Feb 22, 2025 Last Updated 12:16 AM, Feb 21, 2025

Politics

Love at first sight Slorc meets Abri

ANDREAS HARSONO visits Burma and is intrigued by the respect its military show for the Indonesian model.

Death of a journalist

'I write the truth and if I have to die for it, well so be it' wrote Udin shortly before he died. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL investigates.

A local hero

To Jakarta, he is an enigma. To the Madurese, he holds out hope for a better society. GERRY VAN KLINKEN goes to the grass-roots.

Political gangsters

The riot that engulfed Jakarta on 27 July 1996 started after army-backed gangsters invaded Megawati's PDI headquarters. JESSE RANDALL traces the strange relationship between government and criminality.

Not your local member

When this teacher tries to explain the electoral system, he ends up in knots. SUGENG PERMANA listens in.

Godly men in green

Abri officers are becoming more Islamic, but many do not want their Islam to become a political tool for the administration, according to MARCUS MIETZNER.

Kings or kingmakers

Senior ABRI intentions may be obscure now, says BOB LOWRY, but no one should assume they will remain that way.

Watch these five!

DAMIEN KINGSBURY puts his money on five military winners in the presidential stakes. Indonesians call them the five Pendawa.

Taking on the timber tycoons

It's lonely in the Forestry Minister's office, says GERRY VAN KLINKEN.

In the line of fire

Facing a sceptical public, Abri has to talk harder to justify its political role. JUN HONNA listens in.

Expelled from my home by thugs!

HERTJE SURIPATTY tells how developers used soldiers and thugs to try to force her out.

Jakarta money stirs Ujungpandang riot

VEDI HADIZ sent this eyewitness account from South Sulawesi.

Indonesian spying on East Timorese exiles

PETER CRONAU and MATTHEW BROWN find that Cold War methods live on in Indonesian consulates around Australia.

No crisis please

The currency crisis is making Thailand more democratic, but not Indonesia, says PRIYAMBUDI.

More educated, more ruthless

DAVID BOURCHIER looks at the new generation of military leaders, after a big shakeup between July and October 1997.

Help us clean up!

The World Bank has joined the IMF in a huge rescue package. Indonesian non-government organisations (NGOs) presented this memo to World Bank president James Wolfensohn in Jakarta.

Permeable border

Indonesian fishermen whose traditional fishing grounds are in Australian waters may have a Mabo-style claim, says CAMPBELL WATSON.

The end of the Asian miracle

The IMF recipe is no cure for Asia's collapsed economies, says WALDEN BELLO. Instead, a people's strategy is emerging that looks to self-reliance and democratic control over capital.

Markets, morals and leadership after the boom

Authoritarian Southeast Asian governments have been dealt a blow by market forces, says MICHAEL VATIKIOTIS, but democracy will not flourish until people begin to organise locally.

We want a new government!

There are plenty of capable Indonesians who can take over from Suharto, says the activist group PIJAR.

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A selection of stories from the Indonesian classics and modern writers, periodically published free for Inside Indonesia readers, courtesy of Lontar.