Democratic struggle

July 27 victims oppose Sutiyoso

Jakarta Post - March 7, 2002

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Dozens of members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) rallied in front of City Hall on Wednesday to demand that Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso not be elected for a second term.

The protesters, who burned an effigy of the governor during the action, said Sutiyoso should be barred from a second term because of his alleged role in the bloody attack on the party headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta, on July 27, 1996.

The party was chaired by Megawati Soekarnoputri at the time of the attack, and after she was removed as party chairwoman by the government she formed PDI Perjuangan.

"Sutiyoso is not eligible to contest the election for the next governor because he is responsible for the attack," said A. Fikri, the leader of the July 27 Youth Movement, which reportedly groups hundreds of victims of the attack. Fikri said Sutiyoso must stand trial and be held accountable for his role in the incident.

Sutiyoso was the Jakarta Military commander at the time of the attack, which claimed the lives of numerous party supporters. Investigations into the incident have pointed to Sutiyoso's alleged role in the attack, but the case has never gone to court.

Despite this bloody history, PDI Perjuangan city councillor Maringan Pangaribuan earlier said the party would consider nominating Sutiyoso for a second term if he joined PDI Perjuangan. "We don't even trust our representatives on the City Council. How could they support Sutiyoso? The [PDI Perjuangan] councillors who supported him have sold the party's name," Fikri said angrily.

The protesters said they hoped to discuss their concerns with Megawati later on Wednesday.

In response to the protest, Sutiyoso simply said he had been questioned by the police and prosecutors regarding his alleged involvement in the attack, and would continue to obey all judicial procedures. "This is nothing new. It [rallies] usually happens before an election," he said.

Ahead of the election of Jakarta's next governor, scheduled to take place in October, 30 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have demanded that Sutiyoso resign over his failure to manage the recent floods in the city, which claimed dozens of lives. The NGOs will represent flood victims in a civil suit they plan to file against Sutiyoso in the Central Jakarta District Court this week.

Other NGOs have urged the City Council to elect a new governor with a civilian background rather than a military one.

East Timor

Constitution consultation winds up

Lusa - March 6, 2002

Grassroots opinion on East Timor`s draft Constitution has been summarized by Constituent Assembly members over the last three days before a final debate on the document.

Assembly members split into three groups, visiting all of Timor`s 13 districts between February 25 and March 2 and holding over 80 public meetings. A note sent to Lusa by the transition administration stated that among the wide range of opinions expressed during the consultation, various topics, such as the length of the consultation, merited more emphasis.

Popular opinion also referred to the date of independence, separation of church and state, presidential powers and the controversial transformation of the Constituent Assembly into the national parliament.

The reports will be presented to the Assembly Thursday along with suggestions made by civil society and the government. Suggestions for amendments will be noted and forwarded to the Standardization and Harmonization Committee in the Assembly.

This committee will decide which suggestions the full assembly will vote on next week Changes will be added to the draft document before a final vote on the full Constitution on March 13. This will be followed by a March 16 signing ceremony.

[According to sources who accompanied the Assembly members, local people expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the process by the Constitution was drafted and the limited amount of time allowed for community discussion. In many cases people were given copies of the Constitution only an hour before the Assembly members arrived. Many also asked why Assembly members had not visited the districts before saying that this is the first time they had showed any interest in their opinions. Another focus of concern was the decision to transform the Consultative Assembly into a legislative body after independence on May 20 rather than holding a separate election - James Balowski.]

Militiaman jailed for six years for killing peacekeeper

Agence France Presse - March 7, 2002

Jakarta -- An Indonesian court Thursday jailed a pro-Jakarta militiaman for six years for the brutal murder of a New Zealand peacekeeping soldier in East Timor in 2000. The sentence drew immediate criticism from New Zealand and the United Nations, who urged Indonesian authorities to appeal for a tougher punishment.

Jacobus Bere was found guilty of murdering Private Leonard William Manning, 24, near Suai in East Timor on July 24, 2000. After Manning had been shot twice, Bere made sure his victim was dead by cutting his throat with a machete and then slashing his ears off.

Bere, 37, was convicted of second-degree murder and not premeditated murder because he did not know Manning at the time of the killing, chief judge Nengah Suryade announced at Central Jakarta district court.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said Wellington would ask Indonesian authorities to appeal to a higher court to increase the sentence. "We are disappointed at the short length of sentence given the gravity of the crime and will ask the Indonesian authorities whether they will look at grounds for an appeal," she said in a statement. "The maximum sentence for second degree murder is 15 years and the prosecutor had recommended that Bere receive 12 years.

We agree that the killing warranted a longer sentence." Sergio Vieira de Mello, head of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor, also expressed disappointment. Prosecutors had sought 12 years. "The killing of a UN peacekeeper in cold blood should be considered a crime of severe gravity and the sentence should reflect that," he said in a statement. "We hope there would be an appeal which would result in the full sentence sought by the prosecution."

Three other defendants -- Fabianus Ulu, Yohanes Timo and Gabriel Halenoni -- will appear in court on March 14 for verdicts. They are accused of involvement in the murder. Prosecutors had sought a 12-year jail sentence for Bere and 10 years for the other three after deciding that the killing was not premeditated and did not merit a death penalty.

The four defendants, along with two other men still on the run, shot Manning dead in the rugged border area near Indonesian West Timor, the trial was told earlier. The six men were said to have crossed into East Timor to look for a stray cow when they encountered the United Nations peacekeeping patrol, which was tracking militia fighters. After killing Manning, the men stole his firearm.

Bere was a member of the Pro-Integration Fighters, which was formed and financed by the Indonesian military to counter pro- independence East Timorese rebels. It was disbanded after the territory voted for independence in a UN-sponsored ballot in August 1999. That vote triggered off a campaign of murder and destruction by pro-Jakarta East Timorese militias, which were backed by elements of the Indonesian army.

The six people in Manning's case were among the militia members who fled to West Timor shortly after the arrival of international peacekeeping forces in East Timor in September 1999. Indonesia has been under strong international pressure to bring offenders in Timor to justice.

In January its Supreme Court, responding to international outrage, increased the jail terms of three East Timorese militiamen involved in the brutal killing of three UN refugee agency employees in West Timor. Sentences of between 10 and 20 months, which had been denounced as a "mockery of justice" by one senior UN official, were increased to five to seven years. Bere's lawyer Suhadi Sumomulyono said he would appeal against the conviction.

Almost half of East Timorese go hungry: survey

Reuters - March 6, 2002 (slightly abridged)

Dili -- Almost half East Timor's population don't have enough food to eat and eke out a living on or below the poverty line, a survey carried out with the UN and other international agencies showed.

The tiny territory, currently administered by the United Nations, is struggling to recover after pro-Jakarta militias went on an orgy of killing and destruction in late 1999 when East Timor overwhelmingly voted for independence from Indonesia.

"Within the region, East Timor is one of the poorest countries," Sam Rao, a consultant for the national planning and development agency, told a news conference on Wednesday.

The survey, conducted in conjunction with the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme and other international organisations, said around 340,000 people, out of a population of 800,000, live in poverty in the tiny territory.

On May 20, at one second past midnight, East Timor will officially become the first new nation of the millennium.

The head of the planning and development agency said the findings of the survey would be used by the new government to help deal with the widespread poverty.

Parliament tussles with Mega over East Timor visit

Straits Times - March 7, 2002

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- A tussle has broken out between the presidential palace and the Parliament in Jakarta over the control of foreign policy, and the focus of their dispute is, strangely -- East Timor.

Nationalist legislators from the parliamentary foreign affairs commission are trying to block President Megawati Sukarnoputri's attempts to attend East Timor's official independence celebrations in May.

Ironically, Ms Megawati was one of the harshest critics of former president B.J. Habibie's decision to allow a UN-sponsored referendum in East Timor. An overwhelming majority of East Timorese opted for independence in the 1999 vote. But Ms Megawati is now willing to accept the loss of East Timor and is moving towards developing warmer diplomatic ties with the province, her senior advisers say.

Meanwhile, Commission 1 -- the Parliament's foreign affairs, defence and security commission -- is using the issue to paint itself as having strong nationalist sentiments, say commentators. The commission is arguing that Ms Megawati's attendance at the celebrations would be a slap in the face to the thousands of Indonesian troops who died fighting East Timorese separatist guerillas.

"So many Indonesian heroes died in East Timor while fighting for the unity of the people and the land," said commission head Ibrahim Ambong. Ms Megawati's presence "will only worsen the yet unhealed wounds of East Timorese refugees" who fled to West Timor due to violence related to the 1999 independence poll, the commission added.

Mr Ibrahim said that because of the "historical background", the commission had called for Ms Megawati and Vice-President Hamzah Haz to boycott the celebrations on May 19 and 20 in Dili. Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said Ms Megawati was still "contemplating attending" the celebrations.

Observers say the foreign affairs commission is not really concerned about whether or not Ms Megawati visits East Timor but is using the issue to exert its influence over foreign policy. "Commission 1 would like to control all policy, not just foreign policy ... They are playing a power game between the legislative and the executive," said one diplomat.

In another incident, the commission demanded the final right of approval for a new military commander, a demand which it had no right to make.

The diplomat said the commission's call on senior politicians Amien Rais and Akbar Tandjung to snub Australian Prime Minister John Howard was just to flex its muscles. Another commentator pointed out that the commission had little understanding of foreign policy but would take stands on issues which would garner the most public attention.

East Timor hero Gusmao says wants to lose election

Reuters - March 5, 2002

Dominic Whiting, Bangkok -- East Timor independence hero Xanana Gusmao, the front-runner to lead the nascent Southeast Asian state, said on Tuesday he wanted to be defeated in his country's first presidential elections. Last month Gusmao, backed by 11 of the tiny territory's 16 political parties, accepted their nomination as a presidential candidate.

But Gusmao told reporters during a two-day visit to Thailand he hoped his only adversary, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, would win the April 14 election. "I hope Xavier can defeat me, because I'm not interested in becoming president," he said. "Even if I win, I'll say again and again that I don't want to be president."

Political observers do not expect do Amaral to present much of a challenge to Gusmao, who led a resistance movement against Indonesian rule from East Timor's mountains until his capture by the Indonesian army in 1992.

Gusmao said he was persuaded to run for president by old comrades in the resistance movement. "Some people say Xanana was a hero, but the people were the heroes. They cried, they laughed, they struggled," he said. "If you watch them do everything to get freedom, you have to go on with them."

`Cutting present from past'

East Timor will become the world's newest nation on May 20 when it gains full independence. It has been under United Nations administration since a landslide vote to break away from Indonesia in 1999. Indonesia freed Gusmao on the day U.N. officials announced the result of the referendum.

Gusmao said he wanted to help instil democracy in the former Portuguese colony, which Indonesia invaded in 1975 and annexed the following year. "My best contribution to the process is cutting the present from the past, helping people understand democratic values and defending tolerance," he said.

East Timor, devastated by years of misrule as well as militia violence following the landslide vote to separate from Indonesia, needed to build a health service, education system and infrastructure almost from scratch, Gusmao said. He said he was confident international aid would continue to flow to East Timor even though the world's attention had switched to Afghanistan. But the government would have to show it was clean, Gusmao said.

"It will depend on us," he said, adding that the new government of East Timor would have to prove to the world that it was transparent, clean and was "trying to help people instead of taking advantage of them to strengthen power. We will have an open investment law to help the private sector to establish," said Gusmao, who was branded a dangerous communist in the 1970s by US administrations.

Recently declassified reports show the United States gave the green light to Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975.

UN prosecutors launch case in crimes against humanity trial

Agence France Presse - March 5, 2002

Jakarta -- Prosecutors of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) have launched cases against three men accused of 27 crimes against humanity during a violent campaign against pro-independence supporters in 1999.

The defendants are pro-Indonesia militia commanders Joao Franca da Silva and Jose Cardoso Ferreira and former Guda village chief Sabino Gouveia Leite, UNTAET said in a statement Tuesday.

"For the people of Lolotoe the face of terror, the face of murder and the face of persecution are indeed the faces of the three accused before you," lead prosecutor Essa Faal said.

Da Silva and Ferreira, commanders of the Kaer Metin Merah Putih militia, are accused of illegal imprisonment, murder, torture, rape, persecution and inhumane treatment of civilians in Lolotoe district near the border with Indonesian West Timor. Leite is accused of being an accomplice in the offences committed by the militia and the Indonesian armed forces.

Faal said prosecutors would show that the three, with local military help, orchestrated a campaign to arrest and abuse pro- independence supporters and their families. They were bent on terrorising the people of the district to discourage them from voting for independence in the ballot on August 30, 1999. About 80 percent eventually voted to split from Indonesia.

In the months surrounding the vote, pro-Jakarta militias backed by the Indonesian military went on a bloody rampage. They killed hundreds of people, burned towns to the ground, destroyed 80 percent of the former Portuguese territory's infrastructure and forced or led more than a quarter of a million villagers into Indonesian-ruled West Timor.

Two others named in the indictment -- the armed forces commander of Lolotoe, Second Lieutenant Bambang Indra, and Francisco Noronha, an Indonesian civil servant -- are still at large and believed to be in West Timor. The Lolotoe case is the second of 10 priority cases to be tried by the Special Panel for Serious Crimes in East Timor.

Indonesia, under international pressure to bring offenders in East Timor to justice, is scheduled separately to start on March 14 its first trial of army, police and civilian officials accused of gross rights violations in 1999.

War protests as Japanese military contingent arrives in Dili

Associated Press - March 5, 2002

Joanna Jolly, Dili -- The first contingent of 24 Japanese military engineers arrived Monday to join a U.N. peacekeeping force amid protests over Japan's brutal occupation of East Timor in World War II.

Among the dozens of protesters were now elderly women forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army as so-called "comfort women" six decades ago. The battalion, which will eventually number 680 engineers, will be the biggest overseas deployment of Japanese ground troops since the war.

Dozens of demonstrators rallied near Dili airport with placards reading "Go Home Japanese Self-Defense Force," and "Japanese troops are same as Indonesian military." Timorese and U.N. policemen kept the peaceful protesters away from the airport terminal as the Japanese were driven away through a side gate.

"We just want compensation," said Elena Guterres, who was incarcerated from 1943 to 1945 in an army barracks in Dili and forced into prostitution.

The Japanese unit will replace Pakistani and Bangladeshi personnel scheduled to depart in June. It will remain in East Timor for at least one year. "We would just like to do our best," Col. Shoichi Ogawa told reporters. "We will dedicate ourselves to contributing to the development of (East Timor)."

The Japanese troops will be based in the southwestern town of Suai, and will operate along the border with Indonesian-held West Timor and in the isolated enclave of Oecussi.

U.N. officials said the new arrivals will mainly rebuild roads and bridges and work on flood-prevention projects. Japan has stepped up its role in U.N.-led missions since its Parliament approved a 1992 law expanding the role of its military to include international peacekeeping. Japan's post-war pacifist constitution bans its from troops foreign combat zones. Japan is one of East Timor's largest aid donors.

During World War II, more than 50,000 East Timorese civilians perished after they sided with Australian and Dutch commandos who fought a guerrilla campaign against Japanese invaders. The Japanese set up a murderous auxiliary unit, the Black Column -- comprising mainly of Indonesian collaborators -- which terrorized the East Timorese.

The death toll in the tiny Portuguese colony was estimated at 12 percent of the prewar population -- one of the war's highest loss rates. After the collapse of Portuguese colonialism in 1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor and ruled it with an iron fist until 1999 when voters opted overwhelmingly for independence in a U.N.-sponsored referendum.

Pro-Jakarta militias set up by the Indonesian army killed hundreds of civilians and laid waste to the half-island territory before international peacekeepers arrived to restore order in September, 1999. The U.N. force is due to remain in Timor until 2004.

Public speaks out to Assembly members on Constitution

UNTAET Daily Briefing - March 1, 2002

Dili -- The people of East Timor this week once again displayed intense interest and enthusiasm in the democratic process as more than 80 public consultations in all districts on the final draft of the nation's Constitution often drew hundreds of people.

Members of the popularly elected Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution broke into groups last weekend and fanned out across the territory in search of feedback on the proposed legal framework. Logistical snags hampered some of the meetings, but that did not dilute the public's eagerness to participate.

While a variety of opinions were expressed, independent observers of the process found that a handful of issues were dominant concerns: the length of the consultation process; the date of independence; the role of the Catholic Church; the powers of the President; and the Assembly's transformation into the Republic's first legislature.

Many participants complained that the one-week consultation period was too short, and that they had at most a few days -- and sometimes only a few hours -- to digest the 168-article draft Constitution. Smaller parties in the Assembly raised similar concerns several weeks ago.

The official date of independence -- 28 November 1975 -- was also a source of confusion among people preparing to celebrate independence on 20 May of this year, when the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) will formally transfer all the powers to the East Timorese. Some called 28 November too partisan toward majority party FRETILIN, which declared independence from Portuguese rule on that date. Others suggested that both dates be enshrined in the Constitution.

Many participants wanted Catholicism to be declared the official religion of East Timor. While the majority of East Timorese are Catholic, the draft Constitution does not specify an official religion and calls for a separation between church and state.

Some participants wanted more political power vested in the President of the Republic, rather than the more parliamentary- style structure called for in the final draft Constitution. Still others complained that the presidential oath was not made specifically to God.

Lastly, many complained that they wanted a legislative election held soon after 20 May rather than allow the 88-member Assembly to transform itself into a fully fledged legislature.

Assembly members will summarise the comments and criticisms of the people into a report that will be presented to the full Assembly for debate on 11 March. The text of the draft will then be finalised ahead of a final vote and signing ceremony on 16 March.

Burma shuts door on East Timor bid to join ASEAN

Sydney Morning Herald - March 4, 2002

Mark Baker, Manila -- Burma's military regime has sparked a rift within the Association of South-East Asian Nations by blocking moves towards East Timor joining the regional grouping after the country achieves independence next year.

The Burmese have vetoed a decision to grant East Timor observer status within Asean -- a first step to full membership -- in protest at links between senior Timorese leaders and the detained Burmese democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

The veto, exercised at an informal meeting of Asean foreign ministers in Thailand last week, has angered several member states who believe East Timor's eventual membership is important to advance regional security and economic co-operation.

The Philippines Government has now stepped up pressure for ASEAN to amend its long-standing convention of consensus decision- making to prevent a single member blocking agreement between the rest of its 10 members.

Brunei, which will host this year's annual ASEAN meetings in July, has indicated its dissent by inviting East Timor to attend -- not as a formal observer but as a "special guest of the chair".

Philippine officials and East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, said Burma was the only dissenter when East Timor's application for observer status was debated by the foreign ministers. Mr Ramos Horta said he was disappointed by the decision, which had been expected because of links between the Burmese democracy movement and the Timorese resistance during its struggle for independence from Indonesia.

Mr Ramos Horta has spoken out strongly in support of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won a landslide election victory a decade ago but was blocked from power by the military. Ms Suu Kyi has remained under virtual house arrest for the past 18 months despite intermittent peace talks with the regime.

"It is in the interests of ASEAN that they embrace East Timor rather than trying to keep it out," Mr Ramos Horta said. "It is important for peace and regional stability."

There was considerable support among existing ASEAN members for the Burmese democracy movement, including from Indonesia, whose President Megawati Sukarnoputri has publicly expressed solidarity with Ms Suu Kyi, he said.

"The Burmese should not worry that we would be unhelpful and uncooperative within ASEAN. An independent East Timor would work with its neighbours on regional matters rather than taking unilateral positions."

Mr Ramos Horta, who, like Ms Suu Kyi, is a Nobel peace laureate, said he had been instrumental in persuading 20 other Nobel laureates to modify a statement on Burma published in December to give "constructive and balanced acknowledgement of steps towards progress" in the country's political standoff.

Mr Ramos Horta said he accepted the view of several ASEAN members, including Singapore, that East Timor would not be ready to meet the requirements of full membership for a number of years. East Timor has also applied for observer status with the South Pacific Forum.

Labour struggle

Nike, Adidas factories still sweatshops: Report

Reuters - March 7, 2002

Joanne Collins, Jakarta -- Sportswear giants Nike Inc and Adidas-Salomon have taken steps to shed their sweatshop image in Indonesia but employees are still overworked and underpaid, a leading aid agency said.

Australia-based Oxfam Community Aid Abroad released a report on Thursday saying the rival companies had responded to international pressure from rights groups and aid agencies to improve working conditions, but had not done enough.

"Our feeling is that changes have occurred but they still fall well short of pulling workers out of poverty or providing them with safe conditions or protecting their rights to have unions which we see as the key issues," Timothy Connor, author of the report, "We Are Not Machines", said by telephone from Sydney.

"There have been improvements in terms of a reduction in sexual harassment, the availability of sick leave and a reduction in the level of humiliation against workers but they are still shouted at when they work too slowly," Connor said.

The report, conducted between July last year and January 2002, is based on the accounts of 35 workers from four factories producing for both companies in West Java.

Connor said the aim of the report was to assess whether there had been any progress in working conditions since the previous report in September 2000.

The report said full time wages as low as $2 a day meant workers with children had to send them to distant villages to be cared for by relatives or had to go into debt to meet basic needs. The average monthly minimum wage in Jakarta is around $50 per month. The report said workers feared active union involvement could lead to dismissal, being jailed or physically assaulted.

Image-conscious Nike and Adidas have come under mounting pressure in recent years over the treatment of staff in Asian factories subcontracted to produce the bulk of their sporting shoes. Connor said most of the Nike and Adidas factories operating in Indonesia were mainly owned by Taiwanese and Koreans. Company executives were not immediately available for comment.

Nike, the world's number one athletic shoe company, has 11 factories in Indonesia which produce between 45-55 million pairs of shoes a year. Only two percent go to the local market, while most end up in the United States.

"Smelly" bathrooms

Adidas worker Ngadinah, 30, said conditions at her factory were hot and crowded but felt the negotiating power of her union, the Footwear Workers' Association (PERBUPAS), was slowly growing. "The bathroom is very smelly and workers are forced to work late into the night when the company needs to meet deadlines," Ngadinah told reporters earlier this week.

Ngadinah, secretary of the union and who was featured in the report, is paid a base monthly salary of 590,000 rupiah ($59.38). "Just recently the company has given us the chance to have training for members, before, this was not possible," she said. Ngadinah was jailed for a month last year for organising a strike that was joined by most of her 8,000 factory colleagues whose demands included being paid overtime at the legal rate.

The report said Nike had also made improvements on union matters. It said those factories with independent unions now had offices and met with union leaders on a regular basis.

PT Dirgantara Indonesia workers agree to end strike

Jakarta Post - March 7, 2002

Jakarta -- Striking workers at state-owned aircraft industry PT Dirgantara Indonesia are likely to return to work on Thursday following the government's assurance that the company's management would be reshuffled.

AM Bone, the secretary-general of the labor union at the company, said the union had made an agreement with Mawardi Simatupang, the director general of privatization at the office of the state minister of state enterprises, to reshuffle the management.

Bone said Mawardi agreed to hold a general shareholders' meeting for Dirgantara within the next three months to replace the current management. "The agreement has been put down on paper, and we are convinced that the government will carry through with it, so we will end the strike by Thursday," Bone told The Jakarta Post.

Meanwhile the spokesman for the office of the state minister of state enterprises, Sumarno, denied that his office had agreed to reshuffle Dirgantara's management. "It's too early to say that. Yes, the minister listened to the workers' aspirations, but he needs to get the other parties' opinion before deciding on the next step," Sumarno told the Post.

Earlier in the day, representatives of the labor union, known as the Forum of Communications for Employees, met with legislators and State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi at the House of Representatives compound.

In the meeting, union leaders reiterated their demand for the government to replace members of the management, whom they accused of corruption, collusion, nepotism and incompetence, to solve the company's various problems. They also demanded that the government appoint a caretaker management to run the company.

At the meeting, Laksamana promised that he would look into the matter, but said: "Unless it is proven that they were wrong, our office will not take any measures against them."

Dirgantara's workers have been on strike since Monday. The three-day strike involved 9,000 people and practically paralyzed the company's operations. The company's chief commissioner, Air Force chief Adm. Hanafie Asnan, estimated that the strike cost the company about Rp 15 billion (US$1.5 million).

Hanafie remarked that the workers' demand to replace the management was too strong, while adding that the company was improving financially. He did not elaborate further.

Hanafie said that the company had orders to produce its trade- mark CN-235 fixed-wing aircraft from a number of countries, including South Korea and Pakistan.

If the workers' demand stemmed from concern over the graft cases, Hanafie argued that all the cases had been transferred to the West Java Provincial Prosecutor's Office. "We could have another round of talks. If necessary, we could have the manpower minister act as a mediator," Hanafie said.

Thousands of workers left unprotected in West Java

Jakarta Post - March 6, 2002

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon -- Of more than 1,270 companies employing a total of 95,000 workers in the West Java regencies of Cirebon, Indramayu, Majalengka and Kuningan, only 40 percent have participated in the obligatory social security programs, an official says.

"Sixty percent of the private companies have yet to register their employees in the social security programs, despite continued campaigning by PT Jamsostek, a state-owned company running the programs," Swasana Dwi Saputra, chief of Jamsostek's local office, said here on Monday.

Swasana said most of the 900 handicraft companies, which employed more than 50,000 workers in the region, had yet to register their workers in the social security insurance schemes. "We have asked the local manpower and transmigration office to enforce the 1992 law on social security but, so far, no companies violating the law have been brought to court," he said.

He said Jamsostek had no authority to enforce but officers of the local manpower and transmigration office in their capacity as civil servants had the investigative authority to charge violating companies. "Besides, workers in the region have yet to be made aware of their rights for labor protection as it is stipulated by the law," he said.

According to the law, private- and state-owned companies employing ten workers or more, or paying salaries totaling Rp 1 million or more, are obliged to participate in the social security programs. Companies contribute around four percent to the programs while workers contribute around three percent of their monthly gross salaries. The social security programs comprise of health care, occupational accidents, death and pension schemes.

Yoyon Suharyono, chairman of the Foundation for Workers and Environment, said he was concerned with the absence of social security programs for the handicraft companies's workers because most companies had exported their products. "Most handicraft businessmen have gained a huge annual profit from their businesses but a major part of their workers have been left unprotected in the basic labor insurance programs," he said.

Adjat Sudradjat, chief of Jamsostek's claim affairs section in the region, said Jamsostek paid a total of Rp 6.1 billion claims for workers participating in the programs during 2001. "A major part of it [Rp 3.8 billion] was paid for workers entering their mandatory pension age," he said.

Adjat said his company would enhance cooperation with public health centers in the region to provide medication and health care services for workers participating in the social security programs. "Such cooperation is much needed to provide health care service to workers and their families," he said

Labor disputes at aircraft industry grow complicated

Jakarta Post - March 6, 2002

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung -- Complications have thwarted progress in the labor disputes at state-owned aircraft manufacturing industry PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) after the management and the Forum of Communications for Employees, the company's labor union, took matters into their own hands.

The management suspended the labor union's two executives after workers walked off the job at the company's facilities in Bandung, West Java, on Tuesday.

PT DI president Jusman S. Djamal said Arif Minardi, chairman of the labor union, and A.M. Bone, the union's secretary-general, were suspended for violating the law. "The management agreed to suspend the two men because they rejected seeking a comprehensive solution to the disputes," he said.

He said the management was concerned over the continued labor strike, which was a violation of the no-strike agreement reached by both sides last year. "Shutting down the company's factory was a violation of the law and is an intolerable action the management must protest and the workers have cut their own throat," he said, adding that the management had sent a letter to Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea to ask for permission to dismiss the two labor activists.

Separately, Arif and Bone rejected their suspension, saying that the decision was not effective and invalid as it was made by the management unilaterally.

Some 1,000 of the company's 9,000 employees stayed off the job, shutting down two factories, because they said that the new management was unable to handle the corrupt, collusive and nepotistic practices in the company. The workers also said the management did not show commitment in complying with the agreements reached by both sides at Hanomann Hotel last year, including on the cases of alleged corruption.

The agreements stipulate, among other things, an investigation into alleged corruption in the company and an increase in pension funds for retired workers. The workers also protested the payment of Rp 1 million an hour for lawyers who were recruited to accompany the executives undergoing investigation in the corruption cases, a fee the management has denied paying.

The labor union has reported the findings made by the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), of two cases of corruption in 1998 and 1999 to the management, but they have yet to be followed up. The management has yet to investigate corruption charges of Rp 4 billion at the company's aircraft service division in 1999 and the disappearance of 18 NC-212 aircraft engines worth US$400,000 in 1998.

Air Force chief Adm. Hanafie Asnan, as a commissioner of the company, said he regretted the factories being shut down, adding that the management should take strict measures against the workers' actions. He compared the incident to a coup d'etat, an action that broke the law.

Hanafie was visiting the air defense unit near PT DI's plant in the city. "In the military, this kind of [labor] action is considered a coup that must be quelled immediately," he said, while laughing at the protesters.

He said the continued labor strike had a lot to do with the large number of inactive workers at the company resulting from a decrease in orders. The labor strike could affect the company's credibility overseas, he added.

Labor strike paralyzes aircraft manufacturer

Jakarta Post - March 5, 2002

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung -- A labor strike involving more than 8,000 workers again affected the country's only state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) in the West Java capital of Bandung on Monday. The workers are demanding the replacement of the company's board of directors.

Operational activities at the plant were paralyzed due to the protest organized by the company's Employees' Communication Forum (FKK) led by Arif Minardi.

The protesters accused the directors of being incompetent in managing the company and of lacking seriousness to fight against rampant nepotism, corruption and collusion there.

"It is clear that the board of directors have thwarted efforts to resolve corruption, nepotism and collusion cases including an investigation into one case that we submitted to the Bandung prosecutor's office in March of last year," Arif said.

He cited reports that the local prosecutors were unable to proceed with the case because many employees allegedly involved in it simply refused to testify.

The protest started at 8 a.m. outside the company's Central Management Building (GPM) with hundreds of employees joining in. The number of protesters swelled hours later. Many wore red headbands, carrying posters and banners critical of management. Some banners carried slogans demanding that all the directors resign.

However, some workers admitted they were forced by organizers to participate in the strike. "I was surprised when some people entered my work area and told me to go out only a few minutes after I arrived there. I didn't know what was going on," an employee in the technology division said.

FKK activists also closed the technology and technical divisions after ordering employees there to leave. However, they failed to close the GPM office because PT DI President Director Jusman S. Djamal refused to leave the building's ninth floor, where he was working. "I will continue to work. What do you want?," he challenged labor activists who told him to join the strike.

It was the first strike to take place this year. Workers of the aircraft firm had gone on strike on October 2 last year protesting the management's sluggishness in eradicating corrupt practices in the company. The October action coincided with the arrival of Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil, who witnessed the handover of two BO-105 helicopters from PT DI to the Indonesian Navy, represented by Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Indroko Sastrowiyono.

All activities were halted for several hours at the company, which was founded by former president B.J. Habibie. The protesters at the time demanded that the management make real and concrete steps to fight corruption.

Last June also, the employees went on strike demanding better pay, higher allowances and the eradication of corruption in the company.

In December 2001, the management and employees' representatives signed a 13-point agreement in a meeting brokered by Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea, under which the company would raise the workers' salary and improve their allowances.

However, Arif said on Monday that the management failed to fulfill all the agreements, particularly their promise to eradicate nepotism, collusion and corruption in the company.

Megawati urges workers and employers to seek compromise

Jakarta Post - March 4, 2002

Jakarta -- President Megawati Soekarnoputri urged employers and their employees on Saturday to exercise restraint when seeking settlements to industrial disputes.

The President suggested that both parties sit down and talk together to seek a favorable solution that would leave nobody to feel they had lost out.

"Pragmatism, a realistic attitude is needed to deal with disputes. Temper and violence will only block every avenue to a settlement," Megawati told thousands of workers in Bandar Lampung, the capital city of Lampung province.

Former minister of manpower and transmigration Al-Hilal Hamdi amended pro-labor Ministerial Decree No. 150/2000 on May 4 last year which was issued by his predecessor Bomer Pasaribu.

The amendments scaled back the amount of compensation, service and severance pay given to resigning, retiring or dismissed workers. The revocation led to demonstrations and a number of violent labor rallies in East and West Java.

Under Decree No. 150/2000, employers are obliged to provide severance payment for dismissed workers, including those who are fired for major violations and crimes, as well as service payments for resigning and retiring workers. It also specifies the amount of the severance and service payments based on the length of the particular worker's employment.

In exchange the government issued Decree No. 78/2001 after protests by local and foreign investors against the pro-labor decree. According to Decree No. 78/2001, workers who resign will only receive the compensation.

The President asserted that all parties should place national interests above all else. "Now that we are suffering from economic crisis, we should not be engaged in wasteful disputes. Instead, we should work together, exploit our potential to lift the country out of the crisis," she said, as quoted by Antara.

Megawati reminded that long-standing disputes between employees and employers bring losses to both parties. "Nobody benefits from industrial disputes," she stressed.

She called on both parties to be prepared to sacrifice some of their interests for the sake of a settlement. "It is unfair to demand sacrifices from the other party, therefore both sides must be willing to sacrifice their self interests to reach a win-win solution," she said.

The function was held to commemorate the anniversary of the All- Indonesia Workers Union Federation (FSPSI) and Indonesia's Labor Day. Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea and Governor of Lampung Oemarsono were among those present at the gathering.

A series of protests staged by trade unions in state companies PT Semen Gresik, PT Semen Padang, PT Telkom and railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia have marked a new trend of relations between employees and employers. Instead of demanding better pay, they have begun to protest government policies.

Last month, Megawati canceled a meeting with workers of PT Semen Gresik, who demanded the government drop a plan to sell the company's assets to foreign firms.

Megawati said that respect for the law was key to reach a fair and just settlement in industrial disputes. "If everybody heeded the law, there wouldn't be industrial disputes," she said.

Aceh/West Papua

Miltary police team suspends probe into Theys' death

Jakarta Post - March 8, 2002

Jakarta -- The military police team set up to probe the death of Papua Presidium Council leader Theys Hiyo Eluay has suspended its investigation, as there have been no further developments made, an officer said on Thursday.

"The investigation has been suspended and all members of the team have left for Jakarta," said chief of the Papua Military Police Command Col. Sutarna, as quoted by Antara news agency.

"We are only waiting for new information as we consider the investigation to be completed. The excavation conducted around the headquarters of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) in Hamadi brought no significant result," he added.

Sutarna, however, said that although the investigation had been temporarily completed, he could not describe the results of the probe, as it would be up to the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief to decide on its revelation. "Just ask the TNI chief, because [announcing] the result of the investigation is not my authority," he said.

Meanwhile, sources at the local military police headquarters said the results of the investigation by the military police team had likely referred to Kopassus members. They, however, refused to reveal their names.

Theys was found dead in his car in the outskirts of the Papuan capital of Jayapura on Nov. 11, 2001 after he attended a National Heroes Day commemoration at the Kopassus Headquarters in Jayapura. Theys' driver Aristoteles Masoka is reportedly still missing.

Seven rebels, three soldiers killed in Aceh province

Agence France Presse - March 7, 2002

Banda Aceh -- Seven separatist rebels and three soldiers have been killed in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province, the military said Thursday.

Six members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and two soldiers were killed on Thursday in a gunfight following a military raid on the rebels at Blang Baroh in Aceh Besar district, Aceh military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin told AFP. One soldier later died of bullet wounds.

Two of the troops killed in the two-hour skirmish were from the elite special force Kopassus while the other was a member of the strategic reserve command Kostrad, Muttaqin said. Troops seized an M-16 rifle, two Colt pistols and more than 100 rounds of ammunition from the rebels. "More troops have been sent to the area to hunt down GAM members who fled," said Muttaqin.

In another incident a suspected GAM rebel was shot dead in a raid on a suspected rebel hideout in North Aceh on Wednesday, the spokesman said.

An estimated 10,000 people have died since December 1976 when the Free Aceh Movement began its fight for an independent Islamic state. Some 300 have been killed this year alone in the energy- rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. GAM and the government have held a series of peace talks in Switzerland but ceasefires have always broken down.

Jakarta mulls state-brokered dialogue to end conflict in Aceh

Agence France Presse - March 6, 2002

Banda Aceh -- The government is considering holding peace talks inside Indonesia to end the decades-long separatist conflict in Aceh province if dialogue held overseas fails, a top minister said Wednesday.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs, said the government would not abandon dialogue to resolve the problem including talks mediated by the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Centre.

"If the dialogue abroad cannot settle the problem, we are currently looking at whether a dialogue in the country, such as those held in Malino on Poso and the Malukus, can be possible," Yudhoyono said during a visit to Aceh.

In recent months the government has brokered separate peace talks at Malino to end Muslim-Christian fighting around Poso in central Sulawesi district and in the Maluku islands.

Yudhoyono said the nature of the conflict in Aceh was different from those in Poso and the Malukus but the possibility of such a dialogue must be studied. The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is in conflict with the central government, unlike the Muslims and Christians who are fighting each other. It has been vying for an independent Islamic state in Aceh since 1976 and an estimated 10,000 people have been killed in the struggle so far.

Yudhoyono, who arrived Tuesday with national police chief General Da'i Bachtiar, said a security approach alone would not settle the problems in Aceh. "The target of security restoration are GAM elements that provide armed resistance," he said. If GAM halted its armed resistance "I think there will be no reasons for the Indonesian armed forces and the national police to continue intensive security steps".

But Yudhoyono quickly added that so far the situation had not yet changed. "We will activate and intensify security restoration in an accurate way and not make target mistakes while at the same time continue to improve the conduct of the security personnel in their duty in Aceh," he said.

Rights activists have accused soldiers and police of numerous excesses in Aceh. The US State Department in its annual rights report said Monday that security forces "were responsible for numerous instances of, at times indiscriminate, shooting of civilians, torture, rape, beatings and other abuse, and arbitrary detention in Aceh" and elsewhere in Indonesia. The report also rapped killings of civilians by the separatists.

On February 3, representatives from the Indonesian government and GAM ended their latest peace talks in Switzerland without reaching a deal but agreeing to further talks at an unspecified date.

During his stay in Banda Aceh, Yudhoyono held talks with Governor Abdullah Puteh, other local officials and the heads of the military and police command.

Aceh to form religious police to enforce 'syariah'

Jakarta Post - March 6, 2002

Jakarta -- The Aceh provincial administration will soon set up religious police to help effectively enforce Islamic syariah law in the rebellious province, a local senior official said on Tuesday.

"The establishment of the religious police is aimed at intensifying the implementation of the Islamic law in Aceh," provincial administration secretary Tanthawi Ishaq was quoted by Antara as saying to journalists in Banda Aceh.

Tanthawi said around 2,500 officers would be recruited from pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) and the State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) to the new police force for an initial period of five years. Subsequent recruitment would, however, still depend on the province budget, he added.

He said the religious police would fall under the jurisdiction of the syariah office of the provincial administration and that its members would be trained by local police. "Its main task will be to supervise the implementation of Islamic law, such as the prohibition against extramarital affairs," Tanthawi said.

He urged people in the devoutly Muslim province to support the establishment of the religious police. Tanthawi added that the authorities would start enforcing an Islamic dress code in the province on March 15, which is Islamic New Year. He also called on non-Muslims to respect the move by not wearing immodest clothes.

Syariah law obliges women to cover all parts of their body except for their face, hands and soles of their feet, while men must cover their midriff and wear shorts that cover their knees.

The provincial administration and legislature are currently deliberating bylaws, which would set out in more detail the provisions of syariah law. Tanthawi said owners of beauty parlors had to comply with the regulation that bans female workers from serving male customers. Violators would have their business licenses revoked, he warned.

Tanthawi said some 10,000 people were expected to join a mass parade in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on March 15 as part of activities to mark the start of the syariah implementation. The parade would start at 9 a.m. from the Blang Padang field and will end up with mass prayers for peace at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in the city, he said.

Other religious activities marking the start of the implementation of Islamic law will include a mass recitation of the Koran on the night of March 15.

The central government and the House of Representatives have approved a wide-ranging autonomy law to be implemented in resource-rich Aceh to appease separatist sentiment there. The law makes provision for the granting of greater autonomy, which includes the implementation of syariah law and a larger share of oil and gas revenues.

In a further development, gunmen killed a man in the province on the eve of the arrival of Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the military said on Tuesday. Two unidentified gunmen shot dead a 53-year-old man and wounded an 11-year-old girl in Lhokseumawe after dusk on Monday, Aceh military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin told AFP.

Susilo arrived on Tuesday for closed-door talks with local officials, who have declined to give details of the visit or its purpose.

An estimated 10,000 people have died since December 1976, when the separatist Free Aceh Movement began its fight for an independent Islamic state. Some 300 have been killed this year alone in the province.

Indonesian troops kill three rebels in Aceh

Agence France Presse - March 4, 2002

Banda Aceh -- Indonesian troops have shot dead three suspected separatist rebel in the restive province of Aceh, the military said Sunday.

The three men were killed in an exchange of fire in Lamno, West Aceh on Saturday, Aceh military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin told AFP. The clash followed a raid by some 20 soldiers on a hut where eight suspected rebels were believed to be hiding.

An estimated 10,000 people have been killed since rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) began fighting for an independent Islamic state in 1976. More than 200 people have died this year alone. Jakarta last year granted Aceh greater self-rule and a larger share of oil and gas revenues. It also allowed the province to implement selective Islamic law but ruled out independence.

Aceh to enforce Islamic dress code in towns

Straits Time - March 5, 2002

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- Muslims in Aceh who do not wear Islamic dress will be barred from urban areas from the middle of this month as the authorities start enforcing the Islamic syariah law.

The Acehnese provincial government yesterday announced they will enforce Islamic dress code as part of syariah law introduced in the province last year.

However, non-government groups fear an unclear definition of "Islamic dress" under the new law will encourage harassment of civilians. Local police will begin conducting checks on whether women and men in cities are wearing Muslim dress from March 15, said provincial secretary Thantawi Ishak.

Muslim men must cover their midriff and shorts must not expose their knees, according to a government announcement in local paper Serambi. As for women, the authorities said they must be entirely covered, except for their face, hands and feet.

But women's and non-governmental groups (NGOs) said the ruling on Islamic dress for women was fraught with ambiguity. This will easily allow police to abuse their power as enforcers of Islamic dress, they claimed.

"If police have the power, guns and authority, then it is easy for them to abuse this. There is already a lot of verbal harassment by police towards young women here," said Ms Suraiya Kamaruzzaman from Flowers, a non-governmental women's group.

Many NGOs have criticised the use of security forces to carry out spot checks in towns and cities to enforce the dress code. "The Indonesian Armed Forces' function is to protect the nation and the police's function is to ensure peace; so why are they carrying out sweeping operations to enforce Islamic law?" asked Ms Suraiya.

Adding to the confusion is disagreement over what constitutes Islamic dress in Aceh. Many NGOs acknowledge that most Acehnese will not object to the new rule requiring Islamic dress -- as long as it adheres to the Acehnese version of the dress code.

In most parts of Aceh, young women dressing modestly can be seen combining Muslim dress with Western modifications: Jeans or fashionable slacks are worn with a long sleeved shirt and a scarf, wrapped loosely over the head which might reveal one's hair and neck.

Ms Cut Anirta, who works for an international non-government group in a small town in North Aceh, said that in places such as Bireuen, "Muslim dress" for women meant slacks, a loose flowing blouse and a scarf. "In Bireuen, young girls wear jeans and a long blouse with a scarf or jilbab if they're not married. When they are married, they wear the Muslim dress so I don't think it will be a problem," she said.

But for others, Islamic dress follows the style of the Middle East -- a long flowing gown is worn with loose slacks and a jilbab or tudung -- an Islamic headscarf.

Traditionally in Aceh, lower-class women and women working in the countryside as farmers or market traders merely wore a loose scarf, a sarong and loose shirt, so why should they be forced to change what they already considered to be a devout dress style, asked Ms Suraiya.

Other women were concerned about the punishment for men and women not wearing the Islamic dress. Provincial secretary Thantawi Ishak said sanctions or punishment would be discussed by the syariah council, police and the Muslim Scholars' Council.

But many women argue that punishment is a matter for God to determine. "The police can do checks but we have to answer to God if we don't conform. It is a matter between God and ourselves, so only God can punish us," said 26-year-old Devi, a human-rights activist.

Papuan leaders cleared off all charges

Jakarta Post - March 5, 2002

R.K. Nugroho, Jayapura -- A district court in the easternmost province of Papua acquitted on Monday three pro-independence leaders of the Papua Presidium Council, who had been tried on charges of subversion.

The three, Papua Presidium moderator Reverend Herman Awom, member Don Al Flassy and secretary-general Thaha Al Hamid, were greeted by a hundred supporters outside the Jayapura District Court after the acquittal.

Council deputy chairman Tom Beanal, who is also chairman of the Papuan Communal Council replacing the late Theys Eluay, welcomed them by giving them stone axes and bracelets. "This is our traditional way of expressing our thanks," he said, adding that the verdicts indicated that the Papuans would be granted freedom to express their opinion and feelings.

The three and the other two -- Theys and John Mambor -- were charged with subversion over the holding of a Papua People's Congress in May and June 2000, which ended with a statement affirming Papua's independence. The case against Theys was dropped following his death in mid-November. Meanwhile, John Mambor is currently ill in hospital.

Prosecutors had demanded the court sentence the three to 2.5 years in jail -- far lower than the minimum of 20 years in jail, as demanded by article 106 of the criminal code.

Presiding judge Edward Sinaga, who read the verdict, contended that the three could not be sentenced to imprisonment because they had organized the congress with the full knowledge and support of the local and central governments.

Then president Abdurrahman Wahid himself gave the organizers Rp 1 billion (US$98,000) to help finance the congress, the judge said. The court summoned Abdurrahman to testify before the court, but he failed to answer the summons.

Monday's court session, attended by many informal Papuan leaders, including Theys' widow Erika, was guarded by around 30 policemen. After the court session, prosecutors left the courtroom immediately, without making any comment to reporters.

Don Al Flassy, who waved a small "morning star" independence flag inside the court a few minutes before the verdict was read, said after the session that his acquittal only strengthened his commitment to continuing his efforts to "straighten the history of Papua." Thaha supported Don's statement, stressing that their struggle would be pursued through peaceful means.

Defendant lawyer Anton Raharusun described the verdict as "extraordinary," saying that the judges had dared to disregard the colonial law on subversion. "The judges have issued a very daring verdict, especially as it means that they have challenged the power holders," he said.

This verdict should be good news to Papuans, especially after the murder of their leader, Theys. A military investigation team has been digging up areas around the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) headquarters, following speculation that a missing key witness, Eluay's driver, may have been murdered and buried there. The driver, Aristoteles Masoka, was driving Eluay home from a ceremony at the Kopassus base when their car was stopped by a group of men on November 10. Eluay was found dead in his car the following day.

Theys, and other Papuan Presidium Council members had been campaigning for an independent Papua through peaceful means. In an effort to win the hearts of the Papuans and discourage separatism, the government renamed Irian Jaya as Papua under a special autonomy law, under which the province would get a much greater share of the revenue from its natural resources.

Court acquits Papuan pro-independence leaders of subversion

Agence France Presse - March 4, 2002

Jakarta -- An Indonesian court in the easternmost province of Papua on Monday acquitted three pro-independence leaders of subversion.

"Praise the Lord, justice prevailed," said Reverend Herman Awom, who was cleared along with fellow Papua Presidium members Don Flassy and Thaha Al Hamid.

About a hundred supporters greeted the three outside court in the provincial capital Jayapura after the acquittal, the state Antara news agency said. It said Flassy had waved a small "morning star" independence flag inside the court just before the verdict.

The three were charged over the holding of a Papua People's Congress in May-June 2000, which ended with a statement affirming Papua's independence. But Awom said the judges ruled that the meeting had been organised with the full knowledge and support of the local and central governments.

"The president himself gave us one billion rupiah (now 99,010 dollars) to help finance the congress and all government, military and police leaders in the province had publicly stated their support for the congress," he told AFP. He was refering to the then president Abdurrahman Wahid, a staunch pro-democracy figure who championed the freedom of expression.

Another defendent in the subversion case, John Mambor, is currently ill in hospital. A fifth, Papua Presidum chairman Theys Hiyo Eluay, was murdered near Jayapura last November. Many people in the province, including its police chief, its governor and rights activists, have said there are indications that Kopassus special forces members had a role in the murder.

A military investigation team has been digging up areas around the Kopassus headquarters following speculation that a missing key witness, Eluay's driver, may have been murdered and buried there. The driver, Aristoteles Masoka, was driving Eluay home from a ceremony at the Kopassus base when their car was halted by a group of men on November 10. Eluay was found dead in his car the following day.

The Papua Presidium has been campaigning for independence through peaceful means. A separate sporadic and low-level armed struggle for independence began after the Dutch ceded control of the territory to Indonesia in 1963.

The province was renamed Papua in December under an autonomy law designed to lessen pressure for independence. The province also receives a much greater share of revenues from its rich natural resources.

Team digs around barracks to look for missing driver

Agence France Presse - March 3, 2002

Jakarta -- A military team is currently conducting extensive excavations at the headquarters of a the elite army battalion in Papua province to try to locate a missing key witness in the murder of local pro-independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay, a report said Sunday.

The team from the Indonesian military police headquarters have already dug up half of the base of the Tribuana army Kopassus batallion in Jayapura, the capital of Irian Jaya, in its efforts to look for Arsitoteles Masoka, the key witness who is believed to have been one of the last to see Eluay alive.

"We, with the help of some 20 personnel of the army combat engineers have been digging for the past two days in an around the Tribuana Kopassus headquarters because there are some opinions that Aristoteles was buried here," the commander of the Irian Jaya Military Police, Colonel Sutarna was quoted by the Media Indonesia daily as saying.

"We have already dug out half of the surface but that suspicion has yet to be proved," Sutarna said. He said that the excavation will continue until the whole ground had been checked for any burial site.

Masoka was driving Eluay back home from a ceremony at the Kopassus Tribuana battalion headquarters on November 10 when their car was halted by a group of men and Eluay kidnapped. Eluay was found dead in his car, abandoned on the side of the road near the border with Papua New Guinea on the following day.

Witnesses said that they had found Masoka, still in shock and bleeding, on the road between Jayapura and Sentani, Eluay's home town some 40 kilometers west of Jayapura, and at his demand dropped him in front of the Tribuana battalion headquarters. Masoka who had had time to alert Eluay's family about the abduction, was never seen again.

The Kopassus battalion's headquarters itself has been put off limits to the public and the battalion had been pulled back to Jakarta pending the results of the investigation.

Besides the military probe team, the government has appointed another national team to investigate the case whose membership includes officials from the national human rights commission, parliamentarians, police and military officers and representatives of Non-governmental organisations.

The national team suffered a setback recently when two Papuan members resigned and non-government organisations and church groups in Papua have called for the team to be disbanded in favour of an independent inquiry.

A sporadic low-level armed struggle for independence began after the Dutch ceded control of the territory to Indonesia in 1963. Eluay had called for a peaceful solution.

Corporate globalisation

Pay up, Jakarta tells major debtors

Straits Times - March 8, 2002

Robert Go, Jakarta -- The Indonesian government yesterday threw out a controversial plan to allow some of its biggest debtors more time to repay money, and instead demanded full settlement, within four months, of the nearly US$10 billion (S$18.3 billion) that is still outstanding.

The move could spark greater support for Jakarta from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and foreign investors, who still view the country's ability to enforce laws and fight corruption with scepticism.

But there are already doubts about the government's ability to actually recoup the funds, given that most major debtors have strong political connections and have eluded the state's collectors successfully over the past four years.

Following a Cabinet meeting, Coordinating Economics Minister Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said: "The government has decided to revoke the decision to extend the debt-repayment terms. We should stick to the existing agreement."

Mr Mahendra Siregar, one of Mr Dorodjatun's key advisers, said: "The message is 'No more Mr Nice Guy'. We realise the need to enforce these repayment terms. Foreigners should see soon how serious we are on this issue."

According to Mr Mahendra, Jakarta's legal advisers will evaluate 33 major debtors, who together received 130.6 trillion rupiah (S$24 billion) from the government four years ago but have paid back only around 32 trillion rupiah so far.

After a one-month evaluation process, some debtors will be classified as cooperative and allowed to continue their respective repayment programs. But those deemed non-cooperative would be forced to pay up during the next three months, or face "stern action", including bankruptcy lawsuits and asset seizures.

Given that only one major conglomerate, the Salim Group, and a handful of smaller debtors have actually started repaying the government, Jakarta could be taking legal action against a large number of recalcitrant debtors by July. The debtors have been forced to pledge many of their assets to restructuring agency Ibra as collateral.

But Mr Dorodjatun has said these are worth only about 30 per cent or less of the outstanding loans. Earlier in December, Ibra proposed extending repayment terms, many of which expire this year, for major debtors until 2010. Critics charged the Ibra action would represent yet another "sweetheart deal" extended to conglomerate families at the expense of regular taxpayers.

The IMF has also warned Jakarta to proceed cautiously and transparently in its dealings with the debtors, who are rumored to command instant access to Ibra officials and other high-level government figures.

The IMF's top man in Jakarta, Mr David Nellor, told The Straits Times: "We are encouraged Jakarta is finally developing a strategy that will increase legal certainty. It is an important step to focus on debtors' compliance and defining the terms of repayment." But he also added the IMF and other foreign lenders would 'watch carefully how this plan is implemented over time'.

Domestic observers, however, are less diplomatic. Mr M. Ikhsan, head of University of Indonesia's Institute for Economic and Social Research, said: "The chance of legal action taken against debtors is less than 10 per cent. any are sceptical there is enough political will to punish debtors. There are still too many closed-door meetings between officials and conglomerates."

Five state firms up for sale soon

Jakarta Post - March 5, 2002

Jakarta -- The government confirmed on Monday plans to sell its stakes in five firms to meet the privatization target of Rp 3.5 trillion (some US$340 million) for the first half of the year, State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi said on Monday.

The five are among 24 companies the government has pledged to privatize this year. The state-owned companies in question are international call operator PT Indosat, pharmaceutical companies PT Indo Farma and PT Kimia Farma, property company PT Wisma Nusantara International and airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II.

Of the five, the government expects the highest proceeds will come from the sale of government shares in Indosat, which will be sold in two stages, first through private placement and then followed by a strategic sale of shares to investors.

The government has targeted the raising of some Rp 1.7 trillion from Indosat through selling off stakes of between 14 percent and 15 percent during the first stage in June.

This will be followed up with a further sale to a strategic investor in October, bringing the total amount of Indosat shares sold to 45 percent. The government currently owns 65 percent of the company.

Earlier this year when the government first floated the plan to sell its majority stake in Indosat, seven international telecommunications companies reportedly expressed interest in buying stakes. They were Australia's Telstra Corp Ltd, Vodafone Airtouch Plc, France Telecom's mobile unit Orange SA, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, Telekom Malaysia, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, and British Telecommunications Plc.

Analyst Lin Che Wei told The Jakarta Post that while it was still too early to be optimistic about the privatization target, he was of the opinion that Indosat would definitely draw the most attention.

As for other firms, Laksamana said at a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission V on state firms that the government planned to sell a majority stake in Kimia Farma but would retain its controlling shares in Indo Farma.

The proceeds target from privatization this year has been set at Rp 6.5 trillion, to be used partly to plug the deficit in the state budget in line with the government's latest commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

As was the case last year, the country will be relying this year on earnings from privatization and the sales of assets controlled by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency to keep a manageable deficit of 2.5 percent of gross domestic product.

However, the government's poor track record in privatization has cast doubts over whether or not the program will be capable of producing the targeted proceeds. Last year, the government only managed to sell shares in the domestic telephone monopoly, PT Telkom, and got Rp 3.5 trillion, far below the Rp 5 trillion target.

The government has so far failed to divest controlling stakes in cement producer PT Semen Gresik and the country's largest retail bank, Bank Central Asia. In fact, nine of the 24 companies that appear on the government's privatization list for 2002 were actually supposed to be sold off last year.

'War on terror'

Timor abuses vex US aim to engage Indonesia in terror war

Wall Street Journal - March 6, 2002

John McBeth and Murray Hiebert -- As the nation with the world's biggest Muslim population, Indonesia is high on Washington's list as a potential partner in the anti-terror war. But there's a problem: Jakarta's military refuses to accept responsibility for abuses by its forces in East Timor, the former Portuguese colony where in September 1999 Indonesian troops and militias they backed killed hundreds of people in a rampage that outraged the world. Until there's an accounting, Washington is loath to resume military ties that it severed shortly afterward.

"We just haven't decided how to move forward," says an administration official. "And even after we make up our minds, Congress will have a lot to say about what will actually happen."

Today, human-rights trials for those responsible for the rampage remain the only significant obstacle to the resumption of military ties. But even with specially legislated courts finally in place to try the handful of Indonesian officers, militiamen and civilian officials indicted so far for genocide and crimes against humanity in Timor, the army apparently still needs convincing. Even if it decides to sacrifice one or two generals, diplomats say Congress -- and probably the United Nations, too -- may have to judge whether Indonesia has done enough.

The signs aren't good. For example, many are angered that former armed-forces commander Gen. Wiranto and his representative in East Timor, Maj.-Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim, appear to have been let off the hook for what happened there. The government, moreover, clearly worried about setting a precedent, refuses to extradite 17 low-ranking suspects to face trial by an international tribunal in East Timor for crimes against humanity.

The military has also raised hackles at home by turning its back on a Commission on Human Rights investigation into the sniper killings of four students at Jakarta's Triskati University, the incident that triggered bloody riots in May 1998 that killed 1,500 people and led to the resignation of President Suharto. To rub salt into the wound, the officer who presided over those events, Maj.-Gen. Syafrie Samsuddin, was recently appointed military spokesman.

This leaves the US in a dilemma over how to engage the Indonesian military on counter-terrorism. The US Pacific forces commander, Adm. Dennis Blair, says there is a "continuing policy review" under way to figure out how to work with Indonesian forces.

The longer the situation drags on, however, the more isolated Jakarta could become. Legislation before Congress, and the recent authorization of the multinational Financial Action Task Force to tackle terrorist financing, promise tough new sanctions on nations that don't cooperate. Says a US law-enforcement officer: "We can't even find [Indonesia] in the dugout, let alone stepping up to the plate."

US and Southeast Asian officials say Indonesia is the weak link in the region's fight against Islamic extremists, but Jakarta insists it doesn't have the evidence to act against radicals such as Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, the alleged founder of Jemaah Islamiah, a regional extremist group and suspected conduit for al Qaeda financing. US officials also say Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri doesn't want to crack down on such groups for fear of antagonizing the Islamic parties in her fragile coalition.

To be sure, Indonesia has made efforts to improve its human- rights record. Three militiamen accused of the September 2000 murder of three U.N. aid workers in West Timor recently had their jail terms increased to between five and seven years from between 10 and 20 months. The military also appears to have made progress sensitizing soldiers to dealing with civilian populations, particularly in the secessionist northern Sumatran province of Aceh.

Still, human-rights advocates worry that recent parliamentary backing for the military's opposition to investigations into the Triskati incident, and the shooting of student protesters on two subsequent occasions, will influence the outcome of the East Timor trials.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.), who sponsored the 1999 bill that cut military ties with Indonesia, is in no mood to allow the war on terror to sideline human-rights concerns. "Senior officers in the Indonesian military were responsible for orchestrating the slaughter and destruction in East Timor," he says. "It is imperative they be brought to justice."

Government & politics

Protest causes Megawati to cancel her arrival at party meeting

Jakarta Post - March 6, 2002

Jakarta -- Around 100 PDI Perjuangan members from Surabaya, East Java, demonstrated at the party's headquarters on Jl. Pecenongan in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, prompting the cancellation of party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri's arrival.

Presidential guards installed a metal door in front of the party headquarters, but President Megawati had already canceled her plan to join the party's weekly meeting, Antara reported.

The protesters came in five Metromini buses, waving banners and posters, demanding PDI Perjuangan secretary general Sutjipto be held responsible for his actions, which includes the dismissal of the party's Surabaya chairman, M. Basuki.

Previously, another PDI Perjuangan leader, Haryanto Taslam, had reported to the police Sutjipto's alleged unlawful dismissal of M. Basuki. Sutjipto was deemed to have practiced "oppressive measures" within the party.

The protesters, who previously wanted to speak directly with Megawati, eventually held discussions with one of PDI Perjuangan's chairmen, Roy B.B. Janis. Roy urged the group to leave the matter to the due process of law.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

State budget graft more than $280 million in 2001

Jakarta Post - March 8, 2002

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta -- The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found last year 1,076 cases of irregularities in the state budget, which potentially caused a total of Rp 2.8 trillion (around US$280 million) in losses to the country.

The figures were revealed by the agency's chairman Satrio B. Judono to the legislators during a House of Representatives plenary session. The findings come only a day after the State Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) reported the discovery of some Rp 2.5 trillion in misused state funds in state institutions during the same year. This serves as more evidence that the country's half-hearted efforts to stamp out graft and corruption have again proven fruitless.

Since, the start of the reform era in 1998 -- which was marked by the downfall of the corrupt regime of former president Soeharto -- pledges to eradicate corruption in the country had been made by each successive administration. As time goes by however, it has become clear that little real action has been taken.

Thursday's report stated, of the total findings in 2001, the largest amount of state funds, totaling more than Rp 1 trillion, had been misused by state-owned enterprises. The amount was by far lower than that of the previous year's, when state-owned enterprises were reported to have abused a staggering Rp 87 trillion of state funds.

"That huge figure in 2000 was mostly comprised of state banks' loans being transferred to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) that have turned bad," Judono explained. Throughout 2001, most of the irregularities were in the category of "deviations from law", and totaled 450 cases, followed by "deviations from a set of objects" which totaled 321 cases. Ranking third was "cases of failure to comply with austerity and efficiency", which totaled 305. The agency, in its report, did not provide examples of the category terms.

BPK said in the 2001 state budget that irregularities on the revenue side totaled 44 cases amounting to Rp 172 billion in potential losses. On the expenditure front, 462 cases of financial abuses were found, causing Rp 140 billion in losses. Regional administration budgets (APBD) also recorded 302 cases of abuse, from which the country lost Rp 177 billion.

In the meeting, Judono also said that the report had yet to represent the actual amount of losses the country might have suffered, as only a portion of the government institutions gave their full support to the process. "It seems that efforts to minimize state losses have gotten only a little attention from related parties, even though the agency had issued direct and indirect directives," he said.

Supporters of accused party chief gather outside parliament

Agence France Presse - March 7, 2002 (abridged)

Jakarta -- Hundreds of supporters of Indonesia's former ruling party Golkar staged a show of strength outside parliament Thursday as legislators debated whether to call a special inquiry into corruption charges against Golkar leader Akbar Tanjung.

About 300 Golkar supporters, including members of an affiliated youth group in military-style uniforms, gathered outside parliament's main gate which was protected by barbed-wire barricades.

Another 300 or so supporters massed outside the attorney- general's office where Tanjung, who is also parliament speaker, was being questioned over the graft scandal.

Small groups of anti-Golkar demonstrators also took to the streets but no clashes were reported as hundreds of police imposed tight security on the area.

Two water cannon were parked inside the parliament compound and another inside the attorney-general's compound. Police sprinkled chemical powder, said to have a similar effect to tear gas, in some areas around the parliament gate to keep protesters back.

"Long live Golkar" and "Akbar is innocent" chanted the protesters, whose motivation was unclear. Two of them told AFP they were each promised 50,000 rupiah (five dollars) and a free lunch to attend. An unidentified person was seen handing money to some protesters.

Demonstrators outside parliament left following a heavy rain shower but stayed outside the attorney-general's office.

Top Indonesian politician detained over graft allegations

Agence France Presse - March 8, 2002

Indonesian prosecutors said they would detain Indonesia's parliament speaker Akbar Tanjung after questioning him for seven hours at the attorney-general's office about graft allegations.

But plans to incarcerate the top politician hit a snag when he refused to sign documents relating to his own arrest, as required by Indonesian law.

Deputy attorney-general Suparman told reporters that Tanjung's refusal "to sign the dossiers of arrest is our current obstacle and that's what we are discussing right now. "For him to be detained anywhere he has to sign the dossiers of arrest. We have several legal options to consider but I don't want to disclose that," Suparman said. "God willing, he will be detained here at the cell of the attorney-general's office."

Prosecutors had earlier said Tanjung would be transferred to Salemba prison. At 9:30 pm Tanjung was still in a room at the attorney-general's office. There was no further information on whether or when he would be moved to a cell.

Tanjung, who has not been formally charged, also heads the former ruling Golkar party. He is the most senior political figure for years to be arrested over graft allegations. President Megawati Sukarnoputri promised to eradicate endemic corruption, collusion and nepotism when she came to power last July.

The issuing of the arrest warrant drew praise from Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and threats from furious Golkar legislators. "The detention is part of the broader effort to enforce the law in accordance with the national assembly's resolution to eradicate corruption," PDIP deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung told AFP.

Golkar MPs declared they would pull their three members out of Megawati's cooalition cabinet. "We shall withdraw our ministers from the cabinet and withdraw our political support for Megawati Sukarnoputri," MP Idrus Marham was quoted as saying by the state Antara news agency.

Golkar, which ruled unchallenged for some three decades under former president Suharto, is now the second largest party in the 500-member parliament with 120 seats. PDIP has 153.

After his questioning ended in later afternoon, a pale and grim- looking Tanjung cancelled a press conference and tried to drive away with his bodyguards. But the compound gate was blocked by a paramilitary police truck and Tanjung returned to the attorney- general's office. His lawyer Ruhut Sitompul denied Tanjung had been trying to escape and said an arrest warrant had not been issued at that time.

The scandal centres around 40 billion rupiah (four million dollars) in state funds which were ostensibly allocated to feed poor people during the presidency of B.J. Habibie in 1999.

Tanjung, in his then capacity as state secretary, was in charge of the program. The attorney general's office says there is no evidence any food was ever delivered and there are suspicions that the funds were used to bankroll Golkar's campaign in the 1999 general election.

Many legislators have yet to submit wealth report

Jakarta Post - March 7, 2002

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- After several delays, the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) announced on Wednesday the names of legislators who had not submitted a list of their assets.

Topping the list were legislators from President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), with almost half of the total 168 defiant lawmakers coming from the ruling party. PDI Perjuangan has 153 members in the House of Representatives (DPR).

PDI Perjuangan legislators who did not submit their wealth reports included veteran politician Abdul Madjid, party deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung, Panda Nababan and Firman Jaya Daeli of House Commission II, Benny Pasaribu of House Commission VIII and party deputy treasurer Agnita Singedekane Irsal.

Legislators Zulfan Lindan, Julius Usman and Didi Supriyanto -- three PDI Perjuangan legislators who were at the forefront in criticizing former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid for his alleged corruption -- were also on the KPKPN list of noncompliant legislators. Guruh Irianto Soekarno Putra, a brother of President Megawati, also did not submit his wealth inventory.

Golkar Party legislators came second, with 36 of its 120 legislators failing to declare their wealth to KPKPN by Wednesday. They included businessman Enggartiasto Lukito, Gumiwang Kartasasmita, who is the son of former minister of energy and mineral resources Ginanjar Kartasasmita, chairman of House Commission I Ibrahim Ambong and Ferry Mursydan Baldan.

Former president Soeharto's half-brother Probo Sutedjo and Gus Dur's nephew Syaifullah Yusuf as well as Ali Masykur Musa of the National Awakening Party (PKB) were among the defiant legislators.

Anticorruption, collusion, and nepotism champion Alvin Lie of the Reform Faction, controversial legislators Abdul Qadir Djaelani and Hartono Mardjono, and Crescent Star Party (PBB) chairman MS Kaban also failed to beat the deadline on Wednesday.

KPKPN deputy chairman for the legislators' wealth Abdullah Hehamahua emphasized on Wednesday that the legislators must declare their assets to KPKPN within two weeks or "face stern sanctions". "We set a two-week deadline starting today (Wednesday) for these legislators to hand over their asset report. Should they miss the deadline, we will impose stern sanctions against them," Hehamahua said from his office in Central Jakarta.

He did not specifically disclose what kind of sanctions the commission would impose on noncooperative legislators, saying: "Just wait and see. I can't reveal that to you right now." Hehamahua also said on Wednesday that some 110 members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) had failed to declare their wealth and their names were expected to be announced to the public on Friday.

KPKPN was set up by Gus Dur in 1999 in a bid to curb rampant corruption, collusion and nepotism in governmental institutions. Hehamahua earlier said that KPKPN had no power to force defiant legislators to declare their assets as Law No. 28/1999 on clean governance did not provide KPKPN with the authority to impose stern sanctions on legislators who refused to report their assets.

Nevertheless, he once revealed that KPKPN could file a complaint with police over matters that "could be categorized as crimes". KPKPN also said earlier that it believed that five of the 126 legislators from the House and MPR, whose wealth declarations had been checked by the commission, were involved in corruption, collusion and nepotism practices.

Threats rife ahead of DPR probe talks

Jakarta Post - March 7, 2002

Kurniawan Hari and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- The Golkar Party is employing a strategy of intimidation and threats to block a plan on Thursday to establish an inquiry into a Rp 40 billion (US$4 million) corruption scandal, popularly known as Bulogate II, that implicates its chairman Akbar Tandjung.

Golkar, the second largest faction in the House of Representatives, threatened on Wednesday to withdraw its support from President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Cabinet, whose membership consists of representatives of various parties.

The party also threatened to deploy about 2,000 of its supporters to the House of Representatives complex, where a plenary session with the main agenda of working out the details of the plan, and the Attorney General's Office, where another interrogation of Akbar as one of the suspects in the scandal, are due to take place.

Golkar member Fachri Andi Laluasa said the protesters would come from Lampung in the southern tip of Sumatra, Banten in western Java, Central Java, North Sumatra and Greater Jakarta.

"We have been supporting the current government. If PDI Perjuangan put us in difficulties, we have to take action. We will withdraw our support from the Gotong Royong Cabinet," Anthony Z. Abidin, another Golkar member, said referring to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, which is led by Megawati.

Akbar, who will be the main target of the inquiry committee if it is established, is accused of misusing Rp 40 billion in non- budgetary funds from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), which were allegedly used to fund Golkar electioneering activities when he was minister/state secretary under former president B.J. Habibie in 1999.

The Rp 40 billion was part of a Rp 54.6 billion fund that was disbursed by Bulog in several installments for humanitarian programs during the peak of the country's economic crisis. Besides Akbar, former Bulog chief Rahardi Ramelan, his deputy Achmad Ruskandar, and Raudhatul Jannah foundation chairman Dadang Sukandar, who was in charge of distributing the food packages that were supposedly paid for out of the funds, have all been declared suspects in the scandal.

Golkar's co-chairman Fahmi Idris confirmed the threat, saying that his party would "review and redefine its short and long-term political stances". Fahmi added that the redefinition of its political stances would be quickly followed up by action.

The proposal to launch an inquiry committee was submitted last October by a group of 50 legislators organized by the National Awakening Party (PKB). The move by PKB, which was founded by former president Abdurrahman Wahid, was considered by many as an act of revenge against Golkar, which played an important role in unseating Abdurrahman in July 2000.

A similar committee was set up in 2000 to question Abdurrahman about the fraudulent withdrawal of Rp 35 billion from Bulog and also a $2 million donation from the Sultan of Brunei, which the former president claimed was a personal gift.

The co-chairperson of the PKB faction, Tari Siwi Utami, revealed that her faction had gained more support in the plan to form a special committee of inquiry into the scandal. "We keep on lobbying other factions and legislators individually because we are aware of the quick changes in politics," Tari told reporters here on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, PDI Perjuangan top executives played down Golkar's plan to use mass mobilization, but warned their own supporters not to follow suit. "It [the use of mob] reflects how panic Golkar is ahead of the plenary House meeting," PDI Perjuangan deputy chairman Roy BB Janis said on the sidelines of a party meeting at Menara Peninsula Hotel on Wednesday night. He said the meeting was aimed at putting the final touch to the draft of the PDI Perjuangan faction's stance to be presented during Thursday's session.

Four party functionaries Dwi Riya Latifa, Panda Nababan, Amin Aryoso and Teras Narang brought the draft to party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri for approval. Latifa, one of 50 House legislators who proposed the establishment of the committee of inquiry, would read PDI Perjuangan faction's response.

Legislators use government funds on haj, minister forgives

Jakarta Post - March 5, 2002

Jakarta -- The government has decided to look the other way and write-off the expenditure incurred on 46 legislators who allegedly used their status to gain access to state facilities during personal haj pilgrimages in Saudi Arabia last month.

According to reports, none of the 46 were on an official haj pilgrimage. In fact, some were not even supposed to be in Saudi Arabia as they were on an official trip to another part of the world.

Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Husin Al Munawar was content to merely shrug and smile when pressed by reporters about the incident, pledging only that it would not happen again next year. "They were already there," Said Agil replied when asked why he allowed them to use official facilities. However he refused to reveal the total amount spent on accommodating them.

The scandal came to fore on Monday when members of the House of Representative's Commission VI on Tourism, Culture and Education during a hearing with Said Agil asked why the minister extended facilities to the 46 legislators who, apparently out of the blue, arrived in Saudi Arabia and demanded to be accorded privileges for the haj pilgrimage.

Thirty-three members of Commission IV on Infrastructure and Transportation Affairs had arrived in Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia.

According to reports, upon their arrival they demanded to be included in the state's haj entourage even though they had not been previously listed for inclusion.

They were joined by another group of 13 legislators, led by Deputy House Speaker A.M. Fatwa, who were actually on an official visit to Cuba, Japan and the United States. It is unclear how they made such a convenient detour and landed in the Middle East.

The 46 legislators also took part in the haj without the appropriate travel documents and visas. They also traveled using service passports instead of the mandatory haj passports.

House members get annual privileges of being included in the official haj entourage with each of the nine commissions being allotted a limited number of places.

Said Agil commended on Monday the members of Commission VI who complied with the allocated five places they were given. While Said Agil could only sigh, the members of Commission VI were less forgiving.

Ronggo Sunarso of the Indonesian Military/Police faction urged the minister to take strong measures to avoid creating an undesirable precedent.

Abduh Paddare of the United Development Party faction regretted not only the abuse of status for such a holy event but also the misuse of the public's money.

Money talks in Kalijodo complex

Jakarta Post - March 4, 2002

Jakarta -- Money talks. Even though prostitution and gambling is officially illegal, the Kalijodo red light area in Pejagalan subdistrict, North Jakarta, which later also developed into a gambling den, had been going strong for five decades.

At least 600 brothels and gambling dens had been established in the complex before it was officially "closed down" two weeks ago. Each brothel could earn at least Rp 15 million (US$1,300) in just one night, while the gambling dens could make Rp 50 million per night.

Head of Pejagalan subdistrict, W. Budiyono, said in one night the money generated could reach at least Rp 2 billion. No wonder various institutions were believed to be backing up the illegal activities, including the police, the military and the two mayoralties of North and West Jakarta.

Kalijodo has for long been under the control of three notorious ethnic groups of hoodlums -- the ethnic Mandar gangsters from South Sulawesi, led by H. Usman; the ethnic Banten gangsters, led by Agus; and the ethnic Makassar gangsters from South Sulawesi, led by Aziz.

The Mandars operate in the northern part of Kalijodo, the Bantens in the south, and the Makassars in between the Mandar and the Banten dens.

Up to recently, the Mandars ran at least 300 brothels and gambling dens, the Makassars 180, while the rest belonged to the Bantens.

Every gang has a nick name, with the Mandars usually being referred to as the Macan or Mandar Cantik ("beautiful Mandar"), the Makassars as the Jenta or Makassar Jeneponto (meaning ethnic Makassars from Jeneponto regency in South Sulawesi) and the Bantens as the Anak Kulon (meaning kids from Kulon, the southern part of Banten province).

With the exception of the Makassar gang, the other gangs are cultivated by different authorities. The back-up was even admitted by Budiyono, who said this made it difficult for the city administration to really shut down Kalijodo. The Mandars are believed to be backed up by the North Jakarta police district and officials from the mayoralty.

Narno, not his real name, a Kalijodo native whose house is located right in front of the Mandar gang's headquarters, believed a high ranking one-star police officer stationed at National Police Headquarters, supported the Mandars. "The Mandar gang is well informed when it comes to raids in Kalijodo. They close their operations when the police were about to come. The Makassars, however, are always in trouble when raids come as they don't have any back-up from the authorities," said Narno, a close friend of several of the top dogs among the Mandars.

The Banten gang, whose operations are inside West Jakarta jurisdiction, are believed to be backed up by the West Jakarta District police, especially by the Tambora subprecinct, and some low-ranking officers from Kopassus (the Army's Special Forces). "The Banten boys are never arrested by the local police," said Acong, a member of the Mandar gang.

Police and military support was admitted by Pepenk, not his real name, one of the Banten gang leaders. "When three of our gambling dens were burnt by the Mandars, we were about to hit back at them," he said, referring to the recent brawl between the two ethnic groups, which led to the city administration's order to close the place.

"However, the Tambora police prevented us from doing so, saying it would cause a wide-scale war, not just between the gangsters but also between police forces from different districts. A high- ranking officer later promised that after the situation had calmed down, he would help our business."

Pepenk even added that the Tambora district chief, Mashuri, had said the Banten gang could rebuild the same dens on the same soil after their eviction by the city administration last week. Mashuri was not available for comment.

Seno, a pimp operating in Kalijodo, also admitted that the police from the Tambora and Penjaringan subprecincts often came to his brothel asking for money. "Usually I give them between Rp 50,000 and Rp 100,000. They also sometimes ask for free drinks, cigarettes or women," revealed Seno, who has been operating in the complex for 12 years.

The chief of the Penjaringan subprecinct, Adj.Com. Khrisna Murti, denied the accusation saying it was too risky for him or his men to back up the Kalijodo hoodlums. "I've never known any of my men to be involved in backing up these businesses. I'm proud that during my 10-month stint here, Kalijodo has been entirely closed, which means I'm not in their pockets. They, the Mandars, came to my office several times, but I refused to meet them," said Khrisna.

Regional/communal conflicts

Attack mars Muslim-Christian peace rally in Indonesia

Agence France Presse - March 2, 2002

Jakarta -- Four people were injured on Saturday in clashes that marred a joint Muslim-Christian peace rally in Indonesia's Ambon city, the scene of three-year-old sectarian violence.

A group of unidentified people armed with machetes attacked Muslim and Christian residents parading in the city's Wai Hong district to celebrate a peace accord signed last month, the official Antara news agency said.

Police and troops fired warning shots to halt the violence, Antara said. Two people were taken to hospital with serious injuries while another two suffered slight cuts. The attack forced rally participants to disperse. At least eight motorcycles and a number of pedicabs were set on fire by the attackers.

On Wednesday Muslims and Christians mingled freely for the first time in years in Ambon. Witnesses said people from the two faiths hugged each other or shook hands. In the past three years, the city has been divided into closed Christian and Muslim districts.

Ambon is part of the Maluku "spice island" chain, where Christian and Muslim leaders on February 12 signed an agreement to end the sectarian bloodshed. The violence began in Ambon in January 1999 with a minor neighbourhood quarrel and quickly spread to other islands in the Malukus, leaving some 5,000 people dead and half a million homeless.

The two sides vowed to halt all conflict and agreed to disarm. Police have set a deadline of Friday for people including soldiers or police to surrender illegal weapons.

More than 80 percent of Indonesia's 214 million people are Muslims but in some eastern regions, including the Malukus, Christians make up about half the population.

Local & community issues

Rumors of child sacrifice scare parents in East Java

Agence France Presse - March 3, 2002

Jakarta -- Rumours that the construction of a bridge linking Indonesia's densely-populated East Java province with Madura island would need the sacrifice of a child have caused fear and panic among parents there, a report said Sunday.

The panic led to the lynching of a man February 22 in the town of Sidoarjo south of Surabaya who was suspected of being on the lookout for children he could snatch for the sacrifice, the Kompas newspaper said. The man turned out to be mentally disturbed and homeless.

A similar case took place in another place in the same town three days later but police intervened in time to save the victim.

Fears of prowling children kidnappers have already forced a group of mothers to picket the city police headquarters in Surabaya, the capital of East Java, demanding that police be more active in looking for and arresting the potential kidnappers.

Kompas cited among the rumors circulating in Surabaya and other coastal towns on the northern part of East Java, that a man was caught with the heads of four children in his bag, of a businessmen had several children gagged and bound in the trunk of his car and of an attractive woman luring children away. None of the rumors have been substantiated.

Traditions in Java demands that sacrifice of animals be made at the beginning of construction work of any large structure to assure that it remains strong and is protected from mishap and destruction. The sacrifice of children is believed to be more potent in providing protection for building structures.

Human rights/law

Indonesia going about rights trial the wrong way

Asia Times - March 8, 2002

Richel Langit, Jakarta -- Barring the unexpected, Indonesia's long-awaited human-rights trials will kick off next Thursday, with military and police personnel as well as civilian authorities responsible for the bloody violence in East Timor in 1999 taking the defendant's chair.

While the tribunal may herald a new beginning in the country's respect for human rights, the trials are very unlikely to bring to justice those responsible for the killings of tens, or even hundreds, of innocent East Timorese before, during and after the United Nations-organized referendum in 1999, and the destruction of almost 80 percent of the former Portuguese colony's infrastructure.

A corrupt judicial system and ill-equipped state prosecutors and judges, as well as a severe lack of understanding of human rights themselves among Indonesians, raise severe doubts that the trials will see justice served.

The Attorney General's Office has named 18 suspects in the East Timor mayhem, which also drove almost 200,000 East Timorese into West Timor, of whom at least 120,000 are still living in refugee camps. Seven of the suspects have been charged with committing gross human-rights violations, including genocide, which carries the death sentence. The Central Jakarta Human Rights Court has set Thursday, March 14, as the first day of hearings.

But, even before the trials start, it looks increasingly clearer now that they are merely court exercises designed to clear military and police personnel as well as civilian authorities of their human-rights abuses in East Timor after Indonesia's former 27th province voted to break away from the country.

After already numerous delays, the administration of President Megawati Sukarnoputri is seeking yet another indefinite delay for the first hearing, pending the issuance of two regulations -- one on witnesses' protection and another on rehabilitation and compensation. The drafts of the two regulations have been submitted to the office of the president, but until now she has not signed them and there are no indications exactly when she will.

The stakes are very high for Indonesia. The United Nations has vowed to bring the rights violators before an international court if it finds the court proceedings here to be insufficient. If the UN Security Council determines that these ad hoc trials do not bring justice to rights victims, international interference could take place through the creation of an International Human Rights Tribunal on East Timor.

Law No 26/1999 on the Human Rights Court, which serves as the legal basis for the whole rights trial proceeding, does not specifically cover the many issues needed to guarantee a fair trial. The law excludes the possibility of using any other legal process than the country's Criminal Code, which, unfortunately, has some fundamental weaknesses when dealing with gross human- rights violations -- that is, it lacks international standards on admissible evidence, testimonies and visum et repertum (seen and discovered), among others.

It also fails to specify extradition arrangements needed to bring witnesses from East Timor, an important point since the trials for criminal cases in Indonesia require a direct witness. The role of the Foreign Affairs Ministry will therefore be crucial, but it has not been involved in the establishment of this tribunal. The absence of a regulation protecting witnesses is likely to prevent human-rights victims or military personnel to come forward and testify against the suspects who are mostly security personnel including three army generals, one police general and several middle-ranking military officers.

Given all these legal loopholes, the quality of the upcoming trials will depend very much on the judges and prosecutors. Unfortunately, however, both the judges and prosecutors were chosen quietly by the Supreme Court and Attorney General's Office respectively, depriving the people at large the opportunity to scrutinize their past track records and affiliations.

The fact is that none of the 17 ad hoc judges has ever been known to have any involvement in human-rights issues. As all of them are university lecturers, neither are they known for their experience in litigation or due legal processes. The chance is they will view human-rights issues purely as an academic exercise. The ad hoc judges are also still new and still have to learn about formalities of court proceedings, but at the same time they are confronted with the people's demands for justice. As the ad hoc judges will be accompanied by about 12 career judges, much of the career judges' time is likely to be spent on lecturing the ad hoc judges on formalities in court trial.

To make matters worse, one of the ad hoc judges once worked as a legal consultant for military and police personnel accused of gross human-rights violations in East Timor and another one is a retired army lieutenant-colonel. And even among the 12 career judges, most of them have experience dealing with human-rights cases, while some have questionable past track records. Furthermore, on the prosecution side, two of the 24 ad hoc state prosecutors appointed by the Attorney General's Office are active military officers.

Against such a backdrop, Indonesia seems to be depending on a child who is still learning to walk when it comes to these trials. Both the ad hoc judges and state prosecutors are inexperienced in regard to a rights tribunal. The judges and prosecutors will have all the excuses they need since a human- rights court is still new in Indonesia. Again, the fact is that the very idea of human rights is still new to most Indonesians.

Regardless of the outcome of the trials, the tribunal will at least put an end to the Indonesian military's (TNI) impunity, thanks to strong pressure from the international community to bring to justice those responsible for the genocide in the former Portuguese colony, which will earn for itself the recognition as the first country to declare independence in the 21st century.

Tommy charged with murder of judge

Straits times - March 8, 2002

Jakarta -- The youngest son of former Indonesian president Suharto was formally charged yesterday with ordering the murder of a judge, a crime punishable by death.

State prosecutors filed the charges against Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra in the Central Jakarta District Court. The case against Tommy, who is being held in a Jakarta prison, was expected to open within the next seven to 10 days, said a court clerk.

The former millionaire playboy was accused of involvement in the killing of a Supreme Court judge who sentenced him in September 2000 to 18 months in jail over a multi-million-dollar real estate scam, prosecutor Andi Rachman Asbar said. He was also charged with illegal possession of weapons and fleeing from justice.

Tommy went into hiding soon after the court decision. He was recaptured last November after a year-long manhunt. During his disappearance, four men on motorcycles shot and killed Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, the presiding judge in Tommy's graft trial.

Indonesia general's new role dismays rights activists

South China Morning Post - March 7, 2002

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- The newly installed public face of the Indonesian armed forces, Major-General Sjafrie Sjamsuddin, took office this week amid continuing debate about his appointment.

It has been assailed by rights activists because, as an intelligence officer for the special forces, Kopassus, General Sjafrie was active in East Timor before its independence ballot in August 1999.

"He spent many tours of duty in East Timor, culminating in a semi-official reappearance in mid-1999 when he supported the militias before and after the ballot, during widespread atrocities," states the London-based human rights group Tapol.

The general's defenders insist he has never been proven guilty of any offence and that evidence of his alleged misdeeds in helping to spark the violence which followed the 1999 ballot has yet to be substantiated. "Sjafrie is highly intelligent and a smooth operator. What you can say about him is that he has always been absolutely professional," said a source close to the military's leadership.

General Sjafrie's installation in an unusually closed ceremony on Monday further upset a critical local press. He used the occasion to announce a new hierarchical structure of public relations which will require the media to meet middle-ranking officers first, and only turn to General Sjafrie or his deputy on major policy issues. This contrasts to the previous system whereby journalists could call the forces' spokesman directly.

General Sjafrie, formerly the Jakarta military commander, has also been implicated in the deaths of four Trisakti University students during demonstrations held against former president Suharto in May 1998, when troops opened fire. No one has faced trial yet over the incident, but his name is on a list of generals to be summoned by a government-decreed National Commission of Inquiry to testify about the students' killing. Several of those already subpoenaed by the inquiry, such as former armed forces chief General Wiranto, have refused to appear, citing legal loopholes.

With the title of best graduate from the Armed Forces Academy in 1974, General Sjafrie served in another separatist hot spot, Aceh, and was one of Suharto's adjutants.

Some observers say his appointment will at least keep him out of mischief. But it is seen by many in the diplomatic and human rights communities as a snub to those who believe the armed forces must own up to their many wrongdoings. "His appointment ... is a sign of the renewed confidence of the armed forces, who feel that they can now afford to ignore public opinion and the need for basic reforms of the armed forces," said Tapol.

Human rights record remains poor: State Department

Agence France Presse - March 5, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia made progress in some areas last year in its transition to democracy but the government's human rights record remains poor, the US State Department says.

"Security forces were responsible for numerous instances of, at times indiscriminate, shooting of civilians, torture, rape, beatings and other abuse, and arbitrary detention in Aceh, West Timor, Papua ... and elsewhere in the country." the department says in its worldwide report for 2001, released Monday

Soldiers often responded with indiscriminate violence after attacks on colleagues and conducted "sweeps" that led to killing of civilians and property destruction, the report says. Police killed 740 people between June 200 and June 2001, according to Indonesia's Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

Police and troops are battling separatist revolts in Aceh on Sumatra island and in Papua on New Guinea island. The report accuses police, troops and the rebel Free Aceh Movement of "numerous extra-judicial killings" in Aceh. It says the separatists killed dozens of civil society leaders, academics, politicians and other residents in Aceh, as well as civil servants, police and soldiers.

In Papua, the State Department says, security forces "assaulted, tortured, and killed persons during search operations for members of militant groups." Throughout the country, there were reports of the disappearance of civilians with Kontras reporting 55 such cases between January 1 and September.

But the State Department says cross-border raids into East Timor by pro-Jakarta militias resident in West Timor diminished during 2001 as the Indonesian military withdrew its backing. The government's failure to pursue accountability for human rights violations "reinforces the impression that there would be continued impunity for security force abuses."

The report also faults the legal system. "Despite initial steps toward reform, the judiciary remains subordinate to the executive, is corrupt and does not always ensure due process."

Local human rights organisations were targets of the security forces, with killings, abuse and detentions reported. Violence and discrimination against women are widespread problems, the report adds, along with child abuse.

"Discrimination against persons with disabilities, indigenous persons and religious and ethnic minorities also are widespread problems." The government was ineffective "in deterring social, inter-ethnic and inter-religious violence that accounted for the majority of deaths by violence during the year," the report says.

News & issues

Megawati launches surprise check on palace housekeeping

Agence France Presse - March 7, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri shocked employees at the palace complex in central Jakarta with a snap inspection for cleanliness, a report said Thursday.

Some officials at the Merdeka (Freedom) Palace and the adjoining Negara (state) Palace got the shock of their lives when she arrived unexpectedly to check the condition of every room, the Jakarta Post quoted palace staff as saying.

Megawati launched a similar inspection last summer, when she took office, and expressed dissatisfaction then with the state of some of the rooms. She does not live in the palace but uses some rooms for official functions.

Authorities fail to take action against ad law violators

Jakarta Post - March 4, 2002

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- Slimming product advertisements that have been bombarding people, especially women, have turned out to provide misleading information. Many of these products do not include sufficient information to warn consumers properly of the possible side effects of substances they contain.

The survey by the Indonesian Consumers Empowerment Foundation -- in which respondents included 500 consumers, 20 drug stores and 20 pharmacies -- found 20 products that misled consumers and the foundation also received around 50 complaints related to the products in January alone. No action has yet been taken by the authorities.

The Association of Indonesian Advertising Agencies (PPPI), overseeing some 230 agencies operating in the country, could only point to the weak law enforcement agencies responding to the above issues. "Frankly speaking, there have been many violations against the code of ethics and professional law in the advertising business. So far, the violators have remained free from either punishment or sanctions," PPPI chairman R.T.S. Masli told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. "The regulations and code of ethics are clear and sufficient. They are supposed to be able to protect consumers."

Masli said the law enforcers, both the Food and Drug Control Agency (BPOM) and the police, had shown a serious lack of action in upholding the existing law and code of conduct. Law No. 8/1999 on consumer protection states, in Article 8, paragraph 1.f., that a producer is banned from producing or selling objects or services that are not in accordance with the promise mentioned on the label, information, advertisements or promotions.

Even though there have been fatalities, believed to have occurred after suffering illnesses caused by slimming products, many people have not reported it to the police, even though the law stipulates a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment or compensation payments of up to Rp 2 billion (US$196,080) for the producers.

The self-regulatory system, which leaves monitoring to each ad agency, may not be effective in reducing consumers' psychological attachment to certain products but the media, both electronic and printed, are also responsible for circulating the commercials.

Spokesperson of private TV 7 television channel Uni Zulfiani Lubis admitted it would be difficult to deal with commercials -- which later fell short of the promise in their ads -- if they had passed BPOM's monitoring. "Should BPOM order us to recall already-aired commercials, we would do it," she said.

Questions remain on how BPOM could issue controversial approvals for products that have provided misleading information to the public. But BPOM head Sampurno could not be reached for comment.

As the arguments for and against slimming products continue, their sales are still going well in markets throughout the city. Hariadi, a drug store owner at Jatinegara market in East Jakarta, said the slimming products were among the top sellers in his store.

"We sell an average of seven packets of slimming product every day," he said. So far, none of his customers has complained to him about the side effects of the slimming products he has sold.

Hariadi, himself a consumer of a slimming product, said he had been using the product regularly without any noticeable ailment. "I assume, with so many consumers, there are bound to be a few complaints."

A vendor of traditional herbal medicines at Pramuka market in Central Jakarta, known as a black market for donated medicines from Japan and the Philippines, revealed he could sell more than 20 dozen slimming herbs every day. "I no longer have any stocks as they are sold out. Perhaps the new stock will arrive on Monday," the vendor, Riyan, said.

Glass of wine to go with the movie?

Straits Times - March 4, 2002

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Gourmet snacks and wine, not stiff seats and long queues, await well-heeled patrons at Indonesia's first luxury cinema, which opened at a glitzy mall two weeks ago.

The Premiere, which is located in the city's Plaza Senayan mall, opened for business on Valentine's Day, and has been drawing in steady crowds ever since.

Several more such cinemas selling comfort and luxury are set to open later this month. The country's major Cineplex chain, The 21 Cineplex, converted one of its smaller theatres at the Plaza Senayan into The Premiere. The theatre's 141 seats were cut down to 38, making it much more spacious.

For 75,000 rupiah (S$14), more than twice the ticket price at the Plaza Senayan's other theatres, moviegoers get to stretch out at The Premiere's reclining Lazy Boy seats. A table is paired with every two seats for convenience. Waiters and waitresses serve the patrons with food and beverages which can be ordered from a private lounge designated for the theatre's audience.

Said Tommy, a young man in his 20s who went with his girlfriend to see Arnold Schwarzenegger's new film, Collateral Damage: "The privacy and comfort we get is worth the price we paid."

Those wanting to celebrate birthdays or other important occasions or company executives wanting to entertain clients can book the whole theatre for themselves for the length of a movie. And, unlike other cinemas, the audience can book tickets a day in advance.

The company's marketing and promotion manager, Ms Ambiary, told The Straits Times: "We see a market because many people go to the cinema not just to see a movie but as part of their social lives. For these people, we provide a good ambience," she said.

The Premiere will soon be joined by other theatres offering a deluxe movie experience. In the queue is Multiplex Media, a consortium of several businessmen. It will start operating the Multiplex Grande Pasaraya later this month at the Pasaraya department store in South Jakarta's Blok M shopping complex. The consortium involves television mini-series producer Raam Punjabi, Pasaraya owner Abdul Latief and restaurateur Adiguna Sutowo.

Multiplex Grande will offer more choices for the moviegoers in the form of six theatres divided into three categories -- the gold, diamond and VVIP classes. These will have seating capacities of 253, 53 and 24 respectively, which is about half the average size of the theatres here. Tickets will range between 75,000 and 100,000 rupiah, a source said.

Company spokesman Dhamoo Punjabi refused to elaborate on the new theatres but stressed that they would offer "service with a smile". "They will be part of an integrated entertainment centre coming up in the buildings of Pasaraya," he said.

The centre will include a bowling alley, a health club and a music lounge. Mr Punjabi added: "We are optimistic that the new theatres would be profitable."

Environment

Plantation fires damage more than 11,500 hectares in Riau

Jakarta Post - March 8, 2002

Jakarta -- Fire has ravaged 11,569 hectares of plantations and commercial forests in Riau province over the past month, a local environment expert said in the provincial capital of Pekanbaru on Thursday.

"The damaged plantations and forests are in the districts of Siak, Rokan Hilir, Bengkalis, and Dumai," said Mangandar S.P. of the provincial office of the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal), as quoted by Antara news agency.

As of early this month, at least 51 hot spots were still found in Bengkalis and the islands of Riau, he said, adding that the hot spots were detected in the plantation areas of PT Budidaksa Dwi Kesuma, PT Makmur Platindo Nusantara and PT Panuasurya Agrosejahtera, and in the forest concession areas of PT Arara Abadi and PT Rimba Rokan Lestari.

"All these companies are in Bengkalis," he said, noting that an investigation team would soon be sent to observe the affected areas.

Asked whether the protected forest of Bukit Batu had caught fire, he said that it was difficult to verify but one of the nearby plantations was reportedly ablaze.

A report from the Bengkalis-based environmental agency said that about 150 hectares of Bukit Batu forest had already been affected by fire.

Health & education

Crime creeps into school playgrounds

Jakarta Post - March 8, 2002

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- Residents of Jakarta have been feeling increasingly insecure these days, with the specter of crime seemingly hanging over the entire city. This insecurity has also crept into the city's schools, where students are victimized daily by their classmates.

"It happens. Some friends of mine know about extorting other students to supplement their allowances," said Wawan Setiawan, who has been a victim himself.

Wawan, a student at SMU 26 high school in Tebet, South Jakarta, said some students carried sharp weapons in their school bags. "They say that it is for self-defense in case there is a brawl with students from other schools," he said.

Deadly brawls between groups of students have become almost commonplace in Jakarta. Some students even think of these brawls as a tradition to be handed down to incoming students.

The most recent incident took place in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, on January 21. Fahromy Rizali, 18, a student at SMU Respati high school, died of severe injuries suffered in a bloody clash between students from his school, located on Jl. Inpres in Kramat Jati, and students from SMU Sudirman, located on Jl. Raya Bogor in Cijantung, East Jakarta.

Also alarming for both teachers and parents are recent reports of serious crimes committed by students. Last month, different groups of armed students committed two robberies on buses in the capital.

Four students from a technical high school in Cengkareng, Tangerang, were arrested by the Kalideres Police after they robbed passengers on a Bulan Jaya bus plying the Kalideres- Balaraja route. Police confiscated knifes and machetes from the students.

On the same day, another group of students robbed passengers on a PPD bus along Jl. DI Panjaitan in Rawamangun, East Jakarta. The students managed to escape. "I'm really concerned by these reports. Teachers are often blamed for such appalling incidents," said Waluyo Hadi, the assistant principal of vocational school SMK 16 in Manggarai, South Jakarta.

Waluyo blamed the situation on the country's educational system, which emphasizes teaching rather than educating students. "The key to the problem is cooperation between the parents and teachers in seeking a solution to the students' problems," Waluyo said.

He also said that fixing the educational system would be difficult because most teachers were busy moonlighting, mostly teaching at other schools, to supplement their low salaries. As a result, they do not have the time to improve their professionalism or give their students proper attention.

The average teaching fee at a private school is about Rp 5,000 per hour. At a state high school the monthly salary for teachers, who are categorized as III rank civil servants, is about Rp 1.2 million. Waluyo said he taught at three high schools in Jakarta. "But the ignorance and indifference of the parents also contributes to the deterioration of the educational system," he said.

The assistant principal of SMU 24 high school in Palmerah, Central Jakarta, Adin Sarmawan R., agreed with Waluyo, saying that many parents refused to attend meetings with teachers. "Many times, they ask drivers or housemaids to represent them," Adin said. When students have problems in school and the problems become unbearable, they can turn to drugs, which in turn can easily lead them to crime, said Adin.

Mahendra, a second-year student at SMU Fransiskus high school in Kramat, Central Jakarta, agreed, saying that drug addiction could be the reason why some students turn to crime.

Both Waluyo and Adin agreed that student crime should be addressed by improving the educational system. But without an integrated effort involving all parties, any attempt to fix the system is sure to fail.

More than 50 people die of disease after Jakarta floods

Agence France Presse - March 6, 2002

At least 52 people have died of various diseases following floods that inundated much of the Indonesian capital Jakarta last month, an official said.

The victims died of illnesses such as diarrhoea, respiratory infections, dengue fever and leptospirosis, which is spread by the urine of rats and other animals, said Chalik Masulili, head of the Jakarta Health Office, said Wednesday.

Leptospirosis has so far killed eight people, Masulili told AFP. The disease is transmitted through water or garbage contaminated with leptospire bacteria which come into contact with skin wounds. Not all animal urine contains leptospire bacteria, he said.

The floods and landslides hit several parts of Indonesia and killed at least 147 people nationwide, at least 67 of them in Jakarta and its satellite towns, according to officials. It was not clear whether this figure includes all the deaths from disease. The disaster also left more than 330,000 people in the capital temporarily homeless.

Some 35 legislators from the provincial parliament in East Java will go ahead with a trip to several European countries for "comparative studies", the Jakarta Post reported Wednesday, despite suggestions that the budget would be better used to help flood victims there.

"We can understand the aim of comparative studies, but so far we cannot see any advantages from the several comparative studies the legislature has conducted both at home and overseas," fellow legislator Dja'far Shodiq was quoted as saying. "Meanwhile, thousands of victims of the recent disasters that hit the province are in need of humanitarian aid," he said.

Religion/Islam

Falungong protests at Chinese embassy in Jakarta

Agence France Presse - March 5, 2002

Indonesian police allowed a small group of Falungong practitioners to hold a protest outside the Chinese embassy in Jakarta after banning a march by hundreds of the sect's supporters the previous day.

The Chinese embassy confirmed Monday it had approached police and government officials about Sunday's planned march by what it called an "evil cult."

On Monday 22 protesters, wearing yellow Falungong T-shirts, sat cross-legged on the sidewalk across from the embassy as about 10 police looked on. "Oppression and torture against Falungong practitioners are violations of human rights, be aware," read one poster carried by the silent protesters.

A policeman who declined to be identified said that since the protest was peaceful and did not inconvenience the public, it was allowed to continue.

On Sunday, police -- without giving a reason -- withdrew a permit for a march through central Jakarta by about 700 Falungong practitioners from 10 countries and ordered them to disperse.

The Jakarta Post quoted police sources as saying the permit was revoked following pressure from the Chinese embassy. Police could not immediately be reached for comment.

"We were given no explanation by the police of why they revoked our permit even though we had prepared the process a long time ago," said one protester, a woman who identified herself as Heni. "The most likely explanation is that there has been some pressure from the Chinese embassy. Who else if not them?" she said.

Heni said Chinese authorities "want to hide their cruelty" towards the sect. "We explained to police and also to some Indonesian government officials that the Falungong is an evil cult," said embassy press officer He Shiqing. He declined to say whether the embassy had formally asked for a ban on the march.

The press officer described the protest as "anti-China" activity. "Their activity is in violation of Indonesian law. No country will allow people from other countries to conduct activities against a third country. So Indonesian parties took some measures to limit their activity. We appreciate their efforts."

He said foreign followers of Falungong had used Indonesia, since little was known here about the sect, "to spread the evil cult and deceive the people." On Saturday the Falungong members had held a one-day conference in Jakarta.

China outlawed the Falungong in July 1999, saying its group exercises and mystical Buddhist and Taoist teachings were the biggest threat to one-party communist rule since the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests.

Human rights groups estimate that hundreds of Falungong followers have been sentenced to jail terms and tens of thousands sent to labour camps under the ban. The movement says as many as 300 followers have died in police detention.

Armed forces/Police

'Military's territorial role no longer relevant'

Jakarta Post - March 5, 2002

A'an Suryana, Jakarta -- The territorial function the Indonesian Military (TNI) has adopted for the past four decades is no longer relevant and should be immediately phased out, a seminar concluded.

Andi Wijayanto from the University of Indonesia and Kusnanto Anggoro from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said the territorial function violated the reform spirit because it ignored the principles of democracy.

"Democracy requires civilian control over the military. However, under the territorial system the military has the comprehensive ability to impinge on the duties carried out by civilians," Andi told participants of a seminar titled Territorial Command and Indonesian Defense Policy in the Future. The one-day seminar was sponsored by the Research Institute for Democracy and Peace.

The territorial function materialized in the form of regional military commands across the archipelago, which fall under the auspices of the Army. Indonesia has 13 military commands, including the newly reinstated one in Aceh, with more than 150,000 personnel. Each military command has an organizational structure similar to that of a civilian government, spanning from the provincial to the village level.

Observers have called the military territorial commands "a shadow government". The system enabled former president Soeharto's New Order regime to curb any potential challenges, including from prodemocracy activists, and to exert wide-ranging control over every aspect of life. Andi said the system had numerous ill effects, including abductions and torture committed by territorial arms of the military.

The fall of Soeharto's New Order regime and the resulting reform movement ignited nationwide resistance to the military's territorial function.

Kusnanto said the territorial system suggested that threats to Indonesia came not only from foreign parties, but also from people inside the country. "In practice, paranoia spread through the military and as a result they perceived protests and other social dynamics as real threats that had to be dealt with completely," he told participants.

In order to put an end to the negative effects of the military's extensive involvement in social and political affairs, the territorial system must be phased out, Kusnanto said.

He said the end of the Cold War meant that the possibility of invasion by a foreign country in the foreseeable future was virtually nil. "Also, the modern warfare does not require permanent occupation by other countries, since this would be politically expensive and unpopular," he said.

Kusnanto said other parties would need to participate in the gradual elimination of the territorial system. He also said changes were needed in how decisions regarding the nation's defense policy were made, a process currently dominated by the Indonesian Military. "It is timely that all parties be involved in the making of defense policy, in order that the implementation of the policy will not violate human rights and democracy," he said.

Sjafrie installed as TNI spokesperson amid controversy

Jakarta Post - March 5, 2002

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Controversy continued to dog the selection of Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin as the new Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman, as he disclosed a new policy that would restrict access to him.

In a press conference that followed a closed-door ceremony to mark the hand-over of the job, Sjafrie introduced a hierarchal structure of public relations in which the media would first be required to meet "a middle-ranking officer who holds the authority to answer questions over military issues."

"As part of our internal personnel development, we are obliged to do so, to train them to serve as spokespersons. But when it comes to TNI policy making, it's me, as TNI spokesman, or my deputy who will announce it the public," Sjafrie said. In the past, the press was allowed access to the TNI spokesman any time. The ceremony itself also raised many an eyebrow.

But the former TNI spokesman Rear Marshal Graito Usodo, who attended the press briefing, played down the way the ceremony was conducted. "We declared it a closed-door event due to technical matters. It is purely a TNI internal affair. This is not the first time we held such a ceremony, because I experienced it when I took up the job from my predecessor," Graito said, seemingly in contradiction to the fact that he took over from Maj. Gen. Sudrajat in a ceremony which was indeed covered by the press in 1999. Journalists were restricted from the ceremony on Monday, which took place at the TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

Sjafrie, also formerly the Jakarta Military commander, popular among women for his good looks, has been blamed for the death of four Trisakti University students in May 1998 when they, along with hundreds of other students, staged a rally in protest of former president Soeharto's 32 years of autocratic rule.

The Trisakti incident, which triggered three days of massive riots across the nation leaving no less than 1,000 people dead in Jakarta alone, had helped force Soeharto to step down.

Sjafrie, who graduated from the Armed Forces Academy (Akabri) in 1974 with the citation of best graduate, is also to be subpoenaed by the National Commission of Inquiry probing the Trisakti shooting incidents.

Coming from the ranks of the Kopassus elite Army corps, he served as one of former president Soeharto's adjutants, a prestigious and advantageous position for a military officer in the Soeharto era, from 1993 until 1995.

Sjafrie also has ample experience in military intelligence, as he was involved in operations in the country's conflict-prone areas, including Aceh.

US Ambassador agrees to reduce military embargo

Kompas - March 2, 2002

Adi Mawardi, Surabaya -- Ralph L. Boyce, the United States Ambassador to Indonesia, has promised that he will fight to get a reduction on the military embargo imposed by the United States on Indonesia after disorder broke out in East Timor following the 1999 referendum, according to Rear Admiral Sa'roni Kasnadi, Commander of the Eastern Fleet of the Indonesian Navy on Friday.

"Boyce promised to lobby the US government so that the weapons embargo against Indonesia is reduced," Kasnadi told reporters after meeting with the US Ambassador at the Eastern Fleet Headquarters in Ujung Harbor, Tanjung Perak, Surabaya.

During the meeting, Ambassador Boyce and East Fleet Commander also agreed to hold a joint military training exercise between the United States and Indonesia. Kasnadi explained that this will be the third joint military training exercise between the two countries.

"So, the USA wants re-open relations with Indonesia. Currently, a ship of the US Seventh Fleet, USS Flurid, is docked at Bali harbor. Next Saturday, I will go there along with the Indonesian Navy Chief," said Kasnadi.

International relations

Military ties with Indonesia resumed

Australian Financial Review - March 8, 2002

Tim Dodd, Jakarta -- The Australian Government yesterday announced its first specific moves to rebuild ties with Indonesia's military since 1999's East Timor crisis. The moves include co-operation on fighting terrorism and talks on renewing joint exercises.

Speaking in Jakarta after discussions with Indonesian ministers and military commanders, Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill, also said that for the first time, Indonesian officer cadets would be trained at the Australian Defence Force Academy next year.

The steps announced yesterday are in line with previous government statements that ties would be re-established gradually. "Neither side is rushing to rebuild the defence relationship for the sake of rebuilding the defence relationship. We are seeking to rebuild the relationship to our mutual advantage," Senator Hill said.

He made it clear that Australia's decision to establish closer defence ties did not depend on the Indonesian military's performance in observing human rights. "We haven't established a set of tests as such [on human rights]," he said. "A good step, I think, is for me to be here and for senior ministers to say to me that they believe that to be important and that they are taking active steps to make progress in that regard."

Senator Hill's announcement of closer ties comes just ahead of the trial of 19 people, including two generals, accused of human rights abuses in East Timor in 1999. To be heard by Indonesia's new Human Rights Court, the cases are a crucial test for human rights observance and will be critical in any US decision to resume military-to-military links with Indonesia, which are the subject of a congressional ban.

Senator Hill said the stepped-up intelligence links with Indonesia will build on the memorandum of understanding on combating international terrorism signed during the visit of the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, to Jakarta last month.

He said that Australian intelligence agencies had begun a dialogue with their Indonesian counterparts since the signing. "There will be instances where we can share information to our mutual advantage and agencies have already started to explore how this might work in practice," he said.

Senator Hill also had "preliminary discussions" with Indonesia about carrying out joint maritime surveillance exercises which could lead to "practical work which our two navys might be able to do together to mutual advantage sometime in the future".

And, in an expansion of non-combat training exchanges, seven Indonesian officer cadets -- probably two each from the navy and the air force and three from the army -- will begin a three-year course next year at the Australian Defence Force Academy. "It's a good investment for Australia in terms of future defence leaders of this country [Indonesia] understanding our society. We would like to think it's a good investment for Indonesia as well," he said.

Australia did not completely break military-to-military ties with Indonesia after its withdrawal from East Timor in September 1999. But links were mainly confined to officer training exchanges.

Hill treading softly in Jakarta

The Australian - March 8, 2002

Don Greenlees, Jakarta -- Australia is playing down differences with Indonesia over terrorism and human rights as it moves cautiously to rebuild a once-intimate defence relationship shattered during the East Timor crisis in 1999.

On a two-day visit to Jakarta, Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill opened the door to restoring close defence ties, and expressed the hope the two countries' militaries could work "constructively and positively together".

Although agreement on major new activities was avoided in meetings with Indonesian ministers and military commanders, Senator Hill laid some important foundations for future defence co-operation.

For the first time, a group of seven junior Indonesian officers will, next year, enrol as undergraduates at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra. Work is also going ahead on new intelligence-sharing arrangements and the possibility of maritime surveillance exercises.

But along with the promise of a slow recovery in defence relations, Senator Hill was careful to avoid arousing Indonesian sensitivities over the conduct of human rights trials for abuses committed in East Timor and its performance in combating terrorism.

Senator Hill said he had been reassured by statements from Indonesian ministers that the Government was determined to pursue justice in relation to the murders, plunder and arson committed in East Timor by Indonesian security forces and militias as they departed.

"On the issue of human rights, our position is well known on the basis of our culture and our political philosophy and Indonesia is aware of our views on that subject," he told reporters. "We are pleased that the administration and the leadership within this country would seem to be putting a greater emphasis on the importance of human rights."

He said Australia was looking for an "appropriate response" from the Indonesian courts over the crimes in East Timor, but would not try to impose a benchmark for what amounted to a successful outcome from the judicial process.

On terrorism, Senator Hill also avoided criticism of Indonesia's performance. He said all countries, including Indonesia, had to play a role in fighting terrorism.

But in contrast to comments he made in Singapore a week ago that Indonesia needed to do more to overcome terrorism, Senator Hill said Indonesia took the issue seriously, after the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with Australia on joint anti- terrorism activities.

Senator Hill's meetings in Jakarta included the chief minister for Political and Security Affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Defence Minister, Matori Abdul Jalil, and the Armed Forces Commander, Admiral Widodo Adisucipto.

An Indonesian militia man yesterday was sentenced to six years' jail for the murder of New Zealand peacekeeper private Leonard Manning in East Timor nearly two years ago. Jacobus Bere, 37, was found guilty in the Jakarta Central District Court by a panel of three judges.

Manning, 24, became the first peacekeeper serving in East Timor to be killed in combat when he was shot dead while on border patrol near the southern town of Suai in July 2000.

Australia, Indonesia consider resuming joint military exercises

Agence France Presse - March 7, 2002

Jakarta -- Australia and Indonesia are considering resuming joint military exercises, which Jakarta suspended in 1999 over Canberra's role in East Timor, as part of efforts to counter terrorism, visiting Defence Minister Robert Hill said Thursday.

"In relation to exercises we've had some preliminary discussions as to whether we might look to some maritime surveillance-type exercises," Hill told a press conference. "They had worked quite successfully in the past and it would be possible to translate the exercises into some practical work," he said.

Indonesia was angered by Australia's military intervention in East Timor as the territory was ravaged by pro-Jakarta militia following a vote for independence from Indonesia in August 1999. It unilaterally halted agrements on joint military exercises.

But despite the suspension of defence exercises, Australia and Indonesia continued to have lower-level military relations. "We've continued to maintain communication between military forces in various ways but we haven't had this sort of exercises we had in the past," Hill said.

Hill said officials from Indonesia and Australia had met in the past to try to put the exercise program back in place. He said there might be a need for the two countries' defense forces to work together to fight terrorism.

During a visit by Prime Minister John Howard last month the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on sharing intelligence and cooperating against international terrorism.

Asked if Australia demanded that Indonesia bring those guilty of human rights abuses in East Timor to justice before it could resume full military cooperation, Hill said Canberra had not set "strict prerequisites." "On the issue of human rights our position is well known on the basis of our culture and our political philosophy," he said. "We are pleased that the administration and the ledership within this country would seem to be putting a greater emphasis on the importance of human rights,' he added.

The Australian defence forces have offered a place for Indonesian military cadets in their institutions, Hill said. Hill arrived late Tuesday and is due to leave Friday morning. He has met his Indonesian conterpart Matori Abdul Jalil, top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda.

Economy & investment

Rupiah rises to five-month high against dollar

Jakarta Post - March 6, 2002

Jakarta -- The rupiah broke through on Tuesday the Rp 10,000 level against the U.S. dollar for the first time in five months, on what dealers attributed to rising confidence in a successful sale of Bank Central Asia (BCA).

The local currency jumped to a five-month high to close at Rp 9,985 against the dollar, up from Rp 10,075 the day before, marking its strongest performance since October last year. According to dealers, the rupiah gained support from dollar- selling by state banks believed to be acting on behalf of the central bank and the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.

Since the beginning of the year, the rupiah has been steadily making short gains against its U.S. counterparts over a period that has seen few political tensions surfacing.

The rupiah's breaking the key barrier of 10,000 may come as a surprise, since the central bank has been of little support through its interest rate policy, while Indonesia's huge foreign debt overhang continues to weigh against the local unit.

Bank Indonesia began reducing its benchmark rates on a steady basis, which would have meant pressure on the rupiah if market sentiment had been negative. But this was apparently not the case, and dealers attributed it to the right signals the BCA sale process was sending to the market.

Securing a successful BCA sale is expected to entice foreign investors to return, as most have been holding back their capital amid an uncertain investment climate here. Two foreign-led consortiums remain the final bidders for BCA.

Either of the two, if selected as the winner, would bring in much-needed dollars into the market. That should hold off corporate dollar-hunters from buying, dealers said.

Other signals that buoyed the market have been positive remarks by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lenders on Indonesia's economy. The IMF has assured the market that Indonesia's monetary policy is progressing on the right track.