• Australian soldiers accused of torture - South China Morning Post
• Solidarity activists condemn oil deal - Green Left Weekly

• More taxi drivers reject fee hike - Detik
• Supermarket chain employees strike for wage hike - Detik
• Labor unions urged to help enforce law on social security - Jakarta Post

• The President: Candid words from aide - Straits Times
• Gus Dur's supporters ready to attack critics - Straits Times
• MPs want US envoy to be withdrawn - Reuters
• US envoy says attacks on him are aimed at Wahid - Sydney Morning Herald
• Tension between Muslim groups rises over Wahid - Agence France-Presse
• Megawati's party backs President - South China Morning Post
• Parliamentary committee accused of trying to topple Wahid - Agence France-Presse
• Hotel raid highlights anti-American drive - South China Morning Post
• Indonesian anger builds against US - New York Times

• Madurese too scared to leave refugee camps - South China Morning Post

• Aceh Referendum Centre offices raided - Detik
• Three policemen, one civilian killed in violence - Agence France-Presse
• Government to get tough on Papuan task force - Jakarta Post
• Papua leader orders supporters to ignore police call - Agence France-Presse
• Seven bodies found in Indonesian province of Aceh - Agence France-Presse
• PM softens Pacific swipe at Jakarta - Sydney Morning Herald
• Brutal Aceh war deepens despite truce - South China Morning Post

• Suharto's co-accused goes to jail, Tommy still missing - Agence France-Presse
• More to be grilled over July 27, 1996 incident - Jakarta Post

• RI to scrap visa-free facility for 49 nations - Indonesian Observer
• Groups plan to hold rallies in Solo today - Straits Times
• A compelling look at an enigmatic country - Green Left Weekly
• Zealots' raids on clubs spark turf-war theory - South China Morning Post

• Global warming `threatens 2,000 islands' - Agence France-Presse

• Military manoeuvres: military woos Megawati - Far Eastern Economic Review

• Jakarta to keep control of oil, gas despite autonomy - Indonesian Observer
• Fish poaching accounts for US$1.5 billion in losses - Asia Pulse
• Indonesian rupiah hits 10-month low - Agence France-Presse

Communities fight oil giants

Protesting community members in East Kalimantan were violently attacked by the Indonesian Mobile Police Brigade (BRIMOB) on October 8. Seven protesters were shot, several were seriously wounded, and two were declared missing. The violence ended a peaceful, 14-day blockade of UNOCAL's Tanjung Santan oil refinery.

Local residents were demanding compensation for the air and water pollution that has long plagued the surrounding waters and farmland. UNOCAL asked 60 police and BRIMOB officers to break up the blockade. The troops brutally attacked the protesters by firing shots, kicking, and beating them with rattan sticks.

Discontent over UNOCAL operations in East Kalimantan has grown significantly over the last two years, as rice fields and prawn stocks have been repeatedly devastated by faulty waste disposal systems. A water sample taken earlier this year after the break of a UNOCAL pipeline showed levels of heavy metals high above standard limits; rice fields flooded in 1998 remain so contaminated that they still lie barren today.

Shortly after the violence erupted on October 8, UNOCAL representatives met with the provincial council, resulting in community development programs for villagers in the Marangkayu district. The company will, however, make no direct payments to compensate farmers and fisherman whose livelihoods have been damaged by UNOCAL waste discharges, and it is uncertain whether the villagers will accept the agreement.

Meanwhile in Riau, Indonesia, protesters disrupted operations for another oil giant Caltex, at their Murtiara oil field. The villagers seized 13 vehicles and one drilling rig, and blocked an entrance road to the site. They are demanding that Caltex, jointly controlled by Chevron and Texaco, require their contractor companies to hire more locals for the oil firm.

The previous week, a similar incident occurred at the Simpang Kopar field, also in Riau. That takeover was halted by when a company official agreed to hire locals as security guards. Caltex retracted the offer, stating that the employee acted illegally and independently. The company charged that the demonstrators had "violated the basic human rights of its workers" by barring them from entering and leaving the treatment plant.

[From Drillbits and Tailings, http://www.moles.org.]

Impending catastrophe

Max Lane -- On August 22, hundreds of members of the Riau Farmers Union demonstrated outside the Indonesian People's Bank in Pekanbaru demanding rural assistance loans so that they could buy seeds for the next harvest season. On the same day in Sumatra's largest city, Medan, 10,000 public transport drivers from the Organisation of Drivers and Owners of Public Transport went on strike and brought the city to a standstill. They were demanding cheaper spare parts, subsidised fuel and an end to the myriad of illegal levies they are forced to pay.

On August 25, students from the University of Indonesia went on strike to protest against the imposition of additional tuition fees, imposed after cuts in government funding to universities. Under the new International Monetary Fund (IMF) prescriptions, Indonesia's best universities are being corporatised.

On September 7, hundreds of people on the island of Madura trashed the parliament building after a military officer was elected by the local parliament as district head. On the same day, on the island of Bangka, sacked workers closed down the operation of the world's biggest tin maker. They were protesting over poor redundancy compensation.

On September 11, thousands of taxi drivers ransacked the offices of the Organisation of Land Transportation Owners and later took their taxis to the national parliament to protest rises in taxi fares. On September 15, 2000 textile factory workers rallied outside the West Java governor's office demanding substantial rises in the minimum wage for West Java and the formation of an independent National Workers Council to replace the Ministry for Labour.

On September 26, thousands of West Java farmers joined hundreds of textile workers in an occupation of the West Java parliament. The farmers were protesting against corruption in the Department of Agriculture, the confiscation of land without compensation and the imposition of illegal taxes. The textile workers were demanding wage increases. Speeches by the farmers and workers demanded the resignation of the parliament for not having defended the people's interests.

On September 27, thousands of East Javanese peasants flooded into the regional capital, Surabaya, demanding changes to the agrarian law to favour labourers rather than landowners.

They marched from the centre of the city to the local parliament where they occupied the building and the compound.

On October 3, truck drivers at the port in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, went on strike to demand a 100% increase in truck hire fees. Increases in the price of fuel and spare parts were squeezing the drivers. Wharf labourers supported the strike.

On October 4, 1000 peasants marched from the Presidential Palace to the Bank of Indonesia, and then on to Proclamation Square in the centre of Jakarta. They were demanding the provision of tractors, return of confiscated land and an end to taxes on peasants' meagre incomes. On the same day, in Makassar, thousands of students continued actions against increases in fuel prices, trashing the governor's office, burning cars and clashing with civil servants.

In Bogor, West Java, public transport drivers went on strike, taking their vehicles and jamming the main square. They were demanding a rise in ticket prices so they could earn enough to pay their petrol bills after the petrol price hike. In Indonesia, public transport drivers rent the vehicles and pay for petrol and repairs.

On October 13, hundreds of people occupied Caltex oil wells in South Sumatra, halting drilling. They were demanding that Caltex employ more local people as workers.

On October 16, 30,000 plantation workers went on strike in North Sumatra.

On October 19, 25,000 Surabaya workers, organised by the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI), struck to demand a 100% wage increase. On October 24, 3000 of these FNPBI workers demonstrated again in Sidoarjo, after being attacked by thugs.

On the same day, 300 prawn farmers from Dipasena Lampung in South Sumatra demonstrated in front of the Presidential Palace against President Abdurrahman Wahid's decision not to prosecute their boss for corruption.

Paying for IMF `solutions'

This list of incidents is just a sample of the steady rise in social struggle throughout Indonesia. Protests and mobilisations of every kind are taking place as workers, peasants and unemployed organise themselves in self-defence against the austerity and deregulation offensive that has been launched against them.

Poverty has increased massively since the crisis. According to the World Bank-funded Social Monitoring and Early Response Unit (SMERU) in Jakarta, the number of poor people increased by 25 million, from 31 million to 56 million, between February 1996 and February 1999. Almost of all this increase has happened since the end of 1997.

People classified as urban poor increased from 5 million to 13 million. Rural poor increased from 25 million to 42 million. The increase was concentrated on the island of Java where 15 million more people entered the ranks of the poor in little less than two years.

SMERU's figure of 55 million poor is much lower than that issued by the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics. The bureau calculates that there were 80 million people living below the poverty line in 1998. Activists working with workers and peasants say the same.

According to the Urban Poor Consortium, a community rights organisation, slum dwellers now make up 39% of Jakarta's population and 52% of Bandung's population. Most of these slums have no fresh water. Slum dwellers must buy their water and also pay for the use of public lavatories and bathing areas.

The pressure on the poor was increased in October when subsidies on fuel products were reduced and prices rose. The IMF requires another increase in fuel prices next April. Meanwhile, Wahid has publicly stated that the government will resist the call by the emerging union movement for a 100% wage increase, and will accept 20% at the most.

The real catastrophe looming for the mass of Indonesian people is another major collapse in the economy. While the government and some of its international backers are talking up the economy, most of the signs look bleak.

On October 24, the Coordinating Minister for Economics, Rizal Ramli, confirmed that the country's public debt had risen to the equivalent of 110% of gross national product. More than a quarter of the expenditure in the national budget handed down on October 12 goes to repaying interest on foreign loans and on treasury bonds issued to Indonesia's debt-ridden banks. This means that almost all new borrowings are now being used to pay off interest on past debts.

With these debt repayments, and more of the budget going to corporate bailouts, military expenditure and the civil service, little is left for social needs. Education expenditure, for example, has dropped to less than 1% of GNP, provoking even members of the national parliament to protest. This was a 30% cut on the previous year's expenditure.

Teetering on the edge

Indonesia's banks and corporate sector, riddled with bad debts and inefficiency, teeter on the edge of further collapse. Private capital continues to flow out of the country. Finance minister Prijadi Praptosuhardjo said on October 24 that he expected more than US$11 billion to leave Indonesia this year.

Foreign direct investment has been negative for two years. The rupiah has dropped 40% in value since September and domestic savings have dropped from 28% to 17% of GNP.

Domestic investment has basically halted. The current 4% growth rate is almost totally consumption driven as a poorer population sells its assets to meet basic needs.

With no signs of this situation changing, what is left of the Indonesian private sector, mainly crony companies that flourished during the World Bank-supported Suharto years, has little chance of move back towards the pre-crisis situation.

These companies' debts to the banks will have to be written down again and the government will have to spend more bail-out money to prevent the banks collapsing. An article in the October 18 Asian Wall Street Journal assessed that, if this happened, the public debt could grow to 130% of GNP and eat up 50% of the budget.

Alternatively, the government could let many of the banks and corporations go the wall. This would hand over almost all of the modern sector of the Indonesian economy to multinational corporations at cheap prices. Many of the companies would be gutted for short-term profit and millions more workers would be thrown out of work.

This is the IMF's preferred scenario, causing tensions between the IMF and the Wahid government. The crony corporate sector is the social base of the Indonesian political elite, which the government represents. The Wahid government must also defend bail-outs for some of the biggest and most corrupt crony companies.

In either scenario -- constantly escalating debt or a banking and corporate collapse -- the economy and society as a whole is heading for deep crisis.

Indonesia has a population of 200 million; between 30% to 40% of the people are unemployed or underemployed and the labour force is growing by between 2 and 3 million people a year. Indonesia needs an 8% growth rate -- an impossibility in current circumstances -- just to absorb those already unemployed.

It is the mass of ordinary people -- workers and farmers -- who are already bearing the brunt of this process and who will be made to pay even more when the catastrophe hits. As the Asian Wall Street Journal analyst commented: "Most of these people are young. They overthrew the Suharto dictatorship to get a better life. If they get a worse one, the result will be an explosion of social turmoil."

[The author is the national chairperson of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) and a member of the Democratic Socialist Party national executive.]
 

East Timor

Australian soldiers accused of torture

Kerry-Anne Walsh, Canberra -- An investigation has been launched into allegations that Australian soldiers on duty in East Timor brutalised and tortured captured pro-Indonesian militia members.

Federal police, army investigators, the Naval Investigation Service and the Air Force Legal Force have combined to probe accusations levelled at army intelligence personnel and members of the elite Special Air Service (SAS) regiment.

According to a report in the Courier-Mail newspaper, members of the SAS tortured militia detainees and took trophy photos of themselves standing over the bodies of militiamen killed in a gunfight.

In a skirmish on October 6 last year at Suai, near the West Timor border, two militia members were shot dead and nine captured after they ambushed a vehicle convoy. Two SAS soldiers were wounded, the first Australian combat casualties since the Vietnam War.

Troops of the International Force for East Timor (Interfet) had arrived in East Timor two weeks before. The newspaper said the dead militiamen were also used to terrify other militia members during interrogation. Other claims include captured militiamen being covered in bruises after questioning.

Responding to the report yesterday, Army chief Lieutenant-General Peter Cosgrove said investigators would "get to the bottom of the matter once and for all". He said similar allegations had been made last year and proved groundless, but as they had resurfaced a new investigation was warranted.

The Army chief said he would be outraged if the allegations were correct. "If they haven't behaved properly we will take very resolute action," he said. "It is extremely out of character for these sort of events to be alleged against the sort of soldiers who are presently involved in the allegation." He said some indications pointed to the claims being groundless, and he would be "a mightily relieved man" if that was the case.

Welcoming the investigation, Prime Minister John Howard echoed General Cosgrove's view that the allegations could be without substance. "I'm not prepared to be any more definitive than that until the investigation is completed. It is not the Australian way, but I'm not suggesting that the allegations are true," he said.

Army deputy chief Major-General Peter Leahy said if any of the allegations were proved, they were "against our key values and ethos", and undermined the good work of Australians in East Timor.

A handful of Australian soldiers were reprimanded and sent home earlier this year after East Timorese women in one village made claims of drunkenness and sexual harassment that were proved.

On the home front, General Cosgrove is dealing with an inquiry into the activities of the elite 3RAR paratroopers battalion, which he once led. A federal parliamentary inquiry is investigating claims of brutality and torture within its ranks.

After arming and organising the pro-Jakarta militias that devastated East Timor last year, the Indonesian army appears to have scaled back its support for the gangs, a UN peacekeeper said.

Australian Brigadier Ken Gillespie, who heads the UN's peacekeeping operations along East Timor's border, said groups of armed militiamen that had infiltrated the territory were gradually withdrawing into Indonesian-held West Timor.

Solidarity activists condemn oil deal

East Timorese solidarity activists in Australia have condemned federal government attempts to maintain control of large parts of East Timor's oil-rich seabeds, accusing it of being "still greedy for blood money".

In an October 27 statement, Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) called on Australians, "Don't let Howard get away with squeezing the East Timorese people again". The group asked people to write letters to the foreign minister, Alexander Downer, and to join its campaign. Its statement reads:

Stop the Howard government's oil grab! Timor's oil for the Timorese!

Tens of thousands of people in Australia struggled for more than a decade in support of the East Timorese peoples' freedom. This freedom was finally exercised in September 1999 when around 80% of the East Timorese voted for independence.

Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor was among those organisations campaigning in support of a free East Timor. ASIET called and chaired the 40,000-strong demonstration on September 11, 1999 in Sydney demanding Australian and UN armed intervention in defence of the East Timorese people against the rampaging Indonesian army-backed militias.

ASIET, and all other true friends of East Timor, will not stand by now and allow the Australian government, still greedy for blood money, pressure the East Timorese for royalties on oil and gas deposits from their own territorial waters. That is what is happening now.

While Indonesia occupied East Timor, everybody's attention was focussed on the fact that Australia and Indonesia were illegally sharing in another peoples resources. There was little discussion of the fact that Canberra had squeezed a concession out of Jakarta which gave Canberra a 50% share in royalties from oil and gas that were not even in Australian territorial waters.

Canberra pressured Jakarta into agreeing to setting up a Zone of Cooperation (ZOCA) which was entirely on the East Timorese side of the median line, half-way between East Timor and Australia. In fact, the southern boundary of this Zone of Cooperation is the internationally acknowledged median line.

East Timor has now won the right to political independence. It has also won the right to full sovereignty over all its natural resources, including all oil and gas on its side of the median line border between East Timor and Australia.

Australia has no rights to any royalties or any say on what happens in the Zone of Cooperation. If the East Timorese decide they do wish to continue a ZOCA arrangement for technical or other reasons, Australia should receive no royalties from this -- the debt to East Timor is already too great.

If the East Timorese want to abandon a ZOCA agreement altogether, and make arrangements with other institutions or countries to help develop their resources, they have an absolute right to do so.

ASIET will stand beside the East Timorese in any struggle to achieve full sovereignty over their resources, including a struggle against the Australian government.

The Howard government likes to boast that it has spent millions on the Australian military operations in East Timor. But Australian military intervention in East Timor was only ever necessary because of the 25 years of unqualified support for Suharto's invasion of East Timor.

A consistent policy of refusing military, political and diplomatic support for Suharto's policy during this period, combined with a principled stand in support of the right of self-determination, would have helped end the suffering of the East Timorese people years ago.

Such a policy could have been easily explained to the Indonesian people through Radio Australia and other means. But oil money was more important than the lives of East Timorese.

And now the Australian government is once again putting profits ahead of people. ASIET says no to this and makes the following demands on the federal government:

• Unconditionally recognise a seabed boundary equidistant between East Timor and Australia, as it already does in relation to ocean resources above the seabed.
• Immediately declare to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and East Timorese that if the East Timorese people decide, for whatever reason, they wish to keep the Zone of Cooperation, Australia will require no royalties. This is part compensation for the damage done by 25 years of complicity in Suharto's war against the East Timorese people.
• Immediately announce a commitment to hand over to an independent East Timor all royalties already collected from the Zone of Cooperation.

More taxi drivers reject fee hike

Budi Sugiharto/BI & GB, Jakarta -- Following yesterday's demonstration by taxi drivers from Surabaya Taxi, around 200 Srikandi taxi drivers went on strike and demonstrated at the Surabaya Provincial Legislative Council Thursday over a new fee system set to be introduced today. Fees have been increased from Rp 77,000 (US$7.50) per day to Rp 111,000 (US$13) per day.

The protestors arrived simultaneously at the Council building at about 9am local time. The Council's parking lot resembled a taxi terminal as it was jammed with green coloured taxis spilling out onto the main road causing a traffic jam in the already congested city. While the majority were shouting and yelling out their demands, other taxi drivers were also seen persuading taxi drivers from other companies to take part in the protest.

Besides rejecting the fee hike, the demonstrators also demanded that Srikandi Taxi Director, Budi Cahyadi, step aside. The drivers said that they would continued their protest if the company failed to accept their demands.

The drivers urged Cahyadi to resign after his failure to deal with drivers' complaints, particularly regarding the availability of spare parts. The group also criticised the harsh working policies employed by this taxi company.

"The company fires drivers at their leisure," said a driver who participated in this demonstration adding that "one of his friends" was dismissed unfairly.

Around 300 drivers from Surabaya Taxi, owned by the Blue Bird taxi company, spent last night at the Council building and refused to pick up passengers. These drivers also rejected the increase in the fee's and demanded a review on division of commissions. The drivers said that they would continue their strike action if the company management failed to review the new commission system.

Previously the company would give 30% commission to the drivers if they submit Rp 160,000 (US$17) to the company, 40% for Rp 208,000 (US$23) and 50% if they submit above Rp 208,000. Under the new system, if a driver submits Rp 235,000 they receive 30% commission, 40% commission on up to Rp 305,000 and 50% commission on Rp 305,000 and above.

The striking drivers believed that the new system is unfair as there are less and less passengers. They urged the company to go back to the old system or at least work out a compromise beneficial to both parties.

The drivers also demanded the Drivers Association (a union group established by the Blue Bird Group) be abolished. They said the association had done nothing in the fight for their rights. "The Association's administrator is closer to the Group's management rather than its member's aspirations," a driver said disappointedly to Detik.

Supermarket chain employees strike for wage hike

NL& BS/Fitri & KR, Jakarta -- Thousands of employees from 60 branches of the giant Hero supermarket chain across Java and Bali went on strike and rallied causing many stores across Jakarta to close to the public, Wednesday. The protesters poured into the Hero headquarters on Jl Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, and many others also rallied at their respective Hero branches.

Protesters demanded the management raise transportation and lunch allowances as well as salaries. They also protested the enormous difference in salary between junior and senior management. Junior staff receive only Rp 400,000 per month (US$ 45.20).

Sugeng Wahyudi, coordinator of the strike, said their action was a peaceful action aimed at compelling the management to review the existing salary system. "Employees who have worked for a longer period only receive slightly higher salary than the new employees. This is our objection. Furthermore, Hero's management does not implement minimum regional wages," said Sugeng.

He also said many of his colleagues had been intimidated by the management. "A number of employees in other branches have been intimidated -- if they went ahead with today's action, they would be fired," said Sugeng.

The demonstration forced Hero to close some of its supermarkets across Jakarta. Nevertheless, Hero supermarkets in Kemang, Senayan, Pondok Indah and Pondok Bambu, all located in South Jakarta, remained open.

In Surabaya, East Java, workers also rallied at Plaza Tunjungan III, Wednesday. The supermarket was almost closed following an argument between the employees and the management.

The employees refused to work while the management forced them to work as usual and serve customers. It did not last long. When Store Manager Mahmudin CH arrived, the employees continued their rally while the management agreed to replace them as counter staff and cashiers.

Employees of Hero Surabaya demanded a hike in their salary, transportation allowance, and an additional allowance if they worked more than seven hours. They also reiterated demands in Jakarta for a review of the minimal difference between employees who have worked for a longer period and new employees. The management have not responded to these demands claiming they await the decision from Hero headquarters in Jakarta.

Labor unions urged to help enforce law on social security

Jakarta -- State-owned insurance company PT Jamsostek called on labor unions to help promote the 1992 law on social security programs for workers, saying the way the government enforces the law is not effective enough.

Junaidi, the newly appointed president of PT Jamsostek, said labor unions could play an active role in monitoring the enforcement of the law. "We want labor unions to be our partners in encouraging employers to participate in the programs because Jamsostek has no authority to enforce the law," he told the congress of the transportation trade union here on Saturday.

He also suspected many employers have been involved in collusive practices with supervisory staff from the manpower and transmigration ministry to evade payment of the mandatory budget for social insurance for their workers, thereby violating the law. "We found there are collusive practices in the field and we have reported these cases to the manpower and transmigration ministry," he said.

According to the findings, some employers registered only a small number of their employees with Jamsostek while many others reported misleading data on their workers' wage structures in an attempt to reduce to a minimum their financial obligation to the insurance company.

"Such malpractice has brought a loss to workers participating in the programs because the financial benefits those workers stand to gain from the programs depends mostly on their monthly premium and on how long they have participated in the social security programs," he said.

He speculated that the malpractice was mostly connected with the manpowerand transmigration ministry's monopoly in enforcing the law. Jamsostek has proposed that the government revise the law to allow the insurance company and labor unions to enforce the law, he said.

According to the law, of the total 9.24 percent of workers' monthly salaries channeled into the programs, employers are obliged to contribute 7.24 percent while the remaining two percent for the pension fund is collected from the workers.

The programs which are mandatory for companies employing 10 workers or more comprise of a health-care scheme (between 3 percent and 6 percent), anoccupational accident scheme (between 1.24 percent and 1.7 percent, pensionfunds (5.7 percent) and a death scheme (0.3 percent).

Junaidi said labor unions through their units in companies could check on whether their members have been registered in the social security programs. "Such a role should be played by labor unions to improve protection of their members," he said.

He said so far, only 15 million workers out of a workforce of around 80 million have participated in the program and the total funds collected for the programs have reached Rp 11 trillion (US$1.2 billion).

He said employers should not see the social security programs only as a mandatory obligation and a financial burden they have to shoulder, but as acollaborative partnership to help improve protection for their workers. "With the social security programs, employers could forge a partnership with Jamsostek to tackle labor issues in their company while they could concentrate on their own business," he said.

He added Jamsostek has also planned to approach associations of becak drivers and street vendors in the informal work sector to participate in the programs.
 

Government/politics

The President: Candid words from aide

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar said that Indonesians are being unrealistic if they expect Mr Abdurrahman Wahid alone to lift the country out of the political and economic crises.

Speaking to foreign journalists in Jakarta yesterday, he also admitted that "for this presidential office, much of what you hear outside is basically true", and that perhaps his boss is not the ideal man for the top job. "This presidency has heart, but little of anything else ... I can say that my man does not have the competence to govern."

But Mr Witoelar, known for his quick wit and frank political opinions, was quick to add that the President is Indonesia's best option. "Indonesia as a country is too used to thinking of one person as a leader, a saviour ... This idea will not work for this President."

He argued that the country needed to rebuild its battered institutions, including the legal and financial systems, and build around Mr Abdurrahman's contributions.

"The only way we can get out of this mess is by not relying too much on him, because when you do that, people criticise and make fun of him, which both are very easy to do," he said. "Why do people in Parliament think that replacing the President is going to solve the problem?" Mr Witoelar, an ex-talk-show host, also said he had no hidden agenda.

Gus Dur's supporters ready to attack critics

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Concern is growing in Jakarta that President Abdurrahman Wahid's supporters may take matters into their own hands and act against the leader's detractors, including top legislative assembly speaker Dr Amien Rais.

Mr Abdurrahman, in his regular Friday afternoon prayers address, asked his supporters to remain calm and avoid violent situations. "If I can be patient, those under me should also be able to maintain self-control," he said. The President, through a statement released mid-week, had asked Indonesians "not to respond too emotionally to developments in the political situation".

Speaking on a separate occasion, presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar said on yesterday: "There is a serious worry [that] the President's supporters might lose their tempers and attack those who criticise him."

Mr Muhaimin Iskandar, a legislator from the President's Nation Awakening Party (PKB), advised Mr Abdurrahman and Dr Amien to stop criticising each other. "The leaders should know how the people could easily act out their frustrations. So they should aim to defuse tension," he said. Mr Muhaimin also argued that the authorities, including Mr Abdurrahman, would be hard-pressed to stop such a civil clash once it starts.

The remarks came amid heightening tension in some parts of the country between Mr Abdurrahman's and Dr Amien's respective grassroots bases, the country's two largest Muslim groups Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah.

Last Wednesday, a crowd estimated at 10,000, led by a group of young NU leaders, took to the streets of Pasuruan -- a small town in East Java -- to declare their support for Mr Abdurrahman.

The demonstration was largely peaceful, but the crowd chanted threats against Dr Amien, who plans to visit the province later this month, and waved aloft posters promising:"If Gus Dur and Mega go down, Muhammadiyah will be destroyed."

Muhammadiyah leaders and members of Dr Amien's National Mandate Party (PAN) have expressed regret over the NU faction's threats, but declined to elaborate on the issue.

"It is regrettable that the President's people are getting so emotional about this democratic process that they threaten violence," said Mr Joko Susilo, a PAN legislator and head of Muhammadiyah's youth wing.

Dr Amien, who has publicly declared his own ambitions for Indonesia's top job, was one of Mr Abdurrahman's allies during last October's presidential election, but has since turned into the administration's harshest critic this year.

MPs want US envoy to be withdrawn

Jakarta -- Indonesian legislators asked President Abdurrahman Wahid formally yesterday to seek the withdrawal of the tough- talking US Ambassador to Jakarta, Mr Robert Gelbard, the official Antara news agency reported.

All members of parliaments' influential commission on foreign affairs signed a letter sent to Mr Abdurrahman, a move likely to deepen a rift between the two countries that is threatening to blow up into a full-scale row.

"We have sent a letter to the President today urging him to write a letter to the US government requesting the withdrawal of its ambassador from Indonesia," said Mr Yusril Ananta Baharuddin, head of parliament's foreign affairs commission.

"He has interfered in our internal affairs too many times," he said. MPs and senior government officials have repeatedly accused the American diplomat of meddling in domestic affairs, but this marks the first formal step to demand his recall.

US envoy says attacks on him are aimed at Wahid

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Jakarta -- The US Ambassador to Indonesia, who stands accused by several MPs and officials of meddling in the country's internal affairs, yesterday claimed he was being targeted and smeared by opponents of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

"There is no question that a major part of what has been going on involves those who want to see this Government fail," Robert Gelbard said. "They want to create a rift between the United States and the Government of Indonesia."

Some MPs and officials have accused Mr Gelbard of trying to influence Cabinet appointments and unfairly pressing the Government on issues including the refugee crisis in West Timor.

But the US State Department has stood by Mr Gelbard, saying his statements have been made because of US concern over stalled efforts at reform and eradication of corruption in crisis-hit Indonesia.

A further source of friction has been the week-long partial closure of the US Embassy in Jakarta over what the embassy says is a "credible threat" to its security. A Foreign Ministry spokesman complained on Wednesday that the closure of the visa and passport sections "gives an image that the situation in Indonesia is out of control and unsafe".

As Mr Gelbard left Jakarta yesterday on what US officials said was a long-planned family holiday, America upgraded its cautionary advice to US citizens planning to go to Indonesia to a full-scale travel warning, urging they defer non-essential travel. "Serious violence has broken out in the past year on most major islands. Events in the Middle East have increased the possibility of further violence," the warning said.

In Washington, a State Department spokesman said Mr Gelbard would probably be away from his post for about a week. Although no meetings have been announced, he is expected to hold talks with the State Department's No3, the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Thomas Pickering.

Asked if Mr Gelbard would be reprimanded or asked to tone down his comments, a State Department official replied: "No, this is not about him, it's about Indonesia."

The Indonesian Defence Minister, Mr Mohamad Mahfud, yesterday staged a new attack on Mr Gelbard. "Once again we remind him to change his attitudes and behaviour and to co-operate in good manner," Mr Mahfud was quoted as saying by the Satunet news portal.

Mr Wahid yesterday signed a decree formally rejecting a plea for a pardon from Tommy Soeharto, the youngest son of the former Indonesian dictator, over a corruption conviction, moving the multi-millionaire businessman a step closer to prison.

The Justice Minister, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, said Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra could be jailed as early as today once the decree had been sent for execution to the South Jakarta Attorney General's office, which handled his initial case.

Tension between Muslim groups rises over Wahid

Jakarta -- Tension between Indonesia's two main Muslim organizations heightened Wednesday with thousands of supporters of President Abdurrahman Wahid threatening their rivals with violence if its chairman seeks to unseat the president in mid- term.

Thousands of Muslims led by 17 young religious leaders affiliated with the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, packed the main avenue of Pasuruan in East Java to express support for Wahid, police there said.

"There was no incident, it was only a show of support for Gus Dur [Wahid's popular appelation]," an officer on duty at the Pasuruan district police who only identified himself as Siswanto told AFP by telephone.

Siswanto said police estimated the number of ralliers at a bit above 3,000 while several television stations put the number closer to 10,000. Pasuruan is a stronghold of the 30-million- strong NU, a traditionalist Muslim movement which counts Wahid as one of its former chairmen.

"If Gus Dur and Mega go down, Muhammadiyah will be destroyed," a poster carried by one of the supporters said, referring to Wahid and Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Muhammadiyah, which claims up to 28 million members, is Indonesia's second largest Islamic organization and counts national assembly chairman and Wahid critic Amien Rais as one of its former chairmen.

Orators during the pro-Wahid rally made virulent attacks on Rais and Muhammadiyah, accusing Rais betraying reform and democracy, private ANTv television said. One of the religious leaders even said it would be religiously acceptable to draw Rais' blood if he succeeded in deposing Wahid in mid-term, ANTv said.

Rais, who has presidential ambitions, has been at the forefront of efforts by some politicians to demand Wahid resign because of alleged incompetence and corruption. Wahid's detractors claim he has failed to revive the economy or tackle violent separatist conflicts.

Megawati's party backs President

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Weeks of calls for President Abdurrahman Wahid to resign have resulted in affirmation of support from his Vice-President and signs that his staunchest critic, Amien Rais, is on a losing streak.

Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri's political party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), announced this week it opposed calls for Mr Wahid to resign, and said it would use its muscle in parliament to sustain the President's constitutional right to rule. At the same time, Golkar chairman and Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), Akbar Tandjung, has backed Ms Megawati's suggestion that annual sessions of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), which Mr Rais is Speaker of, should be abolished.

Later yesterday, Mr Wahid issued a message through an aide calling for calm. "In the national political situation recently, it seems like there is a political conflict between parliament and the executive, especially with President Abdurrahman Wahid," the message said. "Actually it is not like that."

"But the statements ... even if they are strong and out of proportion because they feel the work of the Government ... [do] not result in something positive for this nation, are not seen as an attack. But it is a criticism, a warning for the Government to get on the right path."

Mr Rais has, meanwhile, publicly apologised for nominating Mr Wahid as President, but sidled away from calls that he should also resign for the "mistake".

Some politicians say his ineffectual calls for Mr Wahid's resignation only reveal the lack of numbers on Mr Rais' side. "Ultimately, the biggest vote in the MPR has been for the status quo," one political analyst said.

"It is not fair to blame all of the problems on the Government," said Pramono Anung, the secretary-general of PDI-P. "PDI Perjuangan supports [Wahid] in his position as the legitimate President until 2004," he said.

Investigations in the DPR of two financial scandals alleged to involve Mr Wahid are aimed at leading to a special MPR session which could impeach the President. But court hearings show it will be hard to pin blame on Mr Wahid while key witness testimony continues to exonerate him.

And a special session could only be called if PDI-P combined with the Golkar faction. Ms Megawati's support for Mr Wahid rules that out. PDI-P and Golkar may well co-operate, but so far they have done so in opposition to moves to unseat Mr Wahid, and in support of a weakening of Mr Rais.

One PDI-P faction member, Emir Muis, said Mr Rais should resign or be jailed. "He is the party most responsible for the nation's doom and not the President," he said.

As for the annual MPR sessions, which this August cost 25 billion rupiah to stage, the main parties are agreed that these should go, depriving Mr Rais of both face and a sounding board. "In my capacity as [Golkar] party chairman, I agree that we should not hold an annual session," said Mr Tandjung.

Ms Megawati said: "There are too many political manoeuvres in the session which result in the Government neglecting to focus on its programmes and instead wasting time and energy in countering these manoeuvres."

Mr Rais has also had to deny accusations that he wants to take over as president. "I have never had the ambition to become a president until 2004," Mr Rais said. "It is important to honour the consensus so that political elites don't fight with each other until 2004." After that, he said, "if there are no other figures and if PAN [his National Mandate Party] gets a good performance in the next general election, I might pursue the [presidential] candidacy".

Parliamentary committee accused of trying to topple Wahid

Jakarta -- An Indonesian parliamentary committee investigating financial scandals allegedly linked to President Abdurrahman Wahid was accused by a sacked member on Monday of working to bring down the embattled president, reports said.

"The Bulogate committee is a huge conspiracy which is actually creating chaotic conditions in order to bring down the president," sacked member Habil Marati of the Muslim United Development Party (PPP), told journalists at the parliament building.

'Bulogate' is how the media have dubbed a four million dollar embezzlement scandal involving an employees' foundation of the state food distribution agency, Bulog. Wahid's masseur is accused of eliciting 35 billion rupiah (almost four million dollars) from the foundation, Yanatera, in Wahid's name earlier this year.

Members of parliament, increasingly hostile to Wahid, have formed a special committee to determine Wahid's involvement in either the Bulog scandal or a second scandal involving a two million dollar humanitarian donation from the Sultan of Brunei.

However the masseur, arrested two weeks ago after four months on the run, told police last week that Wahid neither knew of nor had any involvement in his actions.

Marati says he was sacked from the committee last week because of his criticisms of its function. The committee was "extremely premature and unethical," he was quoted as saying by Detik.com news. "As a member of parliament, I continue to say what's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong. In my opinion, the Bulogate committe is wrong," he said.

Marati said parliament had no business looking into Bulogate because it involved private, not state funds, according to Koridor.com news. "The DPR has no right to form a special committee in relation to a private company. Yanatera is a private company," he said.

He said his sacking was at the direction of committee chairman Bachtiar Chamsyah. "It was in fact Chamsyah's personal suggestion," he said.

However PPP Secretary General Ali Marwan Hanan told AFP Marati had been sacked because he was not active enough and often absent from its hearings. "It wasn't because he was critical. It's normal to criticise," Hanan said. Marati was replaced by a fellow PPP member Achmad Farial.

Several legislators, spearheaded by national assembly chairman Amien Rais, appear to have stepped up a campaign in recent weeks to call for Wahid's resignation, citing failure in his duties and corruption -- as yet unproved -- as reasons for getting rid of him.

They said the country's economy was still at a standstill and the government had also failed to rapidly settle communal unrest that has beset the country in recent years.

House of Representatives speaker Akbar Tandjung said last week that a special session of the 700-seat assembly could be held to impeach Wahid if the committee found him guilty of corruption in either scandal.

Repeated calls for Wahid's resignation and Wahid's defiant responses have been blamed for sending the rupiah plunging past the 9,000 to the dollar mark to its lowest level since July. The rupiah touched 9,380 to the dollar in Monday trading.

Hotel raid highlights anti-American drive

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Indonesia's dangerous flirtation with anti-Americanism is gathering pace in the wake of fresh threats to American tourists and the decision by the US Embassy in Jakarta to stay closed until at least tomorrow.

Analysts say the conflict is a product of personality clashes and political infighting in Jakarta, and it is already extracting a high price for Indonesia with the falling currency and lost tourism and investment.

The damaging rhetoric reached menacing heights at the weekend when gangs of unidentified men checked hotel guest registers in the central Javanese city of Solo (also called Surakarta), threatening to expel any Americans they found.

"About 40 or 50 of them came in ... they were wearing these uniforms, with the words Lasykar Islam Hizbullah [a militant Islamic group] on them. They said that if they found American guests they would warn them to leave the country within 48 hours," the operations manager of the Lord Inn, Budi Chandra, said. "They were calm and did not seem to want to cause trouble. But they were very clear on what they wanted. I gave them the guest list print-out as there were really no Americans staying with us. They became cool after that."

They also left leaflets calling on all US citizens, including US Ambassador Robert Gelbard, to leave the country immediately or face "the consequences".

The US Embassy in Jakarta remains the focus of Muslim demonstrations decrying American support for Israel, and Mr Gelbard is paying the price for his outspoken comments on Indonesian affairs.

"All the gains that we've made in the US-Indonesia relationship are being wiped away," said Arian Ardie, chairman of the external relations committee at the American Chamber of Commerce. "Our strong bilateral relationship over many years is now held hostage to the narrow political interests of the Jakarta elite."

Attention has focused on a spectacular war of words between Mr Gelbard and Defence Minister Mahfud Mahmoddin. But the US- Indonesia troubles go back to the time of former defence minister Juwono Sudarsono, with whom Mr Gelbard also crossed swords. The bilateral row has since become one of personality and ego, some analysts maintain.

The larger context is the continuing power struggle within the Jakarta elite, in which anti-foreigner sentiment has become a bargaining tool wielded by the military-backed nationalist constituency in Indonesian politics.

The goal is to weaken President Abdurrahman Wahid's Government by depriving it of crucial foreign support. The technique is to employ the claimed legitimacy of Islamic symbolism to justify the bully-boy tactics which are so often a manifestation of rivalry within the elite.

Parliamentary procedures to prosecute Mr Wahid in two financial scandals, known as "Brunei-gate" and "Bulog-gate", are faltering, and efforts by Mr Wahid's opponents in Parliament to call a special session to impeach him cannot work without the help of Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri's parliamentary block.

So far, Ms Megawati remains publicly on Mr Wahid's side, and she came out in support of her boss in a weekend speech, saying his critics did nothing but complain. At the same time, Mr Wahid has bowed to her nationalist sentiment on the Irian Jaya independence struggle by allowing her orders to police to pull down independence flags to take precedence over his promises of tolerance.

"So the constitutional means to unseat Wahid are failing," a political analyst said. "His opponents can now only play to public opinion and fear, to the nationalist fervour if you will, employing extra-constitutional means in the hope of effecting a transfer of power."

Indonesian anger builds against US

Calvin Sims, Jakarta -- Relations between the United States and Indonesia have deteriorated rapidly after a series of high- profile disputes between the American ambassador and officials and lawmakers, who have accused the US of meddling.

Apparently as a result, protests and threats against American citizens, companies and operations are on the rise in this country, which has the world's fourth-largest population and the largest Muslim population.

Fearing what it called a credible threat of attack, the US embassy in Jakarta has closed its doors for the foreseeable future. Ambassador Robert Gelbard is under heavy guard after death threats and calls by Indonesian lawmakers for his removal.

For many Indonesians, the rupture in the traditionally friendly relations can be traced to Mr Gelbard who, since assuming his post last year, has been an outspoken critic of corruption and what he sees as the government's slow economic and social reform.

A spokesman said the embassy was "deeply disappointed by the actions of senior Indonesian Government officials, who seem determined to create a rift in an otherwise historically strong bilateral relationship".

Indonesia is heavily dependent on the US for aid, trade and investment. The US provided about $US130 million in aid for fiscal 2000, and in the first half of this year it surpassed Japan as the leading market for Indonesia's non-oil exports. American mining, energy, and apparel companies have huge investments here.

About 8000 Americans live in Indonesia. Now the State Department has advised them to keep a low profile. The US embassy said that its consular and visa services, which were hastily closed last week, would not reopen as scheduled yesterday.

In recent weeks, the embassy has been the scene of angry protest. On Sunday, about 100 young men from radical Muslim groups stalked through the major hotels of Solo, in central Java, searching for Americans. Yatno, an employee of the Novotel Solo Hotel, said the young men, dressed in white robes, demanded to see a guest list. When the manager refused, the group distributed leaflets demanding that all Americans leave Indonesia within 48 hours and warning hotels not to accept Americans as guests.

Kalono, leader of the Lazkar Jundullah, one of the radical Muslim groups, told the Detikcom local news service that his organisation had evidence that Americans had been instigating religious and separatist violence and unrest.

"We will conduct sweeps through the hotels at least once a week," Kalono was quoted as saying. "If we find any Americans, we take firm action against them." The group also demanded that Mr Gelbard be replaced as ambassador. Mr Gelbard has criticised Indonesia for failing to bring its military under greater civilian control and disarm militia gangs.

Last week, Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said he had summoned Mr Gelbard to clarify reports that the ambassador had tried to influence the appointment of a new army chief, a charge the embassy denied.

"He should learn about the psychology of Indonesians," Mr Shihab said. "Though he might have good intentions, if he doesn't understand the culture, it could be misinterpreted." While Indonesians have been quick to denounce Mr Gelbard, few have been willing to criticise their own colleagues, who in recent weeks have made seemingly groundless accusations against the US.
 

Regional conflicts

Madurese too scared to leave refugee camps

Vaudine England -- A week after vicious ethnic clashes broke out in Pontianak, the capital of Indonesia's West Kalimantan province, thousands of displaced Madurese are still too scared to leave seven refugee camps despite the lack of medical care and a shortage of water.

"There is a strong sense of isolation in the camps; the people there are feeling very defensive," a spokeswoman for Medecins Sans Frontieres-Holland said. "They are extremely scared to go out and very cautious of who's going into the camps."

There is also sewage, rubbish and distress, with no end in sight to the communal hatred that led the Madurese to seek shelter. Although representatives of the two warring groups in Indonesian Borneo are remorseful about the killing spree, getting basic services working again is another matter. At the Untan camp, the lack of drinking water is becoming desperate.

Many businesses in Pontianak are re-opening and transport is approaching normal after last week's outburst of inter-ethnic anger in which indigenous Malays and Dayaks fought with the Madura island refugees. At least 11 people were killed, some of them decapitated. Several were murdered in full sight of police.

Although public order has been reinstated, the basic competition between indigenous and migrant communities remains unresolved. The most visible and vulnerable symbol of that divide is the string of camps housing the displaced Madurese.

Of the 40,000 Madurese in Pontianak, at least 14,000 have been in the squalid camps since earlier outbreaks of fighting in 1997 and 1998. Many other Madurese are staying with relatives around the city or are still taking refuge in police stations and government buildings.

Some of these people have lived in West Kalimantan for two generations. After the earlier clashes, some tried to return to Madura island, off the northeast coast of Java. But a lack of family ties and livelihood prospects sent many back to Pontianak refugee camps.

Last week's killings are a reminder of how intractable the problem is in West Kalimantan, where indigenous groups have seen their land taken by powerful companies or given to Madurese migrants by a Government trying to ease national overcrowding.

Indigenous leaders insist they will not allow Madurese to move back to their homes in Sambas, the site of earlier clashes. Nor do they want them in Pontianak, dimming hopes that a resettlement site being built outside Pontianak might be of help. With nowhere to go, the Madurese and their camps remain at risk.
 

Aceh/West Papua

Aceh Referendum Centre offices raided

Rayhan Anas Lubis/GB, Banda Aceh -- The offices of the Aceh Referendum Information Centre (SIRA) in Banda Aceh, capital of Indonesias violence-ridden northern-most province, were raided over night by members of the police Mobile Brigade.

The offices on Jl Tengku Panglima Polim were raided around 11.30pm local time on Friday night. Fifteen officers barged in during a meeting of SIRA members and representatives from other NGOs as well as four representatives of the Monitoring Team established to oversee the internationally brokered humanitarian pause.

The four members of the Team were: Otto Syamsudin Ishak, Nasrullah Dahlawi, T Kamaruzzaman and Maimul Fidar. Among the others attending the meeting were Kautsar, Muhammad Nazar, Radhi Darmansyah, Aguswandi and Juanda.

Important documents were taken and Radi Darmansyah from SIRA was almost arrested. The police also took documents pertaining to a mass demonstration planned by the group for November 8. The SIRA offices were also raided in August of this year.

A member of SIRAs central presidium, Zuhri MS, told Detik that he and the others were discussing the November 8 action when over 10 police complete in full uniform and weapons burst in. They claimed they were on regular patrol and had chased a person to the office. Zuhri said no one had entered.

He said that SIRA planned to stage the November 8 demonstration as the Aceh Nations Special Session for Sovereignty as they had last year at the Raya Baitussalam mosque in Banda Aceh. The demonstration would involve people from across the province and aimed to discover their true aspirations for the future.

The police had managed to seize all the important documents relating to the November 8 event. "We will reconsider this action now. We dont know if it will go ahead or not," he said. "Looking for a certain person who ran way was just a pretext," Anton added. The Aceh Besar police were uncontactable for comment.

Early Saturday morning, the Commission for Disappearances and Missing Persons (Kontras) issued a protest letter to the Aceh authorities and the Jakarta government, including to the President. Their statement claimed the raid was lead by Head of Police Investigations, Captain Syukri Hamdani.

The troops reportedly made threatening remarks to the effect that if they found the group members in unlawful places, they would be finished off and that they would take them to headquarters and throw them in the river.

Three policemen, one civilian killed in violence

Banda Aceh -- Three policemen and a civilian were killed as separatist rebels and Indonesian government forces clashed in the restive province of Aceh, police said Thursday.

Sergeant Major Sulaiman was gunned down by three men on motorcycles as he was playing volleyball in Pante village, North Aceh, on Wednesday, North Aceh police chief Superintendent Abadan Bangko said. "The three men appeared suddenly on their motorbikes, all without number plates, and fired a total of seven shots which led to the death [of Sulaiman]," Bangko said.

In a separate incident, Sergeant Major Zulkarnaen was also shot by unknown gunmen as he was sitting outside his home in Banda Masen, also in North Aceh, late on Wednesday, Bangko said. Zulkarnaen died on the way to the hospital, he added.

In a third incident, police Superintendent Saleh Amir, who had been treated for gunshot wounds at a private hospital in Jakarta after being ambushed by gunmen in Lambada area of Aceh Besar two weeks ago, died Thursday, said Aceh Police Operation Spokesman Superintendent Yatim Suyatmo.

Early on Thursday, suspected Free Aceh separatist (GAM) rebels also threw a grenade into the house of army Lieutenant Colonel Hanafiah in Kutablang area of Lhokseumawe in North Aceh. North Aceh district military commander Lieutenant Colonel Suyatno said that Hanafiah survived the attack, but was badly wounded.

A 21-year-old civilian was also gunned down by man in a passing van in Pulo Blang Tunong, North Aceh on Wednesday. "The victim died, [after being] shot twice in his chest," Bangko said. The reason for the murder remains unclear.

Government to get tough on Papuan task force

Jakarta -- Local authorities vowed on Thursday to take stern measures against the proindependence Papuan taskforce who have commandeered a government-owned provincial art building as their headquarters.

"Their time is up, but we'll try persuasive measures first so as to avoid possible casualties," Irian Jaya Police chief Brig. Gen. S.Y. Wenas told The Jakarta Post by telephone from Jayapura.

Wenas said a meeting between the leaders of the Papua Council Presidium (PDP) will take place on November 9 to further discuss steps to lower the Morning Star separatist flag at the provincial art council in Jayapura and at the house of Council chief Theys Hiyo Eluay in Sentani district.

"The government's orders towards separatist movements are clear, there is no tolerance. On the field local authorities are trying to be flexible but if they [separatist] make an unlawful move, we'll arrest them," Wenas warned.

Provincial authorities want the building to function again as a government-owned cultural center. "The building is a state asset which is not currently being used for its intended function," Wenas said.

Independence leaders have claimed that the culture center belongs to the people of Papua because it was there that Papuan independence was first declared in 1961.

Earlier on Wednesday, however, Theys Hiyo Eluay instructed his supportersto defy the governor's orders and stand their ground. "I have instructed [them] to occupy the building. They cannot be pushed out until further talks with authorities on November 9," he said.

Police and military, however, have intensified their security alert in response to the Council's claim that it would declare independence and hoist the Morning Star separatist flag on December 1.

Meanwhile a personnel reshuffle has also taken place within the Trikora Military Command which overseas Irian Jaya. Antara quoted Trikora Military Commander Maj. Gen. Albert Inkiriwang as saying that Intelligence Assistant Col. Inf. MR Saragih has been replaced by Col. Inf Armen Tonny, while Operational Assistant Col. Inf Mardikowoto has been replaced by Col. Inf Joey Sihotang. The Command's Territorial Assistant Col. Inf Wais Negkeula has been replaced by Col. Inf Halasan Simanjuntak and Logistic Assistant Col. Inf Rahman has been succeeded by Col. Soebroto.

Papua leader orders supporters to ignore police call

Jakarta -- A pro-independence leader Wednesday ordered his supporters in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya to ignore a police order to vacate a building and lower a separatist flag flown there, a report said.

Papuan leader, Theys Piyo Eluay, said the Papua Taskforce should maintain its occupation of the Irian Jaya Cultural Center in downtown Jayapura, the capital of Irian Jaya, the state Antara news agency reported. The building has been appropriated by the taskforce as its headquarters since June.

He also told some 100 members of the taskforce, a pro- independence civilian guard, to keep the "Morning Star" separatist flag flying there until an agreement is reached over its lowering in negotiations with the local authorities.

After issuing his orders, Eluay, who heads the presidium of the pro-independence Papua Council, went into negotiations with government officials, police and military in Irian Jaya.

Eluay's order came after Jayapura Police Chief Superintendent Daud Sihombing on Monday ordered the Papua Taskforce to disband and vacate the building and to lower the Morning Star flying there.

"The governor has ordered the Satgas Papua [Papua Taskforce] to desert the ... building so that it can re- function as the government building it is," Irian Jaya police spokesman Major Zulkifli told AFP by phone.

Zulkifli said Jayapura city police had issued the order at the request of acting governor Musiran Darmosuwito, and that the deadline for it to come down was Thursday. Sihombing had earlier given Wednesday as a deadline for his order.

Seven bodies found in Indonesian province of Aceh

Banda Aceh -- At least seven bodies were found, one of them of a policeman, in the separatist-plagued Indonesian province of Aceh, police and residents said Monday.

The body of a man with gunshout wounds was found in Matangkuli sub-district in North Aceh on Monday, a local journalist said. The victim was identified as a 53-year-old rubber farmer who was allegedly arrested by Indonesian security forces on Saturday.

Villagers in the same area had already found another body, also with gunshot wounds, the previous day, the journalist said. Residents were quoted by the journalists as saying that both civilians were shot by security personnel during their sweep of the subdistrict to hunt for separatist rebels on Saturday.

In the neighbouring district of East Aceh, villagers in Titi Baro found the body of police Head Corporal Rahmat Iman Santoso on Sunday. The victim had a gunshot wound but also his throat slit.

East Aceh Police Chief Superintendent Abdullah Hayati said that Santoso had been shot and abducted by a group of five unidentified men from his home in Seuneubok Muku in the neighbouring sub-district of Peudawa on Friday.

Also in East Aceh the body of a man with both his hands and feet bound was found by fishermen in the waters of Ujong Perling in the sub-district of Biereuem Bayeun on Sunday, Hayati said.

The body of another man was found on the side of the road in Asam Betik in the East Aceh sub-district of Kejuruan Muda on Sunday, he said.

A civilian was shot dead late on Saturday during an attack on a police post in Simpang Ulim, East Aceh, Hayati said, adding that another civilian was also wounded by gunshots and was currently hospitalized in Lhokseumawe, the main town in the neighbouring district of North Aceh. The two victims were people who had happened to be near the police post when the attack took place. No policemen were injured in the incident.

In West Aceh, villagers in Suak Ulee in the Teunom sub-district, found the body of a man on Sunday, a staff of the district's chapter of the Indonesian Red Cross said.

The district parliament and the district office in Meulaboh, the main town in West Aceh, were also the target of bomb attacks late on Sunday evening but there was minimal damage and no casualties, residents there said. A homemade bomb thrown into the district parliament failed to explode and only damaged a glass window while another thrown into the district office only damaged a kitchen at the back of the building, they said.

PM softens Pacific swipe at Jakarta

Hamish Mcdonald, Tarawa, Kiribati -- Pacific nations -- including Australia -- have given secessionists in Indonesia's West Papua province an important win with a formal statement of concern about bloodshed in the territory.

But the Prime Minister agreed to sign only after winning the inclusion of an acknowledgment of Indonesia's sovereignty over West Papua, formerly Irian Jaya.

Mr Howard's action was seen as an attempt to moderate the diplomatic impact of the move, which is likely to be seen in Jakarta as interference in domestic affairs. He was backed by the New Zealand Prime Minister, Ms Helen Clark, and the Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister, Mr John Kaputin.

Within hours of the signing at the Pacific Island Forum meeting in Kiribati, Mr Howard said he would rebuff any approach by secessionist representatives for a meeting because they had no status at the forum.

"I won't be talking to them because it would not be appropriate and it would be contrary to the stance that Australia takes in relation to the sovereignty of Indonesia," he said.

A popular movement for independence has built up in West Papua since the fall of the Soeharto regime in May 1998. The former Dutch colony, which has a Melanesian population, joined Indonesia after a highly controversial act of consultation in 1969.

Last week the Indonesian Government said that flying the "Morning Star" independence flag would no longer be tolerated.

About 30 people were killed in the West Papuan town of Wamena this month when Indonesian police began cutting down the flags. Several Papuans were shot by police and a score of Indonesian settlers were killed in retaliation by angry mobs.

Before the forum meeting, Australia had opposed any appearance by West Papua on the agenda, following the inclusion of several Papuan leaders in Nauru's delegation. The development is likely to be added to the "strikes" against Australia by nationalist elements in Indonesia.

"It's a historic advance for the Free Papua Movement," a Papuan Council delegate, Mr Fransalbert Joku, said. "It helps us exert political and diplomatic pressure on Indonesia to have the issue amicably sorted out, and of course as Papuans we want to see it work out in our favour."

The declaration said the leaders of the 16 countries at the Pacific Island Forum meeting expressed "deep concerns about recent violence and loss of life in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya [West Papua]".

"They called on the Indonesian Government, the sovereign authority, and secessionist groups to resolve their differences peacefully through dialogue and consultation. They also urged all parties to protect and uphold the human rights of all residents of Irian Jaya."

The Pacific leaders said they would welcome closer dealings with Jakarta on issues of common concern. Indonesia is an official "dialogue partner" of the forum, although it has no observers at the meeting.

Yesterday Mr Howard said he not had any reaction from Jakarta to the statement and did not expect Indonesia would have "any reasonable grounds for concern".

"The discussion was upon the basis that Indonesia retains sovereignty over West Papua," he said. "This was certainly the view that I put very strongly and that's a view that's been accepted by the other members of the forum."

Mr Joku said the sovereignty reference was included as a diplomatic "comfort" to Indonesia and was to be expected from countries with close ties to Jakarta such as Australia. "It is a statement of fact. It is not an argument in favour of Indonesia or against West Papua becoming independent in future."

Brutal Aceh war deepens despite truce

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Months after an accord was signed between Aceh's separatist rebels and the Indonesian Government, the brutal war in the province has deepened.

Two teenagers were found dead after a police raid on homes in the Pidie district of Aceh at the weekend. Their hands were tied with wire and one of them had been burned, his body found in the house which police had set alight. Four other civilians were arrested in a separate raid and later released, but all showed signs of torture.

A total of 166 people have been killed in violence since September 2, the national Antara news agency said. The victims included 28 members of the Indonesian security forces and 25 rebels, with the remainder civilians. A total of 546 buildings, including houses, offices and shops, had been torched during the same period.

One of the most obvious transgressions of the "Humanitarian Pause" agreement occurred last week when Indonesian troops attacked the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels' headquarters. At least nine people were killed, many are still missing and at least a thousand fearful villagers have fled their homes nearby.

Local newspapers and human rights groups reported that GAM commander Teungku Abdullah Syafi'i escaped, but one of the movement's advisers, Teungku Yahya, 55, was shot dead and 20 people were captured. The head of a local religious school, Teungku Syafi'i Amin, was among those arrested; his body was found later.

Other casualties included Teungku Yahya, who was shot dead when troops found him in possession of a radio transmitter, and Nyak Ali, 20, who was driving a vehicle which police say had no number plate.

Amnesty International and local rights groups say they now fear for the lives of at least 14 men who have been missing since being detained by police on October 24. Two others, in police detention since October 14, are also feared dead.

This week, GAM and the Government are to meet again in Geneva to see how the claimed truce is progressing and what steps can be taken towards opening a political dialogue. But even Indonesia's top negotiator, Hasan Wirayuda, Director-General of Political Affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs, admitted: "The current Aceh truce is just an appetiser and it hasn't had tremendous results. From the beginning, I didn't expect that many of the expectations in that agreement would be met."

On June 2, the Indonesian Government and GAM agreed to suspend armed operations for three months for humanitarian aid to be distributed in Aceh. The agreement recently was extended to January 15.

Some analysts have suggested that the Geneva deal's commitment to negotiations is an anathema to the armed forces and that both sides are using civilian battle grounds to influence if and how such talks can start.

They note Jakarta does not fully control its own troops and that GAM has become astute at capitalising on the atrocities to increase local support for separatism.

"At first the agreement appeared to have a positive impact on the human rights situation in Aceh," Amnesty International noted. "However, both sides have continued to commit human rights violations since the agreement came into effect.

"Extra judicial executions continue to take place, often during police and military operations to find GAM members. Arbitrary arrests, torture and 'disappearances' are also widely reported."
 

Human rights/law

Suharto's co-accused goes to jail, Tommy still missing

Jakarta -- The fugitive son of former Indonesian president Suharto will likely meet prosecutors on Monday, his lawyers said Saturday as prison officials said his co-accused, Ricardo Gelael, had given himself up and begun serving his 18-month jail term late on Friday.

"On Monday morning, we will present ourselves to the South Jakarta prosecutors' office along with Tommy, unless there is a change to the plan," lawyer Erman Umar told AFP.

But he said he did not know the whereabouts of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, 38 -- Suharto's youngest and favorite son -- who was declared a fugitive from justice at midnight Friday. "I can't ascertain whether he [Tommy] is in or out of town, but one thing for sure, he did not run away," Umar said without further explanation.

Meanwhile prison staff said that while the spotlight was focused on a futile prosecutors' raid on Tommy's empty Jakarta home Friday night, his co-accused and former business partner Ricardo Gelael had surrendered to Jakarta's high security Cipinang prison at 9.45pm Friday.

Tommy and Gelael were sentenced to 18 months in jail when the Supreme Court overturned two lower court verdicts in late September and found them guilty of causing 10.7 million dollars in losses to the state. They were accused of swapping a tract of swampy land for a prime real estate site belonging to the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) in order to build a superstore.

Cipinang penitentiary guard Hani Manoppo told AFP Gelael was occupying "a common cell room at block IV A" with two other inmates, one of whom was a convicted wife killer.

He said Gelael, who on Friday had also filed an appeal for a review of his case, would be allowed visits "just like any ordinary inmate" and could receive relatives twice a day.

Prior to entering Cipinang, Gelael said he had given himself up because he "did not want my family to suffer for what I have done"."I have said goodbye to my family and to my mother, who is right now suffering a heart attack," Gelael was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post newspaper.

Outside the jail Saturday around 70 former inmates staged a protest demanding Tommy be given the same treatment ordinary prisoners. "Before us, Now Tommy," read one of the banners.

President Abdurrahman Wahid, who on Thursday denied a presidential pardon to Tommy, issued a brief statement urging the public to be patient until Monday "while state authorities attempt to arrest and jail" him.

Prosecutors and police, armed with an arrest warrant, tried vainly to arrest Tommy at his plush downtown residence, just a stone's throw away from his father's house, on Friday night. But the house was empty and dark, save for a huge black dog which snarled and barked at them over the metal side-gate.

Manoppo said Gelael could either eat Cipinang's standard prison fare -- which includes rice, meat, eggs and salted fish -- or eat outside food brought by his visitors.

A similar jail cell had already been prepared for Tommy at Cipinang penitentiary, where scores of political prisoners were held during his father's 32-year autocratic rule. The director of the country's penal system, Adi Suyatno, told AFP on Friday the cell awaiting Tommy at Cipinang was a standard room with "ventilation, a mattress and a toilet." Ironically it had once held Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao, he said.

If jailed, Tommy -- married with one child after being known as a ladies' man for many years -- would be the first in the family to be put behind bars since his father stepped down amid mass demonstrations in May 1998. Tommy, along with five other Suharto siblings, controls some of the country's biggest conglomerates, which they obtained by using their father's power prior to his fall.

More to be grilled over July 27, 1996 incident

Jakarta -- National Police spokesman Sr. Supt. Timbul Sianturi said on Wednesday that the police would soon question more former top government and civilian figures over the July 27, 1996 incident.

"Police will soon question those who attended a meeting prior to the July27, 1996 incident," Timbul told reporters at National Police Headquarters.

He said that the police would also question those who had been responsible for the holding of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) congress in Medan, North Sumatra, in 1996, which ousted the elected chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri. Megawati is the incumbent Vice President.

Timbul, however, declined to reveal the names of the people who are goingto be grilled over the case. "We'll announce their names later," he said.

On July 19, 1996, a meeting was held which was attended by several military and police officers, and top government officials at the residenceof then president Soeharto on Jl. Cendana in Central Jakarta where the former president gave an implicit order to halt the free speech forums which were taking place on a daily basis at the PDI's headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro, also in Central Jakarta.

The meeting was attended by then chief of the Jakarta Military Command Lt. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso, then National Police chief Gen. (ret) Dibyo Widodo, then Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) chief Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung, then Army Chief of Staff Gen. (ret) R. Hartono, then ABRI Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. (ret) Soeyono, then Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Hamami Nata, then ABRI chief of sociopolitical affairs Lt. Gen. (ret) Syarwan Hamid and then Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M.

Yogie is the only person who attended the meeting and who has yet to be questioned over the case. It has also been reported that Yogie was the one who initiated the PDI's Medan congress. Earlier reports also said that another meeting was held prior to the 1996 incident by several cabinet ministers at the time, including then Minister of Information Harmoko, then Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman, then Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudradjat, and Yogie himself.

A source close to the investigation said that Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Indra Rukmana, better known as Mbak Tutut, also participated in the meetings.

Harmoko was questioned as a witness over the case at National Police Headquarters on Monday. Police, however, refused to comment further about Harmoko's questioning.

The party's headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro was used by party executives and supporters to stage free speech forums against the Soeharto administration until a mob, backed by ABRI elements, violently attacked theheadquarters.

The action, which involved supporters of a PDI splinter group, led by Soerjadi, left five dead -- according to the official record -- with 23 others reportedly still missing. The attack triggered massive unrest in Central Jakarta.
 

News & issues

RI to scrap visa-free facility for 49 nations

Jakarta -- Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra confirmed yesterday that the government intends to scrap the visa-free facility given to visitors from 49 countries, including Australia.

Some countries had acted unfairly toward Indonesian citizens who had applied for visas to visit the countries, noted Mahendra who gave no reasons behind the new move. Another 20 countries are now facing internal conflicts which make the free movement of people unlikely, he said.

Mahendra gave the example of Australia which still charges Rp.400,000 (US$ 44) per person for those seeking to enter the country, including Indonesians. "Obviously we can't accept that. The government is looking at a policy which will ensure that other countries do not overlook Indonesia's interests," Mahendra said.

He added that the new policy is now under study by related government agencies. "The plan now under study will later be communicated to the countries concerned, and it will be effective three months after notification", Mahendra said. But for countries which have reciprocal visa-free agreements with Indonesia, like ASEAN countries, Hong Kong and Turkey, the situation will remain as normal.

The government is also studying a proposal to grant visas on arrival for visitors at the cost of US$ 50. "We don't have to worry about the plan to impose US$ 50 per visa on arrival. Other countries do the same," Mahendra said.

Meanwhile, Director General for Immigration Mudakir expressed optimism the new policy will not hamper tourism. The Immigration Office, he added, is also studying another application to reduce the stay permit for visa-free visitors from 60 to 30 days.

Groups plan to hold rallies in Solo today

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- Anti-American groups yesterday threatened to take 20,000 demonstrators to the streets of the central Javanese town of Solo today, calling for an end to US intervention.

Mr Yanny Rusmanto, commander of the Laskar Hizbollah, told The Straits Times he had thousands of supporters who would march to the Agung Mosque. Last Sunday, his group allegedly conducted a sweep of hotels in Solo in search of American citizens claiming, that the US had interfered in Indonesian affairs, and accusing it of being hypocritical for supporting Israel while it attacked Palestine.

But Mr Yanny denied that his group had conducted the sweeps, and said today's demonstration would be peaceful. "If we meet American we will make a political statement and ask them, "Do you agree with the policy of your government'?" he said.

"The biggest problem is their economic intervention. There is no justice. The IMF wants to include human rights issues and makes problems over human rights while it violates human rights."

He also said "contacts" had told him that the US was trying to interfere in Maluku, adding that a US warship which passed through Maluku waters recently on its way to East Timor had supplied weapons to the Christian militias in Ambon.

Although the ship had not stopped in Ambon and was passing through international sea lanes, an Indonesian naval official accused the Americans of spying in Ambon.

Like many other small Islamic groups, Laskar Hizbollah appears to be more concerned with nationalism than with religion or with economic reform. "We should try to exist without the US. Iraq exists without the US, and it is no problem. What is more important is our dignity," he said.

A compelling look at an enigmatic country

Indonesia: An Eyewitness Account By Michael Maher Viking, Penguin Books 274pp. $30

Review by Pip Hinman -- "Suharto had promised to build foundations that would secure Indonesia's future. Instead, he bequeathed his people a house of cards".

This is how Michael Maher, former ABC Jakarta-based correspondent, summed up the legacy of the corrupt and self- serving clique that reigned over some 200 million people for 32 years.

His book, Indonesia: An Eyewitness Account, covers the five years before the downfall of Suharto, a time of massive political change in Indonesia.

Being posted to Jakarta was, in foreign correspondent circles, the equivalent to selecting the short straw. This was because of the difficulties associated with collecting and reporting information.

But Maher wasn't put off. Having grown up in India, Thailand and Burma, he was keen to find out more about Australia's biggest neighbour which, in the early 1990s, boasted about its economic dynamism. The miracle didn't last, however, and by the end of 1997, the Asian crisis had hit Thailand and Indonesia, sending the economy, and then Suharto, crashing down.

Maher says he didn't initially see the writing on the wall. However, his reports on key political issues, which have been woven together to construct the book, do give an accurate insight into just how untenable the regime's political and economic prescriptions had become.

With the economy on the rise and Suharto unwilling to rein in his offspring and cronies, the frustration among the less favoured political elite began to show.

Some of them, like Amien Rais, even lent support to the more radical student sector which was preparing to take more decisive action against the regime.

In this context, the racist scapegoating of the ethnic Chinese community, students' struggles for democratic rights, and the struggles for self-determination in West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), Aceh and East Timor make up key chapters.

Maher also manages to throw into stark relief the uniformly conservative nature of Indonesia's political elite, including the all-things-to-all-people Amien Rais, nuclear reactor enthusiast and hapless third president Dr Jusuf Habibie, the regal-like Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, and the mercurial and scheming Abdurrahman Wahid. Aside from some engaging descriptions of these feudal relics, Maher also manages to weave into his book a sense of the archipelago's vibrant and ethnically diverse history and culture.

One of the most interesting chapters is devoted almost entirely to what Maher describes as the "crazy braves of Indonesian activism", the People's Democratic Party (PRD). Apart from in Green Left Weekly, the PRD receives very little coverage elsewhere in Australia. Maher was obviously moved by these activists' courage and commitment, something which caused him to reflect on just how many freedoms he took for granted.

Maher discovered the PRD after the regime scapegoated the small left-wing party for the military's attack on the Indonesian Democratic Party's offices in central Jakarta in July 1996. Determined to wipe out the PRD, which had only just launched itself, the regime hunted down its leaders, set up show trials and sent many to prison.

Budiman Sujatmiko's case was the more celebrated partly because of his PRD leadership position but also, I suspect, because he used the court room to deliver a stinging four-hour critique of the Suharto regime. Maher covered Budiman's trial for the ABC and the footage was extraordinary.

Not only did Budiman and his comrades use the court room to press their ideas for reforming the Indonesian political and economic system, they told the world they were prepared to die for the cause. Maher was impressed: the penalty for treason, or crimes against the state, was death. In the end, Budiman was sentenced to 13 years', but was unconditionally pardoned by the Wahid government in December 1999.

Maher's chapter on East Timor is a little weak, perhaps because so much has happened since the 1999 ballot and the political differentiation is only now resuming, after being put on hold to fight the Indonesian occupying force.

However, he does make some important points about Australian governments' slavish accommodation to the Suharto regime.

Maher returned to Indonesia to cover the first "democratic" elections in October 1999 and his book ends with a rather hopeful prognosis of what the new political elite in government might deliver. This was the view being put uniformly by all establishment media. But the scale of the economic crisis and the fact that power remains concentrated in the hands of the political elite means that not enough has changed.

A year down the track, Wahid's "reform" credentials are being widely questioned. For ordinary Indonesians, life has become more difficult and looks set to get worse; an end to the economic crisis is nowhere in sight.

Could all this have been foreseen? Perhaps not, but in any case Maher successfully creates "an accessible book on Indonesia" which is compelling reading for non-specialists with a thirst to know more about this enigmatic country.

Zealots' raids on clubs spark turf-war theory

Vaudine England -- Attacks by men in Muslim garb wielding staves inside Jakarta nightclubs and bars -- and last week at City Hall -- are unlikely to happen again, according to a senior policeman.

"If God's willing ... there will be no more such violent actions because I have talked with these people," new police chief inspector General Mulyono Sulaiman said. "I believe they understood my remarks."

In recent weeks, members of the Front to Defend Islam (FPI) have burst into restaurants and bars on Friday and Saturday nights. Typically, they have trashed furniture and intimidated patrons, including foreigners and prostitutes, sometimes beating them.

Theories have flourished as to what lies behind the attacks. In past months, bars or suspected brothels in towns such as Bogor and Puncak, on the outskirts of Jakarta, have been burned or destroyed in attacks by Muslim youths claiming to be crusading against sin and the purveyors of immorality.

But a month ago, an attack on JJs, a popular nightclub in Jakarta frequented by foreigners, raised concerns that the FPI's goal was to support growing nationalist fervour by blaming foreigners for a kind of spiritual pollution.

Yet a week after the JJs attack, karaoke bars and discos in the Blora neighbourhood were trashed. This is not an area particularly frequented by foreigners, and even when outsiders were hit, so too were their Indonesian dance partners, further confusing the issue.

A week later, 200 police stormed the Hotmen's Bar in central Jakarta, a seedier version of JJs where foreigners easily find prostitutes. During the raid they also found evidence of drug- taking, giving them justification for the raid. Since then, the FPI attacks appear to have died down, at least until last week, when the City Hall was pelted with stones and the gate pulled down.

If General Mulyono is correct in saying the attacks are over, some security sources suggest another theory may be worth considering. They say the violence may be a turf war between different branches of the security apparatus, carried out by hired gangs of thugs which, in some cases, carry a radical Islamic banner.

It is unlikely that firm proof will be found to prove any theory, but some analysts point to the struggle between the police and the military since the formal separation of the two this year. They say that, as in many countries, different loyalties within the various branches of armed forces control different segments of business or protection deals.

The implication is that once a new balance of power is reached at the top, more carefree partying can return to Jakarta.
 

Environment/health

Global warming `threatens 2,000 islands'

Jakarta -- Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands but it could lose about 2,000 of them within 100 years if global warming is not halted, an environmentalist has warned.

Global warming also has the potential to put Indonesia's vast and densely populated coastal areas under water, the head of the Pelangi environmental group Agus Pratama Sari was quoted by the Indonesian Observer as saying.

He predicted the disappearance of islands due to rising sea levels, referring to data showing that the hottest years on record had all been in the last decade: 1990, 1995 and 1997. He was addressing the two-day Asia Pacific Regional Consultation on Climate Change in Jakarta, which ended yesterday.

A member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Mr Sutamihardja, also warned that global warming would be likely to increase world temperatures between 1 deg C and 3.5 degrees C over the next decade. The global estimate for rises in the sea level over the next 100 years was between 60 cm and 1 m, he added.

"In Indonesia, with a total maritime zone of 85,000 sq km, it could be bad," Mr Sutamihardja was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying. Mr Sari said Indonesia stood to suffer because of its vast sea territory. "We are the victims here," he said.

He estimated that coastal protection and rehabilitation costs would amount to US$4 million per kilometre for every 20-cm rise in sea level.

The head of Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, Sri Diharto, cited rising sea levels on the north coast of Java as one of the "signs of freak weather" that had been evident in the vast archipelagic nation.

"In Semarang and Surabaya, every time a high tide occurs, flooding will follow. Such a pattern never took place before," he told the conference. He also pointed to unseasonal tropical storms in Taiwan as an example of irregular climate patterns.

Claims of rising sea levels in the Pacific Ocean were disputed at the Pacific Islands Forum on the Kiribati atoll of Tarawa on Saturday.

Dr Wolfgang Scherer, director of Australia's National Tidal Facility, said that data gathered over the past nine years showed no evidence of sea levels increasing. But while no evidence existed of sea levels rising, he said, there was mounting evidence of oceans warming to some extent.
 

Arms/armed forces

Military manoeuvres: military woos Megawati

John McBeth, Jakarta -- When Lt.-Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah threw a party on his recent forty-ninth birthday, guests weren't sure whether the flowers delivered to his house were for a celebration or a wake. Certainly, it's no military secret why most of the general's brother officers failed to show up for the affair. The maverick reformist, whose outspoken comments have alienated other officers, has few friends left in the Indonesian armed forces these days. And his closest ally in the government, President Abdurrahman Wahid, seems powerless to help him, having tried and failed to instal him as army chief.

If the military reform movement has come to a virtual standstill, then the 59-year-old Wahid himself carries much of the blame. His failure to build a robust and responsible government -- at a time when the army is probably in its most weakened state -- means he has failed to achieve what he always declared to be his top priority: establishing the principle of civilian supremacy over the armed forces and the government of Indonesia after three decades of President Suharto's military-backed iron rule.

More importantly, armed-forces leaders, irritated by the president's interference in their internal affairs and perceived missteps in dealing with secessionism in the sprawling archipelago, have been moving increasingly closer to Vice- President Megawati Sukarnoputri, putting pressure on the president's own position at the helm.

By vainly pushing for Wirahadikusumah to become army chief of staff in a proposed military reshuffle in early October, Wahid naively believed he could use one man to gain ascendancy over the army leadership. "I feel sometimes I have no control over my government," he is reported to have told a visitor in September while discussing his plans to promote the outspoken reformist. "I don't get a response from anyone. I need a way to assert my authority."

Wirahadikusumah was clearly not the way. Reluctantly, Wahid agreed to appoint Lt.-Gen. Endriartono Sutarto to replace Gen. Tyasno Sudarto, an opportunist whom the reformers once counted as an ally. The president then sought in vain to shoehorn Wirahadikusumah into the post of deputy army chief.

Again, the appointment was blocked by army leaders annoyed at Wahid for championing a general whose insubordination and public disclosures have riled almost the entire officer corps. They were particularly outraged by his leaking of the results of a corruption probe into the Army Strategic Reserve's charity foundation, apparently because he feared it would be covered up.

Now, the army appears to be getting its own back on the president. In quick succession, armed-forces commander Adm. Widodo Adisutjipto and territorial-affairs chief Lt.-Gen. Agus Widjoyo have called for a reassessment of the government's policies on security affairs. Taking the hardest line, Widjoyo described Wahid's political approach to the problems of Aceh and Irian Jaya as "cumbersome" and said the decision not to use the military had restricted its general effectiveness in putting down unrest.

Given the renewed parliamentary pressure Wahid is under over two financial scandals, analysts are focusing on the military's increasingly warm relations with Megawati, a conservative reformer and like-minded nationalist who is known to be close to Widjoyo.

Megawati, leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle, or PDI-P, is already unhappy with Wahid for failing to consult her over August's cabinet changes and also for actions that are seen as having encouraged secessionists in Irian Jaya.

Some PDI-P members, aware of the armed forces' unpopularity in Indonesia and haunted by the memory of the military's persecution of Megawati's supporters during Suharto's rule, are nervous about the vice-president's relationship with the generals. But a senior party official says: "It's the military which is trying to get close to her. They want to get under her umbrella."

Megawati still supports Wahid, but she has instructed her MPs to get to the bottom of the two scandals and has indicated she may change her stance if there's hard evidence implicating the president. It wouldn't be difficult to get the party behind her: The senior party official says 80% of PDI-P legislators want Wahid to step down. Avoiding direct confrontation with Wahid appears to be the name of the game.

When the army wanted Wirahadikusumah removed as commander of the Strategic Reserve in July, it was Megawati who conveyed the message to the president. In early October, she handed him an unprecedented letter signed by 45 generals calling for Wirahadikusumah to be taken before a military honours board, which can recommend dismissal.

Insiders claim the vice-president was also prevailed upon to telephone a string of generals to congratulate them on their proposed appointments in the latest reshuffle -- before Wahid had approved them.

Nobody really knows where this growing relationship with the military will lead, but under the constitution Megawati would succeed to the presidency should anything happen to the beleaguered Wahid. The military may, in a sense, be playing the PDI-P leader off against him.

Given her reputation as a conservative, Megawati would be unlikely to push hard for accelerated reform. She is also known to be sympathetic to former armed-forces commander Gen. Wiranto and other generals facing indictment for their alleged role in last year's militia rampage in East Timor.

The anti-Wirahadikusumah campaign has extended as well to US Ambassador Robert Gelbard, who has been under fire in recent weeks for allegedly interfering in Indonesia's internal affairs. The US embassy was forced to issue a furious denial after outspoken new Defence Minister Muhammad Mahfud claimed Gelbard had sought to influence the selection of the new army chief -- an accusation that may have been designed to stir up nationalist sentiment and paint Wirahadikusumah as a US puppet.

"The US embassy is deeply concerned by these kinds of false statements emanating from the Ministry of Defence and elsewhere," said an October 16 statement.

With the apparent eclipse of Wirahadikusumah and the weak ties between Wahid and his armed-forces chiefs, the military reform process has effectively stalled.

"He is a one-man crusade," Hasnan Habib, a former Defence Ministry chief of staff, says of Wirahadikusumah. "He is looking for public support outside the armed forces and he shouldn't have done that." Wirahadikusumah is not the only officer, serving or retired, who actively supports reforms. But he is by far the most vocal and the most insistent, saying that if it was left to the military there would be little or no change. He wants the military out of parliament now and has been campaigning to dismantle most of its influential territorial structure -- the key to much of the military's post-economic crisis money-making. He seeks a new commitment to professionalism, an overhaul of the current command structure and more attention and resources for the main combat units.

But with Indonesia facing probably its toughest-ever test of stability and unity, Gen. Widjoyo and others have long made it clear that the pace of military reform depends on whether civilian leaders can guarantee the country's territorial integrity and get on with their own stalled reform programme.

Thus, Wahid's failure to create a strong government has weakened his hand with the military and hampered his chances of establishing civilian supremacy.

"Is it relevant to ask if the government is in control of the military? This shouldn't be a one-sided affair -- it depends on how mature the civilians are in their handling of the military," a top general said in a recent unattributable briefing.

The pace of reform clearly lies at the root of the argument and no one in the military wants to reverse changes implemented to date. But many officers simply cannot accept a situation where they won't have their place in the sun.

Indeed, with little commitment among those in strategic positions to internal reform, progress toward these goals is likely to be at a measured pace. The military will retain a political role through representation in the People's Consultative Assembly, Indonesia's highest legislative body, until at least 2009, while officers say dismantling the territorial structure could take 10 years.

It's unclear when Wirahadikusumah's reform ideas began to crystallize, but a senior US officer recalls: "He's certainly been a hard-core reformist as far back as I can remember. In fact I'm amazed he's got away with what he has." Now that the gloves are finally off, those days may be over. But removing the army's only real reformer is another black mark Indonesia will have to bear.
 

Economy & investment

Jakarta to keep control of oil, gas despite autonomy

Jakarta -- Mines and Energy Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, yesterday said that despite the grant of regional autonomy, oil and gas industry operations will still be controlled by the central government, although other aspects of the mining sector may be handed over to the regions.

Purnomo said certain regencies considered ready for regional autonomy will have the right to handle certain mining operations, as well as issue mining laws in line with central government laws and policies.

Due to poor human and natural resources, not all regencies have the ability to manage their regions. Classification of regencies is therefore necessary.

Purnomo added the government will also set up a consultative team prepare the regencies to handle foreign investment in mining. The team will consist of government officials, representative of non- government organizations and representatives from the private sector.

The team will be tasked with publicising laws relating to foreign mining investment to the provinces, Purnomo told those present at a recent informal discussion here.

He noted that while regional autonomy would be effective January 1, 2001, a transition period would be in force between November 6 and January 1, 2000. During this period, both the central and regional governments are not permitted to make any strategic decisions relating to the mining industry.

Mining sites that straddle two regencies will be controlled by the two provinces as well as the central government.

The minister also appealed to industry executives to set up a development project for the community living near mining areas to enable a better standard of living.

Director General of the Mines and Energy Ministry, Surna Tjahya Djajaningrat also asked foreign investors to adopt a wait and see attitude on possible fresh investment, and wait until the new laws take effect.

Under (original) working contract agreements, arrangements were made between the (central) government and foreign contractors. But in the case of the regencies, foreign investors are bound to require clarification, Surna said.

Fish poaching accounts for US$1.5 billion in losses

Jakarta -- Indonesia losses US$1.5 billion in revenues due to poaching of fish every year, according to Maritime and Fisheries Minister Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.

Sarwono said that every year, around 2000 foreign fishing vessels operated illegally in Indonesian waters each stealing an estimated US$750,000 worth of sea fish. "This is almost as much as the country's exports of US$1.6 billion a year," he said.

He quoted a Hong Kong report as saying that foreign fishing vessels carried 20,000 tons of stolen fish worth US$400 million from Indonesia to that former British colony.

He said that to prevent foreign fishing vessels from freely poaching in Indonesian water, the government plans to expand monitoring controlling surveillance.

The government will also take stricter measures against foreign poachers and companies violating fishing rules. He said that currently, the government was seeking legal action against 40 Thai fishing vessels found illegally operating in Indonesian waters and punishment had been meted out to 229 Indonesian companies misusing fishing license.

Indonesian rupiah hits 10-month low

Jakarta -- The Indonesian rupiah plunged to its lowest level of the year Tuesday, prompting the government to promise further central bank intervention this week to prop up the ailing currency.

The rupiah touched a 10-month intra-day low of 9,500 to the dollar before staging a slight technical rebound to 9,350-9,380 by late afternoon. It closed Monday at 9,385-9,425.

The exchange rate reflects a 35 percent drop in value since President Abdurrahman Wahid took office just more than a year ago. Sentiment in the share market has also plummeted: stocks have lost more than 40 percent of their value since the beginning of the year.

On Monday Wahid admitted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the rupiah's plunge was caused by a perception of political instability and demands for him to quit. Several economists and politicians have in the past week said Wahid should resign after he and his government failed to improve the country's economy after one year in office.

But on Tuesday coordinating economic minister Rizal Ramly blamed the fall on "irresponsible calls by certain politicians to replace the current government without substantial reason," insisting underlying economic conditions were "relatively stable at the moment."

He said the central bank was expected to inject more than 10 million dollars into the foreign exchange market this week. "Last week the cost of stabilising the rupiah was approximately 10 million dollars. This week, [it should cost] above 10 million dollars."

On Monday, visiting IMF Asia Pacific director Yusuke Horiguchi spelled out the danger faced by Wahid's government if it failed to lift the market. "If market sentiment does not strengthen, your investment will be weakening, the growth will be weakening and the people of your country will be suffering," he said.

Horiguchi also relayed concerns on debt restructuring and greater corporate transparency. The IMF is the coordinator of a 46- billion-dollar 1997 bailout package to pull Indonesia out of the Asian financial crisis.

The wave of popular and market optimism that greeted Wahid's election last year, ending more than 30 years of rule by the military-backed autocratic regime of Suharto and his brief successor BJ Habibie, has evaporated.

Ethnic, separatist and religious conflicts and violence raging across the Indonesian archipelago -- in the Maluku Islands, Irian Jaya, Sulawesi, Aceh, and West Timor -- have continued unabated amid government inaction.

Members of Wahid's administration have also been hit by allegations of corruption, and concerns have been rising over the government's commitment to economic reform and the resolution of various financial scandals.

In addition, despite efforts to the contrary, Wahid has been unable to present a united front with his deputy Megawati, while his poor health has undermined his credibility and authority.

On Tuesday, BNP Prime Peregrine head of research Harry Su said another reason for the rupiah's sharp fall was strong corporate demand for the dollar, making it pointless for the central bank to support the local currency.

"We've got around 9.2 billion dollars in corporate debt due this quarter. This massive demand coupled with political uncertainty created a combination of pressures on the rupiah. After corporate demands are met, I would say the direction of the rupiah will then depend on whether the government can come up with concrete and credible policies."

He also cited the need to replace the chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) and tension with the United States as providing further downward pressure. In addition, traders said the rupiah's level fairly reflected its movement in line with the Philippine peso and the Thai baht, both of which have also fallen. A regional bank dealer added: "The outlook is hard to say. [But] regionally, we don't expect any surprises on the positive side."