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Indonesia News Digest 43 - November 9-16, 2005
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2005
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- David S. was surprised when his wife
brought home cans of food with World Food Programme (WFP) labels
on them.
He immediately picked up the cans and was astonished to read
"Produced by Thai Union Frozen Products Public Co. Ltd. Packaged
for the United Nations World Food Programme. Date of production
06/2005." The cans did not have the Food and Drug Supervisory
Board, Ministry of Health or Ministry of Trade stickers usually
found on products sold to the public.
David assumed the canned food, which his wife bought at Mandala
market, were intended for victims of the earthquake and tsunami
in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Nias, North Sumatra.
"This must be theft, otherwise how could such items be sold
freely at markets? There must be a group knowingly selling aid in
markets. It should be investigated," David told The Jakarta Post.
His wife, Ismiati, said she bought three cans of sardines from a
trader at the market for Rp 10,000 (US$1). "I was initially
hesitant to buy the canned food. It's the first time I've seen
such products sold at the market. But I was curious," said
Ismiyati, who lives on Jl. Denai, Medan.
Canned sardines in tomato sauce, donated by the WFP for
earthquake and tsunami victims in Aceh and Nias, have been freely
available at various markets in Medan for quite some time, such
as at Mandala and Medan Central markets. Traders sell the canned
food for Rp 3,000 to Rp 5,000 per can.
One trader at the Medan Central market, J. Situmorang, said she
did not know when the WFP food relief products first became
available at the markets, but said she had been selling the
canned food for a month.
"A man, claiming to be a trader, sold me the canned food last
month. He also sold it to other traders, who bought it at lower
prices than other brands of canned sardines. I bought about 20
cans for a trial," said Situmorang, adding that she would not
recognize the man if she were to see him again.
The official in charge of receiving foreign aid for earthquake
and tsunami victims, Nurlisa Ginting, when asked for confirmation
on Tuesday, said she was well aware of the circulation of relief
food aid in the markets, but there had been no complaints from
the WFP. Nurlisa said her office would immediately coordinate
with the WFP to investigate the matter.
"This (irregularity) cannot be tolerated because it involves
foreign parties. It would shame us if food aid is being sold by
irresponsible people wanting to take advantage of the situation.
We will probe the matter together with the WFP soon," Nurlisa
told the Post.
It is the first time reports of food aid being diverted for
commercial purpose in Medan city has surfaced.
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2005
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The police said they would continue
their investigation into five men who are suspected of being
responsible for the recent beheadings of three schoolgirls in
Poso, Central Sulawesi, despite a move by the local military to
release them.
The Army's 714th Battalion reportedly released on Saturday the
five men, four civilians and a retired military police officer,
who were arrested last week due to a lack of evidence and because
the seven-day detention period without charges allowed under the
antiterror law was over.
It is not immediately clear why the Army did not hand over the
five men to the police as required by the law to launch a proper
investigation.
"The investigation is still going on. But we cannot rush into
declaring them (the five men) suspects," Central Sulawesi Police
chief Oegroseno was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday.
"We need more evidence before naming them (the five men) as
suspects, including a complete report from the forensic
laboratory in Jakarta which is currently conducting blood tests.
We will then examine the laboratory's findings in the light of
other evidence we found at the (crime) sites," he added.
Two weeks ago, the Army's 714th Battalion, which is stationed in
Rononuncu in Poso city, launched a two-day operation in
connection with the recent beheadings of three Christian
schoolgirls in an apparent attempt to reignite sectarian conflict
in Poso.
During the operation, which was held separately in Poso and the
town of Ampana in Tojo Una-Una regency, some 200 kilometers east
of Poso, the soldiers arrested five people, including Tony Mowala
alias Rinto, 51, a former military police officer.
The other four are Irfan Anjiro, 23, a security guard, Jamiluddin
alias Jamil, 25, also a security guard, Ridwan Masero, 25, a
farmer and Saleman Yunus alias Herman, 28, a motorcycle taxi
driver.
Poso, has witnessed sectarian violence in recent years. More than
1,000 people were killed in a bloody sectarian conflict between
Muslims and Christians between 2000 and 2001. The residents have
also seen sporadic bomb attacks, assassinations, and assaults,
the latest of which happened late last week involving another
student and a teacher of a local junior high school.
Meanwhile, a rights activist has questioned the arrest of the
five men by the Army saying "it is against the law".
"I'm questioning the arrest by the servicemen of the five men
because it is against the law. The military is not authorized to
arrest civilians. Even the antiterror law has said that the
military should hand over suspected terrorists to the police
immediately after arrest," said Usman Hamid, a coordinator of the
National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of the
Violence (Kontras).
Usman further questioned why the five men were kept in the
battalion's camp for the seven days, leaving the police with no
access to question them.
"I believe that within the last seven days, there was no legal
process taken against the five, and I see that the military were
intent on taking advantage of legal loopholes," Usman said.
Aceh
West Papua
Military ties
Labour issues
War on terror
Focus on Jakarta
Environment
Islam/religion
Business & investment
Opinion & analysis
News & issues
WFP food aid traded freely in Medan city
Police, TNI spilt over Poso slaying
Fishermen sitting it out as fuel price jacks up costs
Jakarta Post - November 12, 2005
Fadli, Batam -- A lot of folks' favorite fish, such as the selar and tongkol, are getting harder to find in Batam as hundreds of fishing boats that usually bring them in have curbed operations over the last couple of weeks due to soaring operational costs after a huge fuel price hike.
The source of the problem stemmed from the implementation of Presidential Decree No. 55/2005 on the procedures for the distribution of subsidized fuel, which states that fishing vessels of over 30 gross tons were required to buy diesel at the full, or industrial, price of Rp 6,460 (approximately 64 US cents) per liter. The price of subsidized diesel is Rp 4,300 per liter.
Since the implementation of the regulation on Oct. 26, the fishing boats have remained moored at the Fish Landing and Gathering Center (UUPPI) in Punggur, Batam.
The fishermen expressed hope that they could buy diesel fuel from the state-oil company Pertamina at the subsidized price, including fishing boats of over 30 gross tons.
A member of the Mid-water Trawlers Association who is also the manager of the UUPPI, Wandy, told The Jakarta Post that 35 fishing boats had stopped operating since the prices went up.
Dozens of other fishing boats had also stopped sailing out to sea because the mobile fuel barges at sea were now selling fuel at the industrial price. There are approximately 100 fishing vessels that have stopped operating. "Ferry operators are given the privilege to buy fuel at the subsidized price," said Wandi.
Earlier, the ferry operators had to buy fuel at the unsubsidized price, but after they held a major strike last month, they were eventually given a dispensation by Pertamina to buy diesel at the subsidized price even though their vessels weigh more then 30 tons.
Most of the fishing boats anchored at the UUPPI are between 50 tons and 118 tons. They usually operate off of Natuna island and further out in the South China Sea, a distance of around 500 kilometers from Batam.
One of the idle crew members, Nasib, 27, said that it had been a month since they had gone out to sea because the boat owner had stopped operations. As a result, Nasib and his crewmates no longer receive their regular pay of Rp 200,000 per trip.
"I haven't paid rent on my house. I even have to ask for cigarettes from friends. We just sit around on the boat waiting for the order to go out to sea from our boss," said Nasib. The operational costs for a single 10-day fishing trip amounts to over Rp 60 million for 10 tons of subsidized diesel, food and wages for 40 boat crew members.
However, since fishing boats were required to buy diesel at the industrial price, none of the boats had left the harbor. "Operational costs have increased two-fold. Not a single one of the boats has attempted to operate since the increase in fuel prices," said Wandi.
Each fishing boat can haul in 70 tons of various kinds of fish. The fishing industry in Batam can account for 10,000 tons of seafood a month. Since the stoppage, Batam's seafood connoisseurs and exporters now have to depend on traditional fishermen, who bring in around 2,000 tons a month.
Meanwhile, Pertamina's spokesperson in Batam, Sri Sudarso, said that Pertamina had implemented the policy in line with the President's decree, and that his office was only carrying out government orders.
Jakarta Post - November 10, 2005
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- About 70 American congressmen urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to make "a clear legal move" to resolve the murder of noted rights campaigner Munir, who died in September last year of arsenic poisoning.
The congressmen also asked the Indonesian President to publish the report of by the now-defunct independent fact-finding team that has indicated the involvement of several high-ranking officials from the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) in the murder, which took place aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight traveling from Jakarta to the Netherlands via Singapore. The Congressmen's letter was sent to Munir's widow Suciwati.
"I received the letter from the American congressmen on Oct. 27. It (the letter) is among many letters that I have received from my international friends. In the letter, the congressmen expressed their support for my fight for justice over the murder of my husband," Munir's wife Suciwati said on Wednesday.
The fact-finding team submitted its report to the President before its mandate ended in August. The report mentioned the alleged role of some high-ranking BIN officials in the poisoning of Munir.
The report, however, did not definitively state that BIN was involved as an institution, nor did it state how deeply BIN individuals were involved. In addition, it did not identify a clear motive behind the murder, mainly because of the agency's reluctance to give the team complete access to relevant documents and its armory. The team urged the President to order the police to launch a full investigation of the BIN officers' alleged involvement.
In its report, the team also criticized the police for its poor performance in handling the case, prompting the team to ask the President to establish a supervisory committee to ensure the police seriously investigated the murder.
Former deputy chairman of the fact-finding team Asmara Nababan, however, said the President had been reluctant to act on the team's recommendations because of "political bargaining with certain parties." "I guess the President is powerless against the power of the suspected murderers, and that is why he (the President) seemed to drop our recommendations," said Asmara, a former secretary-general of the National Commission on Human Rights. "I also think that the President is worried about the political impact if he pursues the mastermind behind the murder," he said.
So far, only Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto -- who is also believed to be a BIN agent, has been put on trial.
| Aceh |
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2005
Jakarta -- Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto would welcome the possible return of Hassan Tiro, the self-exiled leader of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), to the province.
"Yes. He (Hassan) has the right to come here in accordance with the memorandum of understanding (on Aceh peace). He will face no legal consequences if he visits Indonesia," Endriartono said at the State Palace.
Endriartono said he had been informed about the possible arrival of Hassan, the senior GAM leader, who has been living in Sweden and been granted citizenship there.
The TNI chief hopes Hassan will visit Indonesia "as a good man" who supports the peace process in the tsunami-devastated province. GAM leaders in Aceh could not be reached for comment.
The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), which oversees the implementation of the peace deal in the province, has called on Acehnese leaders in exile to come back to Aceh due to improved security following the signing of the accord.
Mohammed Nur Djuli and Bakhtiar Abdullah were the first GAM leaders in exile to return to Aceh.
The peace-building process has continued to pick up pace as both sides have implemented three of the four disarmament and troop withdrawal stages. GAM is currently handing over more weapons to the AMM, a process that will be completed on Thursday.
Endriartono said the TNI was committed to meeting the targets set out in the peace agreement, which was signed in August.
He said that the TNI would withdraw more than 5,500 troops from Aceh soon after GAM completed the third round of weapons decommissioning. The police, meanwhile, will withdraw 1,350 officers from the province.
"We accepted some of the weapons but rejected others. As of now, however, I can see their bona fides and, hopefully, it will continue," Endriartono said.
GAM surrendered 570 firearms in the first two stages of disarmament. They are required to hand in 840 weapons in four stages up until the end of the year.
Under the peace agreement, Indonesia must pull out some 6,000 of its 27,000 troops from Aceh. About 14,700 soldiers and 9,100 police officers are to remain in the province after the end of the withdrawals on Dec. 31.
In another development, head of the Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said the President had issued a decree governing the involvement of former GAM members in construction and rehabilitation work.
"This is a very important decree, particularly as regards supporting the rehabilitation and reconstruction process in Aceh," Kuntoro said in Jakarta, referring to Presidential Decree No. 15/2005 on the implementation of the memorandum of understanding between the government and GAM.
The government has promised to provide former GAM members access to the construction work -- a move that is expected to accelerate the reintegration of the former rebels into society.
Kuntoro also said Susilo was scheduled to visit Aceh to mark the first anniversary of the tsunami. There will be a number of events held to commemorate the disaster, Minister of National Development Planning Sri Mulyani said.
Both the government and GAM agreed to return to the negotiating table after the Dec. 26 tsunami, which swept Aceh's coastline leaving more than 167,000 people dead or missing.
Jakarta Post - November 10, 2005
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh -- Khairil Anwar acknowledged he felt depressed. The head of Lamdingin village in Lambaro Skep district in Banda Aceh is under pressure from village residents desperately in need of houses.
"They are tired of living in tents for displaced persons and asked me to find new funding sources to build them houses," Khairil told The Jakarta Post.
Village's residents were promised houses funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in March. But almost a year after the tsunami devastated nearly one third of Aceh's territory on Dec. 26, 2004 Lamdingin residents are still living in tents, which have started to fall apart.
There were non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that had come to the village, offering to build houses for the residents but Khairil had to turn them down since he held on to the bank's promise. But tired of waiting, the residents have started to push him to get new funding sources.
"I feel that ADB is a big institution, and it will make not only houses but supporting facilities. That's why I am still pinning my hopes on the bank," Khairil said, adding that the bank, which under the plan will build around 200 houses, has again made contact, asking the residents to be patient.
Promises to assist with reconstruction work in Aceh are nothing new. Many villages are waiting for those promises to materialize, although they have had to turn down assistance offered by other organizations.
"Every day there's an NGO which comes and asks questions and collects data but none of them come through (with any assistance). They simply leave after getting the necessary data," said Neneh, a resident of Lampaseh village, who is still living in a tent.
Many residents are putting up with the inconvenience and are waiting but there were those who were losing their patience, like Punge Ujung residents in Banda Aceh. Together they took down the World Vision sign, claiming it had failed to keep its promise to build them houses.
Responding to the problem, the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and Nias is currently screening all NGOs in Aceh. "If their plans do not materialize by December, they can leave Aceh," Sudirman Said, the agency's deputy of information, communication and institutional relation, told the Post.
Currently, he said, there are around 178 registered NGOs working to assist tsunami victims in Aceh, fewer than the 438 organizations recorded in May this year.
The government registered foreign NGOs before screening them to decide which groups would be allowed to stay in Aceh. Only NGOs linked to the United Nations and donor countries will be allowed to continue their humanitarian work there. "For NGOs promising to build houses, please build houses. Don't just make scale models of the houses," Sudirman said.
| West Papua |
Jakarta Post - November 9, 2005
Jakarta -- Indonesia has greeted with a sigh of relief a decision by the United States Congress to omit references to Papua from the State Department Authorization Bill, saying it reflected the consistent support of both the US government and Congress for Indonesia's national integrity.
Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said the removal of the references to Papua from the bill was welcome.
"It is a positive development that is in accordance with our efforts to gain support from both the United States government and Congress for the NKRI," Marty told Antara, referring to the Indonesian acronym for the Unitary Republic of Indonesia. The ministry considers the move to be the fruit of persistent diplomatic efforts by "all elements of the nation", Marty said.
The US House of Representatives passed the State Department Authorization Bill in July. Among many other issues affecting nations around the world, it questioned the incorporation of Papua into Indonesia following the so-called Act of Free Choice in 1969, in which carefully selected Papuan representatives voted for the territory to remain part of Indonesia.
The bill also referred to human rights abuses committed by the Indonesian Military (TNI) there, and would have obliged the US government to endorse an investigation by the United Nations into the 1969 event 180 days after the bill's enactment into law.
A bill needs approval from both the House of Representatives and Senate before being discussed with the administration. Even if the Senate agrees to accept a bill proposed by the House of Representatives, the US president can still veto its enactment.
However, the references to Papua in the bill sparked uproar among Indonesian politicians. During a visit to the US in September, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that Papua was "Indonesia's domestic affair". He has also called on the US and other nations to "respect Indonesia's territorial integrity".
International affairs expert Dewi Fortuna Anwar said the removal of the references to Papua was "a friendly gesture by the United States in respecting the integrity of Indonesia". "We should welcome the efforts by all sides in favor of Indonesia both inside and outside Congress to scrap the references to Papua in the bill," she said.
Dewi, who is a researcher with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), also praised the efforts of the country's diplomats and foreign parties regarding the issues. She called on the government to maintain good relationships not only with foreign governments but also non-governmental organizations, media interests and academics to enable Indonesia to give its side of the story about developments in Papua.
Associated Press - November 15, 2005
Anthony Deutsch, The Hague -- A key 1969 vote on the future of the Indonesian island province of West New Guinea was "a sham" orchestrated by Jakarta, a Dutch government-commissioned study has found.
That vote, which made the province part of Indonesia, has been followed by decades of abuse at the hands of the Indonesian military.
The 740-page book, "An Act of Free Choice," was published Tuesday after five years of research by Dutch author Pieter Drooglever at the request of the Dutch government, the colonial ruler of Indonesia and New Guinea until 1949.
When the Netherlands gave up its colonies in the Dutch East Indies, West New Guinea was not included in a sovereignty agreement with Indonesia. Only in 1962 did the two countries agree to place West New Guinea under UN rule, amid strong international pressure.
The region was promised a popular vote on its sovereignty, but was transferred to Indonesian control six months later. In 1969, its status as an Indonesian province was set when, Drooglever concluded, the Indonesian government rigged a vote by 1,022 inhabitants on behalf of the population of around 700,000 concluded.
United Nations observers were turned away from the voting, the result of which was declared to be 100 percent in favor of joining Indonesia.
"The Act of Free Choice ended up as a sham," Drooglever wrote in a summary of the book. "A press-ganged electorate acting under a great deal of pressure appeared to have unanimously declared itself in favor of Indonesia."
Although Drooglever's conclusions were in line with those of other historians, the sponsorship of the Dutch government gave the report added significance since The Hague has always seen itself as an interested party in Indonesian affairs.
Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot, however, dismissed the report -- requested by parliament in 1999 -- as "superfluous" before it's official publication, according to the daily Trouw newspaper in an extensive three-page report Tuesday on the book.
Bot nonetheless presented the report to parliament Tuesday and in an accompanying letter called it "the result of an academic study, which forms an additional contribution to our history and the events surrounding the Act of Free Choice."
John Saltford, author of "The United Nations and the Indonesian Takeover of West Papua," hopes the Dutch book will break new political ground and bring Dutch and Indonesian authorities to recognize an injustice done to around 1 million West Papuans.
"There is nothing to be gained from clinging on to a distorted version of history that can only further distort current efforts to solve the West Papuan issue peacefully," he said.
Willy Mandowen, a mediator for the West Papuan Council, an influential Papuan political party, estimates that 100,000 Papuans have been killed by the Indonesian military. "For West Papuans, it has been a human tragedy. They should be given a chance to exercise their own fate. The history needs some corrections," he said.
Although they do not have the support of the Dutch and Indonesian governments, they have American backing in their search for self-determination.
Around 40 US lawmakers in August asked the United Nations to review its acceptance of the Act of Free Choice and allow West Papua to vote on whether to remain a part of Indonesia.
The House of Representatives has passed a law calling for the United States to review its human rights policy toward the province, where Indonesian security forces have murdered, tortured and raped local separatists, rights groups said.
Alliance of Papuan Students (AMP) report - November 11, 2005
Yesterday [10 November 2005], on the 4th anniversary of the murder of West Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay by Kopassus [Indonesian Special Forces], the West Papua Street Parliament led a protest involving over 300 hundred Papuan students.
The meeting started at Theys' house in Sentani. From there the protesters, carrying banners, moved on to Cendrawasih University where many more Papuan students joined the protest. During the whole time, the Police and the TNI [Indonesian military] were following them.
The protested made speeches in which they held the Netherlands responsible for allowing Indonesia to occupy the Land of Papua through the 1969 Pepera [Act of Free Choice] and urged the Netherlands government to respond to the Drooglever Report [to be launched on 15 November in the Hague]and open diplomatic negotiations with Indonesia to respond to this report.
The protesters' banners read: "We need dialogue"; "We know the USA, Netherlands, Indonesia and the UN are morally responsible for Act of No Choice."; and "Release all Papuan Political Prisoners."
At this point, the Police came and arrested Jefrison Pagawa, leader of the Street Parliament. The Police also seized every banner from the students.
They would not allow any banner which mentioned the name of Theys Eluay or other human rights abuses committed by Indonesia in West Papua.
The Police came and took a big red banner away from the students because they had written on it about human rights violations by the TNI.
The Police blocked every road so no one could escape. So all the students had to surrender. After that, the situation nearly became violent between the students and the Police, but fortunately the Police released Jefrison Pagawa so nothing more happened. This was therefore a very good protest.
All over West Papua and in Indonesia, Papuan students are planning to mobilize big protests on 15 November, the day the Drooglever Report into the Act of No Choice is published in the Netherlands.
| Military ties |
Jakarta Post - November 9, 2005
Rendi Witular, Jakarta -- The government has expressed guarded optimism that the United States will not extend its 13-year military embargo on Indonesia.
Even if Congress maintains the ban, Indonesia can still expect the US administration to seek alternative policies that would enable Washington to export the equipment Jakarta needs, presidential spokesman Dino Pati Djalal said on Tuesday.
Dino said a renewed campaign by several US lawmakers to convince President George W. Bush's administration to extend its military embargo on Indonesia was far from being guaranteed success in Congress.
"The embargo decision is still being debated at the Congress. From the language of the debate, we are still optimistic that the embargo will not be extended. We should see developments within the next two weeks," said Dino.
Bush is seeking approval from Congress for US$20.9 billion in foreign aid that includes military assistance for several countries, including Indonesia.
A conference of Senate and House of Representatives lawmakers agreed last week to maintain restrictions on foreign military finance and on exports of lethal military equipment to Indonesia until Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice certifies that the Indonesian Military (TNI) met certain conditions, including the prosecution and punishment of TNI officers involved in gross human rights violations in Indonesia and East Timor, and the implementation of reforms "to improve civilian control of the military." Dino said that should Congress extend the embargo, the US administration could still use veto Congress' decision.
However, he added that the any veto would only be issued if it would benefit US security and defense interests in the long run. "With regard to military cooperation, President Susilo will meet US President George W. Bush during the annual APEC meeting in South Korea to specifically discuss the issue," said Dino.
Indonesia's military equipment has been steadily deteriorating as a result of the arms ban, which was slapped on the country following the atrocities in the former province of East Timor in 1992.
| Labour issues |
Jakarta Post - November 15, 2005
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- Thousands of employees at state plantation company, PTPN II, here held a protest on Monday, demanding the government increase their wages and conditions after five years with no raises.
In a noisy demonstration, the protesters threatened that if their demands are not met within a week, they would strike and occupy the PTPN's management office in Tanjung Morawa, Medan city.
The chairman of the company's workers union, Indro Suhito, said the company had not raised employee wages for the past five years. Many workers still received incomes below the regional minimum wage and some had not received other benefits such as overtime pay, Indro said at the demonstration held at the compound of the North Sumatra provincial council.
"We have been deprived for long enough." Sugiharto, 44, a company employee, said he had been working for the company for the past 26 years. The father of five children said his salary of Rp 562,000 a month was still below the North Sumatra minimum wage of Rp 610,000.
"The amount of salary I receive a month is not enough to cover our family expenses. I often owe our neighbors money in order to survive," said Sugiharto, whose name literally means a rich person.
The protesters demanded that the company's directors be replaced. "The councillors should recommend the central government that the government fire the company's directors," Indro said.
Responding to the demand, councillor Sahat Haojahan Situmorang said the council would summon the company's directors to explain the situation of their workers.
Separately, PTPN's spokesman Jhon Modal Pencawan promised the company would immediately pay all employee benefits that were outstanding.
Jakarta Post - November 15, 2005
Theresia Sufa, Bogor -- Hundreds of workers grouped under the Coalition of Bogor Workers demanded on Monday that the team in charge to assessing the minimum wage conduct a survey on living costs before determining the workers' minimum cost of living and regional wage.
The rally's coordinator Rifdian Surya Darma demanded that the Bogor Regental Legislative Council immediately summon the team, the Bogor Wage Council, to verify why it delayed the survey while an increase in the minimum wage is to take effect in January. The West Java governor had earlier announced that a decree on workers' minimum cost of living and minimum wage for Bogor regency would be signed on Nov. 20.
"The team had not conducted a survey to determine how much we usually spend in one month. More delays (in the survey) would only increase unrest among all workers," he added.
The coalition said it had also conducted surveys at four traditional markets in Cibinong, Cileungsi, Cisarua and Leuwiliang at Oct. 8 to get better picture of workers' monthly expenses.
The wage council members include the Bogor regent, the regency's secretary, academicians from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, head of the manpower agency, head of the social affairs agency, the regency's legal unit, head of the industry and trade agency, the Central Statistics Agency and the regency's development planning agency.
Other regions in Greater Jakarta, such as Tangerang, Depok and Bekasi, had set the minimum cost of living and wage earlier last month for their region.
"We suspect that the authorities are keeping the matter pending until the last minute and will abuse their power to set the minimum cost of living and wage far below our expectations.
"That is why we want the councillors to compare the results of our survey with the teams recommendation, if any," Rifdian told the council's Commission D on development affairs.
Commission head Supono said the councillors had earlier proposed to the team that the minimum wage be doubled from the current Rp 600,000.
"The team is required to complete the survey 40 days before the new wage is imposed on Jan. 1, which means this week," he said, adding that the council will soon summons the assessing team.
Jakarta Post - November 12, 2005
ID Nugroho, Surabaya -- A swarm of flies settled on a heap of rotting corn abruptly rose as Siti Maesaroh (not her real name), 17, walked passed the pile of garbage on Wednesday. She held her nose with the fingers of her left hand to keep out the stench, while she shooed away the flies with her right hand.
Not far from the pile of garbage is the house in which she, her parents and her 11 siblings live. It is located on a narrow alley off Jl. Genting in Surabaya.
The house is just a three meter by six meter structure partitioned into three sections; the guest room, bedroom and kitchen. A small bathroom is located beside the house. In her family, Siti is a "hero" as, despite her young age, she contributes financially.
Equipped with just an elementary school certificate, Siti, who is fluent in reciting the Koran, works as a laborer in a timber processing factory north of Surabaya. She is paid Rp 20,000 (US$2.00) per day, or Rp 600,000 per month. "It's a tidy sum to help make ends meet," she says.
The family considers the wage that Siti receives to be pretty fair as her father, a porter at the Genting market, earns much less than she gets, as does her mother, who sells fritters.
Even with all their earnings combined, however, they are barely enough to support a family of 12 children. They have to pay Rp 100,000 for electricity and water, and Rp 500,000 on food each month. "Not including our other expenses. It's barely enough," said Siti. Due to the problems facing the family, Siti and her 11 siblings had to leave school.
Siti is just one of a multitude of child workers. She and other thousands of child workers in the country should be praised as heroes by the nation as the country celebrates Heroes Day on Nov. 10.
A sociologist at Airlangga University in Surabaya, Bagong Suyanto, said that there were a great number of children in East Java who shared Siti's fate, particularly following the increase in fuel prices. "My analysis indicates that the poverty rate in East Java is on an upward trend," he told The Jakarta Post.
Economic hardship resulting from the fuel price hike would force families to maximize their earning capacities by forcing children and mothers to work, especially when the fathers lost their jobs, as was likely to happen to many following the fuel price increases. "There's no other way but to require children and wives to work to help make ends meet," he said.
Figures from the East Java Manpower Office show that there were 16.5 million people in the workforce in East Java in 2002. Around 1 million people are unemployed, and the school dropout figures reached 9,000 students in 2002. "The figures will keep rising," said Bagong.
Djunaidi Saripurnawan, the research and development coordinator of PLAN Indonesia in Surabaya, views child labor as a chronic problem. "Parents habitually allow their children to work without being aware that they are violating their rights," Djunaidi explained to the Post.
Djunaidi suggested that efforts to eradicate child labor would need to be accompanied by measures to improve the economic circumstances of families. "If a family is financially sound, the basic rights of family members can be realized, including the children's rights," he said.
Jakarta Post - November 11, 2005
Jakarta -- Around 80 truck drivers working for the Jakarta International Container Terminal at Tanjung Priok Port, North Jakarta, staged a rally at the City Council on Thursday to ask for support from the councillors for their demand that they be made permanent employees by PT Philia Mandiri Sejahtera (PMS).
They claimed that they have been working at the port since before the JICT appointed PT PMS in November 2003 to recruit the drivers as part-time employees.
"Unfortunately, the PMS directors have unilaterally decided to stop using our services without giving us any severance pay," said Ali, the leader of the drivers.
PMS spokesman Kosasih refused to comment on the demand during a hearing with Commission E on public welfare on Thursday.
Councillor Agus Dharmawan advised the JICT to meet the drivers' demand, citing that the company should not outsource driving services to other companies.
The JICT is owned jointly by Hong Kong-based port operator Hutchinson Port Holding and state port operator PT Pelindo II.
Jakarta Post - November 10, 2005
Tantri Yuliandini, Jakarta -- Some 600,000 workers in Greater Jakarta are likely to lose their jobs next year, following the implementation of new provincial minimum wage, the Employers' Association of Indonesia (Apindo) said on Tuesday.
Apindo secretary-general Djimanto said that the October fuel price hike followed by the minimum wage hike to be implemented in 2006 will put more pressure on the already ailing manufacturing industry.
"The previous fuel price hike in April cost about 200,000 jobs in Greater Jakarta between April and September, this time the impact will be much worse," he told The Jakarta Post at his office in Kuningan, South Jakarta. There was no available data on unemployment figures in Greater Jakarta.
He said that although the direct impact of the fuel price hike on production costs was only about 5 percent, indirectly the hike also meant other increases such as workers' transportation and meal allowances.
The increase in the minimum wage, too, would not be much of a problem for larger manufacturing firms if it was not followed by a demand for an increase from non-minimum wage workers, Djimanto said.
"Almost all of my workers have more than one year's work experience, so are not on the minimum wage. What is usually the case, when the minimum wage increases, all other workers also expect a raise," the member of footwear company PT Eltri Indo Footwear's board of commissioner explained.
The minimum wage is given only to workers with less than one year's work experience, who are unmarried and hold the lowest position in the company.
The monthly minimum wage in 2006 for Jakarta was increased by 15 percent to Rp 819,100 (about US$81), while for West Java it was increased by 9.65 percent to Rp 447,654.
Companies affected by the minimum wage increase in Jakarta include hotels, retail outlets, restaurants and offices, while in West Java they include labor intensive manufacturing companies.
Labor costs constitute about 28 percent of total production costs in a manufacturing firm, Djimanto said, adding that raw materials -- and utilities such as electricity and gas -- contribute about 60 percent and overhead costs about 10 percent.
"The remaining 2 percent is the profit margin, which will of course disappear if wages rise following the minimum wage increase," he said, adding that should wages increase the prices of goods may also increase by at least 20 percent.
On the other hand, the competitiveness of the country's manufacturing industry has long been eaten away by high economic costs represented by difficulties in access to raw materials, high bank interest rates, high labor costs, bureaucratic costs, security costs and transportation, he said.
"These costs make our products 30 percent more expensive than products of countries such as China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia," Djimanto explained.
To ensure that companies remain in business, Apindo suggested its members approach their workers and workers' unions for a delay in the salary increase. General increases in salaries, however, would still be given. "The government, too, should help employers stay afloat by issuing more business-friendly regulations," he added.
| War on terror |
Jakarta Post - November 13, 2005
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung -- As police widened the search for the followers of master bombmaker Azahari, an antiterror official warned on Saturday that Islamic militants could carry out widely dispersed attacks across the country following Azahari's death.
Ansyaad Mbai, the head of the antiterrorism desk at the security ministry, said extremists were likely to operate in small groups, each capable of launching attacks.
"They are metamorphosing into small groups, and each is not tied to a hierarchy," he said as quoted by AFP. "Each group can autonomously interpret in what situation they can mount an attack and who are the targets... Their only bond is their ideology and mind-set," he said in comments broadcast by RCTI television.
Azahari was killed during a police raid launched on Wednesday in Batu, a sleepy town some 800 kilometers east of Jakarta. The raid also resulted in the death of an Azahari accomplice called Arman, who was believed to have played a role in the Jimbaran and Kuta attacks in Bali on Oct. 1, which left 23 people dead.
Despite the successful raid, the police will now have to work hard to capture Azahari's compatriot, Noordin Mohd Top, who disappeared before a raid was due to be launched to capture him in Semarang.
Azahari and Noordin were believed to be top figures in the ranks of Jamaah Islamiyah, which aims at establishing a pan-Islamic state in the Southeast Asia region. The two were earlier accused of having masterminded the Bali bombings in 2002 that killed over 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.
In a separate development, the police intensified their operations on Saturday, including in Bandung regency where some 30 officers raided the home of Achmad Tamami, the father of Abu Dujana, who is believed to be a member of the Azahari network. The raid was unsuccessful as Abu was not in the house. Abu has been accused of playing a role in the attack on the Australian Embassy on Sept. 9 last year. "Abu has not been home since last month and he never informs his family of his whereabouts," said Cimahi Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Permadhi.
In Ponorogo, East Java, a platoon of police officers found several homemade bombs and four rifles in Baosan Lor subdistrict. The police say the bombs and weapons belonged to a member of the Azahari network.
First Insp. Dwi Warsito said on Saturday that the police had discovered the bombs and weapons after questioning Nurkosim, a member of the Azahari network incarcerated in Madiun prison. Nurkosim has been in jail since 2000.
Police in other parts of the country are also on the lookout for Azahari's men. Bengkulu Police beefed up security on the province's borders and at vital installations. Meanwhile, East Kotawaringin Police in Central Kalimantan arrested some 50 passengers arriving on a ship in Sampit Port from Surabaya, East Java province. East Java is home to a number of Bali bombing terrorists, including Imam Samudra, who was also involved with Azahari. The 50 people were apprehended after they failed to produce identity cards.
The heightened security comes in response to reports that Azahari's men are planning to launch attacks in several places across the nation between Nov. 29 and Dec. 25. The information was contained in a document belonging to Azahari, according to a police source.
Kompas - November 16, 2005
Jakarta - TNI (Indonesian military) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has explained that the involvement of TNI soldiers in preventing terrorism is part of the responsibility of being a citizen. The duties being taken up by soldiers will be limited to preventative efforts in order that there are no more members of the public who fall victim to acts of terrorism.
Speaking at a gathering with journalists following the end of the fasting month at the Yani Building in Jakarta on Tuesday November 15, Sutarto said he believes that there has been a debate which become out of context as if the involvement of the TNI in preventing acts of terrorism is a serious violation.
When the president asked to TNI to join in preventing acts of terrorism on October 5, as the chief of the TNI I took this as an order that all components of the nation, including the TNI, have been called upon to participate in fighting terrorism, said Sutarto.
Sutarto believes the president's order was natural because the repeated acts of terrorism that have taken place in the Motherland have taken so many victims. These terrorist acts cannot be allowed to continue because it could cause the government be perceived as having failed to create public security and prosperity.
Sutarto feels that soldiers have the capacity to participate in the task of confronting terrorism. The means by reawakening soldier's sensitivity to the conditions in and around the areas where they live.
Individually each soldier will adhere to a role of information gatherer. I have asked soldiers to be sensitive towards any strange things which take place in the vicinity of the places wre the live, said the TNI chief.
According to Sutarto, if they come across irregularities in their area, soldiers have been asked to immediately pass on the information to police. Following this, it is the police's task is to handle the enforcement of the law.
The formation of desk within TNI military units said Sutarto, is also intended for the same goal. Soldiers are only allowed to participate in operations to prevent terrorism if they are asked to by police.
During the event that took place in a relaxed atmosphere, Sutarto also elaborated on the issue of the TNI's businesses. According to Sutarto, the TNI will only maintain the foundations that are linked with the welfare of soldiers or their families. Meanwhile the business units that will be maintained will be limited to cooperative activities for the needs of soldier's families. The TNI will sell the remaining assets as capital for the foundations said Sutarto. (tom)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Reuters - November 16, 2005
Denpasar -- Three men detained as part of Indonesian police raids last week in which a top Asian militant was killed have been named suspects over October's bombings on Bali island, an officer said on Wednesday.
They are the first suspects named in the wake of the suicide bombings at three restaurants on the Indonesian resort island on October 1, which killed 20 people.
Police said the men were recruits of Malaysian Azahari bin Husin, a master bombmaker, who was killed last Wednesday in a shootout with police in East Java province. Police have already linked Azahari to the latest Bali attacks. The three men were picked up in the central Java city of Semarang last week.
Asked by reporters if they were the first suspects in police custody, Bali police spokesman Antonius Reniban said: "At this moment, those we have in Bali are these three." Reniban said they were being investigated under the anti-terrorism law on suspicion of providing assistance to the bombers who blew up their explosives-laden backpacks on October 1.
"These three people were arrested in Semarang. They have been brought here so we can intensify the investigation in relation to the cases at Kuta and Jimbaran," Reniban said, referring to the locations of last month's attacks.
Azahari was a senior figure in Jemaah Islamiah, a militant group seen as the regional arm of al Qaeda. Authorities say he also designed and supervised the making of the car bomb that caused the most damage in the 2002 attacks on Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
Green Left Weekly - November 16, 2005
James Balowski, Jakarta -- Ignoring widespread public opposition, the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) has announced it is reactivating its territorial command network down to the village level to "assist" local communities and police to "fight terrorism".
The plan to revive territorial commands, or Koter, was hastily drawn up after the October 1 suicide bombings in Bali and follows a request by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the TNI to actively take part in the "war on terror".
Speaking after a cabinet meeting on November 7, TNI chief General Endriartono Sutarto said that the village-level military intelligence units headed by non-commissioned officers, known as Babinsa, would be used to gather information to help prevent acts of terrorism. "I recently issued circulars to all regional military commands, asking them to reinstate Babinsa. They don't have the authority to make arrests, but to tap information from people", Sutarto told reporters on November 7.
Under the 32-year military regime of General Suharto, Koter allowed the TNI to play a political role at all levels of society. Thousands of Babinsa acted as the regime's eyes and ears in towns and villages and the system was used to quash all forms of dissent, leading to rampant human rights abuses. Although the TNI has resisted calls for Koter to be dismantled, Babinsa's role was scrapped following Suharto's overthrow in 1998.
Defence and intelligence analysts have repeatedly blamed poor coordination between intelligence units and unpopular government policies for the string of terrorist attacks in Indonesia over the last three years. Top politicians and human rights groups have warned that reactivating Koter will return Indonesia to the era of military control over politics that existed under Suharto's "New Order" regime.
The November 9 Jakarta Post reported that Usman Hamid, coordinator of the National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of the Violence, warned that the repression of the New Order was being revived in the name of "counter-terrorism". "There is no need to revive the territorial role [of the TNI]", Hamid said.
Sutarto has shrugged off such criticisms, saying the Babinsa will only be a "back up" to the police to prevent acts of terrorism.
Although Sutarto did not say when the Babinsa's duties would begin, the TNI says about 37,000 non-commissioned officers across Indonesia are ready to take part in the system. According to Jakarta military commander Major General Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo, 1710 Babinsa are being reactivated throughout the city to cooperate with local police in organising neighbourhood "security patrols".
According to local media sources, on November 1 each of the 11 regional military commands also set up an anti-terrorism desk to compile data and liaise with police. Speaking with the Jakarta daily Kompas on November 7, Brigadier General Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan, the head of the army's information office, said the desks would be set up at every level from Kodam (regional military command), to Korem (military command at a level below the region), Kodim (district military command) and Koramil (sub- district military command). They will have the power to detain people suspected of terrorist activities but must then immediately hand them over to the police.
On a more ominous note, Lieutenant-Colonel Agus Subroto, the head of the TNI's Diponegoro VII military district command, said strike force platoons had been set up at 36 Kodims in Central Java. "Meanwhile, one company of troops is prepared at the level of military unit command", Subroto told the November 8 Tempo Interactive. Subroto added that the combat troops were not just prepared for dealing with terrorist acts but also for police backup for other unspecified "security" purposes.
Asia Times - November 11, 2005
Bill Guerin, Jakarta -- One of Southeast Asia's most-wanted suspected terrorists has blown himself up -- or been gunned down -- only days after it was revealed that al-Qaeda's former Southeast Asian chief had escaped from US custody.
Azahari bin Husin, a Malaysian-born electronics expert and apparent master bomb-maker for Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), triggered a bomb on Wednesday, killing himself and two others, after an elite police counterterrorism unit, known as Detachment 88, moved in on a villa in the East Java hill resort of Batu on the southern flank of the volcanic Mount Arjuna. (Some reports say he was killed in police gunfire.) JI is considered a loosely connected regional arm of al-Qaeda.
Accused by Indonesia of being behind the Bali bombings in 2002 that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners, Azahari, with his fellow Malaysian Noordin Top, had evaded a police manhunt ever since. Pictures of the suspects had been posed in public places across the country, including shopping malls, office buildings and gas stations. Police had also offered a Rp 1 billion (US$111,100) reward for any tip leading to the arrest of the men. Noordin is still at large.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the arrest of both within 100 days of his inauguration last year.
Unlike other JI cadres, who mostly come from villages and have little training, Azahari was highly educated. In 1999, he was sent to Mindanao in the southern Philippines for weapons training and to learn how to produce explosives. On his return home in 2000, Azahari, along with Hambali (Riduan Issamudin), the JI operations chief, for three months took advanced lessons in bomb-making in Kandahar, Afghanistan. A Reuters report said he held a doctorate degree from the University of Reading in England.
One gets away
Meanwhile, the Pentagon confirmed this week that Umar al-Faruq, also known as Mahmud bin Ahmad Assegaf, had escaped in July from Bagram Airbase, a US military compound north of Kabul in Afghanistan. News of the escape emerged in a military trial in Texas against a sergeant accused of torture.
Faruq, a Kuwaiti-born Iraqi, also holding a Pakistani passport, had entered Indonesia as a refugee and married an Indonesian woman. He was arrested in Bogor, West Java, on June 5, 2002 and handed over to the US three days later. Jakarta was widely criticized at the time for "caving in" to American pressure.
Faruq was suspected of being al-Qaeda's point man in Southeast Asia, and in 1999, like Azahari, he is believed to have gone to Mindanao for weapons and bomb-making training.
He is accused of training militants in Mindanao and involvement in anti-Christian violence in the Indonesian province of Maluku. Years of bloody fighting between Muslims and Christians there have spawned support for groups such as JI and the radical new militant group of fighters known as Thoifah Muqatilah, or the Combat Unit, thought to have been headed by Azahari and Noordin.
Faruq also allegedly played a key coordinating role between al- Qaeda and the JI, including the setting up of financial networks. While in custody, Faruq is reported to have warned of a serious attack in Indonesia just months before the Bali bombings.
What he told US interrogators prompted the US ambassador in Indonesia to meet then-president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, warning that JI was set to launch a big attack on a "soft" Western target.
Hambali was born in West Java and was accused by officials of being a senior figure in the JI and a veteran of the Afghanistan war. He was said to have had close links to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the presumed mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, who was captured by the United States. Washington claims Hambali was responsible for organizing the meeting in Malaysia in January 2000 between Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmii, two hijackers in the Twin Towers attack.
Hambali was arrested in Thailand and handed over to the Americans in 2003.
Washington steadfastly refused to allow either Faruq or Hambali to return to Indonesia to testify against JI spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who in March was sentenced by an Indonesian court to two-and-a-half years in jail on conspiracy charges related to the 2002 Bali bombings.
Missteps in the 'war on terror'
Such lack of coordination in the "war on terror" is startling, but in terms of success in arresting and convicting terrorists, Indonesia is far ahead of most countries.
During the past three years, since the first Bali bombing (a second attack on October 1 this year killed 20 people), police have made 270 terrorism-related arrests and secured 170 convictions. They have repeatedly chased down operatives and the people who help them.
Last month, Indonesia and the US inked an agreement to develop their capacity for cooperation in the "war on terrorism", covering law enforcement, intelligence and agency cooperation, but still the US Congress plays hard to get over the resumption of military-to-military relations between the countries.
Last week in Washington, a Congressional conference agreed to maintain restrictions on foreign military finances and on exports of lethal military equipment to Indonesia until Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice certifies that the Indonesian armed forces, which have been accused of human-rights abuses, have met certain conditions
"I see there is no legal basis to accuse Indonesia of not doing anything to meet all requirements for the restoration of military cooperation," Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on Sunday, at the same time reminding Washington that Indonesia was a US ally in the "war on terror".
The hunt goes on
The hunt will continue for Noordin, but planned new measures will lead to concerns about human rights.
Indonesia's top anti-terrorism chief, Major-General Ansyaad Mbai, warned that although the events had reduced the capability of the terrorists, "a movement with ideological and political motives won't die, even if the leading figure dies".
On human rights, Mbai noted: "The existing [anti-terrorism] law gives limited room for the state authorities to work, partly because of our concerns about human rights. But there must be a common understanding that we cannot protect the human rights of individuals to such an extent as to sacrifice the rights of the public at large."
Legislative amendments, if passed, would permit preemptive measures, even against people suspected of promoting radicalism, said Mbai.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said, "Like it or not, the government must take measures which are tough and resolute, no different from what was done during the New Order era [of former president Suharto]."
Given the abuses of power and rights violations during the 33 years of the New Order, activists fear a military that has too much power, but the president himself wants the military to play a strategic and technical role in fighting militancy.
Commander in Chief General Endriartono Sutarto has reportedly ordered the revival of the once-feared community-based intelligence system, the military's territorial command, Koter, that covers the country right down to village level. Non- commissioned officers (babinsa) monitor local communities and report on "suspicious" residents to the intelligence authorities.
National police chief, General Sutanto, also wants tougher anti- terror legislation, to "give room to the police to move quickly and effectively" against terrorists.
Ultimately. Jakarta, fired up by Wednesday's success, will continue to do things in its own way, not in response to dictates from the West, particularly from the US, which continues to exert pressure over past issues rather than commit to the fight against clear and present dangers.
[Bill Guerin, a Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times Online since 2000, has worked in Indonesia for 20 years as a journalist. He has been published by the BBC on East Timor and specializes in business/economic and political analysis in Indonesia.]
Jakarta Post - November 11, 2005
Malang/Semarang/Surakarta/Jakarta -- Fingerprinting has confirmed the death of Azahari bin Husin, a bombmaker blamed for the deadliest terror attacks in the region, during a gun battle with police.
National Police chief Gen. Sutanto said on Thursday the prints had proved Azahari was one of two terrorists killed during the raid on Wednesday night in a housing complex in Batu area, Malang. Azahari was either shot dead or killed when a fellow militant exploded a bomb.
Gen. Sutanto said the study of two comparative sets of Azahari's fingerprints proved them to be identical. Azahari's body was severed around the legs and the torso. The police said Azahari was apparently trying to blow himself up in the gun battle, but the "Demolition Man" was shot before he could detonate the bomb. Police earlier said they found 30 bombs inside the house located in the hilly area of Batu, Malang.
The Malaysian national, who held a doctorate from a university in Great Britain, was suspected to have masterminded major attacks on Western targets in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali blasts, which killed 202 people, mostly tourists. He was also believed to be a key member of the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah.
Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika, who led investigations into both bombings on the island, said the raid had helped shed light into the latest bomb attack on Bali on Oct. 1, which killed 23 people, including three suicide bombers.
The two-star general said Azahari had definitely played a role in the bloody attack. "It is clear there is a link, the Oct. 1 Bali bombings in Kuta and Jimbaran were conducted by this (East Java) group," he said, quoted as saying by AFP.
Police sources earlier said Arman, Azahari's operative who was reportedly killed during Wednesday's raid, was the bombmaker for the Kuta and Jimbaran attacks.
In a separate development, National Police Headquarters disclosed they had identified two of the three suicide bombers who perpetrated the Bali blasts in October. The two were identified through DNA tests, said National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Budihardjo.
Meanwhile, soon after the death of Azahari was confirmed, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono congratulated the National Police for the successful raid. Through presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng, the President said the police should now focus on capturing Azahari's accomplice Noordin M. Top, who reportedly escaped police arrest on Wednesday in Semarang city, Central Java.
Separately in Semarang, the police's antiterror squad continued its investigation into Dwi Widiyanto, who was suspected to be one of Azahari operatives in Semarang. Dwi was reportedly arrested during a police raid on Wednesday in the city. A day later the police raided a house belonged to Dwi's father and two cell phone shops belonged to Dwi. The police took away several documents from the phone shops, including a book titled "Islam Needs a Strong Youth: Am I a Good Listener?."
Earlier, the police also discovered in Dwi's house in Kinibalu area in Semarang some documents, including a transcript of an interview between Osama bin Laden and a CNN reporter dated May 11, 1997 titled Osama bin Laden: Holy Terror.
Elsewhere, the National Police said on Thursday they would not pay out the billion-rupiah (US$100,000) reward promised last month for information leading to the arrest of Azahari. National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Sunarko DA said the bounty would be kept intact as the police tracked down the terrorist by themselves.
The reward is believed to be the largest ever offered by Indonesian Police, who pledged the same amount of cash for information leading to the capture of Azahari's suspected partner-in-crime, Noordin M. Top. Azahari was tracked down as a "result of police analyses and investigations, so the reward does not apply," Sunarko told AFP.
Jakarta Post - November 11, 2005
Tiarma Siboro and Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta -- The death of Azahari bin Husin, one of the most wanted terrorists in Southeast Asia, has dealt a serious blow to the terror network, but officials and experts cautioned that it would not eliminate the terror threat in this country.
"Each time the security forces arrest a top leader of a terrorist group, the network will be weakened. But that doesn't mean that terror attacks will not occur again. Therefore, I would ask the public to remain vigilant," Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Thursday.
Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono expressed a similar view, calling on the public to remain alert and help the security forces, whose task in hunting other terror suspects might actually have become harder now with the death of one of the top terrorist leaders.
"I guess the police and intelligence personnel will now have to work even harder. Tracing terrorist cells when they're messed up is even more difficult," Juwono said.
Azahari, a Malaysian citizen dubbed in his own country as "The Demolition Man" for his handiwork in a number of bomb attacks in Indonesia, was killed in a police raid on Wednesday in the East Java town of Batu.
Azahari, who is believed to be a key member of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a shadowy regional terror network linked to al-Qaeda, and another Malaysian fugitive, Noordin M. Top, are jointly accused of being behind a series of bomb attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 bomb blasts on Bali that killed 202 people, bomb blasts in Jakarta, and the triple suicide bomb attacks on the island early last month, which killed 23 people, including the three bombers.
Ansja'ad Mbai, head of the antiterror desk at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, said that the death of Azahari would only serve to momentarily distract the terrorists in Indonesia.
"For the actual terror network that has been actively conducting attacks, this clearly will have a great impact..., but we all know that terrorism is a crime based on ideology and politics, and will not stop just because of the death of a certain figure," he was quoted by AFP as saying.
He said that the short-term impact of the death of Azahari would be a significant lessening in terrorist activities, but he warned that intelligence information showed that the networks here had been actively recruiting new members and providing them with "special training."
Religious leaders also expressed caution. "I heard that Azahari and his companions were assembling bombs and were planning to launch attacks on Christmas Eve... I want the public to remain alert because the terrorists usually select special religious events to launch their attacks," said Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) chairman Rev. Andreas Yewangoe.
Meanwhile, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Boedihardjo said that the police would continue to beef up security around the country despite the confirmed death of Azahari.
"We're tightening security in critical areas of the country, especially those places that require extra tight security, such as public places and other important sites," Aryanto said during a press conference.
Aryanto added that the police, working together with the intelligence services, would make greater efforts to respond to reports from the public indicating the possible whereabouts of the other terrorists, including Top.
"We should not let our guard down even after Azahari's death because he might have recruited his successors before his death, and they might be well equipped to take over from him," he said. Aryanto did not rule out the possibility that Top might launch a revenge attack for the death of his partner.
Reports have previously said that regions outside Java, such as Maluku and Central Sulawesi, are now the main breeding grounds for new recruits. While Azahari is known for his bomb expertise, Top is expert at recruiting people from poverty-stricken areas.
Tempo Interactive - November 8, 2005
Jakarta -- The Indonesian Military (TNI) anti-terror desk which was established in each military regional command and the units below this command have begun to work, including the village military representatives whose duty it is to monitor terrorist activities.
According to Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, the anti-terror desk will operate according to the new assignment of the Indonesian Military (TNI). "This assignment includes the monitoring of terrorism activities to support the police," stated Sutarto after a limited cabinet meeting on politics and security at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Monday (07/11). The involvement of the TNI, Sutarto said, was because terrorism has been named as a danger that must be fought by all elements within the nation.
The TNI intelligence will analyze the information on terrorism activities reported by TNI units. According to Sutarto, the involvement of the TNI will help the police to gather information on terrorism, rather than forming special squads.
The Indonesian Military (TNI) Army has confirmed that the anti- terror desks at the level of the Indonesian Military (TNI) Army Headquarters and Military Command have been established. "The anti-terror desks at the level of military unit command and military district command shall be created," said Indonesian Military (TNI) Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Hotma Ngaraja Panjaitan to TEMPO on Monday (07/11).
The anti-terror desk at the TNI Army headquarters is headed by the staff of TNI Army Chief of Staff. Meanwhile, the military chief heads the anti-terror desk at the level of military district command. Panjaitan said that the authority of the TNI anti-terror desk authority was only limited to deterrence and preventative measures. "The arrest and questioning shall be in the hands of the police," stated Panjaitan.
From Central Java, Diponegoro VII Military District Command was reportedly waiting for the technical guide on the anti-terror desk establishment. So far, Diponegoro VII Military District Command has prepared one platoon of strike force in 36 military district commands in Central Java. "Meanwhile, one company of troops is prepared at the level of military unit command," said Lt. Col. CAJ Agus Subroto, the head of Diponegoro Military Command to TEMPO.
According to Subroto, the combat troops have been prepared not only for terrorism handling but also for police backup for other security purposes. (Dimas Adityo/Fanny Febiana/Imron Rosyid-Tempo News Room)
Jakarta Post - November 9, 2005
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- An order from the military leadership to all 11 regional military commands to set up special counterterrorism desks has been criticized by right activists concerned the move could lead to the stifling of government critics.
People are still traumatized by rights violations during the repressive New Order regime, Usman Hamid, coordinator of the National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of the Violence, said on Tuesday.
He warned that the repression of the New Order was being revived in the name of "counterterrorism".
Following a series of deadly terrorist attacks in the country, including the Oct. 1 bombings in Bali, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono instructed the Indonesian Military (TNI) to take an active role in the fight against terrorism.
That order is now being implemented in the creation of special antiterrorism teams at each of the TNI's 11 regional military commands -- a move that comes after remarks by TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto concerning the reactivation of the TNI's much criticized territorial role.
During the New Order, the military's territorial role helped former president Soeharto silence his critics and political opponents.
Endriartono also ordered the reactivation of the military's intelligence unit at the village level, with the unit comprising noncommissioned officers, known as Babinsa, who would work within communities to help the police fight terrorism.
He said "communication between civilians and the intelligence community was severed during the reform years", which saw the transfer of domestic security to the police.
Usman said the revival of the TNI's territorial role was just an excuse for the military's failure to provide security for the state.
He said that looking at existing regulations, the role of the TNI and its intelligence units in helping to combat terrorism was clear: to support the police.
"There is no need to revive the territorial role (of the TNI)," he said.
During her tenure, president Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a decree on the role of the National Intelligence Agency in coordinating among all institutions dealing with security issue, "but as of today, there has never been an evaluation to examine whether the agency has been able to carry out the job", Usman said.
"There is no reason to say the Indonesian people do not support the government's efforts to fight terrorism. What the government has to do is evaluate its own performance, instead of issuing so many controversial policies," he said.
Kompas - November 9, 2005
Kompas -- The head of the army's information office, Brigadier General Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan, has confirmed that they have already established an extra-structural organisation at every level of the TNI's (Indonesian military) territorial command, which will be tasked with and function in the same manner as the anti-terror desk at the coordinating ministry for political, legal and security affairs.
Pandjaitan conveyed this when contacted by Kompas on Monday November 7. The new bodies have been formed at each level of the territorial command (Koter), starting from the Regional Military Command (Kodam), the Military Command at a level below the residency (Korem), the District Military Command (Kodim) to the Sub-District Military Command (Koramil).
"Their members will be taken from functional staff. Of course it is not very special because its form is like an event committee for a celebration. They could come from intelligence, planning, territorial or even logistical staff", he said.
According to Pandjaitan, the duties of the "anti-terror desks" will be to compile and process intelligence data on the handling and prevention of terrorism. At each command, they will comprise 10 members. At the Kodam level, the desks will be headed by the regional military chief of staff.
The anti-terror desks at the Koter level will only have the authority to carry out the functions of curbing and preventing terrorist acts, while the authority to arrest and question suspect will remain in the hands of the police. "The anti-terror desks will conduct intelligence work in coordination with the police", said Pandjaitan.
Meanwhile the deputy chair of the House of Representatives (DPR), Zaenal Ma'arif, said in Solo (Central Java) that the formation of the anti-terror desks by the army should have waited for prior consultation with the DPR. "The people are still traumatised by the TNI's role in the past so this plan should have been explained beforehand", said Ma'arif.
The policy to establish the anti-terror desks was also criticised by the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Usman Hamid. Speaking on Tuesday he said that formation of the anti-terror desks has the potential to trigger social unrest bearing in mind the public's trauma over the involvement of TNI personnel in social problems in the past.
According to Hamid, the policy demonstrates the government's idleness in taking concrete action. Hamid suspects that this is an endeavor by the TNI to project an image overseas that they are really serious about dealing with terrorism. "In reality, there are many simple things which could be done to uncover terror [plots] and the bombings in numerous places, which strangely keep reoccurring", said Hamid.
The government and security forces persist in feeling that they lack the authority to handle terrorism. While in fact existing legislation and laws are already sufficient. The problem is, it remains for the government to evaluate what has been done well and correctly.
For example, Presidential Decree Number 5/2005 on terrorism and Government Regulation Number 24/2003 on procedures for the protection of witnesses, investigators, prosecutors and judges in cases of terrorism are still valid. "If the problem is located with the security forces' capability, yeah replace them with [those] who are more competent, there is no need to form anti- terror desks at Koter", he said.
The police for example, have never demonstrated any success in investigating the widening distribution network of explosives. It has never been clear were the TNI explosives came from that was found in the bombings in Kuta and Jimbaran and how could have circulated freely. (WHY/DWA)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Focus on Jakarta |
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2005
Jakarta -- Hundreds of members of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) and residents of Cilandak Barat, South Jakarta, stopped short of brawling on Monday afternoon over the establishment of a security post.
Outnumbered by residents opposing the establishment of the post 500 to 200 the FBR members left Jl. Terogong, near the Kristal Hotel, where the post had been erected.
According to Cilandak Police chief Comr. Eko Kristianto, the residents had sent an objection letter to the subdistrict head over the weekend, but the eight-meter-square post had been erected on Sunday regardless.
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2005
Jakarta -- Thousands of commuters were stranded on Tuesday morning at railway stations from Bogor to Jakarta as some 600 meters of cable to operate the electric trains was stolen on Monday night.
The route is the city's most popular line, transporting over 200,000 commuters from Bogor municipality, Bogor regency and Depok municipality to Jakarta every day.
State railway operator PT KAI records show some 500,000 people in Greater Jakarta use commuter trains as daily transportation.
PT KAI spokesman for Greater Jakarta Akhmad Sujadi said that the thieves took the cable installed near Pasar Minggu station. He said the theft took place after 10 p.m. when the commuter train stopped its daily operation.
"Because of the incident, we could only operate trains along one track, while we were trying to install new cable," he told The Jakarta Post.
There are 14 trains operating along the two tracks of the Bogor- Jakarta train line. Seven trains are operated from Kota station, while seven others from Bogor. The line went back to normal at 10:15 a.m.
Monday's theft was the fifth this year, Akhmad said. The first was in February on the Tangerang-Jakarta line, followed by two thefts in April on the Serpong-Jakarta line. The fourth in May was also on the Tangerang line.
Akhmad said his company had no idea how to stop the thefts, which usually took place in quiet areas at night. "We can only hope that residents will report it if they see something. We will reward them for the information," he said.
Although the company has not calculated the financial losses incurred in the thefts, Akhmad said the train operator could suffer some Rp 200 million in losses from ticket sales from one line alone, if the line was shut down for one day.
Jakarta Post - November 15, 2005
This week, the Jakarta administration will launch a large-scale crackdown on unskilled migrants who have entered the city after the Idul Fitri holiday. Governor Sutiyoso's administration has blamed migrants as the source of many urban problems. Some observers, meanwhile, believe the crackdown could be in violation of the Constitution, which states that the country's land and its resources are "assets for the people's prosperity" and that every Indonesian citizen has the right to "live and work in human dignity". In this first article in a series on the issue, The Jakarta Post's Damar Harsanto examines whether migration is really at the root of the city's woes.
With a current population estimated from 10-13 million, some analysts estimate Jakarta could be growing by up to 250,000 people a year.
Many of the migrants to the city often come after the Idul Fitri holiday, further squeezing an already overcrowded, dirty city, which 2004 figures say has a population density of 14,642 people per square kilometer.
As a consequence, public zones such as parks, riverbanks and the spaces under overpasses have been turned into slum housing by squatters, while road shoulders, pedestrian sidewalks and bridges are lined with migrants who earn their living by becoming street vendors. Lured by dreams of good money and a better life, every new influx puts an increased strain on the city's transportation, schools, hospitals and water supplies.
The waste from riverside slums and larger industrial polluters has made Jakarta Bay a toxic dump, and the black muck from each of the city's 13 polluted rivers is increasing every year, regularly killing thousands of fish.
Worse still, more than 60 percent of city's residents, many of them squatters, rely on groundwater supplies for bathing because infrastructure to deliver treated tap water is sorely lacking.
Sutiyoso has repeatedly emphasized that the increased numbers of migrants were preventing his administration from solving the many urban problems in the capital. "We cannot improve the lives of city residents should people continue to flood into Jakarta... We have to inform those people that Jakarta is already overcrowded now," he said.
But urban activists believe it is not the migrants who are the main cause of the city's problems. They blame the massive uncontrolled development in the city, including the growth of improperly planned shopping malls, commercial premises and upmarket housing estates. These they say are crowding out green spaces, increasing groundwater pollution and displacing the poor, giving them nowhere to go but roadsides and riverbanks.
There were a total of 12 new malls completed in the city in 2004 and 11 more are currently being constructed. However, while the middle classes and businesspeople are catered for, public housing projects for low-income residents are almost non-existant and substandard accomodation, traffic jams and mounting garbage are now regular features of many peoples' daily lives.
According to city watchdog the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) these planning problems will burden the city for years to come because of the glaring lack of professionalism in the administration. "The administration should humbly admit that it has not been serious or professional enough in dealing with these problems and is now looking for a scapegoat," Fakta chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan said.
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2005
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- The Jakarta office of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS Jakarta) has registered over 28,000 new families that may be eligible to benefit from the government's cash assistance program.
BPS Jakarta director Sunari Sarwono said over the weekend that his office would carry out door-to-door checks on 28,130 families to determine whether or not they were entitled to receive the cash assistance as they claimed. "Only those who satisfy the set criteria will receive the cash payments," Sunari told reporters.
To ease the impact of last October's fuel price increases, the government introduced the cash-assistance scheme, under which poor families are entitled to receive Rp 100,000 (US$10.20) per month for a period of one year.
The government has set 14 criteria to be used as yardsticks in assessing whether a household is considered poor or not, including having a dirt floor in the house, only one meal per day, new clothes only once a year, no permanent job, and maximum spending on health services and education. If a family satisfies at least eight of the criteria, it will be entitled to receive the payments.
The government initially allocated sufficient money to pay 15 million people across the country, but the number of people claiming to be poor has continued to rise since the first disbursement was made last October.
Violent, in some cases even bloody, protests have often accompanied the disbursement of the assistance, prompting the government to reopen registration.
In Jakarta, some 101,000 families were initially slated to receive the assistance, but the number has continued to rise since the first day of disbursement.
It is not immediately clear where the government will get the money to pay those registering late as the House of Representatives (DPR) earmarked only enough money to pay 15 million people.
Sunari said his 250 strong force would verify the information supplied by the 28,000 newly registered families to determine whether or not they were eligible for the assistance. He said he hoped the verification process would be completed by Nov. 20.
"We hope we can start distributing Fuel Compensation Cards to those who are eligible early in December so that they can receive their money by the end of December," he said.
BPS Jakarta, in cooperation with command posts established by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab at the subdistrict level, launched an additional registration drive following complaints that it had missed tens of thousands of poor families during the first registration drive.
Over the weekend, Councillor Hizbiyah Rochim lamented the fact that BPS Jakarta had missed tens of thousands of poor families during the first round, thus depriving them of the assistance payments.
"We would advise the city administration to involve neighborhood unit heads as these know the circumstances of the people living around them better than officials from the BPS Jakarta," Hizbiyah said.
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2005
Jakarta -- Having to dodge cars, three-wheeled taxis, motorcycles and carts appearing from nowhere could soon be a thing of the past for Central Jakarta residents, thanks to the municipality's plans to develop more sidewalks on city roads next year.
"This is in line with the city administration's program to improve public transportation with the ongoing development of the busway project. We want people to feel it is more convenient walking than driving in a car," Central Jakarta Mayor Muhayat told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Muhayat said his municipality planned to construct sidewalks from Pasar Baru to the National Monument (Monas) Park via the Hotel Borobudur, from Roxy in West Jakarta to Monas, from Kemayoran to Monas and from Pejompongan to Monas via Tanah Abang.
"Hopefully, more people, including tourists, will be able to enjoy these wider sidewalks," Muhayat said, adding that the Monas area was chosen because it was the central city's main landmark. He did not mention the cost of the projects, saying only that they would be developed in cooperation with the city public works and parks agencies.
The City Parks Agency often uses the capital's few existing sidewalks to plant small trees because of the limited space available for green areas in the city. These leafy obstacles mean pedestrians often have to walk on the road to avoid bumping into them.
Jl. MH Thamrin, one of the city's prime business districts, already has new sidewalks, worth an estimated Rp 10 billion (about US$998,000). The municipal administration has also recouped sidewalks on Jl. Salemba Raya, Jl. Kramat Raya, Jl. Gunung Sahari and Jl. Paseban.
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's administration has launched an array of beautification projects across the municipality that hosts foreign embassies, governmental offices and the offices of multinational companies. The city administration has also built another attraction at the Monas Park, a fountain with music and laser decorations that cost Rp 26 billion.
It is also constructing a fountain with a new statue of national hero Prince Diponegoro on Jl. P. Diponegoro in the plush housing area of Menteng, which is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
The historical Persija soccer stadium in Menteng will also be converted into a community park equipped with cafes, restaurants and car parks. That project is estimated to cost Rp 55.5 billion.
| Environment |
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2005
Jakarta -- The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has reported threats made against its activists investigating illegal logging in Aceh to the National Police and the Ministry of Forestry.
Walhi chairman Chalid Muhammad said a number of persons unknown had told its Southeast Aceh activists to leave Kutacane in Southeast Aceh or they would "be risking their lives".
"It is clear that the threats and intimidation directed at the Walhi activists is aimed at preventing them from uncovering who the masterminds are behind illegal logging in Kutacane and the Leuser National Park," Chalid told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He also said that the threats had disrupted the investigation being conducted by the Walhi team in the regency. "Due to the intimidation, Walhi members are no longer able to monitor logging sites in the area. Therefore, Walhi cannot confirm whether the level of illegal logging is abating or not," he said.
The Walhi coordinator for the Southeast Aceh region, Sofyan, said the first threats had come after the environmentalists made a documentary movie on illegal logging in Kutacane last month.
"We often received threats, either by phone or text message," Sofyan told the Tempointeraktif news portal. "But recently, the intimidation has been intensified." Sofyan said that a group of unidentified people came to the homes of two Walhi activists on Oct. 29 and told them to leave Southeast Aceh immediately. "The day after, the same people also came to our offices in Southeast Aceh," he said. Sofyan said Walhi had sought protection from the local police.
Chalid said the threats would not put a halt to Walhi's work until the perpetrators of illegal logging were brought to justice. "They are working for humanity. They won't stop just because of the threats," he said.
Walhi has said that illegal logging in Kutacane may involve senior officials in the region. The deforestation contributed to the recent flooding that claimed 10 lives and left hundreds of others homeless, it said. Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban has also blamed rampant illegal logging and widespread felling of a local tree known as kemiri for the fatal floods.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered a nationwide crackdown on illegal logging early this year. Jointly conducted by the police, military, prosecutors and the Ministry of Forestry, the operation, code named Hutan Lestari, has targeted Papua, Kalimantan and Sumatra.
Agence France Presse - November 15, 2005
Jakarta -- A court in the Indonesian capital rejected a government multi-million-dollar pollution lawsuit against US mining giant Newmont and ruled the case should be settled by arbitration.
The 1.24 trillion rupiah (124 million dollars) suit filed by Environment Minister Rachmat Witular in April should be "solved through an arbitration court," said Chief Judge Sudarto of the South Jakarta district court.
Sudarto said the ruling was based on a clause in Indonesia's contract with Newmont which stipulates that disputes must be solved in an arbitration court. The judge also ruled that Witular had no legal authority to represent the government in the case.
Indonesian police last year launched an investigation following allegations that Newmont had pumped toxic waste into the air and sea around its mine in North Sulawesi province, causing neurological disorders and severe skin conditions.
Witular filed the suit eight months after complaints emerged from residents near its mine near Buyat Bay that toxins dumped by a Newmont operation had caused the medical complaints.
Rubi Purnomo, a Newmont spokesman, welcomed the ruling. "We're pleased that the court respects our contract," Purnomo said.
Government lawyer Iskandar Sonhaji said he would report the court's decision to Witular and a decision whether to appeal would be made within two weeks.
Newmont Minahasa Raya, the Denver-based company's Indonesian subsidiary, and its president Richard Ness are being separately tried on criminal charges of polluting Buyat Bay near the company's now closed gold mine there.
Prosecutors accuse Newmont Minahasa Raya of illegally and intentionally causing pollution and allege Ness did nothing to stop it. He could face up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
Newmont has consistently denied the charges, saying it disposed of toxins safely and that levels of mercury and arsenic around the mine were well within acceptable levels. The company has also maintained that the indictment is riddled with legal deficiencies.
A World Health Organisation-backed report found no evidence of pollution but Indonesian government tests showed high levels of toxins.
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2005
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- At least 50,000 hectares out of a total of 216,000 hectares of forest in the Gunung Leuser National Park has been deforested since 1980, sparking concern over an environmental disaster in the area, a senior local government functionary said on Friday.
Illegal logging was to blamed for the rapid deforestation, said Langkat regent Syamsul Arifin.
"The deforestation is getting worst, especially in Besitang and Sei Lepan districts," said Syamsul.
The regent told a press conference that the illegal logging had actually been reported to the Ministry of Forestry for follow-up action. "The central government needs to take swift action against the illegal loggers so that further environmental damage can be avoided," said Syamsul.
The illegal logging involved high-level bureaucrats, security personnel and businesspeople, making it difficult for the government to stamp it out. But, the government had to make a start otherwise the forest would disappear, said Syamsul.
The executive director of the North Sumatra Forum for the Environment (Walhi), John Purba, said the environmental damage in the regency had been taking place for a long time but the government had never done anything concrete to stop it. The illegal loggers were "untouchable" as they were backed by government officials and security personnel, said Purba.
"How can the logs be removed so easily from the jungle without anyone seeing them? The illegal loggers are obviously being backed by security personnel so that they can transport the logs out of the jungle," said Purba.
A case in point was that of "Mr. A", a well-known operator in the timber trade who was suspected of being involved in illegal logging. He had never been arrested although various organizations, including local NGOs, have furnished information to the police that he was involved in illegal logging.
Purba said that if the illegal logging was not dealt with quickly, it would lead to more natural disasters. The government should learn from the Bahorok tragedy two years ago, which killed more than 150 people. The flash flood in Bahorok happened because of the felling of the forests in the upper reaches of the river, said Purba.
The illegal logging has not only concerned Langkat regency administration, but also other local governments nationwide as illegal logging was rampant across the country. The government launched a nationwide crackdown against the illegal loggers in March of this year and thousands had been arrested since then. Despite the large number of arrests, illegal logging was still taking place, especially in remote areas.
Jakarta Post - November 11, 2005
Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung -- Environmentalists in Lampung lashed out at the Bumi Kedaton Safari Park (TWABK) management for treating animals under its care poorly.
Director of the Lampung chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Mukri Friatna, charged that the park, which is located in Batuputu subdistrict, Telukbetung district in Bandarlampung, had set a poor example of wildlife protection and management in the country.
He said the park has exploited the animals. "What would you call it if not exploitation when the elephants have lost much of their weight in a period of just a few months. Besides the squalid enclosures, the animals are also underfed," said Mukri.
The elephants which perform in animal shows at the park, which started operation in October last year, were acquired from the Way Kambas Elephant Training Center (PLG). To date, the park has replaced the elephants three times.
"The park usually keeps five elephants. If they grow thin, they are replaced with new ones from the elephant training center. That's clearly animal exploitation," said coordinator of Lampung's Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU), Dwi Nugroho.
According to Dwi, the Lampung provincial administration initially dedicated the park as a recreational area -- not a zoo. Although the park takes care of animals, the arrangement is only temporary in nature before they will be kept at the planned Animal Protection Center (PPS) at the Youth Camp in the Wan Abdul Rahman Forest Park in the future.
"Why is this place allowed to operate as a wildlife transit point with these conditions? Reckless handling has caused many animals to fall sick and die," said Dwi.
According to Dwi, observations show that many animals in the park are suffering and have died. A crocodile died in May this year. Gibbons and horses also appeared weak because they were underfed.
"The management should not only think of profit without taking good care of the animals," said Dwi.
The park is home to a variety of animals, including protected species. There are more than 100 animals from the 27 species in the park. The protected species consist of five Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumateranus), five estuary crocodiles (Crocodylus javanicus), one bondol eagle (Halyantus indus), one black eagle (Ictynaetus malayensis), two poccupines (Hystrix brachura), three black parrots (Lorius lory) and three wildcats (Felix bengalensis).
Among the unprotected animal species are the short-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina), the Macaca fascicularis and Presbitis melalopos monkey species and various bird and fowl species.
"Bumi Kedaton Natural Park is a joint venture between PT Bumi Kedaton, owned by Darwis Nasution, and the Lampung provincial administration. The park was set up to take advantage of its natural environment which can be developed into a nature education center and camping ground for students," said head of the Lampung Tourism Office, Yanto Riyanto.
Covering an area of six hectares, the park is located in a natural setting where various animal species are found. The Lampung administration is also planning to add five more hectares to the park to be turned into camping grounds.
The park management replaces elephants with those at the Way Kambas elephant training center as it wishes, allegedly based on a permit from the Lampung administration.
Head of the Lampung Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA), Agus Harianta, said his office had required the park to apply for a permit from the BKSDA, because it did not have the required facilities to take care of wildlife, such as a zoo.
Agus said he was not aware on the condition of other animals, apart from the elephants. The agency, he added, received reports on elephants each month but not other animals.
"The park should have a veterinarian if it is officially recognized as a conservation institute. As far as I know, there are no other animals tended by veterinarians other than the elephants. The elephants are attended to by veterinarians from BKSDA," said Agus.
Since its inception, the park has been the object of protests from various environmental organizations in Lampung. The Wildlife Crime Unit has questioned the Lampung administration's commitment to the park's existence.
The park is set up as a transit place for wildlife before the realization of the Wan Abdul Rahman Animal Protection Center (PPS), but environmentalists view it more as a zoo than an animal transit center.
Meanwhile, Lampung councillor Yandri Nazir said the council felt it had been deceived by the governor and operator of the park because it turned out the park was not an asset to the provincial administration.
"Funds from the provincial budget were used to invest in and operate the park, but the administration has not received anything from ticket sales.
"We feel deceived. If we had known the park would be owned by a third party, we would clearly object because the operational funds were derived from the provincial budget," said Yandri.
Funds disbursed through the Ministry of Forestry in 2005 amounting to Rp 500 million (US$50,000) were used for animal feed and the care of two elephants. The Lampung provincial administration had also assisted the park owner with Rp 300 million to build a wildlife enclosure.
| Islam/religion |
Jakarta Post - November 12, 2005
Several churches in Jakarta and West Java were closed down by force recently, prompting practitioners to conduct their prayers outside their church. This issue has also gained attention from the United States, which mentioned the restrictions on religious freedom in the State Department's 2005 International Religious Freedom Report released on Wednesday. Chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) Rev. Andreas Yewangoe spoke to The Jakarta Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat on Thursday.
Question (Q): What is your comment on the US State Department's report?
Answer (A): With or without the report, restrictions and abuse of religious freedom are still rampant in certain areas in the country.
Several churches of denominations grouped under the PGI were closed by force by a certain extreme group, a series of attacks were launched on Ahmadiyah-owned mosques and properties, and a Catholic education center in Tangerang was closed because it was used as a house of worship. A number of church ministers in the country's eastern region have been arrested for unspecified reasons.
A stranger thing is that the state fails to enforce the law when facing these restrictions. In certain areas, security personnel just stood by (doing nothing) when churches were closed by force by certain unauthorized groups, and those who perpetrated these wrongdoings have never been brought to justice.
Thus, the core problem is that religious freedom is still restricted, despite the Constitution that guarantees all citizens' right to worship in accordance with their own faith.
Has the PGI filed a complaint on the closure of churches to the government?
Yes, we have. We brought the issue to our meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla at the latter's Jl. Merdeka Selatan office three weeks ago to be handled properly and immediately, but so far, no measures have been taken.
Will you explain the core problems behind the church closures?
Numerous reasons have been aired by perpetrators to justify their actions. Some said the churches had no official permit from the relevant authorities and had caused disturbances to the surrounding areas, while others said houses and school buildings could not be used as houses of worship. Many have also aired allegations that the establishment of churches in predominantly Muslim districts was aimed at proselytizing non-Christian locals.
Will you comment on the specified reasons?
We have to be extra-alert on this sensitive issue. First of all, all citizens have the right to adhere to the religion they choose, and to build their houses of worship in places permitted by the relevant authorities.
Second, many churches may have made noise and caused traffic jams, but these problems could be solved amicably and religions should not be seen as the culprits behind them. It is extremely unfair to sow hatred of a certain religion only because church services were noisy or because churchgoers caused a traffic jam.
Regarding the permit issue, if the churches have no official permit as is required by regulations, then they should be closed by the government, and not by militiamen. All sides, including hard-line groups, should respect the rule of law and let law enforcers handle all kinds of legal violations.
Do you think the regulation on the establishment of houses of worship is restrictive?
Very restrictive. Because, despite the new revision, the joint ministerial decree requires irrational administrative requirements to obtain official permits from local administrations for the establishment of a church in a certain district.
The problem is that the government has always claimed to have stayed out of religions' internal affairs, but, in reality, they have made many rulings dealing with religions. Administratively, the government should regulate the establishment of churches, mosques and temples in accordance with regional spatial zoning and it should not need approval from locals where houses of worship are established.
Many Christian communities have performed their Sunday prayers in houses and other properties because of difficulties in obtaining official permits to establish their churches from authorities. In the meantime, many mosques are built without any official permits.
How do you prevent the government from interfering in the internal affairs of religions?
Despite the Constitution and the Pancasila state ideology that stipulates the belief in Almighty God, the state must be principally separated from religions because both have their own authority. The state (and the government) is tolerated to regulate certain matters on religious affairs in general. In Indonesia, state-religion relations are quite intricate and have been frequently complicated because of the absence of a national commitment to upholding the pluralism-based state pendulum.
What should the government do?
The government should comply with the Constitution that guarantees religious freedom and stay out of the internal affairs of religions. And it should give equal treatment to all citizens to practice their beliefs.
All discriminative and restrictive regulations, rulings, decrees and bylaws that go against the Constitution should be annulled. These restrictive rulings or edicts have encouraged certain sides to use violence on other religions' adherents and certain sects deemed deviant.
Authorities must stand neutral and take action against those abusing religious freedom in order to uphold the government's sovereignty.
Reuters - November 11, 2005
Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta -- Indonesia needs more cooperation from the public to track down Islamic militants who are sometimes regarded as heroes in the world's most populous Muslim nation, Jakarta's top counter-terrorism official said on Friday.
Speaking two days after the killing of one of Southeast Asia's most wanted militants, police general Ansyaad Mbai said some residents had noticed suspicious activity at the house where Azahari Husin had holed up, but did not report anything.
Muslim clerics were increasingly encouraging Indonesians to speak out, despite misgivings among ordinary people about Jakarta's support for the US-led war on terrorism, he added.
Azahari was killed during a gunbattle with police in the town of Batu in East Java on Wednesday. He was shot dead just before a fellow militant exploded a bomb, police said on Friday.
"We are 50-50 on the ground," said Mbai, head of the counter- terrorism desk at the chief security minister's office, referring to support for police efforts to catch militants.
"At times, terrorists are merely seen as the enemy of the police when they should be seen as the public enemy, the enemy of the nation, of religion. Sometimes, terrorists are even considered as heroes," he said in a telephone interview. "The Indonesian nation has now seen for themselves that these terrorists do not hide in the jungles, but they blend into the crowd."
Regional countries have welcomed the death of Malaysian Azahari, a master bombmaker blamed for a string of attacks in recent years, but some cautioned it would not eliminate the threat of radical violence in Southeast Asia.
Posters of Azahari and another suspect wanted for several major bomb attacks on Western targets in recent years, Malaysian Noordin M. Top, have been plastered all over Indonesia.
Mbai said police had received valuable information from the public before raiding the Batu house where Azahari was hiding, but added: "Many residents who had noticed strange activity from that house only stepped forward after the raid. If they had come out earlier, we could have acted faster," said Mbai.
Help from clerics
Anti-terror campaigns in Indonesia have often faced challenges because of the belief in conspiracy theories that the United States wants to attack Islam as well as ample space given to militant voices and their sympathizers in Indonesian media.
Some coverage has helped militants appear as defenders of Islam. But Mbai said Muslim clerics were beginning to help police after a period of reluctance to condemn militants, who regularly use religion as a shield for their actions.
Local media have said police came close to catching Top on Wednesday in the central Java city of Semarang when they detained another militant who had come from the Batu hideout. "It was a pity he could get away but the police are on him," said Mbai, without giving details of what happened.
Police have had several nears misses in catching Top and also Azahari before Wednesday's raid. Dubbed the "demolition man" by newspapers in his native Malaysia, Azahari was the suspected brains behind several bomb attacks on Western targets in Indonesia and the top bomb maker in Jemaah Islamiah, a shadowy network linked to al Qaeda.
Authorities say the electronics expert designed and supervised the making of the car bomb that caused the most damage in 2002 attacks on the resort island of Bali which killed 202 people. While Azahari has been the key Jemaah Islamiah bombmaker, Top's special talent has been in recruiting suicide bombers in poverty-stricken Indonesia, security experts have said.
Jakarta Post - November 10, 2005
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Despite the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, discrimination on the basis of religious belief is a cause for concern in this country, according to the United States' 2005 International Religious Freedom Report.
The report released by the US State Department on Wednesday said that certain policies, laws and official actions had restricted religious freedom, and security authorities had occasionally tolerated discrimination against and abuse of religious groups by private actors.
"The (Indonesian) government continued to restrict the construction and expansion of houses of worship. It also maintained a ban on the use of private homes for worship unless the local community approved and a regional office of the home affairs ministry provided a license...," the report said.
Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country, is one of 14 Asian countries tarred by the international report. The countries include China, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Myanmar and North Korea.
The report also cited the recent forced closure of three churches in Jakarta and that of Catholic school Sang Timur in Tangerang, Banten. Muslims have also reported difficulties in establishing mosques in the Muslim-minority provinces of Papua and North Sulawesi.
The State Department also reported that people who did not follow one of the five major religions recognized by the government often faced "official discrimination", such as not being issued official documents such as identity cards (KTPs) and birth certificates.
The report has sparked mixed reactions from religious organizations in Indonesia.
Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organization in the country, denounced the report, saying developed countries had frequently released such reports in the name of human rights to ostracize developing countries, including Indonesia.
"We are not surprised. It is not strange for such a report to have been released by the State Department because they have their own interests. The abuse of human rights, including religious freedom, still occurs in that country. The discrimination against and the harassment of the minority group of Muslims still happens right under their noses," Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsudin told The Jakarta Post.
Din acknowledged that tension among religious communities had often occurred in this country, but said it was basically triggered by socioeconomic and political factors.
Secretary-general of the Bishops Council of Indonesia (KWI) Mgr. Ignatius Suharyo appreciated the report, saying religious freedom had remained a crucial issue in the country despite the amended 1945 Constitution, which guarantees all citizens the right to worship according to his or her religion or belief.
He cited the bombings of several churches between 2000 and 2002, the forced closure of Christian worship places in Jakarta and West Java and the difficulties experienced by minority groups in obtaining the necessary permits to set up houses of worship.
Suharyo, also archbishop of the Semarang diocese, said the key problems were the government's intervention in religious affairs and its failure to respect religious freedom.
| Business & investment |
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2005
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta -- Indonesia will miss the opportunity to attain a tax-based economy if it fails to address the main problems of complicated tax laws and tax officials with questionable integrity, analysts say. "The devil is in the details, in the fine print of the tax laws," economist Faisal Basri of the University of Indonesia said at a seminar on tax reform on Tuesday.
"Gray areas of tax law articles, which are still open to interpretation, should be reduced. Any planned tax reform should not be patchwork but total reform, including of the tax office," he added.
Rosediana Suharto, a business association representative, gave an example of one gray area, in which agricultural products exempt from value-added tax (VAT) were vaguely defined as "crops which are directly harvested", leading to different interpretation by tax officials. "If latex is directly collected but immediately treated for better storage, is it then subject to tax?" she asked.
It was only after the Ministry of Agriculture submitted a more specific definition for the draft tax law amendments that the matter was made clear.
The government submitted to the House of Representatives the revision to the laws on general taxation arrangements and procedures, income tax and VAT for deliberation, which will be the third major tax reform since 1983, if approved.
The government expects to rake in Rp 416.3 trillion (US$41.63 billion) in tax revenue next year, up from Rp 351.9 trillion this year. It also aims to raise the tax base to 19 percent by 2009, from some 13 percent at present.
With only some three million taxpayers, Faisal acknowledged the need for a larger tax base for a better economy, but understood the public's reluctance to comply.
"Taxpayers' expectations are actually simple: that tax regulations be clear and tax rates competitive. If these are fulfilled, then the tax base, tax revenue and the business climate will improve, attracting more investment," he said.
A recent World Bank survey shows that businesses in Indonesia spend more than twice as much time on tax matters and make twice the number of tax payments than the Asian average. They also pay an effective rate of 38.8 percent as compared to the region's 31.2 percent average.
"No wonder many don't want to get more of a headache by dealing with taxes. There is also a lack of incentive-based persuasion in tax reform, and instead more draconian power is being given to the tax office," Faisal said.
Concerning calls to include an amnesty for tax evaders to encourage them to register as taxpayers, chairman of the House's finance commission and deliberation team, Paskah Suzetta, said the House would give the government until the end of November to submit such addenda.
"If by then the government has not submitted any, the House can use its initiative," he said.
Faisal, however, warned the lawmakers to avoid creating a possibility for the tax amnesty to be taken advantage of, which would jeopardize the whole essence of tax reform. "It should firmly remain what it is called: a tax amnesty, not a corruption amnesty."
Jakarta Post - November 10, 2005
Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- Following intense opposition from the business community over proposed amendments to the tax legislation, the government pledged on Wednesday that it would soften its stance by agreeing to significantly review them.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed relevant ministers to make substantial concessions while discussing the laws with legislators in order to accommodate public demands, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said.
"Based on the president's decision, the government has agreed to be more accommodating in accepting input from taxpayers and by making significant changes to the (draft) amendments," he said after a ceremony at the Presidential Palace.
The government passed on the draft amendments to three tax laws to the House of Representatives for deliberation in early September in the expectation that the new bills would come into effect on Jan. 1, 2006.
The three amendment bills -- which if past will be the third series of tax legislation reforms since 1983 -- include Law No. 16/2000 on general taxation arrangements and procedures, Law No. 17/2000 on income tax and Law No. 18/2000 on value added tax and luxury tax.
Aburizal said that some of the key demands from taxpayers -- which were likely to be accommodated -- included equality between the revenue service and taxpayers.
"I think there should be an evaluation of the level of equality between taxpayers and tax officials. This is one of the main concerns of taxpayers that we need to address seriously," he said.
Both domestic and foreign taxpayers here have been worried about the widening imbalances between the power of tax officials and the rights of taxpayers.
Tax officials remain subject only to internal controls in the directorate general and the finance ministry, with officials suspected of tax crimes or violations being investigated only by their colleagues.
On the other hand, taxpayers will face heavier sentences if suspected of violating the tax laws. They will also find it difficult to stand up for their rights in dealing with the tax bureaucracy.
Aburizal said the government would also incorporate ways to simplify procedures in tax collection as well as the rebate process.
With a possible massive overhaul of the amendments, Aburizal indicated that reform of the country's tax regime could only start in 2007, one year later than expected.
The amendments, which were initially praised as "business friendly", turned out to be counterproductive after several unilateral changes were made by the Ministry of Finance minutes before they were submitted to the House.
The amendments were drafted jointly by the ministry's Directorate General of Taxation and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), with the primary aim being to make the tax legislation more friendly to taxpayers.
Tax collection in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, remains one of the lowest among major Asian economies. As of the end of last year, only 3.67 million people or institutions had a tax file number and paid taxes regularly.
| Opinion & analysis |
Jakarta Post - November 14, 2005
Aboeprijadi Santoso, Amsterdam -- Conventional wisdom about what happened in Indonesia during the second half of the 1960s generally held leading Army officers, in collaboration with some youth organizations, responsible for Indonesia's greatest human disaster after its independence, which included the killings, persecutions and imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of alleged communists.
Much less known, a seminar has recently revealed, is that foreign and local academics were abused by the then most powerful security apparatus, the Kopkamtib (Security and Order Operational Command), in the repression during the 1970s.
The "1965 Forgotten Holocaust of Indonesia" seminar, held on Oct. 28 by the International Institute of Social History IISG in Amsterdam to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1965 tragedy, presented a number of testimonies -- all pointing to the profound impact of the tragic events.
One victim-witness, whose husband was tortured to death, related the pain of the "semantics of repression" by the interrogators; another recalled with pain a dramatic, but polite and peaceful confrontation with his father's killer.
Many families lost members or faced tragic disintegration without even understanding the reasons. Such complex experiences were left unresolved because the state and society were disinterested -- the incidents largely clouded with fear, silence and ideological hatred.
It is no doubt important for the nation to remember the tragedy. But to refer to the killings and persecutions as a "holocaust", the term describing the Nazis historic victimization of the Jews in Europe, would only dramatize rather than contribute to a proper understanding of the Indonesian tragedy.
With the truth suppressed, the price of history is a tragedy concealed, not resolved. Hence, the rights of the victims and their families should be fully rehabilitated and those responsible for the tragedy, former President Soeharto in the first place, must be brought to trial.
Meanwhile, a new academic trend has begun focusing on how Soeharto's New Order was founded -- as distinct to the events of the 1965-1966 tragedy.
Ben Anderson, an old hand in Indonesian studies, recently in Amsterdam pointed out the importance of several political networks as financial and intellectual resources supporting the Opsus (special operations) campaign to neutralize and remove the old elite.
The transition to the New Order has also been described in a new book by Dutch historian Lambert J. Giebels, De Stille Genocide (The Silent Genocide). Using hitherto unknown sources, he featured the central role of the Opsus chief Gen. Ali Moertopo and the Dutch priest P. Beek, which has been a public secret for sometime.
Of this trend, quite independently, the latest is a study Indonesian researchers in the Netherlands have embarked on Kopkamtib's collaboration with foreign and local scientists, which started as early as 1971 as part of efforts to consolidate the new regime.
Kopkamtib's project only came to the surface as its chief, the security tsar Admiral Soedomo seven years later proudly announced "now scientifically we can measure the state of political prisoners' ideology with the help of Dutch psychologists." (The New York Times, Apr. 12, 1978). The admiral referred to the questionnaire designed "to check them for the state of their communist ideology", which by 1976 had been used to examine 29,000 political prisoners of the "B Category" on the island of Buru.
Soedomo had earlier asked the CIA whether they had "a computer that could be set to human head" (Haagse Post Feb. 10 1979), but got a negative answer, so he turned to British and Dutch psychologists for advise on the questionnaire method. Four universities -- the University of Indonesia, Jakarta, University of Pajajaran, Bandung, and those of Nijmegen and Groningen in the Netherlands -- were involved from 1973 to 1976 in the set-up of a database and supervision of the research, which was also part of the Dutch-Indonesia Cultural Agreement.
Soedomo had claimed the questionnaire was made by members of the Indonesian Committee on National Security.
The issue had ignited student protests in the Netherlands, but the University of Nijmegen Council and Dutch Institute of Psychologists NIP denied any ethical wrongdoing, rejecting the accusation of being "an instrument of Indonesia's security apparatuses". There had been no public response, though, from the Indonesian academics, and the new research team on Kopkamtib's project is now planning an inquiry.
The political prisoners had been subjected to a test that served the aims of the Kopkamtib. Former Buru prisoners have confirmed they had sat questionnaire and had feared their answers might influence their predicament, Hilmar Farid, a member of the research team, told Radio Netherlands.
Some were indeed released later than others. Soedomo admitted the method had been used to select those who had to be scrutinized after being released. Indonesian psychologists were even active on the ground, reportedly traveling to Buru and questioning prisoners the admiral called "criminal elements". The psychologists' role has thus critically shaped Kopkamtib's approach to the political prisoners.
The fact that the Kopkamtib decades ago sought and acquired science which it used for repression is a good lesson even today.
It reminds the civil society the need to watch some state apparatuses even more critically as they now seek more power -- just as the active role of many intellectuals and Western governments during Soeharto's transition to state power helps explain the sustainability of his three decades-long New Order regime.
[The writer is journalist with Radio Netherlands.]
Jakarta Post - November 16, 2005
Imam Cahyono, Jakarta -- The image of the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) as a clean party committed to good governance with empathy for ordinary people was clear in the results of last year's legislative election, when it doubled its previous tally to gain about 7 percent of the vote.
The PKS is the only party that has the ability to mobilize the people to the streets and conduct peaceful demonstrations to voice its demands on domestic and international issues.
After losing their trust in other major political parties, many people hope the party will able to deliver on its campaign promises.
After more than one year, it is time to look back at the party's achievements, both at national and regional levels, and in the government. The party has declared itself a supporter of the government and has some Cabinet seats.
Some fear the party is disappointing its constituents. The party's stance on the fuel price increases seemed to have ended in an anticlimax. When the government announced its plan to sharply increase fuel prices last month, the stance of House of Representatives (DPR) members from the PKS faction was critical at first. But they suddenly backed down as the battle reached its climax. Members of the House's budgetary committee from the PKS faction initially boasted they would reject the plan to rescind domestic fuel subsidies. But their defiance lasted only a matter of days, because in the end they agreed to the price rises.
When asked about his new position, legislator and former student activist Rama Pratama reportedly said, "This is politics, boss."
In times of difficulty, the demands of House members and the Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD) for increased salaries and other allowances showed their insensitivity. Raising their own salaries amid widespread financial hardship is unreasonable, unethical and an injustice. Ironically, the PKS, which proudly campaigned for a "modest lifestyle," supports the policy.
The PKS is the largest faction in the Jakarta Legislative Council, controlling 18 of the total 75 seats, and many Jakartans hope this faction will effectively voice the grievances of ordinary people and pressure the local authorities to take concrete action in combating corruption and abuses of power.
Of course, the PKS' support of the government's decision to raise fuel prices has led to internal criticism. Many PKS members, leaders and sympathizers cannot understand why their party, which comes across as a defender of community interests, went ahead and agreed with the policy. They feel that the PKS is no longer siding with the people and has betrayed their trust. Raising the fuel prices by over 180 percent by average could be classified as oppressive. They feel they have become the victims of the party's decision to cooperate with the administration.
PKS leader Tiffatul Sembiring is aware of the restlessness in his party and has tried to accommodate grass-roots aspirations. Sadly, there is nothing new in his explanation, which emphasized that at the budgetary committee level, his faction had consistently rejected a increase in fuel prices.
In any case, the voices of dissatisfaction continued to ripple through the party. Thus began a heated episode within the PKS body politic. There are speculations of internal conflicts within the party.
On one side, the party is now being pressured to withdraw its support of the administration, led by PKS secretary-general Anis Matta. On the other side, Tifatul Sembiring and Hidayat Nur Wahid, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker and former PKS leader, stated that withdrawal from the administration was a personal matter, but did not represent the party's official stance.
The PKS seems trapped in pragmatic politics, as a party which is power-oriented and runs according to political interests. During the administration of Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid from October 1999 and July 2001, and Megawati Soekarnoputri from July 2001 to October 2004, the PKS and the PKS-affiliated Muslim Student Action Union (KAMMI) acted as an outspoken opposition and initiated various street demonstrations. Today they are absent from the street.
They only turn to the streets to protect their interests, for example at the Depok regental election this year. The day after the West Java High Court annulled the victory of the pair of Nurmahmudi Ismail-Yuyun Wirasaputra, who was nominated by the PKS, thousands of PKS supporters took to the street to oppose the decision.
For many, the PKS is an ambitious party. Collecting more than 7 percent of the vote in the 2004 general election, it has set a target of 20 percent for the 2009 elections, which would pave the way for the party to field its own presidential candidate.
So, the PKS now faces the challenge of maintaining the party's reputation as a moral force for change, while engaging in practical politics. There are important consequences if the PKS does not alter its current political stance. The party may lose the support of the eight million people who voted for it if it does not fulfill voter expectations. The PKS will lose its opportunity to become an alternative party of moral reform -- something it has been working for all this time.
James Fox, an Australian political scientist, praised the PKS as being a party of the future. The PKS is the last hope for Indonesian politics in general. It is the only alternative for the young generation, with leaders who are educated, hard-working and clean.
Without moral reform, justice and prosperity, the PKS is no different from the other parties. It is just a matter of power politics. No more and no less.
[The writer is deputy chairman of al Maun Institute.]
Jakarta Post - November 13, 2005
Local soap star Anjasmara is naked! And it's an Adam and Eve installation! Is it art or pornography? Everybody in this country seems to have jumped on that bandwagon, some condemning and some defending it.
Okay, the photos were part of an acclaimed arts exhibition, the CP Biennale. The exhibit was meant for people who appreciate the arts, so it wasn't supposed to be seen by everyone; at least, not for those who are aroused every time they see flesh -- whether in a painting, photograph, or even a statue.
I can't stop wondering why nudes in an art exhibit gives food for thought (and they weren't even baring all). And why doesn't the criminal violence shown daily on local TV ever worry anyone? Then again, this is nothing new. We live in a country where kissing is forbidden, and thieves are beaten to death.
Look at the TV shows. Once I watched a movie on TV with a wedding scene, and the priest said, "Now you may kiss the bride". But here you won't see any matrimonial kissing 'cause it was left on the censorship floor. Or I remember how the chest of Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker was blurred when she was sporting a tank-top, because it showed that she was bra-less.
Hello... What is so wrong about a wedding kiss? I'm not saying I always want to see a kiss or I want to see Parker's cloth-clad nipples (though it wouldn't hurt) on screen. But think about it: These are the same TV stations that show a man killing another human being with a knife, a handgun, or explosive devices.
Here, violence is everywhere. Tune in around 9 p.m. to our local stations, see the movies showing and take a body-count over two hours.
What's worse, it's the same in reality shows, too. Take a look at the daily 30-minute crime shows, and you'd know what I'm talking about. A woman raped by her own dad, a chicken thief bludgeoned to death, a man hanging himself over a family problem.
A German friend of mine said these shows are sickening; simply because they're not news, but entertainment for entertainment value only -- never to educate or to inform.
Beyond TV, there's always the local cinemas. Remember the teen flick Buruan Cium Gue (Kiss Me Quick), which gave off sparks over its title? "They" said it urged young people to have premarital sex. Oh, please. In what century are we living in, if a kiss always means sex? I believe if the title was Kill Me Quick, it wouldn't raise a single eyebrow. Whether at the commercial cinemas or in arts events like Jiffest, viewers can be sure to get no love scenes, but will certainly get a clear frontal view of a gunshot to the head.
Beyond sex, the most outrageous thing is that the censorship board seems to think every incidence of nudity, in any form, is wrong. At the movies, you simply won't find them, no matter what the genre.
Get this: I heard that one of the reasons Schindler's List didn't make it to local screens was because of the concentration camp shower scenes with naked bodies. How dare that the censors think we'd be sexually aroused by such scenes? Somehow, it almost seems as though we were brought up to think that sex is wrong, that a naked (living) human body is bad, but violence is okay and dead bodies are common. The TV shows we watch, the movies we flock to at weekends, the debates over Miss Universe -- they all follow the same pattern.
In other words, our society prefers spurting brain matter over an exposed breast, or killing over kissing. What could be more sickening than that? When I was a kid, my eyes were usually covered during sex scenes, but not during scenes of violence. I learned about the beauty of violence before discovering the ugliness of the human body. But this is the society we live in now. Our way of thinking was somehow developed to cherish violence and to trash love.
Sure, censorship needs do what censorship must. But please, be more reasonable. If you cut the nudity, also cut the knife plunging into a chest. If you cut the love scenes, cut the blood-spattered scenes. In the end, if we're lucky, we'd have 30 minutes of the original film. Believe me, not everybody who sees kiss scenes or the outlines of Parker's nipples will commit rape. If that was the case, then I'd be flying after seeing the entire Batman series.
It's so ironic that the people who debate over the beauty of the human form might be the same people who chase away thieves with sticks.
I remember when I used to live abroad, couples kissing under the falling leaves of autumn were a common sight of tender affection, and here, back in my hometown, I just wish that I didn't have to see somebody getting beaten to death just because he was hungry.
It's just sad to think that for some people in this country, maybe, kissing is more harmful than killing. -- Kenny Santana