• Wahid plays by a script that only he knows - Asiaweek
• Election body forms panel to replace chief - Straits Times
• Wahid sacks editor and demands 'honest news' - Sydney Morning Herald
• Poll panel probed over corruption claim - Straits Times

• Five die in Malukus fighting - South China Morning Post

• School buildings burned in Aceh - Jakarta Post
• Aceh too scared for peace talks - Straits Times
• Aceh congress next month to seek settlement - Agence France-Presse
• At least six more civilians die in troubled Aceh - Agence France-Presse
• Wahid promises to probe 'beating' - South China Morning Post
• Wahid offers Aceh olive branch - South China Morning Post
• Acehnese demand referendum, end to violence - Green Left Weekly

• Workers strike for sacked colleagues - Green Left Weekly
• Indonesia plans to deport labour consultant - Green Left Weekly
• Airport employees go on strike, flights continue - Jakarta Post

• Indonesian Timor probe draws fire - Australian Associated Press
• Payoffs prominent in court system - Jakarta Post
• Retroactive clause scrapped from rights tribunal bill - Jakarta Post

• 34 foetuses found at Jakarta burial site - Associated Press
• Howard praises Wahid, after overtures - Australian Associated Press
• Wahid backflip on Howard - Australian Financial Review
• Tutut's firm set for trial as Bambang faces probe - Indoneisan Observer
• Call for ban on Marxism to remain - Straits Times
• Pressure mounts on Wahid not to ratify security bill - Jakarta Post
• Reject Wahid's austerity plan, says PRD - Green Left Weekly
• Old guard under threat as massacre probe starts - South China Morning Post
• US spy gear used in Canberra - Canberra Times
• Habibie linked to 'illegal sand ship' - Straits Times
• Military element feared behind political terror - Jakarta Post

• Wahid says yes to new bases - Straits Times

• Market to stay flat amid lack of positive sentiments - Agence France-Presse
• Placating Indonesia regions could wreck economy - Reuters
• Indonesia moves to put house in order - Australian Financial Review
• State firms suffer losses of $6.39 billion - Jakarta Post
• Forest conflicts threaten timber deals - Straits Times

Refugees return home

Jakarta -- Three hundred East Timorese crossed the border to return home from West Timor yesterday, a week before Jakarta cuts off all assistance to the tens of thousands of refugees still holed-up in camps in West Timor, an official said.

"Around 500 went back on Thursday and some 300 returned from the border areas today," Mr Fernando del Mundo, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in Dili, the capital of East Timor.

He also said that departures of refugees from the camps in Kupang, the main town in West Timor, also continued with around 400 refugees now in the transit centre in Kupang, ready to depart for Dili early next week.

Another 500 people who arrived in Dili by boat from Kupang on Wednesday consisted of 60 East Timorese previously enlisted in the Indonesian army along with their families, he told AFP by telephone.

They have now began to move out from the transit centre in Dili but discussions are continuing for the return home of those bound for Ailieu, 25 kilometres south of Dili. Ailieu was the headquarters of resistance fighters during Indonesian rule and most of the 500 arrivals on Wednesday were from the area.

Between 90,000 and 100,000 remain in the West Timor camps, many run by militia "camp bosses" who fled to the west when Australian-led troops arrived to halt the violence.

Pressure grows on Indonesia

United Nations -- The United States, Britain and other Security Council members have urged Indonesia to keep its pledge to disarm militias that continue to attack East Timor and to end army support for the militia.

In a council briefing, Assistant Secretary-General Mr Hedi Annabi said members of the Indonesian armed forces continued "to tolerate and even support" militias in West Timor who had been testing the newly deployed UN force.

Indonesian authorities gave the UN force commander assurances as recently as March 10 that "stern action would be taken against militia activity" and militia training, he said.

But the militias were still operating along the border between West and East Timor. The US has asked Indonesia to disband the militias, move their leaders from Timor and end military collaboration with the militias.

Mr Annabi said the UN mission believed President Abdurraham Wahid was determined to resolve the problem but some military members "continue to stand in the way".

Bangladeshi Ambassador Mr Amwarul Chowdhury, the council president, said closing refugee camps in West Timor, where the militias operated, was a good start to countering the violence. The UN expected about half the 100,000 refugees still in the camps to return to East Timor.

East Timorese leader Mr Jose Ramos Horta has urged the swift return of East Timorese. West Timor officials said a month ago that almost 500 East Timorese had died due to poor sanitation and medical care in the camps, Mr Ramos Horta said, where attacks and intimidation by militia and military "are an ongoing reality".

Timor's success crucial to stability: US

Dili -- The success of East Timor's struggle to become an independent country is crucial in promoting stability throughout neighboring Indonesia, a visiting senior US official said Tuesday.

"This is an operation which has the attention of our senior leadership in Washington," said James Schear, the Department of Defense's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs.

He said guiding East Timor from a UN-administered territory to independence in a few years time was crucial, calling it "a necessary condition for our efforts to promote longer-term stability in Indonesia and a democratic transition there."

East Timor broke away from Indonesia last year after the majority of its population voted for independence in a UN-sponsored ballot. Hundreds of people were killed and most of the territory's infrastructure was destroyed in a violent rampage by pro-Jakarta militias that followed the announcement.

Schear, who was on a brief 24-hour visit to the capital Dili, refused to confirm rumors circulating in East Timor that US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright may visit the half-island territory soon.

There are about 50 US military personnel in East Timor, including 25 navy engineers working on humanitarian construction projects. There are no US soldiers taking part in the peacekeeping activities. The US government has spent $61 million so far on its operations in East Timor.

What happened to the Democratic Republic of East Timor?

Dili -- The small, unassuming office of the CPD-RDTL (Council in Defence of the Democratic Republic of East Timor) in Balide belies the debate that is brewing over the restoration of the independence which was declared by Fretilin on November 28, 1975. Now that East Timor has been liberated from the Indonesian occupying forces, what happened to the "unilateral declaration" of independence? VANYA TANAJA spoke to ANTONIO DA COSTA, coordinator for the CPD-RDTL, about the campaign for the restoration of the Democratic Republic of East Timor (DRET).

After a meeting of the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT) political commission on March 7, CNRT president Xanana Gusmao was quoted by the Timor Post on March 8 as saying that reconciliation needs to take place not only between the pro- independence and pro-integration forces, but also within the former. He pointed out that the issue of the DRET has remained a sticking point inside Fretilin. A difference of opinion seems to have arisen inside Fretilin regarding the party's position on DRET.

"If [Xanana] talks of reconciliation, then he has to respect the aspirations of the majority, the 250,000 dead and all the physical and psychological losses suffered by many people who fought for DRET", Antonio da Costa commented.

"The issue of the DRET is greater than just our council. We are prepared to take part in reconciliation, but in what form? Under what principles? We think that it is important to reconcile oneself with the idea that people want the DRET to continue and engage with the reality of what the people have done to win it back."

"The Timorese people fought hard over the past 25 years, lost lives and took great personal risks to defend the independence we declared in 1975. The UN now pretends to give `independence' to East Timor, whereas 250,000 people have died defending the republic, fighting for the restoration of independence before the UN was ever seen in East Timor", da Costa told Green Left Weekly.

"We believe that there are three stages for East Timor: liberation from military occupation, which has been achieved; then restoration of independence with its accompanying institutions, such as the flag, national anthem and constitution; then we can have development of the country. It seems we are jumping straight to the third stage, without regard to the political framework in which that development takes place."

A number of parties and organisations support the restoration of the DRET, such as the Socialist Party of Timor, a section of Fretilin and also, according to da Costa, 23 people's organisations including representatives of students, former- political prisoners and women.

The CPD-RDTL is part of "the section of Fretilin called Fretilin-Struggle" as distinct from the Fretilin that is inside CNRT, headed by Mari Alkatiri. There is a congress planned in May, initiated by the Fretilin-CNRT. "If we are invited, we will attend. But we cannot accept the [CNRT] symbol that has only been around for just over a year, compared to that of the DRET that has been around for 25 years", da Costa stated.

Da Costa believes that the decision to send Fretilin representatives, Mari Alkatiri and Luolo, to work inside CNRT was simply a way of participating in a united front to resist Indonesian occupation. "Now that the referendum has been had, and Indonesia has left, they should return to building Fretilin and no longer participate in CNRT", he declared. There are few signs that this is likely to happen. The CPD-RDTL has divided East Timor -- in terms of carrying out its work -- into three regions: east, central and western. In each district, there is a regional committee down to small groups of 10 people each in local areas.

Da Costa contends that the majority of people understand and support the restoration of the DRET, whereas many still do not understand what the CNRT is, its program and its role in the struggle to liberate East Timor. He believes that if the issue of the restoration of the DRET is not resolved and a "new" republic not created, this can be compared with Indonesia's attempt to integrate East Timor forcibly.

"The sort of independence that East Timor needs has to be discussed with the people -- or to get a clearer result, have a referendum." Activists who support the CPD-RDTL consult with people in the outlying areas, where the organisation has a base, taking a copies of Fretilin's 1974 Political Manual. They then report back on people's sentiments on what form of government they want.

Da Costa claimed that on February 29, demonstrators greeting Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) on his visit to East Timor were very disappointed to see that the CNRT flag was flying alongside the Indonesian flag.

"[The demonstrators] came to demand that Gus Dur take responsibility for the deaths of their family members during the Indonesian occupation. So for them to see that the flag for which their family members fought [that of the DRET] was nowhere to be seen added insult to injury. During other official visits such as those of Portugal's President Jorge Sampaio and UN secretary- general Kofi Annan, the CNRT flag was also featured. There was no sign of the DRET flag", da Costa pointed out.

Da Costa also attacked the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor for agreeing to the CNRT flag being flown as the official East Timorese flag.

Job seekers demonstrate in East Timor

Vanya Tanaja, Dili -- Frustration and discontent spilt over into another demonstration here on March 7 as 300 job seekers gathered outside the offices of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. The job seekers alleged collusion and nepotism in the appointment of local UNTAET workers, an allegation strenuously denied by the UNTAET human resources department.

Timorese Socialist Party secretary general, Avelino da Silva, himself a member of the UNTAET national consultative council, was asked by UNTAET officials to assist in resolving the situation.

After negotiations, an agreement was made for the demonstrators to disperse after they were allowed to complete a job application form and to be considered for positions which arise, such as providing security for offices and UNTAET facilities.

Da Silva warned that if the needs of the demonstrators were not met there will be more unrest. The labour situation here promises more such demonstrations in the future, because a majority of people are unemployed and a considerable disparity exists between the wages of the numerous foreign workers and those of locals.

East Timorese under attack

Jon Land -- The recent spate of pro-integration militia incursions along the western border of East Timor highlights the failure and unwillingness of the Indonesian government to disarm its militia gangs in West Timor.

The existence of these gangs is possible only because they continue to receive support from the Indonesian military, despite President Abdurrahman Wahid's promise in February to end this support.

In the first two weeks of March, at least 16 attacks were carried out by militia gangs near the towns of Atsabe, Batugade and Maliana. Hundreds of people have fled these areas. At least one person has been killed and 10 homes destroyed.

The attacks raise questions about the United Nations peacekeepers' ability to provide security for people living in the border region. Reconstruction and aid projects in Ermera district have been suspended because of the violence.

For the more than 100,000 East Timorese still languishing in refugee camps in West Timor, the militia gangs' presence means constant intimidation and fear.

Access to the camps by aid organisations remains haphazard, resulting in insufficient delivery of food, clothing and materials for shelter.

It is believed that 500 to 700 people in the camps have died from diseases such as chronic diarrhea and tuberculosis since October. Almost a quarter of children under the age of five are malnourished, resulting in a high (and increasing) infant mortality rate. A UN report released on March 3 described food rations in the camps as being well below the recommended minimum.

Food aid is being supplied by several local and international relief organisations, including the World Food Program. The largest share of food aid, however, comes from the Indonesian government. Despite being extensively funded by foreign governments, this program will cease on March 31. According to Indonesian officials, the aid is being stopped in order to help the refugees "choose" between staying in Indonesia and returning to East Timor.

It is impossible for refugees to make a free choice under these circumstances.

Apart from the daily threat of violence, a massive misinformation campaign is being waged by United Timorese Heroes (UNTAS), an umbrella organisation established in January in West Timor by the remnants of the pro-integration groups. UNTAS has been distributing a newsletter in the camps warning those who return to East Timor that they will be mistreated and that the vote for independence last August was fraudulent and manipulated.

The use of the UNTAS acronym and a logo similar to that of the UN has added to the refugees' confusion and apprehension. The activity of UNTAS and the militia gangs indicates a close working relationship with the Indonesian military and intelligence organisations. The head of the military command responsible for West Timor, Major General Kiki Syahnakri, was based in East Timor during the rampage there in September.

Syahnakri was reported in the Bali Post in early March as saying that, while he could not allow Indonesian territory to used for armed actions by the pro-integration groups, he still "respected" them. In the March 15 Jakarta Post, Syahnakri defended the role of the Indonesian military in West Timor, stating: "It's ironic that all the incidents were said to be the work of the Indonesian side".

The Indonesian attorney general's office announced on March 13 that it will begin the next phase of the investigation into the killings in East Timor, following the acceptance of the report presented by the Indonesian Commission to Investigate Human Rights Abuses in East Timor. A special team -- made up of members of the military and police, prosecutors and legal experts -- will now assess the report to determine who can be summoned for questioning.

Solidarity and human rights activists believe that the Indonesian investigation will be used to block the creation of an international war crimes tribunal and provide the rationale for foreign governments to renew ties with the Indonesian military.

The United States, which has already resumed training of Indonesian officers, has signalled that it will increase military cooperation with Indonesia once the Indonesian investigation is completed.

Indonesian military tied to recent attacks

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Dili -- UN peacekeepers have concluded that the Indonesian military has been involved in a recent spate of attacks by paramilitary units across the increasingly tense border separating newly independent East Timor from Indonesian- controlled western Timor.

Although UN officials have said publicly there is no direct evidence to tie Indonesia's armed forces to the incidents, which have included shooting at peacekeepers and illegal incursions into East Timor, a confidential report prepared for the UN force commander states that there is "good information on complicity by TNI [the Indonesian military] in attacks."

The report says that in the February 29 entry of 50 armed militiamen into East Timor, "Reliable and multiple reporting indicates that militia passed through [the border] with TNI concurrence to conduct infiltration." The document details 16 militia incidents between February 21 and March 7.

Indonesian military officials have repeatedly insisted that their soldiers have not been involved in any of the incidents. After receiving complaints from the UN officials who now govern East Timor, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid last week ordered a new crackdown on the militias.

The incidents have ratcheted up anxiety levels on the eastern side of the rugged, 103-mile border. UN commander Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos of the Philippines, recently placed troops at the highest state of alert, and increased patrols. "We are very much concerned about border security," de los Santos said in an interview. "The security of East Timor depends on how well we can control the militias."

The attacks could complicate efforts to forge a diplomatic relationship between Indonesia and East Timor, whose residents voted overwhelmingly for independence August 30. After the election results were announced, pro-Indonesia militias rampaged through the territory, burning and looting thousands of buildings before fleeing to western Timor when an Australian-led peacekeeping force arrived.

UN officials said one of the reasons for the flurry of attacks is militia leaders' displeasure with Wahid's visit here in late February, in which he apologized for atrocities committed by his nation.

UN officials also speculated that some of the incursions and shootings are designed to probe the mettle of the UN-controlled peacekeepers, who took over last month from the Australians. "They are testing us," said the special representative of the UN secretary general, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who is effectively East Timor's leader until general elections are held next year.

De los Santos refused to comment directly on Indonesian military involvement in the incidents, saying only that "the attacks were coordinated and deliberate, and we can see some form of competence in the people who conducted them."

A UN military spokesman, Lt. Col. Brynjar Nymo, said the report's description of Indonesian military complicity was accurate. The Indonesian armed forces "are turning a blind eye," he said. "They see these guys going across the border loaded down with automatic weapons and ammunition. They aren't going deer hunting." The US ambassador to Indonesia, Robert S. Gelbard, has gone even further, arguing that elements of the Indonesian military are directly supporting the militias. "We were told all the militias had been disarmed. Suddenly and magically they seem to have come up with arms," Gelbard said here last week.

The United Nations has about 2,500 soldiers from Australia and New Zealand guarding the far western part of East Timor.

Five militia face murder charges

Mark Dodd -- Five ex-militiamen who crossed into East Timor from Indonesia have been arrested by New Zealand United Nations peacekeepers and face murder charges related to last year's post-ballot violence.

Lieutenant-Colonel Brynjar Nymo told reporters on Monday that the pro-Jakarta militia were apprehended in two groups. The first group of 12 ex-militia crossed in a convoy organised by the UN refugee agency UNHCR last Friday hoping to return to their home village at Zumalai, about 30 kilometres east of Suai. A riot erupted on Saturday after villagers identified one of the men as an alleged murderer, and all 12 were returned to Suai for their protection.

"A second attempt was made on Sunday to reintegrate the 11, excluding the alleged murderer," Colonel Nymo said. "That process went quite well and they have all been accepted in the village. The 12th person is being held by Civpol [UN police] on murder charges."

He said four other ex-militia of a group of five who tried to cross into East Timor on foot had been arrested on murder charges, and one other was being detained for questioning over suspicions he was an active member of a pro-Jakarta militia group.

"The message should be quite clearly understood on the other side [West Timor] that it is quite safe for ex-militia to return and be reintegrated into East Timor provided they are not guilty of serious crimes," Colonel Nymo said.

A UN spokesman said there were about 50 people in detention in Dili, most of whom faced serious charges relating to last September's violence.

Youth drunkenness in Dili continues to pose an increasing law and order problem following two incidents at the weekend. A group of East Timorese were involved in a fracas outside the Olympia floating hotel after being refused admission on Saturday night.

The same gang loitered at the waterfront before entering the nearby Dili Hotel later where they abused customers and turned over chairs and tables after their demands for free drinks were rejected.

A Jordanian peacekeeping officer walking to military headquarters on Saturday night was slightly injured in a knife attack by two unidentified East Timorese assailants. Many East Timorese remain suspicious of Jordan's role in the peacekeeping force over links between the ruling monarch, King Abdullah, and Lieutenant-General Probowo Subianto, son-in-law of ousted Indonesian dictator president Soeharto.

East Timorese flocking back to Indonesian camps

Jakarta -- Some 10,000 East Timorese repatriated by international agencies have returned to refugee camps in Indonesia because of uncertainties at home, including food shortages, a minister has said in Jakarta.

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication Basri Hasanuddin said on Saturday: "Since conditions in East Timor have not yet returned to normal, we have received reports of these people coming back to their former camps in West Timor.

"These refugees opted to return to the camps in Atambua, across the border from East Timor, because they can enjoy free meals and shelter in the camps. Their country does not provide these necessities." Mr Basri did not say how the East Timorese were able to cross the border unobserved by the authorities.

The fact that the East Timorese were able to cross the border into Indonesia raised concerns over security along the border with East Timor, he said. "We expect stricter measures to prevent more cross-border flows. We really wish the refugees would return to East Timor because we cannot afford to provide for them anymore," he said.

An estimated 260,000 people fled East Timor during the violence which followed the August 30 self-determination ballot which resulted in an overwhelmingly vote for independence. Almost 80 per cent of the infrastructure in the territory was damaged during the mayhem after the ballot.

Mr Basri has several times complained about financial difficulties in sheltering the East Timor refugees, since Indonesia is also caring for some 400,000 refugees who had fled communal clashes in Kalimantan, Maluku and Aceh.
 

Government/politics

Wahid plays by a script that only he knows

Jose Manuel Tesoro, Jakarta -- "Indonesian politics these days is like a Chinese movie," says a disgruntled Indonesian former civil servant. If one imagines vengeful Chinese martial artists in combat, each threatening retribution on the other's descendants, one does indeed approach the petty vindictiveness and vicious skirmishes that now dominate Jakarta's elite politics. Military factions, political parties, businessmen and dozens of other interests duke it out over past offenses or for future advantages. Those who win are not always the good guys, but simply those best trained in the art of political warfare.

The arena is littered with the crumpled shapes of the defeated -- including those once considered champions, such as former armed- forces chief Gen. Wiranto (who in actuality holds a black belt in karate). Yet still standing, weaving and wobbling while being watched by his wary adversaries is President Abdurrahman Wahid. In less than six months, the frail, half-blind Muslim cleric, who started his term with practically no military allies, no friends in government and no united coalition behind him, has managed to tame generals, bureaucrats and fellow politicians. And he did it largely on his own, with a mix of jokes, maneuvers and outright fabrications. The center of power in Indonesia is -- once again -- the province of one person, a man one ex-general now calls, in another reference to Chinese kung-fu flicks, "the drunken master."

How does Wahid do it? And for what reasons? Wahid's latest high jinks include meeting three top Suharto-era figures one after another: dinner with Wiranto on March 3 (because, Wahid said, he missed the home cooking of the general's wife); breakfast with his predecessor B.J. Habibie on March 4; and lunch with Suharto himself on March 8. Yet at the same time, his February 28 shake- up of Wiranto loyalists is still reverberating throughout the military, and his administration is prosecuting financial corruption cases linked to both the Habibie and Suharto governments.

Double-dealing or erratic inconsistency? Not quite either. "It is his natural style to avoid having enemies," Wahid's official biographer Greg Barton recently told The Jakarta Post, "and it is his deliberate political strategy to win over enemies and make them either friends or partners." So at the same time he is launching an all-out assault against two traditional bastions of influence -- the army and the bureaucracy -- Wahid is making peace with Suharto-era patrons. Jakarta continues to marvel at the president's acrobatics. Wahid's actions must be scripted, says political talk-show host Wimar Witular, "but only he knows the script."

What has clearly been going on since Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur, took office last October is consolidation. The military reshuffle has earned the most attention, but equally important is the president's inroads into government -- how he has brought a circle of outsiders to positions of power. When Wahid announced his rainbow cabinet on October 26, he seemed both host and hostage to diverse interests -- opposition and former ruling parties, Muslim and secular groups, civilians and military men, Javanese and outer islanders. In the wake of a divisive fight for the presidency, such unity in diversity served an important message. But the time for symbolism has come and gone, and Gus Dur has quickly set about putting his mark on government.

So far, he has replaced one minister (Muslim party leader Hamzah Haz), suspended another (Wiranto) and severely trimmed the bureaucratic powers of a third (state secretary Ali Rahman, who has since resigned). The sidelining of the last made good on Wahid's pledge to attack the powers of the State Secretariat, known as Setneg. Under Suharto, Setneg was the main gate through which messages to and orders from the president passed. That made it extremely powerful. Setneg, says public-administration expert Warsito Utomo of Jogjakarta's Gajah Mada University, "involved itself in making laws."

The department gained a reputation for being the nexus of corrupt interests involved in everything from government-owned land to the businesses of Suharto's children. (Allegedly, there was even a cabal of bureaucrats who charged for the privilege of setting up handshakes with the president.) In November, Wahid said he wanted Setneg to simply be the state's archivist: "This is very important, because if it isn't so, then gradually Setneg will become a state within a state." He appointed three close confidants to handle the state apparatus, the cabinet and the presidential household. Then early this year, in a vintage Wahid move, the president announced he had accepted Rahman's resignation (it was not immediately clear whether Rahman had actually tendered it).

The "new bureaucracy" has resulted in confusion over division of responsibilities and which secretary should receive news from which ministers. "The new way of governing at the presidential level does not mean a more effective way," says government expert Andi Mallarangeng. "Before, the presidential office had one door; now it has five. You don't know which door to go through." MPs have also lobbed criticism at Wahid's coterie of confidants (which includes his two youngest daughters), labeling them "whisperers."

But Wahid is pushing ahead with his agenda. He has taken a broom not only to Setneg but to whatever his office can lay its hands on. Out of 34 official advisers appointed by Habibie, the president has retained two and gotten rid of the rest.

He has abolished extrastructural boards, such as the Wiranto- chaired Council for the Enforcement of Security and Law. Key state companies now have new CEOs, among them oil giant Pertamina, power monopoly PLN and Bank Nasional Indonesia. On March 8, the government announced the abolishment of the shadowy Coordinating Agency for the Maintenance of National Stability, as well as the official end to the practice of checking public officials and civil servants' backgrounds (in the past used to identify links to the Indonesian Communist Party).

Among the institutions now in Wahid's sights: the Supreme Advisory Council, which he has dismissed as an end-of-career reward for aging bureaucrats, and the Supreme Court, to which he wants to appoint Benjamin Mangkudilaga, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, over the protests of the judicial establishment. Even the central bank governor, whose appointment is protected by law, appears to be worried about his position. Syahril Sabirin has complained: "The political move is too obvious here." He and 55 others are under investigation for the alleged misuse of some $19.5 billion in "liquidity credits" released by Bank Indonesia during the financial crisis.

How "reformist" are the new faces in government? At the very least, many, like Wahid himself, are rank outsiders far removed from the inner circles of the military and the bureaucracy. Cabinet secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak hails from the Democracy Forum, a loose network of pro-democracy thinkers Wahid co-founded in 1991. State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi, in charge of reforming the state-owned sector, is a former banker who joined Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the early 1990s, when it was hardly politically expedient to do so. Mangkudilaga earned fame as a lower-court justice in 1994 by overturning the Suharto government's decision to ban a magazine.

The local press, however, remains wary of the changes. Aside from the worry over the "whisperers," there is the perception that in the shake-up of the ministries -- which are distributed among the various parties represented in Wahid's cabinet -- civil servants are being replaced by political appointees. The fear is that the money-making ministries will be milked by the respective parties to build up war chests for future elections. "The sense is: Let's divide the pie," says Mallarangeng. Coming under special attention are Finance (controlled by the National Mandate Party), State Enterprises (PDI-P), and Forestry and Plantations (Justice Party). Party officials, however, deny that the personnel changes are politically motivated. The accusations, says Justice Party vice president Untung Wahono, are just "a political game, because there are certain groups who feel shaken."

Similar concerns about politicization have been voiced over state-owned companies and those in the hands of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency. One business change that invites scrutiny: a bid by the prominent Suryadjaya family to buy some 20% of shares in diversified conglomerate Astra, which the family founded in the 1950s before losing it to foreign and Suharto- linked interests when eldest son Edward's heavily indebted Bank Summa went bust in 1992. Edward is a business partner of Wahid, and one plan to raise the $540 million needed for Suryadjaya's Astra stake involves Gus Dur's business vehicle, Harawi (short for Haji Abdurrahman Wahid). Wahid says he has divested his interests in the company. "I no longer get involved in Harawi and I no longer have shares in it," he told reporters on March 13.

By placing a new coterie of leaders and advisers in the military, government and even business, Wahid may be addressing one of his biggest weaknesses: his lack of management skill and administrative experience. But so far his actions have only confirmed his uniqueness -- that indeed only he knows the script. The changing nature of Indonesian government -- from the candidness of the presidency (Wahid's propensity to shoot his mouth off ensures he needs no spokesman) to its comforting humanity (he has been known to doze off during lengthy parliament hearings, only to be pinched awake by Megawati) -- is his doing and his alone. Hence the continuing concerns about his health: On March 7, Wahid went in for a heart checkup, two weeks after he had to take a break on account of a serious bout of the flu. But perhaps what really unnerves Indonesians is change itself -- that a new set of people, with unfamiliar track records and little loyalty to old habits, are taking charge. "This is the real transition," notes Witular.

The president has yet to accomplish much -- the rupiah has weakened 11% since he took charge and foreign investors have yet to rush in. But he has certainly secured his right to determine who runs his government with him. Whether the people he has surrounded himself with see their positions as a public trust or as a prize in a lottery will ultimately determine the character of Gus Dur's government -- and his place in history.

Election body forms panel to replace chief

Jakarta -- Indonesia's General Elections Commission (KPU), plagued by allegations of corruption, has elected a presidium to replace its chairman, retired General Rudini, who resigned recently for health reasons.

The commission's representatives elected Mr Agus Miftach of the Indonesian People's Party, Mr Djuhad Mahja of the United Development Party and Mr Benny Akbar Fatah of the National Labour Party to the presidium.

They did so in the absence of five government-appointed representatives, who labelled the election illegal. But Mr Agus, who along with Mr Akbar Fatah orchestrated the election, defended its validity, saying it had been held in response to Gen Rudini's request to retire. He said it was for the government to decide if it would recognise the presidium.

Allegations of corruption have been made against the commission after the government's Supreme Audit Agency said it foiled a bid to embezzle 117 billion rupiah (S$28 million) in the commission during last year's general election. The Indonesian Parliament and government have agreed to revise the law on general elections in an obvious move to dissolve the commission and set up an independent one.

Legislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas, representing the Indonesian Democracy Union Party, threw his weight behind Mr Agus, saying the election of the presidium members was held as Gen Rudini was unable to carry out his duties effectively due to his declining health.

But the commission's government-appointed deputy chairman, lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution, called the election illegal. "The other KPU members tried to take over the leadership in the commission," he said on Thursday. He also pointed out that Gen Rudini could not leave the position until the President had approved his resignation request.

But his view was not shared by People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, who said Gen Rudini had every right to quit. However, Dr Amien said that in doing so, the general could not escape from the graft charges. "Rudini cannot shake off his responsibility over the allegation of corruption."

Wahid sacks editor and demands 'honest news'

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid has ordered a shake-up of the country's official news agency, Antara, removing its editor-in-chief and demanding it be more independent.

For months last year Antara published fiercely anti-Australian stories about the role of Australian troops in East Timor which prompted complaints from Australian diplomats in Jakarta about their accuracy.

Australian diplomats and officials believed Antara's coverage was designed to fuel anti-Australian sentiment in Indonesia and deflect attention from atrocities committed by its military and proxy militias in East Timor. The Australian embassy in Jakarta was the target of anti-Australian demonstrations over more than 40 days that included the firing of guns and throwing of Molotov cocktails.

Mr Wahid ordered the removal of Antara's head, Mr Parni Hadi, who had a close association with the former Habibie government, and replaced him with a columnist and writer, Mr Mohamad Sobary.

But soon after a ceremony where Mr Sobary, 47, was installed in the job, Antara carried a report claiming that most of its journalists and employees objected to the appointment.

Mr Hadi, who took charge of the agency in 1998, snubbed the ceremony. Acting State Secretary Mr Bondan Gunawan, who swore in Mr Sobary on behalf of Mr Wahid, quoted him as saying that abuses of information for political purposes must end. "A news agency, although state owned, must be able to deliver open and honest news because the state is not allowed to lie to its people," Mr Bondan said. He told Mr Sobary, a friend of Mr Wahid, not to cover up bad news and said the President would be disappointed if Antara did not become more independent.

Meanwhile, Mr Wahid is losing of his closest aides, Ms Ratih Hardjono, 40, who denied accusations before a parliamentary committee last month that she was an Australian spy.

Ms Hardjono's resignation as presidential secretary comes after months of tensions among staff at the palace following the sidelining of the military-dominated State Secretariat that had wide powers and authority under the 32-year Soeharto presidency.

The spy rumours are believed to be have been circulated by people who saw Ms Hardjono, a former correspondent in Australia for Indonesia's Kompas newspaper, as having too much influence with the President. A presidential spokesman told journalists Ms Hardjono was resigning to concentrate on her wedding.

Poll panel probed over corruption claim

Jakarta -- The Indonesian government said it would investigate the alleged embezzlement of some 117 billion rupiah (S$23.4 million) by the General Elections Commission (KPU) during last year's polls.

Minister of Home Affairs Surjadi Sodirdja said: "The government will certainly follow up, in an objective manner, the Supreme Audit Agency's report on results of its recent audit on the election commission."

"We are studying the report. If an embezzlement is found, all persons involved in the case will be punished," he said on Monday.

Leaked copies of the audit indicate a questionable and unexplained spending of 117 billion rupiah, partly from funds provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Mr Surjadi said the election commission, as an independent institution, should be made accountable and explain the discrepancies in the audit agency's report. "The KPU, as an agency, has a chairman and secretary-general. They must be made accountable for the alleged corruption," he said.

Asked about the alleged involvement of Mr Amur Muchasim, the KPU's former Secretary-General, Mr Surjadi said he should be one of the persons questioned about the commission's expenditures. "It could be that election commission Chairman Rudini knew nothing about the alleged embezzlement but the Secretary-General should know about it," he said. Mr Amur is now Secretary-General to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Mr Adnan Buyung Nasution, the KPU Deputy Chairman, supported a full investigation into the allegations. "We must thank the audit agency for its success in foiling corruption. Both the government and law enforcement institutions should look into it immediately," he said.

He acknowledged that he had suspected some impropriety and even called for an audit some time ago. However, it was rejected by the commission Chairman. "It was strange to see several representatives of political parties in the election commission filing a lawsuit against me for trying to reveal the alleged corruption. But they must realise now that what I did was right," he said.

He said the case had tarnished the election commission's image both at home and overseas since a part of the election budget was received from foreign countries under the coordination of UNDP.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said the House would follow up the findings and ask the National Police and Attorney-General's Office to investigate the report.
 

Regional conflicts

Five die in Malukus fighting

Associated Press in Jakarta -- Fresh violence broke out between Christians and Muslims in North Maluku killing five people and injuring dozens more, news reports said on Wednesday.

Local military chief Major Puguh said the fighting started on Monday between two communities on Halmahera island, about 2,650 kilometres northeast of Jakarta, the official Antara news agency reported.

He said hundreds of troops have been deployed to the area and peace has since been restored. Major Puguh did not say what triggered the violence.

The sectarian violence has claimed nearly 3,000 lives since it erupted in January last year.
 

Aceh/West Papua

School buildings burned in Aceh

Banda Aceh -- Unidentified groups burned 11 school buildings in North Kluet in South Aceh in early hours on Wednesday, leaving Rp 1.8 billion in losses, police said.

Aceh Police spokesman Lt. Col. Safri D.M. said on Thursday. the incident occurred between 11.30pm on Tuesday and 5am on Wednesday. Quoting local security authorities report, Safri said the gangs set one building on fire after another.

No fatalities were reported during the arson, but most of the buildings, including files, were totally destroyed. He said security forces had mounted a hunt for the arsonists.

"The arson was planned as we found three buildings there were already poured with gasoline," Safri said.

Aceh too scared for peace talks

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- The Indonesian government's attempts to negotiate Acehnese demands for independence or autonomy will be fruitless unless violence in the province decreases, say human-rights groups.

Contrary to President Abdurrahman Wahid's assessment that difficulties in the restive province would be resolved soon, human-rights groups and Western observers say the situation has worsened.

"People want all the troops removed and a public dialogue opened. Privately, they still say they want a referendum but they are too scared to express it," said Mr Otto Syamsuddin from the Acehnese Research Institute.

Last week's talks between the Free Aceh Movement leader Abdullah Syafie and State Secretary Bondan Gunawan was intended as a first attempt to reach out to the rebels. But it backfired when the security forces conducted a violent raid later in search of the rebel leader. During the raid, police officers beat up at least 20 people.

The meeting between the two sides was seen as a mechanism for the government to deal with what Acehnese say is a significant political force in the province. It was considered a step before talks between Acehnese political and community leaders and the government next month, which the government hopes will stop demands for independence.

However, even members of the government have admitted that negotiations will be difficult if the violence is not brought under control quickly. "Yes, the political situation has improved recently, with the meeting between the state secretary and Abdullah Syafie but there is still a lot of tension. In order to create space for a dialogue we need to reduce the tension," said Minister for Human Rights Hasballah M. Saad.

In the last week since the rebel leader met the President's emissary, 12 people have been killed. In addition the death toll this year -- 300 people -- is at its highest since the Indonesian military ended its special operations 18 months ago.

Although Mr Abdurrahman and his Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono have committed themselves publicly to reducing the violence in the province, particularly the rough raids conducted by security forces, it appears that this has not been co-ordinated on the ground.

Mr Sudarsono denied initially that a raid was held following the meeting with the rebel leader. However, National Police Chief Lt-General Rusdihadjo admitted there had been a search for the rebel commander, which he said was a mistake.

The President's recommendation that the police and the military be confined to their barracks does not seem to have the support of his police chief. Lt-Gen Rusdihadjo on Tuesday defended the frequent patrols, saying the police would continue to conduct such operations in order to flush out the rebels.

And on Wednesday the defence minister announced he had formed a team to investigate the brutal raid. However, he said the team would only investigate raids in one village and not go into the reasons behind why the police and the army were still conducting raids despite orders not to do so.

Western observers attribute the President's upbeat assessment of the situation in Aceh to the apparent watering down of the demands for independence. But human-rights and student groups warn that this does not indicate a backing down in the demand for a referendum on the territory's future. Both agree that support for Free Aceh rebels has declined. However, they say, many groups such as the Islamic student group, Thaliban, still want independence.

Mr Mohammad Nazar, leader of the Aceh Referendum Information Centre (Sira), the group that organised last November's one- million strong demonstration for an East-Timor style referendum, says the government should be prepared to discuss the terms of a referendum.

Yet Acehnese groups also admit that support for the rebels has declined as ordinary people have had to bear the brunt of their increasingly violent campaign.

Analysts say that if the government does not hold trials quickly for five outstanding military abuses, which were originally scheduled to start last month, people will lose faith in the government's promises. Conscious of this, Mr Hasballah says he hopes the first trial will begin before next month's congress.

Aceh congress next month to seek settlement

Jakarta -- The people of Aceh are planning to hold an all-Aceh congress next month to seek a peaceful settlement to the problems of the troubled Indonesian province, organisers said on Wednesday.

"We came to the President to report on the holding of the Congress of Acehnese People for six days from April 22 in Banda Aceh," organising committee chairman Tengku Syamaun Risyad said.

He said he had also asked President Abdurrahman Wahid to help guarantee security before and during the congress -- a call which drew an immediate response from Human Rights Minister Hasballah M. Saad. He said the govermemnt would guarantee the safety and security of any Aceh separatist rebels attending the congress.

Tengku Syamaun had made the point earlier that organisers "are of the view that a conducive security atmosphere in Aceh is really needed for the preparation and implementation of the Congress of the People of Aceh".

The April 22 congress, dubbed as Aceh's main "thanksgiving meeting", is expected to involve people from all walks of life, including members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) which has been fighting for an Islamic state in the troubled province since 1976.

"We invited the GAM as an institution; who they want to chose to represent the movement is their own problem," Tengku Syamaun said. President Abdurrahman has no objection to GAM's participation in the congress as long as the group did not carry weapons to the meetings.

At least six more civilians die in troubled Aceh

Banda Aceh -- At least six civilians have been killed or found dead this week in the Indonesian province of Aceh which has been wracked by fighting between separatists and soldiers, police and hospital sources said Wednesday.

Troops shot dead Ismail, 35, and wounded Amri Ali, 39, in the district of Pidie on Tuesday, district Police Chief Lieutenant Colonel Endang Emiqail Bagus said. Ismail was shot in Ujongrimba, some 20 kilometres from Sigli, the main town in Pidie, while soldiers were in pursuit of two armed men. "Security personnel were then just entering a coffee stall but suddenly four men ran away, including the victim. The security personnel fired warning shots but the four kept on running," Bagus said. The three others escaped, he said. Ismail died of his wounds in hospital.

In Neuheun, Pidie, on the same day, soldiers also shot a man identified as Ali after he sped away on his motorcycle when hailed by a road patrol, Bagus said. Ali was being treated at the state hospital in Sigli.

In West Aceh, the body of a man missing since the previous day was found in Langoe, said hospital sources in Meulaboh, the main city in West Aceh. Another body was found in Bireun, North Aceh on Tuesday, hospital sources there said.

The second body, with gunshot and stab wounds, was found in Geulumpang Payong village. On a cigarette box wrapping found on his neck was written that the victim was Captain Kairil Majid bin Sulaiman, a member of the local military intelligence. But Jeumpa sub-district military chief Captain Zulkifli Wednesday denied the victim was an intelligence officer or a member of the armed forces.

In Panton Rayeuk, East Aceh, another body with his hands tied behind his back was found floating in the Idi river on Tuesday. The victim was a local farmer who had been missing for three days.

In Inunung Ketek, South Aceh, a fishmonger was also found dead on Tuesday. The victim was last seen alive as he was being dragged out of his house by a group of armed men late on Sunday, residents there said.

Finally on Monday, a teenager sleeping in a house was burned to death as members of the police, combing the area for rebels who had killed two policemen in an ambush on Sunday, inadvertently shot into drums of fuel. The drums exploded, setting fire to a nearby house where the victim was sleeping, the Serambi daily newspaper said.

Violence involving Indonesian soldiers and separatist rebels of the Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh) Movement has already cost more than 300 lives this year. The Free Aceh movement has been fighting for an Islamic state since 1976.

Wahid promises to probe 'beating'

Vaudine England -- President Abdurrahman Wahid's latest salvo in his battle to keep rebellious Aceh as part of Indonesia is a pledge to investigate the alleged beating of 20 villagers last Friday, just one day after a ground-breaking attempt for peace talks.

The situation was almost farcical. Last Thursday, State Secretary Bondan Gunawan met Free Aceh Movement (GAM) commander Abdullah Syafi'ie, raising hopes for a new phase of negotiations towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict. One day later, soldiers allegedly injured 20 civilians in a sweeping operation aimed at capturing Syafi'ie.

The explanation, Acehnese sources say, lies either in the military's incompetence, or in the obvious gap between Mr Wahid's policy for Aceh and the armed forces' one. "The President held talks with [Senior Security Minister] Suryadi Sudirdja in order to launch a thorough investigation about the incident," said Minister of Defence Yuwono Sudarsono yesterday.

Mr Wahid said only last week that all was well in Aceh. "Well, it's getting better because the general situation is now very good," he said, just as rights groups reported an updated death toll of about 300 people this year.

Two policemen and one rebel were killed, while four others were injured on Sunday in the latest outbreak of clashes in Aceh, police said yesterday. North Aceh Police Chief Lieutenant-Colonel Syafei Aksal said the policemen were ambushed while patrolling the area of Krueng Panjo village. In a separate clash the same day in North Aceh's Tabah Luas district, in the village of Keude Nibong, Lieutenant Syafei said military forces killed one rebel.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is receiving at least 30 requests a week for help in tracing missing family members. Amnesty International claims there is a deliberate military policy to intimidate or obliterate human rights investigators in Aceh.

Mr Wahid's attempts to be grand conciliator are seen in his promises to investigate abuses and his proclaimed willingness to talk to anybody, but he needs to be seen to have the military follow his will if he is to transcend mere propaganda in Jakarta's approach to Aceh. Previously promised rights trials now seem less likely than ever to occur, more key witnesses have disappeared and the Acehnese themselves appear riven by division.

GAM rebels based in Malaysia profess a willingness for talks, while guerilla leaders in Aceh appear more determined to fight on -- hence the significance of last week's meeting with the Aceh- based Syafi'ie. Strengthening Aceh's hardliners is the fact that few promises of the Government have yet been acted on in Aceh and a key pledge -- to prosecute soldiers for thousands of abuses -- is fading. A hybrid civilian-military trial of soldiers for last July's killing of Tengku Bantaqiah and his followers has been put off for three months now, while the key witness has disappeared and bureaucrats say they lack funds to hold it.

Another key human rights case, the rape of Sumiati, now appears stymied by yet another mysterious disappearance -- that of Sumiati herself, and of the baby she bore following the rape.

Wahid offers Aceh olive branch

Associated Press in Jakarta -- President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Tuesday that fighters of the separatist Free Aceh Movement group (GAM) could join the Indonesian military following a peaceful settlement of the civil war in the oil-rich region.

"We don't have a feeling of enmity against GAM members who have been forced to fight against us because of mistakes we made in the past," Mr Wahid said. Speaking after touring a marine base in south Jakarta, Mr Wahid said unfair treatment by previous governments had "forced" the rebels to take up arms. "If they want to, they can join the military once a peaceful settlement is achieved," Mr Wahid said.

Aceh, a province of 4.1 million people is located on the northern tip of Sumatra island, about 1,750km northwest of the capital Jakarta. The bloody separatist struggle in the staunchly Muslim province has cost the lives of more than 5,000 people in the past decade.

Wahid's offer came five days after an unprecedented meeting between a senior government official -- State Secretary Bondan Gunawan -- and rebel commander Abdullah Syafi'ie in northern Aceh. Mr Wahid has predicted that the 25-year civil war would wind down by the end of March.

Acehnese demand referendum, end to violence

The following is abridged from a statement by MUHAMMAD NAZAR, chairperson of the presidium board of the Aceh Referendum Information Centre (SIRA), to Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid, dated March 5. Violence and human rights violations by the state, through its military, are still in progress in Aceh. Crimes against humanity and [military] opposition to the democratic movement are escalating.

Ever since the Acehnese Student and Youth Congress's call for a referendum [on whether Aceh should become independent] on February 4, 1999, the army has tried to use peculiar and illogical excuses so that the Acehnese people can be victimised. Various forms of intimidation, terror and kidnapping have been used against civilians wanting a referendum in Aceh.

An investigation team from SIRA has reported that civilians from various districts in Pidie, East Aceh and North Aceh are still being forced by the military to tear up pro-referendum banners. If they don't, civilians face threats of being beaten, tortured and shot.

SIRA has previously condemned similar intimidation aimed at eradicating pro-referendum symbols from the streets of West Aceh, South Aceh, Central Aceh and Aceh Singkil.

SIRA hereby declares that we condemn the state violence perpetrated by Indonesian armed forces and police. Their actions violate human rights, law and democracy, and can only worsen security and the break-up of the peace process in Aceh.

The central government and army should immediately stop their violent practices and intimidation of Acehnese civilians demanding a referendum.

Those Acehnese people demanding a referendum do not fight with military personnel, they just want [to show] their true aspirations through banners and symbols. They are fighting for a referendum through peaceful action and non-violence.

What has happened in Aceh since 1999 is similar to what occurred during the time of open military operations from 1989-1998 and is not so different to what happened in East Timor.

Calls for a referendum or for independence are not strange things, they are not against any law, either Islamic law or Indonesian law itself. In other countries, referendums are a common thing and are frequently used to make certain decisions.

Therefore, SIRA demands that the central government and its military power should stop being allergic to Acehnese demands for a referendum and independence.

Conducting a referendum should be promoted as a democratic solution to comprehensively resolve the humanitarian and political crisis in Aceh.

The central government and the military should not even dream of trying to win by intimidation, torture or killing. Violence, in any form, will never, ever defeat peaceful, democratic, and civilised people power.
 

Labour struggle

Workers strike for sacked colleagues

May Sari, Surabaya -- One thousand five hundred workers at PT Surabaya Meka Box in East Java, Indonesia, began a strike on February 21 to protest against the dismissal of three colleagues who were representing workers in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The 1500 are members of the Centre of Surabaya Workers' Struggle, which is affiliated to the FNPBI, the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle.

The three, Bagyo, Supanut and Sidik, had rejected company recommendations which they believed were not fair to the workers at the nail, plastic and paper box factory. The union has recently succeeded in gaining several concessions from the company, including menstruation leave for women workers and greater job security for casual workers.

Within an hour of learning that the three had been sacked, the strike, begun by workers in the carton division, had spread to other divisions in the factory.

The strikers were attacked by the company and police on February 22, but responded by escalating their demands. They demanded a 2000 rupiah daily transportation allowance and that Soien Sutopo, one of the managers, be fired.

The company responded with false claims that Sutopo had resigned and with more violence, injuring many workers on the strike's fourth day. A blockade of the road leading into the industrial area was attacked by 100 riot police.

On February 26, police drove a truck into a mass of picketers sitting on the ground. Two hundred riot police then chased the strikers into the neighbouring community.

The workers are refusing to give in and are demanding that the company pay them for their time on strike. One worker, Supanut, said, "I wonder why the boss docks our wages. He said that we had been undisciplined for not working ... Did he not know that we were on strike and that it is our right? We want the boss to pay all our wages, no less."

Another, Cholik, said the employer must reinstate the three it fired. "As long as the boss refuses them, we will continue our strike. One for all and all for one."

The strike is being supported by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. It said in a March 6 letter to Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid that, despite the recent "notable progress" towards democratic rule in Indonesia, "fundamental workers' rights apparently continue to be violated by managers of companies, often with the active cooperation of the country's security forces".

Indonesia plans to deport labour consultant

Pip Hinman -- Roger Smith, an Australian who works for the American Centre for International Labor Solidarity, which is funded by the US government and the AFL-CIO, has been threatened with deportation from Indonesia. His "crime" was to liaise with and report labour movement activities there.

According to the Indonesian National Front for Workers Struggle (FNPBI), two weeks ago the Australian embassy received a police department recommendation that Smith be deported as soon as possible.

The trouble started on February 2 when Smith reported to immigration, as stipulated by his visa. The secret police had a picture of him talking to workers at a demonstration last year.

Smith was interrogated by police but refused to sign a statement. He ended up smashing a window and being taken to hospital for treatment. Since then, Smith has been interrogated several times.

Smith, a former Australian Services Union member, has appealed to trade unionists here for help. Some trade unionists question AFL-CIO involvement in labour movement activities around the globe, however, Smith's regular reports have helped to inform activists here and around the world about the growing trade union movement in Indonesia.

Smith's case has a precedent. Last November, Chris Latham, an activist with Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor, was arrested at a workers' rights demonstration in Jakarta and imprisoned for four days, without access to a lawyer, before being deported back to Australia.

FNPBI international officer Romawaty Sinaga told Green Left Weekly that the threats against Smith revealed the Wahid government's desire to prevent international solidarity among workers.

Airport employees go on strike, flights continue

Jakarta -- Some 100 airport employees went on strike at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Monday demanding national flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia restore their status as government employees within the airline.

The move did not disrupt Garuda's flight schedules. The strike began at 4am, the beginning of the company's first working shift of the day.

"There was only one flight delay, but it was caused by a technical matter, not by the strike," said Bambang Wahyudi, president director of PT Gapura Angkasa, the sole provider of ground handling services to PT Garuda Indonesia. "We have assigned employees from the company's other divisions to handle the jobs of the employees on strike," said Bambang.

The protesters, who are employees of PT Gapura Angkasa, vowed they would strike until the management of Garuda met their demand. The protesters staged a sit-in at several spots in the airport, including on the first and second floors of departure terminals E and F. The protesters did not carry any pamphlets or posters expressing their demand, and failed to draw the attention of passengers.

Baharuddin, a passenger, said he had no problem claiming his luggage. "I found no obstacles in getting my luggage," said the Garuda passenger, who arrived at the airport from Ujungpandang at midday on Monday.

PT Gapura Angkasa is a private joint venture company established by PT Garuda Indonesia and airport management firm PT Angkasa Pura. Garuda transferred 1,600 ground staff employees to the private company in 1998, as part of its restructuring program after it suffered significant losses due to the depreciation of the rupiah.

Some 1,200 employees of the company work at the international airport, with duties including checking in passengers and their luggage.

One of the protesters, H. Panggabean, accused the airline of intimidating its employees into moving to PT Gapura Angkasa. "The company threatened that if we did not move to the company we would be fired," he told The Jakarta Post at the airport.

No avail Panggabean, an employee at the lost and found luggage department, said the employees had filed their complaint with Garuda management and the House of Representatives and made their demand known in December last year, but to no avail.

Elman Haloho, another PT Gapura Angkasa employee, said Garuda had broken its 1998 promise that the employees would receive employment benefits equaling those they received when employed by the airline. "But we have never received any such benefits from PT Gapura Angkasa," he said.

Elman said he noticed that people working for PT Gapura were treated differently from those working for PT Garuda. "The employees of PT Garuda received annual bonuses twice the amount of ours. The bonuses were distributed early this year.

"Garuda employees also had their salaries increases three months ago," he said. "Meanwhile, the salaries of PT Gapura employees will only be raised at the end of this month." The management of PT Garuda offered to discuss the demand with five protesters, but the employees rejected the offer. "We want all employees involved in the strike to be included in the discussion," Elman said.

Dozens of police personnel safeguarded the airport, but no incidents occurred. Achdiat Mihardja, who provides legal assistance to the employees, said some 30 representatives of the protesters were having a meeting with Bambang Wahyudi until Monday night.
 

Human rights/law

Indonesian Timor probe draws fire

Karen Polglaze, Jakarta -- A team to be set up to pursue the investigation of massive human rights violations in East Timor last year has already drawn criticism over its composition and focus.

Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman has promised the make-up of the 50 to 70-member team will be announced by next week at the latest. The team, which will question the 33 people named by an independent investigation (KPP HAM) into the violence in East Timor, will concentrate on five high-profile incidents despite the independent report outlining 20.

Six high-ranking military and police officers were named in the report including the then Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief General Wiranto.

While the team would include representatives from human rights organisations, there are fears that most members will be from Marzuki's department and the number of police and military (TNI) participants will be disproportionate.

Marzuki, previously chairman of the National Commission of Human Rights, is widely seen as a reformist, but his department has been criticised over its failure to mount effective cases against family and cronies of the New Order regime of former president Suharto.

KPP HAM team member Munir had little hope that the attorney- general's investigation into the independent report he had a hand in would be impartial. "The composition is really, really unhealthy," Munir told AAP, "I'm pessimistic. Most of the people in it are still people from the New Order regime. I doubt that the investigation team will be objective if the police and TNI are still involved."

Three human rights groups have been named as taking part in the team. A member of one of them, Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation chairman Bambang Widjojanto, also had doubts over its make-up. "If the proportion of police and TNI people is high and the other experts is very small then that would influence the independence and impartiality of the team," Bambang told AAP. "I am very pessimistic about the independence and impartiality of the investigation team."

Bambang and Munir were also concerned that the team would concentrate on five incidents: the April massacre in Liquica; the April attack on the house of independence leader Manual Carrascalao; the massacre at a church in Suai in September; the September attack on the house of East Timor's spiritual leader Bishop Carlos Belo and the murder of Dutch journalist Sander Thoenes.

Munir said the independent investigators had recommended further action on more than 20 cases of human rights violations they uncovered in East Timor. "The team should not concentrate on the five big cases only," he said. "It should be extended to all the important cases that happened there so we can see the chain of events."

Bambang reminded authorities that failure to satisfy international concerns over the events in East Timor could trigger a United Nations investigation.

National Council of Timorese Resistance vice president Jose Ramos-Horta called for the international community to press ahead with its plans for an international tribunal at the same time as the process was under way in Indonesia so that it was ready to open should Indonesia fail to meet international norms of due process.

KPP HAM found pro-Indonesia militia groups aided and supported by military and civilian groups had killed, tortured, raped, enforced large-scale deportation and burned property across the former Indonesian province of East Timor after the August 30 independence ballot.

Wiranto was last month forced to step aside from his senior position of Coordinating Minister of Political and Security Affairs in the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid after parts of the report were made public.

The senior officers named in the KPP HAM report included the two East Timor military commanders Tono Suratman and Nur Mois, former military intelligence chief Zacky Anwar Makarim, former East Timor police commander Timbul Silaen and military commander of the region supervising East Timor Adam Damiri.

More than 230 bodies of those believed to have died in the violence have been found in East Timor. Also implicated were militia leaders Joao Tavares and Eurico Guterres and former East Timor governor Abilio Soares.

Payoffs prominent in court system

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- Many cite law enforcement as the key to structuring a better way of life in Indonesia. But Indonesia's judicial system, one of the backbones of law enforcement, has yet to show any signs of change. Too often people claim that money, not the law, is the determining factor in legal decisions.

Testimony by several lawyers also indicates that the practice is far too easy to conduct, particularly in civil cases. Supreme Court Secretary-General Pranowo concedes that such corruption has infected all levels of the judicial system, even up to the country's highest court. "I don't close my eyes to the fact that 'numerous' judges are engaged in the practice. But for me 'numerous' can mean many or just a few of them," Pranowo told The Jakarta Post earlier this week.

Preliminary research by Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) claims that only five of 41 supreme justices in the Supreme Court cannot be bought, while the rest have questionable integrity.

Lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon told the Post that such practices were real and lawyers could easily sense it in certain cases. "I'm sure that it [bribes] exists, I don't have any doubt about that. But I still believe there are some judges with integrity," Tampubolon remarked. But Tampubolon, who is legal council to former president Soeharto, says he has never personally bribed a judge.

"I do give the judges presents or tokens during Idul Fitri or New Year, but not concerning a case," he said. But several young lawyers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, admitted to the Post that bribery was very much a part of their everyday procedures in making legal arguments in court. They discounted popular terms such as a "court mafia", saying that the process was really very simple.

One lawyer recounted how in 1997 he paid off a judge with Rp 1 billion when representing a business tycoon who was involved in a trillion rupiah bank scam with a private bank. "I remember carrying the suitcase containing all the money. I also handed over it to the judge himself," the lawyer said earlier last week.

The fate of the case that made news headlines that year remains suspended and largely forgotten by the public. The businessman still runs his multinational company, while the private bank has been liquidated.

Another lawyer said that from his experience at the Jakarta provincial court, judges would not even look at your case if you could not come up with at least Rp 75 million. "Once you mention the amount they will process your case," he said. "You must pay everything in cash and hand it over before the verdict is read out. This way they can't trace the payoff, until maybe one of us comes forward," he remarked.

But how does one know which judges to bribe? Another lawyer said that he only had to casually spend some time talking with people in the courthouse. "Just ask around inside the building and you will know. It's very simple, there's nothing special about it," he said. "It's just like [paying off someone] when you are trying to get a driver's license or an identity card," he said.

He said a lawyer only had to walk up to the judge and say the magic words: "So how can you help the case sir; we are ready to support it with some substantial funds," he said, adding that the transaction would automatically occur later. "And don't forget to mention the amount," he said.

He pointed out that as a general guideline for a civil case involving Rp 10 billion, an amount less than Rp 200 million was never mentioned. He estimated that for "big cases", such as when a district court threw out an indictment earlier this month against a businessman who was involved in another well-known bank scandal, "the pay-off is more than Rp 2 billion." But far from bemoaning the practice, these lawyers seem to perceive it as fair game in the legal field. And if there is such a thing as honor in bribery, they say that judges never betray you by taking money from both sides.

"They only take money from one side and once they receive the money they will never let you down, no matter how impossible the case may seem," the lawyer said. "It's first come first served."

While there is no excuse for such practices, legal practitioners point to the fact that judges in the past were severely underpaid and overworked. Pranowo said judges had received a 100 percent hike in their salaries. A judge now takes home about Rp 3 million a month, while a supreme justice receives about Rp 10 million.

Another problem is the lack of a formal external watchdog. The Supreme Court is the only monitoring body for all judges in the country. "We have the right to examine their verdicts, but only if we receive public complaints," he added.

A backlog of cases also compels many with money to bribe their way through a fast track legal process. For example, the Supreme Court receives about 7,500 cases annually, in addition to the some 12,000 cases still pending. "With that amount, we have to finish about 40 cases each day and we only have 17 teams of supreme justices," Pranowo said. "If we pay the judges off, the cases will resolve sooner," one lawyer remarked.

One solution being looked at is the establishment of an independent commission consisting of legal experts and former judges to review questionable verdicts. "But we need the public to report their complaints before the commission can conduct an investigation," Pranowo said.

To reduce the amount of cases at the Supreme Court, Pranowo proposed certain requirements before a case was brought to the nation's highest court. ICW has similarly proposed that only criminal cases which sanction at least a five-year jail sentence or civil cases involving a dispute in the amount of over Rp 100 million be brought before the Supreme Court.

Apart from higher salaries, ICW stresses that transparency is crucial, particularly in the nomination process. "Legislators should examine candidates' track record and audit their assets," ICW coordinator Teten Masduki told the Post.

Legislator Hartono Mardjono of the Crescent Star faction said while fundamental changes were being made there should be a clean-out of current judges. "In the short-term, personnel changes would be an effective solution," he said without elaborating.

Tampubolon and Pranowo disagreed with such an idea. "A watchdog system by the House, through hearings, and a fact-finding team is a good start," Tampubolon said. "There are thousands of judges and some of them are good and have integrity. A mass replacement would only sacrifice the good judges." Pranowo added.

Retroactive clause scrapped from rights tribunal bill

Jakarta -- The government has scrapped the controversial retroactive clause from the human rights bill and proposed that past human rights violations be tried in an ad hoc tribunal.

"The bill would give the House of Representatives authority to set up an ad hoc tribunal to try past human rights violations," rights activist Munir of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) told reporters on Saturday. Munir was speaking after attending the final session to fine-tune the bill at the Ministry of Law and Legislation.

He said the draft law, which could provide the key legal instrument to try top military generals for human rights abuses in East Timor last year, would be submitted to the House early this week.

"The plan is to send the final draft law [on rights court] to the law and legislation minister [Yusril Ihza Mahendra] today for approval and then the draft is expected to be submitted to the House either on Tuesday or Wednesday," Munir said of the bill which, as it stands, comprises 41 articles.

The bill will replace the government regulation in lieu of the law on human rights tribunal which was rejected by the House last Tuesday. The retroactive clause has met with challenges from legal experts who say the term is uncommon in present Indonesian law. They also said the retroactive clause would create more controversy as its exact period would always spark debate.

Many believe that the new bill would be able to break the cycle of impunity in the country as it includes an article which can snare even those who aided and abetted human rights violations.

Article 35 of the bill, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, stipulates that "every state official, military or police officer, who allows or fails to prevent his or her subordinates from committing gross human violations is liable to face the same possible punishment as those who directly commit violations". The bill varies punishment from three years to life imprisonment.

It remains unclear whether the bill, if passed by the House, could be imposed on those implicated with human rights abuses in East Timor last year. The government of president B.J. Habibie proposed the government regulation in lieu of the law on human rights tribunal last year to avoid any international court for alleged perpetrators of East Timor violence.

Yusril said the bill could be passed in three months. Also present on Saturday were chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights Djoko Soegianto, commission members Benjamin Mangkoedilaga and Soelistyowati Soegondo, prominent defense lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution and legal expert Loebby Loqman.
 

News & issues

34 foetuses found at Jakarta burial site

Jakarta -- Police found the remains of at least 34 foetuses yesterday at a burial site on the southern outskirts of Jakarta.

Police forensic expert Mun-Iem Idris said the foetuses, between three and seven months old, were believed to have been buried not far below ground-level in the past few months by a team of illegal abortionists working in the area.

He said that local residents had uncovered the site and alerted police to its presence. "This must be stopped, it is murder," Dr Mun-Iem said.

Abortion is illegal in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, but it has reportedly become a common practice in recent years.

Howard praises Wahid, after overtures

Melbourne -- Prime Minister John Howard today responded to overtures from Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid by praising Mr Wahid's leadership and democratic principles.

"I admire the courage that he's displayed in the time that he's been the president," Mr Howard said, after Mr Wahid reportedly spoke of a desire "not to leave him [Mr Howard] out in the cold".

"He [Mr Wahid] has brought new standards to Indonesia," Mr Howard told reporters in Melbourne after saying he had read Mr Wahid's comments. "He has pioneered an enjoyment of democracy in that country that it hasn't had for a very long time, perhaps ever."

Mr Wahid told the Australian Financial Review that Mr Howard had shown strength in the face of criticism, including harsh words from Mr Wahid.

Relations between Australia and Indonesia suffered great strain after Australia's role in leading a United Nations force in East Timor last year after bloody violence there.

Mr Howard said he was looking forward to Mr Wahid's scheduled visit to Australia in May. "The relationship between our two countries is an extremely important one," he said. "We recognised that because of what happened in East Timor, inevitably there was a difficulty in our relationship."

"But deep down both Indonesia and Australia seek a very close bilateral relationship and I see his vist to Australia in May as an important element in that. The relationship will remain very high on the government's list of priorities as far as foreign affairs is concerned, very high indeed because we are close neighbours, long-standing friends."

Wahid backflip on Howard

Tim Dodd, Jakarta -- In a stunning reversal, Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid has praised the Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, for his "strength" in sticking to his controversial views on Asia and offered to build a new relationship with Australia.

In an exclusive interview with The Australian Financial Review, President Wahid said: "To understand each other we need to be strong and I believe John Howard has that kind of strength, in spite of the criticism, and I was the one who had the loudest criticism."

President Wahid's conciliatory comments included a desire to "not leave him [Mr Howard] in the cold" and for the Prime Minister to "not be punished" for what his critics say is his lack of understanding of Asia.

Asked whether he agreed with the comments, the President said: "If we think he is [unschooled about Asia], the challenge remains to make him know." He said that both he and Mr Howard needed to have the "strength of character to be convinced that we can learn from each other". "If Mr Howard is strong, like I think he is, then I can learn from him and he can learn from me," President Wahid said.

The President's surprising overture puts the onus on Mr Howard to make the next move in building new personal ties between the two leaders before President Wahid's first official visit to Australia, scheduled for May.

Relations between the two were marred from the start by a war of words that broke out shortly after the President's election last year when he labelled Mr Howard as "childish" and said Indonesia was more important to Australia than Australia was to Indonesia.

Apparently in protest at Australia's role in leading United Nations peacekeeping forces in East Timor, President Wahid snubbed Australia from his first round of overseas trips, in which he visited all of Indonesia's other significant neighbours.

Mr Howard is widely regarded among the Indonesian political elite as being anti-Asian, a view that dates to the doubts he voiced about Asian immigration in the 1980s and was reinforced by his refusal to denounce Pauline Hanson in the 1990s.

Many influential Indonesians, even those firmly opposed to their army's atrocities in East Timor, believe Mr Howard diminished Indonesia with "triumphalism" over Australian troops' success in East Timor and were offended by the Prime Minister's apparent concurrence with the view that Australia should act as a US "deputy" in Asia.

But in the interview President Wahid expressed an admiration for Australia's successful replication of European culture in the Antipodes, a view that will strike a chord with Mr Howard.

"You built up Australia from the ashes of the old world. You built a new Australia which you can be proud of. We admire you for that and it is the basis for further mutual understanding between both sides," he said.

The President said that for Australia to emulate the "stability, the continuity and the main features of the original civilisation is not a small thing".

He said he would like Australia to similarly admire Indonesia for its nation-building efforts. "You should look to the ability of Indonesia to stay together as a nation even though it is so diversified. From our uneven past, we have emerged as a nation with strength of purpose, a nation which happens to lie beside Australia. So both neighbours should stay together," he said.

However, the President said that to be good neighbours, Australians needed to understand Asian civilisations and Asian geography. "If you fail to have those things, then you won't understand us," he said.

President Wahid, who built his political career as a Muslim leader, also said that Australians generally did not understand the Muslim religion -- which is followed by 85 per cent of Indonesians -- and he blamed the international media for portraying Islam as "militaristic". He said that the Christian and Islamic cultures had many things in common including "respect for human beings and respect for civilisation".

Although the date of his Australian visit has not been finalised, President Wahid said he expected to come to Australia in May on the way home from a visit to the United States, where he will meet President Clinton for the second time since becoming Indonesia's leader last October.

President Wahid is the first Indonesian leader to know Australia well. He has many friends in the country and has visited many times, before his appointment as President, to address academic forums and receive medical treatment.

Tutut's firm set for trial as Bambang faces probe

Jakarta -- Ex-president Soeharto's children were under siege yesterday as son Bambang Trihatmodjo was questioned by state prosecutors while a company controlled by daughter Siti `Tutut' Hardiyanti Rukmana faced a lawsuit filed by state toll road operator PT Jasa Marga.

Bambang was interrogated by the state prosecutors for alleged embezzlement involving giant textile maker PT Kanindotex. Soeharto, who was forced down in May 1998 after 32 years in power, also faces a widening corruption probe.

Bambang, owner of widely-diversified Bimantara Group, was accompanied by his lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon. Bambang smiled and exchanged words with reporters after the questioning. His lawyer, however, asked him to leave immediately.

Meanwhile, one of the companies owned by Soeharto's eldest daughter Tutut, PT Citra Marga Nusapala Persada (CMNP), said yesterday it is well-prepared to face a lawsuit filed by Jasa Marga. PT Jasa Marga has accused CMNP of inflicting losses on the part of Jasa Marga due to its alleged corrupt practices. Jasa Marga said it is determined to take CMNP to court.

CMNP President Director Teddy Karsadi, meanwhile, said yesterday his company had contacted State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi in an attempt to reach an out-of-court settlement. "But we are also ready to face Jasa Marga [in court] should it wants to press ahead with the case," Karsadi said.

He added that talks with PT Jasa Marga are now underway as part of efforts to settle the problem. "It is expected that the process would be completed by the end of this month."

Call for ban on Marxism to remain

Jakarta -- Thirty years after the military dealt with a communist threat, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) -- the country's highest authority on Islam -- is pressing the government to maintain the 34-year-old ban on the ideology and its teachings.

"Communist associations should remain banned in Indonesia because they promote atheism. MUI will never compromise with anything linked to communism or Marxism," Council Chairman Amidhan said.

His comment follows a statement by President Abdurrahman Wahid that the circumstances surrounding the 1965 coup attempt which later led to the rise to power of former president Suharto should be clarified and an amendment made.

Mr Suharto had, for 32 years, maintained that the then-powerful Indonesian Communist Party was behind the coup. He initiated a ban on communism, its party and its teachings in 1966. The ban, which was endorsed by the legislature later the same year, remains in place but a debate has since arisen over whether it should be lifted.

MUI chairman Amidhan said on Thursday, however, that public discourse should be stopped because it would only spark confusion among Muslims, who account for more than 80 per cent of Indonesia's 210 million people. He said the government and legislature should take strict measures against all sides which have organised public discussions on communism on the grounds that they have created confusion among the Muslim people. Mr Amidhan made the point that the Communist Party was behind the split of Muslim organisations and parties in the 1950s and 1960s. In a recent interview on state-run TVRI, Mr Abdurrahman said he welcomed attempts to reopen the case surrounding the coup attempt and its aftermath. He himself has apologised for the involvement of followers of Nahdlatul Ulama -- a Muslim organisation he led for 15 years before being elected president last October -- in the bloodshed.

The government has already allowed communist-linked Indonesians who had been forced to live in exile to return to Indonesia. But many more have not come back for fear of being arrested.

The Bishop Council of Indonesia (KWI) and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) have yet to issue their official stand on the issue, saying that talks on communism do not top their list of priorities.

Father Notobudyo, KWI's Executive Secretary, said Indonesian bishops have not yet joined in the debate and do not intend to.

Pressure mounts on Wahid not to ratify security bill

Jakarta -- Calls for President Abdurrahman Wahid not to ratify the controversial state security bill continued on Thursday with the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) officially sending a letter requesting a review of the bill.

In its letter to the President, signed by chairman Bambang Widjojanto and executive Irianto Subiakto, the foundation warned that the bill's endorsement could impede the ongoing democratization process.

One of the primary concerns of the bill which was highlighted is that it allegedly grants excessive power to the government and the military to declare a state of emergency which would warrant the use of force.

Bambang urged the bill to be reviewed not only by the President but also by the House of Representatives. "We agree that a security bill is necessary ... but we don't have to rush it. We are not in such situation that justifies the government to hasten its endorsement," he told journalists here. "But it's better for the government to submit a new one and the House should hold a public hearing before its deliberation," he added.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung called on the President earlier this week to immediately ratify the bill which was endorsed by the House in September. Then president B.J. Habibie postponed enacting the bill due to wide scale public protests.

Observers have speculated that Akbar's sudden call for the bill's ratification is designed to anticipate the prospect of massive demonstrations in conjunction with the April 1 rise in fuel and electricity prices. Akbar, however, has argued that there is no reason to fear the bill as a new government and political situation had dawned in the country and that much of the rejection in the past stemmed from a rejection of the Habibie government.

But Bambang chided the bill on Thursday as it propagated a militaristic approach to handling emergency situations. "If the bill is needed to respond to security problems, such as those occurring in Maluku and Aceh provinces, then its not the proper measure. Moreover, it's inconsistent with the dialog approaches carried out by Gus Dur [so far] in handling the problems," he said, referring to the President's popular nickname.

The security bill was drafted and submitted by the Ministry of Defense and Security to replace the 1959 State of Emergency Law. Proponents of the bill argue that it is less repressive than the 1959 Law.

However, its deliberation and eventual endorsement drew severe criticism and bloody protests which cost the lives of at least four people in clashes between security forces and demonstrators in September. The bill stipulates that the president is allowed to declare an extraordinary status, a state of emergency or a state of war in a province, or nationwide, after consulting or obtaining approval from the House. It stipulates that in an extraordinary status or a civilian emergency, authorities also have a mandate to close off an area.

Bambang said many of the stipulations and much of the authority under the bill should only apply under exceptional conditions, such as a state of war, and not an emergency status. He added that the bill did not clearly cover the parameters for imposing a state of emergency for various possibilities such as natural disasters or economic crises. "This bill only defines a domestic political crisis as an emergency situation, so it tends to put the community as a threat to the country," he reiterated.

Bambang warned that the bill, if passed into law, could be abused by the next government and the military for their own interests under the pretext of preserving national stability. He also said that since there was something awry about the timing of the bill, which was submitted to the House just before the upcoming general session of the outgoing members of the People's Consultative Assembly, the President had the right to resist the calls for ratification.

Bambang also said that a rejection of the bill did not necessarily mean that the previous 1959 Law would then take precedence. "If the law is no longer needed and irrelevant to the current situation, then just revoke it. If any emergency situation occurs ... then it should be handled through a presidential decree," he added.

Reject Wahid's austerity plan, says PRD

Pip Hinman -- Since his election five months ago, the new president of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, has managed to create the impression that his is a people-friendly government. But how true is this?

Muhammad Ma'ruf, a leader of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and editor of its newspaper Pembebasan (Liberation), points to the Wahid government's economic program as evidence of the opposite. This is an anti-people government, he told Green Left Weekly.

"Gus Dur [Wahid] gave a commitment to the International Monetary Fund to continue along the same path as Suharto. That means this government has promised to implement the same neo-liberal austerity measures as did Suharto and Habibie: cuts to government subsidies, more privatisation and foreign investment, and more `free' trade", Ma'ruf said.

"The impact of this latest deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be bad. Petrol prices will rise by 10% and electricity by 29%. Transport costs will increase by 50%, while services will be drastically cut, and education fees in public universities will rise by 300%. The cost of fertilisers and pesticides will rise. Inflation is predicted to rise by 29%", Ma'ruf said.

The PRD is linking its anti-cuts campaign to the need to force the military out of politics. "The government still allocates an immense amount of the national budget to the military", Ma'ruf said. "The PRD wants the government to maintain subsidies for public services and cut the military's budget.

"It has increased high-ranking public officials' wages by 80%, while the lower ranks received only a 30% increase, and ordinary workers an average of just 25%. We also believe that the government should not abolish the import tax on rice and sugar."

A successful national action on February 21 against the IMF's austerity measures, followed by many local PRD-sponsored actions, has put the PRD on the national political agenda as the opposition force to the government's economic plans. The party is preparing for demonstrations around the country on April 1, the day the subsidy cuts come into effect.

This could be a volatile time, because some 17 million people already don't have enough to eat, and the United Nations estimates that half of all Indonesian children are malnourished. As a result of the US$5 billion IMF loan agreement signed by Wahid in February, his government is about to slash subsidies on basic necessities and force ordinary people to pay for years of corruption, cronyism and the lingering economic crisis.

"We are also linking up with the anti-cuts campaigns being organised by the National Student League for Democracy (LMND) against the cuts to education", Ma'ruf said, "as well as the Indonesian National Front for Workers Struggle (FNPBI), whose protest in Jakarta on April 1 will demand a 100% increase in the minimum wage, and the small farmers' organisation, STN, whose focus will be on the fertiliser and pesticide price hikes".

Ma'ruf admitted that the Wahid government hasn't much room to move, given pressures from its Western backers, particularly the United States, and from the internal parliamentary "opposition", which is backing the pro-capitalist austerity agenda.

But, Ma'ruf continued, there are other ways of reducing the budget deficit. For instance, the PRD believes the government should cancel the foreign debt, cut the military budget, nationalise Suharto's assets (estimated at some US$16 billion) and stop the hand-outs to insolvent banks and businesses.

Old elites

Under the new IMF rules, which are primarily concerned with developing a more stable capitalist economy favourable to international investment, competition and a new level of transparency are being pushed.

However, this is being frustrated by sections of the old elites who want to hang onto their power and privileges, Ma'ruf said. For decades Suharto and his cronies, who include many currently serving senior military officials, had a monopoly on wealth creation.

"Some officials who dominate the military bureaucracy want to defend their own business operations," Ma'ruf claimed. "They use nationalist rhetoric to distinguish themselves from the government and its imperialist backers. For example they rejected the referendum in East Timor and its result.

"But the imperialists don't want to de-militarise Indonesia either. What they really want is for the military to be under the capitalists' control.

"Yet, at the same time, the anti-military sentiment among the people has escalated, and there is now a growing view that the murderous generals should be brought to trial," Ma'ruf added.

The government-military alliance has changed. While it's clear that the Wahid government wants to maintain good relations with the military, it also wants to rehabilitate the military's image.

"Gus Dur is in a dilemma", Ma'ruf claimed. "He is under pressure to be a `democrat', but he is still not independent from the military. His government is a coalition which also comprises some Suharto supporters from the former ruling party Golkar and from the military", Ma'ruf stated.

"So he plays on so-called internal conflicts inside the military. He sacked Wiranto in February, and replaced him with an arch rival, General Agus Wirahadikusumah.

"But Gus Dur doesn't want Wiranto and friends to be carted off to prison. He has publicly stated that if Wiranto is found guilty, he will forgive him. He also said that he will forgive Suharto, as long he hands back some of his wealth."

Reformed military?

Ma'ruf doesn't believe Wiranto is a spent force. "The changes inside the military hierarchy reflect internal rivalries between cliques and divisions. It's not accurate to describe it, as much of the establishment does, as a conflict between the so-called `liberal' or `professional' military and the New Order [Suharto era] military.

"It's also wrong to suggest that there are some `democratic' sections, or less repressive sections, inside the military, for example, the marines or the air force.

This illusion has been fed by Gus Dur's decision to award naval and air force officials higher government positions, whereas under the New Order these sections of the military were marginalised by the army."

Ma'ruf also criticised those, such as Megawati Sukarnoputri and Sri Bintang Pamungkas from the United Democratic Party of Indonesia (PUDI), who oppose attempts to bring the generals to trial and who have counselled Wahid not to sack Wiranto. "Sri Bintang said that during such difficult circumstances, we should not press the military, because they may retaliate with a coup."

The PRD is campaigning for the Indonesian generals to be tried in an international court of justice, rather than by an Indonesian court the exact nature and powers of which the government is still debating.

"We don't believe that an Indonesian court will really bring the murderous generals to justice", Ma'ruf said. "The juries of military trials are made up of a combination of civilian and military people. Since Gus Dur has already said publicly he wants to forgive Wiranto after the trial, it's obvious that he doesn't want to see justice done, he just wants to appear to be doing the bidding of the imperialists and meanwhile manipulate the people.

"Secondly, the military has committed massive human rights violations, which should be considered crimes against the whole of humanity, so the generals must be tried in an international court."

The PRD is calling for the government to investigate the circumstances surrounding the July 27, 1996, military attack on the offices of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in Jakarta, in which a number of people were kidnapped and for which the PRD was blamed.

The party has also launched a campaign to investigate the whereabouts of "disappeared" and kidnapped comrades, including the well-known poet and artist Wiji Thukul. On this case the PRD is working closely with KONTRAS, the Commission for Disappeared People and Victims of Violence, as well as progressive lawyers.

Wahid is desperately trying to project to the world that he has everything under control. But that image, which is already becoming unstuck as military violence in Aceh and West Timor continues, may be even harder to sell after April 1.

Old guard under threat as massacre probe starts

Vaudine England -- History is becoming one of the hottest topics in Indonesia, with President Abdurrahman Wahid paying visits to former presidents, dissidents and alleged communists while the national human rights body opens inquiries into a range of recent traumas.

Mr Wahid has given the go-ahead to investigate the biggest and most mysterious trauma of all: the massacre of half a million people in 1965 and 1966 just as a young and thrusting Suharto was consolidating his takeover of the presidency.

More recent traumas, apart from the rampage through East Timor last year, include the riots of 1998 which finally dispatched Suharto from office, the apparent military attack on then opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri's party headquarters in 1996, and the little-known deaths of Muslims at Jakarta's Tandjung Priok port area in 1984, where a mass grave has recently been revealed.

Many of the key players in these events are still alive, albeit ailing, and provide easy targets for a government eager to show its reformist credentials.

Not surprisingly, all inquiries now under way promise to provide further ammunition against the New Order regime of former strongman Suharto. They also promise to destroy careers, unearth unpalatable truths and further threaten the old guard in the armed forces.

Betraying just how sensitive such subjects are is the continued insistence of the former ruling party, Golkar, to defend a decree which prohibits any teaching of Marxist or communist ideas. Decree XXV of 1966 also legitimised the slaughter of alleged communists following the banning of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), then Asia's largest legal communist party outside China.

In contrast, when President Wahid was on a recent trip to Paris, he received Ibarruri Aidit, daughter of Dipa Nusantara Aidit, the PKI leader, who was killed shortly after the abortive coup was blamed on the party in 1965. "I am very heartened with his statement that a person like me does not need the Government's protection, because it is my right to go home," she said.

Crucial to Suharto's claim to legitimacy was his claim of a PKI coup attempt in 1965 requiring Suharto, then head of Kostrad special forces, to banish communism and save the nation, but scholars question key details in the Suhartoist version of events, with some saying Suharto mounted the coup. "Many people say that the PKI was to blame while others say that the PKI was not to blame. The matter should be settled in a court of law," said Mr Wahid.

Either way, the fact remains that a killing spree left at least 500,000 dead, and the killers were ordinary people aligned to groups such as the Indonesian Democratic Party (now led by Vice- President Megawati) and the Nahdlatul Ulama, until recently chaired by Mr Wahid. "I apologised for the murders of people who were said to be communists ... I never hid all this," Mr Wahid said.

While scores of alleged communists and former political prisoners must still carry damaging marks on their identity cards, old- guard generals are refusing to open up about their pasts. Former vice-president to Mr Suharto, General Try Sutrisno stands in the firing line on the 1984 massacre in Tandjung Priok, while former armed forces chief General Feisal Tandjung is being asked to explain the July 27, 1996, attack on Megawati's party headquarters.

US spy gear used in Canberra

Lincoln Wright -- The United States freighted state-of-the-art intelligence equipment directly to Canberra during the East Timor crisis, providing Australia with vital information about the Indonesian army and the militia groups that opposed independence.

Australia has its own intelligence-gathering capability for the Asia-Pacific region, but the US has the most advanced systems, especially those that interpret raw intelligence data.

When Australia got the go-ahead to lead the peace-keeping force to East Timor at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Auckland, the US quickly went ahead with its promise of intelligence and logistics assistance. assistance.

A giant US Galaxy plane, with the characteristic flip-top nose, arrived at RAAF Base Fairbairn in late September and unloaded a large quantity of computer software, hardware and other electronic equipment used to analyse electronic signals intelligence.

The equipment was then transferred to Australia's top-secret Defence Signals Directorate, at Russell Hill, which is the Defence Department's ear to the world of electronic signals deemed important to national security.

Professor Des Ball, of the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, said the US equipment would have been used to analyse signals intelligence downloaded from a special US Navy spy plane over Timor.

The US stations two squadrons of these planes overseas, one in Spain and the other in Japan, and Canberra was the " downlink" to transfer the intelligence data, he said.

The navy plane gathered the signals intelligence from Timor and then downloaded it to the Defence Signals Directorate in Canberra, where the American equipment was then used to process the data. It was most likely that a team of American signals intelligence experts were on hand to help use the equipment.

Habibie linked to 'illegal sand ship'

Susan Sim, Jakarta -- The crew of a Dutch-owned vessel with links to the Habibie family is expected to go on trial in Batam today for allegedly smuggling sand out of the Indonesian island for a multi-million-dollar reclamation project in Singapore.

Although the case has so far not attracted publicity, the successful prosecution of a case involving a business tied to a son of former president B.J. Habibie -- in an industry and locale which the family used to monopolise -- could be a symbolic jolt for both graft-busters and an unshackled regional government flexing its muscles.

Sources here told The Straits Times that the MV Amsterdam, a barge owned by the Dutch firm Ballast Nedam Far East Pte Ltd, was arrested with 3,000 cubic metres of sand in Indonesian waters on February 7.

The mostly Dutch crew of 30 allegedly had no passports, only photocopies, and their manifest listed the next port of call as "the high seas". The vessel had reportedly been warned out of Indonesian waters the previous day for not having the requisite permits, but sneaked back in to collect the sand.

Military sources said the Indonesian naval chief himself issued the arrest order. Lawyers familiar with the case said that the crew and owners now face at least three violations of Indonesian maritime, customs and taxation laws.

In its defence, the vessel's owners alleged that its local partner, PT Barelang Sugi Bulam, was supposed to have taken care of all the documentation. PT Barelang, owned by Mr Tareq Habibie and Mr Ballast Nedam, is said to have a contract to supply 50 million cubic metres of sand to a private contractor working on land reclamation for Changi Airport's Terminal 3 project.

The sand contract, estimated to be worth at least $200 million at the crisis-low price of $4 per cubic metre, was apparently agreed on before June last year, when the Habibie family still dominated the industry.

But the Riau governor terminated most of such lucrative monopoly rights after Dr Habibie failed to win the re-election last October. Among the governor's aims: to increase the price of sand to $15, and ensure all contracts go through holding companies controlled by the Riau government so that the province, and not private individuals, would benefit.

If not for such high-level resolve, sources said that such a case would very likely have been settled quietly, as in the past.

Military element feared behind political terror

Jakarta -- Political observers here are speculating that rogue elements inside the military are behind the recent wave of "political terror" launched against the nation's legislators.

Political scientists Riza Sihbudi from the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI), criminologist Mulyana W. Kusumah and political observer Arbi Sanit, both from the University of Indonesia (UI), told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that these actions were a direct threat to Indonesia's fledgling democracy and must be stopped.

Riza strongly believed that the attacks were part of a grand design with a clear message to legislators to stop trying to edge out the role of the military in politics.

"I think it is the military behind these. Not TNI [the Indonesian Military] as an institution but their personnel. They have the skills and capability and I'm sure some high-ranking officers have enough resources to finance such an operation," he said. "The series of incidents happening to members of the House of Representatives (DPR) are not just coincidences. This is politically related," Riza charged.

"Law enforcers and the government must handle this matter seriously. Don't let these incidents be repeated and become part of our political culture," he added.

Riza's belief on who was behind the incidents was echoed by criminologist Mulyana, who said: "They [the military] can create groups or get civilians to carry out the plan." "I regret that our police are often simplifying the matter and seem reluctant to investigate it.

"This is a phenomenon which will occur anywhere if discontented groups on the political stage, in this case the military, cannot find any constitutional measures to express their disappointment or they have had enough with our vocal legislators," he remarked.

A series of incidents have befallen legislators in the past three months. On January 25 legislator Tengku Nashiruddin Daud of the United Development Party (PPP) was found dead in Sibolangit, Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra after he was earlier reportedly abducted.

On February 8 a bizarre incident occurred when a bullet pierced the window of the office of PPP legislator Suryadharma Ali located on the 16th floor of the House complex here.

On March 5 two men attacked the National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Matori Abdul Djalil in front of his house in the Tanjung Mas Raya housing complex in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta.

On March 13 another bullet pierced the window of the House building. Who or where the shots were fired from remains unclear. The shot was fired as legislators were holding a hearing with former president Soeharto's youngest son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, over graft allegations.

In the latest incident on Saturday, burglars broke into the official residence of House speaker Akbar Tandjung at the ministerial housing complex in Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta. Police say the thieves made off with a bag containing two checkbooks and Rp 2 million in cash. Akbar was out of town at the time.

Mulyana was convinced that the latest robbery was not simple petty crime. "No thieves would take such a small amount of money from Akbar's house. Even if there's no cash, there are valuable goods. That's not an ordinary burglary," Mulyana stressed, adding the theft was used to camouflage the real intent.

While also conceding the possibility of the involvement of certain military elements working individually, Arbi Sanit pointed out that people should also understand that it was difficult for the military to see the ongoing political process which was increasingly sidelining them.

"High-ranking officers might not directly know it, but I'm sure they can detect that lower-ranking officers may hold grudges over the recent processes," he remarked.

But Arbi also did not close the possibility that senior officers may be behind the terror, speculating it could be officers who suddenly find that their promised career rewards, such as gubernatorial posts, have now diminished.

In the future, Arbi suggested that legislators and the government not be "too hard" on the military. "But it doesn't mean that stern measures against those misbehaving shouldn't be taken," he remarked, suggesting that action be taken "slowly but surely." Meanwhile military spokesman Air Rear Marshal Graito Usodo declined to comment on these allegations. "If this is still speculation and a very political one, I'd rather not comment on it. My statements can add new problems," he told the Post.
 

Arms/armed forces

Wahid says yes to new bases

Makassar -- President Abdurrahman Wahid yesterday said he supported a plan for the construction of three new naval bases -- in Sorong, Sumatra and Java -- to better assure security in this archipelago nation.

"I agree very much with the intentions of the Indonesian navy to build bases for marines in Sorong, Sumatra and Java because with such distribution of bases, security -- which is an essential part of our life -- can be assured," he said.

Speaking at the opening of a youth association congress of the Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Islamic organisation, he said eastern Indonesia should not become a staging ground that could be used by foreign interests to undermine the state.

"The development in this eastern Indonesia region should not become a target of international plans to undermine us," he said, without elaborating on the plans. He said if the government had the funds, it would build many more bases across the country.

Indonesia has two main navy bases, in Teluk Ratai in the southern Sumatra province of Lampung and in Surabaya, in East Java, and several small navy bases.
 

Economy & investment

Market to stay flat amid lack of positive sentiments

Jakarta -- Indonesian share prices, which fell 1.6 percent this week, are expected to remain flat next week due to a lack of positive sentiment and the market's disappointment with the announcement of the winner of PT Astra International's bid, analysts said Friday.

"For next week, the market is trending sideways due to the lack of positive sentiments that could boost it up," Trimegah Securities institutional sales representative, Voni Juwono, told AFP.

She said the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) decision to name Cycle and Carriage Ltd as the winner of an open bidding process for the government's 40 percent stake in PT Astra International -- at 3,700 rupiah per share -- has "disappointed a lot of people."

"A lot of my clients were disappointed with the bidding price of 3,700 rupiah since they had expected it would reach 4,000 rupiah," she said.

Another dealer with a local brokerage said the market was "under selling pressure" during afternoon trade following rumors the offer price of the bidding would be lower than 4,000 rupiah. "The selling pressure on Astra also prompted selling pressure in other big cap stocks including cigarette stocks," he said, adding there was little support from regional markets which were trading only slightly positively

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index dropped 9.379 percent, or 1.6 percent, during the week to close at 581.473. The week's daily transactions stood at an average of 471.24 million shares worth 80.93 million dollars, compared to last week's average of 441.76 million shares worth 82.8 million dollars. The rupiah slightly weakened to close the week at 7,445-7,450 against the dollar compared to 7,435-7,440 against the greenback last week.

State telephone operator Telkom closed the week down 125 rupiah at 3,600 rupiah while satelitte operator Indosat also lost 175 rupiah at 12,575 rupiah. Cigarette makers Gudang Garam and rival H.M Sampoerna ended the week losing 225 rupiah each at 14,575 and 13,075 rupiah respectively.

Astra International ended the week down 125 rupiah at 3,650 rupiah compared to 3,775 rupiah the previous week. Astra Graphia was up 25 rupiah at 1,000 rupiah, off a low of 950 rupiah, following reports it has signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture company with a Singapore firm.

Placating Indonesia regions could wreck economy

Andrew Marshall, Jakarta -- Indonesia's plans to give regions more control over their finances are at the heart of the country's efforts to hold its disparate provinces together. But wrongly handled, they could blow its economy apart.

Concern is growing that the government's deadline of January 1 next year for the implementation of the regional autonomy laws does not give enough time to put essential preparations in place.

Abandoning the deadline now would risk stirring up fresh resentment in restive provinces. But at a seminar this week on regional autonomy, the International Monetary Fund, the World bank, and even key government economic advisers all urged the government to rethink its tight timetable for decentralisation.

"We have been debating whether introducing regional autonomy all in one go is the right approach," said Bert Hofman, economist at the World Bank in Jakarta. "There is a danger the critical transition phase has been overlooked."

Tha main danger, analysts say, is that provinces are given more control of their revenue before they are given the matching responsibility for expenditure. This would batter Indonesia's central budget, already reeling from economic crisis.

"The proposed implementation of the revenue devolution provisions before there has been an effective decentralisation of expenditures ... is to us the key risk," said a paper prepared for the seminar by the World Bank and IMF.

"This threatens macro stability, as well as the continued provision of services at the local level during a potentially volatile period of political and economic transition."

Time short for far-reaching changes

Indonesia's regional autonomy laws, passed by the administration of former President Habibie as concerns mounted about separatist pressures, are radical in their scope.

They will more than double the regional share of government spending to over 40 percent, with districts given responsibility for managing most government services including health, education and infrastructure.

Provinces will be allowed to keep more of the revenue from their natural resources, but regional tax revenues will rise only slightly. A system of grants from the central government to regions is planned to help poorer regions which will lose out in the redistribution of natural resource revenues.

The administrative tasks involved are huge. Indonesia must define the precise functions which districts are to take over, and determine whether they are capable of doing so. And it must decentralise large parts of the civil service, government facilities and ongoing projects.

If districts get control of more revenue before the groundwork for their increased responsibilities has been laid, Indonesia's budget deficit will soar. The law on sharing natural resource revenues will deplete central coffers even further.

The only solution is to ensure enough expenditure is also devolved. But the World Bank and IMF say more time is needed. "The magnitude of the expenditure devolution required by the law would be overwhelming, especially considering the very limited administrative capacities at the district level," they said. "To achieve the legally mandated degree of political decentralisation will surely take much longer than one year."

Delay risks backlash

Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a University of Indonesia economist and government adviser, says the country needs to reconsider whether the laws should be implemented on January 1.

"We all favour decentralisation and have much to gain from it," she said. "But ... both macroeconomic stability and government services are at risk if we move too quickly. We should therefore keep an open mind to alternatives to the current approach to decentralise fully by January next year."

But delaying the measures risks a political backlash, and would give fresh ammunition to separatist movements in multi-ethnic, multi-religious Indonesia.

Separatist pressure is strongest in the resource-rich provinces of Aceh, Irian Jaya and Riau, and the revenue-sharing laws are aimed partly at quelling resentment there.

If poorer regions find themselves badly hit under the new scheme, however, Jakarta may be creating new problems.

And analysts say anger may also be fuelled once regions realise more economic autonomy does not simply mean more cash. "The regions are in for a surprise," Hofman said. "They seem to think they will get a large sum of money without strings attached. In reality, they must take on a large chunk of government spending as well. Only over time will there be money left to do new things."

Indonesia moves to put house in order

Tim Dodd, Jakarta -- The chairman of Indonesia's National Business Development Council, Mr Sofyan Wanandi, has the task of harnessing business to invest in Indonesia, but concedes that conditions are not yet ideal.

"Most of the investors have adopted a wait and see attitude. That is why we cannot bring them back before we get our house in order first," Mr Wanandi said yesterday.

Mr Wanandi, a Chinese-Indonesian businessman who is personally very close to President Abdurrahman Wahid, is trying to persuade local business people to reinvest their capital and foreigners to bring new investment. "That means political stability, security and law enforcement and labour situations have to be solved too. That's the only way to bring the investment back," he said.

Mr Wanandi's council has a target of creating a million jobs in the coming year, a fleabite in a country with an estimated 38 million unemployed and is focusing on the growth potential of small and medium enterprises.

In the retail sector, growth is already evident as pent-up demand created during the economic crisis is released. Markets in Jakarta are now crowded and busy and, at the higher end of the scale, there is a three-month wait for Indonesia's most popular locally made family vehicle, the Kijang. Car sales in January were four times higher than the same month last year.

But about 170,000 failed small and medium businesses are in the hands of the Indonesian Bank Reconstruction Agency and Mr Wanandi is pressing the agency to speed its handling of these cases. If these businesses can be sold and recapitalised quickly, it will have an immediate impact on employment.

The council is also looking to set up a new mechanism to deal with labour disputes between workers and factory owners, which are likely to become more frequent as the economy recovers and wage demands, which went on hold during the economic crisis, resurface.

Mr Wanandi said the council wanted to see a committee established representing business, the Government and unions which would mediate in labour disputes. "There must be an understanding that before they go on strike that there will be a team to talk to them ... or we will negotiate with the company in charge about how big an increase can be made." He said he hoped agreement on the new system would be reached this month.

State firms suffer losses of $6.39 billion

Jakarta -- Finance minister Bambang Sudibyo said on Monday that 120 state-owned companies suffered combined financial losses of Rp 47.65 trillion (US$6.39 billion) last year.

The giant Bank Mandiri experienced the largest loss of Rp 38.86 trillion, followed by the publicly listed Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) with Rp 10.20 trillion. Speaking in a hearing with the House of Representatives's budget committee, Bambang said the primary reason for the losses of the state banks was the negative spread between their interest expenses and interest earnings.

He also said that Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) gained a financial loss of Rp 1.41 billion in 1999. Bank Indonesia stated in its 1999 annual report that the country's banking sector was still in the red last year although profitability had slightly improved, particularly after domestic interest rates steadily declined.

The central bank said the cumulative loss (before tax) of the banking sector last year was Rp 91.7 trillion, but this was 48.68 percent lower compared to Rp 178.7 trillion in the previous year.

Bank Mandiri is the country's largest bank and was formed by the merging of four state banks last year -- Bank Bumi Daya (BBD), Bank Dagang Negara (BDN), Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia (Exim), and Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo).

The government completed Bank Mandiri's recapitalization in 1999 by injecting bonds worth Rp 178 trillion, boosting its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) to more than 12.44 percent.

The bank is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) early next year in a bid to raise $1.5 billion. Bambang said he had agreed to the bank's IPO plans. The finance minister represents the government as the shareholder of state banks.

The government will also soon recapitalize Bank BNI by injecting bonds worth Rp 52.8 trillion. The bank was hit last year by a controversy when a minister alleged that former president Soeharto intervened in the channeling of Rp 9.6 trillion in loans from the bank to the textile conglomerate Texmaco Group. Much of the loans have now fallen into the bad loan category.

Bambang added that the airline PT Merpati Nusantara booked a loss of Rp 48.70 billion, mainly because the rupiah-based tariff could not cover its dollar-based operational cost.

He said other state-owned firms which suffered big losses included paper company PT Kertas Letjes (Rp 193.65 billion), glass maker PT Industri Gelas (Rp 58.39 billion), housing construction firm PT Pembangunan Perumahan (Rp 99 billion), and plantation firms PTPN XIV (Rp 39.37 billion), and PTPN XI (35.65 billion).

Bambang stated that these companies were badly hit by the high interest rate policy and suffered inefficiency due to the out of date plant equipment. He didn't report the financial condition of the remaining 120 state firms.

Elsewhere, Bambang said the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) had raised Rp 11.41 trillion as of January 2000 against its Rp 17 trillion target. Rp 3.67 trillion had come from the sale of its fixed assets, Rp 5.51 trillion from the recovery of bank non-performing loans (NPLs) under its management, and the remainder from other revenue sources.

Around Rp 5.59 trillion is expected to be earned from the sale of its 45 percent stake in the publicly listed auto giant PT Astra International, along with the recovery of NPLs and the selling of the government bank recapitalization bonds. "IBRA will be able to meet its Rp 17 trillion revenue target in the current 1999/2000 budget year [ending this month]," Bambang said.

Forest conflicts threaten timber deals

Jakarta -- Several foreign investors and buyers may pull out of contracts with Indonesian plywood producers over escalating conflicts between timber companies and local people in Kalimantan, a report said yesterday.

The warning came days after an international association of crude palm oil buyers threatened to boycott Indonesian products if Jakarta failed to control forest fires.

The Indonesian Forestry Society and the Association of Indonesian Forests Concessionaires (APHI) said foreign firms were worried that mills would have difficulty meeting delivery schedules.

Forestry society chairman Sudrajat Jaya said: "These investors and buyers, most of whom are from South Korea, have begun to lose confidence in the country. They are worried about the security and legal uncertainty of conducting business here."

APHI figures cited by the newspaper showed at least 50 timber companies, which control about 10 million hectares of forest in Irian Jaya, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, had halted logging because of disputes with the local population. Some 77 loggers in East Kalimantan also have threatened to stop their operations after residents seized heavy equipment and demanded billions of rupiah in compensation.

In the past, disputes between local communities and loggers, usually over profit share, forest access or compensation, have largely been kept under wraps. But since the fall of former president Suharto in May 1998, many disputes have come into the open.

APHI chairman Adiwarsita Adinegoro cited the case of a group of residents who took 2,000 cubic metres of logs from a Korean joint venture timber firm in Irian Jaya. "Local administrations have not been serious about settling disputes," he said.

He said the Irian Jaya administration was expected to issue a decree soon defining the rights and responsibilities of timber companies and local communities in utilising forests. He said the decree would also regulate the amount of compensation the companies must pay for the timber they take from the areas.

Mr Adiwarsita said timber companies were always willing to settle disputes with local communities. However, agreements sometimes were difficult to reach because locals made demands that were impossible to meet, he said.

"Some people, for example, demanded timber companies pay 250,000 rupiah for every cubic metre of logs the companies take from neighbouring forests. That's just impossible," he said.

Mr Jaya said the conflicts already had forced some new foreign investors to postpone or cancel plans. The director-general of Production Forestry Management, Mr Sugeng Widodowas, said disputes probably would escalate in the future because people now were more aware of their rights.