Pacific churches have condemned the media blackout in West Papua, military crackdown in parts of the territory and the silencing of dissenting voices.
They have also criticised the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) for "allowing Indonesia into their fold".
Zevonia Vieira in Dili and Tjitske Lingsma – Lita grew up in a poor family in a hamlet surrounded by the spectacular mountains of Oecusse in Timor-Leste. When she was 11 years old she went to live in Topu Honis shelter home, in the mountainous, forest-encircled village of Kutet.
Shailaja Neelakantan (BenarNews) – Indonesia joined North Korea, China, Russia and other repressive regimes in voting "no" this week on a U.N. resolution mandating annual debate on preventing crimes against humanity – raising alarm among human rights advocates and observers of Southeast Asia's largest democracy.
Ian Lloyd Neubauer, Bali – "Here in Bali, we believe in the law of karmaphala – that our actions will determine what we receive in return, good or bad," says Gede Robi, frontman of rock band Navicula and the lead in "Palau Plastik," a new documentary about the sources and consequences of, and possible solutions to the scourge of plastic waste that pockmarks so many of Indonesia's 17
Something odd happened at the United Nations General Assembly this week. Indonesia joined 14 other countries in rejecting a resolution on "The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity".
Jakarta – Indonesia has drawn up proposals to bring in a carbon tax to curb greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to raising VAT rates and reforming income tax, as part of a major overhaul of the tax system, a finance ministry document showed.
Tom Allard and Agustinus Beo Da Costa, Jakarta (Reuters) – A new security crackdown on armed separatists in the central highlands of Papua will be maintained until the separatists are wiped out, the National Police's intelligence chief has said.
Jakarta – A suspected breach of Indonesia's social security data has put virtually all Indonesians exposed to digital attacks and frauds, authorities and digital security experts warned on Friday.
Aisyah Llewellyn and Reno Surya, Surabaya, Indonesia – As Indonesian authorities announced this week that a salvage operation involving Chinese underwater rescue vessels had managed to recover "debris" from the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine, which sank off the coast of Bali last month, questions have been raised about the state of the country's military and its operational readiness.
Residents of a village in Gading Serpong, Tangerang swarmed a nearby housing complex in retort over an alleged protest against a loud mosque.
Yogi Setya Permana – Hydrometeorological hazards have outnumbered hazardous geophysical events such as earthquakes in the last two decades. While geophysical disasters have resulted in more deaths in Indonesia, hydrometeorological disasters have affected more people through injury, displacement, and property damage.
Jakarta – Simultaneous protest actions held in three cities by the Papua People's Petition (PRP) have also taken up the situation in Palestine which has been heating up of late. They called for an immediate halt to the attacks on Palestine people in the Gaza Strip.
CNN Indonesia, Jakarta – Papuan people who are members of civil group Papuan People's Petition have staged protests in three cities on Friday, May 21, 2021 to voice opposition, among others, against the escalated armed conflict in Papua in the past month.
Jakarta – A brief protest action was held by Papuan activists from the Papua People's Petition (PRP) at the Horse Statue on Jalan Medan Barat Jakarta in Central Jakarta at 8 am.
Charles Maniani, Manokwari – The group Papua People's Solidarity (SRP) in Manokwari, West Papua province, have demonstrated to demand the immediate and unconditional release of West Papua National Committee (KNPB) international spokesperson Victor Yeimo.
Syafiq Hasyim – In 2020, Eid-al-Fitri was a national superspreader event. This year the government and Muslim organisations were better prepared.
Jakarta – The Indonesian government should suspend and substantially revise a regulation on online content to meet international human rights standards, Human Rights Watch said in a May 17, 2021 letter to Indonesia's minister of communication and information technology.
Rahel Narda Chaterine, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia says it is disappointed over the Indonesian government's position of opposing discussions on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) resolution during a vote at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday May 18.
Bandung – Activists from the Papua People's Solidarity (Sorak) held a protest action in front of the Merdeka building in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung on the afternoon of Friday May 21.
Antara, Medan – The North Sumatra Regional Police arrested employees of the North Sumatra Health Agency and a penitentiary for allegedly selling the COVID-19 vaccine illegally.
Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia says that the protection of civil freedoms in Indonesia has gone backwards even though reformasi has been proceeding for 23 years.
Makassar – Students from the Total Reformasi Struggle Front (FPRT) held a protest action on Jalan AP Pettarani in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar on Friday May 21. They were commemorating reformasi or the May 21, 1998 anniversary of former president Suharto announcing that he would step down from the presidency.
Kereng Bangkirai, Indonesia – By canoe, it's a 20-minute ride from the nearest village to the last piece of paradise in the heart of Borneo.
Tommy Kurnia, New York City – Indonesia has joined the List of Shame at the United Nations after rejecting a UN resolution on "The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity" (R2P).
Indonesia voted "No" during voting which took place on Tuesday May 18.
Prianka Srinivasan and Hellena Souisa – Two Indonesian military officers have been killed by independence fighters in Papua as violence continues to flare in Indonesia's easternmost provinces.
Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – An Indonesian court has postponed the issuance of a verdict regarding a lawsuit against the government over the alarming levels of air pollution that regularly blanket Jakarta.
The verdict was supposed to be handed down on Thursday (May 20) but the hearing was postponed to Jun 10.
Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – A Catholic priest and academic has joined more than 70 other leading professors in Indonesia in calling on the country's anti-graft body not to sack dozens of its employees, including senior investigators, after they failed to pass a controversial civil service exam.
Jakarta – Indonesia's exports racked up their strongest rise in 11 years in April, boosted by a surge in prices of key commodities such as palm oil and copper, though the unexpectedly robust figure is not expected to change the central bank's policy settings.
The West Papua Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the deaths of two Indonesian soldiers in Yahukimo regency on Tuesday.
It's the latest in a string of deaths as the Army's guerilla fighters trade attacks with Indonesia's military forces who recently mounted a crackdown on the rebels.
Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has notified the House of Representatives about his intent to introduce another tax amnesty program, the second in five years, as part of the government attempt to boost tax revenues amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a senior economic minister said on Wednesday.
Jakarta – Health Ministry's vaccination spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said on Wednesday that only one out of the forty Astrazeneca batches, namely the CTMAV547, has its distribution paused, stressing that the remaining batches are safe for use.
The CTMAV547 batch comprised 448,480 doses and was part of the 3.8 million doses of Covax-procured shots received in late April.
Jakarta – The success of habilitation programs in a number of jails proves that drug users need rehabilitation, not criminalization.
Andita Rahma, Antara, Jakarta – The National Police recorded that there are around 150 members of the Papuan armed criminal groups. The number was obtained after the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) mapped all rebel groups in the province.
Friski Riana, Jakarta – The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) Commissioner Retno Listyarti lamented the sanction imposed on MS, a senior high school student in Bengkulu, who was expelled for posting insulting remarks against Palestine on her TikTok.
Hengky Yeimo, Nabire, Jubi – Dozens of people from the Kabuki Village of Mabugi District arrived in Ilaga, the capital district of Puncak Regency, on Wednesday after two weeks of walking through the forest and passing two mountains.
Antonio Sampaio, Dili – Timor-Leste today registered 172 more cases of covid-19 infection with the majority in Dili – passing the barrier of 5000 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
Usman Hamid and Ari Pramuditya – If insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, then the Indonesian government's approach to Papua is a textbook example.
Jakarta – Indonesia has reached a commitment for the supply of 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group or Sinopharm, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization issued Interim recommendations for the global use of Sinopharm vaccine.
Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – Media personality, prominent critic of the New Order regime and former presidential spokesperson Wimar Witoelar passed away in Jakarta on Wednesday morning at the age of 75.
Reuters – Born and raised in the bustling megacity of Jakarta, Indonesia's densely populated, traffic-choked capital, environmentalist Khalisah Khalid has long anguished over the city's toxic air.
Her young daughter has been plagued by ill health from birth, issues Khalisah believes are exacerbated by the city's worsening air pollution.
Maria Baru, Sorong City – At least 31 human rights and pro-democracy organisations have urged the Indonesian government and the police to immediately release West Papua National Committee (KNPB) international spokesperson Victor Yeimo (VY) from all charges.
There seems to be an ongoing trend on Indonesian TikTok involving young people bashing Palestine and its people, one of which resulted in the expulsion of a grade 11 high school student in Bengkulu recently.
Andita Rahma, Jakarta – The Indonesian police asserted that not all members of the armed criminal group or KKB in Papua who surrender to the police would face sanctions.
The Police Chief's Assistant Operations, Inspector General Imam Sugianto, explained that the Nemangkawi Task Force would first explore the track records of those who surrendered.
Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – Issues on boycotting Israel products have once again emerged among the public in Indonesia following the increasing conflict between Israel and Palestine. But how far is Indonesia's trade relationship with the Middle Eastern state?
Yudha Baskoro, Jakarta – Hundreds of Indonesian Workers Union Confederation, or KSPI, members have held a protest outside the United Nations (UN) building in Central Jakarta on Tuesday to show solidarity and support for Palestinians in their latest violent clash with Israel.
Stanley Widianto – Two men embracing on a magazine cover was more than risque for Indonesia, thought LGBT+ researcher Ais, when he first discovered a trove of retro LGBT+ zines in Bali last year.
Konradus Epa, Jakarta – Dozens of church and rights groups in Indonesia have called for the immediate release of Victor Yeimo, a pro-independence leader detained by police in Papua earlier this month.
Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Catholic-majority Timor-Leste has launched a special scholarship program for more than 900 students from disadvantaged families as part of government efforts to provide equal educational opportunities and promote higher education.
Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – Indonesian police have arrested 53 people in connection with a bomb attack on a Catholic cathedral in Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi province, nearly two months ago.
The Jakarta Provincial Government recently lit up a number of pedestrian bridges and main roads in the city with the colors of the Palestinian flag in a show of solidarity with the Middle Eastern state, as hundreds were killed in escalating attacks in the Gaza strip.