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ASIET NetNews Number 45 - November 23-29, 1998
| Democratic struggle |
Jakarta -- Thousands of students organized in the Student's Senate Communication Forum of whole Jakarta (FKSMJ) and Universitas Trisakti students (Usakti) succeeded to "occupy" the Attorney General's Office at No. 1 Jl Sultan Hasanuddin, S Jakarta, Tuesday (24/11) since 12.15 WIT.
Till the sending of this article hundreds of students were still determined to spend the night at the Attorney General's Office. While outside the building it is very heavily guarded. Twelve trucks of Marines and Anti Riot Troops of the Jakarta Regional Military Command are on the scene.
The same day thousands of other students again took to the streets. Besides demanding the immediate trial of Soeharto, the students also demanded President Habibie's justification as the highest Armed Forces Commander and the Defense/Security Minister/Armed Forces Commander General Wiranto on the Semanggi Tragedy. Those action units moved individually causing noise and knots in the traffic of the main roads of the Capital.
Before the "occupation" at the Attorney General's Office, the students held a demonstration and oration in front of the main gate. They demanded that the Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib clearly and courageously tried Soeharto in the shortest time. The students wanted that Ghalib didn't stall for time anymore with various empty statements. They were determined to continue with occupying the Attorney General's Office till the Attorney General would take the decision to prosecute and bring Soeharto to court. After an oration of almost two hours, their demand to meet the Attorney General was finally fulfilled.
Entering from behind
While the FKSMJ held an oration at the main gate of the Attorney General's Office, at least eight busses full with Usakti students went the road of Jl Sultan Hasanuddin towards the terminal at Block M. After turning in front of the Block M shopping place and entering Jl Bulungan, the busses emptied their passengers at the unguarded back gate of the Attorney General's Office Complex. Easily and calmly they walked without hindrance, entering the back yard of the Attorney General's Office and directly went to the bridge where the office car of the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General were usually parked.
Seeing this, the PKSMJ mass holding the oration asked to be allowed to join their colleagues inside. After debating with the Head of the Central Intelligence Operation of the Attorney General's Office Sudibyo Saleh, the front gate of the Attorney General's Office which was never opened, was opened. The FKSMJ mass gradually joined the Usakti students. Around one hour later almost the whole lawn of the Attorney General's Office complex was filled with students.
A Parcel of a chicken
About 13.50 the students held an oration demanding to meet with the Attorney General, which was complied. At the small meeting room of the Deputy Attorney General, around 20 representatives of the students met with Ghalib. He was among others sided by the Deputy Attorney General Ismudjoko, the Junior Attorney General (JAM) for Special Crimes Anton Sujata, the JAM for Intelligence Syamsu Djalaluddin and the JAM for Supervision Jakob Saleh.
The FKSMJ spokesmen Yervis and Dandy and the Secretary General of the Presidium of Usakti Students Gunawan directly read their demands on behalf of the students in front of the Attorney General.
"The FKSMJ clearly asked the Attorney General to prosecute as soon as possible former President Soeharto on suspicion of political, legal and economic crimes and to investigate his wealth ultimately one month after receipt of this statement. Besides that the FKSMJ also demanded the legal justification of President BJ Habibie and the Defense/Security Minister/ABRI Commander General Wiranto on the 12 May 1998 and 13 November 1998 at the Universities of Trisakti and Atma Jaya," he said.
Answering the students demands, Ghalib described his program in erasing corruption, collusion and nepotism practices since he was appointed on 17 June 1998. He clarified that he was ready to erase corruption.
Commenting on that the student representatives from FKSMJ and Usakti were not satisfied. "We evaluate that the Attorney General does not dare to try Soeharto. this is evident from his unclear and complicated statement, trying to obscure the problem. That is it, thank you," said a student.
Before parting with the Attorney General, a female student of the Faculty of Law of Usakti handed a parcel of a chicken to the Attorney General who directly received it.
Other demonstrations
At the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle around 500 yellow jacket students organized in the Student Action Unit (KAM) of UI held a march to the state palace. But their intention was obstructed by hundreds of the apparatus when they neared the National Monument (Monas). They finally sent five persons as student representatives to the State Secretariat and to the Office of the Department of Defense and Security to state their wish to have a dialogue with the President and the Defense/Security Minister/ABRI Commander.
The action started relaxed. The apparatus only set a police line without barricade of troops. They waited while sitting under the trees around Monas. But the students then held an oration from above the busses.
The KAM UI students demanded that the govt completely investigated the incidents of Trisakti, Semanggi and the disappearance of activists. They also demanded the justification of the ABRI leadership on those affairs. They also rejected ABRI's presence at the House, demanded withdrawal of ABRI's dual function and demanded honest and fair general elections exactly on time.
We also appeal to all components of the nation not to be provoked by efforts of playing against each others and cheap provocations smelling to ethnic, religious and racial problems by parties which want to divide the nation," thus the KAM UI.
Meanwhile a negotiating team of students attempted to coax the officials, hundreds of students continued to shift forward till they touched the police line. They were standing face to face with hundreds of the apparatus which was equipped with rattan sticks and shields. The tension lasted quite a long time. But suddenly the coordinator of students gave in and ordered the students to dissolve.
Pancoran
The movement of hundreds of students associated in the City Forum who initially wanted to move to the DPR/MPR building were also obstructed by the apparatus at the Cawang-Pancoran crossing. Because they were held up by the apparatus they caused a chaos in the traffic of said area. At the same time hundreds of students were standing face to face with Marines at the Pancoran crossing.
For three hours the City Forum students held an oration near the fly way of Pancoran. They still remained at their initial demand to form an Indonesian People's Committee (KRI) to perform the transitional govt, removal of ABRI's dual function and the trial of Soeharto. Around 21,00 the students dispersed and went to the campus of Sahid University's campus.
Louise Williams, Jakarta -- Thousands of student protesters occupied the grounds of the Attorney-General's office in Jakarta yesterday, demanding the trial of former president Soeharto, after immigration officials confirmed Mr Soeharto's youngest son had been banned from leaving Indonesia pending a corruption inquiry.
Student leaders said they were switching tactics from the massive anti-Government street protests of recent weeks, fearing anarchy in the capital, after 14 died and scores were injured in attacks by Muslim mobs on Christians and churches on Sunday.
The students said they were not satisfied with the progress of the Attorney-General's investigation, nor confident a new commission announced by the President, Dr B.J. Habibie, would take firmer action.
The Attorney-General, Mr Andi Ghalib, has responded to public calls for Mr Soeharto to be placed under house arrest during inquiries by saying: "If he is available at any time and can be questioned and doesn't complicate the inquiry ... what's the point of an arrest?"
But immigration officials have confirmed a one-year travel ban has been imposed on Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, who ran a business empire worth an estimated $US600 million ($930 million) during his father's rule.
Officials of the Attorney-General's office questioned Tommy on Monday over a 52.5 billion rupiah ($12.5 million) land scam in north Jakarta. Mr Soeharto's second son, Bambang Trihatmodjo, is also facing charges over banking crimes, linked to claims that he and his partners exceeded the legal lending limit and lent depositors' funds to their own businesses.
Tommy is being investigated over the sale of a State property to giant supermarket chain, PT Goro Batara Sakti, in which he held a stake. The National Logistics Agency (BULOG), which owned the original property, was to receive a 63-hectare plot in north Jakarta in exchange for its land and buildings under the contract signed with Goro.
But the Attorney-General's spokesman, Mr Barman Zahir, said BULOG had received only eight of the 63 hectares, and even that land was bought using a bank loan provided to Goro but guaranteed by BULOG. The State enterprise then paid 32.5 billion rupiah for the remaining land using public money.
The issue of land swaps, in which valuable government property has been traded for less valuable land or not paid for at all, is one mechanism allegedly used by Mr Soeharto's political elite for their own gain.
Tommy is also facing a lawsuit over his Timor car project which received exclusive tax and tariff concessions from the Government but failed to comply with an agreement on local content intended to boost Indonesia's car industry.
Jakarta -- Indonesian students returned to the streets Tuesday to press for reforms as the capital braced for more mass demonstrations, with heavy security deployed around strategic spots leading to the Monas square in Central Jakarta.
By midday some 500 flag and banner-waving students from the South Jakarta campus of the University of Indonesia had reached a busy central roundabout and had begun marching on Monas, witnesses said.
Two separate groups, totalling abaout 300 students protested at the attorney general's office in South Jakarta.
Some 100 students from the Communication Forum of Jakarta's Students Senates (FKSMJ) called on the attorney general to bring former president Suharto to trial over past abuses of power. "Bring Suharto to trial," read a poster displayed by the students while another read "Suharto is responsible for the disintegration of the nation." The protesters were barred by marines from entering the complex and were left demonstrating in the slow traffic lane of the street in front of the attorney general's office.
About 200 students from the Trisakti private university arrived by bus and immediately entered the compound, also calling for a trial for Suharto and a comprehensive investigation of the May 12 shooting here that left four Trisakti students dead.
Both groups also demanded the resignation of Attorney General Andi Ghalib, whom they said was stalling investigations into the wealth of Suharto and of the Trisakti shooting.
Ghalib heads a team formed by President B.J. Habibie in September to probe the wealth of Suharto, his family and former officials who served under him but critics have said the probe had stalled.
Since the ageing ex-president stepped down on May 21, he has faced and denied allegations that he amassed a fortune during his 32 years in office. Forbes magazine in June listed the Suharto family at four billion dollars.
Rumors in the capital spoke of a fourth attempt by students tomarch on Suharto's Cendana residence in a posh residential district in central Jakarta. A small group of 20 students were blocked Monday by a tight security cordon at a park less than one kilometre (0.62 miles) from Cendana. Two similar demonstrations last week were turned back at the same location.
More than 1,000 students had gathered by early morning at the Salemba campus of the state University of Indonesia holding a free speech forum, and AFP reporter said.
Hundreds of students, from the City Forum, were gathering at the Sahid University in South Jakarta and also preparing to board buses to go to the parliament to protest.
Rumors also spoke of several other groups of students intending to march towards the central Monas square which is surrounded by government offices, including the presidential palace.
Scores of troops were seen preparing for the day at a large empty house on the rim of a roundabout some 200 metres (yards) southeast of the square. The soldiers had set up camp there, an AFP reporter said. They were also camped in the park, in the grounds of the tourism ministry and several other buildings.
| East Timor |
Dili -- Student organisations in Dili, the capital of East Timor, will hold a big demonstration on Monday to protest against a bloodbath perpetrated by the Indonesian army in Alas, a sub- district of about 1,000 inhabitants. According to reliable sources, between 9 and 19 November, at least 50 people were killed, including the village head. Others speak of more than 100 casualties. An eyewitness said yesterday: "There were so many bodies, I wasn't able to count".
It was probably an act of retaliation for an attack by rebels on 9 November on the headquarters of the army in Alas. The authorities have neither confirmed or denied the reports. The separatists (sic) killed three soldiers and took 13 hostages. Eleven were released afterwards. Two soldiers -- both East Timorese -- are still being held hostage. The rebels have supposedly received assistance from the inhabitants of Alas.
The bloodbath is seen in East Timor as a desperate attempt to suppress the growing freedom and the process of political reforms that has developed since the resignation of President Suharto.
A feeling of despair in Dili The names of eleven of the victims of the Alas Massacre have been listed, according to our sources. So far 14 people have been arrested. The army has burned down about 30 houses in the village. Between 100 and 150 youngsters have fled to the mountains because they are being hunted by the military. Many elderly people, children and women have found refuge in the Catholic Church in Alas. The authorities have also cut off water supplies, according to East Timorese sources.
A region that has until now been accessible to everybody has been sealed off from the outside world, which means, according to our East Timorese sources, that a military operation is going on. Bishop Belo from East Timor, Nobel peace prize winner has offered to start negotiations with the army to allow relief workers to enter the area.
According to our sources, Indonesia has send fresh troops to the area, including battalions 744 and 745 (territorial battalions which include a large number of East Timorese), anti riot Brimob police and Garuda I and II battalions from the army's Strategic Reserve, Kostrad.
In Alas the military are searching for people who have assisted the Falintil rebels, according to witnesses. The units operate in groups of four. Suspects are shot dead on the spot.
According to several observers the military hope, by means of this bloody operation, to kill off the new atmosphere of freedom and reformasi that was embraced so enthusiastically in East Timor.
In the past few months students in East Timor have organised huge public meetings all over East Timor. At these meetings discussions were held about the political future of East Timor. The population were given information about the significance of the holding of a referendum, the choice between independence and a limited form of autonomy.
Recently, East Timorese political parties, although not yet recognised, have been allowed to operate. The hope of better times has been smashed by the Alas Massacre.
The atmosphere in Dili is one of anger, despair and confusion. "Almost everybody is silent, even the bishop" says a woman. "People do not understand why the army is using violence at a time when everything was looking fine. Only the students have the courage to do things".
On-the-spot report from Dili
[The following is an on-the-spot report sent to Sonny Inbaraj on November 23 who re-posted it on the tapol.easttimor newslist. The author of the report was not cited.]
I attended a demonstration this morning Monday 23/11/98. It was organised by the DSMTT -- which is a combined East Timorese students group against Violence. They all started gathering at UNTIM before 8am. Students from UNTIM in their light blue jackets, students from the Polytechnic in bright yellow, from Akper -- the Academy of Health indark blue and also from IPI -- the Indonesian Pastoral Institute.
All nine senior high schools in Dili closed for the day and the students walked to the demonstrasi in their all white uniforms. Another youth group which supports independence for East Timor -- OBJETIL had white t-shirts with OBJETIL across the front. Many people in ordinary clothes. The common estimate was around 5,000 students. There were banners supporting a free ET of course and also for Xanana, Tau matan Ruark, Konis Santana, and David Alex.
Everyone marched from UNTIM to the DPR or People's assembly where they took over the front of the building. They have done the sme action 3 times before. They had a microphone and loudspeakers on a balcony over the front steps. They were demanding peace the military out of ET; UN forces in ET. They want a stop to violence, kidnappings, killings, intimidation and torture. They wanted to say that the Indonesian government is responsible for what is happening in Alas and other districts. They say that more than 50 people have been killed at Alas including students. They say that the military are still killing people at night. They say that the leader of Falantil in Alas Tera Bulak and his members (they are the ones who captured the kopassus men) are surrounded by Indonesian military. The speaker from Same asked that the UN and all the nations of the world defeat Jakarta.
One student suggested to me that the UN impose an economic embargo on Indonesia. I asked "won't that make ET poorer?" "No we will be OK . We have our gardens and many resources. If we run out of rice we will eat corn".
There were no military in sight and the police kept their distance but were equipped with 2-way radios. One students I was talking to said it is still dangerous to be seen talking to journalists because there were plain clothes people in the crowd. The students quickly point out when a spy comes near. The governor and the military were invited to attend. There were many rumours that Abilio would show at 1pm but he did not come. I was told that he was too scared. I left at 1.30. Everyone had been told then that he was not coming.
Manuel Carrascalao did speak and was cheered supportively by the students. He started his speech with "Viva Timor Leste." A student told me that Manuel always supports the students struggle and cares about people's suffering. He said that the military must stop the violence in Alas. He said the Timorese must unite. East Timor is their land not the Indonesians'. He told them about his meeting with the Portuguese PM where he stressed that Timorese people want independence and that Timorese who said otherwise were not representative of the people. Speakers, songs and poetry continued all morning.
I interviewed a teacher at the demonstration. he was keen for his name to be used. he is Antonio Cardoso Machido form the Dili College of Economic Science. He is also a memeber of the political department of the Gradutaes Forum. (Forsarepetil -- The group which organised the 35,000 person demonstration when Abilio Soares threatened to sack government servants who did not support "autonomy").
He brought his students to the demonstartion and supports independence. He believes 99 per cent of east Timorese want independence and even the other 1per cent do but they are afraid of the consequences because they have been supporting the Indonesians. He believes ET will be economically viable. When the Indonesians leave the people will be able to return and farm their traditional lands instead of living in Dili. He believes Portugal as the administering power accepted by the UN should strive to overcome the problems ET now faces and should make compensation (for walking out I guess).
He says Australia should know that the ETese sacrificed 50,000 lives for Australian soldiers in WW II. He believes Australia should do a lot more for ET and should show their presence in ET. He believes Australia will be a good friend once ET is independent. When discussing the future viability of an independent ET and situation of education levels and human resources Antonio points out that Guinea-Bissau only had 6 gradutaes when they became independent in 1974 whereas ET has 1000.
One of our colleagues had just returned from Same. She told me that Falantil said 145 people had escaped from the villages near Alas and taken shelter with them. A group called Kontras which has recently formed and tries to trace missing persons, show that the Timorese are watching and reporting on the military actions and so increase the pressure on the military to get out of East Timor, had sent a representative to the area two days ago. He had spoken to 45 people and estimated that 60 people had been killed -- including 20 near a river and 10 who were sheltering in a church.
Houses have been burnt and many people have fled. It seems there's still heavy military presence between Same and Alas.
Christopher Henning, London -- The former Australian ambassador to Indonesia Mr Philip Flood has rejected claims that he withheld information from the Australian Government concerning the murder of wounded Timorese at the time of the Dili massacre. Mr Flood is now Australia's high commissioner in London.
He told the Herald that although a detailed account of his conversation with the source of his information -- Lieutenant- Colonel Prabowo Subianto -- was not passed on, the substance of Colonel Prabowo's information, including the number killed in the massacre at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili and further murders away from the cemetery on the same day in November 1991, was sent to Canberra.
"The source of the information was withheld to protect the person who arranged the meeting with Colonel Prabowo, and who continued to provide us with information subsequently," Mr Flood said.
The Herald reported last Wednesday that Mr Flood had noted at the time that the conversation had taken place on the basis that its content would not be reported.
The full details of the conversation were given to Canberra only on May 10, 1994, as the Department of Foreign Affairs prepared its publicity counter-offensive against the journalist John Pilger. In his film Death of a Nation, Pilger claimed that a second massacre had occurred in November 1991 of 150 people wounded in the shooting at the cemetery.
He repeated the claim in an article in The Observer in London last weekend, in which he described the Herald story as "the latest revelation of Australia's long appeasement of the Indonesian dictatorship and its acts of genocide in East Timor", and accused the former foreign minister, then Senator Gareth Evans, and then prime minister, Mr Paul Keating, of "continuing to deny the scale and gravity of the Indonesian atrocity". Both Mr Evans and Mr Keating have denied the story. Mr Keating has said he plans legal action against Pilger over it.
Mr Flood told the Herald: "Gareth Evans has put out a statement that the information was passed on. I can only presume that John Pilger didn't see or didn't want to see that statement, which was published in the Herald on Friday.
"Information was certainly passed on -- masses of information."
A few days after details of the Prabowo interview were sent to Canberra in 1994, Senator Evans wrote an article for the Age in which he said that "the balance of evidence" from "multiple sources of information" was against a second massacre.
Jakarta -- Most Indonesian students and academics believe the people of troubled East Timor should be allowed to decide their own future, according to an opinion poll.
Asked for the best solution to the problem, 66.5 percent wanted the East Timorese people to decide on their own future, while only 7.7 percent wanted the matter to be left to the Indonesian government.
Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975 and annexed it the following year in a move never recognized by the United Nations. Its troops have faced sporadic resistance from guerrillas fighting for independence.
Only 23.7 percent of 1,000 people surveyed believed that the integration of East Timor was the wish of the East Timorese, while 53.6 percent believed the process was a form of "intervention" by the government.
The survey was jointly conducted by the "Solidarity for Peace in East Timor" a private organisation, and a private social research foundation. It also showed that 70.8 percent of the respondents felt the demand of East Timorese to "separate" themselves from Indonesia was "normal".
Conducted between October 12 to November 22, the poll surveyed 1,000 students and faculty members in five major cities in Indonesia's main island of Java. Some 58.8 percent of those surveyed agreed that economic reasons were behind the invasion, while 24.5 disagreed.
A total of 48.5 percent said a referendum on self- determination would be the best way to settle the problem while 32.2 percent disagreed.
A total of 43.8 percent of the respondents named Nobel Laureate Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo as the man best able to meet the needs of the East Timorese population while rebel leader Xanana Gusmao stood in second place with the support of 15.2 percent.
Only 13.4 percent of the respondents thought that news on East Timor conveyed by the government was credible, while 58.5 percent doubted its credibility.
Jakarta -- Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights will investigate accusations that soldiers executed as many as 50 people in East Timor earlier this month in a military operation against armed rebels in the troubled province, the Government said Tuesday.
Marzuki Darusman, the commission's vice president, said a senior commission member would investigate allegations of the executions and of arbitrary arrests by the armed forces between Nov. 10 and Nov. 16 in the sub-district of Alas on the southern coast of East Timor. He said the investigator would be Clementino Dos Reis Amaral, a commission member from East Timor.
Citing "very reliable sources," the former Portuguese Governor of East Timor, Mario Carrascalao, said today that he has been told that 42 people had been executed and more than 40 wounded and that 200 others were missing in the Alas area.
Carrascalao, speaking in Jakarta, said he was willing to go himself to help investigate the allegations. He said the area where the killings were reported was also a site for resettlement of Javanese under a contentious Government program.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said today that a team it sent to the area had found "no confirmation of large- scale atrocities."
Portugal, the former colonial ruler of East Timor, suspended United Nations-brokered talks with Indonesia in New York on Friday after the first reports that civilians had been killed in an area where guerrillas are active. Carrascalao said the talks were to resume Tuesday.
In the East Timor capital, Dili, as many as 2,000 East Timorese students continue to occupy the local parliament building in protest against the alleged killings by the Indonesian troops.
The Australian-based East Timor Human Rights Center, considered the main watchdog group for East Timorese rights, issued a statement today accusing the Indonesian military of executing 50 East Timorese and arresting 30 others, including two teen-age girls. It said it had identified 14 of those killed and expressed grave fears for the safety of the detainees.
"The killings and arrests in the Alas sub-district have followed the recent build-up of Indonesian troops in the area," the report said, adding that the alleged killings may have been in retaliation for an attack on the troops by rebels of the East Timorese Armed Resistance in which 3 Indonesian soldiers were killed and 13 captured.
The report said that following the rebel attack on Nov. 9, troops attacked a village on Nov. 13, arresting and later killing the chief and four other people.
The East Timor Human Rights Centre (ETHRC) has received reports from reliable sources in East Timor about the extra-judicial execution of approximately 50 East Timorese people between 10 and 16 November, 1998. The executions took place during a military operation by members of the Indonesian military (ABRI) in the sub-district of Alas in the south of East Timor. The military operation has also resulted in up to 30 East Timorese people being arrested, including two teenage East Timorese girls, who are believed to be in incommunicado detention. The current whereabouts of most of the detainees is unknown and grave fears are therefore held for their safety.
The killings and arrests in the Alas sub-district have followed the recent build-up of Indonesian troops in the area. It is believed ABRI forces launched the operation in Alas in retaliation for an attack on 9 November by Falintil (East Timorese Armed Resistance) on members of the military. During that attack, three Indonesian soldiers were killed and 13 taken captive, 11 of who have since been released. According to ETHRC sources, the ABRI forces responsible for the military operation included personnel from battalions 315, 744, 745, marine forces, Gaurda Penculik, Black Horse Mobile Brigade and Hansip (East Timorese recruited into the Indonesian military).
Extra-judicial executions
On 13 November ABRI forces attacked in the village of Taitudak, arresting Vicente Xavier, the village chief, and four other unidentified young people. They were taken to the village of Barike where they were killed. In a report from the Dili-based newspaper Suara Timor Timur, the Indonesian military chief of East Timor, Colonel Tono Suratman, confirmed the death of Vicente Xavier, claiming that the village chief had been one of the masterminds behind the Falintil attacks on the military.
ETHRC sources reported that five of the East Timorese who were killed were shot by the military, loaded onto trucks and taken away to be buried by the military. One was buried at the Becucu post, one at Motakelan post and another, identified as Felipe, was buried around the hamlet of Dotik, near a military post.
To date, only fourteen of the 50 East Timorese people killed during the military operations have been identified:
On 15 November, ABRI forces again attacked the village of Taitudak and also the village of Turin. Two nieces of Vicente Xavier, Etelvina and Atina, both in their teens, were arrested and taken to KODIM 1634 (District Military Headquarters) in Same, where it is believed they are being held in incommunicado detention. The ETHRC holds grave concerns for their safety as detainees in military custody in East Timor are routinely subjected to torture and ill-treatment, especially if they are denied access to independent legal representation and humanitarian assistance.
Fears are also held for up to 28 others who are believed to have been arrested. Their current whereabouts is unknown and they are also believed to be at serious risk of torture and ill-treatment if they are not located soon.
The 28 disappeared people have been identified by local sources. Eleven were arrested on 16 November by members of Kopassus in their homes in the villages of Taitudak and Betanu. Their whereabouts is still unknown, despite internal steps taken to locate them:
Another twelve East Timorese people were reported as either arrested or persecuted. It is not clear whether these people are in detention or whether they have gone into hiding for fear of persecution. The twelve have been identified as follows:
The ETHRC calls on the Indonesian authorities to conduct a full and impartial investigation into the violations committed during the military operations in Alas, including all alleged extra- judicial executions, disappearances and arbitrary detentions.
Background information
The ETHRC is extremely alarmed by the human rights violations occurring in the sub-district of Alas. Concerns have already been raised internationally about the recent build-up of military personnel in East Timor. According to Indonesian military documents recently leaked to the international media, the total number of Indonesian security personnel, including paramilitary units, is approximately 21,600, despite claims by President's Habibie that troop numbers in the territory have been reduced.
[On November 27 Associated Press reported that according to the Indonesian military, rebels ambushed and killed two Indonesian security officers on a remote stretch of road near Bilimau, around 40 miles from Dili - James Balowski.]
| Political/economic crisis |
Reiner S, Jakarta -- Foreign investors will not enter Indonesia's cash-strapped banking sector if uncertainty in the political and economic fields continues, according to a foreign fund manager.
Gerry Grimstone, vice chairman of the London-based fund management firm Schroders said foreign investors wouldn't channel the massive amount of fresh money needed to recapitalize the country's ailing banking sector unless the risk of investing here could be measured.
He said that political and currency stability, as well as consistency in government policy were the key factors in attracting foreign investors to enter Indonesia.
"I think once the foreigners understand what the future looks like, there will be the appetite here. But at the moment they find it very hard to estimate the risk. They can't work out whether something is worth 100 or 10. Once they can understand the risk, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to invest here," he told The Jakarta Post in an interview on Friday after speaking at the Indonesia Forum business conference.
Schroders is among the largest foreign investors in the country's capital market with outstanding total investments of around US$1 billion. The sharp depreciation of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar has sent the Indonesian banking sector into a tailspin.
The government has injected more than Rp 140 trillion (US$18 billion) to help troubled banks meet withdrawals made by panicked depositors in the wake of plunging confidence. It is now trying hard to get back the money by selling the fixed assets in the form of various companies surrendered by owners of the banks. The government has also pledged to provide a percentage of the financing needed to recapitalize the banking sector to meet the minimum 4 percent capital adequacy ratio requirement by the end of this year.
Part of the recapitalization measures would be to takeover the massive volume of banks non-performing loans, which would be repackaged before selling them to investors. The government has said that it would issue bonds to recapitalize the banking sector, which would be sold to investors in three to five years time.
Grimstone estimated that some $13-19 billion in new capital would be needed to recapitalize the Indonesian banking sector. "The problem is the only sources at present for the money are trade and portfolio investors venture capital funds, the Indonesian government and multilateral agencies," he said. "Foreign investment is a vital component, but it requires political and currency stability," he added.
Violent clashes between student protesters and security officials reemerged on November 13, followed by looting and arson the next day in Jakarta, as a manifestation of widespread protests over the country's slow political reform. The bloody clashes caused deep concern among investors over the country's political stability, which became unstable following the killing of students, rioting, looting, and arson in May which led to the downfall of former president Soeharto. The country is planning to have a general election next year.
Although the rupiah has considerably strengthened to around Rp 7,500 to the dollar, compared to Rp 14,000 in June, many say the currency remains volatile due to a combination of political instability and economic factors.
"The questions people often ask are 'where is the bedrock when can we know that things won't get any worse in Indonesia? When is the stability coming back?' I think the politicians, business leaders and all who are concerned for the future of Indonesia have to look for that bedrock," Grimstone said.
He also said that a consistent government policy was an important ingredient in reviving the shattered financial sector. "Indonesia needs strong and consistent leadership in economic management to get out of its current position," he said, pointing out that government policy must be clear and realistic. The way the government handled the repayment of the more than Rp 140 trillion in liquidity support injected into troubled banks was a good example.
President B.J. Habibie initially demanded bankers return the money in cash in one year, but this was seen as unrealistic by the bankers, so it was then extended to four years following pressure by the IMF. Demands from certain people in the political elite to use the fixed assets, surrendered by the bankers to repay their obligations, as a means of wealth distribution has increased the obscurity of these matters.
Grimstone also said that economic data must be timely, reliable and widely circulated to give rise to confidence in the country because people could then see the real picture of the economy.
"I think more can be done here in terms of circulation of reliable economic information," he said.
"The capital market won't return to Indonesia unless confidence is created," he added.
"But the good news is that we have found multinational corporations are already interested in Indonesia as they see a great future here, but not many are willing to invest immediately as they're studying the situation," he said.
He explained that a proper implementation of the country's privatization program would be a very important ingredient in reviving foreign investors confidence.
"I think it is very important for the privatization program of Indonesia to move away from the concept of individual sales to be much more of a program for reaching macro-economic objectives," he said.
Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta -- As the death toll from Sunday's bloody clashes between rival ethnic groups rose to 13 yesterday, President B J Habibie expressed concern about the deteriorating social order in the capital city and promised to finance the reconstruction of churches damaged during the rioting.
Financial markets, however, shrugged off the rising social tension to continue their upward climb. The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index rose 5.3 per cent to close at 424.99 points while the rupiah remained steady at the 7,500 per dollar level.
"The market is focusing on the macroeconomic picture and not too many people are paying attention to the disturbance on the streets," said Brian Thomas of Paribas Asia Equity. "But if the situation does escalate into something more substantial, it will start to affect the markets."
Rescuers yesterday pulled out the charred bodies -- seven victims from a gambling hall torched by anti-Christian rioters, with one body identified as belonging to an ethnic Chinese man.
During Sunday's rioting, seven churches were set ablaze and six others were damaged. The mob also damaged three banks, one hotel and two schools and set fire or damaged 14 cars and one motorcycle, reported the Media Indonesia daily.
Jakarta remained tense with most shops in the city's Chinatown area remaining closed for the day despite heavy troop presence. Most of the city's Christian schools also issued radio announcements that they would remain closed for between one day and a week.
Rumours of more unrest continued to circulate yesterday as the city's 11 million citizens braced themselves for the worst. The rioting on Sunday followed last week's deadly clashes between security forces and protesting students, which left seven students dead from gun shot wounds.
President Habibie blamed provocateurs for the riots and called on Indonesians not to be taken in by false rumours. "The incident was the result of provocations by individuals who do not want political stability in Indonesia," the president was quoted as saying by State Secretary Akbar Tanjung.
"The president is very concerned over the incident and is calling for restraint on the entire Indonesian nation and for them not to fall for rumours, especially those pitting religious and ethnic groups against one another," said Mr Tanjung at the Merdeka Palace after meeting with Dr Habibie.
Muslim and Christian leaders condemned the burning of 13 Christian churches and schools, with one Presbyterian priest noting that the attacks on the churches were not spontaneous.
Two leading opposition leaders -- Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Megawati Sukarnoputri, head of the Indonesia Democratic Party (PDI) -- issued a joint call urging people not to fall prey to incitement.
"It is an absolute prerequisite that all citizens realise how large our national interest is at stake and there are extremist groups which do not have other interest than causing unrest," the joint statement said.
Political analysts fear that the fresh outbreak of social and ethnic tension threatens to tear the nation apart amidst its worst economic crisis in three decades. As urban poverty and inflation-induced famine continue to rise, desperate, hungry people will not act in a rational way, said political economist Sjahrir.
"Widening urban poverty will lead to chaos as in Jakarta itself, an estimated one million people do not have enough purchasing power to even consume 500 calories per capita," he told BT.
"We have now entered into a primal level of politics and you will have social explosions everywhere." Mr Sjahrir, who heads the Institute for Economic and Financial Research (ECFIN), added that ethnic and religious tensions, which started with a spate of mysterious killings in East Java about two months ago, could unleash a wave of terror which would be impossible for the authorities to control if allowed to continue.
Kafil Yamin. Jakarta -- Besieged by convulsions of violence, Indonesia's government faces more trouble from another flank -- provinces and territories that want greater autonomy or even secession.
These calls show how centrifugal forces pulling on Indonesia's multi-ethnic archipelago -- which spans 13,700 islands -- are peaking at a time when the country is in political transition and the government probably most ill- prepared to deal with them.
The difficulty of holding together this nation of 220 million people, the fourth most populous country in the world, was often cited as a strength of former President Suharto's rule.
During his rule, calls for autonomy and decentralisation, in order to effect fairer wealth distribution and more control over gains from natural resources, were largely kept under control. But now that Indonesia is, for many, unraveling, regional administrations are reaffirming their long-held desire.
Even areas considered relatively calm and without secessionist movements, like South Sulawesi and Bali, have threatened to distance themselves from the central government. Some provinces have threatened to separate themselves from the republic, formed in 1945. Others say it is time to review the republic's structure and make it a federation.
Amien Rais, chairman of the newly established National Mandate Party, proposes a federal state. Since the present form of republic is under threat, he said "we should try to find the alternative which is more reliable in accommodating the interests of all Indonesians".
Places like Aceh or East Timor, home to armed movements for separation, are restless due to a history of human rights abuses by the government or the military and a desire for a bigger share of the wealth they contribute. Other regions have long felt at a disadvantage, not to mention, poorer, than the main island of Java, where Jakarta is.
For instance, Northern Sumatra or Aceh province contributes at least 11 billion US dollars to Indonesia's yearly state revenues. But it gets back not more than 57 million dollars -- less than 0.4 percent -- in its five-year development budget allocation from the central government.
"If we regained 50 percent of the regional revenue, we'll see a much more prosperous Aceh in the near future," said Djalaluddin Hasan, chairman of a commission in Aceh's House. With its abundant forests, oil and gas, Aceh in the western end of the archipelago has been feeding Indonesia with much of its produce for decades but remains poor.
For decades, Aceh was known as the site for what Indonesians call DOM or 'daerah operasi militer' (territory for military operation), where oppression, terror, shootings, killings and human rights violations were rampant.
Joining the chorus for a fairer share of wealth is Irian Jaya province, home to lush rainforests and giant gold and copper deposits -- and mining operations led by the US based firm Freeport McMoran.
Freeport McMoran has 80 percent of PT Freeport Indonesia's shares, a copper mining company operating in the province for more than three decades. But while the Indonesian government and businessmen share ownership of the remaining 20 percent, the Irian Jaya provincial administration does not have a stake.
For its part, the provinces on Kalimantan island hold in their soil forests, gold, briquette, oil and cattle. The island feeds almost 40 percent of the state revenue, but its 30 million people earn less than a dollar a day.
Kalimantan is also the site of thousands of forest concessionaires, whose central offices in Jakarta are run by rich executives. "They have breakfast in Singapore, lunch in Hong Kong, dinner in Amsterdam," said Effendi Rustam, a forestry employee who goes with these executives on overseas trips.
The regions' pent-up feelings of resentment are now rising to the fore, feeding restlessness among a population long unable to express dissent and creating added problems for a government concerned with its very survival.
Irian Jaya has sent a strong warning to Jakarta that it would well see an independent Irian Jaya unless the central government reviews its governance structure. Aceh officials have aired similar demands, to stop human rights abuses, review wealth distribution that the central government takes and greater autonomy.
It is not surprising for Aceh and Irian Jaya to express such sentiments, but they are increasingly shared by socially and economically stable provinces like South Sulawesi and Bali.
Recent statements by Agriculture and Horticulture Minister Ahmad Muflih Syaefuddin stoked the resentment of the mostly Hindu Balinese, who threatened to break away from the republic unless the minister makes an open apology to them.
Syaefuddin had said opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri's chances of winning next year's presidential election were dim "because she is a Hindu, while Indonesia's majority is Muslim".
"I saw her praying in a temple. I think Muslims will soon notice that she is not a proper leader for them," Saefuddin said, in derogatory remarks interpreted as equating being Hindu with not being a good Muslim. For the Balinese, the statement was a gross insult to their religion.
Foreseeing growing pressure for disintegration ahead, some leading politicians and analysts argue that the decentralisation of governance is now inevitable. Argued Rais: "Under the federal system, regional discontent against the central government can be sublimated."
But the ruling Golkar party quickly rejected the idea. "Golkar will do its best to preserve this republic. We will not compromise about this," said Golkar chairman Akbar Tanjung.
Instead, he says Golkar wants to review the wealth distribution system among the regions. The military has made clear where it stands. As defense Minister and military chief Gen Wiranto put it: "ABRI's (the armed forces') divine duty is to defend this republic and its constitution."
Terry Mccarthy, Jakarta -- Sitting in an office deep inside the Istiqlal Mosque complex in the center of Jakarta, Komaruddin Rachmat looks like a man of peace. Yet two weeks ago the soft- spoken activist armed 30,000 rough-hewn Muslim vigilantes to intimidate students protesting for democracy. As the muezzin's call to prayer echoes down the marble corridors of Southeast Asia's largest mosque, Komaruddin dispassionately contends that Muslims had to turn out to support the presidency of B.J. Habibie -- seen as sympathetic to Islam -- and that the students were being controlled by Catholics and Marxists.
Behind Komaruddin's gentle manner lies a deep-seated confidence that his time has come -- and a determination to take whatever measures necessary to make Indonesia a more thoroughly Muslim country. Komaruddin is chairman of FURKON, an umbrella organization of 24 Muslim groups. He says he visited Habibie in early November and told the President these groups would "protect" the coming parliament session from the expected student protests. Living up to his word, he bused "volunteers" (many said they were paid about $2.50 a day) into Jakarta the week of the meeting. The vigilantes -- known in Indonesian as Pam Swakarsa, or security volunteers -- were given bamboo sticks and white headbands inscribed with Arabic characters and sent around the city in open-bed trucks to taunt the students. Twelve people died in clashes on the last day of the session. They include four of Komaruddin's men, beaten to death by residents of Jakarta's Cawang and Bendungan neighborhoods who resented the vigilantes' heavy-handed tactics. The deaths don't seem to faze Komaruddin much. "This is a good opportunity for Muslims in Indonesia now," he says. "We don't want to lose this chance."
As Indonesia staggers in search of a new political model after 32 years of Suharto's dictatorship, Muslim groups sense a political opportunity. And that is starting to worry many secular Indonesians. With elections tentatively set for next June, some fear the intervening period will see more outbreaks of violence as political groups become polarized and resort to intimidation rather than dialogue. The battle lines are being drawn. "This is not a moral movement," says Ahmad Sumargono, vice chairman of the Indonesian Committee for World Muslim Solidarity, referring to Habibie's opponents. "It is a political power struggle. Non- Muslims are afraid they will be marginalized by an election." Counters Frans Seda, a Catholic economist who served as a finance minister under both Sukarno and Suharto. "We have been trapped into this. To be against Habibie now is to be against Muslims."
Islam in Indonesia is, on the whole, far milder than extremist strains seen in the Arab world. But Habibie's rise has given political voice to some purists; the President and his ministers, lacking any other popular base, seem eager to court them. The traditionally secular military, now confronted with strong demands for rapid democratization, is also working with the resurgent Islamic groups. "The military and the Muslims are forming an alliance," says Endy Bayuni, managing editor of the Jakarta Post. That, many fear, is a lethal cocktail. "They are playing with fire," says former environment minister Sarwono Kusumaatmadja. "I think we're at risk of a very violent mass- based conflict."
The use of religious groups and symbols for political aims does not end with the vigilantes. Small, unidentified bands of Muslim protesters have targeted newspapers and TV stations, complaining that coverage of anti-government demonstrations has been overly sympathetic to the students. "This is the beginning of the destruction of religion, because it's being used for political purposes," says Ali Sadikin, a former Jakarta governor. Sadikin himself is under investigation, along with 19 other prominent opponents of Habibie, for allegedly masterminding an attempt to topple the government. Sadikin dismisses the charges as a ploy to shift attention from the military's shooting of unarmed students two weeks ago.
Amid all the rumors and disinformation swirling around Jakarta last week about who was manipulating whom during the protests, one thing had become clear: the Muslim-secular struggle will be a defining feature of post-Suharto Indonesia. Komaruddin has a clear idea of how he would like to create a Muslim nation, a process he says will take about two generations. "We know the Muslims in Indonesia are very lax, and they have been quiet for so long," he says. "But now is the time for Muslims to advance, in politics and economics too." The residents of many Jakarta neighborhoods saw Muslims advancing two weeks ago -- with bamboo spears and angry slogans -- and they did not like what they saw.
| News & issues |
Jakarta -- Former Indonesian president Suharto has handed over seven charity foundations he chaired, worth some four trillion rupiah (530 million dollars), to the government, a senior minister said here Wednesday.
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication Haryono Suyono said Suharto on Sunday sent a letter to President B.J. Habibie asking for the government to help the poor and unprivileged by utilizing the seven foundations.
"On Sunday, November 22, Suharto wrote a letter to President Habibie, handing over those foundations to the government," Suyono told reporters before attending a cabinet meeting at the Bina Graha presidential office here. Suyono said the value of the foundations included shares they held in various banks and companies.
Development Supervision Minister Hartarto Sastrosunarto had said a probe launched by the attorney general's office and a professional audit team showed signs of abuses in five largest foundations chaired by Suharto.
Attorney general Muhammad Andi Ghalib has also said much of the foundations' funds were diverted through improper lending to private firms. But Ghalib added no legal action could be taken against Suharto because based on the charters of the five foundations, the funds could not be considered his private property.
Greg Earl, Jakarta -- The beleaguered government of President B.J. Habibie appears to be extending its influence into the ownership of Indonesia's television stations in what may be a new attempt to revive its political fortunes.
According to Jakarta media sources Dr Habibie's brother, Mr Timmy Habibie, is involved in discussions of substantial stakes in two television stations which were previously controlled by business interests close to the former President, Mr Soeharto.
Indonesia's television networks have been providing increasingly provocative coverage of the recent political turmoil and are likely to play an influential role in the fortunes of political parties during next year's election.
There are also longstanding pressures from major international media companies to allow foreign investment in Indonesian private television to recapitalise the stations, which could make them a lucrative investment for anyone who can gain control now.
Bisnis Indonesia newspaper reported yesterday that the government-owned Bank Bumi Daya was set to take a majority stake in Surya Citra Televisi Indonesia, which is partly owned by Mr Soeharto's cousin. The newspaper quoted a statement from the producers of the station's leading news program as saying the takeover was to punish the station for its recent news reports on the student shootings.
But Jakarta media sources say that Mr Timmy Habibie's main holding company, Timsco, is negotiating over shares in SCTV, possibly through a foundation, which could obscure the ownership. The sources say that Timsco is also involved in a deal to take a stake of up to 40 per cent in the Indosiar television station, which was previously wholly owned by the Salim Group.
Salim is the holding company of Mr Soeharto's longstanding business associate, Mr Liem Sioe Liong, and has recently been forced to hand over shares in many of its subsidiaries to the Government to repay central bank liquidity credits to its Bank Central Asia.
SCTV is 52 per cent-owned by Mr Soeharto's cousin, Mr Sudwikatmono, and Mr Henry Pribadi, an associate of both Mr Liem and Mr Soeharto.
The other shares are owned by corporate vehicles controlled by Mr Peter Gontha, a longstanding media investor and partner of Mr Soeharto's son, Bambang. According to SCTV sources, an agreement had already been reached between SCTV and Bank Bumi Daya to reschedule debt under a government debt rescheduling, but the Government is now supporting a BBD takeover of the shares. A defender of the involvement of Timsco said yesterday that Dr Habibie did not want to have television stations closing under his administration and wanted to have them recapitalised. But the statement issued by the SCTV news program, Liputan Enam, said that the BBD takeover was punishment of the existing executives for their news judgement. Last week several groups protested outside the SCTV office both supporting and opposing its coverage of the demonstrations and student shootings.
Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta -- As thousands of student demonstrators kept up their pressure on the Habibie government by continuing their protest movement into the third straight week, political analysts expressed reservations on their ability to sustain the movement.
Noting that the student movement is fragmented with many conflicting groups, respected Islamic leader Nurcholis Madjid said that it faces the prospect of fizzling out over the coming weeks. "Unlike the student movement in 1965 and 1966 which was united under a central leadership, the current movement has no central leader but many centres," he told BT.
Himself a student leader during the turbulent 1960s, when the country's first president was removed from power after a violent putsch, Mr Nurcholis said that the students should adopt a common platform if they are to be effective in bringing about change. "The students are not effective as a movement because they are fighting amongst themselves and soon they will lose their common platform."
He admitted, however, that the students' pressure on the government to move to investigate Mr Suharto may be working although the Habibie administration is unlikely to resolve the issue. "But the next government formed after the general elections will not be able to sidestep this issue."
The country's powerful armed forces, which up to now has refrained from commenting on the issue, has also joined the growing public calls for an investigation into the wealth of the former leader. "The government must be bold on the investigation of former president Suharto's wealth," the regional Jawa Pos quoted armed forces (Abri) territorial commander Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as saying.
The military has so far protected the former leader from student protests this week, barricading the street on which he lives in an up-market residential district in central Jakarta. The three- star general, however, cautioned that Mr Suharto must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Yesterday, the students held smaller protest rallies, as compared with earlier this month, in a number of locations in the capital city. Each protest rally numbered between 1,000 and 1,500 demonstrators and were largely peaceful.
The students tried to march to the Monas square but were halted by security forces. But after the violent clashes of Nov 13 when 15 people were killed and several hundred were injured, the troops were only armed with batons and shields.
Two other student groups numbering about 1,000 protesters also gathered on the grounds of the attorney-general's office in South Jakarta demanding Mr Suharto be brought to trial for corruption and abuse of power.
Meanwhile, reports said Indonesian military police have jailed 163 soldiers involved in the Nov 13 incident. "This was a form of disciplinary punishment ... they will be jailed for 21 days," Indonesian military police chief Djasri Marin was quoted by the Media Indonesia as saying. "But if after the investigation they are found guilty, they are likely to be court-martialled," he said.
The continuing demonstrations prompted President Habibie to again express concern. "Democracy does not mean you are free to do whatever you want. If the riots go on, it will effect our economic recovery," he told journalists at the Merdeka Palace.
BT understands that Dr Habibie will chair a special cabinet meeting today to discuss the rising social and political tension in the country and the implementation of the 12 draft decrees passed by the country's highest legislative body two weeks ago.
Jakarta -- Former president Suharto and his relatives own 174,490 hectares (430,990 acres) of land in West Java province, according to an official inquiry reported Wednesday.
The head of the National Land Office (BPN) in West Java, Masri Asyik, said most of the land was registered under the names of Suharto's late wife, children and companies, the Kompas daily reported.
Less than five hectares was registered under Suharto's name. Part of it has been transformed by Suharto's children into real estate and the rest was used for a housing complex for war veterans. Some 108,858 hectares (268,879 acres) of land in nine districts was held under individual names, while the rest was registered under some 236 Suharto-linked company in 14 districts.
Suharto was forced to resign in May, following mounting public protests. There is now growing pressure on the authorities to take stronger action against Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for 32 years. There have been some calls for him to be placed under house arrest.
A preliminary investigation by prosecuters in West Java has tracked 53,000 hectares of land under the name of Suharto's eldest daughter, Siti "Tutut" Hardiyanti Rukmana. It was to be developed into residential areas in four West Java districts.
The national land agency is working with the attorney general's office on a nationwide probe into the wealth of Suharto and his family. Last week the BPN provincial office in Sumatra's Jambi province had traced 122.4 billion rupiah (15.5 million dollars) of land and assets owned by the former first family.
A report on November 11 also said the BPN had located 687 hectares of Suharto land in East Java, while a second report on November 17 said the Suharto family owned thousands of hectares in remote Irian Jaya province.
The government has claimed to have unearthed only 21 billion rupiah (2.6 million dollars) of Suharto's money in 72 banks across the country, while the probe into his accounts abroad, which the former president says were non-existent, is still underway.
President B.J. Habibie has been pressured to speed up the probe into Suharto's wealth after Suharto's name was included in a draft decree on eradicating corruption. Suharto's name, whose alleged fortune has been estimated at four billion dollars by Forbes magazine, was added to the draft decree by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) at the end of a special session on Friday.
Greg Earl, Jakarta -- Indonesia's political reform process has hit a new obstacle with signs that the Parliament might substantially change the Government's plans for a new direct electoral system at the June election.
Representatives of all three established political parties and several new parties opposed the new system during discussions with government officials earlier this week, and called for a return to the old proportional representation system.
But as President BJ Habibie faces more chaos in the streets -- there were protests in four areas of Jakarta last night -- he has won renewed support from the military and a key opposition figure to remain in the presidency as a stabilising force.
Government officials have previously claimed that rejection of the new direct election system by Parliament would set back the schedule for the general election, which appears set for June 7.
Any delay in the general election would delay the later presidential election and probably intensify the student protests and ethnic violence occurring in the streets.
The Government proposed a system of about 80 per cent single- member seats and 20 per cent proportional seats from a national electorate in a 495-seat Parliament, but now says it will listen to alternative views.
Most Indonesian academics have long supported a move to direct electorates to make Parliament members responsible to the electorate. The old proportional system was dominated by Jakarta party bosses and manipulated by the central Government.
But there is suspicion among new parties that the new system is designed to favour the Government's Golkar Party. Few new parties are in an administrative position to select individual candidates across the country, which makes the old system more attractive. Sceptics also say parliamentary members don't want change because they would be unlikely to be selected as candidates in the new direct system.
The Government's chief electoral reformer, Mr Ryaas Rasyid, warned MPs this week that they would be held responsible if they forced the old proportional system back on to the public, even though it provided no direct contact between the Government and the electorate.
The electoral debate has underlined a proliferation of disputes between old vested interests as President Habibie and the security forces appear to have become immobilised and weak. For example, many political analysts believe the vicious ethnic battle in Jakarta on Sunday was premeditated, designed to divert attention from the student protests and create instability.
The military's senior political officer, Lieutenant-General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has again given the army's firm support to the President, saying there is no constitutional basis for replacing him with a presidium.
A former environment minister and possible new party leader, Mr Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, told a conference the resignation of Dr Habibie would not be a good result for Indonesia. Both General Bambang and Mr Sarwono said the multi-member presidium, which is favoured by radical opponents of Dr Habibie, would not bring any extra stability.
Jenny Grant, Jakarta -- Sunday's riots may have been engineered by elite groups to divert attention away from political issues that threaten the Government, analysts said yesterday. They could also be the beginning of a new season of unrest in the tense Indonesian capital.
What began as a local conflict over a gambling hall later erupted into religious and anti Chinese attacks which led to the burning of seven churches and the deaths of 13 people.
Professor Dawam Rahardjo, chairman of the National Mandate Party, said elite groups had manipulated the conflict to divert attention away from student demands. Those issues include a tough investigation into former president Suharto's wealth and calls for President Bacharuddin Habibie's Government to bow to democratic demands.
The unrest was one way of preventing the students from making further demonstrations. It was a threat that if the students did not stop protesting, it would develop into riots, said Professor Rahardjo.
He said groups wanting to create instability used religion for political purposes at crucial times. "They always use religion because it burns easily into mass riots," he said.
Professor Rahardjo said elite figures from the armed forces were trying to create social disturbances to quell the student demonstrations. The students have proved politically effective and have won public sympathy. Mr Habibie bowed to their demands at the weekend and announced a commission of inquiry into corruption allegations against Mr Suharto.
Criminologist Mulyanah Kusumah said disinformation had fanned church attacks by mobs of young male Muslims. A rumour that two mosques had been burnt and a Muslim preacher murdered spread across North Jakarta on Sunday afternoon. "It is not a deeply rooted inter-religious conflict. It is a horizontal conflict by groups who are exploited by external parties to benefit from this conflict," said Mr Kusumah.
The head of the 35 million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama, Abdurrahman Wahid, and opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri agreed. It was not spontaneous but maturely arranged by hoodlums who bowed to one person, said Mr Wahid, declining to name the mastermind.
Despite the conspiracy theories many believe the riots had no connection to last week's clashes.
| Environment/health |
A policeman was rushed to hospital in Medan with a serious head injury after being beaten up in a confrontation on Monday 23rd November between security forces and local people at Porsea, North Tapanuli, North Sumatra. Another police officer suffered wounds to the back and leg. A police patrol vehicle and a government official's car were destroyed by the crowd and three other cars plus 23 homes and shops were smashed up and burnt.
A spokesperson for local NGO KSPPM said four local men had leg injuries from rubber bullets. The violence erupted after another Porsea man was shot on Sunday. Thousands of local people took to the streets and burnt 15 Indorayon logging trucks. A number of houses, shops and other vehicles were also damaged or burnt. The crowd were prevented from approaching the Indorayon paper and rayon pulp factory at the Sosor Ladang site (on the outskirts of Porsea) by security forces that night. But they succeeded the following day when the crowd had swelled to around 5,000 and that is when the four were shot. The crowd dispersed due to the violence of the security forces.
This incident is part of a long running dispute between the local community and the Indorayon pulp mill. Local people have protested repeatedly to local and central government since 1989 that the factory should be closed due the adverse effects of the pollution and deforestation it causes. Indorayon workers recently held a five-day counter demonstration in Medan to keep the mill open in order to safeguard their jobs. The government ordered an independent audit to settle the dispute. As part of that process, the factory has been allowed to resume operations after a three- month shut-down and this -- and the high level of security forces -- is what has angered local people.
Former assistant to the Environment Minister and Bandung law professor, Daud Silalahi, accused PT IIU of serious violations of air and water pollution laws since the early 1990s. He said that attempts to prosecute the company by successive environment ministers had failed due to manipulation at local and central government levels.
Jakarta -- Four people were wounded when troops opened fire with rubber bullets to break up a demonstration by thousands of protesters angered by the shooting of a man guarding a much- protested pulp and paper in North Sumatra, reports said Tuesday.
"It is calm there now, there is no more violence," a police spokesman said of the conditions in Porsea.
About 5,000 people attacked the Inti Indorayon Utama (IIU) pulp and paper plant four kilometres from Porsea on Monday after soldiers shot a 20 year old man the previous day, the Kompas daily said. As troops tried to stop the demonstration at least four people were wounded by rubber bullets, the daily said.
The deputy district police chief, Major Arif was injured in the clash in which the protesters damaged four cars, set 15 company trucks ablaze and vandalized or burned 23 houses and businesses, Kompas said.
IIU is under investigation by the government to determine whether it was causing environmental damage as claimed by the local population. Nearby residents have said the operation had not only denuded the forests in the area, causing erosion and a deterioriation of the water level in rivers but also polluted the waters with their waste. The company was causing air pollution and the plant emitted a strong smell which affected people in the area, they charged.
IIU has been the target of protests from locals and environmental watchdogs since it came into operation in 1989. The current investigation has forced the suspension of the plant's operation for three months.
| Arms/armed forces |
Louise Williams, Surabaya -- Australia would maintain a close working relationship with Indonesia's armed forces, despite increasing domestic and international criticism over the shooting of student protesters in Jakarta earlier this month and concerns of more civil unrest ahead, the Defence Minister, Mr Moore, said yesterday.
Mr Moore, who met his Indonesian counterpart, Defence Minister and Armed Forces Commander, General Wiranto, in the Javanese port city of Surabaya yesterday, said Australia had made its choice to actively support the Indonesian Government in "extraordinarily difficult times".
However, he said there were no current plans to resume training links between the special forces, after exercises were postponed indefinitely last month following the dismissal of Indonesia's former special forces commander, Prabowo Subianto, and the implication of special forces troops in the disappearances, torture and illegal detention of pro-democracy activists.
"At the present moment there are no plans for exercises in that area ... but that is not to say it [operations] have been abandoned," Mr Moore said after the two-hour meeting.
He said he raised Australia's concerns over human rights, referring to recent violence in Jakarta, as well as long-term human rights problems in East Timor, Irian Jaya and the northern Sumatran province of Aceh.
He had asked General Wiranto for access to East Timor for Mr Tom Sherman, who conducted the investigation into the deaths of five Australian-based journalists in 1975, to pursue new claims that the journalists had been shot, and were not caught in cross-fire as Jakarta has consistently stated. General Wiranto gave no immediate response.
The Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Mr John McCarthy, also told the news conference that clearance had been granted for Australia's army attachi to travel to East Timor next Tuesday, where new clashes broke out between Indonesian forces and pro- independence Fretilin guerillas earlier this month.
"We do press upon Indonesia to exercise restraint and I am not saying that the future is without concerns," Mr Moore said. The minister said Australia believed the Indonesian military was moving away from its dominant politicised role in Government to a more traditional defence role, but that the transition to democracy during the current economic crisis was "one hell of a job".
Of criticism of ongoing links with the Indonesian military, despite serious human rights abuses by Indonesian troops, Mr Moore said: "It is quite simple, you make a choice.
"You either stand back and say, 'I'll join the chardonnay set and sit back on the edges and not do much', or you engage with your nearest neighbour.
"We can walk away from our relations with the Indonesian military at a time of change or co-operate with them on matters such as training, which we believe make an important contribution to the reform process.
"It is in the national interest of Australia to be alongside."
Despite the timetable set by Indonesia's People's Consultative Assembly for democratic elections next year there were genuine concerns that recent civil unrest across the country may see the Indonesian military resume a more political role. There were also fears that the 600,000 strong armed forces may be unable to maintain internal stability, in the face of daily demonstrations and sporadic rioting.
Mr Moore said internal instability "had to be an area of concern". However, he said, Australia had no reason to believe Indonesia would not follow the democratic timetable, or that the armed forces would make any unconstitutional moves to seize power.