Politics

Indonesia’s Muslim educators support democracy, but grapple with how to make that commitment consistent with Islamic law.

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

Understanding the Indonesian Council of Ulamas

Rich countries should pay big bucks to reduce emissions in the developing world

About cooking, studying Java, and other serious pleasures

Intellectual, Chinese, atheist, gay - and wholly Indonesian

The peculiar relationship between sex and jasmine tea in downtown Semarang keeps both police and prostitutes in a game of cat and mouse.

Indonesian, Australian and Timor Leste artists collaborate

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.