Joe Leahy, Jakarta – President Suharto has warned his former military unit, the elite Strategic Reserve Command, to stay on alert to counter "anti-government" groups.

In an apparent warning to separatist elements and dissidents - his second in a week - the 75-year-old President said the military's duty was to protect national stability and be on the lookout for threats of all kinds.

"There are no countries anywhere in the world that would allow such groups freedom of movement, especially when their actions extend to taking up arms," he said in a speech read by army chief General Hartono.

"The armed forces' role is to guarantee the security and safety of the people," he said in the speech, which General Hartono read at the 36th-birthday celebrations of the Strategic Reserve Command, known as Kostrad.

The warning follows one last week in which Mr Suharto promised to "clobber" anyone who tried to unseat him by unconstitutional means.

"If the people want Suharto to step down, I'll say thank you. I'll accept the decision," he said during a visit to central Java on February 28.

"But if they do it by means other than through the MPR [the Upper House of parliament]... I'll clobber them because they are violating the constitution."

A wave of unrest has rocked Indonesia since October, including three large-scale religious riots in Java, riots in East Timor, racial killings in West Kalimantan and tribal wars in remote Irian Jaya.

Reports yesterday said at least six people had been killed in the Irian Jayan clashes.

Kostrad has played a key role in restoring calm to most of these areas. A former army minister, Lieutenant-General Ahmad Yani, formed the command in 1961 as a rapid reaction force capable of nipping internal unrest in the bud.

Mr Suharto, Kostrad's first commander, used the force in 1965 to quell an abortive so-called coup attempt blamed on the communist party and edge his way into power.

The force's loyalty is still seen as the key to the security of the elections and the President.

Authorities are preparing to bring to court 25 people on subversion charges over violent ethnic unrest since December on Borneo, according to Masfar Ismail, head of the Attorney-General's Office in West Kalimantan province.

US politician seeking aid cut 'manipulated'

South China Morning Post - March 6, 1997

Joe Leahy in Jakarta and Reuterss in Washington – A United States congressman who wants Washington to cut aid to Indonesia because of human rights violations in East Timor is being manipulated by separatist forces in the province, the Indonesian Government suggested yesterday.

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Department spokesman Ghaffar Fadyl described as "nonsense" a proposed bill by Congressman Patrick Kennedy to cut US military and economic aid to the archipelago.

"I don't think he represents the wider interests of the US community. Hopefully, this will not materialise for the benefit of both countries."

Mr Kennedy was in East Timor in December and met Nobel Peace Prize winner Catholic Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, the provincial military commander and others.

His bill follows attempts last year by other congressmen to sanction Indonesia and a highly critical human rights report by the US State Department.

The proposed legislation has sparked concern among US companies that Mr Kennedy wants trade sanctions.

"We do not want to hurt US businesses who are investors over there," his spokesman, Larry Berman, said. "We want to get Indonesia to stop abusing human rights."

Mr Fadyl said the Government suspected the former Portuguese colony's separatist movement, Fretilin, was behind the Christmas Eve riot and other violence.

He accused Mr Kennedy of politicking to win the Portuguese vote in the US and said he should be careful he was not being manipulated by separatist interests.

The co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Fretilin's ambassador in exile, Jose Ramos-Horta, was touring the US, Mr Fadyl said.

"Those who support him might think this is the right moment to launch a campaign. But those who understand the situation will not fall prey to the campaign."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Jose Ayala Lasso said he hoped his organisation would soon have an office in Jakarta to oversee East Timor.

Talks on setting up the office opened last year but did not lead to action. However, he said he had had a new proposal from the Government.

Soeharto on alert to crush dissent

Sydney Morning Herald - March 8, 1997

Louise Williams, Jakarta – President Soeharto has ordered the army reserve to prepare to mobilise to counter further civil unrest, warning political dissidents that anti-Government groups would not be tolerated.

In a message read at a ceremony of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command, Mr Soeharto told reserves to step up their readiness to quell threats within and outside Indonesia.

Referring to anti-Government groups, Mr Soeharto said: "While improvements in various fields are under way, we have to stop the groups' activities.

"No national state is willing to give elbow room to such groups, let alone turn their actions into armed rebellions. We have to stay alert to the invisible menaces stemming from a lot of problems."

The statement followed the arrest on Thursday of the former MP turned democracy activist, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, who has been charged with sedition over his calls for a boycott of the coming national elections. The sedition charge carries a maximum penalty of death.

While armed separatist movements are fighting Indonesian soldiers in East Timor and Irian Jaya, there is no evidence that any pro-democracy group has been plotting to overthrow the Government by violence.

The use of the sedition charge against political dissidents has been strongly criticised by the Indonesian Human Rights Commission, which says the charge was formulated to protect the state against armed rebellion, not to be used against dissidents. Amnesty International condemned the arrest of Sri Bintang, which brings to 12 the number of political dissidents facing the death penalty on sedition charges.

"The sedition law has been used to sentence to death or imprison people for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, opinion and association," Amnesty said.

"Amnesty believes the arrest is yet a further example of the Indonesian Government's intention to remove its opponents to ensure the smooth return of Golkar [the ruling party] in an election free of dissident opinion."

Indonesia's two minority political parties announced yesterday they had not received any funding to campaign against the Golkar party in the May elections and were on the verge of bankruptcy.

The Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP) and the Partai Demokrasi Indonesia are the only other parties allowed to stand.

The Soeharto Government has banned outdoor campaigns, meaning the cash-strapped alternative parties will have to hire local halls to stage rallies, a major logistical disadvantage given Golkar's access to government facilities and the Government-controlled media.

Seven branches of the PPP announced they would boycott the election, saying they cannot campaign properly.

The Soeharto Government yesterday denied reports that a United Nations office would be established in Jakarta to monitor human rights in East Timor.

Post-Soeharto, ABRI'S socio political role will not be a 'flat tyre'

Kompas - 27 February, 1997

The socio-political (sospol) role of the Armed Forces (ABRI) will not be a "flat tyre", even at President Soeharto's post leadership. ABRI's role will not change much because ABRI in its history of existence until this moment is performing its role as unifier of the nation.

Thus was disclosed by the experts staff of the Minister of Research and Technology in Defense and Security ZA Maulani after discussing the study results of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (LIPI) regarding the sospol role of ABRI, Wednesday (26/2) at LIPI's Widya Chandra Building in Jakarta.

ZA Maulani answered reporters questions based on questions of a participant when the presentation of the research results were made. Maulani said that if we continued national development perpetually, national stability formed one of ABRI's responsibilities together with the nation. "Speaking about stability, we have to redefine about the manner in which we will erect national stability," he said.

He said that the final form of ABRI's sospol role will be determined by the people, because the present role of ABRI is a consensus of the People's Consultative Council (MPR) of 1969. With looking at the field, the process of differences of opinion could not yet be accommodated so that disputes were often difficult to be handled because each reacted a priori. "In such an attitude ABRI forms the only solid national force which becomes the anchor of the requirements of this country," said Maulani.

But how can it be performed if there is no figure like Pak Harto? reporters asked. It was disclosed that formerly, when President Soekarno was in power, it could not be imagined who would replace him. "But it proved that the emergence of an unknown Commander of the Army's Strategic Command, could change Indonesia in the world map as it now is," said Maulani.

Asked whether there would not be post-Soeharto upheavals due to the absence of a figure who can compete with President Soeharto, while quoting the opinion of Sofyan Wanandi, Maulani said that as long as ABRI is still the strongest socio-political force, ABRI will become the anchor of stability. "There may be upheavals, but as long as ABRI is still compact and solid, there will be no serious upheavals," he said.

Maulani did not see competition in ABRI's body at the moment because this, he said, was a perception from outsiders. But Maulani admitted that in each social body there would always be differences of opinion. Evenso in the ABRI, there was the possibility of different opinions either from active or pensioned officers.

Commenting on Sofyan Wanandi's statement in his LIPI presentation that there were only a little ABRI thinkers in the era of Soeharto's leadership, Maulani disagreed with the opinion of the Gemala Group Boss.

According to Maulani ABRI's discipline is presently much better than in the past. With a good discipline there is always a unit of cohesiveness. "Therefore, those who speak are those who indeed have the responsibility for it," he said. (*)

President: ABRI faces heavier future challenges

Antara - March 3, 1997

Semarang, C Java – President Soeharto said the personnel of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) would face heavier challenges in their dedication to the nation. The future challenges would not only come from other countries but from their own nation as well, the head of state said in his written address read out by the Diponegoro Regional Military Commander, Maj Gen Soebagyo, at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the regional military command here Saturday.

As a security and defence power, the ABRI personnel should beable to improve their vigilance in the face of future menace,Soeharto said.

"As a socio-political power, ABRI personnel are also expected to place themselves as a stabilizing and dynamic force in the spirit of integrated leadership," said the president who ever occupied the post of commander at the Diponegoro Regional Military Command from1956 to 1959.

The president saw that 47 years of dedication for him was a short period, during which many ABRI members in the command had undergone various heavy ordeals and challenges.

Due to a high spirit of ABRI personnel in defending and safeguarding the security of the nation and state, all kinds of challenges could be successfully overcome. President Soeharto hoped that all personnel of the Diponegoro Regional Military Command could contemplate the essence of the command's historic dedication to the nation and state.

University to train Indonesia's army brass

The Guardian - 5 March, 1997

John Gittings – The son-in-law of President Suharto, Indonesia's ageing dictator, has persuaded a research centre at London University to set up a five-year training project for senior military officers.

Indonesia's appalling human rights record, particularly in East Timor, has made all aid and co-operation with the regime highly contentious. Major-General Prabowo Subianto, his father-in-law's possible heir apparent, commands the much-feared "red berets" unit. "They are basically a bunch of killers," the leading human rights activist and researcher on Indonesia, Carmel Budiardjo, said yesterday in London

The Centre for Defence Studies (CDS) at King's College is about to conclude an agreement with Jakarta to organise a summer school, entirely funded by the Indonesian government, for 50 senior officers covering a wide range of "military, defence and security issues".

The project's executive director, Chris Smith, said the proposal originated in Indonesia and that "much of the initial initiative came from Prabowo".

Gen Prabowo is head of Kopassus, the army's special forces, which is reputed to be the most ruthless of the special units used for Indonesian counter-insurgency operations. The general discussed the project during a private visit to Britain late last year.

The project, which also involves the University of Hull and the Royal Military College of Science, envisages a six-week seminar in Indonesia annually in the next five years. An unusual provision of the deal is that all communications between the British organisers and the Indonesian armed forces must be channelled through Colonel Ivar Hellberg, the British defence attache in Jakarta.

The CDS said the decision to go ahead was only taken after a great deal of internal discussion. "We realised it is likely to be a contentious programme", Dr Smith said yesterday. But the CDS had "full control" over the curriculum which would include courses on human rights and international law.

The decision to go ahead was condemned yesterday by Ms Budiardjo, founder of Tapol, the London-based Indonesian human rights campaign, as "a neat arrangement to give the Indonesian forces a human rights gloss". She said the project was "a new example of the cosy arrangement between the British government and the Indonesian armed forces".

Britain has been accused of supporting genocide in East Timor by the sale of British Hawk aircraft and other miitary equipment to the Indonesian regime. The military keeps a firm hand on all political activity in Indonesia. Last week the armed forces chief of staff General Feisal Tanj ung, warned that troops would shoot on sight anyone who "violated the law" in this year's elections.

The CDS was established at King's College in 1990 with a five-year core grant from the Ministry of Defence which has recently been renewed.

Gen Prabowo played an influential role in last year's army-inspired crackdown on the Democratic Party of Indonesia during which the party's headquarters were stormed and its chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri ousted from office.

He is married to Siti Hediyati, President Suharto's second daughter, who is deeply involved in transactions on the Jakarta stock market. Since none of the president's sons has pursued a military career, Gen Prabowo is regarded as a potential successor to President Suharto.

The CDS programme will include courses on contemporary security and South-east Asian issues.

Military take lessons in showing the right image

Sydney Morning Herald - March 6, 1997

Louise Williams, Jakarta – In an apparent effort to boost their international image, the Indonesian armed forces have asked three prestigious British universities to establish the country's first officers' training program to include human rights and international law. A Jakarta-based source said the Indonesian armed forces, the ABRI, were negotiating with the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College, London University, to run annual six-week seminars in Jakarta covering a wide range of military, defence and security issues, including human rights and international law.

The seminars, which will be paid for by the Indonesian Government, will be attended by about 50 of the country's most senior military officers, including officers of the elite special forces unit headed by President Soeharto's son-in-law, Major-General Prabowo Subianto. The original proposal is understood to have come from General Prabowo, whose unit is becoming increasingly involved in quelling riots and politically motivated civil unrest across the archipelago.

An ABRI spokesman said there were no specific human rights courses for Indonesian officers, but aspects of human rights were included in existing studies of the national ideology, pancasila, which emphasises unity in diversity.

The United States cancelled its direct training program for the Indonesian military in 1992 after Indonesian troops opened fire on a funeral in the East Timorese capital of Dili, killing scores of unarmed civilians.

However, the US still makes funding available for Indonesian officers to attend courses in the States. Australia continues to train Indonesian military officers in Australia, but has no specific human rights program for Indonesian conditions. Human rights activists in London have attacked the proposed new courses as "a neat arrangement to give the Indonesian forces a human rights gloss". The Guardian newspaper reported that Britain had been accused of supporting genocide in East Timor with the sale of British Hawk aircraft and other military equipment to the Indonesian military. Ms Carmel Budiardjo, head of a London-based Indonesian human rights group, attacked General Prabowo in particular, describing the general's unit as "basically a bunch of killers".

The relationship between the Indonesian special forces and the British military was strengthened last year during negotiations over the release of a group of Western and Indonesian researchers captured by separatists in the remote mountain forests of Irian Jaya.

General Prabowo's troops led an assault on the separatists when four months of negotiations failed, freeing all but two members of the scientific expedition, which included four Britons. Two Indonesian researchers were killed by their captors during the operation.

King's College is to establish the courses in co-operation with the University of Hull and the Royal Military College of Science.

Campaigners take government to court over arms to Indonesia

TAPOL News Release - 7 March, 1997

The Government today refused to cancel arms export licences to Indonesia triggering a legal challenge from three campaigning organisations. It will be the first ever legal challenge to the Government's arms export policy.

TAPOL (the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign), Campaign Against Arms Trade and the World Development Movement had given the Government until today to cancel the licences issued in December 1996 for arms including 50 Scorpion armoured vehicles, 7 Tactica water cannon and over 300 armoured vehicles. The three organisations maintain that the Government is in breach of its own arms export policies which claim to take into account the human rights record in the recipient country.

They have obtained photographic evidence of British military equipment being used for repressive purposes. In arguing for the revoking of the licences, the organisations point to the catalogue of incidents involving British-made equipment. (Summary attached.)

Today's letter from the Department of Trade and Industry states that although the President of the Board of Trade "will have continuing regard to events in Indonesia, he does not intend at present to revoke the licences".

The three organisations had drawn the President of the Board of Trade's attention to the worsening situation as the Indonesian regime tightens security in the run up to the elections in May. They pointed out that British-made Scorpion tanks were among the weaponry put on show in Jakarta at the end of February.

Carmel Budiardjo, on behalf of the three organisations said: "We are saddened and angered that the Government has refused to cancel the licences for arms to Indonesia. We will now have to resort to the High Court to stop these arms exports contributing to the repression of Indonesians who are pressing for democratic rights.'

Timetable of events:

April 1996 - Ujung Pandang, three students die as British-made armoured personnel carriers break up a peaceful demonstration.

June 1996 - Bandung, British water cannon spray chemicals on a peaceful student gathering.

July 1996 - Jakarta British water cannon spraying pink chemical solution break up peaceful pro-democracy demonstration.

October 1996 - Minister of State Jeremy Hanley tells Parliament: "If water cannon is used to try to stop peaceful demonstrations, that is of course totally unacceptable."

9 December 1996 - British Government announces the granting of export licences for more than 300 armoured vehicles and seven water cannon.

Study documents arms sales to Indon

East Timor Action Network - March 4, 1997

New York – A new study by the World Policy Institute reveals that the United States has supplied over $1.1 billion worth of weaponry to Indonesia in the two decades since the Suharto regime's invasion of East Timor. This new data on U.S. arms supplies to Indonesia comes at a time when U.S.-Indonesian relations are much in the news. Congressional investigators have been probing the role of contributions from the Indonesian-based Lippo group in the 1996 presidential campaign, and upcoming public hearings will address the question of how these foreign donations may have influenced U.S. policy towards Indonesia.

Despite the Indonesian money scandal, the Clinton Administration is planning to move ahead with a sale of 9 F-16 fighter planes to Jakarta. The $200 million deal – which is slated to be formally announced to Congress later this year – would represent the first sale of major U.S. combat aircraft to the Suharto regime in nearly a decade. There has been bipartisan opposition to the sale, led by prominent Senators such as Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and key House members including Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and House International Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman (R-NY).

In the meantime, as the F-16 deal hangs in the balance, the human rights situation in Indonesia has been worsening: the leader of the main opposition party has been ousted by the Suharto regime, a dozen labor and student leaders are being tried on charges of subversion for the "crime" of criticizing government policies, and President Suharto has dismissed international requests for a United Nations sponsored referendum to determine the future of East Timor.

"Now that the awarding of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize to Jose Ramos-Horta and Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo has shed an international spotlight on the Suharto regime's brutal occupation of East Timor, the time is ripe for the United States to reverse its longstanding policy of serving as a primary source of arms and training for the Indonesian military," said William D. Hartung, the co-author of the Institute's study. "President Clinton should start by calling off the planned sale of F-16s to Indonesia."

Clinton Policy: 'There Was No Influence'

Ironically, President Clinton has cited his policy on arms to Indonesia as evidence of his strong human rights stance vis-a-vis the Suharto regime. At a news conference held just after the November elections, the president vehemently denied that the soft money contributions by the Lippo group to the Democratic National Committee had influenced U.S. policy towards Indonesia:

"[T]he answer to that is absolutely not. Indeed, look at the difference between my policy and my predecessor's policy. We changed our policy on arms sales because of East Timor, not to sell small arms. And we co-sponsored a resolution in the United Nations in favor of greater human rights in East Timor. And I'm proud we did that. So I can tell you categorically that there was no influence."

Nobel Laureate and East Timor independence activist Jose Ramos-Horta – whose sister and two brothers were killed by Indonesian forces using U.S.-supplied weaponry during the early years of the Indonesian occupation – has strongly criticized the Clinton arms sales policy towards Indonesia, and has opposed the F-16 sale on the grounds that "it's like selling weapons to Saddam Hussein."

In fact, if the F-16 sale goes ahead as planned, the Clinton Administration will have approved roughly $270 million in arms sales to Indonesia in just over four years, an average of over $67 million per year. This represents more than twice the level of arms sales to Indonesia concluded during the Bush Administration, and allowing for inflation, it represents the highest level of U.S. sales since the second Reagan term or the early Carter period.

U.S. Arms To Indonesia: Fueling Repression

U.S. arms sales policies have aided and abetted the Suharto regime's annexation of East Timor from the moment of Indonesia's 1975 invasion right up to the present. Two days prior to the 1975 invasion, President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger gave the green light to Indonesia's invasion of East Timor while attending a state dinner with President Suharto in Jakarta. U.S. arms sales to Indonesia more than quadrupled from 1974 to 1975 from $12 million to more than $65 million. Despite its professed concern for human rights, the Carter Administration approved a record $112 million in new U.S. arms to Indonesia in 1978, helping the Suharto government to consolidate its military occupation of East Timor.

The Reagan Administration averaged $40 million per year in arms sales to Jakarta, culminating in a 1986 blockbuster deal to provide 12 F-16 fighters at a cost of over $300 million. During the Bush Administration, sales dropped slightly, to roughly $28 million per year. Clinton policy has sent a decidedly mixed message by withholding small arms that can be used in human rights abuses and repression of demonstrations while continuing to supply spare parts and offer major combat systems such as the F-16.

The report documents the cumulative impact of two decades of steady U.S. weapons supplies to Indonesia: since 1975, the Pentagon and U.S. arms manufacturers have delivered 229 military aircraft, 264 missiles, 9 combat ships, 402 armored combat vehicles, and massive quantities of guns, ammunition, tear gas, shock batons, and other small arms to Indonesia, including over 15,000 Colt Industries M-16 rifles. Data from the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency indicates that for the most recent three year period for which full data is available, the U.S. supplied 53% of Indonesia's imported armaments.

Since the mid-1980s, Indonesia has relied almost entirely on the United States and its principal West European allies – the United Kingdom, France, and Germany – for its imported armaments, obtaining anywhere from 91 to 100% of its imported weapons from U.S. or West European sources over this period.

"Since the United States and its key allies supply virtually all of Indonesia's imported arms, the tired old argument that 'if we don't sell it, somebody else will' rings false in this instance," said Mr. Hartung, a Senior Research Fellow at the World Policy Institute. "The Clinton Administration should work together with its European allies to condition all future arms sales to Indonesia on human rights improvements and a concrete timetable for self-determination in East Timor."

Who's Influencing Whom: Arms Makers Block Reform

While there is still some question as to whether campaign money from the Lippo group has altered the Clinton Administration's policies towards Indonesia, there is no question that lobbying and campaign spending by U.S. weapons exporting companies has influenced Congressional deliberations on whether to supply U.S. arms to repressive regimes such as Indonesia. During 1995/96, the top 25 U.S. weapons exporting companies donated over $10.7 million in Political Action Committee and soft money contributions to the two major parties and candidates for office. Major recipients of arms industry funds such as Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and former Senator and current Clinton Administration Secretary of Defense William Cohen led the fight for industry initiatives such as establishing a $15 billion arms export loan guarantee fund at the Pentagon and blocking the Code of Conduct bill, a proposal that would sharply limit U.S. arms sales to dictatorships and human rights abusers. When the Code of Conduct bill came up for a vote in the Senate, Senators voting with industry to block the bill received an average of $17,947 in contributions for weapons exporting firms, a figure eight times higher than the average received by Senators who voted for the Code of Conduct. Ironically, one of the top recipients of arms exporter PAC funds during 1995/96 was Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN), who is leading the Senate investigation into irregularities in campaign financing during the 1996 elections. Thompson received $44,675 from arms exporting firms and voted for the arms export loan fund and against the Code of Conduct bill.

Indonesia stands to benefit from the pro-arms export initiatives that were pushed through the 104th Congress. Under a new program created at the urging of U.S. weapons exporting companies, Indonesia has received Export-Import bank financing to upgrade its fleet of C-130 and L-100 military transport aircraft. The Suharto regime is also one of 37 governments that is eligible to receive U.S. government guaranteed loans under the Pentagon's $15 billion arms export loan guarantee fund. And if the Code of Conduct bill limiting arms sales to governments that violate the human rights of their own citizens and engage in undemocratic practices were U.S. law, most if not all of the $1.1 billion in U.S. arms that have been supplied to the Suharto regime over the past two decades would not have been permitted.

"There has been great concern expressed about the role of 'foreign money' in influencing our political process," noted Mr. Hartung. "But we should be equally concerned about the role of U.S.-based weapons exporting firms in distorting our foreign policy on behalf of their short-term economic interests. Subsidized arms sales to Indonesia are an example of the special interests of the weapons industry undermining our long-term national interests in promoting democracy, peace, and human rights."

Armed forces chief gives Golkar the military's support

Agence France Presse - 3 March, 1997

Indonesia's armed forces chief has lent the military's backing to the ruling Golkar party ahead of May polls, the state news agency reported yesterday.

General Feisal Tanjung, speaking here on Saturday in the lead up to May 29 general elections, said "the big Abri (armed forces) family" channels its "political aspirations" to Golkar.

Gen Feisal's statement, made at a leadership meeting of the opposition United Development Party (PPP), was in response to PPP members' questions about the military's relationship to Golkar.

News of his comments came as thousands of PPP supporters poured onto the streets of the Central Java province city of Yogyakarta yesterday. The crowd, mostly youths, formed a procession about one kilometre long on the main streets of the city, sporting outfits in the party green, and waving the party flag, the state Antara news agency reported.

This was the party's second mass procession this year, despite a ruling prohibiting the country's three political parties – Golkar, PPP and the Indonesian Democracy Party (PDI) – from organising street rallies in the run-up to the elections.

Members of the Indonesian armed forces do not vote and 75 military representatives are appointed to the 500-seat parliament by the President.

Golkar, the party of Indonesian President Suharto, has won every election since 1971.

Army chief General Raden Hartono was last year publicly criticised when he said the army and soldiers' families must throw support behind Golkar.

Defence Minister Edi Sudrajat, a retired army general, in January warned the military to remain independent and not to take sides.

Gen Feisal said on Saturday that groups related to the armed forces, such as organisations for veterans, soldiers' wives and children and military-affiliated youths, are also supporters of Golkar.

He added the military must crack down on dissent to protect the nation's unity. The armed forces "cannot sacrifice the nation's very important integrity and stability only to be tolerant towards concepts and actions which cannot be measured," he told the PPP.

He added the military resorts to "limited repression" to maintain national stability.

Its tough line is a "preventive" measure against "destructive forces," he said, adding democracy is "not everything", especially if it has "counterproductive" and "anarchic" forms.

Armed forces to adopt stand of limited repressiveness

Kompas - March 2, 1997

Jakarta – Armed Forces Commander, Gen. Feisal Tanjung, stressed that in the coming period the Armed Forces will take a firmer stand. The Armed forces will compromise with nobody and will not take the slightest risk concerning any effort which wants to disturb national stability and integration of the nation. To that end, the Armed Forces is compelled to strike an attitude of limited repressiveness.

The same guarantee also applies to each effort which wants to disturb, not to say make fail the General Elections of 1997 and the General Session of the 1998 People's Consultative Congress. "That is why the Armed Forces hope very much for lawful legality strengthened by the quick enactment of the National Security Law," emphasized the Armed Forces Commander when giving a lecture at the IIIrd Directing Board Meeting of the Development Unity Party (PPP) on Saturday night (1/3), at Hotel Cempaka in Jakarta.

According to the Armed Forces Commander, the repressive attitude which the Armed Forces are compelled to adopt, is not a reflection of the general pattern of the Armed Forces. But it is a preventive measure, when there are parties which try to force acceptance of their wishes in a destructive manner. The Armed Forces, he continued, remain consistent in giving priority to problem solution in a functional and coordinative way, and an attitude based on persuasion and dialogue for the sake of developing Pancasila Democracy.

The freedom of democracy, said the Commander further, is not everything, the more so freedom which is counterproductive and democracy which is established in an anarchistic way. "The Armed Forces are not willing if they must pay far too dear a ransom, sacrificing the stability and integrity of the nation just to be tolerant towards amorphic concepts and actions," he emphasized to the IIIrd Directing Board Meeting of the PPP which was also attended by the General Chairman of the Central Directing Board of PPP, Ismail Hasan Metareum, Secretary General of the Central Directing Board of PPP, Tosari Widjaya, Mrs Aisyah Aminy, and the Chairmen of the PPP Central Directing Board and Regional Directing Boards.

One commitment of the Armed Forces in realizing quality general elections, added the Armed Forces Commander, is that a General Elections Participant Organization wins the elections in an honorable way and a constitutional manner. Honorable, because it would be won without legal taint. "Perhaps, this would be a victory that would make proud the party which has won it, and be refreshing to the other Participant Organizations," he said.

Criticized no matter what

In another part of his lecture the Commander said that nearing implementation of the general elections, the process of socio-political change and development is often worsened by the existence of certain groups in the community which have their own interests. As a result there is a frequent occurrence of what the Commander called 'misfunction' on the map of national politics.

As an example the Armed Forces Commander took Political Parties and the Functional Group (Golkar) which are considered to be insufficiently playing a role and not attaining self-sufficiency. "On one side the public considers that the government is not quick enough on the uptake in respect of its aspirations, while on the other hand the government considers that the public is insufficiently participating," he said.

Meanwhile, continued the Commander, groups outside the political parties tend to be too big for their britches. Claiming to act on behalf of the people, investigative institutes so easily change into executive institutes. Ironically, it is exactly these groups outside the political parties, which often exploit each form of trouble-proneness and excesses of development out of proportion for the interests of their own group.

"Such conditions we (the Armed Forces -Ed.) overcome together by finding the root of the problem, the correlation and the connectivity, precisely and thoroughly. In conjunction with that, we earnestly search for and winkle out the actors intellectualis in conformity with procedures and prevailing laws," said the Armed Forces Commander.

However, he continued, this effort is not easy and not free from risk. The Commander pictured the Armed Forces as being faced by a situation fraught with dilemma. Acting repressively and quickly, or first calculating how it would be spotlighted from the point of view of human rights and democracy. If it would act on the basis of persuasion and dialogue, the Armed Forces would seem to put the integrity of the nation at stake. "Simply put, the Armed Forces will be criticized no matter what, and can do no good in their eyes," said the Commander.

The Armed Forces Commander appealed to the PPP to remain alert and consistent in respect of the commitment to national unity, union and stability. The Armed Forces Commander felt compelled to stress this matter because there was a strong surmise that there were certain sides which "yearned for adventure" and "played with fire", which endeavored to disturb national stability and would not like it if the 1997 General Elections were to proceed safely, smoothly, and successfully.

Calendar

In the IIIrd Directing Board Meeting which concluded with a question-and- answer session between participants and the Armed Forces Commander, a question was launched by an East Java representave concerning circulation of a calendar which was considered unfair. According to him, the calendar which was now widely distributed in East Java and surrounding areas, showed regents and local military district commander plus the logo of one General Elections Participating Organization. "Is this matter permitted?" he asked. Responding to the question, the commander affirmed that the grand family of the Armed Forces channeled its political aspirations towards the Functional Group. The Custodian of the Armed Forces Grand Family is the Armed Forces Commander, while at the military district level it is the military district commander. "The calendar pictures were made for this reason. There is no other reason," said the Commander, while requesting that it should be reported quickly if certain sides prohibited circulation of PPP calendars.

Answering questions from the Central Java participant concerning the busy 'yellow-coloring' activity, the Commander said that the matter should be amenable to solution and consultation. "It is too small to let unity break just because of a color," he stressed. While in giving his opinion concerning one Participating Organization beating the gun by starting off the campaign on the pretext of meeting its cadres, the Armed Forces Commander stressed that the other General Elections Participating Organizations could do the same thing. "The PPP and the PDI are also allowed to meet their respective cadres," he said.

East Timor

Lisbon accepts Timorese in French Jakarta mission

Reuters - March 4, 1997

Jakarta – Eight East Timorese men who entered the French embassy in Jakarta early on Tuesday will go to Portugal, an official of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

"We have been contacted by the French embassy and the Indonesian government and we are making the usual arrangements," an ICRC official, who asked not to be named, said.

"They will travel to Portugal. We cannot say when they will be going but it will be in the near future," the official said.

Since September 1995, 100 East Timorese who have entered foreign embassies in Jakarta have been granted asylum in Portugal, the former colonial power in East Timor.

A spokeswoman for the French embassy declined to give any information on the subject.

The Portuguese news agency Lusa said the eight entered the embassy around 3 a.m. (2000 GMT Monday). The ICRC official said the eight were all men but declined to give any further information.

One diplomatic source said the group was thought to include university students from Bandung and Surabaya. East Timorese sources said the men seemed to acting on their own accord rather than as part of a more established network.

The United Nations does not recognise Indonesia's 1976 annexation of East Timor and regards Portugal as the administering power in the territory.

The Indonesian government has allowed such asylum seekers to leave for Portugal with the help of the ICRC.

9 East Timorese held over last month's riots

Straits Times - March 5, 1997

Jakarta – Indonesian police in the East Timorese enclave of Ambeno have arrested nine people over ethnic unrest there last month, which left one migrant dead, The Jakarta Post reported yesterday.

"One of those detained is the one who stabbed Mahmud Abu to death," East Timor Police Chief Colonel Yusuf Muharam said. Mr Abu, a migrant from South Sulawesi, was the only fatality in the Feb 21 riots.

Police were questioning three other people in relation to the riot but their names were not given. – AFP.

Indonesia must be put under pressure

Diario de Noticias - 3 March, 1997

[Interview with Mari Alkatiri, Fretilin secretary for external relations. Lisbon, Byline: Abel Coelho de Morais. Original Language: Portuguese.]

DN: According to recent reports, the situation in Timor has worsened. How would you describe Indonesia's activities in the territory?

Mari Alkatiri (MA): Indonesian acts of aggression against civilians in the central and eastern zones have really intensified, and their attempts to locate guerrilla positions and capture their leaders have been stepped up. They're doing everything they possibly can to find them.

DN: It seems clear that opposition (to Indonesian occupation) emerges from the population itself. Does this mean that the guerrilla movement is no long the centre point of resistance activity?

MA: What may be said is that, in recent years, efforts to create a political front of opposition in the occupied zones have been very successful indeed. However, that does not make the guerrilla movement any the less important, not least because that is where the entire leadership of our struggle is to be found. A diplomat asked me recently why we do not conduct an entirely political battle, with an underground leadership. I told him that such a solution would be impossible in Timor.

Timorese resistance must be viewed in its entirety. If we start to departmentalise it, then guerrilla warfare in isolaton would seem unimportant, opposition in the occupied zones alone would seem unimportant, and, in isolation, the diplomatic efforts would also appear not to be important.... We must not make the mistake of saying that the guerrilla movement is no longer important or (as some would like us to say) that there is no longer a reason for it to exist. Having said that, the guerrilla movement is currently more on the defensive.

DN: What do you think about the appointment of Monsignor Basilio?

MA: The fact that Mnsgr. Basilio has been ordained a Bishop is, in itself, significant... because we all know that he is Timorese and is a nationalist - there are no doubts on that score, and the Vatican is well aware of it too. Furthermore, the appointment means that there will be another Bishop in East Timor and, being the kind of person he is, the role of the Church will be reinforced by his presence there. Obviously, there will have to be understanding between the two Bishops, and I see no reason why that should not be the case. What does all this say about the Vatican's position? In my view, this appointment is meant to be a clear message to Indonesia from the Vatican that Timor is a separate being.

DN: Yet another session of the UN Commission on Human Rights is soon to start in Geneva...

MA: Our aim is to break the deadlock of consensual statements and to go for the adoption of a strong resolution. Of course, this depends a lot on Portugal, which is somewhat tied to the EU. However, there are elements which could lead Portugal to take a strong position and force its European partners to go along with a resolution. We are going to mobilise the support of other, non-EU countries. We intend to give vitality and visibility to our presence there, and get other countries to deal with us (and not just with Portugal) on the content of the resolutions.

DN: On the subject of the EU, what happened in Singapore is evidence of concern about, and greater attention being paid to human rights...

MA: But it is a shame that Portugal's political partners and allies happen to be Indonesia's economic partners and allies. That makes the task for Portugal, and for us, difficult.

DN: What about the inter-Ministerial negotiations?

MA: I am convinced that Indonesia is trying to postpone the next round. I think a date should be set quickly. I am not very hopeful about this round of talks, but as there is a new UN Secretary General, a new leader of the team working on the issue of Timor, it will be interesting to see how this team differs from the previous one...

DN: Does the intention of putting Timor to another UN General Assembly vote still stand?

MA: The time is right for the issue to be put to the General Assembly (GA) this year, but it is important that the inter- Ministerial round should take place in March so that the pros and cons of such a move may be better assessed. We will also have to start groundwork to prepare friendly nations for the battle at the GA. We know that the administering power sees such a move as dangerous, but we do not think it is as risky as all that.

DN: What would a favourable vote means for East Timor now?

MA: It would mean a new resolution - the first in over 10 years. There are those who believe that the fact that no resolution has been adopted in all that time is in itself proof that the international community is giving its tacit approval to occupation. With regards the practical effects of a resolution, that would depend on the wording thereof. Timor has already been the subject of several resolutions but, if we take a good look at the wording, we see that the UN has exercised no coercive pressure on Indonesia. There is no coercive content in any of the resolutions. If we could manage to get a resolution adopted that contained an element of coercion, then naturally it would make a political impact. It is also important that the resolution renews and strengthens the Secretary General's mandate, and confers on him a role which is not limited to good offices alone, but which extends it to embrace mediation too.

DN: Has a date been set for the inauguration of the Peace and Democracy Foundation?

MA: The Foundation will probably be registered in March, although there are still points in its statutes which have to be settled. One of my proposals was that an international advisory board should be set up.

DN: Contacts are in progress in an effort to find a way for East Timor to become a member of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese- Speaking Countries). Could linkage to the Lusophone community help to project the Timorese issue internationally?

MA: If the leadership of each country in the CPLP were to state clearly what the advantages would be for the Community, then I would be able to say what advantages there would be for Timor in joining. However, so far, nobody has said what the CPLP is going to be. In the short run, membership would raise East Timor's political status, and make Timor part of a community, even though it is still somewhat ill-defined.

We have quite clear thoughts on this matter, and believe that our proposals could provide ideas on what the CPLP could become. On the other hand, through Brazil the CPLP could serve as a bridge between East Timor and Latin America.

DN: There was talk recently about forming a shadow government, as being the best way to accompany the Timor question... At the time, you made some critical remarks. Would such an initiative be useful in the present context? Aren't there already enough bodies representing the resistance?

MA: After hearing some of the names that were suggested for the shadow government, the first thing I did was to exclude myself from it. Furthermore, judging from the names that were connected to it, it would not be a shadow government, but rather a government in the shadow - in the shadow of the resistance and other things. There were several people mentioned who, really, have always been in the shadow of everything....Furthermore, what exactly would be the purpose of a shadow government? What would its relationship be with the administering power? These are fundamental questions that ought to be well thought out.... When we talk about shadow government, we are talking about something permanent, with a lot of responsibility.

'Damaged good'

Inter Press Service - February 25, 1997

Washington – Increased political sensitivity here over U.S. ties to Indonesia has given advocates of independence for East Timor more hope of pressing Washington to support their cause, according to activists and government analysts alike.

"Indonesia, and especially President Soeharto, are now damaged goods in this town," noted one State Department official here last week. "That makes the atmosphere around here much more receptive to East Timor than has been the case for a very long time."

Hoping to take advantage of that new atmosphere, a delegation of East Timorese and their supporters, led by Jose Ramos Horta, one of the two Timorese who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in December, will press their cause here this week, especially with sympathetic members of Congress.

They want President Bill Clinton to name a special U.S. envoy on East Timor, as he has done for Northern Ireland, Cyprus, and Bosnia, and other civil conflicts with strong international overtones, and to come out unequivocally in favor of a U.N.-organized referendum on East Timor to decide the former Portuguese colony's status, Ramos Horta said here yesterday.

"Let's have a referendum carefully prepared by the U.N.," he said. "That's all we ask."

Activists are especially upbeat about three developments since Ramos Horta, leader of the exiled resistance to Indonesian rule, and East Timor's Catholic bishop, Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, travelled to Oslo to collect the prize in December.

In a Dec. 27 letter to Senator Russell Feingold, the Wisconsin lawmaker who has taken a special interest in East Timor, President Clinton for the first time expressed interest in a referendum on self-determination.

"I note with interest your support of a U.N.-sponsored self-determination referendum in East Timor," Clinton wrote. "I will take your idea into consideration." In the same letter, he spoke favorably of using a "combination of engagement and pressure" on Indonesia.

On the heels of Clinton's unexpected statement, the appointment by Secretary General Kofi Annan earlier this month of veteran Pakistani diplomat Jamsheed Marker as the U.N.'s first special envoy on East Timor is seen as a sign of renewed international interest in resolving the 22-year-old controversy. Activists have also been heartened by the Clinton administration's failure so far this year to go through with the proposed sale of nine F-16 warplanes to Indonesia. Until December last year, top U.S. officials had insisted the sale would be formally submitted to Congress in January.

But top Republican lawmakers, normally big boosters of arms sales to friendly Third World allies like Indonesia, have come out against the deal in recent weeks, forcing the administration to delay action. "It's frozen," one official told IPS. The Republicans' unusual behavior appears to have far more to do with domestic politics than with their concern over Indonesia's repression of human rights in East Timor since Jakarta invaded the territory in December 1975.

Disclosures that a prominent Indonesian conglomerate funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars in allegedly illegal campaign contributions to the president have galvanized Republicans, who have pledged a full investigation.

Those disclosures have given rise to charges that contributions over a number of years by individuals associated with Indonesian tycoon James Riady influenced U.S. policy on a range of issues, from East Timor to a 1994 decision to suspend a formal investigation on labor rights in Indonesia that could have resulted in Jakarta losing trade preferences worth tens of millions of dollars.

"Money comes in; policy gets changed," noted George Will, a widely published conservative columnist in a Washington Post column yesterday which related such transactions directly to East Timor.

While the administration has fiercely denied any connection between the campaign contributions and policy, it has been put very much on the defensive. "There's a need now for Democratic politicians to show there hasn't been any influence," according to Charles Scheiner, U.S. coordinator of the East Timor Action Network.

Indeed, Washington sent a top trade official earlier this month to Indonesia with an apparent mandate to consider re-opening the labor rights investigation. Meanwhile, the U.S. AFL-CIO trade union federation has held demonstrations in front of Jakarta's embassy here denouncing the detention of a prominent labor organizer, Muchtar Pakpahan.

At the same time, reports of continuing human rights abuses in East Timor have also hurt Jakarta. Last month, Republican Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia, a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, returned from a brief visit to the territory claiming that the human rights situation there was "at the bottom of the scale."

"What I found in East Timor was terror," he said, adding that Clinton should appoint a special envoy of the stature of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Colin Powell.

But it is not only East Timor and campaign contributions which are causing problems here for Indonesia at the moment. If anything, the turning point came last July when Jakarta cracked down hard against its domestic opposition. Washington strongly denounced the repression and suspended the F-16 sale. For the first time in his 30-year reign, senior officials suggested publicly that Soeharto should reconsider any plans he has for re-election in 1998. At the same time, top U.S. business publications ran prominent articles on corruption in Indonesia, focusing especially on the fortunes of Soeharto's children and business cronies. Corruption and the president's family are also fuelling discontent within the military, according to analysts here.

"The army is deeply split," says Prof. Daniel Lev, an Indonesia expert at the University of Washington in Seattle.

East Timor has added to dissent within Indonesia, according to George Aditjondro, a self-exiled Indonesian journalist and academic who appeared yesterday with Ramos Horta. Since the Nobel award, the issue has "polarized Indonesian intellectuals, some of whom are arguing for a referendum."

In addition, more than a dozen Christian, Muslim, and legal aid groups have publicly protested the rape-torture of an East Timorese woman by the military, while two of Indonesia's largest Muslim organizations appear more open to supporting a referendum, he said. "The hard-liners have become isolated; that's why repression has intensified," Aditjondro said.

DA returns dossiers of Dili riot suspects to police

Antara - February 25, 1997

Dili, East Timor – The dossiers of the four suspects involved in the riots here last Dec 24 were returned by the District Attorney's Office to the police for lack of facts and evidences. Local district attorney JF Martanto on Monday said that with thereturn of the documents the police was given two weeks to complete the dossiers. He also noted that of the 12 prime suspects, the police submitted only the dossiers of four persons.

The riots took place when a number of people went into rampage after welcoming Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo from his trip to Oslo to receive the 1996 Nobel Peace prize. Alfredo Siga, a military corporal, was killed in the incident, while a number of people and two military personnel were injured.

In East Timor, teetering on the edge of more bloodshed

The Washington Post - March 2, 1997

Matthew Jardine – "Hello, Mister. Where are you from?"

I had just arrived at the tiny airport in Dili, capital of Indonesian-occupied East Timor. The man, clad in civilian clothes, didn't identify himself except to say he was from Java, Indonesia's principal island. His questions – and the respect he seemed to command from uniformed officials at the airport – led me to believe he was an intelligence agent. As the only obviously non-Indonesian or East Timorese on this daily flight from Bali a few months ago, I attracted his attention.

"Are you a journalist?" the man asked, examining my passport. "Where are you planning to stay?"

I mentioned a local hotel and told him I was a tourist, a common lie that journalists tell to avoid immediate expulsion from places such as East Timor. I wasn't surprised by the scrutiny: During my first trip to East Timor in 1992, I was frequently followed and questioned as I traveled around the tropical, mountainous territory, which makes up half of an uncommonly beautiful island at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago, 400 miles north of Australia.

But the beauty belies a harsh reality. In the more than 21 years since Indonesia invaded East Timor and annexed it, more than 200,000 people – about one-third of the country's pre-invasion population – have died as a result of the invasion, Indonesia's subsequent campaign of repression, the ensuing famine and East Timorese resistance to the ongoing occupation, according to Amnesty International.

East Timor was a backwater of the Portuguese colonial empire until April 1974, when the military dictatorship in Lisbon was overthrown. Two pro-independence political parties sprung up in East Timor; this development scared the Indonesian military, which feared that an independent East Timor could incite secessionist movements elsewhere in the ethnically diverse archipelago or serve as a platform for leftist subversion.

Indonesian intelligence agents began covertly interfering in East Timor's decolonization, helping to provoke a brief civil war between the two pro-independence parties. Amid the chaos, Portugal abandoned its rule of the island. Soon after, Indonesian troops attacked from West Timor (Indonesia has governed the island's western half since its own independence in 1949), culminating in a full-scale invasion on Dec. 7, 1975. They met with fierce resistance from Falintil, the East Timorese guerrilla army. But the war turned in Indonesia's favor with the procurement of counterinsurgency aircraft from the Carter administration.

The Indonesian military was able to bomb and napalm the population into submission, almost destroying the resistance as well. An Australian parliamentary report later called it "indiscriminate killing on a scale unprecedented in post-World War II history."

Until 1989, East Timor was virtually closed to the outside world. Then the Indonesian government "opened" the territory to tourism and foreign investment, but continued to restrict visits by international human rights monitors and journalists.

As my taxi left the airport, I saw immediate evidence of change since my 1992 visit: On a wall near the airport entrance, someone had boldly spray-painted "Viva Bishop Belo," a tribute to Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, the head of East Timor's Catholic Church. Belo and Jose Ramos Hortawere awarded the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for their opposition to Indonesian oppression.

During my 1992 visit, most East Timorese seemed too afraid to make direct eye contact with me. This time, many people greeted me as I walked the streets in Dili, a picturesque city of 150,000. Some, particularly younger people, flashed a "V" sign for victory, a display of their nationalist sympathies.

East Timorese with the means to own a parabolic antenna can now watch Portuguese state television (RTP) – which beams its signal into the territory over Indonesia's objections – and catch glimpses of pro-independence leaders in exile or those hiding in the mountains. During my visit, RTP broadcast a documentary on Falintil, which now numbers around 600 guerrillas. The documentary, clandestinely made by a British filmmaker, contained footage of David Alex, a 21-year veteran in the struggle against the Indonesian military and third in the Falintil command. He is well known to the East Timorese, but few had ever seen him or heard his voice until the broadcast.

Despite these openings, East Timor remains a place where few dare to speak their minds in public and even fewer dare to invite foreigners into their homes. "We are very happy that the world has recognized our suffering with the Nobel Prize," a middle-aged woman told me in a brief conversation on a shady street, "but we still live in a prison." Our talk ended abruptly when a stranger appeared.

The streets of Dili are empty by 9 p.m. According to several people I interviewed, Indonesian soldiers randomly attack people, especially youths, who are outside at night. Matters are worse in rural areas, where the Catholic Church has less of a presence. "Outside the towns, people are at the total mercy of the Indonesian military," one priest said.

Increasing international scrutiny has forced Indonesia to be more discreet in dealing with suspected pro-independence activists. But arrests, torture and extrajudicial executions are still common, human rights researchers say.

Such repression, however, has not stilled opposition to Indonesia's authority. Open protests have been a sporadic occurrence since November 1994, when 28 East Timorese students and workers occupied the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta during President Clinton's visit to Indonesia. Demonstrations and riots erupted in Dili and in other towns.

Protesters sometimes target Indonesian settlers and businesses, a manifestation of the deep resentment caused by the large scale migration of Indonesians into the territory. There are upwards of 150,000 Indonesian migrants in East Timor (out of a population of 800,000 to 900,000), according to researchers. This influx, combined with administrative corruption and the destruction caused by the war, has overwhelmed the indigenous population. Joblessness and underemployment, especially among the young East Timorese, are high.

Indonesia maintains order through a highly visible military force of 20,000 to 30,000 troops and an extensive administrative apparatus. But a sophisticated underground resistance in the towns and villages challenges its authority. The underground has strong links to Falintil guerrillas in the mountains and to the resistance's diplomatic front abroad, led by Ramos Horta.

I saw this firsthand when I spent 24 hours during my trip with David Alex and 10 of the 150 Falintil guerrillas under his command. Underground activists drove me to a rural safe house, where I was taken on a lengthy hike to the guerrillas' mountain camp. My transport in and out of the region relied on the cooperation of numerous people from many walks of life, exposing the hollowness of Indonesia's claims that the resistance is marginalized and isolated within East Timor.

Many East Timorese told me that only the United States, Indonesia's longtime military and economic patron, has the clout to pressure the Jakarta government into resolving the conflict. Successive U.S. administrations have provided Indonesia with billions in aid since the 1975 invasion, despite United Nations resolutions calling upon Indonesia to withdraw and allow the East Timorese to determine their own future.

Bill Clinton, who called U.S. policy toward East Timor "unconscionable" before he became president, seems just as beholden as his predecessors to the lure of Indonesia, which Richard Nixon once called "by far the greatest prize" in Southeast Asia. The Clinton administration has provided Indonesia with almost $400 million in economic aid, has sold or licensed the sale of $270 million in weaponry.

Meanwhile, East Timor teeters on the edge of increased violence. On Dec. 24, 100,000 people gathered in Dili to welcome Bishop Belo back from receiving the Nobel Prize in Oslo. Youths in the crowd, apparently fueled by rumors of an Indonesian military plot to assassinate Belo, attacked two men who they suspected of being in the Indonesian military and killed another carrying a pistol and a walkie-talkie. (Belo had announced a month before that the military had twice made attempts on his life.)

In the past three weeks, rioting has broken out in two different regions of the territory. Indonesian troops have responded with a major crackdown and numerous arrests. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), after a recent three-day visit to East Timor, described the atmosphere as one of "terror" and "total and complete fear."

Some East Timorese I met on my recent visit expressed fears that the violence and repression will intensify. "The people here are desperate," one priest said. "If the situation does not change soon, there will be much more bloodshed."

Matthew Jardine is co-author of "East Timor's Unfinished Struggle: Inside the Timorese Resistance" (South End Press).

The prize

Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo (Timor): Lives in East Timor; at age 51, the Roman Catholic bishop serves as spiritual leader of most of the 750,000 people of East Timor. Although he has consistently criticized the Indonesian military, the Jakarta government often had to rely on Belo to help negotiate riots in the East Timorese capital of Dili.

Nobel Citation (1996): "At the risk of his own life, he has tried to protect his people from infringement by those in power. In his efforts to create a just settlement based on his people's right to self-determination, he has been a constant spokesman for nonviolence and dialogue with the Indonesian authorities."

Jose Ramos-Horta (Timor): Lives in exile in Australia; at age 49, he spends much time traveling to promote independence for East Timor. He worked for that cause of independence before Portugal left the colony in 1975, and was first exiled to Mozambique by the Portuguese government in 1970 for two years. He left East Timor three days before the 1975 Indonesian invasion. He is a member of the law faculty of the University of New South Wales.

Nobel Citation: "[He has been] been the leading international spokesman for East Timor's cause since 1975, who has made a significant contribution" by striving for reconciliation talks and peace plan for the area.

'No Dili dalliance for cruise ship

NT News Darwin - February 25, 1997

[A summary was posted earlier, but parts got mangled by an unstable line. (Not as bad as the truth is mangled by Indonesian reports on East Timor). Pedro T Coelho asked for a reposting, here done so by Wes, + comments.]

"A German cruise liner was diverted from the East Timor capital of Dili and had its movements tracked by the Indonesian military last week. "The Nassau registered 'Albatross' berthed in Darwin on Sunday after a 3 day voyage from Bali. It will be in Darwin until Wed 26th. "Carrying 700 passengers and 300 crew, the 25,000t vessel had been due to visit Dili on Feb 22 for a 2 day stay. "But the ship's master Capt Werner Detampel said the liner's Jakarta's agents had informed him on Feb 17 that there 'could be be problems' in berthing in Dili. Capt Detampel said the Indonesian Ministry of Defence later refused the ship a security clearance to visit the port. "He said when the ship eventually avoided Dili and made its way along the northern coast of Timor, it was followed by a Navy patrol vessel. He said: 'Its commander asked where we were going and made sure we weren't putting into Dili. After that we were circled for another 6 hours by a military plane that made sure we made no attempt to get to Dili'.

"Capt Detampel said the ship's Jakarta agents had learned through Indonesian authorities of 'troubles' in the East Timor capital. "Darwin based representatives of Austalians for a Free East Timor said yesterday they were aware of reports of major unrest and fighting in the annexed Indonesian province. "Capt Detampel said in considering an alternative port to Dili, he has suggested Kupang in western Timor, where the ship berthed in 1995. But 2 days later he was told that a stop-over in Kupang was also out of the question. So the ship headed straight to Darwin". end quote.

I would like to clarify that whilst I informed the media of the ship's early arrival and why, and mentioned reports of major Indonesian military attacks on citizens in East Timor since Christmas, there is NO WAY I or any AFFET member would talk about East Timor as an "Indonesian Province". It is a great pity that the Australian media uses the illegal and immoral position of the Australian government recognising Indonesia's military occupation of East Timor, despite this being illegal in International Law, and against 10 UN Resolutions. We don't. WE think there is a higher responsibility than to ones' own government if that government behaves illegally and immorally.

Further comment: At least it seems that this time there were no threats from the Indonesian military to sink the ship, unlike what happened about 3 years ago when the "Lusitania Expresso" tried to get to East Timor as an international Peace mission after sailing from Darwin.

The denial of access to Timor by the "Albatross' reconfirms the general policy of Indonesia in trying to isolate Timor from international scrutiny. What have they got to hide?? It is probable that at present there are not enough trained spies to follow 500 passengers all at once in the numbers (10-20) usually allocated to visitors. Germany has been taking an interest in East Timor, and Bishop Belo called there after getting his Nobel Peace Prize. Is this a reprisal?

Further, it is clear that since the massive welcome home demonstration by East Timorese numbering perhaps one third of the whole nation of East Timorese, and the foiling of probable assassination attempts on Bishop Belo, there has been massive reprisal followups by the military and their paid goons, operating in a lawless way during the dead of night.

On 15/1/97 AFFET in a Press Release by Rob Wesley-Smith titled "Cobras or Crocs" mentioned that Prabowo has been in Viqueque adding to his agents, especially in the youth thug group 'Gada Paksi'. No one in the media has yet bothered to link this information with the subsequently widely reported February arrests of over 100 young people defending themselves from attacks by Gada Paksi in Viqueque. The vicious General Prabowo has tried to defend these activities, but many understand that since an earlier assignment in East Timor when his own men mutilated him in a very private parts or parts, he has taken out his hatred and revenge on the poor East Timorese.

A student delegation from Melbourne University endorsed by the National Union of students recently went to East Timor and made contact with fellow students. Two met Resistance leader David Alex, who confirmed that human rights conditions were now "MUCH WORSE" since the Nobel award. Also the student groups they met reinforced their lack of learning resources and academic freedoms, while women informed them of continuing rapes and other abuses and limitations on their lives including the strong patriachal structures of society and Church, and the effects of war. They observed environmental devastation, large presence of transmigrants, and appalling conditions for orphans and medical services.

The Nobel Peace Prize award has focussed world attention on East Timor, but the world must realise that the Indonesian military in Timor is a law to itself, and reacts to such attention by increasing their oppression on the hapless Timorese. This also happened after the Dili massacre. Obviously the world has an added responsibility to ensure that the Nobel Peace Prize award does NOT result in the current added oppression WITHIN East Timor.

Stanley Roth nomination still on hold

East Timor Action Network - 2 March, 1997

On January 21, 1997, ETAN issued an Action Alert regarding the likely nomination of Stanley Roth as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, which had been floated in the Washington Post and other newspapers.

We are concerned about Mr. Roth's long record of support for Suharto and other Asian dictators, and suggested that Americans contact President Clinton and Secretary Albright to urge the appointment of someone with a commitment to making human rights a priority in U.S. foreign policy.

The alert generated broad response from people concerned about East Timor and Indonesia, as well as others involved with Korea and the Philippines who had also differed with Roth over the years.

As of this writing, there has not been an announcement of his nomination, although most other State Department posts at this level have been filled. On February 26, the Washington Post "In the Loop" column by Al Kamen included the following:

"On the East Asia front, another NSC director, Stanley Roth, appeared to have sewn up the counterpart job at the State Department, but some sources are saying that other candidates are still in the mix, including Susan Shirk, director of the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at the University of California at San Diego, and Richard J. Kessler, staff director for Asia and the Pacific at the House international Relations Committee and before that in the same posting on the Senate side."

Many organizations have communicated their views, and a number of Senators and Congresspeople have communicated privately to the Administration. Here's one statement:

February 3, 1997, Sharon Silber, Ph.D.

Jews Against Genocide, a New York-based human rights organization, announced today their opposition to the consideration of Stanley Roth as Assistant Secretary of State for Asia in the U.S. State Department. "Mr. Roth," said an organization spokesperson, Sharon Silber, Ph.D., "has a history of working on behalf of repressive governments throughout Asia including the Indonesian, South Korean and Philippine dictatorships. His nomination for the position of Assistant Secretary for Asia would be a disaster for the cause of human rights in the region and is likely to encourage atrocities such as the Indonesian oppression and genocide in East Timor. In the past, Mr. Roth has opposed efforts to link the sale of U.S. weapons with human rights, for example, advocating the continued sale of arms to Indonesia allowing the 1991 Dili Massacre. He has consistently opposed the sanctioning of Asian governments for human rights abuses including the use of torture, forced resettlement and sterilization, the suppression of religious and ethnic identity and the killing of civilians. As New Yorkers, as Jews and as concerned citizens of the world, we strongly urge that Mr. Roth not be considered and that a candidate more sensitive to the human rights issues in the region be identified."

Honorary citizenship for Timorese leader

Jornal Timor Leste (Editorial) - November 1997

On 7 August, the District Council bestowed the title of Honorary Citizen of Brasilia on the Timorese Resistance leader, Xanana Gusmao. The Ambassador of East Timor in Angola, Dr. Roque Rodrigues, received the title on behalf of Xanana Gusmao.

Imprisoned in Indonesia since 1993, the release of Xanana is one of the main demands for the start of talks to find a peaceful solution to end Indonesia's military occupation of East Timor (just as Nelson Mandela's release was fundamental to the negotiations which eventually led to the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa).

Bestowing the title of Honorary Citizen on the Timorese leader was the initiative of several District Deputies, including Antonio Jose Cafu (PT), Miqueas Paz (PCB), Marco Lima (PSDB), and Maria Jose Maninha (PT), who is currently the Health Secretary. The importance of the District Council's decision, which the local media did not fully embrace at the time of the initiative, is now better understood by the Brazilian media in the light of this year's Nobel Peace Prize award to the cause led by Xanana Gusmao.

This gesture of solidarity with the East Timorese on the part of Brasilia's District Council was a pioneering effort which it is hoped will now be adopted in other legislative councils, as a way of expressing the Brazilian people's wish to see a free and independent East Timor.

Dublin square named after Xanana Gusmao

Diario de Noticias - 24 February, 1997

In a few weeks time, Ireland's capital city will have a square named after the Timorese Resistance leader, Xanana Gusmao... The initiative is evidence of the interest and commitment to the East Timor cause that exists in the Republic.

The project was launched by the Irish East Timor Solidarity Campaign - one of Europe's most active and efficient pressure groups on the issue, which gets considerable support from several government leaders, including the Republic's Foreign Minister, Dick Spring.

The Campaign Co-ordinator, Tom Hyland, decided to launch this latest initiative after being deeply affected by the pictures taken of the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor.

Xanana Gusmao Square, which is off the well-known Dame Street in central Dublin, is situated close to the Solidarity Campaign's headquarters, which also serves as a support centre for young Timorese living in Dublin. In addition to studying in the Irish capital, the Timorese are also active in political campaign work for the Timorese cause.

Economy and investment

Levies a reflection of absence of legal security

Kompas - 28 February, 1997

Jakarta – One of the architects of the New Order economy, Prof Dr Soebroto, explicitly stated that the flourishing of various kinds of levies [read bribes - JB] which has been going on, is a reflection of absence of legal security.

This problem is even more aggravated because there are prominent people who should be exemplary in eradicating levies, on the contrary are exacting them.

This affirmation was conveyed by Soebroto to the press at opportune moments during the seminar "Preparing Human Resources In the Free Trade Era", organized in connection with 28th anniversary of YTKI on Thursday (27/2) in Jakarta.

According to Soebroto, as long as enforcement of the law does not proceed effectively or is unable to apply sanctions firmly upon transgressors, then levies will continue. Because when the law is enforced based on correct rules of the game, it is impossible for various levies of unseemly purpose to occur effectively. The more so to the point where they overlap at the center as well as the regions.

Soebroto said that from the beginning, regulations to eradicate those levies existed. The apparatus must not engage in corruption, must not levy this and that. But if the laws to enforce that do not run, then the result is what we have at present.

Enforcement should not only be repressive, but should concretely act, punish and then dismiss when transgression is proven.

This firm attitude must really be shown openly, or it will give rise to a feeling of injustice among the government apparatus itself.

Soebroto stressed that the regional apparatus will think it odd that constraints are applied to them, but not to those at the center.

The main key is the political will from above. Not only in words, but realized in deeds and application of the law to transgressors.

He said that this is important, because ours is a paternalistic society, modelling itself on its leaders. Good example at the center will be followed by subordinates or the regions.

Soebroto does not agree with those who say that the salaries of the government apparatus must be improved to eradicate levies. Salary increases must be considered in the context of resulting productivity. Salary increases while mental attitude remains bad will see those levies continue to exist.

Salary increases should be accompanied by the mentioned steps to enforce the law, and the existing regulations implemented well. Prominent figures can give good example. Only then will the levies disappear.

30 years of festering wounds

Meanwhile, economic expert Prof Dr Sadli responded to the statements of various parties, regarding eradication of levies, on a note of pessimism. He said cynically how it could be possible for a problem rooted during 30 years, to disappear in a day or a year.

Slightly jokingly Sadli said that, even under high cost economy conditions the national economy was running okay. The national economy continues to grow fast even with those "festering wounds".

Prof Dr Awaloedin Djamin, Executive Chairman of the Indonesian Workers Foundation (YTKI), said that the important thing is to prepare the human resources of the national government. Administering the various matters of government is extremely complex, and improving them is no easy job.

He stressed that to eradicate those levies was extremely difficult, because many factors had led to the emergence of these levies. Nevertheless, it had to be admitted that all this was a product of law enforcement which did not work.

Above the matter of salaries is the mental attitude of the civil servant, who has to serve and not prey on the public.

Drs Mashuri Maschab SU, Regional Politics Observer, and also Assistant Dean II of the Social and Political Sciences Faculty of Universitas Gadjah Mada, put forward that the emergence of levies in the regions, from the point of view of government, is a serious problem, originating from disparity in the system of implementing regional autonomy. Meanwhile, the position of the Regional Parliament, which legalizes Regional Regulations concerning various levies, is extremely 'weak'.

He put forward that regional autonomy springs from two reasons, namely political and technical. The political reason is to democratize government, in order that the community in the regions are given opportunity to participate in determining their life in the regions. The technical reason is to obtain optimal efficiency and effectiveness in government. But in Indonesia, the implementation of these two factors has never been balanced.

In the past, the political factor was prominent, giving Regional Parliament great powers with broad autonomy, without paying attention to the technical factor. Now that the technical factor is made dominant, development is the yardstick, and it is not important whether the Regional Parliament is anemic or not, because the important thing is that government is effective and that development runs smoothly.

That condition continued until the policy to implement regional autonomy came into being. But the implementation is crucial, because the extension of regional autonomy which was emphasized at IInd level regions, was translated as additional regional housekeeping, which for the greater part consists of public service. So in effect greater autonomy put greater burden on the regions, while they were not given additional funds commensurate with the augmented tasks.

Mashuri said that a principle of regional autonomy is, that ceding of a task by higher level government to a subregion must be accompanied by means and money. As a result the regions look for fund sources on their own.

On the other side, there is a lack of coordination in the legalization of regional regulations. This results in regional regulations being legalized by the Home Department without considering the regulations of the Finance Department, the National Development Planning Body (Bappenas) and others. As long as one is able to convince about the benefit of the Regional Regulation for the region's financial sources, that regulation is legalized.

But in accordance with the legal principle that Regional Regulations can only be effectuated when legalized by higher level government, levies conflicting with higher regulations can be avoided. (*)

Indonesian Minister of Justice and Chinese Deputy Minister of Justice

Kompas - 26 February, 1997

Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman and People's Republic of China's Deputy Minister of Justice Xiao Jianzhang met in Jakarta on Tuesday (25/2). In that meeting, legal cooperation was discussed as well as the possibility of a renewed fathoming of an extradition agreement, and the problem of illegal immigrants. And the question of compensation for the assets of Eddy Tansil was discussed informally.

In that meeting the Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman was sided by the Department's Secretary General Saleh Baharis, the Director General for Social Rehabilitation Thahir Abdullah, the Director General of Immigration Pranowo, and the Director General of Law and Legislature Bagir Manan, and Inspector General Soeyatno. Present on the Chinese side were among others the Chinese Ambassador Zhou Gang, the Director General of Shanxi Province Wan Ahouheng. Personnel Director Li Gang, Deputy Director General for Foreign Affairs Duan Zhengkun, and the Deputy Director of the Justice Department Office Sun Xiaoming.

When asked whether in the meeting there was discussion of compensation for the ceding of assets proposed by China, in relation with the discovery of a number of assets of Eddy Tansil on China's mainland, Oetojo said, "No. Officially we did not discuss compensation for the ceding of assets of Eddy Tansil on mainland China to the Indonesian government."

Oetojo Oesman also refused to answer the question whether China would possibly pose conditions for the return of assets owned by Eddy Tansil on mainland China. But the Justice Minister admitted that a number of assets and companies owned by Eddy Tansil in mainland China were no longer operational.

"They were not frozen but are no longer in running condition. About the possibility that they were frozen by the local government we don't know anything. Based on our observations, Eddy Tansil's companies in China are no longer running," he said.

Immigrants and extradition

In the meeting which lasted more than two hours, the two sides also discussed renewed fathoming of the possibility to augment talks concerning steps towards a more advanced and matured extradition agreement between the two nations. Thus far Indonesia has only reached extradition agreements with Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. "We also touched on the question of extraditon agreement talks with China. But that is still in the preliminary stage. This needs further discussion," he said.

Touching on the posiibility of a flood of Hongkong citizens as illegal immigrants after England cedes its colony to China coming 1 July, the Justice Minister also admitted that had been part of the talks with the Chinese Deputy Minister of Justice.

"What is clear is that Indonesia has prepared and reinforced itself by guarding against the possibility of entry by illegal immigrants. Because Indonesia could be made a transit location. Although some have started to enter Indonesia, thus far there have been no reports on large-scale entry of Hongkong citizens into Indonesia. Thus far many Hongkong citizens have gone to Japan, for instance," said Oetojo.

Legal cooperation

Asked about the purpose of his visit to Indonesia, Chinese Deputy Justice Minister Xiao Jianzhang said that in principle it was to carry out cooperation and to establish closer relations in the field of law between China and Indonesia.

Besides that, the delegation of the Chinese Deputy Justice Minister also wanted to know about the arrangement and system of construction of law in Indonesia, the duties of the Dpartment of Justice, the judicial system and legal assistance in Indonesia and the model for guidance of convicts in the Indonesian social rehabilitation institutes.

Oetojo said that the visit of the Chinese Deputy Justice Minister was to renew legal cooperation, which all this while has been established and running well. Besides that there was also an exchange of information and an exchange of minds on developments of the legal system and the judicial system in the respective countries.

In the meeting, augmentation of legal cooperation was also discussed, for instance what efforts to decrease the entrance of illegal immigrants from China. On this occasion, the Indonesian side also renewed the question of guaranteed cooperation promised by China in case of arresting Eddy Tansil.(*)

Biggest gold find ever?

Asia Week - 1 March, 1997

Three years after discovering what is touted as the worlds richest gold lode in Indonesias Kalimantan province, Canadas Bre-X Minerals may have finally hit the jackpot. It reached an agreement for a development venture with the Indonesian government and other partners last week. Bre-X claims the mine could yield 200 million ounces of the metal – more than Indonesias total confirmed gold reserves and worth some $68 billion at current prices. The pact at a glance:

Winners

Bre-X Minerals keeps 45% of the mine – but is paid nothing for the other 45% it gave up.
Bob Hasan gets 30% through PT Askatindo Karya Mineral and PT Amsya Lyna – for free.
Americas Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold takes a 15% stake and operational control of the project – and kicks in $400 million up front as initial investment.
The Indonesian government gets 10% of the shares, also free.

Losers

Canadas Barrick Gold Corp. ends up with nothing despite expensive lobbying and even linking up with President Suharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana.
Barricks Canadian rival Placer Dome also loses out. It had explored a merger with Bre-X but now says it would be difficult to proceed.
Also out in the cold: Indonesian state-controlled mining firms PT Aneka Tambang and PT Tambang Timah, Canadas Teck Corp. and Newmont Mining of the U.S.

Jakarta rethinks supermarkets

Asia Times - March 3, 1997

Ong Hock Chuan, Jakarta – One economic casualty of the spate of riots to strike Indonesia over the past few months may be the owners of supermarket chains, a sector that was expected to see huge expansions throughout the country this year with the entry of international retailers such as Wal-Mart.

In a little publicized move last week Home Affairs Minister Yogie Suardi Mehmet instructed provincial governors to review plans to build supermarkets in small cities and district capitals.

Yogie said a review was needed to protect the interests of traditional traders and shopkeepers in the provinces. "If these supermarkets are built, what will happen to the small shops? They could die off," he was quoted as saying in Republika newspaper.

He said, however, that the move did not mean the government was banning further construction of supermarkets in the smaller cities and district capitals. Rather it was a call for governors to be more selective when approving plans to build supermarkets in these areas.

Yogie added that there was no problem with setting up supermarkets in Jakarta or in provincial capitals.

Analysts said Yogie's instructions to the governors may have been spurred by unrest over the past five months, especially the riots in Tasikmalaya and Situbundo in Java. Political analysts had said that one of the causes of the unrest was the entry of supermarkets into these towns.

The entry of these supermarkets, usually part of a conglomerate, take business away from traditional traders. The fact that many of these conglomerates were owned by ethnic Chinese only increased resentment among residents.

In the Tasikmalaya riot, which was split along racial lines between indigenous Indonesians and their ethnic Chinese neighbors, for instance, one of the buildings razed was a department store belonging to Matahari, Indonesia's largest retailing chain. Until recently the Matahari chain was controlled by ethnic Chinese tycoon Hari Darmawan.

Yogie's directive to the governors comes at a time of increased activity and competition in the retail sector, especially with the entry of foreign-based retail chains such as Wal-Mart and K Mart. These large retailers are expanding their outlets to take advantage of the country's growing middle class market. In Jakarta alone there were 109 supermarkets in 1995. In the greater Jakarta area, six huge supermarkets were completed between 1995 and March 1996, and three more are due to be completed by next year.

The Dutch-based retailer, Makro, has been operating in Indonesia since the early 1990s and now has at least three outlets in Jakarta. It also has outlets in Surabaya and Bandung. Other international chains which have a presence in Indonesia include Japan-based Sogo and Seibu as well as United States-based JC Penny and Britain's Marks and Spencer.

But the most dramatic entry has been that of Wal-Mart, whose presence has been strengthened by its partnership with Multipolar, a subsidiary of the Lippo Group, controlled by the ethnic Chinese Lippo family.

Multipolar earlier this year bought into Matahari, which has outlets catering to four economic segments of Indonesian society: Galeria for the middle to upper-middle class, Mega M for the middle class, Matahari for the lower-middle class and Super Economy for the lower class.

Suharto's man

Asia Week - March 1, 1997

Cesar Bacani and Keith Loveard/Jakarta – Just call him King. If ever there were doubts about his preeminent position in Indonesian business, timber tycoon Mohamad Bob Hasan laid them to rest last week.

On Feb. 17, he brokered a deal for the development of what is touted as [3]possibly the worlds biggest gold find – and walked away with 30% of the $68-billion Busang Indonesia Gold JV project. Two days later, he was named the new boss of Astra International, Indonesia's $5.2-billion automotive, finance and agribusiness giant. The coup came on the heels of his January purchase of 9.6% of Freeport Indonesia, which operates the countrys largest gold mine.

But don't think that fabulous wealth will all be his. Hasan, 66, became president-commissioner of Astra with the backing of two charitable foundations headed by President Suharto. As Hasan tells it, the Suharto trusts – Yayasan Supersemar and Yayasan Darmais – would be the main beneficiaries of the Astra move. Supersemar gives about $20 million to $25 million in scholarships annually, he says. Yayasan Darmais helps 1,200 institutions for the blind, retarded children, orphanages and senior citizens. If we have more funds, we can use the money to do things like build hospitals.

Others are not as, well, charitable. You could say [the Astra appointment] is a golden handshake for Suharto's retirement, says a stock market analyst and long-time Hasan watcher. At 75, the president has been at the helm for over three decades. A business executive has his own theory: Suharto has done a remarkable job in developing this country and he is using the funds in the foundations to push the process forward another stage. Hasan himself says the aim is to make sure the poor will continue to be helped: When were not around anymore, [we want] the two foundations to be like the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Whatever Suharto's intentions are, Hasan is the confidant who is carrying them out. Ive been friends with him for over 40 years, says the tycoon, who regularly plays golf with the president at the exclusive Rawamangun club. That makes Hasan the essential person to know in Indonesia. His position is very strong, says economist Didik Rachbini. Stronger than that of Suharto's six children, who have built business empires with the help of sweetheart deals? In some ways, yes. In brokering the Busang deal, Hasan shut out Suharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, better known as Tutut – at least for now.

The Busang saga started in late 1994, when Canadian exploration company Bre-X Minerals hit paydirt at its concession in Kalimantan. At first, Bre-X said Busang would yield 57 million ounces of the metal. (Freeport in Irian Jaya has reserves of 80 million ounces.) The estimate was later revised to 71 million ounces. Last week, Bre-X senior vice-president of exploration John Felderhof predicted that Busang could produce as much as 200 million ounces of gold. If true (and some Kalimantan miners are skeptical), that would make it the worlds richest find ever.

With assets of less than $18.5 million, Bre-X was in no position to develop Busang. But it was deep into merger talks with Canadian giant Placer Dome (1994 assets: $1.2 billion). Enter another Canadian company, Barrick Gold Corp. (1995 assets: $3 billion), which has former U.S. president George Bush as honorary adviser and ex-Canadian PM Brian Mulroney as a board director. It had an agreement with presidential daughter Tutut that promised her construction contracts for roads and other infrastructure for the mine if Barrick won the development award. Not to be outdone, Bre-X hired a trading company linked to Tututs brother, Sigit Harjojudanto, as a consultant.

Indonesian mining officials tried to force a marriage between Barrick and Bre-X – Barrick to get 67.5% of the mine, the discoverer 22.5% and the government 10%. As the prospect of a sibling tussle loomed, foreign mining companies nervously wondered what would happen to them should they too strike it rich. Then nationalist elements in Indonesia started asking why foreigners would be getting the lions share of the mine. Hasan-owned Gatra weekly ran stories that criticized the way officials were handling the case.

Suharto asked Hasan to sort out the mess. He was the only one who could do it, says the Hasan watcher. No minister could deal with Barrick when they had someone like the presidents daughter with them. Hasan engineered a deal that gave Bre-X 45% of Busang and closed the door on Barrick (see table above). Freeport-McMoRan of the U.S. – Hasan's partner in Irian Jaya – got 15% and the task of preparing the mine for production by 2000 or earlier. The Indonesian government took 10%. And Bre- Xs Indonesian partners, PT Askatindo Karya Mineral and PT Amsya Lyna, ended up with 30%. Hasan had purchased half of these two private firms.

He used holding company Nusamba, which he heads, to purchase part of those 50% stakes. The timber tycoon owns 10% of Nusamba, Sigit has another 10% – and the rest is held by Suharto foundations, including Supersemar and Darmais. Nusamba was also the vehicle for Hasan's acquisition of 9.6% of Freeport. Jakarta had been awash with speculation about that deal because one-time Suharto favorite Aburizal Bakrie, who controlled Indocopper, the company that owned the Freeport shares, was allegedly reluctant to sell the firm. In the end, Nusamba paid $311.8 million for 50.5% of Indocopper.

In the early 1990s, Nusamba also acquired 8.83% of Astra from the founding Suryadjaya family, which was then deep in debt. Nusamba is by no means the biggest stakeholder in the automotive conglomerate. Logging baron Prajogo Pangestus Delta Mustika has 10.68%, while cigarette magnate Putra Sampoerna holds 14.67%. But with Suharto behind him, Hasan was easily voted Astra chairman last week. We plan to concentrate on our core auto business, but we will also stay in agri-business, as we see a lot of growth there, he says. We have no plans to spin off any company. Still, there are worries about what he will do with Astras investments in long-term businesses such as telecommunications. We have to admit there is concern over where he is going to take us, says a company official.

Nusambas entry into carmaking raises interesting questions since two Suharto sons are also auto makers. Hutomo Mandala Putra, known as Tommy Suharto, has a venture with Koreas Kia Motors that makes the Timor, Indonesias national car, which ironically is produced in Seoul. Elder brother Bambang Trihatmodjo has his own auto company in partnership with Hyundai. He and other car producers complained when Tommy won exemptions for the Timor on import duties on components and a luxury tax. Hasan may try to settle the brothers differences by having Astra take over the national car program.

Foreign investors are closely following the maneuverings. The Mines and Energy Department is trying to reassure them. Its important that the shareholders who have taken the risks on the exploration efforts for Busang receive treatment in accordance with valid stipulations, the agency said after the development deal was announced. But some are not convinced. Hasan's intervention may have been partly designed to dilute criticism of the way the presidents kids were being played off against each other, but the damage has been done, says a Canadian mining analyst in Jakarta. Toronto has been taking a good look at the influence peddling, and the overall impression isnt good.

With Hasan as peacemaker, squabbles among the presidents relatives may be easier to settle. It is a role the old family friend is eminently qualified to play. He first met Suharto in the 1950s, when the president was a young army officer. The son of poor ethnic Chinese parents, Hasan had been sent as a boy to live with the family of Maj. Gatot Subroto, who later became an important general. Suharto is said to have helped his friend win logging concessions. Hasan then diversified into plywood, pulp and paper, aviation, shipping, banking and publishing. Along the way, he advised Suharto's children about their business ventures and even went into partnerships with some of them.

Now said to be worth more than $1 billion, Hasan seems to enjoy his new profile. At the press conference introducing him as Astras chairman, he joked and laughed with reporters, a marked contrast to the soft-spoken ways of his predecessor, Abdul Ramly. At one point, Hasan got a camera and took a picture of a journalist asking him a long question. We need to buy good companies, he said in answer to a query about Nusambas acquisition spree. And all in the aid of charity, he hastened to add. Not everyone believes him. But the self-assured Hassan is now at the pinnacle of power and influence. The question is what will happen to him when Suharto finally leaves the scene.

SEC reaches settlement with oil company over Indonesian payments

Associated Press - February 27, 1997

Marcy Gordon, Washington – In its first action in a decade under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday a settlement with a Texas-based oil company for a $300,000 civil penalty.

The SEC alleged the Indonesian subsidiary of Triton Energy Corp. authorized payments that likely were passed on to Indonesian government employees to influence their decisions affecting the company.

Triton, which neither admitted nor denied the allegations, agreed to pay the fine and accepted a court order enjoining it from violating recordkeeping rules in the future.

The case has no connection to the controversy over campaign contributions to President Clinton and the Democrats by officials of Indonesia's Lippo Group and its controlling Riady family, SEC officials said.

The investigation and settlement with Triton represent the watchdog agency's first action under the foreign corruption law since 1986, the officials said, and more such civil cases may be brought in the near future. Several criminal cases have been pursued by the Justice Department during that time.

Paul Gerlach, associate director of the SEC's Enforcement Division, said bribery of foreign officials by U.S. companies, which had been on the wane, appears to be becoming more prevalent again. Other foreign corruption cases are being investigated by the agency but it isn't yet known whether they will result in enforcement action, Gerlach said in a telephone interview.

He declined to comment on whether U.S. investigators had received cooperation from the Indonesian government.

As for the Triton case, Gerlach said the SEC was satisfied the settlement ``will serve to prevent future conditions of this nature" affecting the company. He noted that new senior management is in place and has taken steps to prevent future problems.

Sheila Durante, a spokeswoman for Triton at its headquarters in Dallas, said, ``We have a completely new management team in place." She declined further comment.

In a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, the SEC alleged that Philip Keever and Richard McAdoo, two former senior officials of Triton's Indonesian subsidiary, authorized in 1989-90 ``numerous improper payments" to Roland Siouffi, the company's business agent who acted as an intermediary between Triton and Indonesian government agencies.

The SEC said Keever and McAdoo authorized the payments ``knowing or recklessly disregarding the high probability that Siouffi either had or would pass such payments along to Indonesian government employees for the purpose of influencing their decisions" affecting Triton's business in the country.

In addition, Keever, McAdoo and other company employees in Indonesia concealed the payments by falsely recording the transactions as routine business expenditures, the SEC alleged.

As part of the settlement, Keever agreed, without admitting or denying the allegations, to pay a $50,000 civil penalty.

The SEC also took administrative proceedings against former Triton Indonesia officials David Gore, Robert Puetz, William McClure and Robert P. Murphy for their conduct related to the allegedly improper payments. Without admitting or denying the agency's findings, the four agreed to refrain from any future violation of recordkeeping rules.

Of those cited, only McAdoo has not settled the allegations against him.

The SEC found that the parent, Triton Energy, an independent oil and gas company that also has operations in China, Thailand, Ecuador, Colombia and Guatemala, did not expressly authorize or direct the allegedly improper payments and false records. Triton Energy, with some 250 employees worldwide, had earnings last year of $21.6 million on revenue of $134 million.

Busang row sparks off concern that govt would change policy

Straits Times - 27 February, 1997

S N Vasuki – The fallout from the Busang gold controversy in Indonesia has been immediate. Foreign mining companies, primarily from Australia and Canada, which are awaiting official approval for new mining projects in Indonesia are concerned that the controversy would lead to major delays and changes in the government's policy towards foreign investment in the mining sector.

However, Mines & Energy Minister Ida Bagus Sudjana yesterday reassured mining companies that there would be no change in the "current regulatory regime" and asserted that domestic critics of the country's mining policy were ill-informed and making a "lot of noise" ahead of this year's parliamentary elections.

At last count, foreign mining companies were awaiting final approval for at least 250 mining projects in Indonesia. The total investment at stake runs into billions of dollars. A majority of the companies are from Australia and Canada.

The Canadian Embassy in Jakarta is believed to have forwarded several letters from Canadian mining firms in recent days to the Mines & Energy Ministry expressing concern about potential delays.

The biggest worry of foreign mining companies is that parliament will be unable to approve pending projects before the May 29 elections. "If the projects are not approved by parliament before it goes into recess in April, this will lead to a delay of over a year," said a senior executive of a Canadian mining firm.

Although the elections will be held on May 29, the new parliament convenes only in November. And the executive said it was unlikely to take major decisions until the presidential elections of March 1998.

Mines & Energy secretary general Umar Said yesterday said that he was "fully aware" of the situation. "We are trying our best to expedite this matter before parliament goes into recess" he said adding "cross your fingers and pray within".

Mr Umar also urged foreign mining companies "not to make any noise outside" as it would lead to further delays.

The foreign mining companies awaiting final approval are under the ministry's so-called seventh generation contracts of work (COW). A COW is final approval given by the government to a mining company to start production.

The seventh generation will be the latest tranche of foreign mining projects to be approved by the government since the 60s. The controversial Busang gold venture was a sixth generation project.

Senior executives of several mining companies said that their biggest concern was that the government, bowing to pressure from economic nationalists, would dilute the country's liberal foreign investment policy in the mining sector.

However, Mr Sudjana yesterday lambasted critics of the country's mining policy. "Some of our educated people, probably due to their lack of information and technical knowledge, have turned critics of the mining policy," he said.

Bre-X chief defends deal for Indonesian gold find

Wall Street Journal - February 27, 1997

Richard Borsuk, Jakarta, Indonesia – The chairman of Bre-X Minerals Ltd., facing shareholder ire over last week's pact fixing ownership of the Canadian firm's giant gold find in Borneo, said he had to settle for an arrangement that reflected Indonesia's "political, economic and social environment."

David G. Walsh, who also is president and chief executive officer of the Calgary exploration firm, issued the statement Wednesday to "clarify inaccuracies" reported about the deal to develop Busang, which may become the biggest gold find ever.

Mr. Walsh's statement marks the second time within a week that Bre-X management has sought to defend the deal on Busang, which it found in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan. On Feb. 19, Bre-X talked up the settlement in a conference call with securities analysts.

Under the arrangement it announced on Feb. 17, Bre-X will hold a 45% equity stake in Busang II and III, the two richest of Busang's three delineated zones. Earlier, the company had a 90% interest in both zones. Some Canadian shareholders were angry because Bre-X agreed to accept half its original interest and isn't getting compensated for the 45% it has relinquished.

Splitting the Find

The remainder of Busang II and III is split as follows: The Indonesian government holds 10%; private Indonesian interests controlled by Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, a confidant of President Suharto, get 30%; and the other 15% goes to Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. of the U.S., which will develop the mine. Freeport, which already controls a huge Irian Jaya mine, was brought into the Bre-X deal at a late stage by Mr. Hasan, who brokered the Busang arrangement.

Months before Mr. Hasan devised a Busang settlement, the Indonesian government had sought to make Bre-X enter a joint venture with Toronto's Barrick Gold Corp., one of the world's largest gold miners. The scheme that authorities pushed, without success, would have left Bre-X with only a 22.5% stake in Busang.

The Busang settlement, endorsed by the Indonesian government on Feb. 18, put an end – at least for now – to brawling over who would develop the mother lode. Participants included several of the world's biggest miners, two children of Mr. Suharto (one helping Barrick, one helping Bre-X) and sons of two Indonesian cabinet ministers pushing for Barrick's entry.

The battle for Busang was watched with concern by investors in Indonesia, who feared that established mining rules could be changed or ignored to suit well-connected Jakarta businesspeople.

Clearance for a Price

In Indonesia, many businessmen view Bre-X's drop to a 45% stake in Busang as a price it had to pay to get the powerful Mr. Hasan to clear the way for mining to go ahead. In Canada, however, there is substantial criticism of the arrangement under which Bre-X wasn't compensated and of the 30% stake given to Mr. Hasan. In January, Mr. Hasan bought half of the original 10% stake in Busang II and III held by Bre-X's Indonesian partners.

A bulletin board about Bre-X on the Internet has carried many messages criticizing Mr. Walsh and Bre-X management. Bre-X's stock had been falling since the deal was announced. In early afternoon trading Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the shares were at 20.55 Canadian dollars (US$15.11), up 75 Canadian cents.

The main contention of Mr. Walsh's latest statement is that the announced deal is the best Bre-X could get after recognition of Busang's size started the brawl over who would develop it. He said Busang drew the attention of "modern-day claim jumpers" and spawned demands in Indonesia that longtime mining-industry rules be pushed aside to let Indonesian interests get a large stake.

Bre-X calculates Busang contains 70.95 million ounces of gold at present. Mr. Walsh's statement says that at a current price of about $350 an ounce, Busang has a "gross economic value" of $24.8 billion. In last week's conference, a Bre-X executive said he foresaw the possibility that eventually 200 million ounces will be found.

'Victimized by Our Own Success'

In the months before a settlement was reached, Mr. Walsh said, the steadily increasing value of Busang – as larger reserves were announced – "exacerbated the difficulties in negotiating with the Republic of Indonesia.... We were ultimately victimized by our own success."

The chairman said "various third parties," who he didn't identify, had negotiations with Indonesian authorities from which Bre-X was excluded. Those talks, Mr. Walsh maintained, "introduced a percentage ownership mind-set that significantly reduced our ultimate negotiating leverage." Bre-X's find was of "such extraordinary richness that the final deal had to include a 40% share for Indonesians to be competitive" with other offers and to "satisfy [Indonesian] domestic political requirements," he said.

In the end, Mr. Walsh asserted, the arrangement Bre-X reached with its partners and the Indonesian government "was the best reflection of the political, economic and social environment in that country."

The Bre-X chairman said that while Bre-X is free to sell its 45% stake without giving its partners the right of first refusal, there is no plan for such a sale. "We remain committed to our joint-venture partners and the project," he said.

Environment/land disputes

Coalition of groups urges Freeport-McMoran to protect environment, human

Tapol - 26 February, 1997

Washington DC – In the wake of last week's announcement that Freeport-McMoRan Cooper and Gold would be developing the Busang gold reserves in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, a broad coalition of organisations has express concern that the new mine will give rise to substantiaal new environmental degradation and human rights problems and has urged the New Orleans-based company to take staps now to address these issues.

The organisations note that the Busang mine is located in an area of East Kalimantan currently occupied by the Kenyah Dayak and other peoples of Muara Ancalong who according to Indonesian press reports, have stated that they do not want to be resettled. In addition, the mine site is in an area with a unique and fragile tropical rainforest ecosystem that is borne of a wide variety of animal and plant specied.

Freeport currently operates the Grasberg mine in the Timika area of Irian Jaya in Indonesia - the world's largest gold mine - and has announced plans to expand the operation. A recent story in The Wall Street Journal noted that Freeport's Irian Jaya operations have been "dogged by rumours of environmental damage and complicity in human rights abuses". The coalition is urging Freeport to take all possible steps now to avoid replication of the problems that have been associated with its current operation in Irian Jaya.

In keeping with Freeport's public statements that the company wants to learn from its past mistakes and improve its practices, the coalition has urged Freeport to take the following steps:

1. Refrain from signing a Contract of Work agreement for the Busang site that requires the provision of assistance to the Indonesian military.
2. In the settlement of land-use and other issues related to the establishment and operation of the mine, to ensure that affected local people have independent advocates, that sufficient time is allowed for consensus in their own language, and that outsiders can observe the process. In addition, the coalition has urged Freeport to refrain from involving the Indonesian military in the settlement of these issues.
3. Identify the steps Freeport will take to avoid the potential negative environmental and social impact of planned mining operations at the Busang site and to respond to the concerns of the Kenyah people and other communities that may be affected.
4. Identify the steps Freeport is taking to respond to the concerns of the Moni, Amungme and Komoro peoples in Irian Jaya, and
5. Permit regular and open monitoring of sites of the Busang and Irian Jaya operations by independent huamn rights and environmental groups, particularly local non-governmental organisations.

Members of the coalition include representatives of the Environmental Defence Fund, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for Human Rights, Friends of the Earth-US, Centre for International Environmental Law, Mineral Policy Centre and Sierra Club. The coalition has asked for a meeting with representatives of Freeport McMoRan to discuss these issues.

Coloured by interruptions and demonstrations, the House of

Kompas - 27 February, 1997

Jakarta – The Bill on Nuclear Power was finally agreed by the House of Representatives (DPR) for ratification as Laws, although it was coloured by interruptions of its members who questioned the quorum which was not reached, while outside the conference room a demonstration was going on which rejected the Nuclear Power Bill.

Nevertheless, the final opinion of the fractions on the Nuclear Power Bill in the Plenary Session of the DPR RI which took place on Wednesday (26/2) in Jakarta still mentioned various conditions considered important that the implementation of the Bill will be for the greatest interest and welfare of the people.

The final opinion of the F-PP which was read by Mohammad Buang for instance, asked the government to stop for the time being all activities in whatever form related with the plan to build a nuclear electric power plant (PLTN) at Semenanjung Muria, Central Java.

The F-PP was concerned that if the government continued said activities while the message of the Bill was not yet met, the expenditures could become wasted. Because it could happen that in the future the parties related in building the PLTN which were mentioned in the Bill like the Supervising Body, The Board to Consider Nuclear Power, and the DPR RI finally did not approve the building of the PLTN. "Only for the site study and the feasibility study, the government already spent Rp 22 billion," the F-PP disclosed.

The State Minister of Research and Technology BJ Habibie who in the Plenary Session represented the Government, repeatedly clarified that the PLTN formed the last alternative. "Please note all of you including the present mass media, the PLTN is the last alternative. Exactly for the interest of the people the government feels the necessity of the Laws before the existence of the PLTN. This is all to make the building of the PLTN complicated, that if it will be built it is not done haphazardly," he clarified.

Debate of the quorum

Eventhough at the presentation list at the entrance were the signatures of 317 members, when the plenary session took place, the room ws desolate. A major part of the chairs, either for the F-PP, the F-KP, the F-PDI or the F-ABRI were empty. Only the place reserved for the reporters and non government organizations (LSM) was crowded.

This was later charged by Dra Laksmiari Priyonggo from the F-PDI, when the Chairman of the Plenary Session Sutedjo from the F-ABRI wanted to drop the hammer to aprove the ratification of the Nuclear Power Bill as Laws.

"Mr Chairman, look at this conference room. Do we have the heart to ask the signature of the People's Consultative Council's (MPR's) Mandate Holder to ratify the Nuclear Power Bill, while in fact the present members of the House do not meet the quorum? I have counted, the total is not more than 75 members, which means only 15 percent," said Laksmiri.

Sutedjo answered that although only a little were present, his side based on the number of signatures at the presentation list. It was according to him in accordance with article 152 of the DPR Regulations which read that a resolution could be taken in a meeting in which the presentation list was signed by more than half of the members of the meeting and all fractions were represented.

"But there are here so many televisions. It can show that the presentees actually do not meet the quorum. Where is our responsibility?" asked Laksmiari.

The debate was then interrupted by another F-PDI member Markus Wauran, so that the meeting finally continued. The hammer was dropped after all present members together shouted, "Agreeeee."

Laksmiari who then left the room was chased by the mass media. According to her the signatures were not legal because they were actually from the former agenda, namely the Plenary Session on the Bill on Narcotics.

A House member questioned by reporters justified that the signatures were valid for one day at the same conference room. The Presentation list indeed mentioned for two agendas, namely the Plenary Sesion on the Bill on Narcotics (until 10,00 West Indonesia Time) and the Bill on Nuclear Power (10.15-14.00 West Indonesia Time).

Habibie himself when asked about the quorum after the meeting stated, "I am no House member. So I have to obey to the DPR resolutions. DPR has its own regulations, doesn't it."

Entering of LSM

While the F-PP in its final view also suggested to let leaders of socio political and LSM organizations participate in the Board to Consider Nuclear Power in order that the board should really have integrity.

The F-PP added that for determining the place for storing radio active waste with a high activity, the approval had to be obtained from the DPR RI.

While the F-PDI reminded that the business lobbying force would not conquer the will of the people in relation with the erection of a PLTN. "We must note this together, considering the strong business lobbying which during this process of decision making was performed, said Soedaryanto.

The PDI also appealed that if nuclear power was utilized in a commercial way by private enterprises that it would not burden the people as consumers. Based on experiences the rendering of production branches concerning the lives of the masses to private enterprises have the risk of the formation of monopolies which are much harming the people," he stated.

The F-ABRI stated the need for decommissioning in the enterprising chapter, because decommissioning formed an important stage concerning safety, security, peace and health of the wworkers and the society and protection of the living environments.

Particularly for the developing, operating and decommissioning of commercial nuclear reactors, the F-ABRI proposed that the government would discuss it first with the DPR before taking a decision of the site to be choosen.

While the F-KP has the opinion that the Nuclear Power Bill was more an effort to absorb the aspirations of the society and give a chance to develop the state's decision making. This was evident in the article which mentioned that the development and operation of a big scale nuclear reactor like PLTN had to be consultred with the DPR.

Last alternative

At the press meeting, Habibie again clarified that the PLTN was the last alternative. "Until this moment we have not yet decided whether we want to build a PLTN or not. Therefore I pray that we don't have to build a PLTN," he said.

Because as the last alternative, the PLTN was also not immediately consulted to the House. "Many other work have still to be finished before that, namely to prepare the marks which are much lacking in the former laws," he clarified.

There are according to him many other alternatives which can be studied like geothermal energy, water and natural gas. "With the Sumatra-Java interconnection, much hydro energy from Sumatra can be utilized," he added.

Habibie also stressed that the approval of the Nuclear Power Bill to be ratified as Laws did not mean to become a policy to build the PLTN. "Not at all, it would even complicate the building of a PLTN," he clarified.

He said that all marks prepared by the government and the DPR were more aimed that if the PLTN would be built, its operation was fully for the interest, safety and welfare of the people.

Commenting on the demonstration of which the sounds were very audible at the meeting with the press place, Habibie stated, "That is a sign that development dynamics develop towards a Pancasila democracy," (*)

Indonesian antinuclear society appeals to House to abrogate enactment of

Kompas - 26 February, 1997

The Indonesian Antinuclear Society (MAI) appealed to the House of Representative's to abrogate enactment of the Bill on Nuclear Power, which according to plan should take place today, Wednesday (26/2). Because the Bill which was discussed and passed hastily, still contains many weaknesses and could become legitimization to construct a nuclear power plant without referendum.

The appeal, embodied in a petition, was read out by a member of MAI in the lobby of the House of Representatives building on Tuesday (25/2). The MAI group which consisted of 12 persons, also unrolled banners proclaiming protests, while awaiting outcome of the effort by a few MAI members to meet with the Chairman of the Parliament/Consultative Congress Wahono.

Some of the banners, of various sizes and made of black cloth and carton, read: "We reject the Bill on Nuclear Power." Also "Go nuclear? No thanks", "Legislature candidates must be antinuclear", "Nuclear power generating plants safe? Why not in Jakarta?"

According to the MAI, although the government has repeatedly denied accusations that the Bill on Nuclear Power is a license to build Nuclear Electric Power Generating Plants without a referendum, many paragraphs in the bill point in that direction.

In general this bill has many weaknesses. Besides not referring to Law no.4/1982 concerning principal regulations concerning management of the environment, the bill also does not consider Law no.15/1985 on electric power, Law no.5/1984 on industry, Law no.23/1992 on health, Law no.8/1978 on prevention of nuclear arms proliferation, and regulations issued by the IAEA, as well as international conventions such as the Vienna Convention and the Paris convention.

Weaknesses of the bill

Among the various weaknesses is the uncertainty concerning the party responsible for nuclear damage caused by "some matters beyond the responsibility of the operator" (paragraph 29).

Another matter also considered not explained in the bill is the mechanism to submit claims when third parties become victims of nuclear damage in the second, third, and further generations, which represents genetic impairment.

Exclusive

According to the MAI, the process of drawing up this bill was very exclusive and did not involve parties which were competent, such as the Department of Environment, Department of Industry, Mining and Energy, Health, Finance, State Electricity Company, legal experts, independent nuclear experts, as well as the general public.

The brief discussion of the bill also gives rise to a large question mark. As is known, the meeting of the special committee (Pansus) only took 5 days (4-8 November 1996), while the meeting of the work committee (Panja) took 32 days (13 November-14 December 1996). Total time of discussion was only 37 days.

"This is very upsetting, keeping in mind that not a single member of the House is a nuclear expert, and therefore there is insufficient mastery of nuclear energy complexities," thus the MAI petition, signed by 25 NGOs, and demanding abrogation of the schedule for enactment of the Bill for an unlimited period.

The effort to meet the Chairman of the Parliament/Consultative Congress again failed because Wahono was abroad. The MAI group was finally received by the House Public Relations. (*)

Rights case thrown out

Far Eastern Economic Review - 4 March, 1997

A Louisiana district court dismissed a class-action suit filed by Amungme tribal activist Yosefa Alomang against Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold for alleged environmental and human-rights abuses around its giant Grasberg mine in the Central Highlands of Irian Jaya, Indonesia.

The court ruled it had no jurisdiction to hear the case under state law. A similar federal class-action suit filed by Tom Beanal, another Amungme leader, is pending.

Jakarta post editorial criticises nuclear bill

Jakarta Post Editorial - 27 February, 1997

Objections from environmentalists and other concerned groups notwithstanding, the House of Representatives yesterday passed a government-sponsored bill on nuclear energy which levels the way for the government to build Indonesia's first nuclear power plant on the Muria peninsula on the north coast of Central Java by the year 2003.

Although authorities have repeatedly denied the bill is designed to push through the government's plan without the need to hold a referendum, as opponents have demanded, the provisions contained in the draft make it possible for the government to do just that. Article 13 of the bill states that the "construction and operation of commercial nuclear reactors is determined by the government after consultation with the House of Representatives".

Given the existing political balance in this country and the fact the government has obviously set its mind on going ahead with the plan, the outcome of the final deliberations in the national legislature yesterday can hardly be called a surprise. What may astonish many, though, is the speed with which the issue was resolved in favor, of course, of Indonesia going nuclear, at least in its energy supply. It took the House members most of whom knew "next to nothing about nuclear energy", to quote a member opposed to the plan, a mere 37 days to reach a decision and pass the bid for presentation ta President Soeharto, who is then expected to sign it into law.

Under the circumstances, critics may be forgiven for getting the impression that the speed with which the parliamentary procedures were completed was meant to place them before a fait accompli. One would have thought that on so grave an issue one that might adversely affect the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people and their offspring, as was the case in Chernobyl the House of Representatives could easily have consulted a few independent experts in order to reach a decision that accounts for the present and future generations of Indonesians. Better still, a public debate could have been held on the issue.

Admittedly, the proponents of the plan have a point in saying that nuclear power will benefit Indonesia's push towards greater industrialization in the foreseeable future. In the coming decades, Indonesia is projected to require 27,000 additional megawatts of power to provide industries and homes in Java and Bali with electricity. The planned Muria nuclear power plant will provide 1,800 megawatts. According to the director-general of atomic energy, seven to 12 nuclear reactors will be needed to provide the required 27,000 megawatts.

But objections to nuclear power cannot simply-be dismissed. Even in the United States, which is the world's leading nuclear power, a satisfactory answer to the question of nuclear waste disposal still has not been found and considerations of health, expenditure and the traumatic experiences of past catastrophes have deterred the country in its push towards the utilization of nuclear power as a source of energy.

The debate over the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy is set to continue. In the meantime, it is important for us to learn from the experiences of others. Among the calamities mankind has known, nuclear catastrophes are surely the most traumatic. That being the case, it is imperative the public be fully informed either through exposure to impartial information, public debate or both and that it be involved in the decision making process. Regretfully, this has apparently not been fully met in the present case.

Island fisheries face three deadly threats

Oneworld - February 7, 1997

Han Jei, Moluccan archipelago, Indonesia – "Blast" and poison fishing and the growing use of dragnets are threatening traditionally abundant fisheries in Indonesia's Moluccas islands.

The practices are not simply indiscriminately killing fish but are also depleting coral reefs and the rest of the underwater ecosystem.

In Mudwat village, on the western coast of Kei Kecil island, for example, blast fishing has been rampant since the 1960s. Sometimes dynamite is used or explosives from old military ordnance or crude home-made bombs.

Big fishing companies are involved, but they usually hire local people to do the work in order to avoid being directly linked to illegal activities. Members of the Indonesian military are also involved, often protecting the fishing companies.

"The problem of blast fishing in the Moluccas is very serious and very difficult," explains Ismail, a local fisherman and leader of Mudwat village fishermen's cooperative. "For example, if I have connections in the local military, I can freely bomb the fish."

Ismail admits: "Before, we were not really aware of the seriousness of this practice. We never imagined that the blast fishing carried out for the past 30 years would have such damaging effects for fishermen today."

Potassium cyanide fishing is a newer but growing problem. Companies use the poison to catch wrasse, grouper and rare aquarium fish in the Tanimbar Kei islands, at the southern tip of the south-eastern Moluccan archipelago.

The local Evav people are furious. They say the practice contravenes their traditional conservation laws, which have protected their environment and enabled them to live in harmony with land and sea for centuries.

Companies have been encroaching into the waters around the islands in the past two years, squirting potassium cyanide from plastic bottles into coral crevices to stun the fish. Once caught, the fish are revived with an antidote before being exported.

While doing this work, divers often snap off protruding coral branches which get in their way. Coral reefs grow only a few centimetres a year, so the divers' behaviour is highly damaging.

"Potassium cyanide fishing has destroyed our corals and source of food for the fish," says Mas-Il Eliar, a local community organiser.

"We are intimidated by the local authorities who try to find out who are the opponents of these practices and then take them to the military camp where they are punished."

But villagers' anger recently erupted and Mas-Il and other members of the community stormed the house of the village chief, who they accused of collaborating with a company practising cyanide fishing. They halted the firm's operations and chased away the military personnel providing it with security.

Dragnet fishing is a third deadly adversary for traditional fishermen.

Huge trawlers, many from Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, use vast nets stretching hundreds of metres. The nets cause extensive damage to the reefs and their haul is indiscriminate, including all species and all ages of fish.

One study by an independent research organisation in Indonesia estimated that every trawler operating in the Moluccan seas put 100 local fishermen out of work.

"I have witnessed the activities of these trawlers in the Aru islands since the early 1980s," says Martinus Lengam, a village headman from Wokam village in Aru. "Before the invasion of the trawlers, it was quite easy to find and catch fish, but now our source of livelihood has become increasingly scarce."

Domingus Herman, a community organiser from the Aru islands, says: "We have to revive our traditional customary laws to protect our sea resources from being taken by these big operators, otherwise there will be nothing left for our families and our future generations." - GEMINI NEWS

About the Author: HAN JEI is a Malaysian journalist who specialises in south-east Asia. Copyright: News-Scan International Ltd (1997) 24/1

Analysts question Jakarta's rush to pass n-power bill

Straits Times - March 2, 1997

Jakarta – The manner in which the nuclear-power Bill was rushed through Parliament raised doubts about the government's real intentions, analysts were quoted as saying in a newspaper report on Friday.

A nuclear-energy specialist and an environmentalist told the Indonesian Observer that the haste to get the Bill passed contradicted statements by Research and Technology Minister B. J. Habibie that the government would go nuclear only "as a last resort".

On Wednesday, the day the Bill was passed, Dr Habibie repeated the promise, saying the government would not build a nuclear plant soon.

Nuclear specialist Iwan Kurniawan and environmentalist Mas Achmad Santosa said that the new law could only have been made to legitimise the government's intention to build the plant.

Mr Iwan said it was a fact that the government, through the National Atomic Energy Agency, planned to set up the first plant next year and have it operating by the year 2004.

"If going nuclear were to be our last alternative, we should have chosen to research nuclear power simply to prepare ourselves, instead of going straight to a power-plant construction project," he said.

The government has revealed plans to construct nuclear plants near the dormant volcano Mount Muria in Jepara, Central Java.

But Mr Iwan believed there was still a chance the government would decide not to go ahead with its plan.

A power plant takes five years to build normally, and many things could happen during that period. Factors that could stop construction include a decline in the economy and political change.

The government would also have to consider its foreign loans before going ahead because it would have to buy expensive technology.

"We still have to import the fuel and the lack of skills could stop the project," he said.

Mr Mas Achmad of the Indonesia Centre for Environmental Law said that Parliament ignored public aspirations by endorsing the Bill after only 37 days of deliberation. "There should have been a chance for comments and debates," he said, adding that with the Bill in hand, government had secured all the legal requirements it needed to construct a power plant.

As for Dr Habibie's promise, he said: "It's an official statement. The law doesn't mention nuclear as the last energy option, does it?"

Indon ecolabelling institution establishes coop with FSC

Antara - February 28, 1997

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (LEI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) have signed acooperation to speed up the implementation of ecolabelling toIndonesian tropical timber products, LEI chairman Emil Salim saidWednesday.

One of the chief aims of the cooperation is to train assessors, he said.

A Mexico-based institution, FSC gives accreditation orcertification to appraising companies.

Indonesia, a member of the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), is determined to have full implementation ofthe ecolabelling concept by 2000.

Ecolabelling certifies tropical timbers traded at the international market to come from forests with an approved sustainable management system.

Salim said that up to now Indonesia do not have forest timber assessors or appraisers.

"However, forestry companies wishing to be assessed could ask such help from foreign agencies," he said.

Elections

Thousands of leaflets calling for boycott sized

Media Indonesia - March 5, 1997

Tasikmalaya – Kodim (Komando Dearah Militer, District Military Command) III Siliwangi said yesterday (4/2) they were still searching for the maker and distributor of a leaflet who's contents discredited the New Order government and called for an election boycott. Around 6,000 leaflets were sized, 200 are believed to have already been distributed.

This was announced by the commander of III Siliwangi, Maj-Gen TNI Tayo Tarmadi at a function in Tasikmalaya, West Java attended by 600 Islamic scholars from Tasikmalaya and Ciamis yesterday.

"The contents of the leaflet discredited the New Order government and called for an election boycott", said the Commander.

According to Tayo, they are now searching for Maruli Hendra Utama who has been pointed out as the brains behind the act, along with other suspects. As well as the leaflet, documents, addresses and a number of ATM cards were also found. He was unable to confirm to journalists if Maruli was a student activists but evidence sized at the suspects house was a student boarding house at a university at Jl Pahlawan Bandung [see item following this article - JB].

According to the commander, the leaflets who's contents were political, does not close the possibility that there is someone playing a political role from outside the country, primarily in providing funding. "A receipt for funds sent from Singapore was found. We are still carrying out and investigation, as to who the sender was and the party the fund were from", said Tayo.

The leaflet was to be distributed to Islamic boarding schools all across Indonesia. According to Tayo, this pointed to a subversive act. In fact, he said, documents were found on the formation of a national and regional committees. For the national, KPP (Komite Pimpinan Pusat) and for the regional, KPK (Komite Pimpinan Kota).

The commander explained, up until now there was already 9 KPK formed as a basis of operation for the distribution of the leaflets including Jabotabek, Medan, Surabaya, Solo, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Palu, and Bandarlampung.

According to the commander, before finding the 6,000 leaflets, the security forces also found another leaflet, which clearly involved the name of an ex-parliamentarian and who is also the head of PUDI (Partai Uni Demokrasi Indonesia, Indonesian United Democratic Party), Sri Bintang Pamungkas. "The contents were not very different, and attacked the New Order government" said Tayo Tarmadi.

[Unabridged translation from Media Indonesia. The following article was submitted to Green Left for issue #265 but due to space restrictions, was unable to be included. The information was based on an action alert sent to ASIET by the underground PRD last week and the full translation was included in last week's ASIET Net news (#09) - JB]

PRD members' house raided, four missing

ASIET - February 26, 1997

James Balowski – According to a chronology sent to ASIET by the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD), four students, Yudha, Irwan, Ikra and Indah are believed missing following a raid by security forces on a boarding house in Bandung, West Java, on February 26.

The raid occurred after other residents had complained to the owner, an employee of the department of social and political affairs, about another resident, Yudha, who is head of Student Solidarity for Indonesian Democracy (SMID) Bandung. SMID is one of a number of mass organisations affiliated to the PRD. They claimed he had been copying and distributing a banned magazine, Independent Voice and the PRD publication Liberation.

Earlier in the day, Irwan, a fellow student activists, was told by the boarding house owner that Yudha was being sought by the authorities because of his activities in the PRD. Later that evening, when Yudha, Inda and Indra approached the boarding house, they saw a number of unidentified people hiding in parked cars. Unable to find Irwan and suspicious of those outside, they left. Yudha later phoned the house and was told that it had been raided an hour before and that magazines, leaflets calling for an election boycott and SMID stickers belonging to him had been seized. As of going to print, the whereabouts of the four are unknown and eye witnesses have said they saw Irwan being interrogated by security personnel.

Pro-Megawati PDI cadres organize 'long-march' Denpasar-Jakarta

Kompas - 1 March, 1997

Jakarta - A number of pro-Megawati Soekarnoputri PDI cadres, calling themselves "Awam PDI" (PDI Laymen) will arrange a longmarch from Denpasar to Jakarta starting 1 April 1997.

Upon arrival in Jakarta they will go to the Parliament Building (MPR/DPR) to deliver a written statement to the House of Representatives (DPR) as holder of the people's sovereignty.

The Awam PDI Chairman, Basuki Mangoenpoerojo in his press meeting in Jakarta on Friday (28/2) was not yet willing to disclose the content of the statement, but said that the longmarch was to urge one and legal Articles/By Laws of the PDI.

According to Basuki, Awam PDI is no competing organization of PDI. They only love the PDI constitution and after the long march the committee will automatically dissolve itself.

Because Awam PDI forms a committee consisting of individuals, they also have individual responsibilities and therefore have not asked government's approval for this long march.

Basuki stated that officially the long march consisted of two Kijang cars, five trucks, two busses, one ambulance and 10 motorcycles.

The longmarch participants must be registered. For sympathizers in group form the leader of the group must be registered and be responsible for his group. Spontaneous participants had to register at the "Order and Safety Affairs" during the march. Forbidden is to bring arms in whatever form and they have to guard order and politeness.

The longmarch which is estimated one week has as route Denpasar, Tabanan, Jembrana, Gilimanuk, Ketapang, Situbondo, Probolinggo, Sidoarjo, Surabaya, Mojokerto, Jombang, Nganjuk, Madiun, Sragen, Solo, Klaten, Yogya, Magelang, Semarang, Kendal, Pekalonmgan, Pemalang, Tegal, Brebes, Cirebon, Sumedang, Cianjur, Puncak, Bogor and Jakarta. General election witnesses

Meanwhile in Surabaya 4,050 PDI Megawati supporters registered themselves for witnesses in the General Elections 1997 process in Surabaya. This was in accordance with Megawati's instruction on Saturday 22/2 at the PDI Headquarters in Surabaya.

The 4,050 witnesses will be assigned in 280 districts found in Surabaya.(*)

Challenge to Suharto's 30-year rule

South China Morning Post - March 4, 1997

Joe Leahy, Jakarta – Indonesia's President Suharto faces the first challenge to his 30-year rule after the country's Islamic-based party said yesterday it may nominate candidates to run for president and vice-president.

"We are not foreclosing the possibility that the candidates will come from within the party," said Tosari Wijaya, secretary-general of the United Development Party (UDP).

"We are instructing the branches to monitor the opinions of our grassroots supporters."

Indonesia's three official parties - the ruling Golkar Party, the minority UDP and Indonesian Democratic Party - will contest the country's sixth general election on May 29.

They will be competing for 425 seats in the 500-seat lower house of parliament, the People's Representative Council. The other 75 seats go to military appointees.

Members of the council will then join 500 presidential appointees next year for the meeting of the People's Consultative Assembly, the body responsible for electing the President.

Outspoken opposition politicians from the minority parties are traditionally weeded out ahead of the assembly meeting. This has enabled Mr Suharto, who is widely expected to run for a seventh five-year term next year, to be re-elected unopposed.

It is against this background - and a warning last week by the President that he will "gebug" (clobber) opponents - that the UDP must decide whether to run rival candidates.

"The leadership meeting has given its full trust to the executive board to choose the correct time and place to announce the United Development Party candidates for the presidency and the vice-presidency for the period 1998-2003," Mr Wijaya was quoted earlier in the Kompas daily as saying. However, he later left open the possibility of his party backing the status quo.

"The opinion of the grassroots is not final. If there is strong grassroots support for President Suharto, we will consider that option too."

Meanwhile, the banned People's Democratic Party issued a statement calling for a boycott of the election.

The group, which was smashed in a government crackdown in August, announced the launch of a "graffiti" campaign calling on people not to vote.

Threat to unseat Suharto unlikely to be carried out

South China Morning Post - March 4, 1997

Joe Leahy, Jakarta – The Islamic Development Party is unlikely to carry out its threat to nominate one of its own members for the presidency, analysts say.

This is despite its record as the only party to run an independent candidate for the vice-presidency during the Suharto era.

The head of the constitutional law faculty at the University of Indonesia, Yusril Izha Mahendra, said the country's three officially recognised political parties had the right to nominate their own candidates for the head of state. But, in practice, they always supported the re-appointment of Mr Suharto.

Mr Mahendra said the party's latest announcement was most likely a bluff to boost support ahead of the May 29 general election.

After that, the party would back down and support Mr Suharto's re-election for the presidency in 1998, he said.

The United Development Party had its fingers burnt once before. In 1988, the then chairman of the United Development Party, Jailani Naro, nominated himself to stand for the vice-presidency.

Mr Naro did not even make it into the race. The United Development Party had to withdraw him before the presidential election. Mr Suharto's candidate, Lieutenant-General Sudharmono, was elected unopposed.

The only other person to contest the presidency is Sri Bintang Pamungkas. He was thrown out of Parliament and the United Development Party in 1995 for allegedly insulting the President. It got him 34 months in jail.

Defiant Mr Pamungkas and lawyer Julius Usman launched a joint presidential campaign last October, but as neither is an MP, they will not be able to formally stand.

Arbi Sanit, a political analyst at the University of Indonesia, said the United Development Party's central board would again back Mr Suharto when it came to the crunch.

Democrat faces death penalty

Sydney Morning Herald - March 7, 1997

Louise Williams, Jakarta – A former member of Parliament and prominent pro-democracy activist, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, has been arrested on subversion charges carrying a maximum penalty of death, closing one of the last channels of political opposition ahead of the May national elections.

The overnight arrest follows President Soeharto's recent statement that he would "clobber" anyone who attempted to unseat him unconstitutionally" and indicates the regime's determination to curtail all political dissent.

Sri Bintang's family said he was arrested at his home late on Thursday night on charges of subversion and defaming Mr Soeharto by using greeting cards, celebrating the end of the Muslim fasting month, to call for a boycott of the polls.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General said a citizen had a right to hold "certain ideals", but was not permitted "to incite others into supporting them". In announcing the subversion charge yesterday the Attorney-General's office said the cards were only part of the case against Sri Bintang.

The subversion charge allows for imprisonment without trial for one year at an undisclosed location and has been opposed by Indonesia's Human Rights Commission on the grounds it was intended to deal with violent threats against the State, not civilian democracy activists.

The boycott call on behalf of Sri Bintang's illegal Indonesian Democratic Union Party has recently been joined by seven branches of the minority Muslim United Development Party, which claims campaigning rules so overwhelming favour the ruling Golkar Party that they cannot effectively compete. The Catholic Church also released advance copies of its Easter message which tells Indonesia's Christian minority they have a moral right to choose not to vote.

The boycott movement is emerging as a de-facto opposition campaign given the tight electoral regulations which permit only two small alternative parties to stand against Golkar, which is backed by the powerful armed forces and the bureaucracy and has access to significant government resources.

Sri Bintang has been one of the most outspoken critics of the Soeharto regime since being forced to resign from Parliament over his challenge to the re-election of President Soeharto and, later, forming the Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI).

Sri Bintang sent his greeting cards to a number of government officials and senior military officers with the basic aims of the PUDI: the election boycott, opposition to another term of the President, and a call on Indonesians to prepare for a new "post-Soeharto political order".

This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited.

92.4 per cent of youth say they want to boycott

Jawa Pos - 26 February, 1997

The executive board of the Malang (East Java) branch of KNPI, the Indonesian National Youth Committee organised an opinion poll in a bold move, seeking the opinion of nearly a thousand young people in the area about their voting intentions at the forthcoming elections. 92.4 per cent answered that they would support 'Golput', in other words boycott the election. Only 5.4 per cent said they would vote. The people asked were students, youths and members of a number of youth groups.

A local activist said this shows a reversal of what has happened in the past, that young people whose parents are civil servants or members of the armed forces all vote for the government party, GOLKAR.

The organisers of the poll said the poll had been deliberately targeted at young people who are in a position to influence the opinions of others.

The results showed that 874 of the one thousand people who answered said they would boycott while only 51 or 5.4 per cent said they would go and vote. The questionnaires were circulated through a number of youth groups in the area.

The organiser of the opinion poll said the results show that young people are not willing anymore to follow the lead of their parents. 42 per cent of those asked were children of civil servants, who are all under instructions to vote GOLKAR, and more than ten per cent were the children of members of the armed forces.

It was clear, he said, that young people have no interest in any of the three parties allowed to contest the elections.

The results of the poll will be given to the three local parties and it was up to them to respond in a way that might arouse greater interest from young people.

Former MP charged with subversion for election boycott call

Amnesty International - March 1997

In another stark illustration of the Indonesian Government's intention to silence its opponents in the run up to the May 1997 parliamentary elections, the controversial former parliamentarian, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, was detained on 5 March under the Anti-subversion Law. His arrest and detention are related to greeting cards that he sent last month to mark the Moslem festival of Idul Fitri. The cards, signed by Sri Bintang Pamungkas, contained the three point agenda of the recently formed United Democratic Party of Indonesia (Partai Uni Demokrasi Indonesia - PUDI):

Boycott the 1997 Parliamentary Election
Reject the re-election of President Suharto in the 1998 Presidential elections
Prepare a new government for the post-Suharto period.

Amnesty International is seriously concerned about Sri Bintang Pamungkas' arrest and detention under the Anti-subversion Law. The organization considers him to be a prisoner of conscience and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

On 5 March, Sri Bintang Pamungkas and four other PUDI members, the Secretary General, Julius Usman, Saleh Abdurrahman, Yus Soemadinata and Butje Rumaneri were invited to have lunch with the head of intelligence operations at the Attorney General's office in a restaurant in south Jakarta. After the meal the five were asked to go to the Attorney General's office where Sri Bintang Pamungkas expected to be questioned about the status of PUDI. The five were interviewed separately by members of the public prosecution and all but Sri Bintang Pamungkas were released at 4 pm the same day. At 7 pm, Sri Bintang was told that he was being investigated as a suspect and at 10 pm an arrest warrant was issued followed by a detention order, under which Sri Bintang Pamungkas is detained under Article 1(1) of the Anti-subversion Law. His family were informed of his arrest at 1.30 am on 6 March. According to one report an order had been issued by President Suharto to detain him because of PUDI's call for an election boycott. There is some indication that Julius Usman and possibly Salah Abdurrahman may also have been formally arrested and may now also be back in detention under subversion charges.

Sri Bintang Pamungkas - well known government critic

Sri Bintang Pamungkas, a former member of Indonesia's Parliament for the United Development Party (PPP), has become known as a leading opponent of the government since he was accused of participating in anti-government demonstrations which took place in Germany between 1 and 6 April 1995. The authorities failed to find any evidence of his involvement in the demonstrations and Sri Bintang Pamungkas was eventually charged under Article 134 of the Criminal Code with "insulting" President Suharto during a seminar that he gave in Berlin. After a trial which fell short of internationally accepted standards for fair trials Sri Bintang was sentenced to two years and 10 months' imprisonment. The sentence was upheld by the High Court in January 1997. An appeal has now been submitted to the Supreme Court. Sri Bintang is not detained pending the outcome of this appeal but is subject to travel restrictions which prevent him from leaving the country. In the meantime, in a decision adopted on his case in January 1997, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) stated that it "remained deeply concerned that Sri Bintang Pamungkas may be prosecuted on the basis of political considerations rather than on account of any criminal offence" and that it is still concerned "at the allegations of serious flaws in the judgement...".

Undeterred by his conviction, Sri Bintang Pamungkas has continued to challenge President Suharto and the New Order Government. In May 1996 he formed a new political party, PUDI, in a direct challenge to the existing official three party system in which the government backed Golkar party is guaranteed electoral success. PUDI was immediately denounced by government officials including the Home Affairs Minster Yogie Suhardi Memet who said that the government did not recognise PUDI and insisted that the law on recognising only the three parties should be respected. Major-General Suwarno, assistant to the head of the military's socio-political department was reported as saying that "opposition parties do not exist in Indonesian democracy". In October 1996, Sri Bintang and Julius Usman made a self-declared bid for the presidency and vice-presidency even though the constitution does not recognise outside challenges for the post, which is decided every five years by an electoral college of parliament.

Julius Usman was among over 100 people who were questioned by the authorities following the raid on the PDI headquarters and subsequent riots. At the time Amnesty International stated that it considered the questioning and the threat of summoning individuals was being used by the authorities as a mode of intimidation.

Amnesty International is particularly concerned that Sri Bintang Pamungkas, and possibly Julius Usman and Salah Abdurrahman, are being held under the Anti-subversion Law. Over the past 30 years the law has been used extensively by the Indonesian authorities to silence peaceful critics of the state. Amnesty International has consistently campaigned for the repeal of the law because its provisions have been used to sentence to death or imprison people for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, opinion and association. In addition the absence of any explicit safeguards relating to detainees' rights following arrest and during detention have resulted in serious human rights violations including the imprisonment of prisoners of conscience, torture, unfair trials "disappearances" and possible extra-judicial executions. Indonesia's own National Commission for Human Rights (Komisi Nasional Hak Azasi Manusia - Komnas HAM) has also called for the Anti-subversion Law to be repealed.

Background

Tension in Indonesia has been running high since the July 1996 raid by security forces and alleged supporters of a rival faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party (Partai Demokratik Indonesia - PDI) headquarters and in the run up to the elections to the House of Representatives on 29 May 1997. The government response to mounting calls for political change has resulted in the arrest of peaceful political opponents including 12 people who are currently on trial in Jakarta on subversion charges in relation to the raid on the PDI office and subsequent riots. Political and labour activists, human rights defenders, members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others have also been subjected to harassment and intimidation in recent months.

Among those who have been targeted by the authorities are those calling for a boycott of the forthcoming elections even though civilians are not legally required to vote in Indonesia. Four students, Ecep Sumardi Yasa, Abu Hasssan, Chalid Mawardi and Oru Wulandari were arrested in the Central Java town of Purwokerto in January 1997 for their alleged involvement in distributing leaflets encouraging people to boycott the elections. At least two of the group were believed to be facing charges under Article 161 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) in connection with the public incitement of a criminal act which is punishable by a maximum of four years' imprisonment. Controversy over the issue mounted after the Catholic Church - usually silent on political issues - said that not voting did not constitute a sin. The statement, contained in a pre-Easter apostolic letter by the Indonesian Bishops' Conference which was read out in many churches, said that "Catholics should really feel free in expressing their attitude in general elections". It went on to say that "if you do not feel represented and are sure with all your heart that your aspirations are not channelled, we can understand that you voice your responsibility and freedom by not voting...". In early March, around 6,000 pamphlets calling for a boycott were seized in Bandung, West Java. To Amnesty International's knowledge no one has been arrested, although Major-General Tayo Tarmadi, head of the Sliwingi military command, is quoted in a newspaper as saying that the military was searching for a number of people suspected of producing the pamphlets.

Recent statements by both President Suharto and government and military officials indicate that the authorities plan to maintain its tough approach. In a speech on 1 March President Suharto stated that if anyone attempted to oust him unconstitutionally he would "clobber them real hard and not hesitate to take actions against them". The following day the head of the Armed Forces, General Feisal Tanjung, was quoted as saying that the military had resorted to "limited repression" to maintain national stability, adding that democracy was "not everything."

Amnesty International believes that the arrest of Sri Bintang Pamungkas is yet a further example of the Indonesian Government's intention to remove its opponents to ensure the smooth return to power of Golkar in an election free of dissident opinion. Amnesty International is calling on the Indonesian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Sri Bintang Pamungkas as a prisoner of conscience detained solely on the basis of the peaceful expression of his views. The organization is also calling for the immediate and unconditional release of his colleagues Julius Usman and Salah Abdurrahman if they too are detained.

Indonesian poll monitoring team ready for May 29

Straits Times - 4 March, 1997

S N Vasuki – Indonesia's parliamentary election on May 29 has entered a decisive phase with an independent election committee preparing to monitor the polls and a leading opposition party threatening to ignore tough government restrictions on campaigning.

Gunawan Mohammad, chairman of the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), told foreign journalists in Jakarta yesterday that the organisation expects to monitor the May polls in nine major cities.

"As KIPP is poorly funded, we have had to scale down our ambitions," Mr Gunawan said. "But we have been trying to learn from similar agencies in the Philippines, Bangladesh and Egypt." He added that his "personal objective" was to ensure that people who did not want to vote were not harassed by the authorities.

Senior government officials have criticised the setting up of KIPP, saying that an independent poll monitoring agency was unnecessary. However, Mr Gunawan said that KIPP's objective remained relevant.

"Our main aim is to purify the idea of an election," he said. "In the absence of a proper electoral process, people are resorting to other means to achieve their objective." But, Mr Gunawan, who was editor-in-chief of the banned Tempo magazine acknowledged that it would take KIPP several years to establish its influence. Meanwhile, the opposition United Development Party (PPP) has startled political observers by threatening to ignore the government's strict election campaigning rules. Last December, the government announced tough new regulations allowing for 27 days of official campaigning.

However, in a unique revolving system the country's three political groupings – the ruling Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the United Development Party (PPP) – are only allowed nine days each of official campaigning. Moreover campaign materials slated to appear on state television and radio must be submitted to the authorities a week in advance and political parties are not allowed to hold outdoor campaign rallies.

PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum told local media that his party planned to ignore the election campaign rules unless they were revised. "We will continue our struggle to urge the government to improve the election rules," he said. "Until that happens, the PPP will resort to other methods like door-to-door campaigning to promote our cause." The PPP also released a statement saying that the new rules restricted public participation and adversely affected all the political parties.

Analysts attributed the PPP's hardball tactics as a shrewd move to score political points ahead of the polls. In the 1992 parliamentary elections, the ruling Golkar had secured a reduced 68 per cent of the national vote, while the PPP won 17 per cent and the PDI 15 per cent.

"The PDI is in disarray after the ouster of Megawati Sukarnoputri," said a western diplomat yesterday. "So PPP leaders are taking this confrontational position in order to woo PDI voters into their fold." He added that PDI's current leadership was extremely unpopular with voters because of the circumstances that led to the exit of Ms Megawati last year.

'Clobbering' not a rights violation, rights body chief says

Antara - March 4, 1997

Jakarta – Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Munawir Sjadzali, said "clobbering" does not violate human rights so long as it is intended to safeguard national security and take care of public interests.

"The term 'clobbering' used recently by President Soeharto is a warning to those who commit unconstitutional acts," he said in response to reporters' questions during a post-Lebaran celebration held by the rights body here Monday.

As one who guarantees national security, he said, it is only natural that the president will take action against those who commit unconstitutional acts.

He said the president's statement in this regard showed that violators of the constitution could not be tolerated.

"One who violates the constitution deserves proportionate retribution," he said.

No problems with Suharto's ability to lead: Assembly

Straits Times - March 4, 1997

Jakarta – The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has never considered holding a special session to assess the capability of President Suharto, according to Deputy Speaker Ismail Hasan Metareum, the Jakarta Post reported yesterday.

Mr Ismail, also chairman of the United Development Party, said yesterday the assembly's leadership had not found any problems with President Suharto's capability to carry out his administrative and stately duties to justify bringing him before an extraordinary session.

"We all see that President Suharto is healthy and has succeeded in clearing many problems so far," Mr Ismail said after concluding a PPP leadership meeting.

"He has managed to carry out his job well. It's all up to him whether he agrees or not to run for another term of presidency," he.

The People's Consultative Assembly comprises 500 members of the House of Representatives and 500 representatives of various regions, professions and mass organisations.

They convene every five years to deliberate the guidelines of state policies and to elect the President and Vice-President.

Mr Ismail was commenting on a statement made on Friday by Mr Suharto that he was willing to step down only in a constitutional way.

He said he would "clobber" anybody who tried to use unconstitutional means to unseat him. Mr Suharto became acting President in 1967 and assumed full leadership the following year.

He was elected in 1972 by the People's Consultative Assembly which was established by the 1971 general election. He has been re-elected five times.

Mr Ismail said that the President's remarks should motivate the Consultative Assembly to act within the constitutional frame as well.

He added that he had no idea who Mr Suharto's warning was aimed at.

Mr Arbi Sanit, a lecturer at the Jakarta-based University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences, said the President's failure to identify any specific individuals or groups could mean that he was responding to escalating criticism of the government in general.

"He was warned about escalating criticism towards the government. In the past, critics came from the elite circle (of society), but now they include all elements," Mr Arbi said.

He said that criticism of the government ranged from the mediocrity of officials to the military's ineffectiveness in settling recent riots.

Muslim scholar Amien Rais, who has just stepped down from his leading position at the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI), says he does not believe that Mr Suharto's warning was aimed at him.

Politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas believed Mr Suharto could have been referring to him and his Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI), a certain military group, separatist groups or other mass organisations.

Mr Bintang said he wished to challenge the President for the presidential post in the next election.

PRD cadres arrested - PUDI leader ordered arrested

ASIET Action Alert - March 3, 1997

At midnight on March 3, nine (9) Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) underground Town Leadership Committees organised a coordinated Graffiti Action in the cities of Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Solo, Semarang (all in Java), Lampung and Medan (in Sumatra) and Menado in Sulawesi. The action involved sticking up posters and painting graffiti calling for a boycott of the May 1997 "general elections". In Jakarta, posters and graffiti were put up in bus terminals, workers areas and other central locations.

The slogans used were: "Boycott the 1997 elections!", Without Mega, Boycott the elections", "repeal the 5 Political Laws", "End the dual role of the Army!", "The election process isn't worth continuing, boycott!", "Until the political laws are repealed, boycott the elections!", "End the Army's dual role, then elections!".

When in the area of Rambutan hamlet, Jakarta, the graffiti team comprising Bharata, Iing (PRD Jabotek), Herni (PRD Menado), Bimo Petrus (PRD Central Council staff) were surprised by police. After being chased by motorbike and being threatened with being shot, Bharata escaped over a footbridge. Herni and Bimo also escaped the police that were chasing them. Iing was captured.

Knowing that it was likely that Iing would be tortured in order to discover the local PRD safe house, Herni and Bhatara returned to the house, packed documents and left quickly. But they were seized by a police night patrol.

PRD investigations have located them in the Jakarta Central Police headquarters. It is not clear where Iing is being held.

Sri Bintang in trouble

It has been reported that arrest orders have been issued for Sri Bintang Pamungkas, head of the United Democratic Party (PUDI). PUDI, like the PRD, is not recognised by the government. It suffers regular harassment but has not yet been singled out for full scale suppression like the PRD. Sri Bintang, deputy chair Julius Usman and Secretary-General Saleh Abdullah were briefly detained and interrogated two days ago. PUDI circulated end of fasting month greeting cards carrying the slogan "Boycott the elections". Encouraging people not to vote is illegal in Indonesia.

Regime afraid of Boycott snowball!

Dictator Suharto's recent panicky outburst that he would "flatten" anybody who moved against him "unconstitutionally" (oh hypocrisy!) is clearly motivated by the fear of a boycott snowball that would undermine the legitimacy of the next government both in Indonesia and internationally. Suharto's panic outburst follows the following recent developments:

PRD bulletins, leaflets and agitation swings behind the call for an active boycott of the elections
PUDI issues a statement saying that will concentrate all its efforts on a boycott campaign
the head of the Catholic church issued a pastoral letter indicating that the Church would understand if Catholics felt that there was nobody that they wanted to vote for
seven key central Java branches of the government recognised Islamic United Development Party (PPP) said they would boycott the elections
PPP headquarters sanctioned the Central Java boycott and said they would disobey election rules in other areas
at a demonstration of 5000 supporters (mainly transport workers) in Jakarta, Megawati Sukarnoputri announced that the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-Struggle) would soon announce its position on the elections, hinting strongly that she would call for a boycott.

ASIET will post a full report on the boycott issue in the next few days.

[Abridged translation from the Indonesian media and PRD underground statements - Max Lane]

Minor party to defy Soeharto's election edict

Sydney Morning Herald - March 4, 1997

Louise Williams, Jakarta – Indonesia's minority Muslim party has approved a boycott of the upcoming national elections in one key region and says it may ignore the Soeharto Government's campaign rules elsewhere because they overwhelming favour the ruling party.

The leaders of the United Development Party (PPP), one of only two legal alternative parties permitted to contest the May national elections, ended a three-day meeting challenging the campaigning restrictions set by the Soeharto Government as undemocratic and promising to use any method regardless of the rules.

The meeting also approved a boycott by seven branches in heavily populated Central Java which say they are unable to convey their political message so will not participate in the elections despite President Soeharto's call for a full voter turnout.

The Soeharto Government has banned mass rallies following months of sporadic rioting across Indonesia and has limited campaigning to indoor meetings, media broadcasts and leaflets. The restrictions overwhelmingly favour the ruling Golkar Party which has the backing of the Government infrastructure, the guaranteed support of the armed forces and the nation's 6 million public servants and their families as well as access to the Government-controlled media.

The Muslim-based PPP said it would campaign door-to-door if necessary because it did not have the funds to bus people into halls for indoor meetings. Yesterday a rally of PPP supporters about a kilometre long marched through the streets of the major central Javanese city of Yogyakarta, in defiance of the ban on mass meetings. Following a series of riots beginning last year the Government has banned all mass meetings and announced that all election speeches and broadcasts will be subject to censorship.

"We have seen the politicisation of the bureaucracy and other conduct which does not distinguish official duties from efforts to lift a certain political group [Golkar] to victory," the PPP said.

Only 425 of the 1,000 seats in Parliament are at stake in the May polls and the ruling Golkar group has already said it will win over 70 per cent of the vote. Seventy-five seats are reserved for the armed forces and the remaining 500 are appointed by the Government.

President Soeharto warned over the weekend that he would "clobber" anyone who attempted to overthrow him unconstitutionally.

"If I hear anyone is violating the law, I will clobber them really hard. I won't hesitate to take action against them," he said.

He shrugged off the boycott threat saying people who did not vote would "only have themselves to blame" if they were not represented.

More repression as Suharto extends rule

Australian Associated Press - March 3, 1997

Gordon Feeney, Jakarta – Leading Indonesian journalist-turned-political activist Goenawan Muhamad today predicted President Suharto would rule for another 10 years amid greater repression.

Goenawan, chairman of the independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) and former editor of banned Tempo magazine also said he had received information that another political crackdown was "imminent".

He said such a crackdown could be directed at KIPP, whose activities have angered the government which argues that its own election body already monitors polls here.

After anti-government riots last year, the regime launched a major crackdown on political and labour activists with a series of criminal prosecutions.

Goenawan said he saw no reason why Suharto, 75, would not rule for another 10 years. "He's very healthy," he told members of the Jakarta Foreign Correpondents' Club.

He said many people saw Indonesia's general elections due in May this year as "a joke" but that KIPP's role was to encourage a respect for democracy.

"The most important thing is to think beyond the coming election - try to instil in the minds of the people that the election is something good.

"So the idea of elections should be purified, so to speak. That's what our concern is, because without elections you tend to go other ways... to change the situation," he said.

Goenawan said he believed the key issue for the Suharto regime at the coming polls was a lack of legitimacy in the wake of last year's ousting of opposition figure Megawati Sukarnoputri.

He said the regime's political neutralising of Megawati was the most blatant political intervention by the regime.

The removal of Megawati as chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) led to mass riots in Jakarta in July last year. "There were always interventions in the past (by the regime), there were always restrictions in terms of political freedom.

"But interventions... like what you saw during the Megawati and PDI affair was never in people's minds in the past.

"So the crucial thing about the elections is the question of legitimacy, and it will continue to haunt the regime for a time to come.

"And the more the regime is unsure about its own legitimacy, the more repressive it will become," Goenawan said.

[the statement "because without elections you tend to go other ways... to change the situation", suggests that Gunawan may be giving a double message ie Suharto is healthy, he will stay in power, there will be more repression, the elections are illegitimate so don't have illusions in them, its time to do something else... or is it just my imagination? - JB]

Army admits backing Suharto party

South China Morning Post - Monday March 3, 1997

Agencies in Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces chief has lent the military's backing to the ruling Golkar party, breaking decades of traditional neutrality.

General Feisal Tanjung, speaking in Jakarta in the lead up to the May 29 general elections, said "the big ABRI [armed forces] family" channels its "political aspirations" to Golkar.

General Tanjung's statement, made at a leadership meeting of the opposition United Development Party, was in response to members' questions about the military's relationship to Golkar.

News of his comments came as thousands of United Development Party supporters poured on to the streets of Yogyakarta in the Central Java province.

It was the party's second mass procession this year, despite a ruling prohibiting the country's three political parties - Golkar, the United Development Party and the Indonesian Democracy Party - from organising rallies in the run-up to the elections.

Indonesian law also stipulates that the armed forces must remain neutral in politics.

To guarantee this, members do not vote, and 75 military representatives are appointed to the 500-seat Parliament by the President.

Golkar, the party of President Suharto, has won every election since 1971.

Army chief General Raden Hartono was last year publicly criticised when he said for the first time that the Army and soldiers' families must throw their support behind Golkar.

Defence Minister Edi Sudrajat, a retired army general, in January warned the military to remain independent.

General Tanjung said groups related to the armed forces, such as organisations for veterans, soldiers' wives and children, and military affiliated youths were also supporters of Golkar.

He said the military must crack down on dissent to protect the nation's unity.

The armed forces "cannot sacrifice the nation's very important integrity and stability only to be tolerant towards concepts and actions which cannot be measured".

The military resorted to "limited repression" to maintain national stability, he said.

Minister of Home Affairs angry: Head of Catholic Church called in by

SiaR - February 28, 1997

Jakarta – Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja was called in for questioning last week by Bakorstanas [Badan Koordinasi Bantuan Pemantapan Stabilitas, National Coordinating body for the maintenance of Stability] over the pre-Easter apostolic letter by the Indonesian Bishops' Conference.

On Thursday February 27, the minister of home affairs, Yogie SM issued a statement that religious leaders "do not need" to propose that their members boycott the general election.

Bakorstanas has questioned the Cardinal over the background to the letter which according to the security forces "smells of politics". According to one of the pastors involved with the letter, it does not have a political motive but is only a part of the obligation of the catholic church to issue a moral note. He also said that many of the criticisms in the letter were a result of struggles by young critical pasters.

The letter also reflected on the July 27 riots in Jakarta and other recent riots. With regard to the economy, the letter stated that development must respect human dignity and solidarity with the poor. Issues of corruption, collusion and manipulation by the civil service who use their position to enrich themselves, their family, relatives and friends was also focused on.

Unlike letters in previous years, this letter also focused on the issue of East Timor begging for a shift away from the security approach as the key to resolving the issue.

But what was most surprising and which angered the minister of home affairs was the statement "If you really do not feel represented and are sure with all your heart that your aspirations are not channeled, we can understand that you voice your responsibility and freedom by not voting, and you are not sinning if you do not vote".

Traditionally, most members of the Catholic church vote for the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). But this choice is apparently no longer possible when the constitutional head of the PDI, Megawati Sukarnoputri has been overthrown by the government by engineering the Medan congress and being replaced by the "puppet" Suryadi.

Furthermore, a Jesuit paster Ignatius Sandyawan SJ has already been investigated by the police and will soon be tried by the Bekasi State Court, charged with protecting Peoples Democratic Party activists who are "accused" of being the masterminds behind the July 27 riots in Jakarta. Another paster, Romo Ismartono SJ has also been questioned by police in relation tot he July 27 riots.

Despite the reaction by the minister for home affairs Bakorstanas, the letter has already been read out in the churches and widely distributed in society as well as other religious organisations. In fact there is a possibility other religious institutions may suggest a similar letter.

The Indonesian catholic church has 10 million members. If they follow the letter that means that 10 million people will not vote. If this is added to by the disappointed middle class, millions of pro-Megawati supporters, the 30 million members of NU [Nahdlatul Ulama, Association of Muslim Scholars] who are disappointed with the military and ICMI's [Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslim Indonesia, Association of Muslim Intelectuals] Green Dragon Operation [an operation belived to have been launched by the military and ICMI to undermine Gus Dur's leadership and discredit NU - JB], along with students and the critical young, workers interested in politics; Golput [Golongan Putih, White movement, abstention from voting - JB] will become a real threat to the New Order regime.

[Abridged translation from SiaR - JB]

Indonesian civil servants 'bound by law to vote for Golkar party'

Straits Times - March 2, 1997

Jakarta – Home Affairs Minister Yogie Memed said Indonesia's six million civil servants had no choice but to vote for the ruling Golkar as they were bound by statutes which said that members had to channel their political aspirations through the party.

Indonesian Civil Servants Corps (Korpri) members were legally free to vote for any of the three political organisations, The Jakarta Post quoted Mr Memed as saying in a report on Friday.

Indonesia's general election is scheduled for May 29. Golkar has won every election since 1971.

The two other parties, the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP) and Nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), have criticised Golkar's policy of urging civil servants to vote only for it.

A recent survey by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences recommended that civil servants be allowed to join any political organisation and said that public service standards would suffer if civil servants remained too closely tied to Golkar. The government meanwhile also issued a mild rebuke to the Catholic Church over a statement telling followers they did not have to vote in the election.

A letter by the Indonesian Bishops' Conference, read out in many Catholic churches last week, said:

"If you really do not feel represented and are sure with all your heart that your aspirations are not channelled, we can understand that you voice your responsibility and freedom by not voting, and you are not sinning if you do not vote."

The government said it would take no action against the church.

Voting is not compulsory but the turnout in the 1992 elections attracted 96.3 million, or 89.6 per cent of registered voters. – Reuters, AFP.

92.4% of respondents say they will not vote

Suara Merdeka - 26 February, 1997

Malang – Of 1,000 respondents, 92.4% answered that they would abstain from voting [golput, golongan putih/white movement] in the coming general election in a pole conducted in Malang since be beginning of January.

The survey was given to 32 student senates and 30 youth organisations. Of the 1,000, 874 were returned with 92.4% wishing to golput, 5.4% would vote and the remainder, 2.2% not answering. The organisers of the survey said that they particularly wanted to know the views of young people particularly those who were critical.

The organiser of the survey, Fauzan Alfaz SH said wanted to provide input to the three political parties from the younger generation. "They are the critical generation who will later become leaders of the nation. If they are apathetic about the general elections, what do we want our nation to become" he asked.

[Abridged translation from Suara Merdeka - JB]

President: If the people want it, i shall resign

Kompas - 1 March, 1997

Solo – President Soeharto brought forward, "If the House of Representatives (DPR) indeed considers that I am incompetent, yes, please "withdraw" me, namely through an Extraordinary Session of the Peoples Consultative Congress (MPR)."

"I have no objections to "step down" from my office as President, I shall not maintain the function which I have executed all this time. Provided that all is done in a consitutional way. If it violating the law I shall really pummel (tak'gebug)," said the President bluntly, even interspersed with laughter, at the occasion of his meeting with the Moslem pelgrims after inaugurating the Donohudan Haj Dormitories at Boyolali, Central Java, Friday (28/2).

Besides inaugurating the Haj Embarkation located six kilometer from Solo's Adisumarno Airport, the President simultaneously inaugurated the extension of the Regional Public Hospital Dr Moewardi in Solo.

Accompanied by the Minister of Religious Affairs, the Minister of Health, and the Governor of Central Java, President Soeharto described the mechanism of national leadership as it is regulated in the 1945 Constitution. He commented on the statement of the IInd Rector's Assistant of the Institute of the Koran Science in Wonosobo, Drs Muchatab Hamzah in the interview.

The President stressed the importance of the coming 1997 General Elections, because the general elections which are held each five years forms an opportunity for the people to renew their leaders. "So if you don't participate, it is your own fault. Don't blame others. For instance who choose to become the blanc group (golput), then invite others, that is their own fault, they will themselves loose," he said.

Through the general elections is expected that the people will use its right to choose its representatives to implement the people's sovereignty. And through the MPR the Broad Outlines of the Nation's Direction (GBHN) will be determined as the materialization of the people's sovereignty.

"Whatever is decided, it is on behalf of the people, therefore the general elections must be implemented rightly and in the best way," said the President.

No objections

The President continued, after determining the GBHN, the following task of the MPR is to choose the President as holder of the Mandate. Viewed from the mecdhanism of national leadership as is regulated in the 1945 Conmstitution, he said, "The President only implements what has been resolved by the people which is compiled in the MPR."

"So it is impossible that the President does all kinds of unnecessary things (neko-neko). If neko-neko he can be withdrawn and than replaced through an Extraordinary Session of the MPR," said President Soeharto.

He also said that he never made a problem out of the General Elections. As mandate holder who implemented and carried out the people's trust, he only carried out what was instructed and stipulated in the GBHN.

"If in this implementation I am countered by the DPR, please go ahead. And if I indeed am considered incompetent, please withdraw me via an Extraordinary Session of the MPR," the President continued.

Laughing he said, "I have totally no objections and will not maintain. If the people want Pak Harto to 'step down', thank you, I shall receive it well. For the sake of the people and our Constitution."

Consciousness of religion

In his welcoming speech the Head of State said that the increase of the society's income brought an important influence for the rate of religious consciousness. "There is at present the view that a society which is increasing in prosperity will set aside religion from individual life and from the society. Such a view will probably never happen in our country, because our nation has a strong religious feeling," he said.

The President stressed that the increase of religious consciousness could increase moral consciousness of the society. He said, "A good character as the fruit of religious experience in the society will urge the growth of discipline, the will to work hard, to live economically, to be modest in intercourse with the neighbour. The growth of such moral awareness is very important for the development of our nation."

At the interview the President reminded the Moslem scholars (alim ulama) about the existence of groups in the society which still did not accept the Pancasila and 1945 Constitution. "They always use the situation to create instability. Meanwhile national stability is a conditio sine qua non for national development which expects growth and equal spread," he said.

He added, "Recently there are sounds about changing the Pancasila state. If we don't agree (with those wishes), yes, we have to face it without doubt."

The inauguration ceremony of the Donohudan Haj Dormitory, about 10 km West of Solo yesterday was splendid with configurations on the platform and the Soneta Group Malayan Orchestra directly conducted by Rhoma Irama. The Soneta Group in white robes and turbans, supported by 350 tambourine players sang Talaal Badru and Haji songs.

Erasing poverty At the beginning of the interview President Soeharto described the blessing of those who performed the haj pilgrimage or the pilgrimage not during the haj season (umroh). However, said the President, there is actually a greater blessing if they also think about the Fatherland in the efforts to erase poverty.

"There are many ways for blessings. Among others by using money in possession to erase poverty. The blessing will be greater than only using the money as state's foreign exchange to go on pilgrimage," he said.

The President disclosed that there are at the moment still 11 percent of the 200 million Indonesian inhabitants who live in poverty. To erase poverty the Government performed either the Presidential Instruction Program for Backward Villages (IDT) or the non-IDT, the People's Welfare (Kesra) and Kukesra.

He also spoke about the fund collected through Haj Brotherhood Institute, from a donnation of Rp 10,000 per pilgrim. This fund was among others used to help poor pilgrims and to erase poverty.

Of the Haj Brotherhood fund has at the moment been collected Rp 75 billion - Rp 100 billion at the bank as perpetual fund. Said fund is however neither state's possession nor state's revenue. The management should therefore be transparent to prevent suspicion.(*)

Suharto: I'll clobber anyone who tries to unseat me unlawfully

Straits Times - March 2, 1997

Susan Sim, Jakarta – President Suharto, offering to resign if it was the will of the people, has vowed to "clobber" anyone who tries to force him out of office by unconstitutional means.

"If the people want Pak Harto to step down, thank you, I shall receive it well. For the sake of the people and our Constitution, I will accept the decision," local papers yesterday quoted him as saying.

But, he warned, if they tried to seize power unlawfully, he would, as he had vowed to previously, "clobber them because they are violating the Constitution".

The Kompas daily reported that he laughed as he made the off-the-cuff remarks at a meeting with Muslim pilgrims preparing for the Haj on Friday. "If the House of Representatives indeed considers that I am incompetent, yes, please 'withdraw' me, namely through an extraordinary session of the People's Consultative Assembly," he said.

"I have no objections to 'stepping down'. I shall not retain the function which I have executed all this time. Provided that all is done in a constitutional way."

And repeating the word gebuk, the Indonesian word for clobber, which he first used in 1989 during a national debate on national succession, the 75-year-old leader added: "If I hear anyone is violating the law, I will clobber them really hard. I won't hesitate to take action against them."

He did not say who he thought might try to unseat him. But on Friday, he warned, as he has in recent weeks as unrest rocked Java and West Kalimantan, that certain groups who refused to accept the Constitution and Pancasila state ideology were trying to sow instability.

In 1989, when he first threatened to gebuk anyone who tried to seize power by force, analysts thought he was issuing a blunt warning to the army, whose parliamentary representatives had opposed his nominee for the vice-presidency in March 1988.

His comments now could ignite speculation as to his plans for his succession. In recent weeks, Jakarta has been abuzz with talk that he was very angry with and saddened by recent criticisms of his New Order government.

He was also said to be worried that recent riots would undermine the development path he had launched.

Analysts blamed widening social and economic gaps for the riots, which have claimed hundreds of lives in the last few months.

Urging everyone to vote in the coming May general election, Mr Suharto said it was their chance to influence national policies.

They would have only themselves to blame if they did not vote, he added, commenting indirectly on a recent call by the Catholic Church to followers to heed their conscience and not vote if they did not feel that their aspirations would be met.

There is persistent talk that Mr Suharto, who has ruled for 30 years and has not said if he would run for a seventh term, will in fact do so next March.

Human rights

Jakarta denies UN plans to open human rights office in Indonesia

Agence France Presse - March 6, 1997

A foreign ministry official has dismissed a report that the UN High Commission for Human Rights is to open an office in Jakarta to monitor the situation in East Timor, a report said Friday. "There are not enough grounds for the commissioner to place a representative in Jakarta to monitor the human rights situation in East Timor, " director for international organization Hassan Wirayuda was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ayala Lasso, said in Geneva on Wednesday that he hoped there would soon be an agreement that would allow a representative office in Jakarta for Indonesia and East Timor. He said Indonesia had promised to open a human rights office in Jakarta when he visited the country in December 1995. Jakarta had also made a new proposal on the matter two weeks ago, he added.

Wirayuda, who could not be reached for confirmation Friday, was quoted by the daily as denying the promise.

He said that a memorandum of intent on technical cooperation between the Indonesian government and the UN commission for human rights was signed in October 1994 but it only entailed a broad cooperation in human rights development and awareness in Indonesia.

The commission last year presented the draft of the memorandum but Wirayuda said its content had "veered away" from technical cooperation to human rights monitoring.

"We have observed since last year a tendency to shift away from the technical cooperation aspects," Wirayuda said. He speculated that Lasso's office may have been under pressure from western countries "to head in that direction."

Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony of East Timor in 1975 and declared it its 27th province the following year. The United Nations still views Lisbon as the administrator of the territory.

Bintang and PUDI leaders complain to Human Rights Commission

Media Indonesia - February 25, 1997

Jakarta – The head of the Indonesian United Democratic Party (PUDI), Sri Bintang Pamungkas, along with PUDI leaders have gone to the National Human Rights Commission to lodge a complaint against armed forces chief General TNI Feisal who they consider discredited PUDI.

They also complained the actions of the Vice Consul of Indonesian Consulate General in Berlin, who created problems with the extension of Iwan Setiabudi's passport, an Indonesian student in Berlin who had previously appeared as a defense witness in Bintang's trial in Jakarta. The delegation consisted of Bintang, the Secretary General of PUDI, Saleh Abdullah, Yulius Usman and others. They were received by the secretary general of the commission, Baharuddin Lopa.

Usman said Tanjung's statements were quoted in the Jakarta daily Kompas on Feb 22 titled: "Opposition movement linked with riots". The article said that PUDI along with MARI (Mejelis Rakyat Indonesia, Indonesian Peoples Council and PRD (Partai Rakyat Demokratik, Peoples Democratic Party) made up sections of the opposition movement who tended to be more political. Their activities could not be separated from a number of riots and disturbances.

"Tanjung's statement has no basis at all and goes beyond his authority as a military commands. A military person, in a democratic state which is democratic and reject militarism, should only speak with regard to the tasks and function of defending the nation", said Usman.

Bintang also complained about the extension of Iwan's passport saying "The grounds were that Iwan had appeared as a defense witness in my case not long ago. As a result the extension has been "pocketed" [not processed - JB] since February 3. He added that the process was also irregular: "Iwan, was interrogated and pressured by the authorities. All of this he said was carried out on orders from Jakarta". He said that "the Vice Council went too far and considered Iwan an enemy of Indonesia...". Bintang has also complained to the Indonesian consulate in Bonn.

Lop said the commission would take the issue seriously and investigate.

International relations

Gov't urges House to ratify nuclear weapon-free zone treaty

Antara News - February 25, 1997

Jakarta – The government has urged the House of Representatives to ratify immediately the Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone in Southeast Asia (NWFZ-SEA) treaty.

"Indonesia hopes to become the seventh country after Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Vietnam to ratify the treaty so it could be applied in July," Foreign Minister Ali Alatas told House Commission I on foreign affairs and information Monday.

Alatas said Indonesia's ratification of the treaty is a key point in implementing the treaty.

The treaty, adopted by leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during their 1995 summit in Bangkok, could not be implemented unless it is ratified by seven countries in the Southeast Asian region.

"Indonesia and the other countries in the region are determined to make Southeast Asia a nuclear-free zone," he said.

Alatas also said the treaty realizes one of the goals of Southeast Asian countries, which is to materialize the Zone of Peace, Free and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) declared several years ago.

He also stressed that Indonesia does not want to miss becoming one of the seven Southeast Asian nations to ratify the treaty, since the eighth will not be a deciding country.

Suharto won't help U.S. build democracy in Burma

American Reporter - 27 February, 1997

Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – It was a bright and sunny day in Jakarta, but that didn't help cheer up American diplomats William Brown and Stanley Roth as they emerged from a critical meeting with President Suharto.

Brown, the U.S. Special Envoy on Burma, was tight lipped about the talks, whose main agenda is to persuade Suharto to pressure Burma to liberalize. The country is a pariah state due to its military junta's notorious human rights record.

"We've had a very interesting, fruitful and productive conversation with the president of Indonesia," Brown told reporters before slipping into an awaiting car on June 14, 1996.

Both Brown and Roth, a security expert on Asia, were on a six-country tour to lobby the governments of Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to pressure the Burmese junta to hand over power to the democratically-elected National League of Democracy (NLD).

An aide to Suharto, Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, however, told journalists separately that Suharto had told his American visitors that Indonesia will maintain its policy of "constructive engagement" with Burma.

"Our position is clear. ASEAN's position on Myanmar has not changed from what it calls the constructive approach to pull Myanmar out of isolation," Alatas added, indicating that the diplomats' approaches had fallen on deaf ears.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

It is widely known that the Western world and ASEAN have been long been at odds about how to deal with the Burmese junta. The United States and European countries favor a tough stand against Burma, including political isolation and economic sanctions.

But ASEAN, which strictly adheres to a policy of non-interference in neighbors' domestic affairs, has initiated a "constructive dialogue" with Burma, apparently believing that greater exposure to the outside world would help bring about change.

The West does not accept such reasoning. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once even described SLORC – the acronym for Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council – as "an ugly acronym for an ugly government."

Albright bluntly said that if things get uglier for NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whom she met in 1995, the U.S. may impose sanctions on Burma, a move that may worsen relations with ASEAN, which wants to EXTEND membership to Rangoon in July.

But Suharto is obviously confident that ASEAN need not bow to West ern pressure on the issue. ASEAN is much stronger now than a decade ago during the Cold War period. He moved further and boldly went to Burma in a landmark visit last week.

A red carpet, 21-gun salute, flag-waving children, lavish dinner and other first class treatment welcomed Suharto to Rangoon when he first visited in 1974.

Indonesian state-owned TVRI network closely covered the visit, broadcasting the wide-ranging activities of the Indonesian delegation from their arrival at the Rangoon airport to Suharto's meeting with SLORC chairman Gen. Tan Shwe.

Suharto openly told his Burmese hosts that he fully supports Burma's entry into ASEAN and repeated his longstanding assertion that Indonesia would not meddle the internal problem of other countries.

He also led his delegation to witness the signing of a memorandum between Citra Lamtoro Gung, a business group controlled by his eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings.

Suharto apparently ignored Western objections to the visit. "It obviously baffled people like Brown," said an observer, describing that the U.S. government should assign more heavyweight diplomats who know ASEAN really well to renegotiate the issue.

Suharto also ignored a call made by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, who has repeatedly urged ASEAN not to invest in Burma and to refrain from constructive engagement with Rangoon until the SLORC's human rights record improves.

As if expecting Western pressure, a commentary in the Burmese language press accused "greedy and power hungry" people in the opposition of trying to disrupt the Indonesian visit and thereby sabotage Burma's entry into ASEAN.

The opposition, said the commentary, wanted to keep Burma out of the mainstream and its people in poverty. But despite pressure from such people and from the Western world, ASEAN "stuck to its determination" to bring Burma into the regional grouping, the commentary said, adding that ASEAN countries understood Burma was striving for "disciplined democracy" and that "Burma will become a member of ASEAN very soon."

ASEAN: Clash With U.S.?

Southeast Asian watcher Dewi Fortuna Anwar of the Jakarta-based National Institute of Science (LIPI) said that it is "a little bit pretentious for a U.S. envoy to influence someone who has been in power for more than 30 years."

Suharto, the undisputed ruler of Indonesia, rose to power in 1965 following an abortive coup attempt blamed on communists. He then consolidated his power with the full support of the army and led Indonesia from bankruptcy toward becoming one of the successful emerging economies of the Asian Pacific.

But political scientist George Junus Aditjondro said the reason behind the visit is not only politics but also business. Conglomerates run by the Suharto's, such as Citra Lamtoro Gung, are stepping into Burma to fill a vacuum left by Western companies driven away by threats of boycott.

"With many companies pulling out of Burma, it will create less competition for the companies owned by the ruling elite," said Aditjondro, an Indonesian dissident now living in self-exile in Newcastle, Australia.

Aditjondro listed more than a dozen companies operating in Burma that are controlled by the children and relatives of Suharto and their Burmese counterparts.

Indonesia has made investments in Burma totaling 200 million dollars in cigarette manufacturing, trading and logging since the SLORC took power in 1988. An Indonesian company controlled by a relative of Suharto is now constructing the biggest cement factory in Rangoon.

The Indonesian investment, however, is much smaller than those of France, Singapore, Japan, the United States and even Malaysia, which has built gambling casinos in Rangoon. Anwar said other ASEAN countries are more aggressive about penetrating the market in Burma as well as in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Laos and Cambodia are also to join ASEAN in July.

Both of them, however, agreed that the political agenda of the military rulers in Burma and Indonesia is highly similar. Both countries were declared independent after the World War II under the leadership of nationalist figures like Sukarno, Mohammad Hatta, Sutan Syahrir in Indonesia and Aung San and U Nu in Burma.

According to Anwar, whose institute often helps shape government policy, both Indonesia and Burma tried to implement Western-style parliamentary democracy in their early days, and that ir resulted in instability and secessionist movements in the remote areas of their countries.

Burmese army generals seized power in 1962 under Gen Ne Win, who opted for socialism to develop the country. Indonesian generals, though, chose the path of capitalism when they backed Gen. Suharto to develop Indonesia.

The military failed in Burma but succeeded in Indonesia. Now the Burmese generals want to change their strategy and import the lessons learned by Indonesia. Anwar even predicted that Indonesia would be the "blueprint" for the SLORC to develop the economy of Burma and to gradually decrease the role of the military, just as the Indonesian generals do.

"At the moment, compared to Indonesia, the Burmese military is much more involved in politics. They have no Dwifungsi to legitimize their involvement," said Anwar, referring to the Indonesian military doctrine which legitimizes the involvement of the military in politics and military affairs.

She also said that the Indonesian generals initially did not want to seize power, "They could if they want in the 1950's. They did not do it until they had to do it, in 1965," she added, referring to the political turbulence here of 1952 and 1957.

But the Indonesian military's involvement in politics is "legislative pretension," or at best, according to Anwar, is a "semi-constitutional arrangement" not based on the Indonesian constitution but on parliamentary resolutions.

"The military here has never gunned down the protesting students," she said, explaining that the SLORC does not bother to engage in harsh treatment of their middle class opponents and intellectuals.

She added that some Indonesian officers dislike the idea of comparing themselves to the Burmese generals. "They feel they are more civilized than the brutal Burmese officers," she said.

Suharto, perhaps, did not bring the blueprint to Burma himself, but the visit itself was the blueprint. Suharto, as always, designed a perfect strategy that does not openly confront his opponents but also gains support from his opponent's enemy.

[Andreas Harsono is a freelance journalist based in Jakarta.]

Labour issues

Thousands go on strike in Tangerang and Bogor

Media Indonesia - March 4, 1997

Tangerang – Strikes in Tangerang and Bogor continue. In Tangerang three companies were paralyzed after workers struck demanding better wages and conditions. Thousands of public transport drivers have also gone on strike.

In Bogor, thousands of workers went on strike at PT Timur Jaya Prestasi (TJP) and PT Chungsan Mitra Internasional.

PT Utritama workers demanded to be paid the minimum wage, insurance (Jamsostek), mensuration, pregnancy and annual leave. Workers had made the demands to management many times in the past and went on strike because they were not fulfilled.

PT Fajar Karton also demanded Jamsostek: "Often, if workers have and accident they must treat themselves. When we make a claim, it is rejected by the company" said Mamuri. PT Bentraco Tama workers also demanded to be paid the minimum wage. "The new minimum wage was enacted on April 1, but we are still being paid 4,000 Rupiah" explained Mahmudin. In Bogor, PT Chungsan Mitra Internasional (CMI) and PT Timur Jaya Prestasi (TJP) workers demanded food and transport allowance.

Although the 1,300 PT CMI strike has been going for one week and the PT Timur Jaya Prestasi two days, there is still no indication that the companies will agree to their demands.

[Abridged translation from Media Indonesia - JB]

ILO seeks to spur discussion on child labor

Reuters - February 25, 1997

Amsterdam – International experts begin a two-day conference in Amsterdam Wednesday to consider how to eradicate the most exploitative forms of child labor such as child prostitution, debt bondage and slavery.

The International Labor Organization (ILO), which is co-hosting the conference with the Dutch government, estimates that more than 250 million children around the world are working full-time, many under extremely hazardous conditions.

Their plight will be discussed in Amsterdam by some 200 government ministers, labor union leaders, officials of employer organizations and representatives of working children.

The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) says most, but by no means all, working children live in developing countries.

In India alone, Labor Ministry officials say some 18 million children are at work rather than at school, while children's rights activists put the figure at around 55 million.

Unicef estimates that in Africa one child in three works and in Latin America one in five.

Several affected countries have recently been stirred to action by growing international outrage.

In December, India said it had taken 150,000 child laborers out of hazardous industries under a plan to eliminate children from such jobs by 2002.

Bangladesh's garment industry, faced with U.S. import restrictions, now also says it is free of child labor.

And Feb. 14, the ILO, child welfare advocates and sporting goods manufacturers announced a plan to end the use of child labor in making soccer balls in Pakistan.

Concerted action on child labor has been complicated by the political dimension of the debate.

Developing nations are suspicious of Western interference in the area of workers' rights, fearing this will undermine their main advantage in world trade – cheap labor.

Some contend Western nations are using the issue to disguise nascent protectionism and to gain unfair trade advantages. Nonetheless, developing countries will be well represented in Amsterdam, with the Labor ministers of India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Thailand, Tanzania and Egypt all due to attend.

Megawati/PDI

Megawati likely to become a suspect

Media Indonesia - 4 March, 1997 (Abridged)

Megawati Sukarnoputri was interrogated for the second time Tuesday with regard to the celebration of the 24th anniversary of the PDI which took place at her home. South Jakarta chief of police said afterwards that it was likely she would become a suspect. (Until now she has been questioned as a 'witness'.)

She arrived at the police station with her lawyers, while there were thousands of people outside the building to greet her, shouting slogans of support when she arrived.

She was questioned this time for one and a half hours. (On the previous occasion, the questioning lasted for five hours.)

'This time, matters raised earlier were gone into again and she was also asked about the contents of her political speeches,' her lawyer R.O. Tambunan told the press.

She was also asked whether members of the diplomatic corps were invited. Megawati said this was what usually happened but she refused to mention the names of diplomats who came as she said they were protected by diplomatic immunity.

The police also asked about who drafted her speeches and what they contained, Tambunan said.

The police officer in charge of the interrogation said she might soon be treated as a suspect because she hosted the meeting at her home and was the person responsible for that political gathering. He said it was regrettable that a political leader regarded till now as a competent woman had committed a number of breaches of the law, including gathering people in her home with first asking for a permit.

After Megawati left the police station and returned home, the thousands of supporters made their own way in a variety of means of transport to her home, causing huge traffic jams on the way.

Megawati faces rally questions

Reuters - March 4, 1997

Jakarta – Indonesian police on Monday completed questioning of ousted minority party leader Megawati Sukarnoputri over a political rally at her home in January.

Ms Megawati, daughter of late founding president Sukarno, was questioned at the South Jakarta Police Headquarters for about 11/2 hours.

It was the second time she had been questioned about the meeting, which police said was illegal because authorities were not informed in advance.

"The questioning was only for 11/2 hours. It is now finished," lawyer R O Tambunan said.

Hundreds of supporters camped outside the headquarters for the duration and chanted "Megawati will win" when she emerged.

Riot police, wearing wearing protective pads on their torsos and shins for the first time, stood guard but there was no violence.

Ms Megawati was ousted as leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) by a government-supported rival in June.

A police-backed raid on PDI headquarters sparked riots in Jakarta on 27 July. At least five people died in the riots.

Riots, social unrest

Six killed in second day of Irian Jaya tribal clashes

Straits Times - March 8, 1997

Jakarta – At least six people had been killed as tribal clashes in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya entered a second day yesterday, local sources said.

"War broke out again this morning, fiercer than yesterday, and three people have already been killed, shot by arrows," said Mr Tom Beanal, head of the Institute for the Amungme Society from Timika, in Irian Jaya.

He said the clashes happened in Kwamki Lama, some 5 km north of Timika, a mining town in central Irian Jaya.

The violence involved more than 1,000 people, many armed with bows and arrows, spears, clubs and machetes, he said.

He added that he had confirmation that three people were killed on Thursday, although earlier reports had said four people died. Another three people were killed yesterday, he said.

The conflict is between members of four tribes in an area where stone age cultures still prevail alongside the high-tech mining operations of the Freeport gold and copper mines near Timika.

Mr Beanal and another resident said police and soldiers were near the area of the clash but had not intervened.

The Timika police could not be reached for comment immediately.

Mr Beanal has said the fight was sparked by a drunkard who harassed and demanded money from a village head on Wednesday. The village head was beaten when he could not give any money.

Members of the Damal and Amungme tribe, angered by the report, pelted the house of the drunkard on Thursday morning and a young man trying to calm the conflict was killed, angering the Nduga and Dhani Laga tribes, Mr Beanal said.

The series of tribal clashes is the second in the Timika area this year. In January, clashes between hundreds of villagers from two tribes – the Utukini and the Banti – left six people dead and scores injured.

The January incident allegedly started over a soured love affair between members of the two tribes.

Timika is the site of the giant Freeport Indonesia gold and copper mines, a subsidiary of US-based Freeport McMoRan. It covers an area of 26,400 sq km.

The area has been the site of frequent unrest in recent years, often involving clashes between the indigenous communities and the authorities or Freeport workers. – AFP.

Commander general of special troop commandoes: There is a group which

Kompas - 27 February, 1997

Jakarta – The Commander General of Special Troop Commandoes (Danjen Kopassus) Major General Prabowo Subianto stated that all strata of the society at the country should increase vigilance towards a group which intentionally wants to create instability. This group tries to create riots because it has its own political interests.

This was said by Prabowo answering reporters after receiving support in form of two cars and sport equipment from the Minister of Youth and Sport Hayono Isman on Wednesday (26/2) at Plaza Graha Pemuda Jakarta. Said aid was intended for the Young Cenderawasih (bird of Paradise) Guard of Irian Jaya and the Paksi (a bird) Guard of East Timor which form two youth organizations guided by the Kopassus.

According to Prabowo, the recent riots show a strong indication that there are indeed groups which intentionally ignite and cause those riots. "There is a group with other intentions which indeed want to create khaos with certain political aims and interests. All parties must be on the alert for this," he said.

Without further clarifying the efforts of said groups, Prabowo stated that it has to be admitted that there are indeed subjective conditions which are indeed excesses of development. "But we have to admit also that there are successes in various fields. It are these excesses which mostly are used to create riots," he said.

As was before reported, (Kompas, 25/2), the Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander, General Feisal Tanjung already clarified that the riots which recently happened in various regions in Indonesia were moved by third parties. These third parties which are now investigated by the ABRI ignited the riots which were accompanied by destructions.

Commenting on the statement of Vice President Try Sutrisno concerning the third parties which used the potential of the youth to negative and destructive actions, Prabowo said that the "Kopassus as part of the ABRI will work hard to cooperate with all parties which are pro the Red and White so that the younger generation will not easily be influenced and incited by elements which want to create khaos and divide our nation," he said.

This two star general also said that the Kopassus has at the moment much personnel with reliable skills which can be used to guide the younger generation. "The forms of guidances which we all these times have given besides provisions for the nature loving younger generation and students, are also provisions to the younger generations which are very close with issues of disintegration, either at Irian Jaya or East Timor, as a part of the territorial operation of Kopassus," he explained.

Not involved

Answering a question of Kompas about the efforts of certain parties to discredit the existence of the Paksi Guard of East Timor which were involved in the mass riot at the Ambeno Regency (300 km from the city of Dili). there were according to Prabowo no Paksi Guards involved.

As was reported before (Kompas 25/2) the riots in Ambeno caused a loss of around Rp 2 billion. Due to the riots a market complete with occupied shops were burnt to the ground, 51 houses were burnt, 61 were heavily damaged and 19 others lightly damaged with 10 persons lightly wounded and one dead. Up to this moment there are still 329 citizens who have lost all their possessions, living in critical conditions and needing support.

"I think it is clear. The youth which we nurtured in the Paksi Guard are pro Red and White youth. Therefore those who don't like this group will slander the Paksi Guard and attack their presence," he said.

Prabowo also said that what all these times was done by the Kopassus either to the East Timor Paksi Guard or the Irian Jaya Cenderawasih Guard was no military education or training. "What we give is exactly training of national perceptions, discipline and skills which are channelled through the existing Work Training Centers," he said.

"At the moment many of them have succeeded to build small enterprises in the villages where they come from. I think that the result of Kopassus guidance for these youth is very positive and something to be proud of," he added.

While in answering the questions of reporters about the preparedness of Kopassus in safeguarding the coming General Elections of 1997, Prabowo stated,"The Kopassus as a part of ABRI is also responsible for safeguarding the General Elections. I think there is no problem and hopefully there will be no problem," he said. (*)

Vice President Try Sutrisno: Recent riot actions exploited the youth

Kompas - 26 February, 1997

Vice President Try Sutrisno said that the majority of various recent riot actions, which were carried out by using the potential of the youth towards negative and destructive actions, should be responded to by introspection regarding the guidance and development of the potential of the youth in its entirety.

"These facts clearly cause concern. We must direct the potential of our youth to positive and constructive attitudes and acts," this was put forward by the Vice President at the official opening of the National Coordination Meeting on Youth and Sports, and the National Sports Conference in the Merdeka Selatan Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday yesterday (25/2).

Therefore, continued the Vice President, organizations for the guidance of the young generation, such as KNPI, OSIS, Neighborhood Youth Associations, the Scouts Movement, Student Senates and various other youth organizations, should be encouraged to deepen insight in the soul and spirit of the Youth's Oath. "Similarly open dialogue should be developed, concerning unity and union of the nation which was also initiated by the young people of that era," affirmed the Vice President.

Race

The Vice President pointed out that in the context of developing this nation and country, the young people of present-day Indonesia must race against the youth of other nations which have progressed earlier, to be able to live on a par with other nations.

To face that kind of future, explained the Vice President, the youth of Indonesia must be able to enhance their quality in its entirety. "They must be able to master science and technology, must strengthen their spirit of nationalism, must be able to reinforce the unity and union of the nation, must be able to institute discipline, and must acculturate hard work," said the Vice President.

According to the Vice President, the youth must be directed to be able to recognize and to be inspired by their identity as a people with the Pancasila philosophy, and having a specifically Indonesian character. "Therefore, besides mastering science and technology, this must be supported by noble morals or character," emphasized the Vice President.

In parallel with that, continued the Vice President, the guidance of youth must pay attention to the aspect of being inspired by the concept and spirit of nationalism, and the aspect of physical health and preparedness.

To those who have duties and dedicate themselves in the field of youth and sports, the Vice President requested to design a correct system of guidance. "Among other things by optimizing coordination and cooperation with various agencies, and parties which are involved in the problems of guiding youth and sports. Not only from the aspect of planning, but also in implementation," said the Vice President.

Not a few simple problems have their solutions delayed or even become complex, merely because of lack of coordination. Weakness in coordination also can cause solution of a problem to become compartmentalized according to respective interests, causing resolution to become more difficult," thus continued the Vice President.

Enthuse sports

Concerning sports, the Vice President emphasized among other things that sports matches must continue to be enthused, both in the environments of schools, tertiary education institutes, sports organizations as well as in the community. He stressed that sports is a facility to enhance human resources, and must therefore be disseminated among the community.

In connection with heightening sports performance, stressed the Vice President, the management of achievement sports must be further stabilized. "The desired targets should be clear and understood by all involved parties," said the Vice President.

The opening ceremony yesterday was among others attended by the Minister of Population/National Family Planning Coordination Board Head Haryono Suyono, Minister of Social Affairs Inten Soeweno, Minister of Religion Tarmizi Taher, General Chairman of the Indonesian National Sports Committee Wismoyo Arismunandar and representatives of sports and youth organizations. The National Coordination Meeting on Youth and Sports will take place in Jakarta from 25 to 27 February 1977. (*)

Bintang denies PUDI responsible for unrest

Jakarta Post - 25 February, 1997

Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI) denied yesterday charges made by Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung last week that it was behind recent unrest.

PUDI chairman Sri Bintang Pamungkas said his organization shunned violence although it adopted a "noncooperative" policy toward "people who refuse political reform".

"Besides, issues related to socioeconomic disparity and injustices had often been raised by people and community leaders long before PUDI came into existence," he said in a statement.

Feisal told journalists in Bandung last week that PUDI the unrecognized Democratic People's Party and Indonesian People's Council doubted the sanctity of the state ideology Pancasila.

The organizations, according to Feisal, distorted historical facts about the 1965 abortive coup and exaggerated discrepancies in government development programs and socioeconomic disparity.

Bintang, 51, was convicted last year of defaming President Soeharto in speeches he gave during a visit to Germany in 1995. The Jakarta High Court rejected his appeal and upheld the 34-month sentence handed out by the district court. He has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.

Bintang said the latest incidents of mob violence in the provinces were triggered by government policies which he said did not favor the masses. As for Feisal's charges that the three above "parties" insisted on seeking the abolition of the five political laws Bintang said the accusation was not true either.

Bintang said PUDI was not interested in proposing the axing of the laws because it did not believe the relevant institutions would accommodate his wishes. (01)

People stirring up unrest to keep investors away: Gen Try

Straits Times - March 5, 1997

Jakarta – Indonesian Vice-President Try Sutrisno has warned Catholic Students' Association activists against being provoked by campaigns aimed at discrediting the government and stirring up political chaos.

He said people were out to create a false impression that the situation in Indonesia was such that the country was not an ideal location in which to do business because mass violence was so widespread.

"These people are trying to achieve an ideal Indonesia according to their own concepts. They are busy socialising it," he said, as quoted by association chief Ishidorus Riza, reported the Jakarta Post yesterday.

The association's leaders met Gen Try to air their concerns over present problems, including recent ethnic and religious riots in several places.

The Vice-President called on the public to be wary of political moves intended to discredit the government for certain minorities' political ends.

According to Mr Ishidorus, Gen Try shared the students' concern over certain groups' campaign for a "proportional" doctrine, which demanded that the majority should play a majority role in politics and the economy.

"This principle is incompatible with the Indonesian spirit, which shuns domination by the majority and tyranny by the minority," he said.

In response to the students' concern that government and military figures had blamed recent riots on anonymous third parties, he said that the authorities had identified the "masterminds".

The naming of anonymous third parties, Mr. Ishidorus said, had created public tension because it led people to speculate who the culprits might be.

Major riots have erupted in several provinces. In Situbondo, Tasikmalaya, both in Java, the main targets have been Christian and Chinese properties, including churches, temples, shops and factories.

In West Kalimantan, the bloody clashes involved the indigenous Dayaks and migrants from Madura. On Feb 21, people in the East Timorese town of Ambeno went on a rampage, killing a Bugis trader, burning 80 houses and forcing more than 350 migrants to flee.

1,200 go missing in ethnic warfare

Sydney Morning Herald - March 5, 1997

Louise Williams, Jakarta – Indonesia is facing a "crisis of national unity", with up to 1,200 people missing following three months of ethnic fighting in West Kalimantan, according to a recent fact-finding mission.

The Republika daily yesterday released the results of the investigation by the Indonesian Youth Forum, which documented almost 500 homes destroyed along one 70-kilometre stretch of highway north of the provincial capital of Pontianak. The group said about 1,200 people were still missing from the scene of the worst fighting between indigenous Dayak tribes and Muslim migrant workers from the eastern Indonesian island of Madura.

A new peace ceremony was held yesterday between Maduran and Dayak leaders following another clash over the weekend which left up to 17 people dead. However, many local community leaders believe the conflict will continue, particularly in remote areas with few soldiers to protect the Maduran migrants.

The Indonesian Government has said that the conflict is over and has imposed restrictions on journalists travelling in the province and on publication of details of fighting in the local press in an attempt to prevent violence in other regions where different ethnic and religious groups live side by side.

Military sources put the death toll at between 200 and 300, with an unknown number missing.

The conflict was originally sparked by a local dispute but quickly spread across the province, with tribal Dayak leaders vowing to expel all Madurans from their lands. The Dayaks have resorted to head-hunting ceremonies in their campaign to destroy Maduran communities and witnesses have reported cannibalism and the ritual drinking of blood.

"We are stressing that these people are missing," the forum's spokesman, Mr Leopold Sudaryono, said. "It is very difficult to say whether they were killed or whether they ran away.

"But the situation is very frightening. There is a crisis of national unity in Indonesia. We concluded that law enforcement is not functioning effectively in West Kalimantan because this conflict began with a simple criminal case but led to an ethnic war."

The Dayaks first rioted over the failure of local police to prosecute a Maduran man accused of raping a Dayak woman. The Dayak people later killed the Maduran man, sparking retaliatory attacks which, in turn, sparked the province-wide conflict. The conflict has exposed the deep animosity between the indigenous Dayaks and the Madurans, who were first brought to Kalimantan to build roads to open up the dense tropical rainforests which the Dayaks consider sacred.

The forum also concluded that the people of West Kalimantan have more faith in adat, their own traditional tribal laws, than in the national police and justice system. The Dayaks have complained that migrant workers receive preferential treatment by local officials and are rarely prosecuted for breaking the law. The conflict is being waged using traditional rules: a life for a life. An offence against an individual is an offence against the entire tribe.

Witnesses in Pontianak have reported hundreds of Madurans leaving the province by boat as well as refugees still holed up in the dense tropical jungles after fleeing attacks on their homes.

This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited.

Political trials

Pakpahan refuses to appear in court

Kompas - March 8, 1997

The head of SBSI (Serikat Buruh Sejahtra Indonesia, Indonesian Trade Union for Prosperity) Muchtar Pakpahan refused to appear at the South Jakarta State Court on Thursday (6/3) because he was suffering from vertigo.

Witnesses from the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) Budiman Sudjatmiko and Garda Sembiring also did not appear in court.

The presiding judge Djazuli P Sudibyo had only opened the proceedings for 10 minutes – which had already been delayed 3 hours – after asking for confirmation of Pakpahan's non-appearance saying "This trial will be continue next week (Thursday 13/3 - Ed).

According to one Pakpahan's lawyers, Irianto Subiakto, based on a medical report from Cipinang prison, Pakpahan need more intensive treatment in a hospital. Another defence lawyer Bambang Widjojanto through Dwi Ria Latifa said that permission for treatment by Dr Bahriun Sipahutar at the Cikini hospital had already been verbally granted by the Department of Justice.

Three PRD activists, Ken Budha Kusumandaru, Victor da Costa and Ign Putut Arintoko, witnesses in the case against Sudjatmiko and Garda Sembiring, according to judge Aman Surbakti, refused to appear in the trial.

[Abridged translation from Kompas - JB]

PRD launch hunger strike

Media Indonesia - 28 February, 1997

Jakarta – The accused in the subversion case against the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) who are interned at the Cipinang prison, began a hunger strike last Wednesday (26/2) because they consider their trials are engineered.

This was stated by Ken Budha Kusumandharu, in response to questions about the accused attitude compared to previous court sessions. Ken lifted his left hand wrapped with a red piece of cloth. "What does that mean?", asked a judge.

Ken explained that it was a sign that they are on a hunger strike. Written on the cloth was the sentence "PRD Hunger Strike". "We are carrying out this hunger strike to protest that this trial is being engineered" he explained. Ken repeated the explanation adding that other PRD members interned in the Salemba jail would also join the hunger strike.

Hearing the explanation, the judge became angered saying that the case against the PRD was not engineered. As proof of this said one of the judges, there are the Preliminary Investigation Reports of the accused and witnesses.

In the court yesterday, the public prosecutor Aman Subakti presented three witnesses against Ken Buda. Yacobus E Kurniawan, Ignatius D Pranowo, and Suroso however, refused to give evidence. Ycabus said that it was in conflict with the principles of "non-self incrimination", human rights and had already been explicitly stated in the case of Marsinah [9 people accused of murdering a worker activist (Marsinah) in 1995 - JB] based on article 168 of the Indonesian Criminal Code. Ign D Pranowo and Suroso made similar statements to the judge.

Despite warnings from the judge that all Indonesian citizens are obliged to be witnesses and that legal proceedings would be brought against them, they still refused to give evidence.

[Abridged translation from Media Indonesia - JB]

ICFTU on health of Pakpahan and Petrus

Tapol - February 28, 1997

The following is the text of a letter sent by Bill Jordan, General [Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, to the Indonesian Minister of Justice.]

Dear Mr Minister,

Urgent: Health conditons of MM. Pakpahan and Hariyanto

As you are most certainly aware, the ICFTU has been closely observing the detention and trial of the General Chairman of the independent union organisation, the SBSI, our colleague Bro. Muchtar Pakpahan. In the process, the ICFTU has also monitored the evolution of cases of various other detainees, owing either to their trade union background, such as the detained members of the Independent Journalists' Association, AJI, or those of the PPBI labour group, or to the similarity of charges against them with those brought against Mr Pakpahan, in relation with the events of July 1996.

The ICFTU has thus learned with extreme concern about the deteriorating medical condition of Muchtar Pakpahan and of Petrus Hariyanto, Secretary-General of the PRD. Both are detained in the Jakarta Cipinang Prison. Following various ailments suffered earlier in prison, Bro. Pakpahan now complains of a sudden deterioration which may be connected with his known heart condition. We understand the Court instructed that appropriate medical ssistance be made available, but that the Director of Cipinang Prison prevents Mr Pakpahan's doctor to be present in a police hospital where the patient would be transferred.

As to Mr Hariyanto, arrested like Pakpahan after the July 1996 events and likewise on trial since December last year, he has reportedly been refused any medical treatment at all since his transfer to Cipinang earlier this year.

I am convince, Mr Minister, that you are fully aware of the international community's deep interest for the trials presently held in Jakarta. Beside the ICFTU, the ILO, the United Nations, diplomatic and other observers have been heavily involved in their monitoring. I am thus sure you will wish to avoid any medical problem that might further increase speculation about the trial and detention conditions impose on trade union and political prisoners in Indonesia. As for the ICFTU, any such aggravation would imply an immediate and massive protest campaign by its affiliated organisations in all parts of the world.

We understand that Brother Pakpahan intends to refuse appearing in court next Monday, 3 March, if his request is not granted. May I thus urge you, Mr Minister, to do everything in your power to ensure that Mssr Pakpahan's and Hariyanto's legitimate demands are granted without delay. Thanking you in advance,

Yours sincerely,

Bill Jordan, General Secretary

Subversion case continues: Budiman refuses to testify in Surabaya court

Surabaya Post - February 25, 1997

Ignatius Damianus Pranowo – who was brought from Jakarta along with Budiman Sudjatmiko and Ken Budakusumandaru – where evicted by the judge in the subversion case against Dita Indah Sari and Coen Husein Pontoh Spt, being heard in the Surabaya State Court on the afternoon of Tuesday 25 Feb.

The head of the PRD who did not want to be examined as a witness shouted "Viva Democracy" as he entered the court. He was then evicted by judge Amrin D. Boer, SH.

"As head of the PRD, I am responsible for all the actions of my members. Personally, I refuse to be questioned as a witness" said Budiman in front of the judge. Budiman's refusal to be a witness has in fact already resulted in the treat to [lit] take him hostage for 14 days [may mean solitary confinement - JB]. However Budiman remained firm in his stand. Although his defense lawyers Trimoelja D. Soerjadi SH and Wijono Subagjo SH spent 10 minutes discussing it with him, it did not influence his stand.

"I am responsible for what they have done. I still do not want to be examined as a witness, I reject all of the statements in the Preliminary Investigation Report (BAP). As the head of the organisation, I am responsible for all that has been done, as an accuse I don't want to be a witness", Budiman said.

Hugs and kisses

The atmosphere broke into commotion when Budiman entered the court. He asked permission from the judge to greet the other accused and the defence lawyer. After being given permission, Budiman hugged and kissed Dita repeatedly. There were many flashes from the journalist's cameras, and it only stopped after the judge ordered Budiman to sit in the witnesses seat.

Unaware

With regard to the refusal of Budiman Sudjatmiko, Ignatius Damianus, and Ken Budakusumandaru as witnesses, their grounds were the same, because when questioned as witness in their BAPs, the officers did not inform them of their rights. When Budiman tried to elaborate but was continuously cut off by the judge.

While being questioned in a separate court, Moh Soleh also refused to be a witness. Budiman also refused to be question by the court headed by Ahmad Husin SH when he was asked how he got to Surabaya [from Jakarta - JB]. "I don't think it has any relevance to this case, I do not want to answer", said Budiman. Ahmad Husan did not continue the questioning after his efforts to give legal advice had no result. Judge Hakim Sinta Tambunan SH also asked five questions, but none of them were answered.

When questioned by the judge and prosecutor, Budiman only indicatedwith his left hand toward the clerk of the court that he did no wish to answer. "Do you know the accused" asked the judge. Getting no answer, Amrin asked again. "Do you not want to answer". Budiman only smiled and looked toward the clerk.

[Slightly abridged translation from Surabaya Post - JB]

Indonesia is not in trouble

Wall Street Journal - March 5, 1997

Jack David, Jakarta – Pessimists say that the current political trials of a dozen labor and student activists here indicate declining stability in Indonesia, and a bleak future for human rights observance. This doom-and-gloom view is understandable, as these cases come in the wake of last summer's riot in Jakarta and the increase in violent conflicts between groups throughout the island nation. But all the same, the dire warnings are unwarranted.

I base these assessments on meetings I had the over last two weeks in connection with my status as an observer at the trials of the best known of the accused subversives: Muchtar Pakpahan, charismatic chairman of the Indonesian Prosperous Workers Union, the SBSI, and Budiman Sudjatmiko, leader of the student activists and President of the People's Democratic Party, the PRD. The people with whom I spoke here in Jakarta, including some of the accused, were not so pessimistic about Indonesia's future.

Nor does the government seem pessimistic. The government, which has a dismal record for human rights observance, does not appear worried that either domestic or international publicity of the trials will be destabilizing, despite a noisy demonstration this week by opposition supporters that held up traffic in Jakarta. The trials–under a subversion law that had not been used for several years–are not only being reported in accurate detail on the front pages here every day, but are also being closely watched by human rights, labor and legal organizations in the West. In the U.S., the AFL-CIO has just awarded Mr. Pakpahan its 1997 George Meany Human Rights Award. The U.S. State Department has monitors at the trials. Lastly, after three decades of persistent growth, Indonesia is hardly ripe for explosion.

At my visit with Mr. Budiman, he sat across from me in a crowded detention room half a block from the Central Jakarta District Courthouse where his trial shortly was to resume. Seated around the table were another of the student activists being tried separately, two of Mr. Budiman's lawyers, another foreign observer and three police intelligence agents in civilian clothing. Uniformed policemen peered through the barred window and the doorway, which was open when we arrived and remained so throughout the interview.

"Our program," Mr. Budiman explained, "is freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, [freedom] to have unions. It is shameful that our minds are on trial."

Mr. Budiman and his fellow PRD leaders insist they are not Marxists, as the government claims. In July, the PRD announced a program which included a national increase in the minimum wage and repeal of the 1985 laws subjecting to stringent government control all political activities and public institutions, groups and organizations. Ironically, though the PRD has very few members, its voice has been amplified by the prosecutions.

Indonesia's 1963 subversion law is draconian. Conviction of subversion carries either the death penalty or up to 20 years in prison, and lawyers cannot remember anyone accused of subversion being acquitted. The government says it must use the law to maintain domestic stability by preventing dissidents from exploiting tensions among Indonesia's numerous and extraordinarily diverse population groups. Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (subversion, corruption and economic crimes) Yunan Sawidji tells me people are allowed to criticize the government, but not if "they make it personal" or "make damage" by trying to "persuade the people to do something."

What is the basis for the government's concern that dissident speech will elevate tensions to destructive conflicts? Over the past year Indonesia has seen a rise in ugly confrontations. Religious and anti-Chinese confrontations and riots broke out in Situbondo, Tasikmalaya and Rengasdengklok, all towns in Java, where half of the nation's people live. Churches, Buddhist temples, houses and businesses were damaged or destroyed. In Irian Jaya, there were riots spurred by local Irianese hostility to migrants from other islands who now dominate the economy. The most recent outbreak of violence occurred in West Kalimantan. There, conflict between indigenous Christian Dyaks and Muslim migrants from the island of Madura resulted in several hundred deaths and the destruction of millions of dollars in property. The government announced that it is opening more than 200 riot watch centers around the country to nip bloody conflicts like these in the bud.

Yet, while preventing such conflicts is a legitimate government concern, neither justification for the use of the draconian subversion law in the current trials, nor a general threat to national stability can be found in these events. There is no evidence that the increase in ethnic confrontations around the country is the coordinated work of any anti-government groups, although government officials often blame unnamed outside agitators. The July 27 Jakarta riot, which precipitated the current subversion trials, seems unrelated to the ethnic violence as it came on the heels of a purely political conflict. The subversion law generally is not being used to prosecute individuals found to be responsible for incitement of the ethnic riots.

The recent wave of ethnic riots and violent conflicts seems to have more to do with factors unique to the particular protagonists and situations than with any common factor suggesting destabilization on a national scale. Marzuki Darusman, vice chairman of the independent National Human Rights Commission, says the only thing they have in common is that most "started from a small incident" and inflamed passions "spread very quickly." The unrest of the past year does not seem to mean that the population is ready to join a revolution.

While there may be merit to the argument that economic frustration plays a role in exacerbating ethnic and religious tensions, the economic progress Indonesia has made belies claims exaggerating this factor. Economic growth has averaged 7.5% per year for several years and is expected to continue at that level. In the past 30 years, Indonesia has achieved significant annual increases in per capita income, life expectancy and the size of its middle class in addition to a diminution in infant mortality and a dramatic decrease in the percentage of people living at or below the poverty line. According to a 1990 World Bank report on poverty, Indonesia achieved the greatest reduction of any of the countries included in a 20-year study.

There is a National Human Rights Commission to which any citizen can complain and which has demonstrated willingness to oppose government positions.

These are hardly statistics which suggest an imminent revolution, though the economic progress of some is greater and comes more rapidly than for others. In the words of one local observer with a long memory, for a revolution to occur "the situation would have to be as bad as the situation was during the Japanese occupation in the Second World War. Or like the situation in 1965 when economic conditions were so bad that people could not get food for their families."

There plainly is a link between the subversion prosecutions, dissatisfaction with President Suharto, the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 29 and the presidential election scheduled for 1998. Power in Indonesia resides in one man, Mr. Suharto. Through various means, including regulating the timing and content of election campaigns, the president strictly controls the political process. Not surprisingly, corruption is rampant in Indonesia. The greed of Mr. Suharto and his family has become a bitter theme of private humor.

None of this is helped by the fact that Mr. Suharto is 75 years old and gives every indication he plans to be elected for a seventh five-year term next year. At this stage in Indonesian history, the greatest gift the president could give his country is an orderly succession. Yet, there is little sign that he is willing to open up the political process so that a new leader can emerge.

In fact, the prosecutions of Messrs. Budiman, Pakpahan and the others suggest just the opposite. They are charged with making alleged statements against President Suharto and in favor of a presidential candidacy for Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno. It was Ms. Megawati's increasing popularity that caused Mr. Suharto to orchestrate her ouster as leader of her party, the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) last May. After two months of protests, army-supported thugs last July 27 stormed the PDI office and ejected Megawati supporters. Crowds gathered outside and later that day a riot ensued in adjacent streets.

The government immediately blamed PRD leaders for masterminding the riot. But the independent National Human Rights Commission issued a report exonerating the PRD leaders and Pakpahan, assigning blame to the army and others. Subversion charges became the government's focus.

What is the prognosis for human rights observance by Indonesia? Certainly, the prosecutions constitute another serious setback for human rights and the subversion law itself is a stain on the legal system. Yet, there is more freedom in Indonesia than the subversion prosecutions suggest. There are forceful calls for the law's repeal from both outside and inside government, and the debate is covered reasonably well in Indonesian newspapers.

There is a National Human Rights Commission to which any citizen can complain and which has demonstrated willingness to oppose government positions. Ms. Megawati has brought numerous lawsuits attacking the government's interference in her party and these too receive news coverage. The government has prosecuted soldiers for some of their abuses of citizens' human rights, although not enough, and punishments have been meted out, although they sometimes have seemed insufficiently severe. Most importantly, Indonesia for a time in the 1950s had experience with the kind of robust democratic life and political freedom for which increasing numbers of Indonesians yearn.

As I walked with prisoner Mr. Budiman down the alley from the detention room to the courtroom, no guards accompanying us, he said "I see no prospect of acquittal." In the courtroom, before the trial resumed, he chatted amiably with policemen and prosecutors. At the conclusion of the day's proceedings, before he was taken back to prison, he leisurely handed out flowers to celebrate the end of Ramadan along with PRD leaflets telling people to boycott the May 29 parliamentary elections. He passed them to spectators, policemen and prosecutors, exchanging friendly words with all. Mr. Budiman's pessimism for his own immediate future is plainly balanced with an optimism for Indonesia's future.

Mr. David is a New York attorney who has long been active in international human rights issues.

I'm really sick: Pakpahan

Jakarta Post - 4 March, 1997

Jakarta – Labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan, standing trial for his alleged antigovernment statements, exploded in court yesterday and accused presiding Judge Djazuli P. Sudibyo of ignoring his poor health.

Pakpahan's outburst was in response to the South Jakarta District Court judge's accusation that he was only trying to attract press attention by bringing his health problems to court.

"I am really sick. I am not making it up so the press will write about me, " he yelled at the court attended by foreign observers.

Early in yesterday's session, Pakpahan appealed to the court to issue a letter ordering the prison authorities to allow him a medical check-up by his own doctor. He said he would refuse to show up for the trial again if the court did not issue the letter.

Djazuli said he had sent a letter to the head of the South Jakarta Prosecutors Office and the Cipinang prison's chief warden asking that the of finials "pay attention" to Pakpahan's health needs.

"If the prison has not yet heeded my request it's not my business," Djazuli said.

Pakpahan retorted that the officials had told him they needed a letter of authorization and not just a letter of request.

"I'm a victim, caught in the middle of officials throwing their responsibilities at each other," he said.

Pakpahan's lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution also demanded yesterday that Djazuli issue the letter in the name of human rights.

"Otherwise, the law would no longer mean protection of human rights, but negation of them," Buyung said.

Djazuli had said during previous sessions that issuing such a letter for Pakpahan, who has already been convicted for another charge, would be "beyond his jurisdiction."

Besides facing a maximum penalty of death if found guilty of subversion by the court, Pakpahan has been serving a four-year jail term at Cipinang Prison for inciting riots in the North Sumatra capital of Medan in 1994.

Pakpahan said he had been wondering if the prison's denial of his right to medication, which is guaranteed by Article 58 of the Criminal Code Procedures, was part of his "punishment". Yesterday's hearing was halted early because of Pakpahan's health. Djazuli adjourned it until Thursday.

At a separate session in the South Jakarta court yesterday, Democratic People's Party Secretary-General Petrus Hariyanto, standing trial for subversion, revealed that he and his 10 fellow activists had been on a hunger strike for the past five days.

"We will continue to do this to show that nothing, not even prison bars, can stop the voice of people. Going on a hunger strike is the weapon of the oppressed," Petrus said in statement made available to the press after yesterday's session. (aan)

PRD activists refuse to testify

Jakarta Post - 5 March, 1997

Jakarta – Three Democratie People's Party (PRD) activists refused yesterday to testify against their leader Budiman Sujatmiko who is on trial for subversion.

Their decision angered Judge Sjoffinan Sumantri of the Central Jakarta District Court. Calling their behavior irresponsible, he invoked Criminal Code Article 224 which says it's a crime for anyone to refuse to testify when requested to by a court.

Victor Da Costa, Ken Buddha Kusumandaru and Ign. Putut Arintoko said they could not testify in a trial which they said had been engineered to ensure Budiman's conviction.

The accusation brought a sweeping retort from Judge Sjoffinan. "It's none of your business, do you understand?"

He then said he would leave it to the state prosecutors to look into the possibility of initiating court action over the activists' behavior. If found guilty, they face up to nine months in jail.

The three men are also being tried separately for similar offenses. Budiman and the PRD activists have been charged with undermining the state and insulting government officials through their activities under the 1963 Subversion law. Their offenses carry a maximum penalty of death.

Arintoko told the judge that given that he is being tried on similar charges, he feared that his testimony could be selfincriminating.

He said the summons issued by the court was defective for it stated his date of birth incorrectly.

The three men appeared in fine condition yesterday although they have been taking turns to go on hunger strike since Feb. 26 to protest their detention and the trials. They all wore red bands on their left arms reading "PRD hunger strike."

Earlier yesterday the court heard the testimony of Bambang Widjojanto, the chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), who appeared after ignoring three court summonses.

Bambang lodged a protest with the court, insisting that as a member of Budiman's defense team he had a privileged client-lawyer relationship that made it difficult for him to testify in court.

In his testimony' Bambang said he had not known about the activities of the PRD activists even though they had used the YLBHI office for some of their meetings.

"In principle, YLBHI allows all movements for democracy and human rights to use our office," he said.

The court also heard the testimony of Yamin M. Saleh, the member of staff at Bogor's sociopolitical office who interviewed Budiman in 1988 after the headmaster of the SMAN 5 high school alerted the authorities to Budiman's activities.

Yamin said Budiman admitted he was establishing a discussion group called MaIx House, and was studying the 'new left' concept.

Yamin presented the transcript of the interview to the court as evidence. (05)

Garda and his lawyer 'walk out' of court

Kompas - March 6, 1997

Jakarta – Garda Sembiring, one of the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) members accused of subversion and his lawyer carried out a "walk out" action on Wednesday March 5. This was in response to a decision by the judge to allow the prosecutor to read out a witness' statement in accordance with the Preliminary Investigation Report (BAP).

In a separate trial, Suroso, Pranowo, and Eko Kurniawan also threatened a walk out if the judge did the same. Because Eko's health was becoming worse due to being on a hunger strike for three days, the judge finally decided to have the prosecutor read the testimony of five of the seven witnesses.

The five witnesses who's testimonies were read were: Didit Sutopo, Edy Setyawan, Onang Triyono, Subekti, and Triyanto. They are all PRD activists and workers at PT Sritex (Sukoharjo) in Central Java.

Meanwhile in Garda's trial, the prosecution read the testimonies of eight witnesses: Wirayanti, Didit Sutopo, Edy Setyawan, Albert Novianto, Onang Triyono, Liek Ismunandar, Triyanto, and Admodjo. These witnesses were also PRD members and workers at PT Sritek in Jateng.

Already called

Judge Farela and Abdul Hamid said that they were forced to read the testimonies because the witnesses, who had been called three time, did not appear. The reading was intended so the trial would proceed smoothly. In having the testimonies read, the accused lost the right to cross-examine. "I need to know, if they were questioned normally or under pressure. The presence of these witness would help my case", said Garda. When their request was ignored, Garda and the defense team left the court but the proceedings were continued with the reading of the testimonies.

Thomas E Tampubolon, one of Garda's lawyers said the court had not really tried to get the witnesses to appear, even though they new their addresses. "If he wanted, the court could force the witnesses to appear. For the sake of the law. The grounds that the witnesses cannot pay for the trip to Jakarta and for accommodation cannot be accepted. In the case of Sri Bintang Pamungkas and Oki, the court was able to bring witnesses from Germany and the US. So why if it is only in Indonesia they cannot appear?" he said.

[Abridged translation from Kompas - JB]

Mochtar Pakpahan angry in court

Suara Merdeka - 4 March, 1997

Jakarta – In the ongoing case of Mochtar Pakpahan, at the South Jakarta state court was shaken yesterday. The reason? The judge accused the defendant of exaggerating his illness. He also said Pakpahan wanted to be written about in the newspapers.

Before the judge could finish the sentence, Pakpahan protested "I am being burdened by the Judge. I have rights! If you want to try me, try me. I'm sick, clearly I am sick" he shouted. "For two months I have asked to see a doctor, but they don't arrive. Why am I being accused of exaggerating. I don't want that!"

Adnan Buyung Nasution, one of his defense lawyers requested a dialogue. Also present were defense lawyers Bambang Widjojanto, M Assegaf, and Irianto. Eventually the judge had discussions with them for 15 minutes to overcome the problem.

However in the end the court became noisy, after Pakpahan read a letter containing his desire to be treated at the Cikini hospital. In the letter he said that since January he had suffered a number of illnesses. He suffered headaches, dizziness and had difficulty breathing. As well as this his right had was constantly in pain.

He also offered to pay for such treatment. During the discussions, Pakpahan began vomiting, and eventually the hearing continued with out the defendant.

[Abridged translation from Suara Merdeka - JB]

Health condition of MM. Pakpahan and Hariyanto

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions - March 1997

[The following is the text of a letter sent by Bill Jordan, General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, to the Indonesian Minister of Justice.]

Dear Mr Minister,

Thanking you in advance,

Yours sincerely,
Bill Jordan, General Secretary

Women

Dita Sari message (3rd version)

ASIET - March 8, 1997

[Statement for the International Women's Day March, 8, 1997.]

Dita Sari, Chairperson of Indonesian Centre for Labour Struggles and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party of Indonesia. Dita was a guest speaker at the 1995 Perth IWD march and rally.

Dita Sari was the first prominent democratic leader to be arrested by the Suharto dictatorship in the wave of repression that began last July, 1996. She was arrested on July 8 while she was leading a peaceful demonstration of 20,000 young women workers demanding wage rises and other improvements. She has been an outspoken defender of women's rights in Indonesia as well as a courageous supporter of freedom in East Timor. She was also active in solidarity with Megawati Sukarnoputri in her campaign against harassment by the Suharto dictatorship. Even though from a different political party than Megawati, Dita spoke frequently at public meetings and demonstrations as an act of solidarity with another victim of repression and a symbol of democratic struggle.

Dear Sisters,

I write this letter in a narrow and miserable cell in a gaol in Surabaya. Exactly two years ago I was with you at the IWD rally in Perth. Since then, time has flown bye and so many important things have happened in the struggle for freedom in my country

This regime has chosen me as the lone woman among fifteen people on trial for subversion. The Peoples Democratic Party has many women activists, especially from among the workers. We think that one of the measures of the progress of the movement here is the participation of women activists, both quantitatively and qualitively. As a president of a trade union, I personally cannot separate myself from a special solidarity with the women worker activists, even though I am aware too that every activist is tested in the end via their commitment and loyalty and not other criteria.

The regime has struck out at us with full force so that our Party and its mass organisations are covered with bleeding wounds. Everywhere the regime spreads the word that we are the same as the old Indonesian Communist Party; the regime is trying to create mass hysteria and to legitimise its repressive action against us. They needed an appropriate scapegoat and they chose the PRD. This is not a government that stands firm the defend the sovereignty of the people and their economic and political rights. It is a government built on authoritarian foundations in order to defend special economic interests and capital.

In the midst of this disaster, we survive. We have survived well the early period of big disruption to our organisation. Our women cadre from the students and workers have stepped forward to take leading positions in consolidating our organisation. The terrorised workers have freed themselves from fear. And the peasants swallowed up by the repression have began to rise up again.

And in the prison, the flames still burns bright among the cadre. Belief in the justice of our struggle and our deep love for the mass of workers are the two things which keep me going. Of course, there are moments where I experienced the bitter pain of losing everything, of a sense of failure, of loneliness. There are times that I must struggle with myself and accept that I will lose the productive years of my youth. And I think: can I handle all this?

Yet, the next morning, I always awake with warmed by sweet memories of struggling together with the workers, the people. There are women in the prison here who were workers too, and each time I look at them, I feel their hands reach out to me to make sure I do not fall.

The emergence of Megawati Sukarnoputri, a woman, as a figure supported by tens of millions of people is a sign of the progress and qualitative advance made by the pro-democracy movement and of the movement to end capitalism's use of patriarchy to manipulate us.

Now we wait for the right moment, and prepare our forces, so that we will have an era of democracy where all will have the same rights, where women will have the opportunity to emerge as leaders in all fields.

I truly hope one day to be able to be with you again, as I was two years ago [in Perth], and to discuss with you the economic and political issues effecting women. Your solidarity and international support from countries, where workers are also treated unfairly and women continue to be exploited, is something which strengthens our resolve here in the midst of the great losses and oppression of the Indonesian people.

Sisters, I miss you all.
I long to be there among you.

Dita Sari, Surabaya Prison, March, 1997

[Translated by Max Lane]

Miscellaneous

Message from 'informer'

Unknown - March 6, 1997

[This item was received on March 6. The original sender and posting are unknown. Grammatical and spelling errors have been left uncorrected intentionally - JB]

= QUOTED =

During this time, Indonesia is among countries whose economic began to improve. This will make Indonesia a strong country which couldn't be dictated by the west. And this make the Western co1untries are afraid and won't be letting this happen. Whatever it takes, they have to destroy, although not fatally, Indonesia by shaking Indonesia's political life, because they know that economic is not a good way to do that. They also knew that Indonesia consist of hundreds different ethnic groups, that kept united till know under the idiology. They figure out, by making these ethnic fight each other they can make a social unrest and can make Indonesia's economic step a little lower. They know what happened in Bosnia Herzegovina, it's easy to make a country with different ethnic groups crumble just by lighting a fire between them. They're trying to do that too here. And to back up their purposes, they spread bad thing that discredit Indonesian government so that Indonesian people wouldn't trust their government again. This will make the job easier for them and to do this they won't need any trouble at all, just hire some people, a lot of them Indonesians who is in exile or just Indonesian who is willing to be payed to attack their own country. It's not hard, since some Indonesian people are so easy to persuade and they don't know politic very well, they are still immature in politic, this is the weakness of the government, because they didn't give good political education to their youth. Many Indonesian youth are so idealis and always denied the authorities, that's Indonesian youth habit. They saw this is a good opportunity, just use these youths to make demonstrations, oppose the government, etc. To do this they are willing to donate to these youths organizations, and this donation is not in small amount. I know this because I joint their organization until now and see what is their real purposes, is it pure solidarity, or something is behind it. And you will be very surprise in what I saw. I will stay underground with them for a while, to seek out some more information. As I gather enough more I will spread it world wide in the cyberspace, and after I finish my adventure I will publish my informations to the public. But for now that's all I could tell you, I'll be in touch.

P.S: Please spread this message world wide, and thank you very much for you who have done so.

(John Doe) = END OF QUOTE =

Suharto critic's book banned in crackdown

Agence France Presse - March 1997

Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have banned a book by an elderly politician, saying the contents discredited the government, the armed forces and President Suharto, a newspaper report said on Thursday.

Attorney-General Singgih signed a decree banning New Era, New Leader: Badio Rejects the Engineering by the New Order Regime, a 22 page-book by Subadio Sastrosatomo, a prominent politician of the 1950s, the Media Indonesia daily said.

The newspaper quoted Mr Subadio, 78, as saying he had been summoned to the attorney-general's office.

The content ``can cause unrest, undermine public trust in the government, ABRI (the Indonesian armed forces) and the national leader," the daily said quoting the decree.

The title refers to Mr Suharto's ``New Order" government that started in 1968.

Mr Subadio was quoted by Media Indonesia as saying that ``if I am arrested for writing this book, please go ahead, but what I wrote is the truth".

A former parliamentarian and one of the leaders of the now defunct Indonesian Socialist Party, Mr Subadio said he was a surviving witness of Indonesia's independence struggle and added that ``if there are people who are falsifying history, I would know".

Indonesia declared independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945, but went through four years of armed and diplomatic struggle before The Netherlands officially recognised Indonesian sovereignty.

Mr Subadio said 5,000 copies of the book had been printed.

The attorney general's spokesman office was not immediately available for comment.

The ban covered the printing, distribution and possession of the book. The attorney-general called on all citizens to hand over any copies they may have already bought, to the authorities.

Jakarta won't risk ties with Muslims: Lecturer

Straits Times - March 4, 1997

Jakarta – The Indonesian government will not want to risk losing its current close relationship with Muslims by undermining the Muhammadiyah Muslim organisation or its chairman, Mr Amien Rais, an Indonesian political science lecturer has said.

Mr Ramlan Surbakti, a lecturer at Surabaya's Airlangga University, said President Suharto had been enjoying Muslims' support, the Jakarta Post reported yesterday. "He would not want to reduce the solid support of Muhammadiyah," he said of the 28-million-strong organisation's relationship with the President.

He said "leadership of Muhammadiyah is solid and independent, and is loyal to its statutes, so it would be difficult for outside parties to intervene". Mr Ramlan was commenting on Mr Amien's recent resignation as leader of the council of Experts of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI). He has been transferred as a member of the association's board of advisers under noted ulama Ali Yafie.

Mr Suharto is chief patron of the politically well-connected group.

Following his resignation, speculation abounded that Mr Amien was made to resign because Mr Suharto and the government were displeased with his criticism of some policies. Controversial Muslim scholar Abdurrahman Wahid ridiculed suggestions that Mr Amien's transfer to a lower post was proof of government meddling in Muhammadiyah's affairs. Gus Dur, as Mr Abdurrahman is better known, said last Thursday in Yogyakarta that Mr Amien's resignation from ICMI could not be interpreted as the government undermining Islam or the Muslim organisation. "That is outrageous. Muhammadiyah has other leaders such as Watik Pratiknya," said Mr Abdurrahman, who chairs Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama.

"Nahdlatul Ulama should not be seen as represented only by me, and neither should Muhammadiyah be seen as represented only by Mr Amien Rais," he said.

[Despite the suggestions in this article that Amien Rais resigned of his own free will, he has been quoted directly in the Indonesian media as saying he was sacked by Habibie - JB]

The dark side of freedom: Troubling focus on Indonesia's have-nots

Asia Week - March 1997

Yenni Kwok, Jakarta – Most Indonesian children grow up listening to stories about Kancil, a clever, mischievous mouse-deer who typically finds himself relying on his wits in order to save his life. His adventures often offer moral lessons for the young.

But filmmaker Garin Nugroho's documentary, Dongeng Kancil Tentang Kemerdekaan (Kancil's Tale of Freedom) is no children's fable. Instead, it is a real-life story about children, focusing on four young boys who will do anything they can just to survive in Jogjakarta, in central Java.

The Jakarta Post calls the film "a less than comfortable and reassuring viewing experience." And, for many Indonesians who have prospered along with the country's economic boom, indeed, it is.

Having left their families behind, Kancil, Sugeng, Topo and Atta, ages nine to 13, sleep and live on the streets of Jogjakarta. They scavenge for leftover food on the trains and steal clean clothes off laundry lines. Their favorite pastimes are sniffing glue, drinking the narcotic jimson juice and experimenting with sex. To earn money, the boys polish shoes and sing on buses.

The documentary was shot in 1995, around the time Indonesia was celebrating the 50th anniversary of its independence from foreign rule. Thus, there is no little irony made of the fact that despite their hard life, the boys take pride in the personal freedom they have. But are these dirt-stained urchins really part of the dream nation Indonesia's founding fathers hoped to build?

Nugroho, Indonesia's leading young film director, made the 55-minute documentary for NHK, a Japanese television station – an arrangement which itself has stirred much controversy. Says Sella Pasaribu, a college student who attended a screening of the film: "We should not have shown this overseas, especially not to the Japanese. They once ruled us. There should be limits to what can be shown outside the country."

Throughout his career, Nugroho, 34, has pushed the limits of convention. He gave up a law career in the hope of pursuing justice in a different way. His work, comprised of feature films and documentaries, covers a range of topics, including the environment and the country's rural population. Nugroho spoke about his latest work and the debate it has sparked. Excerpts:

You tied your documentary to the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's independence. What message did you want to deliver about the country today?

As a filmmaker, I could have chosen to celebrate our independence by focusing on the country's booming economy. Instead, I chose to explore aspects of life that have been ignored – such as the plight of street children. Our country now has many problems that we need to address. If we ignore them, how can our society progress?

Do you see yourself as a defender of street children?

No. A filmmaker's duty is to present his vision. Solving these children's problems is the task of Non-Governmental Organizations or child-care specialists. I am not an expert on what children need. So, while the message of my documentary may offer street children some defense, I did not make the film with this in mind.

What reactions have you gotten from audiences in Japan and Indonesia?

NHK broadcast it in Japan last year – but I never heard about reactions there. In Indonesia, I held screenings for some Muslim organizations, children's educators and public officials. Most people were very surprised and asked: "Could this really be happening?" Others were very critical, calling the film an exaggeration. Another said: "You may have thought you were making this film in the name of humanity, but ultimately, you made it for your own good." Still others felt it attracted some much-needed attention to problems that our country is not open about.

Many of the recent riots have been started by lower-class teenagers. What do you see in this?

We've lost our vision. We no longer know how to live together as a nation. Nepotism runs rampant in Indonesia. For example, there really is no guarantee that smart, hard-working individuals will get decent jobs. Even small children have said to me: "If I don't have connections, how can I succeed?" People who have no hope become anxious. Then, they become violent. They don't know what else to do.

Do you get harassed by the state authorities for your work?

I am used to getting complaints about my films from the authorities. They'll keep doing their job. I'll keep doing mine.

Indonesian separatists accused of plan to sabotage gas field

ABC - 27 February, 1997

The Indonesian military has accused Muslim separatists in Aceh province of attempting to sabotage the huge nearby Arun gas field.

The security commander of northern Sumatra including Aceh, Major-General Sedaryanto, says the sabotage had been planned for a long time, but did NOT say what the plan entailed.

The general says dozens of suspected separatists have been arrested in the past two weeks with 13 suspects detained in the past 24 hours.

General Sedaryanto also said nearly 60 firearms had been seized including military assault rifles, machine guns and pistols.

The Islamic Free Aceh movement has been fighting for an independent Muslim state in Aceh since the late 1970s.