Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar on Monday said that a special team has been given two weeks to study a number of books that are deemed to potentially pose a threat to

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – After the controversial banning of five books last week, the government has added 20 more titles to its evaluation list, citing suspicion the books potentiall

Jakarta – The number of instances of violence against journalists dropped by 30 percent this year, a report from the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) revealed.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights has sent a letter to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) requesting clarification on the latter's decision to ban five books despite mo

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court should revoke the authority of the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to ban books within the country, as it limits intellectual freedom guaranteed by th

Anita Rachman & Ismira Lutfia – Press organizations on Sunday denounced calls for the government to regulate or ban racy entertainment news programs, saying such a move smacked of c

Rod McGuirk, Jakarta – A journalists' group threatened on Tuesday to fight a ban on the war movie "Balibo" with a constitutional court challenge if the Indonesian government enforces it

Nivell Rayda – The Indonesia Film Censorship Agency's decision to ban the Australian movie "Balibo" early this month appears to have backfired, with stores all over the capital selling

Agustina Wayansari, Melbourne – The director of Balibo, Robert Connolly, is excited with Indonesians' enthusiasm toward his movie despite its banning by the Film Censorship Board (LSF).

New York - The Indonesian government should rescind its censorship of a film depicting a military atrocity prior to Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor, Human Rights Watch said toda

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Anita Rachman – The Indonesian Armed Forces said on Friday that it expected everyone to respect the decision of the Film Censorship Institute (LSF) to ban

Stephen Fitzpatrick – Indonesia's national journalists association plans to defy a government ban on the movie Balibo, kicking off a countrywide "roadshow" tour for the film with a free

The Indonesian government has supported the decision of the country's censorship board to ban the film "Balibo" with the Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik stating that it is no

Jakarta – Prolonging the debate over the Film Censor Institute's (LSF) ban on Balibo – the Australian film about the killings of five Western journalists in then East Timor in 1975 – th

Indonesia's film censor says Balibo is a great film but he had to ban it because of its potential to spark trouble.

Indonesia's journalists on Thursday vowed to defy a ban on the screening of Australian movie "Balibo", saying the film depicting alleged war crimes by Indonesian forces in East Timor is

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – The Indonesian government anticipates an international backlash over its recent ban on the screening of the movie Balibo, but expects this will not hurt Jakar

Adam Gartrell, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has defended its censors' decision to ban Balibo, labelling the Australian film "negative propaganda".

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Putri Prameshwari – The banning of Australian film "Balibo" showed that there was no real democracy in Indonesia, film activists said on Wednesday, althou

The local premiere of the acclaimed Australian film, "Balibo," which recounts the murder of five journalists allegedly at the hands of Indonesian soldiers during the 1975 invasion of Ea

Bruce Emond, Jakarta – The Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club (JFCC) decided to "err on the side of caution" in canceling a private screening Tuesday of Balibo, a movie about the death

Ramadhian Fadillah, Jakarta – The Indonesian military (TNI) is cited as the party that murdered five Australian journalists in the film "Balibo".

Irwan Nugroho, Jakarta – The Indonesian Film Society (MFI) believes that the banning of a film about the deaths of five Australian journalists in East Timor or the Balibo Five makes no

Hendrik Sorandanya, Jayapura – On November 3, a small group of left-wing activists met in Jayapura, capital of Indonesia's Papua province, to form the Papuan Democratic Peoples' Movemen

Palembang – A group of journalists from various organizations rallied in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Monday morning to voice their opposition to what they termed the criminalization of

Minister of Communication and Information Tifatul Sembiring denied that the summoning of a number of chief editors by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday was a form of governme

Anita Rachman & Camelia Pasandaran – The National Police drew the ire of journalists and media experts on Friday by summoning two newspaper editors for questioning, after the force

Indonesia's censors have formed a special team to decide whether to allow the politically sensitive Australian movie about the Balibo Five to be shown in the country.

Nurfika Osman – The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission's letters to all television stations warning them to censor offensive material during court broadcasts has been criticized as unco

Ni Komang Erviani, Denpasar – An education official testified Tuesday that he had asked the family of slain journalist Anak Agung Bagus Narendra Prabangsa to pull a story over which the

Ismira Lutfia & Dessy Sagita – Local journalists had mixed reactions to a recent report from France-based Reporters Without Borders that indicates press freedom in Indonesia improve

Ismira Lutfia – Print media companies in the United States are falling by the wayside in the face of stiff competition from more technologically advanced media.

Harry Bhaskara, Jakarta – A set of global guidelines on freedom of expression in the media – a key element of democracy – were launched Thursday in Jakarta as part of a UN initiative by

Camelia Pasandaran – Commercial interests, self-censorship and fear of lawsuits are hindering the growth of high-quality news media in Indonesia, journalists and analysts say.

Camelia Pasandaran – Indonesian media have yet to take full advantage of freedom of the press, senior editorial staff members said.

Jakarta – The original drafters of the state secrecy bill say that both legislators and the executive branch have ruined the bill by turning it into a weapon to limit public access to i

Jakarta – Journalists reporting on sensitive issues face imprisonment or the death penalty if the government and the House of Representatives pass the current draft of the state secrecy

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is being further derided after he criticized the media for "twisting around" his statements in response to last Friday's bom

Camelia Pasandaran – Media analysts and open-government advocates warned on Thursday that the state secrecy bill now before the House of Representatives would prevent journalists from d

Heru Andriyanto – The South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday acquitted Tempo daily of libel over its reporting on the military wing leader of a fundamentalist group, the Islam Defend

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – In what seems to be a last minute decision, television news network Al-Jazeera English decided not to premiere on Thursday a highly-sensitive documentary highlig

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Human Rights Watch has urged Australia to cut ties with Indonesia's feared special forces group Kopassus after new evidence that it is terrorising civilians in Wes

Ismira Lutfia – A decade has passed since the Indonesian press achieved freedom, yet it is still faced with incomprehensible press laws, the increasing criminalization of the press, a m

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Malang – The Independent Journalists' Alliance (AJI) has recorded 44 incidents of violence against journalists across the country in the past year, calling it the

Jakarta – Tension gripped the Papua regency of Jayapura on Wednesday when dozens of soldiers staged a rare protest, which soon turned violent.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is extremely worried for the safety of a team of journalists in Indonesia, who tonight are reported to be in hiding in Jayapura, Papua

The Australian Press Council has expressed concerns about proposals to license journalists in East Timor.

Jakarta – The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) members are pushing for a constitutional amendment which would formalize press freedom as a pillar of democracy.

Ismira Lutfia – Local media and bloggers who transmit ideas electronically should not feel that their freedom of expression is under threat from the controversial 2008 Electronic Inform

Irmawati, Makassar – Around 30 journalists from the Makassar Journalists Coalition yesterday held a silent protest in front of the Stella Maris Hospital at Penghibur Street, in Makassar