Aceh

Human rights concerns over Aceh civilian toll

Radio Australia - July 4, 2003

Indonesia's military claims it now controls all of Aceh province, six weeks after imposing martial law to crush separatist rebels. But local human rights groups are counting the civilian cost of the war... saying as many as 35-thousand Acehenese have fled their homes and hundreds more have been killed in attacks and air raids.

Presenter/Interviewer: Tricia Fitzgerald

Speakers: Doctor Hasbullah Saad, Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission KOMNAS-HAM

Fitzgerald: The picture emerging from the war in Aceh is confirming the worst fears of human rights groups. The progress made under the six month-long ceasefire has gone up in smoke in just six weeks of war. Hundreds of civilians have been killed or arrested or have simply disappeared since the military offensive began.

A new report complied by a human rights group who asked to remain anonymous due to fears for their family's safety shows children, teachers and human rights workers are amongst those killed or detained in the conflict.

Human rights group: In the past six weeks of martial law over 400 civilians, including 19 children and seven school teachers have been killed. Almost 300 civilians have been arrested or have disappeared, including nine human rights and Red Cross activists. Two-thousand school buildings have been burned to the ground and over 100 homes have been destroyed.

Fitzgerald: Doctor Hasbullah Saad of Indonesia's peak human rights group Komnas-HAM, the National Human Rights Commission, says thousands of civilians are being caught unawares when the conflict and chaos of the war suddenly moves into their villages.

Saad: You know everybody well they fear to be on the ground because suddenly the conflict will come and unexpected and nobody can tell when and where, and suddenly the conflict, comes rise very much and kills a lot of people. Civilians they fear to be in their village and home, and a lot of them moved to be IDP's [internally displaced persons] ... staying in school building or mosque building or other public building because they're so worried to stay in their own house and their village.

Fitzgerald: The latest high profile civilian victim of the war is Muhammad Nazar, the leader of Aceh's Information for a Referendum Centre. He's been given a five-year jail term for sedition for calling for Acehanese to be allowed to have a referendum on self-rule.

Three Indonesian journalists covering the conflict have also become victims with one found dead floating in a river and another two missing in a conflict area.

The local human rights group mentioned earlier says even civilians who've fled into refugee camps aren't safe. Its report says camps established spontaneously or by the military have been targeted by Indonesian soldiers who are removing civilians for interrogation or abuse.

Human rights group: Even in the refugee camps civilians are not safe. In the past two weeks alone the TNI and Brimob have taken two to three girls from the camps at night and if they are returned they are in a miserable condition having been raped. Overall over 100 women and teenagers have been raped.

Fitzgerald: The National Human Rights Commission says it's investigating reports of three mass gravesites involving at least a dozen bodies. It says the military has come under fire for excavating the sites without independent forensic back-up.

Saad: You know a lot of mass graves now was dug by TNI but certain NGO protests about the way of they dig the mass graves without any forensic back-up you know. I hear that TNI and police ask the forensic from North Sumatra to be there but during the digging process not any forensic there. Certain NGOs protested because this is the same as destroying the evidence.

Fitzgerald: Investigating human rights abuses in this conflict has become dangerous and almost impossible. The Commission is compiling a report to present to the Minister of Security and Political Affairs.

Doctor Saad says the report will contain complaints about the lack of protection for human rights workers on the ground in Aceh, but he adds that the relationship between the Commission and the military is already strained.

Saad: Martial law makes it very, very clear, it means there's no protection for the humanitarian workers, for the human rights workers on the ground. And that's why the commission send the mission to Minister for Political and Security Affairs to discuss about each [other's] position, human rights, the commission position and TNI position, in order to make more better understanding [with] each other, and reduce the mis-understanding and conflicts between TNI and KOMNAS HAM.

We fight on, say Aceh rebels

The Guardian (UK) - July 4, 2003

John Aglionby, Jakarta -- Separatists in the Indonesian province of Aceh yesterday dismissed military claims that Jakarta had taken control of the whole province and vowed to continue fighting until they get their freedom.

A spokesman in north Aceh, who uses the name Tengku Jamaica, described as a "joke" a statement by Indonesia's military commander, General Endriartono Sutarto, on Wednesday that government troops now controlled 100% of the province, even though the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) had not yet been defeated.

"The military may control the cities, but the countryside is ours," the rebel spokesman said. "Our numbers have not decreased. Our position is strong." In a somewhat contradictory announcement, Gen Endriartono also accepted that fighting would continue for several months.

Before Jakarta launched its latest campaign against GAM on May 19, the separatists' strength was estimated at about 5,000 fighters. The military claims about 600 rebels have been killed or captured or have surrendered.

However, GAM and human rights organisations say many of the fatalities classified as GAM are civilian. It is impossible to verify either side's claims because foreign journalists have in effect been banned from the province.

150 civilians killed in Aceh war

Jakarta Post - July 5, 2003

Jakarta -- At least 150 civilians have died, 80 have been wounded, and another 71 have gone missing since the government launched the integrated operation in the troubled province of Aceh on May 19, authorities say.

Aside from civilian casualties, 325 members of separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), 28 government troops, and four police personnel have been killed in the campaign aimed at flushing out GAM rebels in the resource-rich province.

Martial law administration spokesman Col. Ditya Soedarsono said on Friday that 55 members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and 15 police personnel were also wounded, while 258 GAM members were arrested, 256 of them had surrendered to the authorities.

Besides human casualties, police also said on Friday that 535 school buildings had been burned, with the last arson attack occurring on July 2 at three schools in North Aceh. At least 224 houses, 11 offices, three public facilities, two vital facilities, five bridges, two motorcycles and 62 cars have also been set on fire.

The present conflict began on May 19 when the government launched a military operation to crack down on the secessionist GAM, which has long been fighting for separation from Indonesia.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Second Pvt. Achmad Syarifuddin, a TNI soldier with the 18th Trisula Infantry Brigade, is believed to have died of poisoning in Sidomulyo area, Nisam district in North Aceh.

"Achmad was suffering from high fever, vomiting and diarrhea after he consumed water from a well belonging to a local here. Before that, he also ate nutmeg fruit in the area," the commander of Malang's (East Java) Trisula Brigade Lt. Col. Deddy Kusmayadi told reporters at his command post in Blang Rantau area, Sawang district. He was admitted to a nearby military medical clinic, but died on his way to the clinic. A post mortem examination has provided evidence that Achmad was poisoned.

Deddy said a similar case also befell one of his subordinates recently, who died two days after he drank coffee that was offered by a local resident in the area.

TNI accused GAM of deliberately using poison in their struggle against the TNI. Deddy said the TNI had found a document in the Nisam district, which revealed that GAM had a poison expert named Elyas Rachman, who had died in a gun contact with TNI recently.

In Lhokseumawe, the trial of three TNI soldiers accused of raping four women was adjourned until Tuesday next week due to technical reasons, said a Lhokseumawe state court official.

Muhifuddin, a Lhokseumawe court official, said two military officers dropped by his office on Thursday afternoon, telling a court official that the military court had canceled a plan to use the Lhokseumawe court on Friday morning. The military officers said the TNI was not ready to commence the trial.

Ordinary Acehnese, primary victims of war in Aceh

Jakarta Post - July 5, 2003

A'an Suryana, Lhokseumawe -- At first she refused to be interviewed but then relented on the condition that she be quoted under a false name, Hanafiah. "I am afraid that I'll be killed after an interview," said the 50-year old women, a resident of Krueng Dhoe hamlet in Pidie regency.

Pidie is one of several regencies that were once controlled by Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists before Indonesian troops regained much of the area. For Hanafiah it does not really matter who is in charge. She is one of many Acehnese who do not take sides in the war, they are afraid of both the Indonesian Military (TNI) and GAM.

Since the war began on May 19, soldiers often search Hanafiah's house for rebels. They come almost every day, sometimes at night or early in the morning. Their behavior is rough, she said. Her story is a common one here and elsewhere across the province.

In Nisam district in North Aceh regency just a few kilometers from where US energy giant ExxonMobil operates the Arun gas field, people complain about mistreatment by soldiers. Villagers there said they were often slapped in their face during security checks at one of the military posts in Nisam. Few now dare to pass the post.

But having GAM around is no relief either. Hanafiah said her son once took a ride in an ambulance owned by the local community health center. A few days later, a rebel visited her house asking why her son was inside an Indonesian government owned vehicle. "I feared that they might do something bad to my son," she said.

People here are accustomed to paying GAM rebels "Aceh Nanggroe Tax". Hanafiah's husband said that many rich Acehnese preferred to live outside Aceh. He said he had a relative who had became rich when he moved to the North Sumatra capital of Medan and now refused to return home. "He is afraid of being unfairly taxed by GAM, and if he refuses, he will be killed."

Opening up a business in Aceh means paying taxes twice. Plantation firm PT Bumi Flora in the Idi Rayeuk district in East Aceh had to pay the rebels Rp 19 million to Rp 36 million per week. When the company once refused in 1990, they killed 36 of its employees, said Lt. Col Echsan Sutardji who leads a hunt for rebels in the district.

ExxonMobil shut down its Arun gas field for eight months in 2001 after rebels allegedly attacked its facilities. The closure led to millions of US dollars in losses. And Indonesia had to utilize the Bontang gas field in East Kalimantan to replace Exxon's liquefied natural gas exports.

GAM uses the money to fund its struggle for independence However, few Acehnese would voluntarily invest in the cause. And not everyone asking for Aceh Nanggroe Tax are really independence fighters. Many are thugs who find it easier to extort money when they declare themselves GAM.

However, the TNI appear to be instilling greater fear among locals. While GAM consists of Acehnese, soldiers arrive in Aceh with a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds. They are considered foreigners, invading their soil. Many soldiers are of Javanese extraction, who GAM refer to as colonialists.

The fear of the military was compounded during the decade-long offensive which ended in 1998. More than 10,000 people, mainly civilians, were killed.

Martial law may be extended in Aceh: General

Straits Times - July 5, 2003

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Indonesia's top general says Aceh operations are "ahead of schedule", but admit the authorities may extend martial law for the province beyond the current six-month order.

The military and the police have also asked Parliament for an additional fund of US$220 million to finance the campaign against the separatist Free Aceh Movement.

While the military campaign goes on, government officials step up efforts to bat aside criticisms of Jakarta's latest policies, including curbs on press freedom and human rights activists.

Despite a mounting casualty count and reports of civilians suffering, top Cabinet members seek to reassure that Jakarta is sending more humanitarian aid up north.

But six weeks after Indonesia began its latest war in Aceh, talks of a quick victory are being replaced by indications that Jakarta is preparing for a protracted campaign. Analysts say troops' actions and worsening conditions for civilians lead to more resentment towards Jakarta's rule, and possibly, towards sympathy for separatist ideals.

On Thursday, armed forces commander General Endriartono Sutarto said troops had taken most rebel areas within the last month and a half -- much faster than the four-month timetable generals initially projected. He said: "We can see the operation has succeeded in significantly reducing rebel strength. Things are going well, better than expected."

Spin-control officials are never busier, as well. Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa told reporters yesterday the authorities only meant to protect civilians, and not to shut down coverage of the Aceh war, when they restricted journalists' access to the province.

Foreign reporters now have to register and wait for approval from at least four different government agencies before getting clearance for Aceh, and their movements are limited to major population centres in the province. At least two Indonesian reporters have lost their jobs allegedly due to pressure from senior military officers who had been displeased by their coverage of the war.

And an Aceh court this week sentenced an activist who campaigned for Aceh independence to five years in jail, a move that drew fire from human rights groups and other governments including the United States. Officials now say such decisions are handed down by an independent judiciary and should not be the focus of criticism from abroad.

Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah, meanwhile, is busy fighting off media reports that refugees starve and go without proper medical care in Aceh camps.

Aid workers familiar with the situation in Aceh say Indonesia's promised humanitarian programme for the Acehnese has yet to materialise, even as Vice-President Hamzah Haz says that such initiatives "are not ignored" by the government.

Observers, however, note Indonesia seems to be losing control, and the Aceh campaign looks set to degenerate into the prolonged military occupation favoured by the regime of former president Suharto.

Television news clips showing soldiers pointing rifles at civilians or detainees who had clearly been beaten up by soldiers do nothing to assure the Acehnese of Jakarta's goodwill and good-governance abilities.

Ms Sidney Jones, who heads the Jakarta office of the International Crisis Group, said: "I see no indication of a quick victory here, no indication of winning the hearts and minds of the Acehnese. Many factors instead contribute to more resentment towards Jakarta." Indeed, President Megawati Sukarnoputri has already said she may extend the initial six-month martial-law period for Aceh.

Analysts say such an arrangement ultimately benefits the military, which stands to get more money from the government to fund its operations and to reassert its role as the guardian of internal security not only in Aceh, but also in the rest of the country.

Military operation in Aceh has failed, says Komnas HAM

Jakarta Post - July 5, 2003

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said on Friday that the military operation against the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) had failed and urged both parties to go back to the negotiating table.

The commission's team for Aceh argued that the operation had increased the number of civilian victims from a series of violent acts, including arbitrary arrests, torture, kidnapping, sexual abuse and extrajudicial killings.

"The number of [civilian] victims has been increasing since the imposition of martial law on May 19. There are more widows and children who have suffered economically, socially and psychologically," the team said in a statement, which was read by team chairman M.M. Billah.

Billah said that the widows and children suffered "trauma and want to take revenge." He also said that the military operation had not "won the hearts of the Acehnese people as was expected." "The military emergency operation has failed to achieve its goal as intended by the Indonesian Military," Billah told reporters. "It has failed because many of the victims are civilians and noncombatants." The commission angered the military last month when it said it was investigating reports of a mass grave in the restive province.

During the press conference, Billah presented the team's findings after its recent visit to Aceh. The team found a case in which a man whose name was similar to one of the GAM leaders was murdered. The man was arrested without a warrant and was later tortured and murdered. "One of his family members told us [about the torture and murder]," Billah said.

The commission also said that extrajudical killings, rape and torture had been taking place but it declined to say who was responsible.

The military said that it had killed 338 GAM members since May 19, while more then 600 had either surrendered or been captured. The military has not been recording civilian deaths, but the police said that 150 civilians had been killed. Independent verification of death tolls or of allegations of human rights violations is proving difficult.

Billah said that his team strongly urged both the government and GAM to settle the conflict in Aceh, peacefully. "If they agree we could be their mediator. Or, they could re-appoint the HDC," he said, referring to the Henry Dunant Centre, which facilitated the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement last year.

Military abuses are cited as one of the igniting factors in the formation of the separatist movement which began in 1976. At least 10,000 people have been killed during the bloody conflict in the province.

67,000 civil servants in Aceh face loyalty test

Jakarta Post - July 3, 2003

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh -- Amid the military operation to crush the separatist movement in Aceh, the government has begun to screen a total of around 67,000 civil servants in Aceh to ensure their loyalty to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.

The provincial administration distributed on Wednesday a list of 10 questions to all government offices in the province to be answered by the civil servants.

"The questions focus on whether or not the civil servants and/or their families are involved in the separatist movement, whether they agree with what GAM is fighting for and their response to GAM's struggle for Aceh's independence," secretary of the provincial administration Tantawi Ishak said here on Wednesday. He added the screening was aimed at cleansing the bureaucracy of elements of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Tantawi said the civil servants' answers to the questions would be examined one by one and those who supported GAM or who were involved in the separatist movement would be punished in accordance with the law. The law on public administration punishes civil servants who fail to show their loyalty to the government through dismissal.

Tantawi conceded that the government could not detect whether or not the civil servants were honest in answering the questionnaire.

The screening was conducted in response to allegations that civil servants provide political and financial support for the separatist movement. The martial law administration arrested three civil servants recently in Aceh Besar regency and three members of the provincial legislature who allegedly supported the armed rebellion in the province. The suspects are still undergoing intensive interrogation.

Some 39 civil servants in East Aceh are facing dismissal following their refusal to pledge loyalty to the state in a ceremony in the regency recently although they had been invited three times to the ceremony.

East Aceh regent Azman Usmanuddin said that some civil servants who were known to be GAM sympathizers had not come to their workplace since their recruitment.

He admitted that civil servants who sympathized with the movement have made trouble in the regency but the local administration had not taken action against them.

Azman said he had received many reports that civil servants who were no longer loyal to the government had leaked sensitive information to GAM.

Soldiers' rape trial to start on Friday in Lhokseumawe

Jakarta Post - July 3, 2003

A'an Suryana, Lhokseumawe -- The court martial of three soldiers for the rape of four women in Aceh will start on Friday, a court official in the North Aceh town of Lhokseumawe said on Wednesday.

"They [the Lhokseumawe military court] have asked for a permit to use our court venue for the rape trial beginning on Friday morning," said Sofyan who heads the Lhokseumawe State Court.

Three soldiers from Battalion 411 of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) admitted to raping the four women last month. The maximum penalty for rape under military law is 12 years in jail.

The upcoming trial will mark the second time in which soldiers have been prosecuted over rights abuses during the six-week-old military operation in Aceh. Last month the military court sentenced six soldiers to four months in jail for aggravated assault against a group of civilians in Lawang village, Bireun regency.

On June 27, military police arrested Chief Pvt ST, First Pvt HD and First Pvt. DL following reports that they had raped the four women at different places in North Aceh regency. The three admitted to their crimes after three days of questioning on June 22.

Martial law administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya apologized on Monday to the Aceh people for the rapes, calling it a disgrace to the good image of the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Nevertheless, several rights groups have claimed that there are many more cases of rights abuse that remain unaccounted for, with reports still emerging over the discovery of dead civilians.

Over 10,000 people have died in the decades long conflict, most of whom have been civilians, especially during the 1989 to 1998 military operation in Aceh. Rights groups condemned both the TNI and GAM for the atrocities, but blamed the former for its longer record of abuses.

Although the TNI has been a bit more transparent in its current military operation, it has become increasingly difficult to monitor rights abuses in the province. A slew of newly enforced edicts have completely banned many journalists and civilian monitors and severely controlled the activity of those journalists and right groups allowed into the province.

Aceh is mostly closed to foreigners, with only a few who have been residing there, or those who work for multinational companies such as ExxonMobil, able to remain in the province. The martial law administration has instructed all foreign aid agencies to leave, and has turned a cold shoulder to local aid groups.

Military claims control of Aceh

Straits Times - July 3, 2003

Jakarta -- Indonesia's military claimed control over the whole of Aceh province yesterday, six weeks after it launched a huge operation to crush separatist rebels.

The armed forces chief, General Endriartono Sutarto, said soldiers still faced attacks from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), but added: "When it comes to territorial control, it is 100 per cent under our control. However, there are still one or two problems [and] of course we cannot say security is 100 per cent guaranteed," Gen Sutarto was quoted by the state Antara news agency as saying.

Even though the province is under military control, the war against GAM will not be suspended ahead of schedule, he said. He did not give a timeframe, but officials had said they hoped to wind down military operations, which began on May 19, after six months or less.

The army chief, General Ryamizard Ryacudu, said on Tuesday that rebel strength was now down to 600 to 700 from an estimated 5,000 at the start of the operation. He said GAM forces were mostly cornered in isolated hilly areas.

The military said 309 rebels had been killed as of Tuesday, while 682 have surrendered or been captured. GAM said many of those killed were civilians.

GAM previously controlled several areas in the province and ran a de facto civil administration in some districts.

Chief rebel spokesman Sofyan Daud denied his forces were no longer united in the field. "According to us there's no problem. Things are normal," he said in Jakarta.

Yesterday, a pair of rebels posing as customers stole two guns from police guards at a bank in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, reported Antara, quoting city deputy police chief Arie Rachman. One guard received a gunshot wound to the head, Antara said.

On Tuesday, unidentified attackers lobbed two grenades at the North Aceh district administration office in the town of Lhokseumawe. No one was hurt and damage was slight, the military said. Some paramilitary police were sleeping in the building at the time.

Military spokesman Yani Basuki said eight clashes have been reported across the province since Tuesday, with two rebels killed and two captured. One soldier was killed and another injured.

The military continued its search for an Indonesian TV crew missing since Sunday when it left East Aceh for Lhokseumawe. RCTI, the country's first private television station, said reporter Ersa Siregar and cameraman Ferry Santoro had not been heard from since Sunday, when they left for a three-hour journey to Lhokseumawe, an important military base. Commenting on the disappearance of the TV crew, Gen Sutarto said journalists in Aceh "should stick close" to the military.

Last month, cameraman Muhammad Jamal from the state TVRI station was found murdered in Aceh after going missing for almost a month. He had been abducted by unidentified gunmen. The authorities last week detained a US journalist who had been travelling with the rebels. Police have accused him of violating immigration laws.

Fear, pain and shame in Aceh

Asia Times - July 2, 2003

Lesley McCulloch -- In the police stations of Aceh, in Indonesia's far northwest corner, fear is the daily diet of the detainees. Not fear of the outcome of a due legal process, but fear of torture by Indonesian police to force a false confession.

For several days now information has been leaking from the Polres (local police) station in the provincial capital Banda Aceh. The sources are varied, but most of the information comes from a police officer who is disgusted by what he says he is forced to participate in, and ashamed that he feels so helpless to intervene on behalf of those held there.

Since the imposition of martial law in Aceh on May 1, the number of detainees without access to lawyers and charged with treason has increased exponentially.

Stories from various sources, all of whom must remain undisclosed, tell of torture, intimidation, sleep deprivation, overcrowding, and lack of food and water. The torture is systematic and takes place at all hours of the day and night.

This past Sunday evening, there were 37 prisoners in two cells in Polres, each cell measuring three by four meters. Two small meals are provided daily but clean water for drinking is in short supply. Lack of food, dehydration, and the heat caused by the overcrowded conditions has resulted in many becoming sick, but a doctor has yet to visit those held in the Polres hell. The shared toilet has been blocked for several days, many have open wounds as a result of torture by the police, the risk of infection in such unsanitary conditions is very high.

In the past few days, Amiruddin, 16, has been beaten so badly around the head that he now has sight in only one eye. There are several detainees in custody under the age of 18, all of whom have been beaten. These detainees are, according to international standards, still classified as children.

There are several elderly prisoners, and their senior years have not spared them from torture. On Monday, Tengku Wahab arrived in one of the cells, his rib already broken from a beating he received while in detention at the Brimob station. Brimob is Indonesia's elite mobile brigade whose reputation for murder and violence is similar to that of the dreaded Indonesian military. Tengku Wahab is 63 years old and, as with most of the detainees, he has been charged with treason.

The Indonesian government has announced that those suspected of supporting the separatist movement (GAM) in the province will be charged with treason. On Monday, there were 16 other inmates in Tengku Wahab's cell, 15 of whom had been charged with the same offense. The fate of most of the 20 prisoners in the cell next to Wahab's is the same. There are two, however, who have been detained at Polres for five months, and to date no formal charge has been made against them. One of the inmates is mentally ill; his charge is also treason.

At 9:30pm on Sunday a new prisoner arrived. The police were angry, they were shouting: "You are a member of GAM, do you think we are stupid? Say you are, say it!" As they shouted, they slammed his head into the bars of the cell -- again and again. By telephone at 11:30pm, and obviously in some distress, the police officer who had opened the door to the Polres torture rooms said: "Please call the International Red Cross, these people need help. God forgive me for what I am part of, God forgive us all."

Information comes not only from this police officer, but from several sources, including those who have been released: "Yes, I was beaten, but I am OK. I don't know why I was released, I guess I am just lucky. Please help my brothers who are still in Polres." When asked to identify the instruments of torture, recently released Saifuddin (not his real name) said, "They use anything they can to torture the prisoners. They beat people with guns, rattan poles, wood, and even heavy books. They kick with their boots, in the ribs and on the head, and they have burned so many with cigarettes and with lighters. Sometimes they forced me to hold a ball pen between my fingers and then squeezed my fingers together."

The international community is all but silent on the issue of Aceh, but has given much more time to the detention of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In fact, it is interesting to note that at a recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda was one of the most vocal critics of the Myanmar government. Hassan said of the detention of Suu Kyi: "Myanmar is a setback for the country itself and also a setback for the region." He was objecting to her detention and the conditions under which she is being held.

But his words ring hollow when in May, back home in Indonesia, the government of which Hassan is part launched against the Acehnese the biggest military operation since the 1975 invasion of East Timor. So many in Hassan's own country are being detained in conditions that violate all norms and conventions relating to the treatment of prisoners, and also the rights of civilians in a war situation.

It is one thing to fight on the battlefield; it is quite another for members of the national police force to torture, maim and kill those detained under dubious laws. The Indonesian government has interpreted the relative silence of the international community on the issue of Aceh as support for its actions in that remote province.

Why is the Indonesian police force torturing and maiming children and the elderly in Aceh? Why, on Saturday, was the body of one prisoner who succumbed to the ferocity of the torture taken from the Polres at night? Where is the body now?

Hassan said the Myanmar government cannot ignore the calls of the international community to release Suu Kyi. If this is so, then the solution to the problems in Aceh described above is quite simple: the international community need only request that the Indonesian government prevent its police force from torturing civilians, including children and the elderly. Could it really be this simple?

[Lesley McCulloch is a research fellow at the Monash Asia Institute, Melbourne, Australia.]

Banda Aceh tightens security after blasts

Jakarta Post - July 2, 2003

Nani Farida and A'an Suryana, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe -- Following Monday's bomb blasts in Aceh's provincial capital Banda Aceh, authorities said they would tighten security in the city, as terrorist acts mark a new threat in the war against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Five bomb threats were reported in Banda Aceh over the past two days. Two of the bombs exploded and injured four civilians, in a rare terrorist strike police said was led by the rebels. The blasts have shattered Banda Aceh's image as a safe haven from rebel' activity and underlined the difficulties in separating them from the rest of the population.

"We will tightened security measures in Banda Aceh and surrounding areas by conducting raids," said Aceh National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Sayed Hoesainy on Tuesday. He said police would drop personnel at places which had so far been left unprotected. "GAM members can put on civilian clothes and place bombs anywhere. This is what we are watching out for," he said.

Monday's bomb attacks delivered a wake up call to the city's residents who previously thought that the war raged only in remote villages in GAM-controlled areas. Sayed said that GAM exploded the bombs to let people know that they were in town.

Rosmaini, 50, said she could have died had she not seen a suspicious package next to her car on Tuesday. She said she and her husband reported their finding to a security officer who told her that the package contained a homemade bomb.

Another homemade bomb was found at Zainal Abidin General Hospital, stirring panic among the patients. "We are afraid of going out, especially to crowded places," said Yuni a student from Syiah Kuala University as she passed by the Pasar Aceh traditional market where one of the bombs exploded. Another homemade bomb went off at Kampung Baru market, injuring four people.

Aceh martial law administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya said the military would intensify patrols and intelligence operations to hunt down the rebels. According to him, the bomb blasts occurred because "certain groups" were protecting the rebels in the city. "With such protection, GAM members can easily move around Aceh, including Banda Aceh," he told reporters.

The military has evacuated thousands of people from their homes in GAM controlled areas in its effort to separate the rebels from the civilians. All Acehnese citizens must obtain new ID cards in a move that authorities claim will help them identify GAM rebels during raids. Civil servants must also undergo a loyalty test in another program to separate the rebels from the general populace.

Three soldiers arrested in Aceh confess rapes

Agence France Presse - June 30, 2003

Three Indonesian soldiers arrested for raping four women in war- torn Aceh province have confessed to the crimes, the military said.

The private soldiers are now being detained at military police headquarters in North Aceh, said military operations spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Yani Basuki.

The rapes took place separately between June 20 and 22. "According to the soldiers and the victims, the rapes indeed happened," Basuki told AFP Monday. The troops could face 12 years in jail if found guilty at a later hearing.

It was the second time rapes had been reported since the military and police on May 19 launched an all-out assault to crush Free Aceh Movement separatist guerrillas, who have been fighting for independence since 1976.

Earlier in June a police paramilitary soldier was been detained for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl.

The military, which has a record of gross rights abuses during earlier campaigns in Aceh, has said it will try to ensure its troops behave better this time. Six soldiers have been jailed for between four and five months for beating up civilians during a hunt for rebels.

However, martial law authorities have restricted travel in the province by foreign media and overseas non-government organisations, making independent monitoring of rights abuses difficult.

Explosions rocked two markets in the provincial capital Banda Aceh early Monday, injuring three hawkers. The first blast occurred at the Aceh Shopping Center at around 7am, damaging several kiosks but causing no injuries. The second blast at the nearby Kampung Baru market some 30 minutes later injured three traders, said Banda Aceh city police chief Alfons Tololuhula said. "They were home-made, low explosive, bombs," Tololuhula said, accusing separatist rebels of planting the bombs the previous evening "as a form of terror to scare the population."

Villagers said they found the bodies of a young couple with gunshot wounds early on Monday. They said two armed men believed to be rebels were seen taking the couple from their home at Lam Teungoh in Aceh Besar district around the capital the previous evening.

The military says at least 270 rebels have been killed since the start of the offensive for the loss of about 30 police or troops. Local rights group Kontras has said 176 civilians had been killed as of the middle of June but did not say by whom.

West Papua

Army's elite soldiers pulled out of Papua

Jakarta Post - July 3, 2003

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura -- Following increasing allegations of torture and civilian deaths, the Army withdrew on Wednesday 98 of its 158 elite Special Force (Kopassus) and Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) soldiers deployed to crack down on separatists in Papua.

The remainder have been retasked with persuading rebels to voluntarily return seven machine guns stolen during a raid on the Jayawijaya Military District arsenal on April 4.

Chief of the Trikora Military Command overseeing Papua, Maj. Gen. Nurdin Zainal, interviewed in Jayapura on Wednesday, said the pullout followed a quieting down of rebel activity in areas considered to be Free Papua Movement (OPM) strongholds.

He said the situation in Wamena, the capital of Jayawijaya regency, was under control. Security in the villages of Kuyawage and Sinakma was yet to be restored.

He said the military had identified the area in which the remaining weapons were being kept and was negotiating to persuade the rebels to return the arms. He did not elaborate.

Human rights organizations and religious leaders in the largely Christian province say at least 16 civilians and rebels have been killed during the military operation to retrieve the initial 29 arms stolen in the raid that left two soldiers dead. Both soldiers and civilians have been implicated in the attack.

Hundreds of villagers have been forced to seek refuge in forest areas in the regency amid fears of intimidation and torture by the soldiers.

The alleged human rights abuses have fueled calls for the government to set up an independent team to investigate.

Papuan Police have also launched an operation to persuade rebels to surrender and for locals to drop their support of OPM in a bid to restore security and order in the country's easternmost province.

Police claim that dozens of Papuans have surrendered their arms to the security authorities and declared their loyalty to Jakarta.

Senior government and military officials say Papua will be the target of a massive campaign after its war in Aceh to "crush" Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists ends.

Megawati lauds Papuans' loyalty vow to NKRI

Jakarta Post - July 2, 2003

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- President Megawati Soekarnoputri welcomed members of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) back to the fold of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), a day after they surrendered to the Papua Provincial Administration and pledged full unwavering loyalty to the state government.

Speaking via teleconference with the Papuan Police Chief Insp. Gen. Budi Utomo on Tuesday, the President congratulated the local authorities for their role in the surrender. "I welcome the return of our friends in Papua to the NKRI and hopefully they will convert their colleagues [other independence seekers] as well," Megawati said.

The teleconference was held in conjunction with the celebration of the 57th anniversary of the National Police at the police's Airbase in Pondok Cabe, South Jakarta, on Tuesday.

During the teleconference, Megawati emphasized that both she and Vice President Hamzah Haz, who was also in attendance, praised the decision by the group to surrender to the authorities. "Both me and pak Hamzah are glad about the decision and once again ... congratulations," the President remarked.

During the teleconference, Budi was accompanied by several former OPM members who had recently surrendered. One of the men, Tadeus, said that he chose to join Indonesia because he had lost interest in pursuing freedom. "With all my faculties intact, I surrendered to the state," he told the President.

He was one of 42 OPM members who officially surrendered to the local authorities on Monday. The group also handed over grenades, rifles, ammunition and other military equipment to the police as a symbol that they were truly giving up any hope of independence.

Earlier in the teleconference, Budi said that he would not charge them with any legal offenses because they voluntarily gave up their pursuit of freedom in order to be loyal subjects of the state.

The unprecedented move of the independence fighters was quite surprising as the government had not yet made any major decisions about how to crack down on the freedom movement in Papua.

The government is still wavering over its decision to implement special autonomy in the province due to some serious hurdles. Many Papuans, including local legislators, are beginning to pose tough questions to the central government about its motives in the fund allocation. Most of the funds remain in Jakarta despite a much greater proportion called for in the autonomy law.

Aside from the budget problem, the Papuans are also at odds with Jakarta over its decision to divide the province into three different provinces, which is slated to go into effect as soon as possible.

Forty two rebels surrender in Papua province

Associated Press - June 30, 2003

Jayapura -- Forty-two rebels in Indonesia's eastern Papua province surrendered Monday, vowing to end their struggle for independence, police said. It was not immediately clear what prompted the move.

The insurgents are members of one faction of the Free Papua Movement and it did not appear the surrender represented an end to the low-level insurgency that started when Indonesia took control of the former Dutch colony in 1963.

Indonesia's top Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, however, said in Jakarta, "This a signal of the end their struggle." But he admitted that questions had been raised whether the unusual surrender was legitimate. "There are doubts from the public whether it is true that the 42 that surrendered are really guerrillas fresh from the mountains ... but I believe that ... to be true," he told reporters.

The 42 rebels handed the police 235 guns and 56 hand grenades in a ceremony at police headquarters in the provincial capital Jayapura. One rebel leader, Papiri, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, then read a statement. "We hereby declare that we have ended our fight against the government of the Unitary State of Indonesia," he said. "We are aware that our struggle is so far useless."

Police Chief Maj. Gen. Budi Utomo said the formal surrender was arranged following negotiations between the police and the rebels operating in jungles around Jayapura. Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya province, is on the western side of New Guinea island, about 3,700 kilometers east of Jakarta. Indonesia's sovereignty over the region was formalized in 1969 through a UN-sponsored referendum.

Critics say, however, that the vote was a sham. The rebels -- armed mainly with bows and arrows and spears -- have made little headway over the years, partly because it lacks the firepower and united leadership to challenge Indonesia's authority.

Surrendering Papua rebels' fate? Handicrafts training

Reuters - June 30, 2003

Jakarta -- More than 40 fighters of an armed separatist group in Indonesia's remote eastern province of Papua have surrendered to police and their immediate fate is -- handicrafts training.

Papua police chief Budi Utomo told leading El Shinta radio that most of the 42 members of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) had been living in the jungle, some as long as 10 years.

The news comes with Indonesia in the middle of a fresh offensive to crush rebels in Aceh province at the other end of the country. "They have come to their senses and surrendered," Utomo said.

The poorly-armed OPM has waged a low-level guerrilla war for independence for decades in Papua and surrenders have been rare. Its leaders are notoriously difficult to contact while there are few accurate estimates of its numbers.

Utomo said most of the 42 had been based in the jungle in three separate districts and grown tired of such a life.

He said authorities would deal leniently with the men and that they would be given handicrafts training. "Based on several interviews and discussions, most of them have been bored living in the woods," Utomo told the radio station.

Most attention now focuses on the Papuan Presidium Council, a political movement of influential community leaders in the predominantly Christian and animist province that seeks independence peacefully from mainly Muslim Indonesia. Leaders of that group were not available to comment.

As in Aceh, Jakarta has ruled out independence for Papua and no country officially supports Papuan separatists. But the West is often critical of Indonesia's heavy-handed approach.

The government on May 19 launched its offensive in Aceh, where rebels have far greater numbers and are better armed than those in Papua.

Indonesia wrested control of Papua, formerly Irian Jaya, from the Dutch in 1963. The United Nations sanctioned the move six years later in a widely discredited vote by hand-picked local representatives. The vote was called an "act of free choice".

Democratic struggle

An anti-neoliberal women's movement is born

Green Left Weekly - July 2, 2003

In Jakarta, around 1000 people, the majority women from the Women's Claim Alliance (APM), commemorated March 8, International Women's Day (IWD), by condemning increases to fuel prices and calling for a reduction in prices and the resignation of President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

The women's movement in Indonesia emerged in the mid-1980s, along with the rise of the pro-democracy movement struggling against the authoritarian regime of former President Suharto. Over the last 20 years, there have been new and quite meaningful advances in the movement.

Discussion groups mushroomed in thousands of non-government organisations that were taking up women's issues and street actions were coloured by the women's movement.

However, one unresolved question was "Can there be a joint platform for this movement?" and "Why has the women's movement remained fragmented?" On March 8, for example, one organisation commemorated the day with a book launch at a luxury hotel and other groups held seminars, while others organised art exhibitions on women's issues. In a corner of the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta, a group of housewives carried pots and pans and condemned the recent price increases, while in the afternoon 1000 women held a demonstration which marched to the presidential palace chanting "Reduce prices, overthrow Mega[wati]!".

Compared to women's movements that have developed in other countries, where the normative issues have already shifted to those being taken up by the anti-neoliberal movement, the movement here has been left behind. The destruction of the women's movement by the Suharto's New Order regime was appalling. All political participation was suppressed and the freedom to organise was cut off completely. Two decades have since passed, and a new struggle is emerging from scratch to reestablish meaningful political rights.

The government's decision to increase the prices of basic goods at the end of 2002 hit women very hard. Indonesian women live in a very patriarchal society, where they are limited to attending to household affairs. Women were the most affected by the increase in the price of basic goods and medicines. Their anxiety is easy to see in the market corners and on public transport.

Women are becoming aware that these price incenses did not just fall from the sky, rather they are a result of policies intentionally implemented by the Megawati government in accordance with the desires of its master: the imperialist countries. Imperialism implements these policies -- the policies of neoliberalism -- as a solution to overcome the global economic crisis. So the organising of women to become a force of resistance is very important. The birth of APM was based on such conditions.

There have been two large actions carried out by APM. The first action in January 2003, a week after the latest price increase, involved around 800 protesters -- the majority being women from non-government organisations or housewives. This mobilisation was repeated at IWD, involving some 1000 people.

The demands raised at these protests were advanced from the demands which have emerged in previous actions. Anti-imperialism and anti-militarism are no longer just another ingredient, instead opposing price increases and violence against women are now grounded on this understanding.

The birth of a more advanced social order, socialism, is the only thing which can end the oppression of women. The basis for the liberation of women is the return of women to involvement in the productive sectors of society. Without working consistently to achieve this, it will be impossible to create a new society which is socially just.

A new history is in the making. The mobilisation of thousands of women raising political issues is a new victory. This was perhaps the largest action since the mobilisations organised by Gerwani (a mass women's organisation affiliated to the Indonesian Communist Party) in the 1960s.

There is great potential for the women's movement. Education and mass mobilisations, along with building a front between the women's movement and other forces will not be an easy job, but it is a task which is appropriate and one which must be begun now.

[From A woman's place is in the struggle. This is abridged from the current issue of Pembebasan, the monthly newspaper of the Indonesian People's Democratic Party. Translation by James Balowski.]

Labour issues

ExxonMobil in Aceh dismisses 1000 employees

Media Indonesia - June 30, 2003

Lhok Sukon, Banda Aceh -- The management of PT ExxonMobil Indonesia began dismissing around 1000 workers on Monday, this is the third time the company has dismissed contract workers this year.

In protest against the dismissals, employees held a demonstration in the area around ExxonMobil in Lhok Sukon on Monday, this demonstration being the fifth [to date].

A number of the contract workers, the majority of which have worked at ExxonMobil for 15-30 years, said that almost 95 per cent of the employees who were dismissed were local Acehnese. They will receive severance pay equivalent to two months wages or around 1-3 million rupiah.

According to Syamsul Bahri, one of the leaders of the demonstration, they had in fact already asked the management to delay the dismissals until the emergency situation [which was declared in Aceh on May 19] ended, because it is extremely difficult to find work during the emergency period.

The management however did not respond, so they are of the opinion that the ExxonMobil management is taking advantage of the emergency military situation in Aceh to carry out the dismissals in because [they know] that their employees will not be able to struggle fully for their rights.

Nevertheless, the employees said that they will not take any anarchistic actions, and will continue to struggle for their rights though peaceful demonstrations and dialogue.

According to Bahri, they have already written to Commission VII of the People's Consultative Assembly Commission and have twice held discussions with the minister of labour and transport, Jacob Nuwa Wea, to ask for the rights of the employees to be protected. In addition to this, they also plan to ask for support from the Regent of North Aceh and the North Aceh local parliament, however they are still waiting for permission from the military commander overseeing the military emergency in Aceh.

He said that the employees also regretted the fact that since last Thursday, they have been refused permission to enter land belonging to ExxonMobil, while in fact their ID badges are still valid until June 30. "However since last Thursday, we have been refused permission to enter", said Bahri.

He hoped therefore, that the government would find a solution to the problem of the ExxonMobil dismissals by supporting the formation of an independent team to investigate the matter objectively and fairly.

According to Bahri, finding work during a military emergency is extremely difficult, especially if you are seeking work outside of Aceh. "ExxonMobil does not have any intention of finding a solution which is beneficial to both parties", he said.

"We are also confused because our children will be going back to school soon [after the school holidays are over]. Over the next three months, perhaps will still be able to eat, but what about the future of our children's schooling", he said.

According to another employee, Agus Resta Alam, the majority of the workers who were dismissed lived in and around the area of ExxonMobil. "We feel like mice who have died [of starvation] amidst the wealth of a rice storage barn. Where are we going to find work", he asked.

"We are shocked that the management of ExxonMobil have failed to respect Law Number 13/2003 on labour affairs, because the law has contains stipulations on the issue of severance pay and the rights of employees who are dismissed", he added.

In the same grain, Jafar also said that he was confused about how he was pay for his six children [to go to school], because he was only given around 1 million rupiah in severance pay.

Meanwhile it has been difficult to obtain conformation from the management of ExxonMobil because the companies security personnel and the security forces are tightly guarding the gates and journalists are refused permission to enter. (Ant/Ol-01)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

'War on terrorism'

Anti-Terrorist bill must be amended: Imparsial

Kompas - July 5, 2003

Jakarta -- It is not enough to hold a judicial review of the anti-terrorist laws numbers 15/2003 and 16/2003 which were promulgated three months ago. These laws must be totally revised or amended so they do not allow for their misuse by the authorities.

This was the view expressed by Imparsial (Indonesian Human Right Watch) at a press conference in Jakarta on Friday. At this opportunity, Imparsial also expressed its regret over the promise to amend the laws which was made by the government and which has not been fulfilled three months after the anti-terrorism laws were legislated.

"But in fact, to this day no amendment has not been carried out", said the program director of Imparsial, Rachland Nashidik. This was despite the fact that the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Manusia Yusril Ihza Mahendra, had himself promised to carry out the amendment several days after the laws were passed by the parliament. At that time, Yusril promised that within a month, a draft amendment would be completed (Kompas, March 11).

According to a press release signed by Imparsial's executive director, Munir, the government has admitted that the planned amendment has not been done and that the amendment itself is not a priority for the government.

Not serious

According to Imparsial, a government statement which was issued by Yusril indicated that from the beginning the government was not really interested in making the amendment.

The government has also been reluctant to apply the principle of public accountability and has violated the principles of good governance. The government has violated the general principle of governance which should uphold high standards of morality, decency and legal norms which are derived from the principles of legal certainty, orderly state administration, openness, proportionism, professionalism and accountability.

Imparsial researcher, Bathara Ibnu Reza, said that the most important article which need to be amended was Article 26 which states that evidence from intelligence reports is sufficient to initiate an investigation.

According to Bathara, there is a significant risk of misuse because an innocent person can be detained and investigation on charges of terrorism by security personnel on the most minimal evidence. (dhf/wis)

[Translated by James Balowski]

Terrorists in Indonesia 'plotting new attacks'

Agence France Presse - July 3, 2003

Jakarta -- Indonesian police yesterday warned of fresh terrorist attacks in the country after disclosing that key suspects are still in the country and are seeking funds for another bombing.

The top Indonesian investigator who led the probe into the Bali bombings in October, Inspector-General I Made Mangku Pastika, said that terrorists in the country "are now more radical and more committed".

Gen Pastika said an Indonesian called Dulmatin and a Malaysian called Dr Azahari, who are among several suspects still being sought, are "somewhere in Indonesia". He said suspects still at large are "looking for money now" and the next attack could also be a bombing. "But so far we do not know where the operation will be," he said.

Addressing a joint press conference with Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty, he said police are "very optimistic" of catching Hambali, Asia's most-wanted man who, he said, "might be anywhere".

Hambali, an Indonesian also known as Riduan Isamuddin, is believed to be the link man between Al-Qaeda and the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) regional terror group which staged the Bali blasts last October and a string of other attacks.

As JI's former operations chief, Hambali is said to have played a key role in directing the Bali attack and the Christmas Eve bombings of churches and priests which killed 19 people in 2000.

Police had previously said Hambali may have fled to Pakistan. More than 30 people are in custody for the Bali blasts after a joint Indonesia-Australian inquiry, including a key suspect called Idris whose arrest was announced this week.

But police are looking for several more. "The hunt for the Bali bombers has never been stopped," Mr Keelty said. Police "are committed to hunting down these people".

Government & politics

Golkar presidential candidates begin campaign

Jakarta Post - July 5, 2003

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar -- The presidential race kicked off within the country's second biggest party, Golkar, on Friday, with five would-be candidates presenting their visions and missions on the first day of a three-day meeting of Golkar- affiliated mass organizations in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The meeting, attended by representatives of the party's regional offices, is being held to introduce presidential hopefuls to the party, which served as the political vehicle for former dictator Soeharto over more than three decades.

Indonesia will hold its first ever direct presidential election between June and August 2004, preceded by legislative elections scheduled for April 5. Two of the would-be candidates -- Jusuf Kalla and Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, are longtime Golkar figures.

The three others are noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid, former commander of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto, and Gen. (ret) Agum Gumelar, the incumbent transportation minister.

Jusuf Kalla, who is also the current coordinating minister for people's welfare, told the meeting that he was ready to run for the presidency in 2004. He also said that he was optimistic he could meet Golkar's requirements. Although he did not mention the number of local branches that backed his bid, Kalla believed he could gain enough support.

He also said that he did not consider Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung as a rival. "If Pak Akbar is acquitted of all charges, he must be prioritized [as the party's candidate] due to his position as party chairman," said Kalla, adding that Golkar would not propose a single candidate for the upcoming election.

Nurcholish, meanwhile, said he would stay consistent to his commitment to using Golkar as a political vehicle leading to the presidency in 2004 despite requests from other parties to be their presidential candidate. "I have chosen to be nominated by Golkar so the other parties can no longer nominate me. They could support me, however," he told reporters.

Nucholish, widely tipped as a strong rival to Akbar, said he had yet to appoint a vice presidential running mate. He explained that this would have to be someone who was willing to fight for democracy. Nurcholish is known as a staunch supporter of democracy and for his reform credentials, and has no direct connection with the New Order regime.

Agum, meanwhile, said he would concentrate on law enforcement and nation-building if elected president. He also called on the people to eliminate corruption, collusion, nepotism, arrogance and dishonesty.

The sultan, on the other hand, said that Golkar must choose a figure who was committed to Golkar and the well-being of the people. "We must choose a figure who is committed to Golkar. Don't [choose figures] who want to see Golkar disbanded," said the sultan, apparently referring to Nurcholish who once called for the party's dissolution.

Prabowo, on the other hand, said that he had not set himself any special targets. "It is enough if I can take my place among the big five [Golkar presidential candidates]," said Prabowo, a son- in law of Soeharto. He said he had attended the gathering as he wanted to learn and meet the people in a bid to ascertain their aspirations.

Prabowo also said that the Soeharto family had nothing to do with his nomination. "I have no obligation nor responsibility to restore the image of the Cendana family," said Prabowo, referring to his in-laws.

Compromise seals election bill

Jakarta Post - July 5, 2003

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- High school graduates, suspects, or convicted persons can be nominated as presidential candidates in 2004 when the country will organize the first direct presidential elections following a consensus of the nine House factions on those issues on Friday.

Small parties that did not get any seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) could field a presidential candidate by forming coalitions to make at least 5 percent of the total votes.

Those articles were among the crucial issues in the presidential election bill negotiated by leaders of House factions from 8 p.m. on Thursday until 3.30am on Friday at Santika Hotel in Central Jakarta.

The agreement of the nine factions on those issues ended the prolonged debate on the bill and paved the way for its endorsement, scheduled for Monday. The consensus of factions on the crucial issues was somewhat surprising as in the beginning the opposing factions defended their own arguments.

Golkar Party and the Reform faction, which consists of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Justice Party (PK), were among the factions that proposed that a presidential candidate must have a university degree.

The consensus achieved on Friday instantly drew speculations that there were backroom deals among the factions. "It is the best compromise that we can achieve. If we deny this, it is a lie," Patrialis Akbar of the Reform faction said on the sidelines of a meeting with Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno here on Friday.

United Development Party (PPP) faction chairman Barlianta Harahap said the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Golkar played a major role in the consensus. "As long as the consensus does not contradict the Constitution, PPP will support it," Barlianta added.

Barlianta was referring to PDI Perjuangan which insisted on allowing high school graduates to run for the presidency and Golkar which lobbied to allow suspects or convicted persons to join the presidential race. PDI Perjuangan chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri is a high school graduate, while Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung is convicted in a Rp 40 billion (US$4.8 million) graft case.

The House factions also agreed that party leaders who were elected president or vice president were not required to relinquish his or her structural position in their respective party.

The factions agreed that the nomination of presidential candidates and their running mates must be registered with the General Elections Commission (KPU) no later than seven days after the results of legislative elections were announced.

Political parties or coalitions must also submit the program, vision and mission of presidential candidates with the registration. In his report, deputy committee chairman Ferry Mursyidan Baldan said the bill was now composed of 15 chapters and 103 articles from the previous 17 chapters and 77 articles in the original draft of the home ministry.

Ferry of Golkar faction added that of the 665 items discussed by the factions, 115 items were settled through negotiation.

Key Articles in the Bill

Article 5: (1) Contestants in the presidential election shall be candidates nominated by political parties or coalitions of parties. (2) The announcement of the candidates shall be made at the same time as the submission of the names of would-be legislators to the General Elections Commission. (3) Registration of candidates must be made after the results of the legislative elections are announced. (4) Candidates can only be nominated by parties or coalitions of parties that win 15 percent of seats in the House or 20 percent of the total legislative votes.

Especially for the 2004 election, the parties or group of parties that win at least 3 percent of seats in the House or 5 percent of total legislative votes can nominate a candidate.

Article 31: (1) Candidates and running mates authorized by KPU are not allowed to withdraw their nomination. (2) Otherwise, the parties or group of parties nominating the candidate are not allowed to nominate another candidate.

Article 35: (9) Candidates may have chance to present their political platform in the second-round of the election, facilitated by KPU.

Article 36: (i) Campaigns can be held through public debate/debate among candidates.

Poll finds top security minister preferred leader

Radio Australia - July 3, 2003

Indonesian's top security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is reportedly preferred over incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri as the country's next president.

According to a poll conducted by the Centre for the Study of Development and Democracy ,13 percent of 3,000 respondents in 13 provinces have picked Mr Yudhoyono. Mrs Megawati trails in second place with seven percent.

Six percent of the respondents have picked national assembly speaker, Amien Rais and an equal number want parliament speaker, Akbar Tanjung. Just five percent favor Vice President Hamzah Haz.

Indonesians, for the first time, will directly elect their president next year. No date has yet been set for the poll but it is expected to follow parliamentary elections on April 5.

Mrs Megawati has indicated she intends to seek re-election while Mr Yudhoyono has not declared his position.

Civil servants not enthused over re-registration

Jakarta Post - July 2, 2003

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The government-initiated re- registration of civil servants failed to gain momentum on its initial day on Tuesday with civil servants appearing decidedly unenthusiastic.

"We should not have to undergo this screening process as this country should believe that we will always support and voice our loyalty for the Unitary Republic of Indonesia," a civil servant in the Supreme Court said when The Jakarta Post interviewed him at his office on Tuesday.

"If the government insists on carrying out screening, why don't they start with top government officials instead of the likes of us who have no influence over the institution's day-to-day policies?" the civil servant -- who requested anonymity -- asked. "Anyway, we still haven't received the forms," he added.

A similar mood prevailed in the Ministry of Home Affairs, with many state employees still to complete the forms even though the ministry's secretariat had been distributing them since Thursday of last week. "The government wants us to return it within a month, so why should we complete it in a hurry? I haven't read it anyway," an employee said.

On Tuesday, the government started a one-month "reregistration" drive among civil servants, arguing that the country had not carried out such an exercise since 1974. Some have even called the scheme a political screening process as the program was announced amid the government's military campaign in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province to crush the secessionist movement there.

The government has also said that civil servants in Aceh will have to undergo special political screening so as "to determine their loyalty to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia." The Civil Service Board (BKN), which comes under the supervision of the Office of the State Ministry for Administrative Reform, has been given the task of carrying out the reregistration, which will would cost the government around Rp 11 billion (US$1.3 million).

Dismissing allegations that the government was screening civil servants in the same way as the New Order regime had once done to root out sympathizers with the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the Office of the State Minister earlier said that the reregistration was merely a procedural matter in order to get up-to-date data on civil servants and build up a comprehensive database on them.

But Syarifudin, a civil servant in the Ministry of Home Affairs Directorate General for Special Autonomy, said the Civil Service Board was supposed to maintain a database on state employees as "all the processes starting with the recruitment, payment and promotion of civil servants can only be gone through after approval from the BKN has been received." There are around 1,129 state employees in the Supreme Court and some 2,000 working with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"It is so ridiculous for the Civil Service Board to claim it does not have an up-to-date database ... but anyway, this is our first experience filling in this type of form. We have never had to do it before ... never mind ...," Syarifudin told the Post resignedly.

House committee to begin inquiry into Sukhoigate

Jakarta Post - June 30, 2003

Jakarta -- Alleged irregularities in the purchase of Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters are expected to come into the open slowly as lawmakers begin their investigation on Monday into the highly politicized case.

Former head of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Rizal Ramli told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that he would explain the role and function of Bulog in a hearing with a working committee set up by House of Representatives Commission I to examine allegations of corruption, collusion and nepotism in the deal.

Bulog, set up to ensure the supply of rice and to stabilize its price, paid US$ 25 million to a Russian agent in a down payment for four Sukhoi warplanes and two Mi-35 assault helicopters in April. The deal cost US$192.6 million in total.

Rizal, who served as coordinating minister for economic and financial affairs during the leadership of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, said there appeared to have been attempts to revive past practices of turning the agency into a cash cow of the power holder. "Instead of focusing on the Sukhoi deal, Bulog should have carried out its main duty," Rizal told the Post on Sunday.

Businessman Setiawan Djody was also due to be questioned on Monday. Djody, who chairs the Russian section at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), could not be reached for comment on Sunday, but committee member Djoko Susilo said the businessman was summoned to shed light on bilateral trade between Indonesia and Russia.

Apart from Rizal and Djody, the committee will also question Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil, Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Soewandi and Bulog head Widjarnako Puspoyo.

Megawati, who was ushered into the presidential post in July 2001, is the third high-ranking state official to be implicated in scandals involving Bulog.

Abdurrahman was accused of misusing Rp 35 billion (US$4.25 million) in Bulog funds in 2002. The scandal, known as Buloggate I, eventually led to his impeachment in July 2001.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung was tried on charges of abusing Bulog funds amounting to Rp 40 billion. The Central Jakarta District Court declared him guilty of corruption and sentenced him to three years in jail. The Jakarta High Court later confirmed Akbar's jail sentence but he remains free, pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Many analysts and politicians said that the House inquiry into the deal would not bring Megawati down, but could severely dent her credibility ahead of elections in 2004, when the country was expected to hold its first-ever direct presidential election. People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais gave an assurance on Sunday that the investigation into the Sukhoigate affair was not aimed at removing Megawati from her post.

Some lawmakers have also implicated Megawati's son-in-law Happy Hapsoro, the husband of her only daughter Puan Maharani, in the high-profile scandal.

Legislators have said that the probe will focus on the choice of Sukhoi jet fighters and weapons procurement procedures.

Under existing legislation, the Ministry of Defense has the sole authority to purchase military equipment, with the knowledge of the House. Minister Matori said earlier that he was not involved in the deal.

Legislators are also questioning the nation's ability to maintain the warplanes, as the country has been more accustomed to US and European-made jets.

Meanwhile, Nahdlatul Ulama Chairman Hasyim Muzadi has stepped into the furor, calling on the House to refrain from turning the issue into a political move.

"The political nuance of this issue is tangible; therefore we need to be careful to deal with this affair without reducing our critical stance of government policy on economic matters," said Hasyim, who leads the country's largest Muslim organization.

He suspected that political motives had dominated the case, which centers on the government's decision to buy four Sukhoi warplanes and two assault helicopters without involving the defense ministry and the House.

Hasyim asserted that the purchase of Sukhoi jets was not just a trade issue but a matter of state policy. The purchase, he said, was part of Indonesia's move to reduce its dependence on "the global power" (the US); therefore it was to be expected if a departure from the old policy sparked disappointment from certain quarters.

"It is this global disappointment that must be carefully examined, so as to keep us from a conflict with global interests," Hasyim said, as quoted by Antara.

Hasyim suggested that politicians in the House examine the matter "comprehensively and proportionally". "The House may investigate possible flaws in the procedures for the purchase. If they can still be corrected, so be it. However, if there are traces of foul play in the deal, such as price markups, we shall consider it corruption," he said.

Sukhoi-gate

Jakarta unmoved by storm over jet deal

Straits Times - July 5, 2003

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta -- The Indonesian government has declared it will proceed with buying Russian fighter jets despite controversy raging in Parliament about the deal.

Trade and Industry Minister Rini Soewandi, at the centre of a political storm that has incurred the wrath of Indonesian legislators desperate to undermine the Megawati administration, said that Jakarta had already delivered palm oil to Russia as part of the US$192.6-million barter deal.

The minister disclosed that the government would deliver textile products this month and tobacco next month under a scheme that includes some 30 commodities such as coffee, rubber, chocolate and electrical appliances.

Ms Rini said that the counter-trade deal with Russia, which President Megawati Sukarnoputri signed during her May trip to Moscow, was one way to jack up exports amid an economic downturn in developed economies such as the US and Japan. In return, Indonesia will get four Sukhoi jets -- two SU-20 and two SU-27 bombers -- and two MI-35 helicopters.

Critics charged that the deal allegedly violated defence and budgetary laws and banking procedures. Most arms procurement deals in Indonesia must be approved by the Defence Department before submission to the Finance Ministry and Parliament for budgeting. But according to air force generals, the Russian deal was not scrutinised, forcing Parliament to set up a special team to investigate the purchase for "irregularities".

The uproar has little to do with transparency or the high moral ground of fighting corruption. It has everything to do with identifying points of vulnerability to attack Ms Megawati's image. While a putsch seems unlikely, her rivals seem to have scored some success in undermining her credibility as the probe commission begins to uncover seemingly damaging information about the deal.

For a start, they accused the President of bypassing the Defence Ministry and assigning Ms Rini and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to arrange payment through the barter scheme. At the same time, there is suspicion those close to her were intricately involved.

Mr Effendy Choirie, head of the inquiry team, said that the President's son-in-law, Mr Hapy Hapsoro, might have played a role in clinching the controversial deal. Others included prominent businessmen such as Mr Setiawan Djody of the Sedco Group, Mr Manimaren Sinivasan of the Texmaco Group and Mr Anton Sulaiman of the Djarum Group. Complicating matters for the Indonesian leader was Ms Rini's disclosure this week that Ms Megawati was the architect of the deal.

There was fresh controversy after Parliament found out that military commander Endriartono Sutarto, who had earlier maintained he did not know anything about this deal, had signed a letter on behalf of the Defence Ministry appointing Bulog to discuss the procurement. Defence Minister Matori Abdul Jalil was left in the lurch about the project.

Analysts believe that Golkar and the Muslim parties stand to gain the most from this saga, which, together with the loss of Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia, will give Ms Megawati a rough ride in next year's elections. A senior Golkar legislator told The Straits Times: "Her image will suffer because of 'Sukhoigate' but we have no plans to bring her down."

Sukhoi purchase not tainted by collusion: Ministry

Asia Pulse - July 4, 2003

Jakarta -- Indonesia's Director General of Foreign Trade Sudar yesterday said the purchase of Russian-made jet fighters and helicopters was free from collusive practices.

"I am responsible for that," he said after a meeting with the House of Representatives' working committee tasked to look into the purchase.

Sudar attended the meeting to represent Industry and Trade Minister Rini MS Soewandi, who was having a meeting with the House Commission V for industry and trade.

It was the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) and not the Industry and Trade Ministry which had played a greater role in the purchase of two Sukhoi jet fighters and two Mi-35 helicopters from Russia, he said.

The purchase is part of a US$192 million countertrade deal signed by Indonesia and Russia during President Megawati Soekarnoputri's visit to Moscow last April. Under the deal, Russia will receive 30 different commodities of equal value (with the aircraft) from Indonesia in return for the military equipment. The commodities include crude palm oil, coffee, cacao, black pepper, textiles, electrical appliances and fishery products.

The Industry and Trade Ministry has reportedly assigned Bulog to implement the deal. The agency made a US$26 million downpayment to the Russian state company, Rosoboronoexport, after borrowing the money from state-owned Bank Bukopin.

Sudar denied an allegation that the President's family received a commission in the countertrade deal. No member of Megawati's family was involved in the deal, he said.

Sudar, who was formerly a trade attache with the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow said Indonesia was looking forward to signing more countertrade deals with other countries in order to expand non-traditional markets for its products.

He said the traditional markets for Indonesia, such as Europe and the United States, had reached a saturation point and Indonesia therefore needed to find new markets for its products.

Media/press freedom

Troops' brutal assault on journalist in Aceh revealed

Jakarta Post - July 5, 2003

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The management of 68H radio news lodged a strong protest on Friday with the martial law administration in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam over an assault the previous day on one of its journalists, Alif Imam Nurlambang, in Panton Luas, South Aceh.

The assault marked the first reported direct physical assault by troops in the province on a journalist.

"We are deeply concerned about the violence perpetrated by the security troops and strongly protest their uncontrolled, violent actions," Santoso, the radio station's president, said in a statement.

He called on both the military and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to respect journalists and allow them to work freely.

"Only if journalists are able to carry out their duties free from the threat of assault or abduction will the public be able to obtain clear and accurate information," Santoso said while referring to the abduction of RCTI TV reporter Erza Siregar and cameraman Ferry Santoro by GAM.

In a written statement, Alif, who has been in Aceh for the past three weeks, said he was assaulted by security forces while interviewing a local resident in her home.

Two military trucks and a car carrying members of the Army's Special Forces, the police's Mobile Brigade and the Marines suddenly arrived. They troops kicked down the door and pulled Alif and Jaka Rasyid, his guide, out of the house.

Alif identified himself as a journalist, but the troops ignored his protestations. He was later beaten and kicked by around five of the soldiers, one of whom hit him in the back with an M-16 rifle. The military could not be reached for comment over the incident.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) sent letters of complaint to GAM and the Indonesian Military (TNI) respectively over the abduction of the RCTI journalists. The IFJ is an international organization representing over 500,000 journalists worldwide.

In a letter to Hasan Tiro, the GAM leader, who lives in exile in Sweden, the IFJ called on the group to immediately release the journalists, who are currently being held hostage in East Aceh.

"The IFJ reminds GAM that journalists are independent citizens and cannot be held responsible for the policies and actions of any group involved in the conflict in Aceh. It is an indefensible response to use journalists and the media as pawns in this conflict," said Christopher Warren, the IFJ president, in a statement. The IFJ also called on GAM to immediately cease its attacks on and threats against journalists in Aceh.

Meanwhile, in a letter to TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, the IFJ requested the military not to launch an operation to release Erza and Ferry as it could endanger their lives.

"The IFJ believes that if the Indonesian military were to launch an offensive in East Aceh, the journalists' lives may be in great danger. Accordingly, we call on you not to launch a military attack to release them, but wait for a negotiated settlement for their release," it said.

Erza and Ferry went missing on June 29 while on assignment in Langsa, Aceh. GAM has admitted that it is holding both journalists in East Aceh.

In its letters to the two warring sides, the IFJ also expressed "grave concern about the restrictions on reporting in Aceh." The military has issued a series of regulations that restrict journalists from covering the conflict in Aceh freely. These have sparked concerns in both the local and international media.

Editor facing prison over Mega-risky headlines

Sydney Morning Herald - June 30, 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- The newspaper editor Supratman is standing by his punchy page one headlines, even though they could send him to jail for six years.

"Mega's a blood sucker", "Mega's mouth smells of diesel", "Mega's more vicious than Sumanto [a celebrated Javanese cannibal]", and "Mega's only in provincial class" have all been deemed to insult President Megawati Soekarnoputri, breaching articles 134 and 137 of the criminal code.

When he published these headlines in January and February, the executive editor of the sensationalist Jakarta broadsheet Rakyat Merdeka regarded them as "just normal criticism, nothing different to what we always do". "We wrote the facts; the headlines were just quotes from demonstrators," he said.

In March, police told Supratman the headlines breached articles, left over from Dutch colonial days, that ban insults to the president and vice-president. The former dictator Soeharto used the laws to silence critics and they resurfaced last year when several students and activists were jailed, and this year at demonstrations opposing fuel and utility price rises.

The Muslim activist Iqbal was released last week after serving five months for waving a poster with Ms Megawati's eyes blacked out and a caption stating: "Wanted by the Community." He recalled: "Nine police officers came at midnight, raided my house like I was a terrorist."

His lawyer, Taufik Basari, has represented seven people accused of insulting the President, three of whom were jailed. The law is applied spasmodically, he said. "We call 134 the rubber article -- you can stretch it any way." Two of his clients have served a year's jail for demonstrating with photos of the President and Vice-President that were stomped on and pelted with rice.

Similar scenes in January prompted Ms Megawati to tell her party: "When I look at my pictures -- and I actually look pretty there -- and see people stomping on them, I feel like I want to throw up ... like a volcano about to explode."

Supratman has no doubt that Ms Megawati is behind the increasing use of the old laws. "In my opinion Megawati herself asked the head of police to act. She met with a group of editors and told them to pay attention to this case. I was not invited." With elections to be held next year, many Indonesians believe the law will be used increasingly to gag critics.

However, Mr Iqbal is in no hurry to insult the President again. "In principle I will not stop criticising, but maybe I will find a better way."

Regional/communal conflicts

Violence flares in Kalimantan, Sulawesi

Laksamana.Net - July 3, 2003

Ethnic violence has broken out again in West Kalimantan province, while hundreds of people in South Sulawesi province have run amok during a protest demanding the creation of a new province.

Reports said the violence in West Kalimantan erupted on Monday in Karimunting village, Sambas district, when a migrant from East Java's Madura island stabbed a member of the local Malay community due to a "misunderstanding". Angry Malay villagers retaliated by torching three houses of Madurese, prompting 200 Madurese to flee their homes.

Police on Wednesday said they had brought a stop to the violence and were trying to convince the Madurese to return. "The police acted quickly and were able to prevent the violence in Karimunting from spreading further on Monday," West Kalimantan police spokesman Didi Hardi was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.

He said the man who stabbed the Malay was in police custody, while the wounded man was recovering in hospital.

About 3,000 people are believed to have died in West Kalimantan in 1999 during bloody clashes between indigenous Dayaks, supported by Malays, and the Madurese. The migrants from Madura are widely resented because they receive assistance from the government and are accused of occupying traditional lands.

About 500 people were killed in similar clashes erupted in neighboring Central Kalimantan province in February 2000.

In other news from Kalimantan, nine people reportedly drowned on Sunday when a commuter speedboat they were traveling in capsized in a crocodile-infested river.

AFP reported that another four passengers are still missing after the accident in the Malinau River in East Kalimantan. Police said the fiberglass boat flipped over and capsized after hitting some logs in the water. Twenty passengers managed to swim to the riverbank and were rescued by a passing speedboat.

'West Sulawesi Province' About 300 people from the Mandar ethnic group in the western part of South Sulawesi province ran amok at the governor's office on Wednesday during a protest to demand the creation of West Sulawesi province, state news agency Antara reported.

Claiming to represent various Mandar communities, the protesters said the new province should comprise the four districts of Polmas, Majene, Mamuju and North Mamuju. They said the House of Representatives in Jakarta has given the green light to the establishment of the new province.

When Governor Amin Syam and his deputy were reportedly unavailable to meet the demonstrators, the mob turned violent, smashing windows and doors of the office.

"We, the people of Mandar, demand that the South Sulawesi administration allow us to develop our West Sulawesi province independently," one of the demonstrators was quoted as saying by Antara.

He said the new province should be formed immediately to fulfill the aspirations of the Mandar people in the four districts. He also warned the South Sulawesi administration not to obstruct efforts to establish the new province. Police arrived after the crowd had vandalized the building and said the group had no permission to hold the rally. It was unclear whether any of the protesters were arrested.

The demonstrators reportedly left the governor's office at noon and headed to the provincial legislative assembly to stage a similar rally.

Indonesia since 1976 had consisted of 27 provinces. But the fall of authoritarian former president Suharto has led to demands for greater regional autonomy, resulting in the formation of several new provinces. Suharto's fall also resulted in the secession of East Timor from the republic.

Local & community issues

Bojong villagers oppose dumpsite construction

Jakarta Post - June 30, 2003

Jakarta -- About 500 people from eight villages in three subdistricts, including Jonggol, Bogor, staged a rally over the weekend to oppose the Jakarta administration's plan to use land there as a dumpsite.

"We reject the construction of a dumpsite as it would be a disaster for locals," one of the protesters, Triasa Cahyaputra, was quoted as saying by Antara on Saturday.

The villagers said they were afraid of adverse impacts on the health of those living around the would-be dumpsite, especially pollution resulting from poor maintenance of garbage, as occurred at the Bantar Gebang dumpsite, Bekasi.

Jakarta is scheduled to cease dumping its daily, 6,000 tons of garbage at the 104-hectare Bantar Gebang site late this year.

"We have learned from the bad experience of people in Bantar Gebang, who suffered a variety of diseases, such as diarrhea and respiratory problems. We don't want that to happen here," Triasa said.

The protesters accused the Bogor administration of "conspiring" with the Jakarta government to build a dumpsite at Bojong to replace Bantar Gebang.

The rally was held at Sukamaju village office, involving residents from the villages of Bojong, Cipeucang, Situsari, Singasari, Sukamaju, Singajaya, Cileungsi, Sirnagalih, Jonggol and Klapanunggal.

The protest may lead to a new garbage crisis for Jakarta next year, as the administration has decided to stop using Bantar Gebang and build new dumpsites at Cilincing, North Jakarta, Duri Kosambi, West Jakarta, and Bojong.

However, the administration has only just begun building the Bojong dumpsite, and no construction activities have started yet at Cilincing and Duri Kosambi.

Officials said earlier that the garbage treatment facilities in Bojong could only accommodate at maximum 1,500 tons, which fell short of the city's total garbage of 6,000 tons per day.

Jakarta was hit by a serious garbage crisis in 2001, with mountains of rubbish spilling across the city after the one-week closure of Bantar Gebang by the Bekasi municipal administration.

The Jakarta and Bekasi administrations later signed a memorandum of understanding last year to extend the operation of the dumpsite. Under the agreement, Jakarta must pay Rp 14 billion to the Bekasi administration in 2002 and Rp 8 billion this year. This money is supposed to be used on projects to benefit Bantar Gebang residents.

Human rights/law

Getting away with murder: army chiefs untouchable

The Economist - July 3, 2003

Jakarta -- The most senior Indonesian military officer indicted by Jakarta's special tribunal for the violence in East Timor in 1999, Major-General Adam Damiri, made a heartfelt plea this week for mercy from the five judges trying his case. The verdict is to be announced on August 5.

But the former commander of the region overseeing the territory at the time is unlikely to have many sleepless nights. Prosecutors, citing lack of evidence, have recommended that all charges be dropped.

Only two Indonesian military officers have been convicted over the violence, in which hundreds died, and they are free on appeal. Amnesty International, a human-rights group, has described the trials as neither honest nor fair.

Meanwhile the UN-established Serious Crimes Unit in East Timor has indicted 63 members of the Indonesian armed forces, including the then commander, General Wiranto, as well as General Damiri, for crimes against humanity. All are safe in Indonesia and, as long as they stay there, are almost certain to escape prosecution.

Such impunity is not confined to East Timor. In April seven special-forces soldiers were convicted of causing the death of the pro-independence Papuan politician Theys Eluay in November 2001. But no attempt was sought to ascertain ultimate accountability. Few analysts believe the senior officer on trial, a lieutenant-colonel, could have initiated such a controversial operation.

Also this week, the first trials began over what is known as the July 27th incident, the storming (in 1996) of the party headquarters of Megawati Sukarnoputri, then an opposition leader, but now president, in which dozens of people are thought to have died. The most senior person on trial is a retired colonel. The military commander of Jakarta at the time, who now happens to be the capital's governor and a staunch Megawati supporter, is conspicuous by his absence.

In the next few weeks the trials are expected to begin of 14 soldiers for the violent suppression of a demonstration at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port in 1984 in which hundreds are suspected to have been killed. Again, the then Jakarta and national military commanders are not among the indicted.

Rampant human-rights abuses are also alleged in the armed forces' current operation to crush separatists in Aceh: but no soldiers have yet been charged over the deaths of some 200 civilians.

How and why are the generals getting away with these and many other alleged abuses?

Under President Suharto and his successor, B.J. Habibie, they were untouchable. President Abdurrahman Wahid, who followed, wanted to weaken the armed forces before targeting individuals, but did not survive long enough.

Ever since they played a key role in elevating her to the presidency in July 2001, Miss Megawati has felt indebted to the generals. This has become increasingly obvious in recent months, as they have started to recover their power.

A government consultative paper published earlier this year argues for the army to regain some of the domestic responsibilities lost to the police in the wake of the fall of Suharto in 1998. Part of this is to be achieved by the scrapping of plans to abolish the military's "territorial" function, which allows for a presence down to the village level.

Meanwhile, a new bill includes a clause that allows the armed forces to act for 24 hours without presidential consent. The generals have also seen off plans to audit the army's business activities, which provide an estimated 70% of the defence budget.

These two developments have, for the most part, gone unchallenged by politicians, most of whom, with an eye to next year's general election, think the army is the only way to deal with the Islamist and separatist threats.

Double standards mar Indonesian justice

Australian Financial Review - July 2, 2003

Andrew Burrell -- They may not like being lumped together, but Indonesia's radical Islamic terrorists and the nation's military commanders have more in common than they would care to admit.

Most glaringly, they are both accused of using or authorising shocking violence, often leading to the death of many innocent civilians, in the pursuit of their goals.

For the terrorists, that goal is apparently the eradication of Western influences from Indonesia, and even the establishment of a pan-Islamic state. The military's raison d'etre, according to current thinking, is to preserve the unitary state of Indonesia at any cost.

Indonesia's Muslim radicals and the most brutal of its military men have done more than just about any other group to damage Indonesia's international reputation in recent years.

The Bali bombings last October and the military-backed bloodshed in East Timor in 1999 horrified the world, created a general climate of insecurity in Indonesia and scared away foreign investment.

The killings last year of two American school teachers in Papua, a crime which is strongly believed to be linked to the military (TNI) but predictably remains unsolved, is causing a rift with Washington.

Indonesia is therefore sending a profound message to the world that it will deal with the alleged crimes committed by these two groups in very different ways.

The rule seems to be: Muslim militants who kill people will be chased to the four corners of the globe and then sentenced to death, but TNI troops accused of the same crimes should feel relatively safe.

This hypocrisy has been highlighted in the past two days. On Monday, Indonesia basked again in its new found reputation for cracking down on home-grown terrorists, revealing that a key suspect in last year's Bali bombings had been nabbed while planning another attack. The arrest of Idris, a suspected Jemaah Islamiyah member who allegedly organised the financing of the Bali operation and had been on the run for the past nine months, is certainly significant as it could help police and prosecutors shed more light on the terrorists' money trail across South-East Asia.

Indonesia has taken the world by surprise by arresting, with the help of the Australian Federal Police, more than 30 of the militants believed to have planned and carried out the Bali bombings.

Prosecutors on Monday also formally called for the death penalty for the first of the alleged bombers to face trial, a Javanese mechanic called Amrozi whom defence lawyers have attempted to distance from the crime in an attempt to spare him the firing squad.

Within the next few weeks, Amrozi will be become the first alleged Bali bomber to be told of his fate, although he will have the option of an appeal which could, in theory, extend his life by several months at least.

Amrozi's cohorts such as Imam Samudra, Ali Imron and Mukhlas are also facing death sentences under new legislation enacted by Indonesia after the bombings.

Of course, the Indonesian government does not regard human rights abuses by its military officers -- even in the most visible areas of excess such as Aceh, Papua and East Timor -- with anywhere near such seriousness.

In Jakarta yesterday, lawyers for the most senior military officer to be charged over the bloodshed in East Timor in 1999, Major-General Adam Damiri, were appearing before a panel of five judges to argue for his acquittal.

Damiri headed the regional military command overseeing East Timor and is the last of 18 defendants summoned to appear before the court over alleged human rights abuses committed against East Timorese independence supporters.

But the lawyers' submission appears to have been a mere formality as state prosecutors had already urged the court to acquit him.

After 15 months of running the case, the prosecution last month came to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to continue against Damiri, who is now a senior commander in Indonesia's war against separatists in Aceh.

It looked to be a decision made hastily, and, although there is no proof, it may have been a by-product of the current patriotic fervour in Jakarta, where surging nationalism has elevated to hero status the soldiers fighting to preserve the Indonesian state.

Regardless of the reasons for the prosecution's actions, the human rights court established by Jakarta under considerable international pressure is already considered a sham because most officers have walked free and none of the few found guilty have received hefty sentences.

Damiri, as the last and most senior officer to face trial over East Timor, appears destined to become a lasting symbol of the court's ineptitude, as well as the double standards of the wider justice system.

Collapse of legal aid bureau leaves justice remote

Jakarta Post - July 3, 2003

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta -- Nothing was as usual on Wednesday at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), located at Jl. Mendut No. 1 in Central Jakarta, which used to be crowded with justice seekers and activists throughout the day.

"The LBH Jakarta has stopped its fortnightly meetings with those of us from various labor unions due to its financial situation," Wajis, chairman of the Federation of Metal, Electronic and Machinery Workers Unions, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He expressed fears that no other organization could replace the LBH Jakarta as an independent body providing legal aid, promoting the development of civil society, and pushing for law reform and democracy. "I think in the near future the LBH Jakarta will also stop providing pro bono legal services," he added.

In December 2001, foreign donors stopped channeling funds to the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI), to which the LBH Jakarta is affiliated, after co-founder Adnan Buyung Nasution took over control. The noted lawyer drew fire from legal and human rights activists for defending military generals accused of involvement in the 1999 atrocities in East Timor.

Starved of funds, the YLBHI, which in its heyday was dubbed as "an engine of democracy", had to cut funding to its 14 branches, including the LBH Jakarta. The branches require a total of Rp 500 million (US$60,240) per month, but the foundation can now only raise Rp 35 million to help with costs.

In order to survive, the YLBHI cut the salaries of directors by 50 percent and staffers by 20 percent. As a result, many of its activists resigned.

The foundation has also given up on its other mission -- advocating a better Indonesia by scrutinizing state policies, holding discussions and seminars, and engaging in legal advocacy. Instead, the YLBHI is now focused largely on its original function of providing legal assistance to the poor.

"But the LBH Jakarta can be considered a survivor because the number of people bringing their cases to us remains high," its director, Irianto Subiakto, told the Post, adding that his branch had dealt with over 500 clients during the December 2002-May 2003 period.

Starting July 1, only 10 legal staffers and seven employees of the original total of 27 continued to work. Of the others, three of them completed their contracts as senior legal staffers, three employees retired, and four others resigned.

To handle a backlog of thousands of cases since 1998, according to Irianto, the LBH Jakarta planned to recruit volunteers to help provide free legal aid.

For this purpose, it has also decided to institute survival measures, including laying off some workers and selling assets, Irianto said, noting that most of those seeking legal assistance were poor people, who could not even afford to pay a Rp 10,000 administration fee.

"We have even come up with the idea of taking part in various television quizzes that offer big prizes, and to sell stickers," said Irianto, who will leave his post in August. He said the LBH Jakarta had been using up its reserves, which would only cover its operating costs until September.

Irianto called for non-binding donations for his branch, saying that donors could channel their donations through the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) branch of Bank Mandiri, account number 123- 00-0300674-1.

Aceh activist gets five years behind bars for 'hostility'

Jakarta Post - July 2, 2003

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh -- The Banda Aceh District Court handed an unwanted birthday present to Muhammad Nazar, the chairman of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), in the form of a five-year jail term for "displaying hostility" to the government through his campaign for a self-determination referendum in Aceh.

"The defendant is guilty of sowing hatred against the lawful government of the Republic of Indonesia," Presiding Judge Sabirin said in his verdict on Nazar, who turned 30 on Tuesday.

He said Nazar had violated Article 154 of the Criminal Code on sowing hatred and hostility against the legal government, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail. Nazar smiled upon hearing the verdict, which was lighter than the prosecution request for six years imprisonment.

Carrying her two-year-old child, Dewi Meutia, his wife, rushed up to Nazar to hand over a sheet of paper congratulating him on his birthday. "Today is Bang Nazar's birthday. It's his birthday present," she said in tears.

According to the court, Nazar was guilty of promoting the issue of a referendum and independence, as well as calling for a boycott of the government administration in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam during a series of speeches before thousands of people in North Aceh and Aceh Besar regencies in January during the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, which was signed by the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Geneva on December 9 last year.

Nazar was arrested early on the morning of February 12, when the peace accord was on the brink of collapse. After it did collapse, it was followed by the imposition of martial law in Aceh on May 19.

The judges said Nazar's moves had lessened respect for the government and could damage the Unitary Republic of Indonesia's integrity. "The defendant, who had been sentenced for 10 months in a similar case in the past, did not regret his actions," Judge Sabirin said, presenting factors supporting the judges' reasoning. Nazar was sentenced on November 20, 2000, on the same charges.

After the trial, Nazar asserted that he and his fellow activists would continue to seek a peaceful solution to the Aceh problem through a referendum. "I still have a dream that the Aceh people will be given the right to voice their opinions through a referendum. My detention will not stop the struggle," he told The Jakarta Post.

Nazar, who has chaired SIRA since 1992, said he would appeal the verdict. Nazar's lawyer Darwis questioned the verdict, which he claimed was "not in proportion to the offense." "As far as I know, several defendants in similar cases in other parts of the country were sentenced to between one and two years only," Darwis said.

Rights activists denounce grave excavations by military

Jakarta Post - June 30, 2003

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- Human rights activists denounced the excavation of mass graves in Aceh by the Indonesian Military (TNI), saying it violated normal investigation procedures for possible gross violations of human rights.

Asmara Nababan and Hendardi noted that the unearthing of mass graves had to be conducted in the presence of forensic experts and the police, or representatives of the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

Asmara, a former member of Komnas HAM, said the presence of forensic experts and the police, as the body responsible for law enforcement, was required to preserve the evidence.

"The forensic experts should determine the identity of the victims and the causes of their deaths. For that reason, there are clear standards for conducting such excavations," Asmara told The Jakarta Post.

He said that the ongoing excavations may have destroyed legal evidence, and the wrong procedures could affect the legitimacy of whatever evidence survived. "There are technical procedures, recognized by the United Nations (UN), for preserving evidence in cases where mass graves are found. That has to be complied with," Asmara added.

Hendardi from the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) contended that rights workers from Komnas HAM should have been invited to witness the excavations.

Under Law No.39/1999 on human rights, Komnas HAM could conduct the excavation of a mass grave based on a recommendation from the Attorney General's Office, Hendardi said. Last week, the TNI dig out at least 24 bodies from two mass graves in Central Aceh and another one in South Aceh, claiming that the remains were those executed by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) before the military operation began on May 19.

The TNI claimed that the two graves at Guci and Krueng Pase villages in Central Aceh contained at least 20 bodies, which the TNI claimed were those of people massacred by GAM in 1999. Meanwhile, the grave in South Aceh held the remains of four people, and once again the TNI blamed GAM for the killings, which were said to have taken place in 2001. Previously, the military said it had found a mass grave in West Aceh.

On Sunday, Aceh military operation spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki said that the TNI had not initiated the excavation of the graves but rather had only been helping local villagers with the work. "The excavations were conducted by the people and TNI soldiers were merely helped them with the process," Yani said as quoted by Antara.

He underlined that the TNI was simply fulfilling the people's demand that the graves be excavated. The officer also said that further legal processing of the findings did not rest in the hands of the military, but with the relevant legal institutions.

Asmara said that to limit the damage to the evidence, the TNI should now stay away from the sites and let Komnas HAM and the police do their jobs. "The TNI should not dig up other mass graves, but should rather leave it up to the police and Komnas HAM," he remarked.

Komnas HAM said earlier that it would investigate a report, received from its field officers, of a mass grave in Nisam district near Bireuen. The commission said it had no information about who was responsible for killing the victims.

News & issues

Mega criticized over her comments on armed militias

Jakarta Post - July 3, 2003

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Experts criticized President Soekarnoputri on Wednesday for supporting the establishment of citizens' defense groups, saying that such moves would only heighten fanaticism and the culture of violence in society.

Sociologist Iman B. Prasodjo from the University of Indonesia said the establishment of armed civilian groups had triggered violence in society as such groups tended to repress the people, rather than protect them. "I suggest the President proposes the establishment of boy scout units rather than vigilante groups because the former promote humanism," Iman told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Imam expressed worries that the establishment of militias would create fertile ground for gangsters and thugs, who throughout Indonesian history have often ended up controlling such groups. He further warned that the formation of such groups could lead to the disintegration of the country should they be based on religion, race or geographical territory.

On Thursday, Megawati defended the existence of armed civilian groups, arguing that they helped protect the people from lawlessness, especially in conflict-torn areas.

Many believe that the military is backing the existence of militias in several conflict areas in the country, such as Aceh. Critics have said that these armed civilian groups have only led to worsening security in the areas where they operate.

Megawati claimed the presence of civilian armed groups was mandated by Article 30 of the newly amended 1945 Constitution. This article says the country applies a defense system that is based on popular participation. She made it clear that the existence of these civilian defense groups or militias would allow the police to focus on other, more pressing problems.

Her remarks contradicted the recent white paper on defense strategy, which called for the dissolution of all militias, especially armed groups. The presence of armed civilian groups, according to the white paper, will only destroy order in the country.

The white paper was authored by the Ministry of Defense, and was published in April this year. Criminologist Purnianti voiced a similar view, saying that the allocation of security duties among the military, police and the militias would only create public distrust and threaten the country's national defense. "Public participation does not mean that the government has the authority to mobilize people to take over security duties," Purnianti told the Post.

Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil and the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto had previously called for the dissolution of armed civilian groups, including those associated with political parties, saying that their presence provided no benefit to the country.

Megawati calls for civilian militias to curb rebels

Straits Times - July 2, 2003

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta -- President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday called for civilian militias to be set up in Indonesia as the military and police struggle to contain insurgencies and widespread lawlessness in the country.

Her comments -- which sparked concern among human rights groups here because of fears that they could lead to the re-emergence of vigilante outfits that ran riot in Timor Leste in 1999 -- appeared to be a move by Jakarta to up the ante in its battle against separatists in Aceh.

Her detractors charge that her suggestion also underscored a political motive -- legitimising the use of "muscle politics" to clinch the presidential election next year.

In a televised speech to thousands of officers celebrating National Police Day, Ms Megawati said: "Nowadays, as we watch conditions in certain parts of our country ... we need to seriously consider and adopt sufficient measures so that citizens can defend themselves." The concern, as the President made clear, was that security forces were strapped for manpower and resources to fight a battle on many fronts in the sprawling archipelago.

Officials have acknowledged several times that Indonesia had a low ratio of uniformed security personnel to people but that funds were a barrier to significantly boosting numbers. There are about 500,000 military personnel in the country of 231 million people.

Historically, the generals have always enlisted the help of militia groups to stamp out insurgencies or resistance to the government. Instead of lowering the threshold for violence, these groups have caused more problems on the ground.

One prominent feature of mass violence in Indonesia in the past decade was the role played by the preman -- thugs and hooligans -- many of whom were trained by the military in East Timor.

After their stint in the former Portuguese colony, an increasing number of these premans were brought to Java by their military handlers. The most acute manifestation of the problem was the spiralling violence during the first half of 1998 that culminated in President Suharto's resignation.

Orchestrated mob violence, mysterious ninja murders and the rampage in Timor Leste following elections in 1999 have all stamped their bloody print on Indonesia in recent years. There is evidence to suggest that a similar pattern exists today.

The army is believed to have already established civilian militia proxies in Aceh, where a 27-year-old rebellion is raging.

With smaller troop numbers in the area after December this year, the military will be even more reliant on vigilantes. Human rights workers have accused those pro-Jakarta militias of extra- judicial killings and other atrocities. The military has also allegedly set up smaller militia groups in Papua, another province wracked by decades of separatist war.

Observers said that Ms Megawati is being driven by nationalist and political imperatives. But she was stepping into a hornet's nest of public opinion traumatised by decades of thug politics.

Political analyst Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia said that it was a short-term response to problems in Aceh and also a move to legitimise the use of such outfits during elections next year to scare off her opponents. "In the long run, it does nothing to rid the country of this propensity to resolve problems by violent means," he said.

In another development on the Aceh front, Indonesia's military said yesterday that it had used helicopters to fire rockets at suspected rebel positions in the province, forcing residents to flee their homes, AFP reported.

Environment

Petrol monopoly fuels air crisis

Sydney Morning Herald - July 5, 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- After 13 years studying it, and eight years living in it, Thomas Walton feels confident to nominate his No. 1 issue: "Urban air quality is the single worst environment problem in Indonesia ... so many people are affected and they can't get away from it."

Walk anywhere in dozens of Indonesia's big cities and you will quickly see what the World Bank's outgoing environment director for Indonesia is on about. Motorcycle riders rate handkerchiefs tied over their faces a more important safety device than helmets. Office workers waiting for buses cover their mouths with their hands as they disappear in a fog of black exhaust when a packed vehicle drives by.

"Look at a public bus and you can't even see the bus half the time," Mr Walton said after releasing his last report assessing the bleak state of the environment.

Are there any signs of hope? "I see positive signs in process, but I don't see any results in the air and the water I can point to as improvements," he said. "It's pretty easy to see signs of deterioration."

Returning to Washington next week, Mr Walton shows glimpses of the frustration his job must have involved as he worked with the Government on change.

Petrol is an example. A positive sign came two years ago when lead was finally removed from all petrol sold in Jakarta. President Soeharto had promised all petrol throughout Indonesia would be lead-free by 1999, but the deadline has been pushed back to 2005.

"This to me is an embarrassment," said Mr Walton. "The problem here pretty much leads back to [the state-owned oil company] Pertamina having a lock on petroleum refining and the retail sectors and the Government unable or unwilling to do anything about it."

In the second half of the '90s, vehicle numbers have swelled from 12 million to more than 19 million, exacerbating the problem. They are new vehicles, mainly motorbikes, but they don't have the catalytic converters needed for cleaner emissions.

Converters only work with unleaded fuel, which is not available outside Jakarta, so no vehicles have them. Even the latest Mercedes and Volvos, favoured by the wealthy, have exhaust systems that disappeared decades ago in many countries.

Then there are the particulate-laden exhaust clouds from the low-quality high-sulphur diesel that fuels Indonesia's poorly maintained bus and truck fleet.

"People are getting sick from breathing particulates, getting lung cancer from breathing really fine particulates, getting headaches and sore throats and burning eyes from carbon monoxide and ozone and hydrocarbons," Mr Walton said.

Mr Walton estimates that as many as 80 million Indonesians who live in urban environments suffer from polluted air.

Government under fire for mining contracts

Jakarta Post - July 3, 2003

Moch. N Kurniawan, Jakarta -- Public outrage is increasing over the government's move to allow mining in conservation forests in Sulawesi and Kalimantan.

Hundreds of people in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, demonstrated at the provincial legislative council on Wednesday, demanding the central government stop mining by state-owned PT Aneka Tambang on Bahabulu island in the province.

The government has changed the status of Bahabulu from a conservation area to an industrial forest, allowing nickel mining on the island. An 1997 environmental law and 1999 forestry law do not allow mining in national parks or protected forests.

"We reject the government's decision allowing mining in the conservation area. The island has long since functioned as a water catchment area to prevent flooding," demonstration coordinator Bambang S. said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Kendari is only one of several cities where protests have taken place against the government's environmental policy allowing mining in conservation forests in Sulawesi, Kalimantan and Sumatra.

The government's approval of mining in conservation areas recently won support from the House of Representatives following much debate.

The debate has really begun following the issuance of Law No. 41/1999 on conservation areas, which annulled several mining contracts awarded by the previous government.

Some 15 of 21 controversial mining projects in conservation areas across the country are expected to be approved next week, despite the public criticism.

A recent report by the World Bank said environmental degradation was a threat to tribal people living in the conservation forests.

Central Sulawesi Governor Aminuddin Ponulele has won much goodwill from people in the province for objecting to mining activities in the Poboya conservation area near the provincial capital of Palu.

While meeting with 200 demonstrators at his office in Palu on Wednesday, the governor said the conservation area had to be protected to ensure the safety of the water supply to the provincial capital.

The Central Sulawesi provincial legislative council supports the administration's objections to mining in the Poboya conservation area.

Also, the South Kalimantan provincial legislative council sent a letter to the House of Representatives and to the ministers of energy and mineral resources, and forestry, rejecting mining in the Meratus protected forest.

Alliance for Meratus Protected Forest coordinator Muhammad Saleh said he would continue to raise support to oppose any mining in the protected forest.

"We have received confirmation from the provincial legislature leadership that a letter has already been delivered to the House leadership in Jakarta," he said. At least four timber and mining companies -- PT Kodeco, PT Aya Yayang, PT Meratus Sumber Mas and PT Bina Alam Indah Lestari -- have been accused of destroying or degrading thousands of hectares of the forest in their quest for wood or ore.

In Jakarta, hundreds of environmental activists staged a demonstration in front of the Australian Embassy to protest what they said was pressure by the Australian government on the Indonesian government to issue a contract to an Australian mining firm for a protected forest.

The director of the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (Kehati), Ismid Hadad, criticized the government for disregarding environmental problems.

"Even worse, the government is considering issuing mining contracts to 22 companies for several conservation areas across the country," he said.

Protected forests in Bogor shrinking

Jakarta Post - June 30, 2003

Bogor -- Protected forests in Bogor, such as those on the slopes of Mt. Salak, Mt. Pangrango and Mt. Pongkor, are being destroyed by illegal logging and mining, an expert says.

Dudung Darusman, a professor of forestry from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, said illegal logging was rampant in the protected forest on Mt. Pangrango, while geothermal gas extraction is taking place in the forest on Mt. Salak. The forest on the slopes of Mt. Pongkor is disappearing due to illegal gold mining, he said on Thursday on the sidelines of a workshop on forestry.

The institute, in cooperation with state forestry company Perhutani, has launched a regreening program involving locals, who are expected to take an active part in the management of the forests. But the efforts will not help much if the government does not take firm action to curb illegal logging and mining activities, according to Dudung.

Health & education

New flavour for a topic many consider to be in bad taste

Melbourne Age - July 5 , 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- In Indonesia's better hotels you will sometimes see signs that read: "No Durians Past This Point." Because the prickly green fruit has a smell that lingers like a blocked drain, staff are taught to treat it like non-paying guests.

Yet somehow the appalling smell of the durian has ensured the enticing flesh within is even more desired. Now, thanks to the generosity of the German Government, Indonesia's lovers of durian can take their infatuation a stage further, with durian-flavoured condoms.

For some, the mere thought of such a device would be contraceptive enough. But according the man who is making them, durian-flavoured condoms are quickly finding their place in the market.

Christopher Purdy decided to make the condoms in the hope of encouraging Indonesians to talk about a subject that is usually taboo. Mr Purdy runs a non-profit group called DKT International, which tries to change behaviour as a way of improving people's health.

In Indonesia that means lifting the level of condom use to head off an explosion in HIV infection, especially in high-risk groups such as prostitutes. Indonesia's population of 220 million uses 70 million condoms a year, while in nearby Thailand the rate of condom use is more than four times higher.

Mr Purdy believes that if he can get people talking about condoms, then more people might be brave enough to buy and use them, which is why he came up with the idea of flavouring them with durian in the first place.

"There a terrible embarrassment in talking about sex here and with condoms there's a very heavy stigma," he said. "It struck me durian condoms would be a great way of getting people talking about them, possibly kids even talking to their parents about them."

Although Indonesia had a successful family planning program under former president Soeharto, it relied on injections and the contraceptive pill more than condoms, which were really only used for illicit sex.

The stigma still attached to condoms is Mr Purdy's major hurdle in trying to contain HIV. "The HIV trend is pretty frightening. Five years ago the numbers were in the hundreds, now the estimates are 100,000 to 120,000."

In the three weeks since they were released onto the market for their "soft launch", more than 250,000 durian-flavoured condoms have been sold, a figure Mr Purdy says is "quite remarkable".

With aid funding from the German Government, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Purdy's group produces a range of cut-price condoms. Many of their condoms sell for 10 cents each, although the new durian range will be unsubsidised and cost three times that amount.

Fewer students sit entrance exam for state universities

Jakarta Post - July 2, 2003

Jakarta -- The number of students taking the 2003 state university admission exam (SPMB) declined by 12.11 percent to 350,306 students from 398,589 in 2002.

The head of the exam committee for Region I, Aman Wirawartakusumah, said here on Tuesday that on the first day of the two-day test only four areas recorded an increase in the number of test takers -- Medan in North Sumatra, Padang in West Sumatra, Pekanbaru in Riau, and Bogor in West Java.

On average, the decrease in the number of test takers in Region I reached about 6.48 percent, from 204,278 in 2002 to 191,033 this year. The highest decrease took place in Region II, where 28.92 percent fewer students took the exam, with Yogyakarta seeing the largest drop.

In Region III the decrease was about 8.11 percent -- from 101,694 last year to 93,443 this year. Almost 83,000 places are up for grabs in 48 state universities across the country in 2003, up from 80,000 places in 2002. In Jakarta, 53,403 students took the admission exam on Tuesday, down from 57,604 students in 2002.

Koesmardiono, the head of the Jakarta chapter of the state university admission exam, said the expense of registering for the exam prevented some students from taking the test. It costs between Rp 95,000 (US$11.20) and Rp 120,000 to register for the exam.

In Yogyakarta, known as the city of students, only 21,080 people took the test, a 46 percent decrease from last year. The head of Yogyakarta's test committee, Tony Artyanto Dharoko of Gadjah Mada University (UGM), said the drop was not surprising given that nationally the number of students taking the exam was down.

Also, he said, the number of high school students had been declining and at the same time some state universities were giving their own entrance exams, leaving a limited number of places to be won through the national entrance test.

UGM, for example, will fill only some 1,500 out of 6,000 openings for the 2003/2004 academic year through the national exam, Tony said.

The university has already admitted some 4,000 new students through its own entrance exam held last April, and another 500 students through nontest special schemes.

Yogyakarta State University plan to admit some 3,000 new students from the national entrance test, after already accepting some 1,500 students through a nontest selection process.

In Surabaya, East Java, a student from Papua arrived about two hours late for the exam and was turned away for being more than 30 minutes late.

In Semarang, the number of students taking the test decreased by 16.6 percent from 19,339 students in 2002 to 16,135 students.

In Bandung, the testing ran smoothly. Several students arrived late because they did not check the location beforehand.

In Aceh, the emergency military administration was asked to oversee the test and send the exam papers to Jakarta.

The papers are expected to arrive in Jakarta on July 3, said the secretary to the central committee of the admission test.

This year, 10,049 students took the exam in Aceh, down from 10,724 last year.

In Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, a serious traffic jam clogged up the streets near the exam location on Jl. Brigjen H. Hasan Basry. The number of students taking the test in Banjarmasin decreased from 3,646 last year to 3,458 this year.

Papua provincial council rejects education bill

Jakarta Post - July 1, 2003

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura -- The Papua Provincial Legislative Council decided on Friday that it would refuse to implement the newly endorsed bill on national education in the province, saying that the bill would only compartmentalize citizens based on religion and could further trigger national disintegration.

The council's Commission E chairman Hulda Wanggober said that the decision not to implement the bill was made during a special plenary meeting to discuss the implementation of the bill in the province. She asked the central government to allow the Papua administration to use Law No. 21/2001 on Papua province's special autonomy to formulate a bylaw on education in Papua.

"Based on the Special Autonomy Law, education in Papua should be regulated under a provincial bylaw or special bylaw, but the mechanism cannot be implemented yet because the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) has not been established," she said. Therefore, she called on the central government to immediately issue a government regulation on the MRP so that it could be used as a basis to formulate a special bylaw on education in Papua.

Before the issuance of a special bylaw on education in Papua, she suggested that all schools in the province managed by regional administrations and Christian and Islamic foundations refer to the previous Law No.

2/1989 on education. The House of Representatives endorsed the education bill on June 11, but the largest faction in the House, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) did not approve the bill and refused to attend the endorsement meeting. President Megawati Soekarnoputri has 30 days to sign the bill, but even if she fails to endorse it within that period, it will automatically come into effect.

But theoretically, Megawati, who chairs PDI Perjuangan, still has a chance to block the implementation of the bill by refusing to sign the necessary operational government regulations. The bill will need 10 government regulations for effective implementation.

Provinces in eastern Indonesia that are predominantly Christian, like North Sulawesi and Papua, plan to file petitions for a judicial review with the Supreme Court against the bill. They object to Article 13 of the bill, which stipulates that students have the right to receive religious instruction and requires schools to allow teachers to give religious instruction to their students. They claim this stipulation is erroneous, because this responsibility should fall on parents and religious institutions, including mosques, churches and temples.

Legislator Piet Hein Awangkok concurred with Hulda. Piet said that national education should focus on educating people, not religious affairs. The chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) in Papua, Zubair Daeng Husein, said the newly endorsed education bill was not suitable for implementation in Papua.

International relations

US criticises 'harsh' verdict on Aceh activist

Reuters - July 3, 2003

Jakarta -- A five-year jail term given to a prominent activist in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh was harsh and heightens the "apparent intimidation" of those trying to monitor rights abuses in the province, the US government said.

Muhammad Nazar was sentenced on Tuesday for spreading hatred against the state over speeches he made early this year. It was a sign that the government will brook little dissent as it tries to crush rebels in a military offensive launched on May 19.

US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Wednesday that Washington was deeply concerned over the verdict, which he called the latest passed on Indonesians expressing anti- government views. Several protesters have received short jail terms elsewhere in Indonesia recently for insulting the president and her deputy.

The military reignited the decades-long Aceh war after peace talks with rebels collapsed. Some 350 people have been killed and nearly 50,000 fled their homes to escape fighting since then.

Indonesia's armed forces chief asserted on Wednesday that the military had full control of Aceh, the official Antara news agency said. However, he said this did not mean operations would end before the six-month target deadline or that security in Indonesia's northernmost province could be guaranteed.

In a statement, Boucher said: "We regret that the Banda Aceh court handed down such a harsh sentence against Mr Nazar for exercising his right to peaceful political activity. This is the latest in a series of convictions and prison sentences for peaceful expression of anti-government views in Indonesia, and contributes to the apparent intimidation of independent observers who would be in a position to monitor and report on gross human rights abuses in Aceh."

The court in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, found Nazar, 30, guilty of spreading hatred toward the government by calling for a referendum on self-rule. He had been sentenced to 10 months in jail in 2001 for treason for campaigning for a referendum to decide whether Aceh should stay within Indonesia or split.

Other rights activists have said they had been warned by the authorities about speaking out during the offensive against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). The government has also placed tight restrictions on foreign media reporting the conflict.

On Thursday, the military said it had killed 325 rebels and lost 32 soldiers and police since May 19, while the number of refugees was 48,000, up from previous estimates of more than 40,000. GAM has said hundreds of government troops and scores of civilians had been killed.

Government troops have been fighting GAM since 1976 in a conflict that has killed 10,000 people, mostly civilians.

Military ties

British arms underpin Jakarta's force

The Guardian - July 3 , 2003

Richard Norton-Taylor, London -- The value of British arms cleared for export to Indonesia rose from 2 million Pounds in 2000 ($A4.9 million) to more than 40 million Pounds last year, a 20-fold increase.

The British Government has approved a substantial rise in arms sales to Indonesia despite guidelines stating that it would not export weapons if they could be used for internal repression or fuel regional instability.

Last week, Indonesian commanders deployed Scorpion tanks -- sold by Britain -- in the campaign to crush separatists in the province of Aceh after earlier assurances that British equipment would not be used for internal repression.

More than 80 non-governmental organisations last week called for a global arms embargo on Indonesia after credible reports of systematic human rights violations by troops in Aceh.

Weapons sales approved for India -- where ministers are still trying to clinch a 1 billion Pound deal for the sale of Hawk jets -- have doubled since 2001 and totalled more than 110 million Pounds last year.

The increases are revealed in the Government's latest annual report, which shows that British arms exporters appear to be shifting away from traditional markets in the Middle East to lucrative ones in Asia.

Export licences approved for Indonesia included components for military training aircraft, rocket-launchers, tanks and armoured personnel carriers.

Licences were approved to sell to India components for anti- aircraft guns, electron beam guns, fast-attack craft, frigates, military helicopters and combat aircraft, as well as small arms ammunition. Though exports approved for Pakistan were much less, valued at 15 million Pounds, they included components for air-to-air missiles, combat helicopters, frigates and small arms ammunition.

Saferworld, an independent advisory panel that monitors the arms trade, has described the large rise in arms exports to Indonesia as alarming, in light of what spokesman Andy McClean called "the recent misuse of UK-supplied Hawk jets and armoured vehicles by the Indonesian Government in the conflict in Aceh".

He added: "Arms exports to a number of countries with human rights problems, internal conflicts or in regions of instability seem to be increasing. A new system of prior parliamentary scrutiny of arms export licences is urgently needed."