Rights groups are calling on Indonesia to investigate the fatal shooting of gold and copper mine workers in eastern Indonesia. In a gruesome escalation of a dispute between U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan and workers from their Grasberg mine, security forces opened fire on a crowd of strikers, killing one man and injuring more than a …
indonesia
In Indonesia, Murders by a ‘Lynch Mob’ Go Lightly Punished
Less than six months after a hundreds-strong mob beat members of a minority sect with machetes, rocks and bamboo poles, killing three, the leaders of the barrage will walk free. The attack, which took place in a remote village in Banten province, was captured on video. Yesterday, at a heavily fortified courthouse outside the …
Hillary Goes to Bali: Fear, Disputes and Not That Much Love
Fresh off a three-day tour of India, Hillary Clinton arrived on Bali Thursday to attend a regional forum hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Since her first visit in 2009, the United States has taken an increasingly active role in regional politics, signing treaties, strengthening ties and speaking out on …
Justice Deferred: Why Indonesia Doesn’t Want to Host the ‘Bali Bomber’ Trial
You’d think Indonesia would jump at the chance to try Umar Patek, the alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali Bombings. But the head of the country’s anti-terror agency, Ansyaad Mbai, says a high-profile terror trial is too much of a security risk. Patek, one of the leaders of the al-Qaeda linked Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah …
The Roots of Radicalism: Militants Teach Jihad in Indonesia’s Prisons
There’s a downside to jailing Jihadis: They corrupt your prisons. It’s a problem that’s keenly felt in Indonesia, where a decade-long crackdown on extremist groups has dramatically increased the number of radicals in jail. Terror experts have long worried about putting so many convicted terrorists in one place. Now, an investigation …
After Beheading, Indonesia Bars Maids from Work in Saudi Arabia
A woman, beheaded by the sword thousands of miles from home. This, at last, proved too much for Indonesia. For years, this Southeast Asian nation has been sending its citizens to work in Saudi Arabia and, for years, migrant workers there complained of poor working conditions, abuse and violence. But the surprise execution of Ruyati …
Why Ba’asyir’s Sentence Doesn’t Spell the End of Extremism in Indonesia
He says he’s just simple preacher. But on Thursday, Abubakar Ba’asyir, the man widely considered the grandfather of Islamic militancy in Indonesia, was convicted on terror charges and sentenced to 15 years. Ba’asyir, 72, was charged with founding and financing a militant group that ran a terrorist camp in Aceh, northern Sumatra. The …
Why the BRICS Summit Won’t Accomplish Anything
Yep, just what the world needs—another international summit. On Thursday, leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa convened under the palm trees of China’s Hainan Island for the third BRICS summit. The acronym was coined back in 2001 by an economist at Goldman Sachs to describe the bright emerging economies of Brazil, …
Global Briefing, April 1, 2011: This Is No Joke
Tank vs. Kalashnikov — For Libya’s rebels, the difference between victory and defeat may come down to weaponry, writes Abigail Hauslohner from Benghazi.
Taking Control — As Japan’s nuclear crisis enters its fourth week, the government is considering taking over TEPCO, says Lucy Birmingham in a dispatch from Tokyo. But will the …
Why ‘Domestic’ Work is a Global Issue
If there was a runner-up award for oldest profession, ‘servant’ would certainly have a shot. But domestic work, like sex work, is rarely treated as real labor, which explains in part why domestic laborers are all-too-often abused, their triumphs downplayed, their work swept under the door. It also explains why, despite links to slavery, …
What a Drag
I used to think that China was the last great refuge of the smoker, but that was before a short visit to Indonesia last week. Spend a day in the capital Jakarta, and China begins to seem like an Asian California of pristine air and enlightened tobacco control policy.
Try to imagine just how bad a country’s tobacco epidemic has to be …