Labour issues

Teachers to protest delayed pay

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2002

Yuliansyah, Banjarmasin -- The Association of Indonesian Private School Employees (Asokadikta) Banjarmasin chapter said Friday that it was planning to stage a large-scale rally to demand that the government give serious attention to the Rp 4 billion in overtime pay for temporary teachers that is still being held by the education office there.

The association said some 10,000 temporary teachers in 11 regencies of South Kalimantan were exceedingly anxious over the long-awaited overtime pay which was supposed to be disbursed three months ago. The payment represents their overtime pay for the past six months.

"We also demand that the government write off the 15 percent deduction to our overtime pay because the payment itself is inadequate. We depend on it to augment our income," an Asokadikta member said.

Abdullah Amin, head of the Banjarmasin Education Office, denied charges that his office was holding the funds, saying that overtime pay was handled by the Teachers' Development Center (BPG), a technical unit of the office. BPG project manager Subri justified the delinquent overtime pay by saying that the office was still compiling the data of the temporary teachers from the 11 regencies.

"It takes time to gather the recipients' data," he said. He was quick to add that the payment was already available and would be disbursed by the end of this month through the mail services.

"It's not true that disbursement was triggered by the teachers' threat to organize a massive protest. We've had difficulty in data collection," Subri said.

Workers protest new labor bills

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2002

Medan -- At least 700 workers from six regencies in North Sumatra grouped under The North Sumatra Labor Union NGO Forum held a rally on Wednesday at the provincial legislature to oppose the bills on labor protection and industrial dispute settlement.

The forum, comprising 14 labor groups, urged the provincial legislative council to channel their aspirations to the House of Representatives legislators who are currently hammering out the two draft laws in Jakarta.

During the rally, the workers put their signatures on a long banner of white cloth to express their challenge to the bills, which according to them failed to provide menstruation leave for women, restricted street rallies, maintained employment based on contract and removed the state's responsibility to provide people with decent jobs.

The protesters became angry when some of the councillors who received them were reluctant to convey their aspirations to Jakarta.

Construction employees demand status guarantee

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2002

Medan -- Hundreds of employees of a regional construction company staged a demo at the city council building in Medan, North Sumatra, on Monday demanding a guarantee for their future employment status following the state owned firm's management transfer.

PD Pembangunan Medan, a state construction company run by the regional administration, plans to transfer the management of its Amplas, Pinang Baris and Teladan terminals to the municipal communications office.

The employees protested against the change from their 12-year status as regular personnel of PD Pembangunan into casual daily workers following the transfer, without certainty about their fixed salaries and old-age benefits.

They urged that city councilors seek the municipal administration's prompt response to the issue, otherwise "we will mobilize all families of the employees to stage a large-scale protest," said Triono Hadi, coordinator of the action -- the third so far.

"Though we get paid below the provincial minimum wages at only 418,000 rupiah monthly, our status is legally protected, which is not the case when we serve as casual workers under the communications office," he told The Jakarta Post.

Ibnu Hajar, vice chairman of the Medan legislature, promised to discuss the fate of the employees in a meeting between the municipal administration, the communications office and PD Pembangunan slated for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, PD Pembangunan President Director T.H. Rajagukguk explained to the protesters that the terminal management takeover by the communications office was in line with a decree of the minister of communications.

"The terminals in Medan were put under PD Pembangunan's management in 1990 by then Mayor Bachtiar Djafar, so it is only proper to return their management to the communications office," he added.

Rajagukguk, however, declined to comment on the status change of its employees under the communications office. "It is beyond my authority to answer it, just leave the matter to the Mayor," he said.

Drivers on strike, hundreds stranded

Jakarta Post - September 10, 2002

Tangerang -- Hundreds of passengers were stranded across Tangerang on Monday following a strike by public minivan drivers serving three routes from Cimone to Cikupa, Tigaraksa and Perumnas.

Earlier in the day, drivers parked their vans at Kadewaran intersection in Bitung and then marched to the regency legislative council office to voice their protest.

According to Sarwija, one of the drivers, the drivers were protesting against Primajasa bus serving the Balaraja-Kampung Rambutan route that took passengers heading to Balaraja from Bitung.

"Since Primajasa buses have also taken those short-distance passengers, we have lost some of our daily income," he said.

The stranded passengers could be seen at Cimone bus terminal, Kawedaran intersection in Bitung, Cikupa market and Balaraja bus terminal.

The drivers who went on strike were those who drive Isuzu minivans traveling between Cimone and Balaraja, drivers of Kijang minivans traveling between Cimone and Tigaraksa and drivers of minivan R-11 traveling between Pasar Anyer and Tangerang Perumnas I, II and III.

Deportations: Where is Megawati?

Straits Times - September 9, 2002

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- President Megawati Sukarnoputri has been on a seven-nation tour abroad while President Gloria Arroyo has personally visited illegal workers deported from Malaysia.

Ms Megawati disputed the death toll in workers' camps while Mrs Arroyo took up the case of a 13-year-old who was allegedly raped in detention and managed to arrange legal aid for detainees.

The difference between the Indonesian and Philippine governments' handling of the illegal-workers crisis is making headlines here.

Newspapers have questioned whether the President should be touring Africa and Europe while the death toll mounts in the East Kalimantan port town of Nunukan.

More than 24,000 workers are camping in plastic tents there while awaiting work permits to return to Malaysia or find transportation back to Java and Sulawesi.

Health workers say 69 people have died from diarrhoea and other diseases in these camps since May.

Last Tuesday, local tabloid Rakyat Merdeka featured a picture of Ms Megawati aboard her plane with the caption: Mega enjoys the pleasures of the plane.

Next to it was a photo of workers holding out bowls and the caption: Workers queue up to eat at the camps.

The President has hit back at critics who say she should not be touring Africa and lecturing on poverty when dozens have been dying back home. On Saturday, she told reporters in Algiers that the trip was necessary to encourage the return of foreign investment to Indonesia.

"It is my job to reintroduce Indonesia, which has been out of the international political spotlight due to the prolonged crisis in the country over the last four years," she said.

She also pointed out that Vice-President Hamzah Haz was responsible for handling the workers' crisis. "This problem has really been blown up by the press," she said.

Comparisons with Mrs Arroyo may seem unfair but, as The Jakarta Post pointed out in its Saturday editorial, "Arroyo personally went to greet the Philippine workers deported from Malaysia last week; Megawati decided to go ahead with her lengthy overseas trip". It added: "Admittedly, this contrasting approach was simply too irresistible for us to ignore."

Other newspapers were harsher. A Kompas newspaper survey of 800 people showed 66.3 per cent did not believe the government cared about illegal workers.

An online survey by Media Indonesia asked: "What is more important for the President to do, visit the Earth Summit or visit Nunukan?" It found 64 per cent thought visiting Nunukan was more important.

More than half the respondents also blamed the government's lack of involvement for the deaths.

Media Indonesia newspaper also carried opinion pieces criticising the President.

Print and TV editors have defended their critical stance, arguing it is their duty to draw the government's attention to the crisis. "This case is an emergency situation that the government should handle seriously," said one senior news manager.

Workers and business unhappy with revised labor bill

Jakarta Post - September 9, 2002

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- Labor union activists and businessmen have expressed discontent with the changes to the labor bill being deliberated at the House of Representatives, saying the revision fails to accommodate their respective aspirations.

"The revision is worse than the previous one as it reduces workers' rights. We have no other option but to reject the bill," Dita Indah Sari, chairwoman of the National Front for Labor Struggle told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

She threatened to join forces with other labor unions, including the Mukhtar Pakpahan-led Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI), in calling for a national strike by the end of this month if the bill is passed. "I hope other big labor unions will reject the bill too," she said.

Dita's opposition to the revised bill centers on the omission of 20 articles regarding crimes against workers which may be committed by employers, thus providing workers with less protection.

The revised bill even maintains tight procedures for legal strikes by requiring those involved to obtain support from workers and to report to employers seven days beforehand.

It also only obliges a firm to provide transportation for workers, compared to the previous version of the bill which stipulates that a company must provide transportation for workers until the workers reach their homes.

The labor bill is a package of two bills: a bill on labor development and protection, and a bill on the settlement of industrial disputes.

The earlier version of the bill drew strong protests both from labor unions and businessmen, each claiming that the bill was damaging to their respective interests.

Both parties' uncompromising stance eventually forced the government to revise no less than 35 articles in the bill to avoid further resistance.

The revised edition, however, has retained some contentious issues.

Severance and service payments for dismissed and resigning workers, worshiping and breast-feeding times, facilities at the workplace and payment for striking workers all remain undecided.

Separately, deputy chairman of the Indonesia Employers Association (APINDO) Djimanto said the revisions to the bill still did not provide a conducive situation for firms to operate here.

"We are voicing our complaints as the bill is still over protective of workers," he told the Post. "If the bill is endorsed, I'm worried that many small and medium companies will collapse due to soaring labor costs, while investment will not come." Huge companies will also relocate overseas or at least will take various drastic efficiency measures, he added.

Djimanto objected to an article which stipulates that a firm must give a three-months leave for workers who have worked for at least six consecutive years.

He also opposed an article about menstruation leave for female workers, saying that the facility was prone to misuse, thus affecting production. "We propose that leave for female workers be limited to only maternity leave," he said.

Meanwhile, head of the Indonesian Footwear Association (Aprisindo) Anton Supit hoped that the government and the House could provide a clear ruling on labor issues as Indonesia is facing stiff competition from other countries.

"Don't make regulations which protect workers too much. Even the United States doesn't adopt such a restrictive labor law as is currently under debate here," he said.

Aceh/West Papua

Women cling to dreams in squalid misery of sex city

Sydney Morning Herald - September 14, 2002

Matthew Moore -- The sign at the village gate says Kadun Jaya, but everyone calls it Kilo Sepuluh, or Ten K, because it is 10 kilometres out of town. The town is Timika, deep in the heart of Indonesian Papua and home to the best golf course, airstrip and hotel in the province, all built on the back of the world's richest gold mine, known as Freeport.

Out of Timika it is different. A muddy track leads into the village, which has vegetables growing in neat rows and goats and poultry picking at garbage. Down one side of town, children and families sell produce from broad verandas. On the other side there are no families with children, only women -- women who have nothing to sell but sex.

Ten K is Timika's sex city, a squalid, cut-price brothel complex that provides home and hope for 380 women. In a country where there is no social security system, where 100 million people struggle to survive on the equivalent of $A4 a day, Ten K is where desperate single women come to find a way out. Emmy, 31, came here five months ago after her husband left her. With no skills and two children, one 15 and the other eight, she needed money fast. She lives in a room in one of the town's 20 brothels; a room that serves as home and workplace yet is too small for more than a single bed and a shelf for her neatly folded clothes.

Like most of the women here, Emmy is from Java, and like the rest of the women here, she has come with a plan to stick it out just long enough to save the price of chance at a life. Twenty million rupiah, or about $4000, is what she says it will cost. With that she reckons she can start a little business back home. She is unsure what; selling fried rice perhaps. But, at $10 for a "short time", that is a lot of cash to save. "It's a very hard life," she said. Her face confirms it. Her brothel is run by Alfonso, a local Papuan, and his wife. On top of the earnings from his business, Alfonso is paid $130 a month by Timika's local government to manage the village.

As with many Indonesian towns, the local authorities and the religious leaders in Timika like to keep their prostitutes together but out of sight. Six years ago this complex was in Timika, but Alfonso said the Freeport McMoRan mining company also wanted it moved. "There was a place like this in Timika, but many people from Freeport often did not return to work because they enjoyed lying around there." Freeport struck a deal with the local government to make the complex less accessible. Ten kilometres was thought a suitable distance. Most of Freeport's 16,000 workforce is Indonesian men -- many of them single -- from other islands, so moving the village this distance was a mild discouragement. To protect the health of their workers, four Freeport doctors now come every month to conduct compulsory health checks. They give all the women regular blood tests. The number of AIDS cases is taking off in Indonesia, but the women working here say disease is the least of their fears. They insist all clients observe the "No sex without condoms" signs.

Thirty years ago there was no Timika. But the massive mine high in the mountains now fuels a swarming frontier town, full of the hopeful from across the nation, all lured by the chance of crumb's that might fall from Freeport's table. That is why Ridin is here. She lives in the room next door to Emmy, and in a month her one-year stint will be over. Each month she has sent money home to her family of Javanese farmers so they can buy more land on which to grow rice. Since her husband walked out, her brother has cared for her 12-year-old daughter. She lies to them both about the job that she got, bitter at the circumstances that forced her here. "Of course I have no husband. If I have a husband why should l be here like this?" she said. Above her bed the Teletubbies smile down at the customers.

From a nail on a wall hangs a freshly pressed tunic favoured by Muslim women. The jilbab that will cover her head lies folded nearby. It is ready for when she returns to her village, ready for when she resumes her life as a modest Muslim woman.

Teachers growing target of killings in Aceh

Straits Times - September 15, 2002

Banda Aceh -- A woman teacher was executed in war-torn Aceh on Thursday, adding to the growing list of more than 50 teachers killed since 1998.

Both the federal government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which is fighting for an independent Aceh, blame each other for the slayings. Still, with teachers dying and schools torched, it is the Acehnese schoolchildren who are suffering.

The military said on Friday that Ms Rohana Hasan, 40, was shot in the head on her way to school in Krueng Panjo, Bireun district, 220 km east of Banda Aceh, Antara reported.

"She was shot by two unidentified men on a motorcycle," the head of the information task force of the Security Restoration Operation Zaenal Mutaqin said. She died a few hours after arriving at the Peusangan Health Centre.

Her death took place only one day after unidentified gunmen shot a 33-year-old teacher despite a plea by her young son not to kill her. She later died in a clinic. It also comes barely a month after public elementary school principal Maryam Hasan was slain.

At least 50 teachers have so far been killed since armed conflicts erupted in the province a few years ago. Others are tortured and school buildings are regularly burnt to the ground.

Some Aceh watchers believe that GAM guerillas want only locally born, locally educated and intensely Islamic Acehnese as teachers to prevent "Javanese imperialism" -- and blame them for the killings. On the flip side, some Acehnese leaders accuse the police and military of killing teachers in what they deem as a bid to keep their people from becoming educated.

Others who have been following the protracted issues in Aceh are calling on Jakarta to focus on stimulating the local economy and rebuilding conflict-torn areas, where dozens of schools, offices and homes have been damaged by clashes between the military and the rebels.

Civilians have always been casualties in the long-running conflict between separatist rebels and government forces. "We are at a loss as to how to stop the violence against teachers," chairman of the Aceh branch of the Indonesian Teachers Association A. Mudy told Antara. According to the official, many teachers had also suffered torture or lost their homes in arson attacks.

An estimated 10,000 people have died since GAM began its fight for an independent homeland in 1976 in the energy-rich province on Sumatra, with rights activists putting the toll for this year alone at around 1,000.

Both sides have tentatively agreed to hold peace talks in Switzerland later this month or in October, a report said on Wednesday.

Two policemen killed in restive Aceh

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2002

Banda Aceh -- Two personnel of the Police Mobile Brigade were killed in a firefight with rebels in Seunuddon, North Aceh, some 300 kilometers east of Banda Aceh on Saturday, according to reliable sources. The bodies of the two policemen who have yet to be identified were taken to the Military Hospital in Lhokseumawe, hours after the firefight.

Eyewitnesses who asked for anonymity said the firefight occurred when several rebels fired at the two victims when they were riding a motorcycle through a traditional market in Seunuddon at 12.30pm. According to them, one died instantly and the other one died several hours after the firefight.

Taufik Sugiono, spokesman for the Aceh Provincial Police, confirmed that the two were killed when they are passing through the traditional market. He said the police would intensify patrols and sweeping in the area.

Military seen at site of Freeport killings

Laksamana.Net - September 14, 2002

Armed men in military uniforms were seen at the place where gunmen shot dead two Americans and an Indonesian teacher near the Freeport gold mine in Papua province, a report said Friday.

Agence France Presse quoted human rights investigator John Rumbiak as saying the information was revealed during an investigation he is conducting into the August 31 killings in coordination with Indonesian police.

Rumbiak, who heads Papua's Human Rights Study and Advocacy Institute (Elsham), said two witnesses alleged they saw people in military uniforms at the time of the shootings in which 12 other Freeport employees were wounded.

"They saw a number of people wearing military uniforms. They were on the roadsides at mile 62 and 63 when the incident happened. They were holding automatic guns," he was quoted as saying by AFP.

Police have recovered more than 100 cartridges from military ammunition at the scene of the crime on a road outside leading to Freeport's huge mine.

Rumbiak said he was working very closely with police and exchanging information.

The military insists the separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM) -- which generally uses stone-age weapons -- was responsible for the shootings.

But provincial police chief I Made Mangku Pastika has admitted that members of the Indonesian military might have been behind the fatal ambush. Rumbiak said police investigators who went to the crime scene a day after the killings were fired on by soldiers. "The Army said that they were there for protecting the incident site," he was quoted as saying by AFP.

The military had originally claimed that one armed Papuan man was shot dead and a soldier wounded during a clash on September 1 amid the hunt for the killers. But Rumbiak said an autopsy on the dead man revealed he had been quite sick and died 24 hours before the incident.

Warning of more strife in Papua

Melbourne Age - September 14 2002

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- Violent incidents such as the shooting of 14 people at a mine in the Indonesian province of Papua last month are likely to continue unless the Indonesian military's involvement in the area's resource projects is scaled right back, a report warns.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group said the Indonesian Government needed to ensure police were made responsible for investigating civil disturbances and not the military if violence in the troubled province was to be reduced in the long term. Given the importance of Papua for the military's finances, changing these arrangements will be very difficult, the report warns.

"The Indonesian security forces have a financial interest in resource extraction in Papua, through direct involvement in logging and other activities and in the form of fees paid by resource companies for their protection," the report says. Despite widespread support for the separatist movement among local Papuans, the crisis group says that last year's autonomy offer to Papua by the Indonesian Government has some potential to improve the relations between local villagers, settlers from other parts of the country, and the Indonesian Government, provided the military is controlled.

The autonomy offer acknowledges Papuan grievances and goes some way to tackling them by promising that a greater share of revenue from natural resources will remain in Papua, but the often brutal history of the military in Papua remains a major issue. The group's Indonesia Project director, Sidney Jones, said: "There's a direct correlation between injustice in the management of natural resources and the strength of pro-independence sentiment in Papua. There's little hope for the autonomy option unless Indonesia ends the abusive practices associated with resource exploitation," she said.

The report, released yesterday, said the military's illegal business activities in Papua, especially in the logging industry, were at the heart of the simmering discontent and the sporadic incidents of violence such as the August shooting of teachers at the Freeport mine and the ongoing fight for independence.

"Injustices in the management of natural resources under Indonesian rule have contributed significantly to the conflict. The state has often given concessions to resource companies in disregard of the customary rights of indigenous Papuan communities, while troops and police guarding these concessions have frequently committed murders and other human rights abuses against civilians. "There are places where support for independence seems closely linked to the practices of resource companies and their guards from the military and the police: for example, around the Freeport copper and gold mine in southern Papua," the report says. The report sheds no new light on the Freeport shootings and makes no judgment about whether Papuan separatists or the military were responsible.

Although there has been a long period of tension between Freeport and those living near the mine, it says Freeport's 1996 decision to commit close to $28 million each year for a decade for extra spending on the local community has gone some way to improving relations.

21 soldiers quizzed over shooting

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2002

R.K. Nugroho, Jayapura -- Police in Papua have so far questioned 21 Army soldiers who were on duty during the shooting at giant copper and gold mining company PT Freeport Indonesia compound in Timika on August 31, 2002 but have said the investigation remained inconclusive with no one yet held responsible for the incident.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSHAM) which called for an independent investigation into the case, has conducted its own probe into the incident.

Papua Provincial Police chief Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika who led the police investigation into the case, said the soldiers were questioned to obtain detailed information about the incident because they were in charge of security in the tightly-monitored mining site.

"We questioned the soldiers to get more information on how the incident happened and what they did after the bloody shooting." he told The Jakarta Post by telephone here on Saturday. He said the questioning of the soldiers was part of the field investigation. He declined to identify the 21 soldiers but said they were not detained.

Besides questioning the soldiers, the police have also conducted an autopsy on the corpse of a tribesman, who was killed when security personnel conducted a sweeping operation at the scene. A number of other witnesses, mostly locals living near the location have also been questioned.

Two Americans and an Indonesian were killed and 15 others were injured when gunmen attacked a bus at the mining site on August 31. All injured victims have recovered after being hospitalized in Darwin, Australia, for several days.

Pastika conceded that the police had not determined which armed group was behind the incident. "The attack could have been launched by the separatist group led by Kelly Kwalik or the one led by Tadius Yogi," he said, adding the attackers were opposed to Freeport's presence in the province. He pledged that the police would solve the case as soon as possible.

Asked about the FBI agent's mission in the province, Pastika said he along with a staff member of the US Embassy in Jakarta had left. "They were here to observe the police investigation," he said. Kelly has denied the local officials' statement that he might be behind the incident.

ELSHAM has called on the government to set up an independent fact-finding team to look into the case. It said the local security authorities' accusation that the assault was launched by rebels was strange because it was impossible for rebels with out-of-date firearms to enter the mining compound which was tightly guarded by professional soldiers from the Army's special force (Kopassus) and Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad).

The local military had denied any involvement in the death of proindependence Papuan leader Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluway when his body was found in an area bordering with Papua New Guinea on November 11, 2001. However in a further investigation, at least ten members of Kopassus faced trial over their alleged involvement in the murder.

ELSHAM supervisor John Rumbiak said ELSHAM and the Anti-violence Human Rights Foundation (Yamahak) were conducting a joint investigation into the incident. "We have met with all people who witnessed the incident and asked clarification from Freeport's management on the security system in the mining site to make an analysis on who should be held responsible for the incident," he said on Saturday.

Soldier shot in ambush in West Papua

Melbourne Age - September 15, 2002

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- Gunmen shot and wounded an Indonesian soldier yesterday in almost the same place that a fortnight ago gunmen killed three employees of a giant US mine in West Papua.

Sources close to the Freeport gold and copper mine said gunmen attacked Indonesian military about 12.25pm, wounding a soldier in the leg and arm in an incident sure to add to growing unease among the 16,000 workforce at the mine. There were unconfirmed reports that gunmen fired at soldiers on Friday, although no one was reported injured.

In yesterday's shooting four soldiers were in a four-wheel-drive vehicle taking food to a military post when their car was hit three times by gunfire. The soldiers returned fire and gave chase but could not locate the gunmen.

Milepost 62 is the same area where the teaching staff of Freeport's international school were fired on two weeks ago and three people were killed and eight wounded.

The shooting left the 75 children at the school in Freeport's mountain mining town of Tembagapura without teachers. Yesterday's incident will make it increasingly difficult to find replacement teachers and is certain to encourage some expatriates to consider leaving.

Four decades of fighting to retain identity

Le Monde Diplomatique - September 2002

[The Indonesian government has had harsh colonial policy vis-a-vis the people of West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). Whereas East Timor became a cause cilhbre, West Papua has been passed over. The United Nations is not interested. Yet the forgotten people fight on for their cultural and political identity. By our special correspondent Damien Faure.]

The Kiunga mission's little motorboat had just left the Fly River. The stream suddenly narrowed, the trees took on a darker shade of green, and for a few minutes we were surrounded by luxuriant and ghostly vegetation, then the boat emerged into a magnificent inland lake.

This could have been an earthly paradise, except that we had just left Papua New Guinea and entered the former Irian Jaya, now West Papua, the 26th province of Indonesia. In the bow stood Father Jacques Gros, a member of the congregation of Saint Vincent de Paul and a Catholic missionary who covers the border from the highlands to the shores of the Torres Strait. Behind him were two local leaders of the TPN (1), the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM).

The first houses on stilts appeared. All along the bank dozens of children gathered to cheer the arrival of the first motorboat in three months. Gradually a strange assortment of shadowy outlines emerged in the Memeyop military camp. An impressive figure, taller than the others, stood out from the crowd, a thin man with a white beard, in battledress. This was Bernard Mawen, commander of the liberation army in the southern section of West Papua, a legend.

Units of Indonesia's special forces, Kopassus, had been after him for years and he survived only by an exceptionally cool head and great courage. The Indonesian army has never really paid any serious heed to the non-aggression pact between the TPN and the Jakarta government, signed in 1998 after the fall of President Suharto. The ruthless hunt for the leaders of the independence movement continued, as witness the assassination of the head of the Papua Presidium, Theys Eluay, found dead in his car near Jayapura, the capital of the province, in November 2001.

For almost four decades men like Bernard Mawen or John Koknat, another military leader of the OPM, have fought for the independence of their land, a former Dutch colony, which became a province of Indonesia in 1969 after a rigged referendum, described as the "Act of Free Choice". The cold war was at its height and this "referendum", held under the auspices of the United Nations Organisation (UNO), was approved by the United States and the international community, although only a few Papuans, hand-picked from a population of 800,000, voted to join Indonesia. So West Papua, renamed Irian Jaya (Irian victorious) (2), with Jayapura (formerly Hollandia) as capital, became a colony of Jakarta.

The Papuans were treated abominably by the Suharto regime. Brutality and war crimes were routine -- the army used napalm in 1977 against villages on the Baliem plateau suspected of harbouring resistance -- and their culture was denied. Every possible effort was made to destroy the values and identity of the Papuans, whose traditions are similar to those of other Melanesians, such as the original inhabitants of Australia and the Kanak of New Caledonia. They were regarded as primitive by the occupying authorities and forbidden to practise ancestral rites.

In the Baliem valley they were not allowed to wear the ritual penis sheath. To relieve the pressure on Java, home to half the population of Indonesia, and to strengthen the hold on Papua, the Jakarta government instituted a transmigration programme under which people from Java were moved to Irian Jaya (3).

This demographic colonisation was rapidly consolidated. Land that had belonged to Papuan tribes for thousands of years was given to the newly arrived Javanese and vast opencast gold, nickel and copper mines opened in the central mountain range.

Sem Karoba, the OPM coordinator in Europe, described what happened: "Since 1969, our people have been killed and our villages shelled. We have no control over our education and we are not allowed to speak our own language. Our houses are destroyed. Our culture is despised because our traditional religion teaches us to believe in the trees, mountains and rivers. The mining companies tell us we must believe in one god, not the gods of nature."

Possibly moved by this religious faith, the mining companies, especially the American company Freeport, have been spewing out chemical waste and playing havoc with nature for decades, causing a vast ecological disaster and forcing part of the local population to leave (4).

As Sem Karoba said: "One of the main reasons for colonisation is that our land is rich in natural resources. The foreign companies are plundering it for rare timber, gold, silver and copper. If you ask me why I'm fighting, my answer is I'm fighting because my mountains are bleeding, my forests are stripped and my rivers are poisoned."

Ignored by the international community, the armed resistance movements number 60,000 men. They are poorly equipped compared with the Indonesian forces, which have sophisticated weapons, and their only hope lies in the natural protection of the jungle and mountains close to the border with Papua New Guinea, where tens of thousands of Papuan refugees have fled since the outbreak of hostilities.

The fighting continues despite the changes in Indonesia since 1998. After the fall of President Suharto, a dialogue opened between the OPM and the new authorities in Jakarta, first with Jusuf Habibie and then in 1999 with President Abdurrahman Wahid. Wahid proved willing to seek conciliation, even changing the name of Irian Jaya to West Papua. But the end of the dictatorship brought a renewed desire for a complete break, especially after East Timor achieved independence (5).

In December 2000 the second Papuan People's Congress (the first was in 1961) declared the 1969 referendum null and void and called for renewal of the negotiations for independence started in 1961. But this initiative was not ratified by the UN and a few months later it was vigorously rejected by the Indonesian army and parliament.

The armed forces felt threatened by Wahid's policy of openness and increased attacks on the separatists. The new president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, has promised major changes in the government and autonomy for West Papua, but the recent assassinations of Eluay and William Onde, one of Mawen's lieutenants, show that the Indonesian army and some of the Javanese ruling class are not prepared to relinquish their privileges.

A recent report by an NGO, the Australia West Papua Association (AWPA), reveals that many of the armed Islamic movement, Laskar Jihad, have moved into West Papua from the Moluccas (6). Laskar Jihad was behind the latest outbreak of fighting between the Muslim and Christian communities in the islands, in which there were many casualties.

These forces cannot operate in West Papua without the support of the Indonesian army. According to the AWPA report, a Laskar Jihad force of 3,000 men landed in West Papua in May and military training camps have been set up near Manokwari, where there is a large community of Javanese Muslim settlers. Arms have been distributed, along with tracts and videos praising the Jihad forces in the Moluccas.

In Jakarta the coordinating minister for political affairs, security and social welfare, Lt Gen Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said in May that the government does not intend to review its plan of regional autonomy for the province of West Papua and that independence is not on the agenda. In his speech at the meeting of the national council, Susilo said that in his view the OPM represented a threat to the unitary state of Indonesia and must be eliminated.

The Indonesian government had been defied by a few freedom fighters but it seriously intended to re-educate the separatist movements. Besides resisting the Indonesian state, the separatists also face the problem of creating a unitary body. The military wing of the OPM is not united and no undisputed leader has emerged with the ability to organise consistent resistance.

John Koknat tried to muster support in countries in the South Pacific (East Timor, Vanuatu, Fiji, Australia) during a tour in January. He also claims to be the commander in chief of the organisation, whereas others name Mawen as supreme commander. This difficulty in presenting a united front may be due to the fact that there are, and have been for centuries, many tribes (and dialects) in West Papua and feuds are endemic.

The OPM is split between the Papua Presidium, led by Tom Bernal since the murder of Eluay and located at Jayapura; the Presidium in exile, at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, a more radical political branch of the movement, of local leaders who have fled the country and are now political refugees; and the TPN, the armed wing of the OPM with Mawen as commander. Since Mawen's predecessor, Mathias Wanda, was released from prison in December 2001 the two men no longer see eye to eye.

The three organisations have been at loggerheads for years, blaming each other for fleeing the country or collaborating with the enemy, but there seems to have been a move to work together after the recent assassinations. The separatist movements reject Jakarta's plan for autonomy. As Mawen told us, seated in front of the Free Papua flag, the Morning Star, in the military camp at Memeyop, "We reject the plan. We want the UN to pressure Indonesia to stop the massacres of Papuans and hold a free and fair referendum to enable the people to determine the future of West Papua. How much longer is the UN going to remain at the beck and call of Indonesia?"

He knows that autonomy cannot guarantee the Papuans' human rights. Their only hope lies in independence. He also knows that the battle will not be won in the field alone: it must be fought on the diplomatic front in the UN. Koknat is more radical. The OPM may have chosen "the path of peace and dialogue overseen by the UN, but that does not mean that we are not going to fight. We have nine commanders and 60,000 men in the armed wing of the OPM and we can always call on them to continue the struggle."

But the OPM troops sometimes fight with bows and arrows; they have very few automatic weapons, compared with the thoroughly modern Indonesian special forces. The Papuan problem cannot be solved by force of arms alone. A political solution will have to be found.

But the Papuan people are not represented, even nominally, as a future independent member of the UN and their claims remain unheard. The world is unaware of the struggle of this people, one of the most ancient on earth. The Jakarta authorities see autonomy as the end of the conflict. They are talking about economic development and redistribution of wealth. But the Papuans no longer believe in promises. This is not just about redistribution, it is a battle for the identity and survival of an entire people.

Notes:

1. Tentara Pembebasan Nasional, or National Liberation Army.
2. Irian: Ikut Republik Indonesia Anti Nederlan, or Follow the Republic of Indonesia against the Netherlands.
3. Transmigration was also practised under Dutch rule but on a limited scale.
4. The mines are on high ground and the local people were forced to move to low-lying areas infested with mosquitoes. Many Papuan refugees subsequently died of malaria.
5. In the case of East Timor, the UN always opposed forced annexation. In the case of West Papua, they sanctioned it. See Any Bourrier, "East Timor: hell to paradise", Le Monde diplomatique English edition, June 2002.
6. AWPA Newsletter no 28, May 2002, Sydney. Translated by Barbara Wilson.

[The author is a filmmaker, director of the documentary West Papua, Kimsa Films, Paris, 2002.]

Military investigated in Papua ambush inquiry

Washington Post - September 10, 2002

Alan Sipress and Ellen Nakashima, Jakarta -- Indonesian police are investigating whether soldiers were behind the killing of two Americans and one Indonesian near the Freeport-McMoRan gold and copper mine in the eastern province of Papua, the regional police chief said today.

Investigators also were exploring the possibility that Papuan separatists or local tribesmen carried out the August 31 ambush. But the determination of the police chief, I. Made Pastika, to examine possible army involvement has put him at odds with Indonesia's powerful military.

Armed forces commanders have continued to insist that separatists ambushed a convoy of Toyota Land Cruisers traveling the foggy mountain road to the mine. The military's Papua commander, Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon, today again blamed the attack -- the most violent in the area in 40 years -- on the Free Papua Movement (OPM), which has been waging an independence campaign marked by low-level, sporadic violence.

But Pastika, in an interview, said that members of the military may have carried out the attack to extort money or other concessions from the Freeport-McMoRan facility, the world's largest gold and copper mine. Furnishing security for multinational companies has proven lucrative for the military, known by its Indonesian initials as TNI, but Pastika said that some of its members are dissatisfied with the current arrangement.

Investigators are also evaluating the possibility that special forces may have hired local Papuan fighters to conduct the ambush, he said. "There are some rumors about the possibility of TNI or other [military] personnel maybe doing the attack. This is also one of the possibilities," Pastika said. "We are police and cannot ignore any of the possibilities."

The differences between the police and the military over the investigation reflects a broader and occasionally violent rivalry that developed after the two forces, once unified, were split after the 1998 ouster of the long-ruling President Suharto. Though the purpose was to create stronger civilian institutions, with the police playing a greater role in internal security, the two organizations compete across the Indonesian archipelago for control over security and the patronage and money-making opportunities that come with it.

This is not the first time police have focused suspicions on the military over atrocities in the remote province at the far eastern end of the archipelago. The police accused the military's special forces of carrying out the November murder of Papuan separatist leader Theys Eluay, and 12 soldiers have been detained in connection with that killing. If soldiers are found to be involved in the August 31 ambush, it could undercut US plans to restore military ties with Indonesia, suspended in 1999 to protest the army's role in orchestrating widespread militia violence in East Timor.

Simbolon, the Papuan military commander, rejected any suggestion of military involvement in the attack, which killed American teachers Edwin L. Burgon of Sunriver, Ore., and Ricky L. Spier of Colorado and their Indonesian colleague Bambung Riwanto,, all Freeport employees. "No way," Simbolon said, when asked whether special forces or other soldiers could have been responsible.

He said it was clear that the military was innocent because soldiers, who were protecting the police as they investigated the crime, were fired on by separatists on September 1, a day after the ambush. In that exchange, one Papuan was killed, police say. Simbolon said a guerrilla group headed by local separatist commander Kelly Kwalik could have been the attacker. But he said another faction, led by Titus Murib, may also have been responsible. Simbolon said a body recovered from the firefight appears to be that of a member of the Moni tribe, which comes from an area where Murib is active.

Simbolon has vowed to crush the Papuan separatist campaign, raising concerns among human rights and community activists eager to see Jakarta reach a compromise with the independence movement. Simbolon, known for his tough tactics, assumed the top army post in Papua after serving as a commander in East Timor.

Pastika, the police chief, said it remained possible that separatists were behind the attack near the Freeport mine. If so, the ambush, carried out with automatic weapons including M-16 assault rifles, would represent a notable escalation for fighters who have traditionally used bows and arrows.

He said police have learned that the Kwalik and Murib factions each have one or two assault rifles. Pastika said another possibility is that the killings were committed by Papuans jealous of the allowances provided by Freeport-McMoRan to tribes living in the immediate vicinity of the mine. The military has complicated the probe, he said. For instance, soldiers have smudged fingerprints and moved bodies and vehicles, he said, adding that this reflected soldiers' ignorance about how to treat a crime scene.

But Simbolon said that police-military coordination during the investigation has been excellent. "We're in full cooperation with the police," Simbolon said. "The Papuan police chief and me, as always, work together."

Outrage as murders linked to university

Sydney Morning Herald - September 13, 2002

John Garnaut -- A Sydney University professor has described as "outrageous" claims by Indonesia's Security Minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, that the university could be linked to the murders two weeks ago of two Americans and one Indonesian on a road near the Freeport mine in Indonesia's Papua province.

Mr Yudhoyono ordered Indonesia's National Intelligence Agency to investigate a conference at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution and attended by eight Papuans. He said the Papuan group left for Australia within hours of the killings on Saturday, August 30 and that the investigation "will prevent any assumption that Australia is involved in this case".

But Sydney University's Stuart Rees said the Papuan visit had been endorsed by the Australian and Indonesian governments and that Mr Yudhoyono's allegations inferred the university had convened the conference for the purpose of promoting a push for violence and independence in Papua province. "The conference looked at the whole issue of non-violence," he said. "I think it's outrageous that men and women who've worked hard in peace talks for the past year should be identified as possible killers. They've [also] tarred my name."

Professor Rees said Mr Yudhoyono's comments were an attempt to divert responsibility from the Indonesian military. "It's convenient for the Indonesian military to raise a smokescreen over their own conduct to divert attention to somebody like me," he said.

The Papuan Police Chief, Made Pastika, has confirmed his forces will investigate allegations that it was the military who ordered the killings. Professor Rees said he was concerned that his conference was being used to justify what could become a crackdown on members of Papua's indigenous leadership who had attended, including John Rumbiak, "a future leader of Mandela proportions".

A spokesman for the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Kirk Coningham, said he was "bemused" by Mr Yudhoyono's linking the Papuan murders with a Sydney peace conference.

Gunmen ignore boy's plea for mother's life in Aceh

Jakarta Post - September 13, 2002

Ibnu Mat Noor, Banda Aceh -- Two unidentified gunmen in Aceh ignored the cries by a schoolboy for his mother's life on Thursday morning, shooting her in the head before stealing her motorcycle, local residents said.

Rohana Hasan, 33, a school teacher, and her 10-year-old son were riding a motorcycle to school in Meuse Village, Gandapura district in North Aceh, some 220 kilometers east of Banda Aceh, when the gunmen stopped them at a bridge just 200 meters from the school.

The gunmen, wearing civilian clothes, demanded that Rohana hand over her motorcycle to them but the boy pleaded for the men to have mercy and not rob them. The plea apparently angered the men, with one of them immediately pulling his gun and shooting Rohana in the head. Rohana fell to the ground unconscious. The two men then took Rohana's motorbike and wallet and sped away.

Local residents, upon hearing the gunshots, rushed for cover. They later went to the shooting site only after ascertaining that the gunmen already had left. They took Rohana to the Peusangan public health center where she passed away shortly after.

There was no confirmation or claims of responsibility yet from the military, police or the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), who have been fighting each other for decades. An official at the Aceh National Education office Yulizar Usman confirmed the bloody incident but failed to provide details.

At least 60 teachers have been killed in Aceh in the past four years.

On Wednesday, First Lieutenant Armon Turnib of the Indonesian military (TNI) was killed Wednesday morning when GAM fighters ambushed two military trucks carrying 23 soldiers in Blang Blahdeh, 200 kilometers east of Banda Aceh, Aceh Military Spokesman Maj. Zaenal Muttaqien stated on Thursday.

Zaenal added that a fierce 15-minute gunfight between Jakarta troops and GAM fighters followed the ambush, during which Armon was shot on the head. He was rushed to a hospital in Bireuen, some five kilometers from the ambush site, where he died.

Australia drawn into fallout

Melbourne Age - September 11, 2002

Catharine Munro, Jakarta -- The Indonesian Government has ordered an investigation into links between a fatal ambush on international schoolteachers near a mine in Papua and a trip to Australia by a group of Papuans at the time of the attack.

Human rights activists claim Jakarta was trying to invoke the spectre of Australia's role in East Timor in 1999 to pass blame for the Papua killings.

On August 30, one Indonesian and two American schoolteachers were shot dead near the copper and gold mine owned by US-based Freeport-McMoRan close to Timika township. The Indonesian Government blamed the Free Papua Movement guerrilla group. Papuan human rights groups accused the Indonesian military.

Indonesian Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered government agents to probe a trip by eight Indonesians from Papua on August 30 to a reconciliation and conflict prevention conference in Sydney.

Supervisor at the Human Rights and Advocacy Centre in Papua, John Rumbiak, attending the conference, said the Australian link was baseless. "They try to look at Australia from the perspective of East Timor," he said. Australian Embassy spokesman Kirk Coningham said: "We are a little bemused as to how the two [events] could possibly be linked."

Is a zone of peace possible in West Papua?

Tapol Bulletin 168 - September 2002

While civil society groups have placed their hopes in creating a zone of peace in West Papua, thousands of members of Laskar Jihad have flooded into the province in the past year, amid protests from West Papuans that this could lead to inter-religious conflict.

Meanwhile, the local police force has announced a new operation aimed at clamping down on all "separatist" groups in West Papua. There are fears of a crackdown and moves to instigate conflict.

In July, the West Papua chief of police, Drs Made Mangku Pastika, announced that his force would be launching a new operation code-named Operasi Adil Matoa 2002. Matoa is the generic name for police operations in West Papua while adil means "justice". He said that the operation would be directed against "separatists", unarmed as well as armed.

It is feared that such an operation will lead to many arrests. But the main objective is likely to be to incapacitate the Papuan Presidium Council which enjoys widespread support, especially since the assassination last November of its chairperson, Theys Hiyo Eluay. This can only provoke greater unrest and anger among the people.

This operation is being seen as a move by the police to assert its primary role in West Papua as the force for "law and order". This does not mean that the operation will necessarily be any less brutal that what the army is capable of doing. Brimob, the elite force of the police, already has a reputation for great brutality in West Papua.

The police chief's announcement provoked a storm of protest with many fearing that the security forces were preparing for a crackdown on pro-independence activists and groups. The secretary general of the highly respect Traditional Council of Papua, Titus Hamadi, said such an operation could only result in new conflicts at a time when the general situation in Papua was relatively calm. Throwing his weight behind the idea of creating a zone of peace, he said the police operation would spread confusion over who might be targeted as "separatists". It could even include village heads or ordinary villagers. He said the operation should be discussed at a meeting between the regional government, the regional assembly, the police chief and the regional military commander and the police should meanwhile suspend their operation.

Another high profile figure to oppose the plan was John Ibo, chair of the regional assembly, who said that if the police want to end separatism, they should hold public forums to promote the idea of loyalty to the state. [Cendrawasih Pos, 23 and 24 July 2002]

Pieter Eli, the Kontras (Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence) co-ordinator for West Papua, warned that such an operation could result in casualties. He accused the Megawati government of adopting the same policies as the Suharto New Order and said that the authorities were more interested in preserving territorial integrity than protecting the population. This was because West Papua is so rich in natural resources. [Cendrawasih Pos, 18 July 2002]

Police chief explains

Stunned by the strength of opposition to his operation, the police chief warned people against making "exaggerated" claims about the intentions of the police. He tried to assure people that they would not start arresting people. The aim, he said, is to make a proper, "judicial" assessment of organisations like the Papuan Presidium Council: was it or was it not "lawful", and if not, should it be allowed to exist or should it be banned?

He said people were talking a lot about creating a "zone of peace" but these very same people were holding illegal meetings, discussing plans to attack police command posts, and lobbying abroad for support for a referendum. Such things would be investigated and decisions would be taken on how to respond. This, he alleged, was the only way to create a 'zone of peace'. [Cendrawasih Pos, 25 July 2002]

A number of local police chiefs have said that they are ready to take part in the new operation and have already gathered data from previous operations.

Laskar Jihad poses a new threat

Since the beginning of 2000, Laskar Jihad warriors have helped to stoke up the bitter inter-religious conflict in Maluku. Their arrival in Maluku is widely known to have the support of elements within the Indonesian armed forces. Even now, following the conclusion of an accord to restore peace between the Christian and Muslim communities, nothing has been done to remove these disruptive forces from Maluku.

Hence, reports about the arrival of Laskar Jihad members in West Papua has caused alarm among West Papuan activists. Laskar Jihad members have been arriving since 2000, initially in Sorong and then in other parts of West Papua. Towards the end of 2001, its notorious leader, Jafar Umar Thalib, made a visit to Sorong, and since then, the influx has steadily increased.

Church and human rights activists in Sorong say that military training has been taking place, initially in isolated bush areas but more recently on the premises of a local mosque. They say that six Pakistani citizens are involved in these training sessions.

In March, twenty church leaders in Sorong issued a statement together with eight clan leaders and youth leaders, rejecting the presence of Laskar Jihad and drawing attention to the dissemination of inflammatory publications and videos alleging that Christians are responsible for "separatist" movements and constitute a threat to Indonesia's territorial integrity.

A Laskar Jihad bulletin issued in Sorong in January said it was "waging war against Christians because of their support for separatist movements in various parts of Indonesia".

According to the leading human rights organisation ELS-HAM, there are now around three thousand Laskar Jihad members in West Papua and they have set up a number of branches of an organisation called Communication Forum of Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaah in several cities, including Sorong, Fak-Fak, Jayapura, Timika, Nabire and Manokwari.

According to reports from Fak-Fak, small boats have been seen arriving since April, each bringing about ten Jihad members, apparently from Maluku. They have also set up communities in Arso, near Jayapura, which has been the location of large transmigration re-settlement areas for newcomers from Java.

The Rev. John Barr of Australia's Uniting Church, said after a visit to West Papua in May, that he heard many accounts of Jihad training camps in Arso. In addition to the spread of Laskar Jihad groups, the army has been actively promoting the establishment of pro-Jakarta militias known as Satgas Merah Putih (Red-and-White Task Force), whose members are recruited from newcomer Indonesian communities. This is a sinister reminder of what happened in East Timor during the months prior to the independence ballot in August 1999.

ELS-HAM recently announced that it had obtained a copy of a military document, dated 8 April 2002 and signed by the commander of the Jayawijaya military command, which lists the names of eighty local farmers who are members of Satgas Merah Putih in the district, providing confirmation of the army's direct involvement with the militias.

All in all, these developments point to efforts by the security forces, the military as well as the police, to instigate trouble in West Papua, which casts a dark shadow over civil society's hopes of turning West Papua into a zone of peace.

West Papuan leaders meet

Green Left Weekly - September 11, 2002

Norman Brewer, Sydney -- Reconciliation and peaceful dialogue among West Papuans was the theme of the workshop of the West Papua Project, held at Sydney University on September 2-3. The WPP is based at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University and coordinated by Dr John Ondawame, who is also international spokesperson for the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and Asia-Pacific representative of the Papua Presidium Council (PDP).

A large proportion of the West Papuan independence movement's leadership attended, including several members of the PDP. The PDP was elected by the 3000-strong Papua People's Congress, which was held in September 2000. Also present were John Rumbiak from the Jayapura-based Institute for Human Rights and Advocacy Studies (ELSHAM -- West Papua's most prominent non-government organisation), and Paula Makabory from ELSHAM's branch in Timika, near the destructive Freeport and Grasberg mines. West Papua's church leaders, as well as academics and NGOs from both West Papua and Australia, also took part.

Participants discussed their views on the "special autonomy" status granted to West Papua by Jakarta in 2001 to counter demands for an East Timor-style referendum. Views were also exchanged on the threat from the Indonesian military (TNI) and pro-Indonesian militia group Laskar Jihad.

Outgunned by the TNI, the West Papuan leadership is shifting its emphasis towards a strategy of non-violence and dialogue with the Indonesian government and military. This peaceful strategy is threatened by TNI sabotage. The PDP's chairperson, Theys Eluay, was assassinated last November.

Military accused of orchestrating Freeport killings

Green Left Weekly - September 11, 2002

James Balowski -- On August 31, a band of unidentified assailants ambushed a group of mine workers in Indonesia's eastern-most province of West Papua, leaving three dead and 11 injured.

Indonesian officials immediately blamed the Free Papua Movement (OPM), however others have accused the Indonesian security forces of involvement in the attack.

While some details of the attack remain unclear, it is understood that a group of teachers left Tembagapura -- a mining town which serves Freeport mine operations -- late on the morning of August 31 to drive towards the provincial centre of Timika. On their return they were ambushed and two Americans and an Indonesian were killed. Others suffered gunshot wounds and were flown to Townsville for medical treatment.

Indonesia's response was swift, with two infantry companies being deployed to search and capture the attackers. An ensuing gun battle between troops and the alleged attackers killed one Papuan and seriously injured an Indonesian soldier.

There have also been reports that on September 2 troops arrested 15 people in connection with the attack. West Papuans and human rights organisations have called for a impartial and independent investigation into the killings.

The attack occurred near the world's biggest and most profitable gold and copper mine, which is owned by Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of US-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc.

Freeport -- which began operations in 1968 -- has been criticised over its environmental record and impact on the local community. Thousands of indigenous people from the impoverished Amungme and Komoro tribes have been evicted from the mining area since operations began.

The company, which employs 18,000 people, is Indonesia's largest taxpayer, contributing an average of $US180 million a year. Only $30 million is returned to the province.

There has been opposition to Indonesian rule in West Papua since the Dutch-run territory was transferred to Indonesia by the discredited UN-sponsored "Act of Free Choice" in 1969. Exploitation and human rights abuses by Indonesian security forces have fuelled these demands.

Amnesty International says that operations by the military against the pro-independence activists have resulted in gross human rights violations and the OPM claims that at least 100,000 have died during the conflict.

The Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA) has suggested that Freeport turned a blind eye while the military killed and tortured dozens in and around the mine site between June 1994 and February 1995. Human rights groups say that although Freeport has not yet been proved to be directly involved, the military used the company's equipment, premises and vehicles to carry out human rights abuses.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the August 31 attack and the OPM has denied any involvement, the Indonesian military was quick to blame the separatists. On September 2, Papua regional military chief, Major-General Mahidin Simbolon, was quoted by Reuters as saying: "They're indeed separatists. They're OPM. But we don't know which faction yet." Asked whether the group was linked to the separatist Papua Presidium Council (PDP), which seeks independence through peaceful means, Simbolon said: "They have the same idealism. Both of them want to separate this area from Indonesia. One is a military wing. The other is a political one. Whether they have some cooperation in this incident, I won't make any conclusion. You figure it out yourself." On September 3, the Indonesian government also blamed separatist rebels for the attack. Freeport itself has been more guarded, saying it did not wish to speculate but that the attack may have carried out by a faction of the OPM.

Indonesian police say they do not know who the perpetrators are. Police chief Da'i Bachtiar, who arrived in West Papua on September 4, stated at a press conference that he would include the military in his investigations.

According to the September 2 Singapore Straits Times, well-placed sources said that a key suspect was the OPM group in Timika led by Kelly Kwalik, who was involved in the kidnapping of foreign nationals in 1996.

There have also been unconfirmed reports that two US survivors identified their attackers as "Indonesian military". They are now under tight security and being interviewed by the FBI with no media allowed access.

Security analysts familiar with the Freeport operation say they are suspicious about the circumstances of the attack, suggesting that the military were more capable of carrying it out. One told the September 2 Melbourne Age: "It could be somebody in the security apparatus who wanted to justify their security role... It's not the sort of OPM activity that we have seen lately -- it doesn't follow the traditional pattern." PDP vice-president Tom Beanal has also accused security forces of "setting-up" the ambush. He pointed to unusual aspects: the fact that bullet casings showed the attackers used M-16 and SS1 rifles (standard issue for Indonesia's security forces), that Westerners were targeted and the group's apparent decision to remain at the ambush site for 24 hours when heavily armed soldiers returned and shot one of them dead.

Indonesian officials have denied the claim. "They [rebels] had in the past seized weapons from police and troops they attacked, as what happened to Brimob police earlier this year", police spokesperson Josef Iswanto told Agence France Presse on September 2.

In an article titled "Army playing at terrorist against itself", the September 4 Australian Financial Review asserted that the attack was "part of a pattern of incidents over the years that have the hallmarks of stand-over tactics by the Indonesian military to extract more money and resources from Freeport in exchange for their role in providing `security'".

Brigham Golden, who sits on the US Council for Foreign Relations task force on Papua, told the AFR: "The military in the past has used OPM elements as proxies ... nobody has as much to gain as the military does from instability in this region." Matthew Mayer, the Australian representative of the West Papua National Congress, told the Sydney Morning Herald on September 3 that all OPM units are under clear instructions not to attack Westerners and have not engaged the military for months.

"There is no possibility Kelly Kwalik or any of our people would have done this", Mayer said. "This smacks of Kopassus [Indonesian special forces]. This is just Indonesian propaganda to turn the Americans against us and what we are fighting for." John Rumbiak from the Papuan human rights group ELSHAM agrees. In a Radio Australia interview on September 2, Rumbiak said: "Most of the guerrilla leaders throughout the entire province are now in a position of reforming peaceful movement for their political demand, so I don't believe that this attack on Freeport employees was done by Kelly Kwalik and his group. I do believe that there were Papuans involved in this. You can easily pay-off anyone if you need money and it's not something that it is rare." "This is the tradition of the military in Indonesia as a whole but specifically in Papua, to orchestrate this kind of attack and scapegoat the OPM", Rumbiak told Reuters on the same day.

Rumbiak said that the military could have had three motives: to remind Freeport that they still needed protection, undermine the credibility of the independence movement and to convince the US to speed up negotiations on resuming military ties with Jakarta, which were severed after Indonesia-backed militias ran riot in East Timor.

PDP member Agus Alua told Reuters that the incident would give the military an excuse to launch an operation against not just the OPM, but the entire Papuan political movement. He said that if Papuans were involved, then they had likely been recruited into military-sponsored militia, similar to those in East Timor.

These suspicions are also supported by minutes of internal police meetings and documents obtained by the Australian, which reveal a strategy to put the PDP out of business, possibly by arresting and prosecuting its leaders.

An article in the August 29 Australian reported that a 60-day operation, known as "Adil Matoa", began this month. Its aim is to identify separatists and separatist organisations, arrest and prosecute individuals and shut down organisations conducting separatist activities.

Denise Leith, author of the soon to be published book, The Politics of Power: Freeport in Suharto's Indonesia, argues that the military may have had other motives.

In an article posted by laksamana.net on September 2, Leith says that for years Freeport has turned a blind eye to military theft, such practices being considered part of the cost of protection. In 1991, Emmy Hafild, from the Indonesian environmental NGO Walhi, claimed that the military commander of the area boasted to her that Freeport directly supported military operations and helped pay military salaries. A number of reports have also claimed that Freeport pays US$11 million annually into a military fund which is reputedly topped up on request.

On July 26, the US Congress passed the Corporate Fraud Act which required US companies to file certifications by August 14 declaring that their financial accounts were true and accurate. Leith suggests that while in the past Freeport may have been willing to fund the military and turn a blind-eye to its illegal activities, after filing certifications under the new law the company may have changed its corporate policy.

According to Dr Benny Giay, chairperson of the West Papuan Reconciliation Task Force, two weeks ago a local newspaper reported that Freeport had accused members of the military of theft. On the same day as the attack, Giay said he was told that the head of Freeport's security had been threatened by the military because he had discontinued some or all of the payments.

Leith noted that in March 1996, shortly after the release of the ACFOA report the company attempted to distance itself from the military. In response the military took control of, if not orchestrated, violent riots in Timika which saw the direct targeting of Freeport infrastructure.

The military's official budget only meets around 25% of operating costs and it freely admits that it makes up the difference through various military linked businesses.

Rumbiak told Radio Australia that the military is running protection rackets and selling its services to companies such as Freeport to make up the shortfall. "The company also has to pay for their facilities including cars, housing and even salaries." Rumbiak says the military is stirring up communal conflict, using East Timor style militias and assassinating political leaders. In November last year, West Papua's leading opposition figure, Theys Hiyo Eluay, was murdered. Ten Kopassus soldiers have been detained in connection with the case.

Regardless of who was responsible for the August 31 attack, many believe it will be used as an excuse to intensify military action against the independence movement.

On September 3, the US embassy in Jakarta denounced the killings, stating: "The attack on these innocent victims, who were mostly school teachers, is an outrageous act of terrorism... We urge the government of Indonesia to take all necessary steps swiftly to apprehend and punish the perpetrators of this horrible attack." In a Radio Australia interview on September 2, Dr Richard Chauvel, who heads the Australian Asia Pacific Institute at Victoria University in Melbourne, said that the incident will strengthen the military's hand against the separatists. "I think they'll undoubtedly do that. They're still trying to persuade the Americans to recommence working relations and supplies to the Indonesian military. That, in the current international environment of being able to identify terrorist attacks, particularly that resulted in the killing of two Americans, and the wounding of others, clearly can fit into that political objective." Over the last month military leaders in Jakarta have also attempted to smear the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) with the terrorist brush in an attempt to justify establishing a state of emergency in the province and launching a crackdown against the independence supporters.

Faced with independence movements in West Papua and Aceh which it has been unable to placate with "special autonomy deals" or defeat politically, labelling such movements as terrorist will allow the military to wage all-out war with the blessing of the US State Department.

But a harsh reaction by the military without clear evidence of OPM's involvement is likely to hurt US attempts to renew military ties with Jakarta, which it hopes will form a bulwark in the region against terrorism and secure US business interests in the country.

GAM welcomes government's proposed for peace talks

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2002

Jakarta -- The Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which is fighting for the war-torn territory's independence, accepted the government's tentative plan for further dialogs in Geneva, Switzerland, by the end of September or early in October, to end the prolonged conflict that has claimed more than 900 civilian lives this year alone.

However, both sides are still at odds over the main agenda, with the government sticking firmly to the concept of keeping Aceh part of Indonesia and that the special autonomy offer must be accepted if there is to be any further dialog.

Teuku Kamaruzzaman, a GAM negotiator, said in Banda Aceh, capital of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, that GAM welcomed the further dialog proposed by the Indonesian government and, simultaneously, proposed two key issues to be discussed.

"The meeting should focus on mechanisms to end the hostility and an all-inclusive Aceh dialog which was proposed in the May 10 meeting," Antara quoted him as saying.

Kamaruzzaman was responding to Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's statement on Monday that the government was offering further dialog to end the conflict.

Susilo made the offer a few days after his trip to Rome where he spoke with members of the Henry Dunant Center (HDC), an international mediator based in Geneva.

The government's initiative appears to be a softening of its stance, perhaps in response to the Acehnese people's rejection to the proposed martial law which they made quite clear during Susilo's two consecutive visits to the province in July and August. Two top US leaders, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Gen. (ret.) Anthony Zinni also spoke within the last month to the government on the Aceh issue, although it was not clear what advice was given.

Instead of martial law, Susilo, immediately after his August trip delivered to GAM an ultimatum to drop its demand for freedom by December or face a military onslaught, before any further negotiations could take place.

Kamaruzzaman said he just wanted the killing to stop. "We hope the scheduled dialog will not be postponed because any postponement will mean more people dead," he said.

Meanwhile, an HDC official told The Jakarta Post that the peace agreement draft needed to be signed without further delay. "The document has gone back and forth between the Indonesian government and GAM, but it will not be official until both sides agreed to sign it," the official said.

The official underlined that if the agreement was reached it would be a step forward for both sides and a clear commitment to move ahead from the May 10 agreement. However, the official said that the process still a had a long way to go, just like other conflicts in the world, the Aceh issue could not be solved immediately.

When asked whether there were any threats that Jakarta would intensify military operations if GAM refused to agree to Susilo's demands, the official said: "I certainly hope not, but I assure you the peace process is continuing."

Aceh: Drugs and conflict

Radio Australia - September 9, 2002

[Lesley McCulloch, a lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania in Australia, says government forces and the independence movement are responding to the problem in very different ways. She writes from Aceh that there's evidence that the police and military are involved in the drug trade, while the independence movement wants to stamp it out.]

The Indonesian military is short of funds and has taken to many creative ways to finance their operational and readiness costs over the years. In Aceh, it is no secret that the military's involvement in the local drugs economy has financed operations and lined the pockets of some serving personnel and well- connected local political elite.

The pro-independence movement operating in the province has also been accused of trafficking in marijuana domestically to support its operations. The movement (previously known as GAM), recently renamed itself the Government of the State of Aceh and vigorously denies any current involvement in this illegal commodity. And indeed, there is no proof of the movement's involvement -- the same cannot be said of the military.

Drugs link revealed

There have been several incidents in the past few years where the military's involvement with drugs has received widespread publicity. For example, in a highly publicized case in late 1999 a military plane used to escort prisoners was found to be carrying 430kgs of marijuana. And in early 2001, members of the air force arrested the pilot of a police helicopter for marijuana trafficking. The pilot admitted that the 40 kg of marijuana in his possession was the property of Aceh Besar Police Chief.

There have been several such incidents, but most are dealt with simply by sharing the profits, rather than bringing anyone to justice. In North Aceh, a route commonly used to transport the drug, a Warrant Officer confesses, "Yes, I make money from the drugs that pass this way, we all do. The senior officers get a higher percentage of the profits, but last month for example, I made 300,000 rupiah from 'fines' from those trafficking. That is almost half my official salary."

Such illegal trading also adds another dimension to the conflict. In January 2002 local police received information that a certain military truck belonging to TNI was in fact transporting drugs. The truck was stopped by police, checked, and was indeed found to be full of marijuana. There was a skirmish as the TNI attempted to prevent the police from impounding the valuable cargo. One police and two military personnel were injured in this incident.

Such events are not unusual, and contribute to increasing levels of tension between TNI and the police. A journalist from the Aceh daily paper "Sermabi" says, "there are many incidents such as these, but we are often afraid to report the details."

Independence movement enforces customary law

While the military appears to be ignoring such behaviour, the independence movement has taken stern measures. In an internal memo dated August 20, there is evidence that in relation to marijuana, the movement is making a concerted effort to enforce customary law. This "customary law" follows very closely the legislation of the Republic of which they are legally part.

Signed by the head of the independence movement's Council of Samdura Pasee, and head of the movement's local police force in Pasee, the memo states quite clearly that marijuana "poses dangers to our young generation, ruins morality, and is against both national and international law."

The memo further states that a punishment of a maximum of 12 months detention and a fine of 26 million rupiah will be imposed on those found growing, stocking, selling or carrying the drug.

Smoking the substance is against religious convention in this pious Islamic province. Under the pro-independence movement's tough new policy, those found doing so will receive a penalty of two months detention and a fine of 4.5 million rupiah.

This document is evidence of the nation-building process that Tgk Malik, the independence movement's Prime Minister-in-waiting based in Sweden, says is so important. The Indonesian government, under whose sovereignty Aceh lies, does not recognize this "prime minister", nor does the international community.

But Malik says, "We don't mind undertaking this [nation-building] process from the outside. We must be ready to step in the minute Aceh gains independence." And among the many issues on the agenda is the local drugs economy.

Taking control The high level of militarisation in Aceh means the separatist group has found it increasingly difficult to manoeuvre. A 30 year war has been raging there and current President Megawati is pursuing a military solution to the problem which has led to the deployment of additional troops. How then does the independence movement intend to enforce the law? Surely a period of imprisonment in a volatile security environment is all-but impossible?

A representative of the movement in Banda Aceh, Amni Amad Marzuki says, "Yes, it is impossible to intern someone in the Western sense of imprisonment. But you must bear in mind two things. First, we do not envisage large numbers of people being detained."

And second, it is in the areas where the movement has control, says Amni, where the people will be held.

"It is intended that a short period of strict detention will be followed by re-education and then of "civil service", such as cleaning mosques, helping rebuild infrastructure that has been destroyed by the Indonesian military," he says.

Spokesperson for the movement's Central Bureau of Information, Tgk Isnander, says, "This policy, which is specific to Pasee area now, will be used as the basis of an Aceh-wide policy. Indeed, perhaps in some areas the period of detention and the fine will be tougher, perhaps in some, lighter."

There have been several cases of punishment meted out in this way. For example, some have been punished for adultery, theft, informing, misusing weapons, or abusing the position the movement affords them. This is not a sign that misbehaviour is rampant within the movement. Rather, it is a sign that those who misbehave will be punished.

The independence movement has in fact, been addressing the issue of drugs for some time. In 2000, they declared "war" on marijuana syndicates, which, they say, have long brought disgrace to the province. The movement was reported to be taking stern action on those found smoking, planting or selling the drug. A period in leg irons was reportedly the punishment, followed by a signed statement by each stating they would not repeat the offence.

'Messy little war' continues

The war in Aceh has claimed more than 900 lives this year alone. Despite an on-going process of talks aimed at finding a negotiated settlement to the dispute, it seems that for the foreseeable future at least, the violence is only set to escalate. Key figures in the military and political elite continue to engage in inflammatory remarks such as threatening to impose a state of emergency and to crush the independence movement. There have also been regular threats that the government will pull out of the talks, which indicates a lack of commitment.

In the short-term, it is likely that this messy little war will become even more violent before any resolution is reached. Surely the Indonesian government should realize that the current policy is both counter-productive and unsustainable? With every new victim, the seeds are being sown for the continuation of the conflict.

Indonesian soldier, two civilians killed in Aceh

Agence France Presse - September 9, 2002

An Indonesian soldier and two civilians were killed in the restive province of Aceh, the military and residents said.

Three other soldiers were injured in a grenade attack. Two men believed to be members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) gunned down a soldier in Kuta Blang near the North Aceh district capital of Lhokseumawe late Sunday, Aceh military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin said Monday. The victim and two assailants were all riding motorcycles, he said.

Also Sunday, villagers in Kandang, in North Aceh district, found the bodies of two unidentified men. Both had gunshot wounds, residents said.

Meanwhile, three soldiers who were shopping at a market in Panton Labu, in North Aceh district, were wounded Monday after two unidentified men threw a grenade at them, Muttaqin said. Local GAM spokesman Teungku Jamaika claimed responsibility for the grenade incident.

More than 10,000 people are estimated to have died since 1976 when GAM began its fight for independence in the province at the tip of Sumatra island. An Acehnese rights body has said some 1,000 civilians have been killed this year alone.

Calls for Australia to freeze funds to Papuan rebels

Radio Australia - September 10, 2002

[The most senior Indonesian diplomat in Australia has warned that a war on Iraq will divide Indonesia -- Australia's most important and populous neighbour. Imron Cotan, the deputy chief at the Indonesian embassy in Canberra, says Indonesia wants United Nations backing for a war on Iraq. But, on matters inside Indonesia, Mr Cotan says the rebels in Papua province Iare now considered terrorists and he wants Australia to freeze any funds they have in Australia.]

Transcript:

Brown: Between Canberra and Jakarta there is a world of difference on Iraq.

Cotan: Iraq is one of our friendly countries of course.

Brown: Imron Cotan, the most senior diplomat at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, says a war against Iraq will cause profound tension in our region.

Cotan: Decisions to go to war with Iraq is a matter for Australians to decide. We cannot interfere with that whatsoever. The problem is if you go to war with Iraq, that would also divide, not only the world, the Muslim world, the Middle East, but also Indonesia.

Brown: The Prime Minister John Howard says the so-called war on terror is not a war on Islam. But Imron Cotan is worried about how an attack on Iraq will affect Muslim radicals within Indonesia.

Cotan: Being a predominantly Muslim country, some Indonesians will see an attack against Iraq as an attack against Muslims and in this fledging democratic country Indonesia, I believe this is the last thing we need.

Brown: John Howard says the strongest piece of evidence against Saddam Hussein is his defiance of the UN Security Council Resolutions demanding weapons inspections and an end to the development of weapons of mass destruction. Indonesia disagrees.

Cotan: That is totally another problem. Iraq has been in defiance for three years. While if you see it from the perspective of the last previous UN Security Council resolutions, we should act on that basis. This is a new development that needs or requires new response from the world.

Brown: The Australian Government says it is not yet clear whether new UN Security Council resolutions are necessary to authorise an attack on Iraq. Again, Indonesia disagrees.

Cotan: To justify an attack, that will require a new round of UN Security Council resolutions.

Brown: These differences of opinion will not threaten the relationship between Canberra and Jakarta, but the so-called war on terror is creating other potential sore points. For example, following an anonymous bloody ambush last week near a mine in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, the poorly equipped Papuan rebels there, the OPM, are now being branded terrorists.

Cotan: To the best of my knowledge my government consider the acts they have committed so far, of course considered to be terrorist acts.

Brown: The OPM has denied responsibility for the attack at Timika, but the government of Indonesia wants Australia to join the fight and freeze any assets the rebels might have in Australia, where a significant support group is active.

Rural issues

Incentives for farmers hailed, but smuggling must be curbed

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2002

Jakarta -- Experts welcomed on Friday the government's plan to provide incentives for rice farmers, but said that the government must also curb the smuggling of cheap rice into the country, which has been hurting farmers' income.

"It is a sympathetic move. The government wants to ease the burden on farmers by providing the incentives ... But without curbing the illegal import of rice, the incentives will not benefit farmers," Bayu Krisnamurthi, director of the Center for Development Studies at Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), told The Jakarta Post.

The Ministry of Agriculture said on Thursday it had proposed a hike in the floor price of unhusked rice by 15 percent, to Rp 1,746 per kg; an increase in the import tariff on rice to Rp 735 per kg, from Rp 430, and a fertilizer subsidy.

The floor price is the reference price level used by the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to purchase rice from farmers for reserves purpose.

Farmers have long called for such incentives amid the rising cost of production and the massive inflow of cheap imported rice products. An increase in the import tariff is expected to limit rice imports.

Under the proposed fertilizer subsidy policy, the price of urea- based fertilizer, for example, would reduce, to Rp 1,150 per kg, from the current Rp 1,400.

Bayu, however, said that the higher import tariff could trigger private importers to ship in illegally cheap rice products. He said that the customs office had a strategic role to prevent the smuggling of rice.

Chairman of the Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI) Siswono Yudhohusodo concurred. "Curbing illegal rice imports is essential if the government wants to encourage local farmers to continue planting rice," Siswono told the Post.

He said that it was impossible for local rice products to compete with cheaper imported rice. He cited as an example that smuggled rice from Thailand was being sold here at Rp 1,700 per kg, compared with the price of local rice at around Rp 2,500 per kg.

He said that the massive influx of cheaper imported rice was an indication of the government's inability to protect the interests of local farmers.

Workers protest imported sugar

Jakarta Post - September 13, 2002

Ainur R. Sophia'an and Nana Rukmana, Surabaya/Cirebon -- Thousands of sugar farmers and peasants employed by sugar plantations in West and East Java went on strike Thursday to protest sugar imports that have affected the sugar industry at home.

Traffic jams clogged several main streets in Surabaya when more than 3,000 demonstrators employed by state-owned sugar plantations in East Java marched on the provincial legislative building and the governor's office in the city.

While carrying banners condemning President Megawati Soekarnoputri's leadership, the demonstrators called on the President to step down because she failed to provide protection for millions of people earning their living from the sugar industry.

"We are disappointed with the absence of government measures to halt sugar imports that have damaged sugar farmers, 32 sugar factories in the province and millions of people employed in sugar plantations and factories across the country," Marsidik Samaoen, chairman of the Forum of Solidarity for Sugar Farmers, said in a speech in front of the governor's office.

He said the presence of low-priced sugar in the local market has caused many factories to hoard their products and forced the layoff of hundreds of workers.

The imported sugar was allegedly from Thailand, India, Pakistan, China and Brazil. The imported sugar was sold between Rp 200 and Rp 500 cheaper than the local product. The local sugar is sold between Rp 3,200 and Rp 3,600 per kilogram.

East Java Governor Imam Utomo said that he would discuss the imported sugar issue with his sugar team in order to take the necessary measures to protect the sugar industry in the province.

"Sugar imports have been banned and I will ask the police to crack down on local markets and seize imported sugar. We have allowed only food and beverage factories to import raw sugar materials," he said when asked to respond to the demonstrators' demands.

East Java has produced around 885 tons of sugar annually and 396,000 tons of it was supplied to the local market in the province.

In Cirebon, demonstrators called on the Cirebon regency legislature to channel their aspirations to the central government, demanding that the government stop the sugar imports and establish a joint team to crack down on imported sugar in local market.

Anwar Kasmali, chairman of the local chapter of the Indonesian Sugar Producers (APTRI), said the government could protect the local products by imposing higher excise taxes for imported sugar and allowing only sugar factories to import raw sugar materials.

Suryana, chairman of the regency legislature, vowed to bring the demonstrators' aspirations to the President after the latter's arrival from her foreign trip. "The government must respond positively to the sugar community's aspirations," he said in a meeting with the demonstrators.

'War on terrorism'

US attack on Iraq would fuel radicalism

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2002

Jakarta -- A US-led attack on Iraq would fuel radicalism and anti-US sentiment among Muslim communities, putting western interests, particularly that of the United States, across the country further at risk, analysts warn.

"There's no doubt the reaction [to an attack] will be as strong as before," vice president of the Indonesian Society for Middle East Studies (ISMES) Smith Aldahar said over the weekend.

"A war will provoke a reaction from groups usually critical toward anything that is American or western," said political analyst Daniel Sparingga.

US President George W. Bush has threatened to attack Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein for allegedly developing mass weapons of destruction.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, saw anti-US protesters take to the streets last year immediately after the US pounding of Afghanistan for harboring Osama bin Laden, whom the US accused of masterminding the deadly attacks in Washington and New York on September 11. The heated demonstrations forced several western embassies and foreign companies to shut down for days.

Although last year's protests went relatively peacefully they added to concerns of a rising radicalism in Indonesia.

The September 11 terrorist attack claimed more than 3,000 lives, but the US' swift retaliation drew little sympathy from the Muslim world.

Extending the war has drawn even less support, especially since the US linked the new war mainly with Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, having found little evidence to connect Baghdad with al-Qaeda.

M. Iqbal Siregar, who heads the Jakarta chapter of the Islamic Youth Movement (GPI), said his group was ready to protest an attack against Iraq. "We will consider forming a coalition with other Islamic elements if the issue is strong enough," he said, adding there were no plans to take actions as yet.

The Islamic Defender Front (FPI) promised mass demonstrations across the country, targeting US facilities. "If our demonstrations don't get the attention they deserve, we will take other measures," said FPI secretary general Sabri Lubis. "There are Americans everywhere we will look for them."

The group has threatened before to expel Americans when the war in Afghanistan broke out, but there were no reports of any US citizens actually forced to leave the country. "They [America] want a change in regime for Afghanistan, they want a change in the regime in Palestine, they want a change in regime for Iraq, what country do they want next?" asked Sabri.

The government, he said, should do more than just complain to the US or else President Megawati Soekarnoputri must resign.

Indonesia has expressed concern over the US' wish to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, saying that actions against Iraq must be under the auspices of the United Nations.

"The government's position isn't clear at all, why can't we say that we reject any US intervention [in Iraq]," said Amris Hassan, a legislator of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Middle East analyst Aldahar agreed that the government should and could raise objections against the US planned attack. "The US will understand if our government is taking a tough stance against the attacks on Iraq," he said, explaining Washington was aware of pressure here from the hard-liners.

Analyst Daniel said that several political parties would likely exploit the war in Iraq to raise their visibility among voters. "It's part of their struggle for existence."

Indonesian analysts dismiss al-Qaeda threat

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2002

Berni K. Moestafa and Muhammad Nafik, Jakarta -- Local analysts expressed doubt on Wednesday that al-Qaeda had any organized cells here, but warned that the country was ripe for radicalism, while at least one Muslim scholar said he had evidence of links between al-Qaeda and a local group.

Questions about the terrorist group's existence in Indonesia have resurfaced after the United States on Tuesday shut down its missions here and urged its citizens to be extremely cautious, citing a "specific and credible terrorist threat".

"I don't think it's al-Qaeda, but likely individuals who are sympathizers or who are just straight out insane -- there are a lot of them in this world," said international relations expert Dhurorudin Mashad of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

"Al-Qaeda generally refers to layers upon layers of radical people, and people on, say, the fifth layer may share its vision but other than that have nothing to do with the organization," he added.

He said those in the outer layers might be launching terrorist strikes and then be called al-Qaeda members or sympathizers, while they were not.

The closure of the US embassy in Jakarta and consulate general in Surabaya, East Java, over a terrorist threat sparked renewed concern over al-Qaeda's alleged presence in Indonesia after an intelligence report said earlier this year that an al-Qaeda run training camp was found in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

But, trans-national crime analyst from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Philip J. Vermonte doubted the accuracy and credibility of the report, arguing that the findings came from second hand sources.

"Indonesian Intelligence (BIN) got the information from Spain and the Philippines," he said.

Vermonte and Dhurorudin said that Indonesians, who once took part in training at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, have returned home. Dhurorudin said it was very unlikely that they would remain part of al-Qaeda as only a very few were actually members of the organization.

He added that the biggest threat to Indonesia is the radicalization of Islam as it would produce people leaning towards terrorism. "They hate America for its hegemony and its double-standard," he said of the world's superpower.

However, German Muslim scholar Bassam Tibi, known for his expertise on fundamentalist studies, said here on Wednesday he believed that an al-Qaeda network is operating in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country.

He flatly accused the notorious Laskar Jihad militant group of having links with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, blamed for the September 11 tragedy.

"I am collecting materials about Laskar Jihad and I think this group is connected with al-Qaeda," he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a three-day international seminar on Islam and the West, which is being organized by the Center for Languages and Cultures at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University.

"Laskar Jihad is dangerous to this country because Indonesia is not so good now in terms of social and economic conditions," added Bassam, a professor of international relations at the University of Gottingen, Germany.

He claimed the alleged links between Laskar Jihad and al-Qaeda were already clear as published worldwide by the media. "There are some published materials about the connections. There are links in the transfer of money and there are some Indonesians who were trained in Afghanistan camps with Bin Laden," Bassam said.

Laskar Jihad leaders have denied any link between their organization and al-Qaeda, despite the fact that it has been campaigning against Western and secular civilization. The group, known for its radical and violent attacks on Christians across the archipelago, is demanding sharia law be implemented in the country.

Laskar Jihad has been blamed for worsening religious fighting in Maluku, Papua, Aceh and Poso, where they have deployed thousands of armed fighters from Java who have reportedly killed thousands of Christians in the name of Islam.

Its top leader Ja'far Umar Thalib is being tried in the East Jakarta District Court on charges of provoking renewed outbreaks of religious conflict in Ambon, the provincial capital of Maluku.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Mega flayed for backing Sutiyoso's re-election

Straits Times - September 13, 2002

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- President Megawati Sukarnoputri's backing for the re-election of Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso has undermined her anti-graft drive, said analysts critical of her support for a politician widely seen as corrupt and ineffective.

As small demonstrations against the unpopular Governor -- who was voted to a second five-year term in office on Wednesday -- continued yesterday, Vice-President Hamzah Haz called on the people to accept the election results.

Mr Hamzah, whose United Development Party had backed Mr Sutiyoso's candidacy, said: "That's the result of a democratic process that we ought to respect, though the election process was marred by protests." But analysts said Ms Megawati -- who had also ordered her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle members in Parliament to vote for Mr Sutiyoso -- could not escape damage to her credibility as a politician trying to stamp out corruption.

"For sure, most people will think Mega is not strong about cleaning up the government after this," said political analyst Tomi Legowo.

Another analyst, Mr Syamsuddin Harif, said: "I think most people will believe the support for Sutiyoso is connected with Taufiq Kiemas' businesses or else connected with other business interests in Jakarta." Mr Taufiq Kiemas, Ms Megawati's husband, is said to be close to Mr Sutiyoso.

The Jakarta Governor, like other regional and district leaders, is not elected by direct vote but by local parliamentarians.

Even if many doubt that financial motives are behind Ms Megawati's support for Mr Sutiyoso, they still question her political judgment in backing a politician who has been linked to a number of corruption scandals and allegedly misused millions of dollars worth of funds for February's flood victims.

The Jakarta Post said in an editorial that by ignoring public opinion, "Megawati and her party have made a complete mockery of her own government's stated campaign to eradicate KKN, the Indonesian acronym for corruption, collusion and nepotism. At least next time they talk about fighting KKN, we will know that it is simply empty rhetoric."

However, in the eyes of the public, Ms Megawati still has far more moral integrity than other politicians such as Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung or former president Abdurrahman Wahid, said academic Marcus Meitzner.

Observers also said the re-election of Mr Sutiyoso, given his poor record, was proof that "money politics" or the buying of votes was rife. "The majority of people believe money politics was involved in the election," said Mr Syamsuddin.

Other analysts said even if the charges of vote-buying were without basis, they were still alarming. "The fact that they can elect someone with such a disastrous reputation shows how local elections are detached from the democratic process in the national election," said Mr Marcus, pointing out that the party's interests seemed to be more important in local elections than public opinion.

Meanwhile, student groups who took part in anti-Sutiyoso demonstrations have threatened to launch a class action suit against the security forces for their rough handling of the demonstrators.

At least three demonstrators were in hospital recovering from injuries while others were being treated for food poisoning after consuming free snacks handed out during the demonstration. Police are investigating whether the food was poisoned or merely stale.

Media/press freedom

Jakarta delays controversial new media laws

Associated Press - September 14, 2002

Jakarta -- The Indonesian government has delayed plans to pass a controversial new media law that would bar local broadcast outlets from relaying foreign news programmes and allow the government to temporarily shut down news broadcasts deemed to violate the law.

The Bill, which some critics said curtailed the freedom of the media, was supposed to be ratified by Parliament at the end of this month. But the government now plans to consider suggestions from the public on how to amend the Bill, the Kompas newspaper quoted Information Minister Syamsul Muarif as saying.

He did not say which sections of the 65-article Bill might be changed. It is now scheduled to be ratified at the end of October, he was quoted as saying, although other media reports said it could be delayed for up to two months.

Mr Wilson Sihombing, private secretary to Mr Syamsul said: "The people, as well as the media, need to fully understand the Bill." Local broadcasters and media watchdogs have slammed the proposed laws as a setback to the freedom of information in Indonesia.

Local television and radio stations that rebroadcast foreign news programmes by the BBC, Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Australia are especially concerned. Foreign sports programmes would be exempted from the proposed ban.

Government officials have said the laws are designed to limit "unfair" reporting of Indonesia and the promotion of Western viewpoints.

The vaguely-worded Bill also permits the government to temporarily shut down local news broadcasts it claims violate the law, or which show pornographic or "sadistic" scenes.

The broadcasters slammed the proposed law as draconian, and compared it to the strict press laws introduced by former president Sukarno in the 1960s.

But Mr Djoko Susilo, a member of the drafting team, explained that the proposed law was meant to address "the inequality of information flow from developed countries to developing countries". He added: "We are concerned that with 150 local stations broadcasting foreign news services that these stations are becoming franchises of the BBC or VOA."

Human rights/law

Witness protection bill hailed as step forward

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2002

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- Activists hailed on Friday a bill on witness and victim protection, but demanded that it not only provide protection for witnesses in criminal cases, but ensure leniency for those people involved in criminal cases willing to testify against fellow defendants.

"This will help investigators probe crimes thoroughly," said the coordinator of the Indonesian Corruption Watch, Teten Masduki. Leniency, Teten added, must not be given to the main defendants in criminal cases.

He was referring to the case of a middleman, Endin Wahyudi, who accused three Supreme Court justices of bribery last year. While the justices were cleared of all charges due to a lack of evidence, Endin was arraigned for defamation and sentenced to three months in prison, with a six-month probation.

Lawyer turned legislator Trimedya Panjaitan agreed with Teten, saying the witness and victim protection bill must encourage witnesses to give honest testimony. The two men said there had been cases where witnesses were unwilling to testify because of threats from defendants.

House of Representatives legislators submitted the witness and victim protection bill this week, after a series of hearings with non-governmental organizations and scholars. A national symposium was held at Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, in March to discuss this issue.

The bill proposes that witnesses and crime victims must first file a request before receiving protection. The protection of witnesses and victims must be approved by the Institution for Witness and Victim Protection, an independent body to be set up after the bill is endorsed.

According to Article 19 of the bill, witnesses and victims must sign an agreement before receiving protection. The agreement lays out a number of terms and conditions, including the requirement that witnesses comply with all regulations, avoid contact with other people and keep their whereabouts a secret.

Apart from protection, victims of human rights abuses will receive medical and psychological treatment, upon official request to the protection body.

Teten said his organization was among those repeatedly calling for a witness and protection bill. "We hope the legislators invite us to discuss the draft," he told The Jakarta Post by phone.

According to Teten, the bill should provide protection for witnesses and victims prior to and following a trial. Teten added that such protection could be provided by the police or an independent body. But Trimedya said police protection by itself was insufficient.

Key articles

Article 5: Witnesses and victims have the right to protection, the counsel of a lawyer, a new identity, relocation and a transportation allowance, as well as having their family protected.

Article 7: Compensation will be outlined further in a government regulation.

Article 8: Protection is given from the start of the investigation process.

Article 18: Witnesses and victims must apply for protection to a body which will decide whether to approve the request.

Article 20: Protection can be terminated upon the request of witnesses or victims, or if witnesses or victim breach their agreements.

Article 25: Anyone who threatens a witness to prevent them from testifying in court are subject to four years imprisonment and a Rp 200 million fine. If their actions harm the witness/victim, they are subject to seven years imprisonment and a Rp 500 million fine.

[Source: Witness and Victim Protection Bill.]

Unrealistic to expect perfect justice in Jakarta

Straits Times - September 12, 2002

Lee Kim Chew -- Last week's three-year jail sentence for Akbar Tandjung, Indonesia's Lower House Speaker and Golkar party chairman, is another new milestone in the country's legal history.

Even as Akbar fights to stay in the saddle -- he is appealing against his conviction for corruption -- the reformers have claimed yet another sweet victory.

The verdict follows the 15-year jail sentence slapped on Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former President Suharto, for masterminding the murder of a judge.

Critics lament that the sentences meted out in both cases were too lenient. But the convictions nurture hopes that reform of the judicial system is on course, even if it is in fits and starts.

The Akbar case, barring an acquittal on his appeal -- against charges of misusing state funds to finance Golkar's election campaign in 1999 -- signifies important progress since the Suharto years, when wrongdoers in high places went unpunished.

The verdict has altered the power equation in Jakarta, as Akbar has been neutered politically. If he is displaced from Parliament and the party leadership (his rivals will see to that), the seasoned campaigner will be knocked out of the presidential race in 2004.

While this is good news for President Megawati Sukarnoputri -- it should improve her chances of re-election -- Akbar's downfall could ignite a power struggle in Golkar that could unravel the second-largest party in Parliament. And this could put Ms Megawati's coalition government at risk.

While watching this drama play out, Indonesia's reformers know it is premature to celebrate a rebirth of the country's battered legal system. Reforms will be painfully slow and the zigzagging will continue to befuddle, given the curious turns in Indonesian justice.

Take the recent cases. Central Bank governor Syahril Sabirin was acquitted when the Jakarta High Court overturned the verdict of a district court, which found him guilty of misusing US$80 million from the bank's funds in 1999.

In another case that reeked of bribery, a court ruled that the Indonesian subsidiary of a Canadian insurer, Manulife, was bankrupt even though it was solvent. The ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court only after intense diplomatic pressure from the Canadian government.

In Akbar's case, the court was not interested in finding out the Golkar party's involvement in the 40-billion-rupiah (S$8.4- million) scandal. It reeked of political expediency, because a deeper probe could unsettle Ms Megawati's parliamentary coalition.

Clearly, the erratic quality of Jakarta's justice leaves much to be desired. The Indonesian killers who hacked to death three United Nations aid workers in East Timor got off with light jail sentences.

Six army and police officers accused of involvement in the atrocities in East Timor were acquitted last month. Former East Timorese governor Abilio Soares, who proclaimed himself a scapegoat, got a three-year jail sentence, not the 10 1/2 years the prosecutors demanded.

The questionable verdicts and poor handling of evidence by the prosecution provoked international criticism, which led to renewed demands for the UN to set up an international tribunal.

The United States State Department complained that Indonesian prosecutors "did not fully use the resources and evidence available to them from the UN and elsewhere in documenting the atrocities that occurred in East Timor".

Human-rights activists say the trials were flawed as the court did not hear enough evidence to do justice to the case. The court's failings will reinforce the views in the US Congress that Indonesia's military is resistant to reforms and does not deserve American aid.

All this is fair criticism, but it will be to no avail because for Jakarta, the East Timor trial is about politics, not justice. Critics overlook the fact that the Indonesians set up the human- rights tribunal reluctantly under international pressure.

East Timor is a particularly sore point for the Indonesian military, which feels it has been put in the dock unfairly by a government that leans on it for political support.

In this set-up, Ms Megawati is hamstrung even if she wants to push for drastic changes. Thus, serious reforms are not on the cards. Changes, if and when they happen, will be in dribs and drabs.

The legal confusion and inconsistencies mirror the current state of Indonesian society and the Megawati administration's uphill drive against corruption.

A weak government, caught between the popular clamour for justice and the political need to make compromises, is bound to vacillate. This breeds distrust in the legal system.

But there are hopeful signs that Indonesia is evolving slowly towards the rule of law. In its current imperfect state, it is unrealistic to expect anything near perfect justice.

Activists welcome bill against discrimination

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2002

Berni K. Moestafa and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- Activists have welcomed the submission of the anti-race and ethnic discrimination bill to the House of Representatives saying that it will ensure equal rights of all citizens.

The draft stipulates obligation and sanctions for people or organizations that intentionally discriminate people in claiming their civil rights such as education, job opportunities and other public services.

Noted woman activist Ester Indahyani Jusuf said on Wednesday that the country needs such law to provide legal protection against discrimination. "All these years the state had issued many discriminatory regulations, which should be scrapped as soon as the anti-discrimination bill is passed," Ester told The Jakarta Post.

The similar view also shared by lawyer Frans H. Winarta, who said that some 60 rulings need to be revoked once the bill gets passed. "It's hard to fight discrimination by individuals, however the proposed bill can do a lot to fight discrimination by the state," he said.

The bill apparently aims to implement the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, signed by Indonesia in 1999. Therefore, this bill does not address discrimination against gender, which is addressed separately by another international convention on gender equality, which Indonesia signed in 1984.

Activist Nursyahbani Katjasungkana of Indonesia's Women Association for Justice said she hoped for a separate law dealing with gender discrimination. "Non-government organizations aren't pushing hard enough for this law so for now it remains only an idea," she said.

The proposed anti-race and ethnic discrimination bill is a step forward for the country, which once dubbed as a racist country following the anti-Chinese riots that broke out in Jakarta in 1998.

The bill defines race as classifying peole based on physical differences such as skin color, hair, and body height. While ethnic distinguish people based on their faith, norm, custom, tradition, language, religion, history, geography and relationship.

The bill stipulated that "all citizens are rightful for equal opportunities to claim their civil, political, economical and cultural rights".

It bans the showing of hate against a particular race or ethnic through writings, drawings, speeches or accessories and carries a maximum five-year jail term and penalty up to Rp 100 million (US$11,235).

The bill bans limiting people's rights and act of violence arising from racial or ethnical motives. Depending on the degree of violence, the threat of a jail term could range from at least three years up to seven years should the victim sustain serious injuries or get killed. It further demands the government to revoke discriminative regulations and ensure that all citizens stand equal before the law.

Individuals and non-government organizations specializing in fighting racial and ethnical discrimination may file lawsuits and seek compensations on violations of the bill.

It further puts in charge the National Commission on Human Rights to monitor the implementation of the law. This covers an authority to evaluate compliance by the government and seek facts on individuals, groups, public or private institutions suspected of having committed discriminative actions.

A member of the National Commission on Human Rights, Hasballah M. Saad said the new bill would help the commission deal with human rights violations many of which with a racial underpin. "We have a sub-commission in charge of monitoring human rights violations; I think they may start monitoring discrimination issues as well," he said.

US firms battle human rights lawsuits

Kiplinger Business Forecasts - September 7, 2002

Ken Dalecki -- If your company does business overseas, keep an eye on several lawsuits against US corporations alleging that they are "vicariously liable" for human rights abuses committed by others in countries where they do business.

So far, US firms haven't lost a case. But some fearful businesses may settle to avoid bad publicity and lose sales abroad. And a win by plaintiffs would bring more such lawsuits. Currently, 18 cases are pending in US courts against some of the biggest names in US business, according to Dan O'Flaherty, who monitors such lawsuits for the National Foreign Trade Council, a business trade organization.

Companies being sued include Citigroup, Ford, GM, Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Nike, Freeport-McMoRan, Unocal, IBM and Honeywell. Countries in which these companies are operating and are being accused of human rights violations include South Africa, Sudan, Nigeria, Peru, Myanmar, Indonesia, India, Colombia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Equador and Guatemala.

Human rights advocates view the lawsuits as a way to force reforms and provide compensation for abuses, but most corporations see them as little more than self-enrichment schemes advanced by trial lawyers trying to make a fortune in contingency fees.

The US State Department has taken the side of US firms in several cases, telling judges who have asked for input that it is not in the national interest to pursue the complaints. Companies fighting suits may ask a presiding judge to seek an opinion from the State Department, but judges are not required to do so and are free to ignore any opinion the government may issue.

Perhaps the highest-profile case is a suit against US and European firms that did business in South Africa before apartheid ended. Edward Fagan, a US attorney who won a $1.25-billion settlement for Holocaust victims against Swiss banks in 1998, has brought a multi-billion dollar suit in US District Court in Manhattan against a host of companies under the long-dormant Alien Tort Claims Act. The act is being used to bring cases on behalf of non-US citizens who contend Americans or American corporations violated their human rights.

In the apartheid case, US firms could be found liable even if their only connection with the government was paying taxes and operating under the same rules as other businesses a "vicarious liability" for doing business under a regime whose policies violated human rights. The State Department has not weighed in on the case, which is expected to begin oral arguments early next year.

Another big suit involves ExxonMobil and its operations in the oil-rich province of Aceh, Indonesia. Villagers are suing the company, alleging that their human rights were violated by Indonesian security forces acting to protect ExxonMobil interests in the province.

Rebels in Aceh have been trying to gain greater autonomy from the central government, and the US has conceded that the Indonesian military has violated human rights in trying to defeat the insurrection. The case is pending in US District Court for the District of Columbia. Although the State Department has been critical of Indonesia's human rights record, it is nevertheless urging the judge to dismiss the case because pursuing it would "risk a potentially serious adverse impact on significant interests of the United States." Such interests include getting Indonesia's cooperation in the war on terrorism.

But Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, sees the case in a different light, noting that "if the Bush administration is serious about promoting ethical business practices, it shouldn't be trying to stop this court case from going forward."

A case pending in a California Superior Court after having been dismissed in federal court is also being closely watched. It involves Unocal, a California-based energy company with part interest in a gas pipeline in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. The suit says the firm is liable for alleged human rights abuses by the military during construction of the pipeline. Although the judge has cleared Unocal of any direct involvement in human rights abuses, the case is being continued to determine whether Unocal has "vicarious liability."

A statement issued in June by the business says it is "absolutely convinced that the presence of Unocal and other companies who follow high ethical standards and modern business practices can have a positive impact on the economic and political lives of the people of Myanmar."

According to one business source following human rights lawsuits, "the big enchilada in all this is China. My guess is this is all a warm-up to go after firms doing business there." China, which this year gained entry into the World Trade Organization, is seen as the new frontier for many US companies looking to break into a market of 1.3 billion people. It also provides a relatively cheap but skilled labor force for US manufacturers and is drawing significant investment capital from the US and other advanced economies.

Focus on Jakarta

Now, power crisis adds to Jakarta's woes

Straits Times - September 14, 2002

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- A widespread blackout in the Indonesian capital and the surrounding West Java towns has underscored Jakarta's failure to build power infrastructure to keep pace with the growing demand.

It has reinforced fears that a power crisis is looming in the country, especially as government has hardly managed to attract any new foreign investors into the power sector over the last five years.

The blackout had left much of greater Jakarta in total darkness for about six hours on Thursday night. Yesterday morning, most areas were hit again for several hours. And later in the evening, power was cut off in several parts of the city.

The state power company PLN said the blackout was caused by a technical snag in the 500 kilovolt transmission system in West Java. It cut off the distribution of power to 40 electrical substations in greater Jakarta, affecting 4.5 million households and buildings.

Earlier reports said an explosion occured at a power station. PLN chief Eddi Widyono did not rule out possibilities of sabotage, but said there was no "hard evidence" as yet.

The blackout caused severe traffic congestion on the roads and left thousands of train commuters stranded for hours. In addition, 13 areas in residential neighbourhoods were razed by fires caused by flames from candles used by residents to light their homes on Thursday night. No death was reported from the fires, but officials pegged the losses at billions of rupiah.

Anticipating robberies, Jakarta police deployed 7,000 officers on Thursday night while residents put up barricades to secure their neighbourhoods.

The power shortage was caused by a lack of an alternative supply system, said Mr Eddi. "The existing backup system only is capable of supplying two million out of the 4.5 million consumers," he said, noting that the company had had no money to finance expansion programmes to meet the growing power demands.

There are now about 28 areas outside Java and Bali, where power peak loads nearly reach power generating capacities. These areas are susceptible to power shortages. The demand from Java and Bali accounts for about 90 per cent of the 25,000 MW demand in the country.

And demand from these islands alone could exceed the supply by 2003, when the peak load is expected to hit 15,441 MW compared with an installed capacity of 15,285 MW.

Legislator Emir Moeis of parliamentary commission on mines and energy warned of a power crisis if no new power plants and network system were built in the next two years.

He told The Straits Times: "This means there would be no new electrical instalment, or in the worst-case scenario PLN would install diesel generators, which would be very expensive."

Indonesia needs about US$28.45 billion in new investment over the next 10 years to anticipate the power crisis, he said. But investors are reluctant to invest as Indonesian utility rate is still considered one of the cheapest, he said. A power crisis would add to a growing list of problems in the capital.

The administration of the newly-reelected Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso has not made much headway in coping with the escalating crime rates, the chronic traffic jams, an overstretched public transportation system, the air and water pollution apart from the proliferation of slums.

Worse, say experts, Jakarta is vulnerable to another bout of severe flooding early next year, much like the one that paralysed the city in February. Although about US$10 million has been spent on flood prevention this year, public works officials say many crucial projects remain unfinished.

My support had nothing to do with Sutiyoso's win: Megawati

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2002

Cairo -- President Megawati Soekarnoputri has said the support she gave to Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso had nothing to do with his reelection victory.

"If he was reelected as governor, it was not because of me. Never relate it to me," she told a press conference here Thursday night, winding up her state visit to a number of African and European countries.

Egypt is the last leg of her two-week tour, which also took her to South Africa for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, as well as Algeria, Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.

The president's entourage includes her husband Taufik Kiemas, chief economic minister Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayudha, State Minister for Environment Nabiel Makarim, and Industry and Trade Minister Rini MS Soewandi.

During the press conference, she said Sutiyoso's reelection was the decision of Jakarta's legislative council made on September 11.

She said it was actually common to support someone to run for a certain post. "[If it is said that] supporting others is okay, then why are the newspapers so noisy when I support a certain person?" she said as quoted by Antara as saying.

Megawati, in her capacity as chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP), gave her support for Sutioyoso's reelection. The move prompted one candidate from the party, Roy BB Janis, to negate his bid for the gubernatorial race.

Paired with Fauzi Bowo as vice governor, Sutiyoso was reelected for the 2002-2007 term on Wednesday by 47 of 84 city councillors, despite outrage and opposition from tens of thousands of demonstrators from various organizations and student groups.

At least 25 students suffered serious wounds as they were hit by rubber bullets, tear gas canisters and water cannons. Other demonstrators were poisoned when an unidentified man handed out tainted food.

Sutiyoso is a suspect in the attack on the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters on July 27, 1996, then occupied by Megawati's supporters. At least four were killed and scores of others injured in the incident.

The trials and tribulations of Jakarta's public transport

Jakarta Post - September 13, 2002

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Suhari spends almost one- third of his day on the road. It is not because he is a driver. The employee of a company in Kota, Central Jakarta, spends, on average, nearly six hours in public vehicles because he lives in East Bekasi, which is about 40 kilometers away from his workplace.

He wakes at 4.15am and leaves home by 5am. The 30-year-old man has to take three different public vehicles to get to his office. Normally, it is very slow due to serious traffic congestion, so if there are no accidents or demonstrations causing worse traffic, he normally will arrive at his office at 7.30am. Giving him just a few minutes to eat his breakfast.

Suhari leaves his office at 5pm and rushes to get public transportation. He usually gets home at about 8pm. "It's tiring, of course. But I am used to it," he told The Jakarta Post.

Suhari has done this for about 18 months now. He and his wife previously rented a house in Petojo, Central Jakarta, and he took a motorbike to work. The couple moved to their home in Bekasi after they had a baby. Suhari sold his motorbike to help pay the downpayment on the house.

"Living in our own home was our dream since we got married. I couldn't afford to buy a house in the city. I know that my house is too far from my office, but that's okay," he said.

However, Suhari complained about the condition of public transportation. "Do you realize how bad the conditions are? I am usually lucky enough to get a seat, but I never get any rest as it is always overcrowded, not to mention the hassles of street traders and beggars [who come aboard to solicit passengers]," he said.

Another commuter, Adie, also shared a similar experience. He works in Grogol, West Jakarta, and lives in Tajur, Bogor. Just like Suhardi, he gets up early in the morning. He takes a public minivan, a train and a public bus to reach his office.

"It's not comfortable at all, either by minivan, train or bus," Adie said. Adie also complained about the safety in the public vehicles as passengers often were victims of crime.

Jakarta has always been a magnet for people from outside the city because it offers more economic opportunities compared to other places.

At noon, Jakarta is home to 14 million people. By night, the number can go down to eight million. About four million people live in satellite cities such as Depok, Bogor, Bekasi and Tangerang, just outside of Jakarta city limits. The satellite cities offer more affordable houses compared to those in the city.

However, the city administration has failed to provide proper public vehicles to transport the commuters. According to 2000 data, there were 5,411 buses, 4,981 minibuses and 11,848 minivans, most in a state of disrepair, to cater to the millions of commuters.

There is also no proper coordination between the city administration and the neighboring administrations. As a result, there is no integrated transportation system covering all of Greater Jakarta.

Worse still, most of the available buses and minivans are in poor condition, some barely roadworthy, most are unsafe at best. Transportation experts have repeatedly called on the administration to provide an efficient mass rapid transportation system. Unfortunately, it is still a distant dream.

Indonesian protesters poisoned

BBC - September 13, 2002

Richard Galpin, Jakarta -- A senior police official in Indonesia has confirmed reports that 30 people demonstrating on Wednesday against the re-election of the governor of Jakarta were poisoned with cyanide.

Many others were injured when the police fired rubber bullets and used water canon to disperse one of the largest demonstrations seen in the capital since the downfall of the former President, Abdurrahman Wahid, more than a year ago.

The head of the forensic laboratory at national police headquarters in Jakarta said cyanide had been found in food that had been handed out to the demonstrators at the height of the protest on Wednesday.

Thirty people were taken to hospital after collapsing and vomiting, but most have now recovered and been discharged.

The police official said it is easy to get hold of cyanide as it is found in rat poison.

A student leader told the BBC an unknown person had brought five large bags of food, which was distributed to those taking part in the demonstration. He accused supporters of the Jakarta governor of being responsible.

Despite the large demonstration the governor, retired Lieutenant General Sutiyoso, was re-elected for another five-year term by city councillors. Voting allegations He is an extremely controversial figure and deeply unpopular with the majority of the population in the capital who had wanted him replaced.

Many were particularly angered by his failure to tackle massive flooding in the city at the beginning of the year which left more than 30 people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.

There have been allegations that Wednesday's vote in the city council was manipulated, particularly when it was announced that councillors had to hand-write their choice for governor on the ballot papers, making it easier to identify who had voted for which candidate. The allegations have been denied.

Brawl inside assembly, nine hospitalised

Laksamana.Net - September 11, 2002

Representatives of protesters rejecting the likely re-election of Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso scuffled with police after they were refused entry to the voting room at the city legislative assembly building.

Police had initially allowed 20 protesters inside the assembly on Wednesday to speak with legislators, in the hope that the meeting would avert possible violence outside the assembly.

But later when the legislators convened to vote on whether the widely reviled Sutiyoso should serve another five-year term, 40 police barred the demonstrators from entering the session room on the building's third floor.

Emotions ran high and punches were traded. "Have mercy sir! Don't punch. We just want to get inside to ensure that Sutiyoso is not chosen," one protester was quoted as saying by detikcom online news agency.

Earlier at least nine people were hospitalized after security forces clashed with demonstrators outside the legislative assembly.

Detikcom reported that six protesters were taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta, most of them suffering head injuries after being hit with stones.

At least three members of the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) were also treated after being exposed to tear gas and later released.

Jakarta governor wins election amid protests

Straits Times - September 12, 2002

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Police yesterday fired blank warning shots, tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters as Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso won a parliamentary vote for another five years in office.

An unlikely alliance of various groups, including students and militant Muslim group Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), rallied outside the City Council Building demanding that the 84 councillors not vote for the three-star retired army general, often described as the capital's most controversial figure.

Mr Sutiyoso and his running mate, Mr Fauzi Bowo, defeated six other pairs of candidates by securing 47 votes in Jakarta's first gubernatorial elections. They owed their victory mostly to the support from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI-P), the Golkar party and the military.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the PDI-P chief, had ordered party members to support the governor much against the wishes of some party loyalists.

In 1996, Mr Sutiyoso was the commander of the Jakarta military garrison when soldiers attacked supporters of Ms Megawati, who was then an opposition leader, leading to a fatal riot with dozens of victims.

The attack was part of the then president Suharto's strategy to foil a growing opposition movement in the country. In 1997, Mr Sutiyoso was appointed governor by Mr Suharto who was ousted the following year.

In the last five years, the retired general has been condemned for poor leadership. Recently, he was criticsed for sluggishness in rescuing victims of floods that ravaged Jakarta early this year.

He also took flak for spending US$1.4 million on the renovation of a roundabout while neglecting the construction of flood canals. Media reports have also accused him of corruption in several infrastructure projects.

There has been speculation that yesterday's election was tainted with graft -- which is usually rife in the election of regional leaders -- although Mr Sutiyoso denied the allegations.

He said yesterday in a radio interview following the announcement: "Everyone should accept that I'm the governor and Fauzi is the deputy -- this is a fair competition."

Outside the Jakarta administration compound, protesters gathered in a vain attempt to prevent the election. They blocked the entrance to the building, forcing councillors to arrive in police helicopters and armoured vehicles.

Mr Sutiyoso himself was transported to the building from his residence by helicopter for security reasons.

Mr M. Alawi of FPI said: "We're sick of Sutiyoso's leadership," alleging that he had been protecting prostitution, gambling and drug rings.

A demonstrator, Ms Iyah, said she resented the governor because he did nothing to help her community during this year's massive floods. "Our houses were two metres deep in water and we didn't get any help." Some 30 protesters were rushed to hospital after eating contaminated food.

Thousands rally to thwart reelection of Sutiyoso

Jakarta Post - September 10, 2002

Novan Iman Santosa, Jakarta -- In a last minute attempt to foil governor Sutiyoso's nomination in the gubernatorial election on Wednesday, thousands of people from various groups -- some brought along two cows with them -packed the City Council building on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta on Monday.

Arriving in dozens of minibuses bajaj and three-wheeled taxis, the protesters caused massive congestion on Jl. MH Thamrin, which is connected to Jl. Kebon Sirih.

They came from, among others, the Defender of Islam Front (FPI), the Grass Root Community of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (KABKB PDI Perjuangan), the Betawi University Students Front (FMB), the University Students and Urban Community Action Network (JAMAK), the Jakarta Community Awakening Alliance (AKMJ) and the University Students Executive Body (BEM) from several universities.

The protesters, especially those from PDI Perjuangan, said that Sutiyoso was not eligible as a candidate as he had been declared a suspect in the July 27, 1996 fatal attack on PDI headquarters.

Sutiyoso, however, won full support from the party after chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri instructed councillors from her party to secure Sutiyoso's second tenure.

Most of the demonstrators also said Sutiyoso had failed in alleviating poverty through his policy to evict informal workers such as street vendors and becak (pedicab) drivers.

FPI members said Sutiyoso also had failed to cleanse rampant illegal gambling and other vice activities.

"The next governor must have the guts to close all gambling dens in the city no matter what happens. The elected governor must also close all nightspots on Islamic holidays," it said in a a statement, proposing a total of 95 days including Fridays.

FPI also brought along two cows symbolizing the possible "cowtrading" practices among councillors and candidates. Before leaving the building, the protesters burned Sutiyoso's effigy to underline their demands.

Sutiyoso, who is paired with current City Secretary Fauzi Bowo as vice governor candidate, is also supported by Golkar Party.

Despite the strong opposition, Sutiyoso's had his own supporters, including a group of ulemas who urged councillors to reelect him.

Lead by Syafii Hadzami, they met several councillors such as Totok Ismunandar and Ishak Iskandar of PDI Perjuangan and Syarif Zulkarnain and Ridlo Kurniawan of the United Development Party (PPP) and Muhammad Banang of the United Party (PP) factions.

Syafii is also the father of Chudlory Syafii, one of three deputy City Council speakers from the PPP faction.

Earlier in the morning, another maneuver to gain public support for Sutiyoso took place when an unknown newspaper which calls itself Swara Reformasi Indonesia named him Indonesia's most popular governor and newsmaker of 2002.

The award was presented in a huge certificate 4.75 meters by 5.07 meters, earning it a place in the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI).

In a separate development, the election committee decided that the councillors would have to write down candidate names in a style stipulated by a City Council decree in such a manner as to avoid the possibility of money politics practices.

The voters should write down the names exactly as printed in the list, otherwise, the ballots would be declared void.

Earlier, councillors opposing Sutiyoso's renomination feared that writing down candidates' names would open the way to further control their votes compared to crossing or ticking the ballot paper.

Meanwhile, security authorities will deploy 1,600 officers to safeguard the election and protect the councillors from being terrorized.

"The officers are taken from various City Police and City Military Command units," City Police spokesman Sr. Cmdr. Anton Bachrul Alam said.

Anton predicted that the mass would reach its peak after the plenary meeting with an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people storming the streets.

News & issues

Government to discontinue rice subsidy for 565,000 families

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2002

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- Over 550,000 poor families will no longer receive government assistance through "Rice for the Poor" program in 2003 due to a reduction in the subsidy and anticipated higher rice prices, the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) chief said on Wednesday.

"The government has agreed to earmark subsidized rice for 9,224,675 poor families next year, down 565,325 families from 9,790,000 this year," Bulog chief Widjanarko Puspoyo told a hearing at the House of Representatives Commission III on agriculture, forestry and maritime affairs.

He said the government would reduce the budget allocation for the rice subsidy to Rp 4.2 trillion (US$471,900) next year from Rp 4.7 trillion this year.

The statement came a week after the government signed for a US$60.5 million grant from the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to provide food for the poor, refugees and to finance food-security programs in the country.

The grant consists of $37 million worth of foodstuffs, including 172,800 tons of rice, 2,920 tons of beans, and 1,460 tons of cooking oil.

The fewer subsidy recipients does not reflect a decrease in the number of the poor, as Widjanarko said the central government was unable to cover all poor families' needs and would shift part of the burden to regional governments.

"Don't forget that the program is just a supporting program to help poor families in the region. The regional government must be responsible to help the poor in the region," he said.

The number of people who will no longer enjoy the subsidy could surpass 2 million, based on the estimate that a family consists of four people.

According to the National Family Planning Coordinating Board data, there are about 14.7 million poor families across the country.

Widjanarko said the basic price of rice was expected to reach Rp 3,432 per kilogram next year from Rp 3,414 per kilogram this year. Rice for the poor will be sold at Rp 1,250 in 2003.

"With the reduced subsidy and projected higher price of rice, fewer poor families will receive subsidized rice," Widjanarko said.

Bulog will allocate 2.2 million tons of rice for the program next year, in which a family could receive a total of 20 kilograms per month, according to Widjanarko.

The program was launched this year to assist poor families, funded from the state budget and social compensation fund.

It emulates the special market operation program (OPK), which was first conducted in 1998 in the wake of the economic crisis. The previous program was funded by the World Bank.

The rice was distributed to poor families by the Village Resilience Board (LKMD), generally considered a corrupt organization at the village and district administration level.

Many irregularities were reported in the implementation of the market operation program, including corrupt officials selling the rice at a price higher than that set by the government and rice being distributed to non-needy families.

Moreover, most of the funds allocated for the social safety net program fell prey to corruption by a number of politicians, due to a lack of adequate internal controls.

The World Bank stopped channeling funds to the program in 1999.

Environment

Haze hits its worst level this season

Straits Times - September 14, 2002

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- Choking haze in central and west Kalimantan reached its worst levels this season, with visibility down to only a few metres yesterday.

A scientist from an international forestry research centre said the pollution levels, that are now being described as "extremely dangerous", were predictable, given the dry El Nino season.

Haze in Palangkaraya, the capital of central Kalimantan, reduced visibility to around 50 m early on Thursday and yesterday morning, forcing cars to use their headlights to avoid collision, said officials from the meteorology board.

Air pollution levels were dangerously high -- with a pollution index reading of 600, or three times the highest recommended levels. "It is extremely, extremely dangerous," said Mr Hidayat of the meteorology office in Palangkaraya.

The reading is, however, still well below levels reached in 1997, when the index topped 1,000, he said. But Singapore is unlikely to be affected by the haze, said Indonesia's Meteorology Board.

"It's very unlikely the haze will move to Singapore, the winds at the moment look as if they will carry the haze to the north closer to the Philippines," said Mr Edison Gurning from the Central Meteorology Board in Jakarta, commenting on the weather forecast for the next fortnight.

For Kalimantan, there is unlikely to be any let-up soon as the dry season is expected to continue until the end of October, predicted Mr Luca Tacconi, a scientist from the Centre from International Forestry Research, just outside Jakarta.

He said Indonesia could have easily foreseen that thick haze would result if the annual land-clearing fires were allowed to continue during the El Nino season.

"During El Nino you shouldn't burn peat land, because if you have fires on peat land and they ignite underneath the burning continues until there's rain," said Mr Luca, adding Indonesia knew that an El Nino season was due this year.

In an ordinary wet season, peat fires would not spread underground, he added. Much of central and west Kalimantan is peat soil, which, when burnt, creates much more haze than ordinary soil.

Athough the authorities blame small farmers and communities, the culprits are industrial plantations, he said. "The satellite data and our research shows that 75 per cent of hotspots in Kalimantan and 90 per cent of hotspots in central Kalimantan are in either plantation areas or forest concessions," he said.

Forest auditors accused of links to timber convict

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2002

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- Three assessment companies appointed by the Ministry of Forestry to help filter out bad forest concession holders are being suspected of having links to certain concession holders including timber tycoon Bob Hasan.

The three companies are part of 12 firms assigned to check if the concessionaires have applied sustainable development principles to their operations. Based on the results of the assessment, the government would decide whether to revoke the concessionaires' licenses or allow them to continue their operations.

But a source said that one of the companies called PT Mutuagung Lestari is owned by Bob, a prominent concessionaire and a close friend of former authoritarian president Soeharto.

Bob, who was also the former chairman of the Association of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI), is currently serving a six-year jail term for his involvement in a corruption case.

Agus Setyarso, a spokesman for a special supervision agency assigned to monitor the works of the above assessment companies, said that the agency doubted the independency of three companies due to their links with concessionaires.

He said that the supervision agency was currently trying to gather evidence to demand the forestry ministry to cancel the contract with the three firms.

"We are questioning the three companies since they are suspectedly to have links with concessionaires, but until now we can not eliminate them since we have no sufficient legal evidence for that yet," Agus told The Jakarta Post.

He added that the agency would put a close eye on the work of the three companies. He declined to disclose the name of three companies, but the above source said that they were PT FFL International, PT Properindo Jasatama, and Mutuagung.

FFL International is a newly-established company with no experience in forest assessment work, while Properindo was believed to be set up by APHI.

Director general for the development of forest production at the forestry ministry Suhariyanto, who recommended the 12 firms, was not available for comment.

The government has been under pressure from the international community to protect the country's natural forests, which are now under critical condition due to deforestation problem.

Meanwhile, Mutuagung spokesman Taufik Margani denied the accusation, saying that Bob had sold his shares in the company in 2000.

He added that Mutuagung was a credible and professional assessment firm which had obtained the Ecolabeling Certification from the Indonesian Ecolabeling Institute (LEI).

Director of LEI, Dradjat Wibowo, confirmed this statement, but quickly added that Bob might have used a proxy in maintaining control over Mutuagung. He said that LEI was also keeping a close eye on Mutuagung.

Indonesian paper firms fight boycott

BBC World News - September 10, 2002

Manuela Saragosa -- Indonesia has the world's second largest reserves of natural forest but the World Bank has warned it could all disappear within the next decade.

Critics say the country's forests have been exploited with little regard for their sustainability as a valuable resource.

Industries which depend on the forests have been singled out for blame, and pulp and paper companies in particular have come under heavy criticism. Overseas buyers of Indonesian paper have started to take note.

The environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth says imports to Europe have dropped about 50% so far this year.

Accusations

The Lontar Papyrus mill is just one of many pulp and paper companies in Sumatra. Sumatra is also home to APP and APRIL, two of the world's largest producers.

Critics say that over the past decade these companies have built up huge capacity without planning a long-term sustainable supply of wood. Rather, they have relied on government licences to cut down existing forest.

In the process they have become closely associated with the problems that plague Indonesia's forestry sector. They have been accused of illegal logging and of provoking land disputes with local communities.

Convincing the critics I was invited to join a conference call at the Jakarta offices of APP where Mark Werren, the company's forestry manager, explained what they were doing to address those criticisms.

Like its competitor APRIL, APP plans to source all its wood from its own planted forests within the next eight years. The problem is they are having a hard time convincing critics they can do that in such a short space of time.

Chris Barr, the industry expert at the UN-affiliated Centre for International Forestry Research in Bogor, outside Jakarta, described the targets as extremely ambitious.

"Until they are able to demonstrate that they are able to raise their planting area by that kind of increment then there are certainly some concerns about whether they are going to be able to meet those targets," he said.

Creating a definition

APP and APRIL say they will clear cut and convert only the forests that have already been partially cut down -- what they call degraded forest.

But Jim Jarvie, a Jakarta-based forestry expert, says such degraded forests could still be valuable.

"The whole thing about the word degraded is that it is a continuum, it just means not pristine," he said. "It has got no qualifier, no threshold for how ... degraded is so impossibly degraded it can't come back.

"Yet the pulp and paper industries make a definition, use that and go forward with it. There's no accountability towards what sort of forest they are clearing out."

Gaining credibility

Aris Adhianto works for Indonesia's Sinar Mas group, a conglomerate whose owners also control APP. He is pioneering a scheme in Sumatra which involves getting local communities to manage and grow plantation forests for the pulp and paper companies.

This way the companies hope to avoid land disputes and gain access to the territory they need in order to become self- sufficient. As an incentive to join the scheme communities are given small crops or fish farms. But such schemes have met with scepticism among pressure groups.

To gain credibility APRIL, another pulp and paper producer, has contracted a third party which includes a non-governmental organisation, the Worldwide Fund for Nature, to conduct an independent audit of its wood purchase practices.

Illegal logging

Meanwhile, though, time is running out for much of Sumatra's remaining natural forest. A drive along Sumatra's roads with Aris Adhianto put the scale of the problem into perspective. I saw quite a few trucks come by, piled high with logs but with no markings on the logs which means they are illegal.

Illegal logging has played a huge role in deforestation in Indonesia and as long as these sorts of problems abound, the country's pulp and paper companies will find it difficult to avoid being tarred with the same brush.

Health & education

Indonesia among countries with highest maternal deaths

Jakarta Post - September 10, 2002

Jakarta -- Despite improvements in health over the past decades, Indonesia is listed as being among the countries that contribute 40 percent of the world's maternal deaths.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 20th Southeast Asia region health ministerial meeting on Monday, Indonesian Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi said this was a result of the economic crisis, which had remained unabated since it first hit the region in 1997.

"The Southeast Asia region still accounts for nearly 40 percent of maternal deaths worldwide and contributes 40 percent of the world's tuberculosis sufferers," Sujudi said.

Given this situation, Sujudi said the region should institute responsive and high-quality healthcare helped by increased aid from donor agencies.

The annual meeting of the health ministers, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), has been held since 1981 to enhance cooperation between the Southeast Asian countries so as to improve health in the region.

The three-day meeting was officially opened by Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz at his office.

WHO regional director for Southeast Asia Muchtar Rafei warned of the many problems that had recently been threatening health improvement programs in the region.

"The health problems in the region include the reemergence of tuberculosis and malaria, as well as the emergence of certain non-communicable diseases," he said in his speech.

"HIV/AIDS is threatening to offset our hard-won health and socioeconomic gains," Rafei added. HIV/AIDS has become a new concern in the region, where an estimated 120,000 people live with HIV/AIDS.

Rafei further called on the countries to take concrete action to fight the currently emerging health threats in the region. "The centrality of health in sustainable development must be recognized," he remarked.

The meeting is aimed at seeking a common strategy to eradicate emerging diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

The countries participating in the meeting include Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and newly independent East Timor, which was present as an observer.

Religion/Islam

Balancing the secular state with Islam

Radio Australia - September 13, 2002

[Indonesia, like other predominantly Islamic countries in the Asia Pacific region, has felt the impact of the September 11 attacks on the US. The effects have at times threatened to destabilise the balance between President Megawati Sukarnoputri's secular rule and the demands of a devout Muslim population. She's refusing to round up and arrest Islamic extremists accused of having links with the Al-Qaeda network, despite calls from the international community. But at the same time she's forging closer co-operation with the US and neighbouring countries to prevent terrorists making Indonesia a safe haven.]

Transcript:

Fitzgerald: The Islamic call to prayer dominates the evening and mornings of almost every Indonesian town and village. Indian and Arab traders took Islam to Indonesia as early as the 13th century and it's now the stated religion of more than 185 million Indonesians, almost 90 percent of the population.

Islamic groups have always wielded political clout, in the fight against Dutch colonialists and, after independence, the Darul Islam movement continued a violent campaign for an Islamic state.

Former President Suharto saw Islam as a political threat and used divide and rule and persecution to keep it from becoming a strong political force.

Islamic leader Azyumardi Azra, who heads the State Islamic University in Jakarta, says the Suharto regime even set up Islamic militias to discredit Islam.

Azra: There was persecution. We had cases like the Tanjung Priok massacre, also the Lambung massacres. In addition to these cases there was also radical Muslim movements that were created, radical groups that were created by the regime -- by the Suharto regime -- especially by General Ali Murtopo in order to discredit Islam. For instance, Ali Murtopo evacuated ex-members of the Darul Islam movement in the late 50's and then he used them to form a group called Jihad Komando in the late 70's or early 80's. While the fact that this Jihad Komando was created was engineered by generals within the Suharto government in order to discredit Islam.

Fitzgerald: The fall of Suharto four years ago has allowed Islamic groups to organise more freely.

Many Islamic based political parties have emerged and, in a development which has created disquiet in some quarters, extremist groups are now active and highly visible.

The radical Islam Defenders Front celebrated their fourth anniversary outside the annual parliamentary session. Dressed in white paramilitary uniforms, some wearing traditional Islamic swords, they pledge allegiance to Palestinian resistance groups like Hamas. The front's warriors have been involved in attacks on nightclubs and gambling dens in Jakarta and have mounted sweeps on hotels in central Java attempting to flush out western tourists.

Then there's the radical Laskar Jihad army, whose armed members have stirred up conflicts in the Christian dominated Maluku Islands and in Papua.

Their leader, Jaffar Umar Thalib, is being prosecuted for allegedly fomenting religious violence in Ambon. But he claimed at a press conference at the East Jakarta Court that he's just been defending Muslims against Christian "aggression".

The Mujahadeen Council of Indonesia is another bastion of hardline Islamic politics in Indonesia. This powerful and conservative body is led by Abu Bakar Bashir, an Islamic cleric who the US, Singapore and Malaysia want arrested because of his alleged links to the Al-Qaeda network.

He presides over a traditional Islamic boarding school in central Java, and is full of praise for Osama bin Laden. He says the US war on terror is a Jewish and American conspiracy to destroy Islam.

Ba'asyir: I hate the American government but not the American people because they are being manipulated by Jews to fight against Islam. It is the duty of Muslims to hate America because they are launching an anti-Muslim crusade right now. This has been announced by President Bush himself. So, as long as the American government cooperates with Jews to fight us it is necessary on all Muslims to hate America, to fight back. But I stress I hate the American government not the American people. I know there are good Americans, but there is nothing good to say about the American government because they harbour evil designs against Islam.

Fitzgerald: And he's also highly critical of the secular role of President Megawati.

Ba'asyir: I very much hate the attitude of Megawati's government because it is a secular government. The secular category includes Jews and non-believers. The President is closer to Jews and non- believers than she is to Islam. Although she is outwardly a Muslim, she is stupid and does not understand Islam properly. So Megawati's attitude and her acceptance of anti-terrorism aid from the United States is a great disaster for Muslims.

Fitzgerald: Azyumardi Azra says political and economic factors, since the removal of Suharto, have also played a big part in the growth of extremists.

Azra: There are a lot of causes of the rise of these kinds of groups. First I think there's politics -- social and of course interpretation of Islam. Understanding of Koranic verses and also the prophetic tradition in a very literal way. Socially speaking, after the fall of Suharto, Indonesian society has a kind of social disintegration. There was breakdown of law and order also, and then a loss of authority on the part of the government, the central government. And the government cannot enforce law and order, so there is some kind of vacuum in the enforcement of law and order. This creates a chance for these groups to take the law into their own hands for some reasons like Laskar Jihad, or FPI for instance argue that because the government and the police have failed to stop the spread of narcotics or something like that and then they take the law into their own hands.

Fitzgerald: Do you rule out the potential or the possibility of links with international terrorist groups as also another source of these extremist groups or perhaps fuelling their activities?

Azra: I think most of these groups, if not all, are home grown radicals. Of course there is a possibility that they have a connection with groups in Southeast Asia. We know that some of the leaders used to live in Malaysia when they escaped from law during the Suharto period.

But I'm not sure whether they have a connection with bin Laden. We have to take into consideration there is a strong tendency in this group to claim, to assert that they have some kind of links with Afghanistan or with Taliban while their argument, their assertion tends to be very weak.

Fitzgerald: As happened in the Suharto era, there are signs that elements of the military are again attempting to use Islam for their own political purposes. Retired military generals once loyal to former President Suharto are allegedly providing funding to some of the militant groups, paying them to create civil disturbances. It's alleged the Islamic militias are being used in some cases to cover up military protection rackets and that military elements are using them to justify a strong security force precence across Indonesia. Azyumardi Azra says Indonesia's current economic crisis, has created high unemployment meaning there is never a shortage of hands for hire when powerful people decide they want to create civil disturbances.

Azra: Indonesian government, together with the US, has to take a positive action in order to address the Indonesian economic problem because some of the groups in fact are unemployed people and they get paid from any side who can use them.

Fitzgerald: The extremist groups are mounting a campaign for Indonesia to become an Islamic state. They want traditional Sharia law to be imposed on all Indonesian Muslims through an amendment to Article 29 of Indonesia's constitution.

The issue came to a head at a recent parliamentary session when several smaller Islamic parties like the United Development Party of Vice President Hamzar Haz and the Crescent and Star Party, called for the introduction of Sharia law. Thousands of Islamic protestors, flooded the streets of Jakarta to support the proposal, among them was Zahara Hanifah, of Hisbul Tahir organisation.

Hanifah: So many Muslims only recognise Islam as a ritual religion. They don't really know Islamic law. They don't know the Islamic law of governance, politics and economics, they don't know in-depth about Islamic law for regulating daily life. We are protesting for Islamic law to be implemented in Indonesia not just for Muslims but for all religions. It's not a law that oppresses women that is just a Western perception, pushed in Western dominated media. They don't understand Islam, and insult us.

Fitzgerald: Despite the growth of radical Islam in Indonesia, moderate Muslims have much more power and popular support.

The push to adopt Sharia law for example attracted very few followers in the National Assembly during the recent constitutional debate, with only 15 percent of members favouring its introduction.

A.M. Fatwa, is the deputy leader of the moderate Islamic-based National Mandate Party. He was jailed by former president Suharto for his Islamic views, but says he can't support the Sharia law proposal.

Fatwa: The second alternative whereby Muslims should live according to the teachings of Islam is an initiative by two other Islamic parties -- that is the PPP and the Crescent and Star Party. What they did was that this had been discussed in the past and it was being raised again now as an emotional issue. I think with regards to the majority of Muslims in Indonesia, therefore that was raised again just to convince those Muslims that Islamic parties are actually trying to do, to channel their aspirations. Whereas my party tries to look at the whole thing in its totality that Indonesia is a multi-religious society and therefore why limit it only to Muslims having to live according to their beliefs - why not all other adherence to all other religions being required to live according to their beliefs.

Fitzgerald: Former President Abdurrahman Wahid, of the Islamic based National Awakening Party, is another leading Muslim figure who opposes the imposition of Sharia law. He says the idea is being used by some politicians to lure Indonesian voters.

He claims President Megawati is too scared to reign in the Islamic extremists because she needs the smaller Islamic parties to maintain her parliamentary majority. He says she is cowtowing to Vice President Hamzar Haz, for example, who partly draws support from amongst the extremists.

Wahid: First of all you know, is that this is contradictory to the preamble of the constitution. The pre-amble puts people on the same status, the same footing, equality for all citizens. But by adopting the Jakarta Charter that gives the Muslims advantage over the others -- the others will be second class -- the other citizens. So we have to avoid that -- we have taken the decision to abrogate the Jakarta Charter from the pre-amble of the constitution. Why do they demand that kind of amendment? I think it's because they think Islam is a saleable commodity. And several diehards of the PPP party insist on changing the constitution -- the rest are, they are afraid of the fanatics. Yes, including Hamzar Haz -- he is afraid of those people.

Fitzgerald: What would you like to see the government doing to prevent the development of any form of extremism in Islam?

Wahid: Well, it has to crack down.

Fitzgerald: In what ways?

Wahid: By detaining, detaining them and preventing them from doing things. You know that, according to our law, people cannot carry guns. Firearms. Also people cannot carry swords and traditional weapons. And then also, especially bombs, homemade bombs. Now they are used, built by those people.

Fitzgerald: Are you referring to people like the Laskar Jihad?

Wahid: Yes. But the government is afraid of them, because they need them. Like, Megawati needs Hamzah Haz.

Fitzgerald: Indonesia's two largest Islamic groups Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah have been crucial in maintaining the country's relatively tolerant form of Islam. Both groups want Indonesia run as a secular, not a religious state.

But, as Azyumardi Azra says, they have been too politically divided to ever mount a successful and united challenge to the secular parties.

Azra: Muslims are very fragmented. At least there were two big groups of Islam in Indonesia. The first one is the modernists, represented by the Muhammadiyah and also by Masumi Party in the 1950s. The second group is the traditionalists, represented by the Nahdlatul Ulama. These two wings of Indonesian Islam rarely come to agreement amongst themselves, not only on religious matters but also in political matters.

Fitzgerald: Despite their differences, Indonesian Muslims share great common ground.

Across all the factions, there are strong feelings that President Megawati should be aligning herself more with Muslim causes, like the creation of a Palestinian state, rather than the US war on terror.

Fajar Yusef of KAMMI, the influential Student Action Group for Indonesian Muslims.

Yusef: We would like to promote Islam in general. But what we mean by Islam is Islam that has been practiced by those who are pious in practicing it, the way of the Prophet of Mohamad. But the fact that in the last year, especially when we would like to look at foreign relations, people perceive Islam as the religion of terrorists. Islam is close to terrorists, terrorists are close to Islam. Islam is close to violence and that kind of thing. The fact, those kinds of opinions are of course incorrect because if you look at the figure of those who practice Islam, inherently they did not resolve into the matter of violence at first. They are far from negative things and negative minds. They keep their heart pure by adhering themselves to God. So the problem of Islam nowadays is of course pretty much being affected by how the media judge and perceive Islam. If for example the news about Israel, how Israel attacks civilians in the Palestine is not being blown up by the foreign media. But when the Palestinians make suicide bombs on Israel, it will surely be blown up by the media.

Fitzgerald: Is that a big issue for your student group, what's happening in Palestine?

Yusef: Definitely because one of the key points of Islam is actually solidarity in a broad sense. We regard Muslims wherever they are as brothers and sisters, and we mostly teach respect for human rights. So all Palestine is of course one of the major issues of KAMMI, Palestine is definately.

Fitzgerald: President Megawati's proposal to push through an anti- terrorism bill is also arousing mixed views. Mohamad A.S. Hikam, the chair of Mr Wahid's National Awakening Party, believes the bill could be used to stifle opposition groups or regional separatist groups like in Aceh and Papua.

Hikam: The idea of cracking down on terrorism is understandable because we face that also, not only on the global scale but also in Indonesia.

You see some bombings and bombing threats and so on and so forth. But some Islamic circle like those FPI you know and then the Laskar Jihad and things like that, maybe even PPP, the Hamzah Haz party, is very, very critical that we are somehow being dictated by the United States and that we are cow-towing with Zionism and this kind of very common accusation whenever the so-called the West coming through branding someone or some people or some group as a terrorist.

Fitzgerald: Mohammed Hikam says the government should be trying to peacefully resolve Indonesia's economic crisis and regional conflicts rather than making war on terrorists.

Hikam: On the one hand we need this kind of measure that will be able to prevent this kind of situation. But in this situation that probably will be easily manipulated by some anti-democratic force and that's why at least we have to be very careful in accepting that. But then the mood in the society, especially from civil society is not in favour of this kind of measure because we still see that there is other measures that probably can be applied in order to prevent this kind of terrorism. I think in retrospect I think the problem of Indonesian terrorism is rather different from other countries; you know we are opening up to this kind of situation because of the (economic) crisis actually. Because most of the Islamic population in Indonesia are moderates and they are against this kind of violence, and violence came out because of the crisis and because of the political play coming from the elites and then widespread to the region. For example in Malukus and Aceh and so on.

Fitzgerald: Once again though the moderate view is likely to prevail on the anti-terrorism bill. Amin Rais, a former leader of Muhammadiyah, now heads Indonesia's largest Islamic party, the National Mandate Party. He says he has no fears about such a measure.

Rais: Yes I believe that there is no reason whatsoever to worry about the future of my party because my party is an open party. It is true that the majority of the constituents are Muslims but we have many non-Muslim leaders in our party, so this is a strong group. We are trying to do our utmost to maintain pluralism in society in Indonesia because we believe we can manage pluralism in Indonesia, that pluralism could become a strength. But if we fail to manage pluralism in society, the pluralism itself could become a liability. So it depends on us you know. But regarding terrorism, we are totally committed to combat terrorism once and for all. So there is no reason whatsoever to question the necessity of having a bill on terrorism, so we are fully committed and my faction in the parliament is totally committed to endorse the bill on terrorism.

Fitzgerald: The great strength of Islam in Indonesia, is that these religious issues are being openly debated in a peaceful way, and that the country has been able to steer a moderate course. There are fears though that the US war on terror could upset the delicate balance between Indonesia's secular and Islamic leaders.

Azyumardi Azra says there is a danger that any demonising of extremist Muslims could push moderate Muslims from their middle path to leap to the defence of their Muslim brothers.

Azra: They should be very careful before pointing their fingers to Indonesia because if they say that in Indonesia the terrorists runs wild in Indonesia of course this would be very counter productive because there would be a stronger reaction from moderate, from people who actually try to solve these problem. And if again if any foreign officials, not only US but also Singapore for instance are pointing their fingers to Indonesia then this will create strong reaction from Indonesia even again some moderates will in the name of Indonesian nationalism or something like that will defend themselves. So it will alienate them. So I think again they should be very careful before pointing their fingers.

Muslim liberal takes on militants in Indonesia

Reuters - September 8, 2002

Dean Yates, Jakarta -- In the struggle for the public face of Islam in Indonesia, militant Muslims rarely encounter anyone willing to confront them head on.

But Ulil Abshar-Abdalla, a young moderate Muslim intellectual, has taken the battle to the militants on the radio airwaves and through newspaper columns to defend Indonesia's traditional Islamic tolerance.

That tolerant image took a hit last year when the United States attacked Afghanistan as part of the war on terror, prompting militant Muslims to threaten violence against Western targets and hold daily street protests broadcast media beamed into living rooms worldwide.

The threats proved hollow and the protests fizzled, but for several weeks in the world's most populous Islamic country the tiny militant groups stole the show while the overwhelmingly moderate mainstream establishment fumbled for a response.

"I have intentionally put myself at the forefront. I need to confront them head on, people need a clear voice," said Abshar- Abdalla, 35, speaking at a small cafe that serves a collection of pro-democracy organisations and includes a small studio from where he hosts a weekly radio talk-show on Islam.

"My project is to make democracy and modern Islam work." Indonesia's moderate Muslim groups have long since responded to the public challenge posed by radical Islam as the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States approaches, but in a typical Indonesian way that avoids confrontation.

Not so Abshar-Abdalla, who despite criticism from friends who urge him to tone down his language, increasingly calls a spade a spade. To some experts on Indonesian Islam, he is destined to become a major Muslim figure in the country in the years ahead.

"On a personal level I hate their views, but also their attitudes, they are so exclusive. I also hate them in terms of their interpretation of Islam ... they have such black and white judgements," Abshar-Abdalla said, referring to the militants. "Of course, I respect their rights to speak out."

A threat to democracy

Abshar-Abdalla's main vehicles to challenge militant views are a weekly talk-show broadcast through 20 local radio stations and a column syndicated in 40 newspapers.

Last year he also helped set up the Liberal Islamic Network in direct response to the growing profile of the radical groups. The network has its own website and says it partly aims to "promote open dialogue free of conservative pressure".

Abshar-Abdalla singled out the militant Laskar Jihad organisation and the Islamic Defenders' Front for particular criticism because of their willingness to use violence.

Laskar Jihad gained notoriety when it sent thousands of fighters to join a conflict against Christians in the Moluccas islands in mid-2000. The Islamic Defenders Front is better known for smashing up bars and discos in Jakarta.

Nevertheless, Abshar-Abdalla said he had civil personal relations with Jafar Umar Thalib and Muhammad Rizieq, the leaders of the two groups.

"I don't think Jafar or Rizieq are a threat to Americans but they are threat to the Indonesian people by raising the doctrine of jihad, of armed struggle against people," said Abshar-Abdalla, who is also a member of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's 40-million- strong moderate Muslim organisation.

"The use of violence is something that poses a threat to the strengthening of our democratic institutions." Abshar-Abdalla has been branded an infidel and threatened via telephone calls and through email, although he ignores them.

Asked for his views on Abshar-Abdalla, Rizieq laughed and responded as if his feisty interlocutor were a wayward student.

Rizieq said he admired Abshar-Abdalla's intellectual capacity and referred to the Liberal Islamic Network "as our Muslim brothers...our dialogue partners".

"But their mission will fail. They are not in touch with the grassroots," added Rizieq.

Emerging Muslim heavyweight?

Robert Hefner, a leading scholar on Indonesian Islam at Boston University, said Abshar-Abdalla was probably ahead of the curve on most issues in a country where even moderate Muslims hold conservative views about public life and lifestyles.

But he said Abshar-Abdalla could end up playing a role similar to Nurcholish Madjid, Indonesia's most respected Muslim intellectual and to some the conscience of the nation.

Some Indonesians would like Madjid to run for president in the next election in 2004. Madjid has said he does not want to join a political party although he occasionally gets involved in national politics, where he has the clout to wield influence.

"Ulil has to ask himself, and I think is asking himself, whether he's going to transform into a mass leader or whether he's going to continue to play this role as a prominent, and I think, very courageous Muslim public intellectual," he said.

"I would have to say that my own sense and the nature of politics in Indonesia is that the greater likelihood is that the role he will play will be similar to Nurcholish Madjid." Abshar-Abdalla spent 15 years in his father's pesantren, or Muslim boarding school, in Central Java before going to a conservative Saudi- backed school in Jakarta from 1988-1993. He studied later at a philosophy institute in Jakarta and plans to take some advanced degrees in the United States from next year.

Abshar-Abdalla's latest fight is with the Indonesia Mujahidin Council, headed by radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, over a public-service TV advertisement whose main slogan was "Islam has many colours" and which pushed the case for Islamic tolerance.

The council said it insulted Islam and that the religion was not multi-coloured, and threatened to report local television stations airing it to police. The stations dropped the commercial a month ago.

Singapore and Malaysia officials have accused Bashir of being a leader of a regional terror network, charges the cleric denies.

Armed Forces/Police

US ready to renew Indonesian links

The Australian - September 9, 2002

Greg Sheridan -- The Bush Administration was shocked at the extent of al-Qa'ida's penetration of southeast Asia, says US Deputy Defence Secretary and former ambassador to Indonesia Paul Wolfowitz.

Wolfowitz's view flatly rejects the claims of some commentators that regional governments have exaggerated the terrorist network's links for domestic political purposes.

"Throughout southeast Asia, governments were surprised at the extent of al-Qa'ida penetration," Wolfowitz said in an exclusive interview with The Australian.

"So were we, but we were also surprised at the extent of al- Qa'ida in the US and in Germany and France and other places.

"In Indonesia and Malaysia you have majority Muslim populations, and you have the challenge of distinguishing between genuine extremists and people who just oppose the administration. I feel some real progress has been made."

Overall, he is remarkably upbeat about Indonesia. "Indonesia has been struggling with very big problems since the economic typhoon in 1997," Wolfowitz said.

"It's been going through an incredible transformation. The fact it's functioning as well as it is is a tribute to the commonsense of the Indonesian people."

Wolfowitz is a strong supporter of resuming military links between the US and Jakarta, but stresses it should be a careful process and should not come at the expense of US human rights concerns.

"We are concerned about what seems to be the turning of a blind eye to some of the people who were indicted over East Timor," he said.

Asked whether the deaths of US citizens, among others, in the recent ambush in Papua should cause a renewed pause in resuming contacts with the Indonesian military, he replied: "There are some question marks about that event, and until we know more about it I don't think it's sensible to draw any conclusions."

Notably, this is a long way from accepting the assertion by the Indonesian military that the killings were the work of Papuan separatists.

Wolfowitz, one of the most influential figures in the administration of US President George W. Bush, is an unapologetic member of the group of analysts who believe the terrorist attacks of September 11 profoundly changed the international strategic environment. "I think it has enormous consequences and I think we still haven't thought it through completely," he said.

"I hope and pray we will be able to think it through without having to go through any more horrible events. What we do know is what the consequences [of nuclear terrorism] would be. What we don't know is exactly how imminent the threat is.

"People are concerned about the civil liberties questions raised now. Just imagine the civil liberties questions that would be raised if a nuclear bomb went off in Perth or New York."

Wolfowitz accepts that real differences have emerged between the US and its traditional allies in western Europe, but believes much of the commentary is overblown.

Nonetheless, he insists the Bush administration takes the trans- Atlantic relationships, the UN "and the international community very seriously".

[Greg Sheridan is The Australian's foreign editor]

Washington renews ties with a tarnished ally

South China Morning Post - September 9, 2002

Chris McCall -- Virtual pariahs after their bloody destruction of East Timor, the Indonesian military and police were turned overnight into prospective friends of the West by September 11.

At the end of this month, the military is set to reap its first major benefit, a package worth US$400,000 to participate in the United States' International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme. It will be the first direct military assistance since 1999 and the first funding for IMET since it was cut off in the wake of the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor.

The money is insignificant compared to the sums Jakarta received in the past. But in the words of one analyst, it is the symbolic value that the Indonesian military (TNI) badly wanted. Critics warn the funding is liable to be interpreted by the TNI leadership as a sign Washington is going soft on human rights.

The TNI's human rights record is questionable. Its forces have taken sides in the Maluku conflict and have allegedly killed civilians in Aceh. In the past few weeks Indonesia's special ad hoc human rights courts have also acquittedofficials over the East Timor violence in trials condemned as a whitewash. For most of Indonesia's 24-year occupation of East Timor, Washington armed and trained its military. Indonesia was seen as an important bulwark against communism. Now the truth about Indonesia's occupation is widely known, US officials dealing with the issue have clearly done some soul-searching.

One US official admitted feeling disturbed by some of the TNI's training methods. There are also serious structural problems within the TNI, the official said.

Its men are not backed up properly in the field; its budget is inadequate; it is forced to find most of its funding itself, its equipment is out of date and, in some cases, falling apart. Further, its leaders are unable to improve the situation.

The argument is that the TNI's human rights record will only get better with foreign input, such as sending officers to retrain in military colleges overseas.

These arguments have been heard before. According to US Senator Patrick Leahy, who sponsored the 1999 amendment that froze military ties, the US has pumped about US$1 billion into Indonesia's military since 1950.

"All that time we knew the Indonesian army was a repressive, corrupt and abusive institution," he told a Senate committee in July. "But the Pentagon, throughout those years, said our IMET was improving the army -- making it more professional, more respectful of human rights. I remember hearing that many times.

"No high-ranking officer has gone to jail, and several have been promoted. The army continues to arm Muslim extremist militants in other parts of Indonesia. It is involved in drug smuggling, prostitution, human trafficking, illegal logging and many other illicit enterprises. This is well known."

But even Mr Leahy has given the current package a cautious welcome, as an opportunity for the TNI to show it really has changed its spots. There are tight conditions attached. The package will not include direct military training, but may include items like legal and military management courses.

Arguably, September 11 has made Indonesia a more significant player in international affairs. It is the world's largest Muslim country and places like Maluku and Sulawesi have been battlegrounds for Islamic militants waging jihad. It is also in a mess. With the legal system only semi-functional in some areas, it is a potential base for international terrorists. The argument is that the US needs some leeway over such an important country.

In a recent report, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said many Indonesian politicians were reluctant to accept US aid.

"Closer Indonesian-US military co-operation is not universally popular among the political elite in Jakarta. Politicians from Muslim parties in the Indonesian parliament have voiced concern that Islamic organisations more generally will become a target of counter-terrorism efforts and that Indonesia will simply become an American pawn," the group said.

"Human rights defenders are concerned that counter-terrorism initiatives in Indonesia will simply be a green light for a return to some of the repression and surveillance of the Suharto days, particularly given the current leadership of the National Intelligence Agency."

The National Intelligence Agency is led by A.M. Hendropriyono, a former general who has been accused of human rights crimes during a military operation against a Muslim group in southern Sumatra in 1989. Mr Hendropriyono, like chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is a graduate of the IMET programme.

The ICG report pointed out the culture of the Indonesian military was very different to that of the US military. "The fact that US assistance to civil society programmes remains strong does not lessen the symbolic importance of resuming ties to the TNI at a time when it has made no meaningful progress towards addressing its human rights record," it warned.

[Chris McCall is a Jakarta-based journalist.]

Economy & investment

Indonesia expects GDP growth of 3.86 percent

Reuters - September 11, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia's economy is forecast to grow 3.86 percent year-on-year in the third quarter and 5.76 percent year-on-year in the fourth due to expected higher output ahead of year-end celebrations, Finance Minister Boediono said on Wednesday.

Boediono, speaking at a parliamentary hearing, also slightly revised down the full-year 2002 economic growth forecast to 3.98 percent from 4.0 percent. Indonesia posted GDP growth of 3.32 percent last year, while year-on-year growth in the second quarter was 3.51 percent.

"[We see an] acceleration in economic activity in the fourth quarter because there will be various religious holidays," Boediono told legislators. The end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan falls in early December.

The full-year economic growth revision came just a few days after the Finance Ministry proposed to parliament to revise some key economic forecasts for this year, including a lower budget deficit.

The proposed revisions included higher inflation and interest rates and a weaker rupiah for the full year, a pessimistic outlook given the recent improvements in these indicators. The GDP growth forecast had been unchanged at four percent.

Several economists have said the government was unlikely to achieve the 4.0 percent economic growth target for the full year despite sustained private consumption due partly to weak foreign and domestic investment and a lack of fiscal stimulus. Under the proposed revisions, the rupiah is seen at an average of 9,280 per dollar compared with the current forecast of 9,000, interest rates are seen at 15.74 percent against 14 percent, while inflation is targeted at 9.5 percent from 9.0 percent.

The budget deficit is forecast at 40.5 trillion rupiah ($4.58 billion) for the year against 42.1 trillion in the current forecast.

Some economists have said the price for the lower deficit was too high, and in particular would mean less money being spent on infrastructure and other badly needed projects across the world's fourth most populous country.

American investors told to stay away

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2002

US Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce has advised American investors not to make any new investments in Indonesia until the investment and security climate improves.

Speaking before foreign correspondents and businessmen in Jakarta on Tuesday, Boyce said he had been telling potential American investors interested in Indonesia that "they should wait for the government's announced program of economic reforms to begin to show some signs of being implemented in a more rapid fashion".

He noted that there were "a lot of reforms still to be addressed, in the judicial area, in the legal area, the financial sector and the corporate sector, etc. before a responsible foreign investor could consider of making significant new commitments here.

"Privately, I don't need to tell American investors about that. They already know it," he said.

He acknowledged that once American investors came to Indonesia, they would see that there were a lot of attractive investment potential.

"But in the absence of the implementation of the government's own announced program of reforms, I think they are very much on the sidelines." In addition, he said the security situation in Indonesia was not yet conducive for investment, and the US government would continue to maintain its travel warnings for American citizens not to travel to Indonesia unless necessary.

Therefore, he urged the Indonesian government to expedite the pace of reforms in various sectors and improve security in the country so that it would make it conducive for investment.

Indonesia's cycle of subservience to the IMF

Asia Times - September 10, 2002

Bill Guerin -- Despite growing "anti-IMF" sentiment among some Indonesian politicians, last month's draft budget for 2003 was crafted to appease the International Monetary Fund and ensure that the country continues to receive the remaining tranches of a long-drawn-out US$5 billion rescue program. This is the seventh letter of intent (LoI) between the IMF and the Indonesian government.

However, the House of Representatives wants the government to revise some budget figures to bring them more in line with current global economic developments and the real needs of the economy. This follows concern from businessmen who complain that the target proposed earlier by the government would harm their businesses because of current economic difficulties and shrinking export markets overseas.

The budget predicts that export growth will jump from 3 percent this year to 7 percent in 2003, and the Bank Indonesia promissory note (SBI) rate is predicted to fall to 13 percent next year from more than 18 percent last year.

Investing in SBIs, the main pastime for many banks during the past couple of years due to its high interest rates, will become less attractive. Such reductions in the central bank benchmark rate will drive bank lending rates lower and boost lending activity as loans became cheaper, which in turn will stimulate economic growth.

The rupiah is expected to trade at 8,700 to the US dollar. Crude oil is expected to fetch $20.50 a barrel. Increasing political tension in the Middle East, triggered by threats from the US to launch an attack on Iraq, have boosted international oil prices to about $29 per barrel.

The fuel-subsidy cuts are expected to lead to a 20-25 percent hike in fuel prices. This alone may contribute some 2 percent to overall inflation.

A projected hefty 39 percent further reduction of subsidies on oil-based fuel and electricity, married to a 20 percent increase in tax revenues, will bring down the public-debt level. Total public- and private-sector debt is now at a staggering $210 billion. Targets for gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5 percent and inflation easing off to 8 percent seem a tad cozy given current business sentiment.

Extra revenue will come from slapping value-added tax (VAT) on electricity and highway toll charges, and from higher property taxes, the usual suspects as it were. The subsidy cuts will further restrain the weak spending power of the average consumer. The economy continues to be driven mainly by domestic demand, which contributes about 75 percent of GDP, but not from the pockets of the low-income groups, who can scarcely afford anything other than sembako, the nine basic goods. The head of the Indonesian National Front for Labor Struggle, Dita Indah Sari, has said the government was placing more priority on pleasing the IMF by withdrawing fuel subsidies than on attending to the people's needs.

Recent increases in the minimum wage levels, if implemented, may have some effect inasmuch as the workers can buy more cigarettes to boost the rosy prospects of cigarette makers Gudang Garam and Sampoerna.

Most of the World Bank's financial assistance, an average of some $310 million per annum for the past three years, has been used to finance social services and basic infrastructure for the poor. Outgoing World Bank country director Mark Baird pointed out last month that though "only" 13 percent of Indonesians were living below the poverty line, large swaths of the population were living on less than $2 a day and vulnerable to sudden misfortunes, such as sickness in the family.

Wardah Hafid, coordinator of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), defines poverty more starkly from two perspectives: economic and social. She says people are regarded as poor if the earnings of a family of three to five members have less than 35,000 rupiah ($4) per week or 150,000 rupiah ($17) per month. Socially, the poor are families that work in the informal sector, such as pedicab drivers, street vendors or casual laborers.

The moneyed classes, on the other hand, continue to spend as if there were no tomorrow. Credit cards are being touted all over the place, every week there are major property exhibitions and Astra International, the largest local car (and motorcycle) maker, reports strong sales.

Baird praised the government for sticking with the IMF program through "constant setbacks and challenges to the discipline of the programs" and put his pennyworth in for the patient, prescribing five immediate steps to get back on the road to health. These included, not surprisingly, the usual pat remedies of improvement in tax and customs administration and a strong drive to sell Indonesia Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) assets.

Indonesia joined the IMF in 1967 but it was not until the economic crisis struck in 1997 that the government decided to ask for Fund assistance. IMF reviews are always accompanied by in- depth scrutiny of the government's financial position but never result in a magic medicine for the debilitating sickness brought about by the national debt.

The country's total foreign debts in 2002 amounted to $130 billion or 1.17 quadrillion rupiah and domestic debts reached 657 trillion rupiah.

Demands for flexibility on the part of the IMF make sense given that the alternative is that Indonesia, without such external assistance, could be forced, for the first time ever, to default on sovereign debt and bring about a huge loss of confidence.

But in June National Planning Minister Kwik Kian Gie launched a bitter tirade against the IMF, calling on the government not to extend the relationship when the current country program expires in November.

The outspoken minister's attack led to much public debate and was billed in Jakarta as reflecting a split within the cabinet. However, though several legislators spoke in favor of booting out the IMF at last month's annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), in the end the issue went nowhere. There was recognition that the cabinet's policy makers have found it tough to generate rapid economic growth under the prevailing circumstances, but the general gist of the debate was that somehow the IMF was to blame, not the government.

Kwik was left fuming in the wings threatening to support a class-action suit filed by lawyers against the IMF for recommending policies to the Indonesian government that had caused the country's economy to deteriorate further. Coordinating Minister of Economics Dorojatun Kuntjoro Jakti (Kwik's boss) and Finance Minister Budiono were much more pragmatic, and said little, at least in public, that could be taken as a weakening of the president's support for a continuing IMF role in the country.

Commission B wants the government to improve its bargaining position in dealing with donor agencies and would draft a new economic policy law to reflect this.

The target for the taxmen this year is 219.6 trillion rupiah and for 2003 a whopping 260.8 trillion rupiah (US$29.2 billion), or 13.3 percent of GDP.

Given the notoriously inefficient and corrupt nature of the tax system, the authorities are likely to go after the easiest catches, such as big corporations, foreign companies and the existing individual taxpayers. The normal practice of demanding official and unofficial (illegal) payments to meet their tax- collection targets will further depress business sentiment at a time when many Taiwanese and South Koreans are making determined efforts to move their business out of Indonesia.

Both the Megawati Sukarnoputri administration and the previous one talked up their privatization programs as if they were going to be implemented in a real business arena, not one hindered at every turn by those whose vested interests in retaining their state-owned-enterprise "cash cows" and by the easy call that the family jewels should not be sold off to greedy foreigners. Now that politicking has begun in earnest for the 2004 election, these mischief makers may win the day.

Privatization targets will also be difficult to achieve given the stalemate over some of the sales, including the privatization of PT Semen Gresik and its subsidiaries.

The director general for state owned enterprises (BUMN) in a performance report identified a mere 11 out of 161 BUMN as being commercially sustainable, while 145 of the state-owned firms are running at a loss.

On the other hand, successful privatization of some state-owned monoliths would be expected to drive them into healthy profits and efficiency, rather than the cash cows of officials, politicians and rent seekers. Waiting for their opportunity, these sophisticated white-collar robbers are ready to leap out and cry foul, claiming that selling off public companies is "unnationalistic" and "unpatriotic".

IBRA's recent success in asset auctions, though generating more than 23.5 trillion rupiah, lost some of its gloss when it was disclosed that the very people who owned them in the first place probably bought most of these assets back -- at an average 25 cents on the dollar.

And yet the budget projects a more than doubled level of income from asset sales to the private sector for the 2003 fiscal year, an unlikely scenario after State Minister of State Owned Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi's own admission that in the first semester of this year's target of Rp6.5 trillion, they only managed to bag Rp2 trillion.

The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) said two weeks ago that foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia during the first half of this year dropped by 42 percent to $2.5 billion compared with the same period last year, while domestic investment plunged by 70 percent to 11 trillion rupiah.

Without new investment Indonesia will forgo export growth and with annual external debt servicing forecast to rise above $5 billion from 2005 on, the economy can never produce enough revenue to afford that huge burden.

Another cause for concern is the amount of funds allocated to the development program. Some 54.5 trillion rupiah was proposed, less than the target for this year, and an amount insufficient to even start to generate economic activity and growth and create more jobs.

Targeted spending for development for 2003 accounts for only 2.8 percent of GDP, compared with 3.1 percent this year.

Getting the asset sales program back on track will be a lot more difficult than just sitting back waiting for windfalls like the sales of Telkom and Indosat shares on the secondary market -- which were simply passive privatization.

There is little demand for shares in Indonesian companies. Capital Market Supervisory Agency chairman Herwidayatmo says there are fewer than 50,000 domestic individual stock investors, compared with about 2 million in the heady days before the market collapsed in 1998.

Though a "belt tightening" budget is badly needed to prune the budget deficit and improve fiscal sustainability, continued depressed growth rates will mean such a standard prescription for economic recovery will badly affect exports and investment levels.

It will also make it difficult for the government to conjure up some interest in international financing to fund projects, create jobs and get growth rates up.

The central government actually gets in more money than it pays out and in the 2002 budget this surplus is almost $5.3 billion. But the reality is a deficit equivalent to 2.5 percent of GDP. Internal interest payments of 59.6 trillion rupiah ($6.5 billion) and external interest payments of $3 billion turn the surplus into a deficit of $4.2 billion.

This is the crux of what the IMF-Indonesia relationship is all about. The interest on foreign and domestic debt is a stranglehold that forces Indonesia to seek new loans in a vicious circle that traps the government within a master-servant relationship with the IMF and other international donors.

This staggering debt and lack of room to maneuver suggest that an appropriate prognosis of the suffering ahead is that there will be still be much more pain before gain. Though the business community and the economy as a whole will feel this pain, the poor and impoverished will bear the brunt.