Human Rights

Jungle Schools

Volunteers bring alternative education to marginalised communities

The peace dividend

With no internal wars to fight, Yudhoyono can afford to reform the military.

Angel sparks controversy

Journalists strike after West Java’s most famous newspaper ‘withdraws’ poem.

Modelling syariah in Aceh

A conference in Banda Aceh reveals divergent opinions about what model of Islamic law Aceh should adopt

Politics of symbolism

Unionists express their disgust at local government’s failure to look after the interests of workers

Eight years after 1999

Displaced East Timorese children go hungry in Indonesian West Timor

This woman wants polygamy

But her husband won’t come to the party.

Aa Gym

The rise, fall, and re-branding of a celebrity preacher

Strong women, strong unions

Women are challenging the stereotypes that have long defined Indonesian unionists.

Remembering Ong

About cooking, studying Java, and other serious pleasures

Ong Hok Ham, 1933-2007

Intellectual, Chinese, atheist, gay - and wholly Indonesian

An unlikely unionist

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

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.

Myth of the effective little NGO

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

Human what?

'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.

Antithesis of justice

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.

Gay identities

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

Regulate or abolish?

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.

Military human rights manual in Irian Jaya

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.

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