Dion Bisara – Government agencies and departments have been in a late-season rush to meet spending targets, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

Jakarta – Papua Acting Governor Syamsul Arief Rivai has denied allegations the province's special autonomy had failed to bring progress for its people.

Jakarta – The government's lack of supervision has knocked special autonomy in Papua and West Papua off track, leaving residents in the midst of poverty and a conflict that is seemingly

Jakarta – Chief security minister Djoko Suyanto said that West Papua remains part of the Unitary State of Indonesia while the special autonomy status for Papua was something final.

AWPA has written to the Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd re crackdown by the security forces on delegates at the Papuan People's Congress.

Bambang Muryanto and Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono (HB) X and Vice Governor Sri Pakualam IX received another one-year tenure extension over

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-041-2011

Dear friends,

Jerry Omona, Jayapura, Indonesia – A rebel commander in the Indonesian province of Papua on Tuesday denied involvement in an ambush that killed four people, as tensions rose ahead of a

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Since the enactment of Law No. 21/2001 on Papuan Special Autonomy 10 years ago, the law has been obstructed by state officials.

Camelia Pasandaran – Witnesses for a former deputy gubernatorial candidate in Papua told the Constitutional Court on Tuesday that his disqualification from the 2005 poll was against the

Anita Rachman & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The much-criticized bill on Yogyakarta's status will regulate the royal household's ownership of vast tracts of land, an official said on

Candra Malik & Camelia Pasandaran, Yogyakarta – First Jakarta ruffled feathers in the special territory of Yogyakarta by pushing for the direct election of the governor there instea

Thousands of people have joined mass rallies in cities and towns around Papua to mark the handover from UN to Indonesian control in 1963.

Ronna Nirmala, Dwi Lusiana, Nurdin Hasan, Amir Tejo & Banjir Ambarita – The government praised 23 regions on Monday for their performance in serving the public, but experts across t

Jakarta – A series of amendments to the Constitution have expanded the authority of the legislative body while undermining the prominence of other governing powers, experts say.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Indonesia's grand experiment with participatory government is stumbling badly amid rampant corruption. The problem, critics argue, is too much democracy.

Responding to recent moves to hold a dialogue between Jakarta and Papua, the chairman of DAP, the Papuan Traditional Council, Forkorus Yaboisembut, said that such a dialogue will not be

Marni Cordell – Protests in North Africa have sparked renewed interest in citizens' rights – and media coverage has helped.

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – A group of Papuan students accused the central government of failing in its drive to grant special autonomy to Papua and called for dialogue mediated by a third p

Yogyakarta – The special autonomy that has been in effect in Papua since 2001 is not working in accordance the hopes of the indigenous people there.

Jakarta – The people of Papua has several times expressed the attitude that, of Act No 21 of 2001 regarding Special Autonomy (Autonomy Act) for Papua Province has failed.

Yogyakarta – A group of Papuans in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta from the Anti-Colonial Movement (Ganja) held a protest action in the Jl. Malioboro area on Thursday January 27.

Jerry Omona, Jayapura – Thousands of Papuan occupied the Papua People's Council (MRP) offices in the provincial capital of Jayapura on Wednesday January 26 demanding that the government

The International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) wishes to remind the Indonesian government that special autonomy for West Papua (now divided into West Papua and Papua) is illegal under

Jakarta – Activists in Papua continue to voice their discontent with Indonesia's central government, calling for greater autonomy to help improve the region's socio-economic problems.

Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – A budget watchdog has released a report claiming to show how the central government has hogged much of the state budget to the detriment of development in the r

Slamet Susanto and Sri Wahyuni, Klaten/Yogyakarta – Protesters demanded on Tuesday that Surakarta's special status be restored – and that the regency be separated from Central Java.

Candra Malik, Yogyakarta – National flags flew at half staff, schools sent students home early and shops along bustling Jalan Malioboro closed down on Monday as the people of Yogyakarta

Armando Siahaan & Candra Malikp, Jakarta – Animosity is growing in Yogyakarta with the central government appearing set to propose a bill that would remove the sultan's automatic ri

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – Governors from across the country are seeking immunity from prosecution over any policies issued by their administrations, but critics warn the move could

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Critics are wary of official discussions that could see an end to direct elections for governors, who would instead be appointed by regional legislatures, the

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Thousands of Yogyakartans assembled on Sunday along the famous Jl.

Erwida Maulia and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Jakarta – In the name of democracy, the government is pushing for direct elections of the Yogyakarta governor, disregarding grievances among those de

Camelia Pasandaran, Bandung – Many of the nation's governors have agreed that the people shouldn't get the chance to vote them into – or out of – office, saying regional legislators sho

Candra Malik, Yogyakarta – In their own unique way, the people of Yogyakarta, an ancient Javanese cultural hub, expressed on Tuesday their resistance to the government's efforts to requ

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Regional Representatives Council (DPD) will host a meeting between ministers and Papuan leaders on Monday to break the impasse over the future of Papuan au

Abdul Khalik, Ambon – A young Ambonese, Hendrik Pohwain is occupied with feeding his family, while Maluku's economy is just starting to get back on its feet after earlier conflicts in w

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Indonesia's formula for decentralized administrative regions has again come under fire as indigenous people in Papuan and Kalimantan continue their dem

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The government should openly push for the Netherlands to have a tougher policy on the activities of the separatist group South Maluku Republic (RMS),

Tom Allard, Jakarta – The Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has abruptly postponed a visit to Holland after Malukan activists there launched a court bid in the Hague to ha

Nivell Rayda & Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – As calls for independence in Papua and West Papua intensify, leaders in the restive provinces have rejected the possibility of talks wit

The United States has called for Indonesia to move forward on autonomy in its Papua region and insisted it would not overlook human rights as it seeks broader relations with Jakarta.

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – With the Home Affairs Ministry proposing 11 new provinces and dozens of districts and municipalities by 2025, the House of Representatives and the government

AI Index: ASA 21/022/2010

Jakarta – The government is committed to imposing a "rewards-and-punishments" mechanism to promote accountability in regional budgets, since less than 3 percent of the budgets for 2009

The two sentiments that define the political impasse in Papua are frustration on the part of many Papuans that "special autonomy" has meant so little, and exasperation on the part of ma

AI Index: ASA 21/017/2010

Ill-treatment of political prisoners in earlier episodes raises grave concerns

Jakarta – Ahead of an audit of Papua's special autonomy regional development fund, an NGO has urged the government to recognize that the root of problems causing resentment among Papuan

Jakarta – After a decade of implementation, the central government plans to thoroughly evaluate the special autonomy for Papua next year, an official says.