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Indonesia News Digest No 7 - February 17-23, 2003
Jakarta Post - February 22, 2003
Bukittinggi -- Scores of students from the West Sumatra branch of
the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front (KAMMI) rallied here
on Friday to protest the privatization of state enterprises and
the presence of some economics ministers.
Antara reported that the students began to gather midmorning in
front of the Jam Gadang Monumen (Bukittinggi's "Big Ben"), waving
banners, protesting the privatization of state enterprises --
particularly the Indonesian satellite corporation, Indosat, and
the local cement factory, PT Semen Padang.
The rally was organized only 100 meters away from the Bung Hatta
palace, where a dialog, titled "Dialog between the government,
bankers and businesspeople in western Indonesia" was scheduled to
be held on Friday evening.
The dialog will be attended by Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor
Sjahril Sabirin, nine Cabinet ministers under Coordinating
Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, governors,
district chiefs and mayors from western Indonesia.
"The divestment of government shares in state companies shows the
government's failure in its move toward national economic
recovery. Indeed, the privatization will further worsen the
country's economic condition," student demonstrator Ahmad said in
his speech.
He blamed the failure and the worsening economic condition on the
economic team of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's government
under the leadership of Dorodjatun.
The students then issued a statement rejecting not only the
privatization program but also the presence of the economic
ministers at the two-day dialog. "We reject the presence of
Megawati's economic team here because it is responsible for the
country's continuing economic crisis," Ahmad said.
BBC - February 20, 2003
Rachel Harvey, Jakarta -- The Indonesian parliament this week
passed measures designed to reform the electoral system, but
regular street protests may be a sign that many people are still
not ready to trust their politicians.
On one recent protest, a group of students, many dressed in
uniform yellow jackets and bandannas, occupied part of a park
opposite the private residence of President Megawati
Sukarnoputri. There were perhaps 500 of them, chanting and
singing their opposition to the government.
The array of loud hailers ensured there was plenty of noise, but
the protest attracted little attention from passers-by.
Demonstrations have become an almost daily occurrence in
Indonesia's capital city.
A few days ago thousands of people took to the streets to call
for a peaceful resolution to the Iraq crisis. Just last month, a
series of protests across the country forced the government to
rethink its plans to raise the cost of utilities.
But why, five years after adopting a democratic system of
government, are Indonesians still so eager to take their
grievances on to the streets?
People power "We've tried other ways, but without any result,"
said Samsani, a student from the University of Indonesia. "Direct
action is still the most effective. Everybody should come out and
protest if they want this country to move forward."
Not so long ago, expressing sentiments like that in public would
probably have led to a lengthy jail term. For more than three
decades, under the authoritarian leadership of former President
Suharto, public protest was dealt with severely. But it was
public protest which eventually led to Suharto's downfall in
1998. Indonesians, it seems, have developed a taste for people
power.
Impatience The recent profusion of political demonstrations may
in part be an expression of frustrated ideals.
Rizal Mallarangeng, director of the Freedom Institute, a pro-
democracy think tank, believes people have become impatient with
the pace of reform. "People expected democracy to solve all the
country's problems but it's taking longer than they thought.
Dissatisfaction is growing and that's why we see so many people
joining street protests."
But that is not the only reason. Sometimes money is also a
factor. Although rarely acknowledged in public, it is an open
secret that some demonstrators are paid to turn out and protest.
Adian is a veteran of political protests. He reckons he has been
on more than 600 demonstrations, supporting farmers, calling for
religious tolerance, criticising the conduct of the military.
He says there has always been money on offer for those willing to
take it. "In Suharto's time I was paid not to demonstrate," Adian
said. "Now there are groups of people who rent themselves out as
professional protestors. I don't approve of it; I think people
should stick to their political ideals, like me." It is probably
true that for every protestor who is simply there for the money,
there are far more who take to the streets out of conviction.
On the right track Rizal Mallarangeng said that, on balance,
demonstrations in Indonesia were a positive sign. "It's kind of
like democratic growing pains. OK, so because of the traffic
problems caused by demonstrations, it might take three hours
instead of one to get home from work. But it's part and parcel of
democracy, and that's the price we pay."
Democracy in Indonesia is still in its infancy. But the
Indonesian electorate has grasped the fundamental principle of
free speech with both hands. For the time being, people seem
determined to exercise their hard won right to demonstrate
whenever the mood takes them.
Labour issues
Students/youth
Aceh
West Papua
Rural issues
Anti-war movement
'War on terrorism'
Government & politics
Corruption/collusion/nepotism
Regional/communal conflicts
Local & community issues
Focus on Jakarta
News & issues
Islam/religion
Armed Forces/Police
International relations
Military ties
Economy & investment
Democratic struggle
Muslim students object to privatization program
Indonesians get taste for protest
Labour issues
Sony Electronics Indonesia to lay off 884 workers
Asia Times - February 22, 2003
Jakarta -- PT Sony Electronics Indonesia (SEI) is preparing to lay off 884 employees after the closure of its Indonesian branch next month. "The plan to close the factory is clear and all employees will be laid off," Suleswati Pujiasti, senior manager of Sony Electronics Indonesia, said on Thursday.
The company's workers' union is negotiating Sony Electronics Indonesia's obligations to give severance pay to the workers. Pujiasti said the workers wanted severance pay higher than the government regulation, which stipulates a minimum payment of 300 percent of wages, depending on their working period, on the argument that the closure was not due to bankruptcy of the branch.
Asked whether some employees would be allocated to its affiliate company, PT Sony Indonesia, Pujiasti said that all employees would be laid off. "The management has targeted to finalize its obligations to employees by March 31, 2003," she added.
The government has failed to lobby the electronics giant to delay its plan to close the Indonesian branch. Sony Corp will close its Indonesian factory on the grounds that it will focus on its production activities in Malaysia.
Closure of Sony Electronics Indonesia would cause some 50,000 people to lose their jobs, including 884 SEI employees and others from 57 subcontractor companies.
Kompas - February 18, 2003
Jakarta -- On Monday February 17, hundreds of workers from PT Elaine who have been left in the dark by factory owners, complained to the National Coalition. They were received by National Coalition representatives Eros Djarot, Jusuf Lakaseng and Ricky Tamba.
The head of the Cakung Indonesian National Worker's Front for Struggle (FNPBI), Lely, told the coalition that on January 27, the management and personnel of PT Eliane agreed with a plan for the owners to celebrate the Chinese new year in Taiwan.
The management then announced that the company would go on holiday for 11 days from January 29 to February 10. But when the workers returned to work, they found the factory gates closed and locked.
The employees then made enquires to the head of the Cakung Berikat Nusantara Zone (KBN) offices, East Jakarta. KBN told them that the owners would return to Indonesia within the next two weeks. The PT Elaine management who were present at the KBN offices asked that the employees be patient.
However after waiting and waiting without any clear response, in the end the employees "occupied" the factory.
"For the last two weeks they have demonstrated, struggling for their rights. But to this day their voices have not been heard. Therefore we, the National Coalition will immediately establish a complaints coordination post at KBN and provide legal support to PT Elaine supporters as well as other workers in KBN who experience the same fate", said Ricky.
Hundreds of workers took three buses and arrived at the Coalition's headquarters, at the Bung Karno Nationalist Party headquarters, on Jl Penjernihan, Central Jakarta, at 12noon.
[Translated by James Balowski]
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2003
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta -- The International Labor Organization (ILO) called on the Indonesian government to work more seriously to uphold workers' rights to freedom of association as Indonesian workers have to face hurdles in exercising their rights.
The director of the ILO office in Jakarta, Alan J. Boulton said on Wednesday that Indonesia had yet to find effective institutions and processes for the workers to promote their rights freely and without any disruption.
A preliminary survey from ILO entitled Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining: A Study of Indonesian Experience 1998- 2003, showed that Indonesian workers still have to endure harsh treatment when fighting for their rights.
The survey shows that there have been actions taken by employers to curtail the implementation of the right to establish trade unions.
The tactics used by employers include dismissal of union activists, demotion, and moving union activists to other work places. The reports also revealed that in the event of a dispute between workers and employers, the management would call in military personnel to back them up in the negotiation process, which unions see as an intimidatory practice.
Another method to deter unionism is the use of criminal charges against workers involved in trade unions. There have been cases in which union activists have been detained and charged for violating Criminal Code (KUHP) Article 335 prohibiting "unsatisfactory conduct toward another". Most workers perceive this article as open to multifarious interpretation.
ILO, however, applauded Indonesia for making substantial progress in implementing the organizations convention regarding workers' freedom of association.
In the wake of the ratification of ILO Convention No. 87 on the right to unionize, workers in the country have indeed enjoyed freedom of association as proven by the rapid growth of trade unions.
Earlier, the Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, Jacob Nuwa Wea said that there were 215 trade unions at the national level comprising of a number of high-profile ones such as All-Indonesia Worker's Union Federation (FSPSI) and Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI).
"In addition to that, at the provincial, district, and plant levels there are 931, 2877, and 15,762 unions established respectively," Nuwa Wea said at a seminar on the implementation of the ILO convention.
Under the authoritarian rule of then president Soeharto, workers in the country were forced to join state-sponsored trade unions. The regime banned all trade unions established without the government's consent, and perceived them as illegal entities.
In a bid to uphold workers fundamental rights as enshrined in the ILO convention, the organization has embarked on programs to provide technical assistance for the Indonesian government.
"The Indonesian government with assistance from ILO, helps trade unions to develop their own resources, so that they can truly represent workers in the bargaining process," Boulton remarked.
The three-day seminar is also focusing on finding ways to eradicate the use of child labor in developing countries.
| Students/youth |
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2003
Jakarta -- Six student protesters were in police detention after police cracked down on an anti-government demonstration involving about 60 students overnight Tuesday.
The Jaringan Kota (Jarkot) protectors had been protesting outside the House of Representatives building against the government's controversial policies, including the recent utility price increases and the privatization program.
Jarkot spokesman Rey Christian said the police arrested them and took them to Jakarta Police Headquarters in South Jakarta. Most of the students were interrogated and released at 4 a.m. Wednesday.
City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo confirmed the six protesters were charged with violating Article 218 of the Criminal Code on forming a crowd in a public area and disobeying the authority's order to disperse. The article carries a maximum sentence of 18 weeks in jail.
| Aceh |
Agence France Presse - February 22, 2003
Banda Aceh -- Twelve days have passed since the crucial "demilitarisation" phase of the Aceh agreement but separatist rebels have not started placing weapons in arms dumps and Indonesian troops have not begun withdrawing to defensive positions.
The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) said it did not expect any move by either side before March 9, a month after the phase was supposed to begin.
Mr David Gorman, a representative of the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC) which brokered the December 9 deal in Geneva, said late on Thursday that both parties 'are working on time and according to the schedule of the agreement'.
The two sides are only in the planning stage of demilitarisation, one of the most difficult issues at Geneva. GAM leaders feared they could be left defenceless against troops and police who outnumber them seven-to-one in the province at the tip of Sumatra island.
Under the pact, rebels over five months starting on February 9 should place their weapons at locations known only to themselves and the HDC, which will verify the process. The military, on the other hand, should relocate its forces and change its role from a strike force to a defensive force.
ASAP media release - February 20, 2003
Over the past week in Aceh, Indonesia has repeatedly violated the December 10 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA), arresting civil movement activists and carrying out military offensives.
According to Pip Hinman, national coordinator of Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP), this is because Indonesia is not serious about peace in Aceh.
"Aceh is an oil- and gas-rich province", said Hinman. "For years, the Indonesian military has built a mini-empire with the help of Exxon-Mobil, which runs these lucrative resource industries there. "The military has shared in the spoils and need to justify their presence in Aceh to continue their profiteering."
At 1.30am, on February 12, Indonesian forces arrested Muhammad Nazar, the chairperson of the Information Centre for a Referendum in Aceh (SIRA), at his home. Authorities are also hunting down Kautsar, deputy chairperson of Students' Solidarity for Acehnese People (SMUR). On February 16 police issued an arrest warrant for Nasruddin Abubakar, secretary general of the Aceh Student Front for Reform (FARMIDIA).
All three activists are from the non-violent, civil movement. They are targeted for leading a peaceful demonstration on January 9, which called for a referendum on the question of Acehnese independence.
On February 15, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was quoted by the The Straits Times as stating, "Peace is on the brink of collapse". He cited the referendum call as the cause, despite the COHA assuring the right of "civil society to express without hindrance their democratic rights".
Then on February 16, an armed clash lasting almost four hours occurred in Trumon, south Aceh, when Indonesian military (TNI) launched an offensive operation into an area held by the Free Acheh Armed Forces (TNA), again in violation of the peace accord. During the skirmish, one civilian was shot dead, another wounded and three captured and tortured by the Indonesian military.
TNI reinforcements have been sent to Trumon in armoured vehicles. There are fears of wider military offensives. A TNA commander has called on the Joint Security Committee (JSC) to investigate the Trumon attack. The JSC oversees the COHA and is composed of representatives from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the TNI and the Swiss-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, which brokered the ceasefire.
Despite such violations of peace in Aceh, both the US and Australian governments have been steadily restoring military ties with Jakarta. Earlier this month, the US Congress voted to fully restore the International Military Education Training program for Indonesian officers, paving the way for a resumption of military ties across the board. Supporting politicians cited the need for Jakarta's cooperation in the "war on terror".
ASAP calls on the Australian government to press Jakarta for the immediate release of Muhammad Nazar and the dropping of all charges against organisers of the January 9 demonstration. Further, the Howard government must end all military ties with Indonesia and push for a full withdrawal of the TNI from Aceh.
Associated Press - February 17, 2003
Banda Aceh -- Government troops and rebels in Aceh are both guilty of serious breaches of a recent peace deal, the Swiss- based group mediating the conflict between the two sides said yesterday.
"It is clear and without any doubt in my mind that these cases constitute violations," said Major-General Tanongsuk Tuvinun, senior envoy for Geneva-based Henri Dunant Centre.
Government troops were behind two killings and a shooting in January which violated the agreement, while guerillas were responsible for an attack in December, he said.
Earlier, the Indonesian military threatened to withdraw from the pact if separatist rebels keep attacking soldiers.
Bodies have been discovered regularly since the December 9 signing of the deal, but generally the agreement has reduced the amount of violence in the region and has been deemed a success by foreign peace monitors.
The rebels have agreed to hand over their weapons during the next five months, while the Indonesian military said they would move into defensive positions.
Meanwhile, villagers in Aceh unearthed a badly mutilated body of a government soldier, said deputy chief of operational command Bambang Darmono.
The dead soldier, identified as Sujari, was reported missing on February 10, a day after rebels said they had started to disarm as part of a recent peace agreement.
"From the information we have gathered, there is a strong indication that the rebels were responsible," said Brigadier- General Pramono.
The insurgents began fighting in 1976 for an independent state in the oil-and-gas rich region, 1,800 km north-west of Jakarta. About 12,000 people have been killed in the past decade.
| West Papua |
Radio Australia - February 20, 2003
Linda Mottram: A West Papuan human rights campaigner says that ongoing unrest in the Indonesian province is being caused by the violently radical Islamic group, Laskar Jihad, which was thought to have been disbanded.
Activist John Rumbiak claims that the Australian Government had been aware of the Indonesian military's ongoing support for the group since 2001 and has had regular updates since then. He says Canberra should now think twice about rebuilding any ties with the Indonesian armed forces. Hamish Fitzsimmons reports.
Hamish Fitzsimmons: Pro-independence groups, like the Papuan Presidium Council, claim the border of West Papua New Guinea has become a safe haven for Laskar Jihad due to protection it receives from the Indonesian military. The Council also claims the armed forces are supplying the militant group with weapons.
On the 28th of December last year the wife and daughter of a prominent human rights campaigner were seriously injured in a shooting at the border. When Indonesian police went to investigate in January, they were also shot at. John Rumbiak is a supervisor at the non-governmental West Papuan Institute for Human Rights and Advocacy, known as ELSHAM, and currently a visiting fellow at Columbia University, New York.
He says far from disbanding after the Bali bombing in October last year, as it did in other parts of Indonesia, Laskar Jihad is still a going concern in West Papua, one that works in tandem with elements of the Indonesian military.
John Rumbiak: In some cases we have investigated that they don't go by themselves. They have support from the military as well. They get support either financially or politically, because in their view, the Laskar Jihad and also the military have a common interest.
Hamish Fitzsimmons: You've got evidence of this collaboration and support?
John Rumbiak: We have, in our investigation, military personnel, they train these people, they are involved in training them, the Laskar Jihad, and they have placed them in several districts in Papua and in these several districts they have, like, [inaudible] where the majority of the Muslims are.
Hamish Fitzsimmons: Have you contacted the Australian Government about this?
John Rumbiak: Well, the Australian Government visited Papua and we did report this since last year. We published this and we attracted the US Government especially, the US Embassy sent special representatives to visit the region and they got first- hand information on the ground.
Linda Mottram: West Papua human rights advocate, John Rumbiak speaking to Hamish Fitzsimmons.
Elsham News for Cendrawasih Post - February 20, 2003
Port Vila -- On Tuesday, 18 February, approximately 1300 non- Papuans traveled in convoy from Abepura to Jayapura in support of the recent presidential decree ordering the partition of Papua. Before leaving, the group gathered in front of the District Office in Abepura and, seeing an anti-partition crowd of about 100 Papuans, they began to heckle and abuse them. The Papuan crowd reciprocated and the two groups nearly came to blows in the shopping center.
It was obvious that this crowd was organized by the Indonesian military as it involved about 1000 motor cycles with pillion passengers, 2 buses, 5 trucks and 80 taxis.
During the demonstration, a youth was seen busily distributing 10,000 rupiahs to every person who joined the pro-partition group. Among the banners and signs in favour of partition were some which proclaimed the support of the people of the highlands.
The pro-partition demonstrators
When the demonstrators arrived at the Provincial Assembly building their leader, Orgenes Antoh, who is also a member of the Papua Council Presidium Panel, addressed the crowd in favour of partition. Before he could finish his speech, a woman in the crowd interjected. She called out "Everybody who supports partition must carry some of the responsibility for the death of Paramount Chief Theys Hiyo Eluay. Theys died fighting for the independence of Papua and not for its partition." The woman's words received were met with a tumultuous response from the anti-partition crowd which then began to chant : "Stop the partition; Scrap special autonomy; We want a referendum." Almost instantly, two members of the Provincial Assembly descended into the crowd of demonstrators and tried to defend the pro-partition case.
They were rebuffed, however, by the anti-partition demonstrators who were steadily increasing in number.
Eventually, the pro-partition crowd, which had mostly been bussed in from the non-Papuan transmigration center of Arso, were outnumbered by local Papuans. Several of the pro-partition demonstrators admitted to having been paid to demonstrate. One of the motor-cycle demonstrators admitted having been paid 50,000 rupiahs to join in the demonstration.
The leader of the pro-partition crowd, Orgenes Antoh, under heavy police guard, tried to read out a statement putting forth the pro-partition case. Before he could finish, Orgenes was interrupted by Ishak Tabuni, from the anti-partition group, who snatched Orgenems statement out of his hands, tore it up and shouted : "This statement has been drawn up by a group of people who claim to represent the Papuan People. Everybody who is demonstrating in favour of partition today has been paid." The atmosphere became more and more heated until finally both groups clashed. The police presence at the demonstration was quick to react and managed to regain control. The crowd then began to disperse.
One of the demonstrators, Binus Wakur, a native of Arso , claimed that he and his friends had come to pay respects to the family of a friend who had died that day but, meeting their friends Simon and Yulius, they were persuaded to join the demonstration at the Provincial Assembly which, they were told, was debating the economic development of the Arso district. "You should know", he said, "that most of the people who joined this demonstration didn't know anything about it. They were paid to take part. I, too, was very surprised because I was deceived by my friend, Simon. I was shocked and angry that they used us for their own ends. I'm telling you, now -- when I go back to my village I will report this matter to the chief."
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2003
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- Trying to ease the mounting controversy over its decision to split Papua into three provinces, the government is said to be seeking a formula to ensure fair revenues from exploitation of natural resources in Papua. Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said on Wednesday the government understood that Papuans were rejecting the division of their province.
"Everybody is worried about revenue-sharing, we are going to discuss a fair formula to guarantee that all provinces in Papua share the revenue," Hari remarked.
Hari however failed to elaborate, saying the matter would be brought to the Cabinet meeting on Thursday. He said the fair scheme would be further discussed with local authorities during his visit to inaugurate 14 new regencies in Papua later this month.
The government has come under fire for issuing the presidential decree No. 1/2003 to enforce the Law No. 45/1999 on the division of Papua into the provinces of Papua, West Irian Jaya, and Central Irian Jaya.
Legal experts say the decree is a violation of the Papuan Autonomy Law No. 21/2001 which stipulates that the establishment of new provinces there requires approval from the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP), which was never even consulted.
The House has urged the government to form the MRP council before splitting the province. Hari insisted that the division legally took effect in 1999, therefore it could not affect the special autonomy, which was imposed in 2000.
Another contentious point was that the special autonomy law stipulates 70 percent of the revenue from natural resources would go to the local administration.
The island has two large mining sites, Tangguh in West Papua and Timika in Central Papua, leaving Papua province without any large natural resource to finance its development.
"I know that there have been a lot questions from the province that does not have Tangguh or Timika and we are going to address that," Hari remarked.
The minister will visit the province later this month, to explain the details to the people about splitting the island to three provinces.
Around 3,000 people apparently in favor of the split-up took to streets in Papua on Tuesday. The government claims the split will "help speed up development".
Commenting on the rallies, most of which are vehemently against the split, Hari said he had not heard reports that the issue would escalate and spark tension among Papuans.
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar confirmed Hari's statement, saying the protests had not yet reached an alarming level.
South China Morning Post - February 19, 2003
John Martinkus, Jakarta -- On December 28 last year a car carrying the wife and daughter of a prominent Papuan human rights activist was ambushed by unidentified gunmen between the border posts of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
More than 40 bullets were fired at the vehicle and the wife and daughter of Johannes Bonay, head of ELSHAM -- a group that monitors human rights abuses in Papua -- were among the three seriously injured in the attack. When an Indonesian police investigation team visited the scene on January 1 they too were shot at and forced to flee.
The list of suspects in the attack is a long one. The mainly Christian Papua province-PNG border area has become home to Islamic fighters of Muslim extremist group Laskar Jihad, Papuan militia groups trained by Indonesia's Kopassus special forces, and Free Papuan Movement (OPM) guerillas.
Mr Bonay cannot carry out the investigation into who shot his wife and daughter, although such incidents are usually the domain of his organisation. "When we go there we are going into a very dark cloud. There are armed men and you don't know whether they are militia, [Indonesian military], OPM or Laskar Jihad," he said.
A police investigation into the shooting said Indonesian had been seen in the area at the time of the ambush, but inquiries are continuing. What has emerged is that the northern area of the Papua-PNG border is now a training area for Islamic militants backed by the Indonesian military.
"Laskar Jihad is now in several forms," says Thom Beanal, head of the pro-Independence Papuan Presidium Council. "They can be militia or a kind of military supporting group, with some local Papuans recruited by the military," he said. "Laskar Jihad is consolidating itself here. When they said they disbanded in the Malukus after the Bali bombing, it does not mean that they have stopped their activities here."
The Islamic militants of Laskar Jihad have been arriving in Papua from the conflict in Ambon for the past two years. The setting up of an office in the town of Sorong last year was a front for their activities in that area which locals say included the establishment of 12 training camps that were in remote areas and guarded by members of Kopassus.
According to presidium member Willy Mandowen, the office in Sorong was visited by members of Jemaah Islamiah before the bombing in Bali last October. Now they are operating in the border area with Papua New Guinea. "They have weapons from the Indonesian military. They are trained in these camps by Kopassus," says Lawrence Mehui, who has carried out an investigation of these groups for the presidium.
In the transmigrant settlements near the town of Arso, close to the border, the Javanese members of Laskar Jihad have been recruiting and training transmigrants and local Papuans in conjunction with members of Kopassus. "We have information from when Kopassus had a meeting with the local people in Arso in November. The local people come and tell us that there is a direct connection with the Kopassus members and the Islamic groups," says Lawrence Muhui.
ELSHAM says the groups of Laskar Jihad and locally recruited militia on the border are being formed into operational support groups for military operations trained by Kopassus. "If we analyse the reports made by the people and the investigations made by the police we can ascertain that Kopassus is behind this," Mr Mehui said. "The rhetoric of the Laskar Jihad groups fits comfortably with the aims of the Indonesian military in Papua. One of their objectives is to protect the unity of Indonesia in Papua. They are using Islam to claim they are fighting against the Kaffir here in Papua," says Mr Bonay. ELSHAM says the border activity has been accompanied by 20 recent unsolved murders.
Wall Street Journal - February 19, 2003
Timothy Mapes, Jakarta -- Just as Indonesia is beginning to bring its most serious armed rebellion under control, separatist tension is flaring again in another province that is home to several of the country's most promising new foreign investments.
While still at a delicate stage, an internationally brokered cease-fire is stabilizing a long-running civil war in Aceh, where ExxonMobil Corp. runs a liquefied-natural-gas plant that generates about $1.2 billion in annual export earnings. Indonesian officials have viewed the Aceh conflict as the most serious threat to the country's unity, contending that giving in to rebels there could stoke separatist sentiment in other restive regions of the 4,800-kilometer-long archipelago.
Rebels have fought for independence since 1976, accusing Jakarta of siphoning off most of the province's natural wealth and oppressing Aceh's 4.2 million people under harsh military rule. Escalating violence claimed an estimated 2,000 lives in the territory last year.
But peace in Aceh isn't mitigating strong anti-Jakarta feelings in resource-rich Papua, the huge province at the eastern end of Indonesia where another separatist movement has simmered for decades.
Papuan political leaders and business people are angry over a new central government plan to divide Papua into three provinces -- a move they believe could undermine a 2001 "special autonomy" law giving Papuans more control over their political and economic affairs.
Papua's mineral and oil and gas reserves have attracted big investments from companies such as BP PLC and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. "I can't think of any single step that the central government could have taken that would alienate the Papuan people more" than the plan to divide the province, says Sidney Jones, the Jakarta director of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based organization that monitors civil conflicts around the world.
In Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, violence has subsided since Jakarta and the rebel Free Aceh Movement agreed to a cease-fire on December 9. Sporadic clashes have continued -- an independent Joint Security Committee says 38 people were killed since the cease-fire, down from an average of about 200 a month in the past year or so.
But both sides say they are closer than they have been in years to ending to one of Asia's longest and bloodiest rebellions. "We think the process is going well, although there have been some incidents here and there," says Teungku Isnandar Al-Pase, a spokesman for the Free Aceh Movement's military wing.
He notes that the rebel group agreed last week to surrender 20% of its weapons to independent monitors -- the most serious step yet in the peace process -- and expects to see a matching withdrawal of police and military units from Aceh.
Acehnese civic leaders say hopes for peace are higher than they have been for a decade. "I have visited many villages where most people told me the situation is much better now," says Imam Syuja, chairman of the Acehnese Task Force, an independent organization of community leaders.
One economic peace dividend in Aceh could be a renewal of oil and natural-gas exploration blocked by increased violence in recent years. In 2001, for example, ExxonMobil was forced to close its Aceh plant for four months because raging battles between rebels and government soldiers made it unsafe to operate.
Peace could also help spur Aceh's timber industry, as well as free local businesses from the burden of ad-hoc taxes and fees -- often simply extortion demands -- imposed by both sides in the conflict. "This is Indonesia's most underreported good-news story in years," contends a Western diplomat.
Papua is another story, however. As in Aceh, Papuans have long complained that income from exploitation of the province's natural resources has benefited mainly Jakarta and non-Papuan investors, leaving Papua Indonesia's least-developed province by far.
To address such complaints, the central government awarded the province "special autonomy" status last year, giving it more control over billions of dollars in taxes and royalty payments generated by resource-based investments.
But President Megawati Sukarnoputri recently approved an initiative to divide Papua into three smaller provinces, ostensibly as a way to improve the region's administration. At about half the size of Texas, Papua is Indonesia's largest province, but its 2.2 million people are scattered throughout an extremely rugged terrain of jagged mountains, dense jungles and swamps.
Now, an unusual alliance of local government leaders and independence activists is condemning the new plan. Many Papua leaders and some foreign investors believe the move indicates Jakarta is reneging on promises to devolve greater political and economic decision-making powers to Papuans. "It really looks like a grab for power by the center and an effort to roll back the special autonomy process," says an executive at one of Papua's largest foreign investors.
Indeed, the proposed division of Papua contravenes the special autonomy law implemented last year and leaves unclear how tax and royalty revenue the province is supposed to receive under that plan will be shared.
The speaker of Papua's provincial legislature, John Ibo, has led marches to protest the plan and warns that it could lead to violence. Central government officials, trying to defuse criticism, have said the special autonomy law will apply to all three new provinces. But they haven't explained how that will work or how Jakarta can legally order the division of the province.
The autonomy law is a key factor in BP's business strategy in Papua, where the company's planned $2 billion liquefied-natural- gas plant is Indonesia's biggest pending foreign investment. Other major investors, including New Orleans-based Freeport McMoRan, which runs the world's largest copper and gold mine in the territory, have also hailed the law. BP, in particular, has hoped that by providing significant tax and royalty revenue to Papuan provincial and local governments, the law will ensure that local communities share in the wealth created by its plant and help BP dodge political confrontations like those that have plagued ExxonMobil in Aceh. "We believe that the application of special autonomy is the best mechanism of ensuring that financial benefits flow to the communities," BP said this week.
Asked specifically about the brewing controversy over the division of Papua, a BP spokesman said the company is "aware of the issue and will be watching to see how it develops."
[Rin Hindryati contributed to this article.]
Jakarta Post - February 18, 2003
Denpasar -- Dozens of students and youths from Papua held a street rally in front of Bali's provincial legislative compound on Monday to oppose the government decision to split up the province into three.
They argued that the division would trigger horizontal and vertical conflicts in the country's easternmost province.
"This will hurt the people and create division among the Papuans," said field coordinator Wens Edowai.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued on January 27 decree No. 1/2003 dividing Papua into three provinces -- Papua, Central Irian Jaya and West Irian Jaya provinces. The decree has received strong opposition from Papuan leaders, who argued that the move was in direct violation of the special autonomy law introduced on January 1, 2002. Under the law, the division of Papua can only be done with the approval of the Papuan provincial legislature.
The students argued that the decision to split up the province was part of the Jakarta's "divide and rule policy" to crush a secessionist movement there with military might.
| Rural issues |
Kompas - February 18, 2003
Jakarta -- Delays in planting some 413,343 hectares of rice in a number of areas have resulted in a drain of farmers' income sources.
According to the general secretary of the Joint Movement for Micro-Finance Development (Gerakan Bersama Pengembangan Keuangan Mikro, Gema PKM) and the chairperson of the Bina Swadaya Foundation, Bambang Ismawan, the present crash landing of the farmer's economy also happened in the 1950s and mid-1970s.
In order to handle this problem he said, a miro-finance foundation is needed which build a bridge between banks and farmers to provide emergency funds. The channeling of the funds would continue to use banking principles.
In this case, Bank Indonesia and the Poverty Alleviation Committee (KPK) can pressure banks to work together because both institutions have a memorandum of agreement to do so.
"The situation being experienced by farmers is extremely difficult. This kind of situation occurred at the end of the 1950s and mid-1970s", said Bambang who's foundation has experience in developing miro-financing in a number of regions, he told Kompas on Monday.
He added that the nature of this bitter situation being experienced by farmers is one of extremely limited work opportunities, where the farmers' working capital has run out and farmers are finding it difficult to obtain capital to restart their businesses.
Bambang revealed this matter in response to farmers in particular areas who are tending to sell their assets and become ensnared in debt in order to be able to cover the costs of food as a result in the delay in planting. A report from the Department of Agriculture noted that the planting of at least 413,343 hectares of rice in Java is late.
Bambang said that during a similar occurrence in the 1950s, farmers from Gunung Kidul went as far as selling their door handles and roof-tiles just to pay for food. In the 1970s, farmers in Karawang, which is a centre of rice production, were forced to obtain emergency food aid.
The impact of the late planting, although it is yet to be characterised as an emergency, is already chronic requiring emergency steps (a crash program) to assist farmers. However Bambang did not agree that this should become a project which just tends to waste funds without reaching its target.
For this he suggested that the recapitalisation of farmers be developed by channeling bridging credits from banks to farmers. In this case a micro-finance institution is required to become a bridge so that farmers can be "bankable" and can access bank credits.
Such a program was carried out in the years 1978 to 2000 by a number of banks, Bank Indonesia and other micro-finance institutions. The program was referred to as the Bank and Non- government Organisations Relations Program with the level of credit returns reaching 97.2 per cent within the specified period. However this program ended due to the economic crisis.
"It could also be carried out now because there is a memorandum of agreement between Bank Indonesia and the Poverty Alleviation Committee which can become an umbrella for significant funding amounting to 40 trillion rupiah which is at present being held by the banks which can be channeled to farmers or other poor groups", repeated Bambang.
The memorandum of agreement was signed by the governor of Bank Indonesia Syahril Sabirin and the minister for the Coordination of People's Prosperity Jusuf Kalla on April 22, 2002.
The memorandum states that Bank Indonesia may pressure public banks and People's Credit Banks to increase the channeling of micro-credits, small and medium, in accordance with the business plans of each bank to alleviate poverty though the principles of care and concern. Bambang said that farmers who are forced into these conditions tend to seek loans from the informal market, that is from neighbours with an interest rate as high as eight per cent per month.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Anti-war movement |
Straits Times - February 18, 2003
Robert Go, Jakarta -- There is no love for Mr Saddam Hussein in Indonesia. Members of the educated elite view him as a dictator who has waged war against other Muslims, both beyond and within his own borders. The unschooled masses know only that he has a moustache and often wears a beret.
Yet ask them to choose between him and Uncle Sam, and it is no- contest: Mr Saddam wins hands down.
Religion may matter in this context.
The Megawati government has formally said what the United States and its allies want to hear: America's war is not one against Islam.
But the idea of Muslim solidarity is a powerful force, and within the world's largest Muslim population, those who talk about a big and bad Muslim-hunting America still have an audience.
At a more basic level, though, the perception among many is that America is big and bad and tends to throw its weight around.
This might explain why thousands turn out to protest against the sole superpower's declared causes of the day, even when the issues are far removed from religion.
Some elements of Indonesian society started to voice anti- American sentiments during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.
They argued that Washington's policies at that time focused on providing bread and butter to Americans at the expense of the rest of the world.
Now, whenever US companies close factories and withdraw from this country, protest banners string together the words "America", "Evil" and "Hypocrisy". American financial aid to cash-strapped Indonesia has to be pitched carefully and at the risk of arousing charges that Washington is meddling in Jakarta's domestic affairs.
Asked about how they viewed American policy initiatives, several prominent Indonesians answered: "Suspiciously" or "With worry".
Analysts say that Indonesians' anti-Americanism is unlike that seen in the Middle East or in left-wing intellectual cafes in Paris. Here, it has not yet materialised into boycotts of US products or sustained drives to kick Americans out.
Indonesians still love American things. Some wear Levi's, talk into Motorolas, buy Diet Cokes and watch the latest Hollywood movies. The question is how long before anti-US sentiments solidify into something more tangible.
In the meantime, while Iraq demonstrations here might take on religious overtones, Islam may not be at the heart of Indonesians' outrage. Many are simply protesting against a US-led war.
| 'War on terrorism' |
Reuters - February 20, 2003
Jakarta -- Indonesia has won universal praise for the nimble footwork its police have shown in investigating the Bali bombings and arresting nearly 30 suspects. But the job is only half-done.
As early as next month, the first trials over the blasts that killed 202 mainly foreign holidaymakers will open on the resort island in a blaze of publicity, with plenty at stake at home and abroad for Indonesia.
There will be intense international pressure on the country's weak and unreliable courts to mete out tough sentences to the Muslim militants accused of carrying out the worst terrorist act since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
The trials could also provide one of the clearest pictures yet of how the Jemaah Islamiah, the radical South-east Asian Muslim network blamed for the bombings, operates.
One key suspect to take the dock will be Ali Gufron, alias Mukhlas, the alleged operational chief of the shadowy Al- Qaeda- linked group.
"Those countries that are concerned about terrorism and Indonesia's capacity to deal with it will be watching closely. They will be extremely interested in the outcome and the process," said a senior Western diplomat in Jakarta.
A repeat of the verdicts in trials aimed at accounting for violence that ruined East Timor when the territory voted to break from Jakarta's rule in 1999 -- where most of the 18 suspects have so far gotten off -- would be a major black eye for Indonesia.
Late last month, a court cleared Muslim cleric Jafaar Umar Thalib of inciting violence between Muslims and Christians while leading the now-defunct Laskar Jihad militia in the Maluku islands.
Before the blasts, Indonesia had come in for criticism for not doing enough to combat the threat of terrorism. That has changed following the widely praised police probe, boosted by foreign expertise, especially from Australia.
The country received kudos as late as Wednesday from President George W. Bush, no less. The US President telephoned President Megawati Sukarnoputri to congratulate her on her country's success in fighting terrorism, AFP reported.
"The President emphasised his appreciation for Indonesia's excellent work in counter-terrorism cooperation, including the investigation of the Bali bombings," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
Police have handed dossiers on seven suspects to prosecutors and will submit seven more on Monday. That means the first trials could be just weeks away, although no dates have been set.
Police have arrested 29 Indonesians over the blasts. The key suspects will be tried first, probably in individual hearings.
Two of them have expressed pride publicly at the carnage wrought on Bali, and police said others had admitted involvement. Lawyers for the suspects could not be reached for comment.
Jakarta Post - February 22, 2003
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- The State Intelligence Agency (BIN) demanded on Friday that it be given extra powers that would enable it to carry out crucial tasks to prevent terrorist attacks throughout the country.
Deputy chief of BIN As'at Said stated that BIN should be given more authority, than the current level that only includes authentication of preliminary reports from investigators.
"Concerning preventive action, the intelligence officers, especially BIN, have not been given sufficient power," As'at told a hearing of the House committee deliberating the terrorism bill on Friday.
Also at the hearing were Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and Senior Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia Anwar Nasution.
Endriartono, who also briefed legislators on terrorism, concurred with As'at, saying that state security forces needed more powers to combat terrorism.
According to As'at, extra authority was necessary to prevent terror acts by arresting suspected terrorists before they can blow something up or kill loads of people. BIN, he added, could be allowed to detain some suspects for four days for questioning to assist the investigation.
Article 26 of the terrorism bill stipulates (in an attempt) to obtain enough evidence before starting an investigation, that the state investigators could use reports provided by intelligence officials that have been authenticated by the head of BIN.
In the explanatory section of that article, the evidence refers to that with which someone could be suspected of committing a terrorist act.
The article will amend the intelligence body's authorities stipulated in the government regulation in lieu of a law on antiterrorism, which remains the current standard. The regulation has been widely criticized, by those who feel they could be targeted, as an opportunity for rights violations.
During the hearing, which was presided over by committee chairman Ibrahim Ambong of Golkar, Endriartono acknowledged that there were fears of a possible revival of an authoritarian regime should the state security apparatus be given extra power. The general, however, assured such a condition would not happen.
"Situations have changed. If the current government reinstates authoritarianism, it will certainly be opposed by protesters," Endriartono said. A number of legislators said they would reject the demand to give BIN more power.
J.E. Sahetapy and Trimedya Panjaitan from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) warned that the power given to BIN would upset the judicial system.
"Investigative powers given to BIN will create problems with the criminal judicial system. The right to investigate should be in the hands of the police," Sahetapy said.
Trimedya added that the power of investigation given to BIN would overlap with the police authority. "That would be a setback," he said.
Previously, criminal law expert Loebby Loeqman also rejected any article, which gives BIN power over judicial matters.
Meanwhile deputy BI Governor Anwar Nasution spoke about the need for an article which deals with freezing bank accounts of terrorists.
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2003
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- In an apparent attempt to elude unwanted public interest in the February 3 bomb blast in the National Police's Wisma Bhayangkari building, the police issued on Wednesday a statement that negated a previous one.
National Police deputy spokesman Sr. Comr. Didi Rochyadi played down an earlier statement by fellow deputy spokesman, who is one rank higher than him, Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang. Aritonang said on Monday that Adj. Comr. Anang Sumpena, the prime suspect in the bomb attack, had stated before police investigators that several military officers were aware of the incident.
"He [Anang] did not mention any names. Who said that he mentioned names ... Besides, we have yet to find any indication of the involvement of other parties in the bombing," Didi told reporters at the Jakarta Police Headquarters.
Aritonang told reporters on Monday that Anang did mention several names, reportedly military officers, known only by their initials -- ES and DS. The one-star general said the two had knowledge of Anang's activities.
"Why did he acknowledge his guilt so easily? His actions are simply incongruous -- he blew up his own office," said Aritonang earlier, expressing doubts about the motive stated by Anang in his testimony to police investigators.
Following his arrest on Saturday in a rented room in Bukit Duri, East Jakarta, Anang is reportedly to be discharged due to unacceptable absenteeism justifying him being charged with desertion. Earlier, the National Police College (PTIK) had also expelled him for drug abuse.
Anang was captured thanks to fingerprints found on a piece of shrapnel at the blast site.
Didi said that Anang had also been undergoing psychological tests to ensure that he was in a fit mental state when he underwent interrogation.
The arrest of Anang, who is a member of the police bomb squad, is a slap in the face for the police, as the bomb squad is supposed to protect the people rather than endangering them.
Asked whether Anang was involved in other bombings in the city, Didi said the police had yet to find any evidence leading to such an allegation. Anang is now being held by the city police's internal affairs department.
The bomb, which damaged Wisma Bhayangkari's lobby, claimed no fatalities, but heightened security concerns in the city.
Straits Times - February 18, 2003
Jakarta -- The US Embassy here is now full of praise for Indonesia's fight against terrorism, in a marked departure from the sharp criticism levelled by US officials at the government here for nearly two years.
After denying there was a terrorist threat here and calling travel warnings alarmist, the Indonesian police in recent months have rounded up more than two dozen suspected terrorists, including several men thought to be senior operatives of Al-Qaeda in South-east Asia.
The police have also increased security at the US Embassy and at residences of American diplomats.
"Progress on every one of our benchmarks has been extraordinary," US Ambassador Ralph Boyce said in a letter last week to American diplomats.
While Americans at home have been warned to buy duct tape and bottled water to prepare for terrorist attacks, Mr Boyce wrote that "there has been no new credible threat information against the official American community" in Indonesia for nearly two months.
A copy of the letter was provided to The New York Times by a recipient.
Mr Boyce wrote that he and his staff believe that the security situation here has "so dramatically improved" that it would be appropriate to allow the families of American diplomats to return. They were ordered out of the country after an attack on two nightclubs in Bali last October.
There is one sticking point, however -- the increased possibility of a war with Iraq.
"The prospect of war with Iraq casts a cloud of uncertainty on our situation that warrants extreme caution," Mr Boyce wrote. "Previously friendly, moderate leaders have warned that war might unleash an enormous anger against the American community that could turn violent," he wrote.
| Government & politics |
Laksamana.Net - February 22, 2003
The election bill passed by the parliament last week, with its demand for a 2% electoral threshold, predictably created dissatisfaction and disappointment among small political parties.
Even the promising Islamic-based Justice Party (PK), which won seven seats in the 1999 general election, branded the bill as unfair.
Article 142 states that only political parties which won at least 2% of the vote or 10 seats in the House in the 1999 election qualify for the 2004 polls.
Article 143 goes on to state that political parties failing to pass the 2% electoral threshold rule are not allowed to contest the next election unless they merge with other parties.
The new ruling aims at a process of natural selection from among the 200 minor parties that emerged from the liberalization of political parties begun under the presidency of B.J. Habibie.
More importantly, the six parties that qualify for the 2004 polls undeniably represent not only the mainstream of Indonesian politics, but also reflect the social basis of party supporters.
On 1 February 1999 Habibie proclaimed Law Number 2/1999 on political parties, which aimed to change the authoritarian system established under the Suharto regime through Law number 5/1985 which allowed government interference over the political parties.
Article 4 verse 1 of the 1999 law required parties to be founded before a notary and to be registered at the Ministry of Justice. Government approval was not required.
In consequence, 181 new political parties were registered, although only 48 qualified to compete in the 1999 elections. In that poll, six parties took the 462 seats available in the House of Representatives, with the remaining 38 seats allocated to the military and police.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) under Megawati Sukarnoputri, representing secular nationalism, won 153 seats. Suharto's former political base, Golkar, still demanded respect in the number two position, winning 120 seats.
The good result for Golkar established that despite the taint of its close connection with Suharto and his cronies, the party possessed a real and solid base. Golkar gained its votes from the conservative nationalists, including from among civil servants and retired military officers. It also won support from Islamic elements from the alumni of Muslim Student Association (KAHMI).
The nationalist conservatives of Golkar stated by the vote that the party continued to have relevance and that it was not merely the machine of Suharto.
Thus, in the 1999 polls Golkar became the social basis of nationalists who did not support Megawati or did not follow the ideology of her father, founding President Sukarno.
Golkar-NU links
Political analyst Enceng Sobirin from social and economic research institute LP3ES told Laksamana.Net that one factor that brought Golkar such strong support was backing from Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).
Sobirin, who is also from a NU family, NU supporters were easily mobilized by Golkar functionaries linked to NU such as Slamet Effendy Yusuf. The alliance between Golkar and NU factions had been carefully crafted throughout the Suharto era, especially under then State Secretary and Vice President Sudharmono.
Abdurrahman Wahid's National Awakening Party (PKB) won 51 seats in 1999, mainly dominating the vote in East Java province, while the United Development Party (PPP) was more successful in covering a much broader base and took 58 seats in parliament.
PKB and PPP are both largely controlled by NU figures and were rightly identified by party analyst Coen Husain Pontoh as traditionalist Muslim-leaning parties.
Though PPP chairman and now Vice President Hamzah Haz does not belong to Wahid's political inner circle within NU, former PPP secretary general Tosary Wijaya was a relative of Wahid, thus effectively playing the role of Wahid's channel to PPP. It was Tosary who was instrumental in consolidating the NU caucus in the parliament to support Wahid as president in the 1999 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) session.
Amien Rais' National Mandate Party (PAN) presents a different story. Claiming to be pluralistic in nature, PAN is nevertheless still perceived as representing modernist Muslims, with a base among urban society and university students. This gave PAN 34 seats in the 1999 elections.
The Crescent Star Party (PBB) is more committed than PAN in declaring itself as the descendant of the former Masyumi party, and represents a modernist Muslim party committed to establishing an Islamic state. PBB won little support from mainstream modernist Muslim organizations such as Muhammadiyah, most of whose votes went to PAN.
Muhammadiyah and PAN share with PBB a commitment to the Islamic state, but tend to avoid political confrontation over the role of Islam in the organization of the state.
Little change in 40 years
Research conducted by Husain Pontoh showed that in the 1999 polls secular nationalist leaning parties gained 59.8% of votes, significantly up from there 27.4 percent in the 1955 general election (the last free election before 1999) (See Coen Husain Pontoh, Partai Politik and Konsolidasi Demokrasi, Pengalaman Tiga Pemerintahan Pasca Reformasi).
Islamic-leaning parties gained 38% percent, 5.7% more than in the 1955 polls. Socialist- and communist-leaning parties drastically decreased their share of the vote.
This research suggests that it can be argued that over the last 40 years, the loyalty of the supporters to political streams, be they secular nationalist or Islamic, essentially remain unchanged. Secondly, in the 1999 polls class politics was an unmarketable commodity in the national political mapping.
It remains unclear whether this represents disillusionment with leftist ideology following the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union or the legacy of the oppressive character of the Suharto regime against anything that smacked of communism or socialism.
The success of the big six showed that cultural solidarity is more attractive in the eyes of the ordinary people than class antagonism.
As a result, a strange coalition was inevitable among the six parties. In the process of electing the House Speaker, for instance, PDI-P and PKB joined to support PDI-P veteran politician Sutarjo Suryoguritno. Golkar, PAN, PPP, PBB and the military joined to nominate Akbar Tanjung.
This kind of tactical coalition, adds Husain Pontoh, has blurred the polarization between pro-New Order and anti-New Order groups. The tactical coalition reached its zenith in the presidential election that catapulted Abdurrahman Wahid into the national leadership.
Golkar and Islamic parties united under the Central Axis (Poros Tengah), together with Wahid's PKB, supported Wahid as president. Megawati was backed only by the members of her own party and a handful of other nationalist-leaning groups such as the Justice and Unity Party (PKP), a party splintered from Golkar.
This kind of coalition showed little consistency. PDI-P and PKB represent long-standing cultural solidarity between secular nationalists and traditionalist Muslims.
Abdurrahman Wahid thus gave the impression that he was willing to cooperate with Islamic parties that he earlier branded sectarian and exclusive.
A realignment took place In the coalition against Wahid which led to his downfall in July 2001. Except for PKB, almost all of the parties that helped to put Wahid into the presidency joined to depose him over his alleged involvement in misuse of funds from the National Logistics Agency (Bulog).
As a result of this tactical coalition which had nothing to do with cultural solidarity or class-based affiliations, Megawati replaced Wahid to become Indonesia's fifth president.
Prospects remain unclear
The prospects for the six leading under the new election bill remain unclear. The proportional and open-list system is expected by some political observers to neutralize the tendency of party politicians to get involved in the horse trading and backdoor deals.
Optimists believe that through this system legislators will be accountable to the electors, as well as to the central executive boards of their parties.
Article 84 of the bill stipulates that voters must perforate party symbols as well as candidates' names or photos on ballot papers, meaning that voters will have a far more direct relationship with legislators and vice versa.
In this setting, there would be no place for politicians without real roots in electorates, let alone corrupt politicians with no sense of accountability to the people.
In this respect, the warning signals to PDI-P given by State Minister of National Development Planning Kwik Kian Gie on Monday (17/2/03) bear comment.
Stating that PDI-P is the most corrupt party (a statement he denied a day later after a meeting with party chairwoman Megawati), Kwik warned that the party was on the brink of disarray, and would likely crumble in the next election.
Kwik reportedly told Megawati that his statement was a response to a question posed from the audience at a seminar. Denied or not, the statement caused an angry reaction from State Minister of State-Owned Enterprise Laksamana Sukardi and Manpower Minister Yakob Nuwawea.
Despite the angry reaction, Kwik is seen by analysts as having stated the truth in warning of the potential collapse of PDI-P at the next election, where its candidates will have to fight with an image of the party as a reformist element severely eroded.
Megawati, who will take part in a direct presidential election with the benefit of her personal image and her connection with founding President Sukarno, is unlikely to suffer as deeply as her party, since her reputation as a nationalist remains relatively strong.
This presents the possibility that Megawati will be re-elected as president, but with her party support in parliament decimated.
Status quo
The only problem still remaining as a result of the new election bill is that of the small parties. Their only choice now is to merge or build a new party. The Justice Party, according to chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid, apparently is preparing to build an alternative party.
Other new small parties established in 2002 such as the Bung Karno Nationalist party (PNBK), led by disenchanted former Megawati political advisor Eros Djarot; the New Indonesian Party (PIB) led by economist DR Sjahrir; and the National Democratic Party (PDK) led by former Wahid minister Ryass Rasyid, still need to be tested before the public.
The way out for these parties is to form a strategic alliance, although in practice this will not be as easy as many imagine. Social activist Agus Muldya told Laksamana.Net that an underlying deadlock facing the new and small parties is a reflection of the social movement in Indonesia as a whole.
"Be they NGOs, mass movements or political parties, their reasoning is mostly driven by issues rather than by the peoples' needs. As a result, their existence has nothing to do with objective conditions." If this interpretation is correct, the small parties are likely to stay that way, since their existence has little to do with the aspirations of voters, and therefore is likely to leave political power in the hands of the existing players.
Radio Australia - February 20, 2003
Women's groups in Indonesia have welcomed a new law that paves the way for more women to enter parliament.
There are currently only 45 women among Indonesia's 462 MPs -- even though over fifty percent of Indonesia's population is female. The electoral bill passed earlier this week sets a quota for political parties to have at least thirty percent women candidates on their electoral lists. But, while supporters are celebrating, the law does not carry as much weight as many would like.
Presenter/Interviewer: Sharon Mascall
Speakers: Dr Chusnul Mariyah, Electoral Commission in Jakarta; Dr Mochtar Buchori, deputy chairperson of the PDIP; M.R.S. Hikam, chairman of the PKB party.
Mascall: Indonesian women activists are caling it a breakthrough. At last they've got the portal into politics so many of them have fought for. The way is set for thirty percent female candidates on party lists for election next year in 2004. A far cry from the last elections in 1999 -- says Dr Chusnul Mariyah from the Electoral Commission -- back then Aceh and Bali were regions where not a single woman was elected.
Mariyah: We used to have a glass ceiling, you know, for women even to be candidates. Because you know our experience in 1999 in some places zero percent of the candidates were women. So this is like open door. You know like building more fair playing field for women to enter politics through political parties. To go into the election, to be a candidate so this is like one step to get more achievement for women to be part of the decision making process in this country.
Mascall: But not everyone is celebrating the new law. Of the nine factions in the national assembly four did not support the quota clause. Prominent resistence came from the PDIP -- the party of female Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri. PDIP deputy chairperson Dr Mochtar Buchori acknowledges a number of his party colleagues campaigned against the law.
Buchori: I do not belong to that group. I welcome this new legislation. The party has never been united in any case in any important issue. But that is democracy. There are those who oppose the introduction of new ideas but there are also those who support those new ideas. I belong to the group that support new ideas in the legislation and the political life.
Mascall: But the fact that members of the PDIP were opposed to women candidate quotas exposes a weakness in the new legislation. Scrutiny of the wording reveals that the obligation on parties to adopt the thirty percent quota is purely a moral one. If parties choose to ignore it, there is nothing legally to stop them. Dr Mariyah is calling for sanctions to be added to the law to penalise political parties refusing to comlpy.
Mariyah: There is no sanction that is a weakness.
Mascall: What kind of sanction would you like to see?
Mariyah: I think we have to say like that you have to deliver or not to be a contestant is one of the requirements.
Mascall: So thirty percent women on the list of candidates, or you're not allowed to stand for election.
Mariyah: Yes, yes and I would really like to see that but the problem is democracy is a process.
Mascall: Dr Mariyah acknowledges that democratic process could take some time. The current legislation is aimed at 2004 but tougher enforcement of the quotas may not be fortrhcoming, she says until 2009. Nevertheless, the current legislation is seen as a step forward. M.R.S.
Hikam, the chairman of the PKB National Awakening Party says his party supports a move that he regards as only a first step.
Hikam: Sometime we are not able to get everything we want, you know. We actually would like to have that this regulation should be seen as mandatory to all political parties but we could not have that. But at least, you know, now in Indonesia we have legislation that try to recommend that the thirty percent quota is very important for the justice.
Straits Times - February 19, 2003
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Golkar, Indonesia's second-largest party which once ruled the country's politics for thirty years, is preparing to strike back after nearly a year of adversity.
And while many assume it is going downhill with internal rifts and the graft conviction of its chairman Akbar Tandjung, the party is actually abuzz in anticipation of victory in the 2004 election.
Its passport to success is a presidential candidate whom the public cannot refuse, party officials say. With a candidate who receives nationwide support, Golkar is certain the nation would forgive the fact that it is a party headed by a convict.
Observers say this may just work. With the country's first direct presidential election looming, parties have been shopping early for their presidential nominees, embracing figures from religious leaders to army generals. And with the popularity of incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri continuing to decline, Golkar's run for the presidency looks promising.
So who can be the party's ticket to success? Five possible names were floated last week, including three senior Cabinet ministers, the Yogyakarta sultan and governor, and a retired general. Only one would be chosen, Mr Akbar has said. But party insiders have hinted that it might be too early to place a bet on any of them. They say: Watch out for a dark horse.
One possible contender is media icon Surya Paloh, who was a Golkar legislator for over a decade until early 1990. He hails from the predominantly Muslim Aceh province; is a successful businessman who owns Media Indonesia daily, Metro TV and a string of luxury hotels and industrial catering businesses; and was a critic of former president Suharto despite his business links to the first family.
Party insiders said Mr Akbar has given the nod to Mr Surya, seeing that his neutrality would help prevent factionalism in the party. Party operatives are said to be doing the groundwork to boost his chances of selection in a party leadership meeting next month, when the names of the presidential nominees might be formally announced.
Meanwhile, Golkar wants the public to know that Mr Akbar has cast aside his previous presidential ambition to keep his post. An analyst close to the party said: "This is a message to Mr Akbar's rivals that they should not fight over his post because he's already decided he won't leave until his term ends."
If Golkar succeeds in the next election, it will be a testament to its survival skills. When the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998 led to a backlash against Golkar, many believed its end had come.
Yet it managed to come in second to the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) in the 1999 poll. Mr Akbar, the consummate politician who served in the administrations of both Mr Suharto and his successor, Mr Habibie, has been largely credited with the success.
But last year, he was sentenced to three years' jail for illegally approving a disbursement of state funds to bankroll Golkar's 1999 election campaign. The Parliament Speaker maintained his innocence and he remains free pending his appeal to the Supreme Court. But his case has revived party factionalism, with rivals arguing that he is a liability.
A Golkar chairman can be replaced in mid-term only by an extraordinary leadership meeting recommended by at least two- thirds of the regional chapter. And Mr Akbar enjoys considerable support in most provinces. Many regional party bosses owe their positions to his backing in the past.
But loyalty may not be the only reason behind their support for Mr Akbar. Regional party bosses know that a change in national leadership would destabilise Golkar. Any replacement is unlikely to be powerful enough to garner majority support. Said a party insider: "Golkar cannot afford another destabilising factor so close to the election, our survivability depends on how solid we are now."
Radio Australia - February 18, 2003
In Jakarta, President Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDIP party has come under fire for continuing the corruption that has long been a part of Indonesian political life. But this time the criticisim comes from within her own ranks. Long serving PDIP member and National Development Planning Minister Kwik Kian Gie says the president's party is the most corrupt in the country. The minister has predicted the party will suffer defeat at national elections due next year.
Presenter/Interviewer: Tricia Fitzgerald
Speakers: Indonesian Minister of National Development Planning, Kwik Kian Gie; PDIP Central Committee member Supajio Anam; Australian National University lecturer, Doctor Chris Manning; Advisor to the Indonesian President, Mahendra Siregar.
Fitzgerald: It's not the first time Minister Kwik Kian Gie has criticised his own party, he told Asia Pacific Television last year that the corruption of the former President Suharto years, which his party had vowed to stamp out, was alive and well. He said in fact corruption had become harder to police with the departure of Suharto as Suharto at least had kept the practice under tight control.
Kwik Kian Gie: Because during the day of Suharto it was corrupt but the corruption was done by Suharto and his circle. If it is outside, if the people who dare to corrupt, are outside Suharto's circle, Suharto could take harsh measures, but now you can't, because they will scream, "why me, and why not you?"
Fitzgerald: Fellow PDIP party member Supajio Anam puts a positive spin on the Minister's criticism. He says the minister's comments are just are a sign that the PDIP is an open party where such criticism is tolerated.
Anam: Mr Kwik Kian Gie is always very straight and candid in his statements, but perhaps glued up his statement.
Fitzgerald: But he has made these comments before hasn't he?
Anam: Well he has yes, very popular you know, he likes making comments on any problem in Indonesia.
Fitzgerald: Is it acceptable to the party and to the president that Mr Kwik Kian Gie continues to make these comments?
Anam: Well you know Mr Kwik Kian Gie is a liberal minded person. When he makes comments, he's very objective, he's not making any himself or making any slander but he's giving the facts.
Fitzgerald: Mr Anam says it's natural that people would presume that the PDIP, which is now the country's most powerful party, is also the country's most corrupt party.
Anam: Everybody knows that everybody is making corruption in Indonesia and because PDIP at the moment is the government party, it is only obvious that he would believe that the party in power is the most corrupted party.
Fitzgerald: Doctor Chris Manning of the Australian National University agrees it's not that surprising that Indonesia's governing party would be considered the country's most corrupt.
Manning: Those people that have access to the public sector pie, those the greatest access to the public sector pie are those that are going to be taking the highest rewards and of course in that sense, politically, Megawati's party PDIP have the greatest access. So I don't think he's saying anything that new. If Golkar were in power then they would be creaming of the system equally.
Fitzgerald: Economic advisor to the president Mahendra Siregar defends the government's performance on tackling corruption.
Siregar: I think it would be dangerous to believe that corrupt practices have increased in Indonesia, just because you see more and more headlines in the media talking about it, I think it's on the contrary, the openness, the democracy, the transparency that are brought about by the reformasi, by the new openness democratic system in a way provides possibilities for everybody, including the media to find cases of corruption.
Fitzgerald: Mr Siregar claims the government's putting in place institutions, which will make it easier to expose and eradicate corruption. He says a long promised anti-corruption commission will be established this year.
Siregar: Budgets for that commission has been approved and the candidates of the commission have been identified. Now it is more toward the technicalities of the establishment of that commission and we aim the commission would work effectively at the second stage of this, I mean, the second semester of this year. So we are doing as much as we can.
Fitzgerald: The president herself has not publicly defended her party's performance on corruption. She instead has been taking a potshot at Indonesia's four million civil servants who have been pushing for a pay increase, saying Indonesia needs a new clean and more accountable bureaucracy. The civil servants are predominantly the same people who served former president Suharto for so many decades. Back then, they were regularly rewarded for their loyalty by a fixed system of pay-offs. Mr Siregar says this government won't be granting pay rises for civil servants until they raise their standards of professionalism.
Siregar: Because once again this is as a result of reformasi and democratisation, everybody in Indonesia now lives in the glass house. They have to be accountable to actions that they are doing.
Straits Times - February 20, 2003
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Top leaders of Indonesia's ruling Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) yesterday called on one of their own ministers to resign after he charged that the party was the most corrupt in the country.
It was time for senior minister Kwik Kian Gie to go, they said, noting that he had a damaging habit of hitting out at his own party and its policies. They called him a "traitor", said he was "senile" and charged that he had forgotten his political roots.
But the State Minister for National Development Planning was unfazed by the strong words, saying he would step down only if a majority in the party asked him to. "But as of now, they do not," he declared.
The controversy was sparked by remarks that Mr Kwik, who was once viewed as a close political ally of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, made at a gathering with state officials on Monday.
He charged that the PDI-P was now the most corrupt party in Indonesia and that the problem was so serious it would cause the party's breakdown at next year's elections. He said he had information about the alleged graft but lacked documents which might help bring the offenders to justice.
His hard-hitting remarks caused a stir, even though this is not the first time he has openly criticised the party, which is led by President Megawati. He has publicly expressed opposition to a wide range of government programmes, from the role of the International Monetary Fund in the country to the privatisation programme to fuel and utility price hikes.
This has led to head-on confrontations with other economics ministers, including fellow PDI-P official Laksamana Sukardi, the State Minister for State Enterprises Supervision.
Alluding to Mr Kwik at a gathering with hundreds of party sympathisers at the President's private residence on Tuesday, Mr Laksamana said: "Nowadays, there are many cadres who get dizzy after they become officials, they no longer remember their party -- forgetting the days when they were down and out and struggling." He went on: "Senile cadres who keep attacking the party from within should quit."
Mr Kwik's statement has also vexed Mr Taufik Kiemas, husband of the President and among the party's most influential players. "Mr Kwik should have a medical check-up," he said, before adding "or set up his own party". "Thanks to Mr Kwik, we are now consolidating. His remarks have made the PDI-P even more solid."
Joining in the attack, Manpower Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea, who is a PDI-P member, told reporters yesterday: "Party cadres who are no longer friendly with the PDI-P should just resign. The party should only accept people who are loyal and supportive of its programmes -- there is no use in having cadres who condemn the party most of the time."
Even if Mr Kwik's claim was right, he had no business telling it to outsiders, he said. Amid the flurry of attacks, Mr Kwik maintained that his comments were not meant to stir up a controversy.
"There was a gathering with officials from across the country and I had to talk about corruption and money politics, so I talked about my party," he said.
He attributed the attacks on him to infighting between the "black" and "white" factions within the PDI-P. The "white faction", to which he belonged, was shrinking by the number every day as some PDI-P legislators frustrated with the rampant corruption in Parliament had quit in protest. There are only a handful of them now, among whom are legislators Mei Lo No Suwondo and Indira Damayanti Sugondo.
Others simply stopped their parliamentary activities after their revelations of graft among the party legislators ended up alienating them from the party.
Agence France Presse - February 18, 2003
Jakarta -- Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday took civil servants to task again, saying they performed badly and were frequently absent from work.
Her comment followed a proposal for a rise in civil servants' salaries to up to 10 million rupiah (S$2,000) a month.
"I want it too," she said, referring to the salary raise. "But what about their performance and working spirit? I observe that they have trouble being present at work," she told a meeting on the empowerment of the civil service.
"So how can we have a better life if we keep complaining but refuse to roll up our sleeves?" she asked, the Detikcom news portal reported.
State Apparatus Minister Feisal Tamin had earlier suggested that the government raise the monthly salaries of civil servants to up to 10 million rupiah to bring them closer to the private sector.
In her speech, Ms Megawati also called for the establishment of a new bureaucratic system which was clean and accountable. Civil servants are poorly paid and some resort to charging illegal fees to supplement their income.
Last year, she had delivered a stinging rebuke to the bureaucracy, describing her administration as a "trash can" and telling officials to go out and check reports instead of staying desk-bound.
She complained on another occasion that they were a fawning lot who got on her nerves. Some of them, she said, had developed a habit of asal ibu senang or "keeping Madam President happy".
Last March, she also asked for drug tests to be administered to officials and warned them that the results could affect their performance appraisal.
| Corruption/collusion/nepotism |
Agence France Presse - February 20, 2003
Jakarta -- A lawyer for the jailed youngest son of former Indonesian president Suharto will soon face charges of bribing a witness at his trial, a prosecutor said yesterday.
Police have returned revised evidence dossiers on lawyer Elza Syarief to Jakarta prosecutors so they can prepare a document for trial. "In a week's time, at the latest, it can be submitted to the court," said prosecutor Andi Walinga.
Mr Andi said Elza would be tried on charges of bribery and trying to persuade a witness to perjure himself.
Elza was one of the lawyers for Hutomo "Tommy" Suharto in his trial for illegal weapons possession and murder. Last July, he was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in jail.
Police have said Elza persuaded a security guard at an apartment owned by Tommy to withdraw his statement to police that a cache of weapons found there belonged to Tommy.
Elza has maintained her innocence. She has admitted that she gave US$600 to three witnesses to buy clothes and rent a car and driver for their court appearance, but denied that the money was a bribe.
Jakarta Post - February 22, 2003
Yuliansyah, Banjarmasin -- Fearing the legal consequences, some South Kalimantan legislative councillors say they are planning to return a "reward" given to them by the local government for approving the 2003 provincial budget.
The provincial administration allocated Rp 1.3 billion for the councillors to smooth the budget deliberations. Each member of the 54-strong council received Rp 10 million, but those joining the budget committee earned more.
The issue only surfaced after a number of aggrieved councillors complained about the unfair splitting of the money, and the fact it was less than they usually paid themselves. One councillor, who agreed to be interviewed on condition of anonymity, said he would return the money due to fear that he would be accused of accepting bribes, which was classified as a crime.
"I'd better return the money, otherwise I will be jailed for life," the councillor said on Friday. He said many of his colleagues had claimed they would follow suit.
The South Sulawesi prosecutors office was planning to investigate the case, but the councillor said all the council members would have returned the money before the investigation started.
Legal practitioners and non-governmental organizations have criticized the councillors, branding them advocates of institutionalized corruption.
Meanwhile the South Kalimantan chapter of the Indonesian Lawyers Association demanded prosecutors investigate, even if the money was returned.
Association chairman Sabri Noor Herman said receiving the money could be categorized as corruption as it inflicted losses to the state.
"Councillors could be charged with violating anti-corruption laws," Sabri said. "Media reports should serve as a evidence of the corruption and collusion practices." Corruption carries a maximum life sentence according to the 1999 anti-corruption law.
Meanwhile, council internal affairs coordinator Syamsuri said he was not affected by the prosecutors' plan to investigate the case. He said the budget for the rewards had been approved by the council and the local government.
"Therefore if the case is investigated, it must target not only councillors or members of the council's internal affairs, but government officials who joined the budget committee," he said.
Jakarta Post - February 22, 2003
The police have blamed easily obtained police and military uniforms and badges and a lack of regulation governing the trade on the emergence of bogus police officers extorting people around the city.
Some city residents said there were cause-and-effect relationships between the apparently phony officers and the unregulated uniform sales. The Jakarta Post talked to them and here are their responses:
Wijoseno, 29, is a resident of Kampung Ambon in East Jakarta. He lives there with his family: I have never experienced nor met bogus police officers. I don't know much about them, or even if they exist.
I have a relative who works as a debt collector. He is well-built and always wears military-style garb including the standard green T-shirt and boots. The way he behaves sometimes, people think he must be a police or military officer. Is he considered as bogus? Well, if people think he is, I think we cannot just blame him for it. He performs that way because they are his only role model, namely the real police or military officers.
His attitudes resemble those officers because of that.
Besides, he is like any of us who can easily obtain police or military clothing and accessories in the market. There is no regulation banning the sale of such things, despite the risks.
Of course, the existing free market for the uniforms could further serve to tarnish the image of the police, which has been deteriorating for a long time. Civilians can afford the authentic-quality uniforms if they negotiate well. I have even bought a bag specifically produced for the military.
Abas, not his real name, 33, is a police officer at the City Police Headquarters. He resides in Tebet, South Jakarta with his wife and two children: I reckon that bogus police officers sometimes derived from a term so-called 'bodreks (bogus)' in which a real police officer accompanied by some civilians who resort to illegal confiscation or extortion. Usually, the civilians are the overacting ones who used to work jointly with the police as informants.
Perhaps there is a conspiracy between undisciplined and disloyal police officers and the bogus ones. When the fraudsters tried to raid a gambling den, for instance, they could perform as if doing it all legally. Realistically, only trained police officers know the exact confiscation procedures and techniques. The question is, who has taught those fraudsters or civilians the police procedures? Worse still, there are more and more police officers who have deserted or been dishonorably discharged, for undisciplined behavior or attitudes. The well-trained deserters have the potential to resort to crime, but let's not forget, there are many many real police officers who also abuse the regulations.
In many ways, I know that police officers behave just like thugs who extort money from the civilians. We can see those who always stop and extort trucks drivers on the toll roads.
It's very difficult to arrest the fraudsters as they usually operate at different police precincts' and, in case, they were under arrest they would admit that they come from a certain police station which in fact is not true. For instance, they operate in Bogor, West Java, but they name themselves on behalf of the city police headquarters in Jakarta.
I don't blame the vendors selling the military uniforms at the ordinary markets because they have been doing so for a long time. However, it would be better for the vendors to be more selective with their buyers. They should be required to ask for military or police ID cards to differentiate the civilians and the officers to prevent any irregularities.
Actually, I wonder why such goods are freely sold on the market anyway. Who has put them on the market? I think that's the issue.
Perhaps the commanders or high-ranking officers should think over the matter. Otherwise, rampant abuse by bogus officers will taint the police's reputation in general. Popi, not her real name, 29, is a housewife residing in Cakung, East Jakarta with her family: I'm of the opinion that it would be better to ban the public sales of police or military uniforms in an attempt to prevent the presence of bogus police officers. The free market here has given bad people an opportunity to resort to crime.
I personally don't blame the vendors who sell those goods. They are ordinary vendors who earn money for their living just like other vendors. I guess the police should check their own supply department which is the only one authorized to sell the stuff.
Internally, the police must find the officers responsible for the leakage in such a way that those goods are sold outside the police authority. It seems that high-ranking officers are involved in the scandal.
I think there is a positive correlation between the existing bogus police officers and the unregulated sale of police uniforms in the market.
But the internal verification would, at least, minimize the worsening fraud that threatens the public security.
Jakarta Post - February 18, 2003
Jakarta -- The ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) is the most corrupt party in Indonesia and will crumble during the next elections, PDI-Perjuangan's very own State Minister of National Development Planning Kwik Kian Gie said Monday.
"The largest corruption is committed by my party. PDI Perjuangan is on brink of disarray. It will break down in the next election," he told participants of a national meeting on administrative reform in his capacity as minister.
The meeting was opened by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who chairs PDI Perjuangan, at the State Palace earlier Monday. The President was not present during Kwik's speech at the Sahid Jaya hotel on Jl. Sudirman.
PDI Perjuangan is one of many parties founded in the wake of reform movement that deposed the corrupt-ridden, 32-year regime of Soeharto in May 1998.
Kwik, however, failed to provide evidence or reasons for his controversial statement, but focused on a complaint from the head of West Java's settlement and regional infrastructure office.
The minister said the official had complained about a number of PDI Perjuangan supporters who came to his office to demand projects.
"We are more afraid of PDI Perjuangan members than Police Mobile Brigade officers because party supporters threatened to mobilize the masses if their requests were turned down. The fear is that as PDI Perjuangan dominates the provincial legislative council, they can fire us," Kwik quoted the official as saying.
Kwik, who heads PDI Perjuangan's research and development division, said he possessed concrete data about corruption committed by his party, but the data could not be easily used as evidence.
"We have concrete data about the corruption but we lack documents to bring the persons involved to justice," he said. To save the party, he said, he had formed a team of 20 party activists who were committed to the party. "The team will continue attracting more members who share the same concerns," he said.
Kwik often has a different voice to that of the Cabinet, including on the issues of privatization, the role of the International Monetary Fund in Indonesia and foreign loans.
He recently said the nation had wasted Rp 444 trillion (US$49 billion) of its assets, partly due to corrupt state funds.
| Regional/communal conflicts |
Jakarta Post - February 18, 2003
La Remi, Palu -- Reinforced security forces were on alert in North Lore sub-district, part of the conflict-torn regency of Poso, on Monday after a rampaging mob attacked a local police station after police refused to hand over a suspect in the killing of a local resident.
No casualties and injuries were reported after Sunday night's attack, but part of the North Lore Police Headquarters in Wuasa were seriously damaged after the rioters stoned it.
Dozens of residents from Wuasa, the main town in North Lore, marched on the headquarters to demand that Haeruddin, 33, a suspect in the killing of 18-year-old Albert, be given to them so they could dispense mob justice.
The police's refusal to hand over Haeruddin, a man of Bugis origin who works as a civil servant at the Palu transportation office, triggered the crowd to begin stoning the station.
The mob then turned their attention on members of the Bugis ethnicity, forcing many to flee in fear.
Haeruddin became involved in a quarrel with Albert, a local Christian youth, after a drinking session on Sunday evening. Albert died from stab wounds to the stomach after the clash.
Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto said crowds continued to gather in certain places on Monday. However, he said the situation was under control after the immediate deployment of about 100 members of the police's elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob).
He said Haeruddin was taken to the Poso Regency Police Headquarters on Monday in anticipation of a possible attack in Wuasa.
Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufiq Ridha flew to the scene by helicopter on Monday to monitor the security situation in the hilly town, while Brimob officers stood guard.
"The family of the victim has apologized to the local police chief and has promised to settle the riot in a communal way," Taufik said. The communal way means that local residents will repair the damaged police office, he added.
Poso has been plagued by three years of religious fighting between Muslims and Christians. About 2,000 people have been killed since 2000. Hundreds of thousands of others have been forced to flee their homes.
North Lore, home to a diverse ethnic mix, is a subdistrict in Poso regency but has escaped the worst of the war.
A peace deal signed in December 2001 between leaders of the warring factions has managed to significantly reduce the bloodshed in Poso, but sporadic violence still erupts.
Meanwhile, up to 400 Brimob officers arrived in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu on Monday and were immediately dispatched to Poso for a six-month tour of duty as part of the routine rotation program.
At least 240 of the officers were from National Police Headquarters in Jakarta. The rest were from East Kalimantan province. "They will replace police officers who have completed their six-month tour in Poso," Taufik said after arriving back from North Lore. "So there are no reinforcements of police officers in Poso," he said.
| Local & community issues |
Jakarta Post - February 22, 2003
Jakarta -- Villagers demanding road improvementshave ended a blockade of an oil field owned by US company PT Caltex in Riau after police mediated in the dispute, AP reported. The villagers began their blockade of the Pinang field on Monday, Caltex spokesman Harry Bustaman said on Friday.
They dispersed Thursday after police arranged negotiations between the company and the protesters, he said. Caltex did not agree to the villagers' demands that the company pay for road improvements, Harry added.
He said Caltex lost 5,400 barrels of crude oil production due to the blockade -- a small amount compared to its daily average production in Riau of 630,000 barrels a day. Caltex, a unit of US-based Chevron Texaco Corp. (CVX), is Indonesia's largest crude oil producer.
Villagers, who complain that they see few benefits from the extraction of natural resources in their area, frequently disrupt Caltex's production in Riau.
New decentralization laws have granted provincial governments greater control over revenues from natural resources. But critics say much of this money is lost to corruption, leaving little to improve villagers' lives.
| Focus on Jakarta |
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2003
Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- Urban activists criticized the city administration's plan to evict Angke river squatters in North and West Jakarta, warning that it could spark social unrest.
Previously, the city administration announced that some 3,000 families living along the Angke river should move as soon as possible as the city would start the program of normalizing the river.
The city will accommodate the squatters in low-cost apartments. But unfortunately, only those with a legal right to live in Jakarta would be eligible for the apartments. Those who do not have identity cards will be given Rp 500,000 each in compensation.
The normalization project, which is expected to be completed next year, is part of efforts to resolve floods in the surrounding areas along the Angke river in North and West Jakarta.
Chairwoman of the Urban Poverty Consortium (UPC) Wardah Hafidz said while there was no guarantee that the project could resolve the flood in the areas, its social impact would be unavoidable.
"The majority of the people living along the Angke have no IDs, therefore if the city administration insists on the plan, I fear there will be conflicts," Wardah told The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday.
Separately, Asas Tigor Nainggolan of the Jakarta Residence Forum (Fakta), focused on urban affairs, shared Wardah's view, saying conflict could break out as such "discrimination" would cause jealousy, which would lead the people to violence.
Therefore, he added, the city administration should stop such an unfair policy in order to avoid problems.
He also expressed his pessimism that the apartments allocated for those who were evicted from the slums would go to the targeted people, particularly due to the widespread corruption in the bureaucracy.
Asas said that the corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) practices which had remained a dominant feature of the city bureaucracy would lead to a condition that only people who could bribe officials enough would get the flats.
He also said the riverbank squatting was only a minor factor in causing floods compared with the impact of the corrupt bureaucracy causing violations against the land-use policy, which experts say is the greatest manmade cause of the annual disaster. "I think the city should be more comprehensive in addressing the flood problems. The eviction of the people in Angke is further evidence that poor people always become the victims of the city administration policy," he added.
He said that this year, the city administration allocated Rp 16 billion for the Angke river project, including for compensation. Wardah also said that such a policy was not fair.
First, the families, many of whom have been living in the area since the 1970s, could only receive Rp 500,000 in compensation because they had no land ownership certificates. While those who could show certificates would receive compensation as much as the market price.
Second, the city administration will only offer the low-cost apartments for people who have Jakarta identity cards, despite the fact that many others have been living there for a longer time.
According to Wardah, many people in the slum areas have no identity cards, not through any fault of their own, but because they have no access or money to get such documents which very often require large bribes to still more city officials.
"How can we explain about the people who have been living there since 1970s, but without IDs. Of course they are not trying to be delinquent. It is unfair if our humanity is only measured by an ID card," she added. She stressed that allowing only those with IDs to live in the flats meant that only a few people living in the Angke riverbanks could be accommodated there.
| News & issues |
Jakarta Post - February 22, 2003
Bandung -- Chairman of the fatwa (legal advice) commission of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) said here on Friday that the erotic stage act of dangdut singer Inul Andarista could be categorized as haram (banned by Islamic teaching) because of her suggestive moves.
"Nevertheless, MUI will not issue a fatwa over Inul's stage act," Ma'ruf said, as quoted by Antara after attending a program to publicize MUI's fatwa on intellectual property rights here.
Ma'ruf, who is leader of the Jakarta Darunnajah Islamic boarding school, said that Inul's erotic stage act was covered by MUI's fatwa No. 5 on pornography issued in July 2002. The fatwa stipulates that someone who promotes his or her body through pictures, electronic or print media, whether directly or not, is committing an act that is haram.
In addition, allowing one's body to be viewed through open or transparent clothing, either through pictures or by any other means of visualization, is haram.
"Inul's erotic dance had been included in the category of MUI's fatwa on pornography and erotic moves," he said, adding that such a dance ought to be banned because it would be very dangerous and damage the Indonesian community's morals.
Straits Times - February 22, 2003
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Gang Macan (Tiger Lane), a densely populated alleyway in North Jakarta, was notorious for its tiny brothels and deadly fights between vicious gangs. A fire in 1995 took care of all that.
These days the neighbourhood provides a service high in demand in Indonesia today -- mob rental.
For as little as S$4, free transport and free lunch, residents of this slum neighbourhood in the rough Tanjung Priok seaport area would go out on the street en masse and defend any cause -- be it political, business or personal.
Said Mr Saud, the community unit head: "You can tell when there's a major demonstration in town, it gets really quiet around here." The industry started in 1999, when some residents were paid to show their support for then president B.J. Habibie's attempt for re-election.
In 2000 they were hired for many rallies to show support for former president Suharto, who was being accused of corruption. Those were the days, he said, when "orders' kept coming.
Business this year has not been good. Most of the protests were anti-government, something the residents here tend to avoid.
Many of Mr Saud's residents, mostly small-time fishermen, voted for President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle.
Mr Saud is just one of many protest agents or field coordinators raking in the money from an informal industry that has been growing.
Community unit heads, youth group leaders or the most feared thugs earn their money for recruiting the crowd, and often unfairly take cuts from the protesters' fees.
Paid crowds are not a new phenomenon. In the New Order regime, authorities like the military or village chiefs often mobilise crowds with money and intimidation, to counter anti-government student protests.
But now these mobs are available to anyone: politicians, crime suspects, even businessmen. "The paid crowds have become very professional now," said Ms Wardah Hafidz, who heads the Urban Poor Consortium advocate group whose members were attacked by the notorious Forum Betawi Rempuk (FBR) last year.
They have little political influence; indeed most Jakarta residents can distinguish the real ones from the paid ones at a glance. In massive numbers, however, they could add some pressure to the object of the protests.
The recruits range from unemployed young men in their teens -- some of whom are lured by the promise of drugs, alcohol and spending money -- to pedicab drivers, fishermen and housewives with children.
At the rallies, they are given headbands or shirts to wear or banners to hold, all displaying names of the groups they supposedly belong to.
For three hours of work, they get between 20,000 (S$4) and 30,000 rupiah, a lunchbox and mineral water. Rented buses ferry them to the protest site and back.
But the more professional protesters are those belonging to groups set up especially for such hiring. Often these groups are used for their violent streak. The FBR for instance, last year, assaulted pedicab drivers and illegal squatters, including women and children, who were protesting against the city's policies they deemed hostile to the poor.
Students too are in the business, despite their reputation as the vanguard of the 1998 reform movement. The Straits Times understands some student leaders have close ties to certain political figures or parties. Said Ms Wardah: "Students are the most sought after because they add credibility to the protests".
Asia Times - February 20, 2003
Richel Dursin, Bekasi -- "We're Indonesians. Why do we have to get a citizenship certificate proving that we're Indonesians?" asked Tjiong Tjoei Liong, 70.
Liong, his wife, three children and 14 grandchildren are among thousands of Chinese-Indonesians who are practically "stateless" because they do not have the document called the Republic of Indonesia Citizenship Certificate -- mandatory only for Indonesians of ethnic Chinese origin.
In the small village here of Kampung Teko in Bekasi, West Java, where Liong and his family live, most residents do not possess the citizenship document, which is required to obtain identification cards. Kampung Teko is home to more than 100 poor Chinese-Indonesian families whose ancestors have lived here since the 1930s. Some of them work as farmers, motorcycle drivers, and hawkers.
Chinese-Indonesians, who make up 3-5 percent of the country's 215 million, mostly Muslim population, have long protested against the citizenship-document requirement, which was technically abolished in 1996 by then-president Suharto, but still remains enforced today.
The requirement was introduced by the Suharto regime after the 1965 abortive coup, which Jakarta blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party that had strong links with the Chinese Communist Party.
Today, more than three decades that coup and seven years after Suharto reversed the requirement, authorities at the immigration and other government offices still require Chinese-Indonesians to present citizenship certificates when applying for documents such as passports.
They say they continue to do this because there are no implementation guidelines that enforce the revocation of the decree on citizenship documents for Chinese-Indonesians.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who declared the Lunar New Year day on February 1 a national holiday, has asked Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra to issue another decree abolishing the citizenship certificate requirements for Chinese- Indonesians.
But he said it would be "difficult and impossible" to do this in one go, not least because of security reasons.
He said a new citizenship bill must first be passed to remove legal uncertainty -- but this bill, about to be deliberated upon by the House of Representatives, is of little comfort: it still contains articles requiring Indonesians of Chinese ethnicity to obtain the controversial document.
"The current draft of the citizenship bill is double-faced," said Eddie Lembong, chairman of the Chinese-Indonesian Association (INTI). "We're struggling to eradicate this state-mandated form of discrimination against Chinese-Indonesians."
Lyang Ling, 23, who got her citizenship papers when she was barely eight years old, said, "We can't understand why we must have the papers when in fact our grandparents and parents are Indonesians."
"Requiring Chinese-Indonesians, even newborns, to get it creates only troubles," said Lembong, reflecting resentment by many at having in effect to "prove" that they are as Indonesian as the next person.
State universities still require the citizenship document from Chinese-Indonesian applicants. Indigenous Indonesians only submit their birth certificates. Even private banks oblige Chinese- Indonesians to produce their citizenship papers when applying for loans.
Chinese-Indonesian expert Andrie Wongso said that the problem lies in a lack of technical instructions from high-ranking officials on how their subordinates should implement new decrees like the scrapping of the citizenship papers.
Others say the vagueness around the revocation of the need for these papers encourages corruption and extortion that many Chinese-Indonesians have to live with. "Extortion is rampant in the government," said Gondomono, who is also deputy president for academic affairs of the Jakarta-based Darma Persada University.
Obtaining a citizenship certificate costs millions of rupiah, depending on the wealth of the claimants and requires significant effort and time.
Last year, renowned badminton player Hendrawan had a hard time getting a citizenship document even though he had represented Indonesia at many international events, including helping the country win last year's Thomas Cup world men's team championship. Hendrawan finally got the document, but only after Megawati intervened.
There are at least 12 bureaucratic institutions involved in the process of issuing the citizenship papers, according to data from the non-governmental group Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa.
In reality, critics say there is no need to wait for a new citizenship bill since the ruling revoking the citizenship document requirement for Chinese-Indonesians still holds.
For some, Mahendra's reluctance to follow Megawati's instructions is politically motivated. Mahendra, who chairs the Crescent Star Party, plans to run in the 2004 direct presidential polls.
"It was already the president of Indonesia who asked for the elimination of the [citizenship papers] requirement. But how can a minister like Mahendra defy the president?" Lembong asked.
Ironically, Mahendra was born in Belitung, South Sumatra, where there are many Chinese-Indonesians, and can speak Hakka, a south Chinese language. "If we want to get legal documents from the government, we must provide additional certification and pay higher fees," said Guo Hui Xia, 26.
She says she still fears for her life when taking a public bus because of the gruesome series of violent attacks and rapes of ethnic Chinese women in 1998. "If I have to take a public bus, I have to think many times," she said.
Those riots remain a painful episode for Chinese-Indonesians, often perceived to control a disproportionate amount of the economy despite the fact that many of them are struggling to make ends meet like other Indonesians.
Today, "there are 62 discriminative rulings against the Chinese ethnic community still valid in Indonesia", said Ester Jusuf, chairperson of the non-government group Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa.
Other discriminatory laws against Indonesians of ethnic-Chinese origin include a decree by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which does not include Confucianism or Konghucu among the country's recognized beliefs.
Marriages between Konghucu believers are regarded as illegal and their children illegitimate unless the wedding ceremony is conducted by a Buddhist priest and witnessed by an official at the Religious Affairs Ministry, or they convert to one of the five religions recognized by the government -- Islam, Catholicism, Christianity, Protestantism, Hinduism or Buddhism.
"We're tired of being discriminated against. What we only want from the government and society is to treat us fairly. But we know that this is a thousand-mile journey," Lembong said.
| Islam/religion |
Laksamana.Net - February 19, 2003
As hopes grow that a US war with Iraq may be averted, much attention is being paid to the Justice Party (Partai Keadilan, PK), which has demonstrated strong grass roots support during the campaign against a war.
Anti-US demonstrations over by radical Muslim organizations in Indonesia are nothing special. But the demonstration organized by the relatively small PK on February 9 that froze the center of Jakarta provided a new angle on Indonesian opposition and threw a new spotlight on the small party.
PK won seven seats -- a mere 1.8% of the party -- when it first entered Parliament in 1999, splitting the Islamic vote with mainstream parties such as the United Development Party (PPP), Amien Rais' National Mandate Party (PAN), and Yusril Ihza Mahendra's Crescent Moon Star Party (PBB).
PK was formed largely among a group of alumni of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB). The group, through effective use of the media, succeeded in winning public sympathy for the party's stance, on a commitment to peace.
PK is seen as the expression of a new generation of Muslims who promote the uncompromising purification of Islamic belief and strict adherence to religious morals.
Its leaders see a simultaneous push for political modernization as a natural part of their Islamic commitment -- jihad in the most positive view of the word.
PK strongholds tend to demonstrate strong outward adherence to orthodox Islamic values. Baby girls are often dressed in full jilbab, even although girls in countries such as Iran adopt the veil only on puberty.
In Jakarta, around the Bangka area, the behavior of strong pockets of PK supporters suggests that morality has become a fashion statement, but one that applies the best moral principles.
Wahabi roots
PK owes its roots to the neo-Wahabi movement. This movement's name is taken from its founder, Mohammad Abdul Wahab (1703-1787), and aims to purify Islamic practices, using Saudi Arabia- influenced Islamic teaching as a role model.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Wahabism was revived by, among others, the Moslem brotherhood or Ikhwanul Muslimin in Egypt, led by Hassan al-Banna, and Jamaat-I-Islami in Pakistan, led by Abul- a'la al-Maududi.
As a party which relies largely for its social base on university campuses, PK is closely linked to the United Action of Indonesian Muslim Students (KAMMI), which is the offspring of the Wahabi revival on campus. It is ideological closer to the Egyptian model than to the Pakistan.
Another Muslim student organization linked to PK is the Association of Inter-Campus Muslim Student Action, or Hammas. This organization is responsible for a marked increase in Islamic political activities in the major universities and links students from 56 universities across Java and some of the larger universities in Sumatra and Sulawesi. Hammas does not owe allegiance to PK, and also has strong links to PPP, PBB and PAN.
Despite its tendency toward Islamic fundamentalism and a commitment to establishment of an Islamic state in Indonesia, PK supports democracy and the rule of law as its goal. The theory has been put into practice. PK voted with PAN in supporting the amendments to the 1945 constitution and the dismantling of the political role of the military.
Its MPs look more like Muslim preachers than politicians. Party cadres are recruited through mosques, especially those on campuses, and at pesantren, the Islamic boarding schools. PK's network extends through the country via the mosque.
PK cadre monitor the level of activity at mosques in areas in which they have followers. Should attendance drop, the area is visited and interest in religious observance is reactivated.
Clandestine operations The party's operational techniques were born during the Suharto era, when the student groups that led to its formation acted in a far more clandestine manner.
The choice of Egyptian neo-Wahabism as a role model recognizes the strong tradition of clandestine organization in Hassan al- Banna's movement there, which faced strong pressure from the military regimes of Gamal Abdul Nasser and Anwar Sadat.
PK founding groups worked in small groups as mosque "helper" -- Usro -- or in small student groups.
Party president Hidayat Nur Wahid has solid credentials as an activist blacklisted by Suharto. He comes from a family of teachers and activists in mass organizations. Educated in the modern Islamic boarding school of Gontor in East Java, he was an early member of the Indonesian Islamic Union (PII), a movement dedicated to a state based on Islam.
PII was outlawed by Suharto because it rejected the five principles of Pancasila as the sole state ideology.
Hidayat left for the Middle East, attending Medinah University in Saudi Arabia, where he was a noted student. He was active in the Indonesian Student League and served as its general chairman.
Hidayat did not get on well with officials from the Indonesian Embassy, refusing to attend the mandatory "P4" Pancasila indoctrination course that all students had to take.
Hidayat developed a following among the campus community back in Indonesia, especially at Muhammadiyah University and the Jakarta Islamic Religion Institute (IAIN).
Hidayat was instrumental in the process of creating PK. He initially declined the leadership, preferring to sit for a while on the party's policy committee, the Syuriah, morally higher than the day-to-day leader.
Islamic political analyst A.E. Priyono told Laksamana.Net that PK is a unique creation, in that it accepts parliamentary democracy, and plays a positive role in it, but is intellectually closer to radical Islamic groups.
Its philosophical basis is very similar to that of Hisbut Tahrir (Liberation Party), The Sunni Communication Forum (Forum Komunikasi Ahlusunnah Wal Jamaah -- FKAWJ, the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) and the warlike Laskar Jihad.
Most of these groups bluntly reject democratic models and the multi-party system as a Western invention, and incompatible with Islam. Above all, Hisbut Tahrir and the other radical Muslim organizations share fierce anti-Western and anti-Zionist propaganda.
Hisbut Tahrir is a branch of the Middle Eastern movement of the same name centered on Lebanon. The neo-fundamentalist group has called for the Indonesian nation-state to be abolished and replaced by the classic model of an Islamic state, the caliphate. Another Islamic expert, the controversial Ulil Abshar Abdalla, dismisses Priyono's classification of the groups. "The polarization between Islamic groups that support the democratic system and those against it is now deeper than the polarization between the radical and moderate Islamic groups," Ulil told Laksamana.Net.
In Ulil's mind, in the post-Suharto political setting, the state is no longer an exclusive arena. Thus all Islamic forces, be they radical or moderate, have the opportunity to compete within the democratic system. Thus, whether Islamic groups are within or outside the system is no longer relevant.
In this situation, adds Ulil, it is more important to classify PK as a party supporting democracy and the rule of law than it is a Muslim fundamentalist group. As such, it should be seen as a moderate element in the political spectrum.
| Armed Forces/Police |
Straits Times - February 22, 2003
Robert Go, Jakarta -- The turf battle between Indonesia's police and the military (TNI) over who should be in charge of Indonesia's domestic security showed signs of flaring again this week.
General Ryamizard Ryacudu, the army's chief of staff, suggested on Thursday that Indonesia's unique situation would require the TNI to take a greater role in "preventing the country from disintegrating".
He told reporters after a meeting of top TNI figures: "We cannot leave domestic issues to just anybody. We are still dealing with disintegration problems."
At the same time, the police leadership is continuing efforts to convince the public that cops alone are up to the task of keeping order within the country and that the TNI should focus on defence.
Speaking before foreign investors on Thursday night, police chief Da'i Bachtiar mentioned falling crime levels, his officers' capacity to deal with demonstrations and other disturbances and their improved abilities.
Such talk from the two branches of Indonesia's security forces underlines the growing resentment that has coloured their relations since the police were spun off officially from the TNI structure two years ago.
Analysts also suggested that the military had not quite accepted the steady erosion of its political and social clout, a process that began with the downfall of former president Suharto, himself a former TNI general.
"There is no question that police and military tensions are at an all-time high," said Ms Sidney Jones, Indonesia project director for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. "At the top levels, it is a battle of opinion about who can best protect Indonesia ... the TNI has not accepted how its role should be limited to external defence."
Police success in the Bali terror case and investigations suggesting the potential involvement of military officers in various wrongdoings -- including the shooting of two American teachers in West Papua last August -- have reinforced the military's resentment.
The competition has also spilled down into the rank and file, and at that level it involves control over lucrative side businesses.
Mr Marcus Mietzner, a researcher at the Australian National University, said: "The main problem is rivalry of the two institutions over business activities in the region. Both are involved in the drug trade, protection rackets, gambling, prostitution, illegal logging and others." At times, the tensions have translated into violence.
Analysts attributed this partly to the fact that there are no laws delineating their specific roles.
| International relations |
The Australian - February 17, 2003
Dennis Shanahan, Jakarta -- Aid agencies operating in Indonesia using Australian government funding face scrutiny after John Howard offered to investigate if any of the funds were being spent to undermine Indonesian control in the rebellious provinces of Aceh and Papua.
At a meeting between the Australian Prime Minister and Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the Indonesians raised fears that Australian government funds were being used to support separatist movements in Indonesian provinces. The Megawati Government has been concerned that aid agencies, in particular, are helping separatists in struggles for independence.
The issue of Indonesian sovereignty was high on the list of topics discussed at the meeting as was the investigations into the Bali bombing, people smuggling and anti-terrorism. Mr Howard assured Ms Megawati that it was not the intent of the Australian Government to support any separatist movements, and offered to investigate any evidence Indonesia had of Australian government funding being channelled into efforts to undermine Indonesian sovereignty.
After the private assurance Mr Howard publicly reaffirmed the "total support of the Australian Government for the indivisibility of the Indonesian republic, and total respect for and support of Indonesian sovereignty over all parts of that country".
"It is not part of the policy of the Government of Australia to in any way directly or indirectly support activities which are designed to undermine the integrity of the Indonesian Republic."
Ms Megawati publicly welcomed Mr Howard"s reassurance and said a "procedure" was now in place to deal with Indonesia's concerns.
He and Ms Megawati highlighted the success of the Bali bombing investigations and the continuing anti-terrorism co-operation between Australia and Indonesia. Mr Howard described the work of the Indonesian authorities on the Bali bombing as "truly impressive, professional and effective".
| Military ties |
BBC - February 21, 2003
The United States ambassador to Jakarta has said that Indonesia must make better progress in holding its military to account for human rights abuses before the US fully normalises relations.
Ambassador Ralph Boyce said in an interview with the BBC that Washington was not simply going to restore relations when accountability for past abuses were still very much "an open question".
But he said that neither side believed that it was a good idea to have relations cut off.
The US banned weapons sales and direct military assistance to Indonesia because of 1999 violence in East Timor.
In August 2002, US Secretary of State Colin Powell announced a $50m anti-terrorism assistance package for Indonesia, including $400,000 to restart an exchange programme for high-level military officers.
Mr Boyce said the training of Indonesian officers -- on courses "designed to promote professionalism, and respect for human rights, and rule of law and transparency" -- was part of a "subtle effort" to improve relations.
"Neither we nor the Indonesian side believes it's a good idea to have our relations cut off, especially on the people to people level," the ambassador said. But Mr Boyce stressed that neither were relations yet normalised.
Washington cut ties after pro-Jakarta militias went on the rampage in East Timor, allegedly with the military's collusion, before and after the province's vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999.
Asked what Indonesia must do for Washington to restore ties, Mr Boyce said that, for a start, it should "demonstrate that when there have been abuses in the past ... that there are people held accountable for what they've done."
"That is something that I think is still a process very much under way, and one which I think is still yet to show significant results," Mr Boyce added. The international community has criticised Jakarta's human rights court for its poor record on convicting top officials over the bloodshed in East Timor.
Islamic militancy
There have also been questions raised over whether Indonesia did enough to crack down on Islamic militant groups prior to the Bali bombing in October, which has been blamed on regional militants Jemaah Islamiah.
Hamzah Haz, vice-president of Indonesia, has been accused of having ties with some militants.
Mr Boyce stressed, in response, that Indonesia was "a very decentralised ... and very democratising kind of place these days, and so there are many players on the scene now."
"The actions of certain individuals are not going to be held against the stated policy, and proven ability, to follow up of the government as a whole," he added.
Mr Boyce said that Indonesia's performance against terrorism since the Bali attack, was "nothing short of spectacular".
Melbourne Age - February 22 2003
Marian Wilkinson, Washington -- The police chief who led the Bali bombing investigation has pleaded for training assistance from the US for a controversial Indonesian police unit accused of human rights abuses in Aceh and other Indonesian trouble spots.
Speaking to diplomats and officials in Washington, General I Made Pastika argued that the notorious Indonesian police mobile brigade, known as Brimob, should be supported as part of the fight against terrorism.
Brimob has been accused of being implicated in killings, beatings and torture in Aceh and elsewhere in Indonesia by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
"Unfortunately there is an issue here in the United States that assistance should not go to the Brimob because they are being blamed for some human rights violations in Aceh," General Pastika said. "That is a dilemma." But he argued that poor training was one of the key problems.
"These units, let's say, violate human rights because [of] the lack of training," he told the seminar put on by the US-Indonesia Society.
General Pastika's reputation in Washington has soared following the Bali bombings. He was invited to meet senior Government officials including Vice-President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. The meetings covered the Bali investigation and the war on terrorism.
More difficult issues, such as the killing of two Americans at the Freeport mine in Papua and visa restrictions on Indonesians travelling to the US, were also expected to be on the agenda.
But Human Rights Watch advocate Mike Jendrzejczyk, at General Pastika's talk, said he was amazed the general would make any attempt to argue that anti-terrorism funds could be used for the controversial police unit.
"The Brimob has a highly abusive human rights tracks record and Congress and the Administration are right to withhold any assistance for them," Mr Jendrzejczyk said. "I was surprised he was making such a public pitch," he said.
General Pastika was also asked about recent media reports that the violent Islamic militia, Laskar Jihad, which had allegedly disbanded after the Bali bombing, had been working in Papua with Indonesian army special forces.
The police chief said there was no evidence of such co-operation "up to now", but investigations into the claims were continuing.
He said it was unfortunate that an Indonesian judge had recently acquitted the head of Laskar Jihad on charges of provoking violence and spreading hatred against the Government, and believed the prosecutor planned to appeal. Throughout his talk General Pastika pleaded for aid to Indonesia's police force, saying the country was in crisis.
| Economy & investment |
Lakasamana.Net - February 17, 2003
More troubles surfaced last week in the government and Bank Indonesia's (BI) efforts to cover the costs of the disastrous bank bailout of the late 1990s just as many of those responsible for the catastrophe put their names forward for the position of central bank governor.
State Secretary Bambang Kesowo was quoted in the press Sunday as saying that three names had been forwarded to the House of Representatives as possible replacements for current BI governor Syahril Sabirin. He did not reveal the candidates.
Sabirin's term expires on May 17, although he is still eligible to stay on for another five-year term, and the candidates' names must be submitted by the President three months before the end of the sitting officer's term to allow time for the 'fit and proper test' carried out by legislators.
Speculation in the media on possible replacements has centered primarily on: Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, Minister for National Development Planning Kwik Kian Gie, Syahril himself and his deputies Miranda Gultom and Aulia Pohan.
Others attracting attention are former finance minister Bambang Sudibyo, former coordinating minister for the economy Burhanuddin Abdullah, BI deputy governor Achjar Ilyas, current Finance Minister Boediono and Subarjo Djoyosumarto.
Spokespersons for House Commission IX on financial affairs have repeatedly stated that the next governor should be independent and able to guide market confidence.
Whether Sabirin, who began his career at the central bank in 1969, meets the criteria is a matter for intense debate although few would deny his tenacity in hanging onto the job thus far.
A corruption felony conviction and temporary detention at the Attorney General's Office during the investigations under former President Abdurrahman Wahid did not deter him.
The Jakarta High Court later upheld Sabirin's appeal although the case is now proceeding to the Supreme Court.
The case, involving payments to Bank Bali at the height of the financial crisis of the late 1990s, is just the tip of the iceberg of crimes linked to the Bank Indonesia Bank Liquidity (BLBI) program in which the central bank under Sabirin channeled over Rp140 trillion in government funds into the collapsing banking sector.
Despite the fact that an audit conducted by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) in 2000 revealed that over 90% of the funds had been misused by bank owners and channeled into currency speculation or affiliated interests, Sabirin's role has managed to go largely unscrutinized by the government, regulatory bodies and the courts.
Miranda Gultom and Aulia Pohan are also implicated in the scandal but this was no obstacle to their reappointment to their current BI positions in 2001.
Dislodging the rotund career central banker is no certainty and the man himself has remained tightlipped on his renomination prospects.
New Deal The BLBI mess is now at a turning point as the government and BI push ahead with plans to cover the enormous cost of the bailout through the issuance of so-called Capital Maintenance Notes (CMN).
Having failed to agree on the division of responsibility over the BLBI program and the bank recapitalization bonds issued at the time, the two parties have already proposed at least three mechanisms for covering the debt at the central bank.
Now, as Finance Minister Boediono admitted to the press Thursday, the government has run out of ideas and the CMN issuance must go ahead -- even if it means undertaking the messy task of rewriting the central bank law.
As revealed last week, BI and the government agreed to a package with several points, among them an agreement on the BLBI funds in question -- Rp159 trillion -- and an agreement not to verify the accuracy of that total.
Boediono said the State Audit Board (BPK) had already verified the figure but this has not stopped critics accusing the parties of attempting to fudge the extent of the BLBI disaster, reported detikcom.
The agreement also attempted to allow leeway in servicing the debt and maintaining the liquidity of the central bank.
Under the proposal, if BI's capital ratio falls below 5%, the government is obliged to inject funds from the state budget to meet the minimum 5% requirement.
On the other hand, if the ratio increases to over 8%, the surplus would then be used to retire outstanding CMN.
The central bank is also not obliged to pay interest on the CMN papers it holds, is not subject to tax in the event of a surplus and no longer sets aside 30% of its surplus for 'appropriated reserves'.
The government stands to ease its fiscal burden under the deal because it does not have to pay interest on the debt and has delayed retiring the debt at the central bank.
However, the provisions for the CMN conflict with the central bank law, particularly Article 62, reported detikcom.
The article allows for only 'appropriated surplus' and general surplus with no mention of any other mechanism. In addition, the article states that BI's minimum reserves must be maintained at Rp2 trillion. That is, not defined in terms of the bank's capital ratio.
BPK has raised these and other issues numerous times and has objected to the proposal's lack of clarity on issues such as the unclear timeframe and lost interest.
The Finance Minister is adamant the CMN solution will go ahead but prolonged reviews and debate, with the BPK in particular, are expected.
International Herald Tribune - February 17, 2003
Jakarta -- Indonesia's economy probably expanded in the fourth quarter as Muslim holy days and other festivals spurred spending on food and gifts, analysts say.
Rising prices for palm oil, natural gas and other exports may have also helped gross domestic product rise an estimated 4 percent from a year earlier after a 3.9 percent gain in the third quarter, according to the median forecast of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The report is to be released on Monday.
Consumer spending drives three-quarters of economic activity in Indonesia, where eight of the ten biggest nonbank companies on the Jakarta stock exchange sell motor bikes, cars, cigarettes, noodles, detergents and cement. With foreign-investment approvals shrinking a third and money from tourism dropping almost two- fifths last year, Jakarta will be hard-pressed to ensure that consumer confidence does not flag, analysts said.
"If private consumption stalls, everything will fall apart because of the lack of external demand and a business environment that's deterring investments," said Charlie Lay, an economist at Forecast Singapore Pte., who expects the economy to expand 3.7 percent this year after an estimated 3.5 percent last year. "The government has no money to spend. Everything is a little bleak."
The central bank said last month that private spending would help gross domestic product expand 4.3 to 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter.
Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian country that has not yet recovered fully from the 1997-1999 Asian financial crisis. The economy expanded 3.3 percent in 2001, far slower than the minimum 6 percent that the International Monetary Fund and World Bank say the country needs in annual growth to avoid social unrest. The October 12, 2002, terrorist attack on the resort island of Bali prompted Jakarta to cut its growth estimate to 3.5 percent last year and 4 percent this year.
Economists are concerned that growth will suffer because consumer spending will be slowed by inflation worries and the higher cost of living as the government weans the people away from the fuel subsidies that have been in place for more than three decades. Inflation touched 10 percent last year and the government forecasts a 9 percent rise this year. With about 40 million unemployed, there is concern that 2 million more jobs will be lost if foreign tourists do not return to Bali or if Indonesia, predominantly Muslim, suffers a backlash from a war on Iraq. Tourism receipts fell 37 percent last year to $3.4 billion. "Growth in domestic consumption has been slowing with investments," said Fauzi Ichsan, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Jakarta. "Sooner or later, it will affect the larger companies.
Companies that cater to the poor such as PT Ramayana (Lestari Sentosa) will be better protected while those catering for the middle-class will be hit, Fauzi said. To bolster its image as a country that is serious about tackling terrorism, the government enacted anti-terror laws and plans to prosecute the first of the Bali bomb suspects as early as this month. In December, usually its best month for tourism, foreign arrivals fell 9 percent to 281,928 visitors from the year before.
Indonesian exports last year rose 1.2 percent to $57 billion on higher oil and commodity prices and as foreign companies bought more machinery and manufactured goods. Nonoil exports, a measure of industrial activity, gained 2.8 percent to $44.9 billion.
Oil may continue to bring in more money as Brent crude for April delivery is trading at $32.61 a barrel. Brent, the benchmark for two-thirds of the world's oil, has risen 42 percent in the past year, partly on concern a war may disrupt exports from the Gulf.
Still, analysts say it may not be easy for Indonesia to even maintain exports at their current level. Indonesian exports are under pressure from China, Vietnam and other developing countries on costs. Moreover, a war in the Middle East would send shipment costs soaring by more than a third, the Jakarta Post reported, citing Barens Th. Saragih, chairman of the Indonesian Shipowners' Association.
Indonesia's central bank may also be under pressure to raise interest rates should inflation gather pace. Such a move would choke credit to businesses. Last year, Indonesia's currency, the rupiah, gained 16 percent, helping the central bank lower interest rates and spur economic activity. The benchmark three- month central bank bill yield fell to 13.117 by the end of 2002 from 17.428 percent when the year started. The yield was 12.682 percent in the latest auction. The rupiah has been little changed at 8,928 to the dollar compared with 8,955 at the end of December.