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Indonesia News Digest 44 – November 23-30, 2007
Jakarta Post - November 29, 2007
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said
Wednesday the Indonesian Military (TNI) has worked hard to erase
its image as a repressive institution, citing the efforts of
soldiers at the forefront of emergency relief efforts.
"The TNI is always in the lead when disaster hits our country, in
line with its principle of being first in war, first in peace and
first in emergency response," Juwono said in a speech at the
opening of a two-day workshop on disaster management.
"On behalf of the government, I want to thank TNI for its quick
response in handling disasters, like the tsunami in Aceh in 2004
as well as other disasters that have since occurred," he said.
"And I expect the military to continue their good work."
The minister said the TNI played a major role both in the
immediate aftermath of disasters, including assisting victims,
and during the ensuing reconstruction process.
"TNI's active participation in disaster relief has improved the
bad image of troops, who were previously generalized by the
public as repressive and human rights violators."
He said the TNI's tainted image began to change after their
involvement in relief efforts following the devastating 2004
tsunami.
Chief of the Army Training Center, Lt. Gen. Bambang Darmono, who
has led troops in responding to a number of disasters, said the
military had learned much from its experience during relief work.
"The 2004 tsunami, for example, taught us many lessons to improve
our capability as well as to have better cooperation with other
parties in disaster areas," Bambang said. "The most important
thing is to rescue the victims immediately and to save as many
lives as possible," he said.
After the 2004 tsunami, the TNI established a special unit, known
as the Disaster Quick Response Squad (PRCPB).
"However, we have noted some problems that still remain, even
after several disasters over the last couple of years. As an
example, the uneven distribution of aid, unreliable data
regarding the number of victims and also a lack of coordination
among institutions," Bambang said.
He criticized the National Coordination Board for Disaster
Management for its sluggish response to emergencies and its
inability to synchronize the tasks of different parties.
"It is the board's responsibility to be on the front line once a
disaster occurs, and the military should only be a part of its
system. But, in fact, it is the military that often has to take
over tasks because our troops are well trained to be alert in a
crisis," he said.
The board's deputy for deterrence and preparedness, Sugeng
Triutomo, said the board had in place comprehensive disaster
management measures, including deterrence, quick response in
emergency situations and recovery.
Jakarta Post - November 29, 2007
Jakarta – Uncertainty over the execution dates of the three men
convicted of the 2002 Bali bombings has raised concerns in the
home countries of many of the victims.
Junior Attorney for General Crimes Abdul Hakim Ritonga said
Wednesday that his institution realized that the international
community had a serious interest in the executions of the
convicts.
"The main parties that are uneasy about delayed executions are of
course the countries where most of the bombing victims
originated, like Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United
Kingdom," he said.
He said that the governments of those countries had already sent
letters through the Foreign Ministry questioning the follow up on
the death sentences handed down to the three. "The letters have
already been conveyed to us," he said.
He said the executions had been postponed because the Attorney
General's Office is yet to receive a copy of the Supreme Court
letter instructing when the executions should be carried out.
The court rejected the case reviews of Imam Samudra and Ali
Gufron on Sept. 24, while a case review on behalf of Amrozi was
turned down on Sept. 10.
"Until today, the Denpasar Prosecutor's Office has only received
verdict letters and that is not enough for us to conduct the
executions. We must go along with the rules. That's why we are
still unable to conduct the executions.
"Regarding the letters from foreign countries, we responded to
the Foreign Ministry that that kind of letter is very normal and
should not be considered as an intervention in Indonesian law
sovereignty."
Gufron, Samudra and Amrozi were sentenced to death for the Oct.
12, 2002 bombings on the resort island, which killed 202 people.
They are currently being held at the Nusakambangan super maximum
security prison in Central Java. All three convicts are
reportedly affiliated with the Southeast Asian terror network
Jamaah Islamiyah.
The convicts' lawyers have filed a second case review, a rare
move as reviews are generally only filed once, with the court,
which has yet to accept or to reject the request.
Should the Court decided to accept their request, the executions
could be delayed further. Prosecutors are also still waiting to
see if the convicts will apply for a presidential pardon.
Ritonga said the three would be executed at the same time. "So it
will not raise fears in any of them," he said.
In August 2003, Jamaah Islamiyah was responsible for a bombing at
the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, and in September 2004 for an
attack on the Australian Embassy. In October 2005, the group
struck again in Bali. (uwi)
Demos, actions, protests...
Aceh
West Papua
Human rights/law
Labour issues
Environment/natural disasters
Poverty & development
Health & education
Islam/religion
Elections/political parties
Economy & investment
Opinion & analysis
News & issues
Military lauded for disaster relief work
Anger rises over delayed executions
Indonesian activists appeal for solidarity
Green Left Weekly - November 28, 2007
Kerry Smith – Indonesian activists in the National Liberation Party of Unity (PAPERNAS) continue to face government-sponsored thuggery and have appealed for support from Australian activists to help them defend their democratic rights.
PAPERNAS chairperson Agus Priono has issued a statement calling for solidarity that explains: "Since the day PAPERNAS declared itself an alternative party, it has faced various obstacles, ranging from undemocratic political bills to threats and repression. Over the last year, PAPERNAS has been subjected to 17 attacks from government-controlled forces."
Many on the Australian left have a proud history of supporting the struggles for democracy in Indonesia. Priono noted that PAPERNAS "has been receiving abundant support from various democratic, progressive and human rights groups from all over the world. These groups have continued to express their support for PAPERNAS in many different ways, as well as expressing strong protest [at the Indonesian government's actions]."
In the coming weeks, PAPERNAS is planning mass public meetings in four provinces, which it expects thousands of people to attend despite the threat of repression. PAPERNAS members have pledged to continue distributing the information on the party's policies, which include the repudiation of Indonesia's illegitimate foreign debt, the nationalisation of the country's resource industries, and further industrialisation of Indonesia.
"Our work to win more people to an anti-imperialist line and invite them to build a new alternative to contest the ruling party will continue", Priono said. "We invite both individuals and organisations to help us. Any support in the form of solidarity messages or donations will be appreciated. Every message of solidarity will be read out to our members at the meetings."
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has ratified a security treaty with Australia that includes a formal acknowledgement of Indonesia's sovereignty over Australia.
During their plenary meeting Tuesday, all parties at the House of Representatives agreed to ratify the treaty, over a year after Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and his then Australian counterpart Alexander Downer signed it in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.
Head of House of Representatives' Commission I on security, defense and international affairs Theo L Sambuaga, who presented the treaty before the plenary session, confirmed after the meeting that there had been no objections to the treaty, and added that it needed only the President's signature the treaty to take effect as a law.
The Australian Parliament ratified the treaty some weeks ago.
"We all feel relief because Australia has formally acknowledged our territorial integration, including on Papua. The treaty also requires Australia to prohibit its territory from being used by separatist movements against us. It means that we have less pressure from separatism," Theo of the Golkar Party told The Jakarta Post.
That pact, among other, specifies that "The Parties shall not in any manner support or participate in activities by any person or entity which constitutes a threat to the stability, sovereignty or territorial integrity of the other party, including by those who seek to use its territory for encouraging or committing such activities, including separatism, in the territory of the other party."
The Australian government through its embassy in Jakarta also welcomed the news of the ratification. "The Australian embassy warmly welcomed news of the House of Representatives' ratification of the Lombok Treaty," embassy spokesman John Williams said in a text message.
Papua has been an ongoing source of tension between the two countries, with Jakarta frequently accusing Australia of supporting a separatist movement and Canberra expressing concerns about allegations of human rights violations in the province.
The two countries signed their first bilateral Agreement on Maintaining Security in 1995, with both nations pledging to meet regularly on defense issues.
However, an angry Jakarta rescinded the treaty in 1999 following Australian military involvement in the former province of East Timor (now Timor Leste) during and after its referendum for independence.
The Lombok agreement has been touted since the beginning of last year but many observers believed it would be left in limbo after Canberra granted provisional refugee status to Papuan asylum seekers in April, causing Jakarta to call its ambassador home as a protest.
Besides formal recognition of Indonesia's territorial integrity, the treaty will also strengthen security ties, with stronger anti-terrorism cooperation and joint naval border patrols.
In addition, the treaty allows greater cooperation on civilian nuclear research and could lead to Australian sales of uranium to Indonesia.
But rights groups have said that the security treaty is a "dirty deal" which casts Australia as a de facto Indonesian ally in the conflict in Papua.
Jakarta Post - November 27, 2007
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Sixty-year-old Sahaya knows well that humans are more frightening than any ghost or haunting spirit.
Surviving one eviction after another since she was 17-years-old, the Bekasi native finally lives in peace in a roofed grave at a Chinese section of the Cipinang Besar public cemetery in East Jakarta. To mitigate the rain and cold, the woman who lives alone has fastened old banners to pillars around the grave.
"I don't remember when I started living here, but this place turned out to be my first permanent shelter ever," she said while talking to The Jakarta Post inside her dwelling, a three-by-three meter structure built with stacks of debris she collected.
She said the roofed grave might be small and stuffy but it was cozy, as no official ever bothered to raid her there.
Space is so limited in the city that it is the live ones who haunt the dead. As river embankments and underpass areas are overcrowded and prone to regular evictions, some squatters have turned to public cemeteries as an alternative for peaceful shelters.
In the cemetery's Chinese section alone, 78 families have lived on the 3-hectare plot since 2005. Most of the residents are squatters who once occupied the nearby banks of the Cipinang Besar River and construction areas of the East Flood Canal.
They earn a living by scavenging, working construction and collecting frangipani, which they sell to mosquito repellent factories for Rp 14,000 or US$1.50 a kilogram.
The number of residents has soared since last year's visit by then-deputy governor Fauzi Bowo, who celebrated Ramadhan with residents. Fauzi said he gave permission to the residents to live in the area while the administration worked to find a more suitable location.
"We are lucky to receive Pak Fauzi's recognition, so the risk of being evicted is decreased. But this cemetery has long been abandoned anyway," said Nani Rohayani, 46, a community leader.
The cemetery's management records show there have been no new graves in the section since the 1970s. Some families come to visit graves once a year during the Chinese New Year commemoration.
Nani, who also once lived in a roofed grave, said no family members had told her to move from the grave. "A family member only once told me that I should not put a stove and cook inside since it exposed her mother to heat," she said.
Nani and her family moved from the roofed grave after being able to afford enough plywood and cement to build a more suitable dwelling.
For those who live among the dead, life is relatively ordinary. Residents have a mushola (small Muslim place of worship) and a place to hold informal classes for children.
Some residents send their children to school to ensure they obtain education certificates. Nani acts like head of a neighborhood unit, dealing with ID card registration and security issues.
Since they live in a non-designated area, residents usually procure permanent resident or ID cards by registering with a nearby neighborhood unit. Nani always reminds residents to get ID cards to avoid population raids in the area.
Residents have dug wells and built collective water pumps for their daily needs, except for cooking and drinking. "Nobody wants to consume 'bone' water" said Nani. Each family manages to have bottled water or a water dispenser.
Despite their limited incomes, everybody chips in if someone needs urgent money for medication, she added. When Independence Day approaches, all contribute money to hire a single dangdut band.
Fifty-year-old resident Suparno said although he enjoyed living there he always longed to live in a more decent place. "It still bears a risk of eviction, especially if Rizal Foundation (the land's owner) decides to sell this land," he said.
A worker at a construction materials shop, Suparno said his dream was to have a small but affordable settlement to call his own. Suparno said he would move if the administration offered him low-cost housing or an apartment.
However, Fauzi has yet to realize his promise to provide residents with a better settlement. Head of the cemetery's management Junaidi said it allowed residents to live there only for the sake of humanity. "We never really permit them to live here but everybody knows just how hard it is to find a place to stay in the city," he said.
Junaidi said he hoped the administration could soon provide a settlement for the community. "A cemetery is a cemetery, the house of the dead. There is no way living people could live a normal life in such a place," he said.
| Demos, actions, protests... |
Jakarta Post - November 30, 2007
Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – Students demanded the attorney general immediately remove the head of the East Nusa Tenggara Prosecutor's Office, Oparis Siahaan, for his alleged failure to deal with corruption cases.
They voiced the demand during a protest in front of Siahaan's office in Kupang on Wednesday.
The cases include the alleged misappropriation of health facility funds from the provincial health office in 2000, disaster mitigation funds from the social affairs office and fishing boat procurement funds in Kupang regency, fictitious official trips at the manpower office and billions of rupiah in retirement funds for South Central Timor legislative council leaders.
"The sluggish handling of corruption cases indicates that law enforcers are not doing their job as they should," said rally coordinator Zakarias Gara.
He said that these cases remained outstanding was proof prosecutors were not serious about handling graft cases. "It gives the impression that law enforcers have turned graft cases into a means of earning money, with suspects able to be perpetually extorted," alleged one protester.
Protesters also urged the East Nusa Tenggara legislative council to form a special team to follow up reports from the Supreme Audit Agency indicating state losses of more than Rp 160 million from official council trips and more than Rp 522 million in allowances to council leaders.
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Jakarta – About 50 residents claiming to be heirs of Isa bin Baman again blocked the Ulujami toll road on Tuesday morning during rush hour. The protest led to severe traffic congestion in several areas in South Jakarta.
Residents blocked lane used by commuters heading from Serpong, Tangerang, to Jakarta. The protesters are demanding compensation for land acquired by toll road operator PT Jasa Marga.
The protest broke up around 5 p.m., according to detik.com newsportal.
| Aceh |
Jakarta Post - November 30, 2007
Jakarta – Economic and political authority needs to be shared equally in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam to ensure the brighter future envisioned at the signing of the 2005 Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), experts on Aceh say.
"The root cause of the Aceh conflict was strongly related to the matter of unfair distribution of political power and economic welfare. Those two factors accumulated to create a regional conflict," Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Matalatta told a seminar Thursday.
Andi said that despite some shortcomings, the MOU between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement signed on Aug. 15, 2005, in Helsinki, Finland, has provided a strong foundation to develop the equal distribution of economic and political authority in Aceh.
"For the implementation of the MOU, the Indonesian government has established Law No. 11/2006 on Aceh's Government," he said.
An economist from Syah Kuala University, Nazamuddin Basyah Said, said that for him, the law is the real peace agreement, because it is more comprehensive and regulates all aspects related to the management of Aceh, from economic to governmental matters.
However, the head of law and public relations of Aceh provincial administration, Hamid Zein, said there were some MOU mandates that still have not been implemented, even though they were stated in the 2006 law. He cited the establishment of the Human Rights Tribunal and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Aceh as examples.
A social and political expert from the University of Indonesia Makmur Keliat said the MOU had been crucial to efforts toward establishing peace in Aceh.
"The MOU has succeeded in eliminating vertical conflicts between the state and a group of people who wanted to separate themselves," said Makmur.
"The reason I see the MOU as successful is because it contains three components. The first is the peace making component that aims to stop the occurrence of violent conflict, reduce the level of hostility and carry out military disengagement in the forms of troop withdrawal. Second, the peacekeeping monitoring, as we can see in the establishment of the Aceh Monitoring Mission. Third, the peace building component that functions as a peace maintenance instrument," he said.
"A report from the International Crisis Group in October 2007 said that almost no conflict has occurred between the Indonesian Military and the separatist movement since the signing of the MOU," he said.
However, he said that the government still needed to prepare for the ending of the Aceh Monitoring Mission's mandate in 2009.
"The government already established the Aceh Desk within the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs. The problem is, are we sure whether the desk possesses the same capacity as the Aceh Monitoring Mission?" he asked. (uwi)
Jakarta Post - November 27, 2007
Jakarta – A rights watchdog group and victims of the conflict in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam lodged a complaint against the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Monday for the slow progress in handling human rights violations from Aceh's long and bloody separatist conflict.
"There still hasn't been any concerted effort to view case by case the human rights violations in Aceh from 1985 to 2005," said Haris Azhar, the impunity division head for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), at a meeting with Komnas HAM member Johny Nelson Simanjuntak.
Kontras, alongside the Human Rights Violation Victims' Brotherhood Solidarity Aceh, Relatives of Human Rights Violation Victims in Aceh Besar (KPP HAM) and the Human Rights Abuse Victims' Community of North Aceh, has called on Komnas HAM and its Aceh chapter to step up efforts to resolve rights violation cases.
"Two years have passed since the signing of the Helsinki peace treaty, which states a truth commission and a human rights court are to be established, but neither has been set up," Rukaiyah, chairwoman of KPP HAM Aceh Besar, told The Jakarta Post.
"We are pushing for the establishment of a human rights court in Aceh. Komnas HAM should help advocate this but so far it has been silent."
Haris said the commission should serve as a bridge between family members of the abused on one hand and the course of justice on the other.
"Several surviving family members have begun digging up graves en masse with the intention of giving their deceased relatives proper Islamic burial rites, as well as seeking closure," he said. "This could compromise evidence for fact-finding missions and possible legal actions, and nobody is stopping them."
Murtala, a victim of a 1999 military shooting at Simpang KKA in North Aceh, said locals have become increasingly skeptical of justice ever being served. "We fear if the Acehnese seeking justice for their deceased continue to be neglected by the government then another conflict could well brew," he said.
Johny said the new commission members would still need to carefully review the work of the previous commission and other prior recommendations before making any concrete progress.
"Human rights violations in Aceh is not a small affair. Its political scope and repercussions are vast especially when factoring in the military, so we must act as prudently as possible," Johny told the Post.
He said Komnas HAM has been advocating for the establishment of a truth commission and would not shy away from making recommendations for a human rights court, once proof of gross human rights violation was established. Johny declined to comment on the reports of the recent burial exhumation. (amr)
| West Papua |
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – US Congressman Eni Faleomavaega has been in Papua since Monday to directly assess the latest condition of two provinces after he was granted permission by the Indonesian government.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Soeryo Legowo said Tuesday the Indonesian government allowed the congressman to visit the provinces to enable him to see the results of development in the area.
"We allowed him to see the provinces because we want to give him the opportunity to assess the results of the special autonomy both provinces have been granted," he said.
Citing security concerns as a reason, the Indonesian government barred Faleomavaega from entering Papua earlier this year. The congressman could only meet with important Papuan figures in Jakarta at the time.
However, Faleomavaega's visit was heavily guarded by the police and journalists were not allowed to approach him for interviews.
The Democrat congressman, who represents Samoa, arrived in Timika, the capital of Mimika, Papua, on Monday afternoon by special Air East aircraft, owned by PT Freeport Indonesia.
Mimika police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Godhelp Mansnembra said the foreign ministry, who organized the visit, wanted to guard the congressman from journalists.
Kristiarto said after Timika the congressman would visit Biak and Manokwari, the capital of West Papua province. "He will go directly to Bali for the climate meeting after visiting Papua," he said.
International groups have often accused Indonesia of human rights violations in Papua. Jakarta has repeatedly denied the accusations. In an effort to manage foreign involvement in Papua, the government limits the number of foreigners entering the province.
Faleomavaega, a staunch supporter of Papuan independence, in 2005 sponsored a bill asking the US government to review its recognition of Papua as part of Indonesia.
However, Faleomavaega's stance appeared to have softened when he said Indonesia's sovereignty over the province 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 Post - November 27, 2007
Alfian, Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives have to evaluate the performance of security personnel in Papua, especially the concentration of military forces, their roles and the clarity of their purpose in Papua, activists said Monday.
Director of external relations at the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor, Poengky Indarti, said in the past year there had been a massive deployment of troops in Papua, especially from the Army.
"They established a number of security posts in the middle of communal land," she told a media conference. She said the total number of additional troops in Papua was unknown but the increase was easily discernible.
"For example, in Waris, a district near Papua New Guinea, there are seven security posts and three of them are manned by soldiers from the Army's Special Forces Command, with six members in each post," said Poengky.
She said the seven posts belonged to the 521st infantry battalion from East Java. "The excessive numbers of security personnel in Papua do not guarantee security in Papua," said Poengky.
She said the safety and human rights conditions in Papua still faced serious problems. "In the past year we found eight cases of human rights violations in Papua," she said. "Four of the cases involved Indonesia Military and another two involved the National Police," she added.
The violations included assassination, violence and intimidation. Conflicts between troops from different units and between troops and local people also occurred. Such security and human rights problems in Papua, said Poengky, was rooted in the way security authorities inaccurately perceived security threats.
"Individual or groups' critical activities are always perceived as threats. As a result, repressive and intimidating actions are seen as the only solution when sociopolitical problems appear in Papua," she said.
Yusman Conoras, a representative of the Papua NGOs Cooperation Forum, said the problems were also caused by the lack of the troops' professionalism as well as their failure to understand local culture.
"When a Papua man has with him a machete or bow and arrows, troops automatically perceive him as a member of the separatist Free Papua Organization," he said Yusman.
Both Poengky and Yusman urged the government, legislators and security authorities to change their thinking in Papua. "Various security agencies should also maximize coordination to minimize conflicts," said Yusman.
Activists said the security approach to Papua should not only address national security but also human security improvement. "Problems in Papua were caused by poverty, lack of employment opportunities and access to health and education, and other social problems," said Poengky.
Radio New Zealand International - November 27, 2007
Manasseh Sogavare – The Solomon Islands Prime Minister says the Melanesian Spearhead Group can do more to push for discussion on self-determination aspirations of Papuans.
Manasseh Sogavare says the MSG guiding principles mean member countries should assist fellow Melanesian peoples realise statehood where possible.
With the opening of the new MSG secretariat building in Vanuatu, there are hopes the sub-regional grouping will step up efforts to grant observer status to West Papuans who live under Indonesian rule.
Mr Sogavare says the MSG could do more to push for dialogue with Jakarta on self-determination for West Papuans.
"We've made it very very plain and clear that if we have to push their agenda of course we take it up and discuss it formally with the relevant authorities. That is open and our charter clearly mandates us to do that."
| Human rights/law |
Jakarta Post - November 30, 2007
Jakarta – The State Ministry for Women's Empowerment invited public figures Thursday to evaluate the revised draft of the Pornography Bill, which has stirred debate among women's rights activists since it was first issued in 2006.
Artists and activists attending the discussion said they feared that the bill, which "allows pornography" in art shows, religious ceremonies and education, would trigger cultural degradation and legalize the repression of women.
"I wish to express my rejection of such a low and discriminating regulation, which proves nothing but the narrow-mindedness of the members of the House of Representatives. This 20-page long document discriminates against women," said Ratna Sarumpaet, a leading professional artist and activist.
Meutia Hatta, the minister for women's empowerment, agreed that the bill was "far from serving its purpose" and requested written input from public figures, especially on formulating an appropriate definition of "pornography", which the draft has failed to provide. (lva)
Jakarta Post - November 29, 2007
Jakarta – National intelligence chief Syamsir Siregar said Wednesday he was ready to testify in the Munir murder case.
"If I am required, I am ready to testify in court," he said when asked about the case during a break in a hearing with the information, defense and foreign affairs commission at the House of Representatives.
The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) was implicated in the case when an official fact-finding team found indications of the alleged involvement of intelligence officials in the murder.
Human rights campaigner Munir Thalib was poisoned on Sept. 7, 2004, while flying with Garuda Indonesia to the Netherlands, via Singapore.
Former president director of Garuda, Indra Setiawan, and the secretary to Garuda chief pilot, Rohainil Aini, are currently being tried for the murder.
Former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who was acquitted in the murder case, has testified at the trial.
Jakarta Post - November 29, 2007
Jakarta – An alliance of 12 non-governmental organizations has demanded the revision of Jakarta's new public order bylaw, saying it opposes pluralism.
Jakarta for All Alliance, whose members include the Jurnal Perempuan Foundation, Kalyanamitra, the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute and the Association of Indonesian Women for Justice, has rejected the bylaw saying it marginalizes people and limits their activities, especially the poor.
Some articles discriminate the sick, women, non-Muslims, those in the informal sector and people who prefer traditional medical treatment, Rena Hardianti from the alliance said in a public discussion Tuesday titled "Jakarta public order bylaw threatens your life".
Rena said many people were still unaware of the content of the bylaw's articles and thought that it only affected the poor.
Article 46 stipulates that keeping alcoholic beverages is prohibited without permission from authorities, while Article 31 says anyone or any organization that runs a restaurant or a food stall should first obtain halal certification.
"Note that the articles refer to anyone. So what if someone keeps a beer in their refrigerator? Or what if a vendor sells pork? Should he or she just use a halal label and lie to buyers?" said activist Yenni Rosa Damayanti.
Asfinawati, director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, also said the bylaw contradicted the Constitution and other higher- level regulations.
As an example, she said, those who ordered others to work as beggars could be jailed from 20 to 90 days, as stipulated in article 40, while the anti-trafficking law carries higher sanctions; up to several years in jail. "So, those who should actually be punished for years in jail could get a lighter punishment," she said.
The bylaw was passed by the City Council on Sept. 10 and is currently being disseminated to the public before it takes effect in January.
The public discussion was interrupted by two public order officers who continued to interject when Yoseph Adi Prasetyo, from the National Commission on Human Rights, highlighted articles he said violated people's basic rights.
Ahmad Wahid Supandi, secretary of the Commission A on administration of the City Council, asked the alliance to read the bylaw thoroughly. "Please read the additional explanation, don't just highlight parts of the bylaw," he told the audience.
Jurnal P. Siahaan, head of the legal bureau at the city administration, denied the bylaw did not respect human rights. "In fact, we want to protect human rights through the bylaw," he said. (dia)
Sections of highlighted articles
Article 31 line 3: Individuals or organizations that run restaurants are obliged to display a halal label. – The alliance highlights the word "anyone", questioning whether people who sell non-halal foods should lie and just use the halal label.
Article 46: Individuals or organizations are not allowed to keep alcoholic beverages without permission from the authorities. – Not even for personal consumption?
Article 47: Individuals or organizations are prohibited from organizing or performing any type of traditional medical treatment or mysticism without permission from the Governor or an appointed official. – What about traditional treatments like prana (the use of inner power in martial arts to cure diseases) or Chinese chikung and acupuncture?
Article 41: Those suffering from a disease that causes discomfort to the public, such as leprosy and mental illness, are banned from public spaces. – The sick should not be discriminated against.
[Source: Jakarta For All Alliance.]
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Jakarta – The trial of Indra Setiawan for conspiracy to murder in the Munir Said Thalib case resumed Tuesday with witnesses from Garuda Indonesia confirming that the deployment of Pollycarpus Priyanto as an aviation security officer was out of the ordinary.
"If a division needs additional staff support, the division head should notify the human resources department and a special committee will be formed to review potential candidates," Garuda former director for strategy and general affairs, Wiradharma B. Oka, told the court.
"But as an executive, I only came to know about Pollycarpus' appointment through a memo that stated his appointment was final even though his candidacy had never been announced."
Former Garuda president director Indra is currently on trial at the Central Jakarta District Court for his alleged involvement in the premeditated murder of Munir.
The charges against him are related to his appointment of Pollycarpus as a security officer and the off-duty pilot's eventual assignment to a security detail on the Garuda flight to the Netherlands on which Munir died.
The trial will continue next Tuesday with another hearing of witnesses from the national carrier. (amr)
| Labour issues |
Jakarta Post - November 27, 2007
Jakarta – The union of state railway operator PT KAI on Monday threatened a large-scale strike from Dec. 10 to 12 if the government fails to endorse a regulation on their status as civil servants by Friday.
"If by Friday the government fails to endorse the regulation, we will hold the strike. But if the regulation is issued, we will cancel our plan," said workers' association head Kuspawarman, as quoted by detik.com.
He said that prior to the strike, the workers planned to send representatives to meet State Secretary Hatta Radjasa.
The workers have been in limbo regarding their status since PT KAI was turned into a limited liability company in 2000. During a company restructuring, the workers lost their rights as civil servants.
Former state minister for state enterprises Sugiharto had pledged to return the workers' status as civil servants, but no government regulation was ever issued.
| Environment/natural disasters |
Jakarta Post - November 29, 2007
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – PT Lapindo Brantas, a mining company partly owned by Bakrie Holding Group which has been blamed for the mudflow in East Java's Sidoarjo region, on Wednesday renewed its commitment to resolving the social, legal and environmental impacts caused by the disaster.
"Lapindo will accept any decisions the government and the court make regarding the mudflow and will take responsibility for its social, legal and environmental impacts," Chairman of Lapindo's task force Iman Agustino told a hearing with the House's special committee tasked to supervise the handling of the mudflow issue.
He said since the hot mud started leaking from the mine site in Sidoarjo in May last year, the management had spent a total of Rp 2.43 trillion (US$258.4 million) out of Rp 3.5 trillion allocated to handle the mudflow problem and its impacts.
The South Jakarta District court rejected Tuesday a lawsuit filed by the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation against the President and Lapindo over human rights abuse allegations in connection to the mudflow disaster.
Azis Syamsuddin of the Golkar Party lauded Lapindo's commitment to settling the mudflow issue and called on all parties to comply with the court's verdict. "We should give Lapindo the thumbs-up, not only for its commitment, but for all measures taken to minimize the impacts of the mudflow," he said.
In addition to paying a down payment of 20 percent, or Rp 583 billion, of the total compensation for residents, the management had also allotted a settlement area for the affected residents in Sukodono, Waru, near the provincial capital of Surabaya, he added.
"The 20-percent down payment of the total compensation amount will be finalized in December, while the remaining 80 percent, or Rp 2.3 trillion, will be paid in May 2009. The affected residents are expected to voluntarily relocate themselves to the new settlement area," Iman said.
Lapindo is cooperating with PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya (MLJ) in handling the mudflow's social impacts, under the supervision of the government-appointed Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS).
BPLS chairman Sunarso said the agency had verified more than 10,700 compensation recipients, while hundreds of others had rejected the relocation and acquisition schemes offered by Lapindo. "More than 823 families have yet to submit their claims... they are either demanding a higher compensation amount or just want to rent their land," he said.
Citing Presidential regulation No. 14/2007, the chairman of the House's supervisory committee, Tjahyo Kumolo, said Lapindo was not the only party responsible for the mudflow, but also the government and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BP Migas).
"So far, both the government and BP Migas have done nothing to stop the leakage and handle the impacts of the mudflow. The government should be at the forefront in handling the social impacts," Tjahyo said in the meeting.
The committee asked the government to declare the status of the mudflow – whether it was an accident or a disaster – to help pave the way to better handling the issue. "If the mudflow is declared a disaster, the government should then allocate special funds from the state budget to handle the disaster," he said.
Separately, Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Purnomo Yusgantoro said it was difficult for the government to declare the mudflow a disaster prior to a court decision on the issue.
"It is quite a dilemma for the government because if the government declared it a disaster, that would imply Lapindo is not at fault and the government would be obliged to reimburse the company for the funds it has already dispersed. But if the company is found to be guilty, the government would not have to allocate funds from the state budget to handle the mudflow problem," he said.
Jakarta Post - November 29, 2007
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Jakarta's regular floods can be partially blamed on global and regional warming, a scientist has said.
"This will get worse in the years to come. It has been estimated that by 2050, 25 percent of Jakarta will be inundated," said Armi Susandi, a climate change expert at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) on Wednesday.
He added that poor city planning, bad zoning systems and a lack of infrastructure were contributing to the problem.
Armi has studied flooding in Jakarta since 2005. He received his Ph.D on climate change in 2004 from the University of Hamburg, Germany. He said regional climate change such as has take place in Jakarta has the potential to increase local temperatures, "inviting" more rain.
"The city's severe pollution has created regional warming. This warming has moved the rain from Bogor in the south to Jakarta in the north," he said.
"We have managed to record and identify the pattern of the shifting rain – how the rain keeps moving to Jakarta. The increase in the city's rainfall rate could reach up to 5 percent per year," he said.
Global warming has also increased the sea level north of Jakarta by 0.57 centimeters per year. The increasing sea level and the lack of a buffer zone due to the decreasing size of the mangrove forest that once covered the area would certainly aggravate the erosion of the beach and floods in the coastal areas of the city, he said.
He added that the fact that the city's land has sunk by 0.85 centimeters per year due to the pressure imposed by concrete buildings and skyscrappers as well as the massive exploitation of underground water springs hasn't helped the city in dealing with the worsening floods. Armi said that currently 40 percent of the city already lies below sea level.
The government, he said, should construct a buffer zone in the coastal areas to prevent the sea's waves from entering the city. The buffer could be made of mangroves or a six-meter-tall concrete wall.
"When dealing with climate change-related problems, our country has a very low adaptation capacity. In fact, all we have to do is decide whether we will plant mangroves or construct a wall. Otherwise, we need to relocate the residents who live along the coastal areas," he said.
"In January 2008, the floods, I believe, will be worse than the ones we had in 2007 provided that the rainfall rate doesn't change," he said.
Agence France Presse - November 28, 2007
Jakarta – Indonesia is one of the nations most vulnerable to climate change and is already feeling some of the consequences of global warming, environmental group WWF said Wednesday in a new report.
The report, which cites an array of studies, said that annual rainfall in the archipelago nation has fallen by two to three percent, while average temperatures have risen by 0.3 degrees Celsius (33 degrees Fahrenheit).
A high population density – the nation is the fourth most populous in the world – coupled with some 80,000 kilometres (50,000 miles) of coastline, left it extremely at risk from rises in global temperatures, WWF said.
Global sea levels are rising at about two millimetres per year and are projected to accelerate to a rate of about five millimetres annually over the next century.
"A change of this magnitude will undoubtedly result in significant losses of Indonesia's... coastline and thousands of islands and the associated marine resources," the report said.
Fitrian Ardiansyah, director of WWF-Indonesia's climate and energy programme, said in a statement that the impact would be widespread.
"As rainfall decreases during critical times of the year this translates into higher drought risk, consequently a decrease in crop yields, economic instability and drastically more undernourished people," he said.
"This will undo Indonesia's progress against poverty and food insecurity."
The report concludes that Indonesia needs to draft ways to address climate change.
Indonesia is hosting a UN conference on climate change that kicks off next week on the resort island of Bali.
At the meeting, nations will attempt to lay the groundwork for an agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions after the current phase of the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012.
"The Indonesian government must take its role seriously and lead the way in the fight against global climate change," Mubariq Ahmad, WWF-Indonesia's director, said in the statement.
The WWF report closely mirrored another study released this week by the UN Development Programme, which warned that Indonesia's poor would be most affected by climate change.
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The sea water which inundated much of North Jakarta on Monday began receding Tuesday, with residents returning home and traffic on the road to Soekarno-Hatta Airport back to normal.
PT Jasa Marga, the operator of the Soekarno-Hatta airport toll road, said the floods had caused no damage to the road. The company has prepared pumps to drain water during future high tides.
"We have eight pumps in the 27th kilometer, the worst point for flooding. The biggest pump can propel 250 liters of water per second. We still have many pumps in storage," corporate secretary Okke Marlina told The Jakarta Post.
She said the floods had cost the company Rp 150 million after it imposed a toll-free period during the congestion.
The city administration said Tuesday that it will only be able to repair the embankments damaged by the high tide next year as emergency funds are only available for food and medical assistance.
"We can use emergency funds to supply food and medicine for disaster victims but not for physical development," Prijanto said at City Hall. "But we'll prioritize building and repairing sea barriers in next year's city budget."
Jakarta Public Works Agency head Wisnu Subagya Yusuf said it would be "impossible" to fix the broken sea walls now because "it needs a great deal of money and time" but that he expected Rp 15 billion would be included in next year's city budget to repair the damaged embankments and build new ones.
Deputy City Council Speaker Ilal Ferhard, however, said the administration could use the emergency funds for embankment repair with the approval of the home affairs minister "if it's urgent".
Seasonal high tides combined with broken embankments caused flooding in several coastal parts of North Jakarta, submerging the Pluit and Penjaringan subdistricts and paralyzing nearby roads.
The high tide was caused by a 18-and-a-half-year cycle that will see tidal levels continue to rise until 2009, when they will start dropping again.
The cycle is not connected to climate change but it controlled by the moon, according to the Flood Hazard Mapping-Jakarta Floods Project, which has predicted that the next high tides will happen on Dec. 24 this year and June 4 next year.
However, Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) disaster management manager Sofyan said the high tide was the result of climate change, erosion and beach reclamation.
"The tide was extremely high and residents said they had never seen tide as high as that yesterday for years. That was evidently a result of climate change," he said. "Natural erosion by sea water coupled with the administration's reclamation and mangrove forest denuding exacerbated the impact." (tif)
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Prodita Sabarini, Denpasar – Bali's fishermen and farmers are more susceptible to the effects of climate change than other groups on the island, an environmentalist says.
The executive director of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi Bali), Ni Nyoman Sri Widiyanthi, said that based on a series of interviews with communities living in coastal, rural and forest areas in Bali, the organization found that fishermen and farmers were the most severely affected by global climate change.
"Those groups are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because their lives depend upon the cycles of nature," Widiyanthi said.
Walhi gathered information from 10 villages in eight regencies in Bali and found that unpredictability in the rainy and dry seasons had resulted in crop and harvest failures.
Climate change, which has resulted in unusual tides and sea temperature, has also negatively affected the incomes of fishing communities.
Fishermen in Pemuteran, Buleleng regency, in northern Bali, have had trouble fishing due to the unpredictable weather. They say they can no longer predict when and where to catch fish because of the different climate patterns. They also have to go further out to sea for their catches, increasing operational costs.
"Climate change has caused a drop in fishermen's income due to low catches and high operational costs," Widiyanthi said.
Farmers in Petang village in Badung regency said volatile weather had damaged crops, led to a fall in production and sometimes total crop failures.
I Ketut Geden, a farmer in Bangli regency's Kedisan village, said the last few years had been especially difficult for him. Changing climate patterns, he said, had cost him numerous harvests.
Another farmer, I Nyoman Rima, said there has also been reduced rainfall in the past several years.
Widiyanthi said that while farmers and fishermen suffered the most from climate change, it was urban dwellers who accounted for the majority of carbon emissions. "They also don't have the economic capacity for conducting mitigation efforts on climate change impacts," she said.
Bali will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference early next month. More than 10,000 delegates will gather in Nusa Dua to start negotiations on a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
UN scientists have warned that the world's poorest, who are the least to blame for climate change, will be the hardest hit by the phenomenon.
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – The climate in Yogyakarta city has gradually increased over the past two years due to global warming, a government agency says.
Previously, the temperature in the city ranged between 33 and 34 degrees Celsius, but now swings between 35 and 37.8 degrees.
"The temperature rise in Yogyakarta is a current global phenomenon also happening elsewhere as the result of global warming," said Yogyakarta Meteorological and Geophysics Agency (BMG) Data and Information Division head Tyar Prasetya.
Prasetya added his office had detected a gradual rise in temperatures in the city over the past two years. The city recorded temperatures of between 33 to 34 degrees Celsius previously, but in November 2006 the highest temperature reached 37.8 degrees Celsius and in December of the same year it stood at 35.2 degrees Celsius.
He said the BMG recorded temperatures of 35.2 degrees Celsius in February and 35 degrees in October this year.
Prasetya said every party must pay special attention to reduce global warming so as to alleviate its negative impacts.
A number of Yogyakarta residents say they have noticed the change. "Yogyakarta's climate is very hot now, especially when we go out in the daytime," said Amirudin, a father of two.
He said that the atmosphere around the Gadjah Mada University's roundabout, a popular meeting place, used to be cool in the afternoon.
"The climate along Jalan Kaliurang, which was cool previously due to its proximity to the mountain, is quite hot now, let alone the area around the university, which is closer to the coastal area," said Amirudin.
Yogyakarta Environmental Office's Waste Management Division head Peter Lawuasal said his office was conducting a study to determine the current trend in temperature rises.
The study is being conducted in 10 points in the city focusing on tests such as lead levels and ambient temperature. "We are currently testing them in the laboratory," said Peter.
Peter added his office had previously conducted research on lead content in the blood levels of taxi drivers, bus conductors and pedicab drivers.
"Tests showed that the lead content exceeded the permitted level," said Peter.
He said the lead content in their blood indicates a high level of air pollution in the city.
The local municipality is carrying out a regreening program in an attempt to lower air pollution in the city. It has been using money from the provincial budget to procure idle land in the city for the past two years.
"We buy vacant plots of land and turn them into green areas or public parks," said Yogyakarta Mayor Herry Zudianto.
The tree replanting program is being carried out in conjunction with a campaign to plant trees along streets and in private gardens. The municipality will provide 31,000 tree seedlings by the end of the year and encourage residents to get involved in the program.
Jakarta Post - November 27, 2007
Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – As the government prepares to unveil its National Action Plan (RAN), a road map to guide the effort against global warming, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has called for a say.
Chairman Mohammad Hidayat said Monday that Kadin had appointed a team of 15 industrial leaders to participate in drawing up the plan, which is to be made public in the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Bali next week.
The RAN plan will consist of a set of guidelines to help Indonesia mitigate and adapt to climate change.
According to the Environment Ministry, which is responsible for it, the plan incorporates the country's triple-track development strategy of pro-poor, pro-job and pro-growth, but adds another dimension: pro-environment.
The plan encompasses preservation of forests and carbon capture, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 30 percent by 2025.
However, for fear of having its interests neglected – especially on issues of energy efficiency, spatial planning and tax incentives – the Kadin team wants to be a part of the sustainable development coordination process, contributing ideas and suggestions.
"We need a comprehensive approach towards sustainable development that takes into account both environmental issues and the interest of industry," Hidayat said in a discussion with the Environment Ministry on Monday.
Hidayat said the effort to create balance between the environment and industrial growth had been marred by disputes and a lack of coordination between government agencies.
Regulatory ambiguity and discrepancies – for example between central and regional government levels, he said, discouraged many companies from shifting to renewable sources of energy for production.
Also speaking at the discussion, Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Sofyan Wanandi urged the government to create a comprehensive policy on the use of energy and how it will shape the future of industry.
"The government's approach in addressing the energy issue has always been ad hoc and tends to look for scapegoats if there are problems,"
"Having learned from past experience, even if we have a good plan, implementation is always an issue. I'm honestly skeptical about the action plan, especially on the implementation level," Sofyan said.
On the issue of spatial planning, Franky Wijaya, the CEO of Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food, one of the major players in the palm oil industry, said the government must discuss land allocation matters, both with industry players and NGOs, in order to get an objective view on all related issues.
"For our industry, it is important to get a hold of exact spatial planning – which areas are allocated for preserved forest and which are for production, to avoid disputes."
Similarly, at the UNFCCC negotiations in Bali, 180 country representatives will map out a plan for climate change mitigation and adaptation, ahead of the expiry of the Kyoto framework – the first CO2 reduction arrangement – in 2012.
| Poverty & development |
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Jakarta – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released Tuesday The Other Half of Climate Change report, focusing on the impact of climate change on the poor in Indonesia as well as efforts to adapt to the global weather phenomenon.
In the report, it says that Indonesia will face changes in season and rainfall, more extreme weather events, rises in sea levels of between 9 and 100 centimeters, warmer oceans and higher temperatures due to global warming.
The report was released together with the UNDP's annual Human Development report. UNDP country director for Indonesia Hakan Bjorkman said the impact of climate change was discriminatory.
"Poor people are more vulnerable. They have fewer resources or capacities to adapt to climate change," Bjorkman told the launch of both reports.
Vulnerable communities are at risk of deprivation of livelihoods, health care, food security and clean water access. "Farmers, fishermen and urban slum dwellers are living on the most marginal land, that is vulnerable to droughts, floods or landslides. When disaster strikes, poor communities have very few resources to fall back on," Bjorkman said.
"The impact of climate change will be felt the strongest among poor people. Climate change sabotages Indonesia's fight against poverty," Bjorkman added.
Effendy Sumardja, former senior advisor to the State Ministry for the Environment, and chair of the Poverty and Climate Change Report Team, said: "Climate change has an impact on farmers and fishing and coastal communities, as well as urban dwellers".
"Coastal cities are more vulnerable to floods and storms," Effendy said. "In February 2007, floods killed 57 people and forced 422,300 to leave their homes, of which 1,500 were destroyed."
Emil Salim, of the UN High Level Advisory Board for Sustainable Development, said, "The poor's lives will depend on climate, on fishing, on farming, but the poor understand this." "So the rich have the obligation to deal with water issues, energy, problems of health, agriculture and forestry," Emil said.
In the report, Indonesia is cited as both a victim of and contributor to global warming due to rapid deforestation and forest fires.
The report also points out some of the priority areas for climate change adaptation, including adaptation in agriculture, coastal zones, water supplies, health, urban areas and disaster management. "The adaptation agenda in the report sets out the actions required to get ready and cope with these impacts," Bjorkman said.
Examples of adaptation include building houses on stilts in flood-prone areas, diversifying sources of income for farmers, cultivating more resilient crops and optimizing the use of scarce water.
Up to now, the world has been focused on mitigation plans and efforts to reduce carbon emissions, while for the poor, the priority is to adapt to the changing environment.
"Emissions of greenhouse gasses have to be reduced. This is primarily an issue for the richer countries to change the way they use fossil fuels," said Effendy. (rff)
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Jakarta – Indonesia has raised its Human Development Index (HDI) ranking through improvements in a number of key sectors, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced Tuesday.
The Human Development Report for 2007/2008, Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World ranks Indonesia 107th out of 177 countries, with its overall index rising from 0.711 to 0.728 this year.
"The HDI report looks back at a measure of health, education and income... the standard of living among 177 countries and Indonesia is number 107 this year, one step further than last year," Hakan Bjorkman, UNDP country director for Indonesia, said.
"The change is related to other countries which are improving more. But, slowly, slowly, Indonesia is improving in these areas, but maybe not fast enough," he told The Jakarta Post upon the launch of the Human Development Report.
"The improvement is not as fast as in Vietnam, but Cambodia and Myanmar are much slower than Indonesia," he added.
In the key sectors of life expectancy at birth and gross domestic product per capita, Indonesia rose respectively from 67.2 to 69.7 and from US$3,609 to $3,843.
This year, the UNDP especially focused its report on climate change issues in the lead-up to the global climate change conference in Bali in December.
"Since 1990 we have published the annual Human Development Report, but this year's report differs from last year's in that it is not from a narrow economic point of view, but from the climate change point of view," said Bjorkman.
"This report is a good reference for climate change issues." he added. "The impact will be serious on the poor countries. If we don't do the right things right now, climate change will sabotage the Millennium Development (Goals)," said Bjorkman.
Bjorkman also said that most of the climate change has been caused by carbon emissions in developed countries over the past hundred years. "As a good example of global solidarity between rich and poor countries, it's a big responsibility for rich countries to support the countries that are most affected, which are the poor countries, in terms of mitigating, fighting climate change or transplanting technology," Bjorkman said.
Indonesia should also be able to rely on international support. At a Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2001, governments established some funding mechanisms, including the Special Climate Change Fund to support adaptation activities and to improve monitoring of diseases, early warning systems and responses, disaster planning and preparedness for droughts and floods. (rff)
| Health & education |
Jakarta Post - November 29, 2007
Jakarta – Islamic leaders in Jakarta on Tuesday agreed to spread faith-based HIV/AIDS prevention information through their sermons.
Gathering in the Jakarta Islamic Center in Kramat Raya, North Jakarta, some 400 religious leaders said they would incorporate into their sermons topics including the advantages and disadvantages of condoms, harm reduction in fighting drug abuse and the importance of faith in preventing HIV contraction.
The forum was held ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.
According to Dadi Parmadi Supatra, head of Jakarta's Family Planning Coordination Body, the event was the first of several and part of a faith-based campaign organized by his team and the Communication Forum for Sermon Institutions (FKLD), which will also hold more meetings with leaders from other religions.
"We hope the meeting will have a snowball effect where more and more preachers will send the message of HIV prevention, whether it is at Friday prayers or wherever," he said, adding that the main target of the campaign was Muslims.
FKLD head Nandi Rahman said preachers were important to spreading cultural changes. "People will listen to teachings passed to us by the Koran, because the prophets have already predicted these types of curses. This is a judgment from above... so we have to fight and return the lost moral values," he said.
With a huge number of injecting drug users, Jakarta has the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country, 30 percent of the total number. Drug users sharing needles is the main way HIV/AIDS is spread in the capital, along with many other provinces, Hariadi Wisnuwardana from the Health Ministry said Tuesday.
He was among the speakers at a separate forum held to welcome World AIDS Day at the Dharmais Cancer Hospital in Slipi, West Jakarta. Around 150 representatives of NGOs, hospitals, public health centers, and individuals attended the seminar, which showcased this year's AIDS day theme, promoting leadership.
National AIDS Prevention Commission secretary Nafsiah Mboi said that the commission had set a three-year target starting this year for patients to have access to antiretroviral therapy to help them improve their immune systems. "We also hope that people help the patients by giving them continuous support," she said.
Data from the Health Ministry has recorded 10,384 AIDS cases and 5,904 HIV cases with 2,287 deaths occurring in 33 provinces from 1987 to September this year. Jakarta has the highest number with 2,849 cases, while West Java and Papua are ranked the second and third with 1,445 and 1,268 cases respectively.
The actual number, however, is believed to be much higher as it thought most cases are not reported. It is estimated that around 246,000 people in the country are infected with the virus.
Zubairi Djoerban, a professor at the School of Medicine from the University of Indonesia, said that patients usually did not realize they had HIV/AIDS because they had symptoms like a high fever, diarrhea, gingivitis or scurvy and a weakening physical condition, all of which could indicate other illnesses.
"Most of them come late for treatment and this might lead to their deaths," he said. To prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS cases the government will launch the first-ever National Condom Week 2007 month to encourage safe sex. (anw/ewd)
Jakarta Post - November 29, 2007
Jakarta – The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned Wednesday that Indonesia could expect more frequent and severe outbreaks of dengue fever and diarrhea as a result of global warming.
"A recent rise in dengue fever cases during the rainy season in Indonesia may be caused by extreme changes in precipitation patterns and warming temperatures," WWF-Indonesia's program director for climate and energy, Fitrian Ardiansyah told a media gathering Wednesday.
"Bogor in West Java, for instance, recently recorded a significant increase in the number of dengue fever patients, which was previously not the case."
In addition to the impact of global warming on human health in Indonesia, WWF's report, titled Change in Indonesia-Implications for Humans and Nature, shows that climate change has also affected the country's overall water availability, sea levels, biodiversity and ecosystem.
A study conducted by WWF-Indonesia on Lombok Island, for instance, revealed that there was a disturbance to the island's ecosystem and functions, including a significant reduction in the amount of available spring water.
According to WWF-Indonesia's executive director and CEO, Mubariq Ahmad, because climate change's impacts are already noticeable in Indonesia, the country should lead the way in the fight against global warming.
"Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world and home to a staggering amount of biodiversity on this planet. The government must take its role seriously and lead the way," he said.
He said Indonesia had ratified the UN Framework on Climate Change in 1994 and the Kyoto Protocol a decade later.
Indonesia is considered to be one of the countries that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to high population density, high levels of biodiversity and its 80,000 kilometers of coastline and 17,500 islands.
Meanwhile, the Environment Ministry released earlier on Wednesday the results of this year's monitoring and evaluation of automobile gasoline and diesel fuel quality in 30 Indonesian cities, including Ambon, Manado and Jayapura.
The evaluation reported, among other things, a slight decrease in the overall lead content in fuel, from 0.038 grams per liter last year to 0.00385 grams per liter this year.
Further, the average research octane number (RON) rating was reported at 88.74 and 90.76 at the maximum, which fulfills the RON rating of 88 set by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.
The octane number assigned to a motor fuel is a measure of its ability to burn in the combustion chamber. The lower the octane number, the more easily the gasoline ignites.
The report also revealed a general increase of sulfur in diesel fuel, with some cities scoring over the 3,500-ppm level. (amr)
| Islam/religion |
Jakarta Post - November 30, 2007
Jakarta – Religious and ethnic leaders expressed concern Thursday over global warming, asserting no spiritual teachings or traditional beliefs allowed the unchecked exploitation of nature.
Environmental damage caused by human activities is against all spiritual and traditional values, which teach people to preserve and live in harmony with nature, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said during a discussion here.
The event was organized by Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia's most influential Muslim organizations, to seek a common ground among different groups prior to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali from Dec. 3 to 14. World representatives will convene at the UN conference to negotiate a global treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
Religious and ethnic leaders will also be involved in the negotiations aimed at pushing developed countries to reduce carbon emissions produced by industrial activities and to shoulder the responsibility for any failure to meet reduction targets.
Present during Thursday's meeting were representatives of Indonesia's five biggest religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Ethnic tribal leaders from Banten, Sumatra, Papua, Madura and Borneo also were in attendance.
Buddhist priest Tadisa Paramita said human greed was behind the environmental degradation that has translated into natural disasters such as floods and drought.
He said humans had benefited from industrial activities at the expense of the environment, ignoring nature's protests sent through a number of disasters. "Nature responds according to what humans do. We believe that nothing comes as a coincidence... people reap what they sow."
Father Ismartono of the Indonesian Bishops Conference said: "Humans are not the owners of this earth and have no right to exploit nature the way they do. God is the creator of this earth and humans are the steward."
Indonesia has seen some of the worst environmental damage in the world, with some 50 million hectares of forest throughout the country heavily exploited. The country has been cited for its rapid rate of deforestation, and has been called one of the main contributors to global warming.
Al Azhar, representing the Riau Malay tribe from Sumatra, told the audience how forests in his region were exploited by timber companies despite protests from indigenous people. "Indigenous people will plant one tree if they cut down one tree... but the companies come and take everything from the forest without any effort to replace it."
Leonard Imbiri from Papua said the forests in Papua had been devastated. "People know of Papua as having amazing and wild forests... but you can come and see now, the forests and nature there have been badly damaged. Gone are the indigenous people's efforts to preserve them," he said. (lln)
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Regional administrations are racing to create ordinances based on moral, cultural and religious values even though the regulations can not be implemented for all people, a legal expert said Tuesday.
"After the 2004 law on regional administrations was passed, most regional administrations seem in a race to issue local ordinances, mostly based on morality, cultural and religious values," Maria Farida Indrati, a professor at the School of Law at the University of Indonesia told a discussion titled "Women and the Constitution in the Era of Regional Autonomy".
She said such values did not have to be embodied in written regulations because the law on the 1945 Constitution acknowledges two kinds of laws: written and unwritten.
"Unfortunately, since the 1945 Constitution was amended (four times since 1999-2002), many people believe this is no longer applicable," she said.
Maria said that even though the Constitution had been amended, the law on it was still applicable legally because it explained all of the contents of the Constitution, including its system, structure and preamble.
"This is what makes people want to turn all the unwritten laws into written ones," she said.
She cited sharia ordinances implemented by more than 30 regencies and municipalities that oblige women, among other things, to wear "Muslim" clothes, as an example. "This is weird, how can a regulation control the way people dress," Maria said.
She said this could be a factor in triggering domestic violence. "If something happens to a woman or a wife, this can be a reason for the husband to put the blame on his wife," she said.
Secretary-general of the Indonesian Women's Coalition for Justice and Democracy, Masruchah, said local ordinances should be applicable for everybody.
"Talking about ordinances that require women to wear Muslim clothes, we should think from a wider perspective," she said, herself wearing a veil. "Are they comfortable wearing such clothes and is every woman in the region Muslim?"
Masruchah reminded regional administrations that Indonesia was not a Muslim country and that the Constitution did not mention any Islamic-related policies. "Most regional ordinances contradict higher laws. This makes us seem not very serious about deliberating regulations," she said.
Maria agreed with Masruchah, saying Indonesian legislators would keep deliberating a law once it had been included in the national legislation program even if they knew the law was not really necessary. "That makes many laws end up just as paper without any real implementation," she said.
Jakarta Post - November 27, 2007
Jakarta – Thousands of Catholics in Tambora district, West Jakarta have been forced to rent space in which to worship after locals and officials prevented them from holding services in their 40-year-old church.
"We are estranged from our roots. We've been here since 1968. We have now 3,500 people listed in our congregation. Half of them are from West Jakarta and the other half from Central Jakarta," parish head Father Matheus Widyolestari MSC told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Father Widyo said that the conflict began last week when subdistrict officials asked whether there were plans to enlarge the small church.
The conflict continued to heat up until locals calling themselves the Cooperation Forum for Mosque, Prayer Rooms (Musholla) and Koranic Recital Group (Majlis Taklim) of Duri Selatan subdistrict demanded the parish stop holding services last Friday.
Father Widyo acknowledged that the area was a designated residential area. The chapel started out in 1968 as a multi- function room of a Catholic school run by the Mother of Sacred Heart Foundation. As the Catholic congregation in the area grew, the space turned into a small church.
The religious activities were endowed only with the permission of local neighborhood leaders.
In 1998, according to the chronology provided by the church, "Former Governor Sutiyoso agreed to change the usage allocation (of the space) from residential to social function."
"Afterwards, we filed an application to acquire a building permit for the church. But the city rejected us; there has never been any explanation for that," he said.
Father Widyo said that he had submitted all the requirements needed to apply for a church building permit.
A joint regulation issued by Religious Affairs Ministry and the Home Affairs Minister last year stipulates that a community of 80 people living in one neighborhood can file an application to build a church. Father Widyo said that in Duri Selatan alone there are at least 195 Catholics.
The same regulation also says a church needs at least 60 non- Catholic local residents to approve the plan to build the church. For this requirement, Father Widyo said that more than 115 people had signed his petition.
He said that the chapel had been very open to the community. He said that during the February floods, the chapel gave help to affected residents.
"We will accept any decision, even if our church has to be closed down. However, we would like the district head to provide a place for us to pray," Father Widyo said. (tif)
| Elections/political parties |
Jakarta Post - November 30, 2007
Alfian, Jakarta – Researchers and experts have opposed to the government's plan to prohibit political surveys and "quick counts" in elections, saying the move denies the public's right to information and transparency.
"It has the potential to violate the public's freedom of information, which is guaranteed by the Constitution," Sri Budi Eko Wardani, executive director of the Center for Political Studies at the University of Indonesia, said Thursday, reading a joint statement. "Research results are forms of public freedom of speech that need to be protected."
The statement was also signed by executive director of the Indonesian Survey Institute Saiful Mudjani, director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Education and Information Suhardi Suryadi, and Bambang S.T. from Kompas daily's research and development division.
Mudjani said the statement was responding to the idea being discussed by the House's special committee deliberating the draft revision of the law on general elections, of regulating the schedule for the publication of results of both political surveys and online quick counts.
He said some committee members wanted to prohibit the announcement of survey results during election cooling-off periods, while others raised the idea of not allowing the publication of quick count results until the General Elections Commission (KPU) releases official results. "That's no longer a quick count, but a slow count then," said Mudjani.
He added that the committee's concern that the publication of survey results during the cooling-off period could influence voters and trigger conflict was baseless.
"Pre-election surveys have no effect on voter behavior because they only perceive it as information and they have the freedom to decide who they will vote for," Mudjani said.
With regard to the quick count, he said it could help avoid political uncertainty because it allowed people to know who their new leaders were sooner. "The quick count system has no negative impact, except on some defeated politicians who are unhappy with the results," he said.
Chairman of the House's special committee deliberating the draft revision of the general elections law, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, said the House had no intention of limiting the activities of survey institutions.
He said the survey results must not be allowed to be announced during the cooling-off period as they have the potential to influence voters.
"Even election participants are not allowed to hold any political activities during that period," he said, adding that if such announcements were allowed, the candidates could possibly use the period to campaign.
With regards to quick counts, Ferry said their announcement did not need to wait for the KPU's calculations. "But their results must be published through the KPU."
Ferry said the announcement of quick count results has so far only stated the results, but without any explanation of how the figures are arrived at.
"We only knew the figures, we did not know the locations where the survey had been taken and how they did it," said Ferry. "If the candidates and parties are urged to be honest, the survey institutions have to be honest, too," said Ferry.
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Indonesia's two largest political parties have recommended for a smaller number of parties contest the 2009 general election in order to achieve effective democracy in the country.
Secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Pramono Anung Wibowo, said Tuesday that the ideal number of parties for the upcoming election was 15, comprising seven old parties, which were able to meet the electoral threshold in the 2004 election, and eight new parties.
"Toward a better process of democracy, we need to simplify our multi-party system by consolidating the parties since there are some new parties whose ideologies overlap with each other," Pramono said in a discussion on the role and position of political parties.
"Hopefully the consolidation will run well so that we will not see too many parties running in the 2009 election," he said. He said there were currently almost 100 parties were enrolled to contest the election.
Former chairman of the Golkar Party Akbar Tandjung agreed, saying it was not necessary to have so many parties with Indonesia's presidential system.
"We need to encourage for a convergence in our multi-party scheme to build a simpler political system," he said. "This can be achieved by tightening the requirements for parties that wish to run in the election, for example by applying a higher electoral threshold."
The number of political parties has been growing since the reform era. There were 48 parties participating in the 1999 general election. Meanwhile, the 2004 polls only saw 24 parties pass the verification process out of 112 registered parties.
A legal expert at the University of Indonesia, Ramly Hutabarat, said, "Small parties will have to accept strict requirements for the upcoming election whether they like it or not, because it is important to establish a more effective democracy.
"Therefore, there will only be qualified parties running in the election," he said. "But the most important thing is that the selection process has to be conducted in a democratic way."
Ramly, who was head of the team verifying political parties for the 2004 election, said that newly established parties should not only complete their documentation to run in the upcoming election but also have proper facilities, including establishing organizing committees at the branch level.
Chairman of the newly established Hanura Party, Gen. (ret) Wiranto, agreed a simplified multi-party system was needed. "There should be a single majority or a coalition of political parties to establish strong leadership in the country," he said.
| Economy & investment |
Jakarta Post - November 30, 2007
Jakarta – Many regency and municipality administrations have done nothing to improve the investment climate in their regions, a survey says.
The survey, conducted by the Regional Autonomy Monitoring Committee (KPPOD), a body established by Kadin (Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry), shows that 31 percent of the 2,000 ordinances reviewed do nothing to improve the investment climate, with most, in fact, making things worse by further burdening investors.
The 2,000 ordinances are only a small portion of the 7,000 ordinances issued by regency and city administrations since the enactment of the Local Autonomy Law in 2001, which gave local administrations more power to manage their own economic affairs.
"Some ordinances have even resulted in the double taxation of investors," said executive director Agung Pambudhi.
Ordinances introduced in Tangerang and Serang, both in Banten, for example, require companies to provide full-protection insurance for employees both during and outside work hours, he said.
He commented that while the provision of insurance cover during work hours was common, the requirement to provide such cover outside work hours was highly unusual, and small enterprises could not afford it.
Agung said that such burdensome ordinances would have to be revised if Indonesia wanted to attract more investment.
He also said that the long and costly bureaucratic procedures for obtaining business licenses needed to be replaced with one-stop services in every locality in the country.
According to Minister of Home Affairs Decree No. 24/2006, every regency or city was supposed to have established a one-stop service within one year of the issuance of the regulation back in July 2006 so as to simplify the bureaucracy involved in processing business licenses.
Agung said that this year, some 16 months after the decree had been issued, a total of only 180 regions had established one-stop services out of the country's 460 regions.
"The failure of local administrations to provide one-stop services forces investors to go from one agency to another before they can get their licenses, and this means they have to pay more," he said.
Unfortunately, there were no sanctions that could be imposed on local governments that had not complied with the decree, despite the urgent need to improve the country's investment climate, Agung said.
Although many regions were reluctant to establish one-stop services, some progressive regions had established such services long before the regulation was issued. Kendari municipality in Southeast Sulawesi, for example, set up a one-stop service back in 2001.
"With this combined service, it now takes between just two and 12 days to get a business permit from the Kendari municipal administration," said the head of the city's business licensing office, Ferial Bunggasi. (ind)
Jakarta Post - November 27, 2007
Jakarta – Indonesia's economy is facing a rather gloomy outlook for next year on the back of increasing pressures from high oil prices and the heating up of the political situation at home, a seminar was told Monday.
Chairman of the Employers Association of Indonesia Sofyan Wanandi told the seminar that the continued pressure from high oil prices and political factors would cause business uncertainty and deprive the country's economy of its growth potential.
"High oil prices are predicted to put more pressure on the United States economy, which is already troubled by its weak currency and subprime mortgage woes. This in turn will affect Indonesia's exports," Sofyan told a discussion on Indonesia's economic outlook.
The US is one of the nation's top three export destinations. The other two are Japan and Europe.
In the past few weeks, global oil prices have been hovering far above US$90 per barrel and are predicted to break the $100 level very soon.
On Monday, oil prices rose to nearly US$99 a barrel. Meanwhile, light, sweet crude for January delivery added 75 US cents to hit $98.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midday in Europe.
A higher than assumed oil price would leave the government's state budget under pressure as it would push up accordingly spending for fuel subsidies.
Meanwhile, for many industries, which do not enjoy subsidies but use fuel, high oil prices mean higher production costs, which could eventually be translated into higher prices for their products.
"Any oil price increase will somehow effect the industrial sector because it will increase production costs for industrial activities," he said, repeating the association's estimate that many industries would be forced to raise their prices by up 10 percent in January because of the current oil phenomenon.
Also speaking at the seminar was economist and lawmaker Didik Rachbini, who said that besides affecting the state budget, high oil prices followed by an increase in the prices of industrial products would prop up inflation.
As a result, Sofyan and Didik predicted the economy would not expand as fast as the government has estimated.
"The economy may grow by about 6.2 percent or 6.3 percent in 2008, lower than the 6.8 percent targeted by the government under its budget plan for 2008," Sofyan said.
Beside the oil price, another problem that could affect the performance of the economy next year is the heating of political sentiments prior to the 2009 legislative and presidential elections, Didik said. "The campaign activities for the elections will cause a certain degree of business and economic uncertainty," Didik said.
Sofyan suggested the government accelerate the disbursement of planned development spending as detailed in the 2008 state budget.
"The government should speed up development projects financed by the state budget, in particular those for infrastructure such as roads, electricity and ports, and simplify the long process of investment licensing. "All that money can help boost the economy," Sofyan said. (ndr)
| Opinion & analysis |
Jakarta Post Editorial - November 30, 2007
It was certainly good news for Indonesia that it moved up the latest Human Development Index, the internationally accepted standard for measuring a country's welfare.
Indonesia's overall human development score increased from 0.711 last year to 0.728, placing it 107th among 177 countries surveyed. Indonesia has been on a rising curve since 1975, although the climb has been slow, even slower than Southeast Asian neighbor Vietnam.
Perhaps the general public does not care, or understand, the meaning of the data, which is updated every year. But the fact that after more than three decades since the first Human Development Report was published, Indonesia has not risen any higher than 107th despite its wealth of natural resources should be cause for concern.
There have clearly been flaws in how the country has utilized its natural resources, which have not benefited all Indonesians. There was a time when a centralized system of government sacrificed the regions and the bulk of the population.
But the winds of change have swept across the country and many steps have been taken to try and atone for past mistakes. But the challenge of poverty alleviation does not stop there. The road to prosperity will be longer and more winding for Indonesia, as described in the latest Human Development Report.
This year's report intentionally raised the red alert that many developing countries, including Indonesia, could have their fight against poverty sabotaged by climate change.
As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned, climate change threatens a twin catastrophe, with early setbacks in human development for the world's poor being succeeded by longer term dangers for all of humanity.
We have already seen the early catastrophes in many parts of the country, with more frequent flooding, landslides and longer droughts. In all of these events, the poor have been disproportionately affected because they simply lack resources.
When floodwaters submerged many parts of Jakarta last February, more than 422,000 people were forced to leave their homes. However, low income residents suffered the most because they lacked the resources to locate alternative shelter, so were forced to remain in their flooded homes or move to poorly equipped temporary shelters provided by the city.
When an extended drought hit eastern areas of Java a few years ago, again poor farmers suffered the most because they did not have any savings to help them ride out failed harvests.
It is the responsibility of all of us, and in particular the government, to help low income citizens cope with the adverse impacts of climate change. And helping these people will require money.
To that end, we support the government's initiative to fight for the establishment of a global funding mechanism, through the Special Climate Change Fund, to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Besides funding, better adaptation strategies are also vital because the impacts of climate change are very much predictable.
The various studies show, for example, that if we continue business as usual, large parts of the eastern coast of Sumatra island will disappear, as well as parts of Borneo's coastal areas and southern parts of Papua island. Also to be affected will be the northern coast of Java, including Jakarta, where millions of people live.
Since we know this could happen as soon as 20 years from now, we must act now to prevent it from happening. It is vital that the government incorporate environmental considerations in policy formulation and planning.
Needless to say, efforts to avert this looming catastrophe will fail without support from the general public, including the business sector. The very least people can do is change their exploitative lifestyles, while the private sector can invest more in nature conservation.
Everybody bears the responsibility for saving nature. Act now, before it is too late.
Australian Financial Review - November 28, 2007
Angus Grigg – It was a day Indonesia's columnists had clearly been looking forward to, and they were brutal. The defeat of John Howard was a cause for celebration and an opportunity to vent their anger.
There were no grey areas and certainly no generous send-offs. The local press labelled Howard everything from a white "imperialist" to a "condescending big brother". They said he was nothing more than a puppet of the United States and a leader with an inflated sense of self-importance.
Among Jakarta's opinion makers there was also universal agreement that prime minister-elect Kevin Rudd would improve relations and set things right after 11 1/2 years of the Howard government.
The strength of anti-Howard feeling in Indonesia, which runs from taxi drivers to the political elite, is surprising. Howard did, after all, make more trips to Indonesia than any other Australian leader and probably handed over more aid money than all his predecessors combined.
But he never cracked the "Indonesian street" and the elite always saw him as more focused on Britain and the United States than the region.
Despite this, the diplomatic crowd will tell you that Howard leaves office at a time when the relationship has never been stronger.
They will argue that business and government links are far deeper than at any previous time and the relationship is no longer reliant on the personal rapport between prime minister and president as it was in the days of Paul Keating and Soeharto.
The diplomats will also talk about the sheer size of Australia's embassy in Jakarta. It is not only Australia's largest foreign mission, but the largest embassy in Jakarta, which they say signals the depth of Australia's involvement.
They will also point to the inevitable blow-ups over the death penalty, East Timor and West Papua and say these days bridges are mended much more quickly.
It begs the question as to why Howard was so despised. It seems that he never recovered from comments early in his tenure about pulling back from Keating's focus on Asia.
The comments were, of course, like most foreign policy blustering, designed for the domestic audience, but it did damage in Indonesia and despite what came after, Howard was always considered insincere.
Even when he gave a billion dollars after the Indian Ocean tsunami there was a feeling in Indonesia that it was not a selfless act and that he and Australia were somewhat self- congratulatory.
As Jakarta Post columnist Meidyatama Suryodiningrat put it, Howard did the right thing, like any Good Samaritan would do, in Indonesia's time of need.
"But few found his realism in dealing with Asia and the Pacific particularly warm," he said. "Indonesia's southern neighbour will now discard its imperialist-like tone to again take its proper place as a partner rather than a condescending big brother."
Indonesia's former ambassador to Australia, Sabam Siagian, was equally condemning. "Howard simply cannot fathom how his meek kowtowing to Washington has significantly reduced the efficacy of Australia's foreign policy in Asia," he said. "Australia's political body language sends off signals that are viewed as an extension of American arrogance and insensitivity."
Siagian said Rudd would resurrect Keating's policy of broad engagement with Asia.
That typifies the feelings in Jakarta that things will change under Rudd, but it's likely to be a more symbolic than practical change.
Damien Kingsbury, a senior lecturer at Deakin University, says Rudd will handle the Indonesian relationship with a lot more sensitivity than Howard ever did.
"There will always be issues, it's just a matter of how they are handled," he says. "I get a sense that Rudd cares about Australia's international relations in Asia, but he also has a fair handle on all the dilemmas faced in Indonesia."
This understanding of Asia has come through in the coverage of Rudd's victory.
Most articles in Indonesia mentioned Rudd's credentials as a former diplomat with experience in China, that he speaks fluent Mandarin and also that his son-in-law is ethnic Chinese. This clearly demonstrates his connection with Asia, even though China and Indonesia have not always been the best of friends.
It should also be pointed out that while Rudd inherits a very strong government-to-government relationship, there are still plenty of challenges. Indonesian commentators are already pointing out that the Labor Party has always paid more attention to human rights than the conservatives.
This is a very sensitive area and inevitably leads to West Papua and long-held suspicions that Australia favours independence for the troubled province.
That has never been the case, but there is a very strong West Papua lobby in Australia, which ran powerful television ads during the election campaign, and would certainly have some support on Labor's left.
Just like Howard before him, Rudd will have to knock down these fears, and he will get an opportunity to do this at next month's climate change conference in Bali, where he will also have a bilateral meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Rudd will certainly get a warm welcome and as a result he should recognise that Howard was not the foreign policy disaster his critics claim.
Jakarta Post - November 28, 2007
Warief Djajanto Basorie, Jakarta – How much has the Indonesian Military (TNI) changed? One potential change currently under review is whether military service should be mandatory or voluntary. The Jakarta Post editorial Nov. 21 questions the relevance of pending compulsory military service in a bill now before the House of Representatives (DPR).
"At least until military reform is completed, which should be translated into an armed forces that protects the people and guards democracy, we should think twice, or thrice, about debating the reserve component bill," the editorial concludes.
Meanwhile, on the broader issue of military reform, a US-based scholar pours praise on the TNI for its reforms since the end of former president Soeharto's 32-year authoritarian New Order regime in 1998. Alfred C. Stephan, director of the Center for the Study of Democracy, Tolerance and Religion at Columbia University, listed TNI actions that have contributed to Indonesia's progress toward democracy: Giving away their seats in the House, abandoning the dual function concept and turning the police into a separate armed force (The Jakarta Post, Oct. 30 2007).
A closer look shows most of the moves for TNI reform occurred during the presidency of Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid (Oct 1999 -July 2001). A chapter in a recently published study lists at least six TNI reforms during Wahid's 21-month tenure in comparison to two under Megawati Sukarnoputri (July 2001-Oct 2004) and two under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the current president.
The chapter, simply titled Tentara Nasional Indonesia, is in the Almanak Reformasi Sektor Keamanan Indonesia 2007 (2007 Almanac on Indonesia's Security Sector Reform), which was published in August 2007 by the Indonesian Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies (LESPERSSI). The chapter's author, Al Araf, a research coordinator at Imparsial, the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor, lauds Gus Dur as "serious and successful in pushing forward TNI reform".
Under Gus Dur's watch, the reforms included reorganization of the Defense and Security Department to become the Defense Department (1999); appointing a civilian as defense minister (1999); declaration of political neutrality and disassociation from Golkar, the party in perennial power during Soeharto's New Order (1999); a split in the structure and role of the TNI and the police force (2000); dissolution of the Dual Function doctrine that gave the armed forces a defense role and a social-political role (2000); and appointment of an admiral as TNI commander, a position unfailingly filled by an Army general in the Soeharto years (2000).
Meanwhile Megawati oversaw the enactment of the Defense Law (2002) and the TNI Law (2004). Whereas the changes under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were the abolishment of the military/police faction in the House of Representatives (2004) and an end to the civil unrest in Aceh (2005).
During Yudhoyono's present term, continuation of TNI reform seems to have faltered. Apparently the president, a retired general, has put the matter on the back burner. In his 2007 state of nation address on Aug. 16, the president gave no mention of TNI reform but did speak of reforming the bureaucracy.
Yet TNI reform is still incomplete. Unfinished work includes the restructuring of the territorial command set-up as obligated under Article 11 of the 2004 TNI Act and the transfer of TNI businesses to the government. Also of concern are the unresolved cases of human rights violations and the slow pace of military court reform. On businesses, Article 39 of the TNI Act emphatically states that soldiers of the TNI are prohibited from becoming members of a political party; engaging in practical politics; becoming involved in business activities; and being elected as legislators or in other political offices.
President Yudhoyono should be able to put military reform back on the front burner. He showed his steel in appointing an Air Force marshal as the TNI commander and not an Army general who had the DPR's backing. Yudhoyono's point was to institutionalize the rotation of the chief of the armed forces among the three services.
Yudhoyono had this to say on leadership when he spoke before business leaders on Oct. 25: "In the scheme of turning a vision into reality, leadership is essential. When I say leadership, it is not just at the very top level at the presidency, but we also need to see leadership applied by ministers in various government agencies, in the Parliament, in local governments, and in civil society, and in the business sector. So leadership means also the ability of the nation's leaders to work together to reach a common goal".
Leadership to Yudhoyono is teamwork. His thumping electoral mandate by winning 61% of the votes against 39 percent for Megawati in the 2004 runoff presidential election is political capital he has not yet totally spent. This is capital to make his team work.
Vested interests may well be blocking the road to further reform. To complete the job, the people in charge must be individuals of resolute mettle to remove these restraints of TNI reform. To envision the big picture of security sector reform and good governance, the president's team must be unbought by and unbowed to entrenched vested interests.
[The writer is a Jakarta-based freelancer. He can be reached at wariefdj@yahoo.com.]