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Indonesia News Digest 47 - November 15-21, 2004

Aceh

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 Aceh

Jakarta rules Aceh off limits

The Australian - November 15, 2004

Sian Powell -- Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, although regarded as one of Indonesia's most effective peacemakers, says he will never allow foreign nations to interfere in peace negotiations for the warring province of Aceh.

Quashing hopes that internationally arbitrated peace talks would resume under the new Indonesian Government, Mr Kalla told The Australian foreign intervention was off the drawing board. "We don't want it to be internationalised again," Mr Kalla said. "For the negotiations, it won't be through other countries."

The seemingly intractable problem of Aceh will be a brutal test for Indonesia's new administration. The international community will be watching and waiting for some progress towards peace in the blood-soaked province in the far west of Indonesia.

The Government is scheduled to review policy on Aceh in the next few weeks, but a cabinet meeting chaired by Mr Kalla last Friday decided to extend its state of emergency.

About 2300 suspected rebels and civilians have been killed in Aceh since Jakarta launched a military crackdown to crush the separatists in May last year, following the collapse of peace talks in Tokyo. The oil and gas-rich province is now operating under civil emergency status, yet thousands of Indonesian troops remain stationed there.

Indonesia's armed forces, notorious for human rights abuses across the board, have been accused of assaults, rapes and ex- judicial killings. The rebels of the Free Aceh Movement have, in turn, been blamed for many atrocities.

"The soldiers are there to guard security, while the status is civil emergency," Mr Kalla said. "Earlier, during the military emergency, the troops were there. Later, if the situation becomes less of an emergency, the troops will be withdrawn, step by step."

In a wide-ranging interview, the first given to a newspaper published outside Indonesia, the Vice-President blamed the recent escalation of violence in Poso, another conflict area, on criminals.

The multi-millionaire businessman -- he officially reported his wealth at more than $US 15million -- is a devout Muslim from the eastern island of Sulawesi. He brokered the Malino accords which helped calm Muslim-Christian warfare in Ambon and Poso, which had led to the deaths of thousands of Indonesians in a few years.

Resurgent violence in Poso -- where on Saturday a bomb on a minibus heading for a Christian village exploded, killing three; a fortnight ago a Christian village chief was beheaded; and a week ago a Christian bus driver was shot dead -- is the work of a small gang of armed terrorists, Mr Kalla said, rather than genuine inter-religious warfare. "What happened before in Poso and Ambon was a sectarian conflict between Christian and Islamic groups," he said. "Now there's nothing like that in those two areas."

About 87 per cent of Indonesia's population of 230 million is Muslim, with minorities of Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and animists. Yet despite Mr Kalla's success in helping end three years of Muslim-Christian war in Ambon, Christians from eastern Indonesia largely voted for former president Megawati Sukarnoputri in the nation's first direct presidential elections, fearing a Muslim bias from Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The Vice-President flatly denied there would be any anti- Christian discrimination from the new administration, saying Indonesia was one of the most tolerant nations in the world. Yet a recently released survey conducted by various organisations found almost half of respondents would strongly object to a church being built in an Islamic neighbourhood.

A promoter of peace between religions, Mr Kalla insisted there was nothing to worry about. "Indeed there were earlier fears about shariah Islam (the strict Islamic legal code), but they have no basis because the Indonesian constitution is clear that every person has the same rights," he said.

Yet the Vice-President, like Dr Yudhoyono, said there were no plans to proscribe the militant Islamic terrorist network Jemaah Islamiah, responsible for a string of bombings across Indonesia, including attacks on churches and the 2002 Bali blasts.

"Jemaah Islamiah was never legal," he said. "No one knows who JI is. No one knows its place, its office, it's never been known. How are we to say it's legal or illegal?"

Mr Kalla was equally dismissive of the threats posed by the few Islamic boarding schools linked to JI, such as the Ngruki school in Solo, founded by extremist preacher Abu Bakar Bashir, on trial for terrorism.

Dozens of accused and convicted JI operatives went to the school, or were connected with it in some way, including some key Bali bombers. The school, Mr Kalla said, was not to blame.

"Many of those who bombed the World Trade Centre were educated in German technical schools. Does that mean those technical schools must be shut down? Of course not," he said.

The Vice-President recently further inflamed the anxiety of some non-Muslims by repeatedly referring to the huge gap between Indonesia's rich conglomerates, largely owned by non-Muslim Indonesians of Chinese descent, and the nation's small and medium-sized enterprises.

Mr Kalla has talked of financial aid for the small firms, and Chinese entrepreneurs fear discrimination is just around the corner. They remember the riots of 1998, when Chinese businesses were torched, and Chinese Indonesians assaulted, raped and killed.

Yet according to Mr Kalla, the idea to support the smaller businesses is simply a pragmatic decision, to ward off ill- feeling rather than create it.

"The Indonesian experience is that if we don't support this, there will be injustice, inequity," he said. "If there is inequity, there could be a clash. That has been our experience for many years."

The new administration led by Dr Yudhoyono and Mr Kalla has enormous tasks ahead of it: dealing with entrenched corruption and a shaky judiciary, and chipping away at massive unemployment and poverty. To further complicate matters, the nation's federal parliamentarians have been locked in a bitter dispute between the winners and the losers, refusing to get on with matters of government and wrangling over who will get important commission chairs.

"That's actually the dynamic of a democracy that isn't quite ready, but it's a necessary lesson," Mr Kalla said. "It's also the psychology of the election results. There are those who lost. Certainly those who lost are still emotional, but I think those levels of emotion will lessen."

Relations with Australia are one of the few bright spots for the new administration. John Howard would be received with a "happy heart" if he wanted to formally visit Indonesia in the near future, Mr Kalla said, signalling that once-rocky relations between the two nations were likely to remain smooth.

Mr Howard, who has visited Indonesia 10 times as Prime Minister, flew to Jakarta last month for a 24-hour visit to attend the inauguration of the President and Vice-President. The diplomatic move was well-received in Jakarta, where xenophobic suspicions have been slow to ebb since Australia led the intervention in East Timor in 1999.

"Nations are like families; there are problems today that tomorrow are fine," Mr Kalla said. "But the problems of yesterday were only the problems of East Timor. And East Timor has already finished. I think our relations have returned to normal."

He also believes Australia has every right to protect itself with weapons which could potentially threaten Indonesia. "Long-range missiles; I think it's the right of any government to have weapons to guard security," Mr Kalla said.

"And certainly, we're sure they won't be aimed at Indonesia. Relations with Indonesia must be good relations, and the Australian Government in turn doesn't need to worry that Indonesian methods or policies will ever disrupt the existence of Australia."

Yudhoyono under pressure to end Aceh war

Green Left Weekly - November 17, 2004

James Balowski, Jakarta -- The new government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono faces a staggering array of problems -- rampant corruption, continuing human rights abuses by the military, massive unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, and a judicial and law enforcement system that is little more than a legalised mafia.

Yudhoyono also faces an electorate that expects him to do something about these problems and the possibility of a popular upsurge of anger if he fails to do so or continues with the neoliberal "free market" policies of the previous administration of President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

One of the earliest tests for Yudhoyono's new administration will be how it deals with the prolonged conflict raging in the country's eastern-most province of Aceh.

In July's first-round of the presidential election, Acehnese voted strongly for National Mandate Party candidate Amien Rais because of his well-known criticism of the Megawati government's policy in the province. His close association with the Islamic mass organisation Muhammadiyah -- whose leaders have vigorously criticised military operations in Aceh -- also helped boost Rais' vote.

Fifty-six per cent of ballots cast in the province were for Rais, far outstripping the vote for Yudhoyono (24%) and Megawati (5.6%). Megawati even received less votes than former Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) chief Wiranto (9.6%) -- a candidate whose hostility to Acehnese national self-determination was widely recognised by Acehnese voters.

In the second round of the presidential election, held on September 20, Yudhoyono garnered an overwhelming 80% in Aceh. This vote reflected the Acehnese people's massive disaffection with Megawati who, shortly after becoming president in October 1999, pledged before thousands of Acehnese that she would not allow any more blood to be spilled in Aceh, but since early 2001 has given the TNI a free hand to wage war against the Acehnese independence movement.

Although the Acehnese independence struggle can be traced back to the mid-1970s, primarily in the form of a guerrilla campaign waged by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the trigger for the growth of mass sentiment for independence developed after General Suharto's dictatorship declared Aceh a military operational area (DOM) in 1989. At least 10,000 Acehnese civilians were killed by the TNI over the course of the next nine years.

Long struggle

The DOM was suspended following Suharto's overthrow in 1998. By that time the size of GAM's guerrilla force had grown from 500 fighters in 1989 to some 3000 fighters. The post-Suharto governments of presidents Habibie and Wahid made some half- hearted attempts to redress Suharto-era abuses and address local grievances, but with increased democratic space in Aceh, calls for an independence referendum continued unabated, culminating in 2001 with a rally of 2 million people (almost half the Aceh's population) in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

Under pressure from the US, the European Union and Japan, in December 2003 Jakarta agreed to sign a peace agreement with GAM, and there was a dramatic decline in violence in the province for two months. Jakarta however claimed that GAM was taking advantage of the cease-fire to expand its armed forces and Jakarta set out to sabotage the peace process.

Claiming that GAM was unwilling to negotiate seriously, on May 19 Megawati put Aceh under martial law and ordered the TNI to launch an "integration operation", combining economic assistance, "humanitarian" aid and an all-out military offensive to crush GAM. Yudhoyono, then coordinating minister for security, oversaw the offensive.

Citing "improvements" in security, six months later Jakarta replaced the martial-law regime with a "state of civil emergency". On November 18, Yudhoyono's government will decide whether or not the state of civil emergency is to be extended.

Indonesian government officials admit that the TNI's offensive has not crushed GAM but only forced it to retreat to more remote areas of the province. They also admit that Jakarta's economic and humanitarian assistance operations that were supposed to accompany the TNI's military offensive have been crippled by corruption or have failed to win Acehnese away from supporting the broad independence movement.

Despite trillions of rupiah being poured by Jakarta into the integrated operation, poverty in Aceh has soared. In 2000, the total number of people in Aceh living in poverty was 1.1 million, 26.5% of the province's population. Today, it is estimated to be 1.6 million people, 40% of the population The poverty and mass unemployment resulting from the TNI's offensive have had other detrimental effects. One particularly telling statistic was revealed by the August 12 Jakarta Kompas daily. Citing the head of the Aceh Department of Health as its source, the paper reported that the average height of newly enrolled school children in Aceh has decreased by eight centimetres over the last six years.

Human rights groups say that since the state of civil emergency came into effect, human rights abuses by the TNI have continued unabated. A report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch on September 27, for example, documents how the military, police and judicial authorities perpetrate horrific persecution, arbitrary arrests and unfair trials in Aceh.

The report concluded that the scale of torture and lack of due legal process in Aceh make it clear that these are the result of deliberate government policy, not the actions of rogue TNI and police personnel or of untrained judicial officials.

Amnesty report

On October 7, Amnesty International released a damning report calling on Yudhoyono to give top priority to ending rights violations in Aceh. The report said that young men, even non-GAM members, were being killed, tortured, ill-treated and arbitrarily detained, while women and girls were raped or subjected to other forms of sexual violence.

"There is virtually no aspect of life in the province that has been untouched by grave abuses of human rights", Ingrid Massage, Asia director of the London-based human rights group, told reporters.

Non-government organisations, student groups, women's organisations and the radical left have been calling on Yudhoyono to fulfil his election promise to end the conflict in Aceh.

At a press conference on October 8 the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front and the Acehnese Democratic Women's Organisation called on Yudhoyono to repeal the state of civil emergency and withdraw all non-Acehnese troops from Aceh.

As Yudhoyono delivered his inauguration speech on October 20, simultaneous demonstrations were held across the country by the recently formed United People for Genuine Change alliance calling for an end to the civil emergency and the withdrawal of TNI troops. The November 2 Jakarta Post quoted Yudhoyono's new security minister, former admiral Widodo Adisutjipto as saying that the military operation to crush GAM should continue. On the same day, he told Kompas that "a resolution to the Aceh question must use two points of reference, that is how to promote the formulation of a special law on Aceh autonomy and how to finish off GAM".

The November 5 Jakarta Post editorialised that it was urgent to bring peace to Aceh. "In this context", Indonesia's English language daily said, "it is worth repeating the words of some leading Acehnese ulamas in a discussion in Jakarta on Tuesday. Their message to the government is loud and clear: Abandon the security approach", adding that: "It is time for the government to consider ceasing military operations, once and for all".

House backs Aceh emergency extension

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2004

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- The extension of the civil emergency in the troubled province of Aceh is now a foregone conclusion as the House of Representatives has thrown its support behind the government.

House Speaker Agung Laksono said on Sunday that the House had no objection to the government's plan to extend the state of civil emergency as it was in line with the view of the local legislative council.

"We have no objection to the plan. I have heard the proposal for the extension directly from local council members, and that represents the people's aspirations," Agung said after greeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday, the first day of the Idul Fitri celebrations.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo A.S. said last Friday that the current civil emergency would be kept in place in Aceh, albeit with a number of adjustments, including the areas covered and its duration.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is slated to hold a meeting with House leaders on Wednesday at the State Palace to discuss the Aceh issue.

According to the law, the imposition of both a state of martial law and of civil emergency in any part of the country requires the approval of the House.

"The extension is necessary as we have to maintain the security situation in the province. According to local council members, there are still potential threats," Agung said.

Aceh has been put under a state of emergency since May 19, 2003, following the failure of peace talks between the government and leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri imposed martial law in Aceh on May 19, 2003, but reduced this to a state of civil emergency on May 19, 2004.

The six-month duration of the civil emergency will end on Friday, and the government has to decide what it wants to do after that.

Widodo said last Friday that the government would extend the civil emergency but had yet to determine its length or the areas covered.

The decision was made despite demands for the new government to revive the peace talks with GAM leaders.

"We have to further decide whether the civil emergency will only apply in certain regencies and not the whole province, as well as the duration of the extension -- for three, four or six months?" Widodo said after a limited Cabinet meeting.

Meanwhile, Army chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu said that the extension of the emergency was aimed at fulfilling the public's need for security.

"We are only trying to bring about peace in Aceh and the decision to impose the emergency was taken to ensure the security of the people," Ryamizard said after participating in Idul Fitri prayers in Lhoksemawe, Aceh, last Sunday.

He said that despite of the improving security situation in the province, GAM still posed a security threat in the province, where insurgents have been fighting for independence for the resource-rich province since 1976.

The four-star general said military operations would continue until the military managed to eliminate the separatist movement.

Yudhoyono extends civil emergency in Aceh

Kyodo News - November 18, 2004

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Thursday the civil state of emergency in Aceh will be extended for up to six months effective Friday, but he vowed to solve the conflict in the troubled province without foreign intervention.

"The status of the civil state of emergency will be extended for the next six months, six months at the most, and that will be evaluated every month and can be terminated when the situation gets better," Yudhoyono told a press conference before leaving for Chile to attend the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

He also said the government will try to solve the conflict without the help of foreign countries and expressed gratitude to the international community for its support of Indonesian territorial integrity and past assistance on the problem in the northern province.

Under the civil emergency, civilian leaders handle local government activities but are assisted by military leaders in overseeing the province.

Yudhoyono's predecessor Megawati Sukarnoputri imposed the current civil emergency status on Aceh on May 19, downgrading the martial law imposed May 19, 2003, to crack down on the separatist Free Aceh Movement.

Since the imposition of martial law, the government has launched what it calls an "integrated operation," which includes regional administration empowerment and law enforcement. Yudhoyono said the latest decision was made following a meeting with members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, during which the chamber gave its approval to extending the emergency.

Legislator Joko Edi Sucipto, who deals with the Aceh issue, said the extension is needed because the conflict has not been resolved.

"If the government leaves Aceh now, it will make a new mistake," Sucipto said. "An indicator to say that the problem in Aceh has been solved is if the feeling of fear is fading from Aceh. The people of Aceh need neither food nor development. They only need one thing -- freedom from fear," he added.

Acehnese community leader Ghazali Abbas, however, criticized the government's decision, accusing Yudhoyono of breaking a promise he made before being sworn in as president last month to "create a change" in Aceh. "He still uses the military to solve the problem in Aceh," he said.

In another part of his press conference, Yudhoyono said that to guarantee transparency and accountability in the implementation of the integrated operation, Aceh will not be treated as a "closed region" for foreigners. The government has taken the current policies and measures "to maintain the momentum and sustainability of the integrated operation," he said.

He also said new policies and measures will be introduced to end the conflict permanently in an "honorable, just and peaceful" way. "The quality and effectiveness of the integrated operation needs to be improved to achieve the target, while violations and excesses need to be eradicated," he said. "Every single rupiah must be made accountable and every corrupt act must receive a strong and harsh sanction," he said.

The president also called on rebel members to surrender and pledged to offer amnesty, which has been promised since Megawati's administration.

Martial law was imposed to avoid bloodshed as rebels battled with police and the military. But even under martial law, nearly 1,800 rebels, soldiers, policemen and civilians were killed. Under the civil state of emergency, the figure has been decreasing. At least 565 rebels, 114 civilians, 45 soldiers and 10 policemen were killed, according to government figures.

The military, which dispatched 34,154 soldiers into the province, says that the number of rebels has declined to about 2,500 from an estimated 5,000 at the beginning of the military campaign. The rebels have been waging an independence war since 1976.

Indonesia president offers amnesty to Aceh rebels

Associated Press - November 18, 2004

Indonesia on Thursday offered amnesty to separatist leaders in Aceh and promised to help redevelop the province if rebels drop their bid for independence, but a spokesman for the rebels rejected the offer.

The Free Aceh Movement spokesman said the group would continue its fight for an independent homeland on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.

Before leaving for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reiterated his government's desire to end the Aceh rebellion that has killed nearly 13,000 people since 1976.

He said the goverment's proposal, which mirrors earlier peace proposals dating back to 1999, would also include increased autonomy for the oil- and gas-rich province and an unspecified amount of economic assistance.

"The government calls on all [rebel] leaders to stop their action and accept the special autonomy policy to develop Aceh," Yudhoyono said. "The country will give them pardons and provide post-conflict reconstruction assistance as part of our efforts to end the conflict in Aceh."

Yudhoyono did not say whether the offer meant the government would revive peace talks with the rebels, which were abandoned in May 2003 after both sides accused the other of violating the six-month pact. A rebel spokesman, Abdullah Zaini, dismissed the offer but called on Yudhoyono's government to return to the negotiating table.

"Nothing can change our struggle for independence," Zaini said in a phone interview from Sweden. "Aceh is our country and it must be returned to the Acehnese people. We hope the new leader in Indonesia will reopen the door for negotiations and bring peace to Aceh."

During his campaign against former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Yudhoyono promised to bring peace to the province. Successive military operations have failed to end the insurgency.

Foreign negotiators have predicted Yudhoyono may reopen peace talks with the rebels. The 55-year-old retired general was instrumental in arranging a short-lived truce with the Free Aceh Movement in December 2003 when he was security minister.

But the government abandoned the truce in May 2003, launching a military offensive and imposing martial law. Since then, nearly 2,300 suspect rebels and civilians have been killed in the fighting.

Indonesia has since returned most authority to civilians in what is known as a civil emergency. But it still allows the military to impose curfews, set up blockades and detain suspects indefinitely. Foreign journalist are also banned.

On Wednesday, Yudhoyono extended the civil emergency for another six months, saying it was necessary to keep the province secure.

President Susilo rules out foreign role in Aceh

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2004

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ruled out on Thursday a foreign role in Aceh, while also offering amnesty to rebels who gave up their armed struggle.

Susilo said the problems in Aceh would be solved without any foreign intervention and that the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) would be actively involved in observing the state of civil emergency there.

"The government wants to settle the problem domestically, in the spirit of brotherhood, so that the results we all hope for will be achieved," said Susilo, who left for Chile on Thursday to attend the 10th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Promising to resolve the Aceh issue fairly and with dignity, Susilo issued on Thursday a presidential regulation officially extending the state of civil emergency in Aceh for six months.

"The state of civil emergency has been officially extended and the government invites Komnas HAM to conduct their work in Aceh, in accordance with the law," the President said.

Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels have been fighting for independence in Aceh since 1976. The province was placed under martial law on May 19, 2003, with the status being lowered to a state of civil emergency one year later.

Presidential Regulation No. 2/2004 says that the state of civil emergency in Aceh will be extended by six months at the most, with an evaluation every month to determine whether the civil emergency can be lifted. Under the civil emergency status, local authorities have the power to search houses, censor the press and impose curfews and other restrictions.

Susilo, who took his oath of office on October 20, said the government appreciated expressions of support from foreign agencies and countries, but Aceh was an internal problem of Indonesia.

Previous negotiations between the government and rebel leaders were facilitated by the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Centre, which led to a short-lived peace agreement in 2002.

Earlier this month, the son of Libyan leader Moammar Kadhafi offered his country's help in resolving the conflict. Many guerrilla leaders in Aceh are believed to have trained in Libya.

Susilo called on GAM members on Thursday to stop their rebellion, promising amnesty for rebels who put down their weapons. "The government calls on all [rebel] leaders to stop their actions and accept the special autonomy policy to develop Aceh. The country will give them pardons and provide post-conflict reconstruction assistance as part of our efforts to end the conflict in Aceh," Susilo said.

A rebel spokesman, Abdullah Zaini, dismissed the offer and called on Susilo's government to return to the negotiating table. "Nothing can change our struggle for independence," Zaini told Associated Press in a phone interview from Sweden. "Aceh is our country and it must be returned to the Acehnese people. We hope the new leader in Indonesia will reopen the door for negotiations and bring peace to Aceh," he said.

The Cabinet deputy secretary for law and legislation, Lambock V. Nahattands, said the decision to issue a presidential regulation was based on Law No. 10/2004 on government regulations.

The law recognizes two rulings -- one deals with regulations and the other with assignments or appointments. Rulings dealing with regulations are called presidential regulations, while rulings dealing with appointments -- such as the appointment of state officials -- are called presidential decrees.

The law also places the Constitution as the highest law in the country, followed by laws or government regulations in lieu of law, government regulations and presidential regulations.

Acehnese say SBY has made no difference

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2004

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh -- Acehnese responded coldly to the government's decision on Thursday to extend the state of civil emergency in the province, complaining that they were not involved in the process that led to the decision.

They demanded that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pursue a dialog with the Acehnese to find a peaceful settlement to the separatist problem that has plagued the natural resource-rich province for almost four decades.

In an official statement shortly after Susilo issued the presidential regulation extending the state of civil emergency for six months, the Aceh Legislative Council questioned the President's claim that the extension decision was made after hearing from Aceh councillors.

"As far as I know, the Aceh council never recommended that the President extend the state of civil emergency. Rather, we urged the government to pursue a dialog to deal with the problems in Aceh," said the deputy speaker of the Aceh provincial legislature, Waisul Qarany Aly. He said no Aceh councillors were invited to attend the so-called evaluation meeting the government held prior to extending the emergency status.

Another Aceh councillor, Nasir Djamil, said the decision was a setback in the current administration's efforts to resolve the problems in Aceh. "If the interests of the Acehnese people was one of the reasons behind the decision, what mistakes did we commit that we have to live under a state of emergency?" he asked.

Nasir suggested a dialog between the government and community groups in the province be held to arrive at a more legitimate decision regarding the Aceh conflict.

A lawyer from the Aceh Legal Aid Institute, Rufriadi, said that despite his claims to be a reformer, Susilo failed to offer a new paradigm for Aceh. "He [Susilo] seems to talk nonsense. At one time he said he would bring a special approach to dealing with separatism in Aceh and Papua. People thought this special approach would be a peaceful dialog," he said. Rufriadi said Susilo was no different from his predecessor, Megawati Soekarnoputri, who imposed martial law in Aceh for a year and state of civil emergency for six months.

After receiving approval from the House of Representative, the President announced on Thursday the extension of the state of civil emergency in Aceh.

In response to the decision, rebel spokesman Anwar Husain said guerrillas were prepared for any situation. He also ruled out any possibility for dialog unless Jakarta dropped the emergency status. The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been fighting for independence in Aceh since 1976.

In Jakarta, activists from the Aceh Working Group demanded the President find more "creative solutions" for Aceh. "What kind of dialog will the government offer to Acehnese living under this kind of pressure?" group representative Smita Notosusanto, said.

Acehnese sociologist Otto Syamsuddin Ishak said the decision closed the way for efforts to settle the problems in the troubled province. "The economy in Aceh collapsed following the government's decision to impose martial law last year. There will never be any recovery with Susilo bowing to the military's demand for an extension of the emergency status," he said.

The state of civil emergency will also deny the public access to investigations into high-profile corruption cases allegedly involving local political leaders, as well as hampering efforts to organize the direct election of local government heads.

Government lacks initiative in approach to Aceh problem

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a regulation on Thursday to extend the state of civil emergency in Aceh for another six months. Criticism loomed even before the decision was taken, with many questioning the new government's commitment to a more comprehensive solution to the long-standing problems in the natural resource-rich province. Syah Kuala University sociologist and Acehnese rights activist Humam Hamid gives his assessment of the government's approach to the matter in an interview with The Jakarta Post's Nani Afrida.

Question: What are your comments on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's decision to extend the state of civil emergency in Aceh?

Answer: The new government is only repeating the previous administration's reason for extending the emergency, that is, solely to maintain a "conducive" situation in Aceh, whereas we do not know what "conducive" actually means.

Can you elaborate further?

The government should have informed the public about the latest developments in the ongoing integrated operation in Aceh, besides just the restoration of security. We have not been informed about the overall situation at the present time -- whether it is improving or worsening. Suddenly, we hear about the extension of the state of civil emergency, for which the government claims to have the support of the legislature and Acehnese.

Do you agree with the extension?

I am not in the position to agree or disagree. But in my opinion, the extension offers nothing new, except Susilo's comments that there will be "qualified integrated operations", which, of course, raises the question about how "integrated" and "qualified" the current operations are.

Are you saying that the new government has made an abrupt decision?

I think the government was not prepared to make such a decision. This can be seen from Susilo's speech, in which he said the government would continue the existing operations and then formulate a new, comprehensive framework for resolving Aceh issues.

So, you are saying that the government does not have an overall concept to support the extension of the state of emergency?

Exactly.

This is a new government, not Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration, but is there anything new in the decision?

It's crystal clear that the new government is not well prepared. My biggest concern is this is simply a state of civil emergency part II -- basically the same as the one under the previous government did.

In your opinion, what should the new government have done?

Frankly speaking, if we want to end the rebellion we have to win the people's hearts and minds. Aside from the operation to restore security, we have four other operations to help boost economic recovery, provide humanitarian assistance, strengthen the administration and enforce the law. But, the military operation has always been prioritized and the rest neglected. Meanwhile, the worst thing that is happening in Aceh is the corruption.

Do you think the first six months of the state of civil emergency were quite successful?

There are a lot of achievements in the first period. Indeed the security authorities managed to seize 600 firearms, but can we call it a success? Maybe in terms of security, but what about the other operations?

Why do you say that?

The tangible things are the economic climate and law enforcement. The fight against corruption in Aceh is not the same as the military operation to crush the rebellion. Meanwhile, more than 50 percent of the Acehnese are poor, and most of them live in the rebellion-belt areas. In 2003, some 30 percent of the population lived under the poverty line, which means that there has since been an increase in the number of poor people. But the issue has never been addressed. Should the focus of the emergency be to reduce the number of the poor, the government has failed to explain the framework and its action plan for administering the civil emergency. Poverty is a very complicated and dangerous issue, worse than rebellion.

Is it possible that a lack of confidence has discouraged the government from lifting the emergency?

I am concerned that the government has never made a comprehensive assessment before reaching its decision. They should have explained to the public that these integrated operations are "the road to an end" or "the road to achieving" a civilian administration.

What about the number of security personnel in the field?

There is no problem with that, as the number of security personnel will not affect the state of emergency.

Do you foresee any psychological impact of the extension of the civil emergency on the people?

It is difficult to explain if we look at the issue only from the security point of view. People would say that the presence of the troops has allowed people to go out at night again in Aceh as they provide security. But, this could also have taken place without a state of civil emergency. The emergency is useful only for speeding up the decision-making process as regards security issues.

What do you think the new government should do for Aceh?

The government should put forward a comprehensive plan on Aceh -- one that would make a difference compared to that of the previous government. The plan should include clear measures for bringing about a fully civilian administration and the scenario for doing so. It is impossible to do something without clear objectives.

Aceh administrator wants audit conducted

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh -- The acting civil emergency administrator in Aceh has asked the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to verify reports of malfeasance in the use of Rp 6 trillion (US$6.8 billion) in state funds allocated for the first six months of the state of civil emergency in the province.

Acting Civil Emergency Administrator Insp. Gen. Bachrumsyah Kasman said each of the officials in charge of monitoring the implementation of the integrated operations had conducted internal audits on the use of the funds. "But to prevent people from being suspicious, I want the KPK to verify the audit findings," he said on Friday. He said he would not hesitate to bring to justice any officials who were found to have misused the state funds.

Human rights group Imparsial reported that the military operation alone had cost the state not less than Rp 3 trillion since martial law was imposed in Aceh in May last year.

Bachrumsyah would not say whether the KPK auditors would come to Aceh to conduct their investigations, but promised that "the audit will take place in a very near future." He was appointed the acting civil emergency administrator by the government of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri after the KPK named Governor Abdullah Puteh a suspect for inflating the budget for the procurement of a Russian-made helicopter in 2002. The governor is slated to go on trial in the Anticorruption Court in December.

As the civil emergency administrator, Bahrumsyah is responsible for synchronizing the disbursement of state funds to finance the integrated operations in the province and for supervising the implementation of the operations to restore security, enforce the law, provide humanitarian assistance, boost economic recovery and strengthen local government.

For the law enforcement operation alone, Bachrumsyah said the province received Rp 6 billion every month from National Police Headquarters.

The Aceh Police are currently handling 38 corruption cases that implicate government officials at the provincial, regental and municipality levels.

His administration also receives funds from Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters for the law enforcement operation, but he said that some of this money was also used for the security operation. "Well, you know, the soldiers and police personnel in the field would shoot us if we deducted a penny from their daily allowances," he said.

After one year of martial law, the government reduced the emergency status of the province to a state of civil emergency on May 19 on the grounds that the security condition there had greatly improved. Despite this, the security operation to crush the insurgency in the province was continuing.

Bachrumsyah said that Free Aceh Movement (GAM) insurgents remained a threat as they still numbered between 2,500 and 3,000, and were equipped with 800 firearms.

NGOs say extension of civil emergency disappointing

Kompas - November 20, 2004

Jakarta -- Non-government organisations (NGOs) say that the policy decision by the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to extend the state of civil emergency in Aceh is disappointing.

This statement was conveyed by the Aceh Working Group (AWG), the Centre for Electoral Reform (Cetro) and Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) at a press conference which was held at the Imparsial offices on Thursday November 18. Separately, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) issued a similar press statement.

According to the NGOs, the policy of extending the state of civil emergency clearly indicates that the government has no other point of reference and that President Yudhoyono's position is not consistent with statements made during his election campaign which promised to resolve the Aceh problem with dignity, comprehensively and as peacefully as possible.

"We condemn the extension of civil emergency in Aceh. Although the decision has been issued and it is too late to be reversed and has made us ashamed, disappointed and angry, we demand that the government open up access to information in order to monitor efforts to uphold human rights and the law as well as access for humanitarian aid", said AWG coordinator Rusdi Marpaung.

According to Marpaung, access to information which is linked with monitoring as well as access to humanitarian assistance in Aceh was shut off after the government issued Presidential Decree Number 28/2003 on the declaration of a state of emergency at the level of a state of martial law in Aceh. "The decree was then followed by the Regional Martial Law Administration decree which prohibited the mass media, NGOs, and foreign humanitarian aid from entering the province. Although the status has been changed a number of times, the decree remains in force. We urge that the presidential decree be withdrawn", said Marpaung.

According to Marpaung, the closure of access meant that the government has never taken responsibility in relation to assistance projects for Aceh and cases of violence which have occurred there. If the presidential decree is not withdrawn both AWG and Cetro are concerned that it will create opportunities for corrupt practices.

The executive director of Cetro, Smita Notosusanto, emphasised that criminal acts of corruption everywhere in the world are always highest in areas of conflict, especially areas under a state of emergency, either civil or military. "The elimination of corruption can only be carried out if there is freedom of information for civilian parties to participate in carrying out monitoring. Under the state of emergency in Aceh, [effective] measures to eliminate corruption will never exist", said Notosusanto. (dwa)

[Abridged translation by James Balowski.]

Civil emergency extended to maintain 'momentum': Yudhoyono

Tempo Interactive - November 18, 2004

Tangerang -- The government has officially decided to maintain the state of civil emergency in Aceh which should have ended today. The civil emergency which has limited much of the Acehnese people's daily lives will be extended for a maximum of six months.

According to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono evaluations will be conducted monthly. "At any time we could revoke (the civil emergency) and it be changed to a civil administration if and when the situation truly improves", said the president during a press conference following a consultation meeting between the government, leaders of the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) and DPR fraction leaders at the State Palace in Jakarta yesterday.

According to Yudhoyono the emergency status will be maintained in order to "safeguard the 'momentum' and continuity of the recovery in Aceh". In addition to this said the president, the government has opened up new opportunities to use approaches and measures towards "a conflict resolution which more peaceful, dignified and just".

While seeking a new approach, the president added that the integrated operation (the operation to restore government administration, the humanitarian operation, the law enforcement operation, economic recovery and the operation to restore security) will be carried out in a manner which is "of a better quality, more concrete, with clear aims, implemented transparently and free of deviations and corruption".

Speaking at the press conference, DPR chairperson Agung Laksono said that the DPR understand the efforts to maintain the momentum in Aceh. He said therefore that the DPR agrees with the government on the need to extend the civil emergency.

The chairperson of the United Development Party fraction, DPR member Endin A.J. Soefihara, said that one of the questions which was raised in the meeting was why was the state of civil emergency extended if the situation in Aceh had improved. According to Soefihara the chief of the armed forces answered that it is precisely because the situation is good that it needs to be maintained under a civil emergency.

The government's decision has received mixed reactions. Nasir Jamil, a DPR member from Aceh, believes that the decision was rushed. According to Jamil the government should first have conducted an evaluation and released the results to the public. "I'm worried, the central government has become 'addicted' to the emergency had has no alternative but to extend it", said the Justice and Prosperity Party member.

He believes that the decision will "damage Yudhoyono's image in the eyes of the Acehnese people" asking for who's sake is the civil emergency being extended. "If it is to destroy GAM [the Free Aceh Movement], why did Yudhoyono promise a dialogue, reconciliation and amnesty for GAM [members]? If it is for the sake of the Acehnese people, what sins and crimes have they committed?", he said.

Rachland Nashidik, the executive director of Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), a human rights monitoring foundation, also believes a thorough evaluation is needed on the situation in Aceh. To date he says, civilians have continued to be the victims, both during the period of martial law as well as the civil emergency. (yura syahrul/ewo raswa/yuswardi)

[Abridged translation by James Balowski.]

NGOs condemn Yudhoyono for breaking his promises on Aceh

Detik.com - November 18, 2004

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta -- The extension of the state of civil emergency in Aceh by the government though Presidential Decree Number 2/2004 has been condemned by three non-government organisations (NGOs) who believe that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has broken his promise to resolve the conflict in Aceh peacefully.

This was conveyed by the three NGOs -- the Centre for Electoral Reform (Cetro), the Aceh Working Group (AWG) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) -- at a press conference at the offices of Indonesia Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) on Jalan Diponegoro in Central Jakarta on Thursday November 18.

"AWG and Cetro have noted that a number of human rights violations occurred in Aceh during the period of the civil emergency six months ago including the death of 80 people, 36 people going missing, 15 people arrested and 194 people being tortured", revealed Cetro's executive director Smita Notosusanto

As a result she continued, the grounds given for extending the civil emergency in order to maintain a conducive situation and overcome the problems of security are erroneous and moreover will add to the appalling casualties which have already resulted from the policy of implementing a civil emergency in Aceh.

"So the government and the DPR [People's Representative Assembly] should think through other steps which can really take into consideration the casualties which are being incurred. Because of this AWG and Cetro condemn the extension of the civil emergency in Aceh and demand that the government open up access to information and monitoring on the upholding of human rights and [enforcement] of law in Aceh", said Notosusanto.

AWG and Cetro are also urging the government to resolve the Aceh conflict though dialogue with civil society and to prepare the way for a transition towards a peace process because at the moment there is no clarity as to whether the civil emergency will return Aceh to a peaceful situation as it was before the conflict. "We are also asking if the decision is related with the upcoming local government elections. Because under a civil emergency it is impossible to have free elections in Aceh", said Notosusanto.

AWG coordinator Rusdi Marpaung believes the decision to again extend the state of civil emergency in Aceh fails to take into account of the realities of the previous period of civil emergency. "SBY's promise for change, particularly to the Acehnese people was just an empty gesture. Meanwhile 70 per cent of voters during the presidential election voted for SBY. This will disappoint them greatly", he said.

The head of Kontras' working body Edwin Partogi is of the view that the extension of the civil emergency in Aceh contradicts SBY's promises during the presidential election campaign, especially with regard to what SBY said to the Acehnese people on September 4 in Lhokseumawe.

"There, SBY promised to resolve [the conflict in] Aceh peacefully and through dialogue with GAM [Free Aceh Movement]. But not one of these promises has been fulfilled by SBY and this will definitely increase the Acehnese people's disappointment with the government", he said.

"So Kontras is urging the government to review the decision to extend the civil emergency in Aceh and that the government and GAM return to the negotiating table", asserted Partogi. (sss)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Extension of civil emergency an a-historical decision

Detik.com - November 20, 2004

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta -- The extension of the civil emergency in Aceh will not resolve the problems in the province. On the contrary it is an a-historical policy.

This was conveyed by activists from the Acehnese People's Association (Ikatan Rakyat Aceh, IRA) during a press conference at the offices of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on Jalan Borobudur in Jakarta on Saturday November 20.

"The extension of the civil emergency in Aceh was made without any kind of comprehensive evaluation. The decision is totally a- historical because the military operation in Aceh has already destroyed every aspect of the Acehnese people's lives", said IRA chairperson Lukman Hakim.

Hakim explained that the government must take the Aceh problem back to the negotiating table because the extension of the civil emergency will neither resolve or improve the fortunes of the Acehnese people.

"The extension of the civil emergency also indicates that SBY [President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] has no new approach to resolving the Aceh [conflict] in a peaceful and just manner. This is totally different from what he said during his [election] campaign which carried SBY to [electoral] victory in Aceh", explained Lukman.(djo)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

 West Papua

West Irian Jaya province questioned

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2004

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The Constitutional Court's recent ruling on Papua should prompt a revision to Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for the province that will justify the establishment of West Irian Jaya as a separate province, an expert says.

Constitutional law professor Sri Soemantri said on Tuesday the existing law recognized Papua as the only province on the natural resource-rich western half of the island of New Guinea.

"Perhaps the Constitutional Court offered a win-win solution for both the government and the Papuan people. But instead of giving a solution, the verdict has caused legal uncertainty, especially over the existence of West Irian Jaya province," Soemantri told The Jakarta Post.

He suggested that the government and the House of Representatives revise Law No. 21/2001 or draw up a bill that would support the legitimacy of the new province.

"The legislation, which justified the new province's existence -- Law No. 45/1999 -- has been annulled by the Court," he asserted, referring to the law on the division of Papua into three provinces which was endorsed during the last days of former president B.J. Habibie's brief tenure.

Papuan expert Ikrar Nusa Bhakti of the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) suggested that the government immediately set up the Papuan People's Council (MRP) before any decision affecting the people at large in the country's easternmost province was made.

"Based on Law No. 21/2001, the MRP is a superbody and none of the policies on Papua can come into effect without its approval," Ikrar said.

The Court ruled last week that Law No. 45/1999 on the partition of Papua violated the Constitution, but at the same time it recognized the existence of West Papua province on the grounds that "the province is factually effective." The judges took into account the existence of the administration, the legislative council and the election of members of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) from West Irian Jaya.

But Ikrar questioned the judges' opinion, while adding that currently, the West Irian Jaya governor and the local councilors had yet to decide the province's capital. There has been a plan to name Manokwari the capital of the new province, where the Tangguh natural gas refinery is located.

Law No. 45/1999 had since the very beginning raised controversy among the public. Some said that the partition of Papua -- previously known as Irian Jaya -- violated the Constitution, but some said the policy would enable local administrations to govern the vast territory effectively.

Habibie's successor Abdurrahman Wahid decided to postpone the implementation of the law and instead granted the province special autonomy to appease demands from separatists there. Under special autonomy, it clearly states that any decision to divide the province would first have be approved by the MRP.

The administration of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, however, reinstated Law No. 45/1999 and established West Irian Jaya province. Three people were killed and dozens others injured in clashes between supporters and opponents of the new provinces in 2003. "With the Court verdict, I guess the government, like its predecessor, is trying to reduce the MRP to an institution that merely deals with social and cultural issues," Ikrar said.

AIDS decimating two Papuan tribes

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2004

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura -- Around 500 locals and religious leaders staged a rally around the Provincial legislature in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, protesting the prolonged supply of liquor and sex workers with HIV/AIDS from other provinces that has infected many people in the southern part of the country's easternmost province.

The demonstrators marched around the building while holding banners reading: Grill and prosecute security apparatus involved in the Mappi case, The Indonesian Military is the protector of the people, not the killer of the people and AIDS has claimed many lives in Papua.

They said that the fatal disease could infect all Papuan people and ultimately exterminate backward Papuan tribes, unless concrete measures were taken to control the fast spread of the disease.

Corrupt security personnel have been accused of supplying liquor and sex workers from Java and Sulawesi to locals in Assue in their bid to collect the prized wood gaharu (a type of fragrant wood) in the regency. The sex workers with HIV/AIDS have contributed to the spread of the fatal disease in the regency.

The Forum of Care for Assue, which organized the mass rally, called on the government to stop the sale of liquor and gambling and prostitution in Mappi regency, which has damaged social life over the last 10 years.

So far, 35 people with AIDS have been detected while many more with HIV have gone undetected because of their isolation in remote areas in the regency.

Rev. Yus Felix Wewengkang, director of Solidarity, Justice and Peace in Merauke Diocese, warned that the Awyu and Wiyagar tribes inhabiting the newly formed regency would be eliminated within five to 10 years because of the fast spread of HIV unless concrete measures were immediately taken.

The Mappi issue has attracted the concern of local churches and non-governmental organizations as the local government has turned a blind eye to the issue.

"In the 1,900 square-kilometer Assue subdistrict with 15 villages and a total population of 9,500, there are 12 bars and entertainment centers offering many kinds of liquor, sex workers and gambling machines," said Rev. Wewengkang.

Local activists have blamed the gaharu trade for the inflow of liquor and sex workers in the regency.

Hundreds of ships from Java, Sulawesi and Malaysia have come almost every month since 1995 to the regency to supply gaharu gatherers and to transport the high-priced commodity to be supplied to the international market.

Over the last few years, the business has been backed by unauthorized security personnel who usually offered prostitutes, many of whom have HIV/AIDS, to gain support for the business from tribal chiefs and informal leaders in the regency.

Many people who earn from the sale of gaharu, frequent the entertainment centers and bars offering prostitutes.

The sex workers who come from Surabaya, Manado, Timika and Agats often go to villages in remote areas to offer their services to locals and gaharu gatherers.

Jacobus Yufu, a tribal chief in Assue, lamented the poor condition in his hometown, saying that gaharu's fame has destroyed traditional values in Mappi and trapped local people into illicit sex with the inevitable consequence of the fast spread of HIV/AIDS in the regency.

He called on the government to prohibit the collection of the precious wood and the sale of liquor and to close down entertainment centers in the regency.

People with HIV/AIDS have also been detected in neighboring regencies Merauke and Timika, giving the province the highest rank in the spread of the disease in the country. According to the recent study, the number of people with HIV/AIDS in the province has reached more than 15,000.

Court ruling perpetuates conflict in Papua

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2004

Ridwan Max Sijabat -- The decision by the Constitutional Court on the judicial review of Law No. 45/1999 in Jakarta on Thursday surprised many, including those opposed to and those who support the controversial formation of West Irian Jaya province.

Accompanied by Papua governor Jaap Solossa, Papua Legislative Council Chairman John Ibo who filed a request for the judicial review, expressed disappointment with the verdict, saying the decision with its strong political overtones did not provide a solution to the core issue in the country's easternmost province.

Acting governor of West Irian Jaya Octavianus Brahm Atururi and officials from the home and defense ministries and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) seemed pleased by the decision that acknowledges the existence of the new province. However it is unclear whether the new province will enjoy the special autonomy status as Papua does under Law No. 21/2001.

The Court buried Law No. 45/1999 -- on the formation of West and Central Irian Jaya Provinces and that of several new regencies, including Paniai, Puncak Jaya and Mimika -- because its enforcement was not in line with Law No. 21/2001. The two laws were not in conflict with the Amended 1945 Constitution but their enforcement raised serious implications in the field.

Eight of nine judges were of the same legal opinion that West Irian Jaya and the new regencies under it remained valid, although Law No. 45/1999 was no longer effective.

They argue that the special autonomy law took effect after the new province and regencies were formed, and no state institutions have annulled the law.

The judges argue that the new province and regencies should be accepted because they have their own administration and legislatures and representatives in the House of Representatives who were elected in the April legislative election.

The Constitutional Court's ruling, which is final and binding, has left legal and political uncertainty for both Papua and West Irian Jaya.

West Irian Jaya and the new regencies were accepted although they have no legal basis. Like other provinces, regencies and/or mayoralties, the new province and regencies formed under the already annulled law, need new laws as the legal basis for their formation and a valid administration in the future.

In addition, many legal experts are baffled by the court's argument that Law No. 45/1999 remained effective in spite of Law No. 21/2001 as long as no relevant authorities had declared the former law ineffective.

Judge Maruarar Siahaan in his dissenting opinion argues that West Irian Jaya's existence should be declared invalid because Law No. 45/1999 is in conflict with the 2001 Papua special autonomy law, and the new province's formation was mandated by a controversial presidential instruction in 2003, two years after the special autonomy law took effect.

Law No. 45/1999 automatically became ineffective regardless of whether or not it was declared ineffective, he argues.

The court verdict needs a political decision on the new province's status. If the new province of West Irian Jaya will also enjoy special autonomy like Papua, it has to be mandated in a special autonomy law. As a consequence it would also have the right to share the special autonomy funds and to establish its own highest law-making body similar to Papua's Peoples Assembly (MRP). The local assembly is assigned to elect a governor and design development policy in the province.

With its decision, which is irreversible, the Constitutional Court has apparently tried to provide a win-win political solution for all conflicting sides in Papua and Jakarta, but it has not only failed to solve the prolonged issue, but will even worsen the situation there.

John Ibo, in filing the judicial review request, noted Jakarta's reluctance to fully implement the special autonomy law, which has been given by the People's Consultative Assembly and through national consensus as the main framework to seek a comprehensive solution to the Papua issue.

The Assembly agreed to give special autonomy to Papua and Aceh in 1999 amid the strong demand for a self-determination ballot in the two provinces following the stepping-down of former president Soeharto and the beginning of the reform era.

He said the Papuan people lost confidence again in Jakarta when president Megawati Soekarnoputri declined to approve the draft regulation on the establishment of the MRP and to fully disburse the special autonomy funds in the first two years of the implementation of autonomy.

According to Law No. 21/2001, the MRP will play an important role in designing development policy and approving the appointment of high-ranking officials in the province. The central government later turned down the draft regulation as it was feared it would pave the way for the province's separation from Indonesia. Papuan people and local government officials have strongly rejected this concern as invalid, saying the law clearly stipulates that Papua is part of Indonesian territory.

The presidential instruction issued by Megawati, was issued with strong support from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Indonesian Military and the BIN which were believed to have their own interests in the planned formation of the two new provinces.

Certain high-ranking officials at the home ministry have allegedly gained financial advantage from the establishment of new administrations in the new province and regencies while the Indonesian Military and BIN have maintained their security businesses with the presence of two giant mining companies in Manokwari and Timika respectively. The formation of new provinces was also expected to help security authorities to control separatist activities in the region.

The Constitutional Court has planted a time bomb in the region that could explode if the majority of tribal people opposing the formation of the new province are dissatisfied with the provincial administration's performance.

The new province's establishment, however, has won political support from migrants from Java, Sulawesi and Maluku.

Besides, the Court decision also raises new problems for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government which has expressed its commitment to fully implement special autonomy and review the controversial presidential instruction as recently promised by the President himself to the Papuans.

[The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.]

'Kopassus fomenting Papua unrest'

Laksamana.Net - November 18, 2004

Australian and Papuan human rights groups have accused the Indonesian Army's elite Special Forces (Kopassus) of responsibility for a recent attack on a convoy of local government officials in troubled Papua province.

In a joint statement released Wednesday (17/11/04), the groups said the military was attempting to "East Timorise" the situation in Papua by fomenting civil unrest.

The Indonesian armed forces in the past established, funded and trained civilian militia groups in East Timor to create the impression of civil war in the territory, which was invaded by Indonesia in 1975 and finally achieved independence after a bloody referendum in 1999.

There are now concerns the Indonesian Defense Forces may be using such militia tactics in Papua, which has seen an escalation of violence over recent months, in an effort to force President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government to launch a new military operation in the resource-rich but impoverished province.

Wednesday's statement was issued by the Papua-based Institute for Human Rights Studies and Advocacy (Elsham), Papuan church, student and traditional law groups, the Papuan branches of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), as well as the Uniting Church of Australia and Sydney University's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS).

The statement was co-authored by Elsham supervisor John Rumbiak, who now resides in Australia after receiving several death threats. It said there was evidence Kopassus had orchestrated the November 12 ambush in which a policeman was killed and two local government officials seriously wounded in Puncak Jaya regency.

The official convoy was attacked after delivering food aid to refugees who had fled their villages over the past two months during violence that left eight people dead, including a local clergyman, Pastor Elisa Tabuni, who was fatally shot when he failed to reveal the whereabouts of local rebel leader Goliat Tabuni.

According to Rumbiak, an estimated 5,000 villagers have been forced to flee their homes in the Mulia area of Puncak Jaya, which has been closed by the military amid an ongoing operation against independence fighters.

The statement said 13 children and two adults have died from hunger after livestock were shot and crops burned.

Rumbiak was quoted by the Australian Associated Press as saying one of the officials wounded in the ambush had earlier reported the extortion of the local administration by the military, which used the money to fund the crackdown.

He said the attack was evidence of an attempt to "East Timorise" the conflict in Papua. "Friday's attack now threatens an escalation of military repression across the highlands ... It is likely that Papuans have been used to carry out this attack by the Indonesian army's Special Forces, Kopassus, who have been using local groups in Papua in the same way they manipulated East Timorese to fight their own people. This is a precursor to civil war," he was quoted as saying by AAP.

"The military threatens the administration of President Yudhoyono with a situation where he must give them the green light for a new military operation. They have already begun to engineer incidents which will destabilize his presidency," he added.

The Uniting Church's Reverend John Barr and Sydney University's Professor Stuart Rees called for an end to the military operations in Puncak Jaya and demanded that a humanitarian assistance mission be allowed into the area.

"These people have suffered enough... It's time there was a negotiated and internationally supported solution ... Here is an enormous opportunity for the new Indonesian administration to promote peace with justice," Rees was quoted as saying by AAP.

Rumbiak said there are now more than 25,000 troops based in Papua after a build-up over the past two years.

The statement contains the following chronology of recent violence in Puncak Jaya:

August 17: An exchange of fire between an unknown group and Kopassus resulted in one Kopassus member experiencing minor injuries.

September 14: Kopassus troops caught and shot Pastor Elisa Tabuni. His child's hands were tied but he managed to escape after witnessing the killing of his father.

October 12: Six non-Papuans working as drivers were shot or killed on the Trans Wamena road in Mulia. The perpetrators of the killings are still a mystery to locals, while the military has pointed at [rebel leader] Goliat Tabuni.

October 17: Troops launched land and air operations against the civilian population. A TNI helicopter shot and launched bombs at temporary settlements of civilians while gatherings were taking place. But the bombs and projectiles launched by the TNI helicopter did not explode. Since August 17, indiscriminate bombings have prompted 27 church congregations to flee into the forests to hide.

November 12: An unknown group at 4pm ambushed a humanitarian team that had been distributing food and medical aid to Mulia and Ilu districts. Two government officials, Puncak Jaya regency finance head Yuni W.O. (31) and Mulia district head Rahel Elaby (28), suffered serious injuries. Policeman/driver Yance Kirimay died. Eight other people suffered minor injuries.

Demands

Elsham, LBH Papua, Kontras Papua, the Papua Traditional Law Council, local church groups and student groups made the following eight recommendations:

1. Demand the military and police immediately withdraw organic and non-organic troops from Puncak Jaya.

2. Urge the military and police to immediately cease military operations and all efforts to engineer conflict and provocation in Puncak Jaya.

3. Demand the unknown group to immediately cease all efforts to engineer conflict, such as exchanges of fire and the killing and slaughter of innocent civilians.

4. Urge the Papuan provincial government, provincial legislative assembly, Puncak Jaya regional government and legislative assembly to immediately cease all forms of support for the implementation of the military operations in Puncak Jaya, and immediately cease the use of Special Autonomy (OTSUS) funds for military operations in Puncak Jaya.

5. Urge the National Commission on Human Rights to immediately send an independent investigation team to Mulia, Puncak Jaya, and take further action by forming a Special Commission of Investigation into Human Rights Abuses in Mulia in connection with the estimated heavy violations of human rights.

6. Urge the military, police, Papua provincial government, provincial legislative assembly, Puncak Jaya regional government and Puncak Jaya legislative assembly to immediately reopen access to Mulia for humanitarian aid teams for refugees, and a joint investigation team from the Papua legislative assembly, NGOs, student groups and church groups.

7. Urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government to immediately withdraw troops from throughout Puncak Jaya and consistently uphold his commitment to peacefully resolve the Papua problem by establishing a peace dialogue with the Papuan people.

8. Urge all teams that support humanitarian work to immediately strive for humanitarian aid to help the thousands of refugees in Puncak Jaya.

Autronomy Rejected

Separately, two Papuan separatist groups, the West Papua New Guinea National Congress (WPNGNC) and the armed West Papuan resistance, have rejected the government's offer of special autonomy for Papua.

"We totally reject this latest imposed presidential autonomy program," WPNGNC's Australian spokesperson Mathew Mayer was quoted as saying by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.

"The WPNGNC totally rejects any move towards autonomy for the native people of West Papua because the vast majority of native West Papuans aspire to the fundamental, universal human right of self-determination in accordance with International law and standards," he said.

WPNGNC opposes autonomy and instead supports self-determination leading to an independent state.

The group claimed Yudhoyono is not serious about finding "a genuine political solution" for resolving the issue of Papua. It said it had written to the president via the Indonesian Embassy in Australia, offering talks without pre-conditions.

Rally against prostitution and alcohol

About 500 Papuans on Wednesday staged a demonstration in the provincial capital Jayapura to demand that local legislators revoke a regulation that permits prostitution and the consumption of alcoholic drinks in Assue subdistrict, Mappi regency.

Led by tribal and church leaders, the demonstrators gathered outside the provincial legislative assembly building, but no legislators came outside to respond to the demands, state news agency Antara reported.

The protesters said the presence of prostitutes from other provinces has caused at least 35 people in Assue to contract HIV/AIDS.

Local officials have allegedly supplied Assue residents with alcohol, as well as prostitutes from Java and Sulawesi, to win support for the logging of an aromatic timber, gaharu, which was once abundant in the regency.

KPU OKs councillors after rigged election

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

Jayapura -- An alliance of 20 political parties that participated in the April 5 legislative election in Mimika, Papua protested the recent inauguration of 25 councillors for the Mimika regency legislature, saying it was against Decree No. 44/2004 issued by the General Election Commission (KPU).

The 20-party alliance objects to the councillors because the KPU already declared that vote-rigging took place in the regency, and thus the "elected" legislators were illegitimate.

Marthen Maturbongs, spokesman for the party alliance, said in a press conference here on Friday that the councillors' inauguration on November 12 was apparently justified by Revised Decree No. 89, which, however, did not have the approval of Papua Governor Jaap Solossa.

"The Mimika regent and the KPU provincial chapter in Jayapura should be held responsible for the recent appointment of the new councillors," he said, explaining that Mimika now has a total of 50 councillors, because the 25 old councillors elected in the 1999 general election have not officially left office yet.

The KPU branch in Mimika has already been dissolved because of vote-rigging in the April election.

Police capture logging ship in Papua

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

Nethy Dharma Somba and Apriadi Gunawan, Jayapura/Medan -- The nationwide drive against illegal logging continued as the police apprehended a foreign ship carrying illegal logs in Papua and a minister revealed that a number of officials were allegedly involved in the rampant illegal logging.

The police in Sarmi regency bordering Papua New Guinea were still bringing the ship, logging equipment and nine crew members from Sarmi to Jayapura seaport for further investigation.

Reliable sources at the Sarmi Police station said the ship Godrilabuan II which was chartered by Malaysian timber baron Lai Rue Tang to supply two timber companies PT Jutha Daya Perkasa and PT Papua Limbah Mewah in Takar district, was held because it did not have a license to operate in Indonesia.

The sources said all detainees, the ship and logging equipment were moved to Jayapura because the police would thoroughly investigate the case and seek detailed information on illegal logging activities in the province.

The detainees consisting of three Indonesians, five Malaysians and one Filipino and the ship was expected to arrive in Jayapura early on Saturday.

Separately Papua governor Jaap Solossa demanded that the central government take action against corrupt security personnel from the local police and Navy units who have backed the ravaging of forests in the province.

"Illegal logging is rampant in the province because it receives the backing of corrupt police and Navy personnel in the province," he said.

Ecologists also called on the government to take harsh actions against all sides involved in illegal logging.

John Handol, spokesman for an alliance of local environmental groups, said in Jakarta that Malaysian timber barons who bribed senior government and security officials to plunder the tropical forests in Papua, have smuggled around 200,000 cubic meters of illegal logs from the province to China and India through the Southern Philippines.

"The smuggling has gone on for nine months and it has involved local loggers and is backed by politicians from Jakarta and security officials from the Navy and the National Police," Handol told a press conference held to present the result of their investigation into the smuggling of logs from Papua.

Handol, also coordinator of the environmental group Aliansi, said the timber mafia had used the year-long election to shield illegal logging from public attention.

The modus operandi in the illegal logging was very simple since local loggers who were paid by the timber barons with cash were deployed to virgin forests under "the custody" of security personnel from the local Navy command and the local police units, he said.

"We have several names of Malaysian timber barons known powerful and untouchable in Papua because they have paid local security authorities to guard them and their business," he said.

He said the illegal logs were shipped with fake documents from Papua New Guinea (GNP) through Mali in southern Philippines to China and India, two alleged major destinations of illegal logs from Indonesia.

The timber barons have used many Thai vessels to transport the illegal logs and their crew members were mostly Chinese and Thais.

In Medan, North Sumatra, State Minister for the Environment. S. Kaban warned that he would not compromise with any party involved in illegal logging, saying a number of regional heads allegedly involved in such crimes will be brought to court.

Declining to identify them, the minister revealed that many regional heads have shielded behind the regional autonomy law to abuse their power in the forestry sector in their own region. "Whoever they are, whether they are regional heads or not, they should not try to seek a compromise from me...," he said.

Kaban and his entourage were here to make a field tour of a reforestation program in Sibisa, Toba regency and in Bukit Lawang tourist resort which was devastated by a flash flood last year.

 Government

Yudhoyono warns 100 days not enough to solve problems

Agence France Presse - November 18, 2004

Indonesia's new president has warned his countrymen to abandon high expectations of quick fixes to rampant corruption, sectarian and separatist conflict, widespread unemployment and the threat of terrorism.

In his first policy address since taking office last month Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declined to outline a hotly anticipated 100-day programme to fulfill reform promises, saying his government had barely scratched the surface.

"What is clear is that the government's first 100 day program is not to, and will not, settle all problems," Yudhoyono said in a speech broadcast late Wednesday.

The president, who beat his predecessor Megawati Sukarnoputri in September polls to become Indonesia's first elected leader, said he would use the first three months to plot a course for his five years in office. During this time, he said he would "identify the problems, set down an agenda and aims."

Yudhoyono has promised to tackle the endemic corruption that has scared away badly needed foreign investment and prevented the economy from matching the economic growth achieved by its regional rivals.

He said the government would strictly enforce anti-graft laws, while fostering a culture of transparency. "The principles of rewards and punishment will be further enforced in the future," he said.

Yudhoyono said he would build on financial stability achieved by his predecessor while addressing unresolved issues such as high unemployment and widespread poverty among the country's 223 million people.

"What has been successfully achieved by the government of president Megawati Sukarnoputri such as the economic growth that took place and the stabilisation of the macro economy ... needs to be safeguarded," he said.

In fighting terrorism, Yudhoyono pledged to step up action to hunt those behind a series of deadly attacks in Indonesia as well as increasing intelligence efforts to prevent further strikes. Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated country has been blighted by a series of attacks by Islamic militants in recent years, culminating in the October 2002 Bali bombings in which 202 people were killed. That attack and others, including a September 9 suicide bomb attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, have been blamed on the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah regional militant organisation.

Yudhoyono said his government would also work to resolve separatist conflicts in the far-flung provinces of Papua and Aceh and end simmering sectarian conflict on the island of Sulawesi.

Earlier Wednesday, Yudhoyono announced a six month extension of a state of civil emergency in resource-rich Aceh, where government troops are trying to crush a long-running rebellion.

The government says thousands of guerrillas have been killed in Aceh since the start of the military operation 18 months ago. Rights groups say many of the dead are civilians.

Susilo attempts to dampen public's high expectations

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2004

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- In an apparent attempt tone down the public's high expectations of his new administration, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stressed on Wednesday that the success of his 100-day program should not be used as an indicator of success of his government.

In a speech to mark his first 30 days in office on Wednesday, Susilo said it would be impossible for him to solve the country's problems within only 100 days, as some analysts seemed to be suggesting.

"I would like to call my first four weeks as the beginning of everything. I am aware that many are taking the success of the 100-day program as an indicator of the success of the government ... I want to make it clear that the 100-day program cannot and will not solve all the problems and issues," Susilo said in a one-hour speech. Susilo, a retired four-star Army general, took his oath of office on October 20 after winning 61 percent of the vote in the election runoff last September 20.

He said that the success of the government should be assessed at the end of his five-year term in 2009.

The President said that the first three months of his government would focus more on the identification of problems and the framing of the solutions to these problems. He also said that the government would focus on a consolidation process, the resolving of actual issues, and the setting of the agenda for the next five years.

Susilo had promised to make major changes within 100 days of taking office. However, since them he has been repeatedly trying to convince the public that he may not be able to deliver as much as expected within that short timeframe.

He has promised to make another "accountability speech" at the end of his second month in office.

Susilo once again reiterated his commitment to fighting corruption, saying that he would issue a presidential instruction on corruption in all levels of bureaucracy and would chair a monthly Cabinet meeting to direct the anti-graft drive.

"I have ordered the Attorney General to speed up the investigation process in major corruption cases and, once again, I underline that all state officials involved in graft should resign, and will be processed in accordance with the law," he said.

In his lengthy speech, the President also referred to his earlier tense relations with the House of Representatives, and expressed gratitude that relations were improving by the day. "I would like to stress that the tension was not intentional on the part of the two sides. But I really appreciate that the situation is improving and we can begin a partnership," Susilo said.

No detailed agenda from Yudhoyono in first TV address

Straits Times - November 19, 2004

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta -- One hundred days are not enough to solve all of Indonesia's problems.

That was President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's message in a nationwide television address -- his first since taking power on October 20 -- that was widely expected to provide a detailed road map of his administration.

Instead, it lacked specifics, with the 55-year-old leader turning in large measure to the themes he had touched on during the election campaign.

Given the ongoing battle with a hostile Parliament and the problems facing Indonesia, his immediate aim was to moderate expectations. "What is clear is that the government's first 100- day programme is not to, and will not, settle all the problems," he said. The first three months would be used to identify problems and "set down the agenda and aims" for his five years in office.

Clearly, reviving the moribund economy was on the top of his agenda. He said he would build on the financial stability achieved by his predecessor Megawati Sukarnoputri and would pursue an economic policy that was "pro-growth, pro-employment and pro-poor". This would entail Jakarta providing more jobs -- nearly 10 million are currently unemployed -- and increasing the annual economic growth rate to 6.5 per cent from the current 4.9 per cent by attracting foreign investments and developing Indonesia's rural sector.

The key challenge was winning back international confidence in the country, he noted. Dr Yudhoyono said his ministers were looking at several factors that had hindered investment flows -- the legal system, poor labour laws, taxation and infrastructure. If not addressed, they could set Indonesia back even further, he said.

Central to restoring economic growth was the fight against corruption, for graft has scared away badly needed foreign investment and prevented the economy from matching the growth achieved by other Asian countries. Independent groups have consistently rated Indonesia as one the world's most corrupt nations.

From the start, Dr Yudhoyono had promised a dose of 'shock therapy' in fighting graft. He revealed that he had told Attorney-General Abdurahman Saleh to begin prioritising the corruption cases to be prosecuted. He also made clear to his ministers that they would be sacked if they engaged in corruption. Besides setting up an independent commission to deal with the problem, he would also convene monthly Cabinet meetings on the issue.

Another major priority was maintaining security. The President said he would step up efforts to fight terrorism. For a start, he had told police to hunt down Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohd Top, two Malaysians linked to the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist network who were responsible for a series of terror attacks in Indonesia since 2002.

Dr Yudhoyono said his government would also work to resolve separatist conflicts in the far-flung provinces of Papua and Aceh, and end simmering sectarian conflict on the island of Sulawesi. Over the weekend, a blast killing six people in the troubled Poso regency of Sulawesi, which has seen Muslim- Christian clashes for the past six years, served as a reminder of how Indonesia was still prone to bloodshed.

The hour-long speech paved the way once again for critics to blast the Yudhoyono administration. Political observer Muchyar Yara told The Straits Times: "He looks nice on TV. But in the long run, style counts for nothing. It will be substance."

His TV appearance late on Wednesday is the first of what will be a monthly affair where the President will make an "accountability speech" to the Indonesian public. A senior diplomat noted: "He wants to project this image that he is in touch with the people. It is the only thing he can offer them now. It is impossible for him to resolve chronic problems within these 100 days. But after six months, people will want to see concrete results."

Yudhoyono's shock therapy on hold

Sydney Morning Herald - November 19, 2004

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- A month after he was sworn in, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has delivered his keenly awaited first speech to the Indonesian nation.

But instead of providing a detailed plan of action for the first 100 days, he opted to again highlight the general themes of the country's problems that he had focused before the election in September that swept him to power.

Without explaining how, he promised to reduce corruption, restore education and health, rebuild the economy, attack illegal logging, deal with the continuing problems in Aceh and Papua provinces and even tackle Jakarta's chronic traffic problems.

"As the President I've issued the rules of the game and a code of conduct for all government officials and cabinet ministers," he said. "I want an administration that works seriously, full of responsibility and free of corruption and other irregularities." As with the 11.45pm announcement of his cabinet a month ago, his speech was delayed until late at night, ensuring few of the 220 million population would have seen it. Originally promised for 8pm, the speech was eventually broadcast at 10.30pm on Wednesday.

Shortly after taking office on October 20 Dr Yudhoyono promised "shock therapy" as part of his 100-day plan to deal with the nation's problems. A government document detailed a far-reaching cabinet agenda touching almost all sections of the government.

This document, seen by the Herald, includes a number of specific measures and deadlines which were not included in Dr Yudhoyono's speech. Rather, he used the address to lower expectations of his government's early days, stressing he should not be judged until the end of his five-year term.

He complained there was too much media discussion about his first 100 days and that some "even cite the 100-day program as a measure of the success of the Government". "I don't want to debate this problem, but it's clear the Government's 100-day program has not, and will not, solve all problems ... you can't do everything." After extending the state of emergency imposed in Aceh six months ago, Dr Yudhoyono offered the separatist group known as GAM an amnesty if it would end its 26-year fight.

"The Government is ready to give an amnesty and rebuild the economy if the conflict really stops, which is marked with GAM returning to the big family that is Indonesia," he said.

The Indonesian military is attempting to "East Timorise" the unsettled province of Papua by fomenting civil unrest, a human rights coalition said yesterday.

There was evidence the army's Kopassus troops were behind an incident in the remote highlands last week in which a policeman was killed and two government officials wounded, the Uniting Church of Australia and Sydney University's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies said in a joint statement.

The official party was ambushed after delivering food aid to villagers in Puncak Jaya regency, at the centre of unrest in the past month, with eight people dead.

Budget revision still unclear

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta -- Despite a thawing in the once icy relationship between the government and the House of Representatives, the administration's plan to revise several assumptions in the 2005 state budget could still face challenges from legislators.

House finance commission chairman Paskah Suzetta said on Friday that the government should not be in such a rush to make the revisions. "We realize the need to revise several assumptions, like the oil price assumption, but the government should try its best to first meet the targets in the budget," he said.

The previous Megawati administration had drafted the budget on the basis that the new House members and the administration elected in the 2004 elections might not have enough time to redraft it from scratch within the two months left before the start of the new fiscal year in January.

The budget projects economic growth of 5.4 percent, a rise from 4.8 percent this year, and an inflation rate of 5.6 percent. The deficit is projected to decline to 0.8 percent of gross domestic product from 1.2 percent this year based on an oil price of US$24 per barrel.

Several Cabinet members have suggested the need to revise the budget, saying that the recent rise in global oil prices to up to $50 had made the budget targets unrealistic.

Paskah, from the Golkar Party, further said that it would be better for the government to work based on the budget and to undertake a thorough view of the country's economic progress before proposing budget revisions.

"It would be better if they [the revisions] were carried out some time in July," he said, referring to the month in which the administration usually consults with legislators on whether revisions of the current budget are needed.

However, legislator Dradjad Wibowo, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said that the government should revise the 2005 budget as soon as possible, unless it felt comfortable with it.

"The ball is now in the government's hands," he said. "They should propose the revisions now so the House can discuss them before the budget comes into effect in January." Dradjad, who is also an economist at the Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), maintained that the revision of the budget was necessary to rectify a number of flawed assumptions. "We will present our arguments for the revisions and push for a vote if needed," he said.

The House is split between the Nationhood Coalition (Golkar, PDI-P, PDS, and the PKB) and the pro-government People's Coalition (the Democratic Party, PAN, PKS, and PPP). The government and the House have lately been involved in several political stand-offs, but reached a compromise when both recently agreed to extend the civil emergency in Aceh.

Elsewhere, economist Pande Raja Silalahi from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that revisions were a must, whatever the situation between the government and the House. "The new administration has its owns programs -- setting up new ministries and converting fuel subsidies into direct development funds -- and its own budgetary needs," he said.

Young technocrats in Yudhoyono's inner circle

Straits Times - November 20, 2004

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta -- A long-time friend from the army and a group of young technocrats form the inner circle in Merdeka palace.

Mr Sudi Silalahi, a retired three-star general who served as secretary to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he was security czar in the last government, holds the powerful position of Cabinet Secretary and personal confidante on state matters.

Several others are in the corridors of power -- among them, prominent TV talk-show host Andi Mallarangeng, who deals with the media, and career diplomat Dino Pati Djalal, who is Dr Yudhoyono's foreign affairs spokesman.

The inner circle also includes academics M. Chatib Basri and Joyo Winoto who are Dr Yudhoyono's informal economic advisers, his speech writer Munawar Fuad Nuh and private secretary Heru Lelono.

With the exception of Mr Heru, all of them are in their late 30s or early 40s -- and several have doctorates.

The President has realised the value of getting in new blood. He has surrounded himself with young academics and technocrats in the palace.

One of them is Dr Andi, a US-trained political scientist. He is now the public face of Dr Yudhoyono and deals with the media as his spokesman. Popular with Indonesians for his good looks and charm, he used to host various programmes on the local Metro TV and emerged as Dr Yudhoyono's backer after he announced his presidential candidacy in April.

Dr Dino, who has a doctorate in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, is the President's chief aide on all foreign matters. He used to head the North American division in the Foreign Ministry, developing a close working relationship with Dr Yudhoyono as far back as three years ago when he began briefing him on political and security issues.

He has emerged as a key figure in the palace, advising the President on relations with Asean countries and the United States. Some analysts see him as a rising star who could earn a Cabinet appointment in years to come.

Others in the inner circle include Dr Joyo and Dr Chatib, both of whom are economists. Dr Joyo was initially tipped for a Cabinet appointment, but could now find himself in the palace together with Dr Chatib as economic advisers, though Dr Yudhoyono has yet to make a decision on their formal appointments.

Two other key people make up his team in the palace. One is Nahdlatul Ulama youth leader Munawar Fuad Nuh, who is his leading speech writer. The other is his private secretary Heru, who is a close family friend and former stalwart of the Indonesian Democratic Party -- Struggle.

Like the formation of the Cabinet, Dr Yudhoyono has had to contend with infighting and jostling for positions in the palace. Interestingly, both Dr Andi and Dr Dino are holding high-profile appointments despite not having been in Dr Yudhoyono's election campaign team.

This has emerged as a sore point among some loyalists who initially formed what was known as Team 11 and expected positions. Team 11 was meant to be the core of a West Wing-style administration, but since the formation of the government, the President has dismantled this group quietly.

Political observer Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia noted: "There are old-timers and newcomers in the palace, but the one thing that binds this group is their loyalty to SBY. The President has chosen them based on his close personal ties, not through a rigorous selection process. On paper, some of them look attractive, but the jury is still out on whether they are the best people to serve him."

 Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Yudhoyono to push anti-graft agenda

Financial Times - November 16, 2004

Jakarta -- Indonesia's government is expected to announce fresh anti-corruption initiatives, including a review of the rules that let former president Suharto avoid prosecution by pleading ill- health.

The measures, outlined by a senior minister and included in documents obtained separately by the Financial Times, are part of a plan for the first 100 days of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration. They would be unveiled next week, said two ministers.

Dr Yudhoyono came to power after promising to tackle endemic graft. Indonesia is one of the world's most corrupt countries, according to Transparency International. Since taking office almost a month ago, he and his government have made a number of symbolic moves on corruption.

Next week's initiatives look like a more concrete attempt to clean up the bureaucracy and woo back foreign investors.

"The test case now for Indonesia is not whether we are willing but whether we are able to fight corruption," said National Development Planning Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a former International Monetary Fund executive director, who has been compiling the 100-day plan.

The first two steps of the plan are to pursue key cases already under way and back a new anti-corruption court. But Dr Yudhoyono's administration is also determined to begin to "build a better system', Mrs Mulyani said.

To address "procedural barriers" to corruption cases, for example, Dr Yudhoyono's plans include a "presidential instruction" requiring the suspension of any public official facing a corruption investigation. Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri, his predecessor, left key Cabinet members in place even as they underwent police investigation.

The government also wants to re-evaluate rules that allow corruption suspects to avoid court by claiming ill-health. That could affect cases such as that against Mr Suharto. Activists accuse the former president and his family of stashing away as much as US$35 billion, but the 83-year-old's lawyers claim he is unfit to stand trial.

The draft plans also call for the formation of a supervisory commission to oversee Indonesia's weak judiciary and for experts to review areas of government renowned for graft -- including the tax office, Customs, the police, and the Attorney General's Office.

People are waiting for prosecution of 'big fish'

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2004

Jeffrey Winters and Ridarson Galingging, Chicago -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has stated repeatedly that he intends to make fighting corruption a top priority. If he does so, he will be the first Indonesian president since Independence to pay serious attention to the rule of law.

The rule of law means one thing: enforcement of the law fairly and justly for everyone. The "fairly and justly" part is more important than people realize.

It is obvious that the number of successful prosecutions must be increased. But an increase in quantity alone is not enough. How and why cases are chosen and handled is crucial to public perceptions about justice.

This means that SBY's attorney general, Abdurrahman Saleh, must be transparent about his methods and principles used in prosecutions. Prosecutors must always be selective. Among Indonesia's corrupt elite, there are simply too many criminals to go after them all.

As Kwik Kian Gie once despaired publicly, if even half of Indonesia's worst criminals were jailed, the country's economy and government would probably collapse.

What are the methods and principles that Abdulrrahman ought to apply to strengthen the rule of law in Indonesia? First is practicality. There are practical considerations in every case. How strong is the case, is the evidence good, are the witnesses reliable, and is there a reasonable expectation that the prosecution will succeed? It is highly damaging to public perceptions of justice when a prosecutor drags accused persons through a high-profile legal process on the basis of a weak case, and then loses.

Second is scale. In a perfect world, all crimes would be punished. But resources are limited and difficult choices must be made. Police are poorly paid, investigators and prosecutors are too few and overburdened, and there are not enough courts, judges, or jails.

Abdurrahman said he would go after the "big fish." Society must accept that some medium and small fish will get away with their crimes. But at least the attorney general maintains the important principle that doing greater damage to society increases your chances of prosecution. The third principle is equality. Indonesia's political conflicts and divisions are more personal than ideological.

It is very tempting to use prosecutions as a political instrument or a tool for revenge. Similarly, Indonesian patronage politics makes it tempting to shield friends and supporters from prosecution, even when they are not only big fish, but whales.

To succeed, Abdurrahman must be fair. There are plenty of juicy targets to prosecute in Golkar and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). But if criminals who have moved closer to Susilo for protection are ignored, then the whole effort will be perceived as illegitimate.

Ironically, the rule of law for a society can be damaged by biased patterns of prosecution, even if your rate of prosecution increases. Divisive matters like political affiliation, religion, ethnic group, or regional base have no legitimate role to play in decisions about prosecutions.

Abdurrahman should pursue corruption cases committed by individuals connected to Golkar, Soeharto and his family, PDI-P, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Crescent Star Party (PBB), the police, the prosecutor's office, the courts, and the military.

There are other important cases besides corruption. Megawati showed no interest in prosecuting serious human rights violations. So the job has been passed on to Susilo and the attorney general to solve.

There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic. Abdurrahman is himself a former human rights lawyer, spending most of his legal career at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation and, more recently, at the Supreme Court.

As a Supreme Court justice, he stood together with brave and visionary justices like Artidjo Alkostar, avoiding his less distinguished colleagues. He has a proven track record of integrity and he is skilled in the law.

The President chose a fine attorney general. But now he needs to back Abdurrahman fully by helping him clean out the rotten Attorney General's Office.

Indonesia has many good people who can replace corrupt prosecutors. But they always get pushed aside in favor of smiling crooks and charming thugs.

The Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), which has the power to conduct investigations into human rights violation, is headed by Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara. Hakim is a serious human rights lawyer who also spent most of his legal career at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation. Abdurrahman and Hakim know each other well and "speak the same language" on law and justice.

Despite these positive signs, there are still reasons for concern.

There are questionable figures very close to the President and even at the Cabinet level whose activities merit investigation and prosecution. And the recent visit by Vice President Jusuf Kalla to Sudharmono sends a very ominous signal.

Kalla offered the absurd explanation that this courtesy call was to learn from Sudharmono about his previous experience as vice president. What parallels are there between being a willing underling of a corrupt dictator and being a vice president directly elected by the people? For his part, Sudharmono admitted that his current job is as head of various Soeharto foundations.

The Indonesian population, the investment community, and many interested observers outside Indonesia are watching closely to see if the moment has finally come when rule of law will be strengthened.

Susilo has promised the voters to make the rule of law a high priority. So it is fair to hold him accountable on this issue when he starts his campaign for re-election four years from now.

[Jeffrey Winters is a professor of political economy at Northwestern University. Ridarson Galingging teaches law at Yarsi University in Jakarta and is currently studying for the SJD degree at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago.]

Extortion of motorists rife in Lampung

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung -- Some 21 traffic police officers are facing possible demotion or dismissal for extorting money from motorists traveling through the province during the week-long Idul Fitri holiday.

The police officers were detained after they were caught red- handed collecting money from drivers and motorists. The policemen have been questioned since Wednesday.

"The harshest punishment would be dismissal," Lampung Police internal affairs chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Maman Rachman said on Friday. He said the sanctions would be decided by the disciplinary councils in the officers' precincts.

The 21 policemen come from different precincts -- five from West Lampung, six from Central Lampung, three from Bandarlampung, five from North Lampung and two from South Lampung.

According to Maman, he has ordered close supervision of traffic police officers in response to increasing complaints of the rampant extortion of motorists and people traveling to their hometowns for the Idul Fitri holiday. "We urge the people to come to us and report policemen who extort money from motorists," he said.

Earlier in July, the Lampung Police dismissed 12 policemen for indisciplinary acts, including seven for drug abuse. In August, six other policemen were dismissed for similar violations.

Extortion is common practice among traffic police along the Trans-Sumatra Highway in the province. Truck and bus drivers have often complained of extortion. The drivers said that they paid at least Rp 600,000 to police and military officers, traffic policemen and weigh bridge personnel when they passed through the province.

Effendi Silaban, a 30-year-old truck driver, said there were 11 spots where drivers had to pay illegal fees between Bakauheni seaport in Lampung and the South Sumatra border. "The drivers are asked to pay between Rp 20,000 and Rp 100,000 depending on how clever they are when negotiating with the corrupt security and government officers," he said.

According to Silaban, during the holiday he paid Rp 200,000 to a traffic officer from the local transportation office, Rp 300,000 to policemen and Rp 100,000 to other authorities. "The police stopped us between 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., so we called it the predawn attack," Silaban told The Jakarta Post. He added that policemen in Banten and other parts of Java were more polite than those in Sumatra.

 Regional/communal conflicts

Poso violence acts of terrorism: Widodo

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2004

Jakarta -- Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto said that the latest string of violent acts in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, could be classified as acts of terrorism.

"Therefore, the government will hunt down and arrest all of the perpetrators of these acts and process them accordingly," Widodo said in Poso on Tuesday during talks with local community leaders.

During his three-hour visit to observe the situation in the troubled regency after a bomb explosion last week, Widodo was accompanied by Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf, Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, and National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.

Widodo said the government would beef up security in the regency and take into account the views of local people. He also stressed the need for cooperation between the security forces and the local community.

"Give your support, such as by voluntarily relinquishing any weapons and explosives that you might have, and by informing the authorities about suspicious persons or those who have broken the law," he said.

What had been happening recently was designed to cause public unrest in the regency, Widodo said.

A bomb exploded last Saturday morning in a public transportation vehicle as it passed by a market near a police station. The bomb killed at least six people and severely injured a number of others.

The six dead were identified as Darce and Remon, both of whom died instantly at the scene, Imi Doli and Altin, who died on the way to the Parigi public hospital, and Yusuf Woku and Nova, who died in the hospital.

The explosion was the latest violent incident in the past two weeks in Poso after the decapitation of a Christian village chief and the shooting of a public minibus driver.

The series of attacks have renewed fears of a possible upsurge in the sectarian conflict in the regency that started in 2000, and which resulted in the deaths of at least 2,000 Muslim and Christians in the regency and forced tens of thousands of others to flee.

Despite the signing of a government-brokered peace deal in 2002, sporadic attacks have continued.

On Monday, the National Police dispatched 100 officers to the regency to reinforce the approximately 2,500 personnel who were sent in earlier.

Police have also stationed two more BO 105 helicopters to support the security measures, which include arms raids and random checks on passersby and cars.

Despite the continuing violence, Poso regency's head of information, Abdul Haris Rengga, said that local people had not been incited to violence and public activities in the area had stayed relatively normal.

"There was a bit of shock and little disruptions for some time after the explosion occurred, but it was just a temporary reaction," he was quoted as saying by Antara.

Police believe same group undermining peace in Poso

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2004

Jakarta -- Police believe the perpetrators of last Saturday's bombing in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso came from the same group that slayed a prosecutor and killed a Protestant minister in the provincial capital of Palu a few months earlier.

"We cannot reveal their identities yet as the investigation is still underway. There is also a possibility that the perpetrators came from the warring parties involved in the previous conflict in Poso," National Police chief Da'i Bachtiar said after a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Da'i, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo A.S., Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf and Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto visited Poso on Tuesday to observe the latest developments in the troubled town at first hand.

Sectarian disturbances affected the town between 1999 and 2001, and were virtual carbon copies of the disturbances in Maluku, which started earlier. Peace deals signed between the warring parties in the South Sulawesi town of Malino in December 2001 and February 2002 marked an end to the conflict.

Despite the peace agreements, Poso has continued to be plagued by sporadic violence. The blast which killed six people and injured dozens of others on the eve of Idul Fitri on Saturday was the latest act in a string of violence that has disrupted the peace in the town.

Weeks before the bombing, people in Poso were shocked by the beheading of a man and the shooting dead of a public transportation driver.

Da'i said the suspected bombers would be charged under the Antiterrorism Law, which provides for a maximum sentence of death.

Widodo said the series of violent incidents in Poso had disrupted order in the area and were designed to terrorize the people. "We do not think these are separate cases. Instead, we see that there is a possibility of systematic efforts to undermine peace and order in Poso," Widodo said.

Following last week's bombing, police sent 100 reinforcement personnel to Poso to back up the some 2,000 police and military personnel sent in three months ago.

Poso officers accused of rights abuses

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2004

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar -- Law enforcers in the conflict-prone Central Sulawesi town of Poso have committed human rights violations by omission for allowing a string of violent events to occur in the past three weeks, the National Commission on Human Rights announced on Thursday.

Albeit not categorized as gross violations, the failure to stop the violence has deprived local people of their basic rights to live, to security, justice and the possession of belongings.

"We didn't see any law enforcement here ... perpetrators of the murders, arson attacks and vandalism, and even the people who provoked the violence, are roaming free and [their cases] are not yet being legally processed. These people are even continuing with their acts of terror. This is a definite violation of human rights [on the part of law enforcers]," head of the commission's team assigned to probe the Poso violence, Achmad Ali, said.

The team recently completed a field investigation into the violence, which occurred within the past three weeks despite the strong presence of security personnel in the town.

At least 100 elite police troops were sent to Poso to join the 2,000 police and military officers there after a bomb attack on Saturday, which left six people dead. Over two weeks earlier a village chief was beheaded and a public transportation driver, shot dead.

"The rights violations began when the sectarian conflict broke out in this area. If this kind of violence continues, it could lead to gross violations of human rights," he said.

The recent violence has renewed fears of the possible return of sectarian conflict in the regency. In 1999, the conflict resulted in the deaths of at least 2,000 Muslims and Christians and the displacement of thousands of others.

Achmad said it would take the comprehensive and concerted efforts of the local administration, the central government and the police to resolve the ongoing conflict in the regency.

"We cannot just adopt a sporadic and temporary solution to this problem, continuous efforts have to be made. The government not only has to address the conflict, but to find ways to manage the thousands of refugees who have fled the area," he said.

He said the government-brokered Malino peace agreement signed by religious leaders in the regency in December 2001 would not warrant an end to the conflict if the police took action only when a new incident happened.

"What we observe here is a deep-rooted conflict that could reoccur anytime because the concrete actions mandated in the peace agreement are not heeded by the local people, particularly law enforcers," he said.

Achmad also urged the government to investigate the root of the conflict in Poso, saying he was not certain it was triggered by religious issues.

"They had been living together for a very long time and no conflict ever really happened before. I'm sure there are certain parties who intentionally try to create public unrest by exploiting religious issues for a specific purpose. This is what the government and the police must find out," he said.

Achmad added the commission had sent its recommendation to the National Police and was mulling further investigation into the violence.

 Human rights/law

An Indonesian murder mystery

Asia Times - November 15, 2004

Bill Guerin, Jakarta -- A post-mortem examination in the Netherlands has left Indonesian police with a classic whodunit mystery and human-rights advocates in Jakarta fearing for their lives. Like any of British mystery writer Agatha Christie's famous novels, this mystery has a body, evidence of poisoning, and motives galore. The setting, however, is hardly the English countryside.

A post-mortem by the Netherlands Forensic Institute on diminutive 38-year-old Munir Said Thalib, a prominent and outspoken human- rights campaigner who died on a flight to Amsterdam two months ago, revealed last week that his body contained high levels of the poison arsenic. Why it took two months for the autopsy results to be released to authorities in Jakarta is just one of the mysteries surrounding Munir's death, which many are now calling a murder.

Arsenic has been used for criminal purposes throughout history more than any other poison and was thought to have claimed the lives of many, including Britannicus, Pope Pius III, Pope Clemente XIV, and Napoleon Bonaparte. The presence of a lethal dose of arsenic in the body seems to suggest foul play, a judgment the UK-based Indonesia Human Rights Campaign (Tapol) believes is the case.

In a press release issued on Thursday, the day the news was first made public, Tapol said the findings of the autopsy confirm "the fears of many of his [Munir's] colleagues that he was assassinated".

That possibility is worrisome to many, including Jakarta's most famous human-rights advocate, Todung Mulya Lubis. "If it is a political assassination, it could happen to any one of us," Lubis said. "It is very dangerous for Indonesian society because it means people cannot be critics."

A murder mystery

Initial reports suggested that Munir had succumbed to a heart attack -- he had been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and had suffered bouts of hepatitis C in the months prior to his trip -- yet the head of the Jakarta-based human-rights group Imparsial, Rachmand Nashidik, said the group had long suspected something unusual about Munir's death.

"Before going to Holland he was in good health and had a medical checkup. Moreover, we met with the doctor with him on the Garuda flight, who said that while he had diarrhea, he was surprised he had died," Nashidik said.

After the autopsy results were released last Thursday, Dutch prosecutors said they did not have the jurisdiction to launch a criminal investigation, as the death took place on board a Garuda Indonesia aircraft. The Dutch government then handed a copy of the report on Munir's death to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry.

National Police criminal investigation chief General Suyitno Landung said an investigative team had already been dispatched to The Hague to spearhead an inquiry into the activist's death to determine whether he was murdered. A diplomatic delegation will also be sent to act as an "intermediary" between the Netherlands Forensic Institute and the police team, Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda said on Saturday.

"Certainly we have suspicions and must follow up the autopsy report with an investigation to determine when, where and by whom [Munir] was poisoned, if there was indeed such a criminal act," Wirajuda was quoted as saying.

Death on board GA 974

Munir boarded Garuda Flight GA 974 at Jakarta's international airport on September 7. The plane stopped over at Singapore's Changi Airport before continuing to Amsterdam.

Three hours out of Singapore, the cabin crew supervisor informed the pilot, Captain Pantun Matondang, that Munir had fallen ill and was vomiting violently.

According to a Garuda statement, Matondang ordered the supervisor, Najib, to seek help from a doctor traveling on the plane. Munir was moved next to the doctor but was reportedly in agony during his final moments. Munir died when the aircraft was about two hours away from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.

His widow, Suciwati, said she was informed of the autopsy results on Thursday night by Coordinating Minister for Security Widodo Sucipto, who told her he had phoned at the request of the president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Shortly after his death, Suciwati said she would be prepared to have her husband's body exhumed if it would help solve the mystery about how he died and urged the Indonesian authorities to provide her with the results. "I want this to be resolved thoroughly," she said.

Dedicated and fearless, Munir was described by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri as a relentless fighter for democracy who never stopped fighting for what he believed.

Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group said he was everything a human-rights activist should be: principled, tough, smart, funny and fearless. "He stood up to people in power, he made them angry, he got threat after threat after threat, and he never gave up," Jones said.

In 1998 he was awarded the prestigious Yap Thiam Hien human- rights prize and named Man of the Year by the leading Indonesian Muslim periodical UMMAT. Asia Week named him one of "20 young Asian leaders for the new millennium" in 2000, the year when he was one of four recipients of the Alternative Nobel Prize, the Right Livelihood Award, at a ceremony in the Swedish parliament.

Founder of the award Jakob von Uexkull said at the ceremony: "During the decades of authoritarian rule, we were told by Suharto's Western friends that different rules, rights and values applied in Indonesia. Add this to the rise of fundamentalism, the search for scapegoats, the unwillingness of the military to step back and accept the primacy of democracy -- and you have an idea of the challenges facing Munir," von Uexkull said.

In the final months of Suharto's reign, Munir, who was staunchly critical of the Indonesian military (TNI), took up the cause of dozens of activists who had disappeared in suspicious circumstances. He co-founded Kontras, the Commission for the Disappeared and the Victims of Violence, and later became a director of the human-rights group Imparsial.

His work covered the full spectrum of human-rights concerns in Indonesia, from abuses by the military and police, to attacks on labor activists, impunity for human-rights crimes in Aceh, East Timor and Papua (Irian Jaya) to the rights of the Chinese ethnic minority.

East Timor probes

On September 21, 1999, shortly after the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence, Dutch journalist Sander Thoenes, who had just turned 31, was brutally murdered. His throat was slashed, one of his ears was cut off, the skin on his face was peeled away and a gaping hole was dug in his left breast. Battalion 745 of the TNI, which included many troops of East Timorese origin, was the prime suspect for the murder.

The case sparked widespread international criticism of Indonesia. To avoid an international trial, the Commission for Investigating Human Rights Abuses in East Timor was formed. Munir was appointed a member of the commission, which later led to an investigation into the conduct of six senior army officers, including the former commander-in-chief, General Wiranto.

A year later the names of 19 suspects were announced by the head of the investigating team, M A Rachman, who was -- incidentally -- later to become Megawati's attorney general. Thoenes' murder was one of the five cases presented to the Attorney General's Office (AGO), together with an attack upon a Dili diocese, and attacks on the house of Manuel Carrascalao, a church in Liquica and the Ave Maria Church in Suai.

Months later the Thoenes case was officially closed by the AGO, on the grounds of insufficient evidence and a lack of witnesses available to take the case any further. At the time Munir said there appeared to be a plan on behalf of the AGO to freeze the East Timor case and to release, one by one, the generals listed for trial. That is exactly what happened.

Progress under Wahid

Things seemed to change for the better under president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who on Friday urged police to "seriously hunt down the syndicate or group that poisoned Munir". During his period in power, 1999-2001, Wahid pushed ahead with special tribunals to prosecute human-rights abuse in East Timor, forced General Wiranto from his job as military commander, and engaged separatist forces in Aceh and Papua in dialogue.

Wahid appointed Baharuddin Lopa to replace Marzuki Darusman as attorney general. The corruption charges against former president Suharto were to be Lopa's test case. "I only need two of the documents that the attorney general has and I would be able to drag Suharto into court," he told Asia Week in 1999.

Lopa had built a reputation as a serious, crusading and incorruptible lawyer when he served as secretary general of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). Unfortunately he died of heart failure in Riyadh's al-Hamadi hospital while on a visit to Saudi Arabia. According to the then-minister of defense, Mahfud M D, Lopa and his predecessor realized that their positions were vulnerable to possible poisoning or black-magic practices.

An editorial in a mainstream daily in Jakarta even hinted at black magic in its obituary on Lopa. This was a reference to Indonesians' belief in the mystical powers, for good or evil, possessed by dukun (witch doctors).

Just two weeks before his death Lopa told a hearing with the House of Representatives that he would pursue several major cases concerning human-rights abuses in East Timor and several banking-corruption cases.

Attack after attack

Munir regularly spoke out for justice in the face of intimidation. His work made him many enemies in powerful places and he said he had "lost count" of the number of death threats he had received from anonymous telephone callers.

His activities provoked the fury of thugs said to be acting on behalf of the military and often became the target of brutal physical attack. The headquarters of Kontras in Jakarta was often a target of gangs bent on intimidating its activists. They made no secret of the fact that they were looking for Munir, and the office was several times subjected to abuse and the threat of destruction.

On March 13, 2002, a 300-strong mob smashed all of the windows and many of the desks of the office and all but one of their computer terminals. They also raided food supplies meant for flood victims and stole vital documents related to human-rights abuses around Indonesia -- in particular those related to the killing of Theys Eluay, a Papuan independence leader, and the engineering of the communal violence in Maluku and Central Sulawesi. Members of the mob criticized Kontras for attempting to have Wiranto prosecuted for massacres of pro-democracy activists.

On May 27, 2003, thugs struck again, accusing Munir of being unpatriotic because of his criticism of the military's offensive in Aceh, and demanding that Kontras investigate the deaths of several Muslims killed at the same time as several students were killed by the military during the Trisakti and Semanggi incidents in 1998 and 1999.

But Munir knew what the real agenda was: "When they were attacking me, I told them that if they felt there was a case of discrimination or human-rights violation that they should give me the information and I will take this case up as well. But they said, 'No, we just want you to stop investigating the student deaths.'"

There has been no explanation from The Hague or from Jakarta as to why it took two months for the post-mortem results to be released to authorities in Jakarta. Foreign Affairs Minister Wirajuda said after the death that Indonesian officials had not been allowed to see Munir's corpse, which was kept under close guard by the Schiphol Airport authorities while awaiting the work of the pathologist.

Munir died on the day the House of Representatives approved the setting up of a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation body to investigate killings and abductions during the Suharto regime.

[Bill Guerin, a weekly Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times Online since 2000, has worked in Indonesia for 19 years in journalism and editorial positions. He has been published by the BBC on East Timor and specializes in business/economic and political analysis in Indonesia.]

Human rights activist murdered

Green Left Weekly - November 17, 2004

Max Lane, Sydney -- Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP) is deeply concerned at the news that 38-year-old Indonesian human rights campaigner Munir, who died in September aboard a flight to Amsterdam, was murdered, according to an autopsy performed by the Netherlands Forensic Institute.

During his September 7 flight to the Netherlands, Munir fell ill, vomiting and suffering from considerable pain. He died before the flight landed in the Netherlands, where he was planning to study law.

On November 12, the Netherlands Forensic Institute, a part of the Dutch justice ministry, made public the findings of its autopsy, which found that a lethal dose of arsenic was present in Munir's body.

Many of Munir co-activists in Indonesia had feared that he had been murdered.

The UK-based human rights organisation Tapol, which worked closely with Munir, described him as "a fearless fighter for human rights who took up numerous causes in many parts of Indonesia, from Aceh to Papua, during the closing years of the Suharto dictatorship. In the dying days of the dictatorship, Munir was instrumental in highlighting the disappearance of dozens of activists, many of whom were recovered thanks to his efforts. This led to the founding of Kontras, the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence. Several years earlier, Munir took up the issue of workers' rights in East Java where he lived with his family, and soon became active in the Legal Aid Institute, initially in his native East Java and later at its head office in Jakarta." In 2000, Munir played a leading role in investigations into human rights abuses in East Timor in September 1999, shortly after the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence. ASAP joins all our Indonesian friends in conveying our deepest condolences to Munir's wife, Suciwati, and children, who now have to endure this news on top of their loss of Munir himself.

The whole Indonesian and international human rights movement will watching closely to see that the Indonesian government conducts a genuine and serious investigation into this heinous murder.

[Max Lane is the chairperson of ASAP, a Sydney-based organisation of solidarity with the oppressed peoples of the Asia-Pacific region.]

'Powerful institution' may be behind Munir's death

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2004

Tiarma Siboro/Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Rights activists say certain powerful institutions were behind the poisoning of fellow campaigner Munir and urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to set up a joint team to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) director Rachland Nashidik said on Wednesday that the proposed team should be co- chaired by someone appointed by the President and a public figure trusted by Munir's family and rights non-governmental organizations.

"We believe that political motives are behind the death of Munir and we must stop such dirty works from happening again," Rachland said in a press conference also attended by chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) Hendardi.

Rachland said they had sent a letter to President Susilo, requesting him to hold a hearing with them. "Now, we are waiting for his response," said Rachland.

According to him, police lack the courage to investigate the powerful institutions involved in Munir's poisoning. He declined to name the institutions, but said that the perpetrators were "familiar with secret tasks, well-trained and close to certain powerful institutions." "I can't point my finger directly [at the guilty parties], but we all know that the military didn't like him [Munir]," Rachland said.

Hendardi said the team must be independent, transparent and accessible to the public. "The scandal will remain a scandal if the government fails to ensure a fair investigation process," he said. In a bid to win public support, Munir's fellow activists have moved to collect more signatures to pressure the government.

Munir was found dead aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight a few hours before it landed at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. He was traveling to the Netherlands to undertake a master's degree in human rights at Utrecht University. The autopsy, which was conducted by Dutch doctors, found excessive arsenic levels in Munir's body, leading to the preliminary conclusion that he was poisoned during the flight.

Munir rose to prominence in 1998, when he reported the abductions of activists by certain personnel within the powerful Indonesian Military (TNI). Since then, he has been known as a strong critic of the military, which, in many cases, has been accused of orchestrating violent acts.

Munir -- who founded both Imparsial and the Commission of Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) -- had also been a fierce critic of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) over its antiterrorism bill.

"He was a real defender of victims of state-sponsored violence," Rachland said.

Meanwhile, a National Police team comprising doctors, toxicologists and an investigator is slated to fly to the Netherlands on Thursday morning (today) in a bid to seek the original autopsy results and follow up on the case.

The team held a two-hour long meeting at National Police Headquarters on Wednesday and most of the team members -- Dr. Budi Sampurna and Dr. Ridla Bakri of the University of Indonesia, Dr. Amar Singh of North Sumatra University, Adj. Comr. Agung Widjajanto, Adj. Comr. Anton Charlijan, Dr. Adi Queresman of the National Police, Andi Ahmad Bahsari of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Usman Hamid of Kontras -- attended the meeting.

Livelihood laureates demand investigation into Munir's death

Associated Press - November 19, 2004

Matt Moore -- More than 60 previous winners of the Right Livelihood award, also known as the "alternative Nobel" prize, on Friday called for a complete investigation into the poisoning death of an Indonesian human rights activist.

Munir, who went by a single a name, fell ill and died September 7 aboard a Garuda flight bound for Amsterdam, after vomiting repeatedly. The activist, who won the prize in 2000 for his efforts to improve human rights in Indonesia, was later found to have been fatally poisoned with arsenic, according to an autopsy by Dutch investigators.

"We call on the Indonesian government under its leader, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to conduct a thorough investigation ... and make every effort to bring the perpetrators to justice as quickly as possible," said Jakob von Uexkull, the founder and chairman of the Stockholm-based foundation behind the award.

Munir's death was the second time a Livelihood laureate has been killed. In 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa, 54, and eight others from his tribe were executed by a Nigerian military tribunal, after they were convicted of orchestrating the mob killings of four tribal chiefs.

But activists have contended they were framed to silence their outspoken opposition to the late dictator Gen. Sani Abacha's regime and Nigeria's oil industry, which Saro-Wiwa accused of polluting the 500,000-strong Ogoni people's land in the Niger Delta.

The Right Livelihood award was founded in 1980 by von Uexkull, a former member of the European Parliament and a stamp dealer who sold his collection to fund a program to recognize work that he believed was ignored by the prestigious Nobel Prizes. Recipients of the annual award share a 2 million kroner (US$268,100) cash prize.

This year's winners included celebrity activist Bianca Jagger, along with two Indian religious scholars, an Argentine scientist and a Russian human rights group.

Answers sought over poisoning of Munir

Laksamana.Net - November 21, 2004

An Indonesian police team, accompanied by a human rights activist, is visiting the Netherlands to seek more information about the death of outspoken human rights crusader Munir, after a Dutch autopsy concluded that arsenic poisoning killed him on a flight to Amsterdam.

"Representing the family, I am hoping that I can get access to the complete autopsy report," Usman Hamid, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), was quoted as saying Friday (19/11/04) by Reuters.

"We have some questions in regard to the autopsy. Why did it take so long? Why did the family not get the report immediately from the Dutch authorities?" he added. Hamid said Dutch authorities had told him they could only give more details if requested by the Indonesian government.

Munir died about two hours before his Garuda Indonesia flight GA-974 landed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on September 7. The Dutch Forensics Institute earlier this month concluded that Munir was poisoned with arsenic, but Dutch authorities have declined to further investigate his death, saying it is not under their jurisdiction.

The investigation is now in the hands of Indonesian police. Human rights groups fear there could be a cover-up because of the possibility that Munir might have been killed by elements of the military.

Kontras and other rights groups have called for the establishment of a joint investigation team, consisting of police, the National Commission on Human Rights and non-government organizations. The government is yet to respond to the call, while Kontras has already begun its own investigation.

A coalition of Dutch human rights groups on Thursday urged the Dutch government to carefully monitor the Indonesian government's investigation into Munir's death. The groups also called on the Netherlands use its position as chair of the European Union to put pressure on Indonesia to establish an independent investigation team.

Munir's widow Suciwati has so far been denied access to the autopsy report, raising questions over why Indonesian and Dutch authorities are unwilling to release the information.

Garuda Employee Kontras members, suspecting that Munir was poisoned while on the flight to Amsterdam, earlier this week interviewed an unnamed Garuda employee, who had telephoned Munir's house in Bekasi, West Java, three days before his death.

Kontras operational division head Edwin Partogi was quoted by The Jakarta Post daily as saying the employee had identified himself to Suciwati as a friend of Munir and told her he would be taking the same flight to the Netherlands.

He said the employee later introduced himself to Munir and Suciwati when they arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on the night of September 6. Partogi said the man admitted that he spoke to Munir during the first leg of the flight to Singapore's Changi Airport. He also reportedly admitted that he had persuaded Munir to transfer from economy to business class on the flight to Singapore.

Munir apparently ate a meal during the flight to Singapore. When the plane touched down at Changi, the Garuda employee reportedly told Munir he had decided to cancel his trip to Amsterdam. Three hours into the flight to Amsterdam, Munir became violently ill. He received treatment from a doctor on the plane and later died. He was only 38 years old.

NGOs urge police to investigate threats against Munir's family

Detik.com - November 21, 2004

Arin Widiyanti, Jakarta -- Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) are urging the government and police to investigate threats which have been made against the family of the late Munir. The two non-government organisations (NGOs) are also asking security forces to provide evidence that the TNI (armed forces) was not involved in Munir's death.

This was conveyed in a statement at joint press conference by Kontras, Imparsial and Munir's wife, Suciwati, which was read by Imparsial's operational director Rusdi Marpaung at the Imparsial offices on Jalan Diponegoro in Jakarta on Monday November 21.

The press conference was held in response to threats which were received by Munir's family on Saturday -- a package containing a rotten chicken carcass was sent to the Munir residence on Jalan Cendana in the Jaka Permai housing complex in Bekasi, West Java. The package was accompanied by a threatening note which read "Beware don't connect the TNI with Munir's death. Want to end up like this (?!)".

With regard to the threats, Imparsial, Kontras and Suciwati have come to three possible conclusions. First, that the incident is a form of intimidation aimed at the late Munir's family. The aim being to threaten and hinder the ongoing investigation into Munir's death so that there is not follow up.

Secondly, the incident is evidence which strengthens and confirms the suspicion that Munir's death was not a natural one nor merely a simple criminal act. The death points to a politically motivated act of murder. The perpetrators are professional people and it was premeditated.

Thirdly, the message may on the one hand wish to discredit the institution of the TNI by attempting to connect the TNI in Munir's death. On the other hand however, the message may really be intended to direct us toward the view that that the TNI actually was involved in Munir's murder.

Putting aside these issues, Imparsial and Kontras are urging the government and police to search for the perpetrator of the threats. The government and police must also provide comprehensive protection to the family and other parties involved in resolving Munir's death.

In addition to this, the human rights NGOs are also urging the police to establish the contents of the message. "Is it indeed true that the message is trying to discredit the TNI. [Or] on the other hand is the TNI indeed connected with Munir's death", said Marpaung.

Despite this they explained that the family and friends of the deceased would not be provoked into speculating whether the perpetrator was the TNI.

Finally, they urged the government to form a special presidential team to find Munir's killers. They asked that the team involved the government, the National Human Rights Commission and other non-government organisations. (iy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Threats designed to make us think TNI murdered Munir

Detik.com - November 21, 2004

Arin Widiyanti, Jakarta -- The executive director of Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), Rachlan Nashidik, says that the person or persons threatening Munir's family want to send a message that it was the TNI (armed forces) who killed the human rights activist. Imparsial does not want to be provoked by the perpetrator into joining in with accusing the TNI.

"The messenger or sender of the threatening mail is actually trying get us to speculate about who the party is that is responsible for Munir's murder. They want us to think that Munir's murderer is the TNI", Nashidik told journalists at the Imparsial offices on Jalan Diponegoro in Jakarta on Monday November 21.

"We are not interested in being provoked into indulging in such speculation. We would rather trust that those responsible [for Munir's murder] be uncovered though a serious investigation conducted by the police", asserted Nashidik.

Impartial was responding to a threatening package which was received by Munir's family on Saturday November 20. The package containing the rotting carcass of a chicken which was sent to the Munir residence on Jalan Cendana in the Jaka Permai housing complex in Bekasi West Java.

The package was accompanied by a threatening note which read "Beware, don't connect the TNI in Munir's death. Want to end up like this".

According to Nashidik, this is the first time Munir's family has received threats since he died. Nashidik admitted he does not know who the perpetrator is. "We don't know who is behind the threats", he said.

The case has already been reported to the police by Munir's family. Immediately upon receiving the package Munir's widow, Suciwati, contacted the head of the postal division of police headquarters, Suyitno Landung.

Imparsial went on to call on police to be more serious in providing protection to Munir's family. "We leave it up to the police to guard Munir's family. Don't let this kind of thing happened again", said Nashidik. (iy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

TNI may be behind the threats: Munir's wife

Detik.com - November 21, 2004

Arin Widiyanti, Jakarta Munir's widow, Suciwati, says that the threats against her indicate that the death of her husband was politically motivated. She has asked that the investigation not be directed at Munir's closest friends as suspects in the murder.

Suciwati made the statement when she was met by Detik.com and journalists from 68 H following a press conference at the offices of Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) on Jalan Diponegoro in Jakarta on Monday November 21. Initially Suciwati was reluctant to be interviewed but after feeling calmer she agreed to share her thoughts with us.

You have just returned from Lebaran (celebrations following the fasting month) holidays in Batu, Malang (East Java)? What are your feelings?

Aduh, I'm still confused. If I remember, sad. [I've] already lost a husband, now his death has become case [in itself].

With regard to the threats, what's the story?

After Munir's death there were two incidents. The first was two days after his death, on September 9. In the form of an anonymous letter, its contents welcomed Munir's death. [It said] Hopefully [Munir's] spirit is not being set upon by the spirits of the nation's heroes who were felled by bullets in defense of the country. Munir died vomiting because [he had] consumed too much money from the state or non-government organisations. Munir sold out the nation and the state.

The second was yesterday, on November 20, I received a package which contained the rooting head of a chicken, claws, chicken feces, along with a threat, Beware!!!!! Don't connect the TNI in Munir's death, want to end up like this (?!).

There was also the assassination attempts, the bomb in Malang in 2001. But so far it has still not been investigated. So far I haven't got any response.

What about your assessment of the threats?

These threats indicate that the murder was politically motivated. So don't let it be diverted towards people closest to Munir. It makes absolutely no sense. There have been reports circulating which say this is an inter-non-government organisation dispute.

The message warned not to implicate the TNI. Do you suspect the TNI was the perpetrator?

I can't say. That is the job of the police. There are two possibilities. Firstly, that there are parties who want to corner the TNI. Secondly, it may be that the perpetrator of the threats is actually the TNI, because in the past [Munir's organisation] Kontras has taken up issues with the TNI, one of these was the draft law on the TNI.

What about the deceased himself? Some of his closest friends have said that the deceased was ill. What is your opinion?

Many close friends have said that if he was suffering from an illness of the kidneys, the liver and the like. As far as I know he has only ever been sick with exhaustion and was treated at St Carolus Hospital. And that is very different from his friends' statements. I am extremely disappointed with his close friends who have given out such information as if they know all about it. In fact they have no capacity to speak about his health. But [they] spoke to the media. And then it was blown up all over the media. But I have approached them and forgiven them.

Before going to the Netherlands the deceased had a checkup at the Cikini public hospital. Will the results be released as part of the investigation?

So far there has been no request by the police. Yeah, if [they] still [want] to use it but that was in the month of June. And [he] departed in August. So a long time had passed.

You went to the Netherlands the other day, did you obtain a copy of the autopsy results?

I tried hard to obtain it. But the ones who did the autopsy consider it state property, state documents and this is a criminal case so those with the right to obtain them are the investigators.

What do you want at the moment? Do who want perhaps, some day, to publish a book about the case?

I've never thought about writing a book about the case. At the moment I am thinking about the immediate solving of the case. The mastermind must be tried. So far only little fish have been sacrificed. It would be best if an independent team be formed to investigate the case fully.

To date, has anyone from the Palace ever contacted the family?

To date no one has contacted [us]. (iy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

 Focus on Jakarta

Most streets deserted, all Jakartans relax, enjoy

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2004

Jakarta -- Taxi driver Tadi wrongly decided to rush back to Jakarta from his hometown in Tegal, Central Java, expecting less competition and lots of passengers during Idul Fitri, which fell on November 14 and November 15.

"I left for Jakarta after the Idul Fitri prayer early in the morning on Sunday. But what I found here is not like last year when demand for taxis was robust. I'd better go back to Tegal tomorrow," Tadi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Jakartans may still enjoy the seasonal light traffic around the capital until next week, as the central government extended the Idul Fitri holiday to November 21.

Major thoroughfares in Jakarta were relatively deserted on the third day of the holiday on Tuesday, but all major recreational places in the city were packed with visitors. State railway operator PT KAI Greater Jakarta spokesman Akhmad Sujadi revealed that, as of Monday, 520,686 people had left the city by train and only a small number had returned.

The extended holiday also saw in increased number of visitors at recreational places, with the peak expected next Sunday.

The management of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII), East Jakarta, estimates a 20 percent increase in visitors this season from last year.

"We estimate the peak will be on Sunday, as most Jakartans will be back in town, and they will spend the last day of the holiday at recreational places, including TMII," park spokesman Markoes Legimin was quoted as saying by Kompas Cyber Media on Tuesday.

However, roads heading to recreational places have become stress-inducing thoroughfares.

"Geez, everybody seems to have come here. I was planning to have a relaxed stroll around the zoo with my family, but it is turning out to be rather distressing," a Ragunan Zoo visitor, Cahyadi, was quoted as saying by Detikcom on Tuesday.

Like thousands of other visitors, Cahyadi and his family, who live in Kemayoran in Central Jakarta, had to queue up in a long line to enter the zoo's parking lot.

Because of the traffic jam caused by cars queuing at the main entrance on Jl. Ragunan, the management decided to open its West Gate on Jl. Cilandak at 11 a.m.

Just like other Jakartans, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and family went to Fantasy World in Ancol Dreamland in North Jakarta on Tuesday. His appearance surprised some visitors.

Getting around in a golf cart, the President stopped at one of the buildings and asked people whether they had experienced difficulty in obtaining tickets. Most replied that they had obtained tickets quite easily. Susilo then continued onto the main office to talk to the management of Fantasy World.

Meanwhile on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, five people were seriously injured in a three-vehicle accident. Witnesses said that a speeding intercity bus owned by PO Luragung hit a Suzuki Carry minivan. The minivan went into a spin and five passengers were injured. Losing control, the bus then hit a Mitsubishi Kuda minivan and injured four of its passengers.

500 street vendors ousted from Tanah Abang

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2004

Jakarta -- About 500 sidewalk vendors at the Tanah Abang textile market in Central Jakarta have lost their right to space in the market following relocation to the market's Block G, formerly the Kebon Jati traditional market.

"We are only relocating 1,257 sidewalk vendors and another 600 small vendors. We are not responsible for unregistered vendors," said the director of city-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya, Prabowo Soenirman. Siti Rusmiati, who takes patchwork orders, said that she could not afford the high rent in the new place, which costs Rp 5 million per square meter.

The administration cleared all stalls the vendors occupied on Saturday evening as part of a plan to convert the market into a shopping mall. The renovation project, however, has received strong opposition from the traders as well as the City Council amid fear that small traders would be sidelined.

President plans Jakarta overhaul

Laksamana.Net - November 17, 2004

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has stated his commitment to overhauling the country's sprawling capital. Jakarta's facelift will center on managing its most pressing problems: traffic, garbage and waterways.

The President met a range of Jakarta councilors on Tuesday (16/11/04) to discus tourism and the beautification of one of Jakarta's prime tourist areas: the Ancol complex of theme parks and markets on Jakarta's northern shores. They apparently discussed more than Ancol's future and SBY, as the President is affectionately known, unveiled the rudimentary outline of his plan to tackle the primary causes for the capital's status as one of the world's most polluted cities.

He described his plan as a means to create a "complete city" of Jakarta by focusing on immediate problems and long-term solutions, reported detikcom.

"What's important is long-term planning. If it's done ad hoc it doesn't solve the problem because it will cause problems in other areas. We have to get down to it together. It's not easy to manage a metropolis," he told reporters.

Top of the list is reducing traffic congestion in the capital -- a priority Jakartans are likely to applaud. In addition to the frustration of endless traffic jams, Jakarta's teeming roadways are a primary cause of the city's awesome air pollution problems.

The number of vehicles in Indonesia increased by over 6 million between 1995 and 2000. The Jakarta Police traffic division announced earlier this year that an additional 6,000 civilian autos would be registered per month this year.

As of March, the department had 1,464,600 cars on record and a further 3,276,890 motorcycles. This does not include public buses and government vehicles or the hundreds of thousands of vehicles and motorcycles registered outside the special province of Jakarta. An estimated six million people commute from Bogor, Tangereang and Bekasi to work in Jakarta special province by day.

Atmospheric lead pollution in Jakarta is about 1.3 micrograms per cubic meter -- well above the World Health Organization limit of 0.5-1.0 micrograms per cubic meter -- and experts say that approximately 3 million children in the capital are at risk to lead exposure that could affect brain development.

In early September, the Asian Development Bank (ABD) announced that hazardous air pollution costs Indonesia $400 million annually in lost productivity and that the figure could increase tenfold by 2010 unless urgent measures are taken to resolve the problem.

Although SBY was short on details, he did mention his personal support for developing a subway system -- a plan that has failed to win favor in the past due to the territory's seismic activity and a lack of funds. Concerned parties, however, have long called for the development of the capital's chaotic public transport system and for efforts to improve the shoddy construction that characterizes much of the city's public works.

Next on the President's list of priorities is tackling Jakarta's annual floods, which overrun many of its poorest areas and affect hundreds of thousands of people.

The Dutch colonial capital of Batavia was built on the swampy alluvial lowlands on the north-west coast of Java. Urbanization and industrialization has radically altered the area and mother nature's ability to cope with the wet season, when more than 2,000 millimeters of rain fall on Jakarta.

The floods of 2002 were the worst in recent history and at least 50 people died in flooding that brought the capital to a complete halt for days on end. At the height of the flooding, 55,000 people were forced to leave their inundated homes and required immediate relief aid in the 78 areas prone to flooding.

The President said that his plan to handle this problem will focus on developing the city's manmade canals. The Jakarta government's efforts to dredge the city's muck-clogged waterways are felt to be inadequate and slipshod by the majority of Jakartans.

But while residents may be reassured that the President takes the deplorable state of the capital's waterways to heart, previous initiatives to remodel and develop the canal system have become "bogged down" in cost considerations, as purchasing the land needed to expand the system requires many millions of dollars.

SBY also expressed a desire to clean up Jakarta's rivers. "We have to find a way to make the rivers in Jakarta our 'friends'. In other cities, the rivers are a part of their beauty and are not dirtied," he said.

This leads on to the third of SBY's priorities: waste management. Rivers and waterways are often considered little more than a cheap and convenient waste disposal system. Jakarta's dumps are also in a state of crisis and SBY said that he would push for the speedy resolution of the case involving the Akhir Bantar Gebang dump.

Residents in Bekasi living around the dump had lobbied for its closure when the Jakarta government's contract expired at the end of last year. A provisional agreement to continue dumping some 6,000 tons of waste everyday was immediately signed and remains controversial. The Jakarta administration is also now working on a plan to build four incinerators in Bogor by 2007.

The President also voiced concern for the deplorable housing conditions suffered by millions of Jakarta's poorest residents and said that improving housing in the capital would be a top priority in plans to revitalize the city.

Governor Sutiyos's administration was widely condemned earlier this year for its ruthlessness in evicting poor squatters from government land and along waterways.

The final priority in efforts to create a "complete city" center on reclamation projects, the President said. Plans to transform 2700 ha of reclaimed land along 32 km of Jakarta Bay into a new Central Business District and harbor, catering for an estimated population of 1.5 million people, were put on hold in 2002 but interest in developing the area has resurfaced lately.

And who will pay for these ambitious plans? The President said that the central and provincial governments, as well as the private sector, will work together to fund the initiatives.

"We are now formulating the 'complete city of Jakarta' concept. I will soon invite the Jakarta governor and authorities together with relevant ministers [to discuss this further]," he added.

Given the massive nature of the problems, most Jakartans will not be expecting rapid traffic, waste and waterway resolutions but will most likely appreciate the President's concern for Jakarta's image as a nightmare of polluted modernity.

Right of way

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

For a newcomer, a simple drive across town can be a heart- stopping experience. A lack of discipline, ignorance of traffic regulations and the plain absence of courtesy among motorists make our streets a hazard. Compounding this is the deficient road infrastructure and the flagrant inconsistency of traffic officers in enforcing the law.

So much needless suffering occurs as a result. Another six lives were lost at the Jagorawi toll road on Wednesday just because a few people were in a personal hurry to get somewhere.

Wednesday's accident on the outskirts of Jakarta threatens to become a public relations disaster for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The President in this matter is as innocent as those who died in the crash. However, the fact that the pileup occurred as police halted speeding traffic to make way for the presidential entourage will not go unnoticed by a public disdainful of elite entitlement.

The President's response; to convey his condolences to the families of the deceased while instructing police to launch a full investigation; was well-advised and should soften much of the ire resulting from this tragedy.

Police, however, have been quick, seemingly eager, to blame everyone but themselves. Three drivers, including one who died in the accident, have been named suspects. Police have so far rejected speculation that the traffic was halted abruptly, not leaving enough time for drivers to brake.

They claim that established procedures were faithfully executed when stopping the traffic. They further point to Presidential Decree No. 43/1993 on the priority to give right of way to certain vehicles. Nevertheless, they neglected to mention that Government Regulation No. 8/1990 on Toll Roads clearly stipulates that vehicles are forbidden from stopping on toll roads and may only do so in an emergency.

Who is at fault is really not the central issue we should consider. This tragedy should compel a searching reevaluation of police procedures and force motorists and traffic police to reexamine their on-road behavior.

Unless motorists are made to realize that they are responsible for the safety of others, the number of road casualties will only increase.

In the first nine months of this year, over 3,110 traffic accidents have already been reported in the capital, causing the death of 778 people. These figures are a significant increase from the whole of 2003 of 1,300 accidents, which claimed 503 lives.

It starts with discipline among each and every one of us. Respect for even the simplest traffic regulations -- whether it be as simple as not running a red light -- is needed irrespective of the presence of a nearby traffic cop. It is also about courtesy to others; motorists and pedestrians alike.

Stricter controls during the issuance of drivers' licenses are also needed. Without it being a source of extortion, police should be more meticulous in issuing licenses.

Police must also be consistent in enforcing traffic regulations. Punish violators but avoid overzealousness in the application of duty. VVIPs have right of way when on state business. Police have a right to stop or redirect traffic. But this should be done so with courtesy and consideration for the rights of ordinary motorists.

It is the arrogant and at times condescending manner in the way these slight matters are conducted that allow situations to become exaggerated -- and can cause accidents.

Job seekers flood Jakarta after break

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta -- Pipit Subakir, 40, holds his two children tightly by the hand while his wife, Tuti, 35, and his brother-in-law, Sofyan, 19, follow behind as the family walk out of the Senen railway station in Central Jakarta on Friday.

"I brought Sofyan to Jakarta because he has had nothing to do back there in our village in Kendal, Central Java after he graduated from senior high school several months ago. I want him to help me sell vegetables here," Pipit told The Jakarta Post.

He said that he and his wife had been earning a good profit selling vegetables door to door in a pushcart around Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta for the last five years. "I think Sofyan will be able to have his own cart after helping me push the cart for a year. Meanwhile, he can live with us in our rented room in Pasar Minggu," said Pipit.

Like Sofyan, thousands of other newcomers can freely enter Jakarta through several entrance points in the city as no one is monitoring their arrival at bus and railway stations.

"It is impossible to check whether they are newcomers or old- timers upon their arrival. We simply let them walk out of the station without restriction as checking them would be time consuming," Kosim, an employee at Senen railway station told the Post.

He said that the number of people arriving at the station on the third and fourth day after Idul Fitri had reached 40,000, or a 60 percent jump, with only 25,000 passengers more expected to arrive.

To improve services for holidaymakers, the railway station is only serving people who are returning from their hometowns in Central and East Java after celebrating Idul Fitri, which was on November 14 and November 15. Regular city train services have been temporarily suspended.

Similar figures were also seen at Pulo Gadung bus terminal. Officials recorded 150,000 arrivals at the terminal since Tuesday while the number of people leaving Jakarta during the last four days before Idul Fitri, which were the peak of exodus, reached only 71,000. "We are still expecting the peak of the influx tonight or tomorrow," said Muhammad Said, an employee at the bus terminal.

It seemed that the recent warning of Governor Sutiyoso to strictly apply the new bylaw as well as the plan of the City Population and Civil Registration Agency to launch identity checks in enclaves for unskilled workers did not deter people from other regions from coming to Jakarta.

According to the new bylaw, residents must possess a Jakarta identity card or documents showing that they have a permanent job and residence here. If they are unable to produce these documents, they face a Rp 5 million (US$555) fine.

Pipit, however, played down the warning, saying that nobody in his family had a Jakarta identity card and no one in his neighborhood ever made a fuss about it as long as he submitted the copy of his village identity card to the neighborhood chief.

"No subdistrict officials have come to check our status during our stay here. So, why should I worry about bringing my relatives here. Besides, I can make an identity card in three days for Rp 150,000," Pipit said.

 News & issues

Indonesia's economy minister worth $219 million

Straits Times - November 15, 2004

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie has declared 1.19 trillion rupiah (S$219 million) in assets, making him perhaps the richest serving state official.

The country's Corruption Eradication Commission published the wealth reports of Mr Aburizal and four fellow ministers, out of 25 Cabinet ministers who had declared their assets.

Mr Aburizal is a prominent businessman. He is the founder of the Bakrie Group.

Other ministers whose wealth was publicly announced on Friday included State Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik (15 billion rupiah) and Minister of Religious Affairs Maftuh Basyuni (more than 7.7 billion rupiah).

Vice President Kalla goes home in style

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's call for a moderate and simple lifestyle seems to have fallen on deaf ears in the case of Vice President Jusuf Kalla and several Cabinet ministers.

On Friday, just when Susilo was away attending the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Chile, Jusuf Kalla, along with Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin and State Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Sugiharto, went to Makassar, South Sulawesi using two aircraft.

One of the aircraft was paid for by the state, while the other belonged to Kalla himself. Kalla is a successful businessman from Makassar.

Kalla, wife Mufidah Kalla, three of their children and several grandchildren, the three Cabinet members, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy speaker A.M. Fatwa, Regional Representatives Council (DPD) deputy speaker Aksa Mahmud, legislators Ali Mochtar Ngabalin and Rafiuddin Hamarung, as well as former minister Tanri Abeng, took the aircraft provided by the state.

The rest of the entourage, including two more of his children, grandchildren, in-laws and baby sitter used Kalla's private Fokker 28 named Athirah.

Upon arrival in Makassar, the Vice President led Friday prayers at the Al Markas Mosque, and then paid a visit to his parents' grave at Bontoala. Kalla's entourage caused a massive traffic jam in Makassar with police stopping vehicles in order to allow his large motorcade to pass.

Such a lavish home-coming was in stark contrast to the lot of millions of Idul Fitri travelers, who had to wait for hours, even days, in order to cram into overloaded buses or trains to go home for the post-fasting festivities.

It also came just weeks after Susilo, who took his oath of office last October 20, told his Cabinet ministers and other high-ranking officials to lead moderate lives, keeping in mind the severe economic difficulties that have plagued the country since 1997.

However, deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, said Friday that as long as Kalla did not abuse state facilities for his own benefit then there was nothing wrong with the trip. "If he went there for personal business reasons with no state functions, then using state facilities would be wrong," Erry told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Kalla is scheduled to attend meetings of Makassar traders, and with the South Sulawesi brotherhood forum. He is also slated to attend a reunion of his alumnus at the economics faculty of Hassanuddin University. When asked about President Susilo's call for state officials to be thrifty, Erry said: "As Vice President, I believe Kalla knows what that means."

In a meeting with KPK members earlier this month, Susilo said that state officials must set an example of a simple lifestyle in order to avoid corruption. Susilo has vowed to lead the country's fight against rampant corruption practices that have been blamed for Indonesia's prolonged economic difficulties.

 Environment

Indonesia's birds of paradise dying out - Scientist

Reuters - November 18, 2004

Karishma Vyas, Bangkok -- Rampant illegal logging in Indonesia and the demands of a rapidly expanding population and economy in Indonesia are killing many of Asia's most exotic and rare birds, conservationists said Thursday.

Birdlife Asia estimates that the sprawling southeast Asian archipelago is home to more than a third of Asia's endangered avian species, the highest concentration in the region.

"Bird species across the Asian region are in serious trouble," said Richard Grimmett, the head of Birdlife Asia. "Of the 332 species of birds that are endangered in Asia, Indonesia alone has some 117 species." Speaking at a press briefing during the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Bangkok, Grimmett said the world could not afford to lose Indonesia's unique ecosystem.

Conservationists estimate that species like the sky-blue Caerulean Paradise-flycatcher and the Sangihe Shrike-thrush, are unique to the tropical islands of southeast Asia and cannot be found anywhere else on the planet.

Grimmett said that while few ordinary people would lament the passing of the Sangihe Shrike-thrush, the decline of even the smallest of bird species suggested the wider environment is in trouble.

"Like amphibians, birds are excellent indicators of wider biodiversity loss. When they're in danger, you can be sure that the environment as a whole is suffering," he said.

Grimmet blamed shrinking forests in Indonesia's Sumatra island for the rapid species decline.

"At the turn of the last century 90 per cent of Sumatra was covered in forest. Now it's down to 35 per cent, and if you look just at the lowland forests, that habitat has now almost completely disappered," Grimmett told Reuters.

"This is pretty dramatic loss of habitat over a relatively short period of time," he said.

A new report by Birdlife warns that one in eight of the region's 2,700 bird species are threatened, particularly in the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and India.

The Important Bird Areas in Asia survey showed that only 43 per cent of the continent's almost 2,300 important bird sites were fully protected.

The outlook is equally grim for Thailand where vibrant wetlands and forests are coming under pressure from the demands of a booming economy.

Environmentalists warn that the Inner Gulf of Thailand, renowned for its rich wildlife, also faces severe degradation with the planned construction of a huge road bridge.

The kingdom has 62 Important Bird Areas (IBA) of which 22 are protected or partially protected.

Police renew Buyat Bay case files

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2004

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Police are finalizing the case files of six executives of mining firm PT Newmont Minahasa Raya before returning them to prosecutors, hoping that the files will be accepted as sufficient evidence to take the six to court.

National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung said on Thursday the police had provided nearly all items that had been missing from the case files, which had been returned by the North Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office on October 20, due to a lack of data and documents.

"We hope to resubmit the dossiers before the detention period of the executives expires on November 21. We're still waiting for the results of tests on uncontaminated seawater and fresh water, and our team is scheduled to return here today [Thursday] from North Sulawesi," said Suyitno.

He said the renewed dossiers contained 39 items that had been demanded by the prosecutors, including an explanation of the validity of the methodology and samples the police had used in their tests, which concluded that Buyat Bay in North Sulawesi was heavily polluted.

Suyitno would not provide details of the scientific explanation demanded by the prosecutors.

The police are blaming the United States-run mining company for the contamination of the bay, into which Newmont had been dumping its tailings since 1996.

Unlike the tests conducted by several local and international organizations, the police's laboratory found the level of heavy metals in the bay exceeded the safety levels set by the Office of the State Minister for the Environment.

Five of the six Newmont executives were detained on September 23 after being declared suspects. The police later released them and put them under city arrest as their assistance was needed -- including in a reclamation project at the former mine -- as the company had recently ceased to operate in the area.

The police charged them with violating Law No. 23/1997 on environmental management for deliberately contaminating the bay and held them responsible for the crime, both as individuals and as a corporation.

Suyitno said the police would coordinate with prosecutors to speed up the filing process and to bring the suspects to trial, so as to prevent them from fleeing.

"We don't want what happened with Adrian (Waworuntu) to happen again. We're trying as hard as we can in investigating the case, but the prosecutors must also share this spirit," he said.

Adrian Waworuntu is the main suspect in a Rp 1.7 trillion lending scam at state-owned BNI. Police were unable to extend his 120-day detention period as his case file was never declared complete by prosecutors. He fled the country, but surrendered last month.

Suyitno said the police would enclose the latest report of a government-sanctioned joint team on the bay as supporting data in the case files.

The team, consisting of representatives from the government, non-governmental organizations, the police and Newmont, found the bay was contaminated with high levels of arsenic, which had put local people's health at risk.

But the government has delayed the announcement of the report, pending verification by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT).

 Health & education

Adoption law 'encourages' illegal adoption

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2004

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta -- Despite its enforcement, the controversy surrounding Law No. 23/2002 on child protection is not subsiding at all, and it may have contributed to an increase in child trafficking, a leading activist says.

The government-sanctioned adoption agency Sayap Ibu Foundation claimed they were experiencing a decline in the number of legal adoptions since the enactment of the law.

"Fewer and fewer abandoned children have been adopted as only a few have been brought to the foundation," chairwoman of the Yogyakarta-based foundation, Ciptaningsih Utaryo, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Most of the children brought to Sayap Ibu were either mentally retarded or had serious physical disabilities, as some were victims of failed abortions. Many of them are unwanted children from out-of-wedlock couples. "If this is a sign of a wealthier community, then it is no problem. However, I'm afraid it disguises an increase in illegal adoptions out there," Ciptaningsih said.

One of the contentious issues in the law is the article that requires all parents who want to adopt to be of the same religion as the child. "Since the very beginning, I have opposed such legislation. Why should we bother about a child's religion? Many of them are infants who do not even understand religion yet. They just need a loving, caring family," she said.

The law, she added, might prevent a child from being adopted by a family merely because of the difference in religion and thus give an impetus for illegal adoptions. "Religion matters only in cases of foster parents. I cannot understand if a child's religion is taken into account. It is a type of discrimination," she said.

She expressed a fear that illegal adoption, baby "marketing" and child trafficking would increase if the discriminatory practice remained unresolved. "Many people could easily go to a hospital, meet women who do not want their babies, pay some money and take the babies. That is child trafficking," said Ciptaningsih.

Adopting a child through the Sayap Ibu Foundation will take at least a year, while through the unofficial agents, it might take only a few months. Only couples who have been married for at least five years, and have written authorization from each of their parents, are eligible for adoption. The foundation will also make several visits to the home of the prospective parents.

"We do not charge the parents. They only need to pay for the court processing," she said. Adoption documents are issued by the Ministry of Social Services and authorized by a court.

Foreign couples can also adopt Indonesian children, if they have been residing in the country for at least two years. The law, however, states that adoption by foreign couples is the last resort.

Ciptaningsih said the foundation had, since 1982, given priority to Indonesian couples. Its office in Yogyakarta has not allowed foreign couples to adopt in more than 20 years. "Since 1982, we've recommended to foreigners who want to adopt an Indonesian child to contact our office in Jakarta. However, in practice, many of them [the foreigners] do not end up adopting from us, although they often consult us," she said.

The foundation made child adoption by foreigners available in 1972. "We still keep in touch with the children of foreigners to this day. When they visit Indonesia with their families as tourists, they often come to my office. Many want to see which bed they used to have here," said Ciptaningsih.

"Foreign couples are more compassionate when adopting children. They are not as concerned if a child is physically disabled. They usually have good rehabilitation centers in their countries, which eventually allow the children to have normal lives," she added.

She said all 23 of the children adopted by Australian couples through the foundation were born with physical impairments. "Indonesian couples are more picky. Once they discover that a child has a physical disability, they will reject the child," she explained.

 Islam/religion

Indonesia denies militant claim

Australian Associated Press - November 17, 2004

Officials in Jakarta denied that Indonesian militants might be among Islamic insurgents fighting US forces in Iraq.

The denial came amid reports that jihadist texts written in Indonesian have been uncovered by US Marines fighting in the rebel stronghold of Fallujah.

Marine forces fighting around Fallujah's al-Kabir mosque -- an insurgent flashpoint -- found Indonesian books calling for holy war when they stormed the building to end sniper attacks.

While the militants had already fled into the warren of nearby alleys, the texts and other books from Pakistan were found strewn on the floor along with abandoned AK-47 rifles and grenade launchers, Newsweek magazine reported.

Indonesia's chief foreign spokesman Marty Natalegawa denied the Marines' discovery meant Indonesian fighters were among the ranks of anti-coalition insurgents.

"There is no way to confirm they are there, but there have not been any reports to us," he told AAP. "We need to see something more factual and we need to see something concrete.

"I don't accept there are any there." But western security experts and diplomats in Jakarta are privately concerned Indonesian jihadists may have joined foreign fighters in Iraq.

"The fear is that these people will come home again one day and provide a fresh hard-core for groups like Jemaah Islamiah," one senior western envoy said.

"Afghanistan has already served as a training ground. Iraq may be shaping as another." Militant Muslims from South-East Asia trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan before a US-led campaign ousted the nation's hardline Taliban rulers.

Key Bali bombers Imam Samudra, Mukhlas and Amrozi were placed on the path to terrorism while fighting the Soviet occupation during the mid-1980s.

In Afghanistan they met several of al-Qaeda's leaders, as well as fellow Indonesian Riduan Isamudin, better known as Hambali, who served as JI's operations commander before his capture last August in Thailand.

But Natalegawa said the only Indonesians believed to be in Iraq now were a group of thirty students and a handful of women married to Iraqis.

Two Indonesian women were taken hostage and later released by Iraqi militants in October amid demands radical cleric and alleged JI spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir be freed.

Bashir is on trial in Jakarta over charges linking him to several terrorist attacks, including last year's attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta.

In August an Indonesian and two Iraqis were killed when their convoy was ambushed in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

 International relations

Indonesia 'bugged' Australia

Melbourne Age - November 15, 2004

Brendan Nicholson, Canberra -- In an extraordinary admission Indonesia says it bugged Australia's embassy in Jakarta during the East Timor crisis and has tried to recruit Australians as spies.

Retiring Indonesian intelligence chief General Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono has claimed his agency tapped Australian civil and military communications and politicians' phone calls. His agency's attempt to recruit Australians to spy for Indonesia had been unsuccessful, he said.

But former intelligence service officer David Reed repeated a claim that Australians were working for the Indonesians.

"They would have been pulling plum product out of Canberra," he told Channel Nine's Sunday program.

"This goes into the heart of our intelligence system, and I mean, including, and I specifically add this, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service [ASIS]."

The Indonesian claims are unusual in that while everyone knows Indonesia and Australia spy on each other, they rarely admit that they do it. Leaks during the East Timor operation in 1999 revealed that Australia was comprehensively eavesdropping on Indonesian military communications.

General Hendropriyono, who headed the Badan Intelijen Negara under president Megawati Soekarnoputri's government, said it was well known that governments tapped each other's communications and Indonesia had much evidence its embassies abroad were bugged.

"Here, also, we did the same thing. We want to know what is really discussed about us," he told Sunday. "We can say this is a public secret. You know, secret but the whole public knows. This is quite common intelligence activity."

General Hendropriyono said he presumed Australia did the same thing to Indonesia. "She is silly if she doesn't do that, you know." Asked if Indonesian intelligence had been able to recruit anyone in Australia to work for it, he said: "Almost, but not yet."

He said the spying had ended because Indonesia and Jakarta now faced a common enemy in global terrorism.

Mr Reed, a former officer in the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) which gathers intelligence overseas, repeated his claim that Australians were working for the Indonesians.

Mr Reed said he would only tell what he knew to a royal commission on the intelligence agencies if one were set up. Defence specialist Alan Behm said that if Mr Reed had such evidence he should pass it on to the police or ASIO.

Mr Behm, who was head of the international policy division of the Australian Defence Force during the Timor crisis, said he was not surprised by the claims though there seemed to be "a bit of braggadocio" about them.

He said Indonesia would certainly have wanted to find out, for example, what forces Australia was sending to East Timor.

Mr Behm said Australia was also watching Indonesia. Australia had a big military staff in Jakarta and part of its job was to keep an eye on the senior Indonesian military leadership. "We kept a very good eye on them," he said.

"In the same way that we work everybody else, they worked us. They sought to talk to us about all sorts of things. They'd talk to everybody. To believe that because they had a fairly active information or intelligence gathering program that they had penetrated in some way the Australian Government is a pretty long hop, skip and jump."

Indonesian ambassador Imron Cotan said he could not comment and referred The Age to General Hendropriyono.

Prime Minister John Howard said later he could neither confirm nor deny claims about national security. He said Australian democracy was safe, its policy on East Timor was 100 per cent correct and its relations with Indonesia remained very strong.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said it was not the first time that foreign intelligence agencies had made such claims. "But we just don't comment on intelligence matters."

Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said he would seek a briefing from the Government on the general's claims.

Indonesia 'tapped Aussie telephones'

Straits Times - November 15, 2004

Canberra -- Australian political and military figures had their telephones bugged by Indonesia during the diplomatic crisis over East Timor's independence ballot in 1999, a former Indonesian intelligence chief said yesterday.

Jakarta also unsuccessfully tried to infiltrate the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (Asis), said Mr Abdullah Hendropriyono, who resigned last month as director of the State Intelligence Agency. He said the spying had stopped now.

But a former Asis officer, Mr Warren Reed, told Australia's ABC News he believed Indonesia penetrated deep inside the service. With penetration deep into the intelligence system here, they would have fished out top-grade information from Canberra, he said.

It was not just key Australian figures who were under Indonesian surveillance. The embassies of Australia and other countries in Jakarta also had their telephones tapped during the period, though Mr Hendropriyono would not disclose which other diplomatic missions were bugged.

He also admitted to spying on politicians but said he had never managed to recruit Australians to betray their country. Justifying his actions, he told the Nine Network: "We found ... evidence that our embassies abroad are tapped ... and we also do the same thing. This is quite common in the intelligence activity." Mr Hendropriyono, who was a military general before becoming Indonesia's intelligence chief in 2001, said he was angry when Australia led United Nations troops to restore order in East Timor, now known as Timor Leste, after the Indonesian province voted for independence and triggered a violent backlash from army-sponsored militias.

"The Australian intelligence tapped all conversations with Indonesian armed forces officers but also civilians," he said. "Then we made some counter-tap, counter-bugging." Asked if Australian politicians were also targets, Mr Hendropriyono said: "Politicians, yes." He declined to identify them.

But he said Indonesia no longer spied on Australia since the two countries became allies against terrorism following the 9/11 attacks on the United States in 2001.

Relations between Canberra and Jakarta hit a low in 1999 when Australia led a United Nations-sanctioned peacekeeping force into East Timor -- a move which many Indonesians saw as impinging on their national sovereignty.

Prime Minister John Howard would neither confirm nor deny the claim that Australian politicians had been the targets of Indonesian telephone bugging. "I neither confirm nor deny stories about those sorts of security things," Mr Howard told reporters.

Asked if he would tell the MPs who were allegedly bugged by the Indonesians, Mr Howard replied: "I am not going to talk about any aspect about something like that." But Mr Reid insisted Indonesian spies had penetrated Australia's overseas spy network.

Love thy neighbour

Nine Network Sunday Program - November 16, 2004

Jana Wendt: Now to our cover story, and a rare glimpse into the shadowy world of espionage. The past two years of terrorism in this region have brought the intelligence agencies of Australia and Indonesia closer than ever before.

That's led to some extraordinary admissions by Indonesia's former chief spymaster. He reveals this morning that for years Indonesia has been spying on Australia, with great success. This country's military and political leaders and civilians have been bugged, and Jakarta has recruited Australians to spy on their own, including, we're now told, a sleeper in Australia's Secret Intelligence Service, ASIS.

Sunday's Sarah Ferguson has just returned from Jakarta, where she spoke with the country's outgoing spy chief, and three of Indonesia's Presidents, past and present.

Sarah Ferguson: It's the last day in the job for Indonesia's spymaster. A final trundle around the sprawling compound of Indonesia's most secret intelligence agency. His staff and their family line the path to say goodbye to 'Hendro' as they call him ... General Mahmud Hendropriyono. Behind the genial exterior though he's a man who knows more than most about how Indonesia's spies targeted Australia.

Sarah Ferguson: Who were you bugging on the Australian side? What sort of targets, military political civilian?

General Mahmud Hendropriyono: In the Timor case military and -- both. Civilian as well.

Sarah Ferguson: And political too?

General Hendropriyono: Pardon me?

Sarah Ferguson: Political as well?

General Hendropriyono: Oh, yes, yes. Political as well.

Sarah Ferguson: Does that mean politicians?

General Hendropriyono: Politicians, yes.

Sarah Ferguson: Today we'll also hear from three Indonesian presidents on the legacy of suspicion that drove that intelligence effort.

Abdurrahman Wahid: Australia meddles into our affairs.

Sarah Ferguson: It's rare for cameras to be allowed anywhere near the Badan Intelijen Negara, the powerful national intelligence agency known as the "BIN". This is its secret compound, complete with parklands and herd of deer, a gift to General Hendropriyono from President Megawati. Sunday was given unprecedented insights into an intelligence system that may have been more successful in Australia than has ever been admitted.

General Hendropriyono: You know, we found many evidence that our embassies abroad are tapped, the telephone and as well as here -- here also we did the same thing, we intercept -- we want to know what is really discussed about us.

Sarah Ferguson: So presumably that included tapping the Australian Embassy?

General Hendropriyono: Not only Australia, but we tapped all -- we inter-tap -- that's quite the Government thing, you know, that this is -- we can say that this is a public secret. You know, secret, but the whole public knows. This is quite common intelligence activity.

Sarah Ferguson: And do you believe your embassy in Canberra also was tapped by the Australian secret service?

General Hendropriyono: She is silly if she doesn't do that, you know? Not necessarily embassies, but whatever institutions that's located in other countries should be followed. Should be watched and observed well.

Sarah Ferguson: Hendropriyono has run the BIN for three years. Before that he held key roles in Indonesia's special forces, and military intelligence.

Did you ever manage to recruit anybody -- any Australian person to work for your -- for your side, as it was then?

General Hendropriyono: Mm. It's a very good question, but it's very difficult to answer. Actually every country we -- we do the same. We should do that, but this -- most of the time fail. You know, it's very difficult. The best way to do is to penetrate instead of infiltrate. But to penetrate is also not an easy way to do.

Sarah Ferguson: Did you ever succeed in Australia to -- to penetrate? To turn someone to work for your side?

General Hendropriyono: Oh, almost, but not yet.

Sarah Ferguson: In the highly nuanced world of intelligence, a simple yes can be the hardest word.

Did you actually manage to get someone working for you? Someone in Australia?

General Hendropriyono: No, not by myself.

Sarah Ferguson: Not yourself. But what about Indonesia. Did they succeed in recruiting Australians to work for ...

General Hendropriyono: No. No.

Sarah Ferguson: No. Nearly? Nearly, you said.

General Hendropriyono: No. Nearly, because of every time when the political conditions they become worse, then espionage be very fertile in this case. If -- say Indonesia has a bad relation with any country A or X country, then we will do that.

Sarah Ferguson: We're invited to share Hendropriyono's last supper in office. It's fried eels and chilli chicken served on dinnerware inscribed with his own design ... one copied from the insignia of America's CIA. Hendropriyono admits to spying on Australia. But he insists all that's ended with Jakarta and Canberra now facing a common terrorist enemy.

General Hendropriyono: Now we have to put aside the border -- administrative border -- because now we are encountering in this era of globalisation the same threat.

Sarah Ferguson: So you...

General Hendropriyono: The same challenge.

Sarah Ferguson: You no longer need to spy on Australia?

General Hendropriyono: Mm.

Sarah Ferguson: But you used to.

General Hendropriyono: Used to, yes. No, no.

Sarah Ferguson: With terror groups now directly targeting Australian in Indonesia the intelligence relationship has never been more important. Immediately after the bombing of the Australian Embassy two months ago, Hendropriyono's counterparts Dennis Richardson, head of the domestic spy agency, ASIO, and David Irvine, head of Australia's foreign spy recruiters, ASIS, flew straight to Jakarta.

General Hendropriyono: We discuss all the things aim to predict what is going to happen again, and this is of course very classified thing I cannot mention. But we have some prediction that we have to be alert. We have to watch this closely.

Sarah Ferguson: In relation to Australia?

General Hendropriyono: Yes. You understand that we have a common threat in this case. It can happen in Indonesia. It can also happen in Australia as well.

Sarah Ferguson: With the bombers still at large the threat to Australian interests remains high. Does it mean that very high profile Australian businesses connected very clearly with Australia could be vulnerable?

General Hendropriyono: Yes, of course. Yes.

Sarah Ferguson: Now that Hendropriyono is going into civilian life, the key is to keep the momentum of co-operation going. But there are serious challenges.

Abdurrahman Wahid: But the problem is Australia she thinks from her own perspective, their own needs, for example this -- about terrorism. You know, by providing, you see, what we call common efforts, this or that means the Australians would like to interfere in our affairs.

Sarah Ferguson: Though President Wahid was forced out of office in 2001, he remains a powerful figure. He's one of the leaders of the Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation with as many as 40 million members. Today he sounds an ominous warning, predicting a nationalist backlash against the growing Australian security presence in Indonesia.

Do you believe that sending people from both our intelligence agencies and our police to operate inside Indonesia is wrong?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Wrong. Why, because that makes our people inflamed. Because, you know, politics is impressions.

Sarah Ferguson: Given that terrorism is an international problem, doesn't it require an international response, not a nationalist one?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Well, we have to let times to show whether you are right or they are wrong.

Sarah Ferguson: But in the meantime the problem for Australia is that the attacks in Indonesia include Australia. The Embassy itself was attacked...

Abdurrahman Wahid: Yes. That's -- I know this. The question is that why they attack the Australian Embassy? That's important.

Sarah Ferguson: And what do you think?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Yeah, because Australia meddles in our affairs.

Sarah Ferguson: Former President Megawati Sukarnoputri had an equally ambivalent attitude towards Australia. Famous for rarely speaking to the media, she gave Sunday her only interview after being voted out of office in September.

Megawati Sukarnoputri: [Subtitled.] Frankly, it was my experience as President that there was a lack of harmony in the relationship between Australia and Indonesia.

Sarah Ferguson: Why was there less harmony between the two countries? What was the cause of that?

Megawati Sukarnoputri: [Subtitled.] I really don't think we communicated openly. If we are going to be more open, then, of course, we can't be so suspicious of each other.

Sarah Ferguson: Megawati boycotted the inauguration of her successor Bambang Yudhoyono. While in a clear sign of Australia's hopes of a better relationship with Indonesia, John Howard flew to Jakarta for the ceremony.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono: I know that there is economic cooperation, security dialogue and other things that we have to improve in years to come.

Sarah Ferguson: Yudhoyono committed himself to the fight against terrorism.

Yudhoyono: We will intensify our operations in detecting terrorism by improving our capacity -- intelligence capacity, police capacity...

Sarah Ferguson: Unlike his predecessors, he says he'll take action against the terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiyah.

Yudhoyono: And if I got strong legal evidence that Jemaah Islamiyah does exist in Indonesia, I will of course ban that organisation.

Sarah Ferguson: But the controversial re-trial of the organisation's leader Abu Bakar Bashir, which began the day after Yudhoyono's inauguration, demonstrated how difficult that may be. In a telling moment with an advisor Yudhoyono revealed the sensitivities of dealing with two different audiences, the Australian and the domestic.

Yudhoyono: [Subtitled.] But the recent trial couldn't prove that Abu Bakar Bashir wasn't part of Jemaah Islamiyah.

And she pressed me on this point. Is this sensitive?

Presidential adviser: [Subtitled.] Maybe. It might be better if you didn't admit that Jemaah Islamiyah exists.

Yudhoyono: [Subtitled.] But domestically it's really sensitive?

Presidential adviser: [Subtitled.] Yes, you'd better just give her the background.

Sarah Ferguson: Is there anything you need to add, or...

Former president Wahid doesn't believe Yudhoyono can overcome those sensitivities to confront the forces of Islamic fundamentalism.

Abdurrahman Wahid: He has no courage -- moral courage -- to follow through his own thinking. He is a good man. But we need a strong man, not a good man, in the Government.

Sarah Ferguson: What about a strong, good man?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But he's a weak, good man.

Sarah Ferguson: If Australia and Indonesia are to achieve a closer co-operation, it means both countries will have to put aside the legacy of East Timor.

Megawati Sukarnoputri: [Subtitled.] At the time I was leader of the party and I had a very strong reaction. You can't just erase an event like that. We have to go through a process.

Alan Behm: Within the Indonesian military there was a strong sense of disappointment, betrayal would have been felt by some.

Sarah Ferguson: A key figure in Australia's military establishment, Alan Behm also has close ties with the Indonesian military.

Alan Behm: I think that across the board, many felt we had been duplicitous in developing a close relationship and working it very hard and at the same time being able to plan for a multi- national peace-keeping force on what many of them would have regarded as sacred ground for Indonesia.

Sarah Ferguson: Hendropriyono was one of those people. He had trained in Australia, had extensive contacts with the military here. And he wanted East Timor to remain part of Indonesia.

Were you angry yourself with what Australia was doing at that time?

General Hendropriyono: You ask me personally?

Sarah Ferguson: And your circle. Your immediate circle.

General Hendropriyono: My circle too. Yes, actually. Yes. We were upset.

Sarah Ferguson: Both sides stepped up their intelligence activity.

General Hendropriyono: The Australian intelligence tapped all conversations with Indonesia armed forces officers but also civilians. Then we make some counter tap, you know counter bugging -- we also bugged them, and they make the same [indistinct] to protect.

Sarah Ferguson: You say you were bugging the Indonesian officers, but what about against Australia at that time?

General Hendropriyono: Yeah, the same. We did the same.

Sarah Ferguson: And who were you bugging at that time on the Australian side?

General Hendropriyono: That one I cannot mention. I am very sorry. We don't do that.

Sarah Ferguson: No.

General Hendropriyono: We no longer do.

Sarah Ferguson: But what sorts of -- what sorts of targets? Military? Civilian? Political?

General Hendropriyono: In the Timor case -- in Timor's case, military, and -- both. Civilian as well. You know.

Sarah Ferguson: And political too?

General Hendropriyono: Pardon me?

Sarah Ferguson: Political as well?

General Hendropriyono: Oh, yes, yes. Political too.

Sarah Ferguson: Does that mean politicians?

General Hendropriyono: Politician, yes. Yes.

Sarah Ferguson: You managed to bug Australian politicians?

General Hendropriyono: I can't -- I will not answer that. I think it's quite common thing in a country which are -- who are in hostilities. You know, we will always listen and see actually what's the case in our opponent.

Alan Behm: They certainly would have attempted to step up their intelligence effort in Australia at that time. They certainly would have wanted to monitor what sorts of forces Australia was deploying to East Timor. What the capabilities were.

Sarah Ferguson: Intelligence was critical. Nobody in Australia knew if the Indonesia military would confront Australian forces in East Timor. As a former officer for ASIS, Warren Reed also understands this intelligence work from the inside. His job was recruiting and running Indonesian spies. He knows the sorts of people the Indonesians would have targeted here.

Warren Reed: Key officials in the decision making process in Canberra. And then when everything went awry with the militias how we were reading the situation, what sort of intelligence we were pulling out of Indonesia, electronically or in "humint" terms.

Sarah Ferguson: How substantial an operation was it in that very difficult time leading up to East Timor. Was it a big operation?

General Hendropriyono: Oh yes. We should -- we should give the best information to the Government for the Government decide political decision.

Sarah Ferguson: Well, did you discover...

General Hendropriyono: Yes, of course.

Sarah Ferguson: Much information?

General Hendropriyono: Oh, yes, yes, yes. Of course. Yes.

Sarah Ferguson: So you said before that...

General Hendropriyono: Average is okay. You know, we have many things I also could not get. We couldn't make it. But most of them is -- are successful.

Sarah Ferguson: Today for the first time Reed claims the Indonesians recruited spies inside his own organisation ASIS.

Warren Reed: With penetration deep into the intelligence system here they would have been pulling plum product out of Canberra.

Sarah Ferguson: You say penetration deep in the system. What do you actually mean by that?

Warren Reed: I think they've been very successful over the years, meaning decades. And this goes into the heart of our intelligence system, and I mean, including, and I specifically add this, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, for which I worked for 10 years.

Sarah Ferguson: You're saying the Indonesians penetrated ASIS?

Warren Reed: Yes.

Sarah Ferguson: Do you know that for sure, or is that just part of community rumour?

Warren Reed: I wouldn't say it otherwise. I wouldn't say it otherwise. And it's known in Canberra, too, and it has not been properly addressed.

General Hendropriyono: I think this is universal lessons. This is universal knowledge. That we can recruit agents in every countries. In Cold War era we used to do that. We sent people to penetrate, to infiltrate, and we also tried to penetrate the target countries. But now we don't need that.

Sarah Ferguson: No.

Warren Reed is sure the spy network is operating today.

Are there still Australians working for the Indonesians?

Warren Reed: Now, I would believe the answer to that would have to be absolutely.

Sarah Ferguson: It's a huge accusation you're making. Can you actually support it?

Warren Reed: Yes, but I won't talk about that now. If there were a properly constituted Royal Commission, and for the first time -- and I emphasise for the first time -- without a crony running it. And one with broad, almost limitless terms of reference, that allow them to look at anything that needs to be looked at, including criminal activity, then myself and many others would come forward and talk about what we know.

Sarah Ferguson: General Hendropriyono takes his final bow. He may be leaving the agency. But not the secret world of intelligence, and his close contacts with Australia's top spymasters, like ASIO chief, Dennis Richardson.

General Hendropriyono: We've become very close to each other. We can easily call each other. You know, and also we can send message.

Sarah Ferguson: You text each other?

General Hendropriyono: Yes. We text each other.

Sarah Ferguson: And he is always hinting at further possibilities. His account of which side came out on top in the past.

General Hendropriyono: It is hard to judge, because of we know maybe about Australia. We don't know how far Australia knows about us.

Jana Wendt: Stories of infiltration and penetration. Sarah Ferguson reporting there.

Hopes rise for better US-Indonesia ties

Straits Times - November 19, 2004

Eugene Low, Washington -- The United States is optimistic that bilateral ties with Indonesia will improve under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a top State Department official has said.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Marie Huhtala told a conference that both countries have a "better opportunity now that at any other time in the past" to strengthen their relationship.

Reiterating America"s commitment to Indonesia, she said: 'We continue to support Indonesia's democratisation process. The stakes are enormous and we believe that Indonesia is essential to the peace and prosperity of South-east Asia." She was speaking at a meeting to discuss Washington's ties with Jakarta by the US- Indonesia Society.

President George W. Bush is due to meet his Indonesian counterpart for the first time tomorrow on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Santiago, Chile. All eyes will be on that meeting.

Ms Huhtala, who was the US ambassador to Malaysia from 2001 until May this year, was confident both men would establish "a certain level of rapport". "The conditions are there, it just feels right," she said. The Bush administration is "excited about the future of US-Indonesian relations", and will pursue a "broad agenda" with Jakarta, she added.

A key priority for the US would be to ensure that Indonesia's democracy and reform of its judicial system continue to progress. The US will also support Jakarta's efforts to reform the country's military and to bring it under civilian control, said Ms Huhtala.

On security issues, the US is keen on enhancing joint efforts to combat terrorism. "The threat of future attacks remains serious," she said. "We intend to explore such cooperation further."

The US currently provides assistance and training to Indonesia's police force. However, links between the armed forces of both countries -- which were increasingly restricted by the US Congress during the 1990s -- are expected to remain on hold. The sale of US weapons to Indonesia, as well as the training of Indonesian military personnel, have been banned.

Mr Larry Niksch, an analyst with the Congressional Research Service, said at the conference that several issues concerning the Indonesian military's human rights record had yet to be resolved.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are unlikely to favour a normalisation of ties between the US and Indonesian armed forces. He said: "Within Congress, there is a perception that the Indonesian army commits human rights abuses." Acknowledging the difficulties dogging US-Indonesian ties, Ms Huhtala hoped both sides would work to smooth out the rough edges of their relationship. The US should be willing to listen and not "slip into a hectoring mode", she said.

Susilo, Howard vow to address security issues

Jakarta Post - November 21, 2004

Endy Bayuni, Santiago -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Australian Prime Minister John Howard agreed on Friday to address concerns about defense and security matters to prevent possible misunderstandings in the future.

The leaders, during a brief meeting here on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, decided that their respective defense ministers should meet soon to address any problem that might come up between the two countries.

Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Jalal told Indonesian reporters that the leaders did not go into detail about any misunderstanding that has developed in bilateral relations. But Dino recalled a recent incident when Indonesia raised questions about Australia's plans to develop its missile defense system.

This is the second time that Susilo and Howard have met in less than a month. Howard, after winning reelection for a record fourth term in office, went to Jakarta for the inauguration of President Susilo in mid-October.

Dino described the meeting on Friday as very cordial and amicable. "From my own personal observation, they seem to have hit it off, judging from their body language, their remarks and their jokes." The two are longtime acquaintances; as Indonesia's chief security minister under President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Susilo led the country's campaign against terror.

The two countries, which have had their share of differences in the past, were brought closer together when two huge explosions killed more than 200 people, most of them Australians, at nightclubs in Bali in October 2002.

Indonesia and Australia have since forged closer ties in fighting the threat of terrorism in the region. At the meeting on Friday, the two leaders underscored the need for their police, attorney general's offices and intelligence bodies to sustain their cooperation.

Susilo and Howard also discussed the trilateral forum involving Indonesia, Australia and East Timor, as well as the wider South West Pacific Forum, as ways of enhancing regional cooperation.

The Indonesian president used the half-hour meeting to talk about his effort to revive the Indonesian economy, underlining his plan to organize an "Infrastructure Summit" in Jakarta in January, an event in which he hoped Australian companies would attend.

Howard promised that he would encourage Australian investors to take part, according to Dino. The Australian leader sympathized with Indonesia's efforts to get the economy back on track. "He [Howard] basically said that he sees Indonesia as a partner and a friend, and that he wanted to see Indonesia succeed," Dino said.

Susilo is planning to make Australia one of the first destinations for his overseas official visits once his first 100 days in office is completed at the end of January.

He has defended his decision to come to Santiago, and to attend the ASEAN summit in Vientiane next weekend, saying that such summits presented him with rare opportunities to meet with as many leaders as he could.

In Santiago, he met with the leaders of China, Vietnam and New Zealand as well as the host president on Friday. On Saturday, he has scheduled meetings with US President George W. Bush, as well as the leaders of Canada, Russia and Japan.

 Business & investment

Experts welcome move to ease investment procedures

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2004

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta -- While welcoming the government's most recent plan to improve the country's investment climate by reducing the time required for an investment permit to just 30 days, analysts are questioning how the government will actually implement the plan.

National Economic Recovery Commission (KPEN) chairman Sofyan Wanandi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that what was most important was how the Office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy would ensure coordination between all the institutions involved in the investment process under the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

"The government should particularly focus on the agencies within the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as local administrations," he said.

Under the Local Autonomy Law (No. 22/1999), local administrations headed by governors, regents and mayors have a say in all matters relating to investment within their respective jurisdictions.

Sofyan pointed out that the main problem to date was that local administrations were often reluctant to work together with the BKPM. "Their chief executives act like petty kings, and often disregard the BKPM in matters concerning investment," he said. The BKPM should therefore be given greater powers if the government really intended to reduce the current cumbersome bureaucracy, Sofyan said.

In a bid to attract badly needed foreign direct investment (FDI), Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said last week that the government was working on cutting the time needed for investors to obtain the necessary permits to 30 days compared to 151 days at present, as revealed by a recent World Bank survey.

The government would also implement set a time limit for the approval of FDI applications, under which the application would be considered approved if the BKPM failed to give its response before the expiry of the statutory deadline.

Economist Didik J. Rachbini from the Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) agreed with the proposal to automatically approve an investment application upon the expiry of the set time limit, saying it would encourage the various institutions involved to do their work in an efficient and timely fashion. "These institutions would be compelled to quickly process all investment applications. Otherwise, the could be accused of impeding investment into the country," he said.

Didik added however that it would be better for the government to convert the BKPM into an investment promotion agency. "Attracting investment is not just about slashing the time needed to approve investment permits," he said. "It should be more about promoting the country, including building high-level diplomatic ties with potential investor countries."

Didik also suggested that the government draw up a blacklist of local administrations that had been found to be making it difficult for investors to invest in their regions. "If they do not show any interest in attracting investors, then they should be excluded all the way," he said.

Meanwhile, analyst Umar Juoro from the Center for Information and Development Studies (CIDES) disagreed with the time limit proposal, arguing that it would be counterproductive and could cause confusion among investors.

"Normally, if an application receives no response, it means that it is rejected, not approved," he said. "Anyway, why is it so difficult for the BKPM to issue an approval or rejection on time? This, in my opinion, is the whole point of improving the functions and credibility of the BKPM."

Government plans to sell unprofitable SOEs

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2004

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- As part of the major restructuring of all state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the new government plans to sell or close those considered to be in bad shape and with no business prospects, according to a senior official. Mahmuddin Yasin, deputy for privatization at the Office of State Minister of State Enterprises, said the policy was part of the government's planned "SOEs blueprint" aimed at efficiently managing state companies for the next five years.

"SOEs with poor performance, a lack of business prospects and have no public-service obligations will no longer be maintained by the government. They will either be sold or shut down," said Mahmuddin.

He explained that SOEs that were still considered to have business prospects but poorly managed would undergo a restructuring program by merging them or injecting fresh capital from public investors.

Many of the country's SOEs have been poorly managed for a long time and suffered very low rate of return on investment and equity due to intervention by vested political interests, which have often treated the SOEs as cash cows.

The previous government of Megawati Soekarnoputri planned to shut down or merge a number of poorly managed SOEs, including forestry firm PT Inhutani I to V, railway construction firm PT Inka, paper firms PT Kertas Leces and PT Kertas Kraft Aceh, fertilizer firm PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja, shipping firm PT Pelni and aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia.

However, the administration has thus far only merged trading companies PT Pantja Niaga, PT Dharma Niaga, PT Cipta Niaga, PT PP Berdikari and PT Sarinah; and construction consultancy firms PT Virama Karya, PT Indah Karya, PT Indra Karya, PT Yodya Karya and PT Bina Karya.

It decided last month to close down PT Aceh Asean Fertilizer, although a final decision has yet to be made by the new government and the governments of the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, as investing partners in the firm.

SOEs with public-service obligations have also been a victim of mismanagement. Most of the companies have been forced to provide public services without sufficient facilities and subsidies from the government.

The companies have been forced to make a profit, causing the public to bear expensive costs to use their services. Among these companies are electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, oil and gas company PT Pertamina, postal and courier firm PT Pos Indonesia, railway firm PT Kereta Api Indonesia, bus companies PT PPD and Perum Damri, and a number of hospital and seaport operators.

Mahmuddin said SOEs with public-service obligations, which were mostly in poor condition, would be maintained by providing them with subsidies and other facilities that could support the continuity of their operation.

"SOEs with public-service obligation will be restructured by the government to efficiently serve the public. In the SOEs blueprint we will clearly define and separate such companies from those of profit-oriented SOEs," said Mahmuddin, who was involved in drafting the blueprint and is likely to be reappointed again as a deputy to the minister.

Under the planned blueprint, the new government is also planning to form a holding company that it is hoped would be more efficient in overseeing SOEs, similar to Singapore's government investment arm Temasek.

If the plan is realized, executives of the holding company will be in charge of managing 162 companies, with combined assets of more than Rp 700 trillion (about US$77 billion).

Small businesses still face limited access to microcredits

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2004

Leony Aurora, Jakarta -- People in the market call her Bu Haji, because the salted fish seller has been on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia or sometimes Bu Janda, the widow, as her husband passed away a year ago.

Her son left shortly afterward, taking everything from his parents' kiosks in Bendungan Hilir market in Central Jakarta, even the worn out wooden racks.

"He thought that because his father died, all this belonged to him," said Bu Haji on Tuesday as she packed crackers into plastic bags. "Poor, poor me." To stock her stall and keep her business afloat, Bu Haji borrowed Rp 20 million (US$2,212) from the market's cooperative unit.

Recognizing the importance of microcredits -- defined by Bank Indonesia as loans under Rp 50 million -- in the fight against poverty, the United Nations has set 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit.

Today, in the launching ceremony of the program, eight selected individuals from eight countries, including Indonesia, will receive microcredit awards in New York.

Although deemed successful, microfinance has not reached as many people as it should. The latest government data shows that only 15 percent of some 30 million micro-entrepreneurs in the country receive financing from banks.

Lack of collateral and complicated procedures often prompt people in need of fresh funds to go to loan sharks, despite the higher interest they charge.

Prihartini, who sells fruit in the same market as Bu Haji, arranged a Rp 60 million loan -- a little higher than the microcredit criteria -- with 40 percent interest for a friend in Klaten, Central Java, three months ago. In comparison, the bank lending rate is around 16-18 percent.

"I get 2 percent of the interest," she said. "He [the friend] couldn't approach banks because he doesn't have land certificates." To solve this, economist Pande Radja Silalahi said that the government should improve land ownership, or even provide land certificates free of charge.

Director of the Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance Imam Sugema urged banks to make more items eligible for collateral.

For some entrepreneurs, a business license -- often also a requirement from the bank -- poses another obstacle.

Roger, a florist, never arranges such a license. By law, he does not have to -- his flower shop in Depok, West Java, operates with capital of less than Rp 200 million. "It costs millions of rupiah to get a business license," he said.

Pande urged the government to be proactive and to go to small- scale entrepreneurs instead of waiting for them to get the license.

The further development of microcredits should be headed by banks with the most experiences, which, in the case of Indonesia, is Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), said Pande.

With more than 4,100 units across the country, BRI has been recognized as the initiator of microfinance in the world. "Other banks may have different segments (targeted)," he said.

Imam referred to another source that has not been optimally utilized: informal financial bodies.

"There are so many small businesses. Banks cannot afford to know as many customers closely," he said. "They are also usually less eager to take the high risks of non-performing loans." Many villages, for example, have collective rice barns, to which villagers add a certain amount of rice per week. The money gathered from these barns is later channeled back to the people. "The government should guide these informal bodies," he said.

Indonesia needs $US72 billion for infrastructures

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

Endy M. Bayuni, Santiago -- Building infrastructure will be the bedrock of the government's economic strategy for the next five years, and that means raising no less than US$72 billion, or around Rp 600 trillion to finance related projects, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday.

The money, he said, would come from all kind of sources: the government, private sector investment, foreign aid, and foreign direct investment.

Such a huge sum is needed to build roads, railways, ports, airports, power plants, clean water and irrigation facilities and other infrastructure, he said on board a Garuda Indonesia plane prior to landing in Santiago. He also stressed that he would be working closely with regional administrations to meet the goal.

The President is in Santiago to attend the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum this weekend. Building infrastructure will be among the issues he raises during a series of meetings with other APEC leaders. He also disclosed that the government would organize the "Infrastructure Summit" in Jakarta in January, to hammer home the point.

The President pledged that the government would strive to improve the climate for investment in Indonesia, both for domestic and foreign investors. That meant improving the political and economic climate, and legal framework, he added.

"We are still calculating to what extent the projects will be financed by the government, the domestic private sector, foreign aid and foreign investors," he said.

He also denied a reversal in government policy on taking new loans. "We continue to open ourselves up to new loans, as long as they are in our national interests and they are for a good purpose," he said.

His predecessor, Megawati Soekarnoputri, refrained from taking new loans in the last two years, in an attempt to progressively cut Indonesia's foreign debt, which today stands at around $130 billion.

"Our debt level is already too high," President Susilo conceded. He said the government would continue to strive to reduce the debt through various options, including selling off government assets, privatizing state enterprises, taking bank loans, issuing government bonds, and turning to foreign loans.

 Opinion & analysis

Indonesia tourism won't benefit from visa policy

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2004

Evan Jones, Batam -- It is welcoming news to see that our new State Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik is looking at extending the number of countries whose tourists will be eligible for a visa on arrival, albeit a visa that costs US$25 and is only valid for 30 days.

Jero says he is undertaking a survey of major entry points to see what needs to be done to improve the performance of Indonesia's queue-up-and-pay visa policy. May we suggest to Jero that he extend his survey to the tourist industry itself, to determine that this visa policy is not only earning, but also costing the country? The losses caused by this policy are large but invisible; it will take more than some visits to airports and ferry terminals to understand what this visa policy costs Indonesia.

Indonesia is only realizing only a small percentage of it's potential to attract tourists. For example, in the case of Batam vs Singapore, if we could follow the model of Macau vs Hong Kong, Batam should be receiving the same or more than Macau -- five million tourists per year. Instead, Batam gets about 1.5 million.

This pitiful performance is caused by decades of ineffective tourism promotion, poor image management, no effort to counter negative reports in the international media; now compounded by unfriendly, expense and restrictive Visa-On-Arrival regulations.

For example, Singapore has nearly half a million wealthy expatriates, whose children attend various International Schools in the city-state. There is a huge demand from Singapore's schools to get the kids out of the city and into a wilderness experience. A number of first class wilderness locations exist in the neighboring Riau islands. Schools and private businesses have invested in developing wilderness camps in the neighboring islands of Bintan, Batam and Sugi.

This kind of business is ideal for Indonesia: It encourage use of the natural environment, it is labor intensive and brings jobs, skills and prosperity to otherwise poor subsistence farmers and fishermen. The interaction between the kids and villagers promotes life-long personal friendships and international understanding. A classic win-win situation.

The benefits of school camp business far outweighs a paltry $10 or $25 collected by the Jakarta government.

Unfortunately due to onerous visa rules, passenger transfers to these camps, which used to take two or three hours, now takes nearly a day. In terms of time, a children's camp in Malaysia or Thailand is now more easily reachable than one which you can nearly see from a Singapore high rise building! Where once, wilderness camps were poised for growth into a business employing thousands of villagers, the Riau Islands now has just two remaining camps. (Three others have closed.) A second example can be found on the island of Batam, which has struggled over the past decade to upgrade it's seedy image as cheap weekend getaway for minimum wage workers from Singapore and Malaysia. Investors have built a world class tourism infrastructure of star rated hotels, resorts, golf courses and casinos.

Compared to Macau, Batam is three times closer and easier to reach, more efficient and more friendly. Batam's Nagoya Entertainment District (NED) had a slogan: For the same price as a few hour's drinking on Singapore's Orchard Road (say, US$200), the well heeled visitor could come to Batam and for the same money enjoy a four star hotel room, return ferry tickets, meals, drinks, taxis, entertainment and tips.

Unfortunately the $25 visa that takes up over a page in the visitors' passport has killed this business. Immigration queues to pay are long and slow, the immigration officers are stressed and surely with the visitors. Batam's shrinking number of loyal golfers and overnight pub trippers quickly end up with a passport full of huge and useless visa stickers. The whole experience leaves such a bad taste in visitor's mouths that too many Singapore-based expats now choose to spend their weekends in Johore or Phuket.

The once popular pastime of the after work ferry trip from Singapore to do an hour's jogging in Batam's pristine forests is a now thing of the past.

The loss to Batam is not just a few bankrupt entertainment outlets but a loss of revenue and opportunity. When Indonesia loses a thousand high spending visitor arrivals, the loss of a US$10 visa fees is not the main issue.

Where does the expenditure of that overnight visitor with a US$200 budget go? A lot goes into the government's pockets as taxes. Let's do the sums: Ferry ticket $15 (terminal taxes = $2), Hotel room for $85 -- (10 percent tax = $8.50), taxi fares of $10 (no tax), $50 worth of drinks and entertainment (10 percent taxes and 2 percent customs and excise = $5.20 ). Total in directly deducted taxes =$15.70.

In other words, some tourism bigwigs may look down their noses at the overnight visit market, but if you lose a thousand of them, governments lose 1,000 x $15.70 in taxes and the people lose $200,000 in tourist spending. But according to the lessons to be learned from Macau, Batam isn't losing thousands of tourist arrivals, it is losing millions.

What we really hope our new minister for tourism will do is launch a truly bold objective for Indonesia's tourism industry. If tiny Singapore can recycle tourist taxes into promotions that brings seven million tourists a year, let's remove Indonesia's small minded and antiquated business obstructions, start spending some tax revenues on promotion and shoot for, say, 14 million tourists a year as a starting point.

[The writer is a business analyst.]

Munir's death: Foul play must be probed

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2004

H.S. Dillon, Jakarta -- The forensic results recently released by the Dutch authorities have served to confirm a nagging suspicion. The large traces of arsenic found in his organs have reportedly led the Dutch to recommend a criminal investigation into the exact circumstances under which such a lethal dosage found its way into Munir.

It is well-established that small traces of arsenic are found around us, counterbalanced by the fact that our defense mechanisms have the capability to handle such minute dosages. Rumor has it that Napoleon was murdered by systematically lacing his food with arsenic over an extended period. As arsenic is odorless and only has a very slight acidic taste, Napoleon must have attributed it to the cooking style of his chef on the isle of Elba. Such gradual accumulation overcomes our defense mechanisms and often as not causes renal failure.

However there is a stark difference in the case of Munir. When we were having a farewell lunch at the Imparsial office on the previous Friday before his death, I introduced Munir to my wife, a physician who had come to pick me up. It so happened that they were scheduled to be on the same Monday evening flight on the Singapore-Amsterdam leg.

Witness accounts indicate that Munir had gastrointestinal problems soon upon boarding and that the crew had apparently seated Munir next to a physician in the business class for closer observation. Since there was no inquiry over the public address system as to whether there was a doctor on board, my wife had no knowledge of what Munir was going through. Upon inquiry after the tragic news broke out, she told me that she had seen him at a distance when boarding at Changi.

She vividly remembers noticing that he looked pale, although she was unable to reach him due to the full flight. As he expired in mid-flight undetected, one does not have to be a conspiracy theorist to conclude that he must have ingested a large amount of arsenic. However, to lay people symptoms of arsenic poisoning would appear at first blush to be a simple case of cardiac failure.

Having resolved the cause -- likely poisoning -- we now turn to the motive. Who would want to kill Munir? Who would stand to benefit from terminating a young, fearless activist speaking on behalf of the faceless and the silenced? An Indonesian fighting incessantly to raise the dignity of his people? Why would they choose this moment, when he was going to be away anyway? Who would fear Cak Munir attacking them from beyond their reach? Are they connected to those who physically attacked his Kontras office? At this stage it would be easy to succumb to speculation. Whoever it could be, it is a well-established fact that Munir abhorred violence by all; whether they be attired in official uniform or religious garb.

This assassination of Munir is not just an ordinary crime; it is a crime against all defenders of the oppressed -- a crime against humanity.

That the Dutch authorities opted to send the autopsy through official channels can easily be understood, what is not so easy to comprehend is our officials' motives in leaking this information to the press prior to informing Munir's next of kin. This is a faux pas the government should swiftly make amends for.

They should immediately hand the full report of the autopsy over to Suciwati, Munir's wife, to allow her to share it with the public. Then all of us would know what the full findings are and as a nation know how to proceed.

The desire to dispatch a team of forensic experts to the Netherlands for an investigation is farcical; reminiscent of parliamentary junkets. We maintain a large embassy there and if anything remains unclear, they should set up a video-conference with the Dutch doctors who conducted the autopsy in Holland.

I am sure that our embassy in The Hague, in cooperation with the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta, would be happy to facilitate such an interchange. It would be a positive demonstration of good governance if human rights activists and press were allowed to participate.

Stranger still are the acts of officials who raise questions as to the authenticity of the report; I would tell them -- please erase all thoughts of flying to Europe on the pretext of personally securing a "certified" document.

"This murder most foul, as in the best it is" (Hamlet, Act 1, scene V), comprises a serious threat to our fledgling democracy. An independent commission of inquiry should immediately be established with credible representatives from both government and civil society. The onus to disprove that something is rotten in the state of Indonesia rests squarely on the shoulders of the authorities.

It is clear that the leadership of the new administration is being put to the test. Being a champion of governance reform, the President should move with resolve and conviction. We, with whom Munir walked a part of his short life, will not rest until the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to justice.

[The author is a human rights activist, and currently serves as the executive director of the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia.]

Another fine mess in Papua

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 18, 2004

The Constitutional Court could not have come up with a worse decision when it ruled that the carving of Papua into three provinces was illegitimate while also recognizing the presence of the new West Irian Jaya province as a fact of life. This ruling is sowing more confusion into an already confused state of affairs in Papua.

The source of this latest controversy is a January 2003 instruction by then President Megawati Soekarnoputri to establish three new provinces out of Papua as mandated in a 1999 law enacted during the administration of President B.J. Habibie.

But this law, according to the Constitutional Court, was effectively annulled when Megawati enacted in November 2001 the special autonomy law for Papua. The court deemed her instruction for the creation of West Irian Jaya, Central Irian Jaya and Eastern Irian Jaya provinces as equally invalid. But the court said it also recognized the presence of the West Irian Jaya province because the regional apparatus -- an administration, and an elected legislative council and the region's elected representatives to the People's Legislative Assembly in Jakarta -- had been created. The court ruling, however, puts a stop to the creation of the other two new provinces.

Going by the Constitutional Court ruling, we are now left with two provinces in the western half of the New Guinea Island: West Irian Jaya covering the Bird's Head region of the island, and Papua, covering the eastern and heartland of the Papua territory.

Also going by the court ruling, West Irian Jaya is considered an illegitimate province. Here is a province that was conceived by Habibie and born into this world, with some inducement, during Megawati's presidency. It is now left to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to raise this illegitimate child. Such an awkward status is bound to haunt the province in years to come.

The court ruling has also left many unanswered questions. What happens to the special autonomy law which treats Papua as one single province? Would the Papuan People's Council, whose creation is mandated under the special autonomy law, have the authority to speak on behalf of West Irian Jaya too? Or, God forbid, would the Papuan people have to negotiate all over again to secure a new legislation for its special autonomy status? Time will tell how Papua and West Irian Jaya will emerge out of this huge mess.

But this episode confirms what many Papuans believe or have long suspected: that Jakarta is bent on interfering in the affairs of Papua, even as it promises to give greater autonomy to this backward but resource-rich province. The status of Papua as a special autonomous region today is only in name.

This is a problem that could have been prevented had Megawati heeded appeals from Papuans in 2003 to stop the process of establishing the West Irian Jaya province. The fact that she went ahead with this "divide-and-conquer policy" suggests some hidden agenda on her part, or on the part of parties behind the move.

Papuans will now turn to President Susilo to resolve this issue in the best possible way. In the October presidential election Papuans overwhelmingly voted for him instead of Megawati. He owes them that much. Let's hope he will not disappoint them.

Rebuilding trust vital to a lasting peace in Aceh

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2004

Damien Kingsbury, Melbourne -- Since Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono assumed the presidency, there has been growing talk about the possibility of moving towards a resolution of the conflict in Aceh. Susilo said it was a goal of his presidency to find peace in Aceh, even if his initial proposal of the Free Aceh Movement effectively surrendering was not a meaningful contribution.

But there is a glimmer of hope for peace. To be realized, it will take real negotiations and real compromise on both sides. And both the Tentara Nasional Aceh (TNA), or GAM army, the Indonesian military (TNI), will have be brought fully under the control of their respective civilian leadership.

While there is talk about the need to find peace, there has been no contact between the two sides since the declaration of martial law in May 2003. What there has been, however, is attempts by the Indonesian government to stifle the capacity of the GAM leadership and its advisers.

Apart from the continued jailing of the GAM negotiating team, this tactic has effectively failed, with the Swedish courts saying there was insufficient evidence to convict the GAM leadership living in Sweden of criminal behavior.

The listing of advisers, too, with Interpol, on charges on alleged gun-running, has made little impact. Some travel has been restricted, but global communications are such that these limitations are effectively meaningless. As for the gun-running charges, they are serious, but in this case being unconnected to reality, make the Indonesian government look desperate, rather than in control.

What the Indonesian government also seems not to realize is that opposition to Jakarta's authority in Aceh is not just from a handful of men in Stockholm and misguided idealists in Aceh. It is keenly felt by an overwhelming majority of Acehnese.

This explains why, although GAM has suffered some losses over the past 18 months, it has been able to draw on a large reservoir of volunteers waiting to step up and fight. Martial law might have been intended to crush GAM, but as many predicted, it has not significantly diminished GAM's military capacity, and has only hardened the resolve of Aceh's population against the TNI and the government it represents.

So, too, with the leadership in Stockholm. When they were arrested earlier this year, the military leadership of GAM simply regarded this as a further possible loss in a wider battle. As with losses in the field, there was -- and remains -- a plan in place to elect a new political leadership. On this, the Indonesian government is probably better off negotiating with the political leadership it knows, rather than finding itself facing a new, unknown and potentially more hostile leadership.

Now, trapped by the TNI-backed demands that GAM fighters surrender and accept special autonomy as a precursor to peace, the Indonesian government has imposed preconditions that make peace talks impossible. GAM similarly had an extensive list of preconditions, many of which the Indonesian government would have found difficult to accept.

However, GAM has now dropped its preconditions, recognizing that its claims will have to be negotiated. This is, after all, what talks are meant to be about. It is time for the Indonesian government to also drop its preconditions, and to enter a genuinely open dialogue in good faith.

Given the recent distance between the two sides, there will probably need to be unofficial, second track diplomacy to arrange mutually acceptable circumstances for renewing talks. That is, first contact will probably have to be between parties representing either side but in an unofficial capacity. It should be noted here that the breakaway Majelis Pemerintah-GAM or government selected NGOs would not qualify in this capacity.

The next step is to find an external mediator. The Japanese government would seem to be best placed for this, although others such as the Norwegian or Canadian governments would also be suitably neutral.

If it is possible to construct an open, unconditional forum for talks, the first item to be considered will have to be a truce, leading to conditions that will allow a more regularized ceasefire. In this, there will have to be considerable good will, and recognition of where both sides previously erred, which caused the previous Cessation of Hostilities Agreement to be undermined.

If a ceasefire can be established, this will then have to become regularized, so that conditions of trust can be firmly established to allow talks about moving towards more concrete steps towards peace.

TNI demands that GAM surrender its weapons, as opposed to place them in cantonment, are unlikely to produce results. Similarly, completely removing the TNI from Aceh is also not likely, at least in the short to medium term. However, a "return to barracks" for both sides could provide space for genuine dialogue about a political solution.

Realistically, even if it started now, the time-frame for such a process will be years, not months. And even beginning to talk about final solutions at this stage will do nothing but undermine the first, tentative steps. One must learn to walk before on can run.

In this process, even if all that is achieved is a ceasefire that can be held in place over the longer term, that alone must be seen as a positive outcome. And if it can allow the rebuilding of trust, which is now in such short supply, then it may be that a solution to the Aceh problem is eventually possible.

[The writer is senior lecturer in international development at Deakin University, Melbourne.]

Palestine and Aceh: Limits of solidarity

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2004

Aguswandi, London -- An interesting opinion article appeared in this newspaper, which drew a comparison between the plight of the Palestinians and the Acehnese. (The Jakarta Post, November 8). This is maybe the first time an Indonesian has connected the two conflicts. There has been no identification of the similarities between the two in Indonesia, despite common elements of widespread and deliberate human suffering, injustice and human rights violations.

When Palestine is raised, Indonesians are outraged, but when the Acehnese conflict is raised, Indonesians frequently refuse to acknowledge that terror and horror are the daily reality in a corner of their nation.

Having made the link, however, the writer failed to consider the critical question of why Indonesians react differently towards the conflicts in Aceh and Palestine. This is a hugely important question that must be answered, as the different responses go far beyond the nature of the two conflicts, and enter the tangled but critical arena of one's nationalism, which is what dampens human solidarity.

As we know, Indonesia's response to injustice can be passionate and vocal. Not only have Indonesians protested against the abuses endured by the Palestinian people, they have shown their support for oppressed people worldwide. Recent unlawful killings in Southern Thailand, for example, sparked public outrage in Indonesia. This is a very positive sign of Indonesian solidarity for human suffering. But what is of concern is that this compassion and humanity shown towards people in other countries is not extended to those suffering the same wrongs within Indonesia. It seems that moral outrage is not universal.

Efforts are made to justify the different reactions, to cling to distinctions about the rights and wrongs of each case. It is usually said that Palestine is a different story, that is the history of an oppressed people, while the conflict in Aceh is branded with the "ethno-separatist" label. Muslim groups cite the brotherhood of Islam to justify their support for the people of Palestine, but refuse to apply this to Aceh. They ignore the fact that even the Palestinian leadership has rejected a religious definition of the conflict. As the writer correctly pointed out, even Yasser Arafat refuted suggestions that the situation is simply a struggle between Islam and Judaism. Nonetheless, Indonesian Muslim groups continue to encourage support for Palestine in the name of religion while supporting military operations against their equally Muslim fellow citizens in Aceh.

The problems of oppression of Palestinians and Acehnese are similar: The daily violence against the people. In fact, in terms of death tolls, more people have been killed in Aceh in the last two years than in Palestine. From May 2003 till October 2004, 1,160 Palestinians were killed. However, since martial law was imposed in May 2003, according to conservative estimates 2,100 people have been killed in Aceh. The average death toll in Aceh is four to five a day compared to one or two a day in Palestine.

What then is the cause of this disparity in compassion and solidarity? The answer lies in Indonesians' deep-rooted nationalist sentiment. This emotion overrides people's instinctive feelings for solidarity towards suffering, regardless of religion or nationality. Scholars who study nationalism have discussed the way in which devotion to the nation state takes precedence over any other kind of loyalty. Aceh, Palestine, Southern Thailand, Mindanao and Papua are no different; their people are oppressed and they are victims of injustice. Yet the solidarity they receive depends on how it affects the interest of people of any given nation state.

Nationalism limits Indonesian solidarity for the problems in Aceh, as well as in West Papua, in a way many would find shocking when Palestine is being discussed. As long as suffering happens outside their own country, Indonesians are boundless in their solidarity and support. But there are frontiers to this compassion that can be clearly marked on a map: boundary from Sabang to Merauke. Injustice beyond these borders stirs sympathy, and injustice within them will evoke quite different responses.

This glaring discrepancy should warn us that giving nationalism privileged status is dangerous. While it still allows people to condemn unacceptable practices elsewhere outside its borders, it shuts people's minds to similarly horrendous realities within the border of Indonesia, most notably in Aceh and West Papua. Of course the conflicts are not completely ignored. Some cases are so horrible they sneak through people's radars. We occasionally notice violent deaths and sometimes speak about them. But, in general, we have started to accept the abnormal as normal. The extraordinary becomes not only expected but accepted.

This also explains why Indonesians will go into the streets to protest against the US war in Iraq, but not Indonesia's war in Aceh. People recognize external power relations between the center (the West), and the periphery (Third World countries), while failing to see the power relations within the latter, far closer to home. They do not consider that unjust power relations and abuses within their sphere are as dangerous as those "outside".

[The writer is an Acehnese human rights activist and working for TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign in London.]

Acehnese hopes dashed

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 20, 2004

The Acehnese will have to endure yet another six months of suffering after the new government this week extended the state of civil emergency until May 2005. It's appalling to see a golden opportunity slip through the fingers of former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and prove to the nation that he is true to his word.

People are asking, why did Susilo make a decision that effectively froze investigations into corruption cases in Aceh province, and cut into efforts to organize direct elections for local government? Isn't this counter to his own image as a reformer? A lifting of the state of civil emergency would have boosted the government's credibility rather than reduced it, and would give some badly needed fresh air to our crisis-ridden archipelago.

It now looks as if Susilo's administration does not differ much from its predecessor, and Susilo seems to have forgotten the campaign promise he made a couple of months ago when he said he would bring change to Aceh once he became president.

So it was no wonder that on Thursday, the day the extension was made public, the Acehnese demanded that the government pursue dialog with the separatist group to find a peaceful settlement. The Aceh Legislative Council also denied the President's claim that the extension decision was made after a hearing with Aceh councillors.

"If the interests of the Acehnese people was one of the reasons behind the decision, what mistakes did we commit that we have to live under a state of emergency?" Aceh councillor Nasir Djamil asked.

One small consolation for the Acehnese was Susilo's new promise to implement a monthly evaluation of Aceh's emergency status. If, in the eyes of the government, the situation improves then the status might be changed to one of civil order. Another promise made by the President was for an amnesty for surrendering rebel leaders and members, a pledge also made last year by the previous government, with little effect. Susilo said he would pave the way for the province to achieve a full, special autonomy status, but stopped short of giving a time frame. As such, one could be forgiven for failing to find new elements in Susilo's policy on Aceh, because there are no such new elements.

Unfortunately, the decision to extend the state of emergency came right after Ramadhan, when Muslims are traditionally expected to be more forgiving than usual. It would not have been unreasonable for people to hope that during the Ramadhan period the new government would give a respite to the long history of violence in the province, or even reactivate the peace talks that collapsed in 2003. It is indeed a great pity that this has not happened.

The Acehnese lived under martial law from May 2003 to May 2004, and under a state of civil emergency from May 2003 until the present. But whatever the emergency status, the killings have continued unabated. It is not clear if the government has the intention of completely wiping out the remaining GAM members, now estimated at 2,500 guerrillas, down from 5,000 last year. What is clear is that a military solution will never work in Aceh.

For the 4.2 million Acehnese, peace is the one thing most coveted. Susilo, in his former capacity as top security minister, was involved in the short-lived truce last year sponsored by the Geneva-based Henri Dunant Center, insisted on Friday that solving the Aceh problem required a spirit of brotherhood, without the interference of foreigners.

During the Soeharto era, a nine-year long military operation was launched that killed more than 10,000 Acehnese and displaced thousands of others. When Soeharto was toppled in 1998, GAM's strength, which was estimated at 500 at the beginning of the operation in 1989, had increased to 3,000 men and women. This should be evidence enough that a violent approach to solving this problem is doomed to fail.

Subsequent governments have repeatedly broken their promises for peace in the province. When the first direct presidential election was held in September, many Acehnese saw a glimmer of hope. But this week that hope has dimmed.

The Acehnese have come to realize that most of the government's line of thinking has remained unchanged, with only the top leader being replaced. The extension of the state of emergency is a sign that their long wait for fair treatment and justice, economic or otherwise, accountability for human rights abuses, and recognition of their rights and dignity as citizens, may have to be extended as well.


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