News & issues

At least 400 dead after huge quake triggers tsunami panic

Agence France Presse - March 29, 2005

A huge earthquake off northwest Indonesia killed at least 400 people, and possibly several thousand, and triggered tsunami warnings which caused panic across the Indian Ocean. The epicenter of the quake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale was just 200 miles from that of the December 26 quake which sent giant waves crashing into 12 nations, killing over 273,000 people.

Indonesian officials said at least 400 people had been confirmed dead on Nias and Simeulue islands off Sumatra. But Vice President Yusuf Kalla told the BBC that reports from Nias indicated 1,000 to 2,000 people had been killed.

The undersea quake struck about 200 kilometers off the west coast of Sumatra and prompted Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, among others, to issue warnings of imminent tsunamis.

Alerts rang out on television and radio, while police and local residents tried to shepherd people to safety away from the coast towards high ground.

But the giant tsunamis never materialised and three hours after the quake Indonesia and Thailand gave the all-clear. Sri Lanka and India followed several hours later.

"There have been tsunamis recorded as a result of the quake but apparently they were not destructive," said Dr. Laura Kong, director of the Hawaii-based International Tsunami Information Center which sent tsunami warnings to Asian countries.

While the region was spared a new tsunami horror, the earthquake caused widespread destruction on Nias, an island of 700,000 people which is popular with surfers.

Agus Mendrofa, a district official, said at least 80 percent of all multi-storey buildings in the main city of Gunung Sitoli had been destroyed, leaving many people feared trapped under rubble.

He said many victims had not received medical treatment as the main hospital had been hit by a blackout and many doctors had fled to nearby hills.

"Power poles fell and roads were broken. Electricity and fixed telephone lines are dead. Thousands of people have fled to the hills," Herman Laia, an environment official in the south of Nias, told Elshinta radio.

However T.B. Silalahi, an envoy sent by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to assess the destruction, said after flying over Nias that earlier reports may have overestimated the impact.

"I think the devastation is not as massive as previously reported by local officials because they made their report during the night while we have had the opportunity to witness the damage from the air," said Silalahi.

An AFP reporter who flew with the envoy in the chartered aircraft as it passed over Gunung Sitoli said damaged buildings with collapsed roofs were clearly visible.

But he said the level of destruction was nowhere near the scale wrought on the Sumatra coastline by the December 26 tsunamis.

Mar'ie Muhammad, chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross, said the first aid teams landed on Nias and the nearby island of Simeulue in light aircraft.

A military official said a three-metre wave had smashed into a port on Simeulue, causing extensive damage and unconfirmed reports of casualties.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono delayed a planned trip to Australia and was making plans to visit Nias. Canberra promised one million dollars (774,000 US) in aid.

The earthquake evoked bitter memories of the December disaster in which a 9.0-magnitude quake triggered waves 15 metres high that roared across the Indian Ocean at speeds of up to 700 kilometres per hour.

Those waves killed more than 273,000 people including over 220,000 in Indonesia, 30,000 in Sri Lanka, 10,000 in India and 5,000 in Thailand.

Some 10 billion dollars in aid was pledged to affected countries, and governments promised to create a high-tech tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean by mid-2006.

Although no formal warning system was yet in place, the Japan Meteorological Agency and the International Tsunami Information Center contacted countries around the Indian Ocean immediately after detecting the huge quake.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the makeshift warning system had worked well. "Although our warning system is not yet complete, we managed to alert people in enough time for them to seek safety," he said.

Kerry Sieh, a seismologist with the United States Geological Survey, said the quake was one of the top 10 most powerful in the last century.

Tremors shook many parts of Sumatra for three minutes and rocked the neighbouring countries of Malaysia and Singapore where people fled high-rise buildings.

"When the earthquake happened, I rode my motorcycle to the airport because I was very afraid the tsunami would hit again," said university student Heri in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia's devastated Aceh province.

In northwestern Sri Lanka people ran to temples and churches where bells were rung to warn people to run to high ground. In the resorts of southwest Thailand holidaymakers fled hotels as television flashed warnings.

Hundreds of people, with children yanked from their beds and still wearing pyjamas, gathered at the town hall on the Thai resort island of Phuket.

Thai television showed people mounting motorcycles and climbing into pickup trucks as traffic clogged the streets leaving Phuket's Patong beach.

In India's Tamil Nadu state radio stations warned people to move away from the ocean. "People are very tense as they fear that another tsunami is going to hit our coasts. Many of our fishermen have gone to the sea and we are praying for their safe return," Xavier Lawrence, a priest in the town of Kanyakumari, told AFP.

The quake caused tsunami alerts as far away as the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and Madagascar, which is over 4,000 kilometres from the epicenter.

Indonesians happy battlers: Survey

Jakarta Post - March 30, 2005

Hera Diani, Jakarta -- While media reports often focus on doom and gloom -- price hikes and the rampant corruption, poor investment climate and widespread social injustice and poverty in the country -- a recent national survey made public on Tuesday revealed that most Indonesians are a happy, content lot, who are positive about the future.

Conducted by the US-based International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), the survey showed that 81 percent of Indonesians assessed their family's quality of life as good or very good.

The generally positive view was prevalent throughout society and even 73 percent of those at the lowest socio-economic level said their quality of life was good.

The vast majority of Indonesians (90 percent) also said that they had maintained or improved their quality of life during the past year.

There was also an increased optimism about future conditions, as 47 percent expected their family's quality of life would be better in a year's time, compared to 31 percent in 2003 and 38 percent in 2002.

The survey was conducted between Feb. 7 and Feb. 11, through face-to-face interviews with 2,020 respondents in 33 provinces, including the conflict areas of Aceh, Maluku and Papua.

Using a multi-stage random sampling method, the survey's sampling of error was estimated to be 2.2 percent at 95 percent confidence level.

Aside from questions about the future, the survey covered eight other areas: An assessment of Susilo's administration; opinions on state institutions and leaders, women in parliament, political parties, electoral bodies, the Constitutional Court; regional and local representation and the media.

However, the survey was carried out before the government's decision to increase the fuel prices, which would likely have affected the result.

Since 2001, economic problems have been regularly mentioned by Indonesians in surveys as their main concern.

The recent survey showed that 55 percent of Indonesians cited the increased prices of basic needs as the country's biggest problem, followed by the difficulty to find work (26 percent).

One issue that has lost resonance since the 2003 survey was the perceived lack of security in the country fingered as the nation's biggest problem, which dropped from 13 percent in 2003 to 2 percent this year.

Forty-eight percent of those surveyed felt safer or much safer compared to last year, including those in the conflict areas of Aceh, Maluku and Papua. In 2003, only 27 percent felt this way.

The IFES said one reason for the vastly improved perception of security issues could be the fact that Susilo's government was generally perceived as stronger on security issues than that of his predecessor, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

All in all, almost two-thirds, or 64 percent, of all Indonesians think that the country has been headed on the right track since the 2004 elections.

The most frequently mentioned reasons were the serious efforts from the government to fight corruption (43 percent), improve the security situation (18 percent), economy (13 percent) and a more honest government (12 percent).

KPU urges delay of local polls

Jakarta Post - March 29, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- In line with the recent Constitutional Court decision, the General Elections Commission (KPU) called on the central government on Monday to delay the direct regional elections in order to give minor parties more preparation time.

"Whether minor parties seize the opportunity to participate in the planned local elections is another matter, but both the government and the KPU's regional branches have the obligation to assure them the chance," KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti said.

Last week's Constitutional Court ruling allows minor parties to propose candidates to run in the country's first direct elections of governors, regents and mayors. The court ruled that parties that do not have local council representatives can propose candidates by forming a coalition of small parties that jointly collected 15 percent of the vote in last year's general election.

This decision was made following a request from smaller parties in the regions for the court to review certain articles of Law No. 32/2004 on local administrations.

While the court's latest ruling was applauded by pro-democracy activists, some experts said the limited time available for minor parties to make preparation and form a coalition would make it difficult for them to participate in the important event.

The central government, through a presidential decree, has decided to hold the regional elections in June.

The government is now preparing a government regulation in lieu of law to accommodate the changes made by the Constitutional Court on Law No. 32/2004.

Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf said an expert team was working hard to prepare the regulation so that it could be issued in time and the government would also adjust the schedule for local elections in line with the Constitutional Court decision.

"The regulation in lieu of law will be issued soon after it is completed by the expert team from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights," he said, adding that he and his aides were still discussing how the local elections should be rescheduled.

Government vows to come down hard on pornography

Jakarta Post - March 29, 2005

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- After hearing a report about group masturbation among elementary school students, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the government would soon take extreme steps to stamp out pornography.

"It [pornography] has reached intolerable levels. Do everything in your power to stamp out this problem," the President was quoted as saying by State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs Adhyaksa Dault after a meeting at the Presidential Office on Monday.

Adhyaksa and State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta met with the President to report on plans by their two offices to sign a memorandum of understanding on the eradication of pornography next month.

They said they were also seeking a commitment from Susilo to fight pornography, which they said was damaging the morals of the nation.

Several months ago, Susilo complained about bare navels being shown on television. However, his complaint met with more ridicule than outrage.

During the meeting, Adhyaksa told the President about a group of elementary school students found masturbating together. The minister put the blame on pirated hard-core pornographic VCDs, which are cheap and readily found in most markets.

"After hearing the report, President Yudhoyono looked unhappy. He said that while physical damage could be repaired over time, moral damage could cause the loss of a generation," Meutia said.

The President said on Thursday the country's moral crisis was one of the main impediments to rooting out corruption.

Adhyaksa said the offices of the two state ministers would set up a joint team to deal with pornography. "This problem must be comprehensively dealt with," the minister said.

This means the police and other institutions such as the Ministry of Communications and Information will be represented on the joint team.

Adhyaksa said the police had the authority to conduct operations against the producers, distributors, sellers and purchasers of pornographic VCDs. Both Adhyaksa and Meutia agreed the Ministry of Communications and Information should be represented on the team because pornography involves both the print and electronic media.

Separately, Muslimat Nahdlatul Ulama, the women's wing of the country's largest Islamic organization, welcomed the President's stance against pornography, but said pornography had nothing to do with moral or social issues, Antara reported.

"We are pleased with President Yudhoyono's stance. However, it [pornography] is not moral or social problem ... it is about capitalism and the entertainment industry," said Khofifah Indar Parawansa, the chairwoman of Muslimat and a former state minister for women's empowerment.

The government has been working on a controversial "anti- pornography" bill since last year. The bill has been criticized as repressive and meddling in private affairs.

Man accused of insulting SBY protests trial

Laksamana.net - March 25, 2005

A political activist facing a possible six-year jail sentence for burning a portrait of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono walked out of his trial in Bali on Thursday (24/3/05) in protest against the charges.

The suspect, Wayan 'Gendo' Suardana (29), allegedly burned the president's picture outside the Bali's provincial legislative assembly on December 31 during a demonstration against the government's plan to increase fuel prices.

He was arrested on January 3 and charged under Articles 134 and 136 of the Criminal Code (KUHP), which punish "insulting the president" with a maximum sentence of six years in jail.

The government on March 1 increased fuel prices by average of 29%, saying the move was necessary to reduce spending on costly fuel subsidies and free up funds for development, health and education.

Despite considerable public opposition to the price increases, demonstrations against the hikes have mostly involved students and are yet to attract the masses. But the president is now facing opposition in parliament, where five factions have demanded the policy be reviewed.

Yudhoyono earlier this month instructed authorities not to be heavy-handed in dealing with protests against the increases, but the instruction came too late for Gendo, whose trial commenced on Thursday at Denpasar District Court.

The law on insulting the president was inherited from Indonesia's former Dutch colonial rulers. The original legislation was once used against ex-president Megawati Sukarnoputri's father, founding president Sukarno, during his fight for independence from the Dutch in the 1930s and 40s.

Gendo and his team of lawyers walked out of the trial in protest, saying the charges were based on a relic of Indonesia's colonial era. "If these articles are used against me, I will not take part in this trial. The articles are rubber articles and a colonial legacy," Gendo was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.

His lawyer Agus Sami Jaya said the walkout was in line with Article 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), claiming the article states that a defendant only needs to present for the reading of the verdict. The article actually says no such thing. It merely lists conditions under witnesses have to attend trials.

Following the walkout, presiding judge Made Sudia suspended the trial for 10 minutes, during which time he tried but failed to convince the defendant and his lawyers to come back and attend proceedings.

The judge then adjourned the trial for a week and ordered the prosecution to make sure the defendant will show up. Chief prosecutor Suparta Jaya is yet to read out the charges against Gendo. The file of evidence against the defendant includes a half-burned picture of Yudhoyono.

The walkout was cheered by about 50 student activists, who almost clashed with security forces as they tried to shake the defendant's hand. Gendo's supporters have said he is a casualty of authoritarian politics and called on authorities to instead arrest corrupt officials.

Numerous students were jailed in 2003 after either defacing or burning portraits of then-president Megawati during protests against fuel and utility price increases. The scale of the protests prompted Megawati to toll back the increases.

Fuel price rises have long been a politically sensitive issue in Indonesia, sparking widespread protests and riots in 1998 that hastened the downfall of former dictator Suharto.

Semarang scorcher

In the Central Java capital of Semarang, student protesters on Thursday burned a picture of Yudhoyono, saying his decision to increase fuel price rises was an act of treachery to the Indonesian people.

Gathered outside the provincial legislative assembly, the students also chanted slogans again st Vice President Jusuf Kalla and parliament speaker Agung Laksono. "SBY-Kalla and parliament have betrayed the people," they shouted.

Outside the main entrance of the assembly building, the protesters placed a picture of the president on a black coffin, which was then set alight. Several local officials tried to extinguish fire, but the students continued to pour fuel on the flames until the coffin was incinerated.

The demonstrators carried posters with slogans such as "Crush SBY-Kalla and Agung Laksono", "The president smiles as the price of milk goes up' and 'Fuel goes up, the little people choke'.

About 50 police kept a close eye on the students but made no arrests.

Makassar mutilation

In the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, dozens of student protesters on Tuesday almost clashed with police while attempting to burn a large portrait of the president.

Nimble police quickly extinguished the flames each time the students tried to burn the picture, which led to much pushing and shoving between the two sides.

Frustrated by the police's actions, the students eventually tore the picture to pieces -- an act that angered the police. Noticing the change in the police's demeanor, the students quickly retreated to the nearby campus of University 45.

Surabaya scalding

Student protesters in the East Java capital of Surabaya on Thursday set fire to flags of Golkar Party and the Democrat Party, accusing the parties of inflicting suffering on the public by supporting the fuel price increases. Golkar is led by Kalla, while the Democrat Party is led by Yudhoyono.

The students said the two leaders must resign because they were unsympathetic toward the plight of the people.

The flag burnings were conducted at the campus of Airlangga University and Grahadi Mansion, the latter being the official residence of the province's governor.

Aceh

Aceh's best chance for peace

Radio Australia - March 31, 2005

Indonesia's former chief peace negotiator in Aceh agrees that now is the best, perhaps the only, chance for a peaceful end to the 30 year conflict. Wiryono Sastrohandoyo is a former Ambassador to Australia and was Indonesia's chief negotiator in ceasefire talks with the Free Aceh rebels in 2002. The ceasefire's ultimate failure led to the imposition of martial law resulting in many arrests and deaths in the years following.

Presenter/Interviewer: Karon Snowdon

Speakers: Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, former Indonesia Ambassador to Australia and former chief negotiator in Aceh peace talks.

Snowdon: Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono insists a permanent peace should be possible in the northern province where a civil war has cost an estimated 12,000 lives. He says after the tsunami the Acehnese people are not interested in conflict or in supporting rebels, but want to rebuild.

The military crackdown ordered by former President Megawati in 2003, when Yudhoyono was her security minister, has been held responsible for serious abuses, torture and disappearances accompanied by a virtual media blackout. Even since the tsunami and while a tentative ceasefire was meant to be in place, reports emerged of an ongoing and opportunistic campaign by the military against suspected Free Aceh Movement or GAM members.

Yet the first two meetings in Helsinki between the Government and the self-exiled representatives of GAM are progress in themselves. The third meeting expected soon will tell if there's enough common ground.

Wiryono Sastrohandoyo served as Indonesian Ambassador to Australia for four years from 1996 and was the government's chief negotiator during the 2002 peace talks. He says the role of the military is diminishing but the determination to retain Indonesia's unity is strong throughout the whole society.

Wiryono: I'd like to believe that there has been a change and I think basically the military's role is diminishing. But Indonesia is a young nation and whether it was the 1948 or the 1965 rebellion by the communists, we always crush them. So this crush mindset is there, because we want to keep the nation intact.

Snowdon: So why do you think there's a better chance of success this time around?

Wiryono: Because military operation is not going to resolve the problem. It is a war yes, but it is a war to win the hearts and mind of the people.

Snowdon: The military wasn't winning hearts and minds, if I can interject here.

Wiryono: I understand.

Snowdon: It in fact was hated in Aceh?

Wiryono: Yes, I think it is a problem of implementing an overall strategy, of strengthening the local government, of strengthening the rule of law, and improvement in the social-economic life. You see there is a lot of people in Aceh who are hungry, so my optimism is based on the long-term prospectives... because military operations will not solve the problem.

Snowdon: But in 2003, after the collapse of the process, there was a very sudden or a very quick, strong response by the government and the military with a massive military campaign. Could the same happen again if these current round of talks are unsuccessful?

Wiryono: It's off and on, you know, like in Palestine, even in Northern Ireland. They are talking to each other in Helsinki and I think that that is a sign of hope, if not optimism.

Snowdon: Ambassador Wiryono believes if peace talks are unsuccessful, the former general President Yudhoyono, will be extremely reluctant to restart military actions in Aceh.

Wiryono: The President is a very decent man and he understands the risk of a military operation, that once war is launched, the statesman who launched this war is not anymore (the) master of policy but become the slave of unpredictable and uncontrollable events.

Snowdon: Ambassador Wiryono who is visiting Australia, says Australia's humanitarian response to the December tsunami has speeded up the improvement in the bi-lateral relationship.

As for prosecuting the military top brass for its dirty business dealings in Aceh and the human rights abuses there, he is less optimistic and says another two or three elections -- that's a decade or two, will pass before the rot of corruption is gone, adding democracy is a slow process.

Wiryono: In a situation like that, forces, or I might call it dark forces, that want to return to the old style can still be in operation.

Snowdon: Are they still strong in Indonesia?

Wiryono: I like to believe that it is weakening.

Snowdon: President Yudhoyono doesn't have the luxury of time however when it comes to the murder investigation currently underway into the death of prominent human rights activist Munir. He died on board a Garuda flight to Amsterdam last year and was widely thought to be close to publishing details of the military's dealings in Aceh.

Wiryono: It is a test case, yes, and I hope that they are going to be serious about it. If this one is not exposed, I think their reaction will be very strong. And the president has committed himself to be very forceful in this and they've allowed the questioning of some members of the government.

Snowdon: Are you confident that the real culprits will be brought to book and it won't be a whitewash?

Wiryono: I'd like to be confident, but yes I'm still very uncertain sometimes, to be frank, but we need to resolve it clearly otherwise Indonesia has a bad image in human rights and to change the image you have to change the realities. Otherwise we are not credible.

Aceh rebuilding still needs clear policy framework

Jakarta Post - March 30, 2005

Hera Diani, Jakarta -- The government is being urged to design a clear policy framework for the reconstruction of tsunami- devastated Aceh, particularly one that is based on the participation of the Acehnese people.

A one-day seminar on the rebuilding of Aceh concluded on Monday that the reconstruction plan lacked a solid coordination component and could continue to be sporadic, making it less effective, despite the fact that the government has issued a draft blueprint for the reconstruction phase.

"There has been no detailed framework on how local participation should be carried out. Local people cannot simply be relocated either, unless they want to," urban development expert Marco Kusumawijaya stated during the seminar sponsored by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

A report from the non-governmental organization Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) said that aside from sporadic development, the shortages of construction materials and their high prices have hampered the reconstruction process in Aceh.

Activist Emmy Hafild, from the Civil Society Coalition, said that tsunami victims had a strong will to reestablish their Acehnese community. "Getting back to work is their priority." Some key input came from Sandeep Virmani, from India, representing the NGO Abhiyan. Virmani shared his experiences during the seminar about the reconstruction of Gujarat state after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake devastated eight towns there and killed approximately 25,000 people in January 2001.

The rebuilding process in Gujarat won praise from many, and within six months, the reconstruction teams managed to build 24,000 houses with strong participation of local people.

"The important thing is to create a strong policy framework because it determines the next step. The government only works for governance and regulations. It provides construction materials and technical advice only. The rest is done by people, or NGOs chosen as facilitators," Virmani said.

The Gujarat rehabilitation policy, he said, offered options aimed at fast construction with seismic safety, in which the victims were free to build their own houses based on technical advice from the government on how to establish secure houses.

The policy framework gave two designs for housing participation -- the owner-driven policy and public-private partnership. The previous one enabled victims to build their own houses by paying them back in installments, while the latter allowed them to decide whether to involve NGOs or the government in building their houses.

"For the owner-driven policy, there should be an institutional mechanism to support it," Virmani said.

The mechanism included coordination with banks and NGOs, the establishment of construction material banks, mason training and a technical audit system.

"The prices of construction materials cannot go up, and there should be continuous supplies. That's the function of material banks. It also is aimed at deterring a black market. The technical advisory group, meanwhile, will prevent people from testing a lot of different materials," Virmani said.

Citing the experience in Gujarat, he said, local people were more satisfied when they were allowed to build their houses by themselves.

"The level of satisfaction from people who built their own houses was 91 percent. Some 60 percent of locals whose houses were built by NGOs, meanwhile, wished they had done it themselves," Virmani said.

He went on to add that one of the crucial things was to build links and good coordination between the community, the government and NGOs, especially because there were dozens of NGOs working in Aceh at present.

"The government shouldn't be shy to invite NGOs and name them as facilitators, as well as to identify the good ones among them. The technical audit system must also be able to identify which NGOs do not follow existing regulations," Virmani said.

He observed, however, that there was still a lack of trust between Aceh-based NGOs and Jakarta-based ones, a problem that needed to solved.

Sexual abuse reported rife in Aceh tsunami camps

New York Times - March 26, 2005

Banda Aceh (Reuters) -- Women in Indonesia's devastated Aceh province who lost their homes in the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami face sexual attacks in relief camps, Oxfam said, as it warned of long-term social dislocation.

The Dec. 26 earthquake sent walls of water smashing into Aceh. More than 220,000 were killed or are still missing and, three months after the disaster, half a million are homeless.

In some villages the earthquake and tsunami killed up to four times as many women as men, Oxfam, an international aid group, said after a survey of villages. It said findings were similar in India and Sri Lanka.

"In some villages it now appears that up to 80 percent of those killed were women. This disproportionate impact will lead to problems for years to come," Becky Buell, Oxfam's policy director, said in an Oxfam report calling for more effort to protect women. "We are already hearing about rapes, harassment and forced early marriages."

Saturday marked three months since the disaster, which killed an estimated 182,000 people around the Indian Ocean with a further 106,000 reported missing. Aid pledges from around the world have topped $5 billion.

Saturday, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla presented to Acehnese leaders a draft 40 trillion rupiah reconstruction plan over the next five years, designed to get the province back on its feet.

Indonesia has set March 26 as the end of its relief phase, saying a master plan was now needed to guide the massive reconstruction work and work by aid agencies in Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, needed to be coordinated.

No men to protect them

Women's activists in Aceh said most camps for tsunami survivors did not have facilities segregated by sex, and men and women from different families often sleep under the same tent.

"Many female survivors who lost their male relatives also sleep in these tents and they do not have protection. Rapes then happen and after that the women are put into some sort of exile so that people won't talk," said Wanti Maulidar, head of Women's Solidarity of Aceh.

"When we asked the community elders, they said the men and women performed sexual acts on the basis of mutual consent."

Oxfam said the gender imbalance needed to be factored into reconstruction -- as women feared they would face more work to look after extended family and pressure to have more children.

Other tsunami-hit nations such as Sri Lanka faced the same issues but Oxfam said there were variations, such as the absence of alcohol abuse from staunchly Muslim Aceh.

In southern Sri Lanka Saturday, Buddhist monks in saffron robes marked three months since the tragedy by laying out 2,500 oil lamps in the coastal village of Peraliya, where the tsunami slammed into a train.

Around 20 monks will chant ancient mantras all through the night in preparation for a bigger alms giving ceremony on Sunday. More than 1,000 people on board the train and hundreds more who lived nearby were killed.

Reconstruction plans

Indonesia plans a new agency to coordinate the reconstruction of Aceh, which some say could go to $5 billion or more with more than 100,000 homes needed.

At a meeting with Acehnese leaders, Planning Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati promised to allow people to return to their former land -- putting aside a controversial plan for a 1.2 miles buffer zone between houses and the ocean. The buffer zone idea had upset survivors who feared they would have to battle to prove ownership and gain compensation for their former homes.

Indrawati said compensation was on offer but people who insisted on returning to their old land could do so.

"There will be no coercion on the people to move. But if their area is really dangerous, it is required for the area to have an escape plan, an escape route," she said.

The draft plan is to be reviewed by Acehnese officials, academics and clergy before going to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for him to sign.

Indonesia officials said, contrary to some suggestions, foreign aid agencies would not be barred from the reconstruction work but the government would study the resources and capabilities of the groups for a further month.

"We don't want duplication ... There is no such thing like we will be denying entry for any NGO. But we will decide whether they should merge or stay under their own umbrella," said Chief social welfare minister Alwi Shihab, who is in charge of post- tsunami relief and reconstruction.

Thursday, the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, left Aceh after Jakarta commented that its scope of work, which includes giving asylum, was not suited in a province where government troops and separatist rebels have fought for decades.

Nationalist politicians in Indonesia have been edgy over the heavy foreign presence in Aceh, especially in separatist areas.

Acehnese want foreign volunteers to stay

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2005

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh -- Three months after the tsunami hit Aceh on Dec. 26, many Acehnese dread the departure of foreign aid workers, as they are not yet confident of making it on their own.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab, who heads the relief effort, previously set a deadline for non-relevant foreign aid groups to leave the province by March 26, as reconstruction work would then start.

However, this month the government extended the deadline for all foreign humanitarian aid agencies to continue their relief work in Aceh by up to 60 days, with April 27 set as the deadline for agencies to register, as well as to outline their plans and the details of their financial support.

"We still need foreigners' assistance," Ramlah, a 45-year-old Acehnese man, who has been staying in Lamkruet village, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He said displaced people lacked a reliable clean water supply and enough doctors, as well as other assistance. "They, the foreigners, treat us better than the government has done," Ramlah said.

He said he had been cared for in a makeshift hospital, set up in tents by foreign medical teams, and compared to community health centers or Zainoel Abidin General Hospital there had been much less red tape.

Many survivors are not convinced of the government's capabilities in assisting Aceh. "When the Australian army was overseeing the clean water supply, the water was really good. But now, it's being run by the Indonesian Red Cross, it smells of chlorine," complained 37-year-old Nazariah, a Lamlagang village resident, who regularly collects water from the setup in Jembatan Pante Pirak area, Banda Aceh.

Some survivors at Lhok Nga's camp 85 had seen the foreigners as their protectors. They felt that the foreigners' presence meant Indonesian Military soldiers could not just "do as they liked" while searching for Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Government efforts to assist tsunami survivors have taken many forms, but having endured conflict in the province for years, many Acehnese are more willing to trust foreigners.

"We like the foreign volunteers, they help us -- and Aceh -- with all their hearts," said a man living in a displaced persons camp.

Head of Lamteungoh village in Peukan Bada district, Baharuddin, requested that the foreign volunteers stay, and that financial aid be directly distributed to the people, not through the government. "We still need your (foreign volunteers) help, don't leave us," he said.

Such calls were recognized by United Nations (UN) special envoy Erskine Bowles, who pledged that the UN would not leave until reconstruction of the tsunami-hit areas was complete.

The UN deputy special envoy for tsunami recovery, who arrived in Aceh on Thursday before leaving on Friday, toured the devastated west coast area via helicopter, meeting survivors as well as foreign aid workers.

Bowles said he could understand the government's decision on the presence of foreign volunteers or agencies in Aceh.

"It makes sense that all foreigners can stay until April 26, 2005. In a month's time, the government will register those agencies that have good working programs," he said.

He said he would monitor the distribution of relief funds in Aceh to ensure transparency and accountability, so that the money would reach those most in need.

Bowles praised the enormous progress made over the last three months, saying that the UN and donor countries had not lost their enthusiasm to help.

"Yes, there have been glitches; yes, there have been mistakes; yes, we have taken two steps back, four steps forward -- that is going to happen in a disaster of this magnitude. But we have accomplished a great deal."

Blueprint completed, Aceh reconstruction set to start

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2005

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- The reconstruction of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and the surrounding tsunami-stricken areas will be able to start in the immediate future now that the government has completed the final draft of its blueprint for rehabilitation in the province.

The blueprint, to be enshrined in a presidential regulation, should pave the way for donor countries to start disbursing their pledges to money to help finance the program.

State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani Indrawati said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had agreed to the blueprint and tasked Vice President Jusuf Kalla to fly to Aceh on March 26 to make the necessary preparations.

"The blueprint will act as our guidelines for redeveloping Aceh. The government is now preparing the necessary legal framework to make the blueprint workable," said Mulyani during a press briefing after a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

To ensure coordination during the implementation stage, Mulyani said, the government would soon issue a presidential regulation on the establishment of a special executive agency for Aceh. The members of the agency are currently being selected by the government.

The blueprint consists of 12 books -- one covering the reconstruction master plan and the remaining 11 setting out the details of the individual programs.

All in all, the blueprint provides a comprehensive, wide-ranging redevelopment program, with four important sectors being prioritized -- the community, economy, infrastructure, and administrative institutions.

In addition, it will also provide guidelines regarding the disbursement of the funds and accountability, with the state budget, and donor countries and agencies being the main sources of the funds.

"Based on the blueprint, funding assistance from foreign donors is subject for government approval aside from a letter of notice. The government will put a number of systems in place for the executive process," said Mulyani.

The donors can put their money into trust funds managed by committees of trustees consisting of representatives of the government and the donors, who have to approve the disbursement and use of funds. The donors can also directly disburse funds for reconstruction programs with the government's approval.

Mulyani said that assistance funds would need to be first registered with the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), before being collected by the Ministry of Finance and channeled to executive agency.

Aside from the Rp 4.6 trillion (US$494 million) spent by foreign donors during the relief program, donor countries and agencies had pledged to disburse a total of Rp 66.2 trillion to assist with reconstruction. Most of the pledges have yet to be disbursed, pending the completion of the blueprint.

The costs of reconstruction, according to the blueprint, will reach an estimated Rp 41.1 trillion over the next five years, Mulyani said. This is lower than the Rp 45 trillion estimated earlier. "The estimated cost is not definite yet. It is still subject to changes in the immediate future," she said.

To help ensure accountability, another independent agency or a board would be established to oversee and monitor the whole process. "We are soon going to set up an agency or a board tasked with overseeing the reconstruction process so that remains free of corruption. "Members of the agency will include state auditors as well as independent auditors," said Mulyani.

Soldier gets three month for beating activist

Jakarta Post - March 24, 2005

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh -- A Banda Aceh military court on Wednesday sentenced Capt. T. Syuib Mahmud to three months jail for assaulting activist Farid Faqih, who is currently in custody for allegedly stealing donated items destined for tsunami victims in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Presiding judge Maj. Hulwani found Syuib guilty as charged. The sentence was a month less than that requested by the military prosecutor.

The defendant, accompanied by his three lawyers Capt. Sutisna, Capt. Irham and First Lt. Rizki Guntur Hidayatsyah, said he would appeal the decision. Syuib told journalists that the decision was unfair since he was just trying to look after aid donations that were the property of the state.

The incident happened when the relief materials from the military officers' wives association, Dharma Pertiwi, arrived by plane at the Iskandar Muda Air Base in the Blang Bintang area just outside of Banda Aceh. Capt. Syuib, a military medical officer, logged in and received the donations.

However, he claims that when he got back from reporting the aid's arrival to the Indonesian military operational command on the base, the containers were gone. Syuib said that he eventually discovered that the supplies had been loaded onto two trucks and then taken to a warehouse.

Syuib said that he was outraged, claiming that Farid, who is in Aceh along with other NGO activists, working in partnership with the UN's World Food Program, was responsible for taking the aid away. After an argument, Farid was severely beaten.

"I don't accept three months [jail], not even a month. What I did was protecting state property that was stolen by other people," he said.

Hulwani, with two other judges Maj. Marwan Suhandi and Maj. Suryadi Samsir, said in their decision that the defendant intentionally assaulted Farid.

Farid is the coordinator of Government Watch (GOWA), a non- governmental organization that acts as an anticorruption watchdog, and was named a suspect in the matter of the missing aid.

Separatists milking aid: Indonesia

Australian Associated Press - March 24, 2005

Indonesia says it will provide evidence to Canberra that Australian-funded aid groups are helping separatists in Aceh and Papua.

At a recent meeting of Indonesian and Australian ministers in Canberra, the federal government agreed to investigate Indonesian concerns that Australian non-government organisations were secretly supporting pro-independence activities in Jakarta's two most restive provinces. Indonesia said it would back its claims.

Hamzah Thayeb, the director of East Asia and Pacific Affairs at the Indonesian foreign ministry, said police and other agencies would supply proof soon, forcing Australia's government to take action.

"There is certain information, indications, that certain NGOs operating here and funded by the Australian government are doing these sorts of activities," he told AAP. "We are getting that information together and coordinating with other agencies."

Indonesia has in the past pointed the finger at the aid wing of Australia's union movement, known as Australian People for Health Education and Development, or APHEDA. Past APHEDA reports have acknowledged the agency "campaigns in support of independence in West Papua".

Catholic aid agencies in Papua have also drawn Jakarta's ire, despite Australian government regulations barring taxpayer-funded aid agencies from taking part in politically "partisan" activities in other countries.

But aid groups have been accused of breaking those rules with "grey area" programs providing voter education, which Jakarta says sometimes stray into encouraging separatism under the guise of political and civil rights.

The issue threatens to sour steadily improving relations since the Bali bombing in 2002. The ties will reach a new high at the end of this month when new Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visits Canberra.

Many Indonesians believe Australia has a secret agenda to destabilise and break apart the island archipelago, and point to Australia's support for East Timor's independence in 1999.

APHEDA has in the past denied running programs in support of separatist movements in Indonesia, although it has admitted passing on reports from pro-independence groups in Papua to human rights activists overseas.

At the ministerial meeting, senior Australian ministers reiterated Canberra's support for Indonesia's territorial integrity and said they did not support secessionist movements. Australia backed the Indonesian government's plan for special autonomy in Papua and Aceh "as the best way of meeting the needs of local communities within the context of a stable and unitary state of Indonesia", they said.

West Papua

Formation of regional army force in Papua questioned

Kompas - March 30, 2005

Jakarta -- The plan of the Indonesian National Army to form a Regional Army Force in Merauke -- West Papua and the plan to add a third division of Army Strategic Force Reserve in West Papua is considered as disturbing the efforts to build human rights and conflict resolution in that region.

That was the statement of the National Solidarity for Papua (SNUP) which was addressed to the press on Tuesday (29/3) in Jakarta. The statement was in response to the Indonesian TNI Commander, Gen Endriantono Sutarto who announced that in the near time the TNI will form 22 Regional forces all over Indonesia including West Papua.

SNUP -- which was represented by Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Emmy Sahertian, Fendinand Tetro Nasira, Ori Rahman, and Andy D Manoby- stated that the reason proposed by the TNI Commander did not make any sense.

Endriartono said that the addition is to fulfill the lack of personnel in West Papua (which its geographical size is 3,5 times Java island) and to secure the border of RI and PNG and (also) to secure and anticipate the threats from three directions in the sea of the Indonesian archipelago, and to mobilize personnel easily to an area which need to be strengthened.

Beside disturbing human rights efforts and conflict resolution in West Papua, SNUP viewed that the placement of the army forces massively contrast with the efforts to establish West Papua as a peaceful Zone which is what most of West Papuan people have always wanted. SNUP is pushing for the cancellation of the plan.

Formation of regional army force in Papua questioned

Kompas - March 30, 2005

Jakarta -- The plan of the Indonesian National Army to form a Regional Army Force in Merauke -- West Papua and the plan to add a third division of Army Strategic Force Reserve in West Papua is considered as disturbing the efforts to build human rights and conflict resolution in that region.

That was the statement of the National Solidarity for Papua (SNUP) which was addressed to the press on Tuesday (29/3) in Jakarta. The statement was in response to the Indonesian TNI Commander, Gen Endriantono Sutarto who announced that in the near time the TNI will form 22 Regional forces all over Indonesia including West Papua.

SNUP -- which was represented by Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Emmy Sahertian, Fendinand Tetro Nasira, Ori Rahman, and Andy D Manoby- stated that the reason proposed by the TNI Commander did not make any sense.

Endriartono said that the addition is to fulfill the lack of personnel in West Papua (which its geographical size is 3,5 times Java island) and to secure the border of RI and PNG and (also) to secure and anticipate the threats from three directions in the sea of the Indonesian archipelago, and to mobilize personnel easily to an area which need to be strengthened.

Beside disturbing human rights efforts and conflict resolution in West Papua, SNUP viewed that the placement of the army forces massively contrast with the efforts to establish West Papua as a peaceful Zone which is what most of West Papuan people have always wanted. SNUP is pushing for the cancellation of the plan.

Foreigners suspected of supporting separatist movement

Kompas - March 26, 2005

Jakarta -- Indonesian House of Parliament Technical Delegation for Inter-parliamentarian Bilateral Cooperation warned the government to take serious preventive actions towards the separatist tendencies in the Province of Papua.

The warning was addressed after the delegation visited the US Congress from the 25th February to the 5th March 2005 where they received information that there are efforts from members of the US Congress to support the independence of West Papua.

Efforts to support the independence of West Papua were inspired by Congressman Eni H Faleomavega and was supported by around 28 Congress members and groups from territorial nations in the Pacific and Africa.

Member of the Inter-parliamentarian Bilateral Cooperation, Angelina Sondakh from Democratic Party (F-PD) who was a member of the delegation reported the issue in the plenary meeting of the Indonesian House of Parliament on Thursday (24/3).

"Preventive actions are needed to be taken against the effort to support the West Papua independence before the problem becomes the main issue and becomes prominent at the international surface level." said Angelina, member of parliament from Central Java Electoral Regional (Region VI) in the plenary meeting.

In their report, the delegation also reported that when they met with Congressman Eni who is a US Congress member from American Samoa, he questioned them about West Papuan territory which has not got its independence from Indonesia.

The Congressman compared West Papua conditions, which used to be the Dutch colony with the conditions of East Timor, which used to be the Portugal colony and East Papua [PNG], which used to be British colony. The later two nations have got their independence.

They said "The Congressman also express his worry about the illegal logging in West Papua which he thought as an evidence of the Indonesian colonialism.

Comprehensive approach

Another member of the Inter-parliamentarian Bilateral Cooperation delegation, Effendi MS Simbolon, who was also taking part in the visit, explained that the Indonesian delegation had explained to the US Congress that in 1969 an Act of Free Choice had been conducted in West Papua. The result of the Act of the Free Choice was that the people of West Papua voted to join Indonesia.

The delegation also explained that the people of West Papua have been placed as an integral part of the nation who have the same degree and position as other Indonesian citizens, (one) even become member of the Cabinet.

However, Mr Simbolon said that in the future comprehensive actions must be taken to handle West Papua. In this way Indonesia will not lose (have something stolen) like what has happened with East Timor.

"The view of Congressman Eni can influence the view of the US Congress. This is dangerous. In the East Timor Case, only one Congress member could defeat us [made us feel cornered]", said Effendi who is (also) a member of the Indonesian Struggle Democratic party from DKI Jakarta Electoral region (region I).

He also read that the foreign intervention in West Papua is very big, beginning from the government of New Zealand, Australian Parliament, until the nations in Pacific regions and Africa who feel that they are one ethnic group with the West Papuans.

Therefore, Effendy suggested that the welfare of the people of West Papua must be taken into consideration seriously. The government must implement special autonomy in West Papua seriously.

Show of force

However, the son of the Indonesian veterans (MS Simbolon and Martha br Tobing) said that defence force need to be increased. He supports a show of force of a strategic army division reserve in West Papua. The role of the army (TNI) is not repressive but preventive.

"Even the United States who has an advanced nation, in their white book, it is said that they allocated two divisions of their personnel in two of their states, Alaska and Hawaii. These two states have different ethnics. Thus, although Hawaii and Alaska people are already enjoy a welfare life, the US keeps alert and they do not want to lose [have something stolen]", he said. (SUT)

Kostrad to establish base in Papua

Sinar Harapan - March 26, 2005

Jayapura -- Major-General Nurdin Zainal, commander of the Trikora/XVII division, has announced that Kostrad, the Army Strategic Command will set up a base in Timika District, Papua in the very near future.

He said that Timika has been chosen as the base camp for Kostrad because C140 Hercules aircraft can land there. At times when troop reinforcements are needed in a hurry, Timika is the most strategically placed location.

Kostrad units will be located in Papua because the three battalions are already in place, according to Nurdin, plus the additional three organic battalions being prepared for West Papua (Battalion 754 in Wamena, Battalion 755 in Merauke and Battalion 756 in Timika) are considered as not being adequate.

Between now and 2014, more battalions will be sent to Papua, in addition to the three organic battalions already there, each with a larger number of troops than normal. Battalions in Papua will consist of 1,111 personnel (a battalion normally consists of at most 800 men).

In addition there will be a central unit of men, composed of Kostrad forces consisting of brigades and, below the brigades, three or four battalions.

In addition, according to normal practice, when Kostrad troops are used, they are usually backed up by support combat regiments and service units.

It is hope, said Nurdin, that the additional troops will mean that Papua can handle its own defence, without calling for reinforcements from the centre. This means that for the purposes of defending this huge island, there will be six battalions reinforced by KOSTRAD troops. But this will not be sufficient, bearing in mind that the territory is three and a half times the size of Java,' said Nurdin. The future programme will ensure that there are sufficient troops in Papua, he said.

He said this build up of troops will incur huge costs at a time when the state finances are not in good shape. The TNI only receives 34 per cent of the funding it needs from the budget for minimal requirements. This means that the build up of troops in Papua will have to conform with available funding.

He said that there were no plans to set up a new Kodam (the military command normally created at provincial level) based in Manokwari, capital of the new province of West Irian Jaya Province. He said it was sufficient to have only one Kodam in Papua, but the number of Korems and Kodims (district and sub- district commands) will be increased.

[Translation from Tapol.]

Inauguration of West Irian Jaya council protested

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- A 23-member delegation from the Papua provincial legislative council is protesting the installment of the controversial West Irian Jaya council.

Paskalis Mossu, the deputy chairman of the Papua provincial legislature, said on Friday the move by Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'aruf to issue a decree on the inauguration of the West Irian Jaya council showed the central government's lack of seriousness in implementing full special autonomy status for Papua.

"Papuan people have fully supported President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his government for his strong commitment to implementing the Law No.

21/2001 on special autonomy, to suspend the West Irian Jaya council, and encourage the immediate establishment of the Papua People's Council (MRP) to tackle the West Irian Jaya issue. However, all these political commitments have evaporated after Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf issued a decree on the inauguration of the West Irian Jaya provincial legislature recently and as many as 25 of 44 members of the provincial legislature were inaugurated by the chief of the West Irian Jaya High Court on Thursday," he said.

The creation of West Irian Jaya province has triggered conflicts between Papua people and security forces.

At least three people were killed and dozens of others were injured in clashes between supporters and opponents of the establishment of the new province in 2003.

The previous president Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a controversial decree in 2003, which effectively implemented Law No. 45/1999 on the division of Papua into three provinces: West Irian Jaya, Central Irian Jaya and Papua.

The controversy led to a judicial review by the Constitutional Court, which issued an ambiguous decision.

The Court annulled in November of last year certain chapters of Law No. 45/1999 which would make any division of Papua unconstitutional because it went against the special autonomy law. The court, however, also recognized the existence of West Irian Jaya province because it already had an operating central administration, a legislature and four elected members to the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) in Jakarta.

The partition of Papua has seen by some as an effort by the central government to divide and conquer the province, where a low-level secessionist movement has been simmering since the 1960s.

Paskalis said he and his delegation were in Jakarta to consult with the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Finance Jusuf Anwar, and House of Representatives leaders in line with the ongoing preparations for the MRP election scheduled for June.

Yan Ayomi, chairman of the Golkar Party faction at the Papua provincial legislature, said legislators were disappointed with the central government's move to quietly support the creation of a separate political institution in West Irian Jaya.

"This is a strong indication that Jakarta is not serious in resolving the Papua issue and the Home Ministry and its high- echelon officials have engaged in supporting the political process in West Irian Jaya to make money. Papua has financially nurtured West Irian Jaya but it has also received development funds from the central government in running the public administration," he said.

Paskalis said the delegation has agreed to call for a meeting involving all elements in Papua and call on the provincial legislature to hold a special plenary session. The session would have two main agenda; to return the special autonomy rule to Jakarta and to propose a no-confidence motion in central government, he said.

Military ties

Dubya's retreat on Indonesian human rights

Jakarta Post - March 28, 2005

Brad Simpson, Washington, D.C. -- There is a bitter irony to the Bush Administration's announcement in late February that it will restore military training for the Indonesian armed forces, which came just days before the State Department's annual human rights report charged that in 2004 "security force members murdered, tortured, raped, beat, and arbitrarily detained civilians."

Just as surely as it used the attacks of Sept. 11 to enlist authoritarian and human-rights abusing regimes in the so-called "war on terror," the Bush Administration is now exploiting the tragedy of the Asian tsunami to expand military ties with Indonesia. If we are serious about advancing reform in Indonesia, Congress and the American public should oppose such a move.

Congress first restricted International Military and Educational Training (IMET) for Indonesia in 1992 following the massacre of more than 270 unarmed civilians in Dili, the capitol of then Indonesian-occupied East Timor.

Over the next several years, Congress further restricted most forms of military assistance in response to clear evidence of Indonesian military participation in human rights abuses.

The Clinton Administration finally cut military ties with Jakarta entirely in September 1999, after the Indonesian Army and its paramilitary proxies murdered an estimated 1,500 people and burnt much of East Timor to the ground following the territory's vote for independence in a UN-sponsored referendum.

After 1999, Congress demanded that Indonesia assert civilian control over the military and hold accountable military officers responsible for crimes against humanity in East Timor before military aid could be resumed. In a series of ad-hoc trials condemned by the State Department, however, Indonesian judges proceeded to acquit every military officer brought before them, sending a clear signal that Jakarta did not believe in accountability for human rights crimes.

Following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the US government authorized the provision of "anti-terrorism" assistance to the Indonesian Armed Forces, using the terrorist attacks to justify partial re-engagement with the military. Increased involvement with the Armed Forces has not led to a reduction in abuses.

In May 2003, Indonesia broke off internationally mediated peace talks with separatist forces in Aceh, launching a massive military operation in which several thousand Acehnese were killed, many of them civilians. No ranking Indonesian military officers have been held to account for crimes that include the killing, torture, arbitrary detention and even rape of civilians.

In West Papua, Indonesian security forces continue to commit serious abuses, especially in areas near concessions run by Freeport McMoran, a US-based mining company. In August 2002 two Americans teachers working for Freeport in the town of Timika were killed when gunmen opened fire on a caravan of vehicles. The FBI has praised Indonesian cooperation in the case, though no one has been arrested and Indonesian police concluded that members of local Kopassus (Special Forces) units were likely behind the killings.

In spite of this sordid record, Bush Administration officials claim that Indonesia has met the sole Congressional condition for the resumption of military training. That extremely narrow condition merely requires cooperation in investigating the Timika killings.

While Indonesia has doubtless made progress on many fronts, most importantly by holding free elections last year, the Armed Forces willingness to hold itself accountable for human rights abuses is a crucial litmus test of its commitment to democratic reform. So far the signs have not been encouraging.

Concern about the US re-engagement with the Indonesian military is not confined to Congressional critics such as Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Patrick Leahy, who agues that the resumption of IMET "will be seen by the Indonesian military authorities who have tried to obstruct justice as a pat on the back." Writing in the conservative Weekly Standard on Feb.

28, analyst Ellen Bork cautioned that US military aid should be conditioned to a strategy "for advancing democracy and human rights in Indonesia."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice claims that US military training will imbue Indonesian officers with respect for human rights and civilian control, but the history of US engagement with the Indonesian military suggests that the opposite is true. Since the late 1950s, when training began, US-trained soldiers and officers have been involved in the murder and torture of hundreds of thousands of civilians in East Timor, Aceh, West Papua and other parts of the Indonesian archipelago.

Military engagement has reinforced, not reduced, the power of the Armed Forces in Indonesian society, who view increased assistance as Washington's stamp of approval for brutal military practices.

Indonesian defense minister Juwono Sudarsono is visiting Washington this week for talks with US officials. Congress should make clear to both Minister Sudarsono and the Bush Administration that increased military assistance will only come after genuine accountability for past and present human rights abuses.

Military aid is both carrot and stick, but, more important, a potent political symbol of the values that the US holds to be important in foreign policy making. Increasing military assistance to Indonesia at this time will send a clear and damaging signal to the rest of the world that respect for human rights is but another casualty of the recent tsunami and the broader war on terror.

[The writer is an assistant professor at Idaho State University and a Research Fellow with the National Security Archives in Washington, DC, specializing in US-Indonesian relations.]

Human rights/law

NGOs doubt independent elections despite court ruling

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Despite the recent Constitutional Court ruling, observers are doubtful about whether the direct elections for governors, regents and mayors will be free from central government intervention.

The Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) and the National Commission of Law Reform (KRHN) said the court failed to restrict the role of the central government in its verdict of a judicial review filed by a group of non-governmental organizations, including Cetro. "(On the surface) the Constitutional Court looks committed to encouraging independent local elections to help develop a full-fledged democracy in the country. But the judges have refrained from exercising their interpretative right to declare the local elections part of the general elections," Cetro executive director Hadar Gumay told a discussion here on Thursday.

As a consequence of the court's indecisiveness, the Regional Elections Commission (KPUD) is subject to regulations drafted by the central government, instead of the General Elections Commission (KPU), Hadar said.

The Constitutional Court said in its ruling the KPUDs were part of the KPU, therefore the former answered to the latter. The ruling amends Law No. 32/2004 on local government that says the KPUDs are responsible to regional legislatures. It is the KPUD, therefore, which holds the authority to screen the electoral candidates.

The court also dropped an article in the law which banned parties that failed to meet electoral thresholds from competing in the local elections.

Landmark direct elections for governors, mayors and regents are scheduled to take place in 11 provinces and 215 regencies and mayoralties nationwide between June and July. The local elections follow the legislative and presidential elections last year that the international community praised as the most democratic ever held in the country.

The government has been preparing a regulation in lieu of a law to implement the Constitutional Court's decision and would review the government regulation issued recently to enforce the regional administration law.

KRHN Chairman Firmansyah Arifin said the Constitutional Court had indirectly accepted the government's interference in local elections by delivering an ambiguous verdict.

"The central government could play a decisive role in the local elections not only through the government regulation to enforce the regional administration law, but through the Desk Pilkada ad hoc committee," he said.

The committee, which involves government officials, has been set up to help the regions administer the local elections. Firmansyah predicted the local elections would spark numerous problems and conflicts among candidates and their supporters due to the unclear rules of the game and the absence of KPU involvement in the local elections.

Refly Harun, an assistant to the Constitutional Court, said the court's ambiguous verdict reflected the difference in perception among judges about local elections.

He suggested the government regulation recognize the KPU authority to support the KPUDs in organizing the local elections.

"Of the most importance is that the public, especially NGOs, should closely monitor the regulation to ensure the role of the KPU in local elections," he said.

Kontras continues to offer hope to victims

Jakarta Post - March 29, 2005

Evi Mariani, Jakarta -- Although the grief was over, the feeling of loss was still palpable during the seventh anniversary of Kontras last week, almost six months after Munir's murder.

The anniversary was special, because it was the first anniversary without Munir, the founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

"We feel that our work poses more challenges without him. He was our inspiration, he was our leader and friend. He often gave us insights when we were facing problems," Usman Hadi, coordinator, said after the modest celebration at the office on Jl. Borobudur, Central Jakarta. "However, without him we are learning how to remain confident, working on our own feet," he added.

Within the short span of seven years, Kontras has managed to remain in the forefront of fighting justice for victims of violence and the families who lost their children or spouses due to forced disappearances.

It has also become home for those people, who visited the anniversary aboard a rented minibus, to meet friends and other victims. "We've been helping investigate a variety of cases," Usman said.

Three largest cases on Kontras' hands are, first, Tanjung Priok, where the military crushed a popular movement and arrested some local Muslim leaders in 1984. Several Tanjung Priok residents were reported killed and lost due to the violence.

The second case is on victims of the killing and the forced disappearance of members of the Indonesian Communist Party and other people who were accused of having involvement with the party.

The third concerns advocacy for victims of violence and the shooting in Talangsari, Lampung in 1989.

Apart from these three, Kontras also supports families of victims of forced disappearances during the attack against the then Indonesian Democratic Party headquarters in Jakarta on July 27, 1996.

Kontras' works focus on gathering data and statements from witnesses. The data now fills a six square meter room at the office. "There are still many papers containing important information on cases in another room," Usman said.

Started with only five volunteers, Kontras now boasts more than 20 full-time staff members and hundreds of volunteers who provide information and network every time Kontras needs data. "We have provided initial data for Komnas HAM [the National Commission for Human Rights] to investigate further," Usman continued.

Komnas HAM's role in bringing state violence perpetrators is crucial; therefore, Kontras' progress depends largely on Komnas HAM's work. "But the key to make Komnas HAM really work for justice is the political will of the government and the House of Representatives," Usman said.

Meanwhile, as the House and the government are kept busy with other problems, Kontras continues to become a "home" for the victims, giving them a ray of hope that one day the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

Munir case a domestic matter: Minister

Jakarta Post - March 28, 2005

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Eva C. Komandjaja, Bandung/Jakarta -- International support for Munir's wife, Suciwati, in her struggle to bring the killers of her husband to justice cannot be counted on to push along the domestic probe into the case, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda has said.

Citing the high-profile case as an internal matter for Indonesia, he said Suciwati should put pressure on the police and a fact- finding team if she wanted it solved as soon as possible, instead of seeking foreign support.

Suciwati delivered her testimony at the 61st session of the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights (UNHCHR) in Geneva last Wednesday, telling delegates that a gross human rights violation had taken place in Indonesia against her husband and that the world should pay attention to the case.

Through her testimony, she won the support of international human rights groups in her struggle to bring those responsible for Munir's assassination to justice, as she asked the UNHCR to help push for the trial of the case to reveal the masterminds.

"I've attended many such kinds of meetings and after that we usually don't know what comes out of it, not even a resolution. Sometimes we have too high hopes for uncertain things," Hasan said in Bandung, West Java, on Saturday, where he inspected the final preparations for a golden jubilee commemoration of the Asia-Africa Conference slated for April 24.

"If we want the investigation process sped up, we should monitor what the police and the fact-finding team have done so far, instead of going to Geneva... And that is more realistic," he added.

Hassan said that in a meeting like the UNHCHR session, it was not only delegates of member countries who were given the chance to speak, but also those from non-governmental organizations. "And that's (the Munir case) not an extraordinary thing because there are 1001 issues discussed in the meeting." Munir, co-founder of human rights watchdogs Imparsial and Kontras, was found dead aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight to Amsterdam on Sept. 7, 2004.

An autopsy conducted by Dutch authorities found excessive amounts of arsenic in his body, indicating that he may have been poisoned during the one-hour leg of the flight from Jakarta to Singapore.

The National Police have only charged Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, a Garuda pilot who was on board the plane, over his alleged role in "facilitating" the murder, and forging documents linked to the case.

The police have also questioned two other Garuda executives -- secretary to the chief of pilots Rohainil Aini, and vice president of human resources Daan Ahmad.

The three, including Pollycarpus, are among seven people proposed to the government-sanctioned fact finding team as possible suspects in the murder.

The remaining four are former Garuda director Indra Setiawan and former vice president of corporate security Ramelgia Anwar, as well as two others linked to the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

Sr. Comr. Anton Charlian, chief police investigator in the Munir case, said there were no links found as yet between Rohainil or Daan and the murder.

"We questioned Daan on Thursday and we will continue the questioning of Rohainil on Monday. We're also summoning Indra on Monday," Anton said.

However, he said the investigation process could be smoother now after Dutch authorities handed over documents related to the murder to the Indonesian Embassy in the Netherlands.

"We've heard that all the documents have been delivered to our embassy. These documents were made by the Dutch police when investigating the case after the plane just arrived in Schipol airport," Anton said.

He said a team of police investigators would soon leave for Amsterdam to pick up the evidence, but could not say when.

Anton said the investigators would also question two Dutch citizens, Lie Kian Wang and his wife Lie Fong, who sat near Munir during the flight from Singapore to the Netherlands.

"Now that the mutual legal assistance has been accepted by the Netherlands, we can question them when our police investigators arrive there," he added.

Munir's wife pushes for UNHCR involvement

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2005

Jakarta -- Munir's wife, Suciwati, has won the support of international human rights groups in her struggle to bring those responsible for her husband's assassination to justice, and is pushing for the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights (UNHCHR) to monitor the investigations into the case.

"Delegates, the people of Geneva, and several Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), have expressed their full support. I hope that this support will put pressure on the UN to monitor the investigation and the trial. The UN should push for the trial to reveal and punish the masterminds of this evil scheme," she told The Jakarta Post by telephone from Geneva on Friday.

Suciwati delivered her testimony at the 61st session of the UNHCHR at Geneva, telling delegates that a gross human rights violation had taken place in Indonesia against a defender of human rights, and that the world should pay attention to the case.

"Distinguished Chairperson and delegates, I wish to raise the matter of my husband's death, Munir, an Indonesian human rights defender who died aboard a Garuda Airline's aircraft. He was poisoned... he was killed because of his activities in striving for the promotion and protection of human rights," she told the commission on Wednesday.

"This is why I am bringing this case to this UN session. I am demanding that the international community, especially the members of this commission and the UNHCHR, continuously monitor and put pressure on the Indonesian government to reveal the case in an honest and transparent manner," she told delegates from 53 countries in her closing statement.

She also held a meeting with Makarim Wibisono, an Indonesian diplomat who chaired the commission, discussing the apparent involvement of national intelligence agents in her husband's murder.

"He said that he would do his best to prevent anyone from halting the ongoing investigations or the trial. Let's just wait and see," Suciwati said.

Rafendy Djamin, a coordinator for the Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy, said in a press release that Makarim's support was expected as a commitment to improve human rights in Indonesia.

"We asked Makarim Wibisono to support the investigation into Munir's death and to put it on his political agenda to promote human rights in Indonesia," Rafendy said.

Makarim was elected as the chairman of UNHCHR on Jan. 17 of this year. His appointment is widely expected to help improve the human rights condition in Indonesia.

Munir, one of Indonesia's top human rights campaigners, was killed on board a Garuda aircraft en route to Amsterdam on Sept. 7, 2004. He was poisoned with arsenic. Indonesian authorities, who so far have only named one suspect, have been strongly criticized for the slow progress of the investigation.

Court ruling on local polls hailed

Jakarta Post - March 24, 2005

Jakarta -- The Constitutional Court's decision to allow minor political parties to nominate their own candidates in upcoming direct regional elections was a positive contribution towards the development of the nation's democracy, an expert has said.

Ryaas Rasyid, a professor at the Institute of Public Administration (IIP) and a former minister of regional autonomy, said that the decision would allow more candidates to run in the nation's first-ever direct elections of governors, regents and mayors.

"The Constitutional Court's ruling will give a more democratic flavor to regional elections by allowing small parties to nominate their own candidates," Ryaas told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"But in reality, major parties will still dominate elections because they have the money and a larger political network among eligible voters." He was responding to the Court's decision on Tuesday, which allows minor parties that do not have local council representation to nominate candidates for the positions of governor, major and regent, by forming coalitions with other parties in such a way that they garner 15 percent of votes in the legislature.

The Court made the ruling after a number of leaders of minor parties in the regions, as well as various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), filed a petition for a judicial review of several contentious articles of Law No. 32/2004 concerning regional elections.

Some 215 regions will be holding elections in June of this year to select their executive leaders. It will be the very first time in Indonesia that regional leaders have been directly elected, and is seen as an important step forward in the development of the nation's democracy.

Elsewhere, Ryaas said that the Court's decision would also encourage pro-democracy activists to seek a judicial review of the presidential election law in a bid to allow small parties to also nominate their candidates for the 2009 presidential election.

"Minor parties should be allowed to nominate their own candidates in the next presidential elections," he said.

Ryaas, however, criticized a ruling by the Court that retains the role of the central government in regional elections.

Certain NGOs had previously demanded that the Court annul the central government decree on the regional elections, saying instead that the authority to issue election regulations should be given to the General Elections Commission, which administered last year's presidential and legislative elections.

Activists have argued that the decree allows the President to have a certain influence over the conduct of regional elections.

"The Constitutional Court does not touch on or solve the key problem and, in fact, it has worsened the problem. It apparently favored the government in this case," he said.

"It's a setback because the decree allows the executive body (central government) to be in charge of regional elections," he said.

Another positive decision made by the court, however, was the scrapping of a ruling requiring the provincial office of the General Elections Commission (KPUDs) to be responsible to local legislative councils (DPRD). The Court ruled that the KPUDs should instead report to the KPU.

Experts have said that forcing KPUDs to report to the DPRD, which consists of political parties active in the elections, would run counter to the principles of democracy.

Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'aruf said on Wednesday that the government would draft a regulation in lieu of law to accommodate changes in regional election regulations made by the Constitutional Court.

Labour issues

Employees demand salary payment

Jakarta Post - March 24, 2005

Jambi -- Some 80 employees of financially strapped Berkah Husada Hospital been protesting this week over unpaid salaries for the past four months.

The demands came after all the hospital's employees were suspended indefinitely due to poor revenues.

Responding to the demand, the owner and the hospital's director, M. Irzal, said that the hospital management was committed to paying the employees' salary in the near future, if the hospital got donations.

Irzal said that the hospital was unable to pay their salaries due to poor financial performance.

KL accused of 'fishing' for cheap illegal workers

Jakarta Post - March 24, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Labor exporters have accused Malaysian employers of fishing for cheap illegal workers from Indonesia, with Malaysian government authorities only issuing recruitment permits for a very limited number of foreign workers.

The Malaysian government has so far only issued permits for the recruitment of 57,000 foreign workers, or only two percent of the market demand there.

Secretary-General of the Indonesian Development Employment Agency (IDEA) Djamal Azis said on Wednesday that labor exporters here have been disappointed at the way Malaysian authorities have treated Indonesian workers.

"Malaysian employers are in dire need of Indonesian workers with the ongoing raids taking place to deport illegal immigrants. But they have been reluctant to request foreign workers from their own government because they want to encourage (Indonesian) job seekers to use tourist visas to work in Malaysia," he told The Jakarta Post by telephone.

He said that many construction projects in Malaysia have been suspended and many plantations have been left uninhabited following the crackdown early this month against illegal workers. More than 350,000 Indonesian workers have returned home following the raids and remain jobless due to the absence of official job orders from the Malaysian government.

Djamal said IDEA backed the Indonesian government's position, which has urged workers not to use tourist visas to work in Malaysia because this would make them illegal immigrants.

The government has warned labor exporters against sending illegal workers, warning that it would impose harsh punishments.

Law No. 39/2004 on protection of Indonesian workers overseas imposes a maximum five jail sentence and/or a Rp 350 million (US$37,000) fine against any person or entity found guilty of sending undocumented workers overseas.

The government supports sending properly documented, skilled workers overseas, which will help to minimize labor abuse and bureaucratic extortion. Legal workers are paid between 40 ringgit and 60 ringgit (US$16) per day, while illegal workers are only paid between seven ringgit and ten ringgit per day.

Djamal downplayed the recent threat from Malaysia to recruit more workers from Pakistan amid the ongoing maritime border dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia.

He said most Malaysian employers preferred to employ Indonesian workers because besides being relatively cheap, they also understood Malaysian culture, could speak Malay and had a good attitude to work.

Meanwhile, director-general for labor export at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry I Gusti Made Arka said the government would continue to diversify Indonesia's labor market overseas in an effort to help resolve unemployment at home.

"Besides seeking bilateral agreements with foreign countries that employ Indonesian workers, the government has intensified its lobbying of developed countries to seek job opportunities in their labor-intensive sectors," he said.

Politics/political parties

Golkar gives 'Suara Karya' a makeover

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2005

Jakarta -- After 32 years as the mouthpiece of the ruling Golkar Party during the Soeharto regime, the Suara Karya daily is changing its look and content in a bid to attract more readers.

Golkar, led by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, relaunched the newspaper on Wednesday evening at the Mulia Hotel in Jakarta, vowing not to use the daily to serve its political interests.

"The paper should be acceptable to all elements of society. Our vision is to report the news accurately. The news must not be biased toward the party's interests, even though the paper belongs to Golkar," Edward Seki Soeryadjaya, the new business manager of the paper, said on Tuesday.

"I do not believe anybody is willing to spend thousands of rupiah just to be brainwashed," he added.

Edward, a businessman and a Golkar deputy treasurer, said the paper would no longer serve the party's interests, but would instead focus on attracting policymakers and businesspeople.

He said the 16-page newspaper planned to upgrade the skills of its reporters and eventually expand to 20 pages.

"We will also publish on holidays and add more colored pages to attract a new segment of readers. To do that, we will recruit 30 more journalists to support our editorial staff," said Bambang Soesatyo, the paper's new chief editor.

As the sole owner of the daily, Golkar is authorized to appoint the paper's management. On Feb. 17, Golkar leader Kalla announced that party official Theo L. Sambuaga would be the newspaper's new president director.

Bambang Soesatyo, Theo's deputy in Golkar's information, communication and telecommunications department, was named the paper's new editor-in-chief, replacing Bambang Sudono.

Suara Karya was first published on March 11, 1971, when Golkar was contesting its first general elections. During the Soeharto years, civil servants made up the bulk of the paper's readership, as they were unofficially obliged to buy Suara Karya.

Following the 1998 downfall of Soeharto, the paper's circulation dropped sharply to 3,000 from 300,000.

Edward said the paper now published 80,000 copies daily, a reflection of Golkar's returning popularity. The party received the most votes in the 2004 general election.

Analysts have speculated that Suara Karya could be used to promote Golkar's candidates in upcoming local elections, as the party aims to win 60 percent of regional leadership posts across the country.

Edward, however, said the newspaper would not give free space to Golkar candidates.

"If they want to campaign for themselves through us, they have to advertise, just like other candidates," he said.

Reform drive wanes as critics join Megawati camp

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2005

Dwi Atmanta and M. Taufiqurrahman, Denpasar -- The attempt to challenge Megawati Soekarnoputri's control of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) fizzled on Wednesday after leading figures in the reform-minded group made a last-minute decision to jump on the Megawati bandwagon.

In a move that is likely to deal a severe blow to the opposition group, the most credible candidate to challenge Megawati, her brother, Guruh Soekarnoputra, openly declared his displeasure with the possible formation of a rival PDI-P leadership and the convening of a breakaway congress.

"I personally disagree to a possible breakaway congress or rival central board because it could jeopardize the party's unity. The PDI-P is the manifestation of the people's sovereignty, if it splits the people will also be divided," he said outside the Grand Bali Beach Hotel where the conference is taking place.

Guruh, however, denied speculations that he had been offered a reward by Megawati for his about-face decision.

"I have spoken with Mbak Mega, but it did not concern any possible position that would be accorded to me. I told her that I am not on anybody's side," Guruh said. He felt free to accept or reject any offer from Megawati, he said.

In the early stage of the congress, Guruh pledged that he would challenge Megawati's candidacy, claiming that he had won support from the bulk of the party's local leaders who shared the sweeping reform agenda within the PDI-P.

Another reform-minded figure who initially opposed the possibility of Megawati leading the PDI-P in the future, Roy B.B. Janis, has also began to distance himself from the dissenting group.

He was not present during the meeting of the splinter group, which took place at the Patra Bali resort hotel in Kuta, some 20 kilometers from the venue of the current congress.

A source in the PDI-P said Megawati was unlikely to "punish" Roy, although he "has gone too far", but then said Roy would be unlikely to keep his membership of the party's central board if Megawati was reelected party leader.

Participants of the congress are expected to unanimously reelect Megawati in a plenary session on Thursday, and grant her the powerful prerogative to hand pick her aides for her next five- year term.

Signs of the setback had been visible since the morning, when some 50 regional party functionaries supporting the reform movement arrived at the hotel. They debated among themselves whether to declare a rival party, right after some of them pasted on the wall a red banner, which read PDI-P Reform. The banner was stuck to the wall for just a few minutes, before the majority in the floor demanded that it be brought down.

In the afternoon, hundreds of reform supporters began to stream into the resort compound in a show of solidarity. Some of them staged a musical performance, while the rest were seated outside the meeting room. Among the crowd was former PDI-P Central Java leader Mardiyo, who was dismissed for challenging Megawati's preference of Mardiyanto in the gubernatorial election in 2003.

Inside the meeting room, the audience looked impatient with the reform leaders for wasting their time. The meeting had originally been scheduled to start at 10 a.m., but did not start until after 2 p.m.

"We can't maintain our reform spirit longer if we fail to take a clear stance on whether to hold a breakaway congress or to wage a resistance movement in the ongoing congress," a representative from East Java said.

Their disappointment mounted when they found Guruh was not among the reform leaders who would join them in formulating their opposition movement. "Where is Guruh? Where is he?" yelled some of the reform supporters prior to the start of the meeting.

One of the reform movement initiators, Sukowaluyo Mintoharjo, also avoided talks on a rival congress or a splinter party. "We have to take into consideration the legitimacy and the strength of a breakaway party," he said.

In response to the opposition's move to take legal action against the congress which they deemed illegitimate, Megawati's camp said it planned to fight back.

"Their lawsuit is just a farce as they seek material damages worth only Rp 1,000. I wonder what exactly the true loss (to them) is," PDI-P lawyer Gayus Lumbun said. He added the party leadership was preparing a counter-lawsuit against the reform group.

Mega has to change her 'queen-like stature'

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2005

The internal bickering of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), may deal the major party a massive blow at a time that it is still reeling from a double election defeat last year. Mochtar Buchori, a senior PDI-P advisor, shares his views with The Jakarta Post's Dwi Atmanta and M. Taufiqurrahman on how to rebuild the party in a bid to regain public trust.

Question: Can you tell us more about the ideas for reform within PDI-P? Answer: The ideas have been around for a long time. Since 2000, there has been a need in the PDI-P for a reform drive. Loyalty was paid to an individual, while one of the main characteristics of a modern political party is that has to be civic-oriented.

But what was gaining currency in PDI-P was a cult of personality that prevented it from striving for the people's interests. That is why we need a reform or renewal. However, this idea was never understood by the leaders; it means a certain level of education, something that the party never achieved.

Reform is also important because PDI-P has never had tangible concepts on how to deal with the country's myriad of problems such as education, corruption and poverty. Unless there is a reform, those issues will never be raised within the party and instead, the party is now busy with trivial things like how certain leaders can cling to power.

So this is not about replacing Megawati? To me this is a problem of a system and not of an individual. There are ones who are impatient with change and have blamed Megawati's leadership style as being the source of the problems. If PDI-P wants to become a big party, it has to find new leadership, because Megawati does not understand the problems of the future.

She cannot grasp issues like nationalism in the global setting, which are very different now compared to what she was taught by (her father president) Sukarno. We need a more educated leadership that can relate to the party's past glory, but does not dwell on the past.

Who is the most appropriate leader then, for reform? This will be an uphill battle, and it mustn't be left to old party members, not even Arifin Panigoro, but people like Laksamana Sukardi, Roy BB Janis and Guruh Soekarnoputra.

But the emergence of Guruh indicates that even the reformist camp has failed to dispel the ghost of Sukarno and seems to want to capitalize on his charisma.

Charisma is a rare gift that can't simply be inherited. We should learn from India, they carried on after (the country's founding father) Jawaharlal Nehru's demise. After the great personalities go, we must carry on with ordinary personalities.

(Doing without a charismatic leader) can be done through party education. Look at Nahdlatul Ulama; its young members have outdone (former chairman) Abdurrahman Wahid. Look also at the National Awakening Party (PKB), its young members managed to steer the party without Gus Dur (Abdurrahman). Without Amien Rais, the National Mandate Party (PAN) can get its act together too. But with PDI-P the seeds of democracy are not there yet.

All signs seem to indicate that Megawati will indeed lead PDI-P for the next five years. Is there no way she will respond to reform? If she wants to start reforming things, first she has to abandon this queen-like stature and regal lifestyle... What we need now is real transformation, from semi-feudal to democratic.

Now there are three camps within the PDI-P, those who want to uphold the status quo, the reformist group and what some have called the purification group. The last group wishes to banish the Gang of Three (Pramono Anung Wibowo, Gunawan Wirosarojo and Sutjipto) but think Megawati can stay. The reform group wants more thorough change. The first group is one who will fight for their position until the last gasp. It will depend on each camp to find an amiable solution.

But hasn't all access has been blocked by Megawati's camp? Within the congress, we may not be given access, but we can voice our grievances outside. We also see that the congress is flawed, as it has robbed the democratic rights of party members by reducing the voting rights to local branch representatives.

Won't this friction and possible breakaway only give the advantage to other political parties? That is part of the risk that we have to bear. But the reform group has stated clearly that... reform is to prevent the party's further deterioration. Without it, PDI-P may get less than 10 percent of the votes in the 2009 election.

Aren't the leaders aware of the impending danger? No, because they are blinded by personal interests. Like the ones who sit on the central board now, if they lose their positions now, they will lose everything.

What happens if Megawati gets elected for the 2005-2010 term? I predict that votes will drastically decrease in the 2009 elections. The motivation for her to get reelected as party leader is that she wants to run for president in 2009 election.

In her speech, Megawati spoke about outside interference from a third party, what was she referring to? The real third party is party members who've grown restless. The government is too busy with managing this country, if that is what she was referring to. We're in an era when big personalities are tumbling, Soeharto was the first, Akbar Tandjung and Gus Dur at the NU congress in Boyolali. Will Megawati suffer the same fate? I can only speculate.

Will this transformation issue dwarf other political agendas, like preparations for elections? Whatever happens in this congress, 2005 will be a messy year for PDI-P; if it can manage to get its act together, then it will grow strong in the following years leading to the election. But if it fails, then it will meet its destruction in 2009.

Mega refuses blame for PDI-P woes

Jakarta Post - March 29, 2005

M. Taufiqurrahman and Dwi Atmanta, Denpasar -- Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri defended her achievements over the past five years, saying she was not to blame for the party's disappointing showings in the 2004 legislative and presidential elections.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the PDI-P national congress here on Monday, she said members of the party's central board and leaders of local PDI-P branches were to blame for failing to reach out to voters during the elections.

"I repeatedly told members of the central board and leaders of local PDI-P branches to reach out to the people. However, there were some who turned a deaf ear to my call and forgot about their commitment to fight for the interests of the people," she said.

Megawati said this attitude led to antipathy toward the PDI-P and drove voters to other political parties.

She also said that her position as the incumbent president when the elections took place hurt her chances of winning a full five-year mandate. "Circumstances drove me to make scores of unpopular policies that were aimed at helping the country's economy survive," she said.

Reform-minded members of the PDI-P are seeking to end Megawati's leadership of the party following its poor showing in the elections. Members of this group include PDI-P central board member Roy B.B. Janis, businessman Arifin Panigoro and former state minister for development planning Kwik Kian Gie.

The group, which is backing Megawati's brother, Guruh Soekarnoputra, to take over as head of the party, says Megawati's aloof leadership style has driven away party members and supporters.

Megawati said she welcomed the reform drive, as long as the reformists did not violate the party's standing orders. "A political party without renewal cannot claim to be a democratic institution -- but the idea of reform has to be brought forward through agreed-upon procedures," she said.

Megawati cast doubt over the intentions of the reform camp, saying it was more interested in taking over the party leadership than introducing reforms. "This could be the result of outside interference," she said.

Guruh was present as Megawati delivered her speech. He had originally been excluded from the guests list, before being added on Sunday evening. Prior to the ceremony, Guruh said he would pursue his campaign to take over leadership of the party. He claimed to have the support of 1,000 of the 1,800 participants at the congress with voting rights.

Megawati's speech was delivered to an audience largely devoid of members of the opposition group. Congress organizers have been able to keep supporters of the reform movement away from the venue at the Grand Bali Beach hotel, prompting them to camp outside the heavily guarded hotel.

Congress participants and journalists attending the event have to pass through several security checks said by some to be more thorough than the security measures adopted while Megawati was still president. Cellular phone communication inside the venue is not possible because the signals have been blocked.

Outside of the venue, a minor scuffle occurred on Monday between supporters of Megawati and the reform movement. Riot police and hundreds of civilian guards in traditional Balinese dress immediately stepped in and prevented the spat from escalating.

After the supporters of the reform camp were led away from outside the congress venue, Megawati's supporters became more vocal in their support of the party leader.

The supporters encouraged exiting congress participants to show their support for Megawati.

Although the reform group has vowed to push ahead with its agenda, Kwik made a statement that could cast doubt over that agenda.

"The reform movement is finished. The movement was over when organizers of the congress invited us to attend. Our role is to make the call for change, and now that duty is over," he said after the opening ceremony.

Tension high at PDI-P congress

Jakarta Post - March 28, 2005

Dwi Atmanta and M. Taufiqurrahman, Denpasar -- The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) begins on Monday its six-day national congress, which will likely be highlighted by efforts from the incumbent leader, Megawati Soekarnoputri, to win reelection amid opposition from a reform-minded group.

On the eve of the congress that will be officially opened by Megawati on Monday afternoon, the rivalries have spilled over to the streets of Denpasar, Bali, where supporters of the two camps hoisted banners in support of their respective candidates.

A large picture of Megawati's strongest contender, Guruh Soekarnoputra with a statement "Guruh fights for the common people" sat uncomfortably next to a banner which read "Megawati will keep the party from outside interference." Countless banners bearing such statements were visible along the way from Ngurah Rai International Airport to a luxury hotel in Sanur, which will be the venue for the congress.

Thousands of supporters from opposing camps have also descended on the resort island in a show of support for their candidates, raising fears that violence could erupt.

To prevent possible clashes between them, the Bali Police department has deployed more than 700 personnel to guard the congress venues. To help them, the party congress organizers are now in command of 600 civilian guards dressed in traditional Balinese attire called Pecalang.

Although outdoing Megawati will be an uphill battle, her brother Guruh said that he would press ahead with his candidacy, claiming that he has won the support from a substantial number of the 1,800 delegates taking part in the congress.

Megawati's side downplayed Guruh's claim, saying they, in fact, had secured the backing from almost all of the party's regency branches. "Of the 441 regency branches across the country, there are hardly any that oppose Ibu Mega," PDI-P secretary general Sutjipto claimed.

Guruh, who is in Sanur now, will not, however be allowed into the congress as the party has restricted participation to regional representatives, members of the party central board, the leader and the secretary of the party's faction in the House of Representatives. But his absence does not mean he cannot vie for the party's top job, organizers said.

Sutjipto also added that there were no backroom deals initiated by Megawati's camp to stave off resistance from her opposition within the PDI-P. "Let the congress decide which candidate wins," he said.

Sutjipto is one of the PDI-P central board members known as the Gang of Three, which has been blamed for the party's defeats in the 2004 legislative and presidential elections.

In a related development, other candidates for the party leadership Sophan Sophiaan and Arifin Panigoro announced their exit from the race to boost the chance of other nominees, Guruh, Roy B.B. Janis and Laksamana Sukardi, whom they said would join forces.

However, the possible political wrangling will likely be kept out of the spotlight as most sessions in the congress will be held behind closed doors, as was the case in the party's previous congress in Semarang, Central Java, five years ago.

The publicity blackout may reinforce the public perception that the former ruling party is indeed a closed party, while many hoped that they could change and become a modern party accountable to its members and constituents.

The Golkar Party, which has long been stigmatized as an heir of the dictatorial New Order regime, has performed better in terms of opening itself up to the media and the public. In its congress that saw the departure of its leader Akbar Tandjung late last year, Golkar allowed the widest possible coverage from the media. That enabled the public to witness each and every development that led to the election of Vice President Jusuf Kalla as the party's new head man.

The PDI-P has also decided not to invite government officials, except for those who will come in their capacity as party members. Organizers only sent invitations to a small number of politicians, including Akbar and founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

The PDI-P's last congress in Semarang, held while Megawati was the vice president, entrusted her to guide the party to victory in the 2004 legislative and presidential elections, two objectives that she failed to achieve.

Megawati told to start sweeping reform within PDI-P

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2005

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta -- The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) risks failing miserably in future elections, and faced the prospect of losing the bulk of its loyal supporters, unless the party's next leadership initiates sweeping internal reform, an observer said.

A political analyst at Surabaya-based Airlangga University, Daniel Sparringa, said the party's leadership, that pivoted on the charisma of its incumbent leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, had bred conservatism and orthodoxy that prevented change from occurring within the party, in spite of successive defeats in last year's legislative and presidential elections.

"The party has become stagnant and hesitant to embark on reform. And the current state is far more dangerous than just simply a party being led to its destruction by outside forces. Its loyal supporters will leave the party with little fanfare and without the knowledge of party leaders at the 2009 election. PDI-P will lose half of its support," Daniel said in a discussion here on Thursday He said that Megawati's style of leadership had given rise to inertia within the PDI-P's rank and file that made them oblivious to the multifarious demands of the party's grassroots supporters.

"They have been out of touch with reality for too long now," Daniel said.

Despite the current situation, Daniel predicted that Megawati would be re-elected for another five-year term at the party's congress next week on Bali, simply because there are no alternative candidates who are capable of matching her.

"It is a foregone conclusion that Megawati will be re-elected at the Bali congress, as she will not face competition from a vice president," Daniel said, recalling the Golkar Party congress last December that saw Vice President Jusuf Kalla outdo incumbent party leader Akbar Tandjung.

With the re-election of Megawati, Daniel said that the prospects for change would be in her hands.

"Upon starting her new term, Megawati must immediately adapt to the new situation and begin reforms. A change from within is always less costly than a transformation that is imposed from the outside," Daniel said.

Megawati has been at the helm of the PDI-P for more than 10 years now. She assumed the party's leadership after she was elected to replace the then party chairman Soerjadi in 1993. At that time the party was called the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

She later emerged as an opposition figure after her leadership was shackled by then president Soeharto who had grown uneasy with her growing popularity. A government-supported plot was devised to end her term, ending with the forcible takeover of the party's headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta on 27 July, 1996 in which six PDI supporters were killed by the security apparatus.

Some of those involved in the attack have since been jailed, although former president Soeharto and the military leadership at that time have never been directly implicated in the case.

PDI-P deputy chairman Roy B.B. Janis shared Daniel's view that the party was in a dire need of change if it wanted to prosper in the future.

"PDI-P has to reform itself even if it is at the cost of Megawati's leadership of the party," he said.

A group of party members have been campaigning for reform ahead of the congress. They blamed Megawati's style of leadership for a string of upset defeats suffered by the party.

Apart from losing the legislative and presidential elections, the party missed winning the speaker's position in both the People's Consultative Assembly and the House of Representatives, as well as being left out of the Cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Susilo seeks clerics' help in graft fight

Jakarta Post - March 28, 2005

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Pekalongan -- Reiterating his admission that the government's war on corruption was failing to make major progress, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked Muslim clerics on Sunday to help in the fight against the endemic disease.

In a speech to mark the opening of the four-day national congress of Jam'iyyah Ahlith Thariqoh al-Mutabaroh An-Nahdliyah in the Central Java city of Pekalongan, Susilo urged religious leaders to play a more active role in assisting the national antigraft drive.

"For ulemas, particularly members of Thariqoh, I hope they will play a more active role in cleaning the country of corruption," he told thousands of Muslims attending a meeting of the spiritual group affiliated with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia.

The President said the clerics should consistently urge their followers to help in the war on corruption, adding that they should also warn government officials against becoming involved in corrupt activities.

Susilo was sworn in as Indonesia's sixth president on Oct. 20, and promised to root out bribery and kickbacks that have poisoned the economy.

In Sunday's speech, he admitted that during his first five months in office attempts to strike hard against corruption had borne little fruit.

Susilo blamed endemic corruption on the "moral crisis" currently plaguing the world's largest Muslim nation, which several international surveys have ranked among the most corrupt.

Signs of the crisis, he said, could be seen in the rampant corruption in government offices at both central and regional levels.

During the reform era, starting with the deposing in 1998 of New Order strongman Soeharto, Susilo said, a series of attempts had been made to eradicate corruption, however the problem was in fact a moral crisis that made it difficult to eliminate in a short time.

Part of the problem was that "those in power who are given people's trust are not keeping the mandate they received, or are even misusing that trust," he added.

Susilo warned that those who committed acts of corruption would sooner or later be punished by God.

He said it would not be easy to win the war on corruption in a short time, as the crime was now deeply rooted in the national culture.

Soon after taking office, Susilo said, the government issued "firmer and stricter" regulations against corruption in an attempt to punish those involved in the crime, despite the fact that the move had not yet produced satisfactory outcomes.

"However, we should never give up the anticorruption campaign," he added.

The President again promised to press ahead with his agenda of ensuring good governance by enforcing the law against white collar criminals over the full term of his presidency.

During Sunday's gathering in Pekalongan, Susilo was accompanied by Attorney-General Abdul Rahman Saleh, Minister of Religious Affairs Maftuh Basyuni, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro.

Under Susilo's rule, there have so far been no big-time white collar criminals sent to jail, although police and prosecutors have been very active in investigating graft cases involving councillors, governors, mayors and regents, as well as other high-ranking state officials.

The government had earlier claimed that the trend for local administration heads and councillors becoming involved in corrupt activities was in decline after a number of them were taken to court, saying it was an indicator of the success of the antigraft drive.

Aceh aid a test for corruption capers

Asia Times - March 28, 2005

Bill Guerin, Jakarta -- Indonesia, ranked among the world's most corrupt countries, is ready to start rebuilding its tsunami- devastated northernmost province of Aceh.

The National Planning Agency (Bappenas) released its reconstruction master plan over the weekend. Set out in 12 published volumes, the plan covers four main areas -- restoring livelihoods, restoring the economy, restoring infrastructure and last, but hardly least, restoring local government.

With more than US$4.4 billion already pledged from abroad, not including private and corporate donations, to pay for the mammoth reconstruction task, concerns are mounting that some of the donations will end up in the wrong pockets, particularly after the imminent departure of several foreign groups.

Implementation of the plan -- to be tasked to a new Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Management Board appointed by a presidential decree and ensuring full accountability for each dollar spent under intense domestic and international scrutiny -- will test to the full President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's commitment and ability to fight corruption.

Only days after the disaster struck last December, Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly Hidayat Nurwahid warned the government that it must ensure that aid did not end up in the hands of corrupt officials with a propensity to "fish for great catches in murky waters".

Former US presidents Bill Clinton and George H W Bush also raised the corruption issue in a February meeting with Yudhoyono, who assured them that Indonesia would channel aid funds in a transparent, effective way.

Not just Indonesia

The Massachusetts-based Kurtzman Group has studied corruption in several countries and pointed out that Indonesia is not alone. India, where hundreds of villages were destroyed and thousands of people killed by the tsunami, ranks 42nd in its study of 48 countries. India has extremely high levels of corruption, serious problems with regard to transparency, and inadequate financial regulation, the group said. It does not overstate the case to add that some Indian officials have been siphoning off aid money for decades.

Malaysia, ranked No 22, and Thailand, at No 23, scored much better in the study than Indonesia and India, but both are far from corruption-free. Getting things done in these two countries often requires "facilitation payments", or bribes, said Kurtzman. And once those bribes are requested, there is very little that can be done to stop them.

United Nations deputy special envoy Erskine Bowles warned that problems should be expected as the recovery period begins. "Any time you have a disaster affecting this many people you would have some isolated incidents of money not ending up where it was intended to," he said in Aceh on Friday.

Obstacle course

Though graft is somewhat of an industry in Indonesia, where many officials view public office as a vehicle for private gain, would-be corruptors appear to face a much more serious obstacle course than normal in trying to misappropriate funds intended for reconstruction.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) is working with international groups to supervise and monitor aid flows, US accountants Ernst & Young have been retained by the Indonesian government to audit foreign aid, and the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) is to monitor reconstruction to ensure that funds are not misused.

KPK chairman Taufiqqurochman Ruki said all projects in the government's blueprint must undergo formal tender procedures and warned that KPK will expose any irregularities that inflict losses on the state. "We demand accountability and transparency, including from the foreign donors that are helping the Indonesian government, so the public will know how much [aid money] has been gathered and how the funds are being used," he said.

More than 115 legislative council members have been implicated in corruption cases in 16 provinces -- Aceh, North and South Sumatra, West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu, Riau, Jakarta, Central Java, South Sulawesi, Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, South, Central and East Kalimantan, and Papua. Aceh has long been seen as one of Indonesia's most corrupt provinces. The ongoing operation to quell the separatist Free Aceh Movement, or GAM, had in essence left local authority in the hands of the military (TNI), an institution that has been blamed for much of the endemic corruption in Aceh. In 2003, Rp4.06 trillion ($429.5 million) was allocated to military operations in that province -- about three times the annual provincial budget. However, a state-appointed auditor later found that some $291 million had gone missing.

KPK was established in the same year, and, unlike previous anti- graft bodies, was given the power to prosecute. Its first big hit came with the arrest of Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, who is currently under detention and awaiting trial at the Anti- Corruption Court. Puteh is accused of "self-enrichment" over the purchase of a Russian helicopter in 2002.

Ruki has warned that mismanagement and further corruption could boost support for GAM. "I hope that projects will proceed well and correctly, so as to be able to turn off or completely curb the Acehnese people's separatism."

All displaced civilians and civil servants in Aceh must be registered to prevent any parties from exaggerating their losses in an effort to gain more funds, he added.

Global graft watchdog lends a helping hand

Berlin-based Transparency International (TI), a global corruption watchdog, in a statement titled "Corruption Issues in the Tsunami Relief Effort and Post-Tsunami Reconstruction", asked rhetorically: Should the fact that Indonesia is perceived to be the fifth-most corrupt country (according to its rank in TI's own Corruption Perceptions Index), be just cause to prohibit aid, or certain types of aid, to the country after the tsunami tragedy?

According to TI, the answer is no. The new government should not be condemned because of high corruption levels in the past, it said, and argued that what is most important are the policies of the current government, in particular, the level of political will to practice good governance and introduce anti-corruption reforms.

TI worked with Bappenas on the master plan. The group's deputy executive director in Indonesia, Leonard Simanjuntak, said TI has already found "some irregularities, such as in the construction of barracks, some mark-ups on the prices and numbers... coming from some of the government institutions".

He warned of the tendency for certain officials to claim that, as this is an emergency and the situation is not normal, some precautionary procedures can be put aside. As a result, government agencies might have become careless about normal accounting procedures, making it easier for irregularities to occur, Simanjuntak said.

Knowing this, he argued that TI cooperation with Bappenas should continue. "We also try to influence them, so we're involved in the working groups on transparency and accountability and try to produce mechanisms and procedures for accountability and transparency, including auditing procedures, supervision procedures," Simanjuntak explained.

Post tsunami shock and awe

President Yudhoyono, who was elected on an anti-corruption mandate, launched a major anti-graft drive in December, urging government officials to avoid family businesses and ensure transparency in all state affairs. On the same day, the KPK signed an agreement with the country's 33 provincial governors under which they pledged to report their wealth and support the commission's efforts to curb corrupt practices.

"The level of corruption in our country is very alarming, and I urge every state official to lead by example in fighting corruption," Yudhoyono said.

Even if the pre-aid-fund-flow optimism and downplaying of the likelihood of serious graft occurring were to be misplaced, and foreign aid money is abused, there is still a potential upside available for Yudhoyono should he decide on a full shock-and-awe attack on the culprits, regardless of favor and political standing.

There could be very positive spinoffs for a country that has seen five leaders since 1998. Yudhoyono is the first leader to come to power with a pro-business agenda, though the president has said it will be impossible to eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism if people in the government and the business community continue with "the old ways of doing business".

Conversely, if corruptors are quickly arrested and put on trial, that could signal meaningful progress on stamping out bureaucratic corruption and other hindrances to badly needed foreign investment. Indonesia could then truly claim to be open for business.

But perhaps it's best to refer to what UN envoy Bowles said when summing up the positive aspects of the first three months of the relief effort: "Yes, there have been glitches; yes, there have been mistakes; yes, we have taken two steps back, four steps forward -- that is going to happen in a disaster of this magnitude. But we have accomplished a great deal."

[Bill Guerin, a 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.]

Media/press freedom

'Tempo' acquitted of felonious act

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2005

Jakarta -- The Central Jakarta District Court threw out on Wednesday a civil lawsuit filed by youth organization Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM) against Tempo magazine, ruling that the suit was "not grounded in law".

PPM, whose members are the sons and daughters of army veterans, claimed that Tempo's chief editor Bambang Harymurti, its journalist Ahmad Taufik, and publisher Tempo Inti Media, had damaged its reputation by printing two articles in June 2003 that referred to them as a "gang", "mercenaries" and "children of former soldiers".

The articles, one written by Taufik and the other an unsigned opinion piece, described the ransacking of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) office in May.

The articles reported that 100 people dressed in PPM's military- style fatigues carried out the attack.

Suripto, a member of the panel of judges, said that the heart of the case addressed the question: "Did the articles result in any damage to (the reputation of) the plaintiff?" "The articles did not reach the level of insult or damage to (the plaintiff's) reputation," he said reading the points of consideration behind the court's decision. Presiding judge Cicut Sutiarso said, while reading out the verdict: "Therefore the defendants have not been proven to have committed a felonious act that resulted in damage to the plaintiff's reputation." With the decision that ended the six-month long civil trial, the judges dismissed PPM's demands that included a two-year suspension of Tempo's operations, public apologies to be run for three consecutive days in at least 30 media, and punitive damages of Rp 10.5 billion (US$ 1 million).

Instead, the judges ordered PPM to pay the Rp 419,000 court fees.

"We will definitely appeal the verdict," said Danu Asmara, PPM's lawyer, who added that the group members consisted of "many government employees and members of the House of Representatives".

A lawyer from Legal Aid for the Press, which was representing Tempo, Misbahuddin Gasma, said that the verdict proved their assertion that "the articles were standard pieces of journalism." The same court threw out the libel suit filed by PPM against the magazine over the publication of the same articles, as a separate panel of judges determined that the charges were obscure.

Local & community issues

Thousands in Mataram storm prosecutor's office

Jakarta Post - March 29, 2005

Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, Mataram -- At least 10,000 protesters stormed the prosecutor's office in Lombok on Monday in another move to interfere with justice, showing support for West Nusa Tenggara Governor Lalu Serinata and demanding the release of nine jailed graft suspects.

The protesters smashed windows and injured several journalists covering the event as well as Mataram Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ismail Bafadal.

All prosecutors and staff at the office fled to safety during the attack, which caused panic among family members of the staff, who live in a housing complex right behind the office.

One of the protesters, Fendi, claimed the protest had been staged in support of the governor, who is scheduled to be questioned by the prosecutor's office on Wednesday as a witness in a mark-up case worth Rp 24.5 billion (US$2.7 million) of the West Nusa Tenggara 2001 provincial budget.

"We see this [the questioning] as an effort to bring down the governor before [his term ends on] 2008. We don't want to see our leader being taken down," he said.

Another protester, Arifin, questioned prosecutors for arresting nine former councillors allegedly involved in a corruption case. "Why are they being arrested? We want them released," he said.

The nine former councillors were arrested last week after 12 people, including three councilors who are still in office, were named as suspects in the case. The prosecutor's office is still waiting for the Minister of Home Affairs' approval to arrest the remaining three suspects.

Monday's attack initially received no response from police officers guarding the interior and exterior of the prosecutor's office, until West Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. M. Tosin, whose office is located next to the prosecutor's office, ordered his officers to break up the demonstration.

Mataram Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ismail Bafadal was hit in the right eye and neck by stones while attempting to restore order. Several local journalists covering the protest were also pelted with stones. West Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. M. Tosin, who had attempted to negotiate with the protesters, could not escape the shower of stones either.

A tank and more police officers were then deployed to scare off the protesters but to no avail.

The protesters, some of whom were seen carrying sharp objects, dispersed only after being told to do so by the protest coordinator. Earlier, they had planned to stage a demonstration at Mataram Penitentiary but called off the plan due to the prison's tight security.

Following the attack, the prosecutor's office was tightly guarded by police, with some valuable assets, like computers and files, removed from the office for fear of further attacks.

Head of the West Nusa Tenggara Prosecutor's Office Zailan Arifin, said that despite the attack, the case would not be suspended. "They've been arrested and there will be no suspension," he said.

Another riot feared during trial in Bojong

Jakarta Post - March 29, 2005

Theresia Sufa and Eva C. Komandjaja, Bogor/Jakarta -- Alarmed by escalating tension between a dump site operator and residents of Bojong in Bogor, West Java, an influential local councillor warned that another riot could occur if the dump was reopened.

Councillor Dedi Mulyadi, who heads Bogor Regency Council Commission C for environmental issues, said the operator of the dump, PT Wira Guna Sejahtera, could see a repeat of the November 2004 riot if it went ahead with a planned trial run of the dump.

"If the company insists on conducting a trial operation, all we can do is throw our hands up in the air," said Dedi. "They will have to solve the problem on their own." Dedi also said the council was prepared to summon Bogor Regent Agus Utara Effendi for a full accounting should another riot occur.

"The root of the problem can be traced back to the executive branch," said Dedi. "They issued the dump's operating license in the first place." On Nov. 22, 2004, the last time the dump operator attempted a trial run of the facility, residents gathered outside the site to protest what they said would be the dump's harmful impact on the surrounding area.

The protest soon turned violent and several residents had to be hospitalized for their injuries. Twenty-four police officers were severely reprimanded for using unnecessary force to quell the protest, and 18 Bojong residents were jailed for causing Rp 8 billion (US$865,000) in damages to the dump.

Members of the Bogor Regency Council, who had just been seated at the time of the November violence, have stated that they would prefer the dump, constructed in 2003, to suspend its operations indefinitely and, if possible, find a new site.

On Sunday, a rally in support of the dump was attended by about 200 people. Villagers and non-governmental organizations insisted that the rally was staged by "thugs" paid by PT Wira Guna Sejahtera.

Hermawanto of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation said the thugs patrolled the area around the dump, threatening residents with violence if they removed banners supporting the dump.

Sunday's rally prompted hundreds of Bojong residents opposed to the dump to stage a demonstration in front of the National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta on Monday.

"Residents would rather stay at the police headquarters than go home because they fear the thugs," said Erwin, a protest coordinator.

Erwin said the residents "were forced" to take their case to the National Police Headquarters because the Bogor Police had done nothing to protect them from the "thugs." National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Boedihardjo said the West Java Police and Bogor Police would be contacted about this issue.

In response to the rallies, the Bogor Police asked both sides to remain calm while they investigated the alleged intimidation.

A senior officer at the Bogor Police, Comr. Irfan, said officers would conduct operations shortly to "prevent any clashes and to thwart any 'infiltration by outsiders'". When fully operational, the Bojong facility would have the capacity to process 2,000 tons of waste. Jakarta currently relies on just one dump, located in Bekasi, West Java, to handle its 6,200 tons of daily waste.

Focus on Jakarta

Brothel grenade attack raises rivalry issues

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2005

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta -- While the Jakarta Council is still considering the idea of legalizing prostitution and gambling as suggested by former governor Ali Sadikin, a hand grenade exploded at the Boker prostitution complex in Ciracas, East Jakarta, late on Tuesday.

As of Wednesday, the Jakarta Police were yet to determine any suspects involved in the incident, which injured at least 11 people, but they suspect that the grenade attack was perpetrated by someone who does not like prostitution.

City Police detective chief Sr. Comr. Matius Salempang said that his men got information on several individuals who were angry that the old neighborhood had turned into a haven for brothels.

"It seems that the explosion was meant to warn the people involved in prostitution," he said.

Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said that the result of preliminary investigation showed that the grenade could have been the same type as those used in military or police training.

"We are still looking for the suspects in the incident. We don't know the motive yet. We are certain that the grenade was thrown from around six meters away. However, we are still waiting for our laboratory test results," he said.

On Tuesday at 10:15 p.m., a grenade exploded near a group of small shops belonging to two women identified as Yuyun and Yolanda where many people were sitting and drinking. At least 11 of them were seriously injured and are now being treated at the hospital.

A witness, Arifin, 35, saw a white package falling from the roof of one of the shops and it exploded as it touched the ground.

Tjiptono said that the police have questioned 12 witnesses.

A source close to the police investigation said that the motive behind the grenade attack could have also been the rivalry between individuals within the police and military forces over becoming the "protector" of the lucrative business.

"The complex contributes a lot of money to the parties who back them. It is natural that groups will fight for the protection racket. The grenade attack is one kind of 'psy-op' weapon used between them," the source said.

Prostitution is illegal under Indonesian law, however, the authorities tend to turn a blind eye toward prostitution across the country. Although there are the occasional raids in some areas, the oldest profession in the world continues unabated.

Poverty remains in the heart of 'modern' Jakarta

Jakarta Post - March 28, 2005

Damar Harsanto and Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- In Central Jakarta where multinational companies, government offices as well as most embassies are located, the Central Jakarta municipality appears to be failing to solve the glaring poverty the exists in the heart of the city, even though the municipality is given priorities in development.

The latest report of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) shows that the number of residents living below the poverty line jumped sharply by 58 percent this year to 68,599 as compared to around 45,000 last year.

As of Dec. 2004, the municipality had a population of at least 911,681.

BPS defines someone as poor if they fit at least three out of eight defining criteria, including: living in a dwelling which is less than eight square meters; a dirt floor instead of tiles or cement; no access to clean water; no toilet; and a house with walls made of plywood or cardboard.

The Jakarta Population Agency said earlier that rapid development in Central Jakarta, which has created job opportunities, was a magnet for unskilled migrants from cities outside Jakarta. The migrants often end up working in the informal sector as street vendors and small traders. With the consequent low income, most of them are forced to reside in slums or along the riverbanks.

According to a document on development of the Central Jakarta Municipality from 2002 to 2007 made available to The Jakarta Post on Friday, the municipal administration plans to reduce slums in the region to 122 community units this year from 130 community units in 2004.

"The municipal administration will also make extra effort to reduce the number of poor families in the region to 22,000 families this year from 26,000 last year," the document says.

Head of the Central Jakarta Planning Board, Saptastri Ediningtyas said the administration had prioritized this year community empowerment programs, social safety net schemes as well as policies to help generate job opportunities.

"As part of the poverty eradication scheme, we are distributing cheap rice to poor families, 20 kilograms per family at Rp 1,000 per kilogram, a scholarship program for poor students and revolving funds to help small businesses," Saptastri was quoted as saying by Jakarta's website Beritajakarta.com.

She acknowledged that valid data on the poor residents was still a problem amid reports that some of the poverty alleviation programs had failed to reach the needy.

"That's why we urge the officers at the district as well as subdistrict levels to gather more accurate data," she emphasized.

Aside from poverty eradication measures, the administration also plans to channel Rp 12 billion (US$1.34 million) into 10 selected subdistricts and two districts in the region in a 2005 pilot project to upgrade services to the residents.

If successful, the administration will extend the project to all 267 subdistricts and 44 districts in 2006.

Environment

Newmont Indonesia pollution claims escalate

Asian Pulse - March 28, 2005

Brisbane -- International mining investment in Indonesia is on the line after an escalation in pollution allegations against Newmont Mining Corporation.

Six Newmont executives -- including Australian Phil Turner -- have been ordered to appear on Tuesday before a prosecutor in Jakarta, after Indonesia's Supreme Court gave the go ahead to continue the criminal case against the gold miner.

The company has been accused of polluting water in Buyat Bay, on Sulawesi Island, with mercury and arsenic waste from a nearby gold mine.

The six executives were jailed last year and have since been released, but are not allowed to leave the country. They have not been charged and Newmont has denied the allegations.

While Indonesia has been viewed as a potential mineral powerhouse, concerns over corruption have resulted in the country attracting less than 1% of the global exploration budget in the last three years.

Noke Kiroyan, president of the Indonesia Australia Business Council, said the the case against Newmont was being closely followed.

"Certainly the fact that executives of a mining company are detained by the police and even jailed for some time is very disconcerting to say the least," he told Nine Network's Business on Sunday.

"That's not something that would promote investment because if it can happen to Newmont it can happen to anyone," Kiroyan added. "All mining companies are closely watching the Newmont situation and how it unfolds."

Kiroyan said the key issue for Indonesia was the seven-year absence of a mining law. Indonesia has said new mining legislation will be introduced this year.

The Sulawesi mine was closed last August after eight years due to depleted reserves, and the company had been carrying out reclamation work.

Six weeks before the mine was shut, a group of local villagers claimed Newmont had poisoned them. They have been backed by the government.

Newmont has pointed to environmental studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) contradicting the government's allegation that water in the area had registered high-pollutant levels.

But Indonesia's Environment Minister Rachmat Witloelar said residents at Buyat Bay had become sick and he believed Newmont has broken the law.

"That is why we're serving a court case against Newmont," he said.

Charges of breaching environmental rules carry jail terms of up to 15 years in Indonesia.

Federal Attorney General Philip Ruddock said concerns have been raised with Indonesia on a government-to-government basis.

"If you're going to have investment from abroad in important projects that are going to help with the development of Indonesia, you need to have it occurring in an environment which is conducive to investment," Ruddock told Channel Nine.

He said people wanted certainty and laws that would operate with clarity.

Head of Newmont in Indonesia Bob Gallagher said the company was shocked over the case.

"We feel this whole procedure is being run by the government from Jakarta," he said. "We were really, truly shocked that basically six guys who've done nothing but their jobs ended up in jail."

Health & education

Embezzlement, bribery plague state schools

Jakarta Post - March 24, 2005

Ade Irawan, Jakarta -- High cost has become a pressing issue in the operation of schools in Indonesia. In fact, various regulations, like the National Education Law (No.20 of 2003), stipulate that the central government and local administrations are jointly responsible for covering the cost of primary school and junior high school education, or their equivalents. Instead of free education, however, school levies at both the elementary and junior high levels are getting out of hand.

Studies by the Ministry of National Education show that the cost of education has for the greater part been borne by the community rather than the government. The portion of the cost paid by the parents of students has reached between 53.74 percent and 73.87 percent of the total cost of educational, whereas the portion borne by the government and society (other than parents) amounts to between 26.13 percent and 46.26 percent of the total cost of education.

There are at least two reasons why such a high proportion of the cost of education has to be borne by the community. First, the allocation from the government is very small while huge sums are needed for education. In 2005, for instance, Rp 71 trillion (US$7.6 billion) was required compared to only Rp 21.375 trillion allocated by the state budget.

Second, corruption has set down deep roots. The budget allocation for education is not fully used for the needs of school. A large part of the money goes into the pockets of the personnel in charge of the relevant institutions, from the education ministry to the schools themselves.

Likewise, the charges imposed on the community are not all spent on the promotion of education. Most of the 38 levies identified by Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) have no connection with the enhancement of the quality of school management. For instance, some of the money goes on "coordination with the education agency", organizing the succession of school principals, and even the purchase of mundane items such as plates, forks and glasses.

In economic terms, the high-cost management of schools has prevailed. The extra money demanded of the public does not guarantee good service.

Nonetheless, in view of their position and roles in society, our schools have mostly been left untouched by criticism. There has been no serious attempt yet to deal with corruption in the school system. Corruption is still handled on a case-by-case basis, involving a handful of teachers or school principals.

So far, teachers have been made the scapegoats for corruption in our schools. Corruption in the running of schools has actually become very sophisticated, affecting nearly all areas and activities and involving numerous people, ranging from school and education office staff members to those not directly related to the schools like contractors, publishers and garment manufacturers.

It is undeniable that teachers have become a factor in creating high-cost education. They often increase the cost of an activity by, for example, giving low marks in examinations to make students sit repeats, which, of course, they have to pay for. But this is a small-scale practice with a limited scope, prompted by a desire to cover basic needs and low pay. Teachers are actors in and at the same time the victims of corruption.

Corruption has always been to do with power and teachers lack power in our schools. The lack of a power balance is the main cause of school corruption. The position of school principals is so strong and dominant that teachers and parents have no way of controlling it. For instance, in the case of the school budget as the main source of school funding, the power of the principals enables them to formulate and implement the budget without involving the other stakeholders.

School committees, which are supposed to represent the stakeholders and exercise control over the school principals, have turned out to be helpless. As appointments to these committees is mostly at the initiative of the principals, who often name their cronies as members, the committees frequently turn out to be little more than rubber stamps for the wishes of the principals.

In the same way, the local education offices, which are hierarchically superior to the school principals in the education system, more often than not act as their protectors rather than their supervisors. In fact, they enjoy something of a symbiotic relationship.

In general, three patterns of corruption can be found in schools.

First: embezzlement, in which school principals do not pay our, or mark up, the cost of certain activities or purchases that have already been funded by levies paid by parents or the government.

Second: double budgeting, in which school principals impose charges on parents for activities or purchases already financed with government funds.

Third: bribery, in which school principals make monthly payments to education officials out of the school budget and annual payments out of the "coordination with the education office" account.

Several approaches can be used to reduce the high cost of school management.

First, school principals and education officials involved in corruption should be punished. Corruption is a calculated crime, in which a would-be actor will estimate the profit or loss expected. Tough penalties will increase the cost for the would-be actor, thus serving as a deterrent.

Second, a regulation should be introduced to limit the power of school principals, and motivate them to serve and be responsible to the other stakeholders. As an alternative, the direct election of principals by the stakeholders could be considered.

Third, the school committees should be reoriented. The government tends to benefit from the committees' function of serving as private fund raisers. The role of committees in accommodating the stakeholders' interests and participation should be made clear and further promoted so that members of the public will be encouraged to become involved in running and maintaining these sort of democratic institutions in our schools.

[The writer is public service monitoring program manager with Indonesia Corruption Watch.]

Aid & development

The challenge of post-earthquake rebuilding

Radio Australia - March 31, 2005

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has met with survivors on the earthquake devastated island of Nias in western Sumatra and has urged residents to be patient. At least 500 people have been confirmed dead from Monday's quake which measured nearly 9 on the Richter scale and rescue workers continue to search for survivors trapped under rubble. The United Nation's World Food program estimates around 200-thousand Nias residents will need food for at least two months and aid efforts are now being temporarily diverted from Sumatra's tsunami devastated Aceh province. This latest natural disaster has again exposed the vulnerability of current building standards in the region.

Presenter/Interviewer: Claudette Werden Speakers: Tim Palmer, ABC Indonesia Correspondent; Norman Day, Professor of Architecture RMIT; Inge Nyraini; Bless Indonesia Today NGO

Palmer: Looking along the seafront of the town the whole place looks lopsided -- as if it's simply been kicked over and some of it slanted down towards the sea -- some of it pouring over the harbour walls, houses and buildings some pancaked and others just at a lopsided angle everywhere.

Werden: Indonesia correspondent Tim Palmer describing the earthquake ruined town of Gunung Sitoli on the island of Nias.

This latest natural disaster, coming just three months after the region's devastating tsunami has again focused attention on the type of housing best suited to the region's unpredictable seismic hazards.

Day: The stuff's built by a lot of labour its not built with much mechanism or without much control so things that get built generally speaking can tend to be pretty shoddy so the chances of them surviving are really pot luck rather than by design.

Werden: Australian professor of architecture Norman Day. He says traditional and western style building methods must be reconsidered in the wake of the recent volatile geological movements.

Day: With many of the those western buildings, the ones that survived had no basements, and they survived quite well, the ones that had basements, the water seemed to get into the basements and often those basements would be shopping malls, they're not carparks they're shopping malls or the spa areas of the hotels, the water would get in there and eddy around and it was such strong force, it sort of sucked the rest of the buildings into it, and others that were timber pole constructions, traditional settler housing with no great strength or engineering to them, they survived because water ran between the legs, if you like and on to the next site.

Werden: The Indonesian government is currently drafting a blueprint for future longterm housing development along the west coast of Sumatra. It incorporates the replanting of beachfront mangroves, a natural flooding buffer, which were cut down by illegal settlers to make way for shantytowns which were themselves destroyed by the tsunami.

The government is also proposing to resettle villagers further inland but Inge Nyraini, project manager with Bless Indonesia Today, an Indonesian non -government aid agency says locals are becoming impatient with the lack of progress and there's a danger the shantytowns will re-emerge.

Nyraini: When they just come and build it will be like a slum, it won't be any good and once they're building it maybe it will be difficult to ask them to move back. I mean the best way to handle the people is for the government to tell them not to build at that previous location but for the same time the government needs to do somehting about it, like doing surveying, or letting them know about their new location so they can start building in the right place rather than have people started building in the wrong place.

Werden: Are people building in the wrong place?

Nyraini: Some of the people, only a small number with the left over of the wood, but if the government didn't do quick action about it, it will soon be larger numer of people will start rebuilding.

Werden: Part of the problem is land ownership and lack of records identifying titles to land. Professor Day believes another environmental disaster is looming with the type of emergency housing being put up by donor countries.

Day: Emergency housing is a big big problem because within a year or two it becomes settler housing and a ghetto and no one wants to remove it and take it home, its too expensive so they just leave it there but the biggest problem is when they try to clad their buildings put roofs and walls on them with steel, its entirely inappropriate material for the tropics. The tropics needs walls that breathe and we've had experience with it in East Timor and Vietnam its just a totally inappropriate material.

Werden: Australian company Bluescope Steel says the 1500 steel homes its building in Aceh can be used as temporary and longterm housing. A company spokesperson says the structures have been designed and developed with local requirements in mind.

But Professor Day says other solutions for emergency and long term housing in the tropics haven't been considered.

Day: Often that's because aid is pegged to international gift giving so a nation who is wealthy and rich and has a very big steel industry is quite happy to donate those sort of products to these areas but they haven't really considered whether its in the long term interest of these areas.

Armed forces/defense

SBY's men get promotion

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2005

The Indonesian Military (TNI) Headquarters launched a major reshuffle on Wednesday affecting high-ranking military officers, including Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya from commanding Iskandar Muda Military Command in the troubled Aceh province to his new post as deputy Army chief of staff.

He will be replaced by Maj. Gen. Syafiuddin Yusuf, the current Udayana Military Commander who oversees North and West Nusa Tenggara and Bali provinces.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's brothers-in-law were also promoted in the reshuffle. They are Brig. Gen. Pramono Eddy Wibowo, who was appointed as deputy commander of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus), and Maj. Gen. Erwin Sudjono, who was appointed as head of Tanjung Pura Military Command overseeing Kalimantan province.

Brig. Gen. Setya Purwaka, known as one of Susilo's closest assistants, was also promoted as deputy minister of home affairs and political coordination at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.

According to head of the TNI's information department Col. A. Yani Basuki, the reshuffle also affected commanders of the Air Force's Western and Eastern fleets.

Government seeks more funds for military

Jakarta Post - March 24, 2005

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on Wednesday he was proposing Rp 5 trillion (US$538 billion) in additional funds from the state budget to improve the capability of the Navy and Air Force.

He, however, could not say what kind of equipment that the two forces needed, pending further meetings with the two chiefs of staff.

"We had actually talked about the plan to allocate more funds for the Navy and Air Force earlier before the Ambalat dispute surfaced. Indeed, the case has given us a chance to make the public understand about the real condition of our military," Juwono said in response to questions of whether the new plan was caused by the naval confrontation with Malaysia two weeks ago near the Ambalat oil block off of Borneo.

The offshore oil block is located in the Sulawesi Sea, and both Malaysia and Indonesia are claiming it.

The defense budget of the world's fourth most populous country is considered very low, even compared to smaller neighboring countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia.

For the 2005 fiscal year, the government allocated over Rp 21.6 trillion for defense expenditures, accounting only for 6 percent of the state budget.

The Indonesian Military does have approximately 400,000 active troops. But much of its military equipment is in poor condition. It has two squadrons of Hercules aircraft but only a handful are operational. This has often been used by the TNI as a reason for their slow response in sending soldiers and humanitarian aid to areas hit by security disturbances or natural disasters.

Air Force spokesman First Air Marshall Sagom Tamboen said his office had initially proposed that the government procure six more Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters and spare parts for the Hercules C-130 transport planes.

"The Air Force also requires maritime aircraft to support our surveillance planes," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Meanwhile, Navy spokesman First Adm. Abdul Malik Yusuf said his office planned to procure submarines, missiles and patrol boats equipped with rockets.

Earlier, Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Djoko Santoso said he would improve the 22 new territorial commands across the country.

The Army will recruit more soldiers, establish six more brigades, 14 infantry battalions, a Cavalry battalion, two Cavalry detachments and a missile detachment to strengthen its force, he explained.

The Army also has a third division of elite troops based in Sorong, Papua.

"Ideally, we need more than 300,000 soldiers to guard this vast territory," Djoko said. The Army now has around 270,000 troops.

Commenting on the Army's plan, Juwono said: "Yes, we support it. And if we have enough in the budget, we will also disburse funds for that."

Foreign affairs

Malaysia, Indonesia stir the friendship pot

Asia Times - March 24, 2005

Ioannis Gatsiounis, Kuala Lumpur -- The last news to come from Malaysia and Indonesia was that the two countries were working hard diplomatically to resolve a border row in the Sulawesi Sea in which both sides sent warships to the contested area to stake their claims. There's good reason to believe they'll find a way. Both nations are economically dependent on each other -- Malaysia on Indonesia largely for migrant labor, Indonesia on Malaysia for capital investment -- and waging war over two putatively oil-rich islands isn't thought to be in the long-term interest of either country.

Conversely, this outlook neglects to consider the resentment and mistrust that have quietly been building between the two nations in recent years, especially among the citizenry, and the danger that could arise should both governments ignore public sentiment in their attempts to defuse the matter.

Many observers point to the Malaysian government's recent decision to send packing an estimated million-plus illegal Indonesian migrant workers as a catalyst to noisy public protests in Indonesia over the territorial dispute, which saw flag-burning and calls to "crush Malaysia".

But some Indonesians were responding to much more: what they feel is a persistently callous and disrespectful attitude of economically stable Malaysia toward its "big brother" Indonesia. Indonesians haven't forgotten the last go-round, in 2002, when then-Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad sent back 400,000 Indonesian workers (many to the country's poorest and most volatile regions), and threatened to jail and cane those who stayed behind. Hundreds died during the journey. More recently, the Malaysian government has refused to accept refugees from the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh. Meanwhile, in race- sensitive Malaysia there is a widely held belief that Indonesian migrant workers pose a criminal threat, which the state- controlled media have routinely played up to divert attention from government abuse and mismanagement surrounding other domestic issues.

"All this talk that Malaysians and Indonesians share a common identity [linguistically, racially, religiously] doesn't add up to that much," said K S Nathan of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

In Malaysia, the public has been known to acquiesce to the government's draconian legislation and press machine in the name of "national interest"; thus the government here looks to have more leeway in how it deals with the border row. Indonesians, on the other hand, have a long tradition of standing up for causes. For instance, they fought for their independence from the Dutch (whereas the British handed Malaysians theirs). And recent history shows that Indonesian dissidents can be a thorn in the side of the ruling elite. Public outcry helped end despot Suharto's 32-year rule in 1998, pressured Abdurrahman Wahid to step down from the post in 2001, and caused the Indonesian government to think twice about aggressively prosecuting convicted Islamic terrorist Abu Bakar Ba'asyir for fear of retaliation.

"The young in Indonesia know what they can achieve," said Nathan. And in the time since September 11, 2001, more and more dissidents have found convenient, efficient and potent means of bypassing their governments to get their message across. The border dispute, for instance, has seen Malaysian and Indonesian hackers damage some 80 websites in the two countries.

This invariably raises the question: To what extent are nationalists willing to go? Might they employ terrorist means to weigh in on the border row?

Morten Hansen, a military and security analyst with the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies (IDSS) at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, considers the possibility "highly unlikely, because this crisis is simply territorial and very traditional in essence". But, he warned, "regional conflicts can resurface if these are not addressed through confidence-building measures and bilateral and multilateral cooperation."

Confidence-building is lacking between Indonesia and Malaysia, despite attempts by leaders to play down the border dispute. Indonesia plans to build 25 lighthouses on remote islands bordering neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines in an effort to assert its control over outlying islands, while the Malaysian navy recently confirmed that it had dropped elite troops from an aircraft into the Sulawesi Sea.

In Indonesia suspicion is particularly high and far-reaching.

"There is a genuine belief on the part of key elements in the army, some politicians in Jakarta, and a substantial part of the Indonesian public that Indonesia's territorial integrity is in danger, from separatists within and from foreign parties without," Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group noted in a speech in 2003.

Malaysian and Indonesian leaders began negotiations on Tuesday in Jakarta to settle the maritime dispute, but few predict quick results. "There will be many more meetings until both parties are able to agree [to a solution] through diplomatic means," Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as saying.

Finding a diplomatic solution would be in keeping with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) way. But what might make it tricky in this instance, said Ralf Emmers of IDSS, "is public pressure on both sides not to make any concessions to national sovereignty". As well, Emmers said, ASEAN diplomacy has usually entailed managing rather than resolving disputes.

Management isn't necessarily easy when oil is involved, particularly at a time when global competition for oil is ever more fierce and Indonesians have been protesting almost daily over a government-imposed fuel-price hike. Management also becomes less certain considering that both countries are under new leadership.

In the past, relations between Malaysia and Indonesia were aided by the rapport between strongmen Suharto and Mahathir. And while newly elected Indonesian President Susilo Bamabang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Premier Abdullah Badawi don't have the iron-fisted reputations of their predecessors, their relationship is a work in progress. Moreover, their assumed positive attributes haven't always worked in their favor, as most had predicted. The soft- spoken Abdullah for one was tagged as "gentle but tough" when he took over from Mahathir in late 2003, and it was widely thought that this would help Malaysia patch up relations with neighboring countries, which Mahathir had left undone. But dealings with at least two of Malaysia's neighbors, Thailand and Indonesia, have arguably gotten worse under Abdullah's leadership. In recent months, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has vociferously charged the Abdullah administration with negligence in pursuing in northern Malaysia Islamic terrorist elements that Thaksin said were fueling unrest in Thailand's restive south. Now comes the border row with Indonesia. Could it be that Abdullah's soft style is indirectly encouraging Malaysia's neighbors to test his mettle and see what they can get away with?

Abdullah does seem to possess a spirit of compromise, and that can't hurt at the bargaining table. Nor will Yudhoyono's calls for "self-restraint". But neither gesture will necessarily help these countries, unless both sides address their entrenched wariness of each other and discuss how that wariness will dictate official policy, from the ground up.

[Ioannis Gatsiounis, a New York native, has worked as a freelance foreign correspondent and previously co-hosted a weekly political/cultural radio call-in show in the US. He has been living in Malaysia since late 2002.]

Business & investment

Tax amnesty suggestion has powerful support in Cabinet

Jakarta Post - March 30, 2005

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta -- Apparently buoyed by its success in ushering in the unpopular policy of increasing fuel prices, the government is preparing another politically sensitive measure -- tax amnesty -- to lure back billions of dollars, which Indonesian businesspeople reportedly transferred overseas during the height of the economic crisis in 1998.

Even the previous government of Megawati Soekarnoputri, notorious for its high tolerance of corruption, scrapped the idea of a tax amnesty, which has been aggressively promoted by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) since 2003.

Such tax relief was considered an insult to the public's sense of justice as the scheme would benefit mostly businesspeople and big tax evaders, allowing them to essentially launder their hidden assets.

However the idea has gained powerful support at the center of executive power. Former Kadin leaders' Aburizal Bakrie, the current chief economics minister, and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, were assigned by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to conduct the day-to-day management of the economy.

Aburizal even promoted the tax amnesty like a mantra that could immediately generate a one-time cash infusion of at least Rp 50 trillion (US$5.3 billion) in state revenues in return for immunity from prosecution.

Such a huge sum of additional receipts through a one-shot deal could indeed be quite tempting for the cash-strapped government.

Despite the risks of moral hazards and damaged confidence in the credibility of tax-law enforcement, the tax amnesty is not without strong rationale, especially in Indonesia where tax evasion has always been quite extensive.

Registered personal income taxpayers are still less than 2 percent of the 120 million-strong workforce. The tax ratio (tax receipts against gross domestic product) are less than 13 percent, the lowest among ASEAN countries.

The proponents of the tax amnesty have strong points to support such a program, especially now when the country is desperate for new investment to create jobs.

First, since the corruption-infested tax directorate general is unable anyway to hunt down tax evaders and recoup their hidden assets, there is no harm in offering them a one-shot amnesty if the government can get a sizable amount of additional revenues.

Second, businesspeople will not hesitate to reinvest their capital in Indonesia to expand the economy and create jobs once their previously hidden assets are declared legitimate under the amnesty program.

Third, the scheme will net a large number of new taxpayers, including small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), thereby broadening the tax base for future tax collection. Tax registration also will make SMEs legitimate and consequently improve their access to finance.

Fourth, as the court system in the country is both corrupt and overburdened, a tax amnesty may allow the tax administration to minimize prosecution costs.

No wonder, given these potential benefits, many countries, including dozens of developed ones, have granted such one-time tax amnesties.

But the opponents of a tax amnesty also have equally strong points against introducing such a scheme, at least until an efficient, strong tax administration system is established.

Granting an indiscriminate tax amnesty now will mostly benefit the big businesspeople, including the former bank owners, who, according to an investigative audit by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) in 1999, misused Rp 138.5 trillion (US$15.40 billion) of the Rp 145 trillion Bank Indonesia extended in emergency liquidity credits to help bail out the banking industry in 1998 and 1999.

It would gravely insult the public's sense of justice if those same conglomerates, who had previously been released and discharged from criminal charges related to their bad debts, were granted tax amnesty under a weak and corrupt tax administration system.

Tax amnesty is supposed to encourage people and enterprises to register as taxpayers and start completely new without fear of prosecution of their past tax debts.

But granting tax amnesty without first establishing a strong tax administration system could only be a deception to allow tycoons to launder their hidden assets, tax-evaded money.

Successful tax amnesty programs in developed and developing countries have shown that the facility should be provided through a good mechanism, and the tax amnesty period should immediately be followed by strong law enforcement against tax evaders and manipulators.

Unless carefully designed and supported with strong information infrastructure to detect future tax delinquency, a tax amnesty program could instead increase disincentives to taxpayers.

Without this prerequisite, a tax amnesty will only cause moral hazards as people, expecting another amnesty in the future, will lower their tax compliance, and honest taxpayers will be discouraged to continue voluntary compliance.

A highly successful amnesty which nets a large number of new taxpayers could even adversely affect future tax collection if the tax administration cannot devote enough resources to handle the additional workload.

There are thus both great potential benefits and big risks inherent with the granting of a tax amnesty. But it depends on the quality of the tax administration system used to implement the program.

The government certainly is facing a mountain of work preparing an overall tax reform program, and that includes the drafting of a bill on a tax amnesty.

But then as the raucous opposition to the otherwise economically rational fuel-price hikes has demonstrated, even the best program will not sell unless it is properly marketed to those who will implement it and the public who will have to accept it. In the end, it is an exercise in practical politics.

Government to give oil investors perks

Jakarta Post - March 29, 2005

Leony Aurora, Jakarta -- As part of its efforts to stem the steady decline in the country's oil output, the government is preparing incentive packages to lure investors to operate in marginal and aging oil fields, says a top official.

One of the alternatives was to offer investment credit -- which would allow investors to obtain a higher recovery on the investment they had made before the wells start producing -- vice chairman of the Oil and Gas Upstream Regulatory Agency (BP Migas) Kardaya Warnika said on Monday.

A contract between the government and oil field operators commonly states that production sharing shall be effective only after the initial investment made by the operator prior to oil production has been fully covered by the output.

"For example, if the cost of investment [before the well starts producing] is 100, the recovery will be 100 plus something," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on oil and gas here.

Indonesia, the biggest oil producer in Southeast Asia, is seeing a steady decline in its oil output, plunging from 1.52 million barrels per day (bpd) in 1999 to 1.07 million bpd last year, due to lack of new explorations and aging oil fields.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, if no effort is conducted to halt the decline, oil production will drop by 16 percent every year.

There are 66 marginal fields -- areas with an estimated output at between 5,000 bpd and 10,000 bpd each -- across the archipelago as well as 21 aging fields that have not been fully utilized.

Iin Arifin Takhyan, the ministry's director general of oil and gas, said separately that the government might also increase the operators' share in such fields as another incentive.

"Usually it is 85 percent [for the government] and 15 percent [for the operator]," he said. "We may offer more," he added.

A study team, comprising representatives of the ministry as well as BP Migas, is still discussing the details of the incentive packages. "Hopefully they can be concluded this year," said Iin.

The government targets to keep production at 1.125 million bpd -- a combination of crude oil and condensate -- this year, far less than a quota of 1.4 million bpd of crude oil set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

BP Migas chairman Rachmat Sudibjo said last week that the country aimed to increase oil output to 1.3 million bpd by 2008. To reach this target, the government is, among other things, pinning its hope on the Cepu oil field in Central Java, which is expected to produce about 180,000 bpd.

However, although ripe and ready, the area has yet to spurt oil pending a settlement of a dispute between state oil and gas firm Pertamina and ExxonMobil, the concession holder for the area. Pertamina has so far refused to extend ExxonMobil's contract, which expires in 2010, for another 20 years.

Another 150,000 bpd is expected to come from the Jeruk field in East Java. Australia's third largest oil and gas operator Santos Ltd. is currently investigating the actual reserves in the area.

"We're asking them to drill another well close to the second well," said Kardaya. "We hope production can start in 2008."

Opinion & analysis

Wolfowitz's record on economic policy and rights poor

Joyo Exclusive - March 29, 2005

Jeffrey A. Winters -- In an effort to downplay his more recent hawkish profile as the #2 man at the Defense Department, Paul Wolfowitz, nominated by George Bush to be president of the World Bank, has pointed to his tenure as ambassador to Indonesia as evidence that he is well suited to lead the world's largest institution focused on development.

In fact, Wolfowitz's record as ambassador in Jakarta provides some of the most damning evidence against him.

In 1997 the Indonesian banking and financial sector imploded under the weight of gross mismanagement, non-performing loans, and debilitating corruption. As ambassador to Indonesia, Wolfowitz helped set the stage for this collapse of the Indonesian economy, a tragedy that plunged tens of millions into abject poverty.

Specifically, in 1988 Indonesia implemented one of the most reckless deregulations of a banking sector ever undertaken. Pushed by the World Bank, the IMF, and Wolfowitz's Economic Policy Support Office (EPSO) at the US embassy, Indonesia's technocrats opened the floodgate for local crony conglomerates to set up private banks across the country and take in deposits from a trusting public.

Wolfowitz and his EPSO staff talked up the wonders of liberalization. The deregulated banking system would mobilize capital more efficiently, jobs would be created, and the economy would soar.

Left out of the formula was any Indonesian government mechanism or capacity for supervision and safeguards for the banking and financial sector. Ideologues like Wolfowitz could only see a need for the state to get out of the way. But what Indonesia's depositors really needed was a stronger state role to set rules and boundaries for bankers' behavior.

The foxes were running wild in the financial chicken coop, and no one, including Ambassador Wolfowitz, pressured the Indonesians to design safeguards to protect the public's deposits. These policies were a timebomb set in 1988 and finally triggered in 1997 when the Thai baht collapsed.

Indonesia's banking system had to be bailed out, the public took on crushing levels of new debt, and the Indonesian population suffered miserably. Eight years later, Indonesia is just barely back to where it stood before the crisis hit.

Wolfowitz is certainly not solely responsible for the devastating effects of the 1988 deregulation. But he was one of a handful of key actors pressing the Indonesians forward on a reckless and risky path, driven by simplistic free market ideologies summed up in the now discredited "Washington Consensus."

Turning to the question of human rights and democracy, ambassador Wolfowitz's record from his Indonesia days is even worse.

Prominent Indonesian activists and leaders of NGOs are already on record stating that when he was ambassador, Wolfowitz never met with them or visited their offices to lend moral support as they struggled for freedom from the repressive Suharto regime.

But the single most important political moment of Ambassador Wolfowitz's years in Jakarta -- the visit of President Reagan in 1986 -- shows that he played a crucial role in shielding the Suharto regime from any close scrutiny of its human rights record. He also helped keep democratization in Indonesia off the front-burner of US-Indonesia relations.

Reagan's handlers dubbed his swing through Asia the "winds of freedom" tour. As the Reagan entourage was on final approach to Bali, Indonesia, Ambassador Wolfowitz was scrambling to get the Indonesian government to grant visas to two Washington-based reporters from Australia who were flying with Reagan. The New York Times reporter, Barbara Crossette, had already been deported the day before for writing an article critical of the regime.

Wolfowitz's role was particularly telling in this mess. According to Los Angeles Times reporters Jack Nelson and Eleanor Clift, "Paul D. Wolfowitz, the US ambassador to Indonesia, had urged the Indonesians to withdraw the ban on the journalists for fear that it would draw attention to the human rights issue.

Administration officials had emphasized that Reagan had no plan to raise human rights with Suharto and would prefer that the issue not be raised publicly."

Wolfowitz's efforts to get visas for the journalists were not to defend press freedom, but rather to make sure that Suharto and Reagan would not be embarrassed by talk about human rights violations, and by having the world see the Indonesian dictator behaving as dictators often do.

"In a press briefing book compiled for the President's trip," the Times article noted, "the Administration said that 'although problems remain, there were improvements in the human rights situation in Indonesia in 1985.' In fact, Reagan's visit comes in the aftermath of a crackdown on dissidents." [1]

Reagan's trip cast more world attention on Indonesia than the country had seen in a decade -- in fact, since President Ford's 1975 stop in Jakarta on the eve of Indonesia's bloody invasion of East Timor. It was the single most important opportunity ambassador Wolfowitz would have to raise the issue of dictatorship and human rights abuses in Indonesia.

Instead, he toed the hawkish line of the Reagan administration and kept the focus exclusively on economic and regional security issues.

The Indonesia Times quoted Wolfowitz as saying that "economic issues would be on the forefront on the agenda of the talks between the two presidents." [2] The Australian journalists, immediately taken into custody in Bali and deported, were being blocked because of a recent article another journalist had written back in Australia. The article accurately described the Suharto dictatorship's abuses of human rights and focused on the Suharto family and cronies as being corrupt.

The Telegraph reported that, "Mr. Wolfowitz had described the [Australian] newspaper article as 'bad' and told a press conference on his arrival in Jakarta that the US would handle the sort of situation it created with the Indonesian Government by playing down the article and trying to ignore it." [3]

Wolfowitz's cowardly behavior prompted a rare rebuke from the head of the Australian government. The Advertiser in Australia reported that Wolfowitz was specifically singled out for criticism by Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke for his comments. Hawke "did not hesitate to attack... the new US Ambassador to Jakarta, Mr. Paul Wolfowitz." [4]

Wolfowitz not only undercut the Australian journalists who focused attention on a murderous and torturing American ally in Southeast Asia, but he lectured the Australians on how to handle an embarrassing flap like this -- play it down, ignore it.

In a Lexis-Nexis search of every mention of Wolfowitz in the press during his years as ambassador, there is not one instance where he is quoted as speaking up on human rights or democracy in Indonesia. Instead, he is consistently apologetic for the Suharto regime, always turning the focus toward matters of business, investment, and the local and regional stability the iron-fisted Suharto helped promote.

[1] Los Angeles Times, April 30, 1986, "Indonesia Bars 2 on Reagan Press Plane."

[2] Quoted in Xinhua General Overseas News Service, April 29, 1986.

[3] The Telegraph, April 24, 1986, "Hawke Blasts Bali Visa Action."

[4] The Advertiser, April 25, 1986, "Hawke Drops Kid Gloves and Slams Indonesia," by Peter Costigan.

[Jeffrey A. Winters is and associate proffesor of Political Economy Northwestern University.]

In search of PDI-P

Jakarta Post Editorial - March 29, 2005

Once upon a time in the not so distant past, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) bore the country's political hopes and dreams. Its leader, Megawati Soekarnoputri, was an icon of idealism, rising up in the face of dogma and oppression.

Her defiance of the prevailing political regimentation lifted the former housewife to folk hero status. She was no longer simply the daughter of founding president Sukarno; she now stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her father in the chronicle of Indonesia's history.

But how the mighty have fallen. The rise and fall of the PDI-P is a story worthy of a splendid tear. The PDI-P began on Monday its six-day national congress to elect a person to lead the party to the elections in 2009.

The manner of the party's electoral downfall in 2004 should have been an awakening for a party that depended so much on its "ideological" appeal rather than cash or a political network. It is time for the PDI-P to realize that it must begin to refocus on the "democratic struggle" of its name.

Unfortunately, the party has gotten further and further away from the struggle for democracy over the past several years.

Despite its motto as the "party of the little people" (partai wong cilik), the PDI-P, during its reign in the executive, was instead identified with aloofness, arrogance and vice.

It was no surprise then -- except to oblivious senior party officials -- that from winning a third of the votes in the 1998 general election, the party's support crumbled to just over 18 percent of votes cast in 2004.

Worse still, in a direct head-to-head battle with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the September presidential election, over 60 percent of Indonesians who voted cast a resounding rejection of Megawati's presidency.

What should have been a rude awakening was instead met with seeming indifference by party officials. During the transition from Megawati's to Susilo's administration, democracy's folk hero acted with belligerence as she refused to exit with the grace that defined her father.

This week the PDI-P has an opportunity to remake itself once again into the party of the little people. But in the lead-up to the congress, there were more signs of impudence toward the democratic process rather than an exaltation of it.

The weeks heading up to the congress were dominated by a frigid system that perpetuates elitism rather than egalitarianism in the party. Megawati may or may not be the best person to lead the party, but there should be an open dialog about the issue.

There seems to be a party dogma that to challenge the incumbent leader is political blasphemy. Such vanity is obsolete if the PDI-P hopes to adjust to the type of egalitarian system the country is trying to instill.

In this respect, the PDI-P would do well to learn from the Golkar Party. While that party's election process is believed to have been fraught with money politics and political horse-trading, Golkar succeeded in introducing an open system that, by and large, was akin to a democratic election.

The most effective form of democratic education is through the political party system. It is through the party ranks that the country will produce statesmen or political mercenaries.

It is not for us to say whether Megawati is still able to lead the PDI-P. But failure to embrace change will leave the party out of step with the vibrancy of Indonesian democracy. Maybe Megawati, roused by her defeat, will be the one to introduce reform to the PDI-P. Then again, maybe it is time for someone less tainted with the failings of power to take over the reins of the party.

The former president may claim that she is still beloved by the PDI-P faithful. And that is likely the truth. But she must realize that triumph and defeat come not from the clamor of the streets or the plaudits of the throng, but instead from one's own sense of statesmanship.

Will fuel price increases add the number of poor?

Jakarta Post - March 27, 2005

Jakarta -- Life is not so sweet for a small cottage industry producing caramelized snacks in Kemanggisan Pulo, West Jakarta, since the fuel price hikes.

"Our production has decreased because the increased fuel prices have inflated the prices of raw materials for our products," factory owner Emen Suhaimin said. Even before the increases took effect, raw materials such as corn, rice and sugar were already on the rise, Emen said.

With a budget of Rp 500,000 per day, the small business used to produce around 2,000 packets of snacks worth Rp 500 each. Now, with the same budget, Emen says he produces only half that volume.

There were now frequent kerosene shortages following the increase in keronsene prices for commercial users, which had led to big businesses buying up all the supplies. As his small business uses kerosene, Emen says he now has to frequently stop production. Emen has 10 employees, five of them working in the factory and five others assigned to distribute the snacks.

"Now, sometimes our sales are equal to our costs. We are making no profit," he said, Emen says he will have no option but to lay off some of his workers should his business further deteriorate.

However, analysts disagree about whether the increases in the fuel price will result in the increase in the number of poor people in the country.

Recently, two research institutes, the Institute for Economic and Social Research (LPEM-FEUI) and the Institute for Development of Economy and Finance (Indef), debated the impact of the fuel price hike on the poverty index -- the ratio of the poor to the total population.

This data showed the poverty index now stood at 16.25 percent, meaning there were some 37 million poor out of a total of 220 million Indonesians.

Under the World Bank's definition, a person is considered poor if they earn less than US$1 a day.

LPEM-FEUI said in its research said if the distribution of the fuel compensation fund did not miss its target, the program would decrease the poverty index down to 13.82 percent.

A more conservative scenario, which took into account the possibility of a small amount of the funds being wrongly targeted, indicated the program would still result in a decrease in the poverty index to 14.53 percent.

The decrease would mean that as the government channeled all of the budgeted Rp 17.8 trillion of compensation there would be at least five million people taken out of poverty.

"We are currently using detailed calculations on how much commodity prices would be affected by fuel (prices) hike and how much this would affect the poor," LPEM-FEUI director Mohamad Ikhsan told The Jakarta Post.

As a direct consequence of the increases, businesses are likely to increase prices for their products to balance their rising production costs.

The research was based the data collected by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) during the economic survey in 2002.

However, Indef, which used BPS data gathered during a 2004 social and economic survey, has come to a different conclusion.

Assuming that the hike would raise inflation to 12.5 percent, Indef said the fuel price increases would increase the poverty index to 18.61 percent, an increase of four million poor.

"We are taking into account the fact that last year only 25 percent of health funds reached their targets, not to mention other compensation schemes," Indef director Aviliani said.

Indef's report showed that last year, only 25.9 percent of rice for the poor reached its target, 26.53 percent for health services, 35 percent for scholarships and 9.89 percent for soft loans for small and medium enterprises.

"The bottom line is, if the government uses a similar scheme this year, the fund will not be effective." Creating real job opportunities would be the best way to increase the welfare of the poor, she said.

Both groups, meanwhile, urged the government to closely observe the channeling of the fund.

"Developing an independent community of information services to help oversee the use of the fund might help," Ikhsan said.

Aviliani said the government should not rely only on district officers to report who was entitled to the funds because the method would only benefit those close to the bureaucracy.

Creating a more transparent and reliable mechanism to deliver compensation funds would be the government's next biggest task, he said.

Book/film reviews

Strange screams of death

The Economist - March 31, 2005

[Book review. In the Time of Madness. Author By Richard Lloyd Parry.]

Freedom has its darker side. The fall of communism in eastern Europe saw Yugoslavia disintegrate into warfare and atrocity. On the other side of the world a decade later, when the aged tyrant Suharto was driven from power by unarmed democratic protesters, the suffering of Indonesia was only just beginning.

You could not hope for a better guide to the strange and terrible transformation that befell Indonesia in 1998 than Richard Lloyd Parry, a British journalist who, though he nominally lived in Tokyo, spent most of his time in the mighty archipelago, writing for the Independent and the Times. The shortage of good books in English about Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation but one of its most under-reported, has often been remarked on. Mr Lloyd Parry's volume fills a crucial space on the bookshelves.

What happened, alas, after Mr Suharto departed was that the hatreds and conflicts that his iron rule had long suppressed boiled over. Some of these were religious: though Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, it has a sizeable minority of Christians. Others were ethnic. Indonesia is a vast and highly diverse country, and the dominance of the Javanese isresented elsewhere.

Still other conflicts are economic. Migrations, whether forced or voluntary, have bred tensions and resentments. Mr Suharto's fall, and the hapless reign of his successor, B.J. Habibie, were played out against the backdrop of the Asian economic crisis, which hit Indonesia far harder than any other country. Other conflicts, again, are purely political in nature.

Contained within Indonesia, an artificial country that owes its existence mainly to the accident of Dutch colonisation, are a goodly number of islands and regions that resent their incorporation: from Aceh, an ancient and powerful Islamic sultanate, to West Papua, a land of Christians and animists that was only incorporated into Indonesia in 1963.

And then, of course, there is East Timor, the only part of Mr Suharto's vast empire that contrived to break free after his political demise. Mr Lloyd Parry was there for the referendum, in 1999, that precipitated the bloodiest and most systematic violence in Indonesia's post-Suharto trauma.

His account of the destruction of Dili, East Timor's capital, by militias, egged on, armed and assisted by Indonesia's forces is harrowing: the more so, perhaps, because, besieged in the UN compound there, he could report at first hand only grim fragments. He saw desperate refugees trying to push their children over the compound walls, and understood only then the magnitude of the terror that could compel a mother to push her baby through razor-wire. To his lasting shame, he confesses, he ran away.

Mr Lloyd Parry had seen horror like it many times before. In the course of this well-written but deeply bleak book, he observes mayhem in Borneo and in Jakarta itself, before the sad conclusion reached in East Timor. A longer book, though, might have offered more context. The bloodletting in 1998 and after was mercifully minor compared with the hundreds of thousands who perished in the anti-Chinese slaughter of 1965/66, or in East Timor itself after the Indonesian invasion in 1975. And Indonesia now, despite many terrible events, has found a kind of peace. It suddenly seems like a stable democracy, with an economy that is doing reasonably well, and (poor Aceh aside) no real inclination towards secession. Perhaps the time of madness really has passed.