Democratic struggle

Activists briefly held for moeking politicians

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2001

Abu Hanifah, Jakarta -- Police briefly detained two activists for handing out cotton buds to legislators that they said never listened to the common people. The cotton buds were slipped under the doors of rooms at Hotel Mulia near the Assembly premises, where most legislators taking part in the People's Consultative Assembly session stay. They were held on charges of "disturbing" the lawmakers on duty.

Each cotton bud was put inside a small plastic wrapping labeled "Special cotton bud for Indonesian Assembly members". The other side of the wrapping read: "Huh, why do you never listen to the people's aspirations? So clean your ears before attending the session!"

The activists were identified as Pista Alisah and Yani Kristanti of the Coalition of NGOs. They also handed the earwax removers out to legislators at the upscale hotel. The NGOs have been critical of the legislators' deliberations over the past week, especially on the constitutional amendment.

The pair were reported to the police by the hotel's security guards who secretly watched them on the 17th floor, their fellow activists said. No legislator was reported to have any objection to what the activists did. They had managed to distribute the buds to 150 rooms when the hotel's security guards chased them into the elevator and confronted them. The hotel's security guards handed them over to the police on duty who then rushed the women to the Jakarta City Police headquarters, ignoring activists' bitter protests.

Pista and Yani were released after being queried for about two hours. They were required to be available any time the police needed them for further questioning.

Smita Notosusanto, executive director of the Center of Electoral Reform (CETRO), condemned the police action, saying the police had no legal basis for the arrests since there was no complaint from the legislators. "We had committed no crime. We have done this sort of campaign for three years and only now have we been arrested," said Smita at the Assembly building.

The incident forced the NGOs' to cancel a media briefing on their objections to the constitutional amendment that the Assembly is set to endorse.

Two students activists jailed for defying police orders

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2001

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The South Jakarta District Court sentenced two student activists to five months in jail each on Wednesday for defying police officers during a demonstration against a fuel price hike in June.

Presiding judge Abdul Madjid Rahim, who read out the verdict, said that Mixilmina Munir, alias Mixil, 25, and Aris Wardoyo, 22, had led a protest against a fuel price hike on June 16 outside Lebak Bulus bus terminal in South Jakarta.

However, the court cleared both defendants of the primary charge of inciting chaos. The verdict asserted that staging a protest was legal in the country as long as it was done without disturbing the public order.

Mixil, a student at the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN), had stopped some 20 public minivan drivers who happened to be passing in front of the Institute's campus in Ciputat and asked them to transport around 50 students to the bus terminal.

The students, activists of Forkot (City Forum) placed banners reading "Fuel price is up, (other) prices are up, lets fight it", "People are starving" and "What will people eat if all the prices are up", on the front of the vehicles.

Meanwhile, Aris had gathered 100 bajaj (three wheeled motor vehicle) drivers at his home campus, the Computer and Information Technology Institute (STMIK), in the Radio Dalam area, South Jakarta. They joined the protest at Lebak Bulus at about 10 a.m.

Several officers from the South Jakarta District Police, who were monitoring the protesters, tried to disperse the demonstration because it was disrupting traffic.

At that point, Aris told the protesters "don't be afraid of the police" while Mixil threw a stone at the officers, turning the demonstration into a riot.

After the trial, Mixil described the verdict as "manipulative", but stated that he would not appeal as he did not believe in the judiciary, which he regarded as corrupt. "I won't appeal. The facts show that the district court, like this one, is marked by corruption, not to mention the higher courts," he told reporters.

Mixil and Aris will be freed within 10 days as they have been in detention since June 17. They are currently being held at the Cipinang Penitentiary, East Jakarta.

Prosecutor Lukimanto, who had earlier asked the court to sentence the defendants to seven months in jail each, said he would consider whether or not to appeal.

No more debt

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2001

Jakarta -- More than one thousand protesters from various non governmental organizations (NGOs), grouped into the newly-formed organization the Anti-Debt Coalition (KAU), staged on Wednesday an anti-foreign debt rally, urging the government to stop talks with the creditor nations of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI).

The coalition said that the talks, which are aimed at satisfying the government's requests for fresh loans from the CGI, would further burden the already battered Indonesian economy.

"The government must refuse to talk about new loans, and start demanding that Indonesia's current debt be written off," the coalition said in a statement.

The rally began at 11 a.m. in front of Hotel Indonesia and continued at the Bank Indonesia building in Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta where the CGI members were meeting.

However, a veteran labor activist, Dita Indah Sari, admitted that the possibility that the government would comply with their demands was very slim. "The government's prime concern now is to reschedule its old debts and to obtain new loans to fill its massive budget deficit," Dita said. But, the new loans would spell greater burden for the Indonesian people, she said.

Hundreds of farmers from Tasik, Garut, and Ciamis in West Java also joined the rally. Sources said the demonstrations would proceed until Thursday.

East Timor

Government sets deadline for East Timor refugees

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2001

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang -- As of January 2002, the government will no longer provide any financial or food assistance to East Timorese refugees in West Timor as it will reinstate the Indonesian citizenship of those who choose to stay in Indonesia.

Yohannis Pake Mani, deputy governor of East Nusa Tenggara, said that according to an official letter sent by Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno to the governor and regents in the province on October 25, 2001, the government had decided to grant Indonesian citizenship status to all East Timorese refugees who had not returned home by December 31, 2001.

"Consequently, those who remain in the province beyond the deadline will be treated as Indonesian citizens, will receive their civilian rights and will be given Indonesian identity cards as stipulated by Law No. 5/1960 on Indonesian citizenship," he told The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.

He added that the decision had been made following consultations with the UN Development Program (UNDP) and UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

More and more East Timorese refugees are returning to their homeland as the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) has given a security guarantee for those who have chosen to go home. The government has offered Rp 500,000 and rice aid to refugees who want to return.

Of around 143,000 East Timorese refugees in West Timor, more than 8,000 have gone home while the remainder have been offered the choice of remaining in the province permanently or joining the government-sponsored resettlement program in other provinces.

During their stay in the province, the government has provided the refugees with Rp 1,500 and 400 grams of rice per day per person.

Yohannis said the refugees had actually retained their Indonesian citizenship because they had been Indonesian citizens during East Timor's integration with Indonesia.

But he added that the Indonesian citizenship of refugees who chose to stay in Indonesia would be reinstated by a joint decree to be issued by Minister Hari Sabarno, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda in the near future.

Witnesses tell how Balibo Five were killed to hide Jakarta's lies

The Australian - November 5, 2001

Robert Garran -- Indonesian troops attacking the East Timorese town of Balibo in October 1975 had good reason not to want five Australian-based journalists to escape, according to a new book.

Based on extensive interviews with witnesses, journalist Jill Jolliffe shows the five journalists filmed the attack by ground forces and troops firing from a helicopter. Jolliffe rejects claims there was no resistance to the attack by the East Timorese Fretilin forces, and that intelligence on the Indonesian attack was withheld from the Whitlam government.

She took five witnesses back to Balibo to ask them to re-enact the events of October 16, 1975 -- something not possible before the Indonesian occupation of East Timor ended in 1999. Based on these interviews and interviews with two other witnesses, her book, Cover-Up, the Inside Story of the Balibo Five, challenges the accounts given by former National Crime Authority chairman Tom Sherman in two official inquiries into the deaths of Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie of the Nine network and Greg Shackleton, Gary Cunningham and Tony Stewart of the Seven network.

In the later of his two reports, in February 1999, Mr Sherman found conflicts in the accounts of witnesses made it "impossible to draw any clear conclusions as to how the journalists were killed, except to say they were killed when fighting was continuing to occur".

Jolliffe says: "There is no doubt, from testimony on all sides, that the Balibo Five had irrefutable proof of the Indonesian attack on East Timor. Had they lived to return to Australia with it, it would have earned them enormous prestige, as well as creating a scandal. It exposed the lies being told by Jakarta, and would have created immense discomfort for the Whitlam Labor government."

Balibo is important not just because of the Australian government's evasions over the journalists' deaths but because this was symptomatic of Canberra's approach to Indonesia and East Timor for 24 years. Jolliffe says there is credible prima facie evidence concerning the killings against the commander of the Indonesian operation, Yuhus Yosfiah, who later became information minister in the Habibie government, and another man known as Chris.

She says there was overall agreement from her witnesses on the timing and direction of the Indonesian attack, the number of casualties and the activities and location of the journalists just before they were killed. All but two of the seven witnesses agreed there had been stiff resistance from Fretilin, which continued at the time of the deaths.

"All said there had been no firing from the house where the journalists were, and that they were civilians attempting to surrender when they died. There were disagreements about whether most of the reporters had been killed inside or outside the house, and whether they died by the knife or the gun. The general picture from the seven eyewitnesses is that the first four to die were around the front of the house, perhaps retreating inside it at the last minute of the Indonesian advance," she writes. "Most witnesses thought these four had been shot, not stabbed."

Labour struggle

100,000 textile workers may lose jobs in 2002

Jakarta Post - November 7, 2001

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- Some 100,000 textile workers may lose their jobs next year due to a combination of the global economic slump and unfavorable domestic conditions, according to a top industry executive.

"If the [global and domestic] situation keeps worsening, it is possible that the workforce will be cut by up to 100,000," Benny Sutrisno, chairman of the Indonesian Textile Association (API), said on the sidelines of an industry discussion on Tuesday.

He said that job cuts would be inevitable due to sluggish demand caused by the world recession and as a cost-saving measure amid plans to raise fuel and electricity prices, and shipping costs. Workers' salaries account for about 12 percent of the industry's production costs, he added.

Citing latest reports, Benny said that about 5,200 workers in the industry had been laid off this year, but he suspected that many other employees had been suspended to minimize costs.

The textile industry employs about 1.2 million people, mainly in Bandung (West Java), Tegal, Pekalongan, Surakarta (Central Java), Mojokerto (East Java) and Bali. Of the total workers, 600,000 people work in textile companies in Bandung.

The global economy slowdown, exacerbated by the September 11 attacks against the US, has caused the country's textile orders to drop significantly throughout the year. The association has said that because of the global slowdown, 2001 textile exports would likely fall by 25 percent to US$6.15 billion in value from $8.2 billion last year.

The export volume is also expected to drop to 1.5 million tons this year from 1.7 million tons in 2000, it said. It also forecast that 2002 textile exports would fall by 20 percent to a value of $4.96 billion, while volume would decrease by 10 percent to 1.35 million tons.

Meanwhile, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said that the government was planning measures to try to avoid the massive layoffs predicted by API. "It's still an estimation ... we'll do our best to help avoid lay offs in the textile industry," he told The Jakarta Post. But he did not specify the action to be taken.

Jacob urged textile companies to take several steps to avoid job cuts, including reducing work hours and stopping kickbacks to government officials.

Workers should also refrain from doing anything to worsen the situation, such as staging strikes to demand higher pay, he added.

Aceh/West Papua

Five civilians killed in Aceh violence

Agence France Presse - November 11, 2001

Banda Aceh -- At least five civilians were killed in the Indonesian province of Aceh where separatist rebels are fighting government forces, residents said Sunday.

Four civilians were found dead, all with gunshot wounds in Muara Dua, North Aceh, near a pipeline of the ExxonMobil gas field on Saturday, a resident said.

All four victims had been arrested by security personnel the previous day while they were at a prayer, the resident said. Seven people were arrested but three were later released, the resident said, declining to be identified.

Aceh Military Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Firdaus denied that the forces had killed anyone. "At the reported time, there were no military on duty in Uteunkot and among the victims was one civil servant," Firdays said, blaming the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for the killing.

The local GAM deputy commander, Sofyan Daud, denied the accusation and said security personnel involved in the arrest and killing were based at the Lhokseumawe harbour.

Meanwhile, the wife of a village headman in South Aceh was shot dead by unknown men in front of her own house on Saturday, residents told journalists in Tapaktuan, a district town. The incidents took place a day after Vice President Hamzah Haz visited several districts in the province to meet local representatives in a bid to gather input for President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Haz had called on all sides in Aceh to bury the hatchet and engage in talks to try resolve their problems. He offered an amnesty for the rebels, who have been fighting for a free Muslim state in Aceh since 1976.

But he ruled out allowing secession for the resource-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. More than 1,600 people have perished in the violence between government and rebel forces in Aceh this year.

Violence erupts after killing of Papua independence leader

Agence France Presse - November 11, 2001

Protestors set alight buildings in the hometown of Irian Jaya independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay, whose body was found after he was abducted in the remote Indonesian province, an activist said.

Passengers on Garuda flights due to leave Jakarta later Sunday for Jayapura, the provincial capital of Irian Jaya, were told that because of security reasons the flights would terminate at Biak, 555 kilometers west of Jayapura.

Jayapura airport at Sentani, Eluay's hometown 55 kilometres west of the provincial capital, could not be reached for comment. A policeman on duty at Sentani, who only identified himself as Muar, said that people were massing around Eluay's home and on the town's main approach road awaiting the arrival of the independence leader's body .

National police spokesman Brigadier General Saleh Saaf said from Jakarta that at least four companies of police and two of soldiers had been deployed in Sentani. One company comprises around 100 men.

Aloysius Renwarin, the deputy director of the human rights group Elsham, told AFP from Jayapura, that locals, angered by the discovery of Eluay's body had torched several shops and buildings in Sentani.

After an autopsy lasting more than four hours at Jayapura general hospital and a Mass attended by hundreds of people, the body of Eluay was prepared to be taken by a heavily escorted convoy to Sentani, his lawyer Anum Siregar said.

Eluay's body was found in his car which was lodged against a tree at the top of a ravine in Koya, some nine kilometres from the border between the Indonesian province and Papua New Guinea.

Pictures apparently of Eluay's corpse show his body was bruised, his face darkened and his tongue sticking out, indicating possible strangulation. Eluay, who chaired the pro-independence Papua Praesidium, went missing after unidentified men, said to be non-Irianese, stopped his car late on Saturday evening halfway between Jayapura and Sentani.

Eluay and four other members of the pro-independence Papua Presidium -- Don Flassy, John Mabror, Reverend Herman Awom and Thaha Al-Hamid -- have been on trial in Jayapura on charges of subversion for demanding independence for Irian Jaya, known locally as Papua. They were arrested and charged around last year's December 1 anniversary of a declaration of Papuan independence. They were released from detention in March.

Irian Jaya is Indonesia's easternmost province, lying on the western half of New Guinea island. Local resentment has simmered over the central government's exploitation of its rich oil, gas and mineral reserves.

Anger has also been fostered by the resettlement in the province of huge numbers of Javanese, and by the occasional brutality of security forces.

Independence supporters, including Eluay's Papua Presidium, maintain that a 1969 UN-sponsored plebiscite, that reaffirmed Indonesian sovereignty over the former Dutch territory, was flawed and unrepresentative. Eluay and the presidium have also rejected a broad special autonomy passed by the Indonesian parliament in October in efforts to head off pressure for independence.

Cease-fire, dialog preferred to settle Aceh crisis

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2001

Ibnu Mat Noor, Banda Aceh -- Most of 13 Acehnese leaders who met with Vice President Hamzah Haz in Banda Aceh on Thursday said they preferred a cease-fire and dialog to settle the prolonged dispute between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the government of Indonesia.

The various leaders, including the chairman of the Ulemas Council of Aceh Tengku Musli Ibrahim, demanded that both the government and GAM stop violence and begin a cease-fire combined with talks to deal with the lingering conflict. "The people of Aceh have been longing for the sincerity of the government of Indonesia and GAM to stop the violence," Ibrahim said.

Hamzah said that a peace deal was the best alternative, saying that a cease-fire between the government and its own people was actually a misnomer. "Is a cease-fire with our own people necessary?" Hamzah rhetorically asked.

A senior commander of GAM, Amri Abdul Wahab told The Jakarta Post by phone that GAM could agree to a cease-fire if it was requested by the Acehnese people. "But the Indonesian government must also lay down their arms."

Soon after his arrival in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, on Wednesday Hamzah offered peace to GAM, saying that the government would possibly give amnesty to the rebels. His statements were not embraced, however by GAM officials. Amri Abdul Wahab said on Wednesday that GAM would remain consistent with its struggle to be independent from "colonialist" Indonesia.

Meetings between GAM and the government had taken place in Geneva, Switzerland and in Banda Aceh. However, those meetings were not successful in stopping the violence. In August this year, President Megawati Soekarnoputri signed the special Autonomy Law for Aceh, ruling that the province will receive 75 percent of its oil and gas revenues. According to the law, the new name for the province of Aceh is Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

While the situation in Banda Aceh was quiet on Thursday, South Aceh Police seized five long rifles with 13,930 bullets of various types from a truck passing Tapaktuan, some 445 kilometers from Banda Aceh. Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Dwiyanto told Antara in Banda Aceh that the truck driver and his assistant were in police custody. "The guns and the bullets were slipped among the goods in the trucks," Agus said, adding that the guns and the bullets had no legal documents.

Jakarta open to Aceh amnesty

Straits Times - November 8, 2001

Lhokseumawe -- Indonesia might grant amnesty to rebels in Aceh province if they abandon their armed, separatist struggle, Vice- President Hamzah Haz said yesterday.

"If the rebels of the Free Aceh Movement ask for amnesty, the government will consider it. But they have to promise not to fight again in the future," Mr Hamzah said while on a three-day tour of the region.

However, the insurgents scoffed at his comments and said they would continue their battle for independence. Rebel spokesman Amri Abdul Wahab said: "We will not ask for amnesty. Indonesia must apologise to us because they have slaughtered thousands of Acehnese."

Aceh, 1,800 km north-west of Jakarta, has been plagued by fighting between separatist and government forces since 1975. Thousands have died. At least 1,300 people have been killed so far this year, most of them civilians. Repeated efforts by the government to negotiate ceasefires have failed.

Autonomy law fails to halt trial over subversion

South China Morning Post - November 7, 2001

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Lost in the recent hoopla of Parliament's approval of special autonomy for Irian Jaya is the fact that four of the separatist-inclined province's leaders remain on trial for subversion.

According to the top legislator in Irian Jaya -- which is also known as Papua -- the four face conviction and further imprisonment for advocating what Parliament has just made legal. "I call on the panel of justices to drop the subversion charges and free the four suspects because they, along with the Papuan people, have been accommodated by the special autonomy law," said John Ibo, chairman of the Irian Jaya provincial legislative council.

Irian Jaya's new autonomy law, passed last month, promises 70 to 80 per cent of natural resource revenues to the province rather than Jakarta, and allows Papuans to fly their own flag as a cultural symbol. The provincial governor will be Papuan and can choose his own police chief. A new Papua People's Council, comprising indigenous Papuans, will protect the rights of locals based on customary laws and rituals.

But speaking out about the merits of independence versus autonomy, as the four Papuan leaders are accused of doing, apparently remains out of bounds.

The Papua Presidium, a pro-independence body set up in the middle of last year to give Jakarta a body to negotiate with, is chaired by former Golkar legislator and local tribal leader Theys Eluay. He and his colleagues in the Presidium -- secretary-general Thaha Al-Hamid, youth chairman Don Flassy and the Reverend Hermon Awom -- were arrested and charged with subversion for organising a pro-independence congress in the provincial capital Jayapura last year.

The congress was partly funded by the then president, Abdurrahman Wahid, but he has refused to testify on the Papuans' behalf. Several of the ways used to protest that led to the crackdown last December are now legal. This includes flying the Papuan flag and changing the province's name to Papua.

But efforts at a fair trial for the four are being stymied, local human rights activists say, as prosecutors refuse to consider dropping the charges, even preventing some expert witnesses from assisting the court. At the same time, security forces have continued to clash with independence activists, some of whom say special autonomy is not enough.

Court asked to free 'Theys four' of charges

Jakarta Post - November 6, 2001

R.K. Nugroho, Jayapura -- A legislator has called on Jayapura District Court to free the Papua Presidium Council's functionaries from subversion charges, as what they have fought for has been accommodated in the newly endorsed law on special autonomy for Papua.

"I call on the panel of justices to drop the subversion charges and free the four suspects because they, along with the Papuan people, have been accommodated by the special autonomy law," John Ibo, chairman of the Irian Jaya provincial legislative council said in his testimony to the court here on Monday.

Theys Hiu Eluay, PDP chairman, Thaha Al-Hamid, PDP secretary- general, Don A. Flassy, chairman of the Independent Youth Organization, and Rev. Hermon Awom were charged with subversion for organizing the 2000 proindependence congress of Papuan people in Jayapura where they demanded a self-determination referendum, a change of the province's name and the right to display the province's flag and symbol. They were also accused of inciting local people to use violence in their struggle.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who contributed 1 billion rupiah to the congress failed to testify for the four suspects, while Muridan S. Widjojo, a sociologist from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), was barred from giving expert testimony to the court as he was not a law expert. "The presence of Muridan as an expert witness in the court is not acceptable because he is not a law expert," Sigid, a prosecutor, said in the court session.

Ibo added that the real suspects were not the four but all the Papuan people because what they had been fighting for was the people's political aspirations, which had been adopted by the central government. "To be consistent with the government's decision to endorse the bill on special autonomy, this case should be dropped and the four should be freed of charges," he said.

The panel of judges chaired by Sinaga declined to take Ibo's testimony into consideration and adjourned the court session to November 11, 2001.

Muridan expressed deep disappointment with the court's rejection of him, saying he was an expert and familiar with the Papuan people, as he had conducted much research in the province. "I came here at the invitation of Theys' lawyers to testify before the court," he said, adding he was confused by the court's rejection because he had done the same thing at the South Jakarta district court in a similar case and there had been no problem.

Muridan said the court's rejection actually reflected the government's unfair treatment of the Papuan people. "The court's rejection will generate hatred among the Papuan people against the government," he said.

Land issues/peasant struggle

Farmers demand attention from MPR

Tempo - November 7, 2001

Bagja Hidayat, Jakarta -- About a thousand farmers staged a rally at the legislature complex today, demanding the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Ad Hoc Committee, particularly MPR's Commission C1 discussing the Bill of Agrarian and Natural Resources Reform, to orient the bill with the interests of farmers at its core.

Four organizations were involved in the rally, including the Alliance of Pasundan Farmers (SPP), the Alliance of Nusantara's Communities (AMAN), the Alliance of Indonesian Farmers (API) and the Indonesian Farmers Federation (FSPI).

During the rally, a member of SPP read out their demands. First, they demanded that the House of Representatives (DPR) revoke the regulations that were inflicting a great loss on farmers. Secondly, that the land taken over by the government and agricultural enterprises be returned to the farmers at least one year after the Bill comes into effect. A third demand was for the President to revoke the licenses for natural resources management on people's land, at least six months after the Bill comes in to effect.

Responding to the rally, six members of Commission C1 met with the people. Aisyah Amini from the United Development Party (PPP) told the demonstrators that the Commission would follow up their demands in the following session. "We will also ask the DPR and the government to follow this up," Aisyah said.

Aisyah added that Commission C1 would focus on the extensive damage to the environment. Agricultural and forestry management would be discussed as well. So, the agrarian and natural resources reform would be discussed hand-in-hand with concerns about the state of the environment.

Regarding demands for reinstatement of lands within one year, Aisyah said the Commission would have to discuss this first. "We have to think this over or the problem will only get worse," she said.

'War on terrorism'

Megawati seeks end to US strikes

South China Morning Post - November 7, 2001

Jake Lloyd-Smith -- Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday fired a parting shot as the Asean summit wound up, saying the US-led military action in Afghanistan should be suspended.

As leaders from the 10-state grouping and Japan, South Korea and China prepared to leave Brunei, Ms Megawati repeated her objections to the campaign, which she fears will lead to unnecessary civilian casualties. "Indonesia is calling for a humanitarian pause ... before the religious holidays, before the fasting month and Christmas," she said.

Her call for a halt to the military action in one of the world's poorest countries came as the civilian death toll in Afghanistan appeared to rise and disquiet spread in Indonesia, the most- populous Muslim country.

Ms Megawati has been under domestic pressure to lead the call against the campaign against the Taleban regime and Osama bin Laden. US and British planes are in the fifth week of bombing the Central Asian country. Special forces have also been sent in.

At the two-day Brunei summit, Ms Megawati and Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Muslim-dominated Malaysia, tried and failed to include a reference in the joint communique urging a halt to the bombing for humanitarian reasons. Objections from Singapore and other states ensured that the text remained free from the call. Asean operates by consensus and its statements reflect a position agreeable to all members, effectively handing each one a veto.

The strongest language used by the delegates came in a joint statement on Monday, in which the leaders voiced their "concern for the welfare of the innocent people as a result of the military action in Afghanistan and considered extending humanitarian assistance". That was preceded by an ad hoc joint statement condemning terrorism and outlining steps to fight it, which was delivered on the eve of the summit on Sunday.

During the summit, Ms Megawati has been supported by Dr Mahathir, who has used the gathering to reiterate his long-standing concerns that the US-led campaign is ineffective. He said the longer the campaign continued, the more people and governments would come out against it.

Bank Indonesia asked to freeze terror-linked assets

Reuters - November 6, 2001

Jakarta -- Indonesia's Attorney General's Office said on Tuesday it had formally asked the country's central bank to freeze assets of 28 companies and groups suspected of having links to terror activities.

"We have sent a letter [asking] Bank Indonesia to freeze assets and accounts of companies and groups suspected of having linked with international terrorism," Attorney General's Office spokesman Mulyohardjo told Reuters.

He said the moves were taken in response to a request by the foreign ministry following the UN resolution on freezing assets allegedly belonging to terrorist groups.

Mulyohardjo refused to disclose the names of the 28 companies and groups, saying they were not necessarily located in Indonesia and confidentiality was needed for the sake of the investigation. "The UN gave us the 28 names they said that, based on their investigation, [were] linked to Osama bin Laden's activities," Mulyohardjo said.

Indonesian security officials had earlier said there was no evidence anyone linked to Washington's prime suspect for the September 11 attacks on the United States, Saudi-born bin Laden, was based in the archipelago.

The world's most populous Muslim country has backed Washington's war on terrorism, but the government is in a delicate position over US-led air strikes on Islamic Afghanistan. President Megawati Sukarnoputri has expressed veiled condemnation of the strikes.

Government & politics

Annual Assembly session leaves students, teachers feeling cold

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2001

Jakarta -- The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) is the highest state body, so the text books say. Students all over the country should know that. But do they have any idea about the Annual Session? And what do the teachers say?

Afaf Munawwarah, 17, a student at SMUN 81 public high school: I don't really follow the MPR Annual Session because from what I know, it's just a performance review of the government and I haven't seen any significant progress so far. The state allocated a large budget for this session, but the legislators don't appear to be too concerned about the nation's condition ... for example, the scuffle at the MPR the other day.

Omar Khaled, 17, a student at Pembangunan Jaya high school: The Annual Session seems to be useless because it doesn't appear to reduce the people's burden. MPs and the government must put the interests of the people first and try to find a way to solve the various problems facing our nation, such as unemployment, and the ever increasing fuel price, which will later affect other areas as well. After the session, I hope the current government will run smoothly and be able to tackle the nation's problems effectively.

Cita Yuditya, 16, a student at SMUN 6 public high school: Although we have to make clippings of the MPR session at school, I don't really follow the session or have a profound knowledge of it. I don't find the session interesting.. politics confuses me.

Marlyn, a student at Atmajaya University, Makassar: The Annual Session? It's an overall bore, except for the jostling. Having differences of opinion is normal. My common sense cannot accept the uproar among the assembly members due to differences in opinion. We are entering the learning process of democracy. Those involved in the "brawl" must take the responsibility. Apologies are not enough. They must resign to show their moral accountability.

Irwandi, a student at North Sumatra University's School of Agriculture: I am not in favor of this year's MPR Annual Session. The event is very costly and yet the nation is still gripped by the prolonged financial crisis. This expensive session will not provide significant input for the nation. We have had many sessions already and still the nation is in limbo. The money should have been distributed to needy people.

Firmansyah, 19, a student at a technical high school in Jayapura: "What she said in her address was not the same as what happens everyday in society. The money the government has spent has never reached my school. We have a library and we need more books on mathematics. Don't we need more books to improve the quality of our human resources? I want Bu Megawati to give more attention to school students who want to improve their knowledge."

Rismania Veradiza, 17, a student at SMUN 8 public high school: The legislators are like people on the street who like to engage in brawls. They are just wasting the people's money because they are unable to come up with any kind of solution while the suffering of the Indonesian people grows larger. They should be able to bring about a better future for Indonesia instead of just talking without any substance. I try to follow the session on television whenever I can because I'm interested to see exactly what they are doing. But after a while I get bored watching them reading the newspaper, dozing off, and seeing the empty chairs of absent legislators. While the people await the results of the session, some MPs are busy touring and shopping.

Suparmi, a state elementary school teacher in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta: I don't intentionally follow news about the Annual Session. Basically, I don't care about the session. What for? It's boring and useless. But I watched the report aired by a private TV station about the incident on Thursday between legislators. What a shame. The people's representatives should not have done such a thing.

Rukmini, a teacher at SMP 182 public junior high school: The brawl has ruined the legislators' reputation, which was already tarnished. They were not professional and not serious in doing their job. Legislators have to take their job seriously as they should be responsible for what they do to the people who chose them during the general election.

L. Pardede, a civics teacher at a private senior high school in Central Jakarta: I urged my students to get information about the session as it relates to civics, the subject I teach. The session is a real example of democracy. Conflicts, like what happened on Thursday, are part of democracy. But I don't think the legislators are serious in doing their jobs, which could be seen on TV: they were chatting, reading newspapers or even sleeping during the session. This country is in danger. They could actually play a role in improving the situation as they are law makers. They should remember that their salaries and all the facilities they get come from taxpayers' money.

F. Sumarwan, employee of a private company, Jakarta: Nothing but the jostling have interested me. I think they [legislators] have spent a lot of money on something that has nothing to do with the daily life of common people. I don't really understand what they are talking about. Every time the TV station airs the session, I will quickly switch to another channel for a better program

Orderly session deepens disenchantment

South China Morning Post - November 9, 2001

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- The highest legislative body ends a remarkably peaceful annual session today, having achieved little more than deeper public disenchantment and an agreement to talk again.

But the return of the People's Consultative Assembly, known as the MPR, to an arena of debate is a positive development for some observers, compared to past sessions that focused on deposing the president of the day.

The key issue this week was whether Indonesians would have a chance to directly elect their president and vice-president at the next scheduled election in 2004. Broad agreement was reached for direct elections, in which a winning team achieves 51 per cent of the national vote. Division continues on how a second round would work, in the event of no clear majority.

Most politicians appear to want the second round to remain a prerogative of the MPR - marking little change from the present system under which the 700 members choose the president on behalf of 210 million people.

Analysts had predicted the political elite was unlikely to choose to limit its own power -- after all, the MPR has deposed three presidents in a row, Suharto, Habibie and Wahid.

But others say the argument is not so simple. While many MPR members are working out of self-interest, there remain legitimate differences in defining the MPR's role. "The good thing is that nobody knows which voting system will benefit which party. It would make sense for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle [PDI-P] to want a direct vote, but they are against it. And Golkar has been backing direct elections when it doesn't even have a candidate," political analyst Marcus Mietzner said.

"This shows the debate is not only about vested interests ... In Indonesia, whenever there are crucial matters to decide, there is a tendency to postpone them until the last minute. And the deadline for the constitutional amendments is not until next year. So in my view, nothing will be decided this time."

Far from being a sign of the MPR self-aggrandising and wasting time and money, its revival as a place for serious discussion is a good sign to some. "This is what annual sessions should be about. The last three sessions were all about who would be president or get which committee. Now they can get back to focusing on structural issues," Mr Mietzner said.

Agreement has been reached on the formation of a constitutional court, comprising "statesmanlike" personalities, and on the formation of a council of regional deputies, but the status and role of the latter remains mired in debate.

Late yesterday, members were to choose whether the amendments should be voted on now or delayed until next year. "This session has been more sluggish than I hoped," said Jacob Tobing, of the PDI-P, chairman of the committee handling the constitutional amendments. "This is the typical final pace of a process, when things get slower and more complicated. We are not actually in deadlock. We still have alternatives to be discussed tonight."

Public opposition to the MPR has diminished significantly this year, with almost no demonstrations. The only violence seen was fisticuffs among members on the first day. But views from the Jakarta Post suggest the sight of members spending state money to talk among themselves impresses few. "They live in an ivory tower, ignoring what the people really want," said Joko Ardi Ambawang, a legislator from Bandung.

Dear politicians, please come back down to earth

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2001

Jakarta -- The current People's Consultative Assembly Annual Session, costing 18 billion rupiah (US$1.6 million), is talking gibberish, which people from Irian Jaya, Sulawesi, Java and Sumatra say has nothing to do with their lives.

Jacobus Malu Dendu, 30, owner of a chicken farm, Jayapura, Irian Jaya: I could hardly breathe when listening to President Megawati Soekarnoputri's speech at the Session. On the economy, her speech was just rhetoric to legitimize what she had done. The foreign loans approved by Megawati's administration are just a way to economic destruction. I have no idea why everything is so expensive nowadays. My point is that the people do not need rhetoric. We want action."

Jacobus Abdurachman Upara, former head of the Jayapura Legal Aid Institute (LBH): What Megawati said in her speech was the opposite to what is happening in the ground. Her address sounded good, but electricity charges and fuel prices are still increasing. However, it's not fair to say that Megawati has failed. After all, she has just been president for only 100 days. But the initial days are crucial in deciding future policies.

Rajamin Sirait, chairman of local youth organization Pemuda Mitra Kamtibmas, Medan, North Sumatra: The scuffling on the first day of the Session was a real disgrace to the members of the Assembly. The chaos clearly showed that the Assembly members still put the their groups' interests beyond the nation's. Meanwhile, 200 million people are expecting that they manage to save "the leaking boat" from sinking. I am pessimistic that this year's session will bring about an improvement in the national economy. We should be aware that it will take more time for the country to restore itself. The Assembly members have contributed to the worsening situation.

Andi Rudiyanto Asapa, president of the Makassar Lawyers Club: I am not interested in the Session. The only thing that grabbed my attention was the chaotic opening. That was the first time ever in Indonesian (legislative) history that honorable Assembly members have been involved in scuffling. The fighting could set a bad precedent for our democracy. The man in the street will say that he could do even better than the representatives in the Assembly.

Iis Risnaeni, a 27-year-old housewife in Bandung: I don't believe that the legislative body can lead the country to a better future. We have seen that the many House and Assembly sessions have changed nothing, meaning that we have spent billions of rupiah for nothing. For ordinary people like me, economic recovery is a must. But how can our economy get better if we are always engaged in fighting and brawling with each other.

Joko Ardi Ambawang, a member of a municipal legislative council from the Justice Party faction in Bandung: There is no difference between the current Assembly/House and those during the New Order regime. They live in an ivory tower, ignoring what the people really want. The Session will not produce decisions which accord with the people's aspirations. The scuffle among the Assembly members was an example of the Assembly members just focusing on their own interests.

Suwarni, 38, an administrative staffer in Gadjah Mada University's central office, Yogyakarta: the Session is a useless project that wastes time and money. I see nothing of benefit to the ordinary people, like myself, discussed there. The most interesting thing I saw was the heated quarrel between Assembly members. The MPR Annual Session should be abolished because it will only provides an opportunity for greedy politicians to perpetually engage in political maneuvering that will worsen the political climate.

Kuncoro, 43, a mechanic at an auto repair workshop on Jl. A.M. Sangaji, Yogyakarta: One thing I can't understand is why politicians never empathize with the public's suffering. Up till now, the economic crisis remains unsolved. But, they [the politicians] can only think of their own interests by insisting that the Assembly meet once a year. How much money is being spent on this Annual Session? I would be in favor if the MPR were only to meet once in every five years. I don't know anything about what they are discussing at the session. Actually, I simply don't care about that.

Assembly to retain its power in presidential elections

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2001

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- Firm in its first vote on the contentious issue of presidential elections on Wednesday, the Golkar faction at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Annual Session finally agreed to support the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

The stance means that the task of electing a president would be relegated to the Assembly should presidential nominees fail to collect a majority of votes through a direct public election process.

"There has been a kind of agreement that the Assembly will have a role in any second round of elections. [If a second round were necessary] the Assembly would carry out the presidential election," Pramono Anung, deputy secretary-general of PDI Perjuangan, said on Wednesday.

The statement effectively dampened speculation that debate on this issue would result in a deadlock.

Apart from the deal on the method of election, Pramono added that the factions had also reached agreement on membership of the Constitutional Court.

When asked for confirmation on the agreement, Golkar faction chairman Fahmi Idris said that his faction had initially disagreed with the idea of giving the Assembly power to elect the president.

"But other factions, including PDI Perjuangan, want to bring the second round to the Assembly. We understand that and will assess it," Fahmi told The Jakarta Post. He added that the factions had also agreed on the composition and membership of the Constitutional Court.

In a related development, a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) calling for a new constitution, rejected the current constitutional amendment process. They asserted that deliberations had focused more on the interests of the elite than those of the general public. "The decision [on the amendment] will advantage the political parties preparing for the 2004 general election," they said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Golkar's Slamet Effendy Yusuf apologized for the deal, saying that his faction hoped the presidential election could have been decided in one ballot. "Our reason for accepting this clause is that the number of presidential nominees can be streamlined," he said.

He said that he hoped there would not be many presidential nominees in the election so that a candidate would have a greater chance of collecting more than half of the votes, therefore eliminating the need for a second round.

"The presidential nominees must continually campaign to collect more than half of the votes in the election. It is hoped that in the first round there would only be several presidential nominees," Slamet said, adding that the mechanism would eventually lead to a dual-party system.

Previously, Golkar wanted a second direct election phase to be conducted if a candidate failed to win a majority of votes and strongly rejected interference by the Assembly.

Regional faction reinstated, 'bad men' return

Jakarta Post - November 7, 2001

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- Remember the old politicians who made a scene jostling and screaming at each other at the first- day meeting of the People's Consultative Assembly the other day? The "bad men" eventually got what they fought for yesterday: Their Regional Representatives Faction will be reinstated. It will be renamed, though.

Observers see the re-establishment of the faction liquidated in 1999 as a significant win for the Golkar Party, to which they affiliated until 1999 -- a year after the New Order government tumbled. So far, they are attached to various major political parties, such as Golkar and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Chairman of Commission D, which deliberated the reinstatement of the action, Amin Said Husni, said the name of the faction was yet to be created. Amin said the decision was made thanks to a compromise between legislators from PDI-Perjuangan and Golkar Party, which had opposing views on the issue before.

Golkar would become majority faction in the Assembly if all the 130 regional representatives joined it. The PDI-Perjuangan used to refuse reviving the Regional Representatives Faction as it would weaken its bargaining position in the Assembly. Over 60 regional representatives are now with Golkar, 30 with PDI- Perjuangan while the rest are with smaller factions.

In the past, members of the faction were appointed by the then president Soeharto. In 1999, the faction members were picked by the regional councils.

Amin, who is a legislator from the National Awakening Party (PKB), said that the commission agreed on the regional faction reinstatement on four conditions.

• Regional representatives are free to choose whether they will become members of the new faction or they will remain with current factions of their choice.
• The reinstatement of new faction would not change structure and composition of the Assembly's leadership. It means that there would be no Assembly leader from the faction.
• The 90-member Assembly's Working Committee composition will not change.
• Regional representatives who join the Regional Representatives Faction should quit their political parties.

Jacobus K. Mayongpadang, a PDI-Perjuangan lobbyist, claimed that a compromise can be reached after four conditions proposed by his faction were agreed by the Golkar faction.

Lawmakers: Skipping work

Straits Times - November 7, 2001

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Dr Amien Rais, house speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), chastised legislators for skipping parts of their annual meeting and spending their days watching television in their posh hotel rooms.

He told reporters on Monday: "They should be more introspective; they are well paid and have been given tickets to come here and good hotel rooms, all at taxpayers' expense. But now they're relaxing in their rooms, watching movies. I am terribly disappointed."

But Dr Amien further argued that the lack of discipline exhibited by MPR members is simply a reflection of each legislator's sense of integrity and morality. Sanctions could not be imposed on the members, he said.

On Sunday, the third day of the MPR's 10-day meeting, almost half of the 695-strong assembly took the day off.

Indonesian legislators agree to direct presidential poll

Reuters - November 5, 2001

Jakarta -- A majority of factions in Indonesia's top assembly have agreed to hold the country's first ever direct presidential election in 2004, although the format is still being debated, local media reported on Monday.

The leading Kompas daily newspaper said factions, as expected, agreed to the measure late on Sunday, marking Indonesia's latest step in its messy transition to democracy after decades of authoritarian rule.

It was unclear if the 700-member People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) had formally ratified the decision among the political factions. The MPR is holding an annual session that finishes later this week.

But Kompas said the dozen factions were undecided over what should happen if no presidential and vice presidential pairing won more than 50 percent of the vote. Some had said, in that event, the MPR itself should make the choice of which team would rule the nation. Others said a second round of voting among the people should take place.

The MPR currently has the power to sack and appoint presidents, and flexed its muscles last July by removing then leader Abdurrahman Wahid for incompetence. A direct presidential poll would be expected to follow soon after a general election for seats in the 500-member parliament.

Those likely to benefit most from a direct presidential election are the leaders of the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), currently headed by President Megawati Sukarnoputri, and the former ruling Golkar party.

Parliament speaker Akbar Tandjung chairs Golkar. The two parties are the biggest in parliament and also have networks across the vast archipelago. The MPR includes the 500 members of parliament and 200 appointed regional representatives.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

No guarantee new aid won't be tainted: Kwik

Straits Times - November 9, 2001

Robert Go, Jakarta -- There is no guarantee that fresh aid to Indonesia will not be diverted by corrupt officials, as graft has become a way of life, said one of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's senior aides yesterday.

State Minister Kwik Kian Gie, who is in charge of national economic development and planning, told foreign donors from the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI): "I cannot promise you that some of these new debts will not be corrupted again, as they have been in the past."

The outspoken minister, who was Indonesia's economics tzar in former President Abdurrahman Wahid's first Cabinet, added that a significant portion of foreign aid to Indonesia had been abused and diverted by corrupt parties.

He said: "For decades, the government of Suharto had not utilised the loans effectively, the requirements and prudential principles for utilising the loans were not followed, and a large portion of these loans were corrupted. Corruption has become a way of life and has spread deep into the roots of society. It is the primary cause of our maladies and hardships."

According to some estimates, as much as 30 per cent of international money channelled to aid development in the country during the reign of former President Suharto was lost to graft. These staggering losses have given ammunition to those who want debts to Indonesia to be forgiven or reduced. They argue that since much of the money never reached the country's poor, the people should not have to pay back the loans.

Mr Kwik went on to explain to donors, who ultimately promised support for Indonesia to the tune of US$3.14 billion (US$5.65 billion) yesterday, that his agency planned to enact certain safeguards against the corruption of future loans.

Decentralised governments at the provincial and local levels, who would now be handling much of foreign aid money heading into Indonesian regions, would be required to comply with the national standards, the minister explained.

Justice-sector reforms and tougher anti-graft measures figured prominently during donors' discussions with the government during the two-day CGI meeting this week. Six months from now, lenders under the CGI will use Indonesia's success in fighting corruption as one of the yardsticks by which they decide just how much of the money they pledged yesterday will get disbursed.

Mr Surendra Agarwal, a World Bank specialist at the Jakarta office, followed up on Mr Kwik's comments: "Strengthening fiduciary standards is a challenge in any country, and particularly so in Indonesia."

Dadang admits receiving 40 billion rupiah in Bulog fund

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2001

Jakarta -- Dadang Sukandar, chairman of the Raudlatul Jannah Foundation, on Wednesday revealed that he had accepted Rp 40 billion in non-budgetary funds from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), but insisted that it had been properly spent on relief operations.

The admission to waiting reporters came following 10 hours of questioning at the Attorney General's Office.

Dadang had been summoned as a witness in the alleged misuse of a total of Rp 54.6 billion in Bulog funds. Former agency chairman Rahardi Ramelan is a suspect in the case.

The latest revelation corroborates Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung's claim that Rp 40 billion of the agency's funds had been handed over to the foundation. According to Dadang the money was disbursed in two installments.

"I received the first installment at the State Secretariat on March 2, 1999. The first installment was a total of Rp 20 billion in two separate checks of Rp 10 billion each," Dadang said. "The second installment of Rp 20 billion was also given at the same office in April 1999."

Dadang said the check was handed over by a Bulog member of staff. He declined to identify the person.

Dadang had previously claimed that he had used the fund to provide basic foodstuffs to regencies in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, East Java, Central Java and West Java. He claimed a total of 1,620,000 packages had been supplied to 64 regencies and 1,600 villages. Each package was worth Rp 25,000, he added.

Dadang insists that the then minister for social welfare Haryono Suyono had recommended the purchase and distribution of staple foodstuff for people in several areas. But in earlier questioning, Haryono denied making such a recommendation.

Dadang claimed he used four contractors for the job, but said he had forgotten their names. Sources at the Attorney General's Office said the four companies contracted to run the staple food program were PT Bintang Laut Timur Baru, PT Adiguna Cipta Sarana Perkasa, PT Artalapan Bintang Jaya and PT Transtigana Service. One of the contractors, named L. Simatupang, is expected to be questioned on Monday.

Dadang said he had also met Akbar, who was then State Secretary, on January 17, 1997 for the first time and submitted a proposal to run the operation to distribute the staple foodstuff.

During Wednesday's questioning, Dadang was accompanied by lawyers Sabar Ompusunggu, Emanuel, Robertman R. Aritonang, Sadar Silalahi and Junawan Ompusunggu. He was reportedly asked 35 questions.

In a leaflet distributed to journalists, Dadang said his foundation was founded in 1997. Separate reports also suggest that one of the senior foundation members was Golkar executive M.S. Hidayat.

A number of non-government organizations have submitted a report to the Attorney General's Office alleging M.S. Hidayat, along with another Golkar executive, Fadel Muhammad, received funds from the agency.

Rahardi Ramelan had said that Rp 54.6 billion of Bulog's funds had been distributed during his tenure -- Rp 40 billion to the State Secretariat, Rp 10 billion to then minister of defense/former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret) Wiranto, while Rp 4.6 billion was borrowed by PT Goro Batara Sakti.

Audit agency attempts to recover trillions

Jakarta Post - November 7, 2001

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta -- The Ministry of Agriculture has accounted for Rp 125 million following its settlement of 35 financial-related irregularities valued at Rp 14.99 billion discovered by the State Audit Agency (BPK) in its 1999 and 2000 reports.

The ministry is one of eight which made public their findings on Tuesday in order to settle a total of 1,643 cases of irregularities amounting to Rp 3.2 trillion in potential losses.

The other ministries, which are among the first batch to complete reports for the office of the state ministry of administrative reform, included the ministry of defense, finance, national education, foreign affairs, energy and mineral resources, transportation, and the ministry of resettlement and regional infrastructure.

State Minister of Administrative Reforms Feisal Tamin, whose office supervises the ministries' efforts, told reporters at his office that the ministries' reports had been reported and endorsed by BPK.

He also said that most of the cases were inherited from past administrations but were still recorded in each of their reports to the audit agency because the cases were still pending. "Now we want to make sure of transparency and clarification of each of our efforts to create a good and clean form of governance," he added.

During the media briefing, Ministry of Agriculture Inspectorate General A.H. Rahadian said that his office has also taken severe action against a total of 42 staffers implicated in various budget abuses.

Ministry of National Education Inspectorate General Muljani A. Nurhadi claimed the office had recovered two-thirds of the Rp 8.64 billion in losses to the state. "The BPK discovered Rp 66 billion in possible losses, but the existing misuse of the budget was Rp 8.64 billion. We have returned Rp 5.73 billion of it and are still working to settle the rest of the cases," he said.

The ministry has also handed down severe punishments, including dismissals to 156 staffers for violating regulations on civil employment and also for implications in the misuse of the state budget.

In its regular report last year, BPK revealed irregularities and abuses with the state budget which were projected to bring the total loss to Rp 3.2 trillion. The amount was derived from the disappearance of Rp 1.4 trillion from regional budgets, Rp 1.2 trillion from state-owned enterprises, Rp 608 billion from the state budget and another Rp 1 billion found to be missing from the Treasury Endowment Body (BPH).

Most of the cases reportedly stem from administrative disorder, unrealistic project targets and cases that are related to an inefficient use of the budget.

Ministry of Defense Inspectorate General Lt. Gen. Suharto said that the ministry has identified most of the Rp 46.91 billion of potential losses. "We are still monitoring the use of Rp 3.85 billion at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) to finance the students' official travel and of Rp 1.32 billion at the ministry's human resource affairs office which is used to provide accommodations for the civil security guards (Kamra) in troubled provinces," he said.

Ministry of Finance Inspectorate General Agus Haryanto claimed the office had resolved the cases which may have caused Rp 13.34 billion in losses and was still working on the remaining six cases with potential losses of Rp 2.33 billion.

Beddu gets two year prison term

Jakarta Post - November 6, 2001

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The South Jakarta District Court sentenced on Monday former chief of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Beddu Amang to two years imprisonment for his involvement in a land swap deal causing some Rp 20 billion (US$ 20.8 million) in losses to the state. Beddu, 65, was also ordered to pay back Rp 5 billion to the state and a Rp 5 million fine.

"The defendant was proven guilty of committing corruption and amassing wealth," said Judge Lalu Mariyun, who presided over the hearing. Beddu had violated Article 1 paragraph 1 of Anticorruption Law No. 3/1971, he said.

The fact that Beddu had insisted on his innocence and that his case had attracted nationwide attention were factors that were not in his favor, he said. Some mitigating factors, the verdict said, included that as then Bulog chief, Beddu was in a difficult position, that he did not enjoy the money from the crime and that he was an elderly man.

Beddu, who looked serious and took notes during the hearing, remained calm when Lalu presented the sentence. After talking to the defendant, his lawyer Amir Syamsuddin, told the court that his client would appeal. "I am innocent, that's why I will appeal," he told reporters, who surrounded him as soon as the trial was over.

Meanwhile, prosecutor Fachmi said that he would think over whether to appeal considering that the sentence was too light and that the verdict said the state lost only Rp 20 billion instead of Rp 95.4 billion.

According to the verdict, Beddu had abused his authority as Bulog chief by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a land swap deal without following standard procedures as outlined by the Ministry of Finance.

Beddu initially signed the MoU with PT Sekar Artha Sentosa on February 17, 1995. However, on August 11, 1995, an MoU for the same deal was made with PT Goro Batara Sakti. Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, was then the owner of both companies. Tommy owned an 80 percent stake in PT Goro, while the rest belonged to Ricardo Gelael, the company's then president director.

Tommy and Ricardo had been tried at the same court for their involvement in the case and were each sentenced to 18-months imprisonment in September 2000. Ricardo was released from Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta on August 17. Tommy has been in hiding since the verdict was handed down in November last year although the Supreme Court overturned the court ruling on October 1.

"As then Bulog chief, the defendant was guilty of signing the MoU without offering it to other companies," Lalu said in a court hearing attended mostly by journalists. PT Goro, according to the MoU, would provide some 125 hectares of land in an area in Bekasi in exchange for 48 hectares land in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, belonging to Bulog. The company later exchanged the land with 60 hectares of land in Marunda, North Jakarta. Businessman Hokiarto, whose company has been a partner of Bulog for years, was assigned to manage the transaction.

Beddu approved Ricardo's request to underwrite a Rp 20 billion loan from Bank Bukopin with Rp 23 billion in Bulog funds since PT Goro did not have sufficient funds. However, PT Goro gave Hokiarto only Rp 16.5 billion to purchase the land as Ricardo took the rest. Hokiarto then asked some Rp 32.5 billion from Beddu as the money from PT Goro could only be used to buy some 20 hectares of land. Beddu approved the request while asking Hokiarto to acquire land up to 72.5 hectares.

"The defendant should know that the Minister of Finance's regulations ban state institutions from giving funds to their partners in a land swap deal," Lalu said.

The judge also asserted that the defendant was guilty of manipulating his authority by permitting PT Goro to take over some 16 warehouses of Bulog. PT Goro, ironically, refused to pay the debt to Bank Bukopin. The MoU was canceled in 1998 and Ricardo sold PT Goro to Inkud cooperative for Rp 76 billion. Inkud later paid Rp 46 billion back to the state.

The panel of judges decided that the state only incurred a loss of Rp 20 billion, instead of Rp 95.4 billion as the indictment previously stated, considering that part of the money and some land had been returned to Bulog.

Human rights/law

Prosecutors crucial to rights cases: Lawyers

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2001

Muhammad Nafik, Jakarta -- Justice will remain elusive if the government's move to install 60 judges for human rights courts is not complemented by the appointment of prosecutors, rights lawyers asserted on Wednesday.

"The move is a progressive step, but the appointment of prosecutors is also important," Hendardi, director of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He argued that many cases involving human rights violations, such as atrocities in East Timor and Aceh, have frequently been incorrectly classified as common crimes because of inexperienced or unprofessional prosecutors.

Efforts to resolve the cases of human rights abuses, which have damaged Indonesia's reputation at home and overseas, should not only focus on the appointment of judges, but prosecutors as well, he said. "Otherwise, we miss the substance of the problem and the masterminds of the crimes can evade justice," he added.

Hendardi was commenting on the government's plan to install at least 60 career and non-career judges for permanent and ad hoc courts to try major human rights cases.

He said the appointment of judges was a positive move to try the unresolved human rights cases if they met the required criteria, such as having broad awareness of national and international laws on human rights.

Hendardi suggested the selection of judges be made transparent and involve public assessment. "However, the selection process seems to be simple. Ideally, the Supreme Court should announce the candidates publicly, so the people are able to assess," he said.

Todung Mulya Lubis, another prominent human rights lawyer, said he could not provide any assessment as to whether the selected judges would be able to meet the requirements. "I can't assess the judges until after they are appointed. The nominees are undergoing training now," Todung, who is also one of the trainers, told the Post on Wednesday.

The selected judges should understand human rights issues and laws, he said, and should be able to read the people's uncompromised demand for justice. "They should also have a broad legal outlook, a strong commitment and recognized integrity."

Todung said that he hoped the appointment of judges would be a step forward in efforts to resolve the cases of gross human rights violations. "They are expected to be able to deliver justice for the nation and other relevant communities, unlike the current judicial system, which could be called a failure," he said.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Monday that the government hoped to install the new judges by December at the latest. About half of the judges would be comprised of non-career appointments, he added.

Few women trafficking cases go to court

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2001

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- Only eight of 286 cases of trafficking of women reported to the police during the last two years have gone to court, according to North Sumatra's Kaukus Perempuan, a coalition of non-governmental organizations dealing with women's concerns.

"Only three of the eight cases were ruled in favor of the victims of violence," Kaukus Perempuan coordinator Darmayanti Lubis said in a one-day seminar on the trafficking of women and children.

The seminar sponsored by Kaukus Perempuan was held at Garuda Plaza Hotel here on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, the victims only won the case on paper, meaning that they never actually received compensation as ordered by the court," said Darmayanti.

She cited a case involving a plaintiff named Pipi and a pimp named Mami Merri as the accused. "The court ruled in favor of Pipi and ordered Merri to pay 26 million rupiah to Pipi in compensation. But Merri has yet to pay Pipi a single rupiah." Darmayanti did not reveal when the trial was held.

She said the point was that law enforcement was still very weak, moreover the police were insensitive in dealing with trafficking of women and children.

North Sumatra is one of several areas in the country where women and child trafficking is rampant.

Most of women and girls have been illegally "exported" as sex workers. Observers allege that the illegal business involves several parties, including the authorities, in North Sumatra. Therefore, eradicating the practice in this province has been very difficult.

Meanwhile, Irma Alamsyah, an expert on legal and political affairs at the office of the State Minister for Women's Empowerment, said in the seminar that in 2000 alone there were 1,476 cases of trafficking of women and children in the country.

"Surabaya ranked first with 309 cases, Medan second with 282 cases followed by Manado with 175 cases, Bandung 157, Makassar 151, Padang 147, Denpasar 129 and Jakarta 126 cases," she said, citing National Police records. "Only 1,094 of the total cases went to court, while in 1999 1,390 of 1,712 cases were brought to court," she said.

"Economic woes and limited employment opportunities have triggered trafficking of women," she said. "The people's low level of education and poor law enforcement have contributed to the worsening situation. Indonesia is now finding it difficult to eradicate the crime."

Irma told The Jakarta Post after the seminar that the government had never dealt with the problem of women and child trafficking seriously. "The yardstick is that the business, both domestic and overseas, is still rampant."

"There are a total of 6,809 sex workers in Malaysia; 4,268 of them are Indonesians. While the US Department of State said that 20 percent of five million migrant workers are women illegally trafficked from Indonesia."

Chief of North Sumatra Police Detectives Sr. Comr. Iskandar Hasan, who also spoke in the seminar, said that the women and child trafficking route was from Medan, Tanjung Balai Karimun (Riau) and Batam (also in the province of Riau). "It is very possible that the women and children are smuggled to Malaysia and Thailand."

News & issues

Arrested Jakarta church bomber fought in Ambon: police

Agence France Presse - November 11, 2001

Jakarta -- One of two men arrested Friday shortly after the blast of a home-made bomb rocked a Protestant church in the Indonesian capital had fought with Muslim rebels in the Malukus, a report said here Sunday.

"From the admission of Wahyu Handoko, one of the suspects, he had been part of a Jihad group in Ambon," Jakarta police spokesman Senior Commissioner Anton Bahrul Alam told the Kompas daily.

Muslims in the Malukus have been fighting a Jihad, or Holy War, against Christians since January 1999 -- sometimes with the assistance of Muslim radicals from Java.

Alam said that the priest at the bombed church, Reverend Diane Akyuwen, is orginally from Wai island near Ambon, the main island in the Malukus, adding the churchman was believed to be the target of the bombing.

Police are currently questioning the two men who are believed to have thrown the bomb through a church window while a third suspect is still at large.Police are also looking for three more people who had been seen waiting in a car outside the church, Alam said.

Three more unexploded home-made bombs were found inside the church after the blast which shattered several windows. No one was hurt even though a congregation was participating in an evening service at the time.

It was the second blast in a week in the Indonesian capital: on Tuesday two men on a motorcycle hurled a grenade into the grounds of the Australian International School in southern Jakarta, but no-one was injured.

Afghan, Iraqi boatpeople turned away by Australia protest

Agence France Presse - November 6, 2001

Kupang -- Afghan and Iraqi asylum-seekers staying at an Indonesian police college here quietly protested Wednesday against their treatment by the Australian military and international refugee agencies.

About 100 men, women and children sat on hot ashphalt in the mid-afternoon protest with some claiming the group would go on a hunger strike.

About half of the more than 400 Afghan and Iraqi refugees staying at the Police Educational Institute School in this West Timor capital arrived late last month after, they say, the Australian navy stopped their ramshackle boat, which had been hired by people smugglers, from entering Australian waters.

The protestors complained that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) have not helped them enough and some vowed to extend their protest. "Tomorrow all these people will go on a hunger strike," Mohammed Ali, an Iraqi who said he was a former schoolteacher, told AFP.

Numerous refugees complained about the food provided to them by IOM. Afghans are used to eating bread but in Indonesia they have been eating rice three times a day, they said.

Many of the refugees had red eyes and complained of skin problems. They have been sleeping on dirty mattresses or rugs on the floor of the police barracks but the Indonesian police say they are trying their best to care for their new arrivals in what is the country's poorest province. "This is a place for education, not a hotel," said police commissioner and deputy head of the school, Yasirman.

Ali said the refugees wanted a meeting with the UNHCR and the International Red Cross and to take legal action against Australia. "They came as refugees and were treated worse than when they were in their countries," Ali said.

Watched over by rifle-toting police, the protestors dispersed and began playing soccer after airing their grievances.

Thousands of people from the Middle East and elsewhere use Indonesia as a stepping stone to reach Australia, trusting their lives to people-smugglers often using dilapidated and overloaded boats.

Indonesia seizes suspected chief people smuggler

Reuters - November 7, 2001

Jakarta -- Indonesian police said on Wednesday they had arrested an Egyptian suspected of being the chief smuggler responsible for organising a refugee boat for illegal migrants which sank last month killing more than 350 people.

National Police spokesman Saleh Saaf said Egyptian Abu Quassey, whom Australian authorities have accused of being responsible for much of the illegal people trafficking from the Middle East to Australia, was arrested in West Java on Sunday together with a colleague.

"Abu Quassey was arrested on November 4 with his right-hand man Johan. We are still searching for four other members of Quassey's gang," Saaf told Reuters. He said a special police team set up two weeks ago to hunt down the suspected smugglers had tracked down the gang from Sumatra to West Java.

"We are still questioning them and trying to find the most appropriate law violations to bring them to the court. Further actions on these suspects will depend on the results of the investigations," Saaf said. "We are trying to crack down on the gang from the top to the bottom. We are coordinating with Australian police on this," he added.

Australia has long urged Jakarta to crack down on human smugglers, but Indonesia had been reluctant until the October incident in which an overcrowded boat bound for Australia's Christmas Island sank off Java, killing more than 350 people.

The vast Indonesian archipelago is the staging post for many illegal migrants -- mainly from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka -- who try to reach Australia on leaky fishing boats organised by smugglers who make millions of dollars out of the trade. Last month, two Indonesian police officers were arrested for protecting people smugglers.

Informal sector/urban poor

Pedicab drivers sue Sutiyoso for 26 billion rupiah

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2001

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The Central Jakarta District Court began hearing a civil case on Thursday filed against Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, Jakarta Police Chief Gen. Ins. Sofjan Jacoeb and Jakarta Military Command Chief Lt. Gen. Bibit Waluyo, in relation to the crackdowns against becak (pedicab) drivers and street vendors.

Through the class action, 54 plaintiffs are demanding compensation totaling 26 billion rupiah, and that the governor allow them to operate with a guarantee for their security. They claim to represent 15,000 poor people who lost their jobs and homes during operations launched by the city administration, backed by the police, since July this year. Most of the plaintiffs are pedicab drivers, street vendors and street singers who live in slums here.

Eight people acted as lawyers for the plaintiffs. They were Rasdullah, Musimah, Nasro Haris, Siti Sopiah, Hanifah, FX. Wikani and Sadar. "The evictions, which resulted in the plaintiffs losing their jobs and homes, were unfair and inhumane," Hanifah, one of the representatives, read out the legal suit. Not only did the evictions affect them physically but also mentally, as they have felt threatened while trying to earn a living, Hanifah said. "Although the plaintiffs are poor, they deserve protection while doing their jobs or sleeping in their homes like any other citizen in the city," he said, to the applause of some 160 supporters and several Urban Poor Consortium activists who attended the hearing.

According to the suit, the city administration planned to remove pedicabs, street vendors and street singers, and demolish slums around the city during the operations held from July to December.

The operations were supported by the Jakarta District Police and the Jakarta Military Command. The administration deployed some 4,100 public order officers, 600 police officers and 150 military officers for the operations.

"While expelling the poor, the officers used weapons that caused serious injuries to the victims," said Rasdullah. He also accused the governor of not providing alternative jobs and housing as promised before conducting the operations.

Presiding Judge I Nengah Suriada adjourned the trial until next week to hear the defense statement from the accused's lawyers.

Activists lash out at city administration

Jakarta Post - November 7, 2001

Jakarta -- Activists criticized on Tuesday the city administration's policy on the eviction of poor urban people, including those living along riverbanks here.

Tubagus H. Karbyanto, spokesman of the Antieviction Society Alliance, said the eviction policy showed that the administration had never regarded the poor as city residents.

The alliance comprises seven nongovernmental organizations: Jakarta Social Institute (ISJ), Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), the Voluntary Team for Humanity (TRUK), Jakarta Residents Forum (FAKTA), STOVIA UI, the Common Peoples' Welfare Foundation(YKRS) and Jakarta Social Youth (PSJ).

"The administration will never cope with the problems if it continues to demolish slums or crack down on becak [pedicabs] without providing a solution," he told The Jakarta Post after addressing a media conference on the eviction ofpoor people by the administration.

Tubagus said that before evicting people, the administration ought to discuss it beforehand with the people concerned. It was hoped that the administration would also provide alternative places or jobs for them.

"It's not fair if they [the poor] are evicted just like that. What will happen to their families? How will they survive?" he asked, adding that eviction of the poor could lead to an increase in crime.

According to Tubagus, the administration had manipulated the city budget in evicting the poor. Earlier reports said that the city administration had allocated about 36 billion rupiah in funding for public order operations against pedicab drivers, street vendors, prostitutes and transvestites.

The city administration claimed that it had confiscated more than 11,000 becak during operations from August to October this year. Since last month, the administration has demolished slums at riverbanks around the city in order to minimize the impact of flooding during the rainy season. Thousands of people were left homeless, as their houses in East Ancol and Pejagalan in North Jakarta were demolished recently.

Religion/Islam

FPI threatens to raid nightspots during Ramadhan

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2001

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- Defying police warnings, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) maintained that it would raid nightspots violating city regulations governing the operation of entertainment centers during the holy month of Ramadhan.

Jafar Siddiq, secretary-general of the Islamic Defenders Troops (LPI), a unit of FPI, said on Thursday that FPI members would specifically target entertainment centers that serve alcoholic drinks during Ramadhan.

They would also strike videogame centers, massage parlors, discotheques and nightclubs that, according to a city regulation, are prohibited from operating during Ramadhan.

Jafar, FPI's former field coordinator for South Jakarta, asserted that he had prepared some 400,000 personnel at 3,000 posts across Greater Jakarta, 580 of which are located in Jakarta. "FPI will remain tough, like last year, by supervising adherence to the bylaw and raiding those places that violate it. Of course, the action will only be taken if there is no favorable response to a letter of warning to them", he said.

When questioned about action that police would take against any groups taking unlawful action against nightspots, Jaffar said that FPI would not back off, adding that if bloodshed was required then that sacrifice would be made.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam had earlier said that police would take stern action against hard-line groups conducting vigilante campaigns during the fasting month of Ramadhan.

FPI became infamous for their raids on venues last year when they attacked several entertainment centers such as MW Bar and Ratu Ayu Bar, both located in Wijaya Kusuma area, South Jakarta, and Kawanu Pub in Tebet district, South Jakarta.

Besides FPI, the Justice Party also vowed to oppose sinners during Ramadhan, but said that it would pursue its objections peacefully. Justice Party chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid said on Thursday that his party had prepared several nonaggressive plans, including "enlightening programs" that would be held in all districts in the capital, peaceful parades, placing posters in strategic places, mass prayers and social activities.

Islamic parties keep up the pressure to include Syariah law

Straits Times - November 6, 2001

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Three Islamic parties in Parliament are pushing for the inclusion of Islamic Syariah law in the Constitution to pave the way for its implementation in Indonesia.

The parties, including Vice-President Hamzah Haz's United Development Party (PPP), want to bring up the issue during the constitutional amendment debate in the ongoing Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the country's highest legislative body.

Prior to the nine-day session, which started last Thursday, all the parties had agreed to exclude the controversial topic of Syariah from the constitutional debates. "We know we were supposed to drop this issue but we can't close our eyes to the aspirations of Muslim communities," said PPP legislator Habil Marati.

Fundamental Muslim groups last week staged rallies demanding Syariah imposition in the country. But other than these small groups, the implementation of Syariah law has attracted little support in the world's most populous Muslim country. Political analyst Azyumardi Azra said the Muslim majority in Indonesia did not support Syariah law because of cultural and sociological influences.

The other two parties pushing for Syariah law are the minority Crescent Star Party and the Justice Party. Crescent Star Party legislator Hamdan Zoelva said the inclusion of the phrase "the obligation to implement the Syariah for Muslims" in the 1945 Constitution could become the legal basis for the issuance of laws with an Islamic slant.

But many are sceptical of the parties' efforts to include Syariah in the Constitution, saying this was merely to garner political support ahead of the general election scheduled for 2004.

Observers say there is little chance the proposal will succeed, as the parties do not have the backing of major parties such as the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle; Golkar, and Indonesia's two largest Muslim groups Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah.

International relations

Australia won't seek Indonesian ties 'at all cost'

Straits Times - November 9, 2001

Sydney -- Australia should not seek to have constructive relations with Indonesia at any price, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said amid new criticism from Jakarta.

Indonesia's Ambassador to Australia, Mr Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, complained that both the Howard government and the Labor opposition had politicised the asylum-seekers issue to win votes.

The ambassador said it was unfair to suggest his government was at fault over Middle Eastern asylum-seekers coming to Australia through Indonesian waters. "I have to stress that from our perspective ... we are not prepared to be used as the bogeyman," Mr Sudjadnan told the Australian Associated Press. He called for "less noisy" diplomacy by Australia.

But Mr Downer on Wednesday defended the government's handling of asylum-seekers. "Our view is we want to have a constructive relationship with Indonesia and we'll work to do that, but we have shown in government that we don't do that at any price," he was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald. He said tensions with Indonesia had arisen partly because the Howard government had been willing to stand up to Jakarta.

In a separate development, the head of Australia's navy yesterday hinted that the Howard government had embellished a story about asylum-seekers throwing their children into the Indian Ocean after video footage released by the government as proof of such actions proved inconclusive. The unprecedented comments amounted to a damaging attack on the credibility of Mr Howard's conservative government less than two days from the federal election.

Zhu arrives for talks in Jakarta bearing $8.9 million gift

Straits Times - November 8, 2001

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, the first senior Chinese leader to visit Jakarta since diplomatic ties resumed in 1990, yesterday announced a 40-million-yuan (S$8.9-million) gift to aid Indonesia's infrastructure development.

Officials accompanying Mr Zhu also said that China had assured Indonesia that the country and the region had nothing to fear from China's ascendancy as an economic power.

Mr Zhu, in brief remarks after talks with President Megawati Sukarnoputri, announced the gift and said Beijing continued to support "all Indonesian efforts to guard its unity and territorial integrity, as well as to rebuild its economy".

Beginning what may be a week of successful diplomacy for the Megawati government, Chinese and Indonesian officials yesterday also signed agreements on tourism, cultural education, closer cooperation between their central banks and agriculture.

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a separate press conference that Indonesia -- and Asean by extension -- had nothing to fear from an economically resurgent China, saying his country could contribute to development in the rest of Asia. "These past few years have seen the emergence of a new relationship pattern between China and Indonesia," he said. "We trust each other more and this could lead to closer economic ties."

According to Mr Wang, officials from the two sides will soon discuss deals to increase Indonesian exports to China and examine ways to increase cooperation to improve stability in Indonesia and the region. "If Indonesia can better guard stability and security domestically, it can attract more investments, including from China," he said. "Both Indonesia and China are big, developing countries with important roles in Asia and responsibility to preserve stability in the region."

China-Indonesia trade was worth US$7.5 billion (S$13.67 billion) last year with China importing oil, timber and other raw products from Indonesia. In exchange, China sent out electronics, automotive parts and other factory-processed goods to Indonesia.

During his four-day visit, Mr Zhu and his delegation will meet Indonesian business leaders and travel to Yogyakarta and Bali to take in some of Indonesia's cultural and tourist attractions.

Economy & investment

NGO coalitions calls for slowdown in privatisation

Agence France Presse - November 8, 2001

Jakarta -- A coalition of Indonesian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on Thursday called on the country's main donors meeting here to determine their new aid pledge, to allow the government to slow down its privatisation program.

"We believe that privatisation should be slowed down, until a political consensus is achieved among the government of Indonesia, the parliamnent and civil society on a process that takes into account its impacts on the poor and most vulnerable," a statement by the coalition read out at the meeting said.

The coalition involved five NGOs including the International NGO Forum for Indonesia Development (INFID) whose executive director, Binny Buchori, read out the statement.

The World Bank, which chairs the Consultation Group on Indonesia (CGI) that groups Indonesia's main state and institutional donors, has criticized Jakarta for the slowness of its privatisation and sales of government-held assets.The World Bank and several other institutional donors have said that the privatisation program and the sales of government assets was an important source for fund for the cash-strapped government.

In their speech, the NGOs also criticised the government for failing "to show a sense of crisis and urgency," and added that the government has responded to criticism from the CGI in a general, vague and non-committal manner.

They also accused Jakarta of failing to address human rights violations in the country with any seriousness. "While there is a plan to implement a human rights court, we are of the opinion that the court still contains impunity elements," the statement said.

Officials have said that ad hoc human rights court, set up for specific cases of human rights violations, are expected to be in operation by the end of the year following the completion of training of its ad hoc judges and prosecutors.

It has so far singled out two cases of suspected gross human rights violations -- the 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre in which troops shoot into a crowd of Muslim demonstrators and a massacre of East Timorese when the territory was still and Indonesian province.

The NGOs also pointed out that there was an increase in repression in the two resource rich provinces at the extremities of the archipelago, Aceh and Irian Jaya, where separatism was strong.

They also called for a transparent military budget, and a moratorium on large-scale logging saying that there had been no serious efforts in attacking the illegal logging which was rapidly depleting the country's forests.

The NGOs also called for "a more generous budget for basic social spending," to alleviate poverty.Citing data from the Urban Poor Consortium, a leading anti-poverty group, they said that the government had eradicated jobs for around 15,000 people between August and October this year.They also urged CGI creditors and donors to conduct an audit on their past loans to Indonesia.

Earlier on Thursday, National Development and Planning Minister, Kwik Kian Gie, told the CGI meeting that he could not guarantee fresh loans sought by his government would be safe from corruption.

The CGI, which groups bilateral as well as multilateral members including World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, will decide later Thursday on fresh loans to help cover Indonesia's 2002 budget deficit. Indonesia is seeking around 3.5 billion dollars in CGI loans to help cover next year's budget deficit of 42.2 trillion rupiah (3.9 billion dollars).

'Embarrassed' Indonesia gets $3.14 billion in fresh aid

Reuters - November 8, 2001

Joanne Collins and Soraya Permatasari, Jakarta -- International donors threw crisis-hit Indonesia a generous lifeline of $3.73 billion in aid on Thursday after one senior official bemoaned the need to "beg" for funds he said might be pilfered.

Underscoring growing wariness over Indonesia's foot-dragging on economic reforms, the World Bank said $1.3 billion was conditional on a major boost in policy implementation. "Of this [aid], $1.3 billion will be tied to significant progress on policy performance...," Jemal-ud-din Kassum, the bank's vice president for the East Asia and Pacific region, told a news conference after a two-day meeting of donors in Jakarta.

For Indonesia's 2002 requirements, donors pledged a total of $3.14 billion in aid. An additional $586 million in technical assistance grants and programme loans was also pledged for the next few years.

There was some confusion, however, over the $586 million. A World Bank official said he was not aware of the extra money and the government gave no specific timeframe for its disbursement.

Earlier, national planning agency head and former chief economics minister Kwik Kian Gie delivered a typically blunt message to donors, saying the country's huge debt levels had exceeded safe limits and warning some of the money might end up in the wrong hands.

Money may go astray - warning

Kwik also criticised creditors for setting wrong priorities when funding projects across an impoverished nation that was a darling of the donor community for decades until the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.

"It is my duty as a government official to present to you our policy and progress on the effective use of foreign aid. On the other hand I feel totally embarrassed to be confronted with the task to justify an activity which essentially amounts to begging for debt on behalf of our nation," Kwik said in a speech.

"I cannot promise you that some of this new debt will not be corrupted again as it has been in the past," added Kwik, who has cabinet rank and is close to President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Indonesia's total foreign debt stands at some $140 billion, the same as its gross domestic product. The planning agency has a key role in coordinating foreign borrowing. Last week, Megawati warned Indonesians the country's ability to repay its debts was reaching a dangerous limit.

Foreign investors and local financial markets are keeping a close eye out for any sign Jakarta will show resolve in tackling the vested interests opposed to privatisation and efforts to eradicate graft that remains endemic.

The World Bank had previously said Jakarta would ask for $3 billion to $4 billion during the meeting of foreign donors, held at a time of growing concern over Indonesia's failure to kickstart economic reform and revive investor confidence.

Part of the fresh funds will be used to finance an expected 2002 budget deficit of 2.5 percent of GDP. The deficit this year is forecast at 3.7 percent of GDP.

The World Bank warned Indonesia on Wednesday it had six months to convince investors it was serious about implementing economic reforms, and the government cautioned it would struggle to meet next year's economic targets.

Donors under the umbrella of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) pledged $4.8 billion in loans last year, but only $2.6 billion has been disbursed. The World Bank has said that shortfall could be explained by growing frustration at Indonesia's lagging reforms but was also recognition from both sides that Jakarta could not continue to rely on hefty injections of foreign aid.

Kwik said loans to Indonesia had not been used effectively for decades. "Our total stock of debt has exceeded all limitations of sustainability and prudence ... Please realise that the loans that you are about to provide are loans that are given under duress and provided in a corrupt environment," Kwik told the donors. "Too often, projects are driven by creditors' needs and not Indonesian priorities."

New Indonesian TV channels face tough fight

Straits Times - November 9, 2001

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Two new television stations have hit the Indonesian airwaves in the last fortnight, and another two will start broadcasting before the end of the year.

But these newcomers will face tough competition from the six existing private television stations to grab a share of the advertising market.

In addition, the state-run TVRI, which has the widest reach in the country, declared that it has gone commercial from this month, running advertisements after 20 non-profitable years in a bid to rescue itself from the brink of bankruptcy.

Analysts have said that the advertising budget for next year is unlikely to grow significantly from this year's expected 9.7 trillion rupiah (S$.1.7 billion).

Salim Group's Indosiar station now enjoys the highest revenues from advertisements, followed by RCTI and SCTV, both of which are owned by the Bimantara Group.

Television analyst J.B. Wahyudi said: "This means the advertising pie will be fought over by 11 stations, instead of seven, by next year." Even now, the new television stations have admitted that they are facing financial difficulties, causing them to delay their launching date.

TransTV, owned by businessman Chairul Tandjung of the ParaGroup, finally went on the air last week, but only in major cities in Java. This happened after the government threatened to revoke the broadcasting licences of all the new stations if they did not start operations by October.

Global TV, a sister company of the oldest private television station RCTI, has started its trial broadcasts since last month. TV7, owned by the Kompas-Gramedia group, has scheduled a "soft launch" on November 25. It will start formal operations sometime next year. Lativi, which is owned by former Cabinet minister and businessman Abdul Latief, plans to hit the airwaves around the same time.

Critics have pointed out that the new television stations lacked originality in their content. All the stations, except for the all-news Metro TV that started operating last November, are heavy on entertainment programmes, with news making up between 20 per cent and 35 per cent of their content. "What will end up happening is that we will have the same kind of soap operas and game shows on every TV channel," said media observer Garin Nugroho.

Following the fall of former President Suharto and the easing of restrictions on new broadcast licences, companies jumped onto the bandwagon and invested their money on new channels. But now that the initial euphoria has died down, they have discovered that television may not be as lucrative a business as they had anticipated.

The Association of Indonesian Advertising Company predicted that the advertising pie would grow by 30 per cent, but many raised their doubts following the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the United States that affected the global economy.

The private stations' losses have forced them to seek investors following a relaxation on foreign investment in the television industry.

Government maintains status quo on Semen Gresik subsidiary

Agence France Presse - November 8, 2001

Jakarta -- Jakarta will maintain the status quo on a local government's unilateral takeover of a major cement firm's affiliate, Home Minister Hari Sabarno said Thursday.

"For the time being, it will remain on a status quo, meaning it will not be spun off nor a put on a put option," Sabarno said after attending a ceremony at the Negara Palace. "The important thing is that the plant can still operate and provide benefit to the local government," he added.

The West Sumatran parliament issued a decree last week saying the people of the province had taken over Semen Padang pending a spin-off from Semen Gresik, its state-controlled parent company.

The government was supposed to sell its 51-percent stake in Semen Gresik to Mexican cement giant Cemex SA de CV, which already holds a 25-percent stake, by October 26. The sale was delayed on opposition from the parliament and the regions. A new deadline of December 14 has been set. The local authorities want Semen Padang to be turned into a state company and remain in Indonesian hands.

The move further jeopardised Indonesia's already floundering privatisation prospects and prompted a warning from the World Bank on Monday that provinces elsewhere would replicate the takeover attempt.

The World Bank's chief economist in Jakarta, Vikram Nehru, has urged Jakarta to overrule the takeover attempt and immediately press ahead with the sale, or risk creating "tremendous investor wariness and uncertainty" towards future sell-off attempts.

Local leaders in South Sulawesi, the home of another affiliate, PT Semen Tonasa, have been pressing the administration there to follow West Sumatra's suit, also demanding Tonasa's spin-off from Semen Gresik.

In a briefing report prepared for Indonesia's key donors ahead of their annual meeting this week, the World Bank said Jakarta must complete the sale of Semen Gresik by the end of the year. It warned creditors were "becoming increasingly wary of pledging support for policy reform when the track record gives little comfort."

Jakarta is seeking around 3.5 billion dollars from the Consultative Group on Indonesia donors to plug the 2002 budget deficit.

Rupiah closing in on 11,000 mark against dollar

Jakarta Post - November 6, 2001

The rupiah plunged to near 11,000 per US dollar late on Monday, the lowest level during President Megawati Soekarnoputri's three-month-old administration.

Bank Indonesia deputy governor Miranda Goeltom said that the pressure on the local unit was due to strong dollar demand from the corporate sector to repay foreign debt. "Dollar demand for debt repayment is enormous," Miranda told reporters, pointing out that companies were buying the greenback for hedging purposes.

The rupiah closed at 10,940, down from 10,675 on Friday. Miranda said that domestic and external uncertainties would continue to cloud the rupiah.

The local unit tumbled to around 11,000 before Megawati's predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid was dismissed by the People's Consultative Assembly due to incompetence. The rupiah strengthened to around 8,200 following the election of Megawati late in July amid hopes of an improving political climate at home and growing confidence in the economy with the installment of a credible economics team.

The 2001 state budget assumes an average exchange rate of 9,600 rupiah per dollar. But recently there has been growing criticism that the Megawati administration has been progressing slowly in the implementation of key economic reform programs.

On Monday, the World Bank released a report ahead of a key Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) donors meeting this week criticizing the slow progress in key reform programs, including privatization and asset-sale programs.

"Official creditors are becoming increasingly wary of pledging support for policy reform when the track record gives little comfort," the Bank said. Earlier, international rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the country's sovereign credit rating from CCC+ to CCC due to concern over debt rescheduling at next year's Paris Club meeting.

Officials fear conflict of interest in City budget debate

Jakarta Post - November 6, 2001

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta -- City officials complained on Monday over the interference of city councillors in their drafting of next year's city budget and alleged that they might be tempted to seek an advantage from the planned projects.

A senior official, requesting anonymity, said he objected to the councillors' involvement in the technical matters, saying that they should concentrate more on budget monitoring and appropriate allocation. "We run into difficulties with the debates on upcoming projects because the councillors are far too involved in the planning and design from the beginning," the official said. He alleged that there was an indication that certain councillors were looking to be perhaps unethically involved in various projects.

Councilman Dani Anwar of the Justice Party claimed that the involvement of the councillors in planning the budget was in fact aimed at upholding transparency. "We continue to scrutinize the planning of the budget. Even with regard to projects of the 2003 city budget, which the administration will have to justify in January next year," Dani, who is secretary of the council's commission B for economic affairs, stated. He denied the accusation that the councillors could take advantage of such a situation by interfering with details of the planned projects.

Councillor Ugiek Soegihardjo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle supported Dani's statement, saying that the council would not rubber stamp planned projects as happened in past years.

The city administration is scheduled to submit the 2002 City Budget at the end of this month, while the approval would be made in December. It is estimated that next year's budget would be about 8.3 trillion rupiah, compared to this year's 8.1 trillion rupiah , according to City Financial Assistant Makmun Amin. Approximately 20 percent of the 2001 City Budget remained unused, he added.

Makmun said the councillors should be involved in the planning of the budget from the beginning, but in a limited role. "But their involvement must be to make decisions on policy matters, not technical matters. It's our duty," Makmun said.

Over the past month, several agencies have been summoned by the council to justify their planned budgets for next year. On Monday, executives of the city-owned Ragunan Zoo met the council's commission D in a hearing to explain the zoo's budget. The commission threatened to cut the zoo's planned projects worth Rp 55 billion if the zoo's executives could not clearly account for its 2001 budget.

"We will approve only a quarter of their budget or about Rp 13 billion if the executives are unable to justify the use of this year's budget," councillor Dani said. He gave an examples of the zoo's five different projects, each worth 500 million rupiah, such as the construction of a white tiger's cage and the maintenance of a dam. Zoo Director Ismianto could not adequately relate all the details on the use of the funding allocations because the zoo's financial official failed to attend the hearing.

World Bank tells Indonesia to defy local cement takeovers

Agence France Presse - November 5, 2001

Jakarta -- The World Bank on Monday urged Indonesia to immediately defy provincial government attempts to take-over affiliates of state-owned cement producer Semen Gresik, warning the moves were endangering the future of investment.

Jakarta's privatisation program has been thrown into further jeopardy since the government postponed a planned sale of its 51-percent stake in Semen Gresik in response to opposition from the parliament and provinces.

The West Sumatran government last week declared it has taken over the company's local subsidiary Semen Padang, and the South Sulawesi administration on Saturday threatened to follow suit with their local subsidiary, Semen Tonasa. The provinces want the cement affiliates to remain locally-owned and demand they be spun off from the mother company before the Semen Gresik stake are sold.

A senior economist with the World Bank in Jakarta, Vikram Nehru, told a press conference here the central government must overrule the takeovers. "Clearly if this decision is allowed to stand then it will be a big blow to the privatisation program of the government," he said. "It will lead to tremendous investor wariness and uncertainty about the future possibilities of privatisation."

Nehru warned of a dangerous domino effect in which other parts of the country with claims to state enterprises would also try to prevent their sale to foreigners. "It's terribly important that the government resolve this issue immediately and press ahead with the privatisation of Semen Gresik."

State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi has labelled the unilateral takeover of Semen Padang as illegal but the government has yet to take any firm action against the purported takeover. Nehru would not speculate on whether the takeover moves would affect the outcome of this week's Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) donors' meeting. The CGI will being asked to commit some 3.5 billion dollars in loans, Nehru said.

Mexican cement giant Cemex, which already holds a 25-percent stake, was to purchase the government's 51-percent holding for some 5.3 trillion rupiah (million dollars), or around 80 percent of the government's privatisation target. The state asset sell- off program has so far netted no revenue.

World Bank expects Indonesia to 'muddle through' its woes

Reuters - November 5, 2001

Dean Yates, Jakarta -- The World Bank said on Monday it expected Indonesia to "muddle through" its economic woes, adding the most urgent tasks were to ensure fiscal sustainability and improve the climate for private investment.

In a report prepared ahead of an annual donors meeting this week, the bank said progress on Jakarta's latest pact with the International Monetary Fund, signed in late August and which the bank called feasible and realistic, had been disappointing.

It said President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government had made little movement on structural and governance reforms, renewing financial market nervousness and worrying creditors.

The bank repeated a forecast made last month that Indonesia's economy would grow 3.3 percent this year and 3.5 percent in 2002, slightly lower than the government's budget forecasts. Jakarta expects growth this year of 3.5 percent and four percent in 2002.

"The bank places Indonesia squarely in the 'muddle-through' scenario ... In this scenario, Indonesia maintains a modicum of macroeconomic stability, but implements structural reforms in fits and starts, with some policy reversals," the report said. "... In the absence of decisive policy action, the fiscal position remains marginally sustainable. But donors need to be realistic about what is feasible, given strong vested interests, severe institutional weaknesses, the uncertainties arising from decentralisation and a turbulent transition to democracy," the report added.

The World Bank first raised the "muddle through" scenario in February at a time of rising political instability, with MPs seeking to bring down former President Abdurrahman Wahid over his erratic rule. Those efforts succeeded in late July, and political tension has largely subsided since Megawati took over.

Indonesians remain vulnerable

While the growth forecasts appeared robust compared with other Asian countries, the bank said they were too low for Indonesia because recovery had lagged behind its neighbours and more than half its 210 million people were vulnerable to poverty.

The bank said Jakarta's most immediate priority was to ensure fiscal sustainability for stability and as a foundation for growth. The 2001 fiscal outlook was worrying with a shortfall seen in domestic and foreign financing of the deficit, it said. Jakarta has forecast a budget deficit of 3.7 percent of gross domestic product for this year, shrinking to 2.5 percent in 2002.

"Moreover, Indonesia's fragile banking and corporate sectors, and the precarious state of the government's finances, make the country highly vulnerable to risks -- with immediate implications for fiscal sustainability," said the report.

It added creditors were becoming wary of lending to Indonesia when the track record gave little cause for comfort. In the past four years, of all pledges made by donors under the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), $9 billion had not been disbursed.

Image problem

Donors grouped under the CGI hold an annual meeting in Jakarta for two days from Wednesday to pledge fresh aid. The World Bank has said Indonesia would seek $3-4 billion. The report added Indonesia needed a big boost from private investment to stimulate growth because exports would suffer in the global economic slowdown while Jakarta's debt morass ruled out using the budget.

But it said Indonesia's image had been hurt by the handling of some legal disputes and over the difficulty in selling stakes in key state assets such as cement maker PT Semen Gresik and Bank Central Asia BCA. "In all these cases, there is a clear perception that actions by the authorities reflect a systematic bias against foreign investors and an unequal application of the law in favour of domestic debtors," said the report.

That image took another bashing with last week's unilateral takeover by West Sumatra province of a key unit of Gresik to stop it being acquired by Mexican cement giant Cemex. Rooting out graft would be a long fight, the report added.

"The critically weak and almost dysfunctional condition of the justice sector in Indonesia -- the judiciaryb General's office, the police -- is one of the most fundamental impediments to both economic recovery and sustainable long-term development of the country," said the report.

It said hefty government debt was a potential cause of economic instability because of the burden on the budget. Total state debt stands at some 100 percent of GDP, or $140 billion.

The report added that regional autonomy laws which devolve more power to local authorities and that were implemented in January had begun better than most observers, including the bank, had expected.