Indonesia/East Timor News Digest No 28

Rizal Maslan/Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta -- Around 100 members of the Megamendung community of Bogor, West Java, held a noisy demonstration at the parliament complex today demanding the government return around 600 hectares of land seized by former President Suharto thirty years ago.

The demonstration was organised by a little known group called "Indonesian Peasants' Solidarity" and took the security officers at the parliament by surprise. The demonstrators entered from the rear of the parliament grounds and headed straight for the Nusantara V building.

They were eventually received by Panda Nababan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) headed by Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri. They cited three Business Utility Right (HUG) decrees issued by Suharto thirty years ago which granted a total of 582.6778 hectares to various businesses owned or associated to Suharto and his step brother, Probosutedjo. HGU IIII No.71 1971 covered 242.7554 hectares, HGU I No.69 1969 covered 144.009 and HGU II No.70 covered 195.7215 hectares.

In addition, an unknown number of other Business Utility Rights (HGU) as well as Forest Concession Rights (HPH) had been handed over to the family and a plethora of cronies for their private business enterprises. Claiming that they had been "colonised" by the Suharto family and cronies, the demonstrators demanded a thorough investigation into the procurement of the exclusive rights to the use of the land. The group also demanded the government issue a new decree to revitalise the existing Agrarian Law which supported the rights of original owners over land obtained through corrupt or questionable practices.

Although the Megamendung area is essentially a collection of village communities on the outskirts of greater Jakarta, in Bogor, West Java, the group were well organised, determined to be heard and came replete with various colourful posters, among them: "Plantations Walk All Over The People", "Withdraw HGU and HPH Which Steal The Peoples' Land", "The Peoples' Representatives Break Their Promises" and "Stop the Arrest and Shootings Of The People".

East Timor

Leadership team hailed as vital step

Sydney Morning Herald - July 15, 2000

Lisbon -- East Timor's first transitional government was hailed yesterday as a crucial step forward by the pro-independence leader Mr Xanana Gusmao.

Comprising members of the pro-independence National Resistance Council for East Timor (CNRT) and UN officials, the body unveiled yesterday replaces the UN transitional authority in a bid to speed up the "Timorisation" of the territory as a precursor to independence.

After a meeting in Lisbon with Timorese political leaders, Mr Gusmao hailed the formation of the new authority as a crucial step forward to full independence, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

"I have attempted to create a team spirit in which we can take responsibility for our errors as well as our successes," Mr Gusmao said. "This meeting has allowed us to make the first steps along the road to democracy in a spirit of collective responsibility."

Former resistance leaders in the transitional government are Joao Carrascalao, from the Timorese Democratic Union, who takes over infrastructure, and Mari Alkatiri, from the Revolutionary Front for the Independence of East Timor, who has charge over the economy. Father Filomeno Jacob is responsible for social affairs and Mariano Lopes the interior.

Mr Alkatiri said the formation of the "government of cohabitation" would focus on creating a political climate for East Timor's eventual full independence. "It is an important step, but we have to find a way to avoid break-ups ... and create a solid cohabitation," he said.

The international officials named to the body by Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN official responsible for East Timor, were his deputy, Jean Christian Cady, for emergency services and police, Gita Welsh for justice, Michael Francino for finance and Peter Galbraith for political affairs.

Pluribus East Timor

Washington Post - July 14, 2000

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Dili -- Lakan Feralafaek, one of a score of money changers who ply their trade on the sidewalk in front of East Timor's only bank, is more than happy to exchange foreign notes for the new official currency, the US dollar.

But Feralafaek, who carries a thick wad of American, Australian, Portuguese and Indonesian bills, has a blunt warning for visitors. "Nobody uses the American dollar here," he said. "You can't buy anything in the market with it."

Instead, most people still use the Indonesian rupiah, even though they almost uniformly despise the Indonesian government for its 24-year occupation of East Timor and its role in the wave of violence that followed the territory's vote for independence last August. East Timorese have shunned the dollar in favor of the volatile rupiah -- the world's worst-performing currency this year -- out of both familiarity and a fear that salaries will fall and prices will go up if they convert to the greenback.

"People do not know the value of a dollar," said Nino Pinto, 23, a rice vendor here in East Timor's capital. "If they see that something costs a thousand rupiah, they know how much that is. But if it was in dollars, they would have no idea."

The United Nations, which is governing the country until next year's scheduled elections, selected the dollar as the official currency earlier this year in consultation with East Timorese independence leaders, reasoning that the dollar would provide a strong and stable monetary system and a symbolic break from Indonesia. Similar logic was used to determine East Timor's national language. The official Indonesian language, Bahasa Indonesia, had been taught in schools and used for government business since Indonesia occupied East Timor in 1975 and annexed it a year later. The widely used local language, Tetun, has a limited vocabulary and is spoken nowhere else in the world. So East Timorese leaders and the United Nations opted for the tongue of the territory's former colonial rulers, Portuguese.

But the vast majority of people in the country do not know Portuguese. Conversations at Dili's central market, for instance, are in Tetun and Bahasa Indonesia. Newspapers here are printed in those two languages. Even at a recent conference on East Timor's future, the moderator told the audience that "we've chosen Tetun as the language to be used today so that everyone can understand."

The continued popularity of the rupiah and of languages other than Portuguese illustrate the challenges in forging a national identity for East Timor after nearly a quarter-century of Indonesian control and more than 400 years of Portuguese colonial rule. The selection of Portuguese, and, to a lesser extent, the dollar, has ignited a broad debate among people here about just what it means to be East Timorese and to what extent the world's newest nation should shed parts of its past.

Does being independent, people here wonder, mean everything associated with Indonesia should be chucked? Are older independence leaders romanticizing the colonial era? Will young people and others who do not speak Portuguese be shut out of the task of rebuilding the nation?

"If we chose the Indonesian language, how different would we be from Indonesia?" asked Joao Carrascalo, a senior official with the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT), the country's government in-waiting. "Would the world be willing to support East Timor if we were the same as Indonesia?"

Portugal, Carrascalo argued, has helped to shape the Timorese identity. "We have a strong and long link with Portugal," he said. "They were benevolent colonialists. It makes sense for us to speak the language."

But for East Timorese under 30, who were taught Bahasa Indonesia in school and who make up the majority of the population, the choice of Portuguese is alienating. "Nobody except the old people speak Portuguese," said Nino Pereira, 26, leader of the youth wing of the CNRT. "If that's what they want to speak, how are we supposed to be involved in the new government?"

Pereira and other young people maintain that East Timor should pick two official languages: Tetun and English. English makes sense, he said, because it is the language of international commerce and because the country likely will have a large UN contingent on its soil for many years to come. Tetun, he argued, is the closest to Timor's lingua franca. About 60 percent of the population speak it, while only 10 percent -- most of them older people -- speak Portuguese.

"The old people have this nostalgia with Portugal, but they have to realize that we are moving forward," Pereira said. "The colonial days are over."

He and many others here also would like Bahasa Indonesia -- which is spoken by as many as 90 percent of people under 35 -- to be officially recognized, but they acknowledge that would be a tough sell to the older generation of fighters for independence. "We have to show the world that we have our own language, our own culture," said Elizio Pinto, 26, a university student whose studies in Indonesia were revoked after the East Timorese independence vote.

The members of CNRT's youth wing want the choice of an official language put to a national referendum, which, they believe, would result in selection of something other than Portuguese. If Portuguese is chosen, a massive reeducation effort will be necessary. School curriculums will have to be changed; middle- aged people will have to find some way to pick up the language.

Portugal has sent a small group of teachers, but officials here say teaching most of East Timor's more than 700,000 people a new language will require much greater resources. Some Timorese leaders contend that money and effort should be devoted instead to rebuilding the devastated country.

The selection of the dollar has been less controversial, but it still has kindled opposition. Despite a UN public-education campaign, most people are still confused by the greenback. There also is a shortage of $1 and $5 bills and no coins, all but preventing dollars from being used for everyday transactions. A $20 bill buys more bananas than a family could eat in a year.

The UN finance chief here, Fernanda Borges, said last week that he is arranging to provide $300,000 in coins and $1 million in small bills to facilitate small transactions and increase familiarity with quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. The United Nations will pay its local staff in US currency to get it into circulation, she said.

But perhaps the most significant reason many Timorese are avoiding the dollar is the exchange rate. In Indonesia and on world currency markets, one dollar is worth about 9,000 rupiah, but in Dili it buys only about 8,000. There also are wide price discrepancies for goods bought in dollars. There is only one bank operating in Dili now, Bank Nacional Ultramarino of Portugal, which has set the low official exchange rate. Borges said the United Nations is trying to encourage other banks to open branches in the country to spur exchange-rate competition.

Australian spies knew Balibo five at risk

Sydney Morning Herald - July 13, 2000

Marian Wilkinson, Sydney -- An Australian intelligence agency learned from an intercepted Indonesian Army radio message that Australian television crews were in danger and would be targeted, hours before the October 16, 1975, attack at Balibo in East Timor, a new book has revealed.

But the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) withheld the radio intercept from Canberra apparently to prevent the then prime minister, Mr Gough Whitlam, or his key ministers from trying to intervene to save the journalists. The authors say the DSD did not want to risk alerting the Indonesian military that its secret signals were being routinely broken by Australia.

Five TV newsmen -- Greg Shackleton, Gary Cunningham and Tony Stewart of Channel 7, and Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters of Channel 9 -- were deliberately killed several hours later by Indonesian special forces seizing Balibo and other towns on East Timor's border in a covert invasion.

After the attack, the DSD issued a more innocuous translation of the intercepted message to the small high-level circle of politicians, defence and foreign affairs chiefs.

The disturbing disclosures are made in a new book on the deaths of the five newsmen by Australian National University defence expert Professor Desmond Ball and The Sydney Morning Herald's foreign editor, Hamish McDonald, called Death in Balibo, Lies in Canberra.

Also disturbing is the revelation that records of both the original and subsequent translations of the top-secret intercepts are missing from the DSD archives, and from a closely held "Blue Book" of Balibo-related material that has been guarded by a specially appointed custodian within the Defence Intelligence Organisation in Canberra since the late 1970s. The disclosures are certain to bring calls for a judicial inquiry into the Balibo killings.

The authors charge that Canberra's complicity in the Indonesian effort to annexe then Portuguese Timor by force are behind cover-ups that continue today. They also question the apparent unwillingness of Mr Tom Sherman, the Federal Government's special investigator into the newsmen's deaths, to follow leads given to his second inquiry in 1998-99 into the intelligence cover-up.

The authors call for the opening of all Balibo records, arguing that Jakarta was well aware of United States and Australian capabilities at the time, and has since replaced the World War II-era encryption machines it used in 1975 with more secure computerised systems and landlines.

"The Australian-Indonesian relationship has been more damaged by the widespread feeling among the general public that the official relations are enmeshed in lies and deceit," they write. "This can only be rectified by the release to public scrutiny of all official records, including signals intelligence material, relating to the tragedy."

The book details how the Indonesian invading force commanded by Colonel Dading Kalbuadi learned of the presence of Australian and Portuguese TV crews at Balibo by listening to radio messages between Fretilin commanders in East Timor.

Colonel Dading's own messages, to his unit commanders in the field, and back to Jakarta, were in turn monitored by Australian signals stations at Shoal Bay, near Darwin, and at Cabarlah, Queensland, assisted by a DSD radio unit aboard a Navy ship near Timor.

The book quotes members of the intelligence community confirming that several hours (one said five hours) before the attack, DSD picked up and processed an exchange of signals between Colonel Dading in Timor and the then Indonesian chief of military intelligence, Major-General Benny Murdani, supervising the operation for the Balibo attack in Jakarta.

Colonel Dading reminded General Murdani about the presence of foreign journalists at the border and the difficulties this presented, given that his troops were posing as local pro- Indonesian partisans. "We can't have any witnesses," General Murdani is alleged to have said. Colonel Dading is said by the intelligence sources to have replied in words to the effect of: "Don't worry, we already have them under control."

The authors say it is unclear whether the exchange happened five hours before soldiers entered village, at 6am local time, or before the preliminary barrage of artillery and mortar fire which started at 11pm local time the night before.

In the latter case, Canberra would have had about 12 hours to save the newsmen. While getting a message to the newsmen would have been physically difficult (the nearest telephone was about two hours' drive away), the authors argue the Australian Embassy in Jakarta could have been alerted to intervene with Indonesian leaders.

"However, this intercept does not appear to have left DSD headquarters" -- then in Melbourne -- the book says. "A decision to withhold it was evidently taken at the highest levels of DSD, by officials who were not prepared to take the risk that politicians or other government departments might act on the knowledge in a way that would expose to the Indonesians the extent of Australia's sigint [signals intelligence] capability."

The authors claim the critical decision, "almost certainly involved both the DSD director, Ralph Thompson, and his most senior operations officer, Mos [Mostyn] Williams". Thompson is now dead, and DSD told the second Sherman inquiry it cannot find records of the intercept. However, a DSD staffer at Shoal Bay showed the original translation to staff of the Hope royal commission into security and intelligence in 1977. The two staff confirmed the intercept and its contents to Mr Sherman.

In the event, Mr Whitlam and his ministers were briefed within hours of the attack about intercepts confirming the newsmen's deaths, and that their bodies had been incinerated. But they accepted strong advice from then Defence Department head Sir Arthur Tange that this knowledge be held from the public and bereaved families until confirmed by "open" sources.

[Death in Balibo, Lies in Canberra is published today by Allen & Unwin.]

Political clarification in transition

Green Left Weekly - July 12, 2000

Max Lane -- The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) has announced that it will be implementing measures to increase Timorese participation in the executive bodies of UNTAET.

Speaking to the media in Dili on July 2, Sergio de Mello, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of UNTAET, said UNTAET would soon expand the 15-member National Consultative Council (NCC) to 33 members, all of them Timorese.

The body would be much more representative and function more like a legislature. Cabinet portfolios would be offered to Timorese, who would share responsibility for running the transitional administration until independence. Elections are likely to take place in the second half of 2001. De Mello said the changes would mean that UNTAET would not "continue to be the punching bag", but would "share the punches" with the Timorese.

Rigid UN practices, coupled with delays in the distribution of World Bank funds, are hampering the reconstruction of East Timor. LUSA news quoted de Mello as saying: "Something's not right when UNTAET can cost $692 million and the budget of East Timor is little more than $59 million. It should come as no surprise that the United Nations is targeted for so much criticism, while the East Timorese continue to suffer."

PST proposals

De Mello's announcement follows a debate in June after the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT) submitted proposals for the "Timorisation" of the administration. The main issues of controversy were the role of Xanana Gusmao and the method of appointing Timorese to senior positions in the UNTAET administration.

The Socialist Party of Timor (PST) made a submission to UNTAET commenting on a speech made by UN official Peter Galbraith on June 23 and on the CNRT proposals. The PST stated that it supported the general thrust of the proposals for more Timorese people in the administration and raised the concept of "one table, two chairs", meaning that a Timorese should be appointed to sit alongside every UN official, as early as December. The PST also argued that executive authority should be exercised jointly by de Mello and Gusmao, a proposal that was rejected.

However, the PST's submission opposed a CNRT recommendation that Timorese be appointed to cabinet or other senior positions by the UN solely on the nomination of the CNRT. Instead, the PST recommended either a civil service examination for appropriate positions or that the NCC select the appointees. The PST emphasised the need to reform the NCC to make it more representative, and called for an increase in representation for political parties in proportion to their size.

The PST's argument is based on the fact that East Timor's political spectrum has expanded beyond that represented by the CNRT. The PST itself is not a member of the CNRT and a wide range of political opinion is now being represented by community and social organisations that are not integrated into the CNRT decision-making processes. Fretilin and the Timorese Democratic Union, plus Jose Ramos Horta and Mario Carrascalao, the governor of East Timor under Indonesian military rule, remain in the CNRT.

The PST's position is that there should be no transfer of governmental power to any political organisation except through general elections.

The PST also argued that as the NCC takes on a more "deliberative and legislative role", members of the NCC should not also hold executive positions. This would ensure a separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary.

The PST called for the reformed NCC to have the power to elect its own chairperson, and to summon and question the highest executive authority in UNTAET, as well as Timorese ministers and departmental heads.

Campaigning issues

On June 14, the PST organised a demonstration of 300 people, mainly farmers, outside UNTAET headquarters to demand the lowering of oil prices, importation of agricultural implements and a wage increase. The protest was organised in the context of discussions beginning around the next budget and of growing dissatisfaction with some key UNTAET policies.

In the June 21-28 issue of Vanguarda, published by the Maubere Cooperatives Foundation, Acao Freitas reported on the PST's policy concerns.

First, the PST disagrees with the very low budget appropriations for agriculture development. Initial reports indicated that this area would receive less than 5% of the budget allocations, in a country where more than 80% of the population relies on agriculture.

Second, the PST questions whether the maximum salary for grade one government employees of US$85 per month is adequate and calls for a review of this standard. The large number of expatriate personnel employed on very high dollar salaries in East Timor has fuelled inflation, resulting in a situation where $85 is insufficient to maintain a decent standard of living.

Third, the PST is calling for regulations to protect small- and medium-scale Timorese-owned businesses. It argues that because many of these were devastated by the pro-Indonesian militia and Indonesian army violence last year, they cannot compete with the Australian, Indonesian and Singaporean businesses now entering East Timor unhindered and establishing partnerships with a new local elite.

Vanguarda also reported on the increasingly bitter feelings of frustration among East Timorese about the emerging social differences among Timorese. In particular, the report noted the increasing dominance of those East Timorese who are returning from overseas and whose access to finance and education put them ahead of those based in East Timor during the hard times of struggle and suffering.

The report also noted a widespread perception that the decision- making levels of the CNRT are dominated by East Timorese returning from overseas, along with most of the better-funded non-government organisations.

It is widely believed that many CNRT personnel are being paid an annual salary averaging US$2000 per year by Australian Volunteers International. This is about twice the rate that the CNRT proposed as the top of the range for grade one civil servants.

The CNRT has argued that wages must be kept low for the great bulk of government workers because it is unlikely that a future government could maintain a higher wage.

Tension forces suspension of refugee returns

Agence France-Presse - July 10, 2000 (slightly abridged)

Jakarta -- Tension between East Timorese refugees and locals in Indonesia's West Timor has forced the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to suspend its refugee return operation.

An IOM statement, released Monday by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), said the agency was suspending refugee return operations from Kupang, the main town in West Timor, "as the situation continues to be very tense."

"The registration process of East Timorese refugees scheduled for this week has been delayed due to fighting between local people and East Timorese refugees in Oesau, near Tuapukan camp on the outskirts of Kupang," the release said. It added that should security conditions improve, the registration process would resume on Tuesday next week.

Tensions between locals and East Timorese refugees have been on the rise in the past few weeks. The West Timorese resents that the refugees receive free food and other supplies from the international community. Both groups are also struggling to gain control of money-making gambling and other illicit activities in the area.

Tension between the refugees from Tuapukan and Noelbaki and residents in surrounding villages have led to both sides setting up roadblocks on the main route from Kupang to the inland towns of Soe, Kefamananu and Atambua. Residents have also called for the closing of the Tuapukan camp and for all refugees to leave the area.

IOM said the road blockade has prevented the organisation from positioning its 330 personnel, most of them student volunteers, at registration sites throughout West Timor. The organisation said it was preparing contingency plans to move out a large number of East Timorese refugees from Kupang if the situation in the Noelbaki and Tuapukan refugee camps deteriorates into a full confrontation with the local community.

IOM said it was in contact with the owners of the ship "The Patricia Anne Hotung" to have the vessel dock in Kupang to be ready to move people immediately. IOM is also in contact with airlines to have an aircraft on standby should the situation deteriorate further.

In contrast, the situation was calm in the Belu district of West Timor which bore the brunt of some 250,000 East Timorese refugees following the independence ballot last August. At the southern Betun crossing, the movement of 850 people to Suai continued Monday and is scheduled to be completed early next week, the release said.

Timor racketeers seized in dawn raid

New Zealand Herald - July 11, 2000

Greg Ansley, Dili -- New Zealand troops have broken a militia- linked extortion racket in a crackdown on organised crime in the western border region of East Timor. In a dawn raid on two villages, soldiers of 2/1 Battalion NZ Infantry Regiment and United Nations police officers arrested eight alleged racketeers.

Among them was former militia leader Domingos Pereira who, with other militiamen and local hoodlums, allegedly extracted what by East Timorese standards was a small fortune from villagers whose lives had already been ravaged by last year's pro-Indonesian killing and destruction.

Action is now planned against at least one other organised gang operating in the southwest of East Timor in what is intended as a crackdown on crime and a sharp warning to others to stay clear of the region.

Military and UN officials are concerned at the growth of crime and violence in the East Timorese capital of Dili and want to prevent this in the south. There is no evidence of links between protection rackets in the southwest and Dili gangs, but there is concern that networks could develop, possibly through former militia members who have returned from West Timor.

The New Zealand battalion commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Dransfield, said Army intelligence units had reported the appearance of former militiamen in East Timor's growing underworld, with patrols confirming the emergence of an extortion racket centred on the villages of Sibuni and Holmeser, northeast of Suai.

In a classic technique, former militiamen joined by local thugs were using threats of violence to demand protection money from terrified villagers, who had alerted special military liaison officers working to instil confidence and gather intelligence. Villagers also reported that the gang had stockpiled weapons and ammunition, including grenades.

Army units swooped on the two villages before first light on Tuesday, initially arresting five of 10 wanted men in a house-to-house search. There was no resistance and by late afternoon three more had been arrested. Soldiers and police also seized several million rupiah -- a huge amount of money in impoverished East Timor -- radio equipment and outlawed arrows and air rifles.

Colonel Dransfield said the operation, called Katana, was part of a strategy to attack crime before it took hold, with soldiers cooperating with UN civilian police in an action that would now move against other crime groups.

Organised crime in the southwest did not appear to be linked to wider networks, but instead took advantage of areas left in relative isolation. "As a consequence ... criminal elements have been attracted to them and have been able to establish a presence.

"Also, as the militia return home from the west [under reconciliation programmes], by their very nature there is the possibility that some will cause trouble here. "My intent is to track them, to know when they come back, know where they have gone, and know if they are integrating back as positive elements of their communities or if they are coming back and causing problems," Colonel Dransfield said. "I intend taking the initiative against crime, rather than sitting around and waiting."

Radicals facedown police at occupied building

Lusa - July 11, 2000

Dili -- Militants of East Timor's newest political party have seized a building destined to serve as a police station in the eastern district of Viqueque, claiming it as their headquarters.

UN police spokesman Antero Lopes told Lusa in Dili Monday that officers had failed to persuade the occupiers, who seized the empty installations under repair in the town of Ossu Friday, to leave peacefully. The police, he added, had asked that the UN transition administration deal with the problem, rather than forcing the occupiers out and risking an "escalation of the conflict."

The militants, who were not creating "disturbances" or damaging the building, according to Lopes, claimed to represent the leftist Popular Defense Committee -- Democratic Republic of East Timor, a radical group formed last November.

The party, among other things, defends the restoration of the short-lived "people's democracy" declared in 1975 by the nationalist Fretilin party, rather than the declaration of a new independent state following a UN-supervised transition.

The group has been linked to several militant actions and protests in Dili and other parts of the territory, challenging the authority of the UN administration and of the National Council of Timorese Resistance.

Peace restored in after riot, looting by militia

Indonesian Observer - July 11, 2000

Kupang -- Peace has been restored to the West Timor town of Oesau following the July 1 mass riot in which remnants of the feared pro-Jakarta militia gangs from East Timor torched 16 houses and burnt down barns containing dozens of ill-fated cows.

East Nusa Tenggara (West Timor) Deputy Police Chief, Senior Superintendent Saji Aldjairi, yesterday said the perpetrators of the unrest will be brought to court. "If there were torched houses, then there must be suspects. At this point I cannot reveal how many of them have already been investigated. But I assure you that people have been questioned over the riot," he said in Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara.

The Oesau unrest was triggered when children of the militia thugs living at Tuapukan refugee camp started fighting with local children. Adults quickly joined the fray, and the militia gangsters inflicted the most damage, possibly due to their experience and training in carrying out savage attacks and arson.

Apart from the burnt houses and cattle, there were reports that many houses were looted. The militia bandits then blockaded roads, using logs and boulders, to prevent vehicles from moving between East Timor and the West Timor towns of Kupang, Oesau and Tuapukan.

The blockade, which lasted for a week, meant that people wishing to travel from Kupang to the East Timor border town of Atambua had to take a detour that added another 50 kilometers onto the journey.

Police finally got around to taking away the barricades late last week. "The barricades were removed by the Army and police in a joint operation. Since Friday, the trans-East Timor road has been officially clear from the barricades and is back to normal," said Sergeant Major Simon Satu.

He was speaking on Saturday at a ceremony during which PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia presented humanitarian aid for the victims of recent floods in Belu district.

Falintil guerrilla army to professional force

Jane's Intelligence Review - July 10, 2000

Tom Fawthrop -- Political expediency persuaded the UN mission in East Timor to revoke its original requirement to disarm FALINTIL, the army of the pro-independence rebel group Fretilin, but what of its future status?

Since the beginning of the year, FALINTIL -- the army of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN) -- has put increasing political pressure on the UN Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET). Their demands range from the granting of official status, to involvement in the on-going peacekeeping operation and the eventual formation of a professional army of the independent republic.

UNTAET and UN peacekeeping headquarters in New York are undecided as to how to deal with FALINTIL's demands, as well as the prime issue of the future security needs of an independent state of East Timor. The UN mandate for East Timor does not mention FALINTIL, and authorises peacekeepers to "disarm all irregular forces". Although primarily directed at the Indonesian Army- backed militias that inflicted such chaos on the territory last September, this directive also includes FALINTIL.

Whether FALINTIL constitutes a legally recognised army that resisted the 1975 Indonesian invasion (the Portuguese view), a disciplined guerrilla movement or some kind of "irregular force", is at the heart of UN confusion.

Many of the surviving FALINTIL guerrilla commanders were officers in the colonial army of the Portuguese garrison in East Timor. After the 1974 revolution in Portugal (when its colonies in Africa and East Timor gained independence) and the 1975 election in East Timor, the pro-independence movement, FRETILIN, formed a government. Most of the Timorese soldiers from the Portuguese garrison became the backbone of the FRETILIN army.

Regarding the FRETILIN government as "dangerously leftist", the regime of Indonesian President Suharto invaded in December 1975. This was condemned by the UN General Assembly with a series of resolutions that upheld East Timor as a Portuguese administrative territory engaged in the unfinished process of decolonisation.

Although FALINTIL claimed that it was the legally-constituted army formed in 1975, and has as such rejected labels such as "frebels" or "insurgents", it was forced to withdraw to the jungles and mountains of East Timor by the overwhelming force of Indonesian aggression. Cut off in the remote jungles and mountains of East Timor, FALINTIL had no materiel support from abroad.

Apart from their old Portuguese equipment, all guns, ammunition and uniforms came from ambushing Indonesian forces. Their 24-year survival helped to keep the question of independence on the international agenda.

After the 5 May 1999 agreement signed between Indonesia, Portugal and the UN to peacefully settle the East Timor conflict through a referendum, FALINTIL adopted a unilateral ceasefire and complied with the UN plan for the cantonment of all military forces. This was to prove one-sided as the Indonesian Army and the militias refused to comply with the UN's plan.

While under house arrest in Jakarta, commander-in-chief of FALINTIL Xanana Gusmao ordered his forces to exercise self- restraint in the face of provocation from other Indonesian-backed militias after the results of the referendum were announced on 4 September 1999. Gusmao calculated that any move by FALINTIL forces to abandon their four cantonment zones would be used by the Indonesian Army as a pretext to pour more troops into East Timor and once again engage in all-out war, thereby nullifying the referendum verdict. Despite FRETILIN's restraint, INTERFET still attempted to disarm Gusmao's forces.

Following negotiations between the INTERFET commander, Australian General Peter Cosgrove and FALINTIL commanders, INTERFET retreated from further attempts to disarm the guerrilla army on the understanding that FALINTIL would continue to adhere to maintaining their weapons in the cantonment zone.

FALINTIL believes that the cantonment policy, in effect since July 1999, cannot continue indefinitely. FALINTIL's deputy-chief of staff Commander Lere Anan Timor complained that they are being excluded from the transition process; Ana Gomez, the Portuguese ambassador in Jakarta warned that: "It is very dangerous to leave FALINTIL out there in limbo and very unjust. The UN should find a way to include FALINTIL in their peacekeeping operations."

Pressures were building in March for the follow-on peacekeeping force, the UN Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET), to seriously address FALINTIL's demands and to consider possibilities for taking them out of cantonment and into the peacekeeping framework. Brainstorming sessions were convened in Dili, bringing together UN peacekeeping officers, UN political advisors, military observers and civilian police.

According to the UN's chief administrator in Dili, Sergio Vieira de Mello, speaking in March: "We were counting on the discipline of FALINTIL and I pay tribute to their patience." He added that UNTAET faces a dilemma because the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution 1,272, which provided the mandate for governing East Timor, "makes no mention of FALINTIL and does not cover setting up a new army".

De Mello acknowledged FALINTIL's positive role as a stabilising force in society and conceded that "FALINTIL could have a very useful and possibly essential role in providing intelligence". He argued, however, that it would be impossible to convince the UNSC to permit them to carry their arms outside of the cantonment area.

By the end of April, UNTAET reported that firm recommendations had been sent to UN headquarters to "recognise FALINTIL's role in the past, the discipline with which they carried out their duties last year and also recognise that a part of FALINTIL will make up the backbone of the security forces in East Timor".

In a landmark decision, the UN agreed in May that FALINTIL should work alongside UN peacekeepers as liaison officers. Four senior FALINTIL officers will be integrated into the three UN military sectors, and the headquarters command centre in Dili. There are now 10 FALINTIL officers in the UN peacekeeping force, three attached to each military sector and one to Dili HQ. They advise the UN on security matters, especially the militias and provide community liaison.

For the first time, UN peacekeeping spokesman in Dili, Colonel Brynjar Nymo acknowledged: "We cannot be seen to leave East Timor in a total security vacuum. They need to be able to start and develop their future security force, and FALINTIL could be the core of this group."

It is assumed that the four East Timorese liaison officers will assist the UN mission with intelligence reports, and help to identify militia infiltrators and saboteurs sent from West Timor to disrupt East Timor's development process.

FALINTIL offered 800 fighters for peacekeeping duties. Although this proposal has not been accepted, various options are still under consideration. A senior UN military observer commented that: " FALINTIL can only carry arms outside a cantonment area if they are given some de facto regular status."

FALINTIL's new status as liaison officers, and their future role as the core of a new defence force is far from clear. De Mello the UN chief in Dili, has sought further clarification from the UN in New York about their official status, which could have a critical bearing on the further integration of FALINTIL members at the operational level. UN military observers feel that FALINTIL fighters must accept major reorientation before they become part of a professional army within a democracy.

Government/politics

Warning: Indonesia heads into the storm waters

Strathfor Intelligence Update - July 14, 2000

A July 12 meeting between Indonesia's top four political leaders was indefinitely postponed at the very last minute. The meeting was to have brought together the president, vice president and speakers of the upper and lower houses of parliament, each from a different political faction, to prepare for the August People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) session.

The elites who have held together the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid are increasingly divided. These divisions, now extending down into the country's political parties, stand in sharp contrast to the president's personal style of promoting unity within the nation's elite. As the country's legislative assembly is set to meet, Indonesia -- a chokepoint between oceans as well as a major oil producer -- once more faces a breakdown in stability, which can spill into the streets.

The meeting was to have brought together Wahid, Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, assembly speaker Amien Rais, and house speaker Akbar Tandjung. These four figures fill the country's top political posts and lead Indonesia's four key political factions.

An important tide has now turned within Indonesia's elite. Throughout his presidency, Wahid has promoted a policy of bringing together the leaders of Indonesian society. The president has sought to bring the leaders of all key factions into his government. There has been a practical design: leaving little chance for a charismatic leader to raise an opposition party that can threaten the regime.

While there has been some infighting between government leaders, Wahid's policy has been largely successful. Each political leader has a vested interest in maintaining the current government structure or risks having his or her faction alienated -- or worse, risks bringing chaos to a fragile Indonesia.

The government is now splitting along factional lines at a crucial time. The beginning of the National Assembly session, scheduled for next month, is fast approaching. The assembly will address both constitutional change and Wahid's first year in office.

Coupled with this is a re-emergence of the military as a political player, despite previous plans to limit its role in government. In recent months, the military has suggested that civilian politicians are unready to control the country without military help. And top military leaders have pressed for continued political power as well as increased budgets.

These splits now resemble the shape of Indonesia during a dangerous time: the waning years of former President Suharto's rule, which ended in near chaos in May 1998. The bureaucratic government, moderates, and the military all faced off against opposition forces that, in turn, took their message to the streets.

Today, the opposition bloc is led by Amien Rais and Megawati Sukarnoputri. Together, their factions hold more than 50 percent of the seats in parliament and can present a formidable challenge to Wahid. A rival of the aging president, Rais is backed by the fundamentalist Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Islamic organization.

Important shifts are shaking this party and others behind Rais. Muhammadiyah recently announced that it would move away from the concept of Pancasila -- a set of national principles that calls for national unity without regard to religion. Rais, also a leader of a loose alliance of Muslim parties known as the Central Axis, has tacitly supported the Laskar Jihad, an Islamic militia operating in Indonesia's troubled Maluku province.

Vice President Megawati leads the Indonesian Democratic Struggle Party (PDI-P), which garnered the majority of votes in the June 1999 general election. The PDI-P was the voice of opposition to former President Suharto, splitting from the officially recognized opposition Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). Megawati based her campaign in the 1999 elections on a self-proclaimed popular mandate, relying on her populist image to rally supporters.

Now, Megawati is emphasizing her ties to Islam. Recently, she told a Muhammadiyah meeting that her father, former President Sukarno, had but one dying wish: to be buried wrapped in the group's flag. She also praised the organization for its commitment and important role in the independence struggle in Indonesia, according to the Straits Times.

With Megawati and Rais forming an alliance in advance of the MPR session, Wahid will face an increasingly difficult situation. Not only do they hold the majority of seats in parliament, but they are also both known for appealing to the masses -- capable of raising large groups of supporters in protest.

Wahid, former head of Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and a founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB), represents Indonesia's moderate Muslim population. Wahid supports a secular government for the Islamic state of Indonesia. Also aligned with Wahid is the speaker of the house, Tandjung, a remnant of the old Golkar regime. Since the elections, he has worked to change the image of Golkar and has often been relegated to the role of middleman, shuttling between factions.

Likely to side with Wahid and Tandjung is Indonesia's military, which has recently begun reasserting its role in national politics. While not always in tune with Wahid's reforms and his style of governing, the military has little desire to see the political opposition using Islam against the secular regime.

Two years after an economic crisis swept the region, Indonesia's economic recovery is hampered by fears of social instability and political unrest. With parties splitting along factional lines, Wahid's policy of maintaining unity within the elite is slipping.

The rift within the government will be first tested July 20. Wahid is scheduled to go before parliament to justify his decisions to replace several Cabinet members. In the run-up to the assembly session, Wahid will appeal to Megawati and Rais to remain on board and not undermine his government.

If they fail to heed his call, they threaten to break the tenuous dam holding back the floodwaters of instability. The president, backed by the old Golkar factions and the military, may find himself forced into a position where he must order troops to confront protests -- or face losing control of the government.

Wahid-Megawati relations hit 'lowest level'

Sydney Morning Herald - July 15, 2000

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- Relations between President Abdurrahman Wahid and his Vice-President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, have soured dramatically, raising questions about the stability of the country's coalition government.

Laksamana Sukardi, a key official of Mrs Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, told the Herald the relationship between the longtime friends was "at its lowest level".

Mr Laksamana, a former economic minister, said that Mrs Megawati, the country's most popular politician, wants to teach Mr Wahid a lesson. "Yes, they are still talking, but the relationship has been tarnished because Gus Dur is not respecting her," Mr Laksamana said, referring to Mr Wahid by his popular nickname.

Mrs Megawati has allowed officials of her party, the country's biggest, to summon Mr Wahid before parliament next week to explain why he sacked Mr Laksamana, who has a reputation for honesty, from his Cabinet early this year.

A mid-August session of the People's Consultative Assembly has the power to impeach Mr Wahid, but he is expected to survive any move against him. Mr Wahid will give an account to the assembly of his first nine months in office, which have seen the eruption of religious and communal violence and a series of scandals surrounding the presidential palace.

Some MPs have declared they would like to see Mr Wahid replaced, while support is growing among the political elite in Jakarta for the appointment of a hands-on prime minister who would make many of the government's day-to-day decisions.

In an interview in his Jakarta office, Mr Laksamana criticised Mr Wahid for failing to understand economic issues and refusing to delegate authority to those who do. He said Mr Wahid, whose National Awakening Party won only 11 per cent of the vote at the election, was "insulting" the main parties and would have to suffer the consequences.

"There's some sort of unanimous concern among parliament members, the party leaders, that if he [Mr Wahid] continues the way he is ... the economy will collapse, trouble will escalate, it will lead to disintegration," he said. "It's a kind of unanimous concern that he should not continue." But Mr Laksamana said MPs were worried that impeaching Mr Wahid would bring thousands of his supporters onto the streets.

MPs want probe into cases involving Gus Dur

Straits Times - July 14, 2000

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- President Abdurrahman Wahid is facing yet another threat to his already shaky presidency with the latest bid by his political opponents in parliament to probe into two cases of irregularity in which he is allegedly involved.

The proposal, signed by 237 MPs from six of the nine factions in the Parliament, was submitted on Wednesday to the House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who immediately expressed his backing.

The proposal was made ahead of the House's meeting with the President on July 20 in which they will question him over the April dismissal of two Cabinet ministers.

It calls for the House to begin an investigation into the cases known as the Buloggate and the Bruneigate. The House's Consultative Body will look into the proposal before the MPs decide in a plenary session, possibly within a month, whether or not to approve it. Once approved, the House will form an investigation team, which would issue a recommendation for further legal process.

Buloggate revolves around the disbursement of 35 billion rupiah from the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) employees' fund, by its Deputy Sapuan to Mr Abdurrahman's former masseur, Mr Suwondo, who claimed the money would be used by the President to rehabilitate Aceh.

Mr Abdurrahman had denied his knowledge in the scam, and admitted instead that he had received US$2 million as a donation from the Sultan of Brunei for Aceh. It was later revealed, however, that the money, of which only US$600,000 had been channeled to Aceh so far, was put into the coffers of his friend Mr Masnuh instead of the state's funds because the President claimed it was a personal donation.

An ongoing police investigation into the Bulog case, which has implicated some members of the President's inner circle and resulted in the resignation of one of his aides, has resulted in the arrest of Mr Sapuan, but its main suspect Mr Suwondo is still at large.

Golkar MP Ade Komaruddin told the Straits Times: "There is a strong public assumption that Gus Dur is involved in the Bulog case." "At the same time, the absence of transparency in the Brunei's donation is very fishy and needs to be probed," he added. He denied that the move was part of an agenda to impeach the President, but said the President had violated the State's Guidelines on financial donations from other countries, which means that he is liable for such sanction.

The President's party colleague in the parliament, Mr Ali Maskur of the National Awakening Party, expressed his suspicion of the proposal, saying it was likely just another attempt to ultimately unseat the leader. "It is apparent to me that this move has a strong political cause to corner the government of Gus Dur," he told The Straits Times. But he dismissed it as "just another opportunistic feat by the politicians, which would end once they realised they have no case".

Analyst Soedjati Djiwandono said competition among the country's elites have led to tensions between the government and the legislators, while the latter enjoyed their new-found power after behaving like poodles under Suharto. But this actually betrays the country's power system, he warned: "The powerful legislators work as if they are in a parliamentarian system, but we are actually a presidential country."

[On July 13, Wahid said that he would not run for a second term as president. In an interview with CNN he said "There are sounds that I should continue for another term, But for me, one term is enough" - James Balowski.]

Top leaders bicker over key meeting

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2000

Jakarta -- Top reform leaders blamed each other on Thursday over last night's aborted meeting between them, boding ill for a speedy resolution to the current political disharmony, despite the tension and strife which is dragging down the country.

Hopes for political stability and economic recovery took a nosedive after President Abdurrahman Wahid, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais and the House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung called off their talks scheduled for Wednesday night.

Amien, who also chairs the National Mandate Party (PAN), said on Thursday he canceled his plan to attend the meeting at the Crowne Inn Plaza Hotel in South Jakarta after hearing that Megawati would not be in attendance due to another engagement.

"I decided not to go after being told by [Foreign Minister] Alwi Shihab that Megawati had opted to skip the meeting," Amien told reporters at the Assembly building. He insisted that the talks would not yield any significant outcome if Megawati, who is the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) chairwoman, was absent.

Amien said he was afraid that in the absence of Megawati the meeting would incite unwanted speculation. Except for Megawati, the political leaders met last Thursday at the same hotel, with analysts viewing the meeting as a show of unity. "Nevertheless, I think such a meeting is very important. Maybe we could rearrange it for another day," Amien said.

Amien last met with Megawati on Sunday at the closing ceremony of the country's second-largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, which he led for six years before co-founding PAN. He denied reports that he shunned Wednesday's meeting because of illness. "I was fit and well," he said.

Akbar told reporters on Thursday that Amien failed to turn up because he was sick. "I was told that Amien had the flu. But I still don't know for sure," Akbar, who is chairman of the Golkar Party, said. Akbar also stated that talks between the four were important to improve understanding and to defuse speculation about animosity between them. On June 6, Megawati met Akbar and Gus Dur over breakfast in her official residence on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta.

In the latest twist to the uneasy relations between them, Amien and Akbar have been at loggerheads with President Abdurrahman over the detention of the central bank governor Sjahril Sabirin in connection with a politically-charged banking scandal and the efforts to quell the communal and separatist unrest across the country that has claimed thousands of lives. Relations between Gus Dur, as the President is popularly known, and Megawati have reportedly been at a low ebb since the dismissal of Laksamana Sukardi as the state minister of investment and state enterprises development in April.

Megawati and Akbar's parties, which dominate the House, have joined forces to file an interpellation motion over Abdurrahman's controversial policies. In the latest move, more than 230 legislators gave their agreement on Wednesday for an inquiry into the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) scandal and the confusion surrounding a personal donation from the Sultan of Brunei, both of which issues are allegedly linked to the President.

Meanwhile, an alliance of 12 minor Islamic parties said dialog between national leaders to discuss their differences would be a more positive approach than the current "war of words", which has the potential of sewing confusion among the general public. "All national leaders, for the country's sake, should exercise restraint. Political parties should also intensify their supervision of their legislators' performance and the government," the alliance's leader Deliar Noer, who chairs the Islamic Community Party (PUI), said.

Besides PUI, the coalition comprises the Nahdlatul Ummat Party, United Party, Indonesian United Islamic Party, Muslim Community Awakening Party, People's Sovereignty Party, Islamic Democratic Party, Abul Yatama Party, New Indonesia Party, Indonesian Muslim Awakening Party, Indonesian Muslim Party, Indonesian Masyumi Islamic Political Party.

In Surabaya, the chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, Hasyim Muzadi, warned on Thursday that the nation would plunge into chaos if Abdurrahman, who is also former NU chairman, was toppled before his term ends in 2004. "Political tension and riots will escalate if Gus Dur is forced to resign before completing his tenure," Hasyim told some 20,000 participants attending an NU gathering.

He accused several unnamed politicians of trying to topple the President by submitting motions for interpellation and an inquiry to the House. He said earlier support from Amien and former finance minister Fuad Bawazier for Abdurrahman prior to last year's presidential election was given half-heartedly.

"As NU chairman, I'm upset to see Gus Dur being attacked. But I call on NU followers to remain patient and wait for my orders," he said. People attending the gathering, which was also attended by NU leaders from East and Central Java, prayed for the safe continuation of government under Gus Dur.

Gus Dur's last chance

The Economist - July 8-14, 2000

Time is running out for Indonesia's first democratically chosen president. The task is vast. Last October Abdurrahman Wahid was given the presidency of one of the world's largest countries, spread across 17,000 islands and with numerous ethnic groups.

Run as a dictatorship for more than 30 years, Indonesia was rife with corruption, desperately short of honest judges and policemen, and full of groups with the money, the arms and the influence to cause trouble. On top of all that, the country's first democratically elected president inherited an economy crippled by a collapsing currency, collapsing banks and companies collapsing under their debts. Oh, and by the way, President Wahid is half-blind and was weakened by a near-fatal stroke two years ago.

All of which makes it scarcely surprising that Gus Dur, as President Wahid is affectionately known, is finding it hard to get his country moving firmly in a better direction. Separatist and inter-religious violence refuses to die down, especially in Aceh and the Moluccas, where this week a state of emergency had to be declared. Gus Dur has even let it be known that he blames some members of the "political elite" for inciting some of the violence.

Economic growth has begun to sputter back into life, but the improvement is too recent, fragile and small to have yet made much difference to the lives of ordinary Indonesians.

Corruption remains a festering sore. No senior people from the old dictatorial regime of President Suharto have yet been found guilty or even brought to court. This week bombs were found in the offices of the attorney-general, Marzuki Darusman, the man leading the anti-corruption investigations.

Gus Dur needs to be given time to get a grip on all this; a country in this sort of condition cannot be changed overnight. Yet the patience of other politicians, of the media, even of his own supporters is running out. Some of the explanation doubtless lies in unreasonable expectations of the magic that this saintly Muslim cleric could provide. Some lies in the ambitions of political rivals who would be happy to profit from his failure. Much, however, is his own fault. In recent months, he has done little to earn the patience even of his sympathisers, and much to infuriate them.

In the next few weeks, President Wahid will face a series of political tests. He has been called before parliament to explain his abrupt dismissal earlier this year of two economics ministers. And in August a meeting of the full parliament, designated as a constitutional assembly, will meet to hear his report on the state of the nation and to decide, as it is empowered to do, whether to allow him to continue as president. He will probably survive these tests, but on sufferance. He would greatly strengthen his position, both before and after the assembly meets, if he were to do two things.

The first sounds simple: reshuffle his cabinet, particularly the economic portfolios. The Jakarta rumour mill has it that this has already been made possible by a deal between the main power- brokers in the government -- his vice-president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, and Akbar Tandjung, who heads Golkar, part of the governing coalition. President Wahid has had to govern with a cabinet largely imposed on him by his coalition partners. Now, they want to give him a freer hand, which is welcome, though it comes with a sting: if he now fails, all the fault can be laid at his door. Even Amien Rais, a rabble-rouser who will chair the August assembly and is one of the president's fiercest critics, appears to accept that, after this reshuffle, Mr Wahid should be given a further year.

Gus Dur needs to exploit this opportunity. He is a famously wily, ambiguous character who likes to get his way by dividing, or baffling, his opponents. This has worked well in his efforts to gain control of the armed forces. But it is proving disastrous in economic matters. He has set up a series of councils of advisers to act as a parallel source of thinking to the ministries, but has left even the councils baffled as to who is in charge of what. The ministers are either inadequate, or undermined by the councils and the president, or both. A vigorous reshuffle, bringing in new economics ministers who are competent and who clearly have the president's backing, offers the only chance for a new start that could stabilise the currency, privatise the piles of nationalised assets, and clear a huge backlog of disputed corporate debts.

The second thing that Gus Dur must do concerns corruption. Even if the task of re-establishing the rule of law is vast, he must show businesses and the public at large that his government is moving decisively in the right direction.

One of the biggest obstacles to that is the perception -- so far justified -- that nothing much has changed from the bad old days of Suharto. The powerful still act with impunity and use bribes or muscles to get their way. President Wahid needs rapidly to show that this is going to change, by bringing one of the most notoriously corrupt to court, and thence to prison. Ex-President Suharto himself would be a fine place to start, but failing that one of his family would do.

In his wily way, President Wahid knows full well the power of a demonstrative act. He cannot fight every battle simultaneously. But he needs to make some impressive moves and achieve some more victories. Otherwise, in a year from now, Gus Dur will be out of office. And the alternatives are far from promising.

House speaker Akbar hit by graft allegations

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2000

Jakarta -- Pressure has shifted to House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung in the intensifying conflict among the political elite in the country. After President Abdurrahman Wahid's problem with the Rp 35 billion Bulog scandal, Akbar, who also chairs the Golkar Party, will have to stave off allegations of corruption committed in the past.

Akbar could not conceal his ire on Saturday when journalists asked him about a motion demanded by the National Awakening Party (PKB) to question irregularities discovered in the Civil Servants Housing Savings (Taperum) scheme worth about Rp 179.9 billion ($19.3 million). The savings arrangement was initiated during Akbar's service as the state minister of public housing from 1993 until the resignation of former president Soeharto in May 1998.

Akbar described the proposal for an investigation merely as a pretext to take political revenge against him. "If they want to find out the truth about Taperum, they should ask my successor first," Akbar said on the sidelines of the opening of the 44th Muhammadiyah congress at Senayan Stadium. Soeharto's successor, B.J. Habibie, appointed Theo Sambuaga as Akbar's successor. Akbar served as state secretary until his resignation in April last year.

Citing a report from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), the legislator from PKB, Effendi Choirie, urged the House to launch an official probe into the find, which is worth Rp 179.9 billion from the total Rp 1.98 trillion fund. "We want to show the public that the people who claim to be reformists, have actually made mistakes in the past," Effendi said on Friday.

Deputy speaker Muhaimin Iskandar, also from PKB, insisted, however, that he had not received any reports about the proposal for an inquiry. "The faction [PKB] chairman did not report anything special to me [about alleged corruption]," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

In 1993, then president Soeharto issued presidential Decree No. 14, requiring the country's four million civil servants to contribute between Rp 3,000 and Rp 10,000 of their monthly salary to the housing scheme. The money was automatically deducted from their salary by the state.

A civil servant who has worked for at least five years is entitled to receive about Rp 1.5 million from the council to buy a new house. According to the decree, the fund is managed by the Advisory Council for the Civil Servants Housing Savings. State minister of public housing acts as the executive chairman of the council.

Press reports in 1997 quoted Akbar as saying 60 percent of the total fund was managed by the council, while the rest was put under the authority of the minister of finance. "Please, it is their right to make an inquiry," Antara quoted Akbar as saying in reaction to PKB's proposal.

Abdurrahman, who cofounded PKB two years ago, has repeatedly declared his innocence in the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) scandal. His close aides, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab, has also made similar denials.

The scandal allegedly involved Abdurrahman's masseur Suwondo and former Bulog deputy chief Sapuan. Suwondo is still at large while Sapuan has been detained.

"I have completed my task as the minister of public housing and handed the position over to my successor. You must ask him first," Akbar said, referring to his successor Theo.

But while the inter-party wrangling continued, there was also a glimmer of hope for better cooperation in the run-up to the general session of the People's Consultative Assembly in August.

Sources told The Jakarta Post that President Abdurrahman Wahid, Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, Akbar Tandjung and Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab met Thursday night at the Saphire room of the Crown Plaza Hotel, South Jakarta.

On Saturday, Akbar Tandjung confirmed that the gathering took place but refused to reveal the results of the meeting, saying that it was only a dinner discussing the interpellation motion.

Regional conflicts

Nearly 3,000 Muslim militants still in Ambon

Agence France-Presse - July 15, 2000 (abridged)

Jakarta -- Nearly 3,000 volunteers of a militant Indonesian Muslim jihad (holy war) force are still in the riot-torn eastern city of Ambon, a report said Saturday.

A spokesman for the Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah Forum, Ayip Syafruddin, said that the 2,900 members of the group, known as the Laskar Jihad, are taking a break after a month of fighting against Christians. "They are now taking care of the refugees," Syafruddin was quoted as saying Friday by the Detikcom on- line news service.

Syafruddin, speaking in the central Java town of Yogyakarta, said none of the group's members had been killed during the fighting. "But one of our members was shot and wounded by a sniper when he was on his way to preach in Ambon," he said.

He also denied that the group's fighters were involved in the looting of arsenals during a raid on a police housing complex in Ambon last month, in which at least two policemen were killed.

Many have blamed the recent upsurge of violence in the Malukus, of which Ambon is the main city, on the arrival of members of the jihad force from Java island.

Maluku governor Saleh Latuconsina, in an interview with AFP in early June, said the jihad forces had acted like a "vitamin" tonic on the Muslims fighting there. And Indonesian Defence Minister Jowono Sudarsono told journalists Friday that outside forces were the main reason for the escalation of the conflict.

"The dispatch of the jihad force and other forces has reached almost 10,000 people in the last three months and they have become the main reason for the ongoing conflict," Sudarsono was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.

Eleven dead in Maluku violence

Associated Press - July 16, 2000

Daniel Cooney, Jakarta -- Christians and Muslims waged fierce street battles in the Maluku islands, leaving at least 11 people dead, hospital officials said Sunday.

One of those killed was a pregnant mother sheltering inside her house when a mortar round crashed through the window of her home and exploded Saturday, said Risad, an official from the Protestant Church Hospital in the region's main city of Ambon.

He said four Christians and seven Muslims were killed, and hundreds of houses and a church were burned in fighting that continued through Saturday night and into Sunday.

Risad said that despite the declaration of a state of emergency in the region, the military were incapable of stopping the violence. "Please tell the United Nations to help us," he said in a phone interview from Ambon. "They are the only ones who can stop this."

Risad, who like many Indonesians only uses one name, accused certain sections of the armed forces of taking sides in the conflict. He said many of the Muslim militants were carrying army-issue assault rifles and other weapons.

Another hospital worker, Paing Suryaman, said gunfire continued to echo across the war-ravaged town on Sunday. He said the security forces had deployed hundreds of heavily armed police officers and soldiers to the most violent areas in the town to try to quell the violence.

Nearly 4,000 people have died in 18 months of intercommunal violence in the Malukus. The religious fighting has already spread to Sulawesi island and there are fears that it could expand to other areas of this vast archipelagic nation.

Senior government officials in Jakarta have recently accused supporters of Indonesia's former dictator Suharto of inciting fighting in the Malukus in an attempt to destabilize President Abdurrahman Wahid's eight-month-old government.

In an interview with The Jakarta Post newspaper on Saturday, Indonesia's Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono accused Muslim militants of stoking the sectarian war in Indonesia's Maluku islands, saying that 10,000 paramilitaries had infiltrated the province in the past three months.

He was referring to an armed Muslim militia whose leaders have vowed to rid the islands of Christians. Most members come from Indonesia's central island of Java and its leaders are supporters of former dictator Suharto.

20 people injured in Matraman fresh brawl

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2000

Jakarta -- A mass brawl broke out again in the Matraman area of East Jakarta on Thursday as residents of the bickering Palmeriam and Berlan subdistricts pelted rocks and threw Molotov cocktails at each other.

No fatalities were reported but at least 20 people from the Palmeriam subdistrict suffered injuries from air rifle shots by people from the rival neighborhood of Berlan. The mobs also burned one house and the front part of the Lautan Berlian Bank building on Jl. Matraman Raya.

The brawl, which started at about 2pm, involved hundreds of people from the two neighboring subdistricts, some of whom armed themselves with swords and sickles along with motorcycle helmets and shields made from iron sheets. Berlan residents also threw smoke bombs at people from Palmeriam as explosions were heard in Berlan subdistrict.

Some police personnel, who arrived on the scene at 3pm, failed to stop the clash and left after one of the security personnel was injured by a rock. The brawl was finally curbed by some 100 riot police personnel from the Jakarta Police, who were deployed in the area at about 5:30pm.

Similar to previous clashes in the area, its cause was unclear, with people giving their own interpretations. Some Palmeriam residents told The Jakarta Post that the clash erupted after some Berlan residents threw rocks at a house in the neighboring Kebon Manggis subdistrict, which was having a bonfire. Shortly afterward, the Palmeriam residents helped Kebon Manggis residents to fight those from Berlan, they said.

However, secretary of the Palmeriam subdistrict M. Zahrudin told Astaga!com that the Berlan residents abruptly attacked Palmeriam which caused residents there to fight back. "We were just back from a funeral of the father of the treasurer of the Community Welfare Organization (LKMD) when Berlan people attacked us," Zahrudin said. No explanation was available from the Berlan side as the people in the subdistrict were hostile to reporters.

The authorities have tried to stop the continuing clashes between the two groups of residents. The areas were separated following the construction of a two-meter by 400-meter fence on the median strip on busy Jl. Matraman Raya.

Governor Sutiyoso personally inaugurated the Matraman Residents Communication Forum (FKPMM) on May 7 to reconcile the neighborhoods which have had a long history of destructive interfighting. Sutiyoso gave East Jakarta Mayor Andi Mappaganti an ultimatum on June 2 to restore peace and order in the area or lose his job.

The Berlan area is known as a gedongan (wealthy residents with houses made of brick and mortar, to contradict those of ordinary ones made with woven bamboo) area, while Palmeriam is an ordinary residential area.

Continuous clashes between the neighboring residents have badly affected business in the area. Several businesspeople said recently they planned to leave the area and run their businesses in a safer place as even insurance companies were refusing to provide cover.

Arms sweep by military intensifies in Maluku

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2000

Jakarta -- Security authorities have seized thousands of weapons and explosives in a series of arms sweeping operations in Maluku, which remains tense despite the two-week imposition of a civil emergency status.

Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Adm. Widodo A.S. told reporters, after attending a Cabinet ministerial meeting on Wednesday, that 3,380 home-made rifles, 3,009 home-made bombs, 305 grenades and 117 sharp weapons had been confiscated from the warring groups. Widodo said he expected to see the operation to disarm the disputed parties net more weapons.

The operation, conducted by the Navy, again captured two boats illegally ferrying weapons to Ternate in North Maluku. Local police are also continuing their search for some 800 SS-1 automatic rifles and hundreds of mortars seized by rioters from the Mobile Brigade Police arsenal late last month.

Widodo also said the security situation in Maluku has been improved since the civil emergency was declared. However, to maintain order there, the TNI will dispatch two battalions of reinforcement troops.

As of Wednesday evening, gunfire and explosions were still heard coming from the areas of Air Salobar, Poka, Rumahtiga, Batu Gantung, Urimesing and Karangpanjang. The crowd from predominantly Christian Tawiri and Hatu were seen to be on alert as they prepared to face possible attacks from the neighboring villages of Laha and Waisakula. School and business activities remained on a standstill on Wednesday. People were seen queuing at the banks for cash.

The civil emergency ruler in Maluku, Saleh Latuconsina, complained on Tuesday about the lack of authority he holds in restoring order. "Although I'm the civil emergency ruler, I cannot give orders but only ask for immediate security measures. I do not have my hands directly in every battalion [of troops], since I am not military," Latuconsina, who is Maluku governor, said.

Violence has been rife in the Maluku capital of Ambon since the enactment of the civil emergency in the disputed province on June 27. One of the worst incidences was the predawn attack which totally destroyed the 30-hectare compound of the state Pattimura University and three neighboring villages on July 4.

Security personnel have been blamed for failing to maintain impartiality in handling the clashes. Residents said the civil emergency did not bring any significant changes to the province. "We can only go out after 11am every day, besides we have to watch out for sniper attacks," said Maya, a housewife in Urimesing subdistrict.

Navy swoops on Maluku guns shipment

Sydney Morning Herald - July 12, 2000

Jakarta -- The Indonesian Navy said it had captured two boats illegally ferrying weapons to North Maluku. The vessels were heading to Ternate, the main town in the riot-torn province, eastern fleet the State Antara news agency quoted a spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Ditya Sudarsono, as saying.

"The two ships were captured by the task force for the isolation of the Maluku and North Maluku waters," he said. However, Colonel Sudarsono said he had yet to receive information about the date the vessels were seized and the number weapons and people on board. He said only that the ships had come from Galela, in Northern Halmahera, one of the regions worst hit by sectarian violence that has swept the Malukus since January last year.

Last Thursday the navy said it had captured 17 boats trying to smuggle weapons into the Maluku islands, including one accompanied by a police officer. A total of 797 firearms, 550 knives and machetes, 2,348 bullets, 50 fuel bombs, 397 home-made bombs and a number of arrows were confiscated from the 17 boats. Detonators, blank rounds of ammunition, hand grenades and poison were also recovered.

Violence between Muslims and Christians in the Maluku islands has left more than 4,000 people dead in the past 18 months, with more than 100 people killed and hundreds wounded in Ambon, the capital of the Maluku islands, since June 21.

Meanwhile, a long-standing dispute between two villages in Slawi district, in Central Java, has left one man dead and more than 120 houses destroyed and burnt, police said. "One man died, another [was] injured after a group of men from Harjosari village confronted and assaulted six residents from the neighbouring Karang Malang village on Sunday night," Superintendent Wawan Ranuwijaya, who heads the Slawi district, police said.

Speaking from Slawi, some 145 kilometres west of the Central Java capital Semarang, Superintendent Ranuwijaya said the victim and five of his friends were attacked on Sunday night after watching a traditional shadow puppet play in Harjosari. "They were beaten up for no reasons, but it's nothing new, since both villages have been under a dispute for a long time," he said.

Following the attack, about 500 residents from the Karang Malang village retaliated early yesterday morning by attacking Harjosari. He said the attackers entered the village through a forest behind the village. "We had anticipated a retaliation, but they took an alternative route through the woods and razed the houses in Harjosari," the police chief said.

In Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra island, unidentified men yesterday attacked and burnt two oil tanks in the depot of a company controlled by former president Soeharto's youngest son, police said. There were no casualties in the pre-dawn grenade attack on PT Aromatic, a subsidiary of the Humpuss Group, in the village of Rancong in North Aceh district, local police spokesman, Senior Inspector Ahmad Mustafa Kamal, said.

Behind the `religious' violence in Maluku

Green Left Weekly - July 12, 2000

James Balowski -- The sinking of the overloaded Cahaya Bahari ferry on July 6 -- which killed at least 481 Christian refugees fleeing the latest outburst of violence in Indonesia -- highlighted the scale of the human tragedy unfolding in the north-eastern province of Maluku.

Since the violence erupted in January last year, some 4000 people have died and almost 500,000 have been displaced or left homeless. Whole communities have been decimated and aid agencies such as Medecins Sans Frontieres say that there is "complete chaos and breakdown of law and order".

Describing the situation as "sectarian violence" or "religious clashes" between Christians and Muslims, the mainstream media have not explained the roots of the conflict or the apparent inability of the Indonesian government to end it.

Although there have been claims that forces loyal to former President Suharto or sections of the Jakarta elite are fueling the strife to undermine President Aburrahman Wahid's "democratic reforms", the reality is far more complex.

Civil emergency

On June 23, Wahid placed a ban on travel to the Malukus amid reports that Islamic vigilantes from Java were behind much of the latest violence. On June 25, two companies from the Mobile Brigade were dispatched to reinforce the 19 battalions stationed in Maluku. According to armed forces chief Widodo A.S., further reinforcements could be sent, "depending on the situation on the ground".

Neither measure brought the situation under control and on June 26 Wahid announced a state of "civil emergency" in Maluku and the newly formed province of North Maluku. The Maluku police chief and head of the provincial prosecutor's office, Surjadi, told the June 27 Jakarta Post that it will only be revoked when the situation in both provinces "has returned to normal".

A civil emergency is one step away from marshal law, such as that imposed during the height of the violence in East Timor last September. One notable difference is that regional control remains in the hands of the civilian government, which can ban public gatherings, impose a curfew, search houses and detain suspects indefinitely.

Church leaders have called on the United Nations to intervene. The June 27 Sydney Morning Herald reported that the bishop of the provincial capital of Ambon, Joseph Tethool, wrote a letter to UN secretary-general calling on the UN to stop the fighting. The letter accused many soldiers of incompetence and of having "taken sides". Indonesia's ministry of foreign affairs said Jakarta would not agree to UN political or military intervention.

Taking sides

Claims of military involvement in the conflict -- supplying weapons and other forms of direct or tacit support -- have been made by Muslims and Christians alike. Other reports suggest that soldiers are simply too scared to intervene and military commanders frequently claim that their forces are outnumbered.

Benny Liando, secretary of Ambon's Roman Catholic Cathedral, was quoted on June 27 by Agence France-Presse as saying, "The key to whether this status will be able to bring peace here is the military ... If the security personnel can remain neutral, then hopefully, peace will come."

Liando said there was a commitment to neutrality at the leadership level, but it was another story among soldiers on the ground. "If this neutrality is absent, I am afraid this state of emergency will only lead to more bloodshed."

Malik Selang, secretary of the Maluku chapter of the Indonesian Council of Muslim Scholars, also expressed pessimism: "The military commander has called on all security personnel to return to their bases, but several have ignored the order and joined the other side". Political researcher Bambang Triono of Gajah Mada University said, "The problem now is that security personnel are trapped and carried away by the conflict. There are personnel who appear to be protecting Christians while others appear to be protecting Muslims."

Just how high up the command structure this involvement is being sanctioned remains unclear, but a number of institutional and material factors encourage the practice on the ground. The territorial command structure -- which places military bases and posts at every level of Indonesian society -- has resulted in military involvement in almost every facet of Indonesian society, including the bureaucracy, legislature and economy. In short, the military has evolved from an arm of national security into a uniformed mafia.

Their activities range from extortion, protection rackets (strike breaking and private security), maintaining monopolies on essential commodity distribution, regulating Indonesia's massive "informal sector" (street vendors), gambling and prostitution. It is not hard to imagine that protection rackets -- being paid to defend one side or the other -- would be rife in the midst of communal violence.

Another factor is that the wages of low-ranking soldiers and police are extremely low, particularly for those trying to support a family. Offering protection or supplying weapons to a gun-hungry market would be an easy way for soldiers to supplement their wage.

Observers have noted the increasing use of modern weapons in the fighting and recent seizures of weapons and ammunition support this. Associated Press said that on July 4 the navy uncovered a "huge cache" of military-style and homemade weapons on a vessel in Ternate, an island south of Halmahera which has been the scene of some of the most violent clashes in recent weeks.

Adding to the problem is the fact that, as Maluku governor Saleh Latuconsina told Agence France-Presse on June 27, soldiers' pay is often months late, leaving them dependent on the local population for food. It is likely that food is sometimes provided in exchange for protection or weapons.

Troop replacement Official concern about this problem resulted in the commander of the Pattimura Military Command being replaced on June 26 by Colonel I Made Yasa, a Hindu from Bali who, it is hoped, will not be seen to favour either side. According to the July 27 Jakarta Post, Yasa said, "I will try my best to be neutral ... I call on both warring parties to restrain themselves and stop the fights." He set July 1 as the deadline for the two groups to hand over their weapons and for "missing" to report to barracks.

The military also announced that 1200 of the 10,200 troops in the Malukus will be replaced because they have been taking sides. Military spokesperson Graito Usodo was quoted in the June 28 South China Morning Post as saying these soldiers "have been there too long [and] may have become involved emotionally ... There are some rogue elements ... that are not acting professionally. They are taking sides."

More than 40 members of the security forces have been killed and the military has acknowledged that police and soldiers have been shooting at each other.

Some local battalions have ceased to exist after the soldiers deserted to fight alongside Christian or Muslim communities. In Ambon, in particular, a religious divide has emerged between the police, who are mostly Christian, and the army, who are mostly Muslim.

According to Agence France-Presse on June 26, police and military installations are being increasingly targeted by the population. A number of police stations, military posts and barracks have been attacked and burned down, the attackers seizing large caches of weapons in some instances.

Roots of the conflict

The roots of the conflict are not so much in religious differences as in a range of local disputes between the communities which were ignored or suppressed during the Suharto dictatorship.

In Ambon, Christians were believed by many Muslims to have preferential access to government jobs. Government jobs, which ensure a secure income, social standing and additional sources of income from corruption, are eagerly sought after and Christians feared that the influx of Muslims from other islands, part of the government's transmigration program, would lead to more Muslim representation in the civil service. Tensions between local communities and transmigrants have long been a cause of violence in many parts of the country.

Under the Suharto dictatorship, religious organisations -- particularly Islamic -- were the only forms of social organisation allowed to flourish. Political parties, trade unions, student groups and other mass political organisations were dismantled, forcibly merged or taken over and, by the early 1980s, had ceased to play any significant role in Indonesian society. Although non-government organisations were allowed some freedom to operate, strict regulations prevented them from playing a political role.

The religious card was and is still used to garner political support and there are plenty of underemployed people willing to take up arms on behalf of their communities if given a little money and encouragement.

In North Maluku, where some of the fiercest fighting has taken place recently, the conflict involves a long-standing rivalry between the traditionally dominant sultans of the islands of Ternate and Tidore, which are at the heart of the nutmeg and cloves trade. It also involves resentment among the Christian minority on the main island of Halmahera towards Muslims who were resettled in their neighbourhood after a volcanic eruption 25 years ago.

Complicating the situation has been the struggle over control of resources and territory in the wake of Suharto's overthrow, including control of the new province of North Maluku.

Another factor is the arrival in recent weeks of thousands of well-funded, well-organised Muslim militants from Java -- the Lakasar Jihad -- who say they have come to fight a jihad (holy war). Wahid explicitly ordered them not to go to the Malukus, but the security forces at the Tanjung Perak port of Surabaya in East Java did not stop them from boarding ships on the grounds that the militants were not carrying weapons.

The militants have now obtained modern automatic weapons, presumably from sympathisers in the military, and they are reported to have been involved in large-scale attacks on Christian communities, causing heavy casualties.

Reports from the village of Duma on Ternate, where as many as 142 Christians were killed and another 160 were wounded on June 19, said that jihad fighters moved freely around town. A succession of Christian areas across Halmahera have been overrun. "The pressure on Tobelo is now intense", a Manado-based church source told the June 28 South China Morning Post. There are "thousands of Christians with nowhere to go".

Conflict in the elite

Although the inability of the government to control these "external" factors is partly a result of the disarray in the administration, there is little doubt that some sections of the political and military elite are at least tacitly encouraging the violence. The Lakasar Jihad clearly have high-level backing -- they received training in a camp in Bogor near Jakarta on land owned by an influential political figure, Hilal Thalib, the chairperson of the Al Irsad Foundation. Someone is paying for their food, accommodation and transport.

On June 3, Wahid publicly accused several legislators of being behind the unrest, adding that the government now had enough evidence to "nail" those concerned.

Although he did not name names, he was quoted on July 3 by Agence France-Presse as saying, "One of them is a heavyweight who has been difficult to legally net because of the lack of evidence".

Wahid and several of his senior officials have repeatedly accused unidentified people who were influential during the Suharto era of being behind the communal violence in several parts of the country. According to the July 6 Far Eastern Economic Review, there is a growing sense that the Maluku violence is part of a deliberate campaign to weaken -- though probably not topple -- the president ahead of the People's Consultative Assembly session in August. The FEER quoted politics analyst Cornelius Luhulima as saying, "They want to use the Malukus as a battleground for political change in Jakarta".

The FEER said these figures range from disaffected retired and serving military officers trying to stir the political pot in Jakarta, to well-funded Muslim extremists seeking to capitalise on a shift in the demographic balance of a region that was once a Christian majority in an otherwise Islamic nation.

It may be, however, that Wahid and those around him are seeking to shift the blame for the slow pace of political and economic "reform" and their failure to solve the many regional conflicts onto shadowy members of Suharto's regime.

Certainly, the latter are anxious to slow down reform and prevent recriminations against those involved in political and human rights abuses under Suharto.

The fact that a simple fare dispute between a Christian bus driver and a Muslim passenger could escalate into a regional conflict is also testimony to the brutalisation of Indonesian society under the Suharto dictatorship and the consequent culture of violence that developed.

Following Suharto's overthrow, the combination of increased democratic space, the lack of social and legal institutions to mediate disputes, and an utterly discredited military and police force has led to outbreaks of communal violence throughout the archipelago. In Jakarta alone this year, the city morgue has listed 103 "victims of mob violence", beaten to death or burned alive by local residents for crimes as minor as stealing a motorbike.

Anger and resentment within communities has been fuelled by poverty, unemployment and the lack of development. The majority of Indonesians -- peasants and the urban poor -- gained little from the country's "economic boom" during in the 1980s and early '90s. Instead, most continued to struggle to survive while watching a tiny elite layer amass huge wealth.

Later, it was this majority which suffered most from the 1997-98 economic crisis. According to a survey by a World Bank-funded monitoring agency, more than 40% of textile and garment workers and more than 75% of construction workers have lost their jobs. Around 40% of those people classified as poor before the crisis have had to sell their "assets" to survive.

Official wage rates have gone up, but employer compliance is low and, in any case, the rises that have been granted -- all less than 50% -- don't even restore real wages to 1997 levels.

The austerity measures demanded by the IMF if Indonesia is to be eligible for continued assistance under the $40 billion bailout package will further impoverish the majority of Indonesians. Under these circumstances, the kind of conflicts occurring in the Malukus are likely to persist and spread.

In the final analysis, it is the IMF, World Bank and Western governments that supported the Suharto dictatorship for 32 years that are to blame for the human tragedy now unfolding in the Malukus.

Ambon housewife asks when will the violence end

Agence France-Presse - July 9, 2000

Ambon -- In Maluku terms Mrs. Em, a Muslim housewife in this violence-torn city, is lucky. She is alive and so is her husband, although their house in the Sirimau district of the city was burned down by a Christian mob in July last year, and they fled by ship to the Javanese city of Surabaya.

A normally-cheerful woman of 39, Em (not her real name) returned to Ambon in September, exhausted and demoralized by the squalor of the refugee trail and anxious to be close to her relatives.

She now runs a small beauty salon out of a room in her rented house in the Waihaong area of downtown Ambon. The new house is on a street of mostly one-storey bungalows, one of the few sections of the inner city not left in smoking ruins by the fighting that rages almost daily here.

Her husband clings on to what is left of his school supply business, and like many families in their street, they have relatives -- a cousin and her two sons -- crammed into the house with them.

Em, in the English term adopted by many Ambonese, is "stressed out" by the constant fighting, and when it gets close to the house, she throws up her hands. "When will it ever end? What will become of us?" she moans as she closes the shop and the windows, and the sound of snipers and bombs reverberates nearby.

She says that when her own house was burned it was her Christian neighbours who saved her. But that area is burned out now. And she doesn't know what has become of them; they are probably in a refugee camp somewhere.

All the customers in her beauty salon are Muslims, for the simple reason that in Ambon nowdays, no Christian dares venture into a Muslim area, or a Muslim into a Christian area. "If Christians came, I would give them food and drink as I would anyone else," she says sadly.

But she knows the cycle of violence and revenge has gone so far that that won't happen -- at least 4,000 dead, Christian and Muslim, thousands of houses burned and more than half a million made homeless since January 1999, when the fighting erupted.

When it comes time for shopping, Em takes a minibus to one of the two nearby markets -- Batu Merah or Mardika -- both of them now only for Muslims. But only after checking on the neighbourhood grapevine. If the news is bad, and the supply in her refrigerator has run out, the family goes without fresh food.

When Muslims attacked the Pattimura University, once Ambon's pride, and set it ablaze last week, the market opened for a couple of hours in the morning, but Em refused to go out. She sat at home wringing her hands.

Like all her neighbours she has stocked up on essentials. Prices are high, but she knows they are much higher in the Christian areas, more isolated than the Muslim ones, because most food comes from other islands through Ambon's Yos Sudarso port -- a Muslim stronghold. One egg could cost 2,500 rupiah (25 cents) in a Christian area -- the cost of half a dozen elsehwere.

The crazy patchwork of enclaves for different religions also means that a Muslim must catch a speedboat to get across the harbor to the airport, and Christians can only get there from outlying areas by walking through the hills, or from inner areas, also by speedboat. The one road to the airport is intersected by Beirut-style green lines between the warring communities.

Most of the mixed marriage couples in Ambon have given up, fearful that what had once been public could no longer be kept a secret. They have joined the tens of thousands of "internally displaced people," from Ambon and the surrounding islands who have fled the Malukus. More than 100,000 others are crammed into overcrowded, vulnerable camps in the city.

Waihaong alone houses around 8,000 Muslim refugees, some 300 of them packed into an abandoned two-storey office complex. "So many babies have been born" in the complex since the fighting erupted 18 months ago in Ambon, Em says.

Tens of thousands of Christian refugees are in police stations and other camps in the city, many of them since the upsurge of fighting in the past three weeks running out of food and even water.

In the streets, children take pride in filching ammunition, instead of playing. Weapons are hidden in brief cases and food packages. Hidden snipers are a constant nerve-wracker.

Em -- for whom movie theatres and strolls along Ambon's palm- lined bay are now just memories she'd rather not think about as the firing echoes through the streets after curfew -- says she won't join the refugee trail again. But she is stressed, and keeps asking "When will it end?"

124 arrested over latest Poso violence

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2000

Makassar -- At least 124 people were arrested over the weekend for their alleged involvement in communal clashes in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, local security officers said on Sunday.

Sgt. Wasrul, a member of the local security task force, told The Jakarta Post by phone from Poso that the people were arrested during a search operation by security forces in Kolonedalle village in Morowali regency. Wasrul said that a team of security personnel was dispatched to Kolonedalle after they were tipped off that the alleged rioters were in the village.

Witnesses said that before the arrest, a 10-minute shootout took place between security forces and the alleged rioters, who were suspected of inciting riots and attacking intercity buses in the area. Unconfirmed reports said that some of the rioters were armed with the American-made M-16 automatic rifles and wearing military fatigues.

Authorities said last week that at least 29 security personnel had been arrested and seven of them were believed to have been involved in the Poso violence.

Spokesman for the local security task force Lt. Agus Salim confirmed that there had been an exchange of fire and said that security forces had also confiscated hundreds of homemade weapons. He said that a total of 124 people were arrested after security personnel launched a 30-minute search operation in the area.

Security forces have been mounting intensive search operations in the last few days to locate bodies reportedly buried in a number of mass graves or hidden in the jungle.

A local military leader said last week that at least 211 bodies, believed to be the victims of the violence that first erupted in Poso in April, were found in a number of mass graves. A series of joint military and police searches between May 23 and July 4 uncovered 127 bodies in mass graves along Poso River, 39 in Tagolu village, 11 in swamps in Lembah Sintuwu village and 34 in jungle ravines near Pandiri village.

Witnesses said, however, that as of Sunday, security personnel had only been able to evacuate some 64 bodies. Local authorities said that the death toll was likely to rise as police and military continued their searches.

Observers believe that the Poso communal clashes are connected with the prolonged violence in Maluku, where more than 3,000 people have been killed since the conflict erupted in January 1999.

Aceh/West Papua

Thousands hoist separatist flags in West Papua

Jakarta Post - July 15, 2000

Biak -- Thousands of Irian Jaya people raised for the first time the Morning Star separatist flag without fear of punishment or harsh measures from security authorities on Friday.

"Today is a historical day for the Papuans because for the first time we can officially hoist the flags with the government's consent," Thaha Mohammad Alhamid, secretary of the Papuan Presidium Congress said on Friday. Other towns seeing the flag wave in the sky included Merauke, Sorong, Jayapura, Wamena and Manokwari.

Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak announced on June 7 that the government would allow the people of Irian Jaya to raise the flag "as long as its size is not bigger than the national flag, and it is raised lower than the national flag."

Three Acehnese shot by military, die in custody

Agence France-Presse - July 13, 2000 (abridged)

Banda Aceh -- Three Acehenese civilians died in military custody after being shot and then arrested by Indonesian security forces, witnesses and hospital staff said Thursday. The bodies were taken to a local hosptial early on Thursday, a hospital employee said.

The three men were arrested during a security operation by the Indonesian military in the Keude Klep village in Tanah Pasir sub-district of North Aceh on Saturday, a local journalist said.

Around 3am Thursday their bodies were taken to the Meutia state hospital in Lhokseumawe, 18 kilometres east of the city, a staff member at the hospital said. "The three bodies were brought in by soldiers very early this morning. They all had gunshot wounds as well as bruises," the hospital employee said.

The three, all farmers, were with a fourth man riding on two motorcycles through Keude Klep when they were confronted by the guards. a resident said. He claimed the fourth man was well-known as a separatist rebel and the guards fired at him.

All four were wounded, but the rebel managed to escape while the farmers were arrested and taken to the sub-district military station in Tanah Pasir, he said. Military and police authorities in North Aceh could not immediately be reached for confirmation.

A crackdown by the Indonesian military on Tuesday left at least three suspected rebels in the same district. The security operation, launched following attacks by suspected rebels on police, took place despite a three-month truce between the government and rebels on June 2.

In Jakarta Wednesday, Human Rights Minister Abdallah Saad, said that despite the mounting violence in Aceh, he saw no need to declare a civil emergency.

Aceh leader agrees to review cease-fire pact

Kyodo News - July 12, 2000

Norsborg, Sweden -- The exiled leader of the pro-independence Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Hasan Muhammad di Tiro, said Wednesday he is willing to negotiate an extension of a three-month cease- fire accord in the troubled Indonesian province expiring September 2.

"We will have a meeting by the end of this month, maybe on July 29. We will see whether we will extend the agreement," Tiro said in an interview with Kyodo News at the GAM headquarters in Norsborg, Sweden.

The Indonesian government and GAM signed the so-called "humanitarian pause" accord in Geneva on May 12, in a bid to stop all violence in Aceh and to allow humanitarian assistance to refugees. On Tuesday, Aceh Gov. Ridwan Ramli said Wahid has agreed to hold talks with GAM and extend the cease-fire.

Tiro, who is in poor health, said he will not be attending the meeting, expected to be held in Geneva, and GAM will be represented by five representatives, including minister-of-health-in-exile Zaini Abdullah, who signed the May agreement. Although some human rights groups have welcomed the agreement, Tiro said: "We are very disappointed with the implementation of the humanitarian pause."

However, he stopped short of dismissing the possibility of extending the pact, saying: "It depends on how the Indonesian military will abide by the spirit of the agreement. Instead of withdrawing the troops from Aceh to make the cease-fire more conducive, more soldiers are being sent to Aceh," he said. "They are continuing their policy of intimidation by patrolling unnecessarily."

Tiro, who fled to Sweden in 1976, considers himself the head of state-in-exile of Aceh, the resources-rich province on the western tip of Sumatra.

Mob torches major market in Jayapura

Agence France-Presse - July 10, 2000

Jakarta -- A mob of some 200 people set fire to a major market in Jayapura, the main city of the country's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, which is seeking independence.

The mob attacked the Sentani market early on Saturday, burning hundreds of kiosks and stalls, the SCTV television station said. No one was injured in the fire, it added.

SCTV said the attackers were people from a nearby neighbourhood who were angry at police failure to quickly solve a local murder case. The attackers only dispersed after the arrival of two truckloads of the police mass-control unit, the television station said. Superintendent Daud Sihomping of the Jayapura police said the incident was not related to a pro-independence drive.

Irian Jaya has seen increasing calls for a peaceful move towards independence from Indonesia since the fall of former President Suharto.

Labour struggle

Jobless tally rises to 37.4 million

Kyodo News - July 15, 2000

Jakarta -- The ongoing economic crisis and political instability in Indonesia since mid-1997 have pushed up unemployment to 37.4 million, a local newspaper controlled by the former ruling Golkar Party said Saturday.

The Suara Karya daily quoted Manpower Minister Bomer Pasaribu as saying the condition has been worsened by the slow pace of economic recovery caused by conflicts among the political elite, while companies in the country can absorb only about 1.5 million workers annually. "The economic crisis has also played a role in sparking waves of unrest across the country," Pasaribu was quoted as saying.

The unemployment rate has increased to 43.29% of the country's 86.4-million-strong workforce from 7.24% before the crisis, the paper said. Before the crisis, the jobless tally was 6.3 million.

Parliament asks Sony, workers to compromise

Kyodo News - July 11, 2000

Christine T. Tjandraningsih, Jakarta -- The Indonesian parliament Tuesday urged the management of PT Sony Electronics Indonesia, a subsidiary of the Japanese electronics giant, and workers involved in a protracted strike to seek a compromise despite the company's threat to fire them.

The call was made during a two-hour hearing between Sony's management, workers' representatives and officials of the Ministry of Manpower mediated by a House commission dealing with manpower affairs. About 100 workers' representatives attended the hearing, but Sony was only represented by two Indonesian assistant managers.

"The House of Representatives is not a decision-maker, but we try to offer solutions on what you should do," legislator Jacob Nuwawea told the hearing. "We give two weeks for all sides to make approaches to each other to seek a compromise." The commission also asked Sony not to be represented at the hearing only by Indonesian assistant managers but to send Japanese directors.

Last Friday, Sony announced its decision to fire 928 employees who have been on strike since April 26 in protest at the company's new policy of "standing operation" production procedures, which forbid employees from sitting while working. The company recently changed its production line operations with the installation of new conveyer belts, which resulted in the standing requirement.

Sony said the decision to dismiss the workers was lawful as it had secured approval from the Central Committee for Labor Dispute Settlement at the Ministry of Manpower. It also said the committee confirmed that the "standing operation" procedure is a better and healthier work method.

Sony's assistant to the production manager, Hani Toreh, told the hearing that the company is not optimistic about re-negotiations as such talks have taken place several times without results. "If negotiations take place again, the possibility of a solution will be very small, because the working relationship between the employer and employees has been very bad," Toreh said. Workers booed him after he made the statement.

But officials of the Ministry of Manpower supported Toreh's statement, saying, "It is impossible to reach a compromise anymore, as in some negotiations no solutions were produced."

Earlier, Sony Finance Manager Satoshi Kanenori said the prolonged strike had caused the company major losses as it had to close 10 of its 12 production lines and transfer some of its production to its Malaysian plant.

To parliament members, Judy Winarno, chairman of the Indonesian Metal Workers Union's branch at the company, said the labor dispute committee's ruling was unfair, as earlier the strike had been conducted in accordance with procedures stipulated in the labor laws.

"This is a bad precedent for national stability," said Judy, 30, who was moved from his previous position as assistant manager to the cleaning staff for leading the strike. "Our demand is to return to work and for working conditions to improve, because we are not guilty and we want to uphold the truth," he said, adding the dismissal decision was made after an informal meeting on June 7 between Sony and the Ministry of Manpower.

Toreh himself claimed the June 7 meeting was a discussion between the Indonesian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, its Japanese counterpart, Sony and the ministry's officials to talk about labor issues in general, including the strike at Sony, but that no decision resulted from the meeting.

The workers have also reported to legislators how they were attacked by a group of hoodlums early this month. Toreh said they were not hoodlums, but residents of the industrial complex of Ganda Mekar in Bekasi, a suburb of eastern Jakarta, where Sony is located, who were concerned that the strike could affect foreign investment.

PT Sony Electronics Indonesia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corp. It has a total workforce of 1,500, including those employees threatened with dismissal. The company, which manufactures video compact disc players and television sets, has an average daily production of 4,000 units.

Kanenori has said the decision to fire the workers will cost Sony around 5 billion rupiah (about $536,000) in severance pay, housing allowance compensation, back-dated medical allowances, loss of annual leave and long-service pay.

Labor protests have been increasing during the past few months, mostly affecting foreign companies whose investment is badly needed by the country to help its devastated economy recover.

New bill on right to form unions passed

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2000

Jakarta -- The House of Representatives on Monday unanimously passed a new bill on the rights of workers to unionize. Minister of Manpower Bomer Pasaribu and legislators separately said that the law gives more assurance to workers' rights to organize compared to previous laws.

In a departure from previous policies, civil servants are now explicitly given the right to unionize. The law also mandates the government to issue a new regulation on the establishment of unions by civil servants. For decades they were obligated to join the Indonesian Civil Servants' Corps (Korpri), which is not a union.

Speaking at a House plenary session, Bomer said the new law also guarantees freedom for those who do not want to join unions, in line with the 1948 Convention on the Freedom of Association of the International Labor Organization. "The guarantee of freedom of association is reflected in the simple requirements to form a union, which is the need for only 10 workers," Bomer said. Past regulations require at least 25 workers to form one union. The law also states that one of the functions of a union is to organize, execute, and be accountable for workers' strikes.

An earlier ministerial decree defined unions as organizations which channel members' aspirations and that they are "a partner of management and government in building harmonious industrial relations based on principles of Pancasila." Critics earlier said the guarantee of the right to strike was missing in the draft of the bill.

The law states that dissolution of a union could be done by its members, by the closure of the company, or by a court order. The court could move to dissolve a union if it was considered to have endangered security as defined in the Criminal Code.

Romawati Sinaga of the National Front for Indonesian Workers Struggle, which is preparing a joint statement to reject the bill, said only members should be allowed to dissolve a union.

Bomer said that "there should be no concerns about this because the prerequisites for a court to disband a union are very limited, namely when the union has committed a crime against the state." The law also covers the establishment of federations, formed by at least five unions, and confederations, comprised of at least three federations. The structure of such unions are determined by their respective statutes. A worker may only be a member of one union in one company.

Human rights/law

PRD urges formation of special kidnappings commission

Detik - July 14, 2000

H Dharmastuti/SWA & LM, Jakarta -- The fate of 14 people abducted in the dying days of the Suharto regime remains unknown. The majority of those abducted were affiliated to the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and in an effort to solve the disappearances, a delegation of party leaders, led by party chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko, has urged the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to establish a special commission.

As the Suharto regime began to visibly crumble around the time of the October 1997 parliamentary elections and outspoken critics of the regime began to take to the streets in greater numbers, many of the budding movement's most prominent leaders were abducted.

Many were leaders of the PRD's student, artist, peasant and workers organisations and others affiliated to more radical elements drawn to the charismatic Megawati Sukarnoputri, now Vice President.

A delegation of 15 leaders of the PRD arrived at the Komnas HAM offices on Jl. Latuharhary, Central Jakarta, at 10am today. They were received by Komnas HAM Chairman Asmara Nababan and immediately discussed the proposal in the Plenary Meeting Room.

"This case is a very serious human rights violation. For this reason we urge the establishment of a special commission to investigate this case," said Budiman accompanied by PRD Secretary General, Petrus Haryanto.

As mentioned in written the press release distributed at the offices, the PRD urged the National Commission on Human Rights to establish an independent body comprised of people with a strong commitment to upholding human rights to investigate the abductions.

The PRD recommended several candidates, among them Indonesia's most famous human rights lawyer and Chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Munir, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, a lawyer and human rights activist, Hendardi and Bambang Widjojanto.

The PRD also suggested that the body involve persons directly affected by the kidnappings including PRD leader Nezar Patria, who was abducted and later released and Utomo, the father of Petrus Bimo, one of the kidnap victims whose fate remains unknown.

The initiative to establish the commission comes after the PRD last week filed a suit for damages against the former regime of President Suharto to the tune of RP5.5. billion. Budiman told reporters at the district court after filing the lawsuit.

"They chased after us, tortured us, raided our PRD branches and seized important party documents. The Suharto regime slapped me with 13 years imprisonment in 1997, based upon unsubstantiated evidence and ludicrous accusations."

The crimes against party activists heavily implicate the armed forces and the party appears to be pursuing a number of avenues in clearing their name and bringing the perpetrators to justice. The kidnapping case in particular implicates the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) lead at that time by Suharto's son-in-law, Prabowo.

From information supplied by Andi Arief, a kidnap victim and head of the PRD's student organisation, at least one of his military kidnappers had recently returned from studying in England.

Research conducted by the SiaR organisation based at Murdoch University, Australia, concluded that, if Andi's information is valid, then the person he mentions can only be a member of Kopassus. "They participate in a year-long training course in Security Studies at Hull University. Graduates are at the S-2 level, with the degree of Master of Arts. Seven of the ten soldiers from Indonesia taking this course are members of Kopassus," said a SiaR source in the British Foreign Ministry.

27 July: Military investigations lead back to military

Detik - July 14, 2000

L Hakim/SWA & LM, Jakarta -- Vice Director of the General Crime Division at the National Police Headquarters, Senior Superintendent Makbul Padmanegara, has admitted that their investigations point to heavy military involvement in the 27 July 1996 raid on the offices of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). An officer is set to be called on Monday. Who is he?

"There's no point mentioning names. Because this is the military, [the questionings] will start from the lower levels. The investigation will take place at the police headquarters or at the military police centre," Makbul told the press at the Police Detective Unit Headquarters on Jl. Trunojoyo, South Jakarta, today.

As reported widely, on 27 July 1996 supporters of Megawati Sukarnoputri, now Vice President, were violently attacked and ejected from the Party headquarters where they had been holed up after she was ousted from the PDI leadership in an internal party coup. At least five died in the riots that ensued in Jakarta and an unknown number of others "disappeared" in the following weeks and months.

A police report into the incident was submitted to the Attorney general in late June after questioning high level military figures, PDI leaders and hired thugs as "witnesses" and several of the civilians officially became suspects. The police concluded that there was extensive military involvement in the raid. However, according to Indonesian law, military personnel may only be tried in a military court and few in the police, parliament or civil society believed a military panel would placate the calls for justice in this controversial case. The House, therefore, decided to set up a "connectivity trial" which would breach the legal immunity of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).

The "Connectivity Team" subsequently established to look into the involvement of the military is comprised exclusively of members of the military's legal advisory team, the National Police Investigation Team and the Military Police.

Makbul told the press today that they had questioned as many as 30 civilians since beginning their investigations one week ago. "The majority of their testimonies are the same as those already given to the national police," he said.

He also commented on the fact that several of the civilians named as suspects in the police investigation had asked for their status to be changed to witness. Makbul only shrugged his shoulders. "They can demand anything. But their status as suspect can not be revoked because they will be questioned as suspects during the connectivity investigations," Makbul said.

Ironically, two of the most prominent civilians in question, Suryadi, who became PDI leader upon Megawati's ouster, and Yorris Raweyei, daily leader of the Pemuda Pancasila gang linked to the former New Order regime, were among the most vocal proponents of the connectivity trial. They and the public at large will no doubt be following developments closely as the team established to perform the initial investigations begins to call as yet unknown military personnel.

At the time of the incident the following military (ABRI) and police officers had varying degrees of jurisdiction over security in the capital:

President/Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces General (Ret.): HM Soeharto
Commander of ABRI: General Feisal Tanjung
Expert staff member of the Commander of ABRI in the Defense and Security division: MajGen Agum Gumelar
Minister of Home Affairs: Yogie Suardi Memet
Director General of Social-Political Affairs: Soetoyo NK
Coordinating Minister of Political and Security Affairs: LetGen (Ret) Soesilo Soedarman (deceased)
Minister of Security and Defense: General (Ret) Edi Sudrajat
Army Chief of Staff: General R. Hartono
Deputy Army Chief of Staff: MajGen FX Soedjasmin
General Chief of Staff (ABRI): LetGen Soeyono
Chief of Staff of Social-Political Affairs (ABRI): LetGen Syarwan Hamid
Chief of Central Information (ABRI): BrigGen Amir Syarifudin
Commander of the Army Staregic Reserves: LetGen Wiranto
Chief of National Police: General (Pol) Dibyo Widodo
Operational Deputy to the Chief of National Police: MajGen Hutagalung
Director of Detective Unit: BrigGen Noerfaizi
Chief of Armed Forces Intellegence: MajGen Syamsir Siregar
Deputy Chief of Armed Forces Intellegence:MajGen Achdari
Director of Armed Forces Intellegence "A": MajGen Zacky Anwar Makarim
Commander of the Jakarta Military Area: MajGen Soetiyoso (currently Govenor of Jakarta)
Chief of Staff of the Jakarta Military Area: BrigGen Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin
Chief of the Jakarta City Police: MajGen (Pol) Hamami Nata
Govenor of the Jakarta Special Province: Surjadi Sudirdja
Chief of the Central Jakarta Police: LetCol Abubakar Nataprawira

Rights body moves to revise rejected massacre findings

Indonesian Observer - July 13, 2000

Jakarta -- The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) yesterday appointed three commission members to revise its rejected report on the 1984 massacre in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

The decision was made during a plenary meeting of the Komnas HAM after the Attorney General's Office returned the report to the commission on Tuesday, bowing to strong opposition from the massacre victims and human rights activists to the findings. Koesparmono Irsan was named as head of the three-member team to "complete" the report. Two other members are Syamsuddin and Syafruddin Bahar.

Komnas HAM Secretary General Asmara Nababan, who read out a press statement after the meeting, said the establishment of the new team was to fulfill Attorney General Marzuki's demand for the commission to complete the investigation into the Tanjung Priok killing. The team is tasked with digging up mass graves where killed Muslim protesters were buried, and gathering additional data and information from witnesses, Nababan said.

More than 100 people were killed when troops clashed with Muslim demonstrators and fired shots at them during an anti-government protest on September 12, 1984. But, the Komnas HAM's report denied the incident was a massacre and put the death toll at only 33 people. The investigators also found that former national military commander retired General Benny Moerdani and former vice president retired General Try Sutrisno, who was Jakarta's regional military chief at the time of the incident, were not guilty in the tragedy.

The controversial report triggered violent protests against the Komnas HAM by fundamentalist Muslims who recently smashed the windows of the commission's headquarters in the elite Menteng areas, Jakarta. The commission was blasted by relatives of the killed victims and other Muslim human rights activists for refusing to exhume mass graves before closing the fact-finding investigation, and for instead holding private talks with the military.

In a response to yesterday's decision, Muslim student activists said they could not accept the appointment of the new team because it did not include experts from outside the commission. Beny Biki, a family member of the killed victim, refuted the Komnas HAM chairman's statement that most people in Tanjung Priok have agreed to settle the case amicably through reconciliation.

Yet another human rights investigation compromised

Green Left Weekly - July 12, 2000

James Balowski -- The government of President Abdurrahman Wahid appears to be indulging in a veritable orgy of investigations into human rights violations -- ranging from the post-ballot violence in East Timor last September, military abuses in the provinces of Aceh and West Papua and state-sponsored violence against political dissidents during former dictator Suharto's 32-year rule.

But confidence in the government's willingness to take decisive action against high-ranking military officers was dealt a blow when the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) released its findings on June 16 into the notorious Tanjung Priok massacre in 1984.

Komnas HAM announced that it had found no evidence of intentional mass killings or burials. The June 17 Jakarta Post reported that, in a submission to the House of Representatives, the chairperson of the commission, Djoko Sugianto, said that it had concluded "The shootings were forcibly carried out by the security officers [at the time] after being attacked by the masses".

Although he admitted "human rights violations did occur", it was not a "massacre" and that violations were "conducted by both the security personnel and the mobs". The report said only 33 died, including nine killed by the masses, and 36 others were tortured by soldiers.

The inquiry began in March and a number of former high-ranking military officers such as then-armed forces chief General "Benny" Murdani and former vice president General Try Sutrisno were implicated.

Claiming that it had no legal power to conduct a further investigation, the commission recommended that the government comprehensively solve the incident by, among other things, apologising to and compensating the families of the victims.

"We also urge the Indonesian military chief to investigate all security officers involved in the incident, especially their commanders", Sugianto was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.

`Symbol' of Muslim anger

The September 12, 1984 massacre -- in which dozens of people were killed and injured when troops fired on peaceful Muslim demonstrators in the port district of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta -- has long been a symbol of Muslim resentment against the former Suharto dictatorship. Under Wahid's new "reform" government, many families of the victims held high hopes that those responsible would finally be brought to justice. The shootings were the climax of a series of incidents which began on September 7, when a preacher held a sermon at a local mosque condemning government policy. Leaflets were also distributed and anti-government slogans painted on walls.

When a local security officer entered the mosque and ordered that the slogans be painted over, he was ignored. He then soaked paper in drain water and used this to black out the signs. Feelings were further incensed when the officer entered the mosque in muddy boots (shoes must normally be removed before entering a mosque).

As an angry crowed swelled, the officer made a hasty retreat. Police returned later and arrested four people.

Five days later, a well-respected Muslim leader, Amir Biki, set up a street podium repeating the criticisms before a large crowd and demanding the release of the four detainees. The authorities ignored the requests and by evening a huge crowd had gathered, which then marched on the police station where their colleagues were being held.

Eyewitness reports say the demonstrators were stopped before they reached the police station by a company of air artillery troops which had barracks in the area and by three truckloads of soldiers with automatic weapons.

Without warning, troops began firing directly into the crowd. Some of the injured who rose to their feet were killed by bayonets and bystanders who tried to help the injured were also shot.

Soon after the massacre, army trucks arrived to remove the bodies, the injured being taken to the Jakarta Army Hospital. Other hospitals were instructed not to accept casualties. Fire engines arrived soon afterwards to wash away the blood.

Since all of the killed and wounded were taken away by the military, the exact number of victims is still unclear. The most comprehensive report, compiled by the Al Araf Mosque put the number at 63, with more than 100 seriously wounded.

The following day Murdani summoned the editors of all of the Jakarta newspapers to give his version of events. Admitting that troops had fired "in the direction of the mob", he claimed that only nine people had died and 53 has been injured. Most reports in the Indonesian press supported Murdani's version of events.

In April 1985, sentences of one to three years were passed against 28 people accused of participating in the demonstration, who were found guilty of "waging resistance with violence" against the armed forces. Many of the accused were seriously wounded -- some crippled for life -- and calls for a public inquiry were ignored.

Angry reaction

In an angry response to Komnas HAM's report, on June 20, a group of some 50 students calling themselves the Inter-Campus Muslims Students Association stormed the Komnas HAM offices, breaking down the front gate, while others jumped over the fence and tore down the Komnas HAM billboard after spraying it with red paint. Two trucks of police arrived but only intervened after students began throwing stones at the building. There were no reports of arrests or injuries.

Earlier a smaller group of Muslim students also visited the offices to reject the results of the investigation and call for a new investigation.

A second attack occurred on June 23 when Muslim protesters damaged a restaurant in an elite Jakarta neighbourhood after throwing rocks at the Komnas HAM offices. Calling itself the Islamic Defenders' Front, they accused the commission of bias and said it should be dismantled. Several windows were smashed but there were no reports of injuries.

They also complained that the commission was not properly investigating current violations against Muslims in Aceh and in the Maluku islands where clashes between Muslims and Christians have claimed as many as 3000 lives since January.

On June 24, the Jakarta Post reported that the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) had called on Komnas HAM to reinvestigate the case. It also demanded that it be conducted by a different set of people.

Kontras coordinator Munir told a news conference on June 23 that the findings should be retracted. The rights body has been "busy seeking justifications and excuses for forgiveness for the rights abusers", he said.

Kontras had earlier said that the commission had committed a "political and legal scandal" following the investigation team's meeting with officers at the military headquarters in Cilangkap. The meeting reportedly stressed concessions which Kontras charged would affect the investigators' neutrality.

The investigation team's recommendations, Munir said, "contrast with the obligation [of the team] to push for legal accountability".

Munir also cited statements in the investigation report which he said were irrelevant. The report "said severe human rights abuse done by the masses included provocation ... There is not one international convention which states provocation is a human rights abuse", he stated.

In the ten months since the Wahid government took office, only two of the scores of cases currently under investigation have been concluded -- neither with a satisfactory result according to critics.

The first involved the massacre of 57 civilians in Aceh in July 1999, following which 24 low-ranking soldiers received extremely light sentences of between eight-and-a-half to ten years last May.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch/Asia referred to the trial as "lacking credibility and legitimacy" and warned that if the trial was a "foretaste" of how the authorities planned to conduct trials into the violence in East Timor, "it does not bode well".

The results of the Tanjung Priok investigation only lends further weight to the view that the government is unwilling to take decisive action against high-ranking military officers and that the only way those responsible for the violence and destruction in East Timor will be brought to account, is if they are tried in an international tribunal.

PRD files lawsuit against Suharto

Green Left Weekly - July 12, 2000

Pip Hinman -- Indonesia's most prominent left-wing political party, the People's Democratic Party (PRD), has filed a 5.5 billion rupiah (US$617,000) lawsuit against Suharto over the ailing former dictator's role in the July 27, 1996 attack on the offices of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), for which the PRD was falsely blamed.

The suit, filed in the Central Jakarta District Court on July 5, is one part of the party's campaign to pressure President Abdurrahman Wahid to investigate the 1996 assault, widely believed to have been orchestrated by Suharto in a failed bid to halt the growing popularity of PDI leader Megawati Sukarnoputri.

PRD chairperson Budiman Sujatmiko told the Jakarta Post that the regime "declared us masterminds of the July 27, 1996 violence. They chased us, tortured us, raided our PRD branches and seized important party documents".

The PRD had only formally launched itself as a political party six days before.

On July 28, 1996, General Syarwan Hamid, as head of socio- political affairs for the armed forces, announced that he had evidence that the rioting on July 27 had been organised by the PRD, which he also accused of attempting to revive communism, a banned ideology.

The coordinating minister for politics and security at the time, General Susilo Sudarman, stated, "The unrest ... was manipulated by a third party, the People's Democratic Party". Another general, Sutiyoso, told the press, "The armed forces will go after all the members of the PRD. We are not on the defensive here, we are on the offensive. The anti-subversion law will be used against them."

The military ordered the arrest of all PRD members and members of its affiliated organisations. By October that year, some 35 PRD members were detained and 13 were sentenced to long jail terms. Sujatmiko was jailed for 13 years for subversion in 1997, but was released in 1999.

Other PRD activists were abducted by members of the elite Kopassus force.

Some were severely tortured and at least four, including well- known people's poet Wiji Thukul, are still missing, presumed dead.

Max Lane, the chairperson of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET), told Green Left Weekly that the regime focussed its repression on the PRD out of fear of the emergence of a well-organised, mass, worker-based radical democratic movement. "The PRD had been building a movement outside the formal system set up by the dictatorship, defying the limits set by Suharto", he explained.

The lawsuit names as defendants 12 former armed forces officials, including former army chief Feisal Tanjung and Suharto's justice minister Utoyo Usman and information minister Harmoko.

News & issues

Looting, land disputes hit plantations

Reuters - July 13, 2000

North Sumatra -- Looting of plantations has become a major headache in Indonesia, hitting bottom lines in the sector and threatening investment and privatization plans.

The problem is compounded by land disputes as plantation companies have been accused of failing to pay compensation for properties that villagers claimed belonged to their ancestors.

Companies hire security guards and police armed with machine guns to fend off rampant looting across plantations in one of the world's largest producers of rubber, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, gold, tin and pepper.

"We have to hire policemen and military personnel to help us secure our plantation from looters," said Halomoan Siahaan, plantation manager of state plantation PT Perkebunan Nusantara II (PTPN II) in Limau Mungkur, near Medan, North Sumatra.

"We gather our tappers, staff and security guards with the police and military personnel once a month, to show off our force to [potential] looters," said the manager of the secluded plantation some 20 kilometers outside Medan. Last year, looting affected some two million hectares of oil palm, rubber and coffee plantations, run by both state and private operators, causing losses totaling billions of rupiah.

"Looters come at night and steal latex and palm oil fresh fruit bunches. When our tappers come in the morning, they find no latex or fresh bunches left," Siahaan said.

A short distance away, a crude palm oil processing plant also owned by PTPN II suffers from looting. "We are running 60% at our designed capacity because of a shortage in fresh fruit bunches," factory manager M. Simarmata said. PTPN II operates 9,200 hectares of rubber and 40,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in North Sumatra.

Marketing Manager Hakim Bako said looting of oil palm fruit was more attractive than latex because they fetched better prices. He said last year looting reduced the company's crude palm oil output by 15% and rubber output by 10%.

Blame Wahid

Just south of Medan, villagers burn oil palm trees and build houses on land that once belonged to a big private oil palm plantation. Villagers took over the area after the company failed to pay compensation for the land, which they claimed had belonged to their ancestors.

As Indonesia moves to a more open political climate following the downfall of authoritarian president Soeharto in May 1998, demands have grown for compensation for past seizures of land by plantation and mining companies.

Indonesia's 14 state plantation companies manage millions of hectares of palm oil, coffee, rubber, cocoa and sugarcane plantations. They say they have suffered the most. "I can say that my company is among those which has received most land claims from villagers," Bako of PTPN II said.

Bako said that in the 19th century, most PTPN II land in North Sumatra comprised tobacco plantations owned by people belonging to the local Deli Sultanate.

In 1873 the Sultan of Deli asked his people to rent their land to Dutch colonial authorities, who planted rubber, sugarcane and other crops. But the land was taken over by state plantation firms after Indonesia become independent in 1945.

"Most contracts ended after 100 years in 1973. But at the time no one dared to ask for land back because the political conditions did not allow people to do so," Bako said. "Now everything has changed and they want to take it back." State plantation firms also blame President Abdurrahman Wahid, saying his sometimes conflicting comments have worsened the situation.

"It was Gus Dur who encouraged people to claim the land," said an official at another state plantation, PT Perkebunan Nusantara IV, using Wahid's popular nickname. Wahid said earlier this year that 40% of areas managed by state plantation firms was stolen or taken without paying fair compensation. This land should be returned, he said.

Security costs

The uncertain climate has also hit bottom lines. "In the last two years we have had to spend millions of rupiah to improve security," said Jendamita Sembiring, a director of private plantation firm PT Kinar Lapiga at Langkat in North Sumatra.

"It is a burden for us, especially when CPO prices are not as high as two years ago." M. Sy. Zeiny, general marketing manager of Belgium-based PT Tolan Tiga Indonesia, said the increase in production costs caused by security expenses would make output less competitive.

Industry sources said while looting this year had not been as intense as in 1999, this was mainly due to falling international prices for crude palm oil and rubber. But they feared the overall perception of Indonesia as being too unstable to invest in would hurt the plantation sector.

"Overall, the situation is improving. But looting and land disputes are still happening," said Derom Bangun, chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association. "These problems, together with social unrest across the country, will discourage investors." Bangun said looting of oil palm fruits had reduced overall production by 10% annually in the past two years.

Officials at PTPN IV fretted that looting would ruin the government's plan to privatize the company. "No one wants to buy our stakes if they have to deal with looting and land claims," said the PTPN IV official.

The government has delayed plans to privatize PTPN IV but the sell-off of another state plantation firm, PTPN III, is still planned for October.

Freeport Inquiry: `How much did you get Pak Ginandjar?'

Detik - July 12, 2000

Suwarjono/SWA & LM, Jakarta -- Unraveling the intricacies of the mining business during the New Order era of former President Soeharto is as difficult as unearthing raw ore miles under the ground.

Nevertheless, Ginandjar Kartasasmita will be central to corruption inquiries into the giant Freeport mine now underway in Commission VIII of the House.

Commission VIII of the House, which deals with mining and energy, is currently delving into the deals done for the massive Freeport mine in Papua. Ginandjar Kartasasmita is currently Golkar's deputy speaker in the Peoples' Consultative Assembly and a former Minister for Mining and Energy. The Commission has found strong evidence of corruption in that he not only negotiated a deal for PT Freeport Indonesia which went straight to one of former President Suharto's most notorious cronies but involved his younger brother and another Minister in supplying the mine.

PT Freeport Indonesia is the Indonesian partner of Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (FMCG), a giant US-based mining company which owned 90% of the famous Freeport mine in the heart of Papua province prior to 1991.

With an estimated annual income of US$3 billion, the enterprise it seems spared no expense. "Not only Tom Beanal (an outspoken leader of the Papua community) who has gotten tired of fighting, even Suharto and all his officials have been bought," said one member of Commission VIII of the House to Detik today.

Ginandjar Kartasasmita is a name that has been frequently heard in the Commission's attempts to uncover the internal workings of Freeport Indonesia and Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (FMCG). Several Ministers and former Ministers of Mining and Energy appearing before the Commission have suggested they check with Ginandjar.

A member of Commission VIII, Erman Suparno, said that many things need to be clarified regarding the signing of a second contract between FMCG and the Indonesian government because at the end of the first contract all of Freeport's assets were to be acquired by the Indonesian government. "The agreement resulting in this second contract is not clear, so it raises the suspicion that there must have been a conspiracy between Freeport and government officials," Erman said.

The conspiracy started in 1988, fifteen years before the expiry date of the first contract, when Freeport Indonesia found the Grasberg deposit containing at least 72 million ounces of pure gold, silver and copper worth an estimated US$ 60 billion easily mined because it lay close to the surface.

Not wanting to lose the treasure, the boss of PT Freeport Indonesia, Bob Muffet made several strategic maneuvers to approach high-ranking officials in the Indonesian government. One of those targeted was Ginandjar, then Minister of Mining and Energy. Muffet and Ginandjar became close allies, as reported in The Asian Wall Street Journal in early October 1988. The two visited each other often, played golf together and dined in luxurious restaurants.

Freeport Indonesia proposed an extension of their contract in 1989, with an extension of the mining area to include the Grasberg site. Ginandjar negotiated for an increase in taxes and a bigger cut for the Indonesian government. Their share was raised from 10% to 20%.

The agreement was signed on 30 December 1991. But the additional 10% was allocated to a private company named Bakrie Investindo. "What was going on? Is the Bakrie group more privileged than the Indonesian government? How much did you get Pak Ginandjar?" asked a member of Commission VIII, Nur Hasan.

The Bakrie group bought 10% of the shares in Freeport Indonesia for US$ 212.5 million. US$ 49 million was paid in cash but the remainder was pledged through syndicated credit from international banks. To cover for the doubt about Bakrie's financial condition, Freeport Indonesia guaranteed the credit. One year later, Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. reimbursed half of Bakrie's shares at quadruple the price.

Other allegations focus on the fact that PT Catur Yasa, owned by Ginandjar's brother Agus Kartasasmita, was brought in to establish and maintain the electrical power plant for the mine.

Commission VIII also questioned the involvement of the A Latief Corporation (ALC) owned by former Minister of Man Power Abdul Latief, which supplied peripheral facilities to support the mine, including hotels, housing complexes, soldiers barracks and even golf courses.

Astrid S Susanto, a House members who is also a professor at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia, told Detik that the second contract between Freeport and the Indonesian government was legally defective.

He claimed the agreement, known as Kontrak Karya II, was lex specialis, beyond Indonesian law. "Lex specialis is only supposed to be applied to several articles. But the whole Kontrak Karya II agreement was lex specialis," explained Astrid. In this matter, the lex specialis agreement should be agreed by the House. "Now it depends whether the House agrees with that agreement," said Astrid.

In an interesting development which cause much excitement at the Attorney General's offices today, a photocopiy of a warrant to detain Ginandjar in connection to alleged corruption, collusion and nepotism cases during former president Suharto's regime was widely circulated. Signed on July 6, the warrant ordered the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes, Ramelan SH, to detain Suharto's cronies, listed among them, Ginandjar. Other notable names on the list are former Vice President Soedarmono, former State Secretary Sa'adilah Mursyid and two infamous tycoons, namely Soedono Salim and Prajogo Pangestu. The Attorney General, however, flatly denied that the warrant existed. "What there is is a letter calling certain people to give evidence," a flustered Marzuki Darusman told the press after meeting with Commission II.

A media hoax or an unplanned leak? In any case, the fate of those detained may not be so bad afterall. Take Syahril Sabirin, currently detained in connection with the embezzlement of millions of dollars from the Central Bank which he heads. Syahril has apparently again put himself forward to become an Indonesian Ambassador. A move which Marzuki today claimed was solely at Syahril's instigation, not denying that the government had considered the idea.

Army chief implicated in counterfeit money ring

Agence France Presse - July 12, 2000 (slightly abridged)

Jakarta -- A defendant in a court trying a 2.1 million-dollar counterfeit money case has testified that Indonesia's army chief had full knowledge of the production of fake bills, a report said Wednesday.

"Mr. Darto knew very well that this fake money production was for the interest of the Indonesian military and ... East Timor, " defendant Ismail Putra, a retired army major, was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.

Putra was referring to General Tyasno Sudarto, who was the chief of the Indonesian Military Intelligence Agency (BIA) from January 1999 until he was appointed army chief of staff in November last year. "He sanctioned the process. The [former] BIA chief also visited Yustinus Kasminto's house in Palmerah, West Jakarta, where the printing was done," Putra, one of the 10 suspects in the case, told the court.

General Sudarto is considered as one of the country's reformist generals who want to get the military out of its political role and make it more professional. His reform credentials are considered to have won him favour with the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid, the country's first democratically elected president.

The fake money, worth 19.2 billion rupiah (2.1 million dollars) was produced between July last year and February this year. The counterfeit bills are in 50,000 rupiah denominations, which bear the likeness of former president Suharto. Military spokesman Colonel Panggih Sundoro declined to comment on the report.

Police get tough withangry mob in Dumai

Indonesian Observer - July 12, 2000

Jakarta -- The situation in Dumai municipility, 200 kms from the Riau capital of Pekanbaru, remained tense yesterday, as self- titled commander of Free Riau, Muhammad Sabri, continued to slam the shooting by police on Monday of four local protesters.

The four are now being treated at Pekanbaru police hospital for leg injuries, sustained when police fired shots to disperse a demonstration which turned violent. Protesters occupied state- owned oil company Pertamina's housing complex on Sunday to demand fair compensation for 1,305 hectares of land, allegedly unlawfully seized by the company.

Sabri demanded that police not act in a cruel manner toward protesters. If they did, he said, the Free Riau movement would set fire to Pertamina's oil depots.

Riau police spokesman Lieut. Col. S.Pandiangan told Detik yesterday that police had followed standard operating procedure when they attempted to disperse protesters. "Police fired dozens of warning shots. However, protesters, who were carrying sharp weapons, did not take any notice and decided to attack the police instead," Pandiangan told reporters.

He denied reports that the wounded protesters remain in a critical condition and said they had only suffered slight injuries. Police later held two locals for questioning.

Police remain on alert at a number of vital projects including the Pertamina and Caltex oil complexs as well as other industrial facilities in the city.

Survey says Wahid irreplaceable

Indonesian Observer - July 12, 2000

Jakarta -- Despite sinister political maneuvers and other efforts to discredit President Abdurrahman Wahid, the one thing in his favor is that there's no one good enough to replace him. That's the result of a new survey which asked respondents who should replace Wahid if he resigns or is ousted before completing his five-year term in office.

The survey was conducted over June 7-27 by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Education and Information (LP3ES), in cooperation with the Center for the Study of Development and Democracy (CESDA). More than 1,240 people were polled in five major cities: Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java), Medan (North Sumatra), Makassar (South Sulawesi) and Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan).

The survey revealed that regardless of the criticism heaped on Wahid because of his controversial and often contradictory statements, most people still think he's the best person to lead Indonesia toward peace, prosperity and democracy. "When the survey was conducted, the people residing in the five cities said they couldn't imagine the possibility of the government staging a takeover or finding another figure to replace President Wahid," said LP3ES Director Imam Achmad.

He was speaking to reporters in Jakarta yesterday at a conference which was also attended by CESDA Chairman Naning and LP3ES chief researcher Muhammad Husain. Imam said 89% of respondents expressed confusion and uncertainty when asked who could possibly replace Wahid if he is ousted or resigns. He said this indicates that most people would strongly oppose any efforts by the People's Consultative Assembly [MPR] to impeach or topple Wahid when the nation's top legislative assembly convenes next month.

"That's why almost half [48%] of the respondents from the five major cities rejected the proposal to change MPR annual session into a special assembly, which has been a topic of public debate recently." Some critics have said that because of Wahid's shortcomings and failure to stop unrest, he should be replaced at a special session of the MPR.

Imam said 65% of the respondents said Wahid's government has provided more political freedom than the administration of former president B.J. Habibie. He said 55% of the respondents felt that legislators have not performed well, because they have failed to heed the people's aspirations and have not monitored the government. The most alarming result of the survey was that 74% of those polled said law enforcement agencies, the military and police cannot protect the public from acts of violence.

Illegal gold miners protest heinous acts at Pongkor

Jakarta Post - July 12, 2000

Bogor -- Hundreds of illegal miners working at gold-rich Pongkor Mountain thronged the Bogor Council building on Monday, complaining about violent measures they had suffered from security officers of mining firm PT Aneka Tambang.

Coordinator of the protest Abdul Mutholib said the security officers -- after apprehending the illegal gold miners -- did not only beat them, but also forced them to perform homosexual acts in front of them. "What they were doing to the miners was just inhumane," Abdul said.

None of the Aneka Tambang officials could be reached for comment about the claim aired by the illegal miners, who for years have disturbed the operations of the firm. Dozens of the illegal miners, including those from Lampung and other parts of Java, have been buried alive inside the so-called "mouse holes" they made in the body of the mountain.

During the protest, the illegal miners were received by Commission A for administrative affairs chairman Soleh Benyamin and member Aris Suwirya; and Commission B for economic affairs deputy chairman Wawan Risdiawan and member Siti Umiyati Ningsih.

Grouped in the Traditional Gold Craftsmen's Forum (FPET), the protesters also told the councillors that the mining sites in Block Cepu had frequently been excavated with the use of explosive devises by Aneka Tambang in the past month.

Protester Abas requested that Bogor councillors give the illegal miners some sort of chance and protection in order to mine gold in the area. "There are hundreds of illegal miners in the area of Pongkor Mountain," Abas said.

Another illegal miner, Jhoni, added that there were about 1,000 miners in the area of Pongkor Mountain before the blasts, but that since then only 400 were left. Councillor Soleh promised that he would soon arrange a meeting with representatives of PT Aneka Tambang to discuss the matter.

Poorly equipped gold miners have risked their lives digging shafts in the Pongkor area to collect earth from which the gold is extracted. Pongkor Mountain has become a mass grave for scores of unauthorized miners over the past few years.

However, this has not stopped others from filling their places, as migrant miners flock from the West Java towns of Sukabumi, Pelabuhan Ratu and other provinces such as Lampung and North Sumatra.

People want direct presidential elections: poll

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2000

Jakarta -- A recent poll conducted by the Center for Electoral Reform showed the majority of Indonesians supported direct presidential elections. Nuri Soeseno of Cetro said on Wednesday the poll showed 72.6 percent of 1,998 respondents in five cities -- Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, Makassar and Pontianak -- favored direct presidential elections.

Similar results were obtained by polls conducted by Tempo (June and October 1999), Kompas (July 1999), Gatra (September 1999), Pikiran Rakyat (April 2000) and Media Indonesia (June 2000).

Despite the support for direct presidential elections, 56.9 percent of poll respondents failed to say who they would support for president. Of the other 43.1 percent of respondents, 12.7 percent said they supported Megawati Soekarnoputri for president; 9.2 percent named Amien Rais; 5.7 percent B.J. Habibie; 3.7 percent Nurcholish Madjid; 3.6 percent Yusril Ihsa Mahendra; 1.7 percent Abdurrahman Wahid; and 1 percent each named Try Sutrisno and Akbar Tanjung.

Despite the low number of respondents naming President Abdurrahman Wahid as their preferred candidate in a direct presidential election, 54.8 percent of respondents did not want him replaced before 2004."This shows the people are more concerned about developing the system rather than just supporting a public figure," Nuri said.

The polling was conducted in May and June, with direct interviews of 1,998 respondents in Jakarta; Medan, North Sumatra; Surabaya, East Java; Makassar, South Sulawesi; and Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

Indonesian president mounts guards on mines

British Broadcasting Corporation - July 11, 2000

President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia has ordered the military to safeguard mining operations in the country, following a series of attacks on foreign-owned mines.

Speaking at the opening of the Jakarta International Energy Conference, the president said he was ready to use force to protest the mines. He said that security was vital if investmnent in Indonesia was to be sustained.

In the past few months, gangs have attacked several mines, demanding a greater share of mining revenues or the right to mine illegally within or around the mines.

Riots, disasters cause heavy loss in Indonesia

Xinhua - July 10, 2000

Jakarta -- More than 500,000 houses have been destroyed in Indonesia due to riots and natural disasters over the past three months, according to Minister of Housing and Regional Development Erna Witoelar.

"During the last three months, we collected data on the number of destroyed houses in 14 provinces, and were surprised that it was such a high figure, up to half-a-million," Witoelar was quoted by the Indonesian Observer Monday as saying.

She said the number of damaged houses will likely increase as communal conflicts that have engulfed Ambon, capital of Maluku province, since more than one and a half years showed no sign of abatement. Hundreds of thousands of houses have been destroyed in Maluku and North Maluku provinces, where religious riots have been taking place since January 1999, claiming about 3,000 lives.

The minister said the government's commitment to help the people in violence-torn areas repair their house will remain unchanged. She said her office is making efforts to help the people whose houses were destroyed during the riots or natural disasters get access to banking credits.

The Dutch government recently donated 3.5 million US dollars to help rebuild houses in riot-torn areas and in Bengkulu province, which was hit by a devastating earthquake on June 4. "Aside from donations, I have also received soft-loans from the World Bank," she added.

Two killed after mob attacks police post

Agence France-Presse - July 10, 2000

Jakarta -- A mob attacked a police post in Indonesia's eastern island of Flores, ransacking it and killing two civilians they accused of trying to infect local dogs with rabies, the military and residents said Monday.

"The situation is now entirely under control and there is no more violence, no more large mobs," said an officer on duty at the Manggarai district military command, who identified himself only as Pamuji.

Speaking from Ruteng, the main town of Manggarai district, Pamuji said a mob of some 5,000 people had attacked and ransacked the district police post on Saturday. "The police post is seriously damaged and the police are now operating temporarily from the police chief's residence," Pamuji said.

He said two civilians seeking refuge at the police post were killed while another was severely injured, but declined to add details. "One man was killed on site while another died at the hospital after two hours of treatment failed to save him," said Vera Damianus, the head of the Ruteng state hospital. A third man also beaten up by the mob at the police post, was rescued and is currently still under treatment at the hospital, Damianus said, adding that the man's life was no in danger.

The three civilians, according to the Kompas daily newspaper, had been promoting the sale of beds around town, driving a pickup truck. But one of the man was reportedly seen giving a piece of bread to a stray dog, which not long afterwards became wild and frothed at the mouth, symptoms of rabies.

The town had been awash with rumours of people spreading the virus through various means, including through food and water given to street dogs. Reports of the incident quickly spread and scores of people began to give chase to the pickup, which later sought protection at the district police post.

A crowd that quickly grew to thousands strong encircled the post and demanded the three men be handed over. Police refused and the mob, vastly outnumbering police, attacked and ransacked the post, seizing the trio.

Victims of rabies-infected dogs have been on the rise in Flores, with Kompas citing figures showing 30 people were registered in Manggarai district this year, while in the neighbouring Bajawa district 458 people had been infected. Nineteen of the people infected in Bajawa had since died.

The governor of the Nusatenggara Timur province, which includes Flores, and the province's police chief both flew to Ruteng from Kupang on Timor island on Sunday to make sure the unrest did not develop further, the Antara news agency said.

Environment/health

Environmental forum slams president's lack of commitment

Detik - July 14, 2000 (abridged)

Maryadi/FW & LM, Pontianak -- Indonesia's most prominent environmental protection group, WALHI, has slammed President Abdurrahman Wahid and the current government for their lack of commitment to environmental issues.

National Executive Director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), Suwiryo Ismail, spoke with Detik after attending a meeting with NGO activists in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Thursday.

Suwiryo said the President has not shown any commitment to solving Indonesia's extensive environmental problems but only favoured the interests of investors, citing the Indorayon, Freeport and Newmont cases as prime examples.

According to Suwiryo, in the Indorayon case, the government acted like a chameleon, showing no definate standpoint on the issue. Moreover, they had promised different things to the different parties involved. To the community, the government had promised to close down the factory, while to the investors, they promised to keep the factory open.

He added that this kind of stance in itself was a hindrance to economic development. "The government should not be afraid of losing investors. There are many companies who are interested to invest as long as there are a clear regulations," he said.

WALHI maintains that the PT Inti Indorayon Utama (IIU) pulp and paper factory in Sosor Ladang, Porsea, Toba Samosir, North Sumatra province, should be closed down because of the impact on the environment and livelihoods of locals peoples. Thousands rallied last Sunday at the site claiming that they would reestablish 4 guard posts to prevent materials entering and leaving the plant. Police shot one teenager last month after several guards were arrested.

If the factory were to reopen, it must be done right according to WALHI. That is, if the shooting is thoroughly investigated and the current contract renegotiated to ensure work and environmental laws are clarified and fulfilled. "Because the previous working contract is packed with corruption, collusion, and nepotistic practices," said Suwiryo.

HIV/AIDS cases reach 1,283 in Indonesia

Xinhua - July 13, 2000

Jakarta -- The official number of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia now stands at 1,283, although health experts predicted the real figure could be as high as 350,000 or more, a senior official said.

"According to the latest official report from the Health Ministry dated June 30, 2000, there are 1,283 HIV/AIDS cases, consisting of 331 AIDS patients and 952 HIV-positive patients, based on a very limited number of blood tests," the Indonesian Observer daily Thursday quoted Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication Basri Hasanuddin as saying.

He said that most of the HIV/AIDS cases recorded in the country were transmitted through heterosexual contact. Eight of cases involved mothers passing the incurable disease on to their offspring, he said, adding several cases were also caused by intravenous drug users sharing unclean needles.

"If we don't break our silence in this time of dire need, a disaster may soon engulf our people," Hasanuddin added. Earlier, an official of the Health Ministry said that the number of those infected with HIV has shown an alarming increase in Indonesia this year, with the total number of new sufferers in the first five months of 2000 nearly being equal to last year's 12- month total.

Hazardous smog descends on Kalimantan

Detik - July 13, 2000

Maryadi/Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta -- Smog in and around Pontianak, West Kalimantan, caused by slash and burn land clearing has reached hazardous levels while the local government has yet to even "fly the flag" and inform residents of the dangerous situation.

The latest data from the Pontianak Air Pollution Control Station shows that the Standard Air Pollution Index is currently at 559 micrograms per cubic meter. 400-500 is considered extremely dangerous and beyond the 500 mark, the levels of dust and smoke debris in the air cannot be measured with accuracy.

According to the Head of the Regional Environmental Impact Control Council for West Kalimantan, Ir Soeparno Soehadi MS, Kalimantan's forests are being burned for the development of industry, plantations or small scale farming without regard for the environmental or the human impact. He is warning of an international disaster. "If the land clearing is not stopped immediately, a smog disaster similar to the one in 1997 will happen all over again," he said. To Detik, Thursday.

In 1997, thousands were hospitalised with respiratory difficulties and a thick pall of smoke enveloped the archipelago and reached into Malaysia, Singapore and beyond. Not to mention the thousands of trees felled for the slash and burn practices of land hungry companies and the near annihilation of numerous species of rare animals, including the island's orangutans.

Soeparno admitted that the provincial government is utterly unprepared to deal with the disaster, lacking firefighting equipment capable of extinguishing the numerous and increasingly intense blazes. "Last year to put out the fires we asked for help from foreign countries like Malaysia with their bombing teams," he said. The government will once again be seeking foreign assistance. "Like the assistance offered in the past by America, who are prepared to help with equipment," he added.

Meanwhile, the Chief of the Environmental Authority at the Provincial level, based in Pontianak, Anwar Akil SH, has urged locals to stay in doors to avoid the worst of the smoke. The most dangerous time, he said, was during the night till the early morning. "If one needs to go out at night, it's best if they use a face mask," he said.

In 1997, the government's response to the disaster was to look the other way and hope it would just disappear. Not least because, a good proportion of the damage was being carried out by companies owned and/or controlled by the ruling family and their cronies, such as Bob Hasan. Thousands of facemasks were eventually distributed free, first by student and environmental groups and then by the government.

This week, the President ordered the formation of a Task Force to tackle the fire hazard although it's function is unclear. According to Detik's observations, however, the authorities have yet to display the necessary "sign posts" in public places which inform the community of the dangerousness of the situation. Let alone providing facemasks, or taking action against those burning off illegally.

Thick smoke blankets Riau

Detik - July 13, 2000

C.A Tanjung/SWA & LM, Jakarta -- Thick smoke blanketing Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau Province, Sumatra, since Wednesday has been attributed to land clearing activities by businesses holding Forest Concession Rights (HPH), coconut palm oil plantations and small scale farmers all extending the boundaries of their land.

Chairman of the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal) for Region I of Sumatra, Drs Teuku Alamsyah, spoke with Detik from Pekanbaru today, Thursday.

"Our observations are that the thick smog enveloping Pekanbaru is a direct result of forest fires lit by several business persons holding Forest Concession Rights (HPH) and by coconut palm oil plantation owners," Alamsyah said. He added that, based on the data collected by Bapedal for Region I of Sumatra, as many as 102 hot spots are currently burning in several municipalities across Riau province. The vast majority of the hot spots are located within Forest Concession Rights (HPH) and coconut palm oil plantation areas. Local people are also clearing land to extend their fields.

Twenty-one hot spots are located in Kampar municipality, 6 in Siak, 5 in Rokan Hulu and 12 in Pelelawan municipality. "The rest of the hot spots are spread across the Riau islands, Kuantan Singingi, Bengkalis and around the city of Pekanbaru," said Alamsyah.

Alamsyah indicated that forest concessions owned by PT Mandau Abadi and PT. Arara Abadi are primarily responsible for the burning in Kampar municipality. The 11 other hot spots in Kampar are attributed to plantations owned by PT. Karyatama Bhakti Mulya, PT. Subur Arum Makmur and PT. Sawit Rokan Hulu.

In Rokan Hulu municipality, the hot spots are located in forestry concessions owned by PT. Kulim Coy and a coconut palm oil plantation owned by PT. Sawit Rokan Indah. Hot spots are located in plantation areas owned by PT. Inti Prima and PT. Sari Lembah Subur in the Pelelawan municipality.

"This data concerning the hot spots is temporary. The conditions will change rapidly. The number may increase tomorrow because the fires may spread," said Alamsyah. He urged the Riau Provincial government to take strict action against those companies.

Arms/armed forces

Indonesia asks Canberra for military aid

The Australian - July 15, 2000

Don Greenlees -- Indonesia's Defence Minister, Juwono Sudarsono, has requested Australian military assistance in meeting the huge humanitarian burden in the country's violence-racked eastern islands.

In a move that would help revive military ties, Mr Sudarsono said Australia could aid Indonesia's efforts to distribute food and medicines to the provinces of Maluku and North Maluku, where tens of thousands of people have been made homeless by fighting between Christians and Muslims.

Asked what kind of assistance Australia could provide, Mr Sudarsono told The Australian: "I would say initially it would be support for Indonesian vessels, but if you have some spares, in terms of transport ships, they are welcome."

He said he had asked President Abdurrahman Wahid to raise the issue of military co-operation in humanitarian relief operations when he eventually made his frequently postponed visit to Australia.

Support of this kind would be "an important element in the post- conflict rehabilitation stage" for islands hit by religious fighting, such as Ambon.

On the future of the defence relationship, Mr Sudarsono said he wanted to focus on sharing expertise in defence management and logistics planning, rather than combat-related training or military exercises.

He said in future more emphasis should be put on maritime co- operation, instead of controversial training activities such as the abandoned exercises between the Perth-based Special Air Service and Indonesia's elite Kopassus force.

Although describing the military relationship as very good even after East Timor, he suggested the rebuilding of ties was likely to have to wait until Mr Wahid finally made his visit.

Security forces make a killing from gambling in Riau

Detik - July 11, 2000

Chaidir Anwar Tanjung/Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta -- It is a truth (almost) universally acknowledged that outlawing gambling does not stop the practice but rather encourages those with the will, money and right connections to divine more devious means of turning a dirty dollar.

Such is the experience in Riau where security force personnel line up every week at the home of "the Boss" to take their cut of a business reaping billions of rupiah.

Since massive social pressure for the abolition of the state- controlled lottery, known as SDSB, forced the government to abandon the concept of legalised gambling in the early 1990s, the issue has fallen off the national agenda. At that time, Muslim groups protested that the practice was haram (unclean) while other groups focussed their objections on the fact that profits from the SDSB would be enjoyed solely by a clique of Suharto family and cronies who had set up the enterprise.

Ten years later, the "unclean" practice is alive and well and the profits flowing to little Suhartos in the provinces. Take the case of Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province on the island of Sumatra, south-west of Singapore, where the gambling industry has a long and lively history. Historical factors, born of it's popularity with vessels passing through the Sunda Straights from China, Southeast Asia, Europe and Arabia, and a diverse indigenous population has meant that gambling and illicit trade has always had a niche in society, much like it's neighbour to the north, Medan, in North Sumatra province.

In Pekanbaru, the locals do not feel compelled to cover up the practice but sell coupons, or wagers on the horse racing in Singapore, from road side kiosks and popular "hang out" places in and around prominent locations in town. Known as sie jie, kim or jackpot, depending on the day of the week and the races in Singapore, the winning wagers are redeemable following the publication of the race results in Pekanbaru's leading dailies, the Pekanbaru Post and the Riau Post. "Not bad, compared to a night when you don't work, you just sell coupons. And even better, you're guaranteed by the man," said one coupon seller to Detik yesterday.

The sellers were generally blaze when approached by Detik, even shocked to be the focus of interest. When asked why the police had not cracked down on the kim gambling, one coupon seller replied, "All that's already taken care of by our boss. And it's been a very long time since any journalists even asked about it."

"The boss" it seems is a local man named Dedy Handoko who has the local "law-enforcement" scene sown up. According to the research of the Indonesian Consumer Foundation in Riau, uniformed officers are seen coming and going from his residence throughout the week. What's more, their rough estimates put the gross profit of the gambling industry in Pekanbaru at Rp 20 billion (US$2.15 million) every week.

"`The peoples' money is swallowed up, the gambling bosses just get richer. It's a kind of chronic illness that's difficult to get rid of because our security forces are heavily involved," said Director of the Foundation, Andreas.

The nominal head of the Free Riau Movement, pushing for independence from Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Tabrani Rab, points the finger not just at the police but also at the local courts and Attorney General who are rumoured to be receiving bribes from Dedy. "I feel sick when I talk about gambling. The police, Attorney General and other law enforcement agencies can all be controlled by the master croupier so what can we say?" he told Detik. Despite seeking the transformation of Riau to an independent country, this kind of fatalism belies a deeply pro- status quo attitude which will no doubt leave the illicit industry off the political agenda in Riau and elsewhere.

Economy & investment

Stablility needed before implementing new monetary policy

Agence France-Presse - July 13, 2000

Jakarta -- Indonesia's central bank said Thursday it can fully implement a new monetary policy only once economic stability in the country is restored.

The appropriate timing for such a policy change has not been determined, Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution was quoted as saying by AFX-Asia, an AFP financial affiliate.

Speaking at an IMF conference here, he said Indonesia faces major challenges in monetary policy, including the continued weakness in the banking system, slow financial restructuring, the high cost of bank recapitalisation, slow corporate debt restructuring and slow economic recovery.

Nasution said Indonesia is currently considering a system that would force the central bank to use an inflation target to determine monetary policy, as well as reduce the costs of disinflation.

But major obstacles exist in implementing this form of policy in Indonesia, he said. "One constraint is our large public debt, which grew from just 23 percent of GDP in 1997 to more than 90 percent of GDP at present."

The high debt burden and large budget deficit can make it difficult for the central bank to meet its inflation target, since it would put a great strain on public finances, he said.

Given existing domestic debt levels, a one percentage point increase in the three-month interest rate raises the interest cost on domestic debt in the annual government budget by more than three trillion rupiah (315.7 million dollars), he added.

"If a large increase in interest rates should prove necessary to prevent an upsurge of inflation, the sustainability of the current level of public debt could be called into question," Nasution said.

Another problem was the volatility of the rupiah, he said. Nasution was speaking as the rupiah again broke through the 9,500 mark to the dollar, trading at 9,520-9,540 at midday. Indonesia's central bank has not so far intervened to prop up the ailing rupiah which sank to a 21-month low against the dollar this week,

"Given the strong possibility that exchange rate shocks will continue in the future, the credibility of an inflation targeting regime established under current circumstances is doubtful. It might be better to wait until the chances of success are higher before making a firm commitment to an inflation target as the overriding objective of monetary policy," he said.

Indonesia kept afloat by oil

Far Eastern Economic Review - July 13, 2000

John McBeth, Jakarta -- For members of a visiting group of US editors, a mid-afternoon conversation with President Abdurrahman Wahid in late June ended in near-complete bewilderment. Since Indonesia couldn't expect any significant increase in foreign direct investment in the short term, the president told the bemused group, the government would have to rely on exports instead to revive the economy.

That sort of bravado underscores Wahid's innocence of the dismal science and his near-total dependence on his fractious economic team. It also tells the story of the stuttering Indonesian economy. Most independent economists estimate Gross Domestic Product will grow 3% this year after three years in the doldrums. The economy contracted 13.2% in 1998 and was flat in 1999.

This year exports are up, vibrantly so, but that is thanks to high oil prices and a newly weakened rupiah, which had fallen to 9,315 on July 7 from 7,500 to the US dollar at the end of March. Indeed, with political unrest, lagging reform and slow corporate restructuring keeping foreign capital away, sustaining the current consumer-led recovery will be difficult.

Exports in the first five months of this year totaled $23.7 billion, up 32% from the same period last year. Non-oil exports were $18.9 billion, only $400 million higher than a year earlier. But petroleum exports generated $5.2 billion, up from $3.1 billion. Analysts estimate that every $1 increase in the global price of oil adds $360 million a year to Indonesia's coffers.

Imports during the same period reached $11.1 billion, with raw materials making up about three-quarters of the total. Among Indonesia's trading partners, Canada seems to be doing better than most, with imports from that country rising 83% from last year, mostly in wood pulp for paper and packaging, cereals, fertilizer and organic chemicals for the resurgent agribusiness industry. Foreign-exchange reserves are down to $16.2 billion.

If some Chinese money has begun to trickle back, the big bucks are staying offshore. Approvals of foreign direct investment barely reached $2 billion in the first five months of the year, up slightly from 1999's $1.6 billion. At rupiah 11.6 trillion, domestic investment approvals matched the depressed levels of a year earlier.

Most economists predict a gradual slowdown of the economy. They fear mass disillusionment will start to set in when new graduates fail to find jobs. Unemployment is already at 40 million, or 28.5% of the workforce. And the only way to avoid adding to those numbers is by making enough progress in restructuring indebted companies to create new investment opportunities.

But for the meantime, some think the consumer-led strength can be sustained. "The economic situation is better than the market is reading it," says Cliff Tan, director of economic and market analysis for the Asia-Pacific region for Salomon Smith Barney- Citigroup. He believes the recovery can last at current levels well into next year.

Increased consumer spending isn't just confined to busy malls and crowded restaurants. Car sales rose 500% in the first quarter, with industry analysts expecting sales for the year to reach 240,000 vehicles, well above last year's 95,000. Personal computer sales also are on the rise, up 193% to 85,000 machines in the first quarter.

Recreational spending looks to be climbing as well. Golf courses always prosper during a slump because businessmen have time on their hands. And the Sukabumi-based Solowings Flight Club has seen its fleet of privately owned ultra-light aircraft grow from six to more than 30 in the past year. Each plane amounts to at least a $620,000 layout for its mostly Indonesian flyers. The message, it seems, is enjoy it while it lasts.

Jakarta's new policy `abused for blackmail'

Agence France-Presse - July 13, 2000

Jakarta -- Regional Autonomy Minister Ryaas Rasyid has warned that some local bureaucrats and politicians were using the Indonesian government's new decentralisation policy to blackmail businesses.

"They think that with this new policy they have greater opportunity to generate money from the business community," he told participants of a mining and energy investment seminar on Tuesday.

He said officials had introduced new charges, and in some cases, even threatened to take over companies. "This new phenomena indicates that local government and politicians tend to blackmail the business community," he said.

Mr Ryaas, whose speech was read out by an official, said private and state-owned companies had complained that local politicians had ordered them to have direct dealings with them rather than the central government. Among the companies meeting those demands was the state oil company, Pertamina, he said.

The minister warned local authorities to be aware that all contracts and business commitments approved by the central government must be respected by both local officials and their respective political communities.

"The new regional autonomy policy gives a number of opportunities for local governments to promote economic development in their respective areas. Certainly both local government officials and business communities must make adjustments," he said.

He added that the local authorities must realise that greater autonomy does not mean more opportunities to generate more taxes and charges to increase their own revenue. "The key word for implementing the regional autonomy policy is the creativity of local government to attract the business community to invest their money in the area," Mr Rasyid said.

The Australian mining company Newmont had a tussle with local authorities in South Sulawesi province earlier this year, when they wanted to tax soil and rock removed at the mine there. It was finally settled with the central government's assistance.