Pandaya, Jakarta – As expected, and despite critics' objections, the House of Representatives on Thursday endorsed Comr. Gen.

Keith Bettinger, Wendy Miles & Micah Fisher – A remarkable study published last week in the highly regarded scientific journal Nature detailed a new method for predicting specific d

Hugh White – Travelling abroad, Tony Abbott has been saying things very different from what we have heard from him in Australia. There are two ways to interpret this.

Elaine Pearson – Indonesia is an early test for of the new Australian government's foreign policy.

Republika, Jakarta – It was distressing to witness the departure of members of the House of Representatives (DPR) on a haj pilgrimage this year.

Benny Wanda – Ever since West Papua was annexed and colonised by Indonesia in 1969 through a referendum ironically called the Act of Free Choice (we call it the Act of No Choice), my pe

The final verdict on the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, announced on Monday, was not just another puzzling note in our history.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Why are we surprised? The fact that our judiciary is riddled with corruption is a foregone conclusion.

If Australia wants a fair and open relationship with Indonesia, as it should, and if Indonesia seeks the same of this nation, then it is incumbent on both countries to keep a firm eye o

Andreas Harsono – On Sept.

Damien Kingsbury – West Papuan activists are testing Prime Minister Tony Abbott's statements in relation to his asylum-seeker boat turnback policy, that he has "total respect for Indone

Phelim Kine – Delegates to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ("APEC") CEO summit October 5-7 on Indonesia's island of Bali aren't likely to hear about Eko Mardi Santoso.

Jason McLeod – Despite Prime Minister Tony Abbott's speech insisting that his government will do all they can to prevent West Papuans and their supporters "grandstanding" in support of

Max Lane – The systematic political murder of around 1 million people in Indonesia began on 1 October 1965 and lasted around three years.

With some canny scaling back of his asylum seeker rhetoric and a hardening on West Papua, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has done much to retrieve his first international trip.

Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – As Indonesia's 1965 communist purge is under the spotlight with the screening of "The Act of Killing" across the United States and other parts of the world, the

Elisabeth Kramer – American whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, revealed that Australian intelligence agencies had been tapping the phones of Indonesia's president, the first lady and a sle

An American director working in Indonesia with survivors of the bloodshed relating to the 1965 purge gained trust and stories from first hand sources – killers of thousands of fellow In

Jess Melvin, Melbourne – Forty-eight years ago on Oct.

Tom Clarke – The Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, should use his visit to Indonesia on Monday to cast aside the wilful blindness previous Australian governments have had about the human rig

The recent signing of a peace deal between the Sunni and Shia Muslim communities in Sampang on the island of Madura in East Java was surely more than just typical ceremony.

William Pesek – Indonesians are taking to the streets to demand the government heed their complaints. Are they livid about corruption? No. Fed up with poverty? Not really.

Camellia Webb-Gannon – The very unpredictability of politics is the greatest hope for those seeking an independent West Papuan state.

Bali, Indonesia – If public graft were a symphony, Djoko Susilo might be its Mozart.

Aruna Kashyap – Calls for "virginity tests" for high school girls emerge regularly in Indonesia, with education officials, politicians and religious leaders proposing tests every few ye

Tony Abbott has backed away from his pledge to visit Indonesia in his first week in office, but the promise stands to make it his first overseas destination as prime minister.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – We who are concerned about the state of religious freedom in the country are likely enduring what the character Gil Pender suffers from in Woody Allen's Midnight

Jason MacLeod – Tineke Rumkabu handed me a bright yellow piece of A4 paper, double-sided, and folded in half.

Nadia Bulkin – The Act of Killing, a new documentary on Indonesia's anti-Communist mass killings, is making the rounds globally and earning praise for its innovative cinematography.

Loro Horta – Following the July 2012 elections Timor-Leste formed one of the largest governments in the region made up of 57 cabinet members.

Phelim Kine – It's degrading, discriminatory, not to mention junk science – so why does the notion of "virginity tests" keep rearing its ugly head?

Andreas Harsono – This week fresh violence erupted against some of Indonesia's religious minorities.

Jess O'Callaghan – More than decade on from when Timor-Leste gained independence, and six month since troops left the country, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bob Carr has initiated an inqu

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – The Islam Defenders Front (FPI) came under another round of scathing attacks this week in the wake of the latest violence involving its members.

Selpius Bobbi – The planned visit by a delegation of member Foreign Ministers of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to Jakarta and West Papua arose as a decision of the MSG Forum held

Ati Nurbaiti, Jakarta – This week the UN scrutinized Indonesia for the first time regarding its reports on civil and political rights, eight years after we ratified the international co

Josef Benedict, Geneva – This week, the eyes of the international human rights community – and in particular those of the diplomats working at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva,

Pandaya – There is something strange in the latest raucous, uninspiring commercials bombarding our brains on local TV channels: A host of advertisements for commercial products starring

Tracee Hutchison – To many Australians, Indonesia has come to be seen through the prism of pesky boats and brutalised beef – either that or a cheap and easy surfing destination.

Henri Tiphagne, Bangkok – After much stalling, it now seems that the controversial and highly restrictive bill on mass organizations is expected to be presented to the House of Represen

Pat Walsh – PM Rudd's visit to Jakarta this week will almost certainly be marked up or down depending on the outcome of his talks with President SBY on the trafficking of asylum seekers

Ap Inyerop – Otto is sitting in his cell in Abepura prison. It is early evening, and he is drinking coffee and discussing politics with his cellmates.

Jason MacLeod – West Papua has just won an extraordinary victory at the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) meeting in Noumea.

Fitri Bintang Timur, Singapore – Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao is often said to be the Che Guevara of the country.

Angela Macdonald-Smith – The Timor Sea has never been famed for offering oil and gas operators smooth sailing over the years.

Jacob Zenn, Jakarta – Driven by strong exports and buoyant domestic markets, Indonesia is projected to be among the world's top 10 economies by 2025.

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Amsterdam – The controversy over Aceh's flag and symbol between the Aceh administration and the central administration in Jakarta lingers on, despite weeks of "cool

Clinton Fernandes – A parliamentary inquiry examining Australia's relationship with East Timor is underway and the proceedings so far do not make for comfortable reading.

Rebecca Lake – As local authorities debate over banishing Indonesia's Ahmadiyah Muslim sect and several congregations remain barred from their houses of worship, President Susilo Bamban

Ali Said, Jakarta – Indonesia has experienced relatively high economic growth for almost a decade, but the question remains why has this high growth not been followed by a rapid improve