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Indonesia News Digest Number 8 - February 16-22, 2004
Antra - February 19, 2004
Banda Aceh -- During a military operation in the troubled
province of Aceh on Friday, government troops discovered various
types of weapons and logistic supplies belonging to the
separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), local military spokesman Lt
Col Asep Sapari said in Lhokseumawe on Saturday.
Asep said the discovery occurred after a shootout between the
troops and GAM rebels in Simpang Ulim subdistrict, East Aceh,
some 350 km east of here.
According to the spokesman, a number of revolvers and homemade
guns, ammunitions, two walkie-talkies, a bundle of documents, 170
pieces of clothing, four pairs of boots and 30 sarongs were
seized.
In another raid on the same day in North Aceh district, troops
captured a GAM rebel and seized a 25 kg homemade bomb.
While in Peureulak subdistrict, also in East Aceh, Sapari said
the military had seized an AK-47 firearm and 187 ammunitions on
Thursday.
ABC News - February 19, 2004
The Indonesian military says it has stopped publishing figures
for separatist rebels killed by its troops in Aceh province.
The military says the move is temporary and denied it is linked
to criticism from rights activists.
Until recently, it had publicised the rebel casualty toll almost
daily since launching a major operation nine months ago to crush
the Free Aceh Movement (or GAM).
A military spokesman says rebels are still being killed in the
bitter conflict even though the deaths are no longer listed in
daily incident reports given to the media.
The AFP newsagency says more than 1,300 guerrillas have been
killed since last May and 2,000 others have been arrested or
surrendered.
West papua
'War on terrorism'
Government & politics
2004 elections
Corruption/collusion/nepotism
Campaign against rotten politicians
Media/press freedom
Local & community issues
Human rights/law
Focus on Jakarta
Environment
Aid & development
Health & education
Armed forces/police
Military ties
Business & investment
Aceh
Troops find Aceh rebels's weapons and equipment
Indonesian military stops publicising Aceh rebel deaths
438 ex-rebels go home after 'reeducation'
Jakarta Post - January 19, 2004
Nani Farida, Banda Aceh -- Maulidarrahmi and another 437 supposed former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members appeared relieved as they were finally allowed to return home on Sunday after attending a five-month ideological "reeducation" course in the war-town province.
"For sure I am very glad," said Maulidarrahmi, 18, a former GAM rebel from Balohan village in Sabang subdistrict, Aceh Besar regency, who surrendered to Indonesian forces.
Maulidarrahmi and the other supposed GAM members who surrendered were required to participate in the reeducation and vocational training course for five months at the Teacher Training Center in Aceh Besar, some 14 kilometers from the Aceh capital, Banda Aceh.
Maulidarrahmi said he would make good use the vocational skills he had learned during his time at the Teacher Training Center. "Maybe I will open a sewing business," he added.
Similarly, another ex-GAM rebel, Ansyari Ali, 40, from Cot Mon Jaya village in Ingin Jaya subdistrict, Aceh Besar, also expressed relief that he would soon be able to see his family again.
Ansyari, who was an employee of the Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport, said he was not worried if he met with GAM members after his return home. "I'm going to stand up for myself if I meet them," he told The Jakarta Post.
Before returning home, the former separatist rebels were required to take an oath declaring that they had quit GAM and submitted to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.
Should they break their oaths, they said they were ready to accept the presumably very severe punishments that would be meted out to them by the security authorities. The former rebels have also been asked to encourage other GAM members to follow their lead.
The reeducation course was concluded on Saturday by Aceh martial law commander Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya, who said that although the former rebels were being allowed to go home, they were still prohibited from leaving Aceh pending a presidential amnesty.
"The amnesty issue is currently being discussed by the central government," he said without elaborating further.
The former GAM members are also required to report to the local authorities after they arrive home.
Endang said the government would assist those who did not want to return home for fear of attack by their former comrades. "If they don't want to go home, that's because they know better about the situation in their villages," he said.
The former rebels who intended to return home were given Rp 2.5 million (US$299) each as seed capital to start businesses in their home districts.
"They can use the money to start up businesses so that they can live in a reasonable manner," Endang said. He said the five-month reeducation course had cost more than Rp 2 billion in taxpayers' money.
Endang also said that at least 143 GAM members who had been captured by the security forces and sentenced to more than three years in prison would be moved on Wednesday to serve their jail terms on Java island.
"We will bring them to Semarang [Central Java] and from there they will taken to prison," he said. It was reported earlier that the convicted rebels would be sent to the prison island of Nusakambangan off the coast of Cilacap, Central Java.
Kompas - February 19, 2004
Jakarta - The Democratic Party has been accused of flirting with the Aceh Emergency Military Command by three Acehnese women's non-government organisations. They say that political party membership cards are being used as a replacement for the red-and-white identification cards. The party's voters are also receiving preferential treatment during sweeps [identification checks] by the security forces.
Speaking to the press at the offices of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in Jakarta on Tuesday February 17, the general chairperson of the Achenese Democratic Women's Organisation (Organisasi Perempuan Aceh Demokratik, Orpad), Raihana Diani, explained that on a number of occasions they had witnessed Democratic Party card holders receiving preferential treatment from security forces. This occurred for example in the village of Ule-Ule in the Meuraksa sub-district of Banda Aceh city. "This could become a form of coercion by the emergency military command to [get people to] vote for political parties which have the blessing of the military", she said.
Separately, the spokesperson for Media Aceh Election Watch, Munarman and Jusuf Lakaseng conveyed similar concerns. "The position of [Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security and Democratic Party presidential candidate] Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the person who overseas the central emergency military command is being exploited by the Democratic Party for their own interests", said Lakaseng.
The director of the Centre for Electoral Reform (Cetro), Smita Notosusanto, also admitted to receiving similar reports. "Moreover it is not just the Democratic Party, but also the Functional Party of National Concern [which has received such treatment]. Cetro will be re-checking these complaints on the ground", said Notosusanto.
In response to these reports, the deputy general secretary of the Democratic Party, Max Sopacua, explained that his party has never issued such instructions. "We must re-examine this. I will pass on this news to the general chairperson. I myself have only just heard this story on the radio", said Sopacua. (WIN)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| West papua |
Jakarta Post - February 18, 2004
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- A seminar featuring respected intellectuals, analysts and religious leaders has urged the government to lift Presidential Instruction No. 1/2003 on the formation of two new provinces in Papua, and consistently enforce Law No.
21/2001 on special autonomy for the resource-rich province to help solve the increasingly complex issues.
The day-long seminar organized by the Centre for Strategic International Studies (CSIS), Frederich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and Papua Special Autonomy Team (TOKP), also sought the possibility of establishing an independent special team to bridge the widening distrust between the central government and Papua.
Former Papua governor Barnabas Suebu said Papuans no longer had confidence in the central government since Jakarta appeared to have no real solution to prolonged and perceived injustices and has made it more complicated with the issuance of the much- criticized presidential instruction to partition the region.
"The only way to regain Papuans' confidence is to annul the presidential instruction and implement the special autonomy consistently to let Papuans tackle their home affairs, control their land and settle past human rights abuses," he said.
He insisted that the situation in Papua, especially on the eve of the upcoming general elections, would be worse and more people would be killed as long as Jakarta still treats Papuans as objects in its policies, "and, sooner or later, Papua will face the same fate as Aceh."
Jakarta's apparent rationale for splitting Papua was so it could put more pressure on or factionalize the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and suspend a full implementation of the special autonomy law which leaders now say could, in its full enforcement, eventually lead to complete separation a la East Timor.
The Constitutional Court is still examining Law No. 45/1999 on the split, the enforcement of which was suspended by former presidents B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid. In addition, the instruction contradicts the 2001 special autonomy law on that point, so President Megawati's instruction may be invalid.
Chairman of the Communion of Churches in Papua Rev. Herman Saud and historian Anhar Gonggong asserted that the very concept of one Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke was not accepted in many regions, including Papua and Aceh, and those people do not consider themselves as an integral part of Indonesia.
On the other hand, the people in other provinces could learn a lot from Papuans on how to become Indonesians, because unlike those living in remote areas in Java, most Papuans could speak Indonesian (as opposed to just Javanese), even though the region was not part of the 1928 Youth Declaration (One Indonesia... One language...), said Herman.
He said he was proud of Papuans and to be Papuan and Indonesian simultaneously, although 50 percent of Papuans are still living below the poverty line and others are still living in the "stone age".
Sabam Siagian, former ambassador to Australia questioned the interests of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Home Minister Hari Sabarno and the Indonesian Military (TNI), all of whom seemed to be behind the issuance of the controversial presidential instruction endorsed by Megawati last year.
Sabam went on to say that the Papua issue would remain as long as Jakarta made no changes to help Papuans in the province and continued in not showing goodwill to settle the problems.
Former foreign minister Ali Alatas emphasized the importance of establishing a national body to identify all the problems that Papuans are facing.
Citing three fundamental mistakes that have contributed to the increasingly complex issue, he said it could not be solved unless the government found the political will to do it.
His three-mistake theory comprised the following: "First, we lost the momentum to settle all past problems before the presidential instruction was issued.
Second, we underestimated the complexity of the issues, and third, we have not learned from the mistakes we made recently, like East Timor and Aceh.
"Therefore, we probably need a sincere facilitator, who could be a direct subordinate of the top security minister, to figure out what we can do to settle the problem," he said.
Political analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, claimed that Papuans had no objections to Papua being slashed in three, provided it was conducted in compliance with the law and done gradually.
Jusuf Wanandi, a co-founder of CSIS, suggested that the proposed establishment of a special team or appointment of a special facilitator be conducted by the current government despite the busy upcoming election schedule.
Sydney Jones, the coordinator of the International Crisis Group identified BIN, the Home Affairs Ministry and TNI as three real obstacles to a full implementation of the special autonomy as well as a comprehensive solution to the prolonged issue.
| 'War on terrorism' |
Reuters - February 19, 2004
Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta -- An Indonesian court sentenced a Muslim militant from Malaysia to 12 years in jail on Thursday for planting a bomb in a Jakarta church that killed one person and wounded more than 60 during a Mass three years ago.
Presiding judge Zainal Abidin Sangaji said Nur Misuari left a bomb in a plastic bag at the back row of the Santa Anna church after listening to the sermon on July 22, 2001.
"It has been proven that the defendant transported, possessed and used explosives," said Sangaji at the East Jakarta court.
Authorities have said Imam Samudra, the convicted mastermind of the Bali nightclub bombings in October 2002, was also involved in the Santa Anna bombing. Samudra is on death row over the Bali attacks.
Jemaah Islamiah, a militant network with links to al Qaeda, is blamed for the Bali blasts that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
On Christmas Eve 2000, assailants bombed a number of churches across Indonesia, killing 19 people. The authorities have blamed militants connected to Jemaah Islamiah.
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2004
Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The government has completed the revised draft of much-criticized Antiterrorism Law No. 15/2003, which will grant more power to security authorities to deter acts of terrorism.
Abdul Gani, director general of legislation at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said the revision was aimed at giving security authorities more room to combat terrorism.
The draft will target not only perpetrators of acts of terror but also those who are indirectly involved in terrorism or who assist the perpetrators, he said.
Article 9 of the draft stipulates that people who sell explosive materials can be charged under the antiterrorism law if the materials can endanger human life or the environment, or if the materials are proven to have been used in terrorist activities.
Human rights activists oppose the antiterrorism law, saying it opens the door to rights abuses, particularly an article that stipulates intelligence reports are sufficient basis to prosecute a person for an alleged act of terrorism.
Under the Criminal Code, preliminary evidence is required to prosecute an individual.
Turnig a deaf ear to human rights campaigners, the draft revision says intelligence information is enough to open a formal investigation, with the approval of a district court judge. In comparison, the current law requires the consent of the head of a district court.
"We think getting approval from the head of a court is not easy, therefore we think every judge should have the authority to declare an intelligence report sufficient basis to launch an investigation," Abdul Gani said.
A judge is given three days to examine the intelligence report behind closed doors, according to the draft. "The public will have no access to the examination process, otherwise we would only allow terror suspects to slip through our fingers," he said.
Article 31 of the draft stipulates that security authorities -- after securing approval from a judge -- are allowed to tap telephone conversations or examine all mail and correspondence believed to be connected to acts of terror.
Compared to Law No. 15/2003, which allows the authorities to detain people for seven days in the absence of strong legal evidence that he or she may have committed an act of terror, the draft revision extends the detention period to up to 30 days.
The draft, nevertheless, reduces the detention period from six months to only 120 days, or about four months.
The revision also threatens a 12-year jail sentence for people who fail to inform security authorities of an act of terror or who help an act of terror take place.
Article 13, line (b) of the draft says that people can be charged with committing acts of terrorism if they wear clothes or display symbols to create terror among the public. But Abdul Gani said this article was still subject to change.
"We will soon propose the draft to the President and submit it to lawmakers for deliberation," he said.
Revisions to the antiterrorism law Law No. 15/2003
Article 25 - Prosecutors are allowed to detain people The detention period is for up to 6 months reduced to 120 days
Article 26 (2) - Intelligence reports are a sufficient Approval from basis to prosecute a person, with approval district court judge of a district court head is required
Article 28 - Security authorities can detain suspects for seven days. Detention period extended to up to 30 days.
| Government & politics |
Jakarta Post - February 21, 2004
Rusman, Samarinda -- Defying protests from locals, the Samarinda government and municipality council agreed to pay a severance bonus for councillors of Rp 25 million each, a councillor confirmed on Friday.
"The decision was approved a few days ago by the government and the council," deputy speaker of Samarinda legislative council R. Yakub said.
There are 45 members on the legislative council, so the government will have to spend public money totaling Rp 1.125 billion (US$140,625) on severance bonuses for councillors. The funds are being taken from the municipality's budget this year.
The payment received by the councillors this year is much more than that received by their predecessors five years ago. At that time, councillors received Rp 20 million each in severance bonus.
Yakub countered that there was nothing wrong with paying severance bonuses. The councillors had worked hard and fought for the development of Samarinda, and they deserved severance bonuses at the end of their terms, he said.
The councillors will end their terms in March, one month before general elections take place on April 5.
"Besides, it is common practice here that councillors are given severance bonuses at the end of their terms. The practice has continued for years," he said.
But Sugeng Haryadi, a local public policy observer, said that the councillors did not deserve the severance bonuses. They had already been well paid, he said. Besides, in most cases, the councillors rarely sided in favor of the people; instead they were a rubber stamp for the Samarinda municipality government, he added.
Samarinda is not the only town where the payment of severance bonuses for councillors is made. The practice is widespread nationwide, and has drawn strong protest from students and other prodemocracy activists.
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2004
Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- Non-governmental organization activists criticized local administrations across the country, including in Jakarta, for handing out unofficial "severance packages" to legislative councillors at the end of their terms.
The activists said there were no regulations to justify administrations awarding this money or councillors accepting it.
The coordinator of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), Laode Ida, said on Thursday the public must oppose this type of activity for two reasons: first, there is no regulation on the issue and second, it encourages councillors to represent the administration rather than the public.
"If they want money, they should ask their respective parties for it," he said at a seminar on the issue.
According to Fitra, the Jakarta administration has allocated Rp 2.13 billion (US$253,571) in "severance pay" for its 85 councillors, or more than Rp 25 million each. This does not include the Hyundai cars the councillors received. The cars are valued at about Rp 64 million.
Forty-five councillors in Bekasi municipality will receive Rp 100 million each, the activist said.
Councillors in Tangerang municipality, however, are not so lucky, as the local administration there announced earlier that it would not see the outgoing councillors off with envelopes full of money.
"We must strongly oppose any state funds being allocated for these types of unofficial severance packages. That money is needed for more important things like poverty eradication and education for the poor," Laode said.
If the Rp 2.13 billion allocated by the Jakarta administration for the councillors was added to the city's budget for education, at least 2,234 children would be able to enjoy one year of free education at the elementary school level.
On average, it costs Rp 953,350 to send a child to elementary school for one year, according to activists.
In the current city budget, the allocation for education and health falls below the 30 percent of the total budget stipulated in the Constitution.
The chairman of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), Uli P. Sitompul, said current regulations only allowed for employees to receive severance pay from their employers.
Quoting Government Regulation No. 110/2000 on compensation for state officials and Ministry of Home Affairs circular No. 161/2003 on pay for regional councillors, Uli said: "Neither regulation allows for severance pay for councillors at the end of their terms." Laode said councillors were not above accepting the money, which they would either use for their reelection campaign or for their retirement.
Jakarta councillor Abdul Azis Matnur from the Justice Party (PK), however, denied councillors received severance pay.
"Before I came here [to the seminar], I sought information from Pak Ibnu on this pay and he said there was no such thing," he said, referring to council deputy chairman Ibnu Sumantri.
Jakarta Post - February 19, 2004
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- Clarity of functions between the central and local governments, and the yawning disparity between poor and rich regencies have posed a real threat to regional autonomy in Indonesia, a World Bank (WB) study reveals.
The WB Indonesian office's lead economist Bert Hofman said those two issues had discouraged people in a lot of areas, many of whom had high hopes that autonomy would improve their quality of life.
"The law is not very clear about who does what. The law does not talk about the obligatory functions, but talks about the obligatory sectors.
"That gives the regions the idea that those sectors are 'ours' and that's creates the 'little kingdom' syndrome," Hofman said on Tuesday of the bank's initial findings.
The bank has been involved in the flagship study for the past six months, the results of which will be disclosed to the public later this year.
The latest squabble between the forestry minister and governors in Kalimantan over the issuance of licenses for forest concessions is one of many examples of conflicts between the central government and local governments.
Hofman said the regional governments should be given a minimum standard of services, such as health, education and other public services to ensure similar access to everybody across the country.
WB's senior public sector specialist, Duvvuri Subbarao, said clarity of functions was not an issue in other countries which also implemented regional autonomy.
"Based on the experiences of other countries, it should not be that difficult to have a clear division of authority here," he said.
Another issue that needs addressing in the existing law is the unequal distribution of revenues which allows rich regencies to squander their revenue on unnecessary budget items, while the poor ones cannot afford even the basic standard of public services.
Hofman said the study found the rich regencies received general allocation funds from Jakarta, special allocation funds and revenue sharing.
While on the other hand some poorer regencies had no revenue sharing. The WB suggested in its report that the central government eliminate general allocation funds for the rich regions.
Hofman also added that the central government should reduce its supervision and control over local governments.
"For decentralization to work, the central governments needs to change. The government should be more active, not in supervising and controlling the regions, but in facilitating and enabling," Hofman said.
He pointed out that article 114 of Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy stipulates that the central government's main duty covers not only supervising but facilitating the local governments.
Regional autonomy has been in effect for four years, but the government and the House of Representatives have recently moved to revise the autonomy law, mainly due to this administration's pet issue -- national unity -- as decentralization is now viewed as a threat to that.
Hofman criticized the central government for excluding the regional governments in the deliberation on the revisions.
| 2004 elections |
Antara - February 21, 2004
Jakarta -- The National Awakening Party (PKB), at a national working meeting here, nominated Abdurrahman Wahid -- popularly known as Gus Dur -- as its main presidential candidate, PKB chairman Alwi Shihab said on Saturday.
"There are no alternatives for a presidential candidate from PKB. Gus Dur is our main candidate" Alwi said, adding that the party's vice presidential candidate would be decided at another working conference at a later date.
Alwi said Gus Dur's nomination would stimulate the party to work hard toward his election as the sixth president of Indonesia.
Meanwhile, PKB's Jakarta secretary Fathoni Tamziz said he hoped the vice presidential candidate would be from PKB's inner circle because there were a lot of reliable figures within the party.
Gus Dur, 63, was the fourth Indonesian president after B.J. Habibie.
Straits Times - February 21, 2004
Lee Kim Chew -- Indonesia's National Assembly Speaker Amien Rais is riding on a reformist platform in his bid to clinch the country's top job.
He credits President Megawati Sukarnoputri for the country's political stability, but faults her for doing too little to tackle corruption.
Nor has the economy recovered. Rising unemployment is a social time bomb, he warned at a press conference and in his talk at the National University of Singapore last night. "Megawati has not delivered what she promised two years ago," he said.
Only through strong political leadership would Indonesia be able to solve these problems, and he was the right man to do it, he said. "I'm motivated to run for president because I have my own vision as a reformer... I will put the eradication of corruption as my No.1 priority."
He will ask a military man to be his vice-presidential running mate. "We need a strong hand to safeguard territorial integrity. And it's better for the military to be inside rather than outside the power circle. Otherwise, it could be a trouble-maker."
He had wanted Chief Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhyono to be on his ticket, but the general is running for president himself. "I have to find somebody else. Who? That's still a secret."
He is counting heavily on Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second- largest Islamic organisation, which boasts of 30 million members, to support him. Dr Amien is also putting out feelers to the other parties. "In the past, I've been called a king-maker. It's about time for me to leave the king-making status to become the king myself."
He concedes that it will be hard to beat Ms Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and Golkar. But the people "are still allergic to Golkar. If Megawati's party and Golkar team up as partners in the election ... it will be a blessing in disguise for me. The duo are not widely accepted".
Jakarta Post - February 21, 2004
The Jakarta Military Command will deploy 1,200 personnel to help 15,968 officers from the Jakarta Police in securing the upcoming general elections.
"The police will be in command while the military personnel will carry on their duty under our supervision," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said on Friday after a coordinating meeting with Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara and Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo.
Prasetyo said that two to four police officers would be posted at 2,812 polling stations in the Greater Jakarta area, which includes Jakarta, Depok, Bekasi and Tangerang. The polling stations incorporate a total of 46,489 polling booths for over 12.8 million voters.
As for the military personnel, they will be on alert at their designated posts. Both the police and the military will carry weapons including firearms with rubber bullets.
In Jakarta police will be assisted by 93,048 community guards in securing the polling stations and patrolling the neighborhoods. The guards have been trained by the Jakarta Police for the task.
The legislative election campaign period starts on March 11 while the election itself will be on April 5. As for the direct presidential election, the campaign period begins in June while the election will be on July 5. A second phase will take place in September if there is no outright winner in July.
Prasetyo said the police would be on high alert from the beginning of the campaign period until the elections end, adding that all officers must be on call in the event of disturbances and they were prohibited from taking leave.
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2004
Surabaya -- The government is processing the dismissals of some 700 civil servants for joining political parties, a Cabinet minister says.
State Minister for Administrative Reform Faisal Tamin said in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday that the number of civil servants who had joined political parties was negligible compared to the total number of civil servants, which is about 3.5 million.
"A civil servant has to make a clear choice between political parties and the bureaucracy. Once they become members of political parties, they immediately lose their civil servant status," Faisal said. Government Regulation No. 12/1999 says civil servants must resign if they wish to join a party.
"That must be stated clearly because we do not want the bureaucracy to side with any party," he said.
Sraits Times - February 20, 2004
Jakarta -- He is the President's man. Coordinating Minister for Welfare Jusuf Kalla is one of two politicians being courted by Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri to be her running mate in the election. Her other shield, of course, is Nadhlatul Ulama chairman Hasyim Muzadi.
But Mr Jusuf makes a more attractive catch. For one, he is from Golkar, one of the country's largest parties, which could be a key alliance partner with Ms Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P). And significantly, he hails from a non- Javanese background -- a Bugis with strong Islamic credentials, given his grassroots links with several Muslim groups.
He is, in fact, the perfect catch for Ms Megawati -- if the plan goes according to the script drawn by the President's hubby, Mr Taufik Kiemas. And Mr Jusuf knows it. Ms Megawati's and Mr Jusuf's feelings -- and plans -- are mutual.
"We complement each other in many ways," he says. "I have a good private and professional relationship with Ibu Mega." Like the palace, he is gradually realising that for every potential winning coalition partner, there is a political price to pay. Things are never that simple amid the ebb and flow of Indonesian politics.
The 58-year-old businessman from Watampone in South Sulawesi is the second of seven children in a family that was known for being entrepreneurial and successful in business.
His father, Hadji Kalla, founded a general trading company in the 1960s. But business went bad after a few years and the company was in decline.
Mr Jusuf, who was 25 years old then, had just graduated from the Hasanuddin University in 1967. He was offered a job to head the state-run National Logistics Agency (Bulog) in South Sulawesi. But he rejected it, deciding instead to help with problems at home.
"I knew it was a risk then, especially after being offered a comfortable job as a government official," he says. "But I was hard-headed about resolving our problems in business." He had this magic touch -- an ability to turn things around. He also discovered he had two strong assets that would serve him well in government decades later: leadership and organisational ability.
Within 10 years, he transformed a small-scale trading outfit into a multi-industry group with 15 subsidiaries and thousands of employees.
Political analyst Meidyatama Suryodiningrat of the authoritative Van Zorge Report says the success of the group was largely due to Mr Jusuf's ability to think big and lobby the ground.
"He is an astute lobbyist who has always managed to build strong relations with local and national politicians to secure major deals," says Mr Meidyatama, who has followed his political career.
His family and associates have been on the winning side of lucrative public infrastructure projects, mainly due to his skill in co-opting even those opposed to granting him the deal.
His success in business proved to be his passport into politics. In 1999, then president Abdurrahman Wahid invited him to join his Cabinet as trade minister. His ministerial tenure, however, was short.
Mr Abdurrahman fired him just six months into the job, accusing him of corruption. But insiders say he was sacked because the Indonesian leader could not get him to disburse funds from Bulog that fell under his ministry.
He went straight back into his business but a year later was courted again for politics, this time by Ms Megawati. He was offered one of three coordinating minister's posts in her Cabinet -- a remarkable feat, considering he had not been in politics for long.
Mr Jusuf says he knew it won't be easy but he went for broke, drawing similarities to the decision he made in 1967 to join his father's company.
He explains: "In both instances, I had to make major decisions which I did not regret. Ibu Mega is not a difficult person to work for. She gives her ministers the freedom to operate independently and get the job done." One issue in which he was given such latitude was strife-torn Poso in Central Sulawesi. He ended months of communal violence in the area by negotiating peace agreements with rival groups. His political standing grew and people in government saw him as someone who 'gets things done'.
"I believe in working hard behind the scenes to make things happen," he says. "Decisions in politics are a lot like business. You just need to do it -- and do it right with very little margin for error." A presidential confidante says that this is what makes Mr Jusuf so attractive to the palace. "He is a professional who will not hesitate in taking decisions others will never make," he says.
"But he will never do it in a way that will offend Megawati or steal the limelight from her. That is very important in winning the confidence of the President. And that is why he is on top of her list because both of them have grown very comfortable with each other."
But can he get the vice-presidency? On the surface, he appears to have a chance. After all, he is being coveted, not the other way around.
Besides his personal chemistry with the President, palace advisers say that he meets several key requirements for a winning coalition ticket: He has the backing of a major party machine in the form of Golkar and, more importantly, links to the Muslim ground, which Ms Megawati is trying hard to cultivate.
Also, he is close to the influential Islamic Students Association and the Muslim Students Movement. Given his base in South Sulawesi, he is also able to draw a sizeable number of votes from eastern Indonesia. He has built up political affiliations in that region.
Many of them are from Iramasuka, a Golkar faction with very close links to former president B.J. Habibie. These include senior Golkar member A.A. Baramuli, Golkar vice-chairman Marwah Daud and Mr La Ode Kamaluddin, secretary to Vice-President Hamzah Haz.
According to Mr Meidyatama, he has also surrounded himself with several political strategists. Mr Andi Mattalatta is the big- picture thinker behind Mr Jusuf's campaign.
A senior Golkar politician from South Sulawesi and an experienced legislator, he has been involved in deliberations over many important draft laws on subjects such as political parties and the general election. Another key figure is Mr Malkan Amin. He is said to be the 'field coordinator' of the team, shuttling between Jakarta and South Sulawesi to drum up support for his vice- presidential bid.
Besides a trusted group of backers from his home town, Mr Jusuf also has the money to take on his opponents, drawing on funds from his own company.
But in the grand scheme of things, all these might just come to nought. Mr Jusuf's political fate is intricately linked to circumstances beyond his control.
One is the acquittal of Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung. Before the Supreme Court decision last week, Mr Jusuf's chances of being Golkar's candidate for a coalition with PDI-P looked a lot brighter.
Some might have questioned his credentials to win the party convention with the likes of other heavyweights like retired General Wiranto and tycoons Surya Paloh and Abu Rizal Bakrie.
He did not have mass appeal outside South Sulawesi and did not have the complete backing of provincial branches because he was not a party cadre.
But he was an important figure in the Akbar camp which saw him as a bargaining chip in an alliance with the PDI-P if the chairman was forced out of the race.
A Golkar senior says: "Akbar made it clear that if he is out, then Kalla is in as the lead contender." But circumstances have changed dramatically since the Golkar leader's exoneration. With Mr Akbar free, there is only a very slim chance that the party would back Mr Jusuf for the top post or even the vice-presidency.
Some speculate that Golkar might have used Mr Jusuf as a bargaining chip to draw the palace into a deal to stave off a damning court verdict against Mr Akbar. But the Golkar leader may well go for the presidency or running mate himself, judging from his recent comments.
Observers say the personal chemistry between the Golkar chairman and the President is not good. But Ms Megawati has shown in the past that she is prepared to forge political alliances with her rivals to shore up her power base.
A classic example is co-opting the Muslim camp in Parliament by backing Mr Hamzah Haz for the vice-presidency in 2001.
Ultimately, everything will boil down to what Mr Akbar wants. Mr Jusuf's future is looking bleaker today. Even then, the palace is still coveting him. He remains an important pawn in the whole game. After all, he is the President's man.
Straits Times - February 20, 2004
Jakarta -- Golkar chief Akbar Tandjung has said he would want to be president if his party posts a strong win in the forthcoming election. There would be pressure from within the party to head a ticket and aim for the presidential post, he said.
Mr Akbar said: "If Golkar has significant votes, then the problem is that the leaders of Golkar all over Indonesia would like a candidate from Golkar to become president. I cannot say our party will become the winner, but I can say our party will increase votes ... quite significantly." He said he hoped Golkar would be able to win some 30 per cent of the parliamentary vote.
Though this is the first time in recent months that he has laid claim to the top position, it would not come as a surprise to Indonesia observers. They had always sensed that taking the presidential title had always been his prefered choice.
Despite his ambitions, Mr Akbar made it quite clear that Golkar was still ready to take the vice-presidency on a joint ticket with Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) in July should Ms Megawati's party outperform Golkar. It will all depend on the April 5 election results.
He said he had held informal talks with Ms Megawati and was optimistic about a coalition with PDI-P. "I think the chance is quite possible," he said in an interview a week after being acquitted by the Supreme Court of a graft conviction.
Some 24 parties are preparing to take part in the parliamentary election -- which virtually guarantees that no party will win a majority. Opinion polls put Golkar and the PDI-P neck and neck or with Golkar just slightly ahead as it taps into nostalgia for the stability and economic growth of Suharto's three-decade iron rule.
A coalition between Indonesia's two big secular-nationalist parties would likely ease investor concerns about instability stemming from the election this year. It could also remove the need for a presidential run-off as such a joint ticket could win more than 50 per cent of votes required to form a government.
But polls still show support for either party at only about 20 to 30 per cent level. In the 1999 parliamentary election, PDI-P won 34 per cent of the vote and Golkar 22.5 per cent. Despite disappointment with Ms Megawati's rule, most opinion polls show she is still the country's most popular politician.
Analysts say this means Golkar would probably need to defeat PDI-P by a good margin in April to believe it could put forward a candidate to beat Ms Megawati in the presidential polls.
Golkar will decide who will lead any ticket in the presidential election after the April poll. But after his acquittal, Mr Akbar is tipped as the favourite. He had maintained his innocence in the graft case, which involved the alleged misuse of US$4 million in government funds in 1999.
Kompas - February 19, 2004
Jakarta - Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS) Decree Number XXV/1966 cannot in any way be the basis for Article 60 sub-section (g) of Law Number 12/2003 on the general elections. This is because the MPRS decree only specifies that the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) is a banned organisation. The government must distinguish between involvement in the PKI and the September 30 Movement(1) and the individual rights of ex-PKI members as Indonesian citizens.
"I make a distinction between two issues, firstly, to what extent was the PKI involved in G30S. If the party was involved as an organisation this should not become the responsibility of its members, with the exception of those members who were involved in the G30S affair", explained Franz Magnis Suseno, a senior philosophy teacher from the Driyarkara School of Higher Philosophy in his testimony before the Constitutional Court on Wednesday February 18.
Suseno added that if the [New Order regime of former President Suharto's] version of events which says that the PKI was involved in G30S is true, this does not mean that people who became members of the party can be deemed to be guilty, except if they are proven to have been involved in the preparations and execution of the G30S affair.
Suseno's testimony contradicts the government's argument which was presented by the minister of home affairs, Hari Sabarno, when he gave a testimony at the Constitutional Court in mid-January. (Kompas January 14).
On that occasion, Sabarno explained that the government was only implementing the MPRS decree which in the end was not abolished at the annual session the People's Consultative Assembly. He explained that the government was simply taking a passive position. Because the MPRS decree was not abolished thus Article 60 sub-section (g) does not need to be removed [from the law on general elections].
Expert witness
Suseno was appearing as an expert witness in a judicial review by two plaintiffs, Deliar Noer and associates (as the first plaintiff) and the Struggle Institute for the Rehabilitation of Victims of the New Order Regime (Lembaga Perjuangan Rehabilitasi Korban Rezim Orde Baru, LPR-KROB) (as the second plaintiff).
The two plaintiffs are appealing to the Constitutional Court to conduct a judicial review of Article 60 sub-section (g) in the law on general elections which the two plaintiffs believe is a violation of the constitutional rights and entitlements of ex-PKI members.
Article 60 states that candidate members of the People's Representative Assembly, the Regional Representative Council, the provincial Regional Legislative Council and the regency/city Regional Legislative Council must fulfil the requirements of sub-section (g) [which states that they must] "not be an ex- member of the banned organisation the Indonesian Communist Party, includingit's mass organisations, or be a person who was directly or indirectly involved in G30S/PKI(2) or other banned organisations".
Suseno gave the example of the German government's soft treatment of the National Socialist Party who's troops were known as Nazis. Certainly the German government banned the National Socialist Party and convicted Nazis who were involved in massacres and act of brutality. However the German government did not bring those party members who were not involved in such acts to trial. "Moreover, in Germany, a person who is an ex-Nazi member can vote and can be elected as a member of legislative [bodies]".
Suseno explain that although there was a program of de-Nazism in 1945, when there was very harsh treatment of ex-Nazis, in 1949 this began to loosen up and by 1953 it had completely disappeared. "In Germany there has instead been criticism that ex-Nazis have tended to be treated too softly, not too harshly", said Suseno.
Another witness, Thamrin Amal Tomagola, said that people's attraction to Marxist or Communist teachings is because of the economic institutions which have created social disparity in society. The channeling of people's economic, political and cultural desires has been blocked and has resulted in public disappointment.
Tomagola was appearing at the review as the second expert witness in has capacity as a sociologist."Ideologies cannot be banned because they reside in people's minds. If the government want's to cut off this ideology, what should change is the conditions which cause public disappointment", said Tomagola. (VIN)
Notes:
1. September 30 Movement (Gerakan 30 September, G30S) - An acronym referring to the alleged coup attempt in 1965 which the New Order regime of former President Suharto blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party. G30S was a grouping of middle-ranking officers lead by Lieutenant Colonel Untung, who kidnapped and killed six generals whom they accused of being members ofa"Council of Generals" allegedly organising a coup against president Sukarno.
2. G30S/PKI- The was the original acronym used prior the overthrow of former President Suharto in 1998. Since then the involvement of the PKI in G30S has begun to be publicly questioned and the affair is now generally referred to only by the acronym G30S.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Kompas - February 4, 2004
Orin Basuki -- It is the afternoon of January 30, and as many as 1169 names of prospective legislative candidates for the provincial Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) for Riau province and the Riau island group are officially announced by the regional National Election Commission in Pekanbaru. Since that time at least 1383 billion rupiah has been spent by around 1383 candidates in the two provinces to fulfill the 20 administrative requirements to be a candidate member of the DPRD.
This total is based on the assumption that each candidate has already invested around 1 million rupiah to fulfill all of the administrative requirements mentioned above and does not yet include other costs which will follow this. The initial requirements include a medial checkup, the verification of high- school certificates, various supporting letters from the state courts and the police, along with a letter certifying their place of residence and political district.
This estimate of 1 million rupiah was confirmed to by the deputy chairperson of the Riau Socialist Democratic Labor Party (PBSD), Bareta Nainggolan. Nainggolan said that on average the cost for each candidate from PBSD to fulfill all of the administrative requirements was as much as 1 million rupiah.
"These costs include the cost of a medical checkup which is as much as 400,000 rupiah and completing the verification of education certificates", said Nainggolan, who is the PBSD's number two candidate for the electoral district of Bengkalis- Dumai.
Nainggolan is not alone in having to spend this kind of money. This was also the case for the United Democratic Nationhood Party's (PDK Party) number one candidate for Riau for the electoral district of Pelalawan-Siak, Edi Achmad.
According to Achmad, the amount spent by each candidate from the PDK Party was on average around 1 million rupiah. All of the costs to fulfil the administrative requirements were covered by the candidates themselves."All of the administrative costs were automatically paid for out of the pockets of the candidates themselves. In all there were 12 dossiers, eight prepared by the candidates and the remainder prepared by the party. However as well as this there are other costs which will have to be borne by each perspective legislative candidate", said Achmad.
Achmad said that the additional costs which are borne by each candidate party included the cost of producing 3000 party T- shirts and 700 party flags. The cost to produce the T-shirts came to 13.5 million rupiah and the cost for the party flags was as much as 1.89 million rupiah.
"Because they were produced in large number we could get a cheaper unit price for the T-shirts and flags in comparison with the alternative [of ordering a small number]. The cost of each T-shirt came to 4500 rupiah while the flags were only 2700 rupiah each", said Achmad.
The money paid out by Achmad and Nainggolan is not very much compared with the costs for nomination which had to be allocated by Fendri Jaswir, the number one DPRD candidate from the National Awakening Party (PAN) for the Riau electoral district of Indragiri Hulu-Kuantan Singingi. Since being declared as a candidate for PAN five months ago, Jaswir has already spend 25 million rupiah.
"At the time [I] was chosen as a candidate, we had agreed to provide money for registration amounting to 2 million rupiah for each legislative candidate at the provincial level. After that, we also had to pay for the cost of completing the administrative requirementswho's total did not quite reach 1 million rupiah", said Jaswir.
According to Jaswir, the 25 million rupiah was used for the socialisation of the candidates among the people in their electoral district. This included contributing to the cost of making party signs for each sub-district representative, then to make 2000 calendars valued at 3 million rupiah, 5000 name cards along with hundreds of party T-shirts.
"But for the coming mass campaign, I estimate the funds which will still be needed will be around 50 million rupiah more. I will use this to make 5000 T-shirts which will be handed out in the two regencies and 25 sub-districts, then for 2000 party flags", said Jaswir.
Promotional accessories like name cards were also needed by Nainggolan. Nainggolan admitted that they had already printed as many as 70 boxes of name cards. The total cost of the cards came to 5.25 million rupiah, the cost for each box being as much as 75,000 rupiah.
"These won't be handed out until the mass campaign, these are only [the initial] preparations. I did not get T-shirts made because of the high cost. It was not possible for me to make T- shirts for 40,000 voters, just to win one seat in the province, I looked for other ways", said Nainggolan.
The PBSD general chairperson for Riau, Bambang Tri Wahyono, said that militancy by the party's cadre is absolutely necessary because the majority of its members are from the middle and lower classes. As a consequence, the party could not contribute anything to the nomination process for its legislative candidates, so it very much depends on the commitment of the cadres themselves.
"We are the PBSD, the Money's Difficult Workers Party (Partai Buruh Susah Duit), how is it possible [for us] to force our perspective legislative members to fulfil the additional requirements. Aside from this, the party itself was not able to provide extensive financial support because our party has only just been established", said Wahyono.
Jaswir feels fortunate to have obtained the full support from the members of his family who have already made a financial contribution to cover all of the money which he has paid out. Moreover, to fulfill the financial requirement for the coming mass campaign, he is absolutely certain that he will still get support from his family.
"My older and younger sisters/brothers have pledged to guarantee me money for the campaign costs or the socialisation in the electoral district. They have also not asked for it to be paid back. However there is a sense of pride for the family because one of their members will become a representative of the people", said Jaswir.
For Jaswir, becoming a representative of the people truly means to represent them and is his principle goal in being nominated as a DPRD member in Riau. Later, after his period in office is over, he is interested in returning to his old profession as a journalist.
"After finishing, I will return to the world of journalism, because that's certainly where my flesh and blood flows", said Jaswir.
Nainggolan's motivations were different from Jaswir. The PBSD candidate admitted that his motivation to become a candidate member for the Riau DPRD was the desire to try to voice the complaints of workers though political channels. This is based on his experience in leading worker actions because demonstrations and street actions which are extremely exhausting do not always produce the maximal result.
"We keep on shouting in the streets, but there is no result. Because of this, I want to try a different way, that is by becoming a member of the DPRD. Hopefully [we] will get a better hearing. Meanwhile, the costs have to be paid for, because all struggles come with a cost", said Nainggolan.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Tempo Interactive - February 19, 2004
Ambon -- The commander of the XVI/Pattimura Territorial Military Command (Kodam), Major General Syarifudin Summah, has threatened to shoot on sight anybody to tries to disrupt the elections in the Maluku islands. Direct action will be taken if the situation in Maluku becomes disorderly and control of security would be transferred from the police to the TNI (armed forces).
This was explained to journalist on Thursday February 19 by Summah following a meeting between Maluku provincial councils and the Baru Regency provincial council along with political parties which will participate in the elections in Namlea, the capital city of the Baru Regency. "If a disturbance breaks out during the elections, control [of security] will be transferred from the police to the TNI. And under such conditions, the TNI will shoot [trouble makers] on sight", said Summah who was formerly the Kodam Pattimura chief of staff.
The meeting was part of a series of working visits by the governor of Maluku, Karel Albert Ralahalu, the regional military commander, the chief of police, the National Election Commission and the Maluku Election Monitoring Committee, to a number regencies in the province. The visits were to see first hand preparations for the elections in the regencies of Maluku province.
According to Summah, security during the elections is the responsibility of the police and civilian defense units. Meanwhile the TNI's role is only to assist them. If disturbances break out, the police will deploy the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) and anti-riot police. However there are large clashes, destruction and arson and the situation cannot be controlled, the police will transfer control of security to the TNI.
Summah explain that in such a situation, the TNI will no longer use anti-rot troops and blanks. The TNI will use live ammunition and shoot disrupters on sight. As a backup, three battalions of TNI troops which are stationed at Kodam Pattimura will be deployed should there be a transfer of control.
The deputy chief of the Maluku police, Bambang Suedi, said that police would increase security at polling stations which are susceptible to disturbances and they would deploy around 3000 personal which will be augmented by civilian defense units.
Suedi also said that with regard to the distribution of election logistical support, the Maluku police have been assisted by a speedboat from police headquarters. "The police have also asked [us] to collect election results areas where transportation is difficult", said Suedi.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Corruption/collusion/nepotism |
Financial Times - February 21, 2004
Shawn Donnan, Jakarta -- Authorities in Indonesia said yesterday they believed the perpetrators of last year's $200 million fraud at one of the country's leading state-owned banks used domestic capital markets to launder proceeds from the scam.
The announcement comes at a time when Indonesia's stock and bond markets are booming because of an influx of foreign funds, and regulators are struggling to introduce new laws to control the markets. But it also serves as an example of the difficulties the archipelago's regulators are having in enforcing new edicts.
According to officials, police are investigating four transactions between September and November last year in which a total of 11.4 billion rupiah (US$1.4 million) was laundered through local mutual funds, stocks and bonds.
Authorities identified the suspicious transactions last December and believe the money was part of the 1,700 billion rupiah pilfered from Bank Negara Indonesia, the country's second-largest state-owned bank, during an export credit scam last year.
Investigators had begun questioning brokers and referred the matter to police last December, said Yunus Husein, the head of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre at Bank Indonesia, the central bank. So far, however, no action had been taken.
Mr Husein said the transactions were also a sign that the push Indonesian regulators began last year to require brokers and investment managers to "know your customer" was not working. That meant Indonesia's capital markets remained open, he said, to being used as a giant "laundry machine" for illicit funds.
"The 'know your customer' system is a kind of early warning system -- and it still doesn't work here," he said. "That's why those transactions could easily happen." Herwidayatmo, the head of Indonesia's Capital Markets Supervisory Agency (Bapepam), said yesterday that the "know your customer" regulations had yet to generate a single concerned report from brokers.
Mr Herwidayatmo, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said Bapepam's spot checks at local investment houses last year showed a majority of brokers had systems in place to identify clients properly.
He also said most funds obtained through illicit means in Indonesia were likely to have been laundered offshore, just as they were during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
Billions of dollars in government liquidity support to banks funnelled out of the country by Indonesian businessmen during the crisis, as well as other illicit funds, were now returning to Indonesia, he said.
"They do the laundry in another country," Mr Herwidayatmo said. "Now the money is coming back to us, and it is clean."
[Additional reporting by Taufan Hidayat.]
Agence France Presse - February 19, 2004
Tommy Suharto, the youngest son of former Indonesian president Suharto who is currently in prison for murder, testified in court that he gave bribe money to associates of former president Abdurrahman Wahid.
Tommy told the court that in 2000 he handed 1.7 million dollars to two Wahid associates after the pair allegedly promised that they could overturn an 18-month jail sentence imposed on him for corruption.
Tommy said he met Wahid at a hotel in 2000 to ask for clemency and a judicial review of his case and the president told him that his two associates -- Nur Muhammad Iskandar and Dodi Sumadi -- would deal with him.
The two later gave him a letter asking for 15 billion rupiah (1.7 million dollars) and warned him that if he did not give the money he would end up in jail, Tommy said. He said he gave the money in the US dollars. Wahid later rejected Tommy's appeal and denied receiving any money.
"I felt cheated. What they had promised did not become reality," Tommy said. The former millionaire playboy said he learned that five billion rupiah reportedly went to a foundation belonging to Wahid's wife that he later discovered did not exist.
Tommy was testifying in the trial of Abdullah Siddiq, an associate of Sumadi who received 2.9 billion of the bribe money. Dodi Sumadi is on the run and Tommy said he believed he has knowledge of where the rest of the money went to.
Although Tommy's graft conviction was eventually overturned by the supreme court after Wahid was sacked, he is serving the 15- year sentence for ordering the murder of a judge who had convicted him.
Tommy was taken to the Central Jakarta district court after spending almost a week undergoing medical tests at the Gatot Subroto army hospital, where he was flown last Tuesday from an island prison. He has failed to appear at the trial on several previous occasions.
Tommy, whose full name is Hutomo Mandala Putra, was suffering from various ailments including chest pain, dizziness, digestion problems and depression, Dr Sudiro told AFP after Tommy's admission to the hospital.
The Suharto family and associates of the elder Suharto amassed billions of dollars through lucrative monopolies and outright corruption during his 32-year rule.
The elder Suharto has avoided a corruption trial after doctors ruled he was not capable of following proceedings because of a stroke.
Prosecutors have assigned a new medical team to examine Suharto to see if he is fit to stand trial after he was seen standing and smiling during a meeting with former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad nine days ago.
Straits Times - February 19, 2004
Jakarta -- The head of Indonesia's Supreme Court has defended its recent decision to clear parliamentary speaker Akbar Tandjung of corruption. The ruling has been seen by many as a setback for judicial reform in Indonesia.
Chief Judge Bagir Manan also accused a lower court judge, who resigned in protest at the Akbar ruling, of lying.
Asked by reporters about the negative public reaction, the chief judge said every judicial decision had supporters and detractors. "That must be regarded as normal," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on legal reform.
The decision sparked a demonstration yesterday by hundreds of students from the Indonesian Muslim University in South Sulawesi's capital of Makassar, who staged a rally outside their campus, burning tyres and blocking the street.
The protest turned violent as police fired into the air and chased demonstrators into the campus. Students retaliated by throwing rocks and other objects. No one was seriously injured.
Mr Akbar, a presidential aspirant, was cleared last Thursday of misappropriating 40 billion rupiah (S$7.4 million) in state funds which were allocated in 1999 to feed the poor. Two lower courts found him guilty but the Supreme Court upheld his appeal.
A prominent political scientist called the decision a setback for reform while the national press, and the public, have widely criticised the decision.
The Supreme Court blamed Mr Akbar's two co-defendants, who on Friday began serving 18-month prison terms for their roles in the scandal.
Mr Manan said it was up to the media as to whether the ruling worsened the image of Indonesia's judiciary -- which is seen as severely tarnished.
Mr Amiruddin Zakaria, head of the district court which initially sentenced Mr Akbar to three years in jail, has said that he will resign.
Jakarta Post - February 19, 2004
Makassar -- Hundreds of students clashed with police on Wednesday during a protest condemning the Supreme Court's unequivocal acquittal of Akbar Tandjung of graft. No fatalities were reported, but several students suffered minor injuries.
The clash began at 12:30 p.m., when the Indonesia Muslim University (UMI) students began their protest on Jl. Urip Sumohardjo, burning a used tire. The police tried to disperse the students, who reacted to the effort in a heated manner. While the students were negotiating with police, an unidentified individual threw stones at the police cordon. The police responded with warning shots and the students countered by attacking them, ensuing in a clash.
The scuffle ended when deputy rector Basri Said negotiated with East Makassar police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Eko Suprianto. All police officers were then pulled out from the area and the students dispersed peacefully.
Detik.com - February 18, 2004
Anton Aliabbas, Jakarta -- Hundreds of students from a number of different organisations demonstrated today in front of the People's Representative Assembly (DPR). They demanded that the Golkar Party be disbanded and that its general chairperson, Akbar Tanjung be jailed. A bit late maybe?
The hundreds of students arrived at the DPR building on Jalan Gatot Soebroto in Jakarta on Wednesday February 18 at around 2.30pm. They came from a number of groups including the City Forum, the National Front and the Joint Forum.
On arriving at the DPR, the students immediately began shouting anti-Golkar slogans. They also brought a photograph of Tanjung with the writing"Fugitive of the People". As well as this, the students also burnt yellow T-shirts with the pictures of the Banyan tree [the Golkar Party colours and symbol].
Although there were not many demonstrators, the mass action was closely watched over by security forces. A number of police were also on guard inside and in front of the gates of the DPR building. The action did not result in any disruption to traffic. (djo)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Campaign against rotten politicians |
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2004
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- Members of the movement to ban contemptible candidates are planning to publish the names of politicians with rotten records by March 11 at the latest to help voters identify the quality of their representatives on election day April 5.
Meanwhile, political scientist Mochtar Pabottingi and Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid called on educated people to inform the public to vote only for candidates with good track records.
Munir, from the human rights watchdog Imparsial, said on Thursday that he and his fellow activists had prepared a newspaper-style list of unscrupulous politicians. "We have finished 70 percent of our data. We plan to publish it no later than March 11," Munir said.
The campaign period for the April 5 legislative election will also begin on March 11 and run through April 1.
According to Munir, the list will consist of two columns -- the first column with the names, their political parties and what position they are running for, while the second column will have their track records. He added that they would publish such things as involvement in corruption, human rights abuses, environmental destruction, domestic violence and illegal drugs.
Smita Notosusanto of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) confirmed the plan, saying the publication would be a good voter education tool, as most media groups have apparently not seen the need to follow up on such stories as a service to the public.
"We want to refresh the voters' memories. We've been compiling the politicians' records from past newspaper and magazine accounts. So everything is already a matter of public record and thus can't be used in a lawsuit," she told The Jakarta Post.
Smita said, however, that they had a team of lawyers at the ready. She added that the publication would vary from one electoral district to another.
The movement has stayed true to its goal of letting the public know about all of society's leeches currently posing as candidates. Earlier, movement leaders said that they would issue a list frankly declaring all those deemed unfit for public office.
The planned publication will carry a heading that reads: Are these people eligible to represent us? Munir said the movement would print about 100,000 copies and distribute them to the press and the public at large at no cost.
Politicians placed on the list for Jakarta's two electoral districts would be from the six old parties and at least two of the newly established parties, Munir added.
The six old parties are the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN), and the Crescent Star Party (PBB). The two new parties are the Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB) and the Democratic Party.
Moctar Pabottingi of the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) said during a seminar that voters must make accurate choices in elections, otherwise their representatives could all end up being anti-reformasi. He added that this year's election could become a turning point for political change. "We must not only be against the unscrupulous politicians, but also against the rotten political parties," Mochtar said during the seminar at Atma Jaya University on Thursday.
Nurcholish said voters must be given information and warnings from the very beginning to make them aware of their political choices in order to improve democracy in the country.
Tempo Interactive - February 20, 2004
Jakarta -- Arriving in two Metromini busses at around 11.30am, scores of demonstrators calling themselves the Alliance Against Rotten Non-Government Organisations demonstrated at the offices of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on Jalan Cisadane in Central Jakarta on Friday February 20. They rejected interference by foreign parties in the resolution of issues being handled by a number of NGOs which they said have become an extension of these foreign parties.
During the demonstration held under a light drizzle, the demonstrators called for the rotten NGO activists to be arrested and tried. They also warned that legal proceeding would be brought against foreign lackeys who damaged the state and the nation. They also called for hidden practices carried out in the name of justice and human rights be stopped.
"There is no need for foreign interests to [interfere in] the resolution of problems in Indonesia. We reject interference by foreign parties in the resolution of domestic issues", said a demonstrator who was not prepared to give their name. The statement was greeted by cheers from a number of the demonstrators and shouts of "Reject rotten NGOs who have become foreign tools".
The head of Kontras' operational division, Mufti Makarim A, said that demonstrations such as this represent a discourse launched by unspecified parties. However he questioned the context of the demonstration. "If it's rotten politicians the context is clear because we are facing a general election. But suddenly [the issue of] rotten NGOs has come up, what's the context", asked Mufti while saying that he had invited the demonstrators to discuss the issue but they had refused.
Mufti also questions the criteria which was being used by the demonstrators to refer to a rotten NGO. "Come on, they must have some kind of concrete criteria", said Mufti. He also said he did not understand what the correlation was between people who have been victimised [and are being assisted by NGOs] and calling [these NGOs] foreign tools.
Mufti said that the demonstration which was held today was the same as one held on January 30. The protesters also held a demonstration at the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Association (PBHI).
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Media/press freedom |
Jakarta Post - February 21, 2004
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- The government challenged on Friday the Press Council's appeal for the Supreme Court to abide by the press law in cases involving the media, saying the law was too lenient.
State Minister of Communications and Information Syamsul Mu'arif said that the press law did not fulfill people's sense of justice.
"Under the press law, for instance, a newspaper would only be fined for a libelous report, while the damage inflicted on the person's reputation could be much greater," Syamsul said after attending a meeting with the new members of the Press Council.
He asserted that it was preferable to use the criminal code in cases involving the media, unless the press law stipulated heavier sentences.
"Publishing an insult could have a grave consequence as millions of people would read it. The media community should propose a revision to the existing press law before we can apply it," the minister said.
In a meeting with Chief Justice Bagir Manan on Thursday, the Press Council asked all judges to abide by Press Law No. 40/1999 in cases against the press, instead of using the draconian Criminal Code which was introduced in the Dutch colonial era.
The Press Council underlined that the use of the Criminal Code had threatened freedom of the press.
Press Council chairman Ichlasul Amal said on Friday that press freedom was characteristic of democracy.
"We understand that in upholding democracy there are conflicts of interest, but the council is the agent to mediate those conflicts," Ichlasul said.
He asserted that only when press freedom was upheld, could the country continue its democratization process.
Syamsul officially submitted the presidential decree on the appointment of new Press Council members.
The press law says the council is not part of the government but an independent body whose jobs include mediating disputes involving the media.
Ichlasul said although the council is not a government agency, there is an urgent need for the government to help finance the activities of the council.
The council hosted the meeting with Syamsul at its office building, which is not air conditioned nor equipped with standard facilities.
"We would like to show the minister that this [condition] is what the council has to deal with," Ichlasul said.
In response to the statement, Syamsul promised to convey the Press Council's request to President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
The courts jailed last month Rakyat Merdeka daily editors for insulting Megawati and House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung.
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2004
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Amid increasing attacks on the press roughly coinciding with the moment President Megawati Soekarnoputri was handed power, the Press Council is now urging the Supreme Court to ask all judges to abide by Law No. 40/1999 on the press instead of using the oft-oppressive Criminal Code.
Press Council Chairman Ichlasul Amal said on Thursday that his group wanted the Supreme Court to heed their appeal, or the press law would be a useless piece of paper and hard-won freedoms would continue to diminish to a dangerous point. Press freedom, he stressed, was everybody's responsibility.
Ichlasul suggested that the Supreme Court issue a circular to inform judges of the law and the need to use it.
"At present, most judges are either ignorant or just plain unwilling to acknowledge the press law. Such a circular is needed to remind them of their duty to recognize current laws. "Courts are supposed to consider information as public property. If some parties disagree with the information, there can be out-of-court settlements, such as the right to respond or mediation," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. Such a circular, however, would not be legally binding.
Ichlasul and Press Council members RH Siregar, Leo Batubara and Hinca Panjaitan held a meeting earlier in the day with Chief Justice Bagir Manan and his deputies Toton Suprapto, Paulus Effendy Lotulung and German Hoediarto.
The Supreme Court has promised to review the request, according to Ichlasul, a former Gadjah Mada University president. "It was a very good meeting, because they agreed that press freedom had to be upheld," Ichlasul said.
He reminded the nation's top legal officials that a precedence was set in 1984 when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Medan- based newspaper Garuda in a libel case lodged by a private company. The Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the company refused to exercise its right to respond.
Last year, the council mediated a dispute between Lt. Gen. Djadja Suparman and Jawa Pos daily. The Washington Post and TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto also agreed to resolve a dispute out of court.
State officials and big businessmen, however, have ignored legal precedents that have already been set, but have instead opted to file lawsuits using the draconian, colonial-era Criminal Code against the media for reports considered to be libelous.
The most discouraging occurrence -- for proponents of democracy and press freedom -- took place just a few weeks ago when the South Jakarta District Court ordered Koran Tempo daily to pay US$1 million in damages to businessman Tomy Winata.
The courts also sentenced Rakyat Merdeka editors to prison for insulting President Megawati Soekarnoputri with a racy headline and House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung for a caricature of him sans clothes.
The press council conducted a series of training seminars on the press law last year for judges in several provinces, and is currently doing research on the issue.
| Local & community issues |
Jakarta Post - February 21, 2004
Bangkinang -- The Kampar regency council decided in a crucial plenary meeting here on Saturday to fire regent Jefri Noer and deputy regent A. Zakir, who were elected for the 2001-2006 period.
The plenary meeting was held in response to mounting protests by thousands of teachers and students in the regency who demanded that Jefri resign.
Two factions, the Daulah Ummah and the Indonesian Military, suggested the two figures approach the community to ask for forgiveness, rather than resigning, Antara reported.
The protests began when the regent held a meeting with educators. A local principal had questioned the regent on the low education budget.
Despite the council's decision, Jefri Noer said that nothing had changed. He claimed he was still the regent of Kampar. "This is just a proposal. There is a long procedure before the Minister of Affairs Hari Subarno can fire me," he told El Shinta radio on Saturday afternoon.
Jakarta Post - February 21, 2004
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, Pekanbaru -- Dozens of university students in Kampar regency were seen on Friday "guarding" Sultan Syarif Qasim II Airport in the Riau capital of Pekanbaru, in order to prevent Kampar councillors from skipping out on the council's plenary meeting held on Saturday.
The students took the action, because they heard rumors that councillors in favor of Kampar regent Jefri Noer would leave town to avoid a crucial plenary meeting, called to decide the fate of Jefri.
"We have been on alert at the airport for the last couple days. We heard that maybe 17 councillors would try to go to Jakarta to meet the Kampar regent and do a backroom deal to abort the meeting. If enough of them skip town, the meeting'll be aborted," said Denni Jaralata, the chairman of Pekanbaru's Kampar Student Association in Pekanbaru, 60 kilometers from Kampar.
The plenary meeting must have at least two-thirds of the 45 Kampar councillors present in order to have a quorum.
Although the students kept a close eye on the airport, five councillors had reportedly already departed for Jakarta from the airport. "We obtained the information from credible sources," Denni claimed. He alleged that the five absconders were Safril Harun, Fachruddin, Datuk Reno, Misrahayati and Munir Junu.
The plenary meeting will be held in response to mounting protests by teachers and students in the regency who are demanding that Jefri immediately resign.
The protests began two weeks ago, when the regent held a meeting with educators. Tension rose at the meeting, when a principal from a local school, Abdul Latif Hasyim, had the audacity to question the regent about the woefully low education budget. The regent, who has been accused by all of the regency's councillors of being a high school dropout with a fake diploma, became utterly incensed at such an irreverent suggestion by a mere educator, and promptly expelled the very popular and nationally acclaimed principal from the classroom-like meeting hall.
The incident sparked massive protests in the regency, as nearly every teacher and student accused Jefri of insulting the entire teaching profession. Five days later, on Tuesday last week, up to 40,000 teachers and students took to the streets en masse demanding him to step down.
They also descended on the Kampar regency council to urge the councillors to hold a plenary meeting to fire the regent. The council accommodated their demand, and quickly established a team of 13 councillors to investigate the problem.
After three days of probing, the team recommended that the regent be fired. But, the final say will eventually be delivered on Saturday, when the plenary meeting is held.
The mounting opposition against the regent is also a result of an accumulation of general repugnance for Jefri. Two years ago, the phony diploma debacle boiled over, but after the council voted that Jefri, nominated by the Reform faction (comprising the National Mandate Party and the Crescent Star Party), had to go, he was miraculously rescued by Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno, who overruled the council.
Also on Friday, the council speaker Syaifuddin Effendi said that he would publicly announce the names of any councillors who skipped Saturday's plenary session. He also urged people not to vote for any of them if they planned to run in the upcoming legislative elections.
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2004
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, Pekanbaru -- Kampar regent Jefri Noer is facing widespread opposition in the regency as calls increase for his ouster.
As of Thursday, more than 100 civil servants from various divisions of the Kampar government urged the regency council to dismiss the regent, following massive protests by students and teachers in the regency. The demand came only one day after 10 high-ranking regency government officials filed a similar call with the regency council.
Syafrizal, the deputy chairman of the council's special team investigating the case, said that the representatives of the civil servants handed over a letter to him in which they expressed disappointment with the regent.
A total of 136 civil servants signed the letter, he said. "The demand by civil servants shows that the crisis of confidence has become widespread in the regency," he told The Jakarta Post.
In the written statement, the civil servants expressed concern that chaos would prevail in the regency if the regent continued to stay in power.
Most schools have been closed since students and teachers began to protest last week. The wheels of Kampar's bureaucracy were also badly affected by the protests, as demonstrators occupied the Kampar government's office on several occasions.
The civil servants have demanded that the council force the regent to resign, so that the situation in the regency could return to normal.
Separately, thousands of teachers and students continued to strike on Thursday, the ninth day of the protest, despite calls from various parties that they should end it.
Riau governor Rusli Zainal, argued that the protesters should stop the strike, because the demand was being processed at the Kampar Regency Council.
The council will convene on Saturday to decide the fate of the beleaguered regent. A special team established by the council to investigate the brouhaha has already recommended that the council fire Jefri.
Separately, support for the teacher and student protesters continue to pour in. Nurhadi, the chairman of Tapung district All Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI), said that several representatives from four regencies visited him on Thursday.
They were from Pekanbaru, Pelalawan, Kuantan Singingi and Rokan Hulu regencies. "They strongly support our fight to force Jefri to resign," said Nurhadi.
The protests against the regent date back to two weeks ago, when the regent held a meeting with representatives of teachers in the regency. They met at the regental office, some 60 kilometers west of Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province.
Tension rose in the meeting, when a teacher, Abdul Latif, questioned the regent on the regency's low education budget. The regent became angry and ordered the teacher to leave the room.
The incident was not the only cause of the protests, as Jefri has been the center of controversy before. In 2002, he was accused of using a fake senior high school diploma to gain eligibility to take the post of regent.
The regency council voted, on another occasion, for his dismissal over various controversial policies, but the decision was annulled by Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno.
Jakarta Post - February 19, 2004
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, Pekanbaru -- A special team of Kampar regency councillors on Wednesday recommended the dismissal of Regent Jefri Noer and his deputy, Zakir, following massive protests by teachers and students in the province.
Chairman Yurmailis Saroji said the recommendation was made after the team went to a series of schools and talked to community leaders about the protests.
His deputy, Syafrizal, said both men should be forced to resign because a crisis of confidence in the regental government had spread throughout Kampar following the protests.
Most schools have been closed in the area after students and teachers took to street on Tuesday last week calling for the resignation of Jefri, who they said had insulted the teaching profession.
Jefri had ordered high school principal Abdul Latif Hasyim to leave a meeting after he questioned the state's low education budget.
"The crisis of confidence in the government, manifested by the protests, has disrupted the wheels of Kampar's bureaucracy," Syafrizal said in council buildings in Kampar.
Zulher, the spokesman for the administration, denied bureaucracy was affected to the protest.
"The protest has only closed the schools. All government offices are open as usual, and we are ready to serve the public," he said.
The unanimous recommendation by the team of 13, would be presented to the council's plenary meeting on Thursday.
The outcomes of the consultation would be conveyed to a plenary meeting on Saturday, the day on which the council is set to decide Jefri's fate.
Jefri has been in the spotlight after he ordered a teacher to leave a meeting on Thursday two weeks ago.
Tension rose when principal Abdul questioned Jefri on the regency's low education budget.
The regent had only allocated 5.39 percent of the Rp 700 billion (US$82.2 million) budget this year to education -- far below the minimum 20 percent required by the Indonesian Constitution. The regent became angry and ordered Abdul to leave the meeting.
Jefri has been in controversy before. In 2002, he was accused of using a fake senior high school diploma to become eligible to stand for the post of regent.
He was voted out by the Kampar Regency Council but the decision was annulled by Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of teachers and students continued to strike on Wednesday, the eighth day of the protest. The protesters have said they will only halt their action if the regent resigns.
In a separate development, 10 high ranking officials in the regency administration went to Kampar and urged the councillors to oust Jefri -- another serious blow to his chances.
In Surabaya, the Minister for Administrative Affairs, Feisal Tamin, said he had ordered a team of officials to investigate protests by students and teachers there. He urged both parties to negotiate.
| Human rights/law |
Jakarta Post - February 19, 2004
Jayapura -- Dozens of civil servants at the Justice and Human Rights office here have protested for three consecutive days, demanding that the government cancel the appointment of Sukarno as the head of the office, as he was incapable of leadership.
Sukarno has served three years as the head of Immigration at the office.
Antonius, a protester, said Sukarno was incapable of recruiting and filling 31 Immigration posts when he led the section. "He was unable to lead even one section. We doubt that he can lead a provincial office," he said on Wednesday.
Sukarno was appointed on January 23 by Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra, replacing JB Aronggear, who had retired. Sukarno was surprised upon learning that the protesters were fellow civil servants and said he was ready to step down if the minister ordered it.
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2004
Jakarta -- Despite widespread public criticism and opposition to the water resource bill, legislators went ahead with the endorsement of the controversial draft on Thursday.
With the endorsement, water will effectively cease to be a social commodity as the bill transforms water into a commercial good, with the have-nots possibly in for a bleak future of having their rights to clean and affordable water denied, according to some critics.
A.M. Fatwa, a legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN) who chaired the House plenary meeting that endorsed the draft, attempted to appease critics by saying that the bill could always be amended.
"We have a Constitutional Court to go to and we can always amend the bill; there is nothing set in stone," said Fatwa, a member of the Reform faction, one of two small factions that called for a delay in the endorsement.
The public can contest the validity of laws through the newly formed Constitutional Court, whose credibility has not been tested.
As Fatwa hammered his gavel to mark the bill's endorsement, dozens of activists staged a rally outside the House compound in protest. Dozens of activists also protested against the bill in front of North Sumatra legislature in Medan.
Earlier, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said that the bill did not protect the people's rights to safe and affordable water. Turning deaf ears to the public's voice, eight of nine factions in the House, including President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and House Speaker Akbar Tandjung's Golkar Party, gave unreserved support to the bill's endorsement.
Only a few members of the Reform faction opposed the bill by walking out of the plenary meeting.
The bill will automatically take effect in 30 days after its endorsement, with or without the signature of the president.
Critics have opposed the draft, saying it favored capitalists over the poor by treating water as a commercial commodity, paving the way for privatization and higher costs. Article 4, for example, states that water has social, environmental and economic functions that have not been managed and materialized harmoniously. Experts have suggested that the term "economic function" would pave the way for privatization and commercialization of the water sector.
Article 9(1) promotes water commercialization with approval from either the central government or regional administrations.
The bill was initiated under pressure by the World Bank through its US$300 million Water Sector Adjustment Loan commitment in 1999. It is also said to protect the private sector as it shifts much of the risk to the government.
Dozens of drinking water companies -- including several foreign- owned firms -- have occupied a number of springs to produce bottled water in the country. The drinking water business takes 4.1 billion cubic meters of water in 2001.
Critics have warned that the government would not be able to control the growth of commercialization in the water sector as the law authorizes either the central government or regional administrations to issue permits to individuals or corporations to commercialize water resources.
"The law keeps on saying that commercialization needs public consultation, but it fails to name who the public is or what agency responsible for that," Nila Ardhiani of the Coalition for People's Access to Water.
Jakarta Post - February 19, 2004
Suherdjoko and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Semarang/Jakarta -- Despite mounting public opposition, the House of Representatives is set to endorse the controversial water resources bill when it convenes for a plenary session on Thursday.
Erman Suparno, the head of the House Working Committee deliberating the bill, said the plenary session had the authority to endorse the bill, which has sparked disagreements among government officials.
"Commission IV has constitutionally fulfilled the mandate of the plenary meeting to deliberate the bill. We have fulfilled the procedures by listening to suggestions from experts, academics and non-governmental institutions," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. House Commission IV deals with communications.
The House postponed deliberation of the bill last year due to criticism that it favored private interests rather than the public, and ordered Commission IV to educate people about the bill.
Dozens of university students rallied outside the House on Wednesday, calling on the public to reject the bill, which has been endorsed by big factions including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Golkar.
In Semarang, Central Java, dozens of students held a rally in front of the provincial legislature building to express their opposition to the bill.
The country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has repeatedly said that the bill does not protect the people's rights to safe and affordable water.
According to Erman, House commissions III and VIII oppose the bill, for different reasons. Commission III receives input from the agricultural ministry, while Commission VIII gets input from the energy and mineral resources ministry.
The agricultural ministry is fighting to protect farmers' access to water for irrigation, and the energy and mineral resources ministry has said the bill fails to regulate groundwater, which falls under its authority.
PDI-P, the largest faction in the House, said the bill was the best piece of legislation for the water sector. "This is very good legislation and we must support it," said Karimun Usman.
Academics from state and private universities have repeatedly said the bill benefited the private sector only. "You won't find the word 'privatization'. They made it complicated so that common people wouldn't understand," hydrologist Gatot Irianto of the Bogor Agriculture Institute said.
Controversial articles
Melbourne Age - February 19, 2004
Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- A study has found that, despite entrenched corruption in Indonesia's legal system, the country's poor are having some success in fighting corruption through the courts at a local level.
The surprising results of the World Bank research were released as debate continues to rage over the decision last week by the Supreme Court to overturn the corruption conviction and jail sentence of parliamentary Speaker and Golkar Party chairman, Akbar Tandjung.
The World Bank director for Indonesia, Andrew Steer, said the 14-month study, Village Justice in Indonesia, found that "corruption is not so ingrained in Indonesia that citizens have come to accept it".
He said although the poor were often frustrated by powerful interests in fighting corruption, "when these cases do make it to trial the communities are quite satisfied with the outcomes".
The bank followed 18 cases across Indonesia, including 14 that involved corruption in village development programs where the World Bank now concentrates most of its effort.
It found that if civil society groups, including religious institutions, legal aid lawyers and local media, got involved in a case, there was a good chance of justice being done.
Five cases have so far made it to court, with all of the defendants charged with corruption. In all cases, the defendants were found guilty, fined and sent to jail for periods of between one and eight years.
Some of the other cases were resolved without legal action but in at least five cases attempts to recover money stolen from the community projects failed, often because of corruption in the legal system.
A typical case was in Ayawan, a remote rural village in Central Kalimantan where the village head stole about 17,000 rupiah ($A2600), which he failed to return despite confessing and promising to do so.
"Attempts to hold him legally accountable are met with threats and intimidation from the police," the report said. "There are few prospects of a negotiated or a formal resolution and villagers have largely given up."
Despite such problems, the bank said the study showed it was worthwhile building a justice system "from the bottom up" by funding legal aid and supporting groups that could encourage villagers to repeat the successes in other villages.
The World Bank said that because Indonesian courts were not independent and had operated as part of government for more than 40 years, the challenge facing the country was "building, practically from scratch, the institutions that provide the foundation for law".
The Government was reluctant to take on the vested interests that benefited from a corrupt legal system, the bank said in a background document.
"The deep challenge of creating legal institutions where none existed previously is made even more difficult by the relatively low commitment by the current Government to a national judicial reform program." Despite statements from President Megawati Soekarnoputri, the bank said there had been little follow up to ensure reforms proceeded.
Jakarta Post - February 19, 2004
Jakarta -- City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said eight policemen had been named suspects for beating student protesters in front of the Supreme Court on February 12 and would be taken to public courts for trial.
The students were protesting during the reading of the Supreme Court's verdict on Akbar Tandjung's appeal.
The officers are to be charged with violating Article 351 and 352 of the Criminal Code on abuse and torture, which carry a maximum sentence of 32 months and three months, respectively.
On Wednesday, police questioned a number of students as witnesses in the case. Some were victims of police brutality and others were injured by flying bottles, which had provoked the clash.
Febby Dwi Rahmadi, a University of Indonesia student, has a long gash on the right side of his face, from his temple to his eye. He said police investigators were interested as to how he got his injury.
"I told them that when I fell in the stampede, a policeman kicked my face, and then I fainted."
| Focus on Jakarta |
Agence France Presse - February 21, 2004
Thousands of Jakarta residents have been forced to flee their homes by flood waters as deep as two metres, officials in the Indonesian capital said.
Wagiman of the Jakarta flood control centre said at least 10 neighbourhoods had been inundated, forcing at least 10,000 to seek temporary refuge in mosques or civic offices.
"Public kitchens have been readied but not yet set up. We will ask help from other agencies if the flood gets worse," he told AFP.
Koran Tempo newspaper reported that a boy aged 10 was electrocuted when he tried to lift a television above the water that poured into his house.
Floods close to one metre deep inundated hundreds of shops at a market in the Cipulir area of South Jakarta, swamping several cars and causing massive traffic jams.
A public order officer said waters reached two metres deep at Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta. In the north of the city, water as high as one metre flooded a posh residential area.
Flooding is a near-annual rainy season ordeal for residents in parts of the city of eight million.
Several days of rain that have fallen in Jakarta are nothing unusual for this time of year, the local weather office said.
Two years ago floods and landslides that hit several parts of Indonesia killed at least 147 people including 67 in the Jakarta region.
That disaster cut the main highway to Jakarta's international airport and inundated up to 20 percent of the city.
More than 330,000 people in the capital were left temporarily homeless amid allegations that the administration of city Governor Sutiyoso failed to put effective flood control measures in place.
The airport highway has since been reinforced with a flood wall and Sutiyoso has evicted thousands of people from riverside shanties because he alleged they contributed to flooding.
The meteorology bureau recorded 110 millimetres of rain in Jakarta on Thursday, and 150 millimetres at Depok on the southern outskirts, said Hariadi of the bureau. "This is still close to normal," he said.
Flooding occurs in Jakarta because many districts are below sea level or alongside rivers and their tributaries, Hariadi said.
Rain will continue for a few more days but with a reduced intensity of between 50-100 millimetres daily, he said.
Jakarta Post - February 19, 2004
Local officials, supposedly the frontline of the Jakarta administration's community fix for flooded areas, have done little to help inundated residents, often not even bothering to show up, flood victims said.
However, as water in some areas started to subside on Wednesday, many residents, apparently used to the floods -- and the lack of action -- downplayed the problem.
At Bukit Duri in South Jakarta, ankle-high water was a common problem for the residents, who said they had yet to prepare flood prevention measures.
"We have not prepared anything so far. No officials at the subdistrict or district levels have bothered to come here and check the area's condition," said Muhammad, a community head.
Officials usually came only after big floods forced residents to flee their homes.
Muhammad said the recent floods were not enough to worry residents, as they had experienced worse flooding in early 2002.
"Until we get information the water level at the Depok sluice- gate has reached 320 centimeters, then it's business as usual," he said. When the water rose to that level, houses in Bukit Duri along the Ciliwung River would be submerged up to their roofs.
"That's when residents will begin evacuating to a safer place," Muhammad said.
In 2002, at least 1,800 people in Bukit Duri had to flee their flooded homes.
At Cipinang Besar Utara, in East Jakarta, residents initiated the emergency measures.
"For the time being we don't need to set up tents. When the waters are higher, then we will set up a shelter at a nearby school," a resident, Yusuf, said.
So far there had been no instruction from subdistrict officials about flood prevention measures, he said.
Flooding occurs at the area annually. Although the government has deepened and widened the Cipinang River nearby to prevent flooding, one-meter-deep water still flooded the area on Tuesday.
However, the situation was different in Semanan, West Jakarta, where local officials provided meals for 50 families taking refuge at the nearby mosque.
The officials and companies around the area had set up a flood task force and provided 50 kilograms of rice and 20 boxes of instant noodles for a public kitchen. Officials from the Kalideres district community health center also provided medical services for the refugees.
"We are doing OK. Now, there is a health clinic and we are also given food twice a day. There is also a public bathroom convenient enough across the street," said Arsadi, an evacuee, who with his wife was tending their three small children.
On Monday, about 200 people sought refuge at the mosque after a meter-high flood inundated their houses.
Musa, the neighborhood chief, hoped that the officials would not only help them during flooding but would also find a solution to prevent the floods from reoccurring.
"We are fed up with the annual floods. We have sent requests to the West Jakarta municipality to address the problem but maybe they have disappeared in the jungle of bureaucracy," he said.
Home to 13 rivers, Jakarta has suffered flooding for more than 400 years.
The city administration has been criticized before for doing little to prevent floods. Meanwhile, it continues to issue permits for developers to build more buildings which take over green spaces that help drain water from streets.
| Environment |
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2004
Malang -- All government institutions, including state forestry company Perhutani, should observe a five-to-10-year moratorium on logging, while intensifying their reforestation activities, East Java Governor Imam Utomo said on Thursday.
He said institutions should not pay mere "lip service" to the moratorium and urged the public to monitor the implementation of the reforestation program.
The governor promised a monthly allowance of Rp 150,000 (US$17.8) to all those who planted trees, took care of them for several years and monitored three to four hectares of forest in their region.
Regarding cases of illegal logging in the Cangar forest in Malang, Imam said his administration would seek the approval of the province's legislative council to close the area and increase the number of forest guards.
He expressed concern over the construction of some buildings at the foot of Cangar hill.
Deutsche Presse Agentur - February 20, 2004
Jakarta -- The Indonesian government is going ahead with plans to build the country's first nuclear power plant in densely populated, earthquake-prone Central Java, officials said Friday.
"The first nuclear power plant should be in operation by 2016," Soedyartomo Soentono, chief of the National Atomic Agency (Batan) said.
Soentono explained that a comprehensive feasibility study was conducted in 2001 to 2002 by a national team supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on all possible energy sources to be used for electricity power generation in the country.
Based on that feasibility study's results, the use of a nuclear power plant in the country was feasible and "could not be avoided" to support electricity supply in the Java-Bali grid.
The feasibility study's conclusion was already formally submitted by IAEA to Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri in August of last year, he added.
The plant will be built on the Muria peninsula in Central Java, which has been under study for years, Soentono said.
Indonesian environmentalists have criticized the proposed plant, saying there are cheaper, safer ways of generating power since the country has abundant geothermal, coal and natural gas resources.
"It's too risky to built a nuclear power plant in crowded Java island. If anything happens, it will be a catastrophe," said Fabby Tumiwa from the Indonesian Environmental Organization (Walhi).
Tumiwa also argued that building a nuclear plant would be a major risk because of the frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes on the island.
Java accounts for more than 60 per cent of Indonesia's 215 million population who inhabit the 17,000 islands that comprise this sprawling archipelago nation.
Agence France Presse - February 17, 2004
Aras Napal -- The European Union's Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom ended a visit to a huge EU-funded conservation project, expressing alarm that a planned road network could spell disaster for it.
Work has already started on the Ladia Galaska network, which would link the west and east coasts of Aceh province in northern Sumatra and would cut through the heart of the Leuser Ecosystem.
"If a road cuts through this protected area it would be absolutely disastrous for the project," said Wallstrom.
The EU has spent 31 million euros (39.4 million dollars) on the conservation area since 1996 while the Indonesian government has contributed six million euros.
Wallstrom said late Monday, during a visit to a camp in the rainforest, that apart from damaging species the road network would give access to illegal loggers and poachers.
"This is exactly what happened in the Amazon," she told AFP, saying she would write to President Megawati Sukarnoputri to express concern. "We don't want to lose what has been achieved in protecting this unique area." The conservation area covers 2.6 million hectares, almost the size of Belgium. It is the habitat of Sumatran rhinos, orangutans, tigers and elephants.
"It is one of the world's ecological wonders," said development adviser Mike Griffiths, who helped set up the conservation project.
"There is colossal richness and biodiversity. Roads in a tropical rain forest are deadly," said Griffiths. He estimated that in some areas which would be isolated from the main forest by the planned new roads, 30 percent of species could be lost.
"We don't even need this road." The 1.5 trillion rupiah (179 million dollars) road project was launched by Aceh provincial governor Abdullah Puteh, who says it will end the isolation of remote settlements.
Conservationists have put forward alternative routes which avoid the conservation area.
"All over Indonesia roads have traditionally been a source of income for local governments," Griffiths told AFP. "Not just income from the road but opportunities for forest exploitation and ultimately conversion to plantations." Indonesia's Environment Minister Nabiel Makarim, who met Wallstrom Monday, said the planned road network would have adverse ecological, social and security aspects and would be subject to landslides.
He said a final decision on going ahead with the full network was still awaited from the central government. "We are still trying to convince the president (to stop the project)." EU involvement in the Leuser project ends in November. Wallstrom said she would keep pressing for the road network to be scrapped.
"It will make a scar on the environment which will be terribly difficult to heal," she said.
| Aid & development |
Jakarta Post - February 19, 2004
Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- The International Labor Organization (ILO) recommended on Tuesday the Indonesian government invest in labor-intensive public infrastructure projects and support small and medium enterprises in order to tackle poverty.
The ILO said in a statement, released in conjunction with a report titled Working Out of Poverty: An ILO Submission for Indonesian PRSP, that the Indonesian government must increase economic growth to between 5 percent and 6 percent to help create more than two million jobs per year.
"These recommendations emphasize the need to place employment issues at the center of the poverty reduction strategy based on the conceptual framework of 'Decent Work for All,'" Alan Boulton, country director of the ILO in Indonesia, said.
More than 42 million people in Indonesia were unemployed at the end of 2003, and that number is expected to exceed 45 million by the end of this year.
The head of the Center for Labor Development and Studies, Bomer Pasaribu, warned that unemployment could pose a threat to the upcoming legislative and presidential elections.
The ILO report said the Indonesian government should also identify sectors with employment potential, incorporate employment objectives into macro and sectoral policies, set clear employment targets, empower the National Tripartite Council and implement recent and proposed labor law reforms.
In addition, the government should improve the quality of education, particularly vocational training and enhance training for small and medium enterprises and informal sector operators.
The ILO also highlighted the need to implement the National Action Plan on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at the local level, and support young people in their transition from school to work.
According to the report, despite improved macroeconomic and political stability in Indonesia, economic growth remains below 4 percent, governance concerns persist and poverty reduction remains a tall mountain to climb.
It stated that 110 million of the 216 million people in Indonesia spent less than US$2 per day and remained vulnerable to falling back into severe poverty, despite the fact that poverty had been reduced from 27 percent of the total population in 1999 to 16 percent in 2003.
Furthermore, the country continues to under-perform in comparison to its neighbors in access to quality health, education and other basic services, as reflected in the National Millennium Development Goal indicators, the report said.
Weak governance is deterring investors and undermining services, especially to the poor, according to the ILO.
Although the government has implemented reforms that could lead to more effective and accountable government and an increase in growth rates, the focus must now be on the implementation of these reforms and putting in place an effective poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP), it added. The PRSP is scheduled to be completed in June this year.
The ceremony to mark the release of the report was attended by, among others, Joharis Loebis, chairman of the government's PRSP team, and Azita Berar-Awad from the ILO's Policy Integration Department.
| Health & education |
Agence France Presse - February 21, 2004
More than half of Indonesia's provinces have been affected by the dengue fever outbreak which has killed nearly 200 people, Department of Health data showed.
As of Friday afternoon the mosquito-borne virus had killed 195 people and infected 10,140 in 18 provinces since January 1, the figures showed. Indonesia has 32 provinces.
The department calls it an "extraordinary" outbreak because the number of infections is more than double those in the same period last year.
Most of the cases are on the island of Java, where more than half of Indonesia's 212 million people live.
The female mosquitoes which spread dengue breed in clean water that collects in containers. Health officials say efforts to counter the illness depend on the ability of people to keep their environment clean.
Cases of dengue have been increasing annually across Southeast Asia, the World Health Organization has said.
Dengue also peaks in cycles of about five years and the current infections come at the peak of that cycle, it said.
Reuters - February 18, 2004
Jakarta -- The death toll from a dengue fever outbreak hitting Indonesia's sprawling archipelago has climbed to 161, said health ministry data on Wednesday.
Dengue fever has traditionally been a killer across the world's fourth-most-populous nation, but the death toll so far this year is more than double the same period last year.
The latest figure was compiled from all of Indonesia's 32 provinces, while a count of 91 dead on Tuesday covered just seven and excluded densely populated Central Java.
"The number of deaths due to dengue fever from all of the provinces as of February 18 is 161," ministry spokeswoman Mariani Reksoprodjo told reporters. The total number of cases reported was 8,135.
The capital Jakarta -- a city of 12 million dotted with slums and sluggish and polluted rivers -- was the worst affected area in terms of deaths and cases, she said.
Health Minister Achmad Sujudi described the outbreak as a national catastrophe but declined to give further details.
Officials said they were still determining whether a new and stronger form of virus had caused the outbreak. "We still have to take blood samples and afterwards it would take two weeks to get the results," said Umar Fahmi, the top ministry official for communicable diseases.
In a bid to contain the disease, carried by the aedes aegpty mosquito, officials have been fumigating houses in the capital indiscriminately from slums to affluent suburbs. No vaccine exists for dengue fever, which causes a high fever and haemorrhaging.
| Armed forces/police |
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2004
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The Indonesian Military (TNI) conducted a major reshuffle with the appointment of Vice Marshall Wartoyo as chief of TNI general affairs, the first-ever promotion of a member of the Air Force to such a high position -- second overall -- in the military's command structure.
Wartoyo, current deputy chief of the Air Force, will replace Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago who is retiring in April. Rear Marshall Herman Prayitno was promoted to take Wartoyo's current position.
TNI Chief spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsuddin told The Jakarta Post that there was nothing special or strange in the reshuffle as it is done every April and October.
It is the first time for the Air Force to be entrusted with such a high position at the Cilangkap TNI Headquarters since 1965 following allegations of collusion with coup plotters -- widely blamed by the New Order government and Army figures on the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), however no independent investigation has conclusively identified the perpetrators.
The top TNI position, which has been dominated by the Army was only entrusted to a Navy man when then President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid appointed Admiral Widodo to replace General Wiranto.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri apparently differed on many more of her predecessor's policies than originally thought, and decided to go back to the old way by giving an Army man the top post.
Wartoyo's promotion is part of a long-awaited reshuffle that involves a total of 126 high-ranking officials in the Army, Navy, Air Force and TNI Headquarters.
Sjafrie denied that the reshuffle had anything to do with national elections, saying no officials who ended their service had been nominated by parties in the legislative elections on April 5 or look to be presidential candidates for any party.
"Forty-two officials, including outgoing Chief of TNI General Affairs Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago, are close to their mandatory pension age while more than 80 others will be rotated or promoted to higher positions," he said.
Djamari, who graduated from the Military Academy in 1971 was in the spotlight briefly when Wiranto appointed him in May 1998 as chief of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) to replace Lt. Gen. Jhonny Lumintang, who was unceremoniously and controversially axed after just 18 hours on the job.
Asked whether the replacement of Djamari with an Air Force officer would not affect the ongoing military operation in war- ravaged Aceh, Sjafrie said that there were no problems and the new official would do his best for all military personnel in the military operation.
The military leadership also appointed Col. Hotmangaradja as Army spokesman to replace Brig. Gen. Ratyono who is also retiring soon.
Hotmangaradja who graduated from the Military Academy in 1978 and developed his military career in the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) is the son of late Brig. Gen. Pandjaitan who along with six other Army generals, was killed in the aforementioned 1965 coup attempt.
| Military ties |
World Crisis Web - February 18, 2004
William Hardiker -- In considering what constitutes an act of terrorism, one must first determine if terrorists were in fact those responsible. Next, one must ask what exactly is a terrorist. It would seem that the general consensus, despite the nature of the atrocity, is that those who act without government support and sponsorship are those who in fact constitute terrorists.
This, however, leaves the greater proportion of terrorist acts outside of the accepted definition. That is, government supported and condoned terror is by far the greatest perpetrator of terrorism past and present. Israeli terrorism against Palestinians for instance is of a level unsurpassed today, yet it does not fall into the accepted definition of terrorism. As a consequence, Israel cannot condone a Palestinian state, for that would cease to allow Palestinians to belabeled "terrorists", just as Israel is not considered a terrorist state.
Israel would be forced into treating Palestinians as the enemy, but also as a people who possess dignity and who are entitled to respect and humanity.
Their is a moral and ethical issue that Australian's must consider, after the announcement that the Australian Howard government, at the behest of the Bush Administration, is determined to renew ties with the 10,000 strong elite Indonesian special forces unit known as Kopassus.
The unit that has a proven track record in terrorism -- from the torture and murder of political opponents, to systematic violence against the entire population in East Timor, West Papua and Aceh. Kopassus has a long and comprehensive record of human rights abuses, all overlooked, and thus condoned by the American and Australian governments and military. The renewal of ties with Kopassus, broken off after invasion of East Timor, is, like so much else, flimsily justified as part of the "war on terrorism" alone.
Few things however expose the fraudulent nature of the "war on terrorism" as much as the Australian governments decision.
This is the dilemma that we face when considering normalizing relations with the foreign policy of nations that are widely considered by human rights groups and other international organizations to constitute human rights abusers, but deemed in the National interest. No nation comes even close to matching the number of terrorist acts committed by the worlds leading exemplar of democracy, the USA. The record stands in excess of two hundred, as defined under the English dictionary, definition since 1945.
The power of the USA propaganda apparatus has ensured that it's human rights record and foreign policy insurrection into the business of other states has been down played, white washed or politically manipulated in order to enable justification, leaving the domestic population in full compliance, and even proud of their countries global efforts to promote peace, democracy, and equality.
There is no doubt that Kopassus is a formidable military unit, as its daring actions, such as the 1998 storming of a hijacked Geruda plane in Bangkok by Muslim extremists, exemplifies. However, Kopassus forces are called upon whenever the most violent and heinous tasks are deemed necessary by Jakarta.
They are associated with political killings and disappearances during the Suharto period, and were very much involved in the struggle against East Timor's independence, where they incited the violence in the wake of the 1999 referendum.
Recently a Kopassus Lieutenant colonel and six soldiers were convicted of murdering Papuan leader, Theys Eluay -- the intention being to suppress separatist sentiment in the province.
Complicating matters for the USA in their desire to renew close ties with the Indonesian government (TNI) and Kopassus was the attack last August that left three teachers dead, including two American citizens. This issue is a major stumbling block for the renewal of USA/TNI relations, and one suspects that George Bush has asked his Asia Pacific "pal" to step in on his behalf and shore up support whilst the "dust settles", and has promised that financial and military aid and military exercises with Indonesia can proceed.
However it is not all plain sailing fort the Howard government. According to a report initiated by Action In Solidarity With Asia And The Pacific (ASAP) on September 3rd, 2003, by restarting co- operation with Kopassus, the Howard government is "interfering with Indonesian politics on the side of the most militaristic and anti-democratic groups. It is helping Jakarta to defeat the movements for genuine democracy and social justice, which began with the overthrow of Suharto in 1998".
The Australian government is following the USA lead yet again in renewing closer ties with Indonesia's Kopassus Special Forces. Australian Defense secretary Robert Hill has stated that military ties with the Indonesian army and it's special forces unit, Kopassus, would not be affected by their involvement in Jakarta's attack on the "rebellious" Aceh Province (in other words the crimes committed against the independence fighters and civilians, of which reports have leaked out despite a strict banning of journalists to cover the crushing of the insurgents and indiscriminate killing of the population; something Kopassus has proven itself more than proficient at).
If the record of these forces do not constitute acts of terrorism over many years, then one wonders what in fact does. Few things expose the fraudulent nature of Australia's participation in the USA led "war on Terrorism" than such a decision. It just does not work that certain terrorist organizations can be overlooked, or even benefited from, and others pursued and eliminated. John Howard's decision to overlook Kopassus' conspicuous record is a transparent indication of the real meaning of "the war on terrorism", and we should all take careful note.
Having established Australia's presence in East Timor, the government has been quick to resume relations.
Canberra has regarded the TNI as important in ensuring political stability, to the advantage of Australian capitalism in Indonesia. The "war on terror", and the argument that such specialist forces as Kopassus would be essential in the event of, for instance, the hijacking of an Australian commercial aircraft in Indonesia, may have some merit, but one can be sure the Australian militaries plans go a lot further in their desire to re-establish close ties.
Australian Defense force chief General Peter Cosgrove revealed as much by indicating that joint military exercises will be considered in the future. "Hostage rescue" is clearly a poor attempt to dismiss the concerns of broader co-operation.
Foreign Affairs Minister Downer, known for his unusually naive and deliberately misleading take on Australia's position in world affairs, made the absurd claim that Kopassus units would be carefully "screened" to make sure none of their rank had been involved in untoward behaviour -- that is, one presumes, human rights abuses -- or ties to militia such as Laskar Jihad. As far as criticism of Kopassus' deplorable record of atrocities, Downer simply dismissed this as an "esoteric debate".
There is no doubting that the essential role of Kopassus remains unchanged since the days of President Suharto along with TNI forces. They were directly involved in the militia violence on East Timorese in 1999 that caused the deaths of hundreds of pro- independence supporters. There is also little doubt that Kopassus trained Laskar Jihad.
South East Asia is of essential geo-strategic importance to the United States in developing a military presence in the region. China, an emerging powerful world player will be Washington's principle motive for establishing such a presence in order to maintain a strong ally, whilst addressing it's "War on Islam/terrorism".
It is impossible to know what atrocities are being carried out in Aceh Province, since the Indonesian government has banned all media coverage of the conflict. Despite this, the Howard government sees no contradiction in resuming relations with Kopassus, and continues to insist on the importance of supporting the United States in its war against Islam.
[William Hardiker is a journalist and activist living in Australia.]
| Business & investment |
Financial Times - February 20, 2004
Shawn Donnan, Jakarta -- Investors handed a vote of confidence to Indonesia's banking sector on Friday, taking minority stakes in four leading banks off the government's hands for $184 million.
Indonesia was the economy hit hardest by the Asian financial crisis and analysts say the banking sector, recapitalised to the tune of 400,000 billion rupiah ($47.6 billion), has yet to begin the kind of lending to local corporations needed to spur on growth.
However, Jakarta has been successful in unloading the banks that ended up in its hands as a result of the crisis, often to foreign investors.
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, which is due to close its doors on February 27, said on Friday it had sold stakes in Bank Danamon, Bank Niaga, Bank Internasional Indonesia and Bank Central Asia. About 60 per cent of the buyers were domestic investors, with the remainder from offshore.
Most popular, Ibra officials said, was 7.85 per cent in Bank Danamon, the private placement of which was eight times subscribed. Shares in Danamon, Indonesia's fifth-largest bank by assets, closed up almost 10 per cent. A consortium led by the Singapore government's investment vehicle, Temasek Holdings, last June bought a 51 per cent stake in Danamon for $350 million, paying 1,202 a share.
Danamon this week reported a 61 per cent surge in its 2003 net profit to 1,529 billon rupiah and has drawn added interest from investors as a result of its deal to buy 75 per cent of one of Indonesia's biggest motorcycle finance companies, Adira Finance.
Danamon's shares on Friday closed at 2,825 rupiah a share with the 7.85 per cent sold by the government sold for 2,600 rupiah a share, Ibra officials said.
Also placed on Friday were: 1.99 per cent of Bank Internasional Indonesia at 105 rupiah a share; 1.48 per cent of Bank Central Asia at 3,800 rupiah a share, and 5.65 per cent of Bank Niaga at 35 rupiah a share.
Jakarta Post - February 20, 2004
Jakarta -- Publicly-listed retailer PT Hero Supermarket said on Friday its net profit had plunged by 93 percent last year, due to the cost of repositioning its business activities amid tightcompetition in the country's retail sector.
In a press statement on Friday, the company said its profit had dropped to only Rp 2 billion (about US$238,095) last year, from Rp 32 billion in 2002. Sales surged by 24 percent to Rp 3 trillion, but its operating profit declined to Rp 43 billion fromRp 48 billion.
Hero president Ipung Kurnia said the company had closed down several of its stores and impaired its bakery business and other assets, at a cost of Rp 49 billion, which he said was largely to blame for the decline.
Analysts said that for the past three years, Hero had been under pressure from French hypermarket operator Carrefour, which has opened outlets near Hero outlets. Hero cannot match the prices offered by the French hypermarket.
Analysts also said that Hero had larger operating costs as a result of stiffer competition in the retail sector, thus reducing its profit margin.
In a bid to compete with hypermarket giants such as Carrefour and Dutch Makro, during 2003 Hero had tried to expand its business by opening four Giant hypermarket outlets, eight Guardian pharmaceutical outlets and four Starmart stores.
The company had also acquired 22 Tops supermarkets in May last year -- to be re-branded and integrated into the Hero supermarket chain -- in a bid to accelerate the expansion of its network at a relatively low cost.
"Our key priorities are to reposition our supermarket business and continue to expand Giant and other successful formats," said Ipung in a statement.
The company currently operates 222 outlets and employs approximately 10,000 people.
Asia Times - February 20, 2004
Bill Guerin, Jakarta -- Despite the World Bank's recent official criticism of counter-trade policies, last week Indonesian Trade and Industry Minister Rini M Soewandi promised that Jakarta will continue to maximize such deals to expand the country's export markets.
Counter-trade, officially defined as a practice whereby a supplier commits contractually to reciprocate and undertake certain specified commercial initiatives that compensate and benefit the buyer, is being increasingly viewed by producers and nations as an excellent mechanism to gain entry into new markets. But in a statement this month, the World Bank said such policies might have an adverse effect on trade competition.
Soewandi, however, pointed out that amid slow global economic growth and tighter global trade competition, creativity and innovation in opening new markets is vital for Indonesia, a country that recognized the opportunities surrounding counter- trade long ago, becoming the first country to mandate this form of trade in 1982. Now, an estimated 130 countries are doing almost US$500 billion worth of global trade under counter-trade- related schemes, an indication of how substantial a part counter-trade plays in international political and commercial transactions, which helps explain further why Indonesia's interest in counter-trade is taking off.
Counter-trade per se actually offers five possibilities: barter; buy-back; counter-purchase; tolling; and offset, the biggest, which includes direct and indirect offsets and which are particularly important in regard to the trading of arms.
Companies in countries such as the United States have to comply with offset demands when selling arms abroad, mainly to more developed countries. In direct offset, the supplier agrees to incorporate materials, components or sub-assemblies procured from the importer -- an unlikely scenario for weaponry deals with Indonesia, where the US has an arms embargo -- though there is an active offset program relating to state-owned aerospace manufacturer IPTN and state-owned railways manufacturer INKA.
And although bilateral relations between Indonesia and the United States have improved since Indonesia joined the US-led global war against terrorism, there have been no indications that the US will ease its arms embargo, including the supply of spare parts, on Indonesia. Despite US officials' promises to lift it, Congress has refused to budge until Jakarta admits to the military's role in the East Timor carnage and resolves the murders of two American schoolteachers that occurred at the Freeport gold mine in Papua in 2002.
As a result, Indonesia has been forced to look elsewhere in its quest for arms, in particular Washington's former Cold War arch enemy and foe Russia. And by procuring Russian jets, helicopters and armored vehicles from the former communist giant to modernize Indonesia's obsolescent armed forces, Megawati has caught US President George W Bush and the powerful US arms brokers wrong- footed.
Washington foe becomes Indonesian friend
By seeking military support from countries more ready to barter with Jakarta, President Megawati Sukarnoputri has not only manifestly increased the country's trade prospects but pleased her military top brass as well.
Backed by military chiefs, Megawati has pressed ahead with a new foreign-policy paradigm geared at reducing the country's dependence on Western weaponry. Less than 40 percent of Indonesia's fleet of 90 military aircraft, most of them US- and British-made, are reportedly grounded due to shortages of weaponry and spare parts.
The US continues to prohibit the sale of spare parts to Indonesia, and the United Kingdom has protested against the use of its British Aerospace Hawk jets in the ongoing war against separatist rebels in Aceh, pointing out that it had sold the jets to Indonesia on condition that they would be used for defensive measures.
But during a historic visit to Russia last April, Megawati and President Vladimir Putin inked a deal worth nearly $200 million that saw Jakarta take delivery of four Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets and two Mi-35 assault helicopters, with 14 more ordered.
Indonesia relied heavily on Russian military assistance in the early 1950s, when Russia was a part of the Soviet Union, and ministers and military top brass have often conveyed their enthusiasm for buying jet fighters and weapons from the former members of the Warsaw Pact because of the prolonged US arms embargo on Indonesia.
Furthermore, in retaliation against an earlier US decision to link sales of nine F-16 fighters with human-rights abuses in Indonesia, former president Suharto canceled a planned deal at the start of the economic crisis in 1997 and switched to Russia. The latter agreed to a counter-trade deal because it could not offer export credit facilities or offset deals like the US. Suharto said Jakarta would buy 12 Su-30K fighters and eight Mi-17-IV helicopters from Russia, and several French Mirage 2000 fighters. The aircraft were to have been delivered in 2000.
More recently Jakarta had bought Russian weapons, including 10,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles, a squadron of naval Mil-2 helicopters and 12 BTR-80A amphibious carriers for the marines.
And on October 5, the first two Mi-35 helicopters were air- freighted to Jakarta in a Russian Antonov-124 plane in good time to take part in the parade on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of the Indonesian army. Military chief Endriartono Sutarto told a press conference that the latest purchase was "just the beginning".
The air force wants several squadrons of Sukhoi Su-27 interceptors, long-range S-300 missiles and shorter-range systems such as the SA-15 Gauntlet or shoulder-fired Igla.
"We are seeking alternatives for getting new equipment to avoid being dictated to over something that we purchase but cannot fully use," Sutarto said.
On Wednesday, navy chief of staff Admiral Bernard Kent Sandakh was reported as saying that an earlier delay in deliveries of further helicopters because of "payment problems" had now been resolved.
Though the Pentagon had sought to stop the purchase of the Russian military hardware and undermine Jakarta-Moscow ties, fearing a lessening of US domination in Southeast Asia, Megawati and Putin revived a Soviet-era relationship between the two countries in the face of growing distance from Washington.
A Putin spokesman said at the time that the Indonesia-Russia relationship would become a foundation of policy direction for Russian foreign policy, and a key factor to stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
Megawati faces rough seas
It was hardly smooth sailing for Megawati, however. Jakarta's new trade in arms is being funded largely through counter-trade mechanisms, and the Sukhoi deal, funded with 12.5 percent cash and the remainder through a counter-trade scheme, involving Soewandi's ministry and state-logistics agency Bulog, caused great consternation among some legislators who claimed the scheme had bypassed the Defense Ministry.
The ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) successfully foiled attempts to destabilize the government and impeach Megawati over the issue. The trading benefits inherent in the purchase helped stifle dissent in parliament.
As a result of Indonesia's counter-trade moves, exports were up 6.76 percent to $61.02 billion in 2003, with non-oil and gas exports rising 5.18 percent to $47.38 billion. The export of $57.2 million in crude palm oil to Russia as part of the military-hardware deal also helped toward an 8.09 percent increase in animal and plant oil exports to $2.91 million last year. A total of 300,000 tons of palm oil valued at $108 million is to be delivered to Russia by next October.
By resorting to counter-trade, Indonesia also saves precious foreign exchange, sells its agricultural commodities abroad and frees itself up from the restrictive policies of developed nations in protecting their own farm products.
Indonesia was the first country ever to mandate counter-trade when in 1982 a new government policy required all offshore public procurement valued above a certain minimum level and financed from the national budgets to be balanced by counter-purchase contracts involving the sale of non-oil-and-gas products abroad.
By 1985 counter-trade agreements worth $1.5 billion had been signed with 22 countries for the supply of non-oil commodities. Though counter-trade later declined and almost stopped because of the dearth of public tendering during the financial crisis, it has been on the up under Megawati and her able lieutenant, Soewandi.
There are many more non-aligned relationships being signed, sealed and delivered in the remaining few months of the Megawati administration.
Focus shifts to alternative markets
Commenting on the collapse of the World Trade Organization summit at Cancun in Mexico last year, Soewandi promised that Indonesia would focus more on developing countries as alternative markets. Before heading for Libya from Cancun, she visited Pakistan, where she and counterpart Humayun Akhtar Khan signed an agreement to work on a closer economic partnership (CEP). A counter-trade deal is also in place with Pakistan.
From Pakistan Soewandi flew to Tripoli to prepare for Megawati's visit there last September. The latter was the second world leader, after Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Arnaz, to welcome Libya back into the fold after the lifting of United Nations Security Council-imposed economic sanctions on Libya.
The resulting new initiative with Libya had spawned a counter- trade deal involving Libyan crude oil in exchange for commodities and military accessories, such as uniforms and shoes. The deal covered 5,000 barrels of Libyan crude a day and delivery of the oil, worth about $40 million per month, will start this month.
Soewandi's own Cancun stance, where she spiritedly defended the interests of developing-world farmers, arguing that they needed a world trading system that would help them eat three meals a day, followed by the Tripoli initiative was yet another slap in the face for the United States.
And despite Indonesian legislator's concerns, counter-trade deals have continued. Last year Poland offered tanks to Indonesia in exchange for receiving part payment in palm oil. Jakarta had expressed interest in old post-Soviet equipment from Poland but the standard tanks of the era, weighing some 45-50 tons, were deemed too heavy, and talks are focusing on armored personnel carriers instead.
A $100 million counter-trade deal with Hanoi for investments in Vietnam's fertilizer industry in return for rice and sugar imports is in the cards. It will allow Indonesia to invest in fertilizer projects in Vietnam and benefit from the lower costs of liquefied natural gas (LPG) in the country. LNG is a raw material used in the manufacture of fertilizers. Indonesia will in turn import rice and sugar of equal value. Megawati is scheduled to visit Hanoi this month.
Aside from trade deals made to boost weaponry, Jakarta, led from the front by Soewandi, has been singularly aggressive in entering non-traditional markets that have the potential of becoming important trade partners. Currently, the country's exports to non-traditional markets account for about 8 percent of total exports. Exports to Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Jordan and Yemen totaled some $1.8 billion last year and exports to African markets, mainly Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Sudan and Algeria, reached $1.2 billion.
Though the barter process used to buy the Russian hardware is somewhat more sophisticated than when Javanese cavemen swapped chickens for goats, Jakarta is, at least so far, still making use of the concept in its very simplest form.
But, as Soewandi pointed out last week, the government expects between 30 and 50 percent of imports for its projects to be obtained through counter-trade, and those chunks of the state budget set aside every year to import equipment for the armed forces, police, customs and other state institutions could well be made via counter-trade.
Radio Australia - February 17, 2004
The impact of the financial crisis which devastated the economy is still being felt by taxpayers. Seven years after the crash of 1997 -- Indonesians are now set to face a multi-billion dollar bill. In two weeks time the government agency charged with recovering the fortune spent on propping up the country's banks during the crisis, will close its doors. But its recovered less than 30 per cent of the total and yet says its done a good job.
Presenter/Interviewer: Karon Snowdon
Speakers: Professor Hal Hill, Australian National University
Snowdon: 600-trillion rupiah is a lot of money. In current dollar terms, that's about 70-billion US or 90-billion Australian dollars. That's how much public money was poured into the 90 per cent of Indonesia's banks which faced collapse during the financial crisis of the late 1990's. The government had no choice but to prop them up, but the idea was to retrieve the money by taking over the bank assets and selling them to investors.
Trouble was many of the assets didn't even exist or were not worth as much as claimed by the bank owners -- many of them crooks who happily took the government's money. IBRA -- the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency had the job of taking over some of the banks, restructuring the assets and getting the money back. It managed to retrieve only 30 per cent, leaving taxpayers ultimately to meet the bill of the remaining 400-trillion rupiah.
Convenor of the Indonesia Project at the Australian National University, Professor Hal Hill, says its no wonder IBRA's job is incomplete, given the level of political interference and because it had seven bosses in six years.
Hill: For the debt work-out process to operate effectively, it really had to be much more depoliticised. That is there had to be genuine professional negotiations, creditors and debtors had to work together, both sides had to take haircuts, and when a decision was reached that should have been it. None of those requirements operated in the case of IBRA. So the result is as you would expect.
Snowdon: And too much political baggage from the past?
Hill: Yes too much political baggage from the past, but also into the future. And the additional complication in the work-out process are the elections being held this year and the necessity to fund them. All the political parties through the parliament and through other means have had their hand in the process trying to delay it because they want to fund their operation.
Snowdon: IBRA has been accused in some cases of selling back assets to the original owners at discount prices and some parliamentarians are calling for an independent audit of its operations. The powerful Audit Agency has confirmed it plans to undertake that audit. IBRA's Chairman, Syafruddin Temenggung told a press conference this week the massive loss of state funds is the cost of the crisis. He criticised the government's interventions and the poor quality of many of the assets IBRA took over. He also reportedly criticised the government for its failure to prosecute those bank owners who's actions were illegal and who never returned the money they stole. Hal Hill says the private bad debts of the old days have been transferred to burden the public and Indonesia's future.
Hill: Indonesia's gone from having almost no public debt under Suharto to a very large public debt which eventually is going to have to be paid for by taxpayers. Now, it was always going to be difficult, the problem is only partly one of political will, there's also things like bankruptcy procedures and so on which have to be worked out. And yes the legacy is unfortunatley it means Indonesians are going to have to pay higher taxes in the future and they're going to have less public goods, like education, hospitals and roads which are desperately needed in the country.
Snowdon: So Indonesia is paying for this for many years to come?
Hill: Yes that's exactly what's happened. Because its been transferred into public debt, into the bonds, which at some stage are going to have to be paid for, then the cost of inaction and very poor recovery rates is higher taxes or lower public goods in the future.
Snowdon: And is there a risk of an overhang of some of these non-performing loans as well still in the system?
Hill: Oh yes, it means actually that potential foreign investors, because of the uncertainty are going to continue to have a really high risk premium for any business in Indonesia. We're almost seven years after the onset of the Asian crisis, domestic investment's also low, I mean its just unfortunate you've got this risky uncertain business environment and this is another part of it.