• UN rejects waste claim - Sydney Morning Herald
• Gusmao: Where is the aid going? - Sydney Morning Herald
• Timorese: we're being forced to leave Australia - Green Left Weekly
• Rocky road ahead for divided Fretilin - Sydney Morning Herald

• Wahid defends policy of leniency for Suharto and military - Agence France- Presse
• Wahyu gives Wahid wiggle room - Christian Science Monitor

• Strife islands: 34 die in new attack - Sydney Morning Herald
• Muslim leader warns against expelling militants - Agence France-Presse
• Three killed as more violence erupts in Poso - Jakarta Post

• Security forces in Aceh fighting each other - Associated Press
• No troop withdrawal in Aceh `peace accord' - Green Left Weekly

• Indonesia struggles with strikes on road to recovery - Wall Street Journal
• Texmaco black-lists strike leaders - Green Left Weekly

• Rights abuses unlikely to go to court - Straits Times
• Indonesia considers whether Freeport violated rights - Wall Street Journal

• Textile firms threaten to shut down - Jakarta Post
• France bestows title on Indonesia's leading author - Agence France-Presse
• Suharto's neighbours tired of student rallies - Straits Times
• Update on Solidamor attack in Jakarta - Tapol
• Solidamor office attacked, activists injured - Tapol
• Discrimination against ethnic Chinese - Green Left Weekly
• Widjojo warns against federalism - Straits Times
• Wave of vigilante killings shows lack of faith in police - South China Morning Post

• Singapore pays bribes to dump waste at Batam - Indonesian Observer

• Defence push to get Indonesian forces onside - Sydney Morning Herald
• Indonesia's tangle of money and guns - Canberra Times
• US and Indonesia quietly resume military cooperation - New York Times
• Army wants 20 seats, its own faction in MPR - Business Times
• Indonesia lacks defence funding - Straits Times
• Jakarta to phase out special units - Straits Times

• Economy is expected to grow by 3.5% - Straits Times

• The movement for people's art and culture in Indonesia - Green Left Weekly

Students rule streets of Jakarta

Chris McCall, Jakarta -- Radical students went on an anti- military rampage in Jakarta yesterday and police were ordered to stand aside for fear of unleashing worse violence.

Hundreds of students from the City Forum network attacked military and police targets near the prestigious University of Indonesia campus. Five military vehicles, including a bus, were set on fire, and the streets were left littered with debris after they hurled rocks for several hours.

One of the biggest outbreaks of unrest in the capital since President Abdurrahman Wahid was elected in October, the violence followed clashes between security forces and protesters on Thursday near the house of disgraced former president Suharto, whom the students generally despise. By mid-afternoon, seven hours after the students began their attacks, police were still keeping their distance as dozens of onlookers picked over the vehicles for anything they could carry away and students handed out anti-violence leaflets nearby. Graffiti daubed in red paint over a sign at the University of Indonesia declared it a "Military-Free Zone".

Police said they had decided to withdraw and allow the mob to run riot in the hope they would let off steam. "We regret this. This is a democracy, but if they don't show a democratic attitude it is very regretful. If you want to demonstrate, please use goodwill and wisdom," said Lieutenant-Colonel Zainuri Lubis, spokesman for the Jakarta police.

Other student protest groups said the violence would cost them public support. "This is not good at all. It is going to make people stop sympathising with us," said an activist from the protest network Famred, which was not involved in yesterday's violence.

Witnesses said the students' operation was sparked by a raid by security forces late on Thursday on a campus. Their main demand, however, is for a speedy trial on corruption charges for Mr Suharto.

Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono last night urged protesters to avoid violence, warning of anarchy and stressing that trying Mr Suharto was a matter for the Attorney-General, not a kangaroo court.

Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman has recently speeded up his efforts, vowing to lay the results of a probe into corruption by the former leader before a court by August 10. There were rumours yesterday that Mr Wahid may sack Mr Darusman for his handling of this and other sensitive unfinished business from Indonesia's autocratic past.

Official sources said Mr Wahid had been widely advised to replace Mr Darusman, and several potential candidates were in the running to take over, although it would probably not happen for several months. "He is too slow," one source said, adding Mr Darusman would probably go gracefully.

Mr Suharto has been declared a suspect in a case involving alleged misuse of funds at charities he once controlled. Now 78 and recovering from a stroke, which has affected his speech, he denies any wrongdoing and his lawyers argue the probe should be dropped on health grounds.

Yesterday, truckloads of riot police armed with sticks and batons sealed off the entry to Cendana street, the posh central Jakarta location from which Mr Suharto ran Indonesia like a personal fiefdom for decades. The words "Try Suharto" were daubed in white on the street in front of dozens of officers controlling access to Cendana in case of further demonstrations.

Mr Darusman wants the ousted autocrat moved from his home into virtual house arrest in a government-controlled facility. Mr Suharto's lawyers have vowed to resist.

Police fire teargas at students protesting near Suharto home

Jakarta -- Indonesian police fired teargas and beat up student protestors on Thursday near the house of former president Suharto, in the latest protest calling for him to be tried for corruption.

At least six students were arrested, two of them bleeding from the head, after violence broke out when the protestors threw at least six fuel bombs from the back row of the 300-strong group. The police threw the fuming fuel bombs back at the students who quickly dispersed. The police then chased the students, beating them up on the way.

The student protestors, carrying sharpened bamboo sticks, had earlier tried to march to the heavily guarded Cendana Street in the affluent Menteng area of central Jakarta where the 78-year- old Suharto lives.

The protesters got as close as 300 metres from Suharto's downtown Jakarta residence, before they were blocked by at least 200 policemen at a roundabout. About 20 students, some armed with sharpened sticks, later returned to the site, taunting the police and throwing another fuel bomb.

"Burn Cendana right now," they chanted as more than 100 members of the security forces, armed with batons and shields, watched them. "If we are not allowed to enter ... we will force" our way in, said one of the protestors, a student from the Institute for Social and Governing Sciences who gave his name only as Acil.

By nightfall all the students had left the area. "The police did not start it," said the head of the VIP security command, Lieutenant Colonel Said Aqil, later.

Aqil had told the students to appoint one of their representatives to enter Suharto's house, but the offer was rejected outright by the students, who all wanted to be allowed in.

Major Ricky Wakano, who heads the Central Jakarta police, had warned the students would have "to bear the consequences of your own action," if they persisted in trying to enter the residence.

Almost daily student protests -- several of which have turned into violent clashes with troops -- have taken place near Suharto's Cendana Street residence in recent weeks as students demand the former president be dragged to court and his assets confiscated for alleged corruption and abuse of power during his three decades in power.

Student protests against Soeharto fan across city

Jakarta -- The city witnessed another wave of anti-Soeharto protests on Monday when over 1,200 university students from different groups rallied at the Presidential Palace, Attorney General's Office and near the residence of former president Soeharto.

The demands remained the same: bring the ex-strongman and alleged corruptor to court! No clashes were reported although the protesting students, who have taken to the streets for many consecutive days to air their demands to President Abdurrahman Wahid and his cabinet ministers, were sometimes blocked by cordons of police and security officers.

During the rally at the office of Attorney General Marzuki Darusman at around 3.30pm, the crowd of some 1,000 students from the Indonesian Students Network (JMI) and Oppressed People's Community (Karat) turned angry after learning that the gate at the rear part of the office was locked. They abruptly forced their way in by breaking down the gate. Some of them lowered the red-and-white national flag to half mast.

An hour later, Marzuki -- accompanied by Director of Politics at Intelligence Affairs, Purnama Munthe, met the students and assured them that the probe into Soeharto's alleged corruption cases would not be halted. The case, he said, has already been slated to be brought to the court before August 10.

Upon being asked if he dared to resign if Soeharto walked away free from the investigation, Marzuki replied: "We won't step back, we dare to keep going [with the investigation]".

One of the protesters then handed over a lipstick to Marzuki to symbolize, according to the students, the womanish attitude of the Attorney General which, they said, cannot keep his promises. It's the second gift the Attorney General has received in the past few weeks. Last month students presented him with a woman's underwear, bought from a nearby street vendor in Blok M area. The students arrived at Marzuki's office in 10 buses after staging a similar rally at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta.

They failed to meet with the President because he was attending the inauguration ceremony of the Habibie Center at the Jakarta Convention Center. The students refused to meet acting State Secretary Bondan Gunawan, who offered to meet with them in place of Gus Dur, as the President is popularly called.

In their written statement, the students, calling themselves as the government's permanent opposition, demanded the government uphold the law and put Soeharto on trial, as well as probe various alleged human rights violations perpetrated during his 32-year rule.

"The weakening rupiah, the growing number of protests, new KKN [corruption, collusion and nepotism] practice networks in the current government have proven that Gus Dur and Megawati Soekarnoputri have failed to lead this country," the students said in their statement. Gus Dur's political efforts have been ineffective in progressing an economic recovery.

Before going to Marzuki's office, the students drove to Jl. Teuku Umar and stopped about 200 meters from Soeharto's residence, and aired the same protest.

Separately, some 200 students from City Forum (Forkot) were kept away from Soeharto's private residence on Jl. Cendana in Central Jakarta by the tight security of some 100 police officers around the area.

They had planned to camp for a week around the fountain on Jl. Teuku Umar, some 200 meters from Soeharto's house. "We decided to camp here for a week until we see a concrete development in the legal proceeding against Soeharto," Forkot coordinator Didi said. "We'll stay longer if there is no significant progress with the probe," he said.

Oktav, a student from Udayana University in Bali, said that such protests show the students' solidarity with the nation. "That's all we have," he said.

However, at about 6pm the students changed their minds and marched to the Proklamasi Monument. According to them, they will stay at the monument area instead where they will show a movie about earlier student movements in the country. Before leaving the scene, they burned a one meter effigy of Soeharto in front of the troops.

Soeharto, who resigned on May 21, 1998 following massive waves of anti- government protests, was about to be moved by the current government to an unidentified place of safety, Marzuki said separately on Monday.
 

East Timor

UN rejects waste claim

Mark Dodd, Dili -- The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) has denied reports it will spend $US15 million ($28 million) on the purchase of new motor vehicles to equip its civilian police.

It follows complaints by the pro-independence National Council of Timorese Resistance that the UN has been stonewalling on explaining how it spends donor funds for its East Timor peacekeeping operation.

Independence leader and the council's president, Mr Xanana Gusmao, has threatened to withdraw from a planned Lisbon donors' conference next month unless UNTAET can explain where it spends its money.

One of the budget queries involved a claim by the council that UNTAET intended to spend $15 million for motor vehicles to equip its police force.

A spokeswoman for UNTAET, Ms Barbara Reis, said yesterday that $US3.2 million would be spent acquiring more than 200 vehicles for the new police force. The $US15 million was earmarked for civil service salaries, bulk fuel purchase and assorted office and communications equipment, she said.

The council yesterday confirmed Mr Gusmao was still undecided about attending the Lisbon meeting.

Gusmao: Where is the aid going?

Mark Dodd, Dili -- The East Timor independence leader Mr Xanana Gusmao has threatened to boycott a key international donors' meeting in Portugal because of concerns over the UN's accountability with donor funds. The Lisbon donors' meeting scheduled for June 23 is expected to hear UN budget proposals for East Timor.

The threat is the most serious evidence of the deteriorating relationship between the CNRT (National Council of Timorese Resistance), of which Mr Gusmao is president, and the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor. CNRT sources said Mr Gusmao stormed out of a meeting with UNTAET's Deputy Special Representative for Governance and Public Administration, Mr Jean-Christian Cady, on Wednesday, angered at UN stonewalling over the provision of a breakdown of spending in East Timor.

Mr Gusmao was reported to be furious over reports that UNTAET had spent $US15 million ($26.3 million) of funds pledged by donors at last December's Tokyo conference on motor vehicles for the UN Civilian Police (Civpol).

The sight of UN officials driving around in brand new air- conditioned four-wheel-drives has lent itself to a new expression in Dili, "White Car Syndrome".

A total of $US522 million was pledged to East Timor at the December 17 conference in Tokyo convened jointly by the UN and the World Bank. Of this, $US149 million was earmarked for humanitarian activities and $US373.5 million for civil administration, reconstruction and development.

"We had asked for a breakdown and we were not given a breakdown. The final report we were given was too generalised. We want to know what was spent," one senior CNRT official told the Herald.

Mr Gusmao told senior CNRT officials it would be immoral to go to Lisbon and ask for additional reconstruction aid to rebuild his shattered country if he was unaware of how the UN had spent previous donor funds.

The threat of a Lisbon boycott by Mr Gusmao follows a request earlier this week to the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, by the CNRT's ambassador at large, Mr Jose Ramos Horta, that UNTAET replace all its district administrators (DAs) with East Timorese by August.

Mr Ramos Horta, a Nobel Peace laureate, says he is unimpressed with the performance and qualifications of many of the DAs, arguing that East Timorese need the experience if they are to run the country themselves, and could do the job just as well.

The DAs themselves have expressed disquiet about the way they have been left out of key decision making by senior Dili-based UN bureaucrats. In a protest note signed on April 4 addressed to Mr Cady, they accused UNTAET of "crisis mode" policy-making and that excluded the concerns of Timorese.

Domestic issues may lie at the root of CNRT's concerns about the disbursement of UN funds. One official, who asked not to be named, said CNRT officials were coming under increasing pressure from local people, particularly those in impoverished rural communities, hearing of generous donations made by the international community to East Timor but receiving little or nothing themselves.

Mr Gusmao's sudden interest in bookkeeping may also be linked to allegations that certain CNRT officials and supporters have siphoned funds. Nobody at the CNRT seems to know what happened to a $US100,000 donation from the Chinese Government given to a Macau-based official last December.

Timorese: we're being forced to leave Australia

Jon Land -- East Timorese asylum seeker and independence activist Naldo Rai is being forced by immigration authorities and government officials to leave Australia.

Along with around 1600 East Timorese asylum seekers, he faces an uncertain future.

The federal government has made it clear that the asylum seekers are not welcome and that it will do all it can to force or pressure them to leave.

Rai has been living in Australia for four years. Before coming here he was part of an underground network of East Timorese student and youth activists in Jakarta whose members were constantly hounded by the Indonesian authorities. He also spent time as a Falintil freedom fighter in the mountains of East Timor.

Fearful of capture by the Indonesian military, a fate which would have meant torture and likely death, Rai fled to Australia. For him, the trip also provided an opportunity to help strengthen the international campaign for the right of the East Timorese people to self-determination and for real democratic change in Indonesia.

"I have only been in Australia for a short time compared to other asylum seekers. One of my friends has been here for 11 years, waiting all that time to be granted refugee status. All of us feel like we are stuck in limbo", Rai told Green Left Weekly.

Many of the asylum seekers left East Timor during the months of intense military repression which followed the Dili massacre in 1991.

Government backdown

The sharp increase in requests for asylum by East Timorese prompted the Paul Keating Labor government to put a freeze on the processing of applications in 1994. Despite officially recognising Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor, both the Keating and John Howard Coalition governments have sought to block the East Timorese seeking refugee status by arguing that they had the right to Portuguese nationality (and hence should seek asylum in Portugal and not in Australia).

Federal Court rulings in 1997 and 1998 found that the right to Portuguese nationality and Portuguese "protection" was not effective and that the East Timorese had the right to seek refugee status here.

Last year, while the Indonesian military and their militia proxies were waging a terror campaign across East Timor, the Howard government sought to appeal the Federal Court's 1998 decision. Immigration minister Philip Ruddock at one stage even suggested that East Timorese fleeing the repression would be sent back to Indonesia. The massive public outcry during the post-ballot violence in East Timor in September forced the government to provide sanctuary for just over 2000 East Timorese refugees, who were offered a temporary "safe haven" visa. It also forced an end to the government campaign to have the asylum seekers deported.

On November 19, Ruddock withdrew the government's Federal Court appeal.

Now the government has turned to backdoor means to evict the East Timorese asylum seekers. The provisions of the Border Protection Act, passed in December, and related new immigration regulations introduced at the same time, make it even less likely that the asylum seekers will ever be granted refugee status.

The asylum seekers have all had to reapply to the Refugee Review Tribunal, even though some have already had their applications in process for 10 years. "The government is hoping that we will all be frustrated with the further delays with our status, to the point that we will just leave", Rai explained.

Intimidation

Rai also told Green Left Weekly that immigration authorities have made it clear to him that he should return to East Timor and not bother trying to gain temporary or permanent status in Australia.

"I have even been contacted by people claiming to be ASIO [Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]. They called me `fireman' and a `troublemaker' for standing up for the refugees and explaining to them that they have democratic rights", Rai said.

As a consequence of helping refugees and other East Timorese organise demonstrations against their deportation at the East Hills "safe haven" in Sydney in February, Rai has been banned from visiting the refugees remaining there.

Before the ban, he spent most days with the refugees there, teaching and playing music with them, and helping them cope with their trauma.

According to Rai, many of those at East Hills are still traumatised but are nevertheless being pressured into signing immigration documents they do not fully understand. They're confused as to what their rights are, he says. "Some of the refugees believed they would be detained by the federal police if they did not sign the immigration documents", Rai said.

The refugees are also concerned about conditions back in East Timor, with continuous reports from friends and relatives of not enough food, medicine or shelter.

Solidarity

Rai is thankful for the enormous solidarity and support from the Australian people for the people of East Timor, but does not trust the government at all.

"They are liars, just like all the governments before them who betrayed East Timor for 24 years."

He appealed for more political solidarity. "The Howard government still needs to be pressured to provide real assistance to East Timor.

"The Australian government could easily provide many scholarships for East Timorese students. So many East Timorese have been denied a proper education because of the Indonesian occupation. East Timorese students want to finish the studies so that they can contribute to rebuilding East Timor".

"We need your ongoing solidarity to ensure democracy and human rights are upheld in an independent East Timor", Rai said. "This is the new challenge for both the Australian and East Timorese people."

Rocky road ahead for divided Fretilin

Mark Dodd, Dili -- Making the transformation from a revolutionary front to an orthodox political party is a lot harder than it seems for East Timor's biggest pro-independence group, Fretilin.

A five-day national conference held by the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) attracted several thousand delegates but ended with mixed results and deep divisions remaining over the party's future direction.

Fretilin did make some headway in atoning for a series of bloody internal purges during the chaos and violence in the early years that followed Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor.

Its first president, Mr Xavier Do Amaral, regarded as a political moderate, was formally rehabilitated after being expelled from the party as a "traitor" in 1977.

On the thorny issue of dismantling the old clandestine structures established during the 24-year struggle against Indonesia, the party registered less success. The network refers to the secretive organisational structure of cadres that served Fretilin during the fight for independence.

Reformists, including independence leader Mr Xanana Gusmao, have urged Fretilin to adopt democratic change including elections for office bearers, a proposal that is resisted by hardliners such as veteran freedom fighter Mr David Ximenes.

"David Ximenes is an important man in Fretilin. Maybe in the future he might want to set up his own party," said Mr Otelio Ote, general co-ordinator for the East Timorese Journalists' Association, referring to the possibility of a split among Fretilin moderates and hardliners.

The debate over what language should be used in East Timor was so heated it almost resulted in chairs being thrown by some conference delegates.

East Timor university students are adamant they do not want Portuguese as a language of instruction. They say English or Indonesian are much more useful, while traditional Tetum should be the mother tongue.

Senior independence officials, including CNRT President Mr Gusmao, want Portuguese adopted as the national tongue, evidence they are out of touch and living in the past, say the students.

A shortage of skilled politicians with the capability and vision of unifying the country is one of the biggest problems facing the hotchpotch of political parties, splinter groups and revolutionary fronts that now exist.

"In reality, none of the political parties can run East Timor alone -- they simply don't have the capable people to do it," one senior CNRT official said.

Hope now rests that the CNRT's National Congress in August will produce a blueprint to chart East Timor's future political direction. However, on one issue East Timor's various political factions are unified, an increasing dislike of the United Nations' influence over their lives.
 

Government/politics

Wahid defends policy of leniency for Suharto and military

Jakarta -- Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid on Wednesday defended his policy of leniency towards the country's military generals and former leaders found guilty of gross misdeeds in the past.

"If proven guilty we will pardon them," Wahid said, in an apparent warning to anyone expecting drastic punishment for any generals implicated in last year's Timor violence, or for former president Suharto if he is found guilty of corruption.

Addressing an international seminar in Jakarta on the problems facing Indonesia in its quest for democratization after 32 years of authoritarian rule under Suharto, Wahid said reconcilation was now a global trend.

"The need is for reconciliation, not confrontation," he said, citing Nelson Mandela's Truth and Justice Commission, dealing with past human rights abuses in South Africa, Corazon Aquino's dealings with the Marcos family in the Philippines and South Korea's Kim Dae-Jung's overtures to North Korea.

All took the "non-confrontational" approach in dealing with old foes as "other human beings," Wahid said. "Here in Indonesia I deal openly with former president Suharto, former president Habibie, with the generals and ex-commanders."

Indonesia's Attorney General's Office is preparing to bring Suharto to court on charges of abuse of power and corruption and is interrogating 32 people, including former armed forces chief Wiranto, in connection with the Timor violence.

Wahid has said repeatedly in the past that he would pardon Suharto if he were found guilty, but only after he has been brought to trial, despite calls by militant students that the former president be given harsh punishment.

He has also stated that he would pardon Wiranto, his former coordinating minister for politics and security, if he too was found guilty of the Timor charges, despite a threat by the UN Commissioner for Human Rights to convene an an international war crimes tribunal if it sees the Indonesian justice process as unsatisfactory.

The Wahid government has pledged to push on with the trials of those implicated in the post-ballot Timor violence, which left much of the territory destroyed. But it has said it would not consider itself bound by any UN move to initiate prosecution proceedings through an international court.

Wahyu gives Wahid wiggle room

Cameron W. Barr, Jakarta -- For Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesia's first democratically elected president, the honeymoon is over. At least by the political standards of mere mortals.

But for many Indonesians, their quirky, loquacious, and unpredictable leader is not just exercising a political mandate to run Indonesia. Says one Indonesian diplomat: "You can find any number of people in Java" -- the archipelago's culturally dominant island -- "saying that he has a kind of divine right to rule."

So despite growing criticism of Mr. Wahid's administration, his perceived divine credibility is still very much intact. "I see him as both a spiritual leader and as a political leader," says Ahmad Jum'a, a junior at an Islamic boarding school in a Jakarta suburb.

"If I see him as a spiritual man, then yes, I think he has wahyu," a Javanese term that implies a mystical understanding of God's will. Western-educated Indonesians tend to explain wahyu in universal terms. "Presidents everywhere, including the US, need some mythical symbols to provide [a] degree of moral authority," says Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono.

In Indonesia, however, the role of concepts such as wahyu may go beyond the aura that attaches itself to leaders everywhere. Indonesia's former President Suharto was known for cultivating the idea that he was a Javanese king -- often inscrutable but imbued with a right to rule.

To be sure, Suharto played power politics as well as anyone else able to stay in office for more than three decades, but letting people think he had wahyu was part of his strategy.

Wahid is no dictator. A Muslim cleric and intellectual who emerged as a compromise candidate for president at a national assembly last October, he has espoused religious tolerance and democratic values for decades. But although his presidency represents a milestone in Indonesia's transition toward democracy, Wahid has done nothing to dispel the idea that he too has Indonesia's version of a Chinese emperor's "mandate from heaven."

That may be because he needs all the help he can get. Wahid must remove Indonesia's military from politics, strengthen institutions that can sustain democracy in the world's fourth most-populous nation, and keep a diverse collection of islands and cultures from fragmenting. On top of all this, he needs to revive an economy still reeling from the East Asian financial and economic crisis that began in mid-1997.

Members of his Cabinet, such as Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, concede that wahyu and other mystical notions remain a part of Indonesia's politics. "The president still believes in that also, [so] it affects the way people look at him, because they know he believes in that," he says.

Another reason is that Wahid sometimes seems too good at the art of political maneuver. "The fact that he can overcome crises, one after the other, can only be explained away by attributing these extra, super powers ... That starts the whole chain of reason that there must be something more than his technical capacity or skill."

"I think these things are important," adds a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, about the role of wahyu. "These are things a lot of us miss when we are looking at the [Indonesian] rupiah," whose value has been falling recently amid doubts about Wahid's ability to run the economy. "He does seem to be judged by different rules."

To judge the president by conventional standards, he is faltering. Although he is making progress in removing the military from power and has scored successes in dealing with separatists in the province of Aceh, critics and politically influential students are finding more to complain about.

They accuse Wahid of ignoring the economy, being susceptible to some of the corruption, nepotism, and collusion that typified the old regime, and moving too slowly to bring Suharto to trial.

Corruption in lower levels of government continues unabated, and Indonesia's emerging democracy is being tainted by instances of vote buying and "money politics."

Mr. Darusman and Mr. Sudarsono, in separate interviews, point out what Wahid is up against. "This government is in dire straits in terms of budgetary constraints and is facing people who are politically and financially powerful outside the government," says Sudarsono. "They still exert what I would call residual power from the past ... [and] can influence the courts, the police, and the public prosecutor's office."

"The way the president sees it, Mr. Suharto and his people are still active ..." adds Darusman. "The moment we take action against Mr. Suharto then you see things happening in the regions," he says, referring to instances of violence and rioting in outlying areas, as well as in Jakarta, the capital.

"It's destabilizing, of course," Darusman continues, "but it's not as threatening as some of us think in the sense that it's not going to split up the country. But it certainly influences the political climate, the investment climate, the economic climate, and so on."

Sudarsono notes that Wahid's "humanitarian credentials" and his capacity to win over the Indonesian public are very strong. "Our big problem is to provide substance [with] that charisma ... so that we can relate that notion of humanitarian sympathy with the need to become ruthless in terms of state policy. Because when you are involved in governance, you have to choose.

"I think our difficulty with [Wahid] is that he's too nice to everyone. He wants to please everyone because he is a good, humane person."
 

Regional conflicts

Strife islands: 34 die in new attack

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta -- Armed assailants have attacked a remote village in Indonesia's strife-torn former Spice Islands, killing at least 34 people, injuring scores and setting buildings and places of worship ablaze, the military said yesterday.

The attackers pounced on a village on Halmahera island on Thursday, arriving by land and in speedboats, in the latest eruption of sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims in the bloodied Maluku group of islands.

"On Thursday morning, a group of people attacked the village of Mamuya, near Galela town, claiming a significant number of victims," said Captain Sutarno of the Pattimura military command, which oversees the scattered eastern islands.

"From 109 recorded victims, 34 are dead and 66 people are badly wounded. However, on Friday security has been under control, but the atmosphere of vengeance is still strong," he said.

The official Antara news agency said eight of the attackers were among the dead and two had been identified as coming from Indonesia's westernmost island of Sumatra, far from the Maluku group.

Tension in the islands has been fuelled by the arrival of more than 2,000 hardline Muslim paramilitaries, who travelled by sea after training in a camp in Java.

The paramilitaries, from the Muslim Ahlus-Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Forum, have vowed a jihad, or holy war, although their leaders say their role is to help Muslims, not attack Christians.

On Thursday, newspapers quoted a forum official, Ma'ruf Bahrun, as saying in the Maluku provincial capital of Ambon that some of the group's members had become embroiled in violence in the region, but only in self-defence.

The former Spice Islands have been riven by religious violence between Christians and Muslims since early 1999. Violence erupted again earlier this month in Ambon, leaving at least 38 dead.

Residents of Ambon said yesterday that tension had eased for the moment in the city. Commercial activities had resumed and road blockades had been lifted.

Muslim leader warns against expelling militants

Ambon -- A Muslim leader in this riot-hit eastern Indonesian city on Thursday warned the authorities against trying to expel a militant Muslim group blamed by many for the resurgence of sectarian violence here last week.

"If they [the security authorities] want to sent the Jihad [Holy War Force] away in a violent way, it will become a big problem and it will be politicized," said Yusuf Eli, an Ambon Muslim leader.

He said that the fact that the head of the security command overseeing the Maluku region, Brigadier General Max Tamaela, is a Christian, will be highlighted, "in a way that Muslims will think that the military commander hates Muslims."

Tamaela has expressed anger at the arrival of thousands of members of the Jihad force from Java island since end last month, despite a pledge by President Abdurrahman Wahid, a Muslim, that they would be barred from leaving Java.

The general has criticized authorities in Java for allowing the Jihad members to leave their ports. Javanese authorties have said that since the members of the group were unarmed when they embaerked, it was difficult to prevent them from leaving.

Eli also said that should the governor, Saleh Latuconsina, a Muslim, order the expulsion "we will kill him." "If they wanted to stop the Jihad, they should have stopped them in Java, at the place of embarkation and not when they are already here ... trying to send them back now is very dangerous," Eli said.

He claimed there were some 10,000 Jihad members in Ambon, some 1,000 of whom arrived last week. The authorities here had earlier said that more than 2,000 Jihad members had filtered into Ambon since the end of last month.

Many witnesses have said that Jihad members, recognizable by their white Arabic robes and carrying automatic weapons, have been in the forefront of attacks in the latest bout of violence that was started on May 16.

The last six days of violence in Ambon have claimed more than 46 lives, various reports have said. Eli said the Muslim camp had lost 26 people and 100 injured.

He also claimed they had mobilized 100,000 men on the northern coast of Ambon island and hat up to 500 of them could come to Ambon at a moment's notice at the slightest sign of clashes.

He said the sudden halt in the violence between Muslims and Christians in Ambon in the past three days was because both camps wanted to allow schoolchildren to take part in annual school final examinations.

The examinations were held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nationwide. Eli said that since teachers would have to verify the examinations in the next few days, he did not expect further violence this week.

The wave of sectarian violence which has devastated the Malukus for more than a year began in Ambon in January 1999. Since the Muslim-Christian conflict began, more than 3,000 people have been killed, thousands of homes and buildings gutted and hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee to other islands and provinces.

Three killed as more violence erupts in Poso

Palu -- Three people were killed and 15 others injured while scores of houses were set ablaze in fierce clashes that erupted in the town of Poso on Tuesday.

The three victims were identified as Sgt. Maj. Kamaluddin Ali, policeman; and Abdul Syukur and Baba, residents of MoEngko Baru village, Antara reported. The clash on Tuesday was the second this year after religious unrest claimed two lives on April 17.

The medical team examining the dead bodies said that the three died from severe stab wounds. Abdul Syukur died at the Poso state hospital, while the other two probably died at the "battle ground." Police and military personnel refused to reveal the chronology of the communal clash, but several unofficial sources said the riot began after a large group of people attacked several security posts in a residential area. It was not clear if the clash was motivated by religious sentiment.

Central Sulawesi police confirmed the violence, but could confirm only one fatality. "We were informed by Poso Police Precinct about the death of Kamaluddin Ali at 8am," First Lt. Ishak was quoted by Antara as saying. Chief of the Poso Military District Command Lt. Budiardjo was not available for confirmation.

An officer at the military office told The Jakarta Post by phone that Budihardjo was in Makassar to report the rioting to the Wirabuana Military Command chief. "Please contact the Poso Police Precinct, Pak Budiardjo is in Makassar," the officer said. However, the Poso Police Precinct was not available for comment.

Poso was still tense in the evening and hundreds of people, mostly women and children, sought refuge at military and police offices in Poso.
 

Aceh/West Papua

Security forces in Aceh fighting each other

Banda Aceh -- Security forces in the strife-torn province of Aceh broke ranks Thursday, fighting between police and members of the military claimed the lives of at least three police officers, witnesses said. The deaths put into further jeopardy the Indonesian province's impending cease-fire.

In one incident, a policeman and a soldier were killed when fighting broke out between policemen and a group of soldiers in Lhokseumawe, the capital of North Aceh.

The shooting occurred when a group of policemen arrived at local military headquarters to demand the return of a police motorcycle, journalists reporting the incident said. Officials from the military and police couldn't be reached for comment.

In another incident in North Aceh, a police sergeant kidnapped by gunmen earlier this week was found dead on Wednesday, said local police chief Lt. Col. Syafei Aksal.

Also Wednesday, in anti-rebel operations, three armed separatists were shot dead when police swept through several villages in West Aceh, military spokesman Lt. Col. Widagdo said. He added that another civilian was found dead in Aceh Besar, a town in the northern part of the region.

But according to Free Aceh Movement spokesman Teungku Ismail, all those killed were ordinary, unarmed villagers. "They were shot after being asked by police if they knew where to find one of our members," Ismail said in a telephone interview.

The renewed fighting bodes ill for the truce which is due to come into effect June 2. The latest shootings bring to 22 the number of people killed in Aceh since the cease-fire agreement was signed on May 12 in Geneva.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the fighting in Aceh during the past decade, including about 400 deaths so far this year.

No troop withdrawal in Aceh `peace accord'

James Balowski -- On May 12, the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a three-month "peace accord" at a secret location in Geneva. A government statement said the cease-fire would come into effect on June 2 and would be reviewed regularly.

"This joint understanding is an early step of a hundred-step journey in the efforts to find a final solution to the Aceh problem", said Indonesia's ambassador to the United Nations, Hassan Wirajuda, who signed the deal with Zaini Abdullah, GAM health minister.

An Indonesian statement said two joint committees would be set up to oversee the cease-fire. One committee would coordinate humanitarian aid deliveries while the other sought to ensure the reduction of tension and the cessation of violence.

Although the deal requires both sides to "return to the barracks", it does not include the withdrawal of any of the thousands of Indonesian troops based in Aceh who are believed to be responsible for massive human rights abuses, including extra- judicial killings and disappearances, rape and torture over the last 24 years. Around 2000 people are believed to have died in the conflict, at least 366 -- mostly civilians -- this year alone in a crackdown against GAM.

Independence

The deal came amid repeated assertions by Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid that Jakarta would not bow to Acehnese demands for independence.

Instead, Wahid is promising the people more autonomy and a greater share of the province's wealth.

According to a May 12 report by Agence France-Presse, a GAM statement following the signing of the agreement said that the move did not mean GAM is "becoming weaker in its struggle for the independence of Aceh". There have also been warnings that the pact could be sabotaged by "rogue elements" who do not want to see an end to the conflict. On May 13, the Straits Times said that non- government groups have pointed to a spate of recent bombings in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, which they say were carried out by elements in the military opposed to the trial of 13 soldiers charged with the murder of 58 Acehnese in July 1999. Others say that the bombers are criminal gangs who instigate the violence for business reasons.

Despite public guarantees from armed forces commander Admiral Widodo that he supports the accord, an analyst told the Straits Times that he doubted that all factions of Indonesia's "fragmented" military would support the agreement.

Saifuddin Bantasyam, executive director of Care Human Rights Forum, was quoted in the May 13 South China Morning Post as saying the agreement "is a step forward, however small. It may enable the humanitarian situation to improve ...

"But I have the impression that the military does not want there to be a dialogue with GAM. In truth, there has been no meaningful change in the intensity of the conflict. The battle is still between GAM and the Indonesian military and police."

Just one day after the agreement was reached, five civilians and two soldiers were wounded in a clash between GAM and Indonesian troops. Banda Aceh military commander Colonel Syarifudin Tippe said on May 15 that the rebels involved in the clash were a unit of GAM that does not approve of the peace deal. "There are some groups within GAM who cannot be controlled", he said.

International attention

In response to criticisms that the agreement gives de facto recognition to GAM as representative of the Acehnese people and that this could open the door for international recognition, Wahid told reporters on May 12 that the agreement is a "humanitarian pause not a cease-fire", because cease-fire implies equal status to both parties. So there is no business about giving recognition to anyone by anyone."

Wahid's statement has already created an atmosphere of distrust. Rebel spokesperson Ismail Sahputra said that, by insisting it was not a cease-fire, Wahid was backing away from the spirit of the agreement. "We don't believe it can work because Gus Dur [Wahid] says it one way before it is announced and them says it is like this. A cease-fire and stopping human rights violations have to go together." He added that he doubted the government could control all of its troops.

The move has also attracted flak from Jakarta-based politicians. Analyst Salim Said was quoted in the Straits Times on May 13 as saying: "There is a feeling of concern among politicians that what the President is doing is leading us to a second Timor fiasco. They are really afraid that by bringing it to an international level we will open a Pandora's Box and encourage another disappointed regions to go internationally to address the problem."

Sensitivity over the issue is such that at the last minute Wahid decided against sending foreign minister Alwi Shihab to witness the signing because of "concerns from inside the country" that this would give the appearance of an official recognition of GAM by Indonesia.
 

Labour struggle

Indonesia struggles with strikes on road to recovery

I Made Sentana, Bekasi -- Yudi Winarno hasn't left work in almost a month. But he's not working overtime. Mr. Winarno is leading a sit-in of about 900 of the 1,500 workers at PT Sony Electronics Indonesia, a unit of Japan's Sony Corp.

They are protesting recent changes in labor conditions and benefits at the television and stereo factory. The action is part of a growing wave of labor unrest across Indonesia, one that is becoming a major headache for local and foreign companies trying to do business here.

Two years after the fall of authoritarian President Suharto, who ruled the sprawling country for 32 years, some say the newfound labor activism is starting to derail new investment, and could threaten Indonesia's budding economic recovery.

Some foreign investors, including Sony, have threatened to relocate their plants out of Indonesia if labor strikes continue. The government is also concerned.

Foreign investment will only return to Indonesia "if there is no violence, no anarchy, no wild strikes," says Kwik Kian Gee, senior economics minister, who argues that the worker unrest is an inevitable result of Indonesia's painful transition to democracy.

In a recent interview, Mr. Kwik noted that in some labor-unrest situations, workers march into factories and force nonstriking workers to join them on strike. "An Indonesian company is affected by this kind of behavior every single day," he says.

Scores of companies in Bekasi, about 60 kilometers east of Jakarta, and other key industrial areas around the capital are suffering from similar worker unrest.

For about a month, PT Maspion Kencana, a plastic-sheeting maker, has operated its factory in Bekasi with only about half of its work force. Most of the other employees say they won't work until Maspion raises wages.

Last month, auto maker PT Indomobil Sukses International shut its plant in Bekasi for more than a week while workers were on strike in an effort to secure higher take-home pay. And PT Argha Karya Prima Industry, the largest maker of flexible packaging in Southeast Asia, said Wednesday that it has suffered losses of around 16.5 billion rupiah ($2 million) due to strikes since May 10.

At the Sony plant, Mr. Winarno says the strikes across the country are taking on a momentum of their own, prompting more workers to dare to seek better conditions and challenge their management.

"The freedom of association is very educating and enlightening," says Mr. Winarno, a former assembly-line worker at the plant and currently part of Sony's administrative staff. "We know what our rights are now.

We now dare to challenge the company's unfair treatment of us." The Sony workers say they want a change in what they call unfair new working conditions and an 80% pay increase. The workers also want a guarantee from Sony that no staff will be laid off, and that senior Japanese managers return to Japan and Indonesians be promoted in their place.

Sony says it is negotiating with the workers and wants to stay in Indonesia. "We haven't reached agreement [with the workers] so far, as these are unreasonable demands," said Masakazu Toyama, Sony Indonesia's assistant general manager.

According to the Ministry of Manpower, there were 125 reported strikes during 1999. During the first quarter of this year, however, 52 strikes have already been reported. And labor officials say the actual number of strikes is perhaps 10 times higher than official statistics show.

The growing activity is a big change from the situation under Mr. Suharto, whose administration kept workers on a tight leash. Only one government-controlled union was allowed, and it generally actively discouraged workers from striking. The police and military also had a role in restricting labor activity, and one prominent labor activist, Marsinah, died under mysterious circumstances in 1993. Since 1998, when the government authorized new and independent unions, 35 new organizations have sprung up.

The strikes first exploded in late 1997 when the onset of the Asian financial crisis caused the rupiah to plunge and sent inflation soaring, severely hurting workers' purchasing power.

The economic crisis pushed the number of Indonesians living below the poverty line to 49.5 million in December 1998 -- a little more than 24% of the population, compared with 17.6% before the crisis, the Central Statistics Bureau said. That figure has fallen since then, however, with roughly 18.2% of Indonesians living in poverty in August 1999, according to official statistics.

Dita Indah Sari, chairperson of labor union Front Nasional Pejuang Buruh, reckons that 90% of strikes are motivated by demand for better salaries. "Other than that, workers strike because many companies violate work agreements," she said, adding, "The workers are angry because there is no legal punishment for the violation of such agreements." Ms. Dita predicts that strikes in Indonesia will increase if the economy remains stagnant. Ironically, some believe that the strikes themselves could help bring stagnation.

The government expects the Indonesian economy to grow a little more than 4% this year, although the Central Statistics Bureau said recently that this rate could fall to just 1.5% if political instability and security problems persist.

Realizing the risks to the recovery, President Abdurrahman Wahid last week ordered the Manpower Ministry to take an active, but impartial role to help settle labor disputes. He also ordered the chief of the national police to recruit more personnel to quell looting of plantations.

Employers say the labor disputes are a major problem for them, especially with many companies still struggling to recover from the economic crisis. "We're aware of our responsibility to increase the welfare of our workers, but sometimes they demand unrealistically high wages," said an executive with a South Korean company in Jakarta.

Texmaco black-lists strike leaders

May Sair, Jakarta -- Textile company Texmaco has black-listed 15 workers who led a strike at a factory here for better wages. It is refusing to allow the 15 to join the workers' negotiating team or to re-register for employment.

Texmaco locked out its 1500 workers after they held a protest outside Parliament House on May 1 and rejected a 15% wage rise negotiated behind their backs by the company and the government trade union, SPSI, which they all must be members of. The company's owner, Marimutu Sinivasan, is a crony of former dictator Suharto.

The workers wanted a 30% pay rise and turned to the independent Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI), to represent them. The company set a May 16 deadline for all workers to re-register to get their jobs back, but the FNPBI advised the workers to stick together and refuse to re-register individually.

On May 6, negotiations between the company, the SPSI and the government revised the original offer downwards to 3-7%. The SPSI did not consult the workers.

By May 16, destitute individual workers had begun re-registering. However, the 15 strike leaders have kept up their fight and are calling on parliamentarians to force a re-opening of negotiations with the company.
 

Human rights/law

Rights abuses unlikely to go to court

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- Indonesia is prepared for human rights abuses cases to go to court but many of them would probably be dealt with through a South African style truth and reconciliation commission because there were too many cases for the courts to solve, said a minister. Mr Hasballah Said, the Minister for Human Rights, said on Thursday that his office would open investigation into human rights abuses committed in West Papua dating as far back as 1963.

But he said, "it's impossible to solve all the separate cases", adding that in a recent seminar with the victims' families, most of the families demanded a national commission on disappearing people.

He said the Law Ministry was currently drafting a Bill for a truth and reconciliation commission to deal with numerous cases of human rights abuses committed all over Indonesia.

However, the commission would differ from those held in Africa, Chile or El Salvador because Indonesia's history differed.

Indonesia would need to deal with human rights abuses which ranged from state-sponsored violence to religious violence in places such as Maluku, he said.

"The main issue is forgiveness and reconciliation. However, the question is who will pay compensation and from where will we get the resources?"

Mr Hasballah said he hoped the Bill to set up a reconciliation commission would be presented to parliament soon and that parliament was already considering the draft law on an ad-hoc human rights court.

If the fact-finding investigations in Irian were successful, it would pave the way for a trial of security members who have been accused of killing thousands of Papuans in an attempt to wipe out the small guerilla movement which has resisted West Papua's formal incorporation into Indonesia since 1969.

"An independent commission on human rights violations which will come from the community will prepare a formal report. If we have enough witnesses, of course, we will send the cases to court," he said.

Human rights groups agreed that many of the human rights abuses that occurred during the early 60s would be hard to prove. However, more recent abuses would be easier to gather evidence.

"For cases such as Freeport, Biak and Belallama, there are lots of witnesses still alive and also workers from Freeport who can give evidence," said Mr Aloy Renwaren, from a human rights group that has already begun investigating abuses.

He added that according to local witnesses, Indonesian security forces have killed at least a hundred people in the area controlled by mining giant Freeport over the last 20 years.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women also reported last year that rape had been systematically used by the armed forces as a means of repression in West Papua.

Papuan politicians said that while the investigation may not be successful, if followed through, it would be a "good start". "Now everybody is talking about reconciliation so we have to start from somewhere," said Dr Simon Morin, a Golkar member from the Lower House.

The announcement also came on the heels of mining giant Freeport's announcement that it would temporarily limit its output at its gold and copper mine, following an accident earlier this month at Lake Wanagon, where four workers were killed.

Indonesia considers whether Freeport violated rights

Jakarta -- Indonesia's government will ask an independent commission to look into possible human-rights abuses by a major US mining company in West Papua province, a minister said.

Hasballah Saad, the country's first human-rights minister, said the commission will likely begin in June to probe incidents of rights abuses. He said Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. would be included in the investigation.

"We will ask the independent commission to prepare a formal report of these abuses, including [actions by] Freeport," Mr. Saad said. "Based on that," he added, "we will send the case to trial."

Human-rights activists have accused Freeport, which runs the world's single largest copper and gold deposit mine in West Papua, of providing vehicles and facilities to Indonesian security forces fighting separatists from the Free Papua Organization.

In New Orleans, company spokesman Bill Collier denied allegations of rights violations and said the company is prepared to cooperate with investigators. "As a company, we've taken a very strong position in support of basic human rights and we condemn human rights violations wherever they occur." Until last year, Indonesia's army ran the province with an iron hand.

Thousands of locals were killed and tortured during a series of anti-insurgency operations.

Freeport has been active in the region, about 4,000 kilometers east of Jakarta, since the 1960s. The company has long been dogged by controversy and allegations of collusion with former President Suharto, who resigned in May 1998 after 32 years of autocratic rule.

The independent commission will include nongovernmental organizations based in West Papua, as well as community leaders, Mr. Saad told a gathering of foreign journalists. Mr. Saad said it would be impossible to bring to trial all recent cases of human-rights violations. "We have no real capabilities to follow all these problems of human-rights abuses through the courts," he said. "So many places in Indonesia have human-rights abuses."
 

News & issues

Textile firms threaten to shut down

Bandung -- Some 200 textile companies in the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Textile Association (API) threatened on Tuesday to stop production if the electricity rate hike was not revised within a week.

Secretary of API's West Java chapter Ade Sudradjat said the threat was issued after negotiations between the association's members and the West Java branch of the state-owned electricity company (PLN) failed to reach a compromise.

He said the companies were willing to pay the full rate if the government would agree to their proposal for a gradual hike. API proposed gradual implementation of the hike, with 20 percent now and an additional 16 percent in six months, Ade said. "We would accept a 36 percent increase for this year. Then next year another gradual increase," he said.

Steel and textile-related industries have also protested the increase. The government raised the electricity rate an average of 29.43 percent beginning in April in a bid to reduce the Rp 13.7 trillion (US$1.83 billion) losses faced by PLN this fiscal year. The rate for industrial users rose between 54 percent and 70 percent.

Spokesman for the local office of PLN Sri Djoko MK said the company could not alter a presidential decree.

"We are a state-owned company with the government as a major shareholder. The board of directors cannot make any changes to a presidential decree on their own." Companies have argued the government's decision to increase electricity rates is burdensome to their operations.

They complained that many of them did not prepare the budget because they only received notice from PLN at the end of April, weeks after the decree took effect.

The hike, the minimum wage increase and the weakening of rupiah to the dollar would further drain the companies' finances, they said.

President director of export-oriented textile company PT Himalaya Bandung Husen Lumanta warned that if the government did not revise the decree, his 5,000 employees would be laid off in three months to six months.

France bestows title on Indonesia's leading author

Jakarta -- Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesia's best-known author, is to be honoured by France for his services to literature. The French embassy here said Friday that Pramoedya would be named a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres later this month.

The embassy said the honor, awarded for outstanding creativity or achievements in the fields of arts and literature, would be made by Ambassador Gerard Cros on May 30.

"Pram" as he is known here, was jailed for years by successive regimes in Indonesia, the last time for 14 years by the government of former president Suharto, on suspicion of communist tendencies.

Now 75, the novelist has several times been nominated for the Nobel Literature prize, though for most of his lifetime his books have been banned in Indonesia. "Pramoedya is known and respected in France for his fight against autocracy which he paid for by spending many years in jail," the statement said.

Suharto's neighbours tired of student rallies

Jakarta -- Residents living near the private residence of former president Suharto and his family in Menteng are appealing to students to halt their protests in the upmarket neighbourhood.

Interviewed by The Jakarta Post separately, the neighbours urged the students to hold their protests at other sites, such as the Attorney-General's Office or the House of Representatives.

The residents, particularly those close to the Suharto compound, said they did not object to the student protests as such, but to the disruption of their daily lives and damage to private and public property.

Yesterday, hundreds of protesters, mostly university students, clashed with police near Mr Suharto's home, again demanding that he be tried on allegations of corruption during his 32 years in power.

Chanting "Hang Suharto, Hang Suharto" the students attacked a barricade of police who then repeatedly fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

At least six protesters were detained, witnesses said. Several others were injured during the incident, including a police officer.

The residents said they had been living in a constant state of unease for weeks. Mrs Muchtony, in her 40s, said she had to move her four-year-old child and 80-year-old father-in-law to a relative's house.

"This is a residential area. If they want to hold a demonstration, why don't they choose other more appropriate places, such as the Attorney-General's Office or the House?" the housewife said.

"Besides, the protests have not succeeded because the students have never even been able to see the fence of Mr Suharto's house due to the tight security blockade, let alone hoping that he, his children or his lawyer would be willing to come out of the house to meet the protesters." She said the most exasperating time for the residents was when the protesters used stones and Molotov cocktails in an effort to break through the cordon of security personnel.

Her next-door neighbour, Christine, also hoped students would find another location to hold their protests. "The students today have no clear vision for their protests anymore," said the member of non-governmental organisation, the National Solidarity Foundation.

"They should have staged their protests at the Attorney-General's Office or at the House. Tell the officials and the legislators to properly carry out their jobs, negotiate with them..."

The women were apathetic about Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman's plan to move Mr Suharto to an unidentified "secure" location.

Update on Solidamor attack in Jakarta

London -- The Solidamor chair, Coki Naipospos sustained injuries all over his body and suffered wounds on his wrist and forehead. When the attack started, he grabbed hold of a laptop to shield his face from being beaten with sticks and stones. Sapollo was kicked and beaten and was badly bruised . He was taken to hospital for an x-ray. The two other members of Solidamor who were in the building at the time suffered minor injuries.

The material damage is estimated at around 100 million rupiahs (well over $10,000), not including Rp18 million in the cash-box and the Rp1.9 million stolen from Sapollo, the East Timorese who works in the Solidamor office. The attackers also broke into a large box containing documents. Solidamor still has to work out which documents are missing.

There are reasons to believe that the attackers are from the same group which recently launched an action at the MPR (People's Congress) and was responsible for the three-day occupation of the Komnas Ham (National Commission of Human Rights) office. They include some of the Timorese whose names are listed in the KPP Ham report as perpetrators of last year's violence in East Timor.

Recently, Eurico Gutteres, the notorious Aitarak militia leader who is now based in Kupang, was interviewed by El Shinta Radio. He vehemently denied that this group in Jakarta is under his command. He said that they were formerly members of Aitarak but had defected and were now under the control of Yohannes Yacob, one of the lawyers acting for "Big Daddy" Suharto. They are currently based in a transmigration transition camp in Kali Malang, in the centre of Jakarta.

Two people have been arrested and Solidamor has called on the authorities to keep them in custody until the investigations are complete. Yesterday, members of Solidamor along with Hendardi from PBHI had a meeting with General Rusdihardjo, the National Chief of Police, to demand that there be a comprehensive follow- up of this case. Polda Metro Jaya, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, will handle the case from now on.

People in the neighbourhood were taken by surprise by the suddennes of the act and were rather slow to react. But when the attackers started trying to burn down the building, they stepped in and were able to prevent further damage. Our friends estimate that between 40 and 50 people were involved in the attack on the Solidamor office.

The attack was reported by all the main newspapers as well as on TV. It was not the lead item however because student protests have escalated in the past two days. Demands for Suharto to be put on trial have intensified and there was a major clash today between the students and the security forces, during which teargas was used. Six army vehicles were reportedly burned by the students.

Apart from tidying up the front room, the Solidamor office has been left as it was after the attack so as to be seen by the press and the authorities. The phone is still working, the fax machine was damaged and it will probably be possible to repair one of the computers. We think that the solidarity movement worldwide should start raising money to help pay for the damage sustained by our friends in Solidamor.

The Solidamor staff will start functioning again on Monday 29 May and they wish to convey their thanks to everyone worldwide for their expressions of concern and messages of solidarity.

Solidamor office attacked, activists injured

Jakarta -- A group of about fifty pro-integration East Timorese carried out a vicious attack today on the office of Solidamor in Jakarta. The gang, which according to an eye-witness, was accompanied by a group of Indonesian soldiers who watched the attack from a distance, entered the office at around 4 pm on Wednesday, 24 May and immediately set about destroying all the office equipment and smashing the windows. Four men who were in the office at the time were physically attacked and sustained injuries.

Solidamor has for years played a critical role in disseminating information about East Timor in Indonesia and has been in the forefront of efforts to build solidarity in Indonesia for the people of East Timor. It played an active role in monitoring the situation in East Timor before and during the UN ballot in August last year and was recently appointed as the liaison office in Indonesia of the CNRT, the National Council of Timorese Resistance. It has also become a centre for solidarity with people's movements in other countries of South East Asia.

The four injured activists were Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Chairperson of Solidamor, Sudarman of the Division of Publications and Documentation, Sapolo and Iden, both on the staff of the organisation. Bonar Tigor Naipospos recently returned from a visit to Europe where he attended a conference on democratisation in South East Asia in Helsinki and an international meeting of East Timor solidarity groups in the Netherlands.

In what eye-witnesses described as a very professional operation, the attackers who wore red-and-white headbands (the colours of the Indonesian flag), drove up to the office in trucks and within minutes had destroyed every piece of office equipment, including two computers, a scanner, a fax-machine, a television set and a video machine. They then fled from the scene, taking a cash-box containing Rp18 million (US$2,200), two telephones, a number of documents and the personal belongings of several activists and members of staff.

The severity of the destruction is reminiscent of the wanton destruction inflicted on persons and property in East Timor by army-back militias, which reached a climax in September 1999 after the results of the UN ballot were made public. The attack has left Solidamor penniless and bereft of all its property.

The local police were called to the scene and four persons were later taken into custody on suspicion of having been involved in the attack.

Discrimination against ethnic Chinese

Desi Utomo -- In Indonesia, racism is one of the most pressing problems facing society.

Unlike the United States or South Africa, where racism is based on skin colour, racism in Indonesia manifests itself through discrimination based on ethnicity and religion. This has given rise to human rights violations in the social, economic, political, legal and cultural spheres of society.

The racial prejudice embedded in our nation has deep historical roots, which stemmed from Dutch colonial policies and practices. In 1740, the worst racial violence of the 18th century took place: the slaughter of 10,000 ethnic Chinese in Batavia, now Jakarta, by the Dutch colonial government.

This slaughter was based on the political and economic conflict of interests between the ethnic Chinese and the colonial Dutch, but racial bias was reflected in the policies formulated by the Dutch colonial government thereafter.

The mobility of the ethnic Chinese was limited and they were forced to live in ghettos. The United East India Company issued an edict, called the passenstelsel, which specified that every ethnic Chinese was required to hold a special pass when travelling outside their residential district. This enabled the colonial administration to watch and control the social activities of ethnic Chinese and ensure that no economic, political and social interaction occurred between ethnic Chinese and the rest of the population.

The colonial administration also introduced wijkenstelsel, under which ethnic Chinese were prohibited from residing in the centre of the city, and were thereby ghettoised in a residential Chinatown enclave. Racial segregation was further established by dividing society into three distinctive classes, each of which was subject to different rules and regulations.

The whites were the first-class citizens. Those labelled "indigenous" were given third-class status. The "alien oriental" was in some undefined place in the middle.

Although "special facilities" and monopolies in the business sector were granted to the latter, the price was restrictions which facilitated the maintenance of the ethnic Chinese social status as one of scapegoat, to be used as a safety valve to vent explosions of popular anger about economic and political oppression.

The ideology of racism also formed an essential part of the "divide and rule" policy pursued by the colonial rulers; the peaceful coexistence of people of different racial origins was disadvantageous to the subjugation of the nation as such cohesiveness could lead to a united resistance against the colonial power.

The racial policies of the Dutch administration were adopted by the "Old Order" government led by Sukarno, through the enforcement of the PP 10, legislation which prohibited foreign and Chinese traders from conducting business in the countryside. However, citizens were still allowed the freedom to organise groups and to participate in politics.

With the establishment of the "New Order" regime under the command of General Suharto, the political atmosphere changed radically and a massive eradication of many political parties and organisations was carried out. Chinese mass media were banned and political activity was restricted.

The fear of repercussions from participating in political activity has resulted in the Chinese pursuing non-political activities, and their isolation from the rest of Indonesian society.

Racism today

Today there are 62 laws and regulations in effect which are fundamentally racist in nature. Even in the economic and political sectors, racially discriminatory policies still regulate matters. One example is the Coordination Body for Chinese Problems, which attempts to control the activities of the ethnic Chinese.

Racism fulfils several purposes. Segregation sows seeds of hostility and social jealousy within society to blind the people to the government's failure to provide social justice and welfare. The prejudiced group becomes a scapegoat and a safety valve during times of popular unrest.

Racism, and the violence which often results from it, also legitimates tight social control by the government and the army. This then becomes a basis for disadvantaged groups' dependency on the military and government, despite the state's repeated failure to fulfil its responsibility to provide safety and security for all citizens.

Racism in Indonesia is manifested in many forms, from discriminatory conduct to human rights abuses. The ongoing conflicts in Maluku and Ambon are examples of instances where social tension has built up over centuries, cultivated by a repressive atmosphere, and ultimately erupts when triggered by provocateurs.

In the May 1998 riots, ethnic Chinese were targeted for killings, torture and rape, and their houses and shops were looted and burned. Whoever was responsible, it is certain that the many riots targeting ethnic Chinese throughout 1998 were part of the systematic racism that has been part of the nation for so long.

Racism is not only about the systematic discrimination carried out by governments. It is also about the prejudice that is rooted in the minds of the people having been nurtured for decades, reproduced in many different forms and is part of the mass consciousness. To dismantle it is a difficult and long-term task.

Fighting racism

The fall of Suharto has enabled the rise of the fight against racial discrimination.

We remain grateful to the student movements that led to the resignation of Suharto, which, in turn, is allowing the public to speak up against the atrocities committed against particular groups in society.

Minority groups which were politically shoved aside by the New Order regime are joining the fight. Unfortunately, the organisations existing today have not yet fulfilled their roles and mission to the fullest extent possible. There is not yet one forum able to unite these groups under a single program to ensure that racial violence will not recur.

Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa hopes to raise public awareness about the danger of racism to the stability of society. We also hope to build up international solidarity and invite other like-minded organisations to join our fight against racism and to unite in a long-term program. We are committed to the total elimination of racial prejudice in all aspects of society and will continue to pressure the government to take serious action towards achieving this goal.

[Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa is an Indonesian non-government organisation working towards the elimination of racism and discrimination. Desi Utomo is Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa's representative in Australia.]

Widjojo warns against federalism

Paul Jacob -- The Indonesian military's territorial affairs chief yesterday cautioned against any move towards a federal system, saying it could expose the country to "larger costs and higher risks".

Lt-General Agus Widjojo, speaking in Singapore, said if unhappiness in the provinces centred on the over-centralisation of authority in Jakarta and the uneven distribution of revenue, these issues could be resolved without changing the existing political structure of a unitary state.

"A change in the political structure would mean a significant change in the 1945 Constitution because the form of a unitary Republic of Indonesia is explicitly stated in the Constitution," he said in reply to a question on the military's view of a federation of Indonesian states.

"As it is stated in the Constitution, we can expect that the founding fathers had identified the sensitivity of the diverse nature of the country and the nation," he said.

"What we also have to consider in the current discussion is whether federalism can bring about a better situation and a solution to the problems we are now encountering -- or will it just expose the nation to larger costs and bigger risks."

Lt-Gen Agus' remarks, which were a clear indication that the defence forces (TNI) oppose reverting to the federalism concept, came at the end of a two-day Regional Experts programme organised by Singapore Press Holdings.

He said that instead of jumping to embrace the idea of federalism -- as distinct from greater autonomy for provinces -- those involved in discussions on the issue should ask if the existing structure of the state was the root cause, or whether it was something else.

In his view, the main issues appear to be a fairer sharing of the revenue derived from resources, and a sense that there is too much control of the regions from Jakarta.

Indeed, President Abdurrahman Wahid signed a regulation earlier this month that would set in motion a process to give provinces greater control over their wealth -- and hopefully ease simmering separatist tensions.

Lt-General Agus indicated that the military was supportive of the autonomy approach which, among other things, will give provincial administrations greater freedom in administering education, health, land rights and transport policies as well as investment approvals.

That the military is comfortable with the law -- due for full implementation on Jan 1 next year -- may also be due to the fact that the central government will still retain control over key areas including defence, foreign policy, religion and law.

The issue of federalism is viewed with concern in Indonesia as it is seen as undermining the foundations of Indonesian nationalism and it raises fears that the tumultuous 1950s -- when regions formed breakaway states -- will be repeated. Lt-Gen Agus acknowledges that one of the military's greatest fears is the break-up of the country.

Wave of vigilante killings shows lack of faith in police

Chris McCall, Jakarta -- They catch the thief, beat him, often burn him alive. When the police arrive they find a corpse and no one knows who the killers are.

Jakarta's police are struggling to control a wave of vigilante killings like this. Some 40 presumed criminals have been killed in this way this year in the Indonesian capital, usually before police make it to the scene. More than 30 others have been lucky to escape with their lives. And the problem is not confined to the capital.

Legal experts say it shows that Indonesians just do not trust their police. It usually happens in Jakarta's ugly slums or other poor districts, often over a stolen motorcycle. In a country whose common people are lucky to earn 250,000 rupiah (HK$250) a month, such a machine is very much something to kill for.

Jakarta police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Zainuri Lubis says the force wants to stop the vigilantes, but its men cannot be everywhere. He blames the economic collapse, which has hit the poorest sectors of Indonesia's society hardest. Millions have been thrown out of work.

"The Jakarta police is very concerned and regrets these cases, although there is a positive aspect in that the public are fighting crime," he said. "This issue makes people angry because many of the victims [of theft] are also poor, like drivers of motorcycles or taxis, shoppers, and so on."

On May 10 in the southern suburb of Pondok Gede, four men were spotted entering a yard to steal a motorcycle. The owner saw them and yelled for help. He got it. According to a police report, a mob attacked the four men, caught them and set them on fire. When police finally arrived, only one could be identified.

On May 14, a man from Sumatra named as Kaharuddin, 33, was caught and burned alive in the suburb of Tangerang. He had been spotted riding a motorcycle that had gone missing three days earlier. Police arrived too late to save him.

Doling out rough justice is often far easier in Indonesia than trying to get redress through its notoriously corrupt legal system. Patra Zen, of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, said 27 such killings had been reported this year just in Lampung province on the southern tip of Sumatra, a rural area, where many of the cases involve thefts of animals.

There are many such cases elsewhere too, he said. "There is a problem of implementation in the legal system," Mr Zen said. "The police cannot sort these problems out properly."

The police probably have their own past to blame, he said. Under former president Suharto they were very much seen as the junior partner of the military, and were officially classified as part of it.

Although the police force regained its independence last year, it retains many quasi-military features, including military ranks and often the use of military-style uniforms and weapons. Police officers have also been implicated in past human rights abuses. "Before, the police also carried out violence. The people don't trust them," Mr Zen said.
 

Environment/health

Singapore pays bribes to dump waste at Batam

Jakarta -- An environment official says certain members of the Singapore government and business community have been paying bribes to local government officials at Batam to obtain permission to dump waste in waters off the industrial island.

Secretary of the Environmental Impact Management Agency's Batam branch, Dendi N. Purnomo, says all sorts of toxic pollutants and solid waste materials from Singapore have ended up in Batam due to the inclination of local officials to accept bribes.

"Because Singapore has very strict regulations on pollutants and solid waste, many of its businessmen just come to Batam and give some tips to local officials, then they can easily obtain a permit to dump all of their solid waste and pollutants here," he was quoted as saying by Antara in Batam yesterday.

Dendi said that no matter how hard Indonesia tries to keep Batam free from Singapore's solid and liquid waste materials, the island state's businessmen can always find loopholes in Indonesian regulations or the Indonesian bureaucracy, through which they can carry waste over in state-owned ships and dispose of it in waters off Batam.

He said the Batam Authority has strict regulations on maintaining a sustainable use of the environment and it is prohibited to import waste.

"However, tips and bribery can easily overcome everything: regulations, security guards and government officials." Dendi said some members of the Batam Authority feel it is the responsibility of police to stop the illegal dumping of toxic waste.

He admitted that Batam's lax law enforcement and corruption give people in Singapore the impression that it's easy for rich people to violate regulations in Indonesia.

"Of course they look down on us and think the law here is about as valuable as some small change in Singapore dollars. This is why we would be pleased if police could confiscate any ships carrying pollutants and take stern measures against their crews." Earlier this month, Batam Customs Office refused to allow in 22 containers of waste and urged Indonesian importers to send the containers back to Singapore.

Used cars

Apart from pollutants, Singapore is also keen on smuggling its second-hand cars into Indonesia. Dendi said the car smuggling racket is more serious than the importation of waste products.

"Singapore businessmen send over hundreds of used cars that were produced in 1990s, completely ignoring the regulations here. They just allocate some dollars notes [for Indonesian officials] and everything will be okay." He said the people who buy the smuggled cars will never be arrested, because they are mainly police, civil servants and other local government officials and journalists.

"With prices ranging from just Rp15 million [US$1,780] and Rp20 million [US$2,370], hundreds of people are interested in buying second-hand cars from Singapore," he added. So far there has been no indication that officials in Batam will attempt to stop the car smuggling.
 

Arms/armed forces

Defence push to get Indonesian forces onside

David Lague -- The Defence Department will pressure the Federal Government to rebuild military links with Jakarta now political ties are warming, despite the role of Indonesian troops in East Timor atrocities.

Senior defence officials said strong military ties with Jakarta could be crucial in preparing contingency plans to evacuate Australians from Indonesia, as signs emerge of a new economic downturn that could again threaten political and social stability.

While negotiations are under way for Indonesia's President Abdurahman Wahid to visit Australia in July, defence officials also want to restore a relationship with their Indonesian counterparts that would reopen an important channel of information and intelligence on developments in Jakarta.

The Prime Minister, Mr Howard, said earlier this month that it was too early to renew defence ties in the wake of tension over East Timor. But Australian military officers are understood to be free to begin cultivating contacts in Indonesia.

One senior defence official said: "Instability in Indonesia is so great that we have too much at stake to leave the military withering on the vine." However, the Government is unlikely to allow Australia to again provide training for Indonesia's elite special forces, which were suspected of playing a key role in instigating militia violence in Timor.

The United States ended an eight-month freeze on defence contact with Indonesia this week in a move designed to reward the Wahid Government for bringing the military under civilian control and expanding democracy.

The US has invited Indonesian observers to exercises in Thailand and is planning a joint exercise with Indonesian troops in July. President Wahid has removed the former military chief, General Wiranto, who is now under investigation for his role in militia violence in Timor.

Senior Australian officers with experience in Indonesia believe the prospect of Indonesian co-operation with contingency evacuation plans is the biggest benefit of good relations with Jakarta's military leadership. In May 1998, during the economic crisis, Australian officers secured the agreement of Indonesia's military for aircraft to land in Jakarta and for helicopters to fly in from ships offshore to evacuate some of the 15,000 Australian citizens in Indonesia if it became necessary.

Indonesia's tangle of money and guns

Lesley McCulloch, Jakarta -- It seems that with each day that passes criticism of Indonesia's President, Abdurrahman Wahid, gains momentum. No-one denies that many things are certainly different than they were 12 months ago -- and that these changes have been for the better -- but are they the changes that really matter?

Initial praise for the President's 'bravery' in ousting key players in government who were seen to be potential 'roadblocks' to reform -- such as former General Wiranto -- has been waning in recent weeks. Gus Dur (as he is affectionately called) appears to be losing his embryonic and tenuous grip on two very important aspects of the reform agenda: the military and the economy.

Many people don't seem to understand that the two are inextricably linked. Military reform involves more than simply replacing key individuals with reformists. The President needs to adopt an institutional approach to reform rather than an individual one.

Indeed this may be beginning to happen with the recent announcement that plans are afoot to reform the military at the territorial and village level -- although whether this will have any impact on 'rogue' elements of the military who are accused of 'non-government sanctioned' behaviour in such outlying places as Aceh, Ambon and the Moluccas is doubtful.

Add to this government-approved police and military action, such as the policy to 'shoot on sight' non-military elements carrying weapons on the legendary Spice Islands (the Moluccas), and the situation has all the ingredients for escalating violence which could very well spiral out of control. It can safely be assumed that such a policy following so closely on the East Timor fiasco has been sanctioned at the behest of the military.

Recent reports of military and police personnel fatally wounding 'innocent bystanders' has led to a barrage of protest by international human-rights organisations and others. It remains to be seen whether the recently signed cease fire agreement on Aceh between the Government and the separatist rebels, due to come into effect on June 2, is sustainable. The link, often overlooked, is the role that the still powerful military has in the economy.

The fact that the Indonesian military is involved in business activities is no secret. Business down the barrel of a gun is as old as Indonesia itself. It has been, and continues to be, extremely lucrative both for the armed forces as an institution and for some well-placed individuals. The military initially became involved in commercial activities because the government could not afford to provide for their welfare and running costs.

Since Gus Dur became President there has been little change. Regular salaries do not adequately provide for the basic needs of personnel. With prices spiraling, recent salary increases of on average 30 per cent have made little difference.

Powerful interests are at stake. While an inadequate defence budget remains the official rational for such 'unorthodox' military activities, powerful vested interests are at stake. Perhaps none more so than the very existence of the Government itself.

In recognition of the need for a delicate balancing act Gus Dur has warned against 'anti-TNI' sentiment. When Defence Minister Juwono Sudarson late last year requested a 62.9 per cent rise in this year's defence budget, there were few who thought the Government, already financially strained, would comply.

However, it seemed reasonable to expect some increase as a sign of commitment to 'cleaning up' the corruption which surrounds the business activities of the armed forces. No rise was forthcoming. The defence budget for the current financial year, which extends for only nine months, stands at RP10.1 trillion (about $A2.2 billion) -- a pro-rated version of the 1999 budget.

The Government has said it must continue to accept the military's commercial activities, both as a method of individual personnel topping-up inadequate salaries and to boost the coffers of the budget. The implicit acceptance by the Government that there is a 'leakage' of resources to already-wealthy individuals is disconcerting. The amounts involved in such 'unconventional' activities are as much a mystery to the Indonesian Government as to observers.

As the country continues to languish in the aftermath of the economic crisis and the recent fall in the rupiah of 10 per cent in as many days keeps foreign investors away, reliance on these extra-budgetary sources of military funding may become even more vital. An increase in the defence budget must be forthcoming if military development plans are to be fulfilled.

Recent reports that one-third of all maritime piracy attacks in the first three months of this year took place in the busy straits around Indonesia have led Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Achmad Sutjipto to request the creation of a coast guard that would focus on piracy and smuggling.

The President must not push the military offside. In many ways it is the only truly functioning government institution and seen to be the only hope of maintaining some semblance of order in the trouble spots of the vast archipelago. While measures toward reform continue apace, one must not lose sight of the fact that it is 'selective reform' and that until fully functioning institutional change has been engaged, the military's role in the economy will remain. The road to such far-reaching reform is fraught with danger and is a very long road indeed.

[Lesley McCulloch is a Visiting Fellow at the Department of International Relations at the Australian National University and a researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conversion, (www.bicc.de) which promotes processes that shift resources away from the defence sector towards alternative civilian uses.]

US and Indonesia quietly resume military cooperation

Elizabeth Becker, Washington -- The Clinton administration has quietly resumed military cooperation with Indonesia, senior defense officials said today, eight months after cutting off those ties following massacres in East Timor.

The United States broke the freeze this month by inviting Indonesian military observers to joint exercises in Thailand and by completing plans this week to hold the first joint exercises between American and Indonesian armed forces in July.

These exercises are a prelude to a much larger military-to- military program the administration will present Congress this month to reward the new, democratically elected Indonesian government for removing some of the senior military officers under investigation for the East Timor massacres and for imposing civilian control of the military, according to senior administration officials.

Since taking office seven months ago, President Abdurrahman Wahid has named a civilian minister of defense and removed General Wiranto, the powerful chief of the armed forces, who is under investigation for allowing several army units to orchestrate last year's rampage in East Timor, which left hundreds dead after the province voted for independence from Indonesia.

But some members of Congress and human rights groups are critical of resuming any relations with the military until the current investigations into the massacres and other human rights abuses in East Timor lead to trials of senior officers.

Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, will propose legislation as early as this week to prolong the freeze on military relations until the officers are all put on trial.

And a group of 29 human rights organizations has petitioned Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright to prevent any "resumption of military engagement at any level."

"I really do think it is premature for the Pentagon to be resuming cooperation when there has been a lack of accountability for the senior officers," said Michael Jendrzejczyk of Human Rights Watch, which signed the letter to Dr. Albright.

President Clinton suspended all military ties with Indonesia in September when General Wiranto failed to reign in the local militia as it rampaged through East Timor. And in its report issued earlier this year, the United Nations said its investigation uncovered evidence that special forces of the Indonesian army did "support the militias in intimidation and terror attacks" in East Timor.

To avoid working with those units, the Pentagon is renewing its ties first with the Indonesia's air force and navy. The joint exercises this summer will be held with Indonesian marines and will concentrate on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, according to a senior defense official.

"What better way than to take some first steps towards re- engagement with humanitarian exercises and with the services that don't have a cloud over them," said a senior official who asked for anonymity.

After consultations with Congress, the administration hopes to begin what Dr. Albright described in a letter to the human rights groups as a "carefully calibrated" program to renew ties with the two militaries.

"Given where Indonesia was a year ago, this government has made tremendous progress in asserting civilian control over the military," said Adam Schwarz, the author of "A Nation in Waiting: Indonesia's Search for Stability".

Army wants 20 seats, its own faction in MPR

Yang Razali Kassim - The general is not saying. But it's what he fails to say that confirms it: dissatisfaction is building up within the military against President Abdurrahman Wahid.

In the beginning, the unhappiness had to do with the president's "overkill" in pushing for the supremacy of civilian rule. Now, the gripe is about a "palace conspiracy" by presidential aides to undermine the authority of the new military commander, Admiral Widodo.

Perhaps partly because of this, the military, which is supposed to withdraw completely from the legislature by 2004, is fighting back to keep at least some of its presence in the political leadership.

In an exclusive interview with BT here, the Chief of Territorial Affairs, Lt-Gen Agus Widjoyo, would not want to be drawn into commenting on talk about the so-called palace conspiracy. But the general, a military thinker, confirmed a plan by the military to demand at least 20 seats and possibly a faction of its own in the MPR, the highest policy-making body in the country.

Significantly, he did not deny that the relationship between the civilian leadership and the military could be destabilised by generals who act in concert with civilian politicians. He described such officers as the "political-soldier types" and a threat to the growing professionalism of the military.

"The problem encountered by a newly professional military, entering an environment of civilian supremacy, is when there are individuals who start playing politics from within the military, when in fact the military is meant to be a professional organisation. This sort of political-soldier types may not exist unless by the temptation or seduction of external civilian politicians," he said.

Throughout the interview, the three-star general refused to be specific about whom he meant by the "political-soldier types", or the "external civilian politicians". But his comments are seen to refer to two generals recently appointed by Gus Dur and a key palace official, Bondan Gunawan.

The two generals are Army Chief of Staff, General Tyasno Sudarto, and the Commander of the Strategic Reserve, Lt-Gen Agus Wirahadikusumah. Both were specially handpicked by Gus Dur and placed in their current positions over the heads of others in the normal promotion process.

They are very close to Mr Bondan, a civil activist recently made a key man in the State Secretariat. He has close links with Gus Dur from their days in the Forum Demokrasi movement. Analysts say some sections within the military view the three -- or four if Gus Dur is included -- as forming the backbone of the "palace conspiracy".

While the president has succeeded in installing them, their positions are believed to be insecure. There is talk that the two top generals are being increasingly isolated within the military. Part of the distancing is due to the perception that their rise will undermine the authority of Admiral Widodo.

Asked if this is all true, Lt-Gen Agus sidestepped the question, talking instead about the need to "learn from past experiences". At the same time, he stressed that civilians should not intervene too far in the TNI's internal arrangements. "The reshuffle of personnel within the TNI is part of the internal management of TNI. Standard Operating Procedures exist," he said.

So, does he think the political-soldier types would endanger the professionalism of the military at a time when it should be disengaging from politics? "There are indicators that if we are not careful, a situation could develop into such a state," the general said.

Explaining why the military is reversing its withdrawal from the national decision-making process, Lt-Gen Agus said TNI is a major component of Indonesian society and this is reflected in the free seats it has held in Parliament, or DPR.

Members of the DPR were automatically members of the MPR. If TNI appointees withdraw completely as required under a new law, the military would also lose its seats in the MPR, he said.

"But as the MPR is the highest policy-making body in Indonesia, it is only fair to say that it embraces and represents all components of the nation. This is especially true for TNI because TNI can't exercise its political rights due to its non- participation in the general elections. We feel that as one of the national components, TNI should have its representatives in the MPR." Lt-Gen Agus called this a form of "political rights in lieu of" its non-participation in the general elections.

Explaining why the military wants at least 20 seats and its own legislative faction, he said: "To have influence in the decision-making process in the MPR, we have to have at least about 20 seats, and ideally form a separate faction." Lt-Gen Agus was in Singapore at the invitation of Singapore Press Holdings.

Indonesia lacks defence funding

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said yesterday that the police and military did not have sufficient funding to deal with the sectarian and separatist violence that has dogged the country and spooked investors.

He said the defence forces (TNI) and the National Police institutions were "under performing" in riot-prone areas such as Maluku, where sectarian clashes have dragged on for over a year, because they are "undermanned, under-paid, under-loved and overstretched".

"They have to handle too many and too diverse problems, and deal with enormous public pressures, while at the same time are limited by the number and by financial constraint," he said. "They are also under-loved at this moment. The level of public appreciations of their profession is at its lowest."

Indonesia has been racked by sectarian and ethnic violence, which has killed thousands, for the past two years. Clashes between Christians and Muslims erupted again in the spice islands last week, and violence continues in Aceh province despite a peace accord with rebels due to come into effect in June. The violence has been fuelled by the economic crisis which first hit in mid- 1997, sending millions into poverty.

Mr Juwono, the first civilian holding the top defence post in over three decades, has previously sought to explain the problems faced by the much-maligned military for its inability to maintain security and for often resorting to violence against civilians to quell riots.

He has repeatedly warned that the military, which is gradually shedding its strong political role, might strike back if the public continued to denounce it.

Compared to other Asian countries, he said the TNI and police get the least funds. This year, the government has allocated 5.5 per cent or 10.9 trillion rupiahs (S$2.4 billion) of its state budget for security and defence.

This is 1.2 per cent of the gross domestic product, and makes up only 30 per cent the amount needed to help deal with unrest. The police's portion makes up 3.6 trillion rupiahs or 35 per cent of the state budget. The army's share of the budget is 3.3 trillion rupiahs, the Navy 1.02 trillion rupiahs, and the air force 657 billion rupiahs.

With the continuing sectarian violence, Mr Juwono said this was the worst time to tighten security expenses. Citing an example of the ill-equipped armed forces, he said the navy had only 15 patrol ships to guard the archipelago against sea piracies and illegal fishing. "Now is not the best time to be a Minister of Defence either," he lamented.

Jakarta to phase out special units

Susan Sim, Jakarta -- The Indonesian military will begin a pilot project by the end of the year to phase out the territorial units that used to operate all over the country on behalf of political and other vested interests in Jakarta, the chief of its territorial affairs said yesterday.

Lt-General Agus Widjojo said a comprehensive action plan to whittle down one of the key pillars of authoritarian rule under former president Suharto would begin as soon as the People's Consultative Assembly issued its White Paper, defining the role and mission of the Indonesian Defence Force, in August.

"But we are ready to withdraw all our territorial structures tomorrow morning if that is what society wants and there are no negative effects," he told The Straits Times in an interview in Singapore.

Those negative effects include problems that would ensue if the civilian authorities did not provide remote villages with the security they now get from the soldiers in their midst.

There are also technical problems, such as where the military would place the soldiers who used to man the military posts in every village and district.

The TNI leadership recognised that it could not hanker after a past system of martial rule carried over from Indonesia's revolutionary founding and that soldiers could no longer allow themselves to be used as "elements in political manoeuvring", he said.

However, in the rural areas, the people still wanted to consult soldiers on socio-political matters. "In the past, we were given a legitimate role as facilitator to find solutions to social and security matters," the general said.

"But there was also a particular dimension of overreaching into politics on the instructions of the centre to support one of the political parties. We no longer want to be involved in politics, but the people still consult us."

In some district elections, for instance, the people continued to nominate their local military leaders as candidates. If they wanted to run, they were forced to retire from the military, the general noted. "People feel safer with a military presence, to report their problems to the TNI rather than to the civilian authorities," he said.

He argued for a gradual approach to demands for the abolition of the military territorial structures. "In Jakarta, they don't want us around. But you have to ask yourself if what you read in the newspapers is a reflection of what Jakarta wants or what the people in the rural areas want," he said. "They don't care who leads them, or how each political party is different from the other. They just want the goods delivered."

Still the village bapinsa -- the military posts -- would probably all be dismantled. How and where the process would begin would depend on the feedback military headquarters was now gathering.

In the new era of regional autonomy, slated to begin next January, if any elected district head wanted soldiers to leave his region, then "we'll go", he said. But if chaos ensued, then the TNI had "no authority to interfere".

Only in 10 years would the country see the full effects of civilian control and management of resources for national defence. "The ball is in the civilian court. If they can prove they are competent, we're out," he said.
 

Economy & investment

Economy is expected to grow by 3.5%

Narendra Aggarwal - Indonesia's economy is expected to expand by about 3.5 per cent this year, driven by consumer demand, but it is too early to say if the same rate of growth will continue into next year, a top private sector economist has said.

Dr Syahrir, chairman of the Jakarta-based Institute for Economic Studies Research and Development, said yesterday that this was because gross domestic capital formation and foreign direct investment into Indonesia were yet to show signs of building up.

"Our's is a consumer-driven economy. The demand for goods and services is picking up. We can expect to grow by 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent this year. But for next year, I cannot say," he told The Straits Times on the sidelines of the Struggle for Indonesia conference.

There is some debate over Indonesia's likely growth rate this year. Central Bureau of Statistics chief Suwito Sugito recently lowered the official forecast to 1.5 per cent.

But President Abdurrahaman Wahid and top economics minister Kwik Kian Gie have said that they stand by the earlier estimate of between 3 per cent and 5.5 per cent.

Giving an example of the pent-up demand in some sectors, Dr Syahrir said that there was a six-month waiting period for the "Kijang" sports utility vehicle produced by car-maker Astra International.

The Harvard-educated economist added that despite the increase in consumer demand, there was little danger of the 5 per cent to 7 per cent "manageable rate of inflation" going up in the months ahead. "We now have a central bank that is more independent. Its ultimate job is to maintain price stability and we think it will successfully keep inflation in check," said Dr Syahrir.

However, there was confusion as far as economic policy was concerned as three different teams were responsible for monitoring the economy.
 

Art & culture

The movement for people's art and culture in Indonesia

Revitriyoso Husodo and Sri Wahyuningsih of the People's Cultural Network (JAKER) in Indonesia spoke to Green Left Weekly's Julia Perkins during her recent visit there.

JAKER is sustained by a belief in socialist realist art and was initiated in 1992 by Wiji Thukul, Semsar Siatiaan, Moeljono, Linda Christanty, Raharjo Waluyo Jati and Antun Joto Susmono, the activists explained.

After Wiji Thukul's disappearance JAKER disbanded. However, in 1998 some artists decided to rebuild the organisation. To survive, the organisation focussed more on middle-class students who already considered themselves to be "artists" and gathered them around JAKER. This diverged from Wiji Thukul's strategy of using art and culture to organise and politicise the lower classes.

However, Husodo and Wahyuningsih told Green Left Weekly, the JAKER congress in May is to return to the organisation's original strategy of working with people at the oppressed grassroots (turun ke bawah).

The activists explained that under capitalism, art's worth is measured by how valuable it is for capitalist interests. For example, the advertising industry is concerned with how to use art to tempt people to buy products that are not needed.

In the 1950s and 1960s, there were major debates between left- wing and liberal artists in Indonesia over what was appropriate subject matter. Artists influenced by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) formed LEKRA, the People's Cultural Organisation, which argued that artists should concern themselves with political struggle.

LEKRA debated the authors of the "universal humanist" cultural manifesto, who argued for "art for art" rather than art being "compromised" by being overtly political. After the brutal rise to power of Suharto in 1965, many of the artists around LEKRA and the PKI were killed. Those who survived, such as writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, were sentenced to lengthy spells in jail.

Husodo and Wahyuningsih explained that the authors of the manifesto had argued that art must be good for human culture. Ironically, one of its spokespersons, Goenawanan Mohammad, has become one of the elitist artistic community. If art is to be good for human culture, it cannot be divorced from the political situation and social conditions.

In the LEKRA-era, socialism in art tried to solve peoples' problems by using Marxism to see what was really occurring in this country, said Husodo and Wahyuningsih. After the tragic events of 1965, there seemed to be no progressive movement in art.

In the early 1970s, an art movement developed led by people like Moeljono that attempted to question social and political conditions. But by the 1980s, the movement had become preoccupied with selling their products. Only Wiji Thukul remained true to this movement's principles.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Thukul worked with workers and the urban poor to develop the consciousness that good art has to be from and for the people.

Husodo and Wahyuningsih told Green Left Weekly that JAKER is trying to redevelop a view of the role of art like that which existed around Thukul. The worker is the most important agent in the socialist movement so JAKER has to work with them, they said.

Husodo and Wahyuningsih explained that the JAKER congress in May was likely to see the organisation become independent of the radical People's Democratic Party (PRD). JAKER is currently a "subset" of the PRD. The activists said that the move was intended to reduce sectarianism on the left and to spread the ideology of socialism as widely as is possible. That is made more difficult if JAKER is seen to be aligned to one party. Many artists agree about the need for socialism but are already members of other parties, or are not ready to join the PRD.

Husodo and Wahyuningsih were quick to point out that the PRD, of which both are members, is the only party in Indonesia that fights militantly for socialism. In the past, they added, LEKRA also said there was no organisational relationship between it and the PKI. Only one LEKRA member ever openly declared his membership also of the PKI. But PKI members were able to win support for their party's program within LEKRA.

The activists conceded that a weakness of JAKER was the participation of women. Presently, there are only two women in JAKER. This is due to women being "a repressed sector" because of Indonesian society's attitudes, inherited from a feudal culture, see women as being below men.

JAKER is a big and vibrant organisation, in particular in Palembang, Yogyakarta, Lampung and Jakarta. In Palembang, JAKER is part of an underground cultural movement which has just recently taken over the government art council.

In Yogyakarta, theatre is used a lot as a political and cultural tool with farmers and students. There is a well-established "Red Star" theatre group there. JAKER is also part of a broad front of cultural groups, the Yogyakarta People's Cultural Forum. In Jakarta, there is the JAKER-initiated Wall Street Committee, involving mostly urban poor people.

Most recently, JAKER organised an action to raise consciousness about Wiji Thukul's disappearance. JAKER members read out Thukul's poetry in the street and they gained considerable media attention.

Husodo and Wahyuningsih said that the JAKER congress will gather together all those interested discussing the future of Indonesian national culture. The JAKER congress will also discuss the national political situation, the organisational structures of JAKER, a program of action and the organisation's strategies and tactics.

JAKER will also propose that a much broader national congress on Indonesian culture be convened to broaden the discussion. The aim, the activists said, was to build a bigger and wider movement for a people's art and culture.

They said that what is currently described as Indonesia's national culture must be countered, everyone must be involved in a discussion about the national culture.

JAKER is just one element in that discussion -- the socialist element.