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Indonesia News Digest 31 – August 25-31, 2006
Jakarta Post - August 31, 2006
Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – On a Friday morning, among several
people patiently waiting for the bus at a stop on the business
strip Jl. HOS Cokroaminoto, is a man with a wad of Rp 1,000 bills
on his left hand and a long scribbled note in his right.
"You can take it easy. (The last bus is) 10 minutes away," the
man said to a kenek (driver's assistant) hanging from the front
door of a Kopaja bus. The kenek handed Rp 2,000 to the man as he
stepped down from the bus, calling out for passengers. With the
money in his hand, the man quickly crossed off a number written
on his list.
Maju Tobing, the man with the pile of money in his hands, makes
his living from a profession that probably only exists in
Indonesia's cities. He is what locals refer to as a "timer".
Officially employed by the bus company to collect a daily fee of
Rp 8,000 from drivers, Tobing and his colleagues also take care
of a raft of unofficial tasks. His monthly salary is Rp 200,000
but he receives a Rp 500 for every bus operating on his route
each day. In Tobing's case, this is more than 100 vehicles.
One of his main duties is to tell drivers how much time has
lapsed between the last bus picking up passengers and theirs.
With an increasing number of buses operating on a single route
while the number of passengers stays the same, timers like Tobing
let drivers know whether they need to speed on to their next stop
or take it slowly.
"If the timer says that we are less than five minutes away from
the last bus then we might as well take it slow because the
passengers will already be on that one," said Dariman, who drives
a Kopaja bus along the Lebak Bulus-Senen route.
With some 116 buses running this route, knowing when to stop and
wait for passengers in one spot has a serious impact on a
driver's daily income. "I also regulate how long a bus can stop
in one place in order for the others behind not to have to wait
too long," said Tobing.
Djumhana, 35, is also a timer, although he works with public
minivans serving the Ciputat-Cinere route. He is paid Rp 4,000 a
day by the drivers.
"For angkot, what we generally do is help them find passengers
from their check points and warn those who occasionally try to
turn around before reaching their destinations," he said.
"Some drivers often cheat when they run out of passengers before
they reach the end of their routes. They turn around in places
they shouldn't," Djumhana said, adding that such behavior
resulted in a Rp 5,000 fine.
Aside from city laws, Jakarta's public transportation companies
also have their own regulations, created in cooperation with the
drivers. One regulation includes the amount of money to be paid
to timers, but not all drivers agree with the rule.
"Sometimes I feel that timers are no more than thugs. Asking for
money but doing nothing," complained a Metro Mini driver who
asked not to be named. "They are supposed to help us whenever we
get into trouble with the police, but the ones serving my routes
rarely do that," he added.
Timers also serve as middlemen when drivers need to deal with
tickets for traffic violations. The city's bus drivers are
notorious for their creative ways of navigating traffic, making
it important for the bus companies to have people to take care of
things when the police get involved.
"Whenever someone gets a ticket, I have to take care of it. I go
to the court, or, if I can, (take care of it) before the case
goes to court. I get a settlement with the police," Tobing said.
When asked about such allegations, city police spokesman Sr.
Commr. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana said his office did not
acknowledge the existence of such practices. "If you paid someone
Rp 3,000 to expedite your ID card processing, no officials would
know, right?" he said.
He said the police only acknowledged in-absentia trials for
traffic violations, where a police officer represented the
defendant. "They can pay an amount of money considered enough to
pay the fine and the officers will submit it to the court. If
there is any surplus, it will be returned," he said.
According to Tobing and several other timers, however, building a
"good relationship" with police officers along their routes is
essential to their jobs. "A packet of cigarettes or two a day
helps us maintain that relationship. Just in case in the future
we have a driver who runs over someone in the street," Tobing
said.
Australian Associated Press - August 30, 2006
The Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has claimed that
the CIA was involved in the 2002 Bali bombings.
Bashir, who was convicted and jailed for having prior knowledge
of the attacks which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians,
was released from prison in June after serving nearly two years.
On ABC TV's Foreign Correspondent last night, Bashir said the
device that killed most people in the attack was a CIA "micro-
nuclear" bomb.
"So the bomb that killed so many Australians, it was an American
bomb. It wasn't the bomb made by Amrozi and his friends," he
said. Amrozi, Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudra are awaiting execution
for their part in the plot.
Bashir conceded the bombers' actions might have been "misguided".
"They followed the path of jihad to defend Islam and Muslims," he
said.
Aceh
West Papua
Human rights/law
Lapindo mud disaster
Environment
Health & education
Islam/religion
Economy & investment
Opinion & analysis
News & issues
If your bus is late, here's the man to blame
CIA bomb used in Bali: Bashir
'A thousand reasons for the people to love Pak Harto'
Detik.com - August 30, 2006
Gagah Wijoseno, Jakarta – Eight years after stepping down, former President Suharto still has many fans. A book containing the achievements of the New Order regime has been launched. Interested?
The book, titled "A thousand reasons for the people to love Pak Harto", is enlivened by testimonies by a number of New Order officials such as former minister of justice Ismail Saleh, former armed forces chief retired General Wiranto and the former finance minister Fuad Bawazier.
And it is not just former government officials. The book of essays by Dewi Ambar Sari and Lazuardu Adi Sage, which was launched at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Centre in Jakarta on Wednesday August 30, was also enlivened by some 300 orphans as well as politicians Sys NS and Mieke Wijaya. The orphans got assistance in the form of money, cloths and food as a sign of thanks for finishing the composition of the book.
As could already be guessed, the contents of the book illustrates the achievements of Pak Harto when he was the president of Indonesia such as the integration of East Timor, the liberation of West Papua, the launching of the Palapa satellite and achieving food self-sufficiency. The book also contains photographs of Pak Harto's activities, both with his late wife Ibu Tien as well as the times when he received visits from state guests.
The final section of the book is filled with a number of testimonies from ordinary people such as tollgate attendants, workers, teachers and public figures.
In his address at the launch, Saleh questioned the selection of the book's title. "Why is the title a thousand, whereas there are hundreds of millions of reasons to love Pak Harto", he asked. Saleh said he is convinced that even eight years after Suharto stepped down there are still groups in society that love Pak Harto. This was demonstrated by the presentation of an award to Pak Harto by the Indonesian Farmers Association.
Wiranto meanwhile praised Pak Harto's thinking. When he was Suharto's adjutant, Wiranto admitted to having learnt about how much Pak Harto respected the rights of the little people. "I once asked Pak Harto why he arrived at the Palace at 9am and not at 7am. Pak Harto answered, because at 7am there are traffic jams in Jakarta, so if I leave at 7am there will definitely be work that will get to the office late because of the extra traffic jams. So I would be doing wrong [by the people]", explained Wiranto. (umi)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Jakarta Post - August 26, 2006
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – The government is wooing back Indonesian students who lost their citizenship while studying abroad more than 40 years ago, during the failed coup blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin said Thursday that the exiles would not be prosecuted, but would have to pay their own way home.
The former students, who are now in their 70s and mostly living in France and the Netherlands, were accused of being affiliated with PKI because they were studying in China and the former Soviet Union.
After refusing to allow them to return several times for political reasons, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration is planning to welcome them back with minimal red tape.
"The President has a good spirit of reconciliation and their return is possible under our new citizenship law," Hamid said at a media briefing.
Under the law, Indonesians who were forced to lose their citizenship may re-attain it without a naturalization process, by simply making a request to the Justice and Human Rights Ministry.
Hamid said he would fly to the Netherlands soon to talk to the former students and ask them to come back. "Hopefully, the process will be easier and will not have to involve government to government talks, since it is our personal problem as a country," he said.
During the 1970s, hundreds of Indonesian students became stateless after the New Order regime revoked their passports and denied their citizenship.
The effort to bring the former students back started during the administration of president Abdurrahman Wahid. Abdurrahman considered the New Order's decision to exile the students a terrible mistake, arguing that they were not to blame for what happened in the failed revolution of 1965. Five years later, the country is ready to bring them home.
Jakarta Post - August 26, 2006
Kediri, East Java – Senior ulemas opposed to the leadership of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid in the divided National Awakening Party (PKB) are vowing to start a new political group.
The plan was unveiled Friday by one of the ulemas, Idris Marzuki, after the Supreme Court recently ruled Gus Dur's PKB faction was the legitimate face of the party.
"Executives and ulemas of the PKB (faction against Gus Dur) will meet in Jakarta tomorrow to discuss the establishment of a new party," Idris said in Kediri, East Java, as quoted by Antara.
He said the plan won unanimous agreement after ulemas performed ritual Istikharah prayers intended to seek guidance from God.
Idris accused the controversial Gus Dur, a prominent pluralist Muslim scholar, of being "inconsistent" in upholding purist Islamic teachings.
Under Gus Dur, the PKB, founded by Nahdlatul Ulama in 1999, has embraced non-Muslims as members and leaders in an effort to boost its support nationwide.
Jakarta Post - August 25, 2006
Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Four people were injured Thursday when protests against a plan to name the winner of the West Sulawesi gubernatorial election turned ugly. Hundreds of protesters clashed with security officers guarding the province's General Elections Committee (KPUD) office.
Some 1,000 protesters had gathered at the office, demanding to meet the heads of the KPUD and the elections supervision commission. They were planning to ask the officials to resolve all election violations before counting the votes and naming a winner.
However, no commission heads or staff members of the KPUD or the elections supervision commission were in the office. The unhappy protesters then threw stones at the office, causing the police to fire warning shots. The shots heightened the protesters' anger, and they pushed forward in an effort to break the police barricade. The clash injured four people, including two police officers who were hit by stones.
Acting West Sulawesi Governor Syamsul Arief Rivai Bulu said the incident was regrettable but he understood the feelings behind the protest. "Such protests are common in democracy; there are those who are for or against something. But we regret when it turns into a clash," he said.
Syamsul urged the KPUD to release a schedule immediately, outlining when the votes would be counted and the winners announced. He said there was no excuse for the KPUD to postpone releasing the results, since the July 20 vote has been completed. The polling was postponed in Mambi district, Mamasa regency, but has since been carried out.
He also called on residents to behave responsibly even if their candidates lost the election. "If there are violations, take legal action, don't turn to anarchy," he urged.
Since late Thursday, the protesters have remained at the KPUD office, saying they would wait until the KPUD made a decision on their demands.
| Aceh |
Jakarta Post - August 29, 2006
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) acknowledged Monday bypassing official procedures in carrying out several projects, but said its actions were justified under existing regulations governing emergency work in Aceh.
It was responding to allegations of irregularities, including corruption and collusion, in five projects valued at a total of Rp 23.8 billion carried out in the 2005 budget year that ended in April 2006.
Acting BRR secretary Teuku Kamaruzzaman said the agency directly appointed some partner companies to complete the projects because it was facing numerous technical and bureaucratic hurdles in carrying out the work.
"The BRR appointed PT Holcim Indonesia to destroy 200 tons of unwanted pharmaceuticals in Aceh and Nias because the company is the only one in the country with a license and experience in doing such work," he said at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday. It was held in response to allegations raised by the independent Indonesian Corruption Watch. The ICW had questioned, among others, the "waste" of Rp 1.2 billion for this project.
Kamaruzzaman said the agency also directly appointed PT Semar Kembar Sakti to provide office equipment and several publishing companies to print books on the BRR and Aceh on the one-year anniversary of the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami. He said the companies were appointed without a tender not because agency officials had ties with the firms, but because the projects were included in the category of emergency work and direct appointments were allowed under existing regulations.
A presidential decree on the agency requires it to hold public tenders for all projects valued at Rp 50 million or more, except for those projects classified as emergency work.
Amin Subekti, deputy chairman for financing and planning at the BRR, denied any collusion in the direct appointment of PT Wastuwidyawan to draft detailed engineering maps of villages in Aceh. He said the direct appointment was allowed by the presidential decree, and was based on the company's professionalism. He acknowledged that Andi Siswanto, the BRR's deputy chairman of housing, used to work for the company but said he had long since resigned.
Heru Prasetyo, BRR's director of donor and international relations, also denied collusion in the BRR's public relations projects. He said the appointment of PT Emmerson Asia Pacific to handle the agency's public relations was based on a limited tender.
"We invited five media consultants (to take part in the tender) and only three accepted the invitation. After presenting their programs we picked one," he said, adding that all three of the companies, including Emmerson, were well-known in the field. Amin reiterated the agency's stress on "accountability and transparency... to maintain the confidence of international donors."
The slow pace of work and the low absorption of the reconstruction budget has a lot to do with bureaucratic problems, difficulties in securing a supply of raw materials and problems in land appropriation, as well as many other factors, he said.
"For example, the presidential decree on direct appointments in housing projects, planning and projects running for two consecutive years expired on July 30, but our request for its extension has not yet received a reply," he said.
Amin also said that as of December 2005, BRR spending reached only 10 percent of its budget, but by the end of April 2006 spending had reached 62.5 percent of the budget. This was possible "because all reconstruction projects have already been offered through public bidding," he said.
The BRR says it is seeking to assure the international community about its work in Aceh and Nias, so they would donate around US$1.1 billion to reach the total required budget of $6 billion.
Jakarta Post - August 28, 2006
Banda Aceh – At least 75 percent of former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels are out of work after returning to their hometowns, the World Bank says.
"The lack of job opportunities for former GAM members makes them dependent on their families and community, a situation that might trigger illegal acts," the head of the World Bank's conflict team, Patrick Barron, said in Banda Aceh.
"That's why the government should immediately distribute reintegration funds for people but the most important thing is to provide job opportunities for former GAM members."
Many of the former rebels require skills training in order to enter or reenter the workforce. "I depend on my wife who sells cakes," said former rebel Teungku Safiie.
At least 3,000 former GAM rebels and more than 1,000 former GAM prisoners are entitled to reintegration payments. The government has established a reintegration fund worth Rp 600 billion in 2006 and Rp 700 billion in 2007 for former rebels and conflict victims in the province.
GAM had been battling for Aceh's independence for three decades when it signed a peace deal with the government in Helsinki, Finland, in August last year.
Jakarta Post - August 28, 2006
Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office is looking into a report of alleged irregularities in Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) projects.
"We are reviewing the newly released report," the office's deputy for special crimes, Hendarman Supandji, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) announced Friday that its investigation, combined with "reports from the public", turned up evidence of irregularities in BRR-run projects. All of the projects in question were funded by the 2005 state budget.
The total value of the projects flagged by the graft watchdog is around Rp 23.8 billion (US$2.2 million). They include the publication of reports, the appointment of a media consultant and the appointment of a firm providing office equipment.
The reconstruction agency, chaired by former energy minister Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, manages about Rp 13 trillion in funds. Most of the money was donated by the international community following the devastating Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake and tsunami.
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam suffered massive damage in the tsunami, with infrastructure destroyed and at least 150,000 people dead and missing.
Fears of graft were raised shortly after the disaster as billions of dollars in aid money poured in. To help expedite reconstruction in Aceh and Nias, a presidential decree was issued last year giving the BRR the right to award housing projects without a tender.
Teten Masduki, the ICW coordinator raised concerns that slow spending of BRR's budget could also lead to the awarding of non housing projects without a tender.
He said of the reconstruction agency's total 2005 budget of Rp 3.9 trillion, only 10 percent, or Rp 414.6 billion, had been absorbed in rehabilitation and reconstruction work.
"Similar irregularities could happen again this year because only 6.65 percent of the total Rp 9.6 trillion budget was spent in the first quarter of 2006-2007," he told the Post last week.
William Sabandar, BRR's representative in Nias, acknowledged Friday that spending was slow but said this was because of the "BRR's commitment to achieving a high degree of effectiveness, transparency and quality". However, he said, the agency's spending has now reached 65 percent of its budget. An agency report says it spent 62 percent of its Rp 13.1 trillion budget until April 2006.
The ICW has raised suspicion of collusion between the BRR and a number of firms involved in its projects. Among the projects questioned was the appointment of PT Emerson Asia Pacific as a BRR media consultant.
Teten alleged the direct appointment of Emerson had to do with the close ties between a BRR deputy chairman and Pratiwi Ibnu Tadji, the president of Emerson.
Ibnu Tadji, Pratiwi's husband, is the owner of PT Semar Kembar Sakti, which was appointed by the reconstruction agency to supply office equipment. Ibnu told the Post on Sunday the ICW's allegations were groundless. He said Emerson took part in a tender held by the BRR prior to the awarding of the contract.
Ibnu also denied his wife had close ties to any agency official, adding that any current close ties resulted "from working together after the contract was awarded". He also said Emerson had twice made clarifications to the ICW.
The graft watchdog also suspects irregularities in the publication of three reports in Indonesian and English. These reports detail the agency's work in its first six months, on the first anniversary of the tsunami and on the agency's first anniversary. The projects, valued at Rp 3.2 billion, involved nine partner companies.
"The ICW found indications of markups and graft in this project because the process did not follow official procedures and the printing costs were far higher than normal," Teten told the Post last week.
Prosecutor Hendarman of the Attorney General's Office said the Aceh Prosecutor's Office was investigating the allegations regarding the report project.
The BRR has said it "appreciates the ICW's findings" and will use them to improve the agency's internal controls. It added that the agency was open to a thorough investigation.
| West Papua |
Melbourne Age - August 31, 2006
Mark Forbes, Indonesia – Papuan activists charged over the murder of four Indonesian police and one intelligence officer boycotted their trial yesterday after being assaulted by police as they were being returned to prison.
The activists had alleged maltreatment and retracted their police statements concerning the March 16 killings, which took place during a demonstration against the giant Freeport Mine outside a university in Jayapura. The officers were killed with rocks and spears.
After court on Monday, police stopped a prison van carrying the seven defendants and severely beat independence activist Nelson Rumbiak. He was struck with rattan sticks, kicked and allegedly sustained a broken rib. Two other men were also allegedly assaulted.
Along with two other defendants, Rumbiak had told the court he made statements implicating others in the killings under pressure from police, including beatings. Defendant Ferdinand Pakage claimed he was shot in the leg by a senior policeman while being interrogated. All three recanted their police statements.
Rumbiak's lawyer, David Sitorus, said his client was taken to hospital by prison authorities on Monday night but returned to jail as his security could not be guaranteed. The defendants were refusing to appear at the hearing until their safety was assured and the police issued a formal apology, he said.
Jayapura jail chief Johan Yarangga confirmed there was an "incident" when the prisoners returned on Monday that led to a quarrel with police. He denied the trio were seriously injured.
Jakarta Post - August 31, 2006
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The remaining seven defendants being tried for their involvement in a deadly clash with police on March 16 in Abepura, Papua, refused to appear in court Wednesday after one of them was beaten up by a police officer Monday.
The trial at Jayapura District Court, presided over by judge Moris Ginting, was opened by examining witnesses from the defendants' side but the prosecutor could not present the defendants themselves.
"The trial started but was then postponed until Sept. 1 since the prosecutor could not present the defendants," Moris told The Jakarta Post.
On Monday, when escorting defendants after a trial at Jayapura District Court, Brig. Novrel beat up Nelson Rumbiak in front of Abepura Penitentiary. The hospital examination showed Nelson suffered head and chest injuries, probably from being hit with a blunt object.
When Nelson, who acted as a witness in Monday's trial, was beaten up, some of the other defendants were watching from a car. Nelson was earlier sentenced to four years' jail for taking a tear gas canister from a police officer.
Following the incident, convicts at Abepura Penitentiary pelted with stones the Jayapura Prosecutor's office bus, which was picking up defendants in the Abepura case for the trial Wednesday.
The defendants' lawyer, Aloysius Renwarin, told the Post Monday the seven defendants would not appear in court until their demands had been met.
They are demanding a public apology from Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Tommy Jacobus and the head of the Jayapura district office Djabaik Haro and an official letter guaranteeing their safety.
Aloysius said Novrel had turned himself in to Papua Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Max Donal Aer and was subsequently under arrest.
Public prosecutor Yulius D. Teuf, Jayapura Police's chief of operations, Adj. Comr. Yunus, and Abepura warden Johan Yarangga have all been involved in negotiations with representative of the defendants Eko Berotabui. The negotiations lasted until 3:30 p.m. but still they refused to appear in court.
The idea of deploying members of the police's Mobile Brigade to the penitentiary was floated but eventually rejected.
"There are many reasons for not forcing the defendants to appear in court, one of which is to avoid a clash between the officers and convicts. That's why we are trying to negotiate," Julius said.
The seven defendants, including Steven Wandik, 23, are awaiting verdicts on charges they were responsible for the murder of an Air Force soldier during the clash. So far, 16 people have been convicted over the Abepura clash, which took place in front of Cendrawasih University during a protest against giant mining company PT Freeport Indonesia. Each of them was sentenced to between five and 15 years' jail.
Four police officers and a member of the Air Force died when they were attacked by protesters, who were demanding the government close down the Freeport mine because of environmental concerns and the mine's failure to improve the welfare of Papuans.
Jakarta Post - August 30, 2006
The trial of seven Papuans charged with the killing of two American nationals and one Indonesian is likely to continue without the defendants and their lawyers, after the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday ruled against defendants' arguments that the case should be tried in Papua.
"The change in the location of the trial (from Timika, Papua, to Jakarta) is valid and therefore the Central Jakarta District Court is authorized to try the case," presiding judge Andriani Nurdin said.
The seven Papuans continued to protest against being tried here. They boycotted the trial session by coming to the courtroom but refusing the judges' request that they sit in the defendants' seats. Failing to get them into their proper seats, prosecutors asked the police to take the defendants back to their cells.
As the prisoners began leaving the courtroom, dozens of Papuan supporters (see picture) cried, "long live the Papuans!". "We're not the perpetrators! We only have crossbows. We don't have guns!" a protester cried.
The men are accused of killing the three Freeport mining company employees near the company's controversial gold and copper mine in 2002. The trial was adjourned until Sept. 4. (JP/Ary Hermawan)
Detik.com - August 29, 2006
Kris Fathoni W, Jakarta – After holding a long-march from the State Palace, West Papuan protesters demonstrated at the Central Jakarta State Court demanding that the defendants in the 2002 Timika shooting case be released.
The action was held by some 50 activists from the United West Papua Popular Struggle Front (Pepera) in front of the courthouse on Jl. Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta on Tuesday August 29. The hearing had scheduled the reading of a preliminary verdict at 11.25am but this had not taken place yet.
The protesters gave speeches demanding that Reverend Isak Onawame be released unconditionally. Banners were brought to the demonstration reading "Release Reverend Isak Onawame unconditionally" and "Close Freeport" as well as a flag with a picture of a lion.
The defendants in the case are Hardi Sugumol, Agustinus Anggaibak, Yohanes Kasemol, Yulianus Deikme, Yairus Kiwak, Reverend Isak Onawame and Antonius Wamang. (aan)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Detik.com - August 28, 2006
Arfi Bambani Amri, Jakarta – Around 50 people from the West Papua Peoples United Struggle Front (Pepera) demonstrated in front of the US Embassy on Monday August 28 calling for the defendants in the Timika shooting case to be unconditionally released.
The protesters said that the arrest of the seven defendants who have been charged with the shooting of two US citizens and an Indonesian national in Timika in 2002 is a conspiracy designed to serve the interests of the United States.
The seven defendants are Hardi Sugumol, Agustinus Anggaibak, Yohanes Kasemol, Yulianus Deikme, Yairus Kiwak, Reverend Isak Onawame and Antonius Wamang. The case is currently being heard by the Central Jakarta District Court.
"We suspect that the TNI [Indonesian military] was behind the shooting and the Papuan people have been made the victims in order to serve the interests of the US and the TNI," said action coordinator Rinto.
The protesters, who wore white headbands with the writing "Close Freeport" and "Freeport the Number 1 imperialist", also brought a number of posters with messages such as "Release Reverend Isak Onawame unconditionally", "Try the TNI", "Close Freeport", and "The TNI are the masterminds of the shooting".
Before leaving the embassy at around 10.50am, the protesters turned around, bent over, and stuck their butts out at the embassy for some five minutes.
"Raise your bottoms high comrades, give America the bottoms up. America is the Number One human rights violator. America and Bush have pressured the Indonesian government to uncover the killings at Timika Mile 62-63", said Rinto. The government is weak and is scapegoating the Papuan people he added, "Once again give the bottoms up to the US", he shouted.
The protester then moved off in the direction of the State Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara singing Papuan songs accompanied by the strumming of guitars.
[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski compiled from two articles posted on the Detik.com news portal on August 28.]
| Human rights/law |
Jakarta Post - August 31, 2006
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is expected to make simultaneous amendments to three laws on the judiciary to restore the authority of the now-powerless Judicial Commission.
The chairman of the House legislation body (Baleg), Bomer Pasaribu, said Wednesday that the three regulations were the Supreme Court Law, the Constitutional Court Law and the Judicial Commission Law.
"We expect to start the amendment on the three laws to reduce future conflicts between the three institutions," Bomer, a lawmaker from the Golkar party, told The Jakarta Post.
Bomer reiterated the House's stance that amending the Judicial Commission Law will be a priority in the 2006-2007 session. "Although amendment of the law is not part of the House national legislation program for this year, we will try hard to include it as we consider it urgent," Bomer said.
Bomer said Baleg could propose any law or amendment at any time if it is urgent to the national interest. He said the amendments would be designed to minimize the ambiguity that plagued the Judicial Commission Law.
The Constitutional Court recently stripped the Judicial Commission of its oversight role. The panel of judges concluded that the law establishing the commission did not clearly state what the body would monitor. They also ruled that the Judicial Commission had no authority to monitor the conduct and behavior of Constitutional Court judges.
The case was brought by 31 Supreme Court judges who sought to reduce the authority of the newly-formed commission. In their complaint, the Supreme Court judges argued the Judicial Commission had overreached, because the Judicial Commission Law said nothing about its role in overseeing Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges. They pointed to an article in the State Constitution which did not clearly state which judges would be subject to oversight.
The Judicial Commission itself has prepared a draft amendment to the law to present to the House. Commission chairman Busyro Muqoddas said the draft included language to restore Constitutional Court judges to the commission's scrutiny.
Legal expert and former lawmaker J.E. Sahetapy has said a regulation in lieu of law should be issued to fill the void left by the Constitutional Court verdict.
House Commission III on law and legislation said it would meet with members of the Judicial Commission on Sept. 5. Deputy chairman of Commission III Juhad Mahja said that based on the meeting, the House would decide whether an amendment or a regulation in lieu of law would be the best and quickest solution to the problem. "Otherwise, those judges will become uncontrollable," he said.
Jakarta Post - August 28, 2006
Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' commission on law says it will make revising the 2004 law on the Judicial Commission a top priority, after a court ruling stripped the Judicial Commission of its oversight powers.
"The House will strengthen the judicial body by revising the law, since the reason used to strip the supervisory power was the law's vagueness," Almuzzammil Yusuf, a member of the commission on law, was quoted as saying Saturday by Antara.
He said the Constitutional Court examined only the literal aspects of the case, while it should have considered the main purpose of establishing the Judicial Commission: to clean up corruption in the courts.
Many observers have condemned the Constitutional Court's ruling, and the cell phones of commission members have been flooded with sympathetic messages.
"The 'court mafia' has gotten to the Constitutional Court. Go ahead and don't give up your mission," commission member Soekotjo Soeparto said Friday, quoting one of many messages he received after the verdict was issued.
Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association told The Jakarta Post allegations that the "court mafia" had penetrated the Constitutional Court were credible, since it is generally believed that this could happen to any legal institution. "The allegation is strengthened by the fact that the decision definitely hinders the nation's anticorruption drive," he said.
He said the effort to reform the judiciary was the most fundamental part of the effort to combat Indonesia's rampant corruption. "Many judges here are crooked," he said.
While Soekotjo acknowledged that the ruling was final and binding, he said the commission members would issue a formal statement about it. "We'll study the verdict and discuss it next Monday," he said.
The Judicial Commission has decided to stop accepting reports against judges from the public, although the verdict does not constrain it from receiving reports.
"We're doing this because we don't want to disappoint the public," he said, adding that it was also to avoid giving the perception that the commission did not respect the court's decision. The commission has, however, decided to process 587 reports it received from the public prior to the ruling.
Soekotjo said he hoped the planned revision of the judicial commission law would happen soon so as not to leave the country's judges unsupervised for too long. "The government and the legislature are the ones that must be proactive in expediting the planned revision. We can only wait," he said.
Meanwhile, Constitutional Court chief Jimly Asshidiqie refused to elaborate on the ruling. "If I talk, I'll say those who do not understand the verdict are idiots," he said.
The court concluded that articles in the 2004 law that gave oversight functions to the commission only opened the door to legal uncertainty. It said the law did not give details about the oversight procedure, such as what its subjects would be and what mechanisms it would employ.
Detik.com - August 28, 2006
M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Disappointment. This was how human rights organisations greeted an extension to the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKP) by the governments of Indonesia and East Timor. They also called for the KKP to be disbanded because they say its mandate is unclear.
"We are calling on the governments of Indonesia and East Timor to disband the KKP, and implement the principles and international norms in the context of human rights and justice, along with being pro-active in responding to the results of the United Nations report", said Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Usman Hamid at a press conference at the Kontras offices on Jl. Borobudur in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
Also present at the press conference were representatives of the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), the Institute for Public Research and Advocacy (Elsam), the Indonesian Center for Democracy and Human Rights (Demos) and the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).
According to Hamid, the extension of the KKP's mandate further tarnishes Indonesia's commitment to upholding human rights. Moreover the extension will also attract adverse international attention, including from the UN secretary general.
In addition to this, after one year the KKP has yet to explain who exactly has been questioned or to say who perpetrated the gross human rights violations in East Timor following the 1999 referendum. "This indicates a lack of accountability and transparency within the KKP", exclaimed Hamid.
He added that the existence of and extension of the KKP's mission goes against the spirit and substance of the UN secretary general's report to the UN Security Council, which said that the international nature of such crimes means that the perpetrators cannot receive clemency or amnesty.
Meanwhile under the terms of reference for the formation of the KKP, it still stipulates amnesty will be guaranteed to perpetrators of human rights violations that admit their guilt. This puts the KKP in contradiction with the basic principles of the law and international norms.
"In addition to this the KKP is not accountable and transparent with regard to its budget that was taken from the state budge. This has also not been explained", added Hamid.
The KKP was form to reconcile past human rights problems between Indonesia and East Timor related to human rights violations following the referendum in East Timor in 1999 and signed formally by the two governments on March 9, 2005. Since its formation, the KKP has received a cold reception from rights organisations. (nvt)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Jakarta Post - August 26, 2006
Jakarta – The Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) called on the government Friday to delay the execution of three Catholics in Palu, Central Sulawesi, convicted of mass murder in a sectarian conflict.
The Christian-based political party said that the execution by firing squad of Fabianus Tibo, 68, Marianus Riwu, 48, and Dominggus da Silva, 38, would only bring renewed violence in the volatile region, on a larger scale. It said the only way to prevent a conflict is to find what it called the real perpetrators.
"Instead of expediting the execution, the government should reopen the cases that implicated the three people, as the legal proceedings have been marred by irregularities," lawmaker Ratna Situmorang of the PDS faction told a press conference. Ratna said there was a series of violations of proper legal procedure leading up to the prosecution of the three convicts.
She pointed to the fact that Tibo, Riwu and da Silva were arrested by an Army unit instead of the police, and that three Muslims were barred from testifying in their favor. "All indications are that it was a rogue trial and the verdict it produced was illegal. We demand a retrial," Ratna said.
The police in Palu have set a date for the executions of the three convicts. They said they would be carried out sometime after the Aug. 17 Independence Day celebrations.
Various groups have protested against the planned executions of the three Catholics, saying the men were only pawns used by outside parties to sow the seeds of violence in Poso.
Pope Benedict XVI has also appealed to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to spare the lives of the men. The appeal was sent via telegram by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's secretary of state.
Thus far, political factions at the House have been quiet about the planned execution. The PDS was the first to break the silence.
Joining the chorus demanding a delay in the execution of the three convicts was a politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Gayus Lumbuun.
He said given the international pressure against executing the men, it would be better for the government to delay the execution and reopen the case to determine whether other people orchestrated the violence.
"We are just reiterating the demands of some members of the American Congress and European Parliament about resolving the mastermind in the case," Gayus said.
Lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, who joined the PDS press briefing, went further by suggesting Indonesia abolish capital punishment. He said the death penalty contradicted the people's basic right to live, as guaranteed by the state constitution.
He said Indonesia should follow in the footsteps of countries such as Malaysia that have started moving to phase out the death penalty.
"We are not against life sentences, but please don't apply the death sentence," he said. In Palu, hundreds of members of the Association of Islamic Students staged a street demonstration Wednesday, demanding the speedy execution of the three convicts since all legal avenues had been exhausted.
They also demanded that authorities investigate the convicts' claim they had acted on the order of 16 people they called the "masterminds" of the sectarian conflict.
| Lapindo mud disaster |
Jakarta Post - August 30, 2006
Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – The mudflow saga has shown not the slightest sign of ending soon as another pond broke apart in the early hours of Tuesday, inundating the Surabaya-Gempol turnpike once more and causing it to be temporarily closed.
But the turnpike, where work is ongoing to raise the road, was opened again at 10 a.m. By this time, the mudflow, which has been coming from the Lapindo Brantas Inc. exploration site in Porong district, Sidoarjo, since May 29, had inundated a 500-meter stretch of the road at a depth of 30 centimeters.
Considering the latest situation, and despite preparations to cover the ponds – which were built to contain the mudflows – with geosynthetic material to make them stronger, Indrasurya Mochtar, an expert from the Surabaya Institute of Technology, predicted the worst was yet to come.
"In view of the current situation, I predict that within two weeks to one month, the ponds will break apart and millions of cubic meters of mudflow will spill out, inundating more areas.
"That's why the government should immediately evacuate residents and be certain it's doing all it can to deal with the problem," the head of the institute's civil engineering school told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
If the ponds break apart and the mudflows spread further afield, it is feared they will get into the waterways and reach the sea, without going through a treatment process, with their toxicity posing a serious threat to the marine ecosystem.
The government plans to channel the water from the mudflows into the sea through a 20-meter-long pipe, after it is treated. Work is in progress to fortify the ponds, the walls of which are now more than six meters high.
The former chairman of the Indonesian Geologists Association, Andang Bachtiar, said there was little chance the mudflows could be stopped, as assured by Lapindo's team, as they had exhibited the "mud volcanoes" phenomenon.
The mudflow exploded Friday night, shooting mud 40 meters into the air and injuring two people. "It has to be remembered that the mud volcanoes are caused by Lapindo's negligence. If there was no violation of drilling procedures, there would be no mud volcanoes," he told the Post by phone Tuesday.
Earlier, the mudflow mitigation team had estimated it would be able to stop the mudflows by the end of November or mid-December by constructing a relief well.
In light of recent developments, Ridlo Saiful Ashadi, the director of the East Java chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, said Lapindo was failing to consider all angles of the disaster.
Each day, he said, the mudflows were getting bigger but Lapindo had not taken any preventive measures to protect residents. "It's true, Lapindo has paid compensation but the amount is not nearly enough, considering all those people have gone through," he said.
Sidoarjo Regent Win Hendrarso, whose administration has worked alongside Lapindo to assist affected residents, may be losing his earlier faith in the Lapindo team. He hoped the government could provide a yes-or-no answer to whether the mudflows could be stopped.
"We're confused and waiting for certainty as to whether the mudflows have developed into mud volcanoes. We'll ask the President whether he thinks it necessary to evacuate the residents," he said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of mudflow victims in Besuki, Goninjo and Babatan Jabon villages in Sidoarjo have started to itemize their lost belongings, posting their lists at the technology institute in the hope of getting compensation from Lapindo.
The institute's head of surveys and registration, Agnes Tuti Rumiati, said residents had started reporting their lost belongings since Monday.
Jakarta Post - August 25, 2006
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Environmentalists warned Thursday that channeling treated water from hot toxic mud into East Java's Madura Strait posed a threat of pollution that could hurt the local fishing industry. The activists doubted the planned treatment would remove all the toxic chemicals from the mud.
The sludge has piled up as high as five meters on about 200 hectares of land in Sidoarjo regency, a large industrial zone and the economic backbone of East Java province.
Riza Damanik, a marine and coastal campaigner with the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said he was doubtful that Lapindo Brantas Inc. would be able to process all the water contained in the seven million cubic meters of mud that has gushed out of its gas well since May 29.
Not only did the mud contain toxic substances such as phenol, but it carried suspended solid materials, which are difficult to extract, he argued. "I'm not sure that the company is able to separate all the water from the mud," Riza said, adding that water makes up 30 percent of the mud.
Besides the contents of the sludge, Riza said its quantity is also a concern. "About 1.8 cubic meters of this mud gushes out of the earth every second. I don't believe Lapindo can process all of it," he said. "Because it is a complicated process, it's possible that the company would only process some of the water and would dispose of untreated water at the same time," he added.
The State Ministry for the Environment has forbidden Lapindo to dump sludge water into the sea unless the toxic substances are removed. Lapindo's majority owner is the family of Aburizal Bakrie, the nation's welfare minister.
Riza suggested the government and Lapindo hold a meeting with geologists and other experts to evaluate the disposal plan and find other ways to contain the mudflow in the ground, without dumping it to the sea or river.
Greenomics Indonesia also urged the government to reconsider permitting Lapindo to dump the mud water in the sea, warning the move could cause further harm.
"Should the treatment not be 100 percent guaranteed toxic-free, this option would only cause economic, social and ecological damage to the country's marine system," said Greenomics executive director Elfian Effendi.
He said if the Madura Strait becomes polluted, that will harm not only its own ecosystem, but also the livelihoods of nine surrounding municipalities in East Java.
Based on the province's economic statistics, the nine coastal municipalities produce about 183,000 tons of fish per capita worth some Rp 1.2 trillion (US$133 million)
"That does not include other fishery activities, such as open water fisheries and fish ponds," he said. He added that the East Java fishing industry annually produced up to 490,000 tons of products valued at around Rp 3.4 trillion.
| Environment |
Jakarta Post - August 31, 2006
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – The government plans to sue three companies and an individual for allegedly igniting fires in Sumatra's forests, and has seized 6,300 hectares of land the suspects are said to have cleared by burning.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said Wednesday the suspects started fires that have destroyed thousands of hectares of peatland and forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The fires produced toxic haze that blanketed a significant portion of the islands and spilled over to neighboring countries.
"We suspect that more than 20 companies, some of them state-owned companies, have been involved in forest burning," he told reporters at his office. He said he would disclose their names on Friday, after his officials completed their investigation reports.
The numbers were far lower than data released by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), which has identified 106 logging and plantation companies it believes are responsible for burning forests on their concessions. Walhi handed the names of the companies to the police for investigation Wednesday.
Rachmat's deputy for environmental law enforcement, Hoetomo, said his officials have gathered sufficient evidence to sue only four of the alleged perpetrators. "Three are companies and one is an individual, all of them in Riau," he said.
He said the 6,300 hectares of burned land that were seized will be used as material evidence for court proceedings. He said the land was confiscated not only to prevent companies or landowners from profiting from it, but also to gather evidence to show that the fires were started deliberately. "Our experts are working in the seized areas to analyze what substances were used to set the fires, and where they started," he said.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie claimed that the government had extinguished most of the fires in Sumatra through induced rain and water bombings. "Today, almost 80 percent of the fire hot spots have been extinguished," Bakrie said, as quoted by Antara.
He said the government would keep on battling the fires until the choking haze disappears by inducing rain, rather than water bombing, as the latter required 10 to 14 days of preparation. "State Minister for Research and Technology Kusmayanto Kadiman is overseeing the artificial rain. Hopefully, within one or two days the rain will reduce the smoke even more," he said.
Forestry Ministry director for forest protection Noor Hidayat fears continuing fires and rampant illegal logging will so degrade the country's remaining 120 million hectares of forests, of which about half are already damaged, that only 10 percent will remain by 2020.
Jakarta Post - August 30, 2006
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has accused 106 logging and plantation firms of causing the annual widespread forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Walhi listed Tuesday the names of logging, industrial timber estate and oil palm plantations firms – including giant pulp and paper producer Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (Riaupulp) and its partners – that it said should be prosecuted for fires that destroyed 27 million hectares of forests over the last five years.
"They should be held responsible because every year fires occur in their concessions," Walhi executive director Chalid Muhammad told a media gathering in his office.
Riaupulp's public relations manager Troy Pantouw commented the accusations may be untrue, and said Riaupulp urged its partners to conduct environmentally-friendly business operations.
He also denied that hot spots occurring in Riaupulp's concessions were from fires intentionally ignited by the company. "It's illogical for our business because burned peat soil would only degrade the quality of our raw material," he told The Jakarta Post.
Walhi's investigation and "ground check" report showed that of about 40,000 hot spots annually detected by satellite from 2001 to August 2006, 81 percent were in areas belonging to the companies.
"They, of course, have consistently denied that they set the fires. But still they have to be held responsible for failing to prevent fires in their concessions and their spread," Chalid added. "If they couldn't do that, they are obviously not qualified to earn concessions. They should return their rights to the government."
He also said the findings proved that senior government officials were wrong when they accused nomadic farmers of setting the fires. "Only 19 percent of the fires occur on privately owned land, outside the firms' concessions. So the problem is how to get tough with the companies, not to arrest farmers."
The Environment Ministry's 2005 report somewhat supports Walhi's allegations. For example, it stated that last year's forest fires in Sumatra mostly occurred in plantation firms' areas (31 percent), while in Kalimantan they were mostly found in areas under logging companies (37 percent).
Walhi forest campaigner Rully Syumanda said legal action against the firms faced serious problems because the country's Criminal Code required the police to provide solid proof, such as matches, gasoline and witnesses.
"Seeking such evidence is like searching for a needle in a haystack," he said, adding that the country's forestry and plantation laws actually mandated tough punishment for those responsible for burning forests.
In Batam, State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said his office would issue a new regulation to seize land cleared through burning of forests. "The regulation will be aimed at facilitating the arrest of the perpetrators," he told Antara newswire, vowing to effect punishment.
Greenomics Indonesia estimates that rampant ground and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan would inflict direct and indirect losses to the state, private sectors and the public worth of over Rp 227 billion (about US$25 million) per day.
The environmental group believed the fires would cause losses up to Rp 170.92 billion per day from various losses, such as the degradation of forest areas and biodiversity.
Jakarta Post - August 29, 2006
A good intention will not yield results without good implementation, wise men say.
Three months ago President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told his ministers, governors and regents to do their utmost to halt haze-producing forest fires, to spare him the humiliation of once again explaining to ASEAN leaders why the country has failed to handle the situation.
But in his state of the nation address, delivered before the parliament on Aug. 16, Yudhoyono acknowledged that his subordinates seemed to have done nothing to carry out his order.
"We have still seen several occurrences of fires in the last couple of weeks. I really regret this situation," he said. "It (preventing forest fires) correlates with the responsibility, concern and leadership of regional administrations," he added.
However, Yudhoyono failed to note that curbing the fires calls for more than just the values he cited. Analysts say it takes additional human resources and cash, as well as the commitment to sign an international agreement.
The head of the Central Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Office (BKSDA), Yohannes Sudharto, said his team of firefighters was no match for the flames that had occurred in hundreds of places across the province. "We have only a handful of trained firefighters," he said. "We are outnumbered."
Yohannes' office assembled 15 teams of firefighters in 2000. Each consists of nine men: two from the government and seven from the community. In total, fewer than 150 trained firefighters work in the province.
These men are stacked up against the more than 500 so-called "hot spots" that occur every day during the land-clearing season in July and August. One hot spot represents roughly 1.1 square kilometers, meaning that thousands of hectares of land have been ravaged since the fires started in July.
"We cannot handle such massive fires with such limited human resources," said Aliansyah, one of the nine BKSDA forest fire fighters who struggled for three days to put out fires that raged on 25 hectares of peat lands in the outskirts of Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan.
He and his colleagues receive Rp 20,000 (about US$2.20) every day when they are on duty plus Rp 180,000 monthly. He said none of the fire fighters were covered by health insurance, however, nor were they equipped with personal protective equipment. "Well, thank God, so far no-one has gotten injured or sick," said Aliansyah, who has spent nine years fighting forest fires across Borneo.
The Forestry Ministry claims it has deployed some 1,500 fire fighters in eight provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan, which are prone to annual forest fires. However, this number also appears sorely insufficient, as satellite images showed more than 10,000 hot spots in Sumatra and Borneo in the last two months.
In Riau, about 120 firefighters have failed to curb a blaze that has been ravaging some 2,000 hectares of land and forests. The fire has destroyed parts of the more than 38,000-hectare Tesso Nillo national park, home to some endangered species of elephants and tigers.
Firefighters have been trying to extinguish the blaze since last month. Realizing they were outnumbered, the Riau provincial administration deployed 600 military personnel to help fight fires in the province.
"They are tasked with dousing the fires and arresting people who illegally clear land," the head of the province's environmental impact management agency, Khairul Zainal, told AFP.
The Forestry Ministry said an additional 375 men would reinforce 1,500 firefighters who have been battling fires in South Sumatra and West Kalimantan.
Yohannes said lack of personnel was not the only problem. His office has only seven pumping machines, of which only three can extract sufficiently large volumes of water. "It's difficult to find water sources during this dry season. Most of the sewers or wells are shallow, and we can only use the big pumping machines," he said.
The Central Kalimantan arm of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi Kalteng) dismissed such arguments, saying the government and regional administrations had undermined the potential of local communities to help extinguish the fires.
"The government should give local communities, who are mostly farmers, incentives. Not by paying them, but by supporting their agricultural activities, such as subsidizing fertilizers," said Walhi Kalteng director Satriadi. "That way, they will do anything to keep land and forests from burning," he said.
World Wide Fund for Nature Indonesia senior official Fitrian Ardiansyah suggested that to discourage the use of fire to clear land, the government should assist farmers in clearing their land for each new planting season.
"The farmers are just looking for the cheapest way to clear their land. If they were aware that other environmentally-friendly and cost-effective methods were available, they would be more than happy to stop burning land," said Fitrian, who is WWF's program coordinator for forest restoration and threat mitigation.
Fitrian argued the most important step the government could take was to quickly ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, so that ASEAN members could send support to combat Indonesia's rampant forest fires.
He said Forestry Ministry concerns that the pact would lead to the central government, rather than Indonesia's regional governments, being blamed for the fires, should not be allowed to delay ratification.
"This agreement is the first in the world at the regional level that requires countries to jointly tackle transboundary haze pollution caused by forest and land fires," he said.
Without rejecting that suggestion, Masyhud said the government is upbeat that it can handle the problem. He said the government has done its best and, with or without neighboring countries' help, it would continue to do its best to put out the fires. – JP/Tb. Arie Rukmantara
Agence France Presse - August 26, 2006
Jakarta – Indonesian Forestry Minister Malem Sambet Kaban has urged local administrative heads to play a more active role in preventing land clearing by fire, blamed for the thick smoking haze that has blanketed the region.
Ground and forest fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo have resulted in the choking haze spreading as far as Malaysia and Singapore, prompting calls for Jakarta to halt all sources of the smoke. The fires are an annual phenomena that occur as farmers and landowners clear land for the upcoming planting season by burning. The practice is outlawed in Indonesia but enforcement has been poor.
Speaking on radio, Kaban said the fires could be curbed substantially if local government responds early and realizes the smoke is not just a local problem but one that hurts other countries as well. "It looks like the local governments have not been responsive enough."
He said law enforcement should continue with the arrests of those responsible for the fires, but parallel efforts should also be made to curb the use of clearing by fire. "The aim should be how this tradition of using fire to clear land can be stopped," Kaban said.
He said efforts to educate people against ground clearing by fire, should be spearheaded by the heads of local governments who should continuously maintain touch with their people. "Therefore there should be a move to build this awareness among the heads of local governments, Kaban said.
Satellite imaging on Saturday showed at least 106 hot spots in Sumatra, with high a concentration in the provinces of Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra. But rains in Jambi, where the haze was thickest, had left the sky clear on Sunday, the meteorology office there said. A total of 461 hotspots were also detected across Borneo on the same day.
Jakarta Post - August 25, 2006
Jakarta/Jambi – Haze from fires raging on the jungle-clad islands of Sumatra and Borneo thickened Thursday as officials met to prepare a plan for battling the blazes.
In Pontianak, the capital of Borneo's West Kalimantan province – which has also been badly hit by the haze – visibility at 7:00 am was only 100 meters, said Maroni, from the local meteorology office.
But it improved to more than 5,000 meters four hours later, he said. "We are in a meeting now to coordinate steps to fight the ground and forest fires and the resulting smoke," Ma'aruf, a coordinator of the environmental impact control agency for Riau province, told AFP.
Ma'aruf said the number of hot spots in Riau had fallen to 67 out of a total of 380 burning across Sumatra, with most of the fires in other provinces, particularly neighboring Jambi.
Visibility in Pekanbaru was down to around 1,000 meters at 7 a.m. but worsened to 800 meters for two hours before rising again to about 1,500 meters, said Ibnu, a meteorological official in Riau's capital of Pekanbaru. Flights from Pekanbaru's airport were unaffected, an official said.
Burhanuddin, of Riau's health office, told AFP that the department was monitoring air pollution across the district, which had not yet reached a dangerous level.
In Jambi, strong winds had helped clear the sky and improve visibility from 400 meters to two kilometers during the morning, said local meteorological official Tobing. However, Tobing said the wind could be carrying the haze to Riau and toward the Strait of Malacca.
More than 1,000 hectares of plantation areas in seven out of 10 regions in the province have been razed by fire.
Jambi's forest and land fire control center secretary Frans Tandipau said efforts had continued to stop the fires. He claimed hot spots in the province had declined from more than 300 Wednesday to only 155 on Thursday.
"We've successfully stopped the fire in the western areas," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, referring to four regencies – Bungo, Merangin, Sarolangun and Tebo. Malaysia, which has already been smothered in this year's haze, has demanded that Indonesia do more to tackle the annual problem. Singapore and Thailand have also been affected in recent years.
Earlier this week, officials said they would deploy hundreds of police and troops to fight the fires usually lit to clear land for crops. On the Indonesian portion of Borneo, a total of 171 hot spots were detected Wednesday.
The government has outlawed land clearing by fire but weak enforcement means the ban is largely ignored.
| Health & education |
Asia Times - August 30, 2006
Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesia is arguably Asia's least well- educated country, and the government is largely to blame. With 30% of its 242 million population school-aged, the world's largest Muslim country ranks lowest among its Asian neighbors in terms of public education expenditure.
A minuscule 0.03% of the Indonesian workforce has earned a university degree, according to government statistics. Only 39% of 12-to-15-year-olds ever make it to secondary school. Addressing a major world conference this month on training and development in Kuala Lumpur, Telkom Indonesia chairman Tanri Abeng lamented that more than 80% of Indonesians have only a primary-school education.
With a record 40 million people unemployed, the education system's failure means that Indonesia's pool of unskilled and increasingly unemployable labor is growing exponentially. That's bad economic and social news for a country that nearly a decade after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis is still straining to recover from the economic adversity and displacement.
Indonesia has in recent years witnessed a worrying process of de-industrialization, with massive foreign divestment in many of the export-oriented industries that drove the country's spectacular economic growth throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. In 2003, foreign investors pulled US$597 million out of the country, according to a recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Nowadays, the availability of low-cost labor has only a limited bearing on a country's ability to attract foreign capital, particularly in knowledge-based Western industries. The UNCTAD report notes that future foreign-investment flows to top developing countries in Asia will increasingly go toward so- called human-capital-intensive industries. The likely high-growth industries of the future, such as information technology and biotechnology, require an increasingly skilled labor force.
Moreover, Southeast Asia's fragmented markets are a tougher sell nowadays with foreign investors in light of China's and India's growth potential, where untapped unified markets present huge economies-of-scale benefits for multinational manufacturers. In human-capital terms, Indonesia is now viewed less favorably as a foreign-investment destination than Thailand, Singapore and arguably even Vietnam.
Part of that perception, no doubt, can also be chalked up to Indonesia's aging infrastructure, its unpredictable legal system and the lingering threat of terrorist attacks against Western targets. At the same time, Indonesia's decrepit education system and its woefully unskilled labor force are emerging as the largest deterrent to desperately needed new foreign investments.
Poverty of learning
In 2003, Indonesia's education spending stood at about 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with 5.3% in South Korea and 2.8% in comparatively underdeveloped Vietnam, according to World Bank data. Thailand, which spends 3.7% of GDP on education, announced this week plans to increase that to 4.5%-5% beginning next year to improve Thai students' analytical abilities.
This year China will spend 13% of its total national budget on education, India 12%, the Philippines 17%, Malaysia 20%, Hong Kong 23% and Thailand 27%. Indonesia's education budget this year, in comparison, represents less than 10% of the government's budget, while the draft budget for 2007 proposes a tiny upgrade to 10.2% of total national spending.
Those meager allocations are in effect bankrupting Indonesia's public education system. For instance, in 2005 the cost of education was Rp71 trillion (US$7 billion), well above the Rp21.38 trillion allocated by the state budget, according to official statistics. A constitutional amendment in 2002 decreed that the government must spend 20% of the annual budget on education – but politicians have been slow to follow up.
Officials say they plan to increase education spending to 14.7% in 2007, as part of a phased plan to achieve the constitutionally mandated 20% by 2009. But as with previous governments, spending on roads, bridges and power stations has once again taken precedence over education under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration.
Indonesia's education failures are grounded deep in history. National founder president Sukarno favored a system of mass political education, aimed at unifying the population rather than empowering them with employable skills. Under president Suharto, a compulsory nine-year education program was implemented, but the education system still completely failed to meet the needs of a modern workforce.
Now government funding is concentrated at the primary-school level, where enrollment rates have jumped from 62% in the early 1970s to about 95% today. Yet the lack of a modern curriculum and capable teachers is holding back Indonesia's most ambitious students and in turn the country's future economic prospects.
Across the board, rote learning is emphasized over the development of critical thinking skills. Sector specialists say less than half the country's primary-school teachers and two- thirds of secondary-school teachers possess even the minimum qualifications required to teach effectively. Instructor absenteeism on any given day is reportedly about 20%.
Most of the country's 3 million teachers and university lecturers moonlight to supplement their income. That's because pay scales, set by the government, start at a low Rp1.5 million ($165) a month for schoolteachers and Rp3 million ($330) for college lecturers. According to a recent Ministry of Education survey, about 80% of schoolteachers take on outside jobs to bolster their incomes – to the detriment of their commitment to public-school students.
This inattentiveness was recently exemplified in the failing results of a basic placement examination taken by thousands of graduating high-school students who had already been accepted for university places. Of the privileged few who do make it to university, graduates are criticized by employers for their lack of analytical skills and inability to solve problems – hardly surprising given the political emphasis of the national curriculum.
Worryingly, it appears the situation is set to deteriorate. In Indonesia, families are free to send their children to state, private or Islamic schools, yet the spiraling costs of education and related expenses have recently caused a growing number of dropouts.
Last year the government tried to cushion the effect of fuel- price increases on education enrollment through the so-called Bantuan Operasional Sekolah (BOS) program, which was designed to help cover the cost of tuition, registration, books and exams for needy children aged between six and 15 years. Yet according to Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), schools still charged most parents for these items, and in any case, the increased costs of transport for schoolchildren after the abolition of fuel-price subsidies has largely negated any of the BOS benefits for parents.
Indonesia is widely ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in Asia, and state schools are badly plagued by embezzlement and bribery. The Indonesian Coalition for Education claims that corruption permeates the national education system, where budgets earmarked for educational purposes are seldom fully used for school purposes and instead end up in the pockets of institutions' administrators, it contends.
For instance, it notes that textbooks and uniforms are marked up for sale to pupils, and teachers often give low marks in examinations to make students sit for repeats, which, of course, the students have to pay for. Contractor fees for school-building repairs and improvements are chronically inflated.
Islam fills the gap
Significantly, the state's education failure has opened the way for cheaper Islamic-oriented education. Recent estimates suggest that as many as 20% of Indonesia's school-aged children are enrolled in Islamic schools. And enrollment rates are increasing by about 7% every year, though education experts say the quality of instruction and emphasis on religious studies mean most Islamic-school graduates will lack the skills needed to participate in a competitive job market.
The government funds 10% of the secular Islamic day schools, or madrasahs, and an even larger portion of the traditional Islamic boarding schools, known locally as pesantrens. Pesantrens played a key role in national education before and during the early years of independence in the 1950s, but six decades later the standards, curricula and instruction methods are widely considered even lower than at state schools.
Attended by an estimated 2 million pupils, most pesantrens are in rural areas and under the direction of Muslim scholars. The standard pesantren syllabus includes teaching blocks for an understanding of the Koran, the Arabic language and Islamic law, as well as Muslim traditions and history.
Indonesia's 38,500 madrasahs enroll 21% of all students at the junior-secondary level, according to statistics compiled by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In general, madrasahs serve the rural poor and are most active in isolated areas that offer few other educational opportunities.
These are often in areas of the country affected by chronic unemployment and poverty, a desperate mix that radical Islamic groups have been known to exploit for recruits to their sometimes violent causes. Madrasahs provide schooling for an estimated 5.7 million students nationwide, or 13% of all school-age students and more than half of madrasah students are children of farmers and laborers.
Foreign donors, for their part, are trying to help fill Indonesia's learning gap. The ADB has worked with madrasahs since the mid-1990s, aimed mainly at integrating their curriculum with the secular national education system. So, too, has the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through a $157 million program aimed at modernizing Islamic schools through teacher training and updating curriculum to include lessons relevant to the workplace. Those efforts, however, have so far met with only limited success.
Notably, USAID in 1997 had prepared to close down its Indonesia- based operations on expectations that the then rapidly growing country no longer needed foreign aid. Now, Indonesia desperately needs to attract new foreign investments to rejuvenate growth and employ its vast, underemployed population. But without substantial domestic investment in human capital, those foreign investments likely won't arrive, and Southeast Asia's largest economy's prospects just grow dimmer and dimmer.
[Bill Guerin, a Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times Online since 2000, has worked in Indonesia for 20 years, mostly in journalism and editorial positions. He has been published by the BBC on East Timor and specializes in business/economic and political analysis related to Indonesia. He can be reached at softsell@prima.net.id.]
Jakarta Post - August 28, 2006
Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – The number of illiterate people in Tangerang regency has jumped dramatically within the past two years, an education official claims.
Education agency head Muhyi Syarifudin said the agency had measured a rapid increase in illiterate people from 2,673 in 2004 to 190,123 this year.
When asked to explain the huge increase, Muhyi said it was likely to be a result of people's reluctance to admit they could not read or write and financial difficulties preventing them from attending schools. "The real figure could be twice that," he told The Jakarta Post last week.
To eradicate illiteracy the regency needs at least Rp 66 billion (US$7.33 million), Muhyi said, adding that the administration could only allocate Rp 600 million from its budget to lay out a plan. With limited funds, the agency is aiming to reduce the number to 120,000 by 2008.
It will provide tutors and learning tools, employing the assistance of community centers and 208 of its employees, who will identify the areas of greatest need in the regency.
"We will request financial assistance from the central government and Banten province... Teaching people to read and write is the first step. After that they'll need skills training," Muhyi said.
The rise in the illiteracy rate was reported not long after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono awarded the regency earlier this year for its achievement in reducing the number of illiterate people from 17,514 to 2,673 in 2004.
Jakarta Post - August 26, 2006
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – There are certain sights that are representative of Jakarta: bajaj (motorized pedicab), street vendors, Metro Mini (public minibuses), empty luxury apartment buildings and, it would seem, the septic tank.
Only around 2 percent of the city's waste water is treated properly – everything else runs through the roughly one million septic tanks that handle "black" (flushed) water.
City sewerage company PD PAL Jaya says that of the eight million people officially living in the city, only 220,000 use pipe waste facilities to manage their black and "gray" (used for washing and bathing) water.
The figure is far behind that of other Asian capital cities. All of Seoul's 9.7 million inhabitants use piped sewerage, 35 percent of Bangkok's population does and in Manila, 16 percent of the population use official means of treating waste.
Setyoduhkito, operation and maintenance division chief at PAL Jaya, said that the use of septic tanks should only be allowed in areas with a population of less than 100 people per hectare.
"Areas with more than 300 people per hectare should practice a piping system to manage waste water," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
The company said that all parts of Central Jakarta needed to be using a piping system to handle waste water, while most parts of Jakarta's other four municipalities should be part of a communal sanitation system. Only residents of Cilincing, North Jakarta and Jagakarsa in South Jakarta are eligible to use septic tanks.
Most gray water from Greater Jakarta households currently ends up poured directly into the city's drains, and is believed to be a main cause of pollution in groundwater.
Setyoduhkito said most of the city's septic tanks were in violation of technical guidelines issued by the Public Works Ministry.
PAL Jaya has a monopoly on the management of the city's sewerage system. Since its establishment in 1997, however, the company has set up just 45,000 meters of pipes, serving only the Sudirman and Kuningan areas.
The company said that financial issues prevented it from expanding to Jakarta's other municipalities. "To serve all parts of Central Jakarta, we need at least Rp 1.7 trillion to build new pipes," he said.
Waste and gray water is currently treated at a plant in Setiabudi before being dumped in the east channel flood river. "We only dump the water in the river if its biological oxygen demand (BOD) percentage has reached 50 milligrams per liter," he said.
PAL Jaya has previously said that it would need Rp 2.56 trillion to build sewerage systems on Jl. Thamrin and Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta, Kali Grogol in West Jakarta and Pantai Mutiara and Kali Ancol in North Jakarta.
An additional Rp 3.55 trillion is needed to construct a system for Tanjung Priok. The city administration and the central government, however, are yet to respond to PAL Jaya's proposals.
The head of the liquid waste and drinking water unit at the National Development Planning Board, Nugroho Tri Utomo, said Indonesia had spent only US$820 million, or Rp 200 per person, on the sanitation needs of the country over the last 30 years. He said Jakarta ideally needed to be spending Rp 47,000 per person annually on sanitation.
Setyoduhkito said even people living near PAL Jaya's facilities were reluctant to use its services. "The households are still slow to switch to piped waste treatment, even though we only charge them Rp 75 for each cubic meter of their building," he said.
The Jakarta Environmental Management Agency said that about 80 percent of the city's groundwater had been so polluted it was no longer safe to drink, while most Jakarta's rivers have been heavily polluted by household and factory waste.
A significant proportion of the city's population relies on groundwater. Health Ministry data shows that of ever 1,000 babies born in the city, 50 die of diarrheal diseases, often caused by drinking water polluted with fecal matter.
| Islam/religion |
Melbourne Age - August 31, 2006
Julia Suryakusuma and Tim Lindsey – Indonesia is in the middle of an explosive debate about whether conservative Islamic morality will become enforceable law in that nation of 230 million. It is a debate that threatens to unravel the secular foundation of the republic itself.
Amid street protests, the DPR, Indonesia's newly democratic legislature, is debating a reactionary Anti-Pornography Bill that is really an attempt to introduce hardline interpretations of sharia (Islamic law) by stealth.
The bill would criminalise much sexuality, force women to cover up almost completely, largely exclude them from public space and tightly censor the arts and media. If passed, it would give Islam a new, dominant position in law and politics that generations of Indonesian leaders have tried to avoid. And it would inevitably create huge difficulties for the relationship with Australia.
How did Indonesia get to this frightening position? A wave of local elections through to late 2005 seeking to implement democratisation and decentralisation delivered dramatic political change in Indonesia, cementing a broader social process under way since 1998, when the dictatorial Soeharto lost power. Of a hundred local elections conducted to date, some 40 per cent or so resulted in the rise of new elites.
Many of these are male traditional leaders pushed to one side under Soeharto's "New Order", who draw their authority from traditional local sources and look for legitimacy for conservative and socially regressive values linked to local identity. In many regions these groups have replaced Jakarta- endorsed bureaucrats, who, for all their many failings, often had a strongly secular nationalist bent and some commitment to a modernising agenda. The old-for-new elites are influencing local policy across the country.
The local heroes want to differentiate themselves from the apparatchiks of the past and to strengthen their local support by adopting agendas sponsored by conservative social groups, often religious in nature. The result has been a wave of attempts to introduce conservative interpretations of sharia-derived moral norms through local regulations and bylaws.
This has occurred most obviously in autonomous Aceh. It is even more disruptive, however, in other areas that have greater religious and social plurality. That some of these new regulations are inspired by Muslim hardliners is clear. The Acehnese laws, for example, drew inspiration from radical and controversial sharia codes introduced in Malaysian states Kelantan and Trengganu by the conservative Islamic party PAS. Likewise, a local congress that led to the drafting of a proposed law for South Sulawesi in Indonesia in 2001 was attended by Abu Bakar Bashir, leader of terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiah.
In 2002, hardliners were soundly defeated in the national legislature in attempts to insert a clause obliging Muslims to follow sharia into the constitution, from which it had been deleted in 1945. This was a proposal for which radicals, including Bashir, had campaigned hard. National failure led them to renew efforts at the local level, with some success. Now they are back at the national level: the Anti-Pornography Bill is the local sharia regulations writ large.
Like them, the bill would ban modern behaviour that offends traditional and religious cultural norms. If passed in its original form it would prohibit forms of expression that its supporters consider pornoaksi (pornographic actions) – mainly sexuality or women's self-expression. Public displays of affection (such as holding hands) would be criminalised and so would exposing "sensitive" body parts such as breasts, thighs, belly and navel, as well as, even, hair, shoulders and legs. Women have already been arrested for these sorts of offences under the hardline regional laws in some areas, including the outskirts of Jakarta itself.
The Anti-Pornography Bill is about denying women and sexuality public space. It uses pornography as an excuse, equating expression of sexuality outside the marriage bed – even the very presence of women outside the home – with obscenity and criminality. And it would lock up artists and writers who present these themes, as do many artists in most societies, including Indonesia, which has a vibrant, flourishing and cosmopolitan artistic and cultural scene.
The irony is that these reforms, intended to give democracy and the right to a voice to millions of Indonesians silenced for decades under Soeharto, may now strip away from half of them some of the few rights they enjoyed under his rule. While decentralisation may deliver political democracy to the regions, it may also deny social democracy – at least for women and non- Muslims.
The real fate of these laws will most likely be decided in the streets, as demos and protests for and against it continue unabated, often led by women. Even if the bill fails, however, it is unlikely that the issue will fade away, because what the legislature is considering is in reality a proxy for a broader and persistent debate: should Indonesian Muslims be forced to follow sharia law – and, if so, whose version? Disagreement was intense among Indonesia's founding fathers in 1945 and there is no sign that anything has changed after 50 years of debate – except that now women are squarely in the argument, too, as both voices and victims.
[Julia Suryakusuma is a Jakarta writer and the author of Sex, Power and Nation. Tim Lindsey is professor of Asian law at the University of Melbourne.]
Jakarta Post - August 31, 2006
Jakarta – Nahdlatul Ulama leader Hasyim Muzadi and Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin have been elected co-chairs of the World Conference on Religion for Peace (WCRP) at its eighth meeting in Kyoto, Japan.
Din said he was elected honorary chairman of the international religious organization while Hasyim will be among its nine presidents.
Founded 36 years ago, the WCRP is based at United Nations Headquarters in New York and unites religious leaders around the globe to work for world peace using faith-based approaches.
Some 600 leaders of 20 religions from 100 countries attended the five-day conference that ended Wednesday. Din said the election of the leaders of Indonesia's two biggest Islamic organizations took into account their active contributions to promoting peace at national and international levels.
"It's an honor and responsibility that should be well received. It shows an (international) recognition of Indonesian Islam, which has been playing a role as an Islamic agent for rahmatan lil-alamin (blessing for the universe)," Din said in a short message from Russia where he just arrived from Japan on Wednesday.
Din is in Moscow to attend a meeting of the Strategic Alliance of Russia and the Islamic World.
Jakarta Post - August 29, 2006
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – As Islamic fundamentalism spreads in Indonesia, the tendency to control women has become so pronounced that even those who have embraced a conservative creed must break the silence and demand gender equality, activists say.
"Fundamentalism is the men's key to imprisoning women in patriarchal domination. They want only to keep women at home as reproduction machines and to take care of their children," said activist Farha Ciciek during one of the seminar sessions at the National Meeting of Women Activists in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta.
The meeting, attended by more than 200 women activists from across the country, has been organized to refocus the national women's movement. Fundamentalism and globalization are seen as the most prominent problems hindering women's welfare.
Farha, who is also director of Rahima, a women's organization affiliated to Nadhatul Ulama, said that fundamentalism has influenced regional administrations in areas like Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam; Tangerang, Banten; and Makassar, South Sulawesi.
On the national scene, some central government officials and the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) are urging the House of Representatives to pass a pornography bill to regulate what women should wear, she said. Meanwhile, various regions have implemented conservative, sharia-style bylaws despite the controversy and problems they are causing.
The Aceh administration now requires girls and women to wear headscarves in public places, while the Tangerang administration prohibits women from being on the streets after dark. The Makassar government, meanwhile, makes high school students wear long skirts at school, she said.
Women factory workers in Tangerang have complained about the bylaws, and some have slept at their workplaces overnight to avoid being arrested by police. Farha said women, especially working women, should have the right to dress as they pleased and go wherever they needed to, as long as it was good for their children.
The Asia Foundation's program officer for women and politics, Ani Sutjipto, said that emerging fundamentalism in Indonesia was partially the result of the mismanagement of the women's movement here.
She said this was partly the fault of women representatives at the national and regional levels, who had yet to voice women's needs for gender equality. "The women's movement has to focus on several issues and needs to be organized from the elite to the grassroots level," she said.
Jakarta Post - August 25, 2006
Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The majority of Indonesian Muslims still believe a secular state is more suitable for the country than an Islamic or Western-style liberal system, a survey found.
But the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) also recorded increasing fears among respondents that fundamentalist groups are systematically working to establish an Islamic state through the implementation of sharia-based bylaws.
A total of 69.6 percent of the 700 respondents (88 percent Muslims) from the 33 provinces said the inclusive Pancasila ideology was the most ideal political system. Only 11.3 percent believed that Indonesia should adopt an Islamic political system similar to that in the Middle East.
"We're rather surprised with this finding," LSI executive director Denny J.A. told a press conference here Thursday. "This corroborates the old belief that Muslims here are mostly moderate."
A further 61.4 percent of respondents expressed worries about the enactment of sharia-based bylaws in some regions, saying the ordinances undermined the nation's integrity. And 61.7 percent of Muslim respondents agreed that the national secular laws were preferable to Islamic ones.
However, more than 80 percent of respondents agreed with ordinances prohibiting alcohol consumption, adultery, prostitution and gambling.
"But 53 percent of the respondents say those kinds of regulations have already been incorporated in the existing Criminal Law, so they think the enactment of regional bylaws to implement such regulations is unnecessary," Denny said.
Young Muslim scholar Zuhairi Misrawi said although the majority of Muslims claim to be moderate, it did not mean fundamentalist groups were powerless.
"We have to remember that 11.5 percent say they agree with the Islamic state and another 15 percent constitute the floating mass," he said, adding that politically conservative Muslims were now more aggressive in campaigning for their ideas.
"This is the challenge for Nadhlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah to stop the stream of political Islam," he added of the country's main Muslim organizations.
Zuhairi also said that support for the old paradigm of Islamic criminal law, such as mutilation and stoning, was still prevalent. The LSI found 27 percent of Indonesian Muslims agreed that adulterers should be stoned to death, and 17 percent think that apostates should be sentenced to death.
Denny said he suspected the survey's results attested to the legacy of the New Order's coercive measures to force the public to embrace the Pancasila ideology or risk ostracism.
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) political activist Budiman Sudjatmiko expressed a similar concern. Although he acknowledged the poll may represent the silent majority, he said there was a gap between the views of the people and their representatives in the legislative bodies.
"The issue is no longer whether the people are now inclined to embrace Islamic political ideas. What worries us is whether there are some people who would infiltrate the law with those ideas through democratic institutions."
| Economy & investment |
Jakarta Post - August 30, 2006
Benget Simbolon Tnb., Jakarta – State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina has begun to feel the pinch of increasingly steeper competition in the oil and gas sector following the issuance of a 2001 government regulation that stripped the company of its monopoly,
A subsequent government regulation, issued in 2003 and changing Pertamina into a pure business entity, has added to the pressure on the company to transform itself into a more efficient energy firm.
For Pertamina, which earned a reputation in the past for corruption, collusion and nepotism, changing its direction into a business entity oriented toward turning a profit is proving to be a difficult task. Even now, many senior government officials and politicians still regard Pertamina and other state firms as cash cows there for the milking.
Speaking to journalists in Jakarta recently, Pertamina president director Ari Soemarno said he hoped to transform Pertamina into a world-class and efficient company within five years in order to be able to survive the new free market era. "We're optimistic that we can realize this in five years," he said.
Under a government regulation issued in 1971, Pertamina was the country's single oil and gas regulator and operator, holding exclusive rights in the exploration, production and distribution of oil and gas. But now, with the new regulations, other players have been allowed to enter the oil and gas sector here on what is supposed to be a level playing field.
Although Pertamina still holds the exclusive right to sell subsidized fuels, Shell, Europe's second largest oil company, and Petronas of Malaysia have been allowed to enter the fuel retail market to sell non-subsidized fuels, such as high-octane gasoline.
Shell operates three stations in Greater Jakarta and has plans to build two more stations. Petronas has built one station in the southern part of the capital and it also plans to expand its retail business.
Soemarno said recently that over the next five years Pertamina needed an investment of US$1 billion to improve its retail stations and storage facilities across the country.
The company has set a target of building 700 gasoline stations this year and 1,000 stations next year, in cooperation with local companies.
It has offered private companies the opportunity to take part in opening new gas stations under a franchise business arrangement. "So far this year, 2,426 investors have applied to develop gasoline stations. Some 630 of them have been approved," Soemarno said.
He said construction of the gasoline stations would begin after the investors met all of Pertamina's requirements, including the payment of franchise fees.
The company also plans to invest $22 million to build 55 gasoline stations on its own next year. The construction of one station will cost about Rp 3 billion (US$330,000), depending on the price of the land.
In addition, the state oil firm plans to revamp six of its gas stations in Jakarta so they can serve as models for other Pertamina stations across the archipelago. It also plans over the next four years to build 500,000 kiloliters of fuel storage to cope with expected increases in the country's fuel demand.
Hanung Budya, Pertamina's deputy director of trading and marketing, said in Bali recently the company would also need an additional storage capacity of 300,000 kiloliters in the next four years. "We will build fuel facilities in East Java and West Java," he said.
The company currently depends on leasing tankers to provide additional stocks if demand increases in certain distribution areas.
But despite its ambitious plans, there are concerns the company will be unable to meet its targets on schedule. Problems ranging from a shortage of funds, the unchanged mind-set among government officials toward Pertamina and aging workers still stand in the way of transforming the company.
"We're facing a shortage of funds to finance our transformation projects. Actually, that money could come from our big profits, but we only retain a small amount of our earnings every year," Soemarno said.
During an informal discussion with a number of Pertamina officials, they complained that government officials, particularly politicians, still considered the company a cash cow that could be tapped every time they needed funds.
In addition, the company's human resources are not yet competitive enough to face the more open competition. With 45 percent of its workers aged between 41 and 50, and 41 percent above 50 years old, the company's management doubts it can improve its productivity and efficiency.
"But we cannot just accept the situation as such. The competition out there is getting steeper, and we have to transform ourselves in order to benefit from the new conditions," Soemarno said.
Jakarta Post - August 26, 2006
Jakarta – The workers union of city-owned water operator PDAM Jaya has urged the Jakarta administration to review the sales of shares in its foreign partners, saying it was concerned the two companies had failed to meet contractual commitments.
Benny D. Setianto, the union's legal consultant, told a press conference Wednesday that under the 1998 contract between PDAM Jaya, France-based PT Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and the German PT Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ), the foreign partner companies were obliged to invest locally.
The new investments were to include the upgrading of production services and coverage, improving management and efficiency, stopping water losses due to pipe leaks and providing purified water by 2007, Benny said.
"None of them were realized... We don't want them to be able to easily escape their obligations by selling part of their shares to a third party," he said. He said PDAM annually lost 74.4 million liters of water and Rp 1.3 trillion in income to pipe leakages.
Data from PDAM shows that since joining with the foreign companies, the city water provider's debt has doubled, from Rp 900 billion in 1998 to Rp 1.7 trillion at the beginning of 2006.
PDAM workers union deputy chairman Zainal Abidin said the company's debt rose because PDAM had adopted the international standardization methods of Palyja's owner, Suez Environment, and TPJ boss RWE. "It included a 'know-how' license agreement worth four percent of the annual revenue. Moreover, the board of directors' salaries ranged from Rp 8 million to Rp 9 million is this a month," Zainal said.
"The sad part is that the employees are being neglected, as many of us no longer receive our annual bonuses like we did before 1998."
On July 26 this year, Palyja announced that it had sold 49 percent of its shares to local partners PT Astratel Nusantara and Citigroup Financial Products Inc. It said the move was hoped to improve the company's service performance.
Then, on Aug. 3, TPJ sought the approval of the city administration to sell 100 percent of its shares to Acquatico and Alberta, two firms part of local holding company the Recapital Group, which is aligned with the Singaporean Glendale International Corp. TPJ said its owner wanted to withdraw from the water industry.
"The city administration must calculate all the potential losses it may incur... it also has to considering terminating the working contract as it is not benefiting the public," Benny said.
Nila Ardhianie, director of the Amrta Institute for Water Literacy, a group focusing on water services and technology, said the administration needed to scrutinize the new investors to make sure the parties had credible backgrounds in the water sector.
"As I see it, Astratel is not a local company, more than 50 percent of its shares are owned by a British businessman," she said, adding that neither Astratel nor Citigroup had any experience in the water industry.
Jakarta Post - August 25, 2006
Jakarta – After 44 four years of operation, state-owned television company TVRI has become a public television network, funded by the government but intended to be editorially independent.
The head of the company's supervising board, Musa Asy'arie, announced the change in his speech during the commemoration of the company's anniversary Thursday at its headquarters in Senayan, South Jakarta.
"I hope this institution may grow as a non-commercial, independent media source that serves the interests of the public," he said as quoted by the detikcom news website.
| Opinion & analysis |
Jakarta Post - August 31, 2006
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Regional autonomy, which was championed as a means to improve accountability and public services, is instead bolstering ethnocentrism and tribalism, a survey found.
Eko Prasodjo, one of the lead researchers, said Wednesday the adverse impact resulted from the regional autonomy law which gave too much authority to regencies.
"We all know that the administrative borderline for regencies in the country was drawn based on an ethnicity fault line. And empowering regencies also means giving room for ethnocentrism to thrive," the University of Indonesia scholar told The Jakarta Post.
In a survey conducted from 2001 to 2005 to measure the impact of regional autonomy, the Civil Society Alliance for Democracy (Yapikka) discovered that ethnicity determined the outcome of the social and political process in the regions.
"Nepotism based on royal bloodlines, ethnicity and political affiliation have clouded the recruitment, assignment and promotion for certain positions in the regions," the report said.
Yapikka, with support from the Partnership for Governance Reform and the European Union, conducted research for the survey in 15 regencies and municipalities and four provinces: West Sumatra, Banten, North Sulawesi and East Nusa Tenggara.
Respondents comprised 1,800 citizens representing families, activists, academics, local leaders and council members. Yapikka also conducted policy impact studies and media analysis.
The survey also found that incumbent leaders or candidates vying for office resorted to the glorification of noble lineage to lend them authority. "In certain regions, new royal titles were created to augment the powers of regent or mayors," the report said. Another example of resurgent tribalism was rampant use of the terms putra asli (indigenous son) and laskar (militia).
Greater financial support from the central government and revenue from natural resources also were being diverted to fund local political rivalries, the report added. And as part of the political compromises from newly elected officials, funds from the central government were spent for an expanded bureaucracy.
As a result, researchers said public services were still wanting. "Despite improved public services, it is not enough to meet demands of quality, especially in health and education," the report said. The condition prevails in the absence of controls from the public, which is only "involved in consultation and dissemination of information".
Although there are fears of a return to centralization, with its own set of problems, the researchers recommend reviving the regulatory and oversight role of the provincial administration.
Eko said local direct elections for the post of governors and regents were the key to public control, and would ward off a return to the authoritarian New Order era.
Another researcher, Rio Menayang of the Institute for Policy and Community Development Studies, which has also conducted studies in regional autonomy, attributed the problems to the absence of an effective audit of local administrations.
"The problem is not at which level the oversight role is placed, but whether such a function is implemented properly," he told the Post.
The Bulletin (Australia) - August 29, 2006
Indonesia's covert action against West Papuan rebels could easily trigger a firefight between Indonesian and PNG forces. And Australia will be dragged into the confrontation. Paul Daley reports.
It is the ultimate nightmare military scenario for Australia. The troubled Indonesian province of West Papua, home to a burgeoning military operation against pro-independence OPM rebels, shares a porous and hopelessly guarded border with Papua New Guinea.
Troops from Indonesia's special forces, Kopassus, are operating covertly and with virtual impunity on both sides of the border, as they track down and assassinate OPM guerillas. Kopassus members and agents from the Indonesia's state intelligence agency, the Badan Intelignen Negara (BIN), are so well established in PNG that they virtually run some towns.
A badly depleted PNG Defence Force can mount only skeleton patrols. Border security is effectively left to the Indonesians.
One day, while a Kopassus unit is chasing the rebels inside PNG, they come into contact with a PNGDF patrol. A firefight ensues and members of both units are killed.
The conflict escalates and both countries send reinforcements. Before long, Australia is dragged into a messy border conflict with Indonesia, not least because a 1987 Declaration of Principles between Canberra and PNG stipulates the "expectation that Australia would be prepared to commit forces to resist external aggression against Papua New Guinea".
Sound far-fetched? It's not. Many of the conditions are already in place: Kopassus and BIN are well-established inside PNG; they are hunting and killing rebels and there are few PNG patrols of the border.
There's just one thing missing – a clash between the PNGDF and Kopassus. Or is it?
Australian intelligence and security analysts are examining a border clash between PNG troops and a group of Indonesians in a fishing boat just inside PNG's maritime border last week.
It happened close to the PNG villages of Wutung and Mushu – areas that have been subject to recent operations by Kopassus and members of the Indonesian intelligence services. One Indonesian was killed and two were seriously injured. Seven Indonesians were arrested.
Amid suggestions that some of the men were plain-clothed Kopassus agents, PNG's high-level provincial intelligence committee met urgently to consider the implications of the clash. The governments of PNG and Indonesia both insist that the Indonesians were fishermen.
It's no secret that the Howard government's recent embarrassing failure to introduce even harsher measures to deal with asylum- seekers deeply disappointed the Indonesian government.
The laws were, after all, drafted largely in response to growing anger in Jakarta that Australia was becoming a haven for refugees from West Papua, where the Indonesian campaign to quash the independence movement has gone on for decades. But the truth is that even if the government's Migration Amendment Bill had become law, it would not have deterred West Papuan refugees.
For them the question is simple: is it better to risk death at the hands of Kopassus or find themselves in a virtual prison on Nauru while their claims to enter Australia are assessed? Australians can expect more West Papuans as the Indonesian military steps up its overt and covert military operations.
Meanwhile, some Australian defence intelligence officials are deeply concerned that a reshuffle of Indonesia's military command, a massive Indonesian covert military and intelligence operation on the PNG side of the West Papua border, and the recent clash between the PNGDF and the purported Indonesian fisherman, is dramatically raising tensions in what has long been regarded as a dangerous flashpoint for Canberra.
The increasing repression of agitators for independence and autonomy in West Papua is also reinforcing Canberra's view that while Jakarta may be embracing democratic ideals, the Indonesian military – TNI – remains largely a law unto itself.
Despite the fishing boat confrontation in waters just inside the PNG border, Australian intelligence sources maintain there is evidence of serious collusion between Port Moresby and Jakarta over OPM rebels inside PNG.
"Intelligence operations are routinely being conducted inside the PNG border by the Indonesian military's special forces and, it is understood, with a blind-eye approach being taken by Port Moresby," a security source told The Bulletin.
"The Indonesian military knows that a large number of OPM rebels and their supporters are situated on the PNG side of the border. There are a huge number of Indonesian agents as well as plain- clothed Kopassus, posing as fishermen and logging industry workers, inside the border regions of PNG. Some PNG citizens have been co-opted into helping the Indonesian military ... At worst, PNG is cooperating, at best it is doing nothing because the PNGDF is run down and the government is afraid of Jakarta's military."
Australian and other international officials have also been monitoring large-scale illegal logging operations in West Papua of the precious merbau – or red wood – trees. The timber is shifted across the border where it is classified as logged in PNG, before being illegally exported. A big drug and prostitution trade has grown around the illegal logging operations, security sources say.
While the TNI has long faced allegations – most recently by the New York-based Human Rights Watch – that it is heavily involved with illegal logging and associated activities in West Papua, an intelligence source said some senior figures in PNG were also implicated.
The source said that Australia's Defence Signals Directorate had intercepted phone calls from Jakarta to a senior officer in the Indonesian Embassy in Port Moresby inquiring about payments to PNG counterparts.
Earlier this month TNI's general chief of staff, Lieutenant General Endang Suwarya, instructed his defence chiefs to arrest any servicemen believed to be involved in illegal logging or timber smuggling.
Three groups in West Papua are being treated as one by the Indonesian military, and equally persecuted, says the Australian intelligence source. The groups are those in the independence movement, those seeking autonomy for the province, and those who simply want a much smaller Indonesian military presence.
Australian security figures had "noted with great interest" the promotion of Major General Zamroni as the military commander for West Papua, the source said.
"Zamroni's appointment as head of military operations in West Papua proves that ... Indonesia's democratically elected leaders are not in controll of the military, which runs as a law unto itself. Australia can expect to see more vicious repression in its backyard and, therefore, more refugees," the source said.
Zamroni was a commander of Kopassus "anti-terrorist" operations under President Soeharto. He was instrumental in quashing student democracy protests of the mid- and late 1990s when dozens of Indonesian students were arrested and subsequently disappeared. He later commanded Indonesian military operations in Aceh province when TNI was accused of gross human rights violations against separatist activists.
During an offensive against Acehnese rebels in 2001, Zamroni was reported as saying: "This is a dilemma for us. Should we resort to the repressive tactics? People have yet to forget their suffering from military action in the past and so they will hate us. I admit that we may have committed human rights violations and I cannot blame the Acehnese either if they hold a grudge against us. But we've tried to change now, can't they forgive us?"
The Free West Papua Movement in Australia says Indonesian agents are operating with impunity within PNG. During a recent 30-day visit to the border regions of West Papua, the organisation's Nick Chesterfield encountered Indonesian special forces and spies on the border.
West Papuan refugees in PNG were not safe, he said in a detailed report that has been passed to several federal departments. "The refugees' immediate security situation is grave to say the least," he wrote. "The Indonesian military have intensified their efforts to hunt down and capture the refugees. We have received many reports around Wetung [in PNG] of special platoons ... being drilled to capture them extra-territorially and their position within PNG is not secure. Vanimo [a PNG border town] is almost completely overrun with the TNI and BIN and even as a staging point for movement [of refugees] to other locations in PNG, this is not secure.".
"We do not wish for any of these... high-risk refugees to remain in Vanimo for longer than 24 hours as they are at grave risk of kidnapping or assassination. The TNI have been moving weapons utilising ... timber vessels and operations, and ... they have completely infiltrated normal daily life in Vanimo."
Chesterfield said 400 West Papuan students were missing. "And we genuinely fear out of this, 202 have been killed," he said.
Jakarta Post Editorial - August 29, 2006
Soon after the reform movement swept across the nation in 1998, people began realizing the judiciary would be among the toughest institutions to change. It still is today. That was the message sent last week when the Constitutional Court scrapped the Judicial Commission's oversight of judges.
In a ruling last Wednesday, the Constitutional Court said the Judicial Commission was no longer authorized to supervise or scrutinize public reports about Supreme Court justices. A total of 820 reports have been received by the commission in the past year about the conduct of justices.
The Constitutional Court held that the articles on monitoring in the 2004 law that established the commission were lacking in detail and prone to manipulation. In the court's view, the articles contravened the 1945 Constitution. The court urged the government and the House of Representatives to amend the law on the Judicial Commission.
This is the culmination of a tug-of-war between the Supreme Court and the Judicial Commission. Tension between the two institutions rose when they met in June under the auspices of the Constitutional Court to debate the 2004 law on the Judicial Commission. The impression since that meeting has been that the two bodies are competing for power. The Supreme Court seems to see itself as omnipotent, while the commission appears eager for more power.
The lesson learned is that debating, a key element in a democracy, is a basic skill that continues to be ignored here. We still must learn to accept differences based on sound arguments, as opposed to presenting dissenting opinions for the sake of differing from our rivals.
It is open to debate just how much of a role complacency, arrogance of power, self-righteousness and politicking played in the legal imbroglio. But conspicuously absent was a broad-minded view toward the views of fellow legal experts, combined with an unfailing dedication toward the common good of the people.
The result is that we have been left without an important tool just when it is most needed. We need to fight corruption in the courts but the judges are busy beating each other over the head with legal principles. Meanwhile, good judges, a prerequisite in fighting corruption, remain difficult to find. It is a painful reality that many of our judges are crooks.
With the Judicial Commission having been stripped of its power to control judges, the battle against corruption has been put in limbo. The reason behind the Constitutional Court's ruling may be legally valid, but the point is that fighting corruption, especially in the courts, is a pressing issue.
Our judiciary is plagued by the so-called "judicial mafia". It is no secret that many of our judges act more like traders of court cases. And this sickness has been going on for decades without a cure. It is one of the primary reasons the country consistently sits near the top of the list of the most corrupt nations in the world.
This situation is akin to our fight against forest fires. The means to fight the fires are vastly inadequate, while the much needed rain never comes. The result is clear; the fires just keep growing bigger and bigger.
It is not without reason that legal experts and activists are crying foul over the Supreme Court's verdict on the Judicial Commission. They warn that corruption will go unchecked until the country's top legal institutions agree on who will supervise our judges. And they are calling on the government to promptly issue an emergency regulation to empower the Judicial Commission and fill the legal void left by the court's decision.
In the past, the commission asked the government to issue an emergency regulation to extend its powers in selecting justices. However, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rejected the request saying the issue was not urgent. This despite heated calls to review the performance of justices.
Prolonged legal wrangling and failing to face the issue of corruption head on is the last thing people want. Indonesians are tired of listening to speeches on legal theory. What they want is justice. What they want is Yudhoyono to remember that he has made battling corruption the centerpiece of his government.
Common sense dictates that time is crucial in fighting corruption. Justice delayed is justice denied. The government and the House must act quickly to deliver justice.