National

New programs of compulsory religious education for Muslim children in West Sumatra have received little publicity outside that province. Is this a new phase in the Islamisation of Indonesia?

Ring deaths leave Indonesian boxing on the ropes.

Direct local elections give Jakartans a say in their city’s future

Tension within Cabinet has once again become public. But while many see it as a religious clash, the more serious conflict, writes GERRY VAN KLINKEN, is over the protection of special business interests.

Officially, 2.4 million Indonesian children work in factories or on the streets, instead of being at school. Unofficially, the number could be 10 million. SHARON BESSELL talks with some working children, and asks what is being done.

'Human Rights' is no longer a dirty word within Jakarta's establishment. An official National Human Rights Commission, now in its third year, is overwhelmed with work. KRISHNA SEN caught up with Marzuki Darusman, its deputy chairman. Joining in was academic Arief Budiman. She asked them what 'human rights' actually mean in Indonesia, and what difference the Commission has made.

On a visit to her home country, a disconcerting experience at Jakarta Airport leads Agustini Putranto to ask: 'Is this what Indonesia has become?'

Kuta Beach ceased some time ago to be what the brochures say it is. For Robert Goodfellow, the piles of plastic rubbish are signs of a deeper malaise.

In the past decade, 140 Indonesian fishermen drowned in Australian waters, a further 400 were imprisoned. JILL ELLIOTT reports that policies dealing with the issue are costly, ineffective and have tragic consequences. She suggests better alternatives.

While top officials hail the Australia-Indonesia security agreement, ARTHUR KING is appalled to find that, on the ground in East Timor, youths who resist still face torture.

Modern gay men in Indonesia learn to live alongside traditional concepts of homosexuality. DEDE OETOMO explains.

Should child labour be abolished or regulated? WENDY MILLER spoke with activist ARIST MERDEKA SIRAIT during the Child Labour Conference at Melbourne's Monash University.

Authorities blame the recent Jakarta riots on the coalition PRD. It has hundreds of members, but military leaders liken it to the PKI of the 1960s, which had millions. Who are these 1990s activists? VANNESSA HEARMAN visited with one of the coalition partners earlier this year, and filed this inside story.

Amidst great enthusiasm, Megawati Sukarnoputri was elected chairperson of the small political party PDI in December 1993. But last June she was ejected from the leadership by military-backed rivals. Many now look to her to lead a democratising movement wider than the PDI. To find out how she felt about this wider role, SAILENDRI recorded this exclusive interview with Megawati in her home.

The events of 27 July have led many to speculate about a more democratic order after the end of Suharto's powerful rule. MICHAEL VAN LANGENBERG warns such speculation may be misplaced.

Satellite TV and the Internet are opening Indonesia to the globe. MARK CRAWFORD asks: Will this mean less mind control by the state?

Transition to a post-Suharto era in Jakarta could be window of opportunity for East Timor. What might that window offer, asks COKI NAIPOSPOS?

Students are few in number but loom large on the political stage. The PRD affair demonstrated this once more. In this reflective essay, ARIEL HERYANTO asks why this should be so.

Indonesians in search of justice can go no higher than the Supreme Court. But whistle blowers have exposed deep-seated corruption within. Worse, the main whistle blower is now threatened with the sack.