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Indonesia News Digest No
46 - November 12-18, 2001
Jakarta Post - November 15, 2001
Panca Nugraha, Mataram -- In observance of the International Day
of the Eradication of Violence against Women, which will fall on
November 25, more than 200 women held a demonstration against
violence in the city on Wednesday, demanding the government
introduce laws to protect Indonesian women both at home and
overseas.
The demonstration attracted the public's attention as the
demonstrators, all women, marched in several main streets in the
city and stopped at the provincial legislative council compound.
The demonstrators, most of them victims of violence perpetrated
by their husbands, circulated brochures and stickers condemning
violence against women to motorists and bystanders on the
streets.
Endang, coordinator of the demonstration, said she and her fellow
demonstrators demanded the government introduce at least two laws
to protect women from violent actions and those working overseas.
"The laws, which are badly needed to eradicate violence against
women in the country, should also stipulate harsh sanctions
against those carrying out violence against women," she said.
Endang acknowledged the demonstration was held in response to the
rampant violence against women in rural areas in the province.
"The high divorce rate in the province has a lot to do with the
rampant violence against women. Many wives have chosen separation
and divorce or left their husbands because they have been unable
to endure their husbands' violent actions. "In observing the
international day, we want all forms of violence against women to
be eradicated," she said.
Eighty-four-year-old Patrice Anne Williams, an Australian citizen
who has lived on Gili Meno Island in the province, said she
joined the demonstration to protest her neighbour's violent
actions against her. "I am a victim of violence exerted by my
French neighbor Jean Marrie Wagneries on April 19, 2000," she
said, adding that Wagneries tortured her when she protested
against him occupying her land on the island without any
permission. She said she had reported the torture case to the
local police but so far no action had been taken against the
suspect because of the absence of witnesses.
The Australian - November 15, 2001
Nigel Wilson -- Government-level talks in East Timor next week
are seen as the last chance of early development of vast Timor
Sea gas reserves.
Senior officials from the departments of Foreign Affairs and
Trade, Industry, Science and Resources and Attorney-General are
to hold talks with the East Timorese government in Dili in what
is described as a visit "to conclude gas pipeline negotiations".
"We welcome the progress that has been made in recent talks
between East Timor and representatives of petroleum companies on
the outstanding fiscal issues relating to the implementation of
the Timor Sea Arrangement signed in Dili on July 5," the
ministers said.
But the statement's reference to technical issues that have to be
resolved has Timor Sea licence holders demanding the discussions
include fiscal and legal issues.
Despite talks in the past month in Dili between companies and the
new administration, led by Dr Mari Alkatiri, companies claim
there has been little progress on either taxation matters or
security of the resource. It was these issues that led to the
"indefinite" deferment of a large-diameter pipeline between
Phillips Petroleum's Bayu-Undan project, now under construction,
and Darwin in August.
Since then it has become clear also there is little enthusiasm
from Woodside and Shell for bringing gas onshore at Darwin from
the Greater Sunrise fields. Without gas either from Bayu-Undan or
Sunrise the concept of building an internationally focused
industrial hub in Darwin will be stillborn as will the idea of
bringing Timor Sea gas to major Eastern States markets before the
end of the decade.
Government officials conceded yesterday that the question of
pipelines from the Timor Sea gas reserves and Darwin could not be
resolved until the fiscal and legal uncertainties were settled.
The end of December is regarded as the deadline for converting a
letter of intent from US energy giant El Paso to a sales and
purchase agreement to buy 4.8 million tonnes a year of liquefied
natural gas from the Timor Sea.Already, the exclusive nature of
the LOI with the Greater Sunrise project has lapsed and Phillips
Petroleum, the company that arranged the LOI, fears that El Paso
will walk away by the end of the year unless difficulties with
the East Timorese are settled.
Phillips, Shell and Woodside are also no closer to deciding
between an onshore LNG plant in Darwin and Shell's ambitious
floating LNG proposal, with Canberra under pressure from the
Northern Territory administration to insist on an onshore
development.Meanwhile, Australian Pipeline Trust is to increase
capacity of the Carpentaria pipeline from Ballera
East Timor
Labour struggle
Students/youth
Aceh/West Papua
'War on terrorism'
Government & politics
Regional/communal conflicts
Local & community issues
Human rights/law
Informal sector/urban poor
Environment
Health & education
Religion/Islam
Economy & investment
Democratic struggle
200 women protest against violence
East Timor
Dili gas talks vital to early development of Timor reserves
Grenade thrown into East Timorese refugee camp fails to explode
Antara - November 12, 2001
Atambua -- A man lobbed a Korean-made grenade into the middle of a crowded East Timorese refugee camp in Manumutin village, Atambua, early Sunday but the device failed to explode, a local police spokesman said.
Police had caught the suspected grenade thrower, who was only identified as DSS, a 37-year-old former pro-integration fighter, based on information from some witnesses a few hours after the incident, a Belu police officer said Monday. "The suspect is now in our custody for questioning and further investigation as to his motives," Adjunct Senior Comissioner Nender Yani said.
DSS threw the bomb into the camp when dozens of refugees were gathering for a communal celebration called "Pesta Kormetan", he said. The grenade luckily failed to explode. A group of local policemen gently pulled it out of the camp by using rope and detonated it about 50 meters from the camp, Nender said.
The refugees in Manumutin village were part of the more than 250,000 East Timorese who sought refuge in East Nusa Tenggara province (western half of Timor island ) to escape the deadly rampages that broke out in their homeland shortly after a majority of East Timorse voted for independence in a UN-organized people's ballot in August, 1999.
In accordance with the ballot's outcome, the UN is currrently helping to prepare East Timor to become a fully independent and sovereign nation. The number of East Timorese refugees in East Nusatenggara has meanwhile declined as many of them eventually decided to repatriate with the help of the UN and the Indonesian government.
Melbourne Age - November 12, 2001
Jill Jolliffe, Dili -- Ten years after the massacre that shocked the world, memories are still raw in East Timor. When a short piece of theatre re-enacting the November 12, 1991, slaughter of more than 200 students in the Santa Cruz cemetery was shown to an audience of survivors and families on Saturday, it left them in tears. One elderly woman collapsed into bitter weeping, and even a panel of dignitaries cried openly.
The killings could almost have been yesterday for Father Ricardo da Silva, director of Dili's Fatu-Metan seminary. That day he presided over an early-morning Mass for the soul of Sebastiao Gomes, a student who earlier had been shot dead in the porch of his church. Around 2000 young people came to the Mass. When it was over, they set off in procession for the cemetery.
After 16 years under Indonesian military occupation, a glimmer of hope had opened for the East Timorese nationalist movement. Indonesia had agreed to allow a Portuguese parliamentary delegation into the territory, accompanied by its own press team. Expectations for the visit were high, leading to elaborate secret preparations for a demonstration by resistance supporters.
When the visit was suspended by Portugal over Indonesia's refusal to allow this correspondent to accompany the delegation, tension spiralled. There were, however, journalists already in East Timor, who had slipped in as tourists to await the delegation. Disappointed by the failure of the visit, the students decided to convert the memorial procession into a daring demonstration in which, for the first time, they would show the world their support for the guerrilla resistance.
Father Ricardo was unaware of this plan, but he knew anything they did would be peaceful. When his youthful parishioners left, he was slightly anxious because of the general atmosphere, but not too worried. "They were smart kids, disciplined and well- organised. I didn't think they'd fall into any traps."
Then he heard concerted gunfire from the cemetery. He was preparing to go there when the first wounded came into the church clinic. "The young people were terribly distressed, saying the Indonesians had fired on them without warning."
The difference between this and earlier massacres was that it was all filmed, by cameraman Max Stahl, and his images changed the world's perception of East Timor.
Ten years later the territory has its nominal freedom, but Santa Cruz is still an open wound.
The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor has paid little attention to victims of war crimes, although they constitute a substantial sector of the population. They have a priority below economic reconstruction, a short-sighted policy given that a nation's wealth rests in its human capital.
Father Ricardo believes there were more killed than the 200-plus estimate given by human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, and he says there is a pressing need for a proper inquiry. Of this figure, only a tiny proportion of the bodies were found. "So many children disappeared, and parents still live the trauma. For a Timorese it is very important to have the mortal remains and to bury them adequately."
Teresinha Sarmento Borges, 56, is one such mother. For a decade she has not given up hope that one day her son, Jose Julio, will walk in the door. He stares out from a picture frame, a bright 19-year-old posed before a Rambo poster. Several hours after the shootings his stepfather searched the cemetery and the hospital, in vain. The Indonesian military had collected the bodies in trucks, and they were apparently buried at night. No one knows where.
There is, in fact, a UN police inquiry under way. It is hampered by lack of staff. Last year two international officers had sole responsibility for the Santa Cruz massacre, another major massacre near Viqueque, and the inquiry into the 1975 Balibo killings.
UN prosecutor Mohamed Othman said two excavations have been undertaken, acting on witness statements that victims were buried there, but no bodies were found. "Santa Cruz is a scar in terms of atrocities committed here," he said. "We need additional people to work on it."
Clementino Amaral, then an MP in the Indonesian system, was the only East Timorese on the Indonesian inquiry set up in response to world pressure. He condemns the whitewash in which six senior officers were suspended from duty and a handful of junior officers given token prison terms. "It must be reopened," he says. "Only the [UN] Security Council can authorise an international tribunal, but we need the world to pressure for it."
Two young men, Gregorio Saldanha and Francisco Branco, were among those arrested and tortured for the crime of organising a peaceful demonstration.
Both served eight years in Suharto's prisons, but were freed prematurely after the dictator fell. Today, they walk tall as members of East Timor's new parliament. Only their troubled, serious faces indicate their sad past.
Australian Associated Press - November 17, 2001
Karen Polglaze, Melbourne -- The interests of the people of East Timor would have been totally compromised had former Labor prime minister Paul Keating stayed in the top job, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
Mr Howard also hit out at critics of his approach to Indonesia saying it was an historic error to define Australian foreign policy by its relationship with Indonesia.
Many of his critics were from the old school of diplomacy who believed that the only relationship that mattered was the one with Indonesia, he said. Their criticism was wrong, the prime minister said. "It's based on the belief that somehow with a change of government you can conjure up a new relationship with Indonesia," he told a media conference. He said it was his government which had acted to change relations with Indonesia.
The previous government had failed to influence the Indonesian regime of former president Suharto. East Timor had been the defining issue in the relationship between Australia and Indonesia and it was a coalition government that had changed Australia's position on East Timor.
"It was under a coalition government that we were prepared to defend the interests of the people of East Timor, " Mr Howard said. "I have no doubt that if Mr Keating had remained prime minister the interests of the people of East Timor would have been totally compromised in the interests of what he saw as the dominant consideration of the relationship with Jakarta.
"I regard that relationship as very important but it is not the only relationship that this country has around the world, and most of the critics of me in relation to this issue are people who see Australia's foreign policy beginning and ending in the relationship with Indonesia. "I believe that that has been an historic error that has been made over the years."
Associated Press - November 12, 2001
Joanna Jolly, Dili -- Thousands of East Timorese gathered at the Santa Cruz cemetery on Monday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of a brutal massacre by Indonesian troops that shocked the world and paved the way for the territory's independence.
Standing in the midday heat, survivors and family members of those killed held bouquets of flowers and listened to speeches by East Timorese leaders outside the cemetery in the capital Dili. "November 12, 1991 was the day that opened the eyes of the international community to the injustices that were taking place here," said Francisco Guterres, president of East Timor's interim legislature.
The commemoration began with an early morning Mass celebrated by Nobel peace prize laureate Bishop Carlos Belo in the church where, 10 years ago, a young pro-independence activist was shot dead by Indonesian soldiers. It was during his funeral at the capital's Santa Cruz cemetery that troops poured automatic fire into a column of mourners, killing about 200 civilians.
The event, caught on camera by a British journalist, was broadcast worldwide and marked the beginning of an international campaign for independence for the tiny southeast Asian territory which had been occupied by Indonesia in 1975.
East Timor has been under UN administration since a 1999 independence referendum. That vote was followed by an orgy of killings and destruction by the withdrawing Indonesians. The world body has been rebuilding the province ever since then. Full independence is scheduled for May next year.
Over the past two years, UN investigators have attempted to establish the exact number of victims of the Santa Cruz massacre and where they are buried. Police officers already have located a possible mass grave site. Family members of those who died say they hope recovering the bodies will be a priority of East Timor's first independent government. "We are still living in uncertainty. For more than 10 years we have looked for him. We would like his bones back," said 56-year-old Theresina Sarmento Borges whose 19-year old son, Jose, was shot dead in the cemetery.
In Washington, human rights activists urged the administration of President George W. Bush to support the creation of an international tribunal for war crimes committed in East Timor. "Such a policy would demonstrate a commitment to justice during the tenth anniversary of this notorious massacre and begin to redress the years of active US support for Indonesia's occupation of East Timor," said John M. Miller, spokesman for the East Timor Action Network. "East Timor's [people] have yet to see justice for 24 years of systematic rights abuses by the Indonesian military," he said in a statement.
| Labour struggle |
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2001
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- Dozens of minibus crews at the Blok M bus terminal remained on strike for a third consecutive day on Thursday protesting the new bus routes designated by the City Land Transportation Agency, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
The crews said they would likely stay on strike for several more days or until the city administration met their demands to give them back their old routes.
"We will continue to strike and stage rallies until the agency re-imposes our old routes and revokes the new routes," Butar- butar, the driver of the S-69 minibus serving the Blok M-Cileduk route, told The Jakarta Post. Under the new regulation, 10 minibus routes, especially those heading for Rempoa and Cileduk are required to pass through Jl. Barito and Bulungan after they leave the bus terminal instead of passing the intersection of Jl. Trunojoyo and Sisingamangaraja. The routes affected are 69, 70, 613, 74, 608, 71, 72, 609, 611, and 610.
"We refuse to take the new route as it is too quiet, less passengers will use our minibus," Butar-butar said.
His colleague, Subagyo, concurred, citing that his turnover had sharply plummeted to Rp 90,000 from Rp 150,000 on Tuesday when the new route was imposed.
Meanwhile, Sumadji Bolawi, deputy chief of Traffic and Transportation Control Unit at the City Transportation Agency, played down the crews' statements, saying that it was normal and once passengers are used to the new routes, their regular turnover would be similar.
"It is normal that they will get less passengers [in the beginning] given that the route is not yet well known to the public," he argued. Sumadji said the new routes were created to help ease the traffic congestion at the intersection of Jl. Sisingamangaraja and Jl. Trunojoyo.
Sumadji asserted that his officers would remain tough in imposing the new ruling, and added that Governor Sutiyoso had earlier expressed his support of the new ruling.
"Let them go on [with the strike]. We'll see who is the strongest. Should they persist, we might void their route permit," he stated despite the fact that the authority to issue new permits is held by the city administration.
Sumadji said his office had asked for a helping hand from the police, military, and private transport agencies such as Mayasari and Steady Safe to provide alternate vehicles to transport stranded passengers.
But, hundreds of passengers were seen desperately stranded at the vicinity of Blok M bus terminal and along Jl. Hassanudin, Jl. Trunojoyo, and Jl. Kyai Maja as a handful of alternative buses and trucks could not accommodate them all.
"This is very annoying. I've been waiting for almost two hours here. I don't know when it [the minibus] will return to operate," said Sri, while holding her baby. "I had hoped that this could be solved immediately. Yesterday, due to the strike, I had to walk miles away to look for an alternative form of transport," said Ferry, a security guard at Cawang in East Jakarta.
Separately, Taman Puring police subprecinct chief Adj. Comr. Tornagogo said police would back the implementation of the new route as the ruling was part of the city administration's policy.
"It is the police's main task to enforce the government's policy on one hand but on the other hand to prevent the demonstration from turning violent," he told The Jakarta Post. He refused to give comment further, saying anything else was beyond his authority.
Green Left Weekly - November 14, 2001
Max Lane -- Leaders of a militant union, including former political prisoner Dita Sari, have been arrested by Indonesian police during a crackdown on striking workers.
One thousand workers from fifteen branches of the Matahari Putra Prima department store took strike action on November 8, gathering in the company's headquarters to demand a meeting between their union, the Indonesian National Front for Workers Struggle (FNPBI), and the company and payment of various allowances that the company had not given them.
The workers are paid a monthly wage of between $40 and $50, without the obligatory $2 a day food and transport allowance. The company management refused to meet the union, stating that the union was an outside "third party" presence.
After having been peacefully assembled since 7am, at 2pm the police issued an ultimatum to disperse. In a last-minute attempt to start negotuations, workers elected a delegation to meet with management but the company still refused.
The police commander then ordered his troops to disperse the workers and beat them. According to the FNPBI, 31 workers suffered injuries, mainly wounds to the head while others suffered severe bruising from being kicked while on the ground.
Eight union leaders were arrested, including FNPBI chairperson Dita Sari. Also arrested was the chairperson of the Matahari branch of the union, Amran Sadat. According to reports in the Kompas newspaper, they were being detained at the Violent Crimes Division of Jakarta Metropolitan Police Headquarters.
Jakarta Post - November 15, 2001
Multa Fidrus, Tangerang -- After firing five warning shots, the police successfully broke up a rally on Wednesday and arrested eight workers of PT Koinus Jaya Garment who had been demonstrating, along with some 250 others, to demand severance payment from the company.
About 200 officers from Tangerang Police precinct were deployed to disband the rally on Jl. Imam Bonjol, Karawaci.
Police deputy detective chief Insp. Kustanto told The Jakarta Post that the eight workers -- all females -- had been identified as Nurfiqoh, Siti Suryati, Fitri Andriyani, Sri Hayati, Puji Astuti, Lucia, Rita and Agustina and were detained for violating Criminal Code Articles 170 and 160 on vandalism and incitement to violence. "The workers were detained because they had vandalized the factory's entrance gate, fences, an announcement board as well as a number of shoe racks," he said.
The remaining protesters then gathered at police headquarters to demand the release of their colleagues. Ninda, 21, one of them, told The Jakarta Post that some workers had suffered wounds during a clash with police officers who had forced their way into the factory to pick up the eight workers, who were suspected of organizing the protest.
Ninda said the workers staged the rally to demand their rights, asking the company to settle their case soon and pay them their severance payment. She said that 250 out of 500 workers at PT Koinus, a garment company that produces jackets, were laid off due to the declining sales of its products. But Ninda also suspected that the company's management had decided to dismiss the workers because they had joined the Karya Utama Labor Union Federation.
The workers organized a rally on Saturday at the factory. Because the company management had not yet responded to their demands, the workers conducted a five-kilometer-long march from the factory to the municipal council on Monday to conduct a joint rally, along with over 800 former workers of PT Kencana Indah Garment.
As of Wednesday, the workers, who had been laid off by PT Kencana last month, were still refusing to vacate Tangerang municipal council's office. They urged councillors to order the company's management to make a fair settlement by providing the workers with severance payment. Despite having spent two nights at the council offices, none of the factions nor any of the councillors had yet met with the workers.
The workers were dismissed on October 13 after the company's management closed down the garment factory. "The company did not pay any compensation to workers. We are ready to be dismissed, but we demand severance pay," a worker said in a speech on Monday at the council's hall.
She said that the company had given them 180,000 rupiah each on October 8 to pay for their wages for two weeks. "We have no more money to buy food. My boarding house has kicked me out me because I was not able to pay the fees," said another worker called Yayah.
Many export-oriented companies in Tangerang and other places across the country have had to lay off workers or even close down their businesses due to the lack of orders, in particular from the United States.
Agence France Presse - November 13, 2001
Jakarta -- Thousands rallied Tuesday in an Indonesian province to demand the central government cancel the sale of a local cement plant in another blow to Jakarta's stalled privatisation programme.
Workers at Semen Tonasa and their supporters gathered outside the provincial parliament at Makassar in South Sulawesi to demand the company be spun off from its parent Semen Gresik, police said.
"They arrived in waves and now they number around 4,000 people," said Harsono, an officer at city police headquarters. "More people are still coming in. The protest is proceeding peacefully and some of their representatives are currently seeking to meet with legislators," Harsono added.
The protest was a new blow to Jakarta's plans to sell its 51- percent stake in Semen Gresik to Mexican cement giant Cemex SA de CV to raise desperately needed cash. On November 1 the provincial parliament in West Sumatra temporarily took over the local Semen Gresik subsidiary, Semen Padang. They want that subsidiary to be separated from the parent.
The government was supposed to sell its stake in Semen Gresik to Cemex, which already holds a 25-percent stake, by October 26. Opposition from the national parliament and the regions delayed the sale. A new deadline of December 14 has been set. South Sulawesi officials say they want Semen Tonasa to remain locally- owned and not to fall into foreign hands.
Most demonstrators in Makassar wore red headbands reading "Spin off, yes," the Detikcom online news service reported. Activists told the crowd that if their calls were unheeded, "the people and the workers of Semen Tonasa" would take over the company, Detikcom reported.
Last week the World Bank warned Jakarta immediately to overrule provincial government attempts to take over local affiliates of Semen Gresik, or put future asset sales at risk.
State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi has labelled the takeover of Semen Padang as illegal but the government has yet to take any firm action against it. Cemex was to purchase the government's 51-percent holding for some 5.3 trillion rupiah (504 million dollars), or around 80 percent of the government's privatisation target for this year.
The state asset sell-off program has so far netted no revenue. The government is counting partly on privatisation proceeds to finance this year's budget deficit, which is estimated at 5.4 billion dollars or 3.7 percent of gross domestic product.
| Students/youth |
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2001
Approximately 100 students from Atma Jaya University asked the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) on Tuesday to continue investigating the fatal shootings of Trisakti and Semanggi, which killed 30 people, mostly students.
The students and some of the victims' relatives met members of the commission's Investigation Committee at its office on Jl. Latuharhari in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, as part of a ceremony to commemorate the tragedy in Semanggi in 1998.
Previously, the students and victims' relatives visited a cemetery in Joglo, West Jakarta, where they placed flowers on the grave and prayed for some of the victims buried there.
"We came here to urge the commission to investigate the cases. We also asked Komnas HAM to push the committee because these cases violated human rights," said Arief Priyadi, the father of victim Bernardinus R. Norman Irmawan.
The commission head, Albert Hasibuan, assured the group that they would continue investigating the cases. However, he asked the participants to be patient. "We need some more time for the investigation as the cases are complicated. They are linked to one another as well as with two other incidents of the May Tragedy and kidnappings [of activists] in 1998. We have to draw parameters," Albert said.
He told the students that the commission would probably have to work until next January to finalize a comprehensive report on the cases. The commission was originally given until November 12 to finish up, when the government assigned it to work on the case three months ago.
During the dialog, the commission informed the group of the developments so far in the inquiry, claiming that the fatal shooting incidents seem closely related to the Indonesian Armed Forces' strategic policy and operations.
According to Hendardi, a member of the commission, among the evidence to be probed will be troop mobilization and bullets used to shoot the student protesters. "Such evidence indicates the armed forces' organized efforts for a repressive agenda," said Hendardi, adding that the commission will summon senior military officials who were in charge at the time.
After the meeting, the students continued their commemoration at the Atma Jaya campus on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta, which was also the massacre scene three years ago. Joined by 400 other students from Forkot (City Forum), UI (University of Indonesia) and the Victims' Family Association, they also held a ceremony, laying flowers for the victims and listening to some speeches.
In May 1998, a peaceful demonstration in front of Trisakti University turned into massacre when several police allegedly shot indiscriminately into the crowd, killing four. The killings, known as the Trisakti Tragedy, triggered nationwide protests and forced President Soeharto to end his 32-year authoritarian rule.
A similar incident happened under his successor, President B.J. Habibie in November 1998, when security forces again opened fire on the crowd and killed 16 people at the Semanggi cloverleaf, in front of Atma Jaya's campus. The incident is known as Semanggi I. In October 1999, the Semanggi II tragedy occurred, in which 10 more students were shot and killed during a demonstration.
| Aceh/West Papua |
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2001
Asip Hasani and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta/Yogyakarta -- Despite internal conflict among Papuan leaders, the 'murder' of pro- independence figure Theys Hiyo Eluay is believed to have been triggered by vested political interests of members of the political elite in Jakarta.
Human rights activist Bambang Widjojanto said this political group wanted to disrupt the improving relations between Papua and Jakarta.
"I think there is a group in Jakarta attempting to disrupt the peace process in Papua," Bambang told The Jakarta Post by phone on Wednesday.
Bambang ruled out suggestions that internal conflict was behind Theys' death, saying that Theys was a unifying figure needed by the Papuan people.
"I don't think the differences among Papuan communities triggered his death," said Bambang, who lived in Jayapura from 1986 through 1993.
Bambang, however, did not specify whom among the Jakarta political elite stood to benefit from the escalating tension in Papua.
Theys, with the support of then president Abdurrahman Wahid, organized a congress of the Papuan people in June last year aimed at being a peaceful forum for dialog between Papuan leaders and the Jakarta administration. Meanwhile, anthropologist P.M. Laksono said that the death of Theys was a setback in the peace process.
"Political issues should be solved through discussion, not assassination. This is very dangerous. It is hard for the Papuan people to sustain this," he said. Laksono stressed that the murder of Theys would accentuate his position as a symbol of Papuan resistance. Indeed, after his death, Theys' cause will win more support.
Theys was found dead in his Toyota Kijang van on Sunday morning at Muara Tami, a district west of Jayapura. The pro-independence leader had reportedly been kidnapped on his way home after attending a dinner at a local military base.
Home to nearly 225 tribal groups and 31 languages, Papua has often been plagued by tribal conflict.
But Laksono said that the death of Theys did not show any signs of having been caused by ethnic conflict.
He said Papuans would fight openly, instead of carrying out a cowardly act of murder.
"I think this incident relates to the political activities of Theys in demanding Papuan independence," he added.
According to Laksono, conflicts among Papuan tribes were usually ignited by disputes over land, women, and family matters.
He admitted that land disputes among the tribes had been on the rise due to a move by PT. Freeport Indonesia to increase the price of the surrounding land. This decision had resulted in conflicts because the tribes were unable to determine the borders of their territory.
Laksono said, however, that land disputes would be resolved by a tribal leader, locally known as Keret.
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2001
Jakarta -- The secretary-general of the proindependence Papuan Presidium Council (PDP), Thaha Al Hamid, said in Jayapura on Thursday that Papuans (indigenous people of Irian Jaya) wanted the government to guarantee their right to life despite their constant demands for freedom.
"A government guarantee to protect us is more important than the promised special autonomy," Al Hamid said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
"How can we live normally if our right to life is not guaranteed?" he said, adding that a list of names of Irian Jaya figures who were to be "eliminated" had been circulated in many parts of the easternmost province. He didn't explain whether Theys Hiyo Eluay was one of the people on the list or whether any other PDP activists were on the list.
Theys was found dead in his car at Muara Tami, a district west of Jayapura. A group of people had reportedly attacked his driver Ari Masoka before kidnapping him on Saturday night shortly after he left a dinner party hosted by the local military.
Willem Onde, another prominent separatist, went missing and was found dead in a remote area in the province about two months prior to Theys's demise. "We want President Megawati Soekarnoputri to come here with assurances that the government will protect all Papuans against violence," he said.
Megawati plans to visit Irian Jaya on Dec. 22 to give the Irian Jaya people the special autonomy law, which has already been passed by the House of representatives, as a Christmas gift.
Asked whether the PDP would continue with the fight for freedom, Al Hamid said that it was not the PDP that wanted freedom.
"The PDP has been entrusted by the Papuans to fight for independence. If tomorrow the people come and tell us to stop fighting for freedom, then the PDP will do so," he explained.
He said, however, that freedom could only be achieved as the outcome of dialog. "Let's talk about the process. We want to sit down together with Indonesian officials to talk about the truth and the history of Papua." The PDP had on many occasions proposed that a dialog with independent witnesses and observers be held between the government and Irian Jaya people, but the government has never responded positively, he said "Instead of holding a dialog with us, the government offered us a special autonomy law with sharing of the revenue obtained from natural resources," he said. "Once again, what is important for our people is not revenue sharing. We want our lives to be protected and we want to sit down with government officials to talk about historic truths. Just listen to us, don't discriminate against Papuans." The Dutch colonial administration handed over West Papua (then known as Irian Barat, or West Irian, to Indonesia) to the United Nations in 1962. The UN ruled the territory through its Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) for eight months before handing over the gold-rich Irian Barat to Indonesia in May 1963.
In 1969, the United Nations set up a council to organize a plebiscite aimed at deciding whether Irian Barat would remain as part of Indonesia or become independent (one of the members of the council was Theys). The council endorsed Irian Barat's integration into Indonesia. Later, the name Irian Barat was changed to Irian Jaya during Soeharto's administration.
Asked about the death of PDP chairman Theys, Al Hamid said that as an organization the PDP had its internal mechanisms. "The organization keeps going," he said.
He added that he had no idea who or what was behind Theys's death.
Although the PDP, Theys's relatives and the tribal council have decided to have Theys's body buried on Saturday, the cause of his death was still shrouded in mystery as of Friday.
An examination of Theys's heart, which should have been performed at the police's forensic laboratory in Makassar, had yet to be carried out late on Thursday.
"I was informed that the Jayapura General Hospital sent the organs to Theys's family on Wednesday. I was surprised because the organs should have been flown to Makassar. I don't know what was behind this," Al Hamid said.
In Jakarta, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf confirmed on Thursday that Theys's heart had been dispatched on Thursday to the police's central forensics laboratory in Makassar for a more in-depth investigation into the cause of Theys's death.
Associated Press - November 16, 2001
Sentani -- Indigenous separatists in Irian Jaya province have threatened to retaliate against settlers from other parts of Indonesia, following the recent killing of their pro-independence leader Theys Eluay.
Activists from across the far-flung province -- also known as West Papua -- have been gathering in Mr Theys' hometown here for tomorrow's funeral service.
While many in the pro-independence movement want to continue negotiating with Jakarta, a growing number of younger activists are said to favour using force to end Indonesian rule.
"Talk has gotten us no where," Mr Peter Barama, a separatist supporter, said on Wednesday. "It is time to force all Indonesians to leave our land." Thousands of people have been killed in the province since Indonesia occupied the former Dutch colony in 1963.
Its status as part of Indonesia was formalised in 1969 through a vote by village chiefs, but pro-independence activists say the vote was rigged. A ragtag guerilla group has been fighting Indonesian rule ever since.
Mr Barama said that after tomorrow's funeral, gangs may attack migrant communities. In the past 30 years, the government has settled hundreds of thousands of people from other parts of Indonesia in Irian Jaya.
The local population has long resented their presence and attacks them sporadically in an effort to drive them out. Last year, about 40 migrants in Wamena were speared to death by separatist tribesmen. Several were decapitated.
Said human rights campaigner Theositat Dana: "People are afraid. Many are sheltering at police stations or military barracks. Others are hoping to be protected in churches." Nobody has claimed responsibility for Mr Theys' death.
Relatives and activists have accused the Indonesian military of killing the separatist leader. Senior officers -- who met him just before his death -- have denied any wrongdoing.
Dozens of Mr Theys' supporters flew in from the market town of Wamena, in Irian Jaya's remote highlands. Some carried wreaths and the independence movement's "Morning Star" flag as they walked through Sentani.
Many had their faces covered in mud, in a traditional sign of mourning. 'Our leader may be dead but we will never give up our fight for freedom,' said tribal elder Obed Komba.
Tempo - November 12, 2001
Rydha Arlini, Jakarta -- Tom Beanal, Vice President of the Papuan Presidium, believes that the death of Papuan Presidium's President, Theys Hiyo Eluay, would not discourage the Papuan from continuing with their struggle. On the contrary, he said the incident would fire up the struggle.
He said to Tempo News Room by phone today (12/11) that the Papuan Presidium would not stop their fight for freedom because "it is not dependent upon one figure alone." The Papuan Presidium, Beanal explained, has been struggling for freedom only becaues it has the support of many people. Despite Theys' death, Papuan people would continue the struggle.
Beanal said he regretted Theys' death and condemned those who had assassinated such a respected leader. Tom agreed that the incident must be related to a political agenda. When asked about the murderer, Beanal suspects the murderer or murderers came from the ranks of the Indonesian Military.
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2001
Jakarta -- President Megawati Soekartnoputri's political party on Tuesday condemned the (suspected) murder of Irian Jaya independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluai and urged that the security authorities uncover the mystery surrounding his death.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) also appealed to Papuans not to resort to violence over his mysterious death, saying that the (suspected) murder was a setback for the implementation of wide-ranging autonomy in the country's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, known as West Papua to its indigenous people.
"We condemn the incident as it goes against the party's principle of nonviolence, and urge the security forces to solve the case as soon as possible," the party's deputy chairman Roy B.B. Janis said after a meeting between Papuan representatives and Megawati at the party's headquarters in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The team of doctors which examined Theys's body at the Jayapura General Hospital said that Theys may not have been murdered.
Separately on Tuesday, Director of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) Hendardi said the government must be responsible for solving the Theys case, especially given the many accusations that he was murdered by troops. "We all know that political interest is the strongest motive for Theys's murder. As the military is still involved in politics on an ongoing basis, it is reasonable to assume the military murdered Theys in order to win their political goals," Hendardi told The Jakarta Post.
The TNI had earlier denied being behind Theys's death. Theys was found dead on Sunday in his car on the Sentani-Jayapura road. He had been reported kidnapped by unidentified men on his way home after attending a military function on Saturday evening. His driver Ari Masoka is still missing.
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais also backed mounting calls for a thorough probe into Theys's death, saying an inquiry could help curb tension between Jakarta and the Papuans. "Don't let this case remain a mystery because it will negatively affect the trust of the Papuan people in the Jakarta government," he said after receiving Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday.
Asmara Nababan, secretary-general of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said his commission would prefer to leave the investigation to the government.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) Bambang Widjojanto said in Yogyakarta on Tuesday that Theys's death was a setback for the dialog process in resolving the problems besetting the restive province of Irian Jaya. Bambang, who spent his career as the head of the LBH's Irian Jaya chapter before becoming chairman of the foundation, said Theys's death would only create new conflict in the province.
Straits Times - November 14, 2001
Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- As Jakarta came under pressure to mount a credible investigation into the death of Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay, his widow and human-rights activists charged that he was killed by military personnel or someone with a military background.
Madam Yaneke and the vice-president of the Papua Presidium, Mr Tom Beanal, accused the Kopassus special military forces of killing him.They said that the Papuan leader's public demands for independence and opposition to the recently introduced regional autonomy package made him an enemy of the military.
Even national politicians such as People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais have been pushing for a probe. "I say don't allow this to become a mystery, because if this happens, the faith of the international community towards Indonesia and also faith of the local people in Irian Jaya towards Jakarta will be affected," he said.
Police here yesterday admitted that Mr Theys "died in an unnatural way", contrary to their statement on Monday that the victim had died of a heart attack brought on by his abduction on Saturday. Promising swift action and to avoid mass unrest, police said they were sending three teams to investigate the case.
Meanwhile, local human-rights group Elsham said it did not know who was responsible for the Mr Theys' death but suggested that it was someone in the military or with military training. "This is a very professional job, they tried to cover up signs of violence on his body. It is somebody who has been trained to kill without leaving many marks," Elsham vice-director Aloysius Ranwarin said.
Those who argue that the military or Kopassus killed the Papuan leader say Kopassus is a prime suspect because of the way the killing was made to look as if it were an accident. They also point out that Kopassus has a long history of human-rights abuses and extra-judicial killings of independence figures during the Suharto era.
Mr Thaha Alhamid, a member of the Papua Presidium, ruled out any speculation that other members of the pro-independence movement were responsible. "The murder definitely had a connection with politics, but I can't speculate. We just ask police in Irian Jaya and Jakarta to make an objective, open and honest investigation into the case," he said.
Others throw doubt on the military's role, citing Mr Theys' history of negotiation and closeness to various military and government leaders. "It's too early to say, it could be extreme nationalists who see him as a threat," said Mr Bob Lowry, an analyst with political consultant International Crisis Group. Thousands of Papuans have turned out to mourn the Papuan leader.
More than 20,000 Papuans accompanied the body from the regional parliament in Jayapura to his hometown of Sentani 55 km away, according to Mr Thaha.
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2001
R.K. Nugroho & Jupriadi, Jayapura/Makassar -- Thousands of people, including many university students, on Tuesday accompanied the ambulance which was carrying the body of Theys Hiyo Eluay from the provincial legislative council building in Jayapura to his residence in Sentani.
Hundreds of motorcycles were seen escorting the vehicle carrying the body of the Papuan Presidium Council (PDP) chairman. A large number of people also followed the procession on foot to Sentani, which is nearly 45 kilometers away.
It was the type of procession normally reserved for heroes as the car carrying Theys' body was partially covered with the Free Papuan "Morning Star" flag and the people shouted "Free Papua" as they made their way along the route.
A large number of mourners lined the streets as well to offer condolences and shout slogans with the crowd. Many of them burst into tears as the procession passed them.
Jayapura was in a state of mourning as well on Tuesday. All schools and shops were closed and many people left their offices early. Elderly citizens said that Theys was very popular among younger generation, including students, in Jayapura, Sentani and its surrounding areas.
On Monday, the crowd carried Theys' body to the legislative building and demanded that the legislators set up an independent team to investigate the death of their hero. John Tibo, the deputy speaker of the legislative council, promised to urge the police to investigate Theys' death thoroughly. John also promised the group on Monday that he would arrange a meeting with legislators to discuss Theys' death on Tuesday. But such a meeting did not materialize.
Theys, the 63-year-old pro-independence leader was found dead in his Toyota Kijang on Sunday morning at Muara Tami, a district west of Jayapura. His driver Ari Masoka is still missing. Theys had been reportedly kidnapped by a group of people while on his way home from attending a dinner party at the Kopassus base in Hamadi on Saturday evening.
As of Tuesday evening, there still had been no decision as to where, when and how Theys' body would be memorialized. A relative said that a meeting among family members, tribal leaders and the Papuan Presidium Council would be held to decide the details of the service.
The nuances of Theys' death, however, remain shrouded in some mystery. Initial reports from police and pro-independence people assumed that he had been murdered. However, a team of doctors who examined his body announced on Monday that Theys was not strangled as police originally suspected. Dr. Kelemen Mayakori, the leader of the team of doctors at Jayapura General Hospital said that Theys seemed to die from a lethal lack of oxygen, but ruled out strangulation as the cause of death as there were no bruises on the neck. Kelemen also announced that the body had some injuries about the nose and mouth as well as his hands, but was not able to determine with certainty how those injuries were inflicted.
The announcement came as somewhat of a surprise to many who had earlier been convinced that he was murdered. Jayapura City Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Daud Sihombing said in a morning interview with Jakarta-based El-Shinta Radio on Tuesday morning that some of Theys' internal organs would be sent elsewhere for further examination. Irian Jaya Police detective chief Sr. Comr. Gde Kusuma said police were waiting for the results of the examination from Makassar.
The fact was not revealed even by Dr. Kelemen and his team in Jayapura. Dr. Mahmud, a pathologist at Hasanuddin University said later in Makassar on Tuesday that, "Theys' heart was sent to the University of Indonesia's Forensic Laboratory."
National Police deputy spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said in Jakarta on Tuesday that he had not yet been informed about the ongoing post-mortem examination. "I have yet to receive all of the information. Just ask Irian Jaya [Papua] Police chief. He is the one in charge of the investigation," he said in a telephone interview.
Sydney Morning Herald - November 14, 2001
Chris McCall, Jayapura -- Accompanied by thousands of grieving supporters the murdered Papuan separatist leader Theys Eluay was escorted home for the last time yesterday in his coffin, draped in the banned Morning Star flag.
Amid shouts of "Merdeka", or independence, his body, which had been found in his car near a cliff close to the Papua New Guinea border, was taken from the regional legislature, where it had briefly lain in state, for the journey back to his home town of Sentani.
A post mortem examination on Sunday confirmed that he died of asphyxiation after he was abducted on Saturday night. His supporters believe he was strangled.
"This was planned to make something that is not wanted to the West Papuan people," said Benny Edward, 28. "They don't want freedom for West Papua."
A handful of armed soldiers and police lined the route to Sentani. But the atmosphere was one of peaceful grieving. Supporters sang hymns in memory of the man who had vowed to bring them the independence they believe they were cheated of three decades ago.
The army's special forces, Kopassus, and other military officials have denied they were involved, but their denials have convinced few. One officer had said that Mr Eluay, 64, who had recently spend weeks in hospital after his health had deteriorated in jail, could have died of heart failure. At the time of his death he was on trial with four colleagues for treason as a result of his independence activities.
Mr Eluay's abduction on Saturday followed his attending a function at Kopassus's invitation to mark Heroes Day, a key event in Indonesia's war of independence. His driver's whereabouts remain unclear, and there is widespread concern that he, too, may have been killed.
The mourners in yesterday's procession had no doubt who was to blame: the Indonesian Government.
Mr Eluay's former deputy on the Papuan Presidium Council, Thom Beanal, was expected in Sentani later in the day for the ceremonies. He has already been appointed its new chairman.
Reuters - November 13, 2001
Darren Whiteside, Jayapura -- Around 10,000 pro-independence supporters in Indonesia's remote Papua province marched peacefully behind the body of their dead leader on Tuesday, making the long trek to his home town.
Police presence was light as the vast crowd made the winding 45- km journey from the local capital Jayapura to the family home of Theys Eluay in Sentani under cloudy skies.
Analysts have said Eluay's death at the weekend could be a setback to Indonesian hopes of calming separatist tensions in the resource-rich province, especially if evidence points to murder.
Most of the marchers sang patriotic songs or shouted "Merdeka (Independence)! Merdeka!" while others carried the separatist Papuan Morning Star Flag as they walked. A few wore elaborate head dresses made of feathers and some women wept.
The cause of the death of Papuan Presidium Council chairman Eluay remains a mystery, with doctors who examined him quoted by local media on Tuesday as saying the eccentric white-haired chief might not have been murdered.
But the New York-based Human Rights Watch has called Eluay's death a well-planned assassination while the council insisted their leader had been killed. "Despite some speculation, his death was clearly murder ... We call on the authorities to solve this," Thaha Al-Hamid, secretary-general of the council, told Reuters.
Choked to death
Doctor Kelemen Mayakori, head of the Jayapura General Hospital, told the Jakarta Post newspaper Eluay had choked to death but he ruled out strangulation because there was no bruise on the Papuan chief's neck.
"What we found was the usual condition of a person who hangs himself ... He did not die of a gunshot wound," he said. Doctors were not immediately available to comment.
Jakarta recently handed greater powers to Papua to manage its own affairs, but this overture was rejected by the council, an umbrella group of Papuan leaders seeking independence peacefully. The council eschews the hard line taken by the pro-independence Free Papua Movement (OPM), rebels who have been fighting a low- level guerrilla war for decades.
The jungle-clad province was known as Irian Jaya until the national parliament changed its name to Papua last month. Jayapura -- about 3,700 km east of Jakarta -- was calm on Tuesday as business began returning to normal, although many shops remained closed in the provincial capital.
Eluay's supporters followed his body from the local parliament building, where it lay overnight. People lined the roads along the way to Sentani, offering flowers to people in the procession, which was expected to arrive late on Tuesday. Most shops along the route were closed.
Family members plan to hold Eluay's funeral on December 1 -- the 40th anniversary of the declaration of independence by Papuan separatists. "The situation [in Papua] is calm," Janner Pasaribu, the province's police spokesman, told Reuters.
Police have said the 64-year-old Eluay was kidnapped and found dead on Sunday in his upturned car at Koya, a town 50 km east of Jayapura, where tribal chiefs wearing little but penis gourds still walk the streets.
Speculation about his death
Some members of the council said there appeared to have been foul play in Eluay's death, and pointed fingers at the military.
The military has denied playing any role in the death. National police spokesman Saleh Saaf speculated Eluay had been murdered by his own men. "Theys was relatively moderate in the struggle for a Free Papua, using diplomacy and non-violence. Maybe the Free Papuan hardliners murdered him," Saaf was quoted by the Post as saying.
While the council represents various tribal leaders and other figureheads in the province of some two million people, many doubt whether it represents the many who live in the jungles and remote mountain areas of the vast province.
Theys himself was once a parliamentarian in the ruling Golkar party, for decades the political vehicle of former President Suharto. Several council members were also close associates of Suharto's family.
Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1963 after heavy diplomatic pressure on the Netherlands, Indonesia's former colonial ruler. In 1969 a UN-run plebiscite was held among local leaders, including Eluay, which resulted in a vote to join Indonesia. The vote has been widely criticised as unfair.
The province is home to the world's biggest copper and gold mine, operated by PT Freeport Indonesia, a unit of New Orleans-based Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
Agence France Presse - November 15, 2001
Jakarta -- At least seven separatist rebels and one soldier have been killed in the restive Indonesian province of Aceh in the run-up to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the military and the insurgents said Thursday.
A soldier was killed in a clash with rebels of the Free Aceh Movement at Seunagan in West Aceh on Wednesday, said Aceh military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Firdaus (eds: one name).
A rebel was also killed and three others seriously wounded in the same clash which erupted after insurgents ambushed a patrol, he said.
Troops shot dead two rebels during a raid on one of their bases at Tanah Jmbo Aye in North Aceh on Wednesday, he said.
On Tuesday troops shot dead two rebels in two separate clashes at Sawang and Kuta Makmur in the same district, Firdaus said.
The South Aceh district GAM spokesman, Abut Cut Ali, said his men had attacked a passing military truck at Kluet Utara late on Tuesday and killed three soldiers. Firdaus could not immediately confirm the claim.
Ali also said that in a clash in the same area on Wednesday, troops shot dead two rebels.
The Free Aceh Movement has been fighting since 1976 for an independent Islamic state in the oil- and gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. More than 1,600 people have died this year alone.
Pro-independence sentiment has been fueled by Jakarta's draining of the province's natural resources and harsh military operations in the last decade.
South China Morning Post - November 16, 2001
Chris McCall, Jayapura -- It is a crude report from one tiny area of the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya.
It lists 614 people who all died violent deaths between 1969 and 1998. In the column for "doer", all entries contain the word "Abri", an abbreviation for the Indonesian military.
It is a local initiative in the central Paniai region of the province, put together by locals with help from church groups. It is not comprehensive, not independent and needs verification.
But each entry includes a name, an age, a year of death, plus details of gender, tribe, marital status and village. There are one or two gaps, but too few to be significant. This is clearly a report based on evidence from witnesses.
It poses a question. If so many died in such a small area, what has happened all over Irian Jaya -- called West Papua by those supporting separatism -- since the United Nations gave it to Indonesia in 1963? Human rights groups are uncovering fragmented evidence of a hidden holocaust, concealed by remoteness, restrictions and lack of interest by the outside world.
Aloy Renwarin, vice-director of the Papuan human rights lobby Els-Ham, says there are strong suggestions that the number of victims of Indonesian rule in Irian Jaya may equal or exceed that in East Timor.
Human rights groups in East Timor contend that around 200,000 people died from war, famine and disease between 1975 and 1999, the years Indonesia invaded and finally left. Although just a best guess, there is consensus now that the figure roughly reflects the underlying truth.
Mr Renwarin is careful with his information. He admits he does not have the hard data to back up the claim, but the indications are there in things like the Paniai report. "What is clear is that the number may be more than in East Timor. It is clearly about the same or even more. But no one works seriously on it," he said. "Everyone is still scared. An example is Theys' death."
Separatist leader Theys Eluay's flamboyant leadership put his face on newspapers and television screens outside Indonesia, gaining a profile for Irian Jaya it had rarely enjoyed. Abducted and killed last weekend, he will be buried tomorrow, not far from Jayapura's airport. He may be the first well-known "martyr" for the independence movement, but clearly tens of thousands, or maybe more, have preceded him.
In addition to the confirmed dead, the Paniai report lists another 13 people as missing, while 94 women and girls are listed as having been raped by Abri. Nearly all the rape victims were school students, seven of them at primary school. One of the girls, who was apparently "accused of being a child of the OPM" -- the armed Free Papua Movement -- is listed as less than five years old.
The vast majority of the dead were men. The dates of their deaths range from 1969 to 1998. Every one is listed as "shot dead" by Abri. Paniai and other highland regions have long been strongholds of the OPM.
Indonesia has held Irian Jaya since 1963. Researchers say there were particular upsurges in repression around 1969, when a UN- monitored "Act of Free Choice" was held among just over 1,000 tribal chiefs. This resulted in a decision to join Indonesia but was marred by widespread killings. Many of the dead in the Paniai report died in 1969.
A second round was in 1977, when there was an upsurge of activity by the OPM, encouraged by the independence of Papua New Guinea in 1975.
Els-Ham and other monitoring groups have passed the Paniai report on to other investigators, including Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission.
"They have a bitter experience. They felt that the issue of human rights was never settled by Indonesia. We reported to organisations that can help to solve the problem for the people," said Mr Renwarin.
So far, the follow-up has been minimal, as with a handful of other similar reports.
Agence France Presse - November 12, 2001
Jakarta -- Separatist rebels killed a soldier on Monday in the latest violence to hit Indonesia's Aceh province, the military said.
First Private Agus Suyono was killed in a gunfight between separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and troops raiding their headquarters in the village of Bukit Nibunglangkahan, a remote area in North Aceh district, Aceh military spokesman Colonel Firdaus said. On Sunday night soldiers raided another suspected GAM hideout nearby and killed a rebel, Firdaus said.
Meanwhile, the planned release on Monday of an East Aceh council member, Ghazali usman, who was abducted by GAM rebels three months ago, was delayed after representatives from the International Red Cross failed to show up for the handover, a local official said. Usman's release is likely to take place in the next "two or three days," East Aceh district chief Azman Usmanuddin told AFP.
Aceh, an oil and gas rich province on the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, has been wracked by violence involving GAM rebels and security forces. More than 1,600 people have died this year. The GAM has waged a guerrilla war for an independent state in Aceh since Independence sentiment has been fueled by Jakarta's draining of the province's natural resources.
| 'War on terrorism' |
Agence France Presse - November 16, 2001
Jakarta -- Some 150 "jihad" fighters from Indonesia are still with the Taliban in Afghanistan while others have fled to neighboring Pakistan or are stranded on the border, their recruiter said Friday.
"Those who have fighting and other skills remain in Afghanistan with the Taliban to prepare for a guerrilla war," said Syaib Didu, chairman of the militant Islamic Youth Movement which organized the volunteers' journey.
Didu said the fighters had moved from one place to another after the opposition Northern Alliance took the capital Kabul on Tuesday as the Taliban retreated.
Some 50 volunteers have returned to Pakistan safely while another 100 were still on the border, he said. He said the fighters now on the border would return to fight should there be renewed attacks by the US.
Didu, who said he had spoken to his countrymen in Pakistan by phone, had not received any reports of fatalities among the Indonesian jihad (holy war) fighters.
He said the volunteers did not consider Northern Alliance troops as enemies and they were trying to lobby them to introduce Islamic law should a broad-based government be set up in Afghanistan.
The Islamic Youth Movement had recruited volunteers to wage jihad against the US even before Washington launched military strikes in Afghanistan following terror attacks on New York and the Pentagon on September 11. The US accuses the Taliban of harboring Osama bin Laden, the suspect in the terror attacks.
The movement had also threatened to conduct "sweeps" for foreigners with the aim of intimidating them to leave Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri has condemned the September 11 attacks but also criticised the US-led war in Afghanistan. She has called for a humanitarian pause in the attacks for Ramadan, the holy fasting month for Muslims starting this weekend.
| Government & politics |
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2001
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- The National Awakening Party (PKB), under the leadership of Alwi Shihab, officially dismissed Matori Abdul Djalil on Thursday from the party for disloyalty.
Matori was fired after ignoring the third and last request to clarify why he had defied the party's policy not to attend the July People's Consultative Assembly Special Session that impeached president Abdurrahman Wahid, the PKB's chief patron.
Matori was then chairman of the party and a deputy Assembly Speaker. He was unseated and replaced by Alwi but Matori insisted he remained the legitimate party chief.
M. Tohadi, secretary of PKB's legal aid section, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that Matori's dismissal was effective as of Nov. 15 (Thursday), as the three-month deadline for him to explain his disloyalty had passed.
The dismissal has dashed any hope of reconciliation between the Matori and Alwi camps.
PKB, the country's fourth-largest political party, has been riddled with internal bickering following the downfall of Abdurrahman, the party's co-founder, in July.
Matori, who had held the chairmanship of the party since it was established in 1998, supported Megawati Soekarnoputri to take over the presidency during the July impeachment. In return she appointed him as minister of defense.
Abdurrahman dismissed Matori from the chairmanship and appointed Alwi, his confidante, and a former foreign minister in his administration, to lead the party. The defiant Matori further angered the Alwi camp by sticking to his claim that he was the legitimate PKB chairman and by holding a national meeting early this week.
The national working conference gave him a free hand to fire and appoint party leaders in PKB regional offices.
Tohadi said he would file suit against Matori if he continued to use the party's symbol or name for his political activities.
"We have considered filing suit against Matori for holding a national working conference," Tohadi warned. Matori could not be contacted for comment.
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2001
Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- The country's highest electoral authority said on Thursday it would soon submit a new bill to the House of Representatives that would impose tighter requirements for those of the country's more than 300 political parties wishing to contest the general election in 2004.
Mulyana W. Kusumah, a member of the General Election Commission (KPU), could not say, however, when the bill would be submitted to the House for deliberation.
He said the bill would require any party contesting the election to have branches in at least two-thirds of the country's 32 provinces and in two-thirds of the regencies in each of the provinces in which it had a presence.
"In addition to that, each political party must be able to prove that it has at least 1,000 members by showing their membership cards to the KPU," Mulyana, head of the commission's political party section, told The Jakarta Post.
He said that under the bill, it would not be overly easy for political parties to meet the requirements for eligibility to take part in the 2004 elections.
Under the current Law No. 2/1999 on general elections, election contestants are obliged to have branches in only half of the total number of provinces and in half of the regencies in these provinces.
Earlier on Thursday, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said that some 300 new political parties, besides the 48 ones that contested the 1999 election, had registered with his office to take part in the next national poll.
Mulyana said that this came as no surprise because under the current regulations, a group of only 50 people could set up a political party to contest an election after the relevant documents had been formalized by a notary public.
He said that in future all parties would have to pass the KPU's verification process, which would determine whether they were eligible to take part the 2004 poll or not.
"It's not so easy for a new party to have branches in 22 provinces, and in every province it must have branches in two- thirds of the municipalities or regencies," Mulyana pointed out.
Mulyana said the KPU wanted to be given sufficient time to verify such a large number of new political parties. "We hope that the experience of 1999, when the KPU was given only one month to verify the political parties, will not be repeated," he said.
He added that ideally, the next national election would be contested by only 20 parties.
Mulyana said that at least six of the 48 political parties contesting the 1999 election were expected to be eligible to take part in the next poll. These parties included the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN), and the Crescent and Star Party (PBB), he said.
Mulyana explained that the KPU's legal draftsmen had also completed two other political bills, namely a bill on political parties and a bill on the structure and status of the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly.
The bills had been forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs for a final check before being submitted to the House for deliberation, he added.
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2001
Jakarta -- President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Friday insisted that the recently exercised regional autonomy was not a blank check for provinces to do as they please.
In her address at the opening ceremony of a dialog between the central government and the provinces here at the State Palace, the president reserved the right, based on the Autonomy Law, to withdraw the powers handed to a region if the local administration proved to be unqualified in exercising these privileges.
"I am expressing this plea so we can all remain aware of our attitude which, consciously or not, has resulted in unnecessary irritants," she said.
"I realize that this all stems from the tremendous spirit in establishing autonomy, however we must remember that autonomy was established for the sake of ensuring national unity [not division]." She urged the audience, which comprised of governors, regents and mayors from across the country, to tone down their rhetoric and review demands which were unrealistic.
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2001
Berni K. Moestafa and Tantri Yuliandini, Jakarta -- Defying signs of a revenue shortfall in this year's state budget, the government denied it had begun planning spending cuts in the budget, arguing that other options existed to avoid this move.
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said on Tuesday he felt the government might still meet the budget targets for this year. "So far, that [spending cuts] is something the government hasn't thought of at all," Dorodjatun told reporters after attending a seminar on Indonesia's economic outlook following the September 11 terrorist strikes. The seminar was organized by the Faculty of Economics of the University of Indonesia.
Skepticism is running high about the sustainability of this year's state budget, with the government unable to fully tap its revenue sources. This is compounded by surging expenditure, as a weaker rupiah has driven up the cost of debt servicing to levels beyond what the budget had assumed.
With tax and nontax revenues progressing in line with budget targets, the only option left to balance higher expenditure is to boost deficit financing. But here the government is short in both domestic and external financing sources to at least cover the deficit, even without taking into account the surge in expenditure.
Making up the bulk of the domestic financing sources are proceeds from the privatization and asset sales programs. Yet with two months to the end of the fiscal year, the proceeds from privatization still stand at nil. Asset sales targets are in doubt as well, due to adverse market sentiment clouding the outlook of future sales.
Elsewhere, external financing is short by US$900 million, a sum that lenders have withheld, as conditions for the loans have not been met. "From the work we've done with [Finance Minister] Boediono and [State Minister for State Enterprises] Laksamana [Sukardi], I think conditions so far are still under control," Dorodjatun remarked.
Commenting on the slow progress of privatization, he said the government had a variety of state firms it could choose to sell. Earlier, Laksamana said he was upbeat about the sale of telecommunications firm PT Telkom Indonesia and Bank Niaga this year. However, this optimism appears to lack the support of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), which is in charge of selling Bank Niaga.
IBRA deputy chairwoman for bank restructuring Felia Salim said on Tuesday that the agency had no plans to complete the sale of Bank Niaga this year. "The divestment isn't for this year. Bank Niaga's divestment strategy is under preparation," Felia told reporters. She said the agency was instead focusing on selling Bank Central Asia (BCA) this year, one of IBRA's most precious assets.
Other state firms in the pipeline include cement firm PT Semen Gresik, oil palm plantation firm PT Socfindo, and hotel operator PT Wisma Nusantara. Officials estimated the sale of Bank Niaga, BCA, Semen Gresik and PT Telkom could roughly total Rp 16.7 trillion (about $1.5 billion). This compares to a current shortfall of some Rp 13.5 trillion in both privatization and asset sales proceeds.
Assets ready for sale, estimated value (Rp trillion):
| Regional/communal conflicts |
South China Morning Post - January 18, 2002
Chris McCall, Palu, Sulawesi -- The Chief Security Minister flew to Sulawesi yesterday to try to halt a deteriorating religious war.
Immediately after arriving in the capital, Palu, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono headed to the troubled district of Poso for a first- hand look at the conflict zone. He was expected back in Palu today, staff at the Governor's office said. His visit follows a wave of new killings in the troubled region, after the intervention a few months ago of the Islamic militia Laskar Jihad, the same group which was blamed for reigniting the conflict in neighbouring Maluku last year.
Roadblocks have become fixtures on the main highway along the coast to Poso town, all of which is in Muslim hands. No Christian can safely pass them.
Christian leaders say tens of thousands of refugees are trapped in and around the highland town of Tentena, the Christian headquarters. Missionaries and the Catholic Church have issued impassioned appeals for something to be done, claiming up to 50,000 Christians face annihilation if the jihad forces manage to take Tentena.
Rinaldy Damanik, general secretary to the Synod Board of the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi, said by telephone from Tentena that the militia strategy appeared to be aimed in that direction. Five Christian villages attacked and burned in the last few days all seemed to be entry points to Tentena.
"Their target is Tentena. They are trying to come in through several gateways. These villages represent ways to get into Tentena from various directions," he said.
There have been reports in recent weeks of Christians being summarily executed during identity checks on passengers travelling through the coastal region. There have also been repeated reports of foreigners fighting among the Muslims, possibly some Afghans.
Realistically, taking Tentena would be very difficult and few Christian leaders think it will happen yet. The lie of land favours the Christians. Traditionally, they also have better knowledge of the land, inherited from their ancestors. They are highly organised, mounting patrols on the slopes at night often under the surveillance of priests, but they are armed only with crude home-made weapons. They also claim to use magical powers.
Muslim figures, however, have said Mr Damanik and his associates are the real danger.
Tentena's town mosque is a ruin and its Muslim residents fled or were killed long ago. Gruesome killings of Muslims are still being reported, some in the traditional style of war in Central Sulawesi: by chopping off their heads. In fact, of the hundreds killed since the conflict began three years ago, the vast majority have been Muslims, some of them children. Despite its superficial similarities to the violence in nearby Maluku, the Poso problem is more complex in many ways.
Most Christians are the descendants of the original head-hunting inhabitants, converted to Christianity by missionaries around a century ago. The Muslims are generally migrants, or the descendants of migrants, many of them resettled to the area under government-sponsored transmigration schemes.
Over time, the two populations have become roughly equal in size, although many Muslims are now living as refugees in Palu and elsewhere. As in Maluku, the actual trigger for the violence in December 1998 was a trivial incident, a row about drinking alcohol near the main mosque in Poso town.
Christians accuse the Muslims of fomenting the violence by trying to take over the local administration and of carrying out large- scale corruption through it.
Mr Damanik said there were indications that someone in the security forces was helping the jihad militias. "What is certain is that the jihad forces have automatic weapons and they have bombs," he said.
Jakarta Post - November 15, 2001
Badri Jawara, Poso -- The military has vowed to take resolute action against those involved in or instigating riots in the regency of Poso, the chief of the Tadulako Military Command, which oversees the regency of Poso, Central Sulawesi, has warned.
Col. Suwahyuhadji said here on Wednesday that the military would not hesitate to take tough action against rioters. "We mean it. We want all the battling groups to stop attacking each other, or we will take aggressive action to stop them," he said. "Don't force the military to do that. So, please listen to our appeal seriously," he said, referring to the Muslim and Christian groups who have recently been involved once again in deadly clashes.
Suwahyuhadji, who was accompanied by the chief of the Palu Military Police, Maj. Wempi Hapan, also urged the two warring camps to consider that more victims had fallen and would continue to fall if the violence was not halted.
"I am very surprised. They keep fighting even in the presence of military and police personnel. What would they do if we were not here?" he asked rhetorically, adding that some 200 additional Army personnel would be deployed to Poso soon.
A fresh gun battle erupted recently in the town of Poso, with two civilians reported killed and several others wounded. The gun battle, which first broke out on Sunday evening, continued through to Monday and spread to the neighboring subdistrict of Tegalrejo. At the height of the battle, two groups of Christians and Muslims were seen facing each other over a distance of 300 meters. They were armed with homemade rifles, bows and arrows, and many other traditional weapons. The battle stopped after some 100 Army personnel arrived.
It was the third gunfight in Poso over the past week. The first took place on November 7 in the subdistricts of Kayamanya and Sayo. No fatalities were reported. The second erupted two days later in Gebangrejo subdistrict and left one person dead and four others injured.
Poso has been rocked by sectarian clashes between Christians and Muslims for the last two years, and hundreds have been reportedly killed. The government to date seems to be unable to find a solution to the violence.
As of Wednesday, Poso was quiet but tense. Many shops and the central (traditional) market had reopened. Some offices had also reopened, but most civil servants preferred to stay at home. Local transportation vehicles were still restricting their operations
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2001
Jakarta -- Gunmen opened fire at a passing speedboat in the waters off Teluk Ambon in the strife-torn province of Maluku early on Tuesday, killing three people and injuring five out of 10 passengers on board, reports said.
The three fatalities, identified as Niko Pelmelay, Yakob Latupapua and Benny Tuhusula, died en route to hospital due to severe gunshot wounds, a paramedic at Dr. Haulussy General Hospital Johanis D. Mayaut said, as quoted by Antara.
Five people who were injured in the incident, which broke out at about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, were also being treated at Dr. Haulussy General Hospital.
Witnesses said that gunmen on a speedboat coming from the village of Rumah Tiga passed a Marine floating post at Teluk Ambon before opening fire on another speedboat crowded with passengers on Tuesday morning.
A survivor of the incident, David Latumeten, told the news agency that the shooting took place only about 30 meters away from the Marine floating post. "And the officers did nothing to stop the attackers. They just let it happen," David said, adding that the people of Maluku were tired of fighting and that the authorities should take sternaction against rioters, regardless of their background.
Maluku has been relatively calm these past few months but sporadic violence were still occurring in certain parts of the islands.
At least 9,000 people have been killed in both Maluku and North Maluku after sectarian conflict first broke out in the capital of Maluku, Ambon, on January 19, 1999. The conflict, which was triggered by a petty dispute in downtown Ambon between locals and migrants, quickly degenerated into a full-scale riot between Muslims and Christians.
| Local & community issues |
Jakarta Post - November 15, 2001
Makassar -- The authority of central government was challenged afresh as the South Sulawesi House of Representatives (DPRD) issued a statement rejecting a plan to sell PT Semen Tonasa, a local subsidiary of publicly listed, state-owned cement producer PT Semen Gresik Tbk., to Mexican cement company Cemex S.A. under a put option (shareholder's contractual right to sell).
The statement also demanded the administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri implement its plan to spin off Semen Tonasa from PT Semen Gresik Tbk. "The decision was taken on November 12 during a plenary meeting attended by all factions as a manifestation of our response to the people's aspirations," South Sulawesi DPRD Deputy Kallo Bandoso told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Earlier, legislators in West Sumatra province endorsed the local administration's move to take over a local plant of PT Semen Gresik, PT Semen Padang, to prevent the central government from selling the factory to Mexican cement producer Cemex S.A., which now controls 25 percent of PT Semen Gresik.
The government is tied into a put option with Cemex S.A., under which the former was to sell 51 percent of its shares in PT Semen Gresik by October 26, but was forced to delay it until December 14 due to strong opposition from lawmakers and local people. Failure to sell its shares would not only deprive the government of much-needed cash but also badly hurt investor confidence.
Kallo said the South Sulawesi demand for the spin-off and rejection of the put option were already final. "The stance of council members is very clear; the decision was taken via democratic processes, thorough examination of various aspects and in the interests of South Sulawesi people," he said.
The decision of the South Sulawesi council to reject the central government's plan to sell PT Semen Tonasa is a direct challenge to Megawati's administration, which is struggling to cover the budget deficit by privatizing state-owned enterprises and disposing of assets under the control of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).
The government has targeted 6.5 trillion rupiah from privatization and 27 trillion rupiah from the sales of IBRA-held assets to cover the budget deficit, which is expected to account for 3.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2001. To date, the government has received 19 trillion rupiah from selling IBRA-held assets, while not a single cent has been collected from privatization.
Kallo said the decision was based on a statement issued on November 2 by all regents and chairpersons of local legislative assemblies in South Sulawesi province demanding the spin-off, and on a letter from South Sulawesi DPRD submitted to the central government on March 20, 2001.
Kallo added that the council would examine the consequences of supporting the spin-off and rejecting the put option by involving the South Sulawesi administration and related parties, including PT Semen Tonasa and the South Sulawesi people.
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2001
Jupriadi, Makassar -- Thousands of local people and employees of state-owned cement company PT Semen Tonasa staged a demonstration at the South Sulawesi provincial legislative council compound in the city on Tuesday, demanding the government to spin off the cement factory from parent PT Semen Gresik.
The demonstrators, who wore headbands bearing the words spin off and carried banners reading Spin off harga mati (Spin off is non-negotiable) and Jangan halangi aspirasi masyarakat Pangkep (Don't block the Pangkep people's aspirations), announced they would take over the cement factory by force if the government failed to meet their demands.
Mohammad Suhud M. said the provincial administration had to take a stand on the cement factory's fate, following the government's plan to sell a 51 percent stake in Semen Gresik to Mexican cement giant Cemex SA via a put option mechanism. "The South Sulawesi government must oppose the planned put option because the local people can no longer endure the central government's prolonged slavery," he said in a free speech forum held by the demonstrators in the legislature building.
A circular distributed to demonstrators and legislators stated that the cement factory could [not - JB] be sold to foreign investors because it was the pride of South Sulawesi and one of several major state-owned companies in the country's eastern region. It also said that the price of cement in the region would fall slightly if the government insisted on going through with the put option. "That is, for us, why the spinoff is non- negotiable and why it will benefit local people," he said.
The cement factory is located some 30 kilometers north of the city. Following the demonstration, the provincial legislative council held a plenary session to discuss the demonstrators' demands. The demonstrators dispersed peacefully as hundreds of security personnel were deployed to step up security in the legislature compound.
The people in West Sumatra have also demanded a spin off for local cement factory PT Semen Padang, another unit of Semen Gresik, in protest against the government privatization program.
| Human rights/law |
United Press International - November 16, 2001
John Zarocostas, Geneva -- A UN panel Friday criticized Indonesia for human-rights abuses, including sexual abuse, in its troubled provinces.
A 10-member panel of independent experts asked the Indonesian delegation to explain a long list of acts of brutality, including deaths of detained students, in Aceh, Papua, and the Moluccas. The panel said the acts might be in breach of a global convention against torture.
The panel oversees the 126 member countries, including Indonesia, that are party to the convention against torture. Under the accord, member countries are required to present periodic reports on efforts to put the convention's provisions into effect.
"The government [Indonesia] has done little to stop torture, in spite of its stated commitment to ending the practice," Amnesty International, the human-rights group, said in a statement released to coincide with the panel review. The group said torture in Indonesia is carried out both the military and the police and typically "takes the form kicking, beating with fists, hard objects, burning with cigarettes or matches, slashing with knives or razors, death threats and mock executions, soaking with water including sewerage, mutilation of genitals, sexual molestation and rape."
Indonesian representative Lucia Rustam told the panel the government had set up human-rights courts and commissions to address the problem. She said many soldiers, army officers and former government officials had been sentenced for human-rights violations. She conceded, however, the government faced difficulties in its efforts to promote human rights. She cited lack of financial resources and the country's size as factors that made enforcement difficult.
Panel expert Felice Gaer of the United States said the information provided by Indonesia was limited. She said though many cases of torture had been investigated, they had not resulted in trials. She asked what the obstacles were to bringing such cases to trial.
She said sexual violence "appeared to be frequently employed" as a form of torture. The panel, chaired by Peter Thomas Burns, a Canadian professor of criminal law at the University of British Colombia, is expected to present its conclusions at the end of the proceedings on November 22.
| Informal sector/urban poor |
Jakarta Post - November 15, 2001
Jakarta -- Around 35,000 families here would be left homeless if the Jakarta administration continued with the controversial demolition of slum areas across the capital, including those along the city's riverbanks, an activist said on Wednesday.
Azas Tigor Nainggolan from the Jakarta People's Forum (Fakta) said his group's records indicated that 7,000 families had become victims of the demolitions carried out over the past few weeks. "If the forced evictions continue, we estimate the number will be five times larger," he told The Jakarta Post.
The forced evictions were usually carried out by administration officials, with back up from the police. In some cases, residents complained that the officials did not give any advance warning of the demolitions and suddenly appeared with bulldozers to destroy their semi-permanent houses.
Nainggolan deplored the administration's methods of forcing people to leave the affected areas, saying that with forced evictions, not only did people lose their homes, but their children also had to leave schools. "The people don't want much. They just want to be heard and to be given a chance to live here [in Jakarta]," Nainggolan said.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a rally outside the City Council building. The protest involved some 60 people, including, among others, becak (pedicab) drivers, victims of the evictions and street vendors.
Fakta demanded that the administration revoke the 11/1988 regulation on public order. "It has been proven that the public order officials often use repressive approaches and resort to violence in dealing with the public," Nainggolan said.
During the rally, the protesters carried two white monkeys and a toy gorilla which bore the words "makananku 3,2 milyar rupiah (my meal costs 3.2 billion rupiah). They were apparently designed to mock the city administration, which had allocated 3.2 billion rupiah a year for the care of four apes that were scheduled to arrive in the capital soon.
In a statement they distributed to passersby, Fakta stated that in the last four months, the city administration had ruined the livelihoods of 6,000 becak drivers and 2,700 street vendors, and made 6,774 families homeless.
City councillors said they regretted the city administration's approach to the evictions, but did not offer any concrete solutions to the problem.
In a related development, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recommended a 100-day moratorium on all forced evictions conducted by the city administration against poor Jakartans and on housing demolitions, which wereconsidered to be violations of the resolution of the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights on people's housing rights.
Saparinah Sadli, the commission's chairwoman, said that during the moratorium, it was expected the administration could build a constructive dialog that would cover all aspects of problems affecting the city's poor.
The commission also urged the establishment of a working group to review the laws and regulations issued by the city administration that were considered discriminatory toward the poor.
| Environment |
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2001
Nana Rukmana, Indramayu -- Illegal logging in the regency of Indramayu, West Java, has reached such alarming levels that stern police actions are needed to stop it, according to a coalition of non-governmental organizations (KLI) in Indramayu.
Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, KLI spokesman Dudung AR said that the state-owned forest management company PT Perhutani should also take prompt action to deal with the illegal logging, which had led to deforestation. "We have never seen any action against large-scale log thefts."
KLI is a coalition of seven large non-governmental organizations operating in Indramayu, including Greenland, Pelangi Bahari and Humanit. "It is ironic that, with most log thefts, the police have failed to arrest a single suspect. This fact has raised questions among the people. Therefore, we are now demanding that the West Java provincial police, Indramayu regency police and PT Perhutani join forces to wage war against illegal logging and deforestation," Dudung said.
He said that the NGOs would continue pressing the police and PT Perhutani to take action. "We assume that many things have been covered up in relation to this issue."
KLI said that illegal logging and deforestation had taken place in forests belonging to PT Perhutani. "The worst-hit areas include the forest in the villages of Situraja, Mekarjaya, Bantarwaru, and Sanca in the district of Haurgeulis. The forests that have suffered less damage are in the village of Cikmurang, Cikedung district, and the villages of Tanjung and Sukaslamet in Kroya district," he said.
"Until September this year we recorded 475 cases of illegal logging in the area. The crime has resulted in a total of at least Rp 5.65 billion in financial losses to the state," he said. He did not reveal the amount of logs illegally cut down during the period. "All the stolen logs were teak wood," he said.
West Java Governor H.R. Nuriana had earlier acknowledged that forests in many areas in the province were in a critical condition. When opening a re-greening campaign in the regency of Kuningan on Monday, Nuriana said that more serious attention had to be given to forest and water resources.
The governor estimated that the area covered by barren land in West Java was three percent larger this year than before. The amount of critical land reached 875,950 hectares in West Java in 1999. The expansion of critical land had led to damage to groundwater sources. The quality and quantity of groundwater had also dropped, Nuriana said, blaming the 900,000 cubic meters of pollutants that were dumped directly into the rivers each year.
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2001
Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta -- Pollutants emanating from onshore are the largest contributors to the pollution of Jakarta Bay while there has been as yet no significant effort made by government agencies and the community to manage waste effectively, the head of Jakarta's Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda) said on Tuesday.
Waste, mostly of the household variety, carried by the rivers flowing through the city, eventually flows into the sea resulting in damage to the marine environment. "Garbage and pollutants from households and industry must be dealt with seriously. This is urgent ... the water quality of Jakarta Bay is declining by the day," Kosasih Wirahadikusumah, the head of the agency told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a two-day Clean Coasts and Marine Conservation seminar.
The agency's research reveals that Jakarta's rivers are filled with domestic waste as there is almost 3 million cubic meters of garbage per year dumped into them by slum dwellers all over the city. The waters of Jakarta Bay are also polluted with ammonia and phenol.
The slum residents appear to have little knowledge about waste management and are unconcerned about the impact of their behavior. "It is important to educate them on this matter and increase their awareness," said Yunani Kartawirya, the chief of Bapedalda's Environmental Control Section.
Meanwhile, commercial enterprises along the Jakarta coastline, including hotels, ports and chemical plants, pollute the waters with liquid chemical waste as well as oil spills from vessels using the ports. This has detrimentally affected fish and seaweed in the Kepulauan Seribu (Seribu Islands) where most of the residents are traditional fishermen. "Because of the pollution, the fish are scarce now. We have to go all the way to Natuna or Bali waters," said Fuady, a fisherman from the Seribu Islands.
According to Bapedalda data, the pollution in the Kepulauan Seribu consists of garbage, metals, oil and the presence of red tide. "Some of us used to grow and sell seaweed, but because of the pollution we have had to give that up," Fuady said.
The seminar also highlighted research reported in the health Ministry's magazine in 1997 which revealed that fish, oysters, crabs, squid and other types of seafood sold at the Muara Angke and North Jakarta fish markets were contaminated with lead and copper.
It is the sea food sold at these markets that is mostly consumed by Greater Jakarta residents, as seafood exports from Jakarta Bay are often rejected by other countries due to their poor quality. Thus far, there have been no reports of poisoning resulting from the consumption of sea food purchased at the Muara Angke or North Jakarta fish markets.
| Health & education |
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2001
Agus Maryono, Banjarnegara -- Eighty percent of 10,190 junior high school graduates in the Central Java regency of Banjarnegara did not continue their studies at senior high school this year because of economic problems, says a local official.
Deputy Banjanegara Regent Hadi Supeno said that most junior high school graduates were forced to work on the family farm instead of going to school because of poverty and their parents low awareness of the importance of education.
"Only 20 percent of graduates of 87 junior high schools in the regency went to senior high school and this will certainly affect the quality of human resources and preserve the poverty in the regency," he said
Hadi said that many local people could not send their children to school because of their economic circumstance and many others had yet to realize the importance of the education program toward improving social welfare and social status.
"Many parents have seen their school-age children as assets to help grow their plants on their farmland and have decided sending them to school is a waste of money," he said.
He said the local administration planned to launch an education and health campaign in rural areas in the regency next year to improve local people's awareness in the education and health fields. He added that the regency has been hit by endemic tropical diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and skin infections.
Data from the local administration shows that of 881,300 people in the regency, 79,200 had never gone to school, 137,700 were elementary school graduates and dropouts, 66,000 had graduated from junior high school, 14,600 had graduated from senior high school and only 3,200 had graduated from universities and academies. Of 273 villages in the regency, 174 were poor and underdeveloped.
| Religion/Islam |
Agence France Presse - November 15, 2001
Jakarta -- Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation, is bracing for the seasonal price rises, curbs on night- time entertainment and mass treks homeward that come with the holy fasting month, Ramadan.
Muslims, who account for more than 80 percent of the 210 million people here, will start Ramadan on Friday or Saturday depending on the sighting of the new moon.
From dawn to dusk they will shun food, drink, tobacco, sex and impure thoughts.
The pace of life will slow markedly as people rise before dawn to eat. Little time is left for sleep, with long joint prayer sessions in the evenings and the continuous bang of firecrackers.
Offices will gradually empty as the month nears its end and many head for their home towns to celebrate the Eid al-Fitri festival on December 16-17 with their families.
At least 17 million people are expected to take part in the exodus this year. The government faces the daunting task of ensuring adequate and affordable public transport.
The transport ministry started preparing in June to cater for the rush during the peak period, from December 9 to January 4. Christmas Day and New Year's Day are also holidays in this secular nation.
Travellers themselves face long traffic jams on the main highways, especially on overcrowded Java island, packed public transport and higher fares due to ticket scalping.
Many housewifes will have to make do without maids and other servants for several weeks as they head home to celebrate the end of the Ramadan with families.
Expenses soar during Ramadan, with prices surging in the face of higher demand, the need for a richer diet to cope with fasting during the day and new clothes to celebrate the end of the month.
School holidays, at least for part of Ramadan, also mean a greater outlay on family entertainment and outings.
By contrast, bars and nightclubs face a subdued month. Following pressure from Muslim hardline groups, authorities in many regions and cities have already ordered the closure of bars, nightclubs, karaoke joints and massage parlors for the entire month.
The governor of Jakarta, known for its lively nightlife, has yet to issue a final ruling on which nightspots can stay open, albeit with shorter hours.
Governor Sutiyoso had earlier agreed to let selected nightspots, such as bars and pubs, remain open. Following complaints from some Muslim groups, he is now considering either closing them altogether for the month or letting them stay open but without selling alcohol.
Hardliners have threatened to raid bars and nightclubs if they stay open.
Although the fasting month is usually devoid of any large street demonstrations, Ramadan this year may be different. Any US-led attacks in Afghanistan during Ramadan may spark angry protests, said Muhammad Hikam, a political researcher with the state Institute of Science and a former research and technology minister.
"If the US fails to heed warnings from Muslims all over the world to stop its aggression on Afghanistan during Ramadan, it will reap more anger, resentment and protest from Muslims, including in Indonesia," Hikam said.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri has already called for a halt to the attacks during the holy month. "We urge that all military aggression currently being launched to seek suspected perpetrators of terrorism, which has increasingly caused innocent civilians to fall victim, be discontinued during the Ramadan holy month and Christmas," she said this month.
Agence France Presse - November 12, 2001
Jakarta - Six people were injured when a group of Muslims tried to close down an entertainment area in a town in Indonesia's Sumatra island over the weekend, police said Monday.
Students and anti-vice activists tried to shut down the area in Pangkalan Kerinci near Langgam before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, said a local police officer, Supardiansyah.
But employees and other men mobilized by the business owners counter-attacked the group last Saturday.
Supardiansyah said local police and civic leaders had managed to calm the two sides and the town was now quiet. No one was arrested but about 100 police had been sent to the town from Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province.
Islamic groups across Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim- populated nation, have been putting pressure on authorities to close entertainment spots during Ramadan, which starts in Indonesia on Friday or Saturday.
| Economy & investment |
Agence France Presse - November 15, 2001
Jakarta -- Indonesia recorded year-on-year growth of 3.47 percent in the third quarter and full-year growth is likely to at least match this, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.
The bureau said gross domestic product (GDP) in July-September grew 2.38 percent from the second quarter largely thanks to domestic consumption, which rose 3.43 percent over the second quarter.
Bureau chief Sudarti Surbakti said full-year growth was unlikely to be below 3.47 percent, which is close to the official target of 3.5 percent for this year.
Exports were down 7.13 percent from the previous quarter but up 6.57 percent year-on-year, while imports fell 14.87 percent quarter-on-quarter and were down 1.71 percent year-on-year.
On the production side, all sectors posted growth in the third quarter compared to the second.
Bureau deputy chairman Kusmadi Saleh said the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington would hit full-year growth.
"Without the incidents, we should [have been] able to see four percent growth this year and even higher in coming years," Saleh said. "But I hope a four percent growth can achieved next year." The revised 2002 budget assumes GDP growth of 4.0 percent next year.
Indonesia has been hit less hard than many neighbouring countries by the US economic slowdown. Its export earnings are less reliant on electronics and more on lower-end manufacturing and commodities.
Song Seng Wun, regional economist with GK Goh Stockbrokers, said third-quarter growth was stronger than expected, with the external slowdown and falling oil prices appearing to have had very little impact.
To some extent, Song said the figures appear to be "exaggerated." "It looks like Indonesia is set to be the strongest compared to other economies this year but I am wondering what the basis for the resilience is," he told AFX-Asia, an AFP affiliate.
Song said the fall in exports in the third quarter was quite severe and should have dragged down overall growth, despite the sharp fall in imports. "But it was still surprising. It appears there was no impact at all from the fall in exports," he said.
Moreover, he said weakening external demand and falling oil prices did not have a material impact at all on the GDP. "Some may argue about last year's lower base. But even on a quarter-on-quarter basis it looks unusually strong," he said.
Agence France Presse - November 16, 2001
Jakarta -- Five Indonesian state firms suffered losses or potential losses of four billion dollars due to inefficiency over in 1995-1999, according to independent international auditors. The audit results were reported in Friday's Jakarta Post and by the state Antara news agency.
The firms, which were audited under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, are Pelabuhan Indonesia II (port management), Jasa Marga (highway construction and maintenance), Perkebunan Nusantara IV (plantations), Garuda Indonesia (airline) and Telkom (domestic telecommunications).
Auditors defined inefficiencies as costs that should not have occurred or could have been avoided or revenue that might have been earned had the firms operated more efficiently.
They defined potential losses as future liabilities arising from inefficient operations or a lack of compliance with international best practices.
"These performance audits allow us to measure the gap that separates the state firms from international best practices so that we can aim for higher growth," State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi was quoted by the Post as saying on Thursday.
At Telkom examples of inefficient operations included high procurement costs, uncollected account receivables and unfavourable deals with several joint operation partners.
National flag carrier Garuda incurred losses partly from operating unprofitable routes, such as to the United States or Europe. These led to losses of 721 million dollars from 1995 to 1999.
Excessive government interference was noted in the operations of toll road operator Jasa Marga.