Aceh

Indonesian soldiers kill rebel leader: military

Agence France Presse - March 18, 2004

Banda Aceh -- The Indonesian military said Thursday it had shot dead a key figure in the self-styled government proclaimed by separatist rebels in Aceh province.

Alpian, a 39-year-old sub-district chief for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) chapter in South Aceh's Meukek area, was shot dead by army troops during a skirmish on Wednesday, said Captain Candra, a local military spokesman.

Troops seized ammunition and GAM flags from the dead man. No immediate comment was available from GAM. Candra said soldiers on Thursday also arrested a 16-year-old guerilla in Meukek.

Separately, a police chief in Bireuen district in northern Aceh said the rebels had shot dead a 48-year-old village chief on Wednesday.

The military says it has killed more than 1,300 rebels during an offensive which began last May to crush the separatist guerrillas. About 2,000 guerrillas and their sympathisers have been arrested or have surrendered, it says.

GAM has been fighting since 1976 for independence for the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

GAM: Prisoners tortured before meeting swedes

Associated Press - March 19, 2004

Jakarta -- Indonesian police tortured imprisoned rebels from Aceh province to warn them that they must confess to terrorist attacks when they are interviewed by visiting Swedish investigators, a spokesman for the guerrillas said Friday.

The Swedes were in Aceh for two days this week to look into the Indonesian government's position that the Free Aceh Movement is a terrorist organization and that Stockholm should take legal action against the movement's exiled leadership in Sweden.

"The prisoners were tortured to admit to whatever the interrogators charged them with," rebel spokesman Sofyan Dawood said in a telephone interview from an undisclosed location. "They said it was horrifying."

Indonesian police immediately denied the accusations. Swedish diplomats in Jakarta weren't available for comment.

The Swedish delegation, headed by prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand, left Aceh Thursday after a two-day visit to the region, where separatists have been fighting for independence for almost three decades.

Indonesia repeatedly has urged Sweden to take legal action against the movement's chief, Hasan di Tiro, and other rebel leaders. Sweden granted them asylum and citizenship in the 1980s.

The Indonesian government claims that the insurgents were responsible for a September 2000 blast at the Jakarta Stock Exchange that killed 15 people, several other bombings, two assassinations, six arson attacks at schools, and 243 cases of kidnapping. The Free Aceh Movement strongly disputes the accusations, saying its actions are confined to the province of 4.1 million people on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

Dawood said prisoners were tortured before they were interviewed by the Swedes to force them to back the government's terrorism charges.

A prisoner identified only as Dhani was beaten after the interview on Thursday because his testimony was different than what was agreed upon beforehand with Indonesian police, Dawood said.

May. Gen. Bachrumsyah Kasman said police did "not intimidate prisoners" ahead of the interviews with the Swedish team.

It was impossible to independently verify the rebels' claim, because Indonesia's military has restricted media access to the region.

During their two-day visit to Aceh, the Swedish delegation toured several prisons and inspected a school allegedly destroyed by the rebels.

In May, the government in Jakarta pulled out of internationally sponsored peace talks, ended a six-month cease-fire, and arrested a group of rebel negotiators after reprimanding them for refusing to accept an autonomy deal.

The government proclaimed martial law in Aceh in May, and launched a military offensive against rebel strongholds. The operation is ongoing.

The military claims to have killed 1,500 rebels and captured 2,000 more during the past year. But, human rights groups say most of the casualties have been unarmed villagers killed in army sweeps.

Acehnese rebels urge voting in elections

Agence France Presse - March 17, 2004

Jakarta -- Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province urged Acehnese on Wednesday to vote in next month's elections and said they would not try to disrupt the polls.

Ishak Daud, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) operations commander in East Aceh, said the security presence is so intense that he expects all electors will cast ballots to avoid physical reprisals.

"We urge them to vote rather than be beaten," Daud told AFP in Jakarta by satellite telephone, adding he does not think GAM will seek to disrupt the polls.

Acehnese will vote in the April 5 poll under martial law, which was imposed last May when the military launched an all-out offensive to wipe out the rebels.

Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya, the martial law administrator, however said Tuesday GAM has started trying to terrorise people to disrupt the vote.

He accused rebels of kidnapping a South Aceh chairman of the National Mandate Party and said they might threaten people who want to vote.

Group accuses security forces of intimidation in Aceh

Agence France Presse - March 15, 2004

A pro-independence group in Indonesia's Aceh province has accused police and troops of intimidation and violence in the run-up to the general election on April 5.

The Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) in a statement said troops or police threatened village chiefs in East Aceh and killed two uncooperative members of the public. Acehnese will vote under martial law, which was imposed last May when troops and police launched an all-out assault to crush separatist guerrillas.

SIRA said soldiers shot dead a village chief in Pidie district on December 12 because he refused to cooperate over election arrangements.

It said troops from the Kostrad strategic reserve abducted a vocal figure in the Ranto Panyang area of East Aceh on January 29. The man's body, showing mutilation and torture marks, was found a day later, SIRA said.

It said troops or police in at least three parts of East Aceh threatened village chiefs that they would shoot people unless the elections run smoothly.

Aceh military spokesman Asep Sapari said he had to check on the reported killings since they allegedly happened some weeks ago. "I am just questioning why such incidents, which happened a long time ago, are only brought out to the public now. The intentions of SIRA are questionable," Sapari told AFP.

He said the military and other authorities have not received any complaints of intimidation and the election campaign was proceeding smoothly.

The military has said it would welcome foreign election observers in Aceh but they will be barred from certain conflict-prone zones.

SIRA campaigns for an independence referendum in Aceh on Sumatra island, where the Free Aceh Movement has been fighting since 1976. SIRA's leader Muhammad Nazar was sentenced last July to five years' jail for sedition.

West Papua

Government planting 'time bomb' in Papua with policies

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2004

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- After the Acehnese, Papuans are seemingly the second group of people most opposed to the recent appointment by President Megawati Soekarnoputri of home minister Hari Sabarno as the ad interim coordinating minister for security and political affairs, replacing Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. This is because Hari is considered in Aceh and Papua one of those most responsible for the conflicts in the two provinces.

Compared to Hari, Susilo was seen as wiser and more accommodating in attempting to resolve the conflicts over the last four years. Hari is likely to have greater difficulty in dealing with Papua during his stint as top security minister because of his ambiguous policies in the past.

Hari and the chief of the Armed Forces Intelligence Body (BIA), A.M. Hendropriyono, both retired Army lieutenant generals, have been called to account for numerous problems resulting from the issuance of controversial Presidential Instruction No. 1/2001 and the review of Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua.

The two officials are seen as highly influential in the issuance of the presidential instruction and the review of the special autonomy law.

To some analysts, Susilo was the more competent and wiser leader, patiently listening to the people's aspirations. Papuans have expressed skepticism about the province's future under Hari, who is now expected to feel freer to implement his ambiguous policies in the province.

The issuance of Presidential Instruction No. 1/2003 to enforce suspended Law No. 45/1999 regarding the province's split into three separate provinces, and the ongoing review of Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua are ticking time bombs waiting to explode.

The splitting up of Papua is supported by the Indonesian Military (TNI) for business reasons and by Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which wants to end the Golkar Party's domination of the province.

Papuans are angry not precisely because of the presidential instruction, but by the way the large province was divided in violation of the Constitution and by the enactment of the two conflicting laws. They have accused the government of trying to phase out Papuans as an ethnic group.

Although the official announcement of the new Central Irian Jaya province was suspended following bloody protests by indigenous people in August 2003, Papua has already been divided with the formation of West Irian Jaya province and the naming of Abraham Octavianus Atururi as acting governor.

Moreover, the new province has been separated from Papua with regards to the organization and administration of the upcoming general election, a move that in the eyes of Papuans is further proof of Jakarta's attempt to erase Papua's identity.

It is indeed unfair that a presidential instruction has overturned a decision by the People's Consultative Assembly that recognized Papuans' constitutional right to maintain their ethnic identity, as stipulated in the special autonomy law. The government's half-hearted commitment to enforcing the law has increased social unrest and confusion among the Papuan elite.

Security authorities, politicians and religious leaders in Papua have recently warned the central government of Papua's increasing resistance and the possible failure of the elections in the province, after the government insisted it would go ahead with splitting up the province and the review of the special autonomy law.

During the New Order era, Papuans people were united in defying Jakarta because president Soeharto did not try to hide his government's policy of looting Papua's abundant natural resources and taking strict action against those who protested.

The ambivalence with which the current government has treated Papua has added new problems to old, unresolved issues, which could generate more communal clashes that claim more Papuan lives.

Megawati should bear in mind that the current approach her government has taken to solve the Papua issue has proven extremely unpopular and has only strengthened the Papuans' distrust of the government. It will be too difficult to resolve the problems in Papua if the people see themselves only as objects that can be abused at the whim of the government.

From the series of unpopular policies the government has passed, the nation's leaders apparently have misunderstood the main problems in the province. In other words, the government has lost the momentum to solve all of the past problems in the province. It has underestimated the complicated problems and has failed to learn from its mishandling of East Timor.

The Papuans' anger with the central government was voiced by more than 1,000 tribal leaders who gathered in Biak last month. Besides opposing the splitting of the province, the tribal leaders also called for the UN to investigate past human rights abuses, including the murder in November 2001 of proindependence leader Dortheys Hiyo Eluway.

If the government wants to regain the trust of Papuans, it should form an independent team to identify the relevant issues in Papua and commit itself to accepting the team's recommendations for resolving these issues.

The government should not feel it is losing face if the team recommends it revoke all the conflicting policies, enforce the special autonomy as it is, bring to court all past human rights abusers and help create a feeling of safety among Papuans.

And now would be a good time for the government to take such popular policies, to regain the trust and the political support of the people, especially in Aceh and Papua, ahead of the upcoming legislative and presidential elections.

'Papua division may end with separatism'

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2004

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The whole of Papua society could unite in a movement to secede from the Republic of Indonesia if the government insisted on splitting the province, a religious leader warned.

Jayapura Bishop Leo Labalaja told the Constitutional Court on Wednesday the separatist movement in Papua already had support from people at the grassroots level.

"If the government is reluctant to implement the special autonomy of Papua, intellectuals and bureaucrats may join with the people to form a freedom movement," he told the hearing, presided over by chief justice Jimly Asshidiqie.

Leo, who has served the Jayapura diocese for over a decade, said Papuan people expected the central government to trust them to manage their own life and culture.

"According to my observation, there would be less conflicts in Papua if the central government implements the special autonomy status. Let the people and the MRP manage themselves," he said, referring to the Papua People's Council.

The bishop was testifying in a case filed by Papuan legislative council member John Ibo, which challenges the Law No. 45/1999 on the partition of Papua into three provinces. It says the case is not legally binding.

The hearing is the latest development in the ongoing debate over whether to divide Papua. That question has caused a bloody tribal war in the province.

Last year, President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a presidential instruction to speed up the enforcement of the law.

However, opponents say the creation of the new provinces runs against the later Law No. 21/2001 that gives special autonomy to Papua. Under the special autonomy law, all crucial policies on Papua, including the partition policy, must be approved by the Papua People's Assembly (MRP), which does not exist yet.

The central government has many times delayed the establishment of the body, apparently worried by the powerful role it could have.

"The government must listen to the people. Papua has very complicated problems and a wrong step from the government could fuel bigger conflicts," Leo said.

Legislator Antonius "Tony" Rahael, who was involved in the deliberation of Law No. 21/2001, testified that Law No. 45/1999 was not legally binding after Law No. 21/2001 was issued.

Law No. 45/1999 was issued by the government of president B.J. Habibie in a bid to appease calls for freedom in the outlying province. At the time, about 100 Papua leaders had threatened to separate from the country.

"So that law was merely "candy" to calm down the Papuans," Rahael of the Indonesia Unity Nationhood (FKKI) faction said.

However, legislators involved in the deliberation of the Law No. 21/2001 failed to stipulate Law No, 45/1999 was not legally binding.

At least three people were killed during a clash between rival groups supporting and opposing the formation of the West Irian Jaya province after Law No. 21/2001 was passed.

FBI probes promising Papua leads

Far Eastern Economic Review - March 18, 2004

For the first time since it was called into the case, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is believed to be following several promising leads in the investigation into the slaying of two American teachers near the Papua mining town of Tembagapura in August 2002.

"They think they have leads to run this time," says one security expert familiar with the inquiry in the rugged Indonesian province.

Six FBI agents, the largest of the four teams to have visited so far, returned to Papua in late February. They are also staying for a month, longer than previous groups. The FBI was first called into the case soon after the murders. Despite devoting a lot of its resources to the war on terrorism, the FBI has prioritized the Papua investigation because Jakarta's failure to bring anyone to justice is having an adverse affect on relations between the US and Indonesia.

The US embassy has denied recent reports claiming that the bureau was now convinced military commanders had ordered the killings. In fact, the security expert says, one avenue the agents are pursuing is possible collusion between low-ranking soldiers and renegade elements of the Papuan separatist movement.

Labour issues

Labor protest hits Batam amid election campaign

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2004

Fadli, Batam -- Around 1,600 workers of PT Foster Electric Indonesia staged a protest on the industrial island of Batam, Riau province, on Thursday to demand the increase of their salaries.

Amid the three-week campaign period for the legislative election on April 5, involving 24 political parties, the protest was the biggest to hit the island this year.

The striking workers commenced their protest at around 8 a.m., demanding that the management raise their salaries and allowances.

The workers said they were paid only Rp 500,000 (US$58.8) a month, while the Batam authorities had set the city's minimum wage at Rp 602,000 per month.

The protesters also demanded that the sound-system company pay them transportation, food and housing allowances as recommended by Manpower Law No. 13/2003.

They said the management should provide female workers with two days leave for menstruation or Rp 25,000 a day for those who did not take the leave.

Protester Hendra Giri said the demands had been put to the company last February but the workers had not received a satisfactory response.

The current salaries, Hendra explained, were not sufficient to cover the workers' daily expenses, including rent and transportation fees. He said that most workers had to borrow money to pay for their basic needs.

"We know that our company has received many orders. This is proven by the fact that we have to work overtime for up to 50 hours per month," Hendra said.

He said the protesters would continue striking until their demands were heeded by the management.

During the protest, inside the factory compound many workers were observed singing. Others sat about idly, although they had clocked in.

The company's human resources manager, Erwan Effendi, said PT Foster could not afford to pay the workers more due to its financial problems.

The decision was made during a meeting between the management and representatives of the workers at the Batam manpower office in mid-February, he said.

"We conveyed the result of the meeting to the workers: that the company is not yet able to meet their demands. We will try to convince them to stop striking," Erwan added.

Batam manpower office head Pirma Marpaung admitted he was surprised by the scale of the protest considering that the government was trying to resolve the problem amicably.

"We will continue to approach them, so that they will agree to overcome this problem in the proper manner," he added.

IWD rallies champion women workers' rights

Green Left Weekly - March 17, 2004

James Balowski, Jakarta -- One thousand people from the Indonesian capital and the satellite cities of Bogor, Bekasi and Tangerang commemorated International Women's Day (IWD) with a march from the Hotel Indonesia roundabout to the offices of the coordinating minister for politics and security and the coordinating minister for people's welfare, before ending at the Presidential Palace.

In addition to women workers, hundreds of farmers from Cijeruk, Tangerang and Karawang and victims of recent land evictions in Jakarta participated in the IWD rally and march.

The coordinators of the Jakarta IWD event -- labour and women's rights activist Dita Sari and Raihana Diani, chairperson of the Acehnese Democratic Women's Organisation (ORPAD) -- told the marchers that the most important issues facing Indonesian women today are the need to gain free health care, particularly for women and children; a guarantee of full wages for working women when they take menstrual or maternity leave; establishing free and safe abortion clinics; and establishing day care centres for children.

Parliamentary elections are to be held on April 5 and this was reflected in the rallies this year.

At an IWD rally in the central Java city of Yogyakarta, members of the Struggle Committee for the Liberation of Women accused the parliamentary political parties of not fighting for women's rights. They also condemned violence against women in Aceh and West Papua and the rampant trafficking of women and children. In the first four months of the post-May 19 Indonesian military offensive against the Acehnese independence movement, at least 100 women were raped by soldiers, according to human rights organisations. Since then intimidation by the military has forced most Acehnese human rights activists to flee in fear for their lives and it has been impossible to accurately monitor ongoing violations of human rights in Aceh.

Women constitute only 10% of the members of the Indonesian parliament. In February 2003, the parliament passed a law recommending that 30% of each contesting party's candidates in the 2004 elections be women.

In Semarang, in Central Java, members of the Indonesian Women's Coalition which is made up of the National Student League for Democracy (LMND), the Muslim Student United Action Front and New Indonesian Communist Party, rallied in the centre of the city calling for the quota of women legislative candidates to be raised to 50%. They noted that none of the political parties had seriously tried to fulfil the 30% quota. They called for regulations and laws which discriminate against women to be annulled.

In Surabaya, in East Java, students from the Poor People's Front for Struggle and the National Students Front demonstrated at the governor's offices where they called on the people to unite to condemn the government because of its failure to provide prosperity and security for mothers and children. They also said the elections would not overcome the oppression of women.

The spokesperson for the action, Rudi Asiko, said that in commemorating IWD, it was hoped that women will rise up to resist the neoliberal economic policies and militarism of the President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government because they are hurting women severely.

National Students Front (FMN) spokesperson Sakir said the government had failed to reduce the number of maternal deaths, which still stands at 45 per 1000 births with 15,700 women dying during labour each year. He also quoted International Labour Organisation data which reveals that 30% of Indonesia's 650,000 prostitutes are minors. "Violence against women is also rampant. About 85% of the victims of sexual harassment are underage women", Sakir said.

In Palu, in Central Sulawesi, women's rights activists, students, housewives and sex workers held a demonstration at the city's main shopping centre. The action coordinator, Eko Arianto from the Peoples Democratic Party, called "on the state to provide guarantees to women workers and that they be paid wages in accordance with what they produce and the time they work, rather than being paid like part-time workers."

Land/rural issues

Four more civilians named suspects of Flores attack

Jakarta Post - March 17, 2004

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang -- Police here said on Tuesday they had named four more suspects charged with involvement in last week's deadly protest that killed four people in Manggarai regency on the eastern island of Flores.

Manggarai Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Wasiran Robert said the four brought the number of suspects to 14 people, all civilian locals.

The police arrested 15 people but released one due to a lack of evidence. They also seized 11 machetes, six sarongs and 20 pieces of ludung wood, which are believed to have magical powers against bullets and sharp weapons, along with 12 broken riot shields as evidence.

They arrested people are believed to have been responsible for the March 10 attack on a police station in the Manggarai regency capital, Ruteng. Police fired shots to disperse the crowd, killing four men and injuring 28.

No police officers were declared suspects in the deaths, but the district police chief in Ruteng was replaced and interrogated by a National Police team.

Wasiran said the dossiers on 10 of the civilian suspects were almost ready for submission to the court.

He said the National Police team has completed its investigation into the incident and returned to Jakarta, while a fact-finding team from the East Nusa Tenggara police remained in Ruteng to continue gathering data.

At least nine middle-ranking officers from the Manggarai police had been questioned so far by the National Police, Wasiran said.

Separately, NTT Police chief Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang said other officers implicated in the fatal shooting would also be questioned. He vowed to investigate the case thoroughly.

Wasiran added the situation in Ruteng had returned to normal and political parties were able to campaign peacefully.

Wasiran added that 10 victims shot in the attack were still in a critical condition and needed special medical care at a better- equipped hospital.

NTT Police had the authority to transfer the seriously wounded victims to other hospitals, he said.

"I've contacted the NTT Police but they're still awaiting clearance from the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta," he said.

Wasiran said the victims would also be questioned as witnesses when their conditions had improved.

The attackers were mostly coffee growers demanding the release of seven colleagues arrested for trying to plant coffee in a protected forest.

Komnas HAM to investigate Manggarai shooting

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2004

P.C. Naommy and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) revealed on Monday that it planned to send a fact-finding mission to investigate the shooting by police officers of demonstrating farmers in Manggarai, Flores, last week.

"There are a number of reasons for the sending of the team to Manggarai, including the fact that the shooting killed five people and injured dozens of others," Taheri Noor, a member of the commission, said during a meeting with a group calling itself the Manggarai People's Advocacy Team.

Promising to send the mission soon, Taheri said that the deaths of civilians indicated possible rights violations. He did not name the members of the team or when exactly the team would leave for Manggarai.

Erwin Usman, who led the advocacy team, said he expected the commission to investigate how it had happened that police officers had opened fire directly on civilians.

In Ruteng, Flores, the Manggarai diocese announced that an independent fact-finding team had started an investigation to find out what had really happened, Antara reported. "The team will conduct investigations on the ground so as to determine the facts of the case from various sources, including the police, local religious leaders, community leaders and the people actually involved in the incident," said Rev. Mali, the head of the diocese's justice and truth commission.

Meanwhile, National Police Headquarters announced on Monday that the Nusa Tenggara police had arrested ten suspects in the March 11 bloody incident. None of the suspects, however, were police officers.

"They were involved in the attack on the Manggarai subprecinct police office," deputy police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko told reporters here Monday. All of the suspects were caught red-handed carrying machetes during the incident, Soenarko said.

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Police chief Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang told reporters in Kupang on Monday that Manggarai police sub- precinct chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bonifasius Tompoi had been suspended from his post so as to facilitate the investigation. Tompoi had been replaced by Adj. Sr. Comr. Wasiran Robert, the head of internal supervision with the NTT police.

"The internal investigation aimed at finding out why our officers fired on the protesting farmers," he told reporters.

Around 400 coffee farmers stormed the Manggarai sub-prescient police office on March 11 to demand the release of seven locals who had been detained by police for planting coffee in a protected forest.

The police claimed they had opened fire on machete-wielding and stone-throwing farmers, who had ignored warning shots to disperse. Edward accused "provocateurs" of instigating the attack on the police office.

The Manggarai regency has banned agriculture in protected forests but locals have been ignoring the ban as they consider the land involved to be their ancestral land. Despite protests from farmers, the local administration has destroyed about 15,000 hectares of illegally cultivated coffee since last year.

Ten arrested following attack on Manggarai police station

Detik.com - March 15, 2004

Dian Intannia, Jakarta -- On Monday March 15, ten people from the Manggarai regency in the East Nusa Tenggara province were formally arrested as suspects in the attack on the Manggarai police station on March 10. The ten suspects are local residents who are believed to be responsible for the attack which resulted in the death of five people. The ten are FC (36), PE (42), PQ (40), AG (41), YB (49), PS (24), YD (30), NL (34), AA (35) and SH (33).

The deputy head of the public relations division from the Jakarta police headquarters, Brigadier General Soenarko, told journalists on Monday that arrest warrants have already been issued. However with regard to the articles under which they will be charged, police are still waiting for a report from the Manggarai police.

As well as the 10 suspects, seven other farmers are still being held for planting coffee in protected forests in Manggarai. It was the detention of these seven farmers which triggered the attack on the Manggarai police station.

Soenarko also explained that police are still waiting on the results of an internal investigation on the shooting by members of the Manggarai police of those who carried out the attack.

Meanwhile, with regard to conditions in Manggarai, Soenarko explained that the situation had returned to normal and election campaign activities are running according to schedule.

As reported earlier, following the incident, Manggarai police chief Deputy Superintendent Boni Fasius Tampoy was removed from his post on Friday and replaced by Deputy Superintendent Wasilan Robert. (gtp)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

'War on terrorism'

Judges may overturn Bali convictions

Melbourne Age - March 17, 2004

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- Seven of Indonesia's most senior judges have retired to consider their verdict in a case that could result in convictions against all leading Bali bombers being overturned.

The verdict also has implications for soldiers convicted of gross human rights abuses.

The judges of the new Constitutional Court, Indonesia's highest court, yesterday heard the final witness in an appeal by one of the lesser-known bombers, Masykur Abdul Kadir, who says he was wrongly convicted because the anti-terrorism law used against him was passed retrospectively.

A professor of law at the University of Indonesia, Maria Farida, told the judges the law was in breach of the Indonesian constitution. She quoted section 28-I of the constitution's second amendment, which appears to rule out prosecutions using retrospective laws.

It says in part: "The rights to life, freedom from torture, freedom of thought ... and the right not to be tried under a law with retrospective effect are all human rights that cannot be limited under any circumstances." All the main Bali bombers were charged under retrospective regulations enacted just days after the Bali attacks and made law last March.

Lawyers for the bombers have argued in lower courts against the retrospective nature of the anti-terrorism legislation, but judges have yet to say why they rejected their arguments.

Several judges yesterday pressed Ms Farida on whether an exception to the retrospectivity provisions could be made under international law in cases involving "extraordinary crimes", as has happened in other countries.

Ms Farida said Indonesia could not be bound by international conventions it had not yet ratified. Even if it was a signatory to the conventions, the highest law would still be the constitution, she said.

Indonesian courts are famous for their lack of independence, and for decisions based more on expedience than evidence, but the Constitutional Court remains an unknown quantity.

In its one judgement so far, the court showed its independence when it overturned a law banning members of Indonesia's banned Communist Party from standing at elections, as the constitution says "all citizens shall be equal before the law".

Wirawan Adnan, the lawyer for Abdul Kadir and other Bali bombers, said he was very confident he would win his case in a decision next month, opening the way for him to lodge appeals for all other bombers convicted under retrospective laws.

Mr Adnan did not suggest that Amrozi and other bombers were innocent, but said they were convicted under the wrong law and should have been charged under existing law.

He had presented three expert witnesses in what he said was a simple case to argue.

Overturning any conviction is certain to create an international outcry and lead to heavy pressure for police to arrest and prosecute under different laws.

But such a move would be sure to lead to serious "double jeopardy" arguments over whether the same evidence could be used to seek different convictions.

Indonesia jails five militants on terror charges

Reuters - March 16, 2004 Jakarta -- Five alleged members of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah group have been jailed on terror charges by an Indonesian court, the presiding judge who sentenced them said on Tuesday.

I Nyoman Sumanada, head of the Palu district court, said the five were sentenced on Monday to terms ranging from three to six years.

"Two were found guilty of hiding explosives for terrorism, one was found guilty of hiding information relating to terrorism, one was found guilty of giving money for terrorism and another was found guilty of hiding a terrorism suspect," Sumanada told Reuters by telephone from the eastern city of Palu, some 1,500 km (900 miles) north east of Jakarta.

Asked whether they were suspected members of the Jemaah Islamiah, Sumanada said: "Yes, that's right." Jemaah Islamiah, a Southeast Asian offshoot of al Qaeda, has been blamed for the Bali blasts in October 2002 which killed 202 people and a suicide bomb attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta last August which killed 12.

The defendants' name were listed as Firmansyah, Fauzan Arif, A'ang Hasanuddin, Fadjrin and Nizam, Sunanada said. They were detained last year in Central Sulawesi province.

Government & politics

Government issues Rp 2 trillion bonds, average yield 11.57%

Dow Jones Newswires - March 16, 2004

Jakarta -- The Indonesian government Tuesday issued Rp 2 trillion ($1=IDR8,457) of bonds with a weighted average yield of 11.57%, the finance ministry said.

The weighted average yield was in line with market expectations and lower than the 11.82% weighted average yield for the bonds it issued last month.

The ministry said it received Rp 5.67 trillion in total bids for the bonds, which will mature Dec. 15, 2012, with a coupon of 11%.

Analysts said the strong demand for the bonds was likely because banks are looking for new assets in which to park their excess liquidity as Bank Indonesia plans to reduce the frequency of the auctions of its Sertifikat Bank Indonesia notes to once a month in June or July from once a week currently to spur lending.

The government plans to issue bonds every month to raise a total of Rp 28 trillion this year to help finance the state budget. The government earlier this month issued $1 billion in global bonds.

The highest yield granted by the government in Tuesday's auction was 11.60% and the lowest was 11.40%, compared with the highest yield of 12% and the lowest of 11.65% in last month auction.

Utilities remain public enemies No. 1 through 5

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2004

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Monopolistic practices and a lack of concern toward public complaints were continuing to perpetuate a culture of poor public service in the country, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) lamented on Monday.

Citing YLKI's 2003 annual report, released in conjunction with World Consumer Rights Day on Monday, YLKI head Indah Suksmaningsih said poor service still reigned in the provision of public services, despite constant rises in prices.

The report found telephone, banking, electricity, water, and housing services remained the top five concerns -- as they were in 2002.

"This means that the business players in such services haven't improved their performances. The unfairness increases as these players continue raising their prices," she said.

Over 1,600 complaints were submitted via letters and telephone calls to the foundation last year. Indah called for an end to all monopolies across the country. "Monopolies make it impossible for consumers to find alternatives," she said.

She cited the recent move by state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina to increase the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). "Consumers can do nothing about it because there are no alternative providers," Indah said.

For electricity, which is provided by state-owned company PT PLN, consumers have complained about the discrepancies between their bills and the actual amount of electricity used, and the unstable voltage provided, which can damage electronic devices.

YLKI said the discrepancies were due to the company's meter readers who often estimated the likely payments within an area instead of directly visiting the houses to record the usage on the meter.

A spokesman from PT PLN Muljo Adjie told The Jakarta Post the company was following a program to improve services. This commitment, he said, was shown in stricter supervision of meter reading, which included a re-check method for meters, and the regular monitoring of faults on electricity poles and generators.

Another new effort was the launching of the hotline 123 for PT PLN on Friday. "Through this line, we aim to respond to complaints as fast as possible," Muljo said.

For water services, provided by PT PAM, consumers' complaints were mainly about the poor quality of water and frequent unannounced disruptions to the supply.

PAM's Jakarta director Didiet Haryadi said PAM had been intensifying its efforts to solve these problems. "Most of the problems lie in the distribution difficulties and water availability," he told the Post.

Didiet said the company would begin relocating water pumps to denser city areas to accommodate more consumers, and increase the quantity of water reservoirs. He said a shortage of qualified technical officers was one of the reasons behind the company's slow response to consumer complaints.

2004 elections

Soldiers don't want to vote in elections: Endriartono

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2004

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The order for Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel not to vote in the upcoming election remains, its chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Friday. A few interviewed soldiers backed up the decision.

Constitutional law expert Sri Sumantri said the order violated citizens' political rights, which were guaranteed by the Constitution.

Sri, a lecturer from Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, said that political rights belong to individuals, therefore "the decision to exercise the right to vote must be left to the soldiers." "Soldiers are citizens who have political rights and we must respect that," he told The Jakarta Post.

He admitted the political change may create confusion among soldiers, who have not voted in almost four decades. But he asserted that the TNI chief had no right to persuade soldiers to give up their right to vote. He recalled the landmark 1955 election when soldiers, just like civilians, voted for political parties. He asserted that it did not affect military unity.

"But the problem with soldiers is classic: They do not have the courage to take action against their superior who violates their rights. I guess even a three-star general would think twice about taking his or her commander to court," he said.

The right to vote is granted for the military in line with the People's Consultative Assembly's decision to scrap the free legislative seats allocated for the TNI and National Police starting from 2004. The TNI has around 346,000 personnel, mostly in the Army.

During the New Order administration, then president Soeharto prohibited the military from participating in the elections. In return the military were reserved legislative seats, the number of which far exceeded those belonging to political parties which had to fight it out in the elections.

Endriartono said the military should remain neutral and would need a long time to prepare themselves to exercise their right to vote. He feared soldiers would be split over political allegiance if they voted.

Despite the controversy, two Army soldiers said they would not exercise their political rights even in the absence of an order from their chief.

Another soldier praised Endriartono, saying that "rampant money politics among parties may lead us into conflict." "With or without the request from the TNI chief, I'm not going to vote anyway, because none of the political parties, neither those founded by civilians nor senior military, deserve support. We have seen how they buy votes and such a practice would endanger our institution because most soldiers still face economic hardship," the soldier, who requested anonymity, said.

An Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) member said it would be better for the country to revoke the political rights for the military to enable them to focus on state duties. "Let the civilians deal with politics, I don't care," he said.

Parties' economic programs lacking detail: Economists

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2004

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta -- While most political parties are united in condemning the government for failing to set out an economic program that can get the nation out of crisis, most of them have failed to offer any alternative.

Respected economists Faisal Basri and Chatib Basri agreed that the economic platforms laid out by most of the 24 parties contesting the elections were only good on paper, but lack details on how to achieve the goals.

"It's sad to see that amid consensus that our economy is in trouble, most parties, if not all, have so far failed to come up with a sound and applicable economic program," Faisal said.

Chatib explained that this may be due to the fact that the country was still in early stages of democracy, where program- oriented campaigning is still new and parties have yet to realize the importance of a sound economic platform in luring followers. "They don't find economic programs saleable," Chatib said.

On Saturday, parties will enter the second week of the campaign period which will end on April 1. In the first week of the campaigns, only a small number of parties offered a "fairly workable" economic agenda. They include the New Indonesia Alliance Party (PPIB), National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

PAN has shown its seriousness in economic matters by placing economists, including top banking analyst Dradjad Wibowo, on its list of legislative candidates.

Meanwhile, a PKS campaigner, who in the past week kept criticizing the current government's economic program, repeatedly stressed the need to improve the country's industrial competitiveness and to maintain sustainable macroeconomic stability.

PAN and PKS promised to streamline the bureaucracy, provide various facilities for businesses, including tax incentives, and provide better legal certainty and security. These are all areas in which the current government has failed to perform.

PPIB, chaired by noted economist Sjahrir, has also shown a deep interest in economic issues. Before establishing the party last year, Sjahrir led a prominent economic think tank, PIB, which in 2001, formulated a nine-chapter draft on economic recovery which was then proposed to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to become a decree. The MPR rejected the proposal, but PPIB now uses the proposal as its economic platform.

The proposal outlines a list of actions to remedy problems in all sectors of the economy and state institutions. The actions include those aimed at improving the business and investment climate and tackling domestic and foreign debts. These will boost investment, generate higher growth and ease unemployment.

Parties violate ad rules

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2004

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- The Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information (ISAI) reported on Thursday to the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) 39 violations allegedly committed by political parties in broadcast media advertisements between March 11 and March 15.

Agus Sudibyo, an ISAI researcher, said 26 violations were due to advertisements exceeding the maximum duration of 30 seconds.

Golkar, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB) had breached the ruling, he said at a news conference.

The remaining 13 violations comprised ads exceeding the maximum 10 placements per party per day and were reportedly committed by the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) and the PKPB, he added.

The parties had allegedly violated Article 20 (1) of the joint instruction of the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI).

Yet there is no ruling to disqualify political parties that violate the rules regarding advertisements.

Garin Nugroho of the Media Coalition for the Elections said his team would send a letter to the concerned political parties and television stations to advise them stop violating advertisement rulings.

Separately, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) deputy coordinator Lucky Djani alleged that Prabowo Subianto, a Golkar presidential candidate hopeful, had also violated the ruling on the maximum duration of advertisements.

Prabowo's ad apparently runs for about two-and-a-half minutes, well over the 30 second maximum. Prabowo's ad was aired on RCTI, SCTV and Indosiar television stations, he said. Political parties' radio campaigns have not been monitored. Radio ads are not to be more than 60 seconds in duration.

Lucky added that the PDI-P, led by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, had spent the most money on campaigning in print and broadcast media in the first week of the campaign period from March 11 to 17. He said the PDI-P had spent Rp 1.89 billion (US$225,000) on campaigning in newspapers, radio and television. Golkar and PAN had spend the next most with Rp 644 million and Rp 437.9 million respectively.

Lucky said the figures were estimated based on price lists in the mass media. The data was compiled from national newspapers, regional media, radio stations and television stations in Lampung, Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java), Samarinda (East Kalimantan), Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara) and Makassar (South Sulawesi).

TNI in a state of alert for successful elections

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2004

Jakarta -- The troubles surrounding the preparations for the general elections has led the Indonesian Military to put itself on high alert, Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said.

On Friday he instructed all subordinates to maximize the use of military facilities to support the General Elections Commission (KPU) in its distribution of election materials, primarily the ballot papers, for the April 5 election.

"This is an emergency situation," he said, implying officers in the field would have to do without the standard distribution procedures taken by election authorities.

The TNI had asked the KPU and the local KPU offices (KPUD) to inform each military command over plans to load election materials at least four days before the process, but so far they had failed to do so.

The TNI, the commander said, was ready to support the KPU "to prevent possible accusations that we're not helping the elections." Because the KPU had failed to do its part if the materials didn't arrive in time, it should be blamed on the KPU's unreadiness, Endriartono said during the appointments of Vice Adm. Sumarjono as a commander of TNI's staff and command colleges; and Vice Adm. Heru Srijanto as commander general of TNI's Military Academy.

Meanwhile, the People's Voter Education Network (JPPR) called for a week-long postponement of the legislative election due to many unprinted or damaged ballot papers and asked the KPU to publicly disclose the real situation.

Meanwhile, in the campaigns on Friday, a campaigner of the Islamic-based Crescent Star Party (PBB) said it was okay for people to vote for either the PBB or their "brother" organizations -- the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Indonesia United Nahdlatul Ummah Party (PPNUI), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Reform Star Party (PBR).

The parties "are our brothers," legislative candidate Saman Husni told some 1,500 supporters at the Pramuka park in South Jakarta.

Conspiciously absent from the "brotherhood" was the National Awakening Party (PKB), also popular in the ranks of the largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, which is labeled as a moderate "traditionalist" party compared to the more hardline PKS and PBB.

Most of the supporters, like those of other parties, were keen to start a convoy on their motorcycles.

In Senayan Basket Hall, Central Jakarta, some 1,500 PPP supporters gathered to hear their legislative candidates who repeated promises to uphold Islamic law, give people free education, and to eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Again, the supporters preferred to sing and dance and proceeded to join a huge convoy of PPP supporters, including children. They seemed unaware of KPU campaign restrictions, as some brought children under the age of seven to campaign. Separately, hundreds of supporters of the Marhaenisme Indonesian National Party (PNI Marhaenisme), mostly in their teens, met at the Ragunan sports complex near the city zoo in South Jakarta. Many left after the break for Friday prayers.

The tight resources of the small parties was obvious. The Freedom Party only campaigned in East Jakarta although the Jakarta General Election Commission (KPU Jakarta) had prepared campaign venues in five municipalities.

Stressing their platform of a "community-based" economy, the campaigners said current economic development did not prioritize the people's welfare.

Jakarta parties keep mum on donors

Straits Times - March 20, 2004

Robert Go, Jakarta -- National Mandate Party (PAN) chief Amien Rais hops from one destination to another across Indonesia on a jet chartered at US$2,000 per hour.

Sometimes, helicopters rented at an hourly rate of US$450 deliver him in style to fields where adoring supporters wait for his appearance and a dose of his fiery speeches.

Aides said that PAN could spend as much as US$50 million in the coming weeks. There are T-shirts, hats, flags and lunch money to distribute, cars and auditorium halls to rent and donations to make -- all to woo the hearts, minds and pockets of voters.

But when asked where all the money was coming from, party cadres beat a quick retreat. "You can't ask that. No party will reveal its donors list," one source said. To do so, he explained, would amount to political suicide.

Donors, who include top businessmen and companies, are afraid of potential reprisal from parties to which they do not contribute.

Mr Sutedja, 43, the owner of a small hardware business in the North Sumatran capital of Medan, is a typical representative of the campaign contributor.

He wants no publicity about the five million rupiah he has given to support "a friend's candidacy" and he "trusts the money would be properly used" by his friend, who is now battling for a seat in the provincial parliament.

These days it is nearly impossible to find a prominent businessman in Indonesia who has not made a campaign contribution to political parties or candidates. Some bankroll everything from office space to food and drinks for cadres during rallies or meetings. Others make small gestures. Hotel owners grant free stays. Car-rental firms offer discounts.

Part of the problem is that, most often, candidates need to fend for themselves. With inadequate support from their party headquarters, friends and businessmen are all they can turn to. PAN is not alone.

Although Indonesia has campaign-financing laws, the 24 political parties uniformly thumb noses at them and are unlikely to face sanctions for doing so.

Observers and indeed politicians say the situation favours the big parties which will probably collect and spend incredible sums of money between now and the presidential election rounds later in the year.

In the process, though, election credibility takes a knock. The lack of public accountability also boosts the growing perception that the powerful few are manipulating the voting process.

According to election commission KPU's decrees, each political party is supposed to detail its special campaign funds, including giving a breakdown of the donors and the sums involved. Any contribution above five million rupiah (S$990) is to be reported.

While private individuals are allowed to give up to 150 million rupiah, the contribution for companies is capped at 750 million rupiah.

But KPU records so far show that only 17 parties have submitted campaign account numbers and initial deposits and only three out of those 17 have updated their reports to reflect current balances.

Analysts who have looked at those three parties' records said the figures submitted are likely to be wrong or incomplete. For instance, PAN said it now has slightly less than nine million rupiah in its campaign account. But how Dr Amien's party will manage the balance is not clear -- given its high spending needs.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDI-P and Golkar party are among the seven parties that have done nothing to comply with the KPU's rulings on this issue. Neither of the country's two biggest political parties has shown how much cash it has kept for the campaigns. Analysts speculate that spending by PDI-P and Golkar each would top US$300 million.

A prominent politician told The Straits Times: "Yes, we know the laws exist. But we're not going to open our books because the other parties won't do so." An international consultant working on the Indonesian elections said: "Everyone is working with more than one set of books."

Panwaslu reveals 'money politics'

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2004

Jakarta/Medan -- Desperate to win people's hearts and minds, political parties have openly employed dubious tactics to draw indifferent voters to largely deserted campaign sites.

The Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB) provided free meals for more than 1,000 people in Medan, North Sumatra, on Friday in an apparent bid to attract people to what it called a "people's fiesta", which the party's presidential candidate Siti Hardijanti "Tutut" Rukmana was supposed to attend.

However, once the meals were eaten, the gathering never took place as the vigilant North Sumatra Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) was quick to disperse the crowd on the grounds that the party was not scheduled to campaign that day.

Tutut, the youngest daughter of former president Soeharto, did not show up at Maimon Palace, Medan, where the fiesta was to take place. Campaign coordinator Arwin said Tutut decided not to attend after a hearing the Panwaslu had ruled against the activity.

"The free meals could be considered money politics. We will consider reporting the violation to the police," the head of local Panwaslu Yulhasni told The Jakarta Post. "The money for the free meals is not Tutut's money. It's from our supporters," Arwin said.

On Monday, the PKPB also handed out hundreds of food packages to residents in Central Jakarta while the previous day it gave scholarships to students in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

In Manado, North Sulawesi, Vice President Hamzah Haz's United Development Party (PPP) on Friday doled out watches, umbrellas and head scarves to party supporters. Antara reported from Manado that party mementos were distributed by PPP Manado leader Djafar Alkatiri after addressing over 10,000 people at Tikala field.

In Pontianak, West Kalimantan, the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) distributed Abate powder and medicine for skin irritations and coughs as well as vitamins to party supporters in what it called a "sympathetic campaign".

"I don't care if they call it money politics or not, but what is clear is that we registered this sympathetic campaign with the police," PDS Pontianak secretary John Situmorang was quoted by Antara as saying.

Meanwhile, Panwaslu central board member Topo Santoso said in Jakarta that all forms of gifts from political parties during the campaign period could be considered vote-buying method and violated Article 77 of Law No. 12/2003 on elections.

"Giving money, staple foods and other things, such as free health services can be considered money politics," said Topo, who is also a legal expert at University of Indonesia.

Another Panwaslu member, Didik Suprianto, doubted parties would refrain from money politics due to weak sanctions against the practice.

Money politics carries a maximum sentence of 12 months and a maximum fine of Rp 10 million (US$1,176).

The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) fears that affluent political parties will buy votes on the April 5 election day given that many of them violated regulations in the first week of the campaign period.

ICW deputy coordinator Lucky Djani disclosed that many parties had distributed food and provided free services to the people, activities that could be categorized as money politics.

"There is a correlation between affluent parties and violations of campaign rules as well as the practice of money politics," he said here on Friday.

ICW monitoring in six cities found money politics conducted by many parties, especially the big and wealthy ones.

Lucky said the parties gave money to all attending their campaigns. "In Jakarta, the fee is between Rp 35,000 to Rp 100,000 for each person attending a campaign," Lucky said.

Wiranto tunes in to the electorate

Melbourne Age - March 20, 2004

Matthew Moore, Surabaya -- One-time Indonesian strongman Wiranto couldn't quite decide whether to take the Mercedes or the becak, one of the tiny, three-wheeled, cycle-powered rickshaws that transport the county's poor.

In the end, the former defence minister, former commander of the armed forces and former adjutant to President Soeharto compromised. He started out in the limo then switched to common man mode, riding the becak the final 50 metres as he parted a sea of gold surrounding the hall where close to 2000 awaited him.

A bevy of swivel-hipped dangdut dancers had warmed up the crowd that included well-heeled members of the Golkar Party that backed Soeharto for decades, and jobless men and boys from the country's second biggest city who had come for the $1.70 appearance money, the free Golkar gold shirts and the lunch box.

In Australia, Wiranto is best known as the military commander whose troops orchestrated the slaughter of East Timorese in the days surrounding their 1999 vote for independence -- a version of history he still hotly contests. But at home the 56-year-old is known more for his dark good looks and his even better voice, the general with his own hit CD and presidential aspirations.

His short speech was politely received, but his rendition of a Javanese pop song was what the crowd had waited for.

It was the same in Bali a day earlier. Wiranto wooed them with three songs in a village that in 1999 voted 80 per cent for Golkar's main rival, the PDIP party of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Wiranto's songs entertain, but whether they win him and his party new support is harder to judge.

With just over two weeks before Indonesians vote for members of a new parliament, no one much knows what factors will most influence their choice from the two dozen parties on offer. The Golkar platform is clear. Golkar will just solve the nation's problems.

Wiranto, presidential candidate It's no easier working out what will persuade people when they vote again three months later to choose their president. Policy continues to have no apparent bearing.

Wiranto told journalists he would unveil his "mission and vision" at his mid-morning rally, but he failed to deliver. "The Golkar platform is clear," he declared. "Golkar will just solve the nation's problems, that's the only thing it will do ... there will be no place for corruption and public disorder, and security will once again be provided for the country."

He was no more specific in an interview with The Age when he listed his agendas as "upholding the law, restructuring government institutions, eradicating poverty, lowering unemployment, improving education and building national reconciliation". Details would come later.

Professor Jeffrey Winters from Northwestern University in the US was in East Java to watch Wiranto's campaign. He said such lack of policy specifics was the norm this election for all presidential candidates. "Although they have been speaking in front of tens of thousands of people, not one has made a single commitment they can be held to," he said.

Other tools are used instead to attract support. In his efforts to win over the huge majority of poorer people, Wiranto is using a Falcon executive jet to travel to remote parts of the country, reminding them how life was easier in Soeharto's era, the days when the country had a strong leader.

With widespread disenchantment with the modest economic performance of Megawati's Government, the reference to "a strong leader" is increasingly heard, especially from Wiranto. Golkar is ahead in most polls because of the prosperity the Soeharto era seems to signify.

Wiranto says he finds people supporting him "probably because they found an ideal figure in an ex-military person such as me". If he was elected, it would be because of his qualities and his background, not because the army was trying to regain its influence. "You should not worry the military will again become dominant in national politics," he said.

Millions of ballots damaged

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2004

Jakarta -- Here come the ballot papers: A few million are damaged, thousands contain mistakes or are missing and millions more have yet to arrive.

With the legislative election just 17 days away, President Megawati Soekarnoputri is now voicing fears about whether the poll will run smoothly, while the General Elections Commission (KPU) continues to assure the public things are under control.

KPU head Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin said on Thursday the printing of the 160 million ballot papers for the House of Representatives (DPR) candidates was 96.6 percent complete. Meanwhile 83.5 percent of papers for Regional Representative Council (DPD) candidates had also been printed. "The situation has improved from the day before," he said.

Meanwhile, Megawati told a technical meeting of governors and regents the people "could provide the ballot boxes and polling booths" themselves if the equipment did not arrive on time for the legislative election day on April 5. Regional heads could then concentrate on the distribution of poll materials, she said.

However, some of these materials -- ballot papers for Regental Legislative Council (DPRD II) members in 11 provinces -- were yet to be printed.

Nazaruddin said West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu, Bangka Belitung, Yogyakarta, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, and North Maluku were the provinces affected.

Over 160 million ballot papers are being printed for the DPRD II member candidates in 32 provinces.

Meanwhile, many of the papers that had arrived in the regions were full of mistakes, damaged or incomplete. In North Sumatra, local KPUD chief Irfan Buana Nasution said many mistakes had been found in the ballot papers and in every package of 500 sheets, about 20 were missing or damaged. The mistakes included the wrong colors used in the printing of political party logos or the misspelling of legislative candidates' names.

He said the province had only 50 percent of its ballot papers for the DPR and DPD, while none had arrived for the candidates of the provincial and regional councils (DPRD I and II).

North Sumatra governor Rizal Nurdin has ordered the burning of the damaged ballot papers, to avoid possible voting abuses.

In the Kediri regency in East Java, all 1,191,799 papers were damaged, a report said. There were a number of holes along the folds in the papers, Antara reported, quoting the head of the KPUD, Edi Winarto.

Meanwhile, in East Nusa Tenggara the KPUD is short of about 5 million to 10 million ballot papers. "If we do not receive the papers by March 25, it will be impossible for us to convene the election," KPUD chief Robinson Ratukore said, citing distribution problems.

In the West Nusa Tenggara province, more than 3 million ballot papers were damaged, KPUD official Zainul Aidi said. Also, two regional representative council candidates' numbers were jumbled up. "We have not decided what steps we should take, while it is impossible for us to reprint another three million papers," Zainul said.

In Semarang an owner of a printing company commissioned to print the ballot papers, Suwanto, was questioned by police, as papers had already reached the public. Police suspected one of his employees stole the papers although they could not decide on a possible motive.

The printing company CV Aneka Ilmu has received orders to print 25 million ballot papers from the KPU and had standard security arrangements provided by the police to secure them.

Six printing firms have already pulled out of the job printing the ballot papers because they could not meet the KPU's tight schedule. This forced it once again to extend the deadline for the distribution of the papers to March 18 to reach areas outside Java and for March 20 for those in Java.

The KPU has admitted making a mistake in appointing a number or firms incapable of printing the papers and Nazaruddin has ordered an internal investigation into how it happened.

One printing firm, PT Tricipta Adimandiri, was found to have only filed a tender to supply KPU with ink, not for printing the ballot papers.

Campaign violence, public disorder emerge

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2004

Surakarta/Surabaya/Yogyakarta -- The violent behavior on Thursday by the campaign participants in several cities sent an alarming message to the 24 political parties that they needed to keep a handle on their supporters and improve their street campaign strategies to ensure that the April 5 legislative election would proceed peacefully and democratically.

In Surakarta, Central Java, supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), chaired by incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri, beat up a supporter of the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). The region has a history of riots, including ethnic violence.

The PKS supporter, Arif Kristanto, was kicked and mobbed by PDI-P supporters as he was riding his motorcycle in Komplang village after attending a campaign featuring PKS chairman Hidayat Nurwahid.

A similar incident between the two parties also occurred in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Arif, who suffered injuries to his head and legs, reported the beating to the Surakarta Election Supervisory Committee (Panwasda).

Panwaslu member Imron Rosyad said PDI-P supporters also violated election regulations on Thursday by tearing down the flags of the United Development Party (PPP) and the Pioneers' Party.

In Yogyakarta, a PPP executive threatened on Thursday to quit the election after receiving a warning from the local Panwaslu for inciting violence during a campaign.

Besides the PPP, the supervisory committee also rebuked supporters of PDI-P for similar actions in a campaign last week.

In Surabaya, East Java, supporters of the Freedom Bull National Party (PNBK) conducted a raucous campaign at a hockey field near Dr. Sutomo General Hospital.

"We will not tolerate this again," hospital director Teguh Silvaranto told reporters, adding that the hospital's two ambulances were also trapped in the campaign, which spilled out onto the street,for almost two hours.

In Jakarta, South Jakarta head of the Pioneers' Party Yuniono promised that the party would provide free education for all if the party won in the election. Party chairperson Rachmawati Soekarnoputri is Megawati's younger sister.

Meanwhile, only a few dozens of people turned up for the Regional United Party (PPD) campaign on Thursday in Central Jakarta.

In a campaign which lasted less than an hour, the PPD candidate said little on the party's political platform and instead focused on correct ballot procedures.

"Do not vote only for those who rank high in the candidacy list, but choose the person you are familiar with," campaigner Atje told those assembled.

In Ambon, Christian-based Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) chairman Ruyandi Hutasoit stressed that his party was targeting Christian voters. "If Christians unite, we will win because our members make up more than 20 percent of the population," he said.

Meanwhile, responding to allegations that some parties had been using counterfeit banknotes to attract supporters, Bank Indonesia reported on Thursday a jump in the circulation of banknotes in the first two months of the year, compared with the same period last year.

The central bank's data showed that counterfeit notes in January totaled Rp 221.8 million (US$26,400) and Rp 317 million in February -- a significant increase compared to Rp 82.7 million in January 2003 Rp 61 million in February in circulation last year.

Parties change to woo the crowds

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2004

Jakarta -- The public's lackluster response to election campaigns has forced political parties to draw up new strategies to attract people to their campaign sites.

Rully Chairul Azwar, Golkar's campaign team secretary, said on Thursday that his party had prepared different approaches for various situations in order to draw a large crowd of people.

"A monologue campaign attended by a large number of supporters is still important to gauge our strength, but we realize that we cannot get our message across effectively in such a situation," Rully said. However, he did not reveal the different approaches his party was preparing.

Secretary-general of the United Democratic Nationhood Party (PPDK) Rivai Pulungan said his party preferred campaigning in workplaces like factories, fishermen compounds, and farming areas over indoor campaigns at designated areas.

"We talk with them about their problems in an informal atmosphere. In such a situation, they can explain their problems freely and intensive dialog can take place," he said on Thursday.

Djafar Badjeber, secretary-general of the Reform Star Party (PBR), said his party had deployed campaigners to visit informal leaders, such as ulema, to introduce the party's platform.

"I just visited a influential Muslim cleric in East Jakarta today to introduce our platform. Other PBR leaders also visited different figures. We believe that it is an effective campaign strategy as such figures have many followers," he said.

This year's election campaigns seem a far cry from the euphoria of 1999 when crowds of supporters flocked to street rallies.

The presence of celebrities also failed to attract crowds, with most people leaving campaign sites before speakers had even finished their speeches.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) said on Thursday it had changed its strategy by focusing on visits to mosques and Islamic boarding schools to hold dialogs and exchange views on a wide range of issues.

The party's vote-getter Imam Anshari Saleh said PKB had also allocated Rp 4 billion for advertisements and commercials in newspapers and on television.

"We have realized that voters come to our campaigns to have fun, not to hear the party's platform. With or without knowledge of our platform, they will vote for PKB," he said.

According to Rully, television ads were the most effective way to convey messages to the public. He said such ads could reach those who were reluctant to attend campaigns for fear of violence or inconveniences, such as heavy rain or the heat of the midday sun. He said his party had allocated nearly Rp 10 million (US$1.19 million) for television campaigns.

Tutut tries to polish family's tarnished crown

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2004

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- When Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti "Tutut" Rukmana recently came forward as a possible challenge for President Megawati Soekarnoputri, the daughter of first president Sukarno, some political parties, including Soeharto's former party, Golkar, played down its significance.

But amid growing frustration about the slow progress the country has achieved since Soeharto's fall in 1998, Tutut's presence has attracted attention. But does Tutut, known as the more generous one compared to her five siblings, really want the presidential seat? Daniel Sparringa, a political scientist at the Surabaya- based Airlangga University, said Tutut's main motive was to restore the former first family's tainted image.

People's longing for security and better economic conditions will be Tutut's tool to clean up the image of the Soeharto family.

"For Tutut, losing or winning the election is not a big deal. What matters for her is that she has the chance to rehabilitate the negative image of the Soeharto's clan," Sparringa said.

He explained that even if Tutut failed to win the presidential race, or if the Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB) failed to nominate her, she had successfully made people envisage a return to the Soeharto era.

Tutut would not dare to gamble the Soeharto family's future if she was not convinced that many people in Indonesia feel very nostalgic for the relatively stable situation under her father's regime, Sparringa noted.

Although Soeharto's children were often said to be his weakest point, as their business activities grew mainly because of their father's position, Tutut's social work is still remembered by many people. Tutut herself held a Cabinet position as the social affairs minister, just three months before her father's fall in May 1998.

"Tutut has appealed to all people to join her party and support her in her bid for the presidency so that the stability of the New Order could be reestablished," he said.

With her political vehicle, the PKPB, which is chaired by her long-time friend and PKPB chairman, Gen. (ret) Raden Hartono, she launched a massive campaign about the good things done during her father's tenure.

PKPB executive Hakimi Malik said that PKPB would be quite dry without Tutut because the party was not yet well-known. "The party needs Tutut and Tutut needs the party, that's how it goes here. All of the party activists have a similar perception that we should defend the Soehartos as they have done a lot for us and this country," said Hakimi.

Aside from her demure smile and generosity, Tutut's other strong point is her family's wealth, a factor that is very important in Indonesia's political world. Despite Soeharto's fall, their businesses remain operational and profitable, although now they prefer to play a role behind the scenes.

Indonesians hire themselves out for party rallies

Agence France Presse - March 19, 2004

Indonesians are hiring themselves out to attend campaign rallies as parties struggle to drum up enthusiasm before next month's general election.

"Accept campaign orders from any political party," read one sign erected by motorcycle taxi drivers in the capital, according to the Jakarta Post.

The going rate is 50,000 rupiah (six dollars) per person, a respectable sum in a country where about half the population lives on less than two dollars a day.

Some 24 parties began campaigning on March 11 for the April 5 election. But media reports and witnesses say attendance at party meetings is low compared to the 1999 polls, which were the first free elections for over four decades.

Under campaign rules, parties are only supposed to hold indoor meetings until the last week, when mass rallies are permitted.

Sociologist Imam Prasodjo, quoted by the Post, said people were donning different party T-shirts each day to boost their incomes.

"People are smarter now. Politicians offer them empty promises and they respond by taking the money offered by a certain political party but voting for another in the elections," he was quoted as saying.

Voters are also showered with small gifts bearing party labels such as bottled water, instant noodles, sweets, calendars and cigarettes. The economy ministry expects election spending to push economic growth up to five percent this year.

Voters should, however, be wary of politicians bearing gifts. The central bank said Thursday the amount of counterfeit money in circulation in January-February had more than tripled over the same period last year. The amount of fake money always rises in an election year, said central bank governor Burhanuddin Abdullah.

Sopporters hunt for money in Golkar capaigning

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2004

Bambang Nurbianto and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Time is money -- especially that of time-pressed women, as one campaigning political party found out.

Four women were ushered into one of three minivans prepared by Golkar Party campaign organizers in Kembangan subdistrict in West Jakarta on Wednesday. The vehicle was to take them to a campaign site some four kilometers away.

Unlike other campaign participants, the women were not wearing yellow Golkar T-shirts and were told there were none left.

In the van the women wondered out loud how much they would be paid. One of them in tattered clothes said that someone had informed them that the organizers had allocated money for those who took part in campaign rallies.

After a few minutes, one of them piped up, "Where's the money?" The four, including one who was pregnant, then looked for confirmation from the field operators about their payment.

They then left the van, saying no one could give them a satisfactory answer. "It is better to stay at home if there is no money," one woman grumbled. The minivan, with a capacity of 12 passengers, finally departed for the campaign site with only six people on board.

One of the organizers, who declined to mention his name, denied that funds had been allocated for campaign participants.

But a local, Toni, said it was likely that all campaign participants had received money. The participants, he said, had also taken part in campaigns organized by other parties on previous days. "They change into T-shirts of different colors every day," Toni said, referring to the colors of T-shirts of political parties.

Campaign organizers also hire "supporters", often including ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers. Ojek drivers who operate in the vicinity of Harapan Kita Hospital in West Jakarta advertise their services on a sign that reads "Accept campaign orders from any political party."

However, many other people in campaigns of various parties, including Golkar, have also said they are genuine supporters who pay for their own transportation and snacks. Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) chairman Komaruddin Hidayat complained of the absence of a strong law by which to take action against election violations, such as vote-buying.

Under the Election Law, vote-buying is punishable by a penalty of only two to 12 months in jail and a Rp 10 million fine. One year in jail compared to the possible impact of "money politics" is meaningless, Komaruddin said.

Big money and a toothless KPU

Tempo Magazine - March 16-22

With no warning, Akbar Tandjung suddenly jumped out of his car and headed towards a becak pedicab parked 1 kilometer from the Sriwedari Stadium in Solo, Central Java. The Golkar Party Chairman was apparently undeterred by pools of stagnant water left after the day's rain. Walking the road where he was to campaign last Friday, he waved his arms, but not many people returned his enthusiasm. And no great crowd filled the stadium. Nonetheless, Akbar delivered his speech with great enthusiasm in a city whose residents are mostly PDI-P supporters.

Two hours later, Akbar slipped away to Malang, East Java for more stumping. In the city's Gajayana Stadium, he made a loud declaration: "Golkar will scoop up 30 percent of the votes in this election." In East Java, as secretary of the party's Election Victory Body, Rully Chairul Azwar, explained, Golkar is determined to win back votes it lost in the 1999 election. "We will show up everywhere," Rully said.

Such are the stakes of a veritable war in the short campaign period. It is all-out, with no holds barred-and with all the resulting tariffs of battle. Given just three weeks to campaign by the General Elections Commission (KPU), each party has developed an extensive battle plan to convince as many voters as possible. Parties will sponsor not only parades and speeches, but also launch advertisements on television and radio, as well as on-stage entertainment featuring artists who are paid handsomely.

University of Indonesia economist Mohamad Chatib Basri estimates that Rp10-15 trillion will be spent in the campaign. "That is a rough estimate," he said. He bases his figures on expenditures- for instance on food-that soared so high during the three months prior to the 1999 election. "To celebrate its anniversary," Chatib said, "a major party can spend Rp3 billion." He explained that if a party stages an event in each of 400 districts, the total cost could easily rise to Rp1.2 trillion. "Please work out yourself just how much it would be if four big parties staged similar events," he said.

Golkar is among the major parties expected to orchestrate an extensive and costly presence in the campaign. Armed with 811 campaign specialists and 200 artists, Rully said, Golkar has to date mobilized more than any other party. Artists such as Evie Tamala and Thomas Djorghi have also joined the Golkar team. "They have been contracted for three weeks to travel around Indonesia," Rully said.

Golkar has spent Rp5 billion to hire top "hip-swivelling" artists to add spice to political rallies. On average, Rully said, each artist is paid Rp10-20 million and the party also provides transport, food, and accommodation during the tour.

The higher the artist's prestige, the higher the fee-and the more certain a party can be in gaining votes. Or at least that's the plan. Rully confessed that Golkar was disappointed in its efforts to nab the queen of gyrations, Inul Daratista. "Her fee was very high," he said. The infamous Inul admitted that two big parties had solicited her infamous stage presence for the campaign season. The first party offered a contract for three weeks valued at-unbelievable!-Rp16 billion. And later another party offered Rp30 billion for the same three weeks. "I couldn't sleep, thinking about so much money," Inul said. But she ultimately declined both offers. "The thing is, my fans come from various elements of society," she said, defending her decision.

Golkar has spent a great deal this year, that's certain, but Rully would not confirm exact figures. "The amount just keeps on growing," he said. "But it's not as much as when Golkar was still in power." In years past, the New Order regime's political machine fed off charitable foundations managed by the Cendana (Suharto) family. The Dakab Foundation was renowned as the richest source of income, but after Suharto stepped down, it was dissolved immediately.

Golkar is currently fueled by donations from legislative candidates in top positions on the party's nominee lists. The party expects each of the top candidates to produce approximately Rp100 million. Golkar's alleged target is 30 percent of the vote-or 170 seats in the House of Representatives-and it could thus expect to gain Rp17 billion in donations. That figure, however, does not include funds the party extracts from the provinces, in the form of company and individual contributions.

In East Java, for example, Golkar gathered funds from 38 areas in the province that amounted to approximately Rp20 billion. "The funding is that high because our vote target is also a high one," Edy Wahyudi, Golkar East Java Organizational Secretary for Cadres and Party Membership, said. In an area of Nahdlatul Ulama (mass Muslim organization) support, Golkar has targeted 24 seats.

It is an altogether different story for the Indonesian Democratic Party of struggle (PDI-P). Its treasurer, Noviantika Nasution, said that, even prior to taking to the field of battle in its campaign, the party has already readied Rp100 billion. Noviantika said that funds flowed into the party's bag from various sources. In addition to direct contributions from businessmen, the party allocated funds from the Annual State Budget and gained Rp36 billion in government party funding.

Many suspect, however, that PDI-P's campaign war chest is at least twice what Noviantika quoted, with half of the total dedicated to advertising. Noviantika denied such suspicions. "Even if there really was that much money," he said, "the expenditure on media advertising could not be more than Rp35 billion. The KPU would blow the whistle on us, otherwise." PDI-P has spent lavishly on print and electronic advertising. Every day, Indonesians see the face of party chief Megawati Sukarnoputri on prime-time television. Sparing no expense, Mega appears on 40 local and national TV stations, in addition to being broadcast on 500 radio stations. All this and you must still consider the party's extensive presence in national and local print media. Advertising agencies claim the party has spent only what the regulations allow. "The total cost is under Rp40 billion," Triawan Munaf, head of Adwork Euro, the advertising company handling PDI-P since 1999, said. (See A Test of Strength on the Tube.) According to Triawin's testimony, PDI-P, by spending under Rp40 billion, has indeed stayed within the legal boundaries for promotion. KPU permits a political party to have 10 advertising slots per day. The market price of one slot- equivalent to half a minute of airtime-is Rp5 million to Rp20 million. For prime time-6pm-7pm and 9pm-10pm-"The price is Rp20 million per slot," Budi Darmawan, SCTV Public Relations Manager, said.

But while PDI-P and Golkar are each spending a wagonload of money for their campaigns, Deputy Secretary of the General Election Victory Action Committee of the Crescent Star Party (PBB), Nizar Dahlan, admits to just the opposite. "Our headquarters officials don't have a special budget," Nizar said. For the party led by Yusril Ihza Mahendra, campaign costs are being met entirely by legislative candidates. This includes everything from the production of T-shirts and flags to paying transport costs for campaign specialists. Nizar, who is the number-one ranked legislative candidate for the Crescent Star Party in the West Sumatra electorate, admits to having spent Rp50 million from his own pocket.

Similar budgetary concerns plague the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). PKS Deputy Treasurer Edy Kuncoro said its central leadership takes care of only television, radio and newspaper advertising. Carnivals and local campaigning are managed by the party's branches. For television advertising, PKS has budgeted just Rp4-5 billion.

Although parties do admit to spending great sums of money on advertising, none are willing to report their current campaign totals to the KPU. As of last Friday, KPU Deputy Chairman Ramlan Surbakti said the commission had yet to receive a single report on party campaign funding. Parties had registered campaign account numbers but had submitted no detailed breakdown, for example, on who had donated, and how much. "Actually," Ramlan said, "every contribution is supposed to be accompanied by the clear identity of the contributor." The maximum contribution set by the KPU is Rp100 million for an individual contribution and Rp750 million for an organization.

Only three parties have reported balances of any kind for campaign fund accounts. The Crescent Star Party submitted Rp872 million as its final remaining balance, the National Mandate Party (PAN) registered approximately Rp8 million, and the Prosperous Justice Party tallied Rp125 million. Golkar and PDI-P official account balances remain a complete mystery.

Despite its outrage at such bold indifference to its authority, the KPU confesses there is not much it can do. According to Ramlan, his institution can only issue circular letters to its regional subordinates to ask local KPUs to supervise campaign funds. Ideally, all reports on campaign funding, both on expenditure as well as income, are to be reported to a public accountant within 60 days after polling day. "That public accountant is required to carry out an audit within 30 days, at the latest, after receiving a party's report," Ramlan said.

No penalties exist to punish a political party that fails to report its campaign funding. The General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu), assigned to police delinquent political parties, also has no authority to examine a party's books. Didik Supriyanto, Panwaslu Supervision Coordinator, said the only way to scrutinize a party's finances is to dispatch a special "intelligence unit." The problems are tricky. A party may claim only Rp10 billion in funds, but, in reality, it may spend more than Rp50 billion. "They campaign by helicopter," Didik explained, "but this is not booked as expenditure." As KPU sits on its hands, worrying over its impotence, anti-corruption institution Transparency International Indonesia has instituted a program of mercenary "spying" and has sent 600 volunteers to 20 cities throughout Indonesia. "We began to supervise the parties as soon as they passed the pre-qualification to take part in the election," Transparency Advocacy Coordinator Anung Karyadi said. The program will continue through to the end of the presidential election campaign.

Even with such developments, it remains unclear if efforts to monitor the origin and path of party funds will succeed in any fashion. The 2004 General Elections, it must be said, is a prime target for the sort of open money laundering and flow of illicit funds poisoning other corrupt, and therefore criminal, enterprises. Scrutinizing a political party's purse is no easy task, but at least part of the onus rests on the shoulders of the parties' themselves. After all, can Indonesians expect to vote for individuals who fail to observe laws-even before they've even set foot in office?

[Nezar Patria, Widiarsi Agustina, Sudrajat, Ucok Ritonga, Tempo newsroom.]

Youth wings: Some just look for trouble

Straits Times - March 17, 2004

Robert Go, Jakarta -- They think that the tougher-looking they are, the better. And so, members of Indonesian political parties' youth wings wear dark sunglasses, bandanas or berets and military boots and fatigues.

Their stated mission is to preserve the peace, but in their minds, that may include pushing people around from time to time. Some of them, however, have a history of creating trouble and getting into frequent scuffles, and are allegedly involved in running protection rackets.

In Yogyakarta yesterday, around 30 armed men wearing uniforms of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDI-P party ransacked a car shop on their way home from a political rally.

Political analyst Umar Juoro said parties must keep a tight leash on their youth wings if the campaigning period were to stay peaceful and orderly.

Mr Subakti, 21, who proudly sports the colours of the PDI-P, said: "We're here to keep order. We don't want fights, but we won't allow anyone to insult us either."

Rallies heat up on Day 6

Jakarta Post - March 17, 2004

Jakarta -- The lackluster reception since last Thursday's kick- off of the 22-day campaign period vanished on Tuesday -- at least in part, as indicated by severe traffic jams and accompanying moods caused across the city by a vigorous show of force by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Meanwhile, Muslim-oriented Reform Star Party (PBR) tried to steal the show by displaying photographs of its chairman, a famous Muslim preacher often dubbed the "preacher with a million followers". The PDI-P, which won largest votes in the 1999 general election, clearly wanted to display their unwaning strength over the past five years to the 23 other contending parties -- amid a growing perception, even within the party, that it will likely get less votes at the April 5 legislative election.

Meanwhile, the PKS, often described as one of the most well- organized parties, has been quite successful in maintaining this image, although it had clearly violated election rules prohibiting the involvement of children in campaigns.

The street rallies are also a blatant violation of the General Election Law, as only indoor campaigns are scheduled until March 25. Outdoor campaigns are to be held from March 26 to April 1.

Despite their different political platforms, PDI-P and PKS campaigners joined forces to warn potential voters of the dangers of the return of Soeharto, in whatever new guise.

PKS chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid said the corruption that flourished under the Reform era did not justify efforts to reinstate the bygone New Order, as was being promoted by the Soeharto-backed Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB).

"However subtle and harmless the corruption under the New Order administration may have seemed, it impoverished millions of citizens and plunged us into constant indebtedness to the IMF," he said, referring to the International Monetary Fund.

In the Bulungan sports complex, South Jakarta, top PDI-P campaigner Roy B.B. Janis echoed the concern, saying that a return to the old New Order would be nothing but a huge setback for a country that was moving towards development.

"But I strongly believe that PDI-P supporters know what's best for themselves and the country," he said to a rowdy crowd.

Tuesday's campaigns however, were marred by at least two incidents involving party supporters.

After campaigning in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, dozens of PBR supporters visited TV7 station on Jl. Sudirman, accusing the broadcaster of taking sides, as it failed to show the thousands of the supporters attending the event, and claimed the station had tried to discredit the party.

The incident marked the first move against a media by a political party since the start of the campaign period. The visit followed earlier remarks made by PBR chairman Zainuddin M.Z. criticizing TV stations for favoring particular parties. The supporters eventually left the office without causing any violence after top TV7 executives promised to rebroadcast the footage on Wednesday morning.

In the second incident, PKS followers were mobbed by dozens of PDI-P supporters after they were caught up in the middle of PDI- P's street campaign on Jl. Kyai Tapa, West Jakarta. Police intervened and removed the PKS supporters from the area. No arrests were made.

In Madura, East Java, National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Amien Rais brushed aside a possible coalition between PDI-P and Golkar, the two largest parties, saying the two had a bad relationship and different agendas. If they were to join forces, Amien said he would not rule out the possibility of PAN forming a coalition with other reform parties to challenge the powerful Golkar-PDI-P coalition.

Separately, Golkar deputy chairman Agung Laksono said the party would pursue more voters among Indonesians working abroad in Malaysia, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

Children of Sukarno fight for votes

Jakarta Post - March 17, 2004

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- The youngest of Sukarno's children from his third wife Fatmawati, Guruh Soekarnoputra, expressed his pain over the open rift between her three sisters, especially between incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Rachmawati Soekarnoputri.

Guruh, a choreographer and composer, said he had desperately tried to persuade them to put aside their differences and told them that they should be nicer to each other, at least in public, as the children of the country's first president.

"Every time I meet them, I always say please be nice with one another. I always play the mediator because I am the only one who can talk to all three of them," he said over the weekend.

Guruh is a House of Representatives member representing Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Rachmawati, who is calling herself the ideological daughter of Sukarno -- while calling Megawati a biological daughter -- routinely criticizes the President for her inability to lead the country. She has also repeatedly accused Megawati of failing to keeping to their father's nationalist and marhaenisme ideology, which promotes the virtues of the "little people".

Her public statements give an impression that Rachmawati believes herself more deserving of the presidency than her older sister Megawati.

Another daughter, Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, chairs the Marhaenisme Indonesian National Party (PNI Marhaenisme) and has a relatively good relationship with Megawati, with whom she meets frequently. As with her two sisters, Sukmawati also insists she is a true nationalist who fights for the poor.

The three siblings are vying against each other in the April 5 legislative election. Trying to lure voters from Megawati's bulk of supporters, the two younger sisters claim themselves the rightful heirs to Sukarno's ideological legacy.

Guruh said none of his sisters were ready to compromise, especially Rachmawati. "It is regrettable that they refuse to stay together, but differing opinions are a common thing in our family," he said.

It appears Megawati was the first to sow discord among the sisters. In 1986, then-president Soeharto allowed the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) to recruit Sukarno's daughters to the party, although Soeharto strongly opposed a plan to recruit eldest son Guntur Soekarnoputra. Only Megawati responded to the offer.

In 1987 she was elected to the House and six years later, she was elected as PDI chairperson. In 1996, Soeharto ousted Megawati from the party, realizing that she had become a real political threat to him. The PDI-P, which was set up by Megawati and her followers as a separate party, won the majority votes in the 1999 general election, one year after Soeharto's downfall. The same year, she became vice president in the administration of Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

Two years later, Megawati rose to the presidential seat after Gus Dur was impeached.

The question remains whether Sukarno is still a selling point for Rachmawati and Sukmawati. Unlike the 1999 election, Sukarno's pictures are no longer hot promotional tools for a campaign.

"The one thing they neglected is the fact that the public consider Sukarno a great name of the past, but is no longer an image they look to now," political observer Cornelis Lay, a member of Megawati's think tank, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Sukarno's picture does not appear even in PDI-P campaigns, he said, which proved that the people had moved beyond the remembrance of the country's founding father.

Cornelis said it was obvious that the three Sukarnos were playing "on the same field". "But Megawati, who has been in politics since the 1980s, remains the clear front runner," he added.

Voters not so easily fooled: Analyst

Jakarta Post - March 17, 2004

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Don't be fooled by the apparent enthusiasm for giveaways from political parties -- including money -- many people are aware of what party and who to vote for, an analyst here said.

The major parties might think their campaigns are successfully erasing the collective memory of their past performance, said Mochtar Pabottingi on Tuesday.

But although many people, "especially the needy and the unemployed accept money from any party paying them to campaign, they are no longer foolish," Mochtar said, "They are selective and are on the alert for unscrupulous politicians".

The National Movement against Rotten Politicians comprising several non-governmental organizations, has published a list of politicians and their alleged wrongdoings including rights violations and corruption, raising much controversy.

In particular, Mochtar said, many have lost confidence in President Megawati Soekarnoputri of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Vice President Hamzah Haz of United Development Party (PPP) who should be held responsible for the prevalent corruption. He said this includes the recent acquittal by the Supreme Court of Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung over charges that he embezzled Rp 40 billion (US$4.6 million) in state funds.

Meanwhile, J.B. Kristiadi of the Centre for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) said the general election should constitute "a trial by the people" of parties and politicians who share the blame for the current crisis.

"Voters who are now more selective, clever and honest should not elect parties that deceive the people and rotten politicians," Kristiadi said. He added that the reform forces, which had become fragmented in various parties and state institutions, "should consolidate to fight for the national reform agenda" to counter parties "that are trying to establish an oligarchy".

Mochtar lambasted the parties for their continuing dominant role in determining legislative candidates, placing priority on candidates' ability to raise funds. Parties also benefit from the weak laws which open the opportunity for money politics.

Although the electorate is skeptical, Kristiadi said, he also expressed concern over campaigns that stress voting only for party symbols instead of legislative candidates.

Instead of trying harder to attract people to dialogs on the party platform, Kristiadi said many parties "are using money to buy votes".

Kristiadi added that calls from the party led by R. Hartono, a former aide of former president Soeharto, to become loyalists (antek) again, were an insult to the people. "Nobody wants to be antek of Soeharto," he said, explaining that the Javanese word meant slave or one level beneath a slave.

A number of parties including that of Hartono and Soeharto's daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, the Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB), are eyeing votes from people who may think that life was better under Soeharto than the current government.

But the analysts agreed that without consolidation among pro- reform forces, the New Order forces might well win despite public skepticism. Such consolidation would be crucial to win the 2009 elections, they said.

Candidates use every available trick

Jakarta Post - March 17, 2004

A. Junaidi and Rusman, Jakarta/Samarinda -- Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say, and Regional Representatives Council (DPD) candidates are running the campaign gamut from mass gatherings, publications to mobile phone messages as they compete on rough terrain, not only against other candidates, but also against concurrent party campaigns.

The DPD is a new government institution that will be established after the legislative election due on April 5. The country's 32 provinces will have four representatives each in the council, which is similar in function to the United States Senate.

Along with the DPD's establishment, the current People's Consultative Assembly, or MPR, is to be dissolved and the new one will convene only as a regulated forum -- its sessions yet to be determined -- between the House and the new council.

In Jakarta, candidate Aberson Marle Sihaloho chose to take a nap, according to a source at his home, instead of campaigning as scheduled on Tuesday for one of only four seats on the capital's council. A veteran politician of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Sihaloho was either highly confident of his chances or utterly hopeless.

"Pak Aberson will meet his supporters at home," a source, who declined to be named, told The Jakarta Post. In the afternoon, however, Sihaloho's home on Jl. Kramat VII, Central Jakarta, seemed quiet and the source said the DPD aspirant was taking a nap.

In contrast, Golkar veteran politician and House Speaker Akbar Tandjung has vowed "to go all out" with his campaign, and said his camp was not underestimating any party, even the new, minor ones.

Meanwhile, Jakarta DPD candidate and veteran PDI-P politician Lukman F. Mokoginta was seen among those campaigning for votes, promising to solve the capital's chronic problems, such as the yearly floods.

"I will fight so that the Jakarta governor really has the authority to manage Jakarta and its surrounding areas...," he said. Lukman claimed that the city's flood problem was created by poor environmental management in surrounding areas, such as Depok and Cianjur, West Java.

In Medan, North Sumatra, a candidate promoted himself via short message service (SMS) from his mobile phone, confusing many residents who were unfamiliar with his aspirations.

"I did not know who sent the message. He just asked to be chosen as a DPD member from North Sumatra," Sendi, one resident who received the message, was quoted by Antara as saying on Tuesday. The candidate only introduced himself as Polin Pospos, a lecturer and senior economist at a university in Medan, Sendi said.

In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, DPD candidate Hasanuddin Rahman said he was not expecting a huge turnout at his campaign. "It's difficult to gather people and it also requires no small amount of money," said Hasanuddin, head of venture capital company Sarana Ventura Kaltim.

He said he refrained from organizing a mass gathering and instead released a book on his vision and mission as well as calendars, all of which cost less than holding big events.

Another local candidate, Heriyadi, also said funds were needed to hire attendants and renting venues and transportation. "It's impossible not to pay supporters. We also have to pay for sound systems and transportation," Heriyadi, a journalist, said.

Panwaslu warns of money politics

Jakarta Post - March 17, 2004

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Amid the growing trend among most of the 24 political parties to distribute money or staple food to entice voters, the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) warned them on Tuesday not to offer money during the campaign period.

"Do not fool the people with such charity. It's a crime, and more importantly, it will tarnish the validity of the overall election process," said Komaruddin Hidayat, the Panwaslu chairman.

Komaruddin was speaking to reporters during a press conference attended by Panwaslu members Topo Santoso, Didiek Supriyanto and Rozy Munir. Topo, who heads Panwaslu legal division, asserted that such cash handouts were considered a crime and, therefore, Panwaslu would report it to the police for investigation.

Handing out cash during campaigns, locally termed politik uang (literally "money politics") is against article 77 (1, 2, 3) Law No. 12/2003, as well as article 39 of KPU instruction No. 701/2003. The crime is punishable by a jail term and fines.

Topo, who is also a criminal law expert, added that legislative candidates, who are sentenced by courts for giving away cash to would-be voters, must resign even if they get elected and are in office when the sentence is finalized.

"We urge all legal enforcers to take this matter very seriously, and not be easily cheated by parties' maneuvers to camouflage these with gift, or in-kind, handouts," Topo said.

Panwaslu has recorded a number of such cases, including the donation of staple foods for poorer voters from the Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB) during a campaign in Jakarta and the distribution of money to supporters by the Golkar Party in Manado, North Sulawesi.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Freedom Party (Partai Merdeka) were also reported for offering door prize to attract people during their campaigns. On Tuesday, the National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Amien Rais distributed door prizes in Madura, East Java. The winner will get an all- expense paid trip to perform a minor haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Topo made it clear he was irked with the United Development Party (PPP) leader Hamzah Haz, who is also the current vice president, for using a Puma helicopter owned by the Indonesian Military (TNI) to go to a campaign rallies in Sumedang, West Java, and President Megawati Soekarnoputri for also using state facilities during her campaign for PDI-P in Pekanbaru and Tembilahan in Riau.

"We will report administrative violations to the KPU, which will then decide to impose written warnings or to bar that party from further campaigning," he explained.

Separately, KPU member Hamid Awaluddin warned Amien Rais, the current Speaker for the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and leader of PAN, to be very precise in the accounting for the use of the party's new airline donated by his colleague.

"Amien must calculate the spending for the airplane because it will be considered as a donation, and thus it must abide by Law No. 12/2003 on election donation limits, which are a maximum of Rp 100 million from an individual and Rp 750 million from a company or organization," he said.

Muslim-based parties turn inclusive ahead of polls

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2004

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta -- Islamic-leaning political parties contesting this year's general elections have selected more non- Muslim candidates, a move to pluralism that has been welcomed by political commentators.

Several Muslim-based political parties such as the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and even the strict Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), have nominated prominent non-Muslims in their lists of legislative candidates.

The PKB's high profile non-Muslim candidates include, AB Susanto, the former chairman of the Forum of Indonesian Catholic Communities (FMKI), who tops the candidacy list for the Jakarta I electoral district, and Ajeng Theresia Indrawati, who ranks seventh. In North Sulawesi, Ferry Tinggogoi, a Christian, heads the PKB's candidacy list for the legislative election.

PAN, the political party supported by members of the country's second largest Islamic organization, Muhammadiyah, has enlisted among others, legislator Alvin Lie, a Buddhist, in its roster of legislative aspirants for Central Java and Rev. Janes Johan Karubaba for West Papua.

The party's leader Amien Rais has said religious affinities is no longer an effective way to attract voters and the time is right for faith-based parties to shed their exclusive outlooks.

In a similar vein, the PKS, a political party that has long been interpreted as a political vehicle for Muslim hardliners, has also embraced those from other religions into its fold.

In Papua and North Sumatra, the PKS has put up a majority of non-Muslims to contest seats in the provincial legislature.

Earlier PKS leader Hidayat Nur Wahid said thousands of Christians from South Maluku had joined the party. The same was true for PKS candidates in the two provinces.

"It was the locals who first approached our party branches in the provinces and expressed their willingness to run for legislative positions. There are no strings attached," Untung Wahono, head of PKS political affairs, defense and security told The Jakarta Post.

He said the PKS did not object to non-Muslims representing it. "We consider them representatives of certain groups whose rights needed to be freely exercised," he said.

Muslim scholar Komarudin Hidayat of Paramadina Mulia University said by including non-Muslim candidates, Islamic-leaning political parties were taking a great leap forward in promoting pluralism and religious tolerance.

They were sending voters a message they should not vote for candidates based on their religious background but on their personal integrity and political vision.

On the downside, Komarudin said the move could at worst be interpreted as a cynical grab for voters, at best a pragmatism motivated by necessity.

"These parties have been frustrated by their failure to garner support from people of other religious beliefs, and now they have turned to embracing them. However, these parties can not leave their original constituents behind," he said.

He said political parties such as PAN and the PKB could not forget their grassroots supporters were Muslims, members of Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, respectively.

Two Suharto kin launch campaigns

Straits Times - March 16, 2004

Jakarta -- Two family members of former dictator Suharto have launched separate campaigns for the coming Indonesian elections.

His eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti "Tutut" Rukmana, clearly aware of the popular longing for a return to the rapid economic development of the Suharto era, has promised to bring the people back to the good old days.

During her campaign speech in front of the Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB) flags on Sunday, Ms Tutut said Suharto wished that Indonesia could return to its golden era when people were prosperous and "justice belonged to all".

Ms Tutut, who is probably the most likeable of Suharto's six children, is seizing on the people's growing distrust of the reformists, whom most see as failures who did not make good their promises made in the 1999 general election.

"Pak Harto wishes that all Indonesian people can have a house, can send their children to school and can practise their religion peacefully," said Ms Tutut, who hopes to be PKPB's candidate for the July 5 direct presidential election.

Suharto's son-in-law, retired Lieutenant-General Prabowo Subianto, is also seeking the presidency despite his alleged role in the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists.

Lt-Gen Prabowo yesterday launched his campaign for the nomination of the Golkar party, which backed Suharto's 32-year rule and is the main challenger to President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle in the parliamentary elections on April 5.

Lt-Gen Prabowo commanded the Kopassus special forces in 1997 and 1998 when more than 20 pro-democracy activists went missing. Some have never been found. He denied he was involved. "I feel I'm not guilty," he said.

He said he has a "calling" to seek the presidency and save the economy from foreign control that had turned it into a "coolie nation".

Suharto resigned in May 1998 amid massive civil unrest. A government inquiry had pointed to the possible involvement of an army unit headed by Lt-Gen Prabowo in the May 1998 riots that left more than 1,000 dead.

Most parties have violated election rules: Panwaslu

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2004

Jakarta -- Almost all of the 24 political parties contesting this year's elections had committed 100 violations as of Monday, according to the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu).

The campaign has, however, been overall peaceful, committee member Didiek Supriyanto said, while calling on authorities and all the parties to maintain the discipline of members and supporters to prevent untoward incidents.

As of Monday, Didiek said, violations included placing party symbols in prohibited places and involving children in campaigns.

Panwaslu has also called on the General Elections Commission (KPU) to treat equally all political parties that violate regulations, Didiek said.

He was referring to advertisements by the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) along toll roads in Jakarta, which is a prohibited location according to the election rules. Officials appointed by the KPU, who often raid flags or other political party symbols, apparently failed to take action against the PDI-P display.

Regarding the involvement of children in campaigns, the KPU has advised all political parties against involving children under the age of seven in campaigns as it was in violation of Article 40 (4) KPU Instruction No 701/2003 on electoral campaigns.

The National Commission for Child Protection earlier urged political parties not to involve children in campaigns.

A number of children have been hospitalized after participating in campaigning activities. One child died in a car accident in Sulawesi when he and his parents were about to campaign.

Didiek said the need to maintain discipline among party members and supporters was vital in the third week of the campaign period when outdoor campaigns would be held. "These will involve lots of supporters and could lead to brawls," he said of the outdoor campaigns, which start next week.

Even now the transporting of supporters to and from indoor campaign venues has virtually become street campaigning, though on a much smaller scale than the convoys of political party supporters prior to the 1999 elections.

Panwaslu reports administrative violations of political parties to the KPU and suspected crimes to the police.

It's the free T-shirts they're after

Straits Times - March 16, 2004

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta -- It began with a bang. Just six days ago, party faithful thronged the streets of Indonesia in carnival mood to mark the start of the country's election campaigning.

That initial enthusiasm, however, is appearing to fade. Red, yellow and green banners of 24 parties contesting the parliamentary poll next month are still hoisted on flagpoles, traffic lights and trees.

But where are the crowds? Across the sprawling archipelago, from Java to Sumatra to Sulawesi, people are turning up in droves -- not to listen to speeches but to collect free T-shirts and other memorabilia being handed out by big guns like the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Golkar to win votes.

Otherwise, the fields are deserted, with a public increasingly sceptical of politicians' rhetoric and empty pledges.

Security guard Suharto, 33, reflects the sentiments of many of the country's wong cilik, or poor. Standing in a queue with hundreds of others in West Jakarta to collect PDI-P shirts embellished with the logo of a bull with a white muzzle, he says: "It's free! I am hoping to join another rally to get another one for my girlfriend. But it does not mean we support PDI-P. We don't trust any of the parties.

"They made a lot of promises in 1999. But not much has changed. The people in power have grown richer and the people have become poorer. So, what's wrong collecting a few more T-shirts?" Clearly, the impact of such thinking is being felt across the board, especially among the major parties. President Megawati Sukarnoputri kicked off her re-election campaign kissing babies and chanting party slogans in the tourist resort of Bali.

More than 5,000 PDI-P supporters formed a sea of red, the party colour, at a field in the town of Gianyar in Bali, one of her strongholds. But the turnout, according to party members, was much lower compared to her campaign there five years ago.

In Jambi, in West Sumatra, barely 1,000 turned up over the weekend for the rally of PDI-P secretary-general Soejipto.

The other juggernaut, Golkar, is also getting a cool reception to sometimes long speeches of anti-corruption and the ABCs of reformasi.

Political lethargy explains the fraying crowds. But there are other reasons. For the newer and smaller parties, they have no money to launch a sustained 22-day campaign.

Take, for example, the Social Democratic Labour Party (PBSD). Holding its indoor campaign in the capital, it managed to attract only a few teenagers who were outnumbered by 75 policemen guarding the event.

The English-language daily Jakarta Post quoted a PBSD organiser as saying that it could not draw people to attend its rally because it did not have enough funds to produce T-shirts, food and entertainment. It only had Rp 20 million (S$3,950) in its war chest.

The PNI Marhaenisme, chaired by Ms Megawati's younger sister Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, also fared poorly in holding a public dialogue, although the General Election Commission (KPU) had provided funds for the party to hire out a venue. It managed to campaign in only five Jakarta districts, out of a total 44.

Outside the capital, the situation was no different. In Medan in North Sumatra, eight parties called off campaign plans because of poor financing.

In Surabaya, East Java, there were no parades on the streets. Parties campaigning there cancelled their public dialogues after failing to attract an audience.

Some argue that the KPU's guidelines restricting campaigning to indoor dialogue sessions for the first two weeks -- which some parties like PDI-P and Golkar have chosen to ignore -- could explain the absence of crowds.

But clearly, the political euphoria that surrounded the elections in 1999 seems glaringly absent in Indonesia today. And there is another six months of campaigning until a new president is elected.

For some, the flag-waving, horn-tooting and drum-banging will still continue, but will it be in the name of democracy or for that free T-shirt?

24 parties but nothing to celebrate

Asia Times - March 16, 2004

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar -- The Indonesian general election campaign started with a bang last week, but it will end with a whimper. Never have 24 parties given people so little reason to celebrate.

Campaigning for the April 5 legislative elections officially began on Thursday. That vote sets the stage and the pecking order for the country's first-ever direct presidential election in July, with a runoff in September if no candidate receives a majority in Round 1.

In Jakarta and many provincial capitals, the campaign kicked off with all-party parades. In 1999, these displays of political pluralism after decades of guided democracy and worse under presidents Sukarno and Suharto drew crowds of well-wishers lining the streets. This time, the parades drew yawns and jeers from onlookers, as well as complaints about ensuing traffic jams.

Takin' it from the streets

The elites, not the streets, generated Thursday's electoral excitement. President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono resigned from his leading spot in the cabinet. His resignation was the first from Megawati's Gotong Royong (a traditional term for "working together") cabinet, a rainbow coalition stretching from Islamic hardliners to democratic reformers. The group features several presidential candidates, including Susilo, marked as Megawati's most potent opponent in many polls.

Megawati's allies have complained it's improper for cabinet members to run against the president they serve. In a country where the Speaker of the House and the central bank governor each remained in office after corruption convictions -- eventually overturned by compliant courts -- the idea of propriety is still developing. Until Susilo bowed out, no minister had moved toward the exit ramp.

Susilo's resignation culminated a week and a half of charges, countercharges and name-calling. The former three-star general claimed he'd been sidelined in the cabinet. In response, Megawati's husband Taufik Kiemas, a legislator and power broker in her ruling PDI-P party, called Susilo "childish". The row ostensibly revolved around drafting regulations for cabinet members during the campaign, but it ignited only after Susilo hit the airwaves in a public-service announcement explaining voting procedures, apparently produced and broadcast without presidential approval.

'Do you want to embarrass me?'

Now campaigning unencumbered for his tiny Democratic Party, Susilo came to Bali, a PDI-P stronghold in 1999, on Sunday and talked about promoting small businesses to create jobs for all Indonesians and letting Bali keep more of the revenues from the controversial policy of selling entry visas.

Even that bit of "chicken in every pot" fluff contrasts with Megawati's speech here on Friday. She chided supporters about predictions that PDI-P support has slipped since 1999, when the party won seven of Bali's nine legislative seats. "Do you want to embarrass me?" the president asked before breaking into a song, apparently a requirement for every candidate at rallies.

On the October 12, 2002, terrorist bombing after Megawati's team derided foreign intelligence warnings and still stifles tourism in Bali and throughout Indonesia? Or that new visa policy that gives tourists another reason to visit Malaysia or Thailand instead? Nary a word nor note.

Susilo's standing in the polls also makes him popular with larger parties as a potential running mate, or even a headliner. His first stop after quitting was a meeting with ousted president Abdurrahman Wahid, aka Gus Dur, who fired Susilo from his cabinet just before his own fall when Susilo opposed Wahid's scheme to use the armed forces to avert impeachment; apparently they've patched things up. Wahid's National Awakening Party (PKB by its Indonesian abbreviation) is expected to nominate Gus Dur again, but his history of strokes and virtual blindness give him the option of ceding to Susilo for health reasons without losing face.

Jakarta's foreign intelligentsia likewise gives Susilo high marks, perhaps because he's the only ex-general in the race without human-rights black marks on his record. Despite nearly five years in the cabinet, though, it's difficult to identify any initiative as Susilo's. When I mentioned Susilo to an Indonesian voter, she enthused, "I like him," but couldn't name any of his policies or programs. That's frighteningly similar to the rise and fall of US presidential hopeful General Wesley Clark, who engendered initial enthusiasm but seems to have left about 12 of his allotted 15 minutes of fame unused.

Sounds of silence

That's not to pick on Susilo; hardly any candidate or party offers a coherent program. After a few stumbles toward reform under Gus Dur, Megawati's regime has largely embraced the military, the economic elite and the corrupt system that flourished under Suharto. Legislators across the board routinely fail to act on 90 percent of the bills before them; what better method for silently endorsing the status quo and killing reform? Political office is still seen as a license for personal enrichment, not a mandate for public service.

This in a nation with an estimated unemployment rate of 40 percent, where economic policymakers opted for macroeconomic gains and withdrawal from subsidized international borrowing at the expense of investment, faster growth and poverty eradication; martial law in one province to combat armed secessionists and policies that provoked separatist violence at the other end of the archipelago; corruption on a massive scale pervasive throughout the business and legal systems as well as politics; an army that continues to operate beyond civilian control; severe shortages of affordable health care and education that could cut the poverty cycle; and denial still the main response to terrorism by Islamic militants and other groups.

In reaction to their growing isolation from the political elite, people largely view the campaign as an excuse to ride around town waving party flags and get uang muka (face money) for showing up at rallies that usually feature popular singers as well as boring party speakers. Displaying a level of cynicism that qualifies him for a senior political post, one enterprising Jakartan received Rp 40,000 (US$4.62) plus a food voucher and T-shirt for attending a PDI-P rally, then told the Jakarta Post, "Actually, I am not going to vote for PDI-P. I just want its money, that's all. I am willing to accept money from other parties, too, to help in their campaigns."

Indonesia desperately needs to engage its citizenship in a conversation about the nation it wants to build, before the rotten system collapses. But this election is not a competition of ideas or policies or even an opportunity to engage the populace. It's simply a contest for power among parties where no side wants to take a chance of being shut out. Megawati's PDI-P is considering an election coalition with the No 2 party Golkar, Suharto's ruling vehicle, chaired by convicted-but-reprieved swindler Akbar Tanjung.

That spectacle shouldn't just make the advocates of reformasi vomit and martyrs to that cause rise from their graves for revenge. That, not any loss of support in Bali, is what should shame Megawati and the 23 rival parties that offer Indonesia so little to celebrate.

Parties struggle to engage voters in policy dialog

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2004

Jakarta -- Idealists and officials have spoken for years of the benefits of "dialog campaigns" rather than rowdy rallies and convoys, but on the fifth day of campaigning, political parties were still struggling to get people interested in any attempt at dialog.

The legislative campaign kicked off on Thursday, however, on Monday it was already clear that serious dialogs, intended to inform the electorate of the platforms of political parties, were hardly crowd pleasers. Much more attractive were giveaways and free entertainment.

Even the issue of jobs, which was raised by noted economist Dradjad H. Wibowo on behalf of the National Mandate Party (PAN), barely attracted the interest of the crowd.

Addressing some 300 supporters at the Youth Center in East Jakarta, Dradjat promised that PAN would allocate a certain portion of the state budget for programs to reduce unemployment. There are currently about 40 million unemployed people in the country.

After 10 minutes, the economist asked the audience to sing, perhaps aware that it would be difficult to engage them for much longer.

Separately in Bulungan sports hall in South Jakarta PAN legislative candidate Sjaifoel Tanjung climbed the stage and asked supporters: "Why are you here?" To his disappointment, the united reply was: "Don't know".

Tanjung informed them that their attendance was driven by similar hopes, namely the creation of better political and economic conditions.

PAN supporter Yayan, 22, of Ulujami in South Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post that he was not really interested in legislative candidates. "I came here simply to have fun," said Yayan who, along with his friends, was expecting a free lunch and transport compensation.

In Central Jakarta, the Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB) distributed at least 2,500 packages of staple food items to poor people living in the vicinity of Jl. Raden Saleh, Central Jakarta. The party's vote-getter is businesswoman Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, a daughter of former president Soeharto who is popular for her programs for the poor. The packages, bear party symbols and include rice, instant noodles and milk powder.

The Indonesian Nahdlatul Community Party (PPNUI) campaigned for the first time today in all of the capital's five municipalities. Over 500 PPNUI supporters in white and green T-shirts gathered at the Kali Deres sports building on Jl. Pela Utara, West Jakarta, to listen to the speeches of the party's three legislative candidates.

The speakers exploited the failures of the current government to overcome poverty, reduce the cost of education and stabilize the prices of staple commodities. "We have been cheated by large political parties. They promised to improve our welfare in their campaigns, but the condition now contradict their promises," said Bunyamin H.N., a candidate for the Jakarta City Council.

Two other speakers -- Yahya Muhammad, a candidate for the House of Representatives and Hasanuddin Fauzi, another candidate for the City Council -- made similar speeches and called for Muslims to unite. None of the campaigners took the time to explain their platforms. The meeting was also void of dialog with the audience, many of whom left before the end of the speeches.

Tragedy has already marred the campaign period. North Sulawesi's chairman of the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) Toar Palilingan disclosed that two people were killed while campaigning. Roland Sambuari and Siun Mokobombong, respectively supporters of Golkar and the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKP Indonesia), were electrocuted while installing party flags, he said.

In Pedan district, Klaten, Central Java, PAN supporter Suwardi died after being assaulted by Budi Widodo alias Mehong, whom locals claim is a thug and also a supporter of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Klaten police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Arief Dharmawan said it was only a brawl between individuals.

Hartono admits to being Suharto's lackey

Detik.com - March 14, 2004

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta -- Entering day four of the election campaign, [Former President Suharto's eldest daughter] Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana alias "Tutut" has been campaigning around Yogyakarta and Boyolali in Central Java. In a campaign rally which culminated in a mass prayer for national leadership and the safety of the nation, Tutut appeared at the air-conditioned Sarinah Vidi Building on Jalan Magelang in Yogyakarta on Monday March 14.

Tutut appeared in Yogyakarta together with the general chairperson of the National Functional Party of Concern (PKPB), R. Hartono and his wife, Indra Rukmana. After presiding over the mass prayer, Tutut along with her entourage went directly to a public meeting at the Argo Mulyo Sedayu square in Bantul, Yogyakarta. In the afternoon she will appear at a meeting of party cadre in Boyolali.

In his speech, Hartono said bluntly that he is a Suharto lackey. He also admitted to missing the greatness of the New Order government under Suharto's leadership. "The establishment of PKPB has also obtained Suharto's blessing", he said. (mar)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Mass campaigns don't just need T-shirts, but money

Detik.com - March 17, 2004

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta -- If there is money, the parties are popular. If they only have T-shirts they are ignored.

At least that seems to be a picture of the way people who are joining political parties' campaigns at the moment are thinking. They will refuse invitations to participate in a campaign if the coordinators are only able to give them T-shirts or other party paraphernalia.

The participants, the majority of which are buskers, the unemployed, motorcycle taxi drivers (Ojek) and housewives, have set a standard on the price and goods they will accept to join a campaign. It appears that they are aware that their status as the little people, the poor, gives them quite a good bargaining position in the eyes of the political parties.

"If it's a T-shirt, well for me, its not enough", said Hermanus, an Ojek driver who Detik met while they were taking part in a campaign by one of the political parties at the Urip sports field in Jatinegara, East Jakarta.

This sturdy youth said that a nominal 50,000 rupiah is set as the minimum wage which he would accept to join a rally around the city for a full day. "I must get paid up front yeh, hard cash", said his college Agung with a serious voice but mischievous grin. He emphasised this because in his experience participating in demonstrations the coordinators who deploy often then disappear [before they get paid]. "[You're] already tired from shouting, hot, [and you've] lost [a days' income] not working as an Ojek", he said.

This undercurrent appears to be well understood by the political parties, especially because they have to compete with other political parties to attract people to their respective campaigns. According to Beni, one of the "mass recruitment agents", the political parties who have contacted him are budgeting funds of 50,000 rupiah plus extras per person. "As well as a T-shirt and flag, extras includes a snack and lunch, and transport must definitely be provided", he said.

When Detik met him at the North Jakarta Sports Stadium, he was in the middle of taking around 200 local people from Cilincing to participate in the campaign of one of the political parties there.

However based on the principle of customer satisfaction and to ensure a repeat order, Beni enforces a prohibition on those who he mobilises from accepting orders from other political parties on the same day.

During this election campaign, he is only prepared to take orders from political parties who are regular customers. "There have been many other political parties who have asked, but yeh, rather than having [my] regular customers disappear, it's better to just refuse", he said lightly. (lh,asy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Prabowo says abducted students now support him

Kompas - March 16, 2004

Jakarta, Kompas -- Accusations of human rights violations have not affected retired Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto's plan to advance towards the presidency. The former head of Kopassus who is believed to be linked to the abductions of a number of students(1) continues to move forward in Golkar's presidential candidate selection process.

"This is a democratic process. I ask for the people's mandate. If the people consider that I am unsuitable, the people won't choose me. But if the people choose me, I think that it is unfair if I continue to be accused of [doing] negative things, it is a form of stigmatisation", said Subianto in Jakarta on Monday March 15.

He explained that the accusations of human rights violations which have been directed at him are one sided. "At that time I was accused of all kinds of things. But these accusations are not objective", he explained.

As an example, he said that the media has never ever reported on the facts regarding the activists which it is said were abducted, in fact they had already assembled 22 homemade bombs. "So, in fact my subordinates, if it is viewed clearly, actually prevented 22 bombings which could have resulted in [people becoming the] victims", he added.

According to Subianto, many of the student activists which are said to have been abducted actually support him becoming a presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, the executive director of Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), Munir, hoped that the public would respond appropriately in face of the various questionable politicians which have emerged. In relation to the abduction of students, Munir was of the view that this issue is not one of stigmatisation. The abductions clearly represent violations committed by the state. Indeed, these cases have never been tried in their entirety so it is not known exactly who is guilty. (sut)

Notes:

1. Between 1997 and 1998 as many as fourteen pro-democracy activists were abducted by members of the elite special forces Kopassus. After extended periods of detention -- in many cases the victims were severely tortured -- most were released although four remain missing and are presumed dead. Former Kopassus chief Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto who was at the time President Suharto's son-in-law is alleged to have ordered the abductions. In April 1999, 11 low-ranking Kopassus officers were tried by a military court for the kidnappings and given sentences of between a year and 22 months in prison, although six of them were allowed to remain in the army.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Whistle-blower to drop testimony against Attorney General

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2004

P.C. Naommy, Jakarta -- The investigation into alleged corruption involving Attorney General MA Rachman was dealt a large blow on Friday when a key witness said he would withdraw his testimony.

Prosecution witness Kito Irkhamni, who gave the Public Servant's Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) the initial tip that led to the investigation, submitted to the National Police on Friday a statement refusing to be a witness and withdrawing his earlier testimony that implicated the attorney general.

"I haven't got any witness protection from KPKPN, that's why I withdraw the evidence and refuse to testify in the case," Kito said. The KPKPN had failed give him witness protection support during his trial in which he was convicted of fraud involving Rp 480 million (US$56,470), he said.

The South Jakarta District Court found Kito guilty of failing to fulfill a Rp 480 million construction job on a house owned by Ati Mulyati in Puri Cinere, South Jakarta, after spending more than a year on the project. He was sentenced to one month and 23 days for the fraud, minus the detention period for the trial, which covered the same amount of time.

"I agreed to give testimony in the MA Rachman case because the KPKPN had promised to put me under its witness protection program. But the reality was a big zero!" said Kito.

Before his trial, Kito had testified before the KPKPN on Rachman's alleged hidden wealth in the form of a luxury house in Depok, West Java, estimated to be worth over Rp 5 billion.

"So, it isn't that I don't respect the KPKPN, but I will need more than just one day or a week of protection," said Kito in response to a statement from KPKPN that it had provided him protection and assistance in facing several threats during his trial.

Kito also complained about prolonged legal procedures for the case. He said the KPKPN should have urged the police to speed up the process so the case would not be "contaminated".

Kito said the lengthy investigation into Rachman's case had put him and his family in a difficult situation. "I cannot do my job and my business is stuck because of this matter," he said. Kito said if the police had been serious about investigating the case, it would have been easy to spare a day to meet with President Megawati Soekarnoputri and ask her for permission to question the attorney general.

"The National Police chief is an assistant to the President and should have direct access to her and ask for a permit to question him. I'm sure it wouldn't take more than a day to do that," Kito said.

KPKPN head of the Rahman investigation Petrus Selestinus told The Jakarta Post it was odd for Kito to withdraw testimony he had already given.

"It is strange if he plans to take back what he said during the examination. It's okay for him to do it, but he should do it according to the rules," Petrus said.

People couldn't just hand in a letter to the police to withdraw testimony, he said. Kito should have gone to the KPKPN, informed them of which part of the testimony he wanted to withdraw and then compiled a new dossier.

Petrus said the KPKPN would not be deaf to allegations against Rachman. However: "If the police can't find enough evidence that can bring Rahman to court, then we will accept that," he said. Petrus said clarity in the case was needed, since Rahman had the right to legal assistance.

Campaign against rotten politicians

More names of 'rotten politicians' soon

Jakarta Post - March 17, 2004

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and A. Junaidi, Jakarta -- Another list naming "rotten" politicians would be released to the public soon, the group behind the publications said on Tuesday.

The National Movement Against Rotten Politicians, a grouping of non-government organizations, said the release would help educate the public about the quality of House of Representatives candidates. "Rotten" politicians were those believed to have been involved in or supported human rights violations, corruption, money politics and other forms of graft, the group said.

Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) activist Danang Widoyoko said the group was not deterred by possible legal action against it by the politicians whose names were included in the list.

Last week, it released a list of politicians vying for legislative seats in a four-page newspaper called Sosok ("Public Figures").

It said it had also put the list of politicians on its website www.antipolitisibusuk.org.. A total of 12 million out of 215 million Indonesians have Internet access.

However, on Tuesday the website could still not be accessed. Danang said the site was still under construction. It had not been hacked into or shut down by cybervandals, he said. The website would feature full names and brief track records of the politicians, he said.

Fellow activist Lucky Djani reminded the public a website with a similar address, www.antipolitisibusuk.net, did not belong to the group. "The website promotes a certain group claiming to be against corrupt practices," he said.

In other developments, relatives of victims in the May Riots and the Trisakti and Semanggi incidents in 1998 called on the public not to choose legislative candidates who were allegedly involved in human rights violations.

Accompanied by activists from the National Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the victims released the names of 26 legislative candidates believed to have been involved in or supported human rights violations.

"These candidates are either directly or indirectly involved in human rights abuses," activist Andika Risqi said at the Trisakti University campus in West Jakarta.

Most of the candidates had already been announced by the National Movement Against Rotten Politicians on Saturday.

Four Trisakti students were shot and killed on May 12, 1998, when they, along with thousands of students, staged a massive rally to demand the resignation of former president Soeharto.

The shooting triggered massive riots in Jakarta and many places across the country on May 13 and 14, and hundreds of people, many ethnic Chinese, were killed.

Dozens of Chinese Indonesian women were also raped during the riots.

Members of the House of Representatives (DPR) commission later investigating the incidents had declared no human rights violations took place.

List names 61 'crooked' Indonesian politicians

Agence France Presse - March 15, 2004

Jakarta -- A coalition of Indonesian groups has released a list of names of 61 candidates in the upcoming parliamentary election who it alleges are "crooked politicians", the Jakarta Post reported yesterday.

The National Movement Against Crooked Politicians, which groups some 150 non-governmental organisations, released the list on Saturday and promised to issue two more, the report said.

Those on the list are accused of violations of human rights, corruption, violence against women and environmental destruction.

The list includes their names, party affiliations, election areas and description of their alleged offences. Those on the list are mostly state officials, including members of the military. The movement said the list was aimed at helping voters to make their choices at the ballot box.

Eighteen are members of the former ruling Golkar party, 13 are from President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and 10 are from Vice-President Hamzah Haz's United Development Party. The others are from five smaller parties.

Militarism/New Order

Tanjung threatens to sue flag burners

Laksamana.net - March 18, 2004 Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tanjung has warned he will instigate legal action people suspected of setting fire to the party's symbols during the election campaign.

Tanjung was speaking Thursday in Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, where dozens of Golkar flags were torched last week.

In Jakarta on Wednesday, student protesters burned Golkar flags at the state-run University of Indonesia. They also torched flags of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Vice President Hamzah Haz's United Development Party (PPP), denouncing the three parties as "products of the New Order" -- a reference to former dictator Suharto's regime.

The students rejected the participation of the three parties in the April 5 general election, which they said was merely theatrical event being staged to fool the public.

Tanjung said Golkar would not accuse rival political parties of masterminding the flag burning incidents because it respects each party contesting the general election.

"However, it is very regrettable that it happened. Golkar does not discredit other parties. We merely convey the priority programs Golkar will struggle for in the future," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.

The government-sanctioned General Elections Supervision Committee (Panwaslu) expressed regret over the flag burnings at the UI campus. Jakarta Panwaslu official Dedi Tambunan said the incident would be reported to police.

It wasn't immediately clear why Panwaslu seems more worried by flag burnings than thousands of traffic violations that are taking place during the ongoing campaign period.

Stoned again

Three Golkar supporters were reportedly injured on Wednesday when students from the Indonesian Christian University (UKI) hurled stones at them as they were passing down Jalan Diponegoro in Menteng, Central Jakarta. A number of passing cars were also damaged in the incident, which prompted police to intervene to stop the violence.

Golkar supporters were also on the receiving end of stones and verbal abuse during the campaign period ahead of the nation's last general election in June 1999.

Students burn PPP, Golkar and PDI flags

Detik.com - March 17, 2004

Indra Shalihin, Jakarta -- Scores of students from the University of Indonesia (UI) Student Action Front (Front Aksi Mahasiswa, FAM) held an demonstration against New Order [regime of former President Suharto] political parties. They burnt United Development Party (PPP), Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Golkar Party paraphernalia.

The action was held in front of the campus on Jalan Salemba Raya in Jakarta on Wednesday March 17. They burnt various types of party paraphernalia including PPP and Golkar flags and flags and T-shirts with pictures of President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

FAM said that these three political parties are products of the New Order therefore they called on the people not to vote for the three. As of going to press the action was still continuing.

Meanwhile, in anticipation of the student's action spreading, police had already deployed personnel around the area. Scores of police were seen on alert in front of the UI campus and the Indonesian Christian University campus.

Security on the day was indeed tighter than usual. According to an off-duty police officer, they had received information that a number of students from various groups would block a Golkar Party rally who's turn it is to campaign in Jakarta today. (djo)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

News & issues

Indonesia will break apart if eastern region is neglected

Antara - March 19, 2004

Kendari -- Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare Jusuf Kalla warned on Friday that if Jakarta continued to disregard development in the eastern part of the country, it would lead to the disintegration of Indonesia.

Speaking in his capacity as an executive of the Golkar Party, Kalla said, "all sides related to this nation, especially the government, have to pay more heed to development in eastern parts of the archiplego."

As a native of Sulawesi, Kalla disclosed that he had struggled to help boost development in the region for years because he witnessed a great disparity in development between the eastern region and the western region.

The government has to be just in implementing development in all sectors, he said, adding that whatever the reason there should be no need to differentiate when it came to development programs.

He cited as an example that the intention of a number of provinces, including Aceh from the far western part, to separate from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, was caused initially by the unfairness in the distribution of the fruits of development.

"Development of the eastern region can no longer be done through a presidential decree, but by determination on the part of the central government and the local people themselves," he said.

Kalla said that the most important thing needed by the eastern region was development in education. Without adequate skilled human resources, it will not be easy to tap the abundant natural resources, he added.

Activists condemn 'arrogant' presidential guards

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2004

M. Taufiqurrahman and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Indonesian Military (TNI) Police chief Maj. Gen. Sulaiman A.B. announced on Friday that two presidential guards had been declared suspects in a recent shooting incident and a busway traffic violation.

The shooting incident occurred last Thursday in Rawasari, Central Jakarta, leaving two civilians injured with gunshot wounds, and the traffic violation occurred on Wednesday in the busway lane in Harmoni, Central Jakarta.

"[The attempt at] taking the lives of civilians is unacceptable. The perpetrator deserves the death penalty. However, the punishment will depend on the results of the ongoing investigation," Sulaiman told reporters at TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), which condemned the presidential guards' acts and demanded that they be named suspects, lauded the move by the Military Police.

"If the personnel are acquitted under the Military Code, we will file a lawsuit at the civilian court. The Indonesian Military must also obey civilian laws," LBH Jakarta chairman Uli Parulian Sihombing said.

Uli also demanded that TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto take full responsibility for his soldiers' violent acts against civilians.

LBH lawyer Taufik Basari demanded the TNI to identify the "important person" the guard claimed to be escorting when the incident took place.

"The presidential guard's main task is to guard the president and vice president. Neither were reported to have been part of the entourage when the guard began shooting," he said. He added that if any of the leaders' family members were being guarded, then the high-security treatment was excessive.

Last week, a convoy of four Toyota Land Cruisers carrying presidential guards -- whose identities the TNI has not disclosed -- were allegedly escorting an "important person" when the convoy instigated a dispute with motorist John Reinhard.

The guards honked at John's driver Junaidi, trying to get him to proceed on Jl. Ahmad Yani, Rawasari, Central Jakarta, which was congested. One of the presidential guards emerged from his vehicle and accosted John, then began to beat him up with the help of three fellow guards.

John's screams for help eventually attracted the attention of passersby who soon stormed the group of guards and their cars. One of the guards shot four times, allegedly to disperse the crowd: twice in the air and twice into the crowd, hitting Solomon Simpatupang, 50, and Abdul Rauf, 35. The two are being treated for gunshot wounds at Jakarta Islamic Hospital in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta.

Another presidential guard, Second Corp. Asrul, was named a suspect for traffic violations. The guard, who was off duty, was caught by a policeman while illegally driving down the busway corridor to avoid a traffic jam in Harmoni.

Unable to show a license nor registration, he returned with a busload of guards to the police post. The incident was taken to the Gambir Police, thereby avoiding out-and-out violence.

"Under the Traffic Law, he will face a maximum six-year sentence for not carrying a valid driver's license and vehicle registration," he said. "He abused his power as a member of the military by riding a motorcycle in the exclusive busway lane."

Environment

Activists in raid to disrupt trade in rainforest timber

The Guardian (UK) - March 18, 2004

Jamie Wilson -- Waiting for the first shards of light to break through the night sky, the two inflatable speedboats were running without navigation lights. The lead boat flashed a torch twice, and the two ribs powered up and began cutting through the swell of the English Channel.

Their target, a 20,000-tonne cargo ship suspected of carrying illegally felled timber from the endangered rainforests of Indonesia, was lit up like a Christmas tree on the horizon. Six Greenpeace activists, dressed in orange survival suits with "Forest Crime Unit" emblazoned on the back, would use caving hook ladders to climb the side of the ship, board and then occupy the vessel in an attempt to stop it from unloading its cargo at Tilbury docks on the Thames.

Greenpeace had been tracking the MV Greveno for months, since the campaign ship Rainbow Warrior watched it load a Europe-bound cargo of plywood from a sawmill known to have used timber from a supposedly protected orang-utan refuge in Tanjung Puting national park. The ship is also carrying timber from an area where illegal logging is threatening the survival of the Sumatran tiger.

According to Greenpeace, behind much of the plywood that originates in Indonesia's rainforests there is a web of criminal activity, corruption and bloodshed, and the arrival of the Greveno, which has already unloaded some of its cargo in France, is symptomatic of the way EU governments are not doing enough to stop the illicit trade.

Home to the longest list of endangered species in the world, Indonesia's rainforest is disappearing faster than any other. An area the size of Belgium is destroyed every year and experts predict that by 2010 most of the lowland rainforest will be gone from Borneo and Sumatra.

Activists on board the Rainbow Warrior watched the Greveno loading plywood from the Ariabami Sari sawmill. Last year an Indonesian government investigation found that the owner of the sawmill, Korindo, was buying logs from timber dealers who have been felling trees in the orang-utan refuge. The endangered ape is found only in Sumatra and Borneo and their numbers have halved in 10 years.

Despite the investigation, the mill was not shut down, and the company has refused to take part in a British trade initiative to assess the legality of Indonesian timber operations. The ship is also known to be carrying timber supplied by a company that operates in Sumatra, buying timber in an area renowned for illegal logging which is threatening the survival of the island's tiger.

Yesterday morning was just the latest skirmish between the cargo vessel and the Greenpeace campaigners. As the Greenpeace protest began, the two boats approached the MV Greveno, coming from the stern at high speed and drawing alongside the lowest point of the deck three metres above their heads. Using an unwieldy telescopic pole, the boarding party struggled to hook the tiny wire caving ladder on to the rail of the ship as their boat pitched and yawed in the Atlantic swell. The crew of the Greveno were ready for them.

The first boarding attempt had come on Tuesday morning when the same six activists had set out from the Greenpeace ship the Esporanza and approached the then unsuspecting Greveno. For a moment as they drew alongside they thought they had managed to attach the wire ladder, but the hook came loose and dropped into the sea. The boarding party struggled to reattach it, but had lost the element of surprise.

They were now in for their own unpleasant shock. Pictures taken by the Rainbow Warrior in Indonesia suggested the crew were mostly Filipinos, who in the past have usually reacted mildly when Greenpeace activists have attempted to board ships. But the smiling faces in the photographs bore no resemblance to the thick-set sailors of eastern European appearance who were now on deck. They were not compliant.

Alarm

The captain had sounded the alarm and by the time the boarding team tried to attach the ladder several crew were on hand to kick it away. The crew also had high-powered deck hoses.

Eventually the speedboats were forced to retreat. Yesterday the pattern was repeated as the hook was kicked away and the hoses uncoiled. But the campaigners vowed to continue harassing the ship, and last night they were planning further action in the mouth of the Thames where the Greveno was due early today.

"We're certainly not giving up," said Greenpeace's forest campaigner, Andy Tait. "We're going to do everything we can to disrupt the unloading of this ship."

The UK Timber Trade Federation has admitted that not one of Indonesia's sawmills can provide sufficient evidence of legality or sustainability for the British market, and three of the main high street builders merchants, including Jewson and Travis Perkins, have stopped buying Indonesian plywood because of concerns about illegal trade.

But while many European governments have spoken out about the illegal trade in timber there are few laws to stop it from being imported. Greenpeace is calling on the British and other EU governments to introduce legislation to make it a crime to import and market illegally logged timber and wood products. In the meantime the organisation has vowed to continue to harass ships it believes are carrying illegally felled timber.

Few parties touch basic environmental issues

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2004

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Despite the series of natural disasters that have ravaged vast stretches of the country in recent years, current and aspiring leaders seem uninterested in addressing environmental issues in their political campaigns.

The Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) said on Friday that a study on the political platforms and programs of the 24 parties contesting the general election found that only half of them focus on basic environmental issues.

"Regime after regime, there has been no significant breakthrough on the environment. We must deal with droughts, floods, landslides and even illegal logging on and on without new approaches in dealing with these issues," said Mas Achmad Santosa, a founder and senior counselor of the ICEL.

Achmad lamented the situation, saying that the reason many parties, including major parties such as the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party, did not address environmental issues was because they were occupied with selling economics programs without realizing that natural disasters might impact the economy adversely. "They think these issues are not sexy nor a selling point. It's different here compared to developed nations, where a sustainable environment has become part of the public demand. Most of the parties here use a market approach instead of a nation-saving approach," he said.

The ICEL report lists those 12 parties with environmental platforms as the: Crescent Star Party (PBB), United Development Party (PPP), New Indonesia Alliance Party (PPIB), Democratic Party, Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB), National Awakening Party (PKB), Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party (PPDI), National Mandate Party (PAN), Reform Star Party (PBR), Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) and Pancasila Patriots' Party. "However, we must remember that the programs are basic and still on paper -- without any implementation as yet. The public must make demands and remind the parties of their promises should they gain power," he said.

The ICEL divided the parties' programs into three categories: basic environmental/natural resources, sustainable development and good governance-sustainable development.

"Of these 12 parties, only four have environmental programs to support good governance-sustainable development -- the PPP, PKPB, PKS and PBR," said Achmad.

However, he noted that the PKPB's programs for good governance- sustainable development were taken from the 1999-2004 State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) in their entirety.

"It would be better if the PKPB provided a context and analysis into why the GBHN has not been implemented, instead of simply copying it," he said.

The ICEL has called on the public not to vote for political parties that have no vision toward preserving natural resources or those that have contributed to environmental destruction in any form.

Indonesia has been severely hit by chronic disasters that have mostly been blamed on Mother Nature, and little has been done to alleviate human responsibility for the causes of such disasters, such as illegal logging, unchecked deforestation, overdevelopment and dumping of industrial waste.

The death toll for natural disasters rose from 212,000 between 1981 to 1990 to at least 715,000 from 1991 to 2003.

The country faces floods annually, with massive flooding followed by landslides occurring in five-year cycles.

In September 2003, a flash flood destroyed over 500 houses in Bahorok regency, North Sumatra, killing at least 100 people. Experts have pointed to rampant illegal logging in Leuser National Park, Aceh, as being the cause of the disaster.

Leuser National Park is also the site of the controversial Ladia Galaska road project, which was originally planned to cut through the protected forest and thereby severely damage the biodiversity of the ecosystem.

Clean body needed on logging

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2004

Jakarta -- The success of a proposed regulation in lieu of law (perpu) on eradicating illegal logging requires the establishment of an independent body and court to specifically deal with the issue, says an environmental expert. "The body must include prosecutors and police officers who are clean in terms of their records and have professional integrity. The body should also be authorized to supervise, investigate and prosecute," said Achmad Santosa of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL).

He added that the authorities of the body could be justified in the proposed perpu as legally, such authorities typically rested with the police and prosecutors.

The court, he said, should also be exclusive and presided over by judges who would deal only with illegal logging cases.

"The president can consult with the Supreme Court in appointing the judges. Judges should also be rigorously screened to provide qualified ones," he said.

Achmad also suggested the creation of a supervisory body that included figures from non-governmental organizations, mass media, the public and even the international community because illegal logging was a global issue.

Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa said the perpu would become a special law outside the existing criminal law and would enable law enforcement officers to try illegal loggers immediately after arrest.

Punishments for violations are to be severe, and includes the death sentence.

Environmentalists livid over forestry arrears

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2004

Rusman, Samarinda -- Eighteen holders of forestry licenses who had evaded paying a total of Rp 229 billion in reforestation and resource fees last year should have their forestry concessions revoked, a non-governmental organization said on Thursday.

"This stern measure has to be taken in order to prevent similar violations in the future," said Syarifuddin, the executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment's (Walhi) East Kalimantan office.

Citing recently released data from the Ministry of Forestry, Syarifuddin said he had a list of the five worst-offender companies that had evaded paying reforestation fees in the province.

They are PT Sumalindo Lestari Jaya, which evaded paying Rp 38.9 billion last year; PT Karang Joang Hijau Lestari (Rp 26.5 billion); PT Bumi Sawit Perkasa (Rp 18.7 billion); PT Kiani Hutan Lestari (Rp 16.4 billion); and PT MSK Timber (Rp 16.3 billion).

Syarifuddin said the government had to impose stern measures against the firms because they owed such a large amount of money to the state. "The money is very important for the government reforestation programs," said Syarifuddin.

Both reforestation fees and forest resource dues are non-taxable revenues. The money goes to support forestry rehabilitation programs managed by the government. The dues are collected by the provincial government in accordance with the regional autonomy drive.

Separately, The Jakarta Post contacted public relations staff at several of the firms in the East Kalimantan province, but none would comment on Thursday.

Those 18 companies in East Kalimantan are part of total of 601 forest concessionaires in the country, which have evaded paying the dues last year.

These logging license holders and timber processors owe Rp 1.28 trillion in reforestation fees and forest resource dues last year, an NGO revealed last month.

The government has several times promised to take stern action against the recalcitrant payers, but so far these promises have proved empty ones.

Two years ago the government promised to act against 14 forest concessionaires that had failed to pay reforestation funds amounting to Rp 675.59 billion. Whether the government has recovered this amount is still unclear.

Few signs of cutting back on damage

The Guardian (UK) - March 18, 2004

John Vidal -- Late last year more than 200 people were killed and 400 houses destroyed when hundreds of illegally felled trees in the Leseur national park in northern Sumatra crashed down a mountain side, smashing their way into the town of Gunung Leseur.

The "natural" disaster was a direct result of the rampant illegal forestry in the national park, which can expect to have few trees left within a few years. The situation is so serious that the UN fears most of Indonesia will be treeless within a generation.

Every month several ships loaded with thousands of tonnes of the cheap Indonesian plywood and timber arrive in European ports. Governments and timber merchants are well aware most of the wood has been illegally felled, but no action has been taken to stop the trade. The Indonesian government is also concerned that cutting back on timber permits has not been effective. Last year the environment minister, Nabiel Makarim, admitted he did not know how to combat illegal logging.

In response to international concern, the British and Indonesian governments last year signed a memorandum of understanding under which they agreed to work together on forest law enforcement and to develop an identification method. This is not yet in place.

Meanwhile, the European commission is also preparing measures to combat the trade but none is expected before next year. Parts of the European timber trade have responded through their own initiatives to try to identify "legal timber" for the marketplace, focusing initially on Indonesian mills.

A spokesman for the British Timber Trade Federation, which represents all Britain's major timber dealers, said yesterday that some of its members had agreed to stop sourcing wood from Indonesia, but others wanted to continue.

"We cannot [yet] identify what are the legal and illegal streams of timber. We are trying to get independent verification," a spokesman said.

After exhausting most of Indonesia's primary rainforests, illegal loggers have turned to national parks, and are now threatening indigenous people and wildlife, including the orang-utan. More than 40% of all Indonesia's forests have been felled in the past 50 years.

Up to 50% of all tropical plywood in the UK comes from Indonesia, but the British government and several timber importers have been shown to be using illegal timber.

Mining to resume in protected forests

Asia Times - March 17, 2004

Bill Guerin, Jakarta -- With the House of Representatives in recess, and campaigning for seats in the new legislature heating up, a cabinet meeting chaired by President Megawati Sukarnoputri issued an administrative order allowing mining companies with contracts in place before 1999 to resume activities in protected forests.

The legislative mechanism used last Thursday to legitimize the controversial move, a perpu, is only a government regulation but carries the full weight of law. The issue of a perpu in lieu of a law has only been done once before by this administration, when clamping down on terrorism after the Bali bombings of October 2002.

Article 83(A) of the regulation, Perpu No 1/2004, which supersedes the earlier Forestry Law No 41/1999, stipulates that all licenses and contracts on mining affairs in forests made before the enactment of the original forestry law are now valid for the remainder of the original term of the license or contract.

An estimated 375 operational forest concessions are left in Indonesia, a significant decrease from more than 600 in the early 1980s, but the new ruling will, for the time being, only apply to 13 companies with operations already in place and at most nine others with exploration contracts.

The 13 are among 22 contractors that appealed to the government to resume operations in protected forests. Their contracts were awarded by the government several years ago, before the law was enacted, and their concession areas were not then designated as protected forests.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti explained that the lucky 13 will be allowed to resume operations because they had "proven reserves and were economically viable". Most mining companies operating in Indonesia discovered their deposits in the 1970s and 1980s when the country was looked on as one of the best in the world for mining operations. Mine explorations then declined sharply throughout the 1990s because of a lack of competitive policies.

The worsening of the investment climate in the sector resulted in a halt in exploration and there has been none since 1998. As investment plummeted revenues also fell drastically. The government received a mere Rp1.07 trillion ($125 million) from the sector last year, the sixth consecutive year of a protracted downturn in mining revenues.

"We are giving a signal to the mining investors that we are doing the best we can to create a conducive climate," Mining and Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said after the decision was announced.

But as in Robert Browning's "Bishop Blougram's Apology", the "truth that peeps over the glasses' edge when dinner's done" -- there is a price to pay. The Coalition Against Mining in Protected Forests, a group of several environmental non- governmental organizations (NGOs) led by the Mining Advocacy Network, or JATAM, warned last week that the policy would only justify further forest devastation.

The coalition has been campaigning for some time to maintain the ban and has predicted for months that a pro-mining decision would also lead to more conflict with local communities whose lands will be commandeered for mining, will cause more pollution of water courses and more fatal floods and landslides as forest cover is lost. The coalition plans to file for a judicial review of the perpu at the Constitutional Court.

"The government is undermining and violating its own law and legalizing more forest destruction,? Longgena Ginting, executive director of environmental group Walhi, said after the news was announced. Indonesia lost an estimated 40 million hectares of tropical rainforests through the plunder and destruction of forests that took place under the 32-year regime of former president Suharto.

Unsustainable logging has mushroomed in many regions as a result of regional autonomy. The government has even leaked a plan to legislate for capital punishment for those convicted of illegal logging.

Environmentalists claim that last week's decision not only proved the government's poor commitment to the environment, was influenced by foreign intervention. They point to the actions of Canada's secretary of state for Asia, David Kilgour, who in 2002 was said to have asked Jakarta to review the ban on mining in protected forests, as it could impede Canadian investment. Canadian companies affected by the 1999 Forestry Law were Placer Dome in South Kalimantan's Meratus forests, Weda Bay Minerals Inc (which is developing a cobalt mine on Halmahera Island), North Maluku, and Inco, operator of nickel mining and smelting operations in South and Central Sulawesi that, environmentalists say, have blighted the lives of local people for many years.

Last year, according to Indonesian NGOs, the Australian Embassy in Jakarta lobbied government ministers and legislators to permit the resumption of mining, at the request of mining multinationals BHP-Billiton, Placer Dome, Rio Tinto and Newcrest. When news of the lobbying broke, angry students protested outside the embassy in July, saying the mines would devastate dwindling forest reserves.

The manner in which the new ruling was implemented is also being questioned. A perpu is usually issued in cases of emergency, though the government must notify the House.

The mining industry has long blamed the delay in resolving the issue for the dearth of investment, and the Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) claims that major issues such as legal and security uncertainties, combined with high tax and legal inconsistencies resulting from regional autonomy, have been killing off new mining development.

The association has argued that the producing and exploration companies forced to suspend their open-pit mining operations would not use any additional land or forest outside their existing mining area anyway, so that claims of additional forestry areas being destroyed if they were allowed to resume are false.

The IMA also points to a significant impact on the regional economy and opportunity for the local communities to enjoy the benefits. As well as income tax, valued-added tax, sales tax, dividends and royalties, mining companies also have to pay a series of levies imposed by local governments.

Besides the uncertainty over mining regulations, the government's fiscal policy has also impeded mining operations.

"In total, a mining company has to pay 60 percent of their earnings to the government. This amount is the highest in the world," IMA director Paul Coutrier has said. He claimed last week that the new move would free up some $2.5 billion in mining investment.

Coutrier is on record as saying that what he calls the "anti- mining organizations" have "no eyes and no steam" to fight illegal logging that destroys the forest and that they also keep silent on illegal mining. A lack of security guarantees means illegal miners often face no barriers and can easily operate within a concession area owned by a mining company due to a lack of legal enforcement.

JATAM, however, says its mandate comes from local communities and, though it recognizes that small-scale mining is very destructive to the environment and is a real problem in Indonesia, it is the mining industry that attempts to deflect responsibility for its environmental and social impacts on to another "poorer, defenseless segment of society".

JATAM notes, as if it were some new capitalist vice introduced by mining companies, that its main concern is generating the highest profits at the lowest possible costs, Thus social programs are an afterthought, it says, important only the continuation of their operations in an area is threatened.

That is why pressure groups and watchdog organizations are so important, JATAM says, to ensure that environmental and social responsibility is raised to the highest possible level, to ensure that the environment and people are protected against short-term capital gain and exploitation.

Perhaps the charges would be better directed at the government. Though it went into effect immediately without requiring endorsement from the House of Representatives, the deal is exactly the same as that rejected in November by the House Commission III on forestry affairs and Commission VIII on mining affairs, giving rise to speculation that the outgoing administration has put short-term investment and business interests ahead of forest conservation and the long-term good of the environment by issuing the new regulation.

One legislator, Muhammad Askin, was quoted as saying that the perpu was issued before the government had finished a study on mining activities in protected forests demanded by House Commission VIII for environmental affairs last year. "So I think the House will not approve it," Askin warned.

Richard B Ness, president of the Indonesian subsidiary of the US-based Newmont Corp, PT Newmont Pacific Nusantara, says Indonesia received less than 1 percent of the world's mining investment in grassroots exploration, despite the high geological potential still offered by the country. He warned earlier, "It is therefore important for related government agencies, the mining community and other stakeholders to continue to work together to seek solutions to improve the investment condition.

"Approval [for the resumption of mining in the forests concerned] will be able to turn Indonesia into a better place for mining operations, for the nation as a whole."

Sumatran tigers on brink of extinction: WWF

Reuters - March 16, 2004

Geneva -- A leading environmental group on Tuesday warned that the exotic Sumatran tiger was bound for extinction if the government of Indonesia did not crack down on illegal trading in the endangered species.

The WWF said only 400-500 tigers remained on the island of Sumatra as hunters continue to kill the animal commercially and for sport.

"Tigers all over the world are under threat from poaching, loss of habitat and conflict with nearby human populations. Now, the Sumatran tiger is on the brink of extinction,." said Dr Susan Lieberman, a WWF director, in a statement.

"With so few left, there are doubts about whether the population is still viable," she added.

Tiger skins, claws and teeth are widely sold in Indonesia as trophies, charms and souvenirs, the WWF said in a report.

Activists ask Megawati to revoke mining decree

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2004

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- A group of environmental activists and economists called on the government on Monday to revoke the regulation in lieu of law (perpu) that allows 13 mining companies to resume activities in protected forests, saying their operations would cause more economic losses and environmental damage. They also called on the House of Representatives, which is now in recess, to reject the regulation President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued two weeks ago. Article 22 of the newly amended Constitution stipulates that the president may issue such a regulation in an emergency situation.

It must, however, win the approval of a House plenary meeting, otherwise it must be revoked.

"The perpu contains procedural and substantial flaws and should be revoked," Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (Kehati) director Ismid Hadad told The Jakarta Post here on Monday.

Megawati issued two weeks ago Perpu No. 1/2004, which allows 13 mining companies in protected forests to resume their activities.

The 13 mining companies were part of some two dozen mining firms operating in protected forests that froze their operations following enactment of new forestry legislation in 1999.

The law, which banned opencast mining in protected forests, made no mention of contracts signed before it was enacted, creating uncertainty for mining companies already operating in protected forests.

The legal uncertainty forced the companies to either freeze or scale down their operations.

Article 38(A) of Perpu No.1/2004 stipulates that all licenses and contracts for mining business in forests signed before the enactment of the Forestry Law were valid for the remainder of the original term of the license or contract.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said the 13 mining companies would be allowed to resume their activities because they had proven reserves that were economically viable.

Also on Monday, a group of nongovernmental organization (NGOs) activists and economists criticized the issuance of the new regulation, which they said would only worsen environmental destruction.

They included economist Dradjad H. Wibowo, Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) director Longgena Ginting, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) official Mubariq Achmad and Advocacy Network for Mining (JATAM) coordinator Siti Maimunah.

They said in a statement that Megawati had issued the regulation without providing proper information and justification to the public.

They added that issuance of the regulation clearly showed that the President had no commitment to conserving the depleting forest.

They alleged that Indonesia's forests had been decreasing by about 3.8 million hectares per year, causing the state to lose some Rp 30 trillion annually.

Legislator M. Askin revealed that House Commission VIII for environmental issues had told the government to study the possibility of allowing mining activities in protected forests.

"The perpu was issued before the government completed its study, so I think the House will not approve it," he said.

Health & education

Lighting up a piece of history in Indonesia

Reuters - March 17, 2004

Dean Yates, Bojong Gede -- Indonesia's most famous novelist, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, nearly totters over from age and illness.

Grabbing the arm of a visiting reporter to steady himself, Pramoedya, 79, sits down at a table inside his comfortable villa in the leafy province of West Java before reaching for a packet of Indonesia's clove-scented cigarettes called kreteks.

Wearing blue tracksuit pants and a stained white T-shirt, the former political prisoner and perennial nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature lights up, savouring the taste. Pungent smoke shrouds his face. Health warnings be damned.

"If my doctor says I shouldn't smoke, I'll fire him. Really, why take away something so joyous in life," said Pramoedya.

And therein lies one of the big hurdles for anti-smoking campaigners and doctors worried about the cost of smoking-related illnesses in impoverished Indonesia.

Not only do they have to fight Indonesia's powerful cigarette industry, they are taking on a product that for millions is more than just a smoke, but something inextricably tied to the country's history, culture and identity.

Kreteks are as much a part of Indonesia as Java's famous shadow puppets. In a land already rich with exotic smells, the aroma of kreteks lingers from airports to roadside eateries, from cities to thatch huts in remote corners of the archipelago.

Even foreigners who hate smoking tend to like the smell.

"The taste of kreteks is Indonesia," adds Pramoedya, who puffs through two packets a day despite a poor heart.

Impact on health But kreteks have roughly double the nicotine and tar levels of ordinary cigarettes, and with 90 percent of Indonesian smokers choosing kreteks, health experts are concerned.

"With the level of smoking in Indonesia the long term effect is definitely going to be an issue in the future," said Georg Peterson, World Health Organisation representative in Indonesia.

The Health Ministry, in a soon-to-be-released report compiled with WHO help, estimates 400,000 people died in Indonesia from smoking-related illnesses such as cancer in 2001.

Indeed, while anti-smoking campaigns cut into sales in the West, consumption grows in Indonesia. It is now the world's fifth- biggest consumer of tobacco. More than 62 percent of Indonesian men smoked in 2001, up from 53 percent in 1995, official figures show.

Indonesians smoke more than 200 billion kreteks a year. And more than two-thirds start puffing before they turn 19.

Kreteks were invented in Indonesia in the late 19th century, initially to ward off a sore throat and asthma. They got their name from the crackling sound they make when they burn. Cloves are the main raw material after tobacco.

A typical kretek also contains a secret sauce, which can contain scores of flavours, from chocolate to dried fruits. Some taste sweet, others spicy, but they are distinctly Indonesian.

In a glossy book published in 2000 called "Kretek: The Culture and Heritage of Indonesia's Clove Cigarettes", author Mark Hanusz says kreteks capture the soul of the nation.

"Kretek is the common thread which ties Indonesian people together in spite of their historical, cultural, ethnic and religious differences," Hanusz writes.

That history goes back a long way. European powers, including the Dutch who ruled Indonesia for 350 years, fought to control the country's trade in spices like clove and nutmeg.

Important for the economy Anti-smoking campaigners also have to deal with kretek makers who run an industry with $8.7 billion annual turnover.

Tobacco excise tax accounts for eight percent of the debt-laden government's revenue, while the industry formally employs around 200,000 people, many women who still hand roll sticks. Many more depend on the industry, from distributors to cigarette sellers.

Several big firms dominate the market, but hundreds of smaller producers vie for a slice of the action. Throughout Indonesia, kretek advertising is omnipresent -- on billboards, television screens and banners strung across town streets.

The government dropped regulations last year which would have put maximum limits on nicotine and tar content.

Health Minister Ahmad Sujudi told Reuters the regulations would be revised and might become law.

Sujudi denied suggestions Indonesia was reluctant to sign the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a landmark international agreement that aims to protect future generations from the dangers of smoking. It was agreed last year in Geneva.

The purpose of the legally binding convention is to support member states develop tobacco control programmes.

Back at his cozy villa, Pramoedya says he will keep smoking kreteks until he takes his last breath.

"With kreteks my imagination lives, the tension is gone," Pramoedya said with a smile.

Business & investment

Investment climate remains poor: Chamber

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2004

Jakarta -- The country's investment climate remains in a poor condition despite claims by the government that it has carried out various reform measures as set out in the White Paper, according to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

"The monitoring committee [of Kadin] opines that the most alarming condition is in regard to the investment climate," Kadin said in a press statement, adding that weak export performance, staggering unemployment and lingering labor issues were also a concern.

Kadin has set up a committee tasked with monitoring the implementation of government economic reform programs designed to help maintain confidence in the economy after the country ended the International Monetary Fund-sponsored program late last year.

There are 35 action plans in the White Paper ranging from monetary and fiscal policy to improvement of investment, exports and employment.

On Thursday, Kadin released for the first time the result of its five-month monitoring work.

"Although the government claims that it has implemented various programs in these areas, but in the field, there has been no visible improvement at all," Kadin said.

It said that reports of higher investment figures was only related to approved projects, not realized investments. This is evident from the fact that imports of machinery remains slow. Higher imports would suggest brisk investment activities.

Investment has been scarce over the past couple of years due to various problems at home, including rampant corruption, legal uncertainty, poor implementation of regional autonomy and lingering labor conflicts. The country needs to boost investment activities in order for the economy to grow much faster than the past years' meager growth rate of around 4 percent in order to create employment.

Kadin also said that the hard gained stability in macroeconomic indicators had failed to translate into brisker investment activities.

It added that the weak investment climate had also affected the country's exports, as it weakens the competitiveness of the country's manufacturers and discourages exporters from investing in new machinery.

"The performance of non-oil and gas exports is very disappointing as they grew by less than 4 percent last year," Kadin said, adding that the problems were not limited to trade issues but also included low investment in the export sector and the poor competitiveness of local industries.

Exports are also seen as a key factor to boost the economy, which in the past few years had been largely driven by domestic consumption.

"All of these (problems) cause an increase in unemployment, which has already reached 10 percent of the workforce," Kadin said.

Kadin did not specifically say what measures should be taken by the government to address the problems, but it warned the government that tax and labor issues were among the problems discouraging investment.

"The tax policy, which focuses on revenue, does not create a good business climate," Kadin said, adding that the policy should eliminate gray areas in Tax Law to improve legal certainty.

The government early this year amended Tax Law, which was part of the government's key economic reform measures. The amended Tax Law is aimed at boosting state revenue.

Kadin also criticized the government's labor policy, describing its as "filled with irrationality". While there is a tendency for the government to interfere too much in labor affairs, it has failed to complete crucial regulations, Kadin said.