Indonesia/East Timor News Digest No 48 - November 27-December 3, 2000

Max Lane, Jakarta -- Demonstrations and protests are a daily feature of life in Indonesia today. "Traffic jam, pak, two demos today" is a common refrain from taxi drivers.

The TV news and newspapers are also peppered with reports of different "showings of feelings" from all around the country.

Thousands of nightclub workers rally to protest impending raids by Moslem puritans; workers strikes; urban poor wanting water or demanding an end to "wild tributes"; farmers protesting manipulation of their land certifications. The ferment is everywhere.

Everything is being thrown into question as the Indonesian government, backed by all the major parties in the parliament, proceeds with opening the economy up to an almost completely unhindered penetration by imports and foreign capital.

The rupiah continues to sink in relation to the US dollar. Its current rate of Rp 9500 to the US dollar is more than 30% below what it was a few months ago.

Meanwhile, every new IMF Letter of Intent (LoI) signed by the Indonesian government promises to lift more hindrances to foreign capital. Almost every sector is now open to 100% foreign ownership. US capitalists are licking their lips, as are some Suharto cronies who still have US dollars outside the country.

Free trade

But what's now hitting people most is the government free trade agenda -- ending protection for almost every sector of industry and agriculture. Prices sneak or jump up. Last week taxi fares went up by 46% and other transport costs will follow. Of course, the fee taxi drivers have to pay their owners also increased, so there's no relief for them. Electricity sneaks up here and there with unofficial increases.

Overall, the price rises hit very unevenly, devastating some sectors more than others.

In the rice paddies, fertiliser and pesticides have lost their 70% subsidy forcing up production costs for the already squeezed peasant farmer. Today a farmer with even 1 hectare of paddy, far more than the average 0.25 ha, producing 10 tonnes of rice a year ends up with hardly more than A$1000 a year -- and for the country's basic staple!

Prices paid to farmers for their rice are collapsing following the last IMF LoI which declared that all barriers to the export and import of rice were being ended. Rice rots in warehouses because local government agents don't want to buy at current government prices, or because the government hasn't sent out the money yet or because the agents say the rice has too high a water content (with the result that the rice can't be stored). But where does a peasant earning $1000 a year get the money to hire driers to dry out the rice?

Prices drop as rice from Pakistan, Canada, US and Thailand piles up in warehouses. Even after a tariff is imposed on imported rice, it is still cheaper. The middlemen, who eventually end up buying the rice, squeeze down the prices.

Caught between falling price of rice and the rising costs of fertiliser, some farmers have abandoned their paddies. Others delay planting or skimp on fertiliser. Everybody goes into debt, with the government banks now charging 90% p.a. interest rates. The latest IMF LoI also promises to end any remaining cheap credit schemes for farmers. Everybody everywhere will have to go through the normal commercial bank credit systems.

The last remaining source of security a farmer has, a house and land, is now being threatened as scheming speculators bribe officials to rob them of their land through land certification scams. Or they end up selling their land to pay debts.

Everywhere the pressure is bearing down on workers and farmers as the Indonesian economy is "freed".

Power struggle

While the scattered, fragmented social struggles proliferate, the struggle for power among the political elite intensifies. In the wake of the overthrow of Suharto, no one faction dominates. Power sharing is the name of the game. But who is to get the biggest share? The parties squabble and fight for their portion.

Sometimes the fight is among themselves.

In one district I visited, five candidates from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) were struggling for the position of district head. The day before, one PDI faction had burned down the house of the candidate of another faction. The machetes were brought out.

The story is the same everywhere. Now, there are new kinds of demonstrations where it isn't simply workers and peasants protesting the violation of their rights.

Some demos are financed by one clique against another.

Sitting pretty among these squabbling groups is the party of the Suharto order, Golkar. It controls the position of chair of the House of Representatives, Akbar Tanjung. This is a key position for media profile. Most of the crony-owned media still support Golkar, presenting it in the best light.

Golkar remains the only party with a nation-wide structure and it still has the backing of the military. More than 40% of governors nationwide are still members of Golkar and in Java, the figure is 60%. When the new law giving enhanced financial authority to the provinces, including the right to borrow from abroad, comes into effect Golkar's coffers will be doing very nicely.

Golkar, the army and the corrupt officials that infect all levels of bureaucracy are what the People's Democratic Party (PRD) call the "Remnants of the Old Order". They still cling to power at many levels.

"Nothing has changed", the novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer told me. "It's still them, the Suharto Order. The same people are still there in the bureaucracy. The elite is rotten, corrupt. Social revolution is the only answer."

The PRD's slogan "Smash the remnants of the Old Order, leave behind the fake reformers" has been taken up by almost all politicised society. There are the old Suharto forces and there are the fake reformers. Everybody knows this now.

Under pressure from student demonstrations key fake reformers, like President Wahid, squirm around trying to find a way to satisfy the demands for action against the Old Order. First Suharto is charged, but that fails as the court declares he is too sick. Now the bizarre "non-hunt" for Tommy Suharto is underway. Found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 18 months, he still eludes the government. Society laughs. Will Wahid have to sack the so-called "Mr Clean", Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman, former head of Golkar in the parliament?

Meanwhile, the Islamic conservatives do Golkar's dirty work. Every few days there is another demonstration of hundreds -- sometimes more -- of fanatical Moslem poor demanding Wahid's resignation or impeachment. They are responding to the attacks on Wahid by Amien Rais, who has more clearly aligned himself with the Moslem right, and who never stops scheming to win the presidency. In response Wahid's Moslem supporters rally in their para-military uniforms, mainly based in East Java, and declare Rais banned from East Java.

Fake reformers

The revolutionary movement faces enemies from all directions. Golkar and the army are preparing for a comeback at the first sign that the new parties -- the squabbling fake reformers -- lose their legitimacy.

The fake reformers -- the current agents of the neo-liberal offensive -- are weak, fractured and squabbling internally. At least some of them are willing to do deals with Golkar when it comes to crunch time. They are all afraid of the people, even the most liberal minded of them all, Wahid himself.

"Smash the remnants of the old order and their supporters!" "To refuse to fight the old order means you are an enemy of the people!" These are the slogans guiding the PRD's approach to the struggle to break the power of Golkar, the force that can bring the army back into power.

Meanwhile the PRD's campaigns for immediate demands continue: wage rises, payment of the fasting month wage bonus, tractors and capital for the farmers, return land to the farmers, cheap housing and free education.

The challenge for the PRD is how to bring all these struggles together: the fight to eliminate the space for Golkar and the army to make a comeback; the campaign to show it is the PRD and not the fake reformers who can lead this fight; the campaigns for immediate improvements to conditions for workers, farmers and the urban poor; and the fight against the IMF's neo-liberal offensive.

In the 1930s, when the anti-colonial movement swelled, a huge campaign of public meetings spread as workers and farmers came together to discuss the way forward, to demand change. They were called vergadering, which means gathering in Dutch. It later entered Jakarta slang as begandring, meaning to get together and discuss. Can this work again?

This is a question the PRD is asking itself now. Can people be gathered at village, town and province level to discuss what to do next. "Street protests alone are no longer enough", is a refrain I hear more and more. "We must raise the political level. We will try what they tried in the '30s again. Try to combine protest and discussion and mobilisation in the one event. As soon as we can next year." Another arena is opened. More to do.

[Max Lane is national chairperson of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor.]

East Timor

Digger shot: UN hunt for militia

Sydney Morning Herald - December 3, 2000

United Nations troops searched yesterday near the East Timor border town of Balibo for suspected pro-Indonesia militia who shot and wounded an Australian peacekeeper.

Gunmen opened fire on two Australian soldiers on Friday, hitting one in the thigh. "Troops were sent to the area and are in the process of looking for the people responsible for the shooting," an Australian military spokesman said.

The wounded soldier, an army communications specialist who was not identified, is being treated in the UN military hospital in the East Timor capital Dili. Australian Army spokesman David Munro, speaking to ABC Radio from Dili, said: "He's doing fine. He's in a stable condition. And he's in good spirits."

Major Munro said the soldiers were driving back to their base after delivering water to a border settlement when 20 to 40 rounds were fired at them from an abandoned house about 2km south of Balibo. After being shot at from the abandoned house, one of the two Australian soldiers returned fire. It was not known if any of the attackers were hit. Balibo is not far from the border with Indonesian West Timor.

Major Munro said the incident -- the first Australian contact with militia since October -- was being investigated. "In a situation like this anything's possible. You have a hostile force near the border." The injured soldier, from the Queensland city of Toowoomba, is likely to be brought home.

Pro-Jakarta militias, who laid waste to East Timor when it voted last year to break from Indonesian rule, have had occasional clashes with UN peacekeepers in the territory. The militias are based in refugee camps in West Timor.

Two peacekeepers -- a New Zealander and a Nepalese -- have been killed. Several militia have also died in previous clashes. In September three UN aid officials were killed by militia.

Gusmao quits council post in row over autocratic style

Sydney Morning Herald - December 2, 2000

Mark Dodd, Dili -- The East Timorese independence leader, Xanana Gusmao, has resigned as president of the National Council over a dispute involving the timetable for the handover of power by the United Nations.

Senior East Timorese officials in the transitional government say the spat, which erupted on Monday, is linked to concerns over Mr Gusmao's autocratic style -- a charge that has received some support from diplomats and political analysts in Dili.

On Monday Mr Gusmao's critics in the National Council rejected his plan for a timetable for the handing over of power by the UN, but not because they were opposed. Rather, they said, Mr Gusmao, as National Council president, should have spent more time explaining the detail.

Established by the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), the 36-member National Council serves as East Timor's de facto parliament, representing a cross-section of society.

It debates legislation proposed by the eight-person Transitional Cabinet, although ultimate executive power is held by the UNTAET chief, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who is in Brussels and will not return to Dili until next Friday.

"Xanana tendered his resignation on Monday after he presented the timetable for the the political transition. The National Council weren't happy. So he [Mr Gusmao] said, 'If you're not happy, I resign' and they've been trying to hush it up while they try and get him to retract," one senior UN official said.

Diplomats privately commend the council's decision and are not overly concerned. "It's part of East Timor's growing pains, part of the democratic process," one analyst said.

Regarded as the likely first president of the world's newest country, Mr Gusmao, a former commander-in-chief of the Falintil independence fighters, enjoys brinkmanship. He resigned as leader of the National Council of Timorese Resistance when things failed to go his way at a national congress last August -- and just as quickly retracted his decision when supporters rallied behind him.

In the National Council, he may just have met a tougher opponent. The council was established by UNTAET to offset criticism that it was not doing enough to engage East Timorese in the decision- making process during the transition to independence, expected late next year.

Mr Gusmao's election this year as council president was by no means unanimous. Critics, particularly the Timor Democratic Union's Joao Carrascalao and Fretilin's Mari Alkatiri, think he has become too autocratic. Council members say that by rejecting Mr Gusmao's proposal they are also signalling that their parliament is not a rubber stamp.

National elections in the former Portuguese colony are scheduled for August 2001, setting the stage for the handover by the United Nations.

An Australian peacekeeper has been shot and wounded in an ambush by suspected pro-Jakarta militia near his battalion's headquarters at Balibo, in the troubled western border region of East Timor. Captain Mick Tafe said the soldier, whose name is not being released until his family is notified, was not in danger. A Black Hawk helicopter took him to a military hospital in Dili.

East Timor refugees to choose their countries

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2000

Jakarta -- Some 134,000 East Timor refugees residing in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province will have to decide whether to stay or leave the country in a one-day registration slated for December 13, officials said on Wednesday.

"The registration will be done at all refugee camps in the province's 14 regencies. Most of the camps have been notified and we're in the process offinalizing the forms," chief of the task force for the Settlement of East Timorese Refugees in NTT, Basyiruddin Yusuf, said. The task force comprises representatives of the country's 16 ministries and related agencies.

Among the 132,000 refugees are 20,000 civil servants, he said. "We need to sort them out and begin arrangements to rehabilitate their lives," he said.

Three days before the registration there will be a new map of the refugees location and they have to stay there to avoid multiple counting, he said. Refugees must provide information about family, occupation, original regency and current domicile as well as choosing whether to stay or leave Indonesia.

"Hopefully, the registration will take place on time. If not, we'll probably conduct the registration after Idul Fitri. The registration will take place one day only in a bid to obtain accurate counting. If the refugees move around, we'll never get factual data," Basyiruddin said. The registration process will involve some 1,600 officials, each expected to gather data from 20 families. "Volunteers may join the effort as long as they are willing to do it honestly and with no political motives behind their participation," he said.

He said the government was committed to solving the problem of internallydisplaced people from East Timor in a proper manner. "The choice is theirs, whether they want to stay or leave. Up to this moment we have treated all refugees in NTT as Indonesian citizens.

Since October 17, a total of 2,342 refugees have left NTT for East Timor," he added. The task force is preparing to help refugees who want to return to East Timor through 14 available crossings in the border, secretary of the task force Lt. Col. Suwandi Mihardja said.

"Troops and officials will assist them to the crossings and make sure they get safely across," Suwandi said. The 14 crossings are in Oeoli, Oeolo, Haumeneana, Wini, Napan, Mota Ain, Turiscain, Atambua, Labour Alas, Metamauk, Laktutus, Lakmars, Haekesak and Builalo.

"This registration will help speed up the social and economic recovery for these people and also further political resolution in East Timor," Basyiruddin said.

The officer, however, said that the areas most prone to trouble, that need careful handling, are those located in West Timor, namely the regencies of Belu, Kupang, Kupang mayoralty, Timor Tengah Selatan and Timor Tengah Utara. "But so far the situation is under control. We have to raise the people's spirits to start their lives again," he said.

Basyiruddin called for Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Ramos Horta to facilitate reconciliation between East Timorese ahead of the festive season. "They are both Nobel price winners ... and actively promoted East Timor independence. So they must be responsible for the reconciliation effort andshow good will to accept and protect their brothers and sisters back home from NTT," he said.

Suwandi said that those who wish to visit their families ahead of the festive season of Christmas, Idul Fitri and New Year were allowed to cross the border. "So far, 200 people have registered to go to East Timor ... we'll accommodate them and coordinate with the UN peacekeeping force. "It's good if they want to stay there permanently, but if not they can return to NTT," Suwandi said.

As of November there were a total of five Army battalions in NTT and a company of Marines soon will be stationed to guard the border from Wini to Mota Ain, he added.

East Timor celebrates independence

Associated Press - November 28, 2000

Heather Paterson, Dili -- Thousands of people rallied in Dili on Tuesday to mark the 25th anniversary of East Timor's initial declaration of independence, giving a hero's welcome to the territory's first president, Fransisco Xavier do Amaral.

Police patrols were stepped up around the half-island nation in expectation of clashes between rival political groups. But the rally, which drew some 5,000 people, passed off peacefully.

After Portugal relinquished its claim to the colony in 1975, a left-leaning political party, Fretilin, declared do Amaral president of East Timor. His presidency lasted only nine days. Neighboring Indonesia's dictator Suharto, claiming that East Timor was being taken over by communists, mounted an amphibious invasion on December 7.

Although East Timor's nascent army -- consisting mostly of former colonial soldiers -- put up fierce resistance, it was eventually overcome by the sheer size of the invading force. Many of the Timorese troops escaped to the hills to continue a guerrilla war.

"We were left by the Portuguese government and we were challenged by the Indonesian army," do Amaral told the crowd on Tuesday. "It was like a dream. I was convinced that we could open our mouths and say that we are free now, but we paid with our blood."

Indonesia ruled East Timor until its people voted overwhelmingly for freedom in a UN-sponsored referendum in August 1999. The United Nations, which now administers the embryonic nation, expects elections will be held next year.

UN administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello said a timetable detailing the handover of power from the world body to the East Timorese people was being put before the Security Council.

He said the United Nations is looking toward "the tail-end of 2001" for East Timor to declare its independence. The key event before independence will be the democratic election of an East Timorese constituent assembly which will undertake the final drafting and adoption of a constitution, Sergio Vieira de Mello said.

Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, who assumed command of the guerrillas during the 1980s, is widely expected to become the country's first democratically elected president.

Mari Alkateri, a member of the territory's provisional Cabinet, said East Timor was ready for elections but still needed the support of the international community. "In one year's time, I have no doubt that East Timorese will be ready to administer their country," Alkateri said.

Women fight an uphill battle

Green Left Weekly - November 29, 2000

Vanja Tanaja, Dili -- Five women considered to be "indecently" dressed were chased by a mob of mainly young men near the Mercado Lama (Central Market) here on November 10. Four managed to hide in an NGO-run clinic which was then stoned by the mob. Another was dragged by the mob to UN Civilian Police Headquarters. A Civpol officer from Nepal, who tried to protect the women was hit by rock and required five stitches.

Accounts vary about what the women were actually wearing, but why should attire provoke such behaviour? And what does this incident tell us about the status of women in East Timor?

Because of their dress, the women were accused of being prostitutes. In a report of the incident, Associated Press commented that prostitution is believed to have increased as a result of the UN presence.

The Timor Post ran extensive quotes from a Civpol spokesperson who said that although a women's dress should have no bearing on the kind of person she is, the incident reminds young women to take care about their appearance, inferring that otherwise they would be mistaken for prostitutes. The article also indicated that the women were intending to sue the perpetrators for assault and sexual harassment.

One Sunday at a popular Dili beach frequented by locals and foreigners, with two bikini-clad foreigners barely 50 metres away, a mob of 20 youths jumped off a pick-up truck and tried to force me to "get dressed" or they threatened a samurai or to "bathe" me in the ocean.

I was wearing a bikini top and a long sarong. They quoted Bishop Belo who allegedly said that "These things were communist". The two bikini-wearing, sunbathing foreign women were not harassed. But the youths thought I was Timorese and that they had a duty to protect the morality of "their" women and society.

The East Timorese Women's Network, Rede Feto, unites 15 women's organisations and organised a women's congress last June. But given the strong influence of the Catholic Church and the very underdeveloped economic conditions which have a direct bearing on women's status, such organisations are fighting an uphill struggle for women's rights.

In East Timor, under customary law, women cannot inherit or own property. As Maria Olandina Cairo, head of Timorese women's organisation ETWAVE (East Timor Women against Violence) said at a human rights workshop here last August, this practice is highly discriminatory as it makes it impossible for women to be economically independent of their male partners. Economic independence is key to the possibility of women liberating themselves.

Under customary law in a practice called barlaque, a woman is bought as a bride. After protracted negotiations between two families, the bridal price is set.

Depending on the woman's background and social standing, the price may range from 30 buffaloes, 20 horses, various other animals, gold jewellery and traditional cloth (tais) for a "princess" in a subdistrict of Los Palos to cash sums in the increasingly modern world of Dili. Apparently it is not uncommon for men to say, "I have bought you and therefore you have to obey me".

FOKUPERS, a prominent women's organisation in East Timor, has set up a women and children's shelter for victims of domestic violence and incest. They also publish a newsletter called Babadok (named after the traditional drum played by women), which educates women on their rights and gives advice to the survivors.

FOKUPERS recently supported a woman in her divorce proceedings, successfully arguing that her husband had not provided for the family. This is still the strongest grounds for divorce in East Timor.

The influence of the Catholic Church is especially strong. Bishop Belo, in a letter to NGOs and health authorities working on HIV/AIDS awareness programs, said he considers it inappropriate for these organisations to discuss the use of contraceptives.

One woman activist told me that under Indonesian rule there were some HIV/AIDS awareness programs run by the occupiers, whereas now there are very few. She added that there is very little informative discussion of sex and sexuality, which in a country made up predominantly of young people is a recipe for disaster.

UN goes soft on militias

Green Left Weekly - November 29, 2000

Jon Land -- On November 21, some 400 East Timorese refugees were repatriated from West Timor. This was the first coordinated return of refugees since the murder of UN workers in the West Timor town of Atambua on September 6.

The return of these refugees is positive, but unless the security situation within West Timor is significantly improved, tens of thousands of East Timorese hostages look set to spend many more months in refugee camps controlled by pro-Jakarta militias.

The repatriated group include a sizeable number of former low- ranking officers and territorial troops (plus their families) recruited into the Indonesian military (TNI). Their return and reintegration will be an important test for reconciliation and justice in the emerging East Timorese nation.

But a thorough process of bringing to account pro-Jakarta militia leaders and gang members responsible for human rights abuses, along with their TNI overlords, is being derailed by the Indonesian government and the UN.

The "one-off" repatriation on November 21 was able to go ahead in part due to the visit of UN Security Council delegation to East Timor, West Timor and Jakarta in mid-November. The visit was to assess and "assist" the Indonesian government in implementing Security Council resolution 1319, passed after the murder of the UN workers. The resolution calls for the disarming and disbanding of the militias and for security measures to allow the UN High Commission for Refugees and other international aid bodies to return.

No punishment

During the visit, the head of the mission, Namibia's UN representative Martin Andjaba, stressed, "We are not here to punish Indonesia or to recommend to the security council to call for punishment". After visiting refugee camps in West Timor and meeting with government ministers in Jakarta, Andjaba stated that the activity of the militias was still a problem. "Until those conditions and circumstances that prompted their [UN agencies'] withdrawal from West Timor are addressed fully, it will be difficult for the UNHCR and other UN agencies to return to West Timor", Andjaba said on November 16.

Indonesian government ministers and security personnel claim the situation in West Timor is now secure and UN personnel can return. Coordinating minister for political, social and security affairs, Susilo Yudhoyono, said that "all necessary measures" had been taken to improve security and that the "situation has returned to normal, even much better than before the Atambua incident ... It is up to the UN Security Council to reconsider the return of UNHCR to West Timor."

On November 20, Andjaba indicated it could be some time before the repatriation of refugees begins. He said that the Indonesian government is willing to start discussions with UN officials in Jakarta on the "possibility" of sending UN experts to refugee camps in West Timor for a further assessment of the security situation and their OK for the return of humanitarian agencies.

When asked about the security situation and the Indonesian government's steps to try those responsible for human rights abuses, Andjaba replied the government "has tried its best" and that "I don't think it is time now for an international criminal tribunal".

Andjaba's comments echo those of UN representatives and Western governments throughout the year: in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary, they are defending the Indonesian government's position that it alone should conduct investigations into the post-ballot violence in East Timor and bring those responsible to justice.

It looks unlikely that those ultimately responsible, including former TNI head General Wiranto, will face trial. Or if they do it will be a long, drawn out process open to manipulation.

Repression increases

On November 23 UN human rights commissioner Mary Robinson arrived in Jakarta to assess progress with the investigations. Robinson stressed the importance of accountability and said the UN was prepared to provide Indonesia with assistance, such as the training of judges.

While this may help make the legal process in Indonesia a little more transparent, it is by far the major problem which needs to be overcome if justice is to prevail.

The Serious Crimes Investigation unit in East Timor (responsible for investigating murder, rape and other human rights abuses) is currently facing a major funding and resources crisis prompting the chief investigator to threaten to resign. The lack of funding has meant a cut back in the number of investigations undertaken and the release of a significant number of militia members being held in detention centres (including those who have confessed to or are known to have committed serious crimes).

But the major factor preventing justice being done for the Timorese is the unwillingness of the major powers to support an international war crimes tribunal.

This is linked to the West's moves to improve ties with the TNI and their fear that any such a tribunal would undermine the increasingly unpopular Wahid government and fan greater political instability.

Despite their "concern" over the increase in repression in West Timor, Aceh and West Papua, Australia, US and other Western powers remain hell-bent on improving ties with the TNI.

During the visit of the security council delegation to West Timor, the head of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Denis Blair, stated that the suspension of military training and aid programs with the Indonesian military after the 1991 Dili massacre had been a mistake.

Blair added that it was important to return to the level of contact that existed before 1991, so as to improve "communication" and "understanding" between Indonesian officers and their counterparts in the US military.

Similarly, Australian Prime Minister John Howard signalled his intention to improve relations with the Indonesian military by announcing the government's proposals for defence spending and defence strategies would be presented to the Indonesian government before being made known to the Australian public.

Howard's announcement came after a string of pro-Jakarta statements by himself, Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer and the ALP's shadow foreign affairs minister Laurie Brereton during the recent South Pacific Forum.

All oppose independence for West Papua, currently the site of a major Indonesian troop build-up in the lead-up to protests scheduled for December 1.

Refugees worried by reported attacks on returnees

Agence France-Presse - November 27, 2000

Jakarta -- Refugee repatriation agencies hailed the return to East Timor of a group of demobilised soldiers as a success, but refugee leaders in West Timor said Monday reported attacks on returning soldiers were setting back further repatriation efforts.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the demobilised soldiers and their families were welcomed by hundreds of well-wishers when they docked at the eastern port of Com last Wednesday.

The only signs they were not welcomed by all had been some brief scuffles and the stoning of a bus carrying a group of returnees from the port to their village in Los Palos, on the territory's eastern tip, UNHCR spokesman Jake Morland said.

"It was a simple stoning, nobody was hurt or even hit and it was quickly smoothed over, and they've all been assimilated back into their communities," Morland told AFP by phone from East Timor's capital Dili.

"One man was intimidated and lightly beaten up but he's fine and the misunderstanding didn't last very long and it all ended peacefully with handshakes and hugs."

However former soldiers and refugees still in West Timor said they believed reports that several returning soldiers were beaten up on their return, said an ex-militia leader who has pledged to bring 6,000 refugees home.

"Everyone has heard about it in Kupang. It's affecting their trust in the returning home process. They're not so game about returning," ex-militia leader Joanico Cesario told AFP by phone from Kupang. "They're thinking now that going home will be tough."

Cesario is one of four breakaway ex-militia leaders negotiating with East Timorese leaders to bring home their estimated 20,000 supporters. The splinter group has written to the UN Security Council offering to reveal who was behind last year's anti- independence violence in East Timor, in exchange for legal and security guarantees.

Cesario said the four wanted a committee to be formed to protect and monitor the reintegration of returnees. "It should last until the first elections, and then be dissolved," he said.

Cesario said he was expecting a decision from East Timorese leaders in Dili on Wednesday as to whether they were ready to accept a proposed visit to the southern district of Ainaro by leaders of the Mahidi militia, Cancio and Nemecio Lopes de Carvalho, who were based there.

The visit would be one of a series of proposed visits by West Timor-based leaders to UN-administered East Timor, and East Timorese independence leaders to refugees in West Timor, which Cesario and the Lopes de Carvalho brothers are negotiating with leaders in Dili.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which chartered the boat to ship the returnees from Kupang to Com, said they received an enthusiastic reception. "All went smoothly in Com. There were no reported incidents and in general the population was very welcoming," IOM's East Timor co-ordinator, Chris Gascon told AFP by phone from Dili.

Last week's operation was the largest organised repatriation since UN and other international aid agencies pulled out of West Timor in the wake of the murder of three UN workers in the border town of Atambua on September 6.

Violent anti-independence militias forced an estimated 250,000 people over the border into Indonesian- ruled West Timor after the territory voted for independence from Indonesia on August 30 last year. The UNHCR says around 170,000 have returned home.

Former soldiers switch from enemy to returning sons

Sydney Morning Herald - November 27, 2000

Mark Dodd, Kupang -- Francisco Soares is finally going home. After drawn out negotiations the Indonesian Army has finally settled his salary arrears and paid his pension. The United Nations has promised that he and his family will be protected. So he and his family will go back to his old home in Los Palos, on the eastern tip of East Timor, and start a new life as a rice farmer.

Mr Soares is no ordinary refugee. He is East Timorese but, until recently, served as a loyal senior private in the Indonesian Army attached to Kodim (Military District Command) 1629 in Lautem. Before that he had served as a fighter with the then Fretilin independence guerillas, but was forced to change sides after Indonesian forces captured him in 1976.

Despite his former Fretilin links, his more recent service with the Indonesian military is a sensitive issue. "Look, I want to make one thing clear: I served as a military officer, not in the militia," he says of the rag-tag pro-Indonesian gangs blamed for much of last year's carnage in East Timor.

Mr Soares is speaking on board the Patricia Anne Hotung, a vessel chartered by the International Organisation for Migration as part of the most politically sensitive refugee repatriations carried out so far by the UN here.

A total of 410 demobilised East Timorese soldiers and their families are returning home in the first large repatriation of refugees by the UN since three international staff were murdered on September 6 in a mob attack by pro-Jakarta militia in the West Timor border town of Atambua.

Worldwide condemnation was swift, the UN Security Council criticised Indonesia over its failure to control pro-Jakarta militias. For the first time multilateral institutions and donors raised the spectre of suspending financial aid to Jakarta.

Across the border, UN aid agencies immediately suspended operations to an estimated 100,000 East Timorese refugees living in militia-controlled camps in West Timor.

With national elections tentatively scheduled for next August as East Timor enters the home stretch to full independence, political pressure to resolve the refugee issue forced a new approach in negotiations with Jakarta.

More than 250,000 East Timorese fled or were deported by the Indonesian military during post-election violence last year. It was an exodus regarded by senior UN human rights officials as the single worst war crime committed by Indonesia after East Timor voted overwhelmingly to end 24 years of brutal occupation.

According to officials of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) the Atambua tragedy resulted in a tougher line from Jakarta against intransigent local officials in Kupang, including senior military officers.

The blunt-talking head of operations for the UNHCR in Dili, Bernard Kerblatt, said he has noticed a new willingness by Indonesia to finally resolve the refugee issue.

"From a UNHCR perspective the message permeating to a tactical level is -- no more messing around. There is a completely different understanding of the situation now. Clearly the police are playing a stronger role in encouraging all the refugees to decide their future. Some senior [Indonesian] diplomats based in New York have been assigned to Atambua, of all places, to tackle this problem."

It has been learnt that the UNHCR is considering re-establishing an office in West Timor, but only after at least two more successful ship repatriations out of Kupang -- evidence that Indonesia has finally restored security in the province and that the militia no longer pose a threat to humanitarian operations.

For the dwindling core of militia hardliners, this latest repatriation spells bad news. A UN security consultant said after returning from Kupang that the militias, and their criminal activities were an embarrassment to Jakarta and predicted that the Indonesian Army might be prepared to "take them out".

On the dock in Kupang, as the ship was loading, there were emotional scenes as uniformed Indonesian soldiers, many close to tears, bade farewell to old East Timorese comrades. Their presence was closely watched by senior Indonesian officers sitting in parked cars near the refugee ship.

Soldiers' pensions were paid dockside on the last day, clearing one of the grievances the refugees had about going home, apart from well-founded worries about their reception in the new East Timor.

Under the hot sun, they trooped up the gang plank, children with their pet dogs, one young girl carrying two prize cockerels slung in two shawls across her tiny shoulders, scores of plastic chairs and radios to stay in touch with Indonesian news. There was even a coffin, for a relative going home to be buried in East Timorese soil.

A market had sprung up alongside the ship after vendors heard the refugees had been paid. "You'll need these," said a young man trying to sell imitation gold watches to a group of refugees.

Francisco Soares considers his future. "You know, I was Fretilin in 1976. Then we got caught in a situation where we were surrounded, with no food. I was forced to join the [Indonesian] army. "I might join the new army if they need me, but I think I'm too old now, so my second choice is to be a rice farmer. I have friends there in Lautem; I am free to go back."

The signs are good. On Wednesday afternoon when the Patricia Anne Hotung docked at the dilapidated wharf at Com among the first group of wellwishers were a contingent of senior Falintil commanders, old enemies now seeking reconciliation.

Labour struggle

Private school teachers demonstrate in Surabaya

Detik - November 29, 2000

Budi Sugiharto/Hendra & GB, Surabaya -- Around 60 private school teachers from the Private School Teachers Communication Forum (FKGS) staged a demonstration at the Surabaya City Legislative Council in East Java. They urged the Council to clarify legal protection and private school teachers' rights.

The protesters arrived by bus at the Surabaya Provincial Legislative Council on Jl Yos Sudarso, Wednesday. At the time this news was posted, they continue to stage orations and await members of the Council who plan to receive a delegation.

As with student demonstrations, the teachers also brought several banners and posters containing their demands and hung them from the Surabaya City Council gates and building.

The teachers staged a similar demonstration at the Surabaya Provincial Legislative Council some time ago. At that time, they were promised by members of the Provincial Council that their demands would be fulfilled. However, this has not eventuated.

Once again, they gathered to stage a demonstration and asked the City Council to reformulate the regulations covering private education and accommodate their rights and proper legal protection.

According to the leader of FKGS, Yudin Bayo, the teachers have taken this action because many teachers at private schools, up to the level of university, have been fired arbitrarily and there are many outstanding pay and other grievances. "So, the local regulations are needed as the umbrella to protect private school teachers," Yudin said firmly at the oration

The teachers further urged the Minister of Education to immediately clarify the law on protection for private school teachers. In addition, they demanded that the funds allocated in the Regional Budget (APBD) for private education be distributed, including the funds for the improvement of private school teachers' welfare in Surabaya.

"It's not a secret that there are private school teachers in Surabaya being paid just Rp 53,000 a month," Yudin said. Rp 53,000 is around one-fifth the regional minimum wage and is worth US$5.61 at current rates.

Workers rally turned to a riot and vandalism action

Detik - November 28, 2000

Budi Sugiharto/Fitri & BI, Jakarta -- A massive but peaceful rally staged factory workers had turned into a riot, when a group angry demonstrators started to destroy and loot a total of nine vehicles parked at the government's buildings, in Surabaya, East Java on Tuesday.

The riot started when thousands of workers from various factories in Sidoarjo, an industrial area 25-km north off Surabaya, staged a massive rally to demand a salary increase. This has been the third demonstration conducted by these factory workers. They have been expressing their opposition against governor's decree that set regional minimum wage for workers in Sidoarjo at Rp 328,000 per month. However the protestors are adamant to demand an equal salary enjoyed by fellow factory workers in Surabaya which have been getting a total of Rp 330,700 or a maximum of Rp 400,000.

At first, the rally had proceeded peacefully. The protestors managed to encircle East Java gubernatorial office 9am. Using motor bikes and trucks they arrived at the venue and held lively orations and speeches while waiting for the negotiations between their representative and governor's representative, Imam Supardi. Despite the colossal numbers of protestors' presence at the scene, there had been only a company of the police unit assigned to this area.

Around 11.30am without any specific reason, several demonstrators begun to run amok and destroyed three cars belonging to the gubernatorial staff. These cars -- two vans and a sedan -- were turned upside down by the demonstrators, while the outnumbered police stood by and watched the destruction begun.

The frenzy then started when factory workers who rallied at Regional Development and Planning Agency office, a short walk from gubernatorial office, followed the action. The protestors the begun to destroy anything and everything. In the end there were six cars destroyed in this area. Witnesses said that some of the demonstrators even looted the vehicle accessories.

Seeing the situation is getting way out of control, two companies of Police Mobile Brigade Units and a water canon unit were deployed to suppress the riots. The additional security apparatus gradually brought the situation in order. Some of the demonstrators were successfully persuaded to leave gubernatorial office back to Sidoarjo.

In the mean time, the police also managed to apprehend a man allegedly provoking the workers to commit this riot. This provocateur was arrested after he had been spotted to initiate a demolition of a sedan and looted the sedan's side mirrors. Another reason for the police to suspect him as the provocateur was that he failed to prove himself as a member of one of the rallied companies' workers.

By 12.30pm, the situation slowly returned to normal. Some demonstrators were still unwilling to move from the gubernatorial office whereas many of their compatriots had agreed to return home.

'People's security' guards demo in Kalimantan

Detik - November 27, 2000

Maryadi/BI & GB, Pontianak -- In Pontianak, West Kalimantan, up to 400 civilians recruited as `People's Security' guards, or `Kamra', staged a rowdy protest at the Governor's office Monday. Representatives stormed out of a meeting with government leaders when told they were the responsibility of the central government.

These protestors are part of the 40,000 civilians recruited nationwide in the lead up to the 1999 general election under the government of BJ Habibie. The guards, men from lower socio- economic classes, were ostensibly recruited to supplement the regular security forces but were also responsible for violent clashes with party supporters and the security forces attached to the various political parties.

The legislation which formalised their existence, UU No 56/1999, covered only one year with the option for a one-year extension, which the government took up last year. On December 31, 2000, the agreement is set to terminate and the future of 36,000 members who have not been recruited into the police, army or civil service remains uncertain. The police have handed the matter over to provincial governments.

The protest in Pontianak joined the outcry by Kamra members nation-wide. Last week, 11 Kamra representatives met the leaders of the House of Representatives to demand some certainty on their future. The representatives said that they wished to be accepted into the military, police or civil service.

In Pontianak, the protest was in full swing when the protestors' numbers increased to 400 after members from the nearby township of Koti Singkawang joined the group. Besides demanding certainty, Koti Singkawang members also demanded to be paid their salaries for the last two months.

Early in the day, the group had protested at the West Kalimantan Provincial Legislative Council. They demanded the Council members fight for their cause. The protest at this venue was marred by vandalism. It was reported that Kamra members damaged windows on a security post and several pot plants belonging to the Council.

Wearing their full uniform, the Kamra members conducted speeches. "We demand responsibility from the government which created us," one of the angry protesters said. Besides holding speeches, the group also displayed banners and posters, so that government officials took notice of their plight. Some of the banners read: "We Only Want Your Attention", `Who's Responsible For Us" and "We Want Proof Not Promises". Kamra members also vandalised walls to display their messages.

The demonstrators finally got the attention of West Kalimantan Governor Aspar Aswin who agreed to meet representatives. A closed meeting was then conducted between the representatives, Governor, Deputy Governor Drs Djawari and Provincial Secretary HM Djapari.

However the meeting was short-lived. Despite the provincial government's promise to take up the aspirations of the Kamra members, they were unable to give a full guarantee. The provincial government stated that Kamra was established under the policy of the central government and that it was their problem. "We are fed up with all the promises," shouted some of the Kamra representatives before storming out of the room.

Disappointed at the fruitless meeting, the group then progressed to the West Kalimantan Police headquarters to meet Police Chief, Brig. Gen. Drs Atok Rismanto. However, they were told that he was out of town to attend an inauguration ceremony in the Putusibau Police District.

Government/politics

KPKPN is set to audit wealth of 50,000 officials

Jakarta Post - December 3, 2000

Jakarta -- The newly established State Official Wealth Audit Agency (KPKPN) is set to audit the wealth of some 50,000 state officials, ranging from President Abdurrahman Wahid to officials at regency and mayoralty levels nationwide.

"Based on the 1999 government regulation, the 25-member KPKPN has designed a work plan to audit the wealth of around 50,000 state officials in provincial, mayoralty and regency administrations, legislative bodies, courts, the military, the National Police and state-owned companies," Amir Muin, KPKPN secretary general, said here on Friday.

He said that despite being late, the President and Vice President would be the first officials to expose their personal wealth to the public as examples to other state officials. Amir said all ministers and officials in state agencies, Supreme Court, State Audit Agencies, central bank and state-owned banks are, therefore, obliged to announce their wealth.

He added that based on the law, the President, the Vice President and all legislators should have disclosed their wealth soon after their installation last year.

He said that at the regency level, precinct police chiefs, district military chiefs, regents, mayors and echelon IV officials were subject to audit and at the provincial level, governors, military command chiefs, provincial police chiefs and officials ranging from echelon I to echelon III would be audited.

Amir said KPKPN was set to start its work in January after its 25 members, whose appointments were based on a presidential decree issued in September 2000, were sworn in. The installation of the 25 members was postponed when the House of Representatives asked the President to appoint eight more members from the 45 names it had proposed. "The swearing-in ceremony is expected to be this month as the President has agreed to the House request," Amir said.

He said KPKPN, with the help of Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, has designed a computerized standard audit method to make it more effectivein performing its mission.

John Pires, a member of KPKPN, said the agency would hand over its audit results to the President, the legislature and the State Audit Agency. "The three state institutions are expected to follow up on the audit results through the check and balance mechanism," he said.

He said KPKPN also has the authority to call for further investigation by the Attorney General's Office and the police when evidence was discovered that indicated an official was involved in corruption, collusion or nepotistic practices. "According to the regulation, police and prosecutors are obliged to investigate officials who are allegedly involved in corruption within threemonths after a case has been disclosed," he said. He said KPKPN would be open for reports on state officials who were allegedly involved in corruption or tax evasion.

Abdullah Hehamahua, another KPKPN member, said the agency had authored a code of conduct and internal rules to ensure the integrity of its main mission to create clean governance. He said that according to the code of conduct, KPKPN members were obliged to have their wealth audited by a public accountant and they were barred from receiving gifts, property or money from officials being audited. "KPKPN members found guilty of accepting bribes will be discharged from the agency and face criminal prosecution," he said.

According to the internal rules, he said, KPKPN must work independently and its members are prohibited to have two jobs. Hehamahua, also chairman of the Masyumi Party, said he would quit the party soon after being sworn in as KPKPN member.

MPs issue petition calling for censure of Wahid

Agence France-Presse - November 30, 2000

Jakarta -- One hundred and fifty one members of Indonesia's 500- member lower house of parliament have issued a petition calling for the censure of President Abdurrahman Wahid, whom they accuse of constitutional violations. The petition, which urges the house to issue a memorandum censuring Wahid, was handed to house speaker Akbar Tanjung late Wednesday.

Parliament, which will decide on the proposal, can call for impeachment proceedings against Wahid through a special session of the national assembly or upper house (MPR) if the president's performance fails to improve after a second censure memorandum, parliamentarian Alvin Lie said.

"We are of the opinion that the president has violated the constitution, the state guidelines and decrees of the national assembly," Lie, a member of the National Mandate Party, told AFP.

But any action on the proposal would take time, Lie said. The petition would take at least two months to process and a parliamentary plenary session is expected to convene in January to discuss it, he said.

Tanjung, on receiving the petition, declined to comment, saying only that "if the majority of the house supports the proposal, the house's consultative body will process it," the Jakarta Post reported.

Several MPs from some of the largest parties in the parliament, including the Indonesian Democracy Party (PDIP) of Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Tanjung's Golkar, were among the signatories, while three factions, including the armed forces, shunned it.

Currency dealers in Jakarta said the peitition had contributed to the Indonesian rupiah dropping below the 9,500 mark to the dollar on Thursday, after remaining at the 9,400 mark for several days.

Lie said the 151 signatories claimed Wahid had violated the constitution by allowing separatists in the province of Irian Jaya to fly secessionist flags.

Wahid had also run against a national assembly decree on the independence of the central bank by forcing its governor, Syahril Sabirin, to resign, Lie charged. Sabirin is now detained pending a trial over his alleged involvement in the politically-charged Bank Bali scandal.

Lie also said a delay in the legal process against three tycoons accused of misusing central bank liquidity funds and stalled attempts to bring former president Suharto to justice were "proof" of the president's failure to uphold the rule of law.

In October judges halted the corruption trial of Suharto after two teams of doctors announced that the former strongman was mentally and physically unfit to stand trial. An appeal court however has already overturned the verdict.

Lie also said that the corrupt practices that were rampant during the Suharto regime were making a comeback under Wahid's leadership. "Corruption is rife under his government," Lie said, citing two financial scandals allegedly involving Wahid, including a 3.9 million dollar fund embezzlement scam allegedly pulled off by the president's masseur.

Parliamentarians also want to quiz Wahid over the fate of the two-million-dollar donation from the Sultan of Brunei, which the president claimed was a personal gift. Allegations that he was implicated in the two scandals have been seized on by his critics to step up calls for resignation.

Wahid, the country's first democratically-elected president, has served only a little over a year of his five- year-term, scheduled to end in 2004. His defiance has set the stage for another clash with the newly-empowered parliament, which had been a rubber stamp body under Suharto's rule.

Under Indonesia's constitution an impeachment process must first be initiated by the 500-seat lower house, before being enacted by the 700-seat National Assembly.

Regional conflicts

Under threat, migrants flee adopted hometowns

Interpress News Service - December 1, 2000

Jakarta -- At 53 years of age, Murad is about to start a new life. After almost two decades of living and working in Aceh, Murad has been forced to return to his hometown in Java, with just the clothes on his back and the few items he and his family could carry.

In 1983, Murad and his wife moved to Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, where they and some 300 other Javanese were each given one and a half hectares of land and a modest house.

Murad says the land he was given was only "half-ready." "The government only cut big trees, it was still jungle," he said. "So we had to cut smaller trees, hoe the ground. [We] cleared the land from bushes and rocks with only hoes and blades."

But Murad and the other transferees to Aceh were in no position to complain. Their move had been instigated by the government of then-president Suharto, which had formulated a transmigration program aimed largely at easing the congestion on Java and encouraging development elsewhere.

Since the program began in the early 1980s, millions of Javanese have transmigrated to some of the least populated areas in Indonesia. Many of these places, however, are now being torn apart by communal conflict, and Javanese transmigrants like Murad have found themselves targets of violence.

The transmigrants are now leaving their adopted hometowns in droves. In the last three months alone, at least 152,039 transmigrants have left their homes in Aceh, Kalimantan in Borneo, Maluku and Papua.

Local administrations in Java have been scrambling to find resettlement sites for the "returnees." But their efforts are being complicated by the fact that Java is getting a smaller share than ever from the national coffers, as the central government tries to strike a fairer distribution of funds among the regions.

To some observers, the surge in the number of returnees to Java only proves that the transmigration policy was a huge mistake. Says Paulus Londo, a researcher at the LS2LP Population Research Center: "The present exodus of transmigration to their places of origin is a showcase of the failure of an ideological-political project that was called transmigration." He adds, "It is evidence that they [transmigrants] had never been accepted, and the idea of building socio-cultural cohesion was never really practiced."

To people like Londo, transmigration merely exacerbated old resentments against the central government in Jakarta and the Javanese. The violence breaking out in so many places, they say, shows that what was supposed to bring about national unity seems instead to have sped Indonesia toward national disintegration.

To be sure, few had questioned the Suharto government's claims that the program was aimed primarily at balancing the population distribution between Java and Indonesia's other islands. Even now, Java, which is a mere one-fourth of Sumatra island in land area, is host to 119.6 million people, or 58.6 percent of the Indonesian population.

Another argument for transmigration was that it would resolve the shortage of arable land in Java. The theory was that increased productivity -- and therefore prosperity -- would be enjoyed by those left behind in Java, who would have larger plots to till.

But the program's proponents said the transmigration sites would also benefit from playing host to a huge number of newcomers. After all, they said, getting skilled Javanese peasants to move to the least developed areas across the country would result in a transfer of knowledge. In addition, said officials, the introduction of another group of people in such places could only promote tolerance, and later bring about social and cultural cohesion.

Many observers, however, saw other political objectives. They noted that a large number of the transmigrants were sent to places with potential for separatism, such as Aceh, Papua (then Irian Jaya) and Riau. Now that separatist sentiments are again on the rise in these areas, the transmigrants are being seen as symbols of the central power that the locals are fighting against, as well as "usurpers" of local lands.

The recent Papua People's Congress (KRP), for instance, declared that transmigration had taken away the Papuans' "traditional rights," which now must be returned to them.

Critics of transmigration say it has not even led to a population balance between Java and the other islands. This is because while many Javanese were being moved to the transmigration sites, Java itself continued to attract more migrants.

Points out Londo: "The government encouraged people to move to other islands, but it built good infrastructure and centralized the national development on Java island. So people went to Java. Life is much better in Java."

He also says the Suharto government's economic policy all but made a mess of the objective of improving the lives of the farmers left in Java. Londo explains that hectares upon hectares of agricultural lands were converted to industrial estates, housing and other non-agricultural sites. As this went on, says Londo, "more farmers became landless and were getting poorer."

But there are those like Harto Nurdin, a deputy at the Transmigration Ministry, who insist that the growing number of returnees to Java does not necessarily mean the transmigration program has been a total failure.

To Nurdin, what is happening now is "a result of an oppressive and unjust political system. Transmigration is only an innocent victim." He insists that despite the current turmoil in many transmigration sites, the program itself has brought some positive results.

"A number of isolated places [were] opened up," says Nurdin. "Some people of Kalimantan had switched from their traditional nomadic lives to settled agricultural pattern There has been a transfer of knowledge on agriculture, thanks to the transmigration."

But he concedes that the government may have been ill-advised to relocate people by force. He says that in the future, it would be better if people "moved to other places because they want to. It should be more on a self-initiative and demand basis."

Yet even that may take some doing, now that Pres. Abdurrahman Wahid has decided to close down the Transmigration Ministry as part of efforts to streamline the bureaucracy and make the Cabinet more efficient. Says Sukarto Karnen, head of the West Java Transmigration Office: "We have considerably big jobs now -- but with no funds and an unclear [future].

Muslims slaughter 46 Christians in Malukus

Agence France-Presse - November 30, 2000 (abridged)

Jakarta -- An Indonesian Christian activist claimed Thursday that 46 people had been slaughtered on a small island of the Malukus chain for refusing to convert to Islam.

"We have received reports that on Kaisiui island in the Watubela island group, four Christian hamlets were razed by Muslim attackers from the surrounding islands earlier this week," said Sammy Weileruni, a lawyer with the Maranatha Christian centre. The Watubela islands lie east of the main island of Seram.

He said that eight people were killed in the attacks on Tuesday and that some 3,000 villagers had fled to the forests to escape their attackers. But their attackers, including Muslims from the Gorong island group, pursued the refugees and had captured 671 of them by Wednesday.

"Our report, which was also corroborated by a military intelligence report that we have obtained, said that 46 of those arrested were slaughtered after they refused to be forcibly converted to Islam," Weileruni said.

The rest, he said, cowed by the slaughter, agreed to convert, he added. "There has been no help from the local administration, the police or the military, despite our repeated calls," he said. The spokesman for the military headquarters in Ambon could not be reached for comment.

In Ambon city, the capital of Maluku province, Muslims Thursday took over some 800 houses that had been evacuated by Christian families in the Wayame area, Weileruni said. "The Christian families were told by soldiers this morning to vacate their houses saying that there was an impending mass attack by Muslims on the residential area," he said. The fleeing families were now scattered, sheltering at the houses of friends and relatives in Christian pockets in Ambon, including Kuda Mati, Gudang Arang and the Benteng areas, he said.

Maluku islands cleft by religious divide

South China Morning Post - November 30, 2000

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Fighting between Christian and Muslim villages has flared again in the provinces of Maluku and North Maluku, as experts forecast an eventual partition of the islands with communities of displaced persons.

Weekend violence left a death toll of at least eight in Uraur village, Kairatu district. Residents found seven bodies garbed in the white long-sleeved robes commonly worn by members of the Muslim group Laskar Jihad.

Witnesses said 146 houses were burned during the incident, and reports were coming in of similar violence in the neighbouring village of Waimital, which was used to host migrant settlers until it was taken over by Laskar Jihad forces as their base.

Although there has been little fighting on the North Maluku island of Halmahera since July, local witnesses said the area remained a tinderbox. The navy had managed to control shipping between the island of Ternate and the Halmahera town of Jailolo until one month ago, when small boats came through and took pot- shots at displaced Christians huddled on Halmahera.

Not surprisingly, when a group of Muslims was to be returned to the Jailolo area from Ternate soon afterwards, the Christian communities which had recently been shot at rejected the Muslim returnees en masse.

The United Nations launched an appeal yesterday to raise US$12 million for the victims of conflict in the area. The appeal came after a recent assessment of North Maluku which resulted in the lowering of its security rating from Phase Four to Phase Three, which in UN parlance means an improved ability to deliver humanitarian aid. UN aid staff have re-opened their office in the Maluku capital, Ambon, and will return to Ternate next week.

The money is intended to assist the internally displaced persons (IDPs), which number about 207,000 people in North Maluku and 250,000 in Maluku. Their continued displacement reflects the process of partition along religious lines which has been evolving over almost two years of conflict.

Although fighting in the Maluku islands initially broke out over economic competition and local squabbles, it soon took on religious overtones in a country where ethnicity, faith and opportunity are inextricably intertwined.

"The Government wants the IDPs to return home, which is a good idea probably, but sadly not implementable," one expert said. "Even if we managed to put people back where they fled from, what then? The fighting would only start again."

Helping IDPs to survive where they are may not suit Government objectives, but is the immediate humanitarian response required, the source said.

Steps are being taken by some neutral police and military men in the Maluku to get rid of the militant Laskar Jihad gangs which fuelled this year's continual conflict.

But it is clear the Government feels unable to move directly against thugs in Muslim garb, at least partly for fear of what retaliation might evolve from other parts of an increasingly Islamist political landscape.

"Following the arrival of significant numbers of Laskar Jihad warriors in April the conflict has escalated very seriously," said Baroness Caroline Cox, president of British-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide, speaking in Hong Kong this week.

"Evidence suggests that Laskar Jihad receives assistance from elements in the Government and the armed forces as well as from international Islamist movements." She claimed that some 700 Christians on Seram Island have received an ultimatum from the militants to convert to Islam by the end of November, or face being killed.

"They [Laskar Jihad] have threatened that 'there will be no church bells ringing in Ambon by Christmas'," Baroness Cox added. As for the IDPs, the subject of the UN appeal, "they have no permanent shelter, inadequate food and virtually no medical supplies. Their conditions really are dire and acute", she said.

Islamists fuelling crisis in Maluku islands: rights group

Agence France-Presse - November 27, 2000

Hong Kong -- The humanitarian situation in Indonesia's embattled Maluku islands is worsening as a result of the influx of Islamic Jihad or holy war warriors aided by rogue external elements, a rights group said Monday.

"Following the arrival of significant numbers of Laskar Jihad warriors in April the conflict has escalated very seriously," said Baroness Caroline Cox, president of the British-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

"Evidence suggests that Laskar Jihad receives assistance from elements in the government and the armed forces as well as from international Islamist movements," Cox told reporters in Hong Kong.

The Maluku islands, previously known as the Spice Islands, have been torn apart by almost two years of Muslim-Christian conflict, leaving more than 4,000 people of both faiths dead and a trail of destruction. In June, Jakarta imposed a state of civil emergency in the Malukus and the North Malukus but it has so far failed to rein in the violence.

"The situation is one of great tragedy, great tension and great complexity." "They [the Laskar Jihad] have threatened that 'there will be no church bells ringing in Ambon [the provincial capital] by Christmas,'" Cox said, adding that some 400 Jihad warriors arrived in the islands on November 11 and more were expected to achieve their stated goal.

The Jihad warriors arrived on a commercial ferry despite President Abdurrahman Wahid's public commitment to preventing Islamic fighters from travelling to the islands, she said. "The Indonesian government must remove the Laskar Jihad from the islands and stop any further access to them," Cox stressed. According to government officials, up to 2000 warriors remain in the islands, she added.

Some 700 Christians on Seram Island from Hatu and Hatumete villages have received an ultimatum from the militants to convert to Islam by the end of the November or face being killed, Cox said.

And, in a letter written on September 3 and smuggled out by a child travelling to Sulawesi, church leaders report that 1,150 children have been forcibly circumcised by Islamic militants, said Cox, who travelled to the islands earlier this year.

As a result of the fear and violence that the Islamic militants have stirred up, over 350,000 people -- both Christian and Muslim -- have been forced to flee into the mountains and jungle. "They have no permanent shelter, inadequate food and virtually no medical supplies. Their conditions really are dire and acute," Cox said.

Allegations of partisanship have also inflamed the situation in the world's most populous Muslim country. "There have been many consistent and credible reports that the Indonesian military has not been impartial," Cox said, adding she had seen video footage of soldiers donning Jihad uniforms and fighting alongside them against Christians.

She charged some sections of the Indonesian media of deliberately misreporting the conflict, further polarising the two communities who had previously lived in relative harmony.

While acknowldeging that Muslims and Mosques had been attacked by Christian fighters, Cox said more than 75 percent of victims had been Christian, but the media at times had deliberately censored reports on violence against Christians and had in some cases claimed the victims were Muslims.

11 die in Indonesian violence

Associated Press - November 25, 2000 (slightly abridged)

Jakarta -- New fighting among Muslims and Christians broke out in Indonesia's eastern Maluku or Moluccan Islands, killing at least 11 people, officials and activists said Saturday.

The sectarian bloodshed Friday and Saturday brought the number of confirmed deaths to 19 this week. Another 16 people remain missing.

Three people -- one Christian and two Muslims -- were killed Saturday when Muslims attacked a Christian village in Kairatu district on the island of Seram, witnesses said. Four churches and more than a dozen houses were torched in the pre-dawn raid. At least 15 people were injured.

Eight people, including a woman, were killed Friday when Muslims attacked Christian villages on the Watubela Islands in southeastern Maluku, said a Muslim activist who identified himself as Kamal. Martin Luther Jari, a local government official, confirmed that fighting had erupted but refused to elaborate.

Aceh/West Papua

Jakarta offers Aceh autonomy package

Straits Times - December 3, 2000

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- In an apparent move to win the hearts of secessionists in Aceh, Jakarta announced yesterday it was stepping up efforts to speed up preparation of a special autonomy package, and would disburse humanitarian and financial aid worth 100 billion rupiah to the province.

The announcement came two days ahead of a planned December 4 celebration by the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), during which the group intends to unilaterally declare Aceh's independence from Indonesia.

Coordinating Minister for Economy Rizal Ramli told reporters at a press conference attended by President Abdurrahman Wahid that the aid was part of the government's response to Acehnese discontent arising from economic and social injustice and years of human- rights abuses by Indonesia's military.

The resource-rich province is a large contributor to the country's economy, but GAM separatists say Aceh has been getting very little in return from Jakarta.

With calls for independence intensifying in Aceh, as well as in mineral-rich Irian Jaya, the government has promised to start a decentralisation process next year to give the two provinces special autonomy deals.

But Mr Rizal Ramli stressed that Jakarta "will never tolerate their political demands for independence". "We are trying to be sensible by differentiating their demands for economic justice and the prosecution of human-rights violators, from their political demands for independence," he said. Aceh has been the scene of bloody confrontations between the GAM rebels and security personnel.

The President had on Thursday warned that he would take firm action against any attempt to break away from the Republic. His statement was made on the eve of the anniversary of the unrecognised 1961 declaration of independence by Irian Jaya.

Mr Rizal said a "task force" comprising top officials would coordinate a three-month "crash programme", which will include negotiations with the local administration and community leaders in Aceh.

But President Abdurrahman stressed yesterday that negotiations would centre on "what kind of autonomy deal the Acehnese want, not on their independence demand". He said "the President's duty is to guard the state sovereignty."

Jakarta to offer new approach to Irian Jaya: minister

Agence France-Presse - December 2, 2000

Jakarta -- An Indonesian minister on Saturday said Jakarta would take a new approach to demands from the restive province of Irian Jaya, but urged the government to go further and take independence leaders there into a partnership.

"In the month of December, there will be a new approach on Irian in listening to the demands of the [Irianese] ... specifically in relation to the special autonomy for that region," said Junior Minister for the Development of Eastern Indonesia Manuel Kaisiepo.

Kaisiepo, speaking to journalists after meeting with President Abdurrahman Wahid at the Merdeka Palace, said the new approach would involve "many issues." He did not elaborate, but hinted that the approaches were mainly economic as they were being developed at the coordinating ministry for the economy and finance. But Kaisiepo, a native of Irian Jaya, also urged Jakarta to regard the pro-independence Papua Council Presidium as its "critical partner."

His call came after police in Irian Jaya arrested four members of the pro-independence Papua Presidium, just days before the province celebrated the 39th anniversary of its unrecognized independence declaration on Friday.

The arrested men -- Theys Eluay, the flamboyant head of the council and fellow members John Mambor, Don Flassy and Thaha Al- Hamid, were all jailed and charged with treason.

Jakarta, still smarting form the loss last year of East Timor, has flatly rejected independence for Irian Jaya, also known as West Papua.

But it is planning to unveil a special autonomy status for Irian Jaya sometime next year, excluding foreign, monetary and defence policies.

Kaisiepo warned that the autonomy status must be "socialized to the Irianese, to the public in general and even to the Papua Council Presidium," before the lower house passes the autonomy status draft bill. "All this time, the government can only make offers, but they should also listen to the people," he added

Independence supporters in Irian Jaya, Indonesia's easternmost province, maintain that their nationhood declaration on December 1, 1961 marked the start of their sovereignty. They have argued that Irian Jaya, formerly Dutch New Guinea, does not belong to Indonesia because an overwhelming majority of its population were ethnic Melanesians.

They also reject a so-called "Act of Free Choice" supervised by the United Nations in 1969, which formalised Indonesian absorption of the region, as flawed and unrepresentative. Jakarta, which poured 1,300 crack troop reinforcements into the restless province ahead of the 39th anniversary, has flatly ruled out independence.

Police enter headquarters of pro-independence guard

Agence France-Presse - December 2, 2000

Jayapura -- Indonesian police entered the headquarters of the pro-independence Papua Taskforce in the province of Irian Jaya Saturday, as a deadline for vacating the building passed.

Irian Jaya police chief Brigadier General Sylvanus Wenas arrived with Jayapura police chief Lieutenant Colonel Daud Sihombing early Saturday, saying police and task force commanders would "guard" the building together.

"I've told [the city police chief] not to behave provocatively, to act nicely, we can all talk this through together and everything can be resolved peacefully," Wenas told journalists. "So now police are sitting here with the taskforce guarding the building. We'll talk later about the issue of vacating it."

Police last month secured an agreement from elders of the pro- independence Papua Presidium that the task force would vacate the Cultural center, a disused government building, by December 2.

More than 100 armed and helmetted anti-riot police were lined up on the streets outside the building since early morning, while some 80 taskforce members and independence supporters milled around the dilapidated two-storey cultural center beneath two empty flagpoles.

The building, the site of an unrecognized declaration of independence on December 1, 1961 by Papuans -- before the former Dutch colony was formally incorporated into Indonesia -- had been adopted as the task force headquarters since a Papuan Congress in Jayapura in June.

The separatist Morning Star flag had been flying there since June, but under last month's unpopular agreement, it had to come down for the last time on Friday.

Task force commanders agreed at dawn Saturday not to raise the flag again, as had been demanded by taskforce members and independence supporters on Friday night, when police officers formally lowered it themselves, five hours after after the official government deadline. The taskforce commanders remained defiant on the issue of leaving the building, saying it belonged to the Papuan people.

As police entered the building, officers posted outside directed taskforce members over a loud hailer to go home. "Those taskforce commanders who are in charge of guarding the building, please enter, but those not on duty please go home to your respective houses, and rest," Sihombing said.

He asked them to open the streets outside the building to the public. "Task force comamnders and police will guard the building together and keep an eye on things," he said.

Presidium member Zamrack Taime told the crowd he would push for police to allow the taskforce to stay in the building. "In 1961, the Papuan nation was born in this building. For that reason we Papuans want to stay in control of it," he said over the loud speaker.

Taskforce members outside looked on in silence. Later some spoke of their disappointment in a day they had hoped would further their cause in the face of stiff resistance from Jakarta which has flatly ruled out independence for the half-island, which is rich in timber, oil and gas, gold and other minerals.

Jakarta flew some 1,300 crack troop reinforcements into Irian Jaya ahead of the December 1 commemoration and arrested four top presidium leaders, put them in jail and charged them with treason.

Nine taskforce members were taken in for questioning on Friday, but Wenas said they were not under arrest. "I came down to Jayapura from the highlands one week ago to raise the flag and see Papua get independence on December 1," Damianus Sopos Reye told AFP. "But here we have leaders with no sense of justice. They are disappointing the people too much." "This is a violation of our rights," said another, Enos Wenda. "The removal of our flag last night was not official. They should have discussed it with us in an open forum first."

Eight killed in Irian Jaya protest

Associated Press - December 2, 2000 (abridged)

Geoff Spencer, Jayapura -- Tensions between Indonesian forces and separatists pushing for Irian Jaya's independence exploded into violence Saturday when police fired on a group of bow-and-arrow- wielding separatists during a clash. Eight people were killed.

Gen. Sylvanus Wenas, a top police commander in the troubled province, said the two sides clashed after the separatists tried to raise an outlawed rebel flag in the southeastern town of Merauke. He said the independence supporters challenged police during the flag-raising ceremony and also fired arrows at settlers from other parts of Indonesia, wounding three.

Wenas said seven separatists were killed. Local police said an eighth man, a taxi driver from Java island, died from his injuries later. It was not known whether the taxi driver was one of the settlers, nor was it clear whether the separatists physically attacked police before the officers opened fire.

The deaths bring to 10 the number of people killed during the past two days as the restive province marks the anniversary of a failed 1961 independence bid. The anniversary has prompted a security clampdown in the region.

Irian Jaya, a mineral-rich, jungle-covered province 2,500 miles west of Jakarta, is one of several regions pushing for more freedom from the sprawling Indonesian nation of 17,000 islands and 210 million people.

In 1961, tribal chiefs here declared independence from Dutch colonial rule. The independence move failed, and two years later Indonesia seized the region. Independence activists have been battling Indonesian rule ever since.

In June, 501 tribal leaders declared independence and named their homeland West Papua. Across the region, people pulled down the Indonesian flag and raised the red, blue and white "Morning Star" independence flag.

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has ordered tough action against secessionists and has vowed to keep his crisis-ridden country from breaking apart. Earlier this week, senior police warned they would shoot violent troublemakers during the Irian Jaya independence rallies.

The first two deaths came Friday in Fak Fak on the province's west coast, where police shot two men to death after about 50 tribespeople staged a pro-independence protest and then rioted. Wenas said police there opened fire when the mob attacked them with bows and arrows.

On Saturday, heavily armed Indonesian police seized control of a cultural center in the provincial capital, Jayapura, that had been occupied by the ragtag separatist movement for the past year.

Riot police with guns, shields and batons entered the building soon after dawn. In a gesture of conciliation, officers said some activists could stay temporarily as long as no rebel flags were raised at the site.

There was no resistance by the separatists, who have been cowed by a heavy military and police presence and several arrests over the last few days. Four senior secessionist leaders have been detained, and two have been charged with subversion.

On Friday night, police pulled down a "Morning Star" flag outside the cultural center in Jayapura as hundreds of independence supporters watched in silence at the end of a day of subdued protest. Some protesters sobbed as their flag stopped flying.

"We allowed them to lower it to protect our people's safety," said Katerina Yabansubru, a senior pro- independence activist. "It is only a symbol. It doesn't mean our freedom struggle is over."

Analysts in Jakarta said Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri -- whose father, former president Sukarno, occupied the province in 1963 -- had demanded that security forces crack down on separatists in Irian Jaya and Aceh, another independence-minded region on the western end of the country.

Indonesia faces yet another violent insurgency

International Herald Tribune - December 1, 2000

Michael Richardson, Tembagapura -- Nestled in a small valley 1,850 meters above sea level with cliffs and forest-clad mountains towering above, this company mining town with its subsidized canteen, store, clubs and bars is aptly called Tembagapura, or Copper City, in the Indonesian language.

Further up the precipitous road hacked out of the jungle is a mine that is one of the world's largest producers of gold and copper. Its production is worth nearly $1.5 billion for the company that runs the project, PT Freeport Indonesia.

But the mine in these remote, glacier-capped mountains of Irian Jaya, Indonesia's easternmost province, is now caught in an intensifying tug-of war between indigenous Papuans demanding independence and the central government in Jakarta, which is determined to prevent any further fragmentation of the sprawling island-nation.

Separatist fighters operating from bases near the border with Papua New Guinea are threatening to attack Indonesian troops and settlers unless Jakarta agrees to give the province independence by Friday. That is the anniversary of a declaration of sovereignty made 39 years ago, on December 1, 1961, when the former colonial power, the Netherlands, relinquished control and before Indonesia took over.

"On December 1, we will have independence," said Izhak Onawame, an evangelical priest who heads the local branch of Irian Jaya's pro-independence organization in Timika, the main town in the Freeport project area. "There is no turning back."

A member of the organization's armed wing, who accompanied Mr. Onawame at a recent interview and gave his name as Major Tonchay, said that if Indonesia refused to accept Irian Jaya's sovereignty, there would be fighting. "We are ready to kill or be killed," he added.

In anticipation of the deadline, the Indonesian police have intensified their hunt for key Irian Jaya separatists. On Thursday, they arrested a third leader of the group and said that all three, who include the chairman of the pro-independence Papua Presidium Council, Theys Eluay, would be charged with treason. Conviction carries a maximum term of life in prison.

Although Freeport, which is 81 percent-owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper Gold Inc. of the United States, says it has spent in the last decade alone more than $150 million to build schools, houses, places of worship, a modern hospital and community facilities to ensure local support, it is vulnerable to possible raids by extremists. "Major companies could be used as pawns in Irian Jaya in the struggle to gain independence," an executive said.

Freeport-McMoRan's share price has fallen 65 percent since January to around $7.50, down from around $35 two and a half years ago, when President Suharto seemed to be firmly in power. While lower metal prices have played a role, executives and analysts said the main reason for the slump was the perception among investors of greatly increased political risk since Mr. Suharto, a key patron of Freeport McMoRan's Indonesian operations, was forced to resign in May 1998.

Both of his successors, B.J. Habibie and now Abdurrahman Wahid, have faced increasing challenges in holding the world's fourth most populous nation together.

The United States, Australia and other countries that want Indonesia to remain united are concerned at the prospect of violence. They worry that a conflict in Irian Jaya would over stretch the Indonesian military and police forces, which are already struggling to contain sectarian and separatist unrest and increasing lawlessness in various parts of the country.

Separatist demands in Irian Jaya have increased this year, inspired partly by East Timor's overwhelming vote for independence from Indonesia in a UN plebiscite in 1999. The government of Mr. Wahid, which initially took a conciliatory approach, has hardened its stand under pressure from nationalists in the military and Parliament.

Last month in Wamena, in the Irian Jaya highlands, one of the main strongholds of pro-independence sentiment, 31 people, mainly settlers from other parts of Indonesia, were killed in violence that erupted after the police cut down flagpoles flying the Morning Star, a revered symbol of the separatists. "There will be no possibilities for Irian Jaya and Aceh to become independent and separate from Indonesia," the coordinating minister for political, social and security affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired army general, said recently. "The unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia is final."

Jakarta has sent 1,300 new troops from the army's Kostrad strategic reserve command to Irian Jaya, bringing to more than 10,000 the number of Indonesian police forces and troops reported to be stationed in the province, including a 650-member police mobile brigade guarding the Freeport mine.

There are also persistent reports that the military has sent to Irian Jaya members of its Kopassus special forces, the unit blamed for organizing the militia gangs that carried out much of the violence and destruction in East Timor last year.

Unlike East Timor, which has few natural resources, both Irian Jaya and Aceh are valuable assets for Indonesia. Since it began exporting in 1972, Freeport has consistently been one of the largest taxpayers in a country that is chronically short of tax revenue.

But separatist leaders in Irian Jaya, like those in Aceh and other resource rich regions, accuse Jakarta of stealing provincial resources and giving little back in return.

The separatists also resent the large-scale settlement of people from other parts of Indonesia, either drawn by employment and trading opportunities or brought in by the government as part of a now discredited transmigration policy. This program moved people to the outer regions of Indonesia from Java and other densely populated central islands that have long controlled political and economic power in the country.

As a result, only about half Irian Jaya's estimated population of two million are now Papuans. Most of the indigenous people are Christians or animists, while many of the settlers are Muslim.

Like East Timor, a former Portuguese colony that was invaded by Indonesia in 1975 and later annexed, Irian Jaya is underdeveloped. It was also not part of the original Indonesia that won its independence from the Dutch in 1947.

Even under the Dutch, Irian Jaya, then known as West Papua, had been ruled from Jakarta only since the late 19th century. It had few historical, ethnic, linguistic or religious links with the Indonesian archipelago. The indigenous Papuans, like the people of Papua New Guinea and nearby South Pacific islands, are Melanesian, not Asian.

Advocates of independence for Irian Jaya say that an "act of free choice" conducted by the UN in 1969, which made the former Dutch territory part of Indonesia, was unrepresentative. Only 1,025 tribal and community leaders chosen by Indonesia took part.

The Papua People's Congress, which claims to represent the aspirations of the overwhelming majority of Papuans in Irian Jaya, met in June for the second time this year in the province capital, Jayapura, and set December 1 as the deadline for achieving sovereignty.

GAM seeks to delay talks in Geneva

Jakarta Post - December 1, 2000

Banda Aceh -- The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is seeking to delay further talks with the government of Indonesia scheduled to be held in Geneva, Switzerland on December 5 and December 6.

Spokesman for GAM at the Geneva talks, Sofyan Ibrahim Diba, told reporters here on Thursday that when GAM agreed to the dates, no one remembered that December 4 was the anniversary of GAM.

"So we are asking for a delay as we will be attending the GAM anniversary ceremony," Sofyan said, adding that GAM preferred to meet between December 10 and December 15. "It looks impossible for us to be in Geneva on December 5 while we are still in Aceh on December 4," he said.

Sofyan denied that the request for the delay was merely GAM's political maneuver to extend the peace talk, saying that an official letter requesting the delay had been sent to the Henry Dunant Commission (HDC) the peace talks arranger in Geneva.

"HDC told me that a response from Indonesia is awaited," Sofyan said. "The Indonesian officials in Geneva have also acknowledged our request." The Indonesian government has accused GAM of buying time to make internal consolidation and enhance its political propaganda by seeking to delay the talks. "It's up to Indonesia. GAM is not making political maneuver by seeking the delay," Sofyan told reporters.

The meeting was first scheduled to take place in the middle of September. The meeting between GAM and the Indonesian government would provide an opportunity to discuss requirements for formally extending humanitarian pause in Aceh.

The two sides signed the first three-month humanitarian pause in Geneva on May 12. It officially took effect on June 2. President Abdurrahman Wahidhas agreed to extend the humanitarian pause pending further negotiations with GAM.

Indonesian government records indicate that 166 people have been killed in 457 cases of violence in Aceh during the extension of the humanitarian pause.

I Wayan Karya, spokesman for the office of the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Social and Security Affairs, said on Wednesday that 12 of the victims were military members, 17 police officers, 50 were civilians, 64 were members of separatist groups and 23 were unidentified.

Independence When asked if GAM would declare Aceh's independence on December 4, Sofyan said, "Aceh became independent 24 years ago when Hasan di Tiro announced iton December 4, in 1976." He did not reveal where the GAM anniversary ceremony would be held, saying that the festivities might be held any place.

Locals said that people's expectations for the GAM anniversary were not as strong as last year. "This could be because the Jiemjiem area where the GAM headquarters is located has been isolated by recent floods. People are concentrating on cleaning up their residences after the flooding, moreover it is now the Muslim holy fasting month," a local, who asked not to be identified, said.

Police promised on Thursday to take stern actions against separatist rebels attempting to hoist their own flag instead of the national flag in the restive territory.

"There is no regulation which allows the hoisting of flag other than the Red and White in Indonesia," the police's special operation deputy spokesman Supt. Yatim Suyatmo told Antara. He said security troops would continue the crackdown on the separatist rebels and other operations to sweep illegal firearms.

Suyatmo said the insecurity had been on the rise over the past few days. In the latest outbreak of violence on Wednesday, an Ulim police subprecinct officer, First Sgt. Nurdin Sabon, in Pidie regency was abducted and a security post in North Aceh was attacked, both by armed rebels.

In Jakarta, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf said a group of armed rebels attacked a patrol of Police Mobile Brigade Unit in Jeulikat, North Aceh, injuring two police officers. The police found in thescene of incident a GLM bullet caliber .4 millimeter and a GLM projectile in the location, Saleh said.

The armed rebels, he added, also threw a grenade at Sgt. Maj. Sofyan S.A, a police officer at Samudra subprecinct, who was on his way to pick up his ailing son in Lhokseumawe. The grenade, however, exploded on the street, while the officer was left unharmed.

Five killed in latest violence in troubled Aceh province

Agence France-Presse - December 1, 2000 (abridged)

Banda Aceh -- Indonesian police opened fire and killed five people in the restive province of Aceh, just four days prior to the 25th anniversary of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), residents said Friday.

Five men believed to be GAM members were killed in a firefight with police on patrol in the Seulimuem area of Aceh Besar district late on Thursday, said police operational spokesman Superintendent Yatim Suyatmo.

Suyatmo said the rebels had attacked a convoy of elite police Brimob troops that was trying to pick up Pidie district police chief Superintendent Heru Budi Ersanto at the Sultan Iskandar Muda airport here. However local residents told AFP that the five were among a group of seven unarmed civilians who had been travelling from the town of Seulimeum to the town of Saree in a van.

"The seven had pulled over the van to change the car's driver when the convoy passed them by ... they opened fire and killed one man on the spot while the other six were herded into police truck and taken to Alue Rindang area," a resident said on condition of anonymity. "The six were then ordered to get out of the truck and run, police opened fire and killed four men, two others somehow managed to escape," the resident added.

Meanwhile in anticipation of GAM's 25th anniversary plan on Monday, police and troops tightened security across the flood- stricken province by putting more convoys on the streets, witnesses said on Friday.

Government not to extend humanitarian pause in Aceh

Jakarta Post - December 2, 2000

Jakarta -- The government confirmed on Friday it would not extend the humanitarian pause in restive Aceh province but would turn to stiff measures if the separatist rebel group failed to show commitment to peace.

Defense minister Mahfud MD told The Jakarta Post the current humanitarian pause, which was aimed at restoring peace to allow humanitarian aid to reach the province, could be put to an end before its second extension period on January 15.

"By that time, if our offers are ignored then we will use all resources in the country to reinstate the functions this unitary state used to play in the territory," he said.

He said the decision was taken in a meeting between state officials in charge of security at the vice presidential palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan on Thursday evening.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Social Affairs and Security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Widodo AS, the three armed forces chiefs and National Police chief attended the meeting presided over by Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"The pause can be halted unilaterally before time if GAM fails to show good intention to negotiate and refuses to touch the substantial matters ofsolutions to Aceh's problems," Mahfud said.

Violence has not stopped since the humanitarian pause took effect in June. The government has offered special autonomy status for Aceh and Irian Jaya, another resource rich, restive province, to deal with persistent demands for independence.

After a mass rally in support of independence in Banda Aceh almost three weeks ago, another event, called the International Solidarity on Aceh Human Rights Violation Week (Persikab HAM Aceh) is slated to take place here from December 4 to December 10.

Spokesman for the organizer of the November 11 Mass Gathering for Peace (SIRARAKAN) Muhammad Taufik Abda said here on Friday that all Acehnese people were expected to join the event, but he could not say what kind of event itwould be and where it would be held. Taufik said the event was meant to be the substitute to a planned mass strike, scheduled to take place from November 27 to December 3, 2000.

"The activity is expected to bolster solidarity among the Acehnese, and to draw world attention and humanitarian aid to create peace and uphold democracy and human rights in Aceh." If the event does take place, the province will be very busy as the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) plans to commemorate its anniversary on December 4.

Observers speculated that SIRA RAKAN and GAM engineered the activities in such a way that GAM's request for the delay in further talks with the Indonesian government looked reasonable.

The talks were scheduled to be held in Geneva, Switzerland on December 5 and December 6, but GAM wants to delay from December 10 to December 15, on the grounds thatit would be impossible for GAM officials to be in Geneva on December 5, while they were still in Aceh on December 4 for the GAM anniversary. Both GAM and SIRA RAKAN have claimed that they do not have any (political) links.

Taufik said detailed plans on the Persikab HAM Aceh would be announced on December 3 after consulting several non-governmental organizations abroad.

Speaking about fighting between GAM members and soldiers, Taufik said that both GAM and the military should respect the holy month of Ramadhan. He wants the violence to be stopped, especially during the fasting month.

Meanwhile, the fighting continues, five rebels were killed in operations in Seulimeum area in Aceh Besar regency on Thursday, Police Special Operation Cinta Meunasah deputy spokesman Supt. Yatim Suyatmo said on Friday.

Key dates in the history of Irian Jaya

Agence France-Presse - November 30, 2000

Jakarta -- Key dates in the history of the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, otherwise known as West Papua, where separatists Friday will mark the 39th anniversary of their declaration of independence.

1824: An Anglo-Dutch treaty gives Irian Jaya to the Netherlands.

1949: The beginning of twelve years of decolonisation negotiations between Indonesia and the Netherlands during which Indonesia continues to demand sovereignty over West Papua.

1961: December 1: The declaration of Papua independence by Papuans.

1962: Indonesia and the Netherlands reach agreement over West Papua under the so-called New York Agreement. The Netherlands begins transfer of sovereignty over West Papua to Indonesia under the interim administration of the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) from October 1962 to May 1963.

1963: May 1, Indonesia takes over the former Dutch territory from the UN interim administration.

1964: Pro-independence Papuans form the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and begin an armed rebellion.

1969: A plebiscite, generally seen as rigged, formalizes Indonesian rule, followed by massive Indonesian military operations.

1977-1978: The rise of OPM-led rebellion after which 11,000 Irianese flee to Papua New Guinea.

1983-1984: The second resurgence of the OPM rebellion.

1996: January, 26 people, including seven European scientists, are abducted and held hostage for several months by OPM leader Kelly Kwalik in the Baliem Valley.

1998: April 15, 16 people, including a New Zealand national, are shot dead by a mentally disturbed member of the Indonesian army's Kopassus Special Forces.

1999:

July: Some 200 people raise the Morning Star separatist flag in the province capital of Jayapura.

September: Jakarta splits Irian Jaya into three provinces.

December 1: Chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council Theys Eluay lead a celebration marking the anniversary of the West Papua state's 1961 proclamation of independence, which includes hoisting the separatist "Morning Star" flag.

Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid sanctions the raising of the flag for cultural purposes.

2000:

January 1: Wahid witnesses the first sunrise of the new millenium in Jayapura and sanctions the term West Papua for Irian Jaya.

May 29: The Council holds a week-long congress, and calls for Indonesia's recognition of the 1961 declaration.

June 6: President Wahid rejects the council's declaration, and warns of military action.

October 6: At least 30 people, mostly settlers, die in bloody riots in the hinterland town of Wamena when police cut down the separatist flag.

October 24: Wahid holds talks with Eluay to discuss the Wamena riot.

October 26: Wahid asks Irianese not to raise the Morning Star any more.

November 9: The Council agrees with local authorities to restrict the flying of the Morning Star to five tribal districts.

November 29: Police in Jayapura arrested Eluay and his secretary general Thaha Al-Hamid for subversion and plotting to secede from Indonesia.

Police fire tear gas at Irianese students in Jakarta

Agence France-Presse - December 1, 2000

Jakarta -- Police on Friday fired teargas to disperse some 300 students from Indonesia's rebellious province of Irian Jaya who staged a pro-independence rally outside the US embassy here.

At least three students were injured as the police moved in and started beating up students who had been waving the separatist Morning Star flag, an AFP reporter said.

When the students refused to move, the police fired a volley of tear gas and arrested at least seven as others fled, the reporter said.

Eurphoria in Jayapura as banned flag stays aloft

Agence France-Presse - December 1, 2000

Jayapura -- This Irian Jaya capital erupted in euphoria late Friday as police gave in to fierce popular demand and let the banned Morning Star separatist flag continue flying.

Still hemmed in on three sides by scores of armed anti-riot police, more than 1,000 supporters of independence for the Indonesian province shouted Halleluliah, sang hymns of thanks and danced in circles beneath the flag which was supposed to have been lowered for the last time in Jayapura at sunset.

After an hour of tense negotiations as a 5.45pm deadline set by Jayapura police chief Lieutenant Colonel Daud Sihombing, came and went, Sihommbing said he would not force the flag to come down.

Earlier he had warned of "consequences" if it stayed aloft. But the fervent pro-independences masses refused, declaring they were ready to die in defence of the Morning Star -- the symbol of the separatist movement in the remote half-island province.

Chief negotiator and evangelist preacher Tony Infandi pleaded with the crowds to accept the police orders, but in chorus they hollered their rejection and pledges of martyrdom. Returning to negoitiate a second time with Sihombing in the park in front of the independence supporters' headquarters, Father Infandi told Sihombing that he had exhausted all eforts to persuade the independence supporters to comply. "I've tried everything, but all of them, even women and mothers are telling me they are ready to be slaughtered."

Sihombing replied with another warning of the consequences from Jakarta. "Jakarta will know instantly what's happeneing here. Then what's going to happen," he said. "First they'll have a bigger reason for droppping more troops here. Secondly provocateurs will take advantage of the situation and third if setlers [non-Papuans] are injured I won't be able to stop the Laskar jihad flooding in," he said of an Indonesian armed extremist Muslim group. "If that happens there will be chaos here. Is that what you want."

Returning to the makeshift stage in front of the massed independence supporters, Father Infandi announced that police would not pull down the flag thesmelves. Roaring in jubiliation, the Christian independence supporters thrust their hands upwards in prayer, and yelled "Siallon!" -- the local term for praise be to God. Infandri bleated "Halleluliah" on his microphone. Men adorned in the feathers of birds of paradise beat drums and men, women and youths, danced in circles, singing Indonesian language thanksgiving songs.

Pro-independence Papua Council member Zamack Taime said negotiations would continue through the night with the local government and parliamentarians over how long the flag could stay up. "How long, we don't know yet, but we want it to keep flying," he told AFP.

Taime said police had told them that "if that's what the people want, so be it," and that the rest was up to Jakarta. "Jakarta wants it to come down, and if it doesn't come down, they will send troops," he said. "The police here don't want to take action because of the people's fierce objection." "The people want the flag still in the sky," he said, speaking in halting English, "No more down."

Jubilant independence supporters shone a spot light on the Morning Star, fluttering next to a frayed red and white Indonesian national flag. Eariler at least four flag raisers were taken in by police for "insulting" the Indonesian flag, because it was smaller than the Morning Star alongside it.

Watching the euphoria from a police tent in Imbi Park, Sihombing said his decision not to pull the flag down himself, did not mean permission to keep it flying. "It's clear I will take action," he told AFP. "What kind of action is up to me -- whether it is persuasive or repressive, we'll see. It depends on the state of things."

Police face Jaya independence rally

Associated Press - December 2, 2000 (abridged)

Geoff Spencer, Jayapura -- Police used tear gas outside the US Embassy in Jakarta on Friday to disperse protesters wanting international support for independence for remote Irian Jaya.

But 2,400 miles away in the restive Indonesian province itself, thousands of separatists -- cowered by a massive security clampdown and the arrests of their leaders on subversion charges -- stopped short of demanding the same. Watched over by hundreds of police and troops, they obeyed government orders not to publicly declare secession.

Their day of peaceful protest in the provincial capital, Jayapura, ended after dark when police lowered an outlawed rebel flag without provoking violence from the crowd, which initially had refused to bring it down.

Past attempts by police to haul down flags have ended in bloodshed, including the killings of about 40 people in the town of Wamena in October. Some protesters sobbed as their "Morning Star" ensign stopped flying.

"We allowed them to lower it to protect our people's safety," said Katerina Yabansubru, a senior pro-independence activist. "It is only a symbol. It doesn't mean our freedom struggle is over."

The controlled calm was not matched in the capital, Jakarta, when police clashed with about 200 separatists near the US Embassy. The protesters demanded Washington support self-determination for their jungle-covered and mineral-rich homeland, also known as West Papua.

Friday was the 39th anniversary of Irian Jaya's first attempt to form a nation. Tribal leaders in what was then Dutch New Guinea demanded an end to colonial rule on December 1, 1961. Indonesia occupied the province two years later and has fought rebels ever since.

Police lower Irian Jayan flag amid warnings of crackdown

Agence France-Presse - December 2, 2000

Jayapura -- Indonesian police late Friday lowered the separatist Morning Star flag in the capital of rebellious Irian Jaya province, to comply with a government-mandated midnight deadline.

There was no immediate resistance from a stunned crowd of some 700 in Jayapura's Imbia Park who had earlier vowed to defend the flying of the flag with their lives, an AFP reporter there said.

A lone woman could be heard sobbing as the officers, marching out of negotiations with pro-independence leaders, lowered the flag shortly before 11pm, an hour before the deadline.

They handed the neatly-folded flag and an Indonesian national flag to a group of women. One of the women then took the Morning Star -- the symbol of resistance to Jakarta's rule -- into the self-proclaimed headquarters of the independence movement here, in the center of the park.

The crowds, which earlier had numbered some 2,000, had been dancing and singing Christian hymns to celebrate their apparent victory over police when, with vows of martyrdom, they refused to haul down the flag at sunset.

When the flag finally came down, many of those left in the park started to flee, even though the armed Indonesian riot police, who had circled the park all day, had gone.

Jayapura police chief Lieutenant Colonel Daud Sihombing, had told the crowd that his decision not to force the removal of the flag did not mean he was giving permission for it to remain indefinitely, and had warned that their defiance would incur the wrath of Jakarta.

"Jakarta will know instantly what's happening here," he said. "First they'll have a bigger reason for dropping more troops here. "Secondly provocateurs will take advantage of the situation and third if settlers (non-Papuans) are injured I won't be able to stop the Laskar Jihad flooding in," he said. "If that happens there will be chaos here. Is that what you want?"

The Laskar Jihad, an Indonesian extremist Muslim group, has sent hundreds of armed fighters to Indonesia's Maluku islands where they have vowed to wipe out the Christian population.

In Jakarta, some 300 Papuan student demonstrators -- celebrating the December 1 anniversary of a unilateral declaration of independence by Papuans before the former Dutch colony became a part of Indonesia -- got a taste of how Jakarta felt about their flag.

The police teargassed and beat up students as they rallied peacefully outside the US embassy, demanding Washington's recognition of the 1961 declaration, witnesses said.

They also protested Washington's role 40 years ago as a mediator in the UN approved transfer of Irian Jaya's sovereignty to Indonesia in 1969, which they argue was flawed and unrepresentative. Seven demonstrators were hauled away in police trucks, and three Morning Star flags seized.

Jakarta, which poured 1,300 crack troop reinforcements into the province and slapped four leading separatists in jail ahead of the anniversary, has flatly ruled out independence for the province. The four arrested men -- Theys Eluay, the flamboyant head of the pro-independence Papua Council Presidium, and council members John Mambor, Don Flassy and Thaha Al-Hamid, were charged with treason.

On Thursday Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, who in June allowed the presidium to go ahead with their first national congress, warned in a late night speech that Jakarta would not tolerate separatism. He urged Indonesia's different people to live together in peace.

After the flag was lowered, one of the negotiators, Abina Wasanggay, a member of the Papua Women's Alliance, said no announcement had been made to the crowd in the park before the flag came down because "because the people were already angry." "We will see later if it is raised again tomorrow," Wasanggay said when asked what would happen on Saturday.

Tensions build towards bloodshed

Sydney Morning Herald - December 2, 2000

Lindsay Murdoch, Jayapura -- Indonesian police with riot shields, padded uniforms and automatic weapons stare grimly at barely clothed men from the remote mountains of West Papua in a surreal stand-off that will inevitably lead to bloodshed.

"Merdeka, merdeka [independence]," the highlanders yell as they whip themselves into a dancing frenzy on the streets of Jayapura, the provincial capital. The police, most of whom are Javanese, look down on the black-skinned Papuans, who are mostly poor and unemployed.

Long simmering tensions in the province also called Irian Jaya are coming to a head. Jakarta has abandoned its brief experiment with a more tolerant approach towards the rebellious but resource-rich province. "There should be no effort to proclaim [independence], secede from the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia, be that in Irian Jaya -- or Papua -- or in Aceh," President Abdurrahman Wahid said in a statement released on Thursday ahead of rallies yesterday marking West Papua's failed 1961 bid for independence. Any action to secede will "certainly be halted, and will be acted on firmly", Mr Wahid said. In Jayapura, police and soldiers have been ordered to shoot any separatist who produces a sharp weapon.

Many West Papuans are bitterly disappointed with Mr Wahid, who took office with a reputation as a liberal reformist. He came to Jayapura last New Year's Eve, promising the people could fly their beloved Morning Star, the separatist flag. They could call the province West Papua instead of Irian Jaya, a name imposed on them by the former dictator Soeharto. They could have their political freedom, albeit within the unitary state of Indonesia.

All that has vanished as Mr Wahid's rivals and military hardliners have turned up the heat on him and he struggles for political survival. Three of West Papua's pro-independence leaders were jailed this week for exercising free speech. It reminded people here of the repressive Soeharto decades.

Heavily armed police and soldiers occupy the streets of Jayapura, stopping and searching all travellers. Shops are closed. Thousands of settlers from other parts of Indonesia have fled the province, fearing attack.

By first telling people the Morning Star flag could fly, then banning it, Mr Wahid has got the people into such a state of high anxiety that lives may be lost.

The mood on Jayapura's streets is ugly. Indonesian authorities have ordered that pro-independence militia known as Satgas (Taskforce) Papua must not raise the Morning Star again outside a government building in Jayapura that they have been using as their headquarters. The stern-faced, black-clad militia must also vacate the building by today. But independence hardliners vow to keep raising the flag each day, as they have done for months.

During a subdued but tense ceremony marking the 1961 anniversary in Jayapura yesterday, people shouted, "The flag must stay". Scores of riot police surrounded the ritual, which was marked by prayers and defiant speeches. "With God as our leader, what do we need to be afraid of? Nothing," Tom Beanal, deputy leader of the pro-independence Papuan Presidium Council, told the crowd of several thousand.

Papuan guards held for insulting flag

Straits Times - December 2, 2000

Marianne Kearney -- Indonesian police moved against separatist forces in the restive province of Irian Jaya, detaining four pro-independence civilian guards for insulting the Indonesian flag, as the territory marked the 39th anniversary of its independence.

Provincial police chief Brig-General Sylvanus Wenas said the four members of Satgas Papua, or Papua Taskforce, had insulted Indonesia by raising the Morning Star flag at higher than, and twice as large as, Indonesia's red-and-white flag at a ceremony in Jayapura, the provincial capital.

To mark the anniversary of Papua's original Declaration of Independence in 1961, President Abdurrahman Wahid agreed to allow the independence movement to raise the Morning Star flag yesterday. However, raising the flag was restricted in Jayapura and four other towns in Irian Jaya, now known as West Papua.

Apart from a 300-strong protest in Jakarta, where students rallied for independence outside the US embassy, most of Irian Jaya remained eerily calm.

In Wamena town, locals gathered in churches around Irian Jaya yesterday to pray for an end to the violence and for independence, as they marked the unrecognised declaration of the territory's independence, four decades ago. A showdown was expected yesterday between the independence movement, which has vowed to declare West Papua's independence, and Jakarta's security forces who are determined to stop any independence celebration.

In Wamena's main church, to a packed audience, local priest Matius Kudiai expressed a sentiment on everybody's lips these past few days. "We don't understand why they have sent all these troops, because we only want peace, and Wamena has become calm again since October 6." At least 34 people were killed here on October 6, when Indonesians police pulled down the Morning Star flag and a riot ensued.

While just outside Wamena, in a simple church with a straw floor and tin roofs, 100 villagers gathered nervously for what they called "Papua's birthday". "We don't need to declare our independence today because we already did in 1961. Ever since 1961, we always celebrate in the villages," said Evangel Enos, a villager celebrating Papua's birthday.

Another village leader, with tears streaming down his face, told the gathering how sad he was today as he remembered how many people have been killed, beaten or raped since the Indonesians arrived in 1962.

Anniversary passes in eerie calm

South China Morning Post - December 2, 2000

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- The indigenous Papuans of Irian Jaya celebrated their claimed independence day yesterday with prayers, peaceful ceremonies and a welcoming speech from the police chief.

"It was eerily quiet this morning," said a resident of Jayapura, capital of the separatist-inclined eastern province. "It was absolutely still and spooky, but it all took place peacefully ... by mid-morning, the taxis were running again."

Police later lowered a separatist Morning Star flag in the capital to comply with a government mandated deadline, witnesses said. There was no immediate resistance from a stunned crowd of about 700 who had earlier vowed to defend the flying of the flag with their lives. At least four Papuans were arrested during the celebrations. In Jakarta, police fired tear-gas to disperse about 300 students from Irian Jaya who staged a rally outside the US Embassy.

The true test of pledges of restraint from government and separatist forces in the province will come overnight or today as police try to enforce an eviction order on the pro-independence Satgas Papua militia. Police plan to prevent all flying of the Morning Star flag, except for one flag at the home of imprisoned Papua Presidium leader Theys Eluay.

The 39th independence anniversary saw up to 10,000 Papuans gathering for prayers and ceremonies under the gaze of hundreds of police and riot troops, who had been told to use force to protect the nation's integrity if necessary.

"We are limited in what we can do and say," said Willy Mandowen, a leading member of the Presidium. "[But] it is proceeding as planned and as agreed upon with the authorities. We prayed to the Almighty and we thanked Him. The police chief also came up on the stage and he thanked the Irian people who had co-operated with the security forces."

The Papuans first gathered at sunrise on the main street of Jayapura, where a cultural centre office has been taken over by Satgas Papua. Many of them wore traditional outfits of feathers, shells, bones and penis gourds, and heckled the more moderate Presidium leaders when they refused to read out the 1961 unilateral claim of independence for the former Dutch colony.

In what most observers see as a provocative act by the Government, Mr Eluay and two colleagues were detained on Wednesday on possible charges of treason. Police say anyone who tries to raise the flag from now on faces similar treatment.

Presidium spokesman Clemens Runaweri claimed an extra 21,000 Indonesian troops, police and special branch officers were in Irian Jaya, although officials admit to only an extra four battalions of regular troops.

Odd couple's anniversaries could lead to bloody split

Australian Financial Review - November 29, 2000

Tim Dodd -- Like the two frayed ends of a rope, the provinces at either end of the 5,000km-long Indonesian archipelago are the weak points which look ready to unravel the country.

They are like two opposite poles which are pulling at Indonesia's fragile unity -- Aceh, the Muslim province at the extreme west and Irian Jaya, the mainly Christian province in the extreme east.

But there is also an odd parallel between the two. In the next few days their increasingly powerful independence movements both celebrate the anniversaries of their declarations of independence.

For Irian Jaya it is December 1, the day in 1961 when a handful of hopeful activists declared independence from the Dutch. They were soon disappointed when the Dutch Government, which realised it would not have international backing if it fought Indonesia over the territory, agreed to UN-sponsored negotiations which led to Jakarta taking control in 1963. Indonesia's sovereignty was ratified in a UN-approved "act of free choice" in 1969 when 1,025 carefully selected Papuans endorsed Indonesia's rule.

For Aceh it is December 4, the day in 1976 when the leader of the Free Aceh Movement, Hasan di Tiro, now living in exile in Sweden, declared his territory to be independent of Jakarta's rule.

This year, like last year, the world's press are on alert for conflict if separatists in Irian Jaya and Aceh go ahead with symbolic flag raisings on their respective days. This is particularly so in Irian Jaya, which is getting the lion's share of attention after 38 people died in the highlands town of Wamena two months ago in a conflict sparked by a police attempt to take down the independence movement's Morning Star flag.

The Indonesian army and police are also on alert. Like last year, they plan a show of force to cow the independence movements into keeping displays of separatist feeling to a minimum.

The near conjunction of their symbolic day of independence is not the only parallel between Aceh and Irian Jaya. Both provinces occupy a special place in Indonesia's history as independent nation and underpin the raison d'etre of the nation itself.

Aceh, which was the most rebellious part of the Dutch East Indies empire, was a standard bearer of the struggle for independence from 1945 to 1949 and occupies a special place in the mythology of that period. Irian Jaya, on the other hand, was the one part of the Dutch empire not ceded to Indonesia when the Dutch withdrew in 1949. Right through the 1950s it was an affront to the Indonesian Government's position that it was the liberator and rightful inheritor of all the Dutch territories. When Indonesia finally gained control it was regarded as the completion of the country's independence struggle.

And there is another, more practical reason, why Jakarta wants to keep control of Aceh and Irian Jaya. Both are resource rich and return large chunks of revenue to the central Government each year.

Mobil produces 40 per cent of Indonesia's liquified natural gas in Aceh and Freeport runs the world's richest gold and copper mine in Irian Jaya, which delivered directly to the central Government an average of $US180 million a year in the seven years from 1992 to 1998.

Neither province has ever accepted the Jakarta Government. Aceh has a long history of fighting outside rulers and there is a history of broken promises by Jakarta over autonomy. Irian Jaya has little in common with the rest of Indonesia and the small educated population of native Papuans know they were never given a real choice.

The situation is most serious in Aceh. There, a "humanitarian pause" in the fighting between rebels and the military which has been in place since the middle of the year has proved illusory and both sides appear to be breaking it. Hundreds have been killed during the cease fire.

When it expires on January 15 the Government has warned it will declare a civil emergency if the rebels do not come to the table. That essentially means the military is free to begin serious operations against rebels and the result will be hundreds, if not thousands, of civilian casualties.

The tension in Irian Jaya is also set to worsen. Reuters news agency published a secret internal paper from the Indonesian Ministry of Home Affairs at the weekend which describes its current strategy for opposing the Irian Jayan separatists, and it is eerily reminiscent of East Timor.

It called for establishing village-level militias and turning a local figure into a nationalist hero to oppose the independence movement, which it conceded was growing "more solid than ever". It also called for Indonesia to offer more autonomy and increased development to Irian; this is also similar to East Timor, where the increased generosity failed to win local support.

In Irian Jaya a sizable minority of the estimated 2.6 million people are migrants from other parts of Indonesia and would not support independence. If the situation deteriorates it could easily become a civil war.

But although the situation is fraying in both provinces, the East Timor option of a UN-sponsored referendum on independence is not a possibility. After East Timor, Indonesia will never give another province the option of independence, especially provinces as wealthy as Aceh and Irian Jaya. And neither is there pressure on Jakarta from other countries for the East Timor-style option.

Jakarta says it will offer both provinces a special autonomy deal next year and this looks like the last real chance for a peaceful solution. But the Government will need to show a large degree of flexibility and good will to make it work. The alternative is an increasingly bloody confrontation which will not easily break the ties with Jakarta but which will fray the whole nation.

The divide tearing Irian Jaya apart

The Australian - November 28, 2000

Don Greenlees, Jakarta -- It is easy to see what has gone wrong for Indonesia in Irian Jaya. On the Jayapura airport road, a Buginese taxi driver who has lived in the city for 30 years refers to indigenous Papuans as "orang hutan" (orang-outang) and in case his passengers don't get the point he adds "monyet" (monkey).

A couple of years ago a Papuan journalist with a national daily newspaper was spitting with anger in the town of Wamena over an Indonesian army colonel. "He keeps on calling us primitives," he said.

The divide between settlers and Papuans is obvious in other ways. The good jobs and material goods are mostly in the hands of the non-indigenous, who comprise almost half the population.

These are old grievances but are a potent source of conflict. If serious violence does come to Irian Jaya, it is just as likely to involve Papuans hunting down settlers as it is the police and military shooting Papuans.

During riots on October 6 in Wamena, 30 people died -- 25 of them, say the police, were settlers murdered by indigenous Papuans. The trigger was a police attempt to bring down six separatist Morning Star flags.

The cries for freedom in Irian Jaya resonate against a background of injustice, acutely perceived. But it would be a mistake to assume all Papuans in the province they refer to as West Papua automatically equate the word freedom with independence.

Papuans want a better deal and Jakarta has been painfully slow to respond, yet it may still be possible to accommodate their demands short of Indonesia letting the province go.

Indeed, some Papuan leaders acknowledge they are not ready for immediate independence. Moreover, they warn there would be a great risk of a descent into tribal violence in such an event.

"Tomorrow morning if Indonesia collapses and we have independence, we will fight each other," says human rights activist John Rumbiak. Asked how long the Papuans need, he replies: "Give me 15 to 20 years."

But there is a worrying gap between this reality and popular expectations fuelled by some of the rhetoric coming from the Papuan Presidium, the indigenous leadership council. There are valid concerns that if these expectations are disappointed, violence could flare.

Although it is poorly armed, there is a well-organised militant independence group, Satgas Papua. It faces equally militant pro- Jakarta forces that appear to enjoy covert military support. Fear and anxiety about the potential for violence is running high in West Papua, among both Papuan and settler communities. Superficially life goes on, but religious and community leaders say that the apparent normality belies deep misgivings about what might well happen in the coming weeks.

The focus of attention is Friday this week -- the anniversary of a 1961 declaration of independence and the adoption of the bintang kejora, the Morning Star flag. This is also the deadline set by the Papuan congress in June for the achievement of a range of goals, including the start of a dialogue with Jakarta on political and economic issues.

With Papuan leaders unable to report any real progress, there are concerns that hardliners could try to take the initiative away from the presidium. For the past two days, presidium members have been striving to avoid such an outcome by meeting hardline elements and urging them to treat Friday as an anniversary to celebrate rather than a deadline for declaring independence.

But even if they succeed, the root problem remains and Jakarta seems only dimly conscious of how to handle Papuan grievances. Indonesia has invested a great deal more in schools and health facilities than the disinterested Dutch but the disparity, real and perceived, between settlers and Papuans remains great.

"The problem is there is no single comprehensive policy from the Government in Jakarta or local government to cope with the Papuan problem," says Budi Hernawan, a Javanese brother with the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Jayapura.

An example is the confusion generated over the name of the province and the use of the Morning Star flag. Early on, President Abdurrahman Wahid appeared determined to find the kind of amicable solution to the Papuan problem that was slipping away from him in Aceh and had proved impossible in East Timor. He was accessible to Papuan leaders and inclined to be generous.

Two symbolic gestures were important: agreement to allow the Morning Star to fly beside the red and white Indonesian flag and for Papuans to call the province West Papua, the 1961 independence name. But Mr Wahid was too far ahead of his colleagues, most significantly Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the parliament and the armed forces.

He was pushed into a breach of faith with the Papuans when he was forced to insist Morning Star flags come down and that the name of the province had never officially changed.

But Jakarta's reversal is too late. Flags still fly and Papuans, who have created a cargo cult out of the Morning Star, investing it with spiritual significance, will fight to ensure it is not brought down -- just as they did in Wamena with bloody results.

For now, there is a stand-off. Jakarta is opposed to the flag, but appears committed to achieving its aims by negotiation. "There are no deadlines [for lowering the flag]," says provincial police chief Brigadier Silvanus Wenas, who is acting on direct instructions from the President. "We will continue to have a dialogue."

Longer term, Jakarta hopes to take the steam out of independence by offering a package of administrative autonomy and a much better cut of revenues generated from natural resources, particularly from the giant Freeport copper and gold mine.

Although for many Papuans the word autonomy is unacceptable, it is premature to say the package won't meet their demands. The moderate leadership in any case accepts it would be a necessary stepping stone to their ultimate ambitions.

Whether it will be enough to solve the problem and prevent the independence push from building momentum rests on how cleverly Mr Wahid and his colleagues play their hand.

Police arrest chiefs of Papua Council

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2000

Jakarta -- Irian Jaya Police arrested on Wednesday proindependence figure Theys Hiyo Eluay for alleged treason as people in the province were bracing for a rally to commemorate the unrecognized 1961 declaration of independence on Friday.

Provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Sylvanus Yulian Wenas told The Jakarta Post by phone from the Irian Jaya capital of Jayapura that chief of the Papua Presidium Council (PDP) Theys was charged with violating Article 106 and 110 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

"We have sufficient evidence and lots of witnesses in this case. Therefore we arrested him for questioning," Wenas said.

Another proindependence leader, PDP secretary-general and Muslim leader Thaha Al Hamid, was arrested for similar charges earlier in the day. Both Theys and Thaha are in provincial police custody. Wenas said the police are now searching for Rev. Herman Awom, who reportedly is in Purwokerto, Central Java, PDP member Don Flassy, said to be in Jakarta, and Jhon Mambor, reportedly still in Jayapura.

Tension was building on Wednesday from fear an uncertainty of the consequences of the rally, scheduled to take place in Taman Imbi park.

The mass exodus of migrants continued as seen in the province's airports of Sentani, Biak and Sorong and seaports in Jayapura, Biak, Sorong and Manokwari, a local reporter said. "Residents looked terrified ahead of the December 1 commemoration and after the news of Theys' arrest ... but then the situation began to calm," he said.

Reports said two extra battalions of Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) troops have been deployed to the province amid fears of violence during Friday's rally.

Earlier in the day, the Irian Jaya provincial legislative council issued a message calling on people in the province, including migrants, to stay calm and avoid "provocation by irresponsible parties".

Friday's rally will see mass prayers and the lowering of Morning Star separatist flags. Under an agreement between the provincial authorities and PDP activists on November 9, the separatist flag will have to be lowered on December 1, but some could be raised again the next day -- one flag in five of the province's 14 districts.

Among the places where the flag can be raised will be at the residences of tribal chiefs in the districts of Puncak Jaya, Merauke, Manokwari and Serui, and outside Theys' home in Sentani in Jayapura's outskirt.

Wenas said he would not release Theys and Thaha on the day when their supporters attend the rally. "December 1 commemoration will be marked with a mass prayer, therefore it can be conducted anywhere, even in the detention house," Wenas added.

As for Christmas and Idul Fitri celebration, Wenas said he would consider giving the two local leaders a day off provided "they behave properly, according to the law".

A ministerial meeting on security and political affairs in Jakarta on Wednesday recommended security arrangements for Irian Jaya, Aceh and Jakarta prior to Friday's rally and the commemoration of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) anniversary on Monday.

Spokesman for the Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs I Wayan Karya said after the meeting the government would apply stern measures in anticipation of disturbances in the coming days.

"The actions include the arrest of those accused of violating the law. Strict measures are the last resort if persuasive manners are fruitless," Wayan said.

Wayan said the government is completing the draft of special autonomy status for Aceh and Irian Jaya as part of a comprehensive settlement to problems in the two restive provinces.

Meanwhile, a Jakarta-based Irian figure Yorrys Raweyai said the arrest of Theys and Thaha is "a reality that must be accepted in compliance with the law". "As a friend I'm very concerned, but this is a consequence we have to brave. As for me being the next target, I believe that I'm not doing anything wrong but maybe they [police] have something against me. Nobody knows," he told the Post by phone.

Yorrys also said that he would stay in Jakarta and commemorate the December 1 Papua independence in a prayer in a mess on Jl. K.H. Mas Mansyur, Central Jakarta. "Actually I wanted to go to Jayapura ... but since the political situation is not conducive, I'll stay and pray in Jakarta," he said.

Independence leader held on rebellion count

South China Morning Post - November 30, 2000

Agencies in Jakarta and Jayapura -- Police in Irian Jaya yesterday arrested Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay for allegedly fomenting rebellion as the troubled province geared up to commemorate the 39th anniversary of its failed effort to win independence.

Irian Jaya police chief Brigadier-General Sylvanus Wenas said Eluay was arrested for "subversion, plotting to secede from Indonesia". He added: "We will try to complete [Eluay's] interrogation quickly because we have to file the case as soon as possible. If someone wants to separate from his country, that's a criminal act."

Speaking by telephone from his cell at Jayapura police headquarters, Eluay said the accusation against him "is not fair, it is wrong and I deny [it]". He said he had warned his people not to riot. "I already told the people not to do anything. They have to stay calm, they must not react."

Eluay arrived at police headquarters dressed in a sarong and wearing a hat with a stuffed bird-of-paradise -- the symbol of New Guinea island -- perched on its crown. He was accompanied by about 50 members of a pro-independence security taskforce.

After several hours of questioning, Eluay had tried to leave the station, demanding that Brigadier Wenas meet him. "I am being treated like an animal here," he shouted. "I am a leader here, this is my country."

Residents and legal activists said the situation in the province was tense. Separatist groups plan to stage protests tomorrow to mark what they claim was a declaration of independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1961. John Rumbiak, a local human rights advocate, said he feared independence supporters might resort to violence if their leaders remain detained. "This could provoke unrest and this could be used by security forces as an excuse to crack down further on the independence struggle," he said.

Demyanus Wakman, a legal activist in the capital, Jayapura, said Eluay had been questioned and detained over his activity as chief of the pro-independence Papuan Presidium Board and for ordering the flying of the Morning Star separatist flag across Irian Jaya last December.

On October 12 this year, Indonesian authorities officially banned the flying of the Morning Star in Irian Jaya after bloody clashes between independence supporters and security forces left at least 30 people dead.

Eluay's interrogation and detention follows the arrest on Monday of the independence movement's secretary-general, Thaha Hamid. Police said he had also been charged with subversion, a crime that carries a maximum 20-year sentence.

Brigadier Wenas said police had named three other senior Papuan leaders -- Herman Awom, John Mambor and Don Flassy -- as suspects in the subversion case.

The freedom movement in the province -- known as West Papua under Dutch colonial rule but renamed Irian Jaya after the Indonesian occupation -- has blossomed since East Timor broke away from Indonesia last year.

Indonesia formally annexed Irian Jaya in 1969 after a UN- sanctioned "Act of Free Choice", in which about 1,000 tribal leaders were canvassed on whether they wanted integration.

Rights advocate criticises 'flawed' intelligence

South China Morning Post - November 29, 2000

Vaudine England -- Jakarta is working on faulty information and might be "stupid" for its plans to stifle independence sentiment in Irian Jaya, a leading Papuan human rights advocate says.

A Home Affairs Department plan calls for the raising of village- level militias, creating a hero out of an unspecified Irian figure and tough action against independence leaders, in a strategy to keep Irian Jaya part of Indonesia.

The measures combine velvet-glove and iron-hand tactics by which Jakarta will fund developments in the province while exposing and cracking down on the independence movement.

But the Indonesian Government may be using flawed information, says John Rumbiak, head of the Els-Ham Institute for Human Rights and Advocacy based near the Irian Jaya capital, Jayapura. Els- Ham's work involves the documenting of human rights violations, which means it often criticises Indonesian security forces.

"On the list [which names so-called separatist figures], were church leaders, NGO [non-government organisation] activists, academics, tribal chiefs, even myself," said Mr Rumbiak, who says he has seen the documents. "This information is simply wrong. The question for me is, are the intelligence people deliberately distributing false information, or are they just stupid?"

Either way, the message is unsettling. It is widely believed that the military's technique, as displayed elsewhere across the fractious archipelago, is to create a conflict to justify a crackdown and to perpetuate the army's view that without it, Indonesia could fall apart.

But Jakarta-based intelligence operatives appear to have trouble distinguishing between friend and foe, possibly because the concepts of neutrality and a free flow of information have yet to be grasped by Indonesian security forces.

Those security forces have been stepping up activities in Irian Jaya, including the apparently deliberate encouragement of both pro and anti-independence militia gangs there. The strategy would appear to be similar to Mao Zedong's "letting a hundred thousand flowers bloom", only to chop off the blooms once exposed.

The military has also dispatched two extra elite reserve battalions, about 1300 troops, ahead of December 1 -- the anniversary of a Papuan declaration of independence issued in 1961, before Dutch colonialists left the province and long before Indonesia's formal annexation of Irian Jaya in 1969.

Concern about Jakarta's policy toward Irian Jaya is particularly high ahead of Friday's anniversary. Independence activists say they do not plan to declare independence again, only to hold prayers and thanksgiving ceremonies to mark the day.

Police in Irian Jaya say an agreement has been reached to allow the independence flag to fly, adding it must be lowered on Saturday. Fears of clashes remain high given the increased troop presence in the troubled province and a confusion of policy from Jakarta.

Police said they had orders from Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri to crush the separatist movement, even as President Abdurrahman Wahid was peddling tolerance and compromise.

"There has been a rapid escalation of separatist calls ... the military has to be prepared," Lieutenant-General Agus Widjojo said, representing the armed forces.

Aceh: Pro-independence leader arrested

Green Left Weekly - November 29, 2000

James Balowski -- For the first time since the overthrow of former President Suharto, the Indonesian government has arrested and charged a human rights activist under the notorious "sowing hatred" articles of the Indonesian Criminal Code. The maximum sentence is six year's jail. On November 22, police in Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh arrested Muhammad Nazar, a leading independence activist who heads the Aceh Referendum Information Centre (SIRA).

Nazar's arrest follows a series of mass gatherings in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh which began on November 10, culminating in a mass rally of 400,000 people on November 11. Human rights organisations say security forces fired on vehicles and boats trying to reach the capital to attend the rally, killing scores of people and wounding hundreds.

This is the third summons issued by police -- Nazar ignored the first two -- and follows calls by independence leaders to launch a campaign of civil disobedience to win independence.

According to Agence France Press, on November 14 a declaration in favour of breaking away from Indonesia was approved by a meeting of leaders from across the province. It received an enthusiastic welcome at a huge pro-independence rally attended by some 500,000 people at a state university campus in Banda Aceh.

The mass gathering was informed of the leaders' declaration by Nazar. "The Indonesian government is asked to return the sovereignty of Aceh to the Acehnese nation", he said to applause and yells of "freedom" from the crowd.

The declaration made four other demands: the withdrawal of all Indonesian security forces from the province; the acceptance by Jakarta of responsibility for military atrocities in the province; intervention and mediation by the UN and foreign governments; and, the revoking of the Netherlands' declaration of war against the kingdom of Aceh on March 26, 1873 (separatists argue this declaration of war is proof of Aceh's sovereignty).

"If the five demands are not implemented by November 26, it is called on the Aceh nation to launch a peaceful mass strike starting from November 27 until December 3", the leaders' declaration said.

It is unclear whether the mass strike will go ahead. According to the November 23 South China Morning Post, police chief superintendent Sayed Husaini said Nazar had provoked hostility against the state by circulating pro-independence posters during a protest on August 17, Indonesia's national day. He went on to say that Nazar then organised a mass gathering "as if Aceh were not part of Indonesia", adding that his detention was valid for 20 days and could be extended for a further 40. Police have denied that the arrest has any connection with the rallies organised by SIRA or the call for a campaign of civil disobedience.

Sidney Jones, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, was quoted in the South China Morning Post as saying: "Nazar and other SIRA activists are being punished for organising a peaceful rally attended by hundreds of thousands of ordinary Acehnese. If this is incitement, Indonesian democracy is in serious trouble."

Nazar's arrest marks the first time that the supposed "reformist" government of President Abdurrahman Wahid has used Articles 154 and 155, the haatzai artikelen (spreading hatred) articles against a political activist.

Left over from Dutch colonial law, the statutes were frequently used by the Suharto dictatorship to punish free expression and to discourage pro-independence activities in East Timor. These laws were last used against activists from the People's Democratic Party in 1996.

Head of the Indonesian Legal Aid Association, Hendardi, said the arrest of Nazar on charges of fomenting hostility against the state and disturbing public order, is identical to the methods used by the Suharto regime to arrest pro-democracy activists and other dissidents.

Hendardi said police have been conducting a covert campaign in Aceh to curb the province's independence movement and to preserve instability in the territory.

He added that the only way to resolve the problems in Aceh was to withdraw the military and give the Acehnese "a sense of justice" by taking the human rights violators to court.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Observer said that at least 150 Acehnese youths living in Jakarta staged a protest outside National Police headquarters, demanding Nazar's release.

Jakarta keeps 'soft' stance for Aceh

Straits Times - November 27, 2000

Jakarta -- Indonesia's Parliament maintained a "soft" approach to the separatist movements in Aceh yesterday by rejecting civil- emergency status and promising better law enforcement for the troubled province. But it underlined that Jakarta would not tolerate further questioning of its sovereignty.

After meeting Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, senior legislators declared their intention to re-engage Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders in "constructive dialogues" between now and Jan 15, the end-date for the "humanitarian pause" deal signed by the two sides in June.

"Indonesia will stick, for now, to the humanitarian pause. We want to build a channel to implement special autonomy for Aceh," said Mr Yasril Ananta Baharuddin, a Golkar legislator who chairs Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Politics Commission.

"Indonesian security apparatus will step up enforcement of the terms of the pause -- seizing illegal firearms and equally providing security to every citizen of Aceh," said Military/police representative to Parliament Ferry Tinggogoy.

Parliament's support for the pause and the government's handling of the crisis came in the wake of growing speculation that GAM might declare an independent Aceh on the group's December 4 anniversary.

While MPs yesterday spoke carefully and softly, it is becoming crystal clear that the government will bring out its big stick in response to continuing calls for independence. "Indonesia wants to peacefully settle the issue, but talks have to be engaged with Indonesia's national unity as a presumed base," said Speaker of Parliament Akbar Tandjung.

Mr Yasril said: "Indonesian sovereignty is not bargainable. We will take drastic action if GAM insists on its current positions and refuse to start active negotiations."

Other legislators, however, advised the government to approach talks with a solid and reasonable special-autonomy package that the people of Aceh can seriously consider. "So far, the government does not have a detailed master plan to be offered to Aceh. This needs to be formulated soon," said PDI-P legislator Heri Akhmadi. "It is critical that in addition to the basic principles of autonomy, the plan also addresses the major complaints and specify the concessions and demands of the Indonesian government," he added.

Secret bid to thwart Irian Jaya split

South China Morning Post - November 27, 2000 (abridged)

Reuters in Jakarta -- Indonesia is running a secret campaign to stop the rich and restive province of Irian Jaya breaking away, using a combination of bullying, clandestine operations and persuasion, internal documents show.

A leaked Home Affairs Department plan marked "Top Secret" calls for the raising of village-level militias and tough action against independence leaders.

Separatist passions are rising in the eastern province, stoked by human rights abuses by soldiers and police and resentment at what many see as Jakarta's plundering of its resources.

Many senior officials and military leaders fear its breakaway would stoke other separatist movements and deprive the cash- strapped central Government of vital revenue.

The secret plan was drafted by the Home Affairs Department's director-general for national unity, Ermaya Suradinata, who confirmed the document's authenticity and said it was part of Jakarta's blueprint for a peaceful solution in Irian Jaya.

"Rising calls for independence in Irian Jaya have gained momentum as ... the independence group grows more solid than ever," it says, warning that separatist sympathisers have infiltrated local government in the province, also known as West Papua.

The document calls for a two-pronged strategy: a hearts-and-minds campaign and a clandestine intelligence operation. Mr Suradinata said the clandestine intelligence operations would prevent violence by "certain groups". There are also fears bloodshed could erupt for the December 1 anniversary of tribal chiefs' 1961 declaration of independence.

Mr Suradinata said Jakarta wanted a peaceful solution, through increased autonomy and development for the territory. "Solving the problem of Irian Jaya cannot be done with violence. It must be done through dialogue," he said. "They feel, especially in the more isolated areas, that the Government is not paying enough attention."

In a grim echo of the failed strategy to keep East Timor under Jakarta's control, the secret plan urges the formation of village militias. Two militias operate in Irian Jaya: one in favour of independence and a smaller pro-Jakarta group. But they have not yet reached the bloody level of the pro-Jakarta East Timor militias.

Mr Suradinata said the militias were not intended as a paramilitary force, but as "working partners" to help the Government implement its policy and win over the Irianese.

Human rights/law

Former ministers blame Soeharto for $87 million graft

Jakarta Post - December 1, 2000

Jakarta -- Former forestry ministers Hasjrul Harahap and Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo shifted the blame for two allegedly fraudulent mapping projects involving defendant Mohamad "Bob" Hasan to former president Soeharto on Thursday.

They testified before the Central Jakarta District Court that their decisions to appoint the defendant's firm to run the projects were in accordance with an order from Soeharto.

Hasjrul, a minister in Soeharto's fifth development Cabinet from 1988 to 1993, said that he had instructed the ministry's then director general of inventory and planning, Soenarsan Sastrodimitro, to do exactly what Soeharto had told him to do in regard to a 1989 mapping project.

"I wrote an official letter to Soenarsan in December 1992 that he was to give no recommendation for security clearance -- which clears the way for afirm to shoot aerial photographs of both protected forests and forest concessions -- to any other mapping firm, or even to the Army," Hasjrul told the hearing presided over by Judge Subardi.

"Recommendation for security clearance should only be given to the defendant's firm, PT Mapindo Parama (MP) -- formerly known as PT Adikarto Printindo (AP) -- according to the former president's wishes." Hasjrul was referring to the 1989 project, which prosecutors say defrauded the Association of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI) of US$168 million by defendant Bob Hasan.

The project involved the mapping and shooting of aerial photographs of 88.63 million hectares of forest concessions, belonging to 599 concessionaires.

Hasan, as then APHI chief, granted the project to PT AP without the presence of other APHI executive board members, which was a requirement in any decision taken by APHI, witnesses have said. Hasan later bought PT AP and changed its name to PT MP.

Hasjrul said the defendant presented results of the mapping project at the presidential palace on November 16, 1992. The presentation, he said, was attended by Soeharto, former research minister B.J. Habibie, former director general Soenarsan and a high-ranking official of the National Coordinating Agency for Survey And Mapping. "After the presentation, the [former] president instructed Soenarsan not to give a recommendation for security clearance to any other firm, other than this one," Hasjrul said.

The numbing question came when chief prosecutor Arnold Angkouw, on the matter of the payment for the 1989 project, asked Hasjrul whether the ministry had ever discussed the project with APHI, or any other association, before it was awarded to PT AP, in April 1989.

When Hasjrul said no, Arnold showed the hearing a 1988 forestry ministry letter signed by Hasjrul to APHI, allowing the Association of Indonesian Wood Panel Producers (Apkindo) and Indonesian Sawmill Association (ISA) to extract one dollar per cubic meter of logs bound for export, from forest companies with concessions, as fees. The chief of APHI, Apkindo and Isa at that time was defendant Hasan, Arnold said.

When the former minister saw the letter, he said: "I'm sorry ... it's the fasting month. I'm not feeling exactly fit." Djamaludin, who was forestry minister in Soeharto's sixth development Cabinet from 1993 to 1998, told the hearing that the ministry had received a verbal order from Soeharto to make sure another aerial mapping project, which began in 1996, was carried out efficiently, and if possible, by the defendant's company.

"Yes, it was the president's instruction and the ministry carried out the project ... we chose MP since it had the technology, which no other firm had, to take aerial photographs," Djamaludin said.

The July 1996 mapping project was a one-year project worth $87 million, involving the taking of aerial photographs and "airborne radar" images of 30.6 million hectares of protected forests.

The problem was the fraudulent submission of aerial photographs of two million hectares of forest, which were old, some even dating back to 1992, former director general of inventory and planning Sumahadi said at an initial hearing.

Sri Bintang cleared of charges

Jakarta Post - December 1, 2000

Jakarta -- The South Jakarta District Court cleared on Thursday Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI) chairman Sri Bintang Pamungkas of subversion charges and ordered the government to publicly rehabilitate his name.

Presiding judge Muhamad Munawir said the decision was based on Law No. 26/1999, which revoked and declared unlawful Law No. 11/1963 on subversion. "The government has revoked the 1963 subversion law.

Therefore, there is no legal grounds to prosecute the defendant for subversion," Munawir said. He said the decision to clear Bintang of all charges was also made based on the cooperation of the defendant during the hearing.

Munawir said the court decided to resume Bintang's trial after the politician sent a letter to the court and the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office on October 26 of this year, asking that the legal proceedings proceed.

The case came to a standstill after the original presiding judge in the trial, Darlan Nasution, was appointed a senior judge at the Aceh Provincial High Court in mid-1998. The trial opened in late-1997. The district court resumed hearing the trial on November 23.

Despite the prolonged trial, Bintang has enjoyed a normal life since May 25, 1998, when then president B.J. Habibie granted him amnesty and ordered his release from prison.

The South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office sent a letter to the South Jakarta District Court on May 26, 1998, asking the court to dismiss all charges against Bintang. "But the prosecutor's office request never received a response from the chief of the South Jakarta District Court," Bintang said.

Bintang was arrested for subversion in March 1997 and detained in a cell at the Attorney General's Office, along with his colleagues Yulius Usman and Saleh Abdullah.

Yulius and Saleh were released after one month in detention, but Bintang was tried for subversion. The charges arose because of his activities with PUDI, which the New Order government of Soeharto never recognized.

Only three political parties were recognized during the New Order era -- the United Development Party (PPP), Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

Among the charges against Bintang was his call for a boycott of the May 1997 general election, a message which he sent by way of Idul Fitri greeting cards which reached numerous people, including government officials.

When the trial was ongoing in 1997, Bintang, who was expelled from the House of Representatives in 1995, was serving a 34-month prison term for insulting president Soeharto during a speech in Germany in 1995.

He lost his seat in the House after the PPP faction, which he belonged to, dismissed him for repeatedly criticizing the military's role in politics.

Father-in-law suspected of helping Hutomo disappear

South China Morning Post - November 30, 2000

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Confusion in Indonesia surrounding the whereabouts of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra has reached new levels with the naming of his father-in-law as a possible conspirator in his disappearance, and persistent rumours of a deal with the President to allow his escape.

Hutomo, the youngest son of ex-president Suharto, vanished on November 3 to avoid serving an 18-month jail term for corruption. His wife, five siblings and even his satay-maker have been questioned as to his whereabouts.

His father remains ailing and silent. But his father-in-law, Bambang Sucahyo Aji Suryo, is accused of obstructing prosecutors in their search. Police spokesman Brigadier-General Saleh Saaf said Mr Sucahyo's response to police questioning had been misleading and warranted investigation. If charged and found guilty, Mr Sucahyo could face up to nine months' jail. The spokesman also said Hutomo's six lawyers may be charged with hampering the probe.

As the Government struggles to find the former playboy, even parliament is publicly wondering what exactly went on in the private meeting between the fugitive and President Abdurrahman Wahid last month.

Some reports claim that the Suharto side managed to record the meeting and is threatening to release the tape if police get too close to arresting Hutomo. Government confidants doubt any recording was made, but are not disputing that two meetings took place between Mr Wahid and Hutomo.

The assumption is that a cash-for-freedom deal was discussed, although Mr Wahid denies anything corrupt occurred and is threatening to sue members of the Suharto clan for slander. Tellingly, a recent account has Hutomo simply asking President Wahid not to intervene in the legal process, because without such meddling "Tommy's people were convinced they would be able to beat the system".

A friend of Mr Wahid, Iskandar Noer, firmly denies a payoff was discussed at either the first Borobudur Hotel meeting, or the brief Regent Hotel follow-up. But the rumour mill is prompting parliamentarians to consider calling President Wahid to account.

Special committee for Trisakti, Semanggi I-II tragedies formed

Detik - November 27, 2000

A Dipta Anindita/Hendra & GB, Jakarta -- A Special Committee (Pansus) has been formed by the House to investigate the Trisakti and Semanggi I and II incidents when innocent protesters were shot during the final days of the New Order regime of presidents Suharto and Habibie.

The House is empowered to form special committees to investigate matters deemed of national importance and was most famously formed recently to investigate the Bulogate and Bruneigate scandals which allegedly involve President Abdurrahman Wahid.

The meeting to decide whether the committee would be established was held at the parliament in Jakarta, Monday. Deputy Speaker of the House, Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, led the meeting which went without a hitch or any interruptions from members of the House.

Panda Nababan from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) was chosen by an overwhelming majority to head the special committee into the Trisakti and Semanggi I and II incidents.

Besides appointing Panda Nababan, the meeting also agreed on the three new deputy leaders of the Pansus: Nur Supit (Golkar), Abdullah Sarwani (United Development Party - PPP) and Andi Najmi Fuady (National Awakening Faction - PKB).

Public pressure for the resolution of the cases is growing. Last Thursday, 2,000 students from the University of Trisakti and supporters staged a massive rally demanding the police get serious in their investigations.

Much remains unexplained about the Trisakti incident which many believe was the turning point in the political crisis of 1998. On May 12, while massive demonstrations calling for Suharto to stand down were launched across the country, a peaceful demonstration at the university was fired upon and four Trisakti students were killed. The incident outraged Indonesians and the momentum to force Suharto from office climaxed on May 21 when he finally stood down.

Rumours at the time held that Commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) and Suharto's son-in-law, Prabowo Subianto, was behind the attack. Others maintained it was then Commander of the armed forces, General Wiranto.

Investigations into the Trisakti incident are further along than the Semanggi I and II investigations by the police. Authorities at Trisakti maintain Mobile Brigade members were behind the shootings.

The facts in the Semanggi I & II case are less clear. What is clear is that students gathering in the Semanggi area of central Jakarta to protest the special session of parliament under the caretaker government of President BJ Habibie were fired upon when they clashed with security personnel blocking their way to the legislative compound in Senayan. The number of victims is from the crackdown is also unknown although more than 20 are believed to have died from the two separate incidents in November 1999.

News & issues

Chinese 'face discrimination in Indonesia'

Straits Times - December 2, 2000

Jakarta -- The Chinese Indonesian community is still being discriminated against by the authorities despite the move by President Abdurrahman Wahid to allow them to openly practise their religion and perform traditional Chinese ceremonies, said a local sociologist.

Sociologist Melly G. Tan said on Thursday she hoped that discrimination against her ethnic group would be stopped immediately, citing practices in passport application and civil service as examples.

She said Chinese Indonesians applying for a passport are still required to show their citizenship papers. "Whereas for non- Chinese people, it's enough to show a birth certificate. It means there's discrimination against Indonesians of Chinese ancestry," she said on the sidelines of a book launching ceremony. Such unfair treatment, she added, has created a great opportunity for immigration officers to get extra money through bribery.

She was also sceptical about the chances of Chinese Indonesians becoming civil servants, top government officials or students at state universities in the country. "There was a Chinese-born minister recently, but that was only one," she added, referring to former Coordinating Minister of Economy and Finance Kwik Kian Gie.

During the 32-year "New Order" era of former President Suharto, Chinese symbols were banned and other Chinese cultural traditions were restricted as per a Presidential instruction from 1967. Only recently did Mr Abdurrahman revoke this restriction.

An expert on Chinese Indonesians from University of Indonesia, Gondomono, shared Ms Melly's views. "Just because several Chinese Indonesian businessmen collaborated with the country's elites and became successful and rich, all then become stereotyped and identified with shrewd business," he said.

"People blame the prolonged monetary crisis on Chinese tycoons, such as Bob Hasan and Liem Sioe Liong, while they actually couldn't do it if they didn't collaborate with non-Chinese people in the government and banking industry,: Ms Melly said.

Muslim activists condemn FPI's violent raids

Jakarta Post - December 1, 2000

Jakarta -- Muslim activists condemned on Thursday the raids on various entertainment centers conducted by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), saying that the group did not represent the whole Muslim community.

Executive of the Muhammadiyah Muslim Youth Association (PP Muhammadiyah) Nadjamuddin Ramly said the violence committed by FPI members in the name of religion was unacceptable.

"What they do by raiding entertainment centers, destroying property and injuring people, is purely criminal," Nadjamuddin told The Jakarta Post by phone. "Police should arrest the people who commit such acts," he said.

Nadjamuddin also said that the FPI's actions had damaged the image of Muslims. "The FPI scares off even Muslims themselves," he claimed.

He said that PP Muhammadiyah, the youth wing of the country's second largest Muslim organization, disagreed with the way the FPI members raided nightspots which they considered to be running sinful businesses.

Nadjamuddin said that even though the city administration had issued a regulation which required saunas, nightclubs, discotheques and arcades to close during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan, many still ignored the regulation.

"But the FPI should report such violations to the authorities instead of raiding the nightspots," Nadjamuddin said. Following pressure from Muslim groups and six City Council factions, Governor Sutiyoso announced on November 23 that nightspots would be closed during Ramadhan, Idul Fitri and Christmas.

Former chairman of the Indonesian Muslim Students Association (HMI) Ridwan Saidi shared Nadjamuddin's opinion, saying that the FPI attacks had caused losses to businesses which were located near the targets of the attacks.

"Their acts have been scaring off other people and other businesses whichare not related in any way to the nightspots," Ridwan said. "If the FPI wants to play rough, they should head off to the battlefield in the Gaza Strip," Ridwan added.

FPI attacks on nightspots have intensified during Ramadhan following their pledge to burn down nightspots which remain open during the fasting month.

On Wednesday, a police report said that the group had raided the MW bar and the Ratu Ayu bar on Jl. Tubagus Angke in Wijaya Kusuma subdistrict, West Jakarta, even though the bars had been closed at the time of the raid. The report said that some 300 members of the group, armed with daggers and swords, had arrived at the two bars about 10.30pm, broke into them and carried out musical instruments and furniture which they then set alight.

Jakarta Police spokesman Supt. Anton Badrul Alam said the police had yet to make any arrests over the attack. "We will summon the FPI chief for a talk," Anton told reporters at city police headquarters on Thursday.

When contacted by the Post, FPI executive Reza Pahlevi said the bars had only been closed as they had heard about the FPI's plan to attack them. "They were open just moments before we arrived," Reza claimed.

Reza said that the group's members were not afraid of being questioned by the police over the raids. "These places have been abusing women by turning them into prostitutes but the police never question them. How come?" Reza asked.

Islamic groups threaten blitz on nightspots

Straits Times - December 2, 2000

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- Indonesian Islamic groups, which attacked several nightspots this week, have threatened to close down nightclubs, karaoke bars and other entertainment outlets. The threat comes after the government failed to impose a blanket ban on them during the Muslim fasting month.

Head of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) Jafar Sidik said that posters had been put up all around town to remind entertainment operators to respect the Muslim holy month. "All nightspots which dare to operate during Ramadan will be burned down," he said.

On Wednesday, a police report said that the group raided the MW bar and the Ratu Ayu bar in Wijaya Kusuma sub-district, West Jakarta, even though the bars had been closed at the time of the raid.

Some 300 members of the group, armed with daggers and swords, broke into the two bars about 10.30pm, and removed musical instruments and furniture, which they then set alight. No arrest has been made, police said.

Over the weekend, FPI youths dressed in long white robes, green sashes and white skull caps "raided" cafes, restaurants and kiosks in the Depok, in outer Jakarta, which they said had violated the sacredness of Ramadan.

The cafes, located outside Jakarta's boundaries, were not even violating a new city ordinance aimed at limiting the operating hours of bars and discos during the fasting month. But to the group, these details were unimportant.

The point was to warn cafes that they could launch a raid arbitrarily on those open during Ramadan, whether or not they were covered by the city council's regulations.

Other Islamic groups such as the Cempaka Putih, an offshoot of the infamous Laskar Jihad which sent Muslim fighters to Maluku, argue that closing down clubs, whether peacefully or violently, is the only way to protect Muslim morals. "Muslims should avoid these places because permissive behaviour will destroy their morals," said Hardi Ebnu Harun of the Cempaka Putih.

To groups such as the FDI and Cempaka Putih, closing down restaurants and nightclubs is a chance for other religious groups to show tolerance for Muslims. "It's only one month that they have to close and other religions should respect us as Islam is the majority religion here," said Mr Hardi Ebnu.

Many religious observers say these groups represent a hardline minority outside the traditionally tolerant Muslim majority, and that while they might be more vocal and visible than more moderate groups, they lack widespread support.

However, others are concerned that as more moderate Islamic groups threaten to conduct civilian "sweeps" against clubs offending Muslims or violating Ramadan restrictions, hardline actions may gain momentum in a climate of political instability and continuing economic hardships.

"Many people are emotional, desperate and hungry and need an outlet. Just as during the fall of the New Order they blamed Suharto, now the outlet is prostitution," said religious scholar Komaruddin Hidayat.

On Sunday, even the youth wing of the more moderate Nahdlatul Ulama vowed to conduct raids on Surabaya's discotheques and brothels that dared to open during the fasting month, according to online news service Detik.com.

Surabaya's government ordered discotheques and brothels to close its doors, but has allowed pubs, karaoke and massage parlours to open outside the fasting hours, from 9 pm to 2 am.

Season of unholy free-for-all on bars

South China Morning Post - November 28, 2000

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Ramadan in Indonesia is a time for heightened tempers on the subject of sin, and this year it could mean a month of unemployment for everyone in the entertainment industry.

The Front to Defend Islam and other groups have been protesting daily in the run-up to the Islamic fasting month, demanding that all bars, nightclubs and even restaurants close, especially those lending themselves to gambling or prostitution.

Last year Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso promised that nightlife could carry on, only to buckle to the mob when it held his office hostage with demonstrations. This year, he said some businesses would be allowed to stay open.

Critics say cash payments and the turf war between soldiers, police and gangs will have more to do with choosing which businesses can open than interpretation of Islamic tenets.

They point out that many protests organised by the Front to Protect Islam are funded by shadowy military figures, and that several of the Front's leaders have themselves been known to be drunk and disorderly at times.

The opening up of democratic space since the 1998 fall of Suharto made room for sharper Islamic political discourse, ranging from demonstrations by machete-wielding protesters outside Parliament every day last week to the trashing of bars and restaurants and the beating up of patrons.

During an Islamist "anti-sin" demonstration at the weekend, 48 groups joined a convoy around the streets of Solo, Central Java, demanding that all activities offensive to Muslims cease during Ramadan. Members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, which is headed by Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, were among the protesters.

48 groups join 'anti-sin' demo in Solo

Detik - November 25, 2000

Muchus B. Rahayu/GB, Solo -- As many as 48 mass organisations joined a massive convoy around the streets of Solo (Surakarta) in central Java demanding that all activities offensive to Muslims be totally stopped during the holy fasting month of Ramadhan which most Muslims will celebrate tomorrow, Monday.

Around 30 vehicles ferried the demonstrators around the city Sunday. They were seen off from grounds of the Agung Mosque by the head of the Crescent Star Party (PBB), Ahmad Sumargono. All of the demonstrators were men and many were dressed in long white robes characteristic of the orthodox Muslim.

They did not make a lot of noise but managed to cause traffic jams throughout the city although ordinary citizens did not seem to object too loudly but observed the event passively. The demonstrators passed the Manahan stadium, down Jl. Ahmad Yani, through Tirtonadi, Mojosongo, Panggung and Taman Satwa Taru Jurug and on via Jl. Suryo to Warung Pelem, the Solihin mosque to Kotabarat via Gendingan and Jl. Slamet Riyadi, they eventually finished off at the Town Hall in the center of the city.

Many of the demonstrators also sported the characteristic red T- shirts and bull symbol of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) headed by Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri. One of the vans sported a huge banner reading `PDIP is anti- sin'.

Controversy currently surrounds policies governing the right of entertainment venues to open during the holy month. In Solo, Jakarta and elsewhere, many groups have vowed to forcibly close down venues where illicit and other activities they deem offensive to Islam are conducted.

FPI vandalism and terror strike Depok

Jakarta Post - November 27, 2000

Jakarta -- Armed with long wooden sticks and attired in their green and white outfits, dozens of members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) perpetrated more acts of vandalism on Sunday by attacking several restaurants, cafes and small street kiosks, which they labeled immoral places.

This time the attack was carried out by FPI members in Depok who raided the sites located along Jl. Dewi Sartika, Jl. Sawangan and Jl. Margonda.

No police officers were to be seen during the attack, which started at 11am. Most of the places were totally destroyed. The mob, for example, smashed tables outside the cafes and damaged audio equipment.

The FPI members also raided several kiosks in the area looking for alcoholic drinks. When found, the attackers broke the bottles and warned the owners not to sell such drinks again during the fasting month unless they wanted to see their kiosks burn.

"We will be back and will burn these places if they continue to operate during Ramadhan. We will not let anyone violate the sacredness of Ramadhan," the Depok group's leader Idrus Hassan said. Depok police could not be reached to comment on the attack.

Last week, some 150 members of the FPI armed with daggers, sickles, swords, and sticks, attacked and vandalized a billiard center in South Jakarta.

Separately, FPI leader Jafar Sidiq said here on Sunday that the action in Depok was necessary as the local administration had refused to follow the "rules of Ramadhan".

"The authorities of [neighboring] Jakarta, Tangerang and Bekasi have all issued decrees closing such cafes and certain restaurants one day before and on the first day of Ramadhan.

The Depok administration refused to issue such a regulation," Jafar told The Jakarta Post. "How dare the operators of the cafes open their business on the day before Ramadhan? The city does not seem to respect Islam. We support 100 percent the acts of the FPI in Depok," he added.

Jafar again warned cafe owners in Greater Jakarta to be very careful about what they do during Ramadhan, the holy month for the Muslims. "All nightspots will be burned down that dare to operate in Ramadhan. We have posted FPI stickers all around town to remind people of this," Jafar said.

Environment/health

Excessive exploitation caused flood in Java-Sumatra

Detik - December 1, 2000

Rizal Maslan/Fitri & BI, Jakarta -- Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) blamed excessive exploitation on natural resources as well as environment degradation as on of the significant factors that cause spate of floods in Java and Sumatra recently. WALHI claimed that mono-culturisation process and indiscriminate plundering natural forests, as instances to cause these floods.

"For examples, mono-culturisation of pine trees in Purworejo, Central Java and rampant plundering of natural forest in Bung Hatta state forest as well as road constructions which cut through the hills," said Suwiryo Ismail, Deputy Director of WALHI in its press release receive by Detik, Friday..

Suwiryo believed that mass plantation of pine trees do not have any environment advantages. Rather it would create a disaster in certain condition and places, the fact that pine tree is known to absorb water much lesser than other forest species native to that region.

According to WALHI excessive forest plundering, unfriendly road constructions through the hills and reclaiming of ravines are also being blamed as one major cause of the floods. These activities worsened by the fact that there isn't any contingency plan to foresee natural disasters.

"Besides, the government is yet to be able to produce disaster map in every zones that are easily accessible by community," said Suwiryo.

Based on this fact, WALHI has proposed to government to immediately establish Emergency Respond Agency in areas prone to natural disasters. He said that this agency would be able to respond quickly when disasters struck in these areas. Suwiryo said another reason to set up this Agency due to the fact that the existing National Coordination Agency for Natural Disasters and National Search and Rescue Agency have not been fully functioned as well as not being well trained.

WALHI also suggests to the government, to produce maps to indicate areas frequented by natural disasters map. The group also suggests that natural disasters should be included as a perspective in the making of policies on natural resource management as well as environment and space management in certain region.

WALHI has urged the government to rehabilitate areas that have been damaged by deforestation and to restore forest's function as the basis of human support.

Arms/armed forces

Indonesian army accused of land theft

Tempo - December 2, 2000

Surabaya -- A land dispute erupted between civilians and the Army in Sukorejo village, Buduran district, Sidoarjo, East Java. On Friday, December 1, residents gathered at the disputed land occupied by the Army. The East Java House Commission A accompanied the people during the attempted reoccupation of the land by men and some old women. However, Army guard units from the Arhanudse-8 Battalion prevented the land seizure.

Local residents accuse the Army of stealing their land. During the New Order era, the aggrieved villagers did not have the courage to force their demands. However, during the reform era, the people feel empowered and are determined to retake their land.

However, the Brawijaya Military Command Maj. Gen. Sudi Silalahi denied the accusation. He claimed that the Indonesian Military (TNI) took the land from the Japanese government after World War II. The Army completed the land ownership process in accordance with regulation, not arbitrarily. "We received the land from Japan and the Indonesian government gave it to the Army," he told the press.

He also claimed that the people received compensation. The Army now uses the land for the Army's Weapons and Ammunition Warehouse. The Indonesian Army Headquarters, not the Brawijaya Military Command in East Java, directly manages the warehouse.

Therefore, the Brawijaya Military Command does not have authority to solve the problem. He urged the community not to illegally reoccupy the land. "Don't take the land arbitrarily. Let us discuss the problem," he said.

International relations

Indonesia needs friends. So why is it picking fights?

Asiaweek -- November 27, 2000

Warren Caragata -- Only a year ago, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid seemed determined to patch up relations with Singapore, home of billions of dollars in Indonesian capital controlled by ethnic Chinese business who fled after the 1998 Jakarta riots. Singapore was Wahid's first foreign stop after his election last year, and his overtures to a country that predecessor B.J. Habibie once angrily referred to as that "unfriendly little red dot" included the appointment of Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew as one of his foreign-policy advisors.

The efforts quickly bore fruit. The Singapore government announced it would invest $900 million in Indonesian companies. In March, Singapore-based Cycle and Carriage bought the 23% stake in automaker Astra International being peddled by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency. The Government of Singapore Investment Corp. put up $100 million of the $506 million deal.

But this burgeoning friendship across the Java Sea now seems to have cooled. After the ASEAN summit in Singapore last week, Wahid stayed on just long enough to make more of the perplexing comments he has become infamous for, this time saying Singapore was trying to take advantage of Indonesia while it is in crisis. "They just look after themselves; all they just look for are profits," he was quoted as saying.

Race is never from the surface in Singapore-Indonesia relations, and despite Wahid's reputation for promoting ethnic and religious tolerance, he couldn't stop himself from playing the race card. "Singaporeans despise Malays. We are considered non-existent," he said. Just to make sure Singapore got the point, Wahid hinted at Indonesia and Malaysia teaming up to cut off the city state's water supply. Indonesia's leverage will increase with the completion scheduled for late December of a natural gas pipeline to Singapore from the Natuna field.

Such threats could prompt Singapore to rely less on a fickle friend, with the financial consequences for Indonesia such a decision would cause.

Wahid's comments are sure to find favor with an increasingly intemperate strain of nationalism that has been growing since last year's East Timorese referendum and Australia's leadership of an international peace-keeping force in the territory. The attack on Singapore is just the latest example of an Indonesia intent on making enemies of countries that should be friends. Relations with Australia soured last year, perhaps naturally, given that Indonesia felt the Australians had abruptly changed their tune on East Timor. But Jakarta has done little in the last year to repair ties with a country that is a major source of both foreign investment and aid. Wahid has traveled the world since his election, sometimes to the oddest places (Chile and Venezuela) and yet has not made the relatively short flight down to Canberra. Whenever he mentions the possibility, he is beset by nationalists in parliament who tell him to drop such treasonous plans.

The hostility toward Australia was shown earlier this month, when outgoing ambassador John McCarthy was attacked in Sulawesi by a crowd of East Timorese toughs. Wahid apologized for the incident but, more to the point, police have made no arrests and a senior government official who heads the intelligence coordinating agency said the attack should be a lesson to foreign diplomats to watch their tongues. Days before the incident, McCarthy had suggested that Gen. Wiranto, the former Indonesian military commander, had advance knowledge of the terror that accompanied East Timor's vote for independence.

While squabbling with two of its most important neighbors, Indonesia has also been doing battle with the United States. In the most publicized incident, Muslim extremists raided several hotels in central Java with the aim of expelling American tourists. The fact that none was found and nobody was hurt will make no difference in the US So Indonesia can kiss goodbye to American tourist dollars for the time being. Indonesian parliamentarians and Wahid's defense minister, Muhammad Mahfud, have accused the Americans of everything from an invasion of West Timor to support for Christians in the strife-torn Maluku islands.

Mired in an economic crisis and beset by separatist pressures and communal violence, Indonesia needs all the friends it can get it. Sadly, it seems intent on making enemies.

Singapore breaks silence on Wahid's tirade

Agence France-Presse - November 28, 2000

Singapore -- Singapore on Tuesday broke its silence on a tirade by Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid but avoided commenting on his threat to cut off the island-state's water supply.

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's office issued a rebuttal of Wahid's comments to Indonesian journalists at the end of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) forum in Singapore on Saturday.

However, there was no direct reply to Wahid's comments that Indonesia should cooperate with Malaysia to choke Singapore's water supply, which is being piped in from Johor. Nor did the government reply to scathing remarks made about Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. And, the Indonesian president's comments that Singapore was only interested in profit for entering into a bundle of free trade pacts outside of ASEAN were not addressed.

On Wahid's complaint that his suggestion to admit East Timor and Papua New Guinea into ASEAN was ignored, Goh's office said the Indonesian president never tabled his proposal at the summit itself.

Wahid only recounted his encounter with Senior Minister Lee outside the ASEAN meeting during which Singapore's elder statesman reportedly told him that East Timor and Papua New Guinea would burden ASEAN.

Had Wahid tabled his proposal, "ASEAN practice requires a consensus on the admission of new members," Goh's office said in a statement. "It is not a matter that can be decided by one or two countries," it said.

Wahid had also complained that Goh never mentioned Indonesia as a host to planned ASEAN trade fairs and said there was no need to follow a decision during the summit to master the English language in order to keep pace with developments in information technology. He said it was Singapore who made the suggestion on the use of the English language.

But Goh's office said the decision taken at the summit was to rotate hosting of the trade fairs among ASEAN capitals and the advice to master English was made by Malaysian Prime Minster Mahathir Mohamad, not by the host, the statement said.

On Wahid's accusation that the summit ignored the southern part of ASEAN and focused more on the Mekong river basin, Goh's office said it was the consensus among the leaders that integrating Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar was crucial to ASEAN's consolidation. "The ASEAN leaders and also the leaders from China, Japan and Korea focused on projects in the Mekong Basin countries," the statement said.

It was the Singapore prime minister who proposed that the ASEAN summit in Brunei next year should discuss help to ASEAN's eastern regions comprising of the Philippines, Kalimantan, East Malaysia and Brunei. Indonesian officials, politicians and analysts have played down Wahid's remarks.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Economy & investment

Indonesian shares likely to remain stagnant

Agence France-Presse - December 1, 2000

Jakarta -- Indonesian share prices, which dropped 1.54 percent over the week, were likely to remain static in the coming week amid ongoing political tension and a holiday-shortened trading month, analysts said Friday.

"Basically the market is still static and it will stay that way until the end of the trading year -- which effectively is only two more weeks from now," Vickers Ballas technical analyst Ahmad Amir told AFP. But he said he saw "a small potential for the market to see a minor rise" in the next two weeks if players used the remaining time for "year-end window-dressing."

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index lost 6.689 points over the week to close at 427.522 on Friday. Daily turnover averaged 266.9 million shares at an average value of 23.88 million dollars, compared with the previous week's average of 444.06 million shares worth 41.97 million dollars.

The rupiah closed the week at around 9,520-9,530 to the dollar, down marginally from its previous week's rate of 9,450-9,460. The rupiah "will continue to weaken in the coming weeks" Amir said, citing that the completion of restructurng of several big companies would "require them to buy a lot of US dollars to pay their creditors."

An ongoing feud between President Abdurrahman Wahid and several members of the House of Representatives (DPR) over the president's alleged involvement in two financial scandals gave "no positive image for the market," Amir said.

"Unless Wahid delivers positive political and economic news, the market is unlikely to see any significant increase," he added. The index was likely to consolidate at around the 420 to 440 level, Amir added.

But BNI Securities head of research Adrian Rusmana said technically there was more room on the upside than downside in the coming week. "If you watch closely, market volume tends to be thin in any market fall while in contrast when the index rises volume becomes much bigger," he said.

Rusmana said he maintains his view that the index will slowly rise towards the year-end. "I am looking at around 439 [points] next week," he said. "For one thing, I would say that Telkom is now lagging behind other big caps. So there is an opportunity for Telkom to rally any time into the year end and any increase in Telkom will have substantial impact on the overall index," he said.

Telkom gained 100 rupiah over the week to close at 2,475 while Indosat shed 440 to close at 8,800. Cigarette maker Sampoerna rose 1,050 to end the week at 14,500 while rival Gudang Garam gained 850 to close at 13,250.

'Be wary of buying Indonesian assets'

Straits Times - December 2, 2000

R. Senthilnathan, Geneva -- Canada's trade ties with its largest Asean partner Indonesia have suffered a blow as Ottawa has asked local companies to think twice before buying up assets of their troubled business partners in Indonesia.

"Although we are not discouraging Canadian companies from investing in Indonesia, we want them to use caution when purchasing assets that are put up for sale under the Ibra and the Ministry of Finance," said Mr Reynold Moiron, a spokesman for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Ibra stands for the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.

Canadian officials have been irritated recently over what Mr Moiron called as "unacceptable harassment" of the employees of the PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife Indonesia, a Canadian-Indonesian joint venture that has run into trouble after a British Virgin Islands-based firm complained of a share certificate forgery.

When Jakarta did not respond to Ottawa's attempts to get the issue settled, Canada intervened at the highest level. Prime Minister Jean Chretien sent a letter to Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, but Mr Moiron said he was unaware of any reply from Jakarta.

The issue in question is whether the 40 per cent stake in PT Manulife Indonesia, that was bought recently by the Canadian insurance giant, Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC) for US$20 million from the now-bankrupt PT Dharmala Sakti Sejahtera insurance firm, is legal.

The late October purchase, through a government-sanctioned auction, increased MFC's stake in the Manulife Indonesia to 91 per cent. However, soon after the MFC purchase, Roman Gold Assets of British Virgin Islands claimed it had bought the same stake a week earlier from a Samoa-based company for US$50 million. It also complained that share certificates had been forged.

The complaint landed Adi Purnomo, senior vice-president of Manulife Indonesia, in jail, where he was held without charges for three weeks before being released recently. However, Mr Moiron said it was too early to say if Canadian investors would see the Manulife crisis as a sign of poor investor security in Indonesia.

Indonesian tycoons press for easier debt solution

Straits Times - November 28, 2000

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Potential investors seeking bargains from the restructuring agency, Ibra, might have to keep their wallets buttoned up, if two of the country's biggest tycoon-debtors succeed in pushing the government to revise debt-repayment deals signed two years ago.

Tycoons Anthony Salim and Sjamsul Nursalim, whose combined debts to the state amount to over 81 trillion rupiah (S$16 billion), filed protests with the government last week demanding debt workouts similar to the one given to Texmaco Group, another heavily indebted conglomerate, earlier in October.

Both the Salim Group and Mr Sjamsul's Gajah Tunggal Group have surrendered assets to Ibra under an earlier model -- MSAA. Two weeks ago, the two men also forwarded promissory notes for additional assets and personal guarantees to the government to cover any future shortfall.

But following the Texmaco deal, lawyers for Mr Salim and Mr Sjamsul charged that Texmaco founder Marimutu Sinivasan capitalised on connections with President Abdurrahman Wahid and Chief Economics Minister Rizal Ramli, a former consultant to Texmaco, to secure preferential treatment.

Indeed, Mr Abdurrahman has given Mr Marimutu a temporary immunity from legal prosecution. Now Mr Salim and Mr Sjamsul want a Texmaco-type deal where instead of surrendering their assets to the government, they would simply use assets as collaterals for their debts.

Such a revision, argued Jakarta's analysts and economists, would hamper Ibra's asset disposal programme, as it would need to secure the former owners' agreements before selling, and endanger its ability to fulfil state budget targets of 22 trillion rupiah this year and 27 trillion rupiah in 2001.

Director of Ibra's Asset Management Investment unit Mr Dasa Sutantio yesterday said the agency strikes deals with each conglomerate based on individual evaluations, and not based on any strict model.

"There is no such thing as a Texmaco structure. Annexes to existing deals with Salim and Sjamsul would take into account how the government's financial recovery efforts can be met," he said.

Mr Dasa also rejected the suggestion that Ibra is speeding up disposal of former Salim Group assets, with sales of key assets totalling over three trillion rupiah in the last week alone, on concerns that Mr Salim might get his way and block future asset disposal plans.

But a high-level Ibra source told The Straits Times that the tycoons are seeking more advantageous debt-workout deals at the expense of state interests. "They want more time to pay, they want to stop Ibra from selling assets." The government is strapped for cash and their tactic is to drag the process, to hold us hostage.'

The source further said that following the Texmaco template, conglomerate owners retain more control over their assets and exercise first-refusal option when the companies are put on the auction block. "For Salim, who has been trying to quietly buy back his companies while he owes trillions of rupiah and at the risk of angering the public, a Texmaco-style revision would kill many birds with one stone," the source said.

Book/film reviews

Indonesia's first socialist magazine

Green Left Weekly - November 29, 2000

Max Lane -- Since August, a new left-wing theoretical magazine, Jurnal Kiri (Left Journal), has been published in Indonesia.

Three editions of the 160-page magazine have appeared. Its general editor is Marlin, who is also member of the editorial board of Links, an Australian-based Marxist journal.

Kiri is sold by left-wing activists and distributed through bookshops. Nearly 2000 copies of each edition have been printed, with most being sold within 10 days of publication.

The first issue carried the text of Karl Marx's and Friedrich Engels' Communist Manifesto, as well as an Indonesian translation of the introduction, written by Democratic Socialist Party national executive member Doug Lorimer, to the Resistance Books' edition of the Manifesto. It also carried an Indonesian translation of the chapter of Lorimer's book Fundamentals of Historical Materialism: The Marxist View of History and Politics (also published by Resistance Books, Sydney) dealing with "Social Classes and Class Struggle".

An Indonesian translation of Lorimer's talk to the Marxism 2000 conference held in Sydney in January -- "Imperialist Capitalism and Neo-Liberal Globalisation" -- was also a feature of the first issue of Kiri.

The second Kiri included a number of Indonesian translations of writings by Frederick Engels (excerpts from Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, the introduction to Anti-Duhring and the introduction to The Dialectics of Nature), Lenin's article "Three Sources and Three Components of Marxism" and Doug Lorimer's introduction to Fundamentals of Historical Materialism (in which the dialectical materialist approach to understanding the world is contrasted to the reductionist approach of bourgeois social "science"). Other articles included: "Is the Structural Adjustment Approach Really and Truly Dead?" and "The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund" by Walden Bello (from the books Dark Victory: The US, Structural Adjustment and Global Poverty by Walden Bello and Shea Cunningham).

The third issue carried articles including Fidel Castro's speeches to the this year's G77 summit in Havana, which have also been published in Australia by Resistance Books under the title Neoliberal Globalisation and the Third World. The Kiri editor has included a note observing that Indonesian President Wahid, who attended the G77 summit, described the Castro's speeches as "boring, with too much detail". The issue carried more excerpts from Lorimer's Fundamentals of Historical Materialism. Other articles include an excerpt from Leon Trotsky's 1940 essay from In Defense of Marxism on "The ABC of Materialist Dialectics", "The Causes of the International Economic Crisis" by Links editor Allen Myers (translated from Links No. 12, May-August 1999) and translated excerpts from Soviet philosopher Yu. A. Kharin's 1981 book Fundamentals of Dialectics.

In the first issue, Marlin explained the spirit behind Kiri: "How much more human suffering will there be in the attempt to stop justice breaching the dams to flow freely? There must be no more! We must no longer waste the heritage of humankind's enlightenment, however much it should have gained.

"One part of this heritage is democratic, scientific socialism. We will test out this heritage because we no longer believe in the rulers' capacity to judge our heritage; because you wish to imprison our capacity to judge. Without democracy, our capacity for judgement can not be said to have the ability to flow through to be assessed as part of scientific testing. And democracy for scientific socialism is justice and the freedom to seek justice, the great product of scientific truth. It is this spirit that Kiri is published...

"The history of capitalism is a history of all kinds of economic exploitation, a history of all kinds of violent, militaristic political oppression, every kind of subordination and anaesthetisation of culture, and also every kind of bribery -- in essence, every kind of robbery of the surplus value of workers for the accumulation of capital. But what excites us, what makes us proud, what moves us, is that this history is also a history of every kind of resistance to the past as well as the present. This proud and great heritage only strengthens the spirit of capitalism's opponent: us. We still stand up against capitalism, including in the form that it now takes in its final stages: neo-liberalism."