Aceh

House wants answers about arrested local politicians

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2003

Jakarta/Banda Aceh -- House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung on Friday called on the Aceh martial law administration to release detained politicians who supported the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists out of fear rather than voluntarily.

Akbar, also chairman of the Golkar Party, demanded on Friday that the authority investigate whether the politicians' alleged links to the rebels were "intended" or not.

"Possibly, they were forced to give donations to GAM. If this happens, they must not be considered as having links with GAM," Akbar told the press here.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Sudi Silalahi, an assistant to Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said on Friday that the arrests of politicians in Aceh were based on credible intelligence reports. "We don't want to catch the wrong persons," he said.

Sudi, nevertheless, said that the martial law administration would not just automatically believe such intelligence reports as a series of investigations would also been carried out against the arrested politicians to see whether they were really involved in the separatist movement.

He said the arrest of civil servants was part of the operation to crush the rebellion. "Regarding the special screening for civil servants in Aceh, I think it is the only way to determine their loyalty to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia. "It is inconceivable that we will hire civil servants who at the same time support the secession of the province," Sudi told reporters.

Despite criticism over the arbitrary arrests of civil servants and councillors, Aceh martial law administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya stated on Wednesday that he would soon launch another operation to target "white-collar" rebels in Aceh. He said the operation would target all people regardless of their backgrounds, whether they were civil servants, legislators, or businesspeople. Endang emphasized that civil servants and businesspeople who had "two faces" would be targeted as they threatened national integrity.

He made the statement during a visit to the regency of Aceh Singkil, where he was greeted by hundreds of civil servants, and religious and community leaders. During the visit, he was accompanied by Aceh police chief Insp. Gen. Bachrumsyah Kasman and Aceh deputy governor Azwar Abubakar. Endang said he would ask the provincial administration to shift funds previously allocated for "rebellious areas" to the regency of Aceh Singkil, whose residents had declared their loyalty to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.

Separately, alleged rebel leader Isnandar Al Pasee alias Irwandi Yusuf, who has been detained at National Police Headquarters in Jakarta for two weeks, was transported to Aceh. The Aceh Police's chief of detectives, Sr. Comr. Surya Darma, said that Isnandar would be questioned by Aceh Police before being brought to court.

Isnandar was a lecturer at the Syah Kuala University in Banda Aceh and an activist with the World Wildlife Fund, specializing in elephant conservation. He was arrested at a house on Jalan Otista III, East Jakarta, belonging to American freelance journalist William Nessen. Nessen is reportedly still with GAM rebels, possibly in Bireuen regency.

Besides Isnandar, the Aceh police also brought in from Palembang, South Sumatra, an alleged GAM rebel who the military claims burned down three school buildings in Pidie regency. Teungku Ali, the alleged GAM member, was apprehended in Palembang. "We will process them all," Surya Darma added.

Places Number of GAM rebels arrested

1. Aceh 13
2. Banda Aceh 24
3. Aceh Besar 15
4. Pidie 17
5. Bireuen 5
6. North Aceh 13
7. East Aceh 5
8. South Aceh 24
9. Central Aceh 19
10. Southeast Aceh 4
11. Sabang 4 West Aceh 1

Source: Aceh Police

'Nessen could be punished by death'

Laksamana.Net - June 21, 2003

Army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu says American journalist William Nessen, who has spent the past six weeks with separatist rebels in Aceh province, could be punished by death if he is proven to be a spy.

Nessen, who has a journalist's visa to report from Aceh for the San Francisco Chronicle, has been living with members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the province's northern jungles and providing first-hand information on atrocities committed by the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) against civilians.

"If William Nessen is really an intelligence agent then the punishment is serious, but if he is truly a journalist then there is no problem," Ryacudu was quoted as saying Friday by state news agency Antara.

Nessen fears Indonesian troops will detain him on trumped-up charges and possibly shoot him if he tries to leave Aceh. Military officials have said the 46-year-old journalist risks being shot because he failed to comply with an order to surrender to the Army by June 14.

Nessen said he would only come out of hiding if TNI and the government guarantee he will be allowed to leave the country without being arrested, interrogated or stopped.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has accused the journalist of violating his visa by writing for publications other than the Chronicle and says he could be deported.

TNI commenced its offensive to crush GAM on May 19 when President Megawati Sukarnoputri placed Aceh under martial law.

Nessen had gone to Aceh to research for a book and documentary on the long-running conflict in the province, where GAM has been fighting for independence since 1976. He has not had any articles or photographs published recently due to the loss of his laptop computer and other belongings.

According to the Associated Press, Nessen's last article for the Chronicle was published in December, while his last story for another newspaper, The Sydney Morning Herald, was published in January. However, he has kept in touch with other foreign journalists via his satellite telephone, providing them with details of killings carried out by TNI.

The scarcity of articles written by Nessen had prompted speculation within TNI and elsewhere in Indonesia that he might not be a genuine reporter and could be working with the rebels.

TNI spokesman Major General Sjafrie Sjamsuddin says he believes Nessen is a real reporter, but says the journalist must explain why he has spent so much time with GAM.

Nessen has pointed out that he is simply covering both sides of the story. He was also reportedly shot at by Indonesian troops when he tried to leave the rebels earlier this month.

Sjamsuddin on Friday said the government will soon issue guidelines restricting foreign media coverage of the military offensive in Aceh.

He told members of the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club that foreign reporters and locals working for foreign media organizations would be banned from visiting rebel strongholds or quoting "rebel propaganda".

It's unclear whether that means journalists will not be allowed to report rebel claims that contradict military statements. A common example of this is when journalists report on claims by GAM that TNI is massacring civilians.

"Enemy propaganda is not allowed to be published, but it is good if you can report on TNI abuses," Sjamsuddin was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

TNI last month threatened to sue the Jakarta-based Koran Tempo daily for printing a report by Agence France-Presse that soldiers executed young farmers in a rebel stronghold.

But Sjamsuddin said the government does not object to such coverage. "It is okay to report on these incidents. We need to investigate them," he was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

The military recently claimed that at least five civilians had been killed in Aceh since the offensive began, but the National Police on Friday said more than 100 civilians have been killed.

Police spokesman Zainuri Lubis said the victims had been identified by their families, who denied they are GAM members.

"We stick to the principle of innocence before proven guilty. If their families say they are not GAM members it is not fair for us to label them rebels," he was quoted as saying by AFP.

He claimed that many of the civilians, such as transmigrants from Java, could have been killed by rebels. According to military data, at least 256 people have been killed in Aceh over the past month, including 228 rebels and 28 members of the security forces. The Indonesian Red Cross says it has collected 194 bodies since May 19, but declines to say whether they were civilians or rebels.

TVRI cameraman

The Jakarta-based Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) on Friday sent a letter to Megawati demanding an inquiry into the death of a cameraman from state-run television network TVRI in Aceh.

The body of Muhammad Jamal was retrieved from a river on Tuesday evening. He was reportedly abducted by unknown gunmen from his office in the Mata Ie area of Banda Aceh city on May 20.

AJI said journalists have been the target of violence in the ongoing offensive. There have been at least 15 cases of journalists being intimidated and restricted in doing their work, said the letter.

NU tells rebels to give up

Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) on Thursday urged GAM to cease its rebellion.

NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi said that continued rebellion would only cause more victims to fall. "I issue this advice because in Indonesia's history, no rebellion has ever emerged victorious," he was quoted as saying by Antara.

His assertion is not entirely true. Indonesia itself rebelled against its Dutch colonizers for years until 1949, when the Netherlands finally recognized Indonesia's independence.

Another successful rebellion took place in East Timor, which was invaded by Indonesia in 1975 and annexed the following year. The territory struggled for self-determination for 24 years, culminating in a United Nations-sponsored referendum on independence in 1999 and official independence in May 2002. 'Crush GAM Supporters'

Aceh's martial law administrator Major General Endang Suwarya on Friday said "white-collar" members of GAM should be crushed because they are enemies disguised as civilians.

"We will take stern action against supporters of the rebels, regardless of their background -- whether they are civil servants, provincial legislators or businessmen," he was quoted as saying by Antara at a gathering of Muslim clerics and civil servants.

Supporting the rebel movement would lead to national disintegration, said Suwarya, who was accompanied by Aceh Police chief Inspector General Bachrumsyah Kasman and Aceh Deputy Governor Azwar Abubakar.

Possible pardons

Vice President Hamzah Haz on Thursday said the government is considering pardoning GAM members if they surrender. "We are thinking about the possibility of pardoning GAM members who want to repent and return to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia," he was quoted as saying by Antara.

The operation to crush the GAM is not a war against the Acehnese, but against those who are attempting to secede from the republic, he said.

Unproductive Propaganda TNI commander General Endriartono Sutarto on Thursday claimed GAM's propaganda efforts to win public support for its cause had failed because people in the province are opposed to the separatist movement.

"The GAM rebels try to make publicity of their capability to the public and the Indonesian government. But they fail because people are brave to oppose the separatist movement," he said.

He did not mention that civilians are terrified they will be detained, attacked or killed if they are perceived to be GAM supporters.

Sutarto said part of GAM's propaganda was to claim that staff of the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Center -- which had sponsored a peace agreement between Indonesia and the rebels -- were United Nations personnel.

Refugee camps

Nearly 41,000 Acehnese villagers have been forced into camps to escape fighting between Indonesian troops and GAM over the past month and many are now suffering health problems due to overcrowding and a lack of clean water, food and medicines.

According to Aceh's Social Affairs Office, there are 40,919 refugees living in camps in nine districts. More than 16,500 are in Biruen district and 10,000 others in South Aceh district.

Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah on Thursday instructed heads of district administrations in Aceh to build more refugee camps and pay more attention to sanitation. "We have sent checks worth Rp6 billion to the relevant district administration chiefs to set up more camps and for better food," he said.

He added that administrators should anticipate an increase in the number of refugees in the war-torn province.

Mass grave probe

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) plans to send investigators to Aceh next Tuesday to check reports of a mass grave allegedly containing dozens of bodies.

The grave is reportedly located in Nisam subdistrict, near the rebel stronghold of Biruen, which has been the scene of intense fighting over recent weeks.

Army chief Ryacudu last week responded furiously to Komnas HAM's statements about the grave, saying he would "knock their heads off" if the allegation proves to be unsubstantiated.

The investigation team will stay in Aceh until next Friday and could also investigate reports that pro-Indonesia militia groups are operating in the province.

Sutarto on Thursday denied the military had trained militias, but admitted that residents were being encouraged to be more active in carrying out "residential security systems", AFP reported.

'Military operation misses the target'

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2003

A'an Suryana and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) called on Friday for an end to the military operation in Aceh, slamming it as having failed to live up to its initial objectives.

Instead of bringing peace to Aceh, the military operation had claimed a significant number of civilian casualties, and undermined democracy and human rights.

"The military operation has missed its targets. It should be reviewed, and both Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) must go back to the negotiating table," Ori Rachman, the coordinator of Kontras, told reporters on the sidelines of a discussion here.

The discussion, titled "Evaluation after One Month of Military Operation in Aceh", was held by the Indonesian Muslim Students Association (PMII).

Under the military operation, the situation in Aceh had become worse, said Ori, with more than 500 schools having been burned down by unidentified armed groups since the military offensive against GAM began on May 19, with the TNI apparently powerless to stop things going from bad to worse.

To add to the misery, the military operation had forced more than 30,000 civilians to flee their homes for security reasons. Being forced to become refugees had certainly degraded their quality of life as they had lost their jobs and means of earning a living, Ori said.

The number of civilian casualties had now reached alarming proportions, he said. "Some 150 civilians have been killed and more than 60 persons have gone missing during the ongoing military operation," said Ori. He that added Kontras had obtained its figures from the accounts of family members of the victims and by crosschecking the bodies removed by the Indonesian Red Cross.

Kontras has long had an office in Banda Aceh, and it is currently staffed by about 10 persons. Kontras has approximately 50 volunteers working throughout Aceh, and the main duty of both staff members and volunteers is to collect data on missing persons and the victims of violence in Aceh.

However, the Kontras data on civilian casualties is somewhat different from the data provided by the government.

Sudi Silalahi, the secretary to the coordinating minister for political and security affairs, said on Friday that 62 people who had gone missing and there had been 57 civilian casualties.

Ori said the military operation had not only destroyed the lives of many Acehnese and killed many civilians, but also posed a threat to democracy in the country.

"Police sweeps and surveillance operations targeting Acehnese, who are suspected of being GAM members, are now normal throughout the country, disrupting the liberties of civilians," Ori said.

The military and government have adopted policies that restrict the rights of activists from non-governmental organizations (NGO) and journalists from entering and monitoring what is really happening in Aceh, he added.

The government and military have also stepped up pressure on the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), after it revealed the finding of a mass grave in Aceh.

This pressure could discourage the commission from continuing monitoring rights violations against civilians in Aceh, he said. "The military should open access to all monitors, especially activists and journalists, in order to prevent possible human rights violations during the military operation in Aceh," stressed Ori.

Military limits media coverage in Aceh

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2003

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The martial law administration in Aceh has moved to tighten control over media reporting on the current military operation in the troubled province with defiant journalists facing the threat of expulsion from the area.

In new regulations on press coverage issued on Friday, authorities in Aceh banned the press from publishing the names of places where government troops were positioned, military maps or sketches, and the names of aircraft and ships used during offensive operations.

The military also required field reporters to record all interviews with soldiers in the field, including interviews with Air Force pilots, and marines, and "journalists can only publish or broadcast excerpts of the interviews after the missions in question have been carried out." Aceh Military Operation spokesman Lt. Col. A. Yani Basuki stressed on Friday that the military authorities had the right to expel journalists violating the regulations.

"The new regulations are aimed at saving the lives of soldiers and journalists covering the war in Aceh. Should journalists violate the regulations, they will be expelled from the province," Yani told reporters in Lhokseumawe.

The new regulations come after a TVRI cameraman, Jamaluddin, was found dead on Tuesday, almost one month after he went missing.

Military authorities are also trying to persuade American freelance journalist William Nessen to leave the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group, ostensibly to avoid him being hit during military operations. Nessen, a 46-year-old New York City native, said he was in Aceh to report on the latest military offensive to crush the Free Aceh Movement. More than 200 people have died in the fighting since the operation began on May 19.

Nessen said he was there to gather information for a book and a documentary on Aceh. He added that he had not published stories or photographs on the conflict for some time because he had lost his laptop and other possessions.

The new guidelines also ban the press from disseminating military codewords and require TV cameramen to turn off their lighting equipment during night operations, unless the commander of the military unit allows them to keep it on.

At the beginning of the operation, the military leadership appealed to the press to take the national interest into account when reporting on the military campaign in Aceh, where GAM rebels have been fighting for independence for the resource-rich province since 1976. Over 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since then.

TNI headquarters recently said that it would change its strategy so as to intensify night operations in Aceh in an attempt, so the military says, to curb the number of civilian casualties.

The military has been criticized for using sophisticated F-16 jet fighters to drop bombs and rockets on rebel positions. Strong criticism also came from the British after the military used British-made Hawks to drop subsonic bombs that exploded over civilian-populated areas.

"The press is also prohibited from disclosing intelligence information on the military's technical activities and tactics, internal procedures, latest operations, and enemy propaganda," Yani said, referring to the Free Aceh Movement. Despite severe restrictions, journalists may report rough approximations of the military's strength and the identities of the military units involved in individual operations "if this does not jeopardize the operations." "Journalists also are allowed to disclose the existence of enemy camps that have been targeted by the military," Yani said, as quoted by Antara.

The job of the Red Cross: Cleaning up the mess left by war

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2003

YS Tong, Banda Aceh -- They see with their eyes the victims of almost every battle, dead or alive, in conflict-torn Aceh province, located at the tip of northern Sumatra.

Unlike the ordinary Acehnese, the media, the military and rebels who are always racing for information on the latest battle, they are perfectly comfortable with being the last to be informed. This is because their job begins when the explosions and gunfights are over.

They are the volunteers and staff of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), who have traveled up hills and across streams to treat the injured and to bring back the dead, who would otherwise become food for wild animals or compost for the earth.

They have treated dozens of wounded people and recovered over 200 corpses in the first month of the military operation against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels.

As the operation continues, coupled with an increase in kidnappings by unknown perpetrators, the number of bodies is expected to rise in the coming days.

As it is, PMI's daily work already sounds far removed from a dream job. What makes their task even less attractive is the disturbing condition of the bodies when they are located -- many had their hands tied behind their backs, some were thrown into rivers, some had plastic bags covering their heads, and worst of all, some were found with missing limbs, including the head.

Most of these bodies, however, share three things in common -- they are all male, they have all been shot and they all exude an unbearable odor. Fachrul Rizayani, a university student, said he was getting used to all the "horror" after months of working as a PMI volunteer. "It was not easy at first, but now I'm okay with it, although I have to handle the bodies wearing gloves. Some colleagues of mine can do it with their bare hands," he said.

Over 400 Acehnese people like Fachrul are now working with PMI, which has based its operation center in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.

The PMI did not launch any recruitment campaign for volunteers. The volunteers -- mostly those who were involved with PMI during secondary school or university -- just showed up on their doorstep and offered to help when violence resumed just before the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement officially collapsed.

The volunteers are stationed at 18 centers spread throughout the province and they work according to a duty-roster, which divides a day into three shifts. Each center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Phone calls from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and locals could come in at any time, informing the center about locations where bodies have been spotted.

The remains often end up in district hospitals for autopsies and burials. They are mostly John Does -- without ID cards and their facial features already decomposed from exposure to mud or water, which makes identification extremely difficult, if not impossible.

In rare cases, however, the bodies were identified and returned to their families. This happens when PMI finds a match among its operations centers, that corresponds to the description provided by families who have lodged missing-person reports with them.

Even when a body is finally identified, it is not really a joyous moment nor a relief to the PMI staff and volunteers.

"The family members would be waiting outside their house after we have informed them that we are coming. As soon as the body arrives in an ambulance, the family members would rush to it and start crying. I cried several times along with the families. It was embarrassing, but I could not help it," recalled Riya Ison, the public relations officer for PMI in Aceh.

When asked who the Acehnese people think killed their men, he pointed at a plaque on the wall bearing the principles of PMI and replied, "We are neutral when it comes to an armed conflict or political dispute." Riya, who is from Lampung, Southern Sumatra, added that he had tried to understand why the TNI and GAM, both with Muslim elements, were fighting each other when he first came to Aceh as a PMI volunteer years ago.

"This question does not bother me any more, because I understand better now that our job is to help people in need, regardless of their race or religion. There are a lot of things that we do not need to know," he said.

The refugees obviously know well about this principle of neutrality. Many of them, when fleeing their homes to avoid battles in their villages, choose to follow PMI ambulances so as not to be targeted by either side.

With each passing day, the PMI's workload is getting heavier and heavier.

A recent addition on their daily work is to assist the Social and Health Department in distributing medicine, food, clothes and other basic amenities to some 40,000 refugees in designated camps. Last week, PMI also funded and completed the construction of makeshift classrooms -- simple wooden structures covered with canvas tarp -- for students in Lam Pisang, a town about six kilometers from Banda Aceh.

They plan to build nine more of these temporary classrooms in other areas to improve the learning environment of Acehnese students. Over 500 school buildings have been burned down by unidentified arsonists since the military operation began a month ago.

Still, even with their principle of neutrality and commitment to helping those in need, not all appreciate nor understand PMI's work.

Riya said there were previous incidents in which PMI ambulances were shot at by, again, unknown people. And in recent weeks, the PMI has began receiving prank calls from people claiming to have found bodies. "But this will not hamper our work, because we are prepared for the worst," Riya said.

As soon as he finished speaking, the phone rang. A resident had called to report a dead body floating in a river in the Aceh Besar district. Riya hopped into an ambulance with a few volunteers and off they went to do what they are good at -- cleaning the mess left after every battle.

[YS Tong is a visiting journalist from Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA).]

170 civilians died in first month of war in Aceh

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2003

Banda Aceh (AFP) -- More than 170 civilians have become casualties in the first month of Indonesia's military offensive against separatist rebels in Aceh province, a human rights group report said on Saturday.

The Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), in a report released by its branch office here Saturday, said as of June 18 a total of 176 civilians in 12 districts in Aceh had become victims of "extrajudicial killings." "Based on data obtained from the field, corpses of these civilians had borne gunshot wounds. This shows that an unlawful execution process has taken place," the report said.

It said another 151 civilians in the 12 districts had either been arrested or assaulted while 15 others had gone missing. The Jakarta-based rights group said it based its report on compiled media reports and its own investigations.

The Indonesian military is in its second month of a major offensive against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) after the government put Aceh under martial law on May 19. The report did not name any party responsible for the killings or human rights abuse. But it blamed the government's imposition of martial law as the cause. "The above facts showed that martial law has failed to suppress the death toll of non-combatant civilians," the report said.

Both the military and GAM have accused each other of human rights violations in the current offensive.

On Friday the Indonesian police said that more than 100 civilians had been killed. National police spokesman Zainuri Lubis said the victims have been identified by their families, who denied they were GAM members.

The Indonesian Red Cross said it had collected 194 bodies since the start of the operation but did not say whether they were believed to be civilians or rebels.

Aceh military operations spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Firdaus Komarno, commenting on the report, said civilian victims "clearly cannot be blamed" on the current martial law because it was imposed as "a government order which aims to stop GAM activities" in Aceh.

According to military figures, 225 rebels have now been killed and about 300 more arrested or surrendered since May 19. Some 28 security personnel have died.

TNI applies new tactic in Aceh

Jakarta Post - June 20, 2003

Tiarma Siboro & Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta/Lhokseumawe -- After one month attempting to crush independence rebels in Aceh, the Indonesian Military (TNI) says it is to change strategy so as to intensify night operations.

TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto told a press conference the new strategy was aimed at curbing the number of civilian casualties. "We need some changes to our strategy. Night patrols will avoid civilian casualties as we think most people will stay in their homes at night and only those involved in suspect activities will be outside," Endriartono said during the media briefing to assess the military operation after its being in effect for one month.

"Of course, we will have to provide more military equipment, such as infrared night sights, to enable our soldiers to see in the dark." So far, only platoon commanders are equipped with night sights. The government has allocated Rp 1.3 billion (US$158.54 million) to finance the military operation in Aceh.

According to military figures, a total of 202 Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels have been shot dead, and hundreds of others have been captured or have surrendered during the first month of operation, while the TNI has lost 26 soldiers.

The National Police revealed that 108 civilians were killed during the offensive, but Endriartono said this figure needed verifying. "The police's data is always 24 hours behind ours," Endriartono claimed.

Endriartono said the number of separatists killed during the operation would not indicate the success or failure of the offensive. "We don't need to kill all the 5,000 rebels. It's more important for us to make them return to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia," he said.

"It wouldn't be a victory for us either if we managed to kill [GAM armed wing commander] Muzakir Manaf or [GAM spokesman] Sofyan Dawood as our concern in this operation is stopping the secessionist movement in Aceh."

Jakarta decided last month to impose martial law in Aceh after GAM refused to meet Indonesia's terms for disarmament and acceptance of Indonesian sovereignty in Aceh. GAM has been fighting for independence since 1976. More than 12,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since then.

The martial law operation mandates an integrated approach consisting of a military offensive, humanitarian mission, the strengthening of local government, and law enforcement. It is slated to last six months, but may be extended.

The TNI has allocated the first two months of the operation to obtaining territorial control, and the remaining four months to separating civilians from GAM rebels.

Although Endriartono did not clearly spell out if the operation would end quicker than expected, he said the mission would be accomplished if GAM leaders and members surrendered.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu shared his opinion, saying the security operation in Aceh would be completed once civilians felt safe to go anywhere, rather than when all the rebels had been killed.

During Thursday's press conference, Endriartono also admitted poor discipline among soldiers as evidenced by the death of seven in a clash in Matang Kumbang village and military mistreatment of civilians in Lawang village, both in Bireuen.

"Of course, we can't blame the soldiers alone for the violations," he said. Some soldiers had failed to abide by the military code, which demands that they protect civilians, Endriartono said.

Seven soldiers have been court-martialed for the incident in Lawang, with six of them being sentenced to between four-months and four-months-and-20-days imprisonment. The TNI has also taken the battalion involved in the abuses out of the field.

Police say more than 100 civilians killed in offensive

Jakarta Post - June 20, 2003

Jakarta (AFP) -- Indonesian police said Friday that more than 100 civilians have been killed during a month-long military offensive to crush separatist rebels in Aceh province.

National police spokesman Col. Zainuri Lubis said the victims have been identified by their families, who denied they were members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

"We stick to the principle of innocence before proven guilty. If their families say they are not GAM members it is not fair for us to label them rebels," Lubis told AFP, adding that the figures did not include those people who died in gunfights with Indonesian troops.

He said it was possible that many of the civilians had been killed by GAM rebels. "A Javanese man who sold bakso [Javanese- style meatballs] could not be a rebel," he said, citing details of one death. Settlers in Aceh from Indonesia's main island of Java do not generally sympathise with the separatists.

Indonesia on May 19 put Aceh under martial law and launched a major military offensive against GAM. According to military figures, 225 rebels have now been killed and about 300 more have been arrested or surrendered since May 19. Some 28 soldiers have died.

The Indonesian Red Cross said it has collected 194 bodies since the start of the offensive but did not say whether they were believed to be civilians or rebels.

GAM has been fighting since 1976 for independence for the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. More than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since then.

Two Kontras volunteers detained for involvement with GAM

Detik.com - June 20, 2003

Nur Raihan, Banda Aceh -- Two volunteers from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Zakaria (72) and Nuraini (27), have been held by the Pidie district police since Friday morning. The two, who were taken from their homes near the village of Lhok Keutapang in the Delima sub-district of Pidie, are said to be involved in the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) network.

Zakaria is the field coordinator for Kontras in Pidie while Nuraini is a just a volunteer. The Pidie district military commander, Lieutenant Colonel Supartodi told the press on Friday that both were arrested by the members of the Pidie district police and a Mobile Brigade unit because they were strongly suspected of being members of GAM.

Security personnel also seized a mobile phone, ammunition for a hand gun, scores of stolen identity cards, eight telephone receipts, a phone book, a copy of Tempo magazine and a photograph of [GAM military commander] Abdulah Syafe'i. The Kontras office has been closed since marshal law came into force in Aceh.

Another person, Zulkifli (52), was arrested along with the two volunteers. A resident of the Delima sub-district, he is said to be a member of GAM who is active in collecting funds (illegal taxes). The three were arrested last Thursday afternoon.

[Abridged translation by James Balowski.]

Rights activists fleeing Aceh to avoid arrests

Jakarta Post - June 20, 2003

Banda Aceh/Jakarta -- Leading the life of a human rights activist working in war-torn Aceh is obviously not something that everyone is cut out for.

Intimidation, assault, abduction and even murder have long been occupational hazards for activists in the province, which has been the scene of a bloody conflict for over 27 years.

The imposition of martial law in the province on May 19 has created another nightmare for them as the troops label them supporters of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which is the target of the military operation in the province.

On Thursday, a joint military and police team arrested Nuraini, 27, a volunteer coordinator for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in Pidie, and her 70- year-old father Zakaria Umar.

Lt. Col. Supartodi, Pidie military commander, told reporters that Nuraini and her father were arrested as the officers found some 20 ID cards in their house during a raid at 5am on Thursday.

He added that Zakaria was a former member of GAM and once led the separatists in the Bambum area of Delima district. The officers also arrested 50-year-old Zulkifli, who is allegedly a fund- raiser for GAM.

Nuraini told The Jakarta Post that she was harassed sexually by the officers during the trip from her house to the Pidie military district office.

The military has declared that it will crack down on activists from non-governmental organizations linked to GAM. They include the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) and the Student- People's Solidarity (SMUR) organizations.

Many rights activists, especially from NGOs labeled by the military as having links to GAM, have fled the province due to the increasing threats.

Jamek (not his real name), a volunteer with a rights organization in Aceh whom the military labels a GAM supporter, spoke to the Post on Thursday about the impossible situation he found himself in. "I left the province last month to avoid possible abduction by military-backed militias," he told the Post during an interview on Thursday.

Jamek, who repeatedly asked to remain anonymous, has been investigating the existence of pro-Jakarta militias in Aceh since 2000. Militiamen, who happened to be his neighbors in a village in Central Aceh, later found out about his activities, and then visited his home to ask his parents about his whereabouts.

On his way home from Banda Aceh, Jamek made a phone call to his house. His parents told him not to come home and to leave Aceh immediately as one of his cousins had been shot dead by the militia. He then went back to Banda Aceh. Unfortunately, another group of militia stopped the public bus he was riding in to seek out GAM members.

"They checked my belongings. I could only pray to God for protection. Fortunately, they let us go," said Jamek, who has been a rights monitor for five years.

Jamek managed to leave Banda Aceh for Jakarta to avoid arbitrary arrest. "If you are arrested, it means you disappear." He said a number of other activists had left the province for other parts of the country. "Several friends of mine who are married must live apart from their families as they don't want them to become involved in this affair," he said.

Jamek believes that intelligence agents continue to monitor them. Therefore, the activists have always to be on the alert.

Not only that. In addition, not all neighborhoods, especially in Jakarta, welcome Acehnese. Jamek says he has to move from one place to another as neighborhood unit leaders always quiz him due to his Acehnese origins. "I don't feel like I am a citizen of this country," said Jamek.

Fierce fight in Aceh kills 12

Reuters - June 20, 2003

Banda Aceh -- A bloody clash between Indonesian troops and rebels in troubled Aceh killed at least 12 people, a military official said on Thursday, showing the war to crush the rebellion was far from over.

Indonesian military (TNI) spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Firdaus Komarno told Reuters the battle began with an attempted ambush by soldiers on a rebel convoy in North Aceh. "We received reports from locals that there would be a group of rebels passing the area. The information we have said 10 GAM members and two TNI soldier were killed in the incident," he said, adding the fight occurred at dawn.

The military offensive in Aceh began on May 19 after talks between Jakarta and the rebels collapsed. With today's North Aceh count at least 254 people have been killed in Aceh, including 226 rebels from the Free Aceh Movement and 28 members of the security forces.

The rebels have held out for independence instead of the special autonomy Jakarta was willing to offer to the oil- and gas-rich province.

Aceh is one of two major separatist hot spots in Indonesia's sprawling archipelago. The other is in Papua at the eastern end of the country.

Alienating the Acehnese

Jakarta Post Editorial - June 16, 2003

The government's announcement that Acehnese working for the administration must undergo special screenings is the latest in a series of measures, introduced since the imposition of martial law, that will only further alienate the people of Aceh.

A joint operation -- combining security restoration, humanitarian assistance, empowering the local administration and law enforcement -- was launched in Aceh following the May 19 presidential declaration of martial law in the province. But if the objective is to improve the lives of the people of Aceh, the experience of the last four weeks has shown that the combined operation has had just the opposite effect.

Scores of civilians have been killed, some caught in the cross fire between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM). There have also been unconfirmed reports of the targeted killing of unarmed civilians by both sides.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced because of the armed conflict. Many children are unable to go to school because their schools have been burned down; many people have lost their livelihoods and are now dependent on government handouts for their day-to-day survival. Road blocks and ID checks hamper their movement.

Life has turned for the worse, not the better, for most Acehnese.

The people of Aceh are living in constant fear and in great uncertainty.

And as if the government has not caused enough havoc, it has issued a number of other measures that are making life even more difficult.

There was the requirement that all Acehnese apply for new identity cards, which literally means lining up for hours if not days. Acehnese who live outside Aceh are under constant surveillance; in Jakarta, for example, residents have been told to keep a close eye on their Acehnese neighbors for any suspicious activities. All Acehnese now, wherever they live, are terror suspects as far as the government is concerned.

And last week, the government announced that thousands of Acehnese who work for the administration must undergo a "Litsus" (short for penelitian khusus), a screening process used during the Soeharto era to weed out communists. This time, the goal is to rid the bureaucracy of any GAM elements.

It is interesting to note that the government, or the TNI, simply took a page out of Soeharto's playbook in bringing back the widely discredited Litsus. The least they could have done was to have given it another name.

Historically, Litsus was synonymous with the suppression of people's basic rights. From the 1970s to the early 1990s, it was used to screen out communists in the bureaucracy, military, politics, education, journalism and other professions considered to be strategic. The offshoot of the Litsus was Bersih Lingkungan, another military phrase to denote a person as "pure" from any possible communist influence.

The Litsus was used not only to interrogate subjects for hours to detect their ideological leanings, but also to trace their family histories, checking for close or distant relatives who may have been tied with the communists. The extended family included the relatives of the subjects' spouses, married long after the "communists" were dead and gone. During the time that the Litsus was used, many people lost their careers and livelihoods through no fault of theirs, only because the military considered them to be "impure".

Now it seems that this old concept, which was clearly a violation of people's basic rights, is about to be reintroduced by the government in Aceh, specifically to weed out possible GAM ties -- however they are defined -- among government employees.

One thing that has to be said about the martial law administrators in Aceh is that they are consistent. Their policies, including the Litsus, are consistently alienating the people of Aceh.

This combined operation in Aceh was launched out of the government's concern for maintaining Indonesia's territorial integrity. It seems that the government, or the TNI, which is administering Aceh today, takes the word "territorial" literally.

They are only concerned about keeping Aceh's territory and its rich natural resources under the control of the republic. They are not concerned about the people of Aceh, even though their contribution to the nation since independence 58 years ago has been widely recognized.

Going by their policies and actions in Aceh, the authorities in Jakarta are not even trying to win the hearts and minds of the populace.

Now, elected representatives also face screening

Jakarta Post - June 16, 2003

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- The central government and the martial law administration in Aceh will expand the scope of a proposed screening program to local elected representatives and village heads in the war-torn province.

The screening, aimed at uncovering any links between officials and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels, will now apply to all the members of legislatures in the province following the arrest of two local legislators on charges of financing separatist activities.

Martial law administration spokesman Col. Ditya Soedarsono denied allegations on Saturday that the screening would discredit the state apparatus in the province. "This screening is aimed at creating a clean and strong administration, not discrediting local officials," Ditya said as quoted by Antara.

Originally the screening, scheduled to last from July 1 to July 30, was targeted at 67,000 civil servants.

The screening, Ditya said, was part of an attempt to strengthen the local administration, which was one of the purposes of the integrated operation in Aceh. The operation is primarily intended to quell the three-decade-long rebellion, provide humanitarian assistance and enforce the law in the province.

Zulkifli Adam, a member of the Sabang legislative council representing the United Development Party, and Marwan of the Aceh Besar legislative council representing the Golkar Party were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of being involved with GAM.

They also face dismissal from their respective parties.

The arrests came a few days after 76 village heads resigned en masse, citing intolerable pressure from both the Indonesian Military (TNI) and GAM.

Ditya said that the strengthening of local administrations would comprise improving supervisory functions to help create professional, clean and strong state institutions.

Commenting on the screening plan, National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) member Achmad Ali suggested that the tests should not be exclusively conducted by military officers.

Achmad said civilian officials should also be involved in the process to ensure it complied with the prevailing regulations and human rights principles. "It must be conducted as part of the integrated operation in Aceh," Achmad told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

He suggested that the public should not react negatively to the planned screening, saying it was designed to detect GAM members who might be working in the bureaucracy and other institutions.

But Munir, the director of the advocacy group, Impartial, and a human rights campaigner, lashed out at the plan, which he said would revive the authoritarian practices of the past.

Munir, who admitted to having been screened in the past, said the results of the screening tests could possibly be used by the martial law administration to label critical Acehnese people as being "pro-rebel".

During the New Order regime, screening was conducted on people seeking jobs in government and military institutions to detect if they had any links, direct or indirect, with the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party.

Ditya said the martial law administration was continuing the process of recruiting district and village heads, and renovating government office buildings in Aceh.

He added that the local administration would soon replace existing ID cards in the province with new ones, which use the national red and white flag as a background.

US journalist challenges official death toll

Sydney Morning Herald - June 16, 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- An American freelance journalist who has spent five weeks with Acehnese separatist rebels says the fighting and casualties are much more extensive than reported and the rebels retain overwhelming support among villagers.

In a long telephone interview with the Herald at the weekend, William Nessen said that in the small part of Aceh where he had been travelling and recording the activities of soldiers in the rebel army known as GAM, a minimum of 65 Indonesian Army soldiers had died in the past four weeks.

That is more than double the number of soldiers the army says it has lost throughout Aceh. Nessen agreed he had not seen 65 bodies, but "my group shot dead 15" soldiers, and he was certain a minimum of 50 more had died in clashes with GAM in the same area.

Nessen, 46, the only journalist to spend time with GAM in the renewed conflict, said he had seen soldiers shoot at civilians and aircraft attack villagers fleeing their homes. Despite this, he said, "I do think in some ways the [military] is behaving a little better than in East Timor, perhaps because of international pressure".

When it announced its new military campaign in Aceh a month ago, Jakarta promised humanitarian and other assistance to win over the Acehnese. The military recently court-martialled and jailed seven soldiers for beating villagers in a raid.

Nessen, who has also spent time with the army, said many soldiers were extremely edgy because they were often vulnerable to attack in the heavy forests.

In the dozens of villages he had visited, Nessen said, GAM's campaign for independence retained huge support.

GAM's soldiers lived in the villages, heard from villagers when the army was coming and disappeared into the forest, he said.

That was why the military was trying to force them out of the villages and into the forests, where they would have no access to food and other support.

The military has told Nessen that he will be arrested if he gives himself up but will not be shot. The military commander in Aceh, Brigadier-General Bambang Darmono, said yesterday that Nessen had called him on Saturday night, two hours after the expiry of a deadline for him to surrender, to discuss terms under which he could come down from his mountain hide-out about 20 kilometres from the coastal road.

General Bambang said Nessen had argued that because he was a journalist he should not be arrested and should be free to leave Aceh and Indonesia. "I told him it's my responsibility to arrest you," General Bambang said.

"If you don't want to be shot, tell us your position." Nessen said yesterday that he had no choice but to remain where he was after what he said was a very blunt conversation with General Bambang who, he said, was furious with him for associating with the GAM guerillas.

"I am not going to turn myself in," Nessen said. "My fear is of being shot, tortured, beaten and arrested and held indefinitely in a black hole."

Nessen is writing for the San Francisco Chronicle and has a journalist's visa. He said he was living with GAM because he believed in telling both sides of the story, and there should be more journalists with the rebels, not fewer.

Refugees face straitened days

Jakarta Post - June 16, 2003

Berni K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe -- Over 10,000 Acehnese people staying in a refugee camp in Bireuen regency are facing a shortage of clean water as the military offensive enters its fifth week.

The refugees said on Sunday that the rations were not enough to sustain them. Most complained about the meager food, the lack of fresh water and the camp's poor sanitation facilities. Children are also suffering in the intense heat in the open areas or inside the crowded tents of the camps.

"Many here don't bathe anymore," said Mustafa Dadih, 58, an elementary school teacher from Tambo Tan village. "We have problems washing up in the morning because there isn't enough water," he added.

Sanitation problems resulting from the lack of clean water are feared to worsen in the coming days, as water is needed for the refugees to cook, bathe and wash clothes.

The refugees also complained about the absence of side dishes with their meals. "We have enough rice, that's not the problem," said 38-year-old Abdul Malik, a cook at the refugee camp.

His friend grabbed a handful of the rice from a bucket as Abdul explained, "the problem here is that there's almost nothing to eat but rice." Rice and some noodles or fish is the only food available at the camp. The meager ration is one of the many harsh changes the refugees will have to adjust to over the next few days, weeks or maybe even months. No one knows when they will be able return home.

Yusri Yusuf, who coordinates the two medical posts at the camp, said that two doctors and several nurses from the nearby Fauziah general hospital, the local health office and the health community center were on call for each eight-hour shift.

He said that so far there had been no serious health problems, although many of the adults complained about headaches. "It's the stress, the changes are just too much," Yusri said. Antara reported, however, that a refugee had died on Sunday of heart failure. Medical workers had also assisted four women deliver their babies on the same day.

The mass evacuation came as the military stepped up its offensive to flush rebels from their hideouts in the forests surrounding their home villages. For the first time, reports emerged last Friday that howitzers were used to shell rebel positions in Bireuen.

Preparations at the Cot Gabu soccer field to accommodate the refugees began at least 10 days ago, and a few of tents were already seen standing on the spacious field of dry grass early this month, while workers could be seen pitching more.

A sea of people from at least 10 villages in Juli district, Bireuen regency, have sought refuge in a soccer field and another field across it in the village of Cot Gabu since last Friday.

The Police mobile brigade (Brimob) now occupy the villages, manning posts along the road at every few meters to ensure that they remain empty.

The villagers were forced to flee their homes when the fighting came too close. Aside from bringing the residents to safety, the military hopes to separate them from GAM separatists, who easily melt in with the civilians.

The field is located next to the main road connecting Bireuen with the provincial capital Banda Aceh. Across it stands the ruins of a school, burned to the ground before the war, and which now serves as a security post manned by Brimob personnel.

On the battle front, the military said two more rebels were shot dead in South Aceh and at least 15 others were arrested in Aceh Besar regency over the past two days.

Spokesman for the military operation Lt. Col. Achmad Yani Basuki said the two separatists were killed during a clash in Cot Cut village between GAM members and joint Army and Brimob forces in Kuta Baro district, Aceh Besar, at around 7 a.m. on Sunday. As of Sunday, the TNI reported that rebel casualties totaled 204.

Regarding the number of casualties, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) announced on Sunday it had evacuated 178 bodies from battlefields. "The death toll is based on reports from a number of PMI branches and command posts across Aceh," executive chairman of PMI Aceh Sanusi Maha said in a press release issued on Sunday. He said PMI was also duty-bound to bring the dead to hospitals for further identification and to inform their next-of-kin.

200 students in Yogya demand an end to the war in Aceh

Detik.com - June 16, 2003

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta -- Resolving the conflict in Aceh through war will only increase the number of civilian casualties.

For this reason, around 200 students from the Peace Committee for Humanity (Komite Perdamian untuk Kemanusiaan, KPK) held a demonstration calling for the war between the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to be stopped.

This call was presented by students during an action at the regional parliament on Jl Malioboro in Yogyakarta [Central Java] on Monday. The action began at 10am with a long march from the Yogyakarta Monument to the parliament. From the parliament the demonstrators then went to the Gedung Agung Palace on Jl Ahmad Yani.

The students called on the government to restart the dialog to resolve the Aceh conflict. For students [they said], violence and war is not a solution, but rather it will only add to the Acehnese people's burden of suffering.

"Immediately end the war between the TNI and GAM in Aceh. Resolve the problems of the Acehnese people peacefully and through a democratic national dialogue which involves civil society", said the coordinator of the action, Nur Hambalis.

KPK also called for an immediate trial for [those who have committed] crimes against humanity in Aceh. They also called on the government to provide protection to civilians. Finally, the students called for access to objective information for civil society though proportional reporting.

During the action, the students also carried posters which among other things read "War No, Dialog Yes", "Continue the Aceh dialog and protect the rights of civilians".

As of going to print, the action was continuing peacefully and had not created any traffic congestion. (iy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Military say operation could last five more months

Agence France Presse - June 17, 2003

A major Indonesian military assault on separatist rebels in Aceh province could continue for five more months, the army and armed forces chiefs said.

"Within less than five months there should already be a drastic change in Aceh. There should be a change towards a better situation every day," army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu told troops who arrived in Aceh Monday to join the country's biggest military operation for a quarter-century.

Ryacudu urged some 400 members of the elite strategic reserve Kostrad to keep up the pressure on Free Aceh Movement (GAM) fighters and not give them a chance to regroup.

The government imposed a six-month state of martial law and launched the military operation on May 19, hours after peace talks broke down in Tokyo.

Armed forces commander General Endriartono Sutarto said in Jakarta it would take more than six months to eradicate GAM. "To completely eliminate GAM, more time is needed," Sutarto said, according to the Detikcom online news service. However the armed forces chief said some targets had been achieved ahead of schedule -- with troops starting to enter "core" rebel areas after two weeks, instead of after the forecast two months.

Since May 19, according to military figures, 206 rebels have been killed and hundreds more have been arrested or surrendered for the loss of 26 soldiers and police. Almost 42,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes for tented camps, more than 500 schools have gone up in flames and an unknown number of civilians have died.

The Indonesian Red Cross says it has recovered 176 bodies in civilian clothes but cannot say whether they are civilians or guerrilla fighters. International rights groups have accused both sides of serious rights abuses.

"I do not want to hear that some of you are hurting the people," Ryacudu told the Kostrad members. If soldiers abided by the law and their orders, "there will be no one who will have the right to protest against you, citing human rights and democracy as reasons".

Kostrad commander Bibit Waluyo told reporters his command now has some 10,000 men in Aceh in addition to some 20,000 soldiers from other units. There are some 10,000 police in Aceh and the navy, marines and air force also involved.

British-made Hawk aircraft flew operations Monday in defiance of British requests that the planes should not be used in Aceh. US- made Bronco aircraft and Hawks dropped "sonic bombs" over suspected rebel concentrations at Jeuli in Bireuen district and at Jambo Aye in North Aceh, said a military spokesman, Firdaus Komarno. "The aims are to disturb the concentrations of GAM troops in the area," he said, adding that such bombs would not have caused casualties.

Indonesia's operation is set to win backing from a meeting in Phnom Penh of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. A draft communique seen Monday recognises "the efforts of the Indonesian government to restore peace and order in Aceh".

Two schoolteachers have been found tortured and murdered a day after they were abducted by unidentified men in southwest Aceh, said another military spokesman who blamed GAM. The provincial education office says 60 schoolteachers have been killed in the past four months.

GAM has been fighting for independence since 1976. An estimated 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since then.

Jakarta deploys F-16s in Aceh war

Jakarta Post - June 17, 2003

Berni K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe -- Indonesia's most sophisticated jet fighters dropped bombs and fired rockets at rebel positions on Monday, in their first airstrike during the first month of war against Free Aceh Movement (GAM) units.

Monday's airstrike was the first time that the American F-16 Fighting Falcon was used in combat since Indonesia purchased the jets in 1996.

First strike force detachment commander Capt. Mohamad Fajar said they hoped the airstrike could remove rebels from their hideout near Babus Salam village in North Aceh regency, where the military believed the GAM commander and its spokesman Sofyan Dawood were hiding.

Two Fighting Falcons from Medan in North Sumatra dropped four bombs in the area, a swampy stretch of land separated by a palm oil plantation from Babus Salam. Another two OV-10 Bronco planes, also from Medan, fired 16 rockets and 500 rounds from large caliber cannons at positions believed to be occupied by rebel units, said Fajar at the military observation post about three kilometers away from the target area.

Indonesian Military personnel have complained in the past that it was increasingly difficult to operate the American-made warplanes due to a shortage of spare parts as the US has not yet lifted its arms embargo imposed on Indonesia following the East Timor violence in 1999.

Several locals from Babus Salam, a village populated by mostly Javanese transmigrants, watched and cheered as the fighters struck the rebels bases. However, only three targets out of 11 ordered were hit during the 30-minute airstrike. More attacks in the area were being planned, Fajar said.

The TNI began the assault on GAM positions on May 19 with an airstrike using British-made Hawk jet planes. Britain expressed objection to the use of its product in the military operation to quell rebellion in Aceh, citing a pre-purchase deal between the two countries not to use them against other Indonesians.

Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Chappy Hakim had earlier played down the use of F-16s in the operation in Aceh, saying the government troops were facing a guerrilla war, not a conventional war.

Fajar said that between 100 and 150 rebels were hiding along a five-kilometer stretch within the target area which he said had been a rebel stronghold for about three years.

Around 700 soldiers have surrounded the area, Fajar said. But he said entering it was difficult and the rebels had often slipped through the military cordon. "The Indonesian Military (TNI) has never really been able to control the area, so far we have only sent patrols inside," Fajar said, adding that the area was also heavily booby trapped.

"With this air strike we hope to give them some shock therapy," he said. "We hope the attack will force the rebels to come out of their hiding place, as this will make it easier for us to attack them." He said that a number of teams moved into the target area shortly after the air strike to tighten the encirclement around the rebels.

Elsewhere in North Aceh, the government troops continued to attack an alleged GAM stronghold in Jambo Aye district, located some 90 kilometers east of Lhokseumawe. He said the military had set up special units to attack several locations where dozens of GAM members were allegedly hiding.

The targets include Alue Kerakke village in Jambo Aye. Iwan claimed that the military had conquered the villages of Paya Cokai, Matang Maneh, Pucuk Alue and Lhok Beuringen, all formerly known as rebel strongholds. "Lhok Beringuen was formerly the biggest GAM stronghold in Aceh. GAM officials have left the houses they used to live in. The troops have occupied the houses and the village," Iwan said.

He claimed that the villagers asked the troops to stay in the village as they were in fear of living under GAM oppression.

"People have told us about the presence of GAM," Iwan remarked.

A day before, the troops were involved in a shootout with a group of GAM members and managed to seize a number of firearms and ammunition.

Foreigners restricted from entering Aceh

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2003

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The government issued on Tuesday a decree that restricts foreigners from traveling to the war-torn province of Aceh.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the decree, which came into effect immediately after President Megawati Soekarnoputri signed it on Monday, was aimed at preventing foreigners from becoming victims of the conflict in Aceh, which is currently under martial law.

"The decree restricts foreigners from traveling to Aceh during the duration of martial law for the sake of their safety. In regard to foreign non-governmental organization activists and journalists, we will only supervise their presence in the province, because we want to promote transparency in the ongoing integrated operation there," Susilo told the media.

The decree states that foreigners must secure a permit from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights should they insist on traveling to the restive province. NGO activists must obtain a permit from the Office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare while journalists, including locals working as correspondents for foreign media, need to obtain a permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A spokesman with the foreign ministry, M. Wahid Supriyadi, said that the ministry would limit freelance journalists covering the war in Aceh, starting from Tuesday. "All foreign journalists have to obtain a permit from the ministry before leaving for Aceh. The permit will be valid for 30 days and be extendible for another 30 days," Wahid said.

The restriction came after two German tourists were shot, one of them fatally, two weeks ago and an American freelance journalist, William Nessen, was found last week to be covering the war from the rebels' side without notification to the government.

507 school buildings burned in Aceh

Antara - June 17, 2003

Banda Aceh, Aceh -- Some 507 school buildings have been set on fire in 10 districts in Aceh since the Indonesian government launched a military offensive in the restive province on May 19, leaving 70,000 students with no place to study.

Antara quoted acting head of Aceh's provincial education office, Anas M Adam, as saying here on Tuesday that the Indonesian Defense Force (TNI) has been cooperating with the people in rehabilitating the burned school buildings.

According to the TNI, the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was responsible for the arson.

Acehnese beg for peace, receive loyalty lessons

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2003

YS Tong, Banda Aceh -- Thousands of unarmed Acehnese civilians from Banda Aceh began to gather in a field as early as 7am on Tuesday for what has now become a routine activity since the military operation started in late May.

Dozens of Indonesian soldiers (TNI) in uniform were strolling casually around the crowd. Few of the soldiers had guns, and they did not seem in any way alarmed or intimidated by the overwhelming presence of the people.

Indeed, they had every reason not to be intimidated. This was, after all, not exactly a battlefield in a conventional sense. It was just Blang Padang, the recreation park in the heart of the capital of Aceh province, with a different look and feel on Tuesday morning.

The people came here neither to play nor to jog. They stood before a flagpole which was erected in the center of the field to be on the receiving end of the government's plan to "win the hearts and minds of the people." On the other side of the flagpole was a stage and tents which sheltered VIPs sitting comfortably in their chairs out of the sun.

Huge banners encircled the field, displaying messages such as GAM kembalilah, rakyat sudah terlalu letih (Return to the right path, GAM, people are tired of you) and Hai separatis GAM, jangan bakar sekolahku (Hey, GAM separatists, don't burn my school).

It was clear that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the separatist movement which has been fighting for independence for Aceh for 27 years now, was not welcomed at this apel -- a ceremony organized by the district administration for the Acehnese to pledge their allegiance and loyalty to the Republic of Indonesia in the form of oaths.

This apel involved youths from Banda Aceh, comprising mainly students from secondary schools and representatives from nearby villages. It was the latest in a series of apel that have been held over the past few weeks.

At 8am sharp, the master of ceremonies called for a rehearsal while waiting for the arrival of Army Chief of Staff Gen.

Ryamizard Ryacudu and Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh. The crowd was briefed about the two oaths that they were about to take -- the state ideology of Pancasila and a five-point Ikrar Pemuda Provinsi Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, or the oath of the youth of the Nangroe Aceh Darussalam province. This was followed by a rendition of the national anthem, which was met with less than a lukewarm response from the people. Their voices were almost inaudible as the speakers blasted the melody away.

After singing, several people in the back began to sit or squat in small groups, puffing cigarettes and chatting while appearing totally oblivious to the ongoing rehearsal. This behavior did not go unnoticed by the organizers. One military officer grabbed the microphone and said in a stern voice, "No one is to sit or squat! Get back in line or get out of here! "We do not want any of you to spoil this. And we do not want to hear noise from the crowd," he chastised.

The people obeyed his instruction but not for very long. The sitting, chatting, laughing and smoking soon resumed as they waited for the "real thing" to start -- and end. After about an hour, Gen. Riyamizard and Governor Puteh arrived with their entourage in a bus escorted by the military police.

The event immediately started with a recital of the Koran. Then it was the two oaths as promised. The crowd was led through the reading of the oaths.

"We the youths of Aceh province swear that we will always love and remain loyal to the integrity of the Republic of Indonesia ... We will not support or be involved in the activities of GAM rebels ... We will play an active part in ensuring the success of development in Aceh as outlined by the government of Indonesia ... We support fully the integrated operation and the martial law administration in Aceh in order to crush GAM ...," they said in a monotonous, if not mechanical, tone.

Following this, Puteh and Ryamizard gave their speeches. The military operation was not for the benefit of government officials, military or police but to ensure lasting peace and stability for the Acehnese, they stressed.

Puteh also took a swipe at GAM and William Nessen, the American journalist who has been traveling with GAM for a month now and has demanded a guarantee of non-interrogation by the authorities as a condition for him to leave the separatist movement.

"GAM and foreign journalists are here to stir up problems in Aceh. Take for example, William Nessen who is not doing anything good for us. [But] they will have to face the military and police soon," he said.

Halfway through Ryamizard's speech, it began to drizzle. The apel was quickly concluded with the release of pigeons, signifying new hope for peace in Aceh. Helium-filled balloons, with "Happy birthday" written all over them, were also let off into the sky.

This finally excited the crowd, especially when a bundle of balloons descended upon a group of students among the crowd because of the weight of a banner it carried.

Several students from state Senior High School III Banda Aceh said they felt "the flame of nationalism" burning within them after the event, never mind that they could not remember the content of the oaths that they took less than half an hour earlier.

These meetings could be risky for some Acehnese who take part.

Last week, two civil servants were shot dead by "unknown gunmen" hours before they were supposed to attend an apel for local government staff. It is even more difficult for others, who still have to go home and cope with the pressure of day-to-day living and the dilemma of taking sides with either TNI or GAM.

One small businessman said, "We are bingung [confused] as to whom we should believe, more confused than ever." If his words are taken as an overall reflection of the popular sentiment, the apel was nothing more than an hour of fanfare and amusement.

It is still far from impressive for the greater part of the Acehnese population.

[YS Tong is a visiting journalist from Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA). He is currently in Indonesia for one month.]

Setbacks for Indonesia's war

Green Left Weekly - June 18, 2003

James Balowski, Jakarta -- Just hours after claiming significant progress in its operation to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and its supporters, the Indonesian military (TNI) on June 9 lost seven soldiers in an ambush in the Bireuen regency in northern Aceh.

It was the highest number of casualties the TNI has suffered in a single incident since martial law was declared on May 19. Six other soldiers and a mobile brigade officer were injured. The military said five rebels were killed.

The TNI claims that 169 GAM fighters have been killed so far, with around 300 captured. It says 23 TNI soldiers, four police officers and 18 civilians have been killed. More than 25,000 people have fled their homes.

On June 9, the TNI announced plans to build a prison on Nasi Island, about 15 kilometres from the capital Banda Aceh, to hold more than 1000 suspected GAM members and supporters. Military spokesperson Firdaus Komera said the prison may be modelled on Buru Island, near Ambon, where thousands of political prisoners were held for decades during the rule of former president Suharto. The military says that it expects the centre to be operational within two months.

A more significant setback for the Indonesian government's operation was the mass resignation of 76 village heads in the Bireuen regency on June 8, after complaining about the pressure they had to face in dealing with both the TNI and GAM. "Keucik [village chiefs] cannot run the administration under such pressure", said spokesperson Rajali. "They cannot stand the conflict between TNI and GAM anymore."

According to the June 9 Jakarta daily Kompas, the village chiefs are far more afraid of the TNI than GAM: "Although they did not mention any names, apparently they meant the case of Hamdani Yahya, a village head who was beaten by a soldier because he didn't want to tell them where GAM members had fled to." Jakarta Post reporter Tiarma Siboro, who is "embedded" with troops in Aceh, told Radio Australia on June 10 that a TNI spokesperson had told him that the TNI was monitoring village heads. Siboro believes the TNI suspects that most village chiefs side with GAM. "Most people sympathise with GAM rather than with the military", he said.

Siboro told Radio Australia that he had seen no evidence of serious human rights abuses by GAM.

Initially, the Indonesian government's minister of home affairs Hari Sabarno dismissed the significance of the resignations.

However, other officials have admitted they could have serious implications for the government's "integrated operation" in Aceh, one of its aims being to restore the civil administration. It will be difficult to find people prepared to replace the chiefs as Keucik in Bireuen only receive an "honorarium" of around 125,000 rupiah (US$15) a month, little incentive under the circumstances.

It has been reported that reported that 22 village heads were abducted in the Bireuen and Nagan Raya districts on June 3 and 8.

Police claim they were abducted by GAM for ransom and to force them to resign as village heads.

If true, it would be a significant departure from previous incidents. While GAM has abducted people in the past (government officials, military informers, young women who fraternise with TNI troops), in most cases GAM announces the actions publicly, along with the reasons for the abductions. Abductees are released within a short period of time.

A far more likely explanation is that the chiefs have gone into hiding rather than resign publicly and risk being tarred with the "GAM sympathiser" brush.

On June 9, Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh said that the 67,000 civil servants working in Aceh would have to undergo special screening and examinations (litsus) because he was convinced that a number support the separatist movement. "If there are civil servants whose loyalties are divided or are flirting with GAM they will be dealt with harshly", he said.

In March 2000, Indonesian's then-president Abdurrahman Wahid revoked litsus, which was used to eliminate "communist influence". Anyone alleged to be a communist, or a descendant or close relative of a communist, was banned from participating in elections or working as a government official.

Frighteningly reminiscent of the Suharto period's censorship and thought control, Puteh was quoted by the June 11 Detik.com as saying that "certainly these civil servants are not involved directly, such as those who carry arms and fight the official government, but it is rather a frame of thinking which supports GAM".

Independence sentiment a result of Suharto legacy

Green Left Weekly - June 18, 2003

Max Lane -- When Hasan de Tiro proclaimed the independent state of Aceh and launched the Aceh Sumatra National Liberation Front, also known as the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), in 1978, he attracted little support.

Contrary to the myth-making of the current leadership of GAM, and some academic commentators, political and social discontent in Aceh had previously not taken a separatist form. Previous armed rebellions in Aceh had been part of an archipelago-wide struggle for an Islamist Indonesia, not an independent Aceh.

But what was a small and basically isolated group in 1978 can now mobilise at least 5000 guerrilla fighters, which would not be possible unless GAM enjoyed some significant popular support.

How is it that a tiny group declaring an independent state with no public support and calling for the return to a medieval-era sultanate could grow so much that the current Indonesian government thinks that it now requires at least 50,000 combat troops and a state of military emergency to subdue it? The situation reflects a new fact about Aceh -- there are now at least two fundamentally opposed visions of the future of Aceh among the Acehnese population. One vision sees an independent Aceh, of one kind or another. The other sees Aceh remaining within the Indonesian state.

Aceh has not been invaded by GAM from outside nor is GAM the extension of some external political or military power. It exists because a substantial number of Acehnese want Aceh to become an independent state. This desire for independence does not automatically translate into support for the political ideology of GAM but it is the reason for the growth in GAM's political influence.

Why has support for an independent Aceh grown? To answer this question, it needs to recognised that widespread sentiment for independence did not develop until after 1998 -- the year that General Suharto's dictatorship over Indonesia was toppled.

A year later, in November 1999, up to a million Acehnese participated in a mass demonstration demanding a referendum on independence.

Prior to 1998 anti-government sentiment in Aceh generally shared a similar character to that which existed in the rest of Indonesia -- hostility to Suharto's New Order dictatorship and to dwifungsi, the constitutional enshrinement of the military's day-to-day involvement in Indonesian politics. There was also discontent with the widening gap between rich and poor, and with official corruption -- features of popular politics throughout the Indonesian archipelago.

In Aceh, there was also resentment at the fact that little benefit flowed to the people in Aceh from the exploitation by US and Japanese companies, in collusion with Suharto's corporate cronies, of Aceh's oil and gas reserves.

But resentment at the presence of the Indonesian military (TNI) was the greatest sore-point in Aceh. The TNI was notorious for the brutality it showed toward civilians in carrying out its military operations against the GAM guerrillas.

Following Suharto's ouster, both the newly-installed president, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, and TNI chief General Wiranto publicly acknowledged that there had been gross human rights violations by the TNI in Aceh. Habibie and Wiranto made separate visits to Aceh to publicly apologise for these.

As the Suharto regime weakened under the impact of popular protest throughout the country during late 1997 and early 1998, an anti-Suharto reformasi movement also developed in Aceh. Many new political and NGO organisations developed. These included student, human rights, women's, farmer and other groups. During 1997 and 1998, there was little talk within this movement of demanding independence. Of course, GAM continued to proclaim Aceh an independent state and called for this to be recognised by Jakarta and by other governments. GAM had also grown during the 1980s, attracting support as a response to the TNI's human rights abuses. But even in 1998, the growth of GAM did not reflect mass pro-independence sentiment.

The massive 1999 pro-referendum demonstration, the consolidation of GAM's position and the growth of pro-independence sentiment occurred as a direct manifestation of disappointment with the character and policies of the post-Suharto governments in Jakarta.

Despite promises, no significant prosecutions for human rights abuses took place. Even more significantly, a high level of militarisation continued as Jakarta continued to pursue a military response to GAM. The essence of this military response, as in all guerrilla war situations, was to attempt to forcibly separate the guerrilla fighters from their civilian supporters -- a policy which inevitably results in horrendous human rights violations.

Thus the growth of pro-independence sentiments in Aceh is a direct response to the economic failures of the New Order period, the economic collapse that followed the 1997 Asian "financial" crisis -- which hit Indonesia hardest of all -- and the brutality of the TNI's counter-insurgency operations in Aceh.

The growth of pro-independence sentiment has not arisen because of any systematic suppression of the Acehnese language, religion or culture (except in so far as the Suharto regime neglected education and cultural development throughout Indonesia as a whole).

The current TNI war against GAM may or may not succeed in forcing the GAM guerrillas back into the mountains and reducing the number of GAM fighters. But it will not, and cannot, eliminate the existence of widespread pro-independence sentiment among the Acehnese population. To the contrary, it is likely to strengthen that sentiment.

Political groups which support the idea of a united Indonesia including Aceh will need to recognise that such unity can only be achieved if it is voluntarily supported by all the national and ethnic groups within the territory presently ruled over by the Indonesian state.

Winning voluntary support from ethnic groups across the archipelago for the establishment of a united Indonesian republic was a great achievement of the young activists of the independence movement against Dutch colonialism. It provided the optimal basis for the development of the economy, society and culture of the peoples of the archipelago. This was a democratic achievement that GAM unjustly denigrates.

However, the anti-democratic policies of the New Order regime undermined the voluntary character of that unity, leading to the emergence of widespread sentiment in Aceh for separation from the Indonesian state.

The conflict in Aceh cannot be settled as long as Jakarta refuses to recognise that the voluntary unity of the peoples of the archipelago, which came out of the struggle against Dutch colonialism, was undermined by the New Order regime. Nor can it be settled as long as Jakarta continues to militarily repress the Acehnese people's demand for a referendum to decide whether they want to remain within Indonesia or not.

[A version of this article appeared in the opinion section of the Jakarta Post on June 18.]

Aceh refugees suffer health problems in crowded camps

Agence France Presse - June 18, 2003

Acehnese refugees forced into camps to escape fighting between Indonesian troops and separatist rebels are suffering health problems due to overcrowding and lack of clean water.

Almost 41,000 people have been moved into the tented camps, sometimes against their will, during the first month of a major offensive to crush the Free Aceh Movement.

"We do not have what in medical terms we would refer to as outbreaks but we have begun to register numerous cases of respiratory problems, skin problems and to a limited extent, diarrhoea," said Media Yulizar of the Aceh health office.

Yulizar, who gave no figures, blamed a very limited clean water supply and packed conditions.

Yulizar said Wednesday that her office had begun conducting regular anti-mosquito spraying in some camps and immunisation programs for younger children. "The latest figure we have is 40,919 refugees sheltered in camps in nine districts," said Burhanuddin, spokesman for the province's social affairs office.

Like many Indonesians, Burhanuddin has just one name. He said more than 16,500 are in Bireuen district, a rebel stronghold, and 10,000 others in South Aceh district.

Burhanuddin said his office is providing rice, noodles, dried fish, cooking oil, canned food, sugar and milk for children and infants as well as tents. Provision of clean water was the responsibility of another office and the local authorities.

Last Friday the military and police moved some 10,000 people from their homes in Jeuli district, just south of Bireuen town, before launching an artillery barrage on a suspected rebel base. The evacuees, some carrying clothes and bedding, were taken to Cot Gapu village east of Bireuen where tents had been prepared on a football field.

"The problem of water for drinking, cooking and washing in Cot Gapu camp is very serious," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report Monday.

"Sanitation problems resulting from the lack of clean water are mounting in the camp." The UN office said refugees also complained of meagre rations, with rice and some noodles or fish the only items available at the time. It said children were suffering from the intense heat in the open or inside crowded tents.

Many refugees at Cot Gapu have demanded to be allowed to return home, the state Antara news agency said.

Refugees said water has become a luxury, including water for ritual ablutions before the five daily Muslim prayers. Antara said there are only 20 lavatories for some 10,000 refugees.

"We wish to go home soon. Nobody is tending our cattle and it would be difficult to resume business after being away for so long. Most of us are small farmers," Antara quoted one refugee there as saying.

Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday the number of refugees is expected to rise to 100,000. He said he had ordered local officials "to take good care of the refugees ... to anticipate new humanitarian problems."

Military operation spokesman Yani Basuki, quoted by the Jakarta Post, said the refugees could only leave for their villages once security had been restored. Basuki, who could not be immediately reached for comment, said moving people out of villages was part of efforts to avoid civilian casualties.

GAM has been fighting since 1976 for independence for the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. More than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since then.

Acehnese tell of forced evacuations

Jakarta Post - June 19, 2003

Pidie/Jakarta -- While in most parts of Aceh people seek shelter to get away from the frequent gunfights between government troops and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) fighters, hundreds of residents in Pidie have been displaced following a military search for rebels.

Muara Tiga district chief Asiah said on Wednesday over 360 local people had been hiding in the forest of a nearby hill for the last four days to escape the military sweeps. "They are trapped in a GAM area and their fate remains uncertain so far," Asiah said.

He said most of refugees in the district had been evacuated to Keuneree Sigli field, which is now home to nearly 1,800 people from Batee, Ingin Jaya, Tuha Biheue and Papeen subdistricts.

Some of the refugees said they were told by security officers to abandon their homes to enable the troops to search for rebels.

"I was told to take refuge and I did that," Sapiah told The Jakarta Post, She did not bring any furniture or appliances, food or clothes with her as she had to leave the village immediately.

"I didn't even know that I would be here," Sapiah said.

Another in the same situation as Sapiah was Murni, 35, from Batee village, who admitted to having been forced to leave the village.

Murni said she and her neighbors were taken away in military trucks.

There are around 40,000 refugees across the province since the operation to quell rebellion in the natural resource-rich province began in earnest in late May. Most of the refugees are in Bireuen regency.

While refugees in Bireuen languish in harsh conditions, others in the regency of East Aceh sleep on their own mattresses, enjoy electricity and may watch television, evidence that the distribution of humanitarian aid during the ongoing war in Aceh has so far been uneven.

About 2,060 people or 400 families from three districts in East Aceh set up camp at a unused field in the village of Birem Raye in Rantau Selamet district on June 9. The camp boasted four wooden barracks for women and children, three tents with wooden floors for the males, and three more that served as schools. Many refugees brought along their mattresses and the electricity was working. Fans keep them cool, while lamps, radios and television sets added to their convenience.

One of the refugees, Hasballah from the village of Alue Kool in the Rantau Selamet district, said they fled their homes because groups of armed men had terrorized them at nights. The groups, he said, also collected the villagers' ID cards, in a practice authorities have blamed on the rebels. Rebels allegedly collect the ID cards from the civilians to make it harder for the authorities to identify them.

Despite claims that the humanitarian operation had proceeded smoothly along with the military operation, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla said on Wednesday that the government was unprepared for the amount of people seeking shelter in camps built by the local administration.

Refugees in the Cot Gapo camp in Bireuen complained about diseases resulting from the lack of sanitary facilities and clean water.

Kalla said that he government had delivered 20 more water truck containers to the regency from Medan, and another 15 containers would follow. The government has allocated Rp 400 billion for its humanitarian mission in Aceh. Rights groups have said the military operation had triggered a humanitarian crisis and a surge in rights abuses against Acehnese, with little done so far to address those concerns.

Meanwhile, in what will likely test the government's resolve to strengthen law and order in Aceh, a police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officer has been detained on charges of raping a 15-year-old girl.

The student from the Gelanggang Tengah village in Jeumpa district said she was raped on her way home from school in the Bireuen regency by the Brimob officer who was guarding a post along the regency's main road connecting the province's capital Banda Aceh with the North Sumatra capital of Medan.

Indonesia limits, but does not ban, access to province

Sydney Morning Herald - June 19, 2003

Matthew Moore -- The Indonesian Government has issued new rules restricting access by foreigners to Aceh, but has not imposed a feared complete ban.

Under the terms of the decree by President Megawati Soekarnoputri released late on Tuesday, foreign and Indonesian aid organisations will be able to function in the province -- which is under martial law -- although they will be required to co- ordinate with the Ministry for People's Welfare in Jakarta.

Foreign journalists based in Indonesia will be allowed to visit Aceh, but must first apply to the Department of Foreign Affairs and have their applications approved by a government committee.

The decree says foreign journalists can do their work "selectively" in Aceh after they obtain permission from the Foreign Minister to visit the province on Sumatra's north-western tip.

The department's Director for Information and Media Services, Wahid Supriyadi, said details of the new restrictions on journalists were still being worked out, but would include bans on going to certain areas within Aceh.

He believed such bans would apply to Indonesian as well as foreign journalists, and that all journalists would be required to abide by a three-page set of rules on reporting from Aceh.

Journalists will also be required to sign a statement that they alone are responsible for their own safety when in Aceh, Mr Wahid said.

The chief of the United Nations Office of Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Indonesia, Michael Elmquist, said the decree would permit aid bodies to distribute assistance directly to Acehnese suffering in the military operations. "I don't see foreign humanitarian assistance has to go through the Government. Hopefully it leaves the door open to deliver assistance directly," he said.

Last week Indonesia's top security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said all foreigners were likely to be banned from Aceh. This caused concern among aid groups and some Western diplomats, who felt that if all foreigners were forced out of Aceh it would be very difficult to ensure aid flowed to victims of the military operation, now in its fifth week.

Commander of Acehnese rebel group surrenders

Jakarta Post - June 19, 2003

Meulaboh (Antara) -- A commander of Aceh's separatist movement has surrendered to the Indonesian military, reportedly disillusioned by the rebel group's extortion and kidnapping activities, a military officer said here Thursday.

Darman alias Maman, 25, surrendered last Tuesday in Woyla subdistrict in western Aceh. "He surrendered on his own," spokesman of the Teuku Umar Regional Military Command Maj. Bakti Djamaluddin said.

According to Darman, he surrendered because he no longer agreed with the movement's activities, which only made people's lives miserable, Bakti said. He further quoted Darman as saying that the movement's struggle was no longer justified as it was "more for personal interest and for enriching themselves".

The rebel also called on his friends to surrender. Darman, who surrendered his AK-47, is in the custody of West Aceh Police for further questioning.

At least 80 rebels have surrendered to security authorities in West and South Aceh since martial law was declared in Aceh last May 19.

Aceh has been put under martial law as part of the Indonesian overnment's efforts to crush the separatist movement and end the decades-long bloodshed in the country's westernmost province.

Almost 200 bodies found in Indonesia's Aceh-Red Cross

Reuters - June 18, 2003

Banda Aceh -- Indonesian Red Cross workers have removed 194 bodies from conflict zones in the western province of Aceh since a military offensive against rebels there began last month, the Red Cross said on Wednesday.

Separately, residents found the tied-up body of a state television employee who had been missing for weeks in a river near the local capital of Banda Aceh late on Tuesday. The military says that as of Tuesday at least 242 people have been killed in Aceh, including 216 rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and 26 members of the security forces.

It did not mention civilian deaths in its latest count but had previously said at least five civilians had been killed. Rebel sources say scores of civilians and hundreds of government troops have been killed.

The Red Cross statement did not comment on how many of the bodies it had removed were believed to be of rebels or of civilians, nor on who was believed to have killed them. Such an investigation is not its job, it says. The military says it is doing its best to avoid civilian deaths and human rights violations.

Found dead

In Banda Aceh, military spokesman Firdaus Komarno told Reuters that on Tuesday night locals found the body of TVRI production staff member M. Jamal, who had been missing for almost a month.

"He had been missing since the first days of martial law. We don't know who made him disappear. Some reports have said GAM took him and others have blamed the security forces. What's clear is that he was found dead in a river last night," he said.

Witnesses said Jamal's body was already decomposed when discovered and his eyes and mouth were covered by duct tape. They also said his hands were tied with nylon cord and a noose connected to a boulder was fastened around his neck.

The military says there is no systematic campaign of abuse and that individual cases reported to it are investigated and the guilty punished. Last week, Indonesia's semi-independent human rights commission said there were strong indications civilians had been deliberately targeted in extra-judicial killings. But an investigation by the commission of some of those charges has yet to start, although a commission member in Jakarta said a field investigation team might be sent next Wednesday.

The military offensive in Aceh began on May 19 after talks between Jakarta and the rebels collapsed. The rebels have held out for independence instead of the special autonomy Jakarta was willing to offer to the oil and gas rich province.

Resource-rich Aceh is one of two major separatist hot spots in Indonesia's sprawling archipelago. The other is in Papua at the eastern end of the country.

US reporter fears Indonesian army

Associated Press - June 18, 2003

Michael Casey, Jakarta, Indonesia -- An American journalist on the run with rebels in Aceh province said Wednesday that Indonesia's military wants to detain him on trumped-up charges and possibly shoot him.

Freelance journalist William Nessen defied a military order to surrender to the army by June 14, saying he first needs assurances he will not be jailed.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has urged President Megawati Sukarnoputri to help Nessen leave Aceh safely.

The US Embassy also has appealed to the government to give him safe passage.

Nessen is one of the last foreign journalists in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra, where the government launched a military offensive May 19 to crush the separatist Free Aceh Movement. More than 300 people have died in the fighting. "I'm a journalist trying to get a story and I've done nothing wrong," Nessen said by telephone from Aceh.

"They have threatened me. They've called me a dog. I've heard the local commanders would love to shoot me. I believe I'm in some danger," he said. Military officials have said they would not harm Nessen but want to question him about his activities with the rebels.

The 46-year-old New York City native, whose wife is Achenese, said he had planned to stay a few weeks when he arrived in Aceh on May 12.

Soldiers fired at him when he tried to cross into a government- controlled area with refugees this month, he said. He has stayed with villagers since then.

Aceh's rebels have been fighting for independence in the oil- and gas-rich province since 1976.

Human rights monitors under pressure to leave Aceh

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2003

Jakarta -- Most of the human rights workers in Aceh feel threatened with arbitrary arrest if they try to continue working in war-torn Aceh as the martial law administration in the province has alleged that they are involved with armed separatists.

Several have already fled to other cities outside the province, including Jakarta, to seek protection. "Many activists from Aceh, including some of our volunteers, have already moved here as their safety in Aceh has been under threat," said Usman Hamid, the chairman of the Commission for Victims of Violence and Missing Persons (Kontras).

The military administration, he said, could arbitrarily "pick up the activists", similar to the military operation since 1989 to 1998 with many of the same people.

Some human rights monitors in Aceh told The Jakarta Post earlier that the military administration had targeted them as soon as their campaign to uproot the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) began.

The troops would raid the offices of human rights oriented nongovernmental organizations and detain the activists without evidence of a crime, said one of the activists on Tuesday. "During the detention, they were often assaulted by the officers and threatened in a bid to make them plead guilty to something," the activist added.

Lawyers are also barred from accompanying any of the monitors during questioning, a part of legal process which is required by the Criminal Code Procedure.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) ad hoc team to monitor the military operation in Aceh, which has conducted preliminary investigations over possible rights violations in the province, confirmed that there had been arbitrary arrests of activists and that they had the right to be accompanied by lawyers during interrogation by the military.

Worse, lawyers are also being intimidated by military officers. "I came to Aceh to meet and represent my client, Cut Nur Asikin, who requested my assistance. But military officers there told me that the martial law ruler would not permit me. Later in the day, a team of officers raided my hotel room," said lawyer Johnson Panjaitan, who is also the deputy chairman of the Indonesia Legal Aid and Human Rights Institute (PBHI).

Johnson lost some documents during the raid which was launched "to seek banned drugs and marijuana", last month. Cut is a leader of a nongovernmental organization in Aceh which deals with women's issues. Police charged her with being the leader of Inong Balee, GAM's female military wing.

At least 10 known activists have chosen to seek protection in Jakarta. Unfortunately, Jakarta is not free from intimidation either, particularly for those who happen to be Acehnese. "Our colleagues from Aceh must stay in different locations here as their neighborhood unit leaders often question them. Even their relatives feel afraid of making contact with them," said Usman, adding that Kontras was frequently threatened by unidentified parties.

Last month, the Kontras office in Jakarta was attacked by an organized mob of 100 staunch nationalists who condemned the institution for criticizing the government's actions in Aceh.

Separately, City Governor Sutiyoso called on Jakartans to stay alert for "possible terrorist acts by GAM members" against public places and vital assets in the city. "Please, keep vigilant as GAM members here may have prepared an attack or may sabotage key areas in the capital where we let our guard down," Sutiyoso told The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday.

Sutiyoso claimed that GAM members might have already infiltrated the area disguised as refugees who have recently come from the province.

Sutiyoso added that he had not instructed his subordinates to target Acehnese people here. "There is no such policy. But there might be some technical problems in the field," he explained.

Mega-Hamzah photos crossed out at demo, two arrested

Detik.com - June 19, 2003

Arif Shodiq Pujiharto, Jakarta -- They were intending to hold an action opposing violence against civilians in Aceh. But because they carried pictures of President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice-president Hamzah Haz which had been crossed out, two demonstrators were arrested by police.

According to information compiled by Detik.com, the demonstrations were from the Action Study Circle for Indonesian Democracy (Lingkar Studi Aksi untuk Demokrasi Indonesia, LSADI). There were around 50 demonstrators in total. At the action which was held in front of the presidential palace on Thursday, they protested against the violence being experienced by civilians in Aceh. They also called on the government to take concrete political and economic steps [to improve the situation] in Aceh. As well as holding speeches, the demonstrators also carried to biers and posters of Mega-Hamzah which had been crossed out.

However the LSADI action did not continue for long. Only around 30 minutes after the speeches were given, police broke up the demonstration. The two demonstrators carrying the poster of Mega-Hamzah were arrested at taken to the Central Jakarta police station. (djo)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

West Papua

Police seize 105 arms in Papua raids

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2003

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura -- Indonesian security forces are claiming initial success on the front lines of its second war against separatists in Indonesia, Papua, but warn the worst it yet to come.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police launched operations against separatist groups in the resource-rich province after the poorly armed Free Papua Movement (OPM) were accused of raiding an arsenal belonging to the TNI on April 5.

Papua Police Sr. Comr. Daud Sihombing said the operations were the first part of what would be a prolonged government campaign to crush the separatists, after it had dealt with separatists in Aceh.

He called on the OPM rebels to lay down their arms and for others to give up their political campaigns before the planned military offensive.

Daud said police had so far confiscated 105 guns, more than 440 rounds of ammunition and four hand grenades from alleged rebels since it launched its operation on July 7. A large number of traditional weapons such as arrows, spears and machetes had also been confiscated from alleged separatists, he said. He was not asked about the fate of those arrested.

Daud warned that the full attention of the TNI and police would soon focus on Papua. He said the ongoing operation was to improve the rebel's, political campaigner's and the general population's awareness that Indonesia was a unitary state. He said the preliminary operation was persuasive in its nature "because we want rebels to lay down their arms and come back to their home villages to develop their futures and the province and accept Indonesia's sovereignty over the province." Daud conceded that a number of separatists had surrendered and were in police custody. He declined to identify them "for their safety". He said the government would grant amnesty to rebels and civilians who voluntarily gave up their arms and returned home from their hiding places in the dense jungles in the province.

"We will give amnesty to those who voluntarily give up their arms and they will not be brought to justice because the operation is aimed at improving their nationalism and patriotism," he said.

"We hope in the next three weeks that more and more rebels and supporters of the separatist movement will surrender and return to their daily activities to develop their futures." The TNI have also launched an operation in Papua.

Dozens of people, including civilians, have been killed during the operation, which has involved soldiers from the Army's elite Special Forces (Kopassus) and Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad).

Most of the arms and ammunition stolen from the Army has already been recovered. However, the Army itself has been implicated of involvement in the raid.

Religious leaders and human rights organizations have demanded an independent investigation into alleged human rights abuses that continue to take place during the operation.

The military leadership has again warned Papuan political movements against lobbying the international community for support in their fight for independence.

The military is believed to be behind the government's policy to split Papua into three provinces in an attempt to weaken the separatist movement. The move has been met with opposition from parts of the Papuan people and religious leaders, who say the government should focus on implementing special autonomy to win the hearts of the people.

Special autonomy would allow Papuans to a greater share of their resources and more say in handling their day-to-day affairs.

Papua governor Jaap Salossa and Papuan religious leaders were in Jakarta over the weekend to ask the government to delay the planned military offensive and to disburse the special autonomy funds worth Rp 1.3 trillion (US$15.8 million) to finance development projects in the 2003 fiscal year.

Jakarta urged to win hearts of Papuan people

Jakarta Post - June 17, 2003

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The central government should intensify its communication with the international community and win the hearts of Papuan people, instead of employing a military approach, to crush the Free Papua Movement (OPM), according to community and religious leaders in Papua.

Papuan Governor Jaap Solossa said that the government should counter OPM's struggle for independence through political and cultural means with intensive actions to win support from countries who are influential in international fora.

According to him, a defensive approach and military offensive will not be effective in crushing the underground independence movement because like Aceh, the core problem in the Papua is injustice, human rights abuses and unfair treatment and not the armed rebellion.

"Besides, the government should also be consistent in its implementation of the special autonomy to win the hearts of the people so that they will no longer support the separatist movement. The more human rights abuses and injustices that occur the more the people will suffer and the more they will support the separatist movement," he said after a meeting with Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the latter's office here on Saturday.

Also accompanying Solossa in the meeting were leaders of religious groups in Papua and former Papuan governors Barnabas Suebu and Izaac Hindom.

He declined to reveal details about the meeting but according to credible sources, the Papuan delegation met Susilo in line with the government's planned military offensive in Papua following the ongoing one in Aceh.

When asked whether the government had changed its mind on the planned military operation in Papua, the governor said: "No... there is no such plan [to launch military operation in Papua]."

He, nevertheless, was quick to add: "The meeting, of course, focused strongly on the government's plan to pay more attention to end the secessionist movements in Aceh and Papua, as well as terrorism issues and security matters prior to the 2004 general election." The military leadership has warned against OPM's intensive lobbying with international non-governmental organizations and developed countries to win their support for the province's separation from Indonesia.

Solossa regretted that the government has not disbursed the special autonomy funds worth Rp 1.3 trillion (US$158.5 million) in the fiscal year 2003. The funds should have been disbursed in March.

Almost all development projects that have been approved and completed this fiscal year could not be carried out because of the delay, he said. "We do need the funds to finance development projects and the government should show its goodwill to encourage progress under the autonomy era in the province to win the hearts of the Papuan people. The government should foster the Papuan people's dignity."

Solossa also questioned the suspension of the establishment of the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) which has a vital political function in determining the development policy and the future of the country's easternmost province. He said Papua and the central government have been at odds over the MRP since the latter did not want the highest Papuan law-making body to have any political authority.

He said neither side discussed the planned development of Papua into three provinces, a move Papuan religious leaders have opposed. The military has been behind the government's move in its attempt to weaken the separatist movement.

However, the military has been strongly criticized for rampant human rights abuses over the last three years, ranging from the murder of proindependence Papuan figure Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluway to the recent killing of dozens of civilians in a hunt for rebels in Timika, Jayawijaya regency.

Two separatist rebels wounded in clash in Papua

Agence France Presse - June 16, 2003

Jakarta -- Two separatist guerrillas were wounded when an Indonesian military patrol clashed with rebels in Papua province on Tuesday, the military said.

The clash occurred in Sarmi district on the north coast some 150 miles west of the provincial capital Jayapura. It broke out around 6am when a patrol encountered 10 people carrying one firearm, bows and arrows and machetes, said district military commander Colonel Agus Mulyadi.

Agus said the firearm was confiscated along with bullets and some documents of the separatist Free Papua Movement. He said the men belong to a splinter group led by Adam Uduas.

The Free Papua Movement, a poorly armed outfit, has waged a sporadic low-level armed revolt since Dutch colonisers ceded control of the resource-rich territory to Indonesia in 1963.

Labour issues

She was promised a job, but was forced into prostitution

Straits Times - June 20, 2003

Robert Go, Jakarta -- The harrowing tale of a Madurese woman who escaped from a brothel in Batam is throwing the spotlight yet again on the thousands of Indonesian women who go for lucrative job offers, but end up as prostitutes.

Ms Nurul Hafifah, 22, had been leading a harsh life, following the death of her parents who were killed by Dayak tribesmen in central Kalimantan two years ago.

So when a calo -- or middleman -- offered her a job in a factory in Singapore, she jumped at the offer. She forked out over four million rupiah required by the agent to process her papers, and left for Batam, where she thought she would be trained for her new job.

But her nightmare began upon arrival in Batam. She was taken to an entertainment complex featuring a restaurant, a discotheque and numerous private cubicles -- and forced to "serve" clients day and night.

She said: "At first I refused to sleep with them, but they withheld food and water from me and I broke down after a week. On average, I slept with eight men a day." The sex was always unprotected, often rough, and sometimes beatings and verbal abuse from clients -- mostly Singaporean, Korean and Japanese men -- served as foreplay.

Unfortunately, according to Indonesian activists, Ms Nurul is just one of thousands of Indonesian women who have grabbed at lucrative job offers in recent years but ended up sold into prostitution at home and abroad.

The main reason for this situation is the country's struggling economy and harsh living conditions for the majority of its people. Around 40 million people in Indonesia are unemployed.

Mr Wahyu Susilo, who runs the Consortium for Indonesian Migrant Workers Advocacy (Kopbumi), said: "We're seeing more cases like this. People are getting more desperate. Life is more difficult in their home regions, and unscrupulous agents take advantage of this by selling women into prostitution." He estimates that there are as many as 50,000 Indonesian women working in the sex industry in Malaysia alone, most working against their will.

In Batam, a golfing playground by day and a sex haven by night for many foreign men, the government's own statistics suggest there are as many as 20,000 sex workers. The Middle East, and Saudi Arabia in particular, is another destination for agents' cargoes of women, with around 10,000 to 15,000 currently working there. Non-governmental organisations said as many as 10 per cent are aged under 18.

Another contributing factor is the lack of government protection for women. Mr Wahyu said: "The women are under-educated and easily lured by job offers as household maids or factory workers. When in fact they're thrown into the sex industry, they find themselves with little protection from the government." Indonesia does not classify human trafficking as a crime, and other experts suggest government officials may be directly involved in the trade or turn a blind eye to it.

Ms Nurul, as it turns out, could be one of the lucky ones. She fled her brothel after seven months and found refuge with activist groups who are now lobbying the government to address the problem.

She said: "I'm horribly embarrassed by what happened, but I'm willing to tell this story to keep other women from falling into the same trap."

Detectives detained for allegedly torturing workers

Jakarta Post - June 16, 2003

Ainur R. Sophiaan, Surabaya -- The efforts of the police force to boost its image hit another snag when four members of East Java Police were detained for allegedly abducting and torturing three workers of housewares manufacturing company PT Maspion.

The four officers, Second Insp. Visto Arif Pramana, First Brig. Sunari, Brig. Untoro and Brig. Ali, are being detained at by the provincial police for investigation. All of them are detectives who were assigned to investigate theft at the company.

"We arrested them and are trying to find out their motives," East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Heru Susanto said here on Sunday. Investigators have questioned the officers one by one, but intend to quiz them altogether to cross-check.

The three workers were identified as Sriyono, Rudi Yulianto and Ikwantoro. They were reportedly kidnapped on June 4, while on their way home from the factory. An Isuzu Panther van stopped and four men, who turned out to be the detectives, forced them into the van. The three were allegedly beaten inside the van after they refused to confess they had stolen merchandise from the company.

The three workers have maintained their innocence. They were dropped off near the factory near the Surabaya Grand Mosque.

The three workers quickly reported the incident to the police. Heru asserted that the police officers had stepped beyond their authority and did not act on behalf of the police force. He said he could not identify the violation committed by the detectives as the investigation was still under way.

The four policemen could be brought to justice on charges of either indiscipline or committing a crime. Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Sad Harunantyo, meanwhile, asked the press not to blow the incident out of proportion and compare it to the case of Marsinah, a female labor leader who was murdered after leading a protest in 1992.

Earlier on Friday, chairman of the Monitoring Team for Victims of Abduction (TPKP) Ismail Syarif demanded a hearing with the police chief in connection with the case, but to no avail. "We will report this case to Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea," Ismail said, adding that he regretted that the police chief failed to meet him to explain the incident. He said he was afraid the case would draw the attention of the international community.

'War on terrorism'

Bali suspect says police threatened him to incriminate Bashir

Agence France Presse - June 19, 2003

A key Bali bombing suspect said that Indonesian police threatened him with torture to try to make him incriminate elderly cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

Amrozi was giving evidence Thursday at the trial of Bashir, who is alleged to lead the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terror network.

Shouts of "Allahu Akbar!" (God is greatest) from Bashir's supporters greeted Amrozi as he arrived in court after being flown from the resort island of Bali under heavy guard.

Prosecutors are attempting to prove that Bashir, 64, heads JI and that he tried to topple the Indonesian government through a terror campaign -- a charge punishable by 20 years' jail.

While Bashir himself is not linked to the Bali nightspot blasts which killed 202 people last October, police say it was a JI operation. Amrozi, currently on trial in Bali, has admitted his own part in the plot to bomb "dens of vice".

Amrozi told the Jakarta trial he had fabricated a statement to police in which he said he had heard a sermon from Bashir on "faith and the essence of religion" while he was in Malaysia between 1996-98.

Asked why he made up the statement, Amrozi said: "I have seen my elder brother [Mukhlas] being tortured ... the interrogators warned me, 'Be careful, if you do not mention Abu Bakar Bashir you will be even worse." Amrozi added: "Interrogators said that this [testimony] should be orientated towards that elderly man [Bashir]." The hearing was continuing.

As part of Bashir's alleged terror campaign, prosecutors accuse him of authorising the Christmas Eve bombings of Indonesian churches in 2000 that killed 19 people. He is also accused of plotting to bomb American interests in Singapore, a plot that was foiled with the arrest of 13 JI suspects.

Bashir, 64, denies links to terrorism as US and Jewish inventions and says JI does not even exist. Prosecutors have previously summoned a number of witnesses, including Mukhlas and three other Bali suspects, to tell what they know about Bashir.

None have implicated Bashir in bombings or linked him definitively to JI, although two said they had either believed or had been told he was the network's leader. Mukhlas, who is said by police to be JI's operations chief, made no mention in his testimony last month of having been tortured by police.

Government & politics

2004 elections will not change the quality of the nation

Kompas - June 20, 2003

Bandung -- Political analyst from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), J. Kristiadi, says that the national political situation following the 2004 elections will not produce in any changes to the quality of the country.

This is because there is still a prevalence of oligarchical politics in the formulation of the laws on the general elections and the election of the president. Oligarchical politics are reflected in the political compromises made by the opportunist among the political elite.

Kristiadi raised this issue in a seminar on the theme of "Intellectual and Democratic Crisis in Indonesia" in Bandung, West Java on Thursday. The seminar also presented philosophical experts Franz Magnis-Suseno, Hilmar Farid, and Deliar Noer.

According to Kristiadi, the compromises by the political elite tend to be made in order to safeguard the interests of the political parties. "These kinds of laws will only produce a new political elite which will not care about, let alone side with the concerns and interests of the majority of people", he said.

He explained that the process of political transformation from authoritarianism to democracy has fallen into the pitfall of becoming an oligarchical system both in the political parties as well as institutions such as parliament.

[The view that] there will be no change in the national political order after the 2004 elections was also taken up by Franz Magnis-Suseno. The reason, because the political parties are not yet independent. This is indicated by the large number of disputes within political parties and the lack of clarity in their programs. (b05)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

MPs criticise Jakarta for buying pricey Russian jets

Straits Times - June 19, 2003

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- The Indonesian government has come under fire from parliament for allegedly misusing the state budget funds and violating laws and procedures in the recent purchase of Russian jet fighters and military helicopters.

Some MPs, including some vocal members of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle, have started circulating a petition that seeks the setting up of a parliamentary investigation committee to probe the purchase of two SU-27 and two SU-30 fighters, and two MI-35 helicopters.

The latest controversy may pose yet another challenge to Ms Megawati's presidency as she prepares to seek re-election next year.

The parliamentarians are waiting for a hearing with two ministers involved in the deals, Industry and Trade Minister Rini Suwandi and Finance Minister Boediono, before making the next move.

The plan to buy military supplies from Eastern European countries to replace the Indonesian military's (TNI) obsolete equipment caused by the 12-year US military embargo has been in circulation for the past few years.

Yet many were surprised when President Megawati formalised the procurement with Russia during her whirlwind weapons window shopping trip in April. Many people, including her own Cabinet members, could not see how Indonesia could pay for the purchases.

Jakarta will pay US$77.57 million this year and US$114.63 million next year for the aircraft. Under the agreement signed by Mr Rini, a 13-per-cent downpayment will be paid by the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), and the rest will be settled through countertrade of 11 commodities, including oil and rubber.

It was recently revealed in documents that Coordinating Minister for Economics Dorodjatun Kuncorojakti, Finance Minister Boediono and State Minister for National Development Planning Kwik Kian Gie had tried to persuade the President to delay the plan to buy the aircraft.

Bulog, which is in charge of stabilising prices of domestic agricultural products, was already at the centre of two previous high-profile graft cases, including one that led to the downfall of former president Abdurrahman Wahid.

For the current deal, Bulog had to borrow about US$26 million from its partner bank, the state-owned Bank Umum Koperasi Indonesia (Bukopin), for the downpayment. Parliamentarians opposed to the deal argued that it violates defence law, budgetary law and banking regulations.

Normally, a proposal to buy military equipment is submitted to the military chief by either the chief of the army, the air force or the navy. The military chief then hands the proposal over to the defence minister, who will later discuss it with the House. But the procedure was not followed for the aircraft deal.

The banking legal limit was also violated by Bukopin because of the sums involved. Furthermore, there had been indication of mark-ups in the project, some parliamentarians said.

Legislator Djoko Susilo of the Reforms Faction said: "The noble idea to replace our military supplies has been diverted to short-term interests. The violation of various laws and regulations, of ministerial authority and indications of graft showed the potential loss of a large amount of money for the country."

Media/press freedom

Protests mount over the killing of 'TVRI' cameraman

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2003

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Press defenders voiced strong protests over the killing of Banda Aceh-based TVRI cameraman Jamaluddin, 30, saying that the Aceh martial law administration should protect journalists, instead of restricting news seekers from covering the ongoing war in the troubled province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Press Council chairman Atmakusumah Astraatmadja called on the police to hold a thorough investigation into the killing and disclose the results of who should be held responsible for the murder, whether they be government troops or Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

"Jamaluddin's murder remains unclear. Why he had to face this fate ... Some allege that he was involved in the secessionist movement by collecting money from locals. Is that true? The police must answer these questions," Atmakusumah told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Jamaluddin was found dead last Tuesday at Kreung Cut village, Darussalam district, Banda Aceh, after being missing for a month.

Jamaluddin was the first journalist killed in Aceh since the government declared martial law in the oil-rich province on May 19 to crush rebel who have been fighting for independence since 1976. Rights activists estimate that over 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed, kidnapped or tortured since then.

"Reporting from Aceh has put journalists at risk. But the restrictions imposed by the military authorities as well as the lack of protection for journalists have added to the problems they face," Atmakusumah said.

"If journalists are in danger while doing their job, I can only hope that rights activists, including the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), will be able to control what's going on there," he added. A similar protest was also voiced by the Indonesian Journalists Alliance (AJI).

AJI urged the security authorities to investigate the death of Jamaluddin considering that Jamaluddin as well as his fellow journalists had been the targets of violence in Aceh.

In a letter addressed to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, a copy of which was made available to the Post on Friday, the AJI also disclosed cases that showed how journalists have been intimidated and prevented from doing their work.

Such restrictions include an obligation for news seekers to disclose sources to the military despite the journalist's code of ethics, which requires a journalist to protect his sources. Journalists are also required to make documents obtained in the province available to the military Earlier, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said he had ordered the Aceh martial law administrator to conduct a thorough investigation into the death of Jamaluddin.

'Restricting foreign journalists counterproductive'

Jakarta Post - June 19, 2003

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The government's restrictive policy on the presence of foreign journalists in covering the military offensive in Aceh could disrupt its own efforts to wage a clean war in the violence-torn province, says a press observer.

"Such a policy could be counterproductive as the government is also seeking international support for its fight against the armed rebellion," Press Council deputy chairman Leo Batubara said here on Wednesday.

He argued that the presence of foreign journalists in Aceh was needed to oversee the implementation of martial law and to disseminate accurate information on it in an attempt to win support from the international community.

With the presence of foreign journalists in Aceh, Indonesia could show the international community its strong commitment to repairing its poor record on human rights during the military operation from 1989 through 1998, he said.

"If the war is really clean, why should journalists be restricted in covering the military offensive there? Logically, people would then think that we were hiding something," Leo remarked.

He urged the government to ensure the freedom of the press and allow local and foreign journalists to cover the operation and produce balanced reports on the war. According to Leo, despite the emergency law justifying the imposition of martial law, the government should no longer regulate how the media should cover the war as this law was out of date.

Law No. 23/1959 on emergencies allows the authorities to restrict journalists in carrying out their work in areas where a state of emergency has been imposed.

Atika Schubert, a journalist with US-based CNN, hoped that the requirements imposed by the government on foreign journalists in Aceh would not disrupt their freedom to carry out their journalistic duties.

"We have yet to get more information ... but the requirement for a surat jalan (accreditation) for foreign journalists. Obviously, we oppose any threats to press freedom," said Atika, who also chairs the foreign correspondents' club in Jakarta.

She believed that it would be another setback for Indonesia if the government imposed regulations limiting the freedom of journalists to do their jobs, including investigating controversies and interviewing locals.

Last month, a report quoting eyewitnesses claiming civilian murders irked the military. They threatened to take legal action against any newspapers that ran the story.

M. Wahid Supriyadi, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, said on Wednesday that his office had yet to issue the procedures required on the part of foreign journalists for covering the military operation as foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda was currently in Phonm Penh, Cambodia. "But basically it is the same as the presidential decree [on the issue], expect for some adjustments," he said.

Wahid said that journalists and correspondents with foreign media, be they Indonesians or foreigners, must comply with the regulation. All journalists, he said, must be recommended by the foreign ministry, must report to the martial law administration and must obey the "rules of the game".

Wahid earlier said that a permit from the foreign ministry for a foreign journalist would be valid for 30 days, and could be extended for another 30 days. The new regulation has been effective since Tuesday.

Journalist dismissed after Aceh interview

Jakarta Post - June 16, 2003

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- A journalist-producer with SCTV television station has claimed he was dismissed due to an interview he did with a victim of a past military operation in Aceh to make the Indonesian Military (TNI) consider civilian victims during its current operation to crush Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Dandhy Dwi Leksono, formerly a producer before he was told to leave the TV station on Saturday, said his dismissal came after a high-ranking TNI officer protested to SCTV about the interview.

The interview was part of the Dialog Khusus (Special Dialog) program aired on May 21, which also featured martial law administrator in Aceh Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya and religious Acehnese figure Imam Sudja'. There had been no objection when he proposed the program, Dhandhy said.

He said his story on the life of an Acehnese poet, whose work promotes peace and respect for civilian life, was later banned by the TV station.

He said he had been informed by a senior manager that he was to be accepted as a permanent employee on May 25, but later was told that his contract was terminated. His six-month contract should have ended on May 24.

However, R. Nurjaman, SCTV senior manager in charge of processing who supervises all producers, denied Dandhy's claim.

"It was not a dismissal, Dandhy was never promoted to permanent employee. His six-month contract was not extended after we appraised him. It's nothing to do with his Aceh story," Nurjaman said.

Dandhy's case came amid restrictions on journalists covering the war in Aceh from presenting balanced reports. The martial law administrator has ordered local media not to print or air statements from the rebels.

The government has also appealed to national media to support the operation in Aceh and has promoted what it calls "patriotic journalism".

Commenting on Dhandhy's case, media analyst Agus Sudibyo called on the media to maintain the principle of covering both sides. He criticized media that leaned on the TNI for safety when covering the war.

"We have learned from history that we can't just trust the TNI due to its poor record," he said. Under the current situation, he suggested that coverage be focused on victims of the war.

Journalist: I was fired over torture report

Straits Times - June 18, 2003

Robert Go, Jakarta -- An Indonesian journalist has declared himself to be the first victim of the authorities' efforts to clamp down on negative reporting -- in particular, the coverage of atrocities allegedly committed by soldiers against civilians -- coming out of the troubled province of Aceh.

Mr Dhandy Dwi Laksono says he got booted from his producer- reporter job at television station SCTV last Friday because he challenged the government's assertions that its soldiers did not mistreat civilians.

According to complaints he filed with the Indonesian Journalists' Association, the military took offence at SCTV's May 21 Special Dialogue featuring his interview with an anonymous Acehnese man who claimed he was tortured by soldiers.

The station's management and shareholders, Mr Dhandy said, received threatening messages from military officials demanding that such reports be censored. The authorities on Monday denied having pressured SCTV to act in this case.

The station's public relations manager, Mr Budi Dharmawan, said SCTV gets complaints all the time but its dismissal of Mr Dhandy was due to his failure to pass a six-month probationary period which ended on May 24.

But the journalist countered that he was promoted to the Special Dialogue programme after working on regular news programmes. He said a senior member of the staff had informed him on May 25 that the station would retain his services indefinitely. SCTV had also assigned him to long-term special programmes on Indonesia's elections, which are due to take place next year.

He said: "They did not clearly explain why I'm fired. SCTV did not tell me what I had done wrong in performing my job. I've been handed special assignments, something which suggests that the senior people liked my work and that I would be approved for tenure."

Regardless of the merits of Mr Dhandy's allegations against SCTV and the military, this case highlights a crucial question in Indonesia: Has the media gained sufficient reporting freedom in the post-Suharto era? Analysts and local journalists themselves say things are now very different compared to five years ago, and many restrictions on journalists have been lifted.

Members of the government have often boasted about the increasing press freedom as a sign that Indonesia's fledgling democracy is maturing. But recent developments suggest that censorship still plays a key role in the media's daily operations, and the four- week-old martial law in Aceh is providing fresh test cases.

Some experts said that when Jakarta slapped a ban on interviews with rebels and reports presenting the Aceh separatists' side of the story, the government showed its true colours.

Indonesian journalists said editors still checked with government officials before running material that could be considered controversial, and there was still too little independence within the profession.

Aceh war sparks a culture of fear within media industry

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2003

The "integrated operation", including a military approach in Aceh, was a hard decision to take. Unlike military operations under the New Order, these operations are open to media coverage. The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti talked to lawyer and human rights activist Todung Mulya Lubis on how he perceives the coverage on the issue so far. The following is an excerpt from the interview:

Question: How do you see the coverage on the Aceh issue so far?

Answer: I still feel uneasy about the unbalanced reporting. It seems that the suffering of the people has not adequately been reported in the media: We tend to devote more space to the entirety of the military operations in Aceh -- which is important -- but it's equally important to show how people are suffering, losing their jobs and homes, and that they have to be evacuated. But there have already been many reports on such issues.

Hasn't the reporting improved?

Lately yes: Gradually, more space has been given to victims but still, we hear a lot of untold stories from various sources, including foreign correspondents. The Bireuen incident (in which the military was reported to have shot civilians, an accusation it has denied following an internal investigation) initially presented a problem (in getting adequate information on it).

Do you sense that the media faces problems in covering Aceh?

One problem that seems to be apparent from the Aceh reporting is the emergence of a culture of fear within the media community. We've heard of interference on the part of the authorities, for instance when the military doesn't like what is reported. Tempo daily has been mentioned at one point and there have also been objections to reports by some television stations. We heard recently a TV reporter had been dismissed, apparently due to critical reporting.

It would be hard for the media to admit to a "culture of fear".

It's a worrying sign; whether it's a strong sign is a matter of degree. There's also the debate on nationalism, which tends to be defined in a very narrow sense, and this also limits the scope of press freedom, because people have been ordered to report what is considered "right", within the framework of upholding the unitary state of the republic.

But according a media poll recently in Tempo magazine, readers also expect the press to be nationalistic; it's not just the government and Military. Your comment?

But the duty of the journalist is to cover what needs to be covered, and reporting things as they are is also patriotic (in doing one's duty). Being "patriotic" in carrying out journalism may lead to self-censorship, and even the hiding of facts. The media's audience deserves complete, accurate and balanced reporting, which is what they have paid for. Wide public support for military operations does not justify the media in censorship of the news for the sake of the success of the operations and nationalism.

What issues would you like to see covered regarding Aceh?

We have been talking about the demise of (the effectiveness of) the Coalition on Human Rights in Aceh (comprising several non- government organizations, or NGOs) because activists are being chased; they can't really work effectively and some have been forced into hiding, and some have probably fled. People have been talking about that culture of fear. We should make people aware that nationalism is good in principle, but it is equally important that the news be reported as honestly as possible. Of course it is not easy sometimes for journalists to suppress their sentiments because they are close to certain groups, whether TNI (the Indonesian Military) or GAM (the Free Aceh Movement), but their duty is to be independent.

Do we have an intelligent, open public debate on the issue?

I don't think people who believe in peaceful conflict resolution now have much room to express their point of view. To expect an intelligent debate at present might just be too much.

When humanitarian assistance from foreign NGOs was curtailed, domestic NGOs felt threatened. Some did get funds from foreign NGOs but it has been almost impossible for them to express their position. So where is this intelligent discourse?

Look at the National Commission on Human Rights -- (member M.M.) Billah has already placed a mask over his mouth: What has happened?

Human rights/law

Threats, criticism heaped on rights body for report

Jakarta Post - June 17, 2003

Jakarta -- Soon after unveiling its findings in a recent investigation in Aceh last week, members of the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) have been threatened against speaking out further about any possible human rights violations in the war-torn province.

"I received several phone calls suggesting the commission not make public the results of our inquiry without the knowledge of the military ... because the commission is also a state institution, which is supposed to support all government policy," said a member of the commission who requested anonymity.

The human rights commissioner refused to elaborate, but promised that the "suggestions" would not affect the mission of the Komnas HAM fact-finding team in Aceh.

M.M. Billah, who chairs the commission's ad hoc team to monitor the ongoing military operation in Aceh, also admitted that he had received messages from "unidentified parties" concerning Aceh issues. "On the back of one letter, someone wrote 'a child of the nation who supports NKRI'," he told reporters in his office on Monday, referring to the term of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia which is commonly used by the military or other similarly nationalistic citizens.

The letter contained several articles, downloaded from the internet, blaming Billah for exposing the commission's recent findings of possible violations by the military in Aceh.

Asked whether there were differences of opinion within the commission, in which many members are former government or security officials, Billah replied, "Komnas HAM consists of 23 members, who each have different perspectives on this issue. We appreciate differences." The ad hoc team for Aceh made headlines after it revealed last week its findings over possible rights abuses, including a mass grave, since the declaration of martial law in the province on May 19 and a stepped up military campaign.

The team announced that there had been rights abuses against civilians and called on the government to end the military operation in the province soon.

Billah also revealed last week that the commission had obtained reports of alleged military-trained militias and a mass grave in Nisam, North Aceh. He said that the commission would look into the reports.

However, his statements were refuted in the strongest of terms by the military. The statements also irked the government and several legislators, who questioned the validity and reliability of data found by the commission.

Legislator Franky W. Kayhatu lashed out at the commission for announcing its preliminary report to the nation before confirming all the evidence. Franky, a member of House's defense commission from the military/police faction, said that an institution like Komnas HAM should have launched a thorough field inquiry first before speaking to the public.

Separately, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung suggested that the findings should also be accompanied by more data and evidence to enable the authorities to take further action as a result of any violation. Akbar said that legislators would then study that data and evidence and pass the information on to the legal authorities for prosecution if it was deemed necessary.

Meanwhile, the government plans to seek further explanation from the commission about its recent report.

Lt. Gen. Sudi Silalahi, an assistant to the Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also said that the commission should conduct investigations in the field, instead of merely receiving reports to support the credibility of their findings.

Responding to the strong opposition, Billah said that the team is expected to meet the government to discuss the issue on Friday prior to a second team's departure to the battlefield next week.

"We expect to share information with the military administration in Aceh. It's up to them whether to believe our investigation or not," he said.

Billah emphasized that the commission had a different role, separate and distinct from the military role. "Their duty is to protect the country and to crush the separatists while ours is to promote human rights. It is a difference, even though we are both state institutions, which are protected by law. Therefore, we will share our information," he said.

Billah reiterated that the commission had standard requirements to gain valid and reliable information. "Investigating is nothing new to us. We know how to get valid and reliable information," said Billah, a former researcher.

Muslim youth activist jailed for insulting Megawati

Jakarta Post - June 16, 2003

Jakarta (Agencies) -- The Central Jakarta District Court on Monday jailed a Muslim youth activist for five months for insulting President Megawati Sukarnoputri during a protest in January.

Iqbal Siregar, 36, defaced Megawati's portrait with black tape and allowed it to be run over by a car and a motorcycle outside the presidential palace during a January 15 protest by several groups opposed to the president. At the top of the picture was the caption, "People's Fugitive." The sentence is lighter than the 10-month jail term sought by public prosecutor, Arnold Angkouw.

During the rally, he waved the picture and showed it to passers- by, saying, "This is the president who disappoints the people." He then threw the president's picture to the street, to be run over by a car driven by Nazaruddin and a motorcycle ridden by Badrul Munir.

Siregar, who chairs the Islamic Youth Movement (GPI), which took part in the protest, has been in custody since his arrest on January 23. The judge said this period should be deducted from his jail sentence.

He was the latest of several demonstrators jailed for defacing the president's portrait. Several students are awaiting trial.

Insulting the president or vice president is a criminal offence, but until last year there had been no prosecutions since the fall of longtime dictator Suharto in May 1998. Rights activists have criticized the government for reverting to the laws.

In October last year two protesters were jailed for a year in Jakarta for defacing a portrait of Megawati. In January a female activist in Aceh province was sentenced to six months in prison for drawing a cross over pictures of Megawati and Vice President Hamzah Haz.

A newspaper editor is currently on trial for insulting the president in front-page headlines, one of which described her as crueller than a cannibal.

Another activist jailed for insulting Megawati

Laksamana.Net - June 16, 2003

Central Jakarta District Court has sentenced a Muslim activist to five months in jail for insulting President Megawati Sukarnoputri during an anti-government protest.

Iqbal Siregar (36), a member of the Islamic Youth Movement (Gerakan Pemuda Islam, GPI) was arrested after participating in a January 15 demonstration against fuel price increases.

He had been holding a portrait of Megawati defaced by black tape and allegedly allowed the picture to be run over by a car and a motorbike outside the presidential palace.

Siregar has been detained in a cell at Jakarta Police headquarters since January 23 and should therefore be due for release on June 23. His sentence handed down on Monday was lighter than the 10-month jail term sought by prosecutors.

Repression of anti-government activists and pro-democracy groups was common during the 32-year regime of former president Suharto. Following his ouster amid mass riots and protests in May 1998, Indonesians were able to enjoy newfound freedom of expression, but there are now concerns that Megawati is becoming increasingly intolerant of criticism.

Eight activists have now been jailed for insulting the president since Megawati took power in July 2001. Several others are awating trial for the same offense.

Under laws inherited from the Dutch colonial era, it is a crime to insult the president, vice president or the government. Article 154 of the Criminal Code states "the public expression of feelings of hostility, hatred or contempt toward the government" is punishable by up to seven years in jail.

Article 134 punishes "insulting the president" with a maximum sentence of six years in jail, while Article 137 allows for a jail sentence of up to one year and four months for anyone who "disseminates, demonstrates openly or puts up a writing or portrait containing an insult against the president or vice president".

The South Jakarta District Court on May 7 sentenced a university student to five months in jail for burning a portrait of Megawati during a pro-democracy rally. Sleman District Court in Central Java on April 28 sentenced two students to three years in prison for torching photos of Megawati and Vice President Hamzah Haz.

Another student was in January sentenced to six months in jail for insulting the president. Last October two protesting students were given one-year jail terms for stomping on pictures of Megawati. Later a 20-year-old pro-democracy activist in Aceh province was sentenced to six months in jail for defacing portraits of Megawati and Haz.

Critics say Megawati is behaving like a dictator afraid of criticism. Human rights activists are disgusted that students can be jailed for defacing, stomping on or burning a picture, while at the same time senior officials implicated in corruption scandals -- or even convicted of corruption -- remain completely free.

Megawati has strongly opposed efforts to oust parliament speaker Akbar Tanjung after he was convicted of corruption last year and sentenced to jail. Tanjung was in September 2002 sentenced to three years' imprisonment for embezzling Rp40 billion in state funds. He remains free pending appeal and is at liberty to travel abroad. Only minor efforts have been made to dismiss his from his positions as speaker of the House of Representatives and chairman of the former ruling Golkar Party.

Megawati has also been criticized for refusing to fire Attorney General M.A. Rachman, despite strong corruption allegations against him.

In addition to Tanjung, three former central bank directors convicted of corruption and sentenced to jail remain free pending their appeals. Military and police officers convicted of human rights abuses also remain free pending lengthy appeal processes.

In Mega's era, at least 23 tapols snared by the law

Sinar Harapan - June 19, 2003

Jakarta -- During the period of the government of Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice-president Hamzah Haz the use of the term political prisoner remains valid. Records since May 2003 indicate that 23 people have been detained as political prisoners, the vast majority being accused of insulting the head of state. In the lead up to the 2004 elections, the indications are that this repressive approach towards activists who criticize the government will strengthen.

This include those who are under city arrest, in detention, prisoners of correctional institutions and those under house arrest, and most recently two who have just been released. Therefore there are now 21 people who have fallen foul of law and are now political prisoners. They originate from a number of different regions: Palu (8 people), Makassar (3 people), Poso (1 person), Jakarta (5 people), Yogyakarta (3 people) and Pekalongan (1 person).

This was the situation as described to Sinar Harapan on Tuesday by the director of the Indonesian Justice Fellowship (JFI), Shanty Parhusip. JFI is currently providing assistance to and monitoring political prisoners in Indonesia.

These political prisoners came from a number of organisations including the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (Front Nasional Perjuangan Buruh Indonesia, FNPBI), the People's Education Foundation (Yayasan Pendidikan Rakyat, YPR), the National Student League for Democracy (Liga Mahasiswa Nasional untuk Demokrasi, LMND), the Popular Youth Movement (Gerakan Pemuda Kerakyatan, GPK), the Islamic Student Association-Reform (Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam Majelis Penyelamat Organisasi, HMI- MPO), the Indonesian Buskers Union (Serikat Pengamen Indonesia), the Pekalongan People's Committee (Komite Rakyat Pekalongan, KRP), the People's Struggle Committee (Komite Perjuangan Massa Rakyat, KPM), the Democratic Student Network (Jaringan Mahasiswa Demokratik, JMD) and the People's Democratic Party (Partai Rakyat Demokratik, PRD). The prisoners recorded by JFI do not include criticism of the head of state by other social elements.

They were all caught by Article 134 of Criminal Code on insulting the head of state. In demonstrations proceeding [their arrest], they criticised the government, however the authorities actually accused them of insulting the head of the state. "What we can do now is continue to campaign around the contents of Article 9 of the Declaration of Human Rights", said Shanty. Article 9 states that no person may be arrested, held or killed arbitrarily.

"But this data does not included [actions] carried out by other elements such as the Islamic Youth Movement (Garakan Pemuda Islam, GPI) and others, because not all groups can be monitored. There are also 15 more people who have been arrested recently in Palembang [South Sumatra]".

Charged with slander

It was explained that pro-democracy groups who criticise the government of Megawati and Hamzah Haz continues to come under pressure from the government though arrests, detention and though the court process. In fact the government should not need to respond to these criticism by legal means.

According to an ex-political prisoner in the 1965 cases [as many as 1 million communists and left-wing sympathizers were slaughtered and tens of thousands more interned for long periods when former President Suharto and the military sized power in 1965], Roby Sumolang, now that Indonesia has entering the period of reformasi there should be no need to have people brought before the courts just because they have criticised the head of state. "But in fact, to this day there are still political prisoners. They should be released immediately", Roby said.

In his assessment, the present government has been compromised by actions it has taken to safeguard the status quo. "The ones who have been victimised are those who have criticised the government", he added.

Muhammad Iqbal from GPI was sentenced to five months jail for insulting the head of state while demonstrating against the price increases to fuel, electricity and telephone charges. Iqbal said that these sentences could kill off the process of democratisation in Indonesia. Meanwhile his lawyer, Taufik Basari, said the decision represented a bad president for the process of democracy in Indonesia. "If every protester and critic [of the government ends up] being taken to court, where then will the process of democracy be taken", he asked. (emy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Military and police resists probe into May riots

Jakarta Post - June 19, 2003

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Investigation into human rights violations during May 1998 riots has met with strong resistance from military and police officers allegedly involved in the incident.

Only police officer Sr. Comr. Arthur Damanik has so far complied with the summons issued by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) ad hoc team for the riots. The team has worked for months to prove possible rights violations during the rampage.

Arthur is a former official with the Jakarta Police headquarters and is currently the deputy chief of East Nusa Tenggara Police. He visited the commission on Tuesday.

Secretary of the team, Esther Indahyani Jusuf, said summonses had been issued to 24 officers. "The officers were summoned to clarify why there were only a few security officers, either police or military, in most parts of the city where the riots occurred and why the officers failed to prevent the riots," said Esther.

The team will send the second and third summons for the 16 officers, including former TNI Chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, former commander of the Army's Strategic Command Reserve (Kostrad) Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto , former Army chief Gen. (ret) Subagyo HS and Lt. Gen. Sudi Silalahi, assistant to the coordinating minister for political and security affairs.

"We expect them to show their goodwill to help solve this case. If they refuse to answer the summons, we will take further steps such as asking a district court to force them to respond," she said. The military's lawyers have already declared that none of the officers would appear "without proper legal basis".

The team has questioned as many as 57 eye witnesses and victims of the riots as well as members of the then joint fact-finding team (TGPF), which was formed to probe the incident during the administration of former president B.J. Habibie. Indah said that TGPF had agreed that their findings could be used as evidence in court.

The victims have been waiting for justice as no one has been declared a suspect nor been held responsible for the tragedy, which occurred on May 13 and May 14, 1998. Hundreds of people died and hundreds of shops, shopping centers and homes were looted and set ablaze during the rampage, which preceded the fall of former president Soeharto.

No security officers were around to prevent the crimes, except for those hired by business owners to guard their assets before the rampage broke out.

Focus on Jakarta

Jakartans uneasy about spying on Acehnese friends, neighbours

Jakarta Post - June 16, 2003

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta -- The ongoing military operation to crush the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Aceh has put Acehnese living outside the war-torn province, Jakarta in particular, in a difficult position as the authorities have ordered that their activities be tightly monitored.

However, not all Jakartans are willing to spy on their Acehnese neighbors. "We have known them for years and we know them to be good people and neighbors. If we have to beef up security, then it should apply to everybody, not only the Acehnese," Syahroni, head of security at the Tebet apartments in South Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The apartments, which are located on Jl. Tebet Barat Raya, forms one of the eight community units in Tebet Barat subdistrict.

Syahroni was referring to Circular No. 138/1.755/2003, issued by the Tebet Barat subdistrict administration, which orders all heads of community units, neighborhood units and businesses in the area to monitor Acehnese residents.

The circular, dated May 23, 2003, was issued in response to an instruction from the South Jakarta mayor that contained five points setting out the need to impose tighter security measures in each of local neighborhoods.

The move apparently followed Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's decision to put the capital on red alert to anticipate the possibility of revenge attacks by GAM members in the city after the central government declared martial law in Aceh on May 19.

The Tebet circular stipulates that residents must "monitor the activities of Acehnese in their neighborhoods and report them" to the local authorities.

"Should they [neighborhood chiefs] become aware of suspicious activities, they must immediately take action and hand over the suspects to the authorities so as to prevent them from perpetrating various crimes [such as bombings]".

The policy has drawn strong criticism from human rights groups, including the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), and the Nusa Bangsa Solidarity (SNB) organization. They say it is discriminatory and violates the public's right to live free of fear.

Syahroni said the three Acehnese families living in the Tebet apartments had been informed about the instruction. "But both the security guards and the tenants have convinced them that this will do nothing to change our good relationship with them," he added.

The head of the neighboring community unit 7 in Tebet Barat, Naryono, told the Post that there was only one Acehnese in his jurisdiction, who had been living there for six months and had just got married to a Sundanese.

"His neighbors say he is a businessman, but no one is sure what he really does. He is a good person, but that doesn't mean we trust him completely.

"However, we live in an eastern culture. We don't feel easy about checking up on the people next door. That is why we support the establishment of the Mitra Jaya [a subdistrict monitoring unit] sponsored by the local military command. Let the residents of other community units do the monitoring in this unit," Naryono said.

News & issues

Indonesia's image worse than it deserves

Sydney Morning Herald - June 21, 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- Indonesia has an image problem, that much is agreed. And with the pace of war quickening in Aceh province, and the terrorist trials rolling on in Bali, there are few signs that things are about to get better.

Yet most influential Indonesians and resident foreigners believe the country's international standing is much worse than it deserves to be. This week some of them gathered at a conference put on by a quasi-government body, the Business Solutions Centre, to try to understand why mere mention of the word Indonesia can send chills through many people, especially investors.

What do most Americans think of when asked about Indonesia? "A nation in conflict, a dangerous place to live," said James Filgo, a businessman who has lived and worked in Indonesia for 23 years, including time at the United States embassy. "Yes, of course it's unfair; everybody has ethnic conflict."

John Arnold, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, said that under the Soeharto regime the country had a reputation where you could operate "as long as you didn't mind doing business with a member of the president's family or with one of his group of cronies".

In the five years since the fall of Soeharto, a more complex but equally depressing image has evolved. Now the nation was perceived as "struggling to find itself, adopting democracy but unable to make it deliver effective government; rife with ethnic and religious tension and conflict; a breeding ground for Islamic extremism and most recently global terrorism".

While he did not disagree with any of these images, Mr Arnold said that put together they had left the country with a battered reputation, especially when it came to attracting overseas companies.

Many countries feel they suffer from some unfair negative stereotyping by the media, although the view of those at the seminar seemed to be that Indonesia's problems with its reputation went much deeper.

India's ethnic and religious disputes were treated as isolated regional conflicts that did not unduly damage the country's standing as a whole, Mr Arnold said. Yet the media portrayed outbreaks of violence in Indonesia, as in Maluku, as national problems, even if they were restricted to one province far from where most people live.

Part of the problem was that the Government had been slow to adapt to the realities of democratic government and a free press, and had not yet learnt how to argue its case publicly, admit its mistakes and then rectify them, several participants said.

Tom Clough, chief executive with the Swiss-owned cement company Semen Cibinong, reeled off a host of areas that have caused him problems since his firm took control of Indonesia's third-largest cement company 18 months ago, including a confused land registration system, double taxation, pilfering, unskilled labour, corruption, security and adjusting to Indonesian culture.

Yet the reality of investing and working in Indonesia was little different to elsewhere in the world, Mr Clough said.

Environment

Air quality in major cities continued to worsen

Jakarta Post - June 17, 2003

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- Air pollution in major cities in Indonesia has been worsening in the past few years due to increasing levels of pollutants mainly emanating from motorized vehicles, the government has said.

The deputy to the state minister of the environment, Imam Hendargo, said the increasing vehicular exhaust emission had caused a major decline in the quality of air.

The 2002 Indonesian Environment Status, which will be released soon, states that motorized vehicles reached 20.78 million in 2001, an increase from 18.97 million in the previous year.

Citing the report, Imam also said that low fuel quality, leaded gasoline and the use of old vehicles, poor automotive maintenance and poor traffic management were responsible for the poor quality of air in the country. "As long as I have observed, I must sadly say that air quality in major cities has worsened," he said over the weekend.

The major cities monitored by the government, are Jakarta, Bandung (West Java), Semarang (Central Java), Surabaya (East Java), Denpasar (Bali), Jambi (Jambi), Pekanbaru (Riau), Medan (North Sumatra), Pontianak (West Kalimantan) and Palangkaraya (Central Kalimantan).

Good quality air in Jakarta declined to 5.75 percent in 2002 from 20.55 percent in 2001 and 26 percent in 2000. On the contrary unhealthy air increased to 31.23 percent in 2002 from 8.5 percent in 2001 and zero in 2000.

The government data also states that emission of hydrocarbon (HC), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO), mainly emitted by motor vehicles has been increasing.

Hydrocarbon emission reached 1.25 million tons in 2001, up from 1.13 million tons in 2000 and 1.09 million tons in 1999. Nitrogen oxide emission also increased to 694,224 tons in 2001 from 630,000 tons in 2000 and 605,000 tons in 1999.

Carbon monoxide emission also climbed to 14.3 million tons in 2001 from 12.96 million in the previous year and 12.45 million in 1999.

Hydrocarbon can cause brain, muscle and heart problems, nitrogen oxide triggers respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis, while carbon monoxide prompts systemic problems, which could lead to death due to lack of oxygen.

Besides vehicular pollution, Imam said, factory, household and forest fires had also contributed to the deteriorating air quality in the country.

Focusing on forest fires, he said the average air quality in Palangkaraya and Pontianak was at a dangerous and unhealthy level respectively due to frequent forest fires. Last year, between August and October the air index in Palangkaraya exceeded 350. While in Pontianak, the index was above 170 between July and August.

An index of more than 300 is categorized as dangerous, a level of pollutants that could create serious health problems to human beings. An air index of between 100 and 199 is deemed unhealthy that could pose health problems to sensitive humans and animals.

Report point to Freeport, illegal mines

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2003

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- The 2002 Indonesian environment status has listed gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia and illegal miners as environmental problem-makers in the country. The report, which will be released soon, states that Freeport tailings have polluted a nearby river.

Freeport has a huge mining operation in the natural resource-rich province of Papua. The report claims that Freeport will discharge 2.675 billion tons of waste up to 2014. It also reports that as of 2001, the company had released 181,623 tons of waste into Wanagon Lake.

"In terms of waste volume, Freeport is the largest polluter, but in terms of intensity, it may be not the largest," State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim told the Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The report says Freeport carried out a special environment assessment (ERA) to manage its tailings, but concludes that the risk of tailings might be higher than earlier predicted. It also revealed the possible environmental impact of Freeport tailings. Several new parameters also pose problems, therefore in-depth assessment should be conducted, according to the report.

Nabiel said he would soon issue a decree to improve Freeport's environmental management and environmental monitoring plans. "It's impossible for Freeport not to pollute the environment. We must issue a decree that requires Freeport to minimize its pollution," he said. On illegal mining activities, the report says that the illegal practices, the locations of which are scattered across the country, had also polluted rivers due to the widespread use of mercury.

The report states that Takaras River in Central Kalimantan has been polluted by two tons of mercury from 480 illegal sites.

"Since illegal mining activities are conducted by individuals, it's difficult to fight them," Nabiel said. He also said that pollution from large-scale mining and illegal mining activities would continue to threaten the environment in the country.

"Mining activities in several areas in Indonesia have inflicted losses not only in the form of economic losses, but also environmental damage," the report said.

The report also points out that sand exports from Riau through illegal sand mining in the province has also inflicted huge losses to the country. Sand from Riau is exported to Singapore for the neighboring country's reclamation program.

Health & education

Furore over sale of varsity places in Indonesia

Straits Times - June 21, 2003

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Prestigious state-run universities are being criticised for their decision to admit students who fail entrance exams, as long as the students fork out millions of rupiah in donations.

Several of the country's 48 state-owned universities, including the University of Indonesia (UI) in Jakarta, the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in West Java, now offer a "special entrance way" for those from affluent families.

Under this system, the students do not have to take the highly competitive National Exams for State University Entrance. Instead they go through a "talent, motivation and potential screening system" at the respective universities, and, if selected, pay the required amount to the respective schools.

The amount ranges from 25 million to 150 million rupiah, depending on the school and the faculty the students are applying for.

Highly coveted disciplines are priced higher. For example, an entrance to the School of Medicine at the Diponegoro University in Semarang costs 150 million rupiah per student while its School of Engineering charges 100 million rupiah.

The highly prestigious ITB even offers 10 available places in its Physics Department for US$25,000 per student. UI currently allocates 20 per cent of its 3,000 places to students from this "non-regular entrance system", while ITB said it would accept 200 to 500 such students.

This new system was put in place following the government's decision to change the status of state-owned universities to state-owned companies last year, thereby giving the universities more autonomy to run their campuses.

Cash-strapped universities said the programme would help inject much-needed funds into their organisations without having to raise tuition fees, which are currently very low across the board.

UI's public relations coordinator Diennaryati Tjokrosuprihatono said the limited government subsidies and the low student tuition fees could barely cover the schools' operational costs.

But some people fear the commercialisation of the universities would lead to lower standards. Besides, they say, it may deprive less well off but more capable students opportunities for low- cost education.

Parliamentarian Ferdiansyah said: "This is like sowing the seeds of discrimination and exclusivity in campus life. Even if the students have to go through selection, it will be hard for the universities to remain objective. In the end, the priority would be given to those who come up with the largest bid."

Even some of the students who would benefit from such a scheme are disapproving. Achmad, a second-year student at UGM, said: "I was proud to have passed the exam to come here. But if people can pay to go to school here, I'll probably have nothing to be proud of."

Hundreds of thousands of high school graduates across Indonesia usually take entrance tests for state-owned universities in July. This year, the 48 state-run universities have just 82,959 available places, making the tests very competitive.

Narcotics freely available in school campuses

Straits Times - June 16, 2003

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- They used to be commonly found in discotheques or dark alleyways in unsavoury parts of the city, sold by professional peddlers.

But these days, school campuses are the easiest place to find illegal drugs, and children who are barely into their teens are not only a target market, some have been forced to sell the drugs to fund their addiction.

Indonesia is fighting an uphill battle against the biggest threat to its future generations -- a rapidly growing addiction to drugs among its youth, some as young as primary school students. In the past five years, Jakarta police recorded 25,300 drug-related cases, including users and traffickers, involving students of all ages in the capital.

High school students hold the record with 10,000 cases from 1997 through last year, followed by 7,500 cases involving junior high school students and 7,000 cases involving university students.

But the most alarming revelation to young parents here is that some 800 of the cases in the past five years involved children in primary schools. This year, in the district of North Jakarta alone, 30 primary school children were caught with drugs, either delivering or using them.

Major-General Togar Sianipar, the operational chief of the National Narcotics Board (BNN), told The Straits Times: "About 60 per cent of the drug abusers in this country are between 15 and 24 years of age." And about the same percentage of the 33.7 million youths aged between 18 and 24 years has taken some form of illegal drugs, he said.

They normally started out by smoking marijuana, then moved on to taking ecstasy and shabu-shabu, the street name for crystal methamphetamine or "ice", before graduating to putaw, a low- quality heroin derivative which is commonly administered through injection.

The sharing of needles has intensified the chance of contracting fatal diseases such as HIV/Aids and Hepatitis B and C. Since 1996, the number of people who have contracted HIV/Aids through unsterilised drug injections in Indonesia has increased tenfold to 43,000 cases as of December last year. Three out of every four new cases of HIV in the past two years involved intravenous drug users.

Maj-Gen Togar said supplies of drugs have been overwhelming in the past few years, making them more affordable for schoolchildren. Drugs can be commonly found around school areas -- at food stalls or from parking attendants.

Some students are also coaxed into becoming delivery boys or girls to make extra money, before they are tempted to try the drugs themselves. Worse, at some schools, underpaid teachers or mothers of pupils were involved in the drug trade as well, said anti-drug activists.

The country's porous borders and lax law enforcement at entry points have made it easy to smuggle illegal drugs or the chemicals used to make them. Much of the marijuana and ecstasy sold here are produced locally, but shabu and putaw are still mostly imported. Maj-Gen Togar said drug syndicates are also protected by some members of the police or the military.

His group has ordered stricter policing of entry points, including scrutinising people who come from countries where drug traffickers originate. BNN is also working on a "demand reduction campaign" with independent organisations in an attempt to encourage schoolchildren to stay away from drugs.

Millions of children living in poverty, says minister

Antara - June 19, 2003

Jakarta -- At least 34 million Indonesian children are living in poverty and badly need help, a cabinet member said on Wednesday.

"The government is not yet able to take care of neglected children or improve their living conditions because it lacks the necessary funds," Bachtiar Chamsah, minister for social affairs, said at a function marking the 30th anniversary of the Christian Children's Fund (CCF) here.

Chamsah said the government had provided only Rp150 billion for handling neglected children and thought the funds were not sufficient.

International relations

UK warning to Indonesia over export licences for jets

The Guardian (UK) - June 21, 2003

David Hencke and Rob Evans -- Britain is threatening to refuse export licences for spare parts for Hawk jets to Indonesia, after growing government concern about human rights abuses by the military in the suppression of rebels in Aceh.

Mike O' Brien, the trade minister, has warned President Megawati Soekarnoputri that the jets must not be used to suppress internal revolts. While in Indonesia, Mr O'Brien said: "We do have agreements to supply parts and also have further relationships with the armed forces, which might be damaged if we cannot reconcile this issue." He reminded the Indonesian government that the British-made jets -- sold for training purposes -- should not be used in any offensive that led to human rights abuses. The jets were used on the first day of the military operation last month to flush out rebels in Aceh by providing air cover for the army.

Mr O'Brien also expressed concern about the killing of three boys -- aged 11, 13 and 14 -- by the army in Aceh because they were believed to be terrorists. The minister has told the Indonesian government that there was no justification for killing boys as young as that.

Mr O'Brien's warning is an attempt to try and enforce Robin Cook's ethical foreign policy which promised that Britian would not export arms to regimes that used them for internal repression. The 24 jets were sold in 1996 by the Conservatives without any restriction on their use, but Indonesia voluntarily signed up to a new agreement, after Mr Cook became foreign secretary, that introduced new restrictions. Indonesia still maintains this is a "gentleman's agreement" which has no force and anyway only applied to East Timor -- now an independent country after Indonesia had occupied it for decades.

The Foreign Office minister has been under pressure from Labour backbenchers -- notably Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North -- to take a tough line with Indonesia over use of the jets. Mr O'Brien told him about his recent visit: "I reminded them of the assurances about the use of British-supplied military equipment in Aceh, and warned of the possible consequences for defence sales and defence relationships if there was a breach of the assurances.

I also stressed that Indonesian military action in Aceh should be proportionate and in accordance with international standards on human rights. "The Indonesian government confirmed that British- supplied Hawk aircraft were used in Aceh on May 19 2003, but claimed they were not used in violation of the assurances. We will be using all available sources of information to monitor the use of British-supplied equipment and will follow up all credible allegations on the misuse of British military equipment." He added: "In August 2002 the British government received advance notification from the Indonesian government that they may deploy British-built military equipment to Aceh for casualty removal and logistics. Hawk jets do not perform these tasks. Ministers agreed in September 2002 to fresh assurances that British-built military equipment would not be used to violate human rights anywhere in Indonesia nor would the equipment be used offensively."

Australia accused of aiding separatist groups

Radio Australia - June 16, 2003

Indonesia says Australian Government aid money has been used to help seperatist movements in Indonesia. The head of the Indonesian embassy in Canberra, Imron Cotan, says the Australian aid bureau, AusAid, has given funds to two Non-Government Organisations which support rebel movements. AusAid has denied that any aid funding has been used contrary to Indonesian law. Mr Cotan told a Parliamentary hearing in Canberra that Indonesia is gathering evidence which it will give to the Australian Government.

Presenter/Interviewer: Graeme Dobell

Speakers: Imron Cotan, Indonesia's top diplomat in Canberra

Dobell: Indonesia suspects that some in Australia want to repeat the East Timor experience in the troubled provinces of Aceh and Papua. The Australian Government, in turn, stresses its support for Indonesia's territorial integrity. And the government's aid bureau, AusAid, has introduced a new code of conduct for Non- Government Organisations.

The funding guidelines ban NGOs from using Australian Government money for political or evangelical purposes. AusAid says all non-government groups must observe Indonesian law. And it notes that Indonesia has taken no action against any Australian NGOs working in Indonesia.

But giving evidence to an Australian Parliamentary inquiry, Indonesia's top diplomat in Canberra, Imron Cotan, charged that two Non Government groups have used AusAid money to support separatist movements.

He says Indonesia is gathering evidence and will pass it to the Australian Government. After the inquiry, Mr Cotan said some Australians are helping separatist movements in Aceh and Papua.

Cotan: "Some of your people here in Australia barrack [for] these separatist movements, so we have to deal with this issue cautiously because if it is out of hands that can also have implications to our bilateral ties."

Dobell: Does it raise questions for Jakarta about Australia's good intentions?

Cotan: "Well there is no doubt that the Australian government has been always sincere to us, trying to help us in overcoming this, but again the government, your government certainly cannot let's say control all these people, all these non-government organisations as to allow them to help the separatists. But they made it very, very clear to us that they will be more than willing to help us to prevent at least the use of your funds to finance the movements."

Dobell: How is money from the Australian government aid bureau, AusAid being used to help separatists?

Cotan: "Well they have conducted trainings, education seminars simply to advance their objective, and they made it very clear, for example one of these organisations, I do not want to name names, in their constitution they mentioned about helping Papua to become an independent state. So I believe they are now tampering in Indonesia's sovereignty."

Dobell: Have you got enough evidence yet to get the Australian government to act, you said that you've been gathering evidence, do you have enough to ask the Australian government to take any action?

Cotan: "We are still collecting evidence but the fact that your government has agreed to install to establish a code of conduct underlying the fact that we have legitimate concern."

Dobell: You said that there is a sense of betrayal in Indonesia about Australia's activities in East Timor. How is that sense of betrayal influencing Indonesian suspicions about Australian aid work?

Cotan: "Again I do not believe that there is a direct link between the two, but taking into account that some Indonesians felt betrayed by Australia's involvement in Indonesia, I would understand that some of them are suspicious about not the government, but some people in Australia in Papua."

Indonesia wins ASEAN support for Aceh war

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2003

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Phnom Penh -- Indonesia won full support from the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) for its fight against the armed rebellion in Aceh.

In a joint communique of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) here on Tuesday, all ten ASEAN foreign ministers gave their support for the integrity of Indonesia's territory, including Aceh, where Indonesia has, since May 19, imposed martial law to flush out and destroy the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Recognizing that some ASEAN member countries' territories have been used as transit points for arms smuggling for the separatists, the foreign ministers promised to do their utmost to minimize arms smuggling in their respective territories. "We pledge our support to deny the separatist movement access to means of violence through the prevention of arms smuggling to Aceh province," said Article 23 communique.

The 36th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting was officially closed with the issuance of the Communique addressing both security and economic issues in the region.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said that Aceh was one of the issues that was discussed intently during the ministerial retreat on Wednesday as an integral part of the two- day ministerial meeting agenda. "We briefed other ASEAN ministers on the issue and the latest developments in the province and everyone has been very supportive of Indonesia," the minister said.

The official declaration of support was expected to minimize any possible criticisms against the ongoing military operation since it has been under close scrutiny of the international community, which is concerned about human rights abuses during the offensive.

The political support will also provide a stronger basis for Indonesia in asking for assistance from its neighbors to help prevent GAM leaders from hiding or taking refuge in the region. "We recognize all efforts by the Indonesian government to restore peace and order in Aceh," the statement said.

Indonesia also will likely seek support from the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting on Wednesday between the ASEAN ministers with the grouping's 13 dialog partners, including the United States, Russia and the European Union.

Human rights organizations in the United States have strongly urged Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is set to attend the ARF meeting, to press Indonesia to cease hostilities in Aceh.

The ASEAN communique also mentioned that the countries "place particular importance on international cooperation against piracy and other threats to maritime security and looked forward to discussing these critical issues at ARF with a view to the issuance of a statement in this regard."

Hassan said on Monday that arms smuggling did not recognize countries' boundaries because arms could be smuggled to Indonesia from any part of the world and there would have to be international cooperation to curb it.

US questions Indonesia's will to prosecute rights cases

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2003

A'an Suryana, Jakarta -- The United States has expressed concern over Indonesia's apparent lack of will to prosecute military personnel implicated in past human rights abuses, saying it would hamper the democracy that has flourished in the country since 1998.

US Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce told a seminar here on Tuesday that the failure of the military to take responsibility for human rights violations in East Timor, Aceh, Papua and the May 1998 riots in Jakarta was one of the major challenges of democracy in the world's fifth most populous country.

"I believe this [military accountability] is a must not only to build trust in the Indonesian Military, but to boost international confidence in democracy in Indonesia," Boyce told participants of the seminar titled "Indonesia heading to Genuine Democracy: Opportunities and Challenges."

The ad hoc Human Rights Court has sentenced three military officers to between three and six years in jail without immediate imprisonment for their involvement in the East Timor mayhem in 1999. The court, however, has acquitted 13 others due to lack of evidence. The court also failed to touch former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, who was in charge of security when the violence took place.

Washington imposed an arms embargo on Indonesia following the widespread atrocities that followed an overwhelming vote for independence in the former Indonesian province.

Boyce said that in a democratic country, the military must be held responsible for all of its actions. Regarding civilian control over the military, Boyce praised Indonesia for ending the military's role in politics as stipulated by the People's Consultative Assembly last year.

Law enforcement is the next challenge that faces democracy in Indonesia, according to Boyce, who said the country must create a transparent system of law to ensure that people get justice and that their rights are well-protected.

A clean government and good enforcement of law could assure the unity of Indonesia, and it could also attract foreign investors to Indonesia. "Currently, foreign investors shy away from Indonesia because they are afraid that their contracts will not be honored by the Indonesian courts," said Boyce.

Protection of minority groups is the third major challenge Indonesia is facing in promoting democracy. Boyce said that minority groups, whether in ethnicity or religion, had suffered from violence in Maluku, Sulawesi and Kalimantan, where ethnic and sectarian conflicts claimed thousands of lives a few years ago.

"Democracy has often been coined as 'power by the majority', but the biggest challenge for democracy is actually that, whether the democracy can protect the rights of the minority," said Boyce.

Speaking at the seminar, a political observer from Boston University, Robert Hefner, warned that sectarian politics had returned to the political scene. Such a trend, he said, would cause democracy to collapse if it was not carefully managed. He said the reform movement in 1998 had helped encourage participation in politics. It was a good thing, he said. But, unfortunately, the rising passion to participate in politics had been abused by certain political figures for their own purposes.

Hefner said that some political figures mobilized the grass roots by exploiting biases, which could damage the process of democracy. Sectarian conflicts in Maluku and Sulawesi were clear examples of how irresponsible political figures had exploiting biases that polarized people.

People are divided across religious lines by such irresponsible figures, and they fan the flames of dichotomy, which leads to escalating conflicts in the regions, he said. Hefner said that society should seek a common platform in order to curb the potential evil of the trend.

This could be achieved through the establishment of interreligious fora, for instance, where different people of different faiths could discuss differences between them and find the "glue" that could keep them together.

Aceh crackdown justified, says Downer

Sydney Morning Herald - June 19, 2003

Mark Baker, Phnom Penh -- The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, has strongly defended the Indonesian military crackdown in Aceh and criticised the violent tactics of the province's secessionist rebels.

Mr Downer said Indonesia was entitled to combat attempts by the Free Aceh Movement -- GAM -- to force the creation of a breakaway state. However, he urged both sides in the deepening conflict to resolve the issue peacefully and to respect human rights.

"There is a lot of focus in the Western media on the Indonesian military and there's some history to that, no doubt," he said in an interview with CNN. "But it also has to be remembered that GAM have been perpetrating some terrible acts of violence and the pressure should also be maintained on them and they should not be seen as some sort of honest and honourable victims." As Mr Downer applauded the Indonesian Government for allowing journalists and human rights groups access to Aceh, fresh restrictions were announced to control entry to the province.

More than 200 people have been reported killed and thousands more displaced in the month-long campaign by the Indonesian armed forces. Human rights groups have accused the military and GAM of widespread abuses.

"What you have in the case of Aceh is a secessionist movement which is determined, through the use of violence, to try to cut that part of Indonesia off the republic and that's not something the international community supports," said Mr Downer, who is attending the regional forum of the Association of South-East Asian Nations in Cambodia.

"Obviously we would rather the matter was solved diplomatically and that's very much the preferable outcome," he said. "But it also has to be said that the Indonesians have a right to deal with organisations that mount militant acts against their own people.

"So we understand that it's preferable for this to be negotiated diplomatically, but this is part of Indonesia's territory." Mr Downer rejected claims that international non-government organisations were being hampered in their efforts to monitor alleged human rights abuses in the conflict.

"Actually, there is more access in Aceh now for human rights groups and others -- for example the media -- than traditionally has been the case," he said. "The problem of Aceh is not a new problem. This has been going on for decades or even more, and during the Soeharto years the media and NGOs were just completely excluded from an area like Aceh. But nowadays they do have some access there." Mr Downer said Australia urged the Indonesian authorities and GAM to respect human rights.

On Tuesday ASEAN foreign ministers gave strong support to the crackdown by Indonesia, a fellow ASEAN member. "We ... pledged our support to deny the separatist movement access to means of violence through ... preventing arms smuggling into the Aceh province," the ministers said in a communique. Indonesian military officials have claimed that weapons are being smuggled to the Aceh rebels from Cambodia, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Economy & investment

IMF approves of Indonesia's plan to end lending program

Dow Jones Newswire - June 16, 2003

Tom Wright, Jakarta -- The International Monetary Fund said it approves of Indonesia's plans to end its current IMF lending program when it runs out this year.

But it urged the country to continue to push through reforms aimed at weeding out corruption -- and enticing back foreign investment -- after the fund's $5 billion program finishes at the end of 2003.

"The country is now at a point where, upon the expiration of the current IMF-supported program at end-2003, it may be possible to forgo another arrangement with the IMF," Daniel Citrin, senior adviser to the fund's Asia Pacific department, told the latest edition of IMFSurvey.

Indonesia is the last Asian country to graduate from the IMF's lending program. Both Thailand and South Korea -- which also got large bailout packages following the 1997-98 Asian crisis -- stopped borrowing around three years ago. Indonesia's government, although slow at first to push through reforms -- which the IMF demands in return for money -- has won praise from the fund over the past year.

Jakarta has made progress in stabilizing its economy -- including curbing inflation and reducing rates -- and getting its banking sector back on its feet through sales to foreign investors, the IMF's Citrin said.

Still, the country needs to strengthen the investment climate if it wants to create jobs and reduce poverty, he added. Without foreign investment, Indonesia's economy will continue to grow at about 3%-4% annually, below its potential of 6%. "Indonesia needs to do a lot more to strengthen the investment climate." The country must push through legal reform and anti-corruption measures after the fund leaves town next year, and make sure its labor regulations don't deter investors, Citrin said.

Building up a credible reform program without the fund will also be crucial to the government's efforts to manage its finances, analysts say.

Without an IMF program, Indonesia will have to find other sources of funds to repay public debt coming due from 2004. Until now, the fund has been able to ask official creditors under the Paris Club of lenders to roll over debt. But the Paris Club has said it will only do this if Indonesia has an IMF reform program in place.

Indonesia has said it will ask foreign multilateral donors such as the World Bank for more loans, but also plans to issue local and international bonds to private investors.