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Indonesia

Indonesia has great natural wealth but many of its citizens live in extreme poverty. Democratic progress has been made since the resigation of former president Suharto in 1998, but many civil society organisations feel that far too little progress has been made towards sustainable management of the country's resources, and ensuring that Indonesia's diverse communities have a real say in decisions which affect their future.

When Indigenous Peoples fight for their land rights

DTE 93-94, December 2012

A protracted land conflict in Aceh involving communities, a plantation company and a struggle for authority between central and regional authorities.

By Zulfikar Arma, Aceh’s Indigenous Peoples Network (JKMA).

Indonesia’s Indigenous Peoples continue the struggle for recognition

DTE 91-92, May 2012

The Fourth Congress of the Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (KMAN IV) celebrated the achievements of the past five years. But there is still much more to be done to secure indigenous communities’ rights to lands and resources.

The road ahead: making it happen for indigenous peoples

DTE 91-92, May 2012

An overview of some of the outcomes of KMAN IV: AMAN’s people, plans and demands for the future.

The Proliferation of Political Piracy in Post-Suharto Indonesia

DTE 91-92, May 2012

Book Review: Vedi R. Hadiz, 2011, Localising Power in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia: a Southeast Asia perspective.

Big plans for Papua

DTE 91-92, May 2012

In our special edition newsletter on Papua published in November 2011, DTE drew attention to the long and sorry history of top-down resource exploitation in Papua. Now, a whole raft of new development plans are being pushed through, under the government’s nation-wide effort to speed up development (MP3EI), launched last year. An additional layer of plans specifically for Papua is being promoted by UP4B, a special unit to speed up development in Papua.

Ending conflict in West Papua

DTE 89-90, November 2011, Special Papua edition

The brutal crackdown by Indonesian security forces on the Third Papuan Congress in October has brought up to six deaths and hundreds of beatings and arrests.

Indonesia taken to task over MIFEE

DTE 89-90, November 2011, Special Papua edition

The United National Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has written to the Indonesian government to express concern about the impacts of the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate project (MIFEE) on the indigenous peoples affected by this agro-industrial mega-project.