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

Jakarta – The government seems to be repeating the history of colonialism in this nation. The outcome could be like that in Indonesia in 1945.

Richard Heydarian – When India's then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was asked in the 1950s why Southeast Asian nations were designated as Category C in his country's foreign policy, h

Siktus HarsonSiktus Harson, Jakarta – The arrest of a pastor in Papua by security forces for allegedly supplying weapons to a separatist group could intensify scrutiny on churches in th

Li-Li Chen – On 8th of April, in the aftermath of devastating floods, Timor-Leste's government declared that Timor-Leste entered the state of emergency for thirty days, when the governm

Michael Leach – The recent floods in Timor-Leste have now caused 45 deaths and some 10,000 people to be displaced, including 7000 in the capital, with widespread damage to roads and bri

Jakarta – President Jokowi validated hedonistic sensibility on social media when he attended the wedding of social media celebrity Atta Halilintar.

Michael Rose – Xanana Gusmao, famed icon of East Timor, is letting his people down.

Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives are preparing to amend the 2001 Papuan Special Autonomy Law to allow Jakarta to throw more money at the territory and form new

Eduard Lazarus – Little noticed in the West, the past two years have witnessed the largest protest wave in decades against Indonesia's increasingly authoritarian crony-capitalist govern

Jakarta – When a conflict happens, an outsider's view of the dispute and how to solve it tends to be free from any bias.

David Engel – If the premises about Australian soft power in Indonesia treated in the first two parts of this series don't jar, nor should the premise of this final one.

James CurranColumnist – In 1986, the head of the newly merged Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Stuart Harris, argued that Australia is "an isolated country in the sense that the

Ryan DagurRyan Dagur, Jakarta – Papua recently saw a resurgence of bloody incidents, part of a series of small-scale but continuing conflicts between rebels and the Indonesian military.

Stuart Rees – West Papuans are Indigenous people, easily ignored, their natural resources exploited, their homes and cultures destroyed, hundreds tortured, hundreds of thousands killed.

Leon Langdon – In December 2020, Benny Wenda told TIME Magazine, "I'm on a mission.

Max Lane – The opposition's weakness means that the Indonesian president's recent problems carry few political costs – for the moment.

Ben Bland – Like many world leaders, Indonesian President Joko Widodo is hoping that 2021 will be a bounce-back year after a terrible 2020.

Liam Gammon – How do you oversee one of the world's worst outbreaks of COVID-19, ram through unpopular economic reforms during a recession and end up retaining the sort of approval rati

Max Lane – As Covid year 2020 ends, so too does the first year of the second and final term of the presidency of Joko Widodo.

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat and Media Wahyudi Askar – It has been a rough first year for Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Jakarta – Both the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the local independent Humanitarian Team for Intan Jaya reached a more or less similar conclusion about the cause

Jakarta – In the last few years, Indonesia has entrusted its young diplomats with countering attacks predominantly from Pacific countries over alleged human rights abuses against Papuan

Ben Bland – When Indonesian President Joko Widodo decided last year to pursue outlandish plans to build a new capital city in far-flung Kalimantan, advisers shook their heads in despair

Usman Hamid – "Islam is a religion of civilisation. Extremism and intolerance destroy civilisation.

Jakarta – For the umpteenth time since the two institutions broke up as part of sweeping reforms introduced to protect hard-won democracy 20 years ago, Indonesian Military (TNI) and Nat

Ben Bland – Indonesian President Joko Widodo isn't a great orator but the former factory owner has a knack for charming listeners with cute analogies.

By Max Lane

Executive summary

Jakarta – Finally, long-time fugitive Djoko S. Tjandra could no longer evade arrest.

A response to a statement from Jaleswari Pramodhawardani (Vice Deputy for Political, Legal, Security and Human Rights of the Presidential Staff Office) published by Antara News Jakarta

Jakarta – The shake-up of the government's Covid-19 task force was expected. The country has achieved little in its fight against the pandemic.

Jakarta – Indonesia's hard won democracy still allows for political dynasties to thrive, a fact resented by many following the euphoric regime change in 1998 for fostering the kind of

Teuku Faizasyah, Jakarta – Among my duties at the Foreign Ministry, spokesperson happens to be one of them.

Benny Wenda – For over 50 years, Indonesia has been promising West Papua "autonomy". Each time, underneath autonomy lies only bullets and killings.

Jakarta – Chairman of the Synod of Indonesia Gospel Tabernacle Church (Kingmi) in Papua, Rev.

Jakarta – The Government Regulation on the Public Housing Savings Program has sparked controversy. It adds to the burdens of workers and businesses.

Veronica Koman and Ronny Kareni – Over the past few months, a terrible injustice has been playing out in Indonesia's legal system: 56 black political prisoners put on trial for treason

Jakarta – The government must not continue its mistaken policies in Papua. Stop the violence and start the dialogue.

By Umair Jamal

Is the conflict in West Papua worsening?

Jakarta – President Joko Widodo may well give the excuse that the nomination of his son and son-in-law in elections for regional heads this December does not break any rules.

Meitilda Yaung, Darwin, Australia – The long history of systematic racism against African-Americans in the United States seems to have reached its breaking point over the last few week

Jenny Munro – Just as it has in many countries around the world, the death of George Floyd in the United States has prompted a broader discussion about racism in Indonesia.

Patrick O'Connor – The East Timorese government has widened the multi-party coalition on which it is based, securing the support of 41 out of the 65 parliamentarians.

Jakarta – Seemingly at odds with the existing laws, the government regulation on the involvement of the military in dealing with terrorism has sparked criticism.

Jakarta – The move by President Joko Widodo to increase the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) premiums at the beginning of May is mistaken.

Jose Antonio Belo – Timor-Leste just celebrated its 18th year of independence. The celebration was muted partly due to Covid19 but even more so due to the political crisis.

Jakarta – The rupiah's recent rally and capital inflows have been a breath of fresh air against the backdrop of a lacklustre domestic economy and increasing numbers of Covid-19 cases.

Jakarta – Companies must face the new normal with innovation. There will be no place for the old ways of doing business.

Jakarta – A farmer from the Sakai tribe in Bengkalis has been jailed for cutting down trees on land owned by a company. This is an offense against justice.

Loro Horta – On March 21, 2020 Timor Leste reported its first case of COVID-19, a Dutch national arriving from Europe.