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Indonesia News Digest 22 – June 8-14, 2007
Jakarta Post - June 14, 2007
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The security and defense
commission at the House of Representatives warned Wednesday of a
potential repetition of violent clashes as numerous cases of
civilian-armed forces land disputes remain unsettled.
"The Pasuruan shooting will not be the last such incident... the
commission has identified at least 280 land disputes between the
military and citizens," legislator Effendy Choirie of the
National Awakening Party (PKB) said during a hearing with
Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Air Chief Marshall Djoko
Suyanto.
Effendy referred to the May 30 shooting by marines in Pasuruan,
East Java, which left four villagers dead.
"I have a 1.5 meter high pile of documents on these cases in my
office," legislator Permadi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P) said.
In the wake of the Pasuruan incident, the House commission set up
a working committee to investigate the land dispute which
triggered the violence. During Wednesday's hearing, the House
recommended the TNI stop its business activities and ask the
government to take over all military businesses.
Calling the shooting a human rights violation, the commission
said the incident needed to be thoroughly investigated in order
to avoid similar violence in the future.
"The incident is a violation of the law, for which the military
institution must be held responsible. All marines involved in the
shooting must be brought to justice," commission chairman Theo
Sambuaga said at the meeting.
Also present at the hearing were Army chief Gen. Djoko Santoso,
Air Force chief Marshall Herman Prayitno, Navy chief Adm. Slamet
Soebijanto and Marine Corps Chief Maj. Gen. Nono Sampono.
PKB's Effendy Choirie, Djoko Susilo of the National Mandate
Party, Yuddhy Chrisnandi of Golkar Party, Ali Mochtar Ngabalin of
the Reform Star Party, Jeffrey Massei of the Prosperous Peace
Party and Andreas Pareira of PDI-P, who spoke in succession
during the hearing, accused the TNI of violating a 2004 law on
the military – in which TNI troops are required to defend the
country's territory from foreign enemies and terrorism, not
attack its own citizens.
"We don't see any reasons for the marines to use their weapons
against citizens. If a protest turns violent, it should be
handled by the police," Effendy said. Legislators said the
incident indicated that despite internal reform, the TNI has yet
to change its mind-set and was conducting business as usual.
TNI chief Djoko Santoso said a military investigation into the
incident was underway, with the inquiry team still collecting
information from witnesses. "The military tribunal must ensure an
objective trial of suspects in order to win the public's trust,"
he said.
Djoko said TNI Headquarters would be extra-cautious in handling
other land disputes, to avoid similar incidents in the future.
"The TNI is not able to settle the cases alone and will cooperate
with the House commission, the National Land Agency and the
citizens themselves."
Jakarta Post - June 8, 2007
Jakarta – Police have performed the worst out of all public
institutions over the last seven years, with many people
complaining about undue delays, the National Ombudsman Commission
revealed.
Dominikus DS, an assistant at the commission dealing with the
improvement of public services, said Wednesday many people had
filed complaints about the police.
"Public complaints about police performance are the highest in
comparison to complaints about other public institutions in the
country," said Dominikus.
The Ombudsman has been keeping public feedback about the police
since the commission was established seven years ago, he said. He
added that police performance had improved from year to year but
still maintained its poor ranking.
He added that the public mainly complained about undue delays and
unresolved cases, with police often being accused of failing to
submit cases to the prosecutor's offices.
"Our data shows that the undue delay of cases tops other
complaints reported by the public, such as corruption and
cronyism, power abuse, and violations of procedure."
He said that between January and March this year, the commission
received a total of 186 complaints from the public, with 62
complaints addressed to police at all levels, from National
Police headquarters down to local police subprecincts.
"The total of (reported) unresolved cases was 70, which
represented 40 percent of the total reports we received in the
commission's three offices in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Kupang in
East Nusa Tenggara during that period," Dominikus said.
Last year, the commission received 273 complaints of delayed
cases, which amounted to around 35 percent of the overall total
of 788 complaints for all public services.
Dominikus said his office did not have any specific data on
complaints about unresolved cases in Greater Jakarta.
The Jakarta Police annual report recorded 61,080 crimes last year
in the capital city and its surrounding areas of Bogor, Bekasi,
Depok and Tangerang, with only 24,036 or around 40 percent of
cases being resolved.
The percentage was higher than 2005, when police managed to
resolve only 32.5 percent of a total of 58,027 cases.
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana said
Wednesday that many cases could not be followed up because the
adequate legal foundations were not there, but would not
elaborate on what was meant by this.
Separately, Neta S. Pane from Indonesian Police Watch said there
were several factors causing the police's poor performance.
The first factor was a lack of commitment among police to serving
the public and improving their performance, he said. According to
Neta, inadequacies in the legal system and low police budgets
also contributed to poor performance.
Neta said that despite police performance having improved every
year, people's expectations for consistent law enforcement –
which had been an aim of the reform process since 1998 – were
not being met.
Commenting on the 2005 and 2006 city police reports, Neta said he
believed the actual number of unresolved cases to be much higher.
He also alleged that many cases involving high ranking figures in
National Police headquarters had never been properly dealt with.
"We have to remind the public about cases of the 15 (bank)
accounts (of high ranking police officers) and Comr. Gen. Erwin
Mappaseng. The public has the right to know about progress, if
there is any," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Police Watch earlier alleged 15 high ranking officers at the
National Police headquarters were found with an inordinately
large amount of money in their bank accounts. While Erwin, also
from the headquarters, allegedly received commission fees from a
private bank for helping it collect debts.
According to Neta, an independent institution was needed to help
police to improve their performance.
He said that non-profit organizations, such as Police Watch, were
not strong enough to force the police to improve their
performance since they did not have an adequate legal basis. He
also said the Police Supervisory Commission, which was
established via legislation, could not carry out its job properly
because it was headed by a government official.
He also added that the House of Representatives' Commission III
overseeing legal affairs should be more active in urging the
police to improve their performance in serving the public.
Politics/political parties
West Papua
Military ties
Human rights/law
Labour issues
Environment/natural disasters
Health & education
War on corruption
War on terror
Regional elections
Foreign affairs
Economy & investment
Opinion & analysis
News & issues
House warns of potential violent land disputes in the future
Police rank last out of public institutions
Politics/political parties
Fewer parties equal better government, say analysts
Jakarta Post - June 13, 2007
Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Political analysts said Tuesday that fewer political parties would lead to a more effective government. A higher election threshold along with incentives for parties to amalgamate and quality improvements were among their suggestions.
Speaking at a seminar on simplifying the country's party system at a book launch held by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), they agreed that the existing multi-party system had resulted in an unstable and ineffective presidential regime.
The House of Representatives is awaiting drafts from the government to amend laws on political parties and elections.
In the 1999 election, 148 parties registered, 48 contested the election and 21 won seats. In 2004, 261 parties registered, 24 participated and only 16 won seats.
This, said LIPI analyst Syamsuddin Harris, did not bode well for Indonesia's presidential system because of the polarization that reflected not the distinct ideology of the parties but their short-term interests.
"Parties become brokers instead of a medium to nurture future political leaders and are simply a means to bargain for power rather than to provide alternative policies," he said.
Instead of adopting a presidential system, the government often goes through a costly political bargaining process with numerous House factions just to get key policies through.
Syamsuddin suggested setting a higher electoral threshold, currently at 3 percent of total seats in the House, for parties wishing to join the next election, and banning the leaders of failed parties from creating new ones for two elections.
"The laws should also ensure political incentives for these failed parties to fuse or join the bigger ones. If a failed party joins a large one, the votes it garnered must be noted by, for instance, allocating seats or posts in the management," he said.
University of Indonesia analyst Arbi Sanit said a dual-party system, in which one supports the government and the other opposes, would ease the decision-making process.
"A simple political process drives quicker solution-finding for major problems and achievements. Competition between two parties allows clarity in public support so social and political changes can take place in a simple and aimed fashion," he said.
Arbi disagreed with arguments that multiple parties gave the diverse Indonesian people many choices to channel their political views, saying that parties were supposed to integrate the nation.
J. Kristiadi of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said the dilemma in downsizing the number of parties was the absence of quality, thus a swift figure-cutting mechanism might affect the emergence of more qualified parties. "This is where quality improvement comes in. More importantly is building a more rational basis for support, support should be thrown based on ideologies toward improving the quality of life rather than on primordial reasons," he said.
The analysts also agreed that the political party and election laws should encourage parties to develop themselves through political education and push for the creation of local parties to contest the local legislative and executive elections.
Jakarta Post - June 12, 2007
Jakarta – The New Indonesia Alliance (PIB) Party aims to participate in the 2009 elections, whether in a coalition or independently, with calls for the non-voting and apathetic communities to participate and establish a transparent elections system.
"Non-voting should not happen as it will only benefit bigger parties (in the election)," Nurmala Kartini Sjahrir, the party's new chairperson, said Monday. "PIB aims to reach the minimum electoral threshold as it failed to reach it in the 2004 election."
Kartini replaces her husband Syahrir, who quit his party post after being appointed in March this year to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Advisory Council.
The party's secretary general, Basuki T. Purnama, said that if the party gained enough seats, it would push for independent candidates to enter the election. "People with good intentions, transparent, but have limited funds should have the chance to run, not only those incumbent officials and the 'haves'".
New PIB council members include senior journalists Sabam Siagian and Fikri Jufri and former ambassador to Australia Wiryono Sastrohandoyo.
| West Papua |
ABC News Online - June 12, 2007
Geoff Thompson – A special representative to the United Nations (UN) secretary-general says there are credible reports that human rights defenders in the Indonesian province of Papua are being held, tortured and harassed.
The secretary-general's special representative on the situation of human rights defenders, Hina Jilani, has just completed a tour of West Papua.
Ms Jilani says she heard credible reports of arbitrary detention, torture, harassment through surveillance and restrictions placed on the freedom of movement of Papuans.
She says police and the military have threatened human rights defenders attempting to investigate allegations with prosecution. The representative says they have labelled the activists as separatists in order to undermine their credibility.
Albert Rumbekwan of the National Human Rights Committee in Jayapura has told the ABC he has received at least one death threat since talking to Ms Jilani.
Jakarta Post - June 11, 2007
Markus Makur, Timika – Papua has the seventh highest rate of illiteracy in Indonesia, with 200,000 people aged 12 to 45 years unable to read. In addition, more than 350,000 people over the age of 45 and living in rural areas in Papua cannot read and write.
Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu said recently the province needed an education program designed for people in rural areas to help them learn to read.
Speaking from Mimika, Suebu said the United Nations had promised to eliminate illiteracy universally through its Millennium Development Goal program.
He said the problem of illiteracy in Papua was a vicious circle "similar to the problems regarding poverty, ignorance, diseases and backwardness".
And it would take a lot of hard work and a strong will to change the statistics, he said.
The governor promised recently his office would prioritize primary education and provide suitable salaries to teachers in remote areas.
Suebu said a strong will was also needed to develop the minds of Papua's citizens. He said his office was initiating a primary education program in rural and remote areas and was focused "on eradicating illiteracy".
"It must be implemented with clear programs and concepts as well as findings by the provincial, mayoralty and regency administrations for the sake of improving education standards," Suebu said.
One program to immediately take effect would be the building of infrastructure, schools and supporting facilities in rural areas.
The Papua administration has declared the initiation of an education program in rural areas and said it will be called the Rural Development Program.
"First though we will carry out a nutrition improvement program in villages in the hope that people will be better nourished to take part in the education programs," Suebu said.
"People should be provided with balanced food and nutrition so they can take part in the programs for the sake of their own welfare."
The Papua provincial administration said it would also implement health programs in rural areas.
In addition, it has promised to train 1,000 midwives, build better-equipped community health centers and employ properly-paid medical workers in remote villages.
Jakarta Post - June 11, 2007
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua and West Papua may face less of a challenge from the US Congress after a visiting delegation from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) outlined progress achieved in both provinces to congressmen.
In an informal meeting between the PDI-P delegation led by Secretary General Pramono Anung Wibowo and parliamentarians from the US opposition Democratic Party, Indonesia was asked to focus on building strong local governments in the two provinces to empower local people.
Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, who has sought international support for self-determination for so-called Papua New Guinea, told the PDI-P delegation Indonesia's sovereignty over the provinces depended not so much on international recognition but on how the Indonesian government treated the territory, improved the capacity of local governments and empowered Papuan people.
"Jakarta must uphold justice and speed up development programs in all sectors to improve the social welfare of Papuan people," delegation member Hasto Kristiyanto quoted Faleomavaega as saying during the meeting.
Faleomavaega sponsored in 2005 a bill asking the US government to review its recognition of Papua as part of Indonesia. With international non-governmental organizations, he also lobbied the United Nations to fight for the territory's self-determination in line with the deployment of some 50,000 Indonesian soldiers to the province and alleged human rights abuses that have occurred since the territory's transfer to Indonesia in 1963.
The US congressman also criticized Australia and New Zealand for leaving the Papua issue up to Indonesia, saying it was an issue Australia and other countries in the Pacific should not have ignored.
Jakarta granted special autonomy to Papua in 2001 in a national consensus to counter a mounting independence movement launched by the Free Papua Movement to fight for the province's independence.
West Papua, previously part of Papua province, was declared a new province in 2003. Initially named West Irian Jaya, it was renamed as West Papua upon the issuance of a government regulation on April 18, 2007.
Pramono said his delegation explained to the Congress members about the granting of special autonomy, with increasing annual autonomy funds distributed by the central government to the provinces to enable them to deal with their own domestic affairs.
Beside receiving annual revenue from the mining of minerals, the two provinces also obtained special funds of Rp 3.5 trillion (approximately US$384 million) in 2006 to improve public services, particularly in the health, education and transportation sectors.
The PDI-P delegation also asked the Congress to ensure all American mining companies, particularly Lousiana-based Freeport McMoran Inc., preserve the environment and empower Papuan people at its mining site in Timika, Papua.
Jakarta Post - June 9, 2007
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Hundreds of Papuans rallied Friday in Papua and West Papua provinces during a one-day visit by special representative of the UN Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders Hina Jilani. In both provinces, Jilani was greeted with rallies.
In Papua, the protesters, from the Coalition of Community Concern on Papua and the United Front of West Papua People's Fight, welcomed Jilani, while others called on her to "stop the genocide of the Papuans" and "stop the killing in West Papua".
In West Papua's capital city Manokwari, the protesters called on the UN to put pressure on Jakarta to overturn the 1969 referendum that joined the territory to Indonesia, AFP reported.
"We urge the United Nations to accept the Papuan people's aspiration to review the Act of Free Choice," as the referendum was known, rally organizer Jek Wanggai told AFP by phone.
"The United Nations must register Papuan areas as colonized zones and organize an immediate referendum vote."
The protesters gathered outside the hotel where Jilani was staying Jayapura, demanding to see her. Jilani briefly met the protesters, during which their representative, Bucthar Tabuni, handed her a green map detailing human rights violations in Papua.
A rally was also held outside Papua Legislative Council building but was broken up by police.
Jilani met with top Papuan officials, including provincial secretary Tedjo Suprapto, Papua Police chief Brig. Gen. Max Donald Aer, the council's speaker John Ibo as well as religious leaders and non-governmental activists.
Jilani said she was in the province to check on reports received by the UN that several human rights workers in Papua were not comfortable conducting their work and believed they were being spied on. Such reports were also received by Papua Legislative Council speaker John Ibo.
"I told Ibu Jilani that several human rights workers in Papua are working under pressure, getting outside intervention that makes them uncomfortable in doing their work," John Ibo told journalists after meeting Jilani.
Max D. Aer said the report received by Jilani did not reflect the real situation in Papua since the police guaranteed all people's safety.
"If there are those who feel uncomfortable we're open to getting the report. Our job is to protect people. If people don't feel comfortable, please file a report," he said.
Jilani, who was first named by to the post by the secretary general in 2000 following a request from the Commission on Human Rights, is assigned to support the implementation of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and gather information on the actual situation of human rights defenders around the world.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as a special representative Jilani is assigned to seek, receive, examine and respond to information on the situation and the rights of anyone, acting individually or in association with others, to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The special representative was asked to submit annual reports to the commission and to the General Assembly.
Agence France Presse - June 8, 2007
Jakarta – Hundreds of people rallied Friday in West Papua, calling on the United Nations to put pressure on Jakarta to overturn a 1969 referendum that joined the territory to Indonesia, organisers said.
Rallying during a visit by UN envoy Hina Jilani, demonstrators urged the United Nations to reconsider the vote, in which voters opted to join Indonesia rather than become independent. Many here insist the vote was a sham.
"We urge the United Nations to accept the Papuan people's aspiration to review the Act of Free Choice," as the referendum was known, rally organiser Jek Wanggai told AFP by phone.
"The United Nations must register Papuan areas as colonised zones and organise an immediate referendum vote," Wanggai said.
He said about 900 people took part in the rally in Manokwari, 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the provincial capital Jayapura, where Jilani was meeting with officials on Friday. No figure was immediately available from police.
Papuans have also long accused Indonesia's military of violating human rights in the province and complain that the bulk of earnings from its rich natural resources flow to Jakarta.
The Pakistan-born Jilani was named as the UN envoy on human rights defenders in 2000. She has been meeting with Indonesian officials since arriving on Tuesday.
Wanggai called on her to meet representatives of his movement while in West Papua. "We no longer believe in the corrupt Indonesian justice system and hope an international court will deal with human rights violations in Papua," he said.
| Military ties |
ABC News Online - June 14, 2007
The United States House of Representatives is again considering cutting military aid to Indonesia because of its failure to reform its military and to prosecute senior officers for the violence in East Timor in 1999.
Last November the US agreed to resume military ties with Indonesia after 1999's violence in East Timor caused them to be cut.
Indonesia argues that it is making reform progress even though at least 60 per cent of the military's budget still comes from its own businesses.
But our Jakarta correspondent, Geoff Thompson, says failure to prosecute senior military officers, such as former military chief General Wiranto, and other alleged human rights abuses are fuelling a proposal, now being considered by the US House of Representatives, to cut 25 per cent of military aid.
Indonesia is lobbying members of the US house and the Senate and says it remains confident all of $US10 million in promised military aid will be delivered. A final decision is expected in September.
Rights groups concerned
International human rights groups say they are concerned about the Indonesian government's decision to scale back laws restricting the military's business activities.
When Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono became President in 2004, the momentum for reform of Indonesia's notorious military, TNI, had already begun.
A month earlier, Indonesia's parliament passed a law banning military commercialism and committing the government to a takeover or dissolution of all military businesses in 2009. The newly-elected president pledged to see the legislation through.
However, Indonesia's defence minister, Juwono Sudarsono, has confirmed this week that according to the government's criteria, only six of 1,500 businesses previously identified as eligible will not be classified as commercial interests. The announcement has disappointed human rights observers, including Charmain Mohamed, a researcher with Human Rights Watch.
She has told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program that the military's pursuit of profits has resulted in human rights violations.
"Because they are prioritising profit-seeking over other professional activities, this is actually causing them to commit human rights violations," Ms Mohamed told Radio Australia.
"We did lots of research in South Kalimantan where the military is running cooperatives overseeing illegal coal mining activities.
"Because they are much more focused on trying to control the illegal coal mining industry it's leading them to commit abuses – extorting money, beating people who are illegally mining coal and intimidating them. So profit-seeking is directly causing human rights violations."
Military budget insufficient
Minister Sudarsono says Indonesia's security and defence budget allocation has always been insufficient and the TNI has been involved in business since Indonesia's independence.
Political and security affairs specialist, Kusnanto Anggoro, however, doubts the profitability of TNI businesses and says the government needs another direction. "Lack of a sufficient budget should be compensated with adequate planning for defence," he said.
Charmain Mohamed says the Indonesian government must take control of the military to stop the human rights violations that have resulted from TNI business activities.
"The core problem with addressing impunity is that the civilian government has no control over the military while they do not control their finances," she said.
"The first step will be getting the military out of their own businesses, getting the civilian government fully in control of 100 per cent of the military budget and only that way can you start getting full civilian control and accountability of what the military do. And on this key issue Yudhoyono has clearly failed."
Jakarta Post - June 14, 2007
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Indonesia's improved human rights record and efforts to reform its armed forces appear to have not been enough to stop a US House of Representatives panel from proposing cuts in military aid to the country.
The US House of Representatives on Tuesday advanced legislation aimed at pressuring Indonesia to prosecute and punish military personnel involved in gross human rights violations by withholding 25 percent of military aid until progress is made.
The House Appropriations Committee, which approved a US$34.2 billion foreign aid bill for the 2008 fiscal year, which starts on Oct. 1, put conditions on $2 million out of a total of $8 million in military assistance to Indonesia.
Earlier, the Bush administration announced that it intended to give Indonesia $15.7 million in military aid for the next fiscal year. The bill must be debated by the full House and the Senate to become a law some time in September.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry Director General for European and American Affairs Eddhi Hariyadhi expressed hope Wednesday that military aid to Indonesia would not be withheld.
"It's not a final decision yet as it has to be discussed at the plenary session and with the US Senate. We are continuing to lobby many members of the House and the Senate. Many of them have expressed support for us so we are confident that we will get the full aid," he told The Jakarta Post.
The US Congress began to discuss last week the aid-cut proposal from Democratic Party Congresswoman Nita Lowey, the head of the powerful Appropriations Sub-committee, over alleged violations of human rights by Indonesian Military (TNI) officers.
Observers said Lowey had traditionally held a hostile view of the Indonesian Military, influenced by human rights activists who linked aid to the issue.
Their main complaint is the lack of progress in prosecuting senior TNI officers, such as former military chief Gen. Wiranto for his alleged complicity in the violence that followed the 1999 independence referendum in East Timor (now Timor Leste).
Concerns were heightened after the murder of noted Indonesian human rights campaigner Munir last year and the recent incident in Pasuruan, East Java, in which Navy officers shot dead four civilians. "I heard that the Pasuruan case was also one of the reasons for the cut," Eddhi said.
Earlier, Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono branded calls to cut US aid to the country's military as superficial because they only represented the interests of a few human rights groups. He said the human rights groups and the US congresswoman who proposed the aid cut had not taken into account recent reform progress made by the TNI.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the panel also took similar action against Egypt and is withholding $200 million in military funds from the country until the close US ally takes steps to curb police abuses, reform its judicial system and stop weapons smuggling from Egypt to Gaza.
Overall, Egypt would receive $1.3 billion in grants next year, out of $4.5 billion to all countries, to help Cairo buy military hardware and finance military training from the United States.
"The $200 million cut is substantial," James Moran, a Virginia Democrat was quoted as saying by Reuters. "Our ally is not upholding the principles that define us."
For Pakistan, another controversial US aid recipient, $300 million in military grants will be provided next year, the same level as this year and matching Bush's request for fiscal 2008.
Jakarta Post - June 12, 2007
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Indonesia has branded calls to cut US aid to the country's military as superficial because they only represent the interests of a few human rights groups.
Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Monday the human rights groups and US congresswoman who proposed the aid cut have not taken into account recent reform progress made by the Indonesian Military (TNI).
"We are not concerned because so far only one congresswoman has proposed an aid cut, and her case is based on input from non- governmental organizations which for the last eight years have been antagonistic toward the TNI," he told reporters.
He said Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First and the East Timor Alliance Network (ETAN) were groups to have constantly criticized Indonesia's human rights record.
Juwono said he clarified relevant issues with US lawmakers and organizations when he visited the US in April.
"I explained that the TNI is not the same as before, and that we have made progress in the area of reform. However, it seems they did not listen. They will not admit we have made progress because then they will lose their source of income," Juwono said.
The US Congress began to discuss last week a proposal from Democratic Party Congresswoman Nita Lowey, the head of the powerful Appropriations Sub-committee, to cut 25 percent of military aid to Indonesia over alleged violations of human rights.
Details of the Congress' deliberations are yet to be made public and the new proposal still has several congressional rounds to go through before potentially being passed in September.
An Indonesian official said recently the country's embassy in Washington is lobbying lawmakers in the US Congress in an effort to block the proposal.
Observers said Lowey has traditionally held a hostile view of the Indonesian Military, influenced by human rights activists who link aid to the issue.
Their main complaint is the lack of progress in prosecuting senior TNI officers, such as former military chief Gen. Wiranto for his alleged complicity in the violence that followed the 1999 independence referendum in East Timor (now Timor Leste).
Concerns were heightened after the murder of noted Indonesian human rights campaigner Munir last year and the recent incident in Pasuruan, East Java, in which Navy officers shot dead four civilians.
"The Pasuruan case was an accident and it has nothing to do with TNI reform. What they want is for the role of Gen. Wiranto and several others in the Timor Leste case to be clarified, as well as proof the TNI is on a path to reform," Juwono said.
On various occasions since the early 1990s, Washington has curtailed or completely cut off military training in Indonesia. Ties between the countries were scaled back further after the East Timor imbroglio, with the US imposing a ban on weapons sales and aid to the TNI.
That ban was lifted in 2005 after intense lobbying by the Bush administration, which regarded Indonesia as a key ally in the war on terror.
Jakarta Post - June 11, 2007
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Recent occurrences of violence allegedly involving members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) do not necessarily indicate the military has strayed from its path to reform, an analyst has said.
Military analyst J. Kristiadi from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the TNI has done so much to reform itself a recent proposal by US Democratic Party congresswoman Nita Lowey to restrict aid to the TNI is out of place.
"We should explain to her that reform takes a long time and rights abuse allegations could be considered an obstacle on the way to reform," Kristiadi told The Jakarta Post on the weekend.
He said military reform in Indonesia requires support from Western countries, making the proposal for a cut in military aid unrealistic. He said sweeping changes have taken place within the military since a 2004 TNI law was passed recognizing civilian supremacy over the military.
The US House Appropriations Sub-Committee on Foreign Operations was debating a proposal from Lowey over alleged human rights violations by TNI members, the latest being the fatal shooting of residents in Alas Tlogo, Pasuruan, East Java.
US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill also questioned the TNI's commitment to reform during his visit to the country recently.
Analyst Hari Prihatono from military watchdog Pro-Patria said Indonesia should embark on its own reform path, despite the threat of embargoes from foreign governments. "The threat of another arms embargo will not emerge if the TNI is serious about reforming itself," Hari told the Post.
He said if the TNI is serious about internal reform and is able to come up with its own defense strategy, it could set its own terms when faced with outside pressure.
"In such a situation, the TNI could press the US government to provide arms that suit its strategic defense purposes," Hari said. "However, in spite of military rhetoric about reform, little has changed in the way soldiers operate in the field. The latest shooting incident in Pasuruan is proof of this," he said.
Such a condition would make it difficult for Indonesian diplomats to face inquiry from Western government who queried about the progress of reform in the country. "Our diplomats of course will have difficulties explaining the actual conditions on the field," he said.
Jakarta Post - June 9, 2007
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The Indonesian Embassy in Washington is lobbying lawmakers in the US Congress in an effort to block a proposal to restrict US aid to the Indonesian Military (TNI) over alleged violations of human rights.
The lobbying was launched in anticipation of efforts by Democrat Congresswoman Nita Lowey, head of the powerful Appropriations Sub-committee, to block military funding to the TNI.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry director for North and Central America Harry Purwanto acknowledged Friday that the House had discussed the proposal from Lowey, a New York congresswoman, to cut 25 percent of military aid to Indonesia.
"We have formed a special task force in Washington to deal with the issue. We've been approaching many lawmakers in the Congress for some time. Many lawmakers expressed their support to us. That's why we are quite confident that the proposal will not get support form other lawmakers," he told The Jakarta Post.
Harry added Indonesia was confident because Lowey was almost alone in her stance and the proposal was far from becoming law.
Singapore's Straits Times reported from Washington that the House Appropriations Sub-committee on Foreign Operations was debating Lowey's ideas on Tuesday. Details of its deliberations have yet to be made public, it said. The new proposal still has several congressional rounds to go through before becoming a law by September.
Observers noted that Lowey has traditionally held a hostile view of the Indonesian military, influenced by human rights activists who link aid to the issue.
Their main complaint is the lack of progress in prosecuting senior TNI officers such as former military chief, Gen. (ret) Wiranto, for his alleged complicity in the violence that followed the 1999 independence referendum in East Timor (now Timor Leste). Concerns were further heightened after the killing of the country's noted human rights campaigner Munir last year.
Indonesian Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Edy Butar Butar said that Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono had briefed members of the Congress in May about the progress of Indonesian military reforms during the present government. "I don't know why the issue is still floating," he told the Post.
At the recent Shangri-La Dialog in Singapore, Edy said, Juwono also met with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and both came out with a joint declaration. The declaration "stressed the importance of encouraging ongoing reforms undertaken by Indonesia's military, a crucial and inseparable part of democratic reforms".
Beside Lowey in Congress, Harry said, Jakarta is also watching several senators, including Democrat's Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Sub-committee for Foreign Operations and the author of the legislation tying military to human rights violations in East Timor as well as Eni Faleomavaega, a Samoan and staunch supporter of Papuan independence.
Many fear, especially the Pentagon and White House, that if the proposal became law it would damage US-Indonesia relations.
"If there are restrictions and they do become law, it will seriously hurt our relations. It will show that America is inconsistent especially when the TNI has shown some improvement and strengthen the hand of those opposed to the US," a Pentagon official told The Straits Times.
Meanwhile, TNI chief Air Chief Marshal Djoko Suyanto was quoted as saying by the detik.com news portal that he was aware of the embargo rumors but not concerned.
"What's important for us is to manage our own weapons in order to be independent. Then we can continue our commitment to go on with our democratization. The TNI is not like it used to be," Djoko said at the State Palace on Friday.
At various times since the early 1990s, Washington has curtailed or completely cut off military training in Indonesia. The ties were scaled back further after the East Timor imbroglio, with the US imposing a ban on weapons sales and aid to the TNI.
That ban was lifted in 2005 after intense lobbying by the Bush administration, which regarded Indonesia as a key ally in the war on terror.
| Human rights/law |
Jakarta Post - June 14, 2007
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The US has praised Indonesia for making significant efforts to combat human trafficking, but in its latest report says the country still does not fully comply with the minimum standards in eliminating trafficking.
Indonesia has been classified in Tier 2 in the 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, released in Washington on Tuesday, marking an improvement over its Tier 2 Watch List position in 2006.
According to the report, countries with a significant number of trafficking victims are assessed into one of three tiers.
Tier 2 countries are those that do not fully comply with the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking, but which have made significant efforts in attempting to meet these minimum standards.
Countries classed in the Tier 2 Watch List are those that have avoided a Tier 3 status, but which have yet to make significant efforts to eliminate trafficking.
Countries that meet the minimum standards are classified into Tier 1, while those assessed as neither complying with the minimum standards nor making significant efforts to do so are included in Tier 3.
"The report credits Indonesia for passing a strong anti- trafficking law, for improving law enforcement and for continued efforts to raise public awareness of the issue," charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Jakarta, John Heffern, said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post.
"However, the report also notes the great magnitude of the trafficking problem in Indonesia and some difficult issues which still need to be overcome, including trafficking-related complicity by public officials and the need to provide greater protection to migrant workers at risk of trafficking."
Heffern said the US government will continue to support Indonesia by funding programs to help the country combat trafficking, rescue victims and improve law enforcement efforts.
The US government, he said, has provided more than US$20 million over the past four years to assist Indonesia in the fight against human trafficking.
Executive director of the Journal Perempuan Foundation, Adriana Venny, agreed the government had made improvements in the fight against human trafficking, but complained that a lack of funding had hampered efforts.
"Although we already have a law on human trafficking, there is difficulty in setting more practical regulations in place due to a lack of funding. No funding has been made available to build centers to treat human trafficking victims," she told the Post.
Globally, the report – which analyzes more than 160 countries' efforts in combating human trafficking for the purpose of forced labor, prostitution, military service and other purposes – assessed US Middle East allies Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, as well as key trading partner Malaysia, as Tier 3 countries. Algeria and Guinea were also included in the Tier 3 classification.
The seven countries, all of which were included on a special watch list last year, joined Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan and Venezuela on the list of countries with the worst human trafficking records.
Countries on the list face sanctions, including the withholding of US non-humanitarian and non-trade related foreign aid.
Jakarta Post - June 13, 2007
Jakarta – A visiting United Nations representative sees positive developments on human rights promotion in Indonesia, but pointed to serious constraints in fulfilling these rights.
Hina Jilani, the special representative of the UN Secretary- General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, told a media conference Tuesday the prospects for the promotion of human rights in Indonesia had improved.
She pointed to some important developments, such as the constitutional amendments in 2002 that guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the enactment of a law on human rights in 1999 and a law on witness protection in 2006.
Jilani also highlighted the establishment of the ad hoc Human Rights Court, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan).
"The situation on human rights defenders in Aceh has changed significantly, but the government needs to pay more attention to the situation of the human rights defenders in West Papua," said Jilani, who visited Jakarta, West Papua and Banda Aceh during her seven days in Indonesia.
"Human rights defenders who have met with me have received threats. I have raised this issue to the government and have received assurances from them that the defenders will be protected."
She expressed concern that the lack of interagency cooperation and coordination had limited the impact of the positive developments on the human rights situation in general.
"I note that there's a resistance to changing attitudes and institutional culture, which has made it difficult for these institutions to make a full commitment to eliminating impunity for human rights violations.
"I observe that there is even less commitment to removing impunity for past abuses," she said, referring to several cases that has not had any progress for the past six years.
Addressing the murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib, Jilani said there were developments indicating efforts by the government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
She added that she was concerned that the course of justice might be influenced to protect the perpetrators of the murder. She reminded the government that "this will be a test for it to protect human rights defenders".
"The recommendation at this point can be that there should be proper measures adopted in order to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice."
Concrete initiatives to enact laws, create institutions and institute procedures that deal directly with the protection of human rights defenders are needed, she said.
"I'm deeply concerned by the testimonies that I've heard indicating the continuing activities of the police, the military and other security and intelligence agencies that are aimed at harassment and intimidation of defenders."
Jakarta Post - June 12, 2007
Indra Harsaputra and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya/Malang – The marines on Monday defended the actions of soldiers involved in a shooting in Alas Tlogo village in Pasuruan, East Java, at the end of May that left four residents dead.
Marine Corps commander Maj. Gen. Nono Sampono said the 13 marines who have been named as suspects in the case were absolutely correct in opening fire on residents protesting over a plot of disputed land that is claimed by the Navy.
He said the marines performed their duties professionally and should receive all possible legal support.
"They are trained men and have families to fend for. Most of them have the rank private first class and are quite experienced in deciding on situations in the field," Nono said in Surabaya on Monday.
"It's impossible they did anything stupid like shooting residents when they were not in a situation where their lives were threatened. I regret that some people who are not aware of technical military terms have said things about the case that are not according to the facts."
To back their claims they only opened fire because they felt their lives were being threatened by stone-throwing protesters, five of the 13 marine suspects have filed a police complaint against residents. In it they claim they sustained various injuries from the rocks hurled at them, as well as slash wounds.
Nono also said his men did not fire directly at residents, as claimed by several witnesses and activists from legal aid groups. "The targets would have sustained much more severe injuries if they had been fired upon directly and the number of victims would have been higher."
But Nono said the marines would carry out their own investigation into the shooting. "If you want to know whether this case will be handed over to a civilian court, just ask the (Indonesian Military) commander," he said.
A researcher on land dispute cases involving the military at Airlangga University in Surabaya, Raden Herlambang Perdana Wiratraman, said it was unlikely Alas Tlogo villagers provoked the shooting by attacking the marines.
He said in these types of land dispute cases residents generally pursued the matter through the courts, not through violence.
In Malang, also in East Java, Choirul Anwar, 3, who was shot in the Alas Tlogo violence, underwent successful surgery Monday to remove a bullet lodged in his body. The surgery was performed by a team of doctors at Saiful Anwar Hospital.
The four-member surgical team, headed by Dr. Subagyo, needed more than five hours to recover all of the pieces of the bullet. "The patient is in stable condition and can return home in the next three days. We were able to retrieve every bit of shrapnel," said Subagyo. He said the boy's injuries were not life-threatening because the bullet had missed all of his vital organs.
Later in the day, doctors performed surgery on another shooting victim, Herwanto, 27. They had to remove a section of his intestine as a result of infection. "We will also remove bullet fragments from his hip after his condition improves after the operation," said Subagyo.
Earlier, marine commander Nono visited injured victims at the hospital. He was accompanied by the hospital's vice director, Respati Drajad, during a visit with Herwanto, who was being prepped for surgery.
"The bullets did not directly enter the victims' bodies, but they grazed other objects first, then shattered into bits and entered the bodies, as seen by the bits of shrapnel found inside the victims' bodies," he said.
"I'm not trying to jump the legal process, but based on the available analysis, the bullets rebounded off other objects before entering the victims' bodies."
Jakarta Post - June 11, 2007
An apology from the Indonesian Military (TNI) concerning the recent shooting incident in Pasuruan, East Java, would benefit investigators and improve the image of members of the TNI, a rights monitoring group has said.
"I would like to see the TNI issue an apology about the shooting case. Explanations about the incident, either institutional or personal, can come later," Executive director of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) Agung Putri Astrid Kartika told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
"The problem with human rights cases is that no one admits their faults. Civilians are usually blamed for such occurrences."
She said many investigations into human rights abuses allegedly involving military personnel, including the events in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, in 1984; Talang Sari, Lampung, in 1989; and the May 1998 violence in the capital, conclude with no mention of human rights violations having occurred.
The May 30 shooting in Alas Tlogo village, Pasuruan, involving marines left four people dead and eight wounded. Military investigators are currently probing the case.
"Admitting fault has never been exercised by the TNI. If the TNI were to issue such a statement, the investigation would be easier. "Members of the military are awaiting the results of the investigation before admitting to anything. Nobody actually needs to push or force them to speak up," Agung Putri said.
Her comments were made at an Elsam training course on human rights in Puncak, West Java, attended by 25 aspiring legal practitioners.
"Beside giving participants instruments to understand international and Indonesian human rights laws, we also receive input from lawyers outside Java," Agung Putri said of the two- week course.
Past participants of the annual course who have become local government officials or legislators provide valuable insight into their administrations, as each province in the country faces unique issues, she said.
"Outside Java, there are only a few people who truly comprehend the legal mechanisms of human rights, yet local lawyers are expected to assist people to form strategies to solve human rights issues," she said. (JP/Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo)
Jakarta Post - June 9, 2007
Jakarta – Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said Friday that his office is utilizing a new method of collecting evidence for the case review of the murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib.
"We are using a conditio sine qua non method, which means that certain conditions must exist before something can be assumed. We knew that Munir was murdered and we have obtained evidence that he was poisoned with arsenic, but we haven't discovered who poisoned him. There must be a reason for it. That is conditio sine qua non," Hendarman told reporters after a mass prayer at the AGO's mosque on Friday.
Hendarman said the approach hinges on the theory of causation, which is generally acknowledged in any criminal case. He said that during the previous trial, the AGO found six possible causes for Munir's death, but had now discovered more than 10 potential causes. "The prosecutors will formulate them in the new evidence," Hendarman said.
Hendarman said the National Police is still busy collecting evidence that could further clarify the death, and that he hoped the case could be resolved before the year's end.
Meanwhile, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyatno, the off-duty Garuda Indonesia pilot who was acquitted by the Supreme Court of murdering Munir due to a lack of evidence, was questioned by the National Police for seven hours on Friday in relation to former Garuda chairman Indra Setiawan, who was recently named by the police as a new suspect in the case.
"I was questioned on how I got permission to go to Singapore and what I did there," detik.com quoted Pollycarpus as saying. Munir died of arsenic poisoning on Sept. 7, 2004, while aboard a Garuda jetliner bound for the Netherlands after having departed Singapore where he stopped in transit.
Speculation still abounds on the exact location of Munir's poisoning and the identity of the individual who poisoned him.
In addition to announcing new evidence in the case and naming two new suspects – Indra and Rohainil Aini, secretary to Garuda's chief pilot – police have also named Raymond "Ongen" Latuihamallo as a new key witness.
The naming of Ongen has led to speculation that he could in fact be Munir's poisoner. It has been alleged that Ongen chatted with Munir at Singapore's Changi Airport prior to the activist boarding his next flight.
Ongen confirmed Wednesday that he saw Munir on his September flight to the Netherlands, but denied being an acquaintance of the rights activist.
Jakarta Post - June 9, 2007
Jakarta – Activists and legislators said Friday that the state has acknowledged human rights at the policy level but has failed to implement its values in practice, especially in relation to protecting human rights defenders.
"Political change in 1998 has pushed succeeding governments to give more attention to human rights issues. However, it appears that the government monopolized all activities relating to human rights by allocating more of the budget to the state institution than to the community," House of Representatives legislator Beny Harman told a seminar on human rights defenders on Friday.
Matt Easton from Human Rights First said many existing laws still threatened human rights. He listed the Criminal Code with its criminal defamation and bills on intelligence and state secrets that restrict the freedom of speech and access to information.
The term "human rights defender" has been used increasingly since the adoption of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in 1998. Up till then, terms such as human rights "activist", "professional" and "worker" were most common.
Jakarta Post - June 8, 2007
Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office will proceed with its investigation and disregard the recent public statement made by Raymond "Ongen" Latuihamallo, one of the key witnesses in the murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib.
"Ongen's statement in the media will not affect the investigative substance of the police's official report," Attorney General's Office spokesman Salman Maryadi told reporters Thursday.
Ongen said on Wednesday that he saw Munir with a man at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf cafe during a transit stop at Changi Airport, Singapore, prior to continuing the flight to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. "I saw Munir with a man... but I did not know who the man was."
The police had previously questioned Ongen as a witness for the first time on March 30 this year. The police questioned him again upon his return from the Netherlands on May 16.
When asked whether Ongen's public statement differed from his previous testimony in front of the police, Salman said "You may (conclude this)... but the AGO will continue to use the materials already presented by the police. Ongen's statement is by nature his own denial of a report by a news magazine published in Jakarta." the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, coordinator of the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) Rafendi Djamin said Thursday that Ongen had the right to defend himself. "What matters is law enforcement must not stop due to an attempt to shape public opinion," Rafendi told journalists on the sidelines of a public hearing with Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Human Rights Defenders Hina Jilani here.
Suciwati, Munir's wife, said she was still convinced that the key witnesses were a pilot with national carrier Garuda Indonesia, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, and one of the directors of the National Intelligence Agency, Muchdi Purwopranjono.
"The police have mentioned Ongen as a key witness. Is that only because he saw there was someone with Munir? I think that is not enough... Don't distract from the focus of this case," she said.
On Thursday, National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Bambang Hendarso Dhanuri handed over additional materials on the review of the Munir case to Attorney General Hendarman Supandji and Junior Attorney General for General Crimes Abdul Hakim Ritonga. "We cannot reveal the content of the materials, because they will be examined by the AGO investigation team first," Salman said.
The police had previously named two suspects in the Munir case: former president director of Garuda Indonesia Indra Setiawan and secretary to Garuda's chief pilot Rohainil Aini.
Pollycarpus, who was cleared of the murder charges in 2006, was summoned to testify against the two suspects on Thursday, but did not give testimony as his child was ill.
| Labour issues |
Jakarta Post - June 11, 2007
Tangerang – Some 300 workers of garment producer PT Miju went on strike Saturday, accusing the company of failing to pay their May salaries on June 5 as promised.
"We only received part of our April salary, but the company had promised to give us full payment for the May salaries," said one of the striking workers, Hamdan.
He said they had received just 10 percent of their April salaries, which range between Rp 650,000 (US$73.80) and Rp 700,000.
Factory manager Eka Muryati said the company was facing financial problems because of falling export orders.
"We will likely be unable to pay the workers their salaries before June 12 because we have no money now," she said, adding that the company was on the verge of bankruptcy as a result of the losses it has been experiencing.
Jakarta Post - June 8, 2007
Multa Fidrus, Tangerang/Jakarta – More than 2,000 workers at two North Jakarta factories were fired without notice Tuesday after they demanded better salaries and benefits.
Workers at PT Master Steel and PT Pangeran Karang Murni – which are under the same management and are located in the same compound – turned up to work Tuesday to find the compound's main gate closed and a notice telling them the companies had shut down and all employees were laid off.
The managing director of both companies, Istanto Burhan, said in the notice that the companies had to lay off the workers because of the companies' decreasing income and workers' "irrational" demands for better wages and conditions.
He added that the companies would cooperate with the Manpower Agency to immediately settle the dispute.
Vice chairman of the Workers' Union at the companies, Sumardianto, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the union was demanding management explain the sudden layoff of the 2,100 workers.
He said the union asked the management last year to improve the workers' welfare package, which encompasses salaries, overtime wages, workers' insurance and severance pay.
"We asked the management to increase salaries by 18 percent because we had to adjust our living standard with the price of basic necessities," he said.
In response to the demand, he added, the management only offered an increase of six percent to keep in line with inflation, while severance pay and benefits were reduced.
The union and management met several times but failed to reach an agreement.
"Last weekend, the management said they were giving us a day off Monday, but that we had to go to work as usual on Tuesday," Sumardianto said.
National Commission on Human Rights chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara visited the factory compound late Wednesday, asking the police to reduce the number of personnel guarding the site in anticipation of demonstrating workers.
Meanwhile, PT Prima Inreksa Shoe Industry, a manufacturing firm producing shoes for Adidas at the Jatake Industrial Plant, Pasar Kemis district, Tangerang, has temporarily sent its 7,000 workers home, saying it lacked supplies of raw materials. Following the incident, a number of councilors and several officials from the regental Manpower Agency visited the factory.
A member of the council's Commission B on manpower matters, Entus Satibi, said Wednesday that the agency had to find out if the company had really run out of raw materials as management has claimed. He said three other shoe factories linked to PT Prima Inkareksa had also halted production and sent workers home on the same day.
The other companies are PT Morina, which employs 200 workers, PT Logo with 400 workers and PT Sinco with 200 workers.
PT Prima Inkareksa Shoe Industry General Manager Ojak Manurung said the company's management would guarantee none of the workers sent home would be laid off.
"Production has merely been halted because of the late delivery of raw materials to the factory and this will only be until June 21," he said.
Tangerang regent Ismet Iskandar said if the situation at the factories worsened, his administration would step in to make sure the companies took responsibility for the fate of their workers.
| Environment/natural disasters |
Jakarta Post - June 13, 2007
Suherdjoko, Kudus – Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Kudus regency, Central Java, on Tuesday to reject the central government's plan to build a nuclear power plant in nearby Jepara regency.
The protest by some 3,000 people was supported by Kudus regency administration officials, including Kudus regent Muhammad Tamzil, legislative council speaker Asrofi, military commander Lt. Col. Priyo Jatmiko and police chief Sr. Comr. Iswadi.
"I reject the plans to develop a nuclear-based power plant. People have rejected the plan. I'll send a letter on the Kudus people's rejection of the plan to the central government," Muhammad Tamzil said. He said the plan was made without agreement from residents. "That's why I support Kudus people's wishes," he said.
Protest coordinator Mochammad As'ad said the nuclear power plant could have disastrous consequences. "We want the government, especially President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to drop the plan to construct the Muria nuclear power plant," As'ad said.
An activist from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, Arif Zayyn, said people were protesting against the plan for several reasons, such as the country's already abundant natural resources. "Moreover, the technology to be used in this nuclear power plant is a pressurized water reactor, old reactor technology whose safety is questionable," Arif said.
He said that a 1,000 megawatt-capacity nuclear power plant would need four million liters of water to cool it every minute, a demand that could threaten local marine life and the fishing industry.
"The dangerous thing is, if the (water) needed to cool it off is not enough, it might trigger the meltdown of the reactor, which might then cause a leak. Radiation from the 239 plutonium might spread to as far as Southeast Asia," he warned.
The central government is planning to construct the nuclear power plant in stages, to eventually produce 4,000 megawatts. The first phase of the power plant is expected to be completed in 2016 and produces 1,000 megawatts to supply Java, Bali and Madura.
Apart from the massive protests in the heart of Kudus city, a similar protest was also held outside the Kudus Legislative Council building.
Detik.com - June 12, 2007
Nurvita Indarini, Kudus – Indonesia is looking at using nuclear technology and the government is even planning to construct a nuclear power plant (PLTN) at Muria in Central Java. The plan has its supporters and opponents. The opponents of course are continuing to reject the construction that is planned to go into operation in 2015.
An action opposing the planed construct was held by around 3,000 people from various organisations including the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi), the non-government organisation Earth Watch Society (LSM-Marem), the All Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI), student organisations and various mass organisations in East Java town of Kudus.
"We have been demonstrating at the Kudus Simpang Tujuh town square since 9am. Now we are going to march to the Kudus Regional House of Representatives to continue the action", said LSM-Marem deputy chairperson Hassan during a discussion with Detik.com on Tuesday June 12.
The action was held in response to the government reviewing a plan to construct a nuclear power plant at Muria because there are concerns that the power plant will created dangers for humanity. "In theory, there is only a one in a million chance of a nuclear accident. But the reality is that out of the existing 32 PLTNs there have been six [incidents of] leaks", said Hassan.
According to Hassan, the economic functionality of a PLTN is only 40 years. However the effects of the waste will be experienced for 24,000 years. "An example of this can be seen at Hiroshima, Japan", he said emotionally.
Moreover he continued, up until now the socialisation that has been carried out among the public has been inadequate. "Socialisation by giving out rice and asking if they want the PLTN construction. This is unclear. The public doesn't know what the benefits and risks are", he explained.
The protesters also intend to collect signatures against the construction of the power plant that will be sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the House of Representatives. "Soon after they have been gathered, we will take them to Jakarta", he asserted. (nvt/nrl)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Detik.com - June 12, 2007
Triono Wahyu Sudibyo, Kudus – Thousands of people in the Central Java town of Kudus have again demonstrated against the contraction of the Muria nuclear power plant (PLTN) which they believe will endanger lives in the future.
The action, which was held by the Muria Worker and Social Alliance (AMBM) who gathered at the Kudus Simpang Tujuh Square on Tuesday June 12 also received support from Kudus Regent M. Tamzil.
The protesters, who came from various parts of Central Java, began arriving at the square at around 10am. During the action AMBM members brought a number of banners and posters with messages demanding that the PLTN project be terminated. The hot weather did not dampen their enthusiasm.
A platform measuring 6x5 meters was setup in the middle of the town square and used as a musical stage. During a speech, Regent Tamzil said that he can understand local people's objections and promised he would convey this to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The action, which was held in the center of Kudus, disrupted the flow of traffic and a number of traffic police were deployed to overcome the problem. (djo/nvt)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Jakarta Post - June 11, 2007
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Farmers in East Nusa Tenggara have lost 25 to 40 percent of their income due to irregular rainfall, while fishermen in the Maluku islands have complained of poor catches in recent years as they lose their ability to predict sea climate and fish movements.
Climate change has arrived in Indonesia, and it is hitting the country's poorest first and hardest, according to a survey by Britain-based non-governmental organization Oxfam.
During years of helping the poor in several regencies in East Nusa Tenggara, Oxfam has found a rash of climate anomalies in the last several years in the province.
Oxfam said that in 2002 and 2003, for instance, the rainy season was late, so farmers were also late to begin planting. In 2006 and 2007, the rainy seasons and dry seasons were so unpredictable farmers did not know when to start planting.
It said the unpredictability of the rainy and dry seasons has resulted in farmers in many areas of the province failing to harvest what they planted, creating a drastic drop in income and widespread hunger and malnutrition, especially among children.
"Income level has dropped by 25 to 40 percent while the level of malnutrition among children in East Nusa Tenggara currently has reached 36 to 50 percent. At the beginning of 2006, over 60 percent of families in Central North Timor and Belu, for instance, did not have enough food," Oxfam Indonesia spokeswoman Laksmi Prasvita told The Jakarta Post.
Climate change, which has caused high tides in many parts of the country and unusual sea temperature patterns, has also negatively affected the income of fishermen in many islands in Maluku province.
"They have complained that they can no longer predict the right time and where to catch fish because of the different climate pattern than before," Laksmi said.
Stressing the climate has also begun to affect poor people in other parts of the country, Oxfam urged the Indonesian government to help the most vulnerable from the effects of climate change.
"There are 39.05 million poor people in Indonesia, 80 percent of which live in rural areas. They depend on the agricultural sector, a sector vulnerable to climate shock such as flood, drought and longer dry seasons," said David Macdonald, country program manager of Oxfam Indonesia.
The deputy to the state minister for the environment dealing with natural resource conservation and environmental control, Masnellyarti Hilman, acknowledged that several parts of the country had been affected by climate change.
"That's why we have prepared national adaption and mitigation plans in the fields of agriculture, maritime affairs, forestry and industry. This will be included in our development strategy so that we can anticipate the impacts as soon as possible," she told the Post on Sunday.
The Geophysical and Meteorological Agency has said it has recorded climate anomalies in several areas in Indonesia, and has reported an increase in the monthly rainfall rate in some areas of the country, including Jakarta, East Java and East Nusa Tenggara.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in its recent report that an extra 130 million people across Asia would be at risk of hunger because of climate change.
Oxfam said the advanced G-8 countries owe around 80 percent of the US$50 billion or more needed each year by developing countries to adapt to the harmful effects of climate change.
"Developing countries cannot be expected to foot the bill for the impact of rich countries' emissions. G-8 countries face two obligations: to stop harming by cutting their emissions to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and to start helping poor countries to cope by paying their share of $50 billion per year in adaptation funds," Macdonald said.
Jakarta Post - June 9, 2007
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Jakarta's neighboring cities has been irked by being named the nation's dirtiest in the Environment Ministry's annual cleanliness competition, officials said.
All of Jakarta's five municipalities won Adipura awards this year, a slight improvement over last year's haul of four awards.
The head of the Bekasi Environmental Agency, Dudy Setiabudi, said the judging process was unfair because organizers disregarded the fact that Jakarta dumped its waste in Bantar Gebang, Bekasi.
Jakarta's production of 6,000 tons of garbage each day contributed to making Bekasi a dirty city, Dudy said Friday.
"We have tried our best to make Bekasi beautiful but we cannot stop scavengers in Bantar Gebang who pile sorted garbage up on the side of the road outside the dump complex," he said.
Bekasi was also named dirtiest city last year. "With our all-out work, we were actually very confident of winning an Adipura award or at least improving our ranking this year," he said.
The ministry, organizer of the Adipura awards, announced the winners of the cleanest and greenest cities competition Wednesday.
The judges assessed the condition of housing complexes, including in slum and coastal areas. They also assessed public facilities such as roads, traditional markets, schools, hospitals, city parks, bus terminals, railway stations and water and waste management facilities.
Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim also protested against his city receiving the dirty label, saying he believed Tangerang deserved the awards more than Jakarta.
"We didn't win an Adipura award but Tangerang is not the dirtiest city (in Indonesia)," he told Tempointeraktif.com.
Meanwhile, green activists from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and the Jakarta Resident's Forum (Fakta) were shocked by Jakarta's success.
"Jakarta is absolutely not eligible for the awards," said Hasbi Azis, head of research and policy at Walhi's Jakarta chapter.
He said the city administration was unable to handle its own waste. "It's true the city's main streets such as Jl. Sudirman are cleaner but what about housing complexes in slum areas? There are still huge amounts of waste dumped in random places," he said.
Fakta's chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan also voiced similar concerns. "How can it be? It seems the jury of the Adipura awards are blind to the real facts about Jakarta's environmental condition," he said.
Noted urban planner Darrundono however, expressed optimism about the result, saying it could encourage city leaders to make improvements. "Previously, I was pessimistic about the competition. But after I joined the panel of judges last year, I realized its positive impact on the environment," he said.
| Health & education |
Jakarta Post - June 13, 2007
Jakarta – A no-show by city officials meant the first meeting between the city council and the administration to discuss the dengue fever bylaw had to be postponed Tuesday.
"We had invited the city secretary, the head of the health agency, the city assistant for people's welfare and all related officials to come. But none of them are here, only their staffers," a spokesman for Commission E dealing with the people's welfare, Igo Ilham, told reporters Tuesday.
He said he regretted that Governor Sutiyoso and Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo had not ensured officials turned up to the hearing.
"Those 'top executives' did not bother to monitor their subordinates since they were busy with their own businesses," he said. In response, Sutiyoso simply said that the absence of his subordinates from the meeting was caused by a miscommunication.
Commission member Perdata Tambunan said the officials should have attended the hearing since it was the administration itself that proposed the bylaw. "Are they serious about (the bylaw)?" he asked.
The head of the Health Agency, Wibowo Sukijat, who arrived after the hearing was postponed at around 11 a.m., said he was late to the hearing because of an earlier meeting with his staffers.
The city administration has drafted a bylaw on the eradication of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the carrier of the disease, saying dengue control measures undertaken by the administration such as mass fumigation had proved ineffective.
The administration has also carried out a campaign requiring residents to allocate half an hour each Friday to keeping their homes clear of the larvae of the mosquito.
The draft bylaw is aimed at breaking the chain of the mosquito's proliferation in public places by exterminating the adult mosquito and its larvae.
Perdata said he hoped the administration made the bylaw detailed enough to deal with the issue. "The bylaw must (clearly) stipulate dengue prevention and eradication so people can really feel the impact," he said. He added that the bylaw was not only aimed at punishment but also at educating the public to prevent future dengue outbreaks.
Councilors have criticized the draft, which stipulates a maximum fine of Rp 50 million (US$5,555) or three months in prison for people found with the mosquito larvae on their property. Critics have said the draft bylaw lacked punishments for officials who fail to carry out their jobs properly.
"You can't ask people to obey the bylaw if the administration doesn't serve the public well," Gandhi Sulhani, another member of Commission E said.
He added that he was pessimistic that the bylaw could be properly put in place, since officials had not taken its implementation seriously from the start.
Jakarta Post - June 12, 2007
Jakarta – Street singer, sidewalk vendor, three-in-one jockey. Kiky Sarandi has done it all since starting to live on the streets four years ago.
"I will do anything to make money to survive," said 19-year-old Kiky, who prefers to be called Brebes, the name of his hometown in Central Java.
When his mother moved to the Middle East to work as a domestic helper after the death of his father, Brebes started living with his aunt. He said he eventually ended up on the streets of Jakarta after being sexually abused by his third grade teacher at junior high school.
"When my family found out about the abuse, they treated me differently and started to ignore me. I was ashamed so I decided to leave my hometown and here I am, living on the streets," he said. "Now I'm not interested in talking about school. I am a bit sensitive about it because of the incident."
Brebes gave up his dream of becoming an electrical engineer when he was forced to leave school and decided to move to Jakarta.
Amran, Brebes' friend, started living on the streets after his parents divorced and his father remarried without telling him. By the age of eight, Amran had already experienced the hard life of a street child, working as a shoe polisher at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, where he was also sexually abused.
"When I was a shoe polisher one of my consumers sexually abused me and gave me Rp 3,000 (US33 cents)," said Amran, 19, who works odd jobs to make a living.
He said at the time he did not understand what had happened to him. "I spent the money to play a pinball machine game," he said. "But as time passed, I learned that the person had treated me badly."
He said most of his friends living on the streets had been sexually abused by adults. "In fact, some of them make a living out of it," he said.
Psychologist Tika Bisono said many street children fall victim to sexual abuse, with some deciding to make a living from it due to their economic situation. "At first they are shocked, but eventually many see abuse as an economic opportunity because they can make money out of it," she said
Andri Cahyadi, chairman of the Jakarta Center for Street Children, runs a shelter for street children on Jl. Otista, East Jakarta. He said networks exist around the capital which offer children to pedophiles.
"There are people who act as pimps, offering boys to pedophiles," he said. He said many children decide to work in this industry as the economic benefits are higher than working on the streets.
Tika said the government and the National Commission for Child Protection do little to address this wide-spread social problem.
"If children are willing to do that and make a living out of it, can we still call it a problem?" she asked. "It seems cruel to say such a thing, but it is the truth."
Tika said despite the fact the children enjoy the money, sexual abuse is a traumatic experience and they are likely to have a tendency for sexual deviation when they become adults. "We must work together to overcome this problem now," Tika said.
| War on corruption |
Agence France Presse - June 14, 2007
Jakarta – The son of former Indonesian dictator Suharto plans to appeal a Guernsey court decision to extend a freeze on his money allegedly hidden there at the request of Indonesia, his lawyer said Thursday.
Hutomo Mandala Putra, also known as Tommy Suharto, met with his lawyers in Jakarta Wednesday evening and decided to appeal the May 23 court's decision to extend the freeze on millions of dollars for another six months.
"I have met with Tommy and (representatives from his company) Garnet last night and we decided to appeal the court's decision," Tommy's lawyer, O.C. Kaligis, told AFP.
"We decided to appeal because there is no reason for them to keep holding the money – there is no proof that the money was obtained corruptly," said Kaligis.
Tommy's Garnet Investment, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, was suing a branch of BNP Paribas on Guernsey, a British crown dependency off the northern French coast, to release the money.
The bank is reportedly refusing to release at least 36 million euros (46.7 million dollars) and perhaps as much as 75 million euros from its account as it believes the funds were questionably obtained.
Indonesia believes the money was corruptly earned and belongs to the republic. The Guernsey court earlier this year approved Jakarta's bid to become a third party in the case.
Tommy's lawyer in England, Christopher Edward, has been instructed to file the appeal on Thursday, Kaligis added.
An amateur racing driver who revelled in a flamboyant playboy lifestyle, Tommy, 44, remains the enduring symbol of the corruption that plagued his father's rule of Indonesia, which ended in 1998.
He was freed from prison in October 2006 after serving just a third of the 15-year jail term for ordering the murder of a Supreme Court judge.
Tommy's father stepped down in 1998 amid a severe economic crisis and massive civil unrest. He and his family had amassed a huge fortune during the dictator's rule of more than three decades.
Jakarta Post - June 9, 2007
Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and Industry Minister Fahmi Idris are now much richer than they used to be. On Friday the ministers updated their wealth figures with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Mulyani's total wealth surged from Rp 2.11 billion and $234,844 to Rp 4.39 billion and $324,023 while Fahmi went from Rp 44.6 billion and $3.139 million to Rp 63.7 billion and $2.3 million.
Mulyani's wealth more than doubled, which she attributed to increased property values and the inclusion of her husband's wealth. Increases worth noting are her portfolio investments, at Rp 688 million and $44,900, up from Rp 49 million and zero respectively in 2004. Fahmi doubled his property value to Rp 36.7 billion.
Mulyani and Fahmi are among Cabinet members who have complied to the Commission's request to update their wealth reports. As of Friday the KPK said more than half of the ministers had not updated their wealth reports with the Commission eight months after the October 2006 deadline.
The KPK said Friday that it had consistently reminded ministers of the obligation, but were usually told they were "still working on it". State officials must report their wealth before, during and after their tenure, and while they are employed they must make biennial updates.
KPK deputy for graft prevention Sjahruddin Rasul said there was no legal basis to impose punishments on ministers who did not register their assets, although high-ranked civil servants are subject to administrative ones.
"That's what the 1999 Law on Clean Governance, which states this wealth reporting (is required), is lacking. What we do now is wait for them. We've had talks about criminal sanctions, but they're a long way off," he said.
Twenty-two out of the 36 members of cabinet have not updated their wealth figures. This includes both old cabinet members and new ones, including new Communications and Information Minister M. Nuh, who, the KPK said, had never made a wealth report during his years as the Surabaya Institute of Technology rector.
The KPK also is awaiting reports from four former ministers who were dismissed in last month's cabinet reshuffle.
They are former state secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra, former attorney general Abdul Rahman Saleh, state minister for state- owned enterprises Sugiharto and former justice and human rights minister Hamid Awaluddin, all of whom have until July 9 to make their reports.
The KPK is also looking into Yusril's report after finding in March five transactions, each worth over Rp 100 million (US$11,267), from between 2001 and 2004 when he was justice and human rights minister.
The commission is having problems collecting wealth reports from the wider government bureaucracy as well. State institutions with an obedience level below 50 percent – meaning less than half of senior staffers had not reported their assets – include the Education Ministry, the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Attorney General's Office, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, Bank Indonesia, the Trade Ministry and the Office of the State Minister for Public Housing.
Emerson Yuntho of Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said the President, who issued a decree ordering officials to report their wealth, needed to reprimand ministers who were slow to do so.
"The absence of sanctions has led to such reluctance. If the government commits to such reporting for good governance, giving sanctions is essential unless it's been just about selling an image," he said.
| War on terror |
Reuters - June 14, 2007
Ed Davies, Jakarta – Islamic militants in Indonesia have suffered a serious blow with the capture of the country's most- wanted man, Abu Dujana, but experts believe they are still capable of mounting attacks.
DNA tests and fingerprints showed that Dujana – thought to head a military wing of the Southeast Asian group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) and linked to a string of deadly bombings – was in custody after weekend raids in Java, police said on Wednesday.
Ken Conboy, a Jakarta-based security analyst, said JI had been damaged but urged authorities to remain vigilant.
"I think certainly they are capable of doing an attack like the Bali II backpack bombing," he said, referring to a series of bombs in packed restaurants in 2005 that killed more than 20 people. "As far as larger bomb attacks it's probably a little bit too difficult at this time for them."
Asian and Western authorities blame JI for a series of attacks in Southeast Asia, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people on the resort island.
Although there has been no major bomb attack since 2005, in raids in March police said they had found a huge cache of weapons, explosives and chemicals that could be used to make a bomb even bigger than the main device used in Bali.
National Police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto said on Wednesday the arrest of Dujana would foil planned attacks.
Police have said more than 300 militants have been arrested in recent years, aided by the US-trained counter-terrorism unit, Detachment 88. Sri Yunanto of the Institute for Defence, Security and Peace Studies, warned against focusing just on law enforcement since poverty and unresolved political issues were also key factors.
"The roots of the movements are still intact. The government should not only focus on law enforcement but should pay more attention to the economic and ideological side of the problem."
Militants coming out of jail
Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group said it was likely JI would swiftly replace Dujana, an Arabic speaker who fought in Afghanistan and is said to have met Osama bin Laden.
"But I think that, overall, every time the police make arrests, especially one of this magnitude, the ability of organizations to carry out an operation goes down a notch."
Jones said that while she believed JI was currently in a rebuilding phase, key risks remained. "What worries me is not so much the immediate threat from this very large organization called JI but more the people on the fringe of that fringe," she said, suggesting that young militants within JI might form splinter groups to carry out attacks.
Jones also said fugitive Noordin M Top, a Malaysian national considered a major figure behind a series of bomb attacks, would remain a threat.
Future attacks might not be the highly planned spectacular operations of recent years, but could still be launched if the determination was there, she said.
"This is a place where it's not all that difficult to get the wherewithal to undertake an operation, whether that's an assassination or a kidnapping or a bombing."
Jones said the threat from other groups should not be discounted, including Darul Islam, which has been agitating to establish an Islamic state since the 1950s.
The fact that some top-ranked militant leaders were also starting to be released from jail was also a risk, Jones said. "And one of the big questions is what will they do and will they also continue to lie low or will they take an active role in resuming leadership?"
[Additional reporting by Ahmad Pathoni and Adhityani Aga.]
Associated Press - June 13, 2007
Here is a brief look at Jemaah Islamiyah whose alleged leader, Abu Dujana, was arrested over the weekend.
Organization: Its name means "Islamic Community." The loose network of around 1,000 Islamic militants extending across Southeast Asia was formed in the 1990s in Malaysia. It has been severely weakened by police crackdowns in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines since 2001. Leaders are mostly Indonesian nationals who fought or trained in Afghanistan in the 1980s and 1990s. It was once known to have various territorial divisions called "mantiqis" that covered the region. Intelligence officials say some operations have been financed by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida.
Activities: Initially formed to establish an Islamic state across much of Southeast Asia, some of the hard-line members fell under the influence of al-Qaida in the early 2000s and launched a terror campaign, reportedly against the wishes of its leaders who saw such tactics as counterproductive. The split remains until today, with a hard-line minority that supports attacks against civilian, or "soft" targets, and more moderate members who do not. Its members have been blamed for the 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali, the 2003 and 2004 attacks on the J.W. Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy, and the 2005 triple suicide bombings at restaurants in Bali. Together, the attacks killed more than 240 people, many of them Western tourists. Some 300 have been convicted in the bombings and related terrorist offenses.
Leaders: The group's founders are alleged to be Indonesians Abdullah Sungkar, who died in 1999, and Abu Bakar Bashir, who was released from prison last year and has since returned to preaching. One of their first recruits was Riduan Isamuddin Hambali, an alleged top al-Qaida operative now in US custody for his alleged links to the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. Another top member, Azahari bin Husin, was killed last year in a shootout on Java island as he detonated his suicide belt. Indonesian officials say the group's leaders now include Indonesians Zulkarnaen, Dulmatin and Umar Patek. Police say one-time member Noordin Top, a Malaysian seen by most analysts as the most dangerous terrorist in Indonesia, now heads a breakaway faction.
Agence France Presse - June 13, 2007
Nabiha Shahab, Jakarta – Indonesian police said Wednesday they had captured a leader of the Southeast Asian terror network blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings and a string of other devastating attacks in recent years.
The arrest of Abu Dujana, believed to head a special forces unit within Jemaah Islamiyah – which has been linked to Al-Qaeda – is a major breakthrough for Indonesia's efforts to curb the activities of the group.
Dujana, 37, was among suspected militants detained in a series of weekend raids carried out by Indonesia's anti-terror unit, Detachment 88, police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto told a press briefing.
"The person that was arrested on Saturday, Yusron Mahmudi, has many aliases and one of them is Abu Dujana," Adiwinoto said, adding that he was known under at least six names. Abu Dujana "is known to be more important than Noordin M. Top or Azahari Husin," he said, referring to two Malaysian members of JI.
Azahari was killed by Indonesian police in a raid in November 2005 while Noordin Muhammad Top, who has been described as Southeast Asia's most wanted man, remains on the run.
Dujana, who according to police studied in Pakistan, trained in Afghanistan and even personally met Osama bin Laden, believed to have sheltered Noordin, who is thought to head a militant JI splinter group.
Sidney Jones, the Southeast Asian director of thinktank the International Crisis Group, told AFP Dujana was a key JI figure.
"He's not the overall commander but he's a person who has been with the organisation from the beginning, who has been a member of the central command almost from the beginning and who has been privy to all information about changes in structure and operating techniques," she said.
"He also, we think, is the head of a special forces unit within JI, so no question – this is one of the biggest people they've caught in a long time."
Adiwinoto said that possible charges to be laid against Dujana would be terrorism, ownership of explosives, sheltering suspects and conspiracy to carry out crimes.
Seven other men suspected of involvement in terror acts have also been detained since Dujana's capture, Adiwinoto said, adding they had been planning further attacks. "This means we have been successful in preventing a terror act before it happened," he said.
Police had been hot on Dujana's trail since a flurry of arrests and seizures in the cultural capital of Yogyakarta in March, he said. Abu Dujana's uncle, Yaya Sunarya, 74, told Okezone news website he had long thought his nephew had behaved strangely.
"I believe he is 100 percent terrorist," he reportedly said when asked of his nephew's guilt, adding that Dujana had burned all photographs of himself when returning from Malaysia four years ago.
JI has been blamed for the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, which together killed more than 220 people, and the 2003 Marriott Hotel and 2004 Australian embassy attacks in the capital Jakarta.
Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer congratulated Indonesia on its success.
"It's a great achievement by the Indonesian authorities and I think they are doing an outstanding job in combatting terrorism," Downer told parliament.
"Their success, their energy, their hard work deserves to be properly acknowledged in a country which suffered from 88 deaths in the (2002) Bali bombing and whose embassy has subsequently been attacked by terrorists."
The ICG's Jones warned that while Dujana's arrest would make it more difficult for JI's clandestine activities to take place, recruitment and efforts to build the organisation would likely continue. The United States says JI aims to establish a pan- Islamic state in Southeast Asia through violent jihad.
| Regional elections |
Jakarta Post - June 14, 2007
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Teething problems in the legislation of direct elections make "money politics" and "political monopolies" inevitable in the Jakarta gubernatorial election, observers say.
A postgraduate student at the University of Indonesia, Kevin Evans, said the law requiring parties to have won at least 15 percent of the vote in the last general election to nominate a candidate encouraged "political monopolies".
"It provides an incentive for a candidate to create a big coalition, and forbids other candidates to step into the election to avoid complicated competitions. It is exactly like a monopoly practice in the economic sector," he said after a seminar on the Jakarta election.
Evans, former head of the anti-corruption unit at the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency, said Fauzi Bowo could not be faulted for putting together a huge political coalition because that was what it took to win the election.
When Jakarta holds its first direct gubernatorial election in August, voters will have only two candidates to choose from.
Fauzi Bowo and his running mate, Army Maj. Gen. (ret) Prijanto, have ensured the support of 20 of the 24 political parties in the city. The city's largest party, the Prosperous Justice Party, is backing Police Comr. Gen. (ret) Adang Daradjatun and his running mate, councilor Dani Anwar.
The days leading up to the registration of candidates were marked by a lot of maneuvering by political parties, as they tried to gain the advantage for their candidates.
Fauzi's Jakarta Coalition – which wanted a head-to-head battle with Adang – successfully wooed the National Awakening Party, the National Mandate Party and several smaller parties that had previously backed legislator Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, who later dropped his candidacy.
Sarwono's former backers, who initially intended to support a run by retired Army general Agum Gumelar, instead joined Fauzi's coalition just hours before the poll commission closed candidate registration last Thursday night.
In dropping out of the race, Sarwono said he was sickened by all the political maneuvering surrounding the candidates. He also failed to win the support of enough parties to qualify for the election. Agum had to drop his bid for the same reason.
National Democratic Institute Indonesia director Paul Rowland said it was simply the nature of politics to benefit from unregulated parts of an election process.
In Rowland's home country Canada, where the nomination process for candidates is transparent and there are fund ceilings for individual contributions to parties and candidates, there was a scandal involving members of the Liberal Party who used state funds for their political activities.
"So, it depends on how a country draws the lines for the election. It takes a good set of regulations and good enforcement from the government to run a good direct election."
Tempo Interactive - June 8, 2007
Jakarta – The struggle to make independent candidates (non- political parties) be included in the Jakarta Governors Election this year failed. Until the deadline of gubernatorial candidates registration yesterday (7/6), the Constitutional Court did not issue the decision to change the Regional Governance Decree, which does not give room for independent candidates.
"I couldn't register any more," said Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, a gubernatorial candidate, when attending the judicial review trial of the Regional Governance Decree at the Constitutional Court yesterday. "Moreover, I chose the independent path."
Yesterday the Constitutional Court held the first plenary session of judicial review of the Regional Governance Decree put forward by Lalu Ranggalawe, a member of Central Lombok Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD), who failed to be an independent regional leader as the decree obliges the candidates to be supported by at least 15 DPRD members. According to him, this contradicts the Constitution, that guarantees a citizen's right to be nominated.
During the session, several experts were asked to give their input, including state administration law expert Harun Alrasid. "Independent candidates in the election of regional leaders must be accommodated," he said. In addition, Harun said the 1945 Constitution Article 28-D states every citizen is eligible to have equal opportunity in governance.
Outside the session, debates also occurred. According to Ryaas Rasyid, former member of the House of Representatives' (DPR) Special Committee which steered the decree, the existence of independent candidates can cause jealousy in political parties.
However, Deputy Chairman of the Regional Representatives Assembly (DPD), La Ode Ida, supported the independent candidates because he believes that many gubernatorial candidates who have the capacity are not noticed by political parties.
"A person also has the right to run for office," said La Ode during a press conference at the Parliament Complex. He is of the opinion that the prohibition of an individual running for office is a violation against the Constitution since the 1945 Constitution Article 28-D provides the opportunity for everyone to participate in governance.
[Rini Kustiani, Sorta Tobing, Kurniasih Budi, Aqida Swamurti.]
Jakarta Post - June 12, 2007
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – How much does it cost to become governor? The two hopefuls in Jakarta's upcoming gubernatorial election, Fauzi Bowo and Adang Daradjatun, may know the answer, but they aren't talking.
However, their massive publicity pushes, with TV ads and posters and banners plastering the city, along with their consultants and campaign teams, speak for themselves.
A campaign strategist for Adang Daradjatun, advertising professional Ipang Wahid, estimated a totally unknown candidate would have to invest up to Rp 60 billion (US$6.5 million) for a one-year media blitz before the election to get his or her name known among the public.
This would include television and print advertisements, as well as holding gatherings and events to catch the media's attention. "The more unknown a candidate the more it takes to market himself in a direct election," he told The Jakarta Post recently.
Ipang said about 70 percent of the money should go toward TV ads, which would allow the candidate to run 30-second ads about 4,200 times in total.
Ipang said running frequent ads on television was more effective than taking out ads in the print media. He said that according to an AC Nielsen survey, 80 percent of people relied on television as their main source of information.
According to a survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute in the middle of last year, Adang had 5 percent public awareness and Fauzi Bowo, the current Jakarta deputy governor, had 20 percent.
Ipang said much of the funding for Adang's campaign was coming from the business community and prominent people with close ties to the candidate's family. However, he refused to provide names.
Adang's wife, Nunun Nurbaetie Daradjatun, is a noted businesswoman who owns a telecommunications infrastructure company and a crude palm oil company.
Fauzi's campaign has depended to a large degree on his current position in the administration, as well as the 13 political parties that have formed the Jakarta Coalition to support his bid.
He has gotten his name and face out in the public as the head of Jakarta anti-narcotics agency, and was tapped by the central government to appear in ads to commemorate National Awakening Day and National Education Day last month.
What remains uncertain is the "price" of securing the support of political parties in the election, although various campaigners and party activists have said it involves billions of rupiah.
A campaigner for a politician who dropped out of the election said it was expensive to secure the support of even the smaller parties as the election neared. "Their prices kept increasing by the day and other candidates simply could pay more."
Jakarta elections commission member Muflizar said the law only required an audit of campaign funds after candidates had been formally announced on July 2, although he acknowledged candidates might spend more before campaigning officially opens than they do during the campaign itself.
Separately, Jakarta Elections Supervisory Body member Kamsul Hasan said the watchdog was still preparing a regulation to limit the ability of incumbents to use state facilities for their campaigns.
| Foreign affairs |
CAN - June 13, 2007
Havana – The excellent relations between Cuba and Indonesia have been highlighted by the Diplomatic Corner television show in Indonesia.
The topic was discussed by Cuban ambassador to Indonesia Jorge Leon, and former director and main consultant of the Darmais Oncological Hospital, Dr. Samsuridjal Al Dauzi.
The program also highlighted the visit of Indonesian President Sukarno to Havana in 1960, soon after the triumph of the Cuban revolution. On that occasion, the two nations signed an agreement of cultural cooperation.
Leon and Samsuridjal referred to the humanitarian aid offered by Cuba to the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Banda Aceh and the 2006 earthquake in Yogjakarta.
Samsuridjal talked about his experiences during his four visits to Cuba in which he met with national authorities in the fields of healthcare and biotechnology, and toured scientific institutes and the Latin American School of Medicine.
For his part, Leon condemned the more than 45 year US blockade of Cuba and stressed the efforts of the Cuban people to consolidate the social programs implemented throughout the island in the areas of healthcare, education, culture and sports.
The one-hour TV show was broadcasted by the QTV Channel, with a national coverage of over 70 million viewers. It also included scenes of the documentary "Monta?e Luz" ("Mountain of Light") which deals with the labor of the Cuban doctors in Banda Aceh and Yogjakarta.
Jakarta Post - June 12, 2007
Abdul Khalik and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Jakarta says that unless Singapore agrees on the details of how it plans to conduct military training in Indonesian territory, it will not implement the defense and extradition treaties signed with the city-state.
Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said here Monday the extradition treaty, defense pact and their implementation agreements should be treated as one package, with one being unable to be ratified and enacted without the others.
"We want clear rules of the game on the frequency and scope of Singapore military training, including how many times Singapore can fire its missiles in our territory. Singapore and the TNI (Indonesian Military) must agree on all the agreements regarding the details of the training," he told reporters.
"Singapore still wants rules of their own, without having to negotiate with the TNI on their military training here. If there is no agreement, then there will be no treaties."
He said the Indonesian government could not move forward and ask the House of Representatives to ratify the two treaties because Singapore had still not met all of Indonesia's demands.
Jakarta and Singapore signed the landmark extradition treaty and defense cooperation agreement at the Tampak Siring presidential palace in Bali on April 29. The treaties must be ratified by both countries' parliaments before they can be implemented.
Indonesia hopes the extradition treaty will allow it to bring to justice graft fugitives who have fled to Singapore and return their stolen money to the country.
Singapore, a 797-square-kilometer island with a population of around four million, is widely considered a safe haven for Indonesians involved in corruption and other crimes.
The city-state has allegedly imported illegal logs and sand stolen from Indonesia through the black market, and has been accused of failing to uphold transparency in its bilateral trade with Indonesia.
Lawmakers and observers have criticized the treaties, saying the benefits Indonesia stands to gain from the extradition treaty are questionable, and that the country has given away its sovereignty to Singapore with the defense pact.
The United Development Party (PPP) has emerged as a leading critic of the defense agreement, saying it will not ratify the treaty.
The PPP faction presented an official letter to the House leadership Monday, asking the government to unilaterally annul the defense agreement, which it said violated Indonesia's sovereignty.
"Our faction has unanimously decided not to ratify the defense agreement which gives almost no benefits to Indonesia. We are of the opinion that no approval will be given to any concessions ignoring our sovereignty," PPP faction chairman Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said.
He said the treaty's implementation would lead to possible violations of the 2002 law on state defenses, which prohibits Indonesia from signing defense pacts with other countries, and the 1997 law on the environment, in relation to the potential firing of missiles by Singapore in Indonesian territory.
House Deputy Speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who received the PPP's official letter, said his party was also expected to reject the treaty.
Djoko Susilo, a legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said his faction would not ratify the defense agreement.
| Economy & investment |
Jakarta Post - June 13, 2007
Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The government finally unveiled Tuesday its long-awaited package of new economic policy reforms that will, among other things, provide tax incentives for publicly listed companies and facilitate easier access to bank loans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono said that the new reforms would significantly boost the government's efforts to accelerate economic growth so as to reduce unemployment and poverty.
"Hence, each of the policies contained in the new package set out the program, action and output with clearly measurable targets," he said during the announcement of the new policies.
The 60-page policy package covers programs and measures in four main economic fields – the financial, investment, infrastructure development and SME sectors.
In the investment sector, the government will reduce the time required for obtaining business licenses to 25 days from the current 97 days. It will also simplify customs clearance procedures so that goods can be released through the green channel within 30 minutes and through the red channel in three days.
Speaking during the announcement of the economic package, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that it would also provide tax incentives for publicly listed companies as part of the government's efforts to turn the country's capital market into an important alternative to the banking sector for businesses in raising funds. She said that the regulation detailing the tax incentives would be issued in August.
The government will also push for the merger of the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) and the Surabaya Stock Exchange (SSX) to make them more competitive and efficient, she added. According to the document, the merger process is expected to be completed in October.
In addition to providing tax breaks for publicly listed companies, the new economic policy package also stresses the need to provide SMEs with easier access to bank loans.
For this, the government will strengthen the financing capacity of state credit insurance firm PT Asuransi Kredit Indonesia (Askrindo) and state financing firm Perum Sarana Pengembangan Usaha so that they can extend the scope of their services to SMEs. Also in the SME sector, Bank Indonesia will revitalize the role of local financial consultants so as to increase the bankability of SMEs.
Boediono said the government would also speed up land certification services for small businesses by revising the existing regulations issued by the National Land Agency, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs. "This is important so that small firms can use their land titles to secure loans," he said.
Jakarta Post - June 12, 2007
Jakarta – The government stepped into a controversial quagmire Monday when it announced that only six businesses met the criteria for classification as a military business from among the 1,500 that had previously been identified as Indonesian Military (TNI) businesses.
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said in Jakarta the six business units that filled the criteria had more than US$50,000 in assets and could be categorized as companies.
"We consider TNI business in terms of corporate size. The State Ministry for State Enterprises office determines their classification," he said.
Juwono added that the defense, finance and justice and human rights ministries and the State Ministry for State Enterprises would meet in the next three days to complete the draft of the presidential decree on military businesses.
The Defense Ministry and TNI will still be allowed to maintain some cooperatives and foundations, as long as they are not profit-making entities, Juwono said.
"Since 1952, the country has never allocated a large enough security and defense budget. (Indonesia) probably has the lowest defense budget among ASEAN countries," he said.
Experts insist, however, that military business should be defined as any financial act carried out by TNI or a soldier for capital gain.
Edy Prasetyono from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) detailed for The Jakarta Post the four categories of military business.
The first comes in the form of shares in commercial or private companies; second, foundations that are active in the business sector; third, cooperatives that, under the cooperatives law, are allowed to conduct economic activities and fourth, asset commercializations, such as the renting of buildings and land.
"The TNI should be prohibited from engaging in business activities because that is unprofessional and would make the TNI independent of the state, thus becoming a separate power. Its loyalty would be based on economic reasons, thus exacting high economic and social costs," Edy said.
Agus Widjojo also from CSIS said that in principle, the military and business were contradictory "because a soldier is committed to serving while business is meant for seeking profit".
The TNI has been involved in business since the late 1940s, but the practice expanded at the beginning of the New Order era in the early 1970s under former dictator Soeharto.
Almost 70 percent of TNI's annual budget is derived from its diversified business activities. This year's defense budget is set at Rp 32 trillion (US$3.63 billion) or 4.5 percent of the state budget. Under a law on military reform, the government must absorb all TNI businesses within the next five years.
| Opinion & analysis |
Asia Times - June 14, 2007
Jakarta – Last weekend's arrest of Abu Dujana, the alleged leader of regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), by Indonesia's anti-terror squad has deservedly won Jakarta widespread praise. The capture of the Afghan-trained militant may also help to dampen renewed enthusiasm in the US Congress for yet another proposal to cut military aid to Jakarta.
One of the most valuable benefits of the closer relationship between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and President George W Bush has been the strengthening of the US-trained and equipped elite police counter-terrorism team, known locally as Detachment 88, first set up during the administration of president Megawati Sukarnoputri in 2003, only months after the first Bali bombings.
Equipped with US weaponry and assault vehicles, including Colt M4 assault rifles, Armalite AR-10 sniper rifles and Remington 870 shotguns, the elite unit has become one of the top anti-terror units, if not the top, in the world, during Yudhoyono's watch.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer this week praised Indonesia for doing "an outstanding job in combating terrorism". Although there have been scores of arrests and convictions since the first Bali bombings in 2002, with more than 220 suspects jailed for terrorist activities since then, the battle against terrorism in Indonesia is far from over.
Police said last year that Dujana had replaced Noordin Mohamed Top, the Malaysian bomb-maker who allegedly supplied suicide bombers and materials used in terrorist attacks as Indonesia's most wanted fugitive. Top's alleged accomplice, Malaysian master bomb-maker Azahari bin Husin, was killed in a November 2005 shootout with Detachment 88 in the terror squad.
If allegations against him are proved to be true, Dujana certainly has a lot of blood on his hands. He is believed to have played a major role in the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings and the Australian Embassy blast, as well as having a hand in the supply of ammunition and explosives to militants involved in sectarian violence in Poso, Central Sulawesi province. He is also thought to have played a role in the 2003 blast at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty has warned that the effort needed to eradicate terrorism in Indonesia is "not a sprint, but a marathon".
Indonesian National Police Chief General Sutanto has called for tougher laws to fight terrorism, and says current legislation impedes investigations. Anti-terrorism chief General Ansyaad Mbai adds that the security forces lack authority to take preemptive action on those suspected of plotting terrorist strikes. On the other hand, radical Muslim groups strongly oppose tougher anti- terror laws, saying they could violate human rights.
The 2003 Anti-terrorism Law allows detention of suspects for seven days for questioning. If no evidence is provided by the police in that period, they must be released.
Proposed revisions to the existing law, which Mbai has described as the world's "softest" law against terrorism, would allow detention for a further six months for questioning and prosecution. Intelligence reports would be acceptable and admissible prima facie evidence for granting a detention order.
This March, Detachment 88 captured seven suspects thought to be members of Dujana's network during raids in Central and East Java. Caches of weapons, explosives and chemicals were seized that could have produced a bomb bigger than those used in Bali in October 2002. Rights campaigners allege that crackdowns by Detachment 88 have spawned rights violations and claim most of the arrests made were illegal.
Yet for Indonesia, with the world's biggest population of Muslims, the strong-arm tactics of neighbors Malaysia and Singapore, where suspects can be held indefinitely without charge or trial, is an unlikely option.
Headlining human rights
While the Bush administration has consistently stuck by Indonesia as a key ally in the "war on terror", improved ties between the two countries have been helped by President Bush's success in sidelining the poor human-rights record of Indonesia's military.
The recent deaths of four villagers shot by marines over a land dispute in a tiny East Java village have angered local rights groups, legislators and influential Muslim figures. The controversial shootings seem to have reached out to Washington too, at a time when the US Congress is considering a proposal by Democrat Nita Lowey, head of the powerful appropriations subcommittee, to cut military aid. If accepted, her proposal would see conditions attached to US$2 million of a total of $8 million in military assistance to Indonesia budgeted for 2008.
The new move, reportedly with little support so far from US senators, is said to be because of Indonesia's failure to reform the military and to prosecute senior officers for the violence and mayhem in East Timor in 1999.
In Indonesia, the draft anti-terrorism law, still stuck in Parliament, provides for the arrest of suspects by the military, which would thus give the armed forces an involvement in policing and criminal investigations, the very powers that were so widely abused in the Suharto era.
While the vast majority of Indonesians may have little sympathy for the killers in their midst, heightened risks to their own rights that stemmed from any sweeping detention powers given to security authorities, could see the worm turn. A likely backlash from Muslim groups and political parties in Indonesia to such a move ahead of the 2009 elections could spell disaster at the polls for Yudhoyono.
[Bill Guerin, a Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times Online since 2000, has been in Indonesia for 20 years, mostly in journalism and editorial positions. He has been published by the British Broadcasting Corp on East Timor and specializes in business/economic and political analysis related to Indonesia. He can be reached at softsell@prima.net.id.]
Jakarta Post Editorial - June 14, 2007
What the government announced as a new package of bold measures to reinvigorate investment and empower micro and small businesses in a bid to accelerate economic growth turned out to be largely a wish list from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The reform agenda stipulated in the President's instructions to his ministers and all provincial governors is quite impressive, totaling 141 measures designed to improve the investment climate, strengthen the financial sector, accelerate infrastructure development and empower micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises.
However, if the pace of the implementation of the three reform packages launched in the first semester of last year is any guide, we will be disappointed if we expect any significant progress in this new package.
Without a significant reform of the government bureaucratic machinery and a clear set of incentives for officials in charge of executing the reform measures, not much is likely to move because most of the actions would result in the abolition of rent-seeking opportunities for civil servants.
The President ordered his ministers, among other things, to expedite the licensing procedures for business start-up from more than 90 days now to only 25 days starting next month, to introduce an on-line investment licensing system later this year and simplify customs clearance processes to only 30 minutes for importers with good reputations and three days for other companies.
All these measures that will shave the costly and time-consuming red tape look fantastic to businesspeople.
But we don't see any new positive factors either within the government or at the House of Representatives that would drive the execution of these new measures faster than the previous packages. We haven't noticed any indications of a higher sense of urgency on the part of the government, nor the House, which is tasked with completing at least six new laws in the infrastructure sector before the end of the year.
Yet more discouraging is the absence of incentives for government officials to execute the reform measures, which in most cases will kill their rent-seeking opportunities.
The government and the House did complete in March a new investment law that was designed to give equal status to domestic and foreign investors. But to the utter disappointment of investors, the presidential decrees and other regulations needed to guide the enforcement of the law are still being prepared. Changes to the investment law would not automatically boost Indonesia's attraction as a place for investment because, as with the case of other new legislation in Indonesia, the devil usually lies in the technical details which will have yet to be stipulated in the implementing regulations.
The Indonesia-Singapore Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation on the Riau islands to set up new Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which was launched in June, 2006, with great fan fare remains on paper because the legal foundation for the SEZ has yet to be established.
The latest reform package stipulates that the government will submit to the House a draft law on SEZ in November but without a specific deadline for its enactment.
With all these failings, we don't think the long list of all the good policy measures announced by chief economics minister Boediono Tuesday would impress anybody.
The problem is that however fast has been the pace of reform in Indonesia it has always been surpassed by most other countries in Asia. Even as the country strives to improve its investment environment, it has to contend with China, India and even Vietnam, which have been sucking investment like a giant machine.
The government says new investment should expand to over 25 percent of gross domestic product to generate an economic growth of 7 percent, the level considered adequate to significantly reduce the unemployment rate and poverty.
However, investment has remained sluggish due to an adverse business climate and the much slower-than-expected pace of reform. The latest data from the Central Statistics Agency even showed a 2.5 percent decline in investment during the first quarter of this year compared to the last quarter of last year.
It would therefore be an uphill task for the government to convince the business community of its ability to deliver on all the big promises it made in the latest reform package.