East Timor

Assembly votes to transform itself into legislature

UNTAET Daily Briefing - January 31, 2002

Dili -- The Constituent Assembly voted today to transform itself into East Timor's first legislature upon final approval of the Constitution.

The overwhelming vote for the transformation -- 65 in favour, 16 against, two abstentions and five absent -- ended a heated debate on whether or not legislative elections should be held in concert with the 14 April presidential election or shortly after East Timor marks its independence on 20 May.

Chief Minister of the Second Transitional Government Marm Alkatiri declared during the plenary session that majority party Fretilin was in favour of the transformation and a full, five- year term.

Joao Carrascalao, president of the UDT party, called for the dissolution of the Assembly after promulgation of the Constitution and for legislative elections to be held 90 days after independence. During the vote, he vowed to resign from Assembly/legislature once the Constitution was promulgated.

Alkatiri warned that he would not participate in any provisional government if the Assembly voted to hold legislative elections after independence.

The idea of transforming the Constituent Assembly -- the 88- member body popularly elected on 30 August 2001 to draft and pass the Constitution -- was first proposed in late 2000 by the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT), an umbrella organization of political parties and civil organizations formed in 1998. The proposal was adopted by the National Council -- an interim legislative body that preceded the Assembly -- and included in Article 151 of the Assembly's draft Constitution.

SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello has supported the transformation, and UNTAET's Independent Electoral Commission previously warned that legislative elections would have been impossible to organize ahead of independence.

All 151 articles of the original draft Constitution have now been debated by the Assembly. However, several articles forwarded to committees for reworking and an as-yet-unwritten Article 152 -- expected to call for certain sections of the Constitution to come into force before independence day -- have yet to be passed.

Articles passed since late Monday include:

Article 148a, which states that transitional judicial bodies charged with trying serious crimes committed in 1999 shall remain active until the trials are completed. It adds that the existing transitional judicial system shall remain in place until the installation of East Timor's official justice system;

Article 148b, which states that the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation shall carry out its functions as stated in UNTAET regulation 2001/10;

Article 149, which states that the until the installation of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Appeals Court shall be the highest court in the nation;

Article 150, which states that laws and regulations in force shall continue to be applicable to all matters unless they are inconsistent with the Constitution;

Article 151, which states that the Constituent Assembly shall be transformed into a national legislature upon approval of the Constitution of the Republic. In its first term of office, the National Parliament shall be comprised of 88 members on an exceptional basis.

UN Council extends East Timor peacekeepers until May

Reuters -- January 31, 2002

United Nations -- The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to extend its peacekeeping and nation-building operation in East Timor until the former Portuguese colony declares independence on May 20.

The United Nations has been administering East Timor since late 1999, a few months after Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia, which invaded the territory in 1975 after Portugal pulled out.

Peacekeeping troops, which once numbered 8,000, will be cut down to 5,000 and some 1,200 police and at least 100 administrators will remain until May.

The council's resolution said it expected specific proposals on a successor mission to the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor, known as UNTAET, before May 20.

With East Timor's economy and political structures extremely fragile, UN officials have argued for a presence until 2004 as part of a peacekeeping mission, which has to be funded by all members, rather than voluntary contributions.

But how many personnel will be kept on until then is still under discussion, with nations like the United States and France wanting to see the mission wind down sooner rather than later.

Jose Ramos-Horta, East Timor's foreign minister and the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, told the council on Wednesday he was "still concerned about the ability of some former militia elements to destabilize the country."

Shortly after the independence vote in August 1999, militia and Indonesian soldiers, conducted a scorched-earth campaign to protest the poll. Many militia fled to Indonesian West Timor from where they have sporadically conducted raids.

"We ask the council to endorse the concept of a successor mission" on terms the United Nations was formulating, Ramos-Horta said.

East Timorese refugees remain a headache

Jakarta Post - February 2, 2002

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang -- Despite the cancellation of humanitarian assistance as of January 1, 2002, the remaining 128,000 or so East Timorese people taking refuge in West Timor has become a headache for the government because they have not clearly chosen to stay in Indonesia or return to East Timor, and therefore their status is unclear.

The refugees have insisted their rights to stay in the country and but, so far, they have failed to make a clear choice of leaving their camps and joining the resettlement program the government has offered to them. It remains unclear how the refugees will survive as basic food is running out. Some have vowed to obtain meals by any means.

The refugees include 30,000 members of the Indonesian military- backed militia who were blamed for a murderous and destructive rampage in the territory after it voted for independence in August 1999. The rampage and the militia forced some 250,000 East Timorese to flee to West Timor in the province of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Approximately half have slowly returned to their home land.

The halting of aid was aimed at returning the refugees to East Timor -- expected to declare itself an independent state in May -- or offering them Indonesian citizenship and resettling them elsewhere as part of the government's resettlement program.

Some refugees near the border between West Timor and East Timor said Jakarta's decision to halt assistance was inhuman. "We appreciate the government's decision to stop food aid. But as human beings we of course need to eat, drink and a place to stay," Olivio da Costa Pareira, a retired military officer among the refugees, said recently.

He said all the refugees did actually miss East Timor and wanted to return home but not by force.

"I and maybe all the East Timorese people living outside their land want to go home. But whether we will leave now or later is our decision. We should not be coerced by anybody," he said. "I will return home after East Timor officially becomes an independent country," Olivio added.

Asked how his family would survive after the food assistance was halted, he simply said: "A bird that never plants anything even affords to live. So do we. By all means, we will struggle for food and meet the family necessities." Antonio, former member of the Red White Iron (BMP) militia, said the government were "cowards" when asked to comment on the halting of aid.

"Please note that we had struggled for Red and White [the Indonesian flag]. The government provided us with weapons to fight pro-independence groups in East Timor. Now they and pro- independence leaders are asking us to go home. It means the Indonesian government is a coward." Other refugees at the Noelbali and Tuapukan camps in Kupang, meanwhile, are busy working on their vegetable plots surrounding the accommodation centers. "I grow corn, peanuts and cassava to anticipate the situation when we may run short of food, so we can feed ourselves without depending on others," Yuliana da Costa, a refugee in Noelbaki, told the Post.

E. Salean, a senior official at the Kupang social affairs office, said ending relief was a final decision. "There will no bargaining in this case. The government will stick to its earlier commitment to stop food assistance for more than 100,000 refugees still living in West Timor," he said.

He denied that the repatriation or transmigration programs were intended to force the refugees to leave the camps. "The refugees are pleased to take one of the two choices. If they want to be repatriated, the United Nations is ready to facilitate that and if they prefer to join the resettlement or transmigration program, some regions within Indonesia are prepared to accept them."

Churches want changes to constitution

Lusa - January 30, 2002

Protestant and Catholic leaders in East Timor have proposed ten alterations to the text of the draft Constitution currently being discussed by the Constituent Assembly in Dili.

Assembly President Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres read out a letter Tuesday, sent to him by the Working Group on Church- Constitution. East Timorese Bishop Filipe Ximenes Belo was one of the three signatories of the letter, which dealt with the areas of education, private property and sexual matters, among others.

The letter recommends the elimination of section 12 on the "Separation of the State from the Church", which states that "the state shall be separated from the church and other religious denominations".

This article of the constitution has caused some controversy during debates in the past year with some claiming the current phrasing is too vague.

"As leader of Timorese religious groups, we do not seek any special status for ourselves or our members", states the letter from the working group, which also included Jose Antonio da Costa, a Catholic priest and Francisco Maria de Vasconcelos of the Assembly of East Timorese Protestant Churches.

The religious leaders also argue that there should not be any "distinction between original or acquired citizenship". "If there is anyone of value who obtains Timorese citizenship, this person should be nominated by military or diplomatic chiefs", the letter declared, in contradiction to the article already approved.

The signatories also want a widening of the guarantee of no torture, cruelty or inhuman punishment in periods of state emergency, which they wish to see restricted to 2 weeks.

The letter also emphasizes the need for "adequate guarantee compensation payment" in case of public expropriation of private property.

On the subject of polygamy and bigamy, the church working group says it wants a clear reference to the effect that "no person can marry until his or her previous marriage has been dissolved".

Howard urges UN to back East Timor

Sydney Morning Herald - January 31, 2002

Prime Minister John Howard today urged the United Nations to maintain its support for East Timor and not to skimp on resources for the new nation after it achieved independence.

In a speech to the United Nations Security Council, Mr Howard warned the successes of the past two years could not be maintained without strong international support.

"East Timor remains a small, fragile country," Mr Howard said. "Without continued support, those successes cannot be sustained."

The security council is meeting to decide whether to extend its mandate in East Timor until independence on May 20.

Mr Howard said he would personally represent Australia at East Timor's independence celebrations in May.

He said decisions taken by the United Nations over the coming months would be crucial to the long-term success of the new nation. Mr Howard said Australia remained fully committed to supporting peacekeeping and development in East Timor.

Australia has 1,500 peacekeepers still serving in East Timor, and has spent more than $1.4 billion on military operations there since late 1999. Mr Howard said Australia had also committed $150 million in foreign aid over four years. But more needed to be done.

"East Timor will, however, need more than the help and goodwill of its nearest neighbours," he said. "There also needs to be an assurance of solidarity from the United Nations system. We should not undo the good work already done by skimping on resources. Australia will stay the course. It is critical that the United Nations stay the course."

The UN administrator in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, said the long-term stability of the new country would depend on how quickly it could recover from the violence of late 1999, following the vote to break free of Indonesia.

He said despite substantial progress in arresting the crime rate and bringing peace to East Timor, UN peacekeepers would still be needed after independence. "The security situation in East Timor remains stable, I am happy to report," Mr de Mello told the security council. "Crime rates in East Timor are not increasing. Nonetheless, hard-line militia elements may pose a long-term threat. And until there is substantial progress in the establishment of an operational East Timor defence force, the presence of an appropriate military component will be necessary."

Mr de Mello said UN civilian police would be scaled back from about 1,500 at present to about 100 mainly advisory positions by early 2004. He said the 5,000 peacekeepers in East Timor would be gradually reduced depending on the security conditions and the handover to an East Timorese defence force. However he gave no timetable on the withdrawal of peacekeepers.

He also said more needed to be done to attract 60,000 East Timorese refugees back to their homes from neighbouring West Timor.

Truth commission inquiry must include Fretilin atrocities: Horta

Sydney Morning Herald. - January 31, 2002

New York -- East Timor will have to face up to atrocities committed by the liberation movement during the 25-year independence campaign if the new nation hopes for true reconciliation and peace, its interim Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, said.

The mandate of a newly established truth commission had been extended back to 1974, when Portuguese colonial rule collapsed, partly so that human rights abuses committed by all sides and factions could be investigated, he told diplomats and human rights activists gathered at the Ford Foundation on Tuesday.

After Indonesian troops invaded and occupied East Timor in 1975, civil war raged in the territory, with the main pro-independence guerilla group, Fretilin, battling other factions and the Indonesians.

"In Fretilin-held areas of the mountains, there were gross human rights abuses", as serious as any committed by Indonesian troops or their proxy militias, Mr Ramos Horta, a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, said. In touring East Timor and talking to villagers, Mr Ramos Horta said, he was "shocked by the number of Fretilin human rights abuses" reported to him.

While East Timor's people need to examine those atrocities, it is unlikely anyone will be prosecuted or even called to confess any crimes. Most of the guerilla leaders were killed in the independence struggle, and the current Fretilin party leaders were all jailed or exiled during the worst of the violence in 1976 and 1977, Mr Ramos Horta said.

Fretilin won 57 per cent of the vote in an election last year and secured 55 of 88 seats in the assembly that will steer the territory to independence this year.

Mr Ramos Horta said he was aware of only one surviving commander accused of atrocities in those days -- Alarico Fernandes, who betrayed Fretilin in 1977 and has lived in exile on an Indonesian island since.

He urged the United Nations to set up a criminal tribunal to deal with the worst abuses in East Timor, just as it sponsored tribunals for the Balkans and Sierra Leone, but said it appeared to lack the courage to do so.

East Timor's truth and reconciliation commission, expected to last at least two years, will examine violence from 1974 to 1999, when an estimated 200,000 people perished.

Assembly nearly finishes constitution's 151 articles

UNTAET Daily Briefing - January 28, 2002

Dili -- The Constituent Assembly has nearly completed its two- month debate on the 151 articles of East Timor's first Constitution, keeping the popularly elected body on schedule to promulgate the historic document in early March.

Only four articles remain to be passed before the entire text is harmonized and approved in early February. The Portuguese- language document must then be translated into Tetum and distributed among civil society for review. Any public concerns or suggestions will be considered by the Assembly before a formal promulgation vote and ceremony are held on 9 March. Articles passed since late Wednesday include:

Article 143, which states that amendments to the Constitution must respect East Timor's independence, unity, republican form of government, multiparty system, separation of powers, judicial independence and the rights and freedoms guaranteed to its citizens. Amendments must also respect the rights of a democratic opposition, universal suffrage, the separation of church and state, the principle of a decentralised administration, the national flag and the date of the proclamation of national independence. Changes to the form of government, the separation of church and state and the national flag can only be made by a national referendum.

Article 144, which states that no action may be taken to revise the Constitution during a state of siege or a state of emergency.

Article 146, which states that the ratification of conventions, treaties, accords or alliances -- bilateral or multilateral -- will be decided by the competent authority on a case-by-case basis. All treaties, agreements, conventions or accords must comply with national laws.

Article 147, which states that Indonesian and English shall be working languages within the civil service side-by-side with official languages (Tetum and Portuguese) when necessary.

Debate on Article 145 -- which calls for special recognition of the nation's veteran freedom fighters -- was suspended and referred to committee. The other four articles were passed with significant majorities.

Timorese refugees now reluctant to return for economic reasons

Agence France Presse - January 28, 2002

Jakarta -- Economic factors and not intimidation are now the main reason why many East Timorese refugees are reluctant to go home from Indonesia, the UN refugee agency said Monday.

With less than four months to go before East Timor attains full independence, an estimated 60,000-75,000 of them are still in Indonesian West Timor.

Raymond Hall, regional representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said former pro-Jakarta militia leaders were still threatening some people who want to return. He said he had been told two weeks ago of death threats against some refugees.

Many others had voted against independence from Indonesia in East Timor's August 1999 ballot and feared reprisals if they return, even though there had not been a single case of retaliation against returnees.

But economic reasons were now more important than fear, Hall told a press conference. He said some 50,000 of the refugees had some economic rights in Indonesia -- a civil service pension, severance pay owing from the army or even an upcoming harvest. "A year ago it was intimidation and misinformation ... now some of the economic reasons are the most important [reasons not to return]," Hall said.

Aid bodies and international donors were trying to make compensation arrangements to encourage people to return.

After the independence vote, the pro-Jakarta militias embarked on an orgy of violence in East Timor. As international peacekeeping troops began arriving, the militias either led or forced an estimated 250,000-270,000 people across the border into West Timor. Some 193,000 of these have since returned.

In a report released last Friday the United Nations in New York said between 1,000 and 2,000 children taken from East Timor are still being held in different parts of Indonesia. Hall said many of these are probably in West Timor but the UNHCR was anxious to identify groups of children held in other parts of Indonesia. It would then contact parents in East Timor to find out if the children were being held in Indonesia against their wishes.

In a highly publicised case last year nine East Timorese children were returned to the territory from Indonesia at their parents' request even though some of the children were reluctant to leave. "The decision must be that of their parents ... we are very, very concerned to identify these children," Hall said.

Officers grilled over murder of Dutch journalist

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2002

Yemris Fointuna, Jakarta -- Prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office have begun questioning two army officers as part of their investigation into the 1999 murder of a Dutch journalist in East Timor, officials said on Saturday.

Head of the East Nusa Tenggara provincial prosecutors' office Abdul Muis Gassing said that the two -- Lt. Col. Pieter Lobo, chief of South Central Timor Military District command and Lt. Col. Wilmard Aritonang, chief of Kupang Military District Command -- were being questioned on suspicions that they had knowledge of the killing.

The questioning, by prosecutors Sirus Sinaga and Teuku Rahman, has been taking place since Thursday, according to Gassing, addressing reporters in Kupang.

Both Lobo and Aritonang were previously stationed in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, during the period when the killing took place.

Gassing said that the killers were believed to be members of the 745th Infantry Battalion, stationed in Dili, which was assigned to evacuate locals following an outbreak of militia violence that stemmed from a UN-sponsored referendum on independence.

In the past however, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has always denied allegations that any in its ranks were behind the murder.

Gassing said that the two officers were suspected of being fully aware of the incident that took place in Becora, Dili, East Timor on September 22, 1999, in which the Jakarta-based writer for London's Financial Times Sander Thoenes was murdered. Thoenes was found dead with multiple wounds and an ear missing. He was murdered only two hours after he arrived in Dili.

"Officer Lobo ... was assigned to oversee areas covered by troops of the 745th Infantry Battalion," meanwhile, "Aritonang is being questioned, as he was the first officer to receive the troops when they arrived in Kupang," West Timor, Gassing said. Besides the two officers, the former head of the Atambua regency Petrus Bria Seran and a mechanic, Aba Jawas, were also questioned. Seran was among the local officials who also welcomed the troops on their arrival at Atambua, West Timor, which is in the border area.

Labour struggle

Malaysian firms want Indonesian women excluded from ban

Agence France Presse - January 28, 2002

Kuala Lumpur -- Malaysian manufacturers Monday urged the government to allow the employment of Indonesian women workers amid a recent ban on the intake of Indonesian workers.

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers in a statement said it supported the ban which was imposed after recent rioting by Indonesian workers here and a new policy to diversify sources of foreign labour.

But it called for female Indonesians to be excluded from the ban. "This is because the manufacturing sector employs a large number of female workers from Indonesia. In addition, recruiting female workers from other source countries may meet with problems as the supply of female manpower in those countries may not be forthcoming," it said.

The federation suggested that the government implement its new policy of limiting Indonesian workers gradually so that production schedules were not disrupted in the process.

Although preference was given to locals, it said the manufacturing sector still depended heavily on foreign workers as Malaysians were not interested in certain jobs in the industry.

It urged its members to expedite measures to cut dependence on foreign workers and called for stricter measures against illegal immigrants and against employers who hire them.

Reports over the weekend said the government planned to halve the number of registered Indonesian workers here to prevent a repeat of recent riots.

But home ministry secretary-general Aseh Che Mat clarified Monday that Indonesians would be made the last choice in the intake of foreign labour so that their number would be reduced, but not by half as reported.

He was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying that Indonesians now make-up 566,983 out of a total of 769,566 legal foreign workers in the country.

Apart from Indonesia, foreign workers have been traditionally recruited from Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand, while Laos and Vietnam are the latest sources.

Malaysia was angered by a riot by 400 Indonesian textile workers at their factory over drug tests on January 17, and has said it would give priority to workers from other countries.

The factory riot was followed three days later with a rampage by more than 70 Indonesian construction workers armed with machetes at Cyberjaya, a high-tech suburb south of Kuala Lumpur.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said Malaysia did not need to take in any more Indonesians as the country already had a surplus of foreign workers.

Labour experts in Indonesia on Monday expressed fears that Malaysia's blacklisting of its workers would worsen Jakarta's already acute unemployment crisis.

Deportations surprise local port officials

Jakarta Post - February 2, 2002

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- A total of 1,660 illegal Indonesian workers were deported home by Malaysian authorities between January 11 and January 31 via Belawan port in Medan, North Sumatra, in at least ten batches.

The deportations have astounded the port's immigration authorities as they were made without prior notice from their Malaysian counterparts. "We only knew about the repatriation of illegal workers once they arrived here," Muriaandi, chief of immigration at Belawan port, told The Jakarta Post.

He was speaking after receiving the latest wave of 287 migrant workers, which included 35 women. Many of them returned without footwear, wearing just a piece of cloth clinging to their bodies. "We had to leave all of our belongings behind. It was an order by the Malaysian security officers," said Steven, a resident from the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

The arrival of the ill-fated workers from Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra as well as NTT, were also the target of unscrupulous practices by brokers. To get to Belawan port, immigrant workers were transported aboard two ferries from Malaysia. They were later driven in coaches to a temporary accommodation center in Amplas.

Local immigration officials admitted they did not know how the workers would be repatriated to their hometowns in Medan. "When the workers arrived in Belawan, a private transport agency, PT Bintang Seribu, came to handle transport arrangements back to their home villages," Muriaandi said.

The Malaysian government said it would send home some 450,000 Indonesian workers following a recent riot there involving Indonesian illegal workers. The move drew criticism from Jakarta.

Some returning immigrants said they had been detained as illegal workers for 15 days at Langkap immigration station in Perak, Malaysia, before being deported to Indonesia.

Alwi, a 44-year old resident from the town of Sumenep on Madura Island, said he had been arrested at his place of work by Malaysian police on January 17 for failing to show a working license. He said he had obtained a working license to work in Malaysia after paying Rp 3 million. But on his way to the destination, his permit document was seized by local staff in the Tanjung Uban area, Riau.

Since then, Alwi -- a former farmer who had worked in Malaysia for two years -- operated as an illegal worker. He said he was determined to find a job in Malaysia after being persuaded by his friend. "During my stay in Malaysia, I was forced to move from one place to another in order to escape arrest by local police," he said. However, he encountered some bad luck on January 17 as the security authorities arrested him while he was at work at an animal husbandry company.

Another illegal worker Susilawati, 21, a resident from the city of Banyuwangi in East Java, shared a similar experience. She admitted that her working license was confiscated by local staff who had accompanied her before she had headed off to Malaysia. She had left home in order to get a job with a good income. "When I was in Banyuwangi, I was jobless," said Susilawati, a graduate from her town's senior high school.

The deportation of illegal workers, however, did not make other Indonesians cancel their departure to Malaysia in search of better jobs. Dimyati, a 20-year old from the North Sumatra town of Deli Serdang, was determined to sail to Malaysia along with 29 other Indonesians via Belawan port. They departed hours after the 287 arrived there. The group of 30 intended to work at PT Son Fuat Plastik in Blang Phat, Johor.

Dimyati, who was accompanied by his parents to the port, said he had actually no wish to go to work in Malaysia after hearing reports that Kuala Lumpur had decided to deport some 450,000 illegal Indonesian workers.

But having been jobless for some time now and having already spent Rp 3 million to obtain a working permit in Malaysia, he did not want to miss a chance. "If we canceled the plan, the money would be considered used up," said Dimyati, who had arranged the license in November last year. He said he would earn Rp 750,000 per month, including allowances.

Indonesia criticises Malaysia over labour dispute

Reuters - January 28, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia criticised neighbouring Malaysia on Monday for Kuala Lumpur's decision to halve the number of Indonesians working in the country and said the move could backfire and spark an influx of illegal workers.

Manpower Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea said Indonesians who wanted to work in Malaysia in future would be more likely to enter the country illegally rather than go through official channels.

"This decision is unfair, because only some out of hundreds of thousands of people did the mistakes. So it's unfair to send many people home," Nuwa Wea told reporters during a break in parliament.

"The Malaysian government should remember that reducing or banning foreign workers can create more problems, such as more illegal workers ... it will be more difficult to control," he added.

On Sunday, Malaysia Home Ministry Secretary-General Aseh Che Mat said Kuala Lumpur planned to halve the number of Indonesian workers after violent clashes between them and police.

Che Mat was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying there were 900,000 registered Indonesian workers in Malaysia. Most are employed in the construction, manufacturing and plantation sectors and many also work as housemaids.

Jakarta earns about $500 million annually from the remittances of millions of overseas workers so any clampdown is a worrying issue for Indonesia, where the government has predicted unemployment would increase to around 40 million this year from around 36 million in 2001.

Last week, hundreds of Indonesian workers from a textile factory attacked police when officers tried to detain colleagues suspected of taking drugs. Fifteen workers alleged to have participated in the riots will appear in court on Tuesday, newspapers reported.

The decision to charge the men reflects a new tough stand against foreign workers by Kuala Lumpur, which has in the past deported them without pressing charges.

The factory riot came just over a month after more than 1,600 illegal Indonesian immigrants rioted at a detention camp in southern Johor state and burned down some of their quarters.

Malaysia is home to more than a million foreign workers, most of them from poorer neighbours Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Telkom regional office plans strike

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2002

Semarang -- Employees of state-owned telecommunications firm PT Telkom's Central Java and Yogyakarta regional offices will strike on Monday to protest plans to transfer the unit to state-owned telecommunications company PT Indosat, according to a labor union chief.

Chief of Telkom Divre IV workers union Syahrul Akhyar said on Sunday that the strike would continue until the government formally scrapped the asset transfer plan.

"We apologize to all Telkom customers because we will not be able to provide optimal service [during the strike]," Syahrul told The Jakarta Post. Divre IV covers Telkom's operations in the Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces.

Telkom and Indosat reached an agreement in May last year to swap assets in a bid to end their cross-ownership of the country's telecommunications industry. Under the plan, Telkom will sell the Divre IV unit to Indosat, one of two operators licensed by the government to offer international call services. The deal will pave the way for Indosat to enter the fixed-line telecommunications business besides the international phone business where it had been facing stiff competition from international providers. Meanwhile, Telkom will acquire Indosat's 35 percent stake in the country's largest cellular phone provider, PT Telkomsel. The government hopes the transaction will strengthen the two state-owned telecommunications companies in anticipation of strong competition when the telecommunications sector will be liberalized in 2003.

However, employees of Telkom Divre IV have protested the plan. Last week, some 3,000 employees staged a peaceful demonstration in Jakarta to urge the government to abandon the plan.

The massive protests by Telkom workers have raised concerns that the asset transaction could collapse.

Some analysts believe that both the top management of Telkom and Indosat were committed to concluding the deal as it would benefit the two companies, while the management of Telkom Divre IV rejected the plan due to fears of a reshuffle and an audit that would reveal past corrupt practices.

Late last year, massive protests by workers of state-owned cement giant PT Semen Gresik managed to delay the government plan to sell a controlling stake in the company to Mexico's Cemex SA de CV.

Aceh/West Papua

Government and Aceh rebels to hold weekend peace talks: mediators

Agence France Presse - January 31, 2002

The Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) will resume peace talks in Switzerland this weekend after a break of more than six months, according to a mediation body.

The Geneva-based Henry Dunant Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, which has arranged previous rounds of peace talks since 2000, said in a statement the talks would resume in Geneva this Saturday and Sunday.

"We have just spoken with the GAM leadership in Stockholm and we can confirm that the leadership of the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian government will indeed be meeting this weekend," Andy Andrea, spokesperson for the centre said in the statement.

The meeting comes at a time of increasing violence in Aceh province on Sumatra island, where GAM has since 1976 waged a guerrilla war for independence.

GAM officials in Aceh said earlier this week they would boycott the talks because they are mourning military commander Abdullah Syafii, killed by troops during a raid on a jungle hideout on January 22.

The Swedish-exiled GAM leadership said Tuesday it was unlikely to attend the talks but no final decision had been taken. It could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday on its reported acceptance of dialogue. Ceasefires agreed in previous rounds of talks in Geneva have broken down.

"This [dialogue] comes at a very difficult time for both sides because confidence has been damaged by unacceptably high levels of violence," Andrea said.

Close to 200 people have already been killed in Aceh this year. Last year alone, 1,700 people were killed.

"We are very much encouraged that, despite this, they are both still prepared to meet and exchange views on the future of Aceh. It is all the more encouraging considering the need, recognised by everyone, to resolve this conflict peacefully," Andrea said.

In a separate statement the Aceh Monitoring Team for Security Problems -- which groups representatives from both camps plus academics and non-governmental organisations in Aceh -- urged both sides to start talking. "The first concrete step that must be taken in the dialogue process is to halt enmity and enter a ceasefire respected by both sides," the team said.

Violence continued unabated, with eight more deaths confirmed in the past 24 hours. A policeman was shot dead by attackers on a motorcycle Thursday on the outskirts of Banda Aceh, said Aceh police spokesman Adjunct Senior Commissioner Agus Dwiyanto.

Troops raiding a suspected rebels firearms factory at Sialang Raye in South Aceh on Wednesday shot dead five rebels and confiscated machinery, said Aceh military spokesman Major Ertoto. Ertoto said that another rebel was shot dead at Alue Pisang in the same district on Wednesday when troops raided a suspected rebel hideout. On the same day soldiers raided another hideout at Arungon Lambalik in West Aceh and killed the local GAM commander, Ertoto added.

GAM spokesman for the Aceh Besar district, Ayah Sofyan, said rebels shot dead three soldiers who were conducting a sweep at Indrapuri near Banda Aceh on Wednesday. Ertoto said he had no report on the incident.

The government last year passed a law granting Aceh greater self-rule and a much larger share of oil and gas revenues to appease pro-independence sentiment. But rebels insist on nothing short of independence, a goal which the government has ruled out.

Four killed in restive Aceh on eve of peace talks

Agence France Presse - February 2, 2002 (abridged)

Banda Aceh -- At least four people including two suspected separatist rebels have been killed in Indonesia's restive Aceh province on the eve of peace talks due this weekend in Geneva, the army and residents said Friday.

Two suspected members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) died in a skirmish with soldiers in the Singgersing area of South Aceh, said district military chief, Lieutenant Colonel Agus Permana. Troops confiscated an automatic rifle and ammunition.

Residents in the Gapui area of Pidie district said troops had shot dead a farmer on Thursday after mistaking him for a rebel. They quoted witnesses as saying the farmer was shot as he was picking up his hoe. Aceh military operations spokesman, Major Zaenal Muttaqin, said the farmer was a rebel and a handgun was found in his possession.

Unidentified gunmen abducted a village chief in Pidie district and later shot him dead on Wednesday, residents said.

Commander says force is not to way to end Aceh revolt

Agence France Presse - January 31, 2002

Lhokseumawe -- Weapons are not the way to wipe out the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) guerrilla army even though their leader was killed last week, says the commander of Indonesian forces in the restive province.

"To annihilate them, to finish them off, doesn't have to be done with weapons. That's not our way," Brigadier-General Djali Yusuf told AFP on Wednesday in his first interview with a foreign journalist.

Calling the separatists "our brothers", Yusuf -- himself Acehnese -- said the government is still appealing to them to end their struggle and has given them until February 11 to enter into dialogue.

But Yusuf, 52, said he would not compromise in his mission to preserve the unity of Indonesia. "There is no bargaining on this. Aceh is part of the Republic of Indonesia. It can't be negotiated," he said. "Although I'm a native son of Aceh, I have to be firm in carrying out my duty."

Speaking at his headquarters in this city, which is home to a giant ExxonMobil natural gas production facility, Yusuf said he has not seen any change in the behaviour of GAM despite the death in battle of their military commander Abdullah Syafii on January 22.

"It looks like the death is not going to alter their plan of operations," said Yusuf, who took command of 17,000 troops last November. He had been deputy commander since Indonesia began a military offensive last May.

GAM guerrillas have been fighting since 1976 for an independent Islamic state in a conflict which has claimed an estimated 10,000 lives. Jakarta has granted the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island greater self-rule and a much larger share of oil and gas revenues but has ruled out independence.

Rebel representatives in Aceh say they will boycott planned peace talks in Switzerland this weekend with the Indonesian government because they are still mourning Syafii. GAM's exiled leadership in Sweden has yet to announce a final decision on whether to attend the dialogue.

Yusuf, smoking a series of clove cigarettes through an elegant holder, said daily life and government activity -- which had been paralysed -- has started to return to normal as a result of the military operation. He said his forces have killed close to 300 GAM troops since last May and seized about 400 of their weapons, with the loss of about 50 government soldiers.

A human rights worker in the provincial capital Banda Aceh agreed the military has become more accurate in its targeting of GAM guerrillas but said most victims in the conflict are still civilians. Human Rights Watch recorded more than 1,300 deaths last year, most of them non-combatants, and the Aceh NGO's Coalition for Human Rights documented 33 civilian deaths in the first 24 days of this year.

Yusuf said there have been only seven civilian casualties during the operation since last May. The other victims are GAM members who did not have weapons, he said, adding that his troops carry special cards reminding them of their obligation to respect human rights.

Disputing GAM claims that a tracking device helped lead hundreds of Indonesian troops to Syafii's base last week, Yusuf said a team of just 20 soldiers came upon the hideout while investigating a resident's report about an armed man. "My soldiers didn't know that it was Abdullah Syafii," he said, suggesting that a larger force would have been sent if he had been forewarned of Syafii's presence.

Yusuf, a soldier for 29 years, was in Jakarta when Syafii died. He flew back to Aceh to personally check the corpse of his adversary.

Soldiers may be involved in Theys' murder: army chief

Agence France Presse - January 31, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia's army chief admitted Thursday that soldiers may have been involved in the murder of a Papua separatist leader and pledged action against any who were proven guilty.

"It is true that from the existing testimony there are indications towards that [army involvement] but it does not mean that it is certain," General Endriartono Sutarto said.

"The essence is that we have a high commitment to assist the resolution of this case. If there are any personnel involved, we will act against them," Sutarto was quoted by the Detikcom online news service as saying.

Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that several members of the armed forces (TNI) will sit on a national commission to probe the murder of Theys Hiyo Eluay in November. Yudhoyono said the inclusion of TNI representatives in the commission was decided "so that the investigation is not hindered, because there is a TNI unit being investigated in this case." Many people in Indonesia's easternmost province Papua, including its police chief, its governor and rights activists, have said there are indications that members of the Kopassus special army force had a role in the murder. Sutarto said the armed forces headquarters would send a military police team to help investigations but gave no details.

Activists in Papua, which was previously known as Irian Jaya, have called for an independent team to be set up to investigate the killing. After questioning at least seven Kopassus members local police admitted they had hit a dead end in their investigation. Earlier this month Home Affairs Minister Hari Sabarno promised that the military and police would not be represented on the commission.

Eluay was found murdered on November 11. He had been abducted the previous evening by an unidentified group as he drove home from a Heroes' Day celebration hosted by the Kopassus unit in Jayapura. Eluay's driver escaped and reported the abduction, which he said was carried out by non-Papuan people. He has since disappeared.

A sporadic low-level armed struggle for independence began after the Dutch ceded control of the territory to Indonesia in 1963. The province was renamed Papua this month under an autonomy law designed to lessen pressure for independence and which also gives it a much greater share of revenues from natural resources.

Investigation into Theys' murder draws skepticism

Jakarta Post - January 31, 2002

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The Papuan people's hope for a thorough investigation into the apparent murder of pro-independence Papua Presidium Council (PDP) Chairman Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluay may have been dashed as the government decided to include the military (TNI) and Police in the proposed investigation team.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono revealed on Wednesday that President Megawati Soekarnoputri would issue immediately a decree on the proposed establishment of the independent commission that would include both the TNI and the police.

He said the inclusion of the TNI and of the National Police in the commission was to "accommodate the team's requirement should they encounter problems in dealing with the military and police during the investigation."

Besides officials from the military and the police, the investigating commission would also have prominent Papuan members, including religious leaders and several human rights activists from the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in Jakarta and Papua.

Susilo however, declined to reveal the names of the commission members, saying that he was awaiting approval of the President before exposing it to the national and foreign press and the people. Susilo made the statement only weeks after the government said two weeks ago that both the police and military would be included in the commission.

Both Papuan officials and religious figures have called on the government not to include the military and the police but to appoint independent and credible professionals to carry out the investigation. They are of the opinion that it would be impossible to conduct a fair and objective investigation should the military and the police be included in the commission.

A group of Papuan religious leaders also proposed a number of independent professional activists to carry out the investigation.

The establishment of an independent commission has been proposed after numerous teams from numerous institutions, including the Irian Jaya police failed to fully identify Theys' murderers.

Theys was found dead in his car in Koya Tengah Village near the provincial capital Jayapura -- which is close to the border with Papua New Guinea -- on Nov. 10, 2001, a day after he and his driver Aristoteles Masoka were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen.

The Irian Jaya Police have said the Army's special forces unit in Hammadi, Jayapura, was allegedly involved in the murder but they could not carry out further investigations into the case because servicemen were not under Police jurisdiction which only includes civilian law.

Armed forces in inquiry team into separatist leader's murder

Agence France Presse - January 30, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia's armed forces -- widely suspected of involvement in the murder of a Papua separatist leader -- will be represented on a proposed national commission to investigate the crime, it was announced Wednesday.

Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the commission would include representatives from both inside and outside the government. It would include several members of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and native Papuans, he said.

"One should not misunderstand the involvement of the TNI in the commission. TNI is there so that the investigation is not hindered because there is a TNI unit being investigated in this case," Yudhoyono was quoted saying by the Detikcom online news service.

Many people in Indonesia's easternmost province Papua, including its police chief, its governor and rights activists, have said there were indications but no proof that members of the Kopassus special army force had a role in the murder last year of Theys Hiyo Eluay.

Activists in Papua, which was previously known as Irian Jaya, have called for an independent team to be set up to investigate the killing. Local police admit their investigations have hit a dead end. Earlier this month Home Affairs Minister Hari Sabarno promised that the military and police would not be represented on the commission.

Eluay was found murdered on November 11. He had been abducted the previous evening by an unidentified group as he drove home from a Heroes' Day celebration hosted by the Kopassus unit in Jayapura. Eluay's driver, who escaped and reported the abduction which he said was carried out by who he called non-Papuan people, has since disappeared.

After questioning at least seven Kopassus members over the killing, police have admitted they have hit a dead end in their investigation.

Yudhoyono said the establishment of the "National Commission of Investigation" was awaiting final approval from President Megawati Sukarnoputri. "On the matter of the commission, I have already submitted the presidential decree to President Megawati for her to sign it," he said,

A sporadic low-level armed struggle for independence began after the Dutch ceded control of the territory to Indonesia in 1963. The province was renamed Papua this month under an autonomy law designed to lessen pressure for independence and which also gives it a much greater share of revenues from natural resources.

Indonesian plan to revive Aceh military command opposed

Agence France Presse - January 29, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesian rights activists and analysts have criticised a decision to revive a separate army command for Aceh as a misguided attempt to impose a military solution in the troubled province.

The emphasis on force to end the separatist struggle could damage Indonesia's fledgling democracy and the army's own reform drive, they warned.

The government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri is to revive the Aceh military command, that was scrapped in 1985, as part of moves to finally end a long-running rebellion in the resource- rich province on Sumatra island. The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been fighting since 1976 for an independent Islamic state and an estimated 10,000 people have been killed -- 1,700 of them last year alone. "The conflict in Aceh cannot be settled by forming a military command," said Riefqi Muna, executive director of the Ridep Institute, a rights group.

The government has previously pledged several measures to try to restore peace including the rehabilitation of social and economic infrastructure, faster development, justice for past gross human rights violations, greater autonomy and the restoration of law and order.

"The government has not even touched most of the other measures and instead is jumping straight to the sixth measure on security, with the formation of the military command," said political scientist Kusnanto Anggoro of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said the revival of the military command for Aceh was tantamount to sanctioning a "permanent military presence." It would allow for further troop deployments in a region which was already "one of the most densely military-populated areas in the world" with some 30,000 security forces for just some five million people.

Anggoro, who also teaches at the military command school in Bandung, said the move also ran counter to the military's own reform program, which includes the gradual disolution of provincial military commands. The command structure has long been blamed for the pervasive military influence at every level of government down to the villages.

Muhammad Taufik Abda, of the Aceh Student Coalition, said that in practice, Aceh has already been under a military command of its own since the launch in April last year of "law and order restoration operations". "They just want a legal justification for their presence," Abda said.

Muna said he suspected the new military command would be funded from some five billion rupiah (481,000 dollars) set aside for the rebuilding of Aceh's social and economic infrastructure.

Separatist sentiment has been strengthened by decades in which most proceeds from natural resources went to Jakarta and by widespread human rights violations by soldiers.

Jakarta has granted the province greater self-rule and a larger share of oil and gas revenues but has firmly ruled out independence.

The US-based Human Rights Watch, in a recent report, said most of the deaths last year were civilians caught in military operations. But it said GAM was "also responsible for serious abuses."

Simple mound marks grave of Aceh's slain rebel leader

Agence France Presse - January 30, 2002

Pidie -- An unmarked mound of muddy earth marks the grave of Abdullah Syafii, the Acehnese guerrilla commander killed by Indonesian troops last week.

Hos simple grave fits the spartan lifestyle that people say he lived but it is unmarked for another reason. "If we put the names there the security forces will come and take the body. Later if it's peaceful, we'll put the names," said a man who was afraid to be identified.

Instead of a tombstone, a green twig with two wilting leaves marks Syafii's last resting place. Beside it are three other mounds of dirt where his wife and two close associates from Syafii's Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were buried with him on January 23.

They all died the day before in a raid by Indonesian troops on Syafii's jungle base elsewhere in Pidie district. Indonesian commanders say 20 troops on a routine patrol carried out the raid but a GAM spokesman quoted in the Serambi daily newspaper on Tuesday disputed that.

The spokesman alleged that Syafii died after a three-day battle with up to 600 Indonesian troops, some of whom were wounded and had to be evacuated by helicopter.

Syafii's funeral was tightly guarded by Indonesian soldiers. Only family and local residents attended.

He is buried within metres of what locals say was his home in Cubo, a rice-growing village accessible by a fragile plank bridge across a river. Like many in the area, Syafii's house is built from unpainted wooden planks and has a metal roof. "It's very different from the house of the Indonesian commander," said the unidentified man, who denied he is a member of GAM.

On Tuesday a continuous flow of mourners, mostly women in a rainbow of colourful outfits, filed past the burial site and toured the four-room house. Some bent down to grab a small ball of dirt from the graves, a keepsake they will use at home when they pray.

"Most of them are women because the men are afraid," said one of the few young men in the area. The women arrived about 20 at a time, crowded into the back of small trucks. Some were smiling as they arrived. When they left, a few were weeping.

Local residents said Syafii did not live in the house very long. It was burned twice by the security forces, they said. The house shows signs of charring and is empty except for a heavy wooden bed frame.

The GAM has been fighting for an independent Islamic state since 1976. Violence involving rebels and government troops has already left some 10,000 killed, some 1,700 of them last year.

The rebel group has rejected Jakarta's offer of greater autonomy and more revenues from its natural riches and demands nothing short of independence, which Jakarta has ruled out.

US-based Human Rights Watch, in a recent report, said most of the deaths last year were civilians caught in military operations. But it said GAM was "also responsible for serious abuses."

Interview: Aceh rebels say will not meet government

Reuters - January 29, 2002

Anna Peltola, Stockholm -- Separatist rebels in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province said on Tuesday they would not meet Jakarta representatives face-to-face in peace talks scheduled for this weekend.

Zaini Abdullah, Aceh's health minister in exile and a key negotiator in previous peace talks, said plans to meet in Geneva on Saturday and Sunday had been dropped because of the death of the group's military chief in a gunfight last week.

"After Abdullah Syafei was killed, everything has changed. We have no more confidence in Indonesia," Zaini Abdullah told Reuters in an interview. The rebel movement of the resource-rich province, which accounts for one fifth of the country's oil and gas exports, has its headquarters in Stockholm.

Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were due to start peace talks in Geneva on Saturday on the decades-old separatist conflict in which thousands of people have been killed.

But after Indonesian police shot dead GAM's top military commander Syafei in Aceh on Tuesday, the independence-seeking group had now decided just to meet the mediators and would not hold direct talks with the Indonesian side, Abdullah said. "We may need more time to go back to Geneva ... at least we have to postpone this meeting," he said.

The rebels and Jakarta have met in a number of encounters since 2000.Both sides have called several ceasefires in recent years but these have largely been ignored in the staunchly Moslem province in the northern tip of Sumatra island. "The door for peaceful negotiations is still open but we need them [Indonesia] to fulfil minimum conditions -- stop killing," Abdullah said.

On Friday, a GAM spokesman said that the rebel group still wanted to negotiate but peace remained an uphill task. "The possibility of dialogue is still open and always exists...but the reality on the field is that more war is looming," Sofyan Daud told Reuters.

Demands full independence

The rebels have said they want nothing less than full independence for Aceh. Jakarta has ruled this out and this month said it planned to revive a military command in the area.

Resentment against Jakarta's rule runs deep after two decades of often savage military operations -- including murder, torture and the alleged massacre of 57 GAM members in Betung Ateuh district in 1999 -- and what locals see as the plundering of their wealth of resources.

Four key gas fields owned by a unit of US-based ExxonMobil Corp are located in the rebel stronghold of North Aceh.

Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri, a staunch nationalist, has vowed to resolve the conflict, but analysts say Syafei's killing could lead to more bloodshed.

Aceh is only one of several areas of turmoil in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous state, which has in the past few years been plagued by violence sparked by issues ranging from separatism to communal and religious differences.

Corporate globalisation

`Mass anger is deepening everywhere'

Green Left Weely - January 30, 2002

Max Lane -- The Indonesian government's implementation of policies demanded by the International Monetary Fund -- the reduction of subsidies on petrol and kerosene, as well as on electricity and telephone charges -- has caused widespread price increases and the disappearance of some products from markets.

The official price of kerosene, which is vital to most poor Indonesians for cooking, has increased 50%, but in some cases it has risen higher. It has disappeared in some towns. Newspapers have reported that in Central Java people are being forced to use firewood again.

In some areas, there have also been protests over unavailability of rice. Outside Jakarta, public transport prices have risen. Newspapers, radio and television regularly report price hikes in a wide range of goods.

Even worse, the new policies for petrol and diesel fuel allow prices to rise or fall in line with a Singapore-based price index. This has heightened insecurity about future fuel prices and, as a result, prices in general. The newspapers also regularly report police seizures of large amounts of hoarded petrol, kerosene and rice.

While prices are set to rise at an unpredictable rate, wage rises lag well behind. The government has announced increases in the minimum wage but employers are resisting this strongly. Workers' organisations report that many enterprises are not paying the new minimum wages.

While the government has resisted employers' legal challenges to the new minimum wage, it has not brought any employers to court over non-compliance. The workers' initial sympathy with the minister of labour for fighting the employers' challenges is wearing thin.

At the same time, privatisation continues, intensifying workers' fears of being sacked or their conditions being undermined. Workers in sectors that have not experienced strikes for more than 30 years, such as the big cement factories and telecommunication companies, are taking to the streets.

Political scandals

It is not only the government's economic policies that are raising the mass political temperature. Akbar Tanjung, the head of Golkar, the party of former dictator Suharto and an ally of President Megawati Sukarnoputri in ousting former president Abdurrahman Wahid, has been accused of being unable to account for $4 million he received from the State Logistics Agency while he was a minister.

The attorney-general has been very slow to act, only recently classifying him as a suspect but not charging him. National Awakening Party members of parliament and others have called for a parliamentary inquiry. Despite weeks of discussion, the parliament has been unable to agree to an inquiry. Megawati's party appears to be split, as does the National Mandate Party of Amien Rais.

Golkar is being increasingly discredited because of the scandal, but so has Megawati for not taking any real action on corruption issues. Tommy Suharto, captured by police several weeks ago, has still not been charged with any new serious offence. His initial two years' sentence for corruption has already been overturned.

Megawati's poor image on corruption has been made worse by her appointment of her husband, Taufiq Kiemas, to lead key government delegations to discuss commercial relations with Singapore and China. Kiemas is also seen to be a direct beneficiary of the oil price rises, as he owns petrol station interests.

On top of these scandals, the government has announced that it is granting the biggest bankrupt Suharto cronies another six years to pay the billions of dollars they owe the government. There are also widespread media reports that bankrupt enterprises taken over by the government in 1997 may be sold back at dirt-cheap prices to their original owners, despite its "official policy" against this.

Student protests have been increasing in number every day. "Mass anger is deepening everywhere", Haris Rusli, chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD), told Green Left Weekly. "There are more and more demonstrations every day. When students tour around the city in protest buses and the people come out to cheer our banners and slogans that reject the price rises and say the Megawati government is not a government of the poor."

Two key student leadership centres have emerged. The first, the Student Executive Bodies (BEM), is dominated by the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Committee (KAMMI), the student organ of the Justice Party (PK). The PK is a strongly Islamic party founded in 1999 after 17 years as an underground organisation.

The second leadership centre is the National Student League for Democracy (LMND), which is at the core of ad hoc activist coalitions around the country and is closely aligned to the PRD. Islamic and PRD students

"Both KAMMI and LMND are now mobilising on the streets with the same demands", Rusli explained. "And not just against the fuel price rises, also against the IMF and for the repudiation of the foreign debt. Both also demand a real fight against corruption and the prosecution of human rights violators from the Suharto period. In many towns, we coordinate our actions. We both call for the replacement of the Megawati government with a new kind of political power."

There are large differences on what this new political power is. The PK and KAMMI talk about the "dictatorship of the youth", a concept inspired by what they believe the Taliban in Afghanistan represents.

However, the PK has different origins to those of the Taliban. Islamic university students opposed to the Suharto dictatorship formed the PK during the 1980s. These students are now professionals, with a modern perspective on many issues.

"We can debate openly with them", said Rusli. "Our challenge is to show that we have the alternative. Cuba is our example of where the people have made big social, cultural and economic advances. We challenge them to show us a country under Islamic law that has made the same progress.

"We are both carrying out similar campaigns, trying to give leadership to the mass discontent. The question is who can succeed in winning the people to their view of the solution: `a dictatorship of the youth' or a `government of the poor, the workers and peasants'."

The PK has been able to organise and mobilise students and women, mainly housewives, but their support among organised workers and peasants is very weak. The PK still retains an anti-left ideological orientation that blinds it to the necessity of organising on a class basis.

Alliances

"There is now greater openness to alliances", Rusli told GLW. A major step forward has been the formation of the Committee Against Exploitation of Workers (KAPB). The key organisations in this alliance are the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggles (FNPBI), led by Dita Sari, along with a new independent maritime workers' union, a major retail workers' union and several other union federations and groups. The PRD is also a member, as are a number of student groups and non-government organisations (NGOs).

The KAPB organised its first action on January 15, attended by 1500 people, and is planning a larger action later in January. "The KAPB is a major initiative. There is still much work to do to draw in more trade unions. Similar initiatives are underway among students, peasants, intellectuals and so on", said Rusli.

There has been a strong response for the call for a "government of the poor" among a broad layer of intellectuals, NGOs, political figures, students, labour and peasant groups, reported Rusli. There have been big public seminars attended by hundreds of activists. "There was a general consensus that Megawati had to be replaced by a new power. Of course, there is still discussion on how and precisely what. The huge anti-Golkar campaign that we were able to help build during the period of Abdurrahman Wahid's government has helped this process. Many of the people, especially the democratic intellectuals, who joined the alliances during that period have stuck with the struggle."

Rusli told GLW that the PRD is proposing a national people's congress of all democratic groups and figures to discuss opposition, and alternatives, to the Megawati government's implementation of neo-liberal IMF policies. A second focus, said Rusli, was the need for a campaign to wipe out corruption and bring people to justice for crimes committed during the Suharto period.

"A national gathering to discuss coordination of these campaigns can help create the national democratic front that we need. We have proposed that such a congress take place in March. We have to help build vehicles that the people can use to change things. Without them, we will just see a repeat of the riots of May 1998."

'War on terror'

Ba'asyir terrorists still an enigma

Jakarta Post -- February 1, 2002

Yogita Tahilramani, Jakarta -- The lawyer of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) chief Abu Bakar Ba'asyir said on Thursday there was no evidence of a link between his client and the al- Qaeda network.

The lawyer, Achmad Michdan, said that during his client's two days of questioning last week the National Police officers cross-checked reports from Malaysian authorities that showed that Ba'asyir could have links with the Afghanistan-based organization led by Osama bin Laden.

Achmad said the police focused their questions on how close he was to an alleged al Qaeda-linked suspect, Muslim preacher Abu Jibril, a native of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara who was arrested in Malaysia under the Internal Security Act last June for allegedly conspiring to establish an Islamic state. "Ustad Ba'asyir has met Ustad Jibril personally a few times ... both are known preachers. It doesn't mean they were working together to form Daulah Islamiah [Islamic government]," Achmad told The Jakarta Post. "Ustad Ba'asyir also admires Osama bin Laden. But that does not mean he works for the man."

Intelligence officers said Abu Jibril was the nickname of Mohamad Iqbal A. Rahman. Intelligence sources said on Thursday that detained members of a militant wing of the Malaysian group Kumpulan Militan Malaysia (KMM) and detained members of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in Singapore, kept strong links and also claimed to be headed by three Indonesian leaders, identified as Ba'asyir alias Abdus Samad, Abu Jibril and Hambali, alias Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin.

The detained members had met and traveled between Singapore and Malaysia quite often, to discuss among other things, the forming of an Islamic state. The detained KMM members in Malaysia also allegedly had links with Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen who is the only person yet to be indicted in the United States for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

"The Indonesian Police have received a lot of heat from the Malaysian and Singaporean authorities ... not directly, but via our government. This is why, the police needed to clarify certain issues about Ba'asyir," an intelligence officer told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The police, he said, have not found any evidence of the reports and were uncertain whether they would summon Ba'asyir for another round of questioning.

Ba'asyir was detained last December along with 13 members of KMM by Malaysian authorities, but was released due to lack of evidence. The Muslim cleric is running an Islamic boarding school in Sukoharjo in Central Java.

Another source told the Post that the names of Ba'asyir and Hambali had also been linked to one of the detained Malaysians, identified as Yazid Sufa'at. The source said that Yazid, a businessman, had been singled out as an agent of bin Laden who had helped in running and developing a terrorist network in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Yazid, 37, was arrested by Malaysian authorities in Kedah on December 9 last year. "The news we received here was that Osama had also [allegedly] commanded Yazid via an Indonesian preacher, to meet with two Saudi Arabian men ... Nawaf al Hazmi and Khalid al Mirdha, the men who [reportedly] crashed a plane into the Pentagon in the September 11 attacks," the officer said.

"Whether the preacher is Ba'asyir, or Hambali or Iqbal or whoever ... we still need to make absolutely sure. For that, we need to gather more evidence."

Yazid also allegedly met up with Zacarias in Malaysia in September 2000 and had allegedly paid Zacarias "large sums of money" to carry out terrorist activities.

A group of Indonesian attorneys known as the Muslim Defense Team (TPM) announced plans on Monday to sue the Philippine and Malaysian governments for creating the impression that Indonesia is a hub for terrorists, and for naming Ba'asyir as a member of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Indonesia 'needs laws to fight terror'

Sraits Times - January 31, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia lacks the legal framework and the necessary counter-terrorism laws to deal with the problem, said national police chief Da'i Bachtiar.

The only regulations now available to deal with terrorism are the Criminal Code and Law No 12/1951 on firearms, he told the House Commission I.

This is in stark contrast to neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore, which already have sufficient legal grounds to deal with terrorism, the general said.

"In Malaysia, they have an Internal Security Act ... and Singapore also has similar laws on such matters," he said. Gen Da'i's statement came amid resistance to the planned Bill on counter-terrorism.

Non-governmental organisations and human rights activists say they fear the government's plan to enact such laws may give it powers to terrorise the people under the excuse of the law or lead to state terrorism.

Indonesia is currently under pressure from Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore to join the US-led war against terrorism.

Easier to fight terror in Indonesia if ties closer: US Amiral

Associated Press - January 29, 2002 (abridged)

Singapore -- It would be easier to fight terrorists in Indonesia if the US resumed normal military ties with the country, the chief of the US Pacific Command said Tuesday.

Adm. Dennis Blair told reporters in Singapore that Indonesia would first have to raise the standards of its military, which has a reputation for brutality. However, he added that he believes the military is making progress on human rights issues.

The US banned military assistance to Indonesia to punish it for its role in the devastation of East Timor after residents of the former Indonesian territory voted for independence in a UN- supervised referendum in 1999. Human rights groups have criticized recent discussions within the Bush administration about reestablishing relations with the Indonesian military.

While Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines have arrested dozens of suspected terrorists in recent weeks, many in the region see Indonesia as a weak link because of its failure to arrest militants with suspected links to Osama bin Laden's al- Qaida terrorist network.

Blair said he believes the US and Indonesia can improve their cooperation in intelligence gathering and other areas but that even more is needed. "There are modest things that we can do now, but certainly we could be much more effective if we had a fuller relationship which we do hope would be available as the Indonesian armed forces make progress," he said.

Blair said Indonesia doesn't have the resources to eradicate sea pirates or illegal immigrants let alone terrorists.

Blair said he can't confirm reports this week which quoted Indonesia's foreign minister as saying the US offered Indonesia $10 million to train police to combat terrorism. Indonesia's police are now separate from the military.

US offers 18 million to stiffen Jakarta's anti-terror resolve

Associated Press - January 29, 2002

Jakarta -- The United States is offering support -- including millions of dollars for police training and increased intelligence sharing -- to help Indonesia crack down on potential terrorists within its borders.

"The offers are very wide-ranging. We are evaluating and proposing what we need and must recommend to join the international community in its efforts to overcome terrorism," Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.

Washington had offered US$10 million to train Indonesian police to combat terrorism, he said. Other offers included an exchange of intelligence information, training courses for the banking sector, particularly in tracing the accounts of terrorist groups, and training courses for customs officers. Indonesian police officials said they would welcome such a gesture but had yet to be informed of it.

Washington is concerned that Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network could already have established cells in the world's most populous Muslim nation. The US authorities are also said to be alarmed by Jakarta's lack of action in cracking down on terrorism.

In July, five suspected members of the Al-Qaeda network reportedly arrived in Indonesia from Yemen with a plan to blow up the US embassy in Jakarta, a high-ranking US official has revealed.

Washington sent a secret Delta Force team to Jakarta to beef up security but the Indonesian authorities baulked at taking action, allowing the men to slip out of the country, the official said. US diplomats surmised the authorities had intentionally scared the suspects away so as not to have to confront them.

The incident, which was not made public earlier, highlighted the ambivalent attitude of Indonesia's government and military towards foreign and domestic Islamic radicals who reportedly helped the Al-Qaeda team.

"Some Indonesian officials continue to waffle over the fact that Al-Qaeda ran a terrorist camp on the island of Sulawesi, despite testimony from alleged Al-Qaeda operatives arrested in Spain," Newsweek magazine reported. That cavalier attitude is also apparent in the glossing over of the questioning of Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who has also been linked to the Al-Qaeda, Newsweek said. The Indonesian police force reportedly did not even ask Abu Bakar if he was linked to the terrorist network during interrogation.

But police spokesman Saleh Saaf said this was simply because they had not decided how to proceed with the investigation into Abu Bakar's alleged ties to Islamic militant groups.

US government officials have said the Bush administration wants to resume military assistance to Jakarta but was restricted by a congressional ban imposed after the Indonesian army devastated East Timor in 1999.

The Indonesian government says it is cracking down on suspected terrorists but admits it is constrained by domestic political concerns -- it relies heavily on the political support of conservative Muslim parties in the national parliament.

Government & politics

Legislators admit ignoring people's voices

Jakarta Post - February 2, 2002

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- A number of legislators at the House of Representatives (DPR) admitted on Friday that they were not working for the interests of people at large, but blamed their alienation on the electoral system.

"The mechanism makes us like this. The proportional electoral system allows political parties to fight for their short-term interests and that is very dominant in the country's political life," Arif Mudatsir of the United Development Party (PPP) said here on Friday. "The proportional system, in which voters choose a party symbol, has alienated politicians from the people they represent," Arif added.

Fellow legislator Patrialis Akbar of the Reform Faction concurred, but added that they were always trying to maintain a close link with their constituents by visiting them during recess periods. "We always visit our constituents during the recess period and upon returning to Jakarta, we always convey their aspirations to our faction," Patrialis said.

The question of whom legislators in the House represent -- the people at large or their respective party -- has resurfaced following lawmakers' reluctance to set up a House inquiry team to investigate House Speaker Akbar Tandjung despite mounting public pressure for them to do so. Their reluctance has led many people to conclude that the legislators were putting party interests over and above the welfare of the people they claim to represent.

Akbar, who is also chairman of the Golkar Party, the second biggest faction in the House, has been declared a suspect in a Rp 54.6 billion financial scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).

The sudden resignation of legislator Sophan Sophian of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) from both the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has reinforced the perception that legislators were representatives of political parties and not of the people. Sophan said he tendered his resignation due to his disillusionment with fellow legislators who were more interested in fighting for their own short-term political interests than for the welfare of the people.

PDI Perjuangan legislators have reportedly been coerced into signing a written statement declaring their allegiance to the party line on corruption allegations against House Speaker Akbar Tandjung. "We were forced to sign in a statement requiring faction members to follow the policy of the executive board. But I will always defend the truth," PDI Perjuangan legislator Aberson Marle Sihaloho said recently.

According to Arif, not every visit to the regions allows time for legislators to meet their constituents. "The recess period should be extended to give longer time for legislators to talk to their constituents," Arif said.

During each recess period, legislators usually spend two or three days meeting with constituents. Arif said the time was too short to understand the aspirations of the local people. But, even if legislators had more time to meet their constituents, it would not necessarily mean that the legislators were representing the people since most of them adhered to policies outlined by the party's executive board.

Legislator Engelina Pattiasina of PDI Perjuangan suggested that all legislators should improve their common sense and defend the interests of the people. "We have to think about how to improve the people's welfare," said Engelina, without elaborating.

Meanwhile, Director of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) Hadar N. Gumay, who also spoke at the discussion, said he hoped the 2004 election would use a district electoral system that would enable the constituents and political leaders to have closer relations.

He said several opinion polls had shown that legislators ignored the interests of the people. "This is the time to use a district electoral system. With the new system, legislators will be more accountable," he added.

East Timor representation questioned

Jakarta Post -- February 1, 2002

Alex Wilson and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- The House of Representatives' decision to retain four legislators representing East Timor has raised eyebrows as the former Portuguese colony no longer has any official connection to Indonesia let alone the need for political representation.

Skepticism is running high as to whether their existence in the legislative body is still relevant since East Timor has been independent of Indonesian control since September 1999.

Political analyst of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Hermawan Sulistyo suggested that the four seats held by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Golkar be abolished immediately. The four legislators, who were all elected during the general elections in June 1999, are Setya Novanto and Natercia Do Menino Jesus Osorio Soares of Golkar and Ronny B.S. Hutagaol and Rekso Ageng Herman of PDI Perjuangan. Only Natercia was actually born in East Timor.

Hermawan said the four legislators should leave the House as the territory they represented was no longer a part of the Republic of Indonesia. "I do believe that the seats should be abolished now. They don't have the constituents over there any more. Times change, situations change, and they just can't keep seats like that," he told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.

A chairman of Golkar, Slamet Effendi Yusuf, confirmed the four legislators would retain their seats until 2004, but said they now represented the people of East Nusa Tenggara, a province which borders East Timor. He said that many East Timorese who had wanted to remain part of Indonesia moved to East Nusa Tenggara and the legislators were now "representing" them. "They represent the people, not the region," he added.

Hermawan rejected this explanation, claiming it was ridiculous. "You can't move from representing the people of South Sumatra and say my constituents have moved to East Java, now I represent East Java," he said. Before steps could be taken toward the elimination of the four seats, he said, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) needed to abolish the decree on East Timor, thereby endorsing the results of the UN-administered ballot in 1999.

Senior politician of PDI Perjuangan Sabam Sirait brushed off the skepticism, saying that the four legislators had the legal basis to work until 2004. "There has been a presidential decree [on their membership], they have been inaugurated, and they have worked. Their term is between 1999 and 2004," Sabam told the Post.

PDI Perjuangan deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung, meanwhile, said the four seats could not be abolished as regulations required the House to have 500 members and no guidelines existed to deal with the current situation. He said the four members had not just been elected to represent a province. "They represent the people of the Republic of Indonesia, not just East Timor," he added.

Each legislator receives Rp 12.5 million per month in taxpayers' money. If the election in 2004 is scheduled to take place in June, there will be 30 months left for legislators to enjoy facilities at the House.

The cost of keeping them in the House until the 2004 election will be approximately Rp 1.5 billion.

House drags feet in revising election bill: KPU member

Jakarta Post - February 1, 2002

A'an Suryana, Jakarta -- A member of the General Elections Committee (KPU) urged the House of Representatives on Thursday to immediately revise the 1999 Election Law, or else the committee would run out of time to prepare the 2004 polls.

Chusnul Mar'iyah, one of 11 KPU members, expressed concern over the House's lack of will in deliberating the amendment bill, which would affect the process before and after the 2004 elections.

"It seems that the House is not making the deliberation of the bill a priority," Chusnul told reporters after addressing a seminar on good governance held by Paramadina University here. "Instead of taking necessary steps that could smooth the legislative process, the House has involved itself in political power plays."

The legislators spent much of their energy last year to fight President Abdurrahman Wahid, who eventually fell over his alleged role in a financial scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog). This year, the House legislators are busy rescuing their speaker Akbar Tandjung, a suspect in another scam linked to Bulog. One year has past since the government submitted the bill to the House.

Changes to the 1999 Election Law cannot be made from the legal point of view, pending the completion of an amendment to the 1945 Constitution by August of this year at the latest.

KPU has set a 2003 deadline for the House to endorse the revision bill. Chusnul said a failure to meet the deadline would force the KPU, the facilitator of the elections, to use the current law, which many criticized for containing many loopholes and inconsistencies.

Citing an example, Chusnul said that if the revision failed to materialize, the reduction of parties, an idea which drew strong support from all contesting parties, would not take effect

The 1999 Election Law states that any party could register itself with the KPU for the next election unless it failed to reach a mandatory 2 percent voter threshold in the previous election. Under the much-awaited new law, those which failed to meet the 2 percent threshold in the 1999 polls would be banned from the 2004 elections. They would be allowed to register for the 2009 elections, however. Chusnul said the 2 percent rule served as a method to select the eligible parties as well as to simplify administrative matters at the KPU.

She believes the amendment would affect the quality of the 2004 elections. "Therefore, like it or not, the deliberation process must soon be completed, otherwise we may repeat the disastrous experience of the 1999 elections," she said.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle was the top vote- getter in 1999, but failed to win the presidency which went to the National Awakening Party, which secured the fourth most votes overall. Many called it a tragedy of democracy.

The new law is expected to determine which election system, proportional or regional, will be used in 2004.

Golkar torn apart

Straits Times - January 30, 2002

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Indonesia's second-largest political party, Golkar, could be coming apart at the seams.

Several top members have been named and now join chairman Akbar Tandjung as key suspects in graft scandals that their political rivals are reportedly exploiting to undermine the once powerful party.

The future of the one-time ruling party is now being questioned as it struggles to fight the demoralising effect of the scandals that have widened internal rifts in the party.

Mr Akbar, who is also Speaker of Parliament, is being investigated for allegedly misusing 40 billion rupiah (S$7 million) in state funds when he served as a minister in the administration of former president B.J. Habibie.

Two of his deputies in the party, Mr Ginandjar Kartasasmita and Mr Abdul Gafur, and Golkar legislator Nurdin Halid were also implicated in three separate scandals.

The scandals pose a major challenge to the party's efforts to clean up its image -- tainted by its three-decade-long association with the New Order government of former president Suharto. Mr Abdul Gafur said: "There is a grand strategy to destroy Golkar's image." The most damaging of all is the case involving Mr Akbar, who is suspected of using state money to finance Golkar's campaign in the 1999 general election. Said senior Golkar member Suhardiman: "What is happening now is that Golkar is under massive threat of destabilisation -- Akbar is only an intermediate object, the ultimate goal is the party's disbandment."

Added political analyst Affan Gafar: "Golkar needs to cut its links with Akbar to isolate the scandal so that the outcome of the investigation will not affect the party." Failure to do so might lead to the exclusion of the party from participating in the 2004 election if Mr Akbar is proven to have channelled the misappropriated money to Golkar, he added.

Some senior Golkar figures have already started a movement to unseat Mr Akbar. Last week, they set up an advisory team called the "Golkar Rescue Team". The move caused a stir among the party leadership -- largely comprised of Akbar loyalists -- and revealed the worsening split within the party.

The advisory team's chief, Mr Cosmas Batubara, said: "In the name of its 25 million voters, Golkar needs to be rescued." The team wants to push for a special party congress to elect a new leader. Holding such a meeting will require the support of two-thirds of its provincial leadership.

Mr Akbar, who still has the support of the party's central executive board, has stressed the executive board need not comply with the advisory team's recommendation. But Mr Affan said: "Akbar may not be able to hold on to his oligarchic power in Golkar for long. He has disappointed and alienated other factions in the party since he came to power in 1998."

These factions include members from eastern Indonesia, former military generals and New Order bureaucrats as well as reform- minded politicians.

But some political observers think Mr Akbar's exit from Golkar may fuel further clashes among rival factions vying for the leadership post ahead of the 2004 general election. The biweekly Van Zorge magazine reported: "Such a development risks throwing the entire political arena into turmoil, with the other major parties trying to exploit Golkar's split into at least two, but possibly more, factions."

Scandals

Top Golkar members named as suspects in graft scandals:

• Akbar Tandjung, Golkar chairman -- Allegedly misused 40 billion rupiah (S$7 million).
• Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Golkar deputy chairman -- Allegedly abused his power as Mines and Energy Minister in a mining deal in early 1990s.
• Abdul Gafur, Golkar deputy chairman -- Being investigated in a case of money politics.
• Nurdin Halid, Golkar legislator -- A suspect in a corruption case involving funds from the Indonesia Distribution Cooperative.

Factions

• The Islamic Students Association (HMI) connection -- Led by businessman Fahmi Idris, the Akbar loyalists have occupied strategic posts in the party since Mr Akbar Tandjung was appointed chairman in 1998.
• The "Iramasuka" -- A coalition of members from eastern Indonesian provinces, the Iramasuka connection makes up the largest component of Golkar. It has publicly revealed its disappointment in Mr Akbar's leadership.
• The New Order stalwarts -- A collection of familiar names from the New Order era like former minister Ginandjar Kartasasmita. It has kept a low profile, but now wants to seize back control from Mr Akbar.
• The "White Golkar" group -- Made up of younger politicians determined to clean up Golkar's image, the faction -- often associated with former Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman -- linked up with Mr Akbar to foil Dr B.J. Habibie's presidential ambitions.
• The Golkar offshoot -- Made up of experienced politicians like former minister Agung Laksonom, it may withdraw support for Mr Akbar at the last minute, but could also swing in his favour.

Indonesia's Megawati puts up more barriers against media

Reuters - January 29, 2002

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta -- Indonesia's president has always avoided reporters, but new curbs on journalists covering her activities have sparked fears the government may be trying to retreat behind barriers familiar under ex-autocrat Suharto.

Last week the palace banned Indonesia's rambunctious press and foreign reporters from firing impromptu questions at President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz.

In December, Finance Ministry officials said they could not talk to the media about draft policies. All such questions had to be directed to the minister, Boediono, they said.

Analysts said the curbs did not foreshadow an actual media crackdown, but reflected Megawati's inability to deal with the press and her preference for remaining above the political fray, much like Suharto did during his 32-year iron rule.

"Megawati's government has been showered with criticism from the press. So, she's just telling the media she does not want to be annoyed by them anymore," said Muhammad Budhyatna, a political communications analyst at the University of Indonesia.

"Pitifully, she has become worse than Suharto when it comes to talking to the press ... If this trend is followed by her subordinates, in the end transparency will again be at stake." Analysts warned she risked further alienating a fickle local media as criticism of her leadership grows.

Suharto kept the media on a short leash and official ceremonies were tightly scripted. Newspapers criticised Suharto's regime or his family's vast business interests at their peril.

The former general himself rarely spoke directly to the press, preferring to issue statements through his ministers, a practice Megawati has already embraced.

Never regarded as a great public speaker, unlike her maverick father and Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, Megawati also dislikes the rough and tumble of defending government policies, another task she leaves to her cabinet ministers.

After Suharto stepped down in 1998 the press took up the cudgel of monitoring the government with a vengeance. Publications mushroomed and blunt political columns launched blistering attacks that would trigger libel suits elsewhere.

"She has no ability in articulating her views to the press. She has no sense of communication, she cannot face reporters and sees the press as a threat," said Lukas Luwarso, director of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance's Jakarta office. "But her policies so far have not shown her desire to crack down on the press. This is just a character issue."

Keep your distance

The new rules require reporters to stand at least one metre away from presidential guests when interviewing them. A question may only be asked of Megawati and Haz if a written request has been made first.

A presidential aide played down the measures. "This is for technical reasons. [Door-stepping] causes journalists to scramble around with their mikes and recorders. We will give interviews if we are informed first," Garibaldi Sudjatmiko, head of the presidential media office, told Reuters.

The Finance Ministry said its restrictions were not new. "We are only issuing a reminder that office memos are only for internal use. We do not want something unfinished to go out to the public," said Agung Ardianto, a ministry official. "We are not hiding anything."

But press groups remain sceptical, especially since Megawati has given so few interviews since taking power last July and some finance ministry staff refused to make comments since December.

For Megawati, the problem has been magnified by the lack of a presidential spokesperson. This has made it virtually impossible for reporters to get quick palace comment on matters of state.

That contrasts sharply with her predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, who had three spokesmen and felt at home talking to the media, although his frequent erratic statements often added to the confusion that surrounded his rule.

Analysts said Megawati was always going to formalise the chaotic media coverage that characterised Wahid's leadership. The Muslim cleric was sacked by the top legislature for incompetence.

"If she thinks she does not need the press anymore, the media will not help her when she makes a wrong move that could be fatal. They will have a field day deriding her," said Budhyatna.

Sophan's resignation reveals party rift

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2002

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- The resignation of legislator Sophan Sophiaan from both the House of Representatives (DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) may have been triggered by intense pressure to tow the party line on controversial issues, a fellow legislator said.

"We [legislators of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, PDI Perjuangan] are being forced to follow the policies outlined by the party's executive board," Aberson Marle Sihaloho told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Aberson, who has always maintained his critical and independent stance, even under the repressive rule of former president Soeharto, refused to reveal the policies that had been forced upon PDI Perjuangan legislators, saying only that such coercion negated their role as people's representatives.

Sophan Sophiaan submitted his resignation letters to the DPR and MPR on Friday, but will continue as a member of the PDI Perjuangan.

His resignation came in the wake of a visible split in the PDI Perjuangan over whether or not it should support the setting up of a House special committee to investigate House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, a suspect in a Rp 40 billion financial scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog). The PDI Perjuangan is the biggest faction in the House with 153 members.

Sophan said earlier that he could no longer tolerate unfair internal rivalry and conflicts, and that the party was no longer fighting for the people's interests but rather its own. Aberson said on Sunday that an elite group in the PDI Perjuangan had issued a statement requiring every faction member to follow "all policies" mandated by the party's executive board, and that all PDI Perjuangan legislators had been forced to sign a statement pronouncing their agreement to abide by party policies. "How can we follow the party's policy if we consider it to be wrong? I signed the statement, but I will always uphold the interests of the people," he said.

Fellow PDI Perjuangan legislator Sukowaluyo Mintorahardjo admitted that his party had been ineffective in promoting badly- needed reforms because of conflicting interests among groups within the party. "We share similar concerns with Pak Sophan, but we are responding differently," Sukowaluyo told the Post.

Both Aberson and Sukowaluyo said that they would not resign from the House and would rather try to ensure that thorough reforms were pursued.

Aberson said he had suffered hard times under the repressive regime of former president Soeharto, and that he was familiar with external pressure. "Perhaps, because Sophan is my junior he can't stand the pressure and mental anguish," he added.

He expressed concern over a comment made by PDI Perjuangan deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung that the faction had suffered no big loss with Sophan's resignation.

Aberson suggested that Pramono should consider the reasons behind Sophan's decision to quit instead of commenting on the resignation. "Pramono said nothing of substance. He should look at the real state of the PDI Perjuangan," he said.

'New Order ghosts' still around

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2002

A'an Suryana, Jakarta -- Political observers expressed concern on Saturday that amid the crisis of leadership the nation was facing, the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri had failed to accommodate the aspirations of the people.

Firing their ammunition at the government from all corners, the observers said that the current government lacked vision and competence, and was susceptible to corruption and collusion.

"The government has so far failed to deliver a clear vision to people as to how they intend to lead people to prosperity," Ryaas Rasyid, chairman of the Indonesian Society for Government Studies (MIPI), told a seminar held by the organization.

Citing a few of many examples, Ryaas, a former regional autonomy minister, said the government did not have a master plan nor did it have the competence to help people emerge from the economic and social crises.

The one-day seminar was also attended by local government officials across the country. Other speakers at the seminar, which was entitled "Governmental Prospects in the Year 2002", were Afan Gaffar, J. Kristiadi and Maswadi Ra'uf.

Afan, from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, made the allegation that Megawati's government was emulating the corrupt New Order practices. He said there was growing concern that the present government was turning itself into the second edition of the New Order, which ruled supreme under Soeharto.

"The government lacks transparency in the decision-making processes and allows collusion and political patronage to grow as a common practice," he said. The absence of transparency, he said, was visible in the controversial debt settlement program (PKPS), which many said would cost the country Rp 447 billion.

The controversy centers on the government's decision to extend the grace period for large debtors -- especially banks that were given government bailout loans in 1997 and 1998 -- to 10 years from the initial four years under the Master of Acquisition and Settlement Agreements (MSAA).

Afan said Megawati's appointment of her husband Taufik Kiemas as a special envoy who led an Indonesian trade delegation to China recently was clear evidence of collusion. Several delegation members were ministers under Megawati's cabinet, including Minister for Trade and Industry Rini M. Soewandi.

Afan said that the appointment would have been considered normal, had it been done in a transparent process. "Former US president Bill Clinton once nominated his wife Hillary to head the Health Care Reform program. This did not spark a problem, since Clinton proposed the appointment through a transparent manner by seeking the Congress' approval," he said. The Congress rejected the proposal.

According to Ryaas, those contentious factors -- vision-less, incompetence and corruption -- would sooner or later erode people's trust in the government. This would endanger effective operation and even survival of the government.

"Without trust, the country will not likely achieve social, economic and political stability. The trust is important since it is the essence of good governance. Without trust, all bad things including doubts, suspicions and resentment will prevail in all levels of society, especially toward the government," he said.

The country, therefore, needed strong, enlightening and decisive leaders to restore trust in the government, he said. "The government should build an image that it has competence to deal with the country's social and economic problems. It must also have a clear vision, which can only be obtained by understanding what people need and how to quickly meet it," he said.

Ryaas added that government officials should be better role models, and should take firm and decisive actions. "The government must be diligent and avoid any moves that will bring harm to people," he said.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Corruption has contributed to flooding

Jakarta Post - January 31, 2002

[This year we have still to see the worst of the floods. Former state minister for the environment and professor in business ethics Sonny Keraf, who served in the Cabinet of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, shares his views on environmental policy with The Jakarta Post contributor Dwi Iswandono.]

Question: What is your comment on the recent floods?

Answer: The floods have been caused by human behavior. The root of this disaster is morality, as displayed in the form of bad practice in government, private enterprise and society. Such actions have ignored all the regulations we made to safeguard the environment.

Violated regulations particularly relate to permits -- which has resulted in illegal logging. As far as I know the issue [of illegal logging] was highlighted three times in Cabinet meetings [under Gus Dur] and once within the office of the coordinating minister for security and political affairs, given the wide extent of the problem -- affecting legal, security and political matters.

Another root of the disaster is corruption, related to members of the military (TNI) and the police. I assume the corruptors felt secure due to military backup. At that time, the perpetrators continued to reap benefits from those practices. As long as the TNI and police leadership do not take any serious action with their members, the disasters will continue. Q: Do you see other causes of the floods?

A: A third factor is foreign debt, which has also played a significant role in deforestation and environmental destruction. Foreign debts eventually became a heavy responsibility, which compelled us to take short cuts to be able to pay debts and interest by exploiting natural resources -- our forests and mines bordering forest areas. Hence floods and landslides have continued to occur.

The licensing of Pantai Indah Kapuk, a luxury housing development scheme on Jakarta north's coast, which has caused flooding annually, is another striking example of abuse of power.

Despite continual denials from the Jakarta municipality, I agree with the non-governmental organizations [NGOs]: The floods that afflicted thousands of residents living along the toll road to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport were closely linked to the project.

The floods were not natural disasters, but manmade ones. It's the inevitable consequence of our mistakes in handling nature, especially forests. It is, quite simply, bad governance.

Q: How would you evaluate the government?

A: There are some opportunities. I see that Pak [Muhammad] Prakosa [Minister of Forestry] has taken some positive measures. We need to wait for his consistency in coordinating cooperation between the parties responsible for environmental maintenance, especially via the office of the coordinating minister for security and political affairs. Resolute steps are required to punish perpetrators of mass deforestation or illegal logging. So, he needs support from the President and the coordinating minister [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono].

As acknowledged by legislators, the "mafia" in this area is very hard to eradicate.

One positive step that Prakosa has made has been to implement "corrections" within his own ministry. But again it will only be successful if other parties are also equally committed and consistent. It's not that easy as the style of government, both under President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Gus Dur, has not yet changed. Its moral commitment toward law enforcement is so weak that it has become the main obstacle to punishing the perpetrators.

Law enforcement is in the hands of the judiciary and the police, not Prakosa or the state minister for the environment (Nabiel Makarim).

Q: What other opportunities are there to act on environmental destruction?

A: Another opportunity is regional autonomy. Despite problems, the district courts will gain enough autonomy to make breakthroughs, with a higher moral commitment toward handling such cases. An example is the Bangkinang district court in Riau province, which succeeded in sentencing the guilty party in the case of the forest fires that occurred in September last year.

This was a result of our efforts in working with the district courts in the regions so that they would have the moral courage to punish guilty parties.

So, despite so many problems in the face of slow bureaucratic reform there is a chance of a breakthrough. The efforts of the ministry of forestry and the state minister for the environment must continue, to encourage regional officials in their tasks.

Therefore, by the time the handling of such cases is no longer under the authority of the central government, the district and high courts will have acquired much more courage.

Q: The NGOs that have worked within the environment during all these years still seem to be ineffective. Your comment?

A: This is because the government's paradigm has not changed. The government claims it is the most knowledgeable agent in reaching decisions. The NGOs simply shout without being able to influence public policy -- and the result is that all government policies tend to prioritize economic considerations. Not that I'm against development, but if environmental protection is not part of those policies we'll always get the same (environmentally damaging) results.

The Gus Dur government continued to follow a pro-industry approach. Investment was always the higher priority. It therefore accommodated private parties that damaged the environment and ignored the aspirations of society at large.

NGOs urge government to dissolve KPKPN

Jakarta Post - January 31, 2002

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta -- A number of non-governmental organizations suggested on Wednesday that the government dissolve the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) for failing to live up to the public's expectations in the fight against corruption.

The NGOs deemed that the commission, after one whole year of work, remained a toothless tiger with no outstanding achievements in unraveling how public servants came by their wealth. They said the commission had gone no farther than gathering data due to its lack of powers to verify reports of ill-gotten wealth.

In separate interviews, Wasingatu Zakiah of Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), Muhammad A. Asrun of Judicial Watch and Nizar Suhendra of the Indonesian Society for Transparency (MTI) said that changes should be made to the methods employed in the country's anticorruption methods.

They said the commission's failure to work in a professional manners was only to be expected as 34 of the commission members were politicians.

"It was clear for all to see that the political parties fought tooth and nail to win as many seats on the commission as possible so they could confer impunity on party colleagues who are public servants," Zakiah told The Jakarta Post.

Nizar also expressed doubt that the KPKPN could work well since "the members are only interested in salary increases rather then proving their abilities.

On Tuesday, State Minister for Administrative Reforms Feisal Tamin revealed to the House of Representatives that as of January 24, less than 27 percent of the 40,506 public servants registered had returned their wealth declarations to the KPKPN.

The KPKPN's chairman, Yusuf Syakir of the United Development Party (PPP), has repeatedly said that the commission would audit a total of 51,500 wealth declarations by top-level public servants and verify them before announcing the results in the official gazette.

However, Zakiah said, the KPKPN had put the cart before the horse with the reports having been made public even though no verification process had been conducted.

Asrun added that the results of their field checks in several provinces showed that not all high-ranking judges and prosecutors have received the wealth declaration forms, although the KPKPN claimed to have distributed them last November.

Nizar went further and suggested that the KPKPN be dissolved and its auditing functions be given to the proposed anticorruption commission. The bill setting up the commission has now been passed to the House for deliberation.

Man at center of Suharto bribery claim says he spent cash

Agence France Presse - January 26, 2002

Jakarta -- A man at the center of a bribery claim involving ex- Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid and the son of former dictator Suharto has spent part of the money on gold and his house, media reported Saturday.

Dodi Sumadi, who was arrested by police in Jakarta this week, admitted during questioning that he met Tommy Suharto in October 2000 when Tommy was seeking a presidential pardon from Wahid for a graft conviction, the Republika newspaper said.

Sumadi's lawyer, Firma Wijaya, was quoted by the newspaper as saying his client received five billion rupiah (500,000 dollars) when he and a second man, Abdullah Siddiq Muin, met Tommy at a Jakarta hotel. Muin called himself an "envoy" of Wahid's, Wijaya said. Sumadi then gave some of the money to a friend named Talib Abdullah and used the rest to buy gold and renovate his home, his lawyer said.

Tommy's lawyer, Elza Syarief, has said her client handed over 20 billion rupiah to Sumadi and Muin in his effort to secure presidential clemency from Wahid for the conviction, which carried an 18-month jail sentence.

Wahid, who turned down the plea for clemency, has admitted meeting Tommy shortly after his conviction, but has repeatedly denied receiving any money from the former millionaire playboy.

Wahid, his wife and eldest daughter, who have already been questioned by police over the bribery claim, have denied ever knowing Sumadi. Sumadi however said Friday that he had known Wahid "quite closely" since Wahid on Saturday dismissed Sumadi's claim of knowing him as a lie, Satunet online news reported. "He's lying. Perhaps he just knew me from the media," Wahid was quoted as saying.

Tommy went on the run in November 2000 after failing to secure a pardon. Police have accused him of ordering the drive-by assassination eight months later of the Supreme Court judge who sentenced him. Four months after the assassination, while Tommy was still on the run, another Supreme Court panel acquitted him of the graft charge.

Police finally caught Tommy in November and have detained him on suspicion of possessing weapons and explosives following the discovery of arms caches in a Jakarta house and apartment where he stayed during his months as a fugitive. Police said they were also questioning Tommy over a series of bombings in Jakarta last year.

Leftist groups out to destroy Golkar: Team

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2002

A'an Suryana and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- A team established to save Golkar is accusing certain leftist groups of trying to dissolve the party by exploiting corruption allegations against its chairman Akbar Tandjung, a suspect in a Rp 54.6 billion financial scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).

"We consider Akbar to be their intermediate target only. Their ultimate goal is former president Soeharto, the Indonesian military and Golkar," team member Suhardiman said in Jakarta on Sunday. He refused, however, to name the groups, saying only that they were in the leftist-oriented camps.

Golkar, the main political bandwagon of former dictator Soeharto, has once again come under intense public scrutiny following the announcement by the Attorney General's Office that its chairman Akbar, who is also the speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), had been charged as a suspect in a high profile financial scandal that took place when he was minister/state secretary during former president B.J. Habibie's short stint in 1999.

The Attorney General's Office has scheduled February 4 as the first day on which Akbar will be investigated as a suspect. A guilty verdict, if the case is ever brought to court at all, would inevitably lead to Golkar's dissolution as the funds were allegedly used by the party to finance its campaign in the 1999 general election.

To save it from being dissolved, Golkar has formed a "Party Salvation Council", whose main task is to distance the party from its chairman Akbar. The council, which was formed last Thursday during a meeting between the party's board of patrons and its central executive committee, is headed by former housing minister Cosmas Batubara, with members including Suhardiman, Arnold A. Baramuli, Muladi and Pinantun Hutasoit.

Suhardiman, who once earned himself the title of "political soothsayer", said on Sunday that the leftist groups had found fresh ammunition against Golkar, the second biggest faction in the House with 120 members, since the financial scam first surfaced in 2001.

Asked if the efforts to rescue Golkar included plans to remove Akbar from the party's chairmanship, Suhardiman emphasized that his "rescue team" did not deal with operational matters, such as the decision to hold an extraordinary congress. "We will only offer suggestions and advice. The decisions will depend on the executive board," he said.

Another team member, Muladi, said over the weekend that the rescue team was established to identify the potential dangers of Akbar's corruption case by launching its own investigation into the scandal. The investigation, he said, was aimed at finding out and clarifying whether or not the scam originally emanated from the party, or whether it was simply Akbar's personal responsibility.

"If the party is not involved in the scam, we must fight all out to clear our name. For Akbar, he would have his own corner to fight as it would be then his personal responsibility," said Muladi on Saturday. None of the Party Salvation Council's members are Akbar confidantes.

Muladi asserted that the scam should not be immediately linked to the Golkar Party, despite the fact that it involved party chairman Akbar. "To say that Golkar is involved in the scam, this is a difficult allegation to prove. Golkar has been audited by the National Election Commission (KPU), and it was also audited while we were involved in a legal battle with 11 other parties in the Supreme Court. Those two audits have proved that Golkar never used part of the Bulog funds," he said.

The 11 parties referred to demanded last year that Golkar be dissolved, or at least banned from running in the 2004 general election, for fraud in the last general election. Their demand, however, was thrown out of court due to lack of evidence.

Muladi said that a clarification was very important to rehabilitate Golkar's image, which had been in ruins ever since the start of the reform era. "This image rehabilitation is important if Golkar intends to win the next election in 2004," he said.

He revealed that the committee would push the Attorney General's Office to speed up the investigation into the Bulog scam. "The legal process must be accelerated in order to avoid political speculation," he said.

He claimed that Golkar would help Akbar to deal with the case. "Akbar must be backed by professional lawyers, and as a symbol of solidarity, Golkar will provide other lawyers who will give him political advice," he explained.

Muladi said that the party would also push for a snap extraordinary Golkar congress. Muladi denied, however, that such a congress would represent an attempt to topple Akbar from the chairmanship, in part to rid the party of Akbar's bad image.

Graft case building against Indonesian house speaker

Agence France Presse - January 27, 2002

Jakarta -- New witness testimony in a corruption case against Indonesia's parliament speaker Akbar Tanjung has further discredited his claim that he used state funds to buy food for the poor.

Tanjung is under investigation by state prosecutors for the suspected embezzlement of 3.8 million dollars from the state logistics agency Bulog in 1999.

The speaker, who also chairs the former ruling party Golkar, has said he directed the money to a little-known Islamic charity foundation, Raudlatul Jannah, to deliver food to poor villages in Java.

Two witnesses testified to state prosecutors on Friday that temporary warehouses, which Raudlatul Jannah had claimed to have used to store 12 tons of rice to be distributed to poor villages, never existed.

"The witnesses revealed that there were no such activities for the food distribution project organised by Raudlatul Jannah Foundation at the Cipinang market," a spokesman for state prosecutors, Mulyoharjo, was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post. The witnesses were a local sub-district chief, Nukman Supriadi, and head of the Cipinang rice market, Nasion Baktino.

Investigating prosecutors have also found no evidence that food was distributed to five villages named by Tanjung, nor any evidence that trucks the foundation claimed to have used for the distribution were ever used.

There are suspicions that the funds, released under then president B.J. Habibie when Tanjung served as state secretary, were used to bankroll Golkar's campaign in the 1999 general election.

Despite Tanjung's status as a suspect, the attorney general's office decided this week not to slap a travel ban on him, allowing him to travel to Saudi Arabia next month for the Muslim Haj pilgrimage.

The parliament heard an appeal from 50 legislators earlier this week for a parliamentary probe into Tanjung's suspected embezzlement. A plenary session of the house will vote on March 7 whether to hold the requested probe, amid rising doubt over most legislators' will to conduct a house investigation.

Deputy house speaker Tosari Wijaya told the Post that legislators were too preoccupied with deliberating bills to vote on the requested inquiry any earlier than March. "We can't insist on deliberating the issue in February because it will disturb activities of our commissions," Wijaya told the daily.

The parliament's largest party, President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, is divided over whether to support a house inquiry, while the second and third largest parties, Golkar and the United Development Party, are firmly opposed to it.

Tanjung is the first senior official to be named as a suspect in a graft case since Megawati came to power in July with a pledge to stamp out endemic corruption.

Watch groups demand investigation of Sutiyoso

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2002

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta -- Activists have demanded that the Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Home Affairs mount an immediate investigation into Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso for allegedly violating ministry decree No. 50/1999.

Chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) Azas Tigor Nainggolan said the ministry should punish Sutiyoso if he were found guilty of violating the decree, due to his ongoing role as commissioner of city-owned market firm PD Pasar Jaya. "Besides being punished, Sutiyoso must also return all his salary as a commissioner of PD Pasar Jaya," he told The Jakarta Post Saturday.

Violating a ministerial degree usually results in an administrative penalty, such as a warning letter.

Bylaw No. 3/1999 on PD Pasar Jaya states that a commissioner shall receive a monthly salary equal to 40 percent of the company president's. Sutiyoso is reportedly the richest governor nationwide with wealth amounting to Rp 15 billion (US$1.44 million), according to the Audit Commission of State Officials' Wealth.

Secretary of the Jakarta Study Center (PPJ) Ganda Hutabarat strongly believes Sutiyoso also holds similar posts in other city-owned firms, especially those with the legal status of Perusahaan Daerah (PD) or provincial companies. "Sutiyoso must resign from his post in the companies even though the bylaw allows him to hold the commissioner's post," Ganda told The Post.

The Jakarta Administration currently has 25 city-owned firms. Eight of them have PD status, meaning they are supposed to provide a public service, while others are limited companies (PT), which concentrate more on earning profits. According to bylaws on PD firms, a governor automatically becomes the firms' commissioner.

Sutiyoso's position as commissioner of the market firm was revealed during a two-day meeting at the city-owned resort Wisma Jaya Raya in Puncak, Bogor, last week. Most city councillors were surprised that Sutiyoso held the position.

PD Pasar Jaya and other city-owned firms are widely viewed as "cash cows" exploited by officials and councillors. Several retail outlets in shopping centers operated by the firm were reportedly allocated to the councillors. The firm operates dozens of traditional markets and shopping centers, including the country's largest textiles center, Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta.

Allocating commissioner posts in provincial companies to councillors and officials has tended to breed corruption. Two years ago, several city officials and councillors traveled to South Korea, Japan and Australia with the financial support of city-owned developer PT Pembangunan Jaya.

Deputy Governor for Financial Affairs Fauzi Alvie Yasin admitted that Sutiyoso was still PD Pasar Jaya's commissioner, adding that the governor would soon resign from the firm. However, he threw his weight behind the governor saying Sutiyoso was still needed as the firm's commissioner in order to prevent internal corruption.

Fauzi admitted the firm was the worst of the city-owned companies in terms of corruption and collusion, due to its large number of employees.

Regional/communal conflicts

Maluku peace talks draw optimism

Jakarta Post - February 1, 2002

Jupriadi, Makassar -- Representatives from both of Maluku's warring factions flew home on Thursday after meeting separately with government negotiators in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, having agreed to take part in peace talks next week.

The talks will be held on February 5 and February 7 at the Makassar's hill resort of Malino in an effort to stop three years of sectarian fighting in the Maluku Islands that has left some 6,000 people dead and many more homeless.

The mediators, including Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, met separately with both Christian and Muslim factions late Wednesday at different hotels in Makassar to lay the groundwork for the upcoming formal peace talks.

After a closed-door meeting with representatives from the Christian side, Kalla expressed optimism that the feuding groups will be able to settle their differences at the same table.

"We should all be optimistic, as previous informal meetings, both here and in Ambon, have yielded significant progress," he told reporters on Wednesday night.

The senior minister said that the rival groups have achieved a mutual understanding about how to resolve their problems. "Everything will run smoothly," he added. The two sides "have displayed positive responses by way of wanting to achieve peace in Maluku."

Kalla declined to disclose details of the outcome of Wednesday's talks. Other participants, including Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina and South Sulawesi Governor H.Z.B. Palaguna were also silent on the matter.

However, one source said that both camps agreed to not to view the conflict as a religious one "so that the focus of the solution will be on social problems" from the fighting. Both groups demanded increased security enforcement and proper resettlement for refugees, the source added.

Also present at Wednesday's meeting were Kalla's deputy in charge of health and environment affairs, Farid Husain, and Hamid Awaludin, a member of the General Election Commission (KPU).

The delegates from the warring sides will fly back to Makassar on February 4 to attend the formal peace talks in Malino after disclosing the outcome of the most recent meetings.

At the Malino dialogue, each group will be represented by 35 delegates. The Muslim faction will be led by Abdul Wahab Polpoke and Thamrin Eli, while the Christian group will be chaired by Rev. Mandagi, and Rev. Broery Hendrik.

"The main task of the delegates now is to socialize the common ground to their respective followers in preparation for peace negotiations in Malino," Kalla said.

Governor Latuconsina said that the talks can run smoothly should the people in the Malukus lend their support to the peace process by creating a conducive atmosphere. He said that he was pleased by the undisclosed results of the latest meetings with the two camps, and asked that the media not inflame feelings that might lead to further conflict.

Christian and Muslim leaders had also met with Kalla and chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the Maluku capital of Ambon during their visit there on January 25 and 26.

Fighting first broke out in Ambon following a small, personal dispute on January 19, 1999.

Malino successfully hosted similar peace talks between Muslim and Christian leaders from Poso district of Central Sulawesi province in December, also under stewardship of Minister Kalla. The talks ended with an agreement to halt more than two years of communal bloodshed there that has left some 2,000 people dead.

On Thursday morning, as the delegates flew home to Ambon, a fresh gun battle erupted in the city, leaving at least one person seriously wounded. Zeth Souhaka, 45, was shot in the legs and chest at Soya village in Sirimau subdistrict, Ambon. He has been listed as being in critical condition at the Haulussy General Hospital.

Earlier this week, the body of 27-year old Jecky Pormas was found in the Wairisal river at Galala village on Tuesday. He had been stabbed to death.

The day Duma's Christians died defending their most sacred site

South China Morning Post - January 30, 2002

Chris Mccall, Halmahera, North Maluku -- More than a year after their final stand, the Christians of Duma still lie in shallow graves dotted around the village.

When defeat finally came after 21 attacks, there was too little time for proper funerals. The dead were lucky if their bodies were moved to makeshift graves before survivors were trucked to safety by security forces. Now they live an hour's drive to the south -- many of them widows -- in rough wooden shelters they built themselves.

"It was not the Christians who attacked, we were just defending," said Damaris Meyer, 52, in the ruined shell of the village church that was their final refuge. "That evening there were rumours to be ready but we did not want to leave. First we prayed here," she said.

She points to what was once a pond in front of the church. "Five people are buried there," she said calmly. One of them was her husband, Yande Selong, who was shot dead.

Regarded as the Christian headquarters at the time, the village held a special significance as the place where Calvinist missionary Hendrik Van Dijken first brought the Gospel to Halmahera, the biggest island of North Maluku province. It was a place Christians would defend at all costs and one Muslim fundamentalists would eradicate.

As fighting raged around them from late 1999 on, the priest of the neo-Calvinist Evangelical Church of Halmahera told his congregation they should gather in the church and die there together if necessary. A native of the Sangir islands to the north of Sulawesi, he had just left for there before the final attack in late June 2000, on the grounds that his wife was ill.

The attack came in the morning, a wave of Muslim warriors yelling "Allahu akbar" with flowing white clothes and headbands with Arabic writing. The Christian forces held off for about an hour, Ms Meyer recalls, using spears, knives and other hunting weapons. They fled to the church after they were overpowered and when the victorious Muslims entered, they tried to force the women sheltering there to wear headbands and say "Allahu akbar". Ms Meyer said she refused point blank.

Christian leaders say the final attack succeeded where others had failed because members of the security forces joined the Muslim side.

There are few reliable statistics about how many people died on Halmahera in 1999 and 2000, but most estimates put the number on both sides in the thousands and the number of dead in Duma in the hundreds. Despite Christian claims they did not start the fighting, the rights and wrongs of the early stages of the conflict are less than clear.

Muslims accuse the Christians of atrocities and claim some of them were planned in Duma. In its later stages, however, the war turned into a major Muslim drive to wipe out the few remaining Christian centres on Halmahera, with volunteers pouring in from across Indonesia.

Although Christians and Muslim refugees have nervously started to return, no Christians have yet gone back to Duma. Even a visit is a tense experience, requiring passage through Muslim territory populated by their former battlefield enemies.

Ms Meyer says she feels nervous about going back but bows to the will of God. "If God wills it we have to come back because we have our village," she said.

Human rights/law

Officers must abide by law: Commission

Jakarta Post - February 1, 2002

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM) during the 1999 Trisakti, Semanggi I and Semanggi II incidents has insisted that the military and police officers allegedly involved in the cases should appear before it as witnesses despite rejections from their respective organizations.

The commission, which was established by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said the inquiry should go ahead for the sake of legal certainty. "The inquiry is related to a judicial process and applies a legal mechanism which all must comply with. We cannot mix politics with the law," the inquiry chairman Albert Hasibuan, who is also a Komnas HAM member, told a media conference on Thursday.

Hasibuan's statement came after none of the four top officers scheduled to be questioned on Thursday appeared. They were former Armed Forces Gen. (ret) Wiranto, former National Police chief Gen. (ret) Dibyo Widodo, his successor Gen. (ret) Roesmanhadi and former Jakarta Police chief Comr. Gen. (ret) Nugroho Djajoesman.

Earlier in the day, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto defended the Indonesian Military's stance in rejecting the existence of the inquiry. Endriartono said the TNI would not turn its personnel over for questioning as the House of Representatives had made the political decision not to categorize the three incidents as gross human rights violations.

Law No. 26/2000 on the human rights court entitles the House to recommend which violations should be brought before the rights tribunal. "As the House has already decided that the cases in question may not be classified as gross rights violations, there is no way they can be treated as such," Endriartono told reporters.

Endriartono also asked the commission to respect the decision because "it is a political decision arrived at as between the House and the government". He did not, however, reveal whether the officers who are allegedly responsible for the incidents would face trial before a military tribunal.

The incidents took place during student demonstrations against the government on separate occasions in May 1998, September 1999 and November 1999.

The Komnas HAM-established inquiry had summoned 19 Army and police officials to appear for questioning after its letters to both institutions asking for permission went unheeded.

Wiranto's lawyer is judge for Timor

Melbourne Age - January 26, 2002

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- A Melbourne-educated Indonesian lawyer has been appointed to judge crimes committed in East Timor in 1999 despite having represented former armed forces chief General Wiranto and having helped prepare the prosecutions.

Rudi Rizki told The Age his academic and legal background meant he would serve impartially and independently on the long-delayed special court that some human rights activists have criticised even before it has sat.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission this week stepped up pressure on the government in Jakarta to ensure the court meets international standards when judging 18 suspects, including three Indonesian generals and former Jakarta-appointed governor of East Timor, Abilio Soares.

Commission president Leandro Despouy said the international observers would closely monitor the court and "people must be judged by national law, but this must also conform to international law".

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on Indonesia to fulfil an earlier promise to hand over suspects and evidence to UN officials in East Timor so they can pursue separate trials of those accused of atrocities.

The United States has indicated it will link the conduct of the prosecutions over East Timor atrocities to the resumption of military aid sales to Indonesia. The outcome of the trials could also affect future aid pledges from other countries.

Mr Rizki said he believed that intense public scrutiny, particularly from overseas, and the integrity and professionalism of the judges would ensure that Indonesian military officers and other accused would be diligently prosecuted.

"This court must be able to reach the most responsible persons, not only the low ranks or field executors," said Mr Rizki, one of 18 non-career judges approved by President Megawati Sukarnoputri to the court, scheduled to sit within days.

Mr Rizki said he played a passive role in a legal team that represented General Wiranto after a National Human Rights Commission inquiry accused him of human rights crimes in East Timor in 1999.

Mr Rizki also worked in a team appointed by Indonesia's Attorney-General to study the commission's inquiry that two years ago accused 116 people of being involved in crimes during Indonesia's bloody retribution over East Timor's vote for independence.

Human rights activists have criticised the Attorney-General's office for failing to include General Wiranto and other prominent soldiers and militiamen among those who will face prosecution in the court's first sittings.

General Wiranto led Indonesian forces when military-backed militia unleashed an orgy of killings and destruction after a majority of East Timorese voted in a UN referendum to break away from Indonesia.

Now retired, General Wiranto has said he fears the special court will be biased and manipulated.

News & issues

Jail for two of Tommy's bodyguards

Straits Times -- February 1, 2002

Jakarta -- An Indonesian court yesterday jailed two bodyguards who procured forged documents for Tommy Suharto, the youngest son of a former president, while he was on the run from the law for a year.

Dedi Yusuf and Ferry Hukom were convicted in a South Jakarta district court for making false statements and producing false documents to obtain a fake birth certificate and identity card for Tommy.

Chief Judge Sudarto said Dedi, 39, and Ferry would serve 16 months and 14 months respectively. "Based on testimony of the witnesses, the papers were going to be used as documents for making a passport which would be used by Tommy to flee abroad," Judge Sudarto said.

The lawyer for both defendants, Mr Sawir Ahmad, said he would appeal against the decision. He said Tommy should have been called as a key witness.

Tommy failed to turn himself in on November 3, 2000, to serve an 18-month jail term for corruption. His time as a fugitive came to an end on November 28 last year when police arrested him at a south Jakarta house. While he was still on the run, a Supreme Court panel acquitted him of the graft charge in a controversial decision.

The police have accused Tommy of ordering the murder of Supreme Court Judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, who had sentenced him to jail. But they have been unsuccessful in proving the involvement of Tommy as the two men arrested for allegedly carrying out the judge's murder, Mulawarman bin Sunjaya Wijaya and Noval Hadad, recently retracted their confessions in a court hearing.

Tommy is also suspected of possessing illegal weapons and explosives. He has denied all the offences and has not yet been charged

Luwuk tense after police brutality protest

Jakarta Post - January 29, 2002

Erick W., Palu -- The situation in Luwuk, Banggai, Central Sulawesi remained tense on Monday as thousands of people marched through the small town to protest against the assault by local police of four officers from the local administration on Sunday.

The protesters, including employees of the local administration, ransacked the Luwuk Police Sub-precinct building and several other police buildings. Most shops were closed due to fears of fresh rioting following the incident.

"The angry mob, which included people from numerous villages, ransacked the police sub-precinct building and several other police buildings and barricaded a shopping center to prevent shops from opening," Antara news agency quoted Syahrul, an eyewitness, as saying.

He confirmed that the rally was designed as a protest against the police's brutal treatment of four officers who were on duty at the Banggai regent's office on Sunday night.

The four, identified as Novi Irawan, 26, Randi, 23, Rajab, 22, and Sammi, 23, were rushed to the Luwuk General Hospital. The seriously injured Irawan remains in a critical condition.

Nurdin Abdul Rahim, chief of the national unity and people's protection division at the regent's office, said the incident had occurred after the four victims traded insults with police officers who were on duty at a police sub-precinct located adjacent to the regent's office.

"The police hurled insults as my men were passing the police office but they retaliated by swearing back at the police. Minutes later, some 20 police came to my men's office and beat them up. One of the policemen stabbed Irawan with a knife," he said.

Nurdin said that after a flag-raising ceremony at the regent's office, dozens of employees marched to the police precinct to protest against the police's brutality and hundreds of residents joined the rally. "Two police offices were badly injured by the angry mob," he said.

Luwuk Sub-district Chief Dahlan Assegaf said the situation was returning to normal after hundreds of security personnel from the local military office were deployed to control the rally.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Sismantoro, chief of the Banggai Police Precinct, Lt. Col. Agus Suchiarso, chief of the local military district and Banggai Deputy Regent Ma'mun Amir were holding a coordination meeting to discuss the incident when they were contacted on Monday.

Indonesia's growing army of street children

Straits Times - January 28, 2002

Robert Go -- Tattooed and multiple-pierced 19-year-old Ismail, aka Pluto, cannot remember how long he has been homeless.

All he knows is that he started out in Medan on Sumatra Island and roamed the tough streets of Jakarta before ending up in Yogyakarta in Central Java. "I'm well travelled, compared to other Indonesians," he said wryly.

His friend Midek, 18, calls it a good day when he gets to eat. Usually, his diet consists of cheap and tasty -- but perhaps nutritionally suspect -- deep-fried tofu or scraps thrown out by street vendors. He summed it up: "This is normal life. I've never known anything else."

They, and thousands younger than them, are anak jalanan -- street children -- and their numbers have grown alarmingly since the onset of the economic crisis in 1997. In Yogyakarta alone, according to estimates given by local non-government organisations (NGOs), as many as 1,300 children, ranging from babies to those in their late teens, now live on the streets. The situation is worse in bigger urban centres such as Jakarta or Surabaya.

The children spend their days begging at major street intersections or scavenging, living at the mercy of the weather, the police and the rest of society. When they do get money, many spend it on drugs and alcohol. They sniff glue or mix flu medicine with homemade spirits to get high.

Sexually transmitted diseases -- syphilis, chlamydia or gonorrhoea -- and the lack of proper treatment add to their list of problems. There is little help from the cash-strapped government.

Mr Kristanto Budi Nugroho, a counsellor at the girls' shelter Indriya-nati, said: "The sad thing is that as far as the government is concerned, the kids don't exist. They don't have official ID cards. Without IDs, they can't register for the few aid programmes that exist."

Corruption of available aid money and bureaucratic inefficiency are other reasons cited by the NGOs as to why the number of street children is ever increasing. "Some money get budgeted for anti-poverty, but little of it actually trickle down to the kids," the counsellor said.

Humana/Girli, another NGO working with homeless children here, reckons that more children, and even entire families, will be thrown onto the streets if the country's economic slump lingers.

Mr Kirik Ertanto, Humana's director, said: "The recent trend is that whole families have started appearing on the streets. Begging with a baby in your arms, or with a young child, is a proven method of making money."

Babies are often rented out for as little as S$2 a day, so that older kids carrying them can squeeze more money at major intersections. "The government is preoccupied with its other problems, so the homeless population gets neglected," the Humana director added.

For Ismail and Midek, however, there is little choice but to take things one day at a time. They say they often poke fun at one another. Ismail explained: "Laughing feels good, and it's free. So we find ways to keep laughing."

Informal sector/urban poor

Jakarta flood victims fear a gloomy future ahead

Jakarta Post - February 2, 2002

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- Floods have become an all too familiar disaster for Jakartans. When tragedy struck this year, however, the floodwaters turned out to be the worst ever.

Many who have grown accustomed to the annual phenomenon could not conceal their shock when they realized the scope of the devastation -- both in material destruction, and lives lost. Some saw a gloomy future ahead. On the brink of bankruptcy, they have no idea what to do next.

For 55-year-old Ibu Li Li, a resident of Jl. Teluk Gong's Chinatown in North Jakarta, business will never be the same. She could only sit remorsefully on the balcony of her two-story house on Monday and watch hopelessly as receding floodwaters allowed her to see her ruined sundries stored downstairs for the first time since the disaster struck.

The water also submerged her Toyota Corolla sedan and Yamaha RX King parked in the garage. "The five-day flooding has caused me great loss. For so long, I have always depended on my sundries store. Now I no longer have the only source of income. I've lost at least Rp 1 million [US$96] worth of daily income, not to mention my store products and properties," she said bitterly.

Li Li said that if the rain was still falling and the water still high by next week, she would become bankrupt. She also voiced unhappiness of the specter of not being able to properly celebrate the Chinese New Year on February 12.

Most Chinese residents in Teluk Gong had businesses out of their homes, selling sundries made of plastic and glass which employed at least 30 workers. Li Li is not alone. In fact, there are many more people whose fate is just as terrible, if not worse.

The recent floods, the worst in the city's history, have affected about 400,000 people across the city. It has also hit some elite residential areas such as Kalapa Gading in North Jakarta, Kebon Jeruk in West Jakarta, Kemang in South Jakarta, and Cibubur in East Jakarta. A number of roads in Central Jakarta have also been inundated.

But most of the victims are low-income people in densely- populated areas, and it is this section of the population that are hardest hit. Most of them are now homeless and have been left with just the clothes they are wearing. The disaster occurred so swiftly and unexpectedly that many did not even have enough time to save their belongings.

Jamu gendong (herbal medicine seller) Suminem, along with her husband Supriadi, a bakso (meatball) vendor and their three teenagers, all residents of Bukit Duri subdistrict in South Jakarta, said they lost just about everything they had worked for over the last 25 years. The family was unable to save their belongings when the strong waters began to rise on Monday because their house was located in a narrow, remote alley in their neighborhood.

"I had thought the water level would only reach 50 centimeters -- just like previous years. But I was wrong," she said, tearfully. "The flood totally submerged my house. My television set, refrigerator, gas stove and radio have all been swamped by the floods. Our hard work for 25 years vanished in just half an hour. The worst part is, my husband's bakso cart, our financial backbone, was also lost." Being a refugee, Suminem could only bring herself. However, she said she still felt grateful to have second-hand clothes available. She received them as charity from donors.

Like many other victims, Suminem saw a bleak future ahead. With her bank account book lost during the flood, she has no idea what to do to get by in the next few weeks. Waiting for help and charity was all she could do -- just like others.

Manggarai floodgate protects the rich

Jakarta Post - February 2, 2002

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta -- Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso tried to calm hundreds of angry flood victims by partially opening the Manggarai floodgate in Central Jakarta on Friday.

Sutiyoso's move revealed a long-suspected bias that the floodgate, which functions to accommodate the Ciliwung river, protects the rich and powerful on the northern side of the gate from floods and lets those in its southern part to suffer from the deluge. The victims, who mostly live in slums around the floodgate almost ran amok on Friday because they could no longer bear the regular annual floods.

The governor admitted that opening the gate, even only 20 centimeters, could affect the area around the National Monument (Monas) park, including the presidential palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara.

Other areas, which will be first hit by the flood if the floodgate is opened, include the elite Menteng district in Central Jakarta, where many of the country's leaders live. Among them are President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who lives on Jl. Teuku Umar; Vice President Hamzah Haz, who live on Jl. Diponegoro as well as Sutiyoso, who lives on Jl. Taman Suropati.

Former president Soeharto and his family live on Jl. Cendana and other roads also in the Menteng area. The official residences of several foreign ambassadors are also located in the area, which was set up as an exclusive housing complex during the Dutch colonial era.

Manggarai floodgate was also designed by the Dutch and built in 1918. The floodgate's construction marked the completion of the development of the 17-kilometer West Flood Canal, which functions to take in water from the city's 13 rivers before they empty into the Java sea. It is still unclear whether the Dutch really designed the floodgate to protect only the rich and powerful people at that time.

The floodgate has three gates: two gates for the West Flood Canal and one gate for the Ciliwung river. The West Flood Canal which also accommodates water from the Ciliwung river, passes along Jl. Latuharhari and Cideng area in West Jakarta before it flows into the sea in North Jakarta.

The waters of the Ciliwung river are also taken in by another canal through the Cikini area in Menteng district and Gambir area near the State Palace. Before reaching the palace, the flow of water will be halted by another floodgate near the Istiqlal Mosque. The Manggarai and Istiqlal floodgates are among the city's 37 floodgates, which were built along the city's 13 rivers. Thirty-five of the floodgates are more than 30 years old while two of the gates were built recently.

Environment

Environmental destruction major cause of flooding: Minister

Jakarta Post - January 30, 2002

Jakarta -- State Minister for Environmental Affairs Nabiel Makarim said on Wednesday that the current flooding in Greater Jakarta was the result of years of massive malfeasance in city planning and law enforcement which has led to major environmental destruction.

Nabiel told El Shinta radio on Wednesday that people are now suffering from the consequences of such mismanagement. "Lack of catchment and green belt areas, improper building development, lack of city planning and weak law enforcement all have contributed to the problems of flooding," Nabiel said.

The minister further called on the public to be active in demanding their rights for a safe environment and development planning. "Environmentalists such as Emil Salim had voiced concerns about this since the early 1980s. Our ministry has filed a lawsuit against developers who have created environmental destruction ... but the court ruled against such complaints," he said.

The minister said that actually the weather predictions have been provided since December last year. The volume of rain is actually normal, he said. "But because of the deteriorating environment flooding is inevitable."

Nabiel also warned people to be alert during this rainy season. "If their houses are not flooded, they shouldn't go out because they will only be trapped in traffic congestion. Instead, we should help each other by providing food, clothing and bedding for the flood victims," he said.

The government has also deployed Marine personnel to evacuate residents trapped in the water and to distribute food and aid. Nabiel has been an outspoken environmentalist since early 1980s. He is in the same league as Emil Salim.

Jakarta floods worsen due to less water catchment areas

Jakarta Post - January 29, 2002

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- The problem of flooding in the capital city was worsening due to continuing violations of the Jakarta Master Plan, which had resulted in a decrease in the number of water catchment areas, an expert has said.

Paulus Agus Winarso of the Geophysical and Meteorological Agency (BMG) told The Jakarta Post here on Monday that the recent downpours in Jakarta actually measured less than 100 millimeters, far lower than the worst-ever level of 400 millimeters recorded in 1996.

The flooding that paralyzed the capital in late January 1996 was caused by heavy rains in the city itself and the adjacent areas of Bogor, Sukabumi and Depok. "Floods in Jakarta have become a serious problem since the 1990s as its development activities have not been in line with its master plan," Paulus said.

Due to violations of the plan, water catchment areas have been decreasing, as they have been converted for other uses. He also cited the transformation of dozens of greenbelts into fuel stations and other business uses.

Based on the Jakarta Master Plan, for example, the forest lands in Muara Angke, North Jakarta that were converted into the Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) luxury housing estate were designed as protected forests (44.76 hectares) and natural reserves (25.35 hectares).

The exact number of greenbelts converted to other functions is not known, but an official at the city administration admitted that at least 15 fuel stations and one school building had been built in greenbelt areas.

"In the 1980s, around 60 percent of rain water was absorbed by the water catchment areas, now nearly 100 percent of the water flows directly to the rivers as many water catchment areas were concreted over," he said.

He criticized the Jakarta city administration for not seriously addressing the flood problems, even though the capital was badly hit by flooding in 1996. "I do not see any strategy offered by the city administration in trying to solve flooding," he told the Post.

Paulus, who is also a member of the National Research Council (DRN), warned heavy rains could continue until late February and said it would be particularly dangerous if heavy rains fell in the highlands of Bogor and Depok. "So far, we have not seen heavy rains in the highlands of Bogor and Depok. If there are heavy rains there, we should prepare ourselves for possible huge floods in Jakarta," he said.

But Paulus could not say when this year's rainy season would reach its peak, pointing out that he could only make an estimate of rain fall in January and February, while the peak could only be predicted six hours ahead of time.

He warned that if the city saw a pause in the rain for about a week or so next month (February) it could then expect a very heavy downpour. "So, if we do not see the rain for a week next month, we should prepare for the heaviest rains in the following days," he said. But he added that this year's downpours would not reach the levels of 1996.

He said that there was no way to prevent flooding in the capital. All that could be done by the authorities was to give an early warning to people living in high risk areas. "Early warning actually can minimize victims and material losses, but I do not see adequate preparation by the Jakarta authority," he added.

Indonesian government to conduct review of forest concessions

Agence France Presse - January 28, 2002

Jakarta -- The Indonesian government will not extend any logging contracts until a survey is conducted of all forest concessions, Forestry Minister Muhammad Prakosa said Monday.

"The forest concession contracts will be postponed until we can obtain an overall picture ... there are currently about 80 to 100 forest concession extension demands on my desk," Prakosa said after meeting Vice President Hamzah Haz.

The minister, quoted by the state Antara news agency, said extensions would not be issued until the review of all concessions, to be conducted by an independent institution starting in April, was completed. There are currently some 375 forest concessions in Indonesia compared to some 600 during the 1980s, he said.

Prakosa said the review could not be delayed any longer because it was necessary to manage and plan the exploitation of forests in a sustainable manner. The government, he said, will also implement a requirement that all logging concerns get a certificate for their logs that confirms they came from a sustainably managed concession.

The World Bank in a 2000 report on forestry said that between 1997 and 1998, Indonesia harvested 60 million cubic metres of timber, or three times the level for a sustainable system.

Komodo dragon and Javanese rhino to benefit from ecotourism

Agence France Presse - January 26, 2002

Jakarta -- Two Indonesian national parks, homes to the endangered Komodo dragon and Javanese rhinoceros, have been earmarked by the United Nations for a million dollar ecotourism project.

The Ujong Kulon park, where fewer than 50 Javanese rhinos are said to remain, straddles the western tip of Java. Komodo park, home to the fabled giant reptile of the same name, lies among the Indonesian archipelago's eastern islands.

"Ecotourism should provide an opportunity to develop tourism in ways that minimise the industry's negative impacts and a way to actively promote the conservation of Earth's unique biodiversity," Klaus Toepfor, the head of the UN Environment Program, was quoted as saying in the Jakarta Post.

The million dollar fund, shared between the UN and the Aveda natural cosmetics manufacturer, is aimed at creating models for using tourism to promote the protection and preservation of important habitats, the Post said. It also strives to balance tourism demands with the needs of local people, the landscape and the environment.

The ecotourism funds come at a time of increasing anxiety over the rape of Indonesia's forests, including those supposedly protected in national parks, by illegal loggers. Indonesia is home to some 10 percent of the world's remaining tropical forest cover, according to the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency.

Rampant illegal logging saw 1.5 million hectares of the country's forests disappear annually between 1985 and 1997, the World Bank has reported. By December 1999, only some 20 million hectares of forests remained in Indonesia.

The 90,000-hectare Gunung Pulau national park on Borneo island has lost more than two-thirds of its forest over the past decade due to illegal logging, a Harvard University survey concluded earlier this month.

Bapedal gone, fears of environment abuse up

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2002

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta -- The dissolution of the Environmental Impact Control Agency (Bapedal) has ignited fears that all previous efforts by the organization to conserve the environment will come to a standstill, activists said.

When President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued decrees No. 2/2002 and No. 4/2002 earlier this month, Bapedal was handling the cases of 23 environmental law violations -- including forest fires, mining activity, industrial activity, illegal logging, and sea pollution. In addition, it was litigating three other cases to be settled out-of-court.

It remains unclear which institution will take over the agency's enforcement of environmental regulations. The presidential decrees state that Bapedal functions will be taken over by the State Minister for Environment Office, but do not empower it with law enforcement abilities.

Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) co-founder Mas Achmad Santosa said that the decrees ignored the agency's function as a mediator in environmental disputes as stipulated in Government Regulation No. 54/2000, the operational guidelines for the 1982 Environment Law.

"The decrees only stipulate that State Minister for Environment Office now has the authority to certify the management of toxic waste -- but not to control it," Santosa said recently.

He added that now there will be no institution authorized to interpret and assign feasibility studies on environmentally friendly activities, or develop the capacity and the capability of human resources in the regions.

"The government lied to the public when it said that the transfer of Bapedal duties to the state minister office would not matter to the efforts of environmental law enforcement," he said.

A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including ICEL, the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi), the Indonesian World Wide Fund (WWF), and the Law and Community (HuMa), has announced plans to challenge the government's policy in court.

The groups have also announced their intention to file a judicial review with the Supreme Court over the presidential decrees later this week, arguing that the decrees violated many of higher-level regulations on environment. "By law, the presidential decrees should be canceled," Walhi chairwoman Emmy Hafild said.

The decrees met strong opposition before they were enacted. A group of environmentalists asked the House of Representatives and State Minister for Administrative Reforms Feisal Tamin to cancel the issuance of the decrees. The activists even wrote President Megawati asking her to drop the policy.

The policy was sponsored by State Minister for Environment Nabiel Makarim, a former Bapedal chairman, who said he feared that his office would no longer have the operational functions used to be conducted by Bapedal. The House has scheduled hearings with Feisal and Nabiel on February 4 and February 7 regarding the decrees.

Religion/Islam

Muhammadiyah seeks an end to new imperialism

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2002

I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar -- Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, ended its annual meeting here on Sunday, calling on the international community to put an end to what it sees as a new form of imperialism.

The organization also urged all nations to further develop an international dialog, and renounce any hegemonic power whose actions could lead to the destruction of civilizations.

"Muhammadiyah invites the international community to put an end to all violence and neo-imperialism which has caused suffering in places like Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Kashmir, and in other Muslim nations and developing countries," Muhammadiyah said in its recommendation, issued at the end of a four-day meeting in Denpasar, Bali.

The recommendation also touched on subjects critical to Indonesia, such as current widespread corruption, collusion and nepotism, locally known as KKN, along with religious and ethnic conflicts.

Muhammadiyah, which claims 30 million members, also stressed the importance of promoting the rights of women and children.

A peaceful dialog, firm law enforcement, building a democratic and civil society, and displaying a willingness to sacrifice one's individual and group interests for the common good, were among other things offered by the organization as remedies to the crises plaguing the country. Briefing the press after the closing ceremony, Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif stressed that neo-imperialism could take the form of economic imperialism, or, more dangerously, cultural imperialism.

Yet, Syafii said that he was aware that the struggle to eradicate neo-imperialism was a long-term goal. The Muslim people would have the chance to win this struggle if they had enough courage to be more self-critical, he said.

"If Muslim people are being terrorized, trampled upon, or otherwise suffering, we must have the courage to look at our own weaknesses -- we should not just blame others, but we must also dare to admit our own failures. I believe it will be some time before we can achieve this, but I hope that we will be able to accelerate this enlightenment process in the future, Muslim people everywhere can stand up to other forces of the world as their equals," Syafii said.

One way to do so, according to Syafii, would be by holding a global international dialog. Failure to do so in the face of this new imperialism, he warned, would transform the world into a place void of happiness.

"But I do believe that the initial step toward achieving this dialog has already begun. Presently, US senators are organizing the 50th National Prayer on February 7, representatives from some 160 countries are invited to join the event. I too was invited but, unfortunately, I cannot attend," he said.

"This event is a sign that the US, despite its superpower status, has already realized that power-based principles and approaches in dealing with other nations cannot be maintained any longer," he said.

Separately, Muhammadiyah Vice Chairman Din Syamsudin described the reasoning behind the recommendation on neo-imperialism. "The participants were aware of the existence of certain imbalances in the world of today," he said. "This imbalance is caused by globalism, which gives rise to subjective interpretations of world events that favor the interests of powerful countries," he said.

The US "war on terror," launched unilaterally and without sufficient agreement from the international community, was just one manifestation of this new imperialism, Din asserted. "Indonesia, its government and its people, must stand tall and fight this new imperialism," he said.

Muhammadiyah's recommendations for the nation

1. ll social movements must undertake reform
2. A mobilization of national efforts toward civil society
3. An end to corruption and nepotism
4. The resolution of religious and social conflicts
5. An avoidance of the use of repression and violence in resolving conflicts
6. An increase of local participation in civic affairs, without selfishness based on local and regional interests
7. Accommodation of greater public participation, including the needs and interests of women and children
8. A promotion of collective integration
9. An end to "new imperialism," hegemony, and a promotion of dialogues between nations.

Economy & investment

Indonesian inflation surges in January

Agence France Presse - February 1, 2002

Jakarta -- Inflation in Indonesia rose 1.99 percent in January and surged 14.42 percent year-on-year, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

Bureau chief Sudarti Surbakti said the January consumer price indexfigure showed a "significant increase" as a result of a fuel price rise in the middle of the month.

The government raised fuel prices by an average 22 percent in a bid to ease the budget burden of subsidies and to curb the smuggling of fuel out of the country.

Sudarti said significant price rises were seen in rice, which was up 11.97 percent during the month, as well as fresh fish. The higher fuel tariff is also likely to affect prices in February, she said.

Floods currently paralysing Jakarta appear to be affecting distribution of goods, which may have a knock-on effect on prices. But Sudarti declined to comment on the floods' impact on February CPI. This year's budget assumes an inflation rate of 9.0 percent.

Indonesian exports slumped 9.8 percent last year

Agence France Presse - February 2, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesian exports fell 9.8 percent in 2001, the biggest percentage slump in 12 years, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

Bureau head Sudarti Surbakti said exports last year fell to 56.035 billion dollars from 62.124 billion in 2000. "Percentage- wise, the 2001 exports decline is the biggest fall in the last 12 years, although in terms of value, it is still higher than in 1997," she told reporters.

Imports slid to 30.786 billion dollars from 33.514 billion dollars a year earlier. Surbakti said non-oil and gas exports fell to 43.405 billion dollars in 2001 from 47.757 billion dollars in the previous year, while non-oil and gas imports fell to 25.331 billion dollars from 27.495 billion dollars.

Exports in December totalled 3.992 billion dollars compared with 3.834 billion dollars in November, she said. Imports in December amounted to 2.002 billion dollars, down from 2.03 billion dollars in the previous month.

Surbakti said that excluding oil and gas, exports in December totalled 3.127 billion dollars, against 3.02 billion dollars in November. She said non-oil and gas exports in December increased to most export destinations including to Indonesia's major trading partners -- the United States, Japan and Singapore.

Economic issues cause rift in Mega's Cabinet

Straits Times - February 2, 2002

Robert Go, Jakarta -- President Megawati Sukarnoputri's economic team shows signs of wear and tear after six months in office, as Cabinet members slug it out over a controversial debt-extension deal for Indonesia's conglomerates and whether to sell Bank Central Asia (BCA), the country's largest retail bank.

Outspoken National Development Minister Kwik Kian Gie has been against both proposals and has already hinted he would resign from the Cabinet if the government implements policies that compromise his principles and cause further financial losses to the state.

Standing at the other corner is Mr Laksamana Sukardi, another trusted Megawati aide and a highly respected anti-corruption crusader who is now the minister in charge of Indonesia's privatisation programme.

Both Mr Kwik and Mr Laksamana declined to comment on the state of the economic Cabinet to The Straits Times yesterday. But their differences appeared critical enough to warrant a high-level meeting on Thursday of Ms Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), to which they both belong.

On both issues, each minister has his own arguments. When it comes to BCA sale, Mr Laksamana has argued that the government has to sell it now in order to prop up the budget and to show international investors its ability to push through its asset- disposal programme.

The International Monetary Fund and other lenders to Indonesia have consistently urged the government to sell its nationalised assets, including banks such as BCA taken over in the aftermath of the 1997 economic crisis.

But Mr Kwik's objections, analysts say, also have merits. BCA's survival depends on US$5.6 billion worth of government bonds, which could cost the government more than US$650 million each year in interest payments. Given that the government only expects around US$450 million from selling the bank, Mr Kwik argues that the sale would prove to be costly to the country. Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra), which is under Mr Laksamana's control, sparked the other hot issue with a proposal to give some of Indonesia's biggest debtors 10 more years to pay up.

Mr Kwik, long known for his aggressive stance against the country's conglomerate owners, has described the plan as "insane" and as yet another action that will cost billions of dollars worth of taxpayers' money for the sake of debtors.

Under the existing agreement between the government and debtors, all debts have to be settled by March 31, 2002. Those who fail to pay could face legal action.

Economic activities paralyzed, 8 dead

Kompas - January 31, 2002

Jakarta -- Flooded areas in Jakarta, Tangerang and Bekasi have paralyzed economic and office activities since the last three days in the capital. Floods also enveloped several areas in total darkness since the natural disaster incapacitated 120 power relay stations supplying 400 wattage power to public housing areas.

The Minister of Settlements and Regional Infrastructure, Soenarno, drew attention on the impact the floods left on Jakarta over the last days which appear to be more destructive on the infrastructure when compared to the natural disaster in 1996. For that reason, this time the recent flood in Jakarta has been declared a national disaster.

Soenarno said, next to the road jams on account of traffic conversion on one road, the water volume that came down from Bogor, Depok and Tangerang, was way over maximal capacity for acceptance of present water channels.

"I am appealing to the public to excercise caution. The rains will go on until March this year. Even if the rains would have lost in intensity, ground conditions are now over saturated. Rain water will not be absorbed, it will flow freely in all directions," he said. Soenarno was making the appeal since the flood disaster does not concern Jakarta citizens only, it is also affecting Medan and Surabaya. In Jakarta, eight people lost their life in the fatal deluge.

Train services canceled

Inundated stations and railways forced train cancellations, to the chagrin of office workers on their way to work. Add to that traffic jams in all areas of Jakarta, on the toll road and regular roads all day long. when this article went to the printers 00.30, jammed roads were still making the road scene in the capital and on the toll road.

Road jams were also apparent on the Jagorawi toll and Jakarta toll roads. Police observations together with the Air Police from Headquarters report that traffic lines extending from one toll to another on the Jagorawi road started from the Cibubur toll road until Kebon Jeruk, spanning a distance of 30 kilometer. The traffic had simply grounded to a halt as it could not get out of the toll road since the artery road was totally blocked.

A number of offices, banks and supermarkets on Kuningan Row, Sudirman, thamrin and Gatot Soebroto, on the Lt.Gen.s. parman Road, Block M and in other areas opened late as personnel arrived too late for work. There were few shoppers on that day.

From the position in the air, the flooded areas were clearly shown. From the air Jakarta resembled a lake of gigantic proportions. Only few small spots were untouched by the flood in Central Jakarta. The railway station Balai Yasa in Manggarai did not escape the floods either. The water in that area measured 30-60 centimeter high.

A number of trains were rendered inoperative and the route from Pasar Minggu -- Manggarai and Gondangdia could only go as far as the Tebet Station. The Railway Coy. Operational District I Jakarta, Zaenal Abidin said, flood water at Manggarai Station caused delay of a number of trips. "The train service from Manggarai experienced delay. It was normalized in the afternoon," explained Abidin.

The flood also affected the Tanah Abang Station which could not cope with the deluge from the Flood Canal. Spillover from the canal forced cancellation of a series of electric train trips while other lines experienced delay. Cancellation of the train trips and other train lines stranded thousands of commuters who were waiting in several stations.

Flight delays

At the Soekarno-Hatta Airport about 80 percent of air flights experienced delay. Delays were mainly experienced by domestic flights. A few international flights, taking off in the morning, were also delayed. "80 Percent of the flights suffered delay," said the Spokesman of angkasa Pura II, tom Syahrul. Angkasa Pura is managing the western part of Indonesian airports. Even so, no specifications were made of foreign or national companies suffering delays as a side effect of floods in the capital.

Yoen K of Lion Airlines admitted that the flight to Kuala Lumpur was delayed. "For around half an hour only," he replied. It was not only the Malaysian flight, domestic flights to Medan and Makassar were also delayed with half an hour.

It is said that more than 10 percent of Lion passengers did not show up for the delayed flight, presumably on account of inaccessibility to the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Road which made them miss the flight. The delayed flights created havoc with the schedule of arrivals in Jakarta. The Sedyatmo toll road to Soekarno-Hatta Airport was not under water except for a few long standing potholes in the road which were filled with water. Delays were also caused since the flight crew and passengers as well arrived too late because of jammed-stricken roads in all of the capital and its surroundings.

"Garuda flights were delayed with one to four hours," said Garuda Communication Chief Pujobroto. Only one flight had to be canceled, that was the Pekanbaru flight. "But the Amsterdam flight on Wednesday evening departed to Jeddah according to schedule at 21.45, Pujobroto said when the time approached 21.30 last evening.

Anticipating today's situation, Garuda and newcomer Lion air company, will be making efforts to have the crew arrive earlier at Cengkareng. These were precautionary measures bearing in mind that the water gate in Bogor has been opened and that a flood of water may be expected to hit the capital, one of the areas to be affected will be the area around Soekarno-Hatta airport.

Emergency one

While the rains came down with a constant sizzling sound on and around the capital, Sutiyoso said that emergency one was in operation in areas around Ciliwung and Pesanggrahan River. Under this emergency position, people living around both these river areas, have to be evacuated to saver grounds.

The decision to declare emergency one under the circumstance by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso after a surprise meeting with Jakarta Administration Conference Leaders which was attended by the metro Jaya District Police Chief, Inspector General Makbul Padmanagara, Jaya Military District Commander, Major General Bibit Waluyo, and the Chairman Jakarta District Parliament, Edy Waluyo and the Head of the Weather Bureau Meteorology and Geophysics, Paulus Winarso.

Aside from a high rainfall, the water level at water sluices is still high. The Public Works Service of Jakarta, IGK Suena explained, at the Pesanggrahan water sluice, a water level of 2,85 meter was noted, at Depok it was 2.75 meters, Manggarai 8.90 meters, and the Karet water sluice measured 6.5 meters. The water level at the Sunter water sluice has reached 2.50 meter, Pulo Gadung 6.95 meters, Sea Meter 1.24 meter, indicating that waters are still rising until afternoon.

The high water level at this sluice has been on account of flood levels of one meter or above in the surroundings. People were forced to open the sluice to decrease the accumulated water volume which a number of people have done earlier around Wednesday noon.

A crowd of hundreds rain soaked people yelled and screamed for immediate opening of the water sluice. Their demands were thwarted by Support Police Nunicipal Office and a Jakarta Civil Defense Unit and other military elements.

The Secretary Preventive Social Tension of Jakarta, Raya Siahaan said, if the Manggarai Water Sluices are foced open, more than half of Jakarta will be inundated included central areas as Menteng. Siahaan said, as many as 3.000 Support Police members and Civil Defense Units of Jakarta have been consigned to extend help and watch over all embankments and water sluices in Jakarta.

Eight dead

The flood disaster on Tuesday and Wednesday claimed eight victims. Six were dragged with the current while two others were electrocuted in the water. The flood also loosened four houses from the ground in Pondok Pinang, Kebayoran Lama District, South Jakarta. The houses vanished out of sight in the stream.

Six victims drowned in the strong current were Lukman (25) of Pondok Pinang, he was dragged by the current of Pesanggrahan River, Handoko (13) from Cipinang Besar Utara, East Jakarta. An 18-year old youth and still unidentified, also vanished in the strong current of Cipinang river, Abdul Rosyid (20) from Cawang District, East Jakarta, Pendi (70) and Nursellah (63) who used to live in the Kramat Jati Old People's Home, panicked and died on seeing that their location got flooded. Both have been long time asthma patients, they went in shock when flood waters burst in their room. They drwoned in the swirling waters.

Meanwhile, the wife and child of First Lt. CPL Guswandar were electrocuted in waters that entered the Army Boarding House at Cakung. four homes floated away in the current near Pondok Pinang. The homes belonged to Hardiman (40), Suarni (43), Wasid (38), and Takul (60).

15 billion rupiah in losses

Meanwhile, the three-day old flood caused the State Electric Company (PLN) Rp.15-16 billion loss since it was forced to shut off 120 electric relay station posts supplying 400 megawatt power.

The Executive Director PLN, Eddie Widiono stressed that the shut- down has been done for safety sake to prevent danger and larger losses. He added that decrease of the electricity load with 400 megawatt, part of the community had no access to power.

When queried about power installations, Eddie said that the power system was unharmed by the flood. No relay stations were damaged, when conditions are save, the step-up in the relay stations will be dried and power turned on again.