Regions

In the aftermath of religious conflict, ethnic difference is becoming more prominent in Ambon

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.

Inspired by television and Muchtar Pakpahan, a traditional fisherman decides it’s time to act.

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.

Making idealism work is very hard. NORI ANDRIYANI, with extraordinary honesty, tells why.

'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.

There is concern within the Indonesian Armed Forces (Abri) about human rights abuses committed by its members. Part of the evidence is a manual on human rights recently issued by Maj-Gen Dunidja D., Military Area Commander in Irian Jaya. All soldiers in Irian Jaya are required to carry it as part of their personal equipment.

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.

Many foreigners have learned Indonesian on the green campus of Satya Wacana University in Salatiga, Central Java. Since 1993 it has been in the news for a different reason. BUDI KURNIAWAN reports that serious conflicts between the campus community and the university board have reduced the prestigious campus to a shadow of its former self.

With mainstream print media subject to many restrictions, unlicensed publications satisfy a demand for news.STANLEY surveys the alternatives now flourishing in many Javanese cities.