• Horror lives on for town of Liquica - Sydney Morning Herald
• Jakarta agrees to extradite suspects - Sydney Morning Herald
• Jakarta troops 'train militias for invasion' - South China Morning Post
• Independent East Timor remains Indonesia's stumbling block - Jakarta Post
• West Timor: Three months extension for aid distribution - Agence France-Presse
• Coffee is the key - Financial Times
• Jobless confronted by anti-riot troops - Green Left Weekly
• Long queues for medical facilities - Green Left Weekly
• Keating should walk naked in the street says Ramos-Horta - Australian Associated Press

• Discontent over Mega's party line-up - Straits Times

• Jakarta gang wars leave shops, restaurants razed - Indonesian Observer
• Matraman residents called to settle battle themselves - Jakarta Post

• Aceh students rally to protest killing of student - Agence France-Presse
• Aceh People's Congress rejects security deployment - Jakarta Post
• Human skeletons found in separate graves in Aceh - Jakarta Post

• Slush fund 'set up to obstruct bribery probe' - Agence France-Presse
• Indonesia acts to clean up its courts - Straits Times

• Protest at move to allow communism - Straits Times
• Palace besieged as Islamic protests escalate - South China Morning Post
• Muslims slam President and call for holy war - Associated Press
• TNI to make "meticulous" study of proposal - Antara
• US regrets lawsuit against Johny Lumintang - Jakarta Post
• Civil servants' salary hikes delayed - Straits Times
• Central Java fisheryfolk sink in debt - Jakarta Post

• Jakarta accuses IMF, World Bank of interfering - Straits Times
• Wahid cornered on reform pledges - Reuters
• Jakarta 'must do its sums' on fuel subsidies - Reuters

Protesters seek Suharto trial

Daniel Cooney, Jakarta -- Riot police blocked roads leading to ex-President Suharto's house today as hundreds of protesters rallied in central Jakarta calling for the former dictator to be prosecuted for corruption.

The students, carrying banners reading "Arrest Suharto" and "Confiscate Suharto's wealth," denounced the government for allegedly taking too long to investigate the former dictator's involvement in a number of corruption scandals. In the past week, there have been several anti-Suharto protests, some leading to violent clashes with police.

Suharto, who has been formally named a suspect in connection with a corruption scandal involving several charitable foundations, has denied any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said today that one of Suharto's top military men, former military chief Gen. Wiranto, may not have to face trial, despite being implicated in the destruction of East Timor last year. The attorney general said Wiranto cannot be charged with omission of duties under Indonesia's legal system.

A government human rights investigation and a UN inquiry found that as military commander Wiranto bore ultimate responsibility for atrocities committed by Indonesian forces in East Timor after its people voted to secede in a UN-sponsored plebiscite. But the probes did not uncover any evidence that Wiranto was personally involved in organizing the violence.

"Under existing law, omission does not carry any penalty," the attorney general told journalists in Jakarta. "He will not be able to be tried in court ... if he's not found to be guilty of complicity."

He said that while the legal loophole may prevent Wiranto from facing prosecution, there is a move to change the law to make omission of duties a crime punishable by 12 years in jail.

More than 250 bodies have so far been recovered and experts have estimated that 70 percent of the homes and buildings in the half-island territory were destroyed in the rampage by pro- Indonesian militias. At the time of the vote, Indonesia's armed forces were responsible for maintaining security.

President Abdurrahman Wahid, who assumed office last October after a multinational peacekeeping force had restored order in East Timor, has promised that Wiranto will be prosecuted, but has said that the former commander may be pardoned if found guilty.

The UN Security Council has threatened to set up an international tribunal -- similar to the one for the former Yugoslavia -- if Indonesia fails to prosecute those responsible for the carnage.

Strike warning over pay-hike plan

Robert Go - Representatives of Indonesia's lower-level civil servants last week warned parliamentary leaders of possible strikes should the government implement a plan to raise drastically the salaries and allowances of top civil servants.

Mr Feisal Tamin, leader of Indonesia's Civil Service Union, Korpri, confirmed yesterday that representatives of the low-level civil servants had attended a private meeting with Indonesia's leading lawmakers late last week to submit objections to the disproportionate salary hikes which favoured top echelon officials in the Indonesian government.

"The government's action was unjust and non-supportive of the majority of civil workers and we should guard against dissatisfaction and disharmony within the civil service," he said.

Without the support of ordinary workers, the government would shut down, he said, emphasising that his organisation's views were also supported by Indonesians at large.

"We suggest a 350 per cent raise across the board and that, in the future, the salary structure should be merit-based," he said. A source in the Finance Ministry, however, outlined the government's budgetary problems and defended the existing plan as "practical".

"There is simply not enough cash in the government's coffers to give all 6.5 million civil servants meaningful allowance raises." According to his figures, a 10 per cent increase for the entire civil service would cost a staggering 3.5 trillion rupiah (S$220 million), whereas the current plan of a basic allowance hikes for all workers and extra increases for high-level workers would only add 1.1 trillion rupiah to next year's budget. In other countries, he said, salary gaps between upper management staff and the workers were more balanced and establishing this kind of equity should be the aim of the government.

Although "togetherness" was a key word in his organisation's platform, Mr Feisal said that Indonesia's current weak economic condition would not be able to withstand prolonged and organised strikes and demonstrations. "We are asking our members to be patient, but if they want to protest and strike, or simply perform their duties sloppily, we cannot control all of them completely," he said.

In addition to restating his case, however, Mr Feisal expressed optimism that the problem would be resolved quickly and satisfactorily. He added that Parliament Speaker Akbar Tandjung had immediately called Finance Minister Bambang Sudibyo and President Abdurrahman Wahid to propose a re-examination of the issue. Parliament has delayed the controversial hike in the salaries of senior civil servants which was scheduled to have taken effect this month.

Students demand: No cuts to education subsidies!

Chris Latham -- On April 1, Indonesian students involved in the National Student League for Democracy (LMND) participated in a national mobilisation in Jakarta demanding that the government abandon plans to cut education subsidies to state universities. The policy is expected to result in tuition fee increases of around 300%.

The cuts are part of the broader austerity measures introduced by the Indonesian government on April 1, under the guidance of the International Monetary Fund and its Coordinating Group on Indonesia (CGI), in order to repay Indonesia's debts to international banks and corporations.

The slashing of subsidies on other basic items such as food, cooking oil and electricity will force workers, peasants and students to shoulder a greater share of the burden of the 1997-99 economic crisis.

The LMND sent a solidarity statement to the March 22 national day of action against education privatisation in Australia. It was read out at many of the rallies and received a good response.

It explained that due to rising living and education costs there has been a large drop in the number of students going on to attend high schools and universities.

Of the 4.5 million high school students enrolled in 1996-97 only 2 million entered university studies in 2000. At the same time only around 5 million of the 7.5 million junior high school students enrolled in high school.

The LMND is demanding: no cuts to education subsidies, free education for the people, and for the arms bill to be cut so that more funds can be allocated to education.

ASIET member Kerryn Williams told Resistance magazine, "The fact that the Indonesian and Australian governments are pursuing the same policy of shifting education costs onto students and their families makes building solidarity between the campaigns of students here and there very important."

Thousands demonstrate against subsidy cuts

James Balowski -- Thousands of students, civil servants and other workers protested in Indonesia on April 1 against cuts to subsides on fuel, public transport and electricity. The demonstrators came out despite the Indonesian government's partial backdown on the cuts.

The government announced on March 31 that it would "delay" cuts to fuel subsidies, but it will go ahead with subsidy cuts to electricity and public transport. The April 1 Straits Times reported that Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid told the media, "The government will review conditions every week ... and the rise [in fuel prices] will be implemented when we decide that the time is right".

It has been estimated that the price of electricity will increase by nearly 30% percent and fuel will rise by 20%. New taxes on soft drinks and cement are planned and there will be massive funding cuts to state universities.

On March 30, the International Monetary Fund warned that instability could occur if the government pressed ahead with its plan to cut fuel subsidies. On the same day, the parliamentary commission for mines and energy called for a postponement of the fuel price hike. Parliamentary speaker Akbar Tandjung said that he had delivered a letter from the House of Representatives to Wahid asking him to put the fuel price rises on hold because of its likely impact on the poor.

On March 31, Jakarta police were on alert and 4000 officers mobilised in anticipation of protests. On April 1, 2000 students from the National Student League for Democracy (LMND) and 5000 workers from the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) trade union federation demonstrated outside the national parliament.

LMND chairperson Muhammad Sofyan told Detikcom (http://www.detik.com) that the protesters' demand is "that the cuts not just be delayed but cancelled.

Aside from this, don't abolish education subsides but raise them." FNPBI president Dita Sari told Detikcom that her federation had mobilised workers to demand that the price rises be cancelled.

The LMND and FNPBI activists stayed at the parliament overnight and held a "long march" to the presidential palace on April 2. The LMND erected a flag on the parliamentary building which read "IMF neo-imperialism: the source of disaster, go to hell".

Detikcom also reported that large demonstrations had occurred in Makasar, South Sulawesi, where thousands of students took to the streets setting fire to old tyres. Like those in Jakarta, the protesters demanded that the fuel subsidy cuts be cancelled.

About 100 workers from the FNPBI also held a long march to the regional parliament to demand a 100% increase in the regional minimum wage (instead of the 25% proposed by the government) and an end to sackings.

Protest over fuel price hike

Jakarta -- More than 200 Indonesian protestors picketed an empty parliament building here for the second consecutive day yesterday to demand that the government scrap a planned rise in fuel prices.

"A mere postponement means nothing. The people will continue to suffer," one demonstrator yelled at a free speech forum set up at the main entrance to the parliamentary complex.

The protestors came from at least two groups, the National Student League for Democracy and the Workers' Committee for Reform Actions.

The same groups also picketed parliament on Saturday. Both demonstrations were peaceful. The government of President Abdurrahman Wahid on Friday decided to postpone the fuel price hike, to average around 12 per cent, that had been scheduled to take effect on Saturday.
 

East Timor

Horror lives on for town of Liquica

Lindsay Murdoch -- Almost every day people trail into the Liquica police station to tell the United Nations police stationed there about new grave sites.

"Officially we must stay with the number of bodies that we have actually lifted, but the total number of people killed in this district is much, much higher than that, perhaps even astronomical," American police officer Alan Williams, says.

Mr Williams and other UN police stationed in the coastal town 40 kilometres west of the East Timorese capital, Dili, are frustrated by the slow progress in uncovering the truth about the killing rampage by pro-Jakarta militias before and after last August's vote, in which the territory rejected Indonesian rule.

A map on the wall of the decaying police station, which was vandalised and looted like everything else in the town, shows that UN police have so far recovered 123 bodies in the district, which was home to one of the most feared militia groups, Besi Merah Putih, or Red and White Iron. But 20 other sites are marked where bodies are known to be buried.

Police divers have recovered body parts in a lake outside the town, but are finding it difficult to continue searching because of the fear of spreading disease. Other body parts have been found jammed under a rock in a stream, but most of the remains had been dragged away by animals.

The UN has only one supervisor and three investigators trained in forensics in Liquica, and a small forensics squad based in Dili is swamped by an impossible workload.

While official UN figures show 180 bodies have been exhumed, the head of the UN operation in the territory, Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello, said the real count was much higher. "I wish I knew what it is -- nobody knows." The UN has reports of 680 missing people and witness accounts of killings in East Timor last year, but the number is considered an unreliable guide. Some UN officials put the toll at more than 2,000.

Wednesday was the first anniversary of what has become known as the Liquica church massacre, when the UN estimates that 200 men, women and children were slaughtered in that single incident by members of the Besi Merah Putih, backed by Indonesian police and soldiers. Earlier estimates had put the number of dead at 58.

The former Catholic priest in Liquica, Father Rafael dos Santos, who survived the slaughter despite a militiaman's homemade pistol being pointed at his head twice -- it failed to fire -- says many bodies have yet to the found.

"Ask the Indonesian police and soldiers where they are buried," he said after laying a flower at the church before emotional memorial masses. "They are the people who know because they are responsible."

Liquica's 43,000 residents are deeply troubled and divided, as they try to re-establish their lives. Former militia members are starting to return in significant numbers, some of them from camps in Indonesian-controlled West Timor.

The families of 450 former Indonesian soldiers, most of them Timorese, returned nervously to the town of Aileu this week after negotiating with the UN and representatives of Fretilin, the anti-Indonesian guerilla group. But the 300 militias who have returned to the Liquica district are frequently attacked by residents, forcing the UN police to intervene.

When those returning are accused of being former militia members, the UN police have their photographs taken to see if they can be identified by witnesses to the killings. But they cannot arrest the suspects even when there is strong evidence against them because the territory's only jail in Dili is full with 60 prisoners, and there is no functional judicial system.

Only 24 judges and prosecutors have been appointed, and the court system, which has to be developed from scratch, is still weeks from being able to hear cases.

Bishop Carlos Belo spells out the conditions under which he believes the former cohorts of the Indonesian military and police can return. "As Timorese they can come back," he said. "This is their homeland. But people expect them to at least make a public apology for what they have done."

Jose Serrao, 38, wants to see the militiaman who bludgeoned him with a sword outside Father Rafael's house 12 months ago brought to justice. He was cradling his three-year-old son at the time and still wonders how he staggered away into the hands of a relative. "These crimes cannot be allowed to pas. I know we have to live together, but we owe it to our children to do something."

Jakarta agrees to extradite suspects

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- Indonesia has opened the way for some of its top military officers and the leaders of pro-Jakarta militia groups responsible for last year's violence in East Timor to be put on trial in the United Nations-controlled territory.

Jakarta surprised UN officials by signing a landmark agreement on Thursday that will allow the extradition to East Timor of Indonesians accused of committing crimes there. This will provoke further resentment towards President Abdurrahman Wahid from hardline military officers, including the former armed forces chief, General Wiranto.

In a cable to the UN in New York, the head of the UN operation in East Timor, Mr Sergio Vieira De Mello, said the agreement "exceeds everything we had realistically hoped to obtain" in negotiations with Indonesia.

Analysts in Jakarta described the Memorandum of Understanding on Legal, Judicial and Human Rights as a courageous move by Mr Wahid in his battle for supremacy over the military, which has dominated Indonesia for three decades.

One of the UN's negotiators, Mr Peter Galbraith, told reporters in the East Timor capital, Dili, yesterday that Indonesia's Attorney-General, Mr Marzuki Darusman, made clear in talks with UN officials he was determined that some trials involving Indonesians responsible for the East Timor violence be held in the territory.

The agreement will also allow East Timorese witnesses to be taken under protection to testify with immunity from prosecution against Indonesians facing criminal charges in Indonesian courts.

Mr Darusman's office is investigating allegations against 33 people, including General Wiranto, implicated in the East Timor violence by Indonesian human rights commission investigators. The UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, described the accord as an "important step".

Under the agreement, East Timor and Indonesia undertake to extradite any of their citizens for a criminal offence publishable by a prison term of two years or more as well as "crimes against humanity."

Jakarta troops 'train militias for invasion'

Joanna Jolly, Atambua -- The Indonesian army is training militias in West Timor for an invasion into East Timor next month despite its continued denials, according to a West Timorese church leader and a human rights organisation.

Both sources warned that Indonesian military (TNI) troops were training militias in areas around the refugee camps close to the border with East Timor.

Yosep Lega Laot, co-ordinator of LAP Timoris (the Council for Timorese Advocacy and Research), said the group had found evidence the TNI was planning to arm the militiamen for a possible mass incursion into East Timor. "There are about 5,000 militiamen who will infiltrate East Timor. They plan to go in a month's time, but we don't know the exact date."

LAP Timoris' allegations are backed up by reports from Benjamin Bria, the Vice-Bishop of Atambua. During regular aid visits to refugee camps, Vice-Bishop Bria said, he had seen TNI soldiers organising training sessions. "It is no secret here. I have seen TNI training. They gather militias together and give them instructions," he said following visits to Betun and camps at Sesekoe and Matabuik near Atambua.

Sources close to the United Nations in West Timor said the allegations supported what the UN had been saying in meetings with President Abdurrahman Wahid and Indonesian officials.

Following 16 militia incursions across the border into East Timor in early March, the UN told the Indonesian Government that it had evidence the TNI was backing militia activities. "We sent two people to the areas to investigate," said Mr Laot. "Our investigators saw militias were trained and facilitated by Kostrad [Strategic Army Reserve] troops."

The allegations come despite recent denials by Indonesian area commander Kiki Syahnakri that the military is providing support to former East Timorese militiamen in any way.

The LAP Timoris team visited East Timorese refugee camps around the border town of Atambua for three days at the end of March. During this visit they saw soldiers in Kostrad uniforms organising military parades of about 30 militiamen. They also reported seeing the Kostrad soldiers teaching the militiamen to use guns. "Our team saw the guns during the training session. They picked them up to have a look at them and saw they were automatic weapons from the TNI," Mr Laot said.

The team's investigation focused on two sites, one near the refugee camp at Haliwen close to Atambua's airport. Here the team found that the militiamen were given training by the TNI every Friday behind the local stadium.

The second site was at Halilulik, at the southern end of the border, near to the town of Betun, where they also observed training by TNI. The team says the TNI is telling the militias it is training them to take back East Timor.

The pro-Indonesian militias fled East Timor last September following the UN-sponsored referendum which resulted in an overwhelming vote for independence.

According to Vice-Bishop Bria, wooden guns are used during training. But he has also seen modern automatic weapons and home-made guns during the sessions.

Independent East Timor remains Indonesia's stumbling block

Lela E. Madjiah, Kupang -- Former president B.J. Habibie was naive when he thought that letting go of East Timor would mean an end to Indonesia's problems.

Habibie then argued that getting rid of the predominantly Catholic province would help Indonesia regain direly needed credibility in the international world.

East Timor did gain its independence, although Dili is now an "extension" of Darwin, with its telephone area code similar to that of the Australian city. Indonesia's problems, meanwhile, persist and East Timor remains a stumbling block to this predominantly Muslim country.

The latest hurdle comes with the news of a lawsuit filed against Lt. Gen. Johny Lumintang, the governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas). The suit was filed in US District Court on March 28 by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) and James Klimaski on behalf of several victims of the East Timor mayhem.

Legal papers filed in court cited a telegram signed by Johny, then deputy Army chief, and sent to former Udayana Military commander overseeing security in Bali, East and West Nusa Tenggara Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri and other commanders just hours before the agreement to conduct the ballot was signed at the United Nations on May 5.

The telegram ordered commanders to plan a crackdown should the East Timorese vote in favor of independence. This was to include "a plan to move to the rear and evacuate if the second option is chosen", the East Timor Action Network (ETAN), said in a statement issued last Friday.

In Singapore, Adm. Dennis Cutler Blair, commander in chief of the US Pacific Command, said on Friday that military ties between the United States and Indonesia could only be resumed if those responsible for the East Timor violence were brought to justice.

The lawsuit and Adm. Blair's "threat" are clear indications that the US and its Western allies are using East Timor to put pressure on Indonesia. And they will do almost anything to discredit Indonesia, as is evident from last month's visit to Jakarta by the chief of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) Sergio Viera de Mello and UNTAET Force Commander Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos. The two UNTAET officials lodged complaints with President Abdurrahman Wahid and Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Widodo AS relating to 16 incidents.

The complaints were a laughing stock among Indonesian officials. In the first place, the incidents, blamed on former prointegration fighters, occurred inside East Timor, which is "heavily" guarded by the supposedly professional UN Peace Keeping Force (UNPKF) armed with sophisticated weapons. Two of the "so- called incidents" were nothing but information on "possible incidents", in other words, of "incidents" that had not yet occurred and would probably never occur.

"So far border violations are committed by cows that cross the border illegally," East Nusa Tenggara deputy governor Yohanis Pake Pani said last Thursday.

De Mello renewed his complaints on Thursday and demanded that Indonesia move prointegration fighters from the border and demobilize them. However, he turned down a three-point proposal from Udayana chief Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, who proposed an exchange of liaison officers, the setting up of joint border posts and a joint border patrol.

If approved, the proposal would allow TNI to place liaison officers in East Timor and the UNPKF would have their liaison officers in East Nusa Tenggara. The proposed joint border posts and border patrols would also improve security operations.

"I'm baffled. He wants TNI to help stop the incursions into East Timor but he turned down the proposal," Kiki told The Jakarta Post in an interview last Thursday. "Maybe they are afraid that our presence on the East Timor side of the border would be an obstacle to whatever design or scheme they have in mind."

Kiki's suspicions were justified by reports of illegal entry into the Indonesian territory by Australian members of UNPKF. The border violation occurred on March 22, when a group of Australian troops entered Silawan village, some 150 meters inside East Nusa Tenggara.

The Australian troops denied having violated the border limit, and even accused TNI of inaccuracy in defining the border limits. "The river there is the border and the troops were on our side of the river," said Kiki, who lodged a protest with UNTAET regarding the illegal entry.

Kiki suspected the illegal entry was a provocation to creating new problems. "The Australians were probably hoping to provoke TNI into clashing with them. After all, the illegal entry occurred only three days after Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer warned of possible border clashes," Kiki told the Post.

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono, meanwhile, warned that the international world would continue to judge Indonesia in the light of the post-ballot situation in East Timor and along the border. "We all know that on April 3 or 4 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to announce its decision on the disbursement of its financial aid to the Indonesian government. The aid is very important for the state budget," Juwono said in Kupang last Thursday during a meeting with East Nusa Tenggara officials shortly before he met with UNTAET chief Sergio de Mello and UNPKF commander Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos.

Among those present at the meeting were East Nusa Tenggara deputy governor Yohanis Pake Pani, East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Yusuf Sudradjat and Udayana Military chief Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri. "We must be very, very careful lest the border disputes be made an excuse to delay the international aid. This [border issue] is no mere political and security issue," said Juwono.

He also cautioned against foreign use of every incident as a political commodity and against foreign media reports on border incidents as a form of information war. "We must be aware of the vanity of the United Nations. It does not take blame. There is an impression that we are always the one to blame while the UN is faultless," Juwono said. "If they are not competent and prove to be inefficient in providing security in the area under their jurisdiction, they should not blame us," he said, referring to UNTAET's complaints of the 16 incidents.

Juwono said Australia and New Zealand, two of the three nations whose troops were stationed along the border, did not show friendly attitudes toward Indonesia. "We do not have the authority to ask the UN to replace them, but we will closely monitor the development on the border and as mentioned earlier by the (Udayana) chief, every incident that occurs there will be blamed on us. But we must stand firm when we are convinced that we are right," he said.

The only way for Indonesia to disengage itself from the East Timor problem seems to be to say no to IMF aid. After all, nearly half of the IMF funds never reach the Indonesian people, with about 30 percent returning to IMF coffers to pay for its consultants and so-called studies even before the money reaches Indonesia, and another 20 percent is lost in the hands of Indonesian bureaucrats.

The problem is that Indonesians are not united on this issue and not all are willing to share the burden of having to live without IMF or other international aid.

Indonesia should also reconsider its military cooperation with the United States, especially since President Abdurrahman Wahid said on March 25 that he wanted to reduce Indonesia's dependence on arms procurement from the United States or any single foreign country. "They [the United States] also need us. Without us, security in this region is not guaranteed," he said. Indonesia should also realize that the US needs access to TNI and it can only do so openly and officially when the two countries resume military cooperation. It is as much in the interest of the US as it is in Indonesia's to resume military cooperation and Indonesia should not allow the US to continue to use the East Timor issue to blackmail it.

West Timor: Three months extension for aid distribution

Food distribution to 100,000 refugees still in camps in West Timor will continue by the Indonesian Government which announced in early March that food and other assistance will be cut off by March 31, 2000.

UNHCR headquarters in Geneva said Jakarta had agreed to give East Timorese refugees in West Timor another three months to decide whether to return home or to stay in Indonesia. "There will be a three-month transition period beginning April 1 to allow refugees to decide and take action on their future -- whether to remain or return to East Timor," UNHCR said in a statement sent to AFP.

Some other reports indicated that Indonesia wants to hand over responsibility for the remaining East Timorese refugees in West Timor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), because the cost of caring for them has become too expensive. The Jakarta Post sited that East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet A. Tallo gave notice to UNHCR senior officer Craig Sanders in Kupang to take charge of the refugees. "The Indonesian government will only assist the UNHCR in the administration and facilitation of certain procedures," Vice Governor Johanes Pake Pani told The Jakarta Post.

Sister Afra who works with JRS in the camps around Kupang said that in some camps the food aid was already cut weeks ago but in other camps food distribution still takes place. "While food aid is not cut for the moment we wonder when the distribution will take place. In theory the Indonesian government still has food to distribute to the people but in practice we are not sure when these distributions will take place. At the early stages of the exodus weekly distributions were made to the camps but as time went by distributions were made every two weeks and then once a month," Sister Afra added.

On March 31, 400 people repatriated from Kupang to Dili, however there is a slight decrease in the number of people wishing to return to East Timor. "The number of those wanting to return to East Timor is decreasing again. Some people want to wait another month to collect their salaries," Sr Afra said. Transmigration programs are also on their way as families that signed up for these programs are being called to go to the local integration sites. "Those who want local integration can choose from three sites: a site near Sulamu, Soe or Atambua, but so far we haven't seen a lot of people moving to these three locations," Sr Afra reported. In March there were about 9,500 returnees to East Timor.

Coffee is the key

Shawn Donnan -- Ever since aid groups and multinational organisations including the United Nations and the World Bank entered East Timor last year, the nation's coffee industry has been seen as key to rebuilding the devastated territory.

The crop is the country's only source of foreign exchange, but there are serious problems overshadowing a successful harvest. The infrastructure remains largely shattered from the three-week rampage led by the Indonesian military and pro-Jakarta militias last September. There is little or no electricity outside Dili, the capital; the road system has been badly damaged by the heavy armoured vehicles from the Australian-led security force and United Nations peacekeepers. And all of the wet processing facilities used for high-grade Arabica coffee were put out of operation during the violence.

Wet processing produces a better quality coffee, and commands a higher price. According to World Bank economists, wet-processed Arabica beans from East Timor will fetch up to 20 US cents a pound above the crucial New York "C" contract price. Dry- processed beans trade for up to 30 US cents below the contract price. The May "C" contract was trading around US Dollars 1.02 a pound on the New York Board of Trade yesterday.

Sam Filiaci, director of the US government-backed National Co- operative Business Association, the largest coffee buyer in East Timor, says its wet processing facilities will be up and running in time for this year's crop.

But the plants owned by the co-operative, which sells a quarter of its exports to the US chain Starbucks each year, can only handle about 40 per cent of the Arabica crop. Arabica accounts for about 80 per cent of the 8,000-ton harvest expected. This means farmers will be forced to dry process Arabica beans and therefore accept much lower prices for their crop.

Much of the 10,000-ton 1999 crop survived the September violence and was dry processed after the destruction of the wet processing facilities. The co-operative has been buying these beans, which are often dried along roads in the Timorese highlands, for about 6,000 rupiahs (78 US cents) a kilo, as part of its aid mission. "It's pretty lousy stuff," says Mr Filiaci.

But the lack of processing plants is not the only problem. The situation is being made worse by politics. The leadership of East Timor's leading political group, the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT) keeps issuing conflicting and sometimes inflammatory statements.

"It's tough to get a unified message from the CNRT," one industry expert says. "Their concern is that the farmers get the highest possible price. But their experience in managing the market is very little and their first impulse is to try to regulate it." CNRT leaders this year launched an attack on the US-backed co- operative, accusing it of being a monopoly and maintaining close ties to Indonesia.

The CNRT is also looking for other buyers and a Portuguese coffee magnate, the Delta group's Rui Nabeiro, has already visited the territory at its invitation. The World Bank is also keen to find other international buyers. "We would love to have more coffee traders here," a World Bank economist says.

But the World Bank is concerned about a 5 per cent export tariff on coffee beans imposed by the UN transitional administration with the backing of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF argues the levy is a "presumptive income tax" that Timorese growers can afford. But the World Bank sees it as an added obstacle in the process of rebuilding East Timor's rural economy. In the long term, the World Bank wants to encourage the diversification of East Timor's rural sector into horticultural products and cottage industries such as furniture production. But in the short term, coffee, as East Timor's only source of foreign exchange, is the key to reconstruction.

Jobless confronted by anti- riot troops

Vanja Tanaja, Dili -- United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (NTAET) security forces threatened to use anti-riot gear against 800 job seekers seeking information on their job applications on March 29. They had been asked to come to the UNTAET office to hear of the outcome of their applications.

On seeing the number of people gathered and sensing the anger of the crowd at the lack of information from UNTAET yet again, anti-riot troops were brought out to quell the demonstration. Troops stood with riot shields, tear gas canisters and batons ready. National Consultative Council member Avelino da Silva offered to negotiate between UNTAET and the crowd. He told the crowd not to become frustrated and not to expect UNTAET to solve all of East Timor's problems.

The job seekers were angry at the prospect of violence being used against them, equating it with life under the Portuguese and Indonesian colonial administrations.

One job seeker told me that he had filled out four application forms, but still had not heard whether or not he had been selected for an interview. He said all the protesters wanted was certainty and transparency in the selection of workers for UNTAET. Others condemned the type of employment offered by UNTAET, mainly as security guards, whilst many of them were highly qualified workers.

Casimiro Pinto asked how a nation could be built when Timorese are only given the opportunity of being security guards. A crowd who had gathered around me said that UNTAET's agenda was to make East Timor dependent on international forces and its treatment of job seekers is symptomatic of this. They condemned the high salaries of imported labour in contrast to the US$50 a month many Timorese employees received.

The crowd demanded that Timorese political leaders meet with them to discuss UNTAET's conduct in the territory. Avelino Coelho de Silva and Jose Ramos Horta, vice-president of the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT), spoke to the gathering.

Horta explained to the crowd through a megaphone the procedures for applying for jobs with UNTAET and the public service in general. He apologised for the difficulties experienced by job seekers. One person in the crowd yelled out that his problem was hunger.

Da Silva said that UNTAET had to provide more information, and dialogue with the crowd, instead of over-reacting by threatening to use anti-riot troops. He said the problem was of UNTAET's own making, by telling the job-seekers to come that day to seek information on the outcome of their applications and failing to fulfil this promise.

A meeting was then held in Dili's indoor stadium attended by the two Timorese leaders and some UNTAET staff and around 400 of the job seekers. Horta told the meeting that he and CNRT president Xanana Gusmao had invited the UN to come to East Timor and as proof of their loyalty to the Timorese, some UN staff had died in East Timor. He also outlined his commitment over the last 24 years to the struggle for an independent East Timor.

The crowd was very critical of UNTAET's conduct in East Timor, especially the lack of employment opportunities. Timorese CNRT leaders did not escape the crowd's wrath -- one speaker condemning them for receiving money and cars and living a comfortable life while the people still starved.

A meeting is scheduled on April 3 between UNTAET administrator Sergio de Mello and a delegation of the job seekers.

Long queues for medical facilities

Vannessa Hearman, Dili -- To come face to face with public health services in East Timor is a daunting thing. For expatriate workers, there is access to foreigner clinics and always the possibility of being evacuated to Darwin or some other First World medical facility.

However, this is not an option for the population in general, who are suffering from various diseases, many associated with the deplorable living conditions forced upon a majority of the Timorese and hence very much preventable if their living conditions were improved.

There are around six hospitals and clinics in Dili which provide medical care to the population. All seem to be operated by non- government organisations and the United Nations.

As a volunteer worker in East Timor, though I had the option of being evacuated to Darwin, I remained here while suffering from a bout of malaria. The first clinic I visited was small, operated by Accion Medical International opposite Dili Stadium.

On that day there were more than 50 people waiting, sitting on benches and filling the corridors. It was only 9.30am. I was suffering from undiagnosed malaria and my friend, chronic bronchitis. We were refused as there were already too many patients. We were lucky enough to be able to afford a taxi for the 10-minute drive across town to the Medecins Sans Frontieres office, located on the main road into Dili.

Although highly visible from the very large banner hung outside the office, proclaiming their presence in Dili, the office had no doctor in attendance. We were told by a staff member to go to "quarantine" at Taci Tolu, on the outskirts of Dili. I did not consider quarantine to be necessary as yet, so we left slightly perplexed and getting more desperate.

Another volunteer worker suggested the Dili General Hospital in Bidau. This hospital was an Indonesian-run public hospital and is now run by the International Committee of the Red Cross. We hopped into another taxi for another drive across town.

At the hospital there were around 60 people already waiting to see a doctor, a daunting sight for someone who is ill. Our names, ages, addresses and patient numbers were written on slips of recycled paper. There are no patient files. We were numbers 79 and 80.

The waiting room is a series of long, hard wooden benches, painted white, in rows out in the corridor. The discomfort of a young woman who had obviously waited for a long time on those benches was plain to see. Doors were kept open and there might be other patients in the room during a consultation, so privacy is extremely limited.

We waited for an hour before being called and the system was chaotic with those who arrived before us still waiting. My friend and I, male and female, were seen at the same time. I was sent to the laboratorium for a blood test, where the needle that would prick my finger was lying in an open sachet, looking suspiciously like it was being reused. The doctor had refused to answer when we asked whether needles used were sterile or not.

Consultation and medicines at the clinics around hospitals are free at the moment. It is questionable if the majority of the population would be able to afford health care if it was not.

The next day, I waited for two hours to get a prescription after malaria was confirmed. The man next to me had an abscess on his foot and malaria. Other patients showed pity on me for being a foreigner with malaria, but attitudes to this common disease here are positively blase.

The lack of proper drainage systems and rubbish collection means open drains and "impromptu" drains, trails of water seeping out from toilets and kitchens are ubiquitous. In fact, this is my view from my window as I get up every morning.

Rubbish, besides being burnt, is also thrown in the drains since there is no organised rubbish collection as such for locals. Vaccinations for children are hard to get and extremely limited. There are limited surgical and dental services at the hospital and an emergency clinic. To circumvent the queues, some families are relying on personal contact with medical staff to receive injections and medicines at their homes outside work hours. At these types of consultations, syringes are "sterilised" in a glass of hot water and then reused.

The desperate, frustrated, worried and ill faces at the clinics I visited continued to haunt me. They are still waiting for the tangible results of the transitional period.

Keating should walk naked in the street says Ramos-Horta

Canberra -- Paul Keating was a politically dead former prime minister trying to maintain relevance and "would be better off walking naked down the street", East Timorese Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta said today.

In a scathing attack on Mr Keating, whom he referred to only as "that former prime minister", Mr Ramos- Horta said Labor had treated Indonesia with servility, allowing it to think it could get away with invasion and genocide.

He told a Rotary Club conference in Canberra that Mr Keating maintained a "touching father-son relationship" with former Indonesian president Suharto.

And he said it was thanks to Prime Minister John Howard that the United Nations intervention had succeeded, saving thousands of lives.

Mr Keating returned the jibes in an interview on Channel 10, saying that if it had been left to wiser heads like Dili's Bishop Belo, co-winner of the 1996 Nobel peace prize with Mr Ramos- Horta, there would have seen a different result in East Timor.

He said Mr Ramos-Horta had believed he could trick the East Timorese into believing they could vote for independence and survive.

Mr Keating also attacked Mr Howard for his role in pushing Indonesia towards allowing a free vote in East Timor "when he must have realised it would result in mayhem".

Mr Ramos-Horta had said Mr Keating should stay out of any discussions on the situation in East Timor. "In the last few days I heard of comments and criticism by a politically deceased former prime minister criticising the incumbent prime minister for his handling of East Timor," he said.

"That former prime minister reminds me of a deceased African despot called Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa of the Central African Republic. When the late French president Charles De Gaulle died many years ago, that African tinpot dictator Bokassa cried and screamed, called out the name Charles De Gaulle and said 'papa, papa'.

"That former prime minister of yours also has a touching fatherly relationship with the Indonesian dictator Suharto.

"We all know how the previous Labor government went out of its way to treat the dictators with servility, which allowed the dictatorship to think that it could get away with total impunity, no matter what it did in East Timor ... what it did in Indonesia."

Mr Ramos-Horta said former prime ministers and presidents were often desperate to grab attention. "Well, they would do better to do things like walking naked in the streets," he said.

In recent comments, Mr Keating has strongly criticised Mr Howard for his letter to former Indonesian president BJ Habibie urging that the independent ballot be held in East Timor. He said that letter was an act of irresponsibility which forced premature action and resulted in the destruction of East Timorese society.

But Mr Ramos-Horta said that letter played only a minor role in forcing Indonesia to resolve the East Timor situation. He said it was the long process of cumulative damage and international criticism over many years which convinced the pragmatic president Habibie it was time to change.

"John Howard's letter was only a drop in the ocean of international pressure and protest," he said. "It contributed but it was not the deciding factor."

But Mr Keating said today that Mr Ramos-Horta had pursued a divisive agenda for years. "Ramos-Horta, I believe, reflected no virtue on himself in all the years he was out there trying to find a point of difference with people over East Timor, " Mr Keating told Channel Ten. " ... If it had not been for wiser heads like Bishop Belo, Australia may have witnessed a different result in the East Timor conflict."

He said that in seeking a vote for independence for East Timor, Mr Ramos-Horta had approached an Indonesian president (BJ Habibie) who did not have authority and couldn't even control his own army. "[Mr Horta believed he could] trick people into believing they could vote for independence and survive ... then [he could] watch them murdered and cut to ribbons, and then put the troops in and say, 'well, everything's all right, I can sleep at night'," Mr Keating said.

"Well, I can tell you, I wouldn't have slept at night." Mr Ramos-Horta said similar appeasement to that fostered by Mr Keating had encouraged Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to first invade Iran in the 1980s and then Kuwait.
 

Government/politics

Discontent over Mega's party line-up

Semarang -- Indonesian Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri has announced a new line-up for the executive board of her Indonesian Democratic Party Perjuangan but her party members doubt if it will work.

Ms Megawati, who was re-elected chairperson of the PDI-P at the party's congress here last Saturday, also warned party supporters they could not rely on her forever. "All party members must be ready to take over from me. Be an excellent cadre. Who knows, one of you could be nominated to become party chief."

The party's executive board includes five new faces and accommodates different religious groups and regions. The new deputy chairmen are Karel Lukkas Degey from Irian Jaya, Imam Mundjiat from East Kalimantan, Gunawan Wirosaroyo from Central Java and Roy B.B. Janis and Arifin Panigoro, both from Jakarta.

The remaining three deputy chairmen posts went to Mr Kwik Kian Gie, Mr I Gusti Ngurah Sare and Mr Theo Syafei, all of whom were on the old executive board. Mr Sutjipto was appointed party secretary-general, which is seen by many as the second-most strategic and important position in the party.

The deputies to the secretary-general are Mr Mangara Siahaan, a former party deputy chairman; Mr Pramono Anung from Jakarta; Mr Yakobus K.M. Padang, the secretary of the South Sulawesi provincial chapter of the party; and secretary of the party's Jambi provincial chapter Agnita Singadikane. Ms Noviantika Nasution, the party's former deputy treasurer, replaces Mr Laksamana Sukardi as treasurer.

Ms Megawati formed the executive board after winning unanimous support for her re-election as party chief at the PDI-P congress here. The congress previously agreed to allow a system which gave the chairman-elect the power to name the party's executive board. She also attempted to quell the controversy surrounding this system. "I hope my re-election does not pose a threat to the process of democratisation.".

But many party members wondered whether the new executives would be able to cooperate with one another in tackling the challenges of the future. Former deputy chairman Mochtar Buchori said some of the executive members were uneducated cadres and others were Megawati loyalists who lacked the skill to run the party.

"Kwik is the only educated professional. I am sad the management of the party has been entrusted to such uneducated and unprofessional cadres," he said. Another former deputy chairman Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno said that the selection was not based on rational and objective considerations.

Party member and outspoken House of Representatives legislator Aberson Marle Sihaloho said: "I just hope Megawati will be able to work with the unskilled cadres to make PDI-P a modern party."
 

Regional conflicts

Jakarta gang wars leave shops, restaurants razed

Jakarta -- Jakarta Police Chief Major General Nurfaizi has appealed to warring gangs in East Jakarta, who were still fighting yesterday, to stop their continual clashes.

The Berlan gang and Palmeriam gang, separated by Jalan Matraman Raya, frequently clash and end up damaging shops, restaurants, stalls and houses along the road.

The latest clash took place yesterday, leaving at least 13 buildings burned down. On Saturday, eight companies of police were sent in to stop an earlier incident, but the gangs' members ignored them and carried on fighting.

The clashes have been taking place on-and-off for more than 20 years. Nurfaizi said it is difficult to get the warring parties to put down their knives and stones, and concentrate on establishing peace and harmony.

East Jakarta Mayor Andi Mappaganti, who accompanied Nurfaizi on his visit to the restive area yesterday, said only police can restore peace and order. Nurfaizi met with representatives from each gang and told them that police would not always be around to stop the unrest.

"The turfs of the two groups here are small, and you are only separated by Jalan Matraman. So if all of you are willing to fight each other night and day, then the government, cannot take steps to help you," he said.

Arson

During the clash on Saturday night, locals burned down the Melania Hospital, which is mainly a maternity clinic; the Lautan Berlian car showroom; and two restaurants. Smoke from the fires was still visible yesterday afternoon.

Firemen were unable to extinguish the blazes quickly, because when they arrived in five fire-engines, locals hurled stones at them, injuring some of them and damaging the vehicles. "We are angry with everyone -- the government, the Palmeriam gang, and anyone who supports our enemies," said Bes, a youth from Berlan. "You can see that any wounded guys from Palmeriam were sent directly to Carolus Catholic Hospital, instead of to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. Certain persons pay their hospital bills."

Traffic Cops

There are four U-turns on Jalan Matraman where locals, either from Palmeriam or Berlan, try to make money by acting as illegal traffic police. It is unclear which gangs control how many U- turns, as gang members give different information.

Usually they take two U-turns each, but if one gang takes over a third U-turn due to superior power, the other gang loses face, and a clash will inevitably result. "If locals hear bells ringing and power-line poles being beaten non-stop, they will know it's time to come out of their houses equipped with machetes, swords, knives and iron bars, ready to fight," said Eko, another Berlan youth.

Bes said if mikrolet (public passenger minivan) drivers refuse to pass down Jalan Matraman and go to Palmeriam, it is another indication that a clash is about to take place. He said locals really enjoy a good fight because they can take money from burning restaurants or steal good quality tires from car showrooms.

Matraman residents called to settle battle themselves

Jakarta -- City police chief Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi regretted the seemingly endless dispute between two neighboring residents in the Matraman area, East Jakarta, urging the disputed parties to settle the prolonged battle on their own. The police, Nurfaizi said, would do their best to stop the never-ending battle but could not do it without the help of the warring neighbors.

"Now it's up to the residents whether or not to continue with such destructive actions. The police can't work alone," he told reporters at city police headquarters. Noted local figures, such as teachers and religious leaders, should urge the residents not to become involved in such brawls," added Nurfaizi, who in the morning inspected the area with several local officials.

The brawl between neighboring residents of Kebon Manggis and Palmeriam, along Jl. Matraman, which flared up last Sunday and continued on both Tuesday and Friday, was triggered again in the early hours of Sunday. In the latest clash, the mob burned 12 buildings, including shops and residents' houses. No fatalities were reported. As usual, the clash, which has tarnished the lives of the two neighborhoods for so many years, was prompted by a small incident between local teenagers.

Separately contacted on Sunday, city spokesman Muhayat supported Nurfaizi's remarks, saying that the age-old conflict between the Matraman neighbors could only be resolved by the disputed residents themselves. "Governor Sutiyoso has ordered East Jakarta Mayor Andi Mappaganti to reconcile both areas and there has been a meeting for that purpose. Yet they started fighting again," he said over the phone. "Local figures must urge residents to restrain themselves. The governor also said that he suspected there were provocateurs taking advantage of the situation," Muhayat said, but gave no further details.

Mappaganti, who accompanied Nurfaizi on his visit on Sunday, said that his office would soon build a two-meter by 400-meter fence to divide the two warring neighborhoods. "We'll build the fence soon. We have no other choice," he said.

A Lautan Berlian Mitsubishi showroom and a Sari Kuring restaurant were destroyed by the fire on Sunday. The total amount of losses was still unknown by the buildings' owners. "Not only did the mob burn the building but they also took the equipment, such as the air-conditioners and computers. Some of them plundered our spare parts," Joni, a staffer at the Mitsubishi showroom told reporters.

Separately, local residents asked the authorities to deploy the Navy's elite Marine Corps to avoid any brawls in the future. "We can't rely on police officers because residents of Kebon Manggis are widely known to be of Army background," a teenager said on condition of anonymity.

Another resident criticized the police for arriving late at the scene and doing nothing to stop the brawl. "Police only show up in daylight and they disappear at night," she said. There were three police trucks and two armored vehicles seen at the location on Sunday afternoon.

Nurfaizi admitted that police were late as they needed some time to reach the location. The officer also criticized residents, who prevented fire trucks from entering the location to put out the fire. "When the fire trucks arrived, some residents tried to prevent them from entering the scene. But as they were late, the residents blamed the city's fire office," he added.

Nurfaizi pledged to take strong action against any anarchic activities. "There is no other choice, I will take stern action against all acts of destruction," he warned.
 

Aceh/West Papua

Aceh students rally to protest killing of student

Banda Aceh -- Some 500 students on Friday held a peaceful rally here in Aceh's provincial capital to protest the death of a woman medical student allegedly shot by security forces the previous day.

The students staged a sit-in in front of the office of the chancellor of the Syah Kuala state university and read out a statement from the university student association which condemned the shooting of student Cut Fatin Hamama, 23, on Thursday.

"The big family of the Syah Kuala University condemns the shooting of the minibus in Indrapuri sub- district, Aceh Besdar, which led to the death of a female student," the statement said.

Hamama was in the front seat of the minibus when armed men in police uniforms sprayed the vehicle with bullets late on Thursday evening. An employee of the emergency ward of the Zainul Abidin hospital in Banda Aceh said Hamama was still alive when brought to the hospital around 8.15pm Thursday, but died a few minutes later.

Hamama, a medical student, died of a bullet wound to the head. Witnesses said the minibus was shot at by brigade members who were conducting street searches for separatist rebels who had attacked a police convoy there earlier in the day.

But the head of the Aceh police operation, Colonel Yusuf Muharam, denied the shooters were Brimob members. "It was not my subordinates who shot the female student," Muharram told journalists here.

Muharam said a group of police had been ambushed in the district around 6.30pm Thursday, leaving three members wounded in the shootout. "But because it was already getting dark, and to avoid falling victim to the local population, all Brimob [police mass control] personnel who had been rushed to the location had been ordered to return to their base," Muharam said. "We conducted no sweeps, so we don't know who shot the student. "What is clear is that it was not one of our personnel," he added.

Aceh, on the western tip of Sumatra island, has been wracked by clashes between Indonesian troops and Muslim separatist rebels who have been fighting for an independent state since 1976.

Perceived injustices by the central government and a decade-long military clampdown on separatists have sparked popular resentment and calls for a referendum on self-rule in the province, which is rich in oil and gas. The violence has already cost more than 300 lives this year.

Aceh People's Congress rejects security deployment

Banda Aceh -- The Aceh People's Congress (KRA) organizers rejected on Tuesday the massive deployment of around 1,700 elite Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers to secure the week-long event which is slated to start here on April 22.

"We neither need nor ask for that many security troops. KRA has already organized its own security task force comprised of students and Thaliban," congress coordinator Tengku Syamaun Risyad said on Tuesday.

"We're afraid that the congress may regress into chaos due to Brimob presence. We certainly do not want to give any impression to locals that Jakarta is behind the event by dispatching a large number of security forces. It will ruin everything," he said.

The congress is to be attended by around 1,700 participants, including representatives of the Malaysian-based moderate wing of the Free Aceh Movement Administrative Council (MP-GAM). There is no confirmation of attendance by representative of the armed wing of separatist rebels Free Aceh Movement (GAM) led by Tengku Abdullah Syafi'ie, Syamaun said.

National Police chief Brig. Gen. Roesdihardjo said in Jakarta on Monday that the dispatch of four battalions of Brimob was needed "so that the congress can take place safely and successfully."

Days before the event, however, tension gripped Banda Aceh and nearby Aceh Besar regency after outbreaks of violence rocked the areas. Locals complained about soldiers and Brimob officers frequently spraying bullets, wrecking markets without clear reason.

"They do it for a 'trigger-happy' expression and people are terrified. We have filed complaints with the local police chief about the matter," Aceh Besar councillor Tengku M. Amin Hasan said.

Late on Sunday, around 11.30pm, two bomb explosions destroyed two rooms in the regency office and local legislature building in Aceh Besar. No casualties were reported in the blasts. Accidental causes were ruled out when police found a 15-meter wire stretching from the bomb site to the main road, local police chief Lt. Col. Sayed Husaini said. Also in Aceh Besar, three bodies have been found, including the remains of Muzakir, 32, who was found under the Krueng bridge on Sunday with a gunshot wound to the head.

As a result of security concerns, two special airfields which serve multinational companies in Lhokseumawe, the capital of the giant industrial regency of North Aceh, have halted operations. "The flights to and from Lhokseumawe have been temporarily halted since Monday. Who knows what will happen next?" a senior officer at Exxon-Mobil (formerly known as Mobil Oil Indonesia) said on Tuesday. The employees are now working at the company's branch office in Medan, the capital of neighboring North Sumatra province.

Alleged separatist rebels have been blamed for attacks on the airfield belonging to Exxon-Mobil, located 20 kilometers east of Lhokseumawe and the Malikussaleh airfield, about 45 kilometers west of the city.

Human skeletons found in separate graves in Aceh

Banda Aceh -- A joint team of policemen and military personnel found eight human skeletons -- some dressed in military uniforms -- during search operations in Aceh Besar, North and West Aceh on Saturday, a military source said.

Lt. Col. Ferdinand, chief of Aceh Besar military district command, said that judging from the fact that the military uniforms belonged to the Indonesian military (TNI), the skeletons were likely the TNI members who were killed by the separatists (GBPK) at the end of last year. All eight had probably been tortured to death, he said.

"Five skeletons were exhumed from three graves at a hilly area close to the Sultan Iskandarmuda airport in the Kuta Baro district, Aceh Besar, some 20 kilometers east of Banda Aceh," Ferdinand said.

Last month two skeletons, believed to be victims of the separatists, were also found in the area. "One of the skeletons [found on Saturday] was identified as Chief Corporal Mustari, alias Aseng, who was kidnapped by the separatist movement members on December 12 1999.

Another skeleton found in the village of Tanoh Mirah, North Aceh, was identified as Abed Beuransah, deputy speaker of North Aceh legislative council, North Aceh military district chief Lt. Col. Suyatno stated. "He was abducted by GBPK members on September 29 of last year for his close ties to TNI." Two other skeletons were found in the village of Lhok Seumot in the district of Beutong in West Aceh.

According to chief of operation code-named Operasi Sadar Rencong, Lt. Col. Satriya Hari Prasetya, the remains were exhumed from two separate graves. "One of the skeletons was that of Raja Angkasah, a member of the Seunagan military subdistrict office. He was kidnapped by unidentified people in January of this year, while another skeleton was identified as being Ibnu Amin, a local civilian," the police officer said.

Military and police sources said that the search for missing persons -- including military, police officers and civilians -- would continue. "There were 69 people -- 11 Army members, 15 policemen and 43 civilians reported missing in January of this year," Bahrumsyah said.

Also on Saturday, Sergeant Maj. Nanang Hanafiah of Pidie police subprecinct was shot and wounded in an ambush by a group of armed men around 10.30am, local police chief Lt. Col. Endang Emiqail Bagus announced. "The officer was on his way to the office from his home at Blang Paseh when a group of armed thugs shot him from behind and sped off on their motorcycles." The scene of the incident was just 300 meters away from the police station. Nanang was rushed to Sigli General Hospital with a bullet wound in his back. The incident caused a traffic jam along the Banda Aceh- Medan route as police officers conducted a sweep of the area hoping to apprehend the attackers, but to no avail.

Earlier on Friday morning around 5.30am, a junior high school teacher named Edward M. Amin was abducted by an unknown armed group near his house at Baru Jaman subdistrict in Mutiara district, Pidie.
 

Human rights/law

Slush fund 'set up to obstruct bribery probe'

Jakarta -- Several Indonesian business groups have set up a slush fund to pay out bribes to hamper an investigation into official corruption in the logging industry, the Forestry and Plantation Minister said yesterday.

Mr Nur Mahmudi Ismail said firms which had colluded with ministry officials in the past had saved "billions of dollars" to influence the judicial process. "Groups which I am trying to push to the Attorney-General's office are currently preparing billions of dollars to influence the prosecution process so that it does not proceed smoothly," Mr Ismail told journalists in Jakarta.

The minister did not name the groups, but he said they were targeting officials in the Attorney -- General's office, the Law and Legislation Ministry and his own department.

Asked if he was referring to former Indonesian trade minister and timber tycoon Muhammad "Bob" Hasan -- who was detained recently on suspicion of graft relating to a mapping project -- Mr Ismail said: "I don't know and I don't want to make an accusation. What we are trying to do is uphold the supremacy of the law, and this some of them do not like."

Mr Hasan, a timber magnate and close business associate of former president Suharto, under whom he served briefly as a minister, was detained last week. He was held as part of a probe into an US$87-million contract awarded to him by the Forestry Ministry in 1997 to perform aerial mapping and radar-imaging of forests.

The ministry last month reported irregularities in the mapping results, saying the technique used was obsolete and uneconomical and did not reflect the fee paid.

Indonesia acts to clean up its courts

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- In a move to restore confidence and address allegations of corruption, Indonesia's Attorney-General announced that his office would appoint non-career judges next week to help clear the backlog of commercial and civil cases now awaiting trial.

Mr Marzuki Darusman's disclosure of the appointment seems to be part of the government's strategy to convince the global community that it is committed to instituting reforms of the legal and court systems demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Indonesia's financial credibility was hit last week when the IMF said it was delaying payment of US$400 million in loans until bank and corporate restructuring programmes were speeded up.

The government hopes to complete many of these reforms by Saturday -- before a crucial April 12 Paris Club creditors' meeting, where Indonesia will seek to reschedule US$2.1 billion in overseas loans.

But bank restructuring has been hampered by the verdicts of commercial courts -- which have either ruled inconsistently or been seen as favouring insolvent companies.

In a controversial case last week, the Jakarta commercial court ruled that the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra), which seized Bank Bali last July, did not have legal right of control.

One anti-corruption campaigner, lawyer Teten Masduki, estimated that only a small number of the 51 Supreme Court judges are clean. Hence the debate over where the commercial and Supreme courts will obtain their new judges.

Under the plan for ad-hoc judges, the government will look to industry experts or academics -- untainted by association with the previous government -- to serve on the bench. Mr Marzuki said talks were underway with related ministries and departments.

IMF Indonesia representative John Dodsworth has blamed corruption within the legal system for Ibra's inability to seize assets of insolvent companies.

To overcome the shortage of clean and skilled judges, a presidential adviser suggested that Indonesia import Dutch judges to hear commercial cases. But Mr Marzuki yesterday said this was legally impossible as under the law, only Indonesian nationals could preside over its courts.

He also knocked back the considerable criticism he has received in the press -- and from student groups that hold almost daily protests near the residence of former President Suharto -- that he has been too slow in proceeding with a corruption probe into the former leader. There has been speculation on whether he was serious about the probe, given President Abdurrahman Wahid's statements that he would pardon Mr Suharto if he was found guilty. But Mr Marzuki said he would proceed with the case regardless of Mr Abdurrahman's remarks.
 

News & issues

Protest at move to allow communism

Jakarta -- Thousands of Muslims marched on the presidential palace in central Jakarta yesterday to protest against a move by the government to lift a ban on communism. The protesters also burned an Israeli flag and accused the Jewish state of being an "enemy of all Muslims".

About 2,000 protesters, chanting "Allahu Akbar" and dressed in traditional white robes, were blocked from entering President Abdurrahman Wahid's palace by hundreds of police. The protesters said they were opposed to communist teachings because they promoted atheism.

"The communists are our enemy," read one of the banners being carried by the demonstrators. The demonstrators later marched through the capital, burning red communist flags and blocking traffic on the city's main avenue. No incidents were reported.

On Thursday, about 1,000 Islamic boarding school students rallied in the West Java capital of Bandung, in protest against Mr Abdurrahman's proposal. In the West Sumatra capital of Padang, several hundred students from an Islamic teaching institute staged a similar rally on Thursday.

Mr Abdurrahman wants the ban revoked in the interest of democracy saying it violated basic human rights. The leaders of several Islamic parties joined in a loose "Axis" alliance have been in the forefront of protests against the proposal.

The ban on communist organisations and teachings was imposed following an abortive coup allegedly instigated by the Indonesian Communist Party in Sept 1965. An estimated 500,000 members of the party, then the world's third-largest with about 20 million followers, were slaughtered in the aftermath of the coup.

Palace besieged as Islamic protests escalate

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Protests against President Abdurrahman Wahid's policies -- particularly his perceived openness to communism -- escalated yesterday with thousands of Islamic protesters gathering outside the presidential palace and around Jakarta's central Welcome Monument.

Threatening crowds of about 5,000 shouted "God is Great" as a lone demonstrator climbed to the top of the city's central monument, where he hurled an Israeli flag into the fountain below, and burned a large red-and-gold flag of the banned Indonesian Communist Party. It was Jakarta's biggest demonstration since October, when Mr Wahid was elected.

Banners draped around the monument, some held by young women in Islamic head scarves, read: "Forgiving communists means butchering Muslims", "Say no to communism and Zionism" and "Gus Dur [Mr Wahid], who are you actually?"

A decree passed by former president Suharto in 1967 banned the study of communism, Marxism and Leninism following an allegedly communist-backed coup attempt in 1965. Mr Wahid, in line with his desire to open up Indonesian society, has called for the decree's abolition and a normalisation of relations with Israel, starting with a trade agreement.

Opposition to Mr Wahid's calls appear to be crystallising deep divisions in politics. Among those lined up against the moves are the chairman of the highest constitutional body, the People's Consultative Assembly, Amien Rais, and Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra.

At the same time, reports have emerged that former Lieutenant- General Prabowo Subianto, who is accused of fomenting the unrest that brought down Mr Suharto in May 1998, is back in Indonesia. The former chief of the army's Strategic Army Reserve (Kostrad) met Mr Rais on Thursday in Solo, central Java, according to a report in the Indonesian Observer newspaper.

Also at the one-hour meeting were Ahmad Sumargono, co-chairman of the Islamist Crescent Star Party and fellow Islamic activist Fadli Zon. According to the report, Mr Rais commented that "the Government is yet to achieve good performance in both the security aspect and the economic sector".

Muslims slam President and call for holy war

Jakarta -- In their biggest show of force so far, Muslim radicals called yesterday for a holy war against the country's Christians and demanded the removal of President Abdurrahman Wahid, saying he was protecting the enemies of Islam.

"This President must be replaced, we will ask the [parliament] to replace him," said Jafar Umar Thalib, a leader of the protest who met briefly with Mr Wahid at the presidential palace.

About 2,000 supporters stood in a nearby park during the meeting chanting "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is Great". They were part of a crowd of some 10,000 demonstrators who had earlier gathered at Jakarta's main municipal stadium. Organisers urged the administration to take quick action to end the fighting in the Malukus, which has claimed over 2,000 lives in the past 15 months.

"We are ready to sacrifice everything we have for the sake of Islam," said Mr Thalib, the keynote speaker. "If those killing Muslims in Maluku are not arrested and put on trial, then more bloodshed in Maluku is inevitable."

Another speaker, Muh Mutallib, declared: "We are ready to wage holy war. We are ready to be sent there at any time." Some of the protesters -- belonging to a coalition of radical Islamic groups -- waved traditional daggers and swords. Mr Wahid, a moderate Islamic leader, has condemned calls for a holy war (jihad) against the Christian minority. He has repeatedly predicted that the violence would abate by April and no new clashes have been reported this month.

Mr Thalib told supporters that the President had said he would not allow extremists to enlist Muslim volunteers to fight in the Malukus. "He is a protector of communists and Christians and he is always against Islam," Mr Thalib said. Christians used to be a majority in the Malukus, located 2,000km northeast of Jakarta and once known as the Spice Islands, until an influx of Muslim immigrants from Indonesia's other islands into the archipelago changed the religious make-up.

TNI to make "meticulous" study of proposal

Jakarta -- The National Defence Forces (TNI) will make a "comprehensive and meticulous" assessment of President Abdurrrahman Wahid`s proposal to revoke a 1966 Provisional People`s Consultative Assembly (MPRS) resolution banning the dissemination of communism, Leninism and Marxism, TNI Commander Admiral Widodo said here Monday.

"We will make a comprehensive and meticulous study of the president`s proposal so that we can provide relevant inputs to the People`s Consultative Assembly (MPR)," Widodo told the press.

In 1966, the name of the People`s Consultative Assembly was preceded by the word "Provisional" because it was mainly an appointed rather than an elected body. In a general session not long after the abortive communist coup of September 30, 1965, the MPRS produced its Resolution No XXV/1966 banning the dissemination of communism, Leninism and Marxism in Indonesia.

Widodo made the statement in reply to newsmen`s questions whether the TNI supported the president`s proposal.

On a separate occasion, TNI spokesman Air Vice Marshal Graito Usodo said the president`s propsoal was "nothing extraordinary" but the TNI was trying to make an internal evaluation of it. "We are trying to look at the results of past studies and we will report what we have found, the history and how things will likely develop, including the impact of the revocation of the MPRS resolution," he said.

He said the TNI was currently collecting materials that could be given to the MPR as inputs, including files in the possession of the TNI, the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) as well as historical records. But Graito could not say how long it would take the TNI to complete its evaluation.

Meanwhile, on a separate occasion, Army Chief of Staff General Tyasno Sudarto said since the MPRS resolution was made by a body representing the people, a decision on its fate could only be made by a similar institute. "If the people now still do not want to revoke it, then they can express it through their representatives in the MPR and House of Representatives (DPR)," he said.

According to Tyasno, the revocation of the MPRS resolution would have a long-range impact, "So, it must be decided with wisdom and great care." Asked specifically whether TNI in general, the Army in particular, had no objections at all to the revocation of the MPRS resolution, Tyasno said "there is no problem if the people so desire."

"However, we must bear in mind that we should not deceive ourselves, raising the issue of democratization just for the benefit of a certain group. This is not right because it will betray the essence of democracy itself," Tyasno said.

US regrets lawsuit against Johny Lumintang

Jakarta -- The US government expressed regret on Monday over a lawsuit filed against Indonesian Army Lt. Gen. Johny Lumintang for his alleged role in violence in East Timor last year.

US Ambassador Robert S. Gelbard said his government termed it "an unfortunate circumstance" and promised to personally explain to Johny the details of the legal action as soon as possible. "The US government was not involved with this and I personally consider him as a friend ... this is very unfortunate," Gelbard said after a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab. However, the ambassador said his government could not help Johny because the case was a civil lawsuit, which according to the country's court system bans the government's intervention.

The New York-based Representatives of the Center for Constitutional Rights and the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability, on behalf of East Timorese plaintiffs, served Johny legal papers when he was in the US last week at the US government's invitation to speak in a seminar about the reform movement within the Indonesian military. Johny is currently governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) governor.

Gelbard confirmed on Monday there was no criminal lawsuit against Johny, saying the plaintiffs were seeking compensation. "So it was not an issue of him becoming a suspect," he said.

Alwi said the Indonesian government will advise Johny not to meet any summons from the United States court following the lawsuit. The minister added Johny could instead asked his lawyers to attend any court hearing. "It is not necessary for Pak Johny to give an explanation to the US court. It is better to send someone else to go on his behalf, a staff from the embassy for instance," Alwi said.

He added the Indonesian government could not do more than providing advice because the lawsuit was not filed by the US government. "It's a matter of their legal system and we cannot address the complaint," he remarked.

Alwi left for New York on Tuesday for talks on East Timor refugees, but said he would also seek solution for Johny's case upon request of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto. Tyasno said on Monday he expected the foreign ministry to ensure that any government that invited TNI officers would respect their rights and privileges.

Civil servants' salary hikes delayed

Jakarta -- Indonesia's Parliament has delayed a controversial hike in the salaries of senior civil servants that was scheduled to have taken effect this month, the official Antara news agency reported yesterday. "Parliament has studied this and decided to delay the rise in civil servants' salaries," Minister for State Administrative Reform Freddy Numberi was quoted as saying.

Speaker of Parliament Akbar Tandjung confirmed later in the day that the House had notified the government of its recommendation to delay the hike in salaries and allowances. He said the increases needed to be "revisited", meaning they had to be re- examined.

Parliament had earlier agreed to increase the civil servants' salaries across the board in an effort to eradicate corruption. The pay increases were to have taken effect with increases in fuel and electricity prices on Saturday.

But students and labour groups protested last week. The salary- hike plan set off loud protests even earlier when it was revealed some top officials' salaries and other benefits would rise by a hefty 2,000 per cent.

Mr Akbar did not indicate if the recent protests in the capital and some cities in other parts of the country had anything to do with Parliament's decision to recommend a halt to the increases. However, he made it clear that legislators believed the hike in pay and allowances should still go ahead -- but at a later date.

Reports here last week quoted sources at the Department of Finance saying that the government hoped to reduce corruption by paying the top layer of civil servants salaries that were comparable to those in the private sector. "Officials in the upper echelons have to work harder and have more responsibilities and they need to be taken care of," the reports quoted Mr Sriharto Brodjodarono, head of the Department of Manpower's Information Bureau, as saying.

But others were quoted as criticising the move. Gadjah Mada University assistant rector Mahfoedz Mas'oed, for example, said the government was acting on an erroneous presumption. "It is not an automatic equation that high salary means less corruption," he said.

When the increases were proposed last year, Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid said he did not understand how the government had the moral courage to ask for such steep increases at a time when the national economy was mired in crisis and the national budget was in distress.

The salary-hike plan also came under fire from Dr Amien Rais, the Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), who told reporters: "The government should prioritise hiking salaries of low-ranking civil servants. The salaries of the President, the Vice-President and the chiefs of the House and the MPR should be enough. They already enjoy facilities such as official cars and residences. They should be thankful to the people," he added.

Central Java fisheryfolk sink in debt

Haryoso, Semarang -- The Central Java high seas are rich in marine resources; most notably fish but, ironically, loan sharks, who prey on local fisherfolk by throwing them into the jaws of sheer poverty.

Sarman, 35, Tarmin, 40, and Yasno, 34, who are fishermen living in Tambak Lorok village, East Semarang, are good examples of the typical hard life that tens of thousands of Central Java fishermen lead.

In a seven-by-two-meter motorboat, the three men go out on the rough seas at 4am with only 10 liters of spare diesel oil and food worth Rp 25,000. Armed with 15 fishnets each, they set off for the waters around the Karimunjawa islands, which is about a 14-hour trip from Semarang.

As soon as they arrive at their destination, they switch off their engines to save fuel. "If we are lucky, we can catch up to a ton of fish," said Tarmin.

For a few months now their catch has been very small. They take home no more than 10 kilograms of fish. They sell it at Tambak Lorok fish market from Rp 4,000 to Rp 7,000 per kilogram. Their average earning varies between Rp 40,000 and Rp 70,000. Expenditures consist of Rp 6,000 for diesel fuel, Rp 25,000 for food and Rp 50,000 for boat rental. Often, the expenses outweigh the income.

They are lucky if the boat owner understands their situation. During "unlucky days" the owner will charge only one-third of the normal boat rental. The remaining may be paid when the catch is better. The system sounds generous but in fact it keeps the fishermen's debt mounting every day.

The off-season, when the catch is poor, usually starts from December or January or even March. Most fishermen do not have other skills. During the off-season, or the west monsoon, they just spend time talking with their family. They will rely on neighbors or moneylenders for their daily necessities.

They will pawn their valuables, like gold or TV sets. But most just borrow money because they do not have valuables to pawn. "When such a crisis arrives, my wife and three school-aged children need Rp 1,000,000 to survive for three months. We are compelled to borrow money from the boat owners. The debt must be paid when the catch is good again," said Tarmin.

Loan sharks set interest rates at between 15 percent and 20 percent a month. Sarman and Tarmin said that in order to be able to pay their debt during the off-season, they must work hard for more than six months.

The same plight also occurs to fisherfolk in Pati, Rembang and other places in Central Java. Thus, the fishermen are never free from the loan sharks' jaws.

Chairman of the Central Java regional office of the All- Indonesian Association of Fishermen (HNSI) Tuk Setyohadi places his hopes only on the Fishery Agency, Ministry of Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and the branch offices of HNSI to continue fostering the fishermen so that they can help the welfare of their families. "These three agencies are the most responsible for uplifting the fishermen's living standards," he said.

He puts part of the blame on the high level of rent that the boat owner sets. He estimates that the ratio is 10 to one for the boat owner. "The distribution of the yield should be reassessed. Hopefully, boat owners will get six or seven parts while fishermen get three or four parts. An agreement must be sought. It requires the participation of the Fishery Agency and the cooperatives ministry," he said.

Another method is to extend credit to the fishermen so they can own motor boats. If farmers can get cheap credit, why can't fishermen get the same, he said.

Mafia Syafruddin Budiningharto Suharto, a teacher at the School of Economics of Diponegoro University in Semarang who often makes a study of the life of fishermen in Central Java, said that people like Sarman and friends make a large contribution to the industry.

The average annual yield of fish is 4.8 million tons in Central Java. Seventy percent comes from fishermen like Sarman, he said. "But why do they remain poor? Because it involves a mafia network," he said. This network, he said, fixes the price of fish from the markets to the fish factories.

The dependence of fishermen on this group is, in fact, not a new problem. However, fishermen do not complain. It is understandable as the members of this group always talk nicely. "The mafia lend their money without complicated conditions, and much easier than official institutes like the village credit cooperatives or banks," said Syafruddin. It is most unfortunate, he said, that they are the fishermen's only hope when the off-season arrives.

The government has not issued a regulation aimed at improving the welfare of fisherfolk. Law No. 9/1985 on fishery is considered to be ineffective and fails to protect people. This regulation, Syafruddin said, is good only for the fish-processing plants. "I propose that it is necessary to have regulations to protect the poverty-stricken fishermen." In order for fishermen to obtain a high price for their fish, he proposed that it be necessary to fix a standard price, such as is the case of rice.

Director General of Fisheries Untung Wahyono said so far the market was not in favor of the fishermen because of the long chain in the fish trade. The result is that fishermen cannot directly market their yield.

"Fishermen have a weak bargaining position. They lose to the middlemen," he said. Fishermen usually sell their catch to cooperatives. But before the fish can arrive there, the middlemen interfere. This is where the problem begins. "Therefore we propose that fisherfolk sell their product in the market." Only when they are free from lenders and they can sell their catch at the market will the living standard of fishermen's families improve.
 

Economy & investment

Jakarta accuses IMF, World Bank of interfering

Jakarta -- Indonesia's Finance Minister has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank of interfering in the country's programme of economic reforms.

Mr Bambang Sudibyo told reporters "the World Bank and the IMF are too interventionist in the implementation of the letter of intent". The IMF and the World Bank had to share the blame for the delays in implementing the measures in the letter of intent agreed with the IMF in return for fresh loans, he said. "The delay in implementation of the letter of intent was partly because the IMF and World Bank have intervened a lot," he said.

In another development, State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi said yesterday that IMF deadlines had been met. Mr Laksamana told reporters Indonesia had met all deadlines related to corporate debt and he expected as much as US$10 billion in debt would be restructured this year. "All items listed in the letter of intent with the IMF with the Jakarta Initiative were met," he said.

The Jakarta Initiative is the body charged with helping to restructure Indonesia's private-sector debt. The measures include the promise to restructure US$10 billion in debt this year.

In January, the country signed a new letter of intent with the IMF, setting conditions for a new US$5-billion, three-year loan. The IMF last week delayed disbursement of a US$400-million loan because it said the government had not done enough to push companies to reschedule US$81 billion of debt.

It set today as the deadline for Indonesia to continue to win international aid to rescue its ravaged economy. Mr Laksamana's announcement comes ahead of next week's meeting of the Paris Club of official creditors whom Indonesia wants to reschedule some US$2.1 billion in debt.

Wahid cornered on reform pledges

Time is running out for President Abdurrahman Wahid to spur his squabbling cabinet into action and deliver promised economic reforms -- or risk unravelling Indonesia's precarious recovery.

Good intentions are no longer enough. The International Monetary Fund has demanded concrete action within days if Indonesia is to secure a crucial US$2.1 billion Paris Club debt restructuring and win its next US$400 million IMF loan tranche.

But even senior ministers and top government advisers say the cabinet remains divided, with disagreements threatening to throw the reform schedule further off track.

"When the government signed the letter of intent with the IMF they had not realised the real burden of implementing it," said Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a senior government economic adviser.

She said a lack of co-ordination and expertise in the cabinet, as well as distrust of the IMF, was hampering progress. "Because they come from different parties, good co-ordination and mutual trust are not automatically there, and that creates much hard work to achieve real co-ordination," she said. "Also, I sense there is still built-in scepticism among some ministers, who do not really believe the IMF package is the right one."

Mr Wahid last week publicly castigated his economic ministers for foot-dragging, cancelled all overseas travel, and called a weekend cabinet meeting to try to put policy back on track. But a senior source said cabinet dissent remained with some ministers deliberately hampering progress.

Indonesia had been due to receive its next tranche of a US$5 billion three-year IMF loan package any day now. But a concerned IMF has postponed this to May at the earliest.

The delay threw into doubt government plans to meet the Paris Club on April 12 to ask for the rescheduling of US$2.1 billion in debt. Failure to strike a deal will cast Indonesia's budget into disarray and send its deficit soaring.

The country sent a revised set of promises to the IMF last week, pledging some reforms by April 12 and others by April 30. But a letter on Friday to Chief Economics Minister Kwik Kian Gie from IMF country representative John Dodsworth, said progress had to be even faster. "In order for the authorities to be able to present a stronger case to the Paris Club on April 12, it would be better if the measures dated April 12 could be advanced to April 8," said the letter.

The IMF also wants measures promised by the end of April to be accelerated to April 21, to minimise further loan delays. Foreign loans are crucial in propping up the rupiah currency and plugging the country's hefty budget deficit.

The main action the IMF wants by Saturday is the setting up of a credible body with the power to force a breakthrough in the country's US$65 billion corporate debt deadlock. Indonesia has promised to give the Jakarta Initiative Task Force, a body set up to promote private debt restructuring, the teeth to force debtors to the negotiating table.

Indonesia's private-sector debt burden remains one of the main obstacles to economic progress, and resolving the stalemate is a key element of the country's January pledges to the IMF. But little progress has been made -- Indonesia's debtors include powerful corporate figures with a vested interest in keeping foreign creditors at bay and preserving the status quo.

By Saturday, the IMF wants to see a decree giving the Jakarta Initiative the powers it needs to tackle debtors. A full-time chief and key staff members must be appointed, and restructuring talks begun with key firms. But Ms Indrawati said that while proposals would be ready in time, implementing them would be less easy.

Fighting corruption is another area where Indonesia has promised much and delivered little. Indonesia's notorious legal system is widely perceived to be as corrupt as ever. The country's credibility has been battered by several controversial court decisions -- most recently a ruling on scandal-hit Bank Bali -- that dealt a further blow to efforts to salvage the battered banking sector. Bankruptcy court decisions often have been farcical, hampering efforts to encourage debt restructuring.

Attorney-general Marzuki Darusman has promised to set up a special team the IMF wants by April 21 to investigate and prosecute corruption in the legal system. But with every step Indonesia takes towards placating the IMF, it seems to take another two backwards.

On Friday, it announced the last-minute postponement of plans to cut fuel subsidies -- a key element of its deal with the IMF. Asked whether she was optimistic Indonesia could resolve the problems, Ms Indrawati found it hard to be enthusiastic. "I am involved in teamwork and it would be difficult for me to say I have no optimism," she said. "We are doing our best, and hopefully we can deliver. I am not that optimistic, but there is still hope, I guess."

Jakarta 'must do its sums' on fuel subsidies

Jakarta -- The Indonesian government and parliament should meet to discuss the impact of fuel subsidies on the nation's budget, Mines and Energy Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said yesterday.

"I think the government's decision to delay the domestic oil product prices increase is the correct decision," he said. "Therefore, let us recalculate. The government and parliament must sit together to see the implications, and how to find a solution."

The government had good reason to increase oil product prices, Mr Yudhoyono said, because the subsidies were given to the wrong target. They benefited the rich, he said, while the poor ultimately had to pick up part of the cost of financing them. "We have to find a way to make the subsidies fair," he said.

Last Friday, the government announced it would delay a controversial rise in fuel prices, which had stirred fears of mass unrest, just hours before they were due to take effect. Student and worker groups said they still planned to protest. But the mass demonstrations failed to materialise on Saturday, with only modest rallies reported in Jakarta.

Analysts said the move would help calm public anger but risked causing further damage to Indonesia's relations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has postponed payment of a $400-million loan tranche over concern at the slow pace of economic reforms. Cutting subsidies was a key part of Indonesia's reform pledges to the IMF and a central plank of the April- December budget.