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Indonesia News Digest 12 – March 24-31, 2007
Agence France Presse - March 29, 2007
Martin Abbugao, Singapore – Shortly after Indonesian police
arrested suspects in the 2005 Bali bombings, five senior members
of the extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) were secretly flown
to a safehouse on the resort island.
There, they engaged the suspects – all junior members of JI –
in a series of sometimes heated ideological sparring sessions in
an attempt to convince them violence is not the way forward,
police say.
For about a week, police interrogators kept themselves out of
sight, allowing the senior members, who had agreed to work with
the government, time to establish a psychological beach-head.
"Sometimes they debate the whole night," said Senior
Superintendent Tito Karnavian, intelligence chief of Detachment
88, an elite US-trained unit of the Indonesian police involved in
the operation.
"When their Islamic argument is already defeated, then it's easy
for us. Then we enter," Karnavian told reporters here on the
sidelines of the Global Security Asia Conference on domestic
security threats.
The tactic signals a broadening of Indonesia's efforts in the
fight against extremists like the militants from JI, which has
been blamed for a series of deadly bombings in Indonesia,
including the 2002 and 2005 Bali attacks.
The police force is no longer interested only in dismantling
militant networks – they now are making an effort to
rehabilitate suspects in custody and prevent future attacks
through religious education, Karnavian said.
Indonesia has paid a heavy price for its failure to fully
recognise the depth of the presence of home-grown and
internationally-allied groups like JI until they began their
attacks in 2000, he noted.
A total of 202 people, mostly foreigners, were killed in the 2002
attack on the resort island. Another 20 bystanders were killed in
the 2005 suicide bombings.
With the help of international police, Indonesia initially moved
against JI and other militant networks through traditional
investigative work and raids.
"Our strategy had been developed due to a series of major
attacks, so the strategy was 'fire brigade' – how to reveal (the
network) very quickly," Karnavian said. "But having analysed
that, it was not enough. The more we uncovered the network, we
were surprised at its extent."
Two Malaysians, Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top, were
allegedly key masterminds of JI attacks, but experts now believe
they subsequently split off to form a more hardline group.
Azahari died in an Indonesian police raid in 2005 and Noordin
remains on the run.
Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political
Violence and Terrorism Research at Singapore's Nanyang
Technological University, told the conference that Indonesia
needed an ideological victory over hardline Muslims.
"Unless we target their ideology and we counter the false belief
system that has been generated... we will always face the threat
of terrorism," he said. The Indonesian police gradually shifted
their approach over the past two years, Karnavian said.
He said armed militants in Sulawesi island's religiously divided
district of Poso, and on Ambon island, are now dealt with by
directly addressing the "root causes" of the problem – religious
conflict, poverty and lack of education.
But police have taken a different approach to JI because of its
international links. One tactic is to convince moderate Muslims
to denounce the militants and counter extremist ideology through
education.
"We go to the Islamic boarding schools. The government is working
with the organisation of Islamic scholars to discuss issues,"
Karnavian said.
Militants are identified through their rank in the organisation's
hierarchy, which is based on knowledge of Islam, the extent of
their training in camps in the southern Philippines or
Afghanistan, and the year they "graduated".
Senior militants are usually harder to reform than junior
members. If a junior is arrested, reformed senior operatives are
sent to "neutralise" their ideology, as with the suspects in the
second Bali bombings, he said.
Of the 300 JI members arrested, Karnavian said 50 of them are
senior and of those, about 10 to 20 of them have been
successfully won over to moderate Islam and are helping the
government. "We can use them," he said. "They respect seniority
very much."
Winning over arrested militants does not exculpate them from
their act, he stressed, adding that those found guilty in
connection with the 2005 Bali attacks have been jailed.
Instead, it helps reassure the government that they will not
influence fellow prisoners or other people when they finish
serving their term, he said.
Jakarta Post - March 30, 2007
Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO)
said it has made significant progress in its attempt to build an
overseas corruption case against the youngest son of former
president Soeharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.
Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh said the AGO had gained
access to the names of companies affiliated with Motorbike, an
overseas company belonging to Tommy.
The AGO has been working on a case to prove that US$10 million of
Tommy's money previously held in a London account of Bank
Nationale de Paris (BNP) Paribas, which was returned back to him
via a Justice and Human Rights Ministry account, was the proceeds
of corruption.
Despite bank allegations the money was dirty, the US$10 million
held in the BNP Paribas account was delivered to the justice
ministry, which then transferred the money to Motorbike.
Abdul Rahman said Thursday his office had received an analytical
report from the Financial Transaction and Report Analysis Center
(PPATK) revealing the names of companies linked to Motorbike. He
said the new information boosted the AGO's case that the US$10
million was the result of graft.
"We have the names of those companies affiliated (with
Motorbike). They belong to the same group," he told reporters
here.
However, Abdul Rahman declined to reveal the names of the
companies, saying they would be inserted as evidence at an April
26, 2007 hearing of another corruption case against Tommy, which
is being tried at a British Royal Court in Guernsey, a British
crown dependency off the northern French coast.
The second case centers on a lawsuit by Garnet Investment Ltd.,
another overseas-based company belonging to Tommy, over the BNP
Paribas Guernsey branch's refusal to release 36 million euros of
Tommy's money. The bank alleges the money was laundered.
"The PPATK's report is confidential... I cannot uncover it for
you," Abdul Rahman said. The attorney general also refused to say
if there was a connection between Motorbike and Garnet. "I cannot
say such a thing... I may be charged with violating the law," he
said.
The BNP Paribas London case has also implicated current State
Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who was the justice minister when
the transfer occurred, and the incumbent justice minister Hamid
Awaluddin.
Yusril had said he knew about the transfer of the money, but
denied he authorized it. The money was transferred when Hamid was
already the justice minister, Yusril said.
Chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) Anwar Nasution said
Thursday that both Yusril and Hamid should be held responsible
for allowing the transfer of the $10 million of Tommy's money to
the justice ministry's account.
"Ethically, morally and legally, the transfer of a company's
money to an account of a government institution is wrong," Anwar
said.
Aceh
West Papua
March 29 attack on Papernas
Human rights/law
Politics/political parties
Government/civil service
Regional/communal conflicts
Environment
Transport & communication
Economy & investment
Opinion & analysis
News & issues
Indonesia shifts battle against extremists
AGO claims new links in Tommy graft case
Protesters slam reconstruction, rehabilitation work in Nias
Jakarta Post - March 29, 2007
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Nias students protested Wednesday outside the North Sumatra Legislative Council in Medan over the pace of reconstruction on the earthquake-devastated island.
Members of the Nias Students Alliance criticized the provincial government for failing to draw up a reconstruction blueprint for Nias two years after the island was struck by a massive quake.
Protest coordinator Darnis Harita said the government was not serious about rebuilding Nias, pointing to the lack of an official reconstruction plan as proof.
He said reconstruction on the island would only be complicated by the lack of a blueprint, and claimed that numerous villages on Nias had yet to see any reconstruction activity.
"We estimate that around 50 percent of villages affected by the earthquake in Nias have not been rebuilt," Harita told The Jakarta Post.
Harita, who comes from Teluk Dalam district in South Nias regency, said many quake survivors were still living in makeshift shelters.
"Thousands of refugees are still holed up in tents because they have not been provided with houses. They have lived the last two years without being certain of their fate," said Harita, adding that some 200 Nias quake survivors were still taking shelter in Medan.
The earthquake that hit Nias on March 28, 2005, killed hundreds and forced around 70,000 people from their homes. Total losses on the island were estimated at around Rp 4 trillion (about US$450 million).
Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) spokesman Emanuel Migo acknowledged Wednesday that some Nias quake survivors were still living in tents and temporary barracks.
He said the agency had built 6,332 permanent houses as of February this year, of the total 15,000 houses it hopes to complete by 2009.
He said that in addition to the BRR, a number of non-governmental organizations also were building houses for survivors.
"We have also received pledges from various agencies, including from the World Bank for 5,000 houses and the Canadian Red Cross for 2,500 houses. So we hope the problems will be overcome this year," said Migo.
Asked about a draft for reconstruction on Nias, Migo said the central government, through National Development Planning Board chairman Paskah Suzetta, had promised to complete a blueprint in two months at the latest.
"The Bappenas chairman conveyed this promise in Jakarta recently. We hope the blueprint can be completed on time," he said.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is also working to improve the lives of children and their families affected by the disaster.
It has built 41 semi-permanent schools for 9,000 elementary school students. More than 140,000 elementary school students have received school materials, such as books, paper and pencils.
However, two years after the earthquake, much of the island's infrastructure is still damaged, and the lack of accessibility and low capacity of local contractors continue to slow the reconstruction process.
"We have only started our work," head of the UNICEF Nias sub- office, Raoul de Torcy, said in a statement. "This is our chance to make the lives of the people better than they used to be even before the earthquake. UNICEF has a long-term commitment to the people of Nias, and we will not leave before our work is accomplished."
Jakarta Post - March 29, 2007
Jakarta – The vast majority of businesses in Indonesia are not prepared to hire disabled people, despite the 1997 law that obliges companies to allocate at least 1 percent of their positions to the disabled, an employment expert said.
"Judging from our previous experiences, 95 percent of the companies throughout Indonesia are not prepared to hire disabled people," managing director of PT Jobs DB Indonesia, Eddy S. Tjahja, told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of his company's exhibition in West Jakarta on Wednesday.
According to data from the Indonesian Disabled People's Association (PPCI), in 2006 less than 1 percent of the 22 million disabled people living in Indonesia are employed. The 1997 Law on Handicapped People states that a company must allocate at least 1 percent of its jobs to people with disabilities. If it fails to do this it risks facing substantial fines. The law, however, has not been enforced.
As an organizer of exhibitions with jobs and careers as their focus, Jobs DB Indonesia acknowledged that any plans for organizing events targeting disabled people would depend on employers' demands.
"If the employers are supportive enough, then we can organize it. If they are not, there's no point. We are only a facilitator, you see," Eddy said. He added that facilities in most buildings in Jakarta and Indonesia in general were not disabled-friendly.
Jobs DB expects to welcome some 20,000 visitors to its two events this year. "Previously, we could hold job fairs up to four times a year, with almost 80,000 visitors in total," he said.
In the last two years, however, Jobs DB Indonesia has altered the focus of its exhibitions. Its measure of success is now the number of people who find employment at their events, referred to as job transactions, rather than simply the number of visitors.
"We are looking for 1,000 to 2,000 job transactions from this two-day expo, which will last through to March 29," said Eddy, adding that the transactions would be worth around Rp 65 billion (US$7.1 million).
Last year, Jobs DB Indonesia pocketed Rp 50 billion from each event after some 1,000 successful job transactions.
"We facilitated more than 35,000 job seekers last year. Overall, we currently manage about 800,000 job seekers' profiles and more than 12,000 company profiles throughout Indonesia," he said.
Around 300,000 job seekers visit the Jobs DB Indonesia website each day.
Among the 32 exhibitors at the current fair are Nestle, PT Berlian Laju Tanker, PT Nissan Motor Indonesia, PT Goodyear Indonesia, Bank Danamon, PT Bank International Indonesia, PT BNI Life Insurance, PT Panin Life, PT AIG Life, PT Cakrawala Andalas TV (ANTV) and PT Danapati Abinaya Investama (JAKTV).
There are more than 25,000 medium- to large-scale companies in Indonesia.
Jakarta Post - March 25, 2007
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Top Indonesian economist and former architect of New Order economic development Widjojo Nitisastro wrote his prescient book Population Trends in Indonesia in the late 1960s, but he had to wait almost 30 years for it to be published and distributed on Indonesian soil.
He has also had to wait three decades for his book to be launched officially on the Indonesian market, because when it first came out, no ceremony was held by New York-based Cornell University Press (CUP), publisher of the original title.
In a low-key celebration, Population (which successfully predicted the population boom in the country), along with seven other classic books on Indonesia originally published by CUP and long out of print, were launched by Equinox Publishing last Wednesday.
The Jakarta-based publishing house has secured the rights to reprint and distribute the English version of the books.
Students of Indonesian politics and history will now be able to get a firm hold of pristine copies instead of yellowing or photocopied versions of the classics, which have been gathering dust in university libraries throughout the country.
The other seven volumes in the Classic Indonesian Series are Benedict Anderson's Java In A Time of Revolution and Language and Power, Soedjatmoko's Introduction to Indonesian Historiography, Herbert Feith's The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia, Krishna Sen and David T. Hill's Media, Culture and Politics in Indonesia, Ruth McVey's The Rise of Indonesian Communism and Rex Mortimer's Indonesian Communism Under Soekarno.
The last two titles on Indonesian communism would likely have remained in Equinox's warehouse, pending clearance from the authority that bans books on communism, had it not been for the go-ahead given by Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh.
He put in a surprising appearance at the launch at the Kemang, South Jakarta, branch of Aksara bookstore.
"We never banned these books, and if we did ban some history books it was because they didn't give a full enough account of the role of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) as mastermind of the Sept. 30, 1965, coup," said the Attorney General.
His brief speech delighted Equinox publisher Mark Hanusz, who had long been trying to secure clearance for the two books for the Indonesian market, but to no avail.
Abdul Rahman said he had not personally given an order to ban the two books. However, given the bureaucratic maze that exists within government offices, people might draw their own conclusions.
Use of new print technology
The two books experienced a long journey before their official launch. Proof copies of the two are still held by the customs office, which argued that they could only enter the country if there was a green light from the Attorney General's Office (AGO).
The Jakarta Post reported last year how problematical it was to obtain the book, which shed light on how touchy the authorities may still be in relation to influential literature deemed "sensitive".
An attitude from a bygone regime still seemed to be deeply ingrained in government officials. "We banned the books because they carried the word "communism" in their titles," an AGO official told the Post recently.
Ironically, it was the arduous process of shipping the books from the United States to Indonesia that inspired Equinox to publish the classic books here.
"Because of the situation I was forced to find a local solution. So when the book was 'banned' it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me," Hanusz told the Post.
In collaboration with a local printing company, Equinox found a solution in the form of cutting-edge technology that made it possible to print books on demand.
So, rather than printing hundreds of copies that might have ended up in warehouses, Equinox took orders first from bookstores and then decided to print accordingly, with the same quality produced by offset printing technology. "This print-on-demand technology will revolutionize publishing. This is the way of the future," Hanusz said.
The new technology has also helped Equinox do some healthy business given the lack of information about the market for the scholarly books.
Publishing the books is a bit of a risky endeavor. "There exists a strategic decision from CUP management not to publish these books, because they are not selling very well," he said.
Profitable or otherwise, Equinox has secured the rights to print a total of 20 Indonesian-themed titles from the CUP back catalog.
Hopefully, the books will hit the shelves in the near future; given the government's penchant for banning books on critical moments in the nation's history, one hopes no new bans will be slapped on this time.
| Aceh |
New York Times - March 27, 2007
Seth Mydans, Bireuen – The little green car accelerated around a mountain curve and flashed through a village here in Aceh Province, scattering chickens, children, dust and pebbles. It swerved past potholes, skidding precisely to the edge of the road before speeding ahead.
At the wheel was Irwandi Yusuf, the new governor of Aceh, and he was racing into the hills to catch illegal loggers by surprise. "I have to do it myself," he said, his foot on the accelerator. "I couldn't rely on law enforcement. I don't know who I can trust."
Irwandi, 47, is a one-man political science experiment, a separatist rebel who has, quite unexpectedly, become the leader of the government he until recently fought against.
Under a peace agreement signed in 2005, Irwandi renounced his separatist agenda, ran for governor last December and won, taking almost 40 percent of the vote in a field of eight. The second- place finisher was also a member of the former separatist movement, bringing its total to more than 50 percent of the votes cast.
Irwandi took office at the start of February and is now guarded by the army that once hunted him in the jungle. He works with a police force that was known for its brutal treatment of his comrades. He travels to Jakarta to talk policy with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, himself a former general.
He has no alternative but to leave the past behind, he said. Most of the people he works with are his former enemies.
Military intelligence still watches him, he said, as it did in the past, and he expects hard-line opponents to try to complicate his job with political manipulation. But the agreement that ended Aceh's 30-year separatist war is holding – after the death of 15,000 people – and both sides seem to have embraced nonviolence.
Irwandi has inherited a wounded province of four million people here on the northern tip of Sumatra island. The traumas of its long, brutal conflict have been compounded by the devastation of the Asian tsunami that took 170,000 lives in Aceh in December 2004.
Along with economic revival, he must deal with the reintegration of former rebel fighters, delicate relations with Jakarta, Muslim clerics with a hard-line agenda and a local administration that is known for corruption and ineffectiveness.
In a doubly unusual move for a new governor who is also a former rebel, he has decided to keep the old administration in place, cabinet ministers and all.
"I tell them, 'I believe, I trust you all,'" he said. "'You are all trustworthy until you prove otherwise. Then I will know.'" If they are up to it, he said, they are welcome to "rock and roll" with him. "Rock and roll," he said. "That means to do something new, rocky, that was never felt before. It is spirit. Spirited people. Young blood. Young spirit."
As he raced through the mountains, Irwandi talked, one after another, into three mobile telephones, dodging trucks and bicycles with one hand on the wheel. From the back seat, an aide handed him a Korean energy drink. He tipped his head back twice and drained the bottle, then pulled a ginseng root out with his teeth. "I'm not afraid of anything," he said, speaking of his adversaries but driving straight into oncoming traffic.
Illegal logging, a major enterprise in Aceh, illustrates the problems he faces, and the way he means to take them on. "They have Jakarta connections, and they've got backing from the police and the military and also civil servants," he said. "I entered into a system with all the network there. I have no network."
He does have assistants and a security detail, drawn mostly from among his former comrades in arms. As he careered through the mountains in his Toyota RAV4, he was chased by three unmarked vans carrying what he said was his personal security team.
"This is a pilot project," he said of the logging raid. "Scare the hell out of them. I want to show them, 'Don't play games with me.' All the government people, when they see I do what I say, they won't have courage to play games anymore."
When he reached the sawmills, rocketing up a rutted forest road, the overseers were gone, apparently forewarned of his raid. It seems the bad guys may still have better intelligence than their new governor.
But Irwandi insisted he had made his point. He used a tiny camera to take pictures of fresh-cut logs and heavy equipment that he said would be used as evidence when he made his move.
"I know I can't do it all," he said. But he seems to be trying. At one point in his drive, something caught his eye and he performed a sudden U-turn into the courtyard of a school, where girls with Muslim head scarves walked with their books.
"Why are they out of class so early?" he asked, and was told that, on Saturday, school ends at 11 a.m. He made a second U-turn and drove on.
Irwandi said he had felt at home in his new job from the beginning. "For me it was just like a natural transition, like I was pushed here little by little to this position," he said, from the jungle to peace negotiations to governor. "The jobs are about the same, dealing with people."
By training, he is a veterinarian, with a degree from a local university where he later taught. He married a student there and they now have five children, aged 4 to 16.
He joined the insurgency, the Free Aceh Movement, known as GAM, in 1990, but took a break three years later to study for a master's degree in veterinary science on a scholarship to Oregon State University.
Back in Aceh he joined GAM's central command, where he served as chief spokesman and propagandist and helped restructure its military. In 2003, Irwandi was arrested and sentenced to nine years in prison for rebellion. He was there behind bars, 19 months later, when the tsunami struck.
"There was a big earthquake," he said, recalling the terror of the trapped prisoners, "and then we heard a roaring noise outside the high wall.
Everybody tried to escape out the front door, but it was locked." Irwandi climbed to the second floor. The walls around him were collapsing. "I didn't know what to do," he said.
He climbed an iron bar to the ceiling, punched through a layer of asbestos and clambered onto the roof, where he rode out the waves. He was one of just 40 survivors from a prison population of 278.
The trauma of the tsunami led the two weary armies to reach a peace agreement, signed in August 2005. Irwandi became GAM's liaison with the international peacekeeping mission that, among other things, prepared the way for the election he won.
As governor, he works hard to stay ordinary, shunning an official mansion for a small rented house, where he receives a stream of visitors and petitioners.
On the day after his raid on the loggers, Irwandi attended the inauguration of a soybean plantation here at Bireuen, where he was born, 140 kilometers, or about 90 miles, southeast of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.
He was the only dignitary to arrive on time. He sat patiently, cross-legged on a plastic mat, as one local official after another arrived, with polished shoes, in convoys of polished black cars.
"He's normal, he's normal," said Yusuf Saidi, a farmer standing nearby, searching for words to explain his admiration for the governor. "He talks just like anybody else," he said. "People like him because he's just like a common person. He doesn't need any protocol. He drives his own car."
Jakarta Post - March 29, 2007
Jakarta – Acehnese cultural experts are calling for the revival of traditional and religious culture in Aceh, saying that local customs were strong prior to their erosion by the region's long history of conflict.
The experts, speaking at a national seminar on rebuilding Aceh at the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel on Wednesday, said the traditional and religious cultures of the Acehnese people had proven to be effective in solving conflict and mediating other social issues.
"All of these good customs and habits, especially traditions concerning the resolution of conflict and retaining harmony within local communities, have been marginalized, especially since the enforcement of the 1979 law on local administration," they said.
Badruzzaman Ismail, the chief of the Indigenous Council of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, said Aceh had the cultural and religious base necessary to facilitate the development of democracy and harmony there.
He highlighted two institutions that were highly-functional in the past: the gampong and mukim. These were small community units led by a keuchik and an Imeum mukim. The gampong was based in a center called the Meunasah, or small-sized mosque, while a mukim was based in a larger mosque.
Decisions made by a keuchik were approved by a group of four councilors called the tuha peut, which included a religious representative, a traditional representative, an intellectual and a local government official.
Ismail, who also lectures on customary law, said a keuchik held executive, legislative and judicial functions simultaneously, but that there was little opportunity for authoritarianism because decisions were made in public and required the approval of the tuha peut council.
"These structures functioned to maintain social harmony, especially in solving conflict. In this system, all decisions will likely be executed because they are made with the public's knowledge," he said.
Ismail added that during past conflicts, development projects rarely gained full participation from the Acehnese people because the local governmental system had been imposed from above.
"Leave the people be and let them plan and decide and we will see how effective they are in carrying out development projects," he said.
Ismail said the period of the peace agreement was the right time to revive Aceh's traditional and religious institutions.
Rosmawardani Muhammad, a Sharia Court judge, also recognizes the importance of the revival of these institutions in protecting women and children from discrimination.
"During the conflict there was no protection at all for women and children. There must be some kind of law center where people can come and complain or disclose their problems," she said.
Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman Abbas, the chairman of the Rahmania Foundation, which facilitated the seminar, said there is no need to be skeptical of sharia law.
The seminar will continue Thursday with a workshop aimed at elaborating on the strengths and weaknesses of Acehnese culture and religion.
Tempo Interactive - March 26, 2007
Jakarta, Sandy Indra Pratama – Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf has said that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) will set up a local party. However, according to Irwandi, GAM has not yet decided either the name or the form of the party.
"The local party to be set up by GAM only awaits the declaration," he said on Friday 23/3) when visiting the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) office, Jakarta.
According to Irwandi, despite the government having issued a government regulation on setting up local parties in Aceh, so far there has not been any party that has registered as a local party in Aceh. "None," he said.
On Tuesday (20/3), State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra told reporters that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on March 16 issued Government Regulation No. 20/2007 on Local Political Parties in Aceh.
The provision for setting up local political parties is retroactive to February 15.
The Government Regulation, said Yusril, regulates the requirements, registration, disbanding and coalition of local political parties in Aceh. "The provisions are the same as for national parties, but only valid in Aceh," he said.
What is special about the regulation is that local party members are allowed to concurrently hold posts as national political party members.
This dual membership is used when the respective persons run for election as House of Representatives members. The dual membership must be approved by the local party's leaders.
Local political parties are also eligible to affiliate with other local political parties or national political parties as regards pairing candidates for governor and deputy governor, regent and deputy regent as also mayor and deputy mayor.
Irwandi did not dispute that later there will be a lot of local parties set up as a consequence of democracy. "The ideal number of parties would be three or four," he said.
Jakarta Post - March 26, 2007
Blessed with abundant resources, Aceh is now struggle to put almost three decades of armed conflict and the devastating tsunami behind it. It is taking bold steps into the future under the watchful eyes of the international community, with the province's first democratically-elected governor, Irwandi Yusuf, leading the way. The former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) member, who has been in his post since Feb. 8, spoke with The Jakarta Post's Stevie Emilia about his plans to develop the province, which was given greater autonomy under the 2006 Aceh Governance Law.
Question: What top-priority programs do you have in mind for Aceh?
Answer: My top-priority programs involve fighting corruption and reorganizing the administration's management system, including its leadership, to ensure clean, good governance. Then, I also plan to develop the economy at the grassroots level. Right now, most people in Aceh are at the grassroots level, they are the lowest class in the community, the one that is neglected and probably not included in development maps.
In the early phases of this program, I want to launch a labor- intensive program to provide as much work to as many people as possible and cut down unemployment levels. Many poor people do not have land and I want to include them in land reform programs.
If these programs are not successful I'll repeat the process and improve them, then we will move to a capital-based economy, say within the next two or three years. But this does not mean that if there is an offer for capital-based investment we'll say no. It means only that we're not after it at this moment. So if there are investors who want to work in Aceh, we will prioritize those that provide many job opportunities.
Why have you chosen these programs?
Aceh's unemployment rate is very high and I plan to lower it by 40 percent. The poverty rate is also very high in Aceh, at 49.7 percent of our 4.2 million people, and that is if we use the standard of earning US$1 a day. If we raise the standard to $2 a day, then the poverty rate would be 70 percent.
After developing a grassroots and capital-based economy, what is next?
After developing a grassroots, capital-based economy, say after five years, Aceh will aim for a scientific-based economy, but that's later. Within these five years, we will prioritize the two, grassroots and capital-based economy.
We will also pay attention to improving education. Nationwide, the government implements nine-year compulsory education. In Aceh, we will start 12-year compulsory education in 2008.
What is really happening at the grassroots level?
The problem faced by people at the grassroots level now is, first, that they have no access to capital. In reality, they do not need much money. They only need around Rp 5 million (US$543) to Rp 10 million each. But they still have no access.
Second, they have no access to the market, apart from local and traditional markets. They do not have access to international markets. Until now, if Acehnese people want to export products, they have to do it through Medan, North Sumatra, not directly through Aceh. The prices of products that belong to Acehnese are determined by big bosses in Medan, while the Acehnese are left unaware of the true price of their products.
When we manage to open up this isolation by providing direct access to international markets, without having to go through Medan, it will help cut down links in the distribution chain, the middleman. By doing this, we hope Acehnese products can be sold at a fair price.
In this case, I want to open up a direct, international shipping line, at least between Aceh and Malaysia. For this, we will improve our airport and port, but the thing is, we don't have ships.
What are your reasons behind creating a grassroots economy?
The correct way to develop the economy is to empower the people's economy, by improving their purchasing power. Currently, with ongoing post-tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction works, it seems as though Aceh's economy is stunning. A substantial amount of money reaches Aceh through the BRR (the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency). But that's only on the surface. The money comes and then goes and is spent on the salaries of foreign experts and the rest. In Aceh, there's actually no money. It's like a big bubble, when it explodes, nothing is left.
Do you think the Acehnese people realize this situation?
Many people living in houses built for tsunami survivors are currently unemployed. Now, they probably get help, so there is no problem. But when the non-governmental organizations (NGO) leave and the BRR finishes its job, the situation will change. When this happens there will be drastic economic changes. If we do nothing to anticipate the matter from now on, Aceh might collapse.
What should be done then? What are the challenges for these programs?
The problem is there is no money. There is money, but not much. The province's budget this year is Rp 4 trillion and it will receive some Rp 6 trillion in special autonomy funds from the central government.
I want to use international support. I mean, currently, the many NGOs and UN bodies focus their works on tsunami relief. I want to divert the assistance little by little to also cover areas outside the tsunami-devastated areas, such as in post-conflict areas. Aceh's political stability depends on conflict-torn areas. If the people there are complaining or suffering from a "toothache", then it's dangerous (to overall stability in Aceh).
How do you picture Aceh, say within five years' time?
Aceh will be better and much more developed and there will already be middle-class people, although not high in numbers. But the most important thing is, I never say that I will make Acehnese people rich. I just wish poor Acehnese become less poor. I never say that I will take Acehnese to heaven, I just want to take some of them out of hell.
Jakarta Post - March 24, 2007
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Nanggroe Aceh Darussalem administration and the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) announced their partnership Friday in an all-out battle against corruption in the resource-rich province.
Based on the agreement, Governor Irwandi Yusuf conveyed his commitment to creating clean and good governance in Aceh, while calling on the public to monitor the administration.
Irwandi said he would empower the current supervisory system to ensure the province's budget and special autonomy funds were used for the benefit of the Acehnese people.
"No changes will be made to the existing system, but it must be empowered to prevent any financial leakages and to take action against corrupt officials, whom I will never give any protection to," the governor said after a meeting with ICW here.
He stressed the importance of creating a model of clean and efficient governance to facilitate a better administrative system. The alleviation of poverty is also top of the administration's agenda, following decades of political instability and the devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed some 210,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands in 2004.
The provincial budget for this fiscal year is Rp 4 trillion (US$438 million), with some Rp 6 trillion more to be delivered in special autonomy funds through the central government. Irwandi said he was determined to ensure the close supervision of the budget's allocation.
"The budget must be allocated in accordance with the list of priorities that have been set by the provincial administration and the provincial legislature. The funds must be spent transparently," he said, adding that rural economic development, education and health would be prioritized this fiscal year.
Irwandi, a former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel, won the province's gubernatorial election last December. The election was held as part of the Aug. 15, 2005, peace agreement signed by Indonesia and GAM in Helsinki, which was aimed at building a democratic government in the province.
The governor is now in need of further political support from civil society to gain the trust of not only the central government, but also the Acehnese people.
Teten Masduki, coordinator of ICW, said the corruption watchdog would work toward building a strong network with civil society and the many international NGOs working in Aceh.
"Besides ensuring transparency in the (provincial) administration, civil society should fully participate in monitoring all development activities in the province to ensure the administration gives better services to the people and improves their social welfare," he said.
All of Aceh's sectors are prone to corruption, Teten said, adding that ICW would pay particular attention to the procurement of the goods and services the province plans to acquire over the next five years.
"We are glad to cooperate with the Aceh governor, who has pledged not to protect corrupt officials. We are committed to winning the war against corruption," he said.
Meanwhile, Irwandi said he had issued a "tight" policy on the exploration of non-renewable natural resources to ensure their availability for coming Acehnese generations.
"For the time being, we will not issue new concessions to explore the remaining oil and gas deposits. We will be quite selective in giving new concessions in the forestry sector in the future," he said.
| West Papua |
The Australian - March 27, 2007
Cath Hart – A foreign policy expert has warned the Government that relations with Indonesia would be damaged if Australia ratified the Lombok Treaty without clarifying Jakarta's expectations.
Hugh White, from the Australian National University, said the treaty could raise expectations in Jakarta that the Government would take action against Australians who supported Papuan separatism.
The treaty, which is yet to be ratified, includes a clause that says Australia and Indonesia will not support activities that threaten the stability, sovereignty or territorial integrity of either party. In a clear reference to the activities of Papuan independence campaigners in Australia, article 2.3 commits the parties to not supporting activities that encourage "separatism in the territory of the other party".
Professor White said that could mean Australia must prohibit statements in support of Papua. "Taking on commitments to regulate the views of Australian citizens and others in Australia seems to me to go well beyond Australia's laws and Australia's political culture," he said. "If it wasn't for article 2.3, I would regard this as an acceptable if somewhat anodyne piece of diplomacy."
The former director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said the treaty was "bound to disappoint" and would be "bad for the bilateral relationship" because article 2.3 created obligations that neither party could meet.
The treaty, which Australia and Indonesia announced in November, marked an improvement in relations following the diplomatic stoush that erupted after Australia gave protection to 43 Papuans.
A report from the University of Sydney's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, to be launched today, warns that the treaty would make Australia a "de facto military ally with Indonesia in its undeclared war" against Papua.
"This treaty will strengthen the TNI (Indonesia's armed forces) and entrench the culture of impunity that has brought misery to so many people," the report says. "This treaty will give Indonesian generals the right to determine what Australians can do and say."
Cendrawasih Pos - March 27, 2007
Jayapura – After announcing the creation of Partai Kebangkitan Rakyat Papua (Papuan People's Awakening Party) on 8 March 2007 as a local political party, steps are being taken to complete the draft of a constitution and articles of association, to be used until the party holds its first congress.
Chair of the Initiation Team of the PKRP, Yusak Andoto, S. Soc, said steps have already been taken to popularise and lobby for the new party.
This includes the drafting of a notary act, the registration of the party with the local administration (Kesbang Papua), a statement to the provincial government (executive and legislature), to the MRP, Papuan People's Assembly,and to the central government about the decision to set up the party. The next steps are to appoint executive bodies from the regional down to the village levels, to be completed within the next three months, followed by holding a party congress.
'If the regional government fails to take the necessary steps to facilitate the formation of this local party,' said the chair of the initiation committee Yusak Andoto, we shall raise the matter with the central government.
Andanto was accompanied by the secretary of the Initiating Team, Yahya Modouw. He said that after all these stages had been completed, it was hoped that the party would be recognised and welcomed by the people of Papua as a political vehicle for the Papuan people to fight for the basic rights of the Papuan people which until now have been ignored.
'We intend to ensure that the BKRP will participate in the 2009 general elections and that it will be successful. As things stand at present, eleven seats are allocated to Papua, but they are all occupied by national political parties because there are no local parties.And moreover, this is guaranteed under Article 28 of Law 21/2001
He also expressed the hope that the government, in particular the DPRP will be willing to co-operate in speedily drawing up a government regulation on political parties.
| March 29 attack on Papernas |
Kompas - April 2, 2007
Jakarta – The head of the National Liberation Party of Unity's (Papernas) political affairs department, Dominggus Oktavianus, says that they will suit the mass organisations that perpetrated the attack on a peaceful action by Papernas on Thursday last week. Dominggus said that Papernas has already appointed a team of lawyers who are planning to submit the suit on Tuesday March 3.
Speaking in Jakarta on March 1, he also said that they would be submitting a suit over the vilification of the party's name by these groups. According to Dominggus the accusation that Papernas has a communist ideology is a lethal political stigma. In the past this kind of stigmatisation was an effective means used by those in power to silence is critics in Indonesia. Now of course this stigmatisation contradicts the concept of democracy that is currently developing and growing in Indonesia.
Dominggus also said he deplores the police's failure to act firmly against these groups. Because of this, they also want to know who is behind them. "Because, those on the ground don't actually know where their problems lie. They act based only on prejudices and slander that then culminates in political action," he said.
The general secretary of the Poor People's Union (SRMK), Marlo, said that as protector of the people the government or the state must fully investigate the attack against Papernas and must take a firm stand against social groups that frequently take the law into their own hands. The violent and destructive actions by social groups such as this not only denigrates the law but is also a violation of democracy. (JOS)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Jakarta Post - March 30, 2007
Prodita Sabarini, Jakarta – Members of a new leftist party on their way to a demonstration were set upon by hundreds of members of radical Islamic groups on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, on Thursday.
Members of the United National Liberation Party (Papernas), were traveling to the Shangri-la Hotel, where they planned to protest against the government's lack of action on the Millennium Development Goals.
But at around midday, hundreds of men from the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) stopped the buses and began to throw rocks at them, accusing the party of supporting communism. Papernas estimated that at least five party members were injured and 17 buses were damaged.
The protesters, mostly women with their children, were on their way to the Shangri-la Hotel, just off Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, where President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was scheduled to attend a Regional High Level Consultation on UN System Wide Conference. The conference was moved to the presidential palace, at the last minute.
The attackers threw rocks for about 10 minutes at the Papernas members, who were supported by passers-by and ojek drivers. City police arrested an FPI member, Muhammad Rofik, at the scene and detained him for questioning.
The groups, lead by the FPI, had gathered in the morning at Tugu Proklamasi in Central Jakarta. FPI secretary Irwan said they were holding an Indonesian Anti-Communist Society Joint Movement Against Papernas. The movement includes 15 organizations, including the FBR, Taruna Muslim and Red and White Defenders. "We will continue to fight the emergence of any organizations or parties heralding communism in any way," he was quoted by Antara as saying.
Dita Indah Sari, a member of Papernas' advisory council, said the party was not communist-ornamented. Dita, a prominent labor activist, added that people tended to associate Papernas with communism because its three main targets were wiping out the country's foreign debt, the nationalization of mining companies and strengthening the economy through domestic industry.
"People stigmatize us with communism, but we are not (a communist party) from whatever aspect people see us. I challenge anyone to prove that we are communist," Dita said, adding that the party's ideology was based on social democracy. She added that Papernas would bring the attack to the Jakarta Police to ask for an investigation.
The party's committee will also meet with several Islamic leaders, including Din Syamsuddin of Muhammadiyah, Hasyim Muzadi of Nahdlatul Ulama and Abu Bakar Ba'asyir to ask for information on the attack. "We want to know their viewpoints because the FPI always says that it's representing Islam," said Dita.
Due to the incident, dozens of buses stopped running, causing traffic on Jl. Sudirman heading to the Hotel Indonesia roundabout to become heavily congested.
Media Indonesia - March 29, 2007
Wisnu, Jakarta – Around 2,000 people from various mass organisations from East Java, West Java and the Greater Jakarta area gathered at the Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta on Thursday March 29 to prevent the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) from holding a declaration there later in the day. The groups accused Papernas of being a new manifestation of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
The groups from East Java consisted of some 60 people from the Islamic Youth Front (FPI), the Forum for Unity among Muslim Communities (FUI) and the Red-White Forum (FMP). The West Java groups comprised around 100 members of the Anti-Communist Front (Permak) and the Community Forum for Sons and Daughters of the Armed Forces (FKPPI). The remainder meanwhile came from the Greater Jakarta area and were made up of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR), the Indonesian Movement of National Patriots (GNPI) and the Community of Sons and Daughters of the Police (KBP3).
FBR general chairperson KH Fadloli El Munhir said that the action was held to prevent the Papernas declaration that is scheduled to be held at 11am today at the monument. According to Munhir, the new political party is tangible evidence that the communist movement has started to revive in Indonesia. "This party is based upon the Three Banners(1), the same principles as the PKI", he asserted.
Munhir argues that if the Papernas declaration goes ahead it means that the government is allowing communist ideology to grow and develop in Indonesia. Moreover he continued, this communist party has consistently spread hostility against the New Order regime of former President Suharto, the army and has been campaigning to bring down Pancasila as the state ideology. "Because of this, we will use any means to thwart the revival of communism in Indonesia. Even if it requires violence", asserted Munhir.
Initially the action proceeded in a peaceful and orderly manner guarded over by personnel from the Metro Jaya police. At around 11.30am however, around 200 people from one of the FPI groups separated and moved off towards Jl. Sudirman. "They are conducting a sweep for Papernas members", Central Jakarta District Police Deputy Chief Henri Wibowo said at the Proclamation Monument.
Wibowo said that many as 1,500 Papernas members are planning to gather in front of the Department of Education on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta. He went on to explain that the people conducting the sweep ran into the Papernas members and a clash broke out. "But it took place in Dukuh Atas, Setiabudi, in the area covered by the South Jakarta district police", he added.
Wibowo went on to say that the Central Jakarta police had deployed 500 officers to maintain security. According to Media Indonesia's observations, aside from uniformed police officers, three were at least 30 intelligence officers in the vicinity of the monument and two units of fully armed anti-riot police.
Based on field reports the group conducting the sweep at Jl. Sudirman succeeded in stopping 16 Metro Mini busses being used by Papernas. In the ensuing clash, five of the busses were severely damaged.
At around 1.30pm most of those gathered at the monument were pulled out because according to Munhir they had received a guarantee from the head of the Central Jakarta district police that the Papernas declaration had been canceled. "Our struggle has succeeded, I appeal to our members to return to their respective areas and not be provoked so that another clash occurs", he instructed before leaving the monument.
The chairperson of GNPI's central leadership board, Alfian Tanjung asserted that their members will continued to be ready at any moment to return to the Proclamation Monument if Papernas goes ahead and holds a declaration. "The thing is, the demonstrators from Papernas are going to the offices of the Nahdlatul Ulama's Central Board to meet with Gus Dur [former President Abdurrahman Wahid] to obtain support so that they can declare the party today", he said.
Notes:
1. Papernas' Three Banners of National Unity are abolishing the foreign debt, nationalising the mining industry and building the national industry for the welfare of the people.
[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski.]
Media Indonesia - March 29, 2007
Bagus BT. Saragih, Jakarta – Members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) clashed with demonstrators from the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) in the Dukuh Atas area on Jl. Sudirman in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta on Thursday March 29.
Scores of people suffered minor injuries and one person was seriously hurt in the clash. Police meanwhile have detained five people suspected of being provocateurs. One of those seriously injured was Ahmad Sobari from the FPI who suffered cuts to their neck after being hit by glass. He is now being treated at the Tarakan Public Hospital in Central Jakarta.
As of late this afternoon, four people had been detained by the Tanah Abang sectoral police and one other, FPI militia member Mohamad Rofik was detained by the Central Jakarta district police.
The clash itself took place at around 10.30am when a convoy of Papernas demonstrators heading towards the Proclamation Monument encountered a group of FPI and FBR members in Dukuh Atas.
According to one eyewitness, Iwan, the FPI and FBR members had been marching around the area near the Hotel Indonesia roundabout since morning. "They brought weapons, wooden and metal truncheons. There were some who brought sickles", said the motorbike taxi driver who is usually based at Dukuh Atas when speaking with Media Indonesia.
A clash was clearly unavoidable. The FPI and FPI members greeted the Papernas demonstrators with a hail of rocks. The Papernas members, the majority of whom were housewives and small children ran and scattered trying to save themselves. "The fled into the alleyways", said eyewitness Ibut.
Even though the Papernas demonstrators retreated the angry FPI and FBR members continued to pursue them shouting, "You're PKI! [Indonesian Communist Party] You're PKI!".
A short time later around 400 Papernas members riding three Mayasari Bakti busses arrived. This time most of them were men.
Seeing that their colleagues were under attack, the newly arrived Papernas members immediately began chasing after the FPI and FBR. "Counter attacked it was the FPI's turn to be chased", continued Iwan.
The FPI and FBR members were eventually forced back as far as the Shangri-La Hotel on Jl. Karet Pasar Baru Timur alongside the West Flood Canal River around 500 meters from where the clash first broke out.
The Papernas demonstrators who had not brought any weapons used broken pieces of glass from the damaged buses which they threw at the FPI and FBR. "Many suffered head injuries because of being hit by rocks and glass", said Iwan.
The police arrived at around 11am. "Six hundred personnel were deployed from the Metro Jaya municipal police and the Central Jakarta district police", said Tanah Abang Sectoral Police Chief Superintendent Budiyanto. Seeing the arrival of security personnel, the protesters disbanded at round 11.30am.
When asked to comment on the incident, FPI general secretary Irwan admitted that they stopped the Papernas convoy. "We asked them to turn back but they didn't want to, yeah so we can't be held responsible for what happened", he said when contacted by Media Indonesia.
According to Irwan, the FPI mobilised as many as 700 people while the FBR mobilised around 1,200. This does not include people from 14 other mass organisations that were part of the coalition opposing the planned Papernas declaration at the Proclamation Monument.
Irwan said that they oppose Papernas because they are PKI. "I have read the statues and rules of association, and I also have evidence that they are PKI. We don't want the country to be infiltrated by the PKI again", he said. (/OL-06)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Detik.com - March 29, 2007
Arifin Asydhad, Jakarta – The National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) is calling on the national police to fully investigate the attack on its members by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). The attack should be categorised as a criminal act.
The head of Papernas' Legal and Human Rights Department, Iwan Dwielaksono, conveyed this request when contacted by Detik.com on Thursday March 29. "We are calling on security forces, the national police in particular to immediately investigate this criminal act", he said.
The FPI attack on Papernas is a form of anarchy and intimidation. On account of the attack, Papernas has clearly been adversely affected. "Our members were injured, while many busses were damaged. A mobile sound system was also damaged", he said.
According to Iwan, in order to hold the mass rally at the Proclamation Monument Papernas had already submitted an official notification to the national police. Papernas was exercising its freedom of expression in accordance with procedures. Because of this therefore, if a group then disrupts the event, it become the responsibility of security forces.
Contrary to accusations from a number of groups, Iwan also asserted that his party is not communist. "In our statues and rules of association, the principles of our party are the principles of populist democracy based on [the state ideology of] Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution", explained Iwan.
Iwan said he keeps wandering why his party's events are constantly disrupted and attacked by certain groups. Prior to the attack in Jakarta, Papernas was also attacked as many a three times at events held in Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Malang. "There are indications that the attackers are from the same group", he said. (asy/asy)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Media Indonesia - March 29, 2007
Agustinus, Jakarta – Despite being attacked by right-wing thugs on March 29, the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) will declare itself in June. This was confirmed by Papernas general secretary Haris Sitorus during discussions with Media Indonesia in Jakarta on Thursday March 29.
The Papernas mass rally to declare the party that was to be held in Jakarta ended in a clash after it was attacked by members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR).
According to Haris, Papernas is taking up a number of issues including fighting for the abolition of the foreign debt, the nationalisation of the mining industry and building an Indonesia that is strong and independent.
Haris said that Papernas currently has local leadership boards in 23 provinces and 185 regencies/municipalities. The preparatory committee for the formation of Papernas has been working since June 2006.
"There many struggles happening on the ground. One of these is that we will take part in the 2009 general elections", he said. Haris added that the existing political parties have become contaminated with broker type mentality. He said that have no hesitation about pawning of the states interest for personal gain. (Aka/Ol-03)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
[The following is a compilation of reports from Detik.com on the March 29 mass rally planned by the National Liberation Party of Unity against the ratification of the Draft Law on Capital Investment that was attacked and broken up by the Islamic Defenders Front. Translated by James Balowski.]
Thousand of protesters to oppose capital investment law
Plans by the House of Representatives (DPR) to ratify the Draft Law on Capital Investment into law on March 29 has attracted strong reactions from the public with thousands of activists planning to take to the streets to protest.
One of the social organisations that will be protesting is the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas), which will mobilising around 3,000 protesters at the Shangri-La Hotel in Central Jakarta.
"President Susilo Bambang Yudhohoyono will be attending a Millenium Development Goals meeting at the Shangri-La. So we are aiming directly at the government as the one that proposed the draft law", said the head of Papernas' advisory board, Dita Indah Sari when contacted by Detik.com on Thursday morning.
According to Dita, the action will also demonstrate to Yudhoyono just how much ordinary people oppose the draft law. "If it is ratified, foreign investors can moving in 100 percent into a number of sectors", she said.
In addition to Papernas, the Workers Challenge Alliance (ABM) and a number of other groups have united to oppose the draft law in an action that will be centered at the DPR building in Senayan, South Jakarta.
FPI and FBR besiege Proclamation Monument
Around 500 people from the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) and the Islamic Defenders Front (FBI) have taken control of the Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta in order to intercept a declaration by the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas).
Papernas plans to hold the declaration at 3pm today. Former President Abdurrahman Wahid is to attend the event.
The FPI members, most of whom were wearing white concentrated on the left of the entrance to the monument while the FBR members who were wearing black took control of the right side, had been waiting since 10am.
A large banner had been erected reading "PAPERNAS = PRD = A new form of communism. Ban and destroy", "Say no to this new form of communism". "Uphold Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and Law No. 27/1999, destroy the new form of communism in Indonesia"(1) and "This is Indonesia brother, not a part of the US". They also handed out green leaflets containing anti-communist propaganda and calling on all religious communities to exterminate communism.
FPI attacks Papernas demonstrators
Hundreds of FPI members have attacked Papernas demonstrators in the heart of Jakarta on Jl. Sudirman after moving off from the Proclamation Monument where they had been gathering with members of the FBR.
Riding motorbikes and open pickup trucks they moved off at around 11.10am aiming to break up a rally by Papernas who they heard were gathering at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout. "We're hunting communists. We heard they are gathering at a particular place", said one of the FPI members.
Arriving suddenly at the Landmark Building, they ran into the Papernas demonstrators who were arriving in scores of Metro Mini busses from Block M in South Jakarta. The FBI members immediately ran across Jl. Sudirman and began pelting the Papernas convoy with rocks.
FBR members meanwhile remained at the Proclamation Monument to intercept the Papernas declaration that is to be held at 3pm.
Heavy downpour at Sudirman, FPI disperses
By mid-day heavy rain began falling in Central Jakarta and the FPI members who had recently clashed with Papernas disbanded and sought shelter. A short time later they left the location.
All that is visible is the aftermath of the clash such as shattered glass from the Metro Mini bus convoy. Traffic heading north towards the Hotel Indonesia roundabout was congested and moving at a crawl.
At around 12.30pm four Metro Mini busses appeared and parked at Dukuh Atas. These were members of Anti-Communist Solidarity (SAK). SAK action coordinator Habib Novel Al Habsi said they were waiting for other demonstrators to arrive and would then move of to the Proclamation Monument.
Most of the Papernas demonstrators meanwhile who had sought shelter among the buildings along the length of Jl. Sudirman.
Papernas demonstrators afraid to return home
Demonstrators from the Urban Poor Union (SRMK), one of the organisations affiliated with Papernas, are still seeking shelter at the Muamalat Bank Building on Jl. Sudirman.
"We want to go home, but are afraid", said one of the women. Others said they were awaiting instructions from the action coordinator before moving. "We are afraid of being attacked again", they said, adding that they did not know where the FPI members were at the moment.
One of the women said that they had planned to demonstrate over the issue of free healthcare and education and said that they held a protest earlier at the National Education Department offices and were also planning another demonstration at the World Bank.
Papernas members injured in attack
As consequence of the attack by FBI at least three Papernas supporters were injured. Papernas is still checking if other members have been hurt.
"We have received data that three people were injured. But this is provisional data. We are stick checking, because after being attacked, our members scattered", said the head of Papernas' legal and human rights division, Iwan Dwielaksono, when contacted by Detik.com.
As of 3.20pm, Iwan and other Papernas members were still in Jl. Sudirman area although the whereabouts of other protesters is unclear. Most of the Papernas demonstrators were housewives and women. "Ninety percent of our members are women, they became frightened when attacked. After that they sought safety. We are still looking for them, but have been held up by the rain", said Iwan.
Iwan said that there were as many as 2,000 Papernas demonstrators in the convey that was headed towards the Shangri-La Hotel where an economic forum was being held at which they had planned to demand the abolition of the foreign debt. But upon arriving at the hotel, they were attacked by the FPI.
According to Iwan, after the Shangri-La, they had planned to go to the Department of Labour to support a labour demonstration. Following this they were to go to the Proclamation Monument to hold a mass rally.
Given the attack, Iwan was unsure if the rally would still go ahead or not. "Our peaceful action was actually to demand prosperity for the people and to demand free education. So, I feel there has been a systematic effort to close down our event", he said.
Four people detained by police
Four people found to have thrown rocks and brought stones to the clash between the FPI and Papernas have been taken into custody by the Tanah Abang sectoral police.
"Yes, we arrested them and we took them into custody", said the head of the Tanah Abang criminal investigation section, Iptu Ariyono when speaking with Detik.com. However Ariyono was not able to confirm if those arrest are members of FPI.
The FPI and Papernas clashed in the Dukuh Atas area of Central Jakarta on Jl. Sudirman at around 11am. As a result of the incident, a number of Papernas members were injured. Fortunately police quickly diffused the clash so casualties were minimized.
Notes:
1. PRD - People's Democratic Party. Law No. 27/1999 is a revision to the Criminal Code that codifies Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS) Decree Number XXV/1966 on the Dissolution of the Indonesian Communist Party and Prohibitions on Marxist, Leninist and Communist Teachings.
| Human rights/law |
Jakarta Post - March 30, 2007
Zainal Fikri, Sintok, Kedah Darul Aman – We have already seen the adoption of Islamic or sharia-based law in various predominantly Muslim regions across Indonesia.
Now the West Irian Jaya capital of Manokwari, a regency with a majority Christian population, is finalizing a draft regional ordinance based on the Bible. It forbids people to wear the Muslim head scarf (jilbab) in public spaces.
If the draft is approved, we will see our unitary state torn by conflicting local laws. Some areas will require people to wear clothing deemed Islamic, while at least one will ban it.
This clash of trends leads us to the issue of constitutionality, particularly the proper role of the government and the legitimate scope of the state's coercive power and the people's constitutional rights.
What is a constitutional framework for the implementation of religious teachings? To what extent can the government interfere in people's spiritual lives? Can the government compel us to do our religious duties? Can it enact a law prohibiting the free exercise of religion?
The position and status of religion in the Indonesian Constitution has been debated since the early days of this country. When the nation's founding fathers formulated the Article on Religion, some said religion was an obligation. This concept was later known as the Jakarta Charter: a seven-word statement which stipulated "the obligation of Muslims to observe sharia".
Others argued that religion was a basic right. However, they agreed that the government may not compel its citizens to obey religious teachings.
One of the founding fathers involved in the making of the constitution, Prof. Dr. Pangeran Ario Husein Djajadiningrat, questioned the Charter. He was afraid it would fan fanaticism by compelling people to worship and coercing them to pray. Wachid Hasjim of the Muslim organization Nahdatul Ulama replied that if coercion occurred, it could be addressed through the parliament.
Even though the Jakarta Charter was not adopted, what the founding fathers were concerned about is now coming true. The numerous regional ordinances forcing Muslim women to wear Islamic clothes and head scarves contradict the Constitution, which stipulates that embracing a religion is a right and not an obligation. Article 28E (1) of the Second Amendment states: "Every person shall be free to adhere to his/her respective religion and to worship according to his/her religion".
If the government obliges a woman to wear the jilbab, she is not free anymore. This goes against the very nature of human rights as well.
The position of religion as a right is restated in Article 28E subsection (2): "Every person shall have the right to freedom of belief, to express his/her thoughts and attitudes, in accordance with his/her conscience".
On the other extreme, the government once adopted a law prohibiting the free exercise of religion. This was under the New Order, when the government banned Muslim girls from wearing the jilbab in public schools.
A law prohibiting the free exercise of religion also violates religious rights. Every citizen is guaranteed the right to exercise his or her religion. The exercise of religion often involves not only belief and profession but the performance of or abstention from physical acts. If a person chooses to wear a jilbab because she believes that it is her religious obligation, that is her right, and the government must guarantee that she can do so freely.
We need a neutral state where the government takes a balanced position by allowing people to exercise or not to exercise their religion freely. Free exercise means no obligation and no prohibition.
[The writer is a lecturer at State Islamic Institute Antasari in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan and a PhD Student at Universiti Utara Malaysia.]
Jakarta Post - March 29, 2007
Galuh Wandita, Jakarta – Back in the late 70s, sixth-year schoolchildren in Jakarta often visited the Lubang Buaya Memorial in East Jakarta, a historical site which marked the birth of the New Order.
When I went with my class, I remember looking at the images of Gerwani (Indonesian Women's Movement) members dancing in front of the stricken generals who were later murdered. My teacher moved me briskly along. Those are bad women, she said.
Another time, a teacher interrupted class to announce that we had a new addition to our country. East Timor was now the 27th province of Indonesia. We were told to applaud, which we did enthusiastically.
More than two decades later, the fall of Soeharto in 1998 has provided Indonesia with the opportunity to right the wrongs of the past. But this task has yet been taken to heart by the Indonesian government and people.
The New Order regime was marked by carnage and widespread repression. The events of September 1965 are still clouded by uncertainty. To date, the number of those killed remains unclear, estimated between 500,000 and a million. More than one million were incarcerated and subjected to torture and ill-treatment without any legal recourse or trial.
Some violations targeted women, particularly those suspected of affiliation with Gerwani. Gerwani was established in 1950. In the context of the revolutionary zeal of that time, it aimed to achieve "equal labor rights for women and... equal responsibilities with men in the struggle for full national independence and socialism." The group later aligned itself with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), marking a period of intense organizing, literacy training, and campaigning for land reform and women's political leadership.
During the violence of 1965, Gerwani members were targeted for killing, illegal detention and sexual violence. The extent of the abuse is still unknown, as survivors continue to face discrimination and are reluctant to speak out.
By the mid-1970s, Indonesia had re-established itself as a reliable ally of the Western Block. The defeat of the United States in Vietnam and the rise of Communist regimes in Cambodia and Laos brought a palpable fear of the continued spread of communism in Southeast Asia.
Under the same anti-communist fervor it had shown a decade before, the Indonesian military invaded East Timor in December 1975, unleashing countless atrocities against civilians.
The recent findings of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR), an independent commission established in East Timor, are harrowing. Using statistical projections, the CAVR estimated 80,000-100,000 excess deaths as a result of the conflict during Indonesia's 24 years of rule, including 18,600 killings and disappearances.
The CAVR also found evidence which depicted "the widespread and systematic nature in which members of the Indonesian security forces openly engaged in rape, sexual torture, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence". The CAVR took statements and interviewed more than 1,000 victims of rape and other forms of sexual abuse during the period of conflict, particularly after the UN-administered popular consultation in which East Timorese voted for independence.
Nine years after the fall of Soeharto, much of the bureaucracy of the New Order has remained intact. What is most disconcerting is that none of the individuals who were involved in the commission of international crimes have been brought to justice. For victims of gross human rights violations, not much has changed.
Public acknowledgement of past atrocities and the victims' suffering is almost non-existent. The two dozen discriminatory laws and regulations against ex-political detainees and their families enacted by the New Order are still in place. The way we teach our history to schoolchildren remains contested, with little regard to the true lessons of the past.
The 2004 law on the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was struck down by the Constitutional Court in December 2006 because a number of articles were inconsistent with international human rights standards. The court ruling has left a vacuum that upholds impunity.
Ironically, the Truth and Friendship Commission was formed by an MoU between the Indonesia and Timor Leste. The MoU derives its powers from the now-defunct 2004 law. The memorandum provides the Commission with the power to recommend amnesty and to rehabilitate the names of those wrongly accused.
There was little consultation and transparency in the establishment and the work of this Commission, which is now conducting hearings more than a year after its establishment. Many fear the Commission will produce a watered-down and "compromised" version of the truth about what took place in East Timor in 1999.
On April 19, 2005, the UN Commission on Human Rights adopted the "Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law." It stipulates the rights of victims to justice, to knowledge and to reparations. These three rights overlap and together form the essence of a return of their dignity.
For women victims of atrocities committed during the New Order, the fulfillment of these rights is still out of reach. As a nation, in order to reclaim our humanity, after being mute observers during the decades of blood-letting, we must look at the past honestly. This means genuinely listening to the voices which were violently suppressed, acknowledging our mistakes, and participating in repairing the damage.
As a first step, the Truth and Friendship Commission must be true to human rights principles and listen to the voices of victims, beyond narrow political interests.
[The writer is a senior associate at the International Center for Transitional Justice and expert advisor to the National Commission on the Elimination of Violence against Women.]
Jakarta Post - March 30, 2007
Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – The House of Representatives finally endorsed the long awaited Investment Law on Thursday amid a walk-out by legislators of one of the main political parties, and noisy protests from non-governmental organizations.
Members from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) walked out of the plenary meeting, refusing to vote for the bill due to its objection to the longer duration of land titles under the bill.
"We are requesting the postponement of the endorsement of the bill so that the legal basis for land titles can be reexamined," said Aria Bima, speaking on behalf of the PDI-P faction.
The faction argues that Article 22 of the new law, which extends land-usage rights to 95 years from 60 years, conflicts with article 29 of the 1960 Land Law. "Let us not sacrifice the people's sovereignty. Please allow us not to be included in the approval process," he said.
The faction's stance was supported by another faction, the National Awakening Party (PKB), which fears the longer land title periods will only benefit big investors, especially foreign ones, and hurt farmers.
Some 700 people from various left-wing and nationalist-leaning non-governmental organizations had been gathered since morning outside the House complex to protest against the passage of the law, saying that it would only strengthen what they termed "neocolonialism".
"Allowing land cultivation rights of 95 years is the same thing as giving this country to other people, which means only the third generation will be able to enjoy the land," said Maria Ulfah Anshar representing the PKB faction during the plenary session.
The protests led to the postponement of the plenary session as House Deputy Speaker Muhaimin Iskandar, who chaired the session, suspended it to allow him to consult with both the PDI-P and PKB leaders.
This meeting lasted 10 minutes, but produced no shifts in stances, and was followed by all the members of the PDI-P faction walking out of the hall. The PKB chose to remain but refused to be held accountable for the consequences of the law's approval.
Disregarding the stances of the two factions, whose seats account for less than one-third of the total number of seats, the other eight factions went ahead with the endorsement of the bill. This was followed by loud cheer, marking the end of about 10 months of deliberation since the bill was first presented to the House in June.
Responding to the two protests of the two dissenting factions, Didik J. Rachbini, the chairman of House Commission VI, which deliberated the bill, said the bill had been approved and was supported by the representatives of all of the factions during the deliberation process, without ever having to go to a vote.
"I would call on the public not to be fooled by unnecessary and sensationalistic political maneuvering," he said.
In addition to the longer duration of land rights, the Investment Law provides for the equal treatment of local and foreign investors, and more attractive investment incentives. It also gives more support to small and medium enterprises.
Investors eligible to receive incentives include those who invest in labor-intensive industries and in infrastructure projects, in projects that promote the transfer of technology, in pioneering industries, in rural areas, in projects that involve scientific research and innovation, partnerships with small and medium enterprises, in projects that use local production capital, and in environmentally friendly projects.
The new law also elevates the status of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), which currently operates under the control of the Trade Ministry, to that of a non-departmental government institution that reports directly to the President.
Jakarta Post - March 29, 2007
Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – A coalition of non-governmental organizations has said it will seek a judicial review if the House of Representatives passes the investment bill on Thursday.
After nearly a year of deliberation, the House is set to pass into law the bill, which aims to improve the country's investment climate by providing equal treatment for local and foreign investors, along with other incentives.
However, the NGOs are of the opinion that bill, should it be passed into law, would result in more harm than benefit to the country.
"The bill is very harmful and it bears many legal flaws due to the rush in its making," Institute for Global Justice (IGJ) executive director Bonnie Setiawan said Wednesday as the coalition's spokesperson.
The coalition, supported by thousands of workers and farmers, also plans to stage massive protests at various locations across the nation, issue a petition and assemble a rally that will walk from Taman Ria Park, Jakarta, to the House on Thursday.
Aside from the IGJ, the coalition consists of other prominent local and international NGOs, such as the International NGOs' Forum for Indonesian Development, Debt Watch, the Land Reform Consortium, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment and the Indonesian Farmers Union Federation. Bonnie said that should the House pass the bill as scheduled, the coalition would wait until the President signed the bill before proposing a judicial review to the Constitution Court.
"After the bill is enacted, the President will be given a 30-day period to sign it before it becomes effective. So we expect to propose the judicial review some time in June," he said.
The coalition says that the bill does not represent the interests of the majority of the Indonesian people, and that it only meets the expectations of foreign investors.
The coalition also believes that the bill contradicts the Constitution, especially article 33, point 2, which says, "Branches of production which are important for the state and affect the life of most people shall be controlled by the state."
Supporting the stance of the coalition, Revrisond Baswir, an economist with Gadjah Mada University, said the bill went further than the 1967 Foreign Investment Law in terms of opening up the country to foreign exploitation.
The 1967 law was the first step to opening Indonesia to foreign investment and marked the beginning of the New Order regime.
"The 1967 law even has a clause that says all production lines that cover the lifeline of the people must be closed to foreign investment, which is in line with the constitution. But this bill simply opens all sectors," he said.
One of the many elements of the bill that the coalition is opposing is the time extension given to land cultivation rights (up from 35 years to 95 years), building rights (from 50 years to 80 years) and land usage rights, which used to be determined by local administrations and which now may exist for 70 years.
In response to the coalition, House Commission VI chairman Didik J. Rachbini said that the NGOs clearly misunderstood the articles in the bill.
"Equal treatment for investors is not equal opportunity. Foreign investment can enter many sectors but will be controlled to meet the interests of the nation," he said.
He also said that despite being more open to the free competition that is demanded by global best practices, the bill also protects the conservation of natural resources and small and medium enterprises.
Jakarta Post - March 26, 2007
Legal experts have criticized Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh over his rigid stance regarding the implementation of capital punishment in Indonesia.
"Despite progress in the country's legal system, such as the on going judicial review on the death penalty for drug dealers in the 1997 Narcotics Law, the Attorney General has not yet been able to escape from his legalistic and normative views on capital punishment," the Operational Director of the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor Imparsial, Rusdi Marpaung, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
"Regarding drug trafficking, for example, the government cannot solely rely on deterrence principles to handle such a crime. "There are other problems that need attention, such as monitoring the abuse of addictive substances and the involvement of government officials in drug trafficking," he said.
Rusdi was commenting on a statement by the Attorney General on Friday that the government would continue implementing the death penalty in criminal cases, including for drug abuse and trafficking.
"Capital punishment in our legal system has been adopted from the old Dutch legal system during the colonial period. Holland itself abolished the implementation of the death penalty over 50 years ago," he said.
According to Rusdi, the United Nations has reported that there is no evidence to suggest that the death penalty is an effective deterrence towards crime.
The Executive Director for the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies, Bivitri Susanti, also said capital punishment was ineffective in preventing crime.
"Its deterrence effect has been proven ineffective, especially when court verdicts have turned out to be wrongly implemented... And the death penalty itself violates basic principles of human rights, no matter what the case is," Bivitri told the Post
"It would be better for the government to make sure the jail terms imposed on prisoners are fully implemented," she said, citing that many inmates in Indonesia had managed to walk out of prison before completing their jail sentences.
Rusdi agreed, saying the United States hands down maximum jail terms of up to 200 years. "That way, American prisoners still naturally die in prison, but not because of the death penalty."
Bivitri said it was not necessary for Indonesia to remove capital punishment from its legal system as some countries have done. "As in other countries, Indonesia could still retain capital punishment in its legal system, but only on the condition that the judges selectively impose the sentence on convicts," she said.
Besides the narcotics law, other laws including the death penalty are the Criminal Code, the Anticorruption Law, the Antiterrorism Law, the Law on the possession of firearms and explosives, the Law on subversive activities and the 2000 Law on the Human Rights Court.
According to Rusdi, about 60 laws in Indonesia's legal system apply capital punishment, including new laws such as the State Secrecy Bill.
Jakarta Post - March 26, 2007
Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – The House of Representatives will pass the spatial plan bill this Tuesday, despite criticisms that the bill lacks ecological sustainability provisions.
"There are no more objections from factions. We will pass the law at the plenary session on March 27," House spatial planning law committee deputy chairman Syarfi Hutauruk said last week.
The committee completed the final draft of the revision of the 1992 Spatial Planning Law last week, after a series of public hearings.
The new bill is said to present a tougher set of planning regulations, stipulating detailed punishments for land use violations, the result of a series of man-made disasters that have recently affected the country, including landslides and flooding.
Gadjah Mada University urban planning expert Eko Budihardjo had previously said that stricter laws were needed to ensure that master plans were followed and implemented.
The Public Works Ministry recently revealed that 54 percent of land-use violations were committed by the private sector and accepted by local administrations for tax or personal enrichment reasons.
The new law will require agencies or government institutions that allow land use violations to pay a penalty for any resulting economic effects. "There will also be incentives and deterrents (put in place) to assure that administrations comply with their development master plans," Syarfi said.
He said that the situation in West Java's Puncak, where the local administration allows houses to be built in a designated water catchment area, was an example of the sort of problem the new law would prevent.
"If the administration is willing to return Puncak to its (proper) function, it will receive incentives in the form of a special budget from Jakarta, for example," he said.
Deterrents would include increased land and building taxes for buildings occupying designated green space areas. The bill also includes a regulation on the minimum allocation of open green space and public areas.
Despite these provisions, however, environmentalist groups have criticized the bill for giving control and supervision of master plans to the Public Works Ministry, saying the institution lacks environmental awareness.
The new article on open green space was prompted by the continual reduction of open green areas in cities, Public Works Ministry director general for spatial planning Hermanto Dardak said.
"All cities, including Jakarta whose open green space now reaches only 9 percent, must comply with the regulation in three years' time," Syarfi said.
Environmental group Walhi says that forcing such a regulation on Jakarta will only result in the exploitation of the poor.
"If Jakarta is forced to meet such target, it will be the kampong people who once again have to make way for development," environmental group Walhi Jakarta research and public policy analysis division head M. Hasbi Azis said.
Key points of the spatial planning bill
1. Cities are required to allocate a minimum of 30 percent of their area for open green space and a minimum of 20 percent for public space.
2. Land use violations that cause material losses or fatalities will result in a maximum fine of Rp 1 billion and eight years in prison.
3. Land use violation punishments apply to both the land permit holder (including developers and households) and any government officials involved in granting the permit.
4. Incentives and deterrents to encourage appropriate land use.
5. Greater public access to city and regency master plans and options for legal redress should land use violations result in public losses.
[Source: Draft of Spatial Planning Law, Ministry of Public Works.]
Jakarta Post - March 24, 2007
Jakarta – The newly-passed law on human trafficking has government officials and NGOs alike raring to wage an all-out war on the crime.
"We have been dependent solely on criminal law for years, now we finally have a law that specifically regulates human trafficking crimes," said Ratna Batara Munti, director of the Legal Aid Organization of the Indonesian Women's Association for Justice, on Friday.
The law comprises nine chapters and 67 articles and was ratified by the House of Representatives on March 20. It regulates the prevention and countering of human trafficking crimes, the protection of victims and witnesses and the accompanying legal procedures.
Women's Empowerment Minister Meutia Hatta said a synergy between the government, NGOs and society is needed for the law to reach the country's grass-roots level.
In the next six months, the government must formulate supporting regulations to form service centers for human trafficking victims, as well as a presidential regulation on a task force to coordinate, monitor and evaluate measures taken.
Meutia emphasized the importance of attracting future funding for organizations aiding victims of human trafficking.
Deputy assistant of Women's Life Quality Affairs at the Coordinating Ministry for the People's Welfare, Pardjoko, said: "We will cooperate with the US government to conduct several pilot projects to help introduce the human trafficking law to local administrations, to improve local officials' capacity in handling the crimes and to develop a more integrated evaluation report database."
The projects will be launched this March in eight regencies across five of Indonesia's 33 provinces, including West Nusa Tenggara, East Java and West Kalimantan.
The United States Agency for International Development has provided US$1.2 billion for the 30-month pilot projects, according to the deputy minister for Child Protection at the Women's Empowerment Ministry, Sumarni Dawam Rahardjo.
Human trafficking is classified as transnational, organized crime and usually exploits women and children. Japan, Malaysia and Singapore are often destination countries, while Batam, Jakarta, Pontianak, Tanjung Balai Karimun and Tanjung Pinang are common domestic destinations.
Forms of exploitation range from forced labor in factories, to prostitution and pornography. In most cases, children end up working in brothels to pay off their family's debts.
According to data from the Consortium of Indonesians Against Child Trafficking (ACT), last year a total of 106 girls from across the archipelago, ranging from 12 to 16 years of age, were discovered to be victims of human trafficking.
"The increase in the number of reported human trafficking cases should be regarded in a positive sense in that people have begun to be more aware of this kind of crime," said Meutia.
The new law carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence and a maximum fine of Rp 5 billion for involvement in the human trafficking trade.
It stipulates that all perpetrators, be they ordinary citizens, public officials, corporations or syndicates, that recruit and transfer people by force, abduct them or resort to deceit in order to exploit them, face three to 15 years' imprisonment and potential fines of between Rp 120 million and Rp 600 million. In cases involving the death of a victim, fines range from Rp 200 million to Rp 5 billion.
Punishment is raised by one-third for crimes that caused victims severe injury, death, pregnancy or the loss of their reproductive functions.
Jakarta Post - March 24, 2007
Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh has defended the government's decision to keep capital punishment in the country's legal system, saying it was a deterrent to crime.
"On the request filed by several Australians to have (capital punishment) reviewed, the Justice Minister, the National Narcotics Agency head and I will keep fighting to keep the death penalty here," Abdul Rahman told a media conference Friday.
Two Australians sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle drugs into their country from Bali recently made an unsuccessful push for a judicial review of capital punishment in the Constitutional Court.
"We encourage not only prosecutors and police to retain the death penalty here, but everyone, especially for drug-related crimes," the attorney general said. He cited the many foreigners who continued in their attempts to smuggle drugs into the country as a reason for his stance.
"People assume that Indonesia is only playing around with capital punishment. People don't get scared anymore by death sentences," Abdul Rahman said.
"Unlike neighbors Singapore and Malaysia, which are consistent in their harsh laws against drug use and smuggling, Indonesia is lenient with dealing death sentences, as several convicts had escaped the death penalty after they were granted presidential clemency. They could also get their cases reviewed."
Abdul Rahman said around half of those serving time in the country's prisons were found guilty of drug-related crimes. "In several prisons, the number of drug criminals has reached 60 percent."
The Attorney General's Office currently lists more than 90 people on death row.
The Constitutional Court recently rejected lawyer Todung M. Lubis's attempts to do away with the death sentence for narcotics related crimes in a judicial review. Todung represents Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the two Australian ringleaders of the Bali Nine group.
Todung argued that the right to life was protected under Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution, and could not be reduced under any condition or by any party, including the state. This made the death penalty unconstitutional, he said.
Todung said Indonesia adheres to the UN Human Rights Declaration and has a moral responsibility to eradicate capital punishment.
| Politics/political parties |
Jakarta Post - March 28, 2007
Jakarta – Public support for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has dropped to 49 percent, the lowest in his two-and-a-half years in office, a survey revealed Tuesday.
The survey, run by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), shows that the public has little confidence in the President's performance in the economic sector. "The main trigger in the drop of confidence is the current economic situation, which is seen by voters as worse than that of last year," said Saiful Mujani, the director of LSI.
The survey also shows that seven out of 10 Indonesians said that no political party represents their interests.
The survey, held from March 14 to March 24 in 33 provinces with 1,238 respondents, shows that only about 35 percent of voters said that the parties represent their interests.
Of the leading parties, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) was seen as the party with the smallest gap between voter expectations and party achievement, while the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) was seen as the party with the biggest gap in relation to the people's interests.
"Voters perceive the political parties as only making decisions for the sake of the party and the interests of party leaders, but not in the interests of their constituents," said Saiful.
Only about 31 percent of voters said parties adequately reflected the differences in social classes. Among the seven big parties, the PDI-P was seen as the party with the widest scope of class representation, while the National Mandate Party (PAN) was seen as the least representative of the social spectrum.
About 45 percent perceived the parties as representing the ideology of Pancasila and the Constitution, with the PDI-P regarded as the party with the highest level of commitment to Pancasila, while the PKS and the United Development Party were seen as having the lowest level of commitment to the ideology.
Nine out of 10 voters said no party represented their views on the privatization of state-owned enterprises.
"If any party says that the disagreement between them and the voters about state enterprises is because the voters don't understand the issues, that means that they have failed to persuade the public that privatization is the realistic way toward improving the nation's economic health," said Saiful.
Most of the voters regarded the rice importation policy as a good way to stabilize prices. About 34 percent perceived the political parties as not representing their aspirations in relation to this issue. The PKS and PAN were seen as the least representative.
The voters were divided in their perceptions of foreign investment in the mining sector. Some 50 percent totally rejected foreign investment, while the rest accepted some level of foreign investment, saying that the country had limited human resources and funds. However, only 29 percent of voters said that parties represented their opinions on the issue.
In relation to all issues, the PDI-P has the lowest gap in representing the people's interests, at 59 percent, while the PKS and the Democratic Party were rated at 69 percent.
Detik.com - March 27, 2007
Ramdhan Muhaimin, Jakarta – The popularity of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (SBY-JK) has declined sharply over the last three years with the public's level of dissatisfaction with their performance dropping below the psychological barrier of 50 percent. Sixty-five percent of voters have no preference for any of the seven largest political parties.
This was the result of two surveys conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) conducted between 17-24 March across 33 provinces comprising a total of 1,238 and 211,238 respondents respectively with a 3 percent margin of error. The results were announced by LSI Director Syaiful Mujani at a press conference at the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel in Jakarta on Monday March 27.
The surveys found that only 49.7 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Yudhoyono's performance, a big decline in comparison with an 80 percent level of satisfaction when he first took office. "This is the lowest figure of dissatisfaction since SBY became president", said Mujani. Kalla's level of popularity meanwhile had dropped from 77 percent to 46.9 percent.
Mujadi said that the sharp decline in the public's satisfaction is closely linked with the public perception of the economy with as many as 54 percent of respondents feeling that the economy is worse that it was last year, 23 percent saying it had improved, 21 percent feeling that it is the same and 3 percent saying they didn't know.
The LSI survey used a multi random stage random sampling of the seven largest political parties in the 2004 general elections: the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party, the Democrat Party, the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party and the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS).
With regard to voters' lack of preference with any of the existing parties, Mujadi said, "A good political party is one that represents the interests of its constituency. But the current political parties in Indonesia are not representative".
Mujani said that if the economy does not improve in the next two years, Yudhoyono and Kalla's popularity would decline even further. "The Democrat Party will loose its supporters and the PDI-P is precisely the one that will benefit from this situation", he said. The reason for this he added is that the PDI-P is seen as better able to represent the interests of its constituency.
In addition to this the LSI surveyed seven national issues including the Criminal Code, the state ideology of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, rice imports, social classes, the privatisation of state-owned enterprises and the management of natural wealth by foreign companies.
"With regard to these issues the PDI-P was placed in the lowest position in terms of the gap between the aspirations of voters and the positions taken by the political parties", he said.
[Abridged translation by James Balowski based on two Detik.com reports on March 27 by Ramdhan Muhaimin.]
| Government/civil service |
Jakarta Post - March 29, 2007
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – All councillors and council speakers must return allowances they received under an annulled government regulation or face corruption charges, says a senior government official.
Director general for regional financial administration affairs at the Home Ministry, Daeng M. Nazier, said councillors had no legal basis for not returning the allowances, following a Supreme Court decision that invalidated the government regulation that granted it to them.
"It is not our will, but (rather) a binding decision of the Supreme Court that all councilors must comply with," he told The Jakarta Post after accompanying Home Minister Moh. Ma'ruf at a Home Affairs Commission hearing at the House of Representatives here Wednesday.
The government is set to issue a new regulation requiring councilors to return the allowances by at least one month before the end of the 2004-2009 period.
The regulation, which awaits the President's approval, stipulates that councillors and council speakers receive an intensive communication allowance and operational funds according to their region's financial capability.
Regions with large budgets are allowed to pay allowances of up to 600 percent of a councillor's basic monthly salary, while those with low budgets are required to pay at least 100 percent of their monthly wage.
The government has issued two regulations that were both eventually annulled by the Supreme Court in its response to strong public protests.
Daeng said that if councilors and council speakers could not meet the deadline for returning the allowances, they would be processed in accordance with the law on the state treasury.
"We will pursue the indebted councilors until the funds are returned," he said.
He added that the Home Ministry is prepared to face any legal action should councilors wish to bring the incoming government regulation to the Supreme Court.
"Public officials who commit wrongdoings and mistakes that cause losses to the state will be given administrative sanctions, be required to pay the losses and be prosecuted in accordance with the law," said the Home Ministry's chief spokesman, Saut Situmorang.
The law requires governors, regents and mayors to report any potential state losses caused by public officials to the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), which will later investigate the losses.
Daeng said the Home Minister would also issue a decree on the classification of regions on the basis of their financial condition.
"As of April 1, regions are expected to set the amount of the allowances and operational funds that will be paid to the councilors and council speakers," he said, adding that although the new government regulation would only be issued this month, it would be retroactive as of Jan. 1, 2007.
Jakarta Post - March 29, 2007
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – More than a hundred legislators plan to question President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the government's decision to support the UN Security Council's resolution imposing new sanctions on Iran after its refusal to suspend its nuclear program.
Legislators from a variety of parties said the government's decision did not represent the opinion of Indonesia and had damaged ties between Indonesia and Iran.
Within the past two days, 132 legislators from a range of political parties have signed a document questioning the decision, which will be to the plenary session by House Speaker Agung Laksono on Thursday.
The House's internal rulings require only 13 signatures from legislators to regard a move to question the President as valid.
Agung, who was the last to sign, on Wednesday, said if the plenary session approved the move, the President, or a cabinet minister representing him, would have to explain the reasons behind the government's decision to back the UN resolution.
The Constitution and the 2003 Composition of the People's Consultative Assembly Law, the House of Representatives and Provincial and Regency Legislatures assure legislators' right to question the President over policies and decisions that are considered to be against the law or the country's national interests.
If the President's explanation is found unsatisfactory, the House can call on the People's Consultative Assembly to hold a special session to impeach him.
The move was initiated by several legislators during the House's plenary session Tuesday. The Democrat Party, the main supporter of the President, was the only faction opposing the move.
Several Muslim clerics and public figures have also indicated their support of the plan.
Former chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Amien Rais has joined the protest but has said he does not believe the House is serious in its plans to question the President.
Anas Urbaningrum, a politician from the Democrat Party, called on the government to explain to the public its decision to support the UN resolution.
"Indonesia should have abstained in the Security Council meeting to take a safe position in applying the country's foreign policy. But, of course, the government has its own reasons for accepting the resolution," he said.
Djoko Susilo, a member of the defense and foreign policy commission at the House, called on all sides to be rational rather than emotional in their reactions to the government's decision, saying national interests should be the main reason behind the decision.
"Indonesia cannot deploy double standards in its foreign policy. Why was the opposition silent when Indonesia abstained over the UN resolution imposing sanctions on the Myanmarese junta, which violates the rights of (Myanmarese) minority groups?" he said.
Jakarta Post - March 28, 2007
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Over 100 members of the House of Representatives have signed a petition to summon President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the house for an interpellation over Indonesia's decision to support a United Nations resolution to impose more sanctions on Iran.
One of the initiators of the petition, Yudi Krisnandi of the Golkar Party, said that more lawmakers from various factions in the House of Representatives were expected to sign the petition later in the day.
"We only need 13 lawmakers to sign a petition to be able to start the interpellation process. We currently have 101 signatures. This is the highest number of signatures for such a move during our term," he told The Jakarta Post.
Many lawmakers have expressed disappointment and anger over Indonesia's decision Saturday to support UN resolution 1747, imposing moderately tougher sanctions on Iran, banning arms exports and freezing the assets of 28 people and organizations involved in Iran's nuclear program.
They accused the government of having betrayed the Muslim community here by following US policy on Iran without listening to domestic aspirations.
"Many of us are really disappointed and surprised with the government's decision. They have to explain why, as a Muslim majority country, we haven't supported Iran," Tristanti Mitayani of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said.
Head of the House's Commission I on security and international affairs Theo L. Sambuaga of the Golkar Party said that it was understandable that lawmakers had asked for an explanation as they considered the government's decision to support the UN resolution to not reflect the aspirations of the people.
Yudi said the petition will mean the issue will be brought to a House of Representatives plenary meeting. "If agreed by the majority of members, the house will summon the President. We hope we this can be done in May because we have a break in April," he said.
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said Tuesday he was prepared to give an explanation to lawmakers. "The interpellation means that more channels of discussion on the subject will be needed to make people understand our decision. The more discussion the better," he said.
Meanwhile, Iranian Ambassador to Indonesia Behrooz Kamalvandi said that although his government was disappointed with Indonesia's decision, bilateral ties between the two countries would not be affected because of the many benefits they can gain together.
"If our enemy throws a stone at us, we may be hurt but it will only last for a few days. But if our friend does, both our body and our heart will be hurt and this will take a long time to heal," he told reporters at a press conference after meeting with Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin in Jakarta.
During the meeting, Din reiterated Muhammadiyah's disappointment concerning Indonesia's decision to support the UN resolution.
Besides Din, representatives from several Islamic organizations including the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI), the Indonesian Islamic Students organization (PII) and the National Council of Islamic Students Alumni (KAHMI) have also expressed their disappointment.
"We have submitted letters of protest to the government. We support Iran's struggle against the US and other major countries," KAHMI chairman A. Asri Harahap said.
Said of PII said that for young Muslims, Iran had become a symbol of resistance against major powers.
Jakarta Post - March 28, 2007
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – In the wake of increasing protest from the public, the House of Representatives decided Tuesday not to buy laptop computers for its 550 legislators. The House will instead use the money for other spending schemes aimed at improving its performance.
"The House's decision was made in response to strong public reaction and internal opposition. It is also part of the House's commitment to the efficient use of the state budget," Speaker Agung Laksono said after a meeting with leaders of the House factions and the House internal affairs committee here Tuesday.
The plan had drawn strong criticism from community organizations and political analysts who questioned whether laptops would really improve the House's performance. They said many legislators who held university degrees already had their own laptops, while others would not know how to use the sophisticated machines.
Besides the laptops, telematics expert Roy Suryo has also called on the House to drop its plan to buy a Rp 850 million (US$93,289) wire-tapping equipment and a large, Rp 300 million scanner. The laptop procurement project, with its price tag of Rp 12.1 billion, has been a focus of local news coverage ever since the House secretariat general offered the project in a tender.
As more and more lawmakers expressed opposition to the purchase, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on Monday barred its 109 House legislators from accepting the laptops.
House Secretary-General Faisal Djamal, who also attended the House leadership meeting, said the secretariat general would consult with all factions and the internal affairs committee on how to spend the laptop money.
"The funds have been allocated in the House's 2007 budget. We will discuss further what to do with the funds in order to improve the House's performance," he said.
Faisal said the secretariat general would immediately recruit a number of expert staff to help support the legislators in performing their jobs.
| Regional/communal conflicts |
Jakarta Post - March 30, 2007
Jakarta – The Indonesian Army has said it will be benevolent when dealing with future communal conflicts in the country's regions.
Army chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said Thursday the military would no longer resort to repressive measures when dealing with conflicts at the grassroots level.
"The Army will try to prevent conflicts by becoming a mediator and negotiator so that (the conflict) will subside," Djoko was quoted as saying by Detik.com newsportal.
The four-star general said the army had applied the method to past conflicts. "This time we will attempt to perfect the method."
He said the peaceful means of conflict resolution had been applied in Ambon, Maluku, where local military command heads used a cultural and moral approach to reduce tensions.
Jakarta Post - March 27, 2007
Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – Around 1,000 civil servants in Poso, out of around 8,000 left homeless by violent conflict between 1998 and 2000, are still without permanent housing, an official said Monday.
Deputy Regent of Poso Abdul Muthalib Rimi told The Jakarta Post that most of the victims, whose houses were gutted by fires, came from the Lombogia and Kayamaya subdistricts in downtown Poso.
The two subdistricts were among the areas worst-hit by the violence, he said.
Abdul Muthalib said the civil servants returned to rebuild their houses after the signing of the December 2001 peace agreement. But he said later flare-ups in violence destroyed those houses.
"They rebuilt their houses using bank loans so many of them were confused about how they could repair their houses and repay their loans at the same time," he said.
Abdul Muthalib said most of the civil servants are now forced to rent homes or live with someone else, while their family members are left behind in kampongs.
Civil servants were unable to properly carry out their work as they carried the burden of working while trying to rebuild their homes and pay off debts, he said.
The deputy regent said the Central Sulawesi provincial administration provided Rp 5 million (US$526.31) last year to the head of each family to help with the burden. The money was mostly used to build modest wooden houses.
The central government also helped by building 1,009 new houses. However, Abdul Muthalib said he could not say if the houses had actually gone to those from Lombogia and Kayamaya. He said he would have to check later to see if that was the case.
Meanwhile, Central Sulawesi Governor Bandjela Paliudju reiterated Tuesday his belief that the situation in Poso had returned to normal. He said those involved in spreading terror and violence in Poso had already been arrested and tried.
"There is no longer a problem in Poso. I've received reports from the local administration there that activity in the community is already back to normal," he said.
Paliudju urged the residents of Poso to join together to maintain the peace, and to resist any agitation to further violence.
The administration has launched a Poso reconstruction and rehabilitation program, named Panca Poso Recovery, which deals with security, population, land ownership, environment and community economic issues.
Paliudju said the central government has earmarked Rp 80 billion for the provincial administration to help with the program.
Reflecting to improved security situation, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Badrodin Haiti said Friday his headquarters had withdrawn at least five companies, comprising around 500 personnel.
"This withdrawal was done because security in Poso had improved, especially after the arrest of people on the police's wanted list who were hiding in Tanah Runtuh," he said.
In a related development, suspected militant Muhammad Ardin, who has been detained at Central Sulawesi Police headquarters, apologized for his alleged involvement in earlier violence. "I'm really sorry and pledge to go against anyone who intends to ruin the peace in Poso. I'm ready to die to maintain peace in Poso. Poso belongs to all of us so we have to maintain it together," he said.
Jakarta Post - March 26, 2007
M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – Dozens of Christian priests were worried when their church assigned them to spend the night in pesantren Islamic boarding schools and homes of Muslim residents in Ambon, Maluku.
They were still haunted by frightening images from when the area was rocked by sectarian conflict in 1999. The violence, which continued on and off until 2002, left thousands of Muslims and Christians dead as well as forcing hundreds of thousands of others to flee their homes.
The Maluku Protestant Church (GPM) recently instructed 40 clergymen to spend the night with other religious communities as part of the so-called live-in program, a course designed to enhance their capacities as clergymen organized by the GPM synod.
As part of the program, participants stayed in Islamic pesantren, Catholic monasteries and in Muslim resident's homes.
Traumatized by the conflict, some suggested to the synod that the live-in period be limited from morning until evening.
However, Rev. Jacky Manuputty and Muslim cleric Ustad Abidin Wakano from the Maluku Inter-faith Council, which initiated the program, convinced participants that staying with a community of another faith was something they no longer had to be afraid of.
"It's useless to talk about pluralism, trust building and hold inter-faith dialogues if we lack confidence to break through the barriers of religious difference," said Manuputty.
He recalled during a trip to Batumerah, a predominately Muslim area in Ambon, clergymen busily calling their worried families at home.
"When the condition in Ambon returned to normal, people only interacted in public places. They had never experienced the feeling of staying the night in the homes of those from different faiths. We purposely initiated the live-in program to break the ice and eliminate the sense of suspicion," he said.
However, after staying a night in a Muslim or Catholic home, the clerics were not satisfied. "A night is too short and not enough," said Rev. Douglas Aponno, who spent the night at the Ahuru pesantren, led by H. Thaib.
He said that initially he felt insecure because during the conflict Ahuru was the scene of fierce fighting in which more than 500 homes and places of worship were gutted by fire.
He said he imagined strange things about the pesantren before going there, but the moment he set foot inside and held discussions with its members, he felt a cordial atmosphere and his sense of mistrust disappeared.
Wenno, a female reverend who stayed at the home of Muslim activist Mariam Sangadji in Kebun Cengkih, Batumerah, had initially felt worried because Batumerah is an area dominated by Muslims.
However, her worries were put at ease when she learned Mariam had many Christian friends who frequently visited. "Mariam has a good relationship with many Christian activists. The amiable atmosphere at her home made me feel at ease," she said.
Priests who stayed in the Muslim community said that Ambon Muslims had a similar desire to forge dialogues with the Christian community. They had invited the clerics to stay with them again.
Leader of the Rumahtiga Parish, Rev. Alex Uhy, had the opportunity to stay at the Catholic monastery in Mardika. He was impressed with the spirituality of the brothers. "They greet each other like brothers. There is no senior or junior," said Alex.
GPM synod head Rev. John Ruhulessin said religious leaders played an important role in the relationship between faiths. He said he had a good rapport with the head of the Maluku chapter of the Indonesian Ulema's Council and Amboina Diocese Bishop Mgr. P.C. Mandagi, but he felt that grass roots dialogue was still limited.
Ruhulessin was impressed with the efforts of clergymen to build direct dialogue with the Muslim and Catholic communities. He hoped the clerics would use the live-in experience as a means to spearhead dialogue at the congregation level.
| Environment |
Agence France Presse - March 31, 2007
Jakarta – Indonesia's state oil and gas company Pertamina said Saturday it had shut off gas lines near a "mud volcano" for safety reasons, as railways and roads were again flooded with toxic sludge.
"The ground near the pipes has subsided – thus the mud surface has almost reached the gas pipes," company spokesman Toharso said in a statement, announcing that the pipes had been shut down from 5:00 pm Friday.
The steaming crater, located near Indonesia's second-largest city of Surabaya in East Java, first began spewing mud in May after exploratory gas drilling at the site by a local firm, PT Lapindo Brantas.
The sludge has inundated some 600 hectares (1,500 acres), including many homes and factories, leaving thousands of people homeless and jobless. Indonesian experts are trying to slow the flow by dropping chains of heavy concrete balls into the funnel, a bold plan some say will not work.
The mud also threatens to swamp a key railway, which is to be rerouted away from the danger zone. One of the main tracks – still being used by trains passing through the area – is now covered in three centimeters (two inches) of mud, police said Saturday.
Late Friday, workers frantically piled sandbags along the main road connecting Surabaya to the city of Porong to hold back the oozing sludge, but traffic had to be diverted on Saturday, causing major disruptions.
"Mud flooding on the tracks and Porong road is worse than yesterday and traffic has to be diverted to an alternative road," officer Andi Yudiyanto said on ElShinta radio.
East Java governor Imam Utomo visited the affected area on Saturday and ordered redoubled efforts to reopen the road and clear the railway line.
National Planning Minister Paskah Suzetta has said the cost of managing a series of natural disasters like the "mud volcano" is likely to send Indonesia's budget deficit spiralling upwards.
Jakarta Post - March 29, 2007
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – At a discussion on environmental issues on Wednesday, Jakarta Environment Management Board head Budirama Natakusumah raised some basic questions about the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
The CDM is an element of the Kyoto Protocol that allows developing countries to host projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"What does the CDM look like?," he asked. "What is the nature of its system?"
"The CDM has long been promoted here but we don't have good knowledge about its processes. Many non-governmental organizations have come to my office to explain the concept, but how it works is still not clear," he said.
Countries running CDM projects receive a certificate of emissions reduction that is based on the number of tons of carbon dioxide emissions that can be traded with rich nations that have mandatory targets to reduce emissions.
While Indonesia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol it has no mandatory target to reduce emissions. Jakarta was the first province in the country to issue a decree on hosting CDM projects, but is yet to carry out any activities.
Wednesday's discussion, organized by the State Ministry for the Environment, was attended by the heads of environmental agencies across the country.
Budirama and other participants urged the ministry to release information on climate change to improve public awareness of the issue.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar used the meeting to brief the attendees about the impacts of climate change.
"I don't mean to scare you all, but if we do nothing to manage climate change, many of our areas, including Jimbaran in Bali or Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Banten and my office will permanently disappear," he told the gathering.
Rachmat also spoke about reports on climate change issued by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, written by Nicholas Stern.
"I admit it will be difficult for you to understand the two reports but we have to learn. Regional administrations need to know the macro and micro sides of climate change,"
"It (the climate change) is no longer just the changes of season patterns," the minister said.
Rachmat said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would also brief all governors about the issue. "Although we are currently focused on resolving poverty and high unemployment problems, we are forced to think about climate change and controlling carbon monoxide emissions," he said.
He said that Indonesia was the third largest CO2 emitter in the world after the United States and China, mainly due to the peatland fires that cause the annual haze. Indonesia will host an international conference on climate change in December in Bali. Some 10,000 experts and participants from 190 countries will attend the conference.
"The international community has said that the Bali conference is crucial to save the world from the impacts of climate change. They believe that Indonesia will bring peaceful vibrations to resolve the problems. We thank them for that but we also need first to save our environment," Rachmat told The Jakarta Post.
He said that the Bali conference was expected to set adaptation funds and the price of a ton of carbon emission reductions.
"Nicholas told me that the price of emission reductions could be between US$33 to $35 per ton to encourage developing nations to host the CDM. Thus, with this price, Indonesia could reap up to US$5 billion from the CDM project," he said.
A ton of emissions reductions is currently worth between $7 and $10.
Jakarta Post - March 28, 2007
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives approved Tuesday the bill on spatial planning, which is aimed at arresting the decline of green space in the nation's cities.
All 10 factions in the House hailed the bill as a good start at reining in the rapid growth of concrete jungle in Indonesia's urban areas.
The Golkar and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) House factions said the bill – which requires cities and regions to allocate a minimum 30 percent of their area for open green space and a minimum 20 percent for public space – would allow people living in urban areas to breath more freely.
"All big cities have lacked open space for greenery and public space for residents to entertain themselves," Akil Mochtar of the Golkar faction said.
"The provision of open and green spaces is a must to help minimize air pollution and strike a balance between development and the environment."
The House could revise the new law – which is a revision of a 1992 law on spatial zoning – in the coming years if the regions proved unwilling to allocate land for the spaces.
Yacobus Mayong Padang of the PDI-P faction said the bill was important for preventing regional heads from issuing permits allowing private companies to exploit or occupy public spaces.
"Provinces, regencies and municipalities will have to make their own spatial plans in reference to the national spatial master plan," he said.
"Local administrations will also have to be transparent in how they set areas preserved for the environment and public utilities and those areas for residential and industrial zones and public buildings."
The bill carries a maximum five-year jail sentence or a maximum fine of Rp 500 million (US$54,900) plus the unconditional dismissal of regional heads and officials found to have issued permits for the development of public space.
The bill, which will take effect in April, also invites the public and individuals to file lawsuits against public officials.
Abdullah Azwar Anas, deputy chairman of the special committee that prepared the bill, said the bill also assured public access to master plans.
The bill also calls on regions to enhance cooperation with their neighbors to control disasters such as floods and landslides.
It also threatens a maximum eight-year jail sentence or a maximum fine of Rp 1 billion for any party or individuals held responsible for material losses or fatalities resulting from land use violations.
Jakarta Post - March 27, 2007
Novan Iman Santosa, Jakarta – The government will continue its efforts to build a nuclear power plant, despite mounting opposition from environmental groups.
"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made it national policy to (start) building a nuclear power plant in 2010 and start operation in 2016," State Minister for Research and Technology Kusmayanto Kadiman said Monday. "We already have the law and related regulations (in place) to allow the nuclear plant to be constructed."
Kusmayanto spoke to the media after installing Hudi Hastowo as the new chief of the National Nuclear Energy Agency (Batan), replacing Soedyartomo Soentono.
Responding to opposition from environmental groups, the minister said the government would be criticized for any action it took to head off future electricity shortages.
"Some people just want to oppose anything the government does," he said. "It's been decided by the president so, as a minister, I have to carry out the program. I can only stop the program if the president changes his policy."
Kusmayanto emphasized that Indonesia's nuclear program was for peaceful purposes and was being supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "We are working closely with IAEA, which will also give us recommendations on where to build the nuclear plant. We still have to study the seismic stability of any site," he said.
Two sites are being mooted for the nuclear plant. One possible site would be near Mt. Muria in Jepara, Central Java, another would be on Madura Island, East Java.
Hudi Hastowo told reporters that while there would be no technical or economic problems with building a nuclear plant, achieving public acceptance would still be difficult.
"We'll hold a public awareness campaign, since we don't have any other options to deal with future power shortages (apart from nuclear energy)," he said. "Remote villages may use solar panels or wind turbines but those technologies can't generate the massive amounts of power needed for industry."
Meanwhile, Soedyartomo reminded the government to prioritize the use of local materials and manpower in building the nuclear plant. Indonesia currently has three research reactors in Bandung, Yogyakarta and Serpong, Banten.
| Transport & communication |
Jakarta Post - March 28, 2007
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Under the spotlight of a massive rally in front of the State Palace, the House of Representatives approved Tuesday the rail transportation bill, allowing the private sector to take part in the rail industry.
All 10 factions at the House gave their support to the bill in a plenary session here in an effort to reform the much-criticized public transportation system in the country. They said the rail industry had to become more competitive but continue to provide cheap transportation.
The bill stipulates the private sector, including multinational corporations, is allowed to take part, along with the state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), in providing rail transportation and the manufacture of supporting facilities. It requires the government to issue a regulation on the detailed participation of the private sector in the rail industry.
Putra Jaya Husein, spokesman for the National Mandate Party faction, said in the faction's political stand during the plenary session presided over by Deputy House Speaker Muhaimin Iskandar, that despite the private sector's participation, the government remained the only authority in setting train fares to ensure a cheap service.
"PT KAI and private providers must make a profit to let them survive, but the government is required to give subsidies to ensure cheap rail transportation for the public," he said.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) asked the government to issue regulations to govern the involvement of the private sector in public and special rail transportation.
"Private corporations should be encouraged to provide rail transportation for destinations with a high load factor and to invest in special rail transportation to create a healthy competition with PT KAI," said Rendi Affandi, spokesman for the PDI-P faction.
Special rail transportation systems carry cargo and raw materials in industrial zones in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan.
The National Awakening Party (PKB) faction said the private sector should be allowed to operate in Greater Jakarta to help solve the chronic public transportation problem in the capital city.
"In fact, PT KAI has been found to be unable to serve the densely populated region with its residents, most of whom work in Jakarta," said Abdullah Azwar Anas of the PKB faction.
The bill carries a maximum 15-year jail sentence and a maximum fine of Rp 5 billion (US$548,967.9) for train operators found guilty of ignoring safety regulations and companies or individuals who damage rail facilities.
It also mandates the government to audit assets used by PT KA and the company's assets in the coming three years to make the company liquid.
As the legislators assembled to endorse the rail transportation bill, hundreds of active and retired PT KAI employees marched from Gambir railway station to the nearby State Palace, both in Central Jakarta, to demand the inclusion of their rights in the newly-endorsed railway law.
Transportation Minister Hatta Radjasa said after a meeting with leaders of the PT KAI workers union at the State Palace that former PT KAI employees would be paid the way the government paid regular civil servants.
Since PT KAI was converted from a state-owned company into a profit-seeking enterprise, more than 32,000 of its employees have seen their jobs downgraded. Of these, 27,000 are still working for the company, while 9,000 have retired.
Jakarta Post - March 26, 2007
Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Indonesians would be better off if safety ratings were given to other modes of transportation, not just airlines, and were conducted by independent auditors, a consumer affairs expert said.
"Performance ratings, including safety standards, for all means of transportation by certified auditors operating outside the Transportation Ministry are needed in Indonesia," transportation observer Agus Pambagyo told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Agus is a former deputy chairman of the Indonesian Consumers' Foundation. "Actually, according to the civil aviation safety regulations, there is no such thing as a safety rating."
The Transportation Ministry released Thursday a list dividing the country's domestic airlines into three categories – from airlines seen as fully compliant with aviation regulations to those that have not satisfied several flight-related safety measures.
An audit of other modes of transportation by independent, certified auditors is possible in Indonesia, Agus said.
"Many foreign companies use the services of professional, certified performance auditors in Indonesia to check the conditions of the airlines that they want to fly with," he said.
"It is common practice here. An airline that refuses to be audited is usually incapable of providing safe services." Agus said the Directorate of Airworthiness Certification (DSKU), which is under the supervision of the Transportation Ministry, should not have considered technical aspects in their ratings of the airlines.
"The Transportation Ministry's role is only to monitor whether the airline auditors are truly certified," he said, adding that it would be extremely difficult to scrupulously evaluate the adherence of some 600 aircraft to 20 criteria within such a short period of time.
Director general for air transportation, Budhi M. Suyitno, unveiled the airline ratings within a month of assuming his new position.
"The ratings are unfair because some airlines have more aircraft in their fleet," Agus said. "How could an airline with 30 jetliners and an airline with only two jetliners get the same amount of attention in the rating process?"
Furthermore, Agus said, the ratings system should have been extensively debated to make the process and results more objective.
Several airlines, including Garuda Indonesia, Merpati and Adam Air, have said they were confused by both the ratings system criteria and the ministry's methods of obtaining its data.
"To make aviation improvements in terms of safety, the Transportation Minister needs to overhaul his ministry, especially the DSKU, which issues the certification for aircraft and engineers in airports," Agus said.
Yurlis Hasibuan, head of the DSKU, said previously that the directorate would audit the airlines in question every three months while "still developing criteria for evaluation".
Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) chairman Bambang Susantono told the Post that the Transportation Ministry should also incorporate public feedback in its ratings system.
"As far as I'm concerned, the ministry is yet to include the perceptions of transportation users in their evaluation criteria."
Bambang said that if the government planned to evaluate the country's airlines every three months, then its ratings method should be made clearer to the public.
"Evaluation methods can be refined later. However, the sanctions on airlines that fail to improve, as promised by the ministry, should be implemented."
Jakarta Post - March 26, 2007
Following the string of airline accidents over the past few months, the Directorate General for Air Transportation announced Thursday its ratings of 20 private and state-owned airlines operating in the country. The Jakarta Post's. M. Taufiqurrahman spoke with the new Director General for Air Transportation, Budhi Mulyawan Suyitno, on the sidelines of a recent Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) meeting about the country's aviation industry.
Question: Why is the assessment of the airline industry only now being conducted?
Answer: While the public is still waiting for the results of our investigation, we constantly expose them to news through the mass media. This is part of social education on transportation safety. We have been auditing these airlines for a long time and have closely watched them before coming up with these ratings. Based on their compliance with standards, the country's airlines have been grouped into three types. These are compliant airlines, which have rectified both major and minor infractions, non- compliant airlines, which have managed to better their performance in the given time and repeat offenders, which have repeatedly ignored safety regulations and made no effort to improve their performance. We will also give consumers a chance to evaluate airlines.
What will happen if airlines in the lowest category continue operating?
I have to remind you that air transportation is basically risk- ridden because it is capital intensive. It is a high-tech, high- speed and high-profile industry. Once an airplane takes off, we are at risk, so there's no room for error. To achieve levels of safety, operators need to follow safety regulations, they have to employ and utilize competent human resources. An operational director, for instance, has to know how to operate an airplane, a technical director has to know all about aviation technology. If an airplane is not airworthy, the airline's dispatcher should not give the green light. We have discovered grave infractions committed by these airlines. A number of airplanes have carried a limited amount of fuel, when the regulation clearly stipulates that reserve fuel is absolutely necessary in case the plane has to find an alternative airstrip, in addition to extra fuel needed for an emergency 30-minute flight. But most of the time, to cut costs, operators provide only enough fuel for one trip, so pilots are forced to land according to designated schedules and destinations regardless of runway and weather conditions. This is a deliberate infraction on airline safety regulations.
Has the age of airplanes contributed to accidents?
Airlines abroad operate the same types of airplanes, of the same age, yet they reach zero-accident levels. If they can achieve this why can't we? This is because of our own stupidity, the stupidity of our regulators, operators and consumers. Operators can not take the blame alone. The key is the regulator, it is the one that decides whether an airliner is allowed to operate. Frequently, politicians, elites and government officials put pressure on regulators to bend the rules. Coupled with vested interests, this has compromised airline safety standards.
What are the government's plans for poorly-performing airlines?
We will give them three months to improve their performance.
How will consumers rate the airliners' performance after the announcement is made?
We will make a special post box for consumers. But the point is that the public can make an assessment for themselves. They can't expect safety if they fly with low-cost carriers. The greatest flaw in our system is that our regulations are not detailed and have given rise to different interpretations. The devil lies in the details.
How did the airlines' maintenance departments perform in the ratings?
Some airlines performed well in maintenance. But we have discovered numerous grave infractions. Some of the airlines have resorted to the so-called "alternate means of compliance" and have tried to get around regulations governing the maintenance of their airplanes. For instance, safety standards require operators to clean air conditioner outlets once every six months or every 1,000 hours of flight time. But sometimes, operators cheat the regulations. We found that the outlets were often not cleaned even after 1,500 hours because the operator argued that it had not reached the mandatory six month period.
So future regulations should carry more details?
There should be no room for pilots to interpret regulations, because airplanes move at high speeds. If visibility is less than 500 feet, then pilots should not force a landing. Pilots may already be exhausted and should not be burdened with more things to think about. We know that most air accidents happen over the weekend because pilots are exhausted. They also occur early on weekdays, when pilots have not yet recovered from their holiday hangovers.
What other infractions are common among airlines?
I can only give you examples. We have found that manuals to be used only in classrooms are being used as operation manuals, which is ridiculous. During my inspection, I also found that some female flight attendants lived in cramped boarding houses. How can they work properly if they do not get enough sleep. The same is true for our pilots. Here, pilots are required to follow the wishes of company owners, not the flight manual. A flight simulator should be used by two pilots only, but to cut costs they are used by up to six pilots who are given their certificate after a 70-hour simulation.
How many airlines are currently under the ministry's watch?
There are 15 regular airlines and a number of chartered airlines. But you should know that chartered airlines uphold safety standards to the highest degree. I think this is because they have foreign-based technicians. Some employ former Federal Aviation Administration officials because they are contracted by foreign companies, which are strict on safety.
What is the difference between low-cost carriers here and abroad?
The basic concepts adhered to by our low-cost carriers are different from the principles adhered to by most no-frills airliners around the world. Abroad, budget airlines spend less money on non-safety components such as food, entertainment, executive salaries and on-line ticketing. Their CEOs work in a three-by-four room. But here, airlines operate the same way regular airlines work, but manage to apply cheaper fares. This has been achieved by violating safety regulations.
Reuters - March 24, 2007
Indonesia is giving six airlines three months to improve safety or face suspension or closure.
An audit of 54 airlines revealed none of them made it into the first of three rating classes, indicating high safety, the director-general of civil aviation, Budhi Muliawan Suyitno, said.
Fifteen companies were placed in the lowest category and were considered to have met only minimal standards of safety. The national carrier, Garuda, made the second grade.
The audit was ordered by the Government to evaluate transport safety following two deadly recent air accidents.
An Adam Air Boeing 737 carrying carrying 102 people disappeared on January 1 on a flight from Surabaya, Java, to Manado, Sulawesi.
Wreckage from it was found on the ocean floor just off south-west Sulawesi several days later, but a salvage operation is yet to begin, following a dispute between Adam Air and the Government over who should pay for it.
On March 7 a Garuda Boeing 737 overshot the runway at Yogyakarta and burst into flames, killing 21 people, including five Australians.
Mr Suyitno said airlines in the third category would be given warnings to improve standards within three months.
"If there's no improvement within three months, there will be a suspension order, and if there's still no improvement they will be shut down," he said.
The airlines given three months to shape up are Adam Air, Kartika Airlines, Jatayu, Batavia, Trans Wisata Air and Dirgantara.
Mr Suyitno said the new airline category system, which is based on 20 safety criteria such as accident history and maintenance standards, was born of the need for a systematic and durable approach to passenger protection.
He replaced the previous air transport head this month amid pressure on the Transport Minister, Hatta Rajasa, for improvements after the Garuda disaster.
Air travel in Indonesia, a sprawling country of more than 17,000 islands, has grown substantially since liberalisation of the airline industry in 1999, which triggered price wars. There are fears safety has been compromised and doubts as to whether aviation infrastructure and personnel can cope.
There have also been two ferry disasters in recent months, killing hundreds of people, and railway accidents are common.
| Economy & investment |
Jakarta Post - March 28, 2007
Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – While last year's moderate economic growth and the establishment of a more stable macroeconomic environment were positive accomplishments, they were still insufficient to start putting a dent in unemployment and reduce poverty, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says.
The annual report, issued by the Manila-based donor Tuesday, says that the 5.5 percent growth rate posted in 2006 was "inadequate to provide more jobs".
"It has not been able to increase the number of new jobs to meet the challenge of a growing labor force," the bank's country director, Edgar A. Cua, said during the report's launch.
The moderate growth in the economy since 2001, the report said, had not been enough to block a persistent rise in the unemployment rate from below 9 percent of the total workforce in 2001 to an estimated 10.3 percent last year.
Taken together with more than 20 percent underemployment, the report says that about 42 percent of Indonesians live on between $1 and $2 a day, leaving them vulnerable to adversities such as ill health and natural disasters.
"Jobs are needed. So, it's not just about pursuing a higher growth rate, but how to create jobs," Edgar said. "We would like to see the growth rate being accompanied by full employment."
He stressed that "while macroeconomic stability has been restored, much remains to be done to combat unemployment and poverty."
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono promised earlier this month to cut unemployment by strengthening the National People's Empowerment Program (PNPM), and expanding the opportunities for Indonesian migrant workers to gain jobs abroad.
A string of disasters around the country has also contributed to the number of new job seekers in 2007, which normally amounts to more than 2 million per annum.
At least 20,000 people lost their jobs due to the Sidoarjo mud volcano disaster in East Java, 600 due to the East Nusa Tenggara earthquake, 15,000 due to the West Sumatra earthquake, 60,000 due to the Yogyakarta earthquake, and about 223,007 due to the floods that hit Jakarta in February, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno said earlier.
Accordingly, the ADB said that the foremost challenge for the government "is to accelerate growth to a level that can create enough jobs to hold back the tide of unemployment and underemployment, and reduce the vulnerability of the poor."
The bank says it expects the economy to grow by as much as 6 percent this year and 6.3 percent in 2008 on the back of surging consumption and investment nourished by a bank-lending revival amid declining interest rates.
Inflation is expected to remain under control at 6 percent and 6.1 percent for this year and 2008, respectively.
Jakarta Post - March 26, 2007
Jakarta – The government has reiterated its commitment to attracting more foreign investment, affirming its guarantees for major infrastructure projects and longer-term land and property use titles for foreign investors.
The policy affirmation comes as the House of Representatives wraps up deliberation on a new investment bill, which is expected to become law by the end of the month. "We will of course provide support for the main infrastructure development projects. One form this support will take will be providing guarantees for multi-year projects," Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono told Antara news agency last week.
Investors in projects such as toll roads, power plants, and mass transport systems have recently been seeking guarantees from the government to ensure returns on their investments.
The government on its part has said its seeking investors' assurance that projects will be done well and done on time. The Finance Ministry has formed a unit to assess suitable guarantee schemes for the infrastructure projects.
The government, Boediono said, would also provide suitable support for public infrastructure projects – mainly concerning land clearance – privately financed outside of the government's budget.
"We already have regulations to settle problems such as the price of land (for infrastructure projects) turning out to be higher than its actual value," he said. "This is some of the support we can give."
The president has already issued a regulation allowing for the compulsory acquisition of land for crucial public infrastructure projects, with compensation for the owners based on the taxable value of their land and property (NJOP).
The regulation was aimed at addressing complaints from many investors who were turned off by speculation over land necessary for their projects.
Speaking separately on the issue of land for investment, National Land Agency (BPN) deputy head for land and registration affairs Bambang Eko H.N. said the new investment bill would also allow longer fixed-term use titles for business (HGU) of up to 95 years, for buildings (HGB) up to 80 years, and for land (HP) up to 70 years.
A previous 1996 regulation on foreign property ownership only allowed foreigners to purchase fixed-term HGB titles for up to 25 years.
Bambang said the government may consider a longstanding proposal by the Indonesian Real Estate Developers' Association (REI) to allow foreigners to own land and building ownership titles, with the proviso that they made direct investments in Indonesia.
Jakarta Post - March 24, 2007
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Economists criticized Friday the target set by a strategic group for Indonesia's transformation into a developed nation in the next 20 years.
Economist Sri Adiningsih of Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University and Aviliani of Jakarta's University of Indonesia said the target was "unreasonable".
"The vision is just too ambitious. Even before the economic crisis hit us in the late 1990s, our economy never grew by 7 percent annually, so how can they expect our country to grow by more than 7 percent in the next 20 years?" Sri Adiningsih said.
A strategic group consisting of businesspeople, academics and government officials unveiled on Thursday a presentation titled Indonesian Vision 2030, which said Indonesia was expected to become one of the world's major powers, with a per capita gross domestic product of US$18,000, by 2030.
The group said that the feat could be achieved only if the country's economy grew by 7.26 annually, with an inflation rate of 4.95 percent and a population growth rate of 1.12 percent.
Adiningsih said that there would be numerous factors at play that would diminish the chances of the country growing by 7 percent annually.
"The country's economy has in recent years been susceptible to non-economic factors such as natural disasters and volatile political conditions," she said.
She said that the likelihood of achieving the target in the designated time would be small as Indonesia had to compete with other countries in Southeast Asia.
"Take Vietnam for example. It has managed to attract more investment than us," Adiningsih said, adding that Indonesia could consider itself successful only after it managed to catch up with Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore.
Another economist, Aviliani of the University of Indonesia, said that using per capita income as an indicator of success was largely misleading.
"It's just figures that don't reflect the true conditions in the society and for developing countries per capita income is just a charade to conceal the level of poverty," Aviliani said.
She said that per capita income could be used as a gauge for people's welfare only in developed nations where redistribution of wealth prevailed.
"But here, the largest chunk of wealth is enjoyed by the rich," she said. Aviliani said rather than aiming for the unattainable, the government should focus on the problems at hand, such as poverty and unemployment.
She also said that the 2030 vision contained numerous contradictions. "The group expects that we will have high economic growth with low inflation. But we have learnt that both can not go hand in hand," she said.
| Opinion & analysis |
Asia Times - March 29, 2007
Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesia's politics of corruption has always been murky, with untold billions of dollars spirited from state coffers into politicians' personal accounts during strongman Suharto's 32-year tenure. But never before have graft allegations been so politically charged, with mounting opposition complaints that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's anti- corruption drive has disproportionately netted opposition politicians.
The recent arrest and imprisonment of Widjanakaro Puspoyo, chairman of the National Logistic Agency (Bulog), on corruption charges dating back to 2001 and 2003 has set in motion opposition recriminations of a political witch-hunt. Puspoyo is a card- carrying member of the main opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), established by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri.
The day after Puspoyo was charged, he was replaced in his post by Mustafa Abu Bakar, a former governor of Aceh province and a prominent member of the military-linked Golkar party, which under Suharto ruled the country with an iron fist and is now strongly represented inside Yudhoyono's ruling coalition by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Golkar's chairman. Kalla was reportedly instrumental in Abu Bakar's uncharacteristically speedy appointment.
Growing opposition complaints of discriminatory justice have been aimed at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), a government-sanctioned independent body established in 2003 and headed by former police general Taufiequrachman Ruki. PDI-P secretary general Pramono Anung has come out most forcefully against the anti-corruption body, which he believes is doing the government's bidding in undermining his party's reputation before what are expected to be hotly contested general elections in 2009.
The quasi-independent KPK has wide-ranging powers to name corruption suspects, make arrests, and summon anyone to testify, including political-office holders and high-ranking officials. The investigative body can also request that the president suspend officials to facilitate prosecution and gain access to suspects' bank accounts. It also has the authority to take over cases from both the police and the prosecution service.
KPK deputy chairman Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas has denied any discrimination in the body's workings, saying that the anti-graft body would investigate anyone if it had solid evidence of wrongdoing. One particular bone of contention is an apparent two-tier system of detention for suspects fingered by the KPK and those accused by the Attorney General's Office (AGO).
Suspects tried by the special anti-graft court, created specifically to hear cases handed up by the KPK, are frequently detained while on trial. Cases brought by state prosecutors through the AGO, in contrast, allow suspects to go free until proved guilty. The PDI-P claims that by detaining politicians while they still stand trial, the KPK has abused its authority and is unfairly eroding the party's credibility with voters. They point in particular to the case of Suwarna Abdul Fatah, a PDI-P politician and the governor of East Kalimantan.
In January, Fatah and a clutch of senior Forestry Ministry officials were detained by the KPK on charges of corruption and abuse of power for allegedly illegally granting PT Surya Dumai a land-concession permit to clear more than a million hectares of state land for an oil-palm project. The company logged some 700,000 cubic meters of forest land, causing the state losses of up to Rp386 billion (US$42 million). Yudhoyono personally suspended Fatah while he was under investigation. Last week the anti-corruption court sentenced him to 18 months in prison.
The opposition claims that his treatment represents a double standard. They note by comparison that Golkar politician Ali Mazi was recently indicted by the AGO over a land-permit scam involving the former Hilton Hotel but has not been detained upon receiving the charges. Similarly, they note, the South Jakarta District Court released Golkar politician Nurdin Halid, who was charged with misappropriating funds at Bulog, while his case was pending.
Meanwhile, Rokhmin Dahuri, a former maritime and fisheries minister under Megawati, is in detention at police headquarters in Jakarta after being interrogated by the KPK over the alleged collection of Rp15 billion ($1.6 million) as levies for his personal use from the ministry's regional offices.
Dahuri is the third senior Megawati minister and PDI-P member to face a KPK-led graft probe. Said Agil Al Munawar, religious affairs minister from 1999 to 2004, was sentenced to five years in prison in February 2006 for embezzling money earmarked for the annual hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, resulting in alleged losses of Rp709 billion ($80 million) to the state.
Outside the courtroom, Munawar said his jail sentence was politically motivated and aimed at winning Yudhoyono's government praise for its war on corruption at the opposition's expense. State prosecutors had asked for a 20-year jail sentence, and an appeals court has since added two more years. Munawar says he plans to file a new appeal to the Supreme Court.
Another senior PDI-P executive, Theo Toemion, former chief of the Investment Coordinating Agency (BPKM), was sentenced to six years last August on charges of defrauding the state. This month the Supreme Court turned down his request for an appeal hearing.
Shifting sentiments
The lengthening list of high-profile arrests and trials of senior PDI-P members on graft charges is unprecedented in Indonesia's history. And because Indonesia habitually comes near the top of international corruption rankings for Asia, the KPK's work is winning praise in certain international quarters.
Yet the opposition complaints also come amid the first signs that voter support could be shifting toward the PDI-P. One of the regular polls conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) released on Tuesday showed that Yudhoyono's popularity has dropped to 49%, representing his lowest rating during his two and a half years in office. An LSI survey held two weeks ago showed that 22.6% of the respondents would vote for PDI-P, 16.5% for the Golkar Party and 16.3% for the Yudhoyono's Democrat Party.
The KPK was established while Megawati was still president, though her administration was slow to support the new body. And it's possible that there is a degree of institutional resentment at play.
In March 2004, only weeks after the KPK started its work, Ruki made an urgent appeal for financial assistance from foreign donors because of the lack of funding it received from the government. The Ministry of Justice had then proposed a meager budget of Rp12 billion per year for the KPK, but according to Ruki, that budget had not been allocated, and its top executives had for months gone unpaid.
"We are digging into our own pockets to hire secretaries, drivers and security guards," Ruki was quoted as saying. The KPK's pool of resources at the time consisted of a handful of volunteers assisted by nine police officers, six prosecutors, 15 administrative staff from the State Secretariat and two from the Justice Ministry – all of whom were on temporary loan from the government.
By 2005, the year after Yudhoyono notched an electoral victory over Megawati's PDI-P, Australia, the US and the Asian Development Bank were all contributing funds to keep the KPK afloat. With that assistance, the KPK had hired 180 new employees, including 56 full-time investigators. Last year, Germany pledged 2 million euros (more than $2.6 million) in bilateral aid for a three-year project to support the commission's work. The KPK currently has about 500 staff, and foreign donors finance about 10% of its total budget.
KPK's supporters contend that the body is acting with an even hand, pressing charges across party lines. They point to this month's arrest of Syaukani, the regent of Kutai Kertanegara in East Kalimantan province and also the local Golkar party chairman, who stands accused of three different graft cases totaling about Rp40.75 billion ($4.52 million).
Still, the KPK was widely criticized last year for not prosecuting Justice and Human Rights Minister Awaluddin, a known close friend of Jusuf Kalla. National Election Commission (KPU) member Daan Dimara was jailed for four years over irregularities in the procurement of ballot seals that caused the state to lose Rp3.4 billion. His defense had accused Awaluddin of perjury in his testimony during the trial.
This month, a 50-member legislative commission formally recommended that the KPK take over various unresolved corruption cases from the police and the AGO. Among others were stalled investigations into irregularities related to Bank Indonesia's liquidity support funds, graft allegations at big state-owned companies, including national energy and gas giant Pertamina and national airline Garuda Indonesia, as well as corruption cases involving business people and former mining and forestry officials.
PDI-P legislator Trimedya Panjaitan, who heads the House Commission III on Justice, told the Kompas daily newspaper that there is a systematic government effort under way to snare former PDI-P ministers and that corruption busting has become badly politicized.
Should the KPK take over the various unresolved cases, partisan power politics are likely to intensify in the coming months. And judging by the haste with which Bulog's Puspoyo was taken on, there could be several more PDI-P victims to come.
[Bill Guerin, a Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times Online since 2000, has been in Indonesia for more than 20 years, mostly in journalism and editorial positions. He specializes in Indonesian political, business and economic analysis, and hosts a weekly television political talk show, Face to Face, broadcast on two Indonesia-based satellite channels. He can be reached at softsell@prima.net.id.]
Sydney Morning Herald - March 27, 2007
A new security treaty with Indonesia could hamper Australia's ability to speak out about human rights abuses, a Sydney University report warns. Australia and Indonesia last year signed an historic security pact, known as the Lombok Treaty, which is currently being examined by a parliamentary committee.
The wide-ranging treaty – which covers cooperation in areas such as defence, law enforcement, counter terrorism and intelligence – is the first formal security agreement since Indonesia tore up the previous pact during the 1999 East Timor crisis.
The agreement, signed last November, signalled relations between the two neighbours were back on track after a row earlier in the year when Australia granted protection to 43 Papuan asylum- seekers. The treaty is yet to be ratified by the Australian parliament. As part of the treaty, both countries pledge not to support "in any manner" any activities which threaten the "stability, sovereignty or territorial activity" of the other, including separatist groups operating in their own territories.
A report from the West Papua Project at Sydney University's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies warns that the pact in effect has Australia colluding with Indonesia in an "undeclared war" against the Papuans. It says that Australia will be providing training, funding and material aid to Indonesian forces who are engaged in what many Papuans believe is genocide against their people. The report says ratifying the treaty may even impinge on Australian democracy by hampering Australians' ability to speak out about human rights concerns.
"It is a right, and arguably a duty, to speak out on behalf of our neighbours who are being severely repressed, dispossessed and marginalised, yet this treaty, at least in the eyes of official Indonesians, would make such concern criminal," the report says. "We would be unable to openly criticise Indonesian military excesses without being branded separatists. "Worse still, those people who believe that West Papua is entitled to independence could be subject of government surveillance or punishment here in Australia. The treaty will, in effect, give Indonesian generals the right to determine what Australians can do and say."
A number of submissions to the parliamentary inquiry have already warned that the treaty lacks sufficient human rights safeguards. In its submission, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre said: "The HRLRC is concerned that the broad scope of the treaty in respect of defence, law enforcement, counter terrorism and intelligence cooperation in particular does not include sufficient human rights safeguards, and that such safeguards present in related domestic legislation and international agreements are noticeably absent from the treaty."
It highlighted the case of so-called Bali Nine, a number of whom face the death penalty, as an example of how cooperation between Australia and Indonesia could work to the detriment of Australians.