Labour issues

Indosat employees clash with police

Jakarta Post - December 28, 2002

Jakarta -- Dozens of employees from telecommunications company Indosat clashed with police while they attempted to prevent Indosat director Widya Purnama from entering a building for a general shareholders meeting, which was scheduled for Friday afternoon.

The case began when Widya arrived at the Indosat building on Jl. Medan Merdeka, Central Jakarta at about 4 p.m. However, dozens of employees blocked the entrance.

Police and security officers, who attempted to escort Widya into the building, immediately dispersed the crowd.

The crowd then began to provoke the security apparatus by hurling water bottles and dozens of potted plants that line the building's exterior.

The employees' unions called the nationwide strike for Friday to protest the Indosat divestment sale to a Singaporean company, fearing that all unproductive workers could be laid off.

Indosat's employees threaten to strike

Jakarta Post - December 24, 2002

Jakarta -- Employees of PT Indosat, a state-owned overseas call operator, threatened here on Monday to stage a strike later this week if the government does not cancel the recent sale of its stake in the company.

"If, by December 27, the government doesn't cancel the sale, we will go on strike indefinitely period," said Bahrun Syah, a member of the advisory council of the Indosat employees' union, as quoted by Dow Jones newswire.

Hundreds of Indosat employees held a protest at midday on Monday to express their opposition to the recent sale of a 41.9% stake in Indosat to Singapore Technologies Telemedia, arguing that the deal would "harm the country's security and economy." Indosat employs around 3,000 people across the country.

Earlier this month the government signed a deal to sell the stake to the Singapore company for over $600 million. It is one of the largest sales of an Indonesian asset to a foreign investor since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. After the deal, the Indonesian government will retain a 15% stake, down from 56.9% now.

The Indosat sale is part of the government's efforts to raise Rp 6.5 trillion this year to help finance the budget deficit, which is expected to be 2.5% of gross domestic product.

Last week, State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi denied on Friday that the government decision to divest its shares in the satellite telecommunications company was legally defective.

Aceh/West Papua

Jail terms for two Western women in Aceh province

Radio Australia - December 31, 2002

[A British born academic and an American nurse who visited a separatist rebel base in Indonesia's Aceh province have been jailed for violating their tourist visas. Indonesian prosecutors argued that Lesley McCulloch who works at the University of Tasmania and her American friend Joy Sadler were spies, and their actions threatened national security. They've both been in custody since September and have now been sentenced to more time in jail for the reduced charge of breaching their visa conditions.]

Presenter/Interviewer: Tim Palmer, Indonesia correspondent

Speakers: University of Tasmania academic Lesley McCulloch

Palmer: The British academic Lesley McCulloch and her seriously ill colleague, Joy Sadler, did little to encourage Indonesian authorities to take a lenient approach from the moment they were arrested in Aceh.

From the start, Sadler physically assaulted an army commander. Then the pair won international publicity for their case, highlighting the physical attacks they and other prisoners had suffered. In court, the pair denied all wrong-doing, and Joy Sadler embarked on a month-long hunger strike.

The Indonesian army have charged the women illegally visited rebel areas, carrying sensitive documents and in breach of their entry visas. Even so, five months jail for a visa violation that might normally have seen the offender thrown out of the country, can only be seen as a politically-motivated sentence, according to Lesley McCulloch as she spoke out after the court decision.

McCulloch: "Obviously they want to make an example of us and show foreigners that if you violate your tourist visa, especially in areas like Aceh and other areas of conflict, this is what can happen to you.

"For me, because of the work that I do, on military and police corruption, I always believed that they would probably sentence me to a bit more time because the whole process is being driven by hatred and fear and paranoia of my work and of me.

"And there's been pressure by the military throughout the entire process, in the initial stages, to charge me with some espionage-related charges, and then to sentence me to further jail time."

Palmer: Do you think that hand was involved in your sentencing, right up until the end?

McCulloch: "Absolutely. I know that the judge was under pressure from the military to make me pay for past misdeeds, ie. exposing some of the military and police corruption that has been going on, relating it to the human rights abuses here. So I know that the local military are extremely angry with me."

Palmer: In terms of the legal process overall, do you think you got a fair hearing?

McCulloch: "Well, I made a statement at the end of the trial today where I said I felt like a victim, that first I was beaten by the military, and secondly I was sexually harrassed by police whilst in police custody, and third that I feel I am now the victim of a flawed legal process."

Palmer: Looking back, do you know feel it was probably unwise to go to an area like that carrying maps that showed where military positions might be? Do you now regret carrying that sort of document into that area?

McCulloch: "Documents that they refer to are things that were sent by email that were on my laptop. I wasn't carrying anything in hard copy. There was nothing secret there. The maps that have been made so much of have already been made public.

"Of course I regret having that stuff on me, but at the end of the day, even if I hadn't had the maps and other documents, I think the process and the outcome would have been exactly the same."

Palmer: In your defence, of course, you said you were forced to go to the area which the army obviously took offence to you visiting, forced by members of the Free Aceh Movement, armed. Is that a reasonable way of portraying things?

McCulloch: "That's a reasonable way of portraying things. I don't really want to say any more about that right now because the prosectors have seven days to appeal the sentence."

Palmer: How do you feel about the prospect of now being forced to leave Aceh and probably not return?

McCulloch: "Technically we're not being deported. It's a voluntary deportation when we're released from jail. They seem to think that there won't be any travel ban imposed. It could be that I'll be put on a blacklist so that when I do apply for visas, my applications will be rejected. But I'm not worried about that at all, because I will come back."

Court jails British and US women over visa violations

Agence France Presse - December 30, 2002

A British academic and an American nurse who visited a separatist rebel base in Indonesia's Aceh province were jailed for violating their tourist visas.

Briton Lesley McCulloch, 40, was sentenced to five months. Her travelling companion Joy Sadler, 57, who says she is terminally ill with an HIV-related condition, was jailed for four months.

The time they have already spent in detention since their arrest on September 11 will be deducted from the sentences, Judge Arsil Marwan said Monday.

Sadler, who appeared pale and very weak, wept as the verdict was announced but said she would continue a hunger strike she began on November 27. McCulloch said she would start fasting in sympathy with Sadler.

McCulloch said the military had pressured the court to convict her because it was angry over articles she has written for Asian media about its business dealings in Aceh.

Rights groups have accused security forces and rebels of widespread abuses including illicit business dealings in Aceh. A ceasefire has been in force since December 9.

"There are no witnesses and no evidence against me," McCulloch told AFP after the verdict. "It's just hatred, fear and paranoia." McCulloch said the court "is under pressure by the military, by the police and by many others.

"This sentence is based on what I did and wrote in the past," she said, noting that foreigners with visa problems are normally just deported. "So this is not because of my visa violation but becuase of my academic work." McCulloch is a teacher and researcher at Australia's Tasmania University.

She urged the international community to pressure Jakarta to reform its military and police and end their involvement in economic activities.

"I think I am just a victim of the mess of this country," she said. "But you know, what I suffered and what I will suffer in the next six weeks is nothing compared to what Acehnese people and other Indonesians suffer." Sadler told reporters she had lost 20 nine kg in weight since she stopped eating. "I feel I am very weak but I have a strong heart and strong mind," she said.

Sadler, from Waterloo in Iowa, said after the verdict that she hopes to return legally to Aceh as a humanitarian worker.

Prosecutors had recommended a nine-month jail sentence for the pair, who were arrested after visiting a base in South Aceh of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). They were tried separately but in the same court in the provincial capital.

Judge Marwan said McCulloch's activities could "endanger the security and unity of the unitary republic of Indonesia" and she had not been straightforward during court proceedings.

He said he took into consideration the fact that Sadler was terminally ill and was still responsible for her nine children.

McCulloch said she and Sadler were moved a week ago from Aceh police headquarters to the Banda Aceh state penitentiary.

Prosecutors said the pair took photographs, gathered data and documents and provided medical treatment in a village when they were supposed to be on a tourist trip.

They said McCulloch had also met exiled Aceh separatist leader Hasan Tiro in Sweden and rebel negotiator Teuku Kamaruzzaman while in the province.

The judge said McCulloch, who is originally from Dunoon in Scotland, had tried to hide the photographs she took when soldiers arrested her.

The women had told the court they had no plans to visit the rebel-held area but could not refuse when armed men took them there.

An estimated 10,000 people have died since the separatist war began in the province on Sumatra island in 1976.

McCulloch sentenced

Sydney Morning Herald - December 31, 2002

Tom Hyland and agencies, Jakarta -- Indonesian soldiers in the strife-torn province of Aceh usually get their own way, so when they detained two Westerners -- and women at that -- leaving a rebel area, they would have expected them to come quietly.

Instead, they were met with defiance. Australian-based academic Lesley McCulloch, 40, refused to open her bags and was allegedly roughed up and sexually harassed as a result.

In reaction, her companion, American nurse Joy Lee Sadler, 57, did what she later told an interviewer came naturally: "I slugged the Indonesian commander in the face." For that, Sadler said, she was punched in the mouth and stomach. The pair's defiance has continued in the three-and-a-half months they have been detained in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, since their arrest on September 11.

Yesterday McCulloch, a British national who until July worked at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, was sentenced to five months' jail. She had been convicted of violating her tourist visa by contacting rebels of the Free Aceh Movement, which has been fighting for independence in the province for two decades in a vicious war that may have claimed as many as 30,000 lives.

"The actions of the defendant could have threatened national security and the territorial integrity of the republic of Indonesia," said Judge Asril Marwan.

The sentence will take into account the time McCulloch has served already, meaning she will be freed in about six weeks.

Sadler, who has been on a hunger strike since late last month and appeared weak and distressed in court yesterday, was sentenced to four months' jail, meaning she will be freed in just over a week. She cried when the sentence was handed down.

McCulloch appears to have particularly upset the military with her published accounts of alleged human rights abuses inflicted by the army on civilians. She maintained her defiance yesterday, describing herself as a victim of the Aceh conflict.

"The whole trial process is based on paranoia and fear," she told reporters in the courtroom. And she told the prosecutors: "You are evil, evil." The London-based campaign group Fair Trials Abroad, which has been monitoring the case, said the verdict appeared to be politically motivated.

"Normally for visa offences people are simply booted out of the country," said the group's director Stephen Jakobi. "It's got to be politically linked." Indonesia's legal system is widely regarded as corrupt. Critics allege that verdicts often depend on pressure from politicians or military officers.

Both women had put up a feisty defence in their trial, irritating the authorities with their uncompromising stance and denying the charges, which carry a maximum five-year sentence.

Prosecutor Kamaruzzaman had called for a nine-month jail term "because the women's actions caused unrest among the people" and because they "tried to obstruct the court process by giving unclear testimonies".

The prosecutor alleged they took photographs, gathered data and documents and provided medical treatment in a village in South Aceh where they were supposed to be on a tourist trip.

The women had argued that they could not refuse when armed rebels asked them to take photographs of houses destroyed by the military.

In protest at delays in the trial, Sadler, who is HIV positive and suffers from hepatitis, went on a hunger strike on November 28.

But it was McCulloch who had the most prickly relationship with officials and who seemed the main target of prosecutors, who at one stage threatened to charge her with espionage.

Activist's wife shot in Papua ambush

Sydney Morning Herald - December 30, 2002

Tom Hyland, Jakarta -- A human rights group in the Indonesian province of Papua has linked the Indonesian Army to an ambush in which the wife and daughter of a human rights activist were shot and wounded.

The deputy head of the group, Aloysius Renwarin, said yesterday there was "no question" that the army was involved in the attack, which he said followed a campaign of intimidation prompted by the group's allegations that the army carried out an ambush in Papua four months ago in which two American teachers and one Indonesian were killed.

The latest shooting came on Saturday, when gunmen opened fire on a bus near the border with Papua New Guinea. Elsye Rumbiak Bonai was hit in the leg and her 12-year-old daughter, Mariana, was wounded in the arm. Another woman, Yeni Irew Meraudje, a human rights activist, was also shot in the leg. Ms Bonai was being treated in the Papuan capital, Jayapura, while her daughter and Ms Meraudje were flown to Jakarta yesterday for treatment.

Ms Bonai is the wife of Johannes Bonai, director of the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham), which has accused the military of shooting the three teachers near the giant Freeport gold and copper mine on August31. The army has denied involvement in either ambush, blaming rebels of the pro- independence Free Papua Movement (OPM).

Mr Renwarin said the Bonai family had been subjected to harassment and threats following an Elsham report that blamed Indonesian special forces for the Freeport killings. In the past week the family's phone line had been cut and the tyres slashed on Mr Bonai's car, he said. "Investigations up to today indicate this was a TNI [army] operation. No question," Mr Renwarin told the Herald. He said Saturday's ambush coincided with an operation by the army and anti-independence militia along the PNG border.

The army and local police denied military involvement. The Jakarta Post yesterday quoted a local military spokesman as blaming the attack on an "armedrenegade group" -- a reference to the OPM. The army had also blamed the OPM for the August ambush. Saturday's ambush came just a day after a senior government minister conceded that "rogue" soldiers might have carried out the Freeport killings.

Peace and prosperity top GAM wish list

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2002

Nani Farida, Tamiang -- Fatigued after a long journey, four journalists, one from The Jakarta Post, received a fright when a gunman suddenly stepped out from behind some trees near Paya Reyeuk, a remote village in Tamiang that is home to a large population of ethnic Javanese and Bataks.

The gunman, who later introduced himself as Kancil, trained his AK-47 on us and ordered us to identify ourselves and our reason for being in the area. He relaxed somewhat when we told him we had permission from his chief to stay in a Free Aceh Movement (GAM) camp in the regency.

Rebels and villagers interact easily and often here, to the extent that the rebels have become just another part of society in the regency.

"Arep nandi, Cil? [where are you going, Cil?]" a passerby asked Kancil in Javanese.

"Bar teko seko kono [I just came from there]," Kancil replied while guiding us into the village.

After contacting a GAM leader in the regency by radio, Kancil escorted us to an empty hut in the village. "I have been ordered to guard you during your stay here. Please, feel free to ask anything about GAM and its operations," Kancil said.

Treated as special guests, we were free to ask questions and look around the area during our four-day stay, as well as to talk to the villagers about their lives.

The village is dominated by ethnic Javanese and Bataks. The village has thousands of hectares of farmland surrounded by oil palm plantations, making it difficult to access.

It is the most unique of 17 villages and base camps controlled by GAM because it is so pluralist. Locals use three languages -- Javanese, Taming and Melayu since it borders North Sumatra.

"Who says GAM hates the Javanese and Bataks? I'm Javanese and a majority of GAM members here are Javanese and Batak, and we can live in peace with the indigenous Acehnese. Of the utmost importance is that we are all of the same vision and ideology, and the solidarity among the people is maintained and developed," Kancil said.

Asked about his family background, Kancil, whose real name is Supriyadi, told the Post he was the eldest son of a poligamic family.

"I have 11 brothers and sisters from my father's three wives. I and eight of my siblings joined GAM, but one brother joined the Army in the Bukit Barisan Military Command overseeing security in North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Riau," he said, adding that his father retired from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).

He said he joined GAM six years ago, after his uncle was tortured and killed by security personnel in 1996. "I started asking myself why the military oppressed the Acehnese," he said.

The 24-year-old Kancil said he rarely saw his wife and son as a consequence of his decision to join GAM, "and my wife is really aware of this situation".

Adi Dharma, a 20-year-old ethnic Javanese villager, said the rebels were an integral part of society in the regency because they came from local families.

"We are afraid of the security personnel but not the rebels because the obligation and mission of the rebels is to protect the people from oppression and torture," Adi said.

Kancil said the GAM barracks accommodated some 200 rebels and that their daily activities were similar to those of military soldiers, only they had more modern weapons than the soldiers.

"We have AK-47s, M-16s and grenades. The weapons were supplied from China and Russia but we still use bullets produced by state-owned PT Pindad in Bandung, West Java," he said. He declined to answer where GAM got the money to purchase the weapons.

"The most important thing is that the rebels are able to live in decent conditions and improve the lives of the people in the province," Kancil said.

Peace monitors in Aceh move into position

Straits Times - December 29, 2002

Banda Aceh -- A new phase began in the troubled region's peace process as the first monitoring teams started work in this Indonesian province yesterday.

A total of 72 monitors were being deployed to investigate any breaches of a ceasefire agreed to earlier this month. They are divided into 12 teams of six monitors each.

Each of these teams consists of two representatives from the government security forces, two from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and two international military observers from either Thailand or the Philippines.

"The deployment of these monitoring teams will be one of the most significant steps in helping bring a complete end to hostilities," Mr David Gorman of the Geneva-based non- governmental organisation, Henry Dunant Centre (HDC), which mediated the ceasefire, told the BBC.

The 12 teams have been deployed by the Joint Security Committee (JSC), a 15-member panel set up following the signing of the ceasefire agreement, which has the power to impose sanctions on violators of the agreement. Eventually about 24 teams are expected to be deployed.

The "cessation of hostilities" agreement was signed between the separatist rebels and the government in Geneva on December 9, but at least 10 people have been killed since then.

"The monitors will focus their investigation on major cases such as the incident in South Aceh on December 22," Mr Gorman said. On December 22, GAM rebels ambushed a truckload of troops who were bringing help to flood victims in South Aceh province, killing two soldiers and injuring four.

Thailand's Major-General Thanungsak Tuvinan, a senior envoy with the JSC, said the committee was expected to come up with mechanisms to deal with ceasefire violations next week.

They will include forms of sanctions. "We will also decide on details of demilitarised zones," he said.

GAM has been fighting for an independent state in the natural resource-rich province since 1976, during which more than 10,000 people have been killed. A decade-long military operation to squash the separatists failed and the government abandoned the strategy in late 1999.

In mid-2000, Indonesia quietly opened talks with GAM under the auspices of the HDC, but the resulting ceasefires failed. Then in December, the government and GAM signed the agreement, which aims to provide a basis for building lasting peace in the province.

Under this agreement, rebels must disarm in designated areas, free elections in 2004 to establish an autonomous government have been promised, and the new provincial government will be allowed to keep 70 per cent of the fuel revenues. The deal allows both sides two months to observe each others' compliance to end hostilities.

GAM's senior envoy to the JSC, Mr Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, said rebels and government security forces have agreed to notify the JSC about any plans for personnel movement so that the committee could relay the information to the other side to avoid clashes.

"The military also agreed not to set up new posts in villages," he said. Said Mr Gorman, according to the BBC: "We feel that right now with the enthusiasm of the two parties that we're on to something -- we feel we can look forward to a positive peace process in the next couple of months."

Wife of top Papuan activist wounded in shooting

Reuters - December 28, 2002

Jakarta -- The wife of a Papuan activist whose human rights group has accused Indonesian soldiers of killing two American teachers in the restive province was shot and wounded on Saturday, the organisation said.

A member of the rights group Elsham said another woman was also wounded in the attack on a minibus carrying 11 people near the province's border with Papua New Guinea.

Elsye Rumbiak Boney, wife of John Boney, was taken to hospital, along with the other woman. John Boney heads Elsham. The shooting follows a visit by President Megawati Sukarnoputri this week to mark Christmas in the mainly Christian and animist region.

"Suddenly there was gunfire, bullets hit the vehicle, entering the lower leg of Elsye," the Elsham member, Johannes Rumere, told Reuters by telephone, adding the second woman also sustained a bullet wound to the leg.

He said it was unclear if there was more than one gunman. John Boney was not in the minibus at the time, and police were not immediately available to comment.

Elsham is the most prominent human rights group in Papua province in the east of Indonesia.

The group has pointed the finger at the military over last August's ambush near a US-owned mine on a convoy of vehicles most of whose passengers were American teachers. Two Americans and one Indonesian were killed in the attack.

Based on information obtained from the scene near a giant copper and gold mine operated by US-based Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc and from a witness, Elsham has said it had concluded soldiers carried out the ambush.

The military has denied any involvement and expressed outrage at the accusations. However, the government has not ruled out that soldiers carried out the August 31 ambush.

Any military links to the attack -- which Washington called an "outrageous act of terrorism" -- could have implications for Indonesia's ties with the United States.

In an unrelated development, seven members of Indonesia's special forces will be tried next month over the killing of a top pro- independence leader in Papua.

Military might have staged Papua ambush: minister

Jakarta Post - December 28, 2002

Jakarta -- Military might have staged anambush in which two American teachers were killed near the in August, AFP reported.

"The government sees three possibilities. First it could have been carried out by OPM [separatist rebel Free Papua Movement]; second, by military; or a third party which is neither OPM nor the military," said Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday.

"There are indications and theories. So let the ongoing investigation continue," he said.

Gunmen opened fire on buses near the US-owned Freeport gold and copper mine in Timika on August 31, killing two US teachers and an Indonesian colleague and injuring 18 others.

Papua deputy police chief Brigadier General Raziman Tarigan earlier said that Kopassus special forces soldiers were suspected of having carried outthe attack.

Wife of human rights activist shot in Papua

Jakarta Post - December 28, 2002

Jakarta -- Unidentified men shot the wife of a human right activist before an immigration post nearby Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border at about 9 a.m. on Saturday, El Shinta radio reported.

The woman, identified as 33-year old Else Rumbiak, is the wife of Johannes Bonay, who is the director of Papua's human rights group Elsham. Another woman, identified as Mrs. Merauje, was also shot during the attack, said Elsham secretary Deny Yumaki.

Both women were undergoing a surgery at the army hospital in Jayapura. Bullets stuck Else's legs as well as Merauje's left leg and hands. "We have yet suspected anyone," Deny said.

One of Rumbiak's children, who witnessed the attack, is currently under protection of the army, Deny added.

The Papua military once threatened to sue Elsham following its report suspected military involvement in the August 31 ambush nearby a mining area of PT Freeport Indonesia in Timika.

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on buses near the US-owned Freeport gold and copper mine in Timika, killing two US teachers and an Indonesian as well as injuring 18 others.

Papua deputy police chief Brig. Gen. Raziman Tarigan has said that Kopassus special forces soldiers were suspected of having carried out the attack.

A new bid to end violence in Aceh

The Economist - December 20, 2002

Banda Aceh and Lhokseumawe -- Neat rows of red and white flags around Banda Aceh's historic Baiturrahman mosque are the Indonesian government's way of saying that, despite a truce signed on December 9th, Aceh is and always will be its sovereign territory.

Banners outside military installations declare that the Acehnese love their local military command, which loves them back. The question on everyone's lips is whether this truce can last longer than earlier ones.

The deal is a de facto admission by Indonesia that it cannot win the 26-year separatist war against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) by military means alone.

It is certainly a lot clearer than arrangements previously brokered by the Switzerland-based Henry Dunant Centre since 2000. It uses the words "cessation of hostilities" instead of euphemisms such as "humanitarian pause". International monitors will be allowed in alongside those of the government and GAM. The deal includes some details of how remaining political issues can be thrashed out.

Yet the distance between the two sides remains enormous. Abu Sofyan Dawod, a local GAM commander, insists the rebels have not abandoned their goal of independence. They see this agreement as a way to get it without so many Acehnese dying along the way.

They remain distrustful of the Indonesian military and the police. The deal nearly fell through at the last minute over where the rebels' guns would be kept. Mr Sofyan says GAM will not hand over its weapons to anyone. Indonesia wants people to believe that it has gained a victory, that GAM has on paper accepted special autonomy within Indonesia, at least as a sta! rting po int. But GAM's Sweden-based leadership accepts Indonesia only as a geographical term.

The paramilitary "mobile brigade" of the Indonesia police, for years accused of widespread extortion, has been ordered back to barracks, but soldiers and police with bandannas and assault rifles could this week still be seen patrolling in Lhokseumawe. This is an industrial city whose giant foreign-invested PT Arun gas plant is a source of simmering resentment in Aceh, and is one of Indonesia's largest taxpayers. Since the signing of the peace deal 15 civilians are reported to have been killed.

For all that, both sides realise this may be the best chance for peace they will get. With a team led by a Thai general, the Henry Dunant Centre will be responsible for running the entire peace operation, probably the first time any group other than the United Nations has taken on such a role. GAM wanted monitors from western countries, because they have shown concern about Aceh, unlike Indonesia's neighbours. A 150-member "joint security committee" will choose "peace zones" where GAM weapons will be stored. A democratic election is proposed for 2004.

The holes are clear for all to see. A delegate-to-be was killed a few days before the signing ceremony. Rumours abound of an intelligence unit operating death squads. According to human- rights groups, more than 1,300 people have been killed in Aceh this year alone. Since the first truce in May 2000, the violence has got worse. Most independent monitors blame the Indonesian forces, involved in extortion rackets of one kind or another.

Aceh's mineral wealth is substantial and a new special-autonomy law has brought hundreds of millions of dollars into the hands of the regional government. Extortion by the police and military is a fact of life for the foreign companies who mine much of Indonesia's vast mineral wealth, in Aceh as in every other region. The real answer is getting the money to be used in the way it is intended, but in Indonesia that is never an easy matter.

Nevertheless, donors at a meeting in Tokyo have agreed in principle to help Aceh if the peace process works, probably to the tune of at least several million dollars.

There has been considerable international pressure to do a deal. An under-employed American envoy to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni, has been taking an interest in Aceh. Human-rights abuses in the territory have been an obstacle to military ties between Indonesia and the United States, which is keen to have the world's most populous Muslim country on its side in the war against terrorism.

Indonesia's Major General Djali Yusuf has publicly admitted that the government cannot defeat GAM by bullets alone. The GAM's 3,000 or more fighters can strike anywhere in Aceh. The army has been barely able to control the main towns and the roads that link them. Were Aceh ever to get an East Timor-style referendum, few people doubt that the independence option would win. Even if this deal succeeds in halting the violence, the question of independence will remain.

Megawati belts out a 'Christmas gift' for Papua

Straits Times - December 27, 2002

Jayapura -- President Megawati Sukarnoputri gave the restive province of Papua what she called a Christmas present yesterday, belting out the Sinatra classic, My Way, at a festive holiday celebration.

The normally shy Megawati broke into song after making a brief speech at a Christmas gathering in the provincial capital, Jayapura.

The President, in a duet with a young Papuan woman, gave a competent rendition of the song popular with many politicians, including Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. "That's my favourite song," she said in a live radio broadcast, to applause from the 1000-strong audience.

Calling her song a "Christmas present", she joked: "If I make a mistake, keep clapping." In a more sober message to inaugurate Papua's Tangguh liquefied natural gas project, she urged the people of Papua not to squander the wealth expected from the massive project slated to start production in 2006.

The field, located in the Berau-Bintuni Bay region of the province, will be Indonesia's third-largest. It is expected to generate billions of dollars in revenue, to be shared among the national government, Papua's administration and several multinational companies working on the project.

"When the Tangguh project gets off the ground, use it well for the welfare and benefit of the people of Papua," Ms Megawati said.

Papua is one of Indonesia's poorest provinces, despite possessing vast natural resources. Independence activists there have long complained that Jakarta takes too much of the province's wealth.

Rebels have maintained a low-level insurgency in the province since Indonesia occupied the region in 1963 after the withdrawal of the Dutch colonial administration.

New claims link army to US killings in Papua

Sydney Morning Herald - December 27, 2002

Tom Hyland, Jakarta -- Indonesian police have reportedly made fresh allegations of possible army involvement in the killing of two Americans in Papua province, in a move that could further complicate efforts by Jakarta to respond to United States pressure to resolve the case.

The allegations highlight continuing tension between the army and police, with the Indonesian Government conceding the need to reconcile conflicting accounts by the two security agencies of the August 31 ambush near the giant Freeport mine, in which an Indonesian civilian also died.

The deputy police chief in Papua, Brigadier-General Raziman Tarigan, was quoted by the newspaper Koran Tempo as saying troops from the army's strategic reserve, Kostrad, carried out the ambush on a road near the gold and copper mine.

"We know it [was Kostrad]. The only people who pass along that section of road are the military and employees of PT Freeport Indonesia," he was quoted as saying.

General Tarigan later told the Associated Press that he had been misquoted. But he said the weapons used in the ambush -- an M-16 rifle, an SS-1 rifle and a Mauser rifle -- were standard issue in the Indonesian military. "What is clear is that these weapons are used by Kostrad in the area," he said.

It is not the first time that police have voiced suspicions of an army role in the ambush -- claims that have been consistently denied by the military. Police have complained that their investigation has been hampered because they have no authority to question military suspects.

Military police are carrying out their own investigation of the killings, which took place when gunmen fired on a convoy of vehicles carrying teachers -- including the two Americans and the Indonesian victim -- from a school operated by Freeport.

The army has blamed the attack on elements of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), which is fighting for independence in the province.

Human rights groups, however, have pointed to army involvement -- either as a pretext to crack down on the OPM, or as an attempt to extort protection money from Freeport. Suspicions of army involvement are increasingly shared by the US and other Western governments.

Last Saturday the Herald reported that US President George Bush had told Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri that Indonesia must find and punish those responsible for the killings.

Mr Bush's message, delivered in the past fortnight, called for a joint Bali-style investigation and made clear there will be no resumption of US military aid until Washington is satisfied with progress in the Freeport case.

On Monday the Indonesian Government announced it was open to the possibility of the FBI taking part in a joint investigation, as long as Indonesian authorities remained in overall charge.

The Co-ordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also pointed to a complicating factor in the Indonesian investigations -- the different accounts produced by the army and police.

"There are some things that are not matched between the investigation results of the police as law enforcers with the results of the TNI [army] internal investigation into the case," Mr Yudhoyono said, adding that there needed to be a "synchronisation" of the two investigations at the political level.

Police disperse SIRA rally

Jakarta Post - December 24, 2002

Banda Aceh -- The police here forced some 300 activists of the Aceh Referendum Information Agency (SIRA) to disperse as they staged a demonstration in front of the local office of the Henry Dunant Center (HDC) on Monday, to protest the inclusion of the Philippines in the monitoring team on the implementation of the peace accord, Antara reported.

"Representatives from the Philippines would not be able to be non-partisan as the neighboring country is indebted to Indonesia for its help in dealing with the Moro rebellion in the southern Philippines," rally coordinator Reza Pahlevi said.

The peace pact was signed by the Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Geneva last Dec 9.

The police said the demonstrators had not met the requirement to submit prior notice about their plans, making the planned rally illegal.

Hundreds of people -- mostly from nearby Aceh Besar district -- fled for fear of being arrested. The police, however, took the rally coordinator into custody for interrogation and confiscated the demonstrators' posters.

Before being taken to police headquarters, Reza showed a letter, which he claimed to have sent to the police to inform them about the planned demonstration. But, Adjutant Commissioner RA Kasenda, who led the interception party, denied that the police had received prior notice.

The HDC, which had been facilitating the peace talks, is supervising the monitoring of the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

Soldiers face jail over Papua leader's death

Melbourne Age - December 24 2002

Seven Indonesian special forces soldiers accused over the murder of Papua pro-independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay will go on trial next month, a general said yesterday.

The military police chief, Major General Sulaiman, said the court-martial of the Kopassus special forces members will begin in the East Java city of Surabaya early in January, the state Antara news agency reported.

Sulaiman, speaking at Sorong in Papua, did not give a precise date but said the files were already in the hands of military prosecutors.

The four officers and three privates may face up to 15 years in jail and dismissal from the forces, he said. About 80 witnesses have been prepared for the trial but Sulaiman gave no details about them.

Eluay, the leader of the pro-independence Papua Praesidium, was found murdered in his car on November 11, 2001. He had been abducted the previous night while driving home from a ceremony at the Kopassus base in the Papu provincial capital Jayapura.

Indonesia has administered Papua, which was then known as Irian Jaya, since 1963 following an agreement with departing Dutch colonial rulers.

The United Nations endorsed a controversial referendum in 1969, which involved a public show of hands by a few hundred hand- picked tribal leaders in favour of Indonesian rule.

Jakarta accepts FBI role in inquiry into deadly Papua ambush

Agence France Presse - December 24, 2002

Indonesia has agreed to let agents from the US Federal Bureay of Investigation (FBI) join an investigation into an ambush that killed two Americans and an Indonesian in Papua province.

Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying that the agents would take part in an inquiry team led by Indonesian police.

President George W. Bush has called for a Bali-style joint investigation into the incident in a recent message to President Megawati Sukarnoputri, according to the Australian newspaper The Age.

"The establishment of a joint investigative team involving the Indonesian police and FBI officers is possible but we must first draw up a framework for collaboration to avoid any excesses, such as the taking over of our police functions there," Yudhoyono said.

The minister did not say how many FBI agents would be allowed to take part. Police in Papua have said Indonesian troops are suspected of being behind the ambush.

The solving of the Freeport case is seen as crucial before any US move to establish closer ties with the Indonesian military as part of the war on terror.

Indonesian police have received widespread praise for their investigation, conducted with the Australian Federal Police and other overseas forces, into the October 12 Bali bombing that killed at least 190 people.

Gunmen ambushed buses carrying personnel from an international school near the giant US-owned Freeport copper and gold mine in Papua in August. They killed three people, two of them Americans, and injured about a dozen others.

FBI officers have at least twice already travelled to Papua to monitor the progress of the Indonesian investigation.

Police cannot investigate military officers but said they informed a military investigation team of the suspected involvement of members of the Kopassus special army forces. The special forces have denied any role in the murders.

Army officials have previously blamed the ambush on Kelly Kwalik, a separatist guerrilla leader who has denied links to the attack.

Nine Kopassus soldiers are awaiting trial in a military court for their role in the murder of Papuan separatist leader Theys Hiyo Eluay in November last year.

Freeport's mine is considered a vital national asset and is heavily guarded by government forces.

Eight shot dead in Aceh despite peace pact

Agence France Presse - December 23, 2002

Two soldiers, a policeman and five civilians were shot dead in Indonesia's Aceh province over the weekend despite this month's peace agreement, an army officer and a rebel leader said.

The soldiers were the first known to have been killed in the province since the government and separatist rebels signed the peace pact in Geneva on December 9.

Rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Sunday ambushed a truckload of troops who were bringing help to flood victims in South Aceh province, killing two soldiers and injuring four, said South Aceh military chief Lieutenant Colonel Agus Permana.

Local GAM commander Abrar Muda said the soldiers were killed after they cornered guerrillas at Kampung Malaka in South Aceh and were not ambushed.

Muda said the members of the Kopassus special forces had raided several houses in Kampung Malaka and conducted major anti-rebel operations there despite the truce.

"After the shootings, the army conducted further sweeps in the area and shot dead five local civilians," Muda said. He also said troops have arrested the wives of 20 local rebels. Permana could not immediately confirm reports of the civilian casualties and the arrests.

A group of some 10 gunmen believed to be GAM guerrillas shot dead a policeman and critically wounded another late on Sunday at Labuhan Kedek in East Aceh, said Aceh police spokesman Commissioner Taufik Sutiyono. He said the policemen were returning from guarding a local timber company. There was no immediate comment from local rebel leaders.

Despite the killing, Sutiyono and Permana said soldiers and police have been urged to continue to abide by the truce, which is being monitored by representatives from the two sides as well as members of the Thai and Philippine military..

The conflict in Aceh has claimed an estimated 10,000 deaths since it began in 1976 in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

GAM member attends Aceh Military Command anniversary

Jakarta Post - December 24, 2002

Jakarta -- A high-ranking official of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) reportedly attended a ceremony marking the 46th anniversary of the Aceh Military Command in Banda Aceh on Monday, Antara reported.

Aceh Military spokesman Lt. Col. Firdaus confirmed the attendance of the GAM member, identified as North Aceh GAM police official Teungku Gumarni.

"I don't care whether he presents himself as an official envoy of GAM or not. What I care about is that his attendance is a sign of goodwill from GAM," Firdaus said.

He said the military did not send an official invitation to GAM, but rather sent word through "communication contacts".

Gumarni sat next to high-ranking military and police officials during the ceremony. GAM spokesman Tengku Kamaruzzaman said he was unaware of the matter.

There have been several clashes between GAM and the military since the two sides signed a cessation of hostilities agreement on December 9 in Geneva.

The agreement aims to end the 26-year bloody conflict in the province.

Government & politics

Megawati to focus on stability in 2003

Reuters - December 31, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia's president said on Tuesday that stabilising the world's most populous Muslim nation, rocked by devastating bomb attacks on Bali island last October, would be a top priority for her in 2003.

In a year-end speech broadcast on television, Megawati Sukarnoputri said a landmark peace deal for restive Aceh was still "very fragile", while a key aim would be to cool separatist demands in Papua, Indonesia's other rebellious province.

The Bali bomb blasts were carried out by militant Indonesian Muslims and killed nearly 200 people, mainly foreign tourists. The atrocity was the worst terror attack since last year's September 11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington.

Megawati said police had successfully cracked the network responsible for the bombings and had gathered preliminary evidence and convincing confessions.

"We hope this terrorist network can be uncovered to its deepest roots," Megawati said in her pre-recorded address.

Indonesia has arrested more than 20 Indonesians suspected of links to the atrocity. Many have ties to Jemaah Islamiah, a regional network of militant Muslims.

Megawati is in Bali for New Year's Eve events on the island, and is due to give a separate, short speech just before midnight.

In her address broadcast on TV, Megawati said little else about the Bali attacks, and did not refer to the problem of Islamic militancy in Indonesia, which has fuelled perceptions abroad that religious extremism is taking hold.

The president said 2002 was marked by some successes on the security front, such as Jakarta's ability to calm unrest in the Molucca islands and the Poso region in the country's east.

While the December 9 Aceh peace deal had been lauded, it was still the first step in a complicated process to resolving Aceh's woes and trust needed to be built for it to stick, she said.

There has been a reduction in clashes between soldiers and rebels of the Free Aceh Movement since the accord for the staunchly Muslim province on Indonesia's northwestern tip was signed, although some fighting has still broken out.

"I am aware that the conditions that cover this first step are very fragile," she said of the peace deal.

"Long-rooted disappointment, fears and anger have fuelled hatred and enmity among us. Logically, only if we can cool that attitude of enmity can we find an even better settlement." She said the government wanted to build stronger foundations next year for resolving independence demands in Papua, a largely Christian and animist province in the east. Megawati added that she did not want Papua to become a problem on the scale of Aceh.

A low-level guerrilla conflict has simmered in Papua for decades, unlike Aceh where the independence war has killed more than 10,000 people since the mid-1970s.

But Megawati said a special autonomy package for Papua, unveiled last year, would be the basis of any settlement.

Indonesia to question Megawati over Indosat's divestment

Asia Pulse - December 30, 2002

Jakarta -- The House of Representatives (DPR) will continue with its plan to question President Megawati Soekarnoputri about the controversial divestment of publicly listed telecommunication company PT Indosat, a spokesman said.

In the House's view, the government violated the state's Constitution, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) resolutions X/2001 and VI/2002 and Law Number 25/2000 in divesting Indosat, Ambia Bustam of the Reform faction told reporters over the weekend.

At least five requirements should have been fulfilled by the government in privatizing the state enterprises, he said. Among the requirements were the House's approval, systematic socialization, comprehensive action plans, selective privatization, Ambia said.

Privatization of any state enterprise which dominates the lives and interests of people at large or those exploring the state's natural resources was prohibited, he said. "Therefore, in general, [the state minister for state enterprises] Laksamana Sukardi committed some violations," he said.

In the case of Indosat's divestment, he said, there was not enough socialization, no consultation with the House and no action plans. The privatization of state companies should ideally be done only after the law on state enterprises and the law on privatization had been enacted, he added.

In the meantime, Laksamana on Friday officially reported MPR Chairman Amien Rais to the Jakarta police for defamation. The report referred to Amien's statement on page 77 of Forum Keadilan magazine's December 1, 2002 issue.

The magazine quoted Amien as saying that there was a "very dangerous" minister in the "Mutual Cooperation" cabinet without mentioning the minister's name. The two figures' conflict broke out following the controversial divestment.

Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT) Pte was claimed to be the winning bidder of a tender for the divestment of 434,000 government shares of Series b in Indosat. The government shares make up 41.94 per cent of the company's paid-up capital.

Indosat workers claim, by selling the telecommunication operator to Singapore, Laksamana was compromising the country's national security. Over the past few days, the workers have been staging peaceful demonstrations, demanding the cancellation of the divestment. On Friday, they launched a nationwide strike.

An emboldened president in Indonesia? Not quite

Reuters - December 30, 2002

Dean Yates, Jakarta -- After clinging to the shadows for much of her 18-month presidency, Megawati Sukarnoputri flies to bomb-hit Bali on Monday to mark the New Year, hot on the heels of visits to Indonesia's two separatist hotspots.

Aides argue the president is quietly getting a grip on some of the tensions bedevilling the world's most populous Muslim nation, notching up successes with the arrest of many Bali bomb suspects and agreeing a landmark peace pact with rebels in Aceh.

But several Indonesia experts and Muslim leaders said that, to the contrary, Megawati's visits to Aceh and Papua provinces were little more than public relations exercises that failed to address key issues such as accounting for past military abuses.

They said since the October 12 Bali blasts the taciturn Megawati had also failed to reach out to moderate Muslims to help seize back the public stage from radicals who have fuelled the perception abroad that Islamic extremism is taking hold here.

Jakarta has arrested more than 20 people over the Bali attacks, which killed nearly 200 people, mainly foreigners. Many have ties to Jemaah Islamiah, a regional network of militant Muslims.

Hasyim Muzadi, head of the 40 million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's biggest moderate Muslim group, said despite the battering Indonesian Islam had taken since Bali, Megawati had not approached him or other moderates who wanted her help to to improve the religion's image in Indonesia.

This included Syafii Maarif, leader of the 30 million-member Muhammadiyah organisation, the other big mainstream body.

"Syafii Maarif almost wept asking for time to discuss this with the president, but it went unheeded ... Talk to us, the moderates. Include us," Muzadi said in a plea to Megawati, adding he believed she was incapable of tackling Islamic extremism. Her trips to Aceh and Papua were "ceremonial", he said.

Seizing the debate

While a palace official confirmed Megawati had not met Muzadi or Maarif since the Bali blasts, Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa denied Jakarta was failing to consult all segments of society in dealing with restive regions and extremism.

"I think the government has addressed the issues head on and not allowed itself to engage in never-ending debates," he said.

Megawati does deserve credit for allowing foreign police into the country after the Bali attacks to help their Indonesian counterparts, who have surprised all by arresting many suspects.

Police have also arrested Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual head of Jemaah Islamiah, although he has not been tied to Bali but attacks in 2000. Bashir denies any wrongdoing. To Megawati's supporters, such acts speak louder than words.

But Greg Fealy, an expert on Indonesian Islam at the Australian National University in Canberra, said Megawati needed to give leadership to the debate on tackling Islamic extremism.

He said a key step in the war on terror in Indonesia was to change attitudes so ordinary Indonesian Muslims publicly rejected the radical rhetoric that so often grabs the headlines.

"Until Bali, the overwhelming impression in the Western world was that Indonesia was one of the most moderate and pluralistic Islamic countries in the world. Now, a lot of people probably associate it with radicalism," Fealy said.

Many political analysts believe Megawati is trying to protect herself from a Muslim backlash by not taking a strong stand. She is vulnerable because of her secular-nationalist roots.

More than a symbol?

In Bali, Megawati will try to add cheer to New Year events taking place not far from the devastated nightclub district on Kuta Beach. She will spend most of the three-day stay with family.

Her trip to Aceh two weeks ago lasted less than 24 hours. Visiting the mainly Christian province of Papua for Christmas celebrations last week, Megawati cast off her trademark shyness to sing a Frank Sinatra ballad, "My Way".

Agnita Singedekane Irsal, a close aide from Megawati's Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), said the president's trips to Aceh and Papua were more than just symbolism.

Irsal said Megawati's efforts to tackle religious extremism had borne fruit with a peaceful Christmas.

"Now, we only need to look at the developments, our security is much better. But if there is one characteristic of her, it's not to promote herself," Irsal said.

Critics said while Megawati deserved credit for allowing the Aceh peace accord to go ahead in the face of reservations from hawks in the military, they said her role had not been major. "If you take the Aceh agreement...it is a breakthrough, but it's not a breakthrough by her," said Harold Crouch, a leading authority on Indonesia at the Australian National University.

He said part of the credit should go to her chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Megawati's backers said there was nothing wrong with delegating if the end result was good.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Government must get cracking on corruption

Straits Times - December 24, 2002

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta -- A series of bizarre revelations and rulings last week has raised serious questions once again about Indonesia's legal system.

Behind the walls of the prison on the remote island of Nusakambangan, influential prisoners are receiving special treatment.

Mohammad "Bob" Hasan, the long-time golfing buddy of former president Suharto, is allowed to leave for twice-monthly medical check-ups and 'other needs' in Jakarta.

Jail companion Tommy Suharto, who lives in an adjacent cell separated from others by a prison yard and five steel doors, enjoys special privileges too. He has cable TV and gets periodic remissions off his 15-year jail sentence for good behaviour.

Against the backdrop of these celebrity cells, the government decided last Friday to drop criminal charges against four ex-bank owners after they agreed to settle their debts. Two Indian business executives of Polaris Software Lab were not so lucky.

They ended up in jail, albeit briefly, for failing to resolve a dispute with their local partner Artha Graha over a US$1.2- million software deal. They were released after strong protests from New Delhi, and the incident still threatens to escalate into a diplomatic row.

Jakarta appears to be sending out the right signals in its fight against terrorism. The arrests of several extremists in the Oct 12 Bali bombings have earned the law enforcement agencies here plaudits.

But in stark comparison, moves against corruption and cronies of the Suharto era seem to be faltering and drawing the wrath of critics who see such failures as fodder to attack the Megawati administration.

Even more significant repercussions lie for the economy. Unless Jakarta sends a clear and strong signal that it is fighting corruption, international investors will continue to stay away.

The government freed the four former bank owners because they were prepared to return 2.425 trillion rupiah owed to state coffers. But the legal grounds for doing so are hollow.

How can anyone who has committed a crime against the state walk free simply because they have agreed to settle their debts? And why the need for an extradition treaty with Singapore when Jakarta is refusing to get tough with economic criminals at home? The government needs to understand that bankrupting disreputable business groups and prosecuting clear-cut corruption cases will send the desired signals to investors, the bureaucracy and public. It must also be consistent in the application of the law.

The Polaris case points to a concern by foreign businessmen that they do not have legal protection in Indonesia, especially in the event of a fallout with local partners.

The detention showed just how easy it is for the Indonesian party to initiate criminal procedures against their foreign partners -- with the help of the police who seemingly act independently of the government and courts.

In most cases, these incidents get resolved quietly. But there have been glaring exceptions.

In 2000, for example, several executives of Manulife, at the time the fourth largest life insurer in the country, were accused of embezzlement and thrown into jail.

Several other high-profile lawsuits have made the global reputation of Indonesia's judicial system even worse. State-owned oil company Pertamina keeps defying a string of US court orders in a case involving US-based firm Karaha Bodas.

In July this year, the US District Court of Texas warned Pertamina that pursuing efforts in the Indonesian courts to annul an international arbitration award granted to Karaha Bodas in December 2000 could result in further sanctions.

Based on these examples and others, what confidence can investors have when contemplating private deals? Are double standards being applied at the whim and fancy of courts -- one for foreign investors and the other for powerful Indonesians? Back home, Bob Hasan and Tommy Suharto and other wealthy prisoners are hardly receiving the same treatment as their compatriots.

Indonesia's legal system is out of synch with the dramatic political and economic changes in the country since Mr Suharto's fall in May 1998.

The public image of Indonesian courts is in tatters because they are perceived to be blatantly corrupt and subject to little control.

In the heady boom days of steadily rising investment and competition to lend money to Indonesia's growing economy, it was easy to turn a blind eye to the system's weakness.

The problem has hung like an albatross over the last three administrations, with even President Megawati Sukarnoputri admitting yesterday that it has worsened since the Suharto era.

She said recently: 'Don't forget that those mistakes continue to be made and in ways that often are worse than in the past.' Fundamental changes are necessary. Vague and poorly enforced laws will not win any investments for Indonesia.

Human rights/law

Indonesia's human rights record as shabby as ever in 2002

Jakarta Post - December 26, 2002

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- No improvement was made this year with the country's poor human rights record, which was marked by almost no progress of legal action against suspected perpetrators of crimes against humanity and, most lamentably, several acquittals, rights activists said.

Reviewing human rights protection in 2002 in Indonesia recently, deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Solahudin Wahid lamented the lack of courage shown by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to declare the shooting deaths of 21 people, mostly students, during anti-government rallies in 1998 and 1999 at Trisakti and Semanggi, as gross human rights violations as recommended by the commission.

"The AGO decision was triggered by the House of Representatives' conclusion that no human rights violations were committed in the Trisakti and Semanggi incidents," Solahudin said. The Trisakti shooting, which left four students dead, was followed by a wave of chaos and massive demonstrations that preceded the fall of long-time ruler Soeharto in May 1998.

Komnas HAM has filed its investigative reports on the Trisakti and Semanggi incidents to the AGO, which is expected to examine the cases and take legal actions against the perpetrators. Solahudin said the AGO also lacked the courage to name prominent military officers as suspects in the Tanjung Priok massacre in 1984. The current Special Forces (Kopassus) commander Maj. Gen. Sriyanto heads the list of 14 suspects named by state prosecutors in connection with the bloodshed. At the time of the incident, Sriyanto, then a captain, was leading an operation to restore order following a mass rally.

The AGO let former Armed Forces chief Gen. (ret) L.B. Moerdani and former Jakarta Military commander Gen (ret.) Try Sutrisno off the hook despite their key roles in the incident. "What can we do about that, Komnas HAM has no authority to object to the decision," Solahudin said.

The Tanjung Priok case would be the second in the country brought to a human rights court after the East Timor mayhem in 1999. Those trials are ongoing. Solahudin also said that the current efforts to uphold human rights was overshadowed by antiterrorism jitters. He said the government regulation in lieu of a law on antiterrorism was prone to human rights violations, thus it must be rejected.

Human rights activist Albert Hasibuan concurred with Solahudin, stressing that the human rights protection in the country this year took a step backward by the many odd verdicts in the ad hoc tribunal for the East Timor atrocities. The ad hoc court acquitted a number of military and police officers who were believed to be held responsible for the crimes against humanity. The court convicted two East Timorese civilians, a former militia commander and a former civil servant. "The acquittals reflect the real policy of the court and the government and express unjust human rights enforcement," Albert said.

Therefore, he said, it was not surprising that calls to try perpetrators for human rights abuses in Aceh, Papua and other areas had also received weak responses from the government. "The government is trying to protect the military in order to maintain the unity of the nation, which has been under threat since the fall of Soeharto in 1998. The government considers the role of the military to be a higher priority than human rights," Albert, a former Komnas HAM member, said.

Albert added that the government's approach was based on fears that trials against military officers would discredit the Indonesian Military (TNI) as an institution. "It's a wrong perception as the abusers are individuals and not institution, but the government still sees it that way," Albert said.

Solahudin said the commission received over 2,000 reports of human rights abuses in 2002, but only a few of them could be categorized as grave human rights violations. He said human rights abuses occurred in various regions, mainly in conflict- ridden areas like Aceh, Poso in Central Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua.

However, only the ambush on two vehicles carrying employees of PT Freeport Indonesia in Papua that killed three people and injured 12 others was considered a grave human rights violation. "We may have a lower number of gross human rights abuses this year, but law enforcement against the perpetrators of the existing serious human rights violations is very disappointing," Solahudin said.

Both Solahudin and Albert said attempts to improve the country's human rights record relied heavily on the government's commitment and will to conduct thorough investigations into past rights abuses and then hold fair trials.

"The government, as well as the court, must restore their poor record in human rights protection. They should not conspire with the military by acquitting them," Albert said. Solahudin said that the investigation over human rights violations in Aceh, the mass rapes and murders in Jakarta in May 1998 and other cases under former president Soeharto must see justice done. "Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of justice," he said.

Activists say 2002 a year of defeat for women

Jakarta Post - December 26, 2002

Debbie A. Lubis, Jakarta -- The gloomy reality for Indonesian women in 2002 should be addressed by women themselves through their active participation in social, political, economical and cultural aspects of life, a noted activist has said.

Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Women's Coalition (KPI), said that women needed to empower themselves in order to be able to articulate their interests and develop social protection without relying on the state.

"This year is a year of defeat for women and ironically it occurs under a government led by a woman. We are not pessimistic [about our struggle] although we are a bit disappointed. We will continue our struggle next year," she said.

Nursyahbani was speaking on the sidelines of a discussion on the country's performance in addressing women in 2002. The discussion was organized by KPI, a coalition of 15 different interest groups. KPI said in its report released on Saturday that women had continued to fall victim to sexual exploitation, the worst forms of labor, domestic violence and gender-biased rulings, while the government was indecisive about granting appropriate legal protection to women.

The report said that 72.8 percent of the country's migrant workers were women and that they were prone to physical and sexual abuse. KPI also recorded that some 70,000 girls and women had become victims of sexual abuse and people trafficking this year, while women also made up the 600,000 illegal migrant workers deported from Malaysia this year.

Some rulings in certain regions also restrict women in what they can wear. "Even the bill on antipornography underlines that women should wear appropriate dress considering the occasion and certain customs," Nursyahbani said.

However, she said the biggest defeat that women had suffered this year was a rejection by President Megawati Soekarnoputri and the House of Representatives (DPR) of a provision for a 30-percent quota of women to occupy seats in the legislative, executive and judicial branches.

"The increase of women in the legislature is a powerful tool that enables women to not only contribute to changes within policies but to also participate in the policy-making processes. I hope our struggle will not be in vain because of the rejection," she said.

Nursyahbani said it would take time to change a patriarchal culture and way of thinking. She said that the struggle for female representation was not related to gender since women were often marginalized in the decision-making process. "That's why dialogs with people from every walk of life are needed but it is not an instant process. Civic education will also help women to exercise their rights rationally," she said.

Nursyahbani ruled out the possibility of political parties taking advantage of women's issues in their campaigns for the 2004 general election. "This suspicion has been raised, but I'm sure it can be a good start for raising awareness for the urgency to increase women's representation," she said.

Separately, Lily Widjadja, the country director of New York-based brokerage Merrill Lynch, said that it was important for women to see themselves as human beings in leading their lives. "We are the same as men, we have strengths and limitations -- I do not say weaknesses. I refuse to accept any privileges just because I am a woman. No, thank you very much; I'm ready to compete with anyone to achieve anything," she told The Jakarta Post.

Lily is also a commissioner of the Jakarta Stock Exchange and the secretary-general of the Association of Indonesian Stock Companies. She said that it was true that men were dominant in all aspects of life but it was not clear whether the mass representation of men was because of the gender issue. "Having a quota of representation might be helpful for empowering women but it is not necessary. It's a matter of how we are perceived as a person and both women and men complement each other. My achievements are because of my capabilities and abilities," Lily said.

Komnas pursues May 1998 rioters

Jakarta Post - December 24, 2002

Debbie A. Lubis, Jakarta -- Those involved in the May 1998 riots may not run free much longer as the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and a group of non-governmental organizations have established separate teams to investigate the riots.

Both aim to create pressure for the holding of ad-hoc trials for those responsible for the riots.

Solahuddin Wahid, appointed to lead the Komnas HAM team, said on Monday the team would follow-up on the investigation carried out by a joint fact finding team (TGPF) in 1998.

Solahuddin, better known as Gus Solah, said that starting next month, the team would update the facts ascertained by the TGPF to convince members of House of Representatives (DPR) to recommend an ad hoc rights court be set up to try those responsible for the riots.

According to Article 43 of Law No. 26/2000 on Human Rights Tribunals, a tribunal to try gross violations of human rights is established based on a recommendation from the House and a presidential decree.

The new Komnas team, which was established last Thursday and named the May 1998 Riots Study and Advocacy Team, would recruit 15 members. Ten of these members would be those who were involved with the TGPF.

Since the TGPF first presented its findings, no efforts official government efforts have been made to uncover those behind the riots.

The TGPF investigation results, announced on November 3, 1998, disclosed that several individuals or organizations were involved in inciting the riot.

They were well-trained individuals who disappeared after they succeeded in inciting the people to loot and burn stores and houses mostly belonging to Chinese Indonesians.

Moreover, the report also confirmed the occurrence of rapes and sexual attacks, although the number of victims was lower than claimed previously by several NGOs in Jakarta.

The allegation that certain individuals in the armed forces took an active role in inciting the unrest was also mentioned in the report.

With regard to the possible involvement of Let. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto in the riot, the TGPF recommended that a meeting at the headquarters of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) on May 14, 1998 be investigated.

Besides the Komnas HAM probe, a number of non-governmental organizations also established their own teams to investigate the May 1998 riots. The latest NGO team, established last week under the name of the May 1998 Riots Working Committee (KKTM) will have 16 members.

Judilherry Justam, vice chairman of the KKTM, said it would complement the work of the Komnas HAM team in terms of data validation, lobbying legislators, molding public opinion, and organizing mass rallies to demanding government and legislative commitment to the supremacy of law.

"On many occasions, the Attorney General's Office refuses the findings of gross violations of human rights recorded by Komnas HAM on the grounds of lack of comprehensive evidence. Therefore, we will try to make the findings as trustworthy as possible," he told the Post.

Judilherry was speaking on the sidelines of the announcement of the new teams' missions on Monday.

Both working teams have no structural relationship with each other, but Gus Solah said that his team would accept all input from outside sources, including from NGOs as part of civil society.

He said that his team would interview witnesses like the victims and their families, volunteers and other parties concerned with what transpired.

"There is come possibility that we will involve the military in the interviews as it is the prime suspect in the riots," Gus Solah said.

Separately, Judilherry said that the biggest obstacle that both teams would face was political pressures from the suspect individuals or organizations.

"We can analyze such pressures in the cases of gross human rights violations in Aceh and the murder of Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay. What we need today is how to reveal the scenario behind the tragedy," he said.

Family of missing poet rejects human rights award

Jakarta Post - December 20, 2002

Jakarta -- The family of missing poet Wiji Thukul rejected the Yap Thiam Hien human rights award mainly because a foreign-based mining company is allegedly involved in several human rights violations partially sponsors to the award.

The family said in a statement that their refusal originated from the fact that Australia-based mining company Rio Tinto contributes financial support for the award. They said Rio Tinto was involved in several human rights violations at its several mining sites in the country, and were responsible for the 1992 arrest of several demonstrators, who demanded the company to pay proper compensation for their land used for mining operations in Kalimantan.

The family's move was supported by several non-governmental organizations on environment. Wiji, whose poems were a godsend to the oppressed, has been "missing" since 1996. It is believed that authorities kidnapped him following the July 27, 1996 attack on the Indonesia Democratic Party headquarters in Jakarta.

Focus on Jakarta

'Better to stage more rallies in 2003'

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2002

Leo Wahyudi S -- With the New Year approaching, people are full of hope that better things will come. However, despite their hope, many Jakartans remain pessimistic about life in the city. The Jakarta Post talked to some residents about their expectations for 2003.

Agus, 21, is a juice vendor in Tanah Merah, North Jakarta, where he also lives: Most poor people in the city are always neglected by the government and the rich.

A perfect example is that when the rich want to build a luxury housing complex, the houses of the poor are destroyed to pave the way for the project. Worse still, the city administration never sides with the poor. Forcible evictions happen all the time across from Greater Jakarta because the poor are always seen as disturbing public order.

I don't think it's fair at all. Why should I pay taxes if my rights as a resident are never protected? I think it would be better to stage more rallies in 2003 to try and force the governor to side with the poor residents. But the small voice of the poor will never be heard. All of the poor here should unite to force the government to pay attention to them.

Suhaeri, 30, is a security guard at a shopping center in Pluit, North Jakarta. He resides in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, with his wife and daughter: I just hope that next year the city will be far safer in terms of public security. The rising number of street crimes have horrified city residents. Also, the city administration should side more often with ordinary people. They are all corrupt officials who neglect the interests of the public.

To the city administration, please improve the living conditions here in order to help alleviate poverty in the city. I hope this happens in 2003, though I'm pessimistic about the chances.

Mamok, 60, lives in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, with his wife and two children: As a resident, I feel that the city administration has thus far wasted billions of rupiah of the city budget on useless projects.

How much money has been spent on the water fountain at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, fencing the National Monument park and implementing the busway project? I am pessimistic the city will improve in 2003 since Governor Sutiyoso will continue to work on these kinds of projects. He has never listened to public criticism. Unless he steps down, such projects will go on.

Erwin, 27, is a sidewalk vendor in Tangerang, Banten. He lives in Palmerah, West Jakarta: I think life got tougher this year compared to previous years. I have to scramble daily to make a living and survive in the city.

I don't think I have any hope for 2003. Perhaps I will continue to face the same situation.

I feel apathy and pessimism because all I see is another gloomy year coming. So it would be better for me just to think about surviving. To think of simply how to cope with my hunger is the best thing I can do.

I don't care about the government or the city administration as they never think about me. Yes, apathetic might be the best word for me.

Graft makes the poor suffer

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2002

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta -- The socially disadvantaged of this city will bear the brunt of corruption occurring in this year's budget as most of the money alleged to have been misappropriated was earmarked for the destitute, a state agency has said.

According to data from the City Audit Agency, which was obtained by the media over the weekend, some Rp 860 million of the estimated Rp 4.8 billion (US$533,333) pinched from the budget was allegedly embezzled by two doctors at city-owned Budhi Asih Hospital in the Setiabudi area of South Jakarta.

The agency's report, signed by deputy chairman Syarifuddin Mahfudz, stated that the Rp 860 million was allocated for underprivileged patients in the area and the victims of February's floods.

The agency has urged that the money be returned and recommended that the doctors, identified by the agency as Erni and Rosenita, be sanctioned.

The agency report said that Cawang subdistrict head Abdul Rahman was caught selling donated rice, worth Rp 149 million, to flood victims in the subdistrict of East Jakarta.

The agency demanded that Rahman return the money and further recommended that Governor Sutiyoso dismiss him.

In addition to Rahman, an official of Cempaka Putih subdistrict, Central Jakarta, identified as Adnan Darsono, was caught bringing food earmarked for flood victims in the subdistrict, to Bekasi, the agency said.

After an investigation headed by the agency, Darsono returned the rice, however, it is unclear how much was returned, and the agency has recommended that Darsono be sanctioned.

The administration allocated this year Rp 251 billion for flood victims, which included food donations and a flood rehabilitation program.

About Rp 4.5 billion, collected during a charity night for flood victims, was reportedly embezzled by the ICE on Indonesia, a non-governmental organization (NGO), which had been designated by Sutiyoso to distribute the fund, the agency reported.

Another Rp 484 million allocated for the City Park Agency found its way into the pockets of 19 officials at the city's five mayoralties, the agency reported.

Some Rp 86 million has been repaid while the remaining Rp 398 million, earmarked for the development of public parks, has not been returned yet, the agency said.

Besides losing out on more public parks, residents may face garbage problems this year as some Rp 149 million destined for the purchase of 10 incinerators has also disappeared.

The chairwoman of City Council Commission C for city revenue, Anna Rudhiantina, urged Sutiyoso to hand out stiff punishment to those responsible for taking public funds.

"Not only should the funds be returned, but the officials should be dismissed or taken to court," Anna of the Golkar Party said during the council's year-end conference.

Many councillors also believe that total funds taken from the current Rp 10.6 trillion city budget amount to more than Rp 4.8 billion.

It is not clear whether Sutiyoso has punished the officials responsible for allegedly embezzling funds. Last year, several civil servants were dismissed for similar reasons, but most were low-ranking officials. High-ranking officials remain untouched, and none were sent to court.

News & issues

Abdurrahman willing to run for president in 2004

Agence France Presse - December 27, 2002

Jakarta -- Former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said yesterday that he was ready to run for the top seat in the next election if asked to by Muslim clerics.

"In 2004, if asked by Muslim clerics to run for president, I will," he was quoted by the Detikcom news portal as saying.

Mr Abdurrahman, 61, said that if he were elected president, he would focus on three matters: creating a new political system, adopting the free market economy and promoting efficiency.

Indonesians will elect their president and vice-president directly in 2004. Under the present system, the president and vice-president are chosen by an electoral college, the 700-strong national assembly.

Mr Abdurrahman, a virtually blind cleric, was dismissed as president by the national assembly for unproven charges of corruption and incompetence in July last year. He was replaced by Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

He had defeated her in 1999 in the race for the presidency even though her party made the strongest showing in a general election earlier that year.

His erratic style of leadership and brinkmanship in his attempts to hold onto power had sent Indonesia into tumult.

sIslam/religion

Islamic leaders call for end to Islamic law drive

Agence France Presse - December 31, 2002

The leaders of Indonesia's two largest Islamic groups have called for an end to efforts to get Islamic Sharia law enforced in the country, the world's largest Muslim nation.

"There is no need to press ahead with the struggle for Sharia," Ahmad Syafii Maarif, chairman of the Muhammadiyah group, told The Jakarta Post daily.

"We should take the substance of Islamic values and implement them in Indonesia, not the symbols," said Maarif, whose organisation has some 30 million adherents.

He said that if Muslims pressed on with religious formalities such as Sharia or the establishment of an Islamic state, they would collide with other religious communities in this sprawling pluralistic nation.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Hasyim Muzadi said: "Struggling for Sharia to be enforced in Indonesia is not realistic. What we need is to develop universal values for people's prosperity." Muzadi, at the helm of an organisation of some 40 million supporters, said that Muslims as well as followers of the other faiths should promote religious values that were compatible with national interests.

There have been several attempts to get harsh Sharia law imposed in the country since the 1950s but support from the Muslim community has been dismal. More than 80 percent of Indonesia's 214 million people follow Islam, although most of them are moderate Muslims.

An autonomy law that took effect at the beginning of 2001 allows the province of Aceh to implement partial Islamic law. Regulations are in force requiring women to cover their heads, prayer times to be respected, and for the sexes to be segregated. However, enforcement remains lax.

The struggle to implement Islamic law throughout the country was ruthlessly quashed during the iron-fisted government of former president Suharto but it re-emerged with the openness and reforms that accompanied the post-Suharto governments over the past four years.

Radical Muslims belonging or sympathising with groups advocating the enforcement of Sharia or the establishment of an Islamic state in Indonesia have been suspected of involvement in a string of terrorist attacks in Indonesia in the past years.

In 2001, the now-disbanded Laskar Jihad militant Islamic group stoned to death one of its own followers for adultery, claiming the practice was consistent with Sharia.

Some Indonesian Islamic scholars say such practices should not be part of Sharia in the modern era.

Bashir is Jakarta mag's 'Man of the Year'

Agence France Presse - December 29, 2002

Jakarta -- An Indonesian Islamic magazine has named detained terror suspect Abu Bakar Bashir as "Man of the Year" for, what it calls, his steadfast struggle to uphold Islamic law in Indonesia.

The bi-weekly Sabili, one of the best-selling in Indonesia, said Bashir was an exemplary figure who had never flinched from his struggle to uphold Islamic law, or Syariah, despite persecution.

"Bashir is a person we should look up to," the magazine said in its editorial. "If Bashir, most of whose entire life has been devoted to upholding Islamic Syariah, should be called a terrorist, being terrorists might as well be our goal," it said.

His picture adorned the magazine's cover along with a banner reading: "Ustadz Ba'asyir. Fighting Hostile Unbelievers." Bashir, 64, has been detained since October 20 as a suspect in a series of church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000 and in a plot to assassinate Megawati Sukarnoputri before she became President.

He was arrested after Omar al-Faruq, an alleged Al-Qaeda operative in American custody, implicated him in terrorist operations in Indonesia.

Islamic moderates, hard-liners wage battle in media

Jakarta Post - December 24, 2002

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta -- A number of local publications have recently rejected or become overly wary of articles critical of Islam after an opinion piece by a moderate Muslim drew condemnation and a death threats from Islamic hardliners, two Muslim intellectuals said on Monday.

A professor at Syarief Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta, Nasaruddin Umar, said his article containing "sensitive passages" on Islam was rejected by the media. "It's unfortunate that they have to do this," he said without naming the publication.

A frequent contributor to the country's largest daily newspaper, Kompas, Nasuruddin blamed the rejection on fears of a backlash from Islamic hardliners.

The Coordinator of the Indonesian Society for Pesantren (Islamic boarding school) Development under the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Zuheiri Misrawi, also a regular media contributor, said he also noticed how publications have turned very cautious over his articles.

The two writers spoke at a press conference discussing the fierce reactions by Islamic hardliners over an opinion piece, which appeared in the November 18 edition of Kompas.

Written by Ulil Abshar Abdalla, who coordinates a coalition of Muslim groups under the Liberal Islam Network (JIL), the article called for a flexible view of the Islamic law, or sharia.

Ulil called into question various obligations under sharia, like the jilbab (veil) or the hand amputations for thieves, suggesting that they were not relevant to all cultures and eras.

Thus Islam, during the time of Muhammad, he explained, was one way of interpreting the religion, and that at a different time it was possible to interpret Islam in another way.

He also stressed the common truths with other religions, saying "I no longer look at the form but its content." The article drew condemnation from a Bandung-based group of Muslim clerics called the Indonesian People's Ulama Forum (FUUI).

They said Ulil's article was an insult to Islam and that such a violation was punishable by death. Ulil has been receiving death threats since it was printed, according to JIL member Nong Darol Mahmada.

This would not be the first time that the domestic media buckled under pressure from Islamic hardliners. In August, a private television station scrapped an advertisement promoting a moderate, diverse Islam to counter perceptions of a violent, fundamentalist Islam that reactionary groups appear to be promoting.

The cancellations have followed pressure from Muslim organization Majelis Mujahidin (MMI) which denounced the commercial as an insult to Islam.

Responding to this, Chairman of the Indonesian Press Council, Atmakusumah Astraatmadja has urged the media to stand up to intimidation if they valued their independence.

Nasaruddin, however, estimated that the media would likely maintain for some time their watchful stance over articles on Islam. "For the time being, I would say don't expect any critical articles [on Islam] to appear," he said.

Nong said the JIL would file next month a police complaint against FUUI over the death threat. "Anyone can now attack Ulil based on that statement by FUUI," she said. "It's becoming out of control." FUUI chairman Athian Ali Muhammad denied having issued a death threat, or fatwa, against him, explaining that Ulil had insulted Islam and that it was a violation punishable by death.

"We have clarified in press statements that we never issued a death fatwa against Ulil," he was quoted as saying by Metro TV.

The dispute highlights again Indonesia's majority moderate Muslims' struggle to raise their voice at a time when the threat of terrorism has turned public attention to the extremist groups.

Analysts have said Ulil had taken upon himself the task of making the moderates' voice heard, even if it meant confronting the ultra-fundamentalists head on.

JIL member Hamid Basyaib said Ulil's article reflected the network's position, but declined to say whether the same applied to the rest of the country's moderate Muslims.

However, women's rights activist Neng Darra Affiah and political analyst Rizal Mallarangeng believed it did represent all moderates. Neng said that Ulil's article was nothing new, although Muslim moderates had never put the ideas into writing like he did.

Rizal said history had shown how efforts to impose sharia in Indonesia failed to find support from the majority of Muslims here.

He urged all moderates like JIL to continue their struggle but warned of an uphill battle against the reactionary Muslims. "It is because they are fading in their numbers, that their voices are getting louder," he said.

Armed forces/Police

The role of military elements in perpetuating violence

Foreign Policy in Focus - November 27, 2002

Anthony L. Smith -- Two Americans and one Indonesian were killed on August 31 at the hands of an unknown assailant near the Freeport mining operation in Timika, Papua.

Initially the Indonesian army blamed a radical wing of the Free Papua Movement. However, according to a report by FBI officers investigating the case, the army fabricated evidence. Also, the Indonesian police have stated that they believe soldiers were very likely involved in this attack.

This incident has occurred against a backdrop that raises serious questions about the nature of Indonesia's rule over the province, and the role of the military in particular, since Indonesia took effective control in 1962.

Papua, until recently known as Irian Jaya, constitutes more than 20% of the Indonesian landmass, but has a relatively small population of just over two million (about one percent of Indonesia's population), with about 65% of that population being ethnic Papuan. Papua is, however, extremely diverse, with an estimated 250 to 300 tribal groupings and languages. Most of these tribal groupings had no contact with the outside world until the 1960s.

Papuans oppose merger

Papua's merger with Indonesia has not always been a happy one. It is commonplace in Papua itself to argue that the Indonesian government has exercised colonialism over Papua in a more heavy- handed way than the previous Dutch imperial administration. Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno, made it a point of national pride that Papua rightfully belonged to the Republic of Indonesia, based on historical claims.

This annexation was made formal by a 1969 plebiscite, in which approximately 1,000 carefully selected Papuan leaders unanimously opted for integration with Indonesia. The United Nations simply "noted" the plebiscite has having occurred, but it never actually endorsed its outcome. At the time, UN officials, diplomats, and journalists observed that many, probably most, Papuans were unhappy with the merger.

Papuan resistance to the merger was ruthlessly and indiscriminately suppressed by the Indonesian military, including counterattacks in which many noncombatants were the victims. Large numbers of refugees, escaping the violence, have periodically crossed the border with Papua New Guinea. The discovery of Papua's immense mineral wealth -- including oil, gas, gold, and copper -- has seriously aggravated the preexisting tensions.

In the case of the Freeport investment, the Damal and Amungme people were displaced without compensation for their land -- their occupancy was not recognized as ownership. The Freeport mining operation has grown from 10,000 hectares of land in 1972 to 2.6 million hectares today. Very little of the returns from this type of investment have remained in Papua itself. Despite the fact that Papua has consistently registered the highest provincial GNP in Indonesia due to its vast mineral wealth, the people of Papua have remained Indonesia's poorest.

Autonomy a step forward

Indonesia's democratization in the aftermath of Soeharto's resignation in May 1998 created new opportunities for Papua. Members of the ethnic Papuan elite founded a new independence movement and mounted a challenge to the legal process by which Papua came to be included in Indonesia. Papuan demands, while falling short of gaining independence, did result in a very generous regional autonomy package that will allow Papua to retain 80% of oil and gas revenues, and high proportions of other types of revenue generation.

The autonomy deal also gives privileges to ethnic Papuans, giving them advantages in employment and reserving high-level administrative positions for indigenes. Multinational corporations have been forced to adapt to the new reality by plowing assistance back into local communities, as they can no longer rely on Jakarta's rule to guarantee their concessions.

Human rights abuses still rampant

In one crucial respect, however, little has changed in Papua. The human rights problem, and the general lack of due process of law remain nightmarish issues for the province. After a period of brief political openness in the late 1990s, the military and police moved to violently suppress independence sentiment. For example, on 6 October 2000, a number of demonstrators were killed at Wamena by the police simply for attempting to raise the independence flag (the Bintang Kejora).

Routine human rights violations by the security forces have been noted by local and international NGOs and the Indonesian government's own official human rights body, and regularly feature in the US State Department's annual human rights' reports for Indonesia. In recent times several independence leaders have died under highly suspicious circumstances. An investigation by the Indonesian government concluded that the murder of independence leader Theys Eluay late last year involved members of Indonesia's Special Forces.

The security forces stationed in Papua have shown a tendency to act as judge, jury, and executioner in many cases. The recent deaths at Timika raise further questions about the role of the military; in particular the bogus evidence they produced to blame separatists for the deaths, which largely rested on presenting the dead body of the supposed assailant, which Indonesian police have now concluded could not possibly have been the suspect. The dead "suspect," produced by the army, was shown by the police to have been killed hours prior to the attack.

FBI officers, however, said that evidence was both removed and planted around the crime scene. What was the military trying to achieve with all of this? A chorus of voices in Papua have been quick to blame the military itself for the deaths, largely based on the pattern of atrocities in the past, although the truth behind this event may never be fully known.

Despite the great gains that Indonesia's new devolution of power has delivered to the Papuans, human rights have barely improved since authoritarian times. The lesson that the Indonesian military appears unwilling to learn is that this ongoing violence helps reinforce an increasingly robust independence sentiment.

[Anthony L. Smith is a senior research fellow at the Asia- Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu and writes for Foreign Policy In Focus on regional issues. The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author.]

International relations

Find Freeport killers, Bush tells Megawati

Sydney Morning Herald - December 21, 2002

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- US President George Bush has told Indonesia's President Megawati Soekarnoputri that Indonesia must find and punish those responsible for shooting dead two American schoolteachers at the Freeport mine in Papua and has proposed a joint FBI-police investigation.

Mr Bush's message, delivered in the past fortnight, makes it clear there will be no resumption of US military aid until Washington is satisfied with progress in the Freeport case -- complicating Australia's own plans for closer military ties with Indonesia. His intervention comes with a growing conviction in the US and other Western governments that the August 31 ambush involved members of the Indonesian Army (TNI), which guards the giant Freeport gold and copper mine. An FBI report into the case is believed to point to involvement of the TNI, a finding the army has strenuously denied ever since the attack took place.

The Herald has learnt that Mr Bush told the Indonesian president an agreement on how the investigation will be restarted is a critical condition for resuming the military aid that was frozen in 1999 in response to the TNI's role in the East Timor bloodshed. The US Congress is due to debate on January 6 a proposal to reinstate funding for a program to train Indonesian soldiers, giving Jakarta little more than a fortnight to finalise an agreement on reviving theinvestigation.

Following Mr Bush's intervention, a US official familiar with the case said there was broad agreement between the two presidents that the case must be solved honestly and openly. "The US and Indonesia at the highest levels understand each other quite clearly that there must be a credible outcome to an investigation of what happened at Timika [in Papua] and who was responsible and those who were responsible must be given appropriate punishment." Indonesia has received international praise for the success of its multinational police team investigating the Bali bombings, prompting the US Government to push for a similar team, including FBI officers, to investigate the Papua ambush that also killed an Indonesian teacher.

Despite the sensitivity of FBI involvement in an Indonesian investigation that could find the army was involved, the US official said the Administration believed an agreement could be reached. "US officials are hopeful the process will go forward in a way that need not disrupt the bilateral relationship."

The Indonesian police general overseeing the Bali investigation, I Made Pastika, spent months heading the Papua investigation. While he has made it clear he believes there is military involvement, he has not found conclusive evidence. Instead, police handed their report to the military to investigate allegations its men were involved. Three separate investigations by the TNI have all found there was no military involvement, although there is scepticism about the TNI investigating itself. Further complicating the US push for a new investigation is an article published in The Washington Post last month citing an intelligence report that said the head of Indonesia's armed forces, General Endriartono Sutarto, was involved in discussions planning an attack on the Freeport mine. General Endriartono has denied the allegations and is suing the newspaper.