Indonesia

A dispute over a flag in Aceh is testing the limits of autonomy, irritating Indonesia’s central government, heightening ethnic tensions, reviving a campaign for the division of the province and raising fears of violence as the 2014 national elections approach.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono needs to act more firmly against institutions and officials that defy national court rulings or his inaction risks prolonging local conflicts.

The only measure likely to halt violence in Indonesia’s Papua province in the short term is a major overhaul of security policy.

Almost ten years after the 2002 Bali bombing, Indonesian extremists are weak and divided but still finding partners for new operations.

Election monitors should begin deployment to Aceh long before the 9 April election to deter intimidation.

Despite years of investment in community policing, the Indonesian police remain deeply distrusted by the people they are supposed to serve.

Five months after an outbreak of Christian-Muslim violence in Ambon, the city is outwardly calm and bustling, but many issues remain unresolved.

Involvement in violent campaigns against vice and religious deviance has become one pathway to terrorism in Indonesia.

The government needs to quickly answer questions about an outbreak of violence in Ambon on 11 September that has raised communal tensions and may have been the motivation for the 25 September bombing of a church in Solo, Central Java.

A spike in violence in Indonesian Papua over the last two months underscores the urgency of exploring new ideas to address conflict there.