officia

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Victims of the July 27, 1996, attack on the headquarters of then opposition leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, commemorated the incident on Sunday by launching a bo

Indah Setiawati, Jakarta – Anwar Rosadi, the father of a 12 year old, who had worked as a maid for Renata Tan, looked worried.

Last week saw the much-anticipated release of the Truth and Friendship Commission (CTF) final report. The Commission was established by the governments of Indonesia and East Timor.