Jayapura – "Since it was first established on November 19, 2008, the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) has always been confronted by many challenges including attempts at criminalisation and disbandment by the state through the institutions of the TNI [Indonesian military] and Polri [Indonesian police]."

Yudha Baskoro – Refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan rallied in front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) building in Central Jakarta last week.

Jakarta – Human rights activists expelled Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Moeldoko when he arrived at a Kamisan (Thursday) action in front of the Paragon hotel the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang on Thursday November 18. The incident was recorded in a video shared by Semarang Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) lawyer Cornel Gea.

The calf of a Sumatran elephant sadly died in Aceh yesterday, just days after she was rescued from a poacher's trap with part of her trunk almost completely severed.

The province's Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) rescued the 1-year-old female near Alue Meuraksa village on Sunday. Officials believe the baby elephant had been ensnared in the trap for days.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Panjaitan has threatened to audit non-government organisations (NGOs) after accusing them of spreading incorrect information.

Benny Mawel, Jayapura – The West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organization (TPNPB-OPM) has said it will not call a truce nor engage in a dialogue with the Indonesian government unless the United Nations (UN) acts as a mediator and the dialogue is favorable to the Papuan people.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo gave a noken, or a traditional Papuan woven bag, to New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Nanaia Mahuta during her visit to the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021.

The president also explained how Papuan mamas made the noken, as well as expressed gratitude for New Zealand's support for Indonesia's territorial integrity.

The National Police's Densus 88 counter-terrorism unit has arrested a member of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) over his alleged ties to terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – Indonesia's anti-terror police have arrested a member of the Jakarta-based Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and two other suspected terrorists linked to Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), which is responsible for a number of attacks across Southeast Asia.

One hundred and ninety-four Catholic leaders from across West Papua have called for an end to military operations in the Indonesian-ruled region.

The Moral Call by 194 Catholic Pastors in Papua, urging government to facilitate peace in the region, was delivered on Thursday November 11 at the Bright World of Christ Parish in Waena, Jayapura.

Cilacap – In a quiet mangrove forest in central Indonesia, a man moves gingerly across vegetation distinguished by its big, wooden stilt roots, searching for fallen mangrove fruits that rest on leaves or float on the water.

Gathering a handful of what looks like string beans, the man, a batik craftsman, heads home to make natural dye from them.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said she visited Singapore on Tuesday to discuss details of the vaccinated travel lane with her Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan.

Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – The Indonesian Workers Union Association (Aspek Indonesia) firmly opposed the government's decision to announce the average increase in the Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) in 2022 at 1.09 percent.

Noir Primadona Purba and Muhamad Maulana Rahmadi – As the world's largest archipelagic country, Indonesia should be showing more concern about the impact of climate change on small islands.

Sea level has risen by around 21-24cm globally since the pre-industrial level as a result of melting ice in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Health Ministry's spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said vaccination coverage in Indonesia has surpassed the WHO's target.

The WHO targeted to vaccinate at least 10% of the population of every country by the end of September, at least 40% by the end of the year, and 70% globally by the middle of 2022.

Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Court has decided to reduce the jail term of a notorious cleric for circulating false information about his Covid-19 test result.

Mark Bowling, Brisbane – British journalist and filmmaker Max Stahl has been honoured at a funeral Mass in St Stephen's Cathedral in Brisbane – 30 years after he filmed a massacre in East Timor – an action that helped the tiny nation on its path to independence.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Tuesday commented on the massive floods that devastated the Sintang Regency in West Kalimantan. He blamed the region's broken water catchment, which the president said has been a problem for decades.

Muhammad Hendartyo, Jakarta – Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara said the assumed cost to reduce CO2 emissions from 2020 to 2030 was Rp3,779 trillion. From this calculation, Rp343.6 trillion per year is needed to reduce CO2 emissions.

"These are real numbers," Suahasil said in an online discussion on Tuesday, November 16.

Tempo.Co, Jakarta – As the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) to the UN United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow comes to a close, members and partners of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) reiterate their rejection to false climate solutions reflected in the COP26 outcomes that further burden grassroots women and

Joao da Cruz Cardoso – After two decades of independence, development in Timor-Leste is exemplified by growing economic activity in Dili, the country's capital city.

Bisnis.Com, Jakarta – The Manpower Ministry's Director-General for Industrial Relations and Manpower Social Security, Indah Anggoro Putri, said the average provincial minimum wage or UMP in 2022 will increase by 1.09 percent.

The figure is obtained by using a new calculation formula referring to Government Regulation No. 36/2021 on Wages.

Antara, Jakarta – Government Regulation No. 36 of 2021 on Wages was issued to lower disparity between regions, stated Manpower Ministry's Industrial Relations and Social Security Development of Labor Director General, Indah Anggoro Putri.

M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – The Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD) chairman of Commission D Ida Maheasy said the capital city currently only has 9.2 percent of green open space or RTH. She opined that it is impossible for the city government to meet the target of 30 percent green spaces.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The Indonesian Supreme Court (MA) on Tuesday has reinstated the prison sentencing for graft convict Djoko Tjandra to 4 years and 6 months, which is level with his initial court sentencing prior to his cassation appeal.

Supreme Court spokesperson Andi Samsan Nganro on Tuesday confirmed this to Tempo.

As of January this year, food estate players have been seemingly seeking for investment from abroad to sponsor their ambitions.

Jakarta – Indonesia is calling on the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen partnerships in empowering micro, small and medium enterprises – or MSMEs – as well as combating the climate crisis in a sustainable manner.

Antara, Jakarta – Yesterday on the 14th of November 2021, data from the Ministry of Health stated that as many as 84,161,759 Indonesian citizens have received the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – Commander of the Cendrawasih Regional Military Command Maj. Gen. Ignatius Yogo Triyono supports a dialogue approach to be taken in order to resolve the conflict in Papua. To date, the government is still applying a military approach in the easternmost province.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The latest survey by pollster Politika Research & Consulting (PRC) showed that Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan topped the list of potential candidates for the 2024 presidential election.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaigner Asep Komarudin said his side is ready to face a police report filed by the Cyber Indonesia forum for criticizing President Joko Widodo or Jokowi's speech about deforestation.

Adam Prireza, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan on Monday responded to news about non-governmental organization ProDemokrasi that planned to report him to the Metro Jaya Police on the suspicions of running businesses related to PCR tests. The NGO initially planned to file the report on Monday at noon.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – Environment and Forestry Ministry (KLHK) spokesperson Nunu Anugrah in a written statement on Sunday said most of the deforestation for oil palm plantations in Papua and West Papua took place from 2005-2014 or during the administration of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or SBY.

Timoteus Marten, Jayapura – Activist and coordinator of Papuan women's rights network TIKI, Fien Jarangga, said the gender inequality and violence experienced by Papuan women today was still the same compared to 2008. She said in a written statement following the discussion with a number of women activists held in Jayapura City on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021.

Claire Jiao and Grace Sihombing – Indonesia, the world's top exporter of thermal coal, will take a gradual approach in pricing and capping greenhouse gas emissions when it rolls out its first carbon tax and trade policy next year.

Konradus Epa, Jakarta – Greenpeace Indonesia has accused a government agency of undermining democratic principles by reporting it to police for criticizing a speech made by President Joko Widodo.

Here lies a philosophical conundrum: If a corrupt politician doesn't know he's being corrupt, then is he corrupt?

One Indonesian regent seems to be of the opinion that the answer is no, in what has perhaps become an epitome of how depressingly deep corruption is entrenched in Indonesia's political culture.

Update: The Jakarta Metro Police on Monday said the complaint against Greenpeace Indonesia has been withdrawn as the plaintiff did not wish for the issue to be politicized.

Original story follows.

Two Greenpeace activists in Indonesia were reported to the police over their supposedly unfounded criticism of deforestation happening under the government's watch.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – A mutation of the deadly Delta variant of the coronavirus has sparked an uptrend of Covid-19 cases in eight cities in Indonesia in the last three weeks, but Health Minister Budi Sadikin does not expect it to cause a serious outbreak similar to that in July.

Zacharias Szumer – Like many political firestorms in Australia's social media-saturated northern neighbour, this one started online.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Herman, Jakarta – Indonesia's export value hit an all-time high in October 2021, according to the Central Statistics Agency, or BPS on Monday.

Indonesia's export value reached $22.03 billion in October 2021, up by 6.89 percent compared to September 2021. This is also a 53.35 percent increase year-on-year (yoy).

Haryanti Puspa Sari, Jakarta – Greenpeace Indonesia global forest campaign head Kiki Taufik says they regret that their criticisms of the data on deforestation conveyed in President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's speech at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow have ended in them being reported to the police.

Steve Alston, London – On Nov. 11, the UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, visited Indonesia during a week-long trip to Southeast Asia. Truss's outing happened in the context of the UK's post-Brexit objectives of "tilting" towards the Indo-Pacific region.

Vincentius Jyestha, Jakarta – Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) spokesperson Habiburokhman has confirmed that the reprimand against senior Gerindra member Fadli Zon originated from a directive by the party's general chairperson Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.

Jakarta – The secretary general of the Legal Mafia Eradication Committee, Husin Shahab, has reported two Greenpeace activists to the Jakarta Metro Jaya regional police using the Information and Electronic Transaction Law (ITE Law).

Antara, Jakarta – The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology expressed support for government measures to hold vaccination for school pupils aged 6-11 to encourage the reopening of schools nationwide.

Antara, Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas voiced support for Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministerial Regulation Number 30 of 2021 on Preventing and Handling Sexual Violence as a form of commitment to developing religious moderation.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – Standing in front of a hip cafe in an upscale Jakarta neighbourhood, Syifa Aulia Putri strikes a pose for a shot of her in a chic white shirt and moss green skirt, smiling ear to ear with one hand on her hip.

In another Instagram post, she sits behind a collection of skincare products, her finger gently touching her cheek.

Devi Nindy SR, Nabil Ihsan, Jakarta – Chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women Andy Yentriyani reiterated that the recently enforced ministerial regulation on sexual violence prevention and handling is urgently required in Indonesian higher education institutions.

Aditya R, Kenzu T, Jakarta – Sixty-eight million adults in Indonesia are obese due to unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity, Ministry of Health's acting director of prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, Dr. Elvieda Sariwati, M.Epid, informed.