Almost two decades after reformasi – the reform movement that began with the overthrow of former president Suharto's New Order dictatorship in 1998 – the government continues to ignore calls to address past human rights (HAM) abuses, many of which were committed by people who now occupy senior positions in President Joko Widodo's admini

Jakarta – A people’s conference titled Fighting Criminalisation and Wining Democracy (Lawan Kriminalisasi dan Rebut Demokrasi) was held at the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) offices in Central Jakarta on April 9.

Tia Agnes, Jakarta – A monolog performance titled Tan Malaka: I am a Red Haired Deer should have been held by a theater group from the West Java provincial capital of Bandung at the Main Theater at the Bandung Francaise D’Indonesie Institute (IFI) on Jl. Purnawarman Bandung on March 23-24.

Yura Syahrul – According to the World Bank, inequality levels in Indonesia have steadily increased over the last 15 years. The rate at which this inequality has risen is the fastest among countries in the East Asia region.

Karawang – Around 3,000 workers from the Karawang district branch of the Fraternity of Indonesian Muslim Workers (PPMI) organised a convoy in the West Java industrial zone on Wednesday November 11. This was a warm-up action in the lead up to a ‘stop production’ action rejecting Government Regulation Number 78/2015 (PP 78/2015) on Wages.

Man (speaking to kid imagining independence fighter the late Bung Tomo): State defence isn’t just about taking up arms but also about science, art, sport and respecting the law and human rights, acting honestly, anti-corruption and anti-bribes...

Jakarta – The Youth Coalition for Indonesia rejects the government’s plan to recruit 100 million state defense cadres that has been concaved by the Ministry of Defense (Kemenhan).

Parliza Hendrawan, Palembang – The bad old practices of the New Order dictatorship of former President Suharto are still being applied in some government agencies in Indonesia.

Shinta Maharan, Yogyakarta – A book discussion on the works by Professor Saskia Eleonora Wieringa from the University of Amsterdam has attracted sympathy from many circles at the Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University (UIN) Student Centre building on the evening of October 9.

Muhammad Kemal Macharani, Jakarta – Scores of activists from the movement Indonesia Without Militarism (ITM) held a protest action in front of the State Place in Central Jakarta.

Hery H Winarno – Hundreds of people took to the streets to demonstrate in front of the Grahadi building in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya on the afternoon of Thursday August 13. During the action, the protesters also set fire to red hammer-and-sickle flags.

Saiful Munir, Jakarta – Newly appointed Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) retired General Luhut Binsar Panjaitan has called on ministers and heads of government institutions under the coordination of the Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry (Kemenko Polhukam) to cooperate to create nationa

Jakarta – The Buru Quartet, four novels by Indonesia’s foremost author Pramoedya Ananta Toer that tell the story of the formation of Indonesia, are still in hot demand as demonstrated by 10 thousand sales of the quartet in just two weeks since it was reprinted in July this year.

Abraham Utama, Jakarta – International Labour Day or May will be commemorated tomorrow on Friday May 1 in a number of different countries. On Thursday however, labour groups in Indonesia were still divided over plans to establish a new labour party.

Andri Yunarko, Jakarta – On Monday April 27 the Indonesian People’s United Resistance (PPRI) held a press conference at the offices of the Jakarta Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) to declare its position on the commemoration of International Labour Day or M

Indonesia’s foreign debt continues to rise, primarily because private sector debt is growing. Of the various issues related to private sector foreign debt, the composition of new debts to pay old debts needs to be given attention. The ‘nomenclature’ of this kind of foreign debt is referred to as ‘refinancing’.

Jakarta – An announcement by the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) that the punk rock band Superman Is Dead (SID) will be performing at the May Day Fiesta on May 1 has been denied by the band.

Syahrul Ansyari, Foe Peace Simbolon – In the lead up to the commemoration of International Labour Day 2015 or May Day, the Indonesian Labour Movement (GBI), which is made up of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI), the Confederation of the All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI), the Confederation of Prosperity Labour Unions (KSBSI),

Hendra Pasuhuk – A seminar by the International People’s Tribunal (IPT1965) titled Indonesia’s 1965 Massacre: Unveiling The Truth, Demanding Justice that was held in the Den Haag on April 10 on the 1965 massacres in Indonesia, which resulted in the killing of hundreds of thousands of people, has raised several new aspects related to the

Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who once described Indonesian dictator President Suharto as ‘a man of the world’ and said during a visit to Jakarta in 2006 shortly before Suharto’s death that he was ‘an old friend of mine and remains a friend until now’, has died age 91 after a long illness.