East Timor

`PST's views on democracy are different'

Green Left Weekly - October 17, 2001

Ramani de Silva, Dili -- The Constituent Assembly elected in September had been in place for less than two weeks when on September 26 a demonstration of around 300 people demanded that its deliberations be opened to the people through public hearings.

The demonstration, initiated by the students and some non- government organisations, criticised leaders of the largest party in the assembly, Fretilin, for their opposition to the public hearing process.

Ana Pessoa, Fretilin's minister for justice, also came under fire, for not being able to speak Tetum, the language spoken by a majority of the Timorese people. Portuguese and English are considered to be the languages of the elite.

On October 1, Timorese Socialist Party (PST) president Pedro Costa, a member of the Constituent Assembly, put a motion to the assembly that it open its deliberations. The motion was passed with the support of the Democratic Party (PD), the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and some members of Fretilin. Public hearings have now started.

The PST's general secretary Avelino Coelho da Silva gave the following explanation to Green Left Weekly of how PST sees the new phase in the East Timorese struggle.

We don't want to just win elections. We want to build the movement. So we campaign openly for socialism. In October 1999 there was still a strong campaign against the left. The PST was attacked as communist.

Winning a seat was a big victory for us. It has legitimised the socialist party. Our office is open and people can come here everyday. Workers constantly come here to talk to us about their problems. Workers voted for Fretilin, but they seem to trust the PST.

Fretilin's traditional base and support goes back to 1975. It was transformed into a political party just before the elections. It was a revolutionary front that encompassed the whole anti- colonial, anti-imperialist movement.

Before the elections the PST's idea was a coalition of the left -- Fretilin, the social democrats and other revolutionary groups. But this idea was rejected. People voted for Fretilin because they still connect Fretilin with the ideas and aspirations of 1975.

But why doesn't Fretilin restore the ideas of 1975? The constitution [of 1975] was anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist. If Fretilin is a socialist organisation (as some of its members claim) they would do this.

So we have to see what program, what policies they implement. They have a majority in the cabinet today. Are they going to get rid of the [vendors] from the public markets and replace them with supermarkets? Are they going to support big business?

This will become clear when they start to discuss the new constitution. Fretilin wants to transform the Constituent Assembly into a parliament. We argue against this. The Fretilin vote was split - 40 for the Fretilin proposal, 20 against and the rest abstained. So Fretilin's 64 votes in the assembly is not a solid bloc.

The PST argued that we will decide [on the transformation of the Constituent Assembly] only after a constitution has been decided on. To transform it into a parliament now will be manipulation. The Fretilin members who voted with us have some idea of proper procedures. The rest seem to understand very little.

Fretilin has no clear ideas [on] the sharing of power. The PST is very clear. But because we have only one seat at the assembly, tactically speaking we will be in favour of a semi-presidential parliamentary system.

However, the most important issues are that the president should only be a symbol or has only some limited powers that need to be defined clearly. Only then will we vote in favour of a semi- presidential system. The ultimate decision making power should lie in the parliament.

The PST will also push for a strong role for the workers and peasants in the process. The rights of workers and peasants must be guaranteed. If they don't we will push on with our mass mobilisations.

The other issue is that of public hearings. We say that there must be public hearings when they discuss the constitution. Some Fretilin members voted against this as well.

We tell Fretilin: Just because people voted for you this does not mean they delegated all powers to you. Only some powers were delegated to you. So workers and farmers must have a say in these public hearings.

So the PST's views on democracy are different. For Fretilin democracy starts and finishes with elections. For us, people participated in the elections, but they must continue to organise and control the government.

Fretilin wants the people to be passive so they can manipulate the people. We want the people to be active and participate in all the decisions. So workers can work in the morning, read the newspapers and listen to the radio in the afternoon about what has been happening in parliament, and if they don't like what parliament is doing they should be able to organise protests, send delegations to represent them and so on.

This means we need a constitution that guarantees the right to organise, the right to strike, against dismissals, so workers are not victimised when they take political action.

We have different perspectives on democracy. For the PST human beings are also political beings. They must be able to participate fully in the political process and must not be alienated from it in any way.

The people have high expectations. Now Fretilin has to prove that they will combat injustice, change [UN administration] policies on the economy, public service recruitment. Can Fretilin change these policies to provide space for the people? Many people don't have jobs. When UNTAET leaves, thousands of local staff will lose their jobs. If they try to solve the problems through foreign investment, this means the government will prioritise the interests of big companies.

The demonstration that took place was clearly a demonstration against Fretilin. Now they have increased security and closed the area [around the Constituent Assembly]. What does this mean? That they can't put up with demonstrations? Fretilin has only two options: to become enemies of capital and stand for the people; or become friends of capital and enemies of the people. Only left or right.

Indonesian-East Timor trade relations prospective

Antara - October 20, 2001

Dili -- Indonesia-East Timor trade relations have good prospects in future so that there is glimmer of hope that certain parts of their common borderline will eventually be opened for across-the-border trade activities, an Indonesian representative official said.

Kristio Wahyon, chief of the Indonesian Interest Section in Dili, made the remark on Saturday in response to a rising trade activity between Indonesia and East Timor especially air flights, fuel oil sale and other transactions in other basic commodities for Timorese people.

"I am optimistic that cooperation between the two countries will be better and more prospective in the future. People in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) which directly shares a border with East Timor could immediately read business opportunities in hope of stemming US dollar floating in the air without passing through their territory.

It was said that billions of rupiah "flew" over the territory of NTT to Dili when East Timor was still an integral part of Indonesia and now billions of dollar rupiah which flew from Dili and then passed over the territory of NTT landed in Kupang, Bali and Java especially Surabaya and Jakarta.

"Now it is time for people in NTT and East Indonesia regions to start opening a new trade link to Timor Lorosae," he said. According to him, in the first semester of 2001, Indonesia had reportedly grabbed around US $19.07 million.

For Pertamina, fuel oil and liquefied natural gas l from April to December 2000 succeeded in attaining around US $14,062 dollars, while Merpati for the time being has reported a profit of about US $1.311 million.

The number of foreign nationals living in Timor Lorosae is approximately 13,000. Of that number, about 1,200 on average spent their holidays in Bali. During their stay there, each of them spent about US $500 per head for one visit. "So dependece of Timor Lorosae'se economy on Indonesia is quite big and there is no any single product from Timor Lorosae being marketed. Hence, this is a good opporunity for Indonesia.

Rupiah still valid in Timor Lorosae

Antara - October 20, 2001

Dili -- Indonesia's currency, the rupiah, especially of the Rp 5000 to Rp 50000 denomination, is still legally accepted as a means of exchange in Timor Lorosae, along with the US dollar.

ANTARA found out in Maubessi and Aileu districts, some 180 km south of Dili, the capital of the former Indonesian province, Saturday that the residents while doing their shopping and other business activities were using both currencies as legal tender.

"We continue using the two currencies, and for us, villagers, it is easier to count the rupiah as we have become accustomed to use the Indonesian currency for the past 24 years, and a change into another different currency would take some time," said Maria Mendenes, owner of the Rosa da Menthana restaurant in Maubessi.

She said that it was still difficult for farmers in Maubessi to use the US dollar instead of the rupiah since the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) has yet to more intensively socialize the change in currency to the people living in the remote villages.

The dollar is at present widely used only in Dili and Baucau, while the rupiah is practically still the only legal tender in the other parts of the newly independent country.

A vegetable trader, Antonio de Araujo, said the farmers preferred using the rupiah to the American currency in the sale of their produce as, for them, the Indonesian currency is easier to count and widely in circulation in the villages.

"Even before the balloting some years back, I have been collecting and keeping the rupiah, and now I find it rather difficult to change the Indonesian legal tender with the dollar. The people in Maubisse appear still to prefer the rupiah, and are rather reluctant to use the American currency," he said.

If the UNTAET wished to change the rupiah with the dollar they should explain it to the people in the villages and immediately set up money changers in those places, he added.

The price of potato in Maubisse and Aileu reaches Rp12.500 per kg, red beans Rp20.000/kg, rices Rp1.500/kg, corn Rp1.000/kg, red onion Rp5.000/kg, garlic Rp6.500/kg, purebred chicken eggs Rp30.000/rack, cocacola Rp8.000/tin, "Victoria" beer Rp15.000/tin, Agua mineral water Rp8.000/large bottle, ABC soya sauce Rp15.000/bottle, and Sprite softdrink Rp8.000/tin.

Over 500 Covalima refugees return from West Timor

UN News - October 18, 2001

Over 500 refugees crossed the border this morning in the second day of mass refugee returns from camps in Indonesian West Timor.

The refugees are from Covalima district and have been living in the Betun refugee camp since the bloody aftermath of the 1999 Popular Consultation. The return, which took place at Salele in Covalima district, was facilitated by independence leader Xanana Gusmao, UNTAET's Chief of Staff N. Parameswaran and former Covalima pro-autonomy leader Hilio Moniz Caetano, who came back to East Timor on 19 September along with more than 250 refugees.

The refugee movements, in which UNTAET, the International Organization for Migration and UNHCR played crucial roles, follow several border meeting between Gusmao, Covalima elders, and leaders of the Covalima refugees.

In addition, some 140 East Timorese serving with the Indonesian Police Force, POLRI, crossed the border into East Timor today to meet with Xanana Gusmao and the newly appointed Commissioner for the East Timor Police Service, Paulo Martins. The officers, currently serving with POLRI in the West Timor district of Belu, have expressed their desire to return to East Timor.

"I want to thank all of you who have provided support for this process of bringing back our East Timorese sisters and brothers to their homes," Xanana Gusmao said to the officers. "And the door is always open to all of those wanting to return to East Timor." UNTAET's Chief of Staff N. Parameswaran and Deputy Constituent Assembly speaker Arlindo Marcal were also present at today's event, along with other dignitaries.

More than 370 refugees returned to East Timor from West Timor yesterday, along with the former Deputy Commander of the Mahidi militia, Nemisio Lopes de Carvalho.

Parameswaran will be continuing discussions with political and militia/pro-autonomy/pro-integration leaders with a view to promoting reconciliation and negotiating further refugee returns. As in the past, the Chief of Staff is only conducting negotiations with those refugees not under indictment for serious crimes.

Xanana greets 800 ex-militia and families

Jakarta Post - October 18, 2001

Yemris Fointuna, Atambua -- At least 800 East Timorese refugees, formerly grouped under the Mahidi militia group from Ainaro regency, returned to their homeland on Wednesday and received a special welcome from East Timorese leaders.

Led by their former commander Nomencio Lopes de Carvalho, the former Mahidi militia members and their families were received by prominent East Timor figures in a special ceremony held in the border village of Sahlele, some 60 kilometers south of Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara town Atambua. Mahidi is an acronym for mati hidup untuk Indonesia, meaning life or death for Indonesia.

Welcoming the refugees were independence leader Xanana Gusmao, Constituency Council President Fansisco Guteres, Defense Commander Brig. Gen. Taur Matan Ruak, acting Minister of Home Affairs Antonio Ximenes, UN (Untaet) official N. Parameswaran and Attorney General's Office head Muhamad Othman.

Indonesian representatives at the ceremony included Udayana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Willem T. da Costa, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Governor Piet A. Tallo, NTT provincial legislative council speaker Daniel Woda Palle and Belu Regent Marsel Bere.

Nomencio told The Jakarta Post before he crossed the border that it was the group's own decision to return to their homeland and, therefore, they were prepared to face any legal consequences.

"If our brothers in East Timor believe that we have made mistakes in the past then we must be ready to face the legal process. And I appeal to the authorities to immediately proceed with the legal process," he said.

"But," he added, "the most important thing for us is that our East Timorese brothers want to live a peaceful life and welcome the return of East Timorese living in camps in Indonesia's western part of Timor." Separately, Xanana said that East Timorese people were prepared to accept the return of the refugees.

"I have to stress that my presence together with other leaders of East Timor, the president of the Constituency Council, the head of the Attorney General's Office, the defense commander and others in this ceremony, is to show our sincerity ... that we are longing for a reunion with our brothers now living in several parts of Indonesia," he said. He promised to work hard to provide a better life and protection for refugees returning to become citizens of East Timor.

Constituency Council President Fansisco Guteres told the Post that the council would not question the return of former pro- Jakarta refugees. "Their return is very valuable for the future of East Timor. We will close our eyes to what has happened in the past, because we will make peace and togetherness a pattern of our lives," he said.

Meanwhile, Parameswaran said that refugees returning home would be dealt with according to the existing law. He said that those who had once committed any violations would be dealt with accordingly, while those found innocent would be allowed to return to their homes and reclaim property left in the wake of the post-ballot mayhem.

Dozens of people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others left their homes to seek refuge in East Nusa Tenggara when pro- Jakarta militia groups ravaged the former Indonesian province in reaction to what they claimed as being the United Nations siding with pro-independence supporters in August, 1999.

Another group of 600 refugees will also return to East Timor through the Sahlele checkpoint on Thursday.

East Timor foreign minister backs US attacks in Afghanistan

Agence France-Presse - October 17, 2001

Jakarta -- East Timor's foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta has supported the US-led air attacks on Afghanistan, saying his people have personal experience of the "scourge of terrorism."

The Nobel peace laureate, in a commentary in Tuesday's International Herald Tribune, said the use of force against Osama bin Laden, his terrorist network and the Taliban regime which shelters them was "inevitable and necessary."

"Peoples of all religions must overcome the barriers of suspicion and prejudice and make common cause against the scourge of terrorism, whether state-sponsored or not," Ramos Horta said.

After East Timorese voted overwhelmingly in August 1999 to break from Indonesia, pro-Jakarta militias supported by sections of the Indonesian military unleashed a reign of terror and destruction. This was ended by the arrival of a multinational peacekeeping force including contingents from Muslim countries.

"How could we East Timorese today profess a false pacifism in relation to terrorism and Afghanistan?" said Ramos Horta. "Such an attitude, in the face of evil, leads to inaction and betrayal of the victims of oppression. "For this reason I endorse the use of force against the Tailiban regime. It has taken Afghanistan back to the Dark Ages."

Ramos Horta, whose territory is due to achieve full independence next year, urged Washington also to address the conditions in which terrorism can breed with a "new Marshall Plan." This should aim to eradicate poverty in the world's poorest regions including Afghanistan.

Foreigners building East Timor's new army

Associated Press - October 14, 2001

Slobodan Lekic, Dili -- When the Indonesian army helicopter suddenly appeared above a rebel camp hidden in East Timor's towering mountains, Agostinho Sidabatur didn't hesitate. The sentry raised his century-old, bolt-action Mauser rifle, aimed at the Bell Huey clattering overhead and squeezed off a single round.

His comrades later joked that the shot on June 4, 1998, was the luckiest of their 24-year war of liberation. The 7.9 mm bullet ripped through the aircraft's transmission box, sending it into a fatal spin that killed 11 senior Indonesian commanders.

Two years after Indonesia withdrew from East Timor following the territory's overwhelming vote for independence, Sidabatur and hundreds of other former guerrillas are recruits in the army being set up for their new nation. "They're by far the most experienced recruits any of us has ever encountered," said Col. Francisco Nunes, a Portuguese officer who is chief military adviser to the new East Timor Defense Force. "Can you imagine a better sharpshooter than Agostinho in any army?"

About 8,000 soldiers in a United Nations force have been based in East Timor since September 1999, when they intervened to stop a campaign of killing, burning and plunder by Indonesian troops and allied militias. The peacekeepers have fought a series of skirmishes with armed infiltrators from Indonesian-held West Timor who still oppose independence for East Timor's 738,000 people.

An army is just one of the new institutions being set up by the United Nations. Others include a legislature, civil service, police department and judiciary, and East Timorese delegates elected August 30 are drawing up a constitution.

Although the multinational UN peacekeeping force will remain after East Timor achieves independence next year, it is helping build a small and versatile local defense force. Current plans call for two active and two reserve infantry battalions, each numbering about 750 men, said Eugene Daniel, a retired US Army major general helping set up the army. "This force will not be a huge offensive juggernaut. It's a truly defensive force," Daniel said.

Planners say East Timor faces no external threat except from Indonesia, which invaded in 1975 as Portugal withdrew after 300 years of colonial rule. At least 100,000 Timorese died during the resulting war, along with 10,000 Indonesian soldiers.

East Timor's army is designed to deal with border incursions or, in the case of a full-scale invasion, to slow down the attackers until outside help arrives. A small detachment, possibly a light infantry company, may be raised to garrison Oecussi, an East Timorese enclave surrounded by Indonesian territory.

Additionally, a naval component of 50 sailors and two patrol boats donated by Portugal will become operational next year. There are no plans for an air force, but Portugal may leave behind six Allouette helicopters serving with the UN force. Training and equipment are being donated by 13 nations, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and South Korea. "These are very tough men," Daniel said of the former guerrillas. "They have lived a hard life and have many military skills."

Training is being conducted by teams of foreign instructors at a base built with Australian aid about 40 kilometers east of Dili. During a recent map-reading exercise, teams of soldiers -- their brand-new M-16 assault rifles and Minimi machine guns held at the ready -- combed through the countryside as Portuguese instructors accompanied them.

The advisers say they have been impressed by the organizational skills of the army commander, Brig. Gen. Taur Matan Ruak, who led the rebels during the final decade of the liberation war. Ruak said in an interview that he is committed to creating a professional force that will stay out of politics and focus on defending East Timor's borders.

He noted that despite Indonesia's overwhelming military superiority, the guerrillas survived because the people provided them with food, medicine and intelligence. "The most important thing we learned during the war is that we need to keep the support of the population," he said. "If we have that we can win even without weapons."

Constituent Assembly adopts rules and procedures

UNTAET Daily Briefing - October 5, 2001

Dili-East Timor's newly elected Constituent Assembly today unanimously adopted a set of Rules and Procedures for the 88- member body following a two-week debate.

The Rules and Procedures deal with the nature and function of the Assembly, internal competence, methodology for drafting the Constitution, languages used, immunities, rights and privileges of the Assembly members, organization of the assembly, and competence of the chair, among others.

The draft Rules and Procedures was presented by the Technical Committee, represented by Assembly member Lucia Lobato of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) on 26 September.

The Constituent Assembly, tasked with drafting a Constitution for an independent East Timor, was elected on 30 August and inaugurated by Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello on 15 September.

Jakarta may end gambling ban in city

Straits Times - October 11, 2001

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- The local administration is considering a reversal of a 23-year-old ban on gambling to profit from the billions of rupiah that illegal gambling businesses reportedly rake in here and to curb the crimes that are linked to them.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said that setting up a gambling centre would be an easier way to control gambling businesses, which have continued to thrive despite being outlawed. "Ideally there should be no gambling at all, but it's impossible," he said, adding he would hold discussions with Muslim clerics about the idea.

Muslim groups have staunchly resisted similar suggestions in the past because Islamic teachings forbid gambling. So while the proposal has already won support from some members of the provincial legislature, it could be shelved as a result of the strong opposition coming from Muslim groups.

Some radical religious groups have in the past year been going on rampages, vandalising and attacking night-time establishments serving alcohol, saying they are dens of sin. There could be similar repercussions if the government allows a gambling centre to operate legally. Said the head of the Jakarta Indigenous Betawi Group, Mr Abdul Syukur: "We do not need the illicit money that comes from gambling, like prostitution." To prevent a backlash from Muslim groups, the administration appears keen on making the Thousand Islands resort area just off the coast of Jakarta a designated gambling zone. The dozens of islands in the area are currently a favourite weekend getaway for families and divers from Jakarta.

"It is quite hard to reach from Jakarta, yet easy to control," Mr Sutiyoso said. He said the gambling centre might resemble the casino at Malaysia's Genting Highlands.

The Centre of Development Study said such a gambling centre would be able to lure ethnic Chinese and wealthy residents from Jakarta. "The gambling centre should be located far from the slum areas and would cater only to people who can afford it," said Mr Budhisantosa of the centre.

The gambling centre proposal first came from a research group at the University of Indonesia. The group said a legitimate gambling complex would boost the city's revenues and help it to control crimes and violence linked to illegal gambling businesses.

Under Governor Ali Sadikin in the 1970s, gambling was legal in certain designated areas in Jakarta and gambling operators were subjected to high taxes. The legendary governor used the revenues generated from the industry to develop the capital, building mosques, churches, schools and hospitals. But in 1978, after his tenure ended, gambling was outlawed across the nation with the issuance of a presidential decree. In practice, however, many gambling dens continue to operate, especially in Jakarta's Chinatown.

Mr Edy Waluyo, Speaker of the Jakarta legislature, said the council had urged the administration to demand a governmental review of the presidential decree. But councillor Ahmad Heriyawan of the Justice Party, one of the Islamic coalition parties, opposed the plan, and warned that there could be an adverse impact. "There is no guarantee that by making gambling legitimate at certain locations, the illegal gambling businesses will stop," he said.

Labour struggle

Nine firms withdraw from Jamsostek scheme

Jakarta Post - October 18, 2001

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- For the first time, nine private companies in North Sumatra have withdrawn from the social security programs due to their dissatisfaction with the compulsory insurance scheme for workers.

Local officials of state-owned PT Jamsostek running the insurance schemes for workers and of the provincial manpower and transmigration ministry office, which is in charge of enforcing social security law, traded accusations on the reasons behind the nine companies' exit from the social security programs.

Harris Albert Tampubolon, chief of Jamsostek's regional branch overseeing Aceh, North and West Sumatra, blamed the manpower and transmigration ministry office for recommending that the companies withdraw their participation in the insurance programs.

"The local manpower and transmigration ministry office should be held responsible for the nine cases because it has its own authority to enforce Law No. 3/1992 on social security programs for workers in the province," he said in an interview with The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.

Toga Sitorus, head of the local manpower and transmigration ministry office, said the companies' withdrawal had a lot to do with their dissatisfaction with the insurance programs.

"We have recommended the nine companies withdraw from the compulsory programs because they have signed up to a better insurance program provided by a private insurance company in the city," he said.

He said his office was serious in enforcing the law and campaigning for insurance schemes in companies, especially oil palm plantation companies, in order to help provide better protection for workers.

"This year, we took three companies to court for failing to insure their employees in social security programs," he said, citing that the three companies were PT Garuda Mas Perkasa, PT Lucky Indah Permai and PT Kilang Mie Hun Sinar Baru.

The nine companies, mostly operating in the Pulau Berayan industrial zone, were PT Industri Karya Deli, PT Golgon, PT Victor Indoraya, PT Union Convectionary, PT Lambang Utama, PT Soci, PT Gemar Sukowati, PT Industri Pembungkus and PT Pacific Medan Industry.

Harris Albert called on the local manpower and transmigration ministry office to enforce the law consistently because all companies employing 10 workers or more were obliged to participate in social security schemes.

"Authorities should take action against employers manipulating their labor data or those seeking excuses to evade their financial obligations to the social security programs," he said.

According to the social security law, companies employing 10 or more workers were obliged to pay a sum equivalent to more than six percent of their workers' monthly salary in order to participate in the four schemes covering medical treatment, occupational accidents, death benefits and pension funds.

Togar J.S. Marbun, coordinator of the Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI), called on local authorities to investigate the allegedly rife corruption and collusion between employers and government supervisors, saying that such practices were a reflection of labor exploitation in the province.

"Many employers have declined to participate in the social security programs for inadequate reasons and many others manipulate their labor data to reduce their financial obligations," he said. Of 5.1 million workers in Aceh, North and West Sumatra, only 601,000 are enrolled in social security programs.

As at January 2001, Jamsostek had collected Rp 129 billion in premiums and paid out Rp 74.7 billion in insurance claims for 39,600 workers.

PT DI employees protest firing of colleagues

Jakarta Post - October 17, 2001

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung -- Thousands of employees of state- owned aircraftmaker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) staged a strong protest at the dismissal of the chairman and the secretary of the Employee Communication Forum Arif Minardi and A.M. Bone on Tuesday.

While the protest took place in front of the Management Center building on Jl. Padjadjaran, Minardi and Bone, accompanied by 25 other employees went to the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) to report the management's unjustified action in firing them. Minardi said he had never been consulted about the dismissal, despite the fact that the dismissal letter was signed on October. 13, 2001.

Minardi was known for his "toughness" in encouraging employees to go on strike. PT DI Managing Director Jusman S. Djamal said in his office on Tuesday that the dismissal of Minardi and Bone were based on the fact that the two were the men responsible for a series of employee demonstrations and strikes recently.

"The company has been attempting to meet a deadline to complete an order from Korea no later than December 15. or we will face a penalty that could damage the company's international reputation," Jusman said.

He told all the employees to go back to work and that the company's income was from those who placed orders with the company. "The management has not been upset by the employees' demand. What causes us regret is that the demand has been expressed in strikes, which halt the company's production process.

The company had to spend at least 17 billion rupiah in salary payments for employees who have been idle for four months."

The employees staged several demonstrations over the last four months. They demanded better health allowances and the elimination of corruption, collusion and nepotism. Their demands were largely fulfilled and Ilham Habibie, the son of former president B.J. Habibie, resigned. But the protests continued. The employees said they would go on strike until they met with Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea on October 22.

Aceh/West Papua

Seven killed in fresh violence in Aceh

Jakarta Post - October 20, 2001

Banda Aceh -- Seven people, including two members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist group, were killed in separate violence on Thursday and Friday, activists and an official said.

Members of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) removed five male bodies all bearing gunshot wounds from two separate locations in Aceh Besar on Friday. Four of the five corpses were removed from a ravine near Sungai Peungapet along the Banda Aceh-Medan road, while another male body was found on the roadside in Neuheun village, about 15 kilometers southeast of Banda Aceh. Sources said the bodies in the ravine were of people who had been involved in a gunfight between the police and rebels in Lamtamot village on Wednesday.

On Thursday, two rebels were killed in separate exchanges of fire between GAM members and the police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers, police spokesman for Aceh's Security and Order Operation Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Dwiyanto said on Friday.

A suspected rebel named Rahmad, 22, was killed in a clash in Lamreh village of Masjid Raya district in Aceh Besar, some 40 kilometers southeast of Banda Aceh; while Muhammad Rizal, 28, was shot dead in a gunfight in Cot Leubeng village of Pandrah district in Bireun regency, some 175 kilometers east of BandaAceh.

GAM spokesman in Aceh Besar Ayah Sofyan and Bireun regency GAM commander Darwis Djeunieb both acknowledged that the men were GAM members. Meanwhile, GAM spokesman in East Aceh Ishak Daud said as quoted by local Serambi Indonesia daily on Friday that local legislator Ghazali Usman, 53, who had been held hostage by GAM for about a month, was critically ill. Ishak asked local government and members of the International Committee of the Red Cross to pick up the legislator and take him to the hospital

Seven arrested in military raid of Irianese

Jakarta Post - October 19, 2001

R.K. Nugroho, Jayapura -- Trikora Military Command chief Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon confirmed on Wednesday in Jayapura that the military had conducted raids of rebels' camps in Kali Kopi village, Mimika regency, Irian Jaya.

Interviewed by The Jakarta Post in his office, Mahidin said that seven rebels were arrested in the raids, while the alleged leader, Kelly Kwalik, escaped. He said his troopers were successful less than one week after they raided another rebels' base camp in Bonggo, Jayapura. Mahidin said there was no gunfire exchanged between his men and the rebels during Tuesday's raids.

"The seven rebels arrested are Pegemis Kugoya, Isak Nawea, Ones Waker, Yolinus Alom, Samuel Nawipa, Edy Kugoya and Tobyas Magal." They are all members of the self-proclaimed Papua's National Liberation Army, Mahidin said.

The military confiscated a 7.62 millimeter SP rifle with 14 rounds of ammunition, a SS-1 rifle with 100 rounds, 20 axes, 14 commando knives, military uniforms, 250 kilograms of rice and Rp 766,000 in cash. "All of the items are now in police custody. What happens to the seven rebels depends on the police," Mahidin said.

Quoting the personnel, he said that Kelly Kwalik might have taken refuge in the forests around Timika, where the head office of giant mining company Freeport Indonesia is located. Kwalik's men are believed to be behind the 1996 kidnapping of researchers as well as other crimes, including the killing of a civilian in February.

Official killed in Indonesia's Aceh province

Jakarta Post - October 18, 2001

Banda Aceh -- Gunmen killed a local government official on Thursday in the latest violence to rock the rebellious Indonesian province of Aceh, police said.

The secretary of the North Aceh district administration, Muchlis Ali, was shot dead by two unidentified attackers in the city of Lhokseumawe, said local police spokesman Adjunct Commissioner Adi Marwan.

Ali was on his way to work when his chauffeur-driven car was ambushed. Marwan blamed the killing on the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM). "The attackers shot the victim twice in his head," Marwan said.

But the deputy chief of military operations in Aceh, Brigadier General Djali Yusuf, said the murder was linked to a dispute over a project in North Aceh. He did not elaborate. "The victim had earlier received phone threats," Yusuf told reporters.

A GAM spokesman, Teungku Jamaica, said police killed a civilian during a search for rebels in the Lhong Baro area of North Aceh on Wednesday.

In another incident, a man believed to be a GAM guerrilla was shot dead by an undentified man in the district of Dewantara on Tuesday night, residents said.

A local rights group says more than 1,500 people have been killed this year in resource-rich Aceh. GAM has been fighting since 1976 to set up an indepencent Islamic state.

Extortion of motorists still rampant in troubled Aceh

Jakarta Post - October 16, 2001

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Idi, East Aceh -- Yasdi, 40, has abandoned his job as a truck driver because he can no longer endure the rife extortion by security personnel on the streets in the province of Aceh. Sitting relaxed in his coffee shop in Idi, East Aceh, Yasdi, of Acehnese descent, recalled how local policemen and soldiers treat motorists and travelers.

"No one on the main roads in the province can avoid the document check by either police officers or soldiers. They check not only our personal and vehicle documents but also the contents of our pockets and our wallet. We can't refuse them when they ask for money," he told The Jakarta Post.

Many security personnel are apparently taking advantage of the tense situation in the restive province by reportedly imposing illegal levies on motorists and, sometimes, passengers on public buses.

Security personnel, nevertheless, have denied extorting motorists and bus passengers, saying that they would only accept money if drivers and motorists offered it voluntarily for security reasons. "We have only asked for a little to buy cigars and [alcohol] drinks," a police officer, identified as Sgt. Krm, told the Post at a police checkpoint in Perlak.

However, a number of drivers met by the Post all confirmed there was widespread extortion by security forces. Rusli, a pickup driver who supplies fruit to Banda Aceh and Medan, for instance, revealed that policemen, especially from the elite Police Mobile Brigade, always demanded a large illegal levy from motorists.

"Servicemen from the Army and the Navy won't reject being given between 2,000 rupiah [about 20 US cents] and 5,000 rupiah or a pack of cigarettes, but those from the Mobile Brigade frequently tell off drivers while holding a gun to our head to pay them what they want. "Drivers are slapped or beaten with their gun if they pay less than what they ask for," he told the Post from his residence near PT Exxonmobil Indonesia's gas field in Lhoksukon, North Aceh.

Policemen at one checkpoint normally ask pickup drivers like Rusli for about 50,000 rupiah, he said. They will allegedly charge higher levies for drivers of bigger vehicles or for vehicles carrying valuable goods. "Vans carrying fish or fruit are commonly asked to pay between 50,000 rupiah and 100,000 rupiah, while trucks and trailers containing expensive items are asked to pay between 150,000 rupiah and 300,000 rupiah," he said.

Unlike Yasdi who quit his profession, Rusli continues to stick with his job as a driver although he has had to accept a lower monthly income. Before heightened military operations, Rusli said he could earn about 1.5 million rupiah per month, but now he gets about 500,000 rupiah per month because a large part of his income goes to security personnel.

"I don't have any land and I don't have any skills to do something else. But I must thank God because my wife and children and I can survive during this difficult time," he said. He noted that because of the practice, he said he could not trust any policemen. He said that the police's image had been ruined in the eyes of the Acehnese.

Razali, a driver in Banda Aceh, concurred and said most locals hated to come across security personnel when driving anywhere in the province because of their behavior. "They come here not to maintain security and order but to get additional income from the local people's decades of pain."

He said most people's hatred of security personnel did not stem from the separatist movement but was mainly because of their behavior. He said it was irrational and strange for drivers to be charged between 50,000 rupiah and 100,000 rupiah if their cars are stopped at the checkpoint areas along the street.

He said the central government should replace all security personnel known for bad behavior with those who are dedicated in seeking local people's trust by guaranteeing their security and safety.

Truce preliminary condition for Aceh solution

Jakarta Post - October 16, 2001

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Banda Aceh -- There seems no right policy for Aceh. Whatever policy is pursued by the government seems to reach a dead end. The Acehnese say this failure stems from the fact that policies are introduced when violence is continuing unabated.

The Acehnese elite is apparently pessimistic about the overt commitment from President Megawati Soekarnoputri to solving Aceh's problems through dialogue rather than military operations. Ulemas, the most influential group in the province, remain skeptical about the government's current strategy, which has caused deep confusion among the Acehnese people.

Imam Syuja, a respected ulema in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, said he was deeply concerned with the latest developments in the province, which seemed to be making the situation worse. According to him, the nine-month implementation of Presidential Instruction No. 4/2001, special autonomy and the President's recent visit have brought no change to the lives of Acehnese in the province. Acehnese had suffered more during the past nine months since the introduction of additional military forces in the province, he said.

A series of bombings had taken place in several areas, many innocent people, including formal and informal leaders, had been killed, many others had been abducted, and thousands of houses had been burned down, he said. "The more soldiers come to Aceh, the more people will suffer. The deployment of more security personnel to the province has raised fresh fears of new abductions and even killings among the people. And most people have been reluctant to leave their houses and to go about their daily activities because arrogant security apparatus are found everywhere," he remarked.

Maimul Fidar, coordinator of the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations for Human Rights in Aceh, said he did not object to the ongoing military operation, but said it must be limited to certain targets. "The timeframe must be specified, say three months. Then the police and the military must target only rebels, instead of innocent people, in the operation," he said. To him, it was ironic that the soldiers sent to Aceh did not do their job in protecting local civilians. Instead, they killed civilians and were reluctant to raid the bases of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in remote forest areas.

Tengku Ma'Amin, another Acehnese ulema in Simpang Mamplam village, Aceh Besar, said that whatever the government did in Aceh, it should be aimed at winning the hearts of Acehnese people. He said local people had no objections to the deployment of more soldiers to the province but they should carry out their tasks in accordance with the law and their behavior should not cause hatred among the public. "Both the central government and the local administration should carry out their main task of serving the people and the military should behave well and provide peace to the people," he said.

If security forces continued to create terror and fear among the Acehnese, many more people would join the separatist movement. "Many people join GAM after receiving inhumane and unfair treatment from public servants, including the security apparatus," he said. He called on both GAM and government security forces to create peace among the people, and then talk.

Sudja agreed and called on the military and GAM to lay down their arms and sit down at the negotiating table with a third party mediating to identify fundamental problems in the province and seek a comprehensive solution.

"A truce is a must and a preliminary condition for peaceful talks. The conflicting sides cannot go to the negotiating table unless the violence ceases," he said.

He called on the central government to draw a lesson from the Philippines' Moro issue in which Indonesia had played an important role mediating between the Philippines government and the Moro separatist movement.

Tengku Amri bin Abdul Wahab, field commander of GAM's military wing, asserted that GAM was ready to agree to a cease-fire with the military and to hold talks mediated by a third party. "GAM is committed to making a bilateral agreement on a cease-fire and ready to hold negotiations, regardless of their final solution," he told The Jakarta Post in an interview by cellular phone from his hiding place.

Acehnese learn to live with fear

Jakarta Post - October 16, 2001

[This is a special report of The Jakarta Post's reporter Ridwan Max Sijabat and photographer R. Berto Wedhatama, on their recent journalistic trip to Aceh.]

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Banda Aceh -- Their look says it all. It may not seem obvious to those already living in the province that has been racked by violence. But to outsiders or visitors, it is noticeable that fear is written all over the face of ordinary people in Aceh.

Many Acehnese have learned to live with fear. It has been part of their lives for the last decade or so. But the situation has become worse, particularly in the last three years.

The sound of gunshots has become an all-too-familiar noise, at night or day. Few people dare to venture into the streets after dusk. They are afraid of both the Indonesian Military, whose strong presence was supposed to protect them, as well as the armed separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Both have been blamed for killing innocent civilians, and for burning their houses or entire villages. There is simply no telling who their real enemies are.

Shops and traditional markets in urban areas close early (between 11am and 1pm) and intercity bus stations look abnormally quiet. Traffic too looks too light for comfort. On a recent night, this reporter and his photographer colleague found no civilians in the streets. We met only armed security officers patrolling the town.

Tension has been mounting in recent weeks. The speech by President Megawati Soekarnoputri on August 16, in which she apologized to the people of Aceh for the past mistakes of the government in Jakarta, and her visit to the province on September 10, apparently did not change anything. If anything, things have turned for the worse.

Fear is so pervasive that it has taken its toll on the daily activities of the people, including small traders. Djamin, a manggo seller, said business had been particularly slack at the Peunayeuh market these past few weeks. "The market used to be crowded until 4pm Today, we'll be lucky to find buyers after midday," Djamin told The Jakarta Post. If in the past his daily sales had averaged 1.5 million rupiah, today he could only manage 200,000 rupiah. Djamin, who lives in Melayu Kampong near the Iskandar Muda Airport, said most people in his village were too afraid to go out at night because of the presence of security officers.

Freedom of speech is another major casualty of fear. Imam Syuja, an influential ulema, said he had not only reduced his sermon- giving activities, but had also voluntarily toned down their content. Syuja said he took his cue from last month's murder of Dayan Dawood, rector of Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh.

He confirmed that the heavy presence of security forces in Banda Aceh and other towns had not made Aceh people feel any safer. "In fact, they have scared the people off. People are feeling more repressed," he said.

Traveling through the province can also become a horrible experience, with checkpoints at irregular intervals where passengers have to show their IDs and are subject to body checks. As a result, the journey becomes that much longer. A trip between the hill town of Takengon in Central Aceh and Bireun in North Aceh, a mere 100 km distance, took six hours thanks to the police and military checks.

The military defended its presence and operations, saying that security had been tightened in response to the brutalities committed by GAM rebels. Army First Sgt. Hery, commandant of a group from the Siliwangi Military Command in West Java, said many people of the Gayo subethnic group in Takengon had been killed or abducted by the rebels because they did not support the separatist cause.

But people in Timang Gajah Village in the Central Aceh regency said they were afraid of both the military and GAM, and could not tell who was responsible for the killings and the burning of their houses. They had no idea what were the motives behind the killing, kidnapping and burning. "Last night, we found bags containing the bodies of seven unidentified people," said Abdul Karim, a Gayo descendant.

Nyak Dien, 80 years old from Lammi Village, Aceh Besar, gave a big thumbs-down to the police and the military for their failure to win the hearts and minds of the people. Nyak Dien, who remembered how she and her friends fought alongside Indonesian soldiers during the independence struggle in the 1940s, said the Indonesian Military was no longer highly regarded there. "The situation has changed dramatically. Soldiers are scaring the villagers. There have been reports of intimidation and extortion (by soldiers)," she said.

Qomariyah, who owns a coffee stall in Simpang Mamplam, Pidie, said hundreds of people had fled the town after the main market had been burned down by the police in August, apparently, she said, because many people here supported GAM.

Fear caused by the prolonged conflict has also displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Some native Acehnese have even taken refuge in GAM stronghold areas like Payabakung in North Aceh. Migrants, mostly from Java, fled further south to North Sumatra, or simply gave up and returned to their hometowns in Java. Those sheltering in Takengon, Central Aceh, fully realized they were still not out of danger completely and that they might have to move on pretty soon.

Journalists too found they are not welcome in Payabakung. When we tried to verify a report that some 250 refugees from Takengon had been sheltered in the town, we were given our marching orders by a company of soldiers. "You intruding journalists! Go back if you don't want to be shot!," their commandant bellowed at us.

Indonesian troops kill Aceh rebel negotiator

Straits Times - October 16, 2001

Banda Aceh -- Indonesian troops shot and killed a former negotiator for separatist guerillas in Aceh province after he resisted arrest, a military spokesman said yesterday.

Rebel representative Amri Abdul Wahab accused security forces of dragging the former negotiator out of his house on Sunday in Pidie district, about 125-km east of the provincial capital Banda Aceh, and executing him.

Army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Supartodi said troops opened fire on the victim -- identified as Teungku Zulfani -- when he tried to run away from them during a routine ID check. He said a handgun was found on the dead man but Mr Amri claimed the man was unarmed. Lt-Col Supartodi said he had no idea that the victim, a member of the Joint Committee on Security Modalities for last year's peace talks in Geneva -- was a rebel negotiator.

Mr Amri confirmed that Teungku Zulfani was part of a team that negotiated with government officials last year to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. The talks resulted in a ceasefire between the two sides which collapsed after seven months.

Rebels have been fighting for an independent homeland in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island since 1975. At least 1,200 people have been killed this year. President Megawati Sukarnoputri led a peace mission to the province last month, but it failed to end the fighting.

Five other deaths were reported over the weekend, including a policeman's. Unknown gunmen killed the policeman in the Darussalam area of Banda Aceh late on Saturday, said district police chief Sayed Husainy.

Residents in the Banda Sakti district of North Aceh said yesterday that they found the body of a 35-year-old woman with gunshot wounds on Saturday.

In the Meurah Mulia district of North Aceh, local humanitarian activists said they had removed three decomposed bodies with gunshot wounds on Sunday afternoon.

Promises but little progress in Aceh

South China Morning Post - October 15, 2001

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- With about 20 people killed in fighting between separatist and government forces in Aceh in under a week, the Government's claims of pursuing dialogue are fast losing credibility. Parliament called on President Megawati Sukarnoputri to focus on the issue.

Police said fighting left 17 dead between Monday and Thursday, and subsequent reports spoke of at least another three deaths, a civilian among them.

Although Ms Megawati made no comment on the violence, she extended by four months a presidential decree supposed to serve as a road map for ending the violence, restarting peace talks and delivering government services to the province. She promised to "prioritise dialogue".

In practice, the decree has served as cover for intensification of the police and military campaign against the Acehnese. Death tolls have rocketed since May, when the decree was issued, and rights groups say at least 1,500 people have been killed so far this year.

"The Government says the Aceh problems must be resolved through negotiation, but they still use violence," said Abu Arafah, a commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the rebels opposing the Government.

Rights activists believe GAM is also guilty of abuses, but on a smaller scale than those of the military and police. Regardless of whose abuses are worst, the body count is mounting.

Security forces shot and killed six rebels in two clashes last Wednesday, Indonesian Red Cross volunteers found three corpses with gunshot wounds in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, on Thursday, and humanitarian teams recovered eight corpses on Tuesday and Wednesday in different parts of Aceh.

Troops killed two members of GAM in a gunfight on Friday and the body of a man with gunshot wounds to the head was found in western Aceh. GAM claimed to have killed two policemen in an ambush in southern Aceh and said soldiers killed two civilians and wounded a child in a search for separatists in eastern Aceh.

Ms Megawati's brief visit to the province last month -- during which she wore local dress -- impressed few Acehnese.

She approved a special autonomy package for Aceh, touted by Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda as "the most important law Megawati has signed". But critics say the Government has little chance of implementing it.

"We've asked the Government to set up a commission on Aceh," parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tandjung said on Friday after meeting Ms Megawati. A previous independent commission concluded the key to solving the separatist problem was trust and the best way to create it was to bring senior generals to justice for abuses in the province.

But Rosita Noer, secretary of that commission, said efforts to bring senior generals to trial were foiled by "political engineering". A military witness disappeared, no senior officer was put on trial, and only one of five key cases was completed.

Anti-war/US

Foreigners attacked on Indonesia's Lombok island

Reuters - October 14, 2001 (abridged)

Dean Yates, Jakarta -- Two German tourists have been kicked and punched after being mistaken for Americans on Indonesia's Lombok island while other foreigners are being harassed there, state media and a tour operator said on Saturday.

The incidents mark the first reports of assaults on foreigners in mainly Muslim Indonesia since Washington said it would hunt down Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden over hijack attacks on the United States last month that killed 5,500 people.

The official Antara news agency said the Germans were attacked this week when a tour company took them to a traditional sporting event at a remote village on staunchly Muslim Lombok. "The two German tourists were punched and kicked because it was thought that they were Americans," Antara quoted Putu Aria Tusan from the tour company as saying. It was unclear if the Germans were badly injured.

Antara said objects were also thrown recently at a van carrying around five other tourists in a separate incident on Lombok, which lies next to the famous resort island of Bali.

Despite small anti-US protests in several cities and threats made against Americans and Britons, foreigners have been left alone in major centres including Jakarta. The capital was protest-free on Saturday for the first time in days.

Reached by Reuters, Tusan confirmed the attack on the Germans but said it happened two weeks ago. "Nowadays, people in small [Lombok] villages still spook tourists by asking fiercely if they are Americans," he said.

"But in the cities and in tourist places ... where tourism is the main business the situation is relatively peaceful. People there have even promised to protect their tourists. "The government has to be aware [of this] and I urge [the government] to maintain security so nothing like this happens in the future," Tusan said, declining to give further details.

Despite its beauty and tourist appeal, Lombok has occasionally suffered an image problem from bouts of communal and religious unrest. Parts of the island are also very poor.

Indonesia Muslims turn out in force against US raids

Reuters - October 19, 2001

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta -- More than 10,000 Muslims, some singing "our blood is boiling", marched through the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Friday in the country's biggest protest to date against the US-led strikes on Afghanistan. But there was none of the violence that has marred previous rallies in the world's largest Muslim nation and the rally broke up peacefully by later afternoon.

The protesters, including hundreds of veiled women in white, marched from just outside the main mosque, past the US embassy and then down the main thoroughfare before stopping at the city's central roundabout, which is also outside the British embassy. "We are angry, our blood is boiling. Until the end of time, we will defend all Muslims," thousands sang together, led by protest organisers using loudspeakers. Some waved Palestinian and Afghan flags, others carried banners attacking US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the Afghan assaults. "Bush and Blair, you are so cruel, you have started a crusade," said one banner.

Security was generally low-key, but hundreds of police, troops and water cannon guarded the US and British embassies or were on standby nearby. Traffic continued to flow slowly as police erected signs reading "sorry, there is a demo".

Earlier, Vice President Hamzah Haz who heads the country's largest Muslim party, appealed for an end to the protests, warning they could damage the impoverished country. "We're facing an extraordinary dilemma. If we make a wrong step we can fall into a ravine ... therefore I'm asking our Muslim people to stop demonstrating," he said in a speech while opening a mosque. "I'm afraid ... if our actions do not express that Islam is grace from Allah, the name of Islam will be destroyed."

Indonesia has been hit by growing anti-US sentiment, including calls for a holy war from some small, hardline groups, since US- led strikes on Afghanistan began on October 7 over the September 11 suicide hijack attacks on New York and Washington.

Treading fine line

The battered country and its secular president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, are trying to tread a delicate line between supporting a key ally and appeasing Muslim groups. The capital has been relatively peaceful for most of this week after a violent clash between security forces and protesters on Monday and a police crackdown on radical Muslim leaders. Worshippers at midday prayers on Islam's holiest day of the week were urged to show restraint, but also to be angry at the United States and its actions.

"We should not be provoked by anger," Muslim cleric Irfan Zidni told worshippers at the main Istiqlal mosque, one of the world's biggest. "We should be angry at the inhumane actions of the United States and its allies, but we have to be wise in helping our brothers," he said. "Let's help them now with prayers so that our brothers in Afghanistan can cope with the attacks from the enemies."

Infidels

"Muslims will be infidels if they befriend people who expel fellow Muslims like the United States is expelling the Afghans." Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, targeted by a US-led military campaign for sheltering Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, have imposed their own strict interpretation of Islam on their country. Washington accuses bin Laden of masterminding the September 11 attacks, which killed more than 5,000 people.

Vice President Haz, who has said the attacks on the United States should help cleanse Washington of its sins, appealed to Muslims to show solidarity with Afghanistan through charity and prayers, not protest. "If we continue demonstrating, our country will become a poorer country," he warned. "Many foreigners have left the country and the impact has been felt by our hotel industry and business community." About 90 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people are Muslim. Islam in Indonesia is generally moderate and peaceful.

Indonesia warns US of backlash from Muslim world

Jakarta Post - October 18, 2001

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- The government reaffirmed on Wednesday its support for combating global terrorism, but warned that the continued US strikes on Afghanistan were endangering world peace.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the prolonged assault would also give rise to Islamic radicalism worldwide.

"We question the way they deal with terrorism. We don't want to see the fight against terrorism claim the lives of innocent civilians and aggravate Islamic radicalism," Susilo told journalists after seeing off President Megawati Soekarnoputri on her trip to Shanghai.

The excessive military campaign in Afghanistan will contribute to political instability in many countries, including Indonesia, he added.

The military strikes have prompted daily anti-US street demonstrations in Indonesia and around the world. Several radical groups in Indonesia have gone as far as sending volunteers for jihad to Afghanistan.

Megawati implicitly denounced the US-led offensive in her latest speech during the commemoration of Ascension Day of Prophet Muhammad on Sunday, saying that an attack on another country for whatever reason was unacceptable.

The President's statement was widely seen as being more progressive than the government's initial stance, which merely expressed concern over the attacks. The initial position of the government received criticism from many Muslim groups, which then organized anti-American rallies in major cities across the country.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Akbar Tandjung said yesterday that Megawati should formalize her latest statement into the government's official stance.

Akbar said that Megawati's stronger stand on the US-Afghan issue had received a positive response from Muslim groups. "She needs public support to make her government effective," Akbar told journalists.

Susilo reiterated the government's stand that although Indonesia backed the fight against terrorism, Jakarta did not condone an open war that took its toll on the lives of innocent people.

International media have reported that the Afghanistan onslaught has claimed more than 300 civilian lives, although the US has pledged that the attacks would be limited and measured. "President Megawati said that currently she had been communicating with Washington on the matter and it was hoped that the US would understand her stance," Susilo said.

Asked if the government anticipated a change in Washington's position toward the Megawati administration due to her latest statement, he replied: "We are still awaiting their response and of course we are prepared for any response." The Indonesian government was preparing a proposal that the UN intervene in the US-Afghanistan conflict so that the war would not spin out of control, Susilo said.

"We are weighing the idea of taking Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11 attacks on the US, to an international tribunal .... There should not be any perception that Indonesia is not cooperative in the global efforts against terrorism," he added. The government is also considering sending special envoys to several countries, such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the US, to seek a solution to the crisis.

Wednesday was the first day since the US launched military strikes on Afghanistan on October 7 that there were no major anti-US demonstrations in large cities.

Susilo said the government was aware that the recent waves of anti-US demonstrations had been utilized by certain political interest groups to discredit the Megawati administration. "We have every reason to suspect that," he said. "We are worried that the continuing anti-US sentiment will cause instability at home. Certain interest groups are using the issue for their short-term political gain.

Devout Java villagers ignore fiery protesters in Jakarta

Straits Times - October 18, 2001

Marianne Kearney, Batu Keras (West Java) -- This town is situated in one of Indonesia's most devout Muslim provinces.

The road to the coastline is punctuated by modestly dressed young girls and boys collecting donations to rebuild their local mosque. Many of the older women wear the jilbab, or Muslim head scarf, and on Fridays even the roughest, toughest fishermen abandon their boats for the mosques.

But there is little sympathy for the antics of hardline protesters in Jakarta. Asked whether he would like to join a jihad or even a demonstration against the United States, young Agus jokes that while he and his friends might be crazy like those demonstrators in Jakarta, their passion is surfing. "They are crazy for demonstrations, but we are crazy for big waves," he laughs.

Down on the beach, scantily-clad foreigners emerging from the water are surrounded by a group of fully-clothed students, only to be asked if they can complete a survey for their coursework. "We want to know more about your country," they echo to the tourists. In the markets, a Western tourist is besieged by stallholders who are more interested in admiring her long, pointy nose than asking her views on the attacks on Afghanistan.

Like the stallholders, many Muslims in this coastal stretch of West Java are not the radicals seen on TV threatening to expel foreigners. They are moderate, devout Muslims who are still friendly to foreigners and more interested in raking in foreign exchange or simply improving their English.

While many sympathise with the Taleban and oppose the American- led air attacks on Afghanistan, most do not support the calls for jihad nor demand to end business and political ties with America.

One young Muslim man watching the latest reports of civilian casualties there said he felt sorry for the Afghans. "The Afghans are just poor people, while America is very strong. Why do they bomb such a poor country?" he asked.

A survey in a recent edition of Tempo magazine showed that 88.5 per cent of Jakarta respondents oppose the US bombing. "When you talk to the lower class, they say Osama is a hero because he fights America. People are angry with the US because it has an unfair policy towards the Islamic world," said political analyst Lambang Trijono. "But they don't agree if Indonesia goes to Afghanistan for a jihad."

Calls for jihad in Indonesia are all about 'fame and position'

Straits Times - October 18, 2001

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- Declaring a jihad or holy war against America and its citizens in Indonesia has become a surefire way for radical Muslim groups to gain their 15 minutes of fame and maintain their position in Indonesia's unsettled political landscape.

Before September 11, Iqbal Siregar, a partially-blind Muslim and leader of the fundamentalist Islamic Youth Front (IYF), was relatively unknown. His movement apparently developed in Solo during the Suharto era in 1972, but few political or Islam watchers had even heard of Iqbal before he decided to declare a jihad against America and called on "devout" Muslims to fight a holy war in Afghanistan.

Now Iqbal and his commander -- Handriansyah -- are interviewed daily by local and international media alike. However, his group has so far failed to attract thousands of would-be jihad fighters onto the streets of Jakarta and he has also failed to show that he has been training the "fighters".

Observers say calls for a jihad are a surefire way to ensure 15 minutes of fame. "There's a lot of competition among radical groups. Even though they can never enter and influence the larger parties, these things ensure temporary fame," says Mr Zainuddin Fananie, a political analyst who tracks Muslim groups.

"Either these groups are struggling for Islamic law to be imposed or radical Islamic groups are being used as a tool for certain people. However, the second option is most likely." He said support for their calls to introduce Islamic law in Indonesia was minimal.

As Mr Zainuddin and other analysts point out, Indonesia has a history of powerful individuals and political groups using radical groups, which may have entirely different aims, in order to put pressure on the opposition. "It is possible rogue elements such as former Suharto supporters or military elements are still playing with these groups for their own interests," said analyst Riza Sihbudi.

One theory is that these groups may be creating an unstable situation to try to block investigations into former Suharto cronies and Golkar members, or to prevent the military from being tried for various human-rights abuses.

The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which has one of the worst records for violence and has threatened to expel foreigners, is backed by military elements and was also used during former president B.J. Habibie's time to attack pro-democracy demonstrators.

Although espousing Islamic values, the FPI is basically a group of thugs used by the police and the military to extort protection fees from bars and clubs. The group demands a standard fee of 50 million rupiah (S$9,500) from each club.

Other groups, however, are using the attacks on Afghanistan as a lobbying tool for their political parties, or simply just to pressure President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government into adopting a more sympathetic Muslim stance.

One militant group, Hezbollah Front, is reported to have links with some of the more radical Islamic parties such as Crescent Star and also with Vice-President Hamzah Haz's PPP party, and could be using the issue to campaign for the Muslim-based parties, said Mr Zainuddin.

The most worrying groups were Kammi and the Islamic Students Body (HMI) because they were more moderate groups which had the potential to influence students and ordinary Indonesians alike, said political analyst Lambang Trijono. They are mostly made up of idealistic and devout students, but even they are being controlled, or at least influenced, by certain political parties, claim commentators.

The HMI has been funded by influential Golkar and National Mandate Party politicians, who may be supporting the demonstrations as a way of distracting public attention away from incomplete probes into Golkar and other political corruption scandals.

Laskar Jihad says it will keep away from anti-US rallies

Agance France Presse - October 17, 2001

Jakarta -- A Muslim group waging a "holy war" against Christians in Maluku said yesterday it would not join rallies against the US military attacks on Afghanistan. "We have never staged anti-US demonstrations and we will not do so. We are not good at organising demonstrations," Laskar Jihad spokesman Wirawan Adnan told a press conference.

He said the group also opposed "sweeps" or searches for American citizens. "We have no plan to conduct sweeps. To say that we are planning sweeps is slander," he said.

Laskar Jihad publicly trained and paraded its fighters in Jakarta before sending them to the Maluku islands in May 2000. An estimated 4,000 people have died in three years of sporadic fighting between Muslims and Christians in the islands. Observers blame Laskar Jihad for much of the violence.

Meanwhile, Laskar Jihad commander Jaffar Umar Thalib contradicted his spokeman's views and said his group supported calls for jihad or holy war against the US. "The attacks on Afghanistan are a war against Muslims," Jaffar said. "We call on Muslims to wage jihad against the US ... to the best of their own ability."

Jaffar also condemned the actions of police who used tear gas and water cannon to break up a peaceful protest by at least 200 people from four radical Islamic groups at the Parliament on Monday.

About 100 protesters staged a noisy rally outside the US embassy yesterday. "Laskar Jihad strongly condemns Sofyan Jacoeb who used violence against people who were voicing their aspirations peacefully," he said about the Jakarta police chief. "The police actions were aimed at demonstrating to the US that they are serving American interests."

Jaffar also criticised Osama bin Laden, whom the US has accused of masterminding the September terror attacks, as a man "devoid of Islamic knowledge".

Police break up illegal rally, dozens injured

Jakarta Post - October 16, 2001

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta -- Dozens of people were injured and 12 were arrested as some 1,500 people who staged an anti-US rally in front of the House of Representatives building clashed with police officers on Monday.

The protesters were members of the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), the Surakarta Youth Islamic Front (FPII), Laskar Jundullah (God's Army) and Hisbullah Front (God's Party) from Jakarta, Surakarta, Tangerang and Lampung.

They arrived in several cars and motorcycles in front of the House building compound at about 10 a.m. Protesting the US attack against Afghanistan, and demanded the government to sever diplomatic relations with the US

The police, however, ordered them to disperse because Monday was a national holiday. Chief of City Police's VIP security division Sr. Comr. Aqil said that Law 9/1999 on public gatherings, bans demonstrations on national holidays.

The clash started after the police fired warning shots which were ignored. Hundreds of police officers then began to fire tear gas, water and blanks at the demonstrators, whereupon they fled. The officers proceeded to disperse the demonstrators, who ran to the Slipi area, and pushed them back with clubs. A police officer reportedly ran into some protesters with his motorcycle.

The police also struck several journalists, including two from Metro TV and Indosiar television stations, as well as one from Reuters, seizing their film and damaging their cameras. A Reuters' car and six others belonging to the protesters as well as five motorcycles were also damaged by the officers.

The situation calmed down as the demonstrators headed to the FPI headquarters on Jl. Petamburan, Central Jakarta, at about noon. But FPI members then started to attack police and military members. Two military members who happened to pass by the street on their motorcycles, were beaten, but they managed to escape.

After that incident, some 500 police officers were then deployed to the scene as the demonstrators continued to conduct raids on all the vehicles passing their area. Tension was heightened as police closed the road in front of the headquarters and insisted that non-Jakarta FPI members, who had arrived here on Saturday night, return home.

Some 50 military riot officers were also deployed to the scene while discussions between police and the FPI was conducted. The officers left at about 4pm after FPI members agreed to stop their attacks.

City Police chief Insp. Sofjan Jacoeb told reporters that stern action was taken because the demonstrators had broken the law. "If they want to conduct a rally again, it's okay. But they should not try to occupy the House building," he warned. He apologized for the damages caused by the officers and promised to compensate journalists for losses incurred in the melee.

The head of FPI, Habib Rizieq Husein said he would sue the police for breaking up the protest, claiming that he had a permit to conduct a two-month non-stop demonstration. Minister of Religious Affairs Said Aqil Al-Munawar visited the FPI headquarters at about 5pm to meet Rizieq and promised to listen to their needs.

Hamzah meets scholars to defuse crisis

Straits Times - October 16, 2001

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta -- President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday ordered her deputy to meet several Muslim clerics and leaders of militant groups to defuse growing anti-American sentiments that were undermining foreign investor confidence in Indonesia.

But Vice-President Hamzah Haz's talks with several of them proved futile as demonstrations continued unabated in the capital, forcing police to fire tear gas, water cannon and blank warning shots to disperse a 500-strong crowd outside Parliament. Police said 10 people were injured while 20 were arrested. Yesterday was a public holiday in Indonesia. It is illegal to hold street protests on public holidays.

Palace sources told The Straits Times that Ms Megawati, playing a delicate balancing act between assuaging the concerns of Washington and those of radical Muslims, had expressed concern during her meeting with Mr Hamzah over the weekend that "things can get out of hand" and derail economic recovery if the government did nothing to calm nerves. Indeed, at a speech in a Jakarta mosque on Sunday night, the 54-year-old leader seemed to be playing to the powerful Muslim gallery when she decried the use of military force in the fight against terrorism.

While she did not criticise Washington directly, her comments ignited speculation that Jakarta was backtracking on its support for the US, just a month after her successful visit there.

She had received a pledge of economic support from the US in return for backing the war on terrorism. Up until then, her government had only said it was "concerned" about the US attacks on the Taleban regime and called for restraint. A member of her Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) noted: "The President has pledged her support for the US but she can't openly back a war effort because of a domestic backlash that could be exploited by these groups to undermine her administration."

That appears to be the strategy now as she tasked Mr Hamzah, leader of the largest Muslim party in Indonesia who has lashed out several times at the American strikes, to get the militants to stay off the streets. Said the PDI-P source: "All the footage on television of demonstrators burning the US flag and threatening to kill George W. Bush is bad for Indonesia. It scares away potential investors."

Mr Hamzah met several religious scholars yesterday to register this point. But the meeting did not seem to make any headway. Haji Noor Iskandar of the Nadhlatul Ulama said: "The Indonesian leadership has become too soft on the US. Are they concerned about protecting the interests of the Muslim community or looking after only US concerns?"

Cleric Haji Muhammad Ilyas, who also took part in the meeting at Mr Hamzah's official residence, said: "We respect the wishes of the Vice-President and Ibu Megawati but the government also has to respect our demands."

The President's comments on Sunday also got a cool response from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) whose leader, Habib Riziq, said that Ms Megawati was "too late and lacked conviction".

Meanwhile, the White House yesterday played down Ms Megawati's criticism of the military strikes on Afghanistan. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said: "Our country has been attacked and the United States will take all the appropriate steps to defend itself. That message has been received well by our allies." He denied that global support for the US military campaign was eroding, adding: "The United States will continue to work with our coalition allies, the United States will continue to prosecute the military campaign to achieve our objectives."

US icon McDonald's embraces Islam in Indonesia

Reuters - October 13, 2001

Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta -- Step inside a McDonald's restaurant in Indonesia's capital, scene of daily anti-American protests over US-led strikes on Afghanistan, and the first thing you see is not a Big Mac but a large Islamic poster. McDonald's crew still scurry about -- but the women wear elegant Muslim clothing with matching veils while men sport prayer caps.

"In the name of Allah, the merciful and the gracious, McDonald's Indonesia is owned by an indigenous Muslim Indonesian," says the poster, painted the Islamic colour of green and which also dots other outlets in Jakarta.

Some of the posters are inscribed in Arabic, part of an apparent bid by franchise holder Bambang Rachmadi to project an image that the icon of American fast food is an Islamic-friendly business in a country where many US companies are lying low.

A KFC outlet in the country's east has already been the target of a homemade bomb, while in central Java some protesters have plastered signs on McDonald's outlets symbolically "sealing" them. They have remained open.

"Recently some people actually came up to us asking whether McDonald's was owned by white Americans," Wiwiek, a manager of an outlet near a bustling market in central Jakarta, told Reuters. The questioners did not identify themselves as Islamic radicals.

"We told them McDonald's Indonesia was owned by an Indonesian Muslim. But not many people know that, so we put up the posters," she added, pointing to the large banner next to trademark yellow golden arches McDonald's signs.

She said the poster was put up on Thursday evening as a precaution against anti-American attacks. "But we're not panicking," she said

Fever pitch

Anti-American sentiment has reached fever pitch among radical Muslim groups, who have little popular support but which have staged daily demonstrations in many cities, threatened to expel Americans and called for a boycott on US products.

Police in the city of Makassar in Sulawesi earlier said a small, crude bomb caused minor damage to a KFC outlet overnight and another unexploded device was found outside the office of a non- American foreign insurance company. There were no injuries.

In another busy McDonald's outlet in Jakarta, this one directly opposite the United Nations office where rowdy protests have also taken place, customers enjoy burgers and fries to the soothing religious music in Arabic.

Clad in a traditional white shirt and a prayer cap embroidered with yellow silk, store manager Agung Priantho said the outlet had been playing the Islamic tunes every Friday, the Islamic sabbath. "But recently we have played more music like this," he said.

Outside the restaurant on Jakarta's main thoroughfare, several men dressed in Muslim clothing and prayer caps stand guard, although there have been no reported incidents against the chain in the capital.

As for KFC restaurants in Jakarta, staff appear more worried. "We can only pray to Allah that attacks will not happen on us," Erwin Riswaya, one KFC store manager said. "Why are they doing this to us. We are Indonesians, most of our staff are Muslim and like the rest of you, we are here to earn money," Riswaya said.

Hamzah demands US stop attack on Afghans

Jakarta Post - October 15, 2001

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Hamzah Haz, in his capacity as chairman of the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP), urged the US on Saturday to stop its military campaign in Afghanistan.

"If the military strikes are not stopped, how many more Afghan civilians will fall victim?" he said, when opening a PPP national conference at Millennium Hotel in Central Jakarta. "As part of the nation, we in PPP must support the campaign against terrorism, but we are opposed to attacks on Afghanistan," he added.

Hamzah, who is also Vice President, appeared to be at odds with the government over the US-Afghanistan affair. The Megawati administration's official stand is to be "concerned about the military action", but is keeping it under review in case developments compel the government to alter its stance.

Hamzah insisted that Indonesia's stance on the affair should be firmer than that of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which stopped short of condemning the US military action.

Hamzah demanded that the US produce convincing evidence that the dissident Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden was the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. "It's a big question that remains unanswered," Hamzah said.

Radical Muslim groups, which see the attack on Afghanistan as an assault on Islam, have demanded that the government freeze or even sever diplomatic ties with the US

Hamzah said the US had not honored its promise of measured and limited attacks on Afghanistan, as seen in the great number of civilians reportedly killed. Hamzah said he would not forbid anyone from staging an anti-US protest. He saw no reason to stop a planned massive demonstration, reportedly to involve a million Muslims, to pressure America to stop the attacks. "Please go ahead and voice your aspirations," he said.

But he advised that the demonstration should be peaceful and not damage the public interest. "I wouldn't prohibit demonstrations as long as the law is not breached," he said. Hamzah considered that the US-Afghan conflict should be resolved through the UN.

The chairman of the Jakarta branch of the PPP, Djafar Badjeber, said on Friday that he would organize an anti-US rally involving "millions" of PPP supporters in the capital unless the US stopped its military strikes.

The planned rally would involve activists of other Muslim-based parties such as the Justice Party, the Crescent Star Party and the National Mandate Party. However, PPP promised that it would not "sweep" (search for and attempt to expel) foreigners.

Indonesian police arrest 65 anti-US protesters

Reuters - October 14, 2001 (abridged)

Grace Nirang, Jakarta -- Indonesian police said on Sunday they had arrested 65 anti-American demonstrators in Jakarta and would charge them with weapons offences, triggering angry scenes involving hundreds of Muslims outside the police headquarters.

The arrests mark the first clear action against members of radical Muslim groups who have staged small but rowdy demonstrations in Jakarta and other cities over US-led air attacks on Islamic Afghanistan.

Some of those arrested belong to the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which has vowed to hunt down Americans and Britons and drive them out of the world's most populous Muslim nation.

"We will process them according to the law even though we are facing the risk of protests. There is no plan to release them," Jakarta police spokesman Anton Bahrul Alam told reporters.

Alam said police found dozens of knives, hammers, arrows and other sharp weapons when they searched about 500 anti-American protesters after they arrived in Jakarta by train from the central Java city of Solo overnight. He said the maximum jail term for the offences was 12 years.

Clad in white robes, the rest of the group who arrived from Solo protested outside the Jakarta police headquarters, occasionally rocking the blocked gates leading into the compound. There were no clashes, and the focus on the police compound appeared to divert attention away from the heavily fortified US embassy for a second straight day.

Solo is home to some of Indonesia's more hardline Muslim groups, who late last month searched hotels in the city for Americans to warn them to leave the country in the event of a US attack on Afghanistan.

Anti-American feeling has spilled onto the streets in Indonesia, but has been confined to the radical groups whose actions and threats against foreigners have been criticised by the majority moderate Muslim populace.

Survey finds many Indonesians approve of bin Laden

Reuters - October 15, 2001 (abridged)

Jakarta -- Many Indonesians regard Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden as a fighter for justice and support efforts by the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan to shelter him, according to a survey published on Sunday.

In results likely to surprise some, 50 percent of 2,400 respondents to the online survey last week by a leading newspaper, Media Indonesia, said bin Laden was a "justice fighter". Less than 35 percent thought he was a terrorist.

Washington has accused bin Laden of masterminding devastating hijack attacks on the United States last month that killed around 5,500 people and one week ago began air raids on Islamic Afghanistan, infuriating many in the Muslim world.

Anti-American feeling has spilled onto the streets in the world's largest Muslim nation, but has been confined to small, radical groups, whose actions and threats against foreigners have been criticised by the majority moderate Muslim populace.

But the survey clearly underscores the suspicion of US policy among many Indonesians. Of those surveyed, nearly half were university graduates.

The report said 56 percent believed the Taliban was "wise" in sheltering bin Laden after the attacks on the United States while nearly half felt the militant and his protectors needed military assistance from fellow Muslim countries.

Indonesian MPs summon FM to explain stand on US attacks

Agence France-Presse - October 10, 2001

Jakarta -- Indonesia's parliament, taking a harsher line than the government on the US-led attacks in Afghanistan, has summoned Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda to explain the government's stance.

"Our stance is harsher than the government's. We condemn the attacks," deputy leader of the house commission on defence and foreign affairs, Astrid Susanto, told AFP on Wednesday. "We've asked the foreign minister to come to the parliament to explain the government's position."

House speaker Akbar Tanjung criticised the attacks on Monday. On the same day the government issued a six-point statement which neither condemned nor supported the military action but prioritised concern for civilians and called for the attacks to be limited.

On Tuesday Tanjung, who also chairs the former ruling party Golkar, questioned the official line. "If [the attacks] escalate or increase, we hope the government will take a firmer stance," he was quoted as saying by the state Antara news agency.

Susanto said parliament was more critical because it was reflecting the people's feelings. "We're the ones who deal with protesters, not the government. As the people's representatives we must convey their aspirations," she said. "We support the fight against terrorism but we disagree with attacks. We hopte the United Nations Security Council will take a stance and stop this from turning into a world war."

President Megawati Sukarnoputri has made no comment herself since the US-led coalition launched the first strikes on Afghanistan late Sunday. Megawati, leader of the world's most populous Muslim nation, is struggling to keep Muslim groups on side while maintaining stability for desperately needed foreign investment.

Radical groups have demanded she cut ties with the US and its allies while mainstream groups have also criticised her stance. The second largest Muslim organization, the Muhammadiyah, on Tuesday urged the government to take a tougher stance. "The US is fighting terror with more terror," it said in a statement. The Indonesian Council of Ulemas (Muslim scholars) wants Megawati to sever ties with the United States.

Small protests and as-yet-unrealised threats to drive Americans out of Indonesia have reversed the rupiah's gains since Megawati came to power two months ago. So far there have been no reports of foreigners being attacked.

More than 80 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people are Muslims, the majority of them moderate. Hardline groups are a vocal minority.

Protesters 'seal' American fast-food chains

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2001

Yogyakarta -- Hundreds of students from various universities in Yogyakarta staged two separate rallies on Wednesday to protest the US-led attack on Afghanistan, burning an effigy of US President George W. Bush and "sealing" popular American fast-food restaurants.

One group of protesters, claiming to be members of Muhammadiyah Students Association (IMM) and the Association of Islamic Students (HMI), burned an effigy of US President George W. Bush, while rallying at the provincial legislative council. "Bush kills innocent people," shouted one protester. The police did not intervene and the demonstration ended peacefully at 2pm.

Another group of students marched from the campus of the Indonesian Islamic University toward Yogyakarta's business area through Jl. Sudirman, chanting and shouting "Allah Akbar [God is Great]." They carried banners that read, "Bring Bush to the International Court", "Islam can't tolerate US arrogance", "Freeze US assets in Indonesia" and "Boycott US products."

Upon reaching Tugu intersection, the students stopped in front of a Pizza Hut restaurant and held a street theater performance, depicting hungry Afghans. "When you eat here, you help finance the assault on Afghanistan," said one protester. "Let's boycott this capitalist product from now on."

After holding speeches, the protesters symbolically sealed the front door of Pizza Hut with dozens of posters. Some posters read, "This restaurant is sealed", "Eating here means killing the poor Afghans", "This restaurant will be liquidated", "Freeze and boycott US investments here." Dozens of Pizza Hut customers, nevertheless, seemed to be unperturbed by the demonstration and continued with their meal.

From Pizza Hut, the protesters headed south to Jl. Malioboro. where McDonalds restaurant is located. Some 10 protesters "sealed" McDonalds, again by pasting posters on McDonald's windows. Other protesters shouted," Boycott American products!" Again, their actions did not disturb McDonald's customers, including some veiled schoolgirls who were enjoying their meal. The protesters then dispersed peacefully at 1pm.

In Bandung, West Java, about 300 students staged protests at the provincial legislative building, burning US flags and pictures of President Bush. The police, who outnumbered the protesters, did not take any action although the government had urged security forces to stop the burning of flags and other symbols of other nations. The protest ended peacefully as around 400 policemen stood by.

In Pekanbaru, Riau hundreds of students from Riau University staged protests at the provincial legislative building and the governor's office, where the protesters were received by Governor Saleh Djasit. The students demanded that the US stop its military operation in Afghanistan or they would boycott US products.

In Surabaya, East Java, continuing anti-US protests have prompted 66 out of 166 expatriates working here to leave the city. Those leaving the city included Americans working at the US consulate office.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, Americans working in the province had prepared all necessary documents to leave the province should the situation worsen. Palu Immigration Office spokesman Bambang Satrio said his office had processed all immigration documents for the 52 Americans. Nevertheless, he said none of the Americans working in the province had left, noting that no incident against foreigners was reported.

In Cirebon, West Java, Sultan Maulana Pakuningrat guaranteed the safety of foreigners in the port town. "I have coordinated with all related agencies, including security forces in Cirebon. There will be no actions that could jeopardize the security of foreigners here," he told The Jakarta Post.

Government/politics

Mega-Hamzah honeymoon over

Straits Times - October 20, 2001

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta -- President Megawati Sukarnoputri's honeymoon with her deputy is over as both leaders tussle over Indonesia's response to the US military campaign against Afghanistan.

Observers said that while the 54-year-old leader appeared to be more accommodating to Washington, Vice-President Hamzah Haz was taking a harder line to work the Muslim ground ahead of the 2004 elections in which Ms Megawati would be his chief rival.

"It is clear that Hamzah is exploiting this issue to his own political benefit," a senior member of the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) told The Straits Times. He noted that Jakarta had not articulated a clear policy towards the US strikes against the Taleban regime yet mainly because of "a growing rift" between the two politicians who viewed ties with Washington very differently.

Ms Megawati was one of the first leaders in the world to visit the US after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11. While she offered her condolences then, Mr Hamzah sang a different tune, saying that Indonesia would "cleanse the US of its sins" against the rest of the world.

With the US launching attacks against Afghanistan this month, the Vice-President maintained that the strikes had to stop because it was targeting mosques and other civilian targets. Analysts said Mr Hamzah's comments could also be prompted by pressure from his United Development Party (PPP), the largest Muslim bloc in Parliament.

The PPP's deputy secretary-general Juhad Mahay disclosed: "He has to follow the party line even more so because he is our leader." From the PPP's perspective, it is better for Mr Hamzah to play to the Muslim gallery now ahead of the 2004 election in which Ms Megawati would be his main rival.

But the Vice-President, while sounding brazen earlier in his criticisms of the US, has been of late careful not to condemn outright American efforts against terrorism. This is partly due to pressures from the palace to toe the government line.

Yesterday, he urged the demonstrators to stop the anti-US rallies as thousands of protesters marched down Jakarta's main thoroughfare after Friday prayers. Mr Hamzah said: "Indonesian Muslims, please stop the rallies. In the past weeks, I have been tolerant. Not anymore."

Commenting on the growing rift between the two leaders, Dr Hermawan Sulistyo of the Indonesian Institute for Social Sciences noted: "The honeymoon between Mega and Hamzah is over." But most analysts believe that this will not undermine Ms Megawati's presidency, given that the broad consensus in the opposition and Muslim camp is to support her until 2004.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Code of ethics expected to have little impact

South China Morning Post - October 20, 2001

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Parliament adopted a new code of ethics this week, but experts said it would have little impact on attendance and the practice of buying and selling votes.

The code of ethics had not been substantially revised since the days of former president Suharto, when the rules were geared to preventing criticism of the government in what used to be largely a rubber-stamp body. The revised code now firmly enshrines the right to criticise. The revised code also increases penalties for absenteeism, but the practices of bribery and collusion remained unaffected by the code, analysts say, while the penalties for misbehaviour remain conveniently unclear.

Breaches of the code are to be handled by an ad hoc committee that has not yet been formed. "I don't think they're interested in establishing a code of conduct," said Julia Suryakusuma, founder and editor of the Indonesian Parliament Guide, the first detailed guide to parliamentary practice and personalities. "I think Parliament thinks it has all the power, and they don't want it bridled in any way. That's the essence of it."

Worst nests of corruption exposed

South China Morning Post - October 20, 2001

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- The police, the judiciary, Customs and the Tax Department are the most corrupt institutions in Indonesia, a survey has found.

The first professional survey to measure corruption from the viewpoints of the civil service, the business community and ordinary people found corruption was the biggest problem facing Indonesia, outstripping unemployment and the economic crisis.

Most Indonesians' daily lives are affected by graft -- be it bribes to be paid to get one's child into "free" state schools or the pay-offs required to get through the traffic police every morning. More shocking was the finding that public institutions with clearly defined budget allocations from the state still had to pay bribes to receive the allocation.

With traffic police heading the list of most corrupt bodies, top honours for a lack of corruption went to the postal service -- established by Dutch colonialists and now both old-fashioned and strangely efficient.

Despite reports that some journalists still expect "transport" money or food to cover an event, the news media and religious organisations were also judged to be in the cleanest category, with the media increasingly active in exposing corrupt behaviour.

The judiciary scored badly in the wake of its failed efforts to prosecute the Suharto family for corruption, as did tax and Customs officials, who regularly take bribes instead of ensuring full payment of tax due to the state.

Responses from the business community proved that those who paid bribes on procurement contracts did significantly more business than companies that did not -- or did not pay enough. More revealing was the finding that business people would rather pay more taxes if it meant paying fewer bribes.

Fifty-six per cent of respondents agreed with this idea and more than half of those were ready to pay more than five per cent of company revenues toward eliminating unofficial payments.

Most respondents made a distinction between gifts and money, with gifts -- no matter how valuable -- not considered as bribes. Investigations by local media have recently exposed how MPs routinely expect bribes to ensure their attendance at committee meetings, and will sell their votes on key issues to the highest bidder.

Often the pay-offs appear in the form of cars, houses, air tickets or trinkets, rather than money. Almost everyone surveyed agreed the cause of corruption lay in the low salaries given to civil servants and their lack of accountability.

The study was commissioned by the Partnership for Governance Reform, a coalition of several organisations, including the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and Indonesian non-governmental organisations. The partnership hired a professional polling company, Insight, to conduct the research through face-to-face interviews with 650 officials, 1,250 households and 400 executives across 14 provinces.

"We hope with this, we can now build a strategy for how to attack corruption and that we can have a clear map of the public perceptions of corruption in all its forms -- from the petty daily payments, to the big fish," said Andi Mallarangeng, of the Partnership for Governance Reform. "The silent majority is amplified in this survey and we are hoping we can help create public anger about corruption," he said.

Mr Mallarangeng added that although petty, much corruption had become endemic and many people felt helpless in the fight against it. His office plans to follow up with a closer look on the direct impact of corruption on the poor. This ranges from the payments required by local neighbourhood bosses for "security" and the bribes demanded of vendors and hawkers, whose means of livelihood have been confiscated by police in raids.

The survey also highlighted the costs to foreign business confidence in Indonesia. The publication of the World Economic Forum's "2001 Global Competitiveness Report" drove the point home by downgrading Indonesia to 64th place on a list of 75 countries, from 44th last year.

Commenting on the forum's survey results, Gadjah Mada University economist Sri Adiningsih said the drop in rank was "pitiful", adding it was closely tied to "unsupportive" government policies and the high number of levies and duties.

Indonesian taxmen, traffic cops and judges 'most corrupt'

Straits Times - October 20, 2001

Jakarta -- Traffic police, customs and tax officials, and the judiciary were ranked the most corrupt institutions in Indonesia's public sector, according to a recent survey.

The survey, part of a governance study conducted for the Partnership for Governance Reform, concluded that corruption was seen as Indonesia's most serious problem ahead of unemployment and the economic crisis.

Initiated in October of last year and completed in March, the survey was done using face-to-face interviews with 650 officials, 1,250 households and 400 business executives in 14 provinces. About 75 per cent of all respondents regarded corruption in the public sector as very common, while 65 per cent of household respondents reported actually experiencing corruption involving public officials.

Other institutions ranked as highly corrupt were the tax office, the ministries of public works, justice, forestry and immigration, and political parties. All respondents ranked the news media, post office and religious groups as the least corrupt.

The study also found that the average number of bribes paid by households appeared to increase with the frequency of contact with public officials. "Corruption extracts a high cost from society with between 1 per cent and 5 per cent of household income, official salary or company revenue spent on unofficial payments," an executive summary of the survey report said.

The study also discovered that companies that paid more bribes on procurement contracts had significantly more business dealings with the government. The high cost related to corruption was cited by business respondents as one of the main reasons for not investing in Indonesia.

Most respondents differentiated between gifts and money and did not consider gifts as bribes per se, regardless of their value. With regards to the causes of corruption, the three groups of respondents showed a strong consensus, citing low civil service salaries as the main factor and the lack of control and accountability of public officials as the second main reason.

The Partnership for Governance Reform is a collaboration between several international organisations, including the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and the Asian Development Bank, and Indonesia's business community and non- governmental organisations. It aims at pushing and supporting a governance reform agenda with anti-corruption as its top priority.

Pressure mounts against Akbar, Golkar in Bulog scam

Jakarta Post - October 19, 2001

Jakarta -- Public pressure has been increasing for the House of Representatives to set up a special committee in charge of investigating the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) scam involving some 40 billion rupiah (US$4 million) allegedly perpetrated by Golkar Party chairman and current House Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

"If the allegation is true, to the best of my knowledge, this is the dirtiest example of money politics I've ever known," Todung Mulya Lubis, one of the top lawyers in the country, said. "This is too big to be neglected. There must be a special committee [set up] to investigate this alleged scam," he told The Jakarta Post after participating in a workshop to discuss the possible establishment of a constitutional commission.

It could lead to the dissolution of Golkar if the allegation is proven, he added. Todung explained that if former Bulog chairman Rahardi Ramelan confessed that he had handed over 40 billion rupiah to Akbar, then it did not make sense that Tandjung then said he simply forgot which foundation he had channeled the money to. "It is quite a great deal of money," he reiterated.

In an earlier inquiry at the Attorney General's Office, Rahardi said that in addition to the 40 billion rupiah he gave to Akbar in 1999, another 10 billion rupiah was given to former TNI chief (ret.) Gen. Wiranto.

Officials from Golkar did not intend to issue an official clarification regarding those executive members alleged to have been involved in the corruption case, according to Syamsul Mu'arif, the party's secretary-general. "We will leave the case to the legal authorities and refrain from making any political moves as it will just interfere with the current process," Syamsul, who is also minister of communications and information, said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Teten Masduki of Indonesia Corruption Watch said Akbar must quit his current post as the House speaker if the authorities officially decide to investigate his role in the scam. Teten said Tandjung's statement, which confirmed that he indeed received the money from Rahardi, can be used as the basis to investigate him. "The money which was supposed to be used to support the poor was misused for political purposes intended to help his party. He must have known about that matter," Teten said.

Teten said that the National Election Commission needs to thoroughly probe Golkar over these allegations. Existing Political Law No. 3/1999 stipulates that a political party is allowed to receive donations of not more than 150 rupiah million from a third party for its operation or campaign. "40 billion rupiah is far beyond the law's limitation. Golkar can be dissolved for that," Teten said.

Separately Wiranto said on Thursday that the alleged graft case was not related to the Ministry of Defense and Security as an institution. "The minister and the military chief did not directly accept the money. We have an accountability mechanism for the use and possession of such funds," Wiranto said before meeting with Amien Rais, speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly. Wiranto said he and the officials at the ministry would disclose any information needed to shed more light on the case. "In due time, of course, the defense ministry and the military commander will give their explanations on this matter," he said.

Akbar accused of graft by factions within Golkar

Straits Times - October 18, 2001

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Golkar chief and Parliament Speaker Akbar Tandjung has come under fire on allegations of corruption, which observers said may be a move from within his own party to unseat him from the coveted leadership post.

Mr Akbar was implicated in a case involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) after its former head, Mr Rahardi Ramelan, last week told the Attorney-General's office that he had disbursed 40 billion rupiah (S$7.6 million) of Bulog's non-budgetary funds in 1999 to the then-secretary of state to fund a social security programme.

Mr Akbar said the move was ordered by then-president B.J. Habibie during a limited Cabinet meeting. Reports have emerged, however, that the funds were used to finance Golkar's 1999 election campaign win.

Indicating a widening split within the second-largest party in Parliament, these claims have come from Golkar's own members. Said a Straits Times source in Golkar: "There are a lot of flaws in this argument. If there was a limited Cabinet meeting, then why weren't there any records of the meeting?" He said Bulog had traditionally been a cash cow for Golkar since the 1970s.

But this cash cow "belongs" to one of the party's factions that observers say is fanning the issue to rock Mr Akbar's leadership.

Using the pretext that his involvement in the case is tainting the party's image, some factions are trying to pressure party leaders to speed up the National Congress, now set for 2004, to elect a new party boss. "As a political party we need a positive image, which Mr Akbar may have already lost by being involved in this case," said the Golkar source.

There are at least two influential factions within the party opposing Mr Akbar's leadership, including the Iramasuka caucus, whose constituents in eastern Indonesia make up the bulk of Golkar's voters. This caucus' disdain of Mr Akbar began when he dropped his support for Mr Habibie's failed attempt to run for president in 1999. Under his leadership, members of this caucus have also been largely sidelined.

Another source close to Mr Akbar said he suspected another faction led by former Cabinet minister Ginandjar Kartasasmita was behind the campaign to implicate him. The source said Mr Ginandjar had harboured personal resentment against Mr Akbar, whom he saw as backing the move by then-attorney-general Marzuki Darusman to prosecute him.

Golkar deputy secretary-general Muchyar Yara said that to his party's elite, "Akbar is perceived as incapable of accommodating their needs. Sure, he has a major role in the survival of Golkar post-Suharto, but his grasp on the dynamics of Indonesian politics has weakened".

Corruption spotted among councillors

Jakarta Post - October 16, 2001

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- City councillors could possibly commit corruption, but not on the same scale as that which may have been committed by their predecessors, a deputy chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- Perjuangan) hinted on Saturday.

The assessment was made by Mangara Siahaan during a regional working meeting organized by the city chapter of PDI-Perjuangan in Central Jakarta. "If, I said if, some of them [councillors] really committed corruption, it [the amount] is quite small," he said. Hundreds of participants in the working meeting responded to the statement with a burst of laughter and applause.

Mangara made the comment in the wake of the refusal by many city councillors, including those of his party, to submit their wealth reports to the State Officials' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN). Basically, he said, councillors from the party had no problem with submitting their wealth reports, which they received about six months ago. However, they had reached an agreement with other councillors that it would be done after KPKPN had set up its city chapter (KPKPD).

He said that the KPKPN should have first asked former officials, instead of the current officials, to report their wealth because corruption in the past was more rampant.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is also the party's chairwoman, ordered the party's councillors last month to submit their wealth reports to KPKPN. Councillors from the United Development Party and the National Mandate Party submitted their reports earlier, following public criticism on the issue.

Many others refused, saying that Law No. 28 on the KPKPN did not specify councillors as public servants. They argued that the law should be revised first, and if they were deemed to be public servants, they should also obtain benefits such as retirement fees.

Regional/communal conflicts

'Hidden agenda' in trial of separatist leader

South China Morning Post - October 20, 2001

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- The trial of a separatist leader in Ambon, the capital of Indonesia's Maluku islands, that began yesterday had a hidden political agenda, analysts said.

Alex Manuputty was charged with raising a pro-independence flag at his home on April 25, and is being tried in a public session guarded by hundreds of extra police and troops. Manuputty heads the Front for a Sovereign Maluku, and aims to set up the Republic of South Maluku.

His flag-raising effort was brief and symbolic. About six thousand Malukans have died in communal and religious fighting, and tens of thousands of displaced people are only just returning to their homes. In this context, the real reason for Manuputty's prosecution was more complex, one sociologist claimed. "It's not that separatism is really considered a threat in Ambon these days, but by talking about that, the authorities hope to distract us from the activities of the Laskar Jihad," he said.

He said efforts to rid the Maluku islands of militant Islamic group Laskar Jihad had petered out several months ago at the same time as army propaganda sought to raise the profile of the alleged separatist threat. This served the dual purpose of justifying a continuation of emergency rule in the islands, which involved a heavy troop presence, as well as giving a just cause to Islamic militants there.

The militants claim Maluku's Christians are fuelled by separatism and therefore must be expelled or killed. Uniformed men have been seen helping Laskar Jihad militants attack Christian areas. Western sources claimed Middle Eastern and other foreigners had been seen backing the Laskar Jihad's attacks. Laskar Jihad leader Jafar Umar Thalib was arrested for his followers' activities, but then released. Manuputty was arrested at the same time and was also released but is now facing trial, raising the question why his insignificant group is being targeted while Laskar Jihad operates a welcome desk at Ambon airport.

"It's pretty obvious. No one dares to touch the Laskar Jihad, but it's OK to nab a guy who lacks serious backing and explain away a lot of brutality against Christians in the process," said a Western diplomat.

The head of the Ambon prosecutors' office, Saiya, told state news agency Antara that judges in Manuputty's trial came from outside the province and the three prosecutors included a Hindu, a Muslim and a Protestant "to anticipate any unwanted things that may harm the recently conducive security situation".

Mob burns church in Indonesia's Sumatra island

Agence France-Presse - October 17, 2001

Jakarta -- A mob ransacked and torched a church in the south of Indonesia's Sumatra island, a report said Wednesday.

About a dozen men attacked the small church at Kampung Tanjung in Lampung province early Monday, the Media Indonesia daily said. They ransacked it and stole clothes and jewels belonging to the churchwarden before setting it alight, the paper said. Local police could not immediately be reached for confirmation. The paper said the motive for the attack was being investigated. The attackers were believed to have come from the area.

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim-populated nation with over 80 percent of its more than 210 million people following Islam.

The state, however, provides equal footing for the five religions it recognizes -- Islam, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism and Hinduism.

In September, 23 houses and at least one church were torched in an attack by a 200-strong mob on a village in Indonesia's West Java province.

Human rights/law

Human rights judgments over-easy - Executions rare

Tempo Magazine - October 9-15, 2001

An Indonesian general has been found guilty in an American court. Is there any resounding impact?

The end of February 2000; a man greets Indonesian Military Lt. Gen. Johny Lumintang at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. "Good afternoon, General," he says. Lumintang smiles warmly, thinking that this man is a participant in the seminar on military reform the day before, where Lumintang was a guest speaker. The smile comes prematurely.

Lumintang's facial expression turns to shock when the man shows him a profile of serious allegations identifying him as responsible for crimes against humanity after the September 1999 independence referendum in East Timor.

Last Thursday, a year after the fact, Federal Judge Alan Kay pronounced Lumintang -- the ex-deputy Army Chief of Staff and Governor of the National Resilience Institute -- guilty as charged. The judge accepted the case made by attorney Steven M. Schnebaum that Lumintang had committed human rights violations, although not with his own hands. " He was aware of, or at the very least ignored the decision to use military violence in East Timor." Judge Kay announced a penalty of US$66 million, around Rp653 billion.

This is the second time an Indonesian general has been dealt such a verdict. In 1992, an American Federal Judge pronounced Maj. Gen. Sintong Penjaitan responsible for one of the deaths in the Santa Cruz massacre in Dili, East Timor a year before. The judge ruled in favor of Helen Todd, the mother of Kamal Bamadhaj, one of the dozens of victims who were slain in this incident, and ordered Sintong to pay compensation of US$14 million.

Two organizations and one lawyer lodged the accusations against Lumintang: Center for Constitutional Rights (New York), Center for Justice and Accountability (San Francisco), and James Klimaski (Washington, DC). The three parties gained authority from a number of East Timorese citizens whose names have been concealed: a mother whose child was killed, a man who claims to have been tortured and a man who lost his leg during a riot.

These lawsuits were possible under the Alien Tort Claims Act 1789, which allows non-American citizens to make complaints of violations of American law or international law that occur outside America. Also, the 1992 Torture Victim Protection Act approves complaints to American courts if the accused receives a letter of accusation in America.

During the court session, the prosecutor presented amongst other proof a telegram dated 5 May 1999 from Lumintang to Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, the Udayana Military Commander. The contents stated that the field commander need not hesitate in wiping out pro- independence supporters, and also included the command to evacuate if the pro-independence faction won the referendum. Also produced was the Army instruction booklet, number 43-B-01, 30 July 1999 which contained Lumintang's signature. Its contents revealed Army Special Forces intelligence operations to undertake kidnappings, terror, propaganda, agitation and sabotage against East Timorese pro-independence activists, before and after the referendum.

Lumintang -- now the Secretary-General of the Defense Ministry -- refuted the accusations from the beginning, as did the Indonesian government (at that time headed by President Abdurrahman Wahid) and the TNI Headquarters, which both rejected this American justice model.

"The accusations were wrongly addressed," Lumintang told TEMPO, when he arrived in Jakarta at that time, "I have had no personal business with East Timor." As the representative of the Strategic Military Commander, he stated, his authority was only to supervise, not to mobilize soldiers. Lumintang indeed acknowledged sending a telegram to Adam Damiri, but insisted its purpose was to "prevent East Timor becoming another Saigon", referring to the evacuation operation of American citizens at the end of the Vietnam War. As the Representative of the Strategic Military Commander, Lumintang felt it necessary to prepare an emergency plan in anticipating the worst. " I would be accused of being wrong if I hadn't have prepared that plan," he said. However, his plea did not make it to the courts. He was tried and sentenced in his absence.

As serious as the case may be, the verdict from America is difficult to execute, apart from the fact that Lumintang has assets that could be seized and withheld. Up until this point, even Sintong has not paid a cent and the American courts have not made a fuss. However, what is clear is that neither general will ever be able to set foot again on American soil.

Lumintang himself does not appear overly concerned. "I am an Indonesian citizen, I only bow to Indonesian law," he said.

Looking at the law in Indonesia, the government has indeed prepared an ad hoc court system to deal with violations of human rights in East Timor due to demands from the international community. However, all of this is meaningless in terms of legal advancement. The verdict that came out of America, although only symbolic, will put more pressure on the Indonesian government to try its generals. This also provides us with proof, at whatever price. It is somewhat ironic, however, America once supported the Indonesian military's escapades.

[Arif A. Kuswardono, Supriyono, New York.]

Environment

North Sumatran activists protest sand mining

Jakarta Post - October 20, 2001

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- Activists warned authorities in North Sumatra about the possibility of environmental damage following a plan to extract sand from the province's eastern coastal areas to Malaysia and Singapore, saying it could hasten coastal erosion and consequent flooding on the mainland.

Rinto, chief of the environmental division of the Medan Legal Aid Institution (LBH Medan), said he had submitted his institution's protest on the provincial administration's plan to extract sand and export it to the two neighboring countries because it would harm the environment and would not benefit local people. "But, so far, no positive response to the protest has been made, while the provincial administration has even granted licenses to 10 private companies to quarry sand along the eastern coastal areas, to be exported to the two countries," he said here recently.

Rinto contended that the planned sand extraction would certainly accelerate coastal erosion on the mainland and cause flooding in coastal areas. "Many towns and villages, and millions of hectares of agricultural land and fish ponds along the vast coastal areas ranging from Langkat in the north to Labuhan Batu in the south will be under threat should the planned sand extraction go ahead," he said.

According to The Jakarta Post's information based on enquiries in the field, the provincial authorities have granted concessions to ten private companies to extract sand from the coastal areas. The ten companies are: PT Fendi Murni, PT Nusambada Prata, PT Mitra Sinar Langkat, PT Obor, PT Cipta Bhakti Kesuma, PT Antartik Supratanik, PT Reka Karya, PT Gora Gahana, PT Panca Abadi Mitra and PT Dian Mitra.

Jasnis Sulung, an environmental activist in Tandjung Balai, Asahan Regency, lambasted the local government's policy, saying it would produce problems rather than financial benefits for local people. "The policy will bring financial benefits to a small group of businessmen who have secured licenses for sand extraction while a majority of local people will gain nothing but the negative impacts such as flooding and environmental damage," he said.

He added that despite the plan, the smuggling of sand from Labuhan Batu and Asahan Regencies had been prevalent and it would damage the environment unless it were controlled. "A major part of the town of Tanjungbalai has been inundated for more than five months annually since illegal sand extraction became prevalent along the coastal areas in Asahan Regency," he said. Jasnis said hundreds of tons of sand were smuggled each week to Singapore and Johar in Malaysia at a price of S$1 per cubic meter.

Nailul Amali, a councillor of the North Sumatra provincial legislative council, hailed the provincial government's policy but said it should not damage the environment. "The provincial administration should assess any negative impacts of sand extraction on the environment. The government should only go ahead with the plan if it is subsequently found to be environmentally feasible," he said.

Sukabumi's Green Turtle on the brink of extinction

Jakarta Post - October 19, 2001

Jakarta -- The green turtle (Chelonian) found on the southern coast of Sukabumi regency in West Java province is acing extinction due to the poaching of its eggs, chairman of he Green Foundation, Cevy Th Mulyana, said on Thursday.

"The green turtle will become extremely rare or even vanish in the next 10 years to 15 years due to the uncontrolled poaching of its eggs," Cevy said as quoted by Antara.

He said the Sukabumi administration was supposed to enforce a ban on egg poaching. A regulation on nature preservation, covering rare animal species, must be issued soon, he added. Turtle eggs are sold at about 3,000 rupiah each

Jakarta finally acts to cut vehicle-emission levels

Straits Times - October 18, 2001

Jakarta -- Long criticised for its lack of action, the Indonesian government has moved to lower vehicle-emission levels in major cities.

With financial assistance from international donors and non- governmental organisations (NGOs), the government is working on a national action plan. A working group has been formed to prepare an integrated strategy on the reduction of vehicle emissions. The group will recommend steps to cut emissions by next February.

Mr Ridwan M. Tamin, the head of the vehicle air pollution division at the National Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal), said the programme would bring together government agencies and NGOs which were currently working on their own agendas. "A lack of coordination has been making the emission- reduction efforts ineffective," he said at a media briefing.

The working group, called the Multisectoral Action Plan Group, comprises government agencies such as Bapedal, the Jakarta city administration and the ministries of environment, energy and mineral resources and transportation. The project is sponsored by the Asian Development Bank. Several NGOs concerned with air pollution, such as Swisscontact and the Committee Against Leaded Fuel, have joined the group.

The government has begun a rigorous campaign to cut back on air pollution, especially vehicle emissions, in urban areas. As part of its efforts, it has begun phasing out leaded petrol after introducing unleaded petrol at city gas pumps in June.

It has also stipulated the use of natural gas by public transport. Jakarta is among the world's most polluted cities. The Jakarta office of Bapedal has recorded extremely high levels of lead pollution. In some areas, pollution has reached an average of 1.8 micrograms per cubic metre, higher than the standard of 1.0 microgram per cubic metre set by the agency. The high level of air pollution has raised concerns about its hazardous effects, especially on children.

Religion/Islam

Syariah law? Jakarta offers new criminal code instead

Straits Times - October 19, 2001

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Inspired by Aceh, the only province where the Islamic Law or Syariah is officially in place, Muslim groups in several other provinces in Indonesia are also pushing for the implementation of the law. To assuage the groups, the government has been forced to revise the criminal law and give it a more Islamic touch.

Banten, South Sulawesi and West Sumatra are among the staunchly Muslim provinces where politicians and activists have been calling for the imposition of the Syariah. In a bid to win separatist hearts in the provinces, Islamic political parties in Parliament have been backing the provinces in their call for the Syariah to be implemented.

Two of these parties -- the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) -- are chaired by Vice-President Hamzah Haz and Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra respectively. The two parties have been campaigning for the inclusion of the sentence: "Muslims must be obliged to the Syariah" in the preamble of the Constitution, a move that has little support outside of the Muslim factions.

In the past year, the Syariah has been a hotly-debated issue in the country, especially with the rise of fundamentalist and militant Muslim groups and Islamic political parties. In some towns in West Java, local administrations have even begun applying the Syariah informally. They make it mandatory for women to wear headscarves, while the police would conduct raids on couples in hotel rooms and make them produce proof of marriage.

But the closest thing to the Syariah for these provinces may be the new version of the Indonesian Criminal Code, the revision of which is currently being drafted by a team of officials, legal experts and Muslim scholars. The draft is expected to be completed and submitted to Parliament before the end of this year.

Said Mr Yusril recently: "We expect that we will complete the deliberation of the bill at the most in three years' time." The new criminal code would not only address contemporary legal issues, but would also incorporate the essence of Islamic law and traditional Indonesian law, he said. The current criminal code, being an 18th century product of the Dutch colonial government, has been widely criticised as archaic and unsuitable for the complexity of Indonesian culture.

Mr Rifyal Ka'bah, a former member of an expert team overseeing the criminal code revision, told The Straits Times that with the revised law, some of the definitions of crimes would be changed as well.

Islamic Law in Aceh

• Muslim women must wear headscarves.
• Men must join Friday prayers at the mosque.
• Night establishments like bars, discotheques, massage or pool houses must be outlawed.
• Alcohol and sex outside of marriage is forbidden.
• Pornography and any form of gambling must also be eradicated.

Indonesian Muslim women want freedoms to stay

Jakarta Post - October 15, 2001

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta -- Indonesian policemen often do a double-take when they wheel bloodied corpses in to Oktavinda Safitry at Jakarta's central morgue. They soon give the devout Muslim woman and veiled coroner approving nods.

"First, maybe they think this is not a place for someone like me. But they have no complaints when I tell them "I'm the doctor" and they see me work," said the 26-year-old Safitry as she carefully took a blood sample from a male cadaver's genitals.

Other women across Indonesia hold similarly testing jobs, clearly separating the world's largest Muslim country from Arab nations which still ban women from doing many things. Indonesian women Muslims can usually get educated according to their ability, walk outside at night without a male relative and attain the country's highest office.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri is a Muslim and a mother, although she was largely thwarted from taking power in 1999 by some Islamic leaders who opposed a woman ruling Indonesia. She became president in July.

All women interviewed in recent days criticised the US-led air strikes on Afghanistan, which have entered their second week.

But Muslim businesswoman Siti Mulyati Djasa also said she totally rejected restrictions on women such as those applied by the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan. "I do not agree with such practices. I pity them [Afghan women] because it degrades women beyond comprehension," she said.

Megawati on Sunday abandoned Jakarta's stance that the air strikes on Afghanistan should only be limited and, apparently bowing to local Muslim pressure, expressed veiled but strong condemnation, saying no government had the right to attack another country or seek to cleanse blood with blood.

Envy of the Middle East

There is no blanket obligation in Indonesia for women to cover their entire bodies in public or stay at home. In cities, women are found throughout private firms, while they form the backbone of the labour-intensive manufacturing sector and also till the fields in rural areas.

These freedoms stem partly from economic necessity but also have their roots in the moderate teachings of the Koran and because Islam was not imposed on Indonesia, but melded with local culture during centuries of contact with Arab traders.

However, a mix of Islam and traditions can occasionally roll back freedoms, while some women's activists worry conservative Muslim leaders will use anger at the US air strikes to rally support for imposing some stricter regulations.

Leading womens' rights activist Nursyahbani Katjasungkana told Reuters that Indonesian women had long been the envy of women in other Muslim countries, where lives can be austere. "They think Indonesian women live in heaven," she said. But Katjasungkana and other activists said women here had some way to go on the equality path, adding that the force behind intolerance was not always Islam but traditions of male dominance in a nation made up of more than 250 different ethnic groups. "Religion is only a justification for men to obstruct women's progress. It's not the religion which blocks this, it's the traditional culture," said 21-year-old student Nadiya Ahya Hayati, the first veiled woman to lead the prestigious debating society at the high-profile University of Indonesia.

In the eyes of educated Indonesian women, Islam can get caught up in male chauvinism. "Many Islamic teachings from the Prophet have been manipulated for a male bias," said Nefirsa Viviani, a feminist who wears a traditional Muslim veil and robe.

Others take the many derivations of Islam for granted, or prefer to lead simple and pious lives. Veiled Nana Juariah, 35, sees nothing wrong with staying at home, bearing children and being a cleric's second wife. "There are more women than men. So if we resist the Koran and prevent men from having more than one wife we open the gate for men to have affairs which is sinful," said the mother of three.

Islam allows men to have up to four wives at a time, although the custom is not widespread in Indonesia. One high-profile polygamist is Vice-President Hamzah Haz, who has two wives.

'Emancipation gone too far'

Juariah also criticised feminists whom she thought were irresponsible for encouraging women to leave home often, reflecting not so much strict interpretations of Islam, but what some would see as conservative traditional mores. "Women's emancipation has gone too far. They [some women] prefer to be far from their homes and children and you see a lot of kids getting involved in drugs because of that," she said.

Viviani, who edits Indonesia's only journal promoting Muslim women's rights, blamed poverty, a lack of education and old- fashioned clerics for such views. "There are still many clerics who think the best place for a woman is at home and that they should obey their husbands without reserve," said the managing editor of Jakarta-based Swara Rahima.

Surprisingly, one factor posing a test to the relative freedom enjoyed by Indonesian Muslim women is euphoria over laws that devolve certain powers to the country's far-flung regions. In several areas, male politicians have proposed laws aimed at stamping out prostitution and which also include curbs on women walking around at night. Most regulations have failed to get passed, although some incidents have been reported.

Swara Rahima recently published a story about a veiled girl on a night bus to visit her grandmother in West Java province when a mob of men stopped the vehicle and dragged her out. One of the men said the region had banned women travelling at night without a male relative. Others shaved her head.

Even in the staunchly Muslim province of Aceh, the implementation of Islamic sharia law has only led to some similar isolated cases that were quickly condemned by women's groups.

Back at Jakarta's central morgue, Safitry finishes with the male corpse and makes clear that what counts in her line of work is not religion, but ability -- and a strong stomach. "My job is not about being a man or woman. I know a lot of male doctors who faint and throw up when they're here," she said.

Armed forces/police

Bill on police said to fail to promote spirit of reform

Jakarta Post - October 18, 2001

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Despite separation between the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) since 1999, a reform bill currently being deliberated at the House of Representatives by a special committee, has failed to promote a spirit of reform, observers said on Wednesday.

A legal observer, who is also a member of the House Commission II on legal and home affairs JE Sahetapy said the bill also failed to focus on the police's main function as the protector of civilians.

"In Article 13 which stipulates the police's tasks and authorities, I don't see their prime role of protecting and serving people being held up as top priority with their second priority being the maintenance of security and public order," he said in a discussion held by the non-governmental organization Partnership for Governance Reform.

Also present at the discussion were Adnan Pandupraja of Indonesian Police Watch, Ifdhal Kasim of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), Bambang Widjojanto of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), Dewi Nurjulianti of the National Commission for Women, and Fadillah Agus of the International Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Sahetapy went on to say that the bill has failed to promote internal reform in the National Police because, "it [the bill] stresses mainly legal action instead of actual enforcement of reform laws." Adnan Pandupraja, who is also a lecturer at the University of Indonesia, criticized the bill and called it a setback in reform because none of the articles stipulates an appropriate evaluation procedure for candidates with regard to the appointment of the National Police chief.

"In the current reform era, we need transparency, accountability, and public participation in every governmental decision. If we look at Article 11 line 1 which says that the National Police chief is appointed and dismissed by the President with the consent of the House, we can see that there is no transparency, nor is there public participation in the election.

"If the process fails to fulfill the demand for reform, how can we say we are being accountable to the public? Is the position of the National Police chief different from the one held by the chief of the Supreme Court?," Pandu asked.

Meanwhile, Fadillah Agus questioned why the bill did not specifically stipulate a possible involvement of the National Police in investigations of international crimes. He said that "the police have to optimize their ability in dealing with transnational crimes in line with the current situation that the world is in."

Government should reseize military reform agenda, ICG says

Jakarta Post - October 16, 2001

Leo Wahyudi S, Jakarta -- The government should retake the initiative in reforming the nation's defense sector from the hands of the Indonesian Military (TNI), the International Crisis Group (ICG) has said.

The Brussels-based research institute, which has produced numerous reports on Indonesia, warned that with the lack of clear government policy and the continuing military distrust of civilians, "TNI has been attempting to control the military reform agenda".

The recent change of government, the continuing economic crisis and the problems besetting the military, all called for a comprehensive review of the TNI, it said. "This is an opportunity for the government to repossess the initiative and regain control of the defense reform agenda," a summary of the ICG report on the TNI reform stated.

It noted that in various legislations, including the doctrine of the total people's defense in the defense bill, TNI had begun planning and reshaping the army territorial organization. "This is a low order reform that should stem from government policy that determines the future mission, size, shape and organization of defense forces, rather than being determined by the TNI on the basis of a vague philosophical concept contained in legislation."

The report warned of time bombs that could justify TNI's political role or limit government options, unless the civilian government seized the initiative in defense legislation. "Effective government leadership is the best hedge against this possibility," it said.

Many analysts have warned that the momentum for reform, including within the TNI, has slackened over the last two years with subsequent civilian administrations embroiled in endless infighting. While the TNI has professed to conduct thorough reforms, including a gradual withdrawal from the political arena, the schedule remains unclear.

The military has pledged to withdraw from the House of Representatives in 2004 and the People's Consultative Assembly in 2009. But is has not made any firm commitment to dismantle its controversial territorial structure, through which it exercises most of its political powers.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri, in her speech to mark TNI's 56th anniversary on October 5, said the military should withdraw from the political arena and focus fully on national defense. But she failed to set a firm deadline.

The ICG noted that while TNI had changed its education system to incorporate human rights training and new rules of engagement, it had yet to impose penalties for violations of these rules. "President Megawati has committed herself to uphold respect for human rights, but what this means has yet to be seen on the ground, particularly in the troubled provinces of Aceh and Irian Jaya."

The report called on the government to review the ground rules for the country's intelligence services, and to revamp the way the government finances the military. It also recognizes the need for the international community to assist Indonesia to help set the defense reform in motion.

International relations

Indonesia minister says backs war on terrorism

Reuters - October 18, 2001

Jeremy Page, Shanghai -- A senior Indonesian minister denied on Thursday that President Megawati Sukarnoputri had condemned US-led strikes on Afghanistan and said Jakarta had not wavered in its support for a war on terrorism.

Megawati was widely seen as expressing veiled condemnation of the strikes in a speech on Sunday, saying no government had the right to attack another country or seek to cleanse blood with blood.

But Trade and Industry Minister Rini Soewandi said media reports had distorted Megawati's comments. Moreover, US officials had not questioned the country's commitment to the anti-terror fight or threatened economic sanctions, she added.

"The US understands that the perception of the media or some of the media was not the intention of Indonesia. It was not the intention of Indonesia to relax its position on terrorism," she told Reuters in an interview.

"It has been wrongly perceived," she said of Megawati's speech at a religious ceremony that Soewandi also attended. "We never said anything against the attacks." Megawati's remarks on Sunday had cast doubts on US hopes of building united support for its coalition to fight terrorism at the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Shanghai this week.

Soewandi said Megawati had discussed terrorism with her US counterparts at APEC and they had not raised the possibility of withdrawing economic aid for Indonesia in response to the speech. "They have not questioned our position, so there is no point of reassurance because they are not concerned about it," she said.

APEC leaders are expected to issue a strong statement condemning terrorism at the weekend, although one that does not specifically mention the US military strikes against Afghanistan.

In return for Megawati's support for the war on terrorism, the United States vowed financial assistance for a country still trying to rebuild an economy shattered by the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Washington also lifted an embargo on sales of non-lethal military items.

Warning against violence

Soewandi said Megawati's speech had been a warning against violence. "She reminded all of us Muslims that we as Muslims do not support violence, do not allow violence in our lives. We are committed to peace. Islam is a non-violent religion, Islam cannot accept violence of any kind." However, Megawati's apparent shift from her previous stance backing limited strikes on Afghanistan reflected hardening anti-US views among many in the world's most populous Muslim nation, analysts said.

The strikes on Afghanistan have put her in an awkward position less than three months after taking over volatile Indonesia, with moderate Muslims at home opposing the raids but a critical ally and investment partner seeking her support.

Soewandi said Indonesia's commitment to fight terrorism was based on its own experience. Indonesia has been racked by separatist, ethnic and religious violence in recent years. "We will continue to fight terrorism because Indonesia has had the experience of that in the past few years," she said.

She stressed the importance of combating terrorism through economic means by promoting free trade and stimulating economic growth to provide jobs for the disaffected.

Megawati just has to understand what's going on: Howard

Sydney Morning Herald - October 17, 2001

Craig Skehan -- The Prime Minister, John Howard, has cautioned Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri against her growing criticism of United States-led military attacks on Afghanistan. Ms Megawati said on Monday that "blood cannot be cleansed with blood".

Despite a possible diplomatic backlash, Mr Howard yesterday said he would seek to take up the issue personally when he met Ms Megawati in Shanghai this weekend. "She must understand, this is not a struggle between Islam and the rest of the world," Mr Howard said in a radio interview. The campaign against terrorism had to continue, he said.

He expected to meet Ms Megawati at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co- operation forum, he said. But in Jakarta, government sources said Ms Megawati had no plans to meet Mr Howard.

Political observers in Jakarta said last night that Mr Howard's comments were likely to upset Ms Megawati's Government as interfering in Indonesia's internal affairs for political gain in Australia.

Ms Megawati has warned that attempts to stem terrorism should be carried out in accordance with principles of international law.

"It is unacceptable that someone, a group or even a government, reasoning that they are searching for perpetrators, attack a people or another country for whatever reason," she said on Monday.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirajuda, said earlier that military attacks should "not amount to an attack on the people of Afghanistan or their Islamic faith". There have been growing demonstrations in Indonesia against the US, as well as in Malaysia, where the Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has called for a halt to the US bombing.

Australia has offered to contribute special forces troops, refuelling aircraft and Navy ships to the US attacks. This comes as Australia seeks collaboration with South-East Asian nations that have Muslim populations or majorities -- notably Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines -- to fight terrorism. One serious worry is the ease with which people from Muslim countries in the Middle East, as well as South and Central Asia, can enter these nations.

The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, expects to take up counter-terrorism measures with his Indonesian counterpart today in Shanghai ahead of the leaders' summit. He will press for a strongly worded APEC statement supporting the US-led coalition against terrorism.

However, China, which is to chair a special APEC meeting on terrorism tomorrow, is expected to instead push for such efforts to be pursued under the auspices of the United Nations.

The Opposition Leader, Kim Beazley, yesterday wrote to Mr Howard saying that if he insisted on going to APEC he should be accompanied by a Labor representative, the Shadow Foreign Minister, Laurie Brereton, because the government was in caretaker mode.

But Mr Beazley repeated that Mr Howard should not make the visit to Shanghai at all. "He goes to APEC with the authority only of a caretaker prime minster. What he should be doing over the weekend is continuing to participate in the Australian political debate on who should govern this country over the next three years."

Megawati berates Bush over attacks

Sydney Morning Herald - October 16, 2001

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri has condemned the United States-led air strikes on Afghanistan as her Government continues to take tough action against radical groups that have threatened to attack Western interests in the country. She said in a nationally televised address that no government had the right to attack another country and that "blood cannot be cleansed with blood".

Police in Jakarta yesterday used tear gas and water cannon and fired blank warning shots to disperse several hundred anti-US demonstrators who tried to force their way through barricades outside parliament. Ten people were arrested. Earlier, 27 protesters allegedly found carrying weapons and bomb-making materials were arrested.

Ms Megawati, bowing to growing pressure from Muslim groups in the world's largest Islamic nation, said that whoever committed terror had to be punished. "However, the search for and the bringing to justice of perpetrators of terror or those parties who harbour them must be in accordance with law that is generally acceptable. "It is unacceptable that someone, a group or even a government, reasoning that they are searching for perpetrators, attack a people or another country for whatever reason. Blood cannot be cleansed with blood."

Until Ms Megawati's comments at a mosque on Sunday the US had seen Indonesia as a critical ally. Immediately after the September 11 attacks she had pledged her country's support for the US war on terrorism. However, when the attacks on Afghanistan began her Government repeatedly urged the action be limited to avoid civilian casualties.

The pressure on Ms Megawati to call for a halt to the attacks on Afghanistan has come from some of Indonesia's most powerful politicians, including Vice-President Hamzah Haz and Akbar Tanjung, leader of Golkar, the second largest party.

Mr Haz, the leader of the country's largest Muslim-based political party, said at the weekend that the US had not proved that Osama bin Laden was involved in the US attacks. Mr Haz's United Development Party has threatened to bring millions of protesters on to Jakarta's streets if the attacks on Afghanistan continue.

Ms Megawati, a secular nationalist who rarely makes public statements on controversial issues, said in her address: "We cannot imagine that other groups or nations can make their own measurements and rules to decide who is right or wrong and then attack other parties."

She made no mention during her address of the threats by radical groups that have been staging small but rowdy protests across the country and threats to drive US and British nationals from the country and to boycott US products. So far there have been no reports of serious assaults, although police have ordered the closure of many restaurants, bars and nightclubs that are frequented by foreigners.

Business leaders say the heightened security fears have dealt a cruel blow when Ms Megawati seemed to be bringing some political and policy certainty to the country facing a myriad of serious problems, including a collapsed economy.

Mega shows discomfort with bombing campaign

Straits Times - October 15, 2001

Jakarta -- Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, in comments indicating a degree of discomfort with the United States-led strikes on Afghanistan, said last night that violence must not beget violence.

Speaking at Istiqlal Mosque here at the commemoration of the Ascension day of the Prophet Mohammad, she condemned terrorism and expressed Indonesia's support to fight it -- but added that violence "does not always have to be responded to with violence".

In what amounted to her first indirect comments on the airstrikes, she said that no single individual, group or government should track and punish terrorists by summarily attacking another country.

"If a certain country wants to find those responsible for terrorist activity, it must apply accepted international norms and not do as it likes," she said.

"No one group or state should make its own rules in the use of force and then attack others." Jakarta has said that it is following with grave concern the airstrikes against Afghanistan. There has also been strong public protests against the US and the attacks across Indonesia.

Ms Megawati's comments came a day after Vice-President Hamzah Haz, speaking as chairman of the Muslim-based United Development Party, urged Washington to stop the military campaign in Afghanistan.

At the same time, Jakarta has been moving against militants and others who have been demonstrating in the capital against the US-led strikes.

Police yesterday confirmed they were holding 27 anti-US protesters arrested for possessing weapons, including short swords and slingshots. They were among 65 people arrested on Saturday after hundreds of protesters from Central Java arrived at a train station. They had come to attend rallies opposing the US strikes.

Indonesian ties with US in nation' interest: Ministers

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2001

Despite mounting public pressure from small, vocal groups for the government to sever ties with the United States, the government said on Wednesday that it would maintain good relations with the US and its allies.

Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra told journalists in Jakarta that the government would watch closely the US-led military attacks on Afghanistan but would by no means consider the US an enemy. "Indonesia will push the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Conference to intervene and resolve the Afghan crisis," he said.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono echoed a similar view, urging the public at large not to be emotional. "I call on all Indonesian citizens not to be carried away by our emotions in deciding a very fundamental issue, including our relations with the international community," Soesilo told the press after speaking before military officers on Wednesday.

The two ministers were reacting to mounting public pressures, from militant Muslim groups, for Indonesia to cut ties with the US in protest of its air strikes against the Taliban which the US accuses of harboring suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden, the main suspect in the September 11 attacks which killed over 6,000 civilians from over 60 countries.

Immediately after the US and Britain bombed Taliban military targets and terrorist training camps on Sunday evening, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) urged the administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri to cut relations with the US The call has received limited support from students and militant groups which have staged daily protests against the United States since Monday and issued a series of ultimatums.

Soesilo emphasized that the decision to keep good relations with the United States was taken after carefully considered deliberations among high-ranking government officials. "We must take into account the fundamental interests of the nation and our people," Soesilo emphasized.

Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization, also opposed calls for Indonesia to cut ties with the US, arguing that such a move would only hurt Indonesia and its standing in the international community. "We should not damage ourselves for the sake of solidarity ... solidarity with the Muslims in Afghanistan must not sacrifice our national interests," he said.

Hasyim said Indonesia is not ready to cut ties with the US as many national interests are linked to America. "Moral support to Afghanistan is okay, but if Indonesia has to cut ties with the US, it is too premature as we have many interests that are related to America," he said.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid also expressed his abhorrence over the calls to cut ties with the US, but he criticized the government's stance which, according to him, did not air any criticism against the US "I think it [cutting ties] is too strong. It is enough for us to condemn unfair actions against Afghanistan, however it does seem that the government is afraid of the US," Abdurrahman was quoted by Antara as saying in Surabaya, East Java.

Abdurrahman said the US must be criticized if it commits unfair actions, violates international laws, or takes action that is not democratic. "If we are just silent, they may think that we agree with their actions," said Abdurrahman, who is also chairman of the patron council of the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Rizal Mallarangeng, an analyst associated with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said on Tuesday that cutting ties with the US is unrealistic for Indonesia as it is not in the national interest. "Cutting ties with the US is ridiculous and it is consistent with our national interest," he said.

Meanwhile, legislators from Commission I, which is in charge of foreign affairs, on Wednesday disagreed with the rising demands from groups in society to sever ties with the United States. Commission Chairman Ibrahim Ambong said the commission would monitor the foreign policy to be made by the government. "We have a plan in the works. We will not recommend the government to sever diplomatic ties. We are optimistic that there will be a solution to the Afghan crisis," he said. Deputy commission chairman Isaac Latuconsina concurred and said the demand to cut ties with the US was too extreme and not a representative view of the majority of Indonesians.

Economy & investment

Indonesia loses 1.1 billion in income as tourists stay away

Straits Times - October 20, 2001

Jakarta -- Over 1.3 million visitors have cancelled trips to Indonesia because of heightened anti-American sentiment since the United States launched air strikes against Afghanistan -- resulting in the loss of US$1.1 billion in potential tourist income, said a government minister.

State Minister of Communications and Information Syamsul Mu'arif said on Thursday: "We are in a difficult position as several countries, especially Western countries, are warning their citizens who planned to make trips here not to come due to our domestic political situation."

The average tourist who stays 11 days in Bali spends US$77.35 per day. The cancellation of visits by 1.3 million tourists represents a potential loss of US$1.1 billion in income. The government, as well as some private institutions, have predicted that tourist arrivals will decline this year, from the 5.1 million tourists recorded last year and the 4.8 million in 1999.

Mr Syamsul attributed the projected drop in foreign tourists to the travel warnings by some Western governments, as well as the increased cost of air travel. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, airlines around the world, including Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, have had to increase their air fares simply because they have to pay higher insurance premiums for their aircraft.

"The attacks by the United States against Afghanistan have affected the global economy, as well as ours. Should we cut our bilateral ties with the US, I'm afraid it would have a more serious impact on our national economy," said Mr Syamsul, referring to calls by some militant groups for the government to sever diplomatic ties with the US.

Indonesia will lose three million jobs if US ties cut

Straits Times - October 19, 2001

Jakarta -- Indonesia stands to lose three million jobs if it decides to sever diplomatic ties with the United States, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said. "Where will we channel those three million labourers who get laid off if Indonesia cuts its ties with the US?" he asked on Wednesday.

Many local offices of foreign enterprises, especially those related to American investors, have decided to scale down their activities due to anti-US rallies here following the US-led attacks on Afghanistan. Mr Jacob called on Indonesians sympathising with Afghanistan to maintain the country's good ties with the US.

"I cannot accept the fact that a country attacks another country, but we have to look at the situation of our own country, which has slipped deeper into the economic crisis," he said.

Deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iman Taufik said that severing diplomatic ties with the US would further weaken the country's economy since the US and its allies controlled the global economy.

Half Indonesia's factories bankrupt if ties cut with US: Chamber

Asia Pulse - October 18, 2001

Jakarta -- At least half of the factories in Indonesia face bankruptcy if the country cuts diplomatic ties with the United States, sending millions more workers out of work and disrupting economic recovery program, analysts and business leaders warned.

"It is not right for the United States to attack poor and hunger struck Afghanistan in search for an alleged terrorist, but it is not right either for the Indonesian government to break off diplomatic ties with the United States," Iman Taufik, a chairman of the Indonesian chamber of commerce and industry (Kadin), said Wednesday.

Iman said the suffering of the 220 million Indonesians, who are mostly Muslims will be worse if diplomatic ties with the United States are to be cut off.

He pointed out mere reactions by radical Muslims calling for severance of diplomatic ties already had caused big losses such as to the tourism industry with sharp decline in the number of foreign visitors, falling occupancy rate of hotels and declines in sales of handicraft products. "There will be massive capital flights and the program for economic recovery will be disrupted," he said.

He said Malaysia, which is much stronger economically, is not as vehemently anti-American as Indonesians.

Bustanul Arifin, a director of Indef, an economic think tank, said a call to boycott US products will harm Indonesia more than it will the United States.

Many Indonesian factories could not continue operation as they are heavily dependent on supply of basic materials from the United States, Arifin said. It would be worse still if the United States retaliates by boycotting Indonesian products, he said, adding that at least 50 per cent of Indonesian factories will be almost certain to go bankrupt.

He said the United States is the largest market for Indonesian export commodities. Many textile buyers in the United States have already turned away from Indonesia to other countries such as Taiwan as they no longer have confidence in Indonesia's ability to meet the delivery time.

Labor MInister Jacob Nuwa Wea predicted that at least 3 million more Indonesian workers will lose their jobs if the country breaks off diplomatic ties with the United States.

IMF agrees to revised budget assumptions

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2001

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to the revision of key assumptions in the 2002 state budget draft, to ease Indonesia's budget targets in the face of a global economic recession.

"They [the IMF] don't object to the changes in the 2002 budget assumptions," Minister of Finance Boediono said after a meeting with the House of Representatives' budget committee.

The government and legislators agreed on Tuesday to a set of changes regarding the key assumptions for next year's state budget. The revisions followed new waves of uncertainty amid fears of a prolonged global economic downturn.

Economic growth, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), was reduced to 4 percent from 5 percent, and the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar was lowered to 9,000 from 8,500. Inflation was raised to 9 percent from 8 percent, while the Bank Indonesia interest rate target was maintained at an average of 14 percent. The oil production target, a large contributor to state revenue, was raised by 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.32 million bpd. Crude oil prices were maintained at US$22 a barrel.

The IMF dispatched a high level mission to Jakarta last week to review this year's state budget performance and next year's state budget outlook. The team, which left the capital on Wednesday, said it saw no need to revise this year's budget revenue targets, including those covered under the current Letter of Intent (LoI).

The LoI contains a set of reform targets the government must meet to obtain the IMF's aid. Among the reform targets vital for the budget are the government's privatization and asset sales program.

The two revenue sources should help finance this year's budget deficit, which the government hopes to contain at 3.7 percent of GDP. Asset sales have been progressing slowly and there have been no proceeds from privatization thus far. The government has earmarked 6.5 trillion rupiah (about US$650 million) in revenue from its privatization program this year.

Boediono acknowledged that the IMF had questioned the slow progress made in asset sales and privatization. He said they advised the government to speed up efforts to achieve those targets.

To catch up on the deficit financing, he said that the government would ask for the disbursement of foreign loans that were still in the pipeline. "There are some [loans] still pending, those from the World Bank, ADB [the Asian Development Bank] and probably also from Japan."