News & issues

Government 'not doing enough' for women

Jakarta Post - August 1, 2005

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta -- Twenty-five years after Indonesia ratified a UN convention on the rights of women, experts are criticizing the government for failing to protect women from abuse.

Women activists and legal experts urged on Saturday the government to eliminate existing rulings they said discriminated against women.

Director of Law Coordination at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Wicipto Setiadi said the government had signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), but acknowledged it had yet to fully implement the convention because certain laws still contained discriminatory articles.

As examples, he pointed to Law No. 1/1974 on marriage, Law No. 23/1992 on health, a draft law on indecent materials and the new Criminal Code draft.

"Abuse of women is only considered a moral violation (under existing laws) instead of a criminal act," Wicipto said at a seminar to promote awareness of the CEDAW.

He said that to change the situation, his office needed to cooperate with other ministries to revise the discriminatory laws and regulations.

He also said the government had yet to fully implement Law No. 23/2004 on domestic violence, which he said could be one factor in the rising number of cases of violence against women.

According to data from Mitra Perempuan, a non-governmental organization dealing with women's issues, the number of abuse cases against women reported to the NGO rose from 18 in 1994 to 382 in 2000.

Mitra Perempuan director Rita Serena Kolibonso, who spoke at the seminar, demanded the government include articles on sexual harassment, rape (regardless of the relationship between the accused and the victim) and human trafficking in the new Criminal Code draft. She added that these articles should come with long jail terms.

An expert on women's health, Kartono Mohamad, urged the government to amend Law No. 23/1992 on health and Law No. 10/1992 on residential and family planning to better protect women.

"The government only pays attention to women's health when the women are married. Teenagers and young women are not allowed to use contraception and that is not acceptable in the current situation because contraception is needed to reduce the teen pregnancy rate," Kartono said.

He also said the government ignored the health of sexual workers, increasing the danger of sexually transmitted diseases being spread through the population.

"The government needs to include a few points in the health law and the family planning law, such as protection from sexual abuse and the introduction of contraception for unmarried women," Kartono said.

He realized this could cause controversy because the health law states that young people are not even allowed to look at different forms of contraception let alone purchase protection.

Kartono also said the law should be amended to protect victims of physical and emotional abuse, including those abused by members of their own family such as marital rape victims.

Al Qaeda bankrolled Jakarta embassy bombing - report

Reuters - August 1, 2005

Canberra -- Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network bankrolled last year's bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, a key militant charged for the attack told Indonesian police, the Australian newspaper said on Monday.

In a police interrogation, Rois, also known as Iwan Dharmawan, said a courier had delivered a bundle of Australian dollars to fugitive Malaysian bomb maker Azahari bin Husin, the newspaper said.

Rois, who was arrested late last year, said Azahari told him the bombing cost as much as A$10,000 ($7,600), and that the money came from bin Laden.

Australia was targeted because of its support for the US-led war in Iraq, Rois said, according to a transcript of the police interrogation seen by the Australian newspaper.

"The intention to bomb the Australian embassy was because the Australian government is the American lackey most active in supporting American policies to slaughter Muslims in Iraq. It had the aim of preventing Australia leaning on Muslims, especially in Iraq," Rois said.

Indonesian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Rois is on trial on charges of buying the vehicle and recruiting the driver used for the suicide car bomb attack outside the embassy last September that killed 10 people.

Authorities have accused Azahari of being a key figure behind the blast. He is a senior member of Jemaah Islamiah, a Southeast Asian militant group seen as al Qaeda's arm in the region and blamed by authorities for the spate of bombings including the embassy strike and the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.

Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said interviews in Indonesia had found a link between al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah (JI).

"We know over a long period of time that al Qaeda has been supporting and funding some of JI's operations. What we've learned from the questioning in Indonesia is that those linkages remain in place," Ruddock told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Two men have so far been jailed over the embassy attack, one to four years jail and the other to 42 months. They had played relatively minor roles in the blast.

No foreigners were killed in the attack. The Bali bombings killed 202 people, mainly foreign tourists, including 88 from Australia.

Labor training funds likely abused, observers say

Jakarta Post - August 1, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Calls for the government to begin training programs for millions of unskilled workers using billions of dollars in dedicated funds may be impossible to answer due to irregularities in the use of the funds over the years.

Labor exporters have been calling for training programs, saying that the government, through the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, has collected billions of dollars in non-income taxes from Indonesian workers overseas and expatriates here in a bid to raise funds to finance training programs for unskilled workers.

Labor exporters are concerned over reports that Indonesian workers might not be able compete with foreign workers when the regional liberalization drive in the labor sector begins next year, due to a lack of skills and poor preparation by the government.

When asked why the government was not using these funds to set up training programs, a senior official at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration said the ministry could not provide an accountability report for the use of the funds for many years.

"The ministry, which has been in charge of collecting the training funds, has no accurate data on the precise amount of funds, the utilization of the funds and the number of workers trained with the funds. There are irregularities and this must be fixed immediately," the secretary-general of the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, Tjeppy Al'oewi, told The Jakarta Post at his office on Friday.

The ministry collected US$20 from each Indonesian worker sent to Saudi Arabia from the 1980s to 2000, and $15 from all Indonesian workers sent overseas for the last five years. Expatriates working in Indonesia have been required to pay $100 a month to help finance labor training programs.

Indonesia sent about 15,000 workers to Saudi Arabia from the 1980s to 2000, and about 40,000 workers monthly to foreign countries over the last five years. The number of expatriates working in Indonesia has varied between 13,000 and 35,000 over the last 35 years. There are more than 28,000 foreign workers registered with the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, industrial zones and the Investment Coordinating Board.

An official at the same ministry said not all of the funds were channeled to the labor training division at the ministry as originally planned, with a huge part of the money going to other divisions in the ministry and to other ministries to finance development projects.

The director general for labor placement and training affairs at the ministry, Kirnadi, explained that while the ministry collected the funds, the money had to be transferred to the Ministry of Finance before being redistributed.

"Some 38 percent of the collected funds are kept by the Ministry of Finance," he said.

Kirnadi said some of the money had also been distributed to labor unions in the hope that they would set up training program for workers.

However, labor unions and labor exporters denied receiving money. The Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union and the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI) said separately they had never received any of the funds. "The BPK should audit the use of the funds," KSPSI chairman Jacob Now Weal said, referring to the Supreme Audit Agency.

The chairman of the Association of Indonesian Labor Supplying Companies, Hasein Alaydrus, also said his group had not received training funds from the government.

Training and retraining programs are seen as urgent because it is feared that Indonesian workers, many uneducated and lacking skills, will be unable to compete with foreign workers when the ASEAN Free Trade Area is fully implemented beginning next year.

FPI members stage protest during PKI court session

Jakarta Post - August 4, 2005

Hera Diani, Jakarta -- Some 50 members of hard-line Muslim groups gathered outside the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday, while dozens of others clad in white robes packed a courtroom on the second floor.

"We urge the judges not to bow to the demands of these people who used to butcher Muslims but now ask for justice. Where's the logic?" said Eka Jaya, claiming to be a representative of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

"If the judges accept their suit, this means war, jihad in the name of Allah." By "these people", Eka was referring to a group of around 100, most over the age of 65, who had come from all over the country to attend the session. He also referred to them as communists.

They are among those suspected in the past of being members or affiliates of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), and who are now seeking rehabilitation and compensation from the government as they have been living as social and political outcasts for the past forty years.

Represented by the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), the people -- including their families -- filed a class action against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and four previous Indonesian presidents: Soeharto, B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri.

After being delayed several times, the session finally got underway on Wednesday.

However, proceedings were constantly disturbed by the group of hard-liners, which prompted presiding judge Cicut Sutiarso to call for order.

For Toga Tambunan, 65, the animosity was nothing new, as he said he had been stigmatized as a communist all his life, which hampered him and his family members from getting decent jobs and education.

The PKI was accused by the previous Soeharto administration of plotting the 1965 failed coup, in which several Army generals were killed and which led to the slaughtering of communists, their sympathizers and others accused of being in some way involved with the coup or the PKI.

Historians, however, have different theories as to who provoked the coup.

Soeharto, who rose to power following the failed coup, ordered all people linked to the PKI to be imprisoned without trial.

During the 32 years of his rule, Soeharto effectively took away the rights of the alleged PKI members and sympathizers -- including their families -- as citizens.

"I was imprisoned for almost 14 years in my hometown Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan). I was forced to quit my job as a civil servant, and had difficulty finding another," said Toga.

This was all because he joined the PKI's subsidiary organization, a cultural institute called Lekra.

The group of suspected PKI members demanded that their economic, social and cultural rights be restored and that the government revoke any discriminative laws against them.

A handful of discriminative laws have been revoked, enabling people who were jailed for their alleged involvement in the party to vote in the previous legislative election. However, 24 discriminative regulations are still in place.

"The plaintiffs are also demanding that the government give them back their dignity by apologizing via the national media and paying material losses in amounts to be specified later, plus Rp 10 billion (US$1.07 million) in non-material losses," said lawyer Gatot from LBH Jakarta.

The hard-liners finally dispersed in the afternoon. The second session will be held next Thursday.

Islamic Defenders Front demonstrates at ex-PKI class action

Three articles from Detik.com - August 3, 2005

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta -- A court hearing of a class action by ex-members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was marred by a demonstration by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). During the action, demonstrators almost broke down the gates to the Central Jakarta State Court.

The action, which involved around 50 people from the FPI, the Hisbullah Brigade, the Indonesian Youth Movement (GPI) and the Islamic Indonesian Students (PII), was held in front of the courthouse on Jalan Gajah Mada on Wednesday August 3.

Demonstrators gave speeches from a pickup truck equipped with a sound system. "We ask the Central Jakarta State Court not to accept the class action by the former PKI members, political prisoners and their families. We also demand that the MPRS Decree(1) be amended to become law", said the deputy coordinator of the action, PII member Amru during a speech.

The action became heated when they climbed up on and began pushing the courthouse gates, which were locked and guarded by 20 police officers from the Central Jakarta district police.

Inside the court meanwhile, the panel of judges presided over Cicut Sutiarso took turns in reading a notification of the class action by the ex-PKI members. The plaintiffs are demanding MPRS Decree Number 25/1966 on the PKI as a banned organisation be repealed. They are also demanding a historical correction, the restoration of their good names and compensation.

Scores of ex-PKI members and political prisoners who appeared to be closely following the proceedings filled the courtroom. A number of FPI representatives were also present sitting in the front row of seats. As of 12.10pm the hearing was still taking place. (aan)

Lawyers representing ex-PKI members chased by FPI

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta - A demonstration by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) at a class action hearing became heated with three lawyers representing ex-members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) were pursued by scores of FPI activists.

The three lawyers that became the targets of the FPI anger who were from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) were Uli Parulian, Gatot and Rini.

The pursuit occurred when the panel of judges presided over by Cicut Sutiarso decided to postpone the hearing for one hour. The hearing was being held at the Central Jakarta State Court on Jalan Gajah Mada on Wednesday August 3.

When the lawyers tried to leave the courtroom, scores of FPI activists started screaming hysterically. "Gatot, stop you. You are also PKI", shouted one of the activists while pointing in the direction of the seats occupied by the three lawyers.

Hearing the shouts, they appeared surprised and rushed to leave the courtroom located on the second floor. They then turned-tail and ran up to the third floor. Not wanting their "fugitives to disappear", the FPI pursued the three.

Seeing what was happening, the police acted quickly. The three were safeguard from the anger of the demonstrators who could be seen panting as they chased and pursued the three through all the rooms.

The scores of ex-PKI members and political prisoners attending the hearing did not try to resist due to their old age and appeared unmoved by the actions of the FPI and the Hisbullah Brigade against their lawyers.

Failing to find their "fugitives", demonstrators then held speeches in the courtroom. They demanded that the panel of judges reject the ex-PKI members' suit for the annulment of MPRS Decree Number 25/1966 on the PKI as a banned organisation.

Speeches were also held in front of the courthouse gates. Large banners were even erected reading "Crush the PKI-Communists, defend NKRI(2)". Sores of police could be seen on guard. The action ended up obstructing the flow of traffic for the length of Jalan Harmoni heading for Kota. (aan)

Three ex-PKI lawyers 'held hostage' at court hearing

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta -- The pursuit of three lawyers representing ex-Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) members continues. Following the court hearing, they were forced to seek the protection of police because scores of Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) activists were determined to detain them.

The three lawyers are Uli Parulian Sihombing, Erna Ratna Ningsih and Gatot, all legal experts from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH).

When the hearing of a class action by ex-PKI members ended on Wednesday August 3 at around 2.30pm, the demonstrators immediately blocked the gates of the Central Jakarta State Court on Jalan Gajah Mada. The demonstrators who came from the Indonesian Youth Movement (GPI), the Hisbullah Brigade and the Indonesian Islamic Students also began checking vehicles leaving the court grounds. Even an ambulance didn't escape inspection by the FPI.

Seeing the situation, several police officers provided security to the three public defenders and they were taken to a courtroom on the third floor where they were closely guarded.

Even a number of old and aged ex-PKI members could not escape being taunted by the demonstrators. "Before [the PKI] slaughtered the Islamic community, now they do as they please and ask for compensation", swore one of the FPI members. The ex-PKI members however were able to make their way past the throng of people.

Because after some time the lawyers failed to leave the court, at around 3.15pm the demonstrators finally disbanded the flow of traffic past Jalan Gajah Mada gradually returned to normal.

The lawyers were "held hostage" in the courthouse for around 75 minutes and were only able to leave the building at around 3.45pm, going directly to the LBH offices on Jalan Diponegoro in Central Jakarta.

The hearing of the suit against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and three former Indonesian presidents, Megawati Sukarnoputri, Abdurrahman Wahid and B.J. Habibie will be reconvened on August 18 and is scheduled to here a defense plea from the defendants. (ton)

Notes:

1. Provisional People's Consultative Assembly Decree Number XXV/1966 on the Dissolution of the Indonesian Communist Party and Prohibitions on Marxist, Leninist and Communist Teachings.

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.]

Reform has not yielded promised results: Survey

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2005

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- When reform swept across the country in 1998, forcing authoritarian ruler Soeharto to step down, everybody hoped the movement would improve the life of the nation.

Indonesia has since taken several steps, including four constitutional amendments and direct legislative and presidential elections, to build a thriving democracy.

Seven years have passed since Soeharto was forced from office, but most people believe there has been little change for the better, according to a recent survey by TNS-Indonesia of The Jakarta Post readers.

Most respondents believe the economy is worse off than it was under the authoritarian New Order regime.

The majority of survey respondents said they had seen no improvements in law enforcement, human rights protection, public service, security, social affairs or politics.

The poll involved 506 respondents, who were equally divided by gender. About 400 respondents were over the age of 25.

More than a third of respondents said the reform movement had brought no change to the country's political life, 30 percent said the situation was worse than during the New Order and 26 percent said reform had resulted in improvements.

In public service, 60 percent of respondents said they had not seen any progress, compared to 30 percent of respondents who said public service had improved in the reform era.

Corruption eradication is a battle that successive post-Soeharto governments have failed to win, according to the survey.

As many as 35 percent of respondents said current antigraft measures were insufficient, 28 percent said the anticorruption drive was a failure and 34 percent said the campaign was working.

Regarding the economy, 54 percent of respondents agreed that present conditions were worse than in the heyday of the New Order, 34 percent said there had been no change since the financial swept across the region in 1997 and 12 percent expressed satisfaction with the government's efforts to deal with the crisis.

According to the survey, the reform movement did result in significant changes for the Indonesian Military, one of the main pillars of the New Order regime that helped keep Soeharto in power for 32 years.

Forty-seven percent of respondents thanked the reform movement for turning the military into a professional force, while 37 percent said there had been no improvement in the military's performance since the reform era began.

Amendments to the Constitution ban the military from involvement in practical politics, which is evident in the exclusion of the military and the police from the legislative bodies since 2004.

Ikrar Nusa Bakti, a political analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said he was not surprised by the poll results.

"It is not surprising. Seven years is quite a long time, people deserve a better life. The poll sends a clear message to politicians, both in the legislature and in the government, as well as to the judiciary, to work harder to uphold democracy," he told the Post.

Ikrar said the ongoing transitional period from an authoritarian regime to a democracy was a critical period because if it failed, the old regime would make a comeback.

"Do not let reformasi stall. Otherwise, people may begin longing for the prosperity offered by an authoritarian regime, which was actually false. It is dangerous," he said.

Teten among Magsaysay award winners

Jakarta Post - August 2, 2005

Jakarta -- Noted Indonesian antigraft campaigner Teten Masduki has been named as one of the six recipients of this year's Ramon Magsaysay awards, organizer announced on Monday.

The head of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) won the Magsaysay public service award for "challenging Indonesians to expose corruption and claim their right to clean government." Established in 1957, the Magsaysay prize is often dubbed Asia's version of the Nobel Prize.

"I've never dreamt of receiving this prestigious award as what I've been doing is nothing extraordinary. I think everybody must fight against corruption because this is our country's biggest problem," he told The Jakarta Post from Medan, North Sumatra. He was meeting prosecutors from the province to discuss the antigraft campaign.

Teten plans to attend the annual awards ceremony on Aug. 31. The awards are named after late Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay.

Teten, who was born into a family of farmers, said that "I plunged into the activist world" after joining a 1985 demonstration by local farmers whose land had been stolen, AP reported.

In 1998, he volunteered to head Indonesia Corruption Watch, which became a clearinghouse for information about corruption, collusion and nepotism. Last year, the group examined 432 graft cases causing an estimated loss to Indonesia of some US$580 million.

The other recipients of the Magsaysay awards are Thai senator Jon Ungphakorn, Bangladesh journalist Matiur Rahman, Indian physician V. Shanta, South Korea's Yoon Hye-Ran and Laotian Sombath Somphone.

Aceh

TNI has withdrawn troops in Aceh

Tempo Interactive - August 6, 2005

Lhokseumawe -- According to Iskandar Muda Military chief Maj. Gen. Supiadin AS, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has withdrawn its troops from the forests and villages of Aceh.

This is aimed at giving members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) the opportunities to gather and ready themselves to collect their weapons and matters.

"This is also aimed for us to prepare for the surrender, starting from August 15. This is what we really want," said Supiadin on Friday (05/08).

He added that in the run-up to the signing of the peace agreement between the Indonesian government and GAM in Helsinki, Finland, on August 15, certain parties who do not want to see the peace agreement realized have slandered and accused the other parties.

Supiadin made this statement while providing guidance to 256 heads of village and public figures in 13 sub districts in North Aceh, Bireuen, and the city of Lhokseumawe.

"Therefore, I wish to deliver this statement to all of you so that you will not receive wrong information," he said.

Regarding the withdrawal of the troops, Supiadin said that this would be carried out in line with how many GAM weapons were handed over. (Imran MA-Tempo News Room)

TNI budget increase will endanger demilitarisation process

Fpdra.org - August 5, 2005

Alisa P, Jakarta -- The demilitarisation phase covered under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement will proceed over a period of three months.

The TNI (armed forces), though the department of defense, has submitted a request for a budget of 526 billion rupiah to providing security for the three month transition process from August 15 to December 2005. Defense minister Juwono Sudarsono in Jakarta revealed this on Thursday August 4. Sudarsono further explained that it would not be part of an earlier defense budget allocation of 2.19 trillion rupiah.

According to the chairperson of the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA), Thamrin Ananda, this submission for additional funds indicates that the TNI is not yet demonstrating its good intentions in welcoming the peace process in Aceh. It should be that with the signing of the MoU, as stated under the point on demilitarisation, GAM will lay down its arms and non- organic TNI troops will be withdrawn. So what is the budget increase for since what is needed by the TNI at the moment is funds for the repatriation of its troops which should already be part of the state budget said Ananda.

This gives the impression that the TNI is peppering an alternative scenario for the peace process. When the TNI wanted to ensure that CoHA(1) would fail, the TNI also asked for a budged increase, which was then used for preparations for war, that is the state of martial law. This is truly not a positive contribution towards a genuine peace process.

Furthermore explained Andanda, the TNI itself is not in fact involved in the monitoring team so making a budget submission on the ground of maintaining security during the transitional period makes absolutely no sense. It would only make sense for the TNI to submit a request for a budget increase if it was involved in the monitoring process, he explained.

Notes:

1. On December 9, 2003, Indonesia and GAM signed the historic Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) in Geneva which required both sides to begin demilitarisation within two months and a Joint Security Committee (JSC) was tasked with monitoring the peace process.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

US congratulates Indonesia on draft Aceh peace deal

Associated Press - August 3, 2005

Jakarta -- The United States congratulated Indonesia Wednesday for reaching a draft peace deal with rebels in Aceh province, and said the accord would make it easier for Washington to resume frozen military-to-military ties with Jakarta.

The US Congress severed most military links with Indonesia in 1999 after military-led violence in the former Indonesian province of East Timor led to the deaths of 1,500 people.

Rights groups have urged Washington not to restore ties because of the army's continuing record of abuses, especially in Aceh province.

The government and Acehnese rebels plan to sign an accord to end the 29-year-old war in Aceh on Aug. 15 after agreeing to the deal at talks last month in Helsinki, Finland.

"Our congratulations go to the government and president and vice president on what appears to be an agreement in respect to Aceh," said Brig. Gen. John Allen, director for Asian and Pacific affairs at the US Defense Department.

Allen said the deal, along with the internal reforms within the Indonesian military and cooperation in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami, "were important indications for the future" restoration of ties.

"We are very encouraged by all these developments in Indonesia," Allen told reporters after two days of meetings between Indonesian and US defense officials aimed at strengthening their relationship.

The Bush administration is lobbying Congress to drop the ban, arguing Washington should be strengthening its ties to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation and a key battleground in the war on terror.

TNI says there are parties trying to thwart peace process

Aceh Kita - August 5, 2005

AK-7 & AK-26, Lhokseumawe -- Speaking in Lhokseumawe on Friday August 5, the commander of the Iskandar Muda territorial military command, Major General Supiadin AS, said that there are parties who want to thwart the signing of the peace agreement between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on August 15.

The possibility that there are parties who want to thwart the peace process was raised by Supiadin when speaking to 256 village heads and public figures from 13 sub-districts in northern Aceh, Lhokseumawe and Bireuen.

Although he said there are parties which want disrupt the peace process, the former commander of the Udayana territorial military command in Bali did not say which party wants to thwart the peace process. "It is because of this [possibility], that I want to convey this to you gentlemen and ladies, so that you don't mistakenly accept [such] information", he said.

Supiadin is asking people not to be influence by parties who are saying that Aceh will be independent after the peace deal is signed on August 15. "Don't listen to it. It's totally wrong", he said. "So if there are mischievous [parties] in the field I'm not prepared to say who they are. But it is difficult for me to say it's GAM, they will then deny it yes, possibly it's the TNI", explained Supiadin.

Supiadin, who recently replaced the former Aceh military commander Major General Endang Suwarya, said that GAM has already recognised the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, are not asking for independence or a referendum and has agreed to destroy the weapons they posses. "This means everything will turn out peacefully. Then what about me as the military commander in response to troops in the field. Because the TNI want's to show to the international community, to GAM and to the public [its commitment] (with regard to troop withdrawals)", he said.

Furthermore he said, before the peace agreement is signed, the TNI would have already withdrawn its troops, particularly those who were in the forests who will be deployed on the outskirts of villages. "The TNI truly wishes to build peace in Aceh. It is because of this, the TNI doesn't want it to be again said that they are the party which will thwart the peace process", he said.

The withdrawal of TNI troops he repeated will be done in accordance with the number of GAM weapons that are destroyed. But, "I still don't know the details of the peace agreement", he said. [dzie]

[Abridged translation by James Balowski.]

Acehnese support peace deal but concerned about rights trials

Fpdra.org - August 4, 2005

Miswar, Banda Aceh -- August 15 will be a historical moment for the Acehnese people, because on that day the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government will be signed.

A diverse range of responses have come from the Acehnese people on the signing. Athough everyone supports the peace process they still have doubts about some of the points in the MoU.

The Acehnese people's doubts about the MoU are principally on the question of human rights trials for the perpetrators of human rights crimes in Aceh. This is bearing in mind the high level of rights violations which occurred during the period Aceh was declared a Military Operations Zone(1) and under a state of martial law.

If this question of human rights trials for perpetrators of human rights violations is not clearly stated in the MoU, then this will become a new problem and the agreement will not be representative the Acehnese people's wishes, explained Musliyadi, a student from the Syiahkuala University faculty of law.

Similar doubts have also been raised by the chairperson of Student Solidarity for the People (SMUR), Mahmudal. According to Mahmudal, the question of human rights violations must be deal with justly and not allowed to be reconciled through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

This is because the question is related to the basic rights of the people which were taken away by force and the perpetrators must therefore be tried in a human rights court he explained. If this point is not clearly stated in the MoU, then I am certain that many parties will reject the agreement, he said.

Notes:

1. Between 1989 to 1998 Aceh was designated a special military operations area (DOM). During this period thousands of people, mostly civilians, were killed, disappeared or imprisoned as a result of military operations conducted against GAM.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

TNI patrols restricted to 750 metres from their posts

Tempo Interactive - August 4, 2005

Yuswardi A.Suud, Banda Aceh -- After being withdrawn from the forests and mountains of Aceh, TNI (armed forces) troops will be placed in posts on the outskirts of the forests and only allowed to move within a radius of 750 metres from their post.

This proposal was revealed during a meeting between the commander of the Iskandar Muda territorial military command, Supiadin AS, and members of the Aceh provincial parliament (DPRD) in Banda Aceh. According to Supiadin, the withdrawal of troops who have previously been pursuing members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the forests and mountains of Aceh started on July 23. "This is to demonstrate the TNI's commitment to supporting the peace process in Aceh", he said.

In the lead up to the signing of a peace agreement between the Indonesian government and GAM, which is planned for August 15, the TNI will only conduct light patrols to safeguard the public from disturbances by GAM. In addition to this the TNI will also safeguard vital objects along the 153-kilometer pipeline. "My officers can patrol to the extent of providing security for the pipeline. So it doesn't mean that we aren't doing anything and leaving GAM to commit acts of violence", said Supiadin.

Supiadin is asking the DPRD to participate in supervising the peace agreement. "I can't work by myself, I need help to for supervisory tasks from the DPRD", he said. According to Supiadin, the TNI welcomes the government's efforts at peace. Except, he also asked GAM to have the same good intentions. "Furthermore, the time [of the signing of the peace deal] is only two days before independence [day]. This is an extraordinary momentum, God have mercy", said Supiadin.

The speaker of the Aceh DPRD, Said Fuad Zakaria, has declared his support for the TNI's position. He is asking all parties in Aceh to support the peace process.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Helsinki consultation, government will not be lobbying PDI-P

Detik.com - August 4, 2005

Niken Widya Yunita, Jakarta -- The position of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction, which has persisted in opposing negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), has received a cool response from the government.

The party lead by former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, will not be 'persuaded' to support the negotiations in the lead up to the August 9 consultation meeting with People's Representative Assembly (DPR).

"[They] won't be lobbied", said the Coordinating Minister of Politics, Legal and Security Affairs, Widodo AS, on Thursday August 4 at the offices of the president on Jalan Veteran in Central Jakarta.

According to Widodo, during the consultation forum the government will explain the policies which were worked through during the informal meetings in Helsinki. "The main orientation is this policy is to seek a peaceful and permanent solution [to the conflict] in Aceh. We hope it will be the best solution", said Widodo.

The PDI-P faction in the DPR is continuing to oppose the agreement between the Indonesian government and GAM in Helsinki because the Aceh question is a domestic issue. The party with the symbol of the fat bull also expressed its regret over the government's position, which has remained silent in the face of the arrival of foreign monitors from the European Union and the Association of South East Asian Nations in Aceh. (aan)

[Translated by Risna.]

Additional budget still needed for military operation

Aceh Kita - August 4, 2005

AK-25, Jakarta -- The defense department is still pursuing its plan for budget increases for the security operation in Aceh. A budget of as much as 526 billion rupiah is needed to pay for troops and the military operation in Aceh until December 2005.

"This amount includes the cost of withdrawing TNI (armed forces) troops from Aceh", Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono told journalists in Jakarta on Thursday August 4.

Although the TNI will not be involved in the mission to monitor the peace deal between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement, Sudarsono said that the TNI is still needed to maintain security in Aceh. "The TNI will not be involved in the Helsinki political process. Only the police will be involved in the mission. The TNI must act neutrally", said Sudarsono.

According to Sudarsono, the proposed budget increase has already been submitted to the finance ministry and is awaiting approval from the People's Representative Assembly Budgetary Commission.

The defense department and the TNI already have a budget of 2.19 trillion rupiah allocated from the 2005 state budget. In addition to requesting an additional 526 billion rupiah for the TNI, the department is asking for an additional 2 trillion rupiah for the defense department and the TNI's needs. If the planed increases are realised, the defense department and the TNI's total budget will be high as 23 trillion rupiah. [dzie]

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Government urged to release all GAM prisoners

Jakarta Post - August 4, 2005

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Human rights activists have urged the government to release all Aceh civilians accused of involvement in the separatist group there after a peace deal is signed later this month.

The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) and human rights watch Imparsial said on Wednesday the government should not exclude the civilians from amnesty, which will be granted as part of the peace agreement.

"There are many people who were tried for subversion as they were accused of supporting GAM but were eventually convicted of ordinary crimes," PBHI head Johnson Panjaitan said, referring to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group.

He also drew attention to the fate of those who are still being prosecuted for alleged treason, as the draft peace agreement signed in Helsinki in mid-July did not address the matter.

According to PBHI data, there are over 2,500 prisoners and detainees, excluding those being imprisoned in West Java, who are linked to GAM. They were arrested after the 2000 humanitarian pause, and imprisoned in penitentiaries in Java and Aceh as well as police and military detention.

Many of the prisoners jailed in Aceh died during the Dec. 26 tsunami.

The government has said all political prisoners will be released two weeks after the peace agreement is signed on Aug. 15, but GAM members who are jailed for ordinary crimes will be exempt from the amnesty.

Data from the Indonesian Military shows there are around 1,300 GAM members serving detention in various prisons in Indonesia, including hundreds in the maximum security prison on Nusakambangan Island off Central Java.

The PBHI said most of the people who had been arrested for alleged involvement with GAM had been convicted of criminal offenses, including the possession of illegal arms and collection of illegal levies locally called Pajak Nanggroe to raise funds for their struggle.

"This means only a few GAM prisoners will walk free once the peace deal is signed," Johnson said.

Imparsial said the government needed to be wise in dealing with the issue, otherwise it would lead to new political tension.

Rachland Nashidik, Imparsial executive director, said many people had been imprisoned for their alleged link with GAM but in fact they had been promoting political and human rights in Aceh.

"The government must not grant them amnesty because this would justify the criminalization of freedom of expression. It would also mean that those who fell victim to the armed conflict are (called) guilty people," Rachland said.

Rachland suggested that the government release such convicts and apologize for their prosecution.

Johnson also asked the government to ensure the safety of GAM prisoners following their release. "Don't let them die on the streets," he said.

The government is completing arrangements in regard to the amnesty, including working on a time line, specifying the recipients and conditions and seeking legal advice.

The amnesty is expected to restore the political, economic and social rights of GAM members.

Government's version of amnesty for GAM prisoners unjust

Aceh Kita - August 3, 2005

AK-25, Jakarta -- The Indonesian government has declared it will grant amnesty to members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and activists accused of subversive acts against the state. Amnesty will not only be granted to those who have been found guilty by the courts but also to those in detention who have yet to face trial.

The government plans to issue a policy decision on August 31 or after the government and GAM have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on August 15.

The government has already explained that those who will be granted amnesty are political prisoners who have been convicted and those awaiting trial who have been charged under the anti- subversion law. Prisoners charged under the criminal code meanwhile, will not be given special treatment, bearing in mind that the Helsinki peace agreement only gives special treatment to GAM members who are characterised as having committing acts of subversion.

According to the chairperson of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Foundation (PBHI), Johnson Panjaitan however, of the 2,612 prisoners in Aceh not all of them were charged under the anti-subversion laws and convicted by the courts. In realty says Panjaitan, when they were arrested a number of prisoners were charged with subversion but during the legal process which followed this changed and they were charged with ordinary criminal acts.

"It's not fair. Because in the beginning these activists were accused of being members of GAM because it was known that [they had] carried out political activities. We as their lawyers know this is so", said Panjaitan at a press conference at the PBHI offices in Jakarta on Wednesday August 3.

Panjaitan is therefore urging the government to reopen the arrest and trial documents before the policy on granting amnesty is implemented. Panjaitan is calling on the government to open, in a transparent manner, the report dossiers, the interrogation reports, charge sheets and case dossiers. "These are the measures which would be fair when the government applies amnesty to political prisoners who have been convicted and are awaiting trial", he said.

Separately, a human rights activist from Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), Otto Syamsuddin Ishak, added that injustice will befall political prisoners who have been convicted and are awaiting trial and charged under criminal law. According to Ishak, the fact is that the government's move to prohibit its citizens from conducting political activity as a manifestation of the freedom of expression, thought and opinion, represents a violation of basic human rights.

Crimes like this said Ishak, are crimes against the individual, were the state is the perpetrator of the crime. In cases such as this therefore, the government must unconditionally release them and make an official apology for arresting them.

However continued Ishak, the government will have difficulties in applying the policy. The reason being that the government feels it has done the Acehnese people a good turn and only has a problem with GAM. "In reality many Acehnese people have been accused of being GAM [members] because of their [political] activities", he said.

The government plans to provide amnesty to GAM members on August 31. All GAM prisoners, who are currently in detention in various correctional institutions in Java, will be repatriated after being granted amnesty. The government is still considering how many of them will be granted amnesty. [dzie]

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Government plans settlement mechanism for Aceh

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2005

Jakarta -- The government is now focused on formulating a dispute settlement mechanism, if violence arises after the peace deal with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been signed. Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo AS said on Tuesday that the mechanism was crucial to prevent either side from making a decision to immediately call off the hard-earned peace deal if a dispute occurred.

"I think there must be rules and a mechanism on how to resolve possible disputes. (We'll) formulate this (the dispute settlement mechanism)," Widodo told reporters as quoted by Antara. He said that through the mechanism, any dispute would be resolved in stages before a final decision was made.

His statement came amid reports that a village head in Aceh was shot on Sunday evening, the latest deadly incident before the official signing of the peace accord between the government and GAM on Aug. 15 in Helsinki. AFP reported that M. Nasir, the head of Lhok Sialangcut village in South Aceh, was shot dead at his home in front of his wife and children.

GAM and the TNI each took turns blaming the other. The Indonesian Military (TNI) accused three GAM rebels of being behind the attack. Head of the local district military command Lieutenant Colonel Jamhur Ismail was quoted as saying that the three were among 13 rebels who went to Nasir's house and are believed to be followers of local rebel leader Annawi.

But GAM denied the accusations, with one official saying that the TNI statement was part of its efforts to sabotage the Aug. 15 peace agreement.

The current peace process was a result of the last peace talks that finished in Helsinki on July 17, in which GAM agreed to drop its decades-long demand for independence of the oil-rice Aceh province, but in return the rebels would, among other things, be given amnesty and the Acehnese people would be allowed to have full political representation by forming local political parties.

The peace talks were made more urgent following the Dec. 26 tsunami, which killed over 129,000 people in Aceh and destroyed much of the coastal infrastructure.

The last truce, agreed upon in December 2002, collapsed six months later, partly due to continuing violence, with both sides blaming the other. That is the situation that ostensibly led the government to impose martial law and launch a huge military offensive against the rebels in May 2003, which further increased the number of victims in the more than 30 years of conflict to more than 15,000 fatalities.

Elsewhere, Widodo said that the dispute settlement mechanism was expected to be completed before Aug. 15. This mechanism would provide the basis for the foreign monitors tasked to oversee the implementation of the peace deal in Aceh.

Peace monitors from the European Union and members countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will supervise the implementation of the peace accord. Their tasks will include overseeing the disarmament of rebels and the withdrawal of TNI troops once the peace pact is signed.

Foreign monitors assigned to supervise the peace deal in 2002 were forced to withdraw due to escalating violence targeting their district offices.

Demilitarisation key to peace process

Green Left Weekly - August 3, 2005

James Balowski, Jakarta -- Despite earlier opposition, leaders of Indonesia's parliament now appear to be willing to allow provincial-based political parties to be established in Aceh. This was a major sticking point in finalising the peace agreement reached between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government in Helsinki on July 17.

First signs of a backdown on the issue emerged on July 24 during a meeting at the residence of Vice-President Yusuf Kalla with top government officials and leaders of nine political parties represented in the unicameral House of Representatives (DPR). Only the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which has most strongly opposed the negotiations, was absent.

Following the meeting, Kalla said that all of the parties except the PDI-P would approve the proposal and provide a legal basis for it, either by revising the law on political parties or the law on special autonomy for Aceh.

The July 26 Jakarta Post reported that DPR speaker Agung Laksono said he was optimistic the proposal would be endorsed by the DPR. Deputy speaker Zaenal Maarif was also optimistic, saying: "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." Laksono also said most of the parties would allow the government to sign the peace agreement with GAM on August 15 without first having to seek formal approval from the parliament. Earlier, some legislators had said it must first obtain the DPR's approval, arguing that it was in essence a peace deal with "foreigners".

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 negotiations, GAM dropped its demand for independence for the oil-rich province and agreed instead to "self-governance" within the Republic of Indonesia.

Under the agreement, Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) troop withdrawals will start in September, along with the surrender and destruction of GAM's weapons. It is on these two issues however that problems are already emerging.

In a press statement released on July 21, the Acehnese solidarity organisation Students Solidarity for the People (SMUR) welcomed the peace agreement, saying it reflected an understanding that Aceh desperately needs a climate of peace and democracy to rebuild after the devastating December 26 tsunami left some 165,000 dead or missing.

SMUR stressed, however, that demilitarisation is the key to self-governance succeeding and if this fails all other aspects of the process will collapse. SMUR said that concerns have arisen because of the different interpretations of demilitarisation being put forward by the government, the DPR, the political parties and the TNI.

SMUR said that the government and the TNI see demilitarisation as being simply the surrender and destruction of GAM weapons after which TNI troops be withdrawn from Aceh in stages.

GAM, on the other hand, sees demilitarisation as requiring foreign monitors to oversee and control the entire process.

In its statement, SMUR expressed concern that the peace process could fail because of GAM and the Acehnese people's "trauma" over past betrayals by Jakarta. SMUR noted that the TNI sabotaged an earlier peace deal by continuing operations against GAM and mobilising pro-Indonesia militia groups against foreign monitors.

After the negotiations broke down, all of GAM's top negotiators were arrested, and the TNI and Indonesian police hunted down human rights activists in Aceh. Because of this, SMUR said, GAM and the people of Aceh still do not trust Jakarta to stick to negotiated agreements.

In light of this, SMUR said that time is needed for confidence building and that the disarmament of GAM under the protection and supervision of the international monitors must go hand in hand with TNI troop withdrawals and an end to TNI military operations in Aceh. It also called for support and solidarity from the Indonesian democratic movement and the Indonesian people to pressure the government and the DPR to fully support the peace process in Aceh.

In a statement issued on July 19, the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA), while also welcoming the agreement, said that the two most important issues are demilitarisation and the legalisation of Aceh-based political parties. FPDRA chairperson Thamrin Ananda said that demilitarisation is not just about GAM surrendering its weapons, but must also involve the immediate withdrawal of non-Acehnese TNI troops and police.

He said that following the legalisation of Aceh-based parties, the provincial parliament should be dissolved and new elections held.

On July 20, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the TNI to halt its military operations in Aceh. GAM, however, says that the peace deal is already being endangered by an accelerating TNI campaign of intimidation and violence. GAM claims that at least 10 people have been killed since the agreement was negotiated.

GAM spokesperson Sofyan Dawood, speaking by phone from the Aceh jungle, told the July 27 Australian that the TNI had besieged a village on July 25. "The TNI is still conducting military operations", he said. "It's even worse than before the draft agreement was finalised." Dawood said the next few weeks were crucial for the chances of long-term peace in Aceh. "If there is no meeting point [on a scale-down of TNI operations], there is the possibility the negotiations will be affected", he said.

He also said that if the TNI's violence continued, GAM would could call a halt to the whole peace-agreement process.

The TNI has denied Dawood's allegations. Lieutenant-Colonel Erie Sutiko, military spokesperson in the Acehnese city of Lhokseumawe, told the Australian that TNI forces in Aceh were "just coordinating security and reconstruction for Aceh" and that "so far the TNI in Aceh has fully supported the policy of the government".

According to a July 27 report on the FPDRA's website, however, motorcycle owners in Meulaboh, in western Aceh, are being "obliged" to attach anti-peace stickers to their vehicles or risk being detained by security forces. According to the report, the sticker reads: "The GAM separatists are my enemy, Hasan Tiro is a traitor to my nation, NKRI is my country."

Hasan Tiro founded GAM in 1976 and has lived in Sweden since 1979. NKRI is the acronym for "Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia", a term used by Indonesian nationalists to express their desire to maintain the territorial integrity of the Indonesian state.

TNI questionnaire on peace process being distributed

Sinar Harapan - August 2, 2005

Murizal Hamzah/Emmy Kuswandari, Banda Aceh -- Questionnaires to ascertain the public's views on the Helsinki peace process are being distributed in the northern Aceh district of Bireuen. At the top left hand corner of the questionnaire is the writing TNI (armed forces) Psychology Team Sub-Team III Bireuen. Underneath this is printed the words name, address and employment of person filling out questionnaire.

The questionnaire is being hand distributed by TNI personnel wearing civilian clothes. "Please give these out to your friends, tomorrow I'll take it back", the TNI officer was quoted as saying by a resident who declined to give their name to Sinar Harapan.

The questionnaire titled "Public's Response to [the Peace Process]", contains four questions (using an open question format) which must be filled out by the public: On the planned signing of the Helsinki peace agreement, on what happens if the agreement fails, on the plan for the TNI and the Indonesian police to be withdrawn from Aceh and on amnesty for members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

When contacted by Sinar Harapan, the commander of the Iskandar Muda territorial military command, Major General Supiadin AS, stated that there has been no order issued for the distribution of the questionnaire to residents. "Please son, bring me an example of the questionnaire okay", he told Sinar Harapan though an SMS message on Sunday July 31.

The head of the TNI Psychology Team in Aceh, Lieutenant Colonel Gunawan, said that he had been ordered by the chief of the TNI not to say anything, including answering questions about whether the questionnaire had been issued by the team. He then asked, is it true that there is unrest among the public in relation to the questionnaire?

The head of the information centre for the TNI's military command in Aceh, Lieutenant Colonel Ery Sutikno, explained that the TNI Psychology Team's presence in Aceh is more orientated to understanding the mental condition of soldiers during and after their tours of duty. He also conceded that he did not know for certain if the questionnaire came from the TNI Psychology Team.

The former spokesperson for the TNI's operational command in Aceh, Colonel Kolonel Achmad Yani Basuki, also explained that there has been no order by the TNI's operational commander to distribute the questionnaire in Bireuen. According to Basuki, the TNI supports all efforts to resolve the Aceh question peacefully.

"There has been no such order. We have [already] explained, the TNI is still committed to supporting every [attempt at] resolving the Aceh [question] peacefully", he told Sinar Harapan on the evening of Monday August 1.

A resident of Bireuen, Burhan, admitted that he had already filled out the questionnaire although he did not write his name and address. The car dealer received a questionnaire from a friend on Thursday July 28 that had to be returned on Friday July 29. "[I] didn't want to look for trouble and didn't want difficulties with them", he said. Burhan believes the questionnaire is appropriate as long as it is filled out truthfully.

Based on Sinar Harapan's observations on the ground, scores of questionnaire have been distributed but after the negative reaction by residents it was withdrawn.

Sutikno meanwhile says he was unaware that the questionnaire has created unrest among residents. "We certainly don't want this kind of situation. The situation in Aceh at the moment is relatively conducive", said Sutikno.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Acehnese NGOs ask parliament to support negotiations

Detik.com - August 2, 2005

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta -- Support for the Aceh peace negotiations is strengthening. Acehnese non-government organisations have asked the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) to support the negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki.

Ten representatives from the Aceh Joint Committee (Komite Bersatu Aceh) visited the DPR's Commission I at the parliament building in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday August 2.

The group which is made up of Balai Sorong Inong Aceh, the Aceh Sport Group, academics and representatives of traditional communities were received by commission chairperson Theo L. Sambuaga and two commission members, Ali Muchtar Ngabalin from the Crescent Star Party faction and Untung Wahono from the Prosperity and Justice Party faction.

"We from the Representative Body for Acehnese Society are asking the DPR to support the negotiations [between] the Indonesian government and GAM in Helsinki and ask that the Commission I monitor the progress of the negotiations", said one of the representatives, Fahrul Syah Mega.

Sambuaga welcomed the demands of the Acehnese NGOs. "We will continue to carry out our task as the representatives of the people and we will support that which is proceeding", said Samuaga who is also a politician from the Golkar Party. (aan)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Acehnese from across Java to hold dialogue on negotiations

Aceh Kita - August 2, 2005

AK-41, Bandung -- The Acehnese community from the Bandung Community of Acehnese Families (Keluarga Masyarakat Aceh Bandung, Kamaba) will hold an all-Java Acehnese Society Dialogue Forum on August 7 in Bandung with the theme "The role and attitude of Acehnese civil society in Java Island on the Helsinki negotiations".

"This event will bring together 200 participants made up of student and youth representatives, public figures, members of the DPR (People's Representative Assembly) and the Aceh DPD (provincial parliament)", the head of the event's steering committee Said Aziz told Aceh Kita on Tuesday August 2. "We hope that they will be able to express their thoughts at this civil society forum in order to best think out the implementation of the peace process [in Aceh]".

Also attending the event will be DPR member M Nasir Djamil, the Minister of Communication and Information, Sofyan Djalil, and Golkar Party member and media magnate, Surya Paloh. Along with participants from Java, the three have already declared their readiness to be present at the event. "We hope that the forum will be able to be a medium for consultation between the Indonesian government and the Acehnese community living in Java Island on the Helsinki negotiations", said Aziz, who is also head of Kamaba's department of student affairs. "We want to make a contribution to the peace process".

Following the meeting in Bandung, on August 8 the participants will also participate in a joint dialogue in Malaysia. "Later they will also participate [in a dialogue] in Malaysia", said Nurzahri, a student from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Acehnese students

Aziz said that there are presently as many as 600 Acehnese student studying at various schools of higher education in Bandung. Sixty of these were victims of the tsunami.

Kamaba itself said Aziz, will be seeking assistance for scholarships for the 60 who were victims of the tsunami. "The first stage has already obtained assistance and will continue for three months", he said. Aziz said that the Rotary Club has already paid for 17 students and the ITB alumni network has assisted others. [dzie]

[Translated by James Balowski.]

West Papua

America supports integrity of RI, congressman says

Jakarta Post - August 5, 2005

Jakarta -- A United States Congressman assured Indonesia on Thursday of his country's support for the territorial integrity of this country, which has been plagued by secessionist movements for decades.

Co-Chair of the US Congressional Indonesia Caucus Robert Wexler said the US policy was clearly demonstrated when President George W. Bush met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the latter's visit to Washington in June.

"We America support the integrity of the Indonesian territory and we do not support any separatist movement in Indonesia. There is no if, no and, no but," he said during a press briefing after a meeting with Susilo at the Presidential Office.

US Ambassador to Indonesia B. Lynn Pascoe was also present at the meeting.

Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said the President and Wexler discussed bilateral and regional issues, including efforts to enhance ties between the two countries.

The contentious issue of Papua was raised recently following a move by two US Congress members who proposed a bill calling for a thorough analysis of the Papua's history, including the 1969 Act of Free Choice, in which 1025 handpicked tribal elders voted unanimously to become a part of Indonesia. The Netherlands had claimed the territory as an overseas protectorate from 1949 until 1962.

Wexler, however, stated that the bill did not reflect the view of the United States, in general. "Any kind of different view (among US legislators) is merely due to democratic circumstances," he said after a separate meeting with Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono.

However, Wexler admitted that "there is a little miscommunication" among the Congressmen in regard to Papua.

He said he was optimistic that the government could handle the problems in the restive province. "After hearing the president's plan and explanation, we have great hopes that the issues will be handled in a just fashion," said Wexler, who represents the Democratic Party from Florida.

He assured the president that there was no "division of opinion" in the US about the integrity of Indonesia.

Before meeting Susilo and Juwono, Wexler had earlier held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda.

Debate over the status of Papua also seems to have come to surface because US legislators criticized what they called continuing rights abuses against the pro-independence group in the resource-rich province in a letter sent to the US secretary of state and the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan earlier this year.

Political analyst Bara Hasibuan, meanwhile, was of the opinion that the debate on Papua was a result of the government's failure to address prolonged discontent in the territory.

"The government should review its unclear policies on Papua to win the people's hearts and minds," explained Bara.

Jakarta, he added, was not serious about implementing special autonomy in Papua. "Human right abuses, deployment of reinforcement troops and injustices have been decried by Papuan groups to draw the world's attention to those issues," said Bara, an intern at the US Congress in 2002 and 2003.

The government has not yet implemented the special autonomy law for Papua, and actually violated elements of that law by proceeding with a division of Papua into three smaller provinces last year, although the Papuan People's Council local consultative body was never consulted -- as it is supposed to be when such decisions are made -- because it has never been established.

Papuan council want changes in special autonomy status

Jakarta Post - August 6, 2005

Tiarma Siboro and ID Nugroho, Jakarta/Surabaya -- Top members of the Papuan Tribal Council (DAP) met with Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Friday and asked the government to immediately hold a significant review of its special autonomy policy in the province, otherwise the campaign for independence of the resource-rich province would become stronger.

The Council has set Aug. 15 as a deadline for the government to decide on whether it would review the policy -- a deadline that also has been set by the Council to return the autonomy policy to the central government, which they claim had been half-hearted in bringing justice and welfare for Papuans.

"The Vice President expressed his understanding as he was of the same opinion as us. He agreed that a critical review of the implementation of the special autonomy law in Papua is necessary," a representative of the Council, Ferdinand Tetro, said during a press conference at the office of the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) in Jakarta.

"He (Kalla), however, has not yet given any promises about a dialog that the government may pursue, but we hope that all parties, ranging from the government, the legislators and the local figures in Papua can sit together to discuss the fate of our province," Tetro said.

The meeting with the Vice President took place ahead of the Council's Aug. 6 to Aug. 15 congress to review the three-year implementation of Law No. 21/2001 on the special autonomy for Papua, which is aimed at providing greater administrative power to the local legislators and greater shares of revenue from the territory's natural resources.

The congress, which will take place in the provincial capital of Jayapura, will review the policy on special autonomy and focus on three main topics: rights abuses, political status and economic development.

The delegates to the congress will also discuss the issue of Papua's history, particularly with regard to how it became a part of Indonesia.

The issue on Papua has once again made headlines, following the proposal by the US House of Representatives on a bill, which if it becomes effective some said may provide stronger international support for the separation of Papua from Indonesia.

Experts have said that in a bid to quell international support for the independence of Papua, the central government must act quickly to fully implement the autonomy law in Papua and help accelerate economic development in the province, which has long been neglected by previous administrations while its valuable natural resources have been exploited.

The Council, however, refused to say whether their move to hold the congress was related to the latest developments in the US Congress.

"We just want to see justice in Papua and we want the central government get more serious in dealing with humanitarian issues in our territory," Council member Andi Manobi said.

Separately, director of Indonesia and Timor Leste Affairs at the US consulate in Surabaya, Angela R. Dickey reiterated an earlier statement made by other US government officials, that the US supports the integrity of Papua within Indonesian territory.

She said the Papua issue had been brought up by only a few groups of Congresspeople, and it would not affect the political support of the U.S government with regard to Indonesia's integrity.

Foreign countries asked not to support Papua separatism

VietNam News Agency - August 4, 2005

Jakarta -- Foreign countries still recognise Papua as part of Indonesia, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda in response to the US Lower House's recent bill questioning the validity of the 1969 referendum in Papua, in which Papua locals voted unanimously to join Indonesia.

"I can say that until now, there is no country in the world supporting the partition of Papua from Indonesia," Hassan said on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting on the Millennium Development Goals in Jakarta, according to local media.

He admitted there were several groups in Indonesia and other countries, including members of the parliament, non-governmental organizations and churches, who want West Papua to become independent.

The Indonesian government would use diplomatic channels to approach other countries in order to oppose such aspirations, the Minister added.

Interviews with Benny Wenda (London) and Rachel Harvey

BBC World Service "Outlook" Programme - Ausust 5, 2005

Fred Dove (Presenter): In the far corner of South East Asia the island of New Guinea is divided into West Papua and Papua New Guinea. While the latter is independent, West Papua, a former Dutch colony, has been officially part of Indonesia since the so-called Act of Free Choice referendum in 1969. That result is still heavily disputed and there's been a long-running indigenous campaign for more autonomy for West Papua.

It's been reported that over the past year the Indonesian government has been sending more troops to the area and that thousands of indigenous villagers who fled their homes are hiding in the mountainous and heavily forested interior.

Two years ago Benny Wenda, a leading member of the Free West Papua campaign, was granted asylum in Britain. While on trial he'd escaped and fled into exile. According to Benny Wenda, a few days ago in West Papua his cousin Petto was badly injured by soldiers.

Benny Wenda: Indonesian military from Bogolame -- 12 people went to the village and two people they shot, but all the women and children ran into the bush. After the operation Petto was walking in the main road there and they stopped him. They found some card [on him] about West Papua and then they asked 'Why have you got this card?' So they took it from him and said 'Oh, you are a rebel.'

Dove: So you are saying that he is not a member of the Free West Papua campaign but that he carried something on him...

Wenda: Yes

Dove: ... and so the military suspected that he belonged to the campaign?

Wenda: Yes, a rebel or a separatist or something. They beat him up until he fell over and they started to cut his body with a knife and then put some chilli [in the wounds]. And after that they put kerosene onto his head and then they put matches to it.

Dove: So they tortured him and then set him alight.

Wenda: Yes.

Dove: So do you know in what condition he is now?

Wenda: They rang up just last night from Papua and they say his condition is critical, they told me.

Dove: It has also been reported that more than 6,000 people in West Papua have fled from their villages and they are hiding in the bush. Do you know anything more about that?

Wenda: Yes. This is the same tribe but a different district. It is the same thing, now going on for one and a half years. There are something like 3,300 people still in the jungle because Indonesia creates violations [incidents] by Indonesian military to [blame the] Papuan people so now people are scared because they burned villages and burned churches.

Dove: You grew up in that area. Do you remember when trouble started? How far back do you remember that it was difficult there?

Wenda: I knew that the root problem is the Act of Free Choice -- they call it the Act of Free Choice.

Dove: The Act of Free Choice, which was in...?

Wenda: 1969, when the Dutch left. [It was] between America and the Dutch and Indonesia... America was interested in our resources. That was the first start ... that brought suffering to my people in West Papua.

Dove: As you said, your cousin Petto is currently in a critical condition. I gather that your parents were also victims of this conflict in the past?

Wenda: Yes, all my family has gone -- you know, all my family disappeared in 1977 -- Indonesia was bombing my village and the whole area in the Highlands and they bombed by plane, like jets and helicopters.

Dove: This was in the '70s.

Wenda: Yes, in 1977. And that was when the Baliem River became red. Baliem River is a big river but why [did] it became red? [It] was because of the blood.

Dove: When did you finally leave West Papua? When did you feel you had to leave?

Wenda: I left in 2002, because I was arrested by the Indonesian military in 2002 because they suspected that I mobilised people to an active campaign for political independence for West Papua. I went to court. In front of the judge I said 'Where is my witness? Who has witnessed my involvement?' [The judge said that] the witnesses went to Java or went on holiday or something. How come?

Dove: So you were in court and you were shown witness accounts but the witnesses weren't there?

Wenda: No, only statements -- they read them to me in front of my eyes. So that is why I made the decision -- I had to escape. And then I escaped from the prison. I flew to Heathrow Airport and then it is amazing because at the time I didn't know how to speak English. They nearly wanted to send me back to Papua New Guinea or Indonesia. Then I just heard some other person say 'asylum' and then I picked up this word and I said 'asylum'...

Dove: So you learnt the word asylum just in time?

Wenda: Yes, and I feel like this helped me, saved me.

Dove (to close the interview): Benny Wenda of the Free West Papua Campaign.

With the exact legal status of West Papua unclear and with news of what's happening there hard to come by I've been talking to the BBC's Indonesia correspondent, Rachel Harvey.

Rachel Harvey: What we understand is that for at least the past few months, possibly the best part of a year, the Indonesian security forces have upped their military operation, particularly in an area called the Central Highlands. Now the security forces say that they are doing that because they are operating against a separatist movement called the Free Papua Movement. It is not a big separatist movement. It's been fighting a low-level, pretty ill-armed struggle over the last three decades or so, but the Indonesian security forces say they have been given the green light to go in there and try and sort out, as they would put it, 'pockets of resistance'.

Now we have heard very disturbing reports about abuses, about villagers that have been forced to flee into the Highlands to escape the brutality that they say is being inflicted upon them. But no-one can get in there to verify this independently because the government simply isn't letting anybody in. I have applied to go to Papua twice myself, in fact not even to that area but to a completely different part of the province, and I have been turned down.

Dove: What kind of area is this? You talk about the Central Highlands -- this is pretty inaccessible terrain, isn't it?

Harvey: It's very remote, it's very high and it's very poorly developed. There are parts of Papua -- and it's a vast province -- that there is fairly decent infrastructure but it tends to be around the major towns and where there are big industrial complexes, mines, for instance. This area, though, the Central Highlands, is bang in the middle and very little has been done to develop that area so it is very difficult to get to.

Dove: How strategically or economically important is West Papua?

Harvey: It is a very, very resource rich province, yes. It has pretty much everything. It's got minerals, it's got oil and gas -- there's a big BP project that's being developed there to produce liquid natural gas. It's got jungles so there's obviously natural wood. There's an awful lot that both has been and continues to be exploited and local Papuans would say that they have not benefited from those economic resources.

Dove: There was a referendum in 1969. The result of that is still very much in dispute. What is the actual legal status now of West Papua?

Harvey: Very, very confused. There was, as you say, what was called the Act of Free Choice in 1969 but only about a thousand of local tribal leaders were picked to represent the views of the people, but the population of Papua at the time was 800,000, so that's less than 1%. It went the way of Indonesia -- it was a unanimous decision to stay as part of the sovereign state of Indonesia, but it's been disputed ever since, hence the development of the separatist movement. Most recently, in the last two governments, President Megawati, who preceded the current president, came up with the plan of dividing the province into three. But that was disputed because they said it ran counter to an earlier government decree which was offering special autonomy. But in the process of it being deemed unconstitutional, one of those provinces had already been established. So what we have now is two provinces in Papua, but those are disputed, a Special Autonomy Bill, which hasn't been implemented and all sides saying 'How are we going to administer this? Who is in charge of what?'

Government asks for calm amid debate over Papua

Jakarta Post - August 4, 2005

Jakarta -- In an apparent attempt to calm the public, the government says it will refrain from paying too much attention to a move to question Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono though put the Papuan issue among those he consulted defense minister Juwono Sudarsono and Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto over on Wednesday.

Juwono said after the meeting the government was confident its policies on Papua, Aceh and Maluku would work well and strengthen "the feeling of unity in a fairer way".

"We will continue to implement decentralization and (the establishment of) local administrations, which are expected to be able to boost the pride and honor of people in Papua, Aceh and Maluku," Juwono said.

Two United States congressmen have proposed a bill to question the validity of the process prior to the 1969 referendum in Papua, which they said took place in "circumstances that were subject to both overt and covert forms of manipulation". The bill also mentions widespread human rights violations allegedly involving the Indonesian Military as a factor that has exacerbated the condition in Papua.

During the referendum, 1,025 selected Papuan elders voted unanimously to join Indonesia. Sporadic, but low-level insurgence has flared up in the natural resource-rich province since then.

The government granted Papua special autonomy in 2001, which allows it to enjoy the lion's share of revenue from the exploitation of its natural resources.

New tension has arisen following the government decision to speed up the partition of Papua into smaller provinces in the absence of the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) last year.

Juwono said the government would not file a protest with the US government.

"The President has said that he dislikes the move of the two US congressmen who raised this issue. But, he has also said just now, let it be.

"It's the essence of the game in the US Congress. They are legislators who want to go on stage once in a while. A 15-second appearance on television is not bad, is it?" Juwono said.

He said the government was not surprised by the move, because the Papua issue always surfaced around Aug. 15.

Juwono also accused several non-governmental organizations, media and several parliament members in Europe and the United States of blowing the issue out of proportion.

"But as a big nation, we should not be nervous, nor uneasy, if in the last couple of days the issue (Papua) has appeared in international forums. If we lose our tempers, they will be happy. So, let's stay cool," Juwono said.

Earlier in the day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said Indonesia would lobby the US government regarding the Papua matter.

"There is an Indonesia caucus in the US Congress. I will meet one of the members, who is visiting Jakarta." Hassan said.

The US has repeatedly voiced its support for Indonesia's territorial integrity, including during the visit of Susilo in June and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2001 to Washington.

Despite their support for national unity, Papuan leaders have urged the government to renew its commitment to implementing special autonomy status there, They asked the government to prove its willingness to develop Papua, instead of sending military troops to the province.

Government urged to ensure status of Papua

Jakarta Post - August 2, 2005

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura -- Papuan leaders reacted cautiously on Monday to the bill recently approved by the US House of Representatives, stressing that Papua is legally part of Indonesia but urging the government to renew its commitment to implementing special autonomy status there.

Secretary of the Papuan Tribal Council (DAP) Fadel Al Hamid said the approval of the bill could be seen as assistance for Papuans in solving their current problems.

"With this bill, it's clear now that Papua has become an international issue so the government can't claim that this is a domestic one. The sign is clear," he said.

Therefore, said Fadel, the government needed to come to Papua to show its willingness to do whatever it takes to support the development of Papua, rather than continuing to deploy military personnel there.

"Don't take us for granted. If the government wants to rule on anything concerning Papua, involve us and hear our opinion. Have respect for us, contrary to the government's conduct during the 1969 referendum," he said.

Fadel argued that the referendum had been carried out improperly as representatives had voted on whether or not Papua would remain with Indonesia, rather than the use of a one-man-one-vote mechanism. It is the referendum, or the 1969 Act of Free Choice, which is being questioned by the US House in the bill.

While Indonesia has claimed Papua as part of its territory since its 1945 independence, Papua remained under Dutch control until 1962. That year, Indonesia and the Netherlands signed the New York Agreement, which transferred the administration of Papua first to a United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA), and then to Indonesia in 1963, pending a referendum.

In July and August 1969, Indonesia conducted an Act of Free Choice, in which 1,025 selected Papuan elders voted unanimously to join Indonesia, which the US bill considers to be held in "circumstances that were subject to both overt and covert forms of manipulation".

The bill also mentions successive cases of military and human rights violations as factors that have exacerbated the condition in Papua.

Fadel said during the years after the granting of special autonomy status to Papua in 2001, the local people had not enjoyed any improvement in their lives as the central government had been reluctant to share its powers.

Papua Governor JP Solossa admitted that the US House's wish to review the 1969 referendum had also been voiced by some groups of people in Papua, but he stressed that the US government had said it would not support Papua's separation from Indonesia.

"We can't let this bill affect the security stability in Papua because many Papuans are loyal to Indonesia," he said, adding that the government was committed to the implementation of Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua.

Solossa asserted that it was too early to judge whether or not the implementation of the special autonomy status had failed.

Meanwhile, Trikora Military Commander overseeing Papua Maj. Gen. George Toisutta said there was no country in the world that could interfere with Indonesia's domestic issues. "And the Indonesian Military will defend Indonesia from any attempts of separation. We should not be inattentive," he said.

House team to lobby US congress on Papua issue

Jakarta Post - August 2, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- The House of Representatives plans to send a four-member delegation to the US to lobby congress in an attempt to block passage of a bill that raises questions about the status of Papua.

The head of the House's inter-legislative cooperation body, Amris Hasan, said on Monday the team, whose members had not yet been selected, would leave for Washington sometime in mid-August.

He said the team's mission was to provide US congressmen a better understanding of the history of Papua. "I am certain the US congress has received wrong information (about Papua) that is not based on historical facts and which has led to this misunderstanding," he said.

The bill on Papua raises questions about the status of the resource-rich province. If passed into law, the bill could increase international pressure for the Indonesian government to allow the people of Papua to vote on independence.

Amris also urged the government to lobby the US to help block the bill's passage.

Meanwhile, some Indonesian legislators blamed these latest developments on the government's failure to fully implement special autonomy for Papua, leading to growing demands from within the province for independence.

"There are voices on the ground questioning the government's seriousness about implementing full autonomy there.... We know that Papuans, independence fighters in particular, have strong connections with international communities," said Regional Representatives Council (DPD) deputy La Ode Ida.

He said several DPD members representing eastern provinces, including Papua, held a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono some time ago to discuss the growing calls for an evaluation of the special autonomy for Papua, but they were not taken seriously.

"The government has ignored requests for a national dialog with Papuans on the issues of ongoing economic injustice and poor law enforcement. Are we going to wait until we have another Aceh?" La Ode asked.

A member of House Commission I for security and international affairs, Marzuki Darusman, said the government must begin to introduce better policies in Papua with the growing international attention and support for the independence of the province.

"The most urgent thing is for the government to instill a sense of fairness and justice among the Papuan people," said Marzuki.

For decades, particularly during the more than 30-year rule of authoritarian president Soeharto, the central government has been accused of plundering the natural resources of Papua, while ignoring the economic development of the province.

The government and the military have also been accused in the past of human rights violations in Papua.

Since its independence in 1945, Indonesia has stipulated that Papua is part of the unitary state of Indonesia, although the province remained under the rule of the Dutch until 1962.

The central government granted special autonomy to Papua in 2001 to help curb separatist movements in the province.

The need to persuade US House and Senate over Papua

Jakarta Post - August 2, 2005

Neles Tebay, Rome -- The government is beginning to pay the price for its reluctance to honor its commitment to fully implement Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua. And if the government does not take measures to prevent more damage from its blunders in Papua, it will face more international pressure about the country's easternmost province. So far the government has made little progress on the special autonomy implementation, while resentment against the central government continues to grow in the province.

The government should learn from East Timor and also from Aceh. It cannot just say that foreign countries have no right to interfere in Indonesia's domestic affairs, while continuing to violate the rights of locals. Papua, like it or not, could become an international issue unless the government takes substantial measures to win the hearts and minds of local people, something that has been ignored for decades.

The Committee on International Relations at the US House of Representatives has already included the Papua case in a bill (H.R. 2601) on the State Department Authorization Act for 2006.

The bill was passed by the committee on June 9 and still needs to be approved by the Senate. The bill highlights 10 points about Papua.

First, Papua, a resource-rich province whose indigenous inhabitants are predominantly Melanesian, was formerly a colony of the Netherlands.

Second, while Indonesia has claimed Papua as part of its territory since its independence in 1945, Papua remained under Dutch control until 1962.

Third, on Aug. 15, 1962, Indonesia and the Netherlands signed an agreement in New York (commonly referred to as the New York Agreement), which transferred administration of Papua first to a United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA), and then to Indonesia in 1963, pending an "act of fee choice... to permit the inhabitants to decide whether they wish to remain with Indonesia".

Fourth, in the New York Agreement, Indonesia formally recognized "the eligibility of all adults (in Papua)... to participate in [an] act of self-determination to be carried out in accordance with international practice", and pledged "to give the people of the territory the opportunity to exercise freedom of choice... before the end of 1969".

Fifth, in July and August 1969, Indonesia conducted an Act of Free Choice, in which 1,025 selected Papuan elders voted unanimously to join Indonesia, in circumstances that were subject to both overt and covert forms of manipulation.

Sixth, in the intervening years, indigenous Papuans have suffered extensive human rights abuses, the exploitation of their natural resources, environmental degradation, and commercial dominance by immigrant communities. Some individuals and groups estimate that more that 100,000 Papuans have been killed during Indonesian rule, primarily during the Sukarno and Soeharto administrations.

Seventh, while the US supports the territorial integrity of Indonesia, Indonesia's historical reliance on force for the maintenance of control has been counterproductive, and long- standing abuses by security forces have galvanized independence sentiment among the majority of Papuans.

Eighth, while the Indonesian legislature passed a special autonomy law for Papua in October 2001 that was intended to allocate greater revenue and decision making authority to the Papuan provincial government, the promises of special autonomy have never been realized.

The government then broke its own promise by dividing Papua into three provinces, which is against the law on special autonomy. And the government made the change without the consent of the provincial authorities in Papua.

Ninth, rather than demilitarizing its approach, Indonesia has reportedly continued to send thousands of additional troops to Papua. Military operations in the central highlands since 2004 have displaced thousands of civilians into very vulnerable circumstances, contributing further to mistrust of the central government by the majority of Papuans.

According to the bill, the secretary of state is requested to report on two things.

The first report is on special autonomy for Papua. The bill states that no later then 180 days after the date of the enactment of this act and one year thereafter, the secretary of state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report detailing implementation of special autonomy for Papua and Aceh.

Such a report shall cover five aspects. They include an assessment of the extent to which each province has enjoyed increased allocations of revenue and decision making authority, a description of access by the international press and non- governmental organizations to each province, and an assessment of the role played by local civil society in governance and decision making.

The second report is on the 1969 Act of Free Choice (AFC) in Papua. The bill (H.R. 2601) clearly states that no later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the act, the secretary of state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report analyzing the 1969 AFC.

Nevertheless, Indonesia still has time to persuade the US Congress that the bill is not necessary. The government must be able to provide concrete evidence that it has and will continue to implement Law No. 21 on special autonomy for Papua.

In Jakarta, the government should support this diplomatic effort by demonstrating its consistency in implementing the Papuan autonomy law. Many foreign countries have reiterated their support for Indonesia's territorial integrity on Papua, especially since Indonesia promised to provide more autonomy for the province. However, breaking this promise will make it more difficult for those countries to continue their support for Indonesia.

[The writer is a postgraduate student at Pontifical University of Urbaniana in Rome.]

Government should be more serious in handling Papua

Antara News - August 1, 2005

Jakarta -- The government should be more serious in handling problems in Papua following foreign intervention like the support given by an American senator for Papuan freedom.

"Although the Papua problem has not yet become a big issue, it does not mean that the government does not pay enough attention to this province, especially after support has been given by a certain party for a free Papua," a member of the House's Foreign Affairs Commission, Marzuki Darussman said here on Sunday.

The government, he added, should re-arrange its policies so that Papua issue can eventually be solved within the fold of the unitary state of Indonesia.

Furthermore, Marzuki said the most important thing to do now is to instill a sense of justice in the Papuan people. "However Indonesia's position is prone to conflict if it comes to the issue on injustice to the Papuan people," he stressed.

In this regard, the government should immediately implement the autonomy policy in Papua and gain the support of all national components including non governmental organizations (NGOs).

A similar view was also expressed by another legislator, Djoko Susilo, who said that all the nation's components have to be united in dealing with Papua including non governmental organizations.

In addition, the government must be able to convince the international world like the UN and the US that the Papua issue is an internal affair of Indonesia.

"Indonesia, on the other hand, must be able to convince the UN and the US about the Indonesian attitude and position with regard to Papua. The US and other countries should also respect it (Indonesian attitude).

"On a different occasion, Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said the government never plays down or discards the problems in Papua. Such vertical conflict in Papua, Aceh and Poso are issues which have emerged as the government focuses on in preserving the unitary state of Indonesia," the minister said.

Military ties

US confident of resumption of full military ties

Agence France Presse - August 5, 2005

Jakarta -- A senior US defense official on Wednesday expressed optimism that Washington would restore full military cooperation with Indonesia, citing the country's moves towards democracy.

Cooperation between their armed forces in the aftermath of last year's tsunami and access given to FBI agents investigating the 2001 killings of two US citizens in Papua province were also "clear indicators" of Indonesia's recent progress, said Brigadier General John Allen.

"They are very clear indicators of the directions in which we can go together as two nations," said Allen, a director for Asian and Pacific Affairs of the US defense department.

"We think that we can work with the Congress to continue to extend and facilitate this relationship," he said in Jakarta at the end of a two-day US-Indonesia security dialogue.

Washington imposed restrictions on contacts after the Indonesian military massacred pro-independence protesters in East Timor in November 1991.

The restrictions were further tightened in 1999 after militias backed by the Indonesian army killed about 1,400 people before and after East Timor voted for independence from Jakarta.

The US is keen to restore full military ties with the world's largest Muslim-populated nation to assist its global "war on terror".

Washington eased an embargo on the supply of US military hardware to help boost relief efforts in Indonesia's Aceh province, the region hardest hit by the December 2004 tsunami.

In February the United States decided to resume training members of the Indonesian armed forces.

Allen said Washington was "very encouraged" by the formation of a joint commission of truth and friendship by East Timor and Indonesia as a means of reconciliation.

"So as we continue in the process of accountability with regard to Timor, as evidenced by the commission of truth and friendship... we are very optimistic with the future," he said.

US aims to revive military ties with RI: Envoy

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2005

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The US government is trying to persuade Congress to fully lift the military embargo imposed on Indonesia as cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries in the wake of last year's tsunami provides yet further proof of stronger military ties.

"You can be sure that the executive branch is working to open the way for the normalization of military to military relationships," US Ambassador to Indonesia B. Lynn Pascoe said on Tuesday in a speech at the start of a two-day security dialog between senior US and Indonesian defense officials here.

Pascoe said the US administration had learned that military forces from both countries worked side by side to distribute emergency relief and rescue survivors in Aceh, the hardest hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami.

"This experience helped us set the stage to move to a higher level of military to military cooperation," he said.

The US Congress suspended military cooperation with Indonesia in 1999, after accusations that soldiers deployed in the country's former province of East Timor committed rights abuses before, during and after the 1999 vote of independence.

The current administration wants the ban lifted, arguing Washington should support Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation and a key battleground in the war on terror.

The 2002 shooting of two American teachers in Papua province has also complicated ties between the two countries, with rights groups alleging rouge Indonesian soldiers were behind the shootings.

Indonesia has pursued efforts to resume full military ties, but the US Congress and human rights groups have said that full normalization should not be allowed due to Indonesia's failure to punish anyone in connection with the killings in East Timor and rising concerns about human rights abuses across the country.

The US government has revived several joint military training exercises, and endorsed limited sales of military equipment to Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono expressed confidence that the embargo would eventually be lifted "because of the post-tsunami cooperation and good reputation of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Washington".

The minister recalled Susilo's recent visit to the US, which was aimed at reviving full military ties between the two nations.

"Congress members were impressed with SBY (Susilo) as they learned that he is serious about reforming the military and placing it under civilian control," he said.

The Tuesday forum was the third round of talks between Indonesia and the United States. The first dialog was held in Indonesia in 2002, the second was held in 2004 in Washington.

Brig. Gen. John Allen led the US delegation, while the delegation from Indonesia is led by Maj. Gen. Dadi Susanto, who is also director general on defense strategy at the Ministry of Defense.

Human rights/law

Draft intelligence law violates basic rights: rights group

Agence France Presse - August 2, 2005

Jakarta -- A draft law on Indonesia's national intelligence body denies detainees basic rights and violates local and international laws, an international rights group said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the draft law gives a new and expanded role in law enforcement to the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), which the New York-based group described as "a notoriously abusive and unreformed agency linked to many past and present human rights abuses."

In a letter to parliament Speaker Agung Laksono and the chair of a parliamentary commission considering the draft, Theo Sambuaga, HRW urged the legislative body to "drastically amend the draft to ensure it does not lead to serious and systematic abuses." The draft law, governing the activities of BIN and of a wider intelligence community, is currently under debate by the commission.

"The draft allows BIN to go beyond its intelligence-gathering role and move into law enforcement," HRW said in a statement.

The draft law allows BIN agents to detain persons for up to 30 days without any judicial oversight or control.

The intelligence agency could also conduct surveillance, monitor and seize correspondence, bug conversations of those strongly suspected of involvement in a threat to the nation and conduct warrantless searches and seizures, HRW said.

The empowerment of the agency would undermine efforts to make the security services and law enforcement agencies more accountable to civilian leaders and the public, said Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW.

Allowing an intelligence-gathering agency to become involved in law enforcement confuses its role and opens the door to abuse, said Adams.

HRW also criticized the vague definition of a "threat to the nation," saying it was susceptible to serious abuse by overzealous intelligence agents or government officials targeting unpopular groups or individuals.

Adams said BIN needs a strong legal framework with adequate judicial and parliamentary oversight. The draft "would be a return to the bad old days when intelligence agencies operated as shadowy police forces." Indonesia's intelligence agencies, with tentacles reaching down to village level, have long been used for internal repression and political purposes, especially during the 32-year authoritarian rule of president Suharto.

US legal aid for Indonesia

Asia Times - August 3, 2005

Bill Guerin, Jakarta -- The US is to provide $20 million worth of technical assistance to help reform Indonesia's much-maligned court system. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) last week signed a memorandum of understanding on the assistance with the country's Supreme Court.

Reform of the country's outdated, obscure Dutch colonial laws, including the Criminal Code, the Civil Act and commercial and bankruptcy acts, are recognized critical for improved governance and the investment climate. Foreign investors and businesses look for tangible signs of progress such as successful cases of, in their eyes, implementation of the law and a degree of certainty in the decisions being handed down.

In the first six months of this year, foreign direct investment approvals jumped 71% to US$5.93 billion from the same period last year, but US Ambassador B Lynn Pascoe warned that the development of the court system was crucial to help enhance the country's investment climate and attract investment. Many foreign investors still questioned the fairness of the courts. And the court system, rule of law and protection of property rights were "absolutely key" for the economic development of the country, he said in a news conference.

Although judicial and legal reform has been underway since the downfall of president Suharto in 1998, the pace of reform is deemed as far too slow by many, including the international community and the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asia Foundation and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which are all backing reform of the Indonesian legal system.

Judicial corruption and corruption in other elements of the legal system -- the attorney general's office, the legal profession and the police force -- are widespread. The system needed a complete overhaul after four decades of the authoritarian regimes of Sukarno and Suharto, when protecting the interests of the political agenda of both rulers and the elite took precedence over upholding the supremacy of the law.

The aid program will be implemented over four years and will include assistance in drafting laws and amendments, modernizing court administration, computerizing information systems and training. Poor legal training and confusing and obscure statutes lead to many confusing legal decisions. Poor transparency and a lack of professionalism add to the problems.

Negative perceptions

Three cases that grabbed the headlines this year illustrate the vital need to strengthen respect for the judiciary.

In March, Chief Judge Soedarto and four other government- appointed judges, all of whom also acted as the jury, found militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiah organization, guilty of involvement in the Bali slaughter that killed more than 200 tourists, mostly Australians. Soedarto said the defendant was part of an "evil conspiracy that caused death and endangered the lives of others". Though Indonesian courts have convicted 35 Islamic militants for the Bali bombings and sentenced three of them to death, the court imposed only a 30-month jail sentence on Ba'asyir, who, taking into account the time he had spent in custody, was left with a total of 18 months to serve.

The Australian government and media were angry as were many Western governments, notably the US. Jakarta, however, stood its ground and defended the supremacy of law. "The verdict was quite appropriate because it was clearly a matter fully within [Indonesia's] judicial process as the government from the beginning has always adopted a position of respecting the independent judicial process," said Minister of Foreign Affairs chief spokesman Marty Natalegawa

The Schapelle Corby case, on the other hand, sparked widespread complaints about the severity of the sentence. Yet the young Australian woman attracted unprecedented public and media attention despite the fact that a legally convened and constituted court convicted her of marijuana trafficking in Bali and sentenced her to 20 years imprisonment.

The general gist of the criticism was that sending Corby away for so long compared to the light sentence given to a convicted terrorist indicated a lack of serious intent toward penalties for terrorism but an over-the-top approach to the carrying of marijuana, which in many jurisdictions is no longer an offence.

In the third case, the Supreme Court slashed five years from a 15-year sentence imposed on playboy billionaire "Tommy" Suharto, the son of the former president. He was convicted in 2002 of sending two hitmen to kill Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, a judge who had found him guilty of corruption and who was murdered about four years ago. He is now due for release next year, just five years after setting up the judge's murder.

Yet, behind the headlines, and the widespread negative perceptions of the legal system, significant legal and judicial reforms are being implemented.

The Supreme Court

The possibility of executive-branch interference with the courts through "presidential decrees" had been standard practice during Suharto's reign. In a historical move expected to result in an independent Supreme Court, the responsibility for administration and discipline of the courts was transferred to the Supreme Court from the Ministry of Justice.

Law 4/2004 on judicial power and law 5/2004 on the Supreme Court were implemented fully in June last year. The ministry's power to determine the promotion and rotation of judges had left it wide open to accusations of influencing Supreme Court judgments.

Professor Bagir Manan, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, said at the rime the new system would make it impossible for the state to manipulate the courts to accommodate its interests.

"Since the idea of a single judicial system was introduced, many people have accused the courts of unwillingness to fight corruption, collusion and nepotism as well as judicial corruption," he said. "We must work hard to prove [to the public] this system will not turn the Supreme Court into a nest of crooks, an accusation already leveled by many."

Yet today decisions on the promotion of judges still rest entirely with the Minister of Justice and the president. This gives rise to the obvious claims that judges may well be tempted to take decisions where questions of impartiality come a distant second to supporting the interests of the executive.

Though not headline-grabbing news, steady progress in reform has been achieved under Manan, widely acclaimed for his strong leadership and for his role in the creation of a far-reaching, comprehensive 2003 "blueprint" for reform. The constitution has been amended to provide for broader control of the executive over the president and a clearer separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary. A new Supreme Court regulation allows for out-of-court settlements for civil cases through a mediation process, previously unheard of in Indonesian civil law.

However, accountability mechanisms to "oversee" the court have yet to be set up. Manan has said that the independence of the court, without proper supervision, would only enable it to abuse its power. A constitutional amendment in November 2001 mandated the establishment of a judicial commission, which will have the authority to select Supreme Court justices and monitor its performance. The bill to legalize this still awaits passage through parliament.

A 2003 World Bank report said many lawyers were "apparently often the conduits for bribes to judges, prosecutors and the police". The World Bank has called for similar external watchdogs for the prosecution and the police. "We look forward to the full establishment and functioning of the judicial commission, prosecutorial commission and the commission on the national police, which should become important oversight bodies for legal and judicial institutions". In January the bank said it was time now for "credible implementation actions" that signal decisive and demonstrable steps forward on the issues of judicial reform".

US priority The US focus is clearly aimed more at helping Jakarta improve its commercial and contract laws than with the main need to come to grips with far-reaching judicial reform needed for a developing democracy and to inspire public confidence in the courts and trust in the law. Such reform will eventually result in better court decisions, a more professional judiciary and better justice for all citizens, but may take a very long time.

Nonetheless, the aid is timely and William Frej, Indonesia mission director for USAID, said more American businesses would have invested in Indonesia if there was a better court system. A news release from the American embassy reiterated the need to create modern, efficient and reliable courts that are free from corruption, "and that can resolve disputes consistent with the needs of a modern market economy". Deputy Chief Justice Paulus Lotulung conceded there were too many loopholes in the interpretation of commercial law, thus "enabling other people to take advantage of the weak system".

Confusing, redundant, contradictory, misapplied, misinterpreted and disregarded laws and regulations remain severe impediments to business. Lest there should be any doubt about what the US expected to get for its money, Frei summed up as follows, "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."

[Bill Guerin, a Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times Online since 2000, has worked in Indonesia for 20 years as a journalist. He has been published by the BBC on East Timor and specializes in business/economic and political analysis in Indonesia.]

Regional elections

Nur Mahmudi's supporters protest court decision

Jakarta Post - August 7, 2005

In simultaneous rallies in Depok and Jakarta, hundreds of supporters of Nur Mahmudi Ismail on Saturday staged protests over the West Java High Court verdict overturning election results for the first directly elected Depok mayor.

Displaying banners reading: "Defeated in Depok, Making Soap Operas in Bandung", "Depok People Cheated by West Java High Court," and "We reject high court's ruling," the protesters grouped as the Depok Community Forum (FBMD) urged the Depok General Elections Commission to appeal to the Supreme Court (left).

In contrast to party supporters in Depok, Nur Mahmudi's supporters in Jakarta were clad in Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) attributes as they staged their protest at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, Central Jakarta (right).

On Thursday, the West Java High Court declared Golkar candidate Badrul Kamal the winner of the June 26 election, dealing a severe blow to Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) candidate Nur Mahmudi, who had already been declared the winner by the elections commission.

"How come the high court can so easily annul the results of an election conducted through a time-consuming process by the elections commission?" asked FBMD coordinator Yusuf Hidayat.

The protesters also urged the new Judicial Commission to thoroughly investigate the possibility that bribes had been paid to judges handling the case.

"We also ask Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf to reconsider the ruling issued by the West Java High Court," Yusuf said.

Depok residents told to calm down

Jakarta Post - August 6, 2005

Fearing escalating tension in Depok following the court ruling that overturned the result of the June 26 mayoral election, the Jakarta Police called on Depok residents to stay calm, while saying that police would send more personnel.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said the police would maintain a high alert in the Depok mayoralty.

Fears of violent clashes between the supporters of Badrul Kamal and Syihabuddin Ahmad and the election winners Nur Mahmudi Ismail and Yuyun Wirasaputra reached a new height following the West Java High Court's ruling on Thursday.

The court found rampant vote rigging and manipulation in the election which had led to the undercounting of Badrul's vote and the overcounting of Nur Mahmudi's vote.

The ruling brought fresh disappointment to supporters of Nur Mahmudi, who is a candidate from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and also the former forestry minister.

His supporters plan to stage a massive rally on Saturday to protest the decision.

"There has been consensus from both pairs to maintain the peace... But, we have deployed around 200 personnel to back up the Depok Police precinct to stave off possible threats to security," Firman said.

Despite the court ruling, some administrative law experts said that Badrul would have to delay any celebrations should Nur Mahmudi lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court.

Government/civil service

Government fails to meet state budget targets

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2005

Jakarta -- The ongoing increases in global oil prices and a volatile rupiah exchange rate have become major obstacles for the government to meet its 2005 state budget targets, according to a report.

The report shows the government has only managed to collect a total of Rp 191.41 trillion (some US$19.5 billion) in revenues, or 38.9 percent of the revised 2005 state budget target. In the expenditures, the government has only spent Rp 172.78 trillion, or 33.8 percent of its target.

Breaking down the revenues, tax yields contributed most to the state's coffers in the year's first semester, amounting to Rp 150.18 trillion (45.3 percent).

State revenues from excise, meanwhile, were at Rp 14.39 trillion (45.8 percent), whereas revenues from customs reached Rp 7.65 trillion (52.2 percent).

The government is pinning its hopes on increased tax, excise and customs revenues to finance this year's budget deficit, which is expected to reach some Rp 20.33 trillion.

Non-tax revenues -- including proceeds from the country's oil, gas and mining exports -- amounted to Rp 41.2 trillion (27 percent).

On state expenditures, the government has so far disbursed a total of Rp 109.39 trillion (30 percent) in state procurement, salaries and subsidies, and Rp 63.39 trillion (42.9 percent) in development funds for the regions.

An increase in government expenditures is expected to boost the country's economic growth, which slowed down to 6.35 percent during the first quarter, as compared to 6.67 during last year's final quarter, as government expenditures failed to materialize.

The government is expected to submit the report to the House of Representatives plenary session on Aug. 16, in which President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will also deliver the 2006 state budget draft.

State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani Indrawati acknowledged that the government's expenditures had been slow to materialize as many ministries and state institutions adjusted their budgeting systems to the country's new fiscal regulations.

"As of June, the use of development funds only averaged about 10 percent," she said.

Concerning the inflation rate, Mulyani said the government indeed saw further pressures from rising demand.

"To decrease the inflationary pressures from rising demand, we will improve the distribution of goods," she said.

House junket funds 'prone to abuse'

Jakarta Post - August 1, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Question: Is it a working visit if it's just a visit without working? Will it still be called a study tour if it's just about touring but no studying? If legislators, the so-called people's representatives, who get caught on expensive shopping expeditions on what are supposed to be study tours abroad cannot justify their trips to the public, then who can? What can justify the recent case where legislators cut short a 10-day trip to four days after accepting payment for the full 10 days? After all, it is worth remembering that all of these trips are financed by the taxpayers, who have been forced to dig deeper into their pockets to help finance the cash-strapped state budget.

A few lawmakers are prepared to question the usefulness of such trips, or what might be better termed junkets.

Legislator Djoko Susilo from the National Mandate Party (PAN) said there were more effective and less expensive ways of improving legislators' knowledge and skills, such as by reading books, browsing the Internet or inviting a couple of experts in to explain things -- rather than flying dozens of people abroad.

On effectiveness, legislator Andi Yuliani Paris from the National Awakening Party (PKB) tells it as it is.

"I'm always surprised when I learn that legislators are going on trips as the planning process isn't transparent. Even after they get back, I never find out what they accomplished on their visits because the House doesn't have any formal mechanisms for experience-sharing among us," she said.

The House seems to be unconcerned by the public criticism. The proposed 2006 budget for foreign trips stands at Rp 32.4 billion (US$3.32 million), more than twice this year's Rp 14.06 billion or last year's Rp 14.1 billion.

But there are no explanations about the specific targets or objectives of the visits, only the destination countries and the number of participants.

The result is predictable. Some legislators who recently traveled to France and the Netherlands on a "study tour" were caught busy shopping and carrying bags of expensive purchases as shown on pictures posted on the www.ppibelanda.org website, set up by Indonesian students in the Netherlands.

What about transparency in the financing of House trips? The recent case involving a "working visit" to Bali showed that there is no obligation for legislators to write reports on their trips, even to the House.

"We get the payment before we leave and the amount is based on our own proposals. Thus, it's actually possible not to go or to cut the visit short (without having to return the money)," said legislator Suryama M. Sastra from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

He said that unlike most state officials who receive stamped forms as proof of their visits, legislators were exempted from this.

One might think that any remaining money would be returned. But the House secretariat, which disburses the funds, says there has never been a case where money has been returned.

Tommi A. Legowo from the parliament watchdog Formappi said a total reform of the House system was essential, with budgets being based on the real needs of legislators as lawmakers rather than just the need to spend money.

"The thing is, the House monitors other people but no one monitors it. The House doesn't discuss its programs with the public, even to the extent of telling the public what the objectives and itinerary of a foreign trip are, for example," he said.

Tommi also questioned the effectiveness of a lump-sum payment system rather than reimbursement as the former was prone to corruption.

"In the end, it boils down to upholding accountability and the ethics of legislators as state officials working to represent the interests of the people," he said.

Regional/communal conflicts

Victims of mystery shootings in Poso were key witnesses

Tempo Interactive - August 6, 2005

Jakarta -- Budianto and Sugito, two victims of mystery shooting incidents in Poso on Thursday (04/08), were key witnesses in several terrorism case in the conflict area.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Arjanto Sutadi said on Friday (05/008) that 13 witnesses had been questioned in these cases.

For the time being, according to Sutadi, the police suspect that the the shootings of Budianto and Sugito, both residents of Gebangrejo, Poso Kota, was to eliminate them as witnesses of cases in Poso.

Both Budianto and Sugito have testified gave in several cases in Poso. "They (the shooters) want to get rid of all traces," said Sutadi. He added that both victims were witnesses in the Rp500 million robbery case that ended with the murder of the Poso regency government treasurer in 2004.

The victims also testified in the trial of Wagiman, or Papa Siti, who was convicted of the murder of public prosecutor Ferry Silalahi.

Sutadi added that the sniper who murdered the victims was 170cm in height, and shot the victims from close range. The sniper was the same in both murders because the bullets in the bodies of the two victims were the same. "We found two colt-38 caliber bullets in the bodies of the two victims,' said Sutadi. (Darlis Muhammad-Tempo News Room)

Further terror hits Poso, two shot dead

Jakarta Post - August 5, 2005

Ruslan Sangadji, Poso -- Another wave of terror hit the city of Poso in Central Sulawesi when two men were shot dead by unidentified people on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

Budianto, 26, an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver, was shot while eating dinner with his wife and child at 8:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday in his house in Gebang Rejo, Poso Kota.

He was rushed to Poso General Hospital with a bullet wound to the temple, but he died the next morning.

Budianto's wife, Sumiati, told The Jakarta Post that she saw four men on two motorcycles shoot her husband, who fell to the ground. The bullet entered his left temple and exited the right side of his head.

"I did not hear any shots. People say the shooters might have used silencers," Sumiati said.

She was unable to identify the men or the motorcycle brands because it was dark.

Eight hours after the first shooting, a neighbor of Budianto's, Sarlito, was shot in the street just 100 meters from Budianto's house, when he was walking to the mosque for the dawn prayer at 4:45 a.m.

Sarlito, 48, a handicraftsman, died after being shot twice in the right side of the chest and left part of the face. He also had wounds around his chin.

Police found spent bullet shells of.38 caliber pistols at the scene.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Aryanto Sutadi said that both victims had been targeted by the shooters as they often testified in cases of violence in Poso.

National Police chief Gen. Sutanto said in Jakarta that the shootings were not related to previous incidents in Poso, including bomb explosions.

"The shootings were ordinary criminal acts," he said as quoted by Antara.

Sutanto said the Central Sulawesi Police were investigating the cases and he expected they would solve them shortly.

Poso has a violent history. Two years of communal violence in the province killed more than 1,000 people before an uneasy, short- lived peace was reached in 2001.

Two deadly explosions killed 21 people in Tentena market in Poso regency in May of this year, the deadliest terrorist attack in the country since the Bali bombings. They were followed by two more explosions in late June but there were no victims as the bombs were low explosives.

Meanwhile, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said that the latest shootings illustrated the lack of seriousness on the part of security personnel in improving security in Poso.

Kontras said that since 2003, there had been 26 mysterious shootings in the relatively small Poso area, in which most of the perpetrators had not been caught and their motives remain unclear.

"(We) urge the government to evaluate the performance of security agencies, including the intelligence office there," Kontras said in a statement.

NGOs criticize extension of security operation in Poso

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2005

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu -- Three non-governmental groups slammed the Central Sulawesi provincial administration on Tuesday for extending the security operation in Poso, saying the operation had failed to maintain security in the regency.

The provincial administration agreed to extend the operation, called the Sintuwu Maroso Operation, on July 20 during an evaluation meeting at Central Sulawesi Police Headquarters. The operation began in late 2001 and is reviewed every six months.

The Central Sulawesi Institute of Legal and Human Rights Advocacy Development Study (LPSHAM), the Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence and the Indonesian Legal Aid Association, said the extension unnecessary and done without evaluating the results of previous operations.

LPSHAM director Syamsul Alam Agus told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that security officers involved in the operation failed to prevent violence in the regency.

"As the operation was nearing the end of its six months, the number of violent incidents was on the rise. That means security officers 'failed' in Poso," Syamsul said.

Since 2001, a total of 3,512 police and military personnel have been deployed for the security operation. That number excludes intelligent personnel from the National Intelligence Agency, the National Police and the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), as well as 714 local police and military personnel.

Syamsul charged that the police and military wanted to extend the operation simply to convince residents there could be no reconciliation in Poso without the presence of security personnel. He added that the rising violence in Poso was used to justify the operation's extension.

"So the violence is the trigger for 'security projects' in Poso," Syamsul said.

He also said law enforcers had failed to gain the trust of the Muslim and Christian communities in Poso.

In addition, of 166 criminal cases recorded from 2002 to June 2005, only nine reached the courts, he added.

During that same period, the institute recorded 36 shootings and 32 bombings committed by unknown assailants, injuring 207 people and killing 79.

Syamsul urged the central government to take part in evaluating the extension of the security operation in Poso.

The secretary of Central Sulawesi provincial administration, Gumyadi, confirmed the administration had approved the extension of the security operation in Poso for the seventh time. He said the operation was extended in light of the ongoing security disturbances in the regency. "We still need security personnel in Poso," Gumyadi said.

Environment

Activist told to pay Newmont

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2005

Manado -- The Manado District Court ruled in favor of mining company PT Newmont Minahasa Raya in a defamation case against an environmentalist on Tuesday.

In the verdict, judges Erna Matuseja, Maxi Sigarlaki, Lenny Wati Mulasimadhi told defendant Rignolda Djamaluddin, chairman of the Kelola Foundation in Manado, to pay the company US$750,000 in nonmaterial damages, less than the $1 million demanded by the company.

The court also ordered the defendant to pay Rp 5 million for each day that he failed to pay the damages and to run apologies to the company in local and national electronic media for three consecutive days as well as place a quarter-page ad in Kompas, Sinar Harapan, Komentar and Manado Post dailies for three consecutive days.

Rignolda was charge with defamation after he accused Newmont of polluting Buyat Bay.

Rignolda said would appeal the verdict. Buyat Pante residents and university students attended the court proceedings in support of Rignolda. Upset, they pelted the judges with eggs, stones and mineral water bottles.

Newmont optimistic ahead of pollution trial

Agence France Presse - August 2, 2005

Jakarta -- US mining giant Newmont Mining Corp. voiced optimism that it would win a high-profile and protracted legal battle in Indonesia over charges that its local unit polluted a bay near its mine.

The comments came days ahead of the case going to court and as a judge in a separate case ordered an environmental activist to pay damages to the company over what he said were unfounded allegations of causing pollution.

A district court in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province will on Friday open the trial of Newmont Minahasa Raya, the Denver-based mining firm's Indonesian subsidiary, and its president Richard Ness.

Ness, who could face 10 years if convicted, expressed confidence that he and the company would win the case. "I'm very confident. The evidence shows that there's no pollution," he told reporters in Jakarta.

Robert Gallagher, Newmont vice president in Indonesia, said Newmont had a strong case. "It couldn't get any stronger. There's been no crime committed," he said.

State prosecutors last month filed charges against Newmont Minahasa Raya and Ness, accusing them of dumping toxic waste into a bay near its mine in North Sulawesi.

In what could be a boost to Newmont's case, judges in North Sulawesi on Tuesday ordered an academic and environmental activist, Rignolda Jamaluddin, to pay Newmont 750,000 dollars in damages for defamation.

Newmont had filed a lawsuit against Jamaluddin for alleging that the company had polluted the Buyat Bay and caused sickness among the population.

Judge Erna Matauteja said that Jamaluddin's allegations were baseless, the Elshinta radio reported. Newmont said Jamaluddin made the allegations during a seminar in June last year.

Jamaluddin was a member of a team formed by the environment ministry that concluded after conducting a peer review that high pollution levels were found at Buyat Bay and that the company was dumping mining waste improperly into the bay.

In another development, Indonesia's Supreme Court replaced two judges appointed to preside over the Newmont trial because they do not hold the necessary qualifications for environmental cases, said Julianna Wullur, head of the Manado district court. Wullur, who is one of the judges forced to step down, said new appointments had been made and the trial would go ahead as scheduled.

Indonesian police launched an investigation last year after claims Newmont had pumped toxic waste into the air and sea around its mine in Buyat Bay, causing neurological disorders and severe skin conditions in residents.

The government has also filed a civil lawsuit against Newmont, the world's biggest gold producer, seeking 1.24 trillion rupiah (130 million dollars) in damages -- although this was expected to be settled out of court.

Newmont's operations in Buyat, 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) northeast of Jakarta, ceased in August 2004, shortly before the first allegations of pollution emerged.

From the outset, Newmont has claimed it disposed of toxins safely and that levels of mercury and arsenic found around the mine were within acceptable limits.

Studies of the waters around Buyat Bay have shown conflicting results. A World Health Organisation-backed report found no evidence of pollution, but government tests showed high levels of toxins.

Indonesia forest fires blanket Malaysia

Agence France Presse - August 2, 2005

Kuala Lumpur -- Forest fires in Indonesia's Sumatra province covered Kuala Lumpur and 32 other areas of Malaysia with a smoky haze Tuesday, reducing visibility in some places to a half-mile.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's biggest city and financial capital, traffic slowed to a crawl and the acrid smell of burning vegetation filled the air.

The Department of Environment said air quality in an area in central Perak state was unhealthy, and it downgraded air quality in 32 other areas -- including Kuala Lumpur -- from good to moderate.

It said satellite images showed 587 "hot spots," or fires, in Riau and northern Sumatra in Indonesia. The province is separated from peninsular Malaysia by the Malacca Strait. Seventeen hot spots also were reported in Malaysia's Sarawak state, and 16 in Indonesia's Kalimantan province, both on Borneo island.

The weather bureau said hazy conditions would persist for up to two days -- so long as winds were blowing from Sumatra to Malaysia.

Forest fires often break out in the region during dry spells because of the spread of illegal land-clearing fires or carelessly discarded cigarettes.

Kuala Lumpur last reported unhealthy air quality levels in 1997, when brush fires in Indonesia destroyed some 25 million acres of vegetation, cloaking much of Southeast Asia with haze. Economic losses from those fires topped $9.3 billion.

Health & education

Schools defy regulation, sell textbooks to students

Jakarta Post - August 5, 2005

Jambi/Yogyakarta -- Nurhayati looks worried and seems reluctant to go to school. The 11-year-old sixth grader has reason to worry. She does not have the money to pay her teacher at SDN 51/IV elementary school in Telanaipura district in Jambi city for textbooks.

Her three teachers distributed seven textbooks to each student on July 21. Each student is expected to pay for them.

Ironically, the books were distributed on the same day as education minister issued regulation No. 11/2005 prohibiting teachers, education staff and school committees from selling school textbooks to students Nurhayati said the textbooks she was expected to buy were printed by three different publishers, including Mediatama and Arya Duta. Each book costs between Rp 17,000 and Rp 32,000.

In all, Nurhayati owes the school Rp 145,000 for the books, a big amount for her family, which relies on her mother's income as a small-time dressmaker.

"Every student has to buy the books distributed by the teachers. If we don't, we can't follow the lessons," she told The Jakarta Post.

She said pupils could pay for the books in monthly installments based on the students' parents financial ability.

Responding to the problem, head of Jambi city's education office, Havidz Aima, said his office had told schools about the ministerial regulation. However, many schools had already sold school textbooks to students, since they were unaware of the new regulation, he added.

Moreover, many schools had made agreements with textbooks publishers before the new school year started, making it impossible for the education office to stop the practice.

However, Havidz insisted the regulation took effect on the day of its issuance. "And every school has to oblige," he said.

He said that schools could buy books, but could not resell them to students. The schools, he said, could keep the books in their libraries for students to borrow.

He warned that sanctions, ranging from administrative punishment to dismissal, would be imposed on teachers and school managements proven to be selling school textbooks to students.

He told schools to deal with the shortage of school textbooks by using their "students operational funds" instead of collecting money from students. The books, he said, could be borrowed from school library.

In Yogyakarta, students were also obliged to buy books from their schools.

At MTsN senior high school in Sleman regency, students were obligated to buy books printed by Erlangga publisher in Surabaya. Without notice, students were given textbooks with a circular explaining that they had to pay for the books.

"Out of the blue, I was given textbooks with a circular from the principal explaining students' obligation to buy the books. I'd never heard of it before that," said one student, Asti, while showing the circular to the Post on Thursday.

The circular, dated July 23 and signed by her school principal, obligates first-year students to pay Rp 50,000 for textbooks, second-year students Rp 85,000 and third-year students Rp 87,000. It advised that students were to pay in full by Oct. 29.

MTsN's deputy principal, Ali Nur Salim, said the students were not obligated to buy books and could return them if they did not want to buy them from the school.

"Even though the books have been distributed, the students can return them if they don't want them," he said.

One parent, Sutarjo, whose son is a third-year student at SMPN 1 Mlati junior high school in Sleman, said his son had to pay the school Rp 50,000 for books. "So I have to give my son money to buy the books," he said.

The head of the Yogyakarta Education Office, Sugito, said the problem had emerged because many schools had started selling textbooks before the ministerial regulation was issued.

Universities desperate for new students

Jakarta Post - August 1, 2005

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta -- A lack of students might cause 53 of the 106 private universities in Yogyakarta go bankrupt this year because they could not afford to meet operational costs.

"In order to survive, a private university should get at least 100 new students (per year). Anything less than that, and the university will not be able to cover operational costs," said head of the Private Universities Association, Sugiyanto.

He said that last year, only 25 percent of 106 private universities did not get enough new students. "This situation might cause dozens of private universities close down," Sugiyanto said.

Deputy rector of Widya Mataram University, Martadani, who is in charge of new student registrations, said the university's five schools and eight study programs could actually accommodate 500 new students but so far, only 100 students had registered.

"In fact, school fees here are not expensive. Every new student only pays Rp 1.7 million (US$178) for a social science program and Rp 1.8 million for science program," Martadani said.

He added that there were three schools -- agricultural technology, industrial technology and sociology -- that were in dire need of students.

A lack of new students was also being experienced by the popular Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University.

The university's spokesperson, Budi, told The Jakarta Post that the university's seven schools and 16 study programs could accommodate 2,500 new students.

"But even after the second registration period recently, newly registered students still number below 2,000 and may force us to start a third registration phase. In previous years, we always got more students than we could accommodate," he said.

Public relations officer of the Indonesian Islamic University, Akhmad Muftizar, said that from the university's nine schools and 23 study programs, some of them were still waiting for more students.

Akhmad said the university had set up special registration line for new students in several schools, such as the civil engineering school and industrial technology school.

Both Budi and Akhmad blamed high education costs that made parents reluctant to send their children on to universities.

"Moreover, many cities now, like Pekalongan and Cirebon, have their own private universities. Thus parents prefer to send their children to study at those universities rather than sending them to another city which would certainly be more costly," he said.

Sugiyanto urged private universities to improve quality and credibility in order to lure more students. The government, he added, should also help by temporarily providing financial assistance so that universities could improve education services.

Islam/religion

Islamic authority under fire over edicts against 'liberalism'

Agence France Presse - August 6, 2005

Jakarta -- The highest Islamic authority in Indonesia has been criticised by the world's largest Muslim organisation over its controversial edicts against "liberal Islamic thought," a report says.

The Indonesian Ulema Council last week issued 11 edicts to fight "deviance and secularism" in the world's largest Muslim-populated nation.

One of them stated that Islamic interpretations based on liberalism, secularism and pluralism "contradict Islamic teachings".

It also reavowed a 25-year-old ban on mixed-faith marriages as being "haram" or forbidden under Islamic law and banned interfaith prayers.

In addition, it reaffirmed a 1980 ban on the "heretical" Ahmadiyah sect, which recognises its founder Ghulam Mirza Ahmad as a prophet, in contravention of mainstream Islam, which sees Mohammed as the last prophet.

Ahmadiyah communities have been the targets of repeated attacks in recent years.

The chairman of the world's largest Muslim organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama which has an estimated 40 million members, criticised the edicts and said the council should consider their impact on Indonesia's diverse society, The Jakarta Post said.

Chairman Hasyim Muzadi said "we live in a diverse society and this country is not an Islamic state." "Any process of fusing Islamic law with state law must be within the framework of the constitution and prevailing regulations," the Post quoted him as saying.

"The important thing is to adopt stances having regard to the social context. We've been living side by side with other religions anyway." Although 88 percent of Indonesians profess to be Muslim, most adhere to a moderate strain of the religion in the officially-secular nation.

The council is officially the highest authority on Islamic matters in Indonesia but its edicts have not always been closely followed by all Muslims.

"We would ask non-Muslims not to be upset with the edicts as they are only aimed at Muslims, and are not the law of the land," Muzadi said.

The Post said the council was preparing to promote its edicts across the country, with some preachers having started to include them in their sermons at the mosques.

NU criticizes controversial MUI edicts

Jakarta Post - August 6, 2005

Jakarta/Bandung/Surabaya -- More criticism has been levied against the controversial edicts issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), this time from the world's largest Muslim organization, Nahdhatul Ulama (NU), which has around 40 million members.

NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi asked the council to consider the effects of its edicts in the context of civil society, interfaith relations and nationhood, as "we live in a diverse society and this country is not an Islamic state." "Any process of fusing Islamic law with state law must be within the framework of the Constitution and the prevailing regulations," he told a media conference at NU headquarters in Central Jakarta on Friday.

Hasyim added that the MUI should also define the terms pluralism, secularism and liberalism, which the MUI banned in its edicts, as there seemed to be differing perceptions on these terms.

The MUI recently issued 11 edicts, one of which states that Islamic interpretations based on liberalism, secularism and pluralism "contradict Islamic teachings".

Joint prayers performed with people of other faiths are also banned, and saying "Amen" to prayers led by a non-Muslim is stated to be haram (forbidden under Islamic law).

The edicts also declare the Ahmadiyah sect to be a heretical movement and its followers to be murtad (apostates), while interfaith marriages are also declared to be haram.

Hasyim said that as joint prayers are a fact of life in a plural society, the only unacceptable thing would be for a Muslim to pray in the name of "another religion's God." He also condemned last month's attack on Ahmadiyah by a hard-line group, saying that violence was not compatible with Islam, even if Ahmadi beliefs were not in line with Islamic teachings.

"The important thing is to adopt stances having regard to the social context. We've been living side by side with other religions anyway." While the chairman of the MUI, Sahal Mahfudh was from NU, Hasyim said that the MUI was not comprised of ulema from the NU alone.

"We would ask non-Muslims not to be upset with the edicts as they are only aimed at Muslims, and are not the law of the land." Despite the criticisms, the MUI is gearing up to promote its edicts in the regions. Some ulemas in the regions have even started to include the MUI edicts in their sermons.

Preacher Heddy Muhammad in Bandung, West Java, for instance, urged Muslims not to be trapped into liberalism and pluralism as Islam had its own rules set out in the Koran and Sunna.

Meanwhile in Surabaya, East Java, ulema in the two biggest mosques, Al Akbar and Al Falah, said the MUI had not yet forwarded them copies of the edicts or contacted them to explain the edicts.

"Even if they do, we will see first whether the content is suitable or not. If not, we will not promote them," said Zuhro, who is in charge of the Al Akbar mosque.

Meanwhile, several Islamic conservative groups in Jakarta defended the MUI on Friday, saying that the edicts had not been railroaded through by a few conservative ulemas on the council, as the critics contended, but had rather been based on a consensus.

Gathered at the Al Azhar mosque in South Jakarta, the groups also demanded on Friday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ban the Islamic Liberal Network (JIL), which is one of the strongest critics of the MUI.

JIL, hard-liners sidestep confrontation

Jakarta Post - August 6, 2005

Jakarta -- After seven long hours, the members of the Islamic Liberal Network (JIL) felt relieved, at least for the day.

And so did some 300 people gathered outside the Utan Kayu Community complex to express their support for JIL following rumors of a planned attack by hard-liners after Friday prayers.

Late in the afternoon, a man slipped through the crowd and came to the cafeteria at the back of the complex in East Jakarta to hold talks with four members of the progressive Muslim forum.

The man, who later claimed to be a mediator from a group calling itself the Defenders of Islam Army, confirmed that the attack would not take place as JIL had opened the door for a dialogue that might settle the differences between the two over JIL's objections to recently issued edicts of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

"We are always open to discussions with anyone on any matter," said Hamid Basyaib, a leader of JIL, to the mediator.

Earlier in the day, conservative Muslim groups the LPI and FPI said they planned to stage a protest in front of Radio 68H at the Utan Kayu complex over on-air statements that they felt had insulted them and the MUI.

"How they see the edicts is different to what is stated in sharia," said an LPI/FPI representative, who identified himself to JIL leaders as Bambang Sugiono.

In a recent radio talk show, JIL co-founder Ulil Abshar Abdala had labeled the edicts "foolish". He publicly apologized for his statement, but defended his right to criticize the edicts.

Ulil pointed to several edicts that he felt were baseless, such as those banning pluralism and joint prayers, and especially the one declaring the Ahmadiyah sect to be a heretical movement, and its followers to be murtad (apostates).

"The Ahmadis have suffered from various physical and emotional pressures, such as intimidation, threats and the destruction of their mosques, while they are in fact a part of Islam," Ulil argued.

He said that the MUI should be reformed to better reflect Islam in Indonesia.

"The MUI itself has to reflect the variety of Islamic communities that are united in Islam despite the differences and diversity between Islamic sects," he said.

The crowd gathered at the complex housing the JIL, Radio 68H and cultural journal Kalam urged the government to protect the freedom of religious expression.

They also urged Muslim communities to be open to differences and pluralism.

Noted activists like Syafi'i Anwar from the International Center for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP) and recent Magsaysay award-winner Teten Masduki attended to express their support for religious freedom.

Noted figures call for freedom of religion

Jakarta Post - August 5, 2005

Figures from various religions, including Muslim scholars Dawam Rahardjo and Syafii Anwar, and priest Anand Krishna, attended the event on Thursday.

The event was marked by a joint statement calling on the government to ensure freedom for people to practice their religions and faiths, including the around 200,000 followers of Ahmadiyah, whose teachings have been declared heretical by the Indonesian Ulema Council.

"The government should seriously address the matter, which has put our civilization at risk," the statement said.

They also urged the government to take action against those who perpetrated violence against the Ahmadis and their property, and the ulema council to revoke its edict as it had the potential to incite further violence and disrupt national unity.

Earlier in the day, dozens of members of various youth and Muslim groups sealed the offices of Ahmadiyah in Bogor after the local government failed to do so.

MUI slammed over controversial fatwas

Jakarta Post - August 2, 2005

Hera Diani and Slamet Susanto, Jakarta, Yogyakarta -- More condemnation has been heaped on the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for issuing draconian fatwas outlawing liberal Islamic thought and pluralism, raising the question as to whether the Council should be dissolved.

Scholars and activists grouped in the Democratic Education Association (P2D) issued a joint statement on Monday condemning the MUI for undermining the principles of nationhood and democracy.

Read by lawyer/human rights activist Todung Mulya Lubis, the Association criticized the fatwas as unconstitutional, and as hampering nation-building efforts in this country.

"Our constitution is not perfect and it still needs further amendment. But it is supported by all of society, so it cannot be undermined or negated," Todung told a media conference, which was also attended by Muslim scholars Azyumardi Azra, Siti Musdah Mulia, Hasyim Wahid and Ulil Abshar Abdalla, as well as democracy activist Smita Notosusanto.

The MUI concluded a four-day national congress last Friday with the issuing of 11 edicts, one of which stipulates that Islamic interpretations based on liberalism, secularism and pluralism "contradict Islamic teachings." Another fatwa renewed the ban on the Ahmadiyah sect, and asked the government to take action against the group. The earlier Ahmadiyah fatwa has been blamed for justifying the attack on an Ahmadiyah congregation by Muslim extremists last month.

The Democratic Education Association said that pluralism was a fact of life and was supported by the founding fathers when establishing the Republic. The fatwas showed that the MUI was out of line with the development of democracy, which requires pluralism and the protection of citizens rights.

"The issuance of the fatwas shows how weak the concepts of nationhood and democracy are in this country. We would urge the government to uphold these concepts by protecting and guaranteeing people's constitutional rights," said the statement.

The association also urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration to be proactive in maintaining pluralism instead of bowing to the fatwas.

Azyumardi said that the fatwas had the potential to divide not only Muslim from non-Muslim, but also Muslims themselves. "The fatwas are not in line with the principles of Islam, which promotes tolerance and peaceful dialog with people of differing views," he said.

Azyumardi then urged the MUI to hold an open discussion with people from different fields of expertise, not only Islamic jurisprudence. "The government must not give in to the demands of certain groups, which might use these fatwas to attack other groups. If the government doesn't do anything about this, it would set a bad precedent and be very dangerous."

As the implications of the fatwas were huge, the scholars urged the government to discuss these matters with the MUI with a view to resolving the issue.

They also urged the MUI to reform itself, and involve people of differing views instead of only conservative mullahs. "The ideal job for the MUI, if people still want it to exist, is to promote dialog between Muslims themselves, as well as with other groups," Ulil said.

Meanwhile, National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) member M. Bilah, who chairs the investigation into the recent attack on an Ahmadiyah congregation in Bogor, said the constituted a violation of human rights.

MUI's fatwa encourage use of violence

Jakarta Post - August 1, 2005

Concluding its seventh congress last week, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued eleven fatwa that sparked concern over its increasingly conservative stance. Prominent Muslim scholar and rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Azyumardi Azra shared over the weekend with The Jakarta Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat his opinion on the controversial views of the MUI.

Question: The MUI has issued several contentious fatwa. What is your comment?

Answer: It is most regrettable that the MUI seems to be issuing edicts without consulting the relevant Muslim figures, or dialog with the parties concerned. The fatwa are not enforceable, nor are they binding. It does not have the authority to enforce them.

What do you think is the background of this growing conservatism?

There is something that has been changing in the organization -- before and entering the reform era. The MUI has shifted from being umat-oriented to being government-oriented. During the New Order era, the MUI was used by former president Soeharto's regime as a tool to justify government policies. For instance, the MUI issued a fatwa that allowed the consumption of frogs. The edict was issued to annul another edict banning frog consumption -- issued by the MUI's West Sumatra branch -- and to support the government policy on the acceleration of non-oil commodity exports.

Entering the reform era, the MUI sought to be independent and become closer to the umat (members of the Muslim community). But the fact is that the MUI does not represent all Muslims and this is evident in the increasing number of Muslims questioning and denouncing the edicts.

Why have pluralism, liberalism and secularism been declared forbidden? Are they really against Islam?

The problem here is that the MUI has an understanding that differs from the academic perception on the three isms, because they are dominated by groups who take the Koran and hadith (Prophet Muhammad's sayings) literally and without any rationale or logic.

The Koran teaches tolerance -- including of other religions. The Koran, Prophet Muhammad and Islamic teachings accept differences not only as a reality but also as Allah's grace.

Liberalism is forbidden because the MUI is of the opinion that liberals no longer believe in the Koran, Prophet Muhammad and true Islamic teachings.

The MUI cannot ban Muslims from thinking, because pluralism, liberalism and secularism are not ideologies but ways of thinking. To some extent, the MUI's fatwa are against freedom of expression and human rights in general.

Why are the edicts outlawing mixed marriages, and on joint prayers with people of different faiths, considered controversial?

The fatwa banning mixed marriages between people of different faiths and of joint prayers performed with people from other faiths negates pluralism. Islam is not the only religion in the country and Muslims have to be able to live side-by-side with people of different faiths.

With the growing controversy, many people are starting to question the necessity of an organization such as the MUI.

But it must be underlined that the MUI is not a state institution. It can issue fatwa and orders to Muslims, but they are not binding and it does no have the authority to enforce them. Legal authorities in the government have no obligation to enforce the edicts while Muslims are not obliged to comply with them.

Because the MUI has no authority to enforce the controversial fatwa, it is the hard-line groups, like the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) who appear at the frontline to pressure the authorities to enforce them. If they believe the authorities have failed, they (the hard-line groups) could directly come to the field to enforce them. I fear that hard-liners will head to Parung in Bogor regency, to bulldoze the Ahmadiyah boarding school and drive away its supporters based on the MUI's fatwa that Ahmadiyah is a heretical sect.

What would you recommend for the MUI in the future?

The MUI should clearly pause for reflection. The MUI plays a strategic role in this predominantly Muslim nation and, therefore, it should consult with all stakeholders in the Muslim community before issuing fatwa.

The MUI will be fully respected and its edicts will be complied with if the edicts are based on fiqih (Islamic jurisprudence) -- not on political interests -- dialogs with all stakeholders and the interests of all Muslims and of the nation in general.

Honestly, I have received many telephone calls complaining about the edicts.

Business & investment

3-4 years needed to return to net oil exporter

AFX News Limited - August 5, 2005

Jakarta -- Indonesia may need three to four years to become a net oil exporter again, with new oil refinery projects expected to shore up domestic fuel supplies, said Finance Minister Jusuf Anwar.

'We're trying to open new refineries to add production, so that within three to four years we are back to being a net oil exporter,' Anwar said last night.

He said Indonesia is still a net oil exporter if gas output is taken into account.

However, as Indonesia imports more oil than it exports, the government may not be able to offset the rising cost of fuel subsidies from oil revenue alone.

Anwar said fuel subsidies may reach 120 trln rupiah this year against the budgeted 76.5 trln, amid higher-than-expected fuel consumption and world oil prices. Although a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Indonesia relies on oil and fuel imports because of rising domestic consumption and a lack of investment which has caused oil production to drop.

Government officials predict Indonesia's oil output will fall below the state budget's target of an average 1.125 mln barrels per day (bpd) this year.

Indonesia's nine oil refineries, meanwhile, lack the capacity to meet local fuel consumption.

Last month, state oil and gas company PT Pertamina and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) agreed to build a refinery in Tuban, East Java.

The Tuban refinery will process oil from the Cepu oil block, which is expected to come on stream in late 2007 or early 2008, with output of up to 170,000 bpd. Pertamina and ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc will jointly develop the Cepu block.

Indonesia's treasure island

Asia Times - August 6, 2005

Michelle Janowitz -- With many companies engaged in an endless quest to secure successful low-cost solutions for running their business, outsourcing has inevitably developed into one of the more popular ways to drive company costs down. Offshore outsourcing in particular has been gaining ever-increasing popularity through the years, and Asia has become a prevailing offshore outsourcing destination for many US companies.

Southeast Asia alone is home to approximately US$88 billion in US direct investment. It is also the third-largest overseas market for US exports, and annual US trade with the region totals $127 billion. Two years after President George W Bush announced an initiative to create free trade pacts with countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region (which includes all 10 countries in Southeast Asia), Washington has managed to strike only one deal so far -- with Singapore. However, solidified agreements seem to be gaining momentum as a result of the recent US-Thailand free trade negotiations and discussions in Malaysia about a possible free trade agreement.

With regard to low-cost industrial options in Asia, there continues to be a lot of competition between the ASEAN region and China. While it's easy to assume that China is the favored Asian destination for US companies seeking to outsource their manufacturing facilities, there are a myriad of areas in the ASEAN region that offer a viable alternative to low-cost areas in China. "Several years ago many analysts were prepared to almost write off Southeast Asia, believing it would be impossible for these economies to compete in the face of an emerging China," says Keith Rabin, President of KWR, an international consulting firm. "In fact, the ASEAN region has done quite well."

As the largest economy within ASEAN, it would seem Indonesia should be an obvious foreign investment choice, with an abundance of cheap labor and low business costs. However, some people feel that civil unrest in Indonesia has prevented the region from developing into a major player in global outsourcing. A recent report by Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company, indicates the window for significant expansion in outsourcing for the region may be closing quicker than expected. However, Al Hirshen, senior advisor to the Acting Governor of the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, sees a different side: "American attitudes are changing with the election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono [the new Indonesian president]. The US government sees the advantage of a positive relationship with the largest Muslim country... and understanding is building of how moderate the Indonesians are, and how small a group the terrorists are. Also, the US recognizes President Yudhoyono is serious about fighting terrorists and corruption."

Strategic location

Despite a questionable outlook for the country as a whole, the Indonesian island of Batam seems to have several advantages that exempt it from the pervasive criticism surrounding the Indonesian marketplace. Batam is a small, export-oriented island strategically located 12 miles from Singapore on the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is this convenient access to Singapore that attracts investors who need to be near the region's financial capital. According to Hirshen, Batam can successfully compete with China and other low-cost areas in Asia, with its good workforce, competitive wages, and incentives. Plus, Batam offers the attraction of a warm, beautiful, interesting, and culturally rich place to live.

The Batam Industrial Development Authority (BIDA) has been putting a lot of effort into creating an investment climate that will ensure the island's success. The tangible results of BIDA's hard work are evident in such assets as sprawling, self- sufficient industrial parks and a polytechnic school that assists the island's companies train employees. Currently, Batam is touting itself as "the" place for manufacturing, and many companies stationed in Singapore (especially Singaporean and Japanese ones) are finding that there is an incredible cost advantage to taking their manufacturing operations over to this Indonesian island. The average manufacturing job in Batam pays a wage of around $66 a month, compared to around $95 in many regions of China.

"Singapore recognizes the importance of a strong Batam... thus they have been very supportive," says Hirshen. "[A company] would come to Batam for the advantage of a foreign trade zone and exporting to ASEAN and beyond. Excellent infrastructure allows fast shipment to just about anywhere in the world. You would not come to Batam to access Indonesian markets, as it is too far away from Java. As costs rise in Singapore, American companies will see the advantage of moving manufacturing to Batam, while maybe keeping their headquarters in Singapore. Compared to other countries with foreign trade zones, and the rest of Indonesia, the labor situation is good, with minimal loss of production due to labor unrest."

One of the island's primary industrial parks boasts billions in foreign investment at present. The park is around 80% occupied, mostly by light, non-polluting manufacturing operations in electronics, pharmaceuticals, and precision parts. There are no textile operations in the park, as there is an issue of water supply; the park's water infrastructure cannot yet fully support the water demand associated with the industries there. The majority of the occupants are Japanese and Singaporean companies, but there are five US and a few European companies in the park as well.

Some speculate that the reason for the dearth of Western companies on the island and in the park is the religious climate of Indonesia and Batam, which is predominantly Muslim. Interviews with various officials reveal that this is a stereotype that the island is trying hard to vanquish, as it seeks to portray itself as more aligned with Singapore than Indonesia. Also, many officials are quick to cite that Indonesia is not a "Muslim" country, but a country with a principally Muslim population. However, one executive interviewed warned not to mention the name of the industrial park he worked for -- citing terrorism concerns -- preferring to err on the side of caution. Regardless, Batam does appear to be far removed from the instability experienced on some of the other Indonesian islands; many officials and expatriates are quick to reassure that the island is, indeed, quite politically stable -- with a thriving business climate.

As Acting Governor Ismeth Abdullah (also the chairman of BIDA) passionately espouses his desire for Batam to become a low-cost hub for the region, it becomes clear he is a staunch proponent of the island's capacity for success. However, Abdullah is also realistic about what the island needs to do to become more competitive, citing the need to improve the financial incentive situation as one of the ways the area can become more of a contender in the Asian marketplace. The island is actively trying to diversify investments coming into the area from Singaporean companies. Toward that end, Batam is currently in the process of negotiating with India, and has established a regional office in Japan.

[This article was originally published in Business Facilities magazine.]

Fuel imports exceed total consumption by 50 percent

Antara - August 4, 2005

Jakarta -- Fuel imports undertaken by state oil and gas company PT Pertamina have exceeded annual consumption by more than 50 percent, an official said on Thursday.

This month alone Pertamina would import 17.8 million barrels of fuel, consisting of gasoline and diesel oil, Achmad Faisal, chairman of Pertamina's fuel division, said.

By comparison, total fuel consumption nationwide reached 171,000 kiloliters per day and was projected to increase to 184,000 kiloliters per day, Achmad said without giving details.

"Our fuel imports used to exceed national consumption by 30 percent, but up to July our imports already exceeded consumption by 50 percent," he said, urging people to conserve.

"Without any conservation drive, national fuel consumption is projected to jump to between 63 million and 65 million kiloliters this year, from only 59.6 million kiloliters earlier," he said.

Achmad further explained that gasoline consumption had exceed the quota by 10 percent, while kerosene and diesel oil by five percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Indonesia: Bankable again?

Asia Times - August 4, 2005

Ng Boon Yian, Singapore -- Years after being battered by the financial crisis, the Indonesian banking sector seems to have picked itself up again, luring more foreign investors to take up stakes in local banks. Just recently, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Malaysia's state-owned investment arm, decided to acquire a controlling 52.05% interest in Indonesia's PT Bank Lippo, paying US$325-340 million for it. This came only two days after Singapore's United Overseas Bank Ltd announced that it would pay about $168.7 million to raise its stake in PT Bank Buana by 30% to 53%.

The growing optimism about the Indonesian banking sector is not surprising, given some positive developments in recent years. Khazanah justified its acquisition by reportedly pointing to the "strong underlying fundamentals" of the system. Such optimism should, however, remain guarded as the picture of the Indonesian banking sector is still a mixed one. But first, the good news. After massive recapitalization and restructuring efforts, Indonesian banks -- which were brought down by corruption, imprudent lending and excessive bad loans in 1998 -- are certainly in better shape today. A wave of consolidation and divestment has pared down the overcrowded banking sector from 222 banks in 1997 to 132 today. Bank operations also improved after global consultants were hired to help upgrade risk management and corporate governance.

In balance sheet terms, the picture has also become more encouraging. Non-performing loans are down to about 6% of the total credit, according to official statistics. In addition, the capital adequacy ratio has been hovering at an impressive 20%, well above the Basel requirement of 8%. To boost growth, the banks have been increasingly focused on lending to consumers and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) over the past two years.

In the regulatory realm, the Indonesian authorities have been making the right policy moves as well -- at least on paper. Starting in September, for instance, Indonesia will score a first in the region by implementing a deposit insurance scheme and doing away with the prior blanket deposit guarantee. Under this new arrangement, the Indonesian government will insure just up to 5 billion rupiah (US$513,315) of deposits, a move expected to help reduce moral hazard and discourage excessive risk-taking in the system.

Indonesia is also in the process of setting up a credit bureau with information on about 1 million borrowers, which will help to enhance credit risk assessment by banks. Giving a further fillip to foreign investors' hopes is the improving macroeconomic situation in the country. Growth is expected to cruise along at 6% this year, buoyed by rising investment and exports. Not only does this produce a conducive environment for banks to grow, the slew of infrastructure projects in the pipeline provides further lending opportunities down the road.

The rosy scenario notwithstanding, scratch the surface and it becomes apparent that the Indonesian banking sector is still laden with many structural challenges. While some promising reforms have been undertaken, the full recovery of banks back to robust financial and operational health cannot be conducted in isolation from wider changes. For one, the extent of banking reform success depends crucially on the progress of Indonesia's war on corruption. Although President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has evinced determination to fight the socioeconomic plague, that has yet to be translated into broad results.

The various cases of bank fraud during the past year, including the replacement of the head of Bank Mandiri -- the country's largest bank -- in the wake of a lending scandal this May are a case in point. It shows the road to cleaning up the sector will be a long one before local banks can meet international standards. To do so, there must be a strong reform mindset that pervades beyond the president and extends across later administrations.

In this regard, Bank Indonesia's regulatory authority has definitely been bolstered by its legal independence from political interference. However, as a World Bank report pointed out, in practice, the central bank is sometimes seen to have less authority over the state-owned banks than private banks. This is a serious challenge as state-owned banks still form some 35% of Indonesia's banking system. A positive sign, however, is that the Indonesian government has recently started to sell minority stakes in state-owned banks. Further privatization will bring in the market discipline needed to enhance the banks' operational standards.

Even in terms of financial restructuring, Indonesian banks still have some way to go before regaining their full financial health. While the banks enjoy a high capital adequacy ratio, much of their capital came from the government recapitalization bonds, which generally form about one-third of the banks' balance sheets. While these government securities do provide a passive source of income for banks, they also pose interest rate risks as most of them are fixed-rate instruments. Meanwhile, the fact that the bonds form such a substantial part of bank assets means that less loans have been made. As such, the loan-to-deposit ratio of banks is still low at about 40-50%, compared with the normal 80- 90% seen during the pre-crisis days.

While the good news is that growing investment in Indonesia means greater opportunities for banks to provide long-term financing and boost loan growth, the catch is that their hands are tied by the lack of long-term funds at their disposal to do so. Nearly all bank deposits in Indonesia are three months or less in maturity. Little surprise, therefore, that most Indonesian banks are now only providing short-term loans of between three to six months in order to avoid maturity mismatch.

Besides, most banks in Indonesia remain risk-averse, especially in terms of lending to the corporate sector, the culprit which brought them down during the financial crisis. Indeed, whether it is to tap upon the growth potential in investment financing or consumer lending, Indonesian banks need to seriously beef up their risk assessment and management capabilities. That, in turn, depends crucially upon human expertise and sophisticated technology, which Indonesia still sorely lacks.

In this regard, the entry of foreign investors, which also include Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered as well as Singaporean and Malaysian investment funds, is good news as they can help to accelerate reforms in risk management, corporate governance and competitiveness. In return, the foreign players can tap the attractive growth opportunities in Indonesia. After all, only about 20% of its population have saving accounts today. The Islamic banking market is another potential growth area, as Islamic banking products account for just 2% of the system's assets, compared to 10.5% in Malaysia.

Still, Indonesia remains a notoriously volatile market. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency has ushered in some measure of stability, and this is therefore an opportune time for foreign investors to enter the market. But such optimism should be guarded, as the positive developments can be easily overturned by structural woes such as corruption and weak corporate governance. Building sound balance sheets and a robust credit culture cannot be done overnight: it will be some time yet before Indonesian banks can stand fully on their own feet.

[Ng Boon Yian is a research associate at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies, Singapore. The views expressed here are her own, not the institute's.]

Consumption remains the growth backbone

Jakarta Post - August 1, 2005

Asia News Network, Jakarta -- Indonesia's economy is once again at a crossroads as it enters the second half of the year. Can it sustain the growth it enjoyed in the first two quarters, or will it experience a slowdown due to recent unfavorable circumstances?

On one hand, consumption is still expected to grow the rest of the year and maintain its function as the main economic driving force. Investment and exports are also expected to grow on the back of a better infrastructure and investment climate, contributing more to the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

On the other hand, the recent global oil prices at US$61 per barrel and the weakening rupiah against the US dollar can push up the inflation rate, thus hurting consumers' purchasing power.

The central bank's decision to maintain its tight monetary policy by increasing its benchmark interest rate to curb the rising inflation could further hurt consumer spending, as banks will tend to raise their interest rates as well, making commercial and consumer loans more costly.

Indonesia's economy grew by 6.35 percent on an annual basis in the first quarter, down from the 6.65 percent GDP growth in last year's final quarter.

Official data on the country's economic growth in the second quarter this year is not yet available, but the preliminary assessment of central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI), was that it stood at between 5.5 percent and 6 percent. BI expects growth to reach 5.9% by the end of the year, while the government hopes to see a GDP growth of 6 percent.

A consumer survey by BI last month, surveying 4,300 households, revealed that consumers still have a positive outlook on the economy. Most of them see their income possibly rising, or at least remaining at the same level, over the next six months.

This indicates that consumer spending should remain strong, or even rise, in the third quarter.

The trend in robust consumption is reflected inassessment of the country's banking industry which showed that consumer loans in May -- including car and house loans as well as credit card transactions -- increased by 38.42 percent from the same period last year.

In comparison, bank loans for investment and corporate capital expansion only grew by 17.46 percent and 29.84 percent respectively in the same period. BI data shows that bank loans reached a total of Rp 560.8 trillion ($57.3 billion) as of February, of which more than a quarter were consumer loans.

The rising trend in consumer loans is expected to continue in the third quarter, as most banks still consider such loans promising in terms of generating revenue in the short term.

The consumer survey, however, also revealed that most consumers still see inflation and interest rates set to rise in the future, prompting them to put on hold their plans to purchase durable goods -- houses, furniture and vehicles -- until next year.

These factors could in the end also weaken consumption in the third quarter.

Indonesia's on-year inflation had shot up to 8.81 percent in March following a fuel price hike, although it started to ease. Inflation began picking up again to 7.42 percent in June, or 4.28 percent throughout the year's first semester. The government is expecting an on-year inflation rate of 7.5 percent.

Credit interest rates during the second quarter, meanwhile, are estimated to have reached between 6.28 percent and 11.75 percent for rupiah-denominated loans, and between 0.94 percent and 4.51 percent for loans in foreign currencies.

Both figures show a rise in interest rates from the first quarter, which stood at between 6.16 percent and 11.47 percent for rupiah loans and between 0.84 percent and 4.21 percent for loans in foreign currencies.

Deposit interest rates, meanwhile, stand between 5.04 percent and 7.65 percent for rupiah savings, and 0.61 percent to 2.61 percent for foreign currency savings.

The rising inflation rate has prompted BI to continue raising its benchmark interest rate to 8.5 percent, which will stand throughout the third quarter.

Opinion & analysis

Where Indonesia took a turn for the better

International Herald Tribune - August 5, 2005

Michael Vatikiotis, Jakarta -- Every city has a heart; Jakarta's is a concrete overpass called Semanggi -- the Indonesian word for cloverleaf. Its place in the nation's history far outweighs its mundane function of funneling traffic north and south, east and west. Indonesia's most recent popular revolution was born beneath this massive, mildewed concrete overpass, when the people confronted the army and stopped autocracy in its tracks.

I recall walking toward Semanggi late one afternoon in mid- November 1998, on another chaotic day in Indonesia's messy democratic transition. Up ahead, students were protesting new emergency powers for the army, their anger directed at a political elite that had failed in the months since the end of the Suharto dictatorship to realize that democracy was at hand. Calls for reform, which had helped oust President Suharto in May, had turned into furious demands for revolution.

Not quite in the shadow of the overpass stood a phalanx of troops, with shields and plated body armor that made them shine like beetles in the sunlight. Just in front of them, untidy rows of students waving fists and banners stood their ground. I could barely make out their chants -- something like "revolution or death."

Alongside me were office workers, shop assistants and residents from nearby neighborhoods, curious to see the outcome of this confrontation.

Suddenly shots rang out. They sounded like innocent firecrackers. Ahead of me I saw the students first heave then scatter. There was more firing. People around me hit the ground to take cover. I crouched behind a granite pillar that was part of a modern office tower that suddenly seemed incongruous -- for surely Indonesia had just taken a step back in time.

Today there is no memorial or sign to mark the spot where as many as 16 students died, only the memories of people who live near Semanggi. Ahmad sells laksa, a pungent curry noodle soup, along a small lane in the city's Bendungan Hilir market, only a short distance from Semanggi. He and his friends at an open-air coffee stall recall the day the soldiers charged the students.

"They were supposed to be using plastic bullets, but I saw the holes they made in people," Ahmad said. He described how the students came pouring into the market area after the troops opened fire, and found ready shelter among the people as soldiers roamed the era hunting down and beating the demonstrators.

Those were chaotic, mysterious times in this gritty city of 12 million. Students roamed the streets in rowdy bands, or atop great cavalcades of city buses; there was always a march or convoy streaming across Semanggi in one direction or other. Parliament sits near by. Just a stone's throw away is the dusty Atma Jaya University campus, where troops lobbed tear gas and shot at students later that night on Nov. 13, 1998.

There was more to come the following year when students again massed around the intersection's sharp-angled arches to oppose the nomination of B.J. Habibie as president, and troops again fired on them. Ten more students died.

These incidents have gone down in history as "Semanggi One" and "Semanggi Two." There have been attempts to bring the army to justice; Indonesia's human rights commission set up an inquiry in 2001. More than a dozen army and police officers were cited for abuses, but the military refused to acknowledge any violation of human rights, arguing that its soldiers acted to prevent mass unrest.

Parliament agreed back then and the case was dropped. But in July this year the newly elected Parliament's committee on legal affairs determined that the case should be reopened with a view to identifying who in the senior army leadership was responsible. Some say this is all about politics, not justice.

Semanggi itself is now as busy as ever. When the traffic jams up the police try frantically to keep it moving with maniacal arm waving and whistle-blowing. Nowadays I pass in an air-conditioned vehicle -- but the memories are vivid. There is the spot where a soldier leveled his gun at me as I hurried to join the students at the Atma Jaya campus; there is the place I saw the lifeless body of a student lying in a dark pool of blood. I feel a surge of pride because it was here that autocracy died and democracy, however imperfect, was born.

Ahmad, the laksa seller, sips a glass of coffee and adjusts his black felt cap. "Things are better now," he said. "The soldiers are gone." Then he smiles: "Only the police bother us now."

[Michael Vatikiotis is a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.]

Aceh peace deal may be deja vu all over again

Reuters - August 7, 2005

Jerry Norton, Jakarta -- Optimistic talk that a decades-long simmering civil war in Indonesia's Aceh province is about to end. A peace pact brokered in Europe. International monitors set to make sure the warring sides follow through.

That's the background to a deal set for signing by Indonesia's government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels in Helsinki on Aug. 15.

But it would apply equally to a deal that fell apart just a little over two years ago. The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) was signed in December 2002. Five months later it had collapsed.

The government charged GAM with failing to move to disarm, GAM accused government troops of continuing hostilities, and frustrated monitors pulled out of the resource-rich province.

Similarities in the agreements, especially in their implementation and monitoring specifics, have some analysts worried history may repeat itself.

"In a way it's a carbon copy of the last time around. I don't see too many fundamental differences," said Ken Conboy, country manager at Risk Management Advisory in Indonesia.

"I think for the next month or so things will probably be a lot better for the people of Aceh, but I don't think that you can necessarily breathe easier because medium-term there's a lot of problems," he told Reuters.

A successful peace agreement this time could smooth the way for a $5 billion internationally-backed reconstruction programme in Aceh, where December's tsunami left some 170,000 people dead or missing and destroyed much of the infrastructure.

It would also be a plus for investors looking for stability in the world's fourth most populous country.

"... It's a symbol I think of this government's practical problem-solving," said James Castle, a business consultant who has lived in Indonesia since the 1970s. "If they can solve that one it says a lot for their problem-solving skills."

The challenge is not a new one for those trying to govern the vast Indonesian archipelago of 17,000 islands. Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, has a history of fierce resistance to ouside control going back to Dutch colonial times.

GAM's battles with Indonesian troops started in 1976, with differences ranging from the religious to the economic.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, but Aceh's four million people are more overwhelmingly Islamic and orthodox than those of other areas.

Aceh also has abundant resources like natural gas, and GAM argued Jakarta grabbed too much of the revenue.

But after three decades of war costing at least 12,000 lives, most of those civilian, many Acehnese yearn for peace, with the need to rebuild after the disaster of the tsunami adding impetus.

Bigger than war

"I think the tsunami somehow already changed minds... that this tragedy is much bigger than war," said the Aceh Recovery Forum's Ahmad Humam Hamid.

"We need our kids to go to school. We need our families to be safe. We need farmers to start living again as before," Hamid, a sociologist and Aceh political activist, told Reuters.

Both sides made important compromises in the Helsinki agreement, reached in a series of talks that began after the tsunami, he added. GAM dropped its independence demand and the government agreed to let GAM members participate in politics.

Hamid says while he is "a bit optimistic" he is also "a bit cautious because they're going to pass a very fragile stage... the question (is) whether everything which is signed in Helsinki will be followed by those in the field."

Many top GAM leaders, including the Helsinki negotiators, have lived abroad for years, raising questions over how in touch they are with fighters in the province's mountains and jungles.

On the government side too, there is concern whether all troops on the ground will follow the commands from Jakarta, 1,700 km (1,060 miles) southeast of Aceh's provincial capital.

Aside from the emotions created by years of bitter battle in which independent groups say both sides, but especially the military, have committed human rights violations, some government and GAM combatants have turned conflict into cash via illegal tolls on roads, kidnapping, and demands for protection money.

Political commentator Wimar Witoelar praised President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government for making significant concessions to GAM in return for compromises from the rebels.

But, added Witoelar, a former adviser to one of Yudhoyono's predecessors: "I don't think it has seeped down to the level of the units in the field".

The international monitors will be unarmed, and it is not clear what they can do about violations of the deal, which calls for GAM to disarm over a three-month period from September and for the Indonesian military to withdraw the bulk of its troops.

"If the government's not satisfied that GAM is actually turning over all their weapons, they're going to cry foul, and I think it's going to be really tough for them to agree to actually start pulling out," said security analyst Conboy.

The policemen's bank accounts

Jakarta Post Editorial - August 4, 2005

Last week's disclosure of indications of money laundering involving hundreds of billions of rupiah related to the personal accounts of 15 police officers is the biggest test yet of the leadership and integrity of new National Police chief Gen. Sutanto.

The public has long perceived the police as the most corrupt of public institutions, along with the tax and customs services, and this has been confirmed numerous times in opinion polls and surveys. However, the revelation of the questionable accounts was the first strong public evidence of the amount of money involved in the malfeasance within the National Police. It is worth noting that the highest take-home pay for a four-star police general is about Rp 10 million (US$950) a month.

True, the principle of presumption of innocence must always be upheld. But the information about the alleged money laundering is highly credible because it was revealed after a meeting between Gen. Sutanto and Yunus Husein, chief of the Financial Transaction Reports Analysis Center (PPATK), which in many other countries is known as the financial intelligence unit.

At the meeting, PPATK chief Husein reaffirmed the need for strong cooperation between his institution and the National Police in handling money laundering cases. He also submitted to Sutanto a bulky report outlining the indications of money laundering involving numerous bank accounts, including those owned by 15 police officers.

There are two reasons this report is highly credible. First, most banks and financial institutions in the country are hesitant to report suspicious transactions for fear of losing important clients. Hence, once they decide, or feel compelled, to report suspicious transactions to the PPATK, as they did with the policemen's accounts, there is a good chance the transactions are highly suspicious.

The second factor is that lawyers and financial experts at the PPATK, which is in charge of enforcing the money laundering law, thoroughly analyze reports of suspicious transactions they receive from banks and other financial institutions. Only when they are convinced there are strong indications of money laundering will they submit the case to the police for further investigation.

So the indications and evidence of money laundering are thoroughly checked before they are submitted to the police as to the source of the money and the purpose of the underlying transactions.

Sutanto's credibility, integrity and leadership will therefore be seriously questioned if the money laundering cases against the police officers are eventually rejected because of a "lack of evidence".

We got the impression that Husein specifically lobbied for a stronger commitment from Gen. Sutanto because of his frustration with the lack of cooperation and the corrupt mentality within the police. Over the past two years, the PPATK has submitted hundreds of money laundering cases to the police for investigation, but very few of them have reached the Attorney General's Office.

Cooperation between law enforcement agencies and among financial service companies, as well as other state institutions like the customs and tax services and the stock market watchdog, is vital for the effective enforcement of the money laundering law.

If Sutanto fails to act on the allegations of money laundering involving his officers, it will damage his reputation and compromise his integrity. It also would adversely affect the credibility of the nation's campaign against money laundering. This would be a big loss because efforts to fight money laundering are also important for combating corruption and tax evasion, which are rampant in Indonesia. Strong enforcement of the law will make it extremely difficult for those involved in corruption and for tax evaders to launder their ill-gotten money in the legal financial system.

It is also worth remembering that even though Indonesia was removed from the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force of developed countries last February, it is still subject to periodical evaluation.

Failure to deal transparently and credibly with the questionable personal accounts of these 15 police officers could see Indonesian thrown back onto the blacklist. This would harm Indonesia's economic competitiveness because it would add extra costs to financial transactions with companies and individuals in Indonesia.