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Indonesia News Digest No
22 - May 27-June 2, 2001
Jakarta Post - May 29, 2001
Jakarta -- Pro-democracy activists, alarmed of strong signs of a
reappearance of the military within politics, warned the
Indonesian Military (TNI) on Monday not to enter the political
contest, saying that this would be the biggest contribution it
could make to democracy.
"TNI should restrain itself, not side with or support any
political power and stay loyal to the civil government," Hendardi
of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI)
read from the activists' Democratic Declaration in a media
conference.
"TNI's comeback cannot provide an optimum solution to the current
situation ... their involvement during past regimes hurt freedom,
human rights and democracy. We reject any effort by the military
to become involved in politics and ask people to stop considering
them as the engine, stabilizer and catalyst in politics and
democracy," Hendardi stated.
Munir from the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute
(YLBHI) said recent media reports indicated that the TNI had
identified themselves as an autonomous political power and had
campaigned as a strategic actor in creating a united and peaceful
country. "The political elite have opened the door for military
involvement by seeking the force's support. Now we are asking for
the military's commitment to their pledge, given at the beginning
of the new government, that they will no longer participate in
politics," he said.
Lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis also deplored the situation, saying it
was a setback to the democratic process. "Reform is irreversible,
we cannot go back to the past. It's wrong to allow the military
back into the game and seize power, when politics has become a
bargaining chip used by the military to aid their participation
in the game. We should not let it happen, whatever the cost," he
said.
Recently, senior military officers declared their political
stance in rejecting President Abdurrahman Wahid's plans to
declare a state of emergency and dissolve the legislature, which
threatens to instigate proceedings that could lead to his
impeachment.
The activists also warned the media not to tempt the military to
be more active in voicing their political stance, arguing that it
would have a boomerang effect because the military could later
obtain the political power to close the media down.
Attending the press conference were several signatories to the
declaration, including female activists Karlina Leksono and Smita
Notosusanto, Binny Buchori of the International non-governmental
organization (NGO) Forum for Indonesian Development, human rights
activists Asmara Nababan, Ifdhal Kasim, Munarman and M.M. Billah,
Teten Masduki of Indonesian Corruption Watch and political
observer Arbi Sanit.
Agence France-Presse - May 30, 2001
London -- Human rights abuses emerged in East Timor last year
amid delays in rebuilding the territory after the bloody
destruction carried out by Indonesian forces, Amnesty
International said Wednesday.
"A lack of resources, facilities and trained police and judicial
officials contributed to the appearance of new human rights
problems" in East Timor, the London-based rights body said in its
annual report.
"In particular, the partial law and order vacuum led to the
emergence of vigilante groups which were in some cases associated
with politicial parties," Amnesty said.
"There were cases of unauthorised detentions, beatings and
intimidation of indviduals suspected of belonging to pro-
Indonesia militias. "Relatives of militia members were also
harassed and intimidated and, in at least one case, tortured."
East Timor has been governed by the UN Transitional
Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) since the East Timorese
voted overwhelmingly in 1999 for independence from Indonesia,
which invaded the former Portuguese colony in After the ballot,
pro-Indonesian militiamen went on a rampage of murder and
destruction in which at least 2,000 people were killed, towns and
infrastructure razed and more than 250,000 people, about a
quarter of the population, forced across the border into
Indonesian-ruled West Timor.
About 174,000 refugees returned last year, with some 100,000
still in West Timor, Amensty said.
"Returning refugees and members of minority groups such as Muslim
or ethnic Chinese were at particular risk [of harassment]," it
said. "Human rights defenders who publicly criticized the
activities of vigilante groups were threatened and harassed," it
added.
UNTAET had introduced a legal and institutional framework for
prosecuting serious crime. However, the lack of capacity in the
judicial system gave rise to the risk of infringement of the
right to a fair trial.
"In some cases detainees did not have access to public defenders
for weeks after their arrest," the report said. A Special Crime
Unit had been established to investigate the hundreds of
extrajudicial executions and massive human rights violations in
1999 by pro-Indonesian militia and the Indonesian security
forces, Amnesty said.
"However, lack of support and resources contributed to the slow
pace of investigations," and only five cases were investigated by
the unit. By the end of the year, no-one had been brought to
justice for crimes committed during 1999. "Some of those charged
had been detained for over a year without trial, raising concerns
about prolonged periods of pre-trial detention," Amnesty said.
"The legacy of the massive human rights violations and widespread
destruction of infrastructure and property by the Indonesia
security forces and pro-Indonesias militia in September 1999
continued to impact heavily on East Timor," it added.
East Timor
Aceh/West Papua
Elite power struggle
News & issues
Environment/health
International relations
Democratic struggle
Pro-democracy activists warn of military comeback
East
Timor
Human rights abuses emerge in East Timor vacuum: Amnesty
Urging East Timor to buy the dollar
International Herald Tribune - May 30, 2001
Mark Dodd, Dili -- East Timor In an effort to mend an economy devastated by the violence that accompanied the Indonesian withdrawal in 1999, the United Nations transitional administration in East Timor is trying to get the American dollar widely accepted as the only legal tender.
This is a sensitive undertaking in a territory that was a Portuguese colony for several hundred years before being invaded by Indonesia in 1975 and annexed the following year. UN officials estimate that more than $25 million worth of the Indonesian currency, the rupiah, still circulates in East Timor.
For most East Timorese, particularly the large majority in the countryside, the rupiah is familiar and remains popular. Despite its instability, it remains the chief store of value in village markets. In the first step toward making the greenback East Timor's only legal tender, the country's coffee farmers are being paid in crisp new dollar bills for their organically grown arabica beans, sought after by international buyers. The initial response has been quietly encouraging, said Alistair Laird, an adviser to Cooperative Cafi Timor, the territory's biggest coffee buyer.
The Central Payments Office, East Timor's equivalent of a reserve bank, is using the start of the coffee buying season to give momentum to the stalled initiative to dollarize the economy. First moves to establish the greenback as East Timor's official currency in early 2000 met with a lukewarm public response. The next push came on April 26 when Sergio Vieira de Mello, the head of the UN transitional administration, signed two key pieces of legislation paving the way for the introduction of the US dollar.
Coffee is East Timor's biggest export earner, employing 200,000 people, a quarter of the territory's population. Until this year, farmers were paid in Indonesian rupiah. But a 50 percent depreciation of its value against the US dollar over the past 14 months has strengthened calls by the new political leaders of East Timor for a switch to a more stable currency.
The head of the Central Payments Office, Fernando de Peralto, said recently that more measures are being planned to ensure the success of the program, including new legislation requiring local businesses to price products and services in dollars only.
The coffee farmers may turn out to be the key to the success or failure of the program. If they hold on to the money without exchanging it into rupiah then the chances for dollarization look good. But if unlicensed exchange traders move up into the mountains to relieve farmers of their dollars at rip-off exchange rates, then violence is a possibility.
To preempt another bout of conflict in East Timor, Mr. de Peralto's office plans to send mobile exchange vans into the coffee-growing districts to buy up rupiah. It also wants to store quantities of cash in the villages to ensure prompt payment to farmers.
Sydney Morning Herald - May 31, 2001
Mark Dodd, Dili -- A dispute over illegal trade on the East Timor border with Indonesian West Timor is thought to have caused a series of grenade attacks on Tuesday that left at least five people dead and about 40 injured, United Nations military sources say.
It is believed that as many as four grenades exploded in a marketplace set up within metres of the border, seven kilometres south-east of the East Timor town of Balibo.
"It would appear at this stage to be related to illegal trade and a dispute between rival groups," a military source said yesterday.
A brisk trade in illegal smuggled goods such as clove cigarettes, instant noodles and cooking oil occurs along the porous 176- kilometre border and the premium on smuggled goods has sharply increased since the implementation of a tough tax regime on imported goods by the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor. Cash-strapped militias are considered likely to be involved in the smuggling.
While no blame has been laid for the attack, the site of the explosions is an area where armed militia have previously been sighted and fired on by Australian peacekeepers. Peacekeepers from the Sydney-based 4 Battalion Royal Australian Regiment were yesterday conducting a sweep of villages near the site of the blasts to ensure there were no more casualties. At least 20 wounded were being treated at the battalion's hospital in Balibo.
Australia Financial Review - May 31, 2001
Brendan Pearson -- East Timor's bounty from Timor Gap oil and gas revenues may hit $US1 ($1.95 billion) billion annually this decade, East Timor's interim Foreign Minister, Dr Jose Ramos Horta, said yesterday.
His comments came as Australian and UN officials continued talks in Dili on a new Timor Gap treaty which is likely to provide East Timor with 85 per cent of royalties from oil and gas production, plus returns from downstream processing.
Dr Ramos Horta also sought to calm the fears of key investors, including US-based Phillips Petroleum, who have expressed concern at delays in the treaty. Speaking in Sydney, he said the East Timorese were keen to create a climate of confidence in the region, noting that negotiations were back on track and predicting a framework agreement was likely to be signed by July.
"We cannot afford to be seen by investors as radicals or irresponsible," he said. Dr Ramos Horta said the importance of the strategic relationship with Australia meant East Timor would not push for 100 per cent of the bounty.
"If we go by the international law, the Law of the Sea, we will probably be entitled to 100 per cent of the revenues," he said. "But we just need to glance over the map to see how dependent we are on Australia for almost everything. Because next door is a neighbour [Indonesia] who cannot help much."
He said a review of oil company studies had found East Timor would garner revenues of at least $US100 million over the next 2-5 years. "Afterwards, [annual revenues will be] upwards to $US1 billion. It ranges anywhere from $100 million to $1 billion in [total revenues from] both oil and gas," he said.
These revenues will dwarf the current recurrent budget of $60 million. But Dr Ramos Horta said the East Timorese were acutely conscious of avoiding mistakes made by other small states which had squandered commodity windfalls. "During all the years of waiting, we observed and learned the tragic experiences of other oil-producing countries, or of single commodity producing countries in wasting their wealth in mega projects or through corruption."
The main area of uncertainty confronting the new state was regional stability, he said. "We have relative peace today in East Timor but it is a fragile one."
UN Department of Public Information - May 30, 2001
The death toll in yesterday's attack along the border between East and West Timor has reached five, with up to 40 people injured, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) confirmed today.
The incident occurred yesterday around 9:30 a.m., seven kilometres southeast of Balibo in the vicinity of the tactical control line between East and West Timor, UNTAET said in a statement issued today in Dili. Between one and four hand grenades were thrown among a group of Timorese civilians at a market.
"It is not known who threw the grenades or the motivation behind the attack," the UN mission said, adding that a large number of witnesses had been identified. "No peacekeeping force members were involved in the incident."
The Indonesian Military and the UN peacekeeping force, which deployed troops to the area after the incident to provide security, have been working cooperatively to establish control of the situation. The Indonesian army, UN Civilian Police and UN peacekeepers are investigating the incident.
Injured civilians fled from the area into East and West Timor, and are being treated at military and civilian medical facilities in Balibo and Atambua.
In other news, the fourth formal round of talks on the Timor Sea between UNTAET/East Timor Transitional Administration (ETTA) and the Australian Government ended today after two days of negotiations in Dili.
"Great progress was made and a great number of issues were resolved," said Peter Galbraith, one of the lead negotiators for UNTAET/ETTA, and also the Cabinet Member for Political Affairs and the Timor Sea.
A future treaty governing the resources of the Timor Sea is expected to be signed by independence day, while another round of talks will take place "very soon" in Australia, UNTAET said.
Suara Timor Lorosae -- Tuesday May 29, 2001
A group of GNR (Guarda Nacional Republicana) [a security arm of Civpol], on Monday, fired warning shots at a group of RDTL supporters and activists at the border of Metinaro and Manatuto. Sixteen people were injured in clashes with the GNR and seven are receiving treatment at the Baucau General Hospital.
The General Coordinator of RDTL Antonio Aitahan Matak said the incident between the RDTL supporters and GNR occurred when his people were returning back to their villages after protesting in front of UNTAET. Aitahan Matak said the GNR beat his supporters and also snatched their flag from a vehicle. Aitahan claimed the GNR also used force against women supporters.
Aitahan Matak said he had written protest letters against the GNR and copied them to the Portuguese, American and Australian missions. "The GNR came here a peace-keeping force. Why are they now resorting to violence?" he asked.
Meanwhile the Dili Commander of Civpol Yuril Kozlenko in an eight page report criticized the Foreign Minister in the Transitional Cabinet Jose Ramos-Horta for interfering in "police business" in connection with the incident. "Ramos-Horta has criticized strongly GNR personnel at the location and his comments have encouraged RDTL activists to fight the GNR," said the report. The report also said Ramos-Horta's intervention caused delays in Civpol taking action.
Sydney Morning Herald - May 28, 2001
Mark Dodd, Gleno -- Ironically, it is neglect which has produced independent East Timor's first major export crop: world-class organic, forest-grown coffee.
While the rest of the world was adding pesticides to crops and developing agri-business, the fine Arabica coffee trees, planted more than 80 years ago by Portuguese colonisers, were slowly melting into the pristine East Timorese jungle.
Long abandoned, they grew wild under the jungle canopy and scattered along roadsides. Every year subsistence farmers turned out to pick their crop, usually selling off the beans to Indonesian officials at regulated prices that are now remembered with fondness.
The trees are now heavy with fruit, and the picking season has created a vital source of income for tens of thousands once-a- year coffee harvesters.
This fine, organic coffee has become East Timor's economic engine after much of its infrastructure was destroyed in 1999. But for the first time the farmers are competing in a deregulated market and facing a slump in coffee prices worldwide.
This season East Timor's biggest coffee buyer, the National Co- operative Business Association (NCBA) will pay between $A23 million and $28.8 million to farmers for what is expected to be a bumper crop of 10,000 tonnes of exportable green beans. But farmers say the price of about 19c a kilogram, or about 23" if delivered to the nearest processing centre, is too low.
In the soot-stained ruins of a former Indonesian government office last week more than 1,000 farmers and student supporters gathered to listen to two industry officials brought in to explain the downward price spiral.
What began peacefully as a dialogue quickly degenerated into a kangaroo court. The crowd accused one company of monopolising the trade and of being part of an international conspiracy to short change local farmers.
"If we don't get 30" a kilogram we'll burn your trucks and burn your warehouses," shouted Jacinto Maia, one of the meeting's organisers, to loud applause.
Many speakers and participants carried copies of a report from the British charity Oxfam contrasting record profits by international coffee companies while millions of coffee farmers in developing countries live in extreme poverty.
The NCBA director, Mr Sam Filiaci, strongly denied accusations his company was ripping off farmers. "This is caused by very low international prices, and we tried to explain this to the farmers. Unfortunately, the people who have to bear the brunt of the low prices are the producers."
Coffee is East Timor's only cash crop, with annual production of 7,000-10,000 tonnes, about 1 per cent of world production. But what East Timor has been able to create for itself is a valuable market niche; its highly prized organic-grown beans attract premium prices from coffee connoisseurs in Hamburg and Seattle- based Starbucks.
| Aceh/West Papua |
Jakarta Post - June 1, 2001 (abridged)
Medan -- The Medan District Court, under heavy security, began on Thursday the trial of Ligadinsyah, alias Azis bin Ibrahim Linggo, believed to be the deputy commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for the Central Aceh area.
In the 35-minute proceedings, prosecutor Nasril N. said that Ligadinsyah, along with the Central Aceh GAM commander Ilham I. Leube, carried out subversive actions, aimed at separating Aceh from the Republic of Indonesia, Antara reported.
"The defendant made speeches in Silih Nara district, became a military instructor for members of the separatist group, and told his members to raise funds for their operations in Central Aceh regency," Nasril said in the indictment.
The prosecutor charged Ligadinsyah under Emergency Law No. 12/1951 on the illegal ownership of weapons and explosives, which carries a minimum punishment of 20 years imprisonment and a maximum penalty of death.
Ligadinsyah, believed to have 14 followers, was arrested in Medan on Jan. 9, when he bought a remote control device, to be used as a controller for explosives.
The prosecutor also said that the defendant owned two AK-47 rifles, three Beretta pistols, two M-16 rifles, one SS-1, four Colt pistols, an FN pistol, and five grenades. "All the weapons and explosives were obtained from his commander Ilyas I Luebe," Nasril said in his seven-page indictment.
In Thursday's trial, the defendant was not accompanied by his lawyers from Aceh as the latter had not been notified beforehand.
Green Left Weekly - May 30, 2001
Max Lane, Jakarta -- More than 500 people, Acehnese and Indonesians, attended a series of lively debates and cultural events at conference organised by the Acehnese People's Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA) and the Popular Youth Movement (GPK), a youth organisation in political solidarity with the People's Democratic Party (PRD), held May 18-20.
The forum was the second recent solidarity event with the self- determination movement in Aceh, following on the protest by SEGERA (Solidarity Movement for the People of Aceh) in April.
The activities were opened with a cultural evening which combined traditional Acehnese performance with Acehnese struggle songs and monologues and Indonesian struggle songs. Some banned Acehnese songs were sung by a buskers band, led by Acehnese and largely comprising Jakarta street musicians aged between eight and 43 years. The cultural group, JAKER, and well-known playwright and democratic rights activist, Ratna Sarumpaet, also performed.
At the following day's forum, all groups expressed solidarity with the struggle of the Acehnese people. However, there was a lively, but friendly debate, about whether independence was the best solution. The representatives of the FPDRA argued strongly for independence, with the GPK and the National Peasants Union supporting their arguments. Other groups put forward various arguments for autonomy, arguing that if the democratic movement wins in Indonesia and the military is withdrawn from Aceh, then the real cause of the Acehnese people's suffering will disappear. A similar debate occurred on the third day, originally intended to be a discussion among political parties. In the end, only the PRD turned up. Golkar and all the other invited political parties never replied to repeated invitations. The speakers at this session were PRD chairperson Budiman Sujatmiko and FPDRA chairperson Kautsar. A message of support from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was read out to the meeting.
Kautsar explained why the Acehnese people now wanted their independence, saying that the "social contract" which was a part of the Acehnese participation in the Republic of Indonesia had now been broken too often. Promises made in the 1950s to give Aceh the status of an autonomous province in the 1950s had been betrayed after Suharto had come to power in 1966.
During the Suharto period, said Kautsar, Aceh was oppressed by a system of exploitation and repression that had come to define Indonesia itself. In these circumstances, legitimate national aspirations had developed among the Acehnese people.
Sujatmiko emphasised the PRD's call for the withdrawal of the Indonesian military from Aceh. He also stated the PRD's support for the Acehnese people's call for a referendum and their right to choose independence. He ended his speech by reminding Indonesians that they had not done enough to struggle with the Acehnese in their effort to get the Indonesian military out of Aceh. He called on Indonesians to do more in this regard.
"The concrete support and solidarity that we can offer includes: condemning the military violence in Aceh; demanding the abolition of the political role of the military; the unconditional release of all political prisoners; the investigation and prosecution of all military involved in the massacres in Aceh; and support for a referendum or democratic dialogue", Sujatmiko said. "All social forces must respond pro-actively, in a just manner and without violence to the Acehnese people's call for a referendum."
Agence France-Presse - May 31, 2001
Banda Aceh -- Fifteen people were killed or found dead in two days in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province, as rebels and the military traded accusations over the torching of scores of homes, authorities and residents said Thursday.
Seven of the deaths, including that of a soldier, occurred Thursday, the sources said. Private Agus Susanto was killed in a gunfight with rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Kuala subdistrict, West Aceh, Aceh military chief Colonel Endang Suwarya said. The troops were searching for GAM guerrillas when they were attacked, he said.
Police shot dead two suspected separatists who attacked them with grenades in the Juli Seutui area of Bireun district, local police chief Abdi Darmawan said. "We seized two pistols from the two men," Darmawan told AFP.
A resident in North Aceh's Neubok Rused village said soldiers killed three civilians who ran when they saw troops arriving in the area. Soldiers also killed another resident in a separate area in North Aceh, said the resident, who refused to give his name.
Also on Thursday, three bodies with torture marks and gunshot wounds were found in an area near Mount Selawah in Aceh Besar district, a Red Cross volunteer said.
On Wednesday, four men -- three civilians and a GAM commander -- were killed during a gunfight in the Manyak Payed district of East Aceh, said police spokesman Sudharsono. The dead commander was identified as 29-year-old Muslim, Commissioner Sudarsono said. The civilians were killed in cross-fire during the clash, he said.
A civilian suspected by the GAM of being an informant to Indonesian security forces was shot dead by gunmen in front of his house in the Nisam area of North Aceh late on Wednesday, Sudharsono added.
He also accused the GAM of torching about 30 houses in Manyak Payed on Wednesday, in addition to around 70 other houses and shops set ablaze in the area by rebels the previous day. But a local GAM spokesman denied his men were responsible for the fires. "What business would we have burning the houses of our own people?" Ishak Daud said.
The arson has forced 7,853 villagers to seek shelter at the main mosque in Manyak Payed, a humanitarian volunteer said. The police spokesman also accused the GAM of torching a government office in Peukan Bada sub-district near the provincial capital Banda Aceh on Wednesday evening.
Violence has increased since Jakarta last month launched a military operation to rid the province of the GAM, who have been fighting for an Islamic state in Aceh since the mid-1970s.
The crackdown followed a year of inconclusive talks held in Geneva and shaky ceasefires between the two sides, which failed to stem bloodshed that has left more than 650 dead already this year.
Agence France-Presse - May 28, 2001
Jakarta -- A key independence leader in Indonesia's remote Irian Jaya province told a court trying him for alleged subversion Monday that the province was already independent, his lawyer said.
"Theys Eluay told the court that the state of Papua has existed since December 1, 1961," defence lawyer Anum Siregar, using the locally-preferred name for the province, told AFP.
Chief Theys Eluay, who heads the pro-independence Papua Praesidium, is one of five independence leaders on trial in resource-rich Irian Jaya, the western half of New Guinea island, for alleged subversion against the Indonesian government.
Eluay and his lawyers presented his defence on the third day of the trial, which three judges are hearing in the provincial capital Irian Jaya.
"Eluay said the aim of the Papuan struggle was no longer to create an independent state -- because they have that already -- but to retrieve their rights to sovereignty," Siregar said.
Fervent supporters of the charismatic Eluay, an intensely-revered local tribal chief, packed the court room and spilled out into the corridors and courtyard.
Arriving at the courthouse Eluay and three of his co-defendants, Don Flassy, Reverend Herman Awom and Thaha Al Hamid, were showered with red, white and blue flowers by supporters, who were singing Christian hymns.
Inside, lawyers told the court that the May 2000 Papua Congress, which concluded by demanding that Jakarta recognise the province's sovereignty, could not be considered subversive, as it was held with the agreement of local government, military and police chiefs, all of whom attended.
"We told them that the Congress results were not just the aspirations of the five defendants but of the entire Papua community," Siregar said. "So what Theys did was to express political aspirations. That doesn't constitute mobilising a political rebellion or subversion." The judges adjourned Eluay's hearing until June 18.
Co-accused Flassy, a member of the Praesidium, was at the court Monday to hear the prosecution's response to his defence, which was presented last week.
"The prosecutors said their charges were clear and irrefutable, citing, as one example, Flassy's raising of the separatist Morning Star flag, despite its prohibition," Siregar said.
Flassy's hearing was adjourned until June 11 when judges will decide whether to accept the defence case as it stands or call witnesses.
The combined cases of the three other fellow Praesidium members, the Reverend Herman Awom, Thaha Al Hamid and John Mambor were postponed until June 18 due to Mambor's confinement to hospital.
Leaving the courthouse Eluay, Flassy, Awom and Al Hamid were hailed with prayers and more hymns from their supporters.
An independence movement has simmered in Irian Jaya, a former Dutch colony, since the Dutch departed in 1961. A group of Papuans declared independence on December 1 of that year, but Indonesian troops began moving in over the following two years. Indonesia's sovereignty over Irian Jaya was formalised with a UN plebiscite in 1969, which independence leaders, some of whom were involved in the plebiscite, maintain was flawed and unrepresentative.
Independence sentiments have been fuelled by Jakarta's perceived exploitation of Irian Jaya's rich timber, gold and mineral resources, and sometimes brutal repression by Indonesian soldiers and police.
Some 253 mainly Christian Melanesian tribes make up Irian Jaya's indigenous population, estimated at around 1.8 million, with another 700,000 transmigrants mainly from Java and Sulawesi bringing the total to some 2.5 million.
| Elite power struggle |
Sydney Morning Herald - June 2, 2001
Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- Indonesia's political crisis was close to spinning out of control last night after an increasingly isolated President Wahid, desperate to fend off impeachment, sacked four ministers.
The shock Cabinet reshuffle was partly designed to appease his Vice-President, Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri. Mr Wahid also made the country's police chief, General Bimantoro, "non-active", prompting new speculation that he intends to carry out his threat to declare a state of emergency. However, General Bimantoro, who has openly rejected Mr Wahid's emergency plan to block impeachment in August, has refused to resign unless the parliament agrees.
A presidential spokesman, Mr Yahya Staquf, said: "These changes are intended to improve the effectiveness and co-ordination of the running of the Government." Mr Wahid replaced the senior Security Minister, Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, with the Transport Minister, Mr Agum Gumelar, who is highly regarded by Ms Megawati.
In 1996, Mr Gumelar, a former senior army officer, was transferred from his post with the special forces by the former dictator Suharto for helping Ms Megawati's political ambitions. Mr Wahid wants Ms Megawati to agree to a compromise that would see her run the Government while he becomes a figurehead president. Ms Megawati is believed to be considering this offer.
Analysts say that after Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to begin impeachment proceedings against Mr Wahid, striking a deal with Ms Megawati appears to be his only hope of avoiding this at a special session on August 1.
Earlier yesterday Mr Wahid vowed to fight impeachment, warning that he would take "firm action" to protect the country. The reshuffling of the six Cabinet posts became known last night as speculation mounted that other ministers were about to quit. A palace source said Mr Wahid sacked Mr Yudhoyono because he had failed to solve the deadlock with Ms Megawati.
He openly broken ranks with Mr Wahid on Wednesday when he told the President that he opposed a state of emergency. Mr Yudhoyono, a retired general, has maintained good relations with the armed forces commanders, who have also resisted declaration of an emergency.
Mr Wahid also sacked the Attorney-General, Mr Marzuki Darusman, a member of Golkar, the party that protected Mr Suharto during his corrupt rule. The President is believed to have been gunning for Mr Darsuman over his failure to prosecute Suharto-era figures. He replaced Mr Darusman with the Minister for Justice, Mr Lopa Barharudin, who now has the job of reforming the corrupt legal system. The Cabinet Secretary, Mr Marsilam Simanjuntak, will replace Mr Barharudin.
The Maritime and Fisheries Minister, Mr Sarwono Kasumaatmaja, was also sacked, replaced by an official of his department, Mr Rohmin Dahuri. As the crisis has enveloped Mr Wahid, Mr Sarwono has become a vocal critic of the President.
Earlier, the Defence Minister, Mr Mohammad Mahfud, delivered a serious blow to Mr Wahid when he said that he would resign if he carried out his threat to declare an emergency. "I would propose finding a new defence minister who has the heart and the strength to carry out repressive action, because a decree would require that kind of person, not someone like me," he said.
Mr Mahfud has been one of Mr Wahid's closest confidants during the crisis that threatens to provoke widespread unrest. "If a decree [declaring an emergency] is going to be issued ... it must be accompanied by changes of officials who are loyal and brave, brave enough to take stern and tough action," he said. "I do not know the anatomy and the psychology of the military." But Mr Mahfud said there was a 50-50 chance that Mr Wahid could survive any impeachment moves.
Mr Wahid, meanwhile, told a prayer session that he had set a deadline of next Friday before taking his next action, but did not say what that would be. In a speech in East Java, Ms Megawati warned that security and economic failures had been responsible for the downfall of successive Indonesian governments.
Straits Times - June 2, 2001
Robert Go, Jakarta -- President Abdurrahman Wahid's latest move to avert dishonour yesterday included the appointment of Mr Baharudin Lopa -- a loyalist who legislators said would at once dig up corruption cases against opposition leaders -- as Indonesia's new Attorney-General.
Mr Abdurrahman said in a televised interview: "I appointed Mr Baharudin so that he can push through clearer judicial actions -- the judiciary will now be more effective."
But several MPs from the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) and Golkar, the two largest factions in a Parliament that this week overwhelmingly voted for impeachment procedures against the President, described the move as "vengeful" and "smacking of desperation".
Top PDI-P cadre Sophan Sophian said: "Gus Dur's PKB party has already threatened corruption investigations against PDI-P and Golkar officials. He is panicking and will stoop to all measures, including throwing dirt at other people and hoping it would stick, to push back critics and save his own neck." PDI-P leader Arifin Panigoro, Golkar's Ginandjar Kartasasmita and even Vice- President Megawati Sukarnoputri's husband, Mr Taufik Kiemas, have all been mentioned as potential targets of future corruption investigations.
Earlier this week, sources close to the President also passed over several "documentations" incriminating Mr Ginandjar and Mr Arifin in separate corruption cases to some members of the foreign press, urging disclosure and publication of these cases.
MP Pramono Anung, also a close confidante of Ms Megawati, said: "The President's decisions will create confusion and send prosecutors on wild-goose chases. But it will not stop the impeachment." Golkar MP Ferry Mursyidan Baldan agreed that the dismissal of A-G Marzuki Darusman, a long-time member of Golkar, represented a continuation of Mr Abdurrahman's efforts to hit back at the party of former autocrat Suharto.
"The President's mobs, especially in his popular stronghold of East Java province, have previously attacked local Golkar and PDI-P offices, and demanded Golkar's dissolution in recent weeks.
"Mr Marzuki was punished because of his failure to defend Gus Dur last week, his opposition to a declaration of civil emergency, and his continued refusal to prosecute people simply because the President ordered him to do so.
"At a time when he should be consolidating his existing Cabinet and preparing his accountability speech, Mr Abdurrahman shows his autocratic tendencies and still tries to impose his own will on the entire country," Mr Ferry said.
Mr Ade Komaruddin, yet another Golkar MP who has been a vocal critic of the President, said: "Gus Dur thought he could control Golkar through Mr Marzuki. Now he wants to control Golkar through the use of bogus prosecutions of our officials." Mr Baharudin was previously Indonesia's Minister of Justice and Human Rights and was renowned as a tough anti-corruption crusader during his earlier days as a public prosecutor in South Sulawesi. Since becoming Justice Minister in February, he has proposed several drastic and well-received anti-corruption measures, but was also attributed authorship of the controversial civil emergency declaration.
Straits Times - June 2, 2001
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- President Abdurrahman Wahid had long distrusted three of the four Cabinet ministers he sacked yesterday, regarding them as potential "traitors" to his government, one of his close family members said.
The source told The Straits Times recently that Mr Abdurrahman had been questioning the loyalty of Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman, Sea Exploration and Fishery Minister Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, and Junior Minister for Economic Restructuring Cacuk Sudarijanto. Their replacement was just a matter of time, the source said.
The move reflected the sense of paranoia that has been plaguing the President, and explains why the inner-circle has constantly changed in Mr Abdurrahman's 20-month presidency.
Coordinating Minister for Politics, Social and Security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was also replaced with Transportation and Telecommunication Minister Agum Gumelar at yesterday's reshuffle -- the second one since Mr Abdurrahman formed the Cabinet in October 1999.
At the same time, two of the President's most-trusted ministers -- Justice and Human Rights Minister Baharudin Lopa, and Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak were promoted. Mr Marsilam took over from Mr Baharudin who was appointed as the new AG.
The two ministers have reportedly been giving Mr Abdurrahman justifications for his plan to impose martial law as part of his last-ditch attempt to survive his embattled presidency.
The family source told The Straits Times that the President had several times tried to sack Mr Marzuki because he suspected the A-G of forming an alliance with Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who appears set to take over the presidency. "Marzuki has been cozying up with Megawati, she was really the reason why Gus Dur could not fire him," the source said at the time.
Mr Marzuki is an executive for the Golkar Party, an opposition party that has been very critical of Mr Abdurrahman. But Mr Marzuki was the only Cabinet member, other than Mr Marsilam, who stood by the President at a press conference early this week when Mr Abdurrahman announced his latest security move.
Of Mr Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, the source said: "He has always been an opportunist." Mr Sarwono was a minister in former President Suharto's Cabinet. As a Golkar member, he was one of the first politicians who was critical of Mr Suharto during the last days of his administration.
Mr Cacuk, a former ally of Mr Abdurrahman, has had differences with him over policies since last year. Said The Straits Times source: "The President did not like the way Mr Cacuk turned out." Mr Abdurrahman yesterday appointed two unknown career bureaucrats to replace Mr Agum Gumelar and Mr Sarwono.
The new Minister of Transportation and Telecommunication, Mr Budhi Mulyawan Suripno, is currently an expert staff in the ministry. Mr Rochmin Dahuri, the Director-General of Coastal Areas, Beaches, and Small Islands was appointed the Minister of Sea Exploration and Fishery.
South China Morning Post - June 2, 2001
Vaudine England, Jakarta -- When President Abdurrahman Wahid feels cornered, he will lash out and strike his opponents.
Despite his remarks that yesterday's reshuffle was designed to mend bridges with Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, that appears to many observers the motivation behind the President's announcement. The wonder is that he still has people he can call on in the cabinet to do his bidding.
Several of his ministers have let it be known that if Mr Wahid declares a state of emergency they will desert him. As the reshuffle avoids the unacceptable idea of suspending the Parliament, which is driving moves to impeach him for alleged corruption and incompetence, several cabinet members apparently can live with the shake-up.
"Wahid is a master tactician," a source said last night. "A decree to dissolve Parliament is a big no-no. But a move to harass, or rather to have some action done against, corrupt parliamentarians is okay." This was the idea behind Mr Wahid's original plan yesterday morning to move his security chief, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, into an unspecified new position, another source said. The idea may have been disingenuous, or so nebulous as to indicate to Mr Susilo that he had no future with Mr Wahid. Whatever the case, the minister quickly indicated he preferred to leave Mr Wahid's team.
The President's attempt to juggle the leadership of the police by making his police chief "inactive" without going through Parliament will infuriate many, but seems similarly to be part of a new effort to bring the corrupt and the high-powered to book. Linked to that idea was the move of Baharuddin Lopa from the post of law and justice minister to attorney-general. Mr Lopa has made a name recently as being incorruptible and fearless in going after alleged wrongdoers.
Outgoing Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman has been compromised by too many meetings with his case subjects and by allegations that his political ambitions were impeding his ability to snare high-profile suspects.
Initially yesterday it appeared the price for keeping him in cabinet -- he is a member of the former ruling party, Golkar -- was to make him foreign minister in place of loyal Wahid confidant Alwi Shihab. But in the end, Mr Marzuki did not take the bait -- he has coveted the Foreign Ministry job for years -- and Mr Shihab keeps his job.
Former general Agum Gumelar, until now transport minister, was asked to become the new security chief to fill Mr Susilo's shoes. Mr Agum is described by a colleague as "a Megawati man", and the hours-long delay in his reply to Mr Wahid's offer may have involved a call to Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri's office.
If the cabinet reshuffle succeeds in its key aspects -- moving Mr Lopa to the attorney-general's post and keeping a former general, albeit a different one, on side in the top security position -- Mr Wahid will have gained a reprieve. He could then use the extra time won to his advantage.
"Wahid will be able to go after the legislators who are against him and who can be arrested on corruption charges," another source said. Under these plans, the first target would be former trade and investment minister Ginandjar Kartasasmita, a figure from the Suharto era whom Mr Marzuki has failed to put behind bars.
The source also suggested extradition requests would be sent out to catch men such as Fuad Bawazier, a financier and point-man for Suharto suspected of funding demonstrations.
For now, Mr Wahid's high-stakes gamble in promoting Mr Agum appears to have paid off. Had it not, it would have been the ultimate humiliation for a president who three days ago was recommended for impeachment by a large majority in Parliament. It would have meant that no matter what enticement he tried to offer potential allies, he would have had no bargaining power left.
If, having reshuffled his team, he now tries anything more precipitous -- like calling a state of emergency -- it would give the People's Consultative Assembly the pretext it needs to bring forward a special session, slated for August 1, at which he still looks highly likely to be impeached.
Jakarta Post - June 1, 2001
Surabaya -- As many as 150 people were reported missing in the town of Pasuruan on Thursday as life gradually returned to normal following an interfaith meeting between senior local ulemas and Christian clergymen on Wednesday evening.
Respected ulemas from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), including KH Mas Subadar, KH Mujib Imron, KH Abdul Halim and KH Zainuri, and clergymen agreed to join hands to stop all violence and mass rallies. "No more mass rallies," the chief of the Pasuruan chapter of Banser (the NU's civilian militia), Masyhudi Nawawan, said.
He said that Banser had conducted a survey after the three days of unrest and found that 150 persons who had taken part in the street protests had yet to return home as of Thursday.
"That number does not include 47 people detained by the police for incitement. Many people have made reports to the Truth Defenders' post [managed by Banser] that their relatives haven't shown up since Monday," Masyhudi said. "We are working together with the police to find them."
Thousands of East Java people have joined pro-Abdurrahman demonstrations in Jakarta, and some of the 150 people who "disappeared" from Pasuruan are presumed to be among those protesters.
Many shops had opened again for business on Thursday, but some government offices were still closed. Pasuruan Regent Dede Angga said, however, that public services in his office were back to normal. "Many civil servants are still afraid of fresh violence. I'm sure next week everything will return to normal," he added.
Other towns in East Java, including Banyuwangi, Gresik, Bondowoso, Situbondo, Sidoardjo, Surabaya and Malang were also reported to be less tense on Thursday.
Most East Java towns are strongholds of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization which Abdurrahman Wahid chaired for 15 years before being elected President.
Violence erupted in several towns in East Java, but Pasuruan was the worst hit with one church being torched and two others vandalized on Monday and Tuesday.
Popular anger in the town came to a head after the issuance by President Abdurrahman of his controversial executive order, or Maklumat, on Monday. The peak of the clashes between the protesters and the security forces in Pasuruan came when a local was shot dead by police on Wednesday.
Ali Maschan Moesa, chairman of the East Java chapter of the NU, said that his organization had instructed all its members and supporters to maintain security and order by abstaining from all forms of violence. "I earlier warned the politicians in Jakarta not to engage in political shenanigans or the people at the grassroots level will get angry."
Demonstrations
While East Java was reported calmer, demonstrations continued to take place in other parts of the country.
In the West Java capital of Bandung, a group of students grouped in Anti-New Order National Coalition staged a protest at the provincial legislative building, demanding the dissolution of the Golkar Party.
"Golkar must be disbanded now or the future of the country will become even more uncertain," one demonstrator said in his speech. They dispersed peacefully after legislators refused to meet them.
In Makassar, South Sulawesi, a group of around 100 students staged a mass prayer in front of the Muhammadiyah University campus on Jl. Sultan Alaudin giving thanks for the "successful" House of Representatives (DPR) plenary session.
The House plenary session on Wednesday recommended that the People's Consultative Assembly convene a special session to hold the President to account.
The students thanked God that all the members of the House had been saved from danger during the plenary session. In their speeches the students urged the public to trust their representatives in the House and "stop using violence in politics."
Another group of 500 students in Padang, West Sumatra, welcomed the House's call for an MPR special session. The students, grouped in the West Sumatra Students' Alliance, stormed the gubernatorial office demanding that President Abdurrahman step down soon. Doni Sofyan, the students' spokesman, said that the House's decision was the best course for the country.
Jakarta Post - May 31, 2001
Jakarta -- Some 10,000 supporters of President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid occupied on Wednesday the office of Situbondo local administration in East Java, paralyzing government activities in the coastal town.
The crowds occupied both the Situbondo regency legislative council building and the regency administration office. The buildings' "seizure" was even acknowledged by both Situbondo regency legislative speaker Aqiq Zaman and Situbondo regent Moh. Diaman, Antara reported.
Coordinator of the move, Rusdi Romli said that the seizure of the buildings "was a manifestation of the total rejection by Situbondo people toward the House's first and second memorandum against President Abdurrahman and a strong objection against thespecial session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)".
Protest' leaders said that they would leave the administration buildings and resume normal activities if there was a guarantee from the political elite in Jakarta that Abdurrahman would stay in power until 2004. "With this seizure ... all the properties here from the regency to the village levels will belong to the Situbondo people," Rusdi said.
The protesters unfurled a banner which read: "This property belongs to the people. Guarantee there will be no special session". The crowds also burned down a security post belonging to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) on Jl. Basuki Rahmat while police and marine officers looked on.
Jakarta Post - May 30, 2001
Surabaya -- Security forces fired warning shots into the air in an attempt to disperse thousands of supporters of President Abdurrahman Wahid who tried to forcibly enter the provincial legislative council building here on Tuesday.
Five people, including two policemen were injured in the fray which broke out around 11.15am. Among the injured were three demonstrators who were hit by stray rubber bullets and two policemen who were stoned by the crowds.
Later in the day Surabaya Regional Police arrested a member of Sampang regency legislative council named Imam Abdul Cholid who allegedly led a group of protesters from the Kemayoran Mosque to storm the provincial council building, which is located opposite the mosque. Imam was being questioned at the Surabaya Regional Police headquarters.
The protesters demanded President Abdurrahman remain in office along with Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri until his term ends in 2004. They also strongly rejected the holding of the special session that could lead to Abdurrahman's impeachment.
It is also reported that thousands of Abdurrahman's supporters tried to force entry into the local TVRI state television to air their demands but failed due to the heavy security at the station. They eventually headed for a former office of SCTV private television.
As of 2pm the crowds of protesters were still seen roaming around the city's streets. Similar massive protests also took place in the East Java towns of Pasuruan and Sidoardjo. Shops and business activities were halted as people feared further unrest.
Green Left Weekly - May 30, 2001
Max Lane, Jakarta -- If opponents of President Abdurrahman Wahid have their way, when it meets on May 30 the Indonesian parliament will call a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly, the only body which has the power to impeach and oust the president, for as early as late July.
The session of the DPR, the house of representatives, has been called to consider President Abdurrahman Wahid's response to a second parliamentary censure motion passed against him for alleged involvement in financial misappropriations.
Wahid has so far indicated that he will not respond to the parliament's censure motion, and has stated that he believes the special commission which prepared it broke the law by attempting to carry out a police-style investigation. The prosecutor's office is now investigating the president's allegations.
But within the DPR, an agreement already appears to have been reached by vice-president Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the Suharto-era forces -- the former dictator's Golkar party, the armed forces and the right- wing Muslim Central Axis -- to call a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (the MPR) to get rid of Wahid.
Fearful of a backlash if they are too aggressive, both Golkar and the TNI have chosen, for the time being, to accept a Sukarnoputri government.
But, with Wahid's fate seeming more and more sealed, manoeuvring is intensifying among the different factions of the Indonesian ruling class to position themselves to get the biggest slice of power under the next regime.
Military's manoeuvring
Indonesia's powerful armed forces, the TNI, has been particularly aggressive in seeking to strengthen its bargaining position.
In an attempt to ratchet up tensions, armed forces chief General Endriartono Sutarto has several times told media outlets that the TNI would oppose any attempt by Wahid to disband parliament so as to prevent a special session of the MPR.
The Indonesian media -- still owned by the crony capitalists of the Suharto period, including Suharto's children -- has used such statements to depict the TNI as the defender of the constitution against a cornered and desperate president ready to resort to unconstitutional methods.
Wahid has repeatedly denied that there is any plan to issue such a decree and has never made any public comments about it. The issue became a hot topic after a Central Axis politician said someone who had breakfasted with Wahid had mentioned such a possibility.
The TNI further escalated its offensive when Central Axis politicians launched another rumour that Wahid had met with reformist generals and was preparing to dismiss Sutarto and other top generals. Military leaders immediately responded by saying that, while respecting the prerogatives of the president as supreme commander of the armed forces, such a move would have to be done in accordance with military procedures.
Golkar and Central Axis politicians, as well as many retired generals, then started to appear in the media echoing the TNI's criticisms, both of the decree and of the prospect of Sutarto's replacement.
All this continued despite repeated statements by Wahid and his spokespersons that no such changes were planned and that the rumours were "beat-ups by the press". The TNI's offensive only slowed after a May 20 meeting between Wahid, Sutarto and other senior generals when the president again made it clear to the generals that there were no plans to replace them.
Golkar `supports' Sukarnoputri
For its part, Suharto's former ruling party Golkar has now made it clear that it will support vice-president Megawati Sukarnoputri for the presidency, as has the Central Axis, which had previously opposed her candidacy.
Golkar chairperson Akbar Tanjung has sought to present himself as both taking a hard line against Wahid and supporting a compromise between the president and the vice-president. Tanjung and his party, however, are still somewhat constrained in their manoeuvring by public memories of Golkar's role under the dictatorship.
These memories have been refreshed by the anti-Golkar campaign waged by the People's Democratic Party (the PRD) and radical student organisations in February and March. In April, sentiment was such that, even while forced to agree to a new head of the Supreme Court closely associated with Golkar, Wahid also announced a Supreme Court review of whether the party should be put on trial for crimes during the Suharto period.
Neither Wahid nor Sukarnoputri are capable of countering the Golkar-TNI juggernaut. The president has repeatedly failed to lend support to anti-Golkar campaigns, despite occasional statements in support of democratic measures such as lifting the ban on Marxism or calling a referendum in the troubled province of Aceh.
His organised support base in the National Awakening Party and the religious organisation Nahdlatul Ulama, both riven by factions, has always pulled back from a confrontation with the Suharto-era forces at the last minute.
To date, Sukarnoputri has remained silent on all major democratic issues. While Wahid, other cabinet members and even various parliamentarians have condemned recent burnings of left-wing books by right-wing extremists, for example, the vice-president made no statements.
There has been a series of attempts since February to gather together any and all elements opposed to the forces of the old dictatorship into a united front.
Some, like the very broad National Reconciliation Campaign, have broken up quickly. Others, like the Disband Golkar Alliance, have held several successful actions. But all have been ad hoc and none have developed into a permanent alliance that could act as a strong and effective counter-force to Golkar and the TNI.
The recent moves by the TNI and the impending removal of Wahid have forced another attempt to bring together such forces.
According to the chairperson of the Central Leadership Council of the PRD, Haris Rusli, the party has now succeeded in organising such a new formation, the Anti New Order Coalition, the KAOB.
The coalition's first meeting brought together 20 representatives of the PRD, a section of Wahid's Nahdlatul Ulama, a coalition of small Muslim parties, a grouping representing most active pro- democratic student groups and the social democratic grouping PIJAR.
Several prominent intellectuals and professional figures were also present, including human rights lawyer Hendardi, the outspoken Golkar critic Arbi Sanit and the former secretary- general of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Faisal Basri, who left PAN after it went into alliance with Golkar.
According to Rusli, KAOB may try to hold a protest action as early as May 29, but admitted that one uncertainty was whether or not the Nahdlatul Ulama elements would hold to the agreement or fade away again. The KAOB is also planning to begin immediate efforts to expand its membership, including by attracting high- profile individuals, including Rachmawati Sukarnoputri, who has been critical of her sister Megawati's attempts to undermine Wahid.
Rusli also emphasised that the effort to regroup all the most advanced elements of the pro-democracy movement must eventually lead to some kind of permanent alliance.
Jakarta Post - May 30, 2001
Jakarta -- A day ahead of the much-anticipated plenary session of the House of Representatives (DPR), thousands of President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid supporters staged a protest at Monas (the National Monument) in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.
As of 3.15pm the crowds had already marched their way to the front of the Merdeka Palace while some groups of supporters were also seen heading toward the Supreme Court office near the palace in Central Jakarta, Metro TV reported. The people were not only from Jakarta but also from cities in East, Central and West Java.
The protesters were singing songs and staging orations in protest of the special session that would likely lead to the impeachment of President Abdurrahman. They also demanded Golkar Party be dissolved and for all national leaders, including Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and Assembly Speaker Amien Rais to resign.
It is not clear whether the group will end their protest this afternoon as they said they intended to go to the House of Representatives (DPR) building. Groups of protesters were also gathered at the Proclamation monument in the Menteng area of Central Jakarta.
Straits Times - June 1, 2001
Robert Go, Jakarta -- Without clear leadership at the top, Indonesia's bureaucracy could break down over the next two lame- duck months, analysts warned. The predictions came despite assurances from senior officials at various ministries, who claim the government will carry on despite impeachment proceedings against President Abdurrahman Wahid.
Business consultant Bara Hasibuan, who was vice secretary-general of Dr Amien Rais' National Mandate Party (PAN) until early this year, told The Straits Times: "This has been a lame-Gus situation as this government has not functioned properly for the last few months.
"Ministers have been too preoccupied with defending the President." The bureaucracy, Mr Bara argued, could run itself for the short term, but failure to fill the vacuum at the decision- making level would be catastrophic. "Priorities have been neglected. Short-term things, like revising the budget and hiking fuel prices, are in danger of being seriously mismanaged," he said.
The problem, according to political analyst Kusnanto Angorro of the Centre for Strategic International Studies, goes deeper than ministers scrambling to save the President. "Gus Dur has been an ineffective president because he filled the Cabinet with political appointees instead of proven professionals," he said.
The results of poor management at ministries will show up in the next two months as the country awaits a special session of the MPR that is expected to force Mr Abdurrahman out, Mr Kusnanto said. "The regular folks, those operating in the informal sectors, will go on as before. But activities that depend on consistency and stability in government policies will suffer further in the next two months, and during the transition that will follow," he said.
Officials at various ministries, however, defend their results so far and continue to blame the transition -- from an autocratic regime under former President Suharto to a democracy -- for most problems. Mr Anggito Abimanyu, a top aide to Finance Minister Priyadi Praptosuharjo, said: "We work for the public, not parties or individuals. Our responsibility is carrying out the long-term economic recovery agenda. Ministers are easy-come, easy-go. That doesn't affect our jobs."
Another top official from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy also said things would go on as usual during the coming transition. "... Ultimately, ours is a long-term agenda that has a much longer scope than any presidential term. Wait a few years to start seeing the results," he said.
Straits Times - June 1, 2001
Susan Sim, Jakarta -- Do not say anything, just focus on the G-15 meeting and your new grandson -- that is the advice key Cabinet ministers are giving the President the day after impeachment became an inescapable reality.
And there would certainly be no martial law decree, at least not for the next two days, one of them told The Straits Times. And definitely not while there is still room for compromise, another said, bandying two phrases: "Cabinet reshuffle" and "Airing of Golkar skeletons".
Are the enemies of President Abdurrahman Wahid worried that victory might slip away if he manages to pull off the impossible by buying off some parties? No, lawmakers are so pleased the end game is now in play, some are taking the rest of the week off.
Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) chief Arifin Panigoro, who controls the largest bloc in Parliament, told The Straits Times: "We're past one milestone, and heading towards another. There's much to be done in the next two months -- the special session to prepare for, the programme and shape of the next government. But right now, I'm just going to relax this week and go to Jamz tonight," he said, referring to one of the hottest jazz clubs in town.
As observers here and abroad worry that the degree of stagnation in Indonesia will increase as everyone plays the waiting game, there is no sign that any of Mr Abdurrahman's advisers will tell him that the end is inevitable.
"I feel very bad for him. How can they humiliate him like this?" one Cabinet minister said. "He feels he's not acted against the Constitution or done anything wrong. And I don't think he has either.
"Yes, he's outspoken and he's not perfect. He's blind. But Parliament can't just twist the procedures to impeach him. If politicians don't obey the law, then what sort of democracy is this?" So a key option that the President's advisers are still pushing is the legal challenge. Parliament's first censure was based on two financial scandals which lawmakers said they had "reason to suspect" the President's involvement in.
But with the finding by the Attorney-General late Monday night that there was no proof of his complicity, that censure has no legal basis. Parliament cannot impeach a President because it has reason to suspect he might be corrupt.
But Parliament is a political body and this is about politics, not the law. Well then, as some of Mr Abdurrahman's advisers, including Justice Minister Baharrudin Lopa, still argue, Parliament is exceeding its constitutional role because this is a presidential system.
Mr Abdurrahman therefore has the right to shut it down, declare a state of emergency and hold new elections in six months. Mr Abdurrahman seized this idea readily several weeks ago, Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman told The Straits Times recently. It took the entire Cabinet and the military top brass to persuade him that it was not feasible. Even now, none of them are too sure he has given up on it.
Another game plan Mr Abdurrahman is still exploring is to entice or blackmail the old regime parties -- Suharto's Golkar and the United Development Front (PPP), the old political front for his Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic movement -- to his side. "You think Akbar Tanjung cannot be implicated if the government opens up some of the old corruption cases?" the minister asked, referring to the Golkar chief.
Another line of attack could also be opened up against Vice- President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the PDI-P boss, herself. Since the second parliamentary censure was for the poor performance of the government, she should also shoulder some responsibility.
After all, Mr Abdurrahman stopped "interfering" with the work of ministers two months ago and left her to chair all the policy coordination meetings, the minister said. No problem, the PDI-P had anticipated all these scenarios, Mr Arifin said.
"Cabinet reshuffle? No one will bite. The problem isn't the ministers. It's the President himself." As for a head-on attack against Ms Megawati, he said the PDI-P had spoken to 80 per cent of lawmakers and felt they would close ranks around her. Still, another PDI-P leader, Mr Kwik Kian Gie, was hosting an inter- party caucus last night to ensure everyone knew that a Megawati government would be all-inclusive and the spoils would be shared with all the other parties, another PDI-P source said.
The parties have been locked in talks for two months now and everyone accepts that whoever takes over as president must have a national coalition backing him or her, with no opposition in Parliament, because Indonesia's problems are immense.
The horse-trading had not started yet, because the PDI-P wanted a consensus on a national platform first, he said. But when it did, all the parties, including Mr Abdurrahman's National Awakening Party, would be invited to name real representatives with professional qualifications.
Associated Press - June 1, 2001 (slightly abridged)
Hongkong -- Despite feeling uneasy over the recent political turmoil in Indonesia, the head of the International Monetary Fund yesterday said he was willing to work with any new policymakers chosen by the nation.
IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler said the Indonesian Parliament's efforts to oust the country's first democratically- elected President Abdurrahman Wahid were unfortunate.
"It's a tragedy clearly because we should not forget that President Abdurrahman is the first democratically-elected President in Indonesia," he said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires. But the IMF was pleased to see the progress made in the country's political system and would work with any new democratically-elected government, he added.
"We will wait for the outcome," he said. "We hope that it is a democratically sound, clean process. And we will work with the institutions and the people that are legitimised by this process." The IMF's lending programme in Indonesia has been suspended since December over the government's failure to implement past agreements.
Sydney Morning Herald - June 1, 2001
Hamish McDonald -- As Megawati Sukarnoputri edges closer to assuming the Indonesian presidency, she has given some signs of a more conciliatory approach to Australia and breakaway East Timor than indicated so far by her huffy nationalist stance in public.
In recent private meetings with Australian officials and Indonesia specialists, she has agreed that relations with Canberra need to be put back to a more cordial basis after the strains of the 1999 East Timor crisis.
She has told visitors she thought the relationship important to both countries, and even if government-level relations were "troubled", the network of contacts, such as between business and in academia, remained strong. As neighbours, both sides needed to work on improving relations.
However, according to some of those meeting her, Megawati still shares the feeling of many in the Jakarta political elite that Australia's "overbearing" attitude during the military intervention was offensive to Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Vice-President has also sent assurances to East Timor's leaders that she acknowledges and respects the emerging nation's independence, the resistance spokesman Jose Ramos-Horta said yesterday.
He said Megawati had given the assurances through a number of intermediaries, including the former Australian ambassador in Jakarta, Richard Woolcott, who frequently visits Indonesia as head of the private-sector AustralAsia Institute.
Independence leaders, including Ramos-Horta and Xanana Gusmao, have so far failed in attempts to meet Megawati on visits to Indonesia -- in contrast to Abdurrahman Wahid, who has met the Timorese several times and visited Dili in February last year to apologise for past violations.
But Megawati has now sent signals that they will be received, according to Ramos-Horta, who gave a public lecture last night at the University of NSW on his country's place in the region.
"We hope therefore that Vice-President Megawati, if and when she takes power in Indonesia, will pursue the same policies as Abdurrahman Wahid and seek to normalise relations with East Timor," he said.
"However, if things do not go the way they should, I would say that it would be Indonesia that would be affected," he warned, citing the country's internal conflicts, economic problems and difficult relations with international lenders and the United States Congress.
The problem, he said, was that in public Megawati had shown no "sympathy or warmth" towards East Timor, and had not distanced herself from hardline military elements or pro-Jakarta Timorese militia figures such as Eurico Guterres. "However, once she assumes office she will probably feel heavier pressure from the international community," he said.
Megawati is understood to have agreed with recent Australian visitors that continuing instability on East Timor's border would not be in Indonesia's interests and would maintain tensions between Australia and Indonesia.
She told one group that Australia and Indonesia should work together, and that the position of East Timorese in camps in West Timor should be resolved. Help should be given to those who wanted to return, and the others should be dispersed to other parts of Indonesia.
But Megawati will be tested on two concerns stressed yesterday by Ramos-Horta: continuing support for anti-independence militias by the Indonesian military, and lack of progress by Indonesian authorities in prosecuting army officers responsible for the 1999 militia violence. "I certainly have lost all faith and confidence in the Indonesian legal system," he said, citing the light sentences given to militia members found guilty of the mob killing of three United Nations workers in West Timor last year. "The international community, the UN Security Council must consider the only option available and that is a war crimes tribunal for East Timor."
Straits Times - June 1, 2001
Surabaya -- Protesters in East Java have admitted that they were paid to hit the streets in support of President Abdurrahman Wahid, local police said.
"I have told you before that there are third parties that have been provoking the masses ... and based on preliminary investigation most of those arrested said they had been paid between 25,000 rupiah and 50,000 rupiah each," Inspector-General Sutanto said.
That amount is between S$3.75 and S$7.5 "We are trying to uncover the mastermind behind these actions," he said. He added that 20 of the 174 rioters have been detained and would be charged with vandalism.
South China Morning Post - June 1, 2001
Reuters in Sydney -- With President Wahid fighting for his political survival and his supporters vowing to lay down their lives for him, aid agencies are preparing for a humanitarian crisis.
Jeremy Hobbs, executive director of Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, said the Australian charity already had contingency plans for a humanitarian catastrophe.
The commander of the US Seventh Fleet, Vice-Admiral James Metzger, said yesterday US military commanders had agreed in March they were more likely to have to deal with a tide of refugees in the Western Pacific than a war. "It's a capability that we need to make sure we have, and continue to exercise, be prepared for and plan for," he said.
Security analysts say the danger of bloodshed spreading across the Indonesian archipelago and sparking economic chaos and a huge outflow of refugees is remote but real.
"Indonesia has really struck an iceberg here and it's sinking," analyst Carlyle Thayer, of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies in Hawaii, said. He said multilateral military exercises were designed to maintain the ability to offer humanitarian assistance in Indonesia should it be necessary.
Even United Nations-run East Timor, ransacked by Indonesian- backed militia after it voted to break free from Jakarta in 1999, is prepared to help. "We have urged our people that in case of a humanitarian crisis in Indonesia, and if there are refugees seeking protection in East Timor ... we must welcome them with open arms," foreign affairs spokesman Jose Ramos-Horta said.
Australia-based Indonesia experts said Mr Wahid's position had become untenable. "Whether the country breaks up is one question, but I think there is an even chance of it breaking down," former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans said.
Basoeki Koesasi, convener of the Indonesia section at Melbourne's Monash University, said the devotion of Mr Wahid's supporters should not be underestimated.
But John Ingleson, a University of New South Wales historian of Indonesia, said he believed Mr Wahid would back off before leading his country into violence. "The danger is, the longer he plays the game of bluff publicly, I don't think he will be able to control his followers," he said.
Far Eastern Economic Review - June 7, 2001
Sadanand Dhume and Dini Djalal, Jakarta -- In most democracies, a president who has lost the confidence of parliament, the army and the business community would be expected to slink away quietly. Not in Indonesia, where President Abdurrahman Wahid continues to cling to office.
And though Wahid's putative successor, Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, has inched one step closer to the presidency, it may be only to see it slip between her fingers for the second time in less than two years. One month ago she looked to be a sure bet to take over the presidency. Now, political pressures and personal reluctance may force her to accept a consolation prize instead: an arrangement whereby she takes over the day-to- day running of the country while Wahid retains a largely ceremonial role as head of state.
"It is too early to write Wahid off," says a cabinet minister. "But he will be truncated, yes. He will be confined, yes." The only winner so far appears to be the army, which has enhanced its reputation by staying above the fray and by refusing to endorse Wahid's impulsive calls for a civil emergency. The loser: Indonesia's young and fragile democracy and any hopes of better governance.
In the longer term, the discredited Golkar party, associated with former President Suharto, may well benefit as its opponents waste political capital on each other.
As the Review went to press on May 30, Indonesia's legislature was taking the penultimate step in its arduous months-long battle to impeach President Wahid. Amidst heated debate and protest by the president's supporters in parliament, legislators prepared to recommend a special session of the country's highest legislative body, the 700-member People's Consultative Assembly, or MPR. The session would address criticism of the president's "performance, attitude and policies," in the words of parliament's speaker and key power broker, Akbar Tanjung of Golkar.
But whether the MPR will use the opportunity to impeach the president is an entirely different matter. "The MPR is not always about impeachment," Tanjung told the Review. "We can find a solution through the special session." Tanjung says it will take another 60 days to prepare for that session.
In the meantime, it appears likely that Wahid's brinkmanship and Megawati's innate caution will result in a compromise that may defuse the immediate crisis, but will do nothing to provide sorely needed effective governance. The new arrangement will require an awkward rejigging of government machinery. It may also require a constitutional amendment.
Meanwhile, there's no guarantee that Wahid, though gagged and bound by an MPR decree, won't be able to pull off a Houdini-like escape and re-stake his claim to power, or at least make more trouble. Any hint of continued political uncertainty would likely keep investors away.
Kusnanto Anggoro, a political analyst at Jakarta's Centre for Strategic and International Studies, calls this political uncertainty a state of "permanent transition." At the heart of the problem is Wahid. The 60-year-old cleric took office 19 months ago hailed as a reformer and a democrat. But faced with the possible loss of power, he has grown both imperious and reckless -- threatening to impose a civil emergency and declaring that six Indonesian provinces would secede if he were to lose the presidency. His plans have been flatly rejected by the army and by his own cabinet. According to the cabinet minister, who was present at the meeting, not one minister supported a Wahid proposal to declare a state of emergency on May 28.
"Wahid has lost his popularity, credibility and legitimacy," says J. Soedjati Djiwandono, a political analyst with Jakarta's Research for Peace and Democracy, a think-tank. "He's a lonely man now." Wahid is also stubborn. And in Indonesia's game of political poker, where participants play cautiously and survival matters more than principle, the president is not entirely without cards. He retains the ability to incite violence among some of his fanatical supporters in the Nahdlatul Ulama, a grassroots Muslim organization that is particularly strong in East Java. He can also count on the support of those religious minorities grateful for his firmly secular views and fearful that political chaos will allow more radical Muslims a foot in the door.
Lastly, though Wahid may be playing with a weak hand, most pundits say he's also playing against a weak opponent, famous for her ineptness at cutting political deals. In 1999, Megawati Sukarnoputri had to settle for the vice-presidency despite controlling three times as many seats in parliament as Wahid.
She may not do much better this time. Said to be haunted by the legacy of her father President Sukarno's loss of power to Suharto in 1965, Megawati has refused to speed up Wahid's impeachment process -- signalling that to her sticking to the constitution is more important than claiming the presidency.
The famously taciturn Megawati has thus far communicated through her aides that she considers the power-sharing offer vague and unconstitutional.
But her final choice will not be easy to make. On the one hand, if she fails to grasp the presidency now she risks becoming an also-ran, the Al Gore of Indonesian politics. Djiwandono points out that in the next election, scheduled for 2004, Megawati will not be able to run as an anti-incumbent or as "a symbol of victimization." Megawati also has genuine political compulsions that make her wary of a permanent rift with Wahid. She can't afford to alienate the Nahdlatul Ulama or Wahid's supporters in East and Central Java for fear that it would weaken the popularity of her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, and encourage sectarianism. "Our natural alliance is with the NU. If they become upset with us, it will take a long time to heal the relationship and the nationalist movement will lose power," says a PDI-P cadre who is against impeachment.
The legislators' anxieties have already been justified. On May 28 and 29 NU supporters attacked the PDI-P's offices in East Java and burned down two churches.
PDI-P legislators admit that the party is split. Of the three factions, one wants Wahid impeached, another wants the power- sharing proposal accepted now, while yet another will agree to a deal as long as it doesn't allow Wahid room to renege, like he did on a similar promise made last August. "Who will guarantee that the president will respect his decision?" asks PDI-P MP Mochtar Buchori.
Pramono Anung, an influential PDI-P legislator, says that differences of opinion in his party are a sign of democracy and it will stand by whatever Megawati decides. But he is careful to characterize the conflict as one "between the president and parliament, not between the president and the vice-president." Finally, Megawati may decide to compromise because she doesn't want to be held accountable for a persistent economic slump and political instability.
That may spell the end of her political career. According to Harold Crouch, director of the International Crisis Group's Indonesia office, Megawati would prefer that Wahid hand over all power to her rather than the presidency itself. "If he is kicked out, she may be vulnerable to parliament herself," says Crouch, a veteran observer of Indonesian politics.
Kusnanto of CSIS agrees. "Mega distrusts other parties," he says. "She is afraid that they will go after her next." According to the cabinet minister, parliamentarians are already considering a deal between Wahid and Megawati in which Wahid agrees to hand over power to her. Under this proposal, Megawati will function as a "chief administrator." Unlike earlier attempts at power- sharing, he says, Megawati will only accept the deal if it is sanctioned by the MPR.
Crouch of the ICG points out that in Indonesia such an arrangement would be constitutional because there is no power of judicial review vested in the Supreme Court. Ultimate authority lies with the MPR, which is the body that elects the president and holds him accountable.
Amid the intrigue and infighting, the army emerges triumphant. By refusing to carry out Wahid's orders to impose an emergency, it has managed to claim the moral high ground while at the same time demonstrating that it remains a political force in Indonesia. While nobody expects a military coup, the army's cohesion and organization in the face of recent instability will ensure that it is able to beat back challenges to its authority from politicians.
"The military is unlikely to take direct power," says Djiwandono. "But its role is strengthened by chaos." Other possible beneficiaries of the political bickering are Tanjung and his Golkar party, which has been tarnished by its association with former President Suharto. Tanjung, says the cabinet minister, has learnt from the process of transition in former communist countries. "He can gain the most benefit by playing a waiting game only to emerge later and say 'I told you so.'"
Sydney Morning Herald - May 28, 2001
Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- Abandoned by almost all of Jakarta's political elite, some of whom think he has lost grasp of reality, Abdurrahman Wahid is showing there is little he will not do to remain president.
First he offered to give up virtually all of his constitutional powers to Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri even though he thinks she is not up to the task of solving the country's myriad problems.
When she ignored a deadline last Tuesday he threatened to impose a state of emergency, dissolve Parliament and call elections within 50 days. He also hinted that under the emergency powers, influential people would be arrested and jailed.
Just how Wahid proposed to call elections is unknown, given that under the Constitution only the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) can endorse the move.
As a second deadline of midnight last Friday approached and the armed forces went to its highest state of alert, Megawati showed her contempt for Wahid by going to bed early. He was bitterly disappointed when it became clear that she will rebuff his compromise and push for his impeachment when Parliament resumes on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a source close to Wahid said talks had been under way to explore the possibility of a group of Islamic-based parties led by Amien Rais being brought into the Government. Rais, the Speaker of the MPR, has been one of Wahid's strongest critics.
Analysts say the only way this group, the Central Axis, could be lured into government would be for Wahid to back away from the moderate, religion-tolerant principles he has adhered to as a respected Muslim cleric. Rais is widely regarded as a political opportunist with dangerous views. He gave tacit support to Muslim extremists launching a holy war against Christians in the Maluku islands last year that led to the slaughter of thousands.
Wahid's courting of the Central Axis parties shows the depth of his desperation. There appears little chance, however, that these talks will lead to the creation of a Muslim-dominated coalition government that would alarm Christian and other religious minorities, because it would require the support of the second- largest party, Golkar. Golkar represents the interests of many of the corrupt figures of the Soeharto era.
As Wahid's deadlines have passed it has become apparent that he has been bluffing. But the threats have inflicted enormous damage. They have alienated the country's top military commanders, who said they would resist the imposition of any state of emergency.
They also destroyed Wahid's reputation as a champion of democracy in a country that endured 32 years of brutal, military dictatorship under president Soeharto. As aides led Wahid into a news conference at the weekend he looked a sad figure.
Reuters - May 28, 2001
Jakarta -- Hundreds of enraged supporters of beleaguered Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid on Monday attacked buildings linked to rival politicians and burned tyres in the cleric's stronghold of East Java, local Metro TV reported.
Metro said supporters had thrown rocks and smashed windows of the Pasuruan party office of Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Wahid's estranged deputy who appears to have spurned his offers of compromise over the country's deepening political crisis.
The station said a university in Sidoardjo town belonging to a Muslim organisation linked to leading Wahid critic Amien Rais had also been attacked by crowds. Police said they had managed to drive the protesters off. Metro TV said the mobs were now burning tyres in the streets of both towns.
Wahid, desperately clinging to power, is due to make a statement at noon on Monday, a day after threatening to declare a state of emergency.
Jakarta Post - May 28, 2001
Surabaya -- East Java authorities have stepped up precaution measures in anticipation of possible unrest resulting from the heightened tension between members of political elite in Jakarta.
Governor Imam Utomo called a crisis meeting with Brawijaya Military commander Maj. Gen. Sudi Silalahi, provincial police chief Insp. Gen.
Sutanto and provincial legislative council speaker Bisjri Abdul Djalil on Saturday due to the worsening political climate. "We agreed to call on all local politicians to calm their supporters and avoid provocative moves despite the political dispute in Jakarta. Never let East Java become another battlefield of political elite," Imam said.
East Java is the stronghold of President Abdurrahman Wahid, who is facing an imminent impeachment process despite his last-ditch offer for a compromise with his contenders.
A series of violence, albeit minor, have occurred in the province, marking the run-up to the House of Representatives plenary session on Wednesday that almost certain to result in a call for a People's Consultative Assembly special session to impeach the President.
Chairman of Sidoarjo branch of National Mandate Party (PAN) Agus Salam was the latest to fall victim to the violence on Saturday when a group of unidentified people tossed firecrackers into his house, causing serious damage to the building. No fatality was reported as Agus and his family were going out when the raid took place. The attack came just a day after provincial police chief Sutanto declared a top alert level across East Java.
Dozens of people attacked the house of head of PAN's Situbondo branch on Wednesday and ransacked and burned more houses belonging to the party's activists in the neighboring town of Bondowoso a week before.
Sutanto said on Saturday the intelligence police have found in Situbondo and Besuki pamphlets carrying a writing of threat directed at politicians from PAN, Golkar Party, Crescent Star Party and United Development Party. The parties, along with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, are united in calling for an impeachment of the President.
"Whatever the reason behind the terror, we will take strict measures against those who wish to perpetrate violence," Sutanto said. He said a total of 15,000 police, military personnel and political party security guards had been deployed to riot-prone areas.
Earlier in the day, Sutanto met with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslim clerics led by their chairman Hasyim Muzadi to discuss the current security crisis. Hasyim appealed to security authorities to look for the roots of the tension in East Java. "People in the grassroots are basically not aggressive-minded. They are prone to venting their anger in response to or in retaliation of moves by their political rivals. We have to dispose of the sources of their anger," Hasyim said.
Abdurrahman supporters have also threatened to establish an independent country in East Java if the President, who once chaired NU, is impeached. But Governor Imam lashed out at the move, saying it was a waste of energy and lacked both legal and logical grounds.
Despite the call for calm, some 10,000 former members of death squad have reportedly reunited and planned a return to Jakarta this week to defend the embattled President.
Coordinator of Pagar Nusa pencak silat martial law school Fathurrozi confirmed the move and said the death squad would come from Jember, Banyuwangi, Probolinggo and Pasuruan. "Although we have already been disbanded, we are still loyal to our leaders," Fathurrozi said.
The death squad was dismissed just in time before the House members convened in Jakarta to issue the second motion of censure against the President late in April.
Terror
Despite of the higher security alert, a stronghold of Abdurrahman, terror on local political leaders flared up again in several areas in the province over the weekend.
In the early hours of Sunday, local chairman of the Muhammdiyah Gresik chapter Ismail was stopped by an unknown group of people when he was riding his motorcycle. The people took his motorbike but did not hurt Ismail. The motorcycle was burned. Ismail said he could not identify the people.
Separately in Bondowoso an unidentified group pelted firecrackers to five houses belonging to local PAN executives. The attacks were also done in the early hours of Sunday.
Previously on Saturday, firecrackers were thrown on the residence of Agus Salam, the deputy chairman of PAN's Sidoarjo chapter. The incident, at around 3am, caused damages to the front glass window of the house and shattered the car's side window. Police are reportedly investigating the incidents.
Meanwhile in Banyuwangi, four name plates of the Nahdlatul Ulama offices in Tapanrejo, Blambangan and in Kedungrejo -- all in Muncar district -- were destroyed by unknown people. The action was believed to be taken at around 1am. Meanwhile in Blambangan and Kedungrejo, houses belonging to PAN and Golkar Party supporters were given "X" red markings.
Banyuwangi Police chief Adj. Comr. Anton Priyadi confirmed the recent violence and terror in the area and said that additional personnel were being brought in. "Frankly speaking, this terror act is causing a headache for police as so far we don't have any witnesses who saw what happened. We find it difficult to filter the possible perpetrators. Besides, we're puzzeled why NU's names plates were damaged in the organization's stronghold," he told reporters on Sunday.
Anton said he has asked 200 police personnel from Bali to safeguard the Ketapang port which connects East Java with Bali in anticipation of mass protests.
The angry supporters of President Abdurrahman blocked the port to vent their disappointment when the House of Representative first censured Abdurrahman in February. On Sunday, hundreds of Abdurrahman's supporters also held a massive prayers in three different districts of Muncar, Genteng and Glenmore.
| News & issues |
Jakarta Post - June 1, 2001
Bogor -- There was a second explosion at the house of the parents of Budiman Sudjatmiko, chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PRD), in the village of Sukaresmi here on Thursday, following an explosion a day earlier.
The second explosion, smaller than the first blast, left a hole as big as a man's fist in the ground and the smell of sulfur hanging in the air. A neighbor, Sujiman, 50, said he saw a flare at the same time the explosion was heard.
Wartono Karyo Utomo, Budiman's father, said he had just returned from a night patrol with other village residents when the explosion occurred. "It was 1:15 a.m. when I returned home and the explosion took place about 30 minutes later when I was listening to the radio."
"I dashed outside to see what was going on," Wartono said. "I believe that the explosions are related to my son Budiman's political activities. This is mental terrorism against us." Budiman's mother Sri Sulastri said on Wednesday that two people came to the house on Sunday inquiring about Budiman's address.
Bogor Police deputy chief Comr. Damisnur said he was not certain that the hole was caused by the blast on Thursday. "It was just a small explosion from a firecracker," the officer said. "I have ordered my men to investigate the case, including questioning the house owners. Who knows, maybe the explosion was arranged by Budiman's men. It's possible." Sulastri mother protested the officer's suggestion. "Budiman and his friends respect me very much."
Some parties accuse PRD of practicing communism, which is banned in Indonesia. The party has also been accused of being involved in several violent incidents in the country, including the destruction of Golkar Party offices in several towns in East Java and Yogyakarta.
| Environment/health |
Straits Times - May 28, 2001
Jakarta -- The city's hospitals are struggling to admit new patients and are having a hard time treating existing ones because a collapsed dike has caused a shortage in clean water supplies.
Some hospitals are resorting to using their own water-recycling and treatment facilities or artesian wells, while others have had to call in water tanks from water companies. But these supplies are not enough for an entire hospital.
The city's largest hospital, Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, is one of the most severely affected. It had to temporarily close its clinic services for new patients.
Hospital official Akor Tarigan said suppliers could not meet the hospital's daily water demand of 2,000 cubic metres. It received only 400 cubic metres of water per day, he said.
Supplies from the city's two tapwater companies, TPJ and PT Pam Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), to customers in East, North and Central Jakarta have been disrupted with the recent collapse of the West Tarum dike in Kali Malang, East Jakarta. It would take an estimated two weeks before supplies return to normal.
| International relations |
Agence France-Presse - June 1, 2001
Washington -- The United States said it was watching events in Indonesia closely as it faces a test to its democracy, and called on the country's leaders to solve its political crisis through peaceful, constitutional means.
US State Department spokesman Philip Reeker told reporters that Washington was "watching events in Indonesia very closely".
"The United States hopes to see Indonesia achieve a timely resolution of the political crisis, ideally in a way that promotes reconciliation and effective governance in Indonesia," Mr Reeker said.
"Whatever the outcome, we are prepared to support any resolution that can be achieved through peaceful and constitutional means." In a statement, the State Department said: "It is difficult to exaggerate the importance for Indonesia's future of avoiding violence or incitements to violence. We call upon its leaders to exercise statesmanship and restraint." Indonesian lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to seek a special meeting of the National Assembly that could impeach President Abdurrahman Wahid.
Sydney Morning Herald - June 1, 2001
Hamish McDonald -- Warning of a new financial crisis in Indonesia, the Federal Opposition yesterday urged a softer approach by international lenders to the country's huge debt burden left by the collapsed Soeharto regime.
Australia should be active lobbying the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to take a more flexible approach to Indonesia's plight during a difficult political transition, said Labor's foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Laurie Brereton.
This year Indonesia had to devote 52 per cent of its national budget to interest and repayments on its debts, compared with less than 7 per cent on education and health combined -- a debt burden worsening social and political tensions.
"A significant proportion of the country's debt should be classified as 'criminal debt', as loan monies were effectively stolen by powerful political figures, officials and business cronies," Mr Brereton said, pointing out that the World Bank itself had acknowledged one-third of the total $US30 billion it had lent to the Soeharto regime had been stolen.
Mr Brereton's speech, at a seminar held by the University of Melbourne's Asialink Centre last night, fleshes out Labor's evolving foreign policy as elections approach, casting it as more sympathetic than the Government towards the region but distancing itself from Labor's earlier embrace of now-discredited Asian leaders such as Mr Soeharto.
In a shot clearly intended for the Labor MP Mr Kevin Rudd, a former diplomat, Mr Brereton said he had seen it "recently suggested by a colleague that Labor in office would simply repackage our old approach".
But Labor was not intent on rebuilding the old relationship with Indonesia. "The constant theme of our approach has been that of building a new, broadly based relationship with the new Indonesia," he said.
As well as a more sympathetic approach on Indonesia's economic problems, Australia needed to be "polite but forthright in encouraging respect for human rights and absolutely supportive of efforts to strengthen the rule of law".
Australia was already giving assistance to Indonesia's national human rights commission, but he said it should also look at building up other areas of civil society, including trade unions and activist groups, and establishing broader leadership forums.
Defence co-operation could be resumed, but focused on activities such as maritime surveillance and fisheries protection, and developing respect for human rights and law among the Indonesian armed forces. Mr Brereton urged a lift in Australian aid to Indonesia, pointing out the $121.5 million in the Budget was 14 per cent below that of five years ago in real terms.