Aboeprijadi Santoso, Jakarta – Men and weapons are sometimes seen as a pair of symbolic importance in maintaining the greatness of the state.

James Scambary – Here is the destruction of '99; here is the destruction of 2006, and here is the destruction of 2007," exclaims Mateus, a wide sweep of his hand encompassing a densely

If there is a silver lining for US-Indonesian relations in President Obama's latest trip postponement, it might be that the two countries have more time to consider if and how Kopassus,

Damien Kingsbury – American journalist Allan Nairn's game of cat and mouse with the Indonesian military is a brave attempt to show that it continues to represent the greatest challenge

Anyone concerned about the future of this nation must pay close attention the congress of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Islamic social organization, in Makassar this week.

[Note: This article was written before United States President Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia was postponed until June.]

The International Crisis Group published a report on March 11, Indonesia: Radicalization and Dialogue in Papua, w

Ati Nurbaiti, Canberra – The visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, capped with a standing ovation in parliament here Wednesday, highlighted a mutual willingness to push harder fo

Damien Kingsbury – Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's address to the Australian parliament yesterday marked a very real change in Australia-Indonesia bilateral relations.

Endy M.

Now that the House of Representatives has ruled the 2008 bailout of Bank Century was unjustified, the nation next has to brace for the inevitable political fallout.

P.M.

The Australia West Papua Association in Sydney has written an open letter to Prime Minister Rudd asking that he raise the human rights situation in West Papua with the Indonesian Presid

The report about Bahtiar Angkotasan, 47, who tied up his mentally disabled daughter in bed at their home in Bekasi, West Java, before he left for work every day, is yet another of the t

Suwardiman – After nine years, support by various elements of society for special autonomy (otsus) is weakening.

Clinton Fernandes – Australia conducted two military interventions in East Timor during the 20th century and both have been falsely reconstructed into myths that vary sharply from the h

The wealth of public officials is in the spotlight. Recently it was the former director general of taxation who is now chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), Hadi Poernomo.

The government, under pressure from the House of Representatives, has asked the state electricity company (PLN) to postpone the implementation of its tariff policy for big household cus

Tobias Basuki, Jakarta – Indonesia, the third-largest democracy in the world, may be facing gloomy days ahead.

From its inception we understood that the House of Representatives' inquiry committee into the Bank Century bailout would be a political process rather than an attempt to unearth legal

The country's easternmost territory has been a bane of security and development for a long time.

When you call my name, it's like a little prayer, sang Madonna, the diva with a Catholic background who later followed the Kaballah faith, which is based on an ancient Jewish belief sys

Sara Schonhardt, Jakarta – United States President Barack Obama will make a much-anticipated official visit to Indonesia in March, raising speculation of a possible upgrade in bilateral

Max Lane – On December 23, the Indonesian Attorney General's Department announced the banning of five books.

The fate of two senior leaders is hanging in the balance pending the findings of the inquiry committee of the House of Representatives on the Bank Century bailout.

Sara Schonhardt, Jakarta – An estimated 7,000 to 10,000 people gathered across Jakarta on Thursday to mark the 100th day of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's second term in office.

Don't be deceived by the loud protests and criticisms that we have been hearing these days as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono marks the first 100-days of his second term in office on

Julia Suryakusuma, Jakarta – Remember Johnny Castle?

Maire Leadbeater – My introduction to West Papua was flying for many kilometres over the vast grey tailings deposition area created by the infamous Freeport McMoran gold and copper mine

Cunding Levi, Jayapura – Linked to terror acts that often happen around the mining area of PT Freeport Indonesia in Tembagapura, Mimika Regency, the Papua Traditional Council and the Pa

We bet most people are not happy about the burning of churches in North Sumatra on Friday night. As a Muslim-majority nation, we are a proud democracy.

A family friend came to the rescue to mediate, helping end the 30-hour military police's siege of a general's residence smoothly without a single bullet being fired.

For the devout, religion is a way of life. They look to what is condoned in their religion for what to eat, what to wear, whether to use contraceptives, etc.

The moment millions of Indonesians were waiting for finally happened on Thursday when one of the most feared – but most beloved by several police generals and senior prosecutors – corru

We hear all kind of stories about life behind bars. Mostly unpleasant or horrific, they reflect the rough conditions of prison life.

John Roosa, Vancouver, Canada – When I heard the news that the Indonesian translation of my book, Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Soeharto's Coup d'etat in Indo

This question should make it into a pocketbook of party jokes: What is it that students hate, teachers dislike, parents abhor, the public decries, but bureaucrats love?

Many of us are grappling with Twitter and the language of the young, which increasingly resembles an obscure Morse code with a brazen and come-what-may sense of ethics.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar (Bali) – Praise poured in to honor Indonesia's fourth president, Abdurrahman Wahid, on his death last week at the age of 69.

Evan A. Laksmana, Jakarta – "To defend everything is to defend nothing." There is a lot of wisdom in this old military axiom.

Greg Poulgrain – When Indonesia officially became independent of the Dutch 60 years ago this week, Australia's role as midwife was crucial.

The year 2009 is coming to an end and given the spat of bad news these past 12 months, it is probably better to count our blessings than the missed opportunities, of which there are cer

Jakarta – Like previous years, 2008 was marked by a variety of actions by students who took to the streets opposing government policies that they believe harm the people.

Endy M.

There is justice after all.

As we put out the last issue of the Jakarta Globe for the year, we take a customary look back on the 12 months gone by and reflect on how the drama, tragedy and comedy of 2009 reveal th

Disciplinary action against police officers involved in abuse of power and other crimes often falls far short of the general public's sense of justice.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – As anti-corruption rallies swept Indonesia's main cities this month, the two villains in the protesters' sights were readily identifiable.

Ashlee Betteridge – This year in Indonesia has been rather eventful, with terror bombings, terror raids, legislative and presidential elections, two major earthquakes and a raging corru

Famous American politician Henry Adam's observation "practical politics consists of ignoring facts" aptly describes the mindset of most members of the House of Representatives' special