Aceh

Aceh hit by power blackouts

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2003

Bernie K. Moestafa and Tiarma Siboro, Lhokseumawe -- Frequent power blackouts have added to the suffering of the Acehnese as conflict and martial law, which will enter its fourth week, continued unabated.

Hospitals and households are affected the most by the power outages, which have become frequent in the strife-torn province over the past two years. An official with the local state electricity company PT PLN said power blackouts had taken place 12 times since 2001.

This time the blackouts, which started on Thursday after an "unidentified group of people" damaged electricity towers in North Aceh, are affecting most of North Aceh, including the city of Lhokseumawe, East Aceh, Pidie and Bireuen regencies.

Due to the power outage, as of 8pm on Friday, main thoroughfares in Lhokseumawe, the main city of North Aceh, were deserted. In normal times, activities on the streets do not end until 11 pm. Local residents opted to stay home.

For the Acehnese, the power blackouts have diminished their quality of life. Apart from depriving people of lights and television, the absence of electricity also causes gas stations to cease services and disrupts automatic teller machines.

Cut Meutia Hospital in Lhokseumawe was also adversely affected by the power blackouts. Suryani Said, the director of the hospital, told reporters that the hospital was forced to use generators in order to enable essential equipment to continue running. Air conditioners were off as well, since the generators' capacity is limited to lights and crucial equipment.

The generators are only turned on at night. However, it affected important machines such as radiology, surgery and laboratory equipment. "We operate the equipment only at nights," said Suryani.

The hospital has been forced to call off surgeries for patients. On Friday, the hospital only conducted surgery on two patients, one who had caesarean birth operation and the other had surgery to remove a tumor. There will be no surgery on Saturday, Suryani said.

Meanwhile, local residents flocked to stores to buy generators. In Lhokseumawe, generators had sold out by 11 pm. Due to the scarcity, only within hours, the price of generators jumped from Rp 800,000 to Rp 1.2 million. "I had 10 generators, but those were sold out at by 11 pm," said Apin Suwanto, a local generator seller. Most household-size generators require about a liter of fuel per hour.

An Indonesian military (TNI) officer based in Lhokseumawe accused members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) perpetrating the power blackout. The security authorities promised to investigate the incidents and rebuild the broken towers, in order to restore power.

Sulaiman Daud, the head of state electricity company PT PLN's branch of Lhokseumawe, said that the power outage in the regions could cost the company some Rp 240 million rupiah in potential revenues per day. He said that it might take between one week to one month before PLN could restore the power.

Sulaiman said transmission lines of PLN were vulnerable to attack and guarding all of them was difficult because of a lack of security personnel. "There is a tower every 300 meters," he said.

Wife writes letter to forgive troops who shot husband dead

Sydney Morning Herald - June 7, 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- The injured wife of a German tourist shot dead by Indonesian soldiers in war-torn Aceh province on Wednesday night wrote a letter the next day forgiving the military for the "misunderstanding".

Suffering a gunshot wound in her knee, Elisabeth Engel wrote the letter at the request of the military, although the military's operational commander in Aceh, General Bambang Darmono, insisted she was not put under pressure to write it. Although she did not speak English when the Herald interviewed her in Aceh on May 18, Ms Engel wrote her letter in English.

She and her husband, Lothar Heinrich Albert, had been on a world cycling trip since 2001. They reached Aceh before Indonesia began its military offensive on May 19, and continued to the west coast village of Lhok Gayo, where they camped by the beach at dusk on Wednesday. "I know it was very dangerest area and it was not good, to do this at this situation ... my husband is death and I know, this was only a misunderstanding from military. I will except my husbands deaths," her letter says.

The Indonesian army would not confirm yesterday that the tourists were inside their tent, with their bicycles outside, when soldiers shot at the tent.

A spokesman for the Indonesian army in Aceh, Lieutenant-Colonel Firdaus, said the army wanted the letter because "we just want to make sure that what we did was in accordance with normal procedure".

End the war in Aceh

Kompas - June 7, 2003

Jakarta -- The Indonesian Women's Solidarity Alliance (Aliansi Solidaritas Perempuan Indonesia, ASPI) has called on warring parties in Aceh to immediately end the war and return to the negotiating table. According to ASPI, the war will achieve nothing, rather it will result in civilian deaths and tear apart the rights of the Acehnese people.

"We reject the war because the war will not resolve the problems [in Aceh]", said ASPI spokesperson Lismayani at a demonstration organised by ASPI at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta on June 6.

ASPI is made of around 100 students from the Syarief Hidayatullah Islamic State University, the Jakarta State University, the Indonesian Muslim Student Action Committee (Komite Aksi Mahasiswa Muslim Indonesia, KAMMI), Seroja (Veterans), the Voluntary Corps of the Indonesian Muslim Student Movement (Pergerakan Mahasiswa Islam Indonesia, PMII), the Associated of North Sumatra Students (Kesatuan Mahasiswa Sumatera Utara) and the Minang Student Association (Ikatan Mahasiswa Minang).

The integrated operation has been shown to provide no answers the Aceh problem. More civilians are being killed, schools burnt down and the number of refugees is growing.

Meanwhile indications that peace has been archived for the Acehnese people are far from what had been hoped for, the integrated operation has failed to answer the problems. Therefore ASPI calls on the warring parties to return to the negotiating table.

In line with ASPI's views, the Indonesian Islamic Student League (Liga Mahasiswa Islam Indonesia, LMIIP) also held a demonstration yesterday at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout calling for an end to the armed conflict in Aceh and that the government reinstate negotiations.

They also demanded that all case of human rights violations during the period Aceh was declared a Military Operation Zone up until now be fully investigated. (LOK)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

TINI targets civilians in its offensive in Aceh

ASAP News Updates - June 4, 2003

John Roberts -- Despite attempts by the Indonesian government to block information on the military's activities, it is becoming clear that the offensive by the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) in the northern-most province of Aceh against the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) involves a deliberate campaign of mass terror against the civilian population.

The operation began on May 19 after the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri broke off internationally brokered peace talks and authorised a "shock and awe" campaign to wipe out GAM. The all-out assault involves 30,000 TNI troops and 13,000 police supported by artillery, armour, aircraft and naval craft against an estimated 5,000 lightly armed GAM guerillas.

The most hardline elements in the military hierarchy have long advocated such an operation. Ominously TNI spokesmen have declared one of its main objects is to separate GAM activists from the province's four million population. After decades of brutal repression at the hands of Jakarta and the TNI, there is widespread sympathy among ordinary people for the separatist fighters.

TNI chief General Endriartono Sutarto admitted to the media that hundreds of thousands of Acehnese might be forced from their homes. "Our first priority is to separate GAM from the people, because we don't want people to get hurt. If we have to move them to win this war, we will, but that's a last resort." The government has set up 82 camps to house up to 200,000 people under military guard but provided very little food or shelter for those it intends to intern. Media reports indicate that well over 20,000 people have already been forced to flee their homes in an operation that the country's defence minister predicts will last six months.

Such "counter-insurgency" campaigns, including those of the French in Algeria and the British in Malaya in the 1950s, and the Americans in Vietnam in the 1960s, have invariably been associated with atrocities against the civilian population, as it is forced to seek "refuge" in designated areas.

From the information available it appears that the TNI is directly targeting civilians as the centerpiece of its operational plan.

• According to the provincial education authorities, more than 400 schools have been torched.
• Residents in the village of Cot Rabo insist that seven young men, including two 12-year-old boys, killed by the TNI on May 21 were farmers and that no weapons were found among the bodies. Operation spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Yani Basuki has announced that the army's investigation concluded that the seven were all GAM rebels or spies. In a sinister twist, Basuki accused GAM of adopting a new tactic in which unarmed sympathisers and spies were being inserted in the frontline to make it appear they were civilians, and in this way bolster international sympathy for GAM when the TNI killed them.
• The San Francisco Chronicle reported on May 30 that 30 soldiers had entered a mosque in the village of Alue Iet the previous week, stabbing and bashing a male civil servant called Masuni and shooting dead his friend Husseini. In the nearby village of Awegetah, resident Usman Menamin reported that soldiers had burned the motorcycle of his brother and a friend at a roadblock. Residents later found the bodies of the two men with their hands and toes cut off. According to the report, villagers say these abuses are commonplace.
• In the first week of the military offensive, the price of rice and cooking oil nearly doubled. Food supplies to the provincial capital Banda Aceh have dwindled and the road from the capital to Northern Sumatra is under threat. Shopkeepers say they will no longer make the journey because their trucks will either be attacked and burned by "unidentified" men or their food stocks pilfered by TNI troops at the numerous check points along the roads. Similar problems are occurring in other areas.
• In the GAM stronghold district of Bireuen the irrigation system has been deliberately damaged, threatening 6,500 hectares of rice crop that feeds a population of 150,000, as well as the area's income earning cash crops of coconuts, pawpaws, bananas and mangoes.

Reports remain sketchy because of TNI and government efforts to censor information and remove independent observers.

The Aceh operation deputy commander, Brigadier-General Bambang Darmono, told a press conference on May 24 that dispatches from Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the Indonesian newspaper Korantemp on the May 21 civilian killings were a "provocation" and threatened to sue both for libel. Any reporting of statements by GAM has been forbidden.

Jakarta has also sought to silence GAM spokesmen outside the country. It has formally requested that Sweden deport for trial in Indonesia four GAM members, including prominent leader Hasan Tiro. Sweden has refused the request on the basis that the four are all Swedish citizens.

According to the Jakarta Post, Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry has informed five international non-government organisations and four United Nations agencies concerned with humanitarian relief in Aceh that they should leave the province. Declaring that the local government and Indonesian Red Cross would handle all relief work, Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa declared: "They should be aware of this policy and leave Aceh. Their physical presence and direct contact in Aceh are not needed due to security reasons."

Prosecutors demand eight months for soldiers

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2003

Berni K. Moestafa and Tiarma Siboro, Lhokseumawe -- Military prosecutors are seeking an eight-month sentence for three soldiers who allegedly assaulted civilians during a raid in Bireuen, Aceh regency, at the end of May.

The prosecutors' demand followed the three soldiers' confessions and the testimony of victims delivered on Wednesday at the military tribunal in Lhokseumawe. "The soldiers are guilty of the charges," said military prosecutor Capt. Baharuddin Siregar during the court session yesterday.

First Pvt. Syaiful Bahri, 29, Second Pvt. Tony Narianto, 22, and Second Pvt. Agus Hidayat, 24, were accused of physically abusing five residents of Lawang village, Peudada District, Bireuen regency in a raid against members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and thereby not acting in accordance with the rules of military discipline. Four other soldiers, including a middle- ranking officer, are still awaiting trial at the military tribunal.

During the raid, the soldiers also killed Abu Bakar, a resident, whom they claimed to be a member of GAM as they had found a bundle of identity cards belonging to villagers in his house. Abu Bakar's widow Aisyah said to reporters that her husband was killed by soldiers, who dragged him out of the house, beat him and then shot him.

One of the seven suspects, (First Private) Alfian, however, told the court on Wednesday that Abu Bakar was a rebel and he was shot while trying to escape.

Witnesses identified the three soldiers behind the beating of Lawang villagers during an early-morning raid for GAM members on May 27. The victims, three of whom appeared before the court on Wednesday, suffered bruises on their faces and bodies.

Prosecutors charged the soldiers with violating Articles 251 and 55 of the Criminal Code on the torture of civilians, as well as Article 103 of the Military Criminal Code for neglecting military discipline. The charges carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

However, prosecutors demanded eight months for Syaiful and Agus, and eight months and 20 days for Toni, who allegedly assaulted three civilians. Baharuddin said that the prosecution was reducing the charges because the soldiers were relatively young, were polite in court and because they were serving their duty in Aceh.

But he added that the three had tarnished the image of the Indonesian Military, caused suffering to others, took the law into their own hands and violated the Saptamarga principles under the military code of ethics. "These considerations were heavily weighing upon the severity of their charges," said Baharuddin.

Indonesia's generals at it again

New Zealand Herald - June 6, 2003

Maire Leadbeater -- A cartoon is circulating among human rights networks shows a finger-wagging Indonesian President Megawati exhorting one of her generals to "make sure you win their hearts and minds". The general, who holds a map of Aceh, reassures her: "Don't worry, we trained in East Timor."

The Aceh operation, like the 1975 assault on East Timor, began with an awesome display of military might -- air, land and sea assaults, rocket and bomb attacks and even parachute commandos. Just as happened in East Timor, there is indiscriminate slaughter of the innocents.

A journalist investigating an attack in which children were killed was told by soldiers: "We already killed 10 rats over there." Thousands of refugees have been forced to flee their villages. And just as in East Timor, Indonesia is using weapons supplied by the United States, including Bronco counter- insurgency aircraft and Hercules transports.

Behind the talk of "crushing" the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) lies the sinister aim of separating the civilian population from the rebels, or in other words destroying the social and economic fabric of Aceh society.

In an attempt to destroy community morale in East Timor, the military relied heavily on the militia units it recruited, trained and armed. Similar groups in Aceh were almost certainly involved in the torching of nearly 300 schools, and the abduction of human rights workers.

There is a systematic attempt to destroy civilian movements, such as student, women's rights and pro-referendum organisations. Internationally respected leaders of these movements have been jailed.

Indonesia is also doing its best to repeat the closed-door policy that kept East Timor isolated from the prying eyes of journalists and human rights workers until 1989. International aid and human rights workers have been ordered out of Aceh and journalists have had their vehicles shot at.

Some argue that Indonesia's post-colonial history gives it more "rights" over Aceh than it had over East Timor. But Aceh people can mount a convincing historic case to being a distinct political entity or kingdom; the Dutch colonialists never subdued Aceh and were at war there from 1873 to 1942, when Japan invaded.

Indonesia's nationalist founders campaigned in the 1920s for a democratic nation-state across the ethnically diverse archipelago controlled by the Dutch, but it was to be voluntary union forged from a common anti-colonial struggle.

Acehnese nationalism has grown staunch over nearly three decades of militarisation and repression and because of the exploitation of its timber and oil and gas resources.

Jakarta's most recent "special autonomy" offer has drawn a cynical response from the Acehnese who believe that any economic benefits will flow to the pro-Jakarta ruling clique. Pro- referendum sentiment remains undiminished, but the military has prevented any repeat of a 1999 rally, when up to two million people, or half the population, mobilised peacefully in support of a vote on self-determination.

Surely the Acehnese are only asking for the same rights to freedom as guaranteed to all peoples in United Nations human rights covenants?

However, the independence or autonomy debate can be set aside for now. The cessation of hostilities agreement signed last December was about creating a situation of peace, not reaching a final political settlement. GAM had conceded that special autonomy could be the starting point for an "all-inclusive dialogue". But the Indonesian Government torpedoed that agreement when it began a huge deployment of troops, including contingents of the feared Kopassus special forces.

The independent peace monitors were attacked by well-organised mobs that most believe had military backing, and had no choice but to withdraw from their rural offices. Then Jakarta arrested GAM negotiators as they prepared to fly to the last-ditch Tokyo meeting.

Finally, Jakarta, in clear contravention of the December agreement, insisted on an ultimatum that GAM renounce any aim of independence, and accept special autonomy -- end of story.

Major General Adam Damiri, undoubtedly the cartoonist's model, should be appearing before a Jakarta human rights court. He is the highest ranked of all the 18 officers on trial for the 1999 violence in East Timor. But he has been excused from attending because, as one of the top brass, he is busy executing the military operation in Aceh.

New Zealand's response to the crisis has been decidedly low-key. Helen Clark and Phil Goff uncritically back Jakarta's special autonomy plans. (Ungrateful Acehnese - don't they know what is good for them?) But New Zealand is not an innocent bystander; we covered Indonesia's back while it invaded East Timor and for the next two decades upheld the occupation as "irreversible".

This time around we should pull no punches but demand Indonesia end its military attack and revoke the draconian martial law edict.

Negotiations should be resumed but with a crucial difference -- representatives of Aceh's non-violent civilian movements should be included, too.

And last but not least, we should insist that the East Timor recidivist generals face genuine justice. That means they must face an international tribunal, like the criminals responsible for atrocities in Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The patsy Jakarta court that has let most of them off, and released the rest while they appeal against their sentences, should be exposed for what it is -- a shameful farce.

[Maire Leadbeater is a spokeswoman for the Indonesia Human Rights Committee.]

German tourist in Aceh killed by military

Sydney Morning Herald - June 6, 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta and agencies -- Indonesian politicians and military commanders were last night struggling to contain damaging fallout after soldiers in Aceh attacked two German tourists on a cycling holiday, killing a man and shooting his wife in the leg.

Indonesia's top security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, expressed deep concern and ordered an investigation into what is the latest in a series of shootings of unarmed people by soldiers in Aceh since war resumed on May 19.

The Welfare Minister, Yusuf Kalla, warned that the shooting of foreigners in Aceh "will definitely trouble us" in the same way the killing of foreigners in West Timor several years ago had reverberated around the world.

The German citizens were named by the army as Luther Hendrick Albert, 45, and his wife, Elizabeth Margaret, 49. She was being treated at the military hospital in the town of Meulaboh.

The army issued a statement in which it tried to explain the shootings. It said a villager named Zakaria, from Lhok Gayo, on Aceh's remote west coast, reported seeing a suspicious light at the back of his house at 9pm on Wednesday.

A group of soldiers from a nearby military post went to the house, saw what appeared to be torch light and demanded to know who was there, the statement said. When the soldiers received no reply to their calls they fired warning shots and the lights went out. "Because the warning shots were ignored," the soldiers fired at the target, the statement said.

The Herald met the German tourists on May 18, the day before the start of the military offensive, near Bireuen, several hundred kilometres east of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh. The couple, who appeared at least 10 years older than the ages given yesterday, spoke no Indonesian and only halting English.

They were unconcerned about the dangers and were heading for Banda Aceh. Police said yesterday that they arrived in the province on April 16, riding bicyles heavily laden with camping equipment. They were believed to be camping by the beach when they were shot.

The operations commander, General Bambang Darmono, told Elshinta Radio that the tourists should not have been in Aceh, and must have ridden through numerous army and police checkpoints. "Investigations found they had no permit to be in the area."

In the first weeks of the offensive there have been at least 10 incidents where the army has been accused of executing unarmed Acehnese, some as young as 12. But army investigations have concluded in every case that those killed were members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement.

Mr Yudhoyono admitted yesterday that the shooting of the Germans might have a big impact on the Government's Aceh campaign and result in the army's behaviour coming under renewed scrutiny. "This is an issue we don't want to have, and it could provide a wrong perception to the world about what we are doing in Aceh."

INCREASE proposes referendum for Aceh

Sriwijaya Post - June 2, 2003

Jakarta, Sripo -- The Indonesian Centre for Reform and Social Emancipation (INCREASE) has put forward a referendum as the solution to resolving the conflict in Aceh. According to the pro-democracy non-government organisation, a referendum is the most democratic mechanism and form of participation to involve all elements of Acehnese society to determine their future.

"If the government truly believes that GAM's [the Free Aceh Movement] strength is minimal and it does not have the support of the people, then isn't the government convinced that it would win such an referendum?, said Prijo Wasono, the chairperson INCREASE, on Thursday.

The politics being implemented by the government should be directed towards a more persuasive approach to win the support of the majority of the Acehnese people so that they will remain part of the Unitary State of the Indonesian Republic (NKRI), rather than by violence. "GAM own position will become isolated among the majority of Acehnese people who will continue to wish to be part of KNRI", said Prijo.

According to Prijo, the trauma felt by the government over the referendum in East Timor and because of the loss of East Timor was an error on the part of the government itself because it chose to maintain [East Timor as party of] NKRI though violence and was not serious in trying the perpetrators of human rights violations from the military.

INCREASE therefore strongly opposes the military operation which is being applied by the government in Aceh. "The military operation will only result in a political blunder for the government itself in the eyes of the Acehnese people and the international community.

And this will only make the Acehnese people fell less like being part of NKRI because they are merely oppressed, he explained. The restoration of peace had yet to be achieved when the power of the military was mobilised in Aceh, the concern is that this will cause the humanitarian operation, the operation to uphold the law and the operation to restore the local government administration do be forced on the people by military might.

INCREASE noted that the recent military operations which are being conducted in Aceh also raise concerns because the military operation was already being carried out [while negotiations between the government and GAM were still being held]. Intelligence agents had recklessly begun arresting and terrorizing pro-peace activists.

This included acts of terror against Johnson Panjaitan [a lawyer from the Indonesian Legal Aid Association] by unidentified persons but who appeared to be from the military, the arrest and beating of activists from the Acehnese Peoples Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA) and seven activist from the United Democracy for the Poor and cases of terror against women independence activists.

All of this added Prijo, has seriously worsened the image of the military and the Republic of Indonesia and President Megawati Sukarnoputri must give the Acehnese people the freedom and opportunity to express their aspirations.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Repression in Aceh 'extreme', says former prisoner

Green Left Weekly - June 4, 2003

Pip Hinman, Sydney -- Lesley McCulloch, who spent five months in an Acehnese prison last year, said the current level of repression against ordinary Acehnese by the Indonesian military and police is "extreme".

Since martial law was declared on May 19, more than 140 civilians including 14 children have died. Seventeen cases of rape have been reported and 75 people have been taken by the military, are still missing and are presumed dead. There are many hundreds who have been injured, but who cannot get medical assistance, McCulloch told Green Left Weekly.

"In the first nine days, 300 school buildings were destroyed by groups of heavily armed men. The Indonesian government has accused the separatist movement, but local people report that these acts have been carried out by the military operating together with groups of militia", said McCulloch.

"It's increasingly difficult to get information on exactly what is happening in the villages and towns of Aceh as NGOs have been ordered to leave, and journalists not embedded with the military are being prevented from traveling to trouble spots. More worrying, humanitarian workers and human rights defenders have been threatened and harassed, and many have been arrested."

The Acehnese community in Sydney and Australian supporters of the Acehnese people's struggle for national self-determination are calling on the Australian government to take action to avert a similar humanitarian crisis as took place in East Timor in August 1999. They want the Australian government to commit to immediate humanitarian relief; to urge the Indonesian government to revoke the imposition of martial law in Aceh, and to pull its troops out; to urge Jakarta to return to the negotiations over the ceasefire agreement, and resume talks to find a political solution to the crisis in Aceh; to offer temporary safe haven to those Acehnese already displaced and whose lives are under immediate threat; and to invite the Indonesian ambassador to Australia to give the Australian government a guarantee that international norms and conventions on the protection of civilians in war will be strictly adhered to.

Aceh: Civilians, rights activists targeted in terror war

Green Left Weekly - June 4, 2003

James Balowski, Jakarta -- Amid mounting reports of civilian casualties and human rights violations by Indonesia's armed forces (TNI), the government is moving to suppress opposition to the so-called "restoration of security" operation in Aceh, Indonesia's northern-most province.

The "integrated operation" -- supposedly aimed at winning the hearts and minds of the Acehnese people and an all-out military offensive to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) -- was launched after Jakarta sabotaged last-minute peace negotiations with GAM on May 18. The following day President Megawati Sukarnoputri signed a decree declaring martial law in Aceh for six months.

More than 23,000 people have so far fled their homes. The UN Children's Fund estimates that 300,000 people could be displaced in the next three months. In many parts of Aceh, there are food shortages, health services have collapsed, inter-city transport is paralysed, telecommunication and electricity services have been disrupted, public buildings destroyed and some 300 schools burned to the ground. The UN is warning that a massive humanitarian disaster is in the making.

On May 28, Jakarta claimed that the operation has been "nothing but a success" and is "moving faster than expected". Officials say that 84 GAM members have been killed and 22 arrested -- including several GAM leaders who have surrendered -- with only seven TNI soldiers and three police officers killed.

GAM says that more than 50 civilians have been killed. The main hospital in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, has received more than 80 bodies, most having suffered "traumatic deaths" and many showing signs of beatings and torture.

Following a May 28 ministerial meeting to evaluate the operation, armed forces chief General Endriartono Sutarto told the press: "Our original plan was that within two months we would identify [GAM's] locations and reclaim them, however we made it in only two weeks." While there is no doubt that the TNI has secured a temporary military victory against GAM, it is well aware that to maintain public support for the war in Indonesia it must minimise civilian casualties -- or at least the reporting of them.

Soon after war's launch, reporters from Indonesia's largest television network, Metro TV, were firmly warned by the TNI after footage from Aceh showed a group of people wearing GAM symbols helping residents extinguish a fire at a school in Bireuen, North Aceh. Metro TV was told that its reporters would be expelled from Aceh if it continued to air such footage.

'Separating' GAM from the people

The TNI claims that GAM destroyed the schools to force the TNI to redeploy troops away from other operations. Journalists on the ground report that witnesses are too scared to identify the perpetrators. But according to the People's Forum, an Acehnese non-government organisation, the schools were torched by the same TNI-backed militias who had attacked international peace monitors overseeing the now defunct cessation of hostilities agreement between GAM and Jakarta in April and March.

This is consistent with government complaints that GAM is "mixing with the people" and the TNI's publicly stated aim of "separating" GAM from the people and forcing the rebels to retreat into mountain strongholds. Schools are frequently used as a place of sanctuary by people fleeing fighting or military sweeps. GAM fighters also hide in the schools, blending in with the people to evade capture.

On May 27, the British Independent reported: "Journalists are being routinely prevented from entering villages where alleged military atrocities have taken place. A crew car from Metro TV ... was fired on when it tried to reach one settlement by a back road. The Independent was questioned for two hours at a military checkpoint and threatened with detention after visiting a village where five men had been shot dead." The TNI says it will sue the Koran Tempo daily newspaper for allegedly publishing "incorrect reports" over the killing of 10 civilians -- including several young boys -- in a village near Bireuen on May 21. It may also sue the Agence France-Presse news agency, which Tempo quoted in its story. The AFP report has been independently verified by journalists from the BBC and the Melbourne Age who interviewed local people at the site.

Frustrated by the fact that journalists who want to get GAM's side of the story can just phone them, police are even attempting to control the sale of mobile phone recharge cards. On May 29, the Jakarta daily Kompas reported that in Bireuen, recharge cards have to be purchased from the district police station. Police say they intend to extend the plan to collect data from all shops selling phone cards in North Aceh.

Civilian deaths

Contradicting government claims that there have been few civilian deaths, a May 25 Amnesty International statement said that grave human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of children and other civilians, are widespread.

In response, military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Yani Basuki told reporters on May 25 that two soldiers and two journalists from the respected Tempo magazine had begun investigating the May 21 killings. Tempo's editor, however, asked why independent observers such the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) were not called in. The TNI said it "does not have the authority to do this" and "it's up to the government".

Komnas HAM plans to dispatch a team to monitor military operations but it remains unclear whether it will receive the go-ahead which it says it needs from the military.

In nearly all the recent cases of extrajudicial execution, the victims have been young men aged between 12 and 20. The People's Forum says this is not new and that this age group is always the first to be targeted in TNI sweeps since they represent the next generation of GAM fighters.

Jakarta is now saying it cannot guarantee the safety of international NGOs. Coordinating minister for people's welfare, Jusuf Kalla, told Kompas on May 28: "[You] remember [what happened in] Atambua don't you? When there were UNHCR members who were shot, then it became an international issue and Indonesia was blacklisted by the UN." Kalla was referring to the murder of three UNHCR workers in West Timor after a rampage by pro-Jakarta militia in September 2000. Responding to letter sent by Kalla, the head of UN's Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Michael Elmquist said: "It didn't directly say a ban, but we have been firmly advised that it would be better for us to cease our functions in Aceh for security purposes."

Aid workers say they are suspicious of Jakarta's motives and are concerned that worse human rights abuses may take place if foreign aid workers are barred from the province. Munir, head of the highly respected Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) agreed, telling Reuters on May 27: "This is not about the safety of NGO workers. Without the international NGOs the military will have more space to attack the people." Munir added that the TNI must not stereotype NGOs as GAM sympathisers, as many of them work in the area of human rights, and had no political motives.

Human rights workers

The authorities are using the cloak of martial law to crack down on students and human rights workers, who they regard as GAM sympathisers. Kompas reported that, as of May 29, 66 people have been arrested for being "directly linked" to GAM -- some in sweeps conducted as far away as Jakarta. This includes five GAM negotiators who took part in the aborted peace talks. They are to be charged with treason under new anti-terrorism laws and could face the death penalty.

On the weekend of May 24-25, police raided a university in Banda Aceh and arrested a number of students who they claim were "probably political members or from clandestine movements [linked to GAM]". According to the May 26 British Guardian, students who witnessed the raid -- which was a two-hour-long violent attack on the students' union -- said 15 people were arrested and that none were connected to Aceh separatists. "The students' version is given credibility by the fact that when they visited the students' union most of the eight rooms in it had clearly just been vandalised", reported the Guardian.

On May 27, some 100 members from a nationalist youth organisation attacked the Kontras office in Jakarta and assaulted five staff members, in retaliation for its critical stand over the war. The mob identified themselves as the Pemuda Panca Marga, a staunchly nationalistic group whose members are children of veteran soldiers. The group used to be affiliated with the state party Golkar during the rule of former President Suharto.

Despite repeated calls for assistance, the attack continued for more than an hour before police arrived and the attackers dispersed. Central Jakarta police chief Sukrawardi Dahlan told the May 28 Jakarta Post that police had failed to appear because they "were all in a meeting". He also admitted that he foresaw difficulties in arresting the suspects because the group was protected by the military.

Kontras has been listed by the military as one of the NGOs that would be monitored for alleged separatist activities. New York- based Human Rights Watch condemned the mob attack on Kontras: "The failure of the police to respond to these attacks on a leading human rights organisation sets a bad precedent for all groups working on Aceh. The Indonesian government must ensure that domestic human rights organisations are free to work and report on Aceh in safety, especially now that the province is closed to international monitors."

Aceh waters closed to foreign ships

Jakarta Post - June 4, 2003

Jakarta -- The martial law administrator in Aceh has decided to close off Aceh waters to foreign ships, but has failed to communicate the move to the public.

Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh called on the authorities in Aceh on Tuesday to announce the policy publicly. "It would be better if the government issued an official statement that Aceh waters are out-of-bounds," Bernard was quoted by Antara as saying on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, an oil tanker flying a Panamanian flag was arrested at Sabang port on Weh Island following the issuance of a decree banning foreign ships and boats from operating in Aceh's territorial waters.

Bernard reminded the government that it should make the decree public and ensure that every country in the world was well- informed about it so that no innocent parties was suffer loss.

He said the Navy's warships were ready to implement the decision, and that they would fire on any foreign vessels entering Aceh waters without prior notice.

Foreign vessels that could be subject to the shoot-on-site policy were those that trespassed into Aceh's 12-mile territorial waters, Bernard explained.

Bernard said the policy was justified as the government was allowed by the International Law of the Sea to make such a move. He also said that the government could issue a subsequent announcement on the reasons behind the move.

Bernard's comments came after a statement by Aceh martial law administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya that he, representing the central government, had placed Aceh waters out-of-bounds to foreign vessels.

The reason behind the decision was not stated, but the government has long suspected the Acehnese rebels of smuggling weapons from Thailand and Malaysia.

The decision may also be designed to prevent GAM members from fleeing Aceh, where rebels have being fighting for independence for the resource-rich province since 1976. At least 10,000 people have been killed since then. Bernard said his warships had detained around 100 vessels, some of them loaded with weapons, around one month before martial law was declared in Aceh on May 19.

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Mudhakir, a senior officer responsible for ensuring the security of vital projects around the country, said ships belonging to energy companies in Aceh were not affected by the policy.

Aceh is home to several large energy firms, such as giant oil and gas company PT Exxon-Mobil Oil Indonesian and gas processing firm PT Arun NGL.

Meanwhile on the front line, firefights between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and GAM members are still frequent. A company of TNI soldiers, for example, was involved in an armed clash with GAM members in Sungai Raya subdistrict in East Aceh on Tuesday, and three GAM members were reportedly killed in the incident.

In North Sumatra, police arrested four suspected GAM members and 11 Acehnese without identity cards as they crossed into Secanggang district in Langkat regency on Tuesday. The four were identified as M. Jusuf, deputy chairman of GAM, and GAM members M. Daud Dahlan, Abdullah alias Agam, and Arbaim. "The four GAM members are being detained, while the 11 others are required to report to the authorities regularly," said Langkat detectives' chief, First Insp. M. Dhadapy Marpaung.

The frequent armed clashes, together with the presence of snipers, have paralyzed transportation in Aceh, especially from the North Aceh town of Lhokseumawe to the capital Banda Aceh.

Several drivers, who were interviewed by Antara on Tuesday, said they were afraid of being targeted by snipers. "If the military is willing to provide escorts, then we will resume our services," a driver said.

There have been four gun attacks targeting public transportation vehicles, and more than 10 public transportation vehicles have been torched.

The TNI, through its spokesman at the front, Lt. Col. Yani Basuki, accused GAM of responsibility for the arson and attacks. Back in Jakarta, the Ministry of Health claimed on Tuesday that it had sent medical assistance for refugees in Aceh amounting to Rp 50 billion.

The funds were taken from the ministry's budget for refugees this year, which amounts to a total of Rp 150 billion, said Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi.

Muslim preachers told to support Aceh war

Jakarta Post - June 4, 2003

Jakarta -- Governor Sutiyoso told Muslim preachers on Tuesday not to use mosques as a forum to rally people against the military operation now taking place in Aceh province.

"We ask Muslim preachers to avoid provoking people, as this could spread hatred against others," Achyat M. Awe, an administration spokesman, quoted Sutiyoso as saying after a consultative meeting with mosque leaders in Jakarta.

Achyat said the governor had learned that many Muslim preachers were speaking out against the military operation in Aceh during Friday prayers.

According to the spokesman, Sutiyoso said he prayed at a mosque in West Jakarta with Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara and the preacher there attacked the Aceh military operation.

The government declared martial law in Aceh last month to fight the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). However, criticism of the military has grown along with the number of civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, Sutiyoso has ordered public order officers to tighten security in the city, including launching raids targeting suspected GAM members hiding in Jakarta.

In cooperation with the police, the Sutiyoso administration also plans to launch operations aimed at rounding up new arrivals to the city, particularly Acehnese, who do not have identity cards. The raids would allow the Jakarta security authorities to fingerprint the newcomers.

During the meeting on Tuesday with the mosque leaders, the governor also reportedly urged Muslims not to build new mosques in the city, which is already home to at least 2,766 mosques and more than 5,000 musholla (small Islamic houses of worship).

Achyat said Muslims should enlarge or renovate existing mosques rather than build new ones, adding that the city administration would not issue permits for the construction of mosques in prohibited areas like greenbelts.

Military denies having evidence of killings

Melbourne Age - June 4 , 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- Indonesia's military chiefs have accused seven soldiers of beating civilians in Aceh province, but say they have received no complaints and have no evidence of widely-reported killings of more than 20 unarmed villagers in the first week of a renewed offensive against pro-independence fighters.

The first three of seven soldiers from Sumatra-based Battalion 144 yesterday appeared before a court in Lhokseumawe, in Aceh, where military prosecutors will seek to court-martial them for beating civilians in Lawang village while checking ID cards on May 27.

Allegations that soldiers in Lawang also beat and then shot a villager named Abu Bakar have been brushed aside by the military, which said the man was killed trying to escape after soldiers searching his house found ID cards belonging to other villagers.

Members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have been accused of stealing ID cards that villagers rely on to convince the military they are not GAM members.

The spokesman for the Aceh military operation, Lieutenant-Colonel Yani Basuki, said the trial of the seven soldiers followed a four-day inquiry prompted by reports from their platoon and the media.

However, he said no allegations had been received of at least six separate executions reported by The Age and other media. "So far we have received only two complaints," he said.

He said the second complaint came from The Age, which reported a villager's claim that she had been robbed of money and gold by a soldier in a group that shot and wounded her husband. The army has since arrested the soldier for the theft but said the shooting happened during another attempted escape.

Perhaps the worst executions not yet investigated by the military involved the shootings of six unarmed men in Cot Bate village near Bireuen on May 21, just hours after eight other villagers were shot in nearby Cot Rabo.

According to witnesses in Cot Bate, the villagers were gathered in the local hall on May 21, when soldiers arrived and produced a list of six names.

The village chief was forced to identify five men on the list who were in the hall. Soldiers then took them outside and beat them. All five were then shot. According to an AFP reporter who saw the bodies, they were shot several times each, mainly in the head. A sixth suspect was found hiding and was shot attempting to flee, villagers said.

Colonel Basuki said yesterday's prosecutions came about because the army had taken a legal team to Aceh in an attempt to ensure the military operation was accountable for any human rights abuses.

A former member of Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights, Asmara Nababan, welcomed the prosecutions but said they were not enough to prevent more abuses.

GAM supporters may face death penalty

Straits Times - June 4, 2003

Banda Aceh -- Students and other activists who support separatist guerillas in Indonesia's Aceh province will face subversion charges that can carry the death penalty, police warned yesterday. The authorities said they have a list of activists who support or assist the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), as well as evidence against them.

"We will use the criminal code article on subversion, which carries up to the death sentence, against them," said Mr Sayed Husaini, police spokesman in the province where a major military assault against the rebels has entered its third week. He did not state how many were on the wanted list other than saying that "they number a lot".

Many are student activists from the Ar-Raniry State Institute for Religious Sciences in Banda Aceh and members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), he said. The spokesman named only one individual: Mr Kautsar bin Muhammad Yus, son of the head of the provincial parliament.

Among the NGOs he cited were the Information Centre on a Referendum for Aceh, which campaigns for an independence referendum, and Society's Solidarity for the People.

He said the police were questioning 70 detained GAM members, including five peace negotiators arrested soon after the government declared martial law and launched its military operation on May 19.

Indonesia has been systematically tracking down the support lines and escape routes of the Acehnese in a bid to once and for all eradicate the GAM rebels. It has even appealed to neighbouring countries not to offer sanctuary to fleeing rebels.

Malaysia yesterday said it would deport all people from Aceh caught entering the country illegally, regardless of whether they claimed to be refugees fleeing fighting in the Indonesian province. "We will treat them as we do other refugees. We will detain them and send them back," Malaysian Information Minister Khalil Yaacob said at a briefing for foreign media in Kuala Lumpur.

While relentless in its pursuit of GAM rebels, Indonesia is taking pains to ensure that its soldiers play by the rules. In Lhokseumawe city, three soldiers accused of beating up three civilians -- one of them a woman -- faced a court-martial yesterday. They could face up to two years in jail if convicted.

The military, which has a record of gross rights abuses, has pointed to the court-martial as evidence of its willingness to curb excesses this time.

Army says it may have created some of Aceh's 25,000 refugees

Agence France Presse - June 4, 2003

More than 25,000 civilians are now living as refugees in Indonesia's Aceh province, where a major attack on separatist rebels continues, and the military said it may have forced some to quit their homes.

The refugees are living in sixteen tented camps in nine districts, said Colonel Ditya Sudarsono, spokesman for the martial law administrator. Some of these camps are in "black" or rebel-dominated areas like Bireuen, Pidie, East Aceh and North Aceh, Sudarsono told AFP by phone from Banda Aceh.

He said it was "quite possible" that security forces had forcibly moved some of the refugees into the camps for their own safety. "It is quite possible for troops to have forced them to leave their homes as part of security operations to distinguish them from GAM [Free Aceh Movement] rebels. But once troops finished combing the area, the residents may return to their homes," he said. "Our objective is to protect civilians and to keep them from becoming victims of GAM," the spokesman said.

He said security forces would regard villagers who refuse to be moved as GAM because "that means they are protecting GAM and that makes them GAM members or its supporters." But if they were unarmed, they would not be treated similarly to armed rebels.

Security analysts have said the military is planning a "hamleting" operation to move people out of villages with a strong rebel presence. But there had been no official admission before that some residents would be forced to move.

The social affairs ministry said earlier this month it would provide enough tents for 60,000 people. It said civilians would not be forced to leave combat zones but would be strongly advised to do so.

Amnesty International, in a report released Wednesday, said the displacement of civilians for conflict-related reasons, "unless the security of the civilians or imperative military reasons so demand, is considered a crime under international law." The rights group said that in the past, force -- including threats and burning of houses -- has been employed to make people leave their villages.

Amnesty said rights activists were banned from the province and international humanitarian organisations were being encouraged by the authorities to leave.

It called on Jakarta to let international agencies deliver supplies directly and said the insistence that all aid should be channelled through the authorities "risks creating additional and unnecessary suffering for the civilian population." Up to 40,000 police and soldiers are confronting an estimated 5,000 rebels from GAM, which has been fighting for an independent state since 1976. Some 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the past 27 years.

Sudarsono said as of Wednesday, some 92 rebels had surrendered but declined to give overall casualty figures for the operation launched on May 19.

Troops on Tuesday shot dead three suspected rebels in an attack on a GAM hideout in the village of Lamneh in West Aceh, said a district military spokesman. He said soldiers the same day killed a 23-year-old rebel in the Trumon area of South Aceh and confiscated his AK-47 rifle.

Humanitarian workers on Tuesday found two bodies bearing gunshot wounds and torture marks in the village of Lamreh in Aceh Besar district.

Aceh offensive brings new dangers for rights workers: Amnesty

Agence France Presse - June 4, 2003

Indonesia's attack on Aceh separatist rebels and the imposition of martial law in the province have brought new dangers for human rights activists, Amnesty International said.

"There is now serious concern for the safety of all human rights defenders in [Aceh], some of whom have already been subjected to human rights violations," the London-based rights group said in a statement on Wednesday.

Amnesty said rights activists were banned from the province and international humanitarian organisations were being encouraged by the authorities to leave. Journalists faced increasing restrictions and the military had threatened to sue one daily newspaper for reporting rights violations, it said.

Amnesty described the situation in Aceh, where a major military assault on the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is in its 16th day, as dire. "Grave human rights violations have been reported. The population of internally displaced persons, forced from their homes because of the conflict, is estimated to be several tens of thousands." It said this figure was set to rise dramatically if the authorities carried out plans to transfer 200,000 civilians into special camps.

Normal economic activity had virtually halted and hundreds of schools had been burnt down, allegedly by GAM, it said.

Amnesty appealed to Indonesia to abide by a United Nations declaration and give domestic and international rights monitors full access in Aceh. International aid agencies should be allowed to deliver supplies directly. "Amnesty International is concerned that the government's insistence that all aid should be channelled through the authorities risks creating additional and unnecessary suffering for the civilian population," it said.

Amnesty said the National Commission on Human Rights, known as Komnas HAM, should be allowed to investigate allegations of abuses, as should UN officials. The organisation noted that Acehnese rights groups are unpopular with both the authorities and the rebels.

"Since 2000, fourteen human rights defenders are believed to have been extrajudicially executed, others have been arbitrarily detained, tortured and 'disappeared'. In not one case have the perpetrators been brought to justice." Amnesty said rights organisations were among those publicly accused by the security forces of being linked to GAM "and are therefore considered legitimate targets for arrest and detention." The organisation said the removal by "threats, intimidation and other means" of independent monitors mirrored the situation in East Timor in 1999.

Rather than attempting to "drive out" professionals who could help the government prevent rights violations and deliver aid, authorities should be making every effort to work with them and protect them, Amnesty said.

Police hunt alleged pro-separatist activists in Aceh

Agence France Presse - June 3, 2003

Police in Indonesia's Aceh province said they were hunting civilian activists suspected of supporting separatist rebels.

"We will use the [criminal code] article on subversion, which carries up to the death sentence, against them," said Sayed Husaini, police spokesman in the province where a major military assault on the rebels is in its third week.

Activists who give support or assistance to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are violating the law, he said Tuesday, adding that police have records and evidence against them.

He gave no details on the size of the wanted list other than to say "they number a lot." Many are student activists from the Ar- Raniry State Institute for Religious Sciences in Banda Aceh or members of several non-governmental organisations, he said.

The spokesman cited only one individual, Kautsar bin Muhammad Yus, the son of the head of the provincial parliament. Among the NGOs he cited were the Information Center on a Referendum for Aceh, which campaigns for an independence referendum, and Society's Solidarity for the People.

Husainy said police were questioning 70 detained GAM members, including five peace negotiators who were arrested soon after the government declared martial law and launched its military operation on May 19.

Two powerful blasts at Kampung Mulia on the outskirts of Banda Aceh rocked the city late Monday but caused no casualties. Husainy said home-made bombs and grenades exploded by GAM were the cause and there had been two similar blasts on a previous evening.

Up to 40,000 police and soldiers are confronting an estimated 5,000 rebels from GAM in Indonesia's biggest military operation for a quarter-century. GAM has been fighting for an independent state since 1976 and some 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since then.

In Jakarta a foreign ministry official said Aceh's martial law administrator, Major General Endang Suwarya, has rejected requests from about 10 overseas journalists to cover the conflict there.

The official, Wahid Supriyadi, said his office normally reviews visa requests by journalists based outside Indonesia. But the authority lies with Suwarya since martial law was declared in Aceh on May 19, he said.

Suwarya was quoted Tuesday as saying he did not need "foreign observers" in the province. "We are capable of overcoming by ourselves the problem here," he said, as quoted by the Kompas daily.

Observers shut out of Aceh

Radio Australia - June 3, 2003

Kevin McQuillan and agencies -- Indonesian authorities in Aceh have rejected requests from about 10 overseas journalists to cover the war.

The Marshall law Administrator, Major General Endang Suwarya, says he does not need "foreign observers" in the province.

Indonesia's military strongly denied foreign press reports in the first week of its campaign that civilians had become victims during its hunt for separatist rebels.

But three soldiers went on trial today, accused of beating up civilians. The three are accused of injuring a woman and two men at Lawang in Bireuen district on May 27.

Military prosecutor Captain Siregar told the court in Lhokseumawe that the soldiers became angry after villagers claimed they did not know anything about members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Beatings

The village head was beaten up and was severely injured in the eye, a woman was beaten up thoroughly and another man lost consciousness, the prosecutor said. Three other soldiers, including a second lieutenant, are awaiting trial over the same incident while another soldier is to be tried for alleged extortion.

The military, which has a record of gross rights abuses in the past in Aceh, has cited the rapid court-martial as evidence of its willingness to curb excesses this time. It has denied reports from some villagers that troops shot dead civilians in a separate operation on May 21 and described those killed as GAM members.

Aceh has been under martial law since May 19 when the government launched its biggest military operation for a quarter-century against GAM.

Civilians targetted

Police say however, they are now hunting civilian activists suspected of supporting separatist rebels. "We will use the [criminal code] article on subversion, which carries up to the death sentence, against them," said Sayed Husaini, a police spokesman.

He says many are student activists from the Ar-Raniry State Institute for Religious Sciences in Banda Aceh or members of several non-governmental organisations. Among the NGOs he cited were the Information Center on a Referendum for Aceh, which campaigns for an independence referendum, and Society's Solidarity for the People.

Observers restricted

Last week the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it was concerned "by mounting evidence of a systematic effort by Indonesian security forces in Aceh to restrict reporting on the fighting there."

The organization also cited several cases in which unknown gunmen had opened fire on convoys of foreign and local journalists. The military has invited Indonesian journalists to travel with its troops as they attempt to crush the Free Aceh Movement.

The Jakarta government has also said foreign non-governmental organisations cannot work in Aceh without a permit.

Armed forces chief reports fast progress in Aceh

Radio Australia - June 2, 2003

Indonesian armed forces chief General Endriartono Sutarto says the military assault in the province of Aceh is making faster progress than expected.

He says the offensive is on the right track and the progress exceeds Jakarta's expectations in every aspect.

He says there have been about 20 civilian casualties and they are mostly people deemed to be collaborators of the military. Earlier, operation spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Yani Basuki said more than 100 members of the Free Aceh Movement had been killed.

Meanwhile, the police chief, Dai Bachtiar, says Interpol has notified member countries about Indonesia's request that the exiled leadership of the Free Aceh Movement be put on a list of international terrorists.

Komnas HAM to probe Aceh violations

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2003

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta -- The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said on Monday it would investigate over 20 cases of alleged rights violations in Aceh during the first two weeks of military operations in the province.

The commission said the cases involved civilians in the province and included murder, sexual harassment, rape and forced displacement. It said more investigation of the cases was needed, although it had obtained leads on possible perpetrators based on statements given by witnesses and victims to rights workers in the province.

"Both warring sides have violated the humanitarian law as stated in the Geneva Convention and the human rights law as well .... We call on both parties to end hostilities and reopen peace talks, and this time the talks should involve civilians," commission member M.M. Billah said during a media briefing.

Billah heads the commission's ad hoc team monitoring rights violations in Aceh. The 13-member team, which includes three members of other human rights watchdogs, is set to leave for Aceh on Thursday and Friday as concern over rights abuses in the province intensifies.

The team said the imposition of martial law, followed by the military offensive to crush the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), had worsened rights violations committed against the Acehnese.

The team also said the Indonesian government had failed to protect public facilities, evidenced by the burning down of over 400 schools, depriving tens of thousands of children of receiving a proper education.

Billah urged the government to make efforts to identify and prosecute rights violators in Aceh, as required under the 1999 law on human rights. He also called on the government to "give room to non-governmental organizations to participate in the monitoring of the imposition of martial law [in Ache]".

Billah called on the public to pressure the government to allow rights workers into Aceh. "We need more public support because there is a lack of pressure from political parties to protect the rights of civilians during the military operations in Aceh," Billah said.

Meanwhile, martial law administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya said on Monday that foreign observers were not needed in the province.

"We do not need foreign observers. We have been cooperating with domestic parties to observe the integrated operation [in Aceh]. We will be able to overcome any problems by ourselves," Suwarya said in Banda Aceh.

Alleged human rights violations in Aceh from May 19-27, 2003

• May 19-27: The burning down of 386 schools, violating Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention prohibiting the destruction of the environment and buildings; The evacuation and forced displacement of residents; Sweeping operations against Acehnese in the provinces of North Sumatra and Riau.
• May 23: The torture of residents of Hadu village in Bireuen.
• May 23: The torture and sexual assault of residents of Meunasah Krueng village.
• May 26: A rape in Aceh Jaya.
• May 26: The rape of a 13-year old girl in Ara Bungong hamlet, Bireuen.
• May 26: The arbitrary arrest of a reporter assigned to cover the military operations.
• May 27: Murders in Bireuen.

Komnas HAM finds indications of rights violations in Aceh

Kompas - June 3, 2003

Jakarta, Kompas -- The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has found strong indications of human rights violations -- including the murder of civilians since the emergency military operation in Aceh came into force. So far, from a number of testimonies obtained by Komnas HAM, there are indications that the perpetrators are members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), rogue elements of the Indonesian military (TNI) and the police as well as people from unidentified groups.

"Based on these findings, Komnas HAM calls for an end to hostilities between the two opposing parties and for the reopening of negotiations and the involvement of civil society [in these negotiations]. The emergency military operation must be terminated in order to also end the possibility of continued civilian casualties", said the chairperson of the Ad Hoc Peace Monitoring Team in Aceh, MM Billah, at a press conference in Jakarta on June 2.

These empirical findings were obtained from a number of witnesses and sources gathered by Komnas HAM field officers, including their representative office in Banda Aceh from March until the declaration of the military emergency.

Komnas HAM did not however mention the number of victims of human rights violations or provide additional details, the team will reinvestigate and check the data in the field before this is published. In order to follow up on these findings, Komnas HAM will form an Aceh Desk consisting of eight people from Komnas HAM and five outside people who have a strong commitment to upholding human rights. Billah added that Komnas HAM as the conveyor of the mandate of Law Number 39/1999 on human rights hopes that all parties understand that Komnas HAM's task is to monitor the implementation of military emergency in Aceh.

"It needs to be remembered, we have to be impartial, that is not to discriminate. Whoever the perpetrators are, if they are clearly identified, they must be held responsible", said Billah.

Net Thursday a Komnas HAM team plans to depart for Aceh. Komnas HAM will also establish posts to receive complains on human rights violations in Bireuen and Lhokseumawe.

Billah noted that the cases of human rights violations included summary executions of civilians in Bireuen on May 27, the torture of civilians in the village of Hadu (Bireuen) on May 23, sexual harassment of civilians in the village of Meunasah Krueng on May 23, rapes in greater Aceh on May 26 and the rape of a 13 year-old child at the Ara Bungong Kampung in Bireuen on May 26, the arrest of Tempo journalists on May 26 and the forced expulsion or removal of residents.

These cases violate the article 3 of the Geneva Convention, in particular the convention on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of persons.

Aside from this, Komnas HAM considers that the burning of education facilities, that is the burning of 386 primary schools continues, reflects the failure of the government to protect civil society.

[Translated by James Balowski. Second section on investigation and punishment of Indonesian soldiers not translated. It should also be noted that the specific cases mentioned in the report do not include the summary executions killings of boys and young men in operations near Bireuen on May 21.]

Police nationwide on alert for GAM members fleeing Aceh

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2003

A'an Suryana, Jakarta -- Police nationwide are on full alert for fleeing members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) who may attempt to take refuge in other provinces.

In Jakarta, the police stepped up surveillance on Saturday of about 20 locations in Greater Jakarta where GAM members might take refuge, city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said. He said the locations were in Jakarta, Bekasi, Bogor and Depok.

Prasetyo said potential safe houses for GAM members included boarding houses and apartments. The surveillance has of the locations has been under way for several days, and the police are being assisted in their efforts by local government officials and neighborhood leaders, said Prasetyo.

"The surveillance is being carried out as there is a possibility that GAM members, frightened by the military operation in Aceh, may flee to Jakarta," said Prasetyo after addressing a discussion here on Saturday.

A massive military offensive has been underway in Aceh since May 19, after GAM, which has been fighting for independence for the resource-rich Aceh since 1976, refused to bow to government demands that it give up its independence aspirations and lay down its arms. At least 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Aceh since the fight for independence began in 1976.

As GAM rebels become increasingly cornered by the military, the prospect of GAM members fleeing to other cities, including Jakarta, becomes more real.

There is growing apprehension among the public and law enforcers that GAM members may seek to carry out attacks on strategic locations in Jakarta. Police investigators have accused GAM of responsibility for last month's bombings near the United Nations building in Central Jakarta and at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Prasetyo said the Jakarta Police was monitoring several suspected GAM members here, but their names could not be released while the investigation was ongoing. "Police are closely monitoring these people," he said.

Prasetyo said the surveillance efforts were aimed at newly arrived Acehnese suspected of being GAM members, and not at those Acehnese who were long-time residents of Jakarta.

In Riau province, officers from the Langgam Police arrested three people who recently arrived in the area from Aceh. The three were detained on suspicion of being GAM members. "Of the three, only one has admitted to being a GAM member," Langgam Police chief First. Insp. Raymond was quoted as saying by Antara on Saturday. The three are now being held by the local military command for further questioning.

Earlier, the Pekanbaru Police in Riau arrested three suspected members of GAM in a hotel, after being tipped off by the Langkat Police.

In South Sumatra province, officers from the Palembang Police detained on Saturday four Acehnese suspected of being GAM members. The four were later released after police were unable to produce evidence that they were members of the separatist organization.

Officers from the nearby Ogan Komering Ulu Police are questioning five suspected GAM members who were detained on Thursday. Police identified the suspects as Syukri Hasim, 19, Abdullah, 20, Sofyan Yusuf, 33, Komarudin, 33, and Iqbal, 20.

Military should not dominate operations

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2003

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- Religious leaders demanded on Saturday that the government avoid civilian fatalities in its war against the separatists in Aceh and boost humanitarian activities in the troubled province.

They emphasized that the main purpose of the integrated operations was "winning the hearts and minds of the Acehnese", and not a military takeover.

"The military operation should be used to force the rebels to surrender. Once they surrender, there is no reason [for the troops] to shoot them down," Yusuf Muhammad, a senior leader of the country's biggest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Secretary of the country's second biggest Muslim organization, the Muhammadiyah, Goodwill Zubir, agreed with Yusuf, saying that the government troops should avoid civilian casualties during the operations.

He said that the integrated operations -- the humanitarian operation, law enforcement, local governance empowerment and the restoration of security -- should be carried out in proportion to each other. He did not elaborate further.

Yusuf said government troops should not use "excessive action" in the military operation in Aceh. He added that the military operation was needed to restore security in the province and to facilitate humanitarian activities in the province.

The most important thing, he said, was a clear understanding that the integrated operation was an attempt to maintain the unitary republic of Indonesia.

A.A. Yewangoe, the chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), concurred with Goodwill, saying that the government had to shift the focus of its operations in Aceh. "Do not focus merely on the military operation," Yewangoe told the Post by phone.

The three religious leaders were commenting on the concerns of Ahmad Syafii Maarif, the chairman of the Muhammadiyah, who suggested earlier that an increasing number of casualties would spark antigovernment sentiment among the Acehnese even though they were not separatist rebels. Syafii suggested that the government stop the war and look for alternative ways of resolving the Aceh issue peacefully.

According to one military estimate, the war had claimed 119 lives as of Friday, the eleventh day of the conflict in Aceh. At least 92 rebels have been killed since the war began on May 19. The death toll among civilians is still unknown.

Yewangoe suggested that the war in Aceh be stopped to prevent more casualties. "Innocent people will be the next victims if the war continues. We have to end the war to achieve peace," Yewangoe added. He said that his office would invite some religious leaders grouped in the Moral Movement to discuss the Aceh issue. They are Hasyim Muzadi of the NU, Syafii Maarif of the Muhammadiyah, Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja of the Bishops Council of Indonesia (KWI) and noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid.

Before the war broke out, these religious leaders had recommended the government avoid the conflict, but the government ignored their recommendation. Moreover, Goodwill suggested that the government soon implement its humanitarian programs in the troubled province, including rebuilding the schools and constructing shelters for refugees.

Aceh rebels say they have abducted 13 local officials

Agence France Presse - June 2, 2003

Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province said they have abducted 13 local civilian leaders for carrying out the military's orders.

Free Aceh Movement (GAM) local commander Ishak Daud claimed responsibility for the abduction. "They are now with us and the reason we have captured them is that they have respected the orders of the Indonesian military," Daud told local reporters Monday.

Indonesian authorities, who launched an all-out assault on the rebels and imposed martial law on May 19, have told village officials to issue temporary ID cards to residents after the separatists confiscated many of the regular cards.

"We are detaining them to give them advice. Once we have given them this advice, then we will free them," Daud said without giving a date.

East Aceh district chief Azman Usmanuddin told AFP that several suspected rebels on Sunday abducted a man called Furqan, the head of the Peureulak Timur subdistrict, from his home as he was preparing to visit refugees in the area. Usmanuddin said that at about the same time armed men abducted 12 village heads across Peureulak Timur.

Up to 40,000 police and soldiers are confronting an estimated 5,000 rebels from GAM, which has been fighting for an independent state since 1976. Some 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the past 27 years.

According to weekend figures from the military, 92 rebels have been killed since the start of the latest campaign, as well as 12 soldiers and police and 15 civilians.

West Papua

Kontras: 16 civilians dead in Papua military operation

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2003

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura -- The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has noted that as of Thursday, as many as 16 civilians have been killed or have died of starvation in the ongoing military operation in the Papuan regency of Wamena, strong evidence that the military have committed crimes against humanity.

Coordinator of Kontras' office in Jayapura Pite Ell told local journalists on Thursday that most victims died after being shot, tortured and beaten by soldiers and only two died of starvation in a refugee area. "So far we have recorded 16 civilian fatalities...," he said.

Hundreds of soldiers, including 140 personnel of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) and Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), have been waging a limited military operation to hunt rebels who killed two Army soldiers and stole rifles and ammunition from the Wamena military district arsenal on April 4. Since the operation was launched, soldiers have recovered 22 of the 29 rifles and guns stolen.

More than 5,000 villagers, mostly residents of Kuyawage and Ilehe, have taken refuge in forest areas in the regency in fear of intimidation and torture.

The 16 were named as Arman Tabuni alias Titus Murib, Yapenas Murib, Arekean Wuka alias Kabelek Hiluka, Tutuan Telenggen, Yesaya Telenggen, Yuben Wenda, Yukilele Wanimbo, Alisu Murib, Yingget Tabuni, Enggelak Tabuni, Ketis Tabuni, Galen Tabuni, Yanis Telenggen, Debanus Murib, Obenus Telenggen and Eretena Murib. There is no detailed information about the victims.

"The killing of civilians who are not rebels is a crime against humanity and, therefore, the operation must stop and the soldiers should be pulled out since they have proven to be unprofessional," said Pite. He joined forces with local NGOs and leaders of religious groups, to demand that the government form an independent team to investigate the human rights abuses.

Spokesman for the Trikora Military Command in Papua Maj. G.T. Situmorang denied Kontras' report which he claimed was received from certain people through radio communication. Situmorang declined to comment further on the report saying that the military did not want to be involved in fruitless debate over it.

He hinted that despite the strong protests, the military operation would continue until the remaining seven rifles and guns and ammunition were retrieved and the regency was cleansed of separatist activities.

Papua rebels hope to share some of Aceh limelight

Reuters - June 4, 2003

Anna Peltola, Stockholm -- Rebels in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua hope the separatist war in distant Aceh will bring their demands into the international limelight, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The Christian rebel group Free Papua Organization has waged a protracted, low-level guerrilla war for independence in remote but resource-rich Papua, one of several trouble spots in the world's most populous Muslim country. "Diplomatically, we can maybe use this as a platform to show the world what Indonesia's true face is," Free Papua Organization spokesman Joseph Prai told Reuters in a telephone interview from Malmo in southern Sweden.

Prai's father, rebel leader Jakob Prai, has directed the guerrilla war for more than 20 years from exile in Sweden but the son is gradually taking over responsibility. Both are friendly with key figures of the Free Aceh Movement. The Acehnese rebel group's leaders live in Stockholm and command their troops 6,200 miles away, keeping in daily contact mainly by text messages. "Politically, I don't think there will be much of a direct impact on our situation," Prai said.

His comments came on the day Indonesia closed the waters around Aceh to prevent gun imports. Two-and-a-half weeks of war in the province have killed scores of people. "Our situation is different from Aceh. We have more natural resources, and there are more economic interests from around the world," Prai said.

The largely Christian province has oil reserves and the world's biggest gold and copper mine, owned by US-based Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. Prai said with the world focused on Iraq, the Papuan rebels would wait for the right moment to draw attention to their cause. He would not say whether they planned military action.

The Papuan group opposes a decree issued by nationalist President Megawati Sukarnoputri in January that would split Papua into three provinces. "They are scared we Papuans will be strong as a nation. Dividing our province into three provinces is one way to create disorder between the Papuans," Prai said. Prai said he understood the implementation of the decree had been postponed until after April 2004 elections to avoid unrest. "Now the focus is on Aceh and they [Jakarta] don't want to create more tension in the region," he said.

No country officially supports the Papuan separatists but many in the West have criticized Indonesia's heavy-handed approach to the conflict in Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya.

'War on terrorism'

Defiant, the 'brains' behind Bali faces court

Melbourne Age - June 3, 2003

Darren Goodsir, Denpasar -- Waving his arms and yelling at his lawyers to respond to his religious chants, Imam Samudra -- the alleged brains behind the Bali bombings -- strolled into court on the first day of his trial yesterday, displaying his now-familiar bravado. Samudra, 32, seemed to relish the spotlight as he calmly took his seat before the panel of five judges, including one woman.

He then turned to his defence team, shouting: "Alluyah akbar", God is magnificent. Then, jabbing repeatedly at them with his index finger, he chanted the phrase three more times -- rousing his lawyers to raise their arms meekly in apparent solidarity.

He then turned to face the judges to listen to the evidence placing him at the heart of the October 12 attacks on the Sari Club and Paddy's Irish pub at Bali's Kuta Beach.

Describing himself as a fabric seller, the one-time chemical engineer remained silent for the rest of the hearing, but he fidgeted continuously as head prosecutor I Nym Dia read from the 43-page indictment in a 120-minute speech.

The indictment states that Samudra conspired with a gang of reputed Jemaah Islamiah followers in a series of meetings, starting in February 2002, to attack "soft" Western targets.

It tells how he divided key tasks among willing recruits, from the surveillance of potential targets to raising funds to buy bomb ingredients, rent safe houses and obtain other terrorist tools.

He is also charged with a string of church bombings across Indonesia on Christmas Eve, 2000, in which 19 people died, and for plotting a gold heist. The court heard how some of the church bombs were wrapped like Christmas presents, and laid outside the religious sites.

After the indictment was read, Samudra's defence team listed its objections, seeking to reduce the severity of the penalty he faces -- life imprisonment or death by firing squad.

Lead defence lawyer Mahendratta suggested the involvement of the Australian Federal Police raised doubts over the integrity and jurisdictional sovereignty of the case, possibly tainting the evidence collected. But Bali police chief General I Made Made Pastika told reporters outside court such objections were baseless.

After Samudra's court appearance, the trial of Amrozi -- the man charged with procuring the bomb van and the explosive ingredients -- resumed for its sixth day of evidence.

Across town in the Denpasar District Court, four men accused of robbing a jewellery store to fund the bombings also appeared, with prosecutors saying they played a key role in concealing the crimes.

With the rear seats, wheels and other spare parts from the L-300 Mitsubishi van displayed as exhibits, the court heard how Amrozi used a long-time friend, Suharsono, as a go-between to buy the car that would be transformed into a mobile bomb.

Another witness, Azwar Anas Riyanto, said he sold the van to Amrozi after reconditioning it for use as a public-transport vehicle. Prosecutors have claimed Amrozi removed the seats to make room for the huge bomb.

Riyanto said he was visited twice by Amrozi. On one occasion last September, Riyanto noticed a thick wad of foreign currency inside Amrozi's waistbelt. He told the court Amrozi's brother, Ali Imron, and Idris -- a bomb maker still on the run -- also inspected the van.

Amrozi's trial was adjourned until tomorrow. Samudra's case, and those of the jewellery store robbers, will restart on Thursday.

Government & politics

Tarmidi joins Pioneer Party

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2003

Jakarta -- Tarmidi Suhardjo, former chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the ruling party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), has officially thrown in his lot with the Pioneer Party (Partai Pelopor).

The party, established earlier this year, is led by Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, a daughter of former president Sukarno and younger sister of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman of the PDI Perjuangan.

Just a week after joining the Pioneer Party, Tarmidi was appointed as chairman of the party's Jakarta chapter in a ceremony on Friday that was attended by 1,000 party supporters.

He was kicked out of the PDI Perjuangan last year after disobeying an order from Megawati not to continue in the race for the Jakarta governorship. Instead of supporting Tarmidi, Megawati threw her weight behind the incumbent governor, Sutiyoso, the former Jakarta military commander.

Interview: Indonesia's Abdurrahman Wahid

Big News Network.com - June 7, 2003

Abdurrahman Wahid was president of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001. With his pluralistic style and attempts to implement frameworks to eliminate corruption, he perhaps came to the helm in Indonesia before the country or even his own administration was ready for his personal brand of reform.

Outmaneuvered by his opponents, and weighed down by political allegations that still remain unproven, he was impeached in 2001.

He is standing again for presidential office in 2004 and gave an exclusive one-on-one interview to United Press International during campaigning in Bandung, Indonesia.

Question: You've decided to stand again for the presidency, why did you choose to run again?

Answer: It's not my choice. It was imposed by the Muslim clerics. They can see that I can offer more leadership in politics than in other capacities.

Question: Do Indonesians understand the implications of their fledgling democracy, particularly when it comes to changing leaders outside of elections?

Answer: Oh yes, observers underestimate what is understood by the people.

Question: In Indonesia corruption is worse than ever, how can people have confidence that business and government will ever operate on a clean basis?

Answer: There are many things to do. First we have to impose certain measures that can reveal such violations. If you want the sovereignty of law to be supreme then we have to tackle those ethical values, especially those of government officials. At the same time we have to be careful, if we ask why people have been corrupt, it is because in the past they have not had enough income. So they may need increased salaries. After winning, I will increase military and civil service wages and those of retirees tenfold. It will not end corruption at once but people will know we can force the bureaucracy to follow the right measures.

Question: Bankers who have misappropriated liquidity support funds have been exonerated by President Megawati, but the general level of poverty is increasing. Is this fair?

Answer: The upper classes have enjoyed an economic rebound but not for the common people.

Question: Part of your economic policy is to reduce interest rates and to allow the rupiah to depreciate. Won't this harm the savings of the elderly while the rich simply park their money abroad in other countries?

Answer: A cornerstone of my policy is to promote business activity here. If people choose to relocate the money they have invested abroad back here, they will be able to participate in that activity. If they leave it stashed abroad, they won't.

Question: How do you think the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has performed?

Answer: IBRA is a very difficult situation. It is heavily influenced by the business and political communities and yet is obliged to supply high returns and settlements from the assets in its custodianship.

Question: The rule of law in Indonesia remains inconsistent, in both police activity and verdicts handed down from courts. How can it be strengthened?

Answer: We firstly have to analyze the causes of this. It's a combination of low income and poor supervision that makes them sell their verdicts.

Question: What do you think about the Criminal Procedures Law that allows convicted criminals, like the parliament speaker or soldiers who committed atrocities in East Timor to conduct their appeals whilst remaining free men?

Answer: I think that this practice will stop in future, and convicted men will have to conduct their appeals from behind bars.

Question: Your economic policy promotes improving the economic welfare of the ordinary citizen, and making land allowances to them from State-owned land. How do you stop powerful village headmen and powerbrokers from usurping the benefits for themselves?

Answer: We will have to specify that lands belong to the people rather than the State. Still, yes, we will have to enact measures that people's lands are not snatched by the privileged classes.

Question: In what way can Islamic principles be incorporated into an Islamic economic policy?

Answer: Islam, as a way of life, is fundamentally not antagonistic to capitalism. Refer to the text-books on Islamic finance which will show that Islam is perfectly capable of acting within a capitalist system. In the Koran, the main message is that people should take care of others. Charity is there, but my religion doesn't necessarily contradict capitalism. Take for example, the idea of progressive taxation. All religions accept this.

Question: It's difficult for foreigners to live in Indonesia because of the level of bureaucracy and supplemental taxes. Is this the right message to give to foreigners who could contribute to this country?

Answer: That's true. We have to take care of the levels of bureaucracy, it's giving out the wrong message.

Question: In the light of the Iraq War, the Bali Bombing and 9/11, how important is it for Indonesia's government to stay in favor with that of the United States?

Answer: The US has made huge efforts to control difficult situations. We oppose certain measures it has taken, but that doesn't mean we think it has lost its sense of responsibility. Thanks to steps taken by certain countries, terrorists are now being dealt with.

Question: Military budgets cover about 30 percent of its needs, so the army has had to resort to hiring itself out as private security guards to American companies to balance the books. Will you increase military budgets, and where will the money come from?

Answer: The military budget has sky-rocketed because of spending needs. Because income is so low, the army has sought other income sources. I will increase military incomes.

Question: Indonesia has been a bad neighbor environmentally. Its lowland trees will be gone in five years and every year smoke from man-made fires pollutes nearby countries. Illegal logging is rampant. Any reforms or solutions planned?

Answer: We have to reshape our economy. In the past priority was given to big companies who indulged in the bulk of harmful activities. We're simply going to tell them we're not going to help you anymore. Secondly we will help smaller companies and industries who are responsive to environmental needs. We have to rehabilitate ourselves with our regional neighbors and assure them that we will participate in the international framework by firstly reshaping ourselves.

Question: You want to increase personal taxes for the rich and reduce corporate taxes. How do you stop the rich from putting their assets into corporate vehicles to avoid tax. Also won't higher personal taxes cause a "brain drain" of the elite of Indonesia?

Answer: Taxes will be increased for the richer people, but opportunities for them to make profits will increase incrementally. There are huge resources here through which businesses can profit, forestry products, natural resources and mining, maritime products. Potential profits outweigh progressive taxation proposals.

Question: You're known as a pluralist, more so than the current president. Has racial integration, deteriorated since your period of office.

Answer: No, but when you talk about the racial situation, you have to be careful. There are so many cultures and races here. I am Javanese, but there are many different cultures even within Java. I continue to condone all cultural pluralism.

Golkar moves to remake political image

Radio Australia - June 5, 2003

Indonesia's Golkar Party which was used by former President Suharto to impose decades of authoritarian rule, is undergoing a makeover. The party is even considering appointing one of Indonesia's most respected Islamic scholars, a man who played a central role in Suharto's overthrow, as its presidential candidate.

Presenter/Interviewer: Tricia Fitzgerald

Speakers: Nurcholis Majid, Islamic scholar, Hadar Gumar, the head of Indonesia's Center for Electoral reform

Fitzgerald: President Megawati Sukarnoputri is working to ensure she will win next year's election and hold her position but dozens of established and aspiring politicians are lining up to topple her. As an opposition leader she was the darling of the Indonesian masses but as ruling president, she may well get a more critical response from electors next year. And while Megawati has been at the helm of Indonesian political life, her main rival, the Golkar Party, has been busy polishing-up its image. Less than a year away from general elections Golkar has announced dramatic changes, saying it will allow all levels of its huge party machine to select its presidential and vice presidential candidates for 2004.

Hadar Gumar of Indonesia's Center for Electoral Reform says Golkar which gave unfaltering support to Suharto's authoritarian presidency for decades, wants to open up itself in the hope the public will forgive and forget its past.

Gumar: In particular of this selection of the candidates as it was in the past it was only decision by only small number of the central committee members, that they will support Suharto again for many, many times. But in order to change that image, in order to regain that power again in these coming elections, they made essential important moves. For example, they proposed, or they create an internal selection for the presidential candidate, what they call a convention. So they open this opportunity not only for Golkar people, members as well as the committees, but also from the outside who are interested to become president can on this race, on this mechanism.

Fitzgerald: In its desire to change its spots Golkar is even considering taking on one of a group of ten senior Indonesians who publicly pressured former President Suharto to step down. The highly-respected Doctor Nurcholis Madjid, who heads Jakarta's Paramedina Institute, would give any Golkar campaign a new air of respectability. He's set down a political platform making himself available as a presidential candidate and says Golkar have approached him regarding his candidacy.

Madjid: Of course Golkar is still suffering from being stigmatised as a continuous arm of Suharto's, but this in the case of Golkar other lessons that they take from the last five years want to commit itself to reform, which implies that they are ready to recruit leadership, political leadership from outside their own political party, which is a very progressive thing.

Fitzgerald: There have been suggestions that you might run with Golkar in the next election? Is that possible, are you looking at that option, have they made you an offer?

Madjid: Well it's only one of the possibilities because people who approach me come from almost all political parties, but only at the personal or individual level, not on institutional level, not formally yet. Golkar is the closest to the formal, maybe because out of desperation that they want to have a kind of fresh blood or something for their political party, which is interpretable (sic) to be strong willingness to reform itself.

Fitzgerald: Although in the past Doctor Nurcholis supported Megawati Sukarnoputri to replace Suharto, he now believes she needs to be removed. As presidential candidate he wants a government of social justice, open and corruption-free governance, strong rule of law, and national reconciliation across all ethnic and cultural groups. Although the Golkar Party in the past presided over a military-dominated Indonesia, Doctor Nurcholis says that is not the vision he has as a presidential candidate.

Madjid: Well my phrase is not to rebuild the role of the military as it was during Suharto, but all these things should happen within the framework of democracy, which means that the military dominance is incompatible with this way of thinking.

Fitzgerald: While Golkar's showing serious interest in Doctor Nurcholis, his pro-democracy reconciliation approach may not find favour in all elements of the party. And there are potential presidential candidates from within the party who will also be vying for selection. Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung will certainly push himself forward if he is successful in having a major corruption conviction quashed, and other established Golkar heavyweights will also be wanting to run.

But Hadar Gumar who keeps a close watch on Indonesia's political landscape says both Doctor Nurcholis and Golkar have a lot to gain by joining forces. Under an upcoming new law it's likely only candidates endorsed by parties or coalitions of parties, which get at least 20 percent of the overall vote, will be allowed to run for president. This means possibly only Megawati's party -- the PDIP, Golkar and perhaps Amin Rais' National Mandate Party may be eligible to run candidates.

So by hooking up with Golkar Doctor Nurcholis gets to run for president, and have the huge and established party structure of Golkar helping him with the costs and logistics of the campaign. And Golkar may get its chance to put its past behind it.

Gumar: There are some changes now from Golkar themselves, and then I think Dr Nurcholis also has shown his platform and don't forget he also stressed that what is important now is the future, not something that was done in the past. So this could be a factor that could meet these both parts, Dr Nurcholis and Golkar.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Extortion, blackmail no strangers among police: Watchdog

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2003

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- Extortion and blackmail are commonplace in the police here against a backdrop of poor law enforcement and flourishing corruption, an independent police watchdog says.

The Indonesian Police Commission (KKI), a non-governmental organization, said everybody knows that the security forces were involved in extorting criminals and those who found themselves in difficult circumstances. "Blackmail is a common practice among police officers. It is no secret at all," KKI chairman Nur Athar told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He said the police had often charged money from people to have the charges dropped or to be released from detention. "Every police officer knows all about it. Its one of the police's rackets, which is why we need oversight from the public," said Athar.

He was commenting on the alleged extortion of several owners of traditional Chinese medicine stores in the Glodok area of West Jakarta, in which the local police chief, Sr. Comr. Bambang Wasgito, appears to be implicated.

Bambang made headlines this week when he was questioned by the National Police's Internal Affairs Department for allegedly blackmailing vendors of traditional Chinese drugs in Glodok.

The investigation followed the arrest of Michael Husada Yunawan alias Aming, and Bong Fo On alias Aon, both owners of traditional Chinese medicine shops in Tambora and Cengkareng, West Jakarta, respectively. Michael and Bong were charged with breaching Law No. 23/1992 on the sale of traditional medicines without the approval of the Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM).

Bambang has been accused of demanding money from the two suspects so that they would be acquitted of all charges. Since then, however, the police have submitted their case files to the West Jakarta Prosecutor's Office. Bambang has publicly denied all the allegations.

Athar urged the police not to cover up the Bambang case and publicly announce the progress of the investigation. "The police should take legal action against him [Bambang]. Please, don't protect those breaking the law," he added.

National Police Internal Affairs Department chief Insp. Gen. Timbul Silaen said Bambang was summoned only to clarify a report on the extortion. "We did not question him, we just asked him for a clarification over the report, which could tarnish the police's image," said the two-star general, who was recently acquitted of charges of 1999 atrocities in East Timor.

Timbul said Bambang's deputy, Adj. Sr. Comr. Tejo Subagyo, and the West Jakarta police detectives' chief, as well as Michael and Bong were also summoned to clarify the case. "For the time being, we have obtained information that the two suspects have admitted to paying a bribe through Mr. X, a civilian, to have their cases dropped with the help of the West Jakarta Police chief," said Timbul.

He quoted the suspects as saying that Mr. X had promised to pass on the money to Bambang through Tejo. However, Timbul admitted, Bambang and Tejo had denied receiving any money from the suspects or having blackmailed them.

The identity of Mr. X remains unclear and the police have yet to summon the middleman. Timbul could had not yet decided whether to proceed with the investigation, claiming that the evidence was still insufficient.

In addition to the charge, Bambang was reported to have extorted dozens of other traditional Chinese medicine vendors in Glodok, a mainly Chinese neighborhood. Police said Bambang had allegedly asked those vendors for some Rp 1.3 billion (US$140,000).

Also, he had reportedly sponsored the establishment of an association for Chinese medicine storekeepers, through which the West Jakarta Police chief was alleged to have ordered the collection of "security money" totaling between Rp 1 million and Rp 10 million a month from each member. Timbul could not confirmed the allegations, however.

Media/press freedom

PPM group protests at 'Tempo' office

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2003

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta -- Following an attack on the office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) by the Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM) group last week, about 20 of the group's members paid a visit to the Tempo news magazine office on Wednesday to protest the way the weekly described the nationalistic group.

Clad in fatigues, the young members of the group threatened to repeat the same act they carried out at the Kontras office, while several members banged their fists on a table in a meeting with Tempo officials, according to the weekly's managing editor, Wahyu Muryadi. But they staged their protest "in a polite and orderly fashion", Wahyu added.

The group was protesting an opinion article from the June 2 to June 8 edition of the news magazine, titled Terror on Kontras. The article implied that the attackers were "of a lesser dignity", and described them as a "gang" and "children of former soldiers" in other parts. "We listened to their complaints and offered them the right to respond to the article and we will publish it in the readers' letters section," Wahyu said.

Even though they claimed that their dispute with Tempo had been cleared up, members of PPM filed a complaint at the Central Jakarta Police station against the weekly, alleging defamation.

Yoga Santoso, one of the PPM chairmen who led the protest, said their purpose for visiting the Tempo office building on Jl. Proklamasi, Central Jakarta, was to exercise their right to respond and prove that they were not "of a lesser dignity".

"Moreover, our fathers are retired soldiers, not deserters. We are intellectuals, although some of us don't have a high education because our fathers are not rich men. We're not a gang, and PPM is a legal organization so we're entitled to wear a uniform," he added.

PPM is the youth arm of the Indonesian Veteran Legion (VLRI). About 100 of its members attacked the Kontras office on Jl. Cisadane in Central Jakarta, hit the activists and vandalized the building on May 27 due to Kontras' stance on supporting peace for Aceh, which has been put under martial law.

Anti-violence coalition demonstrates

Kompas - June 4, 2003

Jakarta -- On June 3 a number of press and non-government organisations from the Coalition for Violence Against Journalists (Koalisi Antikekerasan terhadap Wartawan) declared their concern over the repressive situation facing the press and the safety of journalists during the military operation in Aceh.

This position was presented by the chairperson of the Press Council Atmakusumah Asraatmadja, the director of the News Office 68 H Santoso and the director of the South East Asia Press Alliance in Jakarta, Lukas Luwarso.

According to Atmakusumah, the military emergency in Aceh is a test of whether democracy, press freedom and the freedom of expression can function. "Society is also being tested, whether they choose to be narrow minded or respect the values of democracy", he said.

Atmakusumah rejected the accusation that the Indonesian press has not been nationalistic [enough] in reporting on Aceh. The BBC certainly considers that the Indonesian press has [simply regurgitated] the views of the Indonesian military (TNI).

Atmakusumah explained that there is a need for journalists to uphold journalistic standards and ethics in the coverage of Aceh. The press cannot lie by concealing the facts.

Moreover, the law on a military emergency pre-dates the law on the press or the amendments to the 1945 Constitution which guarantees the right of association and dissemination of information.

Santoso expressed the view that the repressive atmosphere in Aceh has already caused a number of radio stations to decide not to broadcast news because of pressure from the TNI or the Free Aceh Movement.

Lukas Luwarso raised the issue of efforts by the government to control the media which reveil the government or military's lack of confidence in the operation in Aceh. Lukas hoped therefore that the media will continue to be critical and not be trapped in to just serving up the successes of the military operation, without seeing the impact on the people. (wis)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Human rights/law

No show by generals in 1998 riots case

Laksamana.Net - June 3, 2003

Public demand for action to uncover the mystery behind the 1998 May riots that led to the downfall of the Suharto regime apparently still has a long way to go before it achieves success.

At least four generals allegedly connected with the riots have ignored a summons from the ad hoc team set up to look into the incidents. The four generals who failed to attend the summons are Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsuddin, retired Lt. Gen Prabowo Subianto, Lt. Gen Sudi Silalahi and Maj. Gen. Tri Tamtomo.

In an interview with reporters at the National Human Rights Commission offices on Monday, the head of the ad hoc team, Salahuddin Wahid, said Tri Tamtomo had sent a letter explaining he could not answer the summons because of the unfolding situation in Aceh, but the other three generals had not provided any excuse.

"As far as Tri Tamtomo is concerned, I can understand. But the other generals, I do not know," said Wahid, a prominent figure in traditionalist Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and younger brother of former President Abdurrahman Wahid.

He said a second letter had been sent to the generals calling on them to appear on 6 June. "If they still refuse to meet our second call, we will send a third call. If they still do not come, they can be forced to appear by the authority of the Attorney General or the courts," he warned.

The riots in May 1998 resulted in the death of up to a thousand people. Many died in shopping centers in Jakarta and elsewhere that were deliberately set alight. The disturbances came a day after the killing of four students at Trisakti University by sniper fire.

At the time, the military was blamed for their inability to prevent the looting and the burning of shopping centers and housing complexes. This led to suspicion that the highest military authority had deliberately instigated the chaotic and anarchic situation in Jakarta for political reasons.

At the time, Sjafrie Sjamsuddin was Jakarta Regional Military Commander. He is now military spokesman at armed forces headquarters.

Prabowo Subianto was commander of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad). At the time Prabowo, a son in law of Suharto, was seen by many political observers as one of a handful of influential generals. Drummed out of the Army only months after the riots, he is now a businessman in Jordan.

Sudi Silalahi was chief of staff of the Jakarta Military Command, with the rank of brigadier general. He later served as East Java Regional Military Commander during the Abdurrahman Wahid presidency, and is now secretary to Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Tri Tamtomo was head of operations at the Jakarta Regional Military Command, with the rank of colonel, and then moved to become North Sumatra Regional Military Commander.

The killing of the four university students at Trisakti added to popular displeasure with the Suharto regime sparked by hikes in the price of fuel and finally gave anti-Suharto forces, especially students, the ammunition they needed to push hard for Suharto's resignation.

The other mystery that needs further investigation is related to the personal rivalry between the Armed Forces Commander, Wiranto, and Prabowo. Both generals were closely connected to Suharto's family. Some reports have it that the struggle for power between the two was the main factor instigating the May riots.

Focus on Jakarta

Corrupt officials leave Jakartans wheezing

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2003

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- For many Jakartans, being choked by highly polluted air while sitting in a seemingly endless traffic jam is daily occurrence and irritant.

And things are going to get worse, with air pollution set to increase in the future rather than improve mainly due to the growth in the number of motor vehicles.

"Air quality will worsen mainly due to rising vehicular pollution in line with increased consumption of fuel in the city," Kosasih Wirahadikusumah, the director of the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD), told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Kosasih was alluding to increasing fuel consumption by the growing number of vehicles operating in the already-overcrowded streets of the city. About 70 percent of Jakarta's air pollution stems from pollutants spewed out by motor vehicles, while the remaining 30 percent comes from industrial emissions.

According to the Jakarta Police's Traffic Division, the growth in the number of vehicles in the city is around 5 percent per month.

As of the start of 2003, there were more than 4,140 vehicles operating in the city, not to mention vehicles from other towns.

The latest data from the city administration indicates that the consumption of diesel fuel topped the list with up to 2.2 million kiloliters being consumed annually, followed by premium gasoline at 1.9 million kiloliters a year, kerosene at 1.5 million kiloliters a year, and gas fuel at 1.5 billion cubic meter a year.

Diesel fuel is mostly used for public transportation and commercial vehicles, which are on the road for much longer than private cars, thus contributing a great deal to the city's air pollution. "In addition, most of the diesel fuel sold in Jakarta is of low quality and gives off a lot of sulfur pollutants," Kosasih noted.

Despite worsening air quality, many motorists seem not to care about the pollutants emanating from the exhausts of their vehicles.

Warsana, 28, a resident of Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, plans to purchase a second-hand car, and says he does not care if it pollutes the air. "Yes, I know that Jakarta's air is highly polluted. But, for me, an affordable, comfortable car is preferable to a new one, which of course would be too expensive for me," he said. He also said that he did not have any plans to check the emissions of the car he buys.

Chief of the Jakarta Police's Traffic Division Sr. Comr. Sulistyo Ishak admitted there was a lack of regulations obliging motorists, especially private car owners, to have their vehicles' emissions regularly checked.

"We in Indonesia have no regulations like they have in Singapore, which imposes very high taxes on owners of secondhand cars, which frequently have high emission levels. So, they prefer to buy new cars rather than paying the high taxes," said Sulistyo.

As of today, the city administration only requires the owners of public transportation and commercial vehicles to take emission tests. However, the regulation does not work. Many owners of public transportation and commercial vehicles prefer to bribe corrupt government officials instead of fixing up their engines in order to reduce emissions. Many corrupt government officials are willing to issue roadworthy certificates for vehicles without checking their emissions.

BPLHD data in 2001 showed that 77.6 percent of public transportation and commercial vehicles in Jakarta did not pass the emission tests. The majority of private cars also failed the tests. A total of 78.13 percent of cars made in 1985, 67.32 percent of those made between 1986 and 1994, and 56.91 percent of those made in 1995 and after, did not pass the tests.

News & issues

Lights out in Indonesia

Asia Times - June 5, 2003

Bill Guerin, Jakarta -- Countrywide risk factors, legal risk, a weak banking sector and weak capital markets, community violence and the like, affect sentiment over doing business in Indonesia, but there are few factors more important on would-be investor's score cards than a regular and reliable supply of electrical power at an affordable price.

Last week a series of "rolling-over" blackouts in some areas of East Java sparked concerns that the looming power crisis, which has been predicted for years, had arrived. Sector analysts predict that US$28.5 billion will need to be invested in new power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure up to 2010. Without this investment, the country will suffer a major power crisis. The disruption to supplies followed damage to four large-capacity power plants caused by heavy rains and landslides. The plants affected were the 200-megawatt combined-cycle power plant (PLTGU) at Gresik in East Java, the PLTGU at Muara Tawar in West Java with a capacity of 200MW, and the PLTGU at Tambak Lorok in Central Java with a 200MW capacity. The Gunung Salak geothermal power plant (PLTP) in West Java was also damaged by landslides, causing a loss of 100MW of power at the plant.

State-owned electricity utility PLN confirmed on Monday that the total installed capacity in Java and Bali is 18,612MW, the load capacity 12,815MW, and peak capacity 13,250MW. This has raised eyebrows over whether PLN is actually coming clean on its minimum reserve power level.

The recent blackouts should not have occurred, in theory, with more than 40 percent spare capacity to cope with the loss of, at most, 700MW. PLN said the supply disruption was only temporary and was due to "technical" problems at the plants concerned.

Energy and Mineral Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro was having none of this and promptly called on PLN to shift load capacity to its biggest customers, in industry, and convert peak load into base load.

The WG-PSR (working group on power sector restructuring) slammed PLN over the latest blackouts, which, it said, indicated that PLN's management, particularly with regard to the maintenance system at power plants, has been less than adequate.

WG-PSR has called on the government to set up an independent investigation team into the looming power crises, on account of the potential for shortages of power to seriously disrupt any future efforts to boost the economy.

"The national parliament [DPR] should summon all related parties and hold a hearing. The issues have to be resolved transparently and the public should be made aware of the facts. PLN has to give compensation to customers who may suffer from losses due to intentional blackouts," Fabby Tumiwa, coordinator of the organization, said last week.

Eddie Widiono Suwondo, current PLN president, was installed in March 2001 some time after an independent audit of the company mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) found that inefficiencies had resulted in annual losses averaging Rp5.3 trillion during 1995-98.

The Arthur Anderson report noted that poor investment decisions accounted for the bulk of the losses, or about Rp4 trillion per annum, while operational inefficiencies accounted for the balance. The audit concluded that more than half of the losses were due to factors beyond PLN's control -- ie, government policies or the actions of suppliers, customers, financial institutions, Pertamina, etc.

Though Widiono is not blamed for these past ills, PLN's peak load management, maintenance systems and the efficiency of its transmission and distribution lines have come under deep scrutiny during his watch.

In March Widiono survived a purge when State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi replaced four of the company's five directors. Only Widiono and finance director Parno Isworo, who had also survived previous management shakeups, managed to retain their posts. The government also restructured PLN's organization by removing the planning division and introducing a generation and primary energy division.

This year had been a fairly good one for PLN prior to last week's blackouts. On the supply side there was good progress after dispute settlements with 20 of the 27 independent power producers (IPPs), including a successful debt-restructuring deal with PT Paiton Energy in March.

US-ASEAN Business Council president Ernest Z Bower said that "the importance of the Paiton settlement cannot be overstated", and it would send a positive signal to foreign investors in the country. Indonesia, according to Bower, had taken proactive steps to address its long-standing energy supply problems, which gives investors and markets greater confidence as a result.

Many of these resurrected projects, though, are not due on stream for another three or four years.

The Tanjung Jati B power plant in Jepara, Central Java, which would have raised the capacity of the Java-Bali power grid by next year, remains bogged down in a morass of financial difficulties. It has been postponed until 2006.

At a cabinet meeting last October, Widiona won approval for his proposal to expand the capacity of the Muara Tawar power plant in West Java providing it with combined open-cycle gas turbines and a capacity of 850MW. This April a Siemens-led consortium won the bid to build six power units there, each with a generating capacity of between 100 and 150MW.

Japan, Indonesia's biggest investor, has agreed to provide a US$616 million loan to raise the capacity of the Muara Tawar and Muara Karang power plants.

A power plant is also to be built in Bali, which gets its power from Java through the Java-Bali transmission grid that connects the two islands via giant underwater cables. Demands for electricity on the island will soon outstrip PLN's capacity to supply power from Java.

PT Indonesia Power, a unit of PLN, got the green light in March to go ahead with its controversial $51 million Pemaron plant, which will be built smack in the middle of one of Bali's nicest and unspoiled locations, Lovina Beach, a favorite diving and snorkeling area. Construction was delayed for two years by protests from various community groups who argued that the power plant would pollute Lovina Beach, as it will use about 700 tons of diesel, delivered by tankers through a pipeline installed at Lovina Beach, every two weeks.

Gede Wisnaya, chairman of the Bali Development Study and Empowerment, said he was extremely disappointed. "We have been protesting since 2001, and have also written a letter to President Megawati Sukarnoputri and the minister of environment, but no one has responded."

Widiono said in response: "We have calculated the risks and affirm that there will be no major environmental degradation."

PLN says it will spend some Rp34 trillion ($3.82 billion), out of a total Rp65 trillion budgeted for this year, on fuel costs alone. Historically, PLN has encountered frequent problems on price and supply when it was forced to buy from state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina. However, in April PLN signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singapore-based fuel trader Concord Energy to supply fuel to the Indonesian utility. After implementation of the Oil and Gas Law No 22/2001, Pertamina lost its monopoly on the distribution of fuel throughout the country (see Pertamina's new paradigm, May 23).

The electricity law, which was based largely on an August 1998 White Paper on power-sector restructuring, also has many positive aspects for the future provided that implementation goes ahead as planned.

PLN will gradually lose its decades-long sole rights in power generation, transmission and distribution to mid-size and large users.

Power-sector regulation is being improved, including the issue of a regulatory framework that will give security and certainty for investors in the power sector.

The government believes competition would encourage more investment in the power sector, and power producers would compete to provide the best service to customers.

The industry is to be unbundled, beginning with the Java-Bali grid, which will have one grid-operating company and five distribution companies, together with five generating companies. The government's objective is to create competition in the power generation and power retail segments.

Parliament decided against an independent regulatory body and plumped for a government agency that acts independently, like Bank Indonesia. The commissioners of the agency will be chosen by the president with the approval of the DPR.

A "social electricity development fund" is planned whereby the government will subsidize electricity for the poor.

Help is also on hand from two Malaysian state electric utilities, the Serawak Electricity Supply Corp (Sesco) and Sabah Electricity Board (SESB), which will build power stations in two Indonesian provinces. PLN said on Monday that Sesco will build plants in West Kalimantan starting in 2006-07 and SESB will follow by building in Sumatra starting in 2008. PLN will buy at least 50MW of power from Sesco to start with.

The electricity sector is expected to be exempt from value-added tax in the future, which will also help.

The stakes could hardly be higher. No power means no growth and high costs of electricity impact negatively on the efficiency of the whole economy.

PLN admits power reserves running thin

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2003

Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta -- State-owned electricity company PT PLN said that power reserves on Java and Bali had been depleted, but stopped short of saying there could be more blackouts in the future.

Company president Eddie Widiono said that the current reserve margin had reached 28 percent, which is lower than the minimum reserve margin of 30 percent to avert power disruptions.

"Our power reserves have been depleted. Consequently, if we can't meet the minimum standby reserve, we will go into alert mode," Eddie said on Wednesday on the sidelines of a discussion of electricity rates.

"But our reserves have recovered. Hopefully, there won't be rotating blackouts again in the future," he said. Eddy said PLN's total installed capacity on Java and Bali stood at 18,610 megawatts (MW), while the peak load is 13,300 MW. It therefore has a reserve of 5,310 MW or 28 percent of its capacity.

However, Eddie said, in reality, its reserve was only between 5 percent and 10 percent as between 3,000 and 3,500 MW of the capacity was set aside for maintenance.

Experts have pointed out that with such a thin reserve margin, Java was at high risk of experiencing power disruptions at any peak-load time period.

Energy analysts have long warned of a looming power crisis on Java and Bali since there has been no new additional power infrastructure since the start of the economic crisis in 1997.

The disruption to the power supply on Java and Bali last week caused blackouts in some areas of the two islands. The blackouts caused problems for industrial users, some of which require a round-the-clock supply of power.

The government said the power disruption was caused by technical problems at four power plants: the Gresik power plant (600 MW), Gunung Salak (165 MW), Saguling (700 MW) and Cirata (1,008 MW). Eddy said PLN had managed to repair some of the power plants.

Eddie said that PLN could not fully operate some of its power plants in the region, particularly gas-fired ones, as they had been forced to use oil products, such as fuel, rather than natural gas due to a shortage of gas. "Since oil products are expensive, we would rather operate the power plants only during the peak-load time instead of around the clock," Eddie said.

In addition, he said, the use of oil products in the power plant engines caused unnecessary wear. "Normally, power plant engines should be overhauled after they are operated for 6,000 hours. But with the use of oil, that operation period is shortened to 2,500 hours," he said.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government would launch an audit on PLN's power plants to examine their real installed capacity and to find ways to boost their efficiency. "For example, a power plant has an installed capacity of 100 MW but it may be lower because it has been running for 20 years," he said on Wednesday at the same discussion.

Purnomo said demand for power plants had outpaced the supply. To increase the power supply, Purnomo said the government would offer an open tender to investors as soon as the government resolved the price dispute with 27 independent power producers.

Jakarta to move people to deserted border isles

Straits Times - June 5, 2003

Jakarta -- Still smarting from the loss of Sipadan and Ligitan islands, the government plans to resettle people from densely populated areas to 88 uninhabited islands on borders with neighbouring countries.

With incentives such as subsidies to start fishing and palm oil businesses, Jakarta hopes to persuade 300,000 people over a period of five years to make the move.

"We will relocate people to these islands for the sake of our sovereignty," said Mr Djoko Sidik Pramono, a director-general in the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration.

He said the focus in the coming months will be on Natuna, an island located in the South China Sea near Vietnam and which sits above rich undersea oil and gas fields. "We have resettled 960 families there and we are planning to move more than 1,000 families," he said.

Hefty subsidies will be allocated to those who move to Natuna. The island has started up oil and gas production activities there and at least three local investors are interested in sinking their money into the oil palm plantation business, he said.

In December, the World Court awarded the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan to Malaysia after a 33-year dispute over ownership. The decision sparked months of nationalist hand-wringing in Jakarta.

Indonesia third worst in women, child trafficking

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2003

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta -- Indonesia is rated the world's third worst country in its commitment against and law enforcement on women and child trafficking, with an estimated population of 230,000 women and child sex workers trafficked throughout Indonesia.

"Being in the third tier means Indonesia is considered a country without awareness nor action on the issue," director of the Women's Journal Foundation (Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan/YPJ) Gadis Arivia told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"There are three tiers: The first is for countries with both awareness and action to fight women and child trafficking, while the second is for those with awareness but who haven't yet taken action," she said on the sidelines of the "Don't Buy Don't Sell" national forum on women and child trafficking.

The latest research by YJP in Batam, Riau and West Kalimantan showed that around 5,000 women and children have been trafficked in Batam alone. The research also revealed that 10 percent of commercial sex workers on the island are children below 18 years of age.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) child protection officer Julie Lebegue said that there were at least 70,000 children involved in the commercial sex industry, and that 30 percent of the total number of commercial sex workers in Indonesia were below 18 years of age. UNICEF's figure is higher than YJP's findings. Of the estimated two million underage commercial sex workers around the world, about 225,000 are in the Southeast Asian region.

In West Kalimantan, which shares a 842-kilometer border with Malaysia, most women and child trafficking cases involve cases of mail-order brides, baby trading and trafficking in pregnant women.

"Requests for mail-order brides usually come from Taiwanese men, mostly farmers, fishermen or elderly citizens. Each man must pay between Rp 60 million (US$7,317) and Rp 70 million for an Indonesian woman," said Hairiah, director of the Women's Association for Legal Aid (LBH APIK) in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. When these Taiwanese men run out of money, they will resell their "wives" as commercial sex workers.

A more inhumane practice is the trade in infants -- Hairiah once found a baby that had died from suffocation after being "packed" in a styrofoam box. "The babies are usually taken from their mothers in their first month," she said.

A more common method of selling babies abroad is by "sheltering" pregnant women in Malaysia and later taking the babies from them. A baby is sold from RM 500 (US$128) to RM 12,000. In most cases, the traffickers -- not the mothers -- keep the money.

Hairiah said that the research showed a new trend of old men looking for virgins. A virgin, valued at RM 5,000, is believed to prolong the lives of old men.

Meanwhile, Indonesia only has one law against trafficking in women and children: Presidential Decree No. 88/2002 issued on December 22, 2002 on the national action plan to eradicate women and child trafficking.

State Minister of Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Soemaryoto said separately that the government was working on the draft law on woman and child trafficking eradication, and was networking with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on women issues.

"Law enforcement is the key step. Other countries' experiences show that once you start the law enforcement and take it seriously, it will raise people's awareness that it [trafficking in women and children] is a crime," said Lebegue. Law enforcement also provides the means to punish traffickers.

Speaking on the possibility of Acehnese women and children being trafficked as an aftermath of the ongoing war, she said, "Whenever there is a conflict in an area, you'll get a high risk of trafficking as children are separated from their families and lost their identities. So it will be much easier to traffic them."

Indonesians have negative view of Bush, but like Americans

Jakarta Post - June 4, 2003

Washington (Agencies) -- The following is a summary of results for Indonesia from the 2003 Global Attitudes Survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

• Less that 15 percent of Indonesians have positive views of the United States, compared with 83 percent who feel unfavorably toward the country. Last summer, over 60 percent of Indonesians expressed favorable opinions of the United States.
• Indonesians have a much more favorable view of Americans than they do of America. Most, 56 percent, say they feel at least somewhat favorably toward Americans, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
• Most Indonesians with a negative view of the United States blame their feelings on US President George W. Bush (69 percent), rather than a general problem with America (20 percent).
• Eight percent of Indonesians have some confidence in Bush's ability to handle world affairs, compared with 90 percent who say they have little or no confidence in Bush. A majority of Indonesians, 58 percent, say they have at least some confidence in Osama bin Laden's handling of world affairs. Yasser Arafat is the highest rated leader among Indonesians (68 percent expressed some confidence in the Palestinian leader).
• By more than three-to-one (72 percent to 23 percent), Indonesians oppose the US-led war on terrorism.
• A declining number of Indonesians feel Western-style democracy can work in their country. Last summer, 64 percent felt Western- style democracy could work in Indonesia; just 41 percent say that in the postwar survey.
• Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country and most Indonesian Muslims are satisfied with what they see as a high level of Islamic influence in politics: 86 percent say Islam plays a very or fairly large role in the political life of their country, and 82 percent think it should play a substantial role.
• In Indonesia, there have been efforts in at least one province to require women to wear veils. But by six-to-one (86 percent to 14 percent), Muslims in Indonesia believe it should be up to women to decide whether or not to wear veils.
• Fewer than half of Indonesian Muslims surveyed rate honest two-party elections and freedom of the press as very important, though most view these freedoms as somewhat important.
• When asked about the preferred model of leadership, 65 percent of Indonesians favor democratic government compared with 32 percent who favor a strong leader.
• Indonesians are upbeat about growing foreign trade and faster communications. Nearly 80 percent say globalization has had a positive effect on the country; 85 percent say they like the pace of modern life, among the highest percentages in the 44 nations surveyed.
• Unlike people in most other nations, people in Indonesia do not see commercialism as threat to their culture; 58 percent say commercialism and consumerism are no threats to culture.
• 87 percent hold individuals responsible for their failures, compared with 11 percent who blame society.
• Indonesians are divided as to which way of life is most satisfying, one where the women stays home and cares for the children (46 percent) or one in which both husband and wife work and share household duties (54 percent).

About the Survey:

The Global Attitudes Project interviewed 1,017 Indonesian adults between July 20 and August 7, 2002 in predominantly urban areas in seven provinces: Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, South Sumatra and South Sulawesi. The margin of error for questions answered by the entire sample is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The follow-up survey interviewed 1,011 adults May 1-10, 2003 in predominantly urban areas.

Visa policy granted grace period

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2003

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta -- The government is not postponing the new visa policy but is merely implementing a six-month transition period instead, spokesman Ade E. Dahlan for the Directorate General of Immigration at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights said on Monday. "Actually, the transition period has been in effect since late March, so it is not an extended delay," he told The Jakarta Post.

The controversial decree on the new visa policy was signed on March 31 and will be implemented in September.

The new visa policy will scrap the 60-day visa-free policy because the facility had been abused by several foreign nationals. The new policy will require visitors to Indonesia to apply for the appropriate visa at Indonesian embassies or consulates in their respective countries.

Alternatively, they can also apply for a visa on arrival, which will charge visitors US$45 per person for each visit.

"Which countries will be given this visa-on-arrival privilege will be determined later. In the meantime, we're also waiting for technical guidelines from the ministry, which are now ready. Reassessment [of the guidelines] involving relevant parties will be conducted later," Ade said.

The technical guidelines include regulations on those countries eligible for the visa-on-arrival facility and the reciprocal visa, and will also outline the economic benefits of the new policy.

Previously, Indonesia had a free visa policy for 48 countries, as well as a reciprocal visa policy with 11 countries. The United States and Australian citizens were allowed to enter the country freely, but the policy was not reciprocated for Indonesian citizens visiting those countries.

To obtain a visa from either country, an Indonesian citizen must pay about Rp 450,000 (US$55) for a visa and undergo an interview, and an application was not automatically approved.

The tourism industry, which has been severely affected by last year's Bali bombing, the Iraq war and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak, expressed concerns over the new policy, fearing that it would greatly reduce the number of tourists, particularly from countries like Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Netherlands.

Indonesia will still maintain its free visa policy for citizens of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Chile, Morocco, Turkey and Peru, based on the principle of reciprocity.

Before the Bali bombing, the tourism industry generated US$5.4 billion in foreign exchange revenue, of which Bali contributed 30 percent. In 2002, tourism revenue dropped to $4.3 billion, while tourist arrivals dropped from 5.15 million visitors in 2001 to 5.03 million in 2002.

The tourism industry is the second largest non-oil and gas foreign exchange earner after the textile and garment industry.

Environment

Green and wealthy: An Indonesian oxymoron?

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2003

Fitrian A. and Israr Ardiansyah, Jakarta -- Indonesian forests constitute one of the world's megacenters of biological diversity. However, these forests -- 10 percent of the world's remaining tropical forests, second largest to Brazil -- are being increasingly degraded, leaving ever fewer natural resources and causing significant ecological damage.

Protected areas are diminishing in conservation value as poorly planned and unsustainable development leads to poaching, encroachment, habitat fragmentation and forest fires.

These problems have been building for years with the rapid and largely unregulated exploitation of forests and other natural resources under the New Order regime. Since the early days of the regime at the end of the 1960s until today, Indonesian forests have been a prominent powerhouse of the country's economy, after oil and textiles.

Unfortunately, to fill the need for economic growth and alleviating poverty, the government seemingly still sets its development agenda based on forest exploitation, including conversion of forests into plantations.

Forest conversion, which was defined as a continuous process of declining forest functions, has led to man-made monocultures characterized by the almost complete loss of forest ecological functions and socioeconomic benefits for local people.

In general, 60 percent of the conversion of tropical forests in Indonesia is due to the development of oil palm plantations (WWF, 2002). However, only 30 percent to 40 percent of forest areas that have been logged were later developed into oil palm plantations in the last decades in Indonesia.

This phenomenon has contributed to an alarming rate of deforestation (2.1 million hectares per year according to the Ministry of Forestry, 2003). Recent assessments estimate that by 2005 lowland forests will disappear in Sumatra and by 2010 in Kalimantan. If the incidents of forest fires are included, this prediction may well be true. The usual practice of plantations to log and then burn to clear the land for planting has worsened the impact.

The question now is whether forest conversion has increased the level of wealth of the country, if not the welfare of the people. One study shows that as a result of deforestation through 2002, Indonesia has lost about US$25 billion from timber and may continuously lose about US$0.55 billion per annum.

Other findings also show that conversion comes with severe environmental and social costs. These include the loss of high- conservation-value forests, human-wildlife conflicts (in Riau, the cost of human-elephant conflicts have reached Rp 1.3 billion per year, or 86 percent of Riau's 2002 provincial budget), massive forest fires, the loss of ecosystem functions and services and disregard for the rights and interests of indigenous communities or forest-dependent people.

Although the country's earnings from palm oil exports have increased, unfortunately, profits from forest conversion only go to a few people within and outside the country. On the other hand, forest-dependent people and the majority of Indonesians are yet to benefit from conversion.

Another issue to be raised is whether we have to stop developing the oil palm sector. Although concerns about massive impacts resulting from oil palm development have increased, many environmental organizations (ENGOs), including the WWF, recognize the need of countries like Indonesia and Malaysia to develop and provide for their people.

Therefore, while seeking to ensure that important high- conservation-value forests (HCVFs) do not disappear, some ENGOs have been trying to open a dialog with the palm oil industry to search for sustainable solutions. For instance, the WWF network has been opening a dialog with Migros (Swiss retailers), Unilever, ABN-Amro Bank, the Malaysian Palm Oil Association and the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (GAPKI).

One area that is being carefully looked at is good land use planning that incorporates the need for oil palm development as well as HCVF conservation. If we analyze the figures of the areas that have already been opened, 60 percent to 70 percent have not been utilized as oil palm plantations. This means that a huge figure (3 million to 4 million hectares) of abandoned land, wastelands or land with absentee ownerships is available to be used at this particular point of time and in the future. Integrated and coordinated land use planning at different levels (district to national), in this case, is extremely necessary.

Another important solution being discussed between ENGOs and companies is the implementation of several better practices for sustainable palm oil production. These practices cover guidelines on protecting, maintaining and restoring HCVFs within plantation areas; mitigating human-wildlife conflict; resolving social and tenurial conflicts; adopting a zero burning policy; implementing integrated pest management; and managing waste.

The coming Roundtable Discussion on Sustainable Palm Oil in August 2003 in Kuala Lumpur, incorporating key actors in the entire chain of the oil palm sector and other interested parties, will be used as a starting point to have sustainable produced palm oil that balances economic and environmental aspects.

Some key Malaysian companies such as Golden Hope Plantation Bhd has seen this as a good opportunity to enter markets in the developed world. If the Indonesian industry does not recognize this potential, it may lose a significant market share in Europe to competitors. And for the rest of us, we may end up experiencing more disasters as a result of ongoing deforestation.

[Fitrian A. holds a master's degree in environmental management and development from the Australian National University. Israr Ardiansyah graduated from Gadjah Mada University's School of Forestry. Both work for WWF Indonesia-Forest Program.]

Thick haze threatens Riau, Aceh, Kalimantan

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2003

Jakarta -- The annual choking haze has reached alert levels on mainland Riau, including the provincial capital of Pekanbaru, with authorities warning residents to stay indoors as much as possible.

The reappearance of the haze, which has occurred annually for the past decade due to the burning of rainforests on Sumatra and Kalimantan, has been met with the same authorities calling for action to be taken -- but little is ever done against the military dominated forestry companies.

Riau health office deputy chief Ekmal Rusdi said on Friday that the thick smoke had reached alarming levels. "We call on the people to stay indoors as much as possible, especially at nights. The conditions can cause respiratory problems and lung diseases," he was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying.

Many residents in Pekanbaru were observed wearing cloth around their faces for protection as they traveled in the open.

The thick smoke covers several regencies in the province following fires in supposedly protected rainforests in Dumai, Minas and Kampar and in forest areas in the regencies of Rokan Hulu and Rokan Hilir.

"A fire is still burning in the conservation forest along the Dumai River and in the Bukit Rimbang and Bukit Baling conservation forests in Kampar and Minas regencies," Natural Resources Conservation Unit (BKSDA) chief in Riau Jhon Kenedie said.

Jhon called on relevant authorities to take action against individuals and companies using fire to clear land for farm and plantations because besides having triggered the chocking haze, the fire had spread to protected forests, home to thousands of rare species. With the help of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Singapore, the provincial administration has detected a large number of hot spots throughout the province.

The Environmental Management Agency (Bapedalda) said NOAA satellite imagery had located 10 major fire areas in forests owned by timber companies PT Sumatra Sinar Plywood, PT Rokan Permai Timber and PT Arara Abadi. Authorities at the Sultan Syarih Hasyim airport said the haze had not yet affected air operations in the province.

The haze is also threatening to hit the war-torn province of Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra island, due to fires in the regencies of Aceh Singkil and Central Aceh. The haze has begun to affect motorists in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar regency.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) in Banda Aceh said the haze covered parts of the city but had yet to affect airport operations.

Meanwhile, authorities in Kalimantan repeated warnings that the haze covering parts of the island could affect the people's health and daily activities unless the burnings stopped.

The South Kalimantan administration has put in place heavy penalties for individuals and companies using fires to clear land for farms and plantations.

Local forestry office deputy chief Basuniansyah said it had detected 73 hot spots in 14 regencies in the province. Most were located near and inside company owned forests. "Our team is still in the field investigating," he claimed.

West Kalimantan Governor Usman Ja'far warned plantation companies and forest concession holders against setting fires, saying any violators of environmental and forestry laws should be taken to court. He said all regents and mayors in the province should be aggressive in preventing the fires that had plagued the province.

More hot spots, haze detected on three islands

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2003

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta/Medan -- More provinces in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi islands are showing hot spots, a strong indication of forest fires, with haze already shrouding some areas of these provinces.

The director of the forest fires detection and evaluation division at the Ministry of Forestry Willistra Danny said on Wednesday that the ministry had detected a number of hot spots in North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, West and Central Kalimantan, and Central and Southeast Sulawesi provinces.

"It is the first time we have detected hot spots in Sulawesi during the current fires. Hot spots mostly occur in Riau and West Kalimantan," he said. He failed, however, to specify the number of hot spots.

The latest data from the ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Centre (ASMC) satellite on May 29 showed there were 110 hot spots in Riau province alone. Teams of firefighters had been instructed to check the locations of the hot spots.

Willistra said two teams in Riau consisting of 30 trainees were being deployed in Dumai, the port used by the PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia oil and gas company, to extinguish forest fires in the area.

North Sumatra, Jambi, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan have also deployed teams of firefighters.

"All of the team members have been trained to put out forest fires. Now they are being deployed in the field in cooperation with local administrations and companies," he said, referring to cooperation between the Riau teams and Caltex.

In North Sumatra, thick haze from forest fires began to blanket several areas in the province.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) reported that 48 hot spots were found on Wednesday in Labuhan Batu, South Tapanuli, Tarutung and Dairi regencies, an increase from 20 last week. Visibility is also only between 1,000 and 2,000 meters.

"Within the last two weeks there has been no rain in North Sumatra. This will encourage forest fires," BMG Medan head Firman told the Jakarta Post. The haze had reached a level that could endanger human health but so far it had yet to endanger land, sea and air transportation. In Pekanbaru, Riau, Antara reported that choking haze had limited visibility to only 300 meters.

Aside from the haze, the dust and the smell from the fires were also bothering motorists in the city. Many drivers turned on their headlights and reduced their speed even when the roads were empty, fearing possible traffic accidents.

Local people hoped the responsible authorities would take concrete action to tackle the fires. "Don't only talk in the newspapers. They must take definite action to stop the forest fires as the haze has reached alarming levels in Riau," Hendra said.

Riau forestry office director Syuhada has warned 40 companies in the province not to clear land using the slash and burn method.

Forest fires have become an annual problem in Indonesia due to land clearance activities using the slash and burn method. The method has been banned by the government but forestry companies and local people continued to practice it as it is cheaper than other methods. So far, Malaysian company PT Adei Plantation has been fined US$1.1 million for clearing land using the slash and burn method.

Forest fires have also spread choking haze annually over Singapore and Malaysia, forcing the two countries to often cancel flights.

Greenpeace delivers 'alarming' report on Indonesia

Radio Australia - June 5, 2003

International environmental organisation Greenpeace says Indonesia has the world's highest rate of forest loss and may see much of its lowland forest disappear by 2010.

In a new report, 'Partners in Crime', Greenpeace has investigated the links between Britain and Indonesia's timber barons. The report says the findings are alarming.

It says every year an area of Indonesian forest larger than the United Kingdom's Wales is destroyed. The report says, at that rate, the lowland forests of two of the archipelago's islands, Sumatra and Kalimantan, will be destroyed by 2010.

Greenpeace alleges at least 88 per cent of all timber felled in the country has been logged illegally.

And it has accused Britain of complicity in the destruction, saying more than half of British tropical plywood comes from Indonesia's rain forests.

CGI must probe Mandiri forestry debt deal

Laksamana.Net - June 2, 2003

The Indonesia-headquartered Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) claims that members of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) -- which holds its interim meeting in Jakarta this week -- are risking Indonesia's forests by not paying enough attention to the sale of forest assets to state-owned Bank Mandiri.

When the CGI met in February 2000, the government agreed to close heavily indebted forestry companies under the control of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Association (IBRA), CIFOR said in a statement.

The decision was supported by the Ministry of Forestry, which is keen to downsize Indonesia's wood processing capacity and reduce the pressure on Indonesia's forests. International donors were also concerned IBRA would write off approximately $2 billion of the forestry debts, thereby giving Indonesia's forestry conglomerates a huge capital subsidy.

However, IBRA and the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises have done nothing to meet the government's commitment to close down heavily indebted forestry companies.

"What in fact is happening is that bankrupt timber industries are buying back their debts at sharply discounted prices and the government is writing off the rest. This is allowing them to continue to operate and consume large volumes of timber, much of which is widely believed to come from illegal logging," said senior CIFOR policy scientist Chris Barr.

According to Bambang Setiono, a financial analyst with CIFOR, IBRA sold $2.3 billion (Rp20 trillion) of its forestry debts during the second half of 2002, at undisclosed prices. This included Rp6.2 trillion in debts from Bob Hasan's timber operators and Rp2.6 trillion from the Djajanti Group.

"IBRA made these sales without informing the Indonesian public or the IMF, in clear violation of IBRA's transparency obligations. The fact that IBRA was able to do this raises doubts about how much attention the IMF and World Bank are giving the whole process," the statement says.

More important, according to Setiono and Barr, is that IBRA sold about $1.3 billion dollars of the forestry debt to Bank Mandiri, a state-owned bank which will soon offer 15% of stock to the public.

"By 'selling' the debts from one government entity to another, the government's net revenue from the sale was zero," says the statement.

"The government sold the forestry debts to itself. So, unlike IBRA debt sales to external buyers, where it generally only got 20 or 30 cents in the dollar, it now gets nothing. And let's not forget, the forestry debts sold to Bank Mandiri involves $1.3 billion dollars that belong to the people of Indonesia," Barr said.

The statement adds that it is important the CGI and Indonesian stakeholders watch carefully what Bank Mandiri does with its newly acquired forestry assets. The companies owing these debts represent a sizeable portion of Indonesia's timber and plywood industries.

"It is unlikely Bank Mandiri will be able to sell the debts to anyone except the owners of the indebted companies, many of whom have strong political connections. In short, no private company is likely to buy debt that the legally powerful IBRA was unable to recover."

"We may see Bank Mandiri write off much of its forestry debt as part of its privatization process. If this happens, the Government will lose an additional $1 billion in potentially recoverable debt. Even worse, it does nothing to downsize the country's forestry sector and reduce pressure on Indonesia's rapidly vanishing forests," Setiono said.

The Center for International Forestry Research urged the CGI to insist that Bank Mandiri call in the forestry sector debts on its books before it is allowed to issue its upcoming initial public offering (IPO).

Companies that fail to repay should be closed, as the Minister of Forestry suggests. Such punitive action would create a win-win situation: Bank Mandiri would recover a sizeable portion of the forestry debts it holds and the capacity of Indonesia's wood processing industry would be substantially reduced.

Health & education

Fake drugs threaten consumers and pharmaceutical sector

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2003

Jakarta -- The sale of counterfeit medicines not only threatens consumers but also the pharmaceutical industry as the distribution of such drugs is now out of control. Moreover, the country's inadequate legal infrastructure and weak law enforcement have allowed such counterfeit drugs to flood the market.

Reports say that the consumption of such drugs can sometimes be fatal. These products also hurt both the health of consumers and their pockets as such drugs do not have the desired effect so consumers have to shell out even more money before getting better.

Recently, the head of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), Sampurno, announced that 55 fake medicines had been detected circulating on the Indonesian market since 1999. Counterfeit medicines often look just like the real thing in terms of packaging. But they usually have a lower dosage, or even none of the active ingredients at all.

Sampurno said that most of the fake medicines were sold in unregistered stores. Such medicines have persistently hurt the pharmaceutical industry in Indonesia, says the chairman of the Indonesian Pharmaceutical Association (GPF), Anthony Ch. Sunarjo.

"The problem has hurt the industry, of course. Some GPF members have submitted reports to us [GPF officials] about the circulation of the fake drugs and the damage they were doing to their sales," he said. He could not give any details about the exact extent of the problem, or how much the counterfeit drugs had affected overall drug sales.

PT Pfizer Indonesia also voiced concern, saying that over the last two years the sales of some of the company products had declined. "According to our research, over the last two years fake medicines have been severely hurting our sales, especially those of our fastest moving drugs, like Viagra and Ponstan. Their sales declined by an average of 40 percent in 2002," Pfizer's director of public affairs Daisy K. Primayanti told The Jakarta Post. She confirmed that the main cause of the decline was the counterfeit medicines circulating on the market.

To eliminate the problem, the pharmaceutical industry has taken some steps, like developing difficult-to-imitate packaging, including the use of hologram stickers and special inks. "However, such measures are not very effective as the impostors can immediately imitate them," said Sunarjo.

He said that some pharmaceutical companies had filed lawsuits against the producers of fake drugs, but the results they had obtained were not enough to offset the legal costs they had to pay. "Once, the court sentenced a defendant to only two months in jail," he said. "This was not enough to teach him a lesson." Pfizer, Daisy said, preferred to hold awareness-raising seminars on fake drugs rather than resorting to legal action.

Separately, Sampurno also conceded that the punishments imposed on drug counterfeiters were not sufficient. "Last year, the BPOM and police raided illegal drug stores across Indonesia, nabbing some counterfeiters in the process. In Central Java, 30 of those arrested have already being tried with only minor punishments being imposed," he said. "Such punishments are not enough to deter the criminals from resorting to their felonious ways again."

Women get uptight to lighten up in cause of beauty

Sydney Morning Herald - June 7, 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- "Because I'm brown, that's why I want to be white." Westerners might still like the bronzed look, but in Indonesia women such as Yusniar are demanding soaps and lotions, creams and even injections that promise to make their brown skins a few shades lighter.

Beauty salons across the country advertise a range of skin whitening treatments, and supermarkets and department stores have do-it-yourself products promising to take some of the brown out of Indonesian skins.

Ms Fatima owns several big salons that offer hair styling, manicures, pedicures, massage and facials to a middle-class market in which more and more women want to be white. "About 40 per cent of the business is whitening now ... five years ago it was very rare," she said this week.

On level three of a salon she has run for 27 years are 10 benches where women have their faces and necks whitened. Upstairs are seven private rooms for those who want their whole bodies a lighter shade at $A60 a treatment -- 10 times the cost of face whitening.

Either way, the treatment is the same. Staff use fingers and a spatula to apply a South African product, Julienne Creme Bleach, which, the packaging claims, "lightens dark facial and body hair", but which Ms Fatima says works just as well bleaching skin.

After their bodies are covered customers wait an hour before the bleach is washed off. The skin should be light enough for friends to notice the difference straight away, although the effects fade within two or three weeks and many customers returned at least once a month, she said.

Does it damage the skin? "If you are young your skin will not be so sensitive, but if you are older your skin will dry out," Ms Fatima said.

Those who do not want dry skin can opt for a course of 10 vitaminC injections over a month offered by some beauty clinics as well as doctors.

With the price more than twice that of a full-body bleach, this approach is for the very determined. Besides, to get the maximum effect, Ms Fatima said, a client needed to put on extra weight to tighten the skin, which will look lighter as it stretches.

In this highly competitive market, companies are quick to spot any niche, which might explain Extraderm's Underarm Whitening Cream, and you can no longer buy a L'Oreal moisturiser that does not promise to lighten you. The company now sells a "triple whitening repairing lotion", which, it says, has been made available "after years of research on Asian skin". The fine print explains the product contains "powerful whitening agents which have been scientifically proven to reduce production of the skin darkening agents by as much as 53 per cent".

More popular is Pond's mass-market White Beauty cream, which promises to shed a top layer of skin to bring out the "lighter look".

The Indonesian marketing manager with Lancome cosmetics, Irawati Darmawan, said there was no doubt skin whitening was enjoying a wave of popularity. She believes it is probably due to the influence of American culture and Indonesian women's belief that women from Singapore and Japan have whiter skin than they do.

Indonesian public opinion swung heavily against the United States during the war in Iraq, but that anger did nothing to reduce demand for white skin. "It did not affect sales at all," Ms Darmawan said.

Thousands reject education bill

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2003

Jakarta -- Some 5,000 people from the group, "Society Concerned with National Education" staged a rally in front of the House of Representatives here on Thursday, rejecting a House plan to approve the bill on education.

In its statement, the society demanded the formulation of a national education system that would truly promote the nation's intellectuality and respect plurality.

"The bill, which is being deliberated in the House, has, right from the start, ignored the true objective of national education -- promotion of the nation's intellectuality," society spokesman, Darmin Mbula said, as quoted by Antara.

According to the society, the bill -- due to be passed into law by the House on June 10 -- focuses on religious rather than general education. "In addition, the bill eradicates the roles of private institutes of higher learning, ignores the education of the poor and even threatens the country's social and national integrity," Darmin said.

On Wednesday, Minister of National Education Malik Fadjar said he hoped the House would not make a decision on the education bill by voting on it. The House is scheduled to convene a plenary meeting on June 10 to have its final say on the controversial bill.

"Making a decision on the education bill by voting is legitimate, according to democratic principles. However, it would be better to do it by consensus," Malik said.

Bali/tourism

Balinese in financial trouble after bombings

Melbourne Age - June 4, 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- Average incomes across Bali are down 40 per cent, one in five Balinese is out of work, and children are increasingly dropping out of school, according to the first surveys on the impact of last October's bombings on Bali and neighbouring East Java and Lombok.

The World Bank and United Nations Development Program have warned national and local governments that more relief will soon be needed as Bali's tourism industry is unlikely to recover soon.

The findings were based on 13 surveys of businesses and community leaders. A survey of 900 people in Bali's 53 local government areas found the effects of the bombings, combined with the impact of SARS and the Iraq war, were having a bigger impact today than they were earlier this year. Those interviewed said 94 per cent of people had suffered a drop in income, 70 per cent a drop in employment, with the worst impact being in the poorer areas where people had less capacity to cope with shrinking incomes.

Another survey of 600 beach vendors, market traders and taxi drivers found revenues and profits had collapsed by as much as 70 per cent. Survey co-ordinator Nick Mawdsley, of the UNDP, said the situation was likely to get worse as people used up their assets.

"The poorer areas are really now facing the hardships," he said. "Those areas that were prosperous before are coping better because they have assets they can sell. But, as time goes by, more and more people are going to reach a level where they are not coping." Initial findings from the surveys are in a report presented to a meeting of donor countries to Indonesia held this week.

To cope with the fall in income, 94 per cent of people have reduced their spending, 46 per cent have taken out loans for daily living, 69 per cent have delayed loan repayments and 60 per cent have pawned assets.

Although there are no hard figures on numbers of school dropouts, the report says dropouts are highest in the poor areas, and that in some local government areas "all schools interviewed reported dropouts". With the new school year starting in July, more dropouts are expected.

Despite the impact of the bombing, the surveys found little evidence of social tension between Muslim migrants and the mainly Hindu Balinese, with 73 per cent of people saying relations were good, 15 per cent suggesting suspicions had increased and 2.3 per cent saying relations had worsened.

The island of Lombok had hotel occupancy rates of just 23 per cent in April, with producers and traders of handicraft and tourist-related products in Lombok and East Java reporting sales down by 60 per cent.

Bali tourism woes worse than expected

Straits Times - June 4, 2003

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Tourist arrivals in Bali have recovered only to a third of the level that tourism experts had said it would. The monthly visitor figures for the resort stand at 60,000.

Many in the tourism industry had predicted initially that the Bali blasts would dampen the island's draw potential for between six months and a year at the most. But now, 2005 is being bandied about as a more realistic date.

The World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme's latest report on Bali revealed these figures, which were presented to international donors at a meeting in Jakarta on Monday.

Although the Jakarta government has planned some 74 billion rupiah in aid to Bali, the study suggests that Indonesia should focus its assistance on specific needy areas, and make sure the money trickles down to the intended recipients.

Survey findings show there was a huge impact on the people -- 94 per cent of respondents say their incomes have dropped by an average of 40 per cent, and 70 per cent of people say they now work less or have lost jobs altogether.

Schools, especially in poor districts like Buleleng and Karangasem, report higher student dropout rates, and are girding themselves for even lower attendance figures when the school year begins next month. The agencies conducting the studies said Lombok Island to the east of Bali saw similar patterns of lower revenue and greater poverty.

East Java province, which has a more diversified and industrialised economy than its neighbours to the east, fared better than the more tourism-dependent islands.

The study team's final recommendation is for Bali and the rest of Indonesia to seek a more sustainable model of tourism instead of the free-for-all or grab-them-while-they're-here approach of the past two decades.

That kind of prescription, however, could meet steep resistance from the local population, who for years have thrived and enjoyed higher living standards compared to the rest of Indonesia due to the abundance of dollar-bearing tourists.

Mr Prasetyono, a dive instructor in Sanur, Bali, said: "People still can't let go of tourism. Many here don't want to even think about alternatives, even if tourism has suffered several shocks over the past few years. Bali still waits for tourists to come back. Maybe the Balinese are too accustomed to the easy life that tourism brings."

Armed forces/police

Territorial integrity and TNI'S role in crushing separatism

Tapol - June 3, 2003

[The following article will be published in the forthcoming issue of the Tapol Bulletin.]

Carmel Budiardjo -- As the war in Aceh enters its third week and military operations in the Central Highlands in Papua intensify, it is timely to put these developments into a broader context and take a look at the well-documented plans of the Indonesian armed forces, the TNI, to reassert their role in political and security affairs, a move frequently referred to as their "miitary comeback".

Since Megawati Sukarnoputri took over as President in July 2001, replacing Abdurrahman Wahid who had tried to push for reform of the military -- ultimately, the cause of his downfall -- the Indonesian armed forces have succeeded in building a common front with the country's political elite, the president herself and the parties represented in parliament, the DPR. This common front centres around the determination to preserve Indonesia's territorial integrity, the so-called Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia or NKRI (Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia).

Not surprisingly, there is a deep sense of humiliation at the "loss" of East Timor, felt particularly keenly by the TNI, and a determination not to "lose" any more territory. The top echelon in the armed forces, the TNI commander-in-chief General Endriartono Sutarto, and the army's chief-of staff, General Ryacudu Ryamizard, have frequently insisted that the NKRI project can only be secured by giving the military a greater, and indeed the decisive, role in fighting separatism, the "scourge" which threatens the Indonesian state in the two resource-rich provinces, Aceh and Papua.

By virtue of two decrees and two laws adopted in 2000, their role has been seriously undermined. These provide for the separation of the police force, Polri, from the TNI, and establishes the role of the police in the preservation of security and order, restricting the TNI to being responsible for the defence of the realm against foreign foes.

The first important sign of a determination to reverse the reform process came with a meeting of hundreds of active and retired top-ranking military officers convened by Ryacudu Ryamizard in March this year. Following the meeting Ryacudu said that "the military's security role should be reinstated due to the threats of separatism and other security disturbances". Fine-tuning the army's professionalism might be enough for the armed forces of a country like the US, he said, but for Indonesia whose process of nation-building had not been completed, this was not enough. "The army," he said, "was very concerned with the country's territorial integrity." (The Jakarta Post, 21 March 2003)

This was soon followed by the publication of a Defence White Paper, by the minister of defence, Matori Abdul Djalil, a civilian who is quite comfortable with being the mouthpiece of the country's most heavily militarised department of state. This White Paper argues that while Indonesia does not face any immediate threat of a foreign invasion, the so-called "traditional" threat facing a purely defence force, it faces numerous "non-traditional" threats ranging from terrorism, communal conflicts, illegal logging and trafficking in people to separatism. It argues further that as long as such threats remain at a "low-intensity level", they can be handled by the police but the more serious they become, the more incumbent it is on the TNI to handle them. The White Paper argues throughout that it is the task of the TNI to "safeguard the nation", which requires that it prepare not only for "war military operations" but also "non-war military operations" called "operasi military selain perang", a serious encroachment on the role of the police. The Jakarta Post described this as "tantamount to a vote of no confidence in our police and probably even amounts to an insult". (15 April 2003)

The White Paper also argues for a reversal of a much-mooted major reform project for the TNI, the dismantling of the territorial command system. Instead of dismantling the system, it will be retained. Indeed, in the recent past, two new territorial command structures have been established, in North Maluku and Aceh, while others are likely to be established when Papua is split up into three provinces, a project close to the heart of the TNI.

Using the argument that underpinned the role of the armed forces during the Suharto New Order era, that the army is "the army of the people and must remain close to the people", the White Paper says that any attempt to distance the army from the people is an "abuse of the very essence" (kodrat) of the army. Being "part of the people" can only be achieved by the retention of its "territorial command function", or to use a term now so popular, the "embedding" of the army among the people.

The territorial command structure ensures the army a presence at every administrative level of society, from provincial down to district, sub-district and village levels. As some commentators have pointed out, this will ensure that the army remains the most powerful and best-organised political institution in the country, whatever the outcome of the general elections due to be held in 2004.

The Defence White Paper also emphasises the role of the TNI in facing "the threat of armed separatism in Aceh and Papua". It laments the fact that these armed struggles have intensified during the past decade and have "even won sympathy and support for their causes in other countries".

In the case of Aceh, while welcoming the "cessation of hostilities accord" (COHA) signed in December 2002, it states unequivocally that the Indonesian government will pursue that accord by "persuading GAM to return to the fold of the motherland and accepting the framework of NKRI". This was one of the demands that led to the final breakdown of talks between Indonesia and GAM in Tokyo in the weekend of 17-18 May, leading to the declaration of Martial Law in Aceh on 19 May.

With regard to Papua, the White Paper states that the separatist OPM group is still active, and is using "propaganda, incitements, terror, robberies and pressurising the population", resulting in widespread unrest and fear. The OPM and their supporters "have set up networks abroad to seek international support". It goes on to say that "as things stand at present, NKRI has the strong support of the international community which regards Papua as an internal matter for Indonesia".

While stating that it is the task of the TNI to "overwhelm" the OPM separatists so as to preserve NKRI, this will be pursued in the first place "by persuading the separatists to re-unite with their brothers in NKRI". But should the response to this approach not be positive, "the government will consider using more effective methods".

Combating separatism is clearly at the top of the TNI's agenda as it rolls back the process of reform. While commentators were still absorbing the contents of the Defence White Paper and working out their responses, along came yet another move, the publication of a draft bill on the TNI. Without waiting for any discussion in parliament, the chairmen of the two national legislative chambers, Akbar Tanjung (recently sentenced to three years imprisonment in a fraud case) who is still functioning as chairman of the DPR, and Amien Rais, chairman of the MPR, announced their endorsement of the bill.

The draft has provoked a storm of protest focused in particular on Article 19 which grants the power to the TNI commander to mobilise his forces in a situation which he perceives to be an emergency, without consulting the head of state. Some commentators describe this as the loophole for a "legal coup". A carefully considered evaluation has come from the Coalition for Democracy which regards this as "a systematic endeavour to reject political authority by strengthening the authority of the army commander, and removing civilian control over the armed forces".

Some of the country's foremost experts on the military, including Munir, Todung Mulya Lubis, Kustanto Anggoro, Ikrar Nusa Bakti and Syamsuddin Haris have joined in voicing these concerns. (Sinar Harapan, 4 March 2003). By granting to the TNI commander the authority to establish defence policy and deploy national resources in promotion of that policy, the authority of the minister of defence has been overridden and the principle of civilian control over the armed forces has been removed.

According to Syamsuddin Haris, the draft bill grants unlimited powers to the TNI commander to make his own "subjective definition that the sovereignty of the state, the country's territorial integrity and the security of the national are under threat". Moreover, Article 19 speaks about the need to act to "prevent greater damage being inflicted on the state". The elucidation that accompanies the Bill defines this as meaning "mass unrest and other things". The vague, open-ended definition can, as Syamsuddin warns, be easily used by the army to pursue its own political agenda.

It remains to be seen how the draft will be handled by the DPR, but the omens are not good, as the parties represented in parliament are falling over themselves to affirm their loyalty to and support for the armed forces. This may be even truer following the start of the war in Aceh. No party in parliament has voiced concern about, let alone opposition to, the president's decision to declare martial law or to the brutal activities of the armed forces in pursuit of their war aims.

The Indonesian armed forces are now engaged in two major military operations, in Aceh and Papua. In Aceh, civil society which includes a whole range of non-governmental organisations dealing with human rights, the monitoring of atrocities and the humanitarian needs of the many thousands of internally displaced people, are being forced to curb their activities and activists are fleeing the province in fear of their lives. The international aid agencies are unable to go anywhere outside Banda Aceh, while Indonesian journalists are under strict orders to clear all their reports about the war with the military authorities before publication.

Allegations in the Indonesian press that all the persons killed so far are GAM members or sympathisers have been challenged by activists who we have been able to contact inside the province. They say that, as in every previous phase of military brutality in Aceh, the majority of victims are ordinary members of the public. The TNI's vicious little war against the people of Aceh is daily reaching new heights and the chances of monitoring the situation are being strangulated by censorship and the gradual exclusion of foreign observers.

In Papua, an incident in Wamena on 4 April when an army ammunition dump was raided by alleged members of the OPM has been used as the pretext to recall the army's elite corps, Kopassus, just recently ordered to leave the province. Since then, units of Kopassus and Kostrad, the army's foremost combat forces, are conducting continual operations ostensibly to find the missing weapons. Dozens of people have been arrested, one of whom died under torture while in police custody. Sweepings of villages in the vicinity of Wamena have so terrified the inhabitants that thousands have fled into the forests, abandoning their gardens and living without proper shelter. Already there are reports of deaths due to lack of food and exposure to the cold night air.

The military has meanwhile blocked attempts to conduct an investigation into an incident last August in the vicinity of the Freeport copper-and-gold mine when three teachers, one Indonesian and two Americans, were shot dead. Initial investigations by ELSHAM, Papua's leading human rights organisation, and the local police reached the conclusion that Kopassus members were almost certainly responsible for the murders. Their purpose is to send a clear message to the mining company to continue to use their services to "protect" the mine, for which the company pays handsomely. Both these incidents have given the authorities the potential to point the finger of accusation at the OPM and, more importantly, to provide justification for the TNI to bolster their presence in Papua on the grounds of fighting separatism.

"Fighting separatism" has the unstinting support of Indonesia's political elite, from the president down, who are giving the armed forces carte blanche to conduct operations as they see fit. The policy poses a grave threat not only to the people of Aceh and Papua but also the Indonesian people as a whole who may one day wake up to find themselves in the grip of a new kind of military power, just as menacing as the military power under which they suffered for more than three decades during Suharto's New Order.

Indonesia's army remains a closed corporate group

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2003

R. William Liddle -- How likely is it that Indonesia will once again be ruled by the Indonesian Military (TNI)? In Jakarta several weeks ago a young reformist intellectual assured me that it can't happen here, that Indonesians now understand fully the terrible cost paid in human rights violations and denial of democratic freedoms during the 40 years of Sukarno's and Soeharto's army-based dictatorships. For him, Indonesian democracy is already consolidated.

A more senior civilian observer predicted that if the army does return to politics, it will be as a powerful behind-the-scenes force, shaping government policies in which it has an interest. In his view, Indonesian democracy may soon become, perhaps has already become, a permanent half-way house, without civilian supremacy but also without military rule.

Since May 1998 I have been more appreciative than critical of the TNI, at least in terms of its domestic activities (East Timor is another matter). Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto did not attempt to prevent then Vice-President B. J. Habibie, a civilian disliked by the military, from becoming president.

Over the next year the TNI did not undermine president Habibie's project to democratize Indonesia by holding free parliamentary elections, the first since 1955. Indeed, during this period it formally rescinded its twin-functions doctrine.

The TNI/Polri delegation took a back seat when the civilian fractions in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) chose Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) as president in October 1999 and when they dismissed him in July 2001. Laudably, the generals rejected Gus Dur's last-ditch attempt to save himself by staging a Sukarno-style coup against the MPR.

After a recent trip to Jakarta, however, I am increasingly concerned that progress toward civilian supremacy, a vital pillar of a democratic Indonesia, has been stopped if not reversed. My concern stems not from the TNI's new offensive against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), although that could make the generals more powerful politically (if they win a quick victory) or more frustrated and angry at civilian politicians (if they bog down and are pulled out by a government sensitive to accusations of brutality). Nor am I especially worried about the "coup article" in the proposed armed forces law, which would enable the TNI to shoot first, in an emergency situation, and report to the president later.

My concern is more basic. It comes from a slowly dawning recognition that nothing fundamental has in fact changed since 1998. TNI, or more accurately army, leaders (the navy and air force have not been significant players for decades), continue to hold a self-image and possess resources that predispose and enable them to intervene in national political life in a manner and at a time of their own choosing. Moreover, they have been steadily accumulating a list of grievances against civilian politicians that can serve as the justification, to themselves and others, for eventually taking power.

The self-image has two parts. Looking inward, officers see the army not only as a highly-valued institution but also as a corporate or nearly free-standing entity whose internal coherence and unity they must protect from outsiders. To use a military metaphor, they live in a fortress whose walls are constantly in danger of being breached. They must therefore be built ever higher and stronger.

Looking outward, they identify their own integrity and security with the integrity and security of the whole state and of the Indonesian people or nation. Whatever threatens the nation and state, external or internal to Indonesia, threatens the army.

Since the Revolution, those threats have come almost entirely from inside the country, mainly in the forms of regional separatism, radical Islam, and communism. The army must be ever vigilant against domestic threats from these sources in order to protect itself institutionally.

To return to the military metaphor, not only do officers have to build high walls against outsiders, they must also pacify a broad swath of territory beyond the fortress. That is the ultimate persuasive inside-the-army justification for intervention in matters of state and nation.

What resources does the army possess that might enable it to intervene directly in civilian politics at some time in the relatively near future? The most obvious, beyond its near- monopoly over the instruments of violence, are the territorial system and the foundations that provide perhaps 70 percent of the army's total income (the remaining 30 percent comes from the state budget). A government that does not pay its soldiers can not control their actions.

The territorial system is both a major source of income, enabling the army to build the fortress walls higher, and a powerful tool for controlling hostile groups and mobilizing friendly ones in society (for example, the so-called militias that have terrorized local populations in several regions). Unfortunately, the defense ministry's recent white paper has made it plain that the territorial system will not be dismantled any time soon. "We are not yet a stable modern country like the United States or Britain," said the ministry's director-general for defense strategy. "The TNI needs to know the territorial situation."

A less noticed characteristic of the army today is that it is virtually a state within the state. This was also formally the case during the New Order, but the concentration of power in Soeharto's hands at that time meant that no state agencies, especially the army, were effectively autonomous of presidential control. Today, the TNI is structurally separate from the defense ministry. The armed forces commander (an army general) has his own seat in the cabinet, next to the politically-appointed defense minister. In violation of the most basic principle of civilian supremacy, the armed forces commander has policy making as well as policy implementing responsibilities.

The army also controls its own portion of the state budget. No other state agency exercises effective oversight over army expenditures. Not even the armed forces commander, let alone the minister of defense and the president on the executive side or the members of Commission I in the House of Representatives on the legislative side play a significant role.

As one close observer of the budget process told me, "the army leaders make it very clear to all concerned that their budget is their business."

Army grievances against the actions of civilian politicians post-1998 are legion. The main story line has been familiar since the late 1940s, but the examples are new. Former president Habibie gave up East Timor, breaking a sacred Soeharto promise now inscribed for eternity in the East Timor memorial at armed forces headquarters in Cilangkap. Presidents Habibie and Gus Dur supported a governmental decentralization program that is leading to chaos if not national disintegration.

At the end of the Habibie period, the police were separated from the armed forces, whose duties are now restricted to national defense. As events have proven, according to the defense ministry's white paper, the police are incapable of maintaining domestic security without army help. The constitutional amendment process, for which many civilian politicians are responsible, is deeply flawed. Among other things, it produced federalism -- the first step on the road to national breakup -- in the form of the Regional Representative Council. Finally, like Habibie and East Timor, Gus Dur and Megawati Soekarnoputri allowed the Aceh problem to be internationalized, increasing the power of GAM.

My conclusions are not alarmist. I have no personal knowledge that today's officers are plotting a coup against the democratically elected government. Nonetheless, a realistic appraisal of the current state of civil-military relations should conclude that the army, five years into reformasi, remains a closed corporate group willing and able to protect its prerogatives, if need be at the expense of others.

Partisans of democracy should not despair but rather take stock of their own goals, strategies and resources. The contest has just begun.

[R. William Liddle is a Professor of Politics at the Ohio State University.]

International solidarity

Aceh war overshadows Jakarta peace conference

Green Left Weekly - June 4, 2003

Nick Everett, Jakarta -- On May 19-21, more than 60 peace activists from 26 countries met at Hotel Wisata to assess the challenges faced by the global peace movement and to develop a plan of action. The conference coincided with the Indonesian government's resumption of its all-out war against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

The conference, "Iraq and the Global Peace Movement: What Next?", was convened by the Bangkok-based Focus on the Global South, the Jakarta-based Indonesian Centre for Reform and Social Emancipation and the Indonesian National Front for Workers' Struggles (FNPBI). A peace mission to Iraq on the eve of the US invasion, involving FNPBI secretary Dita Sari and Walden Bello, from Focus on Global South, was the impetus for the conference.

Representatives of peace coalitions around the world -- including Britain's Stop the War Coalition, the US United for Peace and Justice coalition, Turkey's No to War Coordination, South Africa's Anti-war Coalition and the Asian Peace Alliance -- participated.

Australian participants represented the Books Not Bombs student anti-war coalition, the Sydney-based Walk Against the War Coalition, the Victorian Peace Network and the Socialist Alliance. Also present were the French-based Association for Taxation of Financial Transactions to Aid Citizens, the Italian Social Forum, the Transnational Institute, Global Exchange, the World March of Women and Jubilee South.

Over three days, participants discussed the impact of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, the corporate exploitation of Iraq's resources, the role of the United Nations and initiatives to continue the momentum of the anti-war movement. Two leaders of the Iraqi Democratic Opposition Current described how civil administrations are developing in some Iraqi cities, in defiance of the US occupiers. They rejected any role for a UN transitional authority.

Instead, they advocated the holding of a "constituent assembly" of all political forces in Iraq opposed to the occupation to decide the country's future. Pratap Chaterjee from Corpwatch presented an illuminating talk on the role of US-based corporations, such as Halliburton and Bechtel, which have secured lucrative reconstruction and oil contracts in Iraq. Halliburton was formerly headed by US Vice-President Dick Cheney.

The conference adopted statements on Iraq, globalisation and militarism, and on the wars in Mindanao in the Philippines and in Aceh. An action plan was also adopted. A plan to mark July 4, US independence day, with an international day of action were adopted, as were boycotts of US products to protest the occupation of Iraq.

Demonstrations to coincide with Hiroshima Day (August 6) and the anniversary of the start of the second Palestinian intifada (September 27) were also agreed on. The conference endorsed plans for an international week of action to coincide with the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Cancun, Mexico, from September 9 to 13. A variety of "peace missions" to sites of conflict were also discussed.

A resolution on Aceh was adopted by the conference. It condemned the military operation launched by the Indonesian armed forces and demanded the lifting of martial law and the withdrawal of all Indonesian troops and paramilitary police. The resolution demanded that those involved in human rights violations in Aceh be brought to justice and that the right of the Acehnese people to self-determination be recognised.

On May 21, a press conference was held to announce a plan for a peace mission to Aceh, to be led by Dita Sari, Walden Bello and other prominent figures. The Indonesian media quizzed those present on their views on Aceh. "The Indonesian government has failed to learn from the experience of East Timor", said Bello. He argued that a political, not a military, solution was required to resolve the conflict.

Bello drew a comparison with the failure of the Philippines government to militarily crush the movement for independence in Mindanao. Sungur Savran, a Turkish delegate, explained how his government had attempted to crush the Kurdish people's aspiration for an independent homeland, with the result that 30,000 Kurds had been killed in the conflict.

Immediately following the press conference, delegates joined a march of 400 Indonesian anti-war protesters to the offices of the International Monetary Fund and the US embassy. The protest coincided with the fifth anniversary of the overthrow of former Indonesian dictator Suharto. Opposition to militarism, neoliberalism and the war on Aceh were the themes of the protest, which was dispersed after a violent attack by police outside the Presidential palace.

Three Indonesian and four international delegates were arrested. The international participants were deported the following day and the Indonesians, who were severely beaten, have subsequently been released.

[Nick Everett attended the conference as a representative of the Walk Against the War Coalition and Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific. He was one of those arrested on May 21 and deported.]

International relations

Air Force shoots down British request over use of Hawks

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2003

Jakarta -- British attempts to convince the Indonesian Air Force to abandon its use of the HS-Hawk warplane in the war in Aceh have been shot down in flames.

Air Force spokesman Eddy Hardjoko said Thursday that the British-made Hawks would remain part of its arsenal, saying the warplanes had only been used to provide air cover for soldiers, not combat.

"The use of the warplanes is in accordance with the military chief's orders," Eddy was quoted by Antara as saying. However, he said the Indonesian Military (TNI) reserved the right to use the Hawks in a combat role should the war worsen.

Four Hawks were used on the first day of the military operation on May 19 to provide cover for soldiers landing in Aceh. The British government sent Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien to Jakarta to ask the Indonesian government not to use Hawks during the operation.

O'Brien said Indonesia had agreed before it purchased 24 Hawks in 1996 that the warplanes would not be used in activities that could lead to human rights violations. Jakarta, nevertheless, insisted that the deal only applied to East Timor, which won independence from Indonesia in 1999, not Aceh.

O'Brien told President Megawati Soekarnoputri during a meeting on Wednesday that breaching the agreement on the use of the Hawks would lead to a full review of military ties. "I hope that we will not have to take a view that our relationships with the armed forces would be affected if this agreement is broken," he said after meeting with President Megawati.

"We do have agreements to supply parts and also to have further relationships with the armed forces, which might be damaged if we cannot reconcile on this issue," O'Brien added.

Eddy said the Hawks would not be used to harm civilians as the ongoing military operation in Aceh was to crush armed Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Former defense minister Juwono Sudarsono said the British reaction to the use of Hawks in Aceh was an overreaction as the warplanes were used only for a "show of force and air protection". Juwono said Indonesia should start finding other sources of military supplies if the British were not happy.

UK warns Hawk dispute could damage military ties

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2003

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and A'an Suryana, Jakarta -- A visiting British minister warned on Wednesday that the use of HS-Hawk warplanes in the current military offensive against rebels in Aceh could damage military cooperation between the two countries.

Speaking to reporters after meeting President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday, British Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien said there was a pre-purchase agreement between the two countries stipulating the Hawk could be used only in "particular circumstances".

"I hope that we will not have to take a view that our relationships with the armed forces will be affected if the agreement is broken. We do have agreements to supply parts and also to have further relationships with the armed forces, which might be damaged if we cannot reconcile on this issue," he said.

O'Brien visited Indonesia to remind the Indonesian government that the British-made Hawks should not be used in any offensive that could result in human rights abuses.

The visit was apparently prompted by reports that four Hawks were used on the first day of the military operation in Aceh on May 19, to provide air protection for military troops.

Indonesia, however, disputed the existence of any such agreement but only a gentlemen's agreement. Even if there was such an agreement when Indonesia purchased the 24 Hawks in 1996, use of the warplanes would not breach the agreement.

Indonesian ministry of foreign affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said that such a gentlemen's agreement only applied to the former province of East Timor, which won freedom from Indonesia in 1999.

O'Brien, however, said that Britain sold arms to a number of countries with strings attached. "We certainly have no problems with Indonesia maintaining its territorial integrity, but we do sell weapons with agreements attached to these weapons and materials that it only can be used for particular circumstances," he said.

The official underlined that the disputes over the agreement could be resolved through negotiations and discussions and Britain would try to maintain military cooperation with Indonesia. "Our Ambassador will have further meetings with Indonesian authorities to resolve this issue," O'Brien told participants at a discussion held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

O'Brien said that the particular difficulty with the issue was that the purchase deal was made with the past government of Indonesia.

Volvo diplomacy

Jakarta Post Editorial - June 4, 2003

Something is not quite right with this picture: Key Cabinet ministers arriving in their chauffeur-driven Volvo sedans to a Cabinet meeting on Monday to consider which direction to take on the status of Indonesia's relations with Sweden. It is not terribly ironic in itself that they are driven around in Volvos -- a fine Swedish automobile. It could have been a Mercedes Benz, which President Megawati Soekarnoputri arrived in.

The unfortunate irony is the mismatch between the ability (or rather inability) of our political leaders to understand international law and diplomacy, and the virtues that cars like Volvo and Mercedes have: sophistication, reliability and dependability.

The Cabinet met on Monday after Stockholm rejected Indonesia's demand to arrest and hand over, or expel leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) who have taken up Swedish nationality. Sweden maintained that these GAM leaders-in-exile, including president Hasan di Tiro, have not broken any Swedish laws.

Responding to Swedish rejections, some Cabinet members and national leaders like Amien Rais (who as chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly is also entitled to a Volvo limo) are calling on the government to punish Sweden, either through downgrading diplomatic ties, or severing them completely.

Fortunately, there are still one or two cool heads in the Cabinet (the ones who have Volvo-like virtues) to persuade President Megawati to postpone any action against Sweden, and instead to send another high-powered delegation to Stockholm to persuade the Swedes to cooperate in fighting GAM.

Indonesia, of course, has acted within its rights in asking for Stockholm's cooperation to arrest the GAM leaders who now have Swedish citizenship. After all, they have been conducting their campaign for an independent Aceh state from there.

But Indonesia's diplomacy, unfortunately, has not been matched by more thorough preparations at home, so it was easy to see why the efforts were doomed to fail.

Technically, Hasan di Tiro and his colleagues in Sweden have not broken any Indonesian laws either. No Indonesian court has ever tried them (in absentia or otherwise), let alone convicted them for their actions which date back to 1976.

The only thing Jakarta has in making its case to Stockholm is an allegation of Hasan di Tiro's role in the Aceh insurgency, or more recently, an allegation of GAM's role in several bomb blasts. None of which have been brought before a court of law.

The National Police's request to Interpol to help arrest the GAM leaders was sent recently, long after the last official letter Jakarta sent to Stockholm.

A request for Interpol's help however will not be sufficient to convince Stockholm. The least the Indonesian government should do first, would be to make a case against Hasan di Tiro in court, even in absentia, and get him convicted for whatever laws he has broken.

Assuming that the trials are credible (which is a tall order), only then can Jakarta present a stronger case to Sweden. In the absence of an extradition treaty, this is still no guarantee that Sweden will comply. But at least Jakarta would be able to make a case that Hasan di Tiro has broken an Indonesian law. The way things stand now, he has broken no laws from any country.

In international diplomacy, it is one thing to ask, and completely another to demand or to impose something on another country. Going by their statements in calling for punishment against Sweden, many of our political leaders have failed to grasp the consequences with regard to Indonesia's international standing.

Our relations with Sweden go well beyond bilateral trade, aid and investment, all of which these leaders seemed quick to belittle.

Stockholm accepted these GAM leaders in exile under the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugee Status which requires countries to provide sanctuary for people who face persecution in their own country. And Article 33 specifically bars the forced return of a refugee if he or she risks persecution. For Indonesia to impose its will on Stockholm is demanding Sweden to break the Geneva Convention.

Another matter that Jakarta should consider is that Sweden is a member of the European Union. To pick a fight with Sweden would be tantamount to picking a fight with almost all of Europe. With the Union trying to coordinate the laws on asylum, it will not be long before Hasan di Tiro and friends will also enjoy protection across Europe.

We must have learned by now from our dealings with Portugal, during the height of the dispute over East Timor. As a member of the European Union, Portugal managed to push resolution after resolution through international bodies condemning Indonesia's policy in East Timor. Picking on Sweden, when our own position is weak, would risk the wrath of the European Union and further internationalize the Aceh issue, the very thing that most here wanted to avoid.

It is clear that this is a fight that Jakarta is unlikely to win, given the ineptness, poor preparations, and most of all, our leaders' poor knowledge of international laws and diplomacy.

If you believe in the popular saying "you are what you drive", then most of our Cabinet ministers and political leaders do not deserve the Volvo limousines they ride around in every day. They should opt for something less sophisticated, less reliable and less dependable.

Pressure on Sweden to turn over separatist leaders

Radio Australia - June 4, 2003

Relations between Indonesia and Sweden sink to a new low, over the fate of Aceh's rebel leaders. Some 50-exiled leaders of GAM or the Free Aceh Movement -- live in and are citizens of Sweden, including GAM founder, Hasan di Tiro. But Jakarta says the rebels are criminals and wants Sweden to take legal action against them -- Stockholm has refused, saying they haven't broken any Swedish laws.

Sweden closed its embassy in Jakarta for one day after "a specific threat against Swedish citizens and Swedish interests". Indonesia is sending a team of officials to Sweden this week to persuade it to clamp down on the rebel leaders. But Stockholm has told Jakarta it has no legal grounds to take action against the rebel leaders unless they break laws in Sweden.

Linda LoPresti spoke to Marty Natalagawa, the Indonesian Government's official spokesman.

Natalagawa: "This is a problem that we shouldn't be having because we, Indonesia is a democratic nation, we as a long- standing democratic nation should be hand in hand in combating act of terrorisms and to have this lengthy debate is really mind-boggling to us."

Lopresti: But why should Sweden extradite the rebels when they are Swedish citizens and as Sweden says they haven't broken the law in Sweden?

Natalagawa: "In fact let's be clear we are not actually asking for extradition, what we are asking for ... is in fact the laws of Sweden itself. We have requested certain laws within Sweden's constitution, which in fact prohibit its citizens to commit acts of crimes outside its own country.

"Now the question is this, is burning of schools, is kidnapping, is murdering, extortion, killing members of parliament, killing of children and the like, are they criminal acts in Sweden? We hope so and that's what we're saying to the Swedish authorities. Please act on your conscience, please act based on your laws, that we should not be having this debate at all."

Lopresti: Are you accusing those rebels of committing those acts that you've just mentioned?

Natalagawa: "Well we are not even accusing, accusing is for yesterday or the day before yesterday. Look at the events that are evolving now, this very minute, only this morning I read reports of certain policemen who had been asked to look after schoolchildren taking school exams, and shot in cold blood in front of dozens of students trying their best to do their exams in the middle of all this mess. Now is that an act of terror?

"For us to be constantly second-guess for each and every step until we have some kind of villain in this whole sorry episode. We find it extremely troubling and especially troubling because we are dealing here with a fellow democratic government of Sweden, we'd like them to see things through democratic eyes."

Lopresti: Well Sweden actually supports Indonesia's position of sovereignty in Aceh, so if you don't want the rebel leadership extradited what do you want Stockholm to do?

Natalagawa: "Just take action against the rebel leaders, the terrorists in Stockholm on the basis of Sweden's own law. If it wants to be seriously applied these people would have justice served on them. I mean we've had 16 days since our last communication to the Swedish government before they replied, and their reply was basically no action can be taken, they need more evidence.

"But you know what, they didn't even bother to call these individuals, to question them, to test the veracity of this information the Indonesian government had submitted. But day in and day out people are being killed, civilians are being injured while these people out in Stockholm are enjoying the cosy life, sitting all the way thousands of miles away, away from where the real casualties are being done."

Lopresti: But they are not directly responsible for what is happening in Aceh, which was instigated by Jakarta?

Natalagawa: "Now that's an interesting proposition because for some three and a half years the Indonesian government did all it could to open the process for dialogue.

"It offered special autonomy, not only did it offer special autonomy it applied special autonomy. We negotiated in good faith, but when the time comes for them to show their true colours, whether they are ready for dialogue, or whether they're really a bunch of bandits, they refused to do what's required that they do.

"We [asked them to] displace their weapons, they could not do it because they only derive their authority from the barrel of the gun. All it takes is for GAM to return back to the negotiating table is to agree, to reaffirm what they have agreed to in the past, which is to work with [the government] of the republic of Indonesia, to work within special autonomy and let's get peace back to Aceh."

UK opposes use of Hawk warplanes in Aceh

Jakarta Post - June 4, 2003

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- The British government has questioned the use of HS-Hawk warplanes by Indonesia during the military operation against rebels in Aceh, saying the pre- purchase deal restricted the planes from offensive missions.

Visiting British Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien voiced his government's complaint during talks with Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda on Tuesday.

"The UK considers the participation of Hawk aircraft in the ongoing military operation in Aceh a violation of a previous agreement," Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said after the meeting.

However, Jakarta dismissed the complaint, saying that the current government did not acknowledge the existence of such a deal before purchasing the aircraft in 1996. "We do not recognize such a deal. Even if it exists, the operation in Aceh is not an offensive strike, but our move to maintain our sovereignty," Marty remarked.

Indonesia bought 24 Hawks in 1996, under a "gentlemen agreement" that would keep the country from using them in dealing with the insurgency in East Timor. East Timor broke away from Indonesia in 1999 after a United Nations-sponsored referendum resulted in an overwhelming vote for independence.

Unlike in East Timor, Indonesia has the support of the international community over its sovereignty in Aceh, although there is broad concern about the use of military force.

British media reported earlier that Britain had repeatedly warned Indonesia against using the aircraft in any offensive operation in the natural resource-rich province.

"Senior members of the Indonesian government and the military have repeatedly promised that British-supplied equipment would not be used offensively or in violation of human rights anywhere in Indonesia," an official said as quoted by The Guardian.

The newspaper also reported that the Indonesian Military (TNI) sent four Hawks to provide air protection for the soldiers on the first day of the imposition of martial law in Aceh on May 19.

Marty underlined that the gentlemen agreement signed by the two governments in 1996 specifically dealt with East Timor and not Aceh. "What we are doing in Aceh is not an offensive operation and it cannot be categorized as that," Marty said.

During the meeting, Indonesia questioned the purpose of Britain's move, according to Marty. "Indonesia did not buy the planes just for an aerobatics performance on TNI anniversary of TNI every October 5.

"The main point is that should we, as a sovereign country bought the equipment with good intention, fall under the control of the producing country over its usage," Marty said.

O'Brien is making a three-day visit to Indonesia and is slated to speak at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Wednesday.

After the meeting with Hassan, O'Brien said he had received a full briefing regarding the latest situation in Aceh and steps that Jakarta had taken in dealing with the separatist movement. He said the two ministers also discussed a number of issues, including developments in Iraq and counterterrorism cooperation between the two countries.

A return to bipartisan bad policy?

Green Left Weekly - June 4, 2003

Pip Hinman -- Since Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri declared martial law in Aceh on May 19, defence minister Robert Hill and foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer have been repeating ad nauseum that it is in Australia's "national interest" to support the "territorial integrity" of Indonesia. Australia shouldn't "interfere" in an "internal" matter for Indonesia, they argue.

This is exactly what we were told during the 25-year independence struggle by the East Timorese. The brutal suppression of the East Timorese independence movement by the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) was presented by Australian governments -- both Labor and Coalition -- as irreversible. And the "national interest" argument was peddled every time someone dared query the wisdom or humanity of Australia's support for Jakarta's brutal policy in East Timor.

Shadow foreign affairs spokesperson Kevin Rudd agrees with the Howard government's position on Aceh. Although he has called for the Indonesian government to go back to the negotiating table, and urged the UN to play a role in the Aceh crisis, he says Labor "does not dispute that Aceh is part of Indonesia".

A similar bipartisan bad policy -- otherwise known as seeking a "special relationship" with Jakarta -- was totally discredited when, in late 1999, the Howard government was forced to send Australian troops to defend the East Timorese independence movement against the TNI-organised militia rampage. Since then, the Howard government has been looking for opportunities to rebuild Australia's military and political relationship with Indonesia's elite.

The Bali bombing last year provided it. Since then the process of reestablishing ties with the TNI through new intelligence sharing agreements and security links has been marketed by the Australian government as part of the defence against terrorism.

During a visit to Jakarta in March, Hill said he was confident that the two countries' militaries could work "constructively and positively together". This is despite there not being any serious attempt by the Megawati government to indict senior TNI officers for the carnage in East Timor (either during the post-1975 occupation or after the August 1999 referendum), for the murders of two Americans and one Indonesian near the Freeport mine in West Papua in August 2002, and the killing of unarmed civilians as young as 12 in Aceh right now.

Senior TNI officers such as Major General Adam Damiri, who is accused of crimes against humanity in East Timor, are prosecuting the war in Aceh. Damiri recently failed to appear before the human rights court for the third time in succession.

While most of Australia's military ties with the TNI were halted following the 1999 post-referendum rampage in East Timor, "low- level" officer training remained in place. Hill is now on a mission to get TNI undergraduates to enrol in the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra and a new batch of Indonesian officer cadets is expected to start training there next year. A reciprocal arrangement also exists.

There are likely to be joint maritime surveillance exercises which could lead to joint navy exercises.

When queried about measures to ensure that ties be established only with a "reformed" TNI, Hill replied: "We haven't established a set of tests as such [on human rights]". Such restrictions currently exist in the US, although the Bush administration is working to get them overturned.

According to Hill, military ties are "a good investment for Australia in terms of future leaders of [Indonesia] understanding our society", he told the March 8 Australian Financial Review.

The argument that joint training helps to "civilise" the TNI is not only patronising and racist, it is also plain wrong. If anything, years of training of TNI and Kopassus special forces officers in the US, Britain and Australia have underscored the main message Western governments are keen to give the TNI: "Do what you have to do and we'll turn a blind eye to the atrocities." The unstated objective for Western governments is continued access to Indonesia's markets and resources and, for the Australian government, assistance in preventing asylum seekers reaching Australia's shores.

On May 20, the day after martial law was declared in Aceh, Hill declared that his government was resuming ties with the counter- terrorism unit of Kopassus. He said it had nothing to do with the TNI's launching of a "counter-terrorism" offensive in Aceh.

"Establishing ties with Kopassus under the guise of 'fighting terrorism' is really about helping to rehabilitate this discredited outfit", Dita Sari, a leader of the FNPBI labour federation, told Green Left Weekly by phone from Jakarta. "It sends a clear message to the military that they can do what they like -- and get away with it." There is also mounting evidence that members of Kopassus have links with Islamic fundamentalist groups such as Laskar Jihad. Last year a senior foreign affairs official, Jennifer Rawson, confirmed this fact to a Senate hearing and it's backed up by a report, released last December, by the International Crisis Group which suggests that the TNI created the network now said to be South East Asia's most serious terrorist threat -- Jemaah Islamiyah. Across Australia there is growing opposition to the government's course. The Greens have called for an end to military ties with Jakarta, as have the Democrats and independent federal MP Peter Andren.

"The government has got it wrong if it thinks the Australian population will sit by and allow us to fund and train human rights abuses", said Greens senator Kerry Nettle. The Greens are campaigning to divert the $5.32 million projected for ties with the Indonesian military to humanitarian relief for victims in Aceh.

The Socialist Alliance has also called on the Australian government to pressure Indonesia to lift martial law, withdraw the troops and allow the people of Aceh their democratic right to self-determination.

Solidarity and human rights groups around the world are preparing a campaign directed particularly at the US, British and Australian governments to end military ties with Indonesia.

In Australia, Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP) is urging the Howard government to pressure Jakarta to lift martial law, resume negotiations with all political forces in Aceh, not just the armed independence fighters, and pull the TNI out.

Indonesia summons envoy over Sweden-based Aceh rebels

Agence France Presse - June 2, 2003

Indonesia summoned the Swedish ambassador to express disappointment at his country's response to a demand for action against exiled Acehnese rebel leaders.

The summons came as the Swedish embassy in Jakarta said it had received a "specific threat" that forced the closure of the mission. "The embassy of Sweden is closed until further notice," a telephone recording at the diplomatic mission said.

A woman identifying herself as the embassy's third secretary said the mission had closed after receiving a "specific threat" but she refused to elaborate and referred inquiries to Stockholm.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said he had summoned ambassador Harald Nils Erik Sandberg because the Swedish response "is far from what we had hoped." Wirayuda told reporters that Sweden ranked bilateral relations lower than "protecting a citizen, in this case a GAM figure, in Sweden." Hasan Tiro, who founded the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in 1976, has lived in Sweden since 1979. Like some other exiled GAM leaders, he has acquired Swedish citizenship.

Indonesia, which on May 19 launched a major military operation to crush the rebels in Aceh, wants Stockholm to take unspecified action against Tiro and others. But Sweden has told Indonesia it has no legal grounds to take action unless GAM leaders break laws there.

Vice President Hamzah Haz and some leading legislators have called for action against Sweden if it fails to comply with Indonesia's request.

Wirayuda said a cabinet meeting to be chaired by President Megawati Sukarnoputri later Monday would decide on the next step. Defence Minister Matori Abdul Jalil said the government was likely to downgrade diplomatic relations.

Economy & investment

Sony Electronics Indonesia winds up

Asia Times - June 5, 2003

Jakarta -- Sony Electronics Indonesia Ltd has ended its Indonesian operations and is offering severance pay to its 884 workers.

The secretary of the Sony company's trade union, Budi M M, disclosed in Cibitung in Bekasi district near here that Sony had officially stopped all its activities as of May 25, after the conclusion of a series of meetings on severance pay for its workers.

The workers have reportedly been made to understand that the closing down of the company's plant in Indonesia was due to some global factors that had forced Sony to stop production in some of its plants all over the world, including Indonesia.

Sony Indonesia stopped production as of March 31, but its workers received their last regular pay on May 25. Budi and the workers refused to say how much they are going to receive from the company for severance pay. Sony will relocate its Cibitung operations to Malaysia and Thailand.

Around the markets - Indonesia's boon: a falling dollar

Internatinal Herald Tribune - June 5, 2003

Wayne Arnold (New York Times) -- Between separatist rebellions, corrupt courts, slumping tourism and rising youth unemployment, Indonesia has plenty to worry about.

Unusually for a developing economy, though, the fret list does not include the falling US dollar. Indonesia's rupiah has become one of the world's 20 strongest currencies this year. It is up around 10 percent against the dollar since mid-March, and is now near a two-year high at 8,235 to the dollar. Many analysts think that the rate will be 8,000 to the dollar before the end of the year.

Indonesia's senior economic minister, Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, has acknowledged that the rupiah's rise is "a bit of a concern" for some neighboring export-dependent economies.

But economists say Indonesia's situation is very different, and that the strong rupiah is a boon for the country. Exports are much less important for Indonesia than for its neighbors, while the country's sizable foreign debts become easier to repay the higher the rupiah climbs.

"The advantages of a strong local currency outweigh the disadvantages on the export side," said V. Anantha-Nageswaran, head of investment consulting in Asia for Credit Suisse Private Banking.

According to the credit-rating agency Standard Poor's, exports amount to slightly over one-quarter of Indonesia's annual economic output, but the country's foreign debts are equivalent to more than 40 percent. The rupiah's climb has made Indonesian stocks more attractive to foreign investors, who were already drawn to the country by its relative stability in recent months. The rupiah's rise helps them twice: It improves the business prospects for the companies whose stocks they own, and it enlarges the stocks' gains when converted back into dollars.

For that reason, investment advisers like Anantha-Nageswaran have been advising clients to buy Indonesian assets. So far this year, the main Indonesian stock index has climbed nearly 22 percent in local terms and 32 percent in dollar terms, making Jakarta one of the world's best-performing stock markets this year.

Analysts say the market still appears relatively inexpensive, with stocks priced at an average of 12 times earnings in an economy that is expected to grow 4 percent this year. What Indonesia needs most, though, is to win back the kind of foreign direct investment that is increasingly going to China, economists say.

Though there was an uptick in investment approvals in April, last year's figures were dismal. Indonesia has fallen a long way from the halcyon days before the Asian financial crisis.

Even so, Indonesia is drawing both stock investors and bond investors, many of them Asian banks awash in deposits but short of creditworthy customers to lend to. With both the rupiah and Indonesian interest rates sinking, the yields on the country's bonds look increasingly attractive.

CGI applauds macroeconomic progress, urges deeper reform

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2003

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta -- Indonesia's traditional donors grouped under the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) have welcomed the country's macroeconomic improvements, but warn that slow progress in structural reform could impede economic growth.

"Much has happened since the last meeting in January, from the Iraq war to SARS ... but under these circumstances Indonesia has done remarkably well macroeconomically," World Bank country director Andrew Steer said during a press briefing after the CGI midterm meeting on Monday. The World Bank is the coordinator of the CGI.

The donors held their annual meeting on the resort island of Bali in January, during which they pledged some US$2.7 billion in fresh loans to help finance this year's state budget deficit, estimated at 1.8 percent of gross domestic product.

The results of the half-day meeting on Monday will be used as one of the bases for deciding the group's next loan commitment to the country, which is expected to be made at the upcoming October annual meeting.

Despite the macroeconomic upturn -- reflected in modest inflation, a lower central bank benchmark interest rate and a stronger rupiah -- the donors emphasized the need for the country to speed up legal and judicial reform in order to improve the investment climate.

"[A]t the same time, investment is still not growing to the extent that is required to promote growth and reduce poverty. So we talked about also what it would take to improve the investment climate. One particular issue is legal reform," Steer said. With the pace of progress in that area remaining slow, investors have regarded the country's judicial institutions as lacking credibility, putting a lid on efforts to lure investors.

With limited efforts to create a better investment climate here, foreign investors have remained rare, holding back the country's economic growth and hampering the poverty reduction program.

More people could be absorbed into the workforce and lifted out of poverty if the economy could post a higher level of growth, at least 6 percent per annum.

Among the items highlighted by the CGI members as evidence of the slow pace of legal reform were: crucial laws on a judicial commission and constitutional courts were still being deliberated, and there has been little progress in the planned establishment of an anticorruption commission.

"If Indonesia could make genuine progress on the investment climate, governance and legal reform, as it has on macroeconomic policy, it [the economy] could again become one of the brightest performers in East Asia," Steer said.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said in a speech that the government would continue to work on improving the country's legal and judicial sectors, as well as other areas of concern for investors.

"Decentralization still poses problems, but the regions are becoming more sensitive to business climate issues. We would like to accelerate this process ... ," he said.

Donors pressing Jakarta for faster reforms

Straits Times - June 3, 2003

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Major donors, who pledge billions of dollars in loans to Indonesia on a yearly basis, called on the government yesterday to start making progress on its reform promises.

Donors belonging to the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) -- which had its mid-year meeting in Jakarta yesterday -- publicly noted positive economic developments that have taken place here over the past few years.

For instance, inflation of 6.91 per cent year-on-year in May is hitting a three-year low. Indonesian stocks have risen by about 19 per cent this year alone, and the index is outperforming other emerging markets.

The rupiah has seen spectacular gains. At the 8,300-level, it is much stronger compared to the time before President Megawati Sukarnoputri took office almost two years ago. Lenders welcome "signs of renewed confidence in Indonesia"s economy'.

But beneath the sugar-coating, the sense is that Jakarta has yet to make significant, if any, progress on reforms aimed at building a healthy foundation for sustained economic development.

Mr Andrew Steer, the head of the World Bank in Jakarta, put it diplomatically: "If Indonesia could make genuine progress on the investment climate, governance and legal reform -- as it has on macroeconomic policy -- it could again become one of the brightest performers in East Asia."

Japan's envoy to Jakarta, Mr Yutaka Iimura, said: "Now economic stability has been achieved, the important task ahead is to push economic growth to a higher level by facilitating private investment."

Other donors, however, privately expressed exasperation with Jakarta's progress with reforms and said that they were concerned about the country's poor investment climate, messy decentralisation process, rampant corruption, the lack of rule of law in parts of the country, and declining infrastructure.

Those are the same issues that donors have previously and consistently mentioned as problems for Indonesia, and which Jakarta has promised to address year after year.

A delegate at the mid-year meeting of the CGI in Jakarta yesterday said that Indonesia "exudes a sense of uncertainty", especially when it comes to investment policies.

Other experts said that without ST Telemedia's S$1.2-billion purchase of telecom company Indosat last year, the country's investment profile looks "less shining".

Donors said reports of the proliferation of local taxes, a direct result of the decentralisation policy, diminish investors' appetite for Indonesia.

On corruption, a Western delegate said: "There seems to be no decline in corruption. Actually, reports say corruption is on the rise, and that is disturbing." Another lender representative said that Indonesia had actually reneged on other reform promises, which was why those issues, including liberalisation of the sugar and rice markets and judicial reforms have been dropped from the table during the CGI meetings.

So what is keeping donors on their rah-rah train for Indonesia? A source close to both donors and the government said lenders do not want to "spoil the party" and "dampen the spirit of recovery that Indonesia is seeing right now".

Indeed, the World Bank is willing to raise its loan pledges to Indonesia this year by 18 per cent if it becomes more accountable over the use of the funds. The bank is willing to lend up to US$1 billion, from a pledge of US$850 million.