News

Jakarta. While Indonesians celebrated National Youth Pledge Day on Friday (28/10), prominent Muslim scholars and an association that represents students in Islamic schools, or santri, called on the public to avoid the issues of race, ethnicity, religion and intergroup dynamics during the period leading up to the Jakarta gubernatorial election. Friday also marked the first day of campaigning, which will ... Read More »

A fact-finding team has urged the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to file a case review on the controversial acquittal of former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono, who was accused of being involved  in the murder of prominent rights defender Munir Said Thalib. Hendardi of the Setara Institute, a member of a government-commissioned fact-finding team (TPF) set up ... Read More »

Jakarta. The Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace has urged the government to do more to prevent radicalization following a knife attack in Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday (22/10) by a man believed to be an Islamic State sympathizer. The 22-year-old man, reportedly acting alone, stabbed three police officers with a knife after applying an Islamic State sticker on their shelter. ... Read More »

Two years since taking office, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla’s administration has shown it does not prioritize civil liberties, evidenced by continued freedom of expression violations, a human rights watchdog has said. “It’s ironic to see that on one hand, law enforcement authorities barely do anything to prevent a violation of freedom of expression, particularly on ... Read More »

When President Widodo was inaugurated on Oct. 20 2014, there was widespread hope that his “can-do” approach would translate into bold decision making and wide-ranging reforms. Two years on, experts believe his reforms have not gone far enough Two years ago, slum-born Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was elected Indonesia’s President, becoming the first leader elected outside of the country’s narrow political ... Read More »

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has been trying to fast-track infrastructure and economic development in Papua over the last two years, but little has been achieved to prevent human rights abuses from taking place in the country’s easternmost region. Soon after he took office, Jokowi made an oath that he would not let Papuans continue to suffer as a result of ... Read More »

Jakarta. Calls are mounting for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to start implementing a proposed roadmap for reconciliation in Papua, with human rights activists claiming that he has failed to calm tensions in the restive province in the two years since he took office. The Jokowi administration has been focusing on infrastructure development projects to boost the economy in Papua, where a ... Read More »

A radio station in Batam, Hang FM, recently made headlines when Singaporean authorities accused it of spreading extremist ideology and radicalizing two of its citizens, who had been arrested under the Internal Security Act for allegedly trying to join the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria. The city-state’s ministry of home affairs alleged that Rosli Hamzah, 50, and Mohamed Omar ... Read More »

Defying his parents’ admonition that he should simply accept his position as a member of a minority community, a young Chinese-Indonesian man has bravely reported to the police a group of men who reportedly assaulted him because of his ethnicity last Friday evening. Andrew Budikusuma, 24, needed five days to recover from his injuries and to obtain evidence such as ... Read More »

The “lone wolf” assailant who planned to blow up a Catholic church in Medan, North Sumatra, was inspired by leader of the Islamic State (IS) Movement Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi and learned how to make bombs on the internet, a top security minister said on Monday. Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said that the alleged assailant, 18-year old ... Read More »

Concerns over the growing role of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in civilian affairs have emerged after a group of young people in Bandung, West Java, claimed they were assaulted by military personnel while running a makeshift library at night in the city’s downtown. The attack on the young people happened amid the city administration’s extensive campaign to improve literacy through ... Read More »