Aceh

International community must be involved in investigation

Detik.com - January 3, 2004

Woro Swasti, Jakarta -- The death of RCTI Television journalist Ersa Siregar remains a puzzle to this day. In order that there can be an independent investigation, international institutions are urged to be involved in the investigation of the case.

This call was made by two student organisations, the National Student League for Democracy (Liga Mahasiswa Nasional Demokrasi, LMND) and Student Solidarity for the People (Solidaritas Mahasiswa Untuk Rakyat, SMUR) at a press conference held the Kontras' [Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence] offices in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Saturday January 3. The press conference was attended by the secretary general of LMND's national executive and the secretary general of SMUR's central leadership committee for Aceh, Rahmat.

"The international community needs to be given space in order to be involved in the investigation of Ersa's death and a number of other humanitarian cases which have occurred in Aceh", said Maeda Yoppy from LMND's depart of data and management.

LMND and SMUR went on to ask the government to immediately end the state of emergency in Aceh and immediately return to the negotiating table.

"It is very clear that the military operation is not a political solution which is popular in the eyes of the Acehnese people. Rather, the military operation has instead only extended the protracted link of oppression and suffering in Aceh", said Yoppy.

The two student organisations also opposed holding the general elections in Aceh if the military emergency remains in force. Finally, they pleaded with the Acehnese people to reject government policies which smack of militarism. (iy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Slain reporter used as human shield by Aceh rebels: Military

Associated Press - December 31, 2003

Jakarta -- Aceh rebels used a kidnapped television reporter as a human shield during a gunfight with Indonesian soldiers that led to his death early this week, the military claimed on Wednesday.

The rebels, however, denied the charges and accused the soldiers of "executing" Ersa Siregar, a journalist for the Jakarta-based private RCTI TV network, during a firefight in a swamp in east Aceh on Monday.

Verifying either claim will likely be difficult as media and human rights workers in Aceh have been severely restricted since May 19, when Jakarta imposed martial law and launched a major offensive against the rebels after peace talks broke down.

More than 1,200 people -- most of them men identified by the military as rebels -- have been killed in the crack down.

The military admitted it killed Siregar from a distance of about 50 meters, but said his death was accidental.

"Ersa was used as a human shield," said military spokesman Maj. Gen. Syafri Syamsudin. "The rebels should have protected him instead of placing him in front of them in the gunfire. They did not yell that Siregar was with them." "It was a violation of the humanitarian law of war," Syamsudin told a news conference.

Rebel spokesman Sofyan Dawood told The Associated Press the soldiers knew Siregar was with the band of eight rebels when they started shooting.

"The Indonesian military executed [Siregar] by close-range," Dawood said. "[Siregar] had a gunshot wound in the leg, which hit him several days ago," he said. "When we tried to retreat [from the gunbattle], he was too slow."

Siregar was abducted with cameraman Ferry Santoro and their driver in June. The cameraman is still missing, while the driver escaped earlier this month. The rebels initially claimed the men were spies, but later dropped that charge. They had demanded a temporary cease-fire before releasing the three.

Local and international media groups have called for an independent investigation into the fatal shooting. Hundreds of journalists and human rights activists launched protests across the country on Tuesday.

Syamsudin said military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto elcomed an independent probe into the killing.

Public apathy major stumbling block to elections in Aceh

Detik.com - December 31, 2003

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta -- The problem of security is not the only stumbling block to holding the 2004 general elections in Aceh. Public apathy is also expected to be a major problem.

"This is because of the [Acehnese people's] disappointment in the regional parliament and the regional government which it sees as having failed to resolve the prolonged armed conflict", said the coordinator of the Aceh Election Monitoring Committee (Panwaslu), M. Ja'far, to journalists at the General Election Committee's (KPU) offices on Jl Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta on Wednesday December 31.

To date, efforts at socialising the elections which have been carried out either by the KPU, Panwaslu and the local government, have not been effective enough. The evidence being that there are still many public figures who do not understand the mechanisms of direct elections. "This is even more so among ordinary people", explained Ja'far.

There is concern that because the socialisation of the elections has been inconsistent, the level of participation by Acehnese people in the 2004 elections will be less than 75 per cent of what has been targeted. "What [could become a cause for] alarm is if this level is less than 30 per cent, then the military emergency command will accuse the Acehnese people of not being pro-NKRI [supporting the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, read seeking to break away from Indonesia - JB] and this will become the grounds for extending the state of emergency there", added the secretary of the Path to Peace Institute (ITP), Boedhi Wijardjo.

The irony at the moment is that there are many non-government organisations (NGOs) which want to the socialise elections but they are still being hindered by problems of obtaining authorisation. "I don't recall exactly were they were from, [but] two of them [who have not obtained authorisation] were the Civil Society Alliance for Democracy and the Forum of University Chancellors", said Ja'far.

It needs to be understood that since the state of emergency came into force in Aceh, all NGOs who wish to carryout any kind of activities in the region must obtain authorisation from the emergency military command. Conversely, two months ago Panwaslu Aceh (Election Monitoring Committee) issued a recommendation to the emergency military command for these two NGOs [to be allowed to conduct such activities].

Related to this, ITP and Panwaslu have urged the emergancy military command to make it easier to provide authorisation to NGOs who want to carry out activities to socialise the elections.

Meanwhile, when a member of the KPU with expertise on the issue of socialising elections, Valina Singka Subekti, was contacted to confirm the matter she said that the KPU is trying a new method of socialising the elections in Aceh. "We will do it though recitations of the Koran and religious activities" said Subekti. She was optimistic this method will be more effective in reaching people in conflict areas. (asy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Press groups urge inquiry into killing of Siregar

Agence France Presse - December 30, 2003

International and local journalist groups have called for an independent investigation into the killing by Indonesian troops of a television reporter in Aceh province, six months after he was kidnapped by separatist rebels.

Army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) both shrugged off responsibility for the death of Ersa Siregar in a clash between marines and the guerrillas in East Aceh on Monday. "Bullets cannot see who is GAM and who is a journalist," Ryacudu said.

Siregar, a 52-year-old father of three, was a senior reporter for the private RCTI station. He was the third journalist to be killed since the military launched a massive operation in May to try to crush the guerrillas.

The New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists urged the military "to fully investigate the circumstances behind this tragic incident and make the findings public". The International Federation of Journalists said both sides "have to share responsibility for this tragic death".

In a statement it said IFJ delegates met Indonesian ambassadors around the world and the government in Jakarta just days ago, seeking safe circumstances for a release.

Siregar, his cameraman Fery Santoro, their driver and the wives of two military officers were abducted on June 29 in the province on Sumatra island. The driver escaped earlier this month. There has been no word on the fate of the others.

IFJ president Christopher Warren said GAM had agreed to hand over the two journalists in August but the military would not allow the free movement of human rights organisations to secure the release. He said that "only an independent international inquiry can establish the truth about this tragic death".

The government has imposed martial law on the province and for months severely restricted the movement of aid and other groups and of foreign journalists.

Indonesia's Alliance of Independent Journalists also blamed both sides, saying their failure to reach agreement had stalled several efforts to obtain the release of the captives. It also called for an inquiry.

The military said marines were combing the area when they encountered guerrillas and a firefight broke out. Two bodies were found later, one of them a rebel and the other Siregar. Troops also found Santoro's press cards and clothes.

Ryacudu told reporters in Bali the 20-minute clash happened in a marsh and forest area with poor visibility. "He was hit by [bullets from] TNI soldiers... because he was with the GAM," the army chief said.

"War journalists are operating in wars and to be hit by bullet is a risk." Military spokesman Major General Sjafrie Sjamsuddin said a military investigation has already started.

"According to procedures, the team of investigation should have begun work starting as of today," the state Antara news agency quoted him as saying while awaiting the arrival of Siregar's body at Jakarta airport.

GAM operational commander for East Aceh, Ishak Daud, told AFP in Jakarta that GAM had recently asked local and international Red Cross officials to pick up the hostages. But the meeting failed to take place because neither group obtained approval from the military, he said, without explaining why the hostages had been held for six months.

In a text message Daud said Siregar was "apparently" shot at close range. He said the reporter had been shot in the leg during an earlier skirmish and had been unable to run away.

The media groups urged both sides immediately to arrange the release of Santoro and the other captives.

In May the body of a TVRI cameraman who had been abducted by unidentified gunmen was found in a river with torture marks. Another Indonesian journalist was killed in an accident involving an armoured car.

Aceh rebels say Indonesian troops killed reporter

Reuters - December 30, 2003

Banda Aceh -- Rebels in Indonesia's Aceh accused the military on Tuesday of executing a local television reporter who was found shot dead in the troubled province following a clash between separatists and marines.

The body of reporter Ersa Siregar from the private RCTI broadcaster was found on Monday, six months after he was kidnapped by separatist Free Aceh Movement rebels (GAM).

The rebel claim prompted an angry response from the country's chief security minister who accused GAM of using the reporter as a human shield. Military officials said the armed forces were investigating. One insisted troops did not know the rebels had Siregar with them.

The fate of RCTI cameraman Ferry Santoro, taken with Siregar, remains unknown, although troops later found his identity card at the location of Monday's firefight.

"The military killed Ersa Siregar in a raid in East Aceh. He was shot in the chest and neck," GAM spokesman Sofyan Dawood told Reuters by telephone, without specifying how he obtained the information.

"A few days ago he had also been shot in the leg. Siregar, who could not run for safety due to a wound in his leg, was executed by close-range shots." Colonel Ditya Sudarsono, spokesman for the martial law administration in Aceh, said Siregar's body had been flown to Jakarta for an autopsy.

"Clearly at that time there was crossfire. Whether he was shot by the military or by GAM we're still investigating," he said in response to the rebel accusation.

However, chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the rebels had used Siregar as a shield. "Humans are being used as shields like that by GAM and they don't have any remorse about it. The world should see it that way," he said.

The killing prompted the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists to call for a full investigation.

After abducting Siregar, the rebels initially said he was thought to be working for the military, a claim they later dropped. However, efforts to negotiate a release failed.

Government forces launched an offensive and imposed martial law in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island soon after peace talks collapsed in May.

In June, the body of an employee with state broadcaster TVRI was found in a river in the province.

The military says it has killed or captured about 2,000 GAM members in the offensive -- a statement difficult to verify because of travel curbs on the media and others in Aceh. GAM has fought for independence for the gas-rich province since 1976.

US-based Human Rights Watch said in a report this month that Indonesia's military was waging an extensive campaign of extra- judicial killings, kidnapping and torture in Aceh. The government has called the report "ill-informed and one-sided".

West Papua

TNI to increase surveillance in Papua

Kompas - January 30, 2004

Jayapura -- Anticipating security disturbances in the lead up to the 2004 general elections, the TNI (armed forces) will increase surveillance in areas which are considered to be susceptible to disturbances by the Free Papua Organisation or the Papua National Liberation Army (OPM/TPN). There will not be any increase in troop numbers but routine patrols will be increased.

This was revealed by the commander of the Trikora military command (Korem), Major General Nurdin Zainal in Jayapura on Thursday January 29. Zainal reminded TNI members throughout Papua to increase surveillance in the lead up to the elections. According to intelligence reports, the OPM/TPN want to disrupt the elections by inciting the public not to participate in the elections.

"We appeal to all members to increase surveillance, especially in areas which are considered to be susceptible to security disturbances such as Jayawijaya, Demta, Sarmi, Bonggo and areas on the boarder with Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. We must prevent this before [it actually happens] in order that no harm comes to TNI [members] or civilians because it is suspected that there will be many efforts to disrupt security in the lead up to the elections", said Zainal.

OPM/TPN offices raided

Separately, the commander of the Prajawirayakti military command (Korem) 172/PWY, Colonel Agus Mulyadi, said that on Wednesday at 7.30pm, TNI members of the 172/PWY military command from the 753 Yonif division ambushed scores of OPM/TPN members. Although OPM leader Leo Warisman from Takar village in the Sarmi sub- district/regency escaped, troops were able to seize two firearms, 52 rounds of ammunition, two bayonets, and two morning star flags, camouflage fatigues and documents on the OPM/TPN's struggle.

"An fire fight did occur for several minutes, but there were no casualties in the action. The TNI was being more careful [than usual] because the OPM/TPN headquarters are [located] near a civilian settlement. They continue to make sure that no civilians fall victim [to military operations]", said Mulyadi.

At a separate location, the head of the Jayapura regency national police (preparatory), chief superintendent Robert Djoenso, said that members of the Jayapura police raided the OPM/TPN headquarters in Nimborang/Demta in the Jayapura regency on Tuesday. OPM leader Yance Hembring was arrested together with 19 other OPM members. They are now being held at the Jayapura police offices. The Jayapura police seized a number of traditional weapons, OPM/TPN documents, a computer and materials related to the Papua independence struggle.

For some time the OPM/TPN group headed by Hembring has been causing significant public disturbances. They have been collecting illegal taxes and taking goods from local shops with the promise that they will be repaid after Papua is independent. The people have suffered damages amounting to hundreds of millions of rupiah. (kor).

[Translated by James Balowski.]

'War on terrorism'

A questionable ally

Bangor Daily News - December 29, 2003

Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic country, is often described as a crucial ally of the United States in the war against terrorism.

Then why its sour reaction to the capture of Saddam Hussein? Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda told a Jakarta newspaper: "Indonesia did not share the international joy following the capture."In the same telephone interview, to be sure, the foreign minister adopted a more measured tone, saying that the capture opened the way for reconciliation and transition, "which ultimately will result in the restoration and handover of sovereignty to the Iraqis."

But, like many other Indonesian officials, Hassan Wirajuda is a critic of the US-led invasion of Iraq. In a recent speech attended by the American ambassador, he said the American "arbitrary preemptive war against a sovereign state" had made the world more dangerous. He went on to belittle the value of smart bombs and air attacks: "Terrorists have no fixed addresses that can be obliterated once and for all with surgical strikes."

The foreign minister's government colleague, the American-trained head of Indonesia's intelligence, Gen. A. M. Hendropriyono, has gained Washington's respect. He warned Indonesian leaders against terrorism long before last year's bombing attack at a Bali night club, in which more than 200 were killed, and last August's bombing of the Marriott hotel in Jakarta when 10 people died and scores were injured. He got a warm reception when he met earlier this month with the US central intelligence director, George J. Tenet, and White House officials.

But Indonesia's abusive human rights record stands in the way of resumption of a US military training program for Indonesian soldiers, suspended in 1991. The Bush administration has been trying to resume the training program, but Congress is outraged over Indonesia's actions in trying to suppress a separatist movement in the province of Aceh and its continuing interference with East Timor, which gained independence in 1999 after 24 years of illegal occupation. The pending defense appropriation bill would ban any further military training until the alleged abuses are investigated and punished.

In Aceh, on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia is fighting a major undeclared war against civilians, largely concealed from the world. Nearly all media and human rights groups are barred from entering to investigate charges of summary execution, kidnappings, arbitrary detention and torture.

In East Timor, the Indonesian military is blamed for the deaths of 200,000 people, one-third of the population, during its occupation from 1975 to 1999 and for another 1,000 deaths in a bloody aftermath of a 1999 election declaring independence. Two United Nations bodies called for establishment of an independent tribunal to investigate the charges.

Instead, Indonesia established its own Ad Hoc Human Rights Court for East Timor. But investigations were cursory, and Indonesia has refused to extradite to East Timor any of the high-ranking Indonesian officials indicted by a joint UN-East Timor Serious Crimes Unit.

With such a record, Indonesia can hardly be considered an effective ally against the radical Islamic terror network until it cleans up its own act.

US trains indonesian anti-terror squad

Associated Press - December 30, 2003

Michael Casey, Indonesia -- Gunfire crackles and smoke wafts across a valley as an elite police unit storms a house filled with terrorists, rescuing the hostages and shooting dead the abductors.

This time, the victims were depicted by cardboard cutouts and the killers by posters of men with guns. But eventually the officers taking part may be hunting down Islamic militants in a groundbreaking partnership with the United States.

They belong to "Task Force 88 Anti-Terror," a new, 300-man Indonesian police unit being trained and equipped entirely by Washington. Similar programs are set to begin in Pakistan, Columbia, and possibly in the Philippines.

"This is win-win scenario for Indonesia and the United States," said Gary Laing, a US State Department officer supervising training at the center in hills south of Jakarta. "This recognizes that the United States wants to be engaged in Indonesia and their fight against terrorism."

The $24 million initiative highlights the growing importance of world's largest Muslim nation in America's war on terror. But it also underlines the difficulties of fighting terror in a country where the US government is legally banned from dealing with the army because of a history of human rights abuses.

Singling out the police for special training could intensify inter-service rivalries between the police and the Indonesian army. Both are seen as corrupt, and units often clash over the spoils of criminal activity ranging from drug trafficking to illegal logging.

Task Force 88 will likely add to those tensions since the army already has a similar anti-terrorist unit, some critics say.

Making matters worse, the central government has never defined which agency should handle terrorist emergencies. "If there was an actual incident, it would be an incredible turf war," said Ken Conboy, author of "Intel," a history of Indonesia's intelligence services. "Will the army allow someone else to muscle in when they have had this unit for a long time?" Conboy said.

The 300,000-strong army was the main pillar of the dictatorship of former president Suharto. It was in charge of security across the archipelago, with the police acting under its command. Indonesian and foreign governments showered the army with billions of dollars in equipment and training. The demoralized police officers were left without basics like handguns.

As part of the country's transition to democracy after Suharto's downfall in 1998, the police became an independent agency. Western governments, meanwhile, banned all contacts with the army because of rights violations in East Timor in 1999.

The police received high marks for their investigation into last year's Bali bombings which killed 202 people, and the August 5 bombing of a Jakarta hotel that killed 12. Both were blamed on the al-Qaida linked Jemaah Islamiyah network. Police arrested most of those involved in the blasts, and 29 have been convicted.

Foreign governments responded by providing the police with extensive assistance. Australia, which lost 88 citizens in the Bali attack, is providing intelligence training. Japan, Germany and Britain are also offering help in management, crowd control and other police techniques.

The new anti-terror unit is part of a wider, $50 million US program to help the police. American instructors at Mega Mendung teach classes in hostage rescue, crime scene investigation and bomb disposal.

"In a democratic world, the police are the security service tasked with internal stability and fighting terrorism," said Jake Wohlman, the US embassy's security chief.

But some Indonesians complain the new focus on the police could hurt efforts to reform the army and bring it under civilian control. "Do not put Indonesia in the position where it must take sides between its military and police," said Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a prominent political analyst.

2004 elections

Commission sets campaign rule on mass media

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2004

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- The General Elections Commission (KPU) announced on Friday the regulations on the electoral campaign, which sets some restrictions regarding campaigning through the mass media.

There are at least six restrictions found in Article 18 of KPU Instruction No. 701/2003 on the electoral campaign signed by KPU chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin on December 29.

The Article sets a maximum of a full-page advertisement for political parties or regional representatives (DPD) candidates in a newspaper in a week. It also only allows parties or DPD candidates a maximum of a two-page ad in magazines and tabloids.

Parties and DPD candidates are allowed to advertise in the electronic media with a maximum of 10 spots of a 30 second duration every day in the campaign period. Parties and DPD candidates are only permitted a maximum of 10 spots on the radio with a duration of 60 seconds per spot.

A party or DPD candidate is prohibited from using slots allotted to other parties or DPD candidates that do not utilize their slots.

Advertisements of parties and/or DPD candidates can be printed or aired in the mass media only in the campaign period that has been stipulated by the KPU. The campaign period will run from March 11 to April 1.

There are 24 parties and more than 500 DPD candidates contesting this year's elections.

Article 19 states that the campaign material in the mass media must be submitted at least two weeks before the beginning of the campaign period with full payment to be made before the advertisement is released or published.

In Article 17, KPU prohibits parties or DPD candidates from conducting a mass media campaign that attacks or disparages other parties or DPD candidates.

It also prohibits parties or DPD candidates from producing sound or visual effects that could raise fear and anxiety, from using impolite and coarse language, or material deemed insulting to various ethnic groups or religions.

"KPU will regulate the campaign in the electronic media until the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission is established and it makes new rulings," KPU member Hamid Awaluddin told a press conference, along with Nazaruddin.

Besides campaign restrictions in the mass media, the instruction also set limitations on parties and DPD candidates in campaigning through other mechanisms such as limited meetings and general assemblies. Regarding party attributes or paraphernalia, Hamid said parties were allowed only to place them at locations that had been determined by local administrations.

He also said that each party must place their campaign paraphernalia (flags, banners etc.) at a minimum distance of 50 centimeters from other parties. "If parties violate the rule, they will be warned and if they still ignore our warning, we will remove their banners from the locations," he said.

KPU will also set up campaign monitoring posts at the national, provincial and regental/municipal level to monitor the implementation of the campaign. A number of penalties are also stipulated in the instruction ranging from suspension from the campaign to dismissal of legislative and DPD aspirants if they bribe people to vote for them.

Elections preparation replete with flaws, skepticism abounds

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2004

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- No one in this country who believes in democracy wants the 2004 elections to fail, as it is the only democratic tool to elect a legitimate government that will carry out reforms and dig the country out of its economic doldrums.

But a closer look into the ongoing election preparations suggests that there are many flaws in the process, including the failure to meet election preparation schedules, raising fears over the credibility of the whole exercise.

The House of Representatives (DPR) already endorsed the bill on general elections in February and President Megawati Soekarnoputri signed it into law the following month.

While the law was generally hailed as setting a solid foundation for a democratic election, it was creating problems for the General Elections Commission (KPU) in preparing the 2004 elections.

The problems revolve around the issue of legislative seat allocations. The law's Article 46 (2) stipulates that each electoral district will be allocated with three to 12 seats, while Article 48 (1b) states that the number of seats allotted for each province should not be less than the seats they got in the 1999 election. To make the confusion complete, Article 48 (1c) states that new provinces as the result of partitions of some provinces after the 1999 election shall be allocated three seats each. Capping the perplexity is an article in the law that puts the number of legislators at 550.

KPU members realized the difficulty in distributing the seats as soon as they were sworn in. According to KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti, it was impossible for them to distribute the 550 legislative seats without violating any article in the election law. But, any violation to the election may be exploited by political parties to undermine election results.

Already legislators from the country's easternmost province of Papua filed a complaint with the House and KPU over the commission's decision to cut its legislative seats from 13 in 1999 and 10 in 2004. The three others were given to newly established West Irian Jaya province in accordance with election law Article 48 (1c). The decision, however, violates Article 48 (1b) that says that each province, including the so-called mother province, will get the same number of legislative seats as they did in the 1999 elections.

The complaint has forced the House to seriously consider revising the Election Law, with a plan to raise the number of legislative seats from 550 to 556.

According to Ramlan, based on the number of people in provinces, some electoral districts must be allocated more than 12 seats, while some must get less seats then they got in the 1999 elections.

He also said the KPU would be forced to breach the law because of those unrealistic articles and elucidations. "Under the state administrative law, the KPU has discretionary powers to take special measures in circumstances that were not taken into account by lawmakers during the drafting of the law. Besides, the KPU will also seek a legal opinion from the Supreme Court regarding this decision."

The commission also discovered that it must allot several existing provinces less seats than they obtained in the 1999 election due to the partitions of those province. Provinces falling under this category include Maluku, which was split into Maluku and North Maluku; North Sulawesi, split into North Sulawesi and Gorontalo; and Papua, divided into Papua and West Irian Jaya.

The KPU has also been performing poorly in conducting public campaigns about the elections. A recent voter survey endorsed by the Asia Foundation suggested that seven out of 10 voters, or 89 percent did not know the election month.

Less than 9 percent of voters surveyed were aware that the legislative election would be held in April 2004. With regards to the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), almost two-thirds of the electorate, or 65 percent, have not heard of it or are unsure if they have, while a mere 9 percent have knowledge of the DPD's role and responsibilities Adi Abidin and Wandy N. Tuturoong of the Asia Foundation said that the findings indicated voter education campaigns must be actively carried out as the quality and the quantity of their participation would be the main indicators to measure the success of the election as well as democracy.

Other critics had also said the performance of the KPU in preparing the 2004 elections was poor, due mainly to a number of extensions of the elections preparation schedule.

Among the extended election preparations were the national population and voter census that was extended two weeks from April 30, the announcement of party administrative and factual verification that was extended several days from the initial schedules and the publication of electoral district mapping that was also extended from the initial October 13 deadline.

KPU chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin said that some extensions in the election preparations were due to inevitable external factors such as security problem in Aceh and Maluku during the population and voter census, and plans to revise the Elections Law to increase seats in the House.

He claimed the KPU had almost finished over 30 instructions required to implement the Election Law, but for the KPU, it should take more active efforts to improve the preparations of the elections, particularly to educate the public and remain on schedule. Those efforts are necessary to make the 2004 elections a success.

Akbar irked by anti-crooked politicians drive

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2003

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- While noted figures, scholars and some politicians have expressed support for the national movement against unscrupulous politicians, Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung doubts the movement will live up to its expectations.

Apart from questioning the campaign, Akbar, who is a convict in a Rp 40 billion graft case, strongly criticized the movement itself. "The movement is simply a waste of time and energy, because it will only revive old problems," Akbar told a year-end media conference on Tuesday.

Party secretary-general Budi Harsono and other leaders were present at the event. He was commenting on the declaration of a national drive that calls on the public not to vote for "rotten" politicians in the elections next year.

Earlier, Kwik Kian Gie of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Andi A. Mallarangeng of the United Democracy Nationhood Party (PPKD) expressed their support for the campaign.

Members of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) attended the declaration on Monday in support of the movement, which will include publication of a list of "rotten" politicians in February.

The movement defines rotten politicians as those who have been involved in at least one of five activities: corruption, human rights abuses, environmental destruction, sexual abuse or drug dealing.

Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Teten Masduki, one of the movement's initiators, said the campaign should haunt political parties whose members have committed misdeeds.

The elections law enables suspects or convicts who have lodged an appeal to contest the general election, provided that the crimes in which they are implicated carry custodial sentences of less than five years.

All 24 political parties submitted their respective lists of legislative candidates to the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Monday.

KPU, however, has allowed political parties to make alterations to their lists until January next year, when it will announce the definitive list of aspirant legislators.

The country will hold the general election on April 5 next year and the landmark direct presidential election on July 5.

Akbar asserted that Golkar had its own criteria and always took into account existing legislation in nominating its legislative candidates. He doubted if supporters of the movement were "cleaner and better" than any figures they regarded as "rotten".

Among the figures attending Monday's declaration were Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid, economist Faisal Basri, historian Anhar Gonggong, political expert J. Kristiadi and sociologist Imam B. Prasodjo. Senior journalist Goenawan Mohammad, rights activists Munir and Bambang Widjojanto, and former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin were also present.

"Proponents of the movement are not necessarily better than others," Akbar said. He suggested that the nation focus on developing the country instead of discussing old problems.

Taking Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia as examples, Akbar said the three neighboring countries had moved ahead because they opted to look forward rather than to the past.

Akbar maintained that the ultimate decision maker in a general election was the people. "Let the people elect their choices. If people vote for legislative candidates whom a certain group considers rotten, then what we can say?" he asked.

Students seal KPU office in Yogyakarta

Antara - December 30, 2003

Yogyakarta -- Some 20 students of the Indonesian Students Association (HMI) and the Proletarian Student Community (Kompor) here Tuesday staged a rally to reject general elections and sealed the Yogyakarta office of the General Elections Commission (KPU).

In his oration, field coordinator Eldi Suherman said nothing took place naturally in the political sphere, and the upcoming 2004 general elections would be only a process of political recruitment designed towards a certain condition.

According to Eldi, the general lections held from the Old Order time to the reform era was merely a routine activity in the mechamism of recruiting people's representatives.

Golkar party rides high on wave of Suharto nostalgia

Financial Times - December 31, 2003

Taufan Hidayat -- Public protests are so common in Jakarta these days that they are regularly cursed -- usually with good reason -- by the gridlock-weary taxi drivers of Indonesia's capital. The country now benefits from a free and often cheeky press and personal freedoms have increased.

All this is a testament to the democratic reforms Indonesia has undergone since the 1998 fall of President Suharto, the autocrat who ruled for 32 years and left a long trail of corruption and human rights abuses.

But as the world's fourth-most populous country prepares for elections in 2004 it seems that Indonesian politics is moving back in time. Thanks to the grassroots organisation it has inherited from Mr Suharto, his Golkar party is shaping up as the favourite to win April's parliamentary elections. And lining up for the first round of presidential polls in July are former Suharto aides, cronies and even his daughter. Moreover, all of them are being taken seriously as candidates.

The explanation is a potentially powerful nostalgia for what many Indonesians are choosing to see as the better days of a still- notorious and not-so-distant past.

A poll released this month by the US-based Asia Foundation found 53 per cent of Indonesians agreed with the statement: "We need a strong leader like Suharto ... even if it reduces rights and freedoms." Because of the country's slow recovery from the economic crisis that contributed to Mr Suharto's downfall, Indonesians link democracy with ineffectual government, weak leadership and corruption, analysts say.

"People associate the Suharto era with a more effective government," says Hadi Soesastro, executive director of Jakarta's Centre for Strategic and International Studies. "Things functioned under his rule." In a recent report, the International Crisis Group blamed "elected politicians" for contributing to "disillusion with the democracy Indonesia has experienced for five years".

"Many ordinary people," the think-tank said, "look through rose- tinted spectacles to the Suharto era as a time of social peace and prosperity."

The political party most directly looking to take advantage of that nostalgia is the diminutive Concern for the Functional Nation party (PKPB). Founded on the orders of the former strongman, the PKPB is set to nominate President Suharto's daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, known as "Tutut", as its presidential candidate in January.

Hartono, the retired general who founded the PKPB, claims he is told regularly by people that they "miss" the 82-year-old Mr Suharto, who spends his days in his Jakarta home after a series of strokes.

The fruits of Indonesia's nascent democracy, he argues, are enjoyed only by a wealthy minority. "People don't need democracy," he says. "People need food, security and prosperity." Tutut is seen as a long shot to unseat the ever weaker President Megawati Sukarnoputri -- the daughter of Mr Suharto's predecessor, Sukarno. However, there are also more serious candidates with Suharto links hoping to seize their chance in 2004.

Akbar Tandjung, current Golkar chairman, is appealing against a graft conviction, which may undermine his candidacy, but lining up against him as part of a Golkar primary race are six other candidates, most of whom share a chequered, Suharto-era past.

Among them is Prabowo Subianto, Mr Suharto's former son-in-law. But the leading contender to beat Mr Tandjung, analysts say, is Wiranto, a former Suharto adjutant defence minister. Like Mr Prabowo, his arch-rival, Mr Wiranto has been accused of human rights abuses. UN prosecutors in East Timor have indicted him, claiming he bore ultimate "command responsibility" for the 1,400 people killed there in 1999.

That makes him distasteful to the international community but it is unlikely, analysts say, to dent his popularity at home. "Indeed," the ICG wrote, "Wiranto would probably be more vulnerable electorally to charges of having failed to prevent the loss of East Timor."

It is too early to say what the return of the Suharto influence to Indonesian politics will mean and even whether it will last. Transitional democracies often flirt with nostalgia for the past, diplomats argue. In the kampungs -- the village-sized communities into which Indonesia's cities and rural areas are divided -- opinions are less cautious, though.

"Democracy is good. But here it's only a concept on paper," says Yahya Suhanda, a retired civil servant who plans to vote for Mr Wiranto. "This country has to be commanded autocratically, so that the reforms don't get out of control."

[Additional reporting by Taufan Hidayat.]

24,000 police to safeguard elections in restive regions

Agence France Presse - December 30, 2003

Jakarta -- Indonesian police will deploy up to 24,000 personnel to safeguard legislative and presidential elections in restive regions next year, a report said Tuesday.

The officers will be posted to Aceh, Central Sulawesi, Papua and Maluku provinces, national operations director Inspector General Dewa Astika was quoted by Koran Tempo newspaper as saying.

"If it is felt to be insufficient on the field, we will seek the assistance of troops of the Indonesian armed forces," Astika said.

He said some 14,000 personnel would be deployed in Aceh, where troops and police are battling separatist rebels, and the three other regions would receive around 3,000 personnel each.

Maluku and Central Sulawesi are both recovering from years of conflict between Christians and Muslims which left thousands dead and made tens of thousands refugees.

The Free Papua Movement has for years waged a sporadic low-level revolt against the government in resource-rich Papua.

Indonesia will go to the polls on April 5 to elect a national and regional parliaments. On July 5 it will hold the first round of its first direct presidential election.

Parties given chance to meet quota for women

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2003

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- The General Elections Commission (KPU) said on Tuesday the 24 political parties contesting the 2004 elections would be allowed to add more women to their lists of legislative candidates if they had yet to meet the 30 percent quota of women aspirants.

KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti said the parties had until January 19 to meet the quota and adjust the required documents for their legislative candidates, even though the Monday deadline for them to submit the names of their candidates had passed.

He said the KPU would verify the lists of candidates submitted by the 24 parties to determine whether, among other things, they met the 30 percent quota for women or not.

"We will inform the parties if they have not fulfilled the 30 percent quota of women candidates and give them a chance to add more names of women to the lists," Ramlan said in his office in Central Jakarta.

Based on KPU Instruction No. 100/2003, the commission will verify the lists of legislative candidates by January 5, 2004, and inform the parties of the results on January 12 at the latest.

Without public scrutiny, the KPU is scheduled to announce the final lists of aspiring legislators on January 27 through electronic and print media.

Senior politicians have acknowledged that many parties may have failed to meet the 30 percent quota for women as recommended by the Election Law. Even those that managed to meet the quota placed their women legislative candidates at the bottom of their lists, giving them low priority.

The United Development Party (PPP) has only 137 female candidates out of its 628 aspiring legislators (21 percent), the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) has only 58 women out of 268 legislative candidates (21 percent) and the Reform Star Party (PBR) has 63 women out of 294 candidates (21 percent).

KPU member Anas Urbaningrum, who chairs a team to oversee the registration of legislative candidates, confirmed that the 24 parties had been given more time to amend their documents and add more women to their lists. However, the parties are prohibited from changing the numerical order of their candidates on the lists, he said.

Anas also said that during the verification period, the KPU would also evaluate other requirements that the candidates had to meet, including submitting bills of health from doctors from recognized hospitals. "On the first day of screening, we discovered that many aspirants had not submitted medical reports," he said.

Ramlan also said the KPU had increased the budget for disseminating information on the 2004 elections from Rp 75 billion (US$8.853,289) to Rp 115 billion. "Rp 75 billion will be distributed to KPUDs [local KPU offices], while the additional Rp 40 billion will be used to promote the elections through electronic media," he said.

He said the KPU would start disseminating information on the elections through the media by mid-January. The general election will be held on April 5, 2004 and the two-round presidential election on July 5 and September 20.

Parties can't register additional candidates: KPU

Antara - December 30, 2003

Jakarta -- The political parties contesting the 2004 general election will not be allowed to file the names of any more legislative candidates following the expiry of the deadline on Monday, December 29 at 12 midnight.

"The parties will only be allowed to correct or complete the documents they have sent to meet the requirements, but they will not be allowed to register any more legislative candidates," General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin said here on Tuesday.

All of the 24 parties contesting the election filed their lists of House candidates with the commission by the December 29, 2003, deadline.

According to Nazaruddin, the commission, which has set up 12 sub working groups, will immediately examine the extent to which the documents that had been lodged met the requirements.

If the commission found shortcomings in the documents, Nazaruddin said the parties would be given 14 days to correct them.

He further said that the parties would be allowed to corrected the documents up until January 19, 2004, with the commission announcing the names of the legislative candidates on January 27, 2004.

He said that not all of the parties had registered the maximum number of legislative candidates permitted, that is, 660, or 120 percent of the 550 seats being contested in the House of Representatives.

He also disclosed that not all the parties had registered legislative candidates in 69 House electoral areas in 32 provinces.

All 24 parties make deadline

Jakarta Post - December 30, 2003

Moch. N. Kurniawan and M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta -- All 24 political parties rushed to file their lists of legislative candidates with the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Monday, just hours ahead of the midnight deadline, with the exception of PDI-P and the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKP Indonesia) which registered earlier.

Parties delayed their registration due to the complicated process of short-listing candidates and various difficulties they faced in obtaining the required documents.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKP Indonesia) were the first two parties to submit their lists of candidates with the KPU.

Apart from President Megawati Soekarnoputri's PDI-P, other major political groups -- the Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party -- also managed to make the deadline.

The Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI), led by Megawati's sister Sukmawati Soekarnoputri was the last party to register.

PDI-P filed its list of legislative aspirants from 32 provinces in stages, with 213 candidates registered on Saturday and 402 on Sunday. PDI-P deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung said that of the total 615 aspiring legislators, at least 168 are women.

Among the public figures included in the party's list are former minister of the environment Sonny Keraf, TV presenter Irma Hutabarat, Taufik Kiemas' brother Nazaruddin Kiemas, and swimmer Elvira Rosa Nasution.

PKP Indonesia registered a total of 230 aspirants from 32 provinces. Noted academic Sri Edi Swasono, former director of state-owned electricity company PT PLN Djiteng Roedjito Dirdjosoesanto and former minister of defense Gen. (ret) Edi Sudrajat are among the candidates. Golkar, which arrived at the KPU building at about 10:30 p.m., registered 660 candidates, more than 30 percent of whom are women.

Golkar's senior official Slamet Effendi Yusuf said his party's aspiring legislators faced difficulties in completing the required documents such as medical certificates from doctors from recognized hospitals.

Tough debate between executives of the Golkar central board and those in regional chapters, and the difficulty in fulfilling the 30 percent quota for women, as well as efforts to accommodate younger legislative candidates forced the party to postpone the registration, he added.

New public figures nominated by Golkar include noted actress Nurul Arifin, and former chairman of the Indonesian Muslim Students Organization (PMII) Nusron Wahid, Sahrul Anshori of the Islamic Students Association (HMI) and Luthfi Iskandar of City Forum (Forkot).

Ade Komaruddin, a Golkar Party leader, said the idea of including the three students as legislative candidates had stirred hot debate among Golkar leaders. But, the opponents of the idea were finally convinced that the inclusion of the students could improve Golkar's image.

New parties like the New Indonesian Alliance Party (Partai PIB) filed some 284 legislative aspirants, and the Reform Star Party (PBR) 294 candidates.

The two voiced similar difficulties in obtaining the required documents, forcing them to delay the registration of their lists until a few hours before the deadline.

KPU member Hamid Awaluddin said that there were "internal dynamics" that made parties late in submitting their lists of candidates, such as conflicting interests among their executives in assigning their candidates favored numbers.

Earlier in the day, KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti said parties that failed to beat Monday's deadline would not be allowed to contest the 2004 elections.

"We have no plan to extend the deadline. We will stick to our plan to close the registration tonight (at 12 p.m.)," he told journalists.

Drive launched against crooked politicians

Jakarta Post - December 30, 2003

A. Junaidi, Jakarta -- Dozens of noted intellectuals, artists and activists from non-governmental organizations announced the establishment of the National Movement Against "Rotten" Politicians on Monday ahead of the 2004 elections, pledging to announce their names soon.

Around 1,000 people braved the rain to attend the launching ceremony at the Proclamation Statue on Jl. Proklamasi, Central Jakarta.

Teten Masduki, chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) which organized the campaign, promised to divulge the names of the unscrupulous politicians by February next year.

"For the time being, the important thing is to create an awareness among people of the presence of unscrupulous politicians," he said.

Among the intellectuals who attended the event were prominent Muslim scholar Nurcholish "Cak Nur" Madjid, who is a presidential hopeful, economist Faisal Basri, historian Anhar Gonggong, political expert J. Kristiadi and sociologist Imam B. Prasodjo.

Besides Teten, several activists also joined the campaign, including women's activist Debra H. Yatim, Transparency International Indonesia executive director Emmy Hafild and chairman of the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) Munir.

Director of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) Hendardi, an activist from the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) Bambang Widjojanto, and executive director of the Partnership for Good Governance H.S. Dillon were also present.

Artists, such as Franky Sahilatua and Harry Rusli, and former bureaucrats, including former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin, former minister of the environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, also attended.

Hundreds of Justice and Welfare Party (PKS) supporters rallied during the declaration to support the campaign.

Teten urged the people not to vote for "rotten" politicians during next year's general elections scheduled for April 5.

The national movement would make public the list of unscrupulous politicians and demand that all political parties drop them from their lists of legislative candidates, he said.

"Not only will we issue a blacklist of politicians, but also urge political parties to drop the blacklisted names from their lists of legislative candidates." Teten said the campaign would also be conducted across the country in an effort to fight against "rotten" politicians in provinces and regencies.

"Today, we announce the launch of a similar movement in Yogyakarta and this will be followed in other provinces because rotten politicians are not only to be found in Jakarta," he said.

He said the movement had earlier agreed on several criteria to define unscrupulous politicians, including their involvement in corruption, collusion and nepotism, and human rights violations.

Politicians could also be categorized as "rotten" if they were involved in environmental destruction, domestic violence or drug abuse, Teten added.

During the declaration, Emmy Hafild, Cak Nur, Faisal Basri, Ali Sadikin, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, Munir and Hendardi delivered speeches. Emmy urged the people to vote against corrupt politicians, pointing out that the country was named the sixth most corrupt country in the world based on a recent survey by Berlin-based Transparency International.

Cak Nur concurred, saying all elements of society, including the intelligentsia, activists and the media, should join forces to combat corruption.

Munir and Hendardi called on the nation not to vote for politicians with poor human rights records and those who often made statements that played down human rights violations.

The movement received a positive response from the Muslim-based PKS, whose executives said their party would submit its list of legislative candidates to the movement's secretariat before filing it with the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Monday.

National movement against corrupt politicians launced

Agence France Presse - December 29, 2003

Jakarta -- Dozens of activists and public figures have launched a national movement which will urge Indonesians not to elect "rotten" politicians in next year's legislative and presidential elections.

"Do not choose them, those who rob state coffers, do not choose them, those who make the people suffer," sang popular performer Franky Sahilatua at a rally in a Central Jakarta park.

Some 500 people took part in the rally to launch The National Movement Against Electing Rotten Politicians in front of a statue of the country's founding fathers -- Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta. Similar rallies were held in other cities, organisers said.

The campaign aims to force parties carefully to select their legislative candidates and not nominate those with bad track records and poor performance.

Its launch coincided with the swearing-in of the five leading members of a new Corruption Eradication Commission in front of President Megawati Sukarnoputri at the state palace.

The Berlin-based Transparency International lists Indonesia among the world's most corrupt nations.

Leading Muslim intellectual Nurcholis Majid and former Jakarta Governor Ali Sadikin were among those at the Jakarta rally. The two largest Muslim organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, sent executives to show support.

Teten Masduki, head of Indonesian Corruption Watch, said his organisation was working on a "black list of rotten politicians." He said this would only be released once electoral officials have issued a list of candidates for legislative elections.

Indonesia will hold the legislative elections on April 5, followed by the first direct presidential elections on July 5.

High hopes of "reformasi" (reform) following the departure of the autocratic Suharto in May 1998 have now faded. The International Crisis Group, in a report this month, said cynicism about the new political order is almost universal -- with confidence in democratic politics undermined by the politicians themselves.

At the palace former police officer Taufiqqurochman Ruki was sworn in as chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission and vowed not to bow to pressure.

"No powers or individuals will be able to intervene ... whoever they are," said Ruki. "We will not hesitate in taking actions against corruptors." The commission, whose establishment has been postponed several times since 1999, will have the authority to investigate and prosecute cases -- previously the domain of the police and the prosecutors' office.

Ryacudu's alarm bell

Laksamana.Net - December 30, 2003

Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. That's the principle Army Chief of Staff Ryamizard Ryacudu apparently had in mind when he sent a warning signal to public at the Army's anniversary last Monday.

"The general election is the party of democracy and it is the people that have the obligation to secure the event. If the situation disturbs security and public order, the police would step in and the we the army would help the police," he said.

"If there is a deliberate attempt to divide the nation," added Ryacudu, the son-in-law of former Vice President and retired general Try Sutrisno, "the army should step in. The Army does not want this country to fall apart."

Given its nature as the agency that must deal with any worst-case scenario in anticipating social upheaval, the signal sent by Ryacudu and similar comments by his superior, Armed Forces Commander Endriartono Sutarto, are still within the bounds of normal responsibility.

But seen from other perspectives, Ryacudu's comments gave the impression that the Army commander does not feel quite sure about the neutrality of the military in the upcoming general elections.

A source close to military circles told Laksamana.Net that the main concern that prompted Ryacudu to ring the alarm bell is the potential for support from middle-ranking officers for former Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, expected to be a nominee for the presidency in next July's first round direct presidential election.

"At least 60% of the Resort Military Commanders [Korem] at the regency level can be called Wiranto men. They have been under his influence and patronage since they were still sub-district commanders with the rank of Second Lieutenant," says the source.

Resort or district military commands still present the potential to be quickly turned into a de facto political infrastructure in support of the retired generals who are standing as presidential candidates.

According to Suhato-era military doctrine, the maintenance of internal security was considered an integral part of national defense. Internal threat was perceived as far more urgent than any external threat. This military doctrine was inspired by the experience during the struggle for independence in 1945-1949, and was manipulated by Suharto and his military clique to preserve their power.

Since the success of this strategy, according to the doctrine, required that a close bond be maintained between citizen and soldier to encourage the support of the entire population and enable the military to manage all war-related resources, in practice the military used the territorial command from the province down to the village level as a de facto political infrastructure.

In practice, territorial organizations were run largely by the army, which was able to militarize civilians or force them to work with the military's scheme.

By exercising influence over decisions on matters such as population redistribution, the production of food and strategic materials, and the development of air and sea transportation, the military played a major role in directing people to support Suharto's Golkar for 32 years.

As officers with a commitment to military professionalism, Sutarto and Ryacudu are aware that a threat exists for military territorial organizations to be used by retired generals as a political infrastructure.

Ryacudu's comments stressed the need to create unity of action between the military and the police to anticipate the possibility of support from middle-ranking officers in support of retired generals including Wiranto and the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, retired Lt. Gen Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,

By saying that the military would step in should the police be unable to deal with disturbances during the elections, Ryacudu acknowledged the formal separation of the Armed Forces and the Police.

Since the clash between the Army's airborne unit and the police in Binjai, North Sumatra last year and clashes in Sulawesi and Kalimantan this year, a military source told Laksamana.Net that Ryacudu is concerned about the possibility of further clashes between the Army and the Police in a situation where the Army has lost many of its financial sources.

The remnants of the Suharto regime, especially the retired generals, believed to have virtually unlimited financial resources, are in a position to organize intelligence operations in cooperation with their supporters among the Resort Military Commands to create public disturbances and instigate clashes with the Police.

But as Army Chief of Staff, Ryacudu is responsible only for personnel, training, administration, and logistical support, but does not exercise direct authority over the regional commands and their networks reaching down to village level.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri also seems alert to political risk pointed to by Ryacudu. Just a day after Ryacudu's statement, Megawati told a meeting of Governors that any disturbances during the general elections would not come from the 24 contesting political parties.

All the contesting parties, she said, have an interest in creating a good image in the eyes of the public. "So, who will have the intention of instigating disturbances?" Megawati asked.

Megawati challenged those who might instigate disturbances not to be half-hearted. "Take all the power," she taunted.

Cak Nur seeks presidency through book

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2003

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta -- Prominent Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid is pursuing his presidential bid next year by launching a book on nation-building titled Indonesia Kita [Our Indonesia].

The 157-page book was launched on Saturday, containing a 10-point political platform to rebuild Indonesia should he be elected president in 2004.

"Although the political platform needs further details in its actual implementation, it nevertheless represents my proposed solutions to the nation's current problems," said Cak Nur, as he is better know.

The program includes establishing good governance and upholding the supremacy of the law through the elimination of the pervasive culture of feudalism, as well as promoting national unity through a cultural approach and by creating a more humane police and military. National reconciliation, economic reform and the strengthening of civil freedom are also among Cak Nur's main concerns, as well as improvement in the quality of national education and social justice.

He also suggested that Indonesia take a more active role in promoting world peace.

Saturday's launching ceremony, held at the Hilton Executive Club, was attended by a number of national figures, senior politicians and presidential hopefuls.

Those present included Pioneer Party leader Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) leader Hidayat Nur Wahid, Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) leader Edi Sudrajat and Democrat Social Labor Party (PDSD) leader Muchtar Pakpahan.

National figures attending the ceremony were Azyumardi Azra, Franz Magnis Suseno, Solahuddin Wahid, Taufik Abdullah, HS Dillon, Frans Seda and Achmad Tirtosudiro.

Other guests included Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Teten Masduki, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) member Erry Riyana Hardjapemekas, Father Mudji Sutrisno and Bondan Gunawan.

Cak Nur has announced his bid to contest the first ever direct presidential election in 2004, challenging other candidates including incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Amien Rais and Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

He recently decided to withdraw from a Golkar Party convention to select a presidential candidate.

Cak Nur said that no political party had officially nominated him as the new presidential candidate, although he had held talks with several party leaders, including the latest meeting in Yogyakarta with Amien, who chairs the National Mandate Party (PAN).

"The top priority for all parties now is to discuss their list of legislative candidates, including how to fulfill the 30 percent quota for women and avoid unscrupulous politicians in their lists. The parties have delayed announcing their presidential candidates," Cak Nur said. Edi Sudrajat, a retired Army general, had also invited Cak Nur to several meetings with his PKPI supporters.

Cak Nur explained that his recent meeting with Amien was merely to share and discuss views on the future of Indonesia.

"I will have similar meetings in January and February with other party figures to discuss our views," he added.

Parties wait till Monday deadline

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2003

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- The General Elections Commission (KPU) is expecting an extra-heavy workload on Monday, as all 24 political parties contesting the 2004 elections will rush to beat the deadline for registration of legislative candidates.

As of 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, no party had turned up to the KPU office on Jl. Imam Bonjol, Central Jakarta, to the disappointment of the commission's deputy chairman, Ramlan Surbakti, who had been waiting for the parties for almost the whole day.

Rumor had it that the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) would complete its list of legislative candidates on Sunday. The party submitted on Saturday 213 aspirants from 18 provinces to the commission, making it the only election contender to have submitted its legislative candidates, albeit in part.

Political parties have blamed a variety of difficulties faced by their legislative candidates in obtaining the required documents for their failure to submit the names before the deadline.

The Golkar Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) have complained of difficulty in obtaining bills of health from doctors in recognized hospitals.

Besides, the complicated process of short-listing candidates has prompted the parties to delay their registration with the KPU.

Separately, the Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) warned of security concerns that might disrupt elections in the conflict-prone provinces of Nanggro Aceh Darussalam, Maluku, Papua and Central Sulawesi.

Panwaslu member Rozy Munir said people's skepticism of the elections, security problems and armed violence were the result of the proposed elections in Aceh of legislative members and the president, where a major offensive against rebels is still under way.

At least six Aceh regencies -- Aceh Jaya, Pidie, Bireuen, North Aceh, Central Aceh and East Aceh -- were areas vulnerable to conflict during the elections, according to Rozy.

Papua, meanwhile, is currently plagued by controversy over the establishment of new provinces, public distrust in local government, conflict between local political elite groups, ethnic clashes and armed violence -- problems that Rozy said could jeopardize the elections. Papua's regencies/municipalities of Jayapura, Sentani, Mimika and Manokwari were the areas most prone to conflict during next year's elections, he added.

In Central Sulawesi, the planned establishment of a new province, the segregation of areas based on ethnicity and religion, and the presence of thousands of displaced people could hamper the elections, Rozy said. He also gave a reminder about the need for extra precautions in view of potential conflict in Poso and Morowali during the elections.

Segregation of areas by religion and unresolved refugee problems will also pose a threat to elections in the Maluku capital, Ambon, and Central Maluku regency.

"Potential conflicts in those provinces could seriously threaten the success of the 2004 elections," Didik Supriyanto, another Panwaslu member told a media conference held by Panwaslu and the Peace Building Institute (ITP).

He said, for example, in Maluku, a political party due to hold an election campaign in several Muslim-based areas would have to pass predominantly Christian areas.

"Therefore, if someone provokes or triggers an issue that offends another religious community during a rally, there could be a riot," he said. He added that in Central Sulawesi, if a political party raised the issue of the establishment of a new province, it might stimulate violence among local people.

Therefore, he said, restrictions during the campaigning period must be imposed in conflict-ridden provinces, such as a ban against mass rallies.

"Peaceful campaigning must be carried out by political parties, particularly in those areas," he said, adding that at present he saw parties in those provinces had a commitment to peace.

Meanwhile, Ichsan Malik, Director of the ITP said elections should reconcile rather than trigger conflict. "We do not want Poso part II or Ambon part II to occur as we know the bloody conflicts in both Poso and Ambon broke out prior to the 1999 elections," he said.

Golkar legislators' supporters hold protest against party

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2003

Andi Hajramurni and A'an Suryana, Makassar/Jakarta -- Around 100 angry rank-and-file Golkar Party supporters held a demonstration here on Saturday to protest the change in priority numbers given to some of its legislative candidates for the 2004 election.

In their protest, held in front of the office of the party's Makassar Representative, the crowd criticized the decision by Golkar leaders to rearrange the priority election number of at least two high-profile candidates from South Sulawesi.

They were apparently enraged because their favorite legislative candidates, such as Marwah Daud Ibrahim and Nurhayati Yasin Limpo, had been given lower priority numbers.

Marwah was previously allocated the first slot on the list of Golkar legislative candidates from South Sulawesi -- the fairly large province will get at least 24 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR). However, when the documents were finally submitted by the Golkar leadership, she was placed as number four on the list. Nurhayati fell from number four to number seven.

According to the 2004 general election regulations, the higher the priority number that a candidate has will mean a greater chance of being elected as a legislator for the House of Representatives (DPR) in any given province. Of South Sulawesi's 24 legislators, Golkar expects to fill 16 DPR seats, based on projections of votes it will garner. If the party were to win 16 seats, the top 16 ranked candidates would be given the seats, and both Marwah and Nurhayati would easily qualify.

One of the protesters, Andre, asserted that the rearrangement indicated that Golkar Party was preoccupied with its old patterns, in which the party bosses in Jakarta still ruled the regions and never allowed local party officials to make key decisions.

They added that such a policy was wrong, because the regions knew the quality of their people much better than the party bosses in Jakarta.

"This rearrangement shows that the current Golkar is still identical with the old Golkar. They have put on the sidelines people who do good for the region, and placed people who have done nothing good for us in a higher position," he said.

Separately, a source at the party's central board said that Marwah was dropped from the number one rank to four over disputes between Marwah and other party members from South Sulawesi.

The source said that Marwah, as the coordinator for Golkar's South Sulawesi region and was responsible for proposing the ranks of the Golkar legislative candidates from South Sulawesi, had not taken input from other party members in shortlisting the legislative candidates from the region.

The four key members -- Ibrahim Ambong, Ibnu Munzir, Samsul Bahri and Yasril Ananta Baharudin -- were angry over Marwah's solo run, and they complained to the bosses in Jakarta who determine the election number for legislative candidates, including Akbar Tandjung, the chairman of Golkar. "After a meeting in Jakarta, the team sought a middle way, and Marwah was then dropped from number one to four," he said.

Ibrahim Ambong confirmed that there was a dispute between the four and Marwah, but he fell short of saying whether the dispute led to the decision by the team to drop Marwah in the rankings. "You'd better ask the team (Golkar leaders)," he told The Jakarta Post. The team members were not available for comment on Saturday.

Clean politician campaign kicks off

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2003

Kurniawan Hari and Urip Hudiono, Jakarta -- The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) will launch on Monday a nationwide information campaign on politicians running for office.

Religious figures, politicians and non-governmental groups (NGOs) are expected to support the campaign, which aims to rid the country of unscrupulous politicians.

The campaign, which will be launched at the Proklamasi Monument in Central Jakarta, will provide voters in the 2004 elections with information on the track records of all legislative candidates contending the general election.

ICW coordinator Teten Masduki said the campaign had been devised due to the public's disappointment with unscrupulous politicians in the current regime and their fading hope of having a clean government resulting from the 2004 general election.

"We will facilitate people to enable them to have general standard in casting their vote during the elections. This will be a big nationwide campaign," Teten told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

He said, however, that it was still to be decided whether unscrupulous politicians would actually be named or just indicators given to enable voters to identify better legislative candidates.

The campaign aims to force political parties to carefully select their legislative candidates and not nominate those with bad track records and poor performance, Teten said.

Ignatius Haryanto, vice director of the Institute for Press and Development Studies (LSPP), said the campaign's organizing committee could publish a book listing crooked politicians.

Other NGOs supporting the campaign include the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Education and Information (LP3ES), the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro), Transparency Indonesia, Impartial and the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi).

Members of the campaign revealed that the NGOs had prepared a team of lawyers should any politician file a libel suit against them. Several figures, including Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid and head of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Kwik Kian Gie, have pledged support for the campaign.

Kwik, the minister of national development and chairman of research and development for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), suggested that the NGOs activists should also take their own credibility into account during the campaign.

"We must remember that the credibility of two sides will be at stake in such an activity. One is the credibility of politicians and the other of the NGOs themselves," he said.

Kwik received much attention this year when he announced that a significant amount of international loans for Indonesia had been abused by state officials and that PDI-P was the most corrupt political party in the country.

While being somewhat indifferent toward the issue of politicians, Kwik was concerned that the NGOs could lose the public's trust if they disseminated inaccurate information in identifying supposedly dirty politicians.

"We certainly don't want that to happen -- the campaign backfiring on the NGOs," Kwik said.

Meanwhile, noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish "Cak Nur" Madjid said he would attend Monday's ceremony to launch the campaign.

"And let's not consider this as sabotage against some politicians, but good political education for the public to be really critical of who they elect in the upcoming elections," he said.

Steps of the campaign

1. The campaign will be launched in Jakarta and other cities

2. Preparing teams of lawyers

3. Developing a database

4. Disseminating criteria in recognizing unscrupulous politicians, especially those involved in at least one of the five following issues -- corruption, human rights abuse, environmental destruction, sexual abuse or drugs

5. Improving awareness of incompetent legislative candidates

6. Providing information on all legislative candidates.

National student alliance for the elections formed

Detik.com - December 29, 2003

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta -- The University of Indonesia (UI) Student Executive Council (BEM) together with BEMs throughout Indonesia have formed the National Student Alliance in the lead up to the 2004 general elections which has the aim of ensuring the elections are "luber" (direct, open, free and confidential), "jurdil" (honest and fair) and free of money politics.

This was announced by the head of the BEM Social and Political Research Department, Dwi Ari Fauzi, during a break in an event titled "End of Year Reflections on the Evaluation of the Government's Performance in the Lead Up to the 2004 Elections" at UI's Aula Medical Faculty in Central Jakarta on Monday December 29.

According to Fauzi, BEM UI and other BEMs are of the view that the government performance in 2003 has been extremely poor and as a result they have agreed to form an Indonesian student forum which it is hoped will be able to improve the government's performance in organising the 2004 elections.

"The aim of establishing this forum is to give an impetus to the 2004 elections along with providing political education to the public. We will not be holding demonstrations, however we will establish more authentic forums though political seminars", said Fauzi.

BEM UI is also of the view that the government's poor performance in 2003 includes its performance in the social and political fields, that is conflicts which have occurred between political parties such the Buleleng incident in Bali [on October 26 when Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle members attacked a Golkar campaign office killing two Golkar cadres]. "We hope that by setting up this forum issues like this will not be repeated", said Fauzi. (gtp)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Old politicians will control 70% of seats in the DPR

Tempo Interactive - December 30, 2003

Jakarta -- Syamsudin Haris, a political observer from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), predicts that 60-70 per cent of old politicians will win seats in the People's Representative Assembly in the 2004 elections.

"[This is] because they are placed in high in the list (ranking) [of legislative candidates]", said Haris to journalists before participating in a seminar at the Hotel Alia on Tuesday afternoon.

As well as this, in looking at the list of candidate legislative members which have been provided by the 24 political parties, Haris felt pessimistic that the coming elections will produce any significant political change. Because of this he continued, the public should choose politicians who are not contaminated by the politics of the earlier period [the New Order regime of former President Suharto], that is candidates from the new political parties.

He admitted however that the new political parties are not well prepared. "They shouldn't (the new political parties) need to force all of the electoral districts to fill up the legislative candidate lists [with the maximum number of candidates allowed by law]", said Haris. He appealed to the new political parties to concentrate on electoral districts which they consider to be able to give support [to these parties].

At this time 24 political parties who will participate in the 2004 elections have provided lists of candidate legislative members to the General Elections Commission (KPU). The next part of the process which will take two weeks is for the KPU to carry out an examination of the dossiers which have been provided to decide which candidate legislative members are legitimate.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

13,996 military and police to deployed for Aceh elections

Detik.com - December 31, 2003

Nur Raihan, Banda Aceh -- As many as 13,996 TNI (Indonesian armed forces) members and police officers will be involved in securing election stations during the 2004 general elections in Aceh. The type of security which will be employed at the polling stations will be different from other regions in Indonesia.

This issue was raised by Aceh police chief Bahrumsyah Kasman with journalists at the Aceh police headquarters on Jl. Cut Mutia on Wednesday December 31. The difference in the type of security said Kasman, was because the security situation in Aceh is also different from other parts of the country. It was reiterated that during the 2004 elections Aceh will remain under a state of emergency.

"For areas which are secure or refereed to as white, security at three poling stations will be maintained by two security personnel and six local officers (Linmas). 3,197 TNI members and as many a 10,799 police officers will be deployed", he explained. Of this total, each of the respective units will prepare a reserve which will be made up of 15,000 TNI personnel and 4,000 police officers.

For trouble spots meanwhile which are included in the category of gray, three poling stations will be guarded by three security personal and six Linmas. This means that each poling station will be guarded by one security officer. Meanwhile in trouble spots which are categorised as black, the security at poling stations will be the same as those areas categorised as gray.

According to Kasman, at this time the total number of poling states is yet to be finalised. Dispute this, is estimated that between the eight electoral zones there are total of 8,255 poling stations. Kasman admitted that the National Election Committee had yet to determine the total number and location of these poling stations. Meanwhile the total number of eligible voters has been estimated at 2,476,533 people. (nrl)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Ryacudu: TNI-AD will stay neutral in the 2004 elections

Media Indonesia - December 30, 2003

Denpasar -- TNI-AD (army) chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu has again reminded his officers to take a neutral stand in the coming elections, and not take sides with any of the political parties.

"Don't let yourselves be influenced to take sides with one of the political groups, either the participants in the elections or other political forces outside of the ranks of formal politics", said Ryacudu in Denpasar on Tuesday.

While inaugurating Brigadier General Supiadin Yusuf AS the new commander of the Udayana/XI regional military command to replace Major General Agus Soeyitno, Ryacudu emphasised that during the 2004 elections TNI-AD must be able to play the role of the people's defender, so that the people can participate in the festival of democracy free of pressure.

"Play the role of protector so that the people are free from various forms of pressure which may arise during the coming elections", he said firmly.

Ryacudu also explained that TNI-AD's neutrality and commitment to participate in safeguarding the 2004 elections and ensuring their success represents a determination which must be understood as a contribution from the military and not be interpreted as an ambition to extend TNI-AD's role.

"Once again I emphasise, the participation of the military in securing the coming elections, is absolutely not an ambition to extend the role of TNI-AD", he said emphatically. (Ant/O-1)

[Abridged translation by James Balowski.]

Old politicians dominate legislative candidate lists

Kompas - December 30, 2003

Jakarta -- Old names are still dominating the candidate members for the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) in the lists submitted on Monday, December 29, to the General Election Commission (KPU) by the political parties who will participate in the 2004 general elections. In general, political party leaders are spread over a number of electoral districts and the majority of them are ranked highly in the list of candidates. Retired military officers and celebrities are also being championed in a number of electoral districts.

By 11.45pm, all of the political parties had submitted their lists of legislative candidates. Not all of the political parties have submitted the maximum number legislative candidates which are allowed - 600 names or the equivalent of 120 per cent of the 550 seats which will contested in the elections on April 5. In addition, not every political party has nominated legislative candidates in all 69 electoral districts which are spread over the 32 provinces of Indonesia.

Only the [former state ruling party] Golkar has submitted the maximum number of legislative candidates, while the [President Megawati Sukarnoputri's] Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has submitted 477 candidates. The Democratic Party has submitted 477 candidates, the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party 200, the United Democratic Nationhood Party 268, the Reform Star Party 294, the New Indonesia Party 284, the Prosperous Peace Party 268, the Pancasila Patriot Party 244, the Regional United Party 241, the Indonesian Nahdlatul Community Party 250, the Indonesian United Party 284, the United Development Party 628, the Freedom Party 220, the National Awakening Party 538 and the Indonesian Democratic Struggle Party 309.

The last minute submission of legislative candidates created problems for KPU secretariat staff who have to examine each dossier and form one by one while the time allotted for this is limited. The atmosphere at the KPU on the night was chaotic.

In response to this, KPU vice-chairperson Ramlan Surbakti said that at least this indicated the readiness of the political parties in preparing their lists of candidate legislative members. Aside from administrative difficulties, the overriding internal dynamic of the political parties was candidates' desire to get a high ranking in the lists which also consumed a lot of time. Ironically this also happened with the political parties which passed the electoral threshold in the 1999 elections [and therefore did not have to go though the verification process before submitting a list of candidates] and who should realistically have had more time in comparison with the other new political parties.

Party leaders

Central leaders of political parties who are currently members of the 1999-2004 DPR have also generally been given a high ranking in the electoral districts. Taufik Kiemas, Megawati's husband, is contesting the West Java II electoral district while the general secretary of the PDI-P, Sutjipto and the assistance general secretary of PDI-P, Pramono Anung, will fight it out in East Java.

Other PDI-P figures who have been place first in the list include Guruh Soekarnoputra (East Java electoral district VI), Heri Achmadi (East Java electoral district VII), Permadi (East Java electoral district IX), Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno (Yogyakarta electoral district, Central Java), Mangara Siahaan (West Java electoral district I) and Noviantika Nasution (West Java electoral district IV).

Outspoken PDI-P figures [who have been critical of the party] such as Arifin Panigoro, have been placed in electoral districts [where the PDI-P does not have such a significant base of support] such as Banten I, with Tjahjo Kumolo being placed in the Central Java electoral district III, Gunawan Wirosarojo in Central Java electoral district V, Jacob Tobing in Central Java electoral district VII, Theo Syafei in West Nusa Tenggara electoral district I and Teras Narang in Central Kalimantan.

This was also the case with the Justice and Unity Party of Indonesia (PKP Indonesia). PKP Indonesia's general chairperson, Edi Sudradjat and general secretary Samuel Semson were placed as candidates in the West Java electoral district IV with a ranking one and two respectively. Meanwhile DPR member Astrid Susanto was placed in first position in the West Papua electoral district. In the Maluku islands, PKP Indonesia submitted the name of John Pieris with a ranking of number one.

The general chairperson of the National Functional Party of Concern (PKPB), retired general R Hartono and PKPB general secretary Ary Mardjono will contest East Java.

Golkar party

The composition of the legislative candidates from the Golkar party, according to the chairperson of Golkar's central leadership board, Rambe Kamarulzaman, will only be announced publicly by the central leadership board after it has been officially submitted to the KPU.

Meanwhile Golkar vice-chairperson Yahya Zaini added that in general it can be concluded that around 60 per cent of Golkar's legislative candidates are new faces."Of the 120 DPR members from the Golkar Party fraction only around 80 have been re-nominated", explained Zaini.

Among Golkar's legislative candidates there are also a number of retired military officers such as Djoko Subroto (East Java), Arifin Tarigan and Edi Waluyo (Centra Java). Syamsul Muarif and Sri Redjeki, along with two ministers from the Gotong Royong [coalition] cabinet lead by Megawati who have also been nominated as legislative candidates.

From celebrity circles there are names such as Nurul Arifin (West Java), Puput Novel (West Java), Reny Jayusman (Central Java) and Ruhut Sitompoel (West Java). Golkar's legislative candidate list also includes former student activists Wahid and Luthfi Iskandar as well as Tengku Sahrul Ansori.

Meanwhile, the Reform Star Party (PBR), according to its general secretary Djafar Badjeber, has submitted 294 legislative candidates. Retired military officers have also joined PBR's list of legislative candidates including Syamsu Djalal (West Sumatra electoral district I), Andi Djalal Bachtiar (South Sulawasi electoral district I) and Cholid Gozali (South Sumarra electoral district I). The general chairperson of PBR, KH Zaenuddin MZ will contest the electoral district of Jakarta I while Badjeber will contest Jakarta electoral district II.

Internal figures

The Star Crescent party (PBB) has tended to rely more on internal party figures for its candidates. PBB assistant general secretary Bintang Yasin Ardhy said that PBB wanted to put forward its own figures as candidate legislative members. It is not surprising that central leadership board members such as PBB vice- chairperson MS Kaban is also a legislative candidates for the Bandung regency in West Java. Internal PPB figures vice- chairpersons Sahar L Hasan and Ahmad Sumargono are also legislative candidates for the Tangerang and Indramayu regency/city electoral districts in West Java.

"We wanted to include the party's own cadres as legislative members. And we are not lacking in cadres so we did not feel it was necessary to look for [candidates] from outside [the party] or seek national artists for the sake of jacking up the vote", said Yasin.

Meanwhile a members of the legislative candidate list committee and the general director of the United Development Party (PPP), Hasrul Azwar, revealed that in general the current PPP legislative candidates are better than before. "In general, the legislative candidates have been drawn from the board of managers, the board of experts, the Islamic law board, the board of review, from [the party's various] departments and a section of the party's DPR fraction, with the proportion of younger verses older legislative candidates being around 60 to 40 in all districts", he said.

Another PPP source revealed that the general secretary of PPP's board of directors, Yunus Yosfiah, was the legislative candidate for South Sulawasi together with the chairperson ofhammad Ghalib. Meanwhile a number of artists have also become PPP legislative candidates for East Java.

Activist background

Unlike the other parties, the Social Democratic Workers Party (PBSD), a party which accommodates victims of the New Order [regime of former President Suharto], has rejected the inclusion of former military officers and New Order politicians as becoming PBSD legislative candidates. PBSD has prepared 294 legislative candidates, the majority of whom are activists, either trade union, student and women activists. "The inclusion of [retired] generals, police [officers], politicians who have sat in the DPR/MPR and shady business people has not been allowed", explained PBSD general chairperson Muchtar Pakpahan.

PPP Reformasi protests

On Monday afternoon meanwhile, demonstrators from the Guardian Party for Reform Struggle (PPP Reformasi) which failed to fulfil the requirements to become a participant in the 2004 elections, demonstrated in front of the KPU offices. Carrying party flags, the demonstrators who totaled around 30 people, protested the actions of the KPU which is saw as not having paid heed to their aspirations. The claimed that they had already fulfilled the requirements for factual verification in 22 provinces however the KPU is sticking to a report from the provincial KPU that says PPP Reformasi had only fulfilled the requirements in 20 provinces and therefore had not fulfilled the requirements to participate in the elections.

In an open statement which was presented by PPP Reformasi general secretary Masgar Kartanegara, PPP Reformasi accused the KPU of human rights violations by isolating PPP Reformasi cadre who have been held at the Nurut Taqwa Mosque near the KPU building since Friday. (SUT/dik/VIN/MAM/bdm)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Jakarta minister accused of graft over haj money

Straits Times - January 3, 2004

Jakarta -- Indonesian activists yesterday filed a police complaint against Religious Affairs Minister Said Aqil al- Munawar, accusing him of possible corruption over advance money paid by some 30,000 would-be pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

The group of activists, led by Mr Farid Faqih of the anti- corruption watchdog Government Watch, filed the complaint at national police headquarters, said police spokesman Sunarko Danu Ardanto.

"In the complaint, they indicated that the minister might have taken part in an act of corruption involving the funds of the 30,000 haj pilgrims. We are going to further investigate this case," he said.

Saudi Arabian authorities gave Indonesia a quota of 205,000 pilgrims this year. But the government, which organises travel packages at a cost of some 25 million rupiah per pilgrim, requested an extra 30,000 places and collected advance payments from the pilgrims -- even though the extra quota had not been approved.

The equivalent of US$1.35 million has been collected from the 30,000 pilgrims in advance money. The minister has denied any wrongdoing.

The haj to Mecca is required of able-bodied Muslims at least once in a lifetime, if they can afford it. There have been calls for the travel arrangements to be privatised following this year's fiasco.

Ex-IBRA officials suspected of misusing funds

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2003

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta -- The National Police named on Tuesday a former Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) chairman and his ex-deputy as suspects in the misuse of Rp 20.9 trillion (US$2.45 billion) from account no. 502.

"We have declared them suspects after finding sufficient evidence during the process of examining how they disbursed the funds to several troubled banks," National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Erwin Mappaseng said.

The government funds in Bank Indonesia account no. 502 were used to cover the financial obligations of closed banks as part of the government's blanket guarantee program. The program was introduced in the late 1990s to help restore investor confidence in the country.

Erwin said the disbursement of the money failed to follow prevailing procedures. He refused to reveal the names of the two high-profile suspects, saying the investigation was under way.

IBRA has been chaired by six men since 1998, namely Bambang Subianto (1998), Glenn Yusuf (1999-2000), Cacuk Sudaryanto (2000-2001), Edwin Gerungan (2001), Ary Suta (2002) and Safruddin Tumenggung (2002-2003).

Erwin said the two suspects were believed to have misused Rp 400 billion of the total Rp 20.9 trillion and that the money should not have been given to several banks because the move was as not adequately authorized.

"For example, the funds were disbursed only with the approval of several staff officers after several meetings. The meetings were not representative enough to decide the disbursement of such huge amounts," he added.

He said the police had questioned more than 20 witnesses in the graft case and would summon many more in the coming weeks. More suspects could be named by the police as the investigations continues, he said. "We will charge them under the Anticorruption Law because they misused state funds," said Erwin.

National Police deputy chief of public relations Brig. Gen. Soenarko said earlier that two more officials from Bank Indonesia (BI) had been quizzed since Monday. The two are BI director of banking regulations Nelson Tampubolon and BI head of liquidity support (BLBI) M. Ali Said Kasim.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) alleged in August that Rp 20.9 trillion from Account No. 502 had been misused by BI and IBRA.

The BPK audit report was the result of an investigation undertaken at the request of the House of Representatives in mid-2001, after most of the funds (approximately Rp 53.8 trillion) in the account had been used.

The audit request was made after the government had decided to set up a second account containing approximately Rp 40 trillion for the same purpose. The new account is known as account no. 509.

The audit report showed that of the Rp 20.9 trillion of allegedly abused funds, Rp 17.77 trillion had been used by BI and the remainder by IBRA.

Of the Rp 17.7 trillion funds used by BI, Rp 14.45 trillion was allegedly withdrawn in May 2000. BI regarded the funds as additional liquidity or BLBI on top of the Rp 144.5 trillion in funds injected into troubled banks by the central bank under the first phase of the BLBI program.

BI injected hundreds of trillions of rupiah into banks to prevent the banking sector from collapsing after being severely hit by the economic crisis in late 1997.

Both BI and IBRA have reiterated that there was no wrongdoing involved in the use of the funds and that everything had been done in line with the law.

Anticorruption body unsure of priorities

Jakarta Post - December 30, 2003

Jakarta -- The newly established Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) began on Monday its four-year term, but fell short of deciding on cases to prioritize.

KPK's inaugural chairman Taufiequrrachman Ruki said after being sworn in by President Megawati Soekarnoputri at the State Palace that the commission did not see the necessity of short-listing particular cases despite the commission's limited term compared to the widespread corruption in the country.

"All cases [of corruption] are our priority," he was quoted by Antara as saying, adding that he would need between three and six months to consolidate the institution and draft its course of action.

Independent corruption watchdogs have voiced doubt over the commission's capability of eliminating corruption in the country, not only because of the line-up of its leadership but also because it has no clear plans.

The country has a lot of unresolved, high-profile corruption cases, including those involving former president Soeharto and his cronies and the Bank Indonesia liquidity loans that cost taxpayers trillions of rupiah.

International corruption watchdogs have regularly ranked Indonesia among the world's most corrupt countries.

Also inducted into the commission on Monday were Amien Sunaryadi, Syahruddin Rasul, Erry Riyana Harjapamekas and Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean.

During the ceremony attended by Vice President Hamzah Haz, the President did not make a speech. Ruki pledged to prevent the commission from intervention from both domestic and foreign parties, saying the commission had the legitimacy to act against corruption in line with Law No. 30/2002 on the anticorruption commission.

KPK will replace the existing Public Officials' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN), which has been criticized for being "toothless".

Different from the KPKPN, which is only authorized to record the wealth of state officials, KPK has the power to investigate alleged graft cases and to prosecute those implicated.

Separately, Committee to Save State Assets (KPHN) chairman Rusly Biki demanded that the KPK probe alleged markups in Ministry of Health projects, which reportedly caused Rp 345 billion (US$40 million) in state losses.

The group accused officials at the health ministry of involvement in the huge budget spent on several projects granted to state pharmaceutical company PT Kimia Farma and medical equipment supplier PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI).

During their protest outside the ministry, KPHN activists urged the police and the KPK to investigate the ministry's secretary- general and head of planning.

RNI director Rama Prihandana denied the allegations, saying his company had offered lower prices to the health ministry for the provision of medical equipment for the western part of Indonesia.

Regarding the appointment of his company, Rama said the ministry did not have enough time to conduct a public tender.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Kemas Yahya Nasution said earlier that the office had formed a team on December 19 to probe alleged graft cases.

Jobs and responsibilities of Corruption Eradication Commission:

Article 7: Duties of the commission

a. Coordinate investigation and prosecution of graft cases;

b. Design audit report of corruption eradication

c. Seek information on corruption from relevant offices

d. Organize meetings with relevant offices

e. Demand reports from relevant offices on corruption eradication

Article 11: The commission investigates corruption cases that:

a. involve law enforcers, state officials and people linked to corruption committed by law enforcers or state officials

b. create public controversy; c. cause at least Rp 1 billion ($117,000) in state losses.

Source: Law No. 30/2002 on the corruption eradication commission

Councillors, activists fear misuse of 2004 budget

Jakarta Post - December 30, 2003

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- The City Council plans to approve the 2004 city budget of Rp 12.16 trillion (US$1.43 billion) on Tuesday, but several councillors and analysts say there is no guarantee that the budget will be free from irregularities. Mukhayar, a member of the council's commission D for development affairs, said on Monday that the commission found some funding allocations were higher than necessary.

He said, for example, the City Sanitation Agency proposed an allocation of Rp 42 billion for fees to dispose of garbage at a waste treatment facility, operated by a private company in Bojong, Bogor regency.

"After recalculating the allocation, we know that we need only Rp 28.9 billion for garbage fees," said a councillor from the Justice Party (PK).

Mukhayar said the calculation was based on an assumption that the fee was Rp 53,800 per ton, while the waste treatment facility, with a daily capacity of 1,500 tons, operated everyday of the year.

He said Commission D also found that duplicate allocations had been made for an activity at the Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi municipality. The sanitation agency and the City Secretariat were allocated funds for the same activity.

According to Mukhayar, the majority of councillors were not able to check the proposed draft budget thoroughly; time was limited and councillors discussed relevant sections only.

"We can't track all possible duplications in the budget," he said.

Councillor Ali Imran Husein of the United Development Party (PPP) also complained that, as the draft was hundreds-of-pages long, it was impossible to check everything in less than a month.

Chairman of the Budget Critic Forum (Fitra), Laode Ida, called on the City Council to delay approving the budget, so that councillors would have more time to work on it, and the public greater access to the final draft.

He said many allocations of funds for planned programs or activities were unrealistic.

He revealed that the funds allocated for the governor's administrative costs next year reached Rp 2.87 billion, and for the deputy governor, Rp 2.73 billion. While the health budgets for the two top-officials were Rp 60 million each.

"There is no detailed explanation of how these allocations will be used. Therefore, there is potential for corruption," he said.

Laode also criticized both councillors and officials for limiting public access to the budget, as discussions were mostly held behind closed doors. Such a mechanism had sparked speculation of possible corruption and collusion among them.

Fitra has invited the public to demonstrate against the budget at the City Council building on Tuesday.

Head of anti-graft body vows not to bow to pressure

Agence France Presse - December 29, 2003

Jakarta -- The leader of a new Indonesian anti-corruption body was sworn in Monday, vowing never to bow to pressure and promising to act swiftly to halt graft.

"No powers or individuals will be able to intervene ... whoever they are," said former police officer Taufiqqurochman Ruki, who was sworn in to head the Corruption Eradication Commission in the presence of President Megawati Sukarnoputri. "We will not hesitate in taking actions against corruptors," he said.

The Berlin-based Transparency International lists Indonesia among the world's most corrupt nations. The International Monetary Fund had called for the establishment of the commission amid criticism that widespread graft is undermining Indonesia's investment climate.

Ruki, a former lawmaker from the military and police faction, also pledged that the commission will not abuse its authority.

The commission, whose establishment has been postponed several times since 1999, will have the authority to investigate and prosecute cases -- previously the domain of the police and the prosecutors' office. But critics say its membership was chosen by legislators more on political than on other considerations.

Legislators also chose four vice-chairmen including Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, the former president of state tin mining company Timah and a former commissioner at the Jakarta Stock Exchange. The others are former officials from the Financial and Development Supervision Agency, the Attorney General's Office and the State Audit Agency.

Media/press freedom

'Koran Tempo' found guilty of libel

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2003

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta -- Press freedom, once again, has been dealt another severe blow after the panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court ruled on Tuesday in favor of businessman Marimutu Sinivasan of the Texmaco group in a defamation suit he filed against Koran Tempo newspaper.

The judges found the daily guilty of running libelous articles from January 2003 to April 2003 and ordered it to make an apology in national electronic and printed media for three consecutive days.

The daily was also ordered to withdraw all articles considered defamatory. Should Koran Tempo fail to comply with the ruling, it will be fined Rp 10 million (US$1,176) per day until it does so.

"The articles in question were tendentious, provocative and have tarnished the image of Marimutu Sinivasan as a trusted businessman. The articles went against the religious code, the presumption of innocence principle and decency as stipulated in Article 5 of the Press Law No. 40/1999," presiding judge I Gde Putra Jadnya said in the verdict. The court, however, turned down the plaintiff's demand for a total of US$51 million in compensation. It said there was no definite connection between the articles and the amount of damages suffered by the Texmaco group.

Lawyers for Koran Tempo will appeal the verdict. "The ruling shows that the judges just do not have a grasp of what a free press is all about. The court has become a graveyard for press freedom as many journalists have been prosecuted," lawyer Atmajaya Salim said.

Previously, the court sentenced executive editor of Rakyat Merdeka daily, Supratman, to six months in jail for publishing articles that insulted President Megawati Soekarnoputri and its chief editor, Karim Paputungan, to five months in jail for insulting House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

The much-awaited verdict came after a five-month trial since the suit was filed in June 2003. Seven expert witnesses have testified in the trial, including Press Council deputy chairman R.H. Siregar and banking expert Sutan Remy Syahdeni.

The expert witnesses repeatedly said that when running the articles, Koran Tempo had stayed within its role as a social control mechanism to fulfill the public interests.

Sinivasan filed a civil lawsuit against the daily for several articles that were critical of him. He claimed that continuous publication of the articles caused 18 companies under the Texmaco group to suffer from financial losses.

In the articles, Koran Tempo said that Sinivasan, who resigned from his post at Texmaco in October, still owed the government an estimated Rp 26 trillion in bailout funds, which were disbursed in the wake of financial crisis in the late 1990s.

The daily also reported that the businessman had been involved in convoluted and highly suspicious dealings with government officials.

The reports were said to be based on interviews from the daily reporters with Texmaco inside sources and press releases provided by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency and the Cabinet's Financial Sector Policy Committee.

In a similar defamation suit filed by Sinivasan, the Central Jakarta District Court had ruled on Nov. 27 in favor of Tempo magazine. Judges decided that the defamation suit against the magazine was invalid and stated that Sinivasan and Texmaco were trying to obstruct press freedom.

The court, however, approved the out-of-the-court settlement between Sinivasan and Kompas cofounder Jakob Oetama and chief editor Soeryopratomo in a defamation civil suit filed by the businessman.

In the jointly-signed letter of agreement, Sinivasan had agreed on November 14 to unconditionally terminate the civil suit against the daily.

Local & community issues

Vendors attack Jasa Marga officers

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2003

Theresia Sufa, Bogor -- Dozens of vendors pelted PT Jasa Marga Jagorawi toll road officers with stones and chased after them with machetes and sticks on Sunday at about 4 p.m. at the South Sentul entrance ramp.

The vendors had been standing on the side of the road selling durian when patrolling officers told them they should not be there because motorists were not allowed to stop on the shoulder of the toll road unless it was an emergency.

"We have been selling durian on the toll road for ages, so why have the officers just banned motorists from stopping there now?" Kusnan, 39, complained.

The number of vendors operating in the Sentul area on holidays can reach 100, while about 70 operate on weekdays. The head of PT Jasa Marga Jagorawi toll road, Subakti Syukur, said the company had launched an operation banning motorists from buying from vendors in the emergency lane since Saturday.

The chief of toll road patrol, Comr. Rahmadi, said patrolling police would ticket motorists stopping on the shoulder of the road, which is in violation of Article 61(1) of the Traffic Law.

Some 120 policemen from Bogor Police were deployed to handle the clash. Upon seeing the officers, the vendors fled from the scene. Nobody was arrested.

PT Jasa Marga plans to set up stalls along a 1.2-kilometer stretch to accommodate vendors on the left and right side of the toll road in Sentul, Bogor.

"We have allocated Rp 3 billion (US$352,941) for the construction of the stalls and for building canals along the road from Taman Mini to Cibubur in East Jakarta. The proposal for the canal construction was just submitted to the central office," Subakti said.

The PT Jasa Marga Jagorawi office has also allocated Rp 35 million per month to assist the communities living along the toll road.

"The funds have been used by locals to finance religious and educational activities. There's also a fund for small-scale enterprises and cooperatives for locals," he said.

The Jagorawi operator earns around Rp 500 million from over 300,000 vehicles that use the toll road every day. Some 60 percent of the revenue is used to cover operational costs.

Human rights/law

Soldiers acquitted in 1996 PDI headquarters attack

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2003

Jakarta -- The Central Jakarta district court acquitted two soldiers and two civilians of all charges in the July 27, 1996 Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) killings, but sentenced another civilian defendant to two months and 10 days.

They were the first verdicts handed down in the seven-year-old case, in which official government figures put the death toll at five, with 23 people still listed as "missing" when the Jakarta party headquarters of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the then populist opposition leader, was attacked by a mob, allegedly recruited by and taking orders from the military and/or the central government.

The attack followed the dismissal announcement of Megawati as the PDI chairperson by supporters of the party's splinter faction led by veteran politician Soerjadi.

Presiding judge Rukmini said that there was not enough evidence to convict the defendants -- Capt. Budi Purnama, First Lt. Suharto, Mohammad Tanjung and Rahimi Ilyas -- for their roles in the attack. "The four defendants were not involved in the rampage at the PDI headquarters, nor in recruiting the people for that purpose," she proclaimed.

However, the court sentenced another defendant, Jonathan Marpaung to two months and 10 days for his role in the incident. He was found guilty of inciting the crowd to attack, Rukmini said.

The prosecution was seeking six months imprisonment for each of the five defendants, and might appeal the verdicts. The five were among the 11 suspects charged in the attack that sparked dozens of riots across Jakarta, in which dozens of buildings were vandalized or set on fire.

Other suspects include Soerjadi and his fellow leaders of the splinter faction, such as the late Budi Hardjono and Buttu Hutapea. Several other high-profile figures such as current Jakarta Governor Lt. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso, former Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) chief Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung and former ABRI chief of socio-political affairs Lt. Gen. (ret.) Syarwan Hamid were allegedly involved in the tragedy as well. They have been questioned in connection with the case but none were charged for any violation.

Victims, students and human rights activists as well as Megawati's party members have held several protests over the years to demand that the leaders behind the siege be brought to justice.

However, Megawati, who has since become president and head of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), seems to lack interest in the case and has shown less than meager support for a more thorough investigation. Those urging her to push for justice were particularly irked by her endorsement of the reelection of Sutiyoso as the Jakarta governor last year for a second five-year term. In addition, she has been notably absent from the annual commemoration of the tragedy since she became vice president in 1999.

Focus on Jakarta

More eviction cases filed to administrative court

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2003

Evi Mariani, Jakarta -- Residents of Pinang Ranti, East Jakarta, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to the Jakarta State Administrative Court against an eviction plan following previous lawsuits filed by evictees from Tanjung Duren Selatan in West Jakarta and Muara Angke in North Jakarta.

"As a representative of 111 families in Pinang Ranti, I demand that the East Jakarta municipality administration annul its eviction order as it was not made based on land deeds," said lawyer Bartholomeus Diaz.

Residents received their second eviction notice on December 18 from the administration. The notice states that the land belongs to the Harapan Kita Foundation, which has permitted the Jakarta Military Command (Kodam Jaya) to build a hospital on the 3.06 hectare plot of land.

"The foundation claims to own the land without producing a land deed, but the residents have theirs," Diaz claimed.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) mediated in a meeting between Kodam Jaya and the residents to find a solution to the issue, but no agreement was reached.

Separately, residents of Cipinang Melayu, East Jakarta, filed a lawsuit with the same court regarding the Indonesian Air Force's plan to clear a 32-hectare plot of land bordering its base.

"The first hearing of the trial should be this week," said one of the residents, Aloysius Alo. "The land is in dispute, so no action can be taken on the land, including evictions." In the trial filed by Muara Angke residents, the accused -- Penjaringan district and the North Jakarta municipality -- read out their defense statement, saying that they had followed the governor's instructions on evictions.

The plaintiff said in last week's hearing that the evictions were in violation of human rights and Article 3 of Law No. 51/1960 on restriction of land use without consent. The article stipulates that only the Jakarta governor can issue eviction orders. The panel of judges adjourned the trial until January 7.

Squatters reject compensation, demand more money

Jakarta Post - December 30, 2003

Evi Mariani, Jakarta -- Squatters facing eviction from their homes on Jl. Tanah Merah, North Jakarta, and Pinang Ranti, East Jakarta, have turned down compensation money offered by land owners, demanding a higher figure.

"We realize that we don't own the land and we don't mind leaving it, as long as the compensation money is adequate. Just don't give us meager compensation, as the city administration has done," said Rico Siahaan, one of those living on Jl. Tanah Merah, near Plumpang fuel depot, on land owned by state oil company PT Pertamina.

Compensation paid by land owners or the administration has usually ranged between Rp 250,000 (US$29.4) and Rp 500,000.

Rico and his wife, Tio, said they did not want the administration or Pertamina to relocate them to a low-cost rental apartment.

"Just give us enough compensation and we will leave, perhaps to our hometowns or to the outskirts (of the city)," said Rico during a meeting with related institutions at the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) office in Central Jakarta.

Pertamina has offered to allocate 13 hectares of land in the area for around 2,400 families who are facing eviction. It has been proposed that low-cost housing be financed by the Ministry of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure through its 2004 One Million Houses program.

"Pertamina still needs to get approval from the board of commissioners," said Solahuddin Wahid, deputy chairman of Komnas HAM, who mediated the meeting. "I'm very happy with the offer. It's the best for all." "The ministry has also promised to find a way to finance the construction (of houses)." Pertamina plans to clear land near its fuel depot to secure fuel supply in the capital. The company will build a canal marking the boundary between the fuel depot and the residential area.

An ojek driver in Tanah Merah, however, said that some squatters were even erecting houses on Pertamina's land to reap the generous compensation money that it was rumored Pertamina would hand out after the evictions.

"Rumors say that Pertamina has offered Rp 1 million per square- meter for compensation," he said. "(But) imagine if this is not true the (squatters) could die of heart attacks as they borrowed money to build their houses".

Another hearing at Komnas HAM was attended by representatives of squatters living in Pinang Ranti, on land owned by the Jakarta Military District Command (Kodam Jaya).

Kodam Jaya has ordered people living on the 3.6 hectare area of land to leave, offering each family Rp 3 million.

Solahuddin said that 29 of the 77 families had agreed to the offer, but others demanded double-the-figure. As no agreement was reached at the meeting, Komnas HAM has arranged another meeting for next week.

Busway is doubtful project since beginning

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2003

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- The Bus Rapid Transit system, or busway, has attracted strong opposition from transportation experts and observers since it was first introduced by the Jakarta administration in early 2002.

The experts argued that the busway would not be able to resolve chronic traffic congestion in the capital and poor-quality public transportation services.

The assessment did not improve after relevant officials at the administration failed to convince the experts on the busway's effectiveness.

The experts criticized officials for not having a clear concept of the project, continuous changes to the timetable, supporting facilities, the project budget, fuel costs and passengers being targeted.

Analysts have concluded that the busway has been the result of a project ill-prepared by the city administration.

The administration proposed only Rp 60 billion (US$7 million) from its 2002 budget to buy some 60 buses to be used on the 12.9-kilometer corridor from Blok M, South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta.

A promise to operate the busway in October 2002 was broken because the administration had yet to prepare facilities, from bus shelters and pedestrian bridges to lane dividers.

As a consequence, busway costs have gradually escalated, and the administration has proposed to double the original estimate to Rp 120 billion in its 2004 budget.

The busway opening has been delayed several times, from October 2002 to December 2002 to December 2003 and finally -- if it is not changed again -- January 15, 2004.

The designs for the bus shelters and pedestrian bridges changed drastically after Governor Sutiyoso visited Bogota. He was unhappy at the old designs and wanted a copy of the ones in Bogota.

Feeder bus services, to support the busway, will not have air- conditioned buses as promised earlier, which could discourage private car owners from using the buses.

Contradictory statements on the busway:

January 7, 2002: Deputy Governor for development affairs Budihardjo Sukmadi says at a hearing with City Council Commission D for development:

- Busway to operate in October 2002 from Blok M to Kota.

- Rp 50 billion investment to be spent on some 50 air-conditioned buses and the building of 29 new bus shelters.

January 13, 2002: Head of the City Transportation Agency Rustam Effendy says the buses will use gas.

January 22, 2002: City Council approves Rp 54 billion budget for the project.

April 25, 2002: Rustam says:

- Busway operation to start in December 2002

- Ticket price to be Rp 3,000 per trip

- 40 bus shelters to be built

September 26, 2002: Governor Sutiyoso says:

- Busway operation delayed until 2003.

- 60 buses to be operated.

- Bus ticket price to be Rp 2,500 per trip.

Feburary 3, 2003: Sutiyoso states:

- Busway to start operating in December 2003.

- Rp 83 billion (US$9.2 million) to be allocated to busway in 2003.

May 8, 2003: Assistant to the city secretary for development affairs Irzal Djamal says:

- Some 140 buses to be operated.

- 60 bought by the city administration and 80 by private companies.

- Ticketing system to be handled by private companies.

- Air-conditioned feeder services to be prepared.

May 16, 2003: Irzal says:

- License plate-based restriction to be enforced for private cars all over the city.

- Three-in-one traffic policy to be extended along the busway corridor from dawn to dusk.

June 9, 2003: Irzal says:

- Another Rp 32 billion sought for busway project

- Rp 15 billion for the new design of 29 bus shelters and Rp 17 billion for redesigning 21 pedestrian bridges.

- International Euro II fuel system to be used for the buses.

June 15, 2003: Rustam says the administration plans to deploy armed and well-trained security officers to prevent onboard bus crime.

September 20, 2003: Head of the City Transportation Agency's system development division D.H. Rini says more money is needed to advertise the busway project on television.

October 3, 2003: Construction of eight of 29 bus shelters begins.

November 9, 2003: Irzal says tanker trucks will deliver Euro 2 diesel fuel, which price is Rp 2,080 per liter, directly from Balongan refinery, West Java, to Jakarta.

December 8, 2003: The administration proposes Rp 120 billion for the busway project from its 2004 budget.

December 12, 2003: Jakarta Police and the administration start to clear four alternative routes along the busway corridor.

December 19, 2003:

- Sutiyoso says he prefers to implement the three-in-one policy from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

- Rustam says feeder service buses will be taken from the ones currently operating on 16 routes and will not be air-conditioned.

December 24, 2003: A 30-day tryout of the new three-in-one traffic policy from Blok M to Kota, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., starts.

From media reports

Environment

Proposed mining threatens environment and democracy

Arena Magazine (Australia) - December 2003-January 2004

Jason Mcleod -- Abdul Teng is in his element. Mr Teng is from the North Malukus and is the head of Gambir Village, the only settlement on Gag Island, a diminutive and isolated 56-square- kilometre coral atoll located 150km north-west of Sorong, in the Raja Ampat archipelago, the world's most diverse marine environment. He agreed to talk about BHP Billiton's planned open-pit nickel mine on Gag Island, and his settlement of around 600 people.

Abdul Teng talks animatedly about his time working for the company and his hopes that the mine may soon be operational. Asked about the company's environmental record, Mr Teng looks reflective, smiles, pulls back on his clove cigarette and tells a story:

One time a big snake came into our village. Everybody was running around in a panic. We all wanted to kill it, but one of the Australian men who worked for the company wouldn't let us. He made us catch the snake.

We put it in a sack and carried it into the forest where we released it. Also whenever we travelled on the company's boat we weren't allowed to throw our cigarette butts into the ocean. All the workers had to put out their smokes in the ashtrays provided. So you see, this is definitely a company that cares about the environment.

Abdul Teng says that he trusts that BHP Billiton will respect the environment and protect the people's gardens, sago palms and fishing grounds, but adds that if they don't "the people will close the mine down".

Mr Teng hasn't heard of Ok Tedi. He doesn't know that the same company that wanted the people of Gambir Village to protect snakes on Gag and encouraged them not to throw their cigarette butts into the ocean also dumped 80,000 tons of toxic tailings daily into the Fly River. The tailings sucked the life out of the Fly and destroyed the livelihood of those who depended on it. Local people can no longer catch fish. Their sago palms and food gardens are smothered under a blanket of waste stretching for hundreds of kilometres along the river. Thousands of square kilometres of rainforest have been poisoned. The dead trunks point upwards like bony fingers, giving silent testimony beside the deoxygenated banks.

Afterwards, the company walked away and, in a widely criticised deal, has left the Papua New Guinea government to pick up the pieces. The profits have been effectively privatised, but the debt -- a damaged environment and the clean-up costs -- have been socialised. The local people have paid the heaviest price. This hasn't happened yet on Gag. But it could.

Gag Island is part of West Papua, a resource rich territory on the western rim of the Pacific bordering independent Papua New Guinea. Indonesia gained sovereignty of the former Dutch colony after a widely condemned and fraudulent referendum known as the 1969

Act of free choice

West Papuans call it the Act of No Choice. It is not hard to understand why. The Indonesian government, advised and assisted by the United Nations who sanctioned the process, press-ganged 1022 tribal elders, less than one per cent of the population, to vote on the question of independence or integration. Observers, including internationals present at the time, say that participants were told to vote for integration or have their tongues cut out. Not surprisingly, in this climate of intimidation and outright violence, 100 per cent of "participants chose' to remain with Indonesia.

The United Nations rubber-stamped the result, but the struggle for self-determination hasn't gone away.

The waters surrounding Gag Island are an underwater paradise. The tiny island is one of hundreds of islets that make up the Raja Ampat archipelago, an area believed to be the richest source of coral reefs, with the highest marine bio-diversity in the world. A 2003 study by a UNESCO expedition covering 61,200 square kilometres of the Raja Ampat archipelago found hundreds of previously undocumented fish and coral species, bringing the number of new species discovered to 1065 fish species and 505 coral species. Significantly, the coral reefs were found to contain an incredible 64 per cent of the world's total coral diversity. Because of its outstanding scenery and immense marine bio-diversity, the Raja Ampat archipelago is currently being considered by UNESCO for world heritage listing.

Gag Island also sits on top of an incredibly rich seam of nickel which stretches from Halmahera Island in the Northern Malukus, continuing in a sweeping arc into West Papua, through Gag Island and across to Waigeo Island on the eastern end of the Raja Ampat archipelago.

BHP Billiton began exploration in 1995 and P.T. Gag Nickel (75 per cent owned by BHP Billiton and 25 per cent owned by the Indonesian company Aneka Tambang) and the Indonesian government signed a contract of work in 1998. Operations were stalled after the Indonesian government enacted one of its most impressive pieces of environmental legislation to date, Forestry Law No. 41, which prevented open-cut mining in protected forests, of which Gag Island was declared one. Since then, however, the mine has been held in care and abeyance.

Ian Wood, previously BHP's environmental manager for Ok Tedi and now the man responsible for the Gag Island project as head of External Affairs at BHP Billiton's Melbourne office, claims that since BHP's merger with Billiton, Gag Island "is no longer on our current five-year development schedule". However he is quick to reassure me that the company has made a significant investment in Gag. "It is a project that the company would ultimately like to see come to fruition," he says.

The same message was reinforced by the current CEO, Chipp Goodyear, at the recent annual general meeting in Melbourne. Goodyear argued that the company's success is predicated on a strategy involving a "diverse mix of commodities and geography". BHP Billiton is currently the world's third largest nickel producer, a mineral essential for the production of aluminium and stainless steel. Runaway Chinese demand for nickel is driving up world prices and putting pressure on BHP Billiton to bring the Gag mine out of the project development pipeline and into full operation.

If mining operations do go ahead as planned, up to three-quarters of the total landmass of the island will be turned into an open- pit mine. Mining would continue for up to twenty years and extract up to 33,000 metric tons of nickel from the 660,000 metric tons of rock dug out of Gag. That's a lot of waste for a tiny island in the middle of a marine wonderland.

Wood explained that the company is currently considering three likely options for tailings disposal. The first method effectively involves strip-mining two-thirds to three-quarters of the island via a series of holes drilled into the earth to extract the nickel. These old mined-out holes are then filled in with the mine tailings. This is the most expensive option for the company. The second method involves building a tailings dam in a small valley in the northern section of the island. This valley also happens to be where local people have their food gardens. Both of these land-based options are considered extremely risky, partly because of cost and partly because the high levels of rainfall and seismic activity in the region could jeopardise the structural stability of a land-based tailings option and adversely affect the health and wellbeing of those who live and work on Gag. Spillage from a land-based tailing option could also damage the island's fragile fringe of coral reefs, which are extremely sensitive to run-off and turbidity. Wood concedes that the community would oppose a conventional tailings dam because it would affect their food gardens.

The disposal option most favoured by the company is Submarine Tailings Disposal (STD) -- that is, the company wants to dump toxic waste in the ocean. It is a practice outlawed in Australia and condemned by environmentalists worldwide. It wouldn't be allowed in the Great Barrier Reef, so why is BHP Billiton even considering doing it next door? Dumping mine tailings in the world's most diverse marine environment is a practice that is hard to reconcile with BHP Billiton's much lauded public policy position of "zero-harm" to the environment. A position that chairman Don Argus says he "is very proud of. ... A leadership position that -- is not an add-on -- but an integral part of what the company does".

Widely respected West Papua specialist and Australian National University academic Chris Ballard, who has worked for years with communities affected by mining in West Papua, says that this is the standard modus operandi for mining companies operating in the Asia Pacific region. "Line up the option for tailings disposal that you really want -- in this case STD -- then identify two other horror options to pressure the community into accepting your preference. I'd be very surprised if their engineers could only come up with three options. I would want to know what other options are technically feasible but were discarded because of cost," says Ballard.

In an effort to pressure the Indonesian government to allow mining on Gag, BHP Billiton has enlisted the support of the Australian Government. Normally reticent to be seen as meddling in Indonesia's domestic affairs, especially when it comes to West Papua, the Australian government established a special departmental position within the Australian embassy to lobby the Indonesian government on behalf of Australian mining companies.

Responding to questions asked in Parliament by Greens Senator Bob Brown in 2002, Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, admitted that former Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Richard Smith, personally lobbied the Indonesian Minister for Mines and Energy, the Minister for Economic Affairs, the Minister for the Environment, the Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesian parliamentarians and senior Indonesian officials from the Department of Forests on behalf of BHP Billiton and other Australian mining companies to pressure Jakarta to make changes to legislation to allow mining in protected forests.

According to Downer, "the Ambassador meets on a quarterly basis with representatives of Australian owned mining operations in Indonesia... to discuss issues of concern to the Australian mining industry in Indonesia." In other words, the Australian government will obstruct and deny the West Papuan people's legitimate right for self-determination on the one hand, but actively support corporations to maximise profit at the expense of the environment and local communities on the other.

Early last year the Secretary of the Australian Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mark Patterson, proposed the abolition of the embassy's pro-mining activities. The mining industry was infuriated. Regional exploration manager for Newcrest Indonesia, Tim Richards -- whose company is desperately trying to get approval for a mine in neighbouring Halmahera Island -- says that those who had worked in the role had done a "terrific job in Indonesia ... to discuss issues of concern to the Australian mining industry in Indonesia".

BHP Billiton has denied pressuring the Indonesian government to allow mining in protected environmental areas. In reply to a question from shareholder Roger Moody at the company's 2003 AGM in London, Chairman Don Argus stated: "To my knowledge, no. And I certainly wouldn't believe we would apply any pressure anywhere". Argus again denied knowledge of the Australian government pressuring the Indonesian government on behalf of the mining giant at the AGM in Melbourne.

Given the high level lobbying and the Australian government's admission that it had done this work on behalf of BHP Billiton, Mr Argus's comments just don't add up. The pressure is certainly having an effect.

Pro-mining, anti-environment activities by the Australian government and mining industry threaten to undermine not just the environment but also threaten Indonesia's fragile democratic process with foreign intervention. In June 2002, the Indonesian Director General of Geology and Mineral Resources, Wimpie S. Tjejep, and the Minister for the Environment, Nabiel Makarim, revealed that the Indonesian government feared international legal action if it excluded mining from protected areas. "There were investment activities before the Forestry Act was effective. If shut down, investors demand and Indonesia cannot pay," said Minister Makarim. This is exactly Ian Wood's point and obviously the one Australia's ambassador was pushing when meeting Indonesian ministers and officials on behalf of BHP Billiton: that the company had a legal agreement prior to Gag Island being protected under Forestry Law No. 41.

Some Indonesian government ministers have expressed concern regarding the threat by foreign mining companies to seek international arbitration, if not granted exemptions to Forestry Act 41/1999. Members of Indonesian parliamentary environment committee VIII have complained of the international pressure to allow mining to continue in protected forest areas or lose all foreign investment. Oxfam CAA Mining Ombudsperson, Ingrid Macdonald, writes: "industry sources now believe that, despite the forestry law and the intervention of reputable NGOs and institutions like UNESCO, mining on Gag is inevitable".

Mining watchdog, the Mineral Policy Institute, says that central to Australian lobbying of the Indonesian government "is the dubious claim that some of the protected areas are 'not forested' or are not of high quality or biodiversity value. [These] claims are unsupported by documented independent investigations but in any case ignore key functions of protected forest areas".

Under the Forestry Law of 1999, a protected forest is defined as an area with the purpose of protecting livelihoods and ecology through flood mitigation, controlling erosion, inhibiting the intrusion of saltwater and maintaining soil fertility and other lifesaving functions. Indonesian environmentalists point to evidence that clearly shows that Indonesia's forests and coral reefs are in crisis; both are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. Pollution and catastrophic flooding plague water catchments.

Indonesian environmentalists insist that Forest Law No. 41/1999 is essential to protect Indonesia's rapidly diminishing forests and coral reefs.

A few weeks ago, I returned to West Papua. Riding on the back of a motorcycle taxi, I sped along Jayapura's foreshore to meet Mama Loretha. She is an indigenous Papuan from the Beteuw tribe, which she claims is the original custodian of Gag. The motorcycle climbed up the side of the hill, stopping outside a simple and sparsely furnished dwelling with a view out to Cendrawasih Bay.

At first Mama Loretha is shy, perhaps even suspicious of me. To begin with she stays in the kitchen, stoking the wood fire, but before long joins her husband and me in conversation. The Beteuw, says Mama Loretha, are from neighbouring Pam Island but have always maintained a living relationship with Gag, regularly visiting the island which she says is "a place of great supernatural power". Over the last few years Mama Loretha and her husband -- from the North Malukus -- have traversed nearly the length of the Indonesian archipelago to resolve the conflict on Gag.

They have travelled by boat from Jayapura to Sorong, then to Jakarta and back to Jayapura, and the weariness of it all shows on their faces.

She tells me that shortly after the contract of work was signed between P.T. Gag Nickel and the Indonesian government in 1998, members of the Beteuw approached the company to discuss their traditional rights and claim over Gag Island. Until now, she says, the company have refused to meet with them. "Everyone living on Gag," says Mama Loretha, "are migrants from the Malukus. They are not from Gag at all. We are!" she says, pointing to herself. "Why does the company refuse to talk to us?"

Despite this, Mama Loretha insists that the Beteuw have a good relationship with those now living on Gag and that the people living at Gambir Village are free to garden and fish. Their anger is directed at BHP Billiton. "Everybody on Gag knows who owns the land," says Mama Loretha. She backs this up by saying that when BHP Billiton paid 439,000,000 rupiah (approximately AU$80,000) compensation to the villagers of Gambir in recognition, the people of Gambir Village -- migrants from the neighbouring North Malukus -- independently paid the Beteuw 30,000,000 rupiah (approximately AU$6000) in recognition of their prior existing land rights over Gag Island. "If the migrants living on Gag acknowledge and respect us," ask the Beteuw, "why can't BHP Billiton?"

It is a question that Ian Wood avoids by questioning the legitimacy of their claim, adding that the company doesn't want to meet with the Beteuw because it could create expectations that the project will begin in the near future. "I feel sorry for the people on Gag," says Wood. "They have been waiting for this project to go ahead for nearly 30 years."

For the Beteuw, however, it is not a question of expectations about future work, but about addressing conflict over work already completed. Mama Loretha says that the company hasn't negotiated with them or compensated the Beteuw for the extraction of several tons worth of samples during the exploration phase or for the building of the airstrip and base camp.

Both the Beteuw and those on Gag are adamant that they want the project to go ahead, hopeful that at the same time the environment will be respected. Both communities also acknowledge the good that the company has done so far, helping to build a boat and supplying the island with much needed facilities. They believe that the project will be a means to provide for the health, education, employment and welfare needs for both themselves and future generations.

The Beteuw in particular want the company to ensure that the wealth generated by the mine benefits the Beteuw, local communities from Raja Ampat and indigenous Papuans in particular, rather than being siphoned off to Jakarta and western shareholders. The Beteuw have drafted up recommendations for the percentage of Beteuw, indigenous Papuans, non-Papuans (Indonesians) and outsiders to be trained and employed by the company. They have yet to receive a response to this document from BHP Billiton.

The Beteuw and the community of Gambir Village, however, are not the only parties closely watching what happens on the island. Pro-independence activists also argue that mining companies are exploiting West Papuan resources without their permission, creating havoc, destroying the environment and undermining a future economic basis for an independent West Papua.

Indigenous West Papuans living in island communities surrounding Gag, however, don't have the liberty to speak freely about their aspirations. In violence-ridden West Papua, the manner in which the conflict is framed can be a matter of life and death. Mama Loretha goes to great lengths to explain to me that this issue is not about "M" -- the code for "Merdeka" or "Freedom from Indonesian rule". She and her husband, Pak Ibrahim, even meet with local police and military commanders to explain their problem and reassure the security forces that their anger and frustration centers around the company's failure to recognise and respect local indigenous people and has nothing to do with the struggle for independence.

It is not hard to understand her concern. Around the gargantuan Freeport-Rio Tinto gold and copper mine in West Papua, for example, the military have targeted local communities opposed to the mine, on the pretext that they are pro-M. The result: killings, detention without trial, torture, the destruction of homes and food gardens, hunger and a legacy of deep distrust and collective trauma. In Waisor, communities opposed to illegal and legal logging have been subject to sweepings, sadistic killings and the destruction of homes and gardens.

The pattern in West Papua is that security forces create the need for their involvement by engineering incidents. Resource extractive industries are then used as a base to wage further military operations and solidify the military's economic base. BHP Billiton has not addressed this systemic problem. In Indonesia, the military only receives 20 to 30 per cent of its budget from the government. In order to make up the shortfall, and to enrich individual soldiers, the military engages in a variety of offline budget activities: business ventures that include illegal and legal logging operations, fishing, prostitution, extortion, gun- and drug-running and trading in flora and fauna.

Freeport-Rio Tinto, for example, has been widely criticised for its practice of paying the Indonesian military to provide protection for the mine. Again and again in West Papua, legitimate community concerns get re-framed within the rubric of law and order, justifying repression by the security forces and guaranteeing their continued presence in order to protect companies involved in resource extraction.

On Gag Island, the problem is further complicated by the project's proximity to the Malukus, the scene of sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians and a base for the feared Muslim militia, Laskar Jihad, which has links to terrorist outfit Jeemah Islamiyah. In the last few years, Laskar Jihad have been establishing themselves in West Papua, particularly in

Sorong and Fak Fak, are the two West Papuan cities closest to Gag Island. Indigenous West Papuans and human rights defenders from these two regencies are scared that if the Gag Island mine goes ahead the huge influx of money created by the project could be yet another a lightening rod to deep-seated tensions simmering away under the surface -- tensions that could easily be exploited by the military and their militia proxies.

In a place where conflict is rife and government weak, companies have an added responsibility to take an active role in the resolution of conflict. In Gag, this means negotiating with all parties, including neighbouring island communities. BHP Billiton needs to face the issues of land rights head on. Local communities need independent information in order to make informed decisions. The company also needs to ensure that the problems of Freeport-Rio Tinto and the military are not revisited on Gag.

If BHP Billiton decides to begin operations on Gag, it has a responsibility to tackle the concerns of local communities already affected by their presence. If the mining multinational decides to walk away, it has a responsibility to ensure that a legacy of mistrust and conflict is not handed on to the next mining player, who may be less scrupulous. Given BHP Billiton's failure to outlaw the use of STD in this marine wonderland; its lack of policy around dealing with the military; and the ongoing and unresolved complexity that still surrounds land rights issues, one can't help wondering if the company has learnt anything at all from its reckless adventurism at Ok Tedi. For the sake of local communities, the people of West Papua and a stunning marine environment, I hope I am wrong.

[Jason MacLeod is an activist and researcher with the Australian West Papua Association.]

Armed forces/police

Police focus only on high-profile cases: NGO

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2003

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta -- Despite the praise the police have earned from the international community in solving several bombing cases, many low profile cases are left unsolved as the year 2003 comes to a close.

A non-government organization, Police Watch, said the police had also still yet to live up to the public's expectations following their formal separation from the military (TNI).

"We must acknowledge what the police have achieved during the year," chairman Rashid H. Lubis said on Tuesday, citing the Bali bombings in October 2002 and the JW Marriott Hotel bombing in August this year. "However, according to our survey, many problems such as the continuing conflict between police and TNI personnel, increasing crimes committed by police personnel and the handling of corruption cases still mar police performance," Lubis said. He cited at least seven clashes involving police and military personnel this year.

"These conflicts are caused both by inconsistencies in Law No. 2/2002 on National Police and also the mentality of the police following their separation from TNI," said Lubis.

He said the law stipulated that the police should have authority over internal security and that TNI should handle external threats. However, the law also states that the TNI could help the police if requested, in handling a conflict area, he said. "This opportunity is used by the TNI to take the control in the field. And the police are not yet able to lead the TNI personnel," said Lubis.

Lubis also said that the achievement of a professional police force was still far off as the police had only been concentrating on big cases. This obviously does not fulfill their objective to serve and protect the people.

Meanwhile, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the police internal review this year revealed an increase in crimes.

"Conventional crimes have not risen, but crimes such as kidnapping have increased by 25 percent, murder by 3 percent and robbery with violence by 10 percent, while transnational crimes have also increased. Drug trafficking and abuse increased by 21.6 percent," said Da'i.

He said that terrorism-related cases decreased by 22.8 percent if one compared the figures to 2002. However, the threat of terrorism still looms large as many suspects have not been apprehended.

"Although the trend in terror attacks has decreased, they pose a potential threat because many masterminds such as Azahari and Noordi Moh Top are still fugitives," Da'i said.

He said police would likely face similar crimes in 2004 and stressed that "non-conventional" crimes would increase significantly.

"We also have given special attention to crimes committed in conflict areas such as in Aceh, Maluku, Papua and Poso (Central Sulawesi). We are trying hard to stop the conflict in Poso from resurfacing because this conflict has lasted for years. I think the people are fed up and so it will help us create a situation conducive to peace," Dai added.

International relations

'Why is the US welcomeing Manuputty?' asks army chief

Antara - December 30, 2003

Ambon -- Army Chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu has wondered why Alex Manuputty, a criminal who has been convicted for subversive activities, can be easily welcomed in the United States.

According to General Ryacudu, ordinary Indonesian residents who plan to go to the United States will not easily get visa despite clear and good intention.

"Even we, the servicemen, need an awful length of time to arrange all the necessary documents before going to the United States. Some even have to wait for over one year before getting the United States' visa. I do not understand why Alex, who is really a criminal and has no clear travel documents, can easily go there", Ryacudu said.

Economy & investment

Index the highest since 1999

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2004

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- The Jakarta Composite Index took a strong jump on the first day of 2004 trading on Monday, closing at above 700 -- the highest in more than four years -- as optimism pervaded regional stock markets and the government announced improved key economic indicators.

The Index ended higher on Friday, its highest since June 1999, rising by 1.8 percent or 12.603 points to 704.498 after failing to post a new record on Tuesday, the last trading day of 2003, due to profit-taking.

State-owned telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) led the climb in the Index as it surged by Rp 300 to Rp 7,050. Telkom is the largest counter on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX).

Cigarette company PT Gudang Garam, the second largest counter, also rose by Rp 100 to Rp 13,700. State-owned tin producer PT Timah was also among the gainers as it surged by Rp 375 to Rp 2,925, its highest in more than three years.

Another mining company, PT International Nickel, was also tailing the lead with a sharp increase in its shares by Rp 5,200 to Rp 40,100.

Jasso Winarto, a stock analyst with Sigma Research Institute, said that the surge was mainly fueled by the jump in several benchmark stock indexes in Asia.

In Hong Kong, the Hangseng Index jumped by 225.54 points or 1.79 percent to 12,801.48, and in Taiwan the Weighted Price Index surged by 150.87 points or 2.6 percent to 6,041.56.

South Korea's Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) also ended higher by 10.55 points or 1.3 percent to 821.26, and the Singapore Straits Times Index soared by 26.83 points or 1.5 percent to 1,791.35.

Markets were closed in Japan, the Philippines and Thailand for new year holidays.

"Global stock markets are now experiencing the seasonal upward trend of 'January Fever', in which most usually end trading higher in the early week of the month. This condition is and will be followed by the local bourse," said Jasso. He explained that "January Fever" developed as fund managers had been using their time during the December holiday to meet chief executive officers of publicly listed companies to get firsthand information on their business prospects in 2004.

The fresh information was later used as a guideline by the fund managers to invest in the stock market, he said.

Elsewhere, an analyst with a state-owned brokerage house said that an improvement in several economic indicators, as announced by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) on Friday afternoon, had also contributed to the jump in the Index.

"The surge is also caused by positive economic indicators. We have had the lowest record of inflation in four years, and a 6.3 percent increase in year-on-year export. This is a relatively good sign," he said.

BPS announced that inflation had only increased by 5.06 percent in 2003 compared to 2002. Exports also rose by 6.3 percent to US$55.6 billion during the first 11 months of 2003 from the same period of 2002.

The Index skyrocketed in 2003 by 62.8 percent at 691.895 from 424.945 at start of the year, making it the second best performer in Southeast Asia after SET Thailand, which surged by 116.6 percent, and the third in Asia after Thailand and India.

India BSE Sensitive surged by 72.9 percent.

Full-year inflation better than expected: Agency

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2004

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta -- Inflation rose by 0.94 percent in December from the previous month, bringing the total inflation in 2003 to 5.06 percent, the lowest year-on-year rate in four years, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Friday.

December's inflation was mainly driven by the hike in prices of basic foodstuffs as well as processed food and beverages, mostly because of the Christmas and New Year festivities, BPS deputy chairman Slamet Mukeno said.

On a monthly basis, basic food prices increased by 2.13 percent, while the prices of processed food and beverages also experienced a rise of 1.02 percent.

Other commodities also on the rise in the month were housing (0.28 percent); clothing (1.67 percent); health care (0.35 percent); education, recreation and sports (0.04 percent); and transportation and communications (0.03 percent), the report said.

In comparison, inflation in November -- as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) -- rose by 1.01 and 5.33 percent on month-on-month and year-on-year basis, respectively.

The rise in December's inflation did not affect the overall relatively low inflation rate throughout the year.

In fact, the full-year inflation of 5.06 percent was better than the government's target of 6 percent to 7 percent -- quite an achievement given that the country had recorded double digit inflation rates in the past three years.

The government has earned praise from international donor agencies like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for maintaining a sound macroeconomic performance including a controllable inflation. Some analysts have partly attributed the fairly modest inflation to the stronger rupiah, which helped stabilize the prices of imported consumer goods throughout last year. The local unit strengthened against the US dollar by about 6 percent during the year.

Bank Indonesia's benchmark interest rate has been on a decline in the past two years. Earlier this week, the central bank cut the rate to 8.31 percent from the already all-time low of 8.41 percent the week before.

The benign inflation is considered good for the economy, as it would help maintain people's purchasing power, in turn maintaining strong domestic consumption, the country's main economic growth engine.

Moreover, the mild inflation should also encourage the central bank to further slash its benchmark interest rate and eventually push banks to lower their lending rates for the private sector.

Fixed phone rates unattractive to investors

Antara - January 3, 2004

Surabaya -- PT Telkom Managing Director Kristiono said here Friday the structure of telephone rates in Indonesia, especially those for fixed phones, were not attractive to investors.

"The current structure of our telephone tariff is not attractive to investors interested in developing this sector. This applies not only to PT Telkom's rates but also to other telecommunication operators," he said.

Speaking on the sidelines of launching two automatic Internet machine (AIM) facilities at Juanda airport here, Kristiono said the tariff structure was not relevant to current developments in the world's telecommunications.

Opinion & analysis

Upon entering a new year

Jakarta Post Editorial - December 30, 2003

Looking at the security and political situation that prevails as the year 2003 nears its end, we can say that the pattern of conflict that has been affecting the security situation in this country has reached stabilization point. In terms of open conflict, the situation in Aceh has already reached its peak.

The problem now concerns whether well-thought-out follow-up plans have been put in place to ensure Aceh's socio-economic development, thereby eventually healing the wounds caused by such a bloody conflict.

In Poso, the situation appears more puzzling, which raises the question of why the conflict over there could not have been prevented. There are strong indications that the conflict is being directed from outside the area.

Although it appears that the situation has now calmed down, continued vigilance will be needed throughout the coming year.

A recently discovered low explosive bomb is a case in point. It is not too far-fetched an idea to expect that the same old elements who do not want to see stability prevailing in Indonesia could precipitate new flare-ups in Poso, and elsewhere in in the country at the very same time that a series of elections are being held in the coming months.

It is the situation in Papua that will warrant particular scrutiny over the coming year. The province of West Irian Jaya has now been officially established and will have its own representatives in the House of Representatives after the April 5 general election. The formation of the province of Central Irian Jaya has been stalled following several outbreaks of violence in Timika that drew the attention of observers not only in Indonesia, but also the international community.

It would seem, however, that attempts to establish the province of Central Irian Jaya will resume in the coming year, especially if President Megawati Soekarnoputri is reelected. We have the strong impression that the socio-political unrest in Papua plus West Irian Jaya province has been the result of measures taken by the government of President Megawati. It has acted on incorrect assumptions based on a rigid and doctrinaire interpretation of what the unitary state is all about.

Of course, the suicidal bomb attack in front of Jakarta's Marriott Hotel caused a serious setback to Indonesia's reputation, which was on its way to recovery after the Bali bombings of October 22, 2002. The Marriott was chosen because it was popular among expatriates, and a bomb attack there could be counted on to have international repercussions. The Marriott bomb attack on August 5 once again showed that Indonesians cannot afford to be complaisant regarding the threat of terrorist attacks. With the prospect of possibly three elections looming, all potential centers of terrorist activity should therefore be eliminated.

The most impressive political achievement in 2003, and one that will have a huge impact in 2004, was arguably the completion of all the necessary legislation for the holding of the elections for legislatures at the regency and provincial levels, and for the House of Representatives at the national level. The law that determines which political parties will be allowed to contest the upcoming general election was generally felt to be bureaucratically inclined.

Nevertheless, 24 passed the test and have been affirmed as participants in the upcoming elections. It is not too early to state that the current General Elections Commission (KPU) is of superior quality than that of its 1999 predecessor. It is also worth noting that a number of international organizations have given valuable assistance to the commission so that all the necessary infrastructure could be put in place in time.

One important question that needs to be asked at this point is whether the Indonesian public still has confidence that political change and good governance can be achieved by holding the general election. Prominent leaders of the political parties currently represented in the government are inclined to believe that their political life will continue beyond the 2004 general election.

Perhaps unaware of existing realities, they live in a sort of bubble and do not realize that significant changes are taking place in terms of political sociology. The fact that some reports reveal that perhaps 60 percent of the roughly 140 million eligible voters are taking a wait and see attitude means that these people will from this moment on be critically watching the 24 parties, and the presidential candidates they support.

Who, basically, are these eligible voters? A recent report published by the World Bank under the title "Indonesia: Beyond Macro-Economic Stability" helps to explain one important facet concerning the 140 million holding the franchise. The title of the report itself contains the message that macroeconomic stability alone will not be enough to ensure the real fulfillment of the basic needs of the poor. In Chapter 5, the report emphasizes in forthright terms the fact that Indonesia is facing a poverty challenge. With the national poverty line currently established at approximately US$1.55 a day, the report reached the startling conclusion that the majority of Indonesians earn less than two dollars a day.

The document points out that a large percentage of households are just above the poverty line, which means that approximately 110 million Indonesians are on the verge of falling into poverty, with most of these concentrated in Java, Bali and Sumatra. The crucial question that should be raised in this connection is whether those Indonesians hovering just above the poverty line are politically apathetic. Or, whether, precisely because of their dire situation, they are politically alert.

We would like to submit that the penetration of electronic media even into the remotest villages throughout this vast archipelago is not only to the advantage of the powerholders as a result of the recognition factor. The widespread penetration of electronic media, which by now also reach the poor even if they continue to lack access to some basic services, makes them more aware than ever before of their political rights.

In other words, they have an increasing keenness to use their electoral rights in order to bring about political change. The fact is that what has been happening over the past several years is that there has been a widening of the gap that exists between those who are becoming increasingly rich, and those who are sliding towards poverty.

That is why we believe that the year 2004 could well bring about political changes that the current political elite, afflicted as they are by a serious bout of cynicism, fails to comprehend.

Since Indonesia, amid staggeringly high unemployment, will for the first time hold a direct presidential election, which by definition will be an emotional exercise, we sincerely hope that the 2004 elections will proceed peacefully.

The year 2004 is indeed a challenging one for this country in its efforts to establish a stable and mature democracy. Every Indonesian, including those working for the media, is therefore called on to perform his or her duty in helping to ensure that the upcoming general and presidential elections proceed in a peaceful atmosphere.

Time is over

Jakarta Post editorial - December 29, 2003

Doubts that the upcoming general election next year can bring significant changes for the better to this country's political landscape are growing as the General Elections Committee (KPU) is giving political parties a final chance to list their legislative candidates today.

The reasons for the delay -- deliberate foot-dragging may be a better word in some cases -- are various, including the relatively costly, time-consuming and complicated procedures that aspiring candidates have to go through to be eligible to contest the elections.

To begin with, candidates must meet 12 different requirements in order to qualify, which include a health check and the possession of certificates from local court and police authorities attesting to the aspiring candidate's right to vote and that the candidate has no criminal record. Anyone who has had the daunting experience of dealing with officialdom -- especially at the lower levels of the bureaucracy -- will know how tiring and often costly this can be.

There are, however, other reasons for the delay that could be of much greater significance to the process of democratization, which Indonesia is at present going through. One such reason is the tough bargaining that has reportedly been taking place between aspiring legislative candidates from the regions and their party bosses in Jakarta, regarding the allotment of lucky numbers -- the point being that candidates with "small" numbers stand a much better chance of being elected.

Since the numbers are allotted by the parties' executive boards, the final word on who will represent the people in the national legislature still effectively belongs to the top (party) brass in Jakarta -- not the party's constituents in the provinces and regencies. In other words, the will of the people in the House of Representatives (DPR) and People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), after next year's elections, will in all probability (or to some extent at least) be articulated by legislators representing the party, rather than their constituents -- as is the case at present.

Also, even though in the upcoming general election voters will be able to choose not only from a list of the symbols of the 24 eligible parties, but also from names of legislative candidates, the chance of voters making a wrong choice remains. The problem is that the new general election law allows voters to choose only a symbol, without a name, if they so prefer.

Obviously, this stipulation makes it possible for political parties to nominate their legislators to promote their party's interests first. If this happens on a wide enough scale, then the situation of the national legislature being out of step with society will remain.

All this, however, should not lead us to overlook either the hard work that has been done by the General Elections Committee or the effort that is being made by various concerned-citizens groups in our society. Certainly, a long and rocky road lies ahead, but there is good reason to be optimistic that with resolve and perseverance this nation has the strength to achieve its aim of building a strong and healthy civil society.