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ASIET Net News 25 – June 16-22, 1997
Kompas - June 17, 1997
Jakarta – The head of the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD)
department of education and propaganda, I Gusti Agung Anom
Astika, was sentenced to four years minus the time he had
already spent in jail. Meanwhile the head of the Center for
Labour Struggle (PPBI) department of education and
propaganda/international relations, Wilson bin Nurtiyas, was
sentence to five years jail by the South Jakarta state court on
Monday, June 16.
Presided over by IBN Somya, the sentence handed down against Anom
was five years lighter than that demanded by the public
prosecutor, Jawadin Saragih, who had asked for 9 years. While the
court presided over by Arbani Suprapto, which handed down the
sentence against Wilson, was four years lighter than that
demanded by the public prosecutor Dedi Pridasa, who had asked for
11 years. With these sentences, all of the PRD activists have now
been sentenced by courts in South Jakarta, Central Jakarta and
Surabaya [East Java].
The substitute prosecutor in Anom's case, TM Siahaan and the
substitute prosecutor in Wilson's case, Soeprapto, said they
would appeal the decision. "We fell that there is a need to
appeal because the sentences handed down by the courts are far to
light being less than half of that which we had asked for. We are
optimistic that the appeal will be granted by the High Court",
said Siahaan.
Meanwhile Anom said he would appeal for a longer sentence because
of his faithfulness in carrying out the orders of PRD chair,
Budiman Sujatmiko. "I present this appeal on the instructions of
the party chairperson", he said before the court.
Meanwhile, Wilson said: "Five, ten or even twenty years, it's all
the same to me. This trial and the government are unjust. There
is no point in thinking about the freedom of expression as
guaranteed in article 28 of the 1945 Constitution, that is what
was tried" he said.
The presiding judge said that Anom and Wilson were both proven to
have carried out acts of subversion.
When met separately after the trial, both Somya and Suprapto
emphasised that the sentence handed down against the two was
based on a call from their conscience. "The sentence we handed
down is final and in this we saw there was a development in the
attitude of the accused. And both of them are still young" said
Somya.
Suprapto added that his [the sentence he passed] sentence which
was far less than demanded by the prosecution was because the saw
Wilson's actions as being mixed up. "Actually, Wilson is a good
kid. This was proven by the prestige of his studies at
university. Because he got no political training in the world of
study, he looked beyond the environment of his studies and came
across the activities of the PRD. We took that into
consideration", said Arbani.
Sentences handed down against PRD activists:
Source: Kompas information centre
Translators notes:
1. SMID: Solidaritas Mahasiswa Indonesia untuk Demokrasi,
Student Solidarity for Indonesian Democracy [Translated by James Balowski]
Radio Australia - June 16, 1997
An Indonesian court has jailed two activists from the banned
People's Democratic Party or P-R-D after they were found guilty
of subversion.
The two men who were convicted of undermining the state ideology,
criticizing the armed forces and attempting to topple the
government.
They were the last of 14 members of the P-R-D to be charged
following rioting in Jakarta last year after police and troops
expelled supporters of Opposition Leader, Megawati Sukarnoputri
from the headquarters of the Indonesia Democracy Party.
The head of the P-R-D's education and propaganda wing, I Gusti
Anom Astika said he would appeal against the verdict, while
Wilson bin Murtiyas, the head of the labour wing, has not
indicated a course of action.
The chairman of the P-R-D, Budiman Sujatmiko, was jailed for 13
years in April while eleven P-R-D members were sentenced to
between 18 months and 12 years jail.
May 29 elections
East Timor
Labour issues
Social unrest
Economy and investment
Environment
International relations
Miscellaneous
Democratic struggle
Wilson sentenced to five years, Anom to four years jail
2. STN: Serikat Tani Nasional, National Peasants Union
3. Jabotabek: Jakarta-Bogor-Tengerang-Bekasi, Industrials zone in
West Jakarta
Court jails two PRD activist on subversion charges
May 29 elections
Call for an independant fact finding mission
Watch Indonesia, Berlin - June 17, 1997
In common letters to Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission, KOMNAS HAM, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, and the German Minister of Foreign Affairs seven Indonesian and German organizations urged on the necessity to send another independent fact finding mission to the City of Banjarmasin, the capital of the Indonesian South Kalimantan province.
The signatory organizations, namely the South East Asia Information Centre, Germany, the Association of Indonesian Students in Germany (PPI Pusat Jerman), the New Guinea Working Group, Netherlands, the Alliance of the Independant Indonesian Youth (API), Germany, the Indonesian Democratic Union Party in Germany (PUDI Jerman), the Indonesia Forum for Human Dignity (INFOHD), Netherlands, and Watch Indonesia!, Germany, say that on May 23, 1997, in Banjarmasin at least 123 persons have died after a clash between masses loyal to the United Development Party (PPP) and people loyal to the governing 'Functional Group' Golkar. It was the bloodiest incident in a series of clashes during the recent election campaign in Indonesia which altogether caused the death of about 300 people.
Official speakers claimed that the victims died when they wanted to plunder the Mitra Plaza shopping mall. Officials say, the plunderers weren't able to escape after the mall was set on fire.
However, press reports and eye-witnesses doubt this version that denies any link to a clash caused by arguments between different political parties.
According to unverified sources military forces followed the order to shoot on sight released after the riots broke out. It is reported that quite a number of shot bodies were carried into the burning Mitra Plaza in order to extinguish traces of shootings and to suggest that these people had died in the fire.
The Indonesian National Human Rights Commission, KOMNAS HAM, in a first report confirmed the assumption, that the clash was politically motivated. The commission also criticized that precaution and security measures in the whole election campaign were insufficient. However, the commission's report doesn't give answers to a whole bunch of questions.
Appreciating the fact that KOMNAS HAM immediately has sent a fact finding team to Banjarmasin to investigate the case, the seven organizations say the commission's report is insufficient to explain the high number of casualties and the lots of contradictive findings. A more detailed investigation was highly necessary and its precise results should be made public, the organizations say.
SiaR - June 6, 1997
Jakarta – The armed forces headquarters (Mabes ABRI) has begun putting pressure on the Indonesian press. During a meeting of military heads in Cilangkap, last June 3, it was concluded that the mass media, especially those who covered the general elections were considered to have criticized the government. Because of this, the result of the meeting lead by armed forces chief, Feisal Tanjung, was that action must be taken against the media.
According to a SiaR source, president Suharto was very annoyed with press reports, included those who should be on his side and ordered Tanjung to "secure" the media. Tanjung did this and made up a media black list of those who must be acted against. Republika was also included on the list. This daily, owned by the Association of Muslim Intellectuals (Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslim Indonesia, ICMI), a pro-Suharto Islamic intellectual organisation, has already sacked its editor, Parni Hardi.
Other papers which will have action taken against them because they "criticized the government of the New Order" are Merdeka and Media Indonesia. Merdeka, which strongly defended Megawati Seokarnoputri, will have to sack its public director, Margiono, from the nationalist newspaper, Jawa Pos. Margiono, as well as being the public director of Merdeka, is also the chief editor of the weekly magazine D&R [Detective and romantic]. Media Indonesia, a daily owned by Surya Paloh and Bambang Trihatmodjo will sack Bambang Harymurti, ex-representative of Tempo [which was banned in June 1994] in New Your from his position as executive editor.
The result of the Cilangkap meeting, according to the Director General of the Department of Information, Subrata, the mass media were warned not to report United Development Party (PPP) claims about the elections. The mass media was also asked to stop reporting PPP protests about the running of the elections, or the rejection of the election results by the party which has said that if there were no fraud, they would obtain 200 seats.
The daily Kompas, which obtained leaked information from the meeting, immediately modified its articles. Furthermore, the largest national newspaper has just been presented with a "proposal" from elite army corp Kopassus, that they would begin being involved in the [media] business, owning secret "shares" in the paper owned by Jakob Oetama [Kompas]. A Major from Kopassus told Kompas there would be no need to pay a "tribute" to the information minister, Harmoko [who has now been replaced by General Hartono] and State Secretary, Moerdiono because both of these senior ministers would no longer be used.
The requst from Kopassus, commanded by Major-General Prabowo, has worried Kompas journalists. A senior Kompas journalist told SiaR that Kompas would be destroyed if Kopassus did take secret shares and it would influence the energy and enthusiasm of its journalist. Jakob Oetama himself is already concerned. He has to face the anger of Bob Hasan, timber tycoon and close confident of Suharto because of a Tabloid Kontan article.
D&R, in the face of pressure from the military quickly began to sensor itself. The Wednesday June 5 edition, was not published although it had already been printed. The editor of D&R had to change the cover which had a picture of a polling station official looking at an invalidated ballot paper. It was not just the picture, but the title which read "Criticising the Elections" also had to be changed along with the lead story about election fraud.
D&R's actions were quite controversial recalling that advertisements for that edition of D&R along with a picture of the cover before it was change had already be placed in a number of other daily newspapers.
[Translated by James Balowski]
CNRM/RENETIL - June 20, 1997
Message to the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan
Your Excellence,
The general election is a vital process for the life of democracy in every country. The general election is a mechanism to involve the citizens in the national politic and the process of decision making. The legitimacy of power of a government administration is given by the people through the mechanism of general election. The right of people to legitimate the government is unequivocally stressed in the article 21 of the UN declaration of Human Right. According to the article, the implementation general election is also to fulfil the basic human right of the citizens.
During 21 years of Indonesian occupation, the people of East Timor have participated in so called general election held by the Indonesian authority in the territory of East Timor. Nevertheless, the participation of the East Timorese does not agree with the principle as stated in the article 21 of the UN Declaration of Human Right, as it does not reflect the decision of the People, and all the more so because it is not the right of the People of Maubere. In the same manner as their country that has been taken by force, the participation of the people of East Timor in the general elections has been done under the pressure of the Indonesian military.
Considering the stagnation East Timor problem and that Indonesia used to arrange various reasons to legitimate its illegal occupation, the participation of the people of East Timor in the general election is very susceptible to be manipulated as the acknowledgement of the People of Maubere to Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor. Hence, as part of the People of Maubere, we, the students of East Timor hereby stated:
Refuse in participating in Indonesian general election 1997 for the event is not the right and does not reflect the decision of the Maubere People. Ask the United Nations to continue the decolonization process over East Timor through the celebration of referendum as the sole democratic mechanism for the Maubere People in deciding it's future.
USIS foreign media reaction report - June 5, 1997
The record margin achieved by Indonesia's ruling Golkar Party in parliamentary elections in that country last week moved foreign analysts to weigh in with their assessments of the vote–which most saw as less than fair–and to comment on prospects for the future of yet another five- year term for President Soeharto. By far the most copious commentary came from the Indonesian media, which decried the violence that had characterized the election campaign and continued to call for "economic and political reform" and more "accountability" on the part of Golkar and the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) factions within the parliament. Indonesian papers also focused on the "re- vote"–the first ever in Indonesia's post-colonial history- -held yesterday on the island of Madura just off the northeast coast of Java. Concern for Indonesia's image following riots that marred the voting on Madura moved the pro-government Indonesia Times to state: "How the government handles the Madura case will become a yardstick of Indonesia's credibility in canvassing its people's will and aspirations."
Reflecting on the overall election campaign, the dominant theme in the Indonesian media was that violence was the by- product of a system that "polarizes" the haves and the have-nots and allows citizens little room to express their political aspirations. The leading, independent Jakarta Post judged that "violence has arisen as an expression of resistance against the state's monopoly on violence," and, in a separate editorial, asserted: "The key to a democratic future for Indonesia is the empowerment of its civil society." Leading, independent Kompas was also outspoken in saying that "political parties should be allowed to choose their own leaders," a reference to the ousting of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leader, Megawati Sukarnoputri, last July, which led to widespread, violent demonstrations in Jakarta. Muslim intellectual Republika concurred, predicting: "The shrinking of the PDI will also impede the public from voicing their aspirations...running counter to their growing desire for pluralism." Even a government-oriented daily, the Indonesian Observer, featured this fierce commentary by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Roeslan Abdulgani: "What is conspicuous in [the people's] eyes is the social discrepancy...the arbitrariness, and the arrogance of the bureaucracy, from the top right down to the bottom, together with the conspicuous corruption, collusion, perversion of authority, commercialism and nepotism.... The unity and integrity of the nation, country and state are threatened."
Editorials elsewhere voiced criticism of the Indonesian president for not allowing a more open, democratic process. New Delhi's centrist Hindu stressed, as did others, that "the aging Soeharto" owes it to his country to "introduce political reforms and let some fresh air in." Still others predicted a "slow but sure" movement toward "eventual rebellion, coup d'etat or revolution" if the Indonesian government fails to stem corruption and if President Soeharto, who turns 76 this month, does not set up a mechanism for a smooth transfer of power after more than 30 years in office.
This survey is based on 32 reports from 8 countries, May 29 - June 5. Editor: Kathleen J. Brahney
'Re-vote in sampang'
Muslim intellectual Republika opined (6/5): "The Sampang, Madura, case [of having to hold a re-vote at more than 80 polling stations] would not have happened had we anticipated such events early on. The election system should have been more professionally organized so as to prevent such errors. It should have worked well enough to keep even the slightest prejudice from developing."
'Economic stability'
In the view of the leading, independent Jakarta Post (6/4): "The nation's economic development has reached the stage where political reform and a highly accountable government or good governance have become a pre-condition for sustaining growth."
'Why do violent incidents occur?'
The Jakarta Post also carried (6/4) an op-ed piece by Makmur Keliat, who offered this opinion: "Violence is partly a product of the 'shortcut culture' prevailing in Indonesian society, articulated by the have-nots in the form of mobs. Since, by definition, the state is the sole institution in society that has the legitimate right to...exercise force on all individuals who reside within its jurisdiction, it comes as no surprise that violence has arisen as an expression of resistance against the state's monopoly on violence."
'Rerun in Madura'
The pro-government Indonesia Times pointed out (6/3): "Tomorrow the government is scheduled to repeat voting in a few places located in Sampang, Madura. The decision was taken amid a security alert following riots taking place in Sampang, Pamekasan and Sumenep.... The Madura case will surely become symbolic of government flexibility in dealing with possible flaws and shortcomings.... How the government handles the Madura case will become a yardstick of Indonesia's credibility in canvassing its people's will and aspirations."
'Political maneuvering counterproductive'
Leading, independent Kompas declared (6/3): "Manipulation is common in politics. However, there are still limits. When people feel that limits have been passed and they have the opportunity to express their feelings, political maneuvering often proves to be counterproductive. As times change, political parties should be allowed to choose their own leaders. It is important to let people have more responsibility in order to develop their political education."
'We take note of Golkar's promises for change'
Under the above headline, independent, afternoon Suara Pembaruan asserted (6/2): "Among the fundamental issues spotlighted during the campaign was the need for political and economic reform in order to create a clean and trustworthy administration and to uphold justice and human rights. We hope that Golkar will take steps to create a more democratic system.... Golkar should be more engaged in improving parliament's effectiveness, rather than merely serving the executive branch."
'Globalization boosts democracy'
The leading, independent Jakarta Post ran this op-ed piece by Aleksius Jemadu (6/3): "There is an increasingly persuasive argument that the key to a democratic future for Indonesia is the empowerment of its civil society.... Our long emphasis on state- led political stability, while necessary for sustaining economic growth, has resulted in the depoliticization of the people.... With better education and more access to development information, the Indonesian people today are fully aware of their basic political and economic rights. Therefore, the dominant power should respect them as legitimate carriers of the demand for political and economic justice."
'Tragedy of PDI'
In the opinion of Muslim intellectual Republika (6/3): "The PDI's decline will considerably affect the work of the parliament...by making it even more difficult for smaller factions to balance domination by the Golkar-ABRI (Indonesian Armed Forces) 'duo,' which has close ties with the executive branch. The shrinking of the PDI will also impede the public from voicing their aspirations...running counter to their growing desire for pluralism."
'Explaining Golkar's victory and its responsibilities'
Leading, independent Kompas judged (6/2): "The results of the general election are as important as...the hopes and expectations for improvement that were promised during the campaigns. Golkar should capture the voters' message with an open mind and sincerity.... Justice should be the foundation with which to expose inconsistencies...solve social crises...and build a clean, honest government in order to bring reform-oriented people back to being the conscience of a united nation."
'Triumph of national development reforms'
In the view of pro-government, Islamic-oriented Pelita (6/2): "The people have again decided to choose Golkar, making it the single majority in our political system. They believe Golkar will be able bring about reform with the objectives of prosperity, justice, and welfare for all."
'Crisis of legitimacy'
Under the above headline, independent Media Indonesia asserted (5/31): "At a certain moment, the masses find the power to determine their own leader. They are not thwarted by the status quo or by leaders who are willing to oppose mainstream desires. History has shown that successful leaders who emerge suddenly gain spontaneous support from the people. It is the people who determine their leader, not the other way around."
'Tallying the votes'
The leading, independent Jakarta Post cautioned (5/31): "Amid the relief that voting has proceeded smoothly, it must be noted that, even with the counting still in progress, allegations of widespread fraud and vote-rigging have already been coming in from Golkar's main contender in the general election, the United Development Party (PPP). Similar allegations have also come from the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP). The PPP executive board is reportedly expected to meet soon to decide whether or not the party will accept the official results. While it may be easy to shrug off such complaints as being almost an established part of general elections in many countries, especially in the developing world, it is important to examine these allegations if we are serious in our intention to gradually establish a healthy working democracy in which justice and prosperity can prevail together, as envisaged by our founding fathers."
'Process of national disintegration'
The government-oriented Indonesian Observer, in an op-ed piece by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Roeslan Abdulgani said (5/30): "What is conspicuous in [the people's] eyes is the social discrepancy, the violence and arbitrariness, and the arrogance of the bureaucracy, from the top right down to the bottom, together with the conspicuous corruption, collusion, perversion of authority, commercialism and nepotism.... In the campaign period leading to the general election, there was a polarization and a visible separation into two distinct forces. First, a force eager to maintain the status quo...and a force that is eager for change...not destructive change, but a corrective-constructive change aimed at improvement.... Although it can be said that yellow will once again prevail at the election, its credibility will decline since its democratic value is handicapped, as well as its morality. It is feared that the polarization of the two forces will continue after the elections are over. And this will increase the process of national disintegration. The unity and integrity of the nation, country and state are threatened."
'Gaps in feelings'
Leading independent Kompas editorialized (5/30): "Many people raised the issue of gaps during the campaign season. We should learn that the issue is not restricted to social and economic gaps, but also pertains to feelings between the people and the government."
'Voting responsibly'
Ruling Golkar Party's Suara Karya declared (5/29): "The reason everyone should manage their voting rights responsibly is that when people make the wrong choice, they impede national development.... Citizens who feel responsible for making the election a success are concerned about the future, that is to say, making the effort to retain New Order leadership."
'Soeharto in overdrive'
The liberal Sydney Morning Herald opined (6/3): "President Soeharto has his mandate, such as it is. But by refusing to allow this election to be run more fairly and to allow democracy to grow even by the smallest degree, he has added to his difficulties.... Far from consolidating Indonesia's stability, it marks the beginning of a period of new tension.... It is regrettable that the Indonesian government, by manipulating these elections, has let slip the opportunity to move towards a system which allows the will of the Indonesian people to be heard more clearly."
'Indonesia's future'
In the words of the liberal Melbourne Age (6/2): "After so many years of President Soeharto's rule, there is growing impatience with the pace of change and the extent of corruption among elites. The mantra of gradualism is losing its ability to convince the politically marginalized and the economically deprived."
'Indonesia falls short in new age'
The national, conservative Australian judged (6/2): "Even by its own standards, the Indonesian political system is no longer working. The election campaign has been one of the most violent, and least democratic, for decades. Even the basic objective of stability is thus not being achieved. If the political paralysis goes on indefinitely, the other basic policy aim–economic growth–is likely to come under threat.... Indonesia deserves something better."
'Path to a post-Soeharto Indonesia'
Top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri maintained (6/1): "Indonesia's ruling Golkar Party scored a general election landslide victory Thursday, garnering more than 70 percent of the votes–the party's target level for proportional representation.... President Soeharto was apparently determined to win a landslide victory for his party.... "In response to growing criticism from inside and outside the country of Soeharto's long rule, the president wanted to show that he enjoys overwhelming support from voters after more than 30 years in power. Such strong support from voters is particularly important if Soeharto intends to run for a seventh term in next year's presidential election. But things will not necessarily be...easy. The biggest task ahead for Soeharto, who turns 76 this month, is to ensure that he pave the way for a transfer of power and that such a transfer goes smoothly.
"Neighboring countries are also concerned about Indonesia's transition of political power. If Indonesia, with a population of 200 million, were to fall into a chaos, the stability of the region would be threatened. Furthermore, the security of sea lanes...might be endangered.... It is important to facilitate moves leading to political freedom and eliminate the sense of alienation among many of the Indonesian people."
'A downfall merely postponed'
Ricardo Malay wrote in the independent Manila Chronicle (5/30): "There is a measure of deja vu in the way the Indonesian political scene is shaping up.... The comparison with Marcos returns in the light of US disengagement of support for the Indonesian strongman.... Why have the Indonesians tolerated a tyrant that is as greedy as Mobutu and Marcos at the expense of their national pride and dignity? The question may be unfair. Like their Filipino brothers, the Indonesians are slow to anger–preferring to suffer in silence. But when they awaken to injustice, they are like a rampaging water buffalo that gores its adversary to a gruesome death. The stirrings now being felt in Indonesia spell the handwriting on the wall for the dictatorship, its fall may not be imminent but it will come, slowly but surely."
'Soeharto's daughter for vice president?'
Pro-business Joong-Ang Ilbo put forth this analysis (6/2): "With the general elections completed, the key issue for the Indonesians is who will become vice president in next year's election. While President Soeharto's re-election looks obvious at this point, his old age has kept the issue alive. The president himself has not mentioned a name, but most Indonesians expect his eldest daughter to run for the post.... The people do not seem to welcome this prospect. Indonesia won't be able to avoid criticism that it is becoming something of a dynasty if Soeharto's daughter succeeds him."
'Abstention will diminish administration's victory'
Conservative Segye Ilbo (5/30) commented: "Indonesia's ruling Golkar Party will win the election in a landslide. The key issue now is how many will turn out to vote. Since it has had close to 90 percent support in most elections, the party needs to match that popularity this year so it can win the presidential election in 1998. In order to ensure victory, Golkar has already removed a possible danger by preventing popular opposition leaders from running in the election. Those who support opposition leaders are vowing not to vote. Although abstaining may not change the election results, it will diminish the Soeharto administration's victory."
'Monitoring today's Indonesia - violence and frustration'
Cafe Dam commented in elite, business-oriented Krungthep Turakij (5/29): "The raging campaign violence that has spread, particularly in eastern Java, the traditional power base of President Soeharto, is an unprecedented challenge against the powers-that-be so far... Those who previously had been cowed and did not dare speak out...including business circles...the press... and the middle class have now started to vent their anger openly against the Soeharto regime.... Globalization in information technology may have played a major role in germinating and disseminating political spontaneity, despite restrictions on access to information still in place.... With the availability of media as CNN, the Indonesian middle class have come to the realization that they do possess adequate intelligence to become a formidable force to effect changes."
'A revolution is nigh'
Trairat Soontornprapat put forth this view in the mass- circulation Daily News (5/29): "The violence in Indonesia is believed to portend the imminent end to President Soeharto's 30 years of dictatorial rule.... Nepotism...and a government with high concentration of military personnel and hand-picked representatives...is a ready ticket to an eventual rebellion, coup d'etat or revolution."
'Mr. Soeharto's victory'
The centrist Hindu asked its readers (6/2): "Who can doubt that the Indonesian strongman, General Soeharto, and his Golkar Party will win handsomely...in what must be regarded as a nearly perfectly engineered election?... The fifth 'general' election, whatever the verdict, could prove to be a watershed in [Indonesia's] political march.... For the first time, the suppressed society found its voice and let it be heard. Things may never be the same again....
"It was a feeling of disenchantment and discontent that gave vent to campaign violence.... The opposition converted the poll campaign into a show of popular unrest.... It was Indonesia's founder-leader Sukarno who in fact pioneered this distortion with his version of guided democracy that permitted but a single party–his own. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand in the neighborhood have all yielded their own variations.... If the aging Soeharto is not to see all the gains he has achieved for his country unravel in eruptions of civil unrest, he must introduce political reforms and let some fresh air in. He owes this to his country."
'Soeharto again'
An editorial in the nationalist Hindustan Times declared (6/2): "It would surprise very few if, when official results are eventually announced, it turns out that Golkar has achieved its biggest electoral triumph in 26 years.... It would be interesting to watch how Soeharto anoints his successor, and how the new leader will cope with the legacy of 30 years of his rule.... Although Soeharto had enthusiastically dubbed this year's election as a 'festival of democracy,' the campaign turned out to be anything but a democratic celebration, since several hundred died in pre- poll violence.... The Muslim-oriented United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) fought an unequal battle with Golkar.... It does not exactly strain credulity to conclude that the armed forces had deliberately allowed poll violence to spread in order to underline their indispensability. A disturbing thought, but not implausible, given the present political situation in the archipelago."
'Indonesia's sham democracy'
The leading Globe and Mail contended (5/30): "Indonesia's ruling Golkar Party is heading for a smashing victory in this week's parliamentary elections... This is Indonesian politics–predictable, ritualized, ceremonial. But stable? That is another question... Even if, by some miracle, the opposition were to seize control of the parliament, it would not make much difference because almost all power is concentrated in the presidency and the cabinet. Democracy in Indonesia is a sham. Does it matter? Soeharto, after all, has been a highly successful leader in many ways.... That success would not have been possible without political stability. But is authoritarianism the right way to ensure stability in the future?... If Indonesia is going to maintain its cherished stability, it needs to give people a way to vent their feelings by legitimate means: through independent political groups, a free press and a fair electoral system."
South China Morning Post - June 17, 1997
Jenny Grant, Jakarta – Supporters of ousted opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri maintained pressure on the Government yesterday, demanding election results be cancelled and rival Indonesian Democracy Party (PDI) leader Suryadi be sacked.
About 100 of Ms Megawati's loyalists from Jakartan PDI branches issued a statement labelling the current PDI leadership unconstitutional.
The party performed poorly at the general elections last month under the leadership of Mr Suryadi, who was installed by a pro- government faction.
PDI won three per cent of the votes, compared with 15 per cent at the 1992 polls.
Ms Megawati was ousted and replaced by Mr Suryadi at a party congress last June.
"The results are a kind of referendum to show that supporters do not back the results of the PDI congress led by Suryadi," the PDI statement said.
Even pro-Suryadi members yesterday admitted the damaging defeat at the polls would curtail what the party could achieve in Parliament.
"We have lost not only the battle, but also the war. Now we should just accept the results and be realistic about what we can achieve," B. N. Marbun, a PDI official from the Suryadi faction, said.
The three official parties are due to sign the election results tomorrow.
Mr Suryadi's faction is facing strident opposition from Ms Megawati's followers, which threatens to make the party unworkable for the next five-year term.
Representatives of 13 provincial branches from Java, Bali, Sulawesi and Kalimantan visited Ms Megawati's home in South Jakarta on Sunday night to pledge support for her.
"They said they are prepared to fight to prove Suryadi and his PDI are not legal," Sukowaluyo Mintorahardjo, a Megawati loyalist who will lose his seat when Parliament resumes on October 1, said.
Ms Megawati is the daughter of the late Sukarno, Indonesia's first president.
Liberation - June 16, 1997
The vulgar and blatant election fraud by the government, election administrators and the military to ensure a victory for the Golkar's sole majority is no longer being tolerated by the people. Protests have erupted everywhere, from peaceful demonstrations such as those by the Megawati Supporters Movement (GPM) and K-UNPAD at the headquarters of the United Development Party (PPP) [posted in a previous asietnew-l posting] to violent demonstrations such as the killing of a head vote counter in Sukabumi, burning down his house.
There were also protest actions at opportunistic PPP functionaries themselves, such as the protest by PPP cadre in Semut which demanded that the chair of PPP Semut resign because they wanted to accept the election results.
On Friday, June 13, thousands of people supporting the PPP in Jember, East Java held a protest action over the elections. This action eventually developed into mass rioting, at 12.15 pm. Why did it turn into a riot? Because there had been a number of previous protest against the fraudulence of the elections but they had received no positive response. The masses who had finished their Friday prayers became even more emotional and rallied to the local government offices two kilometers away. The crowd swelled as others arrived from different areas.
The protesters unfurled banners which read "District head: please listen to the voice of the people" and "Democratic justice or destruction!". A number of the participants in the action carried weapons such as traditional knives and stones.
In the end the masses surrounded the Jember government offices and pelted it with stones. They were able to get in by breaking down the front gate of the office. In the end the offices were destroyed by the masses.
In this action, seven people were shot by the military and three soldiers were seriously wounded after they were severely beaten and hit with rocks. One of those who was shot died. The remainder are being cared for at the Jember army hospital. Three hundred others were arrested by the military.
A local military commander, Lieutenant-Colonal Djasmib Senos from Dandim 0824 became the target of the masses. One of the demonstrations carrying a Keris (a traditional knife) tried to stab him. But the oppressor of the people was able to escape. One of the protesters apparently tried to throw a rock as large as a fist at his chest. The rock throwing by the masses happened when their emotions boiled over after one of the demonstrators was shot and hit in the groin.
Police Captain J. Panjaitan who was also in the field was shot by one of his own subordinates. He had do be taken to the Jember hospital and is still in intensive care.
By Saturday, Jember was still in the grip of the demonstrations. The shops and offices closed. The people were still considering the possibility of a much larger follow-up action while the military continued to stand guard. KH Sodiq Fikri, a religious figure and head of the Riyadlush Sholihin Islamic school warned his followers not to combat evil with evil. He also regretted the actions of the soldiers who fired causing a feud with the people.
Fikri also regretted the attitude of the Jember local government which took no clear action against those who carried out the election fraud. "If the local government had acted decisively, yesterdays incident would not have occurred" he said. He also added that one of the triggers of the riot was the arrogance of those who carried out the election fraud who are now walking about freely in society when they should be arrested.
Another religious figure, HM Madini Faruq considered that the riot was the climax of a series of previous incidents expressing the people protest in the face of fraudulence in the conduct of the elections. (From Harian Merdeka and Terbit).
[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski]
| East Timor |
National Council of Maubere Resistance/Executive Committee of Fight of Armed Front - June 3, 1997
[ETAN/US received the following document as a fax, in English, from the resistance in East Timor. This is the first direct report we have seen giving the East Timorese internal resistance's view of recent events. (The report is dated June 3, 1997.) Given the predominance of official Indonesian reports, we post this document, because we believe that the East Timorese should be allowed to speak for themselves. Note: we have tried to transcribe the document exactly as written, preserving mis- spellings and grammatical awkwardness.]
1. With many honors and high consideration, we want to inform to the International organizations of Human Rights and International Community on all the incidents before to begin the general elections in Indonesia and after elections in East Timor.
Now, Indonesian forces begin to arrest and to kill the youngmen and persons of population. Many youngmen and activists are detained, tortured, beatten and interrogated.
We appeal and call attention specially to United Nations organizations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Commission, American Watch, European Union European Parliamentary, American Congress and CPLP to take a clear and concret measure on violations and massacres that indonesian forces are practising at this moment in East Timor.
2. We appeal to these great organizations that if they are lovers of the peace and social justice. If you are defenders of Human Rights in the world, please to press indonesian government to withdraw out its forces from East Timor because Timorese People rejected and reject the integration of East Timor into the Indonesian Republic. Indonesia is a violator, transgressor and murderous country. Indonesia never respected the Human Rights and the right of the Timorese People.
3. Now indonesian government send more 15 battalions of the effective militaries to East Timor. After its general elections, indonesian forces begin to arrest and to kill all the youngmen with person of population who are suspected to colaborate with the guerrilla fighters in the assaults against indonesian military forces and policial forces during the general elections in East Timor. Really indonesian government is not happy and satisfied with the elections in East Timor because the urns or ballots boxes were burnt by the guerrilla fighters and the population in all the territory of East Timor. Guerrilla attacks
4. Now we go to inform to the International Organizations and International Community that Timorese guerrilla fighters have done the following attacks:
a. On 26th May 1997, the guerrilla fighters from Falintil attacked the policial forces in Laga-toaucau and they killed (3) three indonesian policemen and (2) two were wounded gravely.
b. On 27th May, the guerrilla fighters have assaulted one car of police Brimob (brigade moviable) they flung into the car a grenade in which killed (4) policemen, (2) were wounded. The attack was done in Baguia.
c. On 28th May, the guerrilla fighters came from the mountain with one car, mark kisang to Dili. The car "Toyota kisang" was driven by the youngman named Adalia Orlando Heriques. The guerrilla fighers have killed (17) seventeen policeman and many of them were wounded. They are interned in Military Hospital, in Dili. (4) guerrilla fighters were dead and (2) two were captured and detained. Five (5) youngmen were dead also. Many youngmen were wounded and many of them were disappeared so far today. d. On 29th May 1997, the guerrilla fighters were commanded by the David Alex Caitula (?), they intered in Baucau's Laga Baguia, Quelicai, Viqueque and Ossu. They burnt all the urns in the villas and villages. On that day, the guerrilla fighters have killed (1) one indonesian intelligence with his wife
e. On 30th May 1997, one military car came back from Quelicai to Dili, brought 35 policemen arrived in a village called Maumana, the car was assaulted by the guerrilla fighters, flung one grenade into the car and killed the following javanes forces or policemen:
The ten (10) wounded were intered in the hospital named Wira Husada in Lahane-Dili
f. On 31th May, at nine o'clock, in Welaicama-Baucau, the guerrilla fighters had been shot and burnt the car of staf of governor for the Baucau's District. They burnt also 1 motor- bycicle.
Lospalos' District
5. On 29th May, indonesian forces and policemen have killed 10 youngmen who destroyed and burnt the urns of elections in hospitals. In Lospalos, the youngmen went to watch the RTPI, indonesian forces from Command red bonnet arrested them and killed 8 youngmen. Those youngmen watched RTPI in the homes of some teach named Alvaro. This one with his sons were dead by the indonesian forces. His Television and parabolic antene were destroyed. Indonesian military forces said to them: why do you like to watch Portuguese television? Did you not like to watch indonesian television? You are indonesian enemies. You are Fretilin. You must be dead.
6. During the general elections (9) nine indonesian militaries were dead in Ermera's district.
NW: NB: On that assult in Bairro Pite; five (5) youngmen were dead on 28th May, at night. Their names are here: Alberto, Carlito, Gaspar, Romeu. Another, we are still identifying. Indonesia only announced that (17) seventeen Indonesian policemen were dead in Bairro Pite-Dili.
Arrestings
On 31th May, indonesian forces and policmen arrested many youngmen in Dili, specially the youngmen of Bairro Pite; Fatumeta, Manleuana and Comoro.
1. Indonesian military forces and policemen have arrested David Dias Ximenes, ex-scond leutenant of portuguese army. He was ex- political prisoner. He was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. He was banished to Cipinang's prison in Jakarta. He was released on 17 of August 1991.
2. At this moment, he's detained by the indonesian forces in the Police's Command in Comoro-Dili for the interrogations on assault in Bairro Pite. David Dias Ximenes has been accused by the indonesian authorities that he's the author of assaults on 28th May 1997, in Dili. Indonesian authorities said that the assaults were organized by him. However, the accusations are falses. The assaults were organized by the Armed Resistance. The general elections were boicoted in all the territory of East Timor.
Only in Dili the military forces and the policemen have arrested more 180 youngmen. They are still seeking all the persons to arrest, to condemn and to sentence them to the prison.
We have got the names of 8 youngmen more active that participated in the assault of Bairro Pite-Dili.
3. On 3th June 1997, the wife of David Dias Ximenes, named Beatriz Magno Ximenes was arrested by the indonesian forces. She was arrested at 12o'clock in Dili. Now, she's detained with her husband in Police's Command in Comoro.
She was interrogated and released again in the following day.
The house was destroyed to seek the guns and documents from the Maubere Resistance. The indonesian forces got some documents at his home. Those documents were written in english and portuguese language. The indonesian authorities go to arrange some people whose knows portuguese language to translate these documents into indonesian language (bahasa indonesia).
4. One advocate named Aniceto from the Indonesia Institute of Legal Helping had gone to Police Prison to visit David Dias Ximenes. The advocate was allured by the Commander of Police, Mr. Yusuf Muharam so that Anicete can not defend David Dias Ximenes and the Timorese youngmen. The Police's Commander wanted to give him a special job because Aniceto want to defend the Timoreses. So, the Commander wanted to allure him. But, Aniceto refused to accept that special job because he's a defender of Human Rights.
5. And also, we pretend to elucidate to the International organizations of Human Rights and International Community that the Center of Human Rights in Australia announced to the world that during the general elections in East Timor, many Timoreses and many indonesian policemen died there. Two hundred (200) people were dead.
6. This true, because the Military Commander, Mahidin Simbolon, and Commander of Police Yusef Muharim recognized that many indonesian forces died in East Timor.
7. Indonesian government said that Commander was not able to exterminate guerrilla resistance. So, he must be substituted by another military Commander. Therefore, Mahidin Simbolon was substituted by the new Commander Slamet Sidabutar from II group of Command (Kopasus).
8. On the first of June 1997, Commander Slamet Sidabutar had a meeting in Baucau with all the Commanders of operations to arrest and to kill all the Timorese youngmen. All the people had been involved in the assaults of general elections. They will be clean out by the indonesian forces.
9. Colonel Infantary, Slamet Sidabutar declared that indonesian forces have not difficulties to finish the guerrilla fighters or Armed Resistance. But, they have many difficulties to exterminate Clandestine Resistance, because the Clandestine Resistance is very strong. So, we must take major attention to wipe out the Clandestine Resistance firstly.
10.Acceding with the declaration of javanese Commander, Slamet Sidabutar, indonesian forces have arrested more 500 in all the territory of East Timor, after the general elections.
Appeal
11. So, Timorese People, more once, appeals to the United Nations organizations, international organizations to help and to support Portuguese government and Timorese diplomatic Representation so that can find a just and internationally accepted solution for East Timor's question.
Maubere People demand to general Secretary, Mr. Kofi Annan of United Nations to press Indonesia and Portugal so that the can resolve quickly the problem of East Timor to finish at once the sufferings of Timorese People.
12. Maubere People demand to general Secretary of United Nations so that can not adjourn always the Timorese question because with the adjournment of problem, indonesian forces go to kill Timorese group by group until to exterminate the Timorese Resistance. The people of East Timor doesn't want the war. The Timoreses want the peace, social justice, and freedom like the other peoples in the international world. The Timorese want to live free and peacefull with Asian Peoples, specially indonesian people. But, indonesian government didn't accept the opinion of East Timor's People. So, the struggle was continuing so far today.
Timor Leste - 3 June 1997
Three signatures, names illegible Seals of Falintil and Comite Ejecutivo
ETISC, Darwin - June 19, 1997
We have received an urgent warning from a reliable source in Indonesia that the Indonesian Armed Forces (Abri), are planning an all-out offensive beginning this Friday, June 20, against East Timorese who are suspected to be associated with the Resista nce against Indonesia's illegal occupation of East Timor. According to the source, which is connected to the Abri high command, a total of 1,700 East Timorese have been targeted in the offensive.
Indonesian troops have stepped up a campaign of arrests and atrocities against the civilian population in the troubled territory since last month, when Indonesia staged mock legislative elections throughout the country and in East Timor. This is in rep risal for attacks by the armed East Timor resistance, Falintil, which killed 52 Indonesian police and soldiers.
Indonesia has positioned a further 15 battalions in East Timor after the elections to crack down on anyone suspected of collaborating with Falintil.
Since the attacks, over 200 East Timorese have been rounded up all over the territory in a security swoop. To date, we have reliable information that 12 civilians have been killed in Baucau alone, 130 kilometres east of the capital Dili.
The Suharto regime's use of brutal force to thwart any dissent is well-known. Because of this, the international community can no longer afford to keep its eyes shut when it comes to the East Timor question. We, once again, call on the United Nations Se cretary-General, Kofi Annan, to intervene fast before more innocent lives are lost. The brutalities of Abri, when it comes to retaliatory offensives, know no limits.
In 1983, for instance, the whole village of Kraras near Viqueque near the south coast was wiped out in retaliation against the armed resistance. In Kraras, 287 Timorese were massacred, including children and babies. This same scenario might be repeated again if the all-out offensive is launched this Friday.
Interpress News Service - June 17, 1997
Farhan Haq, United Nations – Indonesian troops have stepped up a campaign of arrests and atrocities against the civilian population in East Timor, pro-Timorese activists and human rights groups argue.
Since last month, when Indonesia staged legislative elections throughout the country and in East Timor – declared annexed by Jakarta in 1976 – dozens of Timorese have been arrested or killed by Indonesian troops, supporters of Timorese independence say.
Constancio Pinto, a representative of the National Council of Maubere Resistance (CNRM), a coalition of pro-independence groups, told the U.N. Decolonisation Committee Monday that the Indonesian attacks followed a series of operations last month by the Timorese guerrilla force, FALINTIL. The FALINTIL strikes, which coincided with the May 29 elections, killed 52 Indonesian police and soldiers and five FALINTIL members, Pinto claimed.
"Since the attacks, the military authorities have said they have arrested over 140 individuals but have released all but 23 people," Pinto said. "FALINTIL reports many more arrested and a number of civilians killed."
Among those believed killed, Pinto said, are 18 civilians which FALINTIL reported were gunned down by Indonesian special forces on election day itself. They say the 18 included 10 people who were trying to destroy a voting booth.
A Jun. 3 communique by the CNRM's Executive Committee of the Struggle of the Armed Front, acquired by IPS, says that Indonesia has positioned 15 battalions in East Timor after the elections to crack down on anyone suspected of collaborating with the guerrillas.
"Many young men and activists are (being) detained, tortured, beaten and interrogated," the communique says. The casualties include eight people killed while watching Portuguese television during the May 29 vote at a private home in Dili, the Timorese capital, the communique alleges.
Among those arrested is David Dios Ximenes, a former soldier who served in the Portuguese Army in the period before 1975 when the island state was a Portuguese colony. (The Decolonisation Committee lists East Timor as a "non-self-governing" territory, which means that its decolonisation from Portuguese rule is n ot regarded to have been completed.)
Jose Ramos Horta, CNRM leader and co-winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, for his part apologised to both the Indonesians and Timorese who were killed in the past few weeks of fighting between Indonesia's occupation forces and the rebels.
"I condemn without any ambiguity any attack on East Timorese civilians, on collaborators or civil servants," Ramos Horta told the Decolonisation Committee. "I condemn without any ambiguity any physical abuse, killing or humiliation of Indonesian civilian personnel, migrants, their families or Indonesian military personnel in non-combat duties." Ramos Horta called for an international investigation to be carried out into all charges that either Indonesian troops or the guerrillas have committed atrocities in recent days.
Pinto, however, asserted that "recent attacks by FALINTIL specifically targeted the Indonesian military and its collaborators," and not civilians. Some rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch/Asia, have blamed FALINTIL for attacking civilians last month.
Yet those groups have also criticised Indonesia for stepping up arrests of Timorese who speak out against Jakarta's occupation. In one recent report, Amnesty International says that 33 Timorese youths were arrested after peacefully demonstrating outside a hotel in Dili where U.N. envoy Jamsheed Marker was staying.
"Most of those arrested were subjected to ill treatment, including beatings, by the security forces," Amnesty says in its report. "Eleven youths were so badly wounded that they were taken to a military hospital for treatment. There were unconfirmed reports that at least one person was shot and wounded by the security forces during the confrontation."
The crackdown by Jakarta has sparked efforts in the United States to penalise President Suharto's regime. Last week, two US representatives, Democrats Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island and Tony Hall of Ohio, inserted an amendment into foreign aid legislation, criticising Indonesia's human rights record. Shortly afterward, Suharto wrote US President Bill Clinton to inform him that Jakarta would reject its previous offer to purchase nine F-16 fighter jets.
Meanwhile, the US states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and several localities, including New York City, are all working separately on rules that would forbid state and city governments from giving contracts to any businesses that deal with Indonesia.
"What is needed is steady US pressure on Indonesia to end its illegal occupation of East Timor and US support for repeated U.N. calls for a referendum on self-determination," says Lynn Fredriksson of the East Timor Action Network, a US-based, pro- independence group.
The new allegations of rights abuses come at a bad time for Indonesia. The country's foreign minister, Ali Alatas, is to meet his Portuguese counterpart, Jaime Gama, on Thursday to kick off two days of U.N.-assisted talks on East Timor here.
East Timor Action Network - June 15, 1997
The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) plans to intensify its congressional lobbying campaign in the aftermath of a flury of activity related to Indonesia in the US House of Representatives this past week.
"Recent events have shown that grassroots pressure combined with Congressional action can indeed have an impact on both administration policy and Indonesia," said Lynn Fredriksson, Washington Representative of ETAN. "We plan to turn up the heat on both Congress and the Administration."
"Indonesia's cancellation of plans to purchase F-16 jet fighters and to participate in the E-IMET military training is a victory," she added. Indonesia's dictator Suharto wrote President Clinton withdrawing from the military training and the F-16 deal on May 26 after the House International Relations Committee passed an amendment to the combined Foreign Aid and State Department Authorization Bill banning small arms and IMET to Indonesia. ETAN has opposed the sale of the F-16s since it was first rumored several years ago and has opposed IMET since ETAN was founded.
Although the authorization bill was subsequently split in two, the House by a voice vote included amendments in the State Department Authorization by Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Tony Hall (D-OH) criticizing Indonesia's human rights record and its actions in East Timor. Kennedy's amendment outlines a series of measures that Indonesia must take to improve human rights before military training and certain weapons can be supplied to Indonesia. These measures include free and fair elections, respect for labor rights, the release of political prisoners in both Indonesia and East Timor, the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from East Timor, and a substantial dialogue including Indonesia, Portugal and East Timorese leaders on the political status of the territory. This is the first time that such strong and specific language on Indonesia and East Timor has been included in a State Department authorization.
Also included in the House bill was a Code of Conduct on arms sales which bans the sale of weapons to dictatators, human rights violators and nations that attack their neighbors.
"We expect Indonesia to be one of the first countries denied weapons under the Code of Conduct. Indonesia is clearly not democratic. It has been condemned by the international community as a human rights violator and has used US weapons to invade its neighbor East Timor," said John M. Miller, spokesperson for ETAN. Earlier this year, the U.N. Human Rights Commission passed a resolution, with US co-sponsorship, criticizing Indonesia for its actions in East Timor. If the administration chooses not to exempt Indonesia and continue to supply arms, Congress can override that decision.
"Clearly, a military as repressive as Indonesia's should not get additional weapons," he added. Friends of East Timor in both houses of Congress are expected to work for additional measures related to Indonesia and East Timor as the legislative session continues.
Rep. Bereuter (R-NE), chair of the Asia and Pacific Subcommitee and one of only two members of the House to speak against forceful criticism of Indonesia, chose to personalize his criticisms of the East Timorese resistance during the House debate by attacking Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D- CA) defended Ramos-Horta's commitment to a nonviolent solution to the conflict.
"Rep. Bereuter chose to ignore Ramos-Horta's tireless efforts to bring peace to his troubled homeland, his condemnation of alleged resistance attacks on civilians (which have not been verified), and his eagerness to work with Congress and the Clinton administration," said Fredriksson.
Ramos-Horta's recent meetings with various congressional leaders and some administration officials including U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson and Under-Secretary of State for Global Affairs Tim Wirth represent a positive step. Beyond meetings, however, what is needed is steady US pressure on Indonesia to end its illegal occupation of East Timor and US support for repeated U.N. calls for a referendum on self- determination," said Fredriksson.
Media release - June 16, 1997
The 'East Timorese Students Movement for Peace' (METLP) distributed a document addressed to the Head of the Parliament of Indonesia on Monday 16 June. In conjunction with this, a rally of East Timorese students has been organised at the regional Parliament in Surabaya at 10.00 am.
The document, signed by Renato da Costa, General Coordinator, and Zeto Felix da Costa, General Secretary of the Java-based 'East Timorese Students Movement for Peace', and issued in Portuguese and Bahasa Indonesia, in essence makes the following points:
1. Denounces the social and political manipulations of Indonesia aiming at supporting its claim that the majority of the East Timorese people have chosen integration with Indonesia.
2. Claims that the majority of the East Timorese people continue to struggle hard for their right of self-determination.
3. Denounces the lack of seriousness and political will to find a solution to the East Timor issue, in fact something easy to solve, which has become a major international conflict. This is highly detrimental to the people of East Timor, who experience great suffering.
4. The petition also acknowledges the high cost to Indonesia and the suffering of its people stemming from prolonging the irrational East Timor conflict.
5. The main reasons for the lack of a solution are: a. the impotence of Portugal; b. the lack of seriousness of the Indonesian government, which acts in an arrogant, inflexible, unrealistic and inconsistent manner;
6. The document denounces the use of violence by the Indonesian government to silence the aspirations of the East Timorese people. It asks why is a referendum not permitted, given that the people and the Resistance have long appealed for this easy way out to solve the problem?
7. It also denounces attempts by Jakarta to present the East Timor problem as one of social, race, religious or economic nature.
8. It asks why if economic development in East Timor is progressing as well as Indonesia claims, why do East Timorese youths have to seek refuge in foreign embassies, to, as Jakarta claims "get a free ticket abroad"? If there would be the alleged prosperity, people could buy their tickets, if indeed that were their motivation in attempting to flee the country.
The East Timorese Students Movement for Peace state the following position and demands:
1. Support for the tri-partite dialogue under UN secretary- General auspices, demanding that the question of a referendum to decide the territory's future be immediately addressed;
2. Support for the All Inclusive East Timorese Dialogue (AIETD), but demanding the inclusion of student representatives, and not only integrationists on the Indonesian side;
3. Strongly denounces the sponsoring of violent groups by the Indonesian authorities, such as GARDAPAKSI, TENTARA TIGA BULAN (Three Months Army) and others,as well as recruiting unemployed East Timorese in Jakarta for violent actions on behalf of Indonesia;
4. Rejection of any form of war in East Timor;
5. Support for dialogue as a means to resolve the conflict;
6. stoppage of all present activities of natural resource exploitation in East Timor.
To conclude, the Petition reiterates the following demands to the Indonesian Government:
End of the East Timor war;
Withdrawal of Indonesian military presence;
Implementation of UN and AIETD resolutions;
Holding a referendum in East Timor.
Agence France Presse - June 13, 1997
Geneva – The UN Development Programme mistakenly included East Timor in a item on Indonesia in a 1997 report, a spokeswoman said here Friday, stressing that the UN has never recognized the annexation of the former Portuguese colony.
The UNDP in its 1997 human development report published this week said in a section on regional disparities within countries that East Timor was one of the poorest regions of Indonesia with a poverty rate above 40 percent.
"East Timor should not have been included as part of Indonesia. The UNDP apologizes for this mistake," which is being corrected, spokeswoman Therese Gastaut said.
The UN has been hosting talks between Lisbon and Jakarta to try to find a solution to the East Timor issue.
Lusa - June 13, 1997
Sydney – Indonesian security forces killed on June 9 an East Timorese youth in the province of Viqueque, after accusing him of collaborating with the local resistance self-determination movement, a source has told Lusa.
The source said on Thursday that Vasco Pinto, 24, had been stabbed several times on the back and chest, adding that "the situation in the area is very tense as arrests and tortures continue". East Timor police chief Colonel Jusuf Maharam, quoted by Indonesian news agency Antara, said on Thursday that the police had arrested three more people over a fire that swept the largest market in the territory's capital Dili last week.
Indonesian authorities said they had captured 120 members of the guerrilla after several attacks during and in the aftermath of the Indonesian parliamentary elections on May 29.
The police said also that 34 people had died as a result of the attacks.
Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it one year later but the United Nations still regards Portugal as the territory's administering power.
Portugal has demanded that East Timor be given the right of self-determination.
Agence France Presse - June 9, 1997
Jakarta – One of four men arrested in connection with a market fire in the East Timor capital Dili has been implicated in an attack on a truck last month which left 17 policemen dead, police said.
"One of the four men arrested over the Mercado Lama market fire was also implicated in the attack on the police truck in Baucau on May 31," said an official at the East Timor police chief's office Fauzan.
Fauzan said the four people arrested on Saturday were under intensive questioning. The four are believed to be separatist rebels. The official added that the truck bombing suspect was only believed to have played a token role in the May 31 ambush on a police truck near Quelicai in Baucau district.
Seventeen policemen died in the attack, 13 of them through a grenade being thrown into the truck and four others gunned down as they were trying to escape the fire.
East Timor police chief Colonel Yusuf Maharam has said the four were rebels who had also planned to set fire to government offices and a police station in order to seize weapons.
The four were arrested in possession of a car and a gas can used to set fire to the market late Saturday.
Fauzan said police were still searching for two other suspects, whose identities were revealed by the four currently in custody.
No casualties were reported but more than 500 stalls in the Mercado Lama were razed by the blaze.
Muharam said Friday police had arrested 130 people following a series of attacks and violence blamed on separatist rebels in which at least 36 people were killed in East Timor.
Separatist rebels are suspected of being behind several attacks on civilian and military targets since May 27 that have left nine civilians, five rebels and 22 policemen and soldiers dead.
| Labour issues |
Labor Alerts/Labor News - June 18, 1997
[This information was passed along to Campaign for Labor Rights by the East Timor Action Network (ETAN), in North America, which received it from East Timor Independence, in New Zealand. This report also is based on information provided by Jeff Ballinger, of Press for Change, and Max Surjadinata, in New York.]
Background
In late April, workers from the PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry (HASI) – a Nike contractor in Tangerang, Indonesia – went on strike twice in one week when workers felt they were being cheated out of a 20 cent/day raise in the minimum wage. The HASI factory owners (along with other Nike contractors in Indonesia) had asked the government for permission not to pay the new wage, claiming that the extra 20 cents would be a financial hardship on the company. Although HASI management eventually agreed to pay the new minimum wage, they took away a $7.75 monthly premium given to workers with steady attendance. In effect, they were taking back with one hand what they were giving with the other.
On April 22, 10,000 of the 13,000 workers at PT HASI marched from the plant in Tangerang on Jakarta's outskirts to the district parliament to demand their wage increase. The early morning march, which snarled traffic in the industrial area in West Java province, was watched closely by security forces but there was no violence.
By April 23, a tentative agreement had been reached, with the factory owners agreeing to pay the new minimum wage and to restore most of the bonus at a lower level of $6.88 a month. However, workers remained distrustful whether the factory would honor the agreement and subsequently struck again, on April 25. The second strike involved destruction of factory property. Reports vary as to whether – as tends to be the case in Indonesia – the violence was instigated by police and/or military actions.
Although the workers appear to have won some of their wage demands, observers are concerned for the welfare of those who may be singled out as strike leaders. Intimidation, firing – and worse – are a common fate for anyone identified as a labor activist in Indonesia.
Recent news
The recent alert originating from New Zealand concerns a "contact report" based on interviews with PT HASI workers and carried out by the Indonesian Shoe Monitoring Network (ISMN). This is the coalition of nine Indonesian nongovernmental organizations which has sought permission to conduct independent monitoring of Nike's factories in their country. Although Nike has refused permission to monitor its factories from within, ISMN does monitor conditions from the outside, through worker interviews.
The disturbing news in this ISMN "contact report" is that the Indonesian District Military Command (KODIM) has specifically singled out about 50 East Timorese male employees for harassment and initimidation following the labor unrest of late April. Although details at this time are sketchy, it appears that, following the second round of actions at the factory, some 50 of these East Timorese were summoned by KODIM to meet at a house. The report emphasizes that the workers deny having taking part in the actions of April 25.
As of this writing, we do not have further information on the treatment of these East Timorese workers – either at the hands of the military or by the Nike contractor.
Context and reasons for concern
In 1975, Indonesia invaded and forcibly annexed the newly independent state of East Timor. The invasion and subsequent occupation proved a genocide, ultimately costing the lives of some 200,000 East Timorese – approximately one third of the population. (The invasion, by the way, began within 48 hours of a brief visit by then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and then- President Gerald Ford. Kissinger now is on the board of mining giant Freeport MacMoRan, which is devastating the environment of another Indonesia holding, Irian Jaya.)
This year, the Nobel committee ackowledged the scale of human disaster in East Timor by naming as peace laureates, two Timorese human rights advocates.
Since the invasion of East Timor, the Indonesian government has systematically altered the ethnic mix of that region by flooding it with Javanese and by encouraging emigration by East Timorese males.
Now enter Tutut, daughter of Indonesian dictator Suharto (who came to power via a 1965 coup with the arms, approval and aid of the US government). Suharto and his family members and cronies have made themselves billionaires many times over by bleeding the Indonesian economy of everything that might have made it a land of plenty in the Pacific.
Tutut's desire for self-enrichment coincides perfectly with her father's desire to depopulate East Timor of its indigenous males. For three or four years or more, Tutut has acted as a job recruiter, promising East Timorese men high paying jobs in Batam, an Indonesian island near Singapore. Wages in the free trade zone in Batam are actually substantially higher than in East Timor or much of the rest of Indonesia. However, most of the Timorese recruited by Tutut, supposedly to work in Batam, find themselves stuck in West Java, in jobs such as those at the Nike factories.
Implications for Nike
Nike has tried to bill the unrest at PT HASI as simply the result of a misunderstanding by the workers about their pay. The company has claimed for years that it pays twice or more the minimum wage in its Indonesian factories. Yet, following the unrest at PT HASI, Nike spin doctors were eager to show that "if you take this amount from here and add it to that amount there," it just equals the new minimum wage.
Nike has taken care to distance itself from the dirty work of oppression in Indonesia. This latest report shows a Nike contractor colluding in the abuse of one of the most injured peoples on the face of the earth. In the words of Jeff Ballinger, of Press for Change, "Nike can walk away and say it was just a misunderstanding, but what about these 50 workers – and what about others, who were involved in organizing the protest?" By intimidating the most vulnerable members of the PT HASI workforce, KODIM clearly hopes to sow terror among any employees contemplating future labor organizing at the factory. Nike, always quick to be indignant about criticisms from human rights advocates, has yet to display its capacity for moral outrage at the treatment of these East Timorese workers.
| Social unrest |
Associated Press - June 17, 1997
Jakarta – Officials say communists were to blame for recent riots in East Java, and troops have been ordered to shoot troublemakers on sight, the official Antara news agency said today.
East Java Gov. Basofi Soedirman was quoted by Antara as saying that the role of the long-banned communists in the turmoil was obvious because rioters had burned a temple, a church, mosques and a copy of the Koran.
"To a senior person like me, the recent rioting greatly resembled that attempted by the Indonesian Communist Party," he told a meeting of religions leaders and the military on Monday.
The government banned the party in 1966 following an abortive communist coup attempt in 1965. Since then, the government has often blamed the now-underground group for any unrest.
Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo, the military commander of East Java, said "there is no other way left but to disperse rioters by force, if necessary by shooting them on sight." He said the rioters want to create disorder.
But some activists have said they were protesting alleged vote- rigging in the May 29 legislative election, which gave the ruling Golkar party a landslide victory.
On Saturday, mobs burned a church, a Buddhist temple, a cinema, three shops and several government vehicles in the Madura island town of Bangkalan in East Java, 400 miles east of Jakarta. Police said 26 people were arrested.
On Sunday, fighting erupted between residents of two villages in Pasuruan, a regency in East Java. Several fishermen were injured by homemade bombs.
Election protests erupted Friday in the East Java town of Sampang and earlier in the month in another East Java town, Jember.
HKS - June 15, 1997
Jakarta – Hundreds of people rampaged through a conservative Muslim-dominated town on the East Javan island of Madura, torching shops and a cinema as well as a church and a Buddhist temple.
"I do not know the reason behind it, but hundreds of people disrupted a ceremony at the central square of Bangkalan on Saturday night," an official said.
However, a prominent local Muslim political figure speculated that anger over alleged fraud in the recent elections _ and apparent disregard by non-Muslims _ had sparked the violence.
"There is still concern among the population over widespread violations and fraud during the elections, but officials are just having fun and being merry . . . they (the Muslim people) just felt insulted," said Fuad Amin, the head of the local chapter of the Muslim-led United Development Party (PPP.)
A group of people began by attacking officials attending a thanksgiving ceremony for a town cleanliness award won by Bangkalan.
A larger mob formed after the clashes and set fire to a nearby cinema and the Buddhist temple, and at least two cars as well as pelting a shop in a nearby shopping street, the official said.
"But order and security was re-established about 11 pm and the town's situation is returning to normal," the official added.
Three truckloads of soldiers and two armoured vehicles had been sent to the town, the daily Kompas said.
A church source said the mob burnt at least three shops, the Tri Dharma temple in the Chinatown of Bangkalan, and a Pentecostal church, and pelted the glass front of the local post office.
The Bangkalan PPP has accused officials of poll frauds during the 29 May general elections and has refused to sign and endorse the official elections results.
Mr Amin also said religious leaders and the government had agreed three years ago to hold popular folk music concerts outside the town in a stadium, but this agreement was ignored.
Madura is a stronghold of conservative Islam.
"I did not see it myself but people have been saying that one of the adjutants to the head of the district was stabbed during the clash at the square," the church source said.
Kompas said at least one government official had been injured by a machete during the scuffle with the rioters during the ceremony.
The incident started after officials tried to shoo away youths, who had climbed on a podium where a popular Dangdut folk music group was performing, the church source said.
Second Sergeant Suwaji of the Bangkalan police confirmed mob violence had taken place late on Saturday, that one shop was attacked and "for the moment, it seems like the (Buddhist) temple was set on fire." - Agencies
Radio Australia - June 16, 1997
Police have arrested 15 people after weekend riots on the Indonesian island of Madura in which a Muslim crowd burned shops, a Protestant church and a Buddhist temple.
East Java police spokesman Colonel Sofwat Hadi says police are still investigating the cause of the disturbance.
At least one police officer was injured during the riot.
Witnesses say the riot in the town of Bangkalan occurerd after a service to commemorate the recent death of local Muslim leader Amin Imron.
Last month there was a riot in Bangkalan when thousands of supporters of the Muslim-backed United Development Party protested against alleged vote-rigging during Indonesia's national election.
Radio Australia - June 17, 1997
Landowners in Indonesia's Irian Jaya province have burned down six new houses built for migrants under a transmirgration resettlement scheme.
A leader of the Kwimi village 40 kilometres south of the provincial capital of Jayapura says he ordered the burning because the project had cut down a sago tree forest without adequate compensation for the villagers.
The village chief quoted by the official Antara news agency saying the tribe had voluntarily given their land for the construction of the resettlement area but had demanded that compensation for the sago trees felled in the process.
Antara says a small compensation package had been given to the head of a nearby village that had no claim on the land.
Radio Australia - June 9, 1997
A report in Britain's Independent newspaper claims as many as four-thousand people in Indonesia's Kalimantan province were ritually murdered in an ethnic war in January and February this year.
Philippa Adam reports from London that the death toll is sharply at odds with official Indonesian estimates.
The Independent newspapers says a savage outbreak of head-hunting and cannibalism earlier this year in the remote West Kalimantan province, left 4-thousand people dead, including women and children. Official estimates at the time put the death toll at 3-hundred. The newspaper says they've uncovered evidence of headless human remains and describe events as an ethnic war fought on ancient black magic principles. Muslim settlers from the island of Madura have repeatedly clashed over land and jobs with the local tribespeople, the Dayaks. But in January and February this year, priests in the area estimate 200 Dayaks and 4-thousand Madurese died in the fighting.
| Economy and investment |
Australian Financial Reveiw - June 19, 1997
Greg Earl, Jakarta – The World Bank has warned that Indonesia is failing to make use of a period of high foreign investment and economic growth to resolve economic challenges that threaten its long-term performance.
The bank's annual assessment of one of its largest borrowers says that deregulation has lost momentum, underlying inflation is still high, some tariff reductions have not been implemented and the banking sector remains weak.
Nevertheless, the report forecasts a continued strong short-term economic performance, with growth of about 7.8 per cent over the next three years and a current account deficit that will remain at about 4 per cent of gross domestic product over that time.
Non-oil export growth is projected at 12.8-13.8 per cent, which is an increase on last year but below Indonesia's long-term projections. Import growth is projected at above 8 per cent but below the unsustainable levels of 1994 and 1995.
The report was circulated to Indonesia's main aid donors yesterday ahead of an annual meeting in Tokyo next month.
The meeting is expected to agree to an aid package of about $US5 billion ($6.7 billion), which the World Bank says is still necessary despite booming foreign investment.
While the report contains the bank's regular mix of recommendations favouring market pricing and transparent government procedures, this year it is distinguished by a repeated warning that Indonesia is allowing its once strong commitment to economic reform to drift.
It says: "Unless momentum is restored to deregulation, Indonesia risks slower growth and deteriorating equity, which characterises many developing countries."
While Indonesia has made many changes to its banking and currency regime over the past year the report says there is continuing concern that "the financial system, in its present state, would not act as an adequate shock absorber in the event of some macro-economic shock".
New York Times - June 14, 1997
David E. Sanger, Washington – In the first direct US challenge to the financial empire of President Suharto of Indonesia, the Clinton administration said Friday that it would ask the World Trade Organization to rule against Indonesia's national car project, a program run by Suharto's son that puts foreign companies at a disadvantage in the county's potentially huge automobile market.
The challenge comes after months of unsuccessful negotiations with Indonesia that have been the subject of extraordinary scrutiny in Washington because of campaign finance scandals.
In Clinton's first term, the Riady family of Indonesia, which is at the center of the investigations, repeatedly played an intermediary role in an effort to smooth relations between Suharto, Asia's longest-serving leader, and the White House.
Friday, however, the administration is under pressure to show that it is giving no special treatment to Indonesia, and in recent weeks relations have hit some new lows.
Reacting to sharp criticism in Congress of its treatment of dissidents in East Timor, Indonesia canceled the purchase of nine F-16 fighters last week. Suharto, in a letter to Clinton, complained of "wholly unjustified criticism" of Indonesia in Congress.
Separately, the State Department criticized recent election in Indonesia, declaring that its "electoral system severely limits political competition" and that "Indonesian citizens do not have the ability to change their government through democratic means."
Whether Washington would challenge the car project, however, was widely viewed as a test of the administration's willingness to confront Suharto over a business directly linked to his family's fortune. The project began in February 1996 by presidential decree. It is controlled and managed by Hutomo Mandala Putra, better known as Tommy Suharto, the president' son. And the cars it sells enjoy exclusive exemption from the huge tariffs and luxury-sales taxes applied to the import of foreign cars and parts.
Those tariffs have been a major point of contention because Indonesia, with 200 million people, is viewed as one of the most promising car markets in Southeast Asia.
The younger Suharto does not yet make any cars; he imports the Timor, as the car is known, tariff free from Kia Motors Corp. of South Korea. Other car makers pay tariffs and taxes of up to 200 percent, meaning that a $15,000 car costs $45,000 by the time it reaches an Indonesian consumer.
The arrangement so enraged the European Union and Japan that they have already challenged the program before the World Trade Organization, and the first hearings of a dispute resolution panel are expected to begin this summer.
By the accounts of most experts familiar with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the worldwide agreement that covers state subsidies, tariffs and other trade measures, Indonesia has little chance of winning its case before the World Trade Organization.
Yet the Suharto government has vowed to fight for the project, which is based on an experiment in neighboring Malaysia where a national car called the Proton is being built.
An administration official familiar with the case said Friday that he did not doubt the case would be difficult for the Indonesians. "They have to go back to the big boss and say 'no go' on this," he said.
The official said that the filing made in Geneva on Thursday was intended to preserve Washington's rights to join the European and Japanese case, and thus to help force Indonesia to reach a settlement that would avoid an embarrassing loss in front of the World Trade Organization.
The auto program is so sensitive an issue in Indonesia that when the country's trade minister, Tunky Ariwibowo, came to Washington last year he refused to discuss the project's links to the Suharto family. In an interview, he would not even confirm the involvement of Suharto's son, though that is a matter of public record in Indonesia.
The pressure to end the project's preferential treatment, however, is only one of the problems the Suharto family has run into as it ventures into the auto business. Indonesians appear to dislike the car itself.
Trade industry reports indicate that sales are running at only 2,000 cars a month, half of the initial target. To increase sales, the government recently said it was thinking of requiring government agencies to buy the Timor for their fleets.
Even The Jakarta Post wrote in a recent editorial that the project was "seemingly guided more by nationalistic sentiment and politics than by industrial logic."
If the United States, Japan and Europe win their case, Indonesia will be required either to end the preferential treatment for the project, or pay damages to foreign car makers.
But the precedent could be more damaging to the Suharto family: Suharto's other son and daughter have been involved in a range of business ventures that enjoy special government projection. Two of the children, in fact, fought for a role in the goldfield discovered by a Canadian company, Bre-X, before that find turned out to be a fraud.
| Environment |
Radio Australia - June 18, 1997
A World Bank report says Indonesia does not need nuclear power. The report says Indonesia has the capacity to greatly increase its electricity generation by conventional means.
It says that given the environmental risks, Indonesia should fully exploit this capacity rather than resort to nuclear power.
Earlier this year, the Indonesian parliament passed legislation providing for a consultative body to investigate the possible building of a nuclear power plant – a proposal strongly opposed by environmentalists.
Some preparatory work has already been done for a proposed nuclear reactor an the slopes of the Muria volcano on the northern coast of densely-populated Central Java.
Officials have said that its construction would start early next century.
| International relations |
Reuters - June 20, 1997
Jakarta – Indonesia said on Friday it was considering buying air defence systems and fighter planes from Russia.
"We had sent a team to Russia to see military equipment. The team has reported to me and said equipment from Russia can be used. There is no problem on technology and capabilities," Planning Minister Ginanjar Kartasasmita told reporters after he met with President Suharto.
"The president sees a need to build air defence systems for use in the 21st century. The system includes radars, missiles and fighter planes," Ginanjar said.
Ginanjar said the plan was not linked with the government's cancellation of a plan to buy F-16 fighters from the United States.
"President Yeltsin of Russia had sent an envoy to Jakarta in February to offer military equipment. President Suharto asked me to study the offer. That was far before the president (Suharto) sent a letter to President Clinton to cancel the F-16 purchase," he said.
"We look to Russia because we don't want to get our equipment only from one source. So it is not because of the cancellation."
Indonesia on June 6 ended participation in an American military training programme and cancelled plans to buy nine F-16 warplanes.
Straits Times - June 17, 1997
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas made it clear what he thought of objections in the US Congress over the sale of nine F-16 fighter planes to Indonesia when the issue came up early this year.
Early this month, citing "wholly unjustified criticisms" in Congress, he announced the Indonesian government was cancelling its planned purchase of the F-16s, as well as withdrawing from a military education programme called Imet.
He singled out one critic, Congressman Patrick Kennedy, who, fresh from a short visit to the former Portuguese colony of East Timor last December, introduced a Bill to cut off US$ 26 million (S$ 37 million) in annual military assistance, including US$ 600,000 in Imet funds unless Indonesia overhauled its human rights situation.
That Bill was overtaken by a less restrictive amendment put forward by Congressman Howard Berman who sought to limit military assistance and arms transfer to Indonesia for one fiscal year unless President Bill Clinton certified that Indonesia was meeting certain requirements like election monitoring.
Mr Alatas spoke to Straits Times Indonesia correspondent Susan Sim last Wednesday, shortly after news broke that the US House of Representatives had voted unanimously to approve an amendment condemning Jakarta's human rights record in East Timor.
The word just out of Washington is that the House of Representatives has voted unanimously to approve an amendment condemning human rights abuses by Indonesia in East Timor.
It was predictable that this amendment was going to pass, because when Congressman Kennedy wanted a separate legislation not only condemning Indonesian human rights abuses, but also linking it to F-16 sale as well as Imet and so on, it was considered by many of his own colleagues to be unreachable and inappropriate and unachievable. And so Congressman Berman took over the initiative and made it into an amendment to a broader legislation and the language was very much watered down ...
Since it was weakened, it was predictable that that would be perhaps the one that would be accepted by Congress. But now it still has to go to the Senate.
Does Indonesia think it has more friends in the Senate? No, we have friends both in Congress and in the Senate. But we are also aware that lately there have been heightened campaigns against Indonesia not only in Congress but also from certain NGOs and so on. And of course people like Ramos-Horta have been quite active travelling around the world and spending a lot of money on trying to keep up this issue of East Timor. (Note: Ramos-Horta is an East Timorese pro-independence leader in exile who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Dili Bishop Carlos Belo last year.)
What do you think accounts for this heightened campaign against Indonesia?
Well for one thing, of course, inevitably if one gets the Nobel Peace Prize, however misguided that decision may be in our view, then there is heightened attention. And I think Mr Ramos-Horta is making full use of this heightened attention by going around. We also see that Portugal now has dropped all pretences that they have nothing to do with this campaign of Ramos-Horta. In the past they said: "No we have nothing to do with it. It is his campaign." Now they support it openly, they admit the fact that they have appropriated a certain sum of money, not small, to support him.
We believe the role of Portugal and Ramos-Horta and the position of Ramos-Horta in all this as the pawn of an ex-colonial power and as a pawn in the neo-colonialist policies of Portugal have now been completely established, revealed in all its stark reality. In that sense, I would like to point out that it is easier now for us to explain the issue to other developing countries, especially those who have fought very hard against colonialism and neo-colonialism in the past because they understand the language much better. So we'll have to face it and we are facing it.
You are saying then that in a sense the diplomatic game over East Timor is changing now, the battle lines are becoming clearer, it is colonial exploiters against the formerly oppressed ... That's true.
And that would eventually swing round to Indonesia's advantage?
Yes, we believe that as more and more countries, developing countries, non-aligned countries, realise this, it will become more apparent that all this is part of campaigns waged by neo- colonialist forces, and not the purist image as if they were fighting for nothing else except the principles of democracy and human rights, which is a very ludicrous thing to say by a country like Portugal.
What does Portugal gain by waging such a neo-colonialist campaign?
Probably it is one way for a small country like Portugal to continue to be in the limelight, to draw the attention of the world to the importance of their country. Perhaps. I don't know.
One of the ironies of these congressional initiatives linking Imet and F-16 sales to Indonesia's human rights record is that analysts as well as Clinton administration aides say that Imet is one of the best tools to promote democratisation in Indonesia. Would you agree with this viewpoint? Well, that is the viewpoint of the United States government. As far as we are concerned, we think that the Imet was useful because it had not only given the Indonesian officers the opportunity to increase their technical knowledge in their respective fields, but had also allowed them to broaden and to deepen their understanding of the United States and its people and also through discussions, to broaden and deepen their mutual knowledge about the intricacies and the complex dimensions of regional and international security issues in this post-Cold War period.
So we thought that it was good training. But it was a small programme. At the most, it was US$ 2.5 million. And at the last stage it was only US$ 600,000. Only a few officers could go every year. So why make it a big issue? If they think that Indonesia should be, quote, unquote, punished by not allowing it to participate in Imet, then for heaven's sake, we will withdraw. We will not cause any difficulties to another friendly government. Because as you said rightly, the Clinton administration has always supported the Imet programme. And they were a bit surprised that we left, regretted the fact that we left. But we told them, look, we don't want to make things difficult for you if this is continuously being drummed up in Congress. Let's remove the friction.
With yesterday's House vote, Mr Kennedy is now saying that he will use it as a launching point for further legislative initiatives.
Do you think that with the slanging match that seems to have started with your ministry calling his statements ludicrous and outrageous, that that has got backs up and the screws are going to be tightened?
Well, about this slanging match, we thought that some of the things he said needed a response. First his absurd statement crying victory and claiming responsibility, authorship of the victory. More importantly, his statement twisting again the facts about what's happening in East Timor. As if the deaths of police personnel is part of ... instead of saying that he too regrets these things, no, he turns it around and says that lately he's concerned about the situation in East Timor because of a military crackdown.
What is he talking about?
It's the other way round. We are being shot at. We are being killed. Our people are being killed. So we had to answer it.
As to his saying now that he wants to use the House vote as his launching pad for further actions against Indonesia, well, he's free to do so. What else does he want to propose?
I don't know. Let's see what he can do, because there is no more F-16 to beat around, there is no more Imet to beat around.
What else does he want? Does he want to propose also to stop foreign aid to Indonesia? It's only US$ 27 million or something. He can try that and see how his own government will react. It's up to them.
Straits Times - June 17, 1997
Susan Sim, Jakarta – The pressure from the human rights lobby in developed countries is getting stronger and developing countries should band together to counter it, President Suharto said yesterday.
Speaking to local reporters on board a plane bringing him back from an inaugural summit of eight developing nations in Istanbul, he said developed countries often did not understand the problems poorer countries like Indonesia faced.
"You can see for yourself that the pressure is getting stronger. Against Indonesia, for instance, US congressman Kennedy has made a resolution on human rights in East Timor.
"So we have to prove to them that in Indonesia, we respect and carry out the principles of human rights in accordance with our system and our own understanding," he said.
It was his first public comment on US legislator Patrick Kennedy's attempt to introduce a Bill in Congress that could cut off military aid and training for Indonesia because of alleged human rights violations in East Timor.
In a pre-emptive move, the Indonesian leader had early this month pulled Indonesia out of a US military training programme and cancelled a planned purchase of nine F-16 fighter planes.
Announcing the decision at a press conference, Foreign Minister Ali Alatas had quoted Mr Suharto as citing "wholly unjustified criticisms" in Congress as one of the factors behind his decision.
In an interview with The Straits Times last week, shortly after the US House voted unanimously to approve a resolution condemning human rights abuses by Jakarta in the former Portuguese colony of East Timor, he denied that the Indonesian president had been angered by the congressional moves.
But reflecting a sense of national pride which the spat appeared to have stoked, Mr Alatas added: "One thing is sure ... that not only Indonesia but Asean countries in general are increasingly showing a capacity and a preparedness to take a stand on issues of principle when it comes to another country appearing to or trying to dictate its views on our policies." Solidarity among developing nations to stand up to the big powers was a theme Mr Suharto brought to the D-8 summit on Sunday, which saw the largely Muslim nations of Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Nigeria, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Iran and Egypt agree to cooperate to strengthen their collective role in the global economy. In his address, he warned that developing countries could not expect their industrialised counterparts to share their technology voluntarily.
"The world situation in the post-Cold War era is marked by instability, confrontation and the persistent inequity and imbalance in economic relations between developed and developing countries, instead of a just and prosperous international order as developing countries had expected," the Jakarta Post quoted him as saying.
"Although there are international fora which earnestly discuss the plight of developing countries, their agenda turns out to be dominated by extraneous issues like social clauses and intellectual property rights," he added.
Yesterday, he stressed that "principles of humanity" would be the guidelines for the D-8 group.
Melbourne Age - June 18, 1997
Louise Williams, Bali – A retired Indonesian naval officer stunned a diplomatic and business audience today by announcing that the geopolitical balance of power in the region meant Indonesia did not need Australia.
Retired naval commodore Laksma Mutaryono confronted the Foreign Minister, Mr. Alexander Downer, and the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Mr. John McCarthy, when he stood up at a major business conference and said: "It is Australia that neds Indonesia."
His views were rejected by Mr. Downer, but the ensuing debate reopened old tensions in the bilateral relationship.
"Frankly, in terms of geopolitics Indonesia does not need Australia and when we say it does that is only for diplomatic,stylistic purposes", Mr. Mutaryono said during a discussion on diplomacy and trade at an Indonesian- Australian business conference.
"Because of that Australia has to be more pro-active and in that context Ms Pauline Hanson is a very dangerous phenomenon."
Mr. Mutaryone retired from a position as foreign relations adviser to Indonesi's military intelligence branch three years ago and now operates a food trading company.
He warned that harping on "imperfections" in Indonesia's human rights record could endanger the bilateral relationship.
His stance was immediately rejected by Mr. Downer and the Indonesian ambasador to Australia, Mr. Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, who also attended the conference.
Mr. Wiryono said the relationship between the Indonesian and Australian governments and the two-way business links remained sound but many Indonesians were unhappy about Australian media coverage of Indonesia.
"I have to be frank, the media coverage is not helpful. I don't mind the media telling the truth but there seems to be an enthusiasm for highlighting our problems", he said.
Mr. Downer however, rejected the criticism, saying: "We can't change our media for the convenience of everybody in our region. It is just a function of Australian life.
"There are some people in Indonesia who find the Australian media style a bit too in-your-face, but that's the way it has always been.
"I think the Australian media has become increasingly sophisticated re Indonesia and on balance it doesn't do a bad job."
Mr. Downer flatly rejected the view that Indonesia does not need Australia, saying: "It is very obvious that Australia is important to Indonesia, just as Indonesia is important to Australia."
Mr. Downer acknowledged that Indonesia the imbalance in trade, currently some $2 billion in Australia's favor, from a total of almost $5 billion. He said this would improve as tariffs fell.
| Miscellaneous |
Radio Australia - June 18, 1997
The Indonesian government says it's planning to try to place tight controls on what enters the country on the Internet.
Launching a new Internet service in Jakarta, the Minister for Telecommunications, Joop Ave, said it was a basic human right to have access to information.
However, Mr. Ave said Indonesia would NOT allow unrestricted growth of Internet service providers – and would attempt to restrict the material available through them.
The Minister said the proposed restrictions would cover pornography, and material deemed to be a threat to national security.
Mr. Ave did NOT say how the restrictions would be applied.
Radio Australia - June 18, 1997
Indonesia's new Information Minister, General Hartono, says there will be no relaxation in a law which allows the government to ban newspapers and magazines.
Speaking after a meeting with President Suharto, the general said the law was needed in case there were publications which could NOT be tolerated.
General Hartono, until recently the head of the army, said the law should NOT be perceived by the Indonesian press as a threat.
He said that as long as the press behaved responsibly, in the interests of the nation, there would be no need to revoke publication licences.
Many newspapers and magazines deemed offensive by the Indonesian government have been banned in the past.
George J. Aditjondro - June 16, 1997
The Muslim-led United Development Party (PPP) has announced last Friday, June 12, that it would accept the results of last month's election. This means, that the PPP leadership has yielded to the authorities' pressure, and not to their own constituency, who had demanded that the party should reject the results of the election.
This latest stance of the PPP leadership will certainly frustrate many of the party's members and supporters, who had hoped that the party's refusal may lead to a nation-wide rejection of the election results. This, in turn, may invalidate the entire election exercise, and thereby delegimitize Suharto's military- industrial-bureacratic regime, in a constitutional way.
I believe, however, that the battle is not yet over. Contrary to some authors on the internet, I do believe that there is still a prospect for Islamic opposition in Indonesia, evolving in conjunction with intra-parliamentary PPP opposition.
Types of Islamic opposition Speaking about Islamic opposition in Indonesia, several authors – using mainstream Western perspectives –, immediately think about Algeria, where the ruling party (which has ruled since independence) cancelled the victory of the opposition Muslim party, which led to retaliations in the form of violent acts of opposition against the regime and anybody who does not believe in the Muslim party's tennets.
However, do we have to look at Islamic opposition – and in particular, in Indonesia – in such a simplistic and negative way? From studying Indonesia's New Order history, from my own involvement in the Indonesian pro-democracy movement, as well as from studying the literature on contemporary Islamic thinkers – such as Ali Shari'ati, Alija Ali Izetbegovic, Hassan Hanafi, and Abdelwahab el-Affendi – whose work have been translated into Indonesian and is circulating widely among Indonesian Islamic activists (1), I do believe that that view of "Islamic opposition to the Indonesian state" is rather too narrow and short-sighted.
In Indonesia, there are at least three types of Islamic opposition, which could influence oppositional politics in the coming months (or years, for that matter), namely strictly religious opposition, more economically-oriented opposition, and broader human rights motivated opposition. Let me explain now what I mean by those three types.
(a). Strictly religious opposition: This type of opposition covers those practices which are conventionally regarded as "Islamic opposition," such as opposition against gambling, alcohol, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, abuse of the Prophet Muhammad's name or scripts from the Holy Qur'an, as well as the opposition against the prohibition of using Islamic women's head dress (jilbab) in public schools, and the opposition against the freedom of believers of other religions to build their places of worship and spread their belief.
Within this type of Islamic opposition I would include the mass protests against Indonesia's state-controlled national lottery, SDSB (Editor, Nov. 18, 1993: 33), which has eventually been abolished, as well as the mass rallies in support of the Bosnian and Palestinian peoples (Tempo, February 19, 1994: 42; Forum Keadilan, March 17, 1994: 15-16), which is driven more by solidarity for fellow Muslims than for upholding the right of self-determination.
Also, this type of Islamic opposition also includes extra- parliamentary protests against former Information Minister Harmoko, when he intentionally slipped his tongue while reciting verses from the Holy Qur'an.
(b). Economically-oriented opposition: This type involves opposition against unaccountable uses by the government of taxpayers' money. This type of opposition has been carried out consistently by PPP politicans, such as Hamzah Haz by calling for the implementation of the parliament's budgetairy right, stipulated by Article 13 of the 1945 Constitution, which has consistently been violated by the Suharto regime for the last thirty years.
Apart from trying to uphold the parliament's budgetairy right, PPP politicians have also repeatedly campaigned against corruption, such as when Sri Bintang Pamungkas, then still a PPP parliamentarian, called for an investigation into PT Sritex's credit scandals (due to Sritex's business partnership with a brother of recently sacked Information Minister Harmoko).
Extra-parliamentary mass protests against the escape of an imprisoned Chinese businessman, Eddy Tanzil, who had been sentenced for embezzling large amounts of state bank credits, could also be included in this category.
In addition, within this type of opposition also covers the practive of many kiyai (Islamic teachers) in East Java, who belong to the more traditional Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), whom on various occasions have defended the rights of farmers vis-a-vis repressive agricultural policies of the New Order state, such as the compulsory sugarcane planting scheme, and mismanagement of rural credits (Sunanto, 1989; Surya, February 15, 1994).
This second type of Islamic opposition is sociologically grounded in the fact that many PPP politicians from Muhammadiyah backgrounds come from the urban small business class, which have been systematically marginalized by Suharto's big business tendency, with a disproportionate favouritism towards a handful of Chinese business families and families of the ruling elite.
After more and more intellectuals from Muhammadiyah backgrounds obtained their tertiary education degrees and joined the bureaucracy, their roles as social critics have been taken over by NU leaders, from the village level to the national scene. NU branch leaders as well as the current NU national leader, Kiyai Haji Abdurrachman Wahid, became spokepersons for villagers who are marginalized by pollution from industries into the brackish water fishpond (tambak) farmers near Gresik, East Java, for villagers on the Island of Madura, East Java, who fear marginalization by large-scale Japanese industries which the Indonesian government allowed to be relocated to Madura, as well as for villagers on the Muria Peninsula, Central Java, who fear the social and environmental impacts of nuclear power plants which the Suharto regime plans to build in their backyard.
After the formation of the Suharto-backed Muslim scholars association, ICMI (Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslim Indonesia), many Muhammadiyah-educated intellectuals become less and less vocal. In fact, they became strong supporters of the technological 'white elephants' of Research and Technology Minister, Dr Baharuddin Jusuf Habibie. In the case of the Madura Island development project, the ICMI intellectuals tried to persuade the kiyais of Madura, to accept that plan.
This situation did not last long, however. Earlier this year, Dr Amien Rais, the Muhammadiyah chairperson, was sacked by Habibie from his position as the chairperson of ICMI's expert council, after he had criticized Suharto for allowing large foreign business interests to control the Freeport copper mine in West Papua, and the supposedly lucrative Busang gold mine in East Kalimantan.
This second type of Islamic opposition is historically grounded in the independence struggle, where Islamic organisations – such as Muhammadiyah in the urban and NU in the rural areas – have opposed the Dutch colonial regime's deliberate policy to favour the Eurasian upper class and the 'Foreign Oriental' (Chinese, Arabic and Indian) middle class. While Muhammadiyah fought the Dutch policy by creating their own schools, hospitals, and businesses in the cities, many kiyais in the rural areas were involved in peasant rebellions against the Dutch controlled sugarcane plantations and sugar mills.
(3). Broader human rights oriented opposition: Finally, the third type of Islamic opposition is where Indonesian Muslims have joined hand with non-Muslims, including offsprings of members of the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and its affiliate organisations, to fight for broader human rights concerns which do not exclusively cover Muslim interests.
Contrary to the mainstream view, which does not regard this type of opposition as "Islamic", anybody who has read the literature published by Islamic NGOs in Indonesia, from the more "conventional" literature from older organisations with massive followers, such as Muhammadiyah, NU, and Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah Indonesia (DDII) – to the more "radical" publishers, such as Mizan in Bandung and LKIS in Yogyakarta, will have to agree that there is nothing "not Islamic" about all these human rights campaigns. Many activists with explicit Islamic backgrounds, who have been involved in their student years in Islamic organisations or are still involved in those organisations in ad hoc or advisory positions, have been and still are involved in various pro-democracy campaigns, ranging from the free speech campaign to the politically more sensitive issues as the East Timorese, West Papuan and Acehnese peoples' right to self- determination.
The list of Muslim opposition figures also include some figures from the ICMI camp. The former ICMI Expert Council chairperson, Dr Amien Rais, for instance, had also criticized the nepotism of the ruling Golkar party in appointing candidates for the previous election, and had suggested that the political parties should determine the criteria for the next presidential candidate, and even name them beforehands, and not simply leave it to the incumbent president, Suharto.
Dr Nurcholish Madjid, or Cak Nur, former leader of the Islamic students association, HMI, who still sits on the ICMI Expert Council, has also called for the two non-ruling parties – PDI and PPP – to become explicit opposition parties, while he himself has joined the election watchdog, KIPP. Cak Nur is, by the way, also a member of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM).
And lest we forget, Dr Sri Bintang Pamungkas, the leader of an illegal political party, PUDI, who has been expelled from PPP after his involvement in anti-Suharto rallies in Germany, has never been expelled from ICMI.
Personally, in most social justice and environmental campaigns in which I have been involved while still living in Indonesia, ranging from environmental struggles, in the broader anti-nuclear campaign, in indigenous rights and agrarian reform campaigns, as well as in the East Timor solidarity movement, I have worked closely with Indonesian Muslim activists, who worked in secular, Islamic, and inter-religious organisations.
Constraints of Islamic opposition in Indonesia: Having broadened the perspective on Islamic opposition in Indonesia, allow me now to state what I believe to constrain Islamic opposition in Indonesia, from the perspective of a liberal democrat fighting for the freedom of assembly and freedom of expression of all classes, religious groups, and peoples living in the Indonesian archipelago.
(1). By focusing mainly on their own specific religious needs, the first type of Islamic opposition has created a sense of insecurity among non-Muslim minorities in Indonesia, especially since non-Muslim places of worship, such as Christian churches and Buddhist/Taoist temples, have also been attacked during anti-government protests, before and after the recent elections, including lately in Bangkalan, Madura.
This sense of insecurity have caused many voters from non-Muslim backgrounds to flock into the Golkar camp, or to boycott the election at all. E.g., the "Mega-Bintang" slogan did not seem to be acceptable for many non-Muslim voters in islands with predominantly non-Muslim inhabitants, such as Bali and Flores.
(2). In the long run, it would be impossible to return to a civilian-dominated political system, if non-Muslim minorities – Chinese as well as indigenous non-Muslims – still feel the need to ask for military protection. By attacking non-Muslim places of worship, residences, and workplaces, as well as by showing their intolerance towards the right of other religious groups to build their own places of worship, groups involved in the first type of Islamic opposition have undermined their own claims that in a Muslim-ruled country, non-Muslim peoples can also live peacefully side-by-side with their Muslim brothers and sisters, as they did historically in the Iberian peninsula, before the Crusades.
(3). On the international level, the first type of Islamic opposition has mainly focused on supporting Muslim minorities vis-a-vis non-Muslim majorities, such as the Palestinians, the Bosnians, the Moros, the Patanis, and the Indonesian Muslim minority in occupied East Timor, Meanwhile, they have rarely defended the right of Muslim ethnic minorities fighting for independence from fellow Muslim majorities, such as the Sahrawi in West Sahara, whose country was annexed by the Kingdom of Morocco in 1975, or Acehnese who are currently struggling for independence from Indonesia.
(4). Still on the international level, the first type of opposition activists have blindly uphold the image of the Suharto regime as the global defender of oppressed Muslims, while being unaware of the regime's contradictory international policy towards those fellow Muslims: for instance, many of these activists have been totally unaware of the Suharto regime's clandestine dealings with Israel's Zionist regime, which have made Indonesian tax payers morally complicit in the suffering of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples, who still live under the Zionist yoke, by buying Israeli Uzi-guns and used US-made Skyhawk fighter planes (Leifer, 1985: 156; Melman and Raviv, 1989: 367- 368; Hoy and Ostrovsky, 1990: 125-126).
Many Indonesian international Islamic solidarity activists also seem to be unaware with IPTN's past role in channelling German BO-105 helicopters to Saddam Hussein (Timmerman, 1992: 72), or with IPTN's current support to the Burmese military junta (Tiras , June 22, 1995), which has also been rather unfriendly to its own Arakan Muslim minority.
(5). The first type of Islamic opposition which were carried out through ad hoc extra-parliamentary coalitions using mass action tactics, have rarely been followed up with critical reflections about the results of their campaigns. This 'short sightedness' and ad hoc nature have made it easy for the Suharto regime to exploit and ride on Islamic bandwagon, while actually continuing to carry out very un-Islamic practices.
For instance, although the Copacabana casino in Ancol, Jakarta, was closed in the mid 1980s, due to Islamic opposition, it did not deter the regime to facilitate the opening a much larger casino on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, only half an hour flying from Jakarta. No Islamic organisation has investigated, why is it that rich offsprings of the Indonesian elite who profess to be Muslims, such as Ponco Sutowo and Tommy Suharto, can easily gamble on that island. Neither has any Islamic organisation investigated the origins of the fortunes gambled on Christmas Island, by the Jakarta elite's offsprings.
Another glaring example are the anti-Monitor and anti-SDSB campaigns. While attacking the Catholic publisher of Monitor, Jakob Oetama, and the Catholic editor, Arswendo Atmowiloto, no Islamic organisation has investigated the role of then Information Minister Harmoko, as a co-shareholder of the tabloid, which had in their eyes, had insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Until his departure from his powerful Information Minister position, no Islamic organisation ever questioned Harmoko's conflict of interests in owning shares in media enterprises under his jurisdiction, or the ethics of earning dividends from a tabloid, which had not only insulted the Prophet Muhammad, but also insulted all Indonesian women with its lucrative near- pornographic cover photos.
As far as the anti-SDSB campaign was concerned, no Islamic organisation has investigated, or even demanded an independent investigation into the actual amount and use of the funds generated by this national lottery. Foreign press reports as well as my own sources have stated that two sons of Suharto, Sigit Harjojudanto and Hutomo Mandalaputra Suharto, were beneficiaries of the SDSB-funds, together with Henry Pribadi, a wealthy Sino- Indonesian businessman. Sigit later use his SDSB fortune to build his five-star Bali Cliff Resort hotel in Uluwatu, southern Bali.
The international Islamic opposition movements against national and international powers, who were seen as oppressing Muslim peoples in Palestina and Bosnia, were also unaware of the Suharto regime's secret and illegal dealings with the Israeli Zionist regime. Hence, by the Suharto regime's purchasement of Uzi guns and used Skyhawk fighter planes from Israel through the Mossad- linked arms trader, Shaul Eisenberg, Indonesian tax payers have became morally complicit in the suffering of the Palestinian and Lebanese people, who are still living under the Zionist Israeli yoke (Leifer, 1985: 156; Yossi and Raviv, 1989: 367-368; Ostrovsky and Hoy, 1990: 125-126).
Indonesia's international Islamic solidarity activists also seem to be unaware with IPTN's role in channelling German BO-105 helicopters to Saddam Hussein (Timmerman, 1992: 72), to kill fellow Muslims in Kurdistan, Iran, and Kuwait, or with the contemporary support of IPTN in supporting the Burmese military junta by selling IPTN products to Rangoon, thereby helping to legitimize an authoritarian regime, which has also not been so nice to their Arakan Muslim minority.
(6). This brings me then to another major limitation of Islamic opposition in Indonesia. The extra-parliamentary movements to defend the honour of Islam in Indonesia, as well as in the world (see Bosnia and Palestina), were rarely linked with the intra- parliamentary economic opposition of Islamic parliamentarians. Sri Bintang Pamungkas was probably the only PPP parliamentarian, who took the pain of building links with extra-parliamentary opposition movements, Islamic as well as non-Islamic.
(7). The next limitation is related to the third type of Islamic opposition. Due to the fear of being branded as "sectarian" or "premordial" by fellow activists, these Islamic human rights activists have rarely raised public concerns about human rights violations in Indonesia, which were more of a more typical Islamic nature. I have rarely heard, for instance, Muslim human rights activists in the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, YLBH, who shared with me a strong concern for the violation of West Papuan cultural rights, expressed a similar concern about the prohibition against the wearing of the Muslim head dress, jilbab , in public schools.
(8). I have also rarely heard Muslim human rights activists, especially those leading YLBHI which espouses liberal democratic ideas, to call for the rehabilitation of all banned Muslim political parties and mass organisations, in particular Masyumi, Parmusi, the Islamic Youth Organisation, Pelajar Islam Indonesia (PII) and the Islamic Farmers Organisation, Serikat Tani Islam Indonesia (STII).
All these political organisations have been banned by the Jakarta regimes for different reasons. Masyumi was banned by Sukarno, together with PSI, for allegedly being involved in the PRRI rebellion, which has never been proven in a court of justice. Then, Parmusi has been banned by Suharto, for the fear of an incarnation of Masyumi. STII was banned, for refusing to merge into the government's farmers organisation, HKTI, while PII was banned, for refusing to adopt Pancasila as its organsitional philosophy, which was part of the 1985 package of five repressive political acts.
Prospect of Islamic opposition in Indonesia: What is the prospect of Islamic opposition in Indonesia? I believe, that there is a great prospect, if all the three types of Islamic opposition are embraced and developed in a balanced way. This in turns, depends not only on how each type of opposition will develop in the coming months and years, but also on the close interaction between the three streams of Islamic opposition and between intra- and extra-parliamentary opposition of all different ideological and religious persuasions.
As an Indonesian pro-democracy activist in self-imposed exile, who has worked closely with several strands of Islamic opposition, I strongly believe in this cooperation as a conditio sine qua non for long term and short term reasons. The long term reason is to increase the quality of Islamic opposition in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world.
The short term reason is, as you may guess, to end the Suharto dictatorship and to transform the Indonesian political system towards a more democratic, open, and tolerant system, where religion is not imposed by the state on its subjects, where all banned political parties – the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the Indonesian Socialist Party (PSI), the Islamic party, Masyumi, the People's Democratic Party (PRD), the United Democratic Party (PUDI), and the two Christian political parties (Partai Katolik and Parkindo) – have the right to exist, side by side with all other political parties which people want to establish under a multiparty system in the near future.
Newcastle, June 16, 1997 (In respectful memory of Ali Shari'ati, Iranian pro-democracy martyr and Islamic liberation theologist, martyred in London on June 19, twenty years ago)
Footnote: 1). The two most wellknown publishers of Islamic political science literature in Indonesia are Mizan in Bandung, West Java, and Lembaga Kajian Islam dan Sosial (LKIS) in Yogyakarta. Mizan has published four books written by the Iranian 'liberation theologist,' Ali Shari'ati, and a book by the Bosnian thinker and current president, 'Alija 'Ali Izetbegovic. LKIS has published a book about the "Islamic Leftist" theology of the Egyptian thinker, Hassan Hanafi, and a book about the "anarchist" political theory of Abdelwahab el-Affendi, based on Ibnu Khaldun's political theory. Meanwhile, some lesser known publishers, such as Andalan in Jakarta and Suara Bersama in Surabaya, have respectively published a book on Islamic opposition by Jabir Qumaihah, and on the immorality of military aid to Islamic countries from pagan regimes, by Abdurahman al Baghdady.
References:
Leifer, Michael (1985). "The Islamic factor in Indonesia's foreign policy: a case of functional ambiguity," in Adeed Dawisha (ed). Islam in foreign policy. London: Cambridge University Press, pp. 144-159.
Melman, Yossi and Dan Raviv (1989). The imperfect spies: the history of Israeli intelligence. London: Sidgwick & Jackson.
Ostrovsky, Victor and Claire Hoy (1990). By way of deception: an insider's devastating expose of The Mossad. London: Arrow Books. Sunanto, Hatta (1989). "Ulama NU dan TRI," Kedaulatan Rakyat, November 21, 1989.
Timmerman, Kenneth R. (1992). The death lobby: how the West armed Iraq. London: Fourth Estate.
SiaR - June 13, 1997
Jakarta – A Pos Makasar journalist Mohamad Sayuti known as Sandrego, died as a result of a severe beating in the sub-offices of the regency of Palopo, South Sulawasi, on Thursday June 12. The incident occurred after the journalist was confirming information about deforestation in the region.
Sandrego was a Pos Makasar correspondent, an Ujung Padang weekly publication, who lived in Palopo. He was in the middle of writing about deforestation and manipulation of reforestation funds in the Kaya sub-district, Palopo regency, when the calamity occurred. Apparently, Sandrego tried to confirmed the story by going directly to the house of the head of the Kaya sub-district, but instead he was viciously beaten and injured.
Sandrego then got on his motorbike to go home but was found dead during the journey. The medical examination showed that he died from being beaten by a hard instrument, said a journalist investigating Sandrego's death. Another witness said that they had heard screams when Sandrego was at the house of the sub- district head. So his death was not because of a traffic accident, said the witness.
According to a family member of Sandrego, the 40 year old journalist had received a phone threat the day before his death. The threat from an unknown caller was related to Sandrego's story about manipulation of development funds in Palopo.
This incident suggests an increasing level of violence against professional journalists. The death of Udin, a Bernas journalist, has to this day not been explained, Sandrego's death is a threat against the freedom of the press.
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (Aliansi Jurnalis Independen, AJI) is now carrying out an investigation into the death.
Translators notes:
Udin (Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin) was a journalist with the Yogyakarta based newspaper Bernas who died in August 1996 after being severely beaten in his home by unknown intruders. At the time he was investigating a corruption case involving the regent of Bantul (about 10 kilometers from Yogyakarta), Sri Rosa Sudarmo. Despite the fact that Sudarmo was implicated in the murder, he was never questioned by police. Instead Dwi Sumaji, an employee of an advertising company, was plied with drink, provided with a prostitute, and promised money by police officials in return for confessing to Udin's murder. On at least three occasions courts rejected the police case against Sumaji for lack of evidence.
[Translated by James Balowski]