The virtual police took action against social media accounts considered to have posted content containing hate speech and hoaxes. Some people who have been critical of the government received warnings as well.

The court proceedings of Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Muhammad Rizieq Shihab is marred with bickering. His lawyer regards that Rizieq’s charges are filled with hidden articles.

Six women of Asian descent were among the victims of mass shootings in Atlanta. Racism is on the rise in the United States as attacks on Asians are escalating.

The lesson from Turkey is clear. Central bank’s independence is the anchor of market confidence. If Indonesia does not want to share the same fate as Turkey and lose its credibility, the government needs to immediately figure out, one way or another, how to reduce its budget deficit.

Alvian Wardhana founded Literasi Anak Banua to teach thousands of children in villages in South Kalimantan using methods that enable them to understand lessons better and no longer performing poorly in school.

A number of policies to deal with the pandemic this past year have an impact on Muslim rituals. Social worships and rituals are increasing. This report is the result of a collaboration between Tempo and Rappler, supported by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

Hariyadi Sukamdani, Chairman of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI), was quick to register his members in the second stage of the national Covid-19 vaccination program. His desire is to have all 121,500 PHRI members working in the hotel and tourism industry to be vaccinated. But this wish is hampered by the limited amount of vaccine availability. Hariyadi said that vaccinating tourism workers is important to revive the industry, especially in Bali, which had taken a hard blow from suspended tourism. Hariyadi, who is also the CEO of Sahid Group and Chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), supports the government’s plan to open a Covid-free corridor in collaboration with several nations.

Political parties have started their quest for power in the 2024 elections and are forgetting their role to improve the quality of democracy. Political horse-trading is occurring over the parliamentary and presidential electoral thresholds.

Nawal El Saadawi received constant pressure from the government, community, and religious institutions, but she stood firm in her struggle for women’s rights.

The increasing challenge on development needed more creativity to result new opportunities.

A reader writes that a vast plot of land owned by Pertamina in Pondok Ranji, East Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten, is almost neglected and vulnerable to a land grab.

Cartoon: Yuyun Nurachman

The past does not stop. Over and again, we fail to recapture it in memory. Of course, we have history books and think that this is where the past is recorded as memory. But memory is the product of the present, and the present is not a station where memories pause, unchanging. This is why we often try to recall the past in other ways.

Visitors take pictures at the Pokokea Megalith Site in Hanggira village, Central Lore, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi, Sunday, March 21. Domestic and foreign tourists frequently visit the prehistoric megalithic site, featuring a statue and a giant vessel (kalamba), which is estimated to have existed since 5,000 years BC./Antara/Basri Marzuki

SOUTHEAST Asia has faced numerous human rights violations and abuses, ranging from the worst crimes against the Rohingya and other religious and ethnic minorities in Myanmar to extra-judicial killings in the Philippines under President Duterte’s administration. Many enforced disappearances have also occurred across the region, along with violence against human rights and democracy defenders, attacks on freedom of religion and belief, freedom of expression, and some other incidents. 

It does not mean the region has no institution that addresses human rights issues. Since 2009, member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have had the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights or AICHR. But critics said this body has been ineffective and ‌incapable of protecting human rights in the region. 

To commemorate the International Human Rights Day on December 10, TEMPO TALKS presents Yuyun Wahyuningrum, the representative of Indonesia to AICHR who will explain about human rights problems in the region and how her organization addresses the issue on TEMPO TALKS