News & issues

NGOs urge halt to forest clearing

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2005

Jakarta -- A coalition of environmental organizations are demanding that timber firms on Sumatra island that are operating based on licenses from local chief executives stop clearing forests there, as the central government is reviewing these permits.

Eye on the Forest, a coalition of Sumatra-based NGOs, said some companies were using their licenses to clear large areas of natural forests in violation of regulations issued by the Ministry of Forestry.

"Eye on the Forest supports the legal review being undertaken as a very significant step toward the conservation of some of the country's remaining natural forests," said a press statement received from the coalition on Thursday.

It said the coalition, which includes leading environmental group Walhi and the World Wild Fund (WWF), found at least 34 companies had obtained licenses from district heads in Riau to clear 89,809 hectares of natural forest in the province.

They have been supplying timber to their customers in the province for years, it added.

Child prostitutes lie to survive

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2005

Jakarta -- Although no-one can ever be absolutely certain, it is estimated that there are about 800 children aged 14 to 18 years old who are employed as sex workers in the red light cafes of Bambu Apus, East Jakarta.

"The children claim to be from Karawang, Subang and Sukabumi," said an activist from a non-governmental organization working to retrieve child prostitutes from the area.

"Some of them even proudly claim that they are from Indramayu -- another regency in West Java well-known for supplying prostitutes -- as a way to lift their status in front of guests," said the activist, who asked to be identified only as Hery.

The children actually live with their families very close to where they work.

Hery said that the children were often victims of people closest to them. "One of the girls who joined our retrieval program was visited by her mother who seemed to be fully aware of what her daughter was doing for a living," he said.

The children work from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m., luring men to come and enjoy music, beverages and their services.

"They are paid a commission of Rp 1,000 for every bottle of soft drink and Rp 2,000 for every glass of beer that they serve," Hery said. "What they make depends on how many guests they serve." Tight competition made them willing to say or do anything in order to attract guests.

According to Burdah, a trainer for a child prostitute retrieval program, the girls admitted that "it is sort of included in the procedure to give guests a 'thank you' kiss. That way, when they come back they will look for us".

Many of the children live in rented rooms behind the cafes or in nearby areas, where around 10 children shared a 12-square-meter room. "They spend their spare time checking their looks in their compact mirrors," Burdah said.

Aside from cafes, East Jakarta's local celebrations or hajatan -- marriage receptions, parties or musical performances -- are events that attract child prostitutes.

"When big hajatan are held there will be people selling drinks in pushcarts," said Hery. "They each have at least two girls called jontrot helping them to entertain buyers behind the pushcarts where a mat is spread."

Both cafe owners and pushcart vendors are very protective of the children they hire, said Hery. In the event of raids, the children were often equipped with false identity cards stating that they were at least 20 years old, along with phony marriage certificates and even "husbands".

The hardships of life has taught these children how to give smart answers to whoever asks them about their activities.

One seventeen-year old used to tell everybody that she was a high school graduate waiting to enter an academy on a scholarship. "These children often reflect what in their imagination they want to be in the replies they give," said Hery.

Bojong residents stand firm against waste plant

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2005

Theresia Sufa, Bogor -- "If they call for war, I will step in to protect the area we live in," proclaimed Saidah, a homemaker of Kampong Rawajeler in Bojong, Bogor.

She was one of hundreds of women and children who on Wednesday were preparing to stop a planned trial of the controversial Bojong waste treatment plant.

But local authorities at the last minute decided to delay the trial for an indefinite time, thereby averting a possible clash with residents who oppose the presence of the plant in the neighborhood. Residents say that the plant will adversely affect the environment and their health.

Indonesian flags were put up at half-mast, and yellow paper flags placed outside houses. Both are symbols of mourning.

"Law in this place is dead," said Karjat, who along with others formed a human blockade at the Cipeucang intersection that has to be passed to reach the Bojong plant.

"No one is listening to us anymore, and even the law is no longer siding with us. The heavies hired by the plant operator bring machetes that they often use to threaten us... police who witness it don't dare stop them," he said.

The plant, built in 2003, was meant to incinerate one-third of Jakarta's daily 6,000 tons of waste. The plant was vandalized by local residents who foiled the last trial run in November last year.

Bogor authorities revealed last week that the regental administration and the plant operator, PT Wira Guna Sejahtera, would carry out the trial on Wednesday.

Residents had built a "command post" where they gathered since Monday in anticipation of the company operating the facility at night.

On Tuesday, State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar told House of Representatives members that the trial should not proceed.

He said a joint team of experts from his office, the Office of the State Minister of Research and Technology and the Jakarta administration had asked for a delay.

The team was assigned to determine the feasibility of the plant, including studying the environmental impact analysis and problems in the field.

Bogor spokesman Sjahuri said Wednesday that the authorities will find another time for the trial run.

However, head of Bogor Council's Commission A overseeing administrative and legal affairs, Lalu Suryade, claimed that councillors would never allow the administration to carry out the trial.

Former BIN agent gets 4 years for counterfeit notes

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2005

Jakarta -- A former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) official was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday for his involvement in printing counterfeit bank notes.

The Central Jakarta District Court, however, cleared former executive head of the BIN bureau for currency counterfeiting eradication Brig. Gen. (ret) HM Zaeri of charges of circulating the counterfeit money, Antara reported.

Prosecutors had demanded eight years for Zaeri, who has evaded detention after doctors said he was recovering from a by-pass operation. The prosecutors have put him under city arrest.

Zaeri appealed the court ruling, while the panel of judges did not order his immediate imprisonment. A defendant can avoid serving a sentence until the Supreme Court hands down a legally binding verdict.

"I used the counterfeit bank notes for research purposes. To eradicate counterfeit money, we need to know its anatomy," said Zaeri, a retired police officer.

The same judges also sentenced four other former BIN officials Zaelani, Hariyanto, Woro Narus Saptoro and M. Iskandar to four years in prison and two other members of the group Tatang Rustana and Dadang Ruhiyat to five years. The last two received a longer prison term because they had previously served time for the same crime.

Unlike Zaeri, the other defendants will immediately serve their prison terms.

The court found Zaeri guilty of ordering his former subordinates to print 2,267 counterfeit bank notes of Rp 100,000 denomination at his office on Jl. Madiun in Central Jakarta.

The judges also found the group had printed 1,000 counterfeit cigarette excise stamps of Rp 3,300 and Rp 3,900 denomination.

All the defendants were charged under Articles 55, 244 and 250 of the Criminal Code and Presidential Instruction No. 1/1971 on coordinated eradication of counterfeit money.

The crime was revealed by Zaeri's other subordinates, including Jhonny A Kalalo, Zulkifli, Martono, Lukman Wirinata and Endun Kartasantana who reported the case to the police.

"What the defendants (former BIN officials) did had placed a state institution in disrepute. The charges of printing the counterfeit money for circulation were not proven because up to now we have not found evidence that the bank notes have reached the public," presiding judge Kusriyanto said.

One of the prosecutors, Eddy Saputra, said his team would regroup to determine their response to the verdict.

"We may appeal to the higher court because the convict is challenging the verdict," Eddy said.

There has been a consistent rise in the number of counterfeit banknotes. Data from Bank Indonesia shows that from January to September 2004 BI collected 36,550 fake notes comprising of 15,940 Rp 50,000 notes, 12,309 Rp 100,000 notes, 4,258 Rp 20,000 notes, 3,863 Rp 10,000 notes and 190 Rp 5,000 bills, worth a total of around Rp 2.15 billion.

Aceh

Rights NGO finds 482 cases of rights violations in Aceh

Aceh Kita - July 30, 2005

AK-9, Banda Aceh -- The Aceh Human Rights Coalition has found 482 cases of human rights violations over the last 14 months. The period investigated by the coalition was between May 2004 to June 2005.

According to the head of the coalition's data and information division, M. Isa, the data represents the results of an investigation by six human rights and legal aid posts (PB-HAM) in six regencies. Broken down the coalition secretariat found 29 cases of violations, PB-HAM East Aceh 102 cases, PB-HAM North Aceh 97 cases, Pidie PB-HAM 107 cases, PB-HAM Central Aceh 6 cases, PB-HAM West Aceh 64 cases and PB-HAM South Aceh 77 cases.

Isa said that they would continue the investigation into human rights violations that occur in Aceh. In addition to this, they will also provide assistance to victims of violence. "Violence continues to occur, although the intensity has declined slightly", said Isa on Saturday July 30.

According to Isa, although the state of emergency which Aceh was under for two years has been changed to a state of civil authority, in substantial terms the type of operations being conducted by the TNI (armed forces) and the Indonesian police in the field are the same as during the period of martial law. Isa said that on the grounds of pursuing members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), many civilians have become causalities of violence.

From the coalition's investigation said Isa, the level of violence has declined if compared with the period of martial law. But the government is still prioritising security operations as part of the law enforcement operation. In concert with the large number of cases of wrongful arrests by the TNI and police, the coalition said it would continue to provide assistance to the victims. "Through making approaches to the party concerned", he said.

The coalition has also experienced various obstacles in its investigation including a lack of investigators on the ground because many human rights workers are reluctant to conduct investigations in the field. "They are afraid because there are no security guarantees", said Isa while noting the difficulty in coordinating with security forces when civilians are arrested.

The coalition hopes that with the peace agreement between the Indonesian government and GAM being reached in Helsinki, the TNI and police as well as GAM can make peace and there will be no more causalities in Aceh. "The conflict will also end", he said hopefully. [dzie]

Total number of civilian, TNI and GAM causalities for the period:

Civilian

Dead: 56 Arrested: 26
Abducted/disappeared: 62
Wounded: 147
Total: 291

TNI-Indonesian police

Dead: 15
Arrested: 0
Abducted/disappeared: 0
Wounded: 21
Total: 36

GAM

Dead: 149
Arrested: 92
Abducted/disappeared: 9
Wounded: 6
Total: 256

[Translated by James Balowski.]

MUI declares its support for Helsinki agreement

Detik.com - July 30, 2005

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta -- Support for the government on the draft agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is growing. The National Deliberative Council VII of the Indonesian Ulamas Council (MUI) [Ulama - Islamic religious leader] has declared it support the results of the Helsinki negotiations.

"We support all efforts at dialogue which are directed towards genuine peace", said MUI's deputy chairperson Din Syamsuddin after the council met at the offices of the vice president on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan in Jakarta on Friday July 29.

The MUI believes that the decades long armed conflict in Aceh has only brought prolonged suffering which was further compounded by the earthquake and tsunami disaster at the end of December 2004.

Syamsuddin added that the ulamas are ready to socialise the results of the agreement among the Acehnese people though a religious and cultural approach. "The local ulamas have a strong influence there and what is most important from a religious point of view, is the negotiations are an islah(1) towards an improvement [of the situation]", explained Syamsuddin who also holds the post of general chairperson of the central leadership board of the Islamic mass organisation Muhammadiyah.

Will the MUI form a special socialisation team? "I think it's really up to colleges in the MUI. This is a technical issue which can be discussed with the government a national and local level", Syamsuddin answered.

Syamsuddin is of the view that the opposition, which is developing to the draft agreement, is natural. "This will not become a crucial issue in so far as the discourse which is developing is still within the framework of NKRI(2). I hope that all parties will not be hasty in prejudging the draft agreement", said Syamsuddin. (ton)

Notes:

1. Islah - An Islamic reconciliation settlement between the perpetrators and victims of a crime in which the perpetrator admits wrongdoing and offers and apology and compensation in some form.

2. NKRI - Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. A term which is often used in the context of nationalism and the desire to maintain the integrity of the Indonesian nation.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

EU monitors arrive in Aceh, prep for peace process

Jakarta Post - July 31, 2005

Jakarta -- Three members of the European Union peace monitoring team arrived in Aceh on Saturday, more than two weeks ahead of the scheduled arrival of the full peace mission.

The three monitors are Dutch national Pieter Feith, and Finns Jaakko Oksanen and Juha Christensen.

Antara reported that the monitors from the European Union, who arrived in Aceh from Jakarta, were picked up by officials driving a United Nations jeep at Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport.

The three men, who are expected to lay the groundwork for hundreds of other monitoring officials, are to visit Bireun, Lhokseumawe and Central Aceh. The three Europeans declined to provide any comment to reporters.

A 300-member peace mission is expected to arrive in Aceh after the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) officially sign a peace agreement on Aug. 15 in Helsinki, which it is hoped will end the three-decade-long conflict in the province.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the main tasks of the peace mission are to oversee the decommissioning of weapons that will be surrendered by GAM as well as the peaceful withdrawal of non-local Indonesian troops from Aceh.

It will also monitor compliance with the peace deal and define mechanisms for dispute settlement in case of violations. The details of the mission's work will be discussed during two days of discussions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs starting Monday.

The European Union (EU) will lead the monitoring mission, which will consist of military officers and civilians. About 200 monitors are expected to be provided by the EU.

Members of the team will also be provided by five contributing countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines.

The foreign monitors will serve for six months, with a further six months extension being possible.

The presence of the mission formed part of the preliminary peace deal signed by Indonesia and GAM on July 17 in Helsinki, Finland. The peace process was restarted after last year's tsunami.

TNI prepares contingency plan for Aceh truce

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2005

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The Indonesian Military (TNI) has prepared a contingency plan to anticipate possible violations of the Aceh peace agreement scheduled for signing on Aug. 15.

TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Thursday the plan came after he learned there were arguments within the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group's structure regarding the peace deal.

"In a show of our support for the peace effort, I have ordered soldiers to stop the offensive for the time being. I also ask all parties to exercise restraint for the sake of the peace deal," he said. Endriartono would not elaborate on the contingency plan.

He was speaking after a meeting with all three armed forces' chiefs of staff and Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono on a draft peace agreement signed by delegations of the Indonesian government and GAM in Helsinki on July 17. Under the draft peace deal, Indonesia will reduce its military and police presence in Aceh in conjunction with the collection and destruction of weapons possessed by the rebels.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said the process would last three months, beginning from September this year.

Endriartono refused to disclose the number of troops to be withdrawn from Aceh, but said "we will gradually pull back 30 percent of our troops each month". No fewer than 38,000 troops have been deployed to Aceh to crush GAM rebels since the government imposed martial law on the province in May 2003.

Although the Susilo government lifted martial law last year and the ensuing state of emergency in Aceh in May this year, the heavy presence of troops has been maintained.

The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement reached between the Indonesian government and GAM in December 2002 proved short-lived due to violations perpetrated by both parties. Martial law was declared five months later after the rebels refused to surrender their arms and recognize Jakarta's sovereignty over the natural resource-rich province.

From Vientiane, the European Union said it would lead a peace monitoring mission to Aceh. It will be the first time the EU has sent peace observers to Asia.

"We have experience of this type of operation and normally we do it well," foreign policy chief Javier Solana told Reuters, referring to previous dispatches of EU monitors to conflict zones in Bosnia and Africa.

The 200-strong team could start moving into place as early as Aug. 16, a day after the Aceh peace deal will be signed by the warring parties.

Joining the monitoring team will be five contributing countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They are Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines. The foreign monitors will serve for six months, with a possible extension of another six months. Endriartono asserted that the TNI would be involved in the mission only to provide protection for the observers.

Earlier in the day, a government negotiator in the Helsinki talks and Minister of Information and Communications Sofyan Djalil said the team would monitor the peace deal and define mechanisms of dispute settlement in case of violations.

Sofyan was speaking after talks with diplomats from the five ASEAN countries that will be involved in peace monitoring in Aceh.

Thailand's foreign minister said on Wednesday his country was prepared to commit between 20 and 40 monitors "depending on requests".

Foreign monitors were sent to Aceh following a truce in December 2002, but dozens of unarmed monitors from Thailand and the Philippines were forced to pull out amid escalating violence.

About 15,000 people have been killed in Aceh in one of the longest armed conflicts in the world since GAM began its struggle for Acehnese independence in 1976. A peace process was restarted in the wake of last December's tsunami, which killed 129,000 people in the province alone.

Demonstrators reject Helsinki negotiations

Tempo Interactive - July 28, 2005

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta -- Hundreds of youths from the Commandos for the Defense of the Fatherland (Komando Bela Tanah Air, Kombat) demonstrated in front of the offices of Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan in Jakarta. They were demanding that the government end negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and called for the TNI (armed forces) to be maintained in Aceh.

The demonstrators burnt GAM flags and photographs of its leaders. "Save Aceh, destroy the GAM separatists and no compromise over NKRI(1)", said action coordinator A Rizal when speaking with journalists on Thursday July 28.

According to Rizal, the government should not position the Aceh question as if it is only an issue between the government and GAM. The government should involve all components of the nation. "The government has made a terrible mistake especially in involving foreign parties", he said.

Rizal also accused Kalla, who has been active in the negotiations with GAM, of having a hidden economic motive. He said that behind the negotiations there are foreign parties who are working in cooperation with the Bukaka Group(2) and the Bakrie Group to work on rehabilitation projects in Aceh.

Notes:

1. NKRI - Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. A term which is often used in the context of nationalism and the desire to maintain the integrity of the Indonesian nation.

2. The Bukaka Group of companies is owned by the Jusuf Kalla family.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

GAM flags trampled and burnt in Jakarta

Detik.com - July 28, 2005

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta -- Scores of people calling themselves the Commandos for the Defense of the Fatherland (Komando Bela Tanah Air, Kombat) demonstrated at the offices of Vice President Jusuf Kalla. The demonstrators were urging the government to end negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

The action which featured the burning of GAM's flag began at around 10am in front of the State Palace on Jalan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta on Thursday July 28.

During the action, demonstrators wore masks with pictures of the Minister for Communication and Information, Sofyan Djalil, and the Minister for Justice and Human Rights, Hamid Awaluddin. They also wore masks with pictures of GAM figures; particularly those who live in Sweden, with their eyes blacked out.

Before burning GAM's flag, demonstrators trampled on the red flag with the picture of the crescent moon. The action did not disrupt traffic because it was held on the median strip separating Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan. Tightly guarded by scores of security personnel, they also demonstrated at the offices of Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and the US Embassy.

According to the action coordinator, A. Rizal, GAM is a separatist movement that is undermining Indonesia's unity. Rizal said that in dealing with this separatist movement the government has in fact been moderate and accommodated all of the people's demands though enacting Law Number 18/2001 on special autonomy and bringing Islamic law into effect in Aceh.

However Rizal regretted that in holding the negotiations, the government did not involve other components of society while in fact the meeting involved GAM figures that have already become foreign citizens.

"We smell an economic motive behind the negotiations in Helsinki. That is the desire by foreign parties who want to cooperate with the Bakrie Group the Bukaka Group to work on rehabilitation projects in Aceh", Rizal said accusingly. The Bakrie Group is a company owned by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Aburizal Bakrie, while the Bukaka Group is a group of companies owned by the Kalla family.

Kombat urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to end all forms of negotiation with GAM. As of 11am, the action was still taking place. (ism)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Megawati does not agree with local political parties

Aceh Kita - July 28, 2005

Jakarta -- Megawati Sukarnoputri, the former president of Indonesia, says she does not agree with the existence of local parties in Aceh.

According to Megawati, the existence of local parties is heavily loaded with ideological rather than managerial issues. "Local parties which are linked to regionalism, ethnicity, invariably represent an entry point for efforts to succeed [from Indonesia]", she said during a class at the National Defense Institute in Jakarta on Thursday July 28.

Megawati said that local parties are not in accordance with the understanding of nationhood or integration. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will endeavor to the fullest, through the People's Representative Assembly (DPR), to prevent the internationalisation of the Aceh question.

If this effort is unsuccessful, Megawati, as the general chairperson of the PDI-P will call on all party members and bodies, in the name of nationalism, to continue to struggle though those means that are available constitutionally and legally.

The Association of Anti-Military Activists (Hantam) meanwhile, says that although there are many who have expressed doubt, the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have succeeded in agreeing on sensitive issues for discussion. "Indonesia and GAM have emerged as victors and have succeeded in getting past difficult issues", they wrote in a release received by Aceh Kita.

Hantam, an organisation established by student activists from the Ar-Raniry State Institute of Islamic Studies, also supports the formation of local political parties in Aceh. It is through these local parties wrote Hantam, that former GAM members can participate in the political process in Aceh. "We believe, the presence of local political parties in Indonesia at this time is a necessity", they said.

The presence of local parties said Hantam would bring benefits to the people of Aceh. Hantam believes that to date, the presence of national political parties in Aceh has not been able to accommodate the interests of the Acehnese people.

"It is hoped that the presence of local political parties can accommodate the interests of the people in the regions", wrote Hantam, "[It will] also broaden people's political participation and strengthen the constituency's control over the political parties and their representatives in parliament". [asf]

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Peace agreement reached but hurdles remain

Green Left Weekly - July 27, 2005

James Balowski, Jakarta -- A historic peace agreement has been reached between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) following a fifth round of negotiations in Helsinki, Finland, which ended on July 17. But strong opposition to the deal remains among the Indonesia's lawmakers and, if past experience is anything to go by, the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) will attempt to sabotage the agreement.

On July 20, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the TNI to halt its military operations against GAM and suggested that TNI troops should remain in their barracks while the peace agreement is being finalised.

The full peace accord is to be signed in Aceh on August 15. Former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, who mediated the talks, told Associated Press on July 17 that he assumed outside monitors would be present for the signing. He urged both sides to stop fighting by then. "All hostilities have to end with the signing", Ahtisaari said. "'They're unfortunately still going on."

In a joint statement, the two sides said the preliminary agreement covers political participation, human rights issues, an amnesty for GAM members, security arrangements and a disputes settlement body. It also includes the establishment of a monitoring mission of 300 unarmed observers from the European Union and the Association of South-East Asian Nations. Early in the talks, GAM dropped its demand for independence for the province of 4 million people and agreed instead to "self- governance" within the Republic of Indonesia.

Under the agreement, TNI troops withdrawals will start in September and be completed by December 31, reducing the number of TNI troops in Aceh from 35,000 to 13,000, and the number of Indonesian police from 15,000 to 10,000. That will leave 23,000 Indonesian security personnel in Aceh.

On the question of political participation, there has been conflicting statements over what form this will take. The major sticking point during the talks was GAM's demand to that Acehnese provincial political parties be legally recognised. This was strongly opposed by members of the Indonesian parliament. Indonesian electoral laws deny recognition to provincial parties. To be legally recognised, a party must have its headquarters in Jakarta and representation in half of the country's 32 provinces -- something that is virtually impossible for GAM to achieve.

The Indonesian negotiators initially said they only agree to "former" GAM rebels being able to participate in Acehnese provincial elections if they joined existing parties. Jakarta has now reportedly agreed to change either the electoral laws or the law on special autonomy for Aceh to allow for recognition of Aceh-only based parties.

GAM spokesperson Bakhtiar Abdullah in Helsinki told Reuters on July 18 that the rebels had taken a chance on the deal with Jakarta "because we want to give the people of Aceh a chance to rebuild after the devastating tsunami and to provide them with the opportunity to determine their own internal affairs". But, he added, "this leap of faith is not without risks, and we now require the Indonesian government to exercise full authority over the Indonesian military in order to allow this process to succeed".

Secret war

Indonesia has been waging a secret war against the Acehnese people since GAM declared Aceh's independence in 1976. Between 1990 and 1998, Jakarta declared the oil-rich province a "Military Operations Area". In that period, some 12,000 people -- mostly unarmed civilians -- were killed by the Indonesian security forces.

In December 2003, Jakarta and GAM signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement which required both sides to begin demilitarisation within two months and a Joint Security Committee (JSC) was created to monitor the agreement.

Jakarta however complained that GAM was taking advantage of the cease-fire to build up its guerrilla forces and following a series of attacks by TNI-backed militia on the JSC offices, peace monitors were forced to leave.

Then, on May 18, 2004, Jakarta sabotaged the peace process by arresting five GAM negotiators and introducing new conditions which GAM could not possibly agree to and which were never covered in the original the agreement.

Claiming that GAM was refusing to talk about "substantive issues", then-President Megawati Sukarnoputri placed Aceh under martial law and authorised the TNI to launched a new military offensive against GAM.

Although martial law later replaced by a state of civil emergency, military operations continued and rights groups say that thousands have been killed, disappeared or imprisoned during this period. Reports of torture, abductions and rape are widespread and the province is now the most corrupt in the country.

The TNI has also been accused of disrupting relief post-tsunami operations by restricting the movement of foreign aid workers, hoarding and reselling humanitarian aid and harassing local aid groups.

Elite opposition

The most vocal opposition to July 17 agreement has come from the Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). But opposition has also been expressed from other MPs, who are simply using the issue to attack the government.

The major criticism of the agreement within the Indonesian political elite is that it could open the way for the formation of political parties based on religion (which actually already exist) or ethnicity. However, this is merely a cover for the elite critics real concern -- losing control of the electoral process.

This year Indonesia held the first direct regional elections, but the process remains tightly controlled by the big parties.

Under the current law, a party or group of parties with at least 15% of the vote or seats in the local legislature must nominate only "independent" candidates. However, there have been reports of candidates "contributing" as much as 1 billion rupiah (about US$100,000) to be nominated. Local political parties are a threat to this control. It was this fear that lead to a deal by most of the major parties except the PDI-P to support the nomination of "former" GAM members as their candidates in Aceh -- a concession GAM rejected.

The TNI has most to loose from an end to the conflict in Aceh. Only 30% of the TNI's budget is funded by the government and the shortfall is made up from various military-run businesses and from illegal activities such as drug dealing, illegal logging, extortion, prostitution, gambling and smuggling. Carrying out such illegal activities requires a major troop presence on the ground, so maintaining an atmosphere of uncertainty, violence and tension -- or in Aceh, all-out war -- is a necessity for the TNI.

Late last year it was reported that the military operation in Aceh had cost Jakarta some US$3 billion since martial law was imposed. In late June the TNI requested an additional US$55 million for its Aceh operations.

The government's motives for supporting the peace process are complex and reflect divisions within the ruling elite.

The Aceh conflict became the focus of international attention when the province was struck by the December 26 tsunami which left about 165,000 people dead or missing. Foreign aid workers poured into the formerly closed province, leading to pressure on Jakarta to halt its counter-insurgency war.

Billions of dollars of international aid has been committed to Indonesia. But donors are concerned that the rehabilitation and reconstruction process will be jeopardised by a continuation of the conflict in Aceh. Jakarta stands to loose these funds if it cannot peacefully resolve the conflict.

Despite TNI's public bluster, its military operation against GAM has failed. It has only intensified the Acehnese people's hatred of the TNI and Jakarta's rule. Given Indonesia's weak and stagnating economy, the financial burden of the war has simply becoming unsustainable.

Jakarta has also been lobbying hard to convince Washington to fully restore military ties arguing that the TNI has reformed and is coming under civilian control. Aceh is one of the places where the TNI is most out of control and unless the war stops, there is little chance of establishing any kind of meaningful civilian control over the TNI.

Even before the deal was made, the TNI has been preparing the ground to negate the promised troop withdrawals.

On July 7, the Detik news website reported that Ermaya Suradinata, the head of a TNI think-tank, had said that if "non- organic" (i.e., non-Acehnese) TNI troops are withdrawn from Aceh they must be reinforced by "organic" (Acehnese) TNI troops.

Eleven days later, the head of the TNI, General Endriartono Sutarto, warned that troops would be returned to Aceh if GAM does not surrender all its weapons within the agreed three-month period. "We will see their commitment. If the reality in the field is different, we will send back military troops to Aceh. It is that simple", he old the Antara state news agency.

Motorbike owners obliged to display anti-peace stickers

Fpdra.org - July 27, 2005

Ali Imran, Meulaboh -- People in Meulaboh, West Aceh, are again starting to feel concerned after the appearance of a sticker which they are obliged to buy and display on their motorbikes. This has been felt especially by those who own motorbikes who are racing to get hold of the sticker to ensure they are safe from sweeps by local security forces.

Asnawi, a young man in Meulaboh, told Fpdra.org that the importance of the sticker has already outstripped a driver's licence or motor vehicle registration because the sticker must be attacked to every single motorbike. If a motorbike does not have the sticker the rider can be detained by the police or TNI (armed forces) he explained.

When asked to describe the sticker, with a half-smile Asnawi answered that the contents are extremely provocative in the context of the peace agreement reached between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki. Asnawi then showed Fpdra.org an example of the sticker that he had already attached to his motorbike, which read "The GAM separatists are my enemy, Hasan Tiro(1) is a traitor to my nation, NKRI(2) is my country".

Maita who is a teacher at a local primary school made similar comments. According to Maita, if a motorbike does not have the sticker security forces will detain you. When asked who made the sticker and how much it costs, neither Asnawi or Maita knew because both got their stickers either from neighbours or friends at their office.

Notes:

1. Hasan Tiro - Hasan Tiro founded the Free Aceh Movement in 1976 and has lived in Sweden since 1979.

2. NKRI - Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. A term which is often used in the context of nationalism and the desire to maintain the integrity of the Indonesian nation.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Military threatening Aceh pact, say rebels

The Australian - July 27, 2005

Sian Powell, Jakarta -- Separatist rebels in Aceh claim their hard-won draft peace agreement with Jakarta has been endangered by an accelerating military campaign of intimidation and violence in the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian province.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week ordered the military to cease hunting the rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), an order repeated by Indonesia's supreme military chief, Endriatono Sutarto.

The general told his troops to hunt rebels only if they committed crimes. But separatists said yesterday unprovoked violence had intensified and could hinder the final signing of the agreement, scheduled for August 15.

GAM spokesman Sofyan Dawood, speaking from the Aceh jungle, told The Australian that Indonesian soldiers had besieged a village on Monday. "The TNI (Indonesian military) is still conducting military operations," he said. "It's even worse than before the draft agreement was finalised."

Rebels earlier claimed at least 10 people had been killed since the agreement was negotiated. Mr Dawood said the next few weeks were crucial for the chances of long-term peace in Aceh, where a separatist conflict has raged for more than three decades, killing as many as 15,000 people.

"If there is no meeting point (on a scale-down of operations), there is the possibility the negotiations will be affected," he said. "The military is now looking for wealth. They have asked for money from the people, from leaders in Aceh. It's a provable violation."

Mr Dawood said if the violence continued, he could call a halt to the whole peace agreement process. "Indoneesia must be strict," he said. "The chief must able to manage his soldiers."

The Indonesian military has denied any wrongdoing. Lieutenant Colonel Erie Sutiko, military spokesman in the Acehnese city of Lhokseumawe, said soldiers were following the Government's orders and staying put in their sectors.

"We cannot do anything outside our sector, including pursuit, even if it's a GAM leader," he said. "Now we are just co- ordinating security and reconstruction for Aceh." The rebels' claims, he said, were fabrications. "So far, the TNI in Aceh has fully supported the policy of the Government."

The Government has agreed to begin phasing out its 40,000-strong military and police presence in Aceh before the year's end, in conjunction with the surrender and destruction of rebel weapons. The rebels have agreed to "set aside" their claims for independence, and Jakarta has agreed to push forward GAM's political aspirations.

Acehnese have high hopes, but remain wary

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2005

Jakarta -- The Acehnese people are looking forward to the signing of the peace deal scheduled for Aug. 15 but fear a repetition of the short-lived calm and freedoms that followed earlier botched agreements.

"We still haven't got over the collapse of the (Cessation of Hostilities Agreeement) CoHA," said Fakhrulsyah Mega of the Joint Commission for a New Aceh (KBAB) on Tuesday. That deal signed in late 2002 by the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) later broke down and was followed by repressive military operations and martial law.

"We urge the President to issue a decree to guarantee the protection of Acehnese civilians involved in the entire peace process," Fakhrulsyah said.

After the CoHA signing, the Acehnese were allowed to move around freely in safety for a few months and there were less civilians caught in military-GAM crossfire. When the accord collapsed, however, peace and independence activists were sought by security force and went into hiding while the year-long martial law operation began in May 2003.

"We are again seeing signs of the mobilization of civilians to reject the negotiations," Fakhrulsyah said. He added that the CoHa process was elitist, "and so is this one, and we are pushing for more public participation in the future." Members of the KBAB commission, accompanied by another peace NGO, the Tifa Foundation, visited The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. The groups, comprising student representatives, local leaders, ulema, women's activists and workers, said the Acehnese had high hopes for the agreement to be signed in Helsinki, Finland.

"Hopefully, there will be less lives lost, less unemployment and more freedom for farmers to be able to cultivate their land," said Basri, a pedicab driver who leads hundreds of becak drivers in Banda Aceh. "I just want to be able to ride my pedicab in peace," he added, saying his drivers were used to experiencing extortion from security forces.

The groups issued a statement saying the main requisite to the reconstruction of Aceh after the December tsunami was "peace, attained with justice and dignity." They also expressed disappointment that the national discourse had focused on the creation of local political parties, a main demand of the GAM in the negotiations in Helsinki. "It's already a huge step that GAM no longer demands independence; we (the Acehnese) might not even choose their party," one activist said.

Fakhrulsyah said a "peace parade" by local performers was planned for Aug. 7 and 8 in Aceh to express support for the process. The parade from Kuta Raja, in Banda Aceh, to Pasai followed "a traditional route made for the declarations of peace," he said.

Meanwhile, House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono said on Tuesday the government had agreed to hold a consultative meeting with leaders of the House, as well as chairmen of House factions and related commissions on Aug. 5 regarding the results of the recent peace talks in Helsinki.

"The House will not push the government on the matter but only give suggestions based on the explanations provided by (negotiators). There will not be approvals or decisions sought," he said.

However, several lawmakers from Commission I on defense and foreign affairs demanded on Tuesday a hearing session with the government to discuss the results of the preliminary peace talks before the government moved to officially sign the deal with GAM.

"The government has excluded the House too many times on this issue. We're having a deal with people who are no longer Indonesians, with talks held in Helsinki, and with monitoring teams coming from the European Union (EU)," said commission deputy Sidharto Danusbroto from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

A hearing session normally discusses a specific issue in more detail and results in formally binding conclusions.

'Local parties would not lead to independence'

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2005

The government's decision to allow the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and other groups in Aceh to set up their own local political parties has been called quite controversial. The Jakarta Post's Sri Wahyuni talked to political expert Pratikno of Gadjah Mada University about the issue. The following are excerpts from the interview.

Question: What is your comment regarding the demand (for political participation in Aceh)?

Answer: The establishment of a local political party in Aceh gives the hope of a switch in GAM's movement from the armed, physical one, which is clearly unconstitutional, into the formal, institutionalized, political one. Yet, it also invites new problems, especially regarding whether the switch in the form of the movement will also be followed by a switch in the goal of the fight.

Will the party be used to control the government to work for Aceh's interests or will they use it for fighting for independence?

If they plan to use it to campaign for independence, there will be no room for such a mechanism in the format of a Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI). Such a mechanism will only work in a federalist country, in which the central government entity is agreed upon by all of the political communities, or all the states, in the respective federal system.

In a federal or semi-federal political mechanism, a state can have its independence if all the other states in the respective federation agree to give it independence, a standard mechanism in other countries. The case with Quebec in Canada, or the Northern Ireland in the UK are examples.

In other words, if GAM has the purpose of using a local political party to fight for independence or it is given the chance to fight for independence through a local political party, constitutional support is required.

What do you mean by that?

This means that as long as it is provided within the context of the unitary state, a local political party will not create an opportunity for them to have independence through a constitutional political mechanism.

If they still want to have that, then they have to go back to their armed, physical struggle. In other words, if the central government still has the control over the armed forces, the chance for an armed movement in Aceh will not be there.

Some people worry that other regions will demand the same thing. Your comments?

I am among those who believe that once GAM's demand is approved, other regions in the country will also demand the same. They want their own local political parties. Why? It is because local politicians have been feeling a great amount of dissatisfaction against the political parties on the national level. One that has made them very annoyed is the excessive centralization.

At the time that decentralization was completed and autonomy provided to regional administrations, those same principles were not given to political parties in outlying provinces. It is a real phenomenon. One of the most recent examples is political parties on the regional levels intervening in the decisions of their candidates for a regional election. That is why local political parties will become a nationwide demand.

Is that not good for the country?

It will very much depend on whether it has a serious impact on the law on political parties. Giving local political parties a chance to get established, would need particular requirements and prerequisites.

There are indeed some advantages if local political parties were established in all regions across Indonesia. Among others, they will revise the floating political parties or centralized political parties that do not work on the grassroots level. They will also promote contextual governance at the regional level. The other advantage is the possible emergence of political parties that are more grassroots-based.

All, however, must be followed by the mechanism for a coalition between local political parties as well as between local and national political parties to emerge when they deal with the national election. Otherwise, it could create some complex problems.

Firstly, when local political parties and political parties on the national levels are to form an affiliation ahead of a national election, the process opens the door for vote-buying and bribery.

Secondly, when local political parties can easily be established in any region, it can be easily predicted that the proliferation of political parties will prevail. Once it prevails, it will be difficult for the political party system to be simplified, and so in turn could also lead to a chaotic transition in the democratization process.

Proliferation of political parties, too, will make it difficult for the parties to form coalitions among them. Why, because none of the existing political parties has a clear platform, it will also be difficult for us to find the similarities as well as the differences among them.

What is your suggestions regarding this?

There must be a willingness among the existing political parties on the national level to clarify their platforms. The clearest platform that needs to be made distinct, according to me, is "the economic ideology". Whether they offer a global or social mechanism in the economy will become a clear pendulum, or a basis of ideology, for forming coalitions.

The basis of ideology or the pendulum now varies quite a bit, ranging from religions, regions, history and many other group identities. Unless something is done about it, it will be just duplicated in the establishment of local political parties in the regional levels once it made possible.

The problems related to political parties cannot be dealt with by regulating the mechanisms. It is parts of the parties' internal process. But, we can engineer the process through political education and public pressure.

House leaders get behind Aceh deal

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Several leaders of the House of Representatives have expressed support for the government's plan to allow members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to set up local political parties, a key GAM demand for a lasting peace deal in Aceh but which has been opposed by some lawmakers.

The positive sign emerged during a meeting late on Sunday at the residence of Vice President Jusuf Kalla between top government officials and executives from nine political parties in the House. However, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which has the second largest faction in the House, was absent from the meeting.

House Speaker Agung Laksono, who is also deputy leader of the Golkar Party, the largest faction in the House, said on Monday he was optimistic the proposal on local parties would be endorsed by the House.

House Deputy Speaker Zaenal Ma'arif of the Star Reform Party (PBR) also was optimistic. "Why wouldn't we endorse the proposal? We need to remember that this is perhaps the only way to establish peace in Aceh. As long as it is not against the Constitution, just go ahead," he said.

The government and GAM leaders concluded a week of peace talks on July 17 in Helsinki. One of the key points of the peace deal, aimed at ending decades of conflict in oil-rich Aceh, is a provision allowing GAM members to form local political parties as vehicles to contest local elections.

Some lawmakers have strongly opposed the proposal, saying it violates existing laws and could trigger other regions to demand similar treatment.

Kalla is optimistic nine of the 10 factions in the House will approve the local party proposal and provide a legal basis for it, either by revising Law No. 18/2001 on special autonomy for Aceh or Law No. 31/2002 on political parties.

Agung said most factions in the House would allow the government to sign the peace deal with GAM on Aug. 15 without first having to seek formal approval from the House.

But he said that before the signing, there would be a consultative meeting between lawmakers and the government, during which the government would explain the details of the peace deal and seek input for its implementation.

"It will not be a forum to seek approval because it is an agreement with Indonesians, not foreigners. But some elements in the deal will need the House's approval, such as the granting of amnesty (for rebels) and the creation of local parties in Aceh," said Agung, pointing out that revising the law on special autonomy for Aceh or the law on political parties would require the approval of the House.

Asked about the fact that some GAM leaders were no longer Indonesian citizens, Agung said what mattered was that they intended to re-embrace their Indonesian citizenship.

Some lawmakers had earlier demanded the government not sign the deal without first obtaining the House's approval, arguing that it was in essence a peace deal with foreigners.

There are eight points of the Helsinki peace deal, including: terminating the conflict in Aceh peacefully and comprehensively; granting amnesty for GAM members and restoring all of their rights; GAM disarming and the Indonesian Military withdrawing troops from Aceh from September to December; reorganizing the Aceh administration with a clearer distinction of authority between the central and local governments.

Other points include allowing former GAM members to contest elections and set up national parties (the creation of local parties will be discussed by the House sometime in the next 18 months); the government rebuilding infrastructure destroyed in the conflict and integrating former GAM members back into society; Aceh implementing transparent economic management; and monitoring of the peace deal by teams from the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Kalla holds closed meeting on with political leaders

Kompas - July 25, 2005

Jakarta -- After earlier inviting a number of figures from the political parties to discuss the Helsinki negotiations, on Monday July 24, Vice President Jusuf Kalla held follow up discussions with a number of party faction leaders from the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) at his official residence on Jalan Diponegoro.

Present at the meeting was United Development Party (PPP) faction chairperson Endin AJ Soefihara, Star Reform Party (PBR) faction chairperson Bursah Zarnubi along with a number of other faction heads. Only leaders of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) failed to attend.

Also present at the meeting were three of four DPR leaders including house speaker Agung Laksono and deputy speakers Muhaimin Iskandar and Zaenal Ma'arif. The deputy speaker from the PDI-P fraction, Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, did not appear.

Other political party leaders who were present included Zainuddin MZ from PBR, Sutrisno Bachir from the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Tifatul Sembiring from the Prosperity and Justice Party (PKS).

Cabinet members who attended included the Minister for Justice and Human Rights, Hamid Awaluddin, who also headed the Indonesian delegation in the Helsinki negotiations, the Minister of Communication and Information, Sofyan Djalil, the State Minister for Administrative Reforms, Taufiq Effendi, the Minister for Labour and Transmigration, Fahmi Idris, the State Minister for the Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Saifullah Yusuf, and the Minster of Forestry MS Kaban.

According to a security guard, the meeting was indeed closed and the media was not notified.

Soefihara, who was sought for conformation on the matter, confirmed that the meeting took place. "We discussed the [issue of] GAM [Free Aceh Movement] and resolving it in a comprehensive, peaceful and dignified manner", he said through an SMS message received by Kompas. A similar message was received from Zarnubi. "Yes it's true", he wrote briefly. What was agreed to during the meeting has still not been ascertained. The only reports on the issue said that the meeting is still taking place.

Nevertheless, according to one of the participants, the meeting was able to discuss GAM activists who will be granted amnesty after consideration by the DPR. After being granted amnesty, GAM activists' political rights will be restored and they will be given an opportunity to participate in regional and legislative elections and other political rights. (sut)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

West Papua

KNPI to protest US congress bill on Papua

Antara - July 31, 2005

Jakarta -- The Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI) will soon send a protest letter to the US administration through its embassy here against the US Congress adopting a bill questioning the status of Papua.

"Our formal protest note will be conveyed through the US embassy here," Nicolaus Uskono, head of the KNPI executive board's foreign affairs department, said on the way from Shenzhen, China, to Jakarta, on Saturday.

Earlier, on Friday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had said during his visit in Shenzhen that he had read a copy of the bill that questions the status of Papua suggesting the US was supporting certain parties in the province. A copy of the bill had also been circulated in resource-rich Papua.

"I am concerned (by the bill) and unhappy about these ways because it's an internal affair. It's difficult for us to accept excessive interference," the President told reporters.

"I call on all friendly nations and the United Nations to respect Indonesia's territorial integrity and let us solve our own problems," he said.

Yudhoyono said such intervention could affect relations between the two countries which had begun to improve since his election last year and a visit to Washington in May.

Nicolaus who was in the President's entoruage during the latter's visit to China said the Indonesian unitary system covering the territory from Sabang in Aceh to Merauke in Papua was already final.

Therefore, he added, any party that attempted to interfere in Indonesia's domestic affairs would get resistance.

"We deplore what has happened in the US Congress. Their views are wrong and we urge them to say that what happened in the Congress was a mistake," he added.

He also said, Papua was part of the Indonesian unitary system and had a special autonomy to improve the people's welfare.

The US Congress recently approved a bill on Papua which if passed into law could increase international pressure on the Indonesian government to allow the people of Papua to vote whether to remain part of Indonesia or become an independent nation.

Section 1115 of Bill 2061 especially questions the Act of Free Choice Indonesia held in 1969, when selected Papuan elders voted unanimously to join Indonesia "in circumstances that were subject to both overt and covert forms of manipulation", according to the bill.

The bill asks the US. secretary of state to file a report analyzing the 1969 Act of Free Choice within 180 days after the enactment of the bill.

Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin said in Jakarta on Friday the government would use all diplomatic avenues to block the act.

Yuri said he was confident Indonesia had room to maneuver diplomatically to block any potential negative impact from the bill.

The bill is one of four approved by the US Congress all of which concerned financial aid to foreign militaries, including the Indonesia military.

In the US, bills must be approved by the Congress and the President before becoming law.

"This bill is interesting because some of the clauses that were very critical toward Papua were amended. This is our main concern," Yuri said.

US won't support Papuan separatism: State Dept.

Antara - July 31, 2005

Jakarta -- The US State Department announced on Friday that Washington would not support any effort that would allow Papua to gain independence from Indonesia.

"With respect to Papua, the US reiterates its firm support for the territorial integrity of Indonesia. The US does not support or condone any efforts to promote the secession of Papua from the Republic of Indonesia.

We believe that implementation of political and economic reforms, in the context of Special Autonomy and within a united Indonesia, is the key to addressing longstanding grievances, including human rights concerns," McCormack said during a dailybriefing on July 29 in Washington.

McCormack's remarks were made apparently in response to Indonesia's warning to the US not to interfere in Indonesia's domestic affairs after the US House of Representatives recently approved a bill that questions the status of Papua.

Speaking to reporters on Friday during a visit to Shenzen, China, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said such intervention could affect relations between the two countries, which have begun to improve since his election last year and avisit to Washington in May. "I am concerned (by the bill)... this (the Papua issue) is Indonesia's domestic affair," he said.

The US House recently approved a bill on Papua, which if passed into law, could increase international pressure for the Indonesian government to allow the people of resource-rich Papua to vote on whether to remain a part of Indonesia or become an independent nation.

Susilo warns US not to interfere in Papua

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2005

Jakarta/Shenzen, China -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned the US not to interfere in Indonesia's domestic affairs after the US House of Representatives recently approved a bill that questions the status of Papua.

Speaking to reporters on Friday during a visit to Shenzen, China, Susilo said such intervention could affect relations between the two countries, which have begun to improve since his election last year and a visit to Washington in May.

"I am concerned (by the bill)... this (the Papua issue) is Indonesia's domestic affair. I call on all friendly states and the United Nations to respect Indonesia's territorial integrity and let us solve our own problems," he said.

The US House of Representatives recently approved a bill on Papua which if passed into law could increase international pressure for the Indonesian government to allow the people of the resource-rich Papua to vote whether to remain a part of Indonesia or become an independent nation.

Section 1115 of Bill No. 2061 especially questions the Act of Free Choice Indonesia held in 1969, when selected Papuan elders voted unanimously to join Indonesia "in circumstances that were subject to both overt and covert forms of manipulation", according to the bill.

The bill asks the US secretary of state to file a report analyzing the 1969 Act of Free Choice within 180 days after the enactment of the bill.

Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin said in Jakarta on Friday the government would use all diplomatic avenues to block the act.

Yuri said he was confident Indonesia had room to maneuver diplomatically to block any potential negative impacts from the bill.

The bill is one of four bills approved by the US House of Representatives, all of which concern financial aid to foreign militaries, including the Indonesia Military. In the US, bills must be approved by the Congress and the President before becoming law.

"This bill is interesting because some of the clauses that are very critical toward Papua were amended. This is our main concern," Yuri said.

Military ties

US Congress sends mixed message on military

Media Monitors Network - July 30, 2005

Brian McAfee -- "The military and Suharto had said their justification for their massive crime was an imminent takeover of Indonesia by the PKI. In recent years documents have proven this excuse to be a fabrication. From 1965 until 1999 the Indonesian dictatorship had received the support of the US government."

The US Senate voted against giving the human rights abuses countering the House's vote to reinstate funding and training for the Indonesian military.

President George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice had been pushing for a full restoration of all military ties to Indonesia because of the ongoing terrorist threat but the persistence of human rights abuses and the corrupt nature of the Indonesian military and political system are problematic when considering the legitimacy of such an idea.

"The Indonesian military has a long way to go before it becomes an accountable institution that respects human rights and civilian authority," states Karen Orenstein of East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)

The US House of Representatives had passed a bill in June restoring full military aid to Indonesia. On this, Republican congressman from West Michigan, Pete Hoekstra says, "US policy towards Indonesia focuses on assisting and providing humanitarian assistance. Lingering concerns exist regarding human rights issues and violence in places such as Aceh and West Papua. In 2005 the Secretary of State (Condoleezza Rice) certified that Indonesia has met the requirements for International Military Education and Training [IMET)."

IMET parallels the School of The American's now The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation both training schools having reputations for churning out soldiers and police that frequently turn up on lists of human rights abusers or worse. While IMET training takes place in the US another program, Joint Combined Exchange Training [JCET] sends Special Forces teams to other countries, particularly Indonesia.

Chalmers Johnson, in his book "Blowback," cites JCET training as a direct link to Indonesian rapes and murders of civilians in Indonesia. Johnson's more recent book, "The Sorrow of Empire," gives an updated account of US Empire.

The US's historical relationship with Indonesia is a sordid one. It first came to light when Alan L. Pope, an American pilot, was shot down while on a bombing run over the Indonesian archipelago, after "Rebels" had bombed a church and an outdoor market on May 18, 1958. The US had orchestrated B-26 bombing and strafing raids on the civilian population in an attempt to destabilize the Sukarno government. The numbers of civilian deaths appear to have been significant but actual numbers have never been established.

In 1962 the Kennedy administration informed Sukarno that the US would support the Indonesian military's invasion and occupation of West Papua.

Seven years later the Nixon administration recognized the results of a rigged, fraudulent vote in which 1,022 people voted to join Indonesia, in a population of over 800,000. The US recognized this as a legitimate agreement of the Papuan population to join Indonesia. In government documents declassified last year and available on the National Security Archive web site it is shown that the Indonesian takeover of West Papua and fraudulent vote, dubbed a "free choice" by Indonesia and the US was illegitimate and a deception. For 36 years now West Papua has been exploited and abused by the Indonesian military, International Corporations and almost continuous support of the US government.

Murders and rapes and forced removal from their land at the hand of the military was becoming commonplace. A US corporation with close ties to the military and notoriety because of its treatment of its workers and the surrounding population in Papua is Freeport, a copper and gold mining company associated with Henry Kissinger.

In 1965 the US played a significant role in the overthrow of Sukarno and the subsequent murders of over 500,000 people. In one of the worst mass murders in world history within a short period of time huge numbers of people, sometimes-whole families were rounded up and evacuated. Many were members of the PKI; Indonesia's Communist party, with an estimated 1 million members, others were random victims. Hundreds of thousands became political prisoners. One of those, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who was sympathetic with the PKI, was placed in an island concentration camp for 17 years. Pramoedya is Indonesian's most famous writer. To this day, those involved in this crime against humanity remain free.

The military and Suharto had said their justification for their massive crime was an imminent takeover of Indonesia by the PKI. In recent years documents have proven this excuse to be a fabrication. From 1965 until 1999 the Indonesian dictatorship had received the support of the US government.

Ten years after the mass murder of over half a million leftists, East Timor, having just received her independence from being a Portuguese colony was invaded by the Indonesian military, and again, with the blessing of the US government. Gerald R. Ford and Henry Kissinger gave the green light and subsequently shipped the Indonesians M-16 rifles and other military equipment. Result, forcible takeover of a small country of 800,000 people, mostly very poor. Within a short period of time 200,000 civilians were killed in the takeover largely with the US supplied rifles. The US supported the events in East Timor until 1991. When an infamous massacre occurred that was covered by the world press only then did the US government restrict some weapons from going to the Indonesian military. In 1998 an Australian newspaper, The Age, had a small report of the discovery of oil in East Timor territorial waters. In 1999 when East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia the US and Australia, Britain and the UN supported its move for independence. The Indonesian response was to burn down and destroy as much of the newly independent country on their way out.

Aceh in Indonesia's northwest is a mostly poor, primarily Muslim area that was hardest hit by last year's Tsunami. Fishing was the primary source of income for many Acehanese when the Tsunami hit. Over 100,000 were said to be lost in the area.

About 30 years ago oil and natural gas deposits were discovered in the Aceh region but the people never saw any of the benefits. An Aceh independence movement was formed called GAM. That has been battling the Indonesian government since 1976 with over 10,000 deaths related to the conflict. A peace agreement was just signed but it is unknown if it will hold. No doubt the US and Australia have a keen interest in access to the large oil and natural gas deposits in the area.

The Bush administration and those in congress who wish to fully normalize relations with the Indonesian government and restore weapons sales and training to the Indonesian military would be to help in propping up and giving assistance to a corrupted system. This would not be anything new.

The US has been doing this with Indonesia for 50 years. The approximately one million deaths in Indonesia committed by the Indonesian military from 1965 on, in a large part had to do with US hegemony, hubris, and greed. It is time for some decency, not business as usual.

Indonesia denies human rights abuses

Associated Press - July 30, 2005

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta -- Indonesia denied Saturday that any of its security forces trained in the United States had a history of human rights violations, as alleged in a report released by a US congressional investigative office.

The Government Accountability Office said in the report issued Friday that military trainers violated US law by instructing 6,900 Indonesian, Filipino and Thai police without determining beforehand whether they had a history of human rights violations.

The Southeast Asian police were trained by the US Justice Department with State Department law enforcement assistance between 2001 and 2004 at a cost of $265.7 million, the report said.

Among the 4,000 Indonesians trained in civil-military relations and human rights issues were 32 trainees "from a notorious special-forces police unit previously prohibited under State (Department) policy from receiving US training funds because of the unit's prior human rights abuses," the report said.

But Indonesia's National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Sunarko Danu Artanto said the report was the work of forces aimed at derailing efforts to reform his department. The police have received massive US training in recent years because of a long-standing US ban on providing assistance to the military.

"We deeply regret such accusations which are blown up by some parties who do not want to see our personnel become professional," Artanto said, adding that none of the officers trained had human rights violations. "Indonesia needs professional security forces to fight against global crime and terrorism acts. We have always carried out our duties with respect to human rights."

But rights activists say the report was not surprising and reaffirms their concerns that the United States is moving too quickly to normalize ties with Indonesia's historically corrupt and abusive security forces.

"We recognize that police need professional training, but it should be given for only selected officers with a clean human rights record," said Usman Hamid, a human rights activist. "From our past experience, we have seen that there is no accountability or justice in this country for human rights."

Human rights/law

SBY urged to probe July 27 PDI attack

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2005

Jakarta -- Supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government to restart investigations into the bloody July 27, 1996, mob attack on their former headquarters as they commemorated the incident on Wednesday.

Under a tight guard of more than 200 police, the supporters held prayers and political speeches to remember the incident, which official data says killed five people, injured 159 others and left 23 people missing; many of whom are thought to have been abducted by security forces.

The 1996 attack by armed, plainclothes mobs on the headquarters of Megawati Soekarnoputri's then-named Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), in Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, was seen as an effort by the Soeharto government to crush opposition to it. At the time, Megawati was fast rising in popularity throughout the country. In the months following the attack, she set up a new party -- the PDI-P.

However, the former president, who is struggling to resolve internal conflict in her party, did not attend the Wednesday ceremony. Megawati has been criticized by PDI-P supporters for not attending other commemorations.

"The government (of Susilo) is obliged to explain the July 27 incident to the public, because the incident was a form of human rights violation. It is the state's duty to prosecute and, of course, the victims have the right to know the truth," Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy executive director Ifdal Kasim said.

"Even if the government decides not to proceed with the case, it must (officially) tell the public why," Ifdal said quoted by Antara.

There are doubts, however, that Susilo will revive investigations into the case, which have stopped and started since Soeharto's resignation.

Susilo was chief of staff of the Jakarta Military Command when the July 27 violence broke out. A team comprising members of the Military Police, National Police and the Attorney General's Office questioned him twice as a witness in the case in 2000 and 2001.

In the Yogyakarta regency of Bantul, the commemoration of the July 27 incident was held in front of the party's regional office, with about 300 people gathering for a mass prayer to remember the victims.

Muhammadiyah opposes land decree

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2005

Jakarta -- Muhammadiyah lent support on Monday to mounting calls for the government to revoke the new presidential regulation that allows authorities to acquire private land without a deal being reached with its owner.

"Presidential Regulation No. 5/2005 should be revoked," Muhammadiyah leader Din Syamsuddin was quoted as saying in a press statement.

The statement was released by the People's Coalition to Reject Eviction including the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) and the Network for Jakarta City Poor People, after their members were received by Din at the Muhammadiyah headquarters in Central Jakarta.

"Muhammadiyah, which is committed to defending the people's rights, gives full support to efforts to annul the regulation. The government should not be allowed to make the people suffer," Din said.

Many non-governmental organizations and individuals have expressed concern over the land decree.

American envoy urges Jakarta to improve courts

Reuters - July 26, 2005

Jakarta -- The US ambassador to Indonesia on Tuesday called on Jakarta to improve its judicial system, saying many foreign investors still questioned the fairness of the courts.

B. Lynn Pascoe said many American businesses had been deterred from investing in the world's fourth most populous country due to what he described as a lack of transparency and "weakened judicial institutions."

His comments come at a time when foreign investment has begun to revive in Indonesia, partly on promises by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who took power last October, to make the country an easier and cleaner place to do business.

"The question about fairness is a real one and if you are going to invest hundreds of millions of dollars, whether you are a local investor or foreign investor... you want to make sure that in the end the court system is going to be very fair," Pascoe told a news conference in Jakarta.

"The government and the court system are in serious reform... so at this point the outlook is so much brighter than it has been before but it's still not there, not totally everybody is confident," he added.

Pascoe was speaking after the United States announced a plan to provide $20 million in aid to Jakarta over four years to improve the country's commercial and anti-corruption courts.

Indonesia has pledged to revamp its judicial system, the target of constant criticism from foreign businessmen who point to lack of transparency and unpredictable court decisions.

A World Bank report late in 2003 said many lawyers were "apparently often the conduits for bribes to judges, prosecutors and the police." Other critics say poorly trained judges and confusing statutes also lead to odd and inconsistent decisions.

Indonesia is also rated one of the world's most corrupt countries by global graft watchdog Transparency International.

In the first six months of the year, foreign direct investment approvals jumped 71 percent to $5.93 billion from the same period last year.

But William Frej, Indonesia mission director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), said more American businesses would have invested in the Southeast Asian country if there was a better court system.

"Indonesia is an extraordinary country to do business but again the capacity of the court system at this point of time does preclude the total involvement of the US private sector," Frej told the news conference.

Labour issues

Government has enough money to train workers: Exporters

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Labor exporters are urging the government to utilize billions of dollars collected from labor exports and foreign workers to finance training and retraining programs that Indonesian workers need to compete in the global labor market.

The Association of Indonesian Labor Exporters (Himsataki) and the Association of Indonesian Labor Export Companies (Apjati) said the government has no reason not to invest in labor training since it had raised a huge amount of funds from labor exports and foreign workers.

"The government has a constitutional obligation to carry out a training program for workers either through schools or training centers. It has no excuse not to do so since it has collected a lot of money from workers sent overseas and from expatriates working in the country," Himsataki chairman Yunus Yamani said.

The government rakes in around US$1.5 billion annually in foreign exchange from around 2.5 million workers working overseas. Most of the workers are employed as housemaids with monthly salaries of US$100 to $250.

It also collects $100 monthly from every expatriate working in Indonesia.

Yunus was responding to the proposed training and retraining programs to improve workers' competitiveness in the global labor market under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).

The training and retraining programs were proposed since almost 70 percent of Indonesian workers are either uneducated or unskilled.

Apjati chairman Husein Alaydrus agreed and suggested that the House of Representatives and the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) investigate the funds collected from labor exports and foreign workers since the government had been not transparent about how it used the money.

"The government received $20 from every worker sent to Saudi Arabia in 1980 throughout 2000 and $15 for every worker employed overseas over the last five years. It also imposes a monthly levy of expatriates working here," Husein said.

According to Apjati data, Indonesia supplies around 15,000 workers monthly to Saudi Arabia and around 40,000 monthly to other foreign countries, while the number of expatriates in Indonesia varies from 13,000 to 35,000 per year.

The Labor Law allows the government to collect levies from labor exports and foreigners working locally in order to improve the quality of Indonesian workers.

Reliable sources at the Ministry of Manpower of Transmigration said all levies collected from workers were treated as nontaxable government revenue. The labor ministry receives 60 percent of the money, while the rest goes to the Ministry of Finance.

Separately, labor exporter Saleh Alwaini said the demand for Indonesian workers in the global market was high, but only for middle- and highly skilled workers, a market which the country cannot supply.

"Demand for Indonesian workers in the professional, health, tourist, transportation, agriculture and financial sectors is high. The main problem is that Indonesia has a surplus of workers but most lack the competence required by international standards," he said.

To fill the high demand, he suggested that the government start operating training centers and encourage the private sector to establish more training centers for both workers and job seekers.

He estimated that Indonesia could double labor exports to five million, which would earn the country around $10 billion in annual remittances, if the training and retraining programs worked optimally.

Workers face gloomy prospects under AFTA

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Indonesia may not be able to immediately benefit from the opening of the labor market in the Southeast Asian region next year due to poor preparation and the low education of the majority of its workers, experts have said.

More developed economies like Singapore and Malaysia will also likely turn to the Philippines for low-skilled workers such as housemaids and gardeners because Indonesia has not certified the low-skilled professions to international standards.

"Most (low-skill) workers in Indonesia have no certified competence because they are recruited and employed on the basis of their education background and only a small group of workers in health, legal, construction, tourism and maritime sectors are included into the category of professionals with certified competence," said Bomer Pasaribu, chairman of the Center for Labor and Development Studies (CLDS), recently.

Bomer, who is also a former minister of manpower, said that the Indonesian government had been too slow in making preparations to anticipate the upcoming regional liberalization drive as it had been concentrating on dealing with the economic crisis at home.

The Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) is due to take effect next year, with all 10 member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) opening up their labor markets in 12 main sectors including communications, transportation, education, health, finance and tourism.

Chief of the Center for Research, Development and Information at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, Harry Heriawan Saleh, said that seen from the labor perspective, the Indonesian labor sector was not prepared to compete in the free trade era, not only because its infrastructure and superstructure were not prepared, but mainly because most workers do not have certified competencies and skills.

"We have no accurate information or databases on labor potentials in all sectors. We cannot calculate now the number of workers we can export when AFTA is officially launched next year," he said.

He added that workers were not prepared to go global because a majority of them were poorly educated and unskilled.

Most workers were low-skilled and have poor education because 57 percent, or 52 million, of the country's 103 million workforce education stopped at elementary school; 39 percent graduated from junior or senior high school; and only 2.7 percent, or 2.45 million, graduated from university.

Mula Basa Hutabarat, secretary of the directorate general for financial institutions at the Ministry of Finance, which coordinated the service trade issue, said that trade and industry associations have also contributed to the country's unpreparedness to enter the free trade era because so far, only a few associations have set standard competencies in their own sectors.

"So far, only a few professional associations in the mining, tourism, construction, maritime, health and information sectors have drawn up their standard competencies complete with basic salaries," he said.

He said that all 12 main sectors to be liberalized under AFTA have now been asked to design job competencies for their respective sectors, and certify them in accordance with national and international standards.

Regional elections

Losing candidates detained over election violence

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2005

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta -- Police say they detained on Thursday four people accused of inciting a riot in Kaur regency, Bengkulu province, involving thousands of people protesting the result of the recent regental election.

The Bengkulu Police were interrogating the four suspects for their alleged involvement in the politically motivated unrest on Monday, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko said in Jakarta.

The four suspects were identified as Yusirwan Wanie, Sahlan Sirad, Mukarto and Yusnadi.

Yusirwan is a deputy head of the Bengkulu tourism agency, who ran for Kaur regent on June 27, with Sahlan as his running mate. The pair lost to rival ticket Syaukani Saleh-Warman Suwardi.

Soenarko could not elaborate on the roles of the remaining two suspects -- Mukarto and Yusnadi -- in the incident.

"The Bengkulu Police arrested four people today (Thursday) on the charge of inciting the riot based on a videotape of the incident and eyewitnesses' statements. The Bengkulu Police questioned the suspects before deciding to detain them," he said.

Thousands of people attacked and set fire to the house of the Kaur legislatures' council speaker, the regent's office, the local office of the General Elections Commission (KPUD) and the office of the Kaur public housing agency.

One of the protesters said they had intended to meet councillors and KPUD members to discuss the election results. However, the demonstration turned violent when the officials refused to come out and meet them.

Soenarko said it was possible that the police would name more suspects soon as they had not finished questioning witnesses.

Bengkulu Police chief Brig. Gen. Adang Syamsu Ratman said other candidates would likely be summoned for questioning over the demonstration.

"It is possible that the police will question other candidates if the four suspects mention other names during their interrogation," Adang said.

The newly elected Kaur regent and deputy regent Syaukani and Warman are being investigated by the police for allegedly buying votes during the campaign period.

In spite of the ongoing probe into the vote-buying case, the KPUD and the local legislative council approved the election results and declared Syaukani and Warman the winners of the regental election.

Adang said the police had completed their investigation into the alleged vote buying and were prepared to submit the case files to prosecutors.

However, the inauguration ceremony for the new regent and his deputy has been postponed until the security situation returns to normal in Kaur.

Meanwhile, police in South Halmahera regency, North Maluku, have arrested 16 people allegedly involved in a separate violent demonstration on Sunday against the results of the regental election, Soenarko said.

The suspects were identified as Ramli Adam, Adi Adam, Alan Sumadayo, Moh. Idrus, Mansur bin Hamid, Ikram Musa, Abdul Hamid Khamid, Kholid Ahmad, Akmal, Ikram, Badrun Tholib, Hasanuddin Amanah, Moh. Guntur, Moh. Dardani, Fandi Mohammad Saleh and Kasim Lessy.

Separately, Vice President Jusuf Kalla expressed concern on Thursday over violence and protests staged in regions against the results of the recent local direct elections.

He urged all relevant institutions, particularly KPUDs, to perform their duties to the best of their abilities to avoid electoral violations, which certain people could use to their advantage.

Poll protesters run amok in Bengkulu

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2005

Jakarta -- Some 10,000 people went on a rampage on Monday in Kaur regency, Bengkulu province, setting fire to government offices and houses in the area to express their disappointment with the regental election result, which elected Syaukani Saleh and Warman Suwardi as regent and deputy regent.

No one has been arrested for the melee, although the police have alleged that those who attacked the government offices and houses were the supporters of the losing candidates in the election.

Kaur Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sugeng Utomo was quoted by Antara as saying the mob came from seven subdistricts: Maje, Nasal, North Kaur, Central Kaur, South Kaur, Kinal and Tanjung Kemuning.

These people initially staged a peaceful protest in front of office of the regental legislative council but the demonstration ended in violence. The angry protesters attacked and set fire to the house of the Bengkulu Council head, the Kaur regent's office, the local office of the general election commission, office of the Kaur public housing agency and damaged the councillors office as well as one police patrol car and several other cars parked near the riot site.

The demonstrators came in 18 trucks, dozens of private cars and motorcycles and shortly after arriving at the scene, started to push their way into the Bengkulu Council office.

After they managed to break in, they started to take out office equipment and ballot papers.

One of the demonstrators said that they initially wanted to talk to the councillors and members of the Kaur General Election Commission but did not know why it ended violently.

Other protesters recalled that they had asked the councillors and the members of the election commission what was going on during a plenary meeting recently held to officiate the result of the June 27 regental election, however they heard rumors that the governing body was not invited to the meeting. The governing body included the regental government, police and military chiefs and leaders of the regental council.

"The aim of this protest is to question whether the poll announcement, which was held in the absence of the governing body, is in line with the law," one of the demonstrators said.

According to several eyewitness, members of the election commission fled when they saw the crowd marching toward their office.

Police officer Sugeng regretted that the government officials refused to talk with protesters, fueling anger among the protesters which led to the violent protest.

He said that the police were unable to calm the protesters as they only had four platoons, whereas there were 10,000 demonstrators.

The post election protest in Bengkulu was not the first in the country. Protests in the aftermath of regional elections have taken place in other regions such as in Tanah Toraja, South Sulawesi, which resulted in the cancellation of the election result, also in Banyuwangi and Surabaya in East Java and in Sukoharjo, Central Java.

However, the Bengkulu protest was the most violent to date. Head of Commission A at Bengkulu Provincial Council Salamun Haris urged the Bengkulu General Elections Commission to rectify the problem over the Kaur regental election as Bengkulu was heading toward selecting a Bengkulu governor and deputy governor.

"We hope that the second election will be conducted safely without any flaws," Salamun said.

The election for Bengkulu governor and deputy governor will be held on Oct. 3. The candidates who will contest the election are Agusrin Mariyono Najamudi/M. Syamlan and Muslihan Diding Sutrisno/Patice Rio Capella.

Government/civil service

Susilo renews vow to fight against graft, red tape

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2005

Primastuti Handayani, Beijing -- Since opening a special PO Box and call center over a month ago, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has received 2,500 letters and 140,000 text messages from people offering advice and suggestions.

Most of the text messages contained reports of corruption cases.

"We have replied and followed up on about 1,000 letters. Many of the text messages did not provide solid evidence, so it is difficult to launch investigations," Susilo told the Indonesian community in Beijing on Wednesday during his four-day state visit to China.

The President opened the PO Box and call center in order to communicate directly with the people. The move was sparked by the revelation that malnutrition was affecting thousands of children in the country and that many local administrations had ignored the problem for months.

In opening the call center, Susilo asked people to report any problems in their areas, particularly as related to corruption, which has been a major focus of his administration.

"I have given a directive to my subordinates that they should focus on combating the widespread corruption in the country and arrest those involved in major corruption cases who have stolen state money.

"These people should be punished and made to return the stolen money," he said to applause from the approximately 400 Indonesians gathered in Beijing.

Susilo said his PO Box and call center were also open to receive reports of extortion, which resulted in a high-cost economy. He said extortion discouraged many investors from bringing their money to Indonesia.

"I have also asked Kadin to report any officials who ask for money from businesspeople who are seeking permits," he said, referring to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The President also briefed the audience on government measures to stop the spread of bird flu, which recently killed a man and his two young daughters in Tangerang, Banten.

"Indonesia first experienced a bird flu outbreak in September 2003, which affected 118 cities and regencies in 17 provinces. But we managed to curb the outbreak last December.

"However, it came back this year and although it is on a smaller scale than in the past, the deaths of the three people has caused panic among farmers," he said.

Susilo also discussed the malnutrition cases that emerged in parts of Indonesia, particularly West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.

He said the government had ordered the reestablishment of community health posts, known as Posyandu, the Family Welfare Movement and family planning centers, which played a major role in the health care system during the New Order regime.

The President also told the audience that his wife, Kristiani Herawati, would not become involved in business or politics, but would focus on social causes.

Susilo is making his first visit to China as President. He was forced to delay the trip from July 13 due to fuel shortages at home.

The President also said Indonesia would open a consulate general in Shanghai, citing the importance of the fast growing industrial city.

"Shanghai is very important for us and we are also studying other cities, including Shenzhen, as possible locations for consulates general. Our bilateral ties with China over the past few years have been tremendously positive," he said.

Indonesia currently has consulates general in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

Under-funded bureaucracy depends on illegal fees

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2005

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- After wrapping up his Friday prayers with a hasty request for prosperity, Arman -- not his real name -- rushed to the canteen to meet his colleagues.

The gathering had more to it than would meet the eye. The dozen or so civil servants in the canteen at the headquarters of the Directorate General of Immigration were waiting for their additional "salary", which is regularly paid after Friday prayers.

The source of the extra income is not from the state budget, but allegedly from money collected illegally from immigration offices throughout Jakarta, including from extorting passport applicants and foreigners caught violating immigration laws.

"My monthly salary is about Rp 900,000 (less than US$95). It is far from enough to cover my daily expenses in Jakarta. If I happen to be able to cope on that, it is what they call 'the magic' of civil servants," said Arman.

Arman, who has been working under the directorate since 2002 when he obtained his university degree, said he usually walked out of the canteen with around Rp 700,000.

Illegal fees paid for public services help keep the underfunded bureaucracy running as most of the six million public servants, particularly middle- and high-ranking officials, are not paid according to their value.

For example, a first echelon deputy to the State Minister of State Enterprises receives close to Rp 10 million take-home pay a month, which is low considering that the official is tasked with supervising state enterprise executives, who earn more than Rp 100 million a month.

Aware of the imbalances in civil servants' earnings, the government recently decided to raise the take-home pay of civil servants by between 5 percent and 30 percent as of next year.

However, this is barely enough to reduce the rampant corruption in the bureaucracy, nor to increase the productivity of civil servants, in particular those who have the authority to issue a strategic public policy.

"The most reasonable range for the monthly wages of civil servants is between Rp 700,000 for the lowest level and up to Rp 42 million for the highest level," said Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), recently.

"I am sure the state budget could allow for that as long as the government and the legislators have the will. The state could provide around Rp 160 trillion to bail out banks during the 1998 financial crisis, why can't the same be done for civil servants?," he asked.

The government has allocated for this year around 7 percent of state revenue or Rp 34.6 trillion for the salaries and allowances of civil servants, police and military officers, as well as pensioners.

With the planned increase, the state would need to provide additional funds of at least Rp 5 trillion.

Chairman of the House of Representatives budgetary commission Emir Moeis said the state could afford to raise civil servants' salaries by 100 percent, however, the side effects of such a decision would be detrimental to the overall economy.

"I agree that civil servants' salaries need to be higher in order for them to improve public services. But it should be done gradually, to avoid higher inflationary pressure and disruptions to macro-economic stability," said Emir.

Based on his calculation, the state would have to fork out an additional Rp 22 trillion if it raised the salaries by 100 percent.

"The budgetary commission is likely to approve a 20 percent increase next year. There is a possibility that we will raise it further to 50 percent in 2007, so that the structure of civil servants' salaries is reasonable," he said.

Top officials 'undeserving' of pay raise

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- The government's plan to increase the take-home pay of the President, Vice President, ministers, and high-ranking state officials met with mixed reactions on Wednesday amid the government's appeal for the public to be thrifty.

High-ranking state officials do not deserve raises due to their poor performance, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) deputy Luki Djani said.

"They haven't materialized any of their promises made during the campaigns, and yet have been able to introduce preventive measures to anticipate the many crises we face," he said.

Awaiting discussion with the House of Representatives for approval, the government plans to increase the take-home pay by 5 percent for the President, Vice President, ministers and other state officials, 7 percent for first echelon officials, and by between 15 percent and 30 percent for other civil servants.

Luki said, however, that increasing the pay of civil servants, police and teachers was logical and should be supported to help them improve their welfare. He said it was not acceptable to raise the pay of first echelon civil servants, let alone the President and Vice President.

"This is like a game. The government and the House propose raises together, and approve each other's request, so they all benefit," he said.

The House recently proposed that the take-home pay for its 550 members be doubled, which also needs to be discussed with the government before being approved.

"From their wealth reports, we know that the President, Vice President and ministers were already rich before taking office. Apart from their take-home pay, they enjoy other allowances and facilities," Luki said.

He went on to say that high-ranking Indonesian government officials and legislator enjoyed a "more luxurious" take-home pay than that their counterparts in the Netherlands and Thailand.

"Our legislators receive higher salaries than those in Thailand, a country with (other) incomes three and a half times more than Indonesia. In the Netherlands, state officials and legislators don't get salaries if their activities or businesses outside their positions earn them more," he explained.

Legislator A.M. Fatwa, who is a deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, said now was not the right time for top state officials to get increases.

"But these proposals should be discussed to reexamine our payment system because, honestly, it's not proportional. How come legislators at the national level receive less than those in regions, or why does the President get less than a director of a state enterprise?" he argued.

Support for the proposal came from Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nurwahid and House deputy speaker Zaenal Ma'arif.

"With a pay increase, the public will have stronger grounds to demand that the government improve its performance as well as curb corruption. They could go all-out," said Zaenal.

Hidayat said the pay increase could be considered a form of appreciation for state officials for their achievements in running the country.

Health & education

No province free from HIV

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2005

Bandung -- No Indonesian province is now free from HIV infection, with the recorded number of people living with the virus in the country standing at 7,098.

Head of the HIV/AIDS Eradication Commission Alwi Shihab said on Wednesday the commission had remained unable to significantly curb the growth rate of HIV infections one year after its reinstatement.

"Indonesia is among one of the countries with the fastest growth of people infected with the virus thanks to the widespread use of shared needles. No province here is free from the virus," said Alwi, who is also the Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare.

He was chairing a coordination meeting of national drive against HIV/AIDS.

The commission recorded that 6,050 people were known to have been infected last year, although its estimate of the actual number of people who had the virus was far higher, at 150,000.

Alwi said nearly 80 percent of the people infected were at their productive age of between 20 and 39 years old. Most people with HIV/AIDS lived in disadvantaged provinces.

Ambon refugees malnourished

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2005

Ambon, Maluku -- Hundreds of displaced persons living in shelters across Ambon are suffering from malnutrition, a health official says.

Ambon City Health Office head Hans Lisaay said Thursday information from community health centers in the city found most malnutrition cases were found near refugee shelters, especially those in Waihaong Park and Batumerah.

"From our survey two weeks ago, we found some 503 malnourished people, with 200 of them suffering from severe malnutrition," Hans said.

The Ambon municipal administration, he said, had allocated Rp 27 million (US$2,842) to provide additional food and milk for the people but the amount would not be enough. Those suffering from severe malnutrition needed to be provided with milk for at least three months, while he estimated the funds would only last for around a month.

"But we'll do out best while waiting for assistance from other caring individuals or groups," Hans said.

Islam/religion

Interfaith leaders condemn MUI decrees

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2005

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Interfaith leaders condemned on Friday the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for its issuance of fatwas on Thursday that outlawed liberal Islamic thought and pluralism, while urging Muslims to resist the orders.

They also slammed the state-sanctioned council for failing to come up with an edict banning the use of violence against different religious groups.

Earlier this month a group of Muslim extremists attacked the compound of the Ahmadiyah congregation -- which does not recognize that Muhammad was the last prophet -- in Bogor, West Java.

The attackers justified their violence with the MUI's 1980 fatwa, which declares Ahmadiyah heretical. On Wednesday, the council reaffirmed the ban on the Islamic sect, and even urged the government to dismantle the group.

"Instead of issuing fatwas that only marginalize majority groups, why didn't the MUI issue one banning the use of violence against groups with different religious beliefs?" said a joint statement issued by the interfaith leaders grouped in the Civilized People's Alliance for Freedom of Religion and Belief.

The alliance includes former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, and Muslim scholars Dawam Rahardjo and M. Syafii Anwar from the International Center for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP), Djohan Effendi, and Liberal Islam Network (JIL) leader Ulil Abshar Abdalla.

Among other members of the alliance are priest Anand Krisna, and several other non-Muslim leaders representing the Catholic, Buddhist, Christian and Konghucu communities.

Most of the interfaith leaders attended a news conference held at the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) headquarters in Central Jakarta in reaction to the MUI's edicts against Ahmadiyah and progressive Islamic thought.

"With such heretical commands banning people from doing this and that in their religious relationships, I think we should call for the dissolution of the MUI," Dawam Rahardjo told the media conference also attended by Ahmadiyah figures.

"We have to resist the decrees by backing Pak Dawam's appeal (for the government) to dissolve the MUI," Gus Dur added.

He said the MUI's ban on pluralism was irrational since it was an undeniable aspect of Indonesia. "We must stand against any kind of coercion that will only limit our own beliefs," Gus Dur added.

Citing the 1945 Constitution that gives all Indonesians the basic right of religious freedom, the interfaith leaders asked the state to protect the people in professing their own beliefs.

The MUI ended its four-day national congress on Friday after issuing 11 edicts, one of which states that Islamic interpretations based on liberalism, secularism and pluralism "contradict Islamic teachings".

In his speech to mark the closing of the congress, Vice President Jusuf Kalla called on the mullahs to set examples of the implementation of the peaceful values of Islam.

Reiterating his condemnation of the attack on Ahmadiyah, Kalla said all Muslims must also respect differences in religions and beliefs.

"It is for the sake of peace, which is taught in the Koran," he said.

The 11 fatwas issued by MUI

1. Religious teachings influenced by pluralism, liberalism and secularism are against Islam. The fatwa states that Muslims must consider their religion to be the true one religion, and to consider other faiths as wrong.

2. Ahmadiyah, an Islamic group that does not recognize Muhammad as the last prophet, is a heretical sect, and its followers are murtad (apostate).

3. Mixed marriages between people of different faiths are haram (forbidden under Islamic law).

4. Women are forbidden from leading prayers when men are present in the congregation. Women are only allowed to lead prayers in an all-female assemblage.

5. Joint prayers performed with people of other faiths are not recognized in Islam. Saying "Amen" to prayers led by a non-Muslim is haram.

6. Islamic law on inheritance is not applicable for non-Muslim family members.

7. Islam recognizes capital punishment for serious criminal offenses and the state can apply such punishments in the judiciary system.

8. Engaging, believing and practicing in shamanism and fortune telling are forbidden. The publication and dissemination of these practices, such as through television shows, are also considered haram.

9. Determining goodness for the public under sharia must not violate Islamic texts, and the only institutions that have the right to determine such goodness are those possessing sharia competence.

10. Any violation of intellectual property rights (HKI) is haram. HKIs that are protected under Islamic law are those that do not go against sharia.

11. The government cannot revoke the ownership of a person's personal property arbitrarily or by coercion.

MUI issues 11 fatwa

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2005

Jakarta -- In what was widely seen as an apparent campaign against freedom of thought and religion, the state-sanctioned Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued on Thursday a fatwa outlawing liberal Islamic thoughts.

Apart from liberalism, the council also declared secularism and pluralism forbidden under Islam, through one of the 11 decrees it issued during its four-day national congress that will officially end on Friday.

With such an unpopular fatwa, the MUI could be headed for a showdown with progressive Islamic movements that have been growing in the predominantly Muslim nation.

Fatwa Commission chairman Ma'ruf Amin said that although the edict did not specify any organization by name, it was issued apparently in reaction to the activities of two progressive groups -- the Liberal Islam Network (JIL) and the Muhammadiyah Youth Intellectuals Network (JIMM).

"All of their teachings are deviant... No one should adhere to their beliefs," Ma'ruf told The Jakarta Post. "Their principles are dangerous and misleading, because they believe in only what they think is right and use pure rationale as justification." Proponents of liberal Islam use rational interpretations of Islamic texts as opposed to literal meanings, view religious truth as a relative concept and believe in the separation of religion and state.

MUI deputy chairman Umar Shihab said that in the council's view, both the Western-influenced JIL and JIMM have strayed from the Indonesian brand of Islam.

"The views that are developing in Europe and America are heretical and not allowed here," he said. "However, we must not counter them with violence, but with logical arguments." The fatwa, which was read out on the third day of the congress without any resistance from over 300 participants, stated that Islamic interpretations based on liberalism, secularism and pluralism "contradict Islamic teachings".

The fatwa defines liberal Islam as interpreting Islamic texts using pure rationale to selectively accept only certain religious doctrines. "For example, they (liberals) say that a man cannot have more than one wife because it is gender bias, when in fact polygamy is allowed by Islam, as long as the husband can be fair," said Ma'ruf.

Secularism by definition, according to the edict, is the belief that the role of religion should be limited to an individual's relationship with God and that society should be guided by social conventions.

The fatwa outlaws pluralism that views all religions as being equally valid and having relative truths.

"Pluralism in that sense is haram (forbidden under Islamic law), because it justifies other religions," Maruf said, adding that people should be allowed to claim that their religion is the true one and that other faiths are wrong.

However, he stressed that the council accepted the fact that Indonesia was home to different religions and that their followers could live side by side.

"Plurality in the sense that people believe in different religions is allowed," Ma'ruf explained. "As such, we have to respect each other and coexist peacefully." The MUI also renewed its 1980 fatwa against Ahmadiyah, an Islamic group that does not share the mainstream Muslim belief that Muhammad was the last prophet.

The new fatwa contained stronger language than the previous one, calling for the government to ban and dismantle the organization as well as freeze all of its activities.

The council also issued a fatwa, reaffirming its 1980 ban on marriages between people of different faiths.

The MUI also banned interfaith prayers, unless they are led by a Muslim. Other edicts issued included those forbidding women from leading prayers when men are in attendance.

Commenting on the fatwas, particularly the one against liberal Islam, prominent Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra dismissed it as "ineffective and even counterproductive".

"I don't agree with such a fatwa. The state cannot enforce it for Muslims as it's not legally binding. Muslims can or will ignore it." He said the ban on liberal thoughts reflected the intolerance being promoted by the MUI and indicated that it was trying to curb freedom of thought.

Conversion cause of concern among MUI branches

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2005

Jakarta -- Regional offices of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) are calling for strong measures to prevent Muslims from converting to other religions.

Reports presented to a plenary meeting by delegates to the MUI congress on Wednesday reflected general concerns over the issue of conversion.

"The percentage of Muslims in Jakarta has declined from 90 percent to 87 percent," the Jakarta delegation said in its report. "This is because of the large influx of migrants from non-Muslim areas." The Jambi delegation said in its report that Christian preachers had penetrated the province and were converting Muslims at an alarming rate.

"The phenomenon of the construction of churches in the province is most disturbing," said the report.

While Christianity is legal in the predominantly Muslim country, proselytizing is not, although such cases rarely make it to trial. Three women are facing trial in the West Java town of Indramayu on charges they sought to convert Muslim children to Christianity two years ago, following a complaint by the MUI.

Meanwhile, the Banten delegation provided a glowing report on how they had managed to strengthen the faith of Muslims there and prevented the construction of several churches.

"We are proud to report that there is not one single church in Cilegon to this day," the report said. "And this is how we intend to keep it." Cilegon is a regency of Banten where state company PT Krakatau Steel operates.

In its report, the Bangka-Belitung delegation lamented the election of a non-Muslim as regent.

"We don't understand how a non-Muslim won the election, since Muslims account for 90 percent of the regency's population," said the report. "We will make sure it won't happen next time." The Bangka-Belitung delegation, like the other MUI provincial offices, blamed the lack of funds for its inability to prevent some Muslims from adopting other religions.

"More funds are needed so that our preachers can penetrate remote areas," the Bangka-Belitung delegation said. "Under a non-Muslim regent, we expect it will be even tougher for us to preach." Over 380 MUI executives and provincial representatives from across the country are attending the five-yearly congress in Jakarta, which will wind up on Saturday.

The council will begin on Thursday its debate on several draft edicts, including those against deviant and liberal Islamic thought.

The mullahs will also discuss moral issues, particularly the rampant corruption in the country, drug abuse and indecency.

Another draft edict has also been proposed to support controversial Presidential Regulation No. 36/2005 on land use for public interests.

Business & investment

Newmont trial to test investor faith in Indonesia

Reuters - July 28, 2005

Karima Anjani, Jakarta -- The world's largest gold miner goes on trial in Indonesia next week in a dispute over pollution that has left the government torn between environmentalists and potential investors in the fourth most populous country.

Defeat for US-based Newmont Mining Corp., accused of spilling toxic waste into a bay in eastern Indonesia, would send a chilling signal to foreign investors, analysts say, although a transparent legal process could minimise any impact.

Newmont vigorously denies the charges and says its practices had approval from the Indonesian government.

"The government will need to show the world its fairness. The impact could be negative if Newmont is found guilty, because most of the mining sector believes Newmont has done nothing wrong," said Fauzi Ichsan, an economist with Standard Chartered Bank.

Bureaucratic and legal obstacles to business in Indonesia are often cited by economists as the main reasons for sluggish foreign investment in a country that boasts some of the world's largest deposits of copper, tin, nickel and gold.

Mining contributed 2.7 percent of Indonesia's GDP in 2003, a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers in January said. But only the Philippines ranked below it in Asia in terms of investment conditions, a survey by Canada's Fraser Institute showed.

The charges revolve around the disposal of waste containing mercury and arsenic from a gold mine in Buyat Bay, 2,200 km (1,400 miles) northeast of Jakarta, where residents have complained of rashes, lumps, breathing trouble and dizziness.

A guilty verdict would harm Newmont's image in a country where it still has ambitious plans. The American president director of its local unit, Richard Ness, could be locked up for as many as 10 years, although prosecutors have dropped accusations against five other executives.

But Ichsan said: "If the trial is done fairly, then I think the impact should be limited."

Executives detained

Mining industry officials have criticised the government for detaining the Newmont executives. Another American, an Australian and three Indonesians were held for around a month last year before formal charges were filed, drawing fire from the US embassy in Jakarta.

The government has called for an out-of-court settlement over a multi-million dollar civil suit filed against Newmont earlier this year by the environment ministry.

It is unclear from early negotiations whether the two sides will be able to reach an agreement.

The mine in North Sulawesi opened in 1996 and closed last August due to depleted reserves. Newmont has been carrying out reclamation work since, but the pollution charges relate to when the mine was operational.

Environmentalists say the case is progressing too slowly and urge strong action against Newmont, saying Indonesia has been too lenient with polluters.

"The case is a lesson for the government and investors to carefully prepare environmental assessments to avoid such problems," said mining analyst Adi Hartadi at Mandiri Securities.

A government-commissioned probe and a police study have concluded the bay was polluted, but several other studies, including one by the World Health Organization and the Indonesian health ministry, did not support the charges.

The health ministry reported earlier this year that illnesses reported by people living on Buyat Bay showed no correlation to the mine's actions.

Under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia is preparing mining legislation that would open the doors for investors. Tax regulations, royalties, and environmental rules have all been cited as problems that need to be tackled. Authorities hope the legislation can be enacted this year.

Other foreign miners active in Indonesia include US-based Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. which operates Asia's largest copper mine in the rugged eastern province of Papua, and Canada's Inco Ltd. the world's second-largest nickel producer.

IMF warns Indonesia of challenges ahead

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2005

Jakarta -- More prudent budgeting and the removal of fuel subsidies are important challenges ahead for the government, if it wants to consolidate the progress Indonesia has made in recent years, the International Monetary Fund says. In its latest review of Indonesia's economy, the IMF's Executive Board said in a statement it "welcomed the continuing improvement in the overall performance of the Indonesian economy in recent years.

"Which has been manifested in the considerable progress toward achieving macroeconomic stability, lowering public debt, restoring the health of the banking system, and reducing vulnerabilities." The IMF, however, said Indonesia still faced key policy challenges in stimulating economic growth to create jobs and reduce poverty.

"Further fiscal consolidation is a key priority in the authorities' strategy to lay the basis for sustained economic growth," it said, welcoming the recent revision of the 2005 state budget, which reflected more realistic assumptions and aimed for a reduced deficit.

The IMF also stressed the importance of reducing fuel subsidies, which have put much stress on the budget amid rising global oil prices.

On the central bank, the IMF commended Bank Indonesia (BI) for its continued tight monetary policy and its focus on containing inflation through its newly introduced benchmark interest rate scheme.

"Convincing use of the new interest rate policy will help maintain stability and enhance confidence," it said, adding that further tightening might still be desirable in view of the recent pressures on inflation and the exchange rate because of their possible effect on economic growth.

The IMF also recommended BI limit its interventions into the foreign exchange market to those needed to counter short-term volatility.

The review is part of IMF's non-binding, post-program monitoring with Indonesia, which began last year after Indonesia ended its program under the IMF following the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

IMF welcomes continuing improvement in economy

Agence France Presse - July 28, 2005

Washington -- The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it welcomed the continuing improvement in Indonesia's economy in recent years.

Following a review of Indonesia's economic performance, the IMF's Executive Board said in a statement that they "welcomed the continuing improvement in the overall performance of theIndonesian economy in recent years, which has been manifested in the considerable progress toward achieving macroeconomic stability, lowering public debt, restoring the health of the banking system, and reducing vulnerabilities."

However, the IMF board directors said the country faced "key policy challenges" in strengthening the economy further going forward.

"Directors commended the authorities for their efforts toward reconstruction in Indonesia's tsunami-affected areas.

"They noted the importance of rapid implementation of reconstruction projects, while also emphasizing the need for donors to follow through on the financing pledges they have made," the statement said.

Directors also praised the Bank of Indonesia for its focus "on anchoring inflation at a low level, and the steps taken to tighten monetary policy to ensure that inflation is contained."

Opinion & analysis

Putting brakes on jalopies?

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2005

Jakarta is again pondering restricting the number of older cars in the city. It is also mulling the banning of motorcycles from main thoroughfares. Traffic congestion and the environment top the list of concerns in both cases.

While the city's efforts to free Jakarta from its daily traffic jams should be commended, the two measures under consideration smack of a piecemeal solution. One is reminded of the three-in- one policy, whose success in reducing traffic congestion is debatable, to say the least.

The idea of restricting older cars in Jakarta is not new. It was first mooted in the 1970s and has been on and off the agenda of successive governors since then. It was almost made law two years ago when it managed to slip into a transportation bylaw for the first time. The bylaw was dropped at the eleventh hour on the grounds that the city would lose vehicle tax revenues amounting to Rp 2.2 trillion (US$225 million), about 20 percent of Jakarta's annual budget back then.

Now the topic is back on the agenda again and the argument this time around is that Jakarta has too many vehicles. The city now has two million cars and 4.5 million motorcycles plying its 7,500-kilometer-long road network. With the number of cars growing by seven percent a year and motorbikes by 15 percent a year, or 35,000 new units a month, Jakarta's roads simply cannot cope as their length only increases by one percent a year. This armada of 6.5 million motorized vehicles is simply too much for Jakarta's road network to support. So, the reason behind the proposed policy seems credible, but the policy itself, if implemented, will be highly controversial.

First, there is the problem of defining what an older car is. Second, restricting the number of older cars in the city would be a discriminatory policy that favors the rich.

What distinguishes one car with another in terms of pollution is not its age, but rather its roadworthiness. This includes its emissions level. Hence, vintage cars, which are usually maintained in top condition by their owners, do not pollute the environment. There are less discriminatory policies the city could ponder on. In the United Kingdom and many other places, car owners have to obtain roadworthiness certificates as soon as their cars are three years old. The cost of obtaining such a certificate becomes more expensive as the car gets older as maintenance costs increase. Sooner or later, it will become cheaper for the motorist to buy a new car than to maintain the older car.

Jakarta's policies often give rise to frustration. The three-in- one-policy has made it more difficult for motorists to travel through the city. Yet, it has done little to ease traffic congestion.

The proposed prohibition on motorcycles is equally discriminatory. If we talk about numbers and space, it would be more logical to restrict cars on Jakarta's narrower streets, which are, in fact, more suited to motorcycles. Hence, it is clear that the Jakarta administration has an topsy-turvy way of looking at things.

If the controversial policy is implemented, what about those people who rely on the speed of their motorcycles to get their work done, like couriers, postmen, motorcycle taxi drivers, etc? Or those who have switched to motorcycles instead of taking their cars because of the congested roads? Should they start driving their cars again, thus further clogging our already congested roads? Some have said that motorcyclists lack discipline. But this is a different issue. Road behavior involves law enforcement, as good policing would increase discipline among bikers. At the present time, only a few undisciplined motorists get ticketed when the police are around, while everyone else continues to get off scot-free. The question is, how come the same drivers behave differently when they are in countries with a more disciplined system, like Singapore or Malaysia? The number of motorcycles has shot up partly because Jakarta lacks an efficient and comfortable public transportation system. Those who need to avoid traffic congestion have no option other than jump on a motorcycle. Even ministers do so occasionally.

The root of the problem in Jakarta is the lack of a mass rapid transportation system. Such a system is a must for any city with more than ten million people. It is a crying shame that proper planning has not been carried out for this before now. But until such time as those in power take action, Jakartans will, as usual, have to pay the price for a consistent lack of proper planning down the years in the nation's capital.

This means that Jakartans will continue to have to watch as Rp 41 billion per day goes up in smoke as a result of wasted time, ineffective fuel use and health problems, according to a December 2004 study.