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ASIET Net News 36 – September 15-21, 1997
KNPD Yogyakarta - 16 September, 1997
[The following is a slightly abridged translation of a press
release sent to ASIET by the National Committee of Democratic
Struggle (KNPD, Komite Nasional Perjuangan Demokrasi) in support
of the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Student Action Council (Aksi
Dewan Mahasiswa Universitas).]
All Indonesian citizens have the right to a proper education. An
education is one of the vital elements of humanity, cultural
advance and the movers of history, such as the revolutionary
figures Sukarno, Tan Malaka, Amir Syarifudin and others, who
fought to free the people from Dutch colonialism and Japanese
occupation. This cannot be separated from the question of
education. Education is a place for the creation of a generation
of intellectuals, who's existence, historically, is closely
linked with the national struggle for independence. Education is
a tool for us to struggle for humanity.
What has happened to the world of education in Indonesia over the
three decades of the New Order government however, is clearly of
great concern. Students are not taught to think critically and
freely. The education system is full of indoctrination,
"pragmatism" and students just learn things by heart. This cannot
produce free human thought which is independent and responsible
for the life of the individual and broader society.
Aside from this, capitalism creates separate levels of activity
so that professionals and intellectuals tend to be separated from
collective consciousness. Intellectuals only become "ordements"
in the industrial factories. The irony is that the skills and
competence for specialised jobs themselves are not available.
The system of contacts, patronage and paternalism has become the
normal mechanism of doing things means that the existing
education system is not able to abolish feudalistic traditions.
It needs to be remembered that the history of enlightenment and
social revolution in Western Europe in the 18th century –
which brought with it advancement and national grander – is
linked to progressive education which is anti-feudalism and of a
democratic character.
Capitalism not only inhibits the economic and moral strength of
the people but the high cost of an education means that not all
people are able to enjoy an education. According to the 1945
Constitution the state is responsible for the peoples' education.
The government has failed to fulfill this task.
There is also the selling and buying of degrees, the high cost of
education and the birth of a generation who are only orientated
toward chasing an education [in order to make money] rather that
the essence of study. The system of connections which legitimises
all this demonstrates the poor quality of our education system.
Because of this, we, the people of Indonesia, must rise up to
break down this rigidity and struggle to create an education
system which is democratic and free. To free the people from the
fear to express themselves, to free the peoples' creativity from
its shackles, to free the people from ignorance!
The Yogyakarta National Committee of Democratic Struggle (KNPD):
Fully supports the actions organised by the UGM Student Action
Council as an effort to improve the quality of education in this
country; Rejects uniformity and militarism in the world of
education; Calls for inexpensive education for all Indonesian
people; Rejects the commercialisation and monopolisation of
education in all of its forms; Calls on all Indonesian people in
general, and all pro- democratic forces in particular, to
continue to struggle to build an education system which is
democratic and free.
[Translated by James Balowski]
Info-Pembebasan - September 15, 1997
[The following is slightly abridged translation of a statement
sent to ASIET by the underground Peoples' Democratic Party (PRD)]
Between August 30 and 31, 1997, the Peoples' Democratic Party
(PRD) held its first National Congress in Jakarta. According to
the PRD's constitution, the National Council has the highest
authority between congresses. The congress was attended by all of
the national (KPP) and regional (KPK) readerships of the PRD with
the exception of KPK Palu and Ujung Padang who arrived late.
The congress was opened by a recorded speech [from jail] by the
PRD chair, Budiman Sujatmiko. In his speech Budiman said that the
dictatorship had made the PRD their main target because the PRD
has the potential to grow strong. Budiman also expressed his
pride at the PRD cadre who are still active in struggling to
establish a Peoples' Democratic Coalition.
Other contributions were made which supported the conference and
gave constructive criticism. Others, which gave very strong
support [for the PRD] were also heard from other prodemocratic
groups.
One of the criticisms of the PRD was that previously it had
rarely worked with other groups but that it had become more open
after July 27, 1996 and that the PRD's program to establish a
Peoples' Democratic Coalition and the actions of the PRD were
contradictory. PRD actions which smack of "communist symbols"
were also criticised by other groups when this had strengthened
the regime's accusations that the PRD are truly communists.
A contribution by another pro-democracy figure was that what was
needed for the struggle at this time was courage. Because without
courage people live as little more than sheep. Many intelligent
people in Indonesia have all kinds of titles but without courage
they are defeated by Suharto. This figure also explained that the
struggles of this generation are far more difficult than those
before such as the [independence] movements at the turn of the
century, the 1920s, 1930s and 1945, because they fought the
military with weapons. But today's [democratic] movement has no
weapons other than matches and stones. The figure warned us to be
careful of the military because they were trained by the Dutch
Colonial Army (KNIL), Indonesians who became soldiers of Dutch
East Indies colonialism. KNIL soldiers were not trained to fight
foreign troops but to kill and oppress the people. When they
fought foreign troops the KNIL surrendered within a short time.
Decisions
The PRD's analysis of the national political situation:
The peoples' consciousness is already clear, that is anti-
dictatorship consciousness; The peoples' [anti-regime] sentiment
is strong and widespread; The people are already actively
resisting the dictatorship though small confrontational and
radical actions which the New Order regime calls "riots".
Based upon this analysis, the objective political conditions can
be categorized as [a period when] the people are already actively
[resisting the dictatorship]. When the people were still passive,
our strategy was based on agitation and propaganda, with the aim
of exposing the rottenness of the New Order and encouraging the
people to resist. But now that they are actively [resisting], our
strategy is to push for radical and confrontational actions, to
turn riots (1) such as Situbondo, Tasikmalaya, Rengas Dengklok,
Pontianak, Jember, Sampang and others into organised battles (2),
which can become a nation wide uprising to overthrow the military
dictatorship under Suharto. The task of our party is to provide
leadership (3) so that these riots are not diverted into issues
of SARA (4) and direct them towards specific targets such as
soldiers, military headquarters, government offices, houses of
government officials and so on.
For this, the party's program is to build a structure of
resistance. A structure of resistance is an organisational
[structure] which prepares for radical and confrontational
actions which have a mass base in the suburbs, local districts
and factories and are coordinated nationally. This structure has
the task of contributing to radical and confrontational mass
actions and giving national coordination to them.
Translators notes:
The original term used was "pemberontakan". "Pembrontakan" is
closer in meaning to "rebellion", "revolt", "uprising" or
"mutiny" rather than "riot". Ibid. The original term was
"pelapor", vanguard. Sara: Suku, agama, ras dan antar golongan,
An acronym meaning ethnic, religious, racial and inter-group
conflicts. A loosely defined term with negative connotations, it
is frequently used by the regime to describe conflicts which are
deemed to threaten "national unity" or "stability" and are at
odds with the state ideology of Pancasila and the concept of
"unity in diversity".
[Translated by James Balowski]
East Timor
Labour issues
Human rights
Environment/land disputes
Social unrest
Economy and investment
Politics
Democratic struggle
Press Release in support of UGM student action
Peoples' Democratic Party National Congress a success
East Timor
Six Timorese break into Jakarta's Austrian embassy
Reuters - September 19, 1997
Jakarta – Six East Timorese, including a couple with two children, broke into the Austrian embassy in Jakarta on Friday and demanded political asylum, police sources said.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the six entered the embassy at about 10 a.m. (0300 GMT) and were still inside. Embassy officials were not immediately available for comment.
More than 100 East Timorese have sought asylum after breaking into foreign missions in Jakarta over the past three years. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it a year later in an act unrecognised by the United Nations.
Many people in the territory resist Indonesian rule and Portugal, the former colonial ruler of East Timor, has been quick to grant a home to those requesting political asylum.
Amnesty International - 18 September, 1997
Up to 13 East Timorese men have been arrested in Dili, the capital of East Timor, and near the town of Semarang on the Indonesian island of Java. It is not clear if the detainees have been granted access to independent legal assistance, raising fears that they may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment if still held incommunicado for interrogation.
At least two and possibly four youths were arrested in Dili at around 8am on either 14 or 16 September 1997 after they disembarked from the Tatamailau, a boat which had travelled from the Indonesian island of Bali. Those arrested are believed to be Constancio dos Santos and Jojo dos Santos, both members of the Timorese Socialist Association (AST). Fransisco Caldeira and one other person whose name is unknown, were also reportedly arrested.
The arrests are thought to be in connection with 11 bombs allegedly found on the youths by the authorities. Constancio dos Santos and Jojo dos Santos are believed to be being held under Articles 106, 108 and 110 of Indonesia's Criminal Code which relate to attempts to separate part of the state and rebellion against the state, and another law relating to the use of weapons. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the detainees have been taken to the Regional Police Headquarters in Dili, and that Constancio dos Santos has already been ill-treated.
In a related incident, an unconfirmed number of individuals have been arrested in Demak, near Semarang, Java. Joaquim Santana, Fernando Lere, Nuno dos Santos, Ivo Miranda, Domingos Natalino, Jermao Malta Sebre, Julio Santana, Laurindo Alkino da Costa and Soares are believed to be in detention at the Regional Police Headquarters in Semarang. An Indonesian newspaper, Republika, claimed on 16 September that an explosion, suspected to have been caused by a bomb, occurred at a house in Demak which was being rented by several East Timorese youths. The paper reported that eight East Timorese youths had been taken into police custody in connection with the blast, including Nano, Soares and Laurindo Alkino Dacosta (sic). Another house in the same area was reportedly raided by the police and items confiscated.
Torture or ill-treatment of political detainees in East Timor in both police and military custody is routine. The risk is particularly high during interrogation, when the military or police authorities attempt to extract confessions or information, and when detainees are frequently denied access to legal counsel and to their families. In addition, restrictions are placed by the Indonesian authorities on access to East Timor for independent human rights monitors.
| Labour issues |
Reuters - September 19, 1997
Jakarta – Police Friday detained two Australian trade unionists and at least nine Indonesian activists after ordering the closure of the annual meeting of a local union, witnesses said.
But the police released two Jakarta-based Dutch journalists they had taken in at the same time.
Police moved in after ordering the officially unrecognized Indonesian Labor Welfare Union (SBSI) to end its meeting, which a number of international unionists were also attending.
They seized film from a camera crew of the U.S. Cable News Network (CNN) at the scene and took film from a number of local photographers, one of whom had a bleeding lip from a police baton.
"It shows that they are ashamed of their actions," Aart Jan de Geus, deputy president of the Dutch Christian National Trade Union, said after the headquarters was cleared.
The SBSI, headed by lawyer-activist Muchtar Pakpahan, who has been in detention for more than a year on subversion charges, wants significantly better conditions for workers than those sought by the government-sponsored national union.
Witnesses identified the detained foreign unionists as Greg Sword, senior vice- president of the Australian Congress of Trade Unions and a top official in the Australian Labor Party, and Ma Wei Pin, Australian-based regional secretary of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Association.
Police said both were Australian citizens.
"We are interrogating them and taking statements. The results will be reported to my superiors and any decisions are up to them," Lt. Pandi of the section for the supervision of foreigners told Reuters.
Police said journalists Ronald Frisart of the Netherlands Press Association, and Step Vaessen of the Dutch NOS television, were released around 7:30 p.m. (local time) after having their identities checked.
The nine Indonesians detained, some forcibly after resisting arrest, were believed to have been attending the SBSI meeting.
An SBSI lawyer and conference organizer, Lutfie Hakim, told Reuters he was being questioned along with the nine activists in the South Jakarta police headquarters but police declined to comment on their case. Hakim had earlier voluntarily gone to a local station with police to discuss the congress. The SBSI had told police they did not need a permit to hold a meeting in their own offices.
Earlier, Hakim told the congress that plans to hold their meeting in a Jakarta hotel had to be canceled after they were unable to meet administrative conditions in time.
Witnesses said the foreigners were driven away in an unmarked car driven by a police intelligence officer.
Sunarty, the secretary-general of the SBSI and one of the nine detained, told Reuters just before she was taken in that police had earlier arrived and asked the participants to end the meeting and leave.
Participants had refused to cancel the session. Once the meeting had adjourned earlier than scheduled and the foreigners had left, police moved in. A number of foreign diplomats had earlier attended the congress opening.
The Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) strongly criticized the closure of the SBSI meeting in a letter to a number of Indonesian ministers made public.
The meeting had heard statements of support for the SBSI and its jailed leader Pakpahan from the foreigners.
The more than 100 delegates from 87 SBSI branches had planned to reconvene at a secret location near Jakarta Saturday to avoid further harassment and elect new office holders, one official said. It was not clear if this would still go ahead.
The Friday meeting was held in Pakpahan's law office, which also acts as the union headquarters in south Jakarta.
"Continue to fight, don't surrender before the destiny of workers is improved (and) remember only workers through real unions can improve their destiny," Pakpahan said in a statement read to the congress.
Indonesian police have regularly harassed meetings of the SBSI, a member of the Brussels-based World Confederation of Labor and the International Trade Secretariat, in recent years.
Asia Human Rights Alert - September 15, 1997
Muchtar Pakpahan, 43, is the president of the Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI), an independent trade union in Indonesia founded in 1992 that presently has 250,000 members. Pakpahan was arrested on 29 July 1996 and initially charged with subversion for his alleged involvement in the 27 July 1996 opposition demonstration. His trial opened on 12 December 1996 and still continues in the Jakart a District Court. Pakpahan is being prosecuted on six charges. The prosecutors have referred very little in court to the 27 July 1996 riot, however, as Pakpahan cannot be linked to the violence. The authorities have failed to find evidence of Pakpahan's involvement in the riots but refuse to drop the charges.
He is also charged under Article 154 of the Criminal Code for a subsidiary charge of expressing "hostility, hatred or contempt against the government of Indonesia," which is punishable by up to seven years in prison. He is being accused of expressing his views in public and of having recorded a cassette tape of religious and trade union songs. Pakpahan is also serving a four-year prison sentence f or "incitement" following riots which took place in Medan in the province of North Sumatra in 1994.
Pakpahan has been in the hospital since March 1997. He suffers from vertigo, a clot in his brain and an unidentified lung disease. Indonesia has rejected offers from U.S. and European trade unions to send him overseas for treatment.
The independent SBSI continues to be denied official recognition, and several of its leaders are still in jail. Pakpahan's trade union activities led to his detention, and the authorities are determined to keep him imprisoned as long as possible.
Social dumping policies
The newly drafted bill on manpower supports the "social dumping" policy that was made by the government to offer cheap, skilled and politically obedient labourers for the global marketplace. In April 1997, the employers' groups warned the authorities that if they did not handle the labour strikes Indonesia would lose foreign investors. The Korean Association, representing about 280 south Korean jo int venture companies, warned that they would relocate outside of Indonesia if the strikes continue. The Korean Association indicated that they currently consider China to be a strong potential area for relocation.
Meanwhile, the workers are suffering. In Jakarta, the 1996 minimum wage level was 5,200 rupiahs (US$2.25) per day. While the workers' productivity has increased, this has not been accompanied by a wage increase as the Indonesian workers receive the second lowest wages among countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Some workers though do not receive even these low wages; for of Indonesia's work force of 86.4 million, unemployment climbed to 7.25 percent in 1995.
Chronology of events
15 April 1994: Widespread labour unrest occurs in Medan, North Sumatra. Several trade unionists are jailed. Following the unrest, at least 11 labour activists, including Pakpahan, were charged and convicted of "inciting" workers to demonstrate and to strike in support of their demands.
November 1994: Pakpahan was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of "incitement" for the events in Medan in April 1994.
January 1995: Following the trial of 77 SBSI members, Pakpahan's sentence was increased upon appeal to four years in prison for allegedly instigating the April 1994 riots that rocked Medan.
25 September 1995: The Supreme Court quashed the four-year prison sentence for lack of evidence, and Pakpahan is freed.
27 July 1996: Watched by hundreds of troops and police, about 200 supporters of the pro-government faction of the Partai Demokrasi Indonesia (PDI) stormed the PDI office in Jakarta to remove supporters of the former party chairwoman, Megawati Sukarnoputri, who had been ousted by the PDI leadership in June with the support of the authorities. After the raid, more then 10,000 supporters of Megawati protested against the police- supported violent raid on the headquarters of the PDI, a legally recognized opposition party. When the police attacked the protesters, violent riots ensued, and several buildings were set on fire. The official National Human Rights Commission reported that at least five people were killed, 23 were missing and 149 were injured in the chaos. More then 240 people were als o arrested.
29 July 1996: Pakpahan was rearrested and charged with subversion for his alleged involvement in the 27 July 1996 riots in Jakarta.
8 August 1996: The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) wrote to Michel Hansenne, director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO), regarding the "significant new violations of trade union rights" involving Pakpahan. In addition to Pakpahan, a total of 30 SBSI trade unionists are reported to be detained in various parts of Indonesia. A further 19 unionists are in terrogated but later released. Police are watching closely the SBSI offices and monitor branch officers closely. 3 October 1996: Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief confirms that Pakpahan will be prosecuted for his involvement in the 27 July riots and not for engaging in trade union activities.
25 October 1996: The Supreme Court reinstated the initial sentence of four years for inciting riots in Medan that it quashed on 25 September 1995 for lack of evidence. Thus, the Supreme Court overruled its own earlier judgement and reinstated a lower court's four-year jail sentence on Pakpahan.
7 November 1996: An ICFTU-led international trade union mission visiting Jakarta meets Pakpahan and conveys its solidarity.
28 November 1996: The Federation of All-Indonesian Workers' Union (FSPSI), the government-approved trade union federation, comes to the defence of Pakpahan. Marzuki Achmad, general chairman of FSPSI, stated that the federation's national executive board expresses solidarity and sympathy to Pakpahan who is facing subversion charges.
30 December 1996: Pakpahan is charged with six offences, including anti-subversion charges linked to the riot in July 1996. Pakpahan is accused of undermining the government and of sowing hatred through a book that he wrote, Portrait of Indonesia, and through a series of speeches that he made in Indonesia and in Lisbon, Portugal, in the past two years.
February 1997: The ICFTU referred the case to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, citing attacks on defence lawyers, threats against witnesses, repeated changes in charges and the reversal of the Supreme Court decision quashing an earlier sentence. It claims that the charges are fabricated and that Pakpahan is being prosecuted for his trade union activities.
9 March 1997: Doctors found a tumour in Pakpahan's right lung, and he is admitted to the Cikini private hospital in central Jakarta where he is still being treated.
8 July 1997: SBSI Secretary-General Sunarty reports that new evidence will reveal that Pakpahan was not involved in the Medan riots of April 1994.
7 August 1997: It is reported that Pakpahan has a blockage in an artery in his brain and a tumour in his right lung. Doctors at the Cikini private hospital recommend that he have a lung imagery fluorescence endoscopy (LIFE), not available in Indonesia, to determine the nature of the tumour. The Indonesian authorities refuse to grant him authorization to travel abroad for treatment.
12 August 1997: It is reported that Pakpahan, who is seeking to overthrow his conviction on charges of inciting workers to strike, will offer evidence that he wanted to prevent industrial action. Pakpahan's lawyers inform the court that SBSI had called for a moratorium on strikes in April 1994 before the workers' riots in Medan.
4 September 1997: The trial of Pakpahan resumes at the South Jakarta District Court after a six-month adjournment due to his poor health. As in earlier court trials, the presiding judge does not allow Pakpahan and his lawyers to question the witnesses. Rather, the questions are directed to the presiding judge who then relays the question to the witness. The hearings are only conducted weekly on Th ursdays for a maximum of three hours due to Pakpahan's poor health.
1963 Anti-Subversion Law
Since 27 July 1996, subversion trials have continued with tighter control on non- governmental organizations (NGOs). Sacked legislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas as well as Pakpahan were detained after the riots and charged under the 1963 Anti- Subversion Law.
Since 27 July 1996, the Indonesian government has alleged that individuals and NGOs played a role in the riots. The government accuses the Partai Rakyat Demokratik (PRD) for masterminding the riots, and its members were arrested. Some PRD members were charged with subversion. These include PRD President Budiman Sujatmiko, PRD Secretary-General Petrus Hariyanto and Dita Sari, who is president of th e Indonesian Centre for Labour Struggles (PPBI). The PRD itself has been outlawed.
In Indonesia, subversion is punishable by death. Most of those accused of subversion have merely expressed their views peacefully, views which are different from those of the government authorities. Peaceful opposition though is considered a threat to the stability of the State and its ideology.
The Indonesian government uses the Anti-Subversion Law to silence dissent by detaining without trial its alleged political opponents. Those charged with subversion are usually put through unfair trials and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment or receive the death penalty.
The Anti-Subversion Law grants the military and the prosecution exceptional powers to investigate cases and to detain people for up to one year without being charged or brought to trial. These powers have led the military and the prosecution to violate human rights during arrest, detention and investigation.
Independent trade unions
The ICFTU has stated that the Indonesian government has been using the courts to suppress independent trade unions. In 1994, the ICFTU first complained to the ILO against the Indonesian government's imprisonment of trade unionists, including Pakpahan, and the complaint is still pending. The ICFTU, which has 124 million members in 196 affiliated unions in 136 countries and territories, believes tha t the charges brought against Pakpahan are linked to his trade union activities and that all charges against him should be dropped. It wants Pakpahan to be released to continue his legitimate trade union work.
In addition, the ICFTU's annual survey of trade union rights in 1995 noted that three trade union organizers were murdered in 1994 and that more than 2,000 workers were reported to have been dismissed and blacklisted for being SBSI members.
| Human rights |
EBRI - September 14, 1997
Two books have just been launched about journalists victimized by the Indonesian law on the freedom of the press. Terbunuhnya Udin (The Murder of Udin) details the death of Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin (known as Udin), who worked for the Yogyakarta- based daily newspaper Bernas. The second book, Dari Celah Bui: Tidurlah Akal Sehat (Voice from Behind Prison Bars: Go to Sleep, Common Sense), is a compilation of notes by Danang Kukuh Wardoyo recounting his experiences in prison from the time of his arrest on March 16, 1995 through his 20-month incarceration at four detention centers. Danang was an office boy, jailed when he was 19 years old for distributing the unlicensed magazine Independen. The two books were launched on August 7, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the Declaration of Sirnagalih, a statement on the freedom of the press signed in Sirnagalih village, West Java, on August 7, 1994. That declaration was accompanied by the formation of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI).
The launching ceremony in Jakarta's Lontar Gallery was attended by journalist Arswendo Atmowiloto, former editor of the now- defunct Tempo weekly newsmagazine Goenawan Mohamad, Chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Bambang Widjojanto, as well as non-governmental organization activists, domestic and foreign journalists, and Udin's parents: Wagiman and Mrs. Musilah.
Award
On the occasion, a Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin award was conferred on a team of newspaper reporters who have spared no effort in combing the Yogyakarta area to uncover any information on the death of journalist Udin.
The award-winning group of 14 reporters have been dubbed the "White Kijang" team, named after the vehicle they use to scour the countryside for information on the Udin case. The reporters come from various publications: D&R magazine, the dailies Jawa Pos, Suara Pembaruan, Republika, and – of course – Bernas.
The award was given in recognition of their continued persistence in helping investigate the death of Udin, who died in August last year following an attack believed to be linked to his reports in Bernas on local corruption practices.
The book was written by Boaventura and Heru Hendratmoko under the coordination of Santoso, one of the journalists who signed the Declaration of Sirnagalih. The writing was based on reportage by Nucke and FX Rudy Gunawan.
"Many of us have been pressured into resigning," one of the Bernas reporters said.
The 14 reporters each received a certificate and a share of the US$1,000 cash award.
According to AJI, the award will now be presented annually in commemoration of AJI's anniversary. A man to envy
The launching of Dari Celah Bui included presentation of copies of the book to three journalists who had been imprisoned for their journalistic works: Atmowiloto, Ahmad Taufik, Eko Maryadi, and senior editor Goenawan Mohamad.
Danang, born in 1976, is now a freshman at Atmajaya University's School of Psychology. He was at an AJI function when he was arrested along with AJI members Eko Maryadi and Ahmad Taufik.
All three were convicted for their roles in producing and distributing copies of the unlicensed magazine Independen. Eko and Ahmad have also finished their three-year sentences.
Atmowiloto writes in the introduction of the book that Danang is a man to envy.
"Other people would need years [of perseverance]...in order to earn the title `political detainee'. Danang only needed to stand at the door of the reception room on that March 16, 1995 evening [distributing Independen copies]," Atmowiloto says.
On the trial of Danang, Goenawan writes in the book: "Every arbitrary attitude of the judges is a step toward the crumbling of society."
SiaR - September 5, 1997
[The following is an abridged translation of a statement dated September 2, 1997, by the Department of Education and Culture, Syiah Kuala University Student Senate posted by SiaR. The title was the translator's choice.]
Without warning, Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers attacked a crowd of students, campus members and the public shortly after watching a football match between Technical and Economic faculty lectures. Lecturers, students and others were kicked, trod on and beaten by soldiers who also used bayonets, resulting in a number of severe injuries.
The violence began after a dispute between a student and a police officer when one of the team's supporters erected a banner. This was followed by a "war of words" between the team's supporters and the officer. Feeling cornered, he tried to hit the student who warded of the blows – which only enraged the officer more. The officer then chased the student while others tried to prevent this.
A police Sargent Yasir, who was also at the field, tackled the student being chased by the Brimob officer which enraged the other supporters. As a result Yasir was hit a number of times.
Brimob troops from more than three trucks then surrounded the field and all of those present were forced to take of their shirts and then beaten and kicked severely.
Some of the students who ran to escape to their lodgings were pursued. This only made the soldiers more angry and each person who was found was kicked, clubbed and even slashed with bayonets. Houses and lodgings near the field were broken into with a number of them being severely damaged.
Even some students who were sleeping and knew nothing about what had happened were severely beaten. A number were thrown against walls and coconut trees. One student was beaten as they were eating. A number were forced into a truck and taken off to an unknown destination.
[Translated by James Balowski]
| Environment/land disputes |
Sydney Morning Herald - September 18, 1997
Louise Williams, Pringluan, Central Java – More than three months ago the wells dried up and the villagers began to gather to pray for rain, the elders murmuring fearfully about the last great drought of 1962 when they ate boiled bark and rats.
The village of Pringluan lies in the hot, red eroded hills along the southern coast of Central Java, one of thousands without water as Indonesia's worst drought for 50 years takes hold.
One by one they are selling their animals. For a goat they can buy five tanks of water, for a chicken perhaps a couple of bucketsful. When their animals are gone, the villagers say, they will leave for the cities to look for work as building labourers.
"It is already September," says one middle-aged man, wrapped in a faded, checked sarong, "and look at the sky, so big and empty, the rains will not come soon."
The monsoons are already almost two months late and local meteorologists say the impact of the strong El Nino pattern indicates the wet season may not begin until November or December.
This means millions of farmers now face failed rice crops, severe water shortages and worsening air pollution from thousands of raging forest fires.
The Soeharto Government has already put about one million tonnes of stockpiled rice onto the market in an attempt to slow price increases due to shortfalls. But across the country food prices are rising, hitting the poor the hardest.
In Irian Jaya, the province adjoining drought-stricken Papua New Guinea, officials have been told to set up rice depots to prevent starvation among the remote tribal communities.
In Jakarta, several suburban areas have already run out of artesian water and local government officials say tap water in the city centre will last only until the end of next month.
In many areas low-level wells are contaminated and thousands of cases of diarrhoea among young children have been reported.
On Java, Indonesia's most densely populated island of some 120 million people, pockets of dry forest are burning and vast tracts of rice paddies lie cracked open, baked hard under the relentless sun. Villagers have been reported queuing for a whole day for two buckets of water, balanced on poles across their backs, and washing once a week to prevent wastage. Others are trading cattle and gold for tanks of water from private dealers.
At this time of the year planting should have begun. Java lies just south of the equator and normally heavy rain falls for at least six months a year, ensuring good rice harvests and sufficient stockpiles for the dry months.
In Pringluan, some Government water deliveries are getting through, but not enough, villagers say. Private suppliers are selling water for 20,000 rupiah ($10) a tank, a fortune in a poor, rural community where the daily wage is about $1.50. This area is not irrigated, so relies totally on rain.
"A few months ago we started to pray, and we will keep on praying, but nothing happens," said Istanto, a sun-beaten farmer.
The villagers gather around, hitching sarongs to squat by the side of the road, shaking their heads with concern.
"Everything we eat is more expensive now - at least 20 per cent more for rice, sugar, oil," say the women. "Many of the young people have left to look for work in the cities."
The last drought of this severity, they say, was in 1962. "So many of the people died, more than one hundred; we grated trees and boiled them, we ate rats," says an old man, laughing with embarrassment at the memory.
This year, they say, the Government must help them and they will not starve.
The hills surrounding the village are mounds of dry, red earth, virtually denuded by years of careless timber cutting, meaning much of the land no longer holds the precious rainwater.
The Dean of Geography at Gajah Mada University in the nearby city of Yogyakarta, Professor Sutikno, says the severity of the drought is a combination of the El Nino and land use.
"There is still water in reservoirs, but just giving people water is not enough," he said. "The Government has to educate people about the environment and water use."
Straits Times - September 16, 1997
Batam – A Batam company is selling large quantities of water daily to Singapore even though the island is suffering from a water shortage, an Indonesian newspaper has reported.
According to a Media Indonesia report, the drought-induced shortage in Batam has become so bad that several areas have had their supplies disrupted in the past few months and many factories could fold if the problem was not resolved.
The Indonesian newspaper said in its report last week that despite the problems faced by local residents and businesses, Pertamina Tongkang (PTK), an oil company in Batam, was selling thousands of tonnes of treated water to Singapore every day.
"At least 10 barges with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes operate every day supplying water to foreign vessels in Singapore waters," said its source at PTK.
Mr Eddy Wahyudi, the technical manager for PT Adhya Tirta Batam (PT ATB), a water treatment consortium in Batam, acknowledged that his company sold large quantities of water to PTK but said he did not know if the oil company in turn sold the treated water to Singapore.
He noted, however, that water sold to foreign vessels fetched a higher price – at 3,300 rupiah (S1.80) per cubic metre as against 500 rupiah for domestic consumption.
Media Indonesia said a source at a shipping company disclosed that it bought water from PTK at S$3 a tonne and sold it to Singapore at S$10 to S$20 a tonne.
Such sales have resulted in Batam consumers becoming restive in view of the water shortage, the report added.
Normally, Batam requires at least 750 litres per second. The present supply is less than 600 litres per second, it added.
Sydney Morning Herald - September 17, 1997
Louise Williams, Jakarta – President Soeharto has publicly apologised to Indonesia's neighbours over thousands of forest fires which have sent a thick haze of smoke as far north as Kuala Lumpur, exposing tens of millions of people to dangerous levels of air pollution.
Indonesia also declared a disaster on the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra, where most of the fires are burning, and transferred an ASEAN meeting on the crisis from the remote resort location of Manado to Jakarta to allow Indonesian ministers to stay at their posts. Mr Soeharto issued the apology at the official opening of the ASEAN Environment Ministers' conference yesterday morning. It came after the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, reportedly wrote to the President expressing deep concern over the smoke haze.Satellite images show more than 1,000 fires burning in Indonesia's tropical forests, which have been badly damaged by logging and ravaged by a severe drought. While forest fires are an annual problem in Indonesia, the delay in the monsoon rains and extremely high daytime temperatures have greatly exacerbated the haze crisis.
The Soeharto Government says at least 20 million Indonesians are being exposed daily to dangerous levels of air pollution and Reuters reported from Kuala Lumpur that children were being sent to school in smoke masks as pollution readings topped 300, on a scale which sets 100 as a maximum safe reading.
Doctors in Malaysia have reported a rise in respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis, as well as sore eyes and skin rashes, because of the smoke haze, which now stretches three kilometres into the atmosphere.
Many of Indonesia's fires were started deliberately to clear land for rice fields and plantations ahead of the monsoon season, which was expected to begin last month but may be another two months away.
Indonesia has no adequate fire-fighting equipment and usually relies on heavy tropical rain to extinguish the annual fires.
In central Kalimantan, visibility has been reduced to 100 metres and in most cities on the island motorists are using headlights by day.
Thousands of regional flights have been cancelled and shipping was disrupted in the Malacca Straits between Singapore and Sumatra over the weekend.In opening the ASEAN conference, President Soeharto said: "To the communities of neighbouring countries who have been disturbed by the fires in our territory, Indonesia offers its most sincere apologies."
Over the next three days, the meeting will discuss the pollution and drought crisis gripping the region and related issues such as development.
The extent of the crisis has prompted the Soeharto Government to take unprecedented action against logging companies, many of which are politically well- connected.
Officials said 50 timber companies suspected of using fire to clear land had been given 15 days to prove their innocence or face the prospect of their timber permits being revoked.
Reuters - September 16, 1997
Jakarta – Indonesia abruptly shifted an ASEAN environmental meeting opening on Tuesday to Jakarta from remote Sulawesi due to smoke haze causing a pollution emergency over parts of Southeast Asia.
Indonesia's President Suharto was officially opening the meeting of environment ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Smoke from forest fires in Indonesia's southern Sumatra and Kalimantan on Borneo island has caused massive pollution problems with haze reducing visibility over Singapore and parts of the Malaysian peninsula, including Kuala Lumpur.
Industrial pollution in Malaysia and severe drought in Indonesia caused by the El Nino weather effect in the Pacific Ocean are compounding the problem.
ASEAN ministers were to have flown to Manado on Sulawesi in eastern Indonesia for their four-day conference after the formal opening by Suharto in Jakarta. The main business was due to start on Wednesday.
State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said the meeting was to be held in Jakarta instead because of the state of emergency caused by the fires in Sumatra and Borneo.
The fires, which the government has blamed in part on plantations burning off woodland for rubber planting, are expected to be a top item on the agenda.
The smoke haze is damaging to health and is also posing problems for air and shipping services.
The government has sent a letter to provincial authorities calling for extra efforts to combat the problem, while warning that temperatures would remain high in September and October, up to 37 degrees (99 F), before the annual monsoon season starts over Indonesia.
Malaysia said on Monday it hoped to sign an accord with Indonesia to tackle the problem.
"We have had many discussions with Indonesia, and we are looking at signing a memorandum of understanding to handle this haze problem," Information Minister Mohamed Rahmat told a news conference.
| Social unrest |
South China Morning Post - September 18, 1997
Naomi Lee, Jakarta – Anti-Chinese riots in Ujung Pandang, which continued for a third day yesterday, have claimed three lives, police said, as victims of the violence - including Hong Kong businessmen - told of their terror at the hands of rampaging mobs.
The riots were sparked when an apparently mentally disturbed Chinese man stabbed two Muslim girls on Monday night.
One, aged nine, died on the spot, and a 19-year-old relative died in hospital on Tuesday. Their attacker was beaten to death soon after the stabbing.
All shops and schools in the South Sulawesi provincial capital were closed yesterday and police warned ethnic Chinese to stay home.
An ethnic-Chinese restaurant worker told the South China Morning Post she had seen Chinese being dragged naked from their homes.
"Their houses were set on fire. The people targeted big shops and restaurants run by Chinese," the widow, 57, who had not left the restaurant since Monday, said.
"It is the most violent riot I have seen in recent years. Before, they would only throw stones."
Yeung Kwok-hung, a Hong Kong businessman, told television reporters he had been stranded in his office with three other Hong Kong people.
"We have to protect ourselves. It is dangerous out there," he said.
"The slogan of the Indonesians is to kill the Chinese."
Residents said yesterday's violence was not as bad as on Tuesday.
But shops and schools were shut and police and troops were patrolling streets.
An Ujung Pandang police officer said two firemen were found dead in the rubble of a razed building on Tuesday night, while another charred body was found yesterday in a gutted pub. More than 1,000 people rampaged through the city on Tuesday, throwing stones, looting and burning homes, shops and vehicles, mainly in ethnic Chinese areas.
Major-General Agum Gumelar of the Wirabuana military command said 79 people had been detained following the riots. An employee at a local hospital on Tuesday said 28 ethnic Chinese had been treated for injuries.
Ujung Pandang police said more than 400 buildings and 100 cars were damaged, including a temple.
A resident said a 10 pm curfew was imposed on Tuesday and that security forces fired warning shots in the air, ordering residents to stay indoors.
The rioting was the latest in a series of ethnic disturbances to rock Indonesia in the past year.
Most have involved Muslims attacking Christian and ethnic- Chinese targets.
CNN - September 17, 1997
Ujung Pandang – Streets in the city of Ujung Pandang were quiet Wednesday, after security forces managed to quell two days of anti-Chinese rioting, a human rights group said.
Schools, shops and offices were closed in the provincial capital, about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) northeast of the national capital, Jakarta.
"It has calmed down. But some people are gathering in some areas," said Matinawang, the chairman of the city's independent Legal Aid Foundation.
Unconfirmed reports said small groups of Muslim teen-agers continued to throw rocks at Chinese-owned houses Wednesday morning.
Burnt car
Several thousand people rioted Monday and Tuesday, burning and stoning Chinese homes and stores, after an ethnic Chinese man – whom doctors had diagnosed earlier as mentally ill – allegedly attacked two Muslim girls with a long knife as they walked home from religion class.
Matinawang said a 9-year-old died immediately. Her 19-year- old aunt, earlier reported to be her sister, died of stab wounds later in a nearby hospital.
The rioters caught and severely beat the girls' alleged attacker, who later died at a hospital.
A police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said security forces were monitoring a protest Wednesday by hundreds of students at an Islamic college where the father of one of the dead girls is a professor.
Two people died during the protests. One of the victims, a Chinese man in his 70s, had a heart attack when an angry mob attacked his home. Details of the other death were not immediately available.
Chinese property damaged
Chinese are a minority among Indonesia's 200 million people. Many traditionally work as traders or store owners and are sometimes victimized by other ethnic groups.
Broken car window
The army called for calm and said people should not vent their anger against Chinese people, because the girls were murdered by an insane man.
"It's not the murder of a Muslim by a non-Muslim," the Jakarta Post quoted regional military commander Maj. Gen. Agum Gumelar as saying.
RCTI television reported that at least 291 Chinese-owned stores and restaurants were damaged. Some were looted and set afire.
About 30 cars were smashed and 15 others were burned. About 60 motorcycles were damaged. Residents said scores of police and troops patrolled the streets at the height of the violence, but their numbers had decreased by Wednesday morning.
Police arrested 79 people Monday and Tuesday. Twenty-two remained in custody Wednesday and were expected to be charged with looting and vandalism.
Ujung Pandang is the capital of South Sulawesi province and has a population of 750,000.
The Nation - 17 September, 1997
Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – More than 200 Chinese-owned shops and dozens of vehicles were damaged in an riot which broke out in the capital of Indonesia's South Sulawesi province yesterday after an ethnic Chinese man hacked an indigenous Bugis girl to death with a machete.
Indonesian SCTV yesterday evening showed deserted streets in Ujung Pandang where Muslims had hurriedly painted Arabic words on their houses to prevent rioters damaging their buildings.
Police said no casualties had been reported during the riot but confirmed that hundreds of Chinese-owned buildings were burned down, including several supermarkets, entertainment centres, banks and luxurious houses.
"The Chinese man was beaten by the mob and rumours spread quickly throughout the city that a Chinese man had killed a girl who had just finished mengaji," said a military spokesman referring to the Muslim practice of reciting verses of the Koran in mosques.
Police and witnesses said the Chinese man was reportedly mentally retarded and on Monday used a machete to kill the nine- year-old girl, who was wearing a white Muslim headscarf.
The 24-year-old man reportedly wandered around the area for some hours holding the machete. When he saw the girl, he shouted that she was a white ghost before hacking her to death [see notes]. The man was then stoned and beaten by locals before being taken away by police. He died early yesterday morning in hospital. Between 300 and 400 Bugis people began to target Chinese-owned houses in the area on Monday night.
The riots broke out again yesterday morning when the Bugis people, who are mostly Muslims, began attacking Chinese-dominated business areas on the main streets of Masjid Raya, Veteran and Nusantara.
Among the damaged buildings were the Radisson Hotel, Bank Bali, Bank Central Asia and Primadonna entertainment centre.
Ujung Pandang Chief Police Col M Darus said the police had arrested dozens of rioters and had not received any reports of casualties. However, Darus admitted that the girl had died, two fire fighters had been hospitalised after being trapped in a burning building and nine rioters had been hospitalised after being shot by security personnel.
Local journalists said it was still too early to calculate the number of victims. One reporter of the Ujung Pandang-based Fajar daily told The Nation in a telephone interview last night that there have been rumours that five people were killed.
"It's still going on. We can see fires burning from here," she said. Ujung Pandang, which is in the southern part of Sulawesi island and is about a three-hour flight from Jakarta, is the biggest city in eastern Indonesia.
The reporter said the riots had reminded her of the 1979 anti- Chinese riots which resulted in the death of some students.
A human rights worker for the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation said police had arrested more than 70 rioters and most of the Chinese had left their houses and the city on Monday evening.
South Sulawesi Military Commander Maj Gen Agum Gumelar said military troops and police are guarding the streets of the port city and called for the people to be calm. "The people of South Sulawesi are harsh people but I know they are mature," he said.
[Since April, a number of night attacks have occurred against people suspected of being zombies (hantu pocong, the walking dead) in Central Java. Four people died in July and a number of others were hospitalised with serious injuries. Most of the victims have been vagrants, travelers or homeless people. On September 11, thousands surrounded a police station in Sragan demanding the release of two people who villages had arrested the previous night. When the police refused, they began wrecking the building and it was not until three hours later, when reinforcements arrived (and warning shots fired), that the crowd dispersed. Two other police stations have been damaged in similar circumstances - James Balowski]
Reuters - September 16, 1997
Jakarta – Mobs stoned shops owned by ethnic Chinese and burned cars in the capital of Indonesia's South Sulawesi province on Tuesday after a young girl was hacked to death, police said.
They said the rioting was sparked after an ethnic Chinese man killed a girl from the local Bugis community in the provincial capital Ujung Pandang on Monday night.
"The nine-year-old girl was hacked to death with a machete," a police spokesman said.
The afternoon Suara Pembaruan daily said the girl, Ani Mujahidah, was killed 20 metres (yards) from her home by a 29- year-old mentally retarded man.
It said the man was set upon and beaten by locals before he was taken away by police. He died early on Tuesday morning in hospital, the newspaper said.
But mobs angered by the girl's death went on the rampage.
"All the Chinese shops in the city were stoned and five cars have already been torched," a policewoman in the city said in the late morning.
Mainly Moslem Indonesia has been hit by a number of ethnic and religious riots since late last year with ethnic Chinese and Christian churches often the targets of rioters.
Suara Pembaruan said at least three banks, a car showroom and hundreds of shops were damaged by angry rioters.
One resident said he could see at least a dozen fires burning around the city from the top of his building as fellow residents telephoned him with reports of bands of hundreds of youths roaming the city.
Businesses were closed in the port and trading town which is the centre of Indonesia's cocoa and coffee business from the key growing region in the highlands of South Sulawesi.
"No one has gone outside their houses today. There is no business happening, especially in cocoa," one trader said.
Others said the city remained tense late into the afternoon.
"People, especially the Chinese, are scared to go out. I see smoke everywhere in the city and I keep hearing the sirens of fire engines," a Chinese woman said.
"People are there on the street and security forces seem to be having trouble containing the people," she said.
The official Antara news agency quoted South Sulawesi police chief Brigadier- General Ali Hanafiah as saying police were holding 79 people for questioning following the rioting but gave no further details.
Sulawesi military commander Major-General Agum Gumelar described the riots as purely criminal actions and called on the people not to be easily provoked.
| Economy and investment |
Reuters - September 17, 1997
Muklis Ali, Jakarta – Indonesia announced deep, wide-ranging spending cuts and delays in major projects on Tuesday to help cope with currency and share market upheavals.
Finance Minister Mar'ie Muhammad told a parliamentary commission that projects worth some 39 trillion rupiah ($13 billion) would be postponed, and projects worth 63 trillion rupiah would be reviewed.
The national budget would otherwise end up heavily in the red, he told the commission.
He said the government would slash spending on projects with high import content and those funded from overseas.
Development expenditure would be slashed by 3.28 trillion rupiah.
However, Mar'ie said foreign debt repayments would not be affected "and it may even be possible to make prepayments."
Indonesia is a major foreign debtor nation.
Social welfare and programmes to alleviate poverty also would not be affected, he said.
The move followed similar project deferrals and spending cuts recently announced by Malaysia in response to foreign exchange and share market turmoil which spread through southeast Asia.
"Even though there has been a considerable negative impact (from the currency crisis), we hope this event can be used as an opportunity to consolidate the national economy by implementing various structural adjustments," Mar'ie said.
"These structural adjustments are needed so that all sectors of our national economy are prepared to face economic globalisation, a development that is already well underway."
Projects postponed until the economy recovered included two oil refineries being constructed for state oil company Pertamina and 14 electricity generation projects, he said. The projects involved spending of $5.8 billion.
Nine more power projects worth $4.9 billion would be reviewed while 29 toll road projects would be postponed, Mar'ie said.
The planned $560 million Jakarta Tower, envisaged as one of the world's tallest, and a 95-km (60-mile) bridge linking Indonesia to Malaysia were also postponed.
Mar'ie said the 1997/98 budget would face a shortfall of 9.2 trillion rupiah unless steps were taken to cushion the effects of falling government tax revenues and an extra burden on the fuel subsidy programme caused by the slide in the rupiah.
The rupiah has fallen about 25 percent against the dollar since the start of the year.
The government said private firms would also be encouraged to rein in expansion, especially on programmes dependent on short- term overseas funding.
Sales taxes on non-essential luxury goods would be raised, and the government would attempt to boost non-oil exports, Mar'ie said.
Import duties on a number of raw materials and intermediate products will be slashed, he said.
The government would continue to pursue policy aimed at consolidation of the banking sector.
He said the belt-tightening was aimed at capping the current account deficit at three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for the next two years.
Reuters - September 16, 1997
Raju Gopalakrishnan, Jakarta – Big spending cuts unveiled in Indonesia on Tuesday will severely affect President Suharto's family, among the most sheltered members of the country's business elite, economists said.
Finance Minister Mar'ie Muhammad told a parliamentary commission that the government would postpone projects worth 39 trillion rupiah (about $13.22 billion) until the region's financial crisis dies down.
"This shows President Suharto is willing to cut projects which are white elephants," said economist Christianto Wibisono, head of the Indonesian Business Data Centre.
Projects worth some 69 trillion rupiah would also come under fresh review, the finance minister said.
Foremost among those to be postponed was a project to link Indonesia's Sumatra island to peninsular Malaysia with a 95-km (60-mile) bridge, the world's longest.
Estimated to cost about $2.0 billion, the bridge was to be built by a consortium including Malaysia's Renong Bhd and an Indonesian company controlled by Siti Hediati Heriyadi Prabowo, Suharto's second daughter.
His eldest daughter, Siti Hardianti Rukmana, was among those linked to the construction of a rail and road terminal in Jakarta's Manggarai district. The $285 million project was among those Mar'ie said would be shelved temporarily.
Rukmana was also involved in the construction of a $176 million bridge linking Indonesia's main island of Java to Madura along with Japanese partners. This too has been postponed.
A project backed by a Suharto grandson, Ary Sigit, for a $950 million bridge linking Java to Sumatra has also been shelved. "But not everything has been cut," said Wibisono, pointing to the controversial national car project headed by Suharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra, which has received pledges of $690 million in loans from private and state banks.
Japan, the United States and the European Union have brought complaints against the project before the World Trade Organisation because of the tax and tariff benefits the national car has been given. Wibosono said the car project had already been launched while the others were still on the drawing board.
"People will say that this is a gesture by the president to cut unrealistic projects but he (Suharto) doesn't want to surrender all the decisions to the people," he said.
Other projects to be postponed include the $560 million Jakarta Tower, a 558-metre (1,830 foot) high telecommunications tower which was to be among the tallest structures in the world.
The tower was to be built by a company in which Suharto's cousin Sudwikatmono and two other businessmen hold a majority stake.
State-controlled firms PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia and PT Indonesia Satellite Corp held 20 percent stakes each with state- owned television network TVRI holding the rest.
Also to be postponed were two refineries and 14 power generation projects, which together were to cost $5.8 billion. Mar'ie did not give details on which projects these were.
| Politics |
The Nation - 17 September, 1997
It may not seem to be a privileged position, but the House speaker is the key to who could succeed Suharto, writes The Nation's Andreas Harsono.
Winning a landslide election does not guarantee that the chairman of the victorious party will become either the president of the country or the speaker of the parliament. Worse than that, the chairman might end up at a political dead end.
Welcome to Indonesia, where real politics is played behind closed doors and with vague statements instead of with free elections and open public debate.
Journalist-turn-politician Harmoko led the ruling party Golkar to a sweeping victory in the May strictly-controlled election. It captured 74 per cent of the vote which is six per cent higher than the 68 per cent that Golkar received in 1992.
But even his own men said he is not suitable to become the House speaker.
Golkar legislator Manginsara Marcos Lubis highlighted the party's long-concealed internal dispute when Lubis told the media earlier this month that Harmoko is unable to communicate "harmoniously" with President Suharto.
That reason is more than enough to tell the public that a behind-the-scene manoeuvre is in progress to corner Harmoko whose career as the Information Minister since 1983 was abruptly ended in June when Suharto appointed former army chief R Hartono as a replacement.
Indonesian media concluded that Harmoko is not in favour with the 77-year-old president who has been ruling Indonesia like an old- fashioned Javanese sultan since 1965.
Many believe that Lubis is not alone. He is supposed to have strong backup within the party to fight against the party boss. Observers have speculated and swapped rumours that Golkar is divided due to Harmoko's poor performance.
They did not give the credit of Golkar's victory to Harmoko but to the army and the bureaucracy which openly support Suharto's Golkar.
Golkar gets 325 of 425 contested seats of the House of Representatives while the Muslim-based United Development Party and the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party get 89 and 11 seats, respectively. The Indonesian Armed Forces, whose members do not vote, is allotted 75 seats.
Observers and foreign diplomats said some army generals had even hinted that they would like a serviceman to head the House instead of Harmoko, adding that House members are now lobbying each other to nominate their candidates.
"House members will only know who the leading candidates are after Oct 1," said Lt Gen Syarwan Hamid, the most senior member of the military who will join the parliament, as if trying to say that Harmoko is not to get the speaker seat automatically.
According to state protocol, the House speaker is the third most senior official in Indonesia after the president and the vice president.
The House speaker is also to chair the meeting of the 1,000- strong People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in March next year to elect a president and vice president.
MPR is made up of the 500 House of Representatives members while the 500 other members are representatives of various community groups appointed by Suharto. Critics said the MPR will not allow anyone but Suharto to become president on the grounds that 52.5 per cent of its members are appointed by Suharto himself.
The race is now on for the No 2 position. The candidates include Hartono, technology tsar B J Habibie and current Vice President Try Sutrisno.
Observers said whoever wins the race will be able to help their respective vice presidential candidate get elected.
Syarwan is a military man and is expected to help elect a general to become Indonesia's No 2.
"I'm not in conflict with Harmoko," he said when asked about his change to contest the race, "I must accept reality if Harmoko wins the majority support of House members."
Harmoko, who has lost his popularity since closing down three weeklies in 1994, is a civilian and is expected to build an alliance with Habibie who is widely known to be at loggerheads with the military.
"As an Indonesian citizen, I am ready to carry out any assignment for the interest of the nation," Harmoko said. "It's clear, according to political logic, that the political organisation that wins the general election is expected to hold the leadership position [of the House]," he added.
But it is widely believed that the final say still lies with Suharto who still does not show his highly-needed support to either Harmoko or Syarwan.
Harmoko said, "As a democrat, the president will leave it to the House to deal with," as if trying to say that Suharto should not interfere in the election of the House speaker. Now the race is becoming hotter and hotter.