Fuel price hikes

Fuel hike major blow to industry

Jakarta Post - October 13, 2005

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya -- The fuel price hikes have severely affected industries in East Java with more than a 40 percent of firms in the province in danger of collapsing by the end of the year, a research institute says.

The Regional Economic Development Institute (REDI) predicts that by December this year, some 40 percent of total 4,600 firms in the province would have gone out of business, or would be on the brink of collapse.

Most of the worst affected industries were food and beverage and textile and garment industries, REDI managing director Indra Nur Fauzi said.

"Even before the fuel price hike, the industry already faced tough competition from the many Chinese products circulating in East Java. The Chinese products are much cheaper, therefore they are crowding out local products from market," Indra said.

More than a third of firms in a Mojokerto regency industrial park were shutting down or on the brink of going bust, an employers spokesman said on Wednesday.

East Java Employers Association deputy chairman Alianto Wibowo said most of the industries, located in 40-business strong Ngoro Industrial Persada (NIP) industrial park, were aluminum, brass and tin foundries, which were supported by Taiwanese investment. The firms' main products were electricity cables and wheel rims, he said.

"These industries are preparing to leave Indonesia and they will apparently choose Vietnam, which offers cheaper fuel prices for industry," Alianto said. Currently, the price of fuel oil for industry in Vietnam equals about Rp 2,800 a liter, while prices in Indonesia are around Rp 3,810 a liter.

The fuel price hike has not only affected Taiwanese industries in NIP but also 22 shoemakers, which employed some 15,000 workers, Alianto said.

Gas shortages, the rising prices of raw materials and employee pressure for wages rises were all making costs for businesses soar, Alianto said.

Manufacturing unions in East Java are calling for the minimum wage in province to rise to Rp 1,500,000 a month, three times the current amount of Rp 500,000 a month.

Indra urged the government to provide incentives for industries so they could survive amid rising prices for fuel and foreign competition. If no help was given to industry, thousands of people would lose their jobs, he said.

Dead people 'receive' financial aid

Jakarta Post - October 13, 2005

Wahjoe Boediwardhana, Malang -- Further reports emerged nationwide on Wednesday of the inaccuracy of data used to determine who is eligible to receive cash assistance from the government to offset higher fuel prices.

In North Barito regency, Central Kalimantan, two dead people were issued the fuel compensation cards, while in Malang, East Java, a number of wealthy people were mistakenly included on the list of the poor eligible for the assistance.

The head of the North Barito Statistics Office, Teras Rumbang, said on Wednesday his office became aware that two dead people had been issued fuel compensation cards after reports from residents.

"What probably happened is that when the statistic officers went around the two were still alive," said Teras. Teras said his office was open to people who wished to report mistakes in the government assistance program.

Asked about the possibility that wealthy people had been incorrectly included on the list of people eligible for the assistance, Teras said his office would remove anyone from the list who did not belong. He said the regency administration would also demand that anyone who mistakenly received assistance return it to the government or face prosecution.

Eligible families will receive Rp 100,000 per month in cash from the government, delivered quarterly. The money is being distributed nationwide to cushion the impact of the Oct. 1 fuel price increases. At least 20 wealthy family in North Barito regency have received the fuel compensation cards, Antara reported.

Separately, a senior government official in Malang acknowledged that mistakes had been made in gathering data on those eligible for the program.

The errors were detected when some poor people complained they had not received assistance while their wealthier neighbors had, said Sutiarsi, the administrative assistant to the Malang municipal administration. "The inaccuracies could have occurred because the data was only gathered over two weeks in August," said Sutiarsi.

She said the Malang Statistics Office had proposed to the central government that 27,700 families receive the assistance, but the central government only approved 24,256 families. The statistics office then re-verified the data, which resulted in only 23,346 families being ruled eligible for the program. "Only 576 families have not yet received their money," said Sutiarsi.

Fuel price hikes spark massive protests

Green Left Weekly - October 12, 2005

James Balowski, Jakarta -- On October 1, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced massive cuts to fuel subsidies. The average cost of domestic fuel rose by almost 125% as a result, and the price of kerosene, which Indonesia's poor use for cooking, rose by 185%.

The increases are expected to trigger steep hikes in the prices of basic foods and public transport, lifting inflation to 11% from a projected 9%.

Although the government has promised a subsidy of US$29 a quarter over the next year for an estimated 16 million low-income households, most believe that this is not enough and will be siphoned off by corruption and mismanagement.

The government claims the move is unavoidable to contain its burgeoning budget deficit of $46 billion, after the double blow of global oil price increases and the rupiah's declining value increased fuel subsidies from just under $10 billion to $14 billion a year.

Even before the announcement, many parts of the country, including Jakarta, experienced serious fuel shortages, as unscrupulous distributors hoarded supplies to make a fast buck. Queues as long as 500 metres were reported at some petrol stations and kerosene supplies ran out entirely in some areas.

Despite an appeal from Yudhoyono for calm, protests in several cites resulted in clashes on September 29. Hundreds of students in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar clashed with police guarding the residence of vice-president Jusuf Kalla. Clashes were also reported in Palu, Central Sulawesi, where students tried to occupy a petrol station.

In Cirebon, West Java, students blocked the busy north-coast highway, causing a five-kilometre-long traffic jam for almost four hours. A similar demonstration was staged at the provincial parliament in Bandung, where students and workers blocked off the road for around two hours. In Jakarta, thousands of students, workers and farmers from the Alliance of People's Demand marched to the State Palace where they were joined by thousands more from various student and youth groups.

Another wave of demonstrations took place on September 30 and October 1 in more than 10 cities in Java, Lombok and Sulawesi. In Yogyakarta, Central Java, hundreds of students picketed a local state fuel depot and demanded officials there sell kerosene at the old price. Students and bus drivers also demonstrated on the island of Lombok, while students in the Central Java city of Semarang set fire to effigies of Yudhoyono and Kalla. In Makassar, hundreds of students blockaded the streets outside their university and students in Jakarta clashed with police near their university campus.

Most demonstrations addressed the same themes: how the cuts will unfairly burden the poor; how market liberalisation and privatisation are fuelling unemployment; and how after almost one year in office, Yudhoyono has failed to curb corruption, convict those guilty of corruption, or recover the billions they stole (monies that would more than easily compensate for increased fuel subsides).

Demonstrators, consumer groups and economists have all claimed that the cuts will further damage Indonesia's domestic industries struggling to survive in the face of import liberalisation, state corruption and bureaucracy and a failure to invest in infrastructure and technology. The immediate consequence of this will be more mass layoffs as companies try to cut costs, or accelerated deindustrialisation, which Indonesia has been experiencing over the last few years.

While millions of people cannot afford health care or education, and malnutrition outbreaks in a number of provinces have resulted in the death of at least 15 children this year, billions of dollars continue to be lost due to government corruption and mismanagement. The government recently estimated that illegal logging alone -- backed by state officials, the military and the police -- is costing the country a massive $60 billion a year.

In September, for the fourth consecutive year, the Supreme Audit Agency placed a disclaimer on the government's financial statement for the 2004 fiscal year due to inadequate internal controls, noncompliance with financial accounting rules and discrepancies in current accounts. It said it was unable to verify $27.5 billion in tax receipts and could not find $19.4 billion in oil and natural gas sales receipts. Almost $17 billion in government balances at various commercial banks were unaccounted for and it found losses of more than 30% in the public procurement system. The same report also said the attorney-general's office had failed to recover $6.66 billion in fines and restitution that the courts had ordered those convicted of corruption to pay.

But by far the biggest factor contributing to the budget deficit is foreign debt, which now stands at $75 billion (adding to $65 billion in domestic debt). Most of this was incurred by the regime of former President Suharto and used to enrich his family and cronies, or to prop up the banking industry following the 1997-98 financial crisis. More than half of the country's annual budget allocation is now used for external debt servicing. To put this in perspective, the foreign debt is equivalent to $600 for each of Indonesia's 220 million people (more than half of whom live on less than $2 per day), amounting to 52% of the country's GDP.

US$7.99 billion in subsidized fuel lost last year

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2005

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta -- The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has found that at least one-eighth of last year's Rp 80.42 trillion ($7.99 billion) in subsidized fuel, or Rp 9.7 trillion, was lost due to smuggling and that the total subsidy itself may have been overestimated by Rp 3.64 trillion.

Speaking after submitting the results of the BPK audit of last year's fuel subsidy to the House of Representatives on Monday, BPK chief Anwar Nasution said the findings were the outcome of a prolonged failure on the part of the government to determine precisely the exact demand and supply of fuel in the country, as well as to protect the subsidized fuel from rampant distribution irregularities and misuse.

"The subsidy policy has caused a disparity in fuel prices -- particularly that of kerosene and diesel fuel -- resulting in unscrupulous parties trying to reap illegal benefits from the subsidized fuel," he said.

Following a request from the House in February, BPK had conducted a four-month audit from April to August on last year's fuel subsidy, focusing on the country's production of crude oil and refined products, the production cost of refineries and the distribution of the subsidized fuel.

The audit was complemented by a study by University of Indonesia's Institute for Economic and Social Research (LPEM-UI) on the effectiveness of the fuel subsidy.

In its study, LPEM-UI revealed a mismatch of some 8 million kiloliters of fuel worth Rp 9.7 trillion, between the sales data of fuel from state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina and the full- year estimate of domestic fuel consumption, concluding that it had been lost through smuggling out of the country.

The government, in this case the finance ministry, disburses the fuel subsidy through Pertamina, which still acts as the country's main fuel distributor.

LPEM-UI also concluded that 3.9 million kiloliters of diesel fuel valued at Rp 4.5 trillion had been smuggled last year alone -- while some 1.7 million kiloliters of kerosene valued at Rp 3.5 trillion vanished on the way to low-income households, its targeted consumers.

"Being the most flexible type of fuel in terms of its usage, large amounts of kerosene had been misused, particularly for illegal fuel mixing," LPEM-UI said in its report.

BPK found that last year's total subsidy might have been over- disbursed by as much as Rp 3.64 trillion, with Anwar deploring the fact that Pertamina did not have a definite system to calculate its fuel production cost, resulting in the obscure subsidy costs and disbursement. "It is embarrassing that such an old and big company as Pertamina does not have a method to make an exact calculation," he said.

The government and Pertamina only acknowledged a revision of Rp 936 billion to the subsidy, arguing that the additional Rp 2.71 trillion was for Pertamina's domestic market obligation costs.

BPK has calculated in its audit that the production cost of kerosene stands at Rp 2,545 per liter, diesel at Rp 2,588 and Premium gasoline at Rp 2,750. The fuels are currently sold at Rp 2,000, Rp 4,300 and Rp 4,500, respectively, after the latest fuel price hike on Oct. 1.

Anwar also highlighted the weak supervisory system at both Pertamina and the government's Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Body (BP Migas), resulting in the failure to save up to Rp 480 billion in the fuel subsidy each year.

Graft slows disbursement of fuel allowances

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2005

Bandarlampung/Puncak Jaya/Kupang -- The greed of corrupt local officials is ensuring needy families throughout the country are missing out on the fuel compensation money.

Hundreds of low-income people in the city of Bandarlampung met with Democratic Party officials on Monday to complain that they were being charged illegal fees to get on the list of eligible families. They also accused neighborhood chiefs of manipulating statistical data to embezzle the funds.

Many of the people from the Sidodadi subdistrict complained that they had not received the allowance. Other reported they had taken the money but were forced to pay "processing fees" to neighborhood chiefs. If they refused to pay the fee, they were told they would not be included on the list of people eligible for the next disbursement, Mulyadi, of Maritim hamlet, said.

City deputy mayor Kherlani admitted that some officials were still "confused" about how they should disburse the fund. He found during a recent inspection that a well-off family in Gedongmeneng subdistrict had received the allowance, while many poor people there missed out.

It the Sukamandi subdistrict, residents complained they were being charged a 10 percent levy of Rp 30,000 a family to receive the money, while in Sukamandi illegal fees were said to range from Rp 10,000 to Rp 50,000 per capita.

Until Monday, according to data from PT Pos Indonesia Lampung operations, only 13 percent or 7,423 households in the city had received the allowance, with only Rp 25.6 billion of the Rp 196.8 billion distributed.

Bandarlampung Police chief Sr. Comr. H.S. Maltha said police were investigating the alleged irregularities in the disbursement.

Meanwhile, in Puncak Jaya, Papua, observers worried that many poor people in outlying areas would miss out on the money because of their remoteness and a lack of government data.

"Even the officials from the statistics agency have not gathered proper data on poor people here," Puncak Jaya Regent Elieser Renmaur said. Population in the large regency is estimated to stand at some 132,000 people.

In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, councillor David Beko demanded the local statistics body reregister poor families eligible to receive the allowance. Many poor people had not received the money, which was going into the coffers of the rich, he said.

Prices of basic commodities rise supply 'not a problem'

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2005

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- Prices of most basic commodities in traditional markets across the capital have soared by up to 30 percent following the fuel price hike. However, since there are adequate supplies of goods, the Jakarta administration has no plans to intervene.

Governor Sutiyoso along with officials from the Jakarta Industry and Trade Agency, City Economic Bureau and city market operator PD Pasar Jaya made impromptu visits to some large traditional markets here and discovered that the prices of most basic commodities were on the rise.

"The Oct. 1 increase in fuel prices has triggered an increase in the price of rice to Rp 3,400 per kilogram from Rp 3,000," said Iwan, 40, a trader of Toko Unggul at the Cipinang rice wholesale market in East Jakarta. He blamed the increase in transportation costs as well as the cost of husking the rice.

Another trader, Maryono, said he was selling rice at Rp 3,600 per kilogram to adjust with the soaring costs. "It includes an additional transportation cost of at least Rp 80 per kilogram and an increase in husking the rice from Rp 15,000 per 100 kilogram to Rp 21,000."

At the Kramatjati fruit and vegetable wholesale market in East Jakarta, traders said that the fuel price hike had forced them to raise the prices of vegetables. "We sell tomatoes at Rp 1,500 per kilogram now, or double the previous price of only Rp 700," a trader said.

However, Suhardi, a chili trader played down the impact of the fuel price increase, arguing that the soaring prices of vegetables were due to a reduction in supply in the market during the first week of the fasting month of Ramadhan.

"The supply in the market dropped during the first few days of Ramadhan since people did not go to their farms to harvest vegetables. That's why the prices climbed," he said, adding that the price of chili jumped to Rp 24,000 from only Rp 12,000 previously.

Sutiyoso said that his administration would not intervene since the rising prices were tolerable. "The price increases are relatively normal for Ramadhan," he said. He asserted, however, that a team of the city administration would closely monitor the fluctuation in the prices of basic commodities in the markets.

Traders selling meat at Jatinegara market in East Jakarta complained that despite the increase in the price of beef, they experienced a sharp drop in term of buyers.

"Fewer people are coming to buy beef. Maybe, they are cutting their spending on beef to save money after the fuel price increase," said Suheri, 45. According to him, price of beef increased to Rp 50,000 per kilogram from Rp 45,000.

Aa Gym asks for his ads on fuel prices to be withdrawn

Kompas - October 8, 2005

Jakarta -- The caretaker of the Darut Tauhid pesantren [traditional Islamic boarding school], Abdullah Gymnastiar or Aa Gym, has asked that the advertisement on fuel price increases in which he starred and which were sponsored by the department of communication and information be taken off the air.

Ag Gym's request follows the [negative] public reaction to the government advertisement on fuel price increase. Even the Muslim Students Association for Reform (HMI MPO) and the regional board of the Jakarta Indonesian Islamic Students (PII) have criticised Aa Gym over the advertisement. They believe the advertisement has tarnished Islam because it used religious jargon to legitimises a government policy that oppresses the people.

When contacted on Friday night, October 7, Aa Gym's public relations officer Ningrum explained that Aa Gym does not want to speak for any side on the issue of fuel price increases. We asked the department of communication and information to take the advertisement off the air right from the beginning. We have repeatedly submitted this request, but last Thursday we demanded it be done immediately said Ningrum. Aa Gym is presently performing a holy pilgrimage in Mecca.

According to Ningrum, Aa Gym wishes to remain neutral on the question of the fuel price increases. Aa Gym's wish was only to provide a certain condition in confronting a test. But what actually happened was it created the wrong impression. What was initially a good plan went wrong he said.

HMI and PII also conveyed the request for the termination of the advertisement. If the request is not fulfilled immediately, HMI and PII will bring criminal or civil charges against Aa Gym said the chairperson of the Jakarta chapter of HMI MPO, Herry Setiawan and the general chairperson of the Jakarta regional board of PII, Nashrullah, who were accompanied by the executive director of the Indonesian Public Law Office Wakil Kamal.

According to HMI and PII, the fuel price increases have had the impact of increasing the number of poor. Aa Gym should not be involved in efforts to influence the people into accepting this policy through an advertisement and particularly through Islamic jargon. It is misleading said Setiawan.

According to the head of a sub-section of the external public relations department of the ministry of communication and information, Bambang April, although it has not been taken off the air, Aa Gym's advertisement will only run a sort while longer because its broadcast period will end soon.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Aceh

Chief monitor urges Sweden-based rebels to return soon

Agence France Presse - October 12, 2005

Jakarta -- The chief peace monitor in Indonesia's Aceh urged exiled separatist rebel leaders on Wednesday to return as soon as possible to help strengthen the peace process in the province.

Pieter Feith, who heads a team of European Union and Southeast Asian monitors, said the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)'s top leaders could play a "very important" role in the future of the resource-rich province.

"I believe it is very important for the leadership in Stockholm to start thinking about strengthening its links to the field by coming back to Aceh soon, to visit and inspect what has been achieved," Feith told foreign correspondents.

GAM's leader Hasan di Tiro has lived in Sweden since 1979 and other top leaders have also been based there for years. Some have Swedish citizenship.

An August agreement signed in Helsinki between the Indonesian government and GAM ended 29 years of guerrilla war. The government is to withdraw all non-Acehnese troops and the guerrillas are to disarm under the pact.

So far, 243 weapons out of a total of 840 covered by the deal have been surrendered and more than 6,000 soldiers and 1,300 police officers have left the province.

The second phase of the weapons handover is scheduled to begin on Saturday.

Feith said an immediate return by GAM leaders -- "even for an inspection visit" -- would provide "comfort and support" to his mission objectives in Aceh.

"Most importantly, it would be immensely beneficial to the population of Aceh and particularly to the followers of the Free Aceh Movement to see their leaders come back and as soon as possible give guidance to Acehnese," he said.

Feith said key rebel negotiator Nur Juli told him during his visit last week to Aceh that he was "amazed" with public security in the province.

"I hope that this (Juli's visit) will be the beginning of a way of return and re-engagement of the Stockholm leaders back into Aceh. I told them this is in their own interest, if they wait too long, they will risk irrelevance and enter into oblivion because history in these occasions moves on very rapidly," Feith said.

He said he had no doubt that the rebels had given up their independence demand. They will be allowed to form a local political party in return.

The veteran Dutch diplomat said he was satisfied with Jakarta's commitment to the peace pact, with the inclusion of the Kopassus special forces in the first phase of the troop withdrawal. "I am encouraged... with the level of commitment showed by the government to make this process work," he said.

Commenting on rebel claims that Jakarta was still detaining about 100 former guerrillas despite a general amnesty, Feith said all concerned parties were working to solve the problem "in a consensual manner."

Indonesia's top negotiator Sofyan Jalil said last week the government was investigating the claim but Jalil suggested that rebels detained for terrorism cases would remain in prison.

Observers see the Helsinki agreement as the best chance yet of ending the conflict which has claimed about 15,000 lives, most of them civilians. GAM began its struggle for an independent state in 1976.

Aceh peace process becoming irreversible - Chief monitor

Reuters - October 12, 2005

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta -- The peace process in Indonesia's Aceh province could soon be irreversible, the head of a European Union-led team monitoring implementation of a truce between the government and rebels said on Wednesday.

Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) chief Pieter Feith also said leaders of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) who are still in exile should come back to the province on Sumatra's northern tip to see the progress.

The first round of decommissioning of GAM weapons in September exceeded the target, yielding some 240 arms, while Indonesia pulled out 1,500 policemen and around 6,500 soldiers.

Feith said rebels would begin surrendering weapons again in a second stage on Friday which might take four days to complete.

He added Indonesia plans to withdraw 1,300 policemen and 6,500 soldiers from Oct. 14 to 24. Among those going will be units from the army's feared Kopassus special forces.

"I believe if we really reach the mid-term point, Eid Al Fitr at the end of Ramadan, and we have completed the second round, the process by and large is becoming irreversible," Feith said in a briefing to foreign journalists in Jakarta, referring to the Muslim festival that this year falls in early November.

"(It's) very hard to imagine the process can still backtrack," said the Dutch diplomat and veteran in conflict resolution.

The 226-strong unarmed AMM mission, launched last month, comprises European and Southeast Asian monitors.

Mission head Feith called on GAM leaders still living in their Stockholm exile to witness the progress with their own eyes before Dec. 26, the date for the first anniversary of the tsunami that devastated Aceh and left around 170,000 of its residents killed or missing.

The rebels and government were pushed back to negotiations partly by the tragedy that overwhelmed Aceh and made some on both sides re-think GAM's fight to break away from Jakarta rule, a conflict that has killed 15,000 people, mostly civilians, since it started in 1976.

Feith added if the entire rebel decommissioning and military redeployment process were wrapped up by that anniversary date, it could become a "most fitting tribute" to the Aceh struggle for peace.

"I believe the current leadership in Stockholm should start thinking about strengthening links on the field. If they wait too long, they will risk irrelevance and enter oblivion," he said.

Under the Finnish-mediated peace agreement, GAM needs to surrender 840 weapons to the peace observers while Indonesia, which had more than 30,000 soldiers and 15,000 policemen in Aceh before the truce, is required to trim its forces and leave Aceh with 14,700 soldiers and 9,100 police by the end of the year.

116 GAM members yet to be granted amnesty

Tempo Interactive - October 11, 2005

Adi Warsidi, Jakarta -- As many as 116 Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members being detained in Sumatra and Java have yet to be granted amnesty. This is despite the fact that on August 31 the government stated it would grant amnesty to all GAM members as part of the implementation of the peace agreement.

Irwandi Yusuf, GAM's special representative in the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), said that the 116 GAM members are incarcerated in Cipinang Prison, Salemba Prison, Karawang Prison, Sukamiskin Prison, Tangerang Prison and the Nusakambangan Prison. There are also GAM members in the Tanjung Gusta Medan Prison, the Rantau Prapat Prison, the Binjai Prison and Sibolga.

"Most are in Tanjung Gusta, Medan", said Yusuf from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on October 10 while holding up a list of the jailed GAM members.

There are also a number of GAM members in Aceh who have yet to be granted amnesty. For example there are GAM members still being held at the Central Aceh district police headquarters, at the Blang Pidie Joint Intelligence Task Force (SGI) and the Blang Meuria SGI post in North Aceh.

According to their records, the whereabouts of as many as 104 GAM members remains unclear, with most only having their names and date of arrest recorded but not their present whereabouts. "It is not known where 11 people are being detained", said Yusuf.

The 116 GAM members who have yet to be granted amnesty have been reported by GAM to the AMM so that immediate positive steps can be taken in the context of the Aceh peace process. Yusuf is convinced that all of these GAM members were sentenced for involvement in political cases. "There are no criminals and the like, [they were] purely detained because [they were members of] GAM", said.

Meanwhile a staff member from the AMM's amnesty, reintegration and human rights section, Renata Tardioli, said that they had received the information about the 116 GAM members who have yet to be granted amnesty. "Around 116 GAM [members] are still waiting to be granted amnesty", he said in Banda Aceh.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Seminar discusses law on the organisation of a government

Tempo Interactive - October 11, 2005

Adi Warsidi, Banda Aceh -- Around 1,000 people from a number of Acehnese social organisations participated in a seminar to discuss a draft law on the organisation of a government in Aceh. The event was held at the Dayan Dawood Building on the Syah Kuala University (Unsyiah) campus in Banda Aceh on October 11.

Present at the seminar was the governor of Aceh, the regional chief of police, regional military command representatives, members of the Regional House of Representatives, all of Aceh's provincial regents, the district police chief, district military command representatives and Acehnese government officials. Also present were religious leaders, public figures, non-government organisations, students, all of the Acehnese members of the national House of Representatives and Regional Representatives Council as well as leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Among other things the seminar discussed a draft law which has been drawn up by three teams from Unsyiah, the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) and the Malikussaleh University. On the question of human rights for example, the team from Unsyiah and IAIN included a section stating that civil crimes perpetrated by the TNI (Indonesian military) will be tried by a civilian court.

Meanwhile, GAM's negotiator in Helsinki, Nur Djuli, said they are presently conducting an analysis of a draft law from the Aceh regional government. For GAM he said, what is important is that none of the points in the draft law deviate from the memorandum of understanding (MoU) which was agreed to between GAM and the Indonesian government in Helsinki.

"If there is one word which deviates from the MoU, then it will be considered to have violated the MoU, and that will create risks", he said.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

GAM excluded from drafting Aceh law

Jakarta Post - October 10, 2005

Banda Aceh -- The drafting of a bill on Aceh's governance has excluded representatives from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which demanded self-rule in the province.

"Formally, GAM is not involved in formulating the draft law on governance in Aceh. But they (its leaders) have often taken part in discussions and seminars," Acting Aceh governor Azwar Abubakar said on Sunday.

The Aceh administration set up a team to draft the bill by mid- September, including academics from three universities in Aceh -- the Syiah Kuala University, the Ar-Raniry State Institute of Islamic Studies and the Malikussaleh University. The team is expected to complete the draft on Oct. 11.

The bill will regulate, among other things, relations between the central government and the Aceh administration, GAM's political role and economic empowerment as well as law enforcement.

GAM spokesman Kamaruzzaman said his group was separately drafting a similar bill. "We hope that in the final stage, there will intensive discussions on the two bills drafted respectively by GAM and the government," he added.

Even children charged with treason in Aceh

Jakarta Post - October 10, 2005

Ridwan M. Sijabat, Jakarta -- There was nowhere to go; all thought was on escaping their burning homes. In an instant, residents in Aceh became refugees in their own homeland.

They lived in refugee camps while waiting for clashes between separatist rebels and government armed forces to end. However, the conflict never looked like stopping and raged for nearly 30 years.

The peace agreement signed on Aug. 15 between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) revived hopes for the refugees; many are hoping to return to their homes to start life anew through an albeit slow and tedious rebuilding process.

In the midst of the peace euphoria, child soldiers remain a crucial issue in the war-torn province.

It does seem that the military and the police in the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and GAM's military wing are still using child soldiers. In addition to the absence of a strict ban on the recruitment of children in armed conflicts, the peace agreement has yet to be fully implemented.

Both sides have agreed to end armed conflict, but GAM has yet to disarm all its rebels -- disarmament formally began on Sept. 15 and will be completed before Dec. 31, 2005. Efforts to end the conflict in Aceh picked up pace after the Dec. 26 tsunami swept the province, killing some 130,000 people and leaving a half million others homeless.

If the peace agreement collapses, as was the case in two previous pacts, the children, along with adult soldiers, will certainly take up arms again to resume their fight for Aceh's independence.

Not resolved For the time being, child soldiers have already laid down their arms and joined non-combatant groups to take on the role of messengers, spies and cooks for adult soldiers, who are still in remote jungle areas of the province.

Reliable sources familiar with the involvement of child soldiers in armed conflict said that the situation in Aceh still remains uncertain since the conflicting sides have yet to build mutual trust in implementing the peace agreement.

This condition has been worsened by the absence of thousands of children after their schools were burnt during the first few weeks after martial law was declared in May 2003, the ensuing armed conflict and the destruction by the tsunami.

The local military and police, which have been supported by armed civilian militias, have also recruited children to play non- combatant roles as couriers so that they can keep a close eye on GAM's movements.

Acehnese children have remained at risk of being abused and affected by armed conflicts since there is an absence of serious measures to prevent crimes against humanity.

Indonesia has already ratified the 1949 Geneva Conventions and ILO Convention No 182 and signed the 1989 Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the 2000 Optional Protocol of CRC, all of which guarantee children's rights not to be involved in wars.

But the country has not showed a strong commitment yet in preventing children from joining armed groups.

The House of Representatives has worked on a number of legislative items, including Law No 39 on human rights and Law No. 23/2002 on child protection, but neither criminalizes any individuals or parties that recruit children into armed groups or deploy them in wars or violent activities.

Instead of adopting the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Court of Justice, which classifies the deployment of child soldiers in wars as crimes against humanity, Indonesia has already had Law No 26/2000 on human rights abuse courts, but it carries light sanctions against those who use child soldiers.

The law fails to criminalize the recruitment of child soldiers and classifies it into the category of gross human rights abuse.

Even more disturbing is that the Indonesian government has jailed child soldiers, instead of returning them to their communities. They have been treated like adult rebels and charged with treason against the state.

Of more than 1,400 GAM prisoners receiving amnesty from the government, "dozens" were children under 18 years of age.

Reintegration, rehabilitation Child soldiers and those granted amnesty are also facing a bleak future since the peace treaty failed to address problems related to the planned reintegration of children (and women) into their communities.

The government's commitment to honestly resolve the Aceh issue comprehensively will also be tested since the peace treaty fails to address all problems related to social reintegration and rehabilitation of former rebels, including former child soldiers.

According to the peace treaty, the government will make efforts to help reintegrate ex-rebels into their communities and allocate some farm land and money for them, but it remains unclear how the social reintegration and rehabilitation will be conducted on the ground. And it presumably will not grant farmland or money to children.

The government should bear in mind that many children have joined these armed groups mostly to take revenge against either the government or the rebels for their relatives killed in the bloody, prolonged conflict.

If the child soldiers are not rehabilitated and reintegrated in a proper manner, they will remain bitter and traumatized by the war; this could prompt them to take up arms again.

Reintegration and rehabilitation are an integral part of the disarmament and demobilization of rebels and child soldiers, and both must be handled with extra caution in an endeavor to build a permanent peace in the province.

Therefore, the government should show its goodwill by taking necessary measures and concrete steps to deal with the adult rebels, women and children who have been involved in the conflict.

To make social reintegration and rehabilitation a success, the government should not just dictate all that needs to be done, but should give more of a role to civil society groups, non- governmental organizations (NGOs), religious institutions and other third parties.

The government should enhance cooperation with NGOs, Islamic boarding schools and religious organizations to provide a comprehensive education package, including psychological counseling and peace education for ex-child soldiers, to ensure a smooth transition back to their peaceful communities.

West Papua

Government postpones establishing MRP indefinitely

Jakarta Post - October 12, 2005

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The government has delayed indefinitely the establishment of the much-awaited Papuan People's Assembly (MRP), blaming a dispute among local religious leaders and local authorities over the composition of the assembly.

The government earlier promised to complete the selection process of 42 assembly members last week and to install them on Oct. 15. The inauguration was earlier scheduled for Oct. 3 and 8, but was postponed again later.

However, the director general of national integrity at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Sudarsono Hardjosoekarto, said the MRP's composition was still problematic as the Protestants and Catholics had yet to decide on their representation.

"The Papua authorities are, meanwhile, still debating whether the Protestant groups should be given nine seats out of the total assembly members, while the remaining three seats and two seats respectively will be allotted to the Catholic and Muslim groups," he said.

"Another suggestion is that the Protestant group be represented with seven seats, while the Catholic and Muslim groups get four and two seats respectively." The Special Autonomy Law No. 21/2001 for Papua mandates the central government and the Papuan administration set up the MRP as a powerful political body to represent community groups, including tribes, religions and women's groups.

However, the law does not specify the composition of each grouping in the assembly. Under the law, the MRP is authorized to deal with problems in the troubled province, from human rights abuses to developing the province.

Sudarsono said the central government and the Papuan authorities were intensifying their coordination to complete the process next week. "I heard the Papuan authorities would complete the selection process by this week, and the central government would provide any assistance to support them," he said.

Critics have said that the government was buying time setting up the MRP as it appeared reluctant to give the body wide-ranging powers as mandated by the autonomy law.

To confuse the situation, the Megawati government had earlier moved to separate Papua into three smaller provinces: Papua, West Irian Jaya and Central Irian Jaya. After protests that the move was against the special autonomy law, the Constitutional Court later ruled that only Papua and West Irian Jaya were legitimate provinces.

Sudarsono said the central government and the Papuan authorities were intensifying their efforts to adjust the assembly's role, so "the presence of MRP would be in line with the function of the Papuan administration within the framework of the special autonomy law".

However, he did not elaborate as to how the central government was moving to restrict the MRP's political role in Papua.

Why should Papua aspire to full independence?

Jakarta Post - October 10, 2005

Pradana Boy ZTF, Malang -- The factors that have caused Papuans' desire to be free from Indonesia cannot easily be determined. Papua's desire is rooted in many different factors ranging from the issues of race, culture and socio-political rights to economic reasons. It can also be argued that, by and large, there are two opposing views regarding Papua's demand to be independent: Keeping its status as a provincial state of Indonesia on the one hand, and freedom from Indonesia as an independent state on the other hand.

Discovering the origins of Papua's aspiration to gain independence will lead us to the long history of Dutch occupation in the region, Indonesia's attempt to integrate this region into its territory and also Papua's struggle to defend its identity as Melanesian in the midst of a modernization wave and of outsider political influence.

Basically, the problem of Papua has been caused by the Indonesian government. The Indonesian government tends to hide the real history of Papuans. John Rumbiak, a Papuan scholar suggests that Papua's independence is not an easy thing to decide whether for Indonesia or Papua. He identifies the Indonesian government in Papua as meaning nothing but a new form of colonialism.

It is ironic that, given their richness in natural resources, Papuans are left impoverished. Colonial powers that are mainly foreigners (sometimes foreigners also refers to Indonesians from a Papuan viewpoint) exploit Papuan resources without involving indigenous Papuans in doing so. They have been benefiting from the exploitation of Papua's rich natural resources with no concern for the Papuans themselves.

This policy is also accompanied by what Rumbiak calls a racist policy. He states: "When Jakarta transmigrates 'expert' agriculturalists from Java it is also being racist, because Papuans already know how to use the land." Furthermore, Rumbiak proposes that possible ways to solve all problems occurring in Papua are dialog and non-violent approaches. Violence and a militaristic approach would only worsen the situation and decrease the trust of Papuans in the Indonesian government.

The most forceful factors that have caused Papuans to desire to be free from Indonesia are the militaristic "approaches" that have killed thousands of Papuans. Through dialog, it would be clear what Papuans require from Indonesia and what the Indonesian government should do about Papua.

They propose three fundamental questions: First, Papuans want to know about their history. Second, they want Jakarta to handle and address systematic violations of their civil and socio-economic rights. Third, they want to speak up about their identity crisis as a Melanesian group within Indonesia.

However, the Papuans should be aware of the necessary preparations to achieve independence and of what would need to be done once independence was achieved. The absence of this awareness would only lead Papua into further trouble.

The difficulty of integrating Papua into Indonesia is related to identity. They do not identify themselves as Indonesians, but as Papuans.

Many Papuans believe that they belong to a sovereign modern nation state, which was established on Dec. 1, 1961 through the raising of the flag.

When Habibie took over power from Soeharto, a group of Papuan leaders demanded that Habibie grant what had been granted to East Timor: autonomy or independence. When Abdurrahman Wahid came to power, he seemed to be more accommodative of Papua. The first thing he did was to change the name of the region from Irian Jaya to its original name of Papua.

Unfortunately, his government's generosity was wrongly perceived as the readiness of Jakarta to give independence to Papua.

In conclusion, the problems that accompany the issue of West Papuan independence must be carefully weighed. On the one hand, the Indonesian government should be honest about West Papuan history and truthful in relating the process of Papua's integration into Indonesia. On the other hand, from Papua's side, it should be realized that creating an independent modern state is not simple.

[The writer is a lecturer at the Muhammadiyah University of Malang, currently studying at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.]

Human rights/law

NGOs slam Susilo for weak rights policies

Jakarta Post - October 14, 2005

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Top human rights groups slammed the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday for failing to protect human rights during its first year in office.

Human rights watchdogs including the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), the Legal Aid Foundation and the Human Rights Working Group highlighted several cases of human rights abuses over the past year, as well as government policies that threatened freedom of expression.

They cited a series of attacks by Muslim groups on minority Christian communities and Ahmadiyah, an Islamic group that is viewed by some as heretical. The rights groups also deplored the police's failure to take action against the attackers.

Usman Hamid of Kontras warned that a government plan to reactivate the military's much-criticized territorial commands to fight terrorism would deal a blow to people's freedom.

Activists have said that reviving the commands could pave the way for the military to become involved in politics and rights abuses, as occurred during the Soeharto era.

"If it (the plan) realized it would be a major blow to democracy," Usman said during a press conference. "The plan views civilians as part of the terror threat, while in fact it could be the security officers who are the threat (to the people)." The plan to reactive the military's territorial commands came from Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, following calls from President Susilo for the military to be proactive in fighting terrorism.

Since Soeharto lost power, the military's role has been reduced to protecting the country from external threats, with internal security, including fighting terrorism, being left to the police.

The rights groups also criticized court decisions acquitting police officers accused of gross rights violations in the Papua regency of Abepura, as well as the acquittal on all charges of Maj. Gen. Sriyanto, who led the bloody Army crackdown on Muslim protesters in Tanjung Priok, Jakarta, in 1984.

The groups said these decisions indicated that security authorities could commit rights violations with impunity.

The groups also slammed what they saw as the government's lack of commitment to improving the economic, political and social conditions of the indigenous peoples of Papua.

"It is ironic, we just ratified two (international) covenants on civilian political rights and on economic, social and cultural rights earlier this month, but the government's policies do not represent a respect for the covenants," Ifdhal Kasim of Elsam said.

Ifdhal also criticized the government's decision to raise fuel prices, saying it "prevents people from escaping from years of economic hardship".

The groups urged both Susilo and Vice President Yusuf Kalla to improve their performances for the remainder of their term, otherwise "we will persuade legislators to file for impeachment".

When judges insist they are only answerable to God

Jakarta Post - October 14, 2005

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta -- People in the rather slummy neighborhood units were a little envious seeing Miswan opening an impressive, official-looking envelope. They thought the security guard in a housing complex near their area might have received another Rp 300,000 worth of fuel compensation assistance from the government. He was the only person to receive such a letter in this neighborhood.

Proudly he opened the envelope. He stared at the paper. It was personally signed by the director general of taxation, Hadi Purnomo. However, he could not understand Purnomo's message in the letter. But then it was a letter from a senior government official; it could be urgent.

Miswan ran to the housing complex. To his shock -- and perhaps to the relief of his neighbors -- the neighborhood head told him that the letter stated that the tax office considered that he should pay tax and therefore he had been issued with his own NPWP (Taxpayers Registration Number). It was part of the government's efforts to net more potential taxpayers, he was told.

"My salary is only Rp 350,000 (US$35) per month. My wife's salary as a house maid is also not much more than this. What tax they can take from me?" the disappointed Miswan said on Tuesday.

Miswan, who has recently recovered from tuberculosis, continued grumbling about the letter. Pointing to a newspaper report, he said "If I were a security guard at the Supreme Court, maybe Pak Hadi could tax me."

According to the newspapers, bribery practices are so rampant at the Supreme Court that even security guards, drivers and office boys there operate as "scalpers" to serve "justice seekers" or those who do not want to lose a legal battle, or who want to avoid jail, like Soeharto's half brother Probosutedjo.

Probosutedjo said he had spent Rp 6 billion (US$600,000) in an effort to bribe Supreme Court Chief Bagir Manan to annul a lower court decision sentencing him to two years jail. He also claimed that he had bribed judges at the Jakarta High Court with Rp 10 billion to reduce the verdict of a District Court from four years to two years.

We do hope that Bagir is able to defend his honor, because when the state's highest law enforcer is also a crook, what hope does justice have in this country? Many people, however, would hardly be surprised at Probosutedjo's confession. They know that corruption is as rampant in the Supreme Court and at lower courts as it is in any other government or state agency.

Although Bagir may be able to prove his innocence, the damage has been done. Corruption in the judiciary at all levels -- even in divorce cases -- is totally out of control.

Just talk to judges in private, or to famous lawyers, their stories will be totally different. The role of judges, prosecutors and lawyers here is not like what we see in Western television series, or the Chinese Judge Bao series. Several lawyers reportedly boast about their ability to get their clients off the hook; an ability determined not by their legal expertise but by their ability to bribe judges, prosecutors and police.

The Supreme Court zealously rejects all attempts to control it, citing such control as interference in their independence. They are free from any public monitoring. The judges are free from any obligation to be accountable, even though very few people believe that they are honest.

Supreme Court officials can -- and often do -- swear in the name of God that they are clean of corruption, but no-one swallows that any more. Because of the absence of any accountability mechanisms, there is strong perception in our society that Indonesian judges are directly responsible only to God.

Other high state institutions like the House of Representatives (DPR), the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and the Supreme Court (MA) are now busy attempting to deny -- and perhaps also to cover up -- corruption accusations against their officials.

But Miswan is smart enough not to accuse the directorate general of Tax of wrongdoing, because he does not want to create any new hardships for himself. But what about his dream to work at the Supreme Court? Perhaps he could bribe someone to give him a job there.

Suspect's role in Munir murder still mystery

Jakarta Post - October 12, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Prosecutors will have to work harder to prove that key suspect Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto was among the murderers of human rights advocator Munir Said Thalib.

Throughout the trial which has gone on for the past two months, prosecutors were unable to present strong material evidence and witnesses to testify against the defendant.

Pollycarpus, a Garuda Indonesia pilot, is accused by prosecutors of pouring a certain amount of arsenic into a cup of orange juice served as a welcome drink to Munir during a flight from Jakarta to the Netherlands via Singapore on Sept. 6, 2004.

A few hours later, Munir was found dead only moments before the Boeing-747 aircraft landed at the Schipol International Airport in the Hague. A Dutch autopsy revealed a huge amount of arsenic in his body.

Two Garuda crew members, who worked in business class during the first leg of the Jakarta-Singapore flight, told the Central Jakarta District Court here on Tuesday that they did not see Pollycarpus pouring anything into the drinks they offered to passengers.

Oedi Irianto, who prepared drink and meals for passengers at the time, said he took all the drinks and meals from a sealed trolley and prepared them in the pantry, adding that his colleague Yetti later distributed the welcome drinks and meals to passengers.

"The defendant did not come into the pantry when I was preparing the welcome drink. I prepared 10 cups of orange juice, three cups of apple juice and three cups of champaign for 16 passengers, including Munir, in the business class," Oedi said but added that he didn't see Yetti offering the welcome drink.

Brahmani Hastawati, a purser who supervised the flight attendants, said the welcome drink was offered as it was done in other foreign flights and that he did not see the defendant involved in the drink and meal service.

However, she said Pollycarpus had informed her about Munir's move from economy class to occupy a seat in business class and had given him a vacant seat in the premium class.

Prosecutors have not asked the Garuda employees to explain why Munir was allowed to be upgraded.

"I didn't see anything strange during the flight," Brahmani said. Nor could she specify the defendant's motive for flying to Singapore.

At the previous court hearings, Garuda chief pilot Karmal Sembiring and other witnesses from the company said Pollycarpus was assigned to Singapore to audit a Garuda flight there in line with his new assignment as an internal security officer.

The ongoing trial also did not discuss the alleged involvement of certain State Intelligence Agency (BIN) officers in the murder case.

The government-sanctioned fact-finding team had recommended that the National Police look into the alleged role of BIN agents who were found to have made a lot of telephone calls to Pollycarpus before and after Munir's death.

According to the team, the motives behind the murder were believed to be related to Munir's staunch criticism of the Indonesian Military for committing past human rights abuses.

Munir's wife Suciwati, who has frequently been intimidated with grisly mail packages after she demanded justice for her husband's murder, has voiced pessimism that the trial would likely reveal the real culprits behind the assassination.

US group awards Munir

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2005

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Murdered Indonesian human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib and Myanmar pro-democracy advocate Min Ko Naing were on Monday named 2005 "Civil Courage Prize" winners.

The prize will be posthumously awarded to Munir during a ceremony at The Harold Pratt House in New York city on Tuesday.

But Munir's widow, Suciwati, said on Monday she would not attend the award presentation in a protest against the legal system in the country, which she said had failed to bring the perpetrators of Munir's murder to justice.

"Our friend from the Human Rights First in New York will receive the award on our behalf," she told The Jakarta Post. "It's an honor to win an international award, but that does little for our efforts to promote justice."

The award is presented annually by the New York-based Northcote Parkinson Fund, a private foundation that supports economic and political liberalism and honors "steadfast resistance to evil at a great personal risk."

The fund describes Munir as Indonesia's leading human rights activist. It said Munir exposed "disappearances," corruption, and other abuses until his murder by arsenic poisoning in September last year. The activist died en route to Amsterdam to take up a scholarship to study international law at Utrecht University.

An off-duty Garuda Indonesia pilot who was aboard the aircraft that took Munir to Amsterdam on the day he was found dead is now standing trial for conspiring to kill him.

A government-sanctioned fact finding team, however, discovered indications of the involvement of state intelligence officers, an allegation that prosecutors have failed to zero in on.

Director of human rights watch Imparsial Usman Hamid said the award proved international recognition of Munir. "But the award may not be enough for Suci, Alif and Diva," Usman said of Munir's wife and their two children. "For them it's more important to see the case being handled accordingly and the killers brought to justice." Usman said Munir had planned to return international awards he had won, including the Rights Livelihood Award from Sweden (2000) and the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize (2002), because nothing changed afterward to the human rights protection in the country.

"Victims of rights abuse remain unable to find justice," Usman said, quoting Munir.

Munir had formed a group to investigate the disappearance of activists at the hands of security forces and went on to become a searing critic of the Indonesian Military, in particular of abuses in the regions of East Timor, Aceh and Papua.

Min Ko Naing, a leader of the 1988 non-violent popular uprising against Myanmar's military dictatorship, was described by the fund in its website as "an indomitable campaigner for democracy" in the Southeast Asian nation.

He endured "15 years of imprisonment, suffering torture and solitary confinement," the fund said in a statement ahead of the award ceremony.

Min Ko Naing has been described as second in importance only to Nobel Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy icon currently under house arrest.

He was released from prison in November last year but is under government surveillance and unable to leave Yangon. He has declined his portion of the prize money of US$25,000, to be donated to a non-profit organization.

Another Prize winner is Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist who had exposed the atrocities of war in Chechnya in the face of death threats, intimidation, and poisoning, according to the fund.

Reconciliation & justice

Son of demonized PKI leader recalls bitter past

Jakarta Post - October 8, 2005

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta -- For good or ill, 1965 has very special meaning for Ilham Aidit, son of doomed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) leader Dipa Nusantara (D.N.) Aidit.

It is so special that the last four digits of his cellular phone number are 65, repeated. Indeed, 1965 marked a grave turning point in the life of Ilham's family and, more than anything, it was a time when he had to confront the powers that be when he was barely six years old.

It was on the night of Sept. 30, 1965, that Ilham was parted from Dipa just as he began to appreciate the father-and-son bond. After that night, Ilham and his two brothers had to live on the run for years before living largely in relative obscurity.

Ilham had to live that way because his father had been accused -- according to official historians of the New Order regime -- of masterminding an aborted coup that led to the assassination of some pro-Western military generals.

He could not forget the last moment when the old Aidit put him to bed late on Sept. 30, before the then PKI leader was taken to Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in East Jakarta by a group of men in military fatigues.

"The men asked my father to go with them to Halim, because then president Sukarno was also there. My father heeded the summons," Ilham told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

It was Aidit's presence in Halim, together with Sukarno that was later used to confirm his involvement in the coup, known locally as Pemberontakan 30 September (the 30th Sept. Rebellion). Aidit's role in the coup was later immortalized in the New Order government-sponsored film that depicted him as a demonic figure.

Staying up late on Sept. 30 with his father, however, provided Ilham with enough evidence to counter a widely held view about his father's possible involvement in the coup.

Coup involvement disputed

"My father was not ready to go that night and even had an argument with my mother about his decision finally to do so," Ilham said, adding that his father had planned to work in his room as usual that night. Ilham said that prior to his departure to Halim, Aidit entertained a guest, whom he considered an unimportant figure.

"He chatted until late at night with PKI youth wing (CGMI) chairman Hardoyo. If he was in charge of the coup he would surely have asked Hardoyo, someone of no great significance, to leave earlier in the evening," he said.

According to Ilham, in the months leading to the coup, his father led a normal life and barely hinted that he planned something big, such as taking power from Sukarno.

With the PKI then becoming the official scapegoat for the coup, the military launched an offensive against members of the communist party and its affiliates and Aidit's family become one of the primary targets in a nationwide witch-hunt.

Given the dire emergency, two days after the coup, Ilham's mother, Sutanti, fled Jakarta after she had introduced her three children to a relative in Manggarai, Central Jakarta, who would look after them for some time until security improved.

Ilham later found out that his mother was apprehended on Oct. 3 and jailed in Bukit Duri penitentiary, Tangerang. A more heartbreaking revelation was soon to come.

Late in November, Ilham learned that his father was arrested in Boyolali, a city in the heart of Central Java, and later executed without proper trial. "From that moment on, we did not hold out much hope that our family would ever reunite," Ilham said, with tears brimming in the corner of his eyes.

When the dust finally settled, the three Aidit children relocated to Bandung, where they lived with distant relatives until 1976. During the period, Ilham lived in relative security, the only disruption being his regular fights with school bullies who continually taunted him about his father.

However, a bullying incident, committed by a group of men in uniform, almost claimed his life. "I was playing marbles with my friends when one member of the group pointed a gun at my head and was ready to pull the trigger. Suddenly, one of them said that I was too young to be executed."

The burden from the past proved to be more taxing for Ilham once he had enrolled at Parahyangan University (Unpar), Bandung, where he studied architecture. During the university years, Ilham learned more about the predicament that had befallen his father and the bulk of his followers.

"I was angry, knowing that my father and millions of his followers has been treated unfairly. They were killed without proper trial and some of them were banished into a gulag-like prison," he said.

To seek solace from a world that appeared to be closing in on him, Ilham joined a mountaineering club that trained him to climb almost every high mountain in Java. He was also active in several student organizations, something that prevented him from graduating quickly from university.

Discrimination and harassment

To prove that discrimination against PKI-related family members still existed, soon after graduating from Unpar in 1987, Ilham applied for a position at the West Java provincial administration office in Bandung, using a bogus birth certificate.

"Most of my friends were invited for a preliminary test, but my application was put aside; it taught me a lesson that the tentacles of the intelligence agency managed to track us down, despite our efforts to conceal our past," he said.

The intelligence community continued to spy on Ilham even as he led an ordinary life in Jakarta. Every morning from his office in Tomang, West Jakarta, to any location where Ilham inspected the construction of buildings that he had designed, a van always followed him and remained on standby when he worked at any given location.

However, being on the intelligence watch list was not Ilham's primary reason when he decided to relocate to Bali in mid-1996.

"I was so fed up with traffic congestion in the capital. There was once a time that I got home at 11 p.m. because the Kebon Jeruk toll road was blocked by an overturned trailer truck. The next morning I decided to sell my house and move to Bali," he said.

Living on the run for years has also endowed Ilham the ability to sense impending danger. His decision to move to Bali was made only months before the July 27 riot, a major political conflagration that also heralded the downfall of the Soeharto regime.

He could easily have been implicated in the riot that was blamed on the People's Democratic Party (PRD), a small political party accused by the New Order government of being the resurrection of the dormant communist movement.

Ilham, who was born 44 years ago in Moscow, said that he also felt at home in Bali, not only because his wife and two daughters were there, but also because the resort island suffered the greatest in the aftermath of the attempted coup.

"Bali lost the greatest proportion of its population in the aftermath. I therefore started a movement, immediately after Soeharto's downfall, to demand the rehabilitation of the names of those who had been victimized, including that of my father," he said.

Labour issues

Workers demand 100 percent rise

Jakarta Post - October 13, 2005

Bandung -- Hundreds of workers from the West Java Nusantara Workers Union staged a noisy protest at Bandung's City Hall and provincial council building on Wednesday, demanding a 100 percent rise in minimum wages.

The protesters said the current minimum wage was no longer enough to cope with workers' escalating living and transportation costs.

Spokesman Waras Wasisto said that based on a recent survey of Bandung workers' living costs, each worker needed at least Rp 642,000 (US$64.2) a month to survive.

"Minimum wages in West Java range from Rp 601,000 to Rp 635,000. How can we keep on working when we still have to borrow money to buy our basic needs," Waras said. Many workers were getting paid significantly less than the standard minimum wage, he said.

The protesters called on Governor Danny Setiawan to immediately set a new minimum wage.

Workers feel the pinch post fuel price hike

Jakarta Post - October 14, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- For his work at a shoe company in Tangerang, Banten province, Parluhutan Simbolon is paid Rp 1.3 million (US$103) a month, a wage he once considered decent.

But since the government raised fuel prices on Oct. 1, it has been a struggle to make ends meet as the prices of basic goods have also increased.

Parluhutan's wife is out of work and the couple live with their two children in a four meter by six m rented house in Pasar Kemis, some two kilometers away from his workplace. Like other low-income families, they have cut back this month.

"We consume two packets of instant noodles for breakfast and another two for dinner almost every day, and my wife prepares rice with salted fish and vegetables for lunch. We use kerosene for cooking" he told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.

He said he walked to his workplace to save on transportation costs and worked overtime three days a week to save for the school fees of his children, who attend a nearby state elementary school.

His recent efforts to apply for a fuel compensation card and financial aid for his children's education were fruitless.

His company's management, who recently laid off a number of workers, made the announcement last week that the annual Idul Fitri bonus would be late due to increasing production costs.

Many workers of shoe and clothing factories in the district have sent their wives and children back to their villages in Sumatra, Central and East Java, as living in the capital has become too expensive.

According to data from the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, some 13,000 low-paid workers employed in labor-intensive factory jobs have been dismissed since the first fuel price increases in March of this year.

Chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) Sofyan Wanandi acknowledged that the fuel price increase policy had increased the hardships of low-paid workers, particularly as employers could not easily increase their salaries with tougher business competition both at home and on the overseas market.

"Indonesian products' competitiveness, both at home and overseas, has dropped and this has brought negative implications for workers' financial situations because their purchasing power will certainly go down while their monthly income does not improve," he said.

He cited a number of textile and garment companies on the outskirts of Jakarta, Bandung and Central Java, and sawmills in Kalimantan and Sumatra, which had laid off their workers because of the soaring prices of imported raw materials and decreasing orders from foreign brand owners.

He said many employers had only raised transportation and meal allowances.

Sofyan said Apindo had sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, asking for the elimination of illegal levies and annulment of 3,000 contentious bylaws that are detrimental to businesses, to enable employers to pay the annual bonuses and raise the workers minimum wage by around 13 percent in January.

He said only large or successful companies were able to pay the annual bonus to Muslim workers this year, while small companies had been urged to negotiate with their workers over the bonus.

War on terror

TNI still need for political stability and security

Sinar Harapan - October 13, 2005

Emmy Kuswandari, Jakarta -- The minister of defense, Juwono Sudarsono, says that the civilian authorities are not yet strong enough to ensure political stability and national security. The presence of the TNI (Indonesian military) therefore is still needed, particularly in handling terrorism.

"I believe that the civilian authorities such as the national police, customs, immigration and the judiciary are not yet strong [enough] to support the creation of political stability and national security", he said after attending a planning workshop on the draft State Intelligence Law in Jakarta on Wednesday October 12.

Sudarsono said that when the civilian authorities and society are strong enough to support the creation of political stability and national security the military's involvement will be gradually reduced. He added that at lest three months would be needed to establish coordination between the TNI and the national police in handling terrorism.

"I don't know what kind of formulation Mr. Syamsir (the director of the National Intelligence Agency, BIN - Ed.) has. But he is currently reorganising the working relationship between civilian and military intelligence so that they can each take on and coordinate [their tasks] properly", he explained.

Such a formulation is necessary because up until now the respective intelligence units have had their own terrain and preferences so the director of BIN must coordinate this before a report is submitted to the president.

Speaking at the forum, Sudarsono said pressure is need from civil society so that the draft intelligence law can finalised quickly. Without pressure from civil society, Indonesia will not have an intelligence law until 2007 which would only be applied in 2008. "There must be strong pressure from the public so that the legislation process can be carried out quickly", he said.

Sudarsono explained that to date it cannot be denied that many intelligence units are paid for by foreign parties in order that they protect their interests. "This happens because the country is not yet able to fulfil all of its budget [needs]", he said.

The chairperson of the Intelligence Reform Working Group, Edy Prasetyono, says that pressure to finalise the intelligence law is needed immediately because there are situations which cannot be anticipated by the public and security forces. Also needed is a consideration of policies which places the actions of and the state intelligence services into a process of democratic consolidation which allows for transparency and accountability. Clear laws also need to exist.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Poor team work blamed for inability to stop attacks

Jakarta Post - October 14, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Defense and intelligence analysts are ruing poor team work among intelligence units and unpopular government policies for a string of terrorist attacks that have rocked the country over the last three years.

Hari Prihartono, executive director of ProPatria, a think tank on defense and security issues, says the repeated bomb attacks in the country have a lot to do with the lack of coordination among intelligence units following reforms in defense and security fields.

"Intelligence units in the National Police, Indonesian Military (TNI), National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Immigration Directorate General, Attorney General's Office and home affairs ministry have so far worked individually, so that they fail to provide an early warning of possible terrorist attacks," Hari said on Wednesday.

He asserted that Indonesia had been vulnerable to terrorist attacks since the militaristic coordinating agency to support the strengthening of national stability (Bakorstanas) was dissolved in 2000 and BIN carried out internal reforms in 2002. The government's decision to raise fuel prices, the high unemployment rate and other policies that impoverish people may have triggered the attacks, he said.

"We should not only blame the United States and its international allies for the continuing bloodshed in Iraq, but also look inward to ask if the bomb attacks were the result of our failure to address domestic problems," he said.

Hari underlined that the nation could not depend solely on the police to contain terror threats despite their legitimate power to take care of domestic security.

Andi Widjayanto, defense analyst from the University of Indonesia, said the National Police were unable to forewarn the public about terror attacks as their intelligence skills were inadequate.

"The collaboration of all intelligence units under the coordination of BIN is an ideal force to effectively prevent or at least minimize terror attacks," he said.

He underlined that intelligence operations to halt terrorism were aimed at protecting, not abusing people. "The public should not fall victim to intelligence activities. Community and neighborhood units should be encouraged to support counterterrorism efforts," he said.

Former BIN chief Gen. (ret.) A.M. Hendropriyono agreed that the war on terror required the contribution of all relevant institutions under the coordination of BIN.

"Under Presidential Instruction No. 5/2002, BIN is tasked with coordinating all intelligence units to detect any threats to the state," he said. "But this cannot work because the law does not provide the intelligence apparatus with the much-needed freedom to undertake their jobs in the field." He said a law that entrusted BIN to conduct effective intelligence operations was urgently needed to prevent more terrorist attacks.

The House has refused to debate a bill on intelligence proposed by BIN under Hendropriyono, due to concerns it would lead to human rights abuses. The government is drafting a new bill that is more "humane" as it proposes strict control by the lawmakers and the public over all intelligence operations.

Legacy of military dirty tricks breeds JI doubt

The Australian - October 14, 2005

Greg Barton -- Three years after the horror of the first Bali bombing and four years after the shock of the September 11 attacks, most Australians are mystified about why doubts about Jemaah Islamiah persist in Indonesia.

The recent comments, for example, of former president Abdurrahman Wahid suggesting that the Indonesian military somehow may have been involved in the attack on Bali's Sari Club on October 12, 2002, strike us as truly incredible.

To Australians, Indonesian scepticism about terrorism is hard to understand. After all, Indonesians and Indonesia have been, by far, the biggest victims of jihadi terrorism in the region. In fact, the extent of Indonesian suffering is much greater than commonly realised in Australia.

As many as 10,000 Indonesians have died in sectarian violence in eastern Indonesia since 2000. The communal violence in Maluku and Sulawesi did spring from organic causes but was so exacerbated by the presence of external Islamist militia such as Laskar Jihad that it is fair to say their intervention cost the lives of thousands.

It is tempting for Australians to simply dismiss the doubts and anxieties of Muslims in Indonesia and elsewhere about terrorism as evidence of delusion and denial. But to do that would be a grave mistake, for such fears, however ill-founded, often point to deep problems of communication and credibility on our part. It is time for us to stop viewing the problem of jihadi terrorism only through Western eyes and to attempt to see things from a Muslim point of view.

In our rush to fight terrorism we have underestimated the importance of perceptions and paid too little attention to how Muslim society understands what we do. The clumsy rhetoric of the war on terror has tended to undermine Western credibility in the Muslim world. In fact, the West has generally made a hash of communicating to the Muslim world while apologists for terrorism, such as Indonesia's Abu Bakar Bashir and his Indonesian Mujahidin Council, have given a series of virtuoso performances in public relations.

While Australian leaders and observers have tended to ignore or misunderstand Indonesian anxieties, Bashir and his colleagues have masterfully exploited the confusion of the Indonesian public about what JI is and what it is capable of doing, successfully sowing seeds of doubt. Some Indonesian politicians, it is true, have cynically exploited these circumstances for their own narrow interests. Wahid, however, is a different case. There can be no doubting his deep concern for Indonesia and his affection for Australia, and so we should not imagine that he is talking out of malice.

But neither can it be denied, as Sally Neighbour wrote in The Australian yesterday, that he is "famously eccentric". If his comments were merely the product of eccentricity, or worse, then they could be dismissed easily, but it is difficult to see that this is the case.

That Wahid has spent his life promoting tolerance and struggling against sectarianism, including Islamist extremism, is good reason for us to consider what he is saying: this is not a man who has any desire to downplay jihadi terrorism.

Indeed, he wrote an opinion piece published in last Friday's The Washington Post condemning the recent Bali suicide bombers, saying: "Once again the cult of death has proved its ability to recruit misguided fanatics and incite them to violate Islam's most sacred teachings in the very name of God." The worrying thing is that the kind of dark fears of military involvement that Wahid expressed are not uncommon and probably represent mainstream sentiment in Indonesia.

There is no evidence that the Indonesian military or police (they were separated in 1999) had any involvement at all in the October 12, 2002, bombings or that they have in any way supported JI. But there is considerable evidence, as Neighbour points out, of Indonesian military support for Islamist militia such as Laskar Jihad, initially given, in part, with the intention of discrediting the Wahid government.

We need to understand that after decades of repression and innumerable military dirty tricks, some of which continue, it is difficult for Indonesians at any level of society to believe that JI operates entirely by itself.

The situation today would be much worse were it not for the remarkably successful joint police investigations after the 2002 Bali bombings that led to hundreds of arrests, making possible transparent court trials and producing a great volume of credible evidence about JI.

Australia and Indonesia have worked well together. But the fact doubt about JI still runs deep in Indonesian society reminds us that the struggle against terrorism is also a struggle for hearts and minds, and that we need to lift our game.

[Greg Barton is associate professor in politics at Deakin University in Melbourne. He is author of Indonesia's Struggle: Jemaah Islamiyah and the Soul of Islam (UNSW Press, 2004) and Abdurrahman Wahid: Muslim Democrat, Indonesian President (UNSW Press, 2002).]

TNI's new role in terror fight to be limited, chief says

Jakarta Post - October 13, 2005

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Indonesian Military Chief (TNI) Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Wednesday that the plans to reactivate the much-criticized military's territorial function to help in the fight against terrorism would not extend to allowing soldiers to make arrests.

Speaking to reporters after briefing senior Army officers, Endriartono said that the role of soldiers in the field would be limited to gathering intelligence information from the community and passing it onto the police, who would then take the "real legal action" against suspected terrorists.

"The real purpose of the TNI's territorial function is the safeguarding by the military of this nation from any kind of attacks. And this role has never been scrapped. I now want to strengthen this role in the fight against terrorism following on from the President's order for us to do so," Endriartono said.

The statement came amid criticism over his previous statements to the effect that the TNI planned to reactivate its dormant territorial commands -- from the provincial-level regional military commands down to non-commissioned officers, called Babinsa at village level -- as part of the effort to fight terrorism. The plan was unveiled after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the TNI to be more proactive in fighting terrorism following the Oct. 1 bomb attacks on Bali that killed 23.

But critics, including a number of top politicians and rights activists, have expressed fears that reactivating the TNI's territorial commands, including their territorial functions, could pave the way for the military to become involved once again in politics and human rights abuses as occurred in the past under the authoritarian rule of former president Soeharto.

The TNI's sociopolitical role (the essence of the territorial function), was scrapped following the fall of Soeharto. Instead, the military has been told to focus on national defense, with the police being given full authority over domestic security including the fight against terrorism.

"I can ensure you that I will not let my troops get involved in that sort of sociopolitical role. Never. I will just encourage my troops to reopen communications with the people in a bid to gather intelligence and forward it to the police," Endriartono said.

Endriartono's plan to reactivate the military's territorial role has also been criticized as an Army-heavy policy, while the two other forces -- the Navy and Air Force -- will not be involved, even though suspected terrorists could utilize the country's maritime territory and airspace to launch attacks. Endriartono did not specifically address this criticism.

Separately, Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said that the government was currently in the process of finalizing a coordination mechanism between the TNI and the police to strengthen the fight against terrorism, and expected final guidelines to be issued within the next three months.

Asked whether the guidelines would enable the state to adequately control the military to prevent it from abusing its revived territorial role, Juwono simply said: "No one can give a guarantee that the military will not abuse its territorial role. All we civilians can do is to do our best to control the military."

Inside Indonesia's war on terror

SBS Dateline - October 12, 2005

Today -- as you would almost certainly know -- is the third anniversary of the first Bali bombing and our major report tonight provides an alarming twist to the ongoing terror campaign being waged in Indonesia.

David O'Shea, a long-time "Indonesia-watcher", reports that where terrorism is concerned in that country -- with its culture of corruption within the military, the police, the intelligence services and politics itself -- all is never quite what it seems.

Reporter: David O'Shea

When the second Bali bomb exploded, Australia once again found itself on the front line in the war on terror. But for Indonesians, this was simply the latest in a long line of atrocities. They have born the brunt of hundreds of attacks over the years, most of them unreported in the West. Once again Australia and Indonesia joined forces in the hunt for the Bali killers.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesian President: We are determined to continuously fight terrorism in Indonesia with an effective global, regional and international cooperation.

John Howard, Australian Prime Minister: Tragic incidents such as this so far from driving apart the people of Australia and Indonesia would only bring us closer together.

This show of unity is impressive and it plays well to Australian audiences but many Indonesians don't see it that way.

John Mempi, security and intelligence analyst (Translation): Why this endless violence? Why are there acts of terrorism year in, year out? Regimes change, governments change, but violence continues. Why? Because there is a sort of shadow state in this country. A state within a state ruling this country.

For seven years I've reported from every corner of this vast nation and seen first hand the havoc that terrorists wreak. Tonight I want to tell you a very different story about Indonesia's war on terror. It contains many disturbing allegations even from a former president.

Abdurrahman Wahid, former Indonesian president: The Australians if they get the truth, I think it's a grave mistake.

Reporter: What do you mean?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Yeah, who knows that the owners to do this, to do that -- orders to do this, to do that came from within our own forces, not from the culprits, from the fundamentalist people.

(1) Terrorism - The cash cow:

Indonesia's police are doing very nicely, thank you very much, out of the war on terror. They now have all the latest equipment, courtesy of the millions of dollars pouring in from the West. The money ensures the world's most populous Muslim nation remains on side in the fight against terrorism.

Mastering all of this new technology represents a steep learning curve for the Indonesian police. Unfortunately today they forget to set up the X-ray machine properly.

Police (Translation): Is the film in?

Police 2 (Translation): I haven't put it in yet.

Luckily there's an old print lying around from a previous exercise.

Because of the war on terror, American and Australian support for the Indonesian police has never been stronger. During Dai Bachtiar's 5-year reign as police chief, Indonesia endured countless act of terror including three major ones -- in Bali, then the Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. These massive blasts might have forced the resignation of any other senior official but Dai Bachtiar managed to survive with the backing of powerful friends at home and abroad.

Police Chief (Translation): I met Paul Wolfowitz.

In Indonesia's parliament earlier this year, I found the police chief boasting about how he gets the star treatment when he visits Washington.

Police Chief (Translation): I went to Washington, to the White Hosue, to the West Wing. I spoke to Colin Powell in his office. I went to the Pentagon, I met the director of the CIA, the director of the FBI, I met them all.

Indonesia's police are in charge of the war on terror. Years of human rights abuse by the Indonesian military, or TNI, mean it's now out of favour in Washington, but it seems the police can do no wrong.

Police Chief (Translation): I asked Powell. "You say the TNI has to reform, don't the police have to as well?" Building trust takes time.

Many Indonesians would find the idea of trusting the police laughable. It has long been regarded as one of the most corrupt and incompetent institutions in the country. Former president, Abdurrahman Wahid sums up what many people here belief.

Abdurrahman Wahid: All of them are liars.

Reporter: Just to be clear, you have your doubts about the police ability to investigate properly all of this?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Oh, yes. But none of this seems to worry Indonesia's allies in the war on terror.

Police (Translation): Have you just got back?

Dai Bachtiar, police chief (Translation): I see this man a lot.

Police (Translation): Were you in America? Did you get any more money?

Dai Bachtiar (Translation): 10 million. We get big bucks. We got 50 million all up. Sure. They keep asking about 88.

That's Detachment 88, the police counter-terror unit which receives a great deal of the international aid, including substantial assistance from Australia.

Like the military, Detachment 88 is controversial. Its members stand accused of repeatedly using torture in interrogation of suspects. But these allegations don't seem to even raise an eyebrow.

Dai Bachtiar (Translation): The Secretary-General of Interpol came to visit Aceh. I met him. He said our police were dealing with terrorism in a professional manner. 500 million euros. For the police. Long term. So far I've received directly 500 from Denmark. They gave 5, but 500 all up. The Dutch gave 2.

The money is flowing like water but outside the chamber, unrelated to the anti-terror funding, is a scene that should make donors think twice.

A man from the Religious Affairs Commission sitting next door counts cash to be distributed amongst voting politicians. Call it corruption or even the trickle down effect, but it's this kind of informal funds distribution which keeps the wheels turning in the Indonesian economy.

Dai Bachtiar (Translation): Well now, for example, the other day I got 2 million from Holland... From America... it was 50. Is it 50 already? You know how much the army got? 600. Then they had to get involved.

With all the cash flowing about, some politicians want to stay as close as possible to Dai Bachtiar.

Politician (Translation): Isn't our police chief great? That's obvious.

With the cash cow growing fatter by the day, some analysts even suggest the police now have too much to gain from the war on terror.

John Mempi (Translation): But why is there always this worry about bombings? This subservience to foreigners, this paranoia about bombs.

You must help us with money, with equipment and training, so that we can do something. We need funds to combat these terrorists. And to convince the foreigners bombings do happen. Indeed there are acts of terrorism in Indonesia but done by "terrorists" in inverted commas.

(2) A terrorist on the payroll:

To most Australians terrorism in Indonesia means Jemaah Islamiah. Abu Bakar Bashir, Dr Azahari and Noordin Mohammed Top have become household names and we're led to believe they're the masterminds behind every atrocity. But there's another side to the JI story that Australia hasn't heard and it's part of the extraordinary family history of this man.

Lamkaruna Putra (Translation): This is Tengku Fauzi Hasbi after he was released. He returned to working and supporting his family.

Lamkaruna Putra's father was an Acehnese separatist leader descended from a long line of Acehnese fighters. He went on to become a key figure in Jemaah Islamiah. Fauzi Hasbi who used the alias Abu Jihad was in contact with Osama bin Laden's deputy.

He lived for many years in the house next door to Abu Bakar Bashir in Malaysia and was very close to JI operations chief Hambali.

Umar Abduh is an Islamist convicted of terrorism and jailed for 10 years under the Suharto regime. He belonged to a group that attacked police stations and hijacked a Garuda flight to Bangkok. He remembers Fauzi Hasbi as a hardliner who traded arms was willing to commit acts of violence.

Umar Abduh (Translation): Fauzi Hasbi is known in the Islamic movement as someone who, from the beginning, has supported the Jihad as the struggle of the Muslim people, aside from his background in the Free Ache Movement.

Fauzi Hasbi was so relaxed amongst the militants, and they with him, that he even took his son to a critical meeting in Kuala Lumpur in January 2000 as JI was preparing for its violent campaign. The attendance list was a who's who of accused terrorists.

Lamkaruna Putra (Translation): There was someone from MILF in Mindanao, his name was Ustad Abu Rela, commander of the Abu Sayyaf. Ustad Abdul Fatah from Patani was there. People from Sulawesi and West Java came to the meeting.

The organisation was managed by Hambali. Rabitah means organisation. It linked Islamic organisations.

Reporter (Translation): So Hambali was chairman?

Lamkaruna Putra (Translation): Yes, Hambali chaired it.

Hambali and co would have known their colleague Fauzi Hasbi had been captured in 1978 by this Indonesian military special forces unit but they wouldn't have known that he became a secret agent for Indonesian military intelligence.

The commanding officer that caught him was Syafrie Syamsuddin, now a general and one of Indonesia's key military intelligence figures. These documents obtained by Dateline prove beyond doubt that Fauzi Hasbi had a long association with the military.

This 1990 document, signed by the chief of military intelligence in North Sumatra, authorised Fauzi Hasbi to undertake a special job. And this 1995 internal memo from military intelligence HQ in Jakarta was a request to use brother Fauzi Hasbi to spy on Acehnese separatist, not only in Indonesia but in Malaysia and Sweden.

And then this document, from only three years ago, assigned him the job of special agent for BIN, the national intelligence agency.

Security analyst John Mempi says Fauzi Hasbi alias Abu Jihad played a crucial role within JI in its early years.

John Mempi (Translation): The first Jemaah Islamiyah congress in Bogor was facilitated by Abu Jihad, after Abu Bakar Bashir returned from Malaysia.

We can see that Abu Jihad played an important role, he was later found to be an intelligence agent. So an intelligence agent has been facilitating the radical Islamic movement.

The extraordinary story of Fauzi Hasbi raises many important questions about JI and the Indonesian authorities. Why didn't they smash the terror group in its infancy? Do they still have agents in the organisation? And what information, if any, have they had in advance about the recent deadly spate of terror attacks?

The Indonesian intelligence chief refused Dateline's request for an interview and dead men tell no tales. The man who held all the secrets, Abu Jihad was disembowelled in a mysterious murder in early 2003, just after he was exposed as a military agent. His son, Lamkaruna Putra died in this plane crash last month.

(3) Promoting terrorism:

Fauzi Hasbi's death led to a flurry of speculation about shadowy intelligence links to Indonesia's terror networks.

Umar Abduh (Translation): So there is not a single Islamic group, either in the movement or the political groups that is not controlled by Intel. Everyone does what they say.

Umar Abduh says his terrorist group was incited to violence after infiltrators showed a letter saying Muslim clerics would be assassinated.

Umar Abduh (Translation): There is a document stating that the Muslim leaders would be executed, we as a younger generation were immediately angered. Damn it, this is not right, we have to kill all those Cabinet members and military leaders, that was our plan.

And he's not the only one who says he was used by intelligence agents. Another convicted terrorist is Timsar Zubil who exploded three bombs in Sumatra in 1978. Although no-one was killed, he paid a heavy price.

Timsar Zubil (Translation): At first I was sentenced to death, it was changed to a life sentence, I served 22 years.

Zubil now believes he was set up by former president Suharto's intelligence agency.

Timsar Zubil (Translation): We may have deliberately been allowed to grow in such a way, that we young people who were very emotional, were provoked into committing illegal acts.

Reporter (Translation): Who let this happen?

Timsar Zubil (Translation): The ones who had the authority to ban us, in this case the ones in power, the Suharto regime. I have only started thinking of this recently, but at the time I was active, I didn't think it through.

After Zubil was captured, beaten and tortured, something remarkable occurred. The authorities made up a provocative name for his group -- Komando Jihad.

Timsar Zubil (Translation): It hadn't occurred to us to use that name, but they told us that was to be the name of our organisation. We had no plans to use the name Komando Jihad. They told us to just accept it for the time being and if we wanted to deny it later in court, that was up to us. But it made no difference to the court, they insisted that the name was indeed ours.

(4) State sponsored terror:

Indonesia's recent history of terrorist attacks began with a deadly campaign that unfolded on Christmas Eve 2000. Bombs exploded almost simultaneously at 18 sites, mostly churches, across six provinces, 19 people died and 120 were injured.

Jemaah Islamiah took the blame. It was the first real mention of the group in Australia. But Indonesians had another theory -- they suspected the military, the only organisation with the capacity to pull off an operation of this scale, a full two years before the first Bali bomb.

The respected news magazine Tempo even splashed the allegation on its front cover as part of a special investigation. The most revealing information in the report related to the bomber's network operating in Medan, North Sumatra. The man convicted of making the bombs in Medan is somewhere behind these prison walls.

Our repeated requests to interview Edi Sugiarto over many months have been ignored by the Indonesian authorities. Guilty or not, reputable sources claim he was so severely tortured before his trial he would have admitted to anything. But it's clear he wasn't acting alone.

The Tempo investigation included telephone records revealing sensational information of direct links between the bombers and military intelligence. The records also show that Fauzi Hasbi, the military intelligence agent in Jemaah Islamiah who we mentioned earlier, was at the centre of the plot. He had spoken to Edi Sugiarto, the bomb maker, seven times and had also called a businessman well connected with the military 35 times. That businessman in turn rang a Kopassus special forces intelligence officer 15 times and the officer had called the businessman 56 times.

With Edi Sugiarto in jail, all further investigation ceased and five years on, sources in Medan are too afraid to talk. The trail has gone stone cold.

(5) Terror in Tentena:

George Aditjondro is an early riser. As Indonesia's leading researcher into corruption in high places there never seem to be enough hours in the day. For two years he's been investigating a terror campaign in Poso, Central Sulawesi. His research reveals that terror in Indonesia is much more complex than we are led to believe.

George Aditjondro: There is a mafia, a corruption mafia in Poso who were defending the interests of themselves because if the corruption leaked, the corruption mafia could be exposed, that means the end of their career and also the end of their additional income.

Aditjondro says this corrupt network of local government officials, police and others is using terror to protect a local racquet in Central Sulawesi.

George Aditjondro: Between corruption and terror, there is a very close link because those who were carrying out the terror were paid with corruption money.

Central Sulawesi had just emerged from years of conflict before the latest outrage on May 28 this year. In the predominantly Christian town of Tentena, 60km to the south of Poso, two bombs left 23 people dead. A blast that claimed more victims than the second Bali attack, but received scant coverage outside Indonesia.

The first foreign journalist to arrive on the scene, without any evidence at all reported Jemaah Islamiah was to blame for the attack and then promptly flew back to Jakarta.

Like the latest Bali bombs, the two bombs that exploded here were full of shrapnel, designed to kill and maim. The first one went off at 8.05 in the morning when the market is busiest.

Woman (Translation): This is a thoroughfare, people are always passing, people who want to go there pass here.

This woman is one of thousands of Christian refugees who found sanctuary in Tentena during sectarian violence that cost hundreds of lives in recent years.

Woman (Translation): I'm still traumatised. We were chased out of our villages and came here, but it is not safe here either. A second bomb blew 10 minutes later around 200m away on the other side of the market. Reverend Rinaldy Damanik says it was placed and timed to cause maximum casualties.

Reverend Rinaldy Damanik (Translation): The bits of metal in the bomb flew as far as that church. What's really going on? They showed they can do it under the police's noses. That's the police station, imagine this happening in front of the police station.

Reverend Damanik is a powerful figure in this Christian stronghold. For years he defended his community as Islamic fighters swarmed in to wage jihad. I first met him at Christmas in 2001 after villages all around Tentena were razed. He was convinced the army was behind the violence and had even left a calling card.

Reverend Rinaldy Damanik (Translation): This is an ammunition box that we found at the time of the attacks in Sepe. It is clearly labelled, Department of Defence, Republic of Indonesia. 1400 pieces of 5.56mm calibre munitions. This means it was meant for M-16s.

George Aditjondro says that in every Indonesian hotspot, the army foments trouble by funding and arming both sides. In the case of Central Sulawesi, both Muslim and Christian militia.

George Aditjondro: So the money do not have to come from rich people like Osama bin Laden and the weapons doesn't have to come from southern Philippines or from other exotic places but is actually coming from the official sources and that is why I am saying that the kind of terrorism which we see in Indonesia is home grown terrorism.

It's a kind of duel function or triple function of the armed forces. The late reverand Agustina Lumentut told me in 2001 that the Indonesian military was using proxy armies to do their dirty work.

The late Reverend Agustina Lumentut: It is for sure, for sure that the army is behind the jihad, or in front of jihad, yeah. No other interpretation.

It was proved beyond all doubt that one of the extremist groups, the Laskar Jihad, was supplied, transported and incited by the central government to go on its murderous spree.

The late Reverend Agustina Lumentut: Who dare among them to say "Stop going that." Because they have reason for doing that, they are registered officially by the government, the central government.

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is applauded in Australia as a moderate Muslim leading the fight against terror in Indonesia. But as the influential coordinating minister for politics and security, he chose not to stop the Laskar Jihad and was even supporting them.

Susilo Bambang Yudoyono: They also play a role in defending truth and justice that is expected by Muslims in Indonesia. For me, as far as what they are doing is legal and not violating law, then this is OK.

This was a ridiculous statement. Yudhoyono was well aware of the carnage that was under way.

Since 2001 things had improved somewhat, as Reverend Damanik tells these politicians from Jakarta visiting after the May 28 bombs. But local leaders are afraid terrorism is being used to derail reconciliation between Muslims and Christians.

Reverend Rinaldy Damanik (Translation): The wounds are very deep but they can be endured. But the question is, what is happening to this country? People can't work because they're always on their guard, what can we achieve when we're like that? What's happening to our country? We need to think about this, but it's hard to answer right now.

With weapons handed in and a peace deal holding up well, Reverend Damanik's former sworn enemy is also very suspicious about the times of the bomb in May. Muslim leader Adnan Arsan wonders whether the attack was designed to prevent the army from leaving.

Adnan Arsan (Translation): Just when a security unit's work is over and someone says "We're going home and I hope there's no more trouble..."

Just as they are being recalled there's another explosion and more killing.

In the days following the blast, all the big names in Indonesian security and intelligence descend on the area. Central Sulawesi police commander Arianto Sutardi tells me the investigation is going well.

Reporter (Translation): Sir, have you any idea who the perpetrators are?

Arianto Sutardi, police commander (Translation): We've arrested some already and we're pursuing others.

Then national police chief Dai Bachtiar, the man receiving all the foreign cash arrives to assert his authority. After less than one hour on the ground, he's made his assessment.

Dai Bachtiar (Translation): We all hope... incidents like this are criminal acts, we need to expose the perpetrators and put them on trial. People entrust this task to the security forces.

Considering the evidence of corruption here and the police chief's record of enforcing justice, that's unlikely.

George Aditjondro's research has uncovered a scam involving local police who have looted up to $2 million for the resettlement of refugees.

George Aditjondro: You can see a cabal involving both the district head, the acting district head at the time, certain police agents, certain people within the department of social affairs and their friends. They were carrying out both the corruption as well as using the corruption money to pay the terrorists. So you can see we are talking about home grown terrorism paid by home grown corruption.

He says the May 28 Tentena blasts were an attempt to stop honest police uncovering more about their scam.

George Aditjondro: You can say that the bombing can be seen as the apex, the ultimate development of the kind of terror which they were committing. It had gone as far as paying police to decapitate a village head man, the village head man of Pinadapa.

The corrupt and murderous cabal identified by Aditjondro is now suing him and the police seem to be in no hurry at all to follow up the leads as he identified. Instead on his departure the police chief Dai Bachtiar offers another bland statement about the certain groups responsible for the violence.

Dai Bachtiar (Translation): The situation seemed so promising but certain groups have taken advantage of it to carry out actions such as bombings, which of course will again cause fear and anxiety.

As Dai Bachtiar's plane heads back to Jakarta, more bigwigs arrive. Syamsir Siregar is the recently appointed head of the national intelligence agency BIN. His appearance is supposed to inspire confidence in this investigation. But BIN has a long- standing dismal reputation in Indonesia for dirty tricks.

The agency is currently fending off damning evidence that it was behind the poisoning of Indonesia's best known human rights campaigner, Munir Said Thalib. As I reported earlier this year, Munir was given a lethal dose of arsenic in his orange juice on a Garuda flight to Europe.

On the Tentena bomb investigation, Siregar has nothing to say.

Reporter (Translation): If you don't want to talk about this, what about the Munir case? How's the internal investigation into the involvement of...

Syamsir Siregar (Translation): You speak good Indonesian!

Reporter (Translation): If any rogue elements are involved, what will you do?...

Syamsir Siregar (Translation): We'll take action. I've given orders to act against rogue elements.

Rogue elements indeed. Travelling with him is Timbul Silaen, he was police chief during the carnage in East Timor. He was acquitted of crimes against humanity, one of several commanders who escaped justice for orchestrating the bloodshed. Now he's officially retired from the police force. So what on earth is Timbul Silaen doing here with the new chief of intelligence? Is he just along for the ride or is he now on the intelligence payroll? Whatever the answer, the continuing role of these same old state terrorists is truly disturbing.

It's no wonder the locals are now deeply suspicious of anyone sent in to protect them. While the police can claim some success arresting terrorists in Java, in this region results are few and far between.

After years of state sponsored terror, no-one wants to help the authorities. This woman jokes that fear of talking to the police has become a popular movement.

Woman (Translation): The tight lipped movement. People don't want to be witnesses. They are scared so they shut up, if they see something they deny it, they're scared.

The first real break in the investigation comes a week after the attack and leads police to, of all places, Poso prison. Incredible as it may sound, a police forensics team finds evidence the bomb was manufactured in the workshop, used for prisoner rehabilitation.

Police (Translation): It's a workshop for teaching them welding skills.

The fact that the bomb may have been assembled in a state-run facility further bolsters the central thrust of Aditjondro's remarkable research. That there is high level involvement in terror in Sulawesi.

George Aditjondro: What we have found out is just the tip of the iceberg. It shows a permanent pattern which has been going on for the last five years.

For the record, the authorities reject his allegations.

(6) Questions about Bali:

Two weeks after the second Bali attack and despite plenty of help from the Australian Federal Police, Indonesian authorities are still pursuing the culprits.

But a familiar pattern has emerged. Asia's most wanted men, the so-called masters of disguise, Dr Azahari and Noordin Top have been named as the masterminds. And once again everyone is insinuating Jemaah Islamiah is behind the bombs.

That may eventually be proved correct, but so far no evidence has been produced, at least publicly, to back that claim. As we've shown tonight, after enduring years of state-sponsored terror, it's no wonder many Indonesians question what they're being told about this latest atrocity.

George Aditjondro: You hear again the sources -- the statements that it was carried out by Azahari and Noordin Mohammed Top and a radical Muslim groups behind it. Although what I heard is this actually shows a rivalry, internal rivalry within the armed forces.

George Aditjondro didn't provide any evidence to back his allegation, but theories like this are hard to write off just yet.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid tried in vain to rein the military and it cost him the presidency. In 2003 just after the Marriott Hotel blast, he was clearly frustrated by foreign intelligence claims that JI were to blame.

Abdurrahman Wahid: They can say whatever they want but we are here, we live here, we know them. But I won't say who.

Reporter: But you know who it is, you think?

Abdurrahman Wahid: No, no, I don't know. When I said that I meant we cannot know -- we cannot know the truth about that. That is the problem always.

Reporter: But that bomb has been blamed also on Jemaah Islamiah.

Abdurrahman Wahid: Yeah, I know but you don't have any kind of proof.

The proof is that the bomb is similar to that belong to the police.

It's a problem for us then. Every bomb there until now it belongs to the government.

Today is the third anniversary of the first Bali attack that saw 202 people killed, including 88 Australians. Abdurrahman Wahid now has questions about that attack as well.

While some regard him as an Eccentric, he is the former president and is often described as the conscience of the nation, revered by tens of millions of moderate Muslims. As such, he's one of only a few people publicly prepared to canvass the unthinkable -- that Indonesian authorities may have had a hand in the Bali atrocity.

He believes that the plan for the second, massive at the Sari Club, which caused the majority of casualties, was hatched way above the head of uneducated villagers like Amrozi.

Abdurrahman Wahid: Amrozi was involved in the lighter bomb. That's a problem always. Even though I agree that he should be given a stiff punishment, but it doesn't mean that he is involved. No, no, no.

Reporter: So you believe that the Bali bombers had no idea that there was a second bomb?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Yeah, precisely.

Reporter: And who would you suggest planted the second bomb?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Well, it looks like the police.

Reporter: The police?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Or the armed forces, I don't know.

Wahid's speculation is chilling and again there's no evidence to support it. But there's no doubt that he's a barometer of how many Indonesians view the whole terror campaign.

(7) Back to the future:

This ceremony in July marked a significant moment in the evolution of Indonesia's fight against terrorism. The nation's most senior police watched as their chief, Dai Bachtiar, was replaced by General Sutanto, touted as a cleanskin.

Following his swearing in, he made an impressive start -- launching a high profile anti-drug campaign and promising to crack down on rampant corruption within the police force. But for now, he's getting familiar with the rhetoric required for the job.

General Sutanto (Translation): We are sharing experience with other countries in order to eradicate the terrorism.

But it's not the experience sharing with other countries that matters, like every police chief before him, he will only ever play second fiddle to the army and will struggle to control the cabal of rogue elements who still wield massive power here. Abdurrahman Wahid says that no policeman would dare to properly investigate repeated allegations that their big brothers in the military are involved in the terror campaign.

Abdurrahman Wahid: They know it's against see, what they do -- was against you see, several, you know, senior officers, even of the police itself. So they don't want to be involved.

Reporter: Because?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Of the fear.

Reporter: The fear of what? Of the senior officers that are involved in this?

Abdurrahman Wahid: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

At the moment it's the police who are receiving all the equipment, support and training to take on the terrorists. At the opening of this multimillion dollar training facility, which is part funded by Australia, the Indonesians were keen to show off their skills. The war on terror has brought the two nations closer together, but any Australian concerns about corruption and human rights in this new partnership appear to have been put aside for now.

But the Indonesian police's leading role in the fight against terror may be about to change anyway. In the wake of the latest attack in Bali, President Yudhoyono has taken steps to rehabilitate the military's tarnished name and bring them back into the counter terror drive.

For those who risked their lives opposing Suharto's brutal military, it's a disturbing thought. That the retired general, President Yudhoyono, known in Indonesia by his initials Sbyeah, may be ushering in a return to those bad old days.

George Aditjondro: Now, General SBY, himself, he doesn't like to be called general SBY, he likes to be called Dr SBY has made the statement that the military is ready to help, to assist the police in chasing the terrorists. In other words, the military is looking for an alibi for a reason to reconsolidate their power as during the Suharto period.

Government must heed protest over territorial commands

Detik.com - October 12, 2005

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta -- The plan to reactivate the territorial commands (Koter) down to the village level continues to spark polemic. Even the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Hidayat Nurwahid, has asked the government to consider the objections that have surfaced among the public.

Nurwahid said he had received a number of SMS messages about the public's objection to the reactivation of Babinsa, the lowest institutional level of Koter. He has also obtained information that a number of Babinsa have gone to pesantrens (traditional Islamic boarding schools) asking about Kiais' (Islamic scholar, head of pesantren) activities outside of the pesantrens.

It is because of this he is appealing to the government to pay attention to the public's objections, in order that the TNI's (Indonesian military) proactive role in fighting terrorism can be more effective.

"The government must respond to this. Because this opposition is indeed not coming from a large mountain, but from the smallest pebbles", he said giving an analogy.

Nurwahid believes that the TNI's involvement in fighting terrorism could actually be in the form of effective coordination between TNI intelligence and other intelligence institutions along with cooperating with police to prevent terrorism.

"The reactivation of Babinsa will revive the social trauma of the New Order period, this discourse must therefore be truly be taken into consideration in cabinet meetings", said the Prosperity and Justice Party politician.

Nurwahid is also appealing to the House of Representatives to supervise government policy linked with the reactivation of Koter. He is proposing that a legal umbrella be formed on the TNI's participatory role in assisting the fight against terrorism in order that friction does not occur with the police in the field. (umi)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Trouble at the top

The Guardian - October 11, 2005

John Aglionby -- Indonesian police today announced the first arrest in connection with the October 1 Bali suicide bombings in which 23 people, including the attackers, were killed.

Identified only as Hasan S, the 45-year-old construction worker from the East Java town of Jember, allegedly shared a boarding house room in the Bali capital, Denpasar, in late September with one of the three young men who detonated 10kg backpack bombs in cafes on the island.

If Mr Hasan proves to be linked to the plot, his arrest would be the first major breakthrough in the investigation. It has so far made little progress, despite more than 250 people being interviewed and the faces of all three alleged bombers surviving largely intact.

A police spokesman, Senior Commander Bambang Kuncoko, yesterday admitted to Guardian Unlimited that the masterminds, thought to include the Islamist extremists allegedly responsible for major bombings across the country over the last three years, have improved their techniques. "We have learnt from our experience of investigating previous bombings... but it appears that the terrorists have altered their tactics too," he said.

After the 2002 Bali bombings, in which 202 people were killed in explosions in two nightclubs, the police were on the trail of the bombers within days after tracing one of the vehicles they used.

This time, no vehicles were used, and there are far fewer clues for investigators to work with. But analysts believe the authorities' problems are much more profound than a lack of leads.

After the fall of the dictator Suharto in 1998, responsibility for internal security and countering terrorism was taken out of the hands of the all-powerful military and given to the police.

The first problem was that the police did not have either the experience or the capacity to face the challenge. "Unlike the military, who had personnel in almost every village, the police didn't, and still don't have the people to extend [their intelligence networks] to the subdistricts," Ken Conboy, a Jakarta-based security and intelligence analyst, explained.

The military intelligence agency (Bais) and the State Intelligence Agency (Bin) therefore continued to remain extremely active in counter-terrorism work.

That did not mean the war on terrorism recorded rapid successes, however, because inter-agency squabbling and rivalry quickly materialised and has only recently started to abate.

"Things have come a long way, particularly in the last year or so," Mr Conboy said. "But they were starting from nothing -- or, some would say, even lower than that -- because the different agencies were so competitive that they were even obstructing each other." Last year, some police intelligence officers were deployed to Bin provincial offices for the first time, and this year the police's Security Intelligence Agency has started to expand.

Foreign donors have also poured tens of millions of pounds into counter-terrorism training, particularly for the police. This improved cooperation has yielded some positive results but, when faced with the latest high-profile challenge, the civilian security forces have failed to deliver.

Clearly angry and frustrated with the poor progress, the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, instructed the military in his recent armed forces day speech to take a more active role in domestic counter-terrorism.

Military chief General Endriartono Sutarto interpreted this as an order to reactivate the Suharto-era regional command network, mentioned above, which deployed troops to the village level. Human rights activists and opposition politicians immediately slammed the development as a regressive step on Indonesia's transition to a mature democracy.

Gen Sutarto's implementation of his orders has yet to be announced. It will undoubtedly be a significant symbolic step but, in many respects, there is likely to be little change from the current situation because the regional command network is still present in many villages.

Furthermore, it is arguable how much more effective the war on domestic terrorism will be because, while Bais and Bin have an excellent track record in gathering information, they are less competent at applying it.

"Analysis has always been their shortfall," Mr Conboy said. "They're vacuum cleaners. They can suck up a lot of stuff, but they're bottom heavy. Back at HQ in the analysis section, they've only got a couple of guys." This might change soon if Mr Yudhoyono gets his way and persuades parliament to pass a highly contentious intelligence bill, which is still being drafted.

But until there is an institutional shake-up or the authorities get a lucky break, terrorist leaders such as Azahari Husin and Noordin Top, who are thought to have masterminded the major blasts over the last few years, are likely to remain at large.

"After all, they've had agents chasing them for the last three years and they're still able to carry out annual deadly attacks," one western diplomat said.

TNI's role in terror fight still debated

Jakarta Post - October 12, 2005

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Debate is stirring among government officials following President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's request that the Indonesian Military (TNI) actively help crack down on terrorists last week.

Top officials gathered on Tuesday to discuss the issue, but were not yet able to formulate an appropriate task for the military whose role has been reduced to defense affairs since 1999.

"We are still defining a framework of cooperation between the police and the military," National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Sjamsir Siregar said after a meeting on political, legal and security affairs on Tuesday. He refused to elaborate.

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono, who also attended the meeting, said the TNI would assist the police by making use of its "eyes and ears". Dismissing fears of the reinstatement of New Order style repressive measures, Juwono underlined there would be an intelligence operation to hunt down terrorists.

"Our national defense system requires cooperation between the TNI and the police to fight terrorism nationwide. Indeed, our soldiers have been trained to take preemptive measures, but I must emphasize that in the war on terror the TNI will only supply intelligence information to the police and the police will still take the lead," Juwono said.

A different opinion was voiced by Insp. Gen. (ret) Ansja'ad Mbai of the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs. Ansja'ad said TNI territorial commanders could have the authority to arrest suspected terrorists before handing them over to the police.

"If we want the whole country to be protected from any kind of terror threats, then we must empower all elements of this nation to take part in the war on terror. Even regional military commanders should be authorized to arrest terror suspects," he said after the meeting. "But, of course, the commanders must immediately hand over the suspects to the police."

The bombings on the resort island of Bali on Oct. 1 have prompted the President to order the TNI to be proactive in taking measures to prevent further attacks. In response, TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said he would reactivate the much-criticized TNI territorial function.

During the New Order era, the territorial function enabled the military to play a sociopolitical role, which then led to rampant human rights abuses. The reform movement following the fall of the New Order government in 1998 returned the task of security to the police, with the TNI playing a supporting role. But Law No. 34/2004 on military reform did not scrap the TNI's territorial structure, ranging from the provincial to village levels.

In order to prevent abuses from recurring, critics have suggested that the government allow the military to merely intensify its intelligence capacity, but make sure the leading role remains in the hands of the police.

YLBHI rejects reactivation of territorial commands

Aceh Kita - October 11, 2005

Banda Aceh -- The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) opposes the current discourse on the reactivation of the territorial commands (Koter) by the TNI (Indonesian military) as a response to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's instruction to the TNI to assist in combating terrorism.

This is bearing in mind the experience of the New Order where the presence of the TNI from the national level (TNI headquarters), Kodam, Korem, Kodim, Koramil and even Babinsa(1) became a tool to control and limit political space. It is this social and political function of Koter that is of concern, that it will return Indonesia to the era of authoritarianism under the New Order.

In a press release received by Aceh Kita, YLBHI said that Koter does not have to be reactivated in order to monitor terrorist activities. The prevention of and tacking of terrorism can be left to police who in fact also have a structure down to the village level along with the government bureaucracy down to the community and neighborhood units (RT/RW).

YLBHI believes that the penchant to revive the TNI's regional influence as it existed in the era of the New Order became even more apparent when the Jakarta regional military commander, Major General Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo, asserted that the TNI would reactivate 1,680 Babinsa throughout Jakarta. The plan to reactivate Koter continued YLBHI, represents the military's mistrust and reluctance to surrender matters of maintaining security to the civilian authorities.

"The empowerment which must be carried out should not be the empowerment or reactivation of Babinsa, rather the empowerment of the functions of security and public order by the police along with strengthening community policing by the public", said YLBHI's director of civil and political rights, Donny Ardyanto, in a press release received by Aceh Kita on Tuesday October 11.

It is because of this said Ardyanto, that YLBHI is making three recommendations: Firstly, a national security system must be setup in accordance with Indonesia's geopolitical conditions, which covers national defense and internal security.

In addition to this, YLBHI is recommending that there must be an optimization of the intelligence institutions by improving coordination between the existing institutions along with coordination between intelligence institutions and the national police to spearhead the enforcement of law and security. The final recommendation meanwhile is that in coordinating with the public in tackling terrorism it must continue to prioritise the police in the application of community policing.

The minister of defence, Juwono Sudarsono meanwhile, has said that reactivating the territorial commands will assist the national police in confronting the threat of terrorism and there is no need for recent concern over the issue.

"This time round it will not be a repeat of the Koter of the past era which supported a particular political party. Koter will assist the national police in [combating] terrorism", explained Sudarsono following a political and security working meeting at the department of political, legal and security affairs in Jakarta on Tuesday October 11. [dzie]

Notes:

1. The TNI's territorial command structure mandates the deployment of military command posts and detachments at all levels of the civil administration: provincial, district, sub- district and village. This structure provides the organisational framework for the TNI to act as a political security force at all levels of society. The five respective commands are: Kodam - Komando Daerah Militer, Regional Military Command; Korem - Komando Resort Militer, Military Command at a level below the residency; Kodim - Komando Distrik Militer, District Military Command; Koramil - Komando Rayon Militer, Sub-District Military Command (Kecamatan) level and; Babinsa - Bintara Pembina Desa, Noncommissioned military officer posted in villages and wards and affiliated with the civilian administration.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Beware of territorial commands as tool to preserve power

Detik.com - October 11, 2005

Nala Edwin, Jakarta -- The public is being encouraged to study and be on guard against the TNI's (Indonesian military) efforts to revive the territorial commands (Koter) as a means to preserve the power of the current administration. The TNI has even been asked not to become involved in politics again.

This was conveyed to journalists by Jakarta's former deputy- governor and elderly retired TNI officer Major General Basofi Sudirman at the Le Meridien Hotel on Jalan Sudirman in Jakarta on Tuesday October 11.

"The TNI must learn from past mistakes and not let Koter become a political tool for certain parties", said Sudirman.

Sudirman also took the opportunity to admit he is optimistic that if the Koter is revived terrorist acts will be easy to detect. Nevertheless in order to prevent pass mistakes - that is Koter being used for certain political interests - public supervision is extremely important.

He related one of the successes of Koter when it uncovered a planned bombing of the Borobudur Temple in Central Java. At the time information on the perpetrators could be gathered by the public through Koter.

"That is the usefulness of Koter to gather as much information as possible from the public", said the retired two-star general. (san)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Indonesia can't ban Jamaah Islamiyah: Kalla

Jakarta Post - October 10, 2005

Jakarta -- Vice President Yusuf Kalla said on Sunday the government cannot ban Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), an Islamic militant group blamed for a series of terror bombs in Indonesia, arguing that it has never been recognized under the law in the first place.

Kalla was asked to respond to Australia's demand that Indonesia outlaw JI following the second bomb attack in Bali, which killed at least 23 people including three suicide bombers.

Police have said the suicide bombers were a "new generation" of JI, which the Vice President said was a "formless organization".

"For us, the existence of that organization (JI) is not organized, so how can we disband it," Kalla told the press after closing a batik event at the Jakarta Convention Center. "If we have not recognized it and do not know its members, how can we ban it," he stressed.

However, despite its "formless" existence, JI has often been linked by police investigators with bombers who carried out terror attacks in the past few years.

Kalla said the government would take firm action against any organization found guilty of violating prevailing laws.

Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer is to travel to Indonesia this week and is expected to lobby the government to ban the regional terrorist network.

JI was blamed for the first Bali attack in 2002 which killed 202 people including 88 Australians, and its alleged religious leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was jailed for conspiracy over the bombing, but no action was taken to outlaw it as his terror trial failed to link him with the organization.

Police intensify search for Bali suspects

Associated Press - October 8, 2005

Mike Casey, Bali -- Investigators desperate for a breakthrough in the Bali terrorist attacks on Saturday dropped thousands of photos of the two suspected masterminds over a city close to where one of the fugitives narrowly escaped capture a day earlier.

A helicopter flew low over the city of Solo and the surrounding area in Central Java province early Saturday, releasing 10,000 photographs of Noordin Mohamed Top and Azahari bin Husin, believed to be key leaders in the Southeast Asia-based terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been linked to al-Qaida.

Police have struggled to produce any firm leads since suicide bombers launched near-simultaneous attacks on three crowded cafes in Bali tourist resorts in Kuta district and nearby Jimbaran beach on Oct. 1.

The death toll in the attacks climbed to 23 -- including the three bombers -- after one of the injured died Friday in a hospital.

Noordin slipped away from authorities Friday, fleeing a remote village in Central Java province's Purwantoro district hours before a raid by anti-terror police, police said.

Noordin and Azahari are two of Southeast Asia's most wanted men. But the two Malaysians have kept one step ahead of a massive hunt for years, moving constantly in densely populated areas of this sprawling nation of 220 million people and more than 10,000 islands.

Noordin and Azahari are suspected of orchestrating the Bali strike -- perhaps with the help of groups or individuals outside the Jemaah Islamiyah network, which has been severely weakened by the arrests of several key leaders in recent years, police said.

Jemaah Islamiyah is also believed to have been behind the Oct. 12, 2002 nightclub bombings on Bali which killed 202 people, and the 2003 and 2004 blasts at the J.W. Marriott hotel and the Australian Embassy, both in Jakarta, which together killed 22 people.

Acting on a tip, about 20 officers moved in on the house in Purwantoro before dawn on Friday, only to learn that Noordin had fled nearly three hours earlier, said Abdul Madjid, a police chief in Solo.

"We can confirm it was him," said Madjid, adding that police had been forced to delay the raid by several hours because they were worried he was armed with explosives. By the time reinforcements arrived, "it was too late."

Police have claimed several times in the past few years to have narrowly missed capturing the fugitives, most recently in the West Javanese city of Bandung two years ago.

There was no way to independently confirm if the man who escaped Friday was in fact Noordin. However, investigators appeared to be making headway in other areas of their investigation. Central Java's Police Chief Maj. Gen. Chairul Rasyid said authorities were close to identifying two of the three suicide bombers.

He also revealed that the wife of another top terror suspect -- Zulkarnaen -- made phone calls to the island days before the strike. "Three days before the bombings last week, his wife made several phone calls to Bali," Madjid told The Associated Press. "We have given the phone numbers that she contacted to the Bali police for them to trace them." Zulkarnaen goes by only one name.

Indonesia's top anti-terror official, Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, also revealed that jailed Jemaah Islamiyah members, including Noordin's bodyguard, told police two months before the Bali bombings that the network was plotting a terrorist attack in Indonesia.

He declined to give further details about the plot or the arrests, saying only he was convinced Noordin and Azahari were involved. "It was clearly them," Mbai told reporters.

Police say one of their main priorities is identifying the bombers. Doing so could help them hunt down the masterminds and if Jemaah Islamiyah is involved, give them a better understanding about the organization's evolving strategy.

The suicide bombers were part of a "new generation" of terrorists, and were likely recruited only recently -- perhaps specifically for the Bali weekend attacks -- said Bali police chief Maj. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika. Photographs of the bombers' severed heads, found yards from the blast sites, have been circulated in the media nationwide and shown to several jailed Jemaah Islamiyah members. So far, none of the militants have claimed to recognize them.

Bali death toll rises as key suspect escapes raid

Reuters - October 8, 2005

Tomi Soetjipto, Kuta Beach -- Police questioned more witnesses in the Bali backpack bombings on Saturday after narrowly failing to capture a key suspect in a series of blasts in Indonesia over the past several years.

The death toll from the blasts one week ago has risen to 23 -- including the three suicide bombers who strolled into packed restaurants on Indonesia's resort island with explosives hidden in backpacks, police said.

A 20-year-old restaurant worker died late on Friday of internal bleeding said Wayan Sutarga, medical services director at Sanglah hospital in Denpasar. He was the 15th Indonesian victim of the blasts, which also killed four Australians and a Japanese and wounded 146.

Police have questioned a total of 152 witnesses over the past week in connection with the blasts, but no one has been arrested or charged, Soenarko Dhanu Artanto, National Police deputy spokesman told reporters on Saturday.

Police narrowly missed catching Noordin M. Top, 35, during a pre-dawn raid in the central Java village of Purwantoro, Abdul Madjid, police chief in the city of Solo, told Reuters late on Friday.

Noordin and fellow Malaysian Azahari bin Husin, identified by police and intelligence officials as leaders of the al Qaeda- linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) militant network, are leading targets of the search for those with possible ties to the Bali blasts.

JI seeks to create an Islamic state across broad swathes of Muslim Southeast Asia, experts say.

Leaflets dropped on markets Madjid said police had information Noordin visited Bali near the time of the bombings, but it wasn't clear whether he was there when the blasts occurred. A US trained anti-terror force called Detachment 88 took part in the raids, he said.

Police helicopters on Saturday dropped thousands of leaflets with pictures of Top and Noordin on traditional markets throughout central Java. The leaflets said: "These are dangerous terrorists! If you see them, please report to the nearest police. The two Malaysians were implicated in bombings in Bali three years ago that killed 202 people, and subsequent deadly attacks on a luxury hotel in Jakarta in 2003 and outside the Australian embassy in the Indonesian capital in 2004.

The United States announced this week it was offering rewards of $10 million and $1 million respectively for information leading to the capture of Dulmatin and Umar Patek, two suspects in the 2002 Bali bombings.

The State Department said both were JI members and Dulmatin was an electronics specialist who had trained at al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Bali moving on Some police and experts say JI in its original form was largely destroyed by arrests and convictions after earlier attacks, and the group behind the latest attacks may be a new Islamic militant organization or a violent offshoot of JI.

Most Muslims in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, are moderate but militancy has grown in recent years.

As the police search went on across the country, in Bali ordinary people were trying to move on with their lives.

"Our driver died in the first blast. Luckily everyone is safe now," said Felix Harahap, operator of an ice-cream store near the site of one of the bombings, Raja's cafe.

"We will not be disturbed. So that's why as soon as the police took off the police line, we started cleaning up and opened the shop," he said.

Just opposite Raja's, at a store selling bikinis and women's dresses, shop assistant Made Wijaya, 35, told Reuters: "I think we just have to face the situation. Hopefully there will be no (more) Bali bombings... But for me it's important to open the shop very soon so we can have costumers again."

[Additional reporting by Telly Nathalia in Jakarta]

Antiterror chief supports TNI plan to curb terrorism

Jakarta Post - October 8, 2005

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- A top antiterror official has voiced support for the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s controversial plan to reactivate its territorial function to help curb terrorism in the country, saying the policy would give military intelligence officers the ability to "infiltrate" communities where terrorist groups develop their networks.

Insp. Gen. (ret) Ansja'ad Mbai, the head of the antiterror desk at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, said terrorism was a well-planned crime that required everything from the recruitment and integration of members into local communities, to the purchase of bomb materials for attacks.

He said only the military had the technical know-how and the infrastructure to counter the extensive networks of terrorist groups.

"This is what we call a community-based intelligence system, and it allows the military's intelligence officers even to infiltrate the hard-liners in a bid to destroy their networks from the inside. Terrorism is an extraordinary crimes that requires extraordinary measures," Ansja'ad said at his office on Friday.

However, he refused to blame the National Police and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) for failing to expand their intelligence networks to counter the terrorist threat. The law stipulates that fighting domestic terrorism is the domain of the police, while the military is focussed on dealing with external threats.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged the TNI to play an active role in the fight against terrorism after last weekend's Bali bombings, and TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said the military would reactivate its territorial command.

The essence of the territorial command is the sociopolitical role played by the military, which was abolished after the fall of former president Soeharto to prevent the kind of rights abuses and involvement in politics by the military that was seen during Soeharto's New Order regime.

According to military analyst Andi Widjayanto from the University of Indonesia, the idea of reviving the territorial function goes against the spirit of the military's internal reform, which is mandated by Article 11 of Law No. 34/2004 on the TNI.

He acknowledged that Article 11 did not specifically state that the military's territorial function could not be revived, but "reviving the territorial function clearly violates the spirit of the law".

But he said that if it was decided that reviving the territorial function was the only practical way to curb terrorism, the government would have to impose controls on the military to prevent it from abusing its powers.

He also suggested that the government restructure its antiterror desk, which is currently under the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, rather than reactivate the military's territorial function.

"The antiterror desk could be restructured to be an independent agency, and it is headed by a three-star police general. This agency would then be directly responsible to the president," Andi said.

Babinsa 'crucial' to help stamp out terrorists

Jakarta Post - October 8, 2005

A'an Suryana, Jakarta -- The role of the Babinsa, non- commissioned officers assigned to villages, is again in the spotlight, following the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief's suggestion they be reinstated to fight terrorism.

On Wednesday, just four days after last Saturday's bombings in Bali killed at least 21 people, Gen. Endriartono Soetarto suggested the TNI reinstate it's territorial command, including the Babinsa, to help the National Police track down the terrorists.

TNI Spokesman Maj. Gen. Tohirin Sugarda said the military was drawing up an implementation plan to allow TNI personnel nationwide to assist police. While the details over the plan are still sketchy, military officers in the field have voiced support for the strengthening of the Babinsa.

Assigned down to the village level, the Babinsa were once the vanguard of the TNI's territorial command, living side-by-side with the local community, and monitoring and reporting suspicious residents to the intelligence authorities.

But, the role of Babinsa was curtailed after the reform of the TNI began in 1999. When the military was separated from the police in that year, many of the roles of military intelligence and community policing were given to police personnel. The Babinsa's duties were then confined to collecting strategic intelligence data.

"The territorial command, including the Babinsa is still there, but the Babinsa's role is now limited. They are no longer involved in social and political activities, and now their duties are largely confined to administrative ones, such as recording population data in certain subdistricts, how many boats local fishermen posses and other related social, economic and intelligence data," Gen. Tohirin told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The limited, some say dormant, role of the Babinsa is compounded by the lack of personnel and poor equipment on the ground. A senior military officer in Lampung, Lt. Col. Dadi, said there were only around 800 Babinsa operatives still working in Lampung province, while the ideal number should be about 2,000.

Many Babinsa lacked motorcycles or walkie-talkies, making their use to the military limited, said Dadi, the chief of territorial section at the Garuda Hitam Military Command in Lampung province. Meanwhile, although the TNI have long argued that the role of the Babinsa was instrumental in the fight against terror, however, NGO activists and House of Representatives legislators have reiterated that any reactivation of the territorial command should be rejected. The measure would only increase abuses of locals, especially striking factory workers, and could cause further violations of human rights, said Attoillah, an executive with the Surabaya Legal Aid Institute.

[With additional reporting of Oyos Saroso in Bandarlampung, Indra Harsaputra in Surabaya and Suherjoko in Semarang.]

Government/civil service

SBY gets 'C' in communication skills

Jakarta Post - October 13, 2005

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta -- After a year in power, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seems unable to improve his political communication skills so as to sustain his popularity, some experts say.

A number of political communications experts on Tuesday gave the President an average grade "C" or "6" for his administration's capabilities in communicating its policies to the public.

"This grade would allow the President to pass an examination, but he needs to take extra classes to improve his score," said Effendi Gazali, a professor in political communications.

Effendi was among the scholars who had gathered at the University of Indonesia's Salemba campus in Central Jakarta to appraise the President's performance after one year in office.

Effendi said both Susilo and his ministers had practiced an "illogical, unsympathetic and self-centered style of communication".

"For example, the President once said he did not sleep enough because of his devotion to serving the public. That's not the point; he could sleep as much as he wanted to as long as, for example, he could provide a sufficient supply of kerosene at an affordable price to the people," Effendi said.

Sukardi Rinakit of the Sugeng Sarjadi Syndicated polling organization said the President's failures as regards political communication were affected by disharmony between him and his vice president, Jusuf Kalla.

In political communication, the relationship between the actors is vital as once it is disrupted, an open conflict will emerge.

"The government's plan to raise fuel prices is a good example. The President said the increase would range between 35 percent and 50 percent and that it would take effect next year. But, the Vice President said it could exceed 50 percent and would come into effect in October. This shows that the two men did not share the same vision and mission in governing this country," Sukardi said.

Therefore, Sukardi urged the President to take back power by ordering his Vice President to refrain from making political statements. "The President must tell his Vice President that the political statements are for him to make," Sukardi asserted.

Sugeng Sarjadi Syndicated's most recent polls, conducted in January and September, revealed that 20 out of 33 ministers scored below 6, with only the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of defense receiving grades of more than 7. "Those who scored below 6 should pack their bags," Sukardi said.

Alfan Alfian, research director of The Akbar Tanjung Institute, said that even though Susilo's public speaking skills earned him popularity, he faced problems in communicating with senior politicians.

"He has problems in communicating with former presidents and senior politicians, such as Gus Dur, Megawati and Wiranto. Therefore, every time these noted politicians meet, Susilo's supporters become scared," Alfan claimed.

Alfan asserted that Susilo's biggest failing in his first year in office was his poor managerial skills. "A manager's duty is to delegate work to his or her subordinates... But, what the President has been doing is shouldering all the work himself," said Alfan, adding that this could cost Susilo the public's trust.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng did not deny the President's weaknesses, but said that no other world leader was as accessible to the people as Susilo.

"There is no president or prime minister except him who provides a direct access to the public to communicate with him, albeit by text message," said Andi, who himself holds a PhD in political science. Susilo receives 1,500 text messages every day, mostly expressing support and prayers for his administration.

"That's not all. In order to reply to the senders, the President gives live radio broadcasts on the Elshinta and Trijaya radio stations. That shows that he wants to communicate with the public," Andi told the audience, made up mostly of postgraduate students majoring in political communications.

Public services remain poor despite status change

Jakarta Post - October 10, 2005

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang -- The Tangerang Regental Council (DPRD) has endorsed a bylaw that upgrades 77 villages in the regency into subdistricts, and regent Ismet Iskandar has sworn in village chiefs there as acting subdistrict heads.

But for the residents, things are pretty much the same. Public services are as poor as ever, while the performance of subdistrict heads and their apparatus remains mediocre after the bylaw that upgraded the villages was endorsed by the local council in early September.

"The upgrading of a village to a subdistrict has be followed with an improvement in services to the public and in the performance of subdistrict heads. Unfortunately, that has not happened," A. Rachman, a resident of Cipayung subdistrict, Ciputat told The Jakarta Post.

The Post observed over the weekend that it was business as usual for local officials, including subdistrict heads, after they were sworn in as acting subdistrict heads during a closed-door swearing-in ceremony at the Pondok Cabe Udik subdistrict office in Pamulang, Tangerang last Sept. 20.

Residents in Cipayung, for example, said that the performance of subdistrict officials was no different from the performance of village staff. Some residents had tried in vain for several days to see acting subdistrict chief Mahmuddin.

"Bapak (subdistrict head Mahmuddin) is accompanying Ibu (his wife)," said a subdistrict staff to several health officials who had came to ask for funds for the national immunization program (PIN).

Another guest coming to see the acting subdistrict head was also disappointed after being told that Mahmuddin had gone out. Mahmuddin's absence has encouraged his staff and office employees to do whatever they liked. Some staff were seen playing chess, others were just chatting, while others read newspapers.

A similar situation was also seen at Pondok Ranji and Pondok Aren subdistrict offices in Ciputat and Pondok Aren. "After being upgraded, the subdistrict officials should offer better services to the people since they are civil servants who receive a salary from the government," said Cecep Suherman, a resident of Pondok Ranji subdistrict.

He said civil servants cannot just work as they please. "Services to the public must be improved. If they work like in the past, what is the purpose of upgrading the village into a subdistrict," he said.

He also called on regental councillors to closely monitor the performance of subdistrict officials. "Regental councillors should make unannounced visits to villages so that they know what is good or what is bad after the status changed," he said.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Agriculture ministry hit by bird flu vaccine scam

Jakarta Post - October 8, 2005

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta -- Auditors have found massive corruption at the Ministry of Agriculture including a 2004 case relating to the production of bird flu vaccines for infected poultry.

Inspector General at the ministry, Zainal Baharuddin, who submitted the corruption report to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) on Friday for further investigation, said his team had found nine matters at the ministry between 1999 and 2004 that had resulted in losses to the state of some Rp 733 billion (US$73.3 million).

Zainal said that the largest graft case involved pharmaceutical companies inflating the cost of production of bird flu vaccines requested by the Ministry of Agriculture.

According to data from the Ministry, four companies are listed as the producers of the vaccines. They are PT Vaksindo, PT Medion, and government-owned Pusvetma and Balitvet.

"These vaccine producers intentionally lowered the vaccine quality in order to gain more profit from the contract value," Zainal said.

He explained that the vaccines produced by these companies had a low protection level of between 11.8 percent to 28 percent according to reports from poultry farmers in East Java, Central Java, West Java and Bali.

"They (the producers) also failed to meet standards set by the Office Internationale des Epizooties (OIE) in the production of the vaccines including by not using specific pathogen free (SPF) eggs as advised by OIE," Zainal said.

His team suspected that several high-ranking officials at the ministry were also involved in the case including the poultry health director general as well as the head of the food and drugs supervision agency.

Zainal said that his team had calculated around Rp 56.98 billion in state loss. He said that he would hand over the documents and evidence to the AGO for further investigation.

The team's report also alleged corruption in the disbursement of compensation funds for poultry farmers, who were forced by the government to cull their infected chickens in a bid to prevent bird flu from spreading to other parts of the country.

Zainal said that he had received reports from farmers across the country, including farmers from Central Java, that they had not received the funds because the money had been embezzled by administration officials.

The team also uncovered a smuggling case where meat from India, that had not been classified as free of mad cow disease, being labeled as meat imported from Australia and New Zealand to pass inspections in this country.

Other corruption cases are also listed in the report that mostly alleged graft in projects developed by the Ministry to assist farmers in rural areas, such as the Rural Rearing Multiplication Center (RRMC) which is a funding project aimed at indigenous chicken farmers. State losses in this case where predicted to reach around Rp 121.3 billion.

Probosutedjo admits to bribing judges

Jakarta Post - October 12, 2005

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta -- Former president Soeharto's half- brother Probosutedjo admitted on Tuesday to giving his lawyer Rp 6 billion (US$600,000) to bribe the Supreme Court chief and other court officials dealing with his appeal against his graft conviction.

Speaking after being questioned for four hours at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Probosutedjo said he intended to pay the bribe in order to win the appeal case as urged by his lawyer Harini Wiyoso.

"I told Ibu Harini that I had no more money but what would I do if the verdict stipulated that I had to go to jail. Therefore, I tried hard to borrow the money," he said.

Probosutedjo insisted that it was Harini who suggested he bribe Supreme Court officials to overturn his jail sentence handed down by the lower courts. "She told me that Rp 1 billion would be paid to the court employees, and the remaining Rp 5 billion to Supreme Court chief Bagir Manan," he said. Bagir chairs the panel of judges handling the appeal case.

Probosutedjo was convicted of abusing reforestation funds that cost the state over Rp 100 billion in losses. He was sentenced to four years in jail by the Central Jakarta District Court in 2003, but the Jakarta High Court later reduced the term to two years.

He was implicated in the bribery case following the recent arrest by the KPK of Harini and five officials of the Supreme Court for their alleged involvement in the scam. The KPK also confiscated some US$400,000 and Rp 800 million, which it believed were to be used as bribes to win Probosutedjo's appeal case.

Pleading innocence, Probosutedjo claimed that it was he who first reported the bribery attempt to the KPK last July after Harini offered to buy the Supreme Court verdict.

"My friend Pak Sri Edi Swasono and I went to the KPK to report this matter since there were so many people in the Supreme Court who also offered to facilitate an acquittal in the appeal case," he said.

Sri Edi, the husband of the current state minister for women's empowerment Meutia Hatta, accompanied Probosutedjo to the KPK office for Tuesday's questioning. Despite his bold confession, the KPK had not named Probosutedjo as a suspect in the bribery scam.

Probosutedjo even failed to answer when asked why he paid the bribe, while on the other hand he reported the bribery case to the KPK in July. He said he never confirmed with Bagir whether the latter asked him for money in exchange for the verdict, arguing that it was impossible for him to meet the chief justice.

Previously, Bagir denied allegations that he accepted a bribe from Probosutedjo through his court officials, but admitted he once met Harini and that when she started talking about the appeal case, he refused to respond.

Senior lawyer and cofounder of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (LBHI) Adnan Buyung Nasution urged Bagir on Tuesday to step down while the bribery case was being investigated. He said Bagir should show his responsibility as the Supreme Court chief by temporarily resigning from his position.

"Putting aside the issue of whether he is guilty or not, it would be a more honorable move if Bagir stepped down temporarily because that would have a positive effect on the legal system in the country," Buyung said as quoted by Antara.

The bribery case has tarnished the credibility of the country's highest legal institution.

YLBHI director Munarman said that corruption in the country's judiciary system was rampant, affecting around 60 percent to 70 percent of court officials.

"The corrupt system starts when someone reports a case to the police which then submit it to the prosecutors until the case reaches the court and there is the wait for a verdict," he added. He called on independent bodies such as the KPK and the Judicial Commission to take a more active role to eradicate such practices.

23 councillors put behind bars

Jakarta Post - October 12, 2005

Hasrul, Kendari -- Kendari district court on Tuesday sentenced 23 former city councillors to one year and six months in jail, adding to the long list of councillors around the country who have been incarcerated for graft.

The panel of judges declared that the defendants had stolen state money by including severance pay in the city council budget, despite there being no regulation that allows such a payment.

By including severance pay in the council budget, the councillors were stealing state money for their own gain and had to be punished, the judges said in their verdict. The panel of judges said in the case had caused state losses amounting to Rp 5.9 billion.

Most of the defendants, councillors who served Kendari city between 1999 and 2004, were not reelected in the 2004 general elections. Two remaining councillors -- namely Haeruddin Pondiu, the former council speaker, and Nurdin Halip, the former council secretary -- escaped prosecution as they have since passed away.

The court on Tuesday was marred by chaos with family members of the defendants crying hysterically after the verdict was read.

Police personnel tightly guarded the court building after a report that the former councillors would mobilize supporters to mount pressure against the panel of judges. The mobilization, however, did not materialize.

The 23 councillors joined hundreds of other regional councillors who have been put into jail for corruption. The waves of councillors incarcerated for graft began in year 2003 when dozens of West Sumatra provincial councillors were brought to court.

Red tape slows down graft probe

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2005

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta -- It appears that an investigation into alleged graft in the production of bird flu vaccine last year will not start anytime soon due to bureaucratic hurdles.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture is examining vaccine stocks after discovering the massive graft case which could affect the quality of the vaccines produced.

The ministry's Director of Animal Health Syamsul Bahri said his office would run tests on the vaccines currently in stock and circulation to determine whether they met the minimum specifications.

"Our laboratory capacity is limited so we will gradually test samples and decide which vaccines can continue to be used and which will have to be withdrawn from circulation," Bahri was quoted as saying by AFP.

The ministry's Inspector General Zainal Baharuddin had said that the vaccines, produced by PT Vaksindo, PT Medion and government- owned firms Pusvetma and Balitvet, had a low protection level of between 11.8 percent and 28 percent.

He said he suspected that senior ministry officials, working together with the four pharmaceutical companies, had inflated the cost of vaccine production to increase their profits.

Zainal estimated that the scam could inflict total losses of up to Rp 56.98 billion (US$5.7 million) on the taxpayer, adding that he had submitted the case files last Friday to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) along with those on eight other cases of corruption, which are believed to have caused around Rp 733 billion in state losses.

However, it could be some time before a probe is launched into the alleged graft cases, including the bird flu vaccine scam, due to lengthy bureaucratic procedures.

AGO spokesman Masyhudi Ridwan told The Jakarta Post on Monday the investigators could only begin working after receiving an order from the Attorney General, to whom the reports had been addressed.

"After the Attorney General studies the cases thoroughly, he will hand over the files to the deputy attorney general for special crimes, who will decide on who will conduct the investigation," Mashyudi said.

The deputy attorney general would then ask a chief investigator to form a team to handle the cases. The team would have to study the cases and ensure there was enough prima facie evidence before launching a probe.

"You see, it's not quite that simple to begin an investigation. So far, we haven't started the probe into the cases involving the agricultural ministry," Masyhudi said.

Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Hendarman Supandji said he just started to read the case files. Apart from the alleged bird flu vaccine scam, the agricultural ministry team also reported corruption in the payment of compensation to poultry farmers who had culled their flocks to prevent the virus from spreading.

Banten governor suspended indefinitely for corruption

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2005

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has suspended indefinitely Banten Governor Djoko Munandar to facilitate his prosecution for a corruption case.

Djoko, who was nominated by the National Mandate Party (PAN), is the second incumbent governor to have been suspended during Susilo's first year in office due to graft charges after Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh's suspension last year.

Djoko's suspension was stipulated in a presidential decree signed by Susilo on Monday, which was announced later in the day by presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng after a coordination meeting on the anticorruption drive at the presidential office.

Andi said the President had appointed Banten Deputy Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah to take over administrative duties while Djoko's prosecution was underway. "The suspension was issued following a letter of request from the Minister of Home Affairs dated Sept. 6," Andi said.

According to the presidential decree, the suspension is mandatory to support the judicial process against Djoko, who has been named a defendant, in accordance with Law No. 32/2004 on regional administration.

Djoko is facing trial in a graft case believed to have caused Rp 14 billion (US$1.4 million) in state losses. The case is centered in the alleged misuse of the 2003 Banten provincial budget. As the provincial legislature speaker Djoko allegedly took some Rp 3.5 billion to cover the activities of the councillors who debated the draft budget and another Rp 10.5 billion to illegally finance the construction of houses of 75 councillors.

Prosecutors have also named as suspects Dharmon K. Lawi, a former Banten council chairman who is now a House of Representatives legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P); Muslim Djamaludin, former deputy speaker of the Banten legislature; Tardian, the legislative council's secretary; Tuti Sutiah Indra, former secretary of the council's budgetary committee and Mufrodi Muchsin, the current deputy speaker of the council.

Puteh was suspended shortly after he was named a defendant in a mark-up case of a helicopter purchase, which caused Rp 12 billion in state losses. Puteh was sentenced to 10 years, a verdict recently upheld by the Supreme Court. Puteh also has to pay Rp 6 billion in restitution to the state.

Since assuming power last October, Susilo has issued permits to enable the investigation of the activities of nearly 40 regents who are implicated in corruption cases. The antigraft movement has now reached out to the judiciary corps, with the probe into alleged bribery involving Supreme Court officials.

KPK bans improper 'Idul Fitri' gifts

Jakarta Post - October 8, 2005

Jakarta -- The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) issued on Friday a circular warning state officials against accepting "inappropriate gifts" from others in relation to Idul Fitri.

The circular also requires state officials to report the gifts given to them -- be they in the form of money, products, discounted facilities, commission, travel tickets or others -- to the commission in accordance with the Anticorruption Law.

KPK chairman Taufiqurrahman Ruki, who signed the circular -- copies of which were made available to the press -- said state officials would have 30 days to report to the KPK after receiving such gifts.

He also appealed to them not to use state funds to buy Idul Fitri gifts for their bosses, saying the money would better be used to help the poor.

Gift vendors protested last year the antigraft commission's issuance of a similar circular, which they blamed for their declining sales.

State officials receive annually Idul Fitri gifts from their subordinates or businesspeople.

Environment

Newmont case resumes in Manado court

Jakarta Post - October 15, 2005

Jongker Rumteh, Manado -- The trial of a local subsidiary of US-based Newmont Mining Corp resumed at the Manado District Court on Friday, with its American president director insisting the company had nothing to do with a baby's death after the tearful mother showed the court a photo of the girl.

In the trial, which examined three witnesses, 40-year-old Masna Stirman, who lived near the company's now closed mine, showed a photo of her baby, Andini, who died in July 2004 at the age of five months. However, neither Masna nor the prosecutors, could specify Andini's cause of death or attempt to link her illness to the mine.

"As a father, I can feel your suffering, but I personally don't see any connection with our tailings," Richard Ness told the court, as quoted by Reuters, using the technical term for mine waste.

Newmont stopped mining on Sulawesi two years ago after extracting all the gold it could. But it continued processing ore until August 2004, when the mine was permanently shut.

The charges put on trial relate to the company's tailings disposal processes, which allegedly involved dumping mercury and arsenic into Buyat Bay.

Newmont has denied the charges in a case that foreign investors mostly view as evidence of the legal uncertainty that exists in the country.

However, environmentalists see the case as a test case for the government, which has been accused of being lax in enforcing environmental laws, especially toward multinational companies due to its need for foreign investment.

In Friday's trial, the team of prosecutors questioned the witnesses about the level of pollution in Buyat River and surrounding Buyat Pante village.

Witness Marjan Ismail alleged that the river, which is the residents' main water source, had been contaminated by the company's tailings. "We used to take drinking water from the river but now we can't do it anymore because we will fell sick and dizzy after drinking it," Marjan said.

Last week, three villagers living close to the mine testified they had suffered from lumps and dizziness among other complaints. They did not, however, link their illnesses to Newmont's mine.

The company's lawyers, Luhut Pangaribuan and Palmer Situmorang, accused the prosecutors on Friday of diverting from the main charge. "The main charge is about dumping the tailings in the sea but now the prosecutors shift the matter to (waste) in the river," Luhut said.

Presiding judge Ridwan Damanik decided that all -- both prosecutors and lawyers -- should go together to Buyat for direct observation. "In order to get a clear picture (of the charges), we all need to observe Buyat Pante village later," Ridwan said.

Ness, who faces up to 10 years in prison and the company a US$68,000 fine if convicted, told the court he saw no connection between the witnesses' illnesses and the company's tailings. He said the company had managed its waste according to international, environmental safety standards.

Prosecutor Purwanto declined to answer when asked whether medical experts planned to testify in the trial, and insisted that the charges against the company were strong. "It all depends on what element of the indictment you are looking at," he said, without elaborating.

The case will continue next week to examine more witnesses.

Illegal logging remains widespread in Lampung

Jakarta Post - October 14, 2005

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung -- Two drivers calmly gave themselves up to the police when they were apprehended in Bandarlampung recently with trucks laden with meranti and kruing timber.

They had their reasons to be calm. Held only for one night as witnesses, they were released the next morning with the trucks, which continued their trips to the port of Bakauheni for the ferry crossing to Java.

Detectives from the special crimes unit of the Lampung Police Headquarters released them after the Forest Products Authorization and Certification Agency stated that the documents the drivers produced were valid.

According to squad chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sufyan Syarif the trucks were carrying a total of 39.2 cubic meters of meranti and kruing wood. The certification agency's officers, Jaya Atmaja and Ade Sutadi, confirmed that the drivers had produced complete documents, meaning there was no reason to arrest them.

The truck drivers' release did not surprise the local director of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi), Mukri Priyatna, either.

Mukri questioned why the authorities were relying only on documents to certify the logs. It was impossible to get meranti and kruing woods in the province unless they came from trees the South Bukit Barisan National Park, the only place where such species grew, he said.

"The authorities shouldn't have only focussed on the documents; they should also discover whether the timber was illegally taken from the park," Mukri said.

In Bandarlampung, it is commonplace to see dozens of trucks carrying cut timber along the trans-Sumatra Highway.

The moment the drivers enter Bandarlampung at the Rajabasa area near the bus terminal, they stop their vehicles at a post, where they show their cargo documents before proceeding to the Bakauheni Port. If official or police at the post question the logs legitimacy the drivers immediately hand over money to them.

"About Rp 20,000 (US$2) is enough to hush them up. They'll let us continue our trip," Muhadi, a driver who claimed he often transported timber from the national park, said.

According to Walhi's data, tens of millions of cubic meters of illegally sawn timber are channeled out of Lampung and other provinces in Sumatra to Java through the Merak Port in Banten every month onboard large trucks. The drivers generally hold all the legitimate documents, including the Processed Timber (SAKO), Log Transportation (SAKB) and Forest Products Validation (SKSHH) certificates.

Mukri said the illegal trade of meranti, kruing and tenam woods from the national park was worth trillions of rupiah a month.

"The price of meranti is quite high, ranging from Rp 750,000 to Rp 1 million per cubic meter. If an average of 15 million cubic meters of meranti are transported from Sumatra to Java each month, the state will suffer a loss of around Rp 15 trillion," Mukri said.

It wasn't difficult to stop illegal logging, he said. All trucks coming out of the national park should be stopped and the authorities could close down sawmills operating in Krui, Lemong and Bengkunat in West Lampung. "There are dozens of illegal sawmills operating openly in West Lampung," Mukri said.

The national park stretches form West Lampung to Kaur regency in Bengkulu province, about 360,000 square hectares. Apart from illegal logging, poaching also poses a serious threat to the remaining wildlife species in the park.

Park head Tamen Sitorus blamed the widespread illegal logging and poaching in the park on the authority's limited manpower, saying the park had "only" 80 forest rangers to protect the vast area.

This evidence of continued illegal logging comes after significant sums of money, much of it from international donors, has been pledged to aid conservation programs in the area.

The park's management signed a memorandum of understanding in 2004 to work with 10 non-governmental organizations in Lampung, grouped in the Conservation and Action Network Program Indonesia, to preserve the park's ecosystem and biological diversity, including in the park's buffer areas of 1.35 million hectares.

The short-term joint program, which will last for two-and-a-half years, is funded by the international Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund CEPF) at US$1.8 million.

The program includes moves to reduce the rate of illegal logging up to 80 percent in forested areas in the park and 50 percent in its surrounding areas; to restore at least 50 percent of damaged forested area and 50 percent of the main protected area around the park; as well as to raise the population of key wildlife species in the park.

Illegal logging widespread

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2005

Rusman, Samarinda -- The sound of chain saws was very load. Mustarmin, 37, and his four colleagues immediately scampered away from a big tree as it crashed into small trees around it. After a few moments, the loggers returned to work, finding other big trees to fell. "After felling large trees, we'll cut them into smaller pieces to make it easier to take them out of the dense forest," he said.

Heavy rain has not discouraged the illegal loggers from felling trees in the Bukit (Hill) Soeharto forest in Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan. The condition is perfect for eluding forest rangers. "The heavier it rains, the safer we are from being caught," said Mustarmin.

Another effective way used by illegal loggers is to fell trees far from residential areas where it is easy to escape the attention of forest rangers.

He said that the illegal timber trade was promising because there was hardly any overhead and the price of timber was high. One cubic meter of legally felled timber can reach Rp 1.5 million (US$150). "We sell illegal timber for Rp 1.2 million at the most," said Mustarmin.

The forest has not only been damaged by illegal logging, but also by land clearance by residents wanting to grow secondary crops and banana trees. Only tall grass can be found along the main road, except for a few trees that have been spared the axe.

The 61,860-hectare Bukit Soeharto forest is located along the main highway between Balikpapan, Samarinda and Kutai Kartanegara. The forest is also a research site for Mulawarman University's forestry school.

However, its gradually being deforested. Logs are scattered on the roadside. New trees, 25 cm in diameter, which previously lined the road, have been hacked down.

Forest destruction and illegal logging in East Kalimantan have been categorized as alarming. The East Kalimantan Police seized 18,600 cubic meters of timber and handled 30 illegal logging cases in 2004. They probed 34 such cases in 2003.

In one case in West Kutai in early October 2005, 30,000 cubic meters, or 6,575 logs, were seized by the East Kalimantan Military Command. The police have named three timber financiers from East Kalimantan as suspects.

The executive director of the East Kalimantan Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Syafruddin, said the Bukit Soeharto forest was in a dismal state, and hardly represented the gateway to the province.

Besides damage from rampant illegal logging and land clearance, forest destruction in the area is also caused by mining activities. "In the dry season, residents clear land with fire. This has gone on unabated," he said.

He noted that around 85 percent of the forested area had been damaged and a further 15 percent was in an alarming state. He claimed that the government did not realize that the floods in Samarinda and Kutai Kartanegara were due to deforestation.

He said the government and police should be held responsibility for the matter, because the conservation forest is overseen by the central government.

The central government, provincial administration and the police appear to be making no attempt to protect the forest, since deforestation is still taking place at an alarming rate.

Environmentalists 'unimpressive' by SBY's efforts

Jakarta Post - October 10, 2005

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta -- Environmentalists urged on Sunday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono take environmental issues more seriously by introducing a ministry that focuses on natural resources management.

In an evaluation of Susilo's first year in power, Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) executive director Chalid Muhammad said the ministry would help the government prevent further destruction of the country's natural resources.

"Nothing much has happened during the first year of the Susilo- Jusuf Kalla administration. Illegal logging is still rampant, while the Buyat case remains unaddressed," he said.

In the aforementioned case, a top executive of US mining firm arm PT Newmont Minahasa Raya in North Sulawesi is standing trial for the firm's alleged pollution of Buyat Bay.

Chalid suggested that the President not only replace incapable ministers in the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle, but also change the structure of the Cabinet.

"There should be no separate state minister of the environment office, ministry of energy and mineral resources nor ministry of agriculture," he said. "He needs a ministry of natural assets and environmental management." The office of the state minister of the environment, Chalid said, was unable to prevent environmental destruction because companies blamed for the damage would only want to deal with economic ministries.

"What can the state minister of the environment do now? The minister should have encouraged other ministers to formulate policies that are environmentally friendly," Chalid said.

Meanwhile, an activist from Bogor-based Telapak, which revealed the world's biggest timber smuggling racket from Papua to China and India in February, urged the President to take the lead in the eradication of crimes against the environment for the sake of the country's rich natural resources.

"A new ministry seems unnecessary. What we need is for the President to take command in the eradication of environmental crimes, such as illegal logging, instead of delegating it to his ministers," Telapak's forest conservation campaigner Yayat Afianto said.

He said the administration had shown a lot of improvement in dealing with environmental issues compared to previous governments. Citing one example, he praised the government's move to send about 1,500 military and police officers to Papua to arrest the alleged perpetrators of illegal logging in the province, code-named the Hutan Lestari II Operation, earlier this year.

"But that's not enough. Up to now, none of the suspects have been convicted. That makes us very disappointed," Yayat said.

He suggested that, in the remaining four years of his administration, the President should make every effort to hunt down the masterminds of illegal logging, regardless of whether they were high-ranking military or police officers.

"The key is law enforcement. As a retired general himself, the President has to prove that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law," Yayat said.

Armed forces/defense

TNI official houses being rented out to third parties

Jakarta Post - October 10, 2005

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung -- Riouwstraat (now Jl. Riau/Jl. Martadinata) was known as an upscale residential area during the Dutch colonial era, even though there were several old buildings that functioned as prisons to detain independence fighters. A section of it was handed over to the Indonesian military (TNI) after the colonials left and the TNI turned them into official residences, offices and a hospital.

Even now, Jl. Riau has not lost any of its attraction. On weekends and holidays, hundreds, if not thousands of people flock to the area just to shop for cheap garments, shoes and dress accessories at the so-called "factory outlets" (FOs), especially at the corner of Jl. Riau and Jl. Banda, or to just dine out at the many food courts and sidewalk cafes there.

The prominent street with the high land values has attracted the attention of Perry Trisyanto, an entrepreneur who has 12 FOs in Bandung, and who is eyeing it as a potential business area.

Perry owns four FOs on Jl. Riau. However, the good business that he has been enjoying for the past three years may be coming to an end. He says he was "confused" after the commander of the Siliwangi Military Command overseeing West Java, Major General Sriyanto Muntrasan, stated that the military would put "in order" 82 official military residences in Bandung and Cimahi that had been rented out for commercial purposes by their ostensible occupants.

Four of Perry's FOs on Jl. Riau are among the houses that have been rented out by members of the military who have been entitled to live there for free. "I'm not worried because I have written agreements in black and white, sealed, and they are legally valid," he asserted to The Jakarta Post in Bandung.

Perry said that he rented the houses from military officers, their ranks ranging from lieutenant colonel to major general.

Despite this, Sriyanto, who was appointed as commander of the Siliwangi Military Command III less than six months ago, said he was determined to straighten out the matter of official houses being rented out for private commercial gain.

"I have urged the occupants to use official houses in accordance to their purpose," he said.

Sriyanto expressed sadness over the matter, because there were many soldiers and officers who live in rented houses due to the limited number of official residences, which were provided for free. He likened the act of leasing official houses to third parties to renting out official military vehicles as taxis.

Based on observations from a team from the Siliwangi Military Command, most of the official houses are being rented out by retired TNI members.

"They should have reported and returned the privilege to the TNI at least six months after retiring because many active members cannot afford to buy or rent houses," said Siliwangi Military Command spokesman, Lieut. Col. Bambang.

Bambang said that the rules for occupying an official house were clear, with permits having to be renewed every two years. However, most failed to do this.

Meanwhile, Sriyanto is still mulling over the idea of seizing official houses that are not being used in accordance with their function, because TNI has limited funds to maintain them.

Soldiers complain of declining role

Jakarta Post - October 8, 2005

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- Under scorching midday sun, Chief Sgt. Abdul Manaf steered left his motorcycle entering the compound of the East Medan district military command. Parked his motorcycle, he then took his rest in the guard post. While watching television, Abdul Manaf, the non-commissioned officer assigned to the subdistrict, was seen talking to others through a walkie- talkie.

The 46-year-old soldier said he was facing tougher tasks since the Bali blast last Saturday. Since the blast, he had been asked by his superior to intensify monitoring security in the subdistrict on fears of another terrorist attack. The task was tough as the number of non-commissioned officers, popularly called Babinsa, like Abdul Manaf, is limited.

One Babinsa is ideally assigned to monitor security in a single subdistrict, but in East Medan district military command, 13 Babinsa have to monitor security in 20 subdistricts. Abdul Manaf himself monitors security in two subdistricts, namely Pulo Brayan Darat I and II subdistricts.

Abdul Manaf said the job was tough. Besides monitoring security, Babinsa were also tasked with quickly reporting to the military district command on any social upheaval, to assure security in their respective territories, to mobilize people and to communicate with them. "When there is social upheaval, the Babinsa has to figure out the way to prevent the conflict from escalating," he said.

In order to get information and get closer to people, Abdul Manaf said he had to mingle with people from all walks of life. Information could be obtained anywhere, including in coffee shops, he said. In 12 years he had been in the security business, Manaf recalled he had never encountered any big upheavals. But he admitted the role of Babinsa had been on the decline since the Indonesian military started its internal reforms in 1999.

After the reform, police took over the role of Babinsa and Babinsa reduced their presence in the community. People themselves had been aware that the role of Babinsa had been curtailed and they tended to report to police in the event of conflict.

The declining role of Babinsa prevented them from contributing into the arrests of terrorists. Manaf himself supported the President's call in ordering the TNI, including Babinsa, to help track down terrorists. However, the Babinsa had found obstacles in carrying out the order. "Since the TNI started internal reform, the authority to hold people lay in the hands of police. It hampers us in combating terrorists," said Manaf.

Opinion & analysis

When journalists report propaganda instead of the truth

New Statesman (UK) - October 13, 2005

John Pilger -- "The propagandist's purpose," wrote Aldous Huxley, "is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human."

The British, who invented modern war propaganda and inspired Joseph Goebbels, were specialists in the field. At the height of the slaughter known as the First World War, the prime minister, David Lloyd George, confided to C. P. Scott, editor of the Manchester Guardian: "If people really knew [the truth], the war would be stopped tomorrow. But of course they don't know, and can't know."

What has changed? "If we had all known then what we know now," said the New York Times on 24 August, "the invasion [of Iraq] would have been stopped by a popular outcry." The admission was saying, in effect, that powerful newspapers, like powerful broadcasting organizations, had betrayed their readers and viewers and listeners by not finding out -- by amplifying the lies of Bush and Blair, instead of challenging and exposing them. The direct consequences were a criminal invasion called "Shock and Awe" and the dehumanizing of a whole nation.

This remains largely an unspoken shame in Britain, especially at the BBC, which continues to boast about its rigor and objectivity while echoing a corrupt and lying government, as it did before the invasion. For evidence of this, there are two academic studies available -- though the capitulation of broadcast journalism ought to be obvious to any discerning viewer, night after night, as "embedded" reporting justifies murderous attacks on Iraqi towns and villages as "rooting out insurgents" and swallows British army propaganda designed to distract from its disaster, while preparing us for attacks on Iran and Syria. Like the New York Times and most of the American media, had the BBC done its job, many thousands of innocent people almost certainly would be alive today.

When will important journalists cease to be establishment managers, and analyze and confront the critical part they play in the violence of rapacious governments?

An anniversary provides an opportunity. Forty years ago this month, Major General Suharto began a seizure of power in Indonesia by unleashing a wave of killings that the CIA described as "the worst mass murders of the second half of the 20th century". Much of this episode was never reported, and remains secret. None of the reports of recent terror attacks against tourists in Bali mentioned the fact that near the major hotels were the mass graves of some of an estimated 80,000 people killed by mobs orchestrated by Suharto, and backed by the American and British governments.

Indeed, the collaboration of western governments, together with the role of western business, laid the pattern for subsequent Anglo-American violence across the world: such as Chile in 1973, when Augusto Pinochet's bloody coup was backed in Washington and London; the arming of the shah of Iran and the creation of his secret police; and the lavish and meticulous backing of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, including black propaganda by the Foreign Office which sought to discredit press reports that he had used nerve gas against the Kurdish village of Halabja.

In 1965, in Indonesia, the American embassy furnished General Suharto with roughly 5,000 names. These were people marked for assassination, and a senior American diplomat checked off the names as they were killed or captured. Most were members of the PKI, the Indonesian Communist Party. Having already armed and equipped Suharto's army, Washington secretly flew in state-of-the-art communication equipment whose high frequencies were known to the CIA and the National Security Council advising the president, Lyndon B Johnson. Not only did this allow Suharto's generals to co-ordinate the massacres, it meant that the highest echelons of the US administration were listening in.

The Americans worked closely with the British. The British ambassador in Jakarta, Sir Andrew Gilchrist, cabled the Foreign Office: "I have never concealed from you my belief that a little shooting in Indonesia would be an essential preliminary to effective change." The "little shooting" saw off between half a million and a million people.

However, it was in the field of propaganda, of "managing" the media and eradicating the victims from people's memory in the west, that the British shone. British intelligence officers outlined how the British press and the BBC could be manipulated. "Treatment will need to be subtle," they wrote, "e.g., a) all activities should be strictly unattributable, b) British [government] participation or co-operation should be carefully concealed." To achieve this, the Foreign Office opened a branch of its Information Research Department (IRD) in Singapore.

The IRD was a top-secret, cold war propaganda unit headed by Norman Reddaway, one of Her Majesty's most experienced liars. Reddaway and his colleagues manipulated the "embedded" press and the BBC so expertly that he boasted to Gilchrist in a secret message that the fake story he had promoted -- that a communist takeover was imminent in Indonesia -- "went all over the world and back again". He described how an experienced Sunday newspaper journalist agreed "to give exactly your angle on events in his article... i.e., that this was a kid-glove coup without butchery".

These lies, bragged Reddaway, could be "put almost instantly back to Indonesia via the BBC". Prevented from entering Indonesia, Roland Challis, the BBC's south-east Asia correspondent, was unaware of the slaughter. "My British sources purported not to know what was going on," Challis told me, "but they knew what the American plan was. There were bodies being washed up on the lawns of the British consulate in Surabaya, and British warships escorted a ship full of Indonesian troops down the Malacca Straits so that they could take part in this terrible holocaust. It was only later that we learned that the American embassy was supplying names and ticking them off as they were killed. There was a deal, you see. In establishing the Suharto regime, the involvement of the IMF and the World Bank was part of it... Suharto would bring them back. That was the deal."

The bloodbath was ignored almost entirely by the BBC and the rest of the western media. The headline news was that "communism" had been overthrown in Indonesia, which, Time reported, "is the west's best news in Asia". In November 1967, at a conference in Geneva overseen by the billionaire banker David Rockefeller, the booty was handed out. All the corporate giants were represented, from General Motors, Chase Manhattan Bank and US Steel to ICI and British American Tobacco. With Suharto's connivance, the natural riches of his country were carved up.

Suharto's cut was considerable. When he was finally overthrown in 1998, it was estimated that he had up to $10 billion in foreign banks, or more than 10 per cent of Indonesia's foreign debt. When I was last in Jakarta, I walked to the end of his leafy street and caught sight of the mansion where the mass murderer now lives in luxury. As Saddam Hussein heads for his own show trial on 19 October, he must ask himself where he went wrong. Compared with Suharto's crimes, Saddam's seem second-division.

With British-supplied Hawk jets and machine-guns, Suharto's army went on to crush the life out of a quarter of the population of East Timor: 200,000 people. Using the same Hawk jets and machine-guns, the same genocidal army is now attempting to crush the life out of the resistance movement in West Papua and protect the Freeport company, which is mining a mountain of copper in the province. (Henry Kissinger is "director emeritus" of this enterprise.) Some 100,000 Papuans, 18 per cent of the population, have been killed; yet this British-backed "project", as new Labour likes to say, is almost never reported.

What happened in Indonesia, and continues to happen, is almost a mirror image of the attack on Iraq. Both countries have riches coveted by the west; both had dictators installed by the west to facilitate the passage of their resources; and in both countries, blood-drenched Anglo-American actions have been disguised by propaganda willingly provided by journalists prepared to draw the necessary distinctions between Saddam's regime ("monstrous") and Suharto's ("moderate" and "stable").

Since the invasion of Iraq, I have spoken to a number of principled journalists working in the pro-war media, including the BBC, who say that they and many others "lie awake at night" and want to speak out and resume being real journalists. I suggest now is the time.

How the West backed the massacre of a million people

Green Left Weekly - October 12, 2005

Clinton Fernandes -- The destruction of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), 40 years ago following the seizure of power by pro- US military officers headed by General Suharto was a decisive event in the history of South-East Asia in the second half of the 20th century.

By 1965, the PKI had three million members and was said to be the largest Communist party in the world outside of the Soviet Union and China. In addition to its large membership, about 15 million people had indirect connections to the party through their membership of peasant associations, labour unions and other social movement organisations led by PKI members. It was, according to a September 1, 1965, US National Intelligence Estimate, "by far the best organized and most dynamic entity in Indonesia".

Within a few months of the October 1, 1965, Suharto-organised military coup, however, the PKI would be destroyed in a cataclysmic campaign of political terror and mass murder carried out by the Indonesian armed forces (ABRI) and right-wing Islamic organisations.

According to a 1968 study by the CIA, "in terms of the numbers killed the anti-PKI massacres in Indonesia rank as one of the worst mass murders of the 20th century, along with the Soviet purges of the 1930s, the Nazi mass murders during the Second World War, and the Maoist bloodbath of the early 1950s". At least one million Indonesians were slaughtered in the anti-PKI massacres.

Nowadays, of course, Western policy-makers are trying to rehabilitate the Indonesian military's reputation in order to fight Jemaah Islamiyah. This article, therefore, examines Western support for this anti-PKI terror campaign, which seriously weakened Indonesian political life and set the scene for the emergence of Islamic terrorism in the region. For reasons of space, it takes up the story after the massacres had commenced.

Once the killings were underway, Western policy-makers and diplomats were keen to support the ABRI. The problem they faced was that President Sukarno's previous anti-imperialist rhetoric had resonated strongly with the Indonesian public. Any overt support would therefore serve only to expose the Indonesian army as a tool of the West.

Sukarno's towering reputation presented a significant obstacle. A deft touch was required. US ambassador Marshall Green understood that economic aid should not be offered because economic difficulties hurt the reputation of the civilian administration, not the army. His military contacts told him that there was an urgent need for food and clothing in Indonesia but it was more important to let Sukarno and his foreign minister, Subandrio, "stew in their own juice".

Western media coverage

The information campaign in support of the killings was created along similar principles. The ABRI secretly urged that foreign news broadcasters not give the army "too much credit" or criticise Sukarno. Instead, they should emphasise PKI "atrocities" and the party's role in the mutiny by left-wing ABRI officers that preceded the Suharto-led coup.

While Sukarno could not be directly attacked, an Indonesian general offered to provide Western agencies background information on foreign minister Subandrio, who was regarded as more vulnerable.

Australian ambassador Keith Shann was told by his superiors that Radio Australia should never suggest that the ABRI was pro- Western or right-wing. Instead, credit for the anti-PKI campaign should be given to other organisations, such as Muslim and nationalist youth groups.

Radio Australia had an important role to play because of its high signal strength and huge audience in Indonesia. Its listeners included the elite as well as students, who liked it because it played rock music, which had been officially banned. It was therefore told to "be on guard against giving information to the Indonesian people that would be withheld by the Army-controlled internal media". The Australian ambassador worked to ensure that it gave "prominent coverage" to "reports of PKI involvement and Communist Chinese complicity" while playing down or not broadcasting "reports of divisions within the army specifically and armed services more generally".

Another senior official recommended that Radio Australia "not do anything which would be helpful to the PKI". Instead, it "should highlight reports tending to discredit the PKI and show its involvement in the losing cause".

The US, Britain and Australia co-operated closely in the propaganda effort. Marshall Green urged Washington to "spread the story of PKI's guilt, treachery and brutality", adding that this was "perhaps the most needed immediate assistance we can give army if we can find [a] way to do it without identifying it as [a] sole or largely US effort".

The British Foreign Office hoped to "encourage anti-Communist Indonesians to more vigorous action in the hope of crushing Communism in Indonesia altogether". Britain would emphasise "PKI brutality in murdering Generals and families, Chinese interference, particularly arms shipments, PKI subverting Indonesia as the agents of foreign Communists".

British ambassador Sir Andrew Gilchrist wrote: "I have never concealed my belief that a little shooting in Indonesia would be an essential preliminary to effective change".

Throughout this period, Western radio stations continued to recycle stories from Radio Jakarta or the army newspapers and broadcast them back to Indonesia. US embassy officials established a back-channel link through the US army attache in Jakarta, who regularly met with an aide to Suharto ally General Haris Nasution.

The US embassy also compiled lists of PKI leaders and thousands of senior members and handed them over to the Indonesian military. While these kinds of lists were based entirely on previous reporting by the PKI's press, they proved invaluable to the military which seemed "to lack even the simplest overt information on PKI leadership at the time", according to a report Green sent to Washington in August 1966.

General Sukendro, a senior army intelligence officer, secretly approached the US embassy in early October 1965, asking for assistance in the army's operations against the PKI. This included supplying "small arms to arm Muslim and nationalist youths in Central Java for use against the PKI".

Green authorised the provision of 50 million rupiahs to the Kap- Gestapu movement, which was leading the anti-PKI terror campaign. He advised the State Department that there was "no doubt whatsoever that Kap-Gestapu's activity is fully consonant with and coordinated by the army. We have had substantial intelligence reporting to support this." Overall, the US provided the ABRI with money, medicines, communications equipment, weapons and intelligence. It was satisfied with the return it received on this investment.

On February 21, 1966, Sukarno tried to reshuffle his cabinet and sack General Nasution as defence minister. But with the public cowed in fear of the killings, Sukarno's attempt to assert his authority failed. There were large demonstrations backed by the army, and on March 11 soldiers mounted a show of force outside the presidential palace.

Sukarno signed a letter of authority handing over executive power to General Suharto. He remained president until 1967, continuing to defend the PKI and to speak out against the massacres and anti-Chinese racism that accompanied them. Without access to the media, however, his speeches failed to achieve political traction.

In the wake of the massacres, Indonesia's pre-eminent cultural and intellectual organisations -- the Peoples' Cultural Institute, the National Cultural Institute, and the Indonesian Scholars' Association -- were shut down, and many of their members were arrested or imprisoned.

More than one and a half million Indonesians passed through a system of prisons and prison camps. The PKI was physically annihilated, and popular organisations associated with it were suppressed. The whole of Indonesian society was forcibly depoliticised. In village after village, local bureaucrats backed by the army imposed a control matrix of permits, rules and regulations. Citizens were required to obtain a "letter of clean circumstances" certifying that they and their extended families had not been associated with the left before 1965. Indonesian society became devoted to the prevention of any challenge to elite interests.

Control of the universities, newspapers and cultural institutions was handed to conservative writers and intellectuals, who collaborated with Suharto's New Order regime and did not oppose the jailing of their left-wing cultural rivals. Along with the violence, certain cultural values were strongly promoted. Discussion of personal, religious and consumerist issues was encouraged, while discussion of politics was considered to be in bad taste. The conservative establishment also monopolised Indonesia's external cultural relations.

Suharto would rule for more than 30 years until a popular uprising and a crisis-ridden economy forced his resignation on May 21, 1998.

[Dr Clinton Fernandes is a historian and author of Reluctant Saviour: Australia, Indonesia and the independence of East Timor (Scribe, 2004). He is currently a visiting fellow at the Australian National University.]

Bali bombings: how can such acts be stopped?

Green Left Weekly - October 12, 2005

Graham Matthews -- In the days following the October 1 Bali bombings, Australians have been subject to a barrage of hypocritical and racist "anti-terrorist" hysteria whipped up by politicians and the corporate media. But activists have stated what many people are thinking: that these bombings, like those in Spain and London, are directly linked to the West's occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.

"Just as the killing of civilians in Bali was indiscriminate and horrible, so too is the destruction being wrought by Canberra, Washington and London in those countries they invaded and occupy against the wishes of local populations and the global community", said Anna Samson from the Sydney Stop the War Coalition. "These foreign polices, which in themselves have resulted in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of thousands, are providing fuel for terrorists' campaigns", she added.

Lisa Macdonald from Socialist Alliance said, "Horrible as it is, the latest Bali bombing pales next to the daily terror in occupied Iraq". She went on to criticise the corporate media for "filter[ing] the truth about war and terror through the lens of racist hypocrisy".

Max Lane, chairperson of Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific, asked why it is that some Indonesians are driven to undertake such desperate, cruel, murderous, as well as self- destructive, acts? "Before 2002, Indonesia had no history of suicide attacks on unarmed civilians, so it is no use attributing these events to some eternal conflict with no underlying causes. It is a new development and must have new causes", he said.

Lane, an Indonesian specialist who teaches history and politics at Sydney University, has visited Indonesia regularly for the last 36 years and lived there for extensive periods. He said that Indonesia's successful struggle for national independence brought with it a great sense of hope for the Indonesian people. Now, he says, much of this hope is gone.

"Sixty years later little has changed. The policies of the developed capitalist nations, backed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, have kept Indonesia non- industrialised, poverty stricken and technologically dependent. In 2005, most Indonesians still live on hardly more than a dollar a day, probably less. And there are no prospects, under current policies and linkages with the rich countries, of this changing.

"Indonesia, like all of the so-called developing world, has been left in a state of humiliating dependence and poverty with no hope for the future", Lane said. "That sense of humiliation is inflamed by the US and its allies inflicting suffering on the Muslim peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan, so it is only to be expected that there will be anger and resistance against this situation, including in Indonesia." According to Samson, the key to preventing such terror acts is to end the occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. "Even Australia's security agencies and key strategic policy advisers agree that the Howard government's participation in the occupation of Iraq has made Australia and the rest of the world a much more dangerous place." "Anyone in Australia who is serious about stopping the escalating war and terrorism around the world today needs to face up to the urgent need for the Australian government to withdraw its troops from Iraq and Afghanistan", said Macdonald. "This would be a powerful political blow for the world's biggest promoter of war and terrorism -- the government of the United States." Lane posed the question everyone is concerned about: how to end these attacks? "In the end", he said, "they will only stop when the movements to end the gulf between rich and poor countries grow, both in Indonesia and in the developed countries. They must become forces that lead people to throw off the humiliation, national oppression and exploitation that the underdeveloped world now suffers." Activists are united in their rejection of the Australia government's response to the bombings -- further attacks on civil liberties. "More draconian 'anti-terror' laws to be introduced by the Howard government and all Labor premiers will not help to make Australia safer", said Samson.

"If anything, by further curtailing our civil liberties, they are likely to compromise our ability to speak out against violence perpetrated against innocents around the world. Granting unprecedented, unchecked powers to ASIO and the police and reintroducing discredited internment polices are a disingenuous and unreconstructed approach to dealing with terrorism", she said.

Macdonald also rejects the attempt by Australian state and federal governments to use the so-called "war on terror" as a pretext to destroy civil liberties and democratic rights in Australia. "The 'national security' and 'anti-terror' laws passed by state and federal governments recently have given ASIO and the police forces the power to harass, persecute, prosecute and imprison people with impunity." According to Lane, "The October 1 Bali bombings and all such actions should be condemned as murderous, cruel and wanton. They are also ineffective in achieving any change to the lives of Third World peoples. They will continue as long as the huge gulf of power and wealth between the imperialist West and the underdeveloped, exploited Third World continues." "Here in Australia, the movement against the US-led occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan must grow and force the US, Australia, Britain and other foreign armies out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The movement to 'make poverty history' must go beyond an advertising campaign by celebrities and return to the streets and demand the complete cancellation of the Third World's debt. That is what we can do to stop the continuation of terrorist attacks like those that took place in Bali", Lane concluded.

Stay in the barracks

Jakarta Post Editorial - October 10, 2005

Days after terrorists attacked Bali for the second time in three years, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attended a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI). So it was understandable that terrorism figured prominently in the President's speech, in which he asked the TNI to play an active role in the fight against terrorists.

Pointing to Law No. 34/2004 on the military, in particular Article 2, the President said: "I ask the TNI to take part in effectively curbing, preventing and acting against terrorism." A retired Army general, the President knows the TNI could be one of the most effective institutions in combating terrorism, not only because of its technical capacity and know-how, but also because the active involvement of the TNI would reduce the "resistance" of some military personnel to his government's initiatives.

The President apparently also wants to use the Bali bombings as the cover for testing the public's reaction to the revival of the TNI's role in domestic security and public order. Susilo wants to test the theory that more and more Indonesians are tired of waiting for the police to do something about domestic security, which during Soeharto's New Order regime was the sole domain of the military.

During the Soeharto era, the TNI, in particular the Army, controlled all aspects of life, from the very top of society all the way down to the neighborhood units. With the draconian laws that were in place during the New Order, it was simple to jail people with very little evidence. True, domestic security was generally better under Soeharto, but then again there was the problem of state terrorism.

Though both the National Police and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) have been empowered, President Susilo knows the TNI is reluctant to cooperate with these two bodies, including sharing its intelligence findings, because it cannot see any real benefit to such cooperation.

If the public reacts positively to a renewed domestic role for the TNI, Susilo could openly make use of the military in restoring security to the country, including wiping out the breeding grounds for terrorists.

And if there is public resistance, Susilo will have lost nothing, and can tell the TNI that it was the public not him who opposed a political comeback for the military. Going by media reports, there is indeed a great deal of public resistance to the idea of the military renewing its political role, although many people acknowledge the TNI could play an important role in the war against terror. But, after the abuses of power and rights violations during the Soeharto era, people remain wary of giving the military too much power.

If the TNI does reassume its dominant role in domestic security and politics, the country could expect its flowering democracy to dry up as we witness a return of militarism.

No one can deny the TNI could play a decisive role in eradicating terrorism and other domestic security threats. But if the TNI was given draconian powers to restore security, that would only create new problems no less worrying than the security disturbances.

It is a common practice that every time the President makes a speech, the contents of the speech are first run by the relevant ministries and institutions. In this context, the President's speechwriters naturally could have been expected to consult with TNI Headquarters on Wednesday's address. This means the military was fully informed of the President's plan to revive its domestic security role.

After losing much of its power and privilege after the fall of Soeharto in May 1998, it is only natural that TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto enthusiastically responded to the President's speech.

Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, the general announced plans to revive the once powerful -- but also much criticized -- military territorial function, which was led by Susilo himself when he was an active three-star general.

Endriartono is fully aware of the generally negative public view of the military. Earlier this week, he complained the military intelligence network was not able to function effectively because of its poor public standing. The public uproar that greeted his proposal to reestablish the military's territorial function only confirmed his fear that most Indonesians do not want to see the TNI regain its old powers.

We must use every available means to eradicate terrorism, but at the same time we have to stick to our democratic principles. True, the internal security acts in Singapore and Malaysia are effective in the short term, but at what cost to civil society? The TNI can play a key role in the war against terror without returning to it the powers it enjoyed under Soeharto. But will the TNI accept this?

Military fight against terrorism could be the terror itself

Jakarta Post - October 8, 2005

Dwi Atmanta, Jakarta -- A usually cool President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seemed to be about to lose his patience when he ordered the Indonesian Military (TNI) to actively help the country's fight against terrorism on Thursday.

For many, the decision may have been greeted with relief as terrorist attacks have been plaguing the nation for the past five years, dating back to Christmas Eve 2000 when bombs rocked a number of churches almost simultaneously, killing dozens. Two years later the terrorists were back, detonating high explosives on Bali, followed by the bomb attacks on JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003 and one outside the Australian Embassy the following year. The latest bombing made Bali the target again, dealing the economic recovery on the island a major blow.

Under the antiterrorism law, some of the perpetrators of the 2002 bombing were sentenced to death. But this capital punishment has not been a deterrent, hardly surprising if we consider that those that carried out the bombings were willing to die for their misguided cause.

Smarting from the 2002 Bali attack, police and intelligence agencies stepped up precautionary measures to prevent the terrorists from launching new strikes. The efforts impressed foreign countries, which have disbursed millions of dollars to help the Indonesian police improve their counter-terrorism skills.

Expecting the National Police to crack down on terrorists singlehanded and keep them from committing more carnage is perhaps too much. This government has rightly noted that even Western countries, which apply higher standards to more- sophisticated security systems have fallen prey to terrorists.

As president, Susilo bears a heavy burden, charged as he is with protecting his people, as he tries to make Indonesia more attractive to foreign investors. Four bomb attacks in as many years therefore are too much, as they have not only put Indonesians under a constant threat, but, as Susilo put it, they have helped destroy the country's economic recovery.

From a political point of view, this ongoing terrorism has put Susilo's credibility at stake. It may dash his hopes of realizing his election promises, which helped get him more than 60 percent of the vote last year.

Since taking office, Susilo has been trying to make significant changes to Indonesia's War on Terror. He announced in July a plan to reinstate regional intelligence bodies, which would fall under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Under the New Order, the military- dominated Regional Coordinating Intelligence Agency (Bakorinda) played a major role in quashing government critics along with the more violent insurgents.

The TNI's expertise in intelligence affairs has been tested for decades as was evident in the relatively undisturbed rule of Soeharto for more than three decades.

The turning point came in 1999, when police took over the responsibility for security matters from the military, which since then has played only a supporting role.

Under civilian governments, which rely much on the police when it comes to security affairs, terrorists have launched attacks seemingly at will. The attacks have happened in a climate where people are increasingly able to criticize the government and exercise their political, economic and cultural rights.

Allowing the military to restore its major role in security affairs will not only be a breach of the reform spirit. More worrying is the return of secret abductions, detention without trial, torture and the extra-judicial killings of those who are deemed militants or a threat to the state.

Still fresh in the nation's memory are the abductions of at least 12 men, mostly activists in a military operation in 1997. An investigation only recently declared these men had died in the hands of their abductors, but no one has yet been brought to trial for their deaths.

There are likely to be far more "enemies of the state" who disappeared through such operations, as they were always conducted covertly.

Security is of course the domain of Susilo, himself a retired Army general and former chief security minister under two different presidents. But it is also undeniable that his rise to the presidency was made possible thanks to the reform movement.

Susilo has got off to a good start. To meet his ends, however, he must justify his means.

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

Aidit: A tragically misunderstood PKI leader

Jakarta Post - October 8, 2005

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta -- Dipa Nusantara (D.N.) Aidit, the doomed leader of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), was demonized by the New Order regime as the ruthless mastermind of the Sept. 30 coup attempt, a bloody event blamed on the communist party.

At the height of former president Soeharto's dictatorial rule, his specter was raised every year to guard against the reemergence of communism in the country.

In the New Order propaganda film Pemberontakan G30S PKI (The Sept. 30th PKI Rebellion) directed by filmmaker Arifin C. Noer, he was portrayed as being diabolical -- a power-hungry man who single-handedly stage-managed the bloody coup.

In the film at least -- based on historical accounts drawn up by New Order historians -- he was incriminated because he was at Halim Perdanakusumah airbase, while PKI youth wing organization Pemuda Rakyat and women's organization Gerwani were present at the murder scene of six military generals and an officer.

According to the film, he was present at the location where the generals were tortured before finally being killed. The generals' faces were sliced with razors and their eyes were gouged out before their bodies were dumped into a hole. Aidit, therefore, was deemed responsible for the heinous crime.

Thanks to the propaganda film, such a portrayal is now deeply ingrained in the minds of most adult Indonesians and, for a long time, no one dared offer an alternative view on Aidit.

Now, more than seven years since the demise of the Soeharto regime, a small number of people who are knowledgeable about the PKI leader have begun to speak out in his defense.

Murad Aidit, the younger brother of D.N. Aidit, said that his sibling was an ordinary man who stuck to his principles and, in the end, was victimized by those who disagreed with him.

"There's no way that a person such as Aidit, a quiet, soft-spoken person, could have masterminded such a bloody plot," Murad said in a discussion to commemorate the G30S PKI rebellion last Saturday.

Murad's view on Aidit has also served to challenge the notion that his older brother was a firebrand, as depicted in Arifin's film. He said that Aidit turned into a firebrand only when he talked of imperialism.

Rebellious father Murad grew up with his older brother in Belitung, an island off the South Sumatra coast, a place where both were born. D.N. Aidit was born Achmad Aidit in Belitung, on July 30, 1923, to a devout Muslim father. His father, Abdullah Aidit, was the leader of a youth organization that fought against the Dutch colonial government.

Abdullah, who, in the early 1940s founded a Muslim organization, Nurul Islam (the light of Islam), was a member of the House of Representative during the early years of the Republic.

Achmad changed his given name to Dipa Nusantara, meaning "the nation's guardian", in the early 1950s, when he sensed that he would soon become an important figure.

Budiman Sudjatmiko, former leader of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), who has read extensively about the history of the country's communist movement, said that Aidit came close to accomplishing something that could have changed the course of the nation's history.

For better or worse, the PKI could have won an election and ruled the country had there been no G30S PKI coup attempt. "The turnaround was accomplished simply by means of his youthful spirit and perseverance," Budiman told the Saturday discussion.

Indeed, Aidit's rise to the PKI leadership was a stunning accomplishment. Assuming the party leadership at the very young age of 24, Aidit went against all the odds to rejuvenate the PKI while it was in disarray.

With only 8,000 members at his disposal, Aidit rebuilt the party to become a robust political grouping that commanded three million members in the years leading to the first parliamentary election, held in 1955. It was one of the largest communist parties in the world, along with those in the Soviet Union and China.

The death knell first tolled for the PKI in the wake of a bloody insurgency in 1948 in the East Java town, Madiun. The PKI was blamed for the incident and the administration of premier Mohammad Hatta embarked on a nationwide witch-hunt against PKI members. More than 35,000 of them were arrested and a number of its leaders were executed.

During the pogrom, Aidit fled to China and waited for better times. He returned to the country in 1951 and quickly assumed the party leadership, aided by other young turks such as Alimin, Njoto and Sudisman.

However, soon after he took the party's helm, the administration of prime minister Sukiman launched another purge against the PKI after it sponsored a nationwide strike. The PKI survived the "Sukiman Razzia" and continued to build its political strength. Such perseverance paid off when the PKI came in at fourth place in the 1955 parliamentary election, winning over six million votes.

A reluctant participant?

Joesoef Isak, owner of left-leaning publishing house Hasta Mitra, who was also a political commentator and journalist in the 1950s and 1960s, said that Aidit was one of the best administrators the country -- or even the world -- ever had.

Despite its new-found political leverage, the PKI was always excluded from the government; to maintain its existence it had to build an alliance with president Soekarno, who sought an alternative political force to counterbalance the growing power of the Indonesian Military.

Soekarno accommodated the PKI to a point when he adopted communist ideology as one of three components of his concept, Nasakom (Nationalism, Religions, Communism), as guiding state principles. In the mid 1960s, Soekarno appointed Aidit as one of his coordinating ministers.

For his children, it was during this period that their father became an extremely busy person. "Despite his activities, he always spent time with his family. He always took us to places like Puncak, Cilincing and Anyer," Aidit's son, Ilham, said, referring to three recreational sites located around Jakarta.

Also in the months leading up to the Sept. 30 event, Aidit showed no indication that he was up to something as cataclysmic as the bloody coup, Ilham said.

If Ilham's view of his father's role in the coup is considered inaccurate, a legion of analysts may support his account.

Historian Bernhard Dahm wrote in his book, The History of Indonesia in the Twentieth Century, that he did not see the role of Aidit as more than that of a reluctant participant in the plot. "It is hard to suppose that Aidit, the brilliant PKI theoretician, took part in planning the clumsy and abortive coup," Dham wrote.

Dutch historian W.F. Wertheim offered a more convincing view about Aidit's possible role in the coup attempt. "It is by no means certain that the leadership of the PKI or members of its central committee played a role of any importance in the preparation and execution of the putsch," Wertheim said in The Killing of The Communists.

Their views were to support what was known as the "Cornell report", a preliminary account of the event drawn up by academics Benedict R. O. Anderson and Ruth McVey from New York-based Cornell University.

The report reached the conclusion that the coup was the outcome of an internal army affair stemming from a small clique in a certain division, which attempted to use both Soekarno and the PKI leadership for its own ends. The report has been in circulation since early 1966.

History, apparently was not on Aidit's side. In the coup's wake, Aidit lived on the run until he was apprehended and executed on Nov. 22, 1965. He remained defiant until the very end.

Aidit was given half an hour before being executed and made use of the time to deliver a speech. The passion with which he spoke made all who heard him very angry; they were unable to control their emotions, so the rifle triggers were pulled.

The precise location of Aidit's burial place remains unknown to this day.