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ASIET NetNews Number 48 - December 14-20, 1998
| Democratic struggle |
Jakarta -- Protesting students involved in a clash with troops and police officers on Thursday have defended their actions, saying that assaults on security personnel were in retaliation for heavy handed crowd control measures used against them during demonstrations.
"We used to demonstrate peacefully, but we were often beaten and shot at by the security forces. So this time, we fought back," Pea, a student member of the Committee of Students and People for Democracy (Komrad), told The Jakarta Post on Friday
Pea. who studies at Indonusa Esa Unggul University, said that many students rallying near the House of Representatives on Thursday had armed themselves with bamboo canes and iron bars so that they could defend themselves if attacked by the security forces.
As an example, he cited the Nov. 11 incident on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta, when a car driven by Anas Allamoedi from the University of Indonesia was attacked by security officers. Thrown into a blind panic by the attack, the student drove his car at high speed into a cordon of soldiers, injuring nine. "In many cases, we tried to prevent demonstrations from turning violent but we carne under attack from the security forces," Pea said.
He insisted that the security forces were responsible for instigating the clash on Thursday after 4,000 students had gathered on the road leading to the House. "We only pushed the police and soldiers. It was them that hit us first," Pea recalled.
"If any of the students appeared on the point of attacking the security forces, we pulled them out of the front line immediately and asked them if they were agents provocateurs " he said. Eighty students and 14 security officers were injured in Thursday's clashes.
Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djadja Suparman said on Friday that he would withdraw troops dispatched around Atma Jaya University and the Christian University of Indonesia (UKI) if there were any more clashes between students and the security forces.
"If students want to use their own laws I will have no choice but to recommend the withdrawal of my troops (in the Atma Jaya and UKI areas)," Djadja told the media. "What do the students want? They have beaten security personnel and burned their tents. Did they think that officers who have been on duty for months to protect the entire nation, including the students would not react to that kind of provocation? "Troops are human too," the two-star general said.
He said that security forces were attempting to prevent a clash between students and a gang of thugs from Tangerang when the trouble erupted. "I am frustrated. If the students want to handle gangs of thugs on their own, we'll let them do it," Djadja said, adding that hoodlums were behind the unrest on Thursday.
Last night, the Jakarta Military Command also denied that a bus taking UKI student protesters back to their campus had been shot at by troops near the Cawang flyover in East Jakarta on Thursday evening.
The command's spokesman, Lt. Col. D.J. Nachrowi, said the overcrowded bus burst a tire, causing it to veer onto the sidewalk. UKI students claimed that at least 22 of their classmates were wounded after the bus was fired upon by uniformed soldiers at 8:25pm on Thursday.
"The students were singing Armed Forces songs with the words all changed. The troops emerged from nowhere, chased the bus and shot the back tire. The bus then stopped and the driver fled," a student told the Post. Troops rushed onto the bus and beat the students, he claimed.
Nachrowi said: "The version of events given by the students was not logical. None of the soldiers were armed with live ammunition. If the tire was hit by a rubber bullet then it would not have burst. No soldiers were deployed in the area at that time," he said, adding that the command was still probing the case.
On Friday evening, 300 students grouped in Komrad, the Big Family of University of Indonesia (KB-UI), the Study Forum Information for Democracy (Forsaid) and the People and Students Action Front (Amara) attempted to force their way to the House. They were blocked at the Semanggi cloverleaf by police and soldiers backed up by four armored vehicles.
Jakarta -- Indonesian troops blocked roads near the presidential palace and other strategic sites Friday as 1,200 students staged anti-government rallies. Extra police were also deployed near the US Embassy amid fears of demonstrations in the predominantly Muslim country against the US missile strikes on Iraq.
Several hundred students marched from a campus of the state- run University of Indonesia toward Parliament, some chanting anti-military slogans and carrying bamboo staves. Other pro- democracy protesters drove through the city in buses and gathered at a park and a main intersection.
On Thursday, at least 4,000 students attempted to storm the Parliament building. Hundreds were injured when police and soldiers fired on them with plastic bullets, batons and tear gas.
The huge street battle came just hours after Indonesian President B.J. Habibie warned that the protests could lead to the breakup of the sprawling Southeast Asian nation, the world's fourth most populous country.
On Friday, Habibie repeated his warning and urged Indonesians to exercise restraint. "We still see many cruel actions," the official Antara news agency quoted him as saying at the state palace. "We still see how differences in opinion could lead to conflict involving the masses."
Indonesia is grappling with its worst economic turmoil in decades and has been plagued by political uncertainty. Habibie took over in May from authoritarian President Suharto, who was dislodged by riots and protests against his 32-year rule.
In the disputed territory of East Timor, at least 1,000 protesters demanded independence Friday in Dili ahead of a planned visit by a special envoy from the United Nations.
The UN diplomat, Jamsheed Marker, met in the nearby island of Bali with Indonesian military commanders who oversee East Timor, a former Portuguese colony that was invaded by Indonesia in 1975. Marker was expected to fly to Dili, East Timor's capital, on Saturday in a visit that has heightened fears that demonstrations could degenerate into riots.
Jakarta -- Only a week after demonstrations against violence were held in Jakarta, when another bloody incident took place on Thursday (17/12). A clash broke out between security troops and demonstrating students on the way to Parliament House/People's Consultative Assembly in Senayan. The incident developed in a tumultous fight, resulting in many injureds on both sides, among whom were seriously wounded.
Vera (a 95 graduate of the Law Faculty UKI), broke her neck. She was one of the 21 victims who were wounded by security troops when they halted the bus. Military men shot at the bus in the region of Cawang Atas which was transporting students from Senayan to UKI. When the tyres of the bus were shot, the students left the vehicle. Vera, who got out of the bus, was beaten and stepped upon. She broke her neck in the assault.
A team of doctors said that they have to operate Vera in the evening to save her life. 20 Other students are still in the Emergency Unit of UKI Hospital.
Thousands on the roads
Yesterday's demonstrations involved thousands of students from various universities and an action unit in the name of Jabotabek Student Action Committee. Their destination is no longer the National Monument area or the Presidential Palace. Students were moving towards Parliament House/People's Consultative Assembly, after they managed to surround Metro Jaya Police Headquarters.
At least, seven activist units were united in the demonstrations, i.e. Forum Kota, Front Aksi Mahasiswa for Reformation and Democracy (Famred), Forum Komunikasi Senat Mahasiswa Jakarta, Forum Bersama (Forbes), Gerakan Mahasiswa Pancasila untuk Reformasi (Gempur) and the Komite Mahasiswa and Rakyat untuk Demokrasi (Komrad).
In the combined action, they demanded that people connected with the New Order be brought to trial, they also demanded a democratic election. Hundreds of citizens of 25 Islam organizations demonstrating under the name of Front Pembela Islam, protested at the Monas Monument. They appealed to the public to respect the holy month, Ramadhan, and demanded from ABRI (armed forces) and government, to close sinful places.
The public was also requested to halt all disturbing activities that would spoil peace in the fasting Islam community. If government would not take stern measures in this respect, the students would take to the streets and challenge these disturbers of the peace. Meanwhile, around 200 students joined in the Gerakan Reformasi Akhlak, called upon the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) in the Istiqlal Mosque. They appealed to MUI to make their voice heard more in the face of government leaders. They wanted MUI's confirmation in the violent cases directed at the Islam community, like the Aceh, Tanjung Priok and Kupang case. They also demanded to continue the trial of Soeharto.
Armed with sticks
Security around the District Police, Semanggi and Taman Ria Senayan, was not so tight as before. After students surrounded the Police District, students moved freely towards Parliament Building. A student crowd who joined Forum Kota, moved in the front lines together with the students of Komrad. Below the flyover of Taman Ria Senayan, they were stopped by military troops.
Students of both action units were armed with wooden and bamboo sticks. They got in a squabble with other students who disapproved of their "weapons". "Even a worm is trying to worm its way out when it is pinched. And we are expected to take no action when we are beaten and shot at... As long as we do not start first," said Iin, one of the spokesmen of Forum Kota.
Around 16.15, Forum Kota students approached the troops while singing national songs. It was not clear who started first, but, all of a sudden a major clash broke out between the military men and the students. One of the instigators was chased by students, he saved himself behind the military lines.
Students panicked and ran helter skelter towards the Semanggi bridge. However, other students in the rear calmed them down. Four students were clubbed by security men in the incident and a citizen was hit by a rubber bullet in the cheek. Friends of them provided immediate treatment in the middle of the road.
Several students in the Forum Kota fold, dismantled a military tent by pulling out iron poles. The poles were used as weapons. After students held out for some time below the Taman Ria flyover, thousands of Famred students crossed over to the toll road from the opposite direction. They were held by security troops, but a part of them succeeded to reach the side road Grogol to Semanggi. the students split again when they neared Parliament Building. At that time the military barricade of the Military District Commando and the Mobile Brigade of the Police split up.
Head over heels
The troops ran head over heels as they were hit and chased by Forum Kota students. The military men fled in the safety of the restaurant Pulau Dua, located about 200 meters from their former position. This act confused the students in the front lines. At that time other troops stationed at the exit of the toll road in front of Parliament House fired on the students with rubber bullets and tear gas. The students ran for safety in all directions. Several fell under the impact of bullets and beatings of the security troops. It was a frightful situation. Students were looking for shelter in an illegal building across Parliament House. Others found security in a village, a Navy complex, another part withdrew in the Semanggi area.
Fights broke out several times. The students went out of control. Several fought the onslaught of the troops, armed only with molotov bombs. One of the fire bombs hit a military tent which burned out beside the Senayan Conference Hall. The fight stopped when the muezzin called for evening prayers.
Victims
Until 23.00 the daily Kompas made a note of victims in the following hospitals.
Mintohardjo Navy Hospital: This hospital has provided first aid to 56 students at first. Most of them were suffering from bruises and headwounds. Many of them were sent home, but, six students were transferred to Carolus Hospital and Jakarta Hospital.
Pelni Petamburan Hospital: In this hospital Indah (18) of Mustopo University, Yuni (20) of STNI and Dian Aryaningsih (18) of YAI have been treated. All three of them are suffering from slight wounds and have been released already.
Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital: Informations was received that two students were treated here, Yosi Reza (21), student of the National Hotel Institute (NHI) Bandung, Debidiah (20), student of the Foreign Languages Academy Kartanegara, in Cawang East Jakarta. She has a broken left arm.
St. Carolus Hospital: Information gathering was still going on at 23.00 by a team of volunteers. According to Kompas, 16 students had been treated here for head bruises, hand bruises or in other parts of their bodies. Ian Sulifa was one of the 16. A first semester student of the Pancasila University, he suffered injuries on his back. Others were Indriani, a first semester student of Tarakanita, who was injured by a rubber bullet.
Jakarta Hospital: Until 22.00 as many as 51 victims had been treated in different hospitals of Jakarta. Many victims suffered light injuries and were allowed to go home after treatment, others were treated at the Health Clinic of Atma Jaya University. When Kompas arrived at around 19.00, the total victims in Jakarta hospitals had reached 28. Most of them suffered bruises on the head, some were hit by rubber bullets.
Two female students from the Advanced School of Communication Science Inter Study, Ega (18) and Eka Kurnia Ningsih, suffered head bruises. Eight new victims from the Institute of Social and Political Sciences (IISIP) Taufik Hasan (Faculty of Administrative Science/FIA), Pipin (FIA), Endah (Humas) who suffered several broken fingers. Akum, Indra, and Rahma also had broken fingers.
One of the female students of the Foreign Languages Academy broke her right arm. She was hit by five military men. Her friend, Rida (20) fainted because she was gased with teargas and had been beaten. Meanwhile Aris Budi of the Muhammadiyah University suffered a punctured stomach when a rubber bullet him there.
At 20.00 Ian Sulivan of the Pancasila University was carried in the emergency sector. His right hip was also hit by a rubber bullet, while Dodo of UAJ who suffered a brain concussion was transferred to Cikini Hospital at 19.15. At the Health Clinic of Atma Jaya, Kompas noted seven names of victims who were lying on the floor. They were David (21) of ISTN, Arif (24) of the Indonesian Advanced Law School (STHI), Rizal (22) of Muhammadiyah University, Roy (19) of Jakarta University, Agus (20) of UMJ, Chandra Suryo (23) of UAJ.
The Coordinator of the Advocacy Team Special Sessions of the People's Consultative Assembly (Taksi) who was at the Health Clinic of UAJ with a well known figure of Suara Ibu Peduli, Karlina Leksono, disapproved the cruel acts of the security troops.
UKI Hospital
Different from other victims who became victims of straight violence in the neighborhood of Senayan, the victims of UKI Hospital in Cawang East Jakarta were cruising students who came under fire when their bus "Himpurna" got shot at in Cawang Atas. 21 Persons were injured in this act.
In the UKI Hospital were also four victims from the Senayan area. Two of the four are identified as Endah (19), of the Institute of Social and Political Sciences, Duhan (24), of the Institute of Science and National Technology. Of 21 students who were assaulted by the military men, was Vera. Friends of her said that she was beaten up when she got out of the bus and that she had broken her neck.
"A team of doctors is ready to operate on her this evening to save her life," said Dr. Suryadi Sudarmo DSB, who is heading the UKI Hospital. The other 20 were beaten with hard objects or were trampled upon. They were, Rontua (26, UKI), Rayu Hernawan (23) of the Advanced Indonesian Management School, Susanto (17) Gunadarma, Leli (Advanced Economic School), Elly (18) Management Academy), Ade Hardiyanto (20) Gunadarman, Taufiq (22) Mpu Tantular, Bernard (26) UKI, Uju (22) Gunadarma, Iwan Hermawan (22) Gunadarma, Rilard Jualam (21) Gunadarma, Dedi Haryadi (21) Gunadarma, Richard (19) UKI, Fera (22) UKI, Aldri (21) Gunadarma, Agustina UKI, Dudy Desmansyah (18) Gunadarma, Roni Ginting (19) UKI and Leo (STIE Nusantara.
When inquiries were made about the incident at Cawang Atas, the Chief Police East Jakarta Resort, Lt. Colonel Sahrir Kuba, said curtly that he had not received a report yet about it. On the military side, at least 16 people (10 policemen, 5 Army soldiers, 1 Marine) were injured and treated at the Medical and Health Services of Metro Jaya District Police. One of the wounded men had ten stitches on his head. One of the Mobile Brigade men, was in a traumatic condition after the fights.
Chief Police of Metro Jaya District Police, Major General Noegroho Djajoesman, said during his visit to the wounded security men, that this should not have happened. "Let's not have any demonstrations in the Ramadhan month," he said hopefully.
Indonesian security forces have used tear gas and clubs to break up a large demonstration near the Defence Ministry in the capital, Jakarta.
Violence also broke out in the east of the country where more than 1,500 people went on the rampage, shouting "Burn Chinese shops!"
At least three students were injured and dozens were arrested in the clashes in Jakarta. The demonstrators were demanding an end to the military's role in domestic politics and for disgraced former President Suharto to stand trial on graft charges. One group of about 200 protesters managed to get into the presidential office compound in central Jakarta.
Elsewhere in the capital, hundreds of students brought rush- hour traffic to a standstill as they demonstrated on the main city road and about 1,500 more protested outside the attorney- general's office to demand Mr Suharto stand trial.
Meanwhile, in Samarinda, an oil town in the Indonesian part of Borneo island, more than 1,500 people attacked shops owned by ethnic Chinese. The rioting erupted after a strike by about 500 transport workers demanding cheaper spare parts. Ethnic Chinese, the country's most economically successful minority group, have been repeated targets of attacks.
Education Minister Juwono Sudarsono blamed the repeated rioting across Indonesia on new political freedoms. He said he had asked the government to ban street rallies during next June's general election and restrict campaigning to indoors to reduce bloodshed.
Many Indonesians hope the election, to be followed by a presidential election, will usher in a new era of democracy after 32-years of autocratic, army-backed rule under Mr Suharto.
Mr Suharto's reign ended in humiliation and chaos in May amid bloody rioting, political turmoil and economic crisis. More than 100 new opposition parties have sprung up in the post-Suharto era.
But Mr Juwono, once considered a moderate, said the recent unrest showed Indonesia lacked the social and economic foundations for political freedom. "The pendulum has swung too much in favour of political openness," he added.
"This desire for political democracy and openness, juxtaposed with a period of endemic economic deprivation... this combination is about the most dangerous possible for political stability."
Jakarta -- A group of workers joined a student demonstration on Sunday at the University of Indonesia campus in Depok, West Java, as a way of expressing their wish not to be left behind by the students.
"We are asking that we are not left out in the (student) struggle for reform. We want to take part in the current movement, too," said Prambudi, one of the workers. "Basically, we all have the same goal, namely a democratic Indonesia. We feel that many students have forgotten us, so we want to express our shared commitment again," he said.
The gathering, which started at 10am, was attended by seven groups: the Labor Committee for Reform Action (Kobar), the Marhaen Labor Committee, the Big Family of the University of Indonesia, the Student and People's Committee for Democracy, Students Care for People (Ampera), the Student Family of University of Islam Jakarta and the Proreform People's Movement.
The 800 workers and students sang songs, staged orations and waved banners which read, among other things, We Want Wage Raise, Price Down, STOP Repression and ABRI (Armed Forces) Go Away.
"Many of the workers were stranded and failed to get here because they were blocked by security forces at four points in Cakung, East Jakarta, Kapuk, North Jakarta, and Tangerang and Kalideres, West Jakarta," Kobar's Mai Roma said.
The gathering was also highlighted by the reading of a letter from student activist Dita Indah Sari, who is imprisoned in Tangerang Penitentiary for leading a labor protest in July 1996.
"This is the right moment for workers to stand up and fight for their rights. I never doubted you and I still believe in you (workers), now, she said. The crowd dispersed at 3pm.
"This is just a warming-up session. We want to continue our movement because we think that the government under [President] Habibie has not done anything to better labor conditions," Ampera's Alfan Ridha said.
Separately, the Student Action Front for Reforms and Democracy held a solemn prayer meeting in Jakarta for victims of the Nov. 13 incident at the Semanggi cloverleaf, which claimed 16 lives. The students showed a documentary of the incident and released names of victims, according to their version.
[The following summary was prepared by ASIET based upon initial reports posted by the Committee of the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KONTRAS), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and Aldera (Peoples Democratic Alliance).]
On the afternoon of December 17 just before 5pm, student demonstrators were fired on by security forces during a clash near Semanggi, South Jakarta, while they were making their way to national parliament (MPR). The demonstrators were from a coalition of student groups including FAMRED, FORKOT, FORBES and groups from a number of other campuses.
KONTRAS, who have team members on the ground, said that a significant number of students were shot and have been taken to nearby hospitals. According to reports from students at the Mintoharjo Hospital in Slipi, more than 50 students were wounded in the clash and ten are suffering serious bullet wounds.
In a separate report the PRD said that the demonstration involved as many as 10,000 students and that following the clash, students scattered in the direction of Taman Ria Senayan, Slipi and the urban kampungs around Pejompongan.
The PRD said that at around 6pm, other students in front of the MPR had begun building a blockade underneath the Slipi overpass in front of the Jakarta Design Centre building. They are being confronted troops from Kodam Jaya and Kostrad and expect larger clashes to breakout because of the very tense situation.
Chronology
[The following is a chronology compiled by Aldera dated December 18, translated by James Balowski.]
12.00 - Students from Yayasan Pendidikan Thamrin, the National University, STEKPI and Budi Luhur began gathering at the National University.
1.00pm - Students from Jayabaya, STIE Jayakarta, ABA-ABI, STIE Rawamangun, Don Bosco and Gunadarma moved off to the National University.
1.45pm - Students from FORBES set off towards the Jakarta Stock Exchange.
2.30pm - FORBES students arrived at the stock exchange and made a statement demanding the immediate trial of Suharto.
2.45pm - FORBES students joined with students from KAM- Jabotabek (Komite Aksi Mahasiswa Jakarta Bogor Tangerang Bekasi) which is made up of FORBES, FORKOT, FKSMJ, Front Jakarta and FAMRED.
4.00pm - The students prepared their ranks for a "long-march" to the parliament building.
4.30pm - The demonstrators moved off and clashed with security forces which resulted in the military running in disarray toward the government television station TVRI.
5.00pm - The military (Kostrad and mobile brigade troops) began shoting at the demonstrators using rubber bullets, live ammunition and tear gas.
5.30pm - The troops began beating and chasing the demonstrators who fought back by throwing rocks.
6.00pm - The demonstrators began evacuating women and those who were wounded to the Atmajaya University while others continued to battle with troops. 7.00pm - A student team carried out a sweep of the roads leading to the parliament and it was emptied of students. as many as 85 students were mildly and seriously wounded and are being treated at the Mintohardjo and Saint Carolous hospitals.
KAM-Jabotabek students held a press conference. They informed the press that two bus loads of students from the Indonesian Christian University (UKI) were shot at by the military and that UKI was attacked and that other students were intercepted [by the military] and are returning to their separate campuses.
KAM-Jabotabek demands:
Jakarta -- Indonesian students have vowed to pursue their pro- reform protests during the the Moslem fasting month of Ramadan despite calls by the religious affairs minister to halt street protests, reports said Wednesday.
"Even during fasting month it is right to fight for the truth. The returns will be abundant," student activist Abdullah was quoted by the Media Indonesia as saying.
Abdullah, a student activist from the "Student Front for Reform and Democracy" (Famred), said it was not right to link student demonstrations to devoutness during Ramadan because such activities were not taboo during the holy month.
Religious affairs minister Malik Fajar has called on students in this world's largest Moslem-populated nation to halt the almost-daily protests and respect Ramadan. "I urge that we undertake this fasting month in a cool and conducive atmosphere and therefore demonstrations should be halted during the fasting month," Fajar said.
Student activist Shantoy from University of Indonesia said however that students might change their mode of demonstration. "In principle, we respect the fasting month but acts of protest will continue. Therefore we are still looking for a way to demonstrate that will not disturb fasting," Shantoy said.
Irwan Wijaya from the "Jakarta Student Senate Communication Forum" said the group has found a way to demonstrate during Ramadan, namely asking for public sympathy. However, the "City Forum" student grouping, one of the largest encompassing some 50 schools, said they would eat and drink with residents on the sideroads during the dawn breaking of the fast.
The Moslem fasting month of Ramadan, when Moslems fast from sunrise to sundown, will start in Indonesia on December 20.
The Indonesian capital has been the scene of almost daily street demonstrations in the past months, mostly to demand a trial of former president Suharto and the scrapping of the military's role in politics.
The protests have caused massive traffic snarls. Security forces have added to them by using road blocks to keep the students away from main avenues leading to "strategic buildings" such as the Merdeka presidential Palace, the national parliament and Suharto's residence.
Jakarta -- The city police arrested 259 student protesters from the City Forum (Forkot) on Tuesday for allegedly staging a street rally without the required permit. Two hundreds and fifty-one of the arrested protesters were females.
All were charged with staging a demonstration without a permit and the males were also charged with insulting police officers, city police spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang said. "We have the right to arrest anyone who violates the law," Aritonang said.
The students were arrested outside the Jakarta Police headquarters on Jl. Gatot Subroto near the House of Representatives. The students said they wanted to march to the House to lodge a protest against remarks made by State Minister of Women Affairs Tutty Alawiyah on the previous day. On Tuesday Tutty urged female students to return to their campuses and stop attending street rallies.
The girls arrived on Jl. Gatot Subroto in two overloaded buses which were stopped by a police cordon in front of the Jakarta Police headquarters. The students then poured out onto the street and unfurled a big banner that read: "Girls have the right and duty to join the reform movement." Scores of policewomen and unarmed soldiers joined the security cordon shortly after the students arrived, leaving them heavily outnumbered.
The students were told to disperse peacefully by a policewoman speaking through a megaphone. They were warned that they did not have a permit for their rally and had thus violated Law No.9/1998 on Freedom of Expression. The policewoman's warning was greeted with harsh words from the protesters, who came from several universities in the capital.
However, less than 10 minutes after the announcement, the policewomen herded the students into military trucks which were then driven inside the police station. As of late on Tuesday evening, all the students were still in police custody, Aritonang said. "Whether or not they will be detained longer depends solely on the results of the ongoing investigation," he said.
The arrests were condemned by other Forkot activists. "I'm confused. Why did they only detain Forkot students? Why didn't they arrest all of the students who staged protests today?" Eli Salomo from Forkot said.
The Forkot rally was one of several street protests in the capital on Tuesday. No fatalities or serious clashes were reported at any of the demonstrations, however a nasty incident almost occurred at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout when an angry soldier attempted to open fire on student protesters grouped in the Pancasila Students Movement for Reform (Gempur).
The head of the Menteng police subprecinct, Capt. Firman Shantyabudi, said that protesters had called the soldier names and mocked and teased him. "Luckily we managed to stop him from shooting," Firman said.
Elsewhere in the capital, students from Gunadarma University and Muhammadiyah Students Union staged a midday protest on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta, only 500 meters away from the State Palace.
Six hundred students from Gunadarma University later went to the nearby Ministry of Home Affairs, while 200 Muhammadiyah students went to the Supreme Court, which lies adjacent to the ministry.
The two groups demanded the reopening of investigations into a number of unresolved human rights violations and called for a fair general election to be held next year.
A further 70 members of Forkot staged an anti-Habibie rally at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout before moving down to the toll road in front of the House of Representatives.
There they met students from Gempur. Members of the two groups sung, danced and screamed their lungs out. White and blue banners read: "Habibie Down" and "Wiranto Where Are Your Teeth".
| East Timor |
Lisbon -- There has been a mixed reaction to jailed East Timorese armed resistance leader Xanana Gusmao's interview with LUSA earlier this week.
In the interview in the Cipinang prison on the outskirts of Jakarta on Tuesday, Gusmao indicated that the East Timorese should consider accepting an Indonesian offer of autonomy on condition that a referendum on self-determination is held within 10 years, apart from maintaining that his occupied home land was not ready for immediate independence.
Abilio Araujo, a former president of FRETILIN, said in Lisbon on Wednesday Gusmao's views appeared to be more reconciliatory than in the past, adding he hoped he would soon be able to meet Gusmao.
"We must talk," Araujo said, adding he would prefer the meeting "not to take place in prison." Roque Rodrigues, the Lisbon representative of the National Timorese Resistance Council (CNRT) said the interview had once again shown that Gusmao was a "strategist and a leader." Rodrigues also said the interview was proof of Gusmao's "intelligence, moderation and sense of reality." However, a spokesman for the Socialist Party of Timor (PST) said in the Portuguese capital on Wednesday he could not agree with Gusmao's stance on the issue of autonomy.
Azancot de Menezes said his party believed that the East Timorese were ready to declare their home land's independence without any need for a transition period as suggested by Gusmao.
Alberto Alves, president of the Academic Association of Timorese University Students in Portugal, told LUSA in Lisbon on Wednesday he agreed with Gusmao's views expressed in the LUSA interview, namely the need for a transition process leading to a referendum on self-determination. "In the occupied countries of the Third World, independence cannot happen overnight," Alves said.
Jakarta -- The people of East Timor should consider accepting an Indonesian offer of autonomy before a referendum on self- determination is held in the former Portuguese colony, jailed rebel leader Xanana Gusmao said in an interview published Wednesday.
In the interview, given jointly to the Indonesian state Antara news agency and Portugal's Lusa agency on Tuesday, Xanana said autonomy for East Timor should only last for 10 years before a referendum is held. "What the East Timor population needs now is a formal decision which does not corner them," he added.
Speaking from Jakarta's Cipinang jail where he is serving a 20-year jail term for plotting against the state and illegal possession of weapons, Xanana said East Timor was not Jakarta's only problem. "Indonesia is currently facing complex problems, and East Timor is only one of the matters that need immediate settlement," he said.
He also said that the new Indonesian government of President B.J. Habibie was more accommodating than that of former president Suharto on the issue of the troubled territory, invaded by Indonesia in 1975 when Suharto was in power. "The current government is more moderate, because more problems are accommodated, including the problem of East Timor," Xanana reportedly said.
Antara also quoted the jailed leader as saying that the problems of East Timor could not easily be settled, especially if narrow-minded approaches were used.
The government of Habibie, who took over from Suharto in May, has offered wide-ranging autonomy for an East Timor under Indonesia. The extent of autonomy is currently being negotiated between senior officials of Indonesia and Portugal under the auspices of the UN secretary general. Jakarta has so far rejected a referendum, saying it would only lead to open conflict in East Timor.
Xanana and the East Timorese pro-independence movement he leads have said that autonomy would be acceptable as long as it led to a referendum.
The rebel leader also hailed the arrival here late Tuesday of a special envoy of the UN secretary general on East Timor issues, Jamsheed Marker, for a week-long visit which will also include a trip to East Timor.
Marker's visit to East Timor should be "appreciated as part of efforts to settle the East Timor problem at the international scale," Xanana said. He also welcomed the intention of Portugal and Indonesia, which have had no diplomatic ties since Lisbon broke off in 1975 over the invasion, to open "interest sections" in each other's countries.
Antara and Lusa entered into a cooperation agreement on Saturday that covered exchange of information and the placing of correspondents in their respective countries.
Lisbon -- Portugal and Indonesia will open interest sections in each other's capitals in January as part of a slow but sure fence-mending bid between states that became enemies two decades ago over East Timor.
The row goes back to 1975 when Indonesia invaded the territory a year after Portugal abandoned it to fractious independence movements.
After a year of heavy fighting, Jakarta unilaterally declared East Timor its 27th province in 1976 in a move never recognized by the United Nations -- which still considers Portugal the administering power -- and most countries.
The decision to open the interest sections was made in August. In Jakarta, the Portuguese mission will be in the Dutch embassy while in Lisbon the Indonesian section will be housed in the Thai embassy.
It is part of a quiet move towards rapprochement by the two capitals, mainly through UN-sponsored talks on autonomy for East Timor. The next round of negotiations is due to take place February 1 to 5 in New York.
Contacts have also included symbolic gestures. The Jakarta government last October offered the Lisbon zoo two Komodo dragons, a rare, large species of lizard native to the East Indies, after a visit to the Portuguese capital by the Indonesian minister for youth, Agung Laksono, to take part in an international conference.
The UN proposals call for the organization of free elections to form an autonomous government in the East Timor capital of Dili. The plan is based on Jakarta's proposal to offer wide- ranging autonomy for East Timor in all but defense, foreign affairs and finance.
Both sides agreed in August to set aside the issue of the territory's final status. Jakarta has rejected a referendum on self determination, saying this would lead to civil war on the island where rival groups are pushing either for integration with Indonesia or outright independence.
The Lisbon government and leaders of the National Council of the Timorese Resistance (CNRT) see the UN text as a plan towards the formation of a transition government straight through to the organization of a popular vote.
"This plan can only be valid if Indonesia accepts at the end of this period -- from three to five years -- the organization of an internationally monitored democratic consultation," said Jose Ramos-Horta, CNRT vice-president who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace prize with East Timor's Bishop Carlos Belo for their efforts to bring peace to East Timor.
UN special representative Jamsheed Marker, who arrived in Jakarta Tuesday on a week-long mission, said he believes the UN plan could be accepted by both sides, whatever the decision on the final status of the territory.
"The question of self-determination has for the moment been put aside ... We first must see how autonomy works," Marker was recently quoted as saying in the Diario de Noticias paper.
Marker is the first of a series of UN envoys set to visit East Timor to explain the local population. Sources in Jakarta said he was due there this weekend.
Bilateral contacts meanwhile have included a controversial visit by the mayor of Lisbon, Joao Soares, son of Portugal's former president Mario Soares, to Jakarta in mid-November, where he visited jailed East Timor rebel leader Xanana Gusmao.
Soares also met with Indonesian President B.J. Habibie to urge the release of Gusmao, who is serving a 20-year sentence on charges of plotting against the Indonesian state and illegal posession of firearms.
The tension over East Timor led to a boycott of Indonesian- made products in Portugal, which is still in place. But other areas of bilateral exchange appear to be easing up. In the media, for one, the Portuguese press agency LUSA has signed a cooperation accord with the Indonesian agency ANTARA to place reporters for the first time in each other's capital and share news.
The countdown for the handover of another Portuguese area in Asia, Macao -- the enclave near Hong Kong scheduled for return to China December 20, 1999 after 442 years of Portuguese administration -- has already begun.
Portugal, still considered by the United Nations as the administrator of East Timor, is said to be hoping that 1999 will also bring autonomy for East Timor and the retreat of Indonesian troops from the island.
The military commander in East Timor, Colonel Tono Suratman said that if you wanted to have a ceasefire, it would be necessary for UN monitors to be present. He was answering a journalist after holding a meeting at his command headquarters in Dili with Canadian ambassador Kenneth Sungults.
He said that a request from Falintil guerrillas calling on ABRI to lay down its arms and enter into dialogue could be considered but he wondered whether this was realistic. "We would want the dialogue to proceed in accordance with established procedures."
"I can accept the idea of dialogue, but will it be possible? It would have to be in accordance with established procedures. That would be great. They [the guerrillas] have said they want it and I also want it. The quicker the better," said Colonel Suratman.
But he also said that the Indonesian armed forces only recognises surrender. This would not mean the guerrillas accepting defeat as they would be accepted back as members of the community.
Speaking about the situation in the district of Manufahi and Alas in particular, the commander said that the situation there is now back to normal. "Joint efforts at rehabilitation in the sub-distrct are now underway by several departments including Transmigration, Social Affairs, Public Works and the local military command, in order to help those members of the community who have suffered calamities recently," he said.
Suara Pembaruan also quoted Bishop Belo as saying, on his return from Europe, that human rights abuses had been worse in East Timor in 1998 as compared with the previous year. Abuses were committed not only by members of the armed forces but also by people on the Falintil side, he said. He hoped that the two sides would sit down together and enter into dialogue.
The Bishop has just returned from a visit to Paris where he attended a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He stressed that all sides must respect the Universal Declaration.
"Everyone knows about the Universal Declaration. It was adopted 50 years ago but the fact that there are still prisoners, there is still torture and other abuses here means that it has no significance at all here in East Timor. It's not enough for people to know about the Universal Declaration but they should also begin to practice it."
Dili -- Hundreds of students from three universities and academies here Monday staged a demonstration at the local parliament to protest against violence and oppression by the Indonesian armed forces.
"Stop Violence," and "Halt the oppression of the East Timorese people," some of the posters carried by the students read. The students, who came from the University of East Timor, the Polytechnic and the Higher School of Economic Sciences, demanded the Indonesian military be held accountable for a recent wave of violence against civilians in the troubled territory.
They cited cases of manhandling and alleged torture of civilians in the Alas region following an attack on a military post there last month. The students also cited the military's refusal to allow a fact finding team whose formation had been approved by the local government, to visit the Alas region to verify the reports of violence against the local population.
No officials came out to discuss the issue with the students, who said they would remain in front of the building and spend the night there until they are received by officials. The students also said they planned to hold a street rally on Tuesday.
Lisbon -- Indonesian troops attacked East Timorese civilians in a village in the disputed territory, killing one person and wounding 22, an East Timor independence group in exile said Friday.
The attack took place Tuesday near Cailaco in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, according to a statement by the pro- independence Christian Democratic Union of East Timor.
Placido dos Santos, a 28-year-old farmer, was tortured and killed by Indonesian soldiers during the attack, the group said. Three others were in a coma due to injuries they suffered in the attack, the group said, citing resistance sources in East Timor's capital Dili.
The statement, released in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, also listed the names of 19 men it said were wounded, eight seriously, and 26 others who were missing. There was no independent confirmation of the attack, and Indonesian officials were was not immediately available for comment.
Vienna -- In a decision welcomed as a landmark by Portugal, European Union leaders Saturday backed calls for a referendum to decide the fate of East Timor, the former Portuguese colony occupied by Indonesia since 1975.
"A definitive solution to the East Timor question will not be possible without free consultation to establish the real will of the East Timorese people," the 15 EU leaders said in statement after their year-end summit.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama said the statement marked the first time the EU had backed Lisbon's call for the East Timorese to vote on whether to opt for independence or remain under Indonesian rule. Indonesia has resisted such calls for a referendum and maintains thousands of troops to keep order in the half-island territory.
The EU statement also urged Indonesia to bring about a "real and substantial reduction" in troop levels and called for the establishment of a permanent UN presence in East Timor.
The leaders repeated a demand that Indonesia release jailed Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao, and all political prisoners.
| Political/economic crisis |
Jakarta -- The country's debt service ratio (DSR) is predicted to reach an alarming level of 49.3% in the current fiscal year ending in March next year.
The Jakarta Post quoted Minister of Finance Bambang Subianto as saying the figure was based on an estimate that principal debt servicing and interest payment would reach $US27.19 billion and exports would amount to $US55.16 billion this year, both were higher than the government's earlier projection.
Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita in September estimated the debt service ratio would reach 44%. Before the economic crisis, the country's debt service ratio stood below 35%.
Total exports during Jan-Sept 1998 reached $US37.24 billion, a 5.73% decline from the same period of 1997. Total imports in the same period dropped 36.6% to $US20.15 billion, resulting from a sharp fall in oil and gas imports.
House member Thomas Suyatno meanwhile said the government should boost exports to bring down the debt service ratio. Increasing exports, he said, is one of the only two approaches the government could take in response to the alarming debt level. The other is delaying the debt repayment. Indonesia has not benefited from higher export revenues this year because of trade financing troubles, despite the rupiah's significant plunge which normally would make exports more competitive.
Export-oriented firms, especially those highly dependent on imported materials, have been facing difficulties securing letters of credit to import raw materials because of the low confidence in the local banks. The rupiah's sharp depreciation has also boosted the prices of imported products.
Jakarta -- Thousands of Moslems attacked and burned down three houses and two mosques in two villages on Indonesia's Madura island, off the coast of eastern Java, following rumors a deviant Islamic sect was active there, a report said Tuesday.
The mob, aboard scores of pickups and motorcycles, on Monday attacked the house of Bustamil, a local Moslem leader whom they believed was preaching a deviant form of Islam, in Kertagenah village, the Berita Buana evening daily said.
Unable to find Bustamil at his home, the mob burned down his house and those of two of his close friends. They also torched a mosque where Bustamil usually preaches.
The mob, many armed with machetes, then proceeded to neighbouring Sedur village, some seven kilometres (four miles) away to look for another close friend of Bustamil. Failing to find him, they burned another mosque there where the man usually preached.
The mob was only dispersed after a joint police and military force was dispatched to the area. Warning shots were fired, the daily said. The two villages remained under heavy security guard Tuesday morning, it added. Madura is a stronghold of Indonesian Moslem traditionalists.
Jakarta -- Only a day after a bloody clash between villagers in Bali that killed at least three people, a mob of about 1,000 people rioted in the Central Java town of Surakarta in the early hours of Sunday.
According to police, at least 10 people were injured, and two buildings on a Surakarta/Yogyakarta intercity street were damaged in the incident that erupted after police attempted to disperse hundreds of spectators of a drag race.
Two cars parked in the police station compound were torched, while a number of public facilities like phone booths and traffic signs were also vandalized. Those injured included four police officers who were pelted with stones by the mob. Six others sustained similar injuries.
The house of Surakarta regional police chief Col. Zainal Abidin, which is near the damaged police headquarters, was also pelted with stones by the mob.
Police said they have detained 50 people for questioning over their alleged involvement in the riot. "We'll investigate this incident. We believe there were people who masterminded this because the mob had already dispersed. But suddenly, they got together again and went on a rampage, " the police said.
The rampage started at about 11:30pm after police tried to disperse a crowd of hundreds of spectators of a drag race along the Jl. Urip Sumohardjo-Jl. Slamet Riyadi street. According to the police, the unauthorized racing event had disturbed traffic.
The crowd dispersed but gathered again at about 2:30am and began marching to the police station and started to riot. By 7am, the situation was under control, Zainal said. Suara Pembaruan afternoon daily said the crowd was offended because police had dispersed them with batons.
In the Buleleng regency's Banjar subdistrict, it was reported that 600 police and Army personnel had been deployed to maintain order in the Cempaga and Kedawa villages.
Jakarta -- The head of police in the Indonesian province of Central Java has ordered his forces to shoot rioters on sight after a mob rampage in Solo, a report said here Monday.
"I have issued a shoot-on-sight order against rioters in Central Java," police chief Major General Nurfaizi was quoted by the Media Indonesia daily as saying in Solo, Central Java, on Sunday
Nurfaizi was speaking a few hours after visiting the site of Sunday's riot that erupted following police efforts to disperse a motorcycle drag race late on Saturday.
More than 1,OOO people, mostly youths, resisted police attempts to disperse them, including by firing warning shots, and pelted the police with stones. The Suara Pembaruan evening daily said Sunday at least seven people were injured as the police used clubs to halt the race and disperse onlookers.
Police also seized several motorcycles left when their owners fled the scene. The crowd, angered by the beating and the seizure of the motorcycles, began to fight back by pelting the police with stones.
It then started to march on Slamet Riyadi street, Solo's main avenue, vandalizing police posts and public telephone booths on their way. Crowds and convoys of motorcycles attempted to attack the regional police headquarters but dispersed after warning shots were fired, the Suara Pembaruan evening daily has said.
They burned and vandalized traffic signs, bus shelters, police booths and public telephones as well as a bank outlet at a market, the daily said. The mob dispersed after two hours when military-backed police reinforcements arrived. Police detained 60 people but released them hours later after they were given advises and guidance.
Solo was hit by violent rioting in May that left most of the shops and businesses along Slamet Riyadi gutted and looted.
Jakarta -- Tension remained high in northern Bali despite heavy security deployed following a brawl among villagers that left three dead and scores injured, reports said Sunday
Groups of men armed with traditional weapons remained on guard by the roadside in the Banjar subdistrict in northern Bali on Saturday, after clashes between supporters of two political parties late on Thursday and early on Friday, the Bisnis Indonesia said. Tension remained high despite the deployment of over 700 police in the area, the daily said.
Police on Saturday said three people had died and at least 20 others were injured after the brawl that broke out in Cempaga village, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of the Bali capital of Denpasar. The brawl opposed supporters of the ruling Golkar party and those of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction of opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri.
The two first victims, both PDI supporters, died when a mob of Golkar supporters in Cempaga attacked a house where seveen PDI fans were visiting a sick colleague late on Thursday. Fifteen people who went to their rescue were then attacked as the fighting continued through to Friday morning.
The third victim was Cempaga village head, 40-year-old I Putu Arta, who was attacked and killed in the neighbouring Mlantingan village a few hours later. The village chief was attacked and killed as he passed through Banjar by residents angered by news of the Cempaga attack.
The two PDI victims have been buried while the funeral of the village head has been postponed because of the remaining tension, Bisinis Indonesia quoted the head of the Buleleng district police, Lieutenant Colonel Nasser Amir, as saying. Amir could not be immediately contacted on Sunday.
The brawl was the last in a series of open conflicts between supporters of Golkar and those of the PDI since the latter held a mass congress in Bali in October.
| Human rights/law |
Farah Mihlar, Colombo -- A United Nations investigator Friday accused the Indonesian military under former President Suharto of carrying out widespread rapes in various parts of the country.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN special rapporteur on violence against women, backed reports by non-government organizations in Indonesia that many women of Chinese ethnic origin had been raped in the Jakarta riots in May which preceded Suharto's fall.
Indonesian officials, including armed forces chief General Wiranto, repeatedly denied that any rapes had taken place in the Jakarta riots.
"During the May riots, with regard to women there was mass rape and they were all Chinese (women). We met many victims and it was clear it was conducted in a widespread manner," said Coomaraswamy. "Secondly it seems to have been conducted in an organized manner," she told Reuters in an interview.
Coomaraswamy also accused Indonesian authorities of perpetrating violence before Suharto's fall in May against women in East Timor and the troubled provinces of Aceh in northern Sumatra and Irian Jaya, on New Guinea island. "The problem was with military occupation. The troops were not sensitized to sexual violence and there was widespread rape," she said.
Coomaraswamy recently visited Indonesia to compile a report for the United Nations on violence against women during the May riots. Non-governmental organizations had recorded complaints of rape from some 168 women but she said she believed the figure was much higher.
"So many victims we spoke to had not made complaints to the police," said Coomaraswamy, who is expected to submit the report on Indonesia to the UN Human Rights Commission next March. An Indonesian government appointed team in November blamed some members of the military for the violence and confirmed 52 rapes.
Human rights groups estimate that nearly 1,200 people died last May in Jakarta in rioting which forced President Suharto to step down after a 32-year rule. Most of those who died were looters trapped in burning buildings and ethnic Chinese bore the brunt of the violence.
The Indonesian government needed to pay more attention to reforming the country's legal system, Coomaraswamy said. "There seems to be a huge lack of confidence in the criminal justice system with regard to victims of violence."
"There is also a lack of implementation with regard to the human rights procedure. A lot of it is a lack of know-how because they were basically an authoritarian state," she added.
The Indonesian government had strived to change its attitudes and make a concerted effort toward democratic values but there were still hurdles for them to overcome, she said.
"Since May 1998 there has been a clear break from the past. Those in power now seem to very much want to put the country on to democracy and to some level of transparency."
"I think the state itself is polarized though, between those who want reform and those who want the old regime. There are elements within the government and the army that don't want change," she added.
| News & issues |
Jakarta -- A day after clashes between students and security personnel in Jakarta ended with dozens injured on both sides, noted scholars, religious leaders and the military renewed their appeals for an end to demonstrations during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan.
Chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, Abdurrahman Wahid, advised students to. desist from rallying -- also after Ramadhan -- because they had succeeded in initiating the reform movement. Students should focus on public political education through campus activities, he said.
Earlier, the acting chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), Ali Yafie said that demonstrations during Ramadhan would not present a problem provided they remained within the limits of what was allowed during fasting. Condemning people and uttering foul words were not allowed, he reminded students. A number of demonstrations demanding an end to rallies during Ramadhan have been staged in recent days. Ramadhan begins on Sunday.
At his residence in Ciganjur, South Jakarta, on Friday, Abdurrahman warned that rallies, and their frequent violence, could foster hostility in a previously supportive public. He said students should be thankful of the gains made even if they did not conform to all their expectations. "Pak Harto (former president Soeharto) is willing to be tried, while President B.J. Habibie's administration is committed to law enforcement."
Security personnel, he added, "should be well-behaved and refrain from hastily hitting or shooting students. That's wrong. They have to be able to organize themselves and avoid committing mistakes".
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo asserted that demonstrations should be conducted "in accordance with norms of decency and the law", Antara reported. "Do not force security personnel into a clash because it will be a loss to us all," he said at Army headquarters. He appealed to protesters to remember there were only four firearms for every 100 officers during demonstrations.
Nurcholish Madjid, who is the rector of Paramadina University, was quoted by Antara as saying on Friday that it would be better if students refrained from staging rallies to allow the public and the students themselves to concentrate on religious duties.
Nurcholish, who is a former activist himself and chaired the Association of Muslim Students (HMI) in the late 1960s, told a forum of students that Ramadhan was a month for purification, introspection and reflection. "Rallies should be stopped particularly if they are likely to cause public unrest," he told his audience at the Students' Ramadhan Dialog, a three-day forum which ended Friday in East Jakarta. He cited widespread traffic congestion and clashes with security personnel as two factors likely to induce people to act in a manner not in keeping with the spirit of the fasting month.
On Friday, many newspapers carried photographs of students and police clashing on Thursday afternoon. "All student movements should ask themselves what they really want," Nurcholish said.
In Dili, Nobel peace laureate Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo also scolded students and urged them to act with restraint during Ramadhan and around Christmas. "How can you fight for (your) aspirations by parading all over the city?" he w as quoted by Antara as saying on Thursday.
However National Mandate Party chairman Amien Rais said on SCTV on Thursday that if students aired the public's aspirations "in a sweet manner" and did not break rules governing the fasting, then it would be acceptable for them to continue pressing the government for reform during Ramadhan.
Some student groups have said they plan to continue to air their demands in public during Ramadhan, but in ways not provocative to those observing the fasting. Others have said they will confine their political activities to the campus until after Idul Fitri. Rallies, they said, would start in the late afternoon before the breaking of the fast at dusk and more discussions and dialogs would be held.
Rama Pramata from the University of Indonesia suggested last week that students should use Ramadhan to prepare strategies for the run up to the general election scheduled for next June. "There is so much to do ... This is a crucial moment and I suggest that we stop wasting time," Rama said.
Jakarta -- Indonesia's national human rights body and the Catholic church have both bowed out of a state security council announced last week by President B.J. Habibie, saying they thought their membership was inappropriate, reports said Friday.
"It would be inappropriate that the rights commission be a member of the council," National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas Ham) chairman Marzuki Darusman was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying. Darsuman said the commission's decision not to accept its allotted seat had been conveyed to State Secretary Akbar Tanjung by letter.
The Post also quoted sources from the Indonesian Bishops' Council (KWI) as saying it too had decided not to accept its allotted seat in the council, citing the Catholic tenet of non- involvement in state affairs.
"The government should not confuse the churches' duty and authority with that of the state," the source was quoted as saying, adding that in the past the KWI had also rejected offers of a place on the Supreme Advisory Council and the people's Consultative Assembly. Neither Komnas Ham nor KWI officials were immediately available for comment on the report.
Last week Habibie rebuffed calls by the governor of the National Resilience Institute, Lieutenant General Agum Gumelar, and Moslem moderate leader Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid for a national dialogue to combat growing unrest in the country.
But a day later he announced the formation of the 34-seat Council for Enforcement of Security and Order, with himself at the head and to be run on a day-to-day basis by Armed Forces chief General Wiranto. Other members of the council include 23 cabinet ministers, the national police chief, the head of the state intelligence body, and the leaders of religious councils. Observers and diplomats have questioned the effectiveness of the new council, saying lines of authority had been "dangerously blurred."
Habibie, whose seven month tenure has been plagued by student protests unrest and riots, justified his rejection of a national dialogue involving figures both inside and outside the government, by saying it would complicate an already complicated situation.
However he met privately with Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid on Sunday for talks in which the Moslem leader said he had told Habibie that setting a firm date for the election of a president would help calm the restive atmosphere in the country.
Habibie has already set June 7 as the date for general elections, the first since the fall of former president Suharto in May. But he has only said that a new president should be installed by November 1999. Under the existing constitution, a president is elected not by direct vote but by the People's Consultative Assembly, the country's highest legislative body.
Jakarta -- The World Bank has decided to delay a planned one billion dollar loan to Indonesia until after elections in June of 1999, a report said Friday.
The Jakarta Post daily quoted the bank's country director for Indonesia, Dennis de Tray, as saying in an interview that the decision had been taken because the country's budget deficit in fiscal 1998-99 was narrowing faster than anticipated.
The budget deficit for the fiscal year ending March 1999 was expected to be around six percent of gross domestic product, instead of 8.3 percent as earlier forcast, he said.
The timing of the disbursement of the bank's two billion dollar component of the IMF package, of which 600 million dollars has already been disbursed, would depend on the Indonesian government's progress in implementing economic reforms, de Tray was quoted as saying.
Discussions with the Indonesian government on the release of 400 million dollars of the bank's commitment were still underway, he said, adding that a number of "uncomfortable issues" remained to be dealt with. The Post said de Tray also underlines in the interview that the government was barred from using the bailout funds for political purposes.
Jakarta -- A resounding majority of people believe Indonesia has a leadership crisis, a new survey says. Good leadership is important, particularly at a time of an acute national crisis. Is Indonesia undergoing a leadership crisis? The Jakarta Post and the D&R news magazine commissioned a poll to find out what people think about the issue.
The poll, involving 1,250 people in five cities, however found that many people believe that one or two existing public figures can rise to the challenge and become the next president of the country, if given the chance.
Their idea of national leaders are those found outside the present government structure: Megawati Soekarnoputri, Amien Rais, Abdurrahman Wahid and Sultan Hamengku-buwono X fill the top four slots as most favorite leaders. President B.J. Habibie is fifth.
The survey was conducted by the Resource Productivity Center in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Padang and Medan. The 250 respondents in each of the five cities were selected at random, comprising 65 percent men and 3 5 percent women.
Nearly 74 percent of the respondents agreed that there is a national leadership crisis. Most pointed to the slow pace of reform, and Habibie's failure to accommodate the people's aspirations, as their main reasons.
Of the 25 percent who rejected the idea that there is a crisis, 41 percent said many figures with the potential to lead have not been given the chance. More than 26 percent who said there was no crisis however insisted that Habibie is a legitimate president.
Although the poll results reflect the low public opinion of Habibie's leadership, 48 percent believe that the President should be allowed to complete his term until he has organized both a general election and a presidential election next year.
Only 44 percent believe that the four "Ciganjur leaders" -- Megawati Amien, Abdurrahman and Hamengkubuwono who met at Abdurrahman's residence in Ciganjur last month -- should form a transitional government and take over from Habibie.
Megawati is the chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Perjuangan and daughter of Indonesia's first president Sukarno; Amien led the reform campaign to force Soeharto to resign in May and now chairs the People's Mandate Party (PAN); Abdurrahman is a known prodemocracy leader and chairman of the massive Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization: Hamengkubuwono is the nationally respected ruler of the Yogyakarta sultanate.
Habibie. who has led since May, is Indonesia's third president since independence in 1945. Although serving as a transitional president until a successor is democratically elected next year, he has not ruled out running for the post.
Indonesia's first two presidents, Sukarno (1945-1966) and Soeharto (1966-1998), governed this huge archipelago with iron fists, albeit in very different styles.
This raises the troubling question whether it would have been possible for them to keep such a diverse nation united without resorting to the use of force and intimidation. Can any democratically elected leader keep the country together without being constantly dogged by opponents? While Soeharto's downfall has raised some hopes, history is not on Indonesia's side.
Most of the respondents (65 percent) hold out the hopes that there are people capable of leading this country, but that he or she has not yet emerged largely because of the repressive political system (61 percent) and because of the constant intervention of the Armed Forces in politics (32 percent).
Of the 34 percent respondents who took a pessimistic view about the ability of anyone to lead the nation, 51 percent said not a single existing public figure fulfilled the criteria for becoming national leader, and 24 percent even said existing leaders are only hungry for political power for themselves.
When asked to name two qualities most important in a leader, "integrity and trustworthiness" came top, followed by "popular support", "wise" and "visionary". "Intelligence", "able to motivate others" and ''piety" were not rated too highly by respondents.
When asked to name and rate the figures that come closest to the requisite qualities of a national leader, Megawati heads the list with 44 percent, and Amien Rais is second with 31 percent. Hamengkubuwono Abdurrahman and Habibie are third, fourth and fifth.
The poll asked respondents about the leadership strengths and weaknesses of the four Ciganjur figures. Megawati's main weaknesses include her being a political novice and a female, while her main strengths are her widespread support, her charisma and wisdom.
Amien's chief weaknesses are that he is seen as too ambitious and lacking in principles, while his main strengths are his intelligence and his image as a champion of reform.
Hamengkubuwono's main drawbacks are his image as a provincial figure and that he lacks widespread support; his strengths are that he is a simple and popular figure, and has charisma and wisdom.
Abdurrahman's main weaknesses are his ailing health and, like Amien, his lack of principles his strengths are the widespread support he enjoys, and that he has charisma and wisdom.
The majority of the respondents agreed that Indonesia's next president should be elected directly by the people, rather than by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) as has been the practice all this time and mandated by the constitution.
On many of the questions the respondents were allowed to give more than one answer, thus some of the given answers exceeded 100 percent. The results have a five percent error margin.
Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- The Habibie Government is preparing to ban former president Soeharto from leaving Indonesia amid renewed calls for him to be investigated over a wave of extrajudicial killings in the 1980s.
The Justice Minister, Mr Muladi, said on Monday night his ministry was waiting for the travel ban request to come from the Attorney-General's office, which is examining how the Soeharto family built a multi-billion-dollar fortune during his 32-year rule.
A leading constitutional lawyer, Professor Ismail Suni, called on the Attorney-General's office to widen the investigation to include the killings of scores of alleged criminals in Jakarta.
In an early 1990s autobiography, Soeharto: My Thoughts, Sayings and Deeds, he admitted responsibility for the execution of organised criminal gangs roaming the city's streets. He justified the killings by saying the criminals "had acted beyond any sense of humanity". Bodies were left in the open as a warning to other criminals. Professor Suni said the Soeharto autobiography was "one piece of evidence of his criminal record".
But Professor Suni, an adviser to President Habibie, said Mr Habibie was exempt from questioning about his own relationship with Mr Soeharto. "By theory, he's a Soeharto crony, so he can be grilled also," Professor Suni said. "But not as long as he is still president. As president he only bows to the People's Consultative Assembly [Parliament]."
The Justice Ministry has already banned two of Mr Soeharto's sons, Mr Bambang Trihatmodjo and Mr Hutomo Mandala Putra, from leaving the country pending the outcome of inquiries into their business activities.
While [most] prisoners dream about and will do anything to be released from prison, Dita Sari has instead refused to be released. Initially, the only women political prisoner in Indonesia who was sentenced to five years jail, was happy to hear that she would be released on November 14. However, when she found out about the conditions of her release, Dita immediately rejected it.
"[The conditions of my release stipulate that] I cannot be involved in politics until the year 2002", Dita explained. According to Dita, who is the chairperson of the [independent trade union] Centre for Labour Struggle which is affiliated to the People's Democratic Party, these conditions are an effort to demoralise her as an activist.
"The government doesn't really want to release me. They are only looking for a way to save themselves because they cannot stand the international pressure", said Dita when she met Ezki Suyanto from DeTAK at the Tangerang Women's Prison last week.
Dita [said] she felt calmer about her decision because Ajidar, her father, gave her his full support. Actually her father had already prepared everything [for her release] including building a room complete with furnishings for the return of his beloved daughter.
What can be done. The room will still not be occupied until the year 2000 when Dita has finished her full sentence.
[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski]
Susan Sim, Jakarta -- Indonesia's "politically homeless" middle-class cynics, ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs, indigenous minorities and the formerly powerful will soon have their own political party -- the country's 115th.
It will be driven primarily by several prominent defectors from the ruling Golkar party, including three former Suharto ministers -- General Edi Sudrajat, Mr Siswono Yudohusodo and Mr Hayono Isman.
The Justice and Unity Party (Pasti) promises to provide the intellectual ballast to the two most popular mass-based opposition parties -- Ms Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party and Mr Abdurrahman Wahid's National Awakening Party (PKB).
The new party does not see itself winning more than 5 per cent of the popular vote in June with a platform encompassing all the standard pledges of reformasi -- justice, anti-discrimination, meritocracy, cultural sensitiveness, regional autonomy, civic society and human rights.
It is thus positioning itself, insiders say, as a junior coalition partner that can act as a moderating influence on, and bridge to, the civilian and military elites who might be less predisposed to accept Ms Megawati or PKB's nominal leader, Mr Motari Abdul Jalil.
At the same time, the former Suharto ministers who pulled out of Golkar know they can only hope to influence the shape of the next government through larger partners since time will constrain their efforts to replicate, or more likely, poach Golkar's extensive network. But the new party will not be "cloning Golkar", former Environment Minister Sarwono Kusumaatmadja told The Straits Times.
There will be many disgruntled former Golkar cadres in it and will include an interesting cross-section of relatively young people -- the successful, newly politically-aware, 40-something baby-boomers.
These include Mr Anton Supit, a footwear manufacturer of ethnic Chinese origin who chairs an anti-discrimination group called Gandi formed by several prominent young Chinese entrepreneurs in association with the country's largest Islamic organisation, Mr Wahid's Nahdlatul Ulama.
"This is a party trying to fill the void essentially within the Indonesian middle class and the adat-based local communities, the indigenous peoples, as well as serve the main minorities unserved in Indonesian politics now ... the politically homeless people with no one to turn to," said Mr Sarwono.
The outspoken critic will not join the new party, but will continue to drive its "moral movement" counterpart gauging the pulse of the country, and act as linkman to the other political parties and civic groups.
Jakarta -- In the face of repeated denials by the local government and military, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) announced on Saturday its conviction that political maneuvering was behind a recent killing spree in Banyuwangi, East Java, and surrounding areas.
Backing the findings of its East Java chapter's investigation into the murders of Moslem clerics and alleged witchcraft practitioners, NU headquarters here said the killings were acts of "political terror" and not pure crimes.
It was a terror spree launched to stir up unrest within society, the organization said in a statement following a meeting on Dec. 11 to Dec. 12 of its Syuriah (lawmaking body) and Tanfidziyah (executive body) members.
"The (NU) team's finding proved there had been organized movements and it had either directly or indirectly indicated the involvement- of government and military members," the organization said as quoted by Antara.
The statement was signed by the Syuriah's chairman Ilyas Ruchiyat and its deputy chairman Said Aqiel Siradj, as well as the Tanfidziyah's deputy chairman Mustafa Zuhad and its secretary-general Ahmad Bagdja.
The East Java fact-finding team said that as many as 253 people were killed by welltrained assassins clad in black ninja outfits. Homicides occurred in the East Java towns of Banyuwangi, Jember, Situbondo, Bondowoso, Sampang, Pamekasan and Pasuruan. It said most of those killed were NU members.
It said the organized killings initially targeted 500 people, based on a controversial list of 500 "black magic practitioners" sent out through radio messages by Banyuwangi Regent Turjono Purnomo Sidik in February. The regent said those named needed protection from vigilantes. However, the messages were relayed in February, not in September as claimed by the regent.
'Scenario'
The "scenario" of the assassinations, the fact-finding team had said. had been planned five months before the killings peaked from August through September.
In an evident show of discontent at the government's handling of the killings, the NU chapter threatened to bring the case before the International Court of Justice. In its response earlier last week the Armed Forces (ABRI) said it had dispatched a joint ABRI and NU team to further investigate the case. In its statement, NU said it appreciated ABRI's move.
Through the statement, NU also called on all its youth wings, including its multipurpose task-force unit Banser and the Pagar Nusa martial arts unit to cooperate with local administrations across the country in maintaining security.
In a related development on Sunday, thousands of members of the NU youth wings from across East and Central Java and Madura gathered at the Simpang Lima downtown shopping center in Semarang Central Java, to urge the government to unveil the culprits in the Banyuwangi killings.
In the peaceful gathering attended by Governor Mardiyanto and Central Java Military Chief Maj. Gen. Tyasno Sudarto, they also pledged their commitment to national unity and called on political groups to stay away from "violent and criminal politicking".
Since coming to power last May President Habibie has repeatedly promised to investigate the Soeharto family and its cronies on charges of corruption, collusion and nepotism. Frustrated by the clear lack of commitment by Attorney General Andi Ghalib to carry our investigations, student protesters and opposition leaders finally succeeded in pressuring Habibie to order a serious probe. At first, the president seemed intent on moving ahead with the creation of a special independent investigative body whose powers would include, among other things, the right to investigate and freeze assets belonging to the Soeharto's business empire. But at the last hour, the deal was called off. What happened?
When HM Soeharto was president, there were few people who could say they truly understood and knew the man. A brilliant tactician, Soeharto rarely revealed his intentions, even to his closest advisors. Many of his cabinet members looked upon him with awe and fear. Men in power who dared to challenge him, such as Armed Forces Chief Gen. Benny Moerdani, found their careers coming to a quick closure. Scores of prominent dissidents who were openly critical of the regime faced an even uglier fate in Indonesia's gulag unless, of course, they were willing to compromise their ideals in return for financial security. Still, there were some determined and defiant idealists. These were usually the young students who had the courage to fight a losing battle. Unfortunately, they did not enjoy the visibility and hence the protection offered by public opprobrium if something were to happen to them. They simply disappeared.
Soeharto is gone from the center stage of Indonesian politics, but he certainly has not disappeared. More likely, you might find him somewhere behind the curtain. The political culture of the Soeharto era still lives on, as do many of his former cronies now occupying the seats of power in the new government. And although Soeharto himself no longer holds any public office, he still wields considerable influence through money politics. Soeharto can use his sheer wealth to fend off reformist politicians and civil movements, which have been clamoring recently for investigations of the Suharto family.
The reason why Soeharto has managed to remain relatively unscathed in the government investigations on corruption is a simple one: many of the family businesses are tied up in ventures either directly or indirectly linked to members of the Habibie administration. For sure, if the Habibie government were to carry out wide-ranging and politically untainted investigations of the business ventures between the Soeharto family and their cronies, there could erupt an uncontrollable momentum and groundswell of public demand for accountability that, ultimately, might land on the doorstep of Habibie's office.
This fact explains, in part, why Attorney General Andi Ghalib has been limiting his investigations of the Soeharto family wealth to land and cash- holdings in local banks. Since coming to office, Ghalib has acted like a well-rehearsed strip-teaser in uncovering the extent of the Soeharto wealth: bit by bit, at an excruciatingly slow pace. Until now, his office has revealed that the former president's family controls nine million hectares of forest concessions (an area the size of Austria), and that Soeharto holds around US$3 million in local bank accounts.
Not surprisingly, Ghalib's audience remains unimpressed and frustrated. Most Indonesians suspect that the Soeharto family has stashed billions of dollars in foreign bank accounts. Forbes magazine has estimated Soeharto's personal wealth at US$4 billion. And practically the entire country is aware of the huge amount of wealth tied up in Soeharto family businesses -- many of which enjoyed (and still enjoy) monopoly licenses and permeate practically every major industrial sector in the economy.
Therein lies Habibie's conundrum. Starting with a deeply personal and political relationship with Soeharto spanning over five decades, Habibie entered the presidency with scant public credibility and doubts about his sincerity for political reform. After adamantly claiming that he is no "photocopy" of the former strongman, Habibie has attempted to prove his democratic stripes by moving ahead with plans to hold open and transparent elections next year. There is little doubt that Habibie has intentions on running in those elections -- with the long shadow of Soeharto cast over him, Habibie's only saving gesture with the Indonesian electorate would be to sacrifice his former mentor. Yet, such a grand move could easily spell political suicide for the incumbent, as well.
Besides considerations of realpolitik, perhaps President Habibie has been hesitant to instruct the attorney general's office to move ahead with full- scale investigations due to his feelings of loyalty. Or maybe just plain fear of retribution by an elderly man who has been known to be extremely vengeful. Nonetheless, a little less than two weeks ago it seemed that Habibie was willing to take his chances with fate. After months of mounting student protests demanding that former president Soeharto and his family be brought before a court of justice for a trial on their ill-gotten wealth, followed by a bill passed by the People's Consultative Assembly that former government officials must be investigated for misuse of funds while in office (specifically mentioning Soeharto's name), Habibie felt compelled, finally, to deal a potentially devastating blow to the Soeharto family.
According to several well-placed sources, the Van Zorge Report has learned that the president was ready to move ahead with granting unprecedented powers to an independent commission with a mandate to investigate and order the prosecution of the Soeharto family and cronies. The commission, which was to be headed by the outspoken human rights lawyer and activist Adnan Buyung Nasution, had received the president's agreement in principle that it would be allowed to carry out its duties with the right to conduct its own investigations and interrogations independently of the attorney general's office. Habibie also agreed in principle that the commission was to receive the legal mandate to issue subpoenas ordering parties to provide testimony and documents. Most significantly, Nasution and his commission were to be given the right to order the confiscation of Soeharto family assets and bring charges against Soeharto, his children, and cronies.
Shortly after the president gave his word to Nasution that the commission would be allowed to perform its duties without undue interference from third parties, troubles started. Only one day after Habibie offered his blessings to Nasution, the president's top advisors stepped in and tried to convince the president not to allow the commission to go ahead as planned. It is also apparent that some people inside the Habibie inner-circle were leaking information to the Soeharto family, prompting Soeharto's lawyer to issue threats to the Habibie government that it too would suffer the consequences if the commission were to be given official approval to move ahead. In a signed statement by Yohannes Yacob, Soeharto's lawyer, a thinly veiled threat to the Habibie government was prepared on the same day Habibie met with Nasution: "We need to point out that the probe [if] taken to court will also drag down government officials, ex-officials and all the cronies are also suspected of improper gains through corruption, collusion and nepotism."
After much wavering and a flurry of late-night meetings between Habibie's men with Nasution, the commission was called off, just hours before it was supposed to be announced to the public. In its place, Habibie issued a presidential order to Attorney General Ghalib to pursue the investigations on his own, absent the independent commission.
Since then, Ghalib has issued public statements that he is not afraid of going after Soeharto and his family. Soeharto, in a rare interview with the local press, also seemed to be suddenly content with the latest developments, saying "I am ready to be questioned... I know no citizen can escape the law."
More than likely, Ghalib will now continue his investigations on the Soeharto family with a few 'surprise' findings up his sleeves. His first brave move on the Soehartos since receiving Habibie's marching orders was to announce that the government would not revive the national car project run by Tommy Soeharto, the former president's youngest son. [As a result of the advantages granted to the 'Timor' car project the government stands to lose up to US$500 million in unpaid loans.] Given the extremely depressed auto market in Indonesia, which is not expected to recover in the near future, we doubt that the Soeharto family considers the dismantling of the Timor project as a major loss, but rather as a timely write-off.
In addition, many analysts are expecting the corruption investigations carried out by Ghalib, which supposedly will include probes into cronies of the Soeharto clan, to start targeting non-indigenous Indonesians and businessmen funding opposition politicians. In his first case against an identified crony, Ghalib has zeroed in on Djoko Santoso Moeljono, president director of state- owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia. Well-informed observers say that Mr Santoso has been singled out among other corrupt bank officials for supporting opposition leader Amien Rais.
| Arms/armed forces |
Jakarta -- The military, stung by fierce criticism, yesterday put on hold plans for a 40,000-member "bamboo militia" many fear would be nothing more than state-sanctioned thugs.
Armed forces chief General Wiranto would delay raising the civilian force, armed with bamboo shields and sticks, because of the public outcry and questions about its legality, forces spokesman Colonel Panggih said.
Despite problems with previous civil forces, General Wiranto wanted the militia to support the over-stretched police force during what is expected to be a bloody campaign for the June 7 national elections in the world's fourth most populous country.
"General Wiranto delayed the recruitment in order to avoid controversy in the community," Colonel Panggih said. "He wanted to ease public concern and ensure the legality of the force before implementing the scheme."
Human rights and other groups criticised the militia idea, which followed the widely decried use of non-military personnel last month to protect a special session of the country's top legislative body. And Justice Minister Muladi warned earlier this week that the militia would be unconstitutional until a special regulation was passed to allow its creation.
General Wiranto and senior officials argue that the 200,000- strong police force lacked the resources to maintain law and order in this nation of 200 million people during the election campaign. "Wiranto has a point -- the police are just too thin on the ground to be able to maintain control without some help," a Western diplomat said.
"This could work. They need to do something. But the danger is that they won't be able to control the militia; they'll just become a bunch of thugs who are seen to have the Government's backing." The diplomat and others also point out that the military has trouble controlling its own ranks.
More than 170 soldiers have been disciplined for their actions in recent clashes with student protesters that left many dead. The military also was embarrassed after hiring civilians, many armed with sharpened bamboo sticks, to help its defence of November's special session of the People's Consultative Assembly in Jakarta, the focus of mass protests.
Many of the civilians, brought in from outside the capital, ended up accosting passers-by and were generally seen as little more than thugs who posed their own threat to law and order.
Indonesia's national human rights body and the Catholic church have bowed out of a state security council announced last week by President Bacharuddin Habibie, saying they thought their membership was inappropriate, reports said yesterday.
Jonathan Thatcher, Jakarta -- The Indonesian military's promise of a huge vigilante force to protect people from mounting crime and violence has only managed to add to fears that the country is an ever more dangerous place to live, analysts said on Monday.
At the weekend, armed forces commander General Wiranto said plans were in hand to recruit and train an initial force of 40,000 civilians, armed with sticks and shields, to help enforce law and order in troubled areas of the country.
"It's unbelievable ... if they are going to be used to maintain security during the elections (in June), I'm afraid there will be clashes," leading human rights lawyer Frans Winarta said. He saw the move as a sign of the weakness of the military leadership, who are unable to deal with a growing sense of anarchy in Indonesia as it struggles with its worst political and economic crisis in three decades.
Millions of Indonesians have lost their jobs, even more have slumped below the poverty line and growing numbers of youths and children are failing to turn up to school.
Riots and protests are commonplace around the archipelago and in Jakarta crime rates have soared as a result of the economic depression and the political vacuum left by the downfall of former President Suharto in May after 32 years of autocratic rule.
Many predict the violence will spiral ahead of June's general elections when scores of parties are expected to compete for votes from the world's fourth largest electorate.
"This is a very risky move," warned one senior Western diplomat who, like many others, worried that the civilian guards would turn into a horde of dangerous but government-sanctioned thugs.
The military's last attempt to use civilians fell foul in November when they ended up attacking passersby and demanding money instead of protecting, as they were paid to, a special session of the country's top legislative body.
The government itself sounded uncomfortable with the idea, urging the plan be postponed. "It is closely related to basic individual rights and duties. Therefore the ... plan to recruit them in January, 1999, should be postponed until there is a proper regulation," Justice Minister Muladi said.
Hendardi, head of Indonesia's Legal Aid and Human Rights Association, said the proposal showed the military misunderstood the issues. "More people protesting and the rise in crime are not the cause but the result of the authoritarian and corrupt old regime [of Suharto] ... which President [B.J.] Habibie is trying to maintain," he said.
In an editorial, the English language daily the Jakarta Post saw little comfort in the military's promise to train the civilians, given that elements of the armed forces themselves had been guilty of atrocities but had gone unpunished.
"What guarantee do we have that a civilian militia will not be allowed to wreak havoc with impunity?" asked the Post. "The time when amateurs are needed to help the armed forces uphold security in our nation has not yet come. Not now of all times."
Jakarta -- The Indonesian military is forging ahead with a plan to set up civilian militia to help police maintain law and order, armed forces chief General Wiranto said Sunday.
An initial 40,000 civilians would be recruited under the "Rakyat terlatih" (trained civilian) scheme "to be assigned in security disturbance-prone areas," he added.
The militia, to be known by its acronym Ratih, would "have a legal legitimacy, will be authorized to arrest (people), handcuff them and report them" to the authorities, Wiranto said at a press conference here.
It would also be authorized to take information from suspects, an authority so far held by the police detective unit. "It will assist in police matters ... it will reinforce national security and the upholding of law," Wiranto said.
However, he sought to reassure the public, saying the force "will not be armed with weapons" but would be equiped with shields and batons. "There is no ground for worries," he said, referring to concerns aired by many the militia might only be used for certain political interests.
"It is also not true that the Ratih will be used to fight against the people itself and it is not true that its orientation will be to assist certain political forces, but its orientation is to help create safety and a sense of safety amid the population."
Critics of the scheme have also expressed concern an armed militia would only heighten tension and violence in the country, which has been wracked by rioting, clashes and protests in recent months. Many have also accused the security authorities of reacting too late to incidents of violence and of not being able to curb the spread of rioting when it happens.
The capital, where a large concentration of security forces are based, has since last month seen deadly clashes between soldiers and students, looting, violent brawls between neighbourhoods and an anti-Christian rampage which left scores dead and several buildings, including 22 churches, burned or damaged.
Wiranto did not say when the establishment of the force would begin, adding "the process will soon be enforced with recruitment, selections and training." He said it was hoped the militia would be "effective" in January. Military sources said the force will be trained for two weeks, to be followed by a yet undetermined on-site training period. Wiranto added the formation of the civilian militia was in line with the constitution and a 1982 law on citizens' defence duties.
"There is nothing wrong with involving society in the defence of the country," he said. "The negative excesses can be neutralized by regulations ... people will also be able to give inputs," he added.
In most countries the ratio of police personnel to the total population stood at one to 300, Wiranto added. But in Indonesia there were 200,000 police against a population of more than 200 million, a ratio of one to 1,000.
Wiranto said the civilian militia could be trained at a rate of 40,000 new members a year. He added the establishment of the militia would also alleviate Indonesia's chronic unemployment problem, with many thrown out of work by a crippling economic crisis. Labour experts have said the number of unemployed in Indonesia will reach about 20 million this year, or close to 20 percent of the workforce.
Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Syamsul Ma'rief said Friday the Ratih was needed "to help assure security, especially during the upcoming elections, as the number of our police force is very limited." Ma'rief said civilians had been used to help maintain security in previous elections.
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 bost security at a legislative 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 vigilante groups set up with the approval of local security authorities to counteract a wave of mysterious killings this year have lynched, burned and beheaded strangers.