Norimitsu Onishi, Jakarta – It is the political relationship that has long mystified Indonesia's chattering classes, one whose ups and downs regularly send tremors throughout the capita

Despite remarkable strides in the last 11 years after the economic, social and political chaos of the Asian financial crisis, Indonesia remains to some extent caught in the coils of Suh

In a widely anticipated move, the US government eventually lifted the 13-year-old ban on Indonesian Army's Special Forces' (Kopassus) participation in any joint Indonesia-US military ac

Debnath Guharoy, Jakarta – The army is in the barracks. The press is free. The constitution is alive.

Andrea Booth – Australia's failure to consult Indonesia about an asylum processing centre in East Timor is likely to exacerbate tensions between our two northern neighbours.

Johannes Nugroho – The government is moving steadily toward a sizeable reduction in fuel subsidies, arguing that budgetary discipline mandates it.

Damien Kingsbury – A few years ago, a Burmese couple on the run from that country's brutal military regime sought asylum in Australia.

Damien Kingsbury – The announcement by the Gillard government that it intends to use East Timor as a processing stop-over for asylum seekers is either a very clever political ploy or a

Explosive gifts of three Molotov cocktails were thrown at 3 a.m. Tuesday at the office of Tempo magazine in Central Jakarta, immediately leading to condemnation all around.

Sara Schonhardt, Semarang, Java – A pitched argument is unfolding between convicted terrorists and high-level criminals detained in a prison in Central Java, where police have been raid

James Van Zorge – Is Indonesia's democracy and long tradition of secularism under threat from an onslaught of Islamic fundamentalism?

Pandaya, Jakarta – The police's threat to sue Tempo magazine over its piggy bank cover is both amusing and intimidating at the same time, although it's possible that they are only sound

Flower garlands and a downpour of congratulations will mark the 64th anniversary of the National Police today, but the celebration has already turned sour following an investigative rep

Most urban swells seem prone to it – gang violence, mob culture and a general abandonment of the law and order.

Bonnie Malkin, Sydney – Anthony Corbyn, who holds dual British and Australian nationality, was attempting to sail from Australia to the Philippines as part of a bid to circumnavigate th

Answer Styannes – Today's UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture offers us a chance to pause and consider the stilted nature of our human rights progress in recent years.

Police have declared Nazriel "Ariel" Ilham, the front man of the popular Peterpan band, a suspect in a pornography case, and his two alleged sex partners in sex videos will very likely

Sara Schonhardt, Jakarta – Shootings, protests and violent attacks are on the rise in Indonesia's easternmost Papua province, home to a low-level separatist struggle and the operations

Damien Kingsbury – Australia's relationship with East Timor is at its lowest ebb since 2005 when Alexander Downer bullied then Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri into accepting a fundamentall

Mangadar Situmorang – The call for Papuan independence remains strong.

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Paul Toohey – East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has taken in recent weeks to heavily bagging Australia, including a strange speech in which he, seemingly apropos of nothing, du

M Zaid Wahyudi – The growing number of ordinary people's votes that are needlessly lost is a direct consequence of the application of an increasingly higher parliamentary threshold.

Simon Roughneen – East Timor's government has declined a proposal by Australian oil and gas company Woodside to process gas drawn from the Greater Sunrise field on board a floating liqu

Baudoin Koening – As a French journalist, I came to Indonesia to draw the portrait of the greatest emerging power of the G20 members and largest Muslim state in the world, in the contex

Pork barrel politics is as commonly practiced and proved effective in its country of origin the United States as in other countries like the Philippines, but it may not be the case in I

Relations between Indonesia and the United States are probably at their historic best, and the planned visit of President Barack Obama to Indonesia this month, which is now postponed, w

Elaine Pearson, Jakarta – As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton emphasized in a speech last year, Indonesia has now "embraced democracy."

A number of senior police officers were reported for conducting suspicious financial transactions.

Asvi Warman Adam, Jakarta – Since its conception in 1945, Pancasila (the five principles of the national ideology) has gone through four stages of history over several administrations:

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar (Bali) – What a difference a quarter makes.

B. Herry-Priyono, Jakarta – Unlike most accounts these days, this note is not a paean to Sri Mulyani Indrawati; neither is it a swan song for her departure.

In early May violence once again struck in Papua.

Christen Broecker – "Democracy in Indonesia is irreversible and a daily fact of life," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the World Movement for Democracy's annual assembly, in Jak

Tolerance is the social glue that keeps us from degenerating into conflict.

James Van Zorge – In more ways than one, there is disturbing evidence that Indonesia's politicians have not bothered to read the Constitution.

Damien Kingsbury – East Timor President Xanana Gusmao is not budging over terms of a deal with Woodside on gas reserves in the Timor Sea.

Tom Allard – As news spread of the shock departure of Indonesia's reform icon and finance minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, this week, one senior markets trader in Jakarta gave an almost

Rizal Sukma, Jakarta – Within two weeks, two riots – the worst since the 1998 unrests – occurred in Indonesia.

Yati Andriyani, Jakarta – The democratic transition in Indonesia is still hampered by a number of government policies.

One of the joys of my job is that if I sidled up to my employers to suggest that a jaunt to the Papuan highlands was in order, "off you go" is what they would say.

Ishaan Tharoor – For most, the presence of an outfit of ninjas conjures scenes of Japanese comic book assassins or, perhaps, of mutant turtles dwelling in a sewer.

Higher courts are regarded as the definitive bastion of justice.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Girls are made of sugar and spice, and everything nice. Boys are made of snips and snails, and puppy-dog tails.

A Papua analyst says a visit to Indonesia by US President Barak Obama in June could be pivotal in preventing a further deterioration towards violent conflict in Papua region.

Johannes Nugroh – Horrific scenes during last week's riots in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, have led to a welter of accusations of human rights breaches and oppressive conduct by public

John Braithwaite – US President Barack Obama's forthcoming trip to Indonesia is an opportunity to congratulate President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the considerable success he has had

Biak Traditional Council under threat as BIN and Kopassus move to set up an alternative traditional council.

After waiting for some time, we finally heard encouraging news coming from the National Police that they at last moved against police generals suspected to be behind case tampering invo

The news that Indonesia's government is planning a vast new agricultural project in the south-eastern corner of its Papuan region is a disturbing one, suggesting that its officials have