News & issues

Government criticized for arresting students

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2007

Jakarta – National student union Cipayung Group criticized the government Friday for arresting nine of its members during a recent rally marking National Solidarity Day in Medan, North Sumatra.

Dedy Rachmadi, chairman of the Indonesian Nationalist Students Movement (GMNI) and member of Cipayung Group, said his friends were arrested Wednesday and detained for a day by the Medan Police after being attacked and involved in a physical clash with a political youth wing. None of the youth wing members were detained in the brawl, he said.

The clash took place as GMNI members were on their way to the National Solidarity Day ceremony attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"We believe the youth group was deliberately set to confront us because the police did not do anything to stop them initially," Dedy told reporters during a press conference. "The police instead blamed our friends for the clash." (JP/lln)

Indonesia tosses tourism campaign slogan

Agence France Presse - December 21, 2007

Jakarta – Indonesia's latest campaign to lure tourists got off to a rocky start after embarrassed officials acknowledged that a key slogan was ungrammatical and ordered it corrected.

"Visit Indonesia 2008. Celebrating 100 Years of Nation's Awakening" has been printed on billboards, government Web sites and emblazoned on the sides of aircraft belonging to the national carrier, Garuda.

To be grammatical, the phrase "Nation's Awakening" should be made specific, for example by preceding it with the definite article 'the' or the possessive pronoun 'our.' Another option would be to replace "nation" with the adjective "national."

"Our colleagues tried their best not to be reckless in creating the slogan, I'm sure," said Thamrin Bachri, director general for marketing at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. "But we have been advised by several people to change the slogan."

The 1908 event referred to in the campaign is the founding of Indonesia's first nationalist group, a development hailed here as a key step in the country's eventual independence from Dutch rule in 1945.

Many people have questioned the wisdom of referring to the anniversary at all, given that few people outside the country have ever heard of it and would unlikely be interested in attending events to mark it.

"Just delete the subtitle, tourists won't understand it anyway. Even Indonesians don't understand it," said a comment posted on one unofficial local tourism Web site.

Bachri said the phrase would be changed to "celebrating 100 years of national awakening."

The ministry has spent around US$96,000 (Euro 66,000) for the campaign, he said, adding, however, that the consulting firm handling the case had agreed to correct the slogan without additional charge.

Indonesia drew about 5 million tourists last year, most to its resort island of Bali. Neighboring Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia each attract many more, thanks in part to slick advertising campaigns as well as better tourist infrastructure.

Death row Bali bombers to get month to seek clemency

Reuters - December 19, 2007

Denpasar – Three Indonesian Islamic militants facing execution for the 2002 Bali bombings will get one month to seek presidential clemency after being officially notified of the rejection of their final appeal, a prosecutor said on Wednesday.

Made Sudarmaja, the chief prosecutor in the Balinese capital Denpasar, spoke after a court official said a copy of a Supreme Court verdict rejecting the convicts' final appeal would be delivered to them next week.

"If after one month they failed to request presidential clemency, execution would be immediately carried out," Sudarmaja told reporters.

The three men – Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas – have said they will not seek clemency from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, saying they wanted to die as martyrs.

I Bagus Madeg, a spokesman for the Denpasar district court, where the Bali bombers were tried, said his office had received the copy of the Supreme Court verdict.

"We will convey the contents of the verdict to the convicts and their families as soon as possible," he said, adding that he expected officials to deliver the papers on Friday or Saturday.

Sudarmaji said the justice ministry had approved a request by the Bali prosecutors' office not to execute the militants on the island due to concerns about possible negative effects on tourism.

He said Nusakambangan, the prison island off the southern coast of Java where the three were being held, was among three locations being considered for a possible execution site.

The two nightclub blasts on Bali's Kuta strip on October 12, 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, and devastated the island's tourist industry.

The attacks have been blamed on the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI).

In a statement read out by their lawyers two months ago, the convicted Bali bombers said their blood would "become the light for the faithful ones and burning hell fire for the infidels and hypocrites."

(Writing by Ahmad Pathoni, editing by Ed Davies)

Progress solid on Indonesian tsunami reconstruction: donors

Agence France Presse - December 18, 2007

Jakarta – Reconstruction in ravaged areas of the Indonesian coastline is on track nearly three years after the Indian Ocean tsunami, a key group of international donors said Tuesday.

The Multi Donor Fund (MDF) of foreign nations and international financial institutions paid out 270 million dollars between May 2005 and September this year, a progress report said.

Fund representatives lauded the completion of several thousand kilometres (miles) of road, 282 schools, 43 health posts and a host of other projects under the MDF to improve living standards.

"In the end it's about results on the ground, it's a programme about roads, houses, people's livelihoods, schools, hospitals. And I think those results on the ground are what speak for themselves," said World Bank country director Joachim von Amsberg.

Von Amsberg said the World Bank – which is part of the MDF – had put in place effective measures to prevent the siphoning off of reconstruction funds, a key risk in notoriously corrupt Indonesia.

"I would never claim there is zero corruption and zero leakage under World Bank financing, yet I would say that we're doing, along with our partners, what we reasonably can do to minimise those risks," he said.

The MDF announced Tuesday it had allocated another 492 million dollars of an available 673 million on 17 projects, with a focus on building capacity for the economy to cope after large-scale reconstruction draws to a close mid-2009.

The World Bank has previously warned that recent economic growth in Aceh has been overly reliant on foreign-funded reconstruction projects.

According to a November report, stagnant agricultural and manufacturing sectors in the province – which lost 168,000 people in the December 26, 2004 disaster – will not be able to pick up the economic slack after the reconstruction boom.

The MDF is responsible for allocating foreign funds to reconstruction projects throughout the province, under the coordination of a steering committee that includes the World Bank and the Aceh-Nias reconstruction agency (BRR).

The majority of the 5.8 billion dollars pledged to help the devastated regions – much of it from overseas – is contributed directly to other schemes, all of which require the go-ahead of the BRR.

The head of the BRR, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, on Tuesday lauded progress in Aceh and Nias but said around 20,000 houses still needed to be built, as well as a major highway, schools and hospitals. The reconstruction agency ends its mandate in April 2009.

SBY meets retired generals at academy

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2007

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held a meeting with some 300 retired generals of the Indonesian Military and the National Police at the National Military Academy (AMN) in Magelang, Central Java, on Sunday.

"Today's meeting (between the President and the retired generals) is meant for information sharing," AMN Governor Maj. Gen. Sabar Yudo Suroso told Antara news wires.

He said the retired generals had provided the President with positive input as well as criticisms "for the betterment of the nation".

The President, Sabar said, did not comment on the criticisms, but asked instead if "differences should not lead to intrigues that will eventually bring a negative impact to the nation".

The governor said the President also asked the retired generals to provide feedback in order to help him develop the nation.

Drinking water deadline ignored

Jakarta Post - December 15, 2007

Jakarta – Jakarta's pipe water users may not be getting any water at all next year if the administration does not bring the supply to a potable level.

The government regulation on the water supply system states that by Jan. 1, water sold to consumers must conform to the potable water standard.

However, the city has yet to make any significant effort to improve the system, said Manfred Oepen, a senior consultant for the Indonesian Communication Forum on Drinking Water Quality Management (Forkami) and the Water and Sanitation Network.

"They are allowing poor quality water to be distributed," he told The Jakarta Post. "The government has issued a law and the city administration is neglecting it," he said.

Manfred said the city administration, as operators of water utilities in Jakarta, were ignoring an important public health issue.

Water-related illnesses rank fourth (skin infections) and eighth (diarrhea and cholera) among illnesses most commonly reported to health centers in Jakarta, according to data provided by the Water and Sanitation Network.

"Any government in the world would put their citizen's health at the top of its priorities," Manfred said. Firdaus Ali from the regulatory body of Jakarta's water supply said both the city administration and the central government were at fault.

"The government issued the regulation without realizing how difficult it is to bring Jakarta's pipe network to potable water levels," he said. "There is now a regulation on water quality, yet the city administration is clearly not delivering potable water to the people," he added.

Potable water must not contain any E-coli bacteria, while 'clean water' may contain up to 0.3 mg/L of the bacteria, which puts consumers at risk of cholera, diarrhea and other gastronomic diseases.

Water utility companies in Bogor and Tangerang have already made efforts to provide potable water to residents. Bogor City Hall has installed a potable water fountain, while Arcadia housing complex in Batu Ceper, Tangerang, has potable water on tap.

Jakarta employs PT Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ) and PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) as its sole piped water distributors, which supply nearly half of Jakarta's populace.

Thames Pam Jaya Public Relations Manager Devy Yheanne told the Post the company had started a pilot project to supply potable water in East Jakarta within a regulated zone.

She said all water distributed by TPJ was potable water, but pollutants were entering water as it passed through the pipe network, reducing its quality by the time it reached consumers.

Devy blamed the pollutants on old and leaky pipes, and rampant water theft, adding that keeping an eye on the network was a daunting task involving the whole society.

"Not just the distributor is to blame, but also the government and the people," she said, adding that much investment would be needed to upgrade the network.

According to data provided by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, only half the water produced by the company reached customers.

Meanwhile, Manfred said the city administration needed to revitalize the dialogue between Jakarta's water utility companies and the Ministry of Health, to organize water quality surveys.

The Water and Sanitation Network is currently in the process of publishing a fully independent water quality survey to be completed by mid January next year. (anw)

Indonesian cleric warns of disaster if bombers executed

Reuters - December 15, 2007

Cilacap – A controversial Indonesian Muslim cleric warned on Saturday that the country would suffer a big disaster if three Bali bombers on death row were executed.

Abu Bakar Bashir, accused by some foreign governments of once heading the Jemaah Islamiah militant group, spoke before visiting the three Islamic militants awaiting execution for their role in the 2002 nightclub bombings on the resort island.

"I'm worried if they were executed there would be a big disaster," Bashir told reporters on the way to Nusakambangan, an island prison complex off the southern coast of Java where the three are being held. Bashir said he wanted to advise the convicts – Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas – to be patient and to seek God's forgiveness for their wrongdoing.

"It is true they were defending Muslims but their methods were wrong. That is why they are now fasting to pay for the loss of innocent lives," Bashir said. He did not say if the innocent lives included those of foreign holidaymakers, the majority of 202 people who died in the attack.

In an interview with Reuters in October, the three militants said they had no regrets, except for the fact that some Muslims had died in the blasts. No date for the execution of the three Bali bombers has been set although the Supreme Court has rejected their final appeal.

The Bali bombings and several other deadly attacks have been blamed on militants from Jemaah Islamiah, of which Bashir was alleged to have been the spiritual leader and co-founder. Bashir was jailed for 30 months for conspiracy over the Bali bombings but was later cleared.

Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country, with about 85 percent of its more than 220 million population following Islam. While the vast majority of Indonesia's Muslims are moderate, the country has seen the emergence of an increasingly vocal militant minority.

Although there has been no major bomb attack since 2005, police say Indonesia still faces a considerable threat from Islamic militants.

(Writing by Ahmad Pathoni, editing by Roger Crabb)

Demos, actions, protests...

Jakarta hit by protest actions in lead up to holiday period

Detik.com - December 18, 2007

Nurul Hidayati, Jakarta – Two days before the start of the Idul Adha, Christmas and New Year holiday period, Jakarta will be hit by all sorts of protest actions on Tuesday December 18. Take a look at the list of demonstration posted by the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Control Centre so that you don't get caught up in the current:

8pm

A protest action by the Indonesian Migrant Workers Trade Union (SBMI) and the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI) in front of the offices of the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Overseas Labor (BNP2TKI) at the Department of Labour on Jl. Gatot Subroto South Jakarta, which will be continued in front of the State Palace on Jl Merdeka Utara, Central Jakarta.

9am

The Anti-Broker Case National People's Front (Barnas Markus) will be demonstrating at four different locations, starting at the State Palace, followed by the Suryo Tan/PT IVCS offices at the Bank International Indonesia building on Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta, then the national police headquarters on Jl. Trunojoyo in South Jakarta and finally at the Attorney General's Office on Jl. Sisingamangaraja, also in South Jakarta.

10am

Around 1,000 people from the Workers Challenge Alliance (AMB) will hold an action at the State place. Three other groups will be holding demonstrations at the same time. The Indonesian Law Student Association (IMHI) will hold an action at the national police headquarters, followed by a protest at the East Jakarta mayor's offices by the East Jakarta Badung Wetlands Social Forum (FMRBJT), and finally the Jakarta Children's Aspirations Forum (FAKTA) will protest at two locations, the Jakarta city hall on Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta followed by a protest in front of the Jakarta Regional House of Representatives on Jl. Kebon Sirih.

11am

The Papuan Central Highlands Indonesian Student Association (AMPTPI) will be demonstrating at the offices of the Home Affairs Ministry on Jl. Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta. (nrl/ary)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Residents oppose eviction plan

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2007

Jakarta – Dozens of residents blocked Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan outside City Hall on Monday while demanding the postponement of a plan to evict residents from their homes in Rawa Badung, East Jakarta.

Head of the residents' group, Eddy Pardede, said the eviction was scheduled for Tuesday.

Jakarta Public Order Agency's head of operations, Crisman, told residents there would not be any evictions this Tuesday. "The eviction plans are being postponed because we have many national holidays at the end of the year".

The protest blocked two of three lanes, causing long delays in a traffic jam which did not clear until later that afternoon.

Market vendors demand end to mall permits

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2007

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Traders from nine traditional markets in Bandung staged a rally at the West Java Legislative council Monday demanding that the government stop issuing building permits for malls.

A trader at the Ciroyom market in Bandung, Dadan Jumpena, 42, argued the municipal administration had not been selective in issuing building permits for malls to replace traditional markets. He said the administration cited excuses such as modernizing markets deemed dirty.

Traders are eventually forced to buy kiosks in the basement areas of these malls, at high prices set by the private developers.

"We have already met the legislative council and municipality a dozen times to voice our opposition but they have never responded seriously. More traditional markets will be evicted due to increased construction of malls," Dadang told the crowd from atop a truck in front of the legislative building on Jl. Diponegoro in Bandung on Monday.

Aside from the Ciroyom market, other traditional markets set to make way for malls include Pasar Baru, Ujungberung, Cicadas and Andir.

The municipality argues it lacks the funds to revitalize traditional markets, so it has invited the private sector to take part in the projects. However, according to Dadang, the revitalization benefits big traders at the expense of small vendors.

The traders say it is very difficult to pay the kiosk price of between Rp 11 million (approximately US$1,220) and Rp 21 million per square meter.

Based on this year's data at the Bandung Industrial and Trade Office, there are now 250 modern markets in Bandung, including 176 minimarkets and 74 malls and supermarkets. They compete with the thousands of traditional traders at 39 traditional markets.

A vendor at the Cicadas market, Beti Anan, said around 1,000 vendors who were relocated from the market earlier had been losing money for the past year due to the construction of the Bandung Trade Mall on the former market site.

"We could earn Rp 5 million (per day) in turnover previously, but earning Rp 2 million is good now," said Beti, who has been selling groceries at the market since 1984. The head of Commission B on economic affairs at the West Java legislature, Hidayat Zaini, said he had sent a number of letters over the last year to the Bandung municipal council and administration about the issuance of building permits for malls and supermarkets, but had yet to receive a reply.

"We invited them to come, but there was no response," said Hidayat.

He added that the Commission was preparing a draft on a provincial ordinance on traditional market protection which would regulate permit issuance and determine the appropriate distance between a mall and a traditional market in a bid to alleviate unfair business competition.

"We cannot directly intervene with the municipality in prohibiting the issuance of permits for malls and supermarkets, but the regulation would make restrictions clear. In any case, the provincial administration is the representative of the central government in the provinces," said Zaini.

At least seven protest actions to enliven Jakarta today

Tempo Interactive - December 17, 2007

Sofian, Jakarta – Seven different protest actions will be held by a variety of social organisations in Jakarta today. Based on information from the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Centre (TMC), two of the demonstration will be held at the city hall and three at the Supreme Court.

First, the East Jakarta Badung Wetlands Social Forum (FMRBJT) will be holding a protest action at around 10am local time. The group plans to convey its concerns over local people's land that is being claimed as an asset by the regional government at Indah Kapuk Beach. An estimated 500-1000 people are expected to attend.

The second action is being organised by the United Student Action for Reform and Democracy (KAMRAD). They will be holding a demonstration at 12noon to demand that the construction of new Busway corridors be delayed until the regional government fixes existing corridors first. The demonstration is expected to attract around 100 people.

The South Sulawesi Regional Elections Saviours Alliance (APPSS) will be holding a demonstration at the Supreme Court. They will be demanding that the court review a decision by the South Sulawesi Regional General Elections Commission. Around 100 people will take part in the protest action that will start at around 10am.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) will also be holding a protest at the Supreme Court. Along with the Newmont People's Challenge Alliance (ARGN) they will be voicing their concerns over the importance of upholding and respecting the law. The action will be continued later at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout.

Next, residents from South Maruya in West Jakarta will be demonstrating at the Supreme Court in relation a dispute involving land owned by local residents.

A demonstration will also be held at the Attorney General's Office. This time the action is being organised by the South Sulawesi Student Youth Alliance (APMSS) with demands supporting the legal proceedings related to the South Sulawesi regional elections at the Supreme Court.

At the same time, the Indonesian Social Movement for Political Legal and Human Rights Education (Gempita) will be holding a demonstration in front of the State-owned Electricity Company (PT PLN) offices. They will be demanding that the director of PLN be investigated for suspected corruption.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Aceh

Aceh survivors 'too dependent' on relief

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Alfian, Jakarta – Disaster and post-tsunami support focused on reconstruction and rebuilding in Aceh, Sumatra, has seen tsunami-survivors and others lose the will to work, a social scientist said Tuesday.

Rusydi Syahra, a researcher from the Center for Society and Cultural Studies at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the tremendous tsunami aid given to Acehnese had "wiped out" the community's sense of independence.

"People have been continuously dependent on disaster aid and have lost their ability to stand on their own feet," Rusydi said.

He said various free support in the way of housing, clean water and health services, had unintentionally spoiled local people at all levels of society.

"One clear indication here has been a growing conviction among the survivors that they are entitled to those amenities indefinitely," Rusydi said.

He said several NGO's in Aceh had found it difficult to motivate local people to participate in activities that did not promise a salary. "Many Acehnese youth would rather be jobless than work with a limited salary, even though the numbers are reasonable for their level of education," Rusydi said.

He said these problems needed to be tackled soon to avoid any other problems when the NGOs finish their projects in Aceh.

"From the 120 large NGOs working in Aceh, 90 of them will leave the area in 2008. How will these people who are too dependent on aid money survive when the money is no longer available?" Rusydi was speaking at a seminar called "Indonesia's challenges to develop in the middle of disasters".

The seminar was part of an end-of-year reflection conducted by LIPI's Social Sciences and Humanities division.

Also speaking at the seminar was Sri Yanuarti, a researcher from LIPI's Center for Political Studies, who said Indonesia's past policies were not enough to handle major disasters such as the tsunami in Aceh.

"In previous regulations, it has been unclear which institution had the authority to manage resources or coordinate involved parties in disaster management efforts," she said.

She said Law No. 24/2007 on Disaster Management, which has not been implemented yet, contained some problems.

"The disaster management structure is still very centralistic with regional administrations having only very limited authority," Sri said.

"So far we have only established the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB), while regional administrations have yet to establish their own local agencies for disaster management (BPBDs)."

Sri said it was the BPBDs which were able to handle disasters. "The BNPB only has the authority to manage coordination at a national level, it does not have the authority to handle technical issues at a regional level," she said. "If a disaster occurred in a particular area next week, who would take care it?"

Sri said regional administrations, with guidance from the central government, should immediately formulate and launch regional ordinances to establish BPBDs.

West Papua

Violations of Papua autonomy law distress interfaith leaders

Indian Catholic - December 21, 2007

Jayapura (UCAN) – Religious leaders in Papua have discussed violations of a six-year-old autonomy law for their province and sent recommendations to various levels of government to rectify the situation.

The worries of nearly 50 Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Muslim and Protestant representatives were articulated during a workshop on Developing Dialogues to Create A Peaceful Papua, held Dec. 3-7 in Sentani, capital of Jayapura district, 3,770 kilometers east of Jakarta.

After discussing violations of the law that gave Indonesia's easternmost province a degree of autonomy, the religious representatives prepared their recommendations for local and central government authorities.

Catholic Bishop Leo Laba Ladjar of Jayapura, a participant, read aloud the concerns and recommendations at the workshop's close. The text presented by the Franciscan prelate says: "We religious leaders in Papua have attentively watched developments in our society, particularly the social and political dynamics. As part of society, we have seen several practices that violate articles of Law Number 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua province."

The law, ratified by then-president Megawati Soekarnoputri on Nov. 21, 2001, has 24 chapters and 79 articles that stipulates safeguard and empower native Papuans in the civil, cultural, political and social spheres. It also puts a focus on redressing inequality and injustice in the province.

According to the religious leaders, the law has been violated in development programs and land rights, and by the police. They said development programs in the province have split local ethnic groups and marginalized Papuan workers.

By dividing districts into territories, Bishop Ladjar explained, development efforts have reduced the people's share of ulayat (communal land) and this has triggered quarrels among local people.

The participants also charged that possession of ulayat rights has also been given to non-Papuans. For instance, they said, several district heads have allowed companies run by non-Papuans to use communal land for plantations.

The religious leaders stressed that, according to Article 76 of the law, development work should be based on socio-cultural unity, the availability of human resources and the local economic situation, and that Article 43 obliges the government to recognize, respect, protect, promote and improve Papuan people's land rights, including ulayat rights.

They also said Papuans are uncomfortable with so many police stations and non-Papuan policemen in their midst. According to one Protestant pastor at the workshop, non-Papuans account for 70 percent of the police in Papua.

Participants said Papuans complain that the police do not understand their culture and cited Article 49, which says the national police chief who assigns non-Papuan police must take account of local culture, customs and laws.

The religious leaders concluded that local and central governments, legislative members and the Papuan Assembly (MRP, Indonesian acronym) have improperly implemented the law on special autonomy. MRP is a cultural body empowered to protect Papuan people's culture, customs and religion.

The recommendations of the religious leaders were sent on Dec. 10 to local and central governments, local and central legislative councils, and MRP. They demand a halt to development programs at town, district and provincial levels and insist that MRP must consider local culture properly before undertaking development programs.

The workshop participants also called on governments, legislative members and MRP to draft and then ratify a special regional regulation on the assignment of police, especially the commando force, and to reduce the number of police personnel and police stations in the province.

The religious leaders insisted that Papuans be assured a proper livelihood on their own land and be the "subject" of all development programs.

Faleomavaega concerned about Papua security

Pacific Magazine - December 18, 2007

American Samoa Congressman Faleomavaega has written to the Indonesian President expressing his disappointment over a recent trip to Papua, and saying until he can visit Papua properly, he can't advocate support for the Special Autonomy Law in Congress.

Faleomavaega arranged his trip to coincide with the UN climate change conference in Bali, and "in support of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's efforts to implement the provisions of the Special Autonomy Law that was approved by the government of Indonesia since 2001."

Faleomavaega says instead of the five day visit he expected to Biak and Manokwari in Papua and the capital Jayapura, he was told on arrival that he would only spend two hours, and wouldn't be permitted to visit the capitol.

"Having already been denied entry in July of this year and having accommodated your request to postpone my August visit to the last week of November," Faleomavaega said to President SBY, "I was deeply disappointed that upon my arrival I was again denied entry into Jayapura and that my time was reduced from 5 days to only two hours of actual meetings with the leaders and people of Biak and Manokwari due to supposedly security concerns. Such a decision on the part of your government begs the question, if all is well throughout the provinces of Papua and West Papua, why is security a problem at all?"

"In Biak, I met with Governor Barnabas Suebu and other legislators, traditional and religious leaders selected by the government. During the course of our meeting, a highly respected traditional leader, Chief Tom Beanal, was detained by the military, as was Mr. Willie Mandowen. My staff had to go to the gate of the government guesthouse to request that they be allowed entry to our meeting with Governor Suebu.

"Papuans who had gathered in the streets in Biak were denied the opportunity to meet with us, and US Ambassador Cameron Hume and I had to force our way through a military barricade just to meet with the Papuan people who had to walk several miles from the airport and wait in the hot sun because Indonesian military forces (TNI) barred them from meeting with Ambassador Hume and me."

Faleomavaega says he found the "overpowering" military presence that shadowed his visit deeply disturbing. He says in Manokwari the military presence was even worse, and he and the US Ambassador were taken in a car without escort in an attempt to deceive Papuans who were gathered in the streets waiting for their arrival.

"In no uncertain terms, I was told by the TNI military leaders that Ambassador Hume and I were not welcome in Manokwari."

"While I felt no danger whatsoever from the Papuans who were unarmed and only wanted to meet with us, I was very uncomfortable that the TNI military was so bent on not allowing even a conversation to take place.

It was my hope and understanding that I would be able to meet with the people and leaders of both provinces but, when I saw how heavily armed that the TNI military was, I knew that the military had no intention of honoring the commitment that President SBY and I had made in Jakarta in July of this year."

Faleomavaega asks whether President SBY is still committed to working together to implement the Special Autonomy Law.

"As long as the TNI military forces of Indonesia continue to deny Members of Congress real access to the provinces of Papua and West Papua, especially Jayapura, it will be difficult for me to support the goals of Special Autonomy when clearly the Papuans in these two provinces are still being intimidated, harassed and abused by the TNI."

He says until he can meet properly with Papuans and visit Jayapura, he can't in good conscience inform my colleagues in Congress that progress is being made to implement the Special Autonomy Law."

"I do commend President SBY for his efforts to implement the Special Autonomy Law which is supposed to ensure the civil rights and liberties of the Papuan people and, at this time, I still believe we can work together in cooperation with Freeport Mining, USAID, OPIC, and the traditional, religious, and political leaders of both provinces to strengthen the Special Autonomy Law. But, whether or not we move forward is entirely up to President SBY and those who control the activities of Indonesia's TNI military forces."

Film exposes Papua's deforestation

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2007

Neles Tebay, Abepura, Papua – Papua holds one of the largest areas of forest in the Asia Pacific region. It is also both a home and the grounds for a livelihood for some of the world's most culturally diverse indigenous peoples.

Yet Papua's forest and people have been facing severe threats from exploitative and unsustainable legal and illegal logging and there are plans for millions of hectares oil palm plantations. For a long time, the threats to Papua's forest and people have never been told to the world because of the central government's policy of banning foreign journalists from visiting the Papua province.

Despite the government's policy, the world can today watch Papua's deforestation and the impact this has via secret filmings.

A unique film compilation on Papua's deforestation was launched in the last week of November 2007, by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), which investigates and exposes environmental and wildlife crimes, and the Jakarta-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Telapak.

The film contains four stories about deforestation and its impacts in Papua's regencies of Fak-fak, Sorong, Manokwari, Bintuni and Mappi.

The film reveals previously unseen stories of timber, oil palm and agarwood companies and horizontal conflicts. It shows environmental damage and the loss of traditional land rights and livelihoods. In some cases these problems are linked to intimidation and deception against the indigenous Papuans.

The five short films, launched under the collective banner "Save the People and Forests of Papua", were entirely conceived, shot and edited by NGO filmmakers from Papua working in collaboration with local communities adversely affected by destructive logging and oil palm plantations. You can see the damage being done to Papua's rainforests – which the indigenous Papuans rely on almost entirely for food and shelter – through uncontrolled logging and palm oil plantations.

The Papuans traditional way of life is being threatened by the wholesale destruction of their forests. Much of the wildlife, including pigs, deer and birds which the indigenous Papuans from the Mooi tribe rely on for food, have been driven out by deforestation and oil palm plantations.

Another film shot in Manokwari regency tells how the indigenous Papuans were deceived for the state-sponsored palm oil plantations. Tribal leaders were brought by the government to Medan in Sumatra in 1982 to learn about palm oil plantations.

The film, then, shows the loss of the locals' rights to the ancestral land and the destruction of their forests due to palm oil plantations. Promises that palm oil would sustain them for generations fail to materialize and the plantations fall into neglect as they become unprofitable. And the tribal leaders are now regretting their involvement with palm oil plantations.

The indigenous Papuans give their testimonies through the film on how their rivers have been polluted by undiluted palm oil from factories, and it shows how they develop rashes when they wash in it.

But the films also convey a message of hope. It shows growing efforts by Papuan civil society groups and local communities to genuinely participate in decisions concerning utilization of their ancient forests. The native Papuans would like to play a vital role in avoiding further loss of the forest.

Learning from Papua's deforestation, as revealed through the films, the government should produce more environmentally friendly policies to preserve the rainforest within the territory of Indonesia.

Ordinary Indonesians could also learn something from the film – they might understand the importance of preserving their rainforests, see the terrible impacts of deforestation, and realize other social and cultural problems generated by the presence and activities of the timber and oil palm industries. The impact of deforestation in Papua is directly endured not only by Papuans but everybody on earth thorough the increase of global warming.

A global action, then, should be taken toward preserving Papua's rainforest. But this action must also address the problem of poverty in the western half of the island of New Guinea.

The international community needs to support any policy and actions taken by the governor and the local people to save Papua's forest and people.

[The writer is a lecturer at the Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and Theology in Abepura, Papua.]

Government bans, confiscates book on Papuan political struggle

Jakarta Post - December 15, 2007

Angela Maria Flassy, Jayapura, Papua – State prosecutors seized Friday 60 copies of a book they say could divide Papua politically, while critics have accused them of robbing local people of their freedom of expression.

The 244-page book, titled Tenggelamnya Rumpun Melanesia, Pertarungan Politik di Papua Barat (The Sinking of the Melanesian Race: The Political Struggle in West Papua) was written by a local academic, Sendius Wonda.

"The book is misleading, it could spark unrest and divide the Papuan community," said Rudi Hartono, the intelligence chief at the provincial prosecutors' office.

The 60 copies of the book printed by local publishing house Deiyai were confiscated from a Gramedia bookstore in Jayapura. "We will continue raiding bookstores in other places for the book," Rudi added.

Rudi said the management of Deiyai would be summoned to the prosecutors' office for questioning on Saturday.

The prosecutors said their legal basis for banning the book was a 2007 attorney general's circular about banning printed materials that could "mislead the public" and "disturb public order".

They said they would start looking for other copies of the book in towns throughout Papua next week, but stopped short of demanding people surrender their copies to the authorities.

Muridan S. Widodo, researcher with the Center for the Indonesian Political Institute of Sciences, described the sweep as a "threat to the freedom of expression". "The book reflects the typical thoughts of Papuan activists about the 'culture of terror' in the territory," Muridan said.

He added that the author bemoaned the Papuan's loss of their long-standing struggle for economic and political leverage.

Papua, formerly called Irian Barat, or West Irian, has been in the international spotlight due to a simmering secession movement triggered by widely perceived injustices. The military has been waging a low-level armed uprising.

Muridan said that instead of banning the book, the government should have countered the intellectual work with a book of its own. "Then invite those who support Sendius Wonda's ideas to an open debate. This would have been better," he said.

He said the government should nurture the budding intellectual tradition in Papua rather than try to suppress it.

Human rights/law

Munir case: Secretary says she falsified letter

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Jakarta – The secretary of Garuda Indonesia chief pilot Rohainil Aini testified Tuesday that she falsified an assignment letter a few days after the Sept. 7, 2004 death of Munir Said Thalib on a Garuda Airways flight to Amsterdam.

Aini told the Central Jakarta District Court that under the instructions of former pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, she changed the date of an assignment letter for Pollycarpus from Sept. 15 to Sept. 4, 2004, to show that he was going to Singapore as a corporate security staffer of Garuda Airways on Sept. 6. Pollycarpus has said he was acting on orders of the chief pilot, Karmel Fauza Sembiring.

Aini was testifying before a panel of judges trying former Garuda Airways president Indra Gunawan for conspiracy to commit murder. She is standing trial in separate sessions on the same charge.

During Tuesday's trial session, chief pilot Karmel Fauza Sembiring testified that he had not ordered or authorized the date change.

Pollycarpus, a key witness in the murder case, did not attend Tuesday's session. Presiding judge Heru Pramono adjourned the trial until Dec. 28, when witnesses Hendardi, Mohobob Husein and Ongen Latuihamallo will be heard. (JP/rff)

Regions 'deprive' public rights

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – A number of NGOs focused on development affairs criticized on Tuesday various regional administrations for neglecting Indonesians' basic rights, citing a failure to prioritize budgets for health and education sectors.

The NGOs include Oxfam, JARI Indonesia and the Anti-poverty Movement of the Indonesian people. The groups launched their monitoring report based on regional budgets, especially around health and education allocations.

Research for the report was conducted in 20 regencies and 10 municipalities across the islands of Sumatra, Java, Indonesia's part of Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Nusa Tenggara.

The report shows although some regions had allocated more than 20 percent of their budget for the sector, as obliged by the 1945 Constitution, money was not prioritized for items that directly impacted residents.

On health, most of the regional administrations had yet to allocate adequate budgets. Between 2 and 8 percent was being spent on health, which is far lower than the World Health Organization's standard of 15 percent.

"If the regional administrations want to seriously prioritize the two sectors, they should also ensure all programs be implemented properly by the sectors' agencies so as to meet the people's needs," Faizal Riza, one of the researchers, said.

"But in fact, they just let irregularities occur and do nothing to guarantee the programs are carried out," he said. "From the report, we also found that many administrations have no long-term development plans and their budgets lack transparency and accountability."

But the NGOs said in their report the central government had been consistent within their agenda to give the education sector the lion's share of state budget. They also lauded the government for increasing their budget for health and poverty alleviation.

But Henri Saparini of Indonesia Bangkit said, "Why does the number of poor people in the country increase, while the budget for poverty alleviation has been increased year by year?" "We should not only scrutinize the amount of the budget, but also monitor whether the money goes to the right targets," she said.

The allocation for poverty alleviation has been gradually increased from Rp 23 trillion (US$2.4 billion) in 2005 to Rp 51 trillion in 2006, and to Rp 79 trillion this year.

Faizal said the central government and regional administrations should improve their coordination in drafting national and regional development plans to avoid overlapping programs.

The NGOs also criticized the annual report on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), recently launched by the government, for being incomprehensive, unreliable and unable to reveal the government's failure to achieve the goals.

They said the government's optimistic report on its MDGs contradicted a report from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific (UNESCAP), which put Indonesia among the 10 Asia-Pacific countries that may fail to meet their MDGs.

Labour issues

Jamsostek gives more to workers

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The government has issued a new regulation increasing compensation for death and occupational accident claims, for eligible workers (or their families) participating in its social security program, Jamsostek.

Government regulation no. 76/2007 signed by the President on Dec. 10, 2007, replacing regulation no. 14/1993, stipulates increases of up to 300 percent to transportation, medical treatment and rehabilitation costs, and death and funeral benefits under its death and occupational accident scheme.

State-owned workers' insurance firm PT Jamsostek operations and services director Achmad Anshori said the company proposed the increase because the benefits were out of date, set in 1993. "Jamsostek is also financially healthier despite no hikes to its premium," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

"Jamsostek allocated a total of Rp 3.7 trillion (US$393 million) to cover the new benefits, to show the public that Jamsostek's new management has a strong commitment to improving social welfare for workers."

He said under the new regulation workers involved in occupational accidents were eligible to claim for medical treatments and rehabilitation costs.

"Jamsostek will also pay compensation to workers (or families of workers) who are handicapped or killed in occupational accidents," Achmad said. "Workers receive death benefits, funeral fees and periodical benefits over 24 months."

Compensation paid to workers who are handicapped on the job has increased to 70 percent of their monthly salary over 80 months (previously 70 percent over 70 months). Entitlements for families of workers who are killed on the job have increased to 60 percent of the deceased's gross monthly wage, over 80 months (previously 60 percent over 70 months).

The death payout to families has been increased to Rp 10 million (from Rp 6 million), funeral payouts increased to Rp 2 million (from Rp 1,5 million) while the periodical compensation (paid in 24 monthly installments of Rp 200,000 each) would remain the same.

Compensation payouts for land transport costs (for workers killed away from home) has been increased to Rp 400,000 (from Rp 150,000), sea transport to Rp 750,000 (from Rp 300,000) and air transport to Rp 1.5 million (from Rp 400,000).

Jamsostek's maximum liability for workers medical costs has been increased to Rp 12 million (from Rp 8 million) and rehabilitation costs remain the same (at Rp 2 million).

Achmad said occupational accidents were common despite the annual "zero accidents" campaign. "A low awareness of occupational safety among workers and employers has contributed to the high number of accidents. There were some 5,400 reported cases of occupational accidents from January to August," he said.

"More than 4,300 workers were handicapped and 1,150 killed, costing Jamsostek some Rp 142.1 billion in benefits. "This means on average 22 workers were handicapped and six killed in occupational accidents every day."

Anshori said despite its low premium, Jamsostek was determined to invest its assets (totaling Rp 56 trillion) into the stock market and bank bonds, to generate enough profits to provide for mortgages, and the construction of cheap apartments for workers in industrial zones.

"Jamsostek aims to build 100 low-cost flats in Batam, Medan, Palembang, Greater Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya and Makassar over the next five years," he said.

Environment/natural disasters

Newmont cleared of charges

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Irawaty Wardany and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court rejected Tuesday an environmental pollution lawsuit filed by the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) against PT Newmont Minahasa Raya's gold mining operation at North Sulawesi's Buyat Bay.

Presiding judge I Ketut Manika said none of the evidence or witnesses presented by Walhi could prove what caused the environmental damage at Buyat Bay, despite testimonies from fishermen who claimed fish in the bay had been dying mysteriously ever since Newmont started operating in the area.

This was the second court to free Newmont of allegations of environmental pollution after the Manado District Court ruling in April 2007.

The judges rejected Walhi's argument that Newmont did not have a license permitting it to dump its waste in the bay and release mercury into the air. "These are administrative matters, they have nothing to do with the violation of environmental law," judge Manika said.

Walhi's lawyer, Firman Wijaya, said the court's verdict proved the judges were not ecologically minded. "All they can think about is the administrative requirements," he told reporters after the court session.

Firman said the judges did not even consider the reality that Buyat Bay had been polluted. "They did not even seem to care about the documents on the release of mercury into the air and the vanishing of deep-sea species and plankton," he said.

He added the court hearing was a waste of time, as justice had not been upheld. "The judges' decision did not even seem to factor in the reality Buyat Bay had been polluted," said Chairil Syah, another Walhi lawyer. Chairil added Walhi would soon file for a case review.

Meanwhile, a subsidiary of the US-based Newmont company, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT), is also likely to face a legal suit from local company Quantra Internusa (QI), after it allegedly suspended its partnership contract with the latter.

QI has demanded NNT pay US$6.6 million in compensation for material losses it suffered from the unilateral suspension of the contract, which should have been effective until July 2010.

NNT spokesperson Kasan Mulyono said the legal complaint was baseless. "The working contract has a clause allowing both parties to suspend unilaterally if either are dissatisfied," he told The Jakarta Post.

Gender issues

Rally on health issues for Women's Day

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2007

Jakarta – Eight-year-old Thira, whose younger brother Rama died a day after being born in September, commemorated Mother's Day on Friday by taking to the street to call the government's attention to maternal and child health.

Thira was standing quietly among adult demonstrators from NGOs concerned with maternal and child health, in front of the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta. She held a poster printed with Rama's picture and name.

Her mother, Rika, 38, told reporters Rama passed away in a private hospital in Jakarta, which blamed the death on lung failure.

"A day after I gave birth, the doctor suddenly told me Rama had developed problems with his lungs. We took him immediately to another hospital, but it was too late already," she said.

When she asked for an explanation from the hospital where she had given birth to Rama, she was left confused by the medical jargon, she said. She then consulted the Legal Aid Institution for Health Affairs, which helped her file a police report against the hospital for malpractice.

Mother's Day, which is meant to be marked with joyful celebrations and expressions of love and respect from children towards their mothers, has frequently been upstaged by maternal tragedies.

Data from the Indonesian Pediatrician Association places the national infant mortality rate at 36 per 1,000 births in 2005, while figures from the Women's Health Foundation put the number at 31 deaths per 1,000 births that year.

One of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is to reduce infant mortality rate by two-thirds and maternal mortality rate by three-quarters by 2015. Critics in Indonesia have said such targets would be hard to achieve as the government seemed little concerned with improving the health of mothers and children.

Heriyana, executive director for the Mother and Baby Care Institution, an NGO participating in Friday's rally, said 58.1 percent of maternal mortalities were preventable, as in the case of hemorrhaging and eclampsia (seizures during pregnancy).

"Given that the causes (of death) are within preventive action, the government should be able to do better in reducing the maternal mortality rate," she said.

In a related development, the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front (KAMMI) pressed ahead with demands the government provide affordable and proper reproductive health care information and facilities. In a statement issued Friday, KAMMI said the lack of affordable health care centers was to blame for the high maternal mortality rate.

Tuti Indarsih Loekman Soetrisno, a legislator for the House of Representatives Commission IX overseeing health affairs, said Wednesday the government would have to increase funding for health from the current 2.6 percent of its budget to the 5-6 percent suggested by the World Health Organization in order to reach its target. (lln)

Female teachers' involvement for gender equality sought

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Jakarta – Government officials called for more participation from female educators in efforts to establish a gender-equal education system during the "National Policy Dialog on Gender Equality in Education" in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.

"We are lacking female head principals and female officials in our education departments, and we're not sure what is causing this," said Giri Suryatmana, secretary to the director general for quality development of education practitioners at the Education Ministry.

Giri said the majority of the 2.3 million teachers under the ministry's supervision were women for whom it was proving difficult to meet teacher certification requirements.

"They can't leave their offices or their families for too long," Giri said. With these teachers in mind, the ministry has devised distance learning programs and other alternative schemes for earning academic credit and completing degrees.

Harkristuti Harkriswono, director general for human rights at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, said "The constitution, laws and presidential decrees in Indonesia accommodate gender equality in education. What we need right now is for more female educators to participate in spreading this information."

Structurally there have been improvements. Indonesia ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1984. Also, a 2000 presidential decree on gender mainstreaming in national development has led to the establishment of a gender mainstreaming working group at the ministry.

"The government is structurally committed to establishing gender equality in education. It is on the operational level, however, that problems are apparent," she said.

Harkristuti also said educators needed to put gender on the agenda in teaching children – even as early as play group age. "For example, by giving the girls and the boys equal opportunities to play with trucks and dolls. "Since most of the teachers for the elementary levels are women, we need to make sure that our female teachers are not biased."

Herwindo Haribowo, a member of the working group, defined gender as culturally shaped stereotypes of parenting, behavior and attitude. "However, we can't escape the fact that sometimes nature just takes its course."

He cited the tendency for more men than women to opt for the hard sciences – engineering, mathematics, biology and physics – when selecting majors at university.

"This means that it is the role of teachers to correct this perception. Female students should be encouraged to choose the best major for them at the university, regardless of their sex. The same goes for male students." (lva)

Law enforcers still 'gender biased'

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Jakarta – Indonesian women still lack legal protection because law enforcers remain gender biased, the National Commission on Violence Against Women said Tuesday.

Retired judge Deliana Sayuti Ismudjoko of the commission said some important principles in providing legal protection for women were already specified in the 2004 Law on the Eradication of Domestic Violence, but they were not yet integrated into the Criminal Code Procedures.

Deliana said this lack of integration had resulted in gender- biased verdicts. The commission has suggested the development of a gender-sensitive court system to highlight women's perspectives in the legal process.

"Incorporating the integrated court system into the Criminal Code Procedure is our final target in an attempt to provide legal protection for women," Deliana said.

She said a number of activities had already been undertaken including seminars and workshops to build gender-sensitivity among law enforcers, including police officers, prosecutors and judges of both civil and religious courts.

She said the commission had already "approached" high-ranking officials in law enforcement agencies. "We found we needed to approach the heads of the agencies because they're the ones with the authority to make decisions," Deliana said.

The National Commission based its activities on findings by the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Apik) and the University of Indonesia (UI)'s Center for Women and Gender Studies.

LBH Apik said it had found a lot of women had reported cases of abuse to law enforcers, only to have the blame turned on them. The aid foundation said this occurred especially when women had a negative image in the community.

LBH Apik's coordinator of legal protection Nurherwati said, "Some 10 percent of violence victims reporting their cases in criminal lawsuits were accused of being perpetrators instead, and some of them even ended up as defendants". "This is due to the prosecutors' lack of gender sensitivity," Nurherwati said.

The Center for Women and Gender Studies at UI said the Supreme Court had shown better partiality to women, but that "gender balance" was not found generally across all court levels. The women's center said violence cases were "hidden" behind civil lawsuits involving divorce, inheritance disputes and polygamy.

"However, civil and religious courts handling such civil lawsuits have no authority to deal with violence related to these cases, which results in a lack of follow-up," the center's head Sulistyowati Irianto said. She said law schools should incorporate gender studies into their curriculums.

Former policewoman Irawati Harsono, also the founder of the NGO Derap Warapsari, said education on women's rights should also be incorporated into law enforcement training agencies. But Irawati said this was a difficult task due to the "typical characteristics" of the agencies, which she said tended to avoid change. (wda)

Poverty & development

'Poverty rate not the real issue'

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2007

Jakarta – Chairman of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) Gen. (ret) Wiranto insisted the poverty rate published in the party's ads was the official figure issued by the World Bank.

"I don't want to be involved in a debate with President Susilo about the poverty rate, because we used official data from the World Bank," Wiranto told reporters on the sidelines of an event commemorating Hanura's first anniversary Friday.

The Hanura advertisement stated the country's poverty rate was 49.5 in 2007. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, however, said the country's poverty rate was only 16.5 percent in 2007, down from 24.2 percent in 1998 when the economic crisis hit the country. The President referred to data from the Central Statistic Agency (BPS).

"The most important thing is how to alleviate poverty in the country," said Wiranto. He said the ads had no political aims to discredit the government.

Government to push poverty rate, food scarcity reduction

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2007

Jakarta – The government has pledged to speed up efforts to reduce the country's poverty rate and food scarcity over the next two years.

Minister of Agriculture Anton Apriyantono revealed the government's ambitious target after a meeting with Minister of Trade Mari E. Pangestu, Minister of Transportation Jusman Syafii Djamal and President of the State Logistic Agency (Bulog) Mustafa Abubakar on Wednesday.

"Some 16 ministries and government institutions will support the program," Anton said as quoted by Antara.

However, he did not elaborate on the details of the programs that will be carried out to achieve the target. The minister said food scarcity was related to the poverty rate.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported the country's poverty rate reached 17.75 percent in 2006, higher than the previous year at 16.69 percent.

Anton said the increase was due to the fuel price hike last year. "In 2007, the poverty rate dropped to 16.58 percent as the country began to overcome the impact of the fuel price hike," he said. "We are now moving to the next stage of speeding up the reduction of the poverty rate," he said.

The minister said the food scarcity rate had dropped over the past 10 years from 7.9 percent in 1999 to only 2.5 percent in 2007. Anton warned Indonesia might face a food crisis within the next 10 years should it fail to overcome the disparity between the rapidly growing population and limited ability to expand arable land for food production.

He said with a population growth rate of between 1.3 percent and 1.5 percent per year, Indonesia needed to increase its annual production of rice to at least 1.8 million tons by 2009. Such a production increase requires another 600,000 hectares of paddy fields; yet available, arable land is in short supply around the country.

With Indonesia's current population growth creating such land-use dilemmas, Anton said food production in the country may face grave problems within the next 10 to 20 years if nothing is done.

He said Indonesia would also be unable to cut dependency on imported staple foods, including rice. Indonesia imported 1.5 million tons of rice this year to secure supplies and stabilize prices. The country's production of unhusked rice is expected to reach 57.05 million tons this year; up 4.76 percent from last year.

Meanwhile, head of the agriculture ministry's Food Resilience Body, Kaman Nainggolan, said one way to reduce the poverty rate was to fight illiteracy in the country. "Literate mothers in India have a better understanding and awareness of adequate food, so there are fewer malnourished children there," he said, citing a lesson learned from the world's second most-populated country.

Street children need attention to escape poverty

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Doni Daulay was hesitant to walk close to Merdeka Square in Medan, North Sumatra, on Tuesday, which was being tightly guarded by a security unit.

The square was being guarded because President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to officially open the ceremony commemorating Social Solidarity Day there Wednesday.

Doni, 13, who works as a bus sweeper, is one of thousands of homeless children living in poverty in the city of Medan. He has been separated from his parents for more than three years and has been living in a street-children's shelter established by the Child Protection and Research Center (PKPA).

Doni said he had worked as a bus sweeper in Medan's Pinang Baris bus station for around two years. He gets Rp 10,000 – Rp 15,000 per day for cleaning buses at the station. He said he used his money to pay for daily needs, as well as his schooling.

"I have to pay for my schooling with the money I get from working here. My parents cannot afford my school fees. They told me I had to work if I wanted to continue my studies," Doni told The Jakarta Post.

Doni, a seventh grader at Pinang Baris high school in Medan, said he worked as bus sweeper every day from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

PKPA director Ahmad Sofyan said based on the center's data there were thousands of homeless children in Medan. Most of them were living on the streets or along the river banks.

"Based on our research, those children still have parents. Their parents allowed them to leave home or work because they could not fulfill their daily needs," Sofyan said, adding the PKPA could only gather and train 120 of the thousands of street children in the area.

Sofyan criticized the government for lack of progress in overcoming the street child issue. "Based on regulations, the government are responsible for street children. Yet, we still find poor children living on the city streets," he added.

He said Social Solidarity Day could act as a turning point for the government to become more empathetic toward their plight and establish a program to alleviate child poverty.

"So far, Social Solidarity Day has been celebrated officially but the government has never taken further action to help and save the young generation," he said.

Head of the North Sumatra social welfare office, Nabari Ginting, said the total number of poor people in North Sumatra had reached up to 1.7 million, most of whom were unemployed.

Nabari, who is also the North Sumatra operational chairman for Social Solidarity Day, said his office had no special program to help street children. He said his office had only focused on making sure the celebrations ran smoothly and successfully.

He said along with the commemoration ceremony there would also be a tree-planting and social welfare activity.

"At the moment, we have no special program for street children. We have to focus on the commemoration of Social Solidarity Day because it will be attended by the President and the first lady, as well as a number of ministers."

Income gap needs public policy: LIPI

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2007

Alfian, Jakarta – Two researchers from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) proposed Saturday public policy models to tackle wide economic differences in the country.

Hari Susanto and Jusmaliani spoke at a ceremony that installed them as new research professors in regional economics and industrial economics respectively at LIPI.

Hari said the income gap among Indonesians had widened during the period 2002 to 2006. "A study from Bank Indonesia found that Indonesia's Gini ratio was close to 0.4, which means the income distribution gap has increased," said Hari.

The Gini coefficient, developed by Italian statistician Corrado Gini, is a measure of the inequality of wealth distribution ranging from 0 to 1. The higher the coefficient, the more unequal the wealth distribution. In the period between 1987 and 2002, Indonesia had an average Gini ratio of 0,328. Hari said the gap could be easily seen in daily life.

"Some 30,000 villages from a total of 70,611 in Indonesia are categorized as underdeveloped, while cases of malnutrition can be found in seven provinces," he said. "On the contrary, around 55,000 Indonesians have money stashed away in Singapore, amounting to nearly Rp 800 trillion (US$, which is more than the 2007 state budget."

Juliani said there was also an obvious gap in access to economic resources, despite the fact Indonesia had already implemented Law No. 5/1999 on the Prohibition of Monopoly and Unfair Competition. She gave an example from the retail business sector.

"The opening of the modern retailer market has caused the death of small and traditional retailers," she said. "Modern retailers, with their powerful capital, can easily control suppliers while traditional retailers do not have the same ability."

Both Hari and Jusmaliani proposed solutions to tackle the economic discrepancies in the country. Hari suggested the reformulation of the decentralization policy to reduce the wealth gap among Indonesian provinces. "The regional autonomy policy should not be generalized to all provinces because each province has different conditions and different natural and human resources," he said.

"The central government, for example, could delegate most of its authority to the West Java provincial administration as it is rich in both natural and human resources. "On the other hand, it should monitor and guide the Riau provincial administration, as Riau has limited human resources to manage its rich natural resources."

Meanwhile, Jusmaliani recommended the adoption of principles of equality in business. "We should prevent the concentration of business ownership to just one hand," she said. "Companies with assets reaching the gross regional domestic product of its region should share ownership with the local people. "This practice will create a sense of belonging among local residents with the business."

Jusmaliani and Hari were the 206th and 207th researchers to be inducted as research professors since LIPI began to grant research professorships in 2005. Researchers do not need post- graduate degrees to become research professors. However, they need to have written a considerable number of research papers that have been published in international scientific journals.

Health & education

Indonesia fails to reduce maternal mortality

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2007

Jakarta – While Mother's Day is traditionally a time for rejoicing and love, the Women's Health Foundation (YKP) is using this year to focus on the nation's high maternal mortality rate.

"The YPK commemorates this Mothers' Day with a solemn reminder that our maternal mortality rate remains high, at 310 per 100,000 births in 2005, compared to 390 in 1994," YPK chairwoman Tini Hadad told a media gathering on Wednesday.

"It is the highest maternal mortality rate in ASEAN, which is truly appalling and embarrassing. We have yet to see the government show a sincere interest and concerted effort in handling the matter, such as amending the health law."

Deputy chairwoman Zumrotin Soesilo added that within the past 11 years, Indonesia's maternal death rate had decreased by just 80 people. Zumrotin said that the country would most likely fail in meeting the fifth point of the UN Millennium Development Goals of reducing the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters by 2015.

"We only have another eight years to raise the bar from 80 to 125 and this will not be possible unless women's health becomes a nation-wide priority because improving women's well-being is no longer an option, but a necessity," she said.

Tuti Indarsih Loekman Soetrisno, a legislator on the House of Representatives Commission IX overseeing health, labor and population affairs, said an overhaul of the current health system was needed.

"Our health system, especially pertaining to safe motherhood, should focus on educational and preventive measures like advocating immunization and pap smears, instead of curative ones which are more expensive," she said.

"We will need to also increase our spending budget for health from the current 2.6 percent to 5-6 percent, as suggested by the World Health Organization."

Tini said a demographic survey of health in Indonesia had revealed that every half-hour a woman died due to pregnancy and labor complications or post-natal difficulties. The majority of these mortality cases, YKP member Kartono Mohamad added, were due to hemorrhaging.

"The three main causes of maternal death so far have been hemorrhage, which can occur during pregnancy, during delivery or after birth, eclampsia (seizures during pregnancy) and infections," he told The Jakarta Post.

"All these are avoidable. Firstly, through poverty alleviation, secondly by proper education, and thirdly through government assistance in the form of medical services that actually reach women prior to them experiencing any complications."

He further highlighted the adverse effects of poverty on the health of women, particularly those from low-income backgrounds. Nearly all maternal deaths in Indonesia take place among the poorest of the poor.

Kartono, a senior doctor, added that government interventions such as the Suami Siaga (Alert Husband), Desa Siaga (Alert Village), and Gerakan Sayang Ibu (Loving Mothers Movement) campaigns were largely "empty rhetoric".

"The weakness of any government initiative is the lack of an evaluation. They just send out midwives to the villages and launch these programs without a feedback mechanism in place to see whether the programs are actually effective," he said. (amr)

Safer sex education messages not getting through

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Agustina Wayansari, Jakarta – "My boyfriend asked me to do squats to get the sperm out so that I wouldn't fall pregnant," said a university student in a recent survey on sex, sexuality and reproductive health in several urban cities in Central Java.

The study, conducted last year by Antono Suryoputro, a lecturer at the School of Public Health at the University of Diponegoro in Semarang, Central Java, was participated in by around 2,000 young adults (ages 18-24) in five big cities including Semarang, Yogyakarta and Purwokerto.

The participants comprised students, as well as relatively uneducated factory workers.

"I was shocked and worried by the survey results, which showed that young people – even those with a reasonable level of education – still have a poor understanding of sexuality and reproductive health, while at the same time there is an increasing incidence of premarital sex, unwanted pregnancies and abortions, as well as sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS infection in the country," said Antono after presenting his study at the 4th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health in Hyderabad, India, last month.

"There was no difference between the results from the two groups (students and factory workers)," Antono said.

In Asia Pacific countries, including Indonesia, a large discrepancy exists between the public sexual culture and the private sexual culture. Sex education has arguably had little effect on attitudes to sex, and government policy regarding sex and reproductive health education has been seen as weak and ineffectual.

Leny Jakaria, who works for the Women's and Children's division of the Indonesian Family Planning Board (PKBI), said many parents still considered it inappropriate to talk about sex with their children and hampered any efforts they might make to find out about sex on their own.

"It's silly that in today's world, parents still deny the need for information and education on sexual and reproductive health for their teenage children," said Leny, whose organization manages 28 youth centers in various cities across the country.

The PKBI – which is among the oldest nonprofit organizations in the country that focus on sexual and reproductive health advocacy – empowers its young volunteers through peer education to provide information and counseling on sexual and reproductive health and other related issues.

"Even in big, modern and open cities like Jakarta, many parents often deny their children have sex (as they still consider extramarital sex taboo)," Leny told The Jakarta Post after the conference.

She said it would be better for parents to face the reality (that young people are sexually active) and prepare their children with adequate information and knowledge on sexual related matters, so they can have sex safely.

Many parents are of the opinion that the availability of contraception and sex education promotes promiscuity. Leny said some of the youth counselors at the PKBI were often prevented from participating by their parents, who saw them as promoting sex without a moral framework.

Manjula Lusti-Narashiman, the technical officer on sexual and reproductive health at the World Health Organization headquarters, said sex education should start at home, with parents talking with their children in an open and honest way. She said parents needed to develop the skills and methods necessary to communicate freely with their children.

Apart from providing counseling for teenagers, Lenny said the PKBI had initiated a program that helped break down the communication barriers between parents and children.

"We want parents to be more aware of this issue, that lifestyles have changed and that they have to be more open with their children including in sexuality. They've got to find a way to overcome the communication gap," she said.

Leny said the government of Indonesia – which has 65 million young people aged 10-24, comprising 30 percent of the total population – had grossly underestimated the importance of reproductive health education in schools.

"The government has not put the topic in the curriculum so far. (But) we have started the initiative with some local administrations such as in West Kalimantan where the authorities have agreed to allocate funds for the purpose," she said.

Purnima Mane, the deputy director of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities' (UNFPA) global office, said at the conference: "Around 70 percent of the world's total number of youth are living in the Asia Pacific region and we've got to admit that until now governments have done more lip service than real action in terms of addressing the issue of reproductive health."

She said the sexual way of HIV transmission was fast becoming the dominant one. There are two major problems according to Purnima, first the increasing number of young people who are infected with HIV, and second that people tend not to focus on young people who are living with HIV/AIDS as they consider them strong and not vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Heri Susanto from PKBI's Jakarta branch called for more participation from the private sector in addressing the issue, in a more sustainable way.

"Many producers of reproductive health related products such as condoms, panty liners and sanitary napkins, only use our program as part of their marketing communication campaign, despite the abundant opportunity to create sustainable community development programs," Heri said.

Sex education begins to break taboos

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Agustina Wayansari, Jakarta – The National Family Planning Board (PKBI) is taking a creative new approach to sex education and counseling that involves talking face-to-face with teenagers in high-risk STD transmission areas.

Sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Indonesia, the organization initiated 18 months ago a program called "market outreach", with the aim of giving young people in three traditional markets of East Jakarta – Cipinang Market, Klender main market and Perumnas Klender Market – improved access to sexual and reproductive health services and information.

"We found there are high rates of sexually transmitted diseases among young people working as laborers in the markets, as well as street children in the surrounding neighborhoods," said Ida Rochayati, the program manager for the outreach program.

According to Ida, the number of youngsters in the country who are sexually active is "huge", while the teenagers working in places like traditional markets are at highest risk for HIV/STD infection, partly due to the low rates charged by sex workers in the areas, of between Rp 10,000 (US$1.20) and Rp 30,000.

"This group faces major sexual and reproductive health-related issues, including sexually transmitted diseases from unsafe sex as well as HIV infection from drug usage," Ida told The Jakarta Post last month while observing the outreach program in Klender Market.

Ida said it was not easy to win the trust of young people, especially in talking about sex.

But with the help of peer educators, who were recruited from among the youth in the areas, the PKBI has reached thousands of youngsters aged 10-24 years, providing them with information on sex and reproductive health issues, including the importance of using condoms during sex, STDs and HIV/AIDS prevention, and even lighter issues such as the importance of wearing clean underwear.

Ida said the main target of the program was get young people to practice "safe and responsible sex".

"We have so far recruited and trained some 50 peer educators in three markets. They become our assistants in spreading the information and sex education materials such as brochures and books among their peers. Sometimes they also become counselors for their friends," Ida said.

"I have become a mobile condom machine for my friends," said Gugun Gunawan, one of the peer educators in Klender Market, laughing.

The 20-year-old was consulting with an outreach officer from PKBI about his friend, who intended to have a test for sexually transmitted diseases (STD) at PKBI's clinic in Cipinang area, East Jakarta, that afternoon.

Being a "bridge" between his friends and the PKBI officers is among Gugun's main duties as a peer educator, aside from spreading information on safe sex.

"I have many friends who face the difficult situation (of having a sexually transmitted diseases). They don't know who to turn to for help," Gugun said, adding that he is proud to become useful for others through his involvement with PKBI's program.

Ida said the PKBI regularly held support group meetings with peer educators like Gugun, to update their knowledge as well as getting their input from the field. Ida said the program had reached around 2,000 teenagers in the three market areas.

"We have received good feedback, and our clinic has recorded an increasing number of teenagers coming for counseling and being tested for STDs," she said.

UN says spend more and save lives

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2007

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Indonesia should double its budget for reproductive health services in order to reduce the country's maternal mortality rate, said United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) representative in Indonesia Zahidul Huque here Monday.

At the launch of the UN's report "Reproductive Health Costing 2005-2010", Huque said the Indonesian government needed to spend more than 1 percent of its GDP on reproductive health.

He said it must provide better facilities for pre- and post-natal health care, especially for underprivileged families and those in rural areas.

Indonesia was a country chosen by the UNFPA specifically for the pilot project because the archipelago has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Southeast Asia.

Huque said, "We estimate that it will require an annual investment of US$4 per woman at reproductive age to establish full coverage of quality reproductive health system". "In fact, Indonesia only spends about $2.87 (per woman) despite the high maternal mortality rate of 420 per 100,000 births in the country."

He said there were many women "still unable to fulfill their reproductive health needs".

"If the mortality rate of mothers is combined with that of the infants, the figure is enormous, and it is like a tip of the iceberg," Huque said.

"With the investment of only $4 per woman per year, the government can provide reliable reproductive health services to ensure safe pregnancy and delivery."

The report is a result of UNFPA's study in 22 regencies in six provinces: Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, South Sumatra, West Java, West Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.

Studies revealed 66 percent of births nationwide were assisted by trained health professionals and attendants – out of some 4.5 million births per year. Children delivered in a registered health facility delivery made up 39 percent of the country's total births.

Huque said to achieve greater health for the country in this area, the government should spend a total of $201 million – a $7 million increase per year – to 2010.

To realize the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, the government needed to secure $212.3 million, or an annual increase of $2.1 million from 2010 and 2015, he said.

Improving maternal health and reduce mortality of children under five years old are among MDGs' targets.

"The improvement of reproductive health care should be prioritized in remote areas since there is a huge disparity of facilities between developed and underprivileged regions," Huque said.

"Besides, mothers in remote areas usually prefer to deliver their babies at home rather than going to health facilities, so we also need to change their mindset and raise their awareness. And this will require involvement from local people and administrations."

Health Ministry's director of mother's health affairs, Sri Hermiyanti, said promoting reproductive health was essential for the country's future.

She said the UN's results on reproductive health cost requirements should be communicated to policy makers, both at national and local levels so that budgets could be increased appropriately.

Poor sanitation worsens urban, health problems

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2007

Jakarta – As a city riddled with sanitation-related diseases such as diarrhea and dengue fever, the Jakarta administration needs to start working with the public, private companies and non-governmental organizations to build a better sanitation system, an expert has said.

According to Basah Hernowo, head of community housing at the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), Jakarta has the money and can afford the technology to provide proper sanitation to its residents by 2015 as targeted in the UN's Millennium Development Goals.

"What lacking is the will," he said. "What they should do is fund NGOs so they can help educate the public about sanitation and then work with the private sector to build proper sanitation systems, like a sewerage system."

With virtually no sewerage system or waste treatment plants, most of Jakarta's liquid waste is left to flow downriver to the sea or is kept in septic tanks. There are more than a million septic tanks in Jakarta, which has a population of almost 10 million people.

"And if they still say that they can't (put a sanitation system in place), then what reasons left are there?" he asked during the recent National Sanitation Conference.

The conference brought together more than a hundred experts and officials from all over Indonesia and the world to discuss possible solutions to the country's sanitation problems in anticipation of 2008, which has been declared the Year of Sanitation by the United Nations. One of the UN's related resolutions is to reach 73 percent public access to sanitation by 2015.

Basah said the people who showed up to the conference were concerned about the environment and those who didn't were indifferent to the problem.

"What the city needs to realize is that sanitation is one of the main causes of poverty. Sick people, especially those with a daily income, can not make money to get themselves out of their situation. It's no wonder there are so many poor people in Jakarta," he added.

According to the 2004 National Social Economic Survey, 12 percent of the population in Indonesia's bigger cities does not have access to toilets. A third of those who have access use facilities that are not connected to septic tanks or equipped with water faucets, located instead on rivers.

Around 70 percent of the water in Indonesia's cities is contaminated with domestic waste, with 78 percent of Jakarta's river deemed polluted as of 2006, according to data provided by the administration. The water is contaminated with E. coli bacteria and other harmful organisms that can cause diarrhea, dengue fever and typhoid.

Diarrhea kills more than 100,000 children every year in Indonesia. As of July, more than 11,000 diarrhea cases have been recorded, attributed to the prevailing unhealthy lifestyle and poor sanitation. In some areas, the disease is so common that it is classified as an "extraordinary occurrence".

Dengue fever is also an ongoing problem in Jakarta with more 29,000 cases and 81 deaths reported this year. April has been the worst month so far, with 5,133 cases reported. (anw)

War on corruption

Regional corruption courts proposed

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2007

Jakarta – The government has proposed a new system of anticorruption courts in which each province, regency and municipality would have its own court to deal with graft cases.

Chairman of the steering committee drafting the anti-corruption court bill, Romli Atmasasmita, said Wednesday the draft proposed the new courts serve as the sole authority to try graft cases turned over by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and state prosecutors.

Currently, there is only one anticorruption court in Jakarta handling such cases submitted by KPK.

"Each court would be headed by the corresponding chief of district or high court," Romli said at a press conference announcing the completion of the bill draft at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry.

"The chief would assign a team consisting of a minimum of three and a maximum of five judges to try a graft case." The courts would be set up gradually, he said, with those at the province level receiving priority.

"The Supreme Court would decide whether or not all provinces and regions need anticorruption courts, as some regions record very few cases."

The Constitutional Court ruled in December last year the Corruption Court was unconstitutional because it was set up under the 2002 law on the KPK, while the 1945 Constitution stipulated the establishment of any court under the Supreme Court needed to have its own legal basis.

The Constitutional Court gave the government three years to implement a new system.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator of judiciary monitoring Emerson Juntho said the proposed bill was positive, but it would be more realistic to establish courts at the province level only.

"Recruiting judges for each of the district courts would be a problem. And it wouldn't be easy to control them all," he said.

He added the anticorruption courts should be separated from district and high court institutions, unless the latter managed to clean up their negative images.

"The district and high courts have yet to tackle their chaotic administration and negative environments," Emerson said.

"The public still has no trust in them, and it will see the anticorruption courts as no different from the existing criminal court system if the two are not separated."

Besides increasing the number of the anticorruption courts, Romli said, the draft stipulated the establishment of each court be preceded by preliminary investigations.

He said the draft made budgets the responsibility of the Supreme Court, and that transparency and accountability would be principles of the trial process.

It further specified the Supreme Court would form a selection committee to appoint judges to each court, and judges would be precluded from holding "double" positions.

Romli said the draft would be sent immediately to the President. He expected the House of Representatives could begin deliberation by the end of January. (wda)

Islam/religion

Activists blame government for Ahmadiyah sect attacks

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2007

Nana Rukmana, Jakarta, Kuningan – Rights activists agreed Friday the government was directly and indirectly responsible for Tuesday's violent attacks against followers of the Ahmadiyah sect in Kuningan, West Java.

Chairman of Setara Institute Hendardi said the government must understand one of its main tasks, as per the 1945 Constitution, was to protect followers of every religious belief.

Rights activists said the government was directly responsible because of its inability to protect believers of various faiths in Indonesia. They said the government was also indirectly at fault because it had allowed such attacks to occur repeatedly.

The Ahmadiyah worship complex in Kuningan was attacked by a group of people on Tuesday, leaving four injured. The attack followed a rally protesting the sect's beliefs and demanding the total closure of the complex.

Hendardi said, "The existence of overlapping and conflicting regulations should not have become a reason for the government to neglect their responsibility toward promoting, protecting and fulfilling a person's right to choose a personal belief".

In Kuningan, the regental administration had yet to reopen the sealed Ahmadiyah worship complex, despite calls from Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Thursday for the seal to be removed.

But head of Kuningan legal agency, Jatnika, said the administration had not received an order to reopen the worship complex.

"I've heard about Kalla's plea for no more violence, but none on the seal," Jatnika said Friday. "We will still seal the worship complex until there is a firm order from the central government."

Syaiful Anam from Human Rights Watch group said the government had to held accountable. Anam said the police could also be categorized as having violated human rights because they had tolerated the attacks.

"I have seen the police let this kind of religious violence happen repeatedly," Anam said. "What recently happened to the Ahmadiyah community in Kuningan has happened in other places, around two years ago. However, the police have never held anyone responsible for the violence and no-one has been brought to court."

However the National Commission on Human Rights has also been criticized. Some have said the commission has failed to act on reports filed by religious groups relating to mounting recent threats against them.

Rights commissioner Syafruddin Ngulma Simeulue did not deny said criticisms. "However, I need to inform people that one of the biggest difficulties the commission is facing is that the spirit of promoting human rights has not been instilled by the government in all of its offices," Syafruddin told the Post.

He said the commission planned to meet with the National Police Chief in January. "We want to emphasize to the police their role is seriously needed in protecting all Indonesians, regardless of their religions," Syafruddin said.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Sisno Adiwinoto said because some violent acts had occurred, the police would conduct an investigation and would use the law to see those responsible brought to court. (uwi)

Kalla orders crackdown on sect attacks

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2007

Alfian, Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla ordered police Thursday to "get tough" on those who attacked the Ahmadiyah sect this week, saying the fatwa (edict) from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) was not a license to attack others.

"I have spoken to the police and told them to be firm on anyone who is trying to prevent people from expressing their belief," he said. "Anyone who attacked Ahmadiyah was wrong and, therefore, the police have to be tough."

The MUI declared Ahmadiyah "heretical" because the sect does not recognize Muhammad as the last prophet. Ahmadiyah founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad has claimed to be the next prophet after Muhammad.

But Kalla said the MUI's edict could not be used as a justification for violent actions. He said the MUI had issued a fatwa based on a religious truth, but that the council had not urged people to conduct acts of violence against the sect.

"Anyone who burns down a house is wrong and all seals locking the Ahmadiyah's places of worship have to be removed," Kalla said.

MUI leader Amidhan said the fatwa should be seen as a reminder only for Muslims. "It is a sort of distinguishing to inform people what is right and what is wrong," he said. "It is not a basis for violent action."

Amidhan said violence in the name of religion was forbidden in Islam. "Burning down houses of worship is not allowed, even during wartimes," he said.

Amidhan denied the edict contributed to violent attacks against Ahmadiyah. "MUI issued the same fatwa in 1980, but there were no actions of violence at that time," he said. "The police should arrest all parties involved in the violent attacks against Ahmadiyah, especially those who provoked the attacks."

Since Tuesday's violence, attacks against the Ahmadiyah community have expanded in West Java.

After the worship complex in Manis Lor village, Kuningan regency, was attacked Tuesday, Ahmadiyah became the target of mass violence on Wednesday. A group of some 30 unidentified people ransacked Ahmadiyah's house of worship in Sukajaya village, Sukaraja district, in Tasikmalaya regency.

Although the sect followers Thursday could celebrate the Islamic Day of Sacrifice without threats of violence, national Ahmadiyah leader Abdul Basit said followers were still afraid of further attacks.

"The attack, especially in Manis Lor, was a repeated effort, but the perpetrators were never caught by the police," he told the Post. "The frequent incidents show the police have yet to demonstrate any serious efforts toward handling the problem."

Abdul said he regretted the frequent attacks against the controversial sect were initiated by Muslim groups. "If some people have a problem with our belief, why don't we propose a dialog," Abdul said.

He further said violence did not solve problems but "it will ruin the image of Islam instead. The parties who chose violence show they actually do not have a strong argument."

Sociologist Tamrin Amal Tomagola said the attacks against Ahmadiyah showed the state had not clearly identified or properly dealt with the issues around Ahmadiyah. "The state has no right to define religious truth, but it has the authority to take action against law violators," he said.

Four injured as Indonesian Muslims attack sect settlement: police

Agence France Presse - December 19, 2007

Jakarta – A group of Muslim activists have attacked the settlement of an Islamic sect in a village on the main island of Java, resulting in a clash that left four injured, police and reports said Wednesday.

The Ahmadiyah sect believes that Muhammed was not the final prophet, contradicting a central tenet of mainstream Islam. The group has a few thousand members in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

"The incident took place around noon yesterday (0500 GMT Tuesday) with more than 100 members of Kompak (the Muslim Coalition of Kuningan) attacking houses and places of worship belonging to Ahmadiyah members," said a policeman in West Java's Kuningan district.

The attack in Manis Lor village left 14 houses and two small Ahmadiyah mosques damaged, said the policeman, who gave his name as Haris. Members of the sect responded by pelting with stones the attackers, four of whom were injured, Haris said.

"The police are still on site, as well as a company of men from Brimob," the police paramilitary unit, he said, adding that the situation was under control. No arrests had been made, he added.

The Koran Tempo newspaper said that the attack was briefly stopped when Brimob troops tried to disband the attackers by firing tear gas, but they managed to break through the cordon to vandalize the houses.

The Indonesian-language paper quoted a local leader, Maman Hermansyah, as saying that Ahmadiyah had agreed to no longer use their mosques. "If they are still used, then the Islamic organisations are free to damage those houses of worship," Hermansyah reportedly said.

The Indonesian Council of Ulemas, the highest official authority on Islamic matters here, declared Ahmadiyah a "deviant" sect in 2005 and banned its activities, sparking an upturn in harassment of members.

The government has not outlawed the group nationwide but local bans have been issued in several districts, including Kuningan in 2004, according to Yudhi, an official from the local administration.

"But as this concerns a religion, to act more firmly we need a legal base from the central government," Yudhi added, explaining the ban's weak enforcement.

Around 200 members of Ahmadiyah were forced to move to temporary shelters on the island of Lombok, near Bali, after hardline Muslims attacked their homes and mosques early last year.

Group attacks Ahmadiyah complex in Kuningan

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Nana Rukmana, Kuningan – A large crowd on Tuesday reportedly attacked the Ahmadiyah worship complex in Manis Lor village, Jalaksana district, in Kuningan, West Java, leaving four people injured.

Hundreds of personnel from the Kuningan police and the local public order police unit barricaded the site to prevent the clash from escalating, police and associated officials said. The incident disrupted traffic along the main Kuningan-Cirebon highway, where hundreds of vehicles were trapped in congestion.

A small mosque and dozens of houses owned by Ahmadiyah members were damaged in the attack, after both sides threw rocks at each other, police and officials said.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) declared Ahmadiyah "heretical" because the sect does not recognize Muhammad as the last prophet.

Hundreds of people, grouped in the Kuningan Muslim Component (Kompak), staged a protest rally at the Kuningan regency administration office at approximately 9 a.m. local time, before approaching the Ahmadiyah complex, police said.

They demanded the administration be firm and issue a ban against the sect in Kuningan and to follow-up the closure of the complex on Dec. 13.

"Despite the closure, they (Ahmadiyah members) apparently are still carrying out their activities," Kompak member Miftah Hidayat said. "We urge the local administration to be stern in prohibiting their activities."

But due to alleged inaction from authorities, the crowd reportedly marched toward the complex to protest their argument. At approximately 11 a.m. the crowd arrived at the point of worship, sparking tension among sect members, police and officials said.

The attack then ensued between both groups, before sect members retaliated. Police said both sides then commenced throwing rocks at each other before available forces were able to interrupt and stop the clash. Hundreds of police officers then set up barricades in front of the complex to separate both sides.

In response to the issue, the local administration's legal division head Jatnika said his office would not tolerate such behavior. Jatnika said the administration had handed the case to law enforcers to punish those involved in the incident.

"Our stance is very clear. We will not tolerate any acts of violence," Jatnika said. He also urged every party to exercise restraint and engage in dialog to resolve the problem.

On Dec. 13 the Kuningan administration, led by Jatnika and public order unit head Indra Purwantoro, closed down the worship complex, which was occupied by 3,000 sect members. Hundreds of police and local public order unit members sealed a number of facilities, including the main mosque and two small mosques.

Jatnika said the administration had actually planned to close down the complex long ago. He said his office, along with the local prosecutor's office and police, had issued a letter on Dec. 20, 2004, banning Ahmadiyah members from carrying out their religious activities in Kuningan.

The decision was made after Jatnika and others had considered a call from the Indonesian Ulama Council to forbid the teachings of the worship center. "The closure is also aimed at preventing strong reactions from the local Muslim community who are worried about their presence," Jatnika said.

Leaders call for religious peace

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Jakarta – Leaders from various religious organizations demanded Tuesday that the government clamp down on inter-religion conflicts.

The groups held an end-of-year reflection titled "Our Threatened Diversity", organized by the Wahid Institute and the Bishops Council of Indonesia (KWI).

The discussion, at the Council's office in Central Jakarta, resulted in five demands, signed by 30 representatives from 21 religious organizations, according to Trisno S. Sutanto of the Community of Dialogs between Religions.

Trisno said the number of religious conflicts at the moment was so great that it required a statement from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

"The President must reconfirm (that he is) committed to (protect) every citizen's right to religious freedom by issuing a statement that guarantees legal protection."

Ahmad Duaedy from the Wahid Institute said the government had been doing the opposite. "The government has allowed and even endorsed violent acts against certain religious groups. The government has failed in providing and protecting our religious freedoms."

In November, the Indonesian Council of Ulema issued an edict on "heretical" Islamic sects. Since then, the leader of the Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah sect has been arrested and an Ahmadiyah mosque has been shut down.

Early last month, residents and officials of Tambora in West Jakarta prevented Catholics from holding services in a 40-year- old church located there.

Rights body to investigate forced church closures

Jakarta Post - December 15, 2007

Alfian, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas-HAM) has said it will investigate reports on the increasing incidence of forced closings of churches.

The commission will act on a complaint filed Friday by leaders of the Communion of Indonesian Churches (PGI) and the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI).

The Protestant and Catholic leaders submitted a list of 108 houses of worship, notably in West Java, which they said have been forcibly closed, ransacked, threatened or burned down since 2004. Perpetrators range from local officials to such radical organizations as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the Anti- Apostasy Alliance (AGAP), they said.

"I am afraid the violence will destroy Indonesia's image internationally because we are unable to protect human rights," commissioner Yoseph Adi Prasetyo said.

Filing the complaint were PGI chief Rev. Andreas A. Yewangoe, and KWI chairman Bishop Mgr. Martinus D. Situmorang. They said that in many areas, Christians have difficulty performing religious duties due to intimidation.

"From 2004 to now, some 108 houses of worship have been requested and even forced to close," said Andreas. He added people in some areas have been prohibited from performing their religious duties.

"It (church closure and intimidation) is a violation of both the right to freedom of religion and the right to express one's religion or beliefs."

Bishop Martinus said many churches had experienced frequent threats. "It is time for us to solve this problem because it is related to the respect of human rights and civil society's commitment to safeguarding security," he said.

Christians account for some 10 percent of the 230 million population of predominantly (88 percent) Muslim Indonesia, according to official statistics.

As a minority group, Christians have often complained of discrimination, saying building churches in some areas is practically impossible due to local Muslims' objections.

The report filed with commissioners said the strongest resistance to the presence of churches was in West Java province, where congregations using shops and homes as churches had been forced to close.

Similar intimidation also forced long-existing churches to shut down, the report said. Different actors, the report said, have been involved in the effort to close the churches.

In some area, the district executive assembly was deemed responsible, while in other areas, mass organizations such as FPI and AGAP.

At the center of the controversy is a 2006 joint decree from the Home Ministry and the Religious Affairs Ministry, which requires a minimum of 90 observers for building a house of worship.

Antonius Benny Susetyo, a KWI executive, said at the grassroots level the joint decree had not been properly understood. "Even if the requirements have been fulfilled, sometimes the subdistrict heads do not want to grant the permit," said Benny.

Andreas said the decree was meant for the sake of making religious activities convenient. "It cannot be used to criminalize people performing religious duties." Commissioner Yoseph Adi Prasetyo promised to review the disputed decree.

Elections/political parties

PDI-P could beat Golkar, win election, says survey

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Jakarta – A recent national survey has shown if the national election was to be held this month, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) would beat the Golkar Party and the Democratic Party.

The survey said there were definite factors that had strengthened PDI-P's prospects for gaining a majority vote in the national election.

Results showed 30.5 percent of respondents trusted PDI-P as the most suitable party for people at the grassroots level. The survey showed Golkar in second place with 12.9 percent and the Democratic Party (PD) in third, with 4.8 percent.

The Indo Barometer survey also showed Indonesians believed PDI-P was the most reliable party because it continuously struggled for the public's interests, with 18.7 per cent of respondents preferring PDI-P, 15.4 percent Golkar and 8.8 percent PP. With regard to the public's trust in a party's ability to supervise the government, some 11.9 percent of survey respondents favored Golkar, while 11.6 percent favored PDI-P and only 5.3 percent liked PD.

Indo Barometer executive director Muhammad Qodari said, "The Democratic Party has secured third position in the survey because Indonesians tend to let admiration of an individual influence their preference for political parties".

"In this case, the Democratic Party was fortunate to have Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on their side," he said. "Yudhoyono's last position before he decided to compete in the 2004 presidential election was coordinating minister for political and security affairs."

Qodari said then the Democratic Party had received a 7.5 percent vote. "But now the president is personally bigger than he was in 2004," he said Tuesday.

The survey was conducted from Nov. 26 to Dec. 7, 2007, across 33 provinces in Indonesia. The respondents consisted of 1,200 people who hold the right to vote, were more than 17 years of age, or who were already married when the survey was conducted.

The survey also indicated the Indonesian public remained dissatisfied with the performance of political parties and their unwillingness to fight for the public's interest. The survey also showed people believed political parties had failed to provide a political education for the public, including their own members.

Qodari said one reason was most political parties appeared in front of the public only during occasional events closely linked to elections or party anniversaries.

Ganjar Pranowo from PDI-P said he completely agreed with the results and the public was not satisfied with the country's political parties.

"The fact is, in Indonesia, there is not one party that has been sincerely established with any specific idealism," Ganjar said.

"Every party's objective is to gain power and authority. Thus, political parties only want to rule – they don't care about the people's aspirations. That's why this survey is very important, particularly to encourage political parties to take immediate action and before the public becomes more cynical," Ganjar said.

With regard to the grassroots trusting PDI-P as the most reliable party, Ganjar said this should be a warning for PDI-P to live up to that trust. Otherwise, he said this would become a "boomerang for the party". (uwi)

Voting public fed up with 'status quo', prefer new candidates

Kompas - December 17, 2007

Jakarta – The large number of incumbent officials that have been loosing in regional elections is being caused by a number of factors, including the public's rejection of status quo forces and a desire to vote for new leaders. The preferences for a new face is originating from the floating masses whose numbers are considerable.

This was the conclusion obtained from a number of sources contacted by Kompas over the weekend of December 15-16. Incumbent officials have been defeated recently in South Sulawesi, North Maluku, South-East Sulawesi, Bangka Belitung and West Kalimantan.

Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) researcher Indra Jaya Piliang, who was contacted in Aceh on Sunday, suggested that the principle reason is that the public is seeking change. "Whenever there is the slightest chance to bring about a change, the public votes for someone new, although in voting for someone new there is of course an element of speculation", he said.

According to Piliang, when the public is fed up with an old leader and a new candidate appears who actually has the same abilities as the old leader, the public will go for change. Thus it is new candidate leaders that are winning regional elections.

"The majority of them are from the floating masses. For example there are people who at the last minute change their minds at the voting booth, and there are significant numbers of these. This kind of thing may very well happen in the coming presidential elections", said Piliang.

Dr Jayadi Nas, a lecturer in political science at the Hasanuddin University in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar, made similar remarks when contacted on Sunday. The defeat of incumbent officials reflects the public's rejection of status quo forces.

"Remember that in general incumbents are candidates from the Golkar Party, so this phenomena is at the same time a warning for the party of the Banyan tree. Golkar has no other option but to undergo a process of self introspection. It is time that nominated candidates not be local Golkar Party chairs who happen to be governors, but they should look for the best cadres who are visionary and energetically able to read the public's wishes", said Nas.

Concrete programs

Speaking separately, the Strategic Director of the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI), Widdi Aswindi believes that incumbent candidates generally do not have concrete and innovative programs. When a new candidate emerges that offers a more implementation orientated program, the public is more interested.

Aswindi also noted that although the programs being offered in campaigns are only promises, a more concrete working program could become a strong draw-card for potential voters in determining their choice.

In South Sulawesi for example, the winning candidate was the one who offered free healthcare and education programs that had previously been rejected outright by the incumbent candidate. Whereas according to Aswindi, this program was very concrete and implementation orientated.

"Based on the first survey we carried out, in fact incumbent candidate consistently outdid the other candidates. Because however they were overconfident and failed to fully make use of their political machine, and chose instead to use bureaucratic channels that can in fact be a double-edged sword, at the last minute they were outdone by the other candidates", explained Aswindi.

He added that in relation to incumbent candidates that used bureaucratic channels, in general the reports that they receive are reports in which the most important thing is to please the boss. This is not considered good strategically.

With regard to Golkar Party defeats in a number of regional elections, Aswindi said that this because Golkar is overconfident. Whereas support for the party has never really taken root so it cannot in fact be relied on too much.

Piliang also noted another reason that could to constitute a background to the defeat of incumbent candidates. He said that the average age of incumbent official means that they are simply not young anymore.

LIPI researcher Alfitra Salamm made similar remarks. He gave as an example regional elections in South Sulawesi where the public voted for candidates that were younger, more energetic and would bring change.

Primordialism

There were also indications that elements of primordialism contributed to the electoral outcome in West Kalimantan not long ago, in which the Cornelis-Christiandy Sanjaya ticket obtained the most votes. The ticket defeated three other candidates including the incumbent ticket of Usman Jafar-LH Kadir, Oesman Sapta-Ignatius Lyong and Akil Mochtar-AR Mecer.

LSI executive director Saiful Mujani who was contacted in the West Kalimantan city of Pontianak late last week said that in general the behaviour of voters in West Kalimantan is still very primordial in terms of ethnic group and religion.

According to Mujani, this was apparent from the composition of the votes, with the votes from the Melayu (Malay) ethnic group and people of Madurese origin (from Madura island) – the majority of whom are Muslims – being split between Jafar, Sapta or Mochtar.

The Cornelis-Christiandy Sanjaya ticket meanwhile had the solid support from indigenous Dayaks and the Tionghoa (Chinese) community – the majority of whom are Christian – which was estimated to have been as high as 40 percent. (DOE/NAR/WHY/SIE)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Muhammadiyah youth set up new party

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2007

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Young members of the country's second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, announced Sunday the establishment of the Matahari Bangsa Party (PMB) at the Jogja Expo Center in Yogyakarta.

The ceremony marking the establishment of the party, which has a red sun logo, was attended by over 5,000 people, former Muhammadiyah leader Ahmad Syafii Maarif and former Golkar leader Akbar Tanjung.

PMB chairman Imam Addaruqudni said that the new party satisfied all of the requirements to participate in the 2009 general election. From the organizational perspective, Imam said, the PMB already had representatives in 60 percent of Yogyakarta province, 50 percent at the regency level and 25 percent at the district level.

Imam further said that the new party would shun the existing corrupt pattern of politics. "We will deviate as we don't want to become involved in this corrupt system," he said.

PMB secretary-general Ahmad Rofiq said that the PMB was hoping to get 30 seats in the House of Representatives in the 2009 elections. He said this was based on the assumption that in the last general election (in 2004), around 9 percent of Muhammadiyah members were actively involved. "We are just targeting 50 percent of the 9 percent of Muhammadiyah members who participated in the elections," he said.

Ahmad Syafii, who gave a speech during the ceremony, said that the birth of the PMD did not signal a split in Muhammadiyah. "There's no split, but there will be fierce competition," he said. "They will have to work hard. It's no longer enough to claim they have the grass roots, they will have to prove it through hard work," Syafii stressed.

The new party, he said, would be brave enough to counter the existing scheme. It the new party followed the existing pattern, there would be no change, adding that the new party had to remain aloof from corruption.

"This nation is now led by thieves," Syafii said. Since Indonesia's independence, he said, defense of the people by the government had been nothing more than rhetoric. "I hope the appearance of a new party will be improve this." "We are optimistic about the target of getting 30 seats in the House in the next elections," he added.

Meanwhile, Akbar said that he had attended the ceremony because he had been invited. When asked whether he would use the new party as a political vehicle in the next elections, Akbar said that he had not discussed this. "I came here because I was invited. I gave a speech at a meeting (of the PMD's representatives) in Jakarta recently. But we haven't talked about whether I will use the party as a political vehicle," he said.

At least 50 trishaw drivers received a windfall when they were hired at Rp 60,000 (US$6.60) each to deck out their vehicles in PMB attributes and take part in a convoy. "It's great... I got Rp 60,000 for working just half a day," said Poniman, one of the trishaw drivers, who normally works along Jl. Malioboro in Yogyakarta.

Armed forces/defense

TNI announces reshuffle at year-end

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2007

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters is reshuffling or retiring 159 high and middle ranking officers in its three military forces, an official said.

On Wednesday the head of the TNI Information Center, Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki, issued a statement announcing a decree from the TNI Commander, as reported by detik.com and kompas.com.

Officers being promoted or retired included at least 13 officers from the TNI headquarters, 53 from the Army, 43 from the Navy, 40 from the Air Force, six officers of the Defense Ministry and four officers of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas).

Among those transferred to new jobs within the same ranks were Maj. Gen. Markus Kusnowo, the new Commander of the Bukit Barisan Regional Military Command overseeing North and West Sumatra, Jambi and Riau provinces.

He will replace Maj. Gen. Y. Surjo Prabowo, who will be the new Jakarta Regional Military Commander.

Other appointees were Commander of the TNI's Military Police headquarters Maj. Gen. Hendardji Soepandji, the new Security Assistant to the Army Chief of Staff; Maj. Gen. Darpito, the new Diponegoro Regional Military Commander overseeing Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces; and Maj. Gen Suhartono Suratman the new Tanjungpura Regional Military Commander overseeing the four provinces of Kalimantan.

Suratman will fill in the post left by Maj. Gen. G.R. Situmeang, who will be the new Commander of the Udayana Regional Military Command overseeing the provinces of Bali, East and West Nusa Tenggara.

Among the 58 officers being promoted were Commander of the Navy's Elite Forces, the Marines, Maj. Gen. Nono Sampono, who will be appointed Commander of the TNI military academy; Maj. Gen. Lilik AS, the new Inspector General of the TNI; Brig. Gen. Sularso, new logistics assistant to Army Chief of Staff; Brig. Gen. S. Simandjuntak, the new Chief of the Army's Territorial Command; Commodore Pandji Utama Iskaq, the new Chief of the Air Force's Air Defense Command; and Commodore Teuku Djohan Basyar, the new deputy to the chief of the TNI's Strategic Intelligence Agency (Bais).

Among the 39 retiring officers were TNI Inspector General Vice Marshall M. Basri Sidehabi, Deputy to the TNI Inspector General Maj. Gen. Djoko Setijono, Expert Staff Coordinator to the TNI chief Maj. Gen. Maryoto, logistics assistant to the Army chief Maj. Gen. Kardijono, Commander of the Diponegoro Regional Military Command Maj. Gen. Agus Soeyitno, operational assistant to the Army chief Maj. Gen. Iwan Ridwan Sulandjana and Director for Budget Implementation at the Defense Ministry's Defense Planning division, Commodore Mulyono Herlambang.

Congress expected to boost military aid to Indonesia, Philippines

Associated Press - December 18, 2007

Washington – Lawmakers have agreed to boost military aid to Indonesia and the Philippines, but some of the money would be contingent on human rights improvements.

They also decided to bar all but a small amount of military aid to Sri Lanka until the Bush administration has certified that the Sri Lankan government had made certain improvements in its human rights practices.

The provisions were part of a $500 billion-plus spending bill agreed negotiators from the Senate and the House of Representatives that will pay for most of the federal government's 2008 budget.

The overall bill has been delayed by disagreements between Congress and President George W. Bush over its size and allocation of financing for the Iraq war. The compromise still will need to be approved by the full House and Senate and sent to Bush for his signature before it takes effect.

Congress is expected this week to pass the bill, which includes $35 billion overall for the State Department and foreign aid programs.

The negotiators agreed to provide $15.7 million in direct military aid for Indonesia, matching the Bush administration's request for a country it sees as crucial to fighting terrorism in Southeast Asia.

The bill would delay approval, however, of $2.7 million of the money until US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has reported to Congress that Indonesia had devised plans to: account for past human rights violations by the Indonesian military, allow public access to Papua province, where a small separatist army seeks independence, and provide a deadline for completing a criminal investigation into the murder of Munir Said Thalib, a human rights activist and critic of Indonesia's military who was poisoned on an airline in 2004.

The United States eliminated military ties with Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, in 1999 to protest alleged rights abuses by Indonesian troops in breakaway East Timor. The ban was lifted in 2005 by the Bush administration, which views the Indonesian government as a bulwark against Islamic militancy.

Figures do not include small amounts allocated for training.

The Philippines would see its aid improve slightly from $29.7 million in 2007 to $30 million this year. Of that, $2 million of the money would be contingent on the country cracking down on extrajudicial killings by government agents.

Economy & investment

Unemployment 'may increase in 2008'

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2007

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) has warned the government of an increase in the unemployment rate and poorer labor conditions in 2008 if no measures are taken to attract foreign investors and revise the export policy.

Apindo chairman Sofjan Wanandi said many companies, particularly small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), would find it difficult to raise by at least 10 percent their workers' salaries in compliance with the increase in minimum wage, mainly because they feared raising product prices as a consequence of the rising price of world crude oil.

"Indonesian products will not be viable on the international market if their prices are raised, and international buyers will turn to Indonesia's competitor countries. Small companies will likely pay more for raw materials to maintain operations," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Sofjan said despite regional autonomy, national and local efforts to improve labor conditions would not attract the attention of the government and regional administrations, which were busy with preparations for the 2008 regional elections and the 2009 general elections.

"These (elections) will turn regions away from accelerating their economic programs and generating jobs and addressing poverty," he said.

He said unemployment problems in the last three years would give rise to a serious national problem that could jeopardize political stability.

"If the government's claim of having generated one million job opportunities this year is true, then 2.5 million of the (previously unemployed) 3.5 million remain unemployed. If the figure is taken cumulatively with those from previous years, unemployment could reach an alarming level next year.

"Besides, the government's list of foreign investors ready to invest in the country is only on paper," he said.

He said Apindo questioned the government's claim of 6.3 percent economic growth this year and a projected 6.8 percent in 2008.

He added he regretted the workers' weak bargaining power due to internal frictions in national labor unions, which he said strengthened employers' positions in collective bargaining on the one hand but disrupted the industrial relations at the company level on the other.

Apindo Secretary General Djimanto, speaking alongside Sofjan, said the government should allocate more from the 2008 state budget to encourage job seekers to set up SMEs and create new employment opportunities in the informal sector.

"The government should also revise the export policy to encourage mainstream industries to process their products before being exported. The establishment of processing industries would help create more job opportunities and ease unemployment levels," he said.

Chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union, Rekson Silaban, said he was concerned by the internal conflicts in the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers Union and the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Union, saying the emergence of rival camps in the two major unions' leadership had tarnished the labor movement's image and weakened workers' bargaining power.

"But the labor movement is not as bad as employers have described. The main problem is the government has no political will to improve labor conditions and, as in other sectors, the law does not rule in the industrial sector," he said.

Indonesian economy to remain resilient, says Chamber

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2007

Jakarta – The country's economy will remain resilient next year, although it may grow slightly slower than the government's estimate amid tough challenges on both the external and internal fronts, predicts the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

In its year-end economic assessment unveiled Wednesday, the powerful business grouping predicts economic growth of 6.5 percent next year, as compared to the government's target of 6.8 percent.

Kadin said in its report that the global economic slowdown resulting from high oil prices and the US subprime mortgage crisis would affect Indonesia's economy next year, marked by expected declines in domestic consumption and exports, two main drivers of the country's economic engine.

"In the past five years, private consumption has contributed a major part of our economic growth. However, we assume that the increasing level of private consumption has been based on borrowing, which won't last long. Therefore, we predict that in 2008, private consumption won't contribute that much to the economy," Kadin chairman Muhammad S. Hidayat said.

During the first semester of 2007, private consumption contributed 57.4 percent to the economy, a 4.7 percent increase compared to the same period in 2006. Consumption would also be hit by higher inflation as high oil prices pushed up the prices of industrial goods.

On exports, while the assessment predicted these would remain robust next year, growth would slow in line with an expected global economic downturn, not only because of oil prices but also due to the US housing credit woes.

The US, the world's largest consumer, is Indonesia's main export destination. According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), total exports up to the end of October rose by more than 13 percent to US$93.26 billion from the same period last year. Total imports between January and October amounted to $60 billion.

Hidayat also said that ideally investment should be the economy's main driving force but it this was not yet supported by a conducive, business-friendly climate. In addition to inconsistency in policies, especially between central and local governments, arduous licensing procedures and illegal levies remained a concern for the business community, said Hidayat.

The government, he said, should simplify its licensing procedures and try to eliminate illegal levies by its officials to improve the country's business climate.

Sofyan Wanandi, head of the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo), said that difficulties in obtaining licenses made the cost of doing business expensive. "Such procedures must be changed in order to create a competitive business climate," he said, adding that Indonesia was facing stiff competition from neighboring countries in the region.

For 2007, the report says that overall Indonesia's economy saw positive improvements, but that there were still many shortcomings, such as the gap between the tradable and non- tradable sectors.

The higher growth of the non-tradable, or services, sector than the tradable, or goods, sector would render the latter's development – which usually provides most jobs – less than optimal, the report says, thus doing little to reduce the poverty and jobless rates.

Sector-wise, Kadin's report predicts that the fertilizer, chemicals, rubber and machinery industries will lead the way next year as they did between 2004 and 2007. (adt)

Water bodies not performing: Report

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2007

Jakarta – One-hundred-and-sixty local-government water firms (PDAM) in Indonesia, or about 75 percent of the 223 audited by the Development Finance Controller (BPKP), performed poorly this year.

The BPKP says in a report that the firms suffered total losses of Rp 1.2 trillion (around US$138 million) from water leakage, while some of them had difficulties in repaying their debts, which cumulatively stood at Rp 5.6 trillion as of the end of 2006.

The report said that water loss this year, as in other years, was the result of broken meters, leaking pipes, maladministration, illegal connections and the absence of central distribution meters.

Besides the 223 firms that were audited, the country has another 165 local-government water companies that were excluded from the BPKP audit.

Godman Ambarita, the executive director of the Indonesian Water Supply Association (Perpamsi), which represents local-government water firms, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that water leakage from all of the country's public-sector water companies averaged 35 percent of total production.

Godman said that of the country's 388 water companies, only 30 of them, or 10 percent, made profits amounting to 20 percent of their cash flows, while total borrowings were estimated at around Rp 6 trillion as of the end of 2007.

Godman said that in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Perpamsi had organized workshops and training events with support from the World Bank to help improve water supplies and management.

"As part of the effort to increase water supplies, we held a workshop on asset management to reduce water leakage by 20 percent by 2015," he said.

Meanwhile, to improve the performance of companies, Godman said the association planned to encourage the merger of firms operating in the same administrative regions, such as in Banten province.

He added that the preparations for the merger of water firms in Banten, which commenced in 2005 in cooperation with VNG International of the Netherlands, were expected to be finished next year. (nkn)

Opinion & analysis

Indon-Aust relations turn new page, but clouds loom on horizon

Australian Associated Press - December 17, 2007

Karen Michelmore, Jakarta – Australia's relationship with Indonesia is full of new promise. A new year, and a new Australian prime minister and foreign minister, offer scope for a fresh chapter in at-times tricky bilateral ties.

Indonesia's media has heralded the November 24 election of Kevin Rudd – whose Mandarin-speaking skills received wide acclaim – as a new era in Australia-Asia relations, including with Jakarta.

Much has been written about how Mr Rudd – a former diplomat whose son-in-law is ethnic Chinese – may reinvigorate Australia's role in the region after more than a decade of US policy-oriented John Howard.

Certainly, the first signs are encouraging. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was the first world leader to call Mr Rudd to congratulate him on his win.

And Mr Rudd's first overseas visit as prime minister was to Indonesia for the UN climate change talks in Bali, where he formally handed over documents ratifying the Kyoto Protocol adding much-needed momentum to the summit.

"To Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, I say to you – welcome aboard, mate!," President Yudhoyono told delegates, sparking a hearty round of applause.

The two leaders also held warm and friendly private talks, which Dr Yudhoyono described as "a very constructive and productive dialogue". "The relations between Australia and Indonesia is very good, strong and progressing, and we are committed to expand and strengthen these relations," Dr Yudhoyono said.

It has been a busy time too for other ministers – new Foreign Minister Stephen Smith met with his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirajuda, while the new Trade Minister Simon Crean also visited and pledged to continue investigating a possible free trade pact with Indonesia.

But as much as there is cause for optimism, there are some dark clouds on the horizon.

The fate of six young Australian drug traffickers on death row in Bali could severely test relations. Mr Rudd told Dr Yudhoyono in their first meeting that he will personally appeal for clemency for the six Bali Nine members facing the firing squad if their final legal challenges fail.

Australia will have to walk a fine line when three 2002 Bali bombers facing execution eventually meet their fate, sympathising with the families of the 202 victims, while still maintaining a consistent line opposing the death penalty.

Mr Rudd and Dr Yudhoyono also had a "general discussion" on the Balibo Five case, after NSW Deputy Coroner Dorelle Pince found the five Australian-based journalists had been deliberately killed by Indonesian troops in East Timor in 1975.

And there are a plethora of other issues bubbling away – such as alleged human rights abuses in nearby Papua – which could resonate louder with Labor voters than they did with a Howard constituency.

But whatever the future holds, the groundwork done by the Howard government to cement relations with Indonesia – particularly through counter-terrorism cooperation, Australia's generous post-Tsunami aid, and in the 2006 Lombok security pact – will help ensure that relations will bounce back easier than they have in the past.

Dr Yudhoyono says there will always be problems between neighbours. "But with a good spirit and good neighbourliness, our two countries will handle whatever problems stand in the way," he said.