News & issues

Groups can't have free reign: Sutiyoso

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2006

Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said Monday he was happy to meet with police to find a way to disband groups that justified acts of aggression with religion or ethnicity.

Police said the mass organizations concerned would also be invited to speak. They said the ideal time to meet with city administrations officials was prior to the National Police's anniversary on July 1.

"I will definitely attend, if I am invited," Sutiyoso said. "This problem has clearly been tormenting the public, but there will always be differences between people, "What is to become of this nation if anarchy stems from each difference of opinion?"

However, Sutiyoso said any disciplinary action needed to be strictly relevant to the threat posed by the groups. "The eradication of these organizations requires legal measures, "If we observe that their (the organizations') actions are against the law, then they must be dealt with according to the law, "They cannot just be given free reign, as is presently the case".

Human rights activist and lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis told The Jakarta Post that no one but the police had the authority to act and that a sufficient legal basis for police action had been in the Criminal Code since the beginning.

"Nobody has the right to take the law into their own hands," said Todung. "Anyone who does that must be dealt with. "No organization – be it the Islam Defenders Front, the Betawi Brotherhood Forum or the Indonesian Mujahidin Council – has the legal legitimacy to commit acts of violence or anarchy or single out individuals (for harassment)."

When asked how he felt about the groups, as a Jakarta resident, Todung said, "It's really disturbing because there are groups that can freely intimidate others and use others' property, "The police have just not been doing their job."

Drunken masters of political show call it a day

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2006

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – After 26 episodes of mocking and lampooning the country's political leaders, the groundbreaking political satire Republik Benar-Benar Mabok (Truly Drunken Republic) has been taken off the air. Monday night was the show's last episode.

The stated reason for the show's end was so that the cast and crew of the late-night show could spend more time watching the World Cup. However, one of the show's producers believes corporate pressure was the primary reason for the show's termination.

Effendi Gazali of the University of Indonesia's postgraduate communications program, a co-producer of the show, said that since Vice President Jusuf Kalla was reported to be wary about the program, private broadcaster Indosiar had put many limitations on the Republic BBM creative team, sapping the vigor and spontaneity of the program.

"It seems that Indosiar could not wait to terminate the 26- episode contract with us after the Kalla controversy, and it was only with support from the media and our friends from non- governmental organizations that we could survive until the end," Effendi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

In April, during a recent meeting with Kalla, some private TV station owners slammed the show, saying it crossed the line by poking fun at the country's leaders.

Republik BBM programs depict a fictitious president and vice president, who bear an uncanny resemblance to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and deputy Kalla. The series documents the pair's scramble to find ministers in their cabinet who can effectively solve the country's myriad social and economic problems.

After the meeting between Kalla and executives, rumors quickly spread that Kalla had ordered the highly rating program off the air, which he denied. Following the meeting, Indosiar gave a list of "dos and don'ts" to the Republik BBM creative team, which Effendi said was an attempt to sanitize the show.

Because of the list, Effendi and Kelik Pelipur Lara, a Yogyakarta-based comedian who played the over-energetic Kalla, declined to appear in the show's last six episodes. "Other cast and crew were willing to take part in the show only to fulfill their contractual obligations to Indosiar," Effendi said.

Indosiar spokesman Ghufron T. Sakaril, however, denied the show's termination had to do with corporate pressure. "The official reason for the closure is the one stated during the show's last broadcast; that leaders of the Republik BBM could spend more of their time watching the World Cup," Ghufron told the Post, chuckling.

Ghufron said it had been agreed from the outset that Republik BBM would only last for 26 episodes. "It is up to them (the show's creative team) if they want to find a new station to broadcast the show in the future."

Muslim hardliners say they accept Pancasila in own way

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2006

Jakarta – The ongoing campaign to revitalize the state ideology, Pancasila, has put some Muslim hard-liners, currently working to turn Indonesia into an Islamic state, on the defensive.

It turns out, however, that leaders of the groups say that they too accept Pancasila – but they have the right to interpret its meaning the Islamic way.

Pancasila is the philosophical basis of Indonesia. It comprises five principles that are held to be inseparable and interrelated.

The five tenets are: Belief in the one and only God; just and civilized humanity; the unity of Indonesia; deliberation for consensus; and social justice for the whole of the people of Indonesia.

"Every religion has the right to interpret Pancasila according to it religious teachings," said Ma'ruf Amin, chairman of the fatwa commission of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

The MUI came under attack when, at the end of its 7th congress in July 2005, it issued 11 fatwas, one frowning upon secularism, liberalism and pluralism, which are essentially the spirits of Pancasila.

Pancasila lost credibility among militant Muslims when the authoritarian Soeharto regime used it to suppress them and stop them from trying to turn Indonesia into a theocratic state. Many Islamist activists and leaders were sent to jail for their political beliefs.

At the 61st commemoration of Pancasila on June 1, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said abandoning Pancasila for narrow religious or ethnic-based ideologies would only jeopardize the unity and diversity of the nation.

Ma'ruf said, "Islam that has lived in this country for 500 years, regulates all aspects of human life," he said. He said Islamic values were better than human rights. "We know that Islam comes from God. We don't know who created human rights," he said.

Commenting on the fatwa rejecting pluralism, he said people had interpreted it incorrectly. "As far as religion is concerned, we appreciate co-existence but we reject the idea of mixing the teachings of various religions."

Many Muslim groups, such as the militant Hizbut Tahrir, regard MUI's fatwa on pluralism as a non-negotiable issue. "Different ethnic groups and religions already exist here," said the group's spokesman, M. Ismail Yusanto. "But religions should not be mixed up."

He said that the most important thing about Pancasila was its manifestation. "I think every group has the same understanding about the social justice prescribed by Pancasila. However, everyone has the freedom to decide how Pancasila should be put into practice."

Yusanto pointed out that Sukarno and Soeharto also had different perspectives about Pancasila. "Sukarno believed in socialism and Soeharto believed in capitalism," he said.

The Yudhoyono administration had a similar interpretation of Pancasila, Yusanto said. "The government is now afraid of multinational corporations. For instance, the government handed over the operation of the Cepu block (a potentially lucrative oil field in Central Java) to Exxon," he said.

Political experts say don't put Pancasila on a pedestal

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2006

Jakarta/Bandung – The much-maligned Pancasila state ideology, now championed as the cure-all for societal conflicts, should not be returned to its once sacrosanct status in society, political experts say.

Instead, they believe its five principles stressing monotheism, nationalism and humanitarianism must be implemented as a realistic way of life, particularly in day-to-day political decision-making.

The state ideology, drawn up 61 years ago by Sukarno and other founding fathers in recognition of the country's diverse religious and ethnic composition, has fallen into disfavor among the public.

The authoritarian Soeharto regime upheld the ideology's principles as inviolable and used them to suppress political dissent through systematic indoctrination. Anyone who opposed Soeharto was labeled anti-Pancasila, with accompanying associations of subversion and communist leanings.

Its principles were drummed into an unwilling and oppressed public in schools, universities and workplaces through mandatory courses. After Soeharto's resignation in 1998, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) withdrew a 1978 MPR Decree on the obligation for all citizens to take the course.

Political expert Daniel Dhakidae said the public's wholehearted rejection of the ideology in recent years contributed to a breakdown in society.

"We have had no stated values since then. Groups are now fighting violently to force their beliefs on others. The situation has become chaotic," he told The Jakarta Post.

"To counter the problems of poverty and economic stagnation, Pancasila offers social justice. To counter the current disputes over beliefs, Pancasila offers pluralism." The ideology must not be reduced to fodder for intellectual debates, he added, but made part of actual political decisions.

"For instance, the state must take measures to protect the Ahmadiyah sect when it is attacked by other groups. That means that the state guarantees its citizens the right to their own beliefs," he said in referring to the minority Islamic group.

He also said the government must review all regional regulations, including 26 bylaws on morality, sharia and pornography that ignore diversity and disregard all religions except Islam. Another political expert, Mochtar Pabottingi, agreed the ideology's principles must be promoted as tenets people could incorporate into their lives.

"Pancasila came from our founding fathers' consensus, not from the sky. It contains the principles that are the basis of life for us." He added that Indonesians should not be afraid of applying Pancasila in their daily lives because the principles functioned only as guidelines, not a strict ideology, in a democracy.

"Pancasila in the New Order era came top-down from the government. But now, it comes from scholars and activists and other members of civil society."

On Thursday, a group of activists, including Daniel and Mochtar, began circulating a petition seeking nationwide support to preserve Indonesia's diversity through upholding Pancasila's principles.

Mochtar said the public remained traumatized by the Soeharto regime's manipulation of Pancasila to stifle opposition. "If the government imposes values on its people, then that is called indoctrination," he said.

The chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, Hasyim Muzadi, urged the public to practice the ideology's principles but added that national leaders should serve as role models. "Under the administration of Soeharto, Pancasila was used as political weapon aimed at his political opponents," he told the Post.

Petition seeks to reaffirm Indonesia's diversity

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2006

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – A group of activists began circulating a petition Thursday seeking nationwide support to preserve Indonesia's diversity and to fight back against growing intolerance that they warn could tear the nation apart.

"Today, we are reiterating Indonesia as our common goal, a goal that has yet to be accomplished. Today, we appeal to Indonesia to awaken in spirit and body, to unite in diversity," human rights campaigner Todung Mulya Lubis said in reading the declaration at a ceremony marking the 61st anniversary of the state ideology Pancasila.

The ceremony at the Jakarta Convention Center culminated a series of gatherings held in the past two weeks as activists, with the help of prominent universities, sought to restore Pancasila as the unifying national ideology.

While the declaration makes no reference to any particular threat, it was clear from earlier discussions that the activists were particularly concerned at the inroads made by the Muslim religious right in national politics, at times accompanied by the use of force.

More than a dozen prominent figures and pro-democracy advocates who signed the petition accompanied Lubis on stage as he read the declaration. They included Goenawan Mohamad, Jakob Oetama, Rahman Toleng, H.S. Dillon, Rosita Noor, Karlina Supelli, Azyumardi Azra, Daniel Dhakidae, Mochtar Pabottingi and B. Herry-Priyono.

Among the invited guests were President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Cabinet members, political leaders and religious leaders.

Also present were members of religious minorities, including from Ahmadiyah, which the government has labeled a deviant Islamic sect. Ahmadiyah followers have been the target of physical attacks in the past year by radical Islamic groups.

These and raids on churches in many parts of Indonesia have raised doubts about the government's capability to live up to its task in protecting people's freedom of religion, as mandated by the 1945 Constitution, and their right to practice their faith.

"We are gathered here to reiterate Indonesia as the place where we stand; Indonesia as a treasured heritage but also as an ideal; the Indonesia that was not only a mandate for our predecessors, but which is also vested for the millions of children still to be born," the declaration reads.

Guests were asked to sign the petition on leaving the ceremony, with the declaration also to be circulated nationwide to gain wider support.

On June 1, 1945, during the final months of the Japanese occupation, a young Sukarno delivered a speech that sought to provide the foundation for a new independent nation. He defined the five principles as nationalism, humanitarianism, consensual democracy, social welfare and belief in one God.

Three months later, when Indonesia came into being, the principles were modified and inserted into the preamble of the Constitution as monotheism, humanitarianism, nationalism, consensual democracy and social justice.

Thursday was the first time in many years that the Pancasila anniversary was officially commemorated in a grand ceremony, although the initiative came from outside the government.

Soeharto, who never recognized June 1, 1945, as the founding of the Pancasila, used the ideology to deadly effect after taking power from Sukarno in 1966. He initially hijacked its principles to quash communism, before making it a weapon to justify suppressing all forms of opposition.

Still, Thursday's ceremony more resembled a Soeharto-style gathering than the day Sukarno delivered his historic speech. Most guests, including Yudhoyono, wore ceremonial batik rather than the white shirts and white jackets adopted by Sukarno and other founding fathers.

Palembang poor wait for cash aid

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2006

Palembang – Many poor residents have not been listed to receive the monthly cash assistance from the government although a reevaluation of poor families to be registered in the social welfare program has been conducted.

"We are included in the poor category because we have no jobs and we live in a slum," Dedi, a Lima Ulu subdistrict resident, told Antara on Thursday.

He said several people from his community had gone to the subdistrict office to be listed many times but to no avail.

Head of the Palembang Social Welfare Office, Djailani, said that 391,650 people were listed in the initial stage of registration and it was increased to 403,665 people after reevaluation.

He added that the registration procedure carried out by the local statistics bureau was reliable and that his office would reevaluate those who had not been listed.

Group says Pancasila way to halt assault on pluralism

Jakarta Post - June 1, 2006

Jakarta – Pro-democracy supporters and scholars are urging the upholding of the founding Pancasila state ideology to thwart hardline religious groups attempting to impose a monotheistic belief system.

The group – including socialist Rahman Toleng, lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, economist Faisal Basri and former education and culture minister Fuad Hassan – noted that Pancasila was not an absolute doctrine but a compromise reached by the founding fathers who realized the pluralistic nature of the new nation.

They said the ideology recognized different faiths and beliefs, underlined respect for diversity and did not allow one group to become dominant. The ideology – consisting of five principles – was decided upon 61 years ago at the proclamation of independence.

"We need Pancasila to remind us that humans are not eternity," journalist Goenawan Mohamad said at a symposium on restoring Pancasila at the University of Indonesia campus in Depok, south of Jakarta.

The authoritarian Soeharto regime forcefed the ideology – consisting of principles of one God, democracy, unity, social justice for all and humanity – to students to promote conformity and stifle dissent, which led to it falling out of favor with the public.

However, Gunawan said it remained important during democratic times because it represented all of the country's diverse ethnic and religious interests. "Pancasila represents a horizon for the nation. We never reach it but we are always in the process of reaching it," he said.

The rector of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Azyumardi Azra, said there needed to be public discussion of the true meaning of the ideology.

"Many people are anti-Pancasila because the New Order regime used it to indoctrinate the Indonesian people and to threaten them." He noted the recent disdain for Pancasila had been accompanied by the inefficacy of the state in maintaining law and order.

"The social implication is that many people who want certainty from the law believe that sharia is a solution." Islamic scholar Dawam Rahardjo said the core of the ideology was to not allow the majority to impose its views on minorities.

"You can see that sectarian groups are now forcing their beliefs on others through bylaws and sharia. Pancasila does not take one side of one religion and does not allow the state to meddle with its people about their beliefs," he said.

"But now, the state has violated its people's rights to hold their religion and beliefs."

Bringing back Pancasila needs careful handling

Jakarta Post - June 1, 2006

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – When the suggestion was made that Indonesia needs to restore Pancasila to its proper place as the unifying national ideology, many people reacted with skepticism or even downright cynicism.

"Do we have to go through all that again?" was one of the most common reactions heard in recent weeks, as the nation geared up to mark the birth of Pancasila on June 1 with seminars, symposiums and an official ceremony Thursday led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself.

This negative reaction does not so much reflect a rejection of the concept, as the stigma the word Pancasila carries with many of us.

Some people no doubt reject Pancasila outright. But most people who live in this country believe the principles underlying the national ideology are still relevant today, as they were when they were first introduced on June 1, 1945, by a young Sukarno.

These principles have helped tie together the collection of diverse peoples, numbering 220 million today, living on the islands that make up the archipelagic state we call Indonesia.

The five principles, later inserted into the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution when Indonesia became an independent nation, are: monotheism, humanitarianism, nationalism, consensual democracy and social justice. For a country as diverse as Indonesia in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, language and religion, Pancasila ensured the place and rights of every group in the country.

But Pancasila was hijacked by Soeharto after he successfully ousted Sukarno, Indonesia's first president, in 1966. He turned the state ideology, as well as the 1945 Constitution, into a powerful and effective tool to suppress dissent and opposition, helping him sustain power for the next 32 years virtually unchallenged.

Initially, Soeharto labeled communists and their sympathizers as anti-Pancasila, thus literally issuing the death or arrest warrants for millions of Indonesians in 1966. But later on, as he sat comfortably in power, he expanded the list of enemies of the state to include virtually every one who criticized him or opposed his policies. They were called betrayers or traitors.

If that was not enough, most Indonesians went through endless indoctrination in the state ideology. We had to take Pancasila classes at school, from grade one all the way through high school, and then all through our college years until we graduated. Once at work, many of us still had to take lengthy courses on Pancasila.

And it was not as if we had to prove our loyalty to the state as much as prove our servitude to the powers that be, meaning Soeharto and his generals, thugs and cronies.

We knew all along that nobody in the political elite, from Soeharto on down, believed in the values that Pancasila sought to promote, among the most important of which was pluralism. If they had believed in these principles, and had acted accordingly, the nation would not be in the mess we find ourselves in today.

Instead, the three decades of Soeharto's rule promoted and cultivated a violent and corrupt political culture, the legacy of which continues to haunt us.

All of this is not so much because of Pancasila, but because Pancasila was used with such deadly effect by Soeharto, becoming his most powerful tool to quell opposition. With the demise of his regime, Pancasila almost totally disappeared from the political vocabulary.

Today, the proponents who want to return Pancasila to the nation's lexicon believe that Indonesia is in the process of disintegrating. Intolerance has definitely begun creeping into the nation, and the Muslim religious right seems to be trying to impose its agenda on the rest of the country.

One of the proponents of Pancasila aptly described what is happening in Indonesia as "creeping Talibanization". Taliban refers to the ruthless regime that ruled Afghanistan along very strict Islamic rules. One of its worst features was the ban on schooling for girls.

But the question is whether Pancasila is really the answer to this challenge, given the stigma that the national ideology carries as a result of Soeharto's decades of indoctrination. Given this prevailing mind-set among people, as indicated by the cynical reactions, any attempt to bring Pancasila back into vogue, even with the best of intentions, could dangerously backfire.

The Pancasila proponents should make sure we do not repeat past mistakes and allow the ideology to be hijacked once again and turned into a tool of repression. Already, we are seeing some people and institutions showing an unusually great interest in embracing Pancasila, presumably for their own political interests.

Let us mark the anniversary of Pancasila today, but let us also remember the ugly history that accompanies the ideology.

Aceh

Give Aceh full autonomy, democracy network says

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2006

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives should not water down powers granted to future Aceh administrations because they would be in violation of last year's Helsinki peace accord, a coalition of non-governmental organizations says.

The Acehnese Network for Democracy said it was gravely concerned about a deal recently struck between members of the House's working committee, which ruled that local government policies had to be made in accordance with central government regulations.

"This will reduce the authority of future governments in Aceh, which (according to the Helsinki deal) should have power over public and administrative affairs," Ibrahim Gani of the state Syah Kuala University told a discussion here Tuesday.

The Helsinki accord gives local governments in Aceh authority over public affairs, but not foreign affairs, external defense, national security, monetary and fiscal policies, the justice system and religion.

A draft of the governance bill proposed by Acehnese representatives gives Aceh governments the authority to regulate the province using local bylaws, or qanun.

"Replacing qanun with government regulations in the bill indicates that the Jakarta (central) government and political parties are reluctant to give Acehnese ways to rule themselves," Ibrahim said.

The coalition was also dismayed by a new provision agreed to by committee members, which made optional a former mandatory requirement for local political parties to field a minimum 30 percent of women as candidates.

Women's activist Soraya Kamaruzzaman said activists were "baffled" by the development. "The 30 percent condition was never discussed at length during a discussion in the special committee, and now suddenly they have made a radical change that would only put women's political rights at risk," she said.

The coalition also opposed an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) suggestion to require local political parties to join with national entities to contest regional and provincial elections.

PDI-P legislators have generally opposed last year's peace deal in Helsinki signed between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). They suspect local political parties in Aceh will become vehicles for former separatist movements to revive their fight for independence.

Acehnese gubernatorial candidate and leader of the GAM-affiliated NGO, the Center for Acehnese Referendum (SIRA), Muhammad Nazar, said the House and the government's backroom dealings over the bill were making the Acehnese increasingly worried.

"Acehnese people are beginning to become concerned about the development (of the bill) and the possible breakdown of peace," he said.

Nazar said GAM had not ruled out the possibility of reporting the central government to Aceh peace monitoring group the Crisis Management Initiative for producing a law that violated the Helsinki pact.

Aceh caught in middle of crime wave

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2006

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A peace deal signed in August last year by the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) marked an end of three decades of conflict in Aceh, but it also marked the beginning of a crime wave in the province.

"Following the Helsinki peace deal, armed conflicts, kidnappings and the discovery of dead bodies did sharply decrease. But crimes like robbery, drug use and vehicle theft increased by up to 372 percent," Aceh Police chief Insp. Gen. Bahrumsyah Kasman said in the provincial capital Banda Aceh on Thursday.

He said security disturbances like terrorism, armed conflict and kidnappings had fallen by 91 percent since the peace deal was signed.

The officer said the province did not have the police personnel to deal with the rise in the number of crimes being committed.

As stipulated in the peace deal, there are 9,100 police personnel in Aceh, Bahrumsyah said, but the province needs more than 15,000 officers.

The Aceh Police currently have some 3,000 police cadets, but they cannot be hired as full-time officers because it would violate the peace deal.

Bahrumsyah said the police were also being stretched thin because of their work enforcing the province's sharia law and providing security for reconstruction work following the 2004 tsunami. He added that officers would be asked to provide security for the upcoming gubernatorial election.

The police, he said, have deployed 2,217 officers to guard the offices and facilities of the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency in 12 regencies and cities across the province. "We're trying to do what we can despite the limited personnel," Bahrumsyah said.

NGOs sense backroom dealing in Aceh bill talks

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2006

M. Taufiqurrahman and Nani Afrida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – The secretive deliberation of the Aceh governance bill has sparked suspicions that factions in the House of Representatives are engaged in political maneuvering to water down the draft proposed by the Acehnese people.

The Acehnese Network for Democracy (JDA), a coalition of non- governmental organizations, said Thursday the bill's focal points of self-governance, local political parties, implementation of sharia law and natural resource revenue-sharing presented opportunities for political jockeying during the closed-door deliberation by the working committee.

"What is at stake now is peace in Aceh, but the working committee doesn't seem to have a sense of crisis and chose to shut themselves off from the public to cover up their horse trading," Agung Wijaya of the JDA told a press briefing.

The network consists of 30 NGOs in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, including the Aceh Working Group, Center for Electoral Reform and the Aceh Development Fund.

Following the dissolution of a special committee (Pansus), the House has set up a working committee (Panja) to discuss contentious issues unresolved from the earlier discussions.

In the past week, the committee has discussed the contentious issues with representatives from the government behind closed doors at a South Jakarta hotel.

Prior to the commencement of the session, special committee chairman Ferry Mursyidan Baldan promised that a daily press briefing would be held on the progress of the bill deliberation.

However, there has been no briefing or release of a public statement.

Observers who visited the hotel were denied information about where and when the discussion took place. Even a number of local councillors from Aceh – the only parties who were officially summoned to take part in the discussion – were denied entry.

"We have to set up a monitoring camp inside the hotel just to continue our work in guarding the bill's deliberation," Acehnese councillor Chairul Amal told The Jakarta Post.

He said the only way they could monitor the deliberation and convey the aspirations of the Acehnese was through a group of Acehnese lawmakers who were part of the committee.

"These Acehnese lawmakers briefed us about the latest developments in the discussion of crucial issues, and if something goes wrong they will be the first ones held responsible." The lawmakers include Farhan Hamid of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Nasir Jamil of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

"From our observation thus far, we conclude that everything is still on track," Chairul said, adding it would take another week to conclude the discussions.

In Banda Aceh, hundreds of students and NGO activists staged a rally to protest the closed-door deliberations, saying the arrangement would allow for backroom deals.

"We will boycott future local elections if the endorsed bill runs contrary to the Helsinki peace accord," protester Zirhan said, referring to the truce signed in August last year by the government and the Free Aceh Movement to end a 29-year separatist conflict.

Students again demand law on Aceh government be ratified

Aceh Kita - June 1, 2006

Radzie, Banda Aceh – Hundreds of students and social activists in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh took to the streets again on June 1 to demand the immediate ratification of the Draft Law on Aceh Government (RUU-PA). This time, the action was centred at the governor's offices and the Aceh Regional House of Representatives (DPRD).

During the action that started at around 10am, protesters brought a number of banners and posters demanding the ratification of the draft law in accordance with the Acehnese people's wishes. After gathering at the Ratu Safiatuddin Park in Lamprit, demonstrators then marched to the nearby governor's office.

There they called on Governor Mustafa Abdullah to sign a petition resulting from a meeting of 100 public figures that was held in early March at the Cakradonya Hotel. Abdullah however was not available as he was taking part in an official trip to southern and western Aceh.

The protesters were instead received by one of the governor's assistants, T Setiabudi, who they asked to phone the governor. When contacted by phone, Abdullah also told the students he was in the middle of a trip.

The students then disbanded and marched to the DPRD that is located around two kilometres from the governor's offices. There they held speeches and called on the speaker of the Aceh DPRD, Sayed Fuad Zakaria, to sign the petition.

Several of the students became disappointed as not one DPRD member was prepared to meet with them and tried to break though a cordon of security personnel resulting in students and security personnel pushing and shoving each other.

Following afternoon prayers, Zakaria, Raihan Iskandar, Abdullah Saleh and a number of other assembly members met with the students. Speaking with the protesters, Zakaria explained that the DPRD continues to support the wishes of the Acehnese people in demanding the immediate ratifaction of the RUU-PA. "The DPRD is still committed to [supporting] the people's wishes", he said. "We hope that the RUU-PA will be completed promptly by the RI DPR [House of Representatives]".

Zakaria also said that he had already phoned the head of the special team from the DPR that is deliberating the law and asked that it be done transparently and openly in order that the Acehnese people can observe the developments in the deliberations. "I also asked that each day the results of the deliberations be detailed to the public though a press release", he said.

Following his explanation, students continued to pressure them to sign the petition. In the end, only Zakaria was prepared to put his signature to the document.

Meanwhile, the former director of the Forum of Acehnese Non- Government Organisations, TAF Haikal, called for the deliberations on the draft law at the level of the working committee be conducted openly and be accessible to all elements of Acehnese society. "We are asking that the working committee be open, so that the essential parts of the RUU-PA are not lost", he told Aceh Kita during a break in the action.

According to Haikal, to date the deliberations on the law have been closed and this indicates that many of the wishes of the Acehnese people may be cut, moreover, there are still many crucial issues that have yet to be agreed on. "Such as for example, the distribution of natural [resource] revenue and the authority of the Acehnese [government]", said Haikal. [dzie]

[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski.]

GAM allows members to run in election

Jakarta Post - June 1, 2006

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The decision of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) not to participate in the upcoming direct election of Aceh governor came as a shock but failed to discourage political parties from involving the former rebels.

The United Development Party (PPP), for one, plans to pair academician Humam Hamid and GAM figure Hasbi Abdullah as candidates for the election, which is expected to be held in October this year.

Deputy secretary of the party's branch in Aceh, M. Gede Salam, said Wednesday the decision was taken following a party meeting to nominate Humam and Hasbi as candidates for governor and deputy governor respectively. "After considering several factors, we feel Hasbi is the right person the deputy governor from PPP," Gede said.

GAM's decision to drop out of the election on Monday came as a surprise after it had officially announced the establishment of a new political party at the end of its three-day meeting last week.

The meeting was attended by about 100 GAM figures, including former top executives in exile Malik Mahmood Al Haytar and Bakhtiar Abdullah, who returned to Aceh earlier this year after many years abroad.

In the meeting, GAM appointed two independent candidates to take part in the next direct gubernatorial election but did not disclose their identities although speculation centered on Hasbi Abdullah and Muhammad Nazar of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA).

But following GAM's surprise decision to drop out of the election – although allowing its members to run as individuals, Nazar said he would still run. "I will still be among the list of candidates because this is our chance. I might run with Nashiruddin bin Ahmad," he told The Jakarta Post.

GAM's spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah said the decision not to officially take part in the election was intended to give the Acehnese a chance to determine their own leader for the province.

Peace returned in Aceh following the signing of peace deal in August last year between the government and GAM which ended three decades of conflict.

"In the spirit of the memorandum of understanding, all Acehnese who are able to take part in the election can run. As stated in the peace deal, all Acehnese have the right to vote or to be voted for as Aceh's leader," Bakhtiar said.

The statement played down rumors of a conflict of opinion within GAM on the right candidate for the election.

But a source from GAM told the Post that GAM had been divided into two camps, known as the reformist and feudalist, over the naming of the election's candidates. Results of voting to determine a candidate were rejected by the feudalist camp who had decided on Hasbi Abdullah as their candidate, the source said.

The decision was taken to prevent conflict within GAM. "GAM decided not to officially run as it feels that mentally the GAM leaders are ill-prepared to join the election," the source said.

West Papua

Tribes reject Freeport talks in US

Jakarta Post - June 8, 2006

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Papuan tribal leaders oppose a plan by local councillors to meet PT Freeport Indonesia bosses in the United States city of New Orleans to renegotiate the company's much-criticized working contract.

Any negotiation with the executives of parent company Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. should take place in Papua, where it operates the world's largest gold mine, they said.

Environmentalists here and abroad have said Freeport Indonesia's have caused extensive damage to ecosystems in the area.

Speaking in Jakarta on Wednesday at a conference hosted by national environmental group Walhi, Amungme tribal leader Yosepha "Mama" Alomang said a meeting with the company in Papua must take place sometime this year.

The Amungme tribe holds the traditional ulayat rights in the area where Freeport's Grasberg mine operates. Representatives from seven tribes living near the Grasberg mine also attended the meeting.

"I urge the councillors not to go abroad to lobby or negotiate with Freeport bosses. I stress to everybody that every dialog should be held in Papua and involve locals who are suffering from the company's operations," Yosepha said. "Or else, the likelihood of the company's operations being shut down will only become greater."

Yosepha won the American Goldman Environmental Prize in 2001 for her efforts to save Papua's rain forests from mining and logging.

Human rights group Elsam Papua director Aloysius Renwarin said 15 members of the Papua legislative council's special committee on Freeport planned to visit Freeport McMoran headquarters in New Orleans to convey Papuans' concerns about the company's operations. They would also demand a fairer share of the firm's profits.

Some Rp 5 billion (about US$535,000) had been allotted from the provincial budget to fund the trip, he said. Weynand Wattory, a member of the special committee, could not be reached for comment.

However, the secretary of the House of Representatives' working committee on Freeport, Tjatur Sapta Edy, confirmed he had been informed of the plan by Papuan councillors. "However, every effort to renegotiate the working contract should go through us, the parliament," he told The Jakarta Post.

Renwarin said that should the councillors go ahead with the visit, "we (the House) would reject any results of the negotiations held in the US".

Peter Yanwarin, leader of the Komoro tribe, which claims ulayat rights over the land used by Freeport to dispose billions of tons of its mine tailings, and Timika church leader Father John Djonga said the visit would be undignified.

"They (Freeport) are the guests and we are the hosts. They are the one who should respect us by coming here and having an equal and honorable dialog," John said.

The House's working committee has expressed its desire to renegotiate the 1991 working contract signed between Freeport and the government to increase the state's shares in the company from the present 10 percent to 50 percent. The government, meanwhile, is looking for only a 10-20 percent increase.

Freeport has repeatedly denied its operations have neglected environmental management and development objectives, saying it spent $84 million on the two areas last year. The miner says a renegotiation of the working contract could only take place if the government and company management agreed to it.

'Ask the West Papuans what changes they want'

New Zealand Herald - June 7, 2006

Maire Leadbeater – Two Herald contributors, John Roughan and Michael Richardson have now gone into bat for the virtues of a unified Indonesia. I totally agree that New Zealand should foster positive links with Indonesia. If that means a boost in Government funds to the tertiary institutions so that they can get their Indonesian language courses going again I am all for it.

However, I strongly dispute the suggestion that good relations depend on uncritical acceptance of Indonesia's rule in West Papua, or that the current crisis in Timor Leste shows that the country would have been better off if it had stayed under Indonesian occupation.

Let's take things back a step. Through the long bloody years of Indonesia's occupation of East Timor, our Government had scant concern for East Timorese aspirations. When I combed the declassified diplomatic records of those years it seemed to me that some of the officials couldn't understand why the resistance continued.

Tim Groser, formerly our Ambassador to Jakarta and now a National MP, visited East Timor in 1995 and noted the strong support for independence but could not understand why people would not support "the obvious compromise" of substantial autonomy.

Back then he seemed to share the concern Richardson has today about support for West Papua – that international activists were keeping the issue alive.

He noted: "After all, the poor position of the East Timorese is hardly worse than many other grossly unfortunate people in the world, but whose plight does not have an international character." [1]

Around that time desperate East Timorese activists began seeking asylum in foreign embassies including ours, but New Zealand increased its defence cooperation and sent our Skyhawks to practice ground attack tactics with Indonesian planes.

Despite our government's intransigence, East Timor's resistance gained even stronger international support epitomised in a Nobel Peace Prize win for two of its leaders. More importantly it won over significant numbers of concerned Indonesians, and ultimately important national political leaders.

Unlike John Roughan, I never thought that an impoverished and traumatised society would make an easy transition to independence.

There are roots of this year's heart wrenching internal conflict that lie deep in the dark years of Indonesian military repression. Back then with spies on all sides, it was difficult to know friend from collaborator.

Timor Leste's remarkable Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation did the best it could to heal the wounds with their meticulously detailed accounting for 24 years of human rights abuses. Community hearings gave victims the opportunity to tell their stories and for perpetrators to atone for more minor crimes.

But there has been no positive response to the Commission's call for an accounting and compensation from the 'big fish', the Indonesian generals and those nations who provided crucial support.

In the case of Australia, that country still benefits from the favorable oil and gas deal it stitched up with Indonesia during the occupation. Regrettably, impunity on this scale lays the ground for others to take the law into their own hands.

At the time of the Indonesian invasion Australian and New Zealand talked about the principle of self-determination, one of the clearest tenets in the United Nations Charter. But 'pragmatism' and Indonesia's anti-communist credentials led them to kowtow to their powerful regional neighbour.

In the same vein John Roughan decries "two bit" states. He is not alone. Australia is backing away as fast as it can from any perceived sympathy for the plight of West Papuans after having accepted the asylum claims of 42 West Papuan seafarers.

Under international law Australia had little choice but to accept the group because their claims of persecution were watertight. Now none is likely to reach safe haven because Australia will work with Indonesia to mount a high-tech air and sea border surveillance using submarines, warships, planes and even satellites.

If any do make it through this cordon they will confront the "Pacific solution" policy under which asylum seekers will be sent offshore to have their claims processed.

A key focus of West Papuan anger has been the Freeport McMoran mine whose gold and copper reserves rank among the largest in the world. The US owners derive fabulous wealth and the mine is Jakarta's largest tax-payer. Meanwhile, the local people live in poverty and many millions of tons of waste are dumped each year into their once pristine rivers.

Would Roughan and Richardson take their arguments to the point of arguing for a new age of Empires? If not then we should give the seductive arguments against "separatism" a more critical look, and more importantly ask the West Papuans what they want.

Back in 1961 the Dutch colonial power planned for the decolonisation of West Papua, but Indonesia persuaded its western friends to back its claim to control the mineral rich territory. The UN to its shame also colluded with Indonesia and decided not to challenge a patently sham 1969 referendum in which only 1,022 press ganged men took part.

Even so, West Papuans are not currently calling for a new vote. Rather, over the past four years there has been a strong call coming from the churches and the traditional councils for West Papua to be declared a "Land of Peace". This vision is about restoring human rights, dignity and basic fairness and the pre- requisite is a broad based dialogue with Jakarta and substantial demilitarisation.

Aceh will soon have a new law which sets the parameters for the province to have internal self-government. If that process continues to go well it will set a valuable precedent and there is bound to be considerable national and international pressure for a similar plan for West Papua. No doubt that will not suit the military, but there are indications that some political figures, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, are open to peace proposals.

[Maire Leadbeater is the spokesperson for the Indonesia Human Rights Committee.]

Papuan's visa decision faces reversal

The Australian - June 5, 2006

Cath Hart – The only West Papuan refused protection in Australia among a group of 43 asylum-seekers could have the decision overturned when his visa to Japan expires in September. The man – believed to be David Wainggai, 29, the son of prominent West Papuan independence campaigners – was refused protection by the Immigration Department two weeks ago because he had a temporary visa for Japan, and had not sought asylum there.

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said at the time that Canberra was not obliged to assess his claim for protection because Mr Wainggai had not exhausted all other avenues for asylum.

Mr Wainggai lodged an appeal against the decision with the Refugee Review Tribunal last week.

A further appeal against the tribunal's ruling could be made to the Federal Magistrates Court, which could see the final arbitration on the decision delayed until at least the end of the year.

Mr Wainggai's lawyer, David Manne, from the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, said the temporary visa held by his client would expire in September, well before all the Australian legal options had been exhausted.

"It's highly possible the tribunal would not have made a decision by that point," Mr Manne told The Australian yesterday.

Under concessions gained by Liberal backbencher Petro Georgiou last year, the Refugee Review Tribunal must process appeals within 90 days of receiving departmental documents.

Mr Wainggai would have 28 days to appeal the tribunal's decision to the Federal Magistrates Court, which could then take up to six months to hear the case.

Mr Manne said the expiration of Mr Wainggai's visa would have a significant effect on future decisions about the case.

"It would evaporate the Government's already baseless argument that he would be allowed into Japan," Mr Manne said. "The Government's denial of protection would have gone from baseless to bizarre."

Mr Wainggai, who has no passport, was in a group of 43 West Papuans who arrived on Cape York in January after fleeing from the Indonesian-controlled province.

The other members of the group were granted protection visas, but the decision sparked anger in Jakarta, which withdrew its ambassador from Canberra in protest.

In a move seen as an effort to appease Indonesia, the Howard Government proposed a new immigration regime, which has yet to be voted on and is likely to cause tension between hardline and moderate Coalition MPs.

The most contentious element of the proposal – the decision to redraw Australia's migration zone to exclude the mainland – would see all refugees, including children, processed in off- shore immigration detention centres such as Nauru.

Lawmakers target Freeport bosses

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2006

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Lawmakers should summon top Freeport executives to explain the alleged environmental damage and human rights abuses at the firm's Grasberg mine in Papua, a team of legislators says.

Speaking Thursday at the House of Representatives, legislators sent to monitor the mining giant's activities in Papua urged House Speaker Agung Laksono to summon PT Freeport Indonesia president commissioner James R. Moffett and other top management from Freeport's US parent company to a House hearing.

Tjatur Sapta Edy, the secretary of the House working committee on Freeport, said Thursday the request had been submitted to the House leaders and Agung was expected to decide on it next week.

Moffett, one of the richest men in America, heads the board of directors of the New Orleans-based Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. Tjatur said the working committee wanted to hear Freeport executives' response to allegations made by NGOs and community groups about environmental damage at the mine site.

Environmentalists have said Freeport's disposal of millions of tons of mine tailings around its mining area has destroyed the ecosystem of a river and polluted groundwater.

The House was also concerned about accusations the company had hired soldiers from the Indonesian Military to guard the mine. Activists allege soldiers working for Freeport committed human rights abuses against the native Papuan population in the area.

PT Freeport management has denied the human rights allegations and said the company's operations were in compliance with all the country's laws.

Tjatur said the committee had concluded the government must revise its current working contract with Freeport to create a more equal profit-sharing arrangement, to provide more funds for local community development programs and to reduce the environmental damage the mine caused.

"Our main goal is to persuade the government to renegotiate the contract," he said.

Personally, Tjatur said he would like to see the government increase its share in the mine to 50 percent. Currently the government has over 9 percent stake.

"We want to hear what the company's executives have to say about the idea." The most recent contract was signed in 1991 and allows the company to exploit minerals at Mount Grasberg near Timika until 2021.

PT Freeport spokesman Siddharta Moersjid said he had not received any information about the planned summons but was optimistic his bosses would cooperate.

"Basically, we have cooperated, and will always cooperate with anyone here to continuously improve our performance," he told The Jakarta Post.

"But since I have yet to receive any notification from the House, I can't provide information about whether our top executives can meet its request."

Military ties

Rumsfeld's Indonesia visit cements US military ties

Reuters - June 6, 2006

Paul Eckert, Jakarta – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld hailed restored US military ties with Indonesia, but was told that America was seen as "overbearing" when it appeared to be pushing its anti-terrorism policies on others.

The Pentagon chief heard the blunt message from Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono, who said "as the largest Muslim country, we are very aware of the perception or misperception that the United States is overbearing."

Rumsfeld, on the final leg of a three-country Asian tour, called his host's advice that specific anti-terrorism measures be left to US partners "not unreasonable at all." He said Washington did not insist on one-size-fits-all policies.

His visit to Jakarta came six months after the State Department waived Congressional restrictions that had cut US military aid and arms sales to Indonesia imposed in 1992 over human rights abuses by Indonesian forces in East Timor.

Rumsfeld said the restoration of military ties was "good for both countries," adding that Washington intended to give Jakarta sustained access to American training and equipment.

US and Indonesian forces "need to know each other and be able to communicate well with each other and understand each other when there is a disaster," Rumsfeld said after talks with Sudarsono and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The world's most populous Muslim country with 220 million people, Indonesia is valued by the United States as a strategic power and proof that Islam and democracy are compatible.

Ad Hoc anti-proliferation help

However, US-based Asian security analyst Dana Dillon said that Indonesia, which has home-grown Muslim extremists to worry about, faced risks in appearing too close to US policies.

"Indonesia intends to chart its own course for the future and that is also in America's best interests," said the Heritage Institute scholar.

A US military officer said the training would resume with exercises to help the archipelago nation in disaster relief and maritime security and with the sale of spare parts for C-130 transport planes and patrol ships – shortages of which hampered Jakarta's response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said Yudhoyono, a US-trained general, had told Rumsfeld he wanted the military relationship to "become permanent because there are efforts in Washington to change these good relations."

Some US Congressmen and human rights activists oppose the resumption of military ties because they say Jakarta's army has not broken with abusive practices blamed for tens of thousands of deaths in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony which became independent from Indonesia in 1999.

"Further normalizing the military relationship with Indonesia will only undermine its democratic reform and efforts to achieve accountability for past human rights violations in East Timor, West Papua and elsewhere," said the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN), a US rights group.

But a senior Pentagon official said the rupture of contacts with Indonesian troops meant lost opportunities for American trainers to "help them be modern and professional."

"Our training involves civil-military relations (and) the laws of war," said the official. "A huge proportion of it is to bring them up to reasonable standards of conduct."

Despite the blunt message to Rumsfeld, the Indonesian defense chief said Jakarta would study "limited" participation in a US-led program to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction that Indonesia has been wary of joining.

"Perhaps we can agree on a limited framework of cooperation on an ad hoc basis," Sudarsono said when asked if Indonesia would take part in the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative, a loose 60-nation group formed to stop the transfer of missiles, nuclear materials and other banned weapons.

Indonesia, US to discuss ways to improve military ties

Associated Press - June 2, 2006

Jakarta – Indonesia and the United States will discuss ways to improve military ties during a visit by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Indonesia's foreign minister said Friday.

Rumsfeld is to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Indonesia's defense and foreign ministers during his two-day visit, which begins Tuesday.

Rumsfeld will "discuss all things relating to the improvement of military-to-military relations," Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said. Topics will include military equipment and maritime security, especially in the narrow Malacca Strait, he said.

Each year, more than 50,000 ships, carrying half the world's oil and a third of its commerce, pass through the Malacca Strait, bordered by Malaysia and Singapore on one side and the Indonesian island of Sumatra on the other. US officials have expressed concern about possible terrorist attacks.

Washington cut all military ties with Indonesia, the world's largest predominantly Muslim nation, in 1999 after its army and militia proxies devastated East Timor during its break from Jakarta. It lifted the ban in November, citing Indonesia's cooperation in fighting terrorism.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said he will urge Rumsfeld not to pressure other countries to follow Washington's approach in fighting terrorism.

"We will tell the United States that if it demands that the handling of terrorism be based on its ways, it will only hurt the United States itself... and cause anger and a loss of sympathy among the world's communities," JUwono told reporters.

Juwono said it would be better to let each country decide how to handle terrorism rather than having it be based on the will of the United States or other parties. He didn't elaborate.

Anti-American sentiment in Indonesia rose sharply after the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and many see the US war on terrorism as being directed against Muslims.

Juwono also said he would talk to Rumsfeld about acquiring spare parts for Indonesia's US-made F-16 fighter jets, many of which had to be grounded after the break in military ties because of a ban on arms sales.

Human rights groups criticized the resumption of military ties, saying human rights abuses continued in the Indonesian army.

Pornography & morality

Sharia bylaws put national unity at risk

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2006

Ridarson Galingging, Chicago – The challenge ahead for the newly-reelected chief of the Indonesian Supreme Court Bagir Manan will not just be fighting corruption among judges, but also making the country's highest judicial body a forum for reviewing sharia-based bylaws that are not compatible with international human rights.

There is clear and concrete evidence from many parts of the country that religious minorities, including Muslims who are not part of the dominant group, are under serious threat of being legally forced to submit to the jurisdiction of sharia-based bylaws. Also, the bylaws have given a boost to the phenomenon of "morality police" in the regencies, groups who routinely take the law into their own hands.

The crop of sharia-inspired bylaws on sex, alcohol use, gambling, and moral public behavior that have arisen in several regencies and municipalities in the country must be reviewed because they will create political divisions and ethnic strife.

The bylaws have the potential to endanger the country's unity since they ignore the essence of pluralism and the state ideology of Pancasila, an inclusive platform for all of Indonesian society. Indonesia is a pluralist society, consisting of more than 400 ethnic groups with diverse customs. It is nothing less than Indonesia's commitment to pluralism which is at stake. If that pluralism is lost, Indonesia's future as a united country will be lost as well.

The application of sharia will stoke regional violence and negate democracy and political freedom. It undercuts non-Muslims by making them second-class citizens, it threatens Muslims who are not part of the dominant group, and consistently reduces women to second-class status.

In Tangerang, the administration issued a bylaw on prostitution that stated any woman regarded as behaving suspiciously on the streets after 7 p.m. would be arrested as a prostitute. Several articles of the bylaw are based on preconceptions, assumptions, and suspicions which could give rise to different interpretations.

In South Sulawesi, several regency administrations make it obligatory for female civil servants to wear Islamic attire. Government employees are required to be able to read and write Arabic. Padang municipal administration issued a bylaw requiring all schoolgirls, regardless of their religion, to wear the jilbab (Muslim headscarf).

Depok City Council, south of Jakarta, is preparing a bylaw on sex workers, alcohol and morality. Padang Pariaman in West Sumatra, Bengkulu in South Sumatra, Batam in Riau Islands Province, Aceh, Cianjur Tasikmalaya have similar rules. Jakarta's Ulema Council is discussing laws on morality with the police and local parliament.

The House of Representatives, supported by hard-line Muslim groups and political parties, is deliberating the pornography bill, which will damage freedom of expression and justify state intervention in the private lives of individual citizens.

State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra is on record in support of a bill being deliberated in Aceh that compels Muslims and non- Muslims alike in Nangro Aceh Darussalam to be tried by the Islamic Court. This is a blatant attack on Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and international human rights covenants Indonesia has signed and ratified.

It strikes at the heart of Indonesia's pluralism and unity to politically and legally force citizens to submit to a religious legal system practiced by some Indonesians but not all.

Reviewing these divisive laws will test the Supreme Court's courage and independence in upholding the basic laws of the country, especially when majorities try to oppress minorities. Challenging radical sharia-inspired bylaws is politically sensitive and must be done on very sound legal grounds.

Advocates of sharia-based laws will stress the divine origin of sharia and will resist challenges based on constitutional or human rights limits. They maintain that these laws and rules are authorized directly by God without any human mediation, and political opposition is viewed as apostasy or blasphemy. They place the sharia system beyond the realm of debate, criticism, and accountability. This is an attack on Pancasila and the basic freedoms it embodies.

Reviewing these sharia-based bylaws can be done not only by the judiciary. The central government, under the Regional Autonomy Law, has also the legal power to block the spread of bylaws that are not compatible with higher law and the constitution. But the current executive has shown no willingness to do this, most likely out of fear of political attacks from the radicals.

As the government fails to enforce existing national laws, non- governmental organizations and minority groups must be more active in challenging the radical sharia-inspired bylaws on sex and morality-based public behavior. Without legal action being taken by NGOs and minority groups to bring challenges to the Supreme Court, the justices will not be able to initiate legal reviews. Under Supreme Court Law, justices can only review the rules and regulations when they are challenged and brought before them. The Supreme Court is powerless to initiate the review.

[The writer is a lecturer in law at Yarsi University in Jakarta and a doctoral candidate at the Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago.]

Indonesia publishes 2nd edition of Playboy

Associated Press - June 7, 2006

Zakki Hakim, Jakarta – A second edition of Playboy hit the streets of Indonesia on Wednesday as the local publisher moved its offices to Bali island, two months after Islamic hard-liners threw rocks at its Jakarta offices following the magazine's debut.

The magazine has been toned down for publication in the world's most populous Muslim nation, but the first edition nonetheless drew violent protests from hard-liners who said the contents were immoral and violated criminal codes. Frightened advertisers responded by pulling their ads. The magazine's new Bali offices opened Wednesday.

"The safety and convenience of our employees come first," publisher Erwin Arnada said of the decision to relocate to the Hindu-majority island of Bali, a haven for foreign tourists. "People in Bali are more open to ideas, they are more adaptable."

The Islamic Defenders' Front – which has a history of attacking bars and nightclubs and took part in the April stoning of Playboy's Jakarta office – said it did not know yet what action it would take against the magazine. "We'll find some way to make them listen," said senior member Tubagus Muhammad Sidik.

Arnada, who is also the magazine's editor-in-chief, said 100,000 copies of the 160-page edition were being printed. Several pages were left blank but carried a message for advertisers: "We dedicate this empty page to our loyal clients who were threatened for putting their ad in this magazine."

The new issue of Playboy, which hawkers discreetly displayed to motorists at crowded intersections in the capital, features an interview with a Christian hard-liner on Indonesia's death row for an attack on a Muslim boarding school and a story about the local wine culture.

Consumers seeking pornographic thrills would likely be disappointed, Arnada said, noting that there were no nude photos and that the articles were "quite heavily about social, political and cultural issues."

The resort island of Bali has been targeted by al-Qaida-linked terrorists twice in the last four years. Twin nightclub blasts in 2002 killed 202 mostly foreign tourists and triple suicide attacks on crowded restaurants last year left 20 dead.

But Arnada said he still believed the climate there was better than in Jakarta, which has also been hit by deadly bombings. "The ambiance here is more inspirational," he said by phone from Bali.

Thousands rally for porn bill

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2006

Bandung – Thousands of people from 40 Muslim organizations grouped in the Alliance of Muslim Followers rallied in the West Java provincial capital Bandung on Tuesday in support of the controversial pornography bill.

West Java Governor Danny Setiawan, who was present at the rally, said he would send letters to both the House of Representatives and the government asking that they speed up the deliberation of the bill and enact it as soon as possible.

"This is the will of the majority of people, so I will send letters to both the House and government tomorrow," Danny said.

The speaker of the West Java Legislative Council, AM Ruslan, spoke at the rally in favor of the bill.

In addition to staging rallies, the alliance also has sent a letter of support for the pornography bill to the House special committee deliberating the proposed legislation.

Human rights/law

NGOs demand government disclosure Poso operation

Jakarta Post - June 8, 2006

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Human rights activists called on the government Wednesday to publicly account for its six-month security operation in conflict-scarred Central Sulawesi, which will end this month.

Usman Hamid, the coordinator of the National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), argued the evaluation was necessary because tension had remained high since the government deployed a task force there in January.

"We recorded at least 21 cases of violence, which have taken place since January," Usman said.

Shootings occurred in front of a jewelry store in Palu Selatan on Jan. 10; and at Poso's Pulau Kalimantan traffic circle on Jan. 25 and in Bugis Village, Parigi, on Feb. 28. Three people were killed in the attacks.

Despite the presence of extra security forces, none of the gunmen have been identified or apprehended.

"Bomb attacks, arsons, riots and attacks causing destruction of property, have continued there, with security personnel failing to take measures against the perpetrators," Usman said.

"Security personnel have also been involved in internal conflicts," he said, citing a recent brawl between police and soldiers which took place in front of a Poso police precinct.

"Even more confusing, local security authorities are planning to grant a general amnesty to locals. It seems that the government is trying to put the blame on Muslims and Christians but refuse to explore the possibility of the involvement of certain parties in Jakarta," Usman said.

More than 1,000 people died in sectarian violence in Poso at the height of the Christian-Muslim conflict there between 2000 and 2001.

An extra 4,000 police and soldiers were sent to restore order in Central Sulawesi in 2005 after a series of shootings and bombings in the region.

Ester Jusuf: Tireless rights campaigner

Jakarta Post - June 4, 2006

A. Junaidi, Jakarta – "There is no point of return" is probably a perfect phrase to describe the spirit of human rights activist Ester Indahyani Jusuf in investigating mass killings in the country.

"We will continue to uncover the alleged mass killings even though people have started to forget the cases," Ester said in an interview with The Jakarta Post recently.

Starting our her career as a lawyer with the Jakarta Legal Aid (LBH) in 1996, Ester, whose Chinese name is Sim Ai Ling, had already been involved in the investigation of similar cases even before she graduated from the School of Law of the University of Indonesia.

Among the cases she helped investigate was the torture and killing of a Tarumanagara University student by members of the campus student regiment in West Jakarta in 1994.

She also joined the investigation into the bloody takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters on July 27, 1996 in Jakarta, which triggered mass rioting.

Two years after the riots of May 1998, in which Chinese- Indonesians were the major target, Ester left LBH Jakarta and, along with other young activists, founded a non-governmental organization called the Solidarity of the Nation-State (SNB).

SNB, along with other NGOs, such as the Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), established a coalition of NGOs to investigate the mass killings that occurred during the May riots.

Ester was appointed secretary of an ad hoc committee set up by the National Committee of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) called the Joint Fact-finding Team to probe the killings.

The team, chaired by Komnas HAM deputy chairman Sholehudin Wahid, the younger brother of then president Abdurrahman Wahid, finally concluded that gross human rights violations had been committed in the May tragedy.

Ester succeeded in raising public awareness of discrimination against ethnic Chinese, both at home and abroad, after she spoke before the annual session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in April 2001. Her persistence in fighting against discrimination won her the prestigious Yap Thiam Hien Human Rights award in the same year.

However, 2001 was also a difficult year for Ester who was pregnant with her second baby as her husband, fellow activist Arnold Purba, died in May.

The death of her husband did not stop Ester from investigating alleged human rights violations in the country. Along with other activists, including her current husband Albertus Suryo Wicaksono, Ester founded an NGO, Kasut Perdamaian (Shoes for Peace), which investigates alleged killings after the September 1965 tragedy.

Investigations into the bloody May 1998 riots have never been followed up. What are the obstacles?

Politically, we lack support. The House of Representatives does not plan to conduct a plenary session on the issue, although they supported the investigation during the early hearings. The Joint Fact-finding Team set up by Komnas HAM completed its investigation into the case, but the results of the investigation have not been followed up by the Attorney General's Office. I was the secretary of the team.

For the Attorney General's Office to investigate the alleged killings, it needs a recommendation from the House, which can be issued only if it deems there were gross human rights violations in the incident. (Unfortunately, an investigation by the House concluded that there was no gross human rights violations in the May riots.) The office even challenged us to bring forward witnesses who knew that (former Indonesian Military chief) Gen. (ret) Wiranto did withdraw his troops during the riots.

Completing evidence and summoning witnesses are the responsibility of the attorney general. We, Komnas HAM, are authorized to conduct a preliminary investigation only.

What is the President's stance on the case?

No president has ever ordered the attorney general to probe the case. Actually, an intervention by the president – asking the attorney general to probe the case – is another legal avenue to continue the investigation because demanding and waiting for the House' recommendation would take time and be difficult.

We are now planning to meet the President (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) to ask him to order the attorney general to conduct an investigation into the case. Legally, he can ask the attorney general to continue the investigation.

Do you have strong evidence that gross human rights violations did take place in the May tragedy?

There is a lot of evidence. There were two parties, the Komnas HAM and a coalition of NGOs such as SNB and Kontras, which had investigated the case. Both found evidence that indeed gross human rights violations took place.

The May tragedy could be categorized as a case of gross human rights violations because it happened systematically, on a vast scale and almost simultaneously at several locations. We have names of field officers responsible for security in areas affected by the riots, although it's difficult to trace their superiors.

Unfortunately, the findings of both Komnas HAM and NGOs are viewed as the result of a research only.

Does the alleged involvement of high-ranking officers make it difficult for the investigation to be completed?

People who are allegedly involved in triggering the riots still have strong influence.

Do you think the investigation into the September 1965 tragedy will meet the same fate as the May riots?

It could be the case. The alleged involvement of security officers in both tragedies could be a factor that contributes to the difficulties in investigating the cases.

I cofounded Kasut Perdamaian, an NGO which focuses, among other things, on gathering evidence of mass killings after the September 1965 tragedy.

We have made a short documentary film in an area in Blitar, East Java where many people were killed after the alleged failed coup d'etat. Perhaps, the area can become a tourist destination due to its historical significance.

Did you support the nomination of Wiranto and Sholehudin Wahid as candidates during the 2004 General Elections?

Along with activists who investigated the May tragedy, I suggested Sholehudin as a candidate for vice president be paired with Syafi'i Ma'arif, the former chairman of Muhammadiyah (the country's second largest Islamic organization) as presidential candidate.

I did not know why finally Sholehudin chose Wiranto as his running mate. I withdraw my nomination for the pair. Personally, I have a good relationship with Sholehudin.

During the riots, it was reported that dozens of Chinese- Indonesian women were raped. Is it exaggerated?

Yes, it's exaggerated. There was false information circulated about rape cases. But, it is true also that many Chinese women were raped during the riots.

The mass media had blown up the rape reports. Some media took the information from unreliable sources which were proven to be false. We also found that some pictures of people who claimed to be victims of the May riots that were taken from porn sites on the Internet.

We hoped that many of the victims would report the case. But, we found many witnesses from non-Chinese communities who saw the incidents of gang rape.

There were also reports that after the riots many doctors helped the victims abort their unwanted pregnancies?

Yes, we did hear of that, but we could not find the doctors who helped the abortions (Abortion is illegal in Indonesia, hence people are unlikely to report voluntarily).

But, we managed to meet and interviewed three doctors who helped restore the vaginas of the victims. The doctors said the damage to the vaginas was due to the women being raped during the riots.

Among the women's movements here, after the riots and the gang rapes, there was a hot discussion on a woman's right to abortion. What's your opinion?

I disagree with abortion except for medical reasons. I have seen many women who became pregnant because of being raped and became stronger after they gave birth and took care of their babies.

The government should provide proper medical services for the pregnant victims. If the women still don't want their babies they could give them to foundations.

The decision on abortion should be taken by the court after hearing suggestions from a doctor, psychiatrist and a religious expert. Probably, a short court session could be conducted to decide whether the abortion could be carried out or not.

Not many victims, especially Chinese-Indonesians, observed the commemoration of the May tragedy. Why? I don't know. Probably, they think that it's useless. They want to forget all their miseries and get on with their lives.

Many Chinese-Indonesians often experience violence such as lootings. However, the May riots were not just lootings, but also killings.

I come from a rich family in Malang, East Java. We had a big shop with a small door at the back. Years before the May tragedy, when the lootings happened, we managed to escape through the back door. And when the lootings ended, we returned and resumed working.

Where were you during the May riots?

I was at LBH Jakarta office. In the evening, I went home to a low-cost apartment in Tanah Abang area, Central Jakarta. It was safe place during the riots. I called my mom. She said she was OK. "I am used to facing riots," said my mom. My parents had moved to Pondok Cabe area, South Jakarta years before the May tragedy. There were no riots in Pondok Cabe.

The tragedy also raises the problem of discrimination against ethnic Chinese here. What's your view?

We are pleased that some discriminatory regulations have been revoked. Chinese cultural traditions are not banned anymore. The government has decided that Chinese New Year Imlek should be celebrated as a national holiday.

In practice, however, especially in the bureaucracy, there is still discrimination. Some Chinese-Indonesians are still asked to show citizenship certificates when applying for identification cards. The regulation has been revoked. But, if a Chinese- Indonesian refuses to bring his/her certificate and protests, the officers get scared and give the identification card immediately.

How do you teach your sons about discrimination issue?

Actually, children do not have discriminatory feelings. We, the adults, often teach them the wrong attitudes. I have three sons now. I'm a defender of men. (Laughs) I often bring along my sons to my activities. Sometimes, I'm surprised by their comments. One time, one of my sons said: "Mom, military officers are evil, aren't they."

Komnas HAM searching for 13 pro-democracy activists

Tempo Interactive - June 3, 2006

Endang Purwanti, Jakarta – An Ad Hoc Team from the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) is currently searching for 13 pro-democracy activists that disappeared between 1997 and 1998.

"Four of the people among them disappeared during the May 1998 riots", said the head of the team Ruswiati Suryasaputra during a press conference at the Cemara Gallery in Jakarta yesterday.

The missing persons are Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) activists Petrus Bima Anugrah, Herman Hendrawan, Suyat and Wiji Thukul, pro-Megawati Indonesian Democratic Party activists Yani Afri and Sonny, Dedi Hamdun from the United Development Party, Noval Al Katiri from the Mega-Star-People Coalition, Ismail (Dedi Hamdun's driver), M Yusuf, Ucok Siahaan, Hendra Hambali, Yadin Muhidin and Abdul Nasser.

According to Suryasaputra, his team has already obtained conformation that a body found in the Plaosan forests in the Magetan regency of Central Java in 1998 is Gilang, a PRD activist from Solo.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Labour issues

House tells SBY to drop labor law revisions

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2006

Jakarta – House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono has officially asked the government to drop a plan to revise the 2003 labor law, which stirred nationwide protests last month.

The government should instead make other changes to attract investment, he added. The labor law, Agung stressed, should remain untouched because it is not as big a factor in stagnating foreign investment as legal uncertainty, red tape and the lack of infrastructure.

"There are other sectors that we can all improve without having to revise the existing labor law," he was quoted by Antara as saying in Kotamobagu, North Sulawesi, while at the Golkar Party's regional branch.

Agung is the deputy chairman of Golkar, which is the nation's largest party, with 129 seats in the House.

He said he has conveyed the request to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the sake of stability in the country's political climate. Agung did not say how the President responded to his call.

Yudhoyono had earlier asked six universities to review the implementation of the existing labor law before the government decided whether revisions were necessary or not.

To ease tensions, the President promised to uphold the basic rights and welfare of workers in making further decisions, although he did not completely rule out revising the law.

A series of massive rallies across the country against the proposed revisions to the law almost paralyzed business activities last month and reportedly caused significant financial losses to the business community.

Two days after a peaceful May 1 rally to commemorate International Labor Day, massive marches on May 3 ended in a minor riot in front of the House compound in Jakarta.

Agung's statement appeared to be a blow to businessman-cum-Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who has the support of business groups. Kalla insisted on changes to the labor law, which he said was repelling badly-needed foreign investment.

Kalla is the chairman of Golkar, which has retained support in the House by appeasing the objections of opposition parties to several controversial government policies.

Two House deputy chairmen and a number of lawmakers, mostly from House Commission IX on manpower, have vowed to reject any plan by the government to revise the 2003 labor law.

The draft of the revised labor law sparked anger from workers, who felt it infringed on their basic rights by expanding the use of temporary workers and cutting severance payments.

Tripartite talks on labor and investment issues are underway between the government, labor unions and business groups.

Business groups argue the law should be revised because it grants too many concessions to workers, thus making new investors reluctant to bring their money here.

Unemployment rate stuck at over 10%: BPS

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2006

Jakarta – The persistent weakness in Indonesia's economy has resulted in open unemployment remaining stubbornly high, with the number of people out of work in February compared to the same month last year staying unchanged at more than 10 percent of the workforce.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported Thursday that the number of people in jobs in February increased by only 300,000 to 95.2 million from the same month last year, which is still less than the natural increase in the country's labor force.

The BPS said that 900,000 people lost their jobs from February through November 2005, although 1.2 million of then found new jobs from November through February of this year.

The total number of people in Indonesia between the ages of 15 and 64 who were suitable for jobs in the formal sector had risen by 500,000 to 106.3 million by the end of February compared with a year ago. Indonesia has a population of some 220 million people.

As a result of this natural increase, no headway was made in reducing unemployment, which stood at 10.4 percent of the total workforce in February – a slight increase over the 10.3 percent recorded in February last year. The number of people working less than 35 hours a week also rose slightly to 29.9 million, or 31 percent of the total workforce.

"The 900,000 jobs lost from February to November 2005 shows that the year's fuel price hikes in March and October severely affected employment, although the situation then improved gradually up to February," the BPS said in its report.

The unemployment rate rose to 11.2 percent in November last year as Indonesia's consumption-driven economy stumbled under the twin strains of rising inflation and higher interest rates resulting from the fuel price hikes.

The economy slowed down again in this year's first quarter, growing by only 4.59 percent compared with 6.2 percent during last year's first quarter. It also appears now that a 1 percent growth rate now translates into only some 200,000 jobs compared with 400,000 in the past as investments nowadays tend to be more capital intensive than labor intensive.

Politics/political parties

Court recognizes Gus Dur's PKB

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2006

Jakarta – Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's faction of the conflict-ridden National Awakening Party (PKB) is the legitimate face of the political group, a court here ruled Monday.

In its verdict, the South Jakarta District Court described the rival PKB faction chaired by party leader Choirul Anam as "illegitimate". It also refused to recognize the results of the faction's breakaway national congress in Surabaya last year, which elected Choirul as leader.

The judges ruled that under the PKB's standing orders, a congress must be attended by two-thirds of the party's branch leaders. However, the status of party members that had attended the Surabaya forum was not clear, they said.

The court forbade the Choirul-led faction from using the party's symbols, logo or name in its political activities, head judge Wahjono said.

It also overruled an "illegal" decree issued last year by Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin that recognized Choirul's leadership.

"The verdict means only our PKB is legitimate," said Zannuba "Yenny" Chafsoh Rahmah, Gus Dur's eldest daughter. Choirul's faction said it would appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court.

New party vows to change political culture

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2006

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A breakaway faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has officially registered as the country's 28th political party, a move that the faction's supporters say will spell doom for the PDI-P.

Hundreds of party leaders and supporters from the newly named Renewal Democratic Party (PDP) stopped traffic Thursday when they marched 10 kilometers from their party headquarters on Jl. Sisingamangaraja in South Jakarta to the Justice and Human Rights Ministry in Kuningan, also South Jakarta.

Laksamana Sukardi, a former state enterprises minister under president Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration, and now PDP coordinator, said the party was set up to reform Indonesia's political culture, which he said remained "feudalistic", and to defend pluralism.

The PDP was created when senior leaders split from the nationalist PDI-P in December last year, after a group lead by Laksamana lost a bitter fight to reform the party at its national congress. The party, which has a leadership council instead of a single leader, has become the 14th new group to register since the 2004 legislative elections.

Laksamana claimed PDP party members reached into the millions and was optimistic it would perform better in the 2009 general elections than the PDI-P.

He said the party was an inclusive, nationalist grouping, which would promote pluralism through a reinterpretation of the state ideology Pancasila and a return to principles enshrined in the Constitution.

The PDP has already established chapters in 32 provinces, branches in 70 percent of regencies and municipalities and 60 percent of the nation's subdistricts. The Political Party Law requires all political groups to field offices in at least in 50 percent of provinces, and branches in at least 50 percent of regions and 25 percent of subdistricts throughout the country.

After their party was registered, supporters spent time fund- raising for the Yogyakarta and Central Java earthquake victims.

Roy BB Janis, a member of the party's leadership council, said the registration was planned to coincide with the 61st anniversary of the state ideology, Pancasila. "PDP is open all people regardless of their ethnicity, race and religion. We fully support Indonesian as a unitary state," he said.

Yogyakarta earthquake

Villagers huddle for survival in flimsy tents

Jakarta Post - June 8, 2006

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – Life was already difficult for residents of the two remote hamlets in the parched hills of Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, but it took a turn for the worse on May 27.

Karang and Padangan, which lie in the village of Nglegi, did not suffer the widespread damage or deaths of many areas battered by the earthquake, but their difficult to reach, rugged location leave them at a disadvantage in recovering from the damage.

The area is plagued by deficiencies: There is not enough food at the best of times, and the electricity supply was cut by the disaster. Many houses are still inhabitable but most residents, scared by aftershocks, are living in makeshift tents.

Others like Sutari, whose Padangan home was razed, have no choice but to camp out in makeshift tents, with their roofs built from whatever materials they can find around them. "We are forced to stay here. Where else can we stay?" said the 35-year-old mother of three grade schoolers.

Her home remains in a pile of rubble; her husband, a migrant worker who has returned home, has been too ill to start the cleanup. Sutari busies herself collecting grass from the forest to feed a goat, which she has reared in a profit-sharing arrangement with the animal's owner, a neighbor. When a relative came to visit, offering comforting words at her loss, Sutari burst into tears and hugged her.

They are learning to live with the conditions, huddling under the flimsy roof of the tent, with gusting winds and pounding rain at night. They eat rice whenever they can get it, but often must settle for whatever else is available to quiet their hunger pangs.

"Many people grow cassava here. We adults eat cassava, putting the children first to get rice, but even then it's not three times a day," said Karang resident Aris Haryono.

Aris, who is the head of the development unit of the village council, said it was several days before rice aid arrived for the population of 350, about 10 percent of whom are under-fives.

Stocks in the hamlet quickly dwindled because its local mill had yet to return to operation. The nearest market in Piyungan, which had been totally damaged in the quake, is some 20 km from Nglegi.

"We only received rice assistance on the fourth day after the disaster from the village administration, at an amount of only eight kilograms per hamlet." Sulandari complained the lack of food was affecting her 14-month-old infant.

"My child is fretful nearly every night due to gripe. He has no appetite to eat." Putting a jacket on him and rubbing him with medicinal oil have not helped calm him. "Hopefully, my son is strong enough to survive this predicament. We can only resign ourselves to our fate," she said.

Other parents report their children have respiratory infections and diarrhea from living in tents. The elderly also suffer from exposure to the elements. In Bantul regency, Mrs. Udi, 60, whose house was lost in the quake, complained of constant aches from living outside in a tent of tattered cloth.

A common sight in the area is people performing the traditional medical practice of kerokan, where a coin is dragged across the back and other parts of the body to expel wind.

For now, Mrs. Udi must live in the cramped tent, shared with her injured son and three other families.

There was a bright spot – electricity was finally restored earlier this week – but her mind still raced with fears for the future. "Actually, it's not the illness that I'm worried about, but about how to rebuild my house. I don't have any thoughts on how to do it, because I've nothing left," she said, her eyes filling with tears.

Bureaucratic delays hinder quake relief

Green Left Weekly - June 7, 2006

James Balowski, Jakarta – The official death toll from the massive earthquake that struck densely populated Yogyakarta and parts of Central Java on May 27 now stands at more than 6200, with more than 46,000 people injured – 33,000 seriously.

Measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, the quake reduced thousands of homes to piles of rubble in less than a minute. Authorities say that some 647,000 people have been displaced and there is little hope of finding more survivors.

Despite a government pledge of US$107.5 million in assistance, almost a week after the disaster many people were still desperately short of food, shelter and medical care.

A major obstacle has been bureaucratic delays, with residents required to "make proposals" or obtain written authorisation from local administrators before getting assistance.

Many have been forced to resort to desperate measures. In Klaten and throughout the badly damaged Bantul district, beggars held cardboard boxes daubed with the words, "Asking for aid". In other areas people put chairs, oil drums and stones on the road to slow drivers and ask for money.

Some of the fastest responses have been from smaller, locally based activists groups. Speaking to Green Left Weekly, Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) chairperson Dita Indah Sari, who is coordinating the PRD and affiliated local groups' relief efforts, said they were focusing on the hardest-hit areas.

In Bantul, a joint coordination post organised by the PRD, the National Student League for Democracy (LMND) and students from the Indonesian Arts Institute was established within a day of the quake. Around 50 sub-posts have been set up that have provided assistance to some 10,000 displaced people.

In Klaten, a post has been established as a joint endeavour of the Klaten Farmers Forum, the National Farmers Union, the PRD and the LNMD. Due to lack of resources, however, the post has been restricted to organising and distributing assistance to three sub-districts in the Klaten regency: Pedan, Karangdowo and Wedi.

Sari is urging the international community to assist the hundreds of thousands of victims who are currently facing the threat of hunger and exposure. "Whatever the form of aid, and however much, it will contribute to alleviating the suffering of the victims."

Indonesia quake victims angry aid not flowing

Reuters - June 6, 2006

Yogyakarta – Dozens of aid trucks laden with rice remained blocked in government depots on Tuesday due to bureaucratic bottlenecks, angering Indonesian earthquake survivors struggling to rebuild their shattered lives.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, in the stricken Javanese city of Yogyakarta to oversee aid distribution, had said 200 trucks would start delivering rice to survivors on Tuesday. But as the day dragged on, 36 trucks full with rice remained in one local government depot alone.

Further angering survivors, local authorities decided to reduce the initial amount of aid money being distributed to victims until further damage assessments were carried out.

"Everybody was hoping to get a full sum immediately. This decision will cause unhappiness," said village head Mohamad Temon, 55, who had gone to the government center to collect aid disbursement papers.

Ten days after a magnitude 6.3 quake struck Java island at dawn on May 27, killing 5,782 people, tens of thousands remain homeless, living under plastic sheets and tarpaulins and in donated tents.

Many are poor laborers and farmers, who make a subsistence living on a patchwork of rice paddys which dot the villages, and have little money to buy food after the quake, let alone building materials.

"I've not seen the money or the rice," said an angry Sajiyo, a 45-year-old laborer, as he stood in front of his badly damaged house in Palbapang village in the hardest-hit area, Bantul.

Sajiyo said authorities had told him that when he received money, it will be only 360,000 rupiah ($38.5) to feed a family of four, instead of the 860,000 rupiah entitlement promised.

His neighbor Poniman, whose house was totally destroyed, said he had been told he would receive no money at all. "I'm very sad and disappointed," said the 37-year-old laborer, who earns just 15,000 Rupiah a day and is the sole bread winner for a family of six, including his aged parents.

Indonesia's minister for people's welfare, Aburizal Bakrie, told reporters: "I anticipate some jealousy, because some will receive the money and some won't." The United Nations has estimated that more than 200,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged, yet only about 70,000 families have received housing assistance.

Health officials said sanitation remained a major concern due to dirty water and the World Health Organization plans a mass vaccination against tetanus and measles.

The United Nations says a $103 million six-month relief operation is needed to provide aid such as emergency shelter, medical assistance, clean water, sanitation, food and child protection across the quake-devastated region.

But as anxious survivors tried to feed and shelter their families, they were also looking apprehensively north to restive Mount Merapi, which was threatening to erupt.

Merapi has been belching toxic gases and spewing lava for days, but on Tuesday the volcanic activity grew. Meteorological authorities said Merapi's gas cloud now stretched four km (2.4 miles) and lava flows were reaching seven km (four miles) from the crater.

Merapi, which killed more than 60 lives in 1994 and 1,300 in an 1930 eruption, has rumbled for weeks and sporadically emitted hot lava and toxic gases. Many villages on its slopes have been evacuated.

Superstitious Javanese continue to make offerings to the gods and spirits in an effort to stave off an eruption.

UN says Java quake aid flowing, housing critical

Reuters - June 5, 2006

Michael Perry, Yogyakarta – Aid is now flowing to tens of thousands of survivors of Indonesia's earthquake but shelter remains a critical problem, the United Nations said on Monday, as Jakarta revised down the disaster death toll.

The Indonesian government said it would start handing out compensation to the victims to buy clothes and reconstruct their houses, more than a week after the quake killed 5,782 people and left tens of thousands homeless.

An official at the Social Affairs Department said the death toll from the magnitude 6.3 quake – which struck the Java island at dawn on May 27 – had been revised down from the earlier 6,234 after officials reviewed the numbers. UN local coordinator Charlie Higgins said the aid operation was now in full swing after being constrained by the topography of Yogyakarta and Central Java, where hundreds of villages are squeezed between rice fields and congested urban centers.

"We have overcome most of the logistical bottlenecks that prevented the flow of assistance," he said.

"Many people simply don't want to leave their property, so we have to seek them out and that takes more time," Higgins told a news conference. "It brings short-term problems but it also brings quicker long-term recovery."

Higgins said providing housing for survivors was critical with more than 200,000 homes destroyed or badly damaged. He said so far only some 70,000 families had received housing assistance.

Many survivors said they did not have the money to buy building materials after the quake. "We cannot rebuild anything until we get money from the government. We are only farmers here. Government aid has not come here," said Sugiman, 27, from Mredo Gatak village in the worst-hit area, Bantul.

Cash handout

The government said it would give villagers whose houses were destroyed up to 30 million rupiah to rebuild their homes, while victims would also get 10 kg (22 lb) of rice a month, 3,000 rupiah ($0.324) a day, cash for kitchen equipment and clothes, and free medical treatment for three months.

"Donations will be given directly to the family head in the village," Aburizal Bakrie, the coordinating minister for people's welfare, said in a statement. "All victims will get health treatment, including surgery, free of charge." Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Monday that 200 trucks had started delivering rice to survivors.

Aid workers had been struggling to get help to quake victims living in fragile tents and makeshift shelters where their homes once stood. Sanitation remains a concern for these people, who risk infection and skin irritation by bathing in dirty water.

There have been no disease outbreaks yet, but the risk of infectious diseases remains high because of the crowding and squalid conditions in some quake-hit areas.

There have also been worries over survivors taking refuge in chicken coops, with potential exposure to the bird flu virus in a country that has recorded 37 human deaths from the H5N1 strain.

But people are picking up the pieces of their lives. Their main market now a wreck, some women in Bantul set up a temporary roadside market to sell vegetables.

"Business is bad because people are not shopping any more. They are afraid of leaving their houses because when they go to markets something may happen to the family at home," said Dartini, a 40-year-old woman in Bantul.

Several villages now have electricity and many shops have reopened.

The United Nations has unveiled plans for a $103 million six- month relief operation to provide aid like emergency shelter, medical assistance, clean water, sanitation, food and child protection across the quake-devastated region.

[Additional reporting by Jalil Hamid.]

Quake toll revised down as aid flow improves

Agence France Presse - June 5, 2006

Bantul – Indonesian authorities have revised down the death toll from the Java earthquake to nearly 5,800, as new aid supplies helped survivors move forward on the long road to recovery.

The United Nations said distribution of food, medicines and water had greatly improved in devastated areas of central Java island, but emphasized the urgent need to provide shelter to some 340,000 left homeless.

In the disaster area, life slowly returned to normal, with morning markets bustling and primary school students sitting for end-of-year exams despite the fact that hundreds of schools were flattened in the May 27 quake.

After sending assessment teams to Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces, the social affairs ministry revised down the quake death toll from 6,234 to 5,782. The number of injured also went down to from 46,000 to 33,000.

But the ministry dramatically raised the number of people displaced in the crisis, saying more than 343,000 had spent a ninth night in the open, many of them under rudimentary tents made of plastic sheeting and bamboo poles.

"Emergency shelter remains one of our priorities," Puji Pujiono, the deputy area humanitarian coordinator for the United Nations, told AFP.

Yogyakarta provincial secretary Bambang Priyohadi said 200,000 tents were needed, while the UN appealed on Sunday for an influx of building materials, saying tents were sometimes difficult to set up amid the rubble.

The Indonesian government has earmarked more than 160 million dollars to rebuild more than 200,000 homes destroyed or badly damaged in the zone. The United Nations has estimated that 100 million dollars are needed over the next six months to cope with the disaster.

Food aid is flowing more freely throughout the disaster area, Pujiono said, adding that more clean water was being trucked in to avert widespread sanitation problems, cited by UN agencies as a major short-term concern.

"Sanitation is the highest priority because so many houses have been destroyed and most of the toilets have gone as well," said Astrid van Agthoven, water and sanitation project officer for the UN Children's Fund ( UNICEF).

"There is definitely a risk of water-borne and sanitation-related diseases, especially in densely populated areas," she added.

Pujiono described the health care situation in the zone as "under control", with the tens of thousands of injured receiving appropriate medical attention, but warned of isolated shortfalls in supplies.

Indonesian Vice President Yusuf Kalla was due in Yogyakarta, the main city in the quake zone, later Monday to oversee ongoing relief efforts, his office said.

Provincial authorities in Yogyakarta will set up bank accounts for each family affected by the disaster to help them protect their aid funds, Priyohadi said, noting: "A tent is not a safe place to save that money."

In hard-hit Bantul district, life seemed to be returning to normal, with morning markets filled with fresh produce and sellers hawking their wares. Primary school students sat under tents or outside their damaged classrooms to take their end-of- year exams, with sixth-grade girls in the village of Serut clad in red and white uniforms clutching their papers in their laps.

"All my friends are here. I feel happy to be here," said nine- year-old Adip, who played games with other children under a big blue tarpaulin suspended by bamboo poles.

Teachers dispensed with regular lessons for the youngest students in an effort to get them used to the idea of returning to class after the quake trauma.

To the north of the quake zone, the Mount Merapi volcano continued to belch heat clouds and send trails of lava down its slopes, with Indonesia still on red alert for an eruption.

Pujiono said local officials had evacuated several hundred villagers – the elderly, women and children – from areas nearest the lava flows, but stressed the rumbling volcano did not pose a "grave concern" to authorities.

Concerns about shelter in Indonesia quake zone

Agence France Presse - June 4, 2006

Elisia Yeo, Bantul – The United Nations warned that tens of thousands of Indonesia quake survivors still desperately needed shelter as new aftershocks frightened jittery residents.

Scientists said another major quake was unlikely to happen soon but the new jolts frayed nerves across the disaster zone, where the UN said building materials were urgently needed to provide shelter.

Officials also warned that while food and medicines were reaching the needy, a lack of toilets was raising fears of disease as waste was exposed openly in many areas.

"It's not a very exciting subject but it's absolutely vital," said Charlie Higgins, the UN's area relief coordinator in the quake zone. "There's no 'Latrines Sans Frontieres.'"

As the homeless braced for a ninth night out in the open, struggling in makeshift shelters, he said the survivors needed tools and supplies to build better living quarters as soon as possible.

"There is obviously a big shortfall in the amount of materials... that have been given out and that are in the pipeline," he told AFP after an aid coordination meeting in Yogyakarta, the main city in the quake zone.

"It's not so much tents, although tents are useful in some circumstances, as it is shelter materials such as tarpaulins, bamboo, rope, tools, et cetera, that enable people to put together their own shelter solutions."

The Indonesian government said it would provide more than 160 million dollars to rebuild homes in the zone, as more international aid poured in to cope with the tens of thousands of injured and homeless.

The United Nations has said 100 million dollars is needed over the next six months to cope with the disaster, and said Saturday it was in a "race against time" to help survivors struggling to get food, shelter and health care.

At least 6,234 people were killed, some 46,000 others injured and more than 139,000 homes in Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces either damaged or completely destroyed in the quake.

Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah said authorities would offer community grants in order to encourage collective rebuilding in devastated villages.

Although new casualties have continued to stream into hospitals, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the backlog of patients was being cleared. Foreign medical teams from China, Singapore, the United States and elsewhere have set up field hospitals to ease the burden on local facilities.

US medics dispatched a mobile unit from the hospital to reach those injured living in remote areas, while a 100-strong Cuban medical team was due to arrive in the area later Sunday.

The Indonesian social affairs ministry, which has sent assessment teams to determine the exact number of dead and injured, did not release any new figures on Sunday.

The government said it would send auditors to monitor aid disbursement in the quake zone, after accusations that billions of dollars in aid funds were misused in Aceh province following the 2004 tsunami.

And to the north of the quake zone, the Mount Merapi volcano continued to belch heat clouds and send trails of lava down its slopes, heightening fears of an eruption. Indonesia maintained a red alert at the peak.

Government vulcanologist Surono tried to allay local fears of another quake in the short term, saying there was "not enough energy" to trigger a major tremor, but did say the quake had increased the activity at Merapi.

Residents nonetheless said they were scared of the aftershocks and would sleep outside until they stopped.

In the daytime, it's okay but at night, when the tremors come, I'm afraid. I have nightmares," said Kasmiyoto, a 50-year-old villager in hard-hit Bantul district. "Sometimes, when my wife is praying, she says she feels like her body is still shaking."

UN says quake aid 'race against time'

Agence France Presse - June 3, 2006

Elisia Yeo, Bantul – The United Nations says it is in a race against time to help survivors still struggling to get food, shelter and urgent medical care one week after the Indonesian earthquake.

Tens of thousands of homeless spent their seventh night out in the open, huddled under makeshift tents of plastic sheeting or tarpaulins, while others went into their second week awaiting treatment at overwhelmed hospitals.

UN officials said bottlenecks in getting aid to the needy had been mostly resolved but after days of watching the death toll rise by hundreds, they said the relief effort would be speeded up to prevent further loss of life.

"We are redoubling efforts on all fronts, trying to race against time, knowing the population could quickly go down to the level of hardship," Puji Pujiono, the UN's deputy area humanitarian coordinator, told AFP.

"We are continuing to do what we can," he said. The United Nations said 100 million dollars was needed over the next six months to cope with the scale of the devastation.

One week on, those whose homes were not flattened were picking through the rubble, looking for whatever could be salvaged and fearing that disaster could strike again.

"I still feel traumatized because one week later, we're still having tremors," said Warno, a 39-year-old schoolteacher, as neighbors repaired the tiles ripped off his roof in the village of Warung Boto.

"We all feel unsafe about sleeping inside," he said. "We need money to rebuild our house." While two of his children are healthy, his six-year-old daughter is still vomiting and suffering from diarrhea, likely due to shock. Warno's 84-year-old father died on Friday.

At least 6,234 people were killed, some 46,000 others injured and more than 139,000 homes in Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces either damaged or completely destroyed.

"The height of the emergency phase will continue, I would expect, for another week to two weeks, and at the most be completed in a month," said the UN's Charlie Higgins, who is overseeing the relief effort in Java.

Indonesia has deployed around 3,000 troops to help with the relief efforts, Major General Sunarso, deputy operations coordinator for the national disaster management board, told reporters.

Foreign medical teams have set up field hospitals to ease the burden on local facilities, but new casualties have continued to stream in.

"A lot of new patients with quake-related injuries came here," said Sunarto from Bantul hospital. He had no immediate data available but said dozens had been admitted, most of them suffering broken bones.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said it was trying to provide temporary shelter in rooming houses and small hotels to the injured who had nowhere else to go when they were discharged from hospital.

"Many patients have no homes to return to or are not prepared yet to go back to their villages," said the IOM's Nenette Motus.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which has warned of an increased risk of the spread of infectious diseases, on Saturday launched a surveillance system to detect any outbreaks.

Indonesian officials and aid agencies said looting had become a problem, with desperate survivors stopping trucks carrying food aid. "It's already being monitored by police," said Budi Atmadji, deputy head of the national disaster management board.

Authorities in Jakarta dispatched assessment teams to determine the exact number of dead and injured. New figures would be available on Sunday at the earliest, said a social affairs ministry official.

UN says quake relief could take six months

Agence France Presse - June 2, 2006

Elisia Yeo, Bantul – As thousands of Indonesian earthquake survivors held their first Friday prayers since the disaster, the United Nations warned the relief effort could take up to six months.

The faithful crammed into mosques or lined up in the scorching sun for weekly prayers across the area where more than 6,200 people were killed, and many said they believed the catastrophe was a warning from God.

"We want to make peace inside by praying and being closer to God," said local merchant Iskak, 40, at a mosque in the village of Giwangan on the southern outskirts of Yogyakarta, the main city in the quake zone. "The earthquake is because God would like to give a warning to people, that it is the fault of humankind."

In Jati-Wonokromo in hard-hit Bantul district south of the city, others prayed under makeshift canopies because their mosques had been razed in the disaster. "I feel that my life is more valuable because my life has been given to me by God. I feel much closer to God and I can face the situation in a more peaceful way," said Sukasdi, a 51-year-old police officer.

As the call to prayer sounded across Central Java, hospitals remained overwhelmed and some survivors spent a seventh day awaiting badly needed food and medicines.

The United Nations said aid was moving more freely but that the emergency response was far from over. "The height of the emergency phase will continue, I would expect, for another week to two weeks, and at the most be completed in a month," Charlie Higgins, the UN's area humanitarian coordinator in Java, told reporters.

The UN plan was "to continue relief in one form or another for up to six months," Higgins said. "By the end of that six months, you could consider that we would be into the recovery process. Certainly this transition (to the recovery phase) will occur fairly quickly in this emergency."

Saturday's 6.3-magnitude quake killed at least 6,234 people, injured some 46,000 and damaged or destroyed more than 139,000 homes across large swathes of Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.

As area hospitals spilled over with patients, Georg Petersen, the World Health Organization (WHO) country representative in Indonesia, warned that the threat of infection and disease was growing. "The risk of infectious diseases has increased and there needs to be a surveillance system in place and a reporting system," he said.

Aid efforts were being hindered by looters, a disaster relief official said. The official from the government's National Coordinating Board for Disaster Management said increasingly impatient Indonesians were resorting to "stupid acts" in the wake of the disaster.

"If there are trucks with only civilians guarding them, then they will stop and extort bags of rice and boxes of noodles," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "Right now it's the people who are living near the roads who are getting all the goods. Once you go inside the villages, inside the small roads, there are places that have nothing," he said.

A semblance of normality resumed in some parts of the quake zone as shops reopened and traumatised students went back to classes. But authorities said more than 1,200 schools had been too badly damaged to hold lessons.

"Whatever the disaster is like, education should never stop. So we're trying our best in this emergency situation to keep the schools running," said Sugito, who heads the education office for Yogyakarta province.

"The most urgent thing we have to do is deal with the trauma among teachers as well as students," he told AFP in an interview. "We're all sad. We can't study any more," said 16-year-old Ari Katoni, one of an estimated 250,000 students without a school. "We were supposed to have started yesterday, but it was delayed." As nearby Mount Merapi volcano spewed lava and heat clouds for a seventh consecutive day since the quake, aid workers said authorities were ready to help villagers living on the slopes if it erupted. "The government has most certainly not lost sight of this. It's not been forgotten at all," said the UN's Higgins.

Death toll in Indonesian quake at 6,234

Associated Press - June 1, 2006

Chris Brummitt, Bantul – Medicines, rice, water and tarps were delivered to Indonesia's earthquake disaster zone Wednesday to help about 650,000 displaced people, but many said the international aid was taking too long to get there.

Thousands of women and children lined roads clogged with relief vehicles and curious onlookers, asking motorists for money so they could buy food. Some stood next to a banner that read: "Don't just look. Help."

Saturday's 6.3-magnitude quake on Java island killed 6,234 people and injured more than 30,000, the Social Affairs Ministry said.

The main hospital in hardest-hit Bantul district remained overwhelmed, with patients cramming corridors or sleeping on pieces of cardboard in the parking lot, and doctors complained about a lack of supplies.

The United Nations said the crisis appeared to be easing with the arrival of aid workers from more than 20 countries, and Indonesia's president said he had enough confidence in the relief efforts to return to the capital, Jakarta.

"Certainly, a lot more needs to be done," Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said. But he said roads had been cleared, the main airport's runway repaired and reopened, and electricity restored in some areas.

The temblor that struck soon after dawn reduced more than 135,000 houses into piles of bricks, tiles and wood in less than a minute, displacing some 647,000 people, said Bambang Priyohadi, a provincial official.

Nearly a third of them now live under plastic sheets close to their former homes, in rice fields or on roadsides, while the rest are staying with relatives, he said. Their misery has been compounded by days of intermittent rain and blazing sun.

Many villagers complained they were not getting the help they needed. In the village of Payak in Bantul, some people searched for scraps of tin and other materials to rebuild crumbled homes, while others blocked traffic to beg for money.

"We are forced to do this because the only aid we've received is a bit of food and some cooking oil," said Ribut Setyo Pambudi, 17, after jumping in front of a bus.

"We don't have any money to rebuild, to buy gasoline or even to go out to try to find work." Getting food and fresh water to survivors remained a pressing concern, with some $5 million needed over the next few months to pay for emergency rations of enriched noodles and high-energy biscuits, the UN World Food Program said.

Many villagers complained they were not getting the help they needed. "All we got today was a half-kilogram (one pound) of rice," said Ratimah, 60, who has a family of four to feed. "It's not enough."

But Jan Egeland, the UN's top humanitarian official, said the aid effort appeared to be going well overall, with major improvements in coordination among aid organizations and nations since the 2004 tsunami that killed 131,000 people in Indonesia's Aceh province alone.

Conditions improved at two hospitals in the area, where parking lots and hallways filled with hundreds of victims in the days after the quake were clear, with most patients now being treated in beds.

The main hospital in Bantul was still overwhelmed, however, with more than 400 patients for just over 100 beds.

"We are short of splints, gauze, even beds," said Dr. Hidayat, the hospital's emergency coordinator, adding that 90 percent of the victims had bone fractures. "The minute we get fresh splints, they are gone." Chinese doctors treated patients at a field hospital, while US Marines set up their own emergency medical unit in a soccer stadium in Bantul district.

"The conditions are tragic, but the guys and gals were absolutely ecstatic to leave at a moment's notice," said 1st Lt. Eric Tausch of a US Marine division based in Okinawa, Japan.

Relief teams from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore also were providing assistance.

Though international rescue crews have said there was little hope of finding more bodies, a Singaporean search team discovered one corpse at the bottom of a cliff Wednesday, apparently propelled over the edge by the force of the quake, said Maj. Ow Yong Tuck Wah.

The team used jacks and air cushions to free the body from beneath a large boulder, he said.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Attorney general sued for dropping Suharto case

Agence France Presse - June 5, 2006

Jakarta – Three private groups of lawyers and activists have filed suit against the Indonesian attorney general's office for dropping a long-running corruption case against ailing former dictator Suharto.

The suits were filed by the Indonesian Association of Legal Attorneys and Human Rights Counselors, the so-called Advocacy Team for the Trial of Suharto, and an unnamed group of former student activists who opposed Suharto's rule.

Andi Samsang Nganro, the presiding judge in the south Jakarta court, ruled Monday that the suits would be heard together.

Prosecutors initially accused Suharto of misusing 419 million dollars, plus a further 1.3 trillion rupiah (144 million dollars at today's exchange rate) from seven charitable foundations he established during his rule.

Suharto did not attend any of three sessions of his corruption trial in 2000, pleading ill health. Last month, Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh said his office had dropped the charges against him for health reasons.

Lawyers for the groups said Monday the decision by the attorney general's office to drop the case against the 84-year-old Suharto ran contrary to the law, including anti-corruption laws. Prosecutors could drop a case only when there was insufficient evidence or the defendant dies, attorneys for the Advocacy Team said in court.

In its arguments, the lawyers' association quoted one of Suharto's economy ministers as saying he had ordered all state banks to contribute five percent of their after-tax annual profits to the foundations he chaired.

The association also argued that Suharto's salary was not enough to explain the extensive wealth he and his family had accumulated. Hearings were to resume Tuesday.

Suharto stepped down amid mounting unrest in 1998 after ruling Indonesia with an iron grip for more than three decades.

The former autocrat has been in and out of hospital for various health problems in recent years. He was rushed to hospital early last month following a bout of intestinal bleeding, and was released last week.

Attorney General steps up pressure on debtors

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2006

Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) plans to summon all the debtors to the Bank Indonesia's Liquidity Support Scheme (BLBI) to ensure they pay back their debts by the government's December deadline.

It also plans to arrest one of the debtors who is wanted for a lending scam worth trillions of rupiah.

According to a statement by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati published in The Jakarta Post on March 18, the indebted ex-bankers are Ulung Bursah (Bank Lautan Berlian), Atang Latief (Bank Indonesia Raya), Omar Putirai (Bank Tamara), Lidia Muchtar (Bank Tamara), Marimutu Sinivasan (Bank Putra Multi Karsa), Agus Anwar (Bank Pelita and Bank Istimarat), James Januardi and Adissaputra Januardi (Bank Namura Internusa).

All are believed to have signed sworn statements to the government agreeing to pay back their BLBI debts in return for immunity from prosecution.

"All BLBI debtors will be summoned. At least three of them will be summoned ahead of the others," Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh said Friday.

Speaking on behalf of Abdul Rahman, AGO deputy of special crimes Hendarman Supandji said the three former bankers were those who authorities had the most problems dealing with in the past.

He would only identify the three by their initials as LM, MS and AA; the last who he said was a Singaporean. He said one of the three was wanted for involvement in a bank lending scam worth trillions of rupiah.

Hendarman said he had been coordinating with the police to capture the former banker. "I cannot tell you the name, because I'm afraid that the person will escape us," he said.

"I can only tell you that he is one of the debtors of the BLBI aid program and that his debt is around Rp 3 trillion (US$33 billion)," he said.

The BLBI program was created by the government in the 1990s to bail out banks during the Asian financial crisis. It was abused by many bankers who stole trillions of rupiah in public money.

AGO wrong to drop Soeharto case: Survey

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2006

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Sixty-five percent of people in a recent survey think the government was wrong in abandoning its prosecution of former president Soeharto for graft.

The poll of 438 people in Jakarta, released by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) here Thursday, said 65 of those questioned thought the Attorney General's Office was acting unfairly when it dropped the state's criminal case.

The survey was conducted in the city over four days from May 17- 21, a few days after Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh announced the AGO's decision. It used a random sampling method.

A similar percentage said the government should have the final say whether Soeharto should be pardoned if a court found him guilty of graft.

"Most respondents want the state to continue due process against Soeharto to enforce the principle of equality before the law," LSI director Denny JA said.

Circle executive Denny Indrayana said the support for a possible government pardon of Soeharto, should he be found guilty, reflected the people's uncertainty about Soeharto's health at the time the survey was held.

Soeharto, who turns 85 on May 8, was discharged from the Pertamina Hospital on Wednesday after almost a month of medical care. After an initial operation to remove a 40-cm section of his colon, Soeharto had two more rounds of surgery to stop internal bleeding. At times, doctors said his condition was critical but he has since made a steady recovery.

"What has come as a surprise is that 63.9 percent of the respondents praised Soeharto's leadership, especially the way he developed the nation's economy," Indrayana said.

Most people in the sample said the economy under Soeharto was better than under the current administration, Indrayana said.

"Only 17.9 percent of the respondents thought Soeharto had failed in leading the country and only 5 percent of them blame him for the country's setbacks," Denny said.

The LSI proposed the government issue a decree to allow Soeharto to be tried in absentia.

"If the court declares Soeharto innocent of graft, the state should rehabilitate his name. But if he is found guilty, the government can always pardon him," Denny said.

In 2000, a team of doctors ruled Soeharto had suffered permanent brain damage after a series of mild strokes, and was unfit to stand trial for graft charges worth about US$569 million because he could not follow a line of questioning.

Since then, successive governments have been reluctant to reexamine the leader or restart proceedings.

Antigraft activists slam immunity regulation

Jakarta Post - June 1, 2006

Jakarta – Activists and academics have condemned the government's plan to spare state officials from prosecution if their policies are judged "erroneous", saying the regulation would only hinder the fight against graft.

Indonesia Corruption Watch chief Teten Masduki said state officials could use the regulation to justify corruption and misuse of power. "We already have difficulties eradicating corruption without the new regulation," Teten told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

An advisor on judicial reform at the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia, Mas Achmad Santosa, said the regulation would be extremely unpopular. "People still see the government's fight against corruption as unsatisfactory," he said. "It would be a bad time to pass this regulation now."

He said the government had yet to try former president Soeharto and his cronies for graft offenses and this new regulation would only weaken the national struggle against graft. So far, during the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, more than 50 regional officials have been put on trial for corruption.

Yudhoyono announced the idea of issuing the government regulation earlier this year. Its proponents, including the country's regents association, say it will provide regional leaders with a sense of "security" and allow them to act quickly in emergencies like disasters.

However, Teten said the regulation was unnecessary because existing laws took into account whether state officials had made unlawful-but-honest mistakes or had acted with criminal intent. "State officials can make decisions by using their discretion in emergency situations, as long as these decisions are not against the law," he said.

Agung Hendarto from the Indonesian Transparency Society said existing regulations included procedures to help rapid decision- making during emergency situations.

"Besides, our regulations clearly define corruption," he said. "As long as any official does not misuse or pocket state funds... they will not be charged." Santosa said local administrations should improve transparency and include the public in the decision-making process. "All they need is to be is transparent and honest," he said.

Environment

Billboards highlighting city grime come down

Jakarta Post - June 8, 2006

Jakarta – Six billboards that welcomed visitors to the "city of pollution" were removed by officials Wednesday, just days after they were put up for World Environment Day on Monday.

The move comes as a setback for environmentalists, who had praised the city administration for its directness in urging people to get their vehicles' exhaust emissions tested. The administration has said that exhaust from gasoline-guzzling private cars and industries contributes up to 80 percent of pollution in the city.

One billboard was erected in each of Jakarta's five municipalities on Sunday, while the sixth was positioned outside the office of the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) in Casablanca, South Jakarta, on Monday.

The billboard shows a boy and a girl, striking the same poses as the children in the Welcome Statue in the center of the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle – only holding their noses. It reads, "Welcome to the city of pollution."

"We were instructed by our boss to take the billboards down," BPLHD head Kosasih Wirahadikusumah told The Jakarta Post through cell phone from a meeting with other officials in Puncak, Bogor.

He defended the billboards, saying they were designed together with clean air campaigner Swisscontact, in line with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's policy of openness. "If we don't slap ourselves (awake), we will surely remain in a stupor," Kosasih said.

Jakarta is the first city in the country to enforce air pollution controls and smoking bans in a range of public places. It also made mandatory emissions tests for private vehicles and the use of environmentally friendly compressed natural gas for public transportation vehicles and official cars. To support the policy, the Transportation Ministry on Tuesday handed over 4,000 natural gas conversion kits to the city administration to be distributed to the owners of public transportation vehicles.

"It will take at least until the end of this year to successfully distribute the free kits," the head of the Jakarta Mining Agency, Peni Susanti, said at City Hall after meeting Governor Sutiyoso and the deputy head of the Jakarta Transportation Agency, Udar Pristono, on Tuesday.

Peni, together with the transportation agency, is responsible for the project. The conversion kits are valued at between Rp 8 million (US$842) and Rp 10 million, depending on the size of the vehicle's engine.

"My office is proposing the central government lower the price of CNG, from Rp 3,000 to Rp 2,200 per liter. One liter of CNG lasts a distance of 20 kilometers," Peni said. A liter of gasoline costs Rp 4,500.

Governor Sutiyoso said earlier that investors who intended to build gas stations needed to commit to installing CNG fixtures as well. "Otherwise, they won't get a permit," he said. To date, 50 investors have applied for operational permits.

Only eight of the 264 gas stations in Greater Jakarta sell CNG, while another six are under renovation. The administration plans to build 15 more CNG stations across the city to meet the demands of public transportation operators.

Environmental ministry, what ministry?

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2006

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Most Indonesians know little about the State Ministry for the Environment and about a fifth are unaware such an office even exists, a recent survey shows.

The poll announced Tuesday by the Jakarta-based Soegeng Suryadi Syndicate center for political studies shows many people here know nothing about the ministry or its campaigns to promote environmental awareness.

The "Public Perceptions of Environmental Management" poll randomly interviewed some 5,000 people in all of the nation's 33 provinces. Forty percent of people surveyed said they knew nothing about the ministry's work, while another 23 percent were unaware of the ministry's existence.

The survey, conducted from Jan. 9-19, also found 98 percent of the respondents could not identify Rachmat Nadi Witoelar Kartaadipoetra as the current State Minister for the Environment.

"With only 2 percent of the respondents able to identify him as minister, Rachmat should take more measures to promote environmental awareness," syndicate director Sukardi Rinakit said.

He said the poll used a simple random sampling method and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 percent.

Although Rachmat's name appeared over 61,000 times on a Google search, meaning he was known internationally, the public unfamiliarity with the former ambassador to Russia was closely related to his office's poor performance, Sukardi said.

"Most of the people we interviewed wanted the government to promote green and clean cities. It's sad to find that the authorities empowered to manage the environment have failed to fulfill such a simple wish," he said.

The poll also found more than 67 percent of the people surveyed believed the government had done little to enforce environmental laws.

Green legal expert Mas Achmad Santosa said the survey's results were not unexpected in a nation that put economic interests over environmental ones. This showed when the government was unwilling to prosecute big foreign companies for their damage to the environment, he said.

Former environment minister Emil Salim said while he did not support politicians making decisions based on opinion polls, this recent survey showed Rachmat had his work cut out for him.

"(The poll) shows there is a gap between what is being said and what is being done," Emil told The Jakarta Post. He said Rachmat should do more to promote green issues in other ministries and to encourage the President to give public policies "environmental souls".

Degradation causing ecological disasters

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2006

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Flash floods, landslides, poisonous air, polluted water and other catastrophes haunting millions of Indonesians are the logical consequences of the country's ineptitude in preserving its ecological balance, say environmental activists.

"A series of continuous disasters are an ecological disaster, caused by degrading the ecological functioning of nature," Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) executive director Chalid Muhammad told the media at a gathering here Sunday to observe World Environment Day, which falls this year on June 5.

This year is "Deserts and Desertification Year", with the slogan "Don't Desert Drylands" emphasizing the importance of protecting drylands, which cover more than 40 percent of the planet's surface. Since Indonesia does not have any desert, the government adopted the theme "Stop Land Degradation".

The country has almost 60 million hectares of damaged land, the result of illegal logging and forest fires, which push its annual deforestation rate to three million hectares.

Chalid said rapid environmental degradation led to the descending ecological function of nature, meaning Indonesia was continuously prone to disasters. "These disasters are an accumulation of the ecological crisis caused by the country's systematic failure to manage our environment, which threatens to ruin people's lives," he added.

Citing data from the National Coordinating Board for Disaster Management and Refugees, Walhi said from 1998 to 2004, some 1,150 disasters hit various parts of the archipelago, killing about 9,900 people and causing over Rp 5.9 trillion (over US$640 million) in losses. Out of the hundreds of disasters occurring in the period, the two main issues were floods and landslides.

"The number kept increasing in 2005 and over the last few months. The losses remain great," said Chalid.

He said the statistics became worse with the fact that frequent droughts also caused many people to suffer due to water shortages, health problems and damage to livelihoods.

"Disasters will not only affect lives and properties but also crop production, water pollution and can cause people's migration and displacement," he said.

Conservation International Indonesia executive director Jatna Supriatna said it was time government gave incentives to community members, particularly regional administrations, to promote environmental conservation.

"At present, many municipalities have given up their land and forests to reap economic benefits. We should change this perception by formulating alternative incentives for conservation efforts," he said.

The deputy to the State Minister for the Environment, Masnellyarti Hilman, said many mayors and regents had converted their forested areas to increase local revenues, which could be vital instrument for them to maintain popularity and get reelected.

To address the issue, she said her office would apply a "name and shame" mechanism against local administrations in evaluating their efforts to rehabilitate damaged land.

A Rp 112.5 billion (US$11.2 million) Special Allocation Fund for the Environment has been allotted in the 2006 state budget and is ready for disbursement to cities and regencies performing well in managing their natural resources and environment.

"For those who fail, they will face public humiliation because we're going to announce their names through the media," she said.

Economy & investment

Railway accidents blamed on lack of funding

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2006

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Bandung/Jakarta – Government underfunding is to blame for the high number of fatal accidents on the state rail network, PT Kereta Api's (PT KA) management and workers say.

PT KA president director Roni Wahyudi said the state railway company faced serious financial troubles because the government was not honoring a pledge to provide safe and cheap public transportation to the public.

"Management cannot improve labor conditions in the company and cover the rising cost of infrastructure maintenance because the government is also having financial difficulties," Roni said at a meeting between the company's management and workers in Bandung during the weekend.

He said the funding shortfall meant the company could not afford to properly maintain its railway network or communications systems, which were in disrepair. Defects in these systems contributed significantly to the rate of accidents, he said.

"As a result, the company has never recorded a profit because its monthly revenues are used up to cover labor and operation costs," he said.

Roni said the government had yet to pay PT KA Rp 1.3 trillion (US$140 million) in public service obligations and infrastructure maintenance operations between 2000 and 2004. The government has also not paid Rp 2.6 trillion into the pension scheme for PT KA's more than 29,000 workers.

The government suspended payments to the pension scheme in 1991, when the company's status was changed from non-profit state enterprise to limited liability company.

The government's failure to pay PT KA workers pension had triggered the dispute between employees and the government. Under the Indonesian laws, only civil servants are entitled to state pension money.

"The management has allocated Rp 664 billion to help the government fulfill its obligation to the workers' pension program," Roni said.

Separately, company workers union chairman Iwan Setiawan said the union would meet government officials soon to discuss the company's financial problems.

"If the government cannot pay its obligations, then PT KA should be liquidated, or it should be allowed to adjust its ticket fares and utilize some of its dormant assets such as land and buildings to help increase monthly revenue," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Iwan said the government had implemented only one point in a three-point plan it agreed to in a meeting last year to improve the company's performance.

"It has reshuffled the management but has yet to settle the pension benefit issue and renovate old buildings and old parts of the railway network." Hanafi Rustandi, representative of the International Transport Workers Federation, said PT KA would go bankrupt or more train accidents would occur unless the government took measures to settle the firm's finances.

"The high number of train accidents shows the government has failed to settle the company's internal problems and to improve railway services to the public," he said.

Train accidents since 2002

No. Year Accident Fatality

1. 2002 155 40
2. 2003 109 33
3. 2004 127 35
4. 2005 98 64
5. 2006 12 20 (January to April)

Business despairs of real reform in regions

Jakarta Post - June 8, 2006

Benget Simbolon Tnb., Jakarta – Businesspeople normally state that the quality of local governance and institutions is the principal factor that helps determine whether they will invest in a particular region.

However, according to a survey on investment competitiveness conducted by Regional Autonomy Watch (KPPOD), an NGO, businesspeople this year say they are more concerned about economic potential, infrastructure and labor relations when deciding where they will put their money.

The survey was conducted in 169 regencies and 59 municipalities across the archipelago to find the most attractive investment destination, as part of an annual competition run by the KPPOD for the past five years.

KPPOD executive director P. Agung Pambudhi, speaking to the press Tuesday, said that ever since the introduction of local autonomy five years ago, expectations had been high that the regions would attempt to reform their institutions so as to improve their competitiveness. "To date, however, they have failed miserably to deliver on these expectations," he said.

Sofjan Wanandi, the chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said during the press conference that businesspeople had probably given up hope of meaningful reform in the regions.

"They may have come to the conclusion that there is no point in hoping for institutional improvements at the local level. So they may have decided that it's better to focus on the tangible factors, such as a region's real economic potential," he said.

Agung noted that although the survey respondents placed less emphasis on institutional factors this year, this by no means suggested the institutional constraints on doing business had been eliminated.

For example, about 30 percent of the 8,727 businesspeople who responded to the survey said that local leadership was frequently an obstacle to doing businesses.

Some 87 percent of the businesspeople complained about having to pay unofficial charges to secure licenses and permits from executive agencies, saying that the additional charges amounted on average to almost 110 percent more than the official ones, meaning that they usually had to pay more than twice the official cost in real terms.

They also said that they often had to pay unofficial charges or protection money to institutions and organizations other than executive institutions, such as the local legislature, mass organizations, security officers and hoodlums. These amounted on average to 2.1 percent of their total operating costs. In the case of small and medium enterprises, the proportion of these costs was even higher at almost seven percent of their total operating costs.

According to the respondents, the time needed to secure licenses/permits averaged 177 days, far longer than the 81 days promised by most regional administrations.

Agung said that based on the survey findings, Regional Autonomy Watch had selected the municipalities of Batam (Riau Islands), Cilegon (Banten) and Padang (West Sumatra), and the regencies of Gianyar (Bali), Klungkung (Bali) and Musi Banyuasin (South Sumatra) as nominees for the general category award.

The other award categories are security, social and political affairs, labor relations, institutions, local economy and physical infrastructure. The winners of the investment awards will be announced June 12.

Unfinished bills may stall economic reform

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2006

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – Investor confidence in the country's economy may further dwindle as the government and lawmakers are showing no sense of urgency about completing the deliberation of key bills related to economic reform, even as time is running out.

Lawmakers have yet to begin the much-awaited deliberation of proposed amendments to three tax laws, a customs law, and an investment law, all of which are aimed at improving the country's investment climate.

Even the planned amendment to the 2003 labor law, which President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has promoted during his overseas trips, has been postponed due to widespread protests from labor unions.

With five bills related to economic reform in the House of Representatives, legislators have only five working months left to deliberate the bills if they are to be implemented early next year as planned. "It's not the time schedule that we are concerned about. It's more the contents of the bills. Please be patient," said the chairman of the House of Representatives Commission XI for financial affairs, Awal Kusuma. The commission is involved in deliberating the five bills.

"We are still gathering comments from the business community before we proceed with deliberation. This is important because the bills proposed are very sensitive for businesses and could have a huge impact," he said.

Past experience has shown that bills on economic affairs take at least two years to be passed due to their complicated nature.

The government has submitted draft revisions of the 2000 law on general taxation arrangements and procedures, the 2000 law on income taxes and the 2000 law on the value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services and the luxury sales tax.

After being delayed for three years, these laws are supposed to take effect in early 2007. They aim to provide significant cuts in bureaucracy, greater legal certainty, and lower tax rates to encourage investment.

The government has also recently submitted a draft revision of the 1995 law on customs, which promises stiffer sanctions for smugglers and expands the definition of smuggling activities. It has also proposed a new bill on investment, which would provide more facilities for foreign investors.

The bills on customs reform and investment are now almost three years behind their original schedule as well.

"The problem with our economy is that the government is not translating its plans into reality. The delay in the deliberation of the tax bills is because the government is still revising them," said Commission XI member Rama Pratama.

Although the government has not officially recalled the tax bills, it has asked the House to halt deliberations as it is still revising them with the business community, according to Rama.

The revisions were made after Yudhoyono appointed Sri Mulyani Indrawati as the new finance minister in November last year, replacing Jusuf Anwar, who was said to have failed to accommodate the interests of the business community in amending the tax bills.

Rama said the legislators were not the only ones to blame for the delay in passing the bills, because the government was also not pushing hard to have them deliberated.

Consumer confidence regains some lost ground

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2006

Indonesia's consumer confidence improved a notch in the first quarter of this year, compared to the previous quarter, with more than 20 percent of respondents in a recent survey believing they are doing better.

The Roy Morgan Indonesian Consumer Confidence Rating was 107.8, up 2.6 points from 105.2 in the final quarter of last year.

Thirty-nine percent of Indonesians say they are worse off than a year ago, a decrease of 1 percent on the previous quarter, while the number of respondents who believe they are better off increased by 1 percent to 21 percent.

In the first quarter, 73 percent of Indonesians considered it was a bad time to buy major household items, a drop of 3 percent, with only 20 percent saying it was a good time to buy, an increase of 2 percent.

"More bank accounts are being opened again, more people are getting loans for motorcycles but most consumers still feel the inflationary pressure on their weekly shopping basket," said Roy Morgan Research's regional director Debnath Guharoy.

Expectations of good economic conditions are up marginally when compared to the fourth quarter of 2005, with 62 percent (up 2 percent) expecting good times financially, while 38 percent expect bad economic conditions over the coming year, down 1 percent.

Looking ahead, 41 percent expect to be better off financially this time next year, up 1 percent, while 16 percent (also up 1 percent) expect to be worse off.

Indonesians are still positive about the long-term future, with 80 percent expecting good financial conditions over the next five years, an increase of 1 percent, and only 19 percent expecting bad economic conditions, a decline of 2 percent.

Roy Morgan Research interviews over 6,000 respondents across 16 provinces – covering over 90 percent of Indonesia's population aged 14 years and over – every 90 days. A total of 6,393 respondents were interviewed during January-March 2006.