| Fresh
horizons The South China Morning Post July 12, 2007 Denpasar - Democracy is flourishing in Aceh but its fledgling leaders face many hurdles in rebuilding the devastated region. |
| Remove
indicted colonel from Papua, coalition of NGOs say AdnKronos International June 28, 2007 Dili [Timor Leste] - The presence in Papua of a senior Indonesian army officer indicted on crimes against humanity charges in East Timor endangers human rights defenders and political activists, a coalition of 30 local and international human rights organisations said. |
| Deadly
clash renews debate over abuses by Indonesian military World Politics Review June 19, 2007 Denpasar - After a military-civilian clash over disputed land in East Java turned deadly earlier this month, outraged locals are urging Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to act decisively in taming trigger-happy soldiers and reigniting the stalled reform of the Indonesian armed forces. |
| Presidential
run by Indonesian cleric would be referendum on shariah law World Politics Review June 12, 2007 Denpasar - Radical Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is testing the water of a possible presidential run in 2009. His candidacy would be nothing less than a referendum on whether Indonesia should implement Islamic law. |
| Indonesia's
Yudhoyono gets a black eye Asia Sentinel June 3, 2007 Denpasar - Indonesia's voters who swept President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono into office in 2004 are growing increasingly disenchanted with his ability to clean up the country's endemic corruption. |
| Activists
outraged at promotion of disgraced Indonesian soldiers The South China Morning Post May 25, 2007 Denpasar - Revelations this week that the Indonesian military quietly reinstated then promoted officers who had been drummed out of the forces for kidnapping pro-democracy campaigners have angered activists who see it as further evidence of a stalled post-Suharto reform process |
| Indonesia-East
Timor: NGOs call for closure of 'not-credible' Truth Commission AdnKronos International May 25, 2007 Denpasar - A coalition of human rights groups have called on Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta to close the bilateral Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF), because it is "not-credible." |
| Presidential
hopeful's leftist platform arouses suspicion The South China Morning Post April 25, 2007 Denpasar - Dita Indah Sari's intention to run for the top job has not gone unnoticed in Indonesia, and most analysts agree that her National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) broadens the democratic spectrum in the archipelago's political system. |
| Snap
decision made Garuda boss murder suspect The South China Morning Post April 21, 2007 Denpasar - It took Indra Setiawan more than 25 years to become director of Indonesia's national airline, Garuda. Now, as he languishes in a Jakarta prison, after being charged this week with aiding the killing of Munir Said Thalib, once the country's leading human rights activist, perhaps he wishes he hadn't got the nod after all. |
| Megawati's
party eyes Muslim votes Today April 20, 2007 Denpasar - Known for its secular and nationalist stance, the party of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has shifted its focus slightly, launching an Islamic wing called Baitul Muslimin on March 29. |
| Faiths
unite to condemn video attacking Islam The South China Morning Post April 13, 2007 Denpasar - Christian and Muslim organisations have condemned a Christian-produced video that reportedly labels Islam "the source of all Indonesia's ills and a sure pathway to hell". |
| Cry
for freedom The South China Morning Post March 22, 2007 Denpasar - Abused by the Indonesian army and exploited by multinationals, Papuans are seeking global support for UN peacekeepers and free elections. |
| Reversing
Indonesia's anti-corruption drive Asia Times March 6, 2007 Denpasar - Indonesia's already faltering war against corruption risks grinding to a total halt if a new anti-corruption draft law now circulating in Parliament and executive offices is finally passed. |
| Poso:
Indonesia's latest front in the war on terror World Politics Review February 19, 2007 Denpasar - Soon after marking the first year since 2002 without suffering a large-scale bomb attack, a small town in the middle of the religiously divided province of Central Sulawesi has become the main battlefield in Indonesia's latest offensive in the war on terror. |
| Indonesia-East
Timor: Truth Commission on 1999 massacre opens AdnKronos International February 19, 2007 Denpasar - Former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas was the first witness to appear in front of the Indonesia-East Timor Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF), which convened on the Indonesian island of Bali on Monday. The CTF aims to establish the truth behind the massacre that occurred after East Timor voted for independence in 1999. |
| A
false dawn The South China Morning Post February 14, 2007 Denpasar/Banda Aceh - Banda Aceh's post-tsunami economy is booming thanks to a construction frenzy, but not everyone is benefiting - and the bubble may soon burst |
| Tough
tasks await Aceh's first governor Jane's Foreign Report January 25, 2007 Denpasar - Yusuf's electoral success indicates that a return to violence in Aceh in the near term is unlikely. However, unless he is able to deliver concrete economic benefits to the local population, the risk of outbreaks of violence is likely to remain high. |
| Indonesia's
jihadist revival The Christian Science Monitor January 5, 2007 Denpasar - A severe police crackdown last month on suspected militants may rekindle sectarian tensions. |
| Wave
of recriminations The South China Morning Post December 26, 2006 Banda Aceh - Two years after the tsunami hit, Indonesia is struggling to rehouse thousands as efforts are hampered by corruption, squabbling and poor planning. |
| Day
of destiny The South China Morning Post December 6, 2006 Banda Aceh - On Monday, Aceh goes to the polls in an election that will seal a deal ending the 30-year separatist war and, voters hope, bring an end to violence. |
| In
the shadow of violence The South China Morning Post November 24, 2006 Denpasar - Central Sulawesi ’s troubles have been blamed on religious tension, but links between security forces and business are a key factor. |
| Indonesia:
Eight years after reformasi, still a two-tier system of law World Politics Review November 16, 2006 Denpasar - Eight years aftre the fall of former Dictator Suharto, in Indonesia, the winds of change have turned into just a light breeze, and recent events have shown that in this archipelago nation the law remains lopsided, with the Suhartos and the armed forces still largely outside the reach of justice. |
| 'Tommy'
Suharto's release puts justice system back in the dock The South China Morning Post November 4, 2006 Denpasar - Corrupt officials have allowed the youngest son of Indonesia’s former dictator to lead a charmed life, even in prison. |
| Wait
of expectation The South China Morning Post October 20, 2006 Denpasar - Corruption, religious tension and natural disasters have dogged the first two years of President SusiloBambang Yudhoyono's rule, but progress is being made in the troubled archipelago. |
| Political
will to nail killers of top activist missing Inter Press Service October 9, 2006 Denpasar - Human rights activists are accusing the government of lacking political will to nail the murderers of one Indonesia's leading anti-corruption activists -- poisoned on board a Garuda flight to Amsterdam in September 2004. |
| Fresh
attack on Bali could cause sectarian violence AdnKronos International October 2, 2006 Denpasar - A Muslim religious leader in the predominately Hindu island of Bali has said that any fresh terrorist attack on the island could spark sectarian violence. |
| Manual
being distributed across Indonesia shows how to form terror cells Today September 14, 2006 Denpasar - A guidebook urging jihad in the spirit of Osama bin Laden, "the conqueror of communist and American forces", is being distributed across Indonesia in an attempt to create small, independent terrorist cells, a new report claims. |
| Charting
the evolution of Jemaah Islamiah The South China Morning Post September 7, 2006 Denpasar - Soon after attacking Afghanistan and toppling the Taleban regime, the United States opened “the second front” in the global war against terrorism, Southeast Asia. That was February 2002. |
| Lebanon
War, protests a sign of rising Muslim discontent The South China Morning Post August 2, 2006 Denpasar- Hardline Muslims brandishing toy guns and mock explosive belts rallied outside the US embassy in Indonesia yesterday to protest against the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, underlining the threat of a militant ripple effect throughout the Muslim world. |
| Survivors
await aid after massive quake AdnKronos International May 29, 2006 Denpasar/Klaten - Saturday's massive earthquake, which devastated Indonesia's Central Java region, completely destroyed the villages of Gembongan, Bayat, Wedi and Gantiwarno, killing at least 1,500 people. Survivors struggle to come to terms with the disaster. |
| Volcano
spirits trusted more than scientists Inter Press Service May 26, 2006 Denpasar - Mount Merapi has been wheezing, belching and threatening to blow its top for the last few weeks. Yet, while scientists call for mass evacuation, most of the locals have stayed put, trusting to centuries-old mystical traditions to calm the spirits of the mountain. |
| Indonesia’s
warhorse older, frailer but outspoken as ever The South China Morning Post March 23, 2006 Manila [Philippines]/Jakarta - Abdurrahman Wahid is scathing about the state’s handling of corruption and religious tension. |
| Report
of 'sham' vote sparks Papua activists Inter Press Service December 20, 2005 Denpasar - A recently published Dutch-report has rekindled hopes of "correcting the course of history" in Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province and theatre of a struggle for independence ignored by most of the world. |
| Azahari's
death does not resolve the problem of terrorism AdnKronos International November 10, 2005 Denpasar - The death of Azahari bin Husin is being hailed as a major coup. But security experts said the war against terrorism must also involve the population and means tending to the open wounds in Indonesian society on which the "terrorist monster" feeds. |
| Yudhoyono
makes the grade Inter Press Service October 14, 2005 Denpasar - A year after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (JK) took power, Indonesia seems to be in just about the same dire situation as it was before. Yet, analysts say it is not all bad. |
| Bali
bounces back, slowly Inter Press Service October 10, 2005 Kuta - Mysticism, fatalism and pragmatism are mixed into the collective response to the tragedy, but as the full impact of the bombing is yet to be gauged, anxiety for the future is beginning to show. |
|
A
delicate balancing act Denpasar -Following the latest Bali carnage, Indonesia’s record in the “war on terror” is on trial. Yet, before reaching a verdict, the jury should consider the difficulties of fighting Islamic radical in a country with 196 million Muslims and a democracy in its infancy. |
|
Bird
flu: Indonesia has to do much more Denpasar - Indonesia's response to bird flu is inadequate. But the archipelago country needs international help. |
| Political
activist's murder still unsolved AdnKronos International September 6, 2005 Denpasar - On 7 September 2004, Munir Said Thalib - Indonesia's most prominent political activist was fatally poisoned with arsenic on a flight from Singapore to Amsterdam. A year on, his murder remains an unsolved mystery. |
| Why
peace has more than a chance in Aceh Today August 12, 2005 Jakarta - There has never been a better chance of peace in the rebellious Indonesian province of Aceh where the tsunami has dwarfed the Free Aceh Movement and Jakarta's political positions. |
| Tsunami,
Acehnese women rediscover role in society Inter Press Service July 26, 2005 Banda Aceh - The tsunami has opened a door of opportunity for women in Aceh who are claiming a more important role in society. |
| Tsunami,
Aceh's kids get space to hope Inter Press Service June 26, 2005 Aceh Besar - Among the post-tsunami rubbles, Child Fund operates child centred spaces where children can play, learn and -- slowly, slowly -- return to normality. |
| Tsunami,
six months on, survivors struggle, seeking homes and jobs AdnKronos International June 21, 2005 Meulaboh - Close to six months after a tsunami laid waste to Indonesia's Aceh province, there are signs of recovery in the city of Meulaboh, where the determination of the local population, supported by the international community and the Indonesian government, has laid the basis for rebuilding the city. |
| SBY
walking a tightrope in Aceh Today January 28, 2005 Bangkok [Thailand] - The tsunami has propelled Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam's forgotten war into the world stage. And the attention has given it the best chance for peace since talks between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Government ended in a deadlock in 2003. |
| Dead
human rights activist was poisoned AdnKronos International November 12, 2004 Giakarta - Shok in Indonesia at the results of an autopsy showing that Munir Said Thalib, a leading human rights activist, died of arsenic poisoning. |
| The
presidential party is over as reality bites Inter Press Service October 21, 2004 Jakarta - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sworn in as the sixth president of Indonesia Wednesday but the celebratory mood ended later that night when he disclosed his cabinet, defined by some analysts as a classic example of political horse-trading. |
| The
Yudhoyono landslide sweeps away Megawati Inter Press Service September 21, 2004 Jakarta - Heavyweight political parties have long held sway in Indonesia, but, with over half of all the votes counted, a new breed of independent-minded voters has chosen Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a landslide as the first directly elected president of the world's third largest democracy -- where Islam and freedom of choice go hand-in-hand. |
| Confusion
reins in blast aftermath Inter Press Service September 13, 2004 Jakarta - Indonesian civil society has been united in condemning the bombing that killed nine and injured at least 180 in the capital's main commercial district last week. But differences emerged on who was to blame for the blast outside the Australian embassy. |
| Grief
and anger give way to solidarity Inter Press Service September 10, 2004 Jakarta - As the world gets ready to remember the tragic events of Sep 11, 2001, life slowly returns to the capital's main commercial centre in Kunningam -- a day after a powerful car bomb was detonated by a suicide bomber outside the gates of the Australian embassy, killing nine people and injuring almost 180. |
| Alliance
pacts may be an exercise in futility Today July 21, 2004 Jakarta - With the July 5 vote counting nearly complete, political analysts are now switching their focus to who will team up with whom to prepare for the Sept 20 run-off. |
| SBY,
voter maturity 'twin winners' in poll Today June 25, 2004 Jakarta - Ahead of Indonesia's July 5 presidential election, experts predicted both former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - known as SBY - and the country's political maturity as the twin winners of the elections. |
| Presidential
hopefuls pressed on wealth Today June 23, 2004 Jakarta - Anti-corruption groups in Indonesia say they are astounded by the declared wealth of some presidential and vice-presidential candidates, and want the source of those riches to be explained before the July 5 election |
| Lukewarm
start to Mega's re-election bid Today June 1, 2004 Jakarta - Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri delivered many ambitious promises but evaded a number of questions during the de facto launch of her presidential campaign yesterday. |
| Ambon
suffers amid strife for political powers Today May 26, 2004 Jakarta - In Ambon, the strife-stricken main city of Indonesia's Maluku islands, peace is hanging by a thread. At least one person was killed and 16 were injured yesterday in a bomb explosion near an open market in the Christian sector of the city. |
| Indon's
chinese rejoin politics Today April 16, 2004 Jakarta - It may seem like a small number, but among the 450,000 candidates contesting Indonesia's April 5 legislative elections, 280 are ethnic Chinese. Of those,"20 are expected to win," said Chinese Indonesian Association chairman Eddie Lembong. |