Tom Allard Herald, Jakarta – The suicide bomber at the Ritz-Carlton gave a non-existent room number as he entered its restaurant.

Damien Kingsbury – Just two weeks ago, observers were congratulating Indonesia for a presidential election that was seen to consolidate that country's process of democratisation.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – As first light emerged and a soft mist hung over the rainforest, Drew Grant had every reason to be upbeat as he relaxed in the back of a Toyota LandCruiser, his ma

Tom McCawley, Jakarta – Indonesian authorities said Sunday that there is an increasing evidence that the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), an Islamist group responsible for more than 300 murders i

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar (Bali) – Experts have written the obituary of extremist violence in Indonesia, but the violent extremists keep refusing to read the script.

In November 2004, the newly elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to bring the killer of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib to justice, a killing he once referred to

Greg Poulgrain – At dawn last Saturday in the Indonesian province of Papua, on the mountain-road near the world's largest gold mine, 29-year-old Australian Drew Grant was shot and kille

Jacqueline Hicks, Jakarta – As Indonesia's politicians and powerbrokers tentatively begin to cobble together a new ruling coalition, there is a great deal of optimism both here and abro

Timika, a city in West Papua, has become a site where an open war over money, involving the Indonesian military (TNI) and the police (POLRI), is taking place.

Simon Roughneen, Dili – Allegations that East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao signed off on a food contract benefiting a company that listed his daughter Zenilda as a shareholder has

Allan Nairn – International Herald Tribune headlined it "A Proudly Normal Election" in Indonesia, and it was – a minimal-choice election, as normally happens in most countries (Jacob Ra

Megawati Wijaya and Shawn W.

Hannah Beech – At first glance, it hardly looked like a vision of democratic perfection.

Simon Montlake, Bangkok – Voters in Indonesia appear to have handed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a second five-year term, raising hopes for continuity in steering an underperformi

Eben Kirksey – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said improving relations with Indonesia will be a priority of the Obama administration.

Dian Ariffahmi – Indonesia tops a lot of global lists: It is the world's largest archipelago; it has the world's largest Muslim population; and, unknown to many, it is also one of the l

The presidential election campaign has drawn criticism for being bereft of debate on specific social, economic and political policies.

Daniel Ten Kate and Arijit Ghosh – Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is projected to win a second five-year term with an enhanced majority after the resources-rich nation o

Anthony Deutsch, Jakarta – Just over a decade ago, mobs torched buildings across Indonesia's capital in an uprising that toppled a 32-year military dictatorship.

[The following article is compiled from an article by Dominggus Oktavianus and reports by Ulfa Ilyas and Rudi Hartono. It has been translated by Data Brainanta.]

Tom Benedetti – Legislative election results in April indicate that incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will likely win Wednesday's presidential vote in Indonesia.

Norimitsu Onishi, Jakarta – The five men and one woman vying to become president or vice president in Indonesia's election on Wednesday are familiar faces.

The arrest of three terror suspects came just days ahead of the Indonesian Police's 63rd anniversary, which is celebrated nationwide today.

Despite an unprecedented media campaign, Prabowo Subianto's political comeback has fallen flat – for now

Setyo Budi – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won July's election with a landslide.

The release of two separate human rights reports in the past weeks could not be timelier given the fact that Indonesians will vote for their next president next week.

The three vice presidential candidates debated national identity live on television last Tuesday.

Pandu Anugrah, Analyst – The term macet, meaning traffic gridlock or deadlock, is synonymous with Jakarta.

Salim Osman, Jakarta – It was supposed to be the first face-to-face debate between presidential candidates in Indonesian electoral history.

Nivell Rayda & Camelia Pasandaran – There was little real discussion or argument on Thursday night as candidates for the presidential election spent most of the time agreeing with e

A new film about the killing of five journalists by Indonesian troops in East Timor in 1975 fails to depict the true cruelty of their deaths, East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta sa

Patrick Guntensperger, Jakarta – Once dominant under an authoritarian regime, Indonesia's Golkar party is losing its popular appeal in a more democratic era.

James Van Zorge – When I think about how to describe the current crop of Indonesian presidential hopefuls, I have a vision of the past.

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – Remember voting for your class leader in school? Did you vote for him because of what he promised to do or more because of what he had done for you?

Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, Analyst – First quarter GDP data is rather weak. Nevertheless, it appears that the economy will not deteriorate further.

Megawati Wijaya, Jakarta – Indonesia's presidential election campaign has swung towards economic policy debate, with challengers to incumbent and frontrunner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ra

Debnath Guharoy, Consultant – The series of special polls keeping a finger on the pulse of the Indonesian consumer continues.

The other two presidential hopefuls may be suspicious of the rosy projection for the Indonesian economy made Friday by the International Monetary Fund and its high commendation of incum

Bramantyo Prijosusilo – As the presidential hopefuls kick off their campaigns, it is time for "we the people" to contemplate our choices.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Election candidates often throw political mud hoping some will stick, but Indonesia's presidential aspirants are using the real thing.

Ati Nurbaiti, Jakarta – The veil, says one political researcher, does "all the talking".

p>The movie 'Balibo' headlining the coming Melbourne International Film Festival will again put in the spotlight the murder and its cover-up of six Australian based journalists in Ea

Soeryo Winoto, Jakarta – On Sunday at the Bantar Gebang dumpsite in Bekasi, West Java, presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri and her running mate Lt. Gen.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – It's been just 10 years since Indonesia held its first open elections after more than 30 years of president Suharto's authoritarian rule.

David Jardine – In the recent brouhaha over whether or not Adam Malik had links to the CIA, I was struck by the absence of any commentary on a possible British role in efforts to underm

Taufik Darusman – The past week saw President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate, former central bank Governor Boediono, on the defensive as they scrambled to fend off their

James Van Zorge – In 1998, Indonesian campuses were a beehive of political activism and, literally speaking, served as the vanguard for pushing Suharto out of the palace.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Camelia Pasandaran & Febriamy Hutapea – After confusing and at times dizzying maneuvers by nine top political parties in forming coalitions and tickets for

Katherine Demopoulos, Jakarta – Indonesia's presidential hopefuls must announce their intention to run for election in July by this Saturday, and only incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Endy M.