Indonesia
Indonesia had another turbulent year, marked by a power struggle in Jakarta and an escalation in regional conflicts. The government made no serious efforts to address past or current abuses. The number of political prisoners rose steadily during the year, with many peaceful political activists charged with "spreading hatred toward the government."
Indonesia's bilateral donors showed concern over the regional conflicts, but their main focus was the long drawn-out struggle in Jakarta between the parliament and President Abdurrahman Wahid. That conflict ended peacefully in late July with Wahid's impeachment and the accession to the presidency of Megawati Sukarnoputri. A combination of relief over the transition, delight over some key cabinet appointees, and strategic and economic interests led many donors to rush to support the new administration.
In late 2001, widespread protests in Indonesian cities against the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan, accompanied by some intimidation of Westerners, underscored the difficulties President Megawati faced in balancing domestic political constituencies with external pressures.

In November 2000, the parliament passed Law No. 26 setting up new courts to try cases of serious human rights violations. For the first time, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other crimes of a "widespread or systematic" nature were incorporated into Indonesian law. The law established new courts to try such cases and provided for the establishment of "ad hoc" courts to prosecute serious human rights abuses that had occurred before the law took effect, including the 1999 East Timor cases.
Other problems with accountability surfaced. The Indonesian National Human Rights Commission, known as Komnas-HAM, had been one of the most prominent defenders of human rights. Ironically, it began to lose its critical judgment under the democratically-elected Abdurrahman Wahid. Law No. 26 gave Komnas-HAM, rather than the police, responsibility for initial investigations into cases of serious human rights violations. People within Komnas-HAM itself increasingly blocked action on key cases. A bill in the parliament to set up a national truth and reconciliation commission along the lines of the South African model remained a work in progress as of late 2001. With no interest in prosecutions on the part of the president, the attorney general, or the minister of justice, prospects for accountability looked vague.