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Indonesia News Digest No
4 - January 22-28, 2001
Agence France-Presse - January 26, 2001
Jakarta -- Students protested in at least two Indonesian cities
including the capital on Friday demanding that President
Abdurrahman Wahid resign and answer charges that he was involved
in two financial scandals.
Some 500 students rallied outside the parliament building in
Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, waving posters
denouncing the country's first democratically-elected leader.
"There's no more reason to retain [Wahid]," said Muhammad Rizki,
chairman of the Andalas University students union, an AFP
reporter there said.
In Jakarta, 100 leaders of students unions from at least seven
state universities in Java and Sumatra submitted a petition to
parliament calling on the legislature to press on with its
investigation into two scandals in which Wahid is allegedly
involved. Later in the day some 200 students and workers
protested at the parliament building, calling for Wahid's
resignation.
In a separate protest outside the presidential palace in Jakarta
some 400 Muslims demonstrated to condemn an alleged secret
meeting between Wahid and Israeli Trade Minister Reuven Horesh
earlier this month. The meeting was reported by the Jakarta press
on Friday. "Gus Dur [Wahid's nickname] is a zionist agent," read
one poster held up by a protestor.
A parliamentary commission wants to question Wahid over
"Bulogate" -- the theft of 3.9 million dollars from the state
logistics agency, Bulog, reportedly pulled off by Wahid's
masseur, Alip Agung Suwondo.
The other scandal, dubbed "Bruneigate" by the press, centers
around a two million dollar donation from the Sultan of Brunei
that the president claimed was a personal gift to be used for
humanitarian assistance in the rebellious Aceh province.
Wahid on Monday walked out of a meeting with the commission,
saying it had failed to clarify if the questioning session was a
legal or political forum.
The president has criticized the special commission as illegal
and refused to be queried over the scandals. He claimed he was
not accountable to a lower house body.
Wahid's opponents have staged daily protests at the parliament
building in the past week. The president's supporters were also
active. On Friday some 20 of them were meeting with parliamentary
leaders inside the parliament complex, an AFP reporter there
said.
On Wednesday leaders of the 40-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama
(NU), the country's largest Islamic group once led by Wahid,
warned parliament speaker Akbar Tanjung of bloodshed if Wahid was
toppled.
"We cannot accept the way legislators are crticzing the president
and the political conspiracy in the House to topple the
government," the Jakarta post quoted one of NU leaders, Akiq
Zaman as saying by after meeting Tanjung.
"The nation will be facing chaotic situation and pay a high
social cost if the president is forced to step down now while the
constitution guarantees his tenure until 2004," he added.
He said that NU leader could no longer be able to hold back
Wahid's supporters in East Java, an NU stronghold, from
travelling to the capital to couter anti-Wahid protests and the
leaders.
Jakarta Post - January 25, 2001
Matdon, Bandung -- Five young artists have come together for an
exhibition with the provocative title "Dasar Babi-Babi. Hancurkan
Sisa-Sisa Orde Baru, Golkar + Militerisme" (You pigs! Crush the
remaining elements of the New Order, Golkar and Militarism).
The title and the subject matter are evidence of the huge changes
in the country since the resignation of Soeharto in May 1998, and
the changing role of the military and the former ruling political
grouping Golkar.
An exhibition with such a title and theme would have been shut
down by the authorities if anyone dared to put it on during
Soeharto's authoritarian rule.
The students are Rahmat Jabbaril, Kisuhardi and Johore, who are
from the Underground Wagon Group, and Kuncoro Adi and Graham
Hawkins, two students of the Bandung Institute of Technology and
members of the Folk Network.
The theme of the exhibition has raised eyebrows and stirred
emotions. Many pamphlets posted on Bandung street corners and
shops were mysteriously torn down, which may be a sign that their
works are as relevant today as they would have been three years
ago.
Since 1965 and the ascendancy of Soeharto to power, the arts were
an instrument of resistance frequently curbed by the government.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, artists such as poet WS Rendra
expressed their anger at the government, as did Nano Riantiarno,
Ratna Sarumpaet and others from the theater group Teater Koma. In
the 1990s there emerged Tukul, Samsar Siahaan and Mulyono, the
founder of the Folk Network.
Imprisonment and sanctions did not silence them as they worked to
seek freedom for the people from military oppression, capitalism
and the legacy of feudalism.
In the eyes of the five fine artists in the exhibition,
Soeharto's fall has not brought positive change and people
continue to live in fear. In their works, they convey their
belief that those behind the changes today are nothing more than
opportunists and duplicitious "reformers". In their eyes, Golkar,
which was the machine that kept the Soeharto juggernaut running
on the track of absolute power, is the main cause of the
country's woes.
Rahmat, who has held protests in several cities nationwide, said
there was no significant fine arts movement in the country since
the New Fine Arts Movement of the 1980s.
However, he believes the fine arts movement, which was only
lauded if it was of benefit to the government's aims, said the
genre can be of value if artists realize the suffering of the
people and provide moral support.
The artists each show between five to 10 of their works, all of
which are parodies of the situation in the country today. The
common theme in each is that the vestiges of the New Order will
only disappear once the Golkar power structure extending from the
center to the regions is destroyed.
Their argument is that the destruction of Golkar will also reduce
the power of the military, but efforts must be nonviolent.
"Artists consistently striving for freedom through the fine arts
should give priority to 'attacks' without violence against the
New Order's remaining power," said Rahmat.
In their view, the arts must become artists' awareness for
reviewing ideological, political, religious and cultural problems
which must be evinced by the artists in the form of a new visual
art, not only in the moving of realities. Art should be capable
of giving guidance to the society for a better existence.
Rahmat held the Tomb Plastic Arts exhibition some time ago and
other exhibitions in several Indonesian cities. In early 2000 he
canceled his planned exhibition in the Netherlands but would not
explain the reason.
Kuncoro Adi, Kisuhardi and Johor, also from Bandung, often hold
painting exhibitions which are distinguished by their showing
their disappointment at the current situation in the country.
Hawkins is an Australian who is also active in the Yogyakarta
Taring Padi Group. In his country of origin Hawking often held
exhibitions, and after settling in Indonesia five years ago, he
has become involved in various art activities.
They and other artists today must confront the following
questions: How can fine arts be utilized to destroy the New
Order's legacy? On which side must artists be in facing a
legitimate government? Yet these are not only questions for the
art community, but also for the public in looking ahead to the
future.
Indonesian Observer - January 24, 2001
Jakarta -- The left-wing Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) and the
nations biggest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) are to
hold a joint rally against forces opposed to democracy.
PRD leader Budiman Sudjatmiko yesterday met with NU Chairman
Hasyim Muzadi to discuss the agenda of the rally.
Budiman said there are clear indications that the old power and
its anti-democracy groups may attempt to oust the democratically
government. He said Muzadi is keen for NU and the PRD to join
forces for the sake of upholding democracy.
The PRD and NU are to hold a joint massive rally. It will
accommodate the non-governmental organizations, students and
pro-democracy activists. It will aim to consolidate pro-democracy
powers.
No date was given for the event. Budiman said he invited NU to
join the rally, because Muzadi had recently declared 2001 to be
the year of strictness. That means the pro-democracy groups have
to take a strong stance against the old forces, which want to
regain power.
The PRD leader, who was jailed by the regime of ex-president
Soeharto on trumped up charges of subversion, said the old forces
are making a bold and obvious threat to regain power.
Muzadi said that in some ways the PRDs ideas are similar to those
of NU. We also want to find a way to thwart the attempts by the
old power groups that want to eliminate the democracy process in
Indonesia, he said.
Muzadi denied that he and Budiman had discussed the national
leadership issue, saying the PRD and NU were more focused on the
national interest, rather than the president.
Associated Press - January 25, 2001
Dili -- In the first successful prosecution for the destruction
of East Timor in 1999, an international court sentenced a pro-
Indonesian militiaman to 12 years in prison for murder.
Joao Fernandes, a member of the Merah Putih (Red and White)
militia gang, was found guilty of killing a pro-independence
activist in the town of Maliana, close to the border with
Indonesian-held West Timor, on September 8, 1999.
"This judgment should be enforced immediately," said presiding
judge Luca Ferrero. The Italian justice presided over a three-man
panel of judges at the Dili District Court.
Hundreds of people died and most of East Timor was destroyed when
the Indonesian army and its local auxiliaries went on a rampage
after voters decided to break away from Indonesia in a UN-
sponsored independence referendum in Aug. 1999.
Some 250,000 East Timorese were forced from their homes and many
fled to West Timor. Tens of thousands are still waiting for
repatriation to East Timor. Most militiamen also fled with the
retreating Indonesian troops.
The United Nations is administering East Timor during its
transition to full independence, expected next year.
Twelve other former militiamen accused of murder during the
violence are in detention in East Timor waiting for their trials
to start.
Fernandes, 22, testified during his trial that Indonesian army
officers had given him a samurai sword and ordered him to kill
independence supporters.
He pleaded guilty to stabbing village chief Domingos Pereira who
had been hiding in the Maliana police station. Over 40 people
were killed in the massacre, according to UN investigators.
Outside the courtroom, members of the victim's family said they
were not satisfied with the sentence. "We wanted him to get the
maximum 28 years because of how much we have suffered," said
Isabella Pereira. She said she had witnessed the kidnapping of
her father before his death.
American prosecutor Brenda Sue Thornton, one of several foreign
lawyers working in the newly established court, said the sentence
corresponded to those handed down by war crimes tribunals in
Rwanda and Yugoslavia. "The sentence reflected the fact that the
defendant has agreed to cooperate on other cases in the future,"
she said.
Meanwhile, Indonesia continues to drag its feet on promises to
bring to justice militiamen and others implicated in the violence
who are now on its soil. Indonesian prosecutors have named 23
suspects, including several senior army officers, in connection
with the events of 1999, butut none of them has been charged.
In Jakarta, notorious militia leader Eurico Guterres is standing
trial on unrelated weapons charges allegedly committed in West
Timor last year. Six militiamen are currently on trial in Jakarta
charged with the murders of the three UN aid workers in West
Timor last September.
East Timor
Labour struggle
Aceh/West Papua
Government/politics
Regional/communal conflicts
Human rights/law
News & issues
Religion/Islam
Arms/armed forces
International solidarity
International relations
Economy & investment
Democratic struggle
Indonesian students stage anti-Wahid protests
Students deliver political message with their art
PRD, NU to hold joint rally
East
Timor
First militiaman sentenced for 1999 East Timor rampage
`Fretilin will win first Timor election'
Green Left Weekly - January 24, 2001
Peter Johnston, Darwin -- "We expect over 50% of the first elected parliament -- definitely", Estanislau da Silva reassured trade unionists here on January 11, claiming that his party, Fretilin, is the only political group in East Timor with extensive grassroots support.
Da Silva, a member of Fretilin's central committee, said his party was "in the best position to promote tolerance and democracy" and would back the introduction of proportional representation so that minor parties can achieve political representation in proportion to their vote.
Da Silva, who expects elections by July and independence by the end of the year, also announced that Fretilin has pledged to back its former party leader Xanana Gusmao if he runs for the country's presidency, "unless he joins another political party".
Da Silva backed Fretilin's support for reinstating the old colonial language, Portuguese, as the country's official tongue, saying "The people learnt a new language 24 years ago, they can do it again now".
The move has been criticised by many inside East Timor for potentially disenfranchising those under 30 who grew up speaking Indonesian and the local Tetum language and never learnt to read, write or speak Portuguese.
Fretilin is to hold its national congress in May.
Green Left Weekly - January 24, 2001
Robyn Marshall, Dili -- Aurora Ximenes, the coordinator of the East Timor Women's Network, which comprises 15 grassroots organisations, is angry that women are being sidelined in the transition to independence.
Listening to her story, it seems that the problems the network faces typify the problems which have faced most Timorese political organisations since the country came under the mandate of the United Nations.
Formed in March, the network held a two-day congress in June in which 500 women participated. Given the difficulties, including a severe lack of resources and funding together with women's low status in society, the congress was an important step forward.
Among the Women's Network's first efforts was an attempt to ensure representation of women on the country's National Council, a 34 member advisory body to the United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor.
While UNTAET head Sergio de Mello has the power to ignore all advice, veto any decision and unilaterally implement any policy, the National Council is supposed to represent a cross-section of East Timorese political opinion.
When UNTAET encouraged nominations from women, a network meeting in September nominated three it felt adequately represented its opinions. All three Women's Network nominees had roots in their communities and had all been fighting for 24 years against Indonesia's occupation.
But, in its October 23 announcement of the National Council's make-up, UNTAET ignored all three nominations and co-opted an expatriate, Milena Perez, who has lived overseas for most of her life but speaks English and Portuguese. The Women's Network says it has no quarrel with Perez personally but says she does not represent any women's organisation.
The Women's Network is protesting the mechanism by which the selection was made and is trying to get an explanation of the selection process. As Ximenes told Green Left Weekly, "UNTAET is always talking about the `Timorisation' of the administration but the administrator always has the final say".
"It is very difficult for us, as all decisions are made at the top and we only hear about it after the decision is made".
Ximenes explains that the movement's biggest priority is to tackle women's lack of skills. The vast majority of women speak Indonesian and the indigenous language, Tetum, but find it almost impossible to take on leadership positions without English and Portuguese.
Women's organisations are tackling enormous issues, including calling for laws against domestic and public violence, rape, economic discrimination and for a literacy campaign.
One organisation, ETWAVE, East Timorese Women against Violence, gives assistance to women facing domestic violence. Many women raped by the Indonesian armed forces couldn't get abortions, resulting in many orphans and abandoned children.
Another group, Ermera, which deals with women's health, seeks to educate the public about HIV-AIDS, a latent problem waiting to explode. There are also many problems associated with the use of IUDs, with not enough doctors available to carry out regular check-ups.
Many women are widows, whose husbands died in the war or were killed in the mountains and who now have to raise their children without economic support.
One case women's organisations are taking up involves widows whose husbands were local staff employed by the United Nations killed during the referendum campaign. The UN has so far refused to pay them any compensation.
I was told of another woman, who has 12 children and whose husband was murdered by the militia -- she also could get no support from UNTAET.
Another case involves widows and orphans from the OPMT, the Timorese Women's Popular Organisation, who recently met with international donor organisations only to be told that they couldn't be helped because they were affiliated with the leftist political party, Fretilin.
Green Left Weekly - January 24, 2001
Jon Land -- Speculation is increasing that, after the stalemate that occurred at the first round of talks in October, the federal government and representatives of the East Timorese are readying to compromise on the future of the Timor Gap Treaty when talks eventually resume.
At the October meeting, representatives of the Australian government argued that the current terms of the treaty should be maintained.
They were particularly concerned to preserve the current maritime boundary between the two countries and the division of royalties from oil and gas developments.
The split for royalties is currently set at 50-50 in area A of the zone of cooperation, where nearly all the reserves are located, although it is believed the government was prepared to agree to a 60-40 split in East Timor's favour.
Representatives of the East Timorese and of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) proposed a new arrangement, stating that they did not accept the current treaty as legally binding, as it only came into existence because Australia formally recognised Indonesia's illegal occupation of East Timor.
Furthermore, they argued that the boundary should be set along the half-way line between the coastlines of Australia and East Timor, in accordance with international norms and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
If this were to take place, then East Timor would have lone sovereign rights over huge gas and oil fields. While under such a situation East Timor would be entitled to all of the royalties, the East Timorese proposed a 90-10 split with Australia.
Both sides of the dispute have refrained from commenting openly on the state of play following the October deadlock. Until recently there have been no public comments or statements by UNTAET, East Timorese political leaders or the Howard government.
The federal government has refused to reveal its position publicly, claiming this would counter the "national interest". The reason behind its reluctance seems to be the fear of a public backlash against a policy that would result in East Timor being denied desperately needed revenue while Canberra's coffers filled.
According to a January 15 article in the Sydney Morning Herald, there have been a number of "informal" meetings held to help overcome sticking points prior to the next official round of talks, set to be held possibly in March.
In the article, East Timorese negotiator Mari Alkatiri was quoted as saying "new ideas have been adopted by both sides" and "we are closer now to a consensus about dealing with the issues". Alkatiri believes that a settlement may take place as soon as July or August.
The Herald report also claims that the "Australian government is retreating from its tough opening stance on the oil revenue split", inferring that it may now be prepared to accept a greater share of royalties going to East Timor.
There have been wide and varying estimates on the amount of royalties that developments in the Timor Gap will actually generate. At the time of the first round of negotiations, UNTAET head of political affairs Peter Galbraith told ABC radio "It could mean between US$100 million and US$200 million for East Timor by the end of the decade, depending on how these negotiations turn out".
"For a country whose annual budget is just US$45 million that makes all the difference", Galbraith added. "The resources of the Timor Sea could make the difference between having to choose between children's health and children's education to being able to do both".
A January 17 article in the Australian Financial Review cited a government source as saying that the federal cabinet will consider a new proposal in February to take to the next round of negotiations. The source claimed the new proposal would result in Australia forgoing up to $70 million a year in royalties.
A report in the January 5 Australian claimed that a 60-40 split in East Timor's favour would net the country as much as US$100 million a year.
Foreign minister Alexander Downer has previously threatened that if Australia was to lose royalties the federal government would reduce its aid commitment of $150 million over the next four years.
East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao highlighted the crudeness of this blackmail attempt by the Australian government. "It is preferable that we get it [oil revenue] rather than it goes to Canberra and then comes to us as aid", he told the Herald.
Australian solidarity groups have backed the East Timorese stand in the negotiations. One of the most prominent, Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor, plans to increase its campaign efforts to ensure that East Timor is not forced to accept a drop in any aid commitment from Australia as a result of it gaining greater access to natural resources and royalties that it is rightfully entitled to.
ASIET is also calling for the Australian government to return any royalties it may receive from a new settlement, as partial compensation to the people of East Timor for the support given by successive Australian governments to Indonesia's 24 year long occupation of East Timor.
Green Left Weekly - January 24, 2001
Vanya Tanaja, Dili -- Workers at three World Food Program warehouses here took strike action on January 8 and then went to the headquarters of the WFP the next day when the agency took no notice of their protest. WFP is a UN agency in charge of the emergency food relief program.
The 120 workers demanded that they be allowed to work daily, as opposed to four times a month that they are presently doing. They also demanded that their work schedule be clarified and that the employer adhere to Indonesian labour laws, the only labour laws in existence in East Timor at present. The workers receive 35,000 rupiah (A$7) a day for each day that they work.
They claimed that they never signed a contract to work with WFP. In the past the lack of a contract has been used by employers as an easy way to get out of their obligations to their workers.
The WFP workers asked the Socialist Party of Timor (PST) to assist them in the dispute and representatives from the party have been involved in negotiations with WFP management and UNTAET.
WFP management maintained that there was insufficient work for the number of workers it took on. It has proposed that 25 workers be employed as day labourers and the rest of the workers be completely laid off with a US$100 severance pay. Further, WFP has intimated that the agency would be forced to discontinue its operations in East Timor, should the industrial action continue.
Avelino Coelho, general secretary of the PST and member of the National Council, told Green Left that he would bring the issue before the 34-member National Council to examine WFP's claim that the dispute would force the agency to pull out of East Timor.
Coelho also questioned the claim by WFP that no other employer in Dili paid their workers higher than the current wage level of the strikers and that the wage level had been set by UNTAET. He cited the example of at least one other agency paying wages of US$5 a day for day labourers. He also stated that the wage levels set by UNTAET only pertained to civil servants.
Sydney Morning Herald - January 23, 2001
Mark Dodd, Dili -- East Timor's hope for national reconciliation will take a step towards realisation this year with the introduction of a Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation.
The proposed commission -- also aimed at encouraging the return of tens of thousands of refugees from West Timor -- is likely to be formally approved next month and functioning by mid-year.
If approved it will provide a long overdue justice measure for thousands of victims of violence committed during Indonesia's 24-year occupation of East Timor. It will also include victims of lesser crimes committed during two weeks of arson and bloody mayhem that swept the territory following the referendum of August 30, 1999.
"We've done consultations in 10 of the 13 districts and the reaction to the proposal of a commission has been overwhelmingly positive," said Mr Patrick Burgess, head of the UN's human rights office in East Timor.
The original idea for a home-grown commission came from the East Timorese and is now being developed with the support of the UN Human Rights Office and Legal Affairs department working with East Timorese women's groups, the local human rights organisation, Yayasan-HAK, the Catholic church and the umbrella independence body, the National Council of Timorese Resistance.
Cases involving rape, murder, torture and responsibility for organising political violence in East Timor will go to criminal trial.
Cases deemed less serious -- arson, destruction of private property, and intimidation by pro-Indonesian militiamen, many of whom were reluctant conscripts -- may instead be resolved using community dispute resolution.
The commission could also investigate past abuses dating back to the mid-1970s. Some of the estimated 80,000 East Timorese refugees now living in West Timor took part in the post-ballot violence that left up to 1,000 people killed, government buildings looted and burnt and 80 per cent of the territory's infrastructure destroyed.
"Thirty-five thousand homes were destroyed in the violence. Even if a trial to determine guilt in the case of each destroyed home only took one day, then that's 35,000 days -- an impossible load for the courts to handle," Mr Burgess said. "The philosophy behind the commission is that in any conflict there is too much criminality for any normal court system to deal with. It would take more than 10 years for the courts here to deal with what happened in 1999."
Proposals being considered include, for less serious crimes, to include a "confession" process which would involve a meeting with the affected community, a public apology and then a form of community service or "active atonement" that could be the reconstruction of the house or payment for damages.
It is hoped the commission may reduce the likelihood of private acts of revenge and act as an incentive for perpetrators to return home without fear of prosecution or revenge in return for community service.
| Labour struggle |
Jakarta Post - January 27, 2001
Jakarta -- Disputing Shangri-La hotel management and the hotel's labor union lashed out at each other on Friday over what each claimed were illegal actions perpetrated by the other.
The hotel's general manager Peter Carmichael claimed that the House of Representatives Commission VII on manpower and social welfare affairs had concluded during a hearing last week that the union members had acted illegally and against the principles of the labor movement.
"The commission added that the existing collective labor accord ... should be followed," Carmichael said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The labor agreement was signed by both the management and the union on December 13, 1999, was reconfirmed on October 20, 2000 and is valid until December of this year.
The current labor dispute began when some 420 hotel employees affiliated to the Shangri-La Hotel Independent Workers' Union (SPMS) staged strikes between December 22 and December 26 of last year to demand better conditions. They also occupied the hotel, causing it to halt its operations.
Carmichael said that the hotel regretted the union's illegal actions as the management had made "sustained efforts to resolve the impasse and acted in good faith." A request to dismiss those who acted illegally has been submitted for approval to the manpower ministry office, he added.
Separately, the lawyer representing the SPMS, Rita Olivia, accused the hotel management of illegally suspending the union's chairman Halilintar Nurdin.
"The House concluded that Halilintar's suspension was illegal," Rita, who heads the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH)'s labor division, claimed.
She said the management's decision to recruit temporary workers to take the place of the protesting union workers was illegal.
Specifically, she accused the management of breaching article 28 of the Labor Unions Law No. 21/2000 for obstructing the union's activities. The violation carries a maximum punishment of between one year and five years in jail or a fine of between Rp 100 million and Rp 500 million.
Meanwhile, hundreds of the union's members continued to rally in front of the hotel on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Central Jakarta on Friday.
Wearing white headbands and carrying posters, the workers demanded access to their union office in the hotel's basement. "We received information that our office was being used as a storeroom for dishes," one of the workers, Timron Nababan, said.
But the management, through a human resources officer, said that the office was sealed by police after the hotel's temporary closure on account of the strike.
Jakarta Post - January 27, 2001
Jakarta -- The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) and a federation of bank labor unions (Aspek Indonesia) were united on Friday in deploring the actions of Bank Panin and Bank Mayapada managements in obstructing their respective labor unions.
Speaking at a joint media conference, LBH Labor Division head Rita Olivia said that they wished to express their concern and regret at the decisions taken by the two banks to dismiss and punish union members.
"The banks have engaged in intimidation and are applying anti- union policies. These are against the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention," Rita told reporters.
She said the banks had also violated article 28 of the Labor Unions Law No. 21/2000 which forbids anyone from obstructing the establishment of a labor union or its activities.
She urged Bank Panin and Bank Mayapada to stop intimidating members of the Panin Bank Workers Union (SPBP) and the Mayapada Bank Workers Union (SPKBM).
The government should implement thorough monitoring and afford protection for workers so that they could exercise their rights to establish labor unions, she said. The managements of the two banks could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Meanwhile, Aspek's secretary general Saepul Tavip said that at least 20 members and executives of the SPBP had been reprimanded, transferred and, one of them, dismissed in December of last year because of their activities in the union. Tavip said that all five executives of the SPKBM were also dismissed in August last year for similar reasons.
He said the banks' managements rejected the existence of the unions, despite the fact that they had already been registered at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, and had set up their own puppet labor unions instead.
"By establishing the splinter puppet unions masquerading as real unions, the managements hope they will be able to control the workers," Tavip said.
The workers' dismissals are still being processed by the ministry's Central Committee for the Settlement of Labor Disputes (P4P), he explained.
Tavip said Aspek, an affiliate of Union Network International (UNI) of Switzerland, would continue to help the workers negotiate with management.
Rita said that the unions would consider taking an action against the bank managements for violating the Labor Unions Law if they refused to negotiate.
Violation of the law carries a punishment of between one year and five years in jail or a fine of between Rp 100 million and Rp 500 million.
"We have visited the banks, but we were ignored. However we will continue asking the banks to discuss the matter," she said.
The managements claimed to have forwarded the matter to the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, Rita said, adding that the government had a tendency to take the management side.
Detik - January 22, 2001
Budi Sugiharto/Fitri & GB, Surabaya -- Surabaya bus terminal, the biggest terminal in Surabaya, capital of East Java, has been paralysed by a strike.
Bus drivers stopped work in protest at the public's increasing violence against them. Thousands of passengers have been trapped at the terminal since Sunday. By Monday the terminal was still quiet and Navy and Police sent 40 trucks to transport the stranded passengers.
As this news goes online, police were still attempting to transport the passengers. Surabaya Taman Police Chief, Commissioner Sudirman, said the police had asked PO Bus Kalisari and PO Bus Wigdi to transport the passengers. Each company sent out one bus.
The two busses came under tight security by the Mobile Brigade to anticipate possible unrest. In the meantime, Sidoaro Regent Win Hendarto, who came to inspect the terminal, asked the East Java local government to settle the problem.
The strike which began on Sunday morning was apparently a reaction to the death of a bus driver after being mobbed by members of the public. The drivers were apparently upset because the public is increasingly venting their anger by bashing bus drivers and burning busses when an accident occurs. In their action, they pleaded with the police to provide law enforcement and education to the public.
Residents living around the bus terminal took advantage on the chaotic situation by offering transportation services to the stranded passengers. No information is available on how much they charged for their services. Mini busses, which normally carry passengers only short distances, have also appeared. Normally, mini-bus are not allowed to operate at the terminal. According to a passenger, the mini-busses charged three times the normal price. "Between Rp 10,000 to Rp 20,000, even if you go to Malang [a city located 100 km from Surabaya]" said a passenger.
Meanwhile, Sidoardjo Police Chief Adjutant High Commissioner Budi Susilo claimed they did not charge a penny from passengers. However, from observations at the terminal, passengers were quite happy to give gas money to the police of between Rp 2000 to Rp 4000.
| Aceh/West Papua |
Associated Press - January 27, 2001
Jakarta -- New fighting in Indonesia's restive Aceh province has killed at least four people, police said Saturday.
Local police chief Maj. Muhammad Saimi said two guerrillas were killed in separate gun battles on Friday. Rebel leaders said the victims were police officers. Villagers said police also shot dead two civilians in northern Aceh, about 1,100 miles northwest of Jakarta.
The latest deaths bring to at least 23 the number of people killed in the region since rebel representatives and government officials agreed to extend a peace agreement 10 days ago.
Aceh is an oil- and gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra, where separatist guerrillas have been fighting for independence since 1975. More than 6,000 people have been killed in the past decade.
Jakarta Post - January 27, 2001
Jakarta -- Irian Jaya local authorities on Friday stepped up negotiation efforts with separatist rebels to free 16 hostages, including three Koreans, who have been held in the province's jungle-clad Asiki district in Merauke regency since January 16.
"If everything goes smoothly, the two negotiators, Marius and Fitalis, will bring rebel leader Willem Onde and the local authorities to the negotiating table this [Friday] evening or early Saturday," Irian Jaya Police Operations and Control chief Sr. Comr. M. Kusnadi told The Jakarta Post by phone from Jayapura.
The meeting is slated to take place at Kilometer 56 in Asiki, or about three kilometers away from Onde's base.
The 16 hostages were seized by members of the Papua National Liberation Army (TPN Papua), a faction of the Merauke-based separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM). Asiki district is about 12 hours drive from Merauke town.
Kusnadi said that "as long as Onde does not make any move that could endanger the safety of the hostages, the authorities will not arrest him. We respect his [Onde's] position in the negotiations and want to hear what he has to say." In any hostage situation, the safety of the victims comes first and a "military rescue operation was the last resort so as to avoid possible casualties", he said.
Newly-appointed Trikora Military Command chief Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon separately said that the authorities had yet to set a date by which the hostages must be rescued, Antara said on Friday. "We're still engaged in negotiations. The hostages are said to be in good condition and they are being kept in a rebel camp in Merauke regency," Mahidin said.
The 16 hostages belong to PT Korindo, a South Korean timber company operating in the region and were kidnapped on January 16. The abductors have demanded US$1 million in compensation for environmental damage, the withdrawal of Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) forces from the district of Asiki, and a total halt to logging.
Negotiations with the OPM rebel leader Mathias Wenda, who has been arrested with 12 of his men by Papua New Guinea (PNG) police for illegal entry and engaging in illegal activities in exchange for the 16 hostages was unlikely.
"Wenda's men have violated the country's laws. If rebels can freely push people around, abduct people and show disregard for the law, it will set a bad precedent and every terrorist may jump on the bandwagon and follow in their footsteps," Kusnadi said.
Irian Jaya rebels threatened on Friday to execute the hostages, unless Papua New Guinea exchanged them for 13 guerrillas, including Mathias Wenda, who were arrested on Monday, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported.
The PNG Provincial Police Commander in Vanimo, Eugene Manguva, responded to the OPM's demands by saying that Wenda and his deputy would be subjected to the due process of law, and would not be exchanged for the OPM hostages.
Max Rumbiak In a related development, the police and military have yet to reach a deal over "the handling" of the TPN's Col. Max Rumbiak and Capt.
Birmandus, who recently returned two rifles their men seized from police officers in the remote Tour Atas district in Jayapura on December 25 of last year. Max Rumbiak and Birmandus are now still being "protected" by the Army even though the police want to take the two into custody.
Of their own volition, Rumbiak and Birmandus handed over the two rifles with ammunition in a simple ceremony at the East Coast Military District Command headquarters on Wednesday.
Rumbiak, leader of the TPN in Bonggo area, said that the Mauser and Jingle rifles were seized by Birmandus and his 12 men from Police Mobile Brigade officers who were on duty in the area on Christmas day.
After the seizure, two Brimob platoons were posted to the district, and this had apparently made Rumbiak nervous. Rumbiak told the Indonesian Military during the negotiations that the reason he surrendered the rifles was that he didn't want innocent civilians to become victims (of police anger).
However, the rebels demanded that their existence be officially recognized, that Brimob forces be withdrawn from the East Coast and Tour Atas districts and that security guarantees be given.
Jakarta Post - January 27, 2001
Banda Aceh -- Detained chief of Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) Muhammad Nazar demanded on Friday that the case against him be brought to court "to reveal the truth behind all the conflict in Aceh".
Nazar talked to local journalists after a closed-door meeting with Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh at the Banda Aceh penitentiary on Jl. Cut Meutia, about 100 meters away from the Aceh Police Headquarters on Friday afternoon. Nazar is currently a detainee of the Banda Aceh prosecutor's office, pending the trial on his case.
"I do not want my case to be dismissed. I want to go on with the trial as I believe my case is related to the political situation here and that through the trial I can reveal the truth," he said, while adding that some of his personnel notes and diary had been taken away by the authorities during his detention.
Nazar was responding to several calls from activists for his case to be dropped. He is being charged under Articles 154 and 155 of the criminal code for showing hostile intentions/treason against the state and for expressing hatred against the government, respectively. The articles carry a maximum sentence of seven years and four and a half years in jail, respectively.
SIRA is an influential non-governmental organization in Aceh that has been actively fighting for a referendum in the province.
Governor Puteh only smiled and refused to talk to journalists after ending his one-hour visit at 2.30pm local time.
Meanwhile, Nazar said that the governor visited him to learn about his condition and exchange information about the latest situation in Aceh. "As SIRA coordinator, I'm also glad to hear that GAM [Free Aceh Movement] have decided to remain committed to independence through diplomatic efforts instead of armed struggle," he said.
M. Nazir Djamil, a provincial legislator who also attended the meeting, said the event was "merely a meeting between the Aceh governor as the people's leader and the SIRA chairman as a local figure." "We hope to maintain peace and togetherness in facing this difficult period for Aceh," Djamil said.
Violence, however, continued to rock the province. In the town of Langsa, East Aceh, two policemen were reportedly injured in an incident on Friday. Three people, including two soldiers, were killed in Aceh in a drive-by shooting on Wednesday.
"Two soldiers, identified as Col. Rustam and Col. P. Hutasoit were shot dead when gunmen opened fire from a passing vehicle in Juli Kedai Dua, Bireun regency on Wednesday," chief of Infantry Battalion 113/Jayasakti Lt. Col. Erda Bachtiar said on Thursday. A resident named Umar Sidi was also killed during the pursuit of the gunmen.
Not long after the shooting, some 100 houses and shops in the area were set on fire. North Aceh police chief Adj. Comr. Wanto Sumardi blamed GAM rebels for the shooting.
But North Aceh GAM commander, Teungku Darwis Djeunib, denied his men were to blame. "All [our] troops have been back at our base since January 16. I think the attack was the result of an internal dispute between the police and the military," Darwis said.
Agence France-Presse - January 25, 2001
Banda Aceh -- At least four people, including two soldiers, were killed in the latest violence to hit the Indonesian province of Aceh, the military and local residents said Thursday.
The two soldiers were shot dead in a rebel ambush in Juli Keude Dua, Bireun district, on Wednesday, said the head of their army battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Erda Bachtiar.
One civilian was also killed, shot dead by soldiers, and more than 100 houses and shops torched as security forces combed the area after the ambush to look for the attackers, a resident said. At least eight other civilians were injured in the operations.
North Aceh police chief Adjutant Commissioner Wanto Sumardi blamed separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for the deaths of the soldiers.
But North Aceh GAM commander, Teungku Darwis Djeunib, denied that his men were to blame for the incident. "The attack was done by their own men," Djeunib said, charging that the incident had been staged to show the GAM in a bad light.
He said that since the government and rebel forces agreed on a one month moratorium on violence in Aceh effective last week, his men had all been pulled back to their jungle base.
"The decision to pull out our troops is in line with the order of the GAM leadership overseas and GAM troops are not allowed to leave [their base], even more so, to engage in violence," Djeunib said.
Agreement on the truce, which expires February 15, was reached in a meeting in Switzerland between the exile GAM leadership and the Indonesian government.
The fourth person was killed when a suspected GAM member was shot dead during an exchange of fire involving Indonesian soldiers and police in Blang Me, in West Aceh late on Tuesday evening, West Aceh police chief, Adjutant Senior Commissioner Bambang Ramlan said. Ramlan said the exchange of fire broke out after gunmen ambushed a passing security patrol. A rifle was found in the hands of the dead man, he added.
More than 10 villagers watching TV at a local roadside coffee stall were arrested following the clash, a journalist said from the district town of Meulaboh.
Six villagers were also arrested in Luengputu, Pidie district on Wednesday, after unkown gunmen wounded a policeman there earlier in the day, Pidie Police Chief Adjutant Senior Commissioner Heru Budi Ersanto said.
The GAM has been fighting since the mid-1970s for an independent Islamic state on the northern tip of Sumatra island. More than 1,000 people died last year in violence related to clashes between the GAM and government troops in Aceh.
Pressure for a vote on self-rule has intensified since East Timor's breakaway from Indonesia last year after a UN-conducted ballot on self determination. Jakarta has ruled out independence for Aceh but pledged broad autonomy.
Jakarta Post - January 26, 2001
Jakarta -- Papua New Guinea (PNG) Police have arrested an Irian Jaya separatist leader and 12 rebel members, officials said on Thursday.
"We have been informed that Free Papua Movement (OPM) commander Mathias Wenda and 12 of his men were arrested on Tuesday (January 23) in the Vanimo district of Papua New Guinea," Irian Jaya Police Operation and Control chief Sr. Comr. Kusnadi told The Jakarta Post from Jayapura.
An Indonesia-PNG border official who is also the spokesman for the Irian Jaya administration, F.X. Suryanto Sriwardoyo, told Antara on Thursday that Mathias and his men were arrested in Krisa village in Vanimo district, Sendaun province around 3am local time.
Sendaun Police chief Insp. Iugine Mangopa said Mathias and his men were arrested for establishing rebel forces in PNG to topple the Indonesian government. Mathias' intelligence assistant Yamis Gogoya was among those arrested.
Mathias is reportedly being detained at the state penitentiary in the province of Wewak in PNG. Indonesian authorities allege that Mathias was involved in the killing of three loggers in the Skow area in Jayapura regency last December.
Suryanto said another OPM leader, Simon Alam, and 14 of his men evaded capture by the PNG Police. Simon is allegedly involved in an arson attack of a lighthouse at the Indonesia-PNG border.
"Mathias Wenda has been living in the jungle for quite sometime and he is the commander of the separatist movement in the northern part of Irian Jaya, while rebel leader Willem Onde of the Papua Liberation National Army controls the separatist movement in the southern part of the province," Kusnadi said. Regarding the abduction of 16 timber workers, including three South Koreans, by rebels led by Willem Onde in the Asiki district of Irian Jaya on January 16, Kusnadi said two negotiators, Marius and Fitalis, were expected to meet with Willem in the rebel camp at Kilometer 59 in Asiki this afternoon.
The abductors are demanding US$1 million in compensation for environmental damage, a total halt to logging and the withdrawal of the police Mobile Brigade from Asiki.
Provincial authorities, however, have formed four units, including a joint police and military force to free the hostages "only if it is necessary", the officer said.
Thursday also saw the installment of Insp. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika as the new Irian Jaya Police chief, replacing the late Insp. Gen. FX. Soemardi who was killed, along with other provincial authorities, in a plane crash in the Jayawijaya mountain on January 6. Made Mangku Pastika was formerly chief of the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Police.
"We believe the situation in Irian Jaya is improving but there are a small number of Irianese who are rebelling against the government of Indonesia by attacking security posts or abducting people," National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Pandji Atmasudirdja said on behalf of National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro during the induction ceremony in Jayapura.
Pandji said, as a precaution, 12 members of the bomb squad from Jakarta had been sent to Merauke. He said persuasive measures would be used to deal with the abductors, but he declined to reveal how long police officers would remain patient.
Bimantoro had earlier said that the police would coordinate with the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) to rescue the 16 hostages. On Thursday Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on the sidelines of a closed-door meeting with officers of the Jakarta Military Command that Kopassus troops were ready to assist the police at anytime.
Straits Times - January 22, 2001
Banda Aceh -- The Indonesian government and separatist rebels in Aceh have agreed to work together to implement a one-month truce in the violence-wracked province, a joint statement obtained yesterday said.
The statement said the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the government would form a working group to support the one-month moratorium on violence. This was a reaffirmation from both sides to renounce violence and seek a democratic and peaceful solution to their decades-old conflict, it said.
"Both sides agreed to form a working committee whose membership will be designated by their respective leaders, with the task of preparing various concepts related to security affairs and democratic consultations," it added.
Work on the committee would begin at a meeting in Geneva from February 12 to 14, said the statement, signed by government representative Ridhwan Karim and GAM's Teungku Nashiruddin bin Ahmed.
The formation of the committee was one of the points agreed at a meeting in Switzerland last week between representatives from both camps. That meeting agreed on the one-month truce in Aceh, which began on January 15, although violence has erupted since then.
Police allegedly shot dead a man in Aceh on Saturday after he attempted to escape arrest during a police round-up. However, an Aceh police spokesman said no such operation took place.
South China Morning Post - January 22, 2001
Chris McCall, Meulaboh -- He races as fast as he can in his battered minibus, but screeches to a halt for the men with big guns. Roads in the troubled Indonesian province of Aceh are nowhere to linger without reason.
The driver and his passengers know it all too well. It may cost you your life. Once the playground of foreign sun-seekers, the rugged, beautiful west coast of Aceh is now the playground of the military.
Rounding a bend on a hillside, the minibus suddenly comes across a small party of soldiers, armed with assault rifles. It screeches to a halt and the men are ordered to get out. The women are generally spared the effort. Politely but firmly, all are ordered to produce identity cards if Indonesian or a passport if a foreigner.
"Is there any ganja [marijuana] in there?" asks a soldier, inspecting a bag near the driver's seat. He helps himself to a newspaper inside. "Is that your real name?" a soldier asks a nervous young man, pointing to his KTP, the identity card all Indonesians are required to carry. The man, visibly shaking, quietly insists it is.
Within 10 minutes it is over and everyone jumps back into the minibus, which picks up speed to get to Meulaboh. It is a five- hour trip and the minibuses often travel nearly empty. Few people travel if they can avoid it these days. Checks are routine and can easily turn into something far worse.
Ordinary Acehnese are all too familiar with friends' or relatives' lucky escapes. Many recount tales of being shot at by Indonesian troops or police after reacting in a "suspicious" way -- most often by running away.
Most of the security forces are non-Acehnese and many are unhappy there. Some have tried to desert. Largely ostracised by the people around them, they rarely sit down in public with Acehnese. They are liable to be shot or stabbed if they do. They cannot wander alone into areas where the rebel Free Aceh Movement is strong. They are liable not to come out again.
Lining the two sides of the road in many places are piles of browning vegetation. A passenger explains that the people have cut it down to reduce the chance of ambushes. "They were ordered to do it by the military," he says.
The driver slows down sharply at a bridge swarming with soldiers. He waves gingerly to them and tries to smile as he crosses at a snail's pace.
A few more kilometres down the road, a police officer stops the minibus briefly outside a well-fortified police station. Virtually all have roadblocks outside them and well-defended sentry posts to protect them from hit-and-run motorcycle attacks, which have claimed the lives of dozens of their colleagues.
But this one is more interested in the surfboard an English tourist travelling to the offshore island of Simeulue has strapped to the top of the bus. "I didn't realise it was as bad as this," said the tourist, smiling. "I might not have come here if I had, but I'm here now."
While their chiefs insist their men on the ground are well- disciplined, those who deal with them in the field say they are sometimes jumpy and clearly terrified of the rebels, also known as GAM.
Some of their Acehnese colleagues have changed sides, taking weapons with them and, more dangerous still, inside information. On the other hand, once away from their commanders most misdeeds are easily concealed from them. It is a recipe for violence.
But the violence is not just on one side. According to intelligence sources and witnesses, GAM has started carrying out "sweeps" in some places, boarding buses and seeking out people who it believes are enemies.
Sometimes rival "sweeping operations" run across one another, resulting in a gunfight. Intelligence sources say any Acehnese helping the military are liable to be threatened or worse.
Five hours after leaving Banda Aceh, the bus comes to a halt in Meulaboh, where there is a semblance of calm, largely thanks to a heavy security presence. Here, unlike Banda Aceh, you may occasionally find a police officer having coffee with the locals. An oasis of peace surrounded by chaos.
| Government/politics |
Jakarta Post - January 23, 2001
Jakarta -- President Abdurrahman Wahid on Monday left legislators dumbfounded as he abruptly walked out of a meeting with the House of Representatives' special committee investigating the Bulog and Brunei scandals.
Abdurrahman surprised everyone as he left the meeting hall at the Jakarta Convention Center only some 45 minutes into the scheduled two-hour session. The President refused to say anything as he left the hall but later called a snap news briefing at the presidential palace to defend his action.
"I was asking for clarification whether [the committee] is a political forum or legal forum ... since no answer was given [by members of the committee], I thought it was unnecessary to continue the meeting," Abdurrahman said. "I left after it was clear that the committee could not give an answer," Abdurrahman added.
He said he had agreed to come to the meeting because he thought the special committee had realized that it was not a legal forum. The President has repeatedly questioned the legality of the special committee, contending that it was not registered at the state secretariat as required by a 1954 law.
The committee is seeking to question Abdurrahman about the fraudulent withdrawal of Rp 35 billion (US$3.3 million) from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) by his masseur and also a $2 million donation from the Sultan of Brunei which the President claims was a personal gift.
Abdurrahman said he had already answered questions regarding the cases and that further queries "should be made within a political context". "Any information [given to the committee] cannot be used as legal evidence against anyone," Abdurrahman said, adding that the scandals should be settled in a court of law.
He then accused members of the committee of using the scandals "to undermine the authority of the government and the President". "So, what's happening here is character assassination," Abdurrahman charged. Monday's hearing was conducted at the Jakarta Convention Center as it was considered a neutral alternative to the House complex or the palace.
This latest episode is sure to strain even further the already uneasy relations between the President and the legislature, particularly as the committee is set to reveal its findings on January 29. Special committee chairman Bachtiar Chamsyah affirmed that the President's walkout would only worsen the already strained relations between the palace and the House.
Alvin Lie Pie Hong, deputy chairman of the special committee, questioned the President's sudden departure. "There was no reason for Gus Dur to become emotional ... the President failed to uphold mutual respect between the legislative body and the presidency," he said.
But committee member Ali Masjkur Musa, from Abdurrahman's National Awakening Party, said he understood the reasons for the President's abrupt leaving. "It was reasonable for the President to leave. The President is of the opinion that the meeting was not an investigation and, therefore, he did not see any point in answering the questions from the special committee," he said.
He claimed that his faction supported an investigation into the two scandals but so far there were no sufficient grounds to establish the special committee. Ali Masjkur also said that his faction was considering rejecting the investigation's results as it was too politicized.
"From the start, the investigation has been engineered by certain groups in the special committee to come to the conclusion that the President was involved in the scandals and their main objective is to discredit the government so that a general election and a presidential election can be held again," he said.
Sources inside the closed door meeting said the President before leaving admitted that he had met former trade minister Yusuf Kalla and former Bulog deputy chief Sapuan in December 1999 to seek Rp 435 million for humanitarian aid to Aceh. House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said that despite the absence of a clarification from the President, the House's special committee would continue its investigation into the scandals.
"The House will hold a plenary session to receive the special committee's report on the results of the investigation. It will depend on the factions as to whether they will accept the report or not," he said.
He hinted that the way the President left the meeting was impolite. "We have a code of ethics," Akbar remarked.
Jakarta Post - January 27, 2001
Jakarta -- Lobbying by factions inside the House of Representatives intensified on Friday, as Monday's deadline for the submission of the report of the special committee investigating the Bulog and Brunei scandals looms.
As of Friday night, the 50 committee members had yet to reach a consensus on formulating crucial points in the report which is due to be discussed at a closed-door House plenary session on Monday. The 10 factions are due to present their respective views on the report at a public session on Thursday.
Didi Supriyanto, deputy chairman of the special committee, said lobbying was being conducted after the committee failed to reach a consensus on the draft report which examines the President Abdurrahman Wahid's alleged involvement in the fraudulent disbursement of Rp 35 billion from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) foundation and in the Bruneigate affair.
"The committee may resort to a vote because the drafting of the report on the findings of the investigation into the two scandals must be completed tonight," the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) legislator told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Friday night. He added that so far the committee had yet to even discuss the draft report on the investigation into the Bruneigate affair.
The Golkar party's Ade Komaruddin, who is also a member of the special committee, revealed that the most controversial point was deciding how President Abdurrahman Wahid's role should be presented in report. "Many want to mention the President's alleged involvement in the draft report while others reject this," he said.
Several factions also held their own meetings to prepare their respective political stances on the committee's report.
PDI Perjuangan chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri reportedly asked party legislators at a meeting in PDI Perjuangan headquarters on Friday to work out a compromise without going through a vote.
"The nation has numerous problems that must be solved by deliberation and not through voting. Whether we should consume tempeh or tahu [soybean curd] should not be decided through voting," Postdam Hutasoit quoted Megawati as saying.
According to Postdam, Megawati described the two scandals as being part of thousands in the country, and said that the legislators should put the national interest first when arriving at their decision.
Separately, the head of the PDI Perjuangan faction in the People's Consultative Assembly, Sophan Sophiaan, said that a separate team to formulate the party's stance on the findings of the special committee had been set up. When asked, he denied the suggestion that the team had been set up because the executive board no longer trusted its representatives on the committee.
"No, no, it doesn't mean we don't trust them. We just feel they've been involved for too long with the special committee ... In an effort to gain an objective view, we thought it was necessary to set up the team," Sophan said.
Syamsul Muarif, chairman of the Golkar Party faction, said his faction would call for court proceedings if the President was found to be involved in scandals by the special committee. "That's our faction's political stance as recommended by the faction meeting today," he said.
Bachtiar Chamsyah, a member of the United Development Party (PPP) faction, reiterated that his faction has supported a thorough investigation into the two scandals. "Let say its white if it's white, and black if it's black," he remarked.
Abdul Khaliq Achmad, secretary of Abdurrahman's National Awakening Party (PKB) faction, said his faction was fighting an all out battle to prevent the special committee from specifically fingering the President in its report, as such an eventuality would jeopardize national unity.
"If the special committee declares the President guilty in the scandals, it has actually usurped the role of the courts as, in fact, the Bulog scandal is still being tried by the courts," he said.
Khalig Achmad warned that such a report would give rise to new tensions, this time between the legislature and the judiciary, along with terrible societal conflict at the grassroots level.
Jakarta Post - January 24, 2001
Jakarta -- An ad hoc committee of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) for the amendment of the 1945 Constitution will discuss numerous crucial issues that could raise complicated and serious problems for the public, a legislator said on Tuesday.
Jacob Tobing, chairman of the ad hoc committee, said political party factions in the committee have proposed for an amendment of the Constitution's chapters on the Supreme Advisory Council, the Supreme Court and the presidential election mechanism.
"Any changes to the current chapters will certainly bring changes to the present political system, including the law and MPR decrees," he said after the committee's meeting on Tuesday.
Many minority factions have proposed to phase out the Supreme Advisory Council and, instead, establish an advisory team for president, while the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction has called for the empowerment of the state institution.
Jacob said many factions have proposed to return the authority of judicial review to the Supreme Court from the Assembly. "So far, the judicial review is still in the hands of the MPR and there is no problem if authority is returned to the Supreme Court," he said.
The legislator said the factions also proposed a direct presidential election to ensure the legitimacy of an elected president. "If the proposal for a direct presidential election is accepted, the ad hoc committee must amend the chapters on general elections and the Assembly's tasks," he said.
Pataniari Siahaan, a member of the PDI Perjuangan faction, said his faction would not support a direct presidential election because the public are not yet ready for such a mechanism.
"The public's political awareness has yet to improve, while money politics will be prevalent if Indonesia holds a direct presidential election in 2004," he said, while adding Indonesia must adopt a district system in the next general election if the proposal for a direct presidential election is accepted.
Jacob said Muslim minority factions have again proposed the writing of syariah Islam in the Constitution. The move was turned down in the Assembly's annual session last August. "This proposal is likely to increase hostility among the political elite again and the public could become a potential threat to national unity," he said.
Hamdan B. Zoelva, a member of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) faction, said his faction and other Islamic groups would continue to fight for the writing of the syariah Islam in the Constitution to give an umbrella for laws regulating Muslims' religious life in the country. "The Constitution must guarantee the presence of laws on haj pilgrimage and on alms and the planned implementation of syariah Islam in Aceh," he said. Zoelva denied the allegation that with the proposal, Muslim factions were fighting to win Muslim people's votes in the 2004 elections.
| Regional conflicts |
The Age - January 27, 2001
Christina Sagat's physical wounds have healed but this 32-year- old woman is left with the deep pain of unresolved sorrow and humiliation. There is also the pain of betrayal -- how could her neighbors, with whom she had lived in harmony, turn on her, and lead her to a cruel ordeal?
In December she and other Christians from her village on the island of Kesui, part of the Indonesian Maluku group, were forced to convert to Islam.
The conversion included forced circumcision, a mutilation condemned by respected Muslim leaders but inflicted on hundreds in the isolated island group by extremists of the Jihad (holy war) movement in a vicious and largely unreported sectarian war.
She takes some comfort from the dying words of her uncle, murdered by an extremist mob, who despite his wounds urged his family not to take revenge.
"But somehow I feel sad. I feel like I'm no longer `complete', both as a person and a woman," she said, speaking amid the ruins of Ambon City, the epicentre of the Maluku tragedy. This is her story in her words:
I was born and raised in Karlomin, a Catholic village in Kesui island. The island itself is dominated by Muslims. Kesui is a very beautiful place. It has a white sandy beach. I lived with my parents and seven brothers and sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews. I used to help my parents take care of our small plantations.
Catholics, Protestants and Muslims used to live peacefully before those local followers of Jihad came to the island. In the past, we could hang out and visit friends and families from different religions. If, for example, the Christians were constructing a new church, the Muslims would automatically help and vice versa.
At first, we did not believe it when we heard about the bloody conflict in Ambon and rumors that the Muslims would attack Christian villages in Kesui. We said it was impossible that our own friends and neighbors would attack us.
As the situation in Ambon got worse, religious and customary leaders in Kesui met and agreed to stay away from the conflict. About late October last year, people from nearby islands who had joined the Jihad visited Muslim villages often. But the Christians at that time did not see that as a problem.
We realised the visits of Jihad people were the likely seed of the disaster in the island when my uncle was attacked by Muslim youth in the neighboring Muslim village. My uncle, as usual, went to buy cigarette paper in that village. But on his way out of the village the mob surrounded him and attacked him.
He suffered severe spear and machete wounds all over his body. He was bleeding but managed to get back to our village. But still (before he died) he told us not to take revenge. So we buried him and did exactly what he asked us. But on the next day, another Christian youth was attacked. We heard that the attacker went back to his Muslim village and told his friends that the Christians were ready to attack them.
After the second murder, some of the Christians started to believe the rumors about the possible war between Muslims and Christians on the island and fled to the mountains or nearby islands. But many others, including my family, stayed behind.
In the third week of November, we eventually decided to flee after learning that Muslim mobs were marching towards our village. We packed some clothes, food and valuables and rushed to the mountains.
We were very scared. We regretted the fact that we had not made the decision to save our lives earlier. There were about 260 people from my village who stayed on the mountain. But, on the fourth day ... some of our Muslim neighbors found us and told us to follow their religion for our own sake.
They said they could not protect us from the Jihad people if we were not Muslims. It's very hard to us, but we finally decided to follow the Muslims to their village and do whatever they told us to do in order to save our lives. We're fully aware that refusing to do so would only get us all killed.
The Muslim representatives told us to go straight to a mosque in Kampung Baru village so that when the Jihad arrived they would think that we had already become Muslims. When we reached the village, the crowd of people and local Jihad followers were already waiting for us. They made a barricade along the path to the mosque. I felt like we were just a group of hopeless sheep being led to a slaughterhouse.
There we realised that all that the Muslim representatives had told us was completely lies. They've cheated us. They acted as if they care about our lives, but the truth was they only wanted us to convert to Islam, nothing more.
When we all entered the mosque, the habib (Islamic preacher) asked us whether we really wanted to be Muslims. I felt miserable. The habib then told us to say the Al Fatiha prayer (chanted when a person adopts Islam) three times. I did not remember any of the words at all because I did not say it. I just opened my mouth but in my heart I said my own Catholic prayers.
The Muslim crowd inside and outside the mosque yelled and waved their machetes, spears. We all cried. I felt mixed up, scared. I told my mum, who sat beside me, "Why do we have to go through all of this? It is not a self-willing act, it's coercion. I can't do this. But what else can I do? We would only be killed if we refused it, wouldn't we?"
Meanwhile, the crowd in the mosque searched our bags. They took out the Bibles, rosary necklaces and small statues of Mary, which were torn and broken to pieces and burnt outside the mosque. Some of the Muslims shed tears. But I'm sure that's tears of joy because they could finally make us convert to Islam. Some of the people said, "Why on earth did you not follow us earlier?"
The Muslims did not stop their acts there. They continued with the forced circumcisions. All of us, men and women, old and young, even infants and pregnant women, were circumcised under threat. At least 100 females were circumcised.
The team went to the houses where we stayed in turn. They came to the house where I stayed on December 4. I asked the Muslim family about who would perform it, whether I would be given anaesthetic, etc. They told me female priests would do the circumcision using a kitchen knife and no anaesthetic was necessary. I said to myself, `What? What kind of circumcision is this? How come they do not bother about the sanitary and health factors of it?'
So I tried to avoid them. I pretended not to hear them calling my name. I stayed in my room. I was very, very scared. My body's shaking. I could imagine myself being circumcised. But I realised there was nothing I could do to stop them from doing it because they would certainly kill me and my family if I refused.
So I reluctantly came out of my room and entered another room. They told me to undress and sit on a chair which was covered with white cloth. "Open your legs," they said. I saw under the chair a coconut shell filled with water and a kitchen knife. I said, "Oh My God, what would happen to me?" I was so scared, upset too. But I did not dare to resist them. I didn't want to be killed.
At first the woman soaked her fingers in the water and then inserted them into my vagina as she looked for the clitoris. After she found it, she pulled it out, took out the kitchen knife and cut it. That hurt very much. I shed tears. They left just like that without giving me any medication.
I was lucky, I had some money and went to the store immediately to get antibiotics. I know the men suffered more than us women. The circumcision hurt them more that it did to us because their scars could not heal fast.
Several of the men I knew got serious infections ... My scar healed quite fast, but the sad, humiliated feeling stayed until today.
My niece, Cecilia, who at that time was eight months pregnant ... was also circumcised. How could they do that to her? I heard she cried. But she did not talk about it a lot, maybe she just wanted to bury it. My mother, who is in her 70s, was also circumcised.
Teenagers and even infants were also circumcised. Children were told to soak themselves in the salt water, on the beach, to help healing their scars.
I don't understand these people. I don't think the original Ambon Muslim female adults were circumcised. But they insisted we be circumcised.
(On December 15 a ship arrived under government supervision to take Christians to the relative safety of Ambon, a move resisted by Jihad leaders.)
I did not want to miss the chance, so I came over to the houses where my mother and father stayed and asked them to go to the beach to board the ship. But when we got to the beach, we saw most of the people who had boarded the ship had returned to the beach.
Then I learnt that Jihad leaders were protesting at the way the government team did its job. I guess they just did not want us to leave the island and return to our original religion. We're scared because it was obvious that the government team was helpless. I decided then to get off the island.
The ship left with only 41 people, including me. There were about 100 people, including my brothers and their families and some Christian leaders, who had boarded the ship, but then returned to the beach under the Muslims' threat.
The Muslims told them that their families who were still on the island would surely be killed if they left. We arrived in Ambon at night after almost three days on the ship.
I now stay at the refugee camp at the Stella Maria church in the Benteng district. I work as a housemaid at a local Christian family.
I don't know what I will do with my future. I guess the first thing to do is to find a way to get my parents off the island. But I don't know how.
Sometimes when I'm alone I cry if I remember what happened to me there. What makes me sad the most is my uncle who was bleeding and dying of the stabs and wounds, but still had a good heart, asking us not to take revenge for him. As for the circumcision, the scar is completely healed. But somehow, I feel sad, I feel like I'm no longer "complete", both as a person and a woman."
This week Christina Sagat was rebaptised at a Catholic church in Ambon, along with dozens of other Christians from Kesui who were forced to convert to Islam.
[She told her story to Christiani Tumelap, assistant to The Age's correspondent in Jakarta, Lindsay Murdoch.]
The Age - January 27, 2001
Lindsay Murdoch, Ambon -- Hundreds of Christians, including children and pregnant women, have been forcibly circumcised as part of a campaign by extremists to spread Islam through Indonesia's war-ravaged Maluku Islands. Victims have told The Age of multiple cuttings with the same knives and razors that left many with infections.
Church and other groups in Ambon, the biggest city in the islands, have gathered evidence that 3928 villagers on at least six islands were forced to convert to Islam under threat of death, torture or destruction of their homes. They believe that local Muslim clerics, possibly under duress from extremists, circumcised almost all the converts. Moderate Muslim leaders have condemned the forced conversions and circumcisions, saying they are contrary to Islamic teachings.
The Muslim Governor of Maluku, Saleh Latuconsina, last week led an investigation team to the island of Kesui, 420 kilometres south-east of Ambon, after receiving an official report in late December confirming that villagers there were converted to Islam against their will and circumcised.
Several hundred Christians on the island are expected to be taken by Indonesian navy ship to refugee camps on Tual, a nearby island.
A group of 172 Christians from Kesui, who have already been evacuated to Ambon, tell horrific stories of forced circumcisions carried out by local Muslims who they say were pressured by zealots from two other islands, Geser and Gorong.
Kostantinus Idi, 22, said he chanted prayers to convert to Islam as Muslims brandishing machetes threatened to kill him and his family. "I was scared. They could do anything to me if I did not do what they wanted," he said.
Mr Idi said that after being given a Muslim cap, prayer mat and sarong and told to adopt a new Islamic name, he tried to avoid circumcision by running to a relative's house. But three Muslim men came to the house where nine other Christian men were also hiding.
"I could not escape," he said. "One of them held up my foreskin between pieces of wood while another cut me with a razor ... the third man held my head back, ready to pour water down my throat if I screamed. But I couldn't help but scream and he poured the water. I kept screaming aloud and vomited. I couldn't stand the pain."
Mr Idi said that while he was still bleeding profusely, one of the clerics urinated on his wound, saying it would stop infection. "All of the men at the house were cut using the same razor," he said. "That night they circumcised about 60 men. I was bleeding all over and had nothing to cover my wound. I was told to take a bath but it kept bleeding until the next day. I could not imagine any greater pain."
Christina Sagat, 32, said her mother, who is in her 70s, teenagers, children and her eight-months-pregnant niece were among people from her village on Kesui who were circumcised. Trembling and fighting back tears, Ms Sagat said circumcision was not customary among local Muslim women. "I don't understand these people ... they insisted on us being circumcised," she said.
The Reverend Sammy Titaley, head of the Protestant church in Maluku, said the circumcisions were considered worse than death in Ambonese culture.
"Going back centuries we have a tradition of death," he said. "Tradition had it that if you married, you had to bring a head on a stick to the bride's family to show that you were able to protect her," Mr Titaley said.
"But we have never before seen anything like forced circumcisions in these islands." Mr Titaley said the law should be enforced and those responsible sent to jail.
Moderate Muslim leaders in Ambon have distanced themselves from the conversions and circumcisions. They deny any campaign to force Islam on Christians in the islands, where a two-year religious war has left up to 8000 people dead and 500,000 homeless.
Malik Selang, executive secretary of the Maluku chapter of the Indonesian Muslim Board, denied Muslims were responsible for forced conversions or circumcisions.
"Kesui island was Muslim dominated until Christian missionaries came to the area," he said. "The Christians and Muslims used to live in harmony there but some Christians from Ambon went there and created rumors ... they provoked both sides into conflict," he said.
Mr Selang said the refugees who came to Ambon from Kesui originally told a governor's investigation team that they were not forced to change their religion. "Now they are saying different things," he said. "It is the right of anyone to choose whatever religion they like."
Mr Selang said Islamic teaching prohibited the forced conversion of someone from another religion to Islam. "It is against the Koran and against the teachings of the Prophet."
Speaking in Ambon, Austrian-born Catholic priest Joseph Haas said threats and attacks by Muslim fanatics last year forced him to flee Bula, a once Christian village on Seram, the so-called "Mother" island of Maluku.
But he said when he went back to his looted and badly damaged church in the village recently, local Muslims pleaded with him to stay. "I had to tell them, `Look, I don't have any Christian worshippers here any more ... they have all fled'," he said.
Father Haas said many Muslims were also victims, including the clerics. "From what I hear, they cannot refuse to do the circumcisions," he said. "They are sincere and believe deeply in their religion. But others behind them are forcing them."
Father Haas, who has worked in Indonesia for almost 40 years, said he could not think of a worse thing to happen to the villagers. "If something happens to their body they believe they have become Muslim," he said. "But deep in their hearts there will always be something against that conviction."
Church officials say that the entire eastern half of Seram, the largest island in Maluku, is now entirely Islamic. Protestants and Catholics cannot enter villages there for fear of attack.
The Board of Lawyers for Ambon Churches says it has gathered information about the forced conversion of about 1500 people on Buru, a remote island near Ceram where former president Suharto sent political prisoners in the 1960s.
Maluku police chief Brigadier-General Firman Gani told The Age that he understood Christians on Kesui "were in some kind of condition in which they could not freely choose their religion".
"The police will respond," he said. "We will investigate. We are part of the Governor's team going there." But General Gani said it was a sensitive issue. "We must not create problems by solving one problem," he said. "We will investigate and if there is strong evidence of physical threats we will prosecute the perpetrators."
Governor Latuconsina, who refused to be interviewed by The Age, is believed to have been shocked when he read a report on Kesui dated December 19. The report, marked confidential, detailed how Christians on the island have been forced to change their religion after threats of murder, house burnings and intimidation.
The report, a copy of which has been obtained by The Age, confirmed that Christians who had "surrendered because they could not stand it any more" had been circumcised after being taken to a mosque.
Agence France-Presse - January 26, 2001
Jakarta -- Indonesia's foreign minister on Friday said the government had imposed new restrictions on foreign journalists travelling to the country's three most troubled provinces, but insisted it was for their own security and was not political, a report said.
"There's nothing political in the policy. This is out of security concerns and for the sake of their safety," Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab was quoted by the Detik.com news portal as saying.
The three regions -- the Maluku islands, the scene of two years of bitter fighting between Christians and Muslims, and separatist-plagued Irian Jaya and Aceh -- were not under a state of civil emergency, he added.
Aceh's branch of the rights group Kontras said it learned foreign journalists had been barred from entering the three areas. A new notice in special visas granted to foreign journalists states that they are not valid for visits to Aceh, Irian Jaya and the Malukus, Kontras said.
But Foreign Ministry spokesman Sulaiman Abdulmannan told AFP the ban on foreign journalists visiting the three areas was "not total". "It is not a total ban. That was misreporting. Maybe if special security conditions prevail, they could not go there," Abdulmanan said.
Foreign journalists with valid press accreditation documents as well as press visas, he said, should inform local authorities of their presence in the area, and local authorities would have the power to determine whether they could move around or not.
"We would also appreciate it if foreign journalists ... could notify us if they plan to travel there ... and we can contact the local security authorities," he added.
Under the authoritarian regime of former president Suharto, who resigned in 1998, foreign journalists required special permission to travel to Irian Jaya, but that was waived with the new press freedom after Suharto's fall.
Foreign journalists currently in the country do not have the notation in their passports, which Abdulmannan said was hand written. The country's two extremities, Aceh in the far west and Irian Jaya in the east, have seen long-running violent separatist conflicts while more 5,000 people have been killed in the sectarian violence in the Malukus.
Diplomats in Jakarta say they have been under a similar travel ban to the three areas for some six months. They said they were notified of the ban by a foreign ministry circular.
Jakarta Post - January 27, 2001
Jakarta -- A local resident was killed and two others severely injured when a bomb went off in a crowd of residents and security personnel milling about in front of the Betoamberi district office on Friday afternoon in Baubau, Buton regency, Southeast Sulawesi.
The fatality was identified as La Aeri, a resident of Katobengke village in Betoambari district. The two injured were La Utu and La Alu.
Antara reported the incident occurred at 3.40pm local time. Police have yet to find the motive behind the explosion, but they suspect it was a continuation of the recent communal clashes involving residents from Wameo, Kabula, Wakonti, Lipu and Katobengke villages that rocked the areas on Thursday.
Earlier on late Thursday, an explosion also occurred in nearby Lipu village when two policemen passed by the area. The policemen were mobbed to death by residents who did not want them to investigate the explosion. Police and personnel from the Indonesian Military (TNI) were then deployed to the district to prevent further violence.
Buton Police chief Adj. Snr. Comr. Petrus Hardana said that although tension had escalated in the district, security was under control. More security personnel will be deployed to reinforce troops already in the area. There have been at least six explosions in Buton over the last three weeks.
Jakarta Post - January 25, 2001
Ambon -- Fresh violence erupted in Hatualang village in Pirus district, West Seram island in Central Maluku on Wednesday, resulting in the death of a soldier.
"Around 6am local time on Wednesday, some 500 armed raiders attacked the village forcing 1,000 people to flee and hide in the jungle," a senior operations officer with the Pattimura Military Command, who asked not to be named, said on Wednesday. Sgt. Yusman was shot in the back and killed in the incident. His body has been taken to the town of Masohi in Central Maluku.
The attack began when raiders sprayed bullets at the beachside village. "Yusman was shot as he tried to lead the residents to safety," the officer said. Meanwhile in Ambon, Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa revealed on Wednesday that he has sent a letter to the Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani "asking the police chief to control his personnel in the field".
"I do not want any friction between the military and police. We have to unite in handling this conflict," Yasa said. Yasa made the remark after a gunfight broke out between Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel and personnel belonging to a Combined Security Forces (Yongab) unit -- consisting of the Navy's marines, the Air Force's special forces and the Army's special forces -- in the Air Besar area of Passo on Monday afternoon.
The incident occurred after the soldiers of the Combined Security Forces unit captured several officers who were allegedly shooting at them from the Wijaya Hotel as soldiers were trying to ward off an advancing mob.
"The Army Chief has contacted me about it and I have explained everything to him as it is," Yasa said after a consolidation meeting at the Pattimura Military headquarters in the Batu Gajah area. A total of 14 police and military personnel, among them five middle-ranking officers, were apprehended as a result.
Separately, Amboina Diocese's Bishop Mgr. Peter Kanisius Mandagi told journalists on Wednesday that he has been invited by the US Congress early in February to explain the tragedy in Maluku. "I'm not there to represent Catholics but as a humanitarian activist who will reveal the facts to the public.
In Jakarta, Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters will send a team to Ambon on Thursday to investigate the Wijaya Hotel incident, TNI spokesman Rear Marshall Graito Usodo said on Wednesday.
Separately, National Police chief Gen. Suroyo Bimantoro said on Wednesday that the two police officers apprehended at the Wijaya Hotel are being flown to Jakarta for questioning. "I ordered the Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani to bring them back to Jakarta... these two officers are prime suspects in the recent Maluku riots."
Agence France-Presse - January 22, 2001
Ambon -- Eight Muslims were killed and 19 injured Monday after an attack on an Indonesian military patrol in Ambon, a city ravaged by two years of Muslim-Christian violence.
Angered by recent killings of Muslim residents by members of a joint military battalion, Muslims armed with home-made weapons attacked a patrol unit in the Batumerah area Monday. The soldiers shot back killing three of the attackers, a local journalist said. Five other people -- including a woman -- were then killed during a raid by soldiers hunting for the attackers in the same area later Monday, the journalist said.
"The woman was going to take a morning prayer when she was hit by a stray bullet. Two other victims, a 16-year-old and a 20-year- old youth were shot dead because they were among the Muslim attackers." The cause of death of the other two male victims was not yet available, the journalist said, adding 19 people were wounded in the raid. "Some of the wounded ones have been taken to the Al-Fatah and the Ahlussunnah Wal Jamaah command posts," the journalist said.
On Friday, members of the battalion shot dead two Muslims riding on a motorbike in the Mardika area after one of its members, a marine, was shot in the arm by unknown assailants, the journalist said. The bodies of the two residents were tied to an armored car and taken away by the troops. Muslims accused the soldiers of holding their bodies. On Saturday marines also killed a Muslim resident in Batumerah, the Republika daily said.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Maluku islands, of which Ambon is the main city.
The violence first broke out in Ambon city in January 1999 when a trivial dispute between a Christian driver and a Muslim degenerated into violence between the two communities. The violence quickly spread to other islands in the Malukus.
| Human rights/law |
Jakarta Post - January 25, 2001
Jakarta -- Central Jakarta District Court judges trying a lawsuit filed by the Democratic People's Party (PRD) against a number of former top state officials examined on Wednesday the written evidence presented by lawyers of the plaintiff.
The former state officials concerned include former president Soeharto, former home ministry Yogie S. Memet, former Armed Forces chief Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung and former Jakarta Military commander Lt. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso.
The panel of judges also approved the names of several people proposed by the lawyers to testify in the next hearing. They are Wartono, the father of PRD chairman Budiman Sujatmiko; Veronica, who was accused of harboring wanted antigovernment activist Garda Sembiring; Catholic priest Sandiyawan Sumardi; political observer Arbi Sanit and legal expert Loebby Loqman.
A rally staged by some 40 PRD activists outside the courtroom marked the hearing. They urged the court to also try several Golkar Party top executives and former military leaders for masterminding the bloody takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party's headquarters on July 27, 1996.
The hearing was adjourned until next Wednesday, when witnesses' testimonies will be heard.
| News & issues |
Jakarta Post - January 27, 2001
Jakarta -- The government has eased immigration regulations for Chinese travelers, who during the Soeharto regime faced discriminatory and complicated procedures.
"In general, the government has applied the same immigration regulations to Chinese nationals as those from other countries," immigration director general M. Mudakir announced following a ceremony to observe the office's 51st anniversary on Friday.
Mudakir said that since last December 12, Chinese citizens would be allowed to enter Indonesia through any of the 114 immigration checkpoints across the country.
The government has also eased the complicated visa application procedures. In the past, visa application for Chinese had to be approved by certain agents, such as the background check department and an interrelated department.
Previously, Chinese could only enter the country through five airports and five seaports: Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta, Polonia Airport in Medan, Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Djuanda Airport in Surabaya and Hang Nadim Airport in Batam, or Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, Belawan Port in Medan, Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, Sekupang Port in Batam and Banda Bentan Telani Port in Bintan.
Asked about the possibility of providing free-visa facilities for Chinese, Mudakir said they would have to apply for visas and follow the same procedures like many other foreigners.
The New Order government discriminated against the Chinese as diplomatic ties between the two countries were frozen shortly after the failed 1965 coup, which was blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party. The relations resumed in 1990, but restrictions on Chinese travelers continued. President Abdurrahman Wahid visited China at the end of 1999, when he promised to remove the barriers for visa applicants.
While the discriminative immigration regulation has been repealed, Mudakir said that immigration authorities would improve its controls over and supervision of Chinese travelers.
Meanwhile, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the new government policy was a new challenge for the immigration directorate.
"The controls of and supervision over foreigners must be continuously improved, not only upon their entrance into the country, but also on all their activities during their presence here," Yusril said while addressing immigration officials at the anniversary ceremony.
Yusril warned that Indonesia was not a country that accepted immigrants, and therefore only foreigners who brought advantages and were not a threat to the country were welcome to stay here.
Detik - January 26, 2001
Hestiana Dharmastuti/Fitri & GB, Jakarta 00 Coordinator of the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Munarman, has stated that the government's efforts to pass a new State of Emergency Bill should be dropped because Indonesia is not ready.
He further accused the Minister for Justice and Human Rights of lying because he claimed that Kontras members had helped formulate the new draft bill.
Munarman said that Indonesia was not ready for a State of Emergency Bill because the country had not fulfilled three prerequisites -- one of which is that the military should not be involved in political affairs.
"The fact is our military is still involved in political affairs in Indonesia. The territorial command system has yet to be abolished," said Munarman to reporters at Kontras headquarters in Jakarta, Friday.
The second prerequisite Munarman said had not been fulfilled was that structural problems had not been resolved. For instance, he mentioned that mass labour strikes could be used by the government to apply the bill. This issue made headlines earlier in the week when a manufacturing industry leader said strikes were frightening away investors and the matter was discussed at a cabinet meting.
The last prerequisite, in Munarman's opinion, was that the state apparatus and their code of conduct was not under control, as evident in the handling of cases such as massive social and religious unrest and separatist movements in Aceh, Maluku and other regions.
"If the prerequisites are not met, whatever the name is, we will continue to reject it. Because the Emergency Bill also abolishes public control over the state apparatus and the country," added Munarman.
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra announced yesterday that the controversial National Security Bill which was never passed by the House due to massive student and NGO demonstrations last year would be amended into a new State of Emergency Bill. Yusril seemed confident the bill would be passed on January 31 because they had addressed all objections to the original bill regarding human rights and the role of the military.
However, Munarman said that there were no substantial differences between both bills because both were the initiative of government institutions. In effect, the bill had been formulated because the state thought it necessary to have a legal instrument to defend themselves. "There are political interests within the government which have many connected interests. That is, that all parties who have power can not have their power broken through the (Emergency Law) legal instrument. And, the bill will be used as a knife to attack political enemies," said Munarman.
Munarman also predicted that the process of passing the bill would be deadlocked, similar to the case of the selection of a new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. "Because, as of now, the House of Representatives remains adamant that the original National Security bill should be passed. Now they've just talked of revising the bill. The best solution is that the House should withdraw the draft bill. Consider that it doesn't exist and also revoke Law No. 23/1959," Munarman explained.
Furthermore, Munarman lamented statements made by the Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra who mentioned Munarman two other Kontras colleagues, Munir and Apong Abdul Hakim, as contributing to the new draft bill.
"In fact, we clearly reject the bill. This just means the Minister has manipulated the facts. Yusril should immediately clarify that we didn't join in formulating the bill," Munarman said pointedly.
Jakarta Post - January 27, 2001
Jakarta -- Anti and pro-government rallies continued on Friday ahead of the House of Representatives plenary session next Monday that will mark the delivery of the House special committee's findings concerning two financial scandals allegedly involving President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.
At least five groups of protesters voiced their demands at the House and held meetings with legislators demanding either the halting or the continuation of the investigation.
Friday's rallies were marked by an incident when deputy House speaker Andi Mappetahang Fatwa was hit by a pair of dirty socks thrown by a Cirebon, West Java supporter of Abdurrahman.
The incident happened when Fatwa was holding a meeting with dozens of Abdurrahman's supporters from three groups, namely the National Unity Defenders Forum from Cirebon, the Forum of Concerned Citizens from Brebes in Central Java and the Alliance of Central Java Citizens.
After nearly two hours of heated debate with Fatwa, who is known for his strong criticism of Abdurrahman, one of the protesters suddenly came forward and threw the dirty socks in Fatwa's face.
"This is a pair of dirty socks to stuff your mouth with so that you will shut up," the protester shouted while throwing the socks. Police officers then surrounded Fatwa and escorted him back to his office, while the protesters left the meeting room immediately.
Hundreds of university students from across Java expressed their support for the House special committee and demanded the House continue the investigation. The students hailed from the Brawijaya State University in Malang, East Java, the Sebelas Maret State University in Surakarta, Central Java, the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and the Bogor Agricultural Institute.
"The House should be consistent and continue with the investigation into both financial scandals. And Abdurrahman should be held responsible for his alleged involvement in the scandals," the statement from the students said.
They were referring to the Rp 35 billion (US$3.6 million) scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) and the $2 million donation from Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
Meanwhile, President Abdurrahman Wahid claimed on Friday that his deputy Megawati Soekarnoputri fully supports him and is in favor of seeing his presidency through until it ends in 2004.
Abdurrahman was quoted by Antara as saying in Jambi that Megawati was willing to support him since she "is willing to put the nation's interests before those of others." "I am the one who knows her best. She [Megawati] always leaves things up to me to decide," Abdurrahman said after Friday prayers at the Al Falah grand mosque.
Abdurrahman added that Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), which is the largest faction in the House of Representatives (DPR), was also fully behind the President.
Abdurrahman has repeatedly denied that he is at odds with Megawati saying that "the duo of Gus Dur [Abdurrahman's nickname] and Megawati should never be broken". However, Megawati, who is media-shy and infamous for her silence, has so far never expressed whether or not she really was behind the President.
In preparation for an increasing number of rallies, National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said in Surabaya, East Java, on Friday that the police would deploy 40,000 personnel, including troops from the Army and Marines, in the capital next Monday.
"I have ordered all regional police chiefs not to hesitate in taking stern measures against any anarchic actions perpetrated by protesters. Even in the United States, the police are allowed to shoot lawbreakers, so we should not hesitate," Bimantoro said.
Meanwhile, chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB)'s East Java chapter Choirul Anam said he would send 300 party supporters to the capital on January 29 to observe the plenary session.
"I cannot stop the people from going there [Jakarta] as they really want to defend Abdurrahman. If things get worse at the House, we'll send more people," Anam said.
In Yogyakarta, more than 500 students from various universities held a mass rally here on Friday, calling on President Abdurrahman to resign. Calling themselves members of th the Reformist Student and Youth Front (GAMMPAR), the students staged their rally in front of the Yogyakarta Provincial Council.
One of the protesters said Gus Dur had disappointed the Indonesian people. "We were very glad when he was appointed as President. But, what have we got today? Gus Dur has been developing his own political agenda and a new form of KKN," he shouted. Another protester said the Bulog and Brunei scandals showed that Gus Dur had ignored the people's aspirations.
Meanwhile, serious traffic congestion occurred in Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi, when hundreds of anti-Abdurrahman protesters from the People's Reform Forum Guardian Movement, blocked the city's main thoroughfare on Friday.
Agence France-Presse - January 24, 2001
Jakarta -- Crowds of ethnic Chinese, with mixed feelings of fear and a new sense of pride, flocked openly to temples in Jakarta Wednesday to celebrate 'Imlek', as the Lunar New year is known here.
But though a harsh 1967 decree banning public Chinese celebrations was gone for a second year, and the government for the first time declared the Lunar New Year an optional state holiday, no one was taking chances.
More than 200 armed policemen, among some 8,000 security troops deployed citywide, were standing guard late Tuesday evening along the unusually quiet Gajah Mada street in Jakarta's densely- populated Chinatown area.
Ethnic Chinese were wary, with the still-blackened ruins of whole city blocks in Jakarta's Chinatown, devastated in riots in 1998, stood as a stark reminder of smouldering anti-Chinese sentiment in Indonesia.
But this year's celebration -- the Year of the Snake -- gave a new sense of pride for many Chinese Indonesians, despite swirling rumors of riots and bomb threats across the city.
The decree on the optional holiday gave Chinese Indonesians "a sense of recognition," said Lie Oen Liong, one of the caretakers of Jakarta's Kim Tek I, or the "Golden Virtue" Chinese temple.
"Although it's only an optional one, we are very happy since it represents a message that discrimination is slowly eradicating here," Lie told AFP as hundreds of people offered their prayers at the temple Tuesday night.
"During the (Muslim) Eid-El-Fitr holiday, we go to the homes of our Muslim friends to pay our respects ... now that Imlek is an optional holiday, they [ethnic-Indonesians] can do the same thing."
Rumors that a series of bombs would go off in Chinatown during the nine-day festivities had caused many temple-goers to be "somewhat edgy," Lie said.
"Nowadays, you can never predict what's going to happen ... but this is a house of worship and you just have to have faith. We survived the May riots and we can definitely survive other tragedies," he said. Joko Wijaya, a 35-year-old salesman who came with his wife and two children from the nearby Cengkareng area, told AFP that the new law -- issued Monday by the Religious Affairs Ministry -- was "a beginning of a new era."
At the next door Tee Tjong Ong Pou Sat temple, hundreds of beggars gathered, waiting for the Chinese revellers to toss them "ang pau," red envelopes with money in them.
In one five-star hotel, where army troops were stationed at the entrances, extra tables had been set up in the red lantern- festooned second floor lobby area, where the guests looked down on a dragon dance accompanied by beating drums and clashing symbols.
Waiters were dressed in traditional Chinese silk jackets, and parents guided small children to put Ang Pao in the mouth of the dragon.
Ethnic-Chinese, though estimated at some 3.5 percent of the country's 210 million people, hold a disproportionate amount of Indonesia's wealth.
But they have long been burdened by written and unwritten restrictions, most of them legacies of the Suharto era, including marked ID cards.
Under Suharto, who ironically counted a few wealthy ethnic Chinese businessmen among his inner circle, the Chinese were shut out of top government posts and forced to adopt Indonesian- sounding names.
The government also imposed a 10 percent limit on Chinese entering medical, engineering, law and science faculties at universities.
Many went abroad to study and later moved with their families to countries like Singapore and Australia seeking the greater opportunities open to them and their children there.
Lingering resentment against percieved favoritism during the Dutch colonial era, which bred distrust against ethnic Chinese, was further exacerbated by Jakarta's accusation that Beijing supported a failed coup attempt in 1965 blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
Many ethnic Chinese were among the more than 500,000 killed by official count in the harsh crackdown that followed the abortive coup, although the communist party was legal at the time.
Far Eastern Economic Review - January 24, 2001
John Mcbeth, Jakarta -- The deadly Christmas and New Year bombings in Indonesia and Manila, which killed 40 people and left hundreds injured, have Indonesians and Filipinos puzzled. Is radical Islam, they wonder, entering a dangerous new phase in Southeast Asia? Or is Islamic militancy, as police investigators and analysts now seem convinced, merely a convenient cover for politically powerful rivals bent on using terror campaigns in their struggle for supremacy? In this era of wrenching change when forces with different agendas make for unlikely bedfellows, evidence from Indonesia's 24 Christmas Eve blasts across Java and Sumatra points clearly to the involvement of both elements. Police have put the blame for these blasts and for similar incidents over the past two years on well-heeled remnants of President Suharto's New Order regime, who they say have been drawing on a loose mercenary network of active and retired soldiers, Muslim extremists and disparate criminal elements. Their motive: to head off the prosecution of Suharto-era crimes, and to install a government more compliant with the preservation of their financial and political interests.
In the Philippines, official suspicion for the deaths of 22 people in five separate explosions at the New Year has fallen on Mindanao's secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front. But there are doubts whether the MILF, after suffering a heavy battlefield setback last July, is capable of mounting such an operation in Manila, far from its traditional stronghold. Many Filipinos are more convinced the bombings were planned by supporters of then- President Joseph Estrada trying to distract public attention from his impeachment trial, or by a military faction eager to build the case for martial law.
In Indonesia, President Abdurrahman Wahid is in serious political trouble and has been unable to halt the country's lingering economic crisis or put reforms in place. His government suffers from institutional decay and has failed to fill the political and leadership vacuum left by Suharto. Indeed, not only has the bombing campaign underlined the difficulty of uprooting Suharto's New Order regime and its pervasive culture, but it also demonstrates how a collapse in law and order has opened the door for extremist Muslim groups willing to use violence to get their way.
A few years ago, the Indonesian military would never have tolerated groups such as Laskar Jihad, still operating in Maluku, and the Defenders of Islam Front (FPI), whose specialty is wrecking Jakarta bars and restaurants in the name of Islam. Political analyst Marcus Meitzner, a specialist on the army and Islam, believes that with the apparent erosion of the state doctrine of Pancasila -- and its philosophy of sectarianism -- the military's traditionally strict adherence to national security and stability has given way to simply the protection of its own institutional interests.
That view of the decay of military principles seems to be shared by former army chief of staff Gen. Hartono, long regarded as a member of the military's Islamic wing, and recently cited by Wahid as a possible suspect in the bomb attacks. "Under Suharto, this would never have happened-so why does it happen now?" he says in a rare interview in his South Jakarta home. "I myself am disappointed with the military because it seems they are very afraid of being accused of committing human rights abuses. I would rather sacrifice the human rights of one person, rather than the human rights of many people. The military is too scared now to carry out its duties, even in safe-guarding the nation." Converging interests are clearly at play. Officials have pointed to Suharto's fugitive son Tommy and other New Order figures, to Muslim radicals, and to at least seven generals, five of whom are still active. In a recent meeting with a civic action group, political coordinating minister Bambang Yudhoyono referred to a conspiracy of "old friends and old soldiers." Wahid told the same group that when Yudhoyono briefed him in late December, he named Hartono and ex-special forces commander Lt.-Gen. Prabowo Subianto, who both have links to Suharto, as "possible" masterminds.
Hartono and Prabowo both hotly deny having any part in the bombings. Hartono has threatened legal action against the president for going public with the accusation. "I really don't understand why I am a target," the former army chief told the Review. "I live my life by my religion. Terrorism is against religious teaching." Still, he makes no secret of his contention that life was better under Suharto. "The common people are saying that -- and I agree with them -- for them, reform is frightening. You can't start from scratch like we're trying to do." In a swipe at Wahid, Hartono says the country lacks the leadership "to give direction and provide a good example. Maybe Suharto was too strict, but now it's far too relaxed." Army Chief-of-Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto is adamant that the military had nothing to do with the bombings. That may be true of the army as an institution. But with the rift between Wahid and his generals widening -- and the president now backing new civilian legislation which would reinforce limitations on the military's political role -- there are suspicions that the army leadership may be powerless to resist the activities of more extremist elements in the officer corps.
Certainly, the military's footprints have often been obvious. Police investigators say privately they were told to "switch off" when their inquiries into the April 19, 1999 bomb blast in the basement of Jakarta's Grand Mosque homed in on former and serving members of the Indonesian Special Forces' psychological warfare group. That same unit was involved in the abduction and torture of political activists prior to Suharto's downfall.
Indeed, there is a widely held view that rogue elements in the military have become guns for hire. This suspicion is reinforced by the fact that two of the six suspects who have been charged in the September 13 blast at the Jakarta Stock Exchange are soldiers from the special forces and Kostrad, the Army Strategic Reserve. A recent report by the privately funded International Crisis Group supports claims that underpaid soldiers and police sold or rented weapons and ammunition to combatants in the Muslim- Christian violence in Maluku. In some cases, the report said, whole units joined the battle on one side or the other.
The Christmas bombings have also thrown up evidence of a military linkage. Informants close to the investigation say mobile-phone records show one of the 10 suspects arrested so far made several telephone calls to the military's Strategic Intelligence Agency.
Investigators believe the suspects belong to the same Bandung, West Java-based network that was involved in the 1999 mosque bombing and a well-planned West Jakarta bank heist.
But the police often only seem to be going through the motions. "If you look at the way they have handled cases in the past, the police seem to get only so far and then hit a big wall and go no further," says Bara Hasibuan, coordinator of Indonesia Forum for Peace, a newly established activist group that wants to ensure the same thing doesn't happen with the investigation of the recent bombings.
If the police face barriers, the presidential palace may be part of the problem. Several days before the bombing, according to palace insiders, civilian intelligence chief Arie Kumaat went to the palace with a report foretelling possible violence over the holiday period. Wahid wasn't available, so he left the report with a member of the president's family -- who promptly put it in a bag and forgot about it.
Analyst Meitzner says the military's primary concern is that the president has proven to be an unreliable partner, unwilling or incapable of rewarding loyalty. Last December 29, in a statement believed to reflect the views of many senior generals, the military's former political and social affairs chief, Bambang Triantoro, urged the president to take sick leave and leave his duties in the hands of Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri. More recently, army chief Sutarto pointedly declared that the military's loyalty is to the state and not to the president as an individual.
There appears to be no shortage of people willing to create mayhem for money. One shadowy group known as Gunung Tidur, after the mountain that lies behind the Indonesian Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java, comprises cadets who failed the four-year officer course. Western intelligence sources suspect this gang of short-haired young men was involved in setting a series of deadly fires during the May 1998 riots that precipitated Suharto's downfall.
Another part of the loose network of mercenaries is rooted in the troubled Sumatran province of Aceh, where criminal gangs -- some operating under the guise of the Free Aceh independence movement -- run protection and marijuana-smuggling rackets, allegedly under military patronage, according to human-rights groups and published reports. The Aceh connection surfaced in the aftermath of the bombing of the Stock Exchange, which killed at least 15 people. US officials are trying to determine whether the TNT used in the latest blasts was had been stolen last year from an Exxon-Mobil warehouse in the Aceh town of Llokseumawe.
Indonesia explodes
Detik - January 24, 2001
Budi Sugiharto/Hendra & GB, Surabaya -- 182 village heads from Sampang regency, on the island of Madura, East Java province, have occupied the office of the East Java Governor in the provincial capital Surabaya.
Accompanied by 11 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), they urged the Governor, Imam Utomo, to immediately inaugurate Fadhilah Budiono.
Fadhilah Budiono of the Indonesian Armed Forces/Police faction and backed by the United Development faction (F-PP) was reelected as regent on July 22, 2000 after obtaining 23 votes in the 45 seat assembly. He defeated his opponent from the National Awakening Party (PKB), the largest faction with 18 seats. President Wahid nominally heads of the PKB which is affiliated to the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation.
The election sparked massive unrest in the regency. On September 4, 2000, hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest his election and the town of Sampang came to a complete standstill as government offices closed down and the town's entry and exit points were blocked by the angry mob.
The following day, they returned and destroyed around 85% of the local Regent's offices and government chambers. Many of those protesting were Madurese refugees forced to flee Sambas, West Kalimantan, and return to Madura because of ethnic unrest in the late 1990s. They accused Fadhilah of misappropriating rice supplies intended for refugees.
On Wednesday, Fadhilah's supporters demanded that the East Java Governor immediately inaugurate the elected regent without ignoring the legal process and investigations which are still ongoing. Orations were held and the demonstrators sang in Madurese.
The upshot of the demonstration was that if Fadhilah wasn't inaugurated immediately, Sampang would be ruined. Coordinator of the action and head of West Ketapan village, HM Nurun Tajela, said the East Java Governor must not neglect the people of Sampang represented by the 182 village heads. "Of 189 village heads in Sampang, there's only four not here so this represents the people of Sampang," he said.
Half threatening, Nurun said firmly that the key to whether Sampang would end up in ruins or not depended on the Governor, not Jakarta. He further said that Jakarta through the Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had ordered the Governor to inaugurate Fahdilah Budiono.
"The official letter to inaugurate Fadhilah had also been issued, so the legal case against him can just be left to proceed legally while the induction goes ahead," Nurun said.
In their oration, several village heads said they intended to stay over night at the governor's offices. Furthermore, they said that Sampang teachers and supporters of the United Development Party (PPP) would join their ongoing actions in Surabaya. Apparently, these PPP supporters are not intending to pay education fees or tax as long as Fadhilah is not in office. As of 14.15 Jakarta time, East Java Governor, Imam Utomo, has yet to meet the village heads.
In a recent report, Tempo magazine alleged that the regent elect and the campaign to have him inducted despite considerably violent protest from some quarters was being supported by the oldest daughter of former president Suharto, Siti `Tutut' Hardiyanti Rukmana. It's a long way from Sampang to Surabaya and someone, if not Tutut or the PPP, must have paid the various costs involved with organising a demonstration of this size.
Jakarta Post - January 23, 2001
Jakarta -- Unlike in the past, political parties are now the vanguard of corruption in the country, as a result of democratization and decentralization, the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) revealed in its year-end report on Monday.
ICW coordinator Teten Masduki said he expected a snowball effect of corrupt practices due to a lack of political will from the government to eradicate them.
"It's outrageous that corruption takes place in the era of democratization and transparency, while no theories can explain why. We understand that we are still in a transition process, where the checks and balances between the state and civil society have not yet been perfectly developed. However, democratization without public accountability will only pave the way for money politics and allow corruption to spread out of control," he told a media briefing.
In its preliminary investigation, ICW identified six corruption cases which it suspects took place in the House of Representatives (DPR) last year. They include, the election of Bank Indonesia deputy governors, the screening of the chief justice candidates, the hearing between the House and the Attorney General's Office over the termination of an investigation into PT Texmaco, and the drafting of the Tax and Excise Law, which stipulates that particular businesses can be exempt from taxes.
The watchdog also suspected corruption in the House legislators' visits to the shrimp hatchery PT Dipasena in Lampung, which allegedly caused losses to the state, and to PT Pura Barutama, a paper printing company in Kudus, Central Java. PT Pura has recently been accused of printing counterfeit money.
Teten deemed that corruption had become a political problem, and the political parties had contributed to maintaining it as a method of obtaining the funds they badly need to survive.
"The parties look for financial resources either from businessmen, the military, state officials or others. We perceive their main concern now is the placement of their members in particular ministries, or state enterprises known to be a state cash cow.
"And vice versa, the businessmen look for a patron. In the past they depended solely on the ruling party Golkar, but under these uncertain political circumstances they support all parties. These practices have given corruption a boost," he said.
Teten lashed out at the current government, who have failed to carry out their own anti-corruption drive. "Instead of solving the many past corruption cases, which are now stranded at the Attorney General's Office, they perpetuate the crime," he said.
Teten said President Abdurrahman Wahid had replaced only 15 percent of people in his administration who belonged to the old regime, and whose appointments were not subjected to appropriate screening.
"Although we can see that Gus Dur finds resistance from the old faces, who have repositioned themselves and served as the stumbling blocks to corruption eradication efforts, the President in fact doesn't have a sound agenda," he said, referring to the President by his nickname.
He said it was necessary for Gus Dur to break the chain connecting the current government with the past regime, and to restructure legal institutions, including the reform of laws in a bid to uphold justice.
Teten also said that the House's special committee currently investigating financial scandals allegedly involving the President "does not really show the legislators' intention to resolve the cases." "The investigation into Buloggate and Bruneigate only represent a political competition between the elites and political parties," he said.
ICW suggested that the government and the House revise the Anti- Corruption Law No. 31/ 1999 due to a lack of political support for the current investigations into corruption.
| Religion/Islam |
Detik - January 23, 2001
Aulia Andri/GB, Jakarta -- Around 500 members of the notorious Ka'bah Youth Movement (GPK) snuck in through the back gate at the parliament and staged a demonstration demanding the House fully investigate the Buloggate-Bruneigate scandals. All were replete in their military style uniforms and the women and girls present also wore jilbabs.
The group arrived at noon local time Tuesday in 20 Metro Mini buses. They caught security guards stationed at the front of the parliament complex by surprise. All demonstrations are supposed to enter from the front and be inspected by the guards. After some negotiation, they were allowed to proceed to the large field at the complex.
As so many other groups before them over previous days, they asked the special committee formed by the House of Representatives to investigate the Buloggate-Bruneigate scandals fully. President Abdurrahman Wahid is implicated in the cases which involve the misappropriation of state funds. Such `pro- special committee' demonstrations are thus tantamount to anti- Wahid demonstrations. All demonstrators wore the group's trademark fatigues with beret.
The GPK is affiliated to the United Development Party (PPP), a remnant of the regime of former president Suharto formed when Islamic parties were forcibly amalgamated 28 years ago. The `Ka'bah' in the group's name is the black monolith located in Mecca to which Muslims world wide pray. The Ka'bah is also the symbol of the PPP.
While the party is old, the GPK is a new wing concentrated on Java which tends to take an active role in `ensuring' that Islamic morality is upheld. However, GPK members who stormed a conference on HIV/AIDS in Yogyakarta, central Java, late last year were accused of being drunk.
| Arms/armed forces |
Jakarta Post - January 24, 2001
The public should watch out for military control of civilian institutions, says political analyst Kusnanto Anggoro of the Jakarta-based Center of Strategic International Studies and a lecturer of post graduate studies at the University of Indonesia.
Question: The proposed appointment of top officers to the defense ministry such as former spokesman Maj. Gen. Sudradjat to be in charge of intelligence, and the hardening of stances regarding alleged war crimes seem to point to more conservatism in the military. Has this happened because of the slow pace of reform? Answer: It is more because of Gus Dur (President Abdurrahman Wahid) worrying about pressure from the legislature, political anarchy ... which has led to more accommodation of the military. But, there has also been an opportunity for the military to consolidate itself once (former special forces commander) Lt. Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah left the scene, not that he's really a reformist ... Now, we're seeing the rise of the conservative groups.
In the case of Sudradjat, he is professionally capable. But, the problem in a transitional period is not only professionalism. There are other problems -- one being vision. He has rather progressed now in that he seems to accept public input, but he's still conservative.
We cannot have skilled, nonpolitical people either for the post. The person must have the political commitment to change the defense ministry into a professional, civilian institution. The risk (in Sudradjat's appointment) would be in defense strategy; it would be inward looking, focusing on how to mobilize domestic resources to increase defense capability -- that would include economic and human resources.
The other danger here is in Indonesia's political system, characterized by the informal relations of actors through formal channels.
As director general of national defense Sudradjat would have a certain clout, which would open opportunities for him to expand a power base leading to political maneuvers.
So the job description of the post should be very clear. The new post is largely identified as intelligence; so a vague job description could be dangerous.
The next requisite for the new post is opening access to public scrutiny. The problem with all bureaucracies lies in (lack of) transparency.
But civilian capacity for the overseeing of the strategic Ministry of Defense is low, as seen from the ignorance and disinterest of the legislature (on this issue).
What is the danger of focusing on domestic resources?
Garnering national resources including economic and human resources based on the current civilian defense hankamrata doctrine could lead to justifying the establishment of militias.
Sudradjat's appointment must be seen in the context of a few other appointments of conservative officers: that of Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon replacing the late Trikora commander and that of Maj. Gen. Bibit Waluyo as Jakarta's military commander.
So this (development) is partly because of Gus Dur, but there may have also been a deal with the military in return for their support for him. Gus Dur is in a more difficult position than last year, though he might survive the grilling by the legislature.
Will these trends lead to the return of the military to the political scene?
They would not likely dare to mainly because of international pressure, which is related to economic and financial support. On the domestic scene, they have also lost much credibility so an outright coup would be impossible.
But the problem would be with civilian institutions controlled by military concepts both in organization and in personnel. It would be a "military regime in disguise," though that may be putting it too harshly.
Acts of terror like bomb threats are suspected of being one maneuver by some in the Indonesian Military (TNI) to get back power.
No; the military's interests are so diverse. Sudrajat's motivation may be merely to return TNI's credibility. Then, there are other political moves solely concerned with protecting personal interests like resisting charges of human rights abuses.
Still others are merely stalling for breathing space. Acts of terror would be expressions by mere spoilers without any long- term political objective.
How should military control over civilian institutions be avoided?
Drawing up laws would be one way. Changing the defense law is now being discussed, but this is related to others. The law on the state police is near completion but without having regard to the law on defense; we also need a law on the intelligence service.
Former CIA chief Stanley Turner once said that intelligence is an anachronism in a democracy. But others say there is no country without an intelligence service. So how can we set up an intelligence service in line with democracy; how can we make it accountable? There is no way the Bakin intelligence service could be made transparent as its set-up was based only on a presidential instruction instead of a law, under which it might have been made accountable to the legislature.
Is Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri responding to overtures from TNI?
She is. This stems from the realistic needs of all the civilian elite here to accommodate the military; all feel that the TNI's support for them is still crucial ... The problem now is what sort of coalition emerges between the military and civilians ... So will Gus Dur stay on with the support of the military?
This depends on the public and the civilian elite ... I see all this as a phase of "permanent transition" of some eight years. Chile and Argentina had two or three years like this ...
Jakarta Post - January 23, 2001
Jakarta -- Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto told soldiers on Monday not to be discouraged by claims by certain groups that the military was behind all the security problems in the country.
"The Army has been unfairly treated and accused as the culprit in all the security disturbances. They [the groups] also describe the Army as an untouchable institution, even above the Law," Endriartono said during a speech marking the installment of Maj. Gen. Bibit Waluyo as the new Jakarta Military commander, replacing Maj. Gen. Slamet Kirbiantoro.
He said such accusations had made soldiers feel that they were being used by their generals to destroy the country. "The final agenda of these groups by continuously cornering us [the Army] is to disrupt the country," he said.
The Army chief, however, declined to name the groups. "You can identify them from the statements they have made. I wonder whether they do it to help improve the military's performance or whether they have a hidden agenda," he said.
He cited that the most recent accusation against the military was of involvement in the Christmas Eve's bombings. "I do not say or even guarantee that none of my men were involved in the year-end incidents. But, they [the groups] must have strong evidence to accuse someone of being involved in a crime," Endriartono said.
Bibit is the outgoing commander of the Army Staff and Command School (Seskoad), while Slamet, who has served as Jakarta military chief for only six months, will be assigned as deputy inspector general of the Indonesian Military (TNI).
When asked whether the replacement of Slamet was connected with the bombing incidents which occurred during his leadership, Endriartono said the reshuffle was merely to anticipate possible further security threats in the future.
"The capital needs special treatment by someone who has a special capability. Before it [security disturbance] happens, there must be a replacement [of the military chief]," he said.
Bibit, a 1972 graduate of the Armed Forces Academy (Akabri), was critical of President Abdurrahman Wahid when he served as the Diponegoro Military commander overseeing Central Java in 1999. Speculation was rife that it was this criticism that had eventually got him sent to Bandung as the Seskoad chief.
Separately, former TNI chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto dismissed speculation that Slamet's replacement was politically motivated. "I cannot say whether there is a political interest behind it. The most important is that the reshuffle has met the TNI's requirements in terms of morality, quality and acceptability," Wiranto said.
He also dismissed speculation that Bibit was among the Army generals affiliated to him. "People may say that there are groupings in the military. But, they must give me clear reasons for saying that," Wiranto said.
Similarly, Bibit denied that he was one of Wiranto's men. "I don't know and I don't understand [about groupings in the military]. And I'm not Wiranto's man, either," he said.
Meanwhile, some 4,000 kilometers away from Jakarta, a military ceremony was held in Jayapura, the capital of Irian Jaya, on Monday marking the installment of Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon as the new commander of Irian Jaya's Trikora Military Command replacing the late Maj. Gen. Tonny A. Rompis.
Rompis, along with Irian Jaya Police chief Insp. Gen. F.X. Soemardi and seven other passengers including the pilot, died in a plane crash in the Jayawijaya mountain range on January 8.
Monday's ceremony was overseen by Army deputy chief Lt. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri on behalf of Endriartono. Kiki in his address urged the new provincial military commander to be wise, particularly in facing the challenge of separatism in the country's easternmost province.
"In the wake of the aspirations of some Irianese to separate [the province] from Indonesia, the Trikora military commander and all of his personnel must look at the problem with clear and objective views," Kiki said, while addressing the ceremony.
| International solidarity |
Green Left Weekly - January 24, 2001
John Gauci, Sydney -- One hundred and fifty people rallied outside the Australian Defence Force headquarters here on January 20 to support self-determination for the Indonesian province of Aceh. The action coincided with a self-determination rally of 300 activists in Banda Aceh.
The demonstration, organised by the Australian Acehnese community and Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET), called for an independence referendum for Aceh, the withdrawal of the Indonesian military and the release of all political prisoners. It also directed its ire at the Australian government, calling for an immediate end to all military ties with Indonesia.
Like the people of East Timor prior to their independence, the people of Aceh are being subjected to an ongoing terror campaign by a 30,000-strong Indonesian occupation army. The province has a population of four million people with its own unique language and culture but, of its natural resources, all but 0.38% end up in the hands of Jakarta powerbrokers.
The Indonesian government of President Abdurrahman Wahid has refused all demands for a referendum on independence. This year's death toll from the military's terror campaign has already reached 78 people, following the January 18 discovery of yet another mass grave holding the bodies of 14 people. Two of those found were identified as environmental activists.
ASIET's national coordinator Pip Hinman made the comparison to East Timor explicit in her speech to the demonstrators.
"Australia had just been deputised by [US secretary of state] Colin Powell as sheriff for the Asia-Pacific region. People in Australia must ensure there isn't a repeated foreign policy fiasco like East Timor", she told the rally. "Australia's foreign policy is dictated by what's best for Australian big business. We must force this government, once again, to respect the wishes of the Acehnese and West Papuan peoples."
Her words were echoed by Kautsar, the founding coordinator of the Acehnese group SMUR, Student Solidarity for the People. Noting that the federal government's December White Paper on defence called for a stepped up military relationship between the two countries, he instead called for Australians to pressure their government to end its military ties with the Indonesian regime altogether.
Kautsar also sought to dispel misreporting of the Acehnese struggle in the Australian media. "This is not a religious or ethnic conflict. Christian churches and the Chinese community are not being attacked in Aceh. Both groups are united with the overwhelming majority of Acehnese in a struggle for a referendum with the option of independence."
"The Acehnese have repeatedly been offered Islamic law by [former Indonesian president] Habibie and Wahid to mask the real origins of the nature of the struggle", he revealed. "This has been repeatedly rejected by the Acehnese. We want a secular and democratic government and the Indonesian military must get out now."
The rally also heard from John Otto Ondawame, a representative of the West Papuan freedom movement, Andrew McNaughton from the Australia East Timor Association and Mohammad Dahlan from the Australian Acehnese Association.
"The East Timor campaign started with small actions", the Democratic Socialist Party's Nick Everrett reminded protesters, "but took on mass proportions.
Previous Australian governments have been proved wrong in their claims that East Timor would never gain independence and we will prove them wrong in Aceh and West Papua."
| International relations |
Agence France-Presse - January 24, 2001 (slightly abridged)
Jakarta -- The foreign minister of East Timor's transitional goverment -- in a shock move on Wednesday -- threw his support behind Jakarta's calls for the US to ease its arms embargo against Indonesia.
Lifting or easing the ban would help Indonesia in dealing with problems in restive provinces, especially in West Timor and the Malukus, Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta told journalists here.
"I will be saying to our friends in the US Congress that it is time for the US administration, the congress, to resume some level of military assistance and cooperation with Indonesia," Horta said.
Ramos-Horta was speaking at a media briefing after talks with Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid and Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
He explained his sudden unexpected support for the easing of the US ban -- despite his long opposition to the Indonesian occupation of East Timor for which he was awarded the Nobel prize -- by saying it would be unfair with the ban in place,for East Timor to "keep telling" Jakarta that they "must restore security in West Timor and in Ambon."
Some 100,000 East Timorese refugees were driven out of their homeland by pro-Jakarta militia violence after East Timor's vote to split from Indonesia in 1999. They are still trapped in squalid refugee camps in West Timor, reportedly held under the control of the unruly militia.
The US government imposed the military assistance ban on Indonesia in response to militia violence in 1999, and has insisted that Jakarta clean up its act in West Timor before the ban is lifted or eased.
"We know that the [Indonesian] government is genuine in wanting to address the issue of stability in West Timor," Horta said, adding that he was ready to face criticism for throwing his support behind Jakarta.
"I have to do some work in Washington to persuade some of our friends in the US Congress to change ... I have to do that and I will do it [because] that's what my conscience tells me to do and in fairness to this country," he said.
"Because of the sanctions for the past two years, they [the Indonesian armed forces] are stretched and [facing] enormous difficulties in logistics and in the delivery of troops and police" to restive areas, Horta said.
"I'm talking about communications ... maybe vesssels and so on," he added. "This is because the [Indonesian] government really needs assistance in order to be able to deal with some of the problems they have."
Horta also said he hoped that UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) personnel would "return to West Timor as soon as possible." The UNHCR workers fled after three aid workers -- an American, a Croatian and an Ethiopian -- were brutally killed by a mob of militia last September after they forced their way into the UNHCR office in the border town of Atambua in West Timor. They were hacked to death and their bodies burned.
He also called on UN security experts to "travel to Indonesia as soon as possible to make an on-the-ground assessment of the situation."
This was despite UN statements as recently as last week that the continued presence of the armed milita made resuming their work with the refugees impossible. "I hope that their reports will recommend the resumption of the activities of the UNHCR," Horta added.
Agence France-Presse - January 24, 2001
Jakarta -- The US administration of George W. Bush will continue to support Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid in his efforts to build a strong democracy and market economy, US ambassador Robert Gelbard said here Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after delivering a farewell letter to Wahid from former president Bill Clinton, Gelbard said Clinton had "a particularly close relationship" with both Wahid and Indonesia.
"He [Clinton] cares very much about Indonesia's feelings and the new administration, the Bush administration, will of course continue to support the development of strong democracy, strong democratic institutions and a strong market economy in Indonesia."
"We [US] had a very positive and close relationship with President Wahid and he [Clinton] congratulated Wahid in his progress in building democratic institutions," said Gelbard, who has had a stormy relationship with some of Wahid's top ministers.
Washington has yet to indicate whether or not Gelbard will be replaced, but during the delivery of the Clinton's letter, he said his meeting with Wahid would be "my last courtesy call for today."
Bush's Secretary of State Colin Powell said last week that the new US administration had singled out Indonesia and Nigeria as areas of special concern. "Indonesia, as you well know, is a state that extends, if it was superimposed on a map of the United States, from New York to San Francisco, and this nation is undergoing enormous change."
"Our relations with this hugely important country needs careful attention. President Wahid is attempting to undo years of neglect while at the same time hold together a fractious population," Powell added.
When questioned on a resumption of arms sales -- banned when Indonesian trained militias ran rampage in East Timor in 1999 -- specifically the sale of F-16s to Indonesia, Powell replied: "Every nation has the right of legitimate self-defense, and if they don't buy it from us, they have many other sources in which they can get such weapons." But he added that he needed to study the matter further.
In October last year, the US embassy in Jakarta closed its doors to the public for two weeks due to a security threat. The closure triggered a fiery war of words between Gelbard and senior Indonesian ministers after Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab made light of the threats against the embassy.
Indonesian officials have said they were unhappy over the manner in which Gelbard made his views on developments in the country public, especially over the military's failure to prevent cross- border attacks on East Timor.
| Economy & investment |
Business Times - January 26, 2001
Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta -- Indonesian bumiputra business conglomerate Bakrie and Brothers and state-owned airline Garuda have reached landmark debt restructuring deals -- but analysts say many more such deals must be completed quickly if the country's corporate climate is to improve this year.
After three years of negotiations, Bakrie has won shareholder approval for its plan to give creditors 95 per cent of the company in lieu of US$1.1 billion (S$1.9 billion) of debt. The deal resolves one of the biggest cases of corporate debt overhang since the financial crisis of 1997-1998 left many Indonesian companies insolvent.
As part of the arrangement, Bakrie -- a diversified company with businesses ranging from palm oil to telecommunications -- will issue 36.8 billion new shares, representing 95 per cent of its enlarged capital, through a rights offer. A special purpose vehicle, owned by the creditors, will take all the new shares. After the debt-to-equity swap, the Bakrie family's stake in the holding company will be diluted to 3.34 per cent from 51.5 per cent.
"This debt-to-equity swap will help us turn to profit this year because our interest costs will drop significantly," Irwan Sjarkawi, president director of Bakrie and Brothers, told reporters.
Besides giving the 95 per cent stake to creditors, shareholders also agreed to give creditors Bakrie's majority stake in Bakrie Sumatra Plantation, a group of oil palm, rubber and fruit plantations, and its 20 per cent holding in mining firm Arutmin Indonesia. The shareholders also agreed to pay creditors the US$49 million Bakrie and Brothers raised through the sale of subsidiary Bakrie Kasei in October.
"The problem is there is no substantial alternative," Choi Dae Ho, president director of Dongsuh Kolibindo Securities, one of Bakrie's Korean lenders, said when creditors voted on the plan.
Sity Samudra, head of debt capital markets at Deutsche Bank, concurred, saying the Bakrie family had little choice but to hand over the company to its creditors. "Unlike some other Indonesian companies, such as Astra International or Danareksa, Bakrie did not have strong bargaining power with its creditors given its poor operating profits," she said.
In the debt workout involving Garuda, the Indonesian government and the airline's foreign creditors have approved the restructuring of more than 80 per cent of the company's US$1.64 billion in loans. "So far we have gained creditors' approval on our debt restructuring proposal representing 82 per cent of the total debts," Garuda president director Abdul Gani told a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday.
Indonesia's economic crisis of the late 1990s sank the rupiah and caused the state-owned carrier's debts -- mainly short-term dollar-denominated loans -- to soar. To avoid bankruptcy, the government agreed in September 1999 to restructure the debts. In written answers submitted to Parliament, Garuda said the debt restructure would include: converting US$141 million in loans from state-owned Bank Mandiri and airport operator Angkasa Pura into convertible bonds; rescheduling US$610 million in debts to the European Credit Agency, a consortium of the firm's foreign creditors, over 16 years; and converting more than US$400 million in loans to the government into equity.
Garuda has also been trying to obtain agreement from the holders of its commercial paper amounting to US$460 million. It has said it will repurchase part of the notes at a discount and reschedule the rest over eight years. As part of the nation's privatisation programme, the government plans to float Garuda in 2003.
The two debt deals, however, do not represent any significant progress in efforts to restructure some US$64 billion Indonesian companies owe local and foreign creditors.
Rajesh Behal, of Celebes Capital Management, told BT: "The Bakrie deal has been going on for some time now, while Garuda is just rescheduling its debt. You can't say these two deals are going to make a major difference."
Indonesian corporations found themselves in a black hole after the rupiah's dramatic collapse against the US dollar at the height of the financial crisis. Although the currency has recovered some of its value, most corporations with US dollar borrowings are still unable to service their loans. The rupiah fell 27 per cent against the US dollar in 2000, making it the third-worst performing currency that year. It finished 2000 at 9,600 to the greenback -- its lowest level for the year.
Jakarta Post - January 25, 2001
Jakarta -- Minister of Industry and Trade Luhut Pandjaitan denied on Wednesday reports claiming that some export-oriented companies had fled Indonesia in fear of rampant labor disputes. He said his ministry hadn't found evidence of any company that had decided to uproot its business because of concerns over labor disputes.
He admitted that some industries had diverted their purchase orders to other countries, but that was more due to Indonesia's fragile security conditions. "That is not tantamount to saying that they [industries] will relocate their operations abroad," he told reporters after a meeting with the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli.
Luhut was responding to local media reports that claimed several export-oriented businesses will relocate their operations to other countries.
These reports prompted Rizal to instruct Luhut and the Minister for Manpower and Transmigration Alhilal Hamdi to address the problem. "Actually, companies have only questioned them [security problems]," Luhut went on. He said he would arrange a meeting between the provinces police chiefs and industrial associations to discuss security issues.
Separately, Manpower Minister Alhilal denied the same claims about aggressive labor unions driving out the country's textile and shoe companies. "What's happening is a relocation of job orders, not the companies," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
He said that for example the shoe industry was relying on job orders for its continuing operation. If owners of shoe brand names like Reebok, Adidas, Nike relocate their job orders to shoe factories in other countries, Indonesian shoe factories would have to shut down.
Alhilal cited for example the closure of the Kong Tai Reebok factory, which was shut down when it no longer received job orders. He said the high import contents of the local shoe industry further discouraged the placement of new job orders here.
Even a weak rupiah, he said, did not guarantee the shoe industry's competitive advantage. Eighty to 90 percent of the industry's raw materials are imported, he explained. The textile industry, he added, spent 80 percent of its costs on imported raw materials, with the remaining 20 percent spread over electricity, fuel and wages.
However, he also urged labor unions and companies' management to remain cool headed when involved in disputes. "Strikes must not become a tool to force one's opinion, while companies' management should take a better look at Law no 21 on manpower instead of dismissing employees or rotating their positions," he said.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Footwear Producers Association (Aprisindo) denied rumors that several foreign companies have relocated their operations to Vietnam.
According to Aprisindo chairman Anton Supit, these companies had only canceled new investment here. But he added that the cancellation of new investment here had cost Indonesia thousands of new job opportunities.
Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) Aburizal Bakrie said that with the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) nearing, it would soon become easier to switch production sites. "With AFTA, the location of factories within ASEAN does not matter anymore because products can freely enter any country," he said referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
He said that Indonesia must work hard to retain its industries and attract new investment. ASEAN member countries have agreed to establish AFTA by the year 2003.
The Pharmaceutical and Health Workers Union blamed the lack of investment in Indonesia on the country's political and legal uncertainties. "The labor movement in Indonesia has not reached a critical level yet, because it is still struggling for basic demands, and trying to uplift workers' welfare from a state of slavery to a more human condition," the union said in a press statement.