Democratic struggle

Watershed in modern Indonesian history

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2002

Max Lane -- There is an interesting parallel between the history of East Timor and of Indonesia in relation to how international public opinion changed towards the presidency of General Suharto.

In December 1991 a massacre took place at the Santa Cruz cemetry that was filmed by television cameras and which millions of people around the world later watched on their TV screens. The footage of the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre revived active criticism and campaigning of the New Order regime's occupation of East Timor.

After the original invasion of East Timor in 1975, there had been several years of intense lobbying and political campaigning by the East Timorese diaspora as well as by liberal and democratic sections of the public in the United States, Europe and Australia.

This was especially the case in Australia. In Australia, active public campaigning in support of East Timorese independence virtually collapsed in 1983 after the Australian Labour Party (ALP) won government under Prime Minister Bob Hawke. The left wing of the ALP had always been the main support base for such campaigning. The ALP left collapsed under the Hawke administration demoralised by Hawke's conservative policies, including his enthusiastic support for the New Order regime. "Mr President, your people love you," he told General Suharto at a state banquet in Jakarta in 1983.

It was the Dili massacre that revived public criticism of the New Order regime's policy on East Timor. But public opinion in Australia in relation to the New Order's rule in the rest of Indonesia was largely unaffected. Generally speaking, the critical public opinion was focussed primarily on the Suharto- GOLKAR policy on East Timor.

This all changed with July 27 and the attack on the Jl. Diponegoro headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). As with the Dili massacre, TV footage of the incident appeared again and again on television screens around the world, including in Australia.

Millions of Australians saw bodies being brought out on stretchers and placed in vans. They saw the horde of men charge into the PDI office. They heard the cries and yells of all those involved. Then they read the reports of the casualties and all the rumours at the time of how many peopele were killed.

A vivid impression was left that the New Order regime, made up Suharto, GOLKAR and the Armed Forces, were willing to use violence against opposition in Jakarta, including against opposition by somebody created from within the New Order elite, such as PDI chairperson at the time, Megawati Sukarnoputri. This impression virtually ended the legitimacy of the New Order regime in international public opinion.

In fact, however, there was more to this process of delegitimising than the just the terrible images of the attack in Jalan Diponegoro and all the descriptions of the repression.

Television and newspaper reportage of Indonesian politics had already started to increase before July 27. The struggle between Megawati and Suharto was already major news. A strong -- and indeed accurate -- image had been created that Megawati was refusing to budge against Suharto's manouvres to crush her political career.

This was the first time a figure from the Jakarta political elite was standing firm against Suharto and thereby creating somebody who appeared to be a genuine opposition figure.

It was already clear to most people that Megawati was only interested in defying Suharto on one issue: namely her right to lead the PDI. Her silence on the repression against other poltical figures and groups was widely noted.

At the same time, however, her defiance on the single issue of her own role had clearly turned her into an important political symbol, both in Indonesia and internationally. But because Megawati's defiance was based on such a narrow, self-centred form of resistance, other factors were necessary in order for public opinion in countries like Austrfalia to change.

The key development that was widely reported in Australia was the fact that the PDI offices in Jalan Diponegoro had become a centre for the gathering of a wide range of pro-democracy groups. Very few people in Australia would have heard of the Majelis Rakyat Indonesia (MARI), the coalition of democratic groups that held constant public forums in the PDI offices. But news reports did constantly referr to the gatherings there, the freespeech forums.

The message started to get out in Ausstralia that there was a spectrum of opinion in Indonesia that was opposed to Suharto and the New Order. It was not just Megawati's name that started to be familiar, but also that of Sri Bintang Pamungkas and Mochtar Pakpahan. There had been news reports also of the arrest of labour leader Dita Sari in Surabaya earlier in July.

Later after July 27, when the New Order regime tried to blame the riots that took place that day on the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD), Budiman Sujatmiko's name also became very well known in Australia, the United States and Europe.

As well as Megawati, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, Mochtar Pakpahan, Dita Sari and Budiman Sujatmiko, there was an increasing number of other Indonesian critics of Suharto that gained some profile. These also included academics such as Dr George Aditjondro and Dr Arief Budiman.

The weeks leading up to July 27, July 27 itself and then the aftermath all showed people in Australia, that there was a significant range of alternative opinion to that represented by Suharto, the Armed Forces and GOLKAR. This further advanced the decline in the New Order's international legitimacy.

There was one further aspect of the July 27 process that even further strengthened this decline in legitimacy. It also became clear that the dissatisfaction and defiance of the New Order represented by the list of opposition figures and critics was finding active support among ordinary people, on the streets.

The July arrest of Dita Sari brought to peoples notice that there were worker protests happening that involved thousands of people. There had also been TV reportage of the PDI organised mass march from the PDI headquarters to Gambir station a few weeks before Juky 27 that had been met with a military blockade and resulted in injuries.

The courage abd militancy of the PDI members inside the PDI headquarters inside their Jalan Diponegoro office was another potent symbol of this popular sentiment. The footage broadcast on TV from July 27 itself also showed demonstrations and protests taking place. And, of course, the rioting itself pointed to widespread mass anger.

The emergence of a figure from within the political elite, Megawati, who persisted in defying Suharto began the process of eroding the New Order's legitimacy. However, Megawati's extremely narrow agenda of only defending her own position would have been insufficient for any real sense of impending change to develop overseas.

July 27 was the beginning of the end of the New Order because of the other factors that had emerged: a coalition of democratic forces; a range of new political figures, including youth, labour leaders and academics; and popular street mobilisations reflecting the demand for change.

[Max Lane is national chairperson of Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific.]

People's congress call gains support

Green Left Weekly - July 24, 2002

Max Lane, Jakarta -- The Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) launched its new newspaper, Pembebasan (Liberation) at a public meeting held at the Jakarta Media Centre on July 11. Almost 400 people packed the auditorium for a lively discussion on the need for a political alternative to the parties of the political elite in Indonesia.

Speakers from a wide political spectrum addressed the meeting, including former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, dissident university economist Revrisond Baswir, Adian Natipilu, a leading activist from the anarchist City Forum (Forkot), PRD secretary-general Natalia Scholastika, and Dita Sari from the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggles.

Aristdeded Kartoppo, editor of the afternoon daily newspaper, Sinar Harapan, which was banned under Suharto, and Akbar Zulfakkar, chairperson of the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Committee (KAMMI), also spoke. Also on the platform were two commentators from overseas, myself and Professor Jeffrey Winters from the University of Wisconsin.

There were also a number of prominent opposition figures among the overflowing audience. These included: Yusuf Isak, a political prisoner under Suharto and the head of a progressive publishing house; Sulami, the former leader of the women's movement in the 1960s who spent 14 years in prison under Suharto; and Gustav Dupe, a human rights campaigner and founder of a new progressive political party.

The case for the formation of a democratic front was most clearly put forward by PRD chairperson Harus Rusli in his opening remarks and by Scholastika and Sari. They argued that the government of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, which is implementing policies that are detrimental to poor people, workers and peasants, needs to be urgently replaced. The pressing need was to explain to the people which forces could replace the political elite.

Sari called on groups that recognise the need for a pro-people alternative to the unite as soon as possible. This core group should then start to convince others of the same need. She said such a process could lead to the holding of a peoples congress that could push the process of unity further.

Wahid expressed agreement with the general idea of a democratic front but argued for a more gradual approach. Wahid criticised calls for revolution, which had come from the PRD and Forkot.

Forkot activist Adian Natipilu initially rejected the idea of any united front. Forkot, which has shrunk in size in recent years, campaigns almost solely around the demand for a people's court as the solution to the political crisis in Indonesia. Groups which do not make this the central demand tend to be dismissed by Forkot as conservative.

Natipulu strongly attacked the PRD as reformist for participating in the last general election. But confronted with the support and arguments for greater unity between the progressive movements, he conceded that Forkot would need to consider such a project -- as long as it supported the demand for a people's court. KAMMI's Akbar Zulkaffar echoed the panel's rejection of elite-centred politics. KAMMI has an ideology that has been described as "democratic fundamentalist Islam". It sometimes touts the Taliban as a model. By the end of the discussion, Zulkaffar had also said his group needed to consider joining a democratic front.

Revrisond Baswir analysed the role of the International Monetary Fund in Indonesia. He said that the IMF is using the economic chaos in Indonesia "to make sure it gets its way. Its policies are further ruining Indonesia and furthering the interests of the West. Indonesia must cut its ties with the IMF." He joined the call for a people's congress.

[Max Lane is national chairperson of Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific.]

Labour issues

A true story of sex child abuse

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Debbie A. Lubis, Jakarta -- Fourteen-year-old Santi plainly retold her life story at Monday's seminar organized by the International Labor Organization-International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC).

"I was asked by my village head in Indramayu [West Java] to help my neighbor sell drinks. But actually, if the customers wanted to kiss me or touch other parts of my body, I had to let them. Usually they would give me a tip after that," she said on a prerecorded video tape played at the seminar.

Santi is just one of thousands of children across the country who are victims of child trafficking and prostitution. Data from the State Ministry of Women's Empowerment in 2001 shows that there were 165,000 female sex workers in the country, with 30 percent below the age of 18.

Teguh Budiono, a researcher at the survey agency, DKT Indonesia, said that to tackle these problems, the government should focus on the factors involved in child trafficking, such as families.

"They [families] sell children to middlemen because they are financially incapable of raising them," he said, adding that the middlemen would then arrange for the children's recruitment and placement.

Citing his study conducted in Indramayu regency, Teguh said culture was another factor that influenced child prostitution. "For the people of Indramayu, prostitution is a part of life. They are proud if they can send their girls to brothels in big cities because they will bring home some luxurious things," he said.

Teguh said the government should launch a public awareness campaign and enforce the law. "We have to remind them that prostitution is something that should not happen. We also should dispense information on sexually transmitted diseases [STDs] and other reproductive health issues to the public," he said.

He said law enforcement was needed since there were government agents involved in producing identity cards or forging passports for the girls.

Teguh said the government should find the syndicates that recruit commercial sex workers. "They often take on children from poor families. They give false promises of better jobs in other regions. They pretend to be labor recruiters, preying on people trapped in debt so that they give up their children," he said.

Meanwhile, Irwanto, a researcher at Atmajaya University, said that in tackling the programs, the government should focus not only on rehabilitation, but more on prevention.

"As a result of this trade, victims suffer from major physical and mental torture, and in some cases this has lead to lifelong trauma," he said, adding that some child prostitutes tend to hurt themselves intentionally.

Prostitution is one of the five issues that the government has planned to address in its National Action Plan. President Megawati Soekarnoputri is scheduled to sign the presidential decree on the National Action Plan on National Children's Day this Tuesday.

Labor unions going too far, minister says

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

Jakarta -- Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea now admits that labor militancy has reached such a fever pitch that it is discouraging investors and undermining the overall business climate.

Jacob, a union activist by background, joined a chorus of critics who felt that labor unions in this country had a lot to answer for by prolonging Indonesia's economic crisis.

"They have gone completely over the top. Besides, the number of disputes is too great now," he was quoted as saying by Antara on Sunday.

Their action has rendered the business climate in Indonesia less attractive for investment, he said during a visit to Cepu, Central Java. Jacob, however, did not spell out what action the government would take to redress the situation.

His colleague in the Cabinet, Minister of Trade and Industry Rini Soewandi, publicly begged Jacob earlier this month to rein in the labor unions, saying that their increasing militancy was undermining the Indonesian economy.

Various business organizations have cited poor industrial relations as a major problem that the government must address quickly. Investors from Japan, South Korea and Malaysia have also singled out labor militancy as one of the reasons why they are reluctant to put their money here. Many of them have also relocated their factories to neighboring Asian countries.

Foreign direct investment has been falling drastically in Indonesia. In the first five months of 2002, the government approved only $1.6 billion-worth of new foreign investment projects, a 60 percent drop from a year earlier.

But it is not only new investment that has been hurt. Export orders have also fallen, in part due to falling orders for manufactured goods. The reason most often cited is the inability of Indonesian suppliers to deliver on time.

Jacob said there were now as many as 62 labor unions registered with his ministry. Rather than engaging in strikes, they should first develop the habit of negotiating and reaching consensus in resolving disputes, he said.

The government, he said, had no intention of taking away workers' right to strike. "If they have to go on strike, let them do it for two hours, but don't force the company to close down," he said. "A strike is legal if the company is violating the law." He added that two new pieces of labor legislation currently being debated at the House of Representatives would set limits on workers' right to strike.

Endorsement of the two bills -- one on industrial conflict settlement and another on labor protection -- has been delayed following protests from labor unions and employers' organizations.

Jacob urged both sides to engage themselves in the debate, to pinpoint the particular articles that needed to be changed, instead of simply rejecting the bills outright.

He said the government and the House hoped to endorse the two bills in September.

Aceh/West Papua

Government crackdown claimed in Papua

Radio Australia - July 23, 2002

All international calls to a human rights group in the Indonesian province of Papua have been blocked by Telecom Indonesia.

Telecom Indonesia has confirmed all international calls to and from the Elsham Organisation have been blocked temporarily.

Elsham has alleged increased harassment by pro-Jakarta militia towards human rights activists and volunteers of non-government organisations.

Elsham says the military harassment is part of a government crackdown on pro-independence supporters.

'Mega's Aceh record worse than predecessors'

Laksamana.Net - July 27, 2002

President Megawati Sukarnoputri's performance in dealing with rebellious Aceh province is worse than her two predecessors Abdurrahman Wahid and B.J. Habibie, says an Australian observer.

State news agency Antara on Saturday quoted Lesley McCulloch, a lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania and an expert on Aceh affairs, as saying that Megawati's dependence on the military is the reason behind her weak performance.

She said that when Megawati was elected Indonesia's fifth president in July 2001, the people of Aceh expected a lot from her, specifically that she would be able to resolve the province's conflict through peaceful means.

This what Megawati said on July 29, 1999, when she was vice president: "Especially to my brothers and sisters in Aceh, I ask your patience. When Cut Nya' [Acehnese: your female leader] leads this country, I shall not allow a single drop of the People's blood to wet your sacred land that made such a huge contribution to making Indonesia free. To all of you I shall give my love, I shall give you your Arun [oil fields], so that the People can enjoy the wondrous beauty of "Mecca's Veranda" [a metaphor for Aceh] when it is developed with love and responsibility among the various Peoples of a nation, the Indonesian nation!"

That turned out to be utter hogwash, evidenced by almost daily reports of killings in Aceh.

McCulloch said Megawati disappointed the people of Aceh when she opted to use the military to carry out her policies in the province.

Noting that Megawati once shed tears over the sufferings of the Acehense, she said those tears no longer mean anything to the people of the strife-torn province.

The revival of the Aceh Regional Military Command and indications that the military and police are being given a free hand in conducting operations in Aceh show the Indonesian government's current policies are not conducive for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, she said.

In the name of territorial integrity, Megawati has indirectly given permission to the military to take whatever measures it sees fit in Aceh, she added.

This policy was never pursued by her predecessors, said McCulloch, adding that Megawati does not have a clear policy on Aceh.

The Australian academic claimed the number of Indonesian troops in Aceh is greater than those that were in East Timor.

She expressed concern that many Indonesian soldiers and police in Aceh do not wear their official uniforms while on duty, but often conduct searches for weapons while dressed in civilian clothes.

Commenting on the possibility of the government placing Aceh under civil or military emergency status, McCulloch said a declaration of either status would be a mere formality as there is already a pervasive military and police presence in the province.

Delay expected for Theys' murder trial

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2002

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The trial of nine members of the Army's special force (Kopassus) accused of killing Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay will likely face further delay because the military police cannot guarantee they can hand over the results of their investigation to military prosecutors next month.

Brig. Gen. Hendardji, deputy chief of the military police, said on Friday the investigative team were having difficulties collecting evidence, as well as the testimonies of several witnesses, calling the high-profile case "very sensitive".

Hendardji, also chairman of the Indonesian Military (TNI) investigative team, initially said he would hand over the results of the investigation this month, but it was rejected as "incomplete" by military prosecutors.

"I cannot set a deadline for the handing over of the investigation's results because most of the witnesses have refused to testify. So what we need is more time," he said.

Earlier, Military Police chief Maj. Gen. Sulaiman A.B. said the Kopassus members were likely to be tried this month, soon after the TNI investigative team hand over the dossiers to prosecutors.

But, Sulaiman retracted his statement a few days later, saying the trial might be delayed because the team had yet to complete its investigation.

Theys, also a chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council (PDP), was found dead in November last year, only hours after he had attended a commemoration of the National Heroes Day at the Jayapura-based Kopassus headquarters.

Nine Kopassus members are being detained at the military police's cell for allegedly killing Theys. The include Lt. Col. Hartomo, Maj. Doni Hutabarat and Capt. Rianaldo.

Many had demanded the government proceed with the case at the human rights tribunal, considering that TNI as an institution was believed to have engineered the killing.

Earlier this week, Rianaldo's father Agus Zihof, a retired military officer, sent a letter to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, informing that his son was being forced by a man namely Maj. Andika Perkasa, a Kopassus member and also a son-in-law of Hendropriyono, the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief, to confess to killing Theys.

In his letter, Agus also revealed that "Andika had promised my son a good position at BIN, because his father [Hendropriyono] holds one of the top positions there". Hendardji said the team would not question Andika.

Jakarta says 13 rebels, one soldier killed in Aceh

Reuters - July 26, 2002 (Abridged)

Jakarta -- The Indonesian military said its troops shot dead on Friday at least 13 men believed to be separatist rebels in troubled Aceh province, where thousands have died in more than two decades of fighting.

The bloody clashes between security forces and guerrillas from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which also killed one soldier, occurred two weeks before Jakarta is expected to unveil its new policy for the area.

"The shooting started at 6am during an ambush operation in Bireun. The commander of the operation was shot after he gave warnings to the GAM men ... and nine of them were killed," Zainal Mutaqin, a military spokesman in Aceh, told Reuters by phone.

He added that government troops gunned down four other rebels later in the day near the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, some 1,700 km northwest of Jakarta.

"A squad of 44 soldiers raided a GAM hideout and shot dead four separatists but one of them managed to get away," he said. GAM could not be immediately contacted to confirm the reports.

Military reasserts power, casualties mount in Aceh

Christian Science Monitor - July 24, 2002

Dan Murphy, Banda Aceh -- It's pretty safe here, reassures a local driver, ushering his car past a group of Indonesian soldiers. The sun glints off flooded rice paddies and silver- domed mosques tucked away in tiny villages.

Then he issues the warning: "Don't go out after 9." As for the surrounding villages: "I wouldn't go," he says.

The signs are as black and white as the headlines in Serambi, Aceh's leading daily newspaper. This deeply Islamic province has plunged back into the maelstrom of violence that gripped it for most of the 1990s. This weekend alone, 10 civilians living in villages scattered across the province were shot and three were abducted, victims of fighting between the Indonesian Army and the rebel Free Aceh Movement known as GAM.

The government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri -- which now refers to the rebels as terrorists in an effort to draw parallels to the US war on terror -- is considering declaring a state of emergency that would expand the military's powers. But to observers, the Indonesian military has already launched a war: Human rights abuses are surging and the military is clawing back the domestic political role it lost when former dictator Suharto was ousted in 1998.

"It's as bad as it ever was under Suharto," says Rufriadi, the director of Aceh's Legal Aid Institute. "The government in Jakarta has abandoned legal, democratic and peaceful roads to solving the conflict in favor of force." As a result, Aceh is coming to represent one of America's starkest choices between a commitment to human rights abroad and post-September 11 realpolitik, which argues that the Army of the world's largest Muslim nation is too big to ignore.

The US congress has been edging closer to restoring ties with the military, severed in 1999 because of concerns about its human rights record. Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to end restrictions on military aid to Indonesia. But, as one US diplomat says: "If [the violence] continues it is going to make it very difficult to make the case to Congress that the military has changed." In addition to the Indonesian military and GAM, formed in 1975, the province houses 4.5 million mostly peace-loving people. Though millions of Acehnese either want special autonomy or independence, that doesn't translate into support for GAM.

"I'm very angry at the Indonesian government," says Syarifah Rahmatillah, an Acehnese women's activist whose raspberry lipstick precisely matches her Moslem headscarf. "But I'm also very angry at GAM. Neither side is interested in peace." Sometimes referred to as an Islamic movement, GAM insists it is inspired by secular nationalism. Today the group keeps about 1,800 men armed, according to Indonesian military estimates. They currently face about 21,000 Indonesian soldiers and 12,000 police. Major General Yusuf, the commander in Aceh, says he'd like about 3,000 more troops.

Both armies routinely steal from civilians and execute alleged informants and "traitors." The Legal Aid Institute's Rufriadi says 771 people were killed in the first six months of the year, up from 500 in the same period last year -- most of them civilians. The military commonly kills civilians in reprisals for GAM attacks, reasoning that it will scare the population away from supporting GAM.

When President Megawati came to office last year, she was expected to pursue a peace process. But she has largely abandoned that plan, convinced, according to one aid, "that we can win this war by force." She has called GAM an enemy of the state and senior officials have taken to calling the rebels "terrorists." Reports of abuses shouldn't surprise US officials. As the Bush administration began to lobby Congress to restore ties early this year, arguing that Indonesia's military has improved and that the country could become an Al Qaeda haven, the State Department issued a report that found "numerous credible reports that the Army and police continued routinely to torture detainees." Torture methods detailed in the report include "pulling fingernails off with pliers, rape, electric shock, and whipping." So far in 2002, "the abuses are worse," according to Maimul Fidar, the executive director of the Aceh human rights coalition. Mr. Maimul, Rufriadi, and other lawyers in Aceh say there hasn't been a trial of any soldier in more than two years. "The effect of that is they do whatever they like," Rufriadi says.

The roots of the insurgency in Aceh go back 200 years to its sultans' legendary resistance to Dutch colonization. The province overlooks the Straits of Malacca, a vital conduit for trade between Asia and the Middle East for more than 600 years. Arab traders brought Islam to Aceh, before the rest of the archipelago, accounting for the relative fervor with which it's embraced here.

By the time the Dutch arrived to claim Indonesia for their empire in the 18th century, the Acehnese had grown wealthy and relatively sophisticated over hundreds of years of commerce with the rest of the world. They refused to submit, and were only really pacified by Dutch forces in the early 20th century.

"We're special," says Abu, a portly motorcycle taxi driver waiting behind the capital's stately grand mosque. "We never surrendered." That feeling of difference was combined with growing dissatisfaction after Indonesian independence in 1945, particularly after the rise of Suharto in 1965. His highly centralized regime bled billions of dollars out of the rich province and gave little in return.

"We were so happy when Suharto fell," says Abu, whose uncle was killed by Indonesian soldiers a few years ago. "We thought the war was going to end. But it's only getting worse."

Indonesian-backed militia behind terror in Aceh?

Green Left Weekly - July 24, 2002

Lesley McCulloch -- In the remote area of Aceh Tengah (central Aceh) there is a new and growing problem for the civilian population: the presence of Indonesian-backed militia. The rarely visited area has experienced a devastating attack on its social and economic fabric. The enclave's economy has almost ground to a halt, many schools and clinics have been destroyed, and whole villages burned or deserted. The smell of fear is tangible.

Official local government figures for 2001 state that more than 1900 houses were burned in this small district alone, and there were almost 400 conflict-related deaths. To the local population of only 300,000, this is a devastating blow. However, the real figures are substantially higher.

A local journalist (whose identity must be protected for fear of reprisals) has been keeping his own tally of the death and destruction. He alleges that more than 2200 houses were burned and 450 died. In addition, many people have disappeared (presumed dead), many others have been tortured and several thousand have fled the area.

Who is responsible for the havoc and destruction in Aceh Tengah? The official Indonesian government story is that the Aceh Sumatra National Liberation Front (ASNLF, more commonly known as the Aceh Merdeka or Free Aceh movement -- GAM) or groups of unidentified persons are responsible.

The casual observer may be forgiven for assuming that this violence too, as elsewhere in Aceh, is the result of actions by the military and police. And to a degree it is. But there is a more sinister element in this remote area.

There are many allegations that the house burnings, killings and disappearances are carried out by groups of militia. These militia have allegedly been recruited, trained and armed by the military, and often operate in conjunction with them. But they also operate alone. There is strong evidence to link the army's special forces command, Kopassus, with the militia. It is now common knowledge that Kopassus was instrumental in the setting up of the militia groups in East Timor.

It is extremely difficult to prove a military-militia connection. But when one listens to the many witness accounts from various areas in Aceh Tengah, clear evidence emerges. The truth can no longer be ignored. There is convincing anecdotal evidence that these groups of "unknown thugs", often said by the government to be Aceh Merdeka personnel, are in fact well organised militia.

The militia are not merely backed by "rogue" elements of the military, but by the local commanders. Their mission is to seek and destroy members of the ASNLF and their supporters. In addition, there is a systematic attempt to destroy the economic and social fabric of this remote community.

An ex-militia member, now in hiding as he fears for his life, said: "We had orders from the army to make the Acehnese suffer. To show them they cannot win. To destroy their society." Of the many stories of militia attacks, one was particularly troubling. Not because of the sheer brutality of it -- there are many similar stories -- but because of the severe state of trauma of the victim.

The victim is in a remote and "safe" village in Aceh Besar. The attack had taken place in Aceh Tengah but he had fled to safety. The identity, location and the date must remain undisclosed as the perpetrators were given to believe the victim did not survive the attack. Also, his family remain in the area.

According to "D", eight members of the militia came to his house looking for him. He was not home at the time and his wife told them she did not know where he had gone. When the militia eventually caught up with D, they accused him of being a member of the independence movement, which he denied.

The group then travelled to the outskirts of the village where D was beaten with an iron bar to force a confession. When the militia began to hit him around the head he feared he would lose consciousness. D begged for mercy. So the beating stopped -- temporarily -- to allow him to regain his composure. The torture then began again, even more viciously than before.

The militia then took D to the local graveyard, where, he says, "I was forced to dig my own grave. But I was very weak and the grave was shallow. I thought then I would die." The iron bar was used to push him into the grave, where he was buried.

"When they had covered me with earth and everything was dark, they started to stab me with their bayonets through the grave. I passed out. Just before the darkness covered my brain, I thought of my wife and baby, and asked God to keep them safe", D recounted.

But by some miracle, D survived the vicious attack and woke up much later. He doesn't know how long he was unconscious. Unable to walk, he began to crawl toward the village. Friends found him and took him to the local hospital.

The mental scars suffered by D from this trauma are almost as visible as the physical ones. He speaks in barely a whisper, his mind frozen in the moment of horror when he thought he would die. His chilling account of what happened to him is not so unusual in Aceh.

How does D know the group who attacked were the militia and not members of the independence movement? According to D, the distinction is quite easy: "These people were Javanese. They looked Javanese, and did not speak Acehnese. Also, they were well known in the area as army-backed militia." In Aceh, a struggle for independence has been raging for the past 30 years. In the past few years the ASNLF has been enjoying increasingly widespread support from a majority of the population.

Since 1998, about 5000 people have died because of the conflict, more than 500 this year alone. The number of deaths, disappearances, tortures and rapes that is generally attributed to the military and police (and now to the military-backed militia) is one of the reasons for the increasing support for the ASNLF.

[Lesley McCulloch lectures in Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania.]

Off with their hands, says Rais

Laksamana.Net - July 22, 2002

Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais says the government should not hesitate to take drastic measures against "troublemakers" in Aceh rebellious Aceh province.

"If necessary, cut off the hands of those troublemakers," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara on Monday.

At the beginning of this year the government gave Aceh special autonomy, the right to implement Islamic law and a greater share of the profits from its vast natural resources, in the hope of quelling support for the province's separatist movement, which has been fighting for independence since 1976.

Rais said the government has not been serious in dealing with violence in several parts of the country, including Aceh. He said the unrest has claimed numerous lives and is threatening the pillars of national integration.

The MPR speaker pointed out that by drastic measures he does not mean that security authorities should become trigger-happy in attacking perceived enemies of the state. He said the bottom line is that troublemakers must be arrested and prosecuted through the due process of the law.

Rais categorized Aceh's troublemakers into four groups: first, the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) with its ideological, political and economic goals; second, hoodlums and gangsters; third, criminals; and fourth, drug traffickers.

The Indonesian military has been accused of playing a key role in Aceh's drugs trade. The province is the source of most of the marijuana available in Indonesia.

Local community members against imposition of martial law

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, Lhokseumawe -- Local community members have joined the Aceh administration in opposing the central government's plan to impose a state of emergency in the restive province to stop decades of separatist fighting.

The people living in the Aceh capital of Banda Aceh and remote areas in the jungle-clad Pidie, Bireun and North Aceh regencies are demanding a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

"We are already living in an emergency situation here. living in fear all the time. What more of an emergency could it be for Aceh?" said 50-year-old Imam Azra, a vendor from Bireun.

Acehnese people were just too tired to deal with the unrest, he said. "Here people die everyday. A chicken is worth more than a human life. Clashes and incidents happen almost everyday all across Aceh. Those who die end up as statistics," he said.

Imam, like any other Acehnese, has been longing for peace and security in the province that has been torn apart by decades of bloodshed since the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) began its quest for independence in the 1970s.

He wished that he could open a bigger shop and that his village would have better communication access. "There is no phone here in Jeunib. It's ironic because Jakarta [central government] makes such a big fuss of the state of emergency in Aceh. All we want is the realization of government's promises to build a prosperous Aceh. When will it ever come true?"

Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, the province's legislative council, Muslim clerics and non-governmental organization activists have turned down the central government's plan for the imposition of a civil emergency or martial law. Puteh said 90 percent of the Acehnese people were opposed to any planned state of emergency.

But the government, through Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said the central government would pursue its plan to impose a state of emergency in Aceh, arguing that the Acehnese people demanded that GAM be dealt with firmly. The government would decide early in August whether to impose a state of emergency or not.

Opposition also came from Amir, a pedicap driver, who said: "I am afraid if a civil emergency or martial law is forcibly declared. We will not be able to work as usual because I have read in newspapers that an emergency means a region is in danger."

Nyak Minak, a 52-year old vegetable trader in Banda Aceh, also expressed similar views, saying she wanted separatist fighting to cease and urged the government to open stalled peace talks. "The important thing to me is that there is no more violence in Aceh, so I can sell my wares in peace and can support and sustain my family," she said.

Talking about the government's promises to Acehnese apparently would only revive old wounds.

One Acehnese quickly referred to former president B.J. Habibie who in 1999 said he would make prosperity and security schemes for Aceh, including building train tracks, schools and infrastructure. The government had also promised compensation for victims of 10 years of the military operation to crush rebels in Aceh, known as DOM that ended in 1998.

"Until now thousands of DOM victims and their families are living in poor conditions. What about the compensation, the education or allowances that were promised to them? They are living with deep vengeance towards the security forces," said 24-year-old Misdawan, a student in Banda Aceh.

"Well, since when has the government kept its promises to Aceh? Now they're busy planning a state of emergency here. Why can't the government understand that what Aceh needs is social welfare and strong infrastructure. We do not need military oppression anymore. We have already had it for 10 years."

The head of Muhammadiyah's Aceh branch, Imam Suja', said that first president Sukarno, the father of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, failed to keep his promise to establish Aceh as a prosperous province, in exchange for all the monies and physical help that the Acehnese had contributed to Indonesia attaining independence.

"What is the guarantee that Megawati will not dupe the Acehnese like her predecessors, including Gus Dur [Abdurrahman Wahid], [B.J.] Habibie and Soeharto?"

I was forced to dig my own grave - a prisoner's tale

Sydney Morning Herald - July 23 2002

Lesley McCulloch, Banda Aceh -- He speaks in barely a whisper, his mind frozen in the moments of horror when he thought he would die.

"I was forced to dig my own grave," he said. "But I was very weak and the grave was shallow. I thought then I would die." "D" -- he does not want to be identified or the exact location of his ordeal named -- is just one victim of a new and growing menace facing the people of the Indonesian province of Aceh as Jakarta seeks to suppress an entrenched independence movement.

The new menace is the emergence of militia groups, allegedly backed by the Indonesian military. Locals say there is strong evidence linking the army's special forces command, Kopassus, with the militia, in a repeat of Kopassus tactics that laid East Timor waste in 1999.

According to D, eight members of the militia came to his house, accusing him of being a member of the independence movement, which he denied. He was taken to the outskirts of the village, where he was beaten with an iron bar to force a confession. The militia then took him to a graveyard, where he was forced to dig his own grave. The iron bar was then used to push him into the grave, he said.

"When they had covered me with earth and everything was dark they started to stab me with their bayonets through the grave. I passed out. Before darkness covered my brain I thought of my wife and baby, and asked God to keep them safe." D survived. He says he does not know how long he was unconscious. Unable to walk, he began to crawl towards the village. Friends found him and took him to hospital.

His chilling account of what happened to him is not unusual in Aceh. D is convinced his attackers were militia and not members of the independence movement, which the government usually blames for the violence in Aceh.

D says his attackers were Javanese. They looked Javanese and did not speak the local language, Acehnese. They were also well known in the area as army-backed militia.

Militias such as those who attacked D are being blamed for widespread destruction and terror in central Aceh province, where the economy has almost ground to a halt, many schools and clinics have been destroyed and whole villages have been burnt or deserted.

Official figures for last year show that more than 1900 houses were burnt in Banda Aceh alone, and there were almost 400 conflict-related deaths, a devastating blow to the 300,000 people of the region.

The real level of destruction may be even higher. A local journalist, who does not want to be identified because of the risk of reprisals, has been keeping his own tally. He alleges that more than 2200 houses were burnt and that 450 died.

In addition, many have disappeared and are presumed dead. Many have been tortured and several thousand have fled because of the violence.

Officials blame the Aceh Sumatra National Liberation Front (ASNLF), commonly known as the Free Aceh Movement for the violence. But locals blame the Indonesian military and police.

And increasingly, they accuse groups of militia who, they allege, are recruited, trained and armed by the military and often operate in conjunction with them.

While it is difficult to prove the military-militia connection, locals provide convincing anecdotal evidence that these groups of "unknown thugs" are well-organised and backed not merely by rogue elements of the military, but rather by local commanders.

Their mission is to find and destroy Free Aceh members and their supporters. In addition, there is a systematic attempt to destroy the economic and social fabric of this remote community.

A former militia member, now in hiding for fear of his life, said: "We had orders from the army to make the Acehnese suffer, to show them they cannot win, to destroy their society."

In Aceh a struggle for independence has been raging for the past 30 years. In the past few years the independence movement has been enjoying increasingly widespread support from most of the population. Since 1998 about 5000 have died because of the conflict, more than 500 this year alone.

The number of deaths, disappearances, tortures and rapes that are generally attributed to the military and police, and now to the militia, is one of the reasons for increasing local support for the Free Aceh Movement.

[Lesley McCulloch, an Australian academic, formerly at the University of Tasmania, is an authority on Acehnese politics.]

Travel in Aceh fraught with tension, bribes

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

Yogita Tahilramani and Edith Hartanto, Jakarta -- Those living in strife-torn Aceh, particularly outside the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, have known fear all of their lives.

Traveling overland from Banda Aceh to Lhokseumawe, the capital of the North Aceh regency, is a six-hour journey, which is not without danger, either in the form of clashes or gunfights. It is not a good idea to travel at night, unless it is an emergency.

There are no flights from Banda Aceh to Lhokseumawe, a giant industrial town where fatal clashes are commonplace among locals.

The 274-kilometer trip from Banda Aceh to Lhokseumawe is marked by the presence of police and military trucks, as well as a number of police and military security checkpoints.

Upon approaching these checkpoints, all vehicles are required to slow down, otherwise drivers run the risk of being beaten by security officers or getting their cars stoned.

"For some odd reason, it is better if there are women on board because the officers tend to be lenient on passengers then. Carrying only men in the car is a different story," said Hanafiah, a local kiosk owner in Jeunib in Bireun regency.

"The armed security officers would not hesitate to search your vehicle if it was filled with men. Your belongings could just vanish. Carrying a large amount of cash is not a good idea either."

The Acehnese have suffered from psychological stress stemming from a decade-long military operation to rid the province of separatist rebels, mainly those of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Thousands are reported to have been killed, tortured or kidnapped during that period, which ended in 1998.

The nearly empty roads connecting Pidie regency, Bireun and North Aceh are marked with the nation's flag, which flies in front of every house, kiosk and paddy field.

Diro, a local of Pidie, considered one of GAM's strongholds, said the Acehnese in conflict-ridden regencies were asked to hoist the national flag one month ahead of Independence Day on August 17.

"We must show that we are faithful to the unitary state of Indonesia, otherwise we will lose our lives or have our houses burned down. We could be suspected of being a GAM member or sympathizer if we dare defy the order to raise the flag by July 17. People all the way up to East Aceh, which is another conflict zone, have to do the same," Diro told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Many locals said that the flags, lined up in a seemingly unending row, reminded them not of their country, but the dominant military and members of the National Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob), who were often seen sneaking in and out of their houses and their lives.

"They scare us. They may have been here for years but still, if we are in a vehicle and we pass by the checkpoints, we never forget to wave at them. You see, we cannot risk being beaten up or held up at a security checkpoint," Jodi, a local, said on Sunday.

"Once there was a checkpoint in Bireuen. It didn't even look like one since there were no signs. It was more like an old, vacant store that had a big blue sign with a store's name on it. We passed by it, and some officers immediately rushed out to stop our car," added Jodi.

Although Aceh Police chief Insp. Gen. Jusuf Manggabarani may have told legislators in Jakarta that he had convinced his subordinates to ensure the officers at checkpoints do not demand pungli (illegal fees) in exchange for safety from every passing truck, The Jakarta Post witnessed young Brimob officers stopping a truck in front of the Jeunib Police station and demanding money from the driver.

One kilometer from the station, another group of Brimob officers were seen stopping a truck and trying to negotiate a price. Idi, a resident of Jeunib, said on Sunday that the bribes took up all of a truck driver's daily earnings, but employers did not care about this.

Rural issues

Drought leaves rice belt facing harvest failure

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2002

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Novan Iman Santosa, Indramayu -- Defying warnings from officials of an extended dry season, many farmers in Indramayu regency, West Java grow rice mostly because they have no other option.

Officials from local agriculture and irrigation agencies told The Jakarta Post recently that they had continuously alerted the farmers since early this year of possible water shortages.

"We had estimated since last October that we could only serve some 65,000 hectares during the dry season. But the farmers are cultivating some 90,000 hectares, which is well above our capacity," head of Indramayu Irrigation Agency's operational and maintenance division, Rukanda, said.

"More problems arise when farmers from outside the designated area pump out water for their own fields, causing the upstream farmers to experience a water shortage," he said.

Known as one of three largest rice-producing regencies in West Java, Indramayu produces more than 300,000 kilograms of rice each year as do Karawang and Subang regencies. West Java is one of Indonesia's major rice belts.

Indramayu produced some 1.3 million tons of unhusked rice or the equivalent of 787,401 tons of rice in 2001. That year the regency enjoyed a surplus of some 477,000 tons of rice which accounted for 13 percent of West Java's stock or 3 percent of the national rice stock.

The latest data at the Indramayu Agriculture Agency shows that some 8,000 hectares out of 110,000 hectares of paddy fields in the regency have been declared a failure. Another 4,700 hectares are severely hit by the current drought.

There are 3,044 hectares of failed rice crops in Losarang, 1,602 hectares in Kroya and 1,241 hectares in Arahan. Losarang district has suffered the most as it is situated in the central part of Indramayu and at the end of both irrigation systems of the Jatiluhur dam and Rentang reservoir.

Head of the agriculture agency's staple crop division, Muhaimin, admitted that farmers had gambled by expecting the dry season would somehow be wetter than usual, as happened in the past two years.

"The farmers were encouraged by heavy rain in April and May so they planted rice hoping the rain would last until July as happened last year.

"They could not cultivate other crops, such as vegetables or watermelons, as their field were inundated with rain. The only option was rice," he said. June, however, saw a drastic drop in rainfall compared to May or June 2001.

There were only an average of 9.5 millimeters of rain recorded by 19 weather stations all over Indramayu in June compared to 56.5 mm in May. In June last year, 141.5 mm of rainfall was recorded.

The farmers, however, looked happy with the rains that fell last week, which was enough to guarantee a month's water supply for their paddy fields.

Rukanda said his office recorded an increase in water volume from 5 cubic meters to some 23 cubic meters in Cipelang western irrigation canal of the Rentang reservoir and an increase to 26 cubic meters in the reservoir's eastern canal in Sindupraja.

Rentang dam supplies water to some 66,000 hectares in eastern Indramayu while the western area obtains water from the Jatiluhur reservoir in Purwakarta regency.

Despite the recent rains, the National Meteorological and Geophysical Agency official in charge of weather forecasts and services, Ahmad Zakir, warned farmers to be ready for even lower rainfall in the coming months.

"There were rains in the northern coastal area and western parts of West Java. But it was an isolated case and we cannot expect too much of it. Farmers must be ready for even hotter days in August," he said.

Hardship, debt trouble farmers as drought starts

Jakarta Post - July 21, 2002

Yogita Tahilramani and Edith Hartanto, Mojokerto -- Rising at dawn everyday, 60-year-old grandfather Hardjo prays long and hard before he prepares himself for work in the dry, rock-hard fields of Suru village, in the drought-ravaged district of Dawarblandong, Mojokerto regency, East Java.

"I have not tasted rain since April. That is all I can pray for. I have ... no hope for my corn field," Hardjo told The Jakarta Post recently as he massaged his blackened, swollen feet while resting on a patch of parched ground in the corn field which has produced nothing since March.

As he has not earned any money from his corn field, his family only eats corn left from the March harvest. To save the corn, he and his family eat once a day. Corn is a lot cheaper than rice.

Hardjo is one of thousands of farmers in East Java who are suffering due to the dry season which came too early this year.

East Java is home to 35 million people, of whom, 22 million are farmers, including fishermen. Most of those farmers plant rice, corn and soybeans. The early arrival of the dry season has caused many to suffer, especially those planting rice, corn and soybeans.

According to official data, at least 4,440 hectares of paddy fields across the East Java province have been hit by drought, and another 150,000 hectares of rice, corn and soybean may dry up.

While most farmers are suffering due to the drought, there are also those who have benefited from the early dry season, especially the tobacco farmers.

That is why the government has postponed its plan to try cloud seeding to create rain in Central Java and part of East Java, in order to wait for the harvest of the tobacco farmers.

But these tobacco farmers number very few, compared to the total farmers in East Java, one of the country's rice producing provinces. Rice farmers will surely be the ones who suffer most as paddy fields require much water.

Rice farmers in Mojokerto, Lamongan, Kediri and Ngawi are among the hardest hit by the dry season. Some lucky farmers could still get water from their irrigation system.

Farmers in the drought-stricken villages of Puhsarang and Bobang of Semen district in Kediri, for instance, could still get water for their rice fields, but getting the water is a problem. Farmers in these villages are each given about 15 minutes a week to water their fields from the irrigation system, using the Bruno river as a water source, which is only enough to make their fields wet for one day. Many farmers, however, chose not to use their turn to water their fields as it really could not help save to their rice fields.

The dry season has caused the farmers, especially rice farmers, to endure many hardships this season. Many farmers and their families have had to subsist on a cheaper diet, eating only corn and dried cassava. Not only that, many of them also have to live on borrowed money.

Many farmers cursed the central government and the regional administrations for making their life difficult by cutting fertilizer subsidies. Many farmers claimed that they were in debt due to the rising cost of fertilizers.

Kastari, a farmer in Suru village, is one of them. "In February I sold one ton of corn and earned Rp 750,000 (US$83). Most of this went to my neighbors to pay off my debts ... money I had borrowed to feed my family and pay for fertilizer. After paying that off, I borrowed money again since I need to feed my family. It's a vicious cycle," Kastari said. "The government should subsidize the cost of fertilizers." Currently, one 50-kilogram sack of urea costs farmers Rp 60,000 a kilo.

Imam, another indebted farmer in Suru, said he would soon ask one or two of his three children to drop out of school since he could not afford to pay the transportation cost of Rp 1,000 per child per day. "I cannot afford Rp 3,000 every day for my kids. Besides, who can afford to pay the school fees, books and uniforms, when there is nothing to eat?"

'War on terrorism'

US reward for Indonesia's help in war on terror

Straits Times - July 24, 2002

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- In a sign that the United States is renewing military ties with Indonesia, a Senate committee last week voted to restore a military assistance and training programme for the country's armed forces.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted last Thursday to allocate US$400,000 to resume training with Indonesia under the International Military Education and Training programme.

The proposal is yet to be passed by the full Senate and the House of Representatives. A ban on weapons sales and other military assistance would still stand even if the committee's recommendation is accepted.

Analysts say the move -- which comes despite criticism that the military has implemented few of the reforms demanded by the US Congress when it slapped the ban on in 1999 -- is a reward for Indonesia's efforts in the war on terrorism.

"There is no question that this is a direct reward for Indonesian participation in the war on terror," said Mr Sidney Jones, the Jakarta director of the International Crisis Group, an international think-tank. "This has nothing to do with reform or even a strategic look at Indonesia, it is a direct pat on the back for the Indonesian army."

Observers believe that Indonesia's willingness to arrest and hand over an alleged Al-Qaeda operative to the US recently was seen as a sign that the Indonesian military and intelligence was prepared to cooperate with the US in the war on terror.

Congress suspended military ties with Indonesia in reaction to the Indonesian military sponsoring the post-ballot rampage in East Timor in September 1999.

Under the Leahy Amendment, Congress said full military ties with Indonesia were suspended until Indonesia brought to justice military personnel responsible for the carnage.

The International Crisis Group and other critics say despite the 1999 US congressional ban, the military has made scant attempts to reform itself. They say reforms, such as punishing human rights violators and reining in the military's corrupt and illegal business network, have stalled.

International relations analyst Rizal Sukma says the US wants to lift the ban on training programmes primarily out of frustration with the lack of high-level military contacts it has in the Indonesian military. "The US has realised since 1991 that the problem is that they do not have many generals they are close to."

Proponents of a resumption of assistance, such as Mr Rizal, argue that such a training programme would promote human rights and more progressive attitudes within the military. "The US is sending a message that this is not a blank cheque. The Indonesian military still has to do a lot of things on human rights," he said.

The Indonesian military and government has responded positively to the move, saying it marked a first step in full military-to- military relations. Major General Sudrajat of the Defence Department said the training programme would enhance the professionalism of the armed forces and their sense of democracy and civil society.

[On July 23, Reuters reported that US President George W. Bush called Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri to thank her for her efforts to combat terrorism. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the two leaders also talked about ways to improve US-Indonesian ties and Secretary of State Colin Powell's upcoming visit. Powell will stop in Indonesia during an eight-nation trip to Asia that starts on July 26 - James Balowski.]

Little evidence of terrorist cells

Radio Australia - July 19, 2002

[A new report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says there's evidence that Al Qaeda members fleeing Afghanistan have moved to Indonesia and built links with Islamic groups. So what evidence is there of al-Qaeda presence in Indonesia?]

Presenter/Interviewer: Tom Fayle

Speakers: Dr Greg Fealy, of the Australian National University in Canberra.

Fealy: There is certainly some evidence that individual Al Qaeda members and activists have gone to Indonesia. There have been a number of arrests which have been publicised in the papers. But, I think the main thing to point out here is that there is a gap between the assertions of officials and quite often journalists who are acting on the basis of briefings from western and sometimes regional intelligence officials about the extent of Al Qaeda penetration -- the gap between what those people say and what the available evidence on public record would indicate to be the case -- so while it would be entirely plausible to argue that Al Qaeda has a presence in Indonesia, the reality is we've still not had evidence given to us to show that cells have actually been exposed in Indonesia or that a number of the individuals who have been detained or have been found to be involved -- that they had broader networks within the country. At the moment it's more within the category of supposition.

Fayle: Then if the evidence is so mixed -- what does that say about the current policy towards Indonesia being adopted by the United States and other countries, for Jakarta to mount a major crackdown on its more vocal Islamic groups?

Fealy: Alot of people -- myself included -- regard that as misguided because there has been a pattern, not only in the Suharto era but even before that, of State agencies, particularly security agencies in Indonesia, being very heavy handed in their oppression of -- or suppression of -- radical Islamic groups and on occasions in fact also manipulating those groups: cultivating them, recruiting them for particular purposes and then setting them up so that they can be used as evidence of the violent intent of some radical muslims in Indonesia. And the cumulative effect of this type of policy has been to further radicalise those groups and probably to make them more desperate, to make them more prone to violent activities and certainly to sharpen what was already a fairly militant ideology that they espoused. So the risk is that if America pushes Indonesia's intelligence and Security Services to have this crackdown on Islamic groups, it will in fact be counter-productive: that lots of groups that are radical but not terrorists will be targetted; that this may have or cause a further hardening of their attitudes. This may drive them in fact, closer towards an Al Qaeda model of behaviour rather than just keeping them in the camp of peaceful but just very radical Muslims.

Terror suspect arrested in US 'visited Indonesia'

Straits Times - July 22, 2002

Jakarta -- Jakarta police said yesterday they were following up a report that a man said to be carrying US$12 million in bogus cheques and with possible links to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network had travelled to Indonesia before arriving in the US.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that US officials in Detroit had arrested Jordanian-born Omar Shishani, who they suspected trained in Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.

"We have asked for information from Interpol but the cross-checks have given us no results yet," National Police deputy spokesman Edward Aritonang said. "We also need to confirm the truth of the report and whether he did come from Indonesia. If all of that is true, we'll check the plane list and possible embarkation points," he added.

The FBI in Detroit confirmed Shishani's arrest but would not say whether he may have trained in Afghanistan with Al-Qaeda, which the US blames for the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

But in Jordan, the man's brother, Mr Ahmad Shishani, said Omar has "absolutely no links at all with any terrorist group or Al- Qaeda".

"He leads a mundane life; he enjoys life; he often travels first class and he wears modern, Western-style suites," the younger Shishani said.

Government & politics

Glut of parties, most with emotional appeal

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2002

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta -- The surge in the number of political parties -- now around 180 -- may signal a thriving democracy but analysts warned on Friday new parties catered more to the political illiterate and failed to meet the people's diverse needs.

Over the past few months new parties have sprung up, hoping to win seats in the legislature in the 2004 general elections. New parties abound with about 180 having submitted their registration forms to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

Several politicians and analysts have said that the ideal number was 10, reasoning it would make for a stronger opposition. More than 40 parties contested the 1999 election, many of whom have since folded.

The numbers of parties signing up to contest the elections are likely to plunge under the proposed election bill. The draft law, being debated by the House of Representatives, stipulates that a party must have branches in at least 20 of the 30 provinces to be eligible for the elections. It must also have executive boards in two-thirds of the number of regencies or cities in one province.

These requirements should ensure that only serious parties fight the election. Once they do, the government will have to partly subsidize their campaign activities.

General Election Commission (KPU) member Imam Prasodjo said the restriction should not choke off channels for the public's aspirations.

The sociologist said the rise of new parties also reflected Indonesia's diverse society. "It shows that current political parties have failed to accommodate the public's aspirations," he said.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), which won the 1999 elections with 34 percent of the vote, has seen a number of defections among its top members, some of whom decided to set up a new party altogether.

Last Wednesday, PDI Perjuangan dissident Eros Djarot launched the Bung Karno Nationalist Party (PNBK). Bung Karno refers to the name of Indonesia's founding-father Soekarno. Earlier this year, another PDI Perjuangan member, Dimyati Hartono, established the Indonesian Motherland Party (PITA).

Analysts predicted splinter parties like PNBK and PITA would likely try to woo members from their original parties to join them. But a senior party member of PDI Perjuangan, Mochtar Buchori, dismissed such a move would happen to his party.

He said PNBK was simply too old fashioned and its presence was more an urban phenomenon with little or no support among the grassroots levels.

Political analyst Syamsuddin Harris of the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI) agreed, saying the reference to Soekarno might be appealing yet outdated. "I am afraid the people behind these parties use them as a vehicle to climb the ladder of power," Syamsuddin said.

He added that many still believed the shortcut for a party to raise to power was by having a strong figure standing behind it. This is true because people know voters here care more about the person than the ideas behind a party, he said.

Analysts have said because of a lack of political education, few voters showed interest in a party's vision and programs. Instead, they said, parties were chosen based more on primordial sentiments with the help of a prominent figure who could lead.

Consequently, 50 years after the country's first general election in 1955, parties continue to polarize along the lines of nationalism and religion. Today the two groups were divided each into traditionalists and modernists as well, Syamsuddin said.

Existing parties however are not been much different from their newer peers. PDI Perjuangan enjoys broad support which many say comes mainly from the fact that chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri was the symbol of oppression during the Soeharto regime.

Her father, Soekarno, was also Indonesia's first president whose legacy continues to wield powerful influence among the people three decades after his death.

Another example is the Golkar Party, which attributes its political clout to its close ties with former president Soeharto. He never led the party, but was a member of its board of patrons.

Newer parties like the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) trace their success to their links with the country's two largest Muslim organizations and their leaders.

According to Syamsuddin, this trend will take at least another two to three more elections, or 15 years, before there were enough critical voters for more sophisticated parties to emerge. "What we're seeing here is a phase in democracy."

Megawati one year on

Radio Australia - July 24, 2002

[Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri was once seen as the great hope for Indonesian democracy. Now, on the first anniversary of her presidency, Megawati's critics have accused her of cosying up to the military. Indeed, she's received a less than flattering report card, with a poll by the popular Kompas newspaper registering over 70-percent of respondents dissatisfied with Megawati's performance in her first year -- mainly her failure to check corruption and enforce the rule of law.]

Transcript:

Parengkuan: Unemployment is not solved yet and even more people have lost their jobs simply because the country has become so unstable for foreign investors due to anti-terrorism statements and that makes many foreigners leave this country. And that really makes an impact to our economy, and secondly the problem in Aceh Aceh is very much in the focus.

Lam: On the issue of Aceh, there is a feeling amongst some quarters that President Megawati is giving the military a much greater influence now in Aceh and that the armed forces have even been revived as a political force. Is that a common feeling in Indonesia?

Parengkuan: Yes, most Acehenese reject the idea of having a greater military operation. But this is actually divided in the Indonesian public. Some really think that they have to have this military power to overcome the problem in Aceh. But yes, the military I think is being entertained by the President, there is a good relationship. And the public is also divided, you have some who are anti-military, pro-democracy saying that we cannot believe the military because sooner or later they will come again to power and we'll just be repeating the Suharto period. But some others say, that we need the military because this country is so unstable. We don't have security and as you see there are more crimes due to unemployment, but really crimes with guns, that makes certain people in society scared and then people start talking, well we have to give more power to the military and to the police.

Lam: And yet it was the military under President Suharto that forced her to form an offshoot of the PDI, PDI Perjuangan. So are Megawati supporters disappointed with her cosy relationship with the military now?

Parengkuan: In many ways it is a compromise with the military. She knows that to stabilise the country she really depends on the military. She realises that the police do not have enough manpower and they are not trained to create a stabilised country. And sometimes we see the parliament doing its executive job with many people criticising it. Some conglomerates are already being questioned, being summoned to the Attorney General, but so far no one has been taken to the court.

Lam: And so some people think that President Megawati in her own quiet way is trying to fight corruption?

Parengkuan: Yes and people believe that she herself is "clean".

Lam: What has President Megawati got right in the first 12 months?

Parengkuan: She doesn't talk too much, silence is golden. She hasn't made any controversial statements, people also see that the country in general is quite stable, the rupiah is getting stronger. There are around 9,000 rupiah per US dollar or below that and when she came to power, it was over 10,000 rupiah. Only some of her policies have divided the party, that's what many are afraid of, like the candidacy of Sutiyoso as the governor of Jakarta, that really divided the party.

Lam: And that was a very unpopular decision?

Parengkuan: Exactly, exactly.

Megawati starts second year weak ratings

Agence France Presse - July 23, 2002

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri completed a year in power as newspapers in the world's fourth most populous nation gave her a less than flattering report card.

Kompas front-paged its latest opinion poll which it said showed almost 72 percent of the 1,773 people surveyed were dissatisfied with her government. It said the poll conducted last week showed the major letdown was weak efforts to combat corruption and enforce the law.

Another poll by the Detikcom online news service showed 70 percent of 1,000 respondents faulted Megawati's performance.

Megawati, 55, took the helm on July 23, 2001, after parliament's upper house sacked her voluble and erratic predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid following months of political turmoil.

Foreign analysts have credited the famously taciturn Megawati, the daughter of founding president Sukarno, with restoring calm and pushing ahead with economic reforms. Several local analysts accuse her of shelving key political and social reforms.

In stark contrast to her predecessor, Megawati never gives media interviews or individual press conferences, speaks relatively seldom in public and has no official spokesman.

The Jakarta Post said in an editorial her "silence is golden" stance "is a welcome breath of fresh air after the noisy, unpredictable and zig-zag style of government of her predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid. Her silence may have had a stabilising effect on a jittery economy, as demonstrated by the stronger rupiah and a relatively calm market in the last few months."

But the paper said these developments had raised possibly unrealistic expectations of a speedy answer to the country's prolonged crisis. It added: "The mounting criticism of Megawati, to a certain extent, has been caused by the administration's poor handling of public relations. Governing requires good communication and a lack of it can cause miscommunication and misunderstanding." Megawati, the Post said, "has not tried hard enough to build, maintain or sell a good image as a leader." She had only one item on her agenda Tuesday -- attending a ceremony to mark Children's Day.

Koran Tempo newspaper carried an article from William Liddle, a political science professor at Ohio state university, who said Indonesia is now seeing an anti-democracy movement. "In the democratic government of Indonesia, which is still new and vulnerable, a very anti-democratic machine is on the move," Liddle wrote.

He said there was a growing tendency to look for solutions to problems from outside the political scene, as the public appeared fed up with politicians' focus on their struggle for power. He cited the growing number of non-politicians planning to set up new parties and the number of non-politicians touted as potential national leaders. The armed forces had also been revived as a political force, he said.

Pikiran Rakyat newspaper said Megawati had failed to meet the hopes of many -- that she work to bridge the gulf between the nationalist factions of which she is a figurehead and the Islamic factions in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Megawati betrayal may split PDIP

Green Left Weekly - July 24, 2002

Max Lane, Jakarta -- President Megawati Sukarnoputri's support within her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) is falling as she increasingly associates with the political figures from the era of the Suharto dictatorship.

Almost every day in Jakarta's mass circulation tabloids, which are read by the urban masses, PDIP dissidents criticise Megawati for her support for retired general Sutiyoso's candidacy for governor of Jakarta. Sutiyoso was the military commander of Jakarta at the time of the bloody 1996 attack on the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

The 1996 attack followed the refusal of pro-Megawati PDI members to surrender the building to a new leadership backed by the Suharto dictatorship. Many Megawati supporters were killed and injured. While the attackers posed as PDI members, it is widely accepted that the assault was organised with the support of the military. Sutiyoso is held responsible by many PDIP supporters for the deaths that resulted.

Sutiyoso, who is just finishing his first term as governor, has also been under constant criticism for the policies he has implemented. Thousands of Trishaw drivers have protested against being driven out of more and more sections of Jakarta. He was also criticised for his administration's inadequate response to devastating floods in Jakarta earlier this year.

Sutiyoso has been accused of building a mansion on the slope of a mountain in contravention of municipal regulations, which were issued to protect the natural water channels that carry water away from Jakarta. Many similar mansions on the mountains that surround the city were torn down after the floods when it was revealed that their construction was a cause of the disaster.

Megawati's decision to support Sutiyoso has been condemned by some PDIP members of parliament, as well as several groups based in the PDIP rank-and-file.

At the forefront have been survivors of the 1996 attack who are conducting a campaign to have Sutiyoso and others charged with complicity in the deaths and injuries. The only people to be imprisoned in connection with the attack were the survivors themselves, who were released after Suharto was forced to resign in 1997.

A prominent figure in the Jakarta branch of the PDIP, Tarmidi, has defied Megawati and registered as a candidate in the election. The mass circulation tabloid Rakyat Merdeka has also published articles by PDIP MPs who have attacked Megawati's support for Sutiyoso and exposed the level of privilege that PDIP MPs enjoy. Rakyat Merdeka has reported that some MPs are planning to split away and establish a PDIP Revolusioner.

The front-page reports of Megawati's betrayal of the PDIP membership are consolidating the belief that Megawati is aligning herself with Suharto's Golkar party and the military in preparation for the 2004 parliamentary elections. The PDIP leadership's refusal to support a parliamentary inquiry into corruption allegations against Golkar has heightened this impression.

The mass circulation tabloids' have also reported that Megawati has backed the harsh penalties dished out to activists who stamped on pictures of Megawati and vice-president Hamzah Haz at a protest. Four activists have been arrested and the police are seeking to arrest protest organiser, Ricky Tambah, secretary general of the Popular Youth Movement (GPK). Activists have also been detained in Surabaya for burning an effigy of Megawati.

Megawati is reported to have said that people who show such disrespect for national symbols should be stripped of their citizenship and expelled from Indonesia.

On July 10, the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Committee (KAMMI), decided to defy this publicly by burying photos of Megawati and Hamzah Haz.

Megawati trades reform with stability

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta -- Indonesia passed its first year under the rule of President Megawati Soekarnoputri relatively calmly, allowing the country a break from the restless years under her two predecessors.

But while both former presidents B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid took bold steps toward reform, critics say the reform movement has virtually come to a standstill under Megawati.

"Habibie began the reforms, Gus Dur [Abdurrahman's nickname] pushed them further, but under Megawati it has just nose-dived," said Arbi Sanit, a political analyst at the University of Indonesia.

Critics say there appears to be no end to the political horse- trading that takes place at the expense of the public interest, corruption remains as flagrant as ever, and the military is making a comeback into politics.

All this in one year after legislators impeached Abdurrahman for incompetence in July 23, 2001. Megawati's rise to power is seen more as the by-product of legislators' single-minded effort to oust Gus Dur. In 1999, Gus Dur became president because most legislators did not want the position to be held by Megawati.

After she became president in 2001, Megawati secured pledges by various political parties to let her rule until the 2004 General Election. This came after the final six months of Gus Dur's presidency, which got bogged down with haggling to remove the president from office, draining politicians' energy and adversely affecting the economy, causing a volatile rupiah.

But Arbi said the country's current period of stability is misleading. "It is not stability, it is political calmness." Underneath the placid surface, vested interests are jostling for power as the 2004 General Election looms, say analysts. "It [politicking] is happening inside political parties and inside the government," Arbi said.

Vice President Hamzah Haz, who hails from the Islamic leaning United Development Party (PPP) has made it no secret that he is eyeing Megawati's post. Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Assembly Speaker Amien Rais is also seen as a contender in the 2004 election.

Megawati still needs to bolster her support and this necessity has become apparent in her policies, Arbi said. Making overtures to the military has been just one example, he said and linked this with her declining tolerance of criticism.

On several occasions the President has expressed concern about media coverage, which she deems excessive, and analysts also see the police taking tougher measures against anti-government protests.

"In terms of democracy, we're seeing a regression," Arbi said. Military observer Riefqi Muna said in reforming the military the government was causing more setbacks than progress. She has allowed the military to decide for the government, he said.

He added that Megawati's position on conflict zones like Aceh showed she was letting the military have its way. The government plans to install a civil emergency status in Aceh that will cut civil rights and increase the number of troops in the province.

The plan has persisted despite criticism that 10 years of military operations up until 1998 failed to bring peace to the province, where separatists have been fighting since 1976.

Throughout the conflict, human rights activists blame the military as mainly responsible for the deaths of some 10,000 people, mostly civilians. "Megawati is treating the military not as an institution she must lead, but as a political force standing equal to her." This is in contrast to Abdurrahman, whose first move to cut the military's political clout was to oust then minister of defense Gen. (ret) Wiranto.

Wiranto led the Indonesian Military when its members went on the rampage after East Timor voted for independence in 1999. Abdurrahman's push for reform in the military cost him its support, which eventually led to him being ousted from office.

"Megawati's move toward the military is politically calculated rather than a commitment to reform the armed forces," Riefqi explained.

But nowhere are reforms said to be worse than on the legal front where Indonesian courts have gained a notorious reputation in the international community.

Lawyer Frans H. Winarta said the government was not serious about implementing legal reforms, as was evident in the rise of questionable verdicts. "There just doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency, it must be because Megawati has failed to see the importance of this [legal reforms]," he said.

Regional/communal conflicts

Injury count rises for Ambon bomb blast, city calm

Reuters - July 28, 2002

Grace Nirang, Jakarta -- Life had returned to normal on the streets of Indonesia's troubled eastern city of Ambon on Sunday, police said, a day after a bomb blast that injured 53 people and may raise fresh doubts about a regional peace pact.

The count of 53 injured was raised from a figure of 51 given by an Ambon official on Saturday. Police said five of those were seriously injured.

Police said they were questioning six witnesses in connection with the bomb that went off in a Christian area near midday on Saturday. It was the latest violence in Ambon, the hub of the Moluccas islands where clashes between Muslims and Christians have killed at least 5,000 people in the past three years.

"Ambon so far is calm and under control. Christians are going to the churches as usual," police chief Noviantoro told Reuters from Ambon, some 2,300 kms east of Jakarta.

"It was a homemade bomb. We are questioning six people who witnessed the bomb blast," he said, adding that the bomb was planted in an ice cart in a busy market in Ambon. He said police data show most of the injured were students of nearby Pattimura University.

"Most of the victims have left the hospital. Five of the victims are seriously injured," he said. While a baby and a four-year-old girl were among the wounded, they were not suffering serious injuries, he added.

Another police officer said the bomb had gone off in a Christian neigbourhood, although some Muslim families had returned to live there after the signing of the peace pact. "Judging from their names, most of the victims are Christians," the officer said.

The bomb squad also found an unexploded bomb in a warehouse near the scene of the blast, police said.

Any major outbreak of violence on Ambon or elsewhere in the islands could threaten a landmark peace deal signed in February. The deal has held relatively well by Indonesian standards.

Leaders confident

But central government and local leaders said they were confident the latest violence would not ruin the peace process.

"Anything that happens in Ambon will no longer be able to provoke the people," Chief Welfare Minister Jusuf Kalla told reporters after a meeting with President Megawati Sukarnoputri on Saturday. Kalla led the peace negotiations between the warring sides in February.

Reverend Frans Lutherman of the Moluccas Advent Church said: "It was the act by outside groups. Christians and Muslims in Moluccas want an end of the violence. You can see that there is no response from the two sides on the attack." Most factions involved in the Moluccas islands fighting signed the peace deal in February, but tensions remain high and there have been sporadic outbreaks of violence.

Indonesia bomb blast injures 53

Associated Press - July 27, 2002

Michael Casey, Jakarta -- A bomb exploded in a crowded marketplace in Indonesia's religiously divided province of Maluku Saturday, injuring 53 people, police said.

The 9am blast ripped through a market packed with shoppers in a Christian neighborhood of Ambon, a provincial capital that is divided between warring Christian and Muslim sides.

The island province 1,600 miles east of Jakarta has been wracked by three years of sectarian fighting that has killed 9,000 people.

A Christian activist, Frans, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said he was inside his house when he heard the explosion. He said he looked outside to see glass, blood and people lying in the street.

"Suddenly there was boom, boom. The house was shaking," he said. "I saw some people lying on the street, and there was blood everywhere. I saw two of them badly injured and lifted into an ambulance." Police Sgt. Ketut Purwato said 53 people were injured.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, and no one has been arrested, he said. The explosion is the latest in a series of violent incidents that is testing the strength of a peace deal signed in February between the two communities. The truce had succeeded in stemming much of the fighting, but there have been occasional outbreaks of violence since then.

"The situation was very much improving and mutual trust between Muslims and Christians was building up," said Cornelius Bohm, a Christian pastor in Ambon. "This is a terrible setback." The attack came two days after Jafar Umar Thalib -- the leader of the militant Islamic group Laskar Jihad, which has been blamed for fueling much of the fighting -- was released from a Jakarta jail.

He faces charges of inciting violence in the province by delivering a speech to thousands of his followers in March 26 calling for war. He also has called for them to reject a February peace deal meant to end the fighting between Muslims and Christians in Maluku.

The attack on the Christian village took place soon after that speech. No one has been arrested in the April attack, and Christian leaders suspect that Muslim hardliners were behind it.

As a result of the April attack, the provincial government has declared an emergency and banned all foreigners -- including reporters -- from the island.

Last week, government officials said security was improving because some some groups, including Laskar Jihad, were turning in weapons.

Government not transparent on Maluku, Aceh issue

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2002

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta -- An alliance of non- governmental organizations (NGOs) criticized the government on Friday for its lack of transparency in implementing policies to end regional conflicts, especially those in Aceh and Maluku.

The NGOs said Jakarta had taken additional measures in the troubled provinces without giving an explanation to the public as to whether it had made any progress or not.

"Government policies on Aceh and Maluku are not based on a comprehensive analysis of the real condition in the provinces," said Ori Rachman, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras). "The government always takes a security approach and never listens to the people," he said.

The NGOs, including Kontras, the Advocacy Team for the Resolution of the Ambon Case (Tapak Ambon), the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) and the International Non- governmental Forum on Indonesia's Development (Infid) assessed on Friday the two-year-old state of civil emergency in Maluku. The results of the evaluation will soon be released to the public.

Jakarta is considering imposing civil emergency status in Aceh to quell the separatist movement. It has also set up an independent team to investigate all violations of human rights and the law during the three-year Maluku conflict.

The conflict, which has claimed thousands of lives since clashes first broke out on January 19, 1999, has been complicated by the presence of Java-based Laskar Jihad and the resurgence of the South Maluku Republic (RMS).

There are a total of 12 battalions of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police deployed on the islands of Ambon, Seram and Buru.

Maj. Gen. Djoko Santoso, the chief of the Pattimura Military Command overseeing Maluku and North Maluku, said on Friday that although the situation in Maluku was calm, none of the troops would be withdrawn until the situation was fully under control.

Ori said the measures taken by the government in Maluku and North Maluku to end the conflict were incompatible with what the public urgently needed.

"The people of Maluku have stopped the communal clashes and are aware of the presence of outsiders who worsen the situation. They have also been able to maintain security and order by themselves."

Local & community issues

Lampung people threaten to take over palm plantation

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandar Lampung -- Following a violent clash with security personnel on Thursday, hundreds of striking workers from a PT Budi Dharma Godam Perkasa (BDGP)-owned oil palm plantation in North Lampung have threatened to take over the 2000-hectare plantation because of the management's failure to end a prolonged land dispute.

The workers, the majority from Blambangan Pagar village, demanded that Team 13, assigned by the provincial administration to handle land disputes in the province, invite the plantation's management to the negotiating table before they acted.

"We give two weeks for the team to help solve the conflict. I cannot prevent residents from occupying the company's office and taking over the plantation if no solution is found," Syahrur, head of village, told reporters on Saturday.

Several striking villages were injured in a clash with police at the plantation on Thursday in efforts to press the management to negotiate with the workers. Activists Tony Damanik and Adenin, who are believed to have urged the villagers to go on strike, are still at large.

It was the second clash between the villagers and security personnel. The first occurred in 1998 when former president Soeharto stepped down. No casualties were reported in the incident.

The communal land was appropriated by force by the former military-style New Order regime and handed over to a Jakarta businessman for the oil plantation.

Under former president Abdurrahman Wahid's tenure, the villagers questioned the land's appropriation and demanded the management pay fair compensation.

Syahrur said that in several prior negotiations, the management committed to giving eight percent of its annual profits to the villagers but, so far, nothing had been paid to the land's owners.

"As land owners, we have received nothing from the management who have enjoyed the company's profits for many years. We have been abandoned," he said.

Thoyib, a villager, said all residents had agreed to a meeting after the clash, but would take over the plantation if the management failed to fulfill its promise.

Armen Yasir, a member of Team 13, regretted the company's failure to realize its commitment to give eight percent of its annual profit to the villagers.

"We have pressed the management to fulfill its promise but it has breached it. My team will not take responsibility for any incident in the future if the villagers run amok and occupy the company's office," he warned.

According to The Jakarta Post's data, there are 350 land disputes in the province and most have yet to be resolved peacefully.

During 2000, eight people, including three police personnel, were killed in clashes between locals and security authorities in two land disputes with palm oil plantation company PT Bangun Nusa Persada and a shrimp pond company respectively in Tulangbawang Regency in the province.

Human rights/law

Conviction good for judiciary, says UN official

Associated Press - July 28, 2002

Bandar Seri Begawan -- Tommy Suharto's conviction augurs well for the independence of the judiciary in Indonesia, according to Datuk Param Cumaraswamy, the United Nations special rapporteur who had last week said the country's legal system was the worst he had ever seen.

Speaking in his capacity as a member of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) working group on human rights, Datuk Cumaraswamy told reporters yesterday: 'The outcome of this case speaks well for the independence of the judiciary in Indonesia.

"We've got to build sufficient confidence-building measures to restore the dignity of the courts," he added.

During a recently concluded 10-day mission to investigate Indonesia's judiciary, he had ruffled feathers in the country when he remarked that for a country the size of Indonesia and with its continuing economic development, the state of its judiciary "should never have been allowed to come to this extent".

Senior Asean diplomats, meeting in Brunei to lay the groundwork for next week's meetings of foreign ministers, also described Tommy's conviction as a "development" for Indonesian democracy.

"It means the wheels of justice are turning in Indonesia," said Mr Rodolfo Severino, Asean Secretary-General. "If justice is working, that is very important for its stability."

Mr Makarim Wibisono, a senior Indonesian foreign ministry official, called the ruling a "very good development".

"I think this demonstrates that the process of legal and judicial reforms continues," he said. "Once this is felt by everybody, that justice is working, people will respect it because they consider the [conviction] will bring the country out of underdevelopment and the past," he said.

'Money can buy court verdicts'

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2002

The Central Jakarta District Court finally handed down the verdict for Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra without the presence of the defendant, who claimed to be sick. Several people share their cynical views on the case and on the judiciary in general.

Iskandar, 20, a hawker on city buses, who comes from Lampung and has been living in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, since 1994.

Tommy's long and useless trial was a joke. If he respected the court, he would have attended every session of the trial, instead of making excuses to skip it. He should have known the schedule. I'm sure that if the defendant was an average street criminal, law enforcers would have either forced him to attend the court or shot him dead without a trial. But, Tommy is exceptional compared to the average crook.

Wealthy people can buy the court's verdict, and most do, right? A friend of mine was tried for deception last year, involving less than Rp 5 million. He was sentenced to two years in prison because when the judges asked him to pay money in return for his freedom, he could not afford it.

But, in Tommy's case, I predict he will go free or at least be given a lenient punishment. Money is more powerful than justice, after all.

Waji, 35, a vendor who has been selling soft drinks near Senayan Sports stadium in Central Jakarta for more than 10 years. He lives in Karet, South Jakarta, with his wife and daughter.

Tommy can't attend court? Well, that's just a joke. He is very rich and can do anything he likes.

He has committed many crimes, so I think he deserves at least a life sentence. I would prefer it if he received the death sentence. He deserves it, doesn't he? Only someone like Tommy could manage to flee justice and freely wander around the city, despite his crimes. He gets privileges that excuse him, which others street criminals do not enjoy.

Ngadino, 50, a bakso (meatball soup) seller on Jl. Jend. Sudirman for more than 30 years. He comes from Sukoharjo, Central Java, but now resides with his wife and three children in Bendungan Hilir, South Jakarta.

If Tommy is given a light sentence, it will be offensive to the public's sense of justice, as it is unfair compared to the harsh punishments handed out to lower-class bandits.

He deserves more than 15 years in prison. Of course, the most appropriate punishment for him would be a life sentence, which would hopefully make him redeem his crimes. The longer the sentence, the better, because he is deemed a high-class culprit.

Retno, a marketing officer at a private bank, who lives in Cawang, East Jakarta.

It is obvious that Tommy's trial has been engineered to his favor. He has frequently hampered the process by making unreasonable excuses to skip hearings and buy time.

Worse still, judges and other honorable law enforcers have deliberately allowed him to get away with these excuses. So, I think Tommy should be give the maximum sentence. What he has done is far from being ethical and it has badly hurt other people.

But, I honestly feel a bit pessimistic about the judges' commitment to sentence him severely. Don't forget, he still has a huge amount of money. Money has the power to buy the court's verdict.

It's no wonder law enforcers find it easy to deceive and make use of the public's ignorance, because the public are not able to directly probe the case.

Jakarta minister slams UN judiciary investigator

Reuters - July 23, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia's justice minister lashed out on Tuesday at a UN investigator examining the country's judiciary for branding the legal system as among the worst he had seen.

United Nations special rapporteur Param Cumaraswamy said over the weekend that President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government lacked the political will to root out graft and implement legal reforms critical to luring investors back to Indonesia.

Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said Cumaraswamy had exceeded his authority during a fact-finding mission to Indonesia, where the legal system has been criticised over issues ranging from lack of transparency to unpredictability.

"I questioned his statements on how bad the legal system is in Indonesia. I said to him, 'I've met several UN rapporteurs before but none has launched a political attack, especially on the president'," Mahendra told reporters.

"I asked what was his mandate, and he said collecting data. So, I asked 'why did you utter those comments and judge the government'. He denied having done that." Mahendra was speaking after a three-hour meeting with former commercial lawyer Cumaraswamy, a Malaysian.

Cumaraswamy, who among other things is looking into judicial graft in Indonesia and the independence of the judiciary, said he had a good debate with Mahendra.

"All I can say is that we had an open discussion on the concerns which I've already expressed ... the minister expressed his views on this matter and there are issues which we agreed and some issues where there was no agreement," he said.

Cumaraswamy arrived a week ago on a 10-day mission. He will report his findings to the UN Human Rights Commissioner next April. Cumaraswamy said he would announce his preliminary observations to the media on Wednesday.

On Saturday, he said: "I didn't realise the situation would be as bad as I have seen, particularly the structure of the system." Indonesia's legal system was dealt a fresh blow last month by a controversial bankruptcy ruling against a local unit of Canadian insurer Manulife Financial Corp.

Manulife alleged bribery influenced the ruling by the Jakarta Commercial Court on June 13. Mahendra's office is probing the allegations and is expected to announce the results this month.

The minister said he rejected some ideas from Cumaraswamy, including firing graft-tainted judges. "He advised we investigate corrupt judges and fire them. If I find indications of graft, I'll send the case to court," he said.

Mahendra added that Indonesia should not pay too much attention to foreign advice on how to reform its government.

Report reveals corruption in court is organized

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta -- Corruption within the country's judiciary is glaring and well-organized, involving all players in the legal system, and is faced by justice seekers at every stage of court procedures, a survey reveals.

Called Unveiling Court Mafia, the report by the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) depicts a failing justice system epitomizing the country's faltering reform movement. It said money and not justice was the currency in many courts.

"The court mafia is systemic because it [corruption] and the legal system have almost become intertwined," said the report, a copy of which The Jakarta Post obtained on Monday. "After years of letting corruption spread, it has become systemic." The report added that the chain of corruption in the judiciary did not stop at the Supreme Court -- the last resort for justice seekers.

ICW's report comes amid a United Nations (UN) mission looking into the country's judicial independence. Last week UN special rapporteur on the independency of judges and lawyers, Dato Param Cumaraswamy said Indonesia's justice system was in serious strife, admitting the situation was worse than expected.

"No matter how small the power of a court official is, it has the potential of becoming a commodity of corruption," ICW's report said. "Court mafia involves all actors ... from the police, court administrators, lawyers, prosecutors, to judges and prison guards," ICW conducted the study for about a year, conducting interviews in courts in cities like Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya and Yogyakarta.

It said that although the ways officials extracted money from their victims varied in different cities, the patterns were always the same.

At a criminal court, corruption begins when filing a case with officials who ask for variable registration fees. Once court proceedings begin, lawyers can choose favorable judges while most "lucrative" cases are handled directly led by the district court chief.

Verdicts are then subject to negotiations either through the service of the prosecutor or directly with the judges. "If one does it through prosecutors, it [negotiation] comes in one package. They will arrange everything from the charges to the verdict," the report said.

When judges postpone a verdict, it is a signal for a defendant to see the judge. Judges also ask for "hard work money" in cases where the defendant faces serious charges.

There is also the "marathon court hearing" where all comes arranged: witnesses, evidence, judges' questions and defendants' answers. Sometimes defendants are free to skip their trial because lawyers have prepared their statements.

A convicted person may also negotiate an appeal with the higher court, or contact prosecutors to have the court's verdict delayed.

In a civil court, the pattern is similar with additional fees such as gratitude money for judges, and the trading of verdicts where some judges go for the highest bidder.

Corruption at commercial courts follows the same pattern but may also include fictitious creditors, and the appointment of favorable court receivers or curators.

At the prosecutors' office, money can speed up or slow down an investigation, raise or reduce charges, and mean prison or city arrest. "Prosecutors ask whether a defendant has enough money and if so, will extort him to the limit," the report said.

ICW's report follows a string of recent controversial verdicts and court proceedings casting public doubt over the credibility of Indonesian courts.

Among the recent cases was the bankruptcy verdict against Canadian-based insurance firm PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife Indonesia (AJMI) -- a company the government declared solvent. The Supreme Court overturned the verdict earlier this month.

One of the three judges in the Manulife case later admitted to have received gratitude money in previous cases, but refused to call it corruption.

ICW chairman Teten Masduki said bribery money had shifted to the courts as it was harder to buy decisions from government officials due to the aggressive legislature and more powerful regional governments.

UN expert says Jakarta's legal system in trouble

Reuters - July 20, 2002

Joanne Collins, Jakarta -- A UN investigator examining Indonesia's judiciary said on Saturday the country's legal system was one of the worst he had seen and would take years to repair and raise to international standards.

United Nations special rapporteur Param Cumaraswamy said President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government lacked the political will to root out corruption and implement reforms critical to reassuring foreigners that Indonesia is a safe place to invest.

"I didn't realise the situation would be as bad as I have seen, particularly the structure of the system," he told a small gathering of reporters late on Saturday.

"For a country like Indonesia -- which has been independent since 1945, the largest Muslim nation in the world and next to China and India the largest population -- it is something I feel should never have been allowed to come to this extent," he added.

The former commercial lawyer arrived in Jakarta on Monday for a 10-day fact-finding mission looking into judicial corruption and the independence of the judiciary. He is to report his findings to the UN Human Rights Commission next April.

Timing

Cumaraswamy's visit comes amid a string of court cases against high-profile and powerful Indonesians, and as the country's new human rights court wades through its first trials over the bloodshed at the time of East Timor's independence vote in 1999.

On the Timor trials he said: "We are concerned about whether there was any form of selectivism in the various people who are being bought before the court and why certain others were not produced. I think these are answers that ought to be given by the authorities concerned when the time comes."

One key criticism has been the failure to try Indonesia's military chief at the time of the carnage, General Wiranto. But Cumaraswamy said there was still time for the government to charge others over the violence that racked the tiny territory after it voted in a UN-sponsored ballot to split from 24 years of often brutal Indonesian rule.

The United Nations, which ran the territory after the vote, estimates that more than 1,000 people were killed.

Embarrassed judges

Cumaraswamy, a Malaysian whose mandate covers nearly 200 countries, said the government needed to clean up the tarnished image of Indonesia's judiciary and address allegations of corruption.

"Judges themselves, who I am sure would be quite embarrassed every morning they wake up to read in the newspapers and when they go to sleep and see on the TV ... allegations of a corrupt judiciary have been levelled at them," he said. "Even those very honest judges are being implicated."

He said the government needed to set out firm policy guidelines, create an action plan and implement it quickly.

But there were some words of encouragement. The trials of former president Suharto's favourite son and of the country's parliamentary speaker for example were indicative of efforts to make a fresh start and show that genuine legal reform was taking place, he said.

"The very fact that they are before the courts ... is a sign that the system of justice is being applied to such personalities without discrimination."

Judges admit the country's judiciary is pathetic

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta -- The result of the UN fact- finding mission on how pathetic the country's administration of justice and the judiciary have become has not come as a surprise to the judges and the country's legal circles, who describe corruption as rampant in courtrooms.

Chairman of the Indonesian Judges Association (IKAHI) Toton Suprapto implied that what the UN special rapporteur suggested on Monday as a way of eradicating corruption among law enforcers had already been adopted by the association.

"The UN rapporteur asked whether IKAHI would give support if the Chief Justice ordered a judge who was suspected of graft to step down three months after the case became public. We have no problem with that because that is IKAHI's stance," he said.

Toton, who is a serving justice, said IKAHI would pass the UN's recommendation to Chief Justice Bagir Manan, who is still on an official visit to Egypt.

Malaysian lawyer Dato Param Cumaraswamy, who is the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, met IKAHI officials at the Supreme Court to share opinions and ideas on how other countries combat corruption in the judiciary.

Although the mission would only be finalized on Tuesday, he concluded that the state of the Indonesian judiciary was worse than expected and that it faced "serious problems". Cumaraswamy will deliver recommendations to the government on Wednesday. He will report the results to the UN Commission on Human Rights at its next meeting.

Legal observer Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan said that there were loopholes in the country's legal system, which remained open because of the potential benefit to the personal interests of law enforcers.

"And that's how badly our judiciary has deteriorated. The law enforcement agents themselves, including the judges, the prosecutors, the lawyers and the police take the benefit from legal uncertainties to get the name and the fame," he told The Jakarta Post. He cited the decision to detain or extend the detention period of criminal suspects as subjective judgments of the investigators or judges.

That situation, he said, provided an opportunity of "bargaining with the suspects" for their freedom. "And such practices are common in courtrooms. Bribery has now become common practice in our judiciary. The judiciary can be bought like a commodity".

As a quick and feasible step to eradicate judicial corruption, Pangaribuan suggested the government impose criminal sanctions on any judges and anyone who "bargained" or even held a meeting with suspects.

UN condemns Indonesian justice

Straits Times - July 23, 2002

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta -- Indonesia's legal system has taken a severe knock with a United Nations official describing it as one of the worst he has seen.

The damning verdict won immediate endorsement in the country after a state audit revealed that only one in three judges, prosecutors and police officers had disclosed their assets, setting off speculation that many are piling up money through corrupt practices.

Datuk Param Cumaraswamy, the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, dropped the bombshell after spending more than a week meeting Supreme Court judges and officials in the Attorney- General's Office. "I didn't realise that the situation could be as bad as what I have seen," he said.

The Jakarta Post quoted him as saying that for a country of the size of Indonesia and with its continuing economic development, "it is something, I feel, should never have allowed to come to this extent. There are traffic jams, sky-high buildings and you think this is a country with a strong justice system," he said.

The rapporteur, who noted a lack of political will to reform the legal system, will present his findings to the UN Human Rights Commission in April next year. His comments came against a backdrop of some controversial court rulings, the most recent being a commercial court's decision to declare Canadian-based insurer Manulife bankrupt.

The Supreme Court overturned the ruling, but the case, together with a government investigation into whether the three judges had accepted bribes, appears to have further blemished the image of courts in Indonesia.

Some lawyers, however, took offence at the Mr Cumaraswamy's findings. Mr Hamdan Zoelva, who runs a legal practice here, told The Straits Times: "Every country is bound to face some problems with its legal system, but I think the UN has taken it to the extreme in Indonesia's case."

But others said it was time that Indonesia was given a "wake-up call" to make drastic changes to the system. Mr Hendardi of Indonesian Legal Aid said: "We cannot hide behind nationalistic jargon and must accept the fact that there are serious flaws in our courts. The UN finding is good shock therapy for the government but I don't know whether it is going to be strong enough to get them to act because corruption is so deeply embedded in Indonesia."

There were signs that Jakarta is acting on the matter -- although at a snail's pace. The Audit Commission on State Officials' Assets revealed that one in three of Indonesia's judges, prosecutors and police officers had returned forms declaring their assets.

Mr Petrus Selestinus, of the commission, said that some judges, mostly those in big cities, were known to spend one billion rupiah a year on cars or houses, although their salary was less than three million rupiah.

The most conspicuous example was the wealth report of Judge Hasan Basri, who ruled on the controversial Manulife case. He had declared assets of 1.289 billion rupiah, which he said was his savings since 1969. But under investigation, he admitted that about 10 per cent of his assets had come from people who had won cases over which he presided.

Mr Petrus said: "We have summoned the judges to clarify their wealth. Most have failed to give a logical explanation."

Focus on Jakarta

'Street kids exploited by adults'

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

The number of street children here has increased in the past few years. They can be found at every intersection in the city. When the traffic lights turn red, they approach the cars and beg. Some motorists say they take pity on the children, but others say they are annoying.

Yuli Indriawati, 26, was born in Jakarta and now resides in Pancoran, South Jakarta. She works as an employee at a kindergarten in Sunter, North Jakarta.

"Street children? Of course, everyday I meet them on my way to work and home. They can be easily found singing or begging on public busses or public minivans.

"My reaction to them depends on the situation. Sometimes, I feel pity on them, especially the toddlers. If I have some change, I will surely give some to them. Besides, some of them are really good singers. I often give more to those who sing popular songs.

"However, I hate those older children who sometime insist on passengers giving them money. Like today, a drunk street child extorted money from passengers."

Sri Hudani spokeswoman of the Bung Karno Sport Complex management in Central Jakarta. She lives in Ciputat, South Jakarta.

"As I have also children, I take pity on them [street children]. I never refuse if they ask for money from me. But I also know that they are exploited by their parents or by other adult people.

"When I go home from my office, I know that a group of women organize the street children to become beggars at the traffic lights.

"How could they exploit a five-year-old child to work on the street up to 12 at night while many other children sleep soundly in their beds.

"I think the authorities should not allow such an exploitation of children. They should crack down against those involved in such a bad business."

B. Virna Widyastuti, 24, a marketer at a leading private company. She is the only daughter of a family who resides in Tomang, West Jakarta.

"My spontaneous feelings upon seeing the street children is pity. I take pity on them as I cannot imagine how those little kids spend most of their lives on the streets.

"I wonder about the whereabouts of their parents and how they could let their children do such a thing, which makes them prone to violations, mistreatment and many other unpleasant things.

"Sometimes I'm reluctant to give them money due to my suspicion that there must be someone behind them. I'm really willing to donate to the children, but not their boss, if any.

"So I prefer giving them things like candy or food instead of money. I'm so sad when I see those deprived children's condition.

"I think the government does not have any serious concerns about the life of street children. It would be better to accommodate them in appropriate halfway homes across greater Jakarta."

Squatters take shelter at Komnas HAM building

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- Ningsih, who is only 11 months old, cannot yet speak, but her eyes, which continually brim with tears, and her loud cry if her mother stops breastfeeding her, may indicate that life is too hard to bear.

Sleeping uncomfortably on unwashed, cold plastic mats, Ningsih and more than 10 homeless toddlers have sought shelter at the garage in the backyard of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) building on Jl. Latuharhari, Central Jakarta. They are totally exposed to wind, heat and mosquitoes when the night comes.

"We moved here as three weeks ago we were forcibly evicted from our huts in Teluk Gong, (Penjaringan district, North Jakarta) by officers from North Jakarta Public Order Agency," said Ningsih's mother, Suwarti, 35.

Suwarti is one of around 400 squatters whose shanties along the banks of the West Flood Canal in Teluk Gong, Penjaringan district, North Jakarta, were demolished by public order officers. She is one of dozens of squatters who have taken shelter at the Komnas HAM building compound.

"I am tired and nearly desperate. I have rebuilt my home 12 times, only to see that public order officers simply bulldozed and burnt it down," sighed Suwarti, who has been living in the city for 15 years.

During the latest eviction last month, Suwarti lost many of her belongings, including her kerosene stove and kitchenware. Like a straw breaking the camel's back, the eviction only accentuated her family's suffering caused by the floods in January and February.

"School books belonging to my children, which we managed to save during the floods, were destroyed by fire in the latest raid," she complained, citing that those books were very expensive to purchase. Her husband works as a street vendor hawking fried cakes.

Suwarti said that some squatters now live at temporary shelters along the riverbank or stay at the Komnas HAM building compound.

The squatters find food for their meals by pooling their money, Suwarti said. "We collect Rp 500 [5 US cents] or Rp 1,000 to buy vegetables and spices for cooking, while the rice is provided by donors," said Suwarti.

Meanwhile, another squatter, Misrun, 35 revealed that the squatters would insist on meeting the North Jakarta mayor to demand the administration provide them with compensation or a proper place to live. "We want to meet the mayor to escape the continual destruction of our homes," said Misrun, who used to work as a becak (pedicab) driver.

Misrun grumbled that the administration continually carried out raids against becak. Now, he rents his becak to a friend for Rp 4,000 a day.

"My wife works as a housemaid, doing the laundry for some families nearby," said Misrun, who was born in Cilacap and has lived in Jakarta since 1983.

During the day, only a few squatters were seen at their shelter at the Komnas HAM building. The others were working. The majority, mostly the men, are employed as temporary factory workers, street vendors or fishermen, while the women work as housemaids.

Despite their poor conditions, many squatters felt thankful as their shelter was much better than their temporary huts in Teluk Gong. "Here, we have the luxury of watching TV and taking a bath," said a squatter, Sumini, referring to a 21-inch color TV and the four bathrooms at the Komnas Ham building.

Titiana Adinda of the National Commission on Violence against Women said on Thursday that her commission, along with members of Komnas HAM and the National Commission on Children Rights, would meet next Tuesday. "We are preparing all the data requested by the squatters to be presented at the meeting with the Mayor of North Jakarta," she said.

North Jakarta spokesman Pinondang Simanjuntak, said the mayor was ready to meet the public at anytime.

The administration demolished their illegal huts for the first time in October last year. In the last nine months, public order officers have evicted them 12 times. The squatters insisted on staying even though the administration has tried to drive them away since then.

The city administration has been pursuing a forced evictions policy against street vendors, illegal squatters, becak drivers and others who are considered to violate public order. According to data issued by the antieviction network, the administration carried out 45 forced evictions last year, which rendered homeless approximately 35,000 people.

News & issues

The Lighter Side...

Laksamana.Net - July 27, 2002

JAKARTA FULL STOP IN WHAT THE BBC HAS CALLED A OPEN INVERTED COMMAS A HISTORIC DAY IN INDONESIAN LEGAL HISTORY CLOSE INVERTED COMMAS CENTRAL JAKARTA DISTRICT COURT ON FRIDAY COMMA IN AN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE COMMA SENTENCED A BLACK OFFICE CHAIR TO FIFTEEN YEARS IMPRISONMENT FULL STOP SOURCES SAY THE CHAIR HAD SPENT THE MORNING SUFFERING FROM A WOBBLY LEG BUT RECOVERED SUFFICIENTLY TO ATTEND THE TRIAL FULL STOP THE CHAIR IS EXPECTED TO APPEAL ON THE GROUNDS THAT NOT ALL OF ITS LEGS WERE PRESENT FOR THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE VERDICT FULL STOP JAKARTA OUT FULL STOP.

Skepticism surronds Tommy's case

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2002

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Life behind bars must be terrible, especially in the notorious Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta.

Dirty over-crowded cells, poorly cooked food, a limited amount of water for bathing and strict prison guards who would not hesitate to take action against anyone that dares to disobey the rules. But this bleak picture does not apply to everyone.

At least, not to Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, who was sentenced on Friday by the Central Jakarta District Court to 15 years in jail for last year's murder of Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and fleeing from justice.

The youngest son of former president Soeharto has been given special treatment ever since he was arrested in November last year by police officers, who call him mas (older brother) Tommy. Mas is the respectable way to address a Javanese man.

In Cipinang penitentiary, the 40-year-old billionaire playboy occupies a spacious and furnished cell in a block that used to be occupied by political prisoners, who were jailed during his father's 32-year rule.

To ensure his comfort, the cell, which has a living room, bedroom and bathroom, was renovated to welcome Tommy, who first stepped foot in the prison in late February. He had been detained for several months in an air-conditioned cell at Jakarta Police Headquarters.

Tommy's cell at Cipinang is equipped with a television and a foam mattress. There are reports that an air conditioner has also been installed there. His family, friends, lawyers and aides can see him after visiting hours. A guard said that they could even visit Tommy in his cell.

No wonder the general public is skeptical over whether Tommy will serve time in jail like the other convicts, despite the 15-year jail sentence.

They said that Tommy might not serve his jail term because he has lots of money. "It's good enough that the court had the guts to sentence a member of the Soeharto family to jail for years. We all know how hard it was to bring him to court. But for now on, we must make sure that Tommy is really serving his sentence in jail," Budi, who was waiting for a bus at Blok M terminal in South Jakarta, said.

Budi said that Tommy had ways of deceiving the law. "Tommy has money, he could buy the penitentiary if he wanted to. Corrupt penitentiary officials are a public secret. Besides, he could hire the most expensive lawyers in the country to defend him," said Budi, a law school graduate.

Earlier this year, the penitentiary allowed Tommy to visit his ailing father for humanitarian reasons. Soeharto, now 81, was charged with corruption, but in 2000 the South Jakarta District Court declared that he was too ill to stand trial.

Many believe that the Soeharto family was mired in corruption, collusion and nepotism, but so far, only Tommy has been brought before the courts.

In 1999, Tommy, along with businessman Ricardo Gelael, was tried for corruption. The South Jakarta District Court freed him, but in the following year the Supreme Court sentenced them each to 18 months in jail. Tommy escaped in November 2000 after then president Abdurrahman Wahid rejected granting him a pardon.

On July 26, 2001, Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, one of the three judges who handed Tommy the guilty verdict, was shot dead by R. Maulawarman, alias Molla, and Noval Hadad on Tommy's orders.

In February, Molla and Hadad each received a life sentence. Many said that Tommy deserved a longer sentence.

"I welcome the guilty verdict, but 15 years is not enough for him," said Hutagalung, a bus conductor.

The 32-year-old man said Tommy should have been given a life sentence. "If he was an ordinary man, I am sure the court would have sentenced him to death," said Masrum, a fruit vendor.

Even though Tommy was sentenced to 15 years in jail, that does not mean he has to serve the entire length of time, because a convict may get an early release if he behaves well.

Ricardo Gelael, for example, was released from prison after serving 11 months of his 18-month sentence. Tommy could also spend less time in jail if the court of appeals believes he deserves a lighter sentence.

Worse, if Tommy's lawyers manage to convince the judges that he is innocent or that there was a legal defect during the verdict's presentation because Tommy, who claimed to have diarrhea, was not present for it, he might not even have to spend any time in jail.

Media sceptical if anything will change after the verdict

Straits Times - July 28, 2002

Robert Go, Jakarta -- The judges heaved a sigh of relief, the prosecutors claimed justice had been done, the defence lawyers cried foul, but the media responded to Friday's guilty verdict and the 15-year sentence against former president Suharto's favourite son with plenty of scepticism.

Doubters have many valid reasons to think that nothing has changed and to posit that Tommy Suharto could in the end get off lightly.

All this despite enormous attention to the case given by the wong cilik, the little people, millions of whom were glued to TV sets to watch the spectacle of judgment against one of the former elites, and media organisations, both domestic and foreign.

The English-language daily The Jakarta Post ran an editorial titled "Justice on trial" and called the case "the highest- profile litmus test of the integrity of the Indonesian legal system. On its final outcome will rest much of the reputation of the Indonesian judiciary." The daily also talked of the gaping disparity between the life-imprisonment punishment meted out to the two trigger men who killed Judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita and the relatively lighter sentence given to Tommy.

"Many, if not most, Indonesians were appalled earlier by the public prosecutor's demand for a mere 15 years' imprisonment for Tommy." "This huge disparity was enough to raise immediate suspicions of a conspiracy between the judges and Tommy's defence lawyers, either for the judges' material gain or personal safety," The Post wrote.

Other editorials and articles focused on the potential loophole created by Friday's event that could have given Tommy's defence team a reasonably solid basis for an appeal.

Koran Tempo, the daily newspaper put out by the publisher of the Tempo weekly magazine, featured Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Mangkoedilaga's support for Central Jakarta Court judges' decision to go on with the verdict despite Tommy's absence, supposedly due to stomach problems and dizziness.

But Media Indonesia -- whose parent company also runs a major television station that broadcast Friday's entire proceedings -- called Indonesia's legal system a "jungle of arguments", where court officials often interpret the law book as it suited their needs.

"Tommy's case is not a simulation trial, not a case that has come down from the sky, and not a theoretical case wherein its particulars feed academic discussions," it said.

It also made the point that the current sentence is 10 times heavier than a previous judgment of 18 months in jail, given to him following a corruption conviction.

The paper asked: "If he ran away when given a much lighter punishment, what will happen now when he's facing a harsher sentence?" "For Tommy, it is now time for him to show that he abides the law and that he is not a coward who would choose to run or cower behind a facade of sickness," it said.

But perhaps the harshest sentiment, the one that could reflect the views of millions of poor Indonesians -- that the reform process, which supposedly began in 1998 with the downfall of Suharto, is either stalled or never got off the ground -- appeared within the pages of Rakyat Merdeka.

Its Page 4 story and graphic depicted a smiling Tommy holding a gun and likened him to Chicago mafia-boss Al Capone.

Rakyat said: "Although the verdict has been given, it doesn't mean that law enforcer and court officials' jobs are finished -- people who are loyal to the Suharto family and the New Order regime still have many options.

"The people demand to see if the reform agenda has truly been implemented. In reality, there are plenty of indications that violations occur everywhere. There are even indications that elements of the New Order are trying hard to return Suharto to his glory days.

The empty chair legal conundrum

Straits Times - July 28, 2002

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Defence lawyers for former President Suharto's youngest son, who was convicted on Friday of ordering the killing of a judge, intend to focus their appeal to the High Court on a technicality -- the judges delivered the verdict and 15-year sentence to an empty chair.

Mr Mohamad Assegaf, one of billionaire Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra's lead lawyers, told The Sunday Times: "We cannot accept that decision. We will appeal. Our laws stipulate clearly that defendants be present at their own hearing. Judges are required to immediately inform defendants about his rights. These did not happen."

Tommy complained of diarrhoea and dizziness on Friday morning, and his lawyers left the court to protest the decision to continue without their client's presence.

Appeal papers would also charge that prosecutors never proved Tommy had a motive for ordering a hit on Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, a judge who earlier dared to hand him an 18-month jail sentence for allegedly swindling the government.

The police and court officials, Mr Mohamad added, conspired to frame Tommy by not allowing independent labs to examine ballistics evidence and by not fingerprinting weapons that allegedly belonged to the defendant.

"There are many reasons why that decision was a bad one. But the judges should not have continued the hearing if Tommy was ill," he said.

Appeal documents have to be filed within two weeks after Friday's hearing, which took place on the first anniversary of Judge Syafiuddin's death.

Tommy's trial poses serious implications for Indonesia's justice system, which was described recently as one of the most corrupt in the world by a United Nations investigator, and also is a major reason for foreign firms' reluctance to invest in the country.

Mr Ibrahim Assegaf, editor of legal portal hukumonline, argued that an iron-clad prosecution could boost confidence in Indonesian courts.

"Nobody trusts the system. People joke about it. Judges and prosecutors are said to be corrupt. Tommy's case could improve the image of the judiciary," he said.

Prosecuting Mr Suharto's children and those accused of corruption during his 32-year rule could help the fortunes of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government.

Indonesia's supreme legislature -- the People's Consultative Assembly or MPR -- will meet in two weeks to demand an accounting of the President's first year in charge.

Several report cards published by rival politicians and analysts in local newspapers chastised her for her failure to address the country's many problems.

According to analyst Umar Juoro of the Centre for Information and Development Studies, the President can answer criticisms of her legal-reform agenda by pointing out a weighty jail sentence for Tommy, and promising more such decisions.

Much now rests on how the High Court, and perhaps later the Supreme Court, would treat the case and its controversial empty- chair verdict and sentencing. Meanwhile, experts are divided over the technicality.

Some, like Mr Teuku Nasrullah who teaches law at the University of Indonesia, said judges had violated Tommy's rights: "The verdict is a flawed one, if you stick to a close reading of procedural laws governing criminal trials." Others said that there are precedents and that judges simply followed a 1997 Supreme Court ruling that allowed a defendant's absence during sentencing.

Even if higher courts concurred with Friday's decision, doubts linger that Tommy, whose family is still very wealthy and powerful, would spend 15 years in jail.

Mr Ibrahim said: "It would be possible for them to pay prison officials for special privileges for Tommy, or even to get his sentence reduced at a later date."

Tommy Suharto begins 15 years jail sentence

Agence France Presse - July 27, 2002

The youngest son of former Indonesian dictator Suharto has begun a 15-year prison term for masterminding the murder of a judge amid protests that his sentence failed to match the severity of his crimes.

Tommy Suharto's sentence -- for four separate crimes -- was "definitely too lenient," said noted legal analyst Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).

"Considering he faced four different charges, which include a contract murder, a defendant of a case with this magnitude should have got a minimum jail term of 20 years or a life sentence." Tommy was convicted of ordering the drive-by shooting of judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, who in September 2000 had ordered him jailed for 18 months for a corrupt land deal.

Syafiuddin was gunned down July of last year by two hitmen while driving to work. The two actual hitmen were in May jailed for life.

Hendardi said since the court found him guilty of ordering the judge's murder, the former millionaire playboy tycoon "should have been convicted to a life sentence" since both of his hitmen received a life sentence.

"In my view, the court's ruling was made because the judges were trying to save themselves from public pressure or pressure from Suharto's loyalists," he told AFP.

Tommy was also convicted of possessing two arms caches and explosives and of fleeing from justice.

The four month-long trial was seen by Indonesian media and foreign experts as a key test of Indonesia's corruption-prone legal system and its fledgling democracy.

During the autocratic rule of Suharto senior from 1966 to 1998, the rich and powerful enjoyed virtual immunity from the law.

Echoing Hendardi's sentiment, the Jakarta Post said in an editorial Saturday that compared with his hitmen, Tommy got off lightly, citing a possible collusion between him and the judges.

"This huge disparity was enough to raise immediate suspicions of a conspiracy between the judges and Tommy's defence lawyers, either for the judges' material gain or personal safety," the paper said.

"Judge Syafiuddin's killing, after all, must have served as a strong warning to other judges." The paper also said many have already questioned the court's decision to proceed with the trial despite Tommy's absence -- which doctors said was due to a diarrhoea attack.

"Could this have been part of a conspiracy to provide Tommy with a loophole to escape justice by filing a successful appeal with the Supreme Court?" The mass-circulated Media Indonesia newspaper said the 15-year sentence would teach Tommy a lesson that nobody is above the law.

"For Tommy, it is now time for him to show that he abides the law and that he is not a coward who would chose to run or cower behind a facade of sickness." Tommy built up a huge business empire during his father's nepotistic rule. In 1999 Time magazine estimated his wealth at 800 million dollars.

According to George Aditjondro, an academic who researched the Suharto family wealth, Tommy's assets included a sprawling ranch in New Zealand, several golf courses in England and a luxury cruiser berthed in Darwin, Australia.

Mega parties as July 27 is remembered

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2002

Jakarta -- What was President Megawati Soekarnoputri doing when thousands of her die-hard supporters and victims of the July 27 bloody attack were crying out for justice last Saturday? Throwing a party for her children, brothers and sisters of her businessman husband Taufik Kiemas, and several family business friends to celebrate her one year in office.

Sources close to the President told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that Megawati invited around 30 friends and family members to her residence on Jl. Teuku Umar, Menteng, Central Jakarta, to celebrate the anniversary of her ascent to the presidency.

"It was so ironic when she banned all party leaders from attending the July 27 commemoration, and then organized her own party at home," a source said.

Megawati took over the national leadership in July 2001 after members of the People's Consultative Assembly removed then president Abdurrahman Wahid for incompetence, among other things.

According to the source, the dinner party was organized by the wife of the state minister for state-owned enterprises, Retty Laksamana Sukardi. Laksamana also attended the dinner.

Thousands of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) supporters and victims of the bloody 1996 attack on the PDI headquarters demanded Saturday the prosecution of those responsible for the violence.

They also urged Megawati to withdraw her support for the reelection of Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, who is widely seen as being one of those responsible for the attack.

Megawati has been under fire for neglecting the incident, which gave her a lot of prestige as an opposition leader during the repressive regime of former president Soeharto.

Sutiyoso was the Jakarta Military Command chief when the incident, which was said to have been organized by the military, took place.

"It's as if she does not remember that all the blood and tears were for her and the attack was made against her," the source said.

Thousands remember July 27 tragedy

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2002

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- Around 1,000 people gathered on Saturday on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta, to commemorate the July 27, 1996 incident when hundreds of people attacked supporters of the then-ousted chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Megawati Soekarnoputri.

They demanded the completion of the legal process for the July 27 incident and to rescind the nomination of Governor Sutiyoso as the PDI Perjuangan Jakarta's gubernatorial candidate, as Sutiyoso is one of former military officials implicated in the July 27 attack which claimed the lives of five people.

"The nomination of Sutiyoso hurts the victims of the July 27 incident. We are all disappointed about the emergence of authoritarianism within the party's central board," said a party legislator, Hariyanto Taslam.

He was referring to a recommendation from the party's central board, signed by chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri and the party's secretary general, Soetjipto, instructing all Jakarta members of the City Council to support Sutiyoso.

In addition, the recommendation also threatened "sanctions" against those who did not obey, or anyone found to be democratically voting with their conscience.

However, he stopped just short of openly criticizing Megawati. Another legislator, Permadi even shifted the blame to the executives of the PDI Perjuangan central board who had become "opportunists" and were giving poor advice to Megawati.

Megawati, nevertheless, did not utter a single word publicly on Saturday over the July 27 incident, despite it directly affecting her and her party.

After chairing an impromptu Cabinet meeting, Megawati, nevertheless, reportedly drove along some streets in Jakarta to have a closer look of the July 27 commemoration by her own people. She then stayed at home, monitoring the event via television.

Megawati, who was elected in 1993, was ousted as PDI leader during a government-engineered party congress in Medan. Her successor, Soerjadi, was a politician backed by former president Soeharto.

Other senior politicians from the party who took part in Saturday's event were Roeslan Abdul Gani, Sabam Sirait, Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, Jacobus Mayong Padang and chairman of the party's Jakarta chapter Tarmidi Suhardjo -- who the party rank and file originally nominated.

"The attack against us here was held six years ago, but there has been no follow up [of the legal process] so far, so I hope that a fair trial against those who are responsible for the incident would be conducted as soon as possible," said Sabam, a party legislator. Those participating in the event on Saturday included those injured in the attack, as well as the families of those killed. Also present were families and victims of other similar tragedies such as the May 1998 violence, the Semanggi incidents in 1998 and 1999 and various student organizations.

According to the National Commission of Human Rights, the military-backed violence took at least five lives, 23 are still considered "missing" -- their bodies have not been recovered -- and 149 were wounded.

Meanwhile, on Saturday the Jakarta police released 18 of 19 protesters who were arrested during a demonstration on Friday. The demonstrators burned an effigy of Megawati at a university in South Jakarta.

Head of the Jakarta Police detectives Unit Adj. Comr. Merdisyam said that Kiastono, a student at Jaya Baya University, was detained for insulting the head of state by burning the effigy and, if convicted could get seven years in prison -- or just about half of what Tommy got for assassinating a supreme court judge and possession of illegal weapons.

Soeharto son found guilty, given 15 years' jail

Sydney Morning Herald - July 27 2002

An Indonesian court has jailed for 15 years the son of former dictator Soeharto for ordering the daylight shooting one year ago of a Supreme Court judge.

Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, 40, was also convicted of arms possession and of fleeing justice in a trial being closely watched by Indonesians as a test of the progress of democratic reform.

The panel of five judges gave the former playboy the prison sentence that prosecutors had asked for.

"The defendant is found guilty of all the charges, the judges sentence the defendant to 15 years in jail," said chief judge Amiruddin Zakaria after delivering a six-hour verdict.

He said the sentence took into account the fact that a judge had been "tragically murdered" and that the "defendant unlawfully possessed weapons which can create unrest in society".

The judges said they did not choose the maximum term of life or the death sentence because the defendant was young and still had time to show remorse.

Supreme Court judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita had been one of three judges to sentence Tommy in 2000 to 18 months in prison for a corrupt land swap deal.

The two hitmen were earlier sentenced to life imprisonment at a separate hearing for murdering Kartasasmita on Tommy's orders.

Tommy went into hiding in late 2000 after being told he would have to go to jail and was only found by police late last year after the corruption conviction was quashed.

During the current trial Tommy boasted that security forces had allowed him to evade the sentence.

He embarrassed the police by declaring that security forces had "coordinated" to help him spend most of his time in hiding at his own home in central Jakarta.

Tommy has spent the past seven months in jail, where his cell is reportedly airconditioned and carpeted.

The youngest and most flamboyant of six children, Tommy benefited the most from tax breaks, soft loans and monopolies that Soeharto handed out to his family and cronies.

Time magazine estimated that in 1999 his fortune was worth $US800 million ($1.48 billion) and he is the only direct member of the disgraced former first family to have faced court.

Two years ago his father, who lost power in May 1998 after being president for 32 years, succeeded in pleading illness to avoid a corruption trial.

Chief judge Zakaria earned heavy applause earlier when he refused efforts by defence lawyers to delay the hearings until Tommy was well enough to attend.

"The verdict will be delivered today," the judge said, prompting Tommy's team of lawyers to stage a dramatic walkout.

Proceedings had been put on hold for five hours while a team of government doctors diagnosed the Tommy with diarrhoea and dizziness and recommended two days' rest.

It was the second time this month the trial had been put on hold while Tommy claimed illness.

This week, Indonesia's legal system was described by a visiting UN special rapporteur Prama Cumaraswamy as a "breeding ground for corrupt practices".

Yesterday, Megawati Sukarnoputri was forced to defend her year- old presidency against claims that she was yet to even draw up a plan for key reforms such as fixing the legal system.

Karaoke bar fire kills 53 people in Indonesia

World Socialist Web Site - July 24, 2002

John Edwards -- Fifty-three people died after fire engulfed a karaoke bar in the Indonesia port city of Palembang on the island of Sumatra on the evening of July 7. As the fire swept through the five-storey Heppi Karaoke bar, people were trapped people inside because the building had just one stairwell and the only elevator had failed.

Firefighters used explosives to blast a hole through walls on the upper floors to allow people to escape. Most people died due to the smoke and heat, but some jumped to their deaths trying to flee the inferno. The fire, the worst in decades in Palembang, was so intense that many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition.

From the second storey up, the building was a maze of small rooms with different bars and restaurants on each level. Yet it had only one entrance and no emergency exits or fire stairs. Firefighters suspect that an electrical fault started the blaze but, regardless of the precise cause, the building was simply a disaster waiting to happen. The owner had reportedly violated the building permit by adding two floors without permission.

Police arrested the bar's manager in Jakarta and returned him to Palembang for questioning while a search is underway for the building's owner. However, it is not simply the owner and manager who are to blame for the tragedy. Similar firetraps exist across Indonesia.

In the rush for development even the most basic fire safety standards are either ignored or sidestepped. According to the head of the Jakarta Fire Agency, Johnny Pangaribuan, almost half the 542 high-rise buildings in Jakarta have no proper fire safety systems. Even government departments fail to comply-the 19-storey Ministry of National Education has had blocked fire exits.

Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, provides a glimpse of the conditions nationally. The fire department admitted that about 60 percent of Jakarta's 1,271 entertainment centres lack "adequate life saving equipment and fire protection systems". Many lock their fire doors to assist security monitoring of the premises.

Fire is a threat not just in high-rise building but also in the densely-populated slums that have sprung up throughout Jakarta over the past 20 years as villagers have come to the city seeking work. Every year, blazes destroy large numbers of slum dwellings, together with the residents' possessions. At the start of this month, 700 people were left homeless by a fire at Pendongkelan in East Jakarta.

In June, three separate fires destroyed 20 buildings, 100 houses and 17 houses respectively. The last fire resulted in the deaths of a family of three, including a young girl. Such fires are a monthly occurrence in Jakarta with other cities experiencing similar incidents.

The Building Control Agency stated that last year there were over 772 fires in Jakarta alone (or more than two per day), with 18 people killed and 305 buildings gutted. Up to 80 percent occur in slum areas where fire devastation is compounded by inflammable building materials and poorly-designed construction, as well as access difficulties for fire crews and the lack of fire hydrants.

Jakarta, with a population of over eight million people, has 83 fire stations and some 2,500 firefighters. However the city has only 1,000 fire hydrants and not all operate properly.

Fire safety regulations exist for high-rise buildings but the fines are so small that owners simply pay them and business continues. Despite a recent increase in the maximum fine to 5 million rupiah ($US550) the head of the Jakarta Building Control Agency, Jumhama Tjakrawirya, told the Jakarta Post that courts usually impose fines of only 300,000 rupiah ($US33), which owners can easily afford.

The fire at the Palembang karaoke bar is just part of a broader problem of safety being sacrificed for the sake of profit in the name of development. While the fire authorities have promised a crackdown on buildings not complying with the regulations, such statements, like the arrest of the manager, are designed to divert attention from the real causes of such tragedies.

Jakarta groups call for audit of military and police weapons

Straits Times - July 25, 2002

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- The Indonesian military and police may be forced to re-count and re-register their standard weapons after revelations that many such arms are being used in an increasing number of armed robberies in major cities.

Several non-government organisations (NGOs) are calling on Parliament to instruct the two security institutions to conduct an audit on weapons to see how many of them have been misused in criminal acts.

Last week alone, the police recorded six armed robberies in the Greater Jakarta area, although no casualties were reported.

The police have admitted that in some of these incidents, there were indications that the weapons used were similar to those issued to security personnel.

And in some previous cases, members of the police corps or the Indonesian Defence Force (TNI) have been arrested in connection with various crimes.

In addition, some of the grenades and explosive materials found in previous terror attacks appeared to have also come from the security forces' supplies.

The secretary-general of the NGO Police Watch, Mr Adnan Pandupradja, told The Straits Times: "Based on the ballistic or forensic tests of the crimes, we suspect that some weapons, grenades and explosive materials have been either sold off by individual officers, or smuggled out of the military's or police's logistics warehouses." He said weapons supervision was lax in both the military and the police, especially in conflict- ridden areas of the country. "In East Timor, Aceh, Papua and Maluku, a soldier is issued two to three weapons each. Because of poor control, these weapons are more susceptible to being sold off or misused."

But the police played down these contentions. "Yes, there have been incidents in which our standard weapons were used in robberies, but the numbers are not that high or alarming," Indonesian police deputy spokesman Brigadier-General Edward Aritonang told The Straits Times.

He said that in some of the robberies, the police weapons used had been reported as lost or stolen before the crime was committed. Also, in areas like Aceh, separatists had often raided police or military stations and made off with weapons, he said.

"We have, of course, sanctioned some of our members who were found to have sold or rented out their weapons for money -- but there are also incidents in which the arms used in the crimes did not come from us because they did not match our registry numbers," he said.

These guns had most likely been smuggled in and traded on the black market, he said.

Recently, a member of the Free Aceh Movement was reported as saying that the rebels preferred to buy their weapons from Java or Sumatra rather than overseas. The unidentified rebel said the 20-million-rupiah price for an Indonesian-made rifle was cheaper than an AK-47 smuggled via Thailand.

The police deputy spokesman said he did not see any urgency to conduct a weapons audit, as the police regularly held internal weapons checks. He added that the police were short of weapons already. Only a third of the more than 240,000 officers are equipped with guns.

"Ideally, every member of the force should have a gun, but because of the small budget, we have to give priority to officers who are at high risk," he said.

UNDP report finds Indonesia more democratic but nothing else

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2002

Jakarta -- The political reforms that Indonesia has introduced since 1998 have been duly noted by the United Nations, but these have done little to improve the country's international standing in human development progress.

The Human Development Report 2002, published by the UN Development Program (UNDP) on Wednesday, recognizes Indonesia's efforts to forge a democracy by removing press restrictions and increasing the role played by civil society.

But when it came to its ranking on the human development index (HDI), Indonesia remained at 110th, the same position it held in 1995, according to the report.

Indonesia, with a score of 0.684, is behind Vietnam at 109th and China at 96th, but ahead of India at 124th.

"Indonesia is specially mentioned in the report as an example of where free press and civil society activism have allowed people to participate in policy decisions and debates," according to a statement from the UNDP office in Jakarta.

"The report also notes that Indonesia has abolished restrictive press laws and has engaged in the deregulation and privatization of media markets," it said.

The report acknowledges the role played by civil society in promoting public participation and representation, particularly during the 1999 general election.

But the report did not only highlight the positive aspects of Indonesia. The role of the military, corruption and public spending in Indonesia also came under scrutiny.

"More than three years after the restoration of democratic rule, the military and police still maintain effective control over security policies and practices.

"Indonesia is among the countries cited by the HDR 2002 as an instance where public spending is often skewed in favor of rich people. Almost 30 percent of public health spending is directed toward the richest, while only 12 percent is on the poorest," according to the UNDP office.

The report also noted that "corruption, abuses of power, intimidation by criminal elements -- all weaken democratic accountability" in the country.

Indonesia is regarded by the report as being "on track" in tackling poverty, and of meeting its commitments to the Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty globally, promoting education and gender equality, and reducing infant and maternal mortality rates.

But the UNDP office cautioned that the collective progress of the country masked the fact that many provinces in Indonesia were falling behind in their commitments to fighting poverty.

The Indonesia Human Development Report 2001, published in January and prepared by the UNDP office in Jakarta, found wide discrepancies between the provinces in meeting poverty reduction goals.

Halving the poverty rate in Aceh, for example, would require 150 years based on the trends from 1993 to 1999, 130 years for West Nusa Tenggara and 122 years for North Sumatra. Provinces expected to meet this goal the quickest are Yogyakarta (11 years), East Java, Jambi and East Kalimantan (13 years), Central Sulawesi (15 years), West Java and Papua (17 years).

Halving the poverty rate in Jakarta would take 20 years from 1993, meaning the job would only be completed in 2013.

Children have to leave school to support families

Jakarta Post - July 24, 2002

Leo Wahyudi S, Jakarta -- Eki is only 10 years old, but he plays an important role in his family. Along with his brother, Edo, who is two years older, he is the family's breadwinner.

His father was a temporary construction worker and his mother used to wash clothes for their neighbors in Prumpung, East Jakarta. Both are now unemployed. They have eight children, Eki being the sixth. One of the children died, and the others just stay at home. "I have to support my mom with my daily income," Eki said.

Every day, he and his brother leave home early in the morning and return after the sun has set. Eki brings home some Rp 10,000 from his work, begging along the street, armed with a "musical instrument" made of bottle caps that make tinkling sounds every time he strikes them.

He said he used to go to an elementary school in East Jakarta. But now he has no time to study despite his dream that one day he will be able to continue with his education.

"I left school two months ago," he said, adding that Edo and his other siblings also had to drop out of school.

What is happening to Eki and Edo is the fate of millions of school-age children in the country whose parents can no longer afford their educations. According to data from the Ministry of National Education, in 2000 there were about 960,700 elementary school dropouts and 377,600 others who were forced to drop out of junior high school.

In Jakarta, with a total population of 8.3 million, the number of elementary school students between the ages of 7 and 12 was 801,896 in 2001, according to data from the City Statistic Bureau. The bureau said about 22,928 of these students were at risk of dropping out.

Akiadi, who lives in Prumpung, was eight when he dropped out of the first grade to work as a street beggar. His mother is unemployed and his unemployed father is a drug addict.

"I don't want to go to school. I like it out here with the other street kids," Akiadi said, a moment later running off and climbing a tree to play with his friends.

His aunt, Tumi, who was at the park watching over her four children as they begged for money, complained that Akiadi often forgot he was out here to work. "He spends most of his time playing," said Tumi.

While Akiadi does not want to go back to school, many other street children dream of continuing their educations.

Asked about their schooling, some of the children in the park near the Jatinegara railway station in East Jakarta wanted to know if The Jakarta Post would help them return to school. "Do you want to help us go back to school?" asked one of them.

Among the smaller, a slightly older girl, Dina, perhaps best expressed the feelings of the children here, saying that living on the streets was really hard.

"We simply live for our next meal," she said, adding that life was getting even harder because of the City Public Order officers who were always driving them away.

"I personally am jealous of the lucky children who can go to school," she said.

Dina recently had to drop out of junior high school, where she was still in her first year, because her parents passed away. But driven by determination and a desire to do something better with their lives, Dina and several other children take part in an informal class offered by the Sakinah Foundation every weekend.

"I want to continue my education so I can be something better than a street kid," she said.

Dita Sari denied visa for feminist conference

Green Left Weekly - July 24, 2002

Terrica Strudwick, Townsville -- Indonesian trade union leader Dita Sari was one of 29 Third World women activists denied a visa to attend the annual International Women's Conference and the Network of Women Students Australia (NOWSA) conference held July 5-12 in Townsville.

The impact of Australia's racist policies, highlighted by the inability of many international guests to attend, was taken up in discussions about the disproportionate impact that Australia's refugee policy has on women.

Other discussions at the conference included abortion rights and the state of funding for women's services.

Probably because of the location, the 2002 NOWSA conference was the smallest yet held, with 120 women attending.

At the conference action on July 11, around 80 women voiced their opposition to Australia's racist immigration policies, marching to Liberal MP Peter Lindsay's office behind a banner stating "denying visas silences women; end racist immigration policies".

Kerryn Williams, an activist from Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific, said denying these women visas is to "undermine our ability to hear from women activists who oppose war and globalisation. It also makes it hard to build solidarity with women who are living under imperialist domination."

The conference decided to endorse the campus refugee sanctuary campaign, a co-ordinated push to get student referendums up on campuses across the country to vote on designating a campus a refugee sanctuary.

NOWSA will be held at Sydney's Macquarie University in July 2003. Kate Wilson, a member of the Resistance national executive, told Green Left Weekly: "Resistance intends to seriously build NOWSA 2003 nationally as a major event. We need to ensure the conference is far larger next year and provides a boost to the feminist movement here in Australia."

Victims of July 27 attack plan street rallies

Jakarta Post - July 24, 2002

Bambang Nurbianto and Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta -- Didi Purwanto, 32, knew the consequences of supporting Megawati Soekarnoputri, who was the main enemy of the New Order under former authoritarian president Soeharto. He even braved the attack against her party's headquarters, the then Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) on July 27, 1996.

Following the attack, he along with 123 other staunch supporters of Megawati were arrested and detained without due legal process. He was detained for more than a month under police custody and about four months in Salemba penitentiary.

They have been seeking justice for nearly six years following the incident, which was allegedly masterminded by the military and police.

They were optimistic that justice would be served when their idol Megawati finally became president last July 23. But to their disappointment, the President did not seriously pursue the case.

Their disappointment reached its peak when Megawati as chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) decided to name Governor Sutiyoso, a former Jakarta military commander suspected of orchestrating the attack on PDI headquarters, as the party's candidate for the next gubernatorial election.

She signed a recommendation letter instructing all PDI Perjuangan faction members at the City Council to elect Sutiyoso as the next Jakarta governor. "We -- the victims of the July 27 incident -- cannot accept Sutiyoso's nomination whatever the reason may be," Didi, who is now a coordinator of the Communication Forum for the July 27, 1996 incident, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said Sutiyoso was clearly one of those responsible for the attack. "We'll commemorate the July 27 incident with various actions including street rallies, a movie screening and speeches," he said.

The plan has received support from a number of youth and student organizations like the Alliance of Jakarta Student Executive Bodies (BEM Jakarta), the Student Action Front (FAM), Student Action Front for Reform and Democracy (Famred).

According to Didi, representatives of regional chapters of PDI Perjungan from Bali, West Java, Lampung, and East Kalimantan will take part in the activities to be held on July 26 and July 27.

"The climax of the actions will be organized on Jl Diponegoro 58 at 1pm on July 27. There will be speeches there and we will hold a march from Diponegoro to Megawati's official residence on Jl. Teuku Umar," Didi said.

Separately, Sardi Effendi, coordinator of BEM Jakarta confirmed its participation in the July 27 event, saying that some 500 students from various universities would join the activities.

According to Didi, Megawati has lost her sensitivity by ignoring the feelings of her own supporters about the incident. Didi was one of some 300 people who were at the PDI office when the attack occurred.

The July 27 incident occurred when Soeharto's patience snapped, as the PDI headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro 58 was used as a forum for free speech by opposition leaders to criticize his administration.

The attack was held by supporters of Soerjadi, Megawati's opponent in the party who received full support from police and military personnel.

Megawati was ousted as party chairwoman at the government-backed party congress in the North Sumatra capital of Medan in early 1996. Megawati, who was elected in 1993 at the party congress in the East Java capital of Surabaya, was replaced by Soerjadi, the pro-government veteran politician in the 1996 congress.

Her supporters, however, refused to recognize Soerjadi's election and defended the party's headquarters as their base.

A number of former military and police officials have been questioned over the incident. They include former military chief (ret) Gen. Feisal Tanjung, chief of military sociopolitical affairs Syarwan Hamid, and city police chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata.

So far, there has been no clear result of the investigation into the incident. But Sutiyoso earlier claimed that the Indonesian Military (TNI) had made a peace deal with the victims of the tragedy.

Country could revert to an authoritarian government

Radio Australia - July 19, 2002

[An Australian defence think tank says there's a growing risk of Indonesia reverting violently to an authoritarian government backed by the military. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute says that unlike the Suharto regime, such an Indonesian Government might be xenophobic and anti-Australian. In a report on Australia's defence after September 11, the Institute says there's evidence that Al Qaeda members fleeing Afghanistan have moved to Indonesia and built links with Islamic groups.]

Presenter/Interviewer: Graeme Dobell

Speakers: Hugh White, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute

White: The key question for Australia in respect to the future of Indonesia, is not what most people think -- whether Indonesia will hold together -- it's whether democracy in Indonesia will survive. The biggest risk we face is that because Megawati, and Abdurrahman Wahid before her, couldn't deliver effective government out of the constitutional structure they inherited, that democracy is going to become discredited in Indonesia and will be replaced by reversion to something more authoritarian -- perhaps military backed and perhaps even more Islamist. That would be very hard for Australia to handle.

Dobell: You say that the danger of authoritarian backlash in Indonesia has increased -- what sort of factor should that be in Australian planning?

White: When we look at Indonesia we should recognise our highest priority needs to be to support the democratisation experiment -- and it is still an experiment in Indonesia. If that experiment succeeds, there is no reason why we shouldn't in the long term look forward to relationships with Indonesia that are better than they've ever been before. But at the moment because it's not delivering effective government because the critical reforms in their economy, in the legal system, in the administration of justice and in the administration of that very complex and wide archipeligo -- because those haven't succeeded -- I think there is a risk that Megawati's government, or the government of her successors will come under real pressure from people who would prefer to return to a more authoritarian style of government simply to get things done in Indonesia. It's not unlike what happened in the 1960's.

Dobell: What sort of time scale are you talking about? We are looking at presidential elections in Indonesia in 2004 -- are you looking beyond that?

White: I don't think this is a problem which is going to flare sometime this month or next month -- but I think it's a long steady series of pressures mounting on the democratic regime in Indonesia; and that within the next few years, unless things improve very significantly, I fear that the pressure on the democratic system and the pressures for a reversion to authoritarianism will become irresistable.

Dobell: How strong do you see the evidence that there are Al Qaeda operatives in Indonesia and that there is some sympathy for the Al Qaeda view of the world amongst some in the Indonesian leadership?

White: Look, that's a very complicated issue. It's often said and I think it's true that Indonesian Islam is different and it has a different kind of history and culture to a certain extent from the sort of Islam you find in Middle East. But I think you can exaggerate that -- there are clearly connections and there is some evidence of Al Qaeda network linkages into Indonesia from before September 11 and also some evidence that those linkages have increased after September 11. It's very hard to be definitive as to how important they are and how fast the growth has been, but Australia should not ignore that factor in Indonesia's developing political system.

Environment

Forest fires continue as drought extends

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Jakarta -- Haze resulting from bush and forest fires continues to prevail in Riau and Central Kalimantan, as the effects of prolonged drought hit farmers in other parts of the country.

People in the Riau capital of Pekanbaru woke to thick fog on Monday for the seventh straight day. The clouds prevailed till the afternoon but flights were not affected.

On the streets no residents were seen wearing masks despite warnings from health officials that the haze could cause breathing problems.

Satellite observation showed that the number of hot spots had sharply decreased from 303 on July 9 to only about 30 over the weekend, but the presence of the haze indicated that forest fires, which normally occur during the dry season, had not disappeared.

In Central Kalimantan, bush fires went on as local farmers prepared their lands for the upcoming planting season.

The fires were also spotted on Trans Kalimantan highway, particularly along the southern route connecting Palangkaraya and Sampit. The wind moved thick smoke to the provincial capital of Palangkaraya. Heavy rain which fell later in the day saved people in the town from darkness. The air pollution detector displayed a tolerable degree of contamination resulting from the smoke.

Provincial forestry office head Tuah Pahoe told Antara that an observation satellite discovered more than 100 hotspots on Friday, up from only one the previous day.

The much-awaited rain also fell in the West Java town of Cirebon and its neighboring towns on Sunday, but it was not enough to make amends for the drained wells and rivers. Local agriculture office data showed that nearly 8,500 hectares of rice fields face harvest failure.

Head of the office's drainage and climate affairs division, Asikin Kusnandi, identified Kapetakan and Kroya districts as the hardest hit areas, with 4,127 hectares of fields affected.

He said the water level had increased thanks to the rain, but farmers in Kapetakan did not celebrate as the rain had caused sea water intrusion.

Asikin said he had asked the regency administration to build an emergency dam in Winong river to prevent sea water intrusion.

Meanwhile, the East Java provincial government is considering a cloud seeding program (rain making) to deal with water shortage in 15 regencies.

Governor Imam Utomo said on Monday he had asked the State Minister of Research and Technology office to carry out the project. He said prolonged drought would jeopardize the province's rice production.

Jakarta has delayed cloud seedings in West Java and Central Java after requests from the two provincial governments.

Massive damage in Lore Lindu National Park

Tempo - July 22, 2002

Darlis M, Palu -- The forest damage in Lore Lindu National Park (TNLL), Central Sulawesi, has worsened, according to Indonesian Environment Katopassa Foundation deputy director Ir. Muh. Yamin.

Some 12, 000 hectares or 5.5 percent of the total 217,991.18 hectare TNLL forest area have been damaged due to illegal logging activities during the last 10 years, Yamin told reporters in Palu on Monday.

Yamin said that damage had been seen in many parts of TNLL but the worst was in Dongi-dongi, an area in which 3,000-hectare eucalyptus trees have been cut down.

He went on to say that this area was considered as the main habit for the park's fauna. "From our investigation of the national park and analysis by Palu's Tadulako University environment experts, the park's worst damage is to be seen in Dongi-dongi," said Yamin.

Yamin has asked that the government immediately handle the matter as more and more people stealing wood from TNLL.

Health & education

Broke Jakarta seeking cheap teachers

Straits Times - July 25, 2002

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Most wanted in Indonesia: More than half a million teachers willing to work long hours for little pay, no job security and little upward mobility.

The country's education crisis is approaching a climax as the government has to hire 542,000 more teachers within the next few years, says Mr Indra Djati Sidi, the Ministry of National Education's top official for elementary and secondary education.

The problem, however, is that Jakarta is broke and cannot afford more educators. "The teacher shortage occurs in all regions of the country, but the government has problems hiring new teachers because it has no money to pay for them," he said.

A potential solution, according to the government, is the use of contract teachers, who work for less money, are flexible in terms of job location and get no benefits.

Officials have said that nearly 370,000 such teachers would be hired next year alone, at a monthly salary of 200,000 rupiah, to help alleviate the problem.

Teachers would also be reassigned from region to region to ensure a more balanced coverage among state-run elementary and secondary schools.

But education professionals are not impressed by the ministry's plans. Their assessment is that hiring temporary workers is a stop-gap solution that does nothing to improve the quality of education received by Indonesian children.

Meanwhile, Jakarta continues to curtail spending in sectors where the effects of cuts will not show up now, but will appear in the social make-up of the country decades into the future. At stake, the experts say, will be Indonesia's regional and global competitiveness.

Mr Mohamad Surya, chairman of the Indonesian Teachers' Association (PGRI), said: "Failure to address the teacher crisis seriously within the next five years would deal an irreparable setback to the education system. We're talking about the future of millions of kids, the future of the country itself." Indonesia stopped hiring new, qualified teachers in 1999 at the height of its economic crisis. There are currently about 26 million elementary school students in the country.

About 1.4 million out of 2.2 million teachers work with the youngest age groups in elementary schools and earn an average of 1.5 million rupiah each month.

The Ministry of National Education's figures show that after 15 years on the job, the typical elementary school teacher takes home a measly 3 million rupiah.

At the same time, the average child here can expect to spend 9.6 years in school -- less classroom time than a Malaysian's 12.1 years or an American's 16.8 years.

Educators from various regions also say that many of them teach subject matters that they are not trained to instruct, simply because someone has to shoulder the responsibility.

The World Bank and other donors to Indonesia have advised the government to focus more on education and other social sectors that could pose long-term problems.

But in the age of decentralisation, where regional politicians have more say in how money is spent by the government, teachers are getting the short end of the stick.

In the past year, teachers across the country have protested against the late distribution of salaries and, often, reduced pay resulting from the failure of regional governments to get their act together.

The biggest problem, however, remains the poor pay and low level of respect that educators get in society.

Mr Mohamad said: "Indonesians with a high level of education would normally not consider teaching as a career option because of the pay and the low social value of the profession. Of course, this has an impact on the quality of the teachers we have, and the education we give our children."

Religion/Islam

Fiction with Islamic theme selling well

Straits Times - July 28, 2002

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Poverty and desperation almost drove Dinda to prostitution in her teenage years.

She needed the money for her destitute family neglected by a drunk and chronic gambler father. But she was saved from a cruel fate by her renewed faith in Islam. And to reaffirm her conviction, she decided to wear the Muslim headscarf or jilbab.

It's not exactly Booker Prize material, but themes of this kind sell well in Indonesia these days. Stories of teenagers besieged by family, school and peer problems, only to be rescued in the end by their religious conviction are the genre of the day.

They are simple, relevant, appealing and they even make parents feel better about their children's reading habits.

In the last three years, novels with strong Islamic undertones have carved out a niche for themselves and made good money for several publishing houses. Ask the founders of Asy-Syaamil Cipta Media, which three years ago practically created the genre.

When the company decided to expand from its graphic design business to publishing, bookstores had yet to put up separate shelves for Islamic fiction. But the company was inspired by An- Nida magazine, which features short stories and novellas with an Islamic theme for teenagers.

"We saw that An-Nida had its own segment, which we thought had growth potential so we went ahead," Mr Eka Wardhana, the company's Publishing Manager, told The Sunday Times.

Its first teenage novel Pinkan, the Warmth of Spring Sun soon sold out. Over 25,000 copies of the book have been sold since then -- a relatively high figure for Indonesia's publishing industry.

The company has published over 30 titles ever since, most of them authored by local writers. Its success was soon followed by other publishers.

Mizan, which specialises in Islamic non-fiction books, eventually ventured into the realm. And giants such as Gunung Agung and even the Catholic-owned Gramedia publishing companies followed suit.

Mr Eka attributed the interests in Islamic literature to the revival of the religious awareness spread by Muslim campus activists in the 1980s. Although most of the books have been aimed at the young readers, the publishers are now eyeing mature readers with more sophisticated literary tastes.

One of the writers who have graduated to this level is the 32- year old Helvy Tiana Rosa, who has been called a pioneer in Islamic fiction.

Ms Helvy said getting the message across through her works was important to her. And to do this, no book should sound like religious propaganda. "We don't write to preach, but we'll be happy if our writings inspire and enlighten some of our readers."

Religious undertones

A prolific author with some 25 books under her belt, Ms Helvy Tiana Rosa is hailed as the pioneer of fiction with Islamic undertones. She began infusing Islamic values in her short stories in 1989 after she decided to wear the jilbab.

In 1997, she wrote her first teenage Islamic novel which sold 5,000 copies in a month. "I wasn't the first, there were predecessors way before my time, but at the time I wrote the novel, I was swimming against the current, which was then dominated by pop fiction series," she told The Sunday Times.

The recipient of several book awards, Ms Helvy wants to see more of writers like her in Indonesia. In 1997, she co-founded the Forum Lingkar Pena, which groups readers, writers and wannabes around the country.

The group organises workshops, trainings and regular meetings to encourage new writers. Of its 3,500 members, 500 have been published in local media.

Megawati tells Muslims to shun 'narrow fanaticism'

Agence France Presse - July 25, 2002

President Megawati Sukarnoputri opened a conference of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation with a rare attack on the "narrow fanaticism" of more extremist Islamic groups.

"We want to show that Islam is a peaceful religion and is capable of creating prosperity in the world," she told the national congress of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which claims a membership of 40 million.

"With that view we can help or save those groups which are small but often claim to represent the ummah [faithful] and impose their narrow views, which are actually harmful to religion and the nation," Megawati said.

"We can also broaden our religious horizons and shun narrow fanaticism ... and the view that differences are wrong." Megawati also expressed concern about the ignorance of many Muslims and called on religious leaders to play a greater role in education.

"Many of our brothers and sisters are still in the dark, intellectually, economically, culturally and in other fields," she said.

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim-populated nation but Islam is not the state religion and different faiths are widely accepted.

Hardline groups like the Front for the Defenders of Islam unnerved foreign residents and potential investors and tourists last year with threats to expel Americans and other foreigners over the US attacks in Afghanistan. The front, which did not follow through on its threats, has also launched raids on bars and nightspots.

The Laskar Jihad Muslim militia sent thousands of fighters to aid Muslims in battling Christians in the Maluku islands and around Poso in Central Sulawesi.

NU and the second largest Islamic organisation Muhammadiyah are traditionally moderate in outlook. On Wednesday senior NU and Muhammadiyah officials and Christian church leaders agreed to oppose proposals by radical groups who want the constitution changed to require Muslims to obey Sharia Islamic law.

Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja, chairman of the Indonesian Bishops' conference, said that for the sake of religious harmony Islamic law should not be recognised in the constitution, according to the Koran Tempo daily.

Darmaatmadja, as quoted by the Jakarta Post, said promoting personal interests above national interests would only pave the way for Indonesia's disintegration.

"Once we fail to respect other people's rights, our country will break up." Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif said the commitment to oppose the constitutional change may not be popular with many Muslims. "I believe that many people within our [NU and Muhammadiyah] community will condemn our stance but I have warned them that we must be committed to promoting unity, which our founding fathers declared when establishing this nation," the Post quoted him as saying.

The issue will be discussed at the four-day NU congress, which is attended by 700 Indonesian delegates and representatives from Malaysia, Egypt, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. Organisers said other topics would be Indonesia's foreign debt, corruption, terrorism and suicide bombings by Palestinians.

Major Muslim groups vow to represent moderate Indonesians

Straits Times - July 22, 2002

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- Indonesia's two leading Muslim groups -- the Muhammadiyah and the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) -- have vowed to distance themselves from local politicking and instead speak up for the country's moderate Muslims.

This turn of events came as the organisations appear to have woken up to the reality of being overlooked, as radical groups and self-serving political parties wage for support from the Muslims.

The two organisations -- NU, once headed by former president Abdurrahman Wahid, and Muhammadiyah, formerly led by National Assembly Speaker Amien Rais -- admit that for too long they have been caught up in domestic power struggles.

Now their leaders want to stay clear of local "politicking" and would not allow the organisations to be used by the Muslim parties which they spawned. Instead they say they want to be a neutral but progressive voice for Muslims.

Said Muhammadiyah chairman Syafi Ma'arif: "There is hardly anyone really discussing the serious problems in Indonesia today. All the political parties are too preoccupied with their own struggles."

Muslim political parties have almost no agenda outside strengthening their political positions, and offer few solutions to Indonesia's economic and social crisis, he said. "The influence and popularity of religious parties has diminished because they have no clear vision," he added.

As radical Muslim groups call for holy war against the United States, Israel and Indonesian Christians, the far more moderate and gentle views of the average Indonesian are rarely heard, according to critics of the two organisations.

And as international arguments raged over whether Islam was an inherently violent religion, Indonesia's two largest and moderate Muslim groups were quiet largely because they were too caught up in their own internal struggles, say observers.

They say NU and Muhammadiyah must not allow militant groups to dictate the agenda by letting them get away with calls for jihad or for an end to ties with the United States.

Mr Syafi feels that Muhammadiyah should also back "reformasi" or the on-going democratisation of Indonesia by promoting direct presidential elections and opposing the introduction of syariah law.

Muhammadiyah's Youth wing chairman, Mr Rizal Sukma, said many people would look to NU and Muhammadiyah for guidance on contemporary issues such as whether the military should be given the right to vote. "If the two organisations can make clear their stance on these big issues, they will make a big impact," he said.

Mr Achmad Bagda, a senior NU leader who is part of a NU- Muhammadiyah joint committee, agrees that as Indonesia's largest grassroots organisation it should be trying to educate ordinary citizens about politics.

While the two groups have much in common, joining forces is nonetheless a sudden turnaround for the former rivals which vied for political patronage under former presidents Suharto and Habibie, say observers.

Antagonism between the more modernist Muhammadiyah and the rural NU when both Mr Abdurrahman and Dr Amien used their former organisations to mobilise mass support has often became violent.

Armed forces/Police

Groups criticize move to restore military ties

Associated Press - July 22, 2002

Jakarta -- The armed forces Monday welcomed a move by the US Congress to reinstate military ties with Indonesia, but human rights groups are calling it an endorsement of an abusive and undemocratic institution.

"This is a very dangerous move," said Munir, the founder of Kontras, Indonesia's most prominent human rights organization. "The [Indonesian] military badly needs this endorsement from the United States in order to further legitimize its meddling in politics [and] human rights violations," said Munir, who uses a single name.

On Friday, the US Senate's appropriations committee passed an amendment to lift restrictions on participation by the Indonesian military in the Pentagon's International Military Education and Training program, known as IMET.

Although the bill still has a long way to go in Congress before becoming law, the prospect of resuming ties has alarmed human rights groups who see the military as the main obstacle to democratic reforms in Indonesia after more than three decades of army-backed dictatorship.

Existing legislation prohibits US military assistance to the Indonesian military to punish it for its role in the devastation of East Timor after its residents voted for independence in a UN-supervised referendum in 1999.

The current law -- called the Leahy Amendment for Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who sponsored it -- requires that Jakarta cooperate with investigations and prosecutions of members of the armed forces responsible for human rights abuses in East Timor and the restive provinces of Aceh, Maluku and West Papua. Human rights groups said that condition hasn't been met.

Brigadier General Tono Suratman, an armed forces spokesman, welcomed the appropriations panel's decision, saying the resumption of military-to-military ties would help Indonesia and the US coordinate their efforts in the war on terrorism. "In this ... we must be able to share information, exchange experiences in combatting terrorists and train our anti-terrorist units and command staffs," he said. Suratman, a former military commander in East Timor, is one of 18 military and government officials indicted for the violence that left hundreds of civilians dead in the former Indonesian territory.

Rights groups have sharply criticized what they said is a recent push by the Bush administration -- spearheaded by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, a former ambassador to Jakarta -- to reestablish relations with the Indonesian military.

Wolfowitz contends that restarting ties will help the Indonesian military reform itself and help it understand the concept of civilian control over the military.

The army, which was the power behind the brutal 32-year dictatorship of former President Suharto, traditionally relied on the US as its main source of weapons and training.

Under Suharto, the generals exerted tight control, repressing opposition. They lost power after Suharto was deposed in 1998, but regained clout under Megawati Sukarnoputri, who became president in July.

Since then, non-governmental organizations have denounced the security forces for resuming a bloody crackdown against separatist rebels in Aceh province -- which they said has killed hundreds of civilians -- and for killing a prominent political leader in West Papua province.

"The senators who voted to restore full IMET have effectively given US backing to continued gross violations of human rights," said John M. Miller, spokesman for the New York-based East Timor Action Network. "In the name of the 'war on terrorism,' the Senate committee will only promote the continued terrorization of the Indonesian people by its military," he said in a statement.

US strengthens military ties

Green Left Weekly - July 24, 2002

Pip Hinman -- US military ties with Jakarta have been restricted since the 1990s because of the Indonesian military's (TNI) human rights abuses in East Timor. Now, Washington is using the "war on terrorism" as justification to renew ties. On July 18, the US Senate voted for a foreign aid bill which included US$400,000 for the Indonesian military.

Last year, Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri was one of the first heads of state to swear allegiance to President George Bush's crusade. In April, US and Indonesian officials held talks on "security issues".

Also in April, the US state department requested that Congress approve US$16 million to train Indonesian police in "counter- terrorism" and to train and equip a new military unit, euphemistically described as a "peacekeeping force" for "troubled areas". Congress approved US$8 million for the police training, but was divided on the latter.

US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, a former ambassador to Jakarta, have been pushing the US Senate to remove the restrictions imposed by the 1999 "Leahy amendment" (renewed and expanded in 2000). This amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act made military aid to Indonesia contingent on the TNI reforming itself.

These "reforms" include the TNI becoming financially transparent and that it cooperates with efforts to bring TNI officers responsible for the carnage in East Timor to justice. Military aid was also made conditional on internationally recognised human rights organisations being allowed into West Timor, Aceh, West Papua and the Moluccas Islands.

While the amount granted on July 18 was relatively small, the Senate Appropriations Committee's vote opens the door for more direct funding and represents a weakening of the Leahy amendment.

Reform? Karen Orenstein from the US-based East Timor Action Network (ETAN) said on July 15: "The `war on terrorism' must not become an excuse to support state-sponsored military terror on civilians in Indonesia. Military restrictions are the primary leverage the US government has over the TNI. If Congress removes them, the TNI will take this as an endorsement of business-as- usual or even a signal of support for continuing abuses. Nothing will be gained and the people of Indonesia will lose." Max Lane from Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific told Green Left Weekly that "Western military assistance at any level is political endorsement for the militarised status quo in Indonesia". He believes that a part of the US motivation for resuming military ties with Indonesia is to reward Indonesia for its cooperation in "fighting terrorism". The Megawati government has jailed a few fundamentalist Muslims the US identified as terrorists.

"However, the US is primarily trying to overcome the anti-US sentiment within the TNI, which developed following the US decision to end military training in the early 1990s", Lane added.

Interestingly, the International Crisis Group (ICG), an international think-tank headed up by former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, also believes that terrorism is not the main problem facing Indonesia.

ICG spokesperson Heather Hurlburt told US National Public Radio on June 18 that Laskar Jihad, the most organised of the far-right Islamic militia groups, poses little threat. While they are trying to stir up trouble in the Moluccas Islands, she said they do not have "[the] classic sort of links to al-Qaeda operations that cause a global threat".

A more candid view was put by Matthew Daley, US deputy assistant secretary of state for east Asian and Pacific affairs, in June. "In dealing with Indonesia on counter-terrorism, if the focus is September 11, you're missing 90%", Daley said. He argued that the real threat facing Jakarta was "the threat of sectarian violence... We want to provide unequivocal support for the territorial integrity of Indonesia".

Daley argued that US military aid was needed to prepare the TNI to deal with civil unrest. "We're trying to expand the margins of what we can do with the TNI", he said, adding that the US should be "realistic" and recognise that Indonesia will have to use its military rather than its police to deal with internal problems.

Reduced pressure "The US decision on supplying aid to the TNI will reduce pressure on the TNI to reform and withdraw from politics", Lane told GLW. "The Megawati government has given the TNI more of a free rein to carry out its dirty work in Aceh and West Papua." Already this year, close to 1000 Acehnese have been killed in clashes with the 60,000 TNI and police stationed there; last year the death toll was 2000, mostly civilians.

No-one has been bought to justice for the assassination of West Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay last November despite evidence of military involvement.

The TNI has ignored a summons from Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission which is investigating the Semanggi and Trisakti student killings of 1998 and 1999. Jakarta is also refusing a request by East Timor's Serious Crimes Investigations Unit for the extradition of East Timorese militia leaders resident in Indonesia.

Megawati has appointed General Mahidin Simbolon, who played a key role in organising the militia thugs in East Timor, to the post of army chief in West Papua. She has also appointed Endriartono Sutarto, a former officer who served in East Timor between September 1998 and November 1999 to the top army job.

Sutarto, who trained in the US and Britain, was head of Suharto's personal guard. Human rights groups say he is likely to have played some part in the abduction, torture and murder of activists, including the murder of prominent labour activist Marsinah in 1993. Sutarto has declared his desire to crush the independence movement in Aceh and is pushing for a state of emergency to be declared there.

Throwing money at the killing machine

Laksamana.Net - July 20, 2002

The US has eased restrictions on military aid to Indonesia, much to the dismay of human rights activists and at least one US senator, who say the Indonesian Army has shown no signs of reforming.

On Thursday the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to endorse a proposal by the administration of President George W. Bush to provide Indonesia with $400,000 in military assistance.

The campaign to end the restrictions was led by Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who claimed Indonesia needed the military aid to overcome potential threats from radical Muslim groups.

Yeah. Right. Tell that to Vice President Hamzah Haz, who has made a point of ingratiating himself with some of the nation's most prominent Islamic radicals, such as Laskar Jihad leader and Indonesian Mujahidin Council leader Abu Bakar Bashir.

And what's this the Indonesian government and military has been saying? The only terrorists in Indonesia are from the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM)?

So what's the US planning on doing -- spending giving $400,000 on the Indonesian military to ensure that ExxonMobil's profits from its exploitation of Aceh's massive natural gas fields will not be threatened by GAM rebels?

Forget the pursuit of human rights and justice. The US hogwash about International Military Education and Training (IMET) is all about the pursuit of money, oil and weapons.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's House of Representatives budget committee has agreed to increased funding for the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and National Police by 1 trillion rupiah, BBC News reported Friday. The report said the additional funding will be taken from the 2002 state budget general reserve funds.

Although it was unclear how the money would be spent, Finance Minister Budiono said Thursday that TNI would receive 65% of the 1 trillion rupiah, while the police will receive 35% of the fund.

TNI commander General Endriartono Sutarto said the military would use the 65 billion rupiah to upgrade and maintain equipment to promote national security. "Actually our requirements exceed 900 billion rupiah. But we're grateful to receive 650 billion. We'll use this in accordance with a scale of priorities," he was quoted as saying.

"We won't use the funds to buy tanks or fighter planes. But we'll prioritize the funding for maintenance and upgrading equipment," he added. He also claimed the money wouldn't be used for any activities that would endanger the lives of civilians.

National Police chief General Dai Bachtiar pledged the 350 billion rupiah for his force wouldn't be used to buy official vehicles for generals. "The funds will be used to purchase communication equipment, patrol vehicles, bomb detection equipment, helicopters and speedboats," he was quoted as saying.

Hmmm. No mention of using funds to improve respect for human rights and not a squeak about putting rogue generals behind bars.

At least there was one voice of common sense this week -- albeit coming from the US -- that of Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who pointed out a few simple facts: the Indonesian military is responsible for massacres, prostitution, funding radical Muslim groups and engaging in drug trafficking, illegal logging and murder.

Resumption of IMET boosts Indonesian-US military relations

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

Kurniawan Hari and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The decision by the United States Senate Appropriations Committee to endorse the allocation of US$400,000 for the training of the Indonesian Military (TNI) will boost relations between the armed forces of the two countries, according to one military observer.

Hasnan Habib, a three-star general (retired), told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that the International Military Education and Training (IMET) facility would help Indonesian officers expand their views on various international issues such as democracy and human rights.

"Indonesian military officers will also learn how to handle insurgency and terrorism," said Hasnan Habib, who is also a former Indonesian ambassador to the United States.

Directorate General for defense strategy at the Ministry of Defense Maj. Gen. Sudrajat said the military training program was required to enhance the TNI's professionalism as well as its sense of democratization and understanding of civil society.

The United States had in the past funded the training of Indonesian military officers, but this was halted in 1992 following the massacre of East Timorese at Santa Cruz cemetery in 1991.

This decision adversely affected relations between the armed forces of the two countries. Today, many officers currently holding key positions in the TNI are unknown to US military leaders, making communication between them difficult.

For Indonesian officers, on the other hand, the decision deprived them of an opportunity to learn about the United States, its democratic values and human rights.

On Friday, some human rights campaigners slammed the budget approval, arguing the military were still refusing to prosecute officers accused of human rights abuses.

"TNI does not deserve this program as they are continuing to defy legal procedures and demand impunity for all their wrongdoings in the past," said Hendardi, of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).

According to Hasnan Habib, the decision to resume the IMET program might restore the opportunity for TNI to improve its military capabilities, giving the US military more support in its anti-terrorism campaign.

Military analyst Kusnanto Anggoro of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) suggested TNI should not misinterpret the US Senate's decision as a sign of appreciation of reform.

"The Indonesian Military must continue its internal reform. I think military reform at the moment is at a standstill," Kusnanto told the Post.

TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin welcomed the decision but cautioned that a joint working group still had to discuss what kind of military training was appropriate for TNI at this point.

"I guess the working group will first of all ask for non-combat strategy training from the US military. But since combating terrorism has become our commitment, maybe we can exchange experiences with the US in dealing with this issue," Sjafrie said. Sudrajat agreed, saying the Committee's proposal has yet to be endorsed by the Senate during its plenary meeting in October.

Sjafrie brushed aside suggestions that the proposal indicated Indonesia has a link with international terrorism as many have accused. "The most important thing for TNI is that the recovering military ties between the two countries will not affect our country's sovereignty. If any international terrorist group makes a link with certain groups here, we will not allow the US to execute them in our territory," Sjafrie told the Post over the weekend.

Sudrajat also admitted, however, that some military officers were involved in radical groups. "But at the present they [these military officers] no longer hold strategic positions either at TNI headquarters, or in Army headquarters," Sudrajat told the Post.

Economy & investment

IBRA loan asset sale program falls short of target

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2002

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta -- The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said on Wednesday it had secured at least Rp 17.75 trillion (US$2.4 billion) in proceeds from a sale of loan assets with a face value of Rp 145 trillion.

IBRA deputy chairman Sumantri Slamet said only Rp 52.2 trillion in assets had attracted bidding prices above floor prices set by the agency. "We will at least receive some Rp 17.75 trillion from this sale," he told a media conference.

The agency had earlier expected a recovery rate of 20 percent to 30 percent, or at least to raise about Rp 29 trillion from the largest ever loan asset sale in Asia.

Sumantri said that the agency would still allow certain bidders, which had bid slightly below the floor prices, to make new bids.

He said that IBRA was hoping to raise another Rp 4 trillion from the rebids. Nevertheless, this would still leave IBRA well short of its recovery target.

IBRA took over more than Rp 250 trillion-worth of nonperforming loans from ailing banks and closed down banks in the late 1990s. The agency is mandated to restructure the loans and resell them to the banking sector. But after four years, the restructuring process has been moving very slowly.

Under pressure to raise cash to help finance the state budget deficit, IBRA then moved to sell the loan assets even though they had not yet been restructured. Around 60 percent of the loan assets sold to investors were categorized as unrestructured loans.

IBRA is targeted to raise some Rp 42 trillion in funds this year. The sale program started last month. Some 231 bidders, of which 111 were foreigners, expressed interest in the loan assets.

Analysts have long warned the agency not to include the unrestructured loans in the program, for fear of low recovery rates.

The winning bidders whose offers were already above the floor prices would be given 48 hours to make the first payment, while investors whose offers were too low would be allowed to make rebids, also within 48 hours.

IBRA has stipulated that all winning bidders must make the first payment, amounting to 20 percent of the bidding value, within two working days, the next 20 percent within seven days and the remaining 60 percent within 21 days.

Analysts have also said that the proceeds would contribute to help strengthen the rupiah as foreign investors would have to exchange their cash dollars into rupiah.

As for the loans that failed to attract investor interest, Sumantri said the agency had three actions in mind: to sell them in packages, through joint ventures or via a holding company.

20 largest winning bidders 1. Bank Mandiri-Anugra Cipta Investama consortium, 2. PT Danatama Makmur, 3. PT Bank Artha Graha, 4. Bank Mandiri-Jasa Banda Garta consortium, 5. Japan Asia Investment Co.-Indonesia, 6. Multi Sarana Investama Securitas, 7. PT Agung Securitas Indonesia, 8. Bank Mandiri-Mahanusa Securities consortium, 9. Verandah International Ltd., 10. Asia Kapitalindo Securities, 11. Neoasia Holding Ltd., 12. Harita Kencana Securities, 13. Indo Kapital Securities, 14. Bank Mandiri- Prosperindo Sekuritas consortium, 15. PT Catur Menaraputra, 16. Maxima Perdana Finance Inc., 17. Victoria Securities Int'l Ltd., 18. PT GMT Aset Manajemen, 19. PT Mandarin Securities, 20. Asia Strategic Fund

Indonesian TV punt pays off

Sydney Morning Herald - July 22, 2002

Malcolm Maiden -- Towards the end of 2000, Mark Carnegie, John Wylie and friends, including John Singleton's media group, STW, placed a large bet on the Indonesian television industry.

There were a few people who thought they were barking mad at the time. But as sharemarkets everywhere nosedive and experts declare that almost every stock is a sell, it is worth remembering that sometimes fortune favours the brave -- as it did last week when the company the Australians invested in floated on the Jakarta stock exchange at a handsome premium.

Carnegie, Wylie, the Singleton group (now called STW Communications) and their Indonesian partner, Eddy Sariaatmadja, initiated the play in November 2000, paying $US37.5 million (then about $72 million) for one-third ownership of PT Abhimata Mediatama, which owned an indirect 73 per cent interest in Indonesia's SCTV television network.

STW put up $US23.73 million, and the advisory-investment boutique that Carnegie and Wylie had just established -- Carnegie, Wylie & Co -- stumped up $US10 million.

It was a fair sized bet for them both, and particularly for Carnegie and Wylie. They were committing half of a private equity investment kitty they had put together by combining their own money with that of investors including Wylie's former employer, Credit Suisse First Boston, and the Los Angeles investment and advisory house Hellman and Friedman, which Carnegie represents in Australia.

What they got for their trouble was effective control of Indonesia's third-largest free-to-air television network.

The deal valued SCTV at just $US125 million and, on face value, it was a promising entry price. SCTV had about a quarter of the Indonesian market, which generated advertising revenue of just under 2 trillion rupiah in 2000, about $387 million.

The big risk was Indonesia itself. In November 2000 the country was politically and financially fragile, and not many people were prepared to bet that the situation would improve any time soon.

The key call the partners made was that the TV business in Indonesia would not be overwhelmed by the distressed macro environment.

That proved to be the case: SCTV was cash-positive from the start and it contributed 22 per cent of STW's December 2001 half year net profit after tax of $17.5 million. The television company's earnings before interest, tax and depreciation are now running at about $US35 million a year.

Still, last week's public float of SCTV wasn't a sure thing. Markets have been weak everywhere this year, though strong in Jakarta, and SCTV was the first global offering on the Jakarta Exchange since the 1997 financial markets crisis.

The shares were also marketed from mid-June right through the global sharemarket shakeout in response to the WorldCom debacle, necessitating a substantial cut in the offer price from between 1400-1550 rupiah a share to 1100 a share.

The latest Wall Street ructions mean that SCTV shares will be under pressure today -- like every other listed offering -- but so far the consortium is comfortably ahead.

SCTV floated at a small premium on Tuesday and the shares held the gain to close at 1125 rupiah on Friday, valuing the company at 2.1 trillion rupiah, about $US233 million.

On paper therefore, the consortium has achieved a return of 85 per cent on their investment -- in a 20 month period when the global sharemarket as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International basket of stocks has fallen by about a third.

So far, that's only a paper gain. The Australian partners did not sell into the float -- the consortium actually increased its stake in SCTV, from 17 per cent to about 26 per cent, after taking on Abhimata Mediatama convertible debt last year which was extinguished and converted to shares in the float.

The consortium's total ownership now stands at 40 per cent and SCTV's float gives the partners an exit path, should they want to take it.

The signs are that the partners are staying in for the time being, however. And why not -- the hard work has been done, time for some earnings.