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ASIET NetNews Number 47 - December 7-13, 1998
| Democratic struggle |
Jakarta -- At least 17 student protesters were injured and 33 others detained by the police when demonstrators opposed to President B.J. Habibie and security personnel clashed near the President's residence on Jl. Patra Kuningan XIII in South Jakarta on Wednesday.
The injured students were rushed by their fellow colleagues to the nearby MMC hospital on Jl. Rasuna Said and Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta.
According to city police spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang, the 33 students were being questioned by detectives at the city police headquarters. He refused to give further details.
The detainees included students from the Economic Institute of Budi Luhur, Jayabaya University, the University of Indonesia, National University, Muhammad Husni Thamrin University, the ABA- ABI foreign languages academy, Institute of Management and Computer Science (STMIK), and the Don Bosco and Gonzaga Catholic High Schools.
The clash occurred in the afternoon when a crowd of some 100 students grouped in the Collective Forum (Forbes) a loose student organization of 11 universities and colleges in Greater Jakarta, refused to obey the security officers' order to disperse peacefully.
Those students that were able to escape unhurt fled to the Ministry of Health and other nearby buildings. Several security guards and employees of the nearby Menara Kadin Indonesia building also suffered minor injuries when the security officers entered the building complex to disperse the crowd.
South Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Satrya Hari Prasetya told reporters at the scene that the police had to disperse the students because they had violated Law No. 9/1998 on freedom of expression and disrupting public order. "They had not informed us in advance about the rally. Besides, they are also disrupting the traffic. We had the right to disperse them," he said.
Protester Ebiet of STMIK said they arrived in the area in six overloaded vans and reached Jl. Patra Kuningan Utara where they were blocked by security officers some 200 meters from Habibie's house.
The protesters rejected Habibie as the country's president and called for the immediate establishment of a transitional government. "We'll reject the general election, because it will have been organized by members of the New Order regime. If possible, the transitional power structure will be set up before the election," he said.
Ebiet said that the student's visit to Habibie's residence was only to symbolize their struggle. "We think Habibie is the one responsible for everything happening in this country. He is Soeharto's closest crony and he's the one in charge now," Rinto Steven, another Forbes member, said.
In the evening, 1,500 members of the City Forum (Forkot) attempted to join the Forbes group in Kuningan. But they were abruptly blockaded at the Kuningan crossroad. At a rally in Central Jakarta a plainclothes police sergeant was beaten by angry students after he had been caught posing as a photo journalist.
Jakarta - Uproarious anti violence demonstrations were held to commemorate the Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations half a century ago on Thursday (10/12) in the capital. On the whole the action went by in a peaceful manner, even though it was joined in by thousands of students, activists, housewifes, professional people, researchers and reporters. It was not just a peaceful affair, the affair became a gross theatrical act.
Small incidents caused by instigators, took place at several locations, like Pejambon. They were quickly suppressed by students and security troops. The relatively peaceful situation was made possible because both sides, demonstrators as well as security troops, kept a tight lid on their emotions.
The Student Action Front for Reformation and Democration (Famred) resorted to sympathetic and attractive ways to break through the military cordon at the roundabout of Hotel Indonesia without getting into a clash with security men. The students achievement were applauded and encouraged with jubilant roars from the public, while a number of security men stood by and shook their heads in disbelief. This was the largest demonstration since the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly in the middle of November 1998. Different from the recent actions in the capital, yesterday's demo went by without security men having to arrest people.
Keeping to the anti violence theme and respect of human rights, the crowd also consisted of various groups, each keeping to their own theme. A few to mention were, demands to settle human rights violations in Aceh, East Timor and Irian Jaya, by activists from the respective regions.
Besides this, students were still clamoring for bringing Soeharto to trial, the abolution of ABRI's dual role, responsibility of ABRI (armed forces) leaders for the Trisakti and Semanggi Tragedies. The slow followup on these demands, have hardened the theme of a group of students, from total reformation into "revolution."
Theatrical
The roundabout of Hotel Indonesia filled up with demonstrators from 10.00 in the morning. Hundreds of laborers, becak drivers, the poor who called themselves Poor People of the City, came into action.
Demonstrators in the front lines carried black colored dolls, resembling burned corpses of the May riots. Behind them followed hundreds of poor people clad in various traditional clothing. They started to move towards the Monas region and decorated the Ardjuna statue with the black dolls.
After them followed the action of professionals, reporters, researchers, NGO activists, female activists, and various other groups. They too made an interesting scene. Two giant flowers made of red and black cloth were paraded by the colorful flag and banner waving crowd. Female activists were dressed in white and released assorted colored baloons in the air.
After some time, thousands of Famred students appeared from a side road next to Plaza Indonesia mall. Behind a spear wielding group, students in orange jackets, armed with orange colored bamboo shields and phony rifles made of banana trunks, were leading the ranks.
They moved slowly. The spear wielding troops advanced towards the barricade of Marines and Kostrad troops. However, unexpectedly, the car on which students were holding a speech followed by thousands students, moved around the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, right into the lines of the spear wielding demonstrators.
Three lines of spear bearers repeatedly manoevred back and fro, thereby attracting the attention of the security troops. Suddenly, they fell on the ground before the troops which brought a smile on the faces of the soldiers.
At the same time a huge crowd of students ran around the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in the direction of Jalan Thamrin. The troops scurried after them to quickly form a line. The spear bearers made once more a hilarious move. They dropped themselves to the ground and crawled towards the troops.
That was the time, when the crowd of students, running at the right, broke through the security line. Thousands of students stormed through the gap in the barricade. Security troops could not help laughing when they discovered that students had tricked them. The public, however, admired the tricks of the students which they expressed with screams of delight and applause.
On the way to the United Nations Building, a number of students approached the professional group which stood before the office, they held speeches and urged them to sing reformation songs.
In front of the United Nations Building more speeches were held. Some time after that, a number of farmers belonging to the Association of West Java Farmers, held an installation act before students. Standing on a makeshift plot of land on which was written "Land for the People", the farmers started to plant rice.
Some housewifes in sarong and kebaya (traditional blouse) accompanied the farmers with the beating sounds from paddy stampers. Heavy rain did not drain their enthusiasm. Then, all of a sudden, military trucks appeared from the direction of Monas. Hundreds of students and citizens spontaneously chased the trucks away. The students circled around toward Hotel Indonesia, for fear that a clash might happen.
On their way they met other groups, as the Aliansi Aksi Rakyat Menggugat (Alarm), Forbes, Trisakti students, en FKSMJ. The Forbes students deployed many busses and mini vans, private cars and motorbikes. They cruised safely along Imam Bonjol Road, then drove into Sudirman with the intention to go to Parliament Building. The massive crowd of students and people, moved into the course of Semanggi bridge. In front of Atma Jaya University, students scattered flowers. The Famred students entered Atmajaya campus, while others went on demonstrating until the night.
Small incident
At the Banteng Square around 1.500 people of the Islam Committee for Human Rights (KIP HAM), were holding a free forum right in front of the Department of Religion. KIP HAM stated that the nation was in danger of serious threats from anti-Islam groups.
After the KIP HAM group had issued their warning, students of the Student Action and People for Human Rights (Amarah) assembled in front of Hotel Borobudur. They were immediately stopped by security troops who foiled their plan to go to the Palace. Two armored cars were ready. When the troops had made a line in front of the trucks, students up front tried to push their way through the human barricade. The incident died down at once when student coordinators calmed the public.
Not long after that, a shuffle started again when an instigator was caught hitting the hand of one of the students. Students caught the white t-shirted instigator and started to hit him. Security troops appeared on the scene which sent the students off in the direction of the Foreign Ministry. Security troops held them back, however, later four armored cars were called in. The instigator was saved by security men and driven away in a military truck.
Parliament building
A massive crowd of students who joined the Communication Forum of the Student Senate in Jakarta (FKSMJ) tried to enter Parliament Building. They drove on the toll road, whereby the toll road had to be closed for the public. Beside the Manggala Wanabakti Building, they jumped outside the toll road and gathered at the crossroad toward Grogol and Pondok Indah. Here, they were held up. As the students sat down on the road, a convoy of military cars carrying one company of the Jaya Military District Commando and tried to disperse the student crowd.
When the trucks were approaching, students stretched themselves fully on the road. The convoy stopped in front of them. The commander got out of his car and started to talk with the students. The cars turned around after that and drove away in the direction of Cawang. After spending some time on that location, the students went to Semanggi and joined their friends at the roundabout of Hotel Indonesia.
Another convoy of students, the Student Forum of Rawamangun (Formara), appeared from the Grogol area in five buses. The Fomara group stopped about one kilometer from the assembling location of the FKSMJ students. There they grouped together and started discussions among themselves.
Meanwhile, another crowd of students who joined Forum Kota, also went up to Parliament Building. They too were cut short by riot police in front of Police Headquarters. A small incident occurred when the crowd started to push and threw with bottles of mineral water. Two students were injured in the act.
Students were then allowed to resume their trip, but were again stopped by a barricade of security troops under the flyover of Taman Ria. There they held on until 21.00 before splitting up in the evening.
Jakarta -- The commemoration of 50 Years of the Universal Human Rights Declaration (HAM) on Thursday (10/12), took also place at eight other cities besides Jakarta. It was in general colored by parades, free speech fora, distribution of pamphlets and other activities. The 8 other towns were Ujungpandang, Padang, Lhokseumawe, Banda Aceh, Palu, Bandung, Semarang and Yogyakarta.
The "strongest" action probably happened in Banda Aceh and Lhokseumawe. In Banda Aceh the students still "occupied" till 18.00 WIT the governor's official house and demanded that various cases of HAM violations would immediately be settled.
While in Lhokseumawe, around 400 students held out at the yard of the local Regional House of Representatives and gave an ultimatum to the local officials and Armed Forces (ABRI) to sign their demand which demanded among others the investigating of HAM violations within six months. If they failed, they were asked to step down.
Various kinds of statements and demands which were voiced in the action in the nine towns were in general the same, namely to end violence/ill treatment, withdraw ABRI's dual function, perform honest and just general elections, investigate completely all acts of violence of abductions of the activists, the settlement of the cases of Aceh, Tanjungpriok, Banyuwangi etc.
Local problem
Besides those demands was in some towns also heard the demand on local problems, Eight non government institutions (LSM) in Padang for instance issued a statement of nine stances, among others to end the military operation disguised as guarding security of plantations at the regency of Pasaman, Sijunjung and 50 towns; to restore the traditional government of Nagari and to recognize, develop and institutionalize the value system of the traditional (adat) society.
Another action was held by about 100 students who called themselves F-ABRI (Front Aksi Bersama Rakyat Indonesia or the Indonesian People's Joint Action Front) in form of a peaceful and orderly demonstration at the Governor's office at Jl Sudirman.
In Aceh the students also demanded 80 percent of the regional revenues in the financial balance of the centrum and the region. While in Ujungpandang, the Legal Aid Institute held a "Dialogue of the Apparat's Violence" with presenting a victim of abduction, Faizal Riza, a citizen from the island of Laelae who was forced to remove, and a number of violation victims in Ujungpandang.
In that dialogue, the victims described their experiences in facing treatment which trespassed the limits of humanity. "My older relative was beaten at the police office till he was black and blue, and finally died in hospital. In order to meet my brother, a notable asked us to pay Rp500,000," said Nurlaela (17), one of the family members of the victim who disclosed the ill treatment against her brother.
Besides that dialogue the Forum of the Observer of Women Problems also held a peaceful demonstration at the Mandala Monument and the district court of Ujungpandang.
In Palu, around 100 students organized in the Anti Violence Committee came to the military quarters: the Head Quarters of the Military Police Detachment VII/2 of Palu, the Military Command 132/Tadulako and the Regional Police of South East Sulawesi. In front of that military post they held a demonstration of silence with displaying a poster of 12 activists, victims of abductions in Jakarta, and a street banner containing the demand to withdraw ABRI's dual function.
A similar matter was also performed in Semarang by students from Semarang and Salatiga. They came to the Command Post of the Military Territory IV/Diponegoro, next to the Simpang Lima field, the Regional House of Representatives, and some main roads of that town. A similar action was also performed by a number of non government organizations in Semarang.
Some actions also happened in Yogyakarta. Hundreds of students demonstrated in several places. Those who were organized in the Students Action Committee for the People and Democracy came to the Regional House of Representatives, then to the regional government's office of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (the Kepatihan). At the same hour, hundreds of other students who were organized in the alliance of the Indonesian people and students held an oration in front of Malioboro Mall and went also to the Kepatihan.
Meanwhile, the Pusat Advokasi HAM (PAHAM) {Center of Human Rights Advisors [UNDERSTandING]} of Yogya which consists of lawyers and legal experts, stated that HAM violations in Indonesia have reached a critical point. The feeling of security of the people in their daily life is disturbed and unsure. In the evening two discussions related with the HAM commemoration were held at the Indonesian Sovranita Study Institute and the Catholic Students Organization (PMKRI) St Thomas Aquinas in Yogya.
In Bandung the demonstration was colored by a not sympathetic act. After parading and holding a free speech forum in front of the Regional House of Representatives building, tens of students closed Jalan Diponegoro. A part of them played soccer at that main road. Their action disturbed the traffic.
Jakarta -- Angry students threw rocks and bottles at Jakarta's police headquarters while as many as 10,000 protesters choked the streets of Indonesia's capital Thursday and demanded more democracy.
It was one of the biggest days of protest since demonstrations and deadly riots forced ex-President Suharto to quit last May after 32 years of autocratic rule.
Thursday's massive turnout coincided with the 50th anniversary of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and was held despite a warning from Indonesia's government that it wouldn't tolerate violent protests.
The demonstrators gathered at various locations across Jakarta, stretching security forces. The protesters also demanded the immediate prosecution of Suharto who is now being investigated for corruption.
Student leaders said police used batons to beat back a crowd of 3,000 protesters who tried to march on the Parliament. At least 30 students were injured, they said. The protesters responded by throwing rocks and bottles at officers who were forced to retreat into a police building. Police weren't immediately available for comment.
Several other clashes were reported with security forces, who closed down many streets in the city of 11 million, causing traffic chaos. Another group of more than 3,000 chanting and flag-waving students forced their way through a police line near several luxury hotels and moved along Jakarta's main boulevard.
They supported an array of causes. One banner read: "Release political prisoners." Another said: "Stop money politics and violence." Office workers applauded as the group marched to the local United Nations building. A police helicopter swooped overhead.
Some protesters lied down in front of cars carrying police who had challenged their group. Several protesters beat up a man they accused of being a police agent.
About 1,000 other demonstrators were earlier allowed to protest outside gates of Parliament. Thousands more gathered outside various government buildings or blocked toll roads.
Witnesses said brief fights broke out between police and hundreds of students near Indonesia's foreign ministry. However, at most spots security personnel were careful not to engage in clashes with the protesters. Other demonstrations in recent weeks have ended in deaths and injuries.
Jakarta -- Students from 14 Indonesian universities met here Saturday to launch a watchdog to monitor general elections pledged for June 7 next year, student sources said.
The meeting wound up two days of talks among representatives of the universities who aim to not only monitor the polls, but the parliamentary deliberations under way to draw up post-Suharto era election rules.
The students said the watchdog body -- the University Network for Free and Fair Elections (UNFREL) -- was officially launched this weekend. "The forum will be established today after we finish deliberating our plan," said a University of Indonesia student who was part of the watchdog working committee.
He said that the participating universities included ones from the cities of Surabaya, Ujungpandang, Padang, Semarang and Yogyakarta as well as Jakarta.
The group will also launch voter education programs in the runup to the elections, which will for the first time in decades not be confined to three authorized parties or dominated by the ruling Golkar party.
More than 100 political parties have sprung up since the fall of former president Suharto in May, when his successor and protege B.J. Habibie dropped the three-party restriction.
But parliament is still locked in a fierce debate over what criteria the parties must fulfill to participate in the June elections, with most wrangling over whether a party must have offices in at least half the districts of this vast country of 202 million.
Jakarta -- A group of new Indonesian graduates celebrated their last day as students by protesting on the capital's busiest traffic roundabout, accompanied by proud parents and friends.
The 50 students from the School of Information Management and Computer Studies demonstrated after their graduation ceremony at the nearby Hotel Indonesia. "Long live students," they shouted. "Long live graduates."
"Our fight for reforms do not end here. We have passed our test as students but those in the government haven't passed the test of meeting the aspirations of the people," said one.
In a statement the graduates demanded that the armed forces fight for the people -- not for the government -- and that the government bring to trial government officials suspected of corruption, including former president Suharto.
The students also demanded that armed forces chief General Wiranto be held accountable for recent military violence against students and that probes be conducted into a series of riots.
Mothers in traditional clothes and fathers with cameras waited patiently on the sidelines, some cheering and chanting with them. "I asked my son to come home after the ceremony but he demanded to join the others. I guess it's fine considering tomorrow he will be busy looking for a job," said one mother.
Clashes between soldiers and students have claimed the lives of at least seven students protesting against a November special legislative assembly session they did not accept.
| East Timor |
Louise Williams, Jakarta -- The Indonesian military will draw more East Timorese into the war against the pro-independence Fretilin guerillas by creating village militias, a move which could escalate tensions in the troubled province by pitting one group of East Timorese against another.
The East Timorese commander, Colonel Tono Suratman, said five to 10 people in small rural villages would be armed with rataan sticks and catapults and trained by regular Indonesian military forces to fight against the pro-independence Fretilin forces.
"If they use other weapons [such as knives and guns] then that is their own initiative," he said in an interview with the Herald. But he insisted that the military would not provide guns.
Colonel Suratman said the militia units had been requested by villagers who felt threatened by Fretilin forces, which recently executed three soldiers and snatched guns and ammunition in the southern region of Alas.
The move indicates that tensions are again rising, and appears to diminish hopes of an early peace settlement. The resignation of former president Soeharto in May raised hopes for an end to the 23-year-old conflict, but clashes over the past few weeks and no real breakthroughs at the negotiating table suggest the optimism may have been premature.
"This is what the people want -- through their local representatives they have asked the military to come and train them to defend their villages," Colonel Suratman said. The statement, however, contradicts a recent call by the influential head of the Catholic Church in East Timor, Bishop Carlos Belo, for the immediate withdrawal of all Indonesian troops.
Local units were armed and trained for three years beginning in 1989, pitting East Timorese against East Timorese. Most East Timorese are Catholic and differ ethnically, culturally and linguistically from Indonesia's Muslim majority, which dominates the military.
According to confidential military documents leaked to the international press in October there are about 4,000 members of paramilitary groups operating in East Timor, in 13 squads.
A statement from the pro-independence East Timorese International Support Centre said: "A 'people's defence force' is just a cruel excuse to create another paramilitary group in East Timor. This force will be used by the armed forces to do their dirty work, and being out of uniform they are unaccountable for the abuses they might commit.
"For years the Indonesian military has armed, trained and worked with gangs and paramilitary groups to sow terror and commit human rights abuses in East Timor."
The statement said non-uniformed paramilitary squads had been used to terrorise supporters of the pro-independence resistence and had been linked to numerous extra-judicial executions and disappearances.
During a recent visit to East Timor, church sources said members of paramilitary squads had to prove their allegiance to Indonesia. "To do that they had to act against their own people. They became the bullies, often were the ones who did the beating, the killings, the rapes," the source said.
Church sources said existing paramilitary squads were disarmed when Mr Soeharto stepped down in May, but were rearmed in September.
After years of deadlock, President Habibie's offer in June of autonomy for East Timor has finally set wheels moving over the fate of the troubled territory. Every one seems relieved with the progress. Except, strangely enough, the East Timorese. Before dismissing East Timorese complaints as unrealistic, let's examine the facts.
Senior Indonesian and Portuguese officials have been meeting at UN headquarters in New York since early October to work out the details. On the table is a proposal from UN special envoy Jamsheed Marker. It keeps foreign policy, external defence and the currency in Indonesian hands. East Timorese will have their own police force, will have limited legislative and judicial capabilities, and run their own cultural and educational affairs.
Could this be the compromise the world has been waiting for? Perhaps. And yet East Timorese are not happy with it. Bishop Belo says: "In the last few months and weeks, there has been a growing tendency to reject the autonomy offered by the Indonesian government. The people want a referendum ... and I'll go along with what the people choose".
If autonomy is to be a success, outsiders must take seriously what those at the centre of the drama are saying.
The first sign of trouble is that the autonomy proposal is not actually for them but for Portugal. East Timorese leaders are only being "kept informed" by Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas. He has firmly ruled out any possibility of (ever!) asking the East Timorese what they think of the idea by means of a referendum.
The deal, for Ali Alatas, is that the world acknowledges Indonesian "sovereignty" over East Timor. In exchange, Indonesia gives the territory "wideranging autonomy" within the bounds of that sovereignty.
Ali Alatas is here asserting a particularly strict view of state sovereignty. One in which any concept of people's sovereignty has no place. Yet post-Cold War, strict claims of state sovereignty are coming under increasing pressure.
Even Indonesia does not adhere to strict state sovereignty in practice. In the 1989 Timor Gap Treaty, for example, Indonesia proved quite ready to share sovereignty over the territory's hydrocarbon resources with its neighbouring state Australia.
Xanana Gusmao, East Timor's imprisoned resistance leader, is the best illustration of how Indonesian practice diverges from its strict claim of state sovereignty. On 15 July 1997 a presidential chauffeur came to fetch Indonesia's most famous criminal from his jail cell. He found himself at dinner with President Suharto and President Nelson Mandela, who appealed for his release.
Since that remarkable moment Xanana has received a steady stream of ambassadors, religious leaders, journalists, company executives, solidarity activists and military officers from Indonesia and all around the world. Habibie, meanwhile, has offered to release Xanana in exchange for recognition of Indonesian sovereignty.
Thus Xanana, Jakarta's criminal diplomat, proves at once Indonesia's sovereignty over East Timor, and the total absence of that sovereignty.
Ali Alatas should cut the pretence of absolute state sovereignty. He should release Xanana and permit him to play an even more central role. This would help convince East Timorese that this autonomy process is really for them. But it would not be enough, because there is an even more worrisome sign of trouble.
At the heart of the autonomy proposal Ali Alatas has endorsed is the idea of demilitarisation via a Timorese police force. But is he serious about implementing it?
Having Indonesian soldiers in East Timor only for "external defence" would be in direct conflict with the Indonesian doctrine of the dual function of the armed forces. In that doctrine, soldiers play a domestic political as well as a normal defence role. This doctrine has been the key component of Indonesian authoritarianism for over three decades. Without it, democracy would have flourished years earlier.
Does Ali Alatas really propose to risk unleashing a democratic revolution by dismantling military rule in one part of the country while it remains in place elsewhere? Remember, that part of the country has been a military project more than any other since the bloody invasion of 1975.
Thus far, experience suggests the answer is no. Revelations in The Australian on 30 October totally contradicted Ali Alatas' previous claim, widely publicised, that all combat troops had been removed. Over 100 pages of leaked Indonesian armed forces documents, dated after the purported withdrawal of early August, showed there were still at least 2000 combat troops in East Timor. With a total of 18,000 combat and territorial troops, plus thousands of pro-Indonesian civilians in vigilante squads - a ratio of one to every 40 in the population - East Timor remains one of the most militarised places on earth.
These two signs of trouble demonstrate that autonomy is not an easy diplomatic option for East Timor. East Timorese reservations about autonomy are highly realistic. They strike at the heart of Indonesia's current political struggle. The autonomy proposal will not work unless it is carried out democratically. It cannot be carried out democratically until the armed forces are out of the political arena - not just in East Timor, but throughout Indonesia.
[Gerry van Klinken, editor, "Inside Indonesia" magazine]
Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta -- Thousands of East Timorese protesters rallied in the troubled territory's capital Monday to mark the anniversary of its invasion by Indonesian troops 23 years ago, witnesses said.
Crowds began gathering at around dawn in Dili and dispersed around midday after hoisting the East Timorese flag and laying a wreath outside the Santa Cruz cemetery.
The cemetery is near the site of a 1991 massacre in which troops opened fire on thousands of East Timorese mourners. The government said 50 people were killed but human rights groups put the death toll as high as 200. Witnesses said Dili was tense but quiet Monday with many offices and businesses closed for fear of unrest.
In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, about 100 East Timorese students protested outside UN offices, demanding Indonesian troops quit the territory and that former President Suharto be tried in an international court for human rights abuses.
Witnesses saw police beat two East Timorese students with rattan sticks and drag them inside a truck. They said they were later freed. The students tried to march on the US embassy but were blocked by more than 100 police and troops in riot gear.
Jakarta has said it began pulling out combat troops from East Timor in August, but a document said to have been leaked recently from the Indonesian armed forces points to a build-up of troops. Indonesia denies it has stepped up troop numbers. Last month, at least seven people died in clashes between Indonesian troops and rebels. Some of the dead were civilians.
Elsewhere in Jakarta, about 800 anti-government union workers rallied in the south of the city in preparation for a march to the Defense Ministry. The workers rallied under the banner of Indonesian Union Workers, headed by former political prisoner Muchtar Pakapahan. And in downtown Jakarta, several hundred students protested outside the Education Ministry.
| Political/economic crisis |
Jakarta -- Indonesia's economy is likely to contract about 14.8 percent in 1998 from the previous full year and by a further 5.8 percent in 1999, according to a Reuters poll of analysts from 12 leading brokerages and banks in Jakarta.
The contraction in the economy, rocked by civil strife and financial crisis in 1998, was expected to ease in 1999 due to a firming rupiah and falling inflation and interest rates.
"We are upgrading our forecast both for this year and next year due partly to the rupiah," said Joshua Tanja, head of research with Paribas Asia Equity.
No analyst forecast higher gross domestic product in 1999, partly due to concerns about political instability with a national election scheduled for June and a presidential election a few months later.
The government's Central Bureau of Statistics said recently Indonesia's GDP would show a 13.7 percent fall in 1998. It has announced no forecast for 1999. The bureau said GDP for the first nine months of the year had been down 13.59 percent on a year earlier.
Greg Earl, Jakarta -- The Indonesian Government is facing a damage bill of at least $30 billion to recapitalise more than 60 banks after the dual impact of bad lending practices and the economic crisis.
The Government is planning to offer up to 80 per cent of the new capital needed by about 45 private banks as long as they can raise the additional 20 per cent and provide business plans for the next three years which move towards international capital adequacy standards. It has decided to offer the money to banks that have a capital adequacy between 4 per cent and negative 25 per cent, and the banks are expected reach 8 per cent in three years.
Earlier this week Indonesia's President, Dr B.J. Habibie, said he would like to see the current 200 banks shrink to about 50, but many other industry observers say the country is likely to end up with fewer than 10 significant banks because of the difficulty of meeting the new capital requirements.
The Finance Minister, Mr Bambang Subianto, said on Wednesday that of 150 operating banks that had been audited, 54 had a capital adequacy above 4 per cent, 56 fitted into the category eligible for government capital assistance, and 40 were below negative 25 per cent which meant they were destined for closure.
But the biggest burden comes from six State banks which will be recapitalised at a cost of about $27 billion despite falling into the closure category for private banks.
Mr Bambang said it was more effective to provide the $27 billion to the State banks than simply to liquidate them and pay off depositors, which would have cost about $70 billion. Four of the State banks are already being merged into one new institution with a view to partially privatising the bank in the future, and the one partially listed State bank, Bank Nasional Indonesia, is hoping it can raise some new capital on the stockmarket.
This week Lippobank, which is regarded as one of the strongest of the large private banks, kicked off the first rights issue capital raising to pave the way for it to be eligible to seek the government funding.
The huge recapitalisation will initially come out of next year's State budget but then is intended to be funded by the issue of government bonds -- though it remains unclear how successful Indonesia will be in issuing the bonds.
The recapitalisation program has been delayed several times because of disagreements over strategy and arguments about saving specific banks, and last week Standard & Poor's warned that the banking system would remain weak despite the injection of government capital.
Several prominent economists this week warned against using a simple cut-off percentage to judge which banks were eligible for new capital, saying the Government should be more selective.
Earlier this year the Government took over four banks -- including the two largest private institutions, Bank Danamon and Bank Central Asia -- which Mr Bambang said would cost about $19 billion to recapitalise if their owners attempted to do that.
Meanwhile, there are new signs that the recent violence in Indonesia has hurt the economic recovery that started in October with a drop in the inflation rate and a sharp rise in the value of the rupiah. Tourism officials say arrivals in Bali have been affected by the recent upheaval, in contrast to the middle of the year when Bali was booming despite a slowdown in tourism in other parts of the country.
State-owned gold miner PT Aneka Tambang, a delayed privatisation candidate, warned that its privatisation had been further hurt by an attack on the mine by illegal miners last week after a confrontation with police. The company said the damage bill from the attacks was likely to be as much as $2 million, and foreign investors would be disturbed by the incident.
Peter Symonds -- Six months after B.J. Habibie was installed in place of Suharto as Indonesian president, growing concerns are being expressed in ruling circles both at home and internationally over the continuing anti-government student protests, the eruption of racial and religious rioting, and the signs of political disarray and paralysis within the military- backed regime itself.
Opposition figure Abdurrahman Wahid, head of the conservative Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), warned on Sunday: "The Habibie administration is losing control while our nation is now on the brink of a social revolution. Our situation is critical. A social revolution is where people are revolting against everything -- there will be no more government, no more control."
Wahid, like other opposition leaders Megawati Sukarnoputri and Amien Rais, has publicly opposed the demands of student protesters for Habibie's resignation, an immediate end to the military's political role, the arrest and trial of ex- president Suharto and substantial changes to the Suharto-era state apparatus.
Wahid called for closer collaboration among all political leaders, saying: "Because the present government has no political sense, is lacking leadership and is losing control, then the whole political elite either inside or outside the government should hold meaningful dialogues to stop the conflicts. Otherwise we may not be able to make it to the upcoming general election."
On the same day, Megawati expressed similar sentiments to a 10,000-strong rally in Jakarta of her faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). She urged her supporters to shun violence and seek democratic reforms peacefully. In the central Javan town of Brebes, however, at least 11 people were injured and several cars damaged as thousands of PDI supporters clashed with members of the ruling Golkar Party.
Students have continued their demonstrations against Habibie despite the killing of protesters by troops on November 13. Throughout last week, students have attempted to march on Suharto's residence in the elite inner suburb of Menteng to highlight their demands that he be arrested and tried on charges of corruption and abuse of human rights. On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators blocked traffic in central Jakarta but were prevented from reaching Suharto's home by armoured personnel carriers and troops manning barricades.
Suharto came to power during the 1965-66 US-backed military coup which led to the massacre of at least 500,000 workers, intellectuals and members of the Stalinist Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) by the army and groups of right-wing thugs. For three decades, the military junta has repeatedly suppressed political opposition as well as separatist movements in East Timor, Irian Jaya and Aceh in northern Sumatra.
Investigations into the past actions of the military and the vast business empire accumulated by Suharto and his family have been little more than officially organised cover-ups. Less than three months ago the attorney general's office questioned Suharto over his family's assets -- estimated to be worth as much as $40 billion -- only to proclaim that there was no evidence of wrongdoing. In the past six months, the government has tracked down only $3 million in Suharto's name -- money that he claimed was honestly obtained from his salary and the rental of two of his houses.
Under pressure from protesters, the government has instigated another inquiry into allegations of corruption. Suharto is to due to meet with the Attorney- General Andi Muhammad Ghalib today for further questioning. But such inquiries are unlikely to go much further than the previous ones. Habibie's entire cabinet consists of former Suharto ministers and army generals who fear that any serious investigation into Suharto's affairs will inevitably implicate them.
A recent editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald entitled "Still living dangerously" expressed the fear that "politics in Indonesia is now at a critical point". Urging a full investigation of Suharto's wealth, it stated: "There is no better way to rule off that [Suharto] era than by establishing the facts. This may be too much to expect from Dr Habibie's attorney-general alone, and those who wish Indonesia well should be urging the President to augment the inquiry with expert and impartial help."
The article applauded Habibie for announcing the date for the national elections on June 7, to be followed by a session of the People's Consultative Council (MPR) on August 29 to appoint the president and vice-president. Wahid and other opposition leaders had been urging that Habibie to set an early date for the presidential changeover to placate student protesters. But no sooner had the announcement been made than the government switched the date to October 28 in line with its plans to delay any handover as long as possible.
A comment in the Australian newspaper last weekend by its international editor Paul Kelly also revealed ruling class nervousness about the political future. After considering the possible outcomes of an election next year, including the formation of a coalition government, Kelly continued: "This is the optimistic scenario, because it assumes Indonesia will stumble towards political liberalisation. There is a terrible alternative: that it descends into chaos, religious warfare or fragmentation which forces ABRI, the armed forces, to take command amid an international outcry. It is a horror scenario for Australia."
The commander-in-chief of the US Pacific forces Joseph Prueher also warned: "Politically, economically and militarily, Indonesia is very fragile and there are no constraints ... There needs to be a plan of reform that the students can see, not just words of commitment to reform."
These remarks reflect deep-going concerns over the mounting social tensions in Indonesia. The economy has stagnated, large sections of industry, particularly those reliant on imported parts or products, have shut, millions of workers have been thrown out of a job, and an estimated 80 million people now live below an official poverty line calculated in calories rather than dollars.
In this highly volatile political climate, sharp religious conflicts are taking place. In response to the killing of Christians and the burning of churches in Jakarta on November 22 by Moslem mobs, Christian rioters set fire to mosques in Kupang in West Timor and in West Kalimantan last week. Last Friday a Roman Catholic church in the capital of the South Sulewesi province was burnt.
Opposition leaders such as Wahid and political commentators have warned that provocateurs are involved in stirring up racial and religious animosities that could provide the military with the pretext for a further crackdown. Any such action by the military against anti-government protesters could have explosive social consequences.
There is no doubt that in Jakarta as well as in Canberra, Washington and other capitals, there are grave concerns that the political and social crisis is rapidly slipping beyond the grip of the Habibie regime. As Kelly makes clear in his calculations, the preferred option, at present, is to install a government including opposition figures such as Rais or Megawati to impose the demands of the IMF and international financiers.
But he also makes just as plain that the alternative is a return to direct military rule. It is significant that he recommends that "Australia's close links with ABRI should remain along with the security agreement between the countries." The agreement signed between Suharto and the previous Keating Labor government provides for the intervention of the Australian military in times of social strife.
The danger facing workers, students, intellectuals and others striving towards genuine democratic reform and social equality is that the political perspective guiding the protests and demonstrations remains narrowly circumscribed by the framework set by the bourgeois opposition -- leaders like Megawati and Rais who fear the threat of social revolution far more than another military takeover.
Jakarta -- A third day of rioting over soaring prices of fertilizers has left scores of shops vandalized and looted, three people wounded and 13 others arrested in the Indonesian city of Blora, reports said here Friday.
"We were forced to act firmly and shoot three shop looters. Three warning shots were ignored and the security personnel were forced to immobilize them," the Central Java police chief Major General Nurfaizi said according to the Jawa Pos daily.
Farmers angered by high prices of fertilizers have been attacking warehouses and shops in the central Java district of Blora since late on Saturday and the violence continued on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Suara Karya daily said.
Nurfaizi said three people were shot in the legs, and after treatment at a local hospital, were now detained along with 10 others at the Blora district police station, Jawa Pos said.
"After questioning, eight of them are suspected of instigating the violence while the rest were just following what the mob was doing, " he said.
"It has been under control since yesterday (Thursday) but it is not quite calm yet," an officer at the detective unit at the district police post in Blora said by telephone Friday. But the officer declined to comment on the damage, casualties or arrests refering to the head of the district police.
On Wednesday mobs of more than 1,000 farmers looted most shops in Todanan sub-district some 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Blora, the Suara Karya daily said. They looted the shops, taking away stocks of fertilizers as well as food and other goods.
The violence in the region followed a scarcity in fertilisers at the start of the planting season. Availabale fertilisers, including those bought at subsidized prices, were sold at high prices by private sellers, sparking the anger of the local population.
The government last week lifted price subsidies on fertilizers, saying that the subsidies were not effective as most of the fertilizers went to large plantation companies and not the targetted small scale rice farmers.
To offset the rise in prices, the government upped the rice floor price but the Business News bi-weekly magazine said the farmers were caught because they were being asked to pay the higher fertilizer prices before they could benefit from higher paddy prices. "Without fertilizers, their harvest will definitely fail and the living conditions of farmers, now already impoverished, will be further worsening," the Business News said.
Central Java authorites have now put the priority on fertilizer supply to Blora, to prevent the unrest from spreading further, the Kompas daily said without elaborating.
The riots that engulfed jakarta last week have spent their malevolent force, at least for the time being. But few people realistically believe that Indonesia will not be hit by other upheavals as the new year opens. To think that President B. J. Habibie can control his country's rapidly diverging political forces and hold things together until the promised general election next May (or June, or July) would require much stronger and more focused leadership than he has provided so far. Trust in the Habibie government, never very high, is rapidly eroding. The best, perhaps the only, way now to restore vital confidence in the center, hold the far-flung nation together and begin rebuilding the shattered economy is through a credible election. And the sooner the better.
Habibie's administration was always a transitional one. That was implicit in the promise he made earlier to have the People's Consultative Assembly hold a new presidential election by December 1999 at the latest, hardly halfway through the constitutional term of office he inherited after Suharto stepped down. Otherwise, the president would simply have served out the term, which does not expire until 2003. The trouble is that once in office, Habibie and the people around him have not always acted as though their hold on power is only temporary. They have been using state authority to advance or protect their own interests. This is despite the fact that the only real mandate they ever received, such as it is, came from the discredited Suharto.
Indeed, the Habibie government sometimes behaves as though it has a genuine mandate. It speeds ahead with issues it is interested in, but goes slow on what appear to be genuine popular demands: the investigation of Suharto, reduction of military influence in government and bringing to justice the perpetrators of violence during traumatic riots last May. With some fanfare, Jakarta spoke of giving limited autonomy to East Timor, opening an investigation into the misdeeds of Suharto and his family, and initiating programs to help spread wealth around more equitably. Yet it all has a hollow feeling. More troops pour into East Timor, students are shot on the streets and political opponents are terrorized. The promised probes into the abuses of power and favoritism of the Suharto era seem to go nowhere.
In fact, Habibie shows every sign of wanting to dig in. There are also indications that some in his inner circle are pressing for a state aligned more toward Islam than in the past. The president does not always agree with those who seem to be working overtime to bend the bureaucracy, the Consultative Assembly and the government's Golkar party to their idea of "Islamic socialism." But he does not seem powerful enough to hold a clear line. If Islamic socialism is what Indonesians truly want, that would be fine. But so far, they have not been asked. And the maneuverings by the president's people are sparking suspicion, anger and unrest.
It is time the Habibie government started acting like what it really is -- a transitional regime, whose main purpose is to hold things together until another one with a real mandate can be chosen. Ideally, Habibie would turn power over to a neutral, unambitious and respected caretaker, someone like Thailand's former prime minister Anand Panyarachun. But it would be hard to find such a figure in Jakarta's poisonous atmosphere of intrigue. In any case, no constitutional means exists to appoint one. So the election will have to be carried out with Habibie as head of government. His energies should properly -- and exclusively -- be focused on making that poll as fair and as credible as possible.
Obstacles exist under the 1945 Constitution to determining this mandate. As the charter stands, people vote only for parliament, which makes up just one part of the assembly that elects the president. To credibly pick the head of state, the number of appointed members (virtually all Suharto supporters) and seats reserved for the military in the electoral college should be reduced or even eliminated altogether. This week, parliament is set to debate a new election law, but it looks likely to retain the old system of voting in parties, not candidates. That helps perpetuate the power of the established political parties, especially Suharto's ruling vehicle, Golkar. It would be better if individual members were elected from their districts on their own merits. The parties now in authority, it seems, want the polls conducted using the same flawed system that put them into power in the first place.
A general election would give Indonesia a central project on which to concentrate its restive energies. Certain elements that think they are getting the kind of nation they want now by hitching their political fortunes to Habibie may not welcome a quick election, but their motives should be ignored. A credible poll would provide a legitimate, reformist government capable of taking the tough measures needed to stabilize Indonesia and get its economy growing again. The longer Habibie stays nominally in charge without a mandate, the closer the country will edge toward chaos. For too long, the government has decided what is good for the people. Now it is time for the people to decide what government is good for them.
| Human rights/law |
Louise Williams, Jakarta -- Indonesian police will charge two prominent retired generals and 10 others with conspiracy to overthrow the Habibie Government, signalling a return to the heavy-handed repression of Government critics used by the Soeharto regime.
The National Police deputy chief, Lieutenant-General Nana Permana, said two retired military officers from the opposition National Front would be charged with "conspiracy" over a meeting which called for the replacement of the Habibie Government with a "presidium" or caretaker government of national figures.
Eighteen people signed the declaration, including retired Lieutenant-General Kemal Idris, the former commander of the powerful Army Strategic Reserve, and a former Jakarta Governor, retired Lieutenant-General Ali Sadikin. The group has been blamed for inciting the massive student protests last month which resulted in three days of bloody clashes on the streets of Jakarta, in which at least 14 people died. However, student leaders insist they were not following anyone else's political agenda and have continued to hold almost daily protests.
Earlier, the Indonesian Armed Forces Commander, General Wiranto, said the National Front meeting, on November 12, fell under the criteria of "treason" as defined by the penal code, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. "They agreed to form a People's Consultative Assembly and a presidium to replace the legitimate Government in an unconstitutional manner," General Wiranto said.
Students and opposition figures say the Habibie Government is not legitimate because when the former president, Mr Soeharto, stepped down in May he merely handed over to his hand-picked legislature of political cronies, not a democratically elected government.
The Government has also imposed travel bans on a prominent critic, the former political prisoner Mr Sri Bintang Pamungkas, and his brother, economist Mr Sri Edi Swasono. Mr Sri Bintang was released by the Habibie Government after serving more than two years of his sentence for insulting Mr Soeharto by calling him a "dictator" during an academic speech in Germany.
But the charges are unlikely to silence the opposition. As protests, riots and looting persisted yesterday, the Co- ordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Mr Feisal Tanjung, confirmed the Government was planning to recruit 40,000 civilian militia in the first stage of a plan to back up security forces.
Isahak Daud, 38, was found guilty at the Sabang district court on Saturday of rebellion and the seizure of weapons and sentenced to 20 years. The court's verdict took two hours to read.
Security forces mounted a tight control of the court-room during the final hearing of the trial. Hundreds of people were unable to enter the court and were forced to following the proceedings outside. Only a small number of people were allowed in.
While the verdict was being read out, the defendant frequently shouted, 'Long Live Free Aceh!'
According to the court, the defendant aggravated the case against him by causing problems during the trial and failing to show remorse for his crimes. The only extentuating circumastance was the fact that the defendant has never before been convicted.
Jakarta -- Three Indonesian student activists were arrested by police early Tuesday morning at their residence, sources said.
"Three students were arrested after midnight. The police only showed their badges when they arrested two of them, while another was only briefly shown a piece of paper," a student spokesperson of the Indonesian Christian University (UKI) told AFP Tuesday.
"They are currently at the city police headquarters," the student said, declining to be named, adding two of the arrested were UKI students, while the third was from the Indonesian Accounting School (YAI).
The three were identified as UKI economics students Rudi and Edo, and Edo's brother Hendikaro who the spokesperson said was hurt during the arrest.
"We are still wondering about the reason behind the arrest," he said. "During the arrest there were also tens of people on motorbikes terrorizing us by vandalizing several food stalls in front of campus."
The spokesperson rejected the idea the three might have been wanted by police for their involvement in a kidnapping of an intelligence officer during a student protest here last month.
A lawyer from the Indonesian Association for Legal Aid and Human Rights (PBHI) confirmed three students had been arrested and that a number of PBHI lawyers were already on their way to the police headquarters.
| News & issues |
Jakarta -- A resounding "no" was voiced on Friday by public figures and scholars responding to the Armed. Forces (ABRI) plan to establish an armed civilian militia. Former defense minister Gen. (ret) Edi Sudradjat, former ambassador to the United States Hasnan Habib, and the rector of Purwokerto's Jenderal Soedirman University Rubiyanto Misman all said the proposed move was unnecessary. Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X also rejected the idea and said that even the timing of the move was wrong.
"The planned establishment of an armed civilian militia is not necessary," Edi told reporters after addressing a seminar on the threat of national disintegration. He said that existing security personnel were capable of maintaining law and order.
An armed militia would only create conflict among the people, he said, citing the bloody consequences of deploying vigilantes on the streets of Jakarta during last month's Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Hasnan Habib said: "Employing armed civilians would mean that the situation is really critical. Is our country really in such a bad state that it's (considered) necessary to pit civilians against civilians?" The three-star retired general said that the government should provide the public with complete details of the plan.
Rubiyanto said the government was "overacting", adding that the move would only lead to trouble. "Rather than improving security, it is more likely to make many people feel more insecure," he said on Friday.
Hamengkubuwono conceded there were legal grounds for the plan, but still disagreed with it. "This nation is currently embroiled in a number of conflicts and now is not the correct time to implement the plan," he told reporters in Yogyakarta on Friday.
Responding to the criticism, Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar said separately that the plan was still in a state of infancy. "It is still in a conceptual phase and the Armed Forces headquarters has not yet actually begun to recruit people," he told reporters at his office on Friday
The plan to establish a civilian militia was confirmed by Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto in a meeting with the chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Islamic organization Abdurrahman Wahid on Wednesday.
Wiranto said the establishment of a civilian militia was in accordance with Law No. 20/1982 on Security and Defense. Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Feisal Tanjung then hinted on Thursday the civilian militia might be armed.
This was contradicted on Friday by Maj. Gen. Sudi Silalahi, who is the Assistant for Sociopolitical Affairs to the Armed Forces Chief of Territorial Affairs. He said: "Who said they are going to be armed?" When told that it was Feisal, he retorted, 'Well, you ask him then."
Silalahi also dismissed the suggestion that establishing a militia would provoke clashes and deepen the conflicts gripping society. "Physical clashes will only result if the laws and regulations are violated," he said as quoted by Antara in Surabaya on Friday.
Former Jakarta Military commander Lt. Gen. A.M. Hendropriyono supported the plan. He said that other countries had civilian militias, pointing to the National Guard in the United States as an example.
Hendropriyono, who is now minister of transmigration, said the militia could be armed and given their own uniforms and ranks, but would still fall under the supervision of the Armed Forces headquarters.
He also said that the militia would have been established before the current social and political problems emerged had there been enough money in the budget. "Security is important and security can only be guaranteed if people protect their own property and uphold democracy," he told reporters after a meeting of several former Jakarta military commanders at Lemhanas here on Friday.
"The civilian militia would be a multi-purpose organization because it could be used to handle anarchic situations and unrest," he said, adding that companies of the militia would be stationed throughout the country, including at transmigration settlements.
Meanwhile, deputy chairman of the Crescent and Star Party (PBB) Hartono Mardjono said he wholeheartedly supported the establishment of a civilian militia. "It's the people who play both security and sociopolitical roles ... and they need to be trained to defend their country in abnormal situations."
Jakarta -- The government and the House of Representatives agreed on Wednesday to ease requirements for existing political parties to contest the general election scheduled for next June 7.
Abu Hasan Sazili, who chairs the House's Special Committee currently deliberating the political bills, said parties could contest the poll if they had chapters in nine of the country's 27 provinces, and branches in at least half of the 243 regencies. Previously, the bill on general elections stipulated that parties had to have chapters in 14 provinces before they could contest elections.
"The requirements have been relaxed because most political parties are new and have yet to establish their networks in regions," he announced after attending the working committee's session here on Wednesday.
With the new stance, more political parties are expected to be able to contest the next general election, he added. Abu said, however, that for general elections after next year's, all parties would be required to have chapters in at least half of the provinces and branches in at least half of the regencies.
The committee also dropped a stipulation in the bill that political parties unable to meet the requirement would have to compensate by providing at least one million supporters' signatures.
Meanwhile, the working committee which deliberated the draft law on political parties agreed to prohibit parties from receiving foreign assistance to ensure their independence.
"Political parties' financial sources will be from their members' dues, the state budget and aid from individuals and local businesspeople," said Yahya Zamais, a member of the working committee from the Golkar faction.
This Thursday, the House's Working Committee was expected to deliberate a number of crucial issues whose deliberation was postponed by the Special Committee.
Among the crucial issues are those on civil servants, Armed Forces (ABRI) representatives in the legislative body, the frequency of People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) general sessions and the legal basis of political parties.
Budi Harsono of ABRI said his faction would take a flexible stance on the number of ABRI representatives in the House. "We will not insist on (having) 55 seats in the lower House. What's important is that ABRI will not have to be a minority in the House like PDI," he said. "If the number of commissions at the House is 10, ABRI representatives should be at least 21: one deputy speaker and two on each commission," he said.
Louise Williams -- Protected by a cordon of riot troops, the man who ruled Indonesia with absolute authority for more than three decades, former President Soeharto, finally faced the humiliation of interrogation today over allegations of corruption and nepotism.
After months of demonstrations by angry students calling for justice, Mr Soeharto was summonsed to appear before the Attorney-General this morning to answer questions over the failed national car project that cost the country $A2.5billion, a slew of charities and foundations used to finance the expansion of his cronies' businesses, and land that farmers claim was illegally snatched.
"No one is above the law, I have given them all the information," said a noticeably thinner and paler Soeharto, after more than four hours of questioning.
The session was switched overnight from the Attorney-General's south Jakarta office to another location in the city centre, to avoid large student protests outside. Ten truckloads of riot troops sealed the building and another 10 military trucks closed off surrounding streets, causing massive morning traffic jams in central Jakarta.
"I came to comply with the summons. I have served my obligation as a citizen, but it is also every citizen's right to enjoy the protection of the law," Mr Soeharto said.
The session reflects mounting pressure on the Habibie Government to seek accountability for the abuses of power during Mr Soeharto's rule, and to investigate a family fortune worth up to $A64.8billion dollars at the height of Indonesia's economic boom. Now, after more than a year of deep recession, analysts say the Soeharto clan retains assets worth between $A16 and $A29 billion, many of which were amassed by abusing the former President's absolute political power.
However, critics remain doubtful that Mr Soeharto will ever be jailed or face punishment because the Habibie Government is made up of scores of his former political allies. Despite his family's wealth, many Indonesians would be reluctant to see the ageing leader end his days in jail because of decades of economic growth during his rule and cultural barriers to the criticism of senior public figures.
But similar sentiments do not extend to his rich children, who are perceived as having built their business empires through privilege. Yesterday, the Attorney-General, General Andi Muhammad Ghalib, said the national car project that handed Mr Soeharto's son, Mr Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, exclusive tax and tariff concessions had been established "solely to profit the Soeharto family".
General Ghalib, formerly a close Soeharto ally, said the national car program has cost Indonesia $A2.5billion. Besides the tax breaks, Tommy was also given a "soft loan" worth hundreds of millions of dollars by a consortium which included "state banks".
Of the 43 questions put to Mr Soeharto in this morning's session, 18 were about the car program and 16 were about a number of charitable foundations controlled by the former President.
During his rule, Government employees faced compulsory salary deductions to fund various charities, whose accounts were not open to public scrutiny. The charities were also used to funnel substantial political donations from business people seeking access to contracts.
Mr Soeharto recently returned about $A810 million of funds controlled by the charities to the Government, but some local financial analysts say the amount should have been closer to$A6.5billion.
The Attorney-General also publicly said that the charities were used to provide funding for the expansion of the businesses of his family and friends, and not only for their stated charitable purpose.
Jakarta -- A brief chronology of the search for the alleged fortune accumulated by former Indonesian strongman Suharto since he stepped down from the presidency on May 21 after 32 years in power.
Critics claimed the search for the alleged fortune -- estimated anywhere from four to 40 billion dollars -- but denied by Suharto, had been desultory, and mass student protest have been staged almost daily to demand that Suharto be brought to trial.
May 21: Suharto resigns and hands the reins of power to his vice president and protege, B.J. Habibie, who entrusts the attorney general's office with probing the wealth of all past officials, including Suharto.
June 11: An independent group, Indonesian corruption watch, forms a commission to fight for the recovery of Suharto's assets.
June 15: Habibie replaces Attorney General Sujono Atmonogro with three-star general Andi Ghalib. Ghalib pledged to continue the probe, and Suharto hands over four hospitals run by his foundations to the state.
July 1: Ghalib announces the formation of a team from the prosecutors office to probe the foundations linked to Suharto.
July 30: Suharto reliquishes three hospitals run by his charityfoundations and 5.6 million dollars from the foundations, to the government.
Aug 12: Suharto's half-brother Probosutejo says Suharto and his family are prepared to be investigated by the Attorney General.
Sept 1: The government announces that funds from Suharto's charity foundations have been misused.
Sept 6: Suharto goes on National Television to deny allegations that he is wealthy, saying he has nothing but his military and presidential pension, and challenges anyone to find money in foreign accounts.
Sept 11: The Swiss government says it is prepared to cooperate in the search for Suharto's wealth, but only after the proper legal steps have been taken. Sept 15: Ghalib is named to head a special team to probe Suharto's wealth.
Sept 21: Ghalib visits Suharto at his residence to question him on the accumulation of wealth allegations.
Sept 25: Suharto presents himself at the attorney general's office, with a draft letter empowering the state to search foreign banks for his accounts.
Sept 28: Dissident George Aditjondro challenges the Habibie government to seize the Suharto family's overseas assets, which he says include five houses worth up to two million pounds owned by three of Suharto's six children and one half-brother in London, five houses in the United States, several in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, a ranch in New Zealand owned by Suharto's youngest son, a forest concession in Surinam controlled by Suharto's half brother, a luxury cruiser of his youngest son berthed in Darwin and several gas shipping companies of his sons in Singapore.
Oct 14 The Lands ministry announces a move to inventorize province-by- province, all lands and assets held by Suharto, his family and cronies.
Nov 13: Suharto's name is included in an anti-corruption draft law passed by the country's highest legislative body, the People's Consultative Assembly. Seven students are among 13 killed in protests at the assembly.
Nov 15: Ghalib announces he has found 2.6 million dollars in bank accounts in Jakarta under Suharto's name.
Nov 18: The lands ministry announces a series of revelations that it has found more than nine million hectares of forest lands and assets in the names of Suharto, his family and cronies.
Nov 21: Habibie promises an independent commission to probe Suharto's wealth, but the intiative fizzles, when it becomes clear the commission will have no authority.
Nov 25: The government reveals that Suharto has handed over seven foundations he headed, worth some 350 million dollars to the government.
Nov 28: Yohannes Yacob, a legal advisor of Suharto's, warns that if the ex- president is dragged to court, high government figures will be dragged down with him.
Dec 2: Student protestors break through a palace security cordon and demand that legal action be taken against Suharto within three days.
Dec 2: Habibie orders Ghalib to take "legal action" against Suharto.
Dec 3: Ghalib said 23 (3.0 million dollars) were found in banks in Suharto's name
Dec 4: Suharto in a rare interview disputes the accuracy of Ghalib's bank account tally, and says some of his money was earned by renting two Jakarta houses to foreigners.
Dec 5: Ghalib summons Suharto.
Dec 7: Ghalib issues documents showing that over 24 billion rupiah (3.2 million dollars) were found in six banks under Suharto's name and some 400,000 hectares of land in his name.
Dec 9: Suharto submits to over three hours of questioning, accompanied by eight lawyers.
Jakarta -- Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib described the former president Soeharto's national car program, entrusted to his own son Hutomo Mandala Putra, as a graft-infested project designed entirely for self-profit.
Ghalib said in a statement distributed to members of the House of Representatives on Monday that the national car project, run by Hutomo's firm. PT Timor Putra Nasional, had caused the country losses of US$ 1.55 billion.
"The national car program stipulated in Presidential Decree No. 42/1996 was a program of nepotism because it was designed solely to profit the family," he said.
Ghalib said the issuance of the presidential decree and regulations backing the projects were made possible merely through collusion between Hutomo and related government officials.
The officials misused their authority, opportunities and facilities given to them because of their rank and position, he said, adding that the scheme could lead to corruption proceedings in a criminal court.
Ghalib is scheduled to summon on Tuesday former industry and trade minister Tunky Ariwibowo, who issued the ministerial decree in Feb. 1996 authorizing Timor to carry out the national car project.
Timor was the sole recipient of an import duty and luxury tax exemption from late 1996 to January 1998 when the International Monetary Fund insisted Indonesia stop the preferential treatment. The tax exemption made the car 60 percent cheaper than its counterparts on the domestic market.
Timor was supposed to increase its local content by 20 percent annually until it reached 60 percent in the third year. In the first year, it was allowed to import all the originally Sephia cars from South Korea's Kia Motors Corp. without paying the taxes.
Ghalib said the Timor project cost $1.0 5 billion in losses to the government from exempted luxury tax and import duty of the imported Timor cars. To make up some of this loss the government has demanded that Timor repay Rp 3.39 trillion ($425 million) for the exempted import duties on some 39,000 imported Timor cars.
In addition to the unpaid taxes, the state had also suffered $500 million in losses from syndicated bank loans given by 13 state and private banks to finance Timor's manufacturing plant, Ghalib said.
Development and Finance Comptroller (BPKP) Chairman Soedarjono said the government had suffered Rp 176 trillion in losses from graft practices in the first semester of the current fiscal year that began on April 1, 1998.
Some Rp 219 billion and $205.48 million of the total were categorized as criminal offenses and therefore could be recouped through criminal proceedings and the perpetrators could face corruption charges, Soedarjono told House's Commission II for public administration.
Soedarjono said the comptroller also suspected that 69 out of some 2,000 presidential decrees issued during Soeharto's seven presidential terms might be tainted with corruption, collusion and nepotism.
Most of the problem presidential decrees were issued during his 1993/1998 term of office. The comptroller, however would only evaluate 37 of the 6 9 decrees for the time being due to their urgency, he said.
Soedarjono said that since Soeharto was forced to step down and replaced by his vice president B.J. Habibie in May, it had become easier for the comptroller to investigate graft. He said "The reform era really helps our auditing job. Those who want to intervene are deterred now," he said.
Jenny Grant, Jakarta -- The charitable foundations controlled by former president Suharto lent more money to his cronies than they gave to charity, the Attorney-General said yesterday. Attorney-General Andi Ghalib also confirmed Mr Suharto would be questioned tomorrow and two former ministers would be interrogated at his office today.
Mr Ghalib did not reveal the extent of the foundation's loans, but told a parliamentary hearing that, according to a recent audit by his department, a large amount of the funds were lent to third parties close to Mr Suharto.
The funds used for charitable goals were lower than funds distributed to those third parties, he told the hearing. "The funds were mostly used with special facilities, [with the help of] presidential decrees and ministerial decrees," he said. The foundations held assets worth US$530 million. Mr Suharto handed over the assets to the Government last month.
Timber tycoon Mohamad "Bob" Hasan and Tungky Ariwibowo, both former trade ministers, will give evidence today. Mr Ariwibowo will be grilled over the national car project, a monopoly handed to Mr Suharto's youngest son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, when Mr Ariwibowo was minister.
Mr Hasan, a golfing buddy of the ex-president, is also deeply involved with the Dhamais foundation, a health charity. His Nusamba group received massive capital injections from at least three of the foundations. Dhamais official Hediyanto will also be questioned today.
Mr Ghalib rejected accusations by the MPs that he was soft pedalling on the Suharto investigation. "I'm brave enough," he told parliamentarians during the four-hour session, after announcing his team had found another private bank account of Mr Suharto.
Mr Suharto's bank assets are now put at 24.8 billion rupiah. His real wealth is estimated to be between US$4 and US$20 billion. The Attorney-General's office has formally named former president Suharto's youngest son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, as a suspect in an illegal land swap involving 23 hectares in north Jakarta that cost the state 52.5 billion rupiah, the Republika daily reported.
Greg Earl, Jakarta -- Indonesia has outlined yet another schedule for its elections next year as horse-trading over the shape of the new electoral system enters a volatile final phase.
A senior government official was quoted yesterday as saying the presidential election would be held on October 28 followed by the swearing in of a new president on November 10.
The new dates supercede suggestions last week that the presidential election could be held around the end of August in what appeared to be a significant concession to government opponents who say President B.J. Habibie is clinging to power too long. The two new dates are each commemorative days for historic events in what appears to be an attempt to give some added respectability to a timetable that will drag out the country's economic recovery.
The economic risks of a long electoral schedule were underlined last week when economic planning officials suggested that Indonesia may not produce a traditional government budget in January for the fiscal year beginning in April, but instead simply extend the current budget until after a new president is elected.
The election planning gathered more pace at the weekend with the creation of a university-based election monitoring organisation which is likely to be one of several domestic and foreign monitoring groups.
A large group of potential new political parties also held a conference yesterday to inject their views into the House of Assembly debate on election reform which reconvenes today but is dominated by the existing Soeharto-era parties.
While June 7 has been generally accepted as the general election date, there are many uncertainties over the system and several analysts believe that street protests could quickly become more serious if the government does not produce a fair election system.
One controversial issue is whether regional parliaments will also hold elections on that day or whether their representatives in the presidential election assembly will come from the existing bodies that are dominated by the Government's Golkar Party.
Another issue prompting opposition from the new parties is a requirement that to be eligible for the election a party must have branches in half of Indonesia's provinces and local government centres or one million signatures from supporters.
There is also uncertainty about what body will oversee the election and how independent it will be from the government, and no clear agreement on the electoral system although it will be a largely proportional representation system.
Jakarta -- Eleven people were injured when supporters of rival political parties clashed in an Indonesian town, a news report said Monday.
Fighting broke out on Sunday in Brebes, about 250 kilometers east of Jakarta, between followers of the ruling Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party, or PDI, who are loyal to opposition figure Megawati Sukarnoputri.
The newspaper Kompas said PDI supporters in three trucks and on hundreds of motorcycles went through the town and burned Golkar flags. They then assembled outside a sports stadium where about 7,000 Golkar supporters were holding a rally. The two groups clashed at the stadium's gates before police broke up the fighting. The paper said 19 vehicles were damaged.
Also on Sunday Megawati, the eldest daughter of Indonesia's founding President Sukarno, staged a rally in Jakarta where she called on her supporters not resort to violence.
The "inter-party dialogue" organised by the Gajah Mada University (UGM) [in Central Java on December 6, which was attended by around 78 political parties was engineered. The dialogue was used to "force" all of the parties to take part in Habibie's election which will be "free" and "democratic". In reality there is no evidence that the election will be free or democratic. The [new] political laws are still unclear and the dual social and political role of the military (ABRI) -- which is the principle blockage to freedom -- have not yet been withdrawn.
As a result, the head of the Central Leadership Committee of the People's Democratic Party (KPP-PRD), Faisol Reza, invited the forum to discuss the issue of ABRI's dual function because according to Reza, just going along with the elections without discussing ABRI's dual role would be to betray society's aspirations. However the moderator, Muchtar Mas'oed, interrupted him on the grounds that the time for [discussion on] the elections was short. Mas'oed also said that if he really did not agree with the concept of the committee, he should not have been part of the dialogue from the beginning.
It was quite clear that the dialogue was manipulated so that all of the parties would participate in the elections and Habibie's concept of the election. Because of this, the PRD representatives Reza and Dhita Caturani demonstrated with a "walk-out".
The walk-out action was followed by the United Democratic Party and the Indonesian National Party. The delegate from the Republican Party, Muchtar Sindang, also supported the action. According Sindang, the dialogue [was held] not just to discuss technical issues, but also the problem of ABRI's dual function and the freedom of political prisoners -- particularly PRD political prisoners.
Meanwhile, an engineered student meeting was also held in Kaliurang. The meeting was organised behind the curtains by a pro-status quo group. Of those who were involved in the meeting, most were student senates, which for decades have been a tool to maintain of the regime. In its declaration, the meeting called on all political parties to participate in the elections and not to hold any mass actions. If any political parties held mass actions, they should be called upon to disband.
[Translated by James Balowski]
Jakarta -- Certain groups have seen indications that the riots in Ketapang [Jakarta - trans] and Kupang are forms of revenge perpetrated by civilian forces prepared by the Cendana Group in retaliation for the attacks on Soeharto's position and to serve as a warning to halt investigations into the Soeharto family.
A similar suggestion was made by Gus Dur [Abdurrahman Wahid, trans.] on Monday, 29 November, after the visit by Julius Cardinal Darmaatmaja SJ. Gus Dur said that 3 operators had departed for Kupang before the riots began. This in turn appears to be related to indications that the Kupang riots were designed and controlled by Jakarta.
If Gus Dur's suggestion can be proven, the assumptions now circulating among several groups and students in the wake of the Semanggi Tragedy are bound to create a major upheaval. Many people suspect that at that moment, Soeharto's political interests converged with the political interests of the Armed Forces because of the two central demands, i.e. to bring Soeharto and his cronies to trial and to abolish the Armed Forces dual function. Thus, both the Armed Forces and the Soeharto family are concerned to ensure that these demands do not spread.
The case of Wiwid Pratiwo, the Trisakti University student who had been forced to become an informant to spy on the students, shows indications that before the shootings on Friday, 13 November l998, all informants were asked to leave the Atmajaya Catholic University campus because "free" fire was to begin. If Wiwid received the message before 13:00 hours, this means that there was a scenario already in place to open fire at 13:00. Who gave the command to fire? Which groups had the most at stake? It is necessary to point out that Wiwid was recruited by an individual claiming to be a member of the Presidential Guard. Although Wiwid's recruitment as an informant by Private 2nd class CPM, Budi Laksono is still controversial -- the more so with the official denial issued by the Armed Forces, who state that Private 2nd class Budi Laksono deserted two months ago.
A number of groups question which side is actually responsible for Private Budi Laksono's "assignment." Questions have also been raised as to the source of the sizeable funds to underwrite the operation.
According to a SiaR source, the eldest daughter of Soeharto, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, with Bambang Trihatmodjo, have funded security operations in Jakarta since the end of May l998. This includes the security for the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly for which they brought in people from the regions outside Jakarta, formed Self Initiated Security units, and mobilizing special task forces to take attention away from the focus of the students' movement.
Mbak Tutut [familiar name for Soeharto's daughter] is assisted by several field operators, including SS, a Jakarta journalist and former Jakarta Coordinating Body activist, l989-90. This bespectacled man has been under the guidance of the East Jakarta Military Command since his student days at the Jakarta Institute of Teacher Training. Another operator is MR, a former journalist with a once banned tabloid. Also involved is a former Bandung Institute of Technology activist with the initials SN. The two last mentioned people are the field operators for the high-cost Pam Swakarsa (self-initiated security units) deployed during the Special Session.
For their meetings, Mbak Tutut's field operators use the Cemara Hotel on Jalan Cemara, near Mbak Tutut's residence on Jalan Yusuf Adiwinata. According to a SiaR source, SN is in charge of all logistics and equipment for these militias. MR is charged with recruiting and contacting civilian soldiers for training in Cibubur and Rindam Jaya. SS, on the other hand, has been chosen to be the right hand in the entire operation.
To cover all eventualities, these Cendana "troops" have also established a foundation to recruit young unemployed men and thugs (preman) from the outskirts of Jakarta. These men, promised uniforms and good wages, are trained to become civilian soldiers to safeguard Cendana interests. The foundation is named the Foundation for the Welfare of Indonesian Society (YAKMI, Yayasan Kesejahteraan Masyarakat Indonesia), with central headquarters located in Permata Pamulang, Tangerang. The Chief Executive Officer of YAKMI is Mbak Tutut's own son, Dandi R. Kusnidar. The Chair is the leader of the Indonesian Traditional Sports workshop (Pancalaga), Dion Adikusuma.
In the run up to the Special Session, YAKMI formed an elite unit named the Satgas Tebas [Task force for volunteer assistance; "tebas", short for "tenaga bantuan sukarela", i.e. voluntary assistants, also means "cut down", trans.] This taskforce is said to have been disguised as a YAKMI unit for social work and in September l998 trained the first vigilante groups. For one week, the first 150 vigilantes were trained in paramilitary discipline at Rindam Jaya.
This task force has now trained many more groups and in the near future these troops are to be spread to all areas of Indonesia, in particular, to areas with high conflict potential. The Satgas members are recruited from a number of areas outside Jakarta, including Bogor, Sukabumi, Subang, Cirebon, Garut, Tasikmalah, Lampung and Tangerang. During the period of training, members are each given Rp. 200,000 as pocket money.
| Environment/health |
[The following is a translation of a message sent to Down To Earth on December 9 from Padang, Sumatra. DtE has not been able to confirm the information as yet - James Balowski.]
Government plans to open up the Mentawai islands, off the West coast of Sumatra, for massive oil palm plantations using transmigrant labour have been around since the early 1990s. The most recent version was in late 1996 when the Governor of West Sumatra approved plans for a 70,000 ha oil palm plantation in the buffer zone of Siberut National Park. Protests by Indonesian and international groups have persuaded Ministers in Jakarta to block these developments so far. Now, as Indonesia struggles to solve its economic crisis by increasing exports, large-scale oil palm schemes are scheduled for many forest areas of the outer islands and the ban on the export of raw logs has been lifted. This is all the news we have at present on this new threat to the Mentawai people's sustainable livelihoods, their environment and cultures.
News
Friends, for perhaps the first time since Indonesia's independence, the West Sumatran authorities have called together 120 Mentawai people for negotiations with the local government in Padang. The representatives are community leaders, religious figures and village heads from the whole Mentawai island chain.
The subject of the meeting was how to bring 10,800 transmigrant families to the Mentawai islands for a commercial oil palm development (PIR-Trans) by PT Citra Mandiri Widya Nusa -- owned by ex-employment minister Abdul Latif.
The thirty or so students from the Mentawais who attended had little difficulty in breaking up the meeting. In the old days it was the police who broke up community meetings; now it is students who break up government meetings.
The students said that if their demands had not been met that day, the entire school and university student population of Padang would have come and forced the meeting (to be dispersed.)
Chronology
On December 8th at around 10.30am local time some thirty demonstrators (Mentawai young people and students who jointly formed the Mentawai Reform Movement -- GERAM) held a protest outside the Bhakti Bunda building in Jln Sungai Asahan, Padang. This was the venue for a 'consultation meeting' organised by the provincial Transmigration & Forest Resettlement Department, local government officials and about 120 community representatives and village heads from all the Mentawai islands. The meeting was opened at 8.30am by head of the West Sumatra transmigration office, Dr. Ngumar Prayitno.
When it was the turn of the speaker from SPKM, the demonstrators shouted that he should step down and that the meeting should be closed. His speech and that of the company representative were drowned out by the microphones of the demonstrators outside, so the meeting was stopped temporarily.
The students then entered the building and spoke directly to the audience. They said that transmigration was not needed in the Mentawai islands. The many transmigration schemes which had been tried had created many problems and the condition of the surrounding communities was a cause of concern. The government used the Transmigration Programme as a Trojan horse -- as means to exploit natural resources in the Mentawais, especially timber. Government officials, in this case from the Transmigration Department, were co-operating with logging concessionaires and timber companies to prepare sites and generating all kinds of problems in the process.
The GERAM demonstrators pointed out that it was clear from that PT Citra Mandiri Widya Nusa had been invited to speak at this "consultation meeting" because the oil palm plantation company was going to take on transmigrants in Siberut even though the indigenous community had rejected these plans. The Minister of Forestry and Agriculture had already issued an official letter (No 850/Menhutbun -VI/1998) which recommended that the planned plantation was located elsewhere. The demonstrators threatened to continue their speeches and to bring more protestors along unless the meeting was closed.
Some of the Mentawai representatives went outside to try to pacify the demonstrators and invited them to discuss matters with the government officials. The members of GERAM completely refused to enter the meeting room and said they would not stop their protest until the Transmigration Department came to talk with them outside and declared the "consultation" officially closed. The rest of the Mentawai participants started to drift outside to the demonstrators. The government officials suggested the protestors joined the discussion inside, but they refused.
The protestors also demanded that the company representative spoke to them outside. When he did, the demonstrators bombarded him with questions and gave him a copy of the Minister's letter. In his response, Mr Suhaimi said he would convey their rejection of its plan to the head of the company. The demonstrators replied they didn't want to know about the head of company.
The demonstrators then read a statement to the government officials who had come outside. The main points were that:
| Arms/armed forces |
Jakarta -- The Indonesian armed forces have sought to dampen fears of a military coup but are considering a controversial plan to train civilian militia to help supervise elections next year, reports said Friday.
The no-coup reasurance was delivered by the governor of the National Resilience Institute, Lieutenant General Agum Gumelar, in a paper read for him at a seminar in the central Javanese city of Yogyakarta Thursday, the Jakarta Post said.
Gumelar said the armed forces, with its "unchangeable tradition of loyalty to the state" would never consider a coup. "This loyalty is ensured through our commitment to our responsibility to safeguard and participate in the drive for democracy," he said. The paper, read by Brigadier General Sofyan Yacob, was delivered as student protest demonstrations against the government intensified in Jakarta.
Armed Forces chief Wiranto and Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Feisal Tanjung meanwhile sought separately to justify a plan to raise an armed civilian militia to help supervise the first post-Suharto elections scheduled for June 7 of next year.
"It would be no problem if they were armed." Tanjung was quoted as saying during a military retirement ceremony in the Javanese city of Magelang, adding that recruitment would be carried out by the ministry of defence and the national police. "The technical matters will be handled by the police. They will train these civilians," the Post quoted him as saying.
Justifying the move, Faisal said the ratio of security forces to the population in Indonesia was currenty one to 1,200, too few to handle elections in this country of 202 million people.
The army came under strong criticism from human rights groups here and abroad last month when it used 125,000 civilians, many of them from groups with reputations for violence and thuggery, to help secure an assembly session in Jakarta last month. Many of the volunteers cruised the city in convoys of buses threatening civilians with sharpened bamboo stakes and knives.
In central Java, village vigilantes set up with the approval of local security authorities to counteract a wave of mysterious killings this year, have lynched, burned and beheaded strangers from other towns or people who did not respond to their questions.
Earlier this week, in a meeting between the armed forces chief and leading Moslem moderate Abdurrachman "Gus Dur" Wahid, Gus Dur urged Wiranto not to recruit extremists if he insisted on going through with the militia plan.
The meeting Wednesday between Wiranto and Gus Dur, who heads the moderate 30-million-strong Moslem Nadhlatul Ulama organization, came after Gus Dur issued a plea for a national dialogue.
The dialogue, between informal and formal leaders, was needed to prevent the situation in the country deteriorating into what he called "a revolution" where people lost all respect for authority, Gus Dur has said.
Suharto's successor, President B.J. Habibie rejected the plan as further complicating the situation and instead formed a Council for Enforcement of Security and Law. The Council's day to day operations are headed by Wiranto.
[The following is a delayed posting which was included as it provides very a graphic description of the violence by the military on November 13-14 - James Balowski.]
Jonathan Head -- I squatted down as low as possible in the marble porch of the office block, acutely conscious that I presented a much larger target than the Indonesians beside me.
All about us was the crack of gunfire and the occasional boom of teargas grenades. But the man sitting next to me still managed to grin. He'd come down from his office to watch the protest. "Just look at our army", he laughed, "what a lot of fools they are chasing young students like that."
Even during the Suharto era only a few ended with serious casualties. Now that Suharto was gone, no-one expected bloodshed.
Suddenly the soldiers were trampling through the ornamental shrubs in front of the office screaming at us to come out. One of them levelled his M-16 rifle at a man running behind the building and fired. And then he pointed it at us.
It was a moment of disbelief. In my three, often turbulent years in Indonesia, no-one had ever pointed a gun at me. This was different. I heard a shot and then I heard the glass door behind me shatter. We were all pressed down as flat as we could on the cold marble.
Then the soldiers charged in, beating these innocent bystanders with batons. I still find it hard to guess what was going through the minds of those soldiers on what's now being called "Black Friday".
Deafening barrage of gunfire
There were surreal periods of calm when they chatted to the students in an almost fraternal way and then they'd launch another attack with a deafening barrage of gunfire which echoed off the glassy walls of the office blocks.
This was Jakarta's most prestigious business district -- the showpiece of Indonesia's once booming economy. Now it felt more like Beirut or Sarajevo.
I watched a young woman in an Islamic headscarf moving behind the fence of the campus where the protestors were seeking shelter. Without hesitating a soldier lifted his weapon and fired at her. The bullets were mostly rubber-coated but they can kill and they did.
One man lay on the ground bleeding profusely from a bullet wound in his throat. The group of students who tried to lift him were set upon by the troops seemingly oblivious of the victim in their arms.
A student enemy
There is an official explanation of what happened -- that the soldiers were exhausted and stressed after four days of policing the protests, that they felt they had to stop the students from breaking through to the parliament.
But the shooting went on for hour after hour. The soldiers coolly stepping back to reload their weapons then moving forward to start firing again. This wasn't crowd control: it had become a battle which the security forces were determined to win. The students had become the enemy.
The army we witnessed on Friday was not the one Indonesians had hoped for in the era of reform. It seemed if anything more agressive and more careless in the use of its firepower than the one which defended the Suharto regime during its dying days in May.
Painful lesson
Back then Indonesia's students imagined they were leading a revolution which would usher in a new and more just political order. The painful lesson they've learnt from last week is that not much has changed.
President Habibie's government seems equally intolerant of large scale protests and the military as ready as it always was to use lethal force against unarmed youngsters.
This has come as a shock to the nation. Fourteen people died and more than 400 were injured. Flags are flying at half-mast across Indonesia, local radio stations are reading out messages of sympathy for the families of the victims.
Maybe lessons will be learned this time to prevent a repeat of Friday's tragedy. But that's what we thought just six months ago.