Sun, sand and smoke

Air crashes, riots, smog, and a currency crisis dented tourist arrivals in 1997. But, says ANNA KARIN EKLÖF, newly rich Asian tourists will save the industry in the long term.

Sulawesi on two wheels

MICK COOPES drags a bicycle through the wilds of Toraja, South Sulawesi.

No crisis please

The currency crisis is making Thailand more democratic, but not Indonesia, says PRIYAMBUDI.

Permeable border

Indonesian fishermen whose traditional fishing grounds are in Australian waters may have a Mabo-style claim, says CAMPBELL WATSON.

Volunteers rescue reefs

HELEN LANDYMORE found herself surveying rare birds and fish in stunning locations when she joined an Operation Wallacea expedition.
M16s for punks

M16s for punks

Punk rockers turn to Yogya craftsmen for ‘guitar weapons’.

Operation Wallacea

MARK ERDMANN explains the history of an exciting venture in reef conservation using volunteer divers.

Reefs alive!

Tomas Tomascik, Annmarie Janice Mah, Anugerah Nontji & Mohammad Kasim Moosa, The ecology of the Indonesian seas, Singapore: Periplus, part I (ISBN 962- 593-078-7, 642pp), part II (ISBN 962-593-163-5, 745pp). Reviewed by IAN DUTTON

Rare birds die in West Java

Impoverished villagers kill huge numbers of migrating birds resting on Java's foreshores each year. JOHN McCARTHY reports

Whose tourism? Balinese fight back

CAROL WARREN reports on developments at Padanggalak, where outside money and graft encounter strong opposition.

Travels in West Timor

SIMON ANDREWARTHA discovers a quiet invasion by outsiders, even in the remotest villages.

Murky military memoirs

Heru Cahyono, Pangkopkamtib Jenderal Soemitro dan Peristiwa 15 January '74, Pustaka Sinar Harapan, Jakarta 1998 (see Bookshop page for availability). Reviewed by DAVID BOURCHIER

A fresh wind is blowing

Why is it so hard to remember the evils of the past? ROB GOODFELLOW explores the pain, and the exhilaration, of memory.

The employment crisis

CHRIS MANNING explains why the workers suffer but cannot protest.

Mamberamo madness

Millions of hectares of pristine tropical forest and thousands of indigenous people are at risk. FRANCES CARR outlines Habibie's 'techno dream' for Irian Jaya.

Ayam Majapahit

LAINE BERMAN sheds a tear for the late great Indonesian comic.

Magic on fire

The fires are merely adding to the pressure on East Kalimantan's only national park. But ALEX RYAN also finds that nature lovers have won some battles to protect its beauty.

Villagers keep the seas alive

Coastal villagers will protect reefs if they know it is in their interest. IAN DUTTON and BRIAN CRAWFORD report on an international project that goes to the cutting edge.

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