Indonesia
Indonesian presidential decree hands more power to military in Papua
By John Roberts, May 7, 2003
A study issued last month by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) highlighted a little reported decree issued by Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri in January mandating the divi...
Indonesian military court hands out light sentences for murder of Papuan leader
By John Roberts, April 29, 2003
A military court in the Indonesian city of Surabaya last week sentenced seven Kopassus soldiers to jail terms of between 24 and 42 months for the murder of Papuan leader Theys Eluay in November 2001. ...
Trial of Islamic cleric accused of terrorism begins in Jakarta
By John Roberts, April 24, 2003
The trial of Islamic fundamentalist cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who has been charged with treason, opened in Jakarta yesterday. The 90-minute hearing was held at a special courtroom in the Meteorological...
A groundswell of antiwar protests in Indonesia
By John Roberts, April 10, 2003
In the three weeks since the US launched its invasion of Iraq, Indonesia has seen a wave of antiwar protests—large and small—throughout the archipelago.
Indonesian president "strongly deplores" US attack on Iraq
By John Roberts, March 26, 2003
In a rare media conference last Thursday, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri made a formal statement “strongly deploring” the US invasion of Iraq and branding the action as “...
FBI dispatched to Indonesia to deal with Freeport murders
By John Roberts, January 24, 2003
After inconclusive Indonesian investigations into an ambush near the Freeport mine in West Papua last year, a team of US FBI investigators is due to arrive this week to take part in a joint inquiry. T...
An uneasy peace deal signed between Indonesian government and Aceh rebels
By John Roberts, January 6, 2003
After more than two years of negotiations, representatives of the Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a six-page peace accord on December 9 in Geneva aimed at brin...
Indonesian court delivers token guilty verdict in East Timor cases
By John Roberts, December 12, 2002
Verdicts delivered late last month in Jakarta by the Indonesian government’s ad hoc court trying cases of human rights abuses in East Timor in 1999 underline the cynical nature of the judicial p...
Washington and Canberra cover up Indonesian military connection to Papua killings
By John Roberts, November 8, 2002
An article published in the Washington Post last weekend reported evidence that the highest levels of the Indonesian armed forces (TNI), including TNI chief General Endriartono Sutarto, were involved ...
Indonesian government bows to foreign pressure and issues anti-terrorist decree
By John Roberts and Peter Symonds, October 23, 2002
On October 19, just a week after the terrorist attack on the Indonesian island of Bali, President Megawati Sukarnoputri issued an anti-terrorist decree that greatly increases police powers of arrest a...
After the Bali bombing:
Washington and Canberra push for military ties with Indonesia
By Peter Symonds, October 18, 2002
Six days after bomb blasts killed at least 180 people and injured more than 300 others on the Indonesian island of Bali, none of the basic questions as to how and why the attack was carried out have b...
Further indications of Indonesian military involvement in Papuan mine murders
By John Roberts, October 15, 2002
In the six weeks since the murder of two American teachers and one Indonesian employee of the international school at the US-owned Freeport gold and copper mine in the Indonesian province of Papua, fu...
