Democratic struggle

Anti-elite protest mars VP visit

Jakarta Post - February 18, 2001 (abridged)

Yogyakarta -- Twelve students were arrested by Yogyakarta Police on Saturday following a protest against the political elite to mark the visit of Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri to the Gedung Agung on Jl. Ahmad Yani here in the afternoon.

They were arrested around 2 p.m. after marching from the Indonesian Islamic University on Jl. Cik Di Tiro to the Gedung Agung, where Megawati made a brief stopover to rest after visiting Mount Merapi, an active volcano near Magelang, some 30 kilometers from here.

Some of the protesters marched along the streets while many others rode on motorbikes and reportedly tried to breach the security cordon in front of the Gedung Agung. "Suddenly, the police charged the protesters and it became chaotic. Many of the students fled while 12 were arrested," a local journalist said.

The protesters were demanding that all four political leaders, President Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais and House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung resign from their respective posts.

As of 5 p.m., the students were still being detained by Yogyakarta Police. "We hope the police will release them by midnight ... some of us were also injured during the incident," said Basyar, a protest coordinator for HMI-MPO, a splinter group of the Indonesian Muslim Student Association (HMI).

The eight arrested students were from the Yogyakarta State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN Yogyakarta), identified as Nanang Kosim, Yusrim Toha, Ihwan Mustofa, Taufik Simandjuntak, Lasunadin, Thomas Herlando, Ade Asad, Al Sahrowi; two others, Gaguk Suprapto and Okte, were from the Yogyakarta Institute of Agriculture and the other two, named Prayogi and Alan, were from Yogyakarta's Muhammadiyah University.

Students attack Golkar office in Central Jakarta

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2001

Jakarta -- Some 500 students from various groups attacked Golkar Party's city chapter office on Jl. Cikini, Central Jakarta on Friday evening, throwing at least five molotov cocktails at the office.

Dozens of police officers dispersed the crowd by firing tear gas, beating and arresting seven students. The students, who are still unidentified, were taken to the nearby Menteng Police subprecinct. At least 10 students were injured after being beaten by police officers.

Half of them were being treated at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital's intensive care unit while the remaining half were being treated at the St. Carolus hospital for head and other injuries.

The students marched from the nearby Proclamation Statue and arrived at the scene at about 5 p.m., yelling demands for the dissolution of the former ruling party.

The students called themselves the Golkar Dissolution Alliance (ABG) grouped from various organizations, including the City Forum (Forkot), the Collective Forum (Forbes), The University of Indonesia's Student Action Forum (FAM UI), and the National Student League for Democracy (LMND).

They demanded the dissolution of the party since it was considered as the political machine of the New Order regime under former president Soeharto. "Dissolve Golkar now," shouted the students. The students also accused, the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly of cheating the people.

Due to the rally, streets around Cikini area were closed to traffic.

The rally turned violent as the students started to approach the office and throw molotov cocktails. In return, police fired tear gas.

Police officers, who had been standing guard at the office prior to the students' arrival, dispersed the students and chased them until the nearby Megaria area, near the office of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute. No damage to the office was reported after the rally. The situation returned to normal at 8 p.m.

Golkar Cikini's office frequently becomes the target of student rallies. The same groups also staged a similar rally at the site on Thursday.

In a related development, the National Police Detectives Chief Insp. Gen. Engkesman Hilep said the police are still studying the alleged misuse of Rp 90 billion of funds belonging to the State Logistic Agency (Bulog) by Golkar Party.

"We are still studying it. We cannot base our investigation only on rumors in the absense of solid data," Engkesman said.

Separately, the newly installed National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Didi Widajadi said the police would not hesitate to investigate the party if there is strong evidence to prove the case.

"We will act according to the existing law," Didi who was officially installed as spokesman on Friday, said.

Minister of Defense Mahfud MD had earlier revealed that Golkar used the fund to finance the party during the 1999 general election campaign.

Police said on Thursday that they might question the party's chairman Akbar Tandjung who is also the House' Speaker, over an alleged land scam.

2000 students burn Pemuda Pancasila HQ in Medan

Detik - February 13, 2001

Khairul Ihwan/GB, Medan -- After a fellow student was slashed yesterday, Monday, 2,000 students of the Medan State University (UniMed) today attacked the local offices of the notorious `hired hands' of the New Order regime- Pemuda Pancasila.

The offices, located on Jl Willem Iskandar, Sidorejo, Percut Sei Tuan municipality, were burnt to the ground by the angry students when they converged at 9am local time Tuesday.

Hendra Putra, a student of the Faculty of Physical Education at UniMed, was allegedly slashed by a member of Pemuda Pancasila and remains in a coma in the Martmondi Hospital in Medan.

The offices are located only 500 meters from the campus and the situation remains tense. 60 police offices have been deployed to the area to avoid further confrontation between the students and Pemuda Pancasila.

At the site, students were seen carrying spears, machetes and wood and iron batons. They declared their intention to burn the offices of other organisations they say intimidate students.

In negotiations with the Deputy Head of the Greater Medan Police, Commissioner Badroddin Haiti, the students said the slashing incident was the result of the police's continual failure to act on complaints of intimidation made by students at the campus. They have demanded the local police chief for the Percut Sei Tuan municipality be fired immediately.

Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, is renowned throughout Indonesia for the diversity of its inhabitants who originate from numerous local ethnic groups and coexist with immigrant Malays as well as Chinese and Arabs. It is also famous for its criminal networks.

Pemuda Pancasila throughout the 1990s was notorious as the `long arm' of the New Order regime and has been linked to numerous cases of criminality in Medan and throughout Indonesia. It's ties to the Golkar Party which dominated Indonesian politics under the New Order has meant that the group seemingly acts with impunity.

The tide may be changing, however. Golkar offices in East Java are being attacked by mobs who reject the party's attempts to oust President Abdurrahman Wahid. Spontaneous attacks on the institutions of the old regime are apparently on the rise across Indonesia as the police and state fail to deal with the entrenched power groups.

Youth mobilise against Suharto forces

Green Left Weekly - February 14, 2001

Kerryn Williams -- On January 30 more than 500 high school students and 300 urban poor youth, with the help of 15 buses, mobilised in Jakarta for the "Anti-New Order Tour". Organised by the Popular Youth Movement (GPK) and Jabotabek High School Students Front (FPJ), the tour targeted Suharto and his supporters, the Golkar party, and the Indonesian armed forces (TNI). The protest demanded that these elements be tried for their economic, political and human rights crimes against the Indonesian people. It also called on all students to stop fighting each other and to instead join the struggle to demand jobs and cheap education for the people.

The protest action started in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, moving to the presidential palace and the parliament building. GPK general secretary Ricky Tamba told Green Left Weekly that passers-by in the streets responded positively to the protest. Tens of thousands of leaflets were distributed.

Outside the presidential palace one GPK member told the crowd, "We come here to ask [Indonesian President] Gus Dur and [Vice- President] Megawati to have the courage to sweep away the remnants from the New Order regime: Golkar, TNI, Suharto and their supporters. They caused all the people's problems so if Gus Dur and Megawati don't have a program and the courage to face them, then the people will do it themselves".

Speakers highlighted the devastating effects of Suharto's rule on the education system, through cutting the budget and reducing the quality of curriculum. They highlighted how education had become oriented solely toward creating more low-paid workers. Speakers also called for freedom of organisation in high schools.

Tamba reported that hundreds of police and soldiers blockaded the road, attempting to intimidate the protesters. They weren't deterred however, and GPK chairperson Sri Sulartiningsih and FPJ co-ordinator Yunan told police and TNI field commanders that "if you dare to touch us, then we dare too!"

The protest remained peaceful and was covered by more than 40 newspapers and television stations.

The action then moved on to parliament house, demanding that the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) disband, as it is controlled by Suharto's allies -- the TNI, Golkar, and the "fake reformers". One speaker explained that the parliament produces no policies in the interests of the people.

Tamba reported that the march ended back at Tanjung Duren after protesters vowed to organise another action soon.

Masses rise against Golkar

Green Left Weekly - February 14, 2001

Max Lane -- During 2000, only the People's Democratic Party (PRD) championed the political slogan: "Smash the remnants of the New Order, leave behind the fake reformers".

But now, following attempts by the party of former dictator Suharto and the military to force the resignation of President Abdurrahman Wahid, the first part of the slogan has been taken up by the multitudes.

Golkar, the political machine of Suharto's hated New Order regime, was behind the February 2 vote in the Indonesian parliament which backed a special committee report claiming that Wahid had been "involved" in two financial scandals.

Since the February 2 vote, Golkar has continued its agitation for Wahid's removal. Its parliamentarians, alongside MPs from the right-wing Muslim Central Axis, have sought to garner enough support to call a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly, the only body which has the power to sack the president. They've also collected 200 MPs' signatures on a petition calling for Wahid's resignation.

Golkar's campaign is meeting with increasing opposition, however, with anti-New Order initiatives coming from three distinct quarters: Wahid's traditional support base in East Java, especially in the religious organisation Nahdlatul Ulama; the liberal middle class; and the left and radical student movement.

Since February 2, there have been a series of anti-Golkar and pro-Wahid mobilisations in Surabaya, the capital of East Java, and in other East Javanese towns, culminating in February 7 demonstrations involving what Kompas newspaper described as hundreds of thousands of people.

The most popular slogans in these huge demonstrations were "smash the remnants of the New Order" and "ban Golkar". After rallying outside the provincial parliament, the demonstrators smashed and burnt three Golkar offices.

Spokespeople for the demonstrators, mainly from groups linked to Nahdlatul Ulama, have promised to bring East Java to a standstill with mobilisations of more than one million if necessary. Under such pressure, many East Javanese politicians have indicated their support for Wahid.

The political content of these mobilisations does not yet go much beyond a fanatical partisanship for Wahid who, as the former head of Nahdlatul Ulama, is the traditional leader of the style of Islam strong in small-town East Java. Some newspapers have reported a few demonstrators saying they will fight for an independent East Java if Wahid is overthrown.

However, there is no doubt that there is also an overwhelming hatred of Golkar and anything that smells of Suharto's New Order. If Golkar continues its offensive, it is more than likely that the mobilisations will increase in size and that large contingents will march on Jakarta.

Wahid has also received the backing of the liberal democrats. Soon after Golkar's campaign to unseat Wahid began, a group of 17 prominent non-government organisations, representing the human rights, legal aid, women's and environmental sectors, issued a statement attacking the special committee report and supporting Wahid.

One of their spokespeople, Hendardi, the director of the Indonesian Association for Legal Aid, condemned the parliamentary majority for focusing on small, insignificant scandals and avoiding any investigation into the massive billion-dollar scandals involving Golkar politicians, including party chairperson Akbar Tanjung, and Golkar-linked cronies. He warned of the threat to democracy if the forces of the Suharto period were to regain power.

On February 3, the Indonesian Lawyers Association announced it was forming a team of 100 lawyers to challenge the special committee's report in the courts.

Association spokespersons accused the special committee of relying on hearsay, manipulating evidence, ignoring evidence that went against its aims and working without legal rules or procedures.

The leaders of Muhammadiyah, the mass religious organisation that services a large section of the Central Axis's social base, have also distanced themselves from the anti-Wahid campaign.

A de facto coalition has emerged amongst radical groups as well, between the cross-campus student activists groups which are the descendants of those which organised the massive student demonstrations against Suharto in 1998 and the student and mass organisations linked to the People's Democratic Party (PRD), which are collectively grouped in FRAROB, the Anti-New Order People's Front.

This coalition mobilised 5000 students in a march from the University of Indonesia to the parliament on February 6 and similar alliances have been replicated in several other cities in Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

There is no solid consensus on the platform of this anti-Golkar movement. Some student radicals are backing the East Javanese masses' demand for the banning of Golkar.

The PRD, the most consolidated force in the coalition, instead proposes the dissolution of parliament and the formation of a committee of representatives of the anti-New Order mass organisations, which would take charge of the government and organise new elections. It says a people's tribunal should decide whether Golkar should be banned or not.

The party is also demanding the trial of all corrupt officials and businesspeople as well as human rights violators, the abolition of the "dual function" of the military, which allows it to intervene into politics, and the nationalisation of corruptly gained assets.

The mass pressure has scared Golkar. Tanjung has attacked the NU and called on Wahid to end mobilisations against "the political parties". As the anti-Golkar protests and statements increase, Tanjung has had to repeatedly defend Golkar, lamely claiming that the party has changed its ways since Suharto and apologising for its past mistakes.

But while this movement has put Golkar on the defensive, Wahid has held back support for further mobilisation of the masses. Instead he has stuck to his preferred strategy of manoeuvre, tacking this way and that.

While he has sacked one of his opponents within cabinet, the far-right Islamic minister for law and human rights Yusril Mahendra, he has also sought to consolidate the support of his vice-president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, and has issued a joint statement with Tanjung calling for all parties to reduce the level of political unrest.

Sukarnoputri's support for Wahid seems to have strengthened: she has since repeated her opposition to calls for his resignation or for a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly and has backed a cabinet motion of support for the president. Sukarnoputri has also asked members of her party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, to refuse to sign the anti-Wahid petition being circulated amongst parliamentarians.

The PRD issued a statement on February 7 strongly criticising Wahid for meeting with the Golkar chairperson. The PRD called on Wahid, his National Awakening Party and the Nahdlatul Ulama to "together go down onto the streets to destroy the remnants of the New Order".

The PRD warned that his meeting with Tanjung and his call for a reduction in political conflict was putting Wahid in the position of "fake reformer" opposed to the democratic movement.

There are some indications that both the National Awakening Party and Nahdlatul Ulama are beginning to feel the pressure from the mass movement in East Java. Party head Mazud issued a statement on February 7 that if Golkar continued to make "hard statements" it would be impossible for he and other party leaders to hold back mass feelings.

There are already reports that more than two million Wahid supporters are planning to mobilise to Jakarta on or around February 16-18.

East Timor

UN makes feeble Timor midwife

Christian Science Monitor - February 14, 2001

Dan Murphy, Aileu and Dili -- Sergio Vieira de Mello watches impassively as the United Nations flag rises over a group of jungle survival experts, aware of the delicacy of his position as, effectively, the unelected president of East Timor.

Today, the lantern-jawed Brazilian isn't swearing in engineers to rebuild the devastated territory or doctors to tend to its 650,000 people.

He's taking control of Falintil, the rag-tag army that fought the Indonesian occupation for 23 years. The teary-eyed former guerrillas are -- with some misgivings -- swearing allegiance to the UN, becoming the first sovereign army in the UN's history.

It's the most startling of many firsts for the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor, or UNTAET, and symbolizes the murky waters Mr. de Mello is being forced to navigate as the UN takes on an unprecedented role here.

Falintil field commander Falur Late Raek, whose nom de guerre means "Pigeon Without a Grave" looks like he's about to swallow his tongue. Afterward, he explains "this was hard."

Indeed. Though the UN has had nation-building missions in the past -- in a Cambodia ravaged by the Khmer Rouge, in Kosovo -- it has always had some vestige of local government to work with. "Never before has there been such a broad and ambitious mandate," says de Mello in a brief interview following the ceremony.

He describes his task as "a balancing act between the impatience for independence of some and the realization of many that this should not be rushed." Another UN official is more blunt: "Our job is to get out before we're kicked out."

But already there are signs of dissatisfaction and anger among the East Timorese, impatient with rule by another foreign power after 600 years of colonization.

Complaints of foreign arrogance are everywhere. Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmso, the independence hero who will probably be the first elected president and who currently heads an advisory council selected by the UN, angrily referred to the UN late last year as "the masters of independence."

The UN had little choice. Indonesia's scorched earth policy after losing the 1999 independence referendum devastated the territory. With key infrastructure destroyed and 250,000 residents driven into Indonesian West Timor, East Timor was in no shape to hold elections.

The UN's mission is nothing less than building a nation from scratch, everything from police, to taxation and garbage collection. But the UN -- famous for its bloated bureaucracy and inefficiency -- isn't doing a good job.

"Is basic service delivery something the UN is good at? No it isn't," says a senior UNTAET official. "There are going to be more missions like this in the future, and the UN is going to have to change."

Rising poverty is beginning to play itself out in an increasing tide of gang-related violence, which many veteran East Timor watchers fear could play into political rivalries as elections, now scheduled for the end of August, near.

Gangs have battled almost nightly in some Dili neighborhoods, and rumors abound of ex-Falintil commanders setting themselves up as warlords in the hills. "The potential for political violence is one of our biggest concerns," says a UN official. Some of the violence has turned against the UN.

When Portuguese riot police roughed up a Dili taxi driver early this month, a crowd quickly gathered to pelt them with stones, and only dispersed when shots were fired in the air.

The UN's mandate expires at the end of the year, though the UN presence will be extended beyond then in a new form.

The question is, if economic conditions aren't improving now, why would they as UN expenditures start to fall? UN officials say 50 percent of East Timor's economy is now driven by their spending.

"If you take a hard look at the numbers, you see our people are worse off now than they were before Indonesia left," says Avelino Da Silva, a member of the advisory council, and secretary general of the East Timor Socialist Party.

"Xanana is upset because he travels to the villages, and he sees that our people are still hungry," explains Ines Almeida, a Gusmso spokeswoman.

While the total UN mission in East Timor is costing about $700 million a year, the budget for basic government services is less than $50 million. The big money is paying for the 8,000 foreign soldiers now guarding the fragile border with Indonesian West Timor.

The UN has avoided some of the mistakes of the past -- most crucially preventing the legacy of prostitution left behind by its mission in Cambodia.

But other mistakes have been repeated -- perhaps worst among them the UN practice of allocating slots in the mission to dozens of different nationalities. It not only creates coordination problems, but many of the UN workers' home governments are despotic, inefficient, and corrupt.

One of the most common afflictions of UN missions -- a bubble economy for the UN and foreign aid workers -- has also been created. "We hear they're spending all this money," says Alfredo Freitas, a trader in Dili's cramped market. "We don't see it. Maybe the UN is dividing it up with the local elite."

Walking the streets of Dili, it's easy to empathize with his frustration. There has been precious little benefit trickling down. Foreign carpetbaggers have flocked to the capital to sop up the money paid to UN workers, who sip $3.50 lattes, then drive away over the cavernous potholes in powerful four-wheel drives.

The public telephone office in Dili is an air-conditioned haven with Internet service, but only accepts US dollars. Outside, filthy children scavenge in the garbage piling up against its gates. Unemployment is estimated conservatively at 70 percent -- monthly incomes average under $100.

Yet in late January, when the UN cut daily living allowances, which are above and beyond salaries, to $95 from $110, 200 UN employees signed a petition complaining they couldn't live on that. "You have to question their dedication," said one aid worker.

In the end, it is poverty that it is the greatest affliction of East Timor. That's not the UN's fault, but is the legacy of Portugal's exploitation of the country over centuries and the violence of Indonesia's three decades here.

UN credibility at risk over war crimes, says Horta

Sydney Morning Herald - February 14, 2001

Mark Dodd, Dili -- East Timor could still press for a United Nations war crimes tribunal unless Indonesia brought to justice those responsible for the political violence in 1999, the independence leader and Nobel laureate Mr Jose Ramos Horta said yesterday.

The UN Security Council's credibility would be at risk if it did not back a war crimes tribunal in the face of Jakarta's failure to prosecute named individuals, he said.

"If Indonesia fails to deliver justice then I don't see how the Security Council can get away from creating a war crimes tribunal for East Timor. I am confident a war crimes tribunal remains a strong option."

Mr Horta is the cabinet member for foreign affairs in the UN- chaired East Timor Transitional Administration. Two Indonesian diplomats based in Dili attended his briefing and took notes.

The August 30, 1999, vote for independence from Indonesia triggered widespread violence by pro-Indonesian militias in which up to 1,500 people were killed.

Under pressure from the international community, Indonesia promised to bring those responsible to justice, but it has failed to deliver and has rejected requests by a serious crimes unit in Dili to hand over indicted war criminals to UN authorities.

Diplomats doubt any senior Indonesian officials will be handed over, or that militia leaders, such as Eurico Guterres, regarded by most East Timorese as a murderer but by many Indonesians as a nationalist hero, will be brought to justice.

Mr Horta praised the efforts of Indonesia's Attorney-General, Mr Marzuki Darusman, to bring to trial those responsible for the violence, and said he hoped Indonesia and East Timor would normalise relations as soon as possible.

Australia's Defence Minister, Mr Reith, arrived in East Timor yesterday for his first visit to the shattered territory. He met Mr Xanana Gusmao and the UN administration chief, Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello.

He would not say how long Australian troops would be based in East Timor. "I think the Australians, from all reports, are doing a very good job. Obviously we are monitoring what is happening here. They're here for the moment, and they'll be here for a little while yet."

Debate begins on transition process

Green Left Weekly - February 14, 2001

Vanya Tanaja, Dili -- Public hearings held here January 14-24 to discuss the timetable for East Timor's transition to independence have revealed sharply differing views among East Timorese leaders over the political mechanisms to be used to bring into being a fully sovereign East Timorese government.

The public hearings were hosted by the National Council's Committee for Political Affairs and dealt with issues such as the sort of electoral system East Timor should have. The 33-member NC was appointed last year by Sergio de Mello, head of the United Nations Transitional Administration for East Timor, to debate and recommend legislation to UNTAET.

The NC-sponsored public hearings attracted considerable local media attention and public discussion.

NC president Xanana Gusmao had proposed that East Timor should become a self-governing independent nation-state by the end of this year. However, many of those appearing before the NC- sponsored public hearings, particularly the representatives of the pro-capitalist parties, argued against this claiming that "the people are not ready" for a freely-contested multiparty election to determine the composition of an independent East Timor's legislative and executive authorities.

Related to this is the issue of the proposed law regulating the activities of political parties. It was reported in the Timor Post that Avelino Coelho da Silva, the general secretary of the Socialist Party of Timor (PST), was one of those who spoke out at the public hearings in opposition to having any laws that would restrict the peaceful activities of political parties.

He argued that parties should only have to register with the state authorities if they intended to stand candidates in elections. He warned that the state should not be allowed too much control over political parties.

Coelho has found an ally in Peter Galbraith, Cabinet Member for Political Affairs, who stated that parties' activities did not need to be regulated unless they broke the law by engaging in acts of violence. Others, such as Cipriana Pereira, Fretilin representative in the NC, argued that a law regulating the activities of political parties is needed to "legitimise" their existence and activities in the eyes of the common people.

It is certainly true that among large numbers of East Timorese there is suspicion and distrust of political parties. This reflects the legacy of the way in which the struggle for East Timor's independence from Indonesia was conducted, in particular, the subordination of all political differences -- and the different class interests that they reflect -- to the "national interest".

Further, it is often implied by politically non-aligned nationalists that political parties were responsible for armed conflict between Fretilin and UDT in 1975, which Indonesia used as an excuse to invade East Timor. Regulating the activities of political parties is therefore seen as related to not allowing the recurrence of the "bloodbath" of the past.

However, part of UNTAET's mandate is to oversee multi-party elections.

Galbraith, in his comments at the public hearing, stated that without "free and fair" elections, UNTAET could not terminate its mission in East Timor. This was not good news for many of those East Timorese who want to have legal restrictions on the activities of political parties since they also would like to see East Timorese nationals take over the running of the country from UNTAET.

Four East Timorese ministers in the transitional cabinet threatened to resign last December, expressing their frustration at being simply local window-dressing for the real governmental authority which resides with the UN Security Council and transitional administrator Sergio de Mello.

A proposal before the NC is that national elections be held to choose members of a constituent assembly to draft and approve a constitution for East Timor. This assembly would then go on automatically to become the new legislature. There are debates as to how many elections would be required (for example should the legislative body be separately elected and similarly, the president) and whether there are sufficient funds for the entire process including registration of voters, civic education programs and the elections themselves.

The extent and type of consultation with the people in drawing up the constitution have also been topics of debate. Views ranged from those who thought that only "intellectuals", priests and "community leaders" needed to be consulted, but not "the water spinach sellers in the market, because they wouldn't understand" to those who argued that as many people as possible should be consulted.

An editorial in the PST's weekly magazine, Vanguarda, published during the hearings argued that preparation for the elections is the most important thing that UNTAET should be doing in East Timor; more important than setting up a police force, an army and property laws as these could simply be changed by a future elected legislature.

A democratically elected government was important, according to the editorial, to ensure that UNTAET would not simply pass on its mandate to a bureaucratic machine of its own creation.

The editorial criticised the formation of the East Timor Transitional Administration with its accompanying Cabinet, National Council and departments as simply a way to "close the eyes of the people" to the reality of the powerlessness of these bodies. Similar criticisms of these bodies have also been levelled in the December issue of Talitakum, the magazine of the youth organisation Renetil.

The PST has proposed that a "People's Committee" be set up, composed of members of the National Council, other parties not yet represented in the NC and representatives of other layers of society. This committee would be initiated by UNTAET and formed with the agreement of the National Council. It would draft the provisional constitution which, the PST argued, should only contain general concepts such as territorial boundaries, the name of the country, right of citizenship and so on.

The People's Committee and UNTAET would then appoint a provisional government and a provisional legislature (formed out of the People's Committee) which would draft political party legislation and organise the first general elections for a legislature and government that would take full political sovereignty over East Timor from UNTAET.

In his presentation to the public hearings, PST spokesperson Nelson Correia argued that this entire process should take a maximum of 18 months in total, with the provisional parliament and government in place by the end of 2002.

UN officials told to ensure their redundancy

Sydney Morning Herald - February 13, 2001

Mark Dodd, Dili -- Senior bureaucrats working for the UN administration in East Timor should focus on developing the skills of local public servants to avoid a vacuum of experienced officials when the world body pulls out, the visiting head of its development program said.

Mr Mark Malloch Brown yesterday urged the transitional administration, UNTAET, to speed up training local officials. "It has to be driven through the whole international establishment that their absolute priority is to ensure their own redundancy," Mr Malloch Brown said at the end of a three-day visit to East Timor.

"As we take stock of where we have got to, we have to say a heavy interim administration was indispensable in the first phase, but we've now got to phase out the administrative component of what we do. That really was the big push of my visit."

His comments are likely to please East Timor's senior independence leaders, including Mr Xanana Gusmao and Mr Jose Ramos Horta, who have expressed irritation at UN slowness in handing over responsibility to East Timorese.

Mr Malloch Brown said UNTAET "will not be running the show" by next year and that one of the biggest challenges for East Timor's leaders would be to agree on a range of national economic priorities while foreign aid remained strong.

In the short term, East Timor's economy could be dependant by as much as 50 per cent on foreign aid, but once proceeds from the Timor Gap oilfield began to fill government coffers, foreign aid would start to dry up, he warned.

By June 2000 more than $US135million in humanitarian aid had been delivered to East Timor, mainly in food aid, shelter and health. Japan, Australia and former colonial power Portugal are East Timor's biggest donors as the country recovers from the violence that followed the 1999 ballot for self-determination from Indonesia.

Beyond the donor response, the economic future of the world's newest country is less clear. A renegotiation of the Timor Gap Treaty with Australia could result in as much as 90 per cent of revenue worth some $US50 million a year being paid to East Timor by 2004.

According to a UN report published last November, coffee and oil exports could account for more than 25 per cent of East Timor's gross domestic product.

Aceh/West Papua

Ceasefire in Aceh extended indefinitely

Reuters - February 18, 2001

Geneva -- Indonesian officials and rebel leaders from Aceh have agreed to extend their ceasefire indefinitely and to hold broad political dialogue to end the conflict in the separatist province.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, both parties also pledged to expand confidence-building contacts between their forces, following the recent first meeting of their field commanders and the establishment of a hot line to prevent violent incidents.

The statement was issued after two-day peace talks. The discussion also coincided with Thursday's expiration of their latest one-month ceasefire.

According to the statement issued by the government and the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the new security arrangements will continue indefinitely with periodic reviews.

Mr Hassan Wirajuda, head of political affairs at the Foreign Ministry who led Jakarta's delegation, said: "The next step is an all-inclusive political dialogue in Aceh itself, in which GAM would be participating."

There was no immediate comment from the GAM delegation, led by Tengku Ilyas Mohamad Abe and Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, or from the GAM leadership based in Stockholm, Sweden.

The statement said both government and rebel forces had been "greatly encouraged" by the first-ever meeting of field commanders in Banda Aceh on February 9 and 10, which resulted in the setting up of a hot line, via satellite phones, for contact to prevent violence.

The commander-to-commander meetings are being expanded to more districts and will include both Indonesian police and armed forces as well as rebel operational commanders.

Analysts following the secretive talks said both parties were slowly turning to political rather than military means to halt the bloodshed and to reach a long-term peaceful solution.

But the analysts saw no quick solution to the rebels' long- running quest for independence for Aceh's four million inhabitants. Jakarta has refused to give independence to the staunchly Islamic and resource-rich Aceh, but has offered it wide-ranging control over its own affairs.

Aceh security agreement reached in Switzerland: sources

Agence France-Presse - February 17, 2001

Geneva -- Indonesian government representatives and separatist Aceh rebels agreed Friday a security pact to replace the current ceasefire in the troubled province, sources close to the talks said.

The measures, details of which were not released, would remain in force indefinitely and be reviewed periodically, the sources said. They are designed to replace a ceasefire agreed by the two sides last month and extended until February 20, the sources said.

The agreement followed two days of talks at a secret location in Switzerland between Jakarta officials and rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) which has been fighting for independence since 1976.

GAM threatens to create trouble in Jakarta

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2001

Banda Aceh -- Resolute rebel group Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has threatened to create trouble nationwide if the joint police and military operation to restore order in the province continues.

Aceh-based GAM commander Abdullah Syafiie said in a statement issued on Thursday that his troops would fight to defend themselves from the security operation to be conducted by some 2,000 troops.

"If the troops are deployed, there is no other way for GAM but to fight and defend our country and people. GAM will create chaos all over the country, and then let's see what happens in Jakarta," Abdullah said. "We do not want to incite war, but if we are pressed against the wall we will have no other choice but to fight."

The warning came amid the ongoing peace talks between the Indonesian government and separatist rebels in Switzerland. An extension to the shaky cease-fire which expired on Thursday looks to be the most likely result of the talks.

The National Police have announced a plan to proceed with the Cinta Meunasah II operation which will involve reinforcement troops to restore law and order in Aceh as soon as the previous operation ends on Sunday.

A spokesman for the operation, Sr. Comr. Kusbini Imbar, said on Friday the deployment of troops was routine. "Fresh troops will replace the existing personnel and maybe also be deployed to other parts of the province," he told The Jakarta Post by phone from Banda Aceh. He added that the second stage of the operation would involve one brigade of troops, or some 2,000 personnel.

There are currently 30,000 police and soldiers in Aceh.

Government says SIRA chief trial in Sabang

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2001

Banda Aceh -- The trial of Central Information for Aceh Referendum (SIRA) chief Muhammad Nazar remains up in the air after the government brushed off a Supreme Court ruling on Thursday that the trial venue be moved from Sabang, Aceh to Medan, North Sumatra.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in Jakarta that the government was firm in its decision to hold the trial in Sabang.

The Supreme Court in its letter No. 02/PIDUM/II/2001 dated February 14, and signed by the court's general crimes unit chief Syaifudin Kartasasmita, said the decision was taken "after serious deliberation between related institutions" and "for the sake of security". The court did not set a date for the trial.

Nazar has been detained since November 20 last year following a congress held to demand a referendum in the capital of Aceh, Banda Aceh. He is charged under articles 154 and 155 of the Criminal Code on hostile intentions and treason against the state, charges which carry a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.

Nazar and his legal representatives have strongly opposed the plan to try him in Medan.

Killing spree continues in troubled Aceh province

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2001

Jakarta -- Tensions in Aceh remain as three more civilians were shot during military and police operations against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in East Aceh and Aceh Besar on Monday, a volunteer said on Tuesday.

Muhammad Yusuf Puteh, chairman of the Aceh Human Rights Care Forum said that Zulkifli bin Hasan (20) and Ismail bin Ibrahim (30) were shot dead by dozens of military and police troops who raided the village of Buket Kuta Alam Kumba, in Ranto Selamat district, East Aceh, at 11 a.m. local time on Monday.

The head of Buket Kuta Alam Kuma village, Muhammad Hasan, told the Forum in East Aceh that three trucks loaded with Police Mobile Brigade and military personnel were combing the village at 10 a.m. Several villagers, who thought that the troops would apprehend them, tried to escape. "Suddenly the officers shot the people running away."

In Aceh Besar, a 37-year-old resident named Affan bin Daud was shot by a plain-clothed anti-bomb squad officer, who was in a private vehicle in the Beurangong village, Kuta Baro district on Monday evening. "The victim was running in his effort to avoid the plain-clothed police officers, when he was shot," said Teungku Abang, a local.

Like previous shootings, police said that the three were all GAM members, while GAM accused the military and police of violating the truce by continuing to kill civilians.

Col. Kusbini Imbar, Aceh Police spokesman, said in Banda Aceh that the three were GAM rebels who were shot for trying to intercept the military and police while conducting a routine operation.

GAM spokesman Amri bin Abdul Wahab stated that he deeply regretted the incident, saying that the Indonesian troop commanders had failed to restrain their men from shooting civilians.

Amri was one of the GAM representatives at the signing of the pact with Indonesia brokered by the Henry Dunant center in Banda Aceh on Saturday.

"We had reported to their chief Col. Suyitno about the three trucks of troops combing the Buket Kuta Alam Kumba village. I had asked Col. Suyitno to withdraw their men, but still the troops shot the people. If the Indonesian military and police keep conducting such operations, we will defend our people whom they continue killing," said Amri.

GAM Commander Tengku Abdullah Syafiie had earlier ordered his troops to comply with the new pact signed on Saturday with the Indonesian government. "Both GAM and the Indonesian security forces must restrain themselves and respect the pact."

Another incident was also reported from Kuala Idi village in East Timur when two civilians were tortured by Indonesian troops. "One of them had to be hospitalized for an injured eye," Yusuf Puteh said.

In North Aceh, a gun fight took place between Indonesian troops and GAM rebels in Matang Rawa village. North Aceh Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Wanto Sumardi said that the incident took place after GAM members intercepted the entourage of North Aceh Military Command chief Lt. Col. Suyatno.

Seven killed in Aceh as delegates head for Geneva talks

Agence France-Presse - February 12, 2001

Banda Aceh -- Seven people were killed in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province, police and residents said Monday, as government and separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) representatives headed for a fresh round of talks in Switzerland.

Two civilians -- a student and a fisherman -- were gunned down around 3pm by troops during a rebel search operation in Alue Kumba area of East Aceh, a local journalist told AFP. "The two were shot dead while trying to flee from the troops when they entered the area in three trucks."

Also in East Aceh, two men were arrested and tortured by troops after GAM rebels attacked the Idie police sub-district headquarters late Sunday, the journalist said. He added that one of the detainees had lost an eye before police released both men Monday afternoon. Police were not immediately available for comment on the incidents.

The new violence was reported after two GAM representatives left here Monday for a two-day meeting with Indonesian officials in Switzerland. Talks are expected to start Wednesday on a possible extension of their one-month "moratorium on violence."

The moratorium, due to expire Thursday, was reached after the two sides entered a six-month-long shaky truce in June last year, in an effort to reduce violence in this oil-and-gas rich province.

In a meeting of the two sides in Banda Aceh on Saturday, GAM and government teams signed a four-point agreement -- including a liaison between field commanders -- in an effort to enforce the truce, which has done little to reduce the violence.

On Sunday, Abdul Muthalib bin Amin, a GAM commander in the Peureulak area of East Aceh district, was shot dead by Indonesian troops when they raided his home in Bayeun sub-district, said local GAM spokesman Ishak Daud.

"The troops entered Muthalib's home and shot him dead. They also ransacked his house and made off with 40 million rupiah [four thousand dollars]," said Daud, adding the victim had owned a rubber plantation.

The troops also killed two other residents who had been rounded up along with dozens of residents for an ID check, Daud told AFP by telephone.

But Aceh police operational spokesman, Chief Commissioner Kusbini Imbar, claimed the three were GAM members who earlier had ambushed troops.

Another GAM representative, Amri Bin Abdul Wahab, called the killings in East Aceh Sunday "another massacre" by government troops and police.

In the Cote Tuefah area of Gandapura sub-district in North Aceh on Sunday, residents found the bodies of two men bearing torture and bullet injuries, a local journalist said.

The conflict between government forces and GAM guerrillas, who have been fighting for a free Islamic state in the province since the mid-1970s, claimed more than 1,000 lives last year. More than 150 people have died this year.

Pressure for a vote on self-rule in Aceh has intensified since East Timor's breakaway from Indonesia after a UN-conducted ballot on self determination in 1999.

Jakarta has ruled out independence for Aceh but pledged broad autonomy. It also initiated talks with the GAM under the auspices of the Henri Dunand center in Geneva.

Indonesia and GAM strike accord to reduce violence

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2001

Banda Aceh -- Government representatives and rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) commanders reached an agreement here on Saturday on ways to reduce the violence in strife-torn Aceh.

The agreement was reached in a day-long session at the Kuala Tripa Hotel here amid continuing violence which killed no less than seven people and injured 20 others over the weekend. "The representatives of the two sides would meet in Switzerland next week, but the exact date has yet been decided," Indonesian envoy Col. Ridwan Karim told media after an eight-hour meeting, which almost ended in a deadlock.

The official also announced that the new four-point code of conduct would go into effect for 10 days from February 11. The two camps agreed to meet to discuss further developments on February 20.

The session, facilitated by the Henry Dunant center (HDC) was also attended by GAM field commanders Tengku Amri bin Abdul Wahab and Tengku Saiful bin Muhammad Ali.

Under the pact, both sides agreed to halt the violence that has caused loss of life and damaged people's livelihood; rejected such acts as attacks, kidnapping, torture, arson, extortion, rape, harassment, intimidation, terror, illegal arrest, illegal raid, bombings and ambushes.

They also agreed to open channels of communication between their commanders in the field, and to try to jointly promote law and order. Violence in Aceh has left more than 120 dead since the beginning of the year despite a shaky truce.

Meanwhile police said GAM rebels launched a pre-dawn attack on Saturday at around 5 a.m. on a police post in Tanjung Pineung village in Seuneudon district of North Aceh with grenade launchers, automatic weapons and hand grenades.

Three policemen and four civilians were injured in the initial assault on the post which was heavily damaged, said North Aceh police spokesman Adj. Comr. Abdi Darmarwan.

GAM's Abu Sofyan Daud claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that "the blitz was a retaliation toward Indonesia troops who have been hurting innocent people".

Also on Saturday, in East Aceh four people were killed while two other bodies were recovered in Bireun regency. In Jakarta, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Director General for Political Affairs Hassan Wirajuda said the positive signs from the Friday's meeting in Banda Aceh ensured further meetings between the government and GAM.

Hassan, who is the Indonesian top negotiator on the Aceh problem, said initially the three-day meeting in Switzerland, was scheduled on Monday but it will be delayed for a few days.

"The meeting will review the result of Friday's meeting and to further push for substantial dialog between the two-parties. The point is we have reached an on-ground agreement to reduce violence," he added.

On the one-month moratorium of violence, Hassan said that it was designed as a short-term truce and after February 15, the peace- keeping system agreed to on Friday will be the reference for both parties to stop the fighting in the province.

Elite power struggle

PKB sets sights on Golkar scandal probe

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2001

Jakarta -- The country could see another round of political probes into financial scandals if the National Awakening Party (PKB) has its way by setting up a special committee to investigate financial improprieties involving the Golkar Party.

The PKB faction in the House of Representatives is already setting its sights on proposing such an investigation into allegations that Golkar siphoned off Rp 90 billion from the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) for use in the 1999 general election.

"Our faction is still collecting data and evidence, including data from Minister of Defense Mahfud and the State Audit Agency, before proposing an investigation into the scandal," Taufikurrahman Saleh, chairman of the PKB faction, said here on Friday.

He claimed his faction already had "reliable information" that such a donation was disbursed by Bulog officials to Golkar figures, and not directly to the party.

Taufikurrahman added that his faction had met and urged Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, who himself is a Golkar Party member, to be proactive in carrying out an intensive investigation not only into the Bulog issue, but also into reported financial leakages from state-owned oil company PT Pertamina and the Bank Indonesia liquidity support scheme (BLBI). "Our faction has suspicions that Golkar figures were involved in both these scandals," he said.

Aberson Marle Sihaloho, an outspoken member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), would not say whether his faction would support the establishment of a new special committee but remarked that several Golkar figures would be in a difficult position if a probe were launched.

"The defense minister's information is accurate and numerous Golkar figures would likely face prosecution if the financial scandals were investigated," he stressed.

He said the Supreme Court could not liquidate the Golkar Party whatever the outcome of such a probe, but any of its figures who were implicated should be prosecuted. Minister of Defense Mahfud MD earlier this week publicly alleged that Golkar had used money from Bulog.

Meanwhile, Syamsul Muarif, chairman of the Golkar faction in the House, challenged Mahfud's remarks. "Mahfud should not talk so much. If he has strong evidence that Golkar obtained Rp 90 billion from Bulog, he should bring it to court. We are ready to accept an investigation into the scandal," he said here on Friday.

Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung conceded on Wednesday that he was deeply concerned over the numerous problems his party was facing. "I can't understand why certain sides are trying to discredit Golkar. The present Golkar is a political party with a new paradigm and it's different from Golkar as a mass grouping during the New Order era," Akbar said.

"We have no objection if the government prosecutes any Golkar figures who were allegedly involved in past corruption," said Akbar, while declining to categorize Mahfud's statement as slander.

Another PKB member, Ali Masykur Musa, said that if the House was prepared to form a committee to investigate the scandals allegedly involving the President, "then why don't they form a similar committee to investigate the financial scandals involving Golkar?" Ali, however, maintained that his faction would not lobby other factions for the establishment of such a committee.

"Let's just see how far this issue can go. This is the perfect time to see who are the New Order loyalists and who are the supporters of reform," Ali said.

Gus Dur barred from visiting Gajah Mada campus

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2001

Yogyakarta -- After eulogizing about the long road to democracy which Indonesia must travel, President Abdurrahman Wahid found out later on Friday that not all roads are open to him after students blocked streets preventing his visit to the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) campus.

Not long after telling those who had attended Friday prayers that the current turmoil is part of the long road to democracy which must be traveled, Abdurrahman personally experienced the simmering political resentment against him in some corners of society. Hundreds of students, calling themselves the Student Alliance Against the Politicization of the Campus, formed a human barricade on main roads leading to the Gadjah Mada University campus to prevent the President's scheduled visit. The President was due to inaugurate a tree conservation movement.

Initially, police were seen at about 1.30 p.m. on Jl. Kaliurang trying to break up the blockade ahead of the President's arrival. The effort resulted in a shoving match which almost turned into an open clash. A water cannon vehicle was also deployed to force open a route for the presidential entourage, but to no avail. Eventually, upon hearing news of the commotion and after advice from police, the President decided to call off his visit.

Later, before heading back to Jakarta after his brief one-day visit to Yogyakarta, Abdurrahman said that he canceled the visit because he did not want the situation to worsen.

"I apologize for not going to Gadjah Mada. This is to avoid bloodshed," he told senior officials from the university who farewelled him at Adisutjipto airport. "If violence occurred it just wouldn't be right," the President added. The tree conservation inauguration was eventually held in the VIP lounge of the airport.

One of the coordinators of the student blockade said that they refused to allow Abdurrahman on campus out of fear of the eventual effects it would have on the political allegiance of students.

"His visit is merely a ploy to seek legitimacy and support from academics and students," Dani Irawan said. "This is very dangerous and could bring about political fissures between students," he added.

Gadjah Mada University rector Ichlasul Amal told reporters after the President had departed that the students who came from 18 universities in the area had initially wanted to conduct a dialog with the President. According to Ichlasul, an incident occurred in which 20 students were detained by security officers, which incited rage and led to the blockade.

Earlier in the day following Friday prayers, Abdurrahman said that Indonesia is currently following a path which must be endured to achieve democracy. He noted that democratization required a cultural transformation from a paternalistic to an independent society.

"Our society is still a paternalistic society which cannot take any initiative for itself ... Democracy will develop in a society that is independent," he said in the post prayer dialog at Taqwa Mosque in Wonokromo, Bantul regency.

Abdurrahman reminded that developing an independent society was very difficult. "There are many false reports in the mass media about me. Actually I can file a lawsuit against these journalists or the media but I don't do that because I don't want to scare them. If they are scared, the independent society will not grow," he claimed.

Asked what possible impediments his government was facing in implementing total reform, Abdurrahman replied that he is faced with large and complex problems which were remnants of the New Order regime.

He stressed the need for moral bravery and wisdom to implement total reform. He further highlighted the presence of corruption cases. "We must be patient," he said while citing a Javanese proverb which counsels that one can walk slowly as long as they reach their destination.

Students protest against Wahid, Golkar in three cities

Agence France-Presse - February 17, 2001

Jakarta -- Thousands of students took to the streets of three Indonesian cities Friday, calling on President Abdurrahman Wahid to resign, police and witnesses said.

Another 500 protestors rallied outside the Jakarta branch of former ruling party Golkar, clashing with riot police after hurling homemade petrol bombs and rocks at the office as night fell, witnesses said. Police fired tear-gas and warning shots at the crowd and beat up three protestors, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

In the central Java city of Yogyakarta, some 1,000 anti-Wahid Muslim students protested outside the state Gajah Mada University, where the beleaguered Wahid was on an official visit, a local journalist said.

Police turned water cannons on the students to stop them breaking through a police cordon around the campus. No casualties were reported in the stand-off.

In another anti-Wahid protest, some 3,000 students rallied outside the parliament office in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, also calling on Wahid to resign, police commissioner Damiin told AFP. "Students from almost all universities in Makassar are protesting," he said.

Also in Makassar, an estimated 100 student protestors stripped Wahid's pictures off the walls of government offices, the Satunet news website reported. The protestors, who urged Wahid to resign or be impeached, then handed the pictures to the local parliament.

In Surabaya, the capital of East Java province, some 2,000 Muslim youths marched through the streets of the country's second largest city condemning riots which occurred during a week of pro-Wahid protests earlier this month.

They were mostly members of the Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Islamic organization after the Nhadlatul Ulama (NU), which Wahid led for 15 years.

Several schools affiliated to the Muhammadiyah were vandalized during a week of often-violent protests by Wahid's fanatical supporters in East Java, the president's political heartland, earlier in February.

"The government is responsible for the sorry state the country is in," the protestors said in a statement handed out to journalists. The group also urged parliament to investigate the riots, which have been blamed on members of the 40-million NU.

NU members were angered by a censure motion issued against Wahid by parliament on February 1, which has implicated the president in two corruption scandals concerning misuse of funds worth almost six million dollars. The president has denied the charges and vowed to serve out the rest of his term until 2004.

The NU has denied its members were behind the rampages in East Java, during which offices of the opposition Golkar party were torched or ransacked.

Students defy ban to call on Wahid to quit

Agence France-Presse - February 14, 2001

Jakarta -- Around 1,000 high school students on Wednesday defied a ban on protests to call on President Abdurrahman Wahid to step down and denounce attacks on schools by his supporters in East Java.

The protestors gathered peacefully outside the offices of the vice president in Jakarta, wearing their school uniforms. They were from schools attached to the country's second largest Islamic organization, the Muhammadiyah.

The students urged the government to investigate the vandalism of Muhammadiyah schools in East Java during a wave of often violent protests by Wahid's supporters last week. "Stop anarchy," one of their posters said. "Gus Dur go!," chanted the protestors, using Wahid's nickname.

Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of the country's founding president Sukarno, was away from her office at the time. "We are here to express our concern over vandalism of our schools in East Java," one of half a dozen teachers present, Hani Priyatna, told AFP.

But he said the vandalism was not necessarily committed by Wahid's supporters from the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) -- the country's largest Islamic group which the president once led, and considered a rival of the Muhammadiyah.

NU members have been at the forefront of daily protests, many targetting the local offices of the opposition Golkar party in East Java, Wahid's political heartland, to protest calls by MPs that he step down in favour of Megawati.

Later in the day, some 100 student protestors from the City Forum (Forkot) rallied near the home of former president and Golkar patron Suharto, demanding "an immediate public trial" for corruption during his 32 years in power. They set fire to a poster of Suharto and a Golkar banner under the watchful eyes of police before disbanding peacefully.

In the North Maluku provincial capital of Ternate, hundreds of anti-Wahid students also called for the embattled 60-year-old president to step down, the state Antara news agency said.

The protests came a day after Education Minister Yahya Muhaimin ordered head masters to ban pupils from taking part in the current protests, warning that they could be killed.

"School students are still young and we will be very sorry if they must die young," the Indonesian Observer quoted Muhaimin as saying. The minister also urged principals to punish those caught joining protests with extra homework.

Parliament censured Wahid on February 1 after a parliamentary panel concluded that he could "be suspected" of involvement in an illegal disbursement of 3.9 million dollars from the state food agency Bulog.

The commission also said he failed to account for a two million dollar gift from the Sultan of Brunei.

Wahid's camp this week has hit back at the censure on two other fronts, with his National Awakening Party (PKB) accusing Golkar cadres of burning down their own offices, and Defence Minister Muhammad Mahfud accusing Golkar of embezzling funds from Bulog when it was still in power in 1999.

"According to information from our East Java officials, the people who burned the Golkar offices there were those coming out of the office. So, it was Golkar people themselves," PKB deputy secretary Chotibul Umam Wiranu was quoted as saying by the Detik.com news service.

Golkar burned it's own offices in East Java

Detik - February 16, 2001

Aulia Andri/GB, Jakarta -- If the Golkar Party pointed the finger at the `communist bogeyman' and specifically the People's Democratic Party (PRD) for the arson attack on their East Java headquarters, others are maintaining there was another third party involved.

Deputy Secretary General of the National Awakening Party (PKB), Chotibul Umam Wiranu, said the arsonists were from the Golkar Party itself.

After the House decided to accept a report implicating the President in two corruption scandals two weeks ago, Wahid's supporters in East Java targeted Golkar offices in the province. The worst attack occurred on Wednesday 7 February when Golkar's provincial headquarters in Surabaya were set alight following a massive demonstration at the legislative council.

Golkar Party Chairman and Speaker of the House, Akbar Tanjung and head of the Central leaders' Council Mahadi Sinambula said the `communist' PRD had incited and taken part in the attack. The PRD filed a complaint with the police and challenged them to back up the claims. Yesterday, a coalition of 40 groups which partook in the demonstration on 7 February met with the national police chief and denied that their followers or the PRD were behind the incident.

This group, as well as leaders of the PRD, maintain that the fire began at the back of the building not at the front where the demonstrators were gathered.

Now, their ranks have been joined by the PKB. The party was established by Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which was headed by President Wahid for 15 years.

Chotibul Umam Wiranu spoke to the press Wednesday at the parliament complex. "The information we've obtained from the East Java provincial leaders' council of the PKB [shows that] the ones who carried out the arson on the Golkar East Java offices were people who came out of the Golkar office [before the fire began]. Therefore, they are Golkar's own people," he said.

This had already been verified he added. "It's been strengthened by the fact that five people arrested by the East Java police turned out not to be from the NU, PKB or Banser," he said. Banser is the paramilitary `security force' of the NU.

In fact 11 suspects have been detained over the attack. The police have been very reticent to reveal their identities and continue to maintain that their investigations are still underway.

Wahid plots deal to keep his job

South China Morning Post - February 14, 2001

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- President Abdurrahman Wahid's aides were trying to put together a deal yesterday to fend off pressure for him to resign, as demonstrations continued across Java for his removal from office.

Signs of a possible compromise within the political elite included speculation about a cabinet reshuffle which would buy off opponents in Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri's camp and that of parliamentary Speaker and Golkar party boss Akbar Tandjung. These two together control Parliament and Mr Wahid needs their backing to survive.

People close to the President have also started airing ideas about a "new" power-sharing deal in which Ms Megawati is granted prime ministerial powers.

Academics have joined the fray, noting that it was Ms Megawati's father, founding president Sukarno, who first stretched the 1945 constitution to cover a similar arrangement, when he appointed Mohammad Hatta prime minister in 1948.

Whether such offers can overcome the widespread frustration with Mr Wahid's wilful leadership remains to be seen. He could face impeachment following his censure by Parliament on February 1 for acting improperly over two financial scandals, a decision which triggered days of often violent protests by his supporters across East Java, the Muslim cleric's political heartland.

Tens of thousands of his supporters gathered again yesterday in East Java and attacked a Golkar party office in the town of Jember in what is becoming a ritual display.

In Jakarta, the Attorney-General's office said it might quiz the President as part of a probe expected to commence soon into the scandals using evidence handed over by a parliamentary committee which concluded its own investigation last month.

Last week's protests failed to accelerate impeachment moves against Mr Wahid. Under Indonesia's constitution, there is no way to speed up the process, and no matter how loathed he is in some circles, no one can afford to be seen to be contravening the constitution.

With Mr Wahid's self-confidence once again high, his camp now believes the twin offers of a cabinet reshuffle and a power- sharing arrangement with Ms Megawati will confirm his victory over his parliamentary foes and secure his job, at least for the three months given him for improvement by Parliament in its memorandum of censure of two weeks ago.

Mr Wahid made exactly the same offers the last time he was under severe pressure, in August. Then, parliamentarians believed his promises, only to see him openly flout them within days. "I'm very sceptical that the political elite would fall again into the same trap," said political analyst Marcus Mietzner yesterday.

Mr Akbar, who has remained equivocal throughout the current political crisis, was quoted by the Jakarta Post as supporting a power-sharing formula -- a hint that a new version of the old idea could leave Mr Wahid in office.

"It could be a peaceful solution to the national leadership crisis and the current political chaos," said Mr Akbar. "Our constitution stipulates that the president functions as both head of state and head of government, but the President and Vice- President could make a compromise so that the power-sharing could be done without breaching the constitution's spirit."

However, he also said that Parliament's memorandum of censure against Mr Wahid still held, meaning he has to shape up or ship out within months.

Speculation is strong as to how a rumoured gift of five cabinet seats to Ms Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle might be achieved. Attention has focused on the vulnerability of Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman. If he was replaced, Mr Wahid could blame the ambitious but reformist Mr Marzuki for the Government's failure to prosecute former president Suharto.

Sacking him might also be seen as a gift to Mr Akbar in return for his support, since Mr Marzuki is a Golkar member who represents a threat to the party leaders' presidential ambitions.

Pro-govt rallies continue in Java

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2001

Jakarta -- The wave of support for President Abdurrahman Wahid continued in Central Java on Tuesday with demands that the President remain in office until 2004 and that the Golkar Party be dissolved.

In Semarang, Central Java, around 1,000 supporters of President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid expressed their wish on Tuesday that the President and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri remain in office until 2004.

The demonstrators, grouped under the Red and White Undercurrent Alliance of Magelang, also demanded that Golkar be dissolved and that People's Consultative Assembly speaker Amien Rais and House of Representative speaker Akbar Tandjung quit. They also urged the President to speed up the reform agenda of the eradication of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN).

In the town of Brebes, some 5,000 people rallied in support of Abdurrahman crowding the regency legislative council building before marching around the town. They urged that Abdurrahman disband Golkar, "or members of Golkar in the House would continue their maneuvers to rock the government."

In Surakarta some 50 students took to the streets urging the political elite to unite to save the "ship of Indonesia from sinking".

In Yogyakarta, protesters calling themselves the People's Struggle Committee for Total Reform (KPRRT) staged a rally here on Tuesday demanding total reform in the country, including the disbandment of the Golkar Party and confiscation of former president Soeharto's wealth.

The 250 protesters converged in front of Golkar Party's office on Jl. Jendral Sudirman, including university students, street singers, and street children.

At noon, the protesters sealed Golkar's faction room of the council's building as a symbol of their struggle against the New Order and dispersed peacefully minutes later. Last week protesters sealed the Yogyakarta Golkar provincial office.

In the Bali capital of Denpasar protesters from the Indonesian Islamic Student Movement (PMII) staged a peaceful protest on Tuesday, demanding the legislative body truly work on reform instead of "maneuvering to topple Abdurrahman". The group marched to the provincial council building from Udayana University on Jl. Sudirman at around 9 a.m. "Those attempting to topple Gus Dur were being engineered and financed by the New Order regime," the protesters shouted.

Meanwhile, in Jakarta some 40 ulemas, students and activists from East Java met the National Police Chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro on Tuesday, denying their involvement in the burning of the provincial office of Golkar Party in Surabaya.

"We came here for clarification. Many of us saw that the fire started at the backyard of the office before the masses entered the office," chairman of the East Java delegation Sunarto A.S. told reporters after the closed-door meeting at the National Police headquarters.

Bimantoro welcomed the information saying police would investigate the possible causes of the riots. He said 14 people had been detained over the torching of Golkar Party offices in East Java.

Also in Jakarta, Minister of National Education Yahya Muhaimin called on Tuesday for all students from elementary to high school not to join demonstrations to avoid interference in their studies.

"I think it's cruel to exploit students like that," Yahya said on the sidelines of a session with Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR).

"Senior university students, however, are more mature and able to make a decision on their own. As long as they do not resort to violence or anarchy, I think critical thought about national issues is important," Yahya told The Jakarta Post.

Meanwhile Gus Dur, Megawati, Amien and Akbar failed to appear in a meeting organized by student' organizations, including GMNI (Indonesian National Students Movement), PMKRI (Catholic Students Association), HMI (Indonesian Islamic Students Association), GMKI (Indonesian Christian Students Movement) and Indonesian Islamic Students Association (PMII) at the Borobudur Hotel in Jakarta on Tuesday evening.

Only Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid and Minister of Defense Mahfud MD arrived in the forum where the political leaders were supposed to meet.

Responding to reporters' questions on the absence of the four leaders, Nurcholish said that meeting of minds might be better than a physical meeting. "Such a meeting may make the four understand each other more." While Minister Mahfud said that the four may have failed to appear because of their own political reasons. "The fate of the country does not depend on such a meeting." Before the meeting, Amien had told reporters that he would not attend, while Akbar had said that he would attend his party's meeting.

East Java reps maintain PRD not behind attack on Golkar HQ

Detik - February 13, 2001

Lukmanul Hakim/Hendra & GB, Jakarta -- Representatives of 40 mass organisations which took part in the massive demonstration at the Surabaya, East Java, provincial parliament on 7 February went to the National Police headquarters today to clarify their version of events. They maintained that the demonstrators were not responsible for the destruction of the Golkar party offices which occurred that day but that unknown individuals infiltrated the protesters and started the fire which engulfed the building.

The delegation representing the 40 East Java organisations went to the National Police headquarters, Tuesday. The groups were, amongst others, the Laskar Santri (noble warriors' force), the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and the Forum of Constitution Upholders.

According to leader of the delegation Sunarto, the arson attack on the Golkar Party headquarters was not carried out by the people gathered by their organisations. Rather, they maintained that a certain group had infiltrated the masses and started the fire at the back of the building.

"The arson was not done by us. Just see, the fire originated not at the front of the Golkar Party headquarters, but from the back of the building," Sunarto said adding that a certain group acted to take advantage of the people's protests.

Sunarto and the delegation met with national police Chief Gen. S. Bimantoro. Yesterday, the police Chief backed-up claims made by Golkar leaders that the PRD was behind the attack.

However, Sunarto and the delegation said the PRD had not been involved in the incident although they were present at the demonstration at the parliament. "That allegation is totally baseless.

This is a way to corner our followers by using deliberate language and a scenario," he said. The Golkar leaders also said that `communist' elements were responsible for the attack and have been slammed by PRD leaders and others for reverting to the propaganda of communism-phobia which was utilised by former president Suharto.

In support of their claim that another group had started the fire, Sunarto then said that there were eight witnesses who saw the outsiders infiltrate the group who burnt the Golkar Party office in Surabaya. "Our witnesses saw at least eight infiltrators in that incident," he said.

Golkar blames PRD for office burnings

Green Left Weekly - February 14, 2001

Max Lane -- Golkar chairperson Akbar Tanjung has accused the People's Democratic Party and two student activist organisations, Forkot and Jarkot, of being behind the burning down of its offices throughout East Java.

Jakarta's main daily, Kompas, reported Tanjung as telling journalists on February 8: "If not them, who? The members of the Nahdlatul Ulama don't like violence".

The head of Golkar's central leadership council, Mahadai Sinambela, backed Tanjung: "The PRD has had a long-term strategy of systematically campaigning for the banning of Golkar."

The PRD rejected Golkar's accusations outright, stating that the attacks on the party's office were manifestations of mass anger.

PRD chairperson Budiman Sujatmiko pointed out that Golkar's accusations mirrored Suharto's attempt to blame the PRD for riots in 1996. "This just shows that Golkar is the same machine it was during the Suharto period and that it wants to be able to work the same way today," he said.

In a statement issued on February 8, the PRD said that it respected the demand for the banning of Golkar, which has spontaneously emerged from recent mass demonstrations.

"Golkar must be held accountable before a people's tribunal," the statement read, "both its individual members and as an institution, for the crimes against humanity, against human rights as well as corruption, collusion and nepotism that occurred during the New Order. It will be up to the people's tribunal to decide whether Golkar should be banned. The demand for the banning of Golkar is therefore not in contradiction with the position of the PRD."

Activists from Forkot and Jarkot are considering legal action against Tanjung.

40 West Java NU clerics ask Gus Dur to resign

Detik - February 12, 2001

Aulia Andri/Fitri & GB, Jakarta -- An unlikely group joined the calls for President Abdurrahman Wahid to stand down. Around 40 Muslim clerics of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation Wahid led for 15 years before becoming president, went to the House of Representatives, demanding Gus Dur -- as the president is popularly addressed -- stand down.

The delegation held talks with Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly Amien Rais at the parliament in Senayan, Jakarta, Monday. Rais is notorious for his opposition to Gus Dur.

The group claimed to represent 400 NU Muslim clerics across West Java province with 5000 Muslim students from 20 regencies and mayoralties. During their encounter with Rais, KH Lili Somantri of Bandung Regency read out a statement prepared by the West Java Muslim clerics.

In essence, they pleaded -- with all due respect to Gus Dur -- that he stand down. "Mounting emerging problems shows that Gus Dur is incapable of implementing the reform mandate," said KH Lili. He advised Gus Dur to become a national `guru' to all elements in the country.

The clerics also called on all nations to end violence and settle their differences. "Anarchism is not the best way to show dissatisfaction in politics," said KH Lili adding that all elements should avoid horizontal conflict which only brings suffering to the broader society.

"Blind fanaticism from one group and one figure would only lead us to disintegration," reminded KH Lili. Amongst the 40 clerics, several prominent religious leaders of the province were seen, notably KH Yasin of Sumedang, KH Makmun of Garut, KH Sahibin of Subang, KH Oman Rahman of Purwakarta and KH Agan Sobirin of Karawang.

After meeting the clerics, Amien Rais said their visit exemplified the public's aspirations and that the Assembly welcomed it. "This is a more beautiful expression, sorry, compared to burning things, this is progress," said Amien complementing the clerics.

Polls suggest Indonesians favour rebuke not impeachment

Agence France-Presse - February 12, 2001

Jakarta -- Public opinion surveys published here Monday suggest a majority of Indonesians support parliament's censure of President Abdurrahman Wahid, but were less eager for him to resign or be impeached.

A poll of 516 Jakarta residents by the leading weekly magazine Tempo, found 88 percent of respondents supported the February 1 censure motion, which followed a report implicating Wahid in two financial scandals.

The poll, noting a five percent margin of error, also found that 42 percent favoured a swift reply by Wahid, 30 percent supported immediate resignation, and only 20 percent were in favour of bringing forward a parliamentary session to impeach him.

Three quarters of the respondents felt that Wahid should be "suspended" if a legal investigation into the scandals is conducted.

All respondents agreed that Wahid should resign if proven guilty by a court of the scandals, with 58 percent believing the near- blind president should be punished.

Respondents to a separate poll conducted by Tempo's website Tempointeraktif.com and published in Monday's magazine were almost evenly divided on whether Wahid should resign or stay.

Of 1,251 respondents, 49.7 percent said they would accept an apology from Wahid instead of resignation. A slightly lower 47.9 percent would not accept an apology over resignation, while 2.4 percent were undecided.

A separate poll on the Tempointeraktif website found that of 526 respondents, or 75.5 percent believed the parliament was acting out of its own interests rather than for the people.

Meanwhile, of 1,106 respondents asked by Tempointeraktif what step should be taken to reduce political tension, 37.3 advocated that Wahid resign, while 34.9 percent favoured the dissolution of the opposition party Golkar.

Wahid has been under mounting pressure to step down and hand power to Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri following the parliamentary rebuke.

The censure came after a 50-member parliamentary commission concluded that Wahid "could be suspected of involvement" in the embezzlement of some four million dollars in state funds.

It also charged that Wahid had been inconsistent in explaining a two million dollar donation from the Sultan of Brunei.

The commission's linking of Wahid to the scandals has been used by his opponents in the parliament, unhappy with his erratic style of governance, to seek his impeachment.

Brother asks Wahid to step down

Straits Times - February 13, 2001

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- One of President Abdurrahman Wahid's brothers has called on him to step down and hand power over to Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri in the best interest of the nation, as thousands of the President's supporters rallied in several cities across Java.

"In such a heated political climate, one must give way and compromise," said Mr Salahuddin Wahid on Sunday, adding that Ms Megawati should be given increased powers.

Mr Salahuddin is the latest in a long list of former supporters and analysts who have withdrawn their support for Mr Abdurrahman.

Calls for the President's resignation have mounted in the last two weeks after the parliament voted unanimously to take steps to impeach the Indonesian leader over two financial scandals.

Last week, a presidential advisory body "consisting of high profile economists, analysts and public figures" also suggested Mr Abdurrahman make an elegant exit and give executive power to Ms Megawati, while he is made symbolic head of state.

Some, like Mr Salahuddin, say it would be better for Mr Abdurrahman to step aside and be nominated as a senior minister, because he has no support from any of the political parties.

Other former supporters, such as prominent economist Dr Syahrir, have become critics of Mr Abdurrahman's failure to stamp out corruption and implement tougher economic reforms.

While the political commentators are calling for Mr Abdurrahman's resignation, there are fears that mass violence would ensue as grass-roots supporters and critics of the President clash.

In the East Java town of Tuban yesterday, 6,000 supporters of Mr Abdurrahman attacked government offices.

Near Yogyakarta, central Java, another 20,000 supporters gathered and threw effigies of Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung and House Speaker Amien Rais -- two of Mr Abdurrahman's critics -- into a river.

In the nearby town of Magelang, around 5,000 supporters of the President rallied outside a Golkar building and sealed it. And in Jakarta, 1,000 high school students led an anti-Golkar rally at the parliament.

One of his few high profile supporters, Mr Emil Salim, a former adviser, argued that Mr Abdurrahman could survive if he cracked down on corruption and compromised with the Democratic Party -- Perjuangan (PDI-P) led by Ms Megawati.

However, few analysts believe the President is capable of either of these. "I don't think someone like him or at his age can change. And if he doesn't change, then it will create more instability and pressure against him will just increase," said a senior editor of the Kompas daily.

Caucus throws political clout behind Megawati

Straits Times - February 13, 2001

Susan Sim -- Senior cadres of the top Indonesian political parties, who have been meeting secretly for the past two months, are close to signing an agreement to back Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri as president until 2004.

But first they have to persuade President Abdurrahman Wahid to resign or be impeached, a difficult task given that Ms Megawati is "very ready to become president" but still reluctant to drive him out.

A senior official of her party, the Indonesian Democratic Party- Struggle (PDI-P), told The Straits Times yesterday that the caucus had agreed tentatively on four points:

Once president, Ms Megawati will be left to rule as she sees fit until the next presidential election in 2004, when the post will be up for grabs again.

She will choose her own vice-president, or leave the post vacant.

As a "permanent coalition", the six parties will commit to a common platform on issues like the role of the military, rooting out corruption and economic recovery.

As quid pro quo, Ms Megawati will consider nominees of merit from all six parties for ministerial positions and shape the cabinet according to their voting strength in parliament.

Another source said PDI-P members had also demanded an explicit guarantee that no one would go after her once their common enemy, Mr Abdurrahman, was out of the way.

And the other parties gave their word readily. As a member from one of the Islamic parties said: "We are trying to give a boost of confidence to Megawati. We want her to be more decisive."

Sources said the caucus members -- 28 in all, representing the top parties apart from the president's -- had the "full authority of the party chiefs to take decisions".

They name as key members Messrs Kwik Kian Gie and Arifin Panigoro from PDI-P, Syamsul Muarif and Fahmi Idris from Golkar, Hatta Rajasa from the National Mandate Party (PAN), Bachtiar Chamsyah from the United Development Party, and Hartono Mardjono from the Crescent Star Party. The Justice Party, which votes as a bloc with PAN, is also represented.

Apart from the ideological extremes now represented, several army generals are also being invited to join the caucus, making this an "unconventional coalition" united only in the resolve to oust Gus Dur, a source noted.

But one of the caucus' first public acts, a petition calling for an emergency session of the People's Consultative Assembly, was shot down by Ms Megawati last week, apparently because she thought it was to impeach Mr Abdurrahman. The truth, a PDI-P official said, was that the caucus intended to show Gus Dur that he had lost political legitimacy and should thus resign.

Their second proposed action -- a rally this weekend to counter the president's planned 150,000 strong "prayer session" in Jakarta -- was also dropped out of fear that saboteurs would provoke a riot.

Police say PRD involved in East Java riot

Detik - February 12, 2001

Lukmanul Hakim/Fitri & GB, Jakarta -- National Police Chief General S. Bimantoro has backed-up claims made by national leaders last week that People's Democratic Party (PRD) members were involved in creating anarchy at a rally of pro-President Abdurrahman Wahid supporters in East Java last week.

"According to a report from the East Java Police Chief, there are indications of other elements' involvement in the anarchic action in East Java, among them, the PRD," said Bimantoro after attending the launch of a book entitled: "General RS Soekanto Tjokrodiatmodjo (1945-1949): Founding Father of the National Police" at the National Police headquarters, Jl Trunojoyo, South Jakarta, Monday. He did not elaborate.

Late last week, Chairman of the Golkar Party and Speaker of the House of Representatives Akbar Tanjung and Golkar Central Leaders' Council Chairman Mahadi Sinambela said they suspected "communist" and PRD members had infiltrated a massive demonstration of pro-Wahid supporters at the East Java Provincial Legislative Council on Wednesday.

Demonstrators later moved the 1 km to the provincial headquarters of the party and set it ablaze. Their claims were reiterated by Minister of Defense Mahfud MD. Other Golkar offices were targeted last week and several trashed and the attacks continue this week also in East Java.

The action was triggered by the House's decision to send a memorandum to President Wahid after it accepted a report implicating him in two financial scandals on Friday.

"As of now, we are continuing to study the report and I have ordered the East Java Police to continue with their investigations and legal actions according to procedures," said Bimantoro.

"We are investigating the background of the anarchic events some time ago. Because not all are Nahdlatul Ulama members," said Bimantoro. President Wahid headed the NU, Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, for 15 years before becoming president.

Bimantoro said 11 people had been arrested over the two-day demonstration from 7-8 February. "Results from the East Java Police investigation shows, 11 people have been arrested. And, KH Hasyim Muzadi has come to National Police headquarters to show his support," told Bimantoro. Hasyim Muzadi is head of the Nahdlatul Ulama.

"Hasyim Muzadi asked if there were any NU members who violated [the law]. He asked that the investigations proceed accordingly," said Bimantoro ending the brief interlude with the press.

Last Friday, PRD Chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko and the party's legal team filed a complaint against the Golkar leadership and challenged them to produce evidence to back-up their claims.

Opposition accused of trying to stir up anti-left sentiment

Agence France-Presse - February 11, 2001

Surabaya -- Accusations that left-wing groups were behind last week's attacks on opposition offices in President Abdurrahman Wahid's home province were misguided attempts to turn his supporters against them, analysts said here.

Opposition Golkar party leaders including chairman Akbar Tanjung and national assembly (MPR) chairman Amien Rais have blamed leftists, the socialist People's Democratic Party (PRD) and radical student groups for the stoning, burning and ransacking of Golkar party offices in East Java.

Rallies by fanatical Wahid supporters protesting against efforts by the national parliament to oust the president over unproven claims of corruption erupted into attacks on Golkar offices in eleven East Java towns, including the capital Surabaya.

"The demonstrations in East Java and other areas were probably infiltrated by communists or the long arm of the PKI [former Indonesian Communist Party]," Rais, one of Wahid's fiercest critics, told the Java Post newspaper.

Rais, who heads the National Mandate Party (PAN), leads a loose coalition of Muslim-based parties spearheading efforts to force Wahid to resign or be impeached.

A professor at Surabaya's Airlangga University, Dede Utomo, said the finger-pointing at left-wing groups could be read as attempts to revive past hatreds between the mass Muslim organisation Nhadlatul Ulama (NU) and left-wing groups.

Bitter antipathies between the two groups erupted in the mid 1960's when hundreds of thousands of alleged PKI members and sympathisers were slaughtered and up to one million detained following an alleged coup attempt blamed on the communists.

Wahid, who led the 40-million strong NU for 15 years, has acknowledged and apologised for the role of NU's paramilitary guards Banser in the slaughters, which were concentrated in East Java and Central Java.

"Coming from Amien Rais it's clearly an attempt to revive those divisions," Utomo said. "But they're not based on reality. Maybe Akbar and Amien don't know that Banser is now in close contact with former [communist] political prisoners, and they're organising with NU protection."

When a mass grave of executed prisoners accused of communist sympathies was dug up by relatives in Central Java last year, 300 Banser guards provided protection, Utomo said.

The NU youth wing Ansor has formed a committee to investigate the 1965-1966 killings, he added. "Things have changed quite a bit since then. There's a lot of cooperation between Banser and former communists and their relatives."

The accusations from Tanjung were an attempt to deflect the anti-Golkar sentiments raging among Wahid's supporters over efforts to impeach the president, Utomo said.

Wahid told East Java community leaders in Surabaya on Friday that he had received police and military reports blaming a foreign- funded group for leading the attacks on Golkar offices in eleven places.

Without identifying the groups, Wahid said they were "the same people who stirred up the military" into attacking an opposition party headquarters in 1996.

Wahid's comments could also be an attempt to shift blame from his supporters, Utomo said. "I think what Gus Dur is trying to do is deflect the attacks on NU. Or else he's saying what Akbar and Amien and their followers in Jakarta want to hear."

NU's leader in East Java, Ali Maschin Musa, said his members were unconcerned by accusations against left-wing groups. "We're not interested. It's not us they're blaming," Musa told AFP. "The police can say what they like, but they have to get proof," he said.

There was no chance of the accusations provoking anger from NU members towards PRD or student groups, he said. "The people in the wrong here are the political leaders in Jakarta trying to violate the consitution. That's our focus, defending the constitution," Musa said.

Akbar Tandjung questions the existence of PRD

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2001

Makassar -- Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung urged the government on Sunday to reassess the existence of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) following allegations of its involvement in vandalism of Golkar offices in East Java.

"We will ask the Minister of Justice and Human Rights Baharuddin Lopa and Minister of Home Affairs Soerjadi Soedirdja to soon review PRD ... Whether it is still consistent or not with the nation's goals," Akbar, who is also the House Speaker, told journalists here at Hasanuddin International Airport.

Akbar made a brief stopover here on his way to Jakarta after a visit to Jayapura, Irian Jaya. "If PRD's purpose and principles are no longer relevant to the country, then PRD's existence must be questioned," Akbar remarked.

In Jakarta, PRD executive Andi Arief on Sunday brushed off Akbar's comments arguing that PRD had been accepted by the General Election Commission (KPU) and declared a legal party which was allowed to participate in the 1999 general election. "If PRD must undergo reevaluation, how about other political parties?" Andi remarked when contacted by The Jakarta Post.

In a rather emotional tone, Andi lashed back saying that PRD has never committed a political or economic crime, while Golkar itself has been party to such acts. "If there was a party which should be reevaluated, I guess it should be Golkar. They should be held responsible for upholding a dictatorship," he charged.

Under the New Order rule of former President Soeharto, PRD was prohibited, for reasons among others for refusing to include Pancasila as its only ideology.

"Our ideology is social democracy, particularly for the people. There are a lot of parties with an ideology like ours in Europe. I suggest Akbar go to Europe and find out for himself," Andi remarked.

Akbar also described the demand to dissolve Golkar as "irrational". "The Golkar Party was officially established within the existing law," he said.

On a stronger note, Akbar warned that "if anti-Golkar protesters continue to use violence, Golkar supporters will be ready to respond. However, I have asked Golkar's masses in eastern Indonesia to stay calm and avoid physical action," Akbar said.

Government/politics

Generals find a friend in Megawati

The Age - February 17, 2001

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin -- It was a poignant moment, full of irony. Megawati Sukarnoputri dons army fatigues and beret and climbs aboard a Scorpion tank.

The Vice-President has plenty of reason to despise Indonesia's armed forces, which have been accused of widespread repression and plunder during the 32-year Suharto dictatorship.

On July 27, 1996, the army presided over an attack on the Jakarta headquarters of Mrs Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the then main opposition to Suharto's iron-fist rule. When the dust had settled, more than 20 of her supporters had been killed and others were missing.

In 1959, Mrs Megawati's father, former president Sukarno, formed what turned out to be a disastrous pact with the military. In the 1960s, after Suharto's rise to power following the failed 1965 coup, Indonesia's founding president was sidelined by the military. His death was lonely and ignominious.

But more than two years after the downfall of Suharto, Mrs Megawati has emerged as one of the strongest allies of the country's hardline, anti-reformist generals.

Some observers worry that her likely elevation -- sooner or later -- into the presidency, would represent a de facto return to power of the discredited armed forces.

They also worry that under Mrs Megawati's leadership, hopes for liberal, democratic reforms that were encapsulated in the anti- Suharto movement of 1998 will be set back, perhaps even lost.

As Mrs Megawati stood atop the tank at a military parade in the West Java city of Bandung late last year, she heard the army chief, General Endriartono Sutarto, tell combat-ready troops not to hesitate in their duties, presumably even if that meant killing civilians.

"As long as you follow the procedures and regulations, killing or shooting at your enemy is not violating human rights," General Endriartono said.

With the 15-month presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid crippled and his political rivals baying for his blood, Mrs Megawati is the only person who under the constitution can take power before the next national elections, due in 2004.

Many top military officers, whose insubordination towards Mr Wahid has become increasingly clear, are gravitating towards Mrs Megawati as powerful figures in her party try to prod her into forcing the President from power.

The military's top brass is telling people they favor an all-out effort to replace Mr Wahid through a complicated, four-month process of impeachment.

One senior general, quoted in the Far Eastern Economic Review, described the military's relationship with Mr Wahid as "very precarious".

When parliament voted early this month to censure Mr Wahid over two corruption scandals involving people close to him, the 38- member military and police faction in parliament stood together to signal their support.

Tradition had it that they abstain from such a blatantly political and public vote, particularly one against their supreme commander.

Hardline generals last year blocked Mr Wahid promoting a reformist officer, Lieutenant-General Agus Wirahadikusumah, whose criticisms of army corruption had upset hardline officers.Mr Wahid's efforts to push the military out of politics back to the barracks have stalled. According to some sources, two weeks ago Mr Wahid wanted to replace General Endriartono with General Agus after the President had suggested the dissolution of parliament and the implementation of emergency rule. Mrs Megawati helped block the appointment and backed the military's objection to the idea.

The military's official stand is that it will remain loyal to the constitution and to the president, who ever that is. It insists it wants to stay out of day-to-day politics.

But unlike in the past, when its political plays were carried out amid secrecy and in the tradition of Javanese shadow plays, its opposition to Mr Wahid's rule has become almost as public as it could be.

The senior general, quoted by the Review, said: "We now have the perception that he [Wahid] wants to abuse the military to support him in power, which is in contrast to the military's present position of reforming itself to be out of politics. He is trying to make the military his political tool."

Senior generals and Mrs Megawati agree on key issues, such as the imperative to protect, above all else, the unitary state of Indonesia. Observers say this translates into crushing separatist movements in Aceh and Irian Jaya (West Papua), as distinct from a persuasive approach favored by Mr Wahid.

Under Suharto, loyalty to the unitary state was used as justification for the brutal repression of anybody who dared challenge Jakarta's rule.

Observers warn that, as Indonesia teeters on the brink of disaster, the lust for power could lead to collective amnesia and the formation of political alliances that take the country back to its recent dark days.

A possible scenario alarming Mr Wahid's advisers is the formation of an anti-Wahid coalition made up of the military and police faction, Mrs Megawati's party, which controls one third of seats in parliament, and Golkar, the second-largest party, which protected Suharto's corrupt regime.

Some of Mr Wahid's fiercest critics are figures who received favors to become extraordinarily wealthy during Suharto's rule.

As part of his counter-attack against those people plotting his downfall, Mr Wahid is pushing ahead to prosecute them, raising the stakes dramatically in an already high stakes game.

Regional conflicts

Refugees' fee stolen

Jakarta Post - February 18, 2001

Tual -- Humanitarian activists slammed on Saturday the Social Welfare Agency in Southeast Maluku for allegedly swindling approximately Rp 698 million (US$73,500) in meal allowances which were supposed to have been distributed to refugees in the strife-torn regency.

The embezzlement allegedly involved 77 members of the agency's 'Food Task Force', who were also accused of stealing 279.5 tons of rice intended for the refugees, chairman of Karya Kasih non- governmental organization (NGO) Butje Kashiu said as quoted by Antara.

Butje said that the members of the task force had cut the meal allowance by Rp 5,000 for each refugee.

The organization's findings and probes conducted by other NGOs which checked up on the refugees in Kei Kecil and Kei Besar districts showed that each person was only receiving Rp 40,000 per month instead of the official Rp 45,000 per month, and that each person only received 10 kilograms of rice instead of 12 kilograms," he said.

He also alleged that the agency had manipulated refugee data. "There were only 201 refugee families, or a total of 1,015 refugees, in Southeast Maluku regency last month but the agency said that up to January there were some 59,000 refugees," he said, adding that the rice supplies were most likely sold by the officials to local vendors.

The NGO further urged the government to be more careful in distributing relief and food aid to avoid possible malfeasance.

Maluku's SGI seizes hundreds of weapons during raid in Ambon

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2001

Ambon -- The Military Joint-Intelligence Task Force (SGI) stationed in Ambon seized on Friday hundreds of weaponry during an afternoon raid at a house in Tanah Lapang Kecil area, Nusaniwe district, Ambon.

The house, belonging to a man named Hasan, was raided by the SGI force at about 12:30 p.m. local time, Pattimura Military chief of staff Col. Syarifuddin Sumah said later on Friday.

The unit seized 114 assembled bombs and hundreds of rounds of bullets of various types including rubber bullets, dozens of blank bullets, and bullets for .22 caliber guns and AK-47 rifles, an SKS long rifle, four assembled rifles and five assembled pistols. The SGI unit was set up following the establishment of the Pattimura Military Command on May 15, 1999 to back up the new military command and make early detection of possible conflict.

The unit -- comprises intelligence officers from the Navy's marines, the Air Force's Paskhas and Army's Kopassus -- functions as 'the eyes and the ears' of (the Pattimura) Military Command, Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa has earlier said.

Eight people were arrested following the raid, seven of whom were locals while the other one is a Jakarta resident named Hussein. The seven locals of Tanah Lapang Kecil were identified as Djalal, Yunus, Achmad, Iki, Hamid, Nasaruddin and Lamparang.

"We had been monitoring the house for quite some time and one of the officers who lives in the area has been investigating Hasan's activities and spotted the weaponry haul," Syarifuddin said.

Hasan's house is located only 200 meters away from the Ambon Police precinct.

Prior to the raid, the intelligence officer was mobbed by a group of youths hanging around Hasan's house who accused the officer of sexual assault on Hasan's wife. The wounded officer was taken to the Ambon Police precinct and later he revealed his identity to police officers, Syarifuddin said.

"Immediately after the officer reported the incident, the SGI unit launched a raid to capture Hasan and managed to arrest the group at the same time. Hasan, along with the rest of the gang, is being detained at the Ambon Police precinct. They will be charged with assault and battery and illegal possession of weaponry," Syarifuddin said.

All of the evidence, however, was taken to SGI main office at Pattimura Military Command in Batu Gajah area. "We are withholding the evidence as a precautionary move and for security reasons. Anytime the police need the evidence, we will hand it over to them but with clear procedures.

"We hope this way there will be no cases that go unsolved due to missing or incomplete evidence," the officer said. He said the box of the weaponry bore signs of Komisi Penanggulangan Krisis (the Crisis Management Commission) and a Bank Muamalat account number at the Al-Surqan cash office on Jl. Kramat Raya No. 45, Central Jakarta. "We will coordinate our findings with the police," he added.

Meanwhile, around 11 a.m. local time on Friday a local resident named Johny Serlawan was severely injured after being shot in the back of his neck in Halong Atas area, some six kilometers east of Ambon.

Johny was about to transport fruit to marine troops in the area when gunmen suddenly sprayed bullets at him. Gunfights between the assailants and the troops took place after the incident but the attackers managed to flee. "He is in a critical condition and being treated at Halong Naval Hospital," an officer said.

Human rights/law

Tutut named suspect in $306m corruption case

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2001

Jakarta -- The Attorney General's Office named former president Soeharto's daughter Siti Hardiyanti "Tutut" Rukmana on Friday as a suspect in a corruption case over a US$306 million project involving state oil and gas company Pertamina.

"Our investigation has led us to name her as a suspect in the case," Mulyohardjo, spokesman of the office, said. Other suspects in the scam are former president of Pertamina Faisal Abda'oe and Rosano Barack, president of PT Triharsa Bimanusa Tunggal.

In 1987 Pertamina had a plan to construct a 320-kilometer long fuel pipeline in Java. Tutut was head of the consortium in charge of the project, and also the commissary of PT Triharsa Bimanusa Tunggal (PT TBT). The company was later appointed by Pertamina to carry out the work.

But PT TBT in 1992 applied for the cancellation of the agreement, saying it couldn't acquire enough foreign loans to finance the project.

The company claimed that it had finished 14 percent of the work and demanded that Pertamina pay work value compensation as much as $36.69 million. Abda'oe made the payment on January 7, 1993.

"It turned out that they had conducted only 6.4 percent of the work, not 14 percent," Mulyohardjo said, adding that the amount that should be paid was only $14 million. The state suffered at least $22 million in losses.

In the morning the office summoned Tutut for questioning as a witness on Friday, but her lawyer Amir Syamsudin said she was sick. "We have repeatedly summoned her, but she always fails to appear," Mulyohardjo said.

He said that based on further investigation in the day, prosecutors decided to name Tutut as a suspect not a witness. "We will summon her again for questioning," he said without elaborating.

Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra was sentenced by the Supreme Court last year for graft in a 1995 land exchange deal which caused the state to suffer Rp 76.7 billion (US$8.07 million) in losses. A few days after President Abdurrahman Wahid turned down his request for clemency, Tommy disappeared. He is still at large.

On Wednesday, Tutut's younger brother Sigit Harjodjudanto was grilled by the Attorney General's Office for his alleged part in the alleged $113 million mark-up of the Balongan oil refinery project in Indramayu, West Java.

The Attorney General's Office is scheduled to question former mining and energy minister Ginandjar Kartasasmita, who is studying in Harvard University, Boston, over the same case on Tuesday.

Two weeks ago, the national police questioned Bambang Trihatmodjo for nearly three hours in connection with the acquisition of the assets of textile company Kanindotex, but Soeharto family lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon insisted that Bambang was questioned only as a witness in the case.

Soeharto was to be sent to court last year in a US$571 million corruption case but the South Jakarta District Court refused to try him on the grounds that he was too sick to stand trial. The Supreme Court earlier this month ordered state prosecutors to provide medical treatment until he is declared fit enough to stand trial.

Earlier on Friday, the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) called on President Abdurrahman Wahid to replace Attorney General Marzuki Darusman for his failure to settle corruptions cases and to uphold the law. "We need a new Attorney General who has vision, high moral integrity, credibility, courage and who is professional in eradicating corruption," ICW Coordinator Teten Masduki told a press meeting at his office.

He said the President should replace Marzuki if he is serious in his efforts to accelerate the fight against corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Teten also accused Marzuki of having a conflict of interests because as one of top executives in the Golkar party, on the one hand Marzuki must develop the party, but on the other hand he has to investigate and send other Golkar's executives to court.

Teten said that prosecutors had a certain working pattern in their handling of corruption cases: charging them in obscure indictments to allow judges to twist the criminal elements in the prosecutors' charges into a civil case.

This was reflected in the judicial process of the defendants in the Bank Bali Rp 904 billion case which ended in the court's exoneration of defendants Djoko S. Tjandra and Pande N. Lubis.

ICW had also listed hundreds of names allegedly involve in 15 corruption cases the Attorney Office failed to question.

Among the 15 cases were the corruption scam at the State Logistic Agency, the US$6 billion corruption at state-own oil mining company Pertamina, the bribery of former Attorney General M. Andi Ghalib, Rp 572.2 billion corruption at state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Rp 9.6 trillion corruption at Texmaco group company, corruption at the Clove Buffer Stock and Managing Agency, corruption scam at Paiton 1 hydraulic power plant project, corruption at Exor Balongan oil refinery project, corruption at Freeport, Rp 138 trillion corruption in the Government Liquidity Support Funds and Rp 7.1 billion corruption at state-owned insurance company PT Jamsostek.

Police may question Akbar over land scam

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2001

Jakarta -- Pressure over a housing scam allegedly involving Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung is growing with National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf on Thursday suggesting that Akbar could be questioned pending the emergence of further evidence.

"If there is strong evidence of a crime, we might summon Akbar for questioning. Nobody is above the law," Saleh told reporters. He said the police would ask for a presidential waiver of legislative immunity, as required for the investigation or questioning of a member of the House.

Saleh however said that initially the police would take further testimony from Kurnia Ananta, the alleged victim, who accused Akbar of having falsified land title documents.

Saleh also revealed that the National Ombudsman Commission on January 23 had recommended that the police investigate the case.

Kurnia, who claims to be a close relative of Akbar, filed a police complaint in 1995 over fake titles to 90,000 square meters of land in Srengseng subdistrict, Kebun Jeruk district, West Jakarta. At the time Akbar was Minister of Public Housing.

Last year, Kurnia twice reported the case to the police in July and in September. After receiving an "unsatisfactory response", he then complained to the ombudsman commission last month.

Saleh admitted that the police had yet to fully probe the case, hoping that it could be settled amicably among the family members. "First, we thought that it was a family matter. But if the family cannot settle the matter, we will handle it," he asserted.

National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro had earlier indicated that the police were opening files on past corruption cases following hints by President Abdurrahman Wahid that 10 former officials and businessmen from the New Order era would soon be investigated.

Earlier, several politicians had reported Akbar to Attorney General Marzuki Darusman for his alleged involvement in a scam over the Housing Savings Fund (Taperum).

Golkar was also accused of siphoning off Rp 90 billion of State Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds during the 1999 general election campaign. These allegations have recently come to the fore following the House's motion to censure Abdurrahman for his alleged involvement in the Bulog and Brunei financial scandals.

Indonesian court sends Suharto crony back to jail

Agence France-Presse - February 13, 2001

Jakarta -- A top crony of former Indonesian president Suharto, Muhammad "Bob" Hasan, was sent back to jail Tuesday after a successful appeal against a court ruling that he could serve a corruption sentence under house arrest, officials said.

Once dubbed the 'Plywood King,' Hasan was sentenced to two years prison by the Central Jakarta District Court two weeks ago for causing losses to the state of 244 million dollars through a fraudulent aerial mapping survey in 1990.

Hasan, now 70, was appointed Suharto's minister of trade in 1997, and was the first of the former dictator's cronies to be taken to court for corruption, and the first to be convicted after Suharto's downfall in May 1998. He had already spent several months in detention awaiting his trial.

Prosecutor Arnold Angkaw told the state Antara news agency that Hasan had been sent back to jail following the appeals court decision. Hasan returned to central Jakarta's Salemba prison early Tuesday, prison guard Wibowo told AFP.

A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, Muilyoharjo said Hasan would spend at least 30 days behind bars. "He is going to spend 30 days in Salemba because the Jakarta Appeals' Court deems it necessary to have him locked up," Mulyoharjo told AFP. The term could be extended by another 60 days for "interrogation purposes," he said.

The district court on February 2 ordered Hasan to pay a 15 million rupiah (1,578 dollar) fine and to repay the state the 14.1 billion rupiah (about 1.5 million dollars) he was found to have embezzled from a forestry association fund.

An appeal by Hasan against the prison term is pending, alongside the prosecutors' appeal. The prosecution charged that Hasan's company, PT Mapindo Parama, cheated the state by mapping only 81 forest concessions, when the contract, awarded in 1989, was for 599 concessions.

Indonesian judges dismissed a multi-million dollar corruption case against Suharto himself in September 2000. Although the High Court overturned that ruling in November, the 79-year-old has yet to appear in court.

Suharto also scored another victory last week when the Indonesian Supreme Court ruled that the 79-year-old former army general -- who has suffered two strokes and other ailments -- could not be tried until his health recovered.

The former dictator has been accused of stealing 571 million dollars from the state by funnelling money from huge tax-free charity foundations he ran into the businesses of family and friends.

News & issues

Gorontalo inaugurated as the country's 32nd province

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2001

Jakarta -- Minister of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy Surjadi Soedirdja installed Tursandi Alwi on Friday as acting Governor of Gorontalo and inaugurated the region as the country's 32nd province.

"I expect Pak Tursandi to immediately establish the organizational structure for the province within the next six months. I believe the term will be enough to establish the whole structure of this province, including the appointment of clean government officials and preparations for the gubernatorial election...who is supposed to be the Gorontalo's best son," Surjadi said as quoted by Antara.

Tursandi is currently chairman of the Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy.

Last week, Surjadi officially declared Bangka-Belitung as the 31st province of the country. The government has said that it was processing 10 other proposals, demanding provincial status for 10 regions.

Surjadi said the birth of Gorontalo province was proof of serious efforts among all components of the nation in promoting democratization. "This event also shows the central government's trust in the local people," the minister said.

Present at the inaugural ceremony, which was held at the Taruna Remaja field, were North Sulawesi Governor A.J. Sondakh and legislators of the House of Representatives (DPR) and local legislative council (DPD). The ceremony was witnessed by about 30,000 local people. Meanwhile, North Sulawesi governor A.J. Sondakh voiced his support for the birth of Gorontalo province.

"As the 'old brother' of Gorontalo, the North Sulawesi administration has never restrained any single effort conducted by the Gorontalo people to have their own province," Sondakh said.

Before being declared a new province, Gorontalo was one of the four regencies of North Sulawesi province. Other regencies are Bolaang Mongondow, Minahasa and Sangihe Talaud.

Gorontalo has a total area of 12,150.65 square kilometers or occupies about 44.20 percent of North Sulawesi. It has more than 800,000 residents, some 85 percent of whom work as farmers with soya beans, coconut and clove as its main crops.

During the ceremony, Surjadi also donated Rp 25 million (US$2,631) to local people who were affected by floods on January 25. Meanwhile another donation amounting to Rp 30 million, 300 boxes of noodles, 3 tons of rice and blankets were delivered by the Jakarta-based Gorontalo community. Antara earlier reported that the total damage of last month's disaster reached Rp 32 billion.

Graft-fighters back call for Golkar probe

South China Morning Post - February 16, 2001

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Anti-corruption activists are backing government calls for the former ruling party, Golkar, to be investigated for alleged misuse of state funds in the 1999 election.

The allegation against Golkar came first from Defence Minister Mahfud Mahmoddin and has been repeated by other ministers loyal to President Abdurrahman Wahid.

The Golkar party, created by former president Suharto, is accused of misusing funds from the state logistics body, Bulog, to support Golkar's campaign for the 1999 parliamentary polls. The claim comes two weeks after Golkar supported Parliament's censure of Mr Wahid over an alleged misappropriation of 35 billion rupiah (HK$28.5 million) in state funds. Mr Wahid is also accused of using Bulog as a personal treasure chest, in a scandal which sparked moves to impeach him.

"The use of the fund [by Golkar] is clearly a corruption crime and violated the limit on donations for political parties," said Teten Masduki, head of Indonesian Corruption Watch. "The 90- billion-rupiah fund originated from Bulog so if the 35 billion rupiah is a problem why doesn't the 90 billion rupiah matter? I'd say this scandal is more worthy of investigation."

Mr Teten's comments reflect the view that Golkar members are hypocritical to throw corruption allegations against Mr Wahid when their own crimes over decades of Suharto rule were far greater.

That Bulog has long been used by politicians in search of extra budgetary funding is well known, but more wide-ranging investigations remain stymied by the number and prominence of those implicated. "Golkar has no moral or political legitimacy to question this Government," a senior pro-government source said yesterday.

Some analysts say the allegations against Golkar could provide a legal basis for it to be disbanded. Continuing mass protests, especially in the Wahid heartland of East Java, have led to attacks on Golkar figures and properties and the burning of the party office in Surabaya last week.

This week, five leading factions in Parliament expressed support for Golkar's right to exist. They condemned the recent violent protests against Golkar and said only the courts could decide to ban a legally constituted political party.

Golkar deputy treasurer Enggartiasto Lukito also denies any wrongdoing by his party. "If anybody wants to audit the party it's OK. We have submitted our financial report on the use of election funds to the Supreme Court and we have been cleared of all charges against us," he said.

Mr Mahfud said the call for an inquiry into Golkar was aimed at "promoting honesty in politics". "If the alleged misuse of 35 billion rupiah in Bulog funds resulted in a strong censure [of Mr Wahid] from the House, why has a much bigger case been ignored? It's quite reasonable for the House to set up a special committee to investigate the bigger issue."

The conveniently timed revelations of alleged misbehaviour by Golkar are part of Mr Wahid's wider damage-control efforts as he struggles to keep his job. Sources confirmed that a cabinet reshuffle was expected when Mr Wahid returned from his next foreign trip early next month. This would aim to give more places to Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and to Golkar, which together hold a majority in Parliament.

Environment/health

NGOs to call for aid boycott if forest law not enforced

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2001

Jakarta -- Four local non-governmental organizations have threatened to call for a boycott by Indonesia's aid donors unless the government puts an immediate stop to illegal logging and the destruction of the country's forests.

"We will prompt our foreign NGO networks to pressure members of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) not to give loans to Indonesia unless the government firmly enforces the forestry laws," Binny Buchori, the executive secretary of the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) and the spokeswoman for the four NGOs, said on Wednesday. The government has one month to prove it is serious about handling the forestry problems, Binny said.

The other three NGOs in the coalition are Forest Watch Indonesia, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and Community Based Forest Supporter Consortium (KPSHK).

CGI, which in October pledged US$4.8 billion in new aid for Indonesia, is due to meet in April in Jakarta to evaluate the progress of the loan program, including Indonesia's pledge to crack down on illegal logging.

CGI includes the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank and 30 donor countries led by Japan, members of the European Union and the United States.

Binny said the coalition of NGOs was disappointed by the government's lack of progress in fighting illegal logging, and at the apparent lack of any sense of crisis in dealing with forestry problems.

Indonesia has promised the CGI it will put an end to illegal logging and impose a moratorium on the conversion of natural forest areas to industrial forest and plantation areas.

The government established an interdepartmental committee on forestry in June with the task of addressing these problems. Binny said the coalition found the committee had not taken any effective steps to stop the rampant illegal logging.

Togu Manurung, the director of Forest Watch Indonesia, pointed out that more than eight million hectares of forests were converted into plantation areas in 2000.

Economy & investment

Jakarta urged not to cut ties with IMF

Straits Times - February 18, 2001

Derwin Pereira, Karta -- Prominent international economic advisers yesterday called on Indonesia not to sever ties with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), even if pressure for reform is upsetting Jakarta.

Mr Nobuo Matsunaga, Japan's former ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters after an international advisory panel meeting with Indonesian economic ministers that continued links with the IMF lent credibility to the reform measures being undertaken.

"n the international community, we find today some kind of suspicion or concern about the economic performance of this country,"he said. "lations with the IMF and other international institutions will be extremely crucial. We sincerely hope solutions will be worked out for that."

Echoing similar sentiments was Mr Paul Volcker, the former US Federal Reserve chairman.

He said: :e believe it is a difficult process to have someone looking over your shoulder all the time. ut for the moment, Indonesia is in that situation where it needs to nurture confidence ... and cooperation with international institutions is an important factor in sustaining and encouraging that kind of confidence."

The two are part of an international advisory panel that includes Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Their comments yesterday took place against a backdrop of worsening ties between the Indonesian government and the IMF.

Senior Economics Minister Rizal Ramli last week lashed out at the world body after the IMF suspended aid over Jakarta's foot- dragging on economic reforms.

The IMF and other major donors have also been particularly nervous about the impact of the new autonomy laws which went into effect last month. The laws give regions wide-ranging powers, including the ability to borrow directly.

Mr Ramli, who is due to fly to Washington this week to meet IMF managing director Stanley Fischer, had complained that the IMF was pushing the government too hard on some issues.

He said some matters were difficult to address as quickly as the IMF wanted given that the country was struggling to switch to democracy after decades of authoritarian rule.

The senior economics minister yesterday described the panel's advice as "fruitful" but maintained that "we still have differences with the IMF".

The new agreement with the IMF is less important for the money -- about US$400 million (S$700 million) in loans -- than the impact it will have on Jakarta's economic links with the rest of the world. Without a deal, confidence in the Indonesian economy will ebb lower. Also, vital debt rescheduling with the Paris Club of official creditors would be blocked.

Summarising the discussions between the advisory panel and ministers, Mr Volcker said domestic and foreign investors were worried about the Indonesian economy, which crawled back after a battering during the 1997 financial crisis.

He said: "The Indonesian economy and the confidence afforded in Indonesia ... is still fragile."

According to Mr Matsunaga, besides carrying on with economic reform, the key to economic recovery lies in stability in the sprawling archipelago. "Political stabilisation is important for growth," he said.

IMF not satisfied with regional borrowing ban: minister

Agence France-Presse - February 15, 2001

Jakarta -- Indonesia's chief economics minister Rizal Ramli lashed out at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Thursday over its dissatisfaction with Jakarta's restrictions on borrowing by regional governments. Ramli said the IMF had criticised the restrictions, announced last week, as too weak.

"The IMF are not happy. They said: This language is not strong enough'," Ramli told journalists at a briefing here. "I am trying to argue, and in fact I am sending a letter today to [IMF deputy managing director] Stanley Fischer [saying that]: 'Look, we cannot explicitly say that we are not allowing local governments to borrow, that this is against the law'."

Ramli announced last week that Jakarta was temporarily banning local administrations from raising both offshore and domestic loans, citing IMF concerns that inexperienced regional governments would go on unchecked spending sprees, potentially inflating central government debt.

But on Thursday he revealed that the ban -- which also covers regional governments issuing bonds -- was in effect a stipulation that the regions get central government permission first.

"We requested that for any offshore borrowing the local governments have to get permission from the Ministry of Finance," Ramli said. "Similarly with the issuing of bonds ... the finance ministry already issued a circular that discourages local banks and regional banks to lend out to local governments."

Ramli said the IMF was pushing too hard on reform demands, which include reform of the central bank and greater controls over newly-autonomised local governments, without appreciating complex political constraints. "We get that feeling."

Although he said he understood the IMF's position, "which asks ... that local governments would not be allowed to borrow until the end of the year," Ramli said a total ban was not feasible.

"To issue a regulation totally against the law, that's something that we cannot do. We would like to amend the law, but not today because there are so many things ... we are going to amend it next year."

The IMF, unhappy with the newly-implemented decentralisation policy, under which 364 district governments were initially given borrowing powers, is still holding back on the disbursement of a 400 million dollar loan tranche to Jakarta that was due last December.

Ramli, a Boston-trained economist, who has a history of challenging the IMF's approach to lending to Indonesia, also lashed out at the fund for allowing Indonesia's previous government to pass the original bill allowing borrowing by local governments.

"I told the IMF, 'You were here when Habibie was in power when they pushed for the law on economic decentralisation, including the article that said local governments are free to borrow and issue bonds. You don't complain."

"Now it has already become a law. We have to implement that and we cannot move against it."

The IMF has been assisting Indonesia with a five-billion dollar bailout program tied to financial reforms since the onset of the regional financial crisis in 1997. It has so far disbursed some one billion dollars.

Minister insists on fuel price hike

Jakarta Post - February 13, 2001

Jakarta -- Finance Minister Prijadi Praptosuhardjo insisted on Monday that fuel prices must be increased by 20 percent in April to meet urgent budget needs, indirectly disputing a remark made earlier by Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli.

"Fuel prices must be increased by 20 percent or there will be grave consequences for the state budget," Prijadi told reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony for the new director general of taxes Hadi Poernomo.

"I expect the House of Representatives to approve the plan," he added. Rizal had earlier commented that the government was undecided over the fuel price hike plan.

The Rp 41.3 trillion (US$4.3 billion) appropriation for fuel subsidies made in the current 2001 state budget had assumed that domestic fuel prices would be increased by 20 percent in April.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro also said last week that the government had not yet decided whether to raise fuel prices by 20 percent in April because the plan had not yet been approved either by the Cabinet or the legislature.

"We have completed the proposal [for the price hike], but it is not yet final. There are still other aspects to be considered," he said.

The opposing comments signal increasing differences among senior economics officials in the administration of the embattled President Abdurrahman Wahid over major economic issues.

The government had planned to cut fuel subsidies by raising fuel prices by an average of 20 percent in April this year as part of the overall strategy of eventually eliminating fuel subsidies by 2003.

The plan is also part of an agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund, which is providing a multibillion dollar bailout package for the country. The gradual elimination of government fuel subsidies is also in line with the coming into being of the Asian Free Trade Area in 2003.

But rises in fuel prices could trigger further social and political unrest in a country already roiled by political feuding between President Abdurrahman and the majority of factions in the House.

The government raised fuel prices by an average of 12 percent in October last year. But, this had also been put back from the initial timetable which was set for April.

The government had to provide some Rp 800 billion last year to help minimize the financial burden of the fuel price hike on some 17.4 million disadvantaged families.

A hike in fuel prices in 1998 contributed to the social and political unrest that led to the downfall of the former authoritarian president Soeharto.

Elsewhere, Prijadi reiterated that the next disbursement of the IMF US$400 million loan to the country would depend on the developments in the process of amending the central bank law.

He said that the Fund was concerned that the proposed amendments would jeopardize the independent status of Bank Indonesia. "But the problem with the fiscal decentralization policy is over," he said, pointing out that the central government had banned regional governments from incurring borrowings this year as demanded by the Fund.

The House is currently debating the government-proposed bill on the amendment of the central bank law. The legislature had initially planned to complete the deliberation process by the middle of this month, but a Bank Indonesia official following the debates has expressed doubts about whether it could be completed as scheduled. "There are too many amendments to be debated," the Bank Indonesia official said.

The IMF delayed in December the most recent (third) loan disbursement to Indonesia. The Fund promised in January last year to provide a total of $5 billion in loans, and has so far disbursed around $1 billion.

Separately, Dipo Alam, a senior official of the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, said on Monday that the government was expected to complete the review of the country's economic reform program with the IMF later this month, paving the way for the disbursement of the next loan.

"Now, we only have to negotiate about the amendment of the central bank law," said Dipo, who is in charge of coordinating the talks with the IMF review team. "The issue of fiscal decentralization has already been resolved," he added.