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Indonesia News Digest 14 – April 8-14, 2008
Reuters - April 14, 2008
Indonesia has arrested two more members of Islamic militant group
Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a senior police official told Reuters,
which could lead to the arrest of other key militants wanted for
attacks in Southeast Asia.
In particular, the police official said the arrests could help
lead to the capture of Noordin Mohammad Top, one of the most
senior members of Jemaah Islamiah who is still on the run.
The two men – Abdul Rohim, who also uses the name Abu Husna, and
a man identified only as Agus – were caught in Malaysia more
than two weeks ago and have been transferred to a detention
centre in Jakarta, according to the police official in Jakarta,
who declined to be identified by name.
Abu Husna "is a member of the markaziah, the central board of the
organisation," the police official said, while the man identified
as Agus was involved in attacks in Sulawesi and Java, and has
close links to Abu Dujana, the military commander of Jemaah
Islamiah, he added.
Sidney Jones, an expert on the Jemaah Islamiah at Brussels-based
think-tank, the International Crisis Group, said Abu Husna is
believed to have replaced Zarkasih as the head of JI, after
Zarkasih was arrested last year in Indonesia.
"Abu Husna is a central figure in the organisation and he would
know everything about the current activities, command structure
and so on," said Jones, who is based in Jakarta.
Abu Husna has previously been the JI central command's head of
education, overseeing some two dozen or so JI schools across
Indonesia, according to Jones.
The other man who was arrested could be Agus Purwanto, Jones
said, adding that he had studied at the famous Islamic boarding
school run by the controversial cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, in
Solo, central Java. Bashir was jailed for 30 months for
conspiracy over the Bali bombings but was later cleared.
Following the arrest of some JI members in Java, Agus fled to
Poso, in Central Sulawesi. According to some reports, he became a
local JI leader in Poso, reporting to Abu Dujana and to Zarkasih.
Further details may be released in the next day or two, another
police official told Reuters.
Jemaah Islamiah, which wants to create an Islamic caliphate in
Southeast Asia, was responsible for a series of attacks in the
region including the 2002 bomb attacks in Bali in which over 200
Indonesians and foreigners were killed.
Jakarta Post - April 14, 2008
Jakarta – Mahmud and his family live in an unusual home. It is a
small shack, constructed from wooden boards attached to thick
steel pillars and roofed by tons of concrete blocks with a muddy
river flowing below.
Mahmud's family is not alone. At least 20 families live in
similar housing located under the bridge on the border between
Menteng, Central Jakarta, and Pasar Manggis, South Jakarta.
Mahmud, 33, and his wife, Wati, have made the steel structures of
the bridge their home for almost 10 years, whereas their baby
daughter, Yanti, is a newcomer.
"It's not actually a house, but it is a home for us. I built it
myself. It's halal (rightful by the law of Islam). I didn't steal
to build it," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
While a constant stream of traffic flows by overhead, beneath the
bridge it is unusually quiet. There is the occasional tremor as
trucks carrying heavy loads pass by overhead.
Mahmud built the shack in 1999 after his family house in Kampung
Menteng Tenggulun, located near the bridge, was sold following
his father's death.
"My family was poor and my father didn't leave us a lot of money.
I decided to build the shack because I didn't want to burden my
siblings," said the native Jakartan.
Mahmud makes a living by scavenging trash: plastic, cans and
paper. Every morning and evening he goes to surrounding
residential areas to look for reusable junk, from which he earns
between Rp 25,000 and 35,000 a day.
"Most of the money goes to feed and take care Yanti; she's the
most important. We can't hold out on meals for her," said Wati,
who used to scavenge but now looks after the baby.
Most of the bridge occupants are scavengers, while the rest make
a living as buskers and snack vendors.
Tasuyah, 58, makes fried snacks and sells them around the nearby
neighborhoods. She was a scavenger but last year decided to try
selling snacks because her physical condition no longer enabled
her to scavenge.
"I no longer have the strength to walk for hours carrying a load
on my shoulders. So I switched to making snacks instead," said
Tasuyah, who shares a shack with her only son.
She is the most senior occupant under the bridge, spending half
of her life scavenging and living in the area.
"I can't remember how long I've been here – probably for 20 or
30 years. Sometimes I sleep by the canal banks and other times I
take the bridge," said the woman who earns Rp 20,000 at the most
each day.
They are among hundreds of thousands of people in the city living
in poverty. The city's expensive housing and overpopulation
forces many to occupy public land illegally, such as railway
tracks, river banks and parks.
Such conditions and locations isolate them from decent
facilities.
Those under the bridge have to travel far to access clean water.
They usually bring water from the nearest kampung in pails or buy
water in jerry cans, costing them Rp 3,000 a can.
"There's a bathing facility in the kampung, but we have to pay
for it. So we prefer to bring the water here and do it ourselves.
The canal is our toilet," said Iwan, another scavenger, who has
been living there for six years.
Without access to electricity, Iwan and other squatters use
kerosene-fueled lamps at night. "It's enough, we don't own any
electronics anyway. But sometimes we don't have money to buy
kerosene," said the 29-year-old man.
With all the hardships they endure, the occupants face another
threat from the administration, which plans to clear the canal
banks and bridge. Last month, public order officers from Central
Jakarta municipality drove them out from the bridge, but they
returned.
"I'll probably have to a rent a room somewhere for a while, as I
probably can't take up the banks," said Mahmud. "But we'll come
back here for sure. We make our living here," he said. (dre)
Demos, actions, protests...
Aceh
West Papua
Human rights/law
Labour issues
Environment/natural disasters
Women & gender
War on corruption
Land/rural issues
Islam/religion
Elections/political parties
Economy & investment
Opinion & analysis
News & issues
Indonesia arrests two JI members
Life under the bridge downtown
Indonesia experiencing slow development in HIV/AIDS treatment
Jakarta Post - April 12, 2008
Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – With shortages of imported medicines and a general lack of knowledge among the affected, only about 10 percent of the 200,000 Indonesians living with HIV/AIDS receive the recommended anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy, an official said Friday.
Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Physicians Concerned about HIV/AIDS and coordinator of the HIV/AIDS clinic at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM), Samsuridjal Djauzi, said in Jakarta on Friday only some 15,000 people with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia were currently receiving ARV therapy.
"Most of these people don't even know of their status (as people living with HIV/AIDS), while others live too far from hospitals to receive treatment," he told reporters on the sidelines of the two-day "2008 Clinical Research Meeting on HIV/AIDS".
The meeting, which started Friday at RSCM in Central Jakarta, is being attended by experts and physicians from hospitals, community health centers and penitentiaries providing HIV/AIDS treatment across the country.
A lack of certain drugs, especially imported ones, has further hampered treatment, according to speakers.
Samsuridjal said most of the 15,000 people being treated were receiving the first-line ARV course, which has been funded by the government for the last few years. The course consists of AZT, d4T, 3TC, Nevirapine and Efavirenz, which is the only drug of the four that is imported.
He said while the number of those treated had steadily increased, funds allocated by the government had not kept up with demand, resulting in a lack of supply of the imported Efavirenz in Jakarta's hospitals over the last month.
He said such restrictions would result in the ARV therapy being discontinued, which could prompt HIV resistance to first-line drugs.
"If the HIV becomes resistant, then we have to shift to the second-line ARV therapy, which is far more expensive and has more severe side-effects," he said, adding that, currently, only 5 percent of Indonesians living with HIV/AIDS were treated with the second-line option, which is typically supplied and funded by donor institutions.
He said the percentage use of second-line ARV therapies would rise yearly following a global increase in HIV resistance to the first-line treatment, and that adherence to the directions for ARV drug usage was crucial, describing it as "the key to the success of HIV/AIDS therapy". "How can we tell patients to adhere to the drugs' directions if we can't always make the drugs available to them?" he said.
Robert Kosasih, a doctor at Dharmais Cancer Hospital, said among the factors influencing patients' commitment to the rules of anti-retroviral drug courses were the convenience of taking the drugs, the drugs' side-effects, patient background knowledge of the disease and medicine, and the implementation of a reminder policy during therapy sessions.
Artisto Adi Yussac of RSCM said the mortality rate among those using a combination of ARV drugs within two years of starting anti-retroviral therapy was 4.9 percent, based on a recent study involving 367 people treated at the hospital.
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Jakarta – The immigration office will deport 15 foreign nationals from seven Asian countries for allegedly violating their entry permits.
Chief investigator at the Directorate General of Immigration, Syaiful Rahman, said Wednesday the foreign nationals took part in a rally against the transgenic crop industry Tuesday.
"The foreign national activists entered on tourist visas or with visitation visas that could be extended after two months. They were not allowed to take part in any protests in the country. They have admitted their wrongdoing," he told The Jakarta Post.
The activists come from Cambodia, India, Korea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines.
The rally, led by nonprofit organization People's Coalition for Food Sovereignty, was held at the National Monument Park in Central Jakarta and the Agriculture Ministry in South Jakarta. The demonstrators demanded better food development in Asian countries and protested against the use of transgenic crops.
The police interrogated the foreign nationals for hours before sending them to an immigration facility in Bogor pending deportation. "We will soon return them to their home countries," Syaiful said.
He said the 15 would not be permitted to return to Indonesia for one year.
Tempo Interactive - April 9, 2008
Jakarta – Fifteen activists from Asian countries were arrested by police in Jakarta yesterday after attending a demonstration at the Agricultural Department. They were still being examined until 10.30pm last night by the Directorate General for Immigration of the Justice and Human Rights Department.
The activists are from Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Korea, Thailand, Philippine, Vietnam, India, and Cambodia. They're here for the international rice commemoration.
According to Sarojeni Rangam, an activist from the Pesticide Action Network from Malaysia, the arrest was due to the demonstration they attended along with other 300 activists about the food endurance issue at the State Palace at 9.00am, organized by People's Coalition for Food sovereignty.
"The demonstration will last for one hour," said Wiroto, the coalition's coordinator. It was then continued to the Agricultural Department at Jalan Jagakarsa, Ragunan, South Jakarta. According to Sarojeni, they were not part of the demonstration any more. "We were only observing," he said to Tempo.
Wiroto said, they told it to the police. However, he admitted that the 15 activists were carrying a banner entitled 'No to Genetic Engineering Rice'.
After the demonstration at the Agricultural Department, they were on the way to the ASEAN representative office at Jalan Sisingamangaraja South Jakarta, to have a dialog. Approaching the office, their bus suddenly changed direction to the Metro Jaya Regional Police Office. "Our driver was forced to follow the police car," said Yulita, part of the activists group.
At the police office, they were examined by the Intelligence and Security division for one hour. At 4.00pm they were taken to the Immigration Office. "There is no investigative report but a list of names," said an immigration officer to Tempo.
It is reported to Tempo, that the activists entered Indonesia with Tourist visas. Head of Metro Jaya Police Office, General Inspector Adang Firman, said that he has not had an explanation about this case. "But if they come here with a Tourist visa, they should only engage in tourism activities," he said.
[Ibnu Rusydi, Reza Maulana, Maria Hasugian.]
Down Jones - April 8, 2008
Prasenjit Bhattacharya, Singapore – Rising prices are making food inaccessible to many low-income families and this could spark instability in at least seven of the 14 Asian countries the UN World Food Program operates in, Paul Risley, Asian spokesman for the WFP, told Dow Jones Tuesday.
"Rising food prices may cause social instability and violence, which may even escalate to wider political instability in at least seven Asian countries," Risley said, declining to name the countries.
However, he said the countries worst affected by rising food prices are Timor Leste and some in South Asia. In South Asia, the situation is most dire in Afghanistan.
India, the largest country the WFP covers, is in a better position than many countries since the state-run subsidized grain sales program covers around 80% of the country's population, Risley said. However, he warned there could be problems if the demand for subsidized grain rises sharply.
In Asia, the WFP operates in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, North Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Bhutan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Rice prices may stay high in long term
Risley said the current crisis wasn't so much about food shortage as low-income families being unable to access food because of high prices. He added the rise in food prices was straining the WFP's capability to supply cheaper food to low-income families in Asia.
The WFP's annual budget this year to provide food in Asia is $600 million, but Risley said it may have to raise $160 million more from donor countries to meet its food supply targets for the year due to a rise in the prices of rice, wheat, corn and other foodstuffs.
On rice, he said the WFP was paying up to 30% more for the rice it buys from the world market for supplying to its target beneficiaries. WFP buys the cheapest possible rice in the world market, which is usually 25% broken white rice.
Risley said not only have rice prices risen, the number of rice suppliers has also dropped significantly. "We now have only 4-5 offers for supplying rice, while three years ago we used to have 20-30 such offers."
He said export curbs in several Asian countries such as India and Vietnam have led to a drop in the number of suppliers.
Risley pointed out to a recent instance in Cambodia where some suppliers went back on their offer to sell rice to the WFP as they felt they could get better prices elsewhere, and in some cases didn't have all the rice they had offered to supply.
He said the WFP was planning for a long-term increase in rice prices, as the current rally in prices was structural in nature.
| Demos, actions, protests... |
Detik.com - April 14, 2008
Khairul Ikhwan, Medan – The political temperature in North Sumatra is steadily rising in the lead up to the election of regional heads that will be held on April 16. On Monday April 14, students burnt paraphernalia and photographs of the five gubernatorial candidates.
The burning of the photographs was carried out by the North Sumatra regional executive of the National Student League for Democracy-Poor Politic (LMND-PRM). The action, which took place on Jl. Kejaksaan in the provincial capital of Medan, was held to symbolise the student's opposition to the regional elections and their mistrust in the five pairs of candidates: Ali Umri-Maratua Simanjuntak, Tritamtomo-Benny Pasaribu, R.E. Siahaan-Suherdi, Abdul Wahab Dalimunthe-Raden Syafii and Syamsul Arifin-Gatot Pujonugroho.
During the protest, LMND-PRM said that that the gubernatorial candidates as well as the existing political parties have failed to show that they are serious about struggling for the rights of the people and that the regional elections are not something the people want. "All of the candidates are bandits. Their programs are all lies", said Ruslan, the chairperson of LMND-PRM North Sumatra.
In a statement the group presented a number of demands including opposition to forced evictions of the poor, a ban on the use of trawling nets, free education and healthcare and the dismantling of the Indonesian military's territorial command structure. (rul/djo)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Detik.com - April 11, 2008
Irwan Nugroho, Jakarta – Not a day goes by without a protest action in the capital. Two groups will be holding demonstrations at separate locations in Jakarta today, Friday April 11.
Based on data from the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Centre, the number of protesters taking part in the demonstrations will not be very large so traffic flow is not expected to be disrupted.
At around 8am the Imperial Workers Trade Union (SPI, employees of the Imperial Treasure International Restaurant) will hold a demonstration in front of the Kratingdaeng building on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta. The action, which will led by Yuliana and joined by around 60 people, will be demanding the payment of outstanding severance pay for employees dismissed by the company to improve efficiency.
The second group of protesters calling themselves the East Kalimantan Peoples Coalition for the Eradication of Corruption (KRBK-Kaltim) will be demanding an investigation into the Bukit Pelangi corruption case involving the regent of East Kutai, East Kalimantan. The action is scheduled to start at 1pm in front of the Attorney General's Office on Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin in South Jakarta. (irw/fay)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Detik.com - April 10, 2008
Arfi Bambani Amri, Jakarta – Three separate demonstrations will be held at the Sate Palace, the Finance Department and the offices of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) today, Thursday April 10. Motorists are advised to avoid the three locations while the demonstrations are in progress.
As announced by the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Centre, between 8am and 5pm an estimated 1,000 protesters from the Finance Department Directorate General for Taxation Contract Workers Communication Forum (FKTH) will protest at the Department of Finance on Jl. Wahidin in Central Jakarta.
Starting at 11am, some 250 people from the East Kalimantan People's Concern Network (JPR-Kaltim) will hold a protest action in front of the KPK offices on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta. The protesters will be calling on the KPK to investigate an alleged corruption case involving the East Kalimantan gubernatorial candidate Awang Farouk Ishak, who is currently the regent of East Kutai.
At 4pm in the afternoon, the Solidarity Network for the Families of Victims of Human Rights Violations (JSKKP-HAM) will be organising a demonstration in front of the State Place on Jl. Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta. The JSKKP-HAM will be calling on the government to fully resolve cases of human rights violations. (aba/aba)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Detik.com - April 8, 2008
Nurul Hidayati, Jakarta – Traffic in the Senayan area of Central Jakarta is guaranteed to be congested today, Tuesday April 8. The reason being that between 2-3 thousand employees from the state- owned port management company Pelindo from the Indonesian Port and Dredging Trade Union (SPPI) will be demonstrating at the House of Representatives (DPR) building at 9am.
The protesters will be taking to the streets to oppose revisions to the shipping law that the DPR is planning to ratify. According to the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Centre (TMC), at 7.15am thousands of employees were already reported to be gathering at PT Pelindo II in the Tanjung Priok area of North Jakarta.
The second action is being organised by the Pro-Democracy Activist Network (ProDEM) at two locations, the Hotel Indonesia roundabout and the Indofood Tower at Sudirman Plaza. The action, which will begin at around 11am, will be led by Andriyanto and involve more than 200 people. The protesters will be demanding a full investigation into the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support Scheme (BLBI) corruption case involving Liem Sioe Liong and Anthoni Salim and for the assets of BLBI corruptors to be seized for the benefit of the people.
The next action, which is being held by the Peoples Movement for the Trial of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support Scheme Corrupters (GERAK BLBI), will also take place at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout followed by a protest at the Indocement Building on Jl. Jend. Sudirman in South Jakarta. The action, which will begin at around 11am, will be articulating the same demands as ProDEM. The demonstration will be led by Anis Fauzan and around 150 people are expected to take part.
At around 9am, some 250 people from the People's Coalition for Food Sovereignty (KRKP), the Agrarian Reform Movement Alliance (AGRA), the Association of Independent Trade Unions (GSBI) and the National Student Front (FMN) will hold a protest action opposing the distribution of genetically engineered rice in Asia.
Then at around 10.30am, the Democrat Youth Front Guard (GBMD) will hold a protest in front of the Corruption Eradication Commission building on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta. The action, which will be led by Norbeth W. Tun, is expected to attract more than 100 people who will be demanding an investigation into a suspected regional budget corruption case in South Sumatra involving the 2003-2005 Banyuasin Regent Ir. Aminudin Inoet.
"Public road users planning to pass by the DPR when protest actions are taking place are being asked to be careful and seek alternative routes in order to avoid traffic jams that are expected to take place", wrote the TMC on its website. (nrl/ary)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Aceh |
Tempo Interactive - April 8, 2008
Adi Warsidi, Banda Aceh – As many as 300 tsunami victims from the West and South coasts of Aceh have rejected the policy of the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Board (BRR) for Aceh and Nias regarding assistance and reconstruction funds of Rp2.5 million for each family.
They insist on staying at the Lueng Bata mosque, 200 meters from the BRR office in Banda Aceh, until the demanded funds of Rp15 million per family are received in full.
Rahmat Hidayat, the community spokesperson, said that the BRR policy for the 2008 budget was unacceptable. Based on Presidential Regulation 30/2005, the sum of Rp15 million per family had been decided as aid funding for tsunami victims. "We insist on staying here," said Rahmat in Banda Aceh yesterday.
The amount, he said, had been approved through meetings between residents, provincial government officials and BRR officials at the governor's office. The result stated the funding for victims would refer to the presidential regulation.
"This situation is dangerous and could create conflict," said Abdullah Saleh, a member of the Aceh Regional House of Representatives (DDPR).
The Aceh governor, Irwandi Yusuf, said that the BRR had to change its policy so that it was in line with the presidential regulation. Head of BRR, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, said that the BRR could not fulfill this demand.
"Some of the houses have already been repaired by their owners and we cannot differentiate between these and those damaged by the tsunami," he said in a press release.
The policy of providing aid of Rp2.5 million had been studied carefully. It will not only be given to resident on the West and South coasts, but to all tsunami victims, including those in Nias, North Sumatra. "So it is not true that we are making more problems," said Kuntoro.
| West Papua |
Radio New Zealand International - April 14, 2008
An activist for the Free West Papua Movement has expressed concern over the treatment of Papuans detained by Indonesian police over a series of demonstrations last month.
Nick Chesterfield says at least 70 Papuans have been detained for their involvement in the demonstrations against Special Autonomy status in main towns across the Papua region.
In Manokwari, eleven activists are being held on charges of rebellion and subversion, for raising the outlawed Morning Star Flag during their peaceful rally.
Mr Chesterfield says that despite being held with almost no outside contact, these activists have managed to relay complaints about their condition in prison to him. He says they have no access to fresh water or air, and very little access to food.
"Under Indonesian law, political prisoners must be held separately from normal and especially violent crminals. And instead what the Indonesian police have been doing in Manokwari is deliberately putting the most violent people in the cells with these eleven political detainees."
Vanuatu Daily Post - April 12, 2008
Raymond Sat – The Minister of foreign affairs and external trade, Hon. George A. Wells, has assured West Papua leaders now in Port Vila he planned to raise the issue of West Papuan independence struggle during the forthcoming Melanesian Spearhead Groups leader's summit in the Vanuatu capital in May.
The minister gave the undertaking during a courtesy call the West Papuan leaders' made to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Thursday evening last week.
Expressing his wish to see West Papua ultimately given Observer status in Melanesian sub-regional organization as well as the South Pacific Forum, Mr. Wells said he would like to see the issue discussed in the MSG leaders' summit and a resolution carried at the end of the meeting. "Melanesia cannot be considered free until West Papua also is free", he said.
During the meeting lasting an hour-and a half, the representatives of the West Papuan leaders expressed their gratitude for the Vanuatu's government support for their cause highlighted by recognition of the West Papua Representative Office in Port Vila.
They also thanked the Minister of Foreign Affairs for his personal support witnessed by the recent provision of a passport to WPRO representative, Andy Ayamiseba. The West Papua leaders recounted stories of their struggle, expressed their wish to find ways forward through peaceful means, and requested Vanuatu's continued support which they described as a 'lifeline' for West Papuans and their aspirations.
Mr. Wells told the delegation that as he saw it there was only one way forward as far as Vanuatu's support for the West Papua independence cause was concerned.
"Only the Government of Vanuatu can assist with the way forward. Any other means would only be futile." He said the government needed to push for support from other MSG governments first and foremost. After then the MSG can support Vanuatu's commitment for wider regional and international support.
The Minister expressed his apologies for two appointments with the delegations earlier in the week that he was not keep due to Council of Ministers and Parliament commitments.
On that subject, the first political advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Cullwick said the fact that Mr. Wells spent over an hour with the West Papuan leaders was big. Cullwick said this clearly showed the Minister shared that same feelings every Ni- Vanuatu had for the West Papuan people.
He added this gesture therefore nullified recent press reports that pictured the Minister and the Government of Prime Minister Ham Lini Vanuaroroa as very unsympathetic on the issue.
Radio New Zealand International - April 11, 2008
Vanuatu's Minister of Foreign Affairs has vowed to push the issue of West Papuan self-determination at next months Melanesian Spearhead Group meeting in Port Vila.
George Wells has met with West Papuan leaders who were in Vila this week for a major meeting of the West Papua National Coalition of Liberation.
Mr Wells said he wants to see West Papua ultimately given Observer status in the MSG as well as the Pacific Islands Forum.
Vanuatu governments has long supported the West Papuan cause but have often been a lone voice on the issue in the region.
Mr Wells' first political advisor Jonas Cullwick says the government knows it must push for support from other MSG governments first and foremost.
"This is an opportunity to get the MSG and other Melanesian countries to back Vanuatu in this position and maybe there's a better possibility after that that wider support can be got if Melanesian groups have stronger backing for the West Papuan cause."
Radio New Zealand International - April 8, 2008
A summit of Papuan leaders and NGOs underway in Vanuatu has settled on a new unified leadership for their self-determination efforts.
Representatives from 28 Papuan political groups and NGOs have been in Port Vila under the umbrella of the recently-established West Papua National Coalition for Liberation.
The Liberation has voted Rex Rumakiek of the Free Papua Movement, or OPM, it's Secretary-General, and hopes its new international drive for discussion on Papua will be helped by a unified structure.
The Vanuatu-based West Papuan People's Representative spokesman Dr John Ondawame admits that differing approaches of the various groups have not helped the Papuan cause in the past.
"We're trying to sort out the differnences between ourselves and we would like to send our case to the world. That's why we want a new leadership with a clear political programme and leadership."
Dr John Ondawame says the upcoming Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders summit in Vila represents the best chance yet to get observer status for West Papuans at the MSG.
| Human rights/law |
Agence France Presse - April 13, 2008
Jakarta – A former boss of Indonesia's flag carrier was released from jail on Monday after serving a one-year sentence for assisting in the murder of a prominent rights activist, a report said.
The high-profile activist, Munir Said Thalib, died in 2004 on a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam, poisoned with arsenic by a Garuda Indonesia pilot accused of links to Indonesia's powerful intelligence agency, BIN.
Indra Setiawan was detained on April 14 last year. In February, a court sentenced him to a year in jail minus time already served.
The state Antara news agency said Setiawan was released from police custody on Monday morning, although police could not be immediately reached for independent confirmation.
Setiawan was charged with falsifying documents that allowed the Garuda pilot, Pollycarpus Budi Priyanto, to travel on Munir's flight. Priyanto is serving a 20-year prison sentence for murdering the activist.
Munir's case has drawn widespread international attention and is seen as a test of how far the Indonesian government has reformed since the 1998 end of former dictator Suharto's regime.
Munir provided legal counsel for victims of officially sanctioned violence during Suharto's often brutal 32-year rule. Human rights groups have long accused BIN of involvement in the killing, which it has denied.
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Family members of victims of the bloody Talangsari tragedy in East Lampung on Wednesday demanded the government resolve the 1989 case.
They also demanded the government return their political, social and cultural rights, as well as provide them compensation.
Victims and their families have been living in a state of despair for the past 19 years, following the tragedy that reportedly took the lives of hundreds of civilians.
Talangsari has resembled a lifeless village since the incident, deprived of basic facilities such as electricity. The road to the village is in a state of disrepair, despite being located only around five kilometers from the Sumatra inter-provincial highway.
"The legal settlement so far has been very slow despite the fact that the tragedy occurred 19 years ago and the country has seen a change in presidency a number of times. We still live in adversity," said a victim, Azwar Kaili, 73, on Wednesday.
"Our demands are simple. Just settle the human rights case and compensate the victims. President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono should have also ended impunity for the perpetrators," he said.
The Talangsari tragedy, also known as the Warsidi incident, took place Feb. 7, 1989, in Cihideung hamlet in Rajabasa Lama district, Central Lampung (now part of East Lampung).
Soldiers from Lampung's Garuda Hitam Military Command laid siege to the village at dawn, leaving hundreds of followers of Islamic religious leader Warsidi dead.
The military action occurred following the discovery of Way Jepara military commander Capt. Sukiman's body the previous day near the 3.5-hectare religious complex overseen by Warsidi. The captain's body was covered with arrow and slash wounds.
Local military leaders and district officials at the time believed the religious group was part of a movement to form the Indonesia Islamic State (NII). Warsidi was reportedly a student of Abdullah Sungkar, a key NII figure who went into exile in Malaysia.
The Lampung Students Solidarity Committee recorded 246 people died in the attack. Official government reports put the death toll at 27.
Impunity division coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Chrisbiantoro, said the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) should do more than simply investigate the loss of lives in the Talangsari incident.
"It should also probe other damages incurred by victims, such as confiscation of homes, land and livestock, forceful eviction and stigmatization of victims' family members who have encountered problems in applying for identity cards and jobs," said Chrisbiantoro.
According to Chrisbiantoro, Presidential Decree No. 3/2000 stipulated compensation and rehabilitation for victims of gross human rights violations.
"However, Article 4 of the decree states that victims of gross human rights violations are entitled to compensation and rehabilitation only if the human rights tribunal has issued a ruling as legal strength. But we know it is not easy to hold trials on gross human rights cases in Indonesia," he said.
He said the Talangsari incident had yet to be included on the national political agenda, despite Indonesia being a signatory of the Geneva Convention on Human Rights.
"That's because Komnas HAM has not been given the authority to probe and prosecute, unlike the Corruption Eradication Commission, thus it is less potent," he said.
Komnas HAM has had trouble obtaining testimony from former high- ranking military officers who are thought to be connected to the Talangsari tragedy. The only person to testify is the former head of the defunct internal security agency, Admiral Sudomo.
Agence France Presse - April 9, 2008
Geneva – Indonesian rights groups on Wednesday blasted the new review procedure at the UN Human Rights Council as empty rhetoric, saying Jakarta was able to hide behind regional allies to duck scrutiny.
"The expectation to have a transparent, meaningful and constructive process was hampered with self- and mutual exoneration statements and questions from the friends of Indonesia," said Rafendi Djamin from the Indonesian NGO Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy.
The Council launched its much-vaunted Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of UN member states' rights records this week but the sessions so far have been fiercely criticised by NGOs for failing to subject countries to effective scrutiny.
UPR "has taken a new meaning as Universal Periodic Rhetoric, which leaves the victims of human rights violations outside the discussions," Rafendi told journalists.
Rafendi said that much of the three-hour discussion of Indonesia's rights record was taken up by bland and positive comments by the country's regional allies and members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
Serious issues such as the rights of indigenous peoples and how they are impacted by forestry and mining operations were not raised at all, he said.
"The process of dialogue becomes an a la carte process which gives the delegation of Indonesia liberty to choose the questions they like. We have on the floor the Philippines, the Malaysians, the Singaporeans, the Thais, they're only praising, praising, and praising without giving any particular analysis about the real situation that we have in the region," he added.
The 47-member Council, with its 13 African and 13 Asian members, was created in June 2006 to replace the old UN Human Rights Commission, which had been criticised for having no bite.
But activists have slammed its reticence and passivity, saying it is more committed to saving face for its member states than actually taking care of human rights victims.
"We have continually lowered our expectations of what we can expect from the council. Despite our lower expectations the council still finds ways to disappoint," said Human Rights Watch campaign director Peggy Hicks at the end of the council's seventh session in Geneva last month.
Jakarta Post - April 9, 2008
Jakarta – Opposition to the newly passed freedom of public information bill is mounting, with several civil society organizations saying it does not meet the international principles of information access.
The Indonesian Press Council has said it would visit the Communication and Information Ministry, the Attorney's General Office, the Constitutional Court and the National Police next week to convey its concerns about several points of the draft law, which is waiting for the President's endorsement.
"The council will announce its stance and decide its next steps after the meeting," council member Abdullah Alamudi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Alamudi did not rule out the possibility the council would support a petition for a judicial review of the bill once it was enacted into law.
The bill will only take effect two years after it becomes law. Alamudi said the delay would only allow political parties and presidential candidates contesting the 2009 elections to avoid transparency regarding their financial affairs.
"Some political parties are just too afraid they might be asked to disclose their financial reports to the public," he said.
The House of Representatives endorsed the freedom of information bill Thursday after eight years of debate. Under the bill, state agencies and public bodies, including political parties and nongovernmental organizations, are obliged to disclose their activities, performance, policies, project plans, annual cost projections, working procedures and agreements to the public.
Indonesia is the fifth country in Asia and the 76th in the world to enforce the freedom of information principles.
The Coalition for the Freedom of Information, which consists of dozens of NGOs, criticized the bill for failing to comply with international standards on information access.
Deputy director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law, Prayekti Muharjanti, said the bill was against the "maximum access, limited exemption" principle that calls for the public to have maximum access to information with few exceptions.
"In fact, the bill limits the types of information that can be accessed by the public, and this could confuse them," Prayekti told the Post.
The bill also requires the public to disclose motives behind requests for information.
Agus Sudibyo of the Science, Esthetics and Technology Foundation said that in many other countries the public did not have to divulge any reason for requesting public information. "The basic principle is that public information is open for the public, without any exception," Agus said. (dia)
Jakarta Post - April 8, 2008
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Gen. (ret) A.M. Hendropriyono, said he would answer a National Human Rights Commission summons for questioning, but only after it publicly clarified the status of the case.
Hendropriyono was shocked when the media reported the commission's plan to force him to testify over his alleged role in a military attack on a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in the Lampung village of Talangsari 19 years ago.
Hendropriyono, who was the Lampung military commander at that time, underlined that he had never received a letter of summons from the rights body.
"I am ready to fulfill the summons to give a satisfactory explanation of the motives behind the operation, which was part of the military's duties to maintain security and political stability," he told The Jakarta Post recently.
The commission has urged Hendropriyono to comply with a summons it sent Feb. 22. The case is being reopened after relatives of those killed and injured in the incident filed complaints with the rights body.
Some 52 people, including four soldiers, were killed and dozens of others injured when the military crushed a movement led by Warsidi in Talangsari on Feb. 7, 1989.
The incident was preceded by the killing of Capt. Sutiman. A total of 21 followers of Warsidi were jailed for the killing and their involvement in the movement.
Hendropriyono said he was overseas on an academic trip in February, but that nobody at his home received any letters from the rights body.
He also denied reports the Lampung military had launched an attack on an Islamic boarding school, saying what he found and reported to his superior was not a pesantren but a bivouac site, and it was not built in a forested area but on land that was provided by Jayus, an informant for the local military.
"To determine whether the military operation violated human rights or not, it must be observed in a security and defense context. Besides, the state is responsible to protect the human rights of the majority of civilians who were intimidated by the separatist group," he said.
Detik.com - April 8, 2008
M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Many defendants in gross human right violation cases being handled by the Attorney Generals' Office are released from indictments. This situation refects a failure on the part of the Attorney General in prosecuting the perpetrators.
Examples of this are the defendants suspected of involvement in the East Timor, Tanjung Priok and other cases. These failures add weight to criticisms about the Attorney General's handling of these cases.
"The public believes that there is a lack of seriousness on the part of the Attorney General," said Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Research Director Zainal Abidin at the YLBHI offices on Jl Diponegoro No. 74 in the Menteng area of Central Jakarta on Monday April 7.
Abidin believes that that the Attorney General's Office as an institution is neither sincere nor serious about handing human rights cases. "This lack of seriousness can be seen from a number of factors. Including the weakness of indictments, the minimal evidence presented and the lack of perseverance on the part of ad hoc public prosecutors in handling gross human rights violation case", he said.
The Attorney General has also failed to prosecute other past gross human rights violations such as the Abepura case in 2000. "What is more, one of the public prosecutors even submitted a petition for the release of one of the defendants," added Abidin. It for this reason therefore, that YLBHI is calling on the Attorney General to conduct a thorough review of the procedures for handling gross human violation cases. (zal/ary)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Labour issues |
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Medan – Similar to labor conditions in other provinces, a majority of workers in North Sumatra have been left unprotected due to rampant law violations by companies and the absence of law enforcement.
Data from the state-owned insurance company PT Jamsostek show less than 10 percent, or 450,000 of around 5 million workers in the province, have participated in social security programs.
Executive head of PT Jamsostek's northern Sumatra regional office, Mas'ud Muhammad, blamed the lack of participation in social security on the absence of law enforcement and local governments' failure to protect workers.
In the informal sector, hundreds of thousands are facing an even bleaker future as many are dismissed due to the prolonged energy crisis in the province.
"The campaign since 1992, using a persuasive approach, has been found to be less effective and local authorities should start using a stricter approach and take harsh actions against companies violating the law," Mas'ud told The Jakarta Post here Monday.
He called on regional heads to deploy labor inspectors to check on working conditions, and for police and prosecutors to take action against companies violating the law.
Mas'ud said there was no excuse for employers to be exempt from the obligatory social security program, since the economic crisis that hit the country in 1997 had long since passed.
The law requires companies employing 10 or more workers, or those paying at least Rp 1 million in wages per month, to register its workers with PT Jamsostek. Failure to do so carries a maximum six-month jail sentence or a maximum Rp 500 million fine for the offending company.
Mas'ud praised Tebingtinggi municipality, which has started enforcing the law to protect workers, including those in the informal sector. He said at least 4,600 companies employing more than 450,000 workers in the municipality have been registered with PT Jamsostek.
Some companies had falsely reported that they employed fewer workers or declared only a part of their gross monthly salaries in a bid to reduce their premiums, he said.
Chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (KSBSI), Rekson Silaban, called on regional administrations to deploy a team of labor inspectors to check on employers' compliance with core labor standards, including the social security program and the payment system.
"The tripartite team should crack down on companies violating the law and hand them over to law authorities for further investigation," he said.
Most companies in the province pay their workers below the provincial minimum wage, recruit workers from outsourcing companies and employ contract-based workers in their core business, actions which are all against the 2003 law on labor, Rekson said.
He said he was also worried about hundreds of thousands of workers facing dismissal because of the prolonged energy crisis in the province.
Businessmen have often threatened to relocate to other countries in protest of the blackouts imposed by state-owned company PT PLN and the decreased gas supply to industrial areas in the province.
Tebingtinggi Mayor Abdul Hafis Hasibuan and Simalungun Regent Zulkarnaen Damanik said separately on Monday that the social security programs were part of core labor standards that depended on regional heads to be implemented.
Abdul said his side had approached professional organizations for maids, cleaning services and becak, ojek and bus drivers to participate in the programs to help protect themselves.
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Jakarta – More than a hundred Finance Ministry honorarium workers held a rally Wednesday in front of the ministry offices in Central Jakarta, demanding the ministry provide 6,000 of them with permanent positions.
"They've worked for between three and 27 years at the ministry, but since April 2007 the ministry has started to terminate their contracts," the Jakarta chapter of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH), acting as the workers' lawyers, said in a statement.
According to Government Regulation No. 48/2005, all honorarium workers who have passed the requirements to become civil servants must be hired by government offices.
LBH Jakarta urged the Finance Ministry to hire workers who have passed the requirements, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ensure government offices hire all honorarium workers as civil servants by 2009.
It also said government offices should restructure their recruitment system "to be more transparent". "Many honorarium workers work harder than civil servants while receiving lower salaries. And by being honorarium workers, they never know whether they can keep working," said LBH Jakarta.
Jakarta Post - April 9, 2008
Jakarta – The Federation of Indonesian Islamic Labor Unions has urged the government to overhaul the outsourcing system, which is said exclusively benefited employers.
"We have seen from the existing labor law that the outsourcing system only deprives workers of their right to prosperity. Businessmen can also end the contract anytime they want," Soetito, chairman of the federation, told reporters after meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Tuesday.
He said the federation, set up in 1947, first made the call to overhaul the outsourcing system last year.
The federation will hold a seminar on outsourcing and minimum regional salaries in the paper industry in May.
Manpower and Transmission Minister Erman Suparno has promised to set up a joint supervisory group with related agencies to evaluate the outsourcing system.
| Environment/natural disasters |
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed into law a bill on garbage management which now threatens to punish local administrations and private operators for failing to manage eco-friendly dump sites.
It also obliges businesses to use recyclable materials in their production processes and provide labels containing information about garbage reduction and management of their products.
Hendarso Hadiparmono, who headed the House team to deliberate the bill, said the government should immediately create supporting regulations to implement the new law.
"It's necessary to immediately create an incentives and disincentives system for producers in order to motivate them to reduce their garbage," he said.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said the incentives could include business facilities. "It could be business credit or other facilities," he said. Details about the incentive and disincentive system would be stipulated in supporting regulations, he added.
The minister said the garbage management law required 12 supporting regulations for proper implementation and that the government had to finish drafting all of them within one year.
"We have discussed several of these regulations. We hope to finish all of them before the year is up," Rachmat said.
The new law has earned support from the private sector, he said. "This law gives them legal certainty about garbage management," Rachmat said.
Wahyudin Munawir, another member of the House committee deliberating the bill, said the House invited several companies – including PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk. and PT Aqua Golden Mississippi – to hearings to deliberate the bill.
These businesses fully supported the garbage bill, Wahyudin said. "They had already conducted some research into recycling their garbage," he said.
After the law takes effect, he said, the companies could open recycling centers through which they could collect their discarded packaging.
Soekartono Hadiwarsito, also a committee member, said the law provided the legal basis for regional administrations to make agreements with private sector entities for garbage management. "The regional administrations have been doubtful about cooperating with private parties," he said.
Having agreements with the private sector in garbage management would be better for regional administrations because, he said, they would no longer need to use regional budget to pay for it.
Wahyudin said the law would motivate regional administrations to start working with the private sector immediately because it stipulates that members of the public can file class action lawsuits if they are harmed by poor garbage management.
The law also imposes sanctions on institutions falling short of standards in garbage management. Intentional violations of the regulations could result in prison sentences of between four and 10 years and fines of between Rp 100 million and Rp 5 billion.
Violators are also threatened with five to 15 years in prison and fines of between Rp 100 million and Rp 5 billion if their wrongdoings result in deaths.
Syamsul Bahri of the committee emphasized that the law aimed to change society's garbage handling culture. "Please inform the public they are no longer allowed to litter anywhere they like," he said. (alf)
Jakarta Post - April 8, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Palm oil firms have continued burning peatland forest to expand their businesses, defying a government ban aimed at curbing the country's carbon emissions, a leading environment group says.
Greenpeace conducted a field investigation of Riau province, the country's largest peatland forest and the biggest producers of palm oil, between February and March.
"We are shocked to find two palm oil concessions are still clearing, draining and burning peatland forest in Riau," Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaigner Hapsoro said at a press conference here Monday.
"We are afraid such practices are still going on in provinces of Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua," he said.
Hapsoro said two palm oil companies had started operating at the peatland area in Indragiri Hulu regency. "They are yet to secure concession permits from the local regent," Hapsoro said.
"We call on the government to 'give teeth' to their Bali commitment to saving the forests and tackling climate change, by putting measures immediately in place to regulate the palm oil industry," he said.
Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono issued a statement during the UN conference on climate change in Bali in December, ordering all governors to cease issuing permits for palm oil firms in peatland ecosystems.
The statement was a response to Greenpeace and other environmental groups, who urged the government to stop converting the country's peatlands.
Indonesia has about 20 million hectares of peatland. A hectare of peatland is predicted to store between 3,400 and 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main global warming contributor. Burning peatland releases a large amount of CO2, experts said.
According to a 2006 report by Wetlands International, Indonesia's peatland emits two billion tons of CO2 a year. This is far higher than the country's emissions from energy, agriculture and waste, which together amounts to only 451 million tons.
The report, titled "Peatland Degradation Fuels Climate Change", ranked Indonesia as the world's third largest emitter behind the United States and China.
Greenpeace political adviser Arif Wicaksono said the government should demonstrate its commitment to climate change to the international community by, amongst other things, handling the palm oil industry.
"Greenpeace is not against palm oil plantations. We oppose palm oil products processed by burning or draining peatland forests," he said.
The government should learn from the growing rejection of Indonesian palm oil abroad, he said. "It is time Indonesia put in place a moratorium on logging and converting peatlands while we seek ways to improve peatland forests," he said.
The government is currently drafting a presidential regulation on sustainable peatland forest management. According to the draft, expected to be completed this year, people or businesses operating in peatland areas must preserve the ecological functions of the land. The draft also tightened supervision of peatland areas and banned the slash-and-burn land clearing method.
Local administrations are obliged to report any use of peatlands in their jurisdiction to the central government, according to the draft. Currently, the management of peatlands is at the hands of local administrations.
| Women & gender |
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – A state minister has said she opposes the move by the administration in Batu, East Java, to oblige female masseurs to "lock" their underwear, saying it disparaged women in general.
"It is not the right way to prevent promiscuity. It insults women as if they are the ones in the wrong," State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Fardia Hatta Swasono told reporters Wednesday at her office.
"It is not that we oppose the administration's effort to uphold morality, but the problem is in their way of treating masseurs as if they're all committing prostitution."
The Batu administration recently issued a policy obliging masseurs to install padlocks on their underwear in a move to minimize prostitution in massage parlors and maintain the image of Batu as a popular tourist destination.
Meutia said the way to minimize prostitution in massage parlors was to strengthen the security system, such as by installing CCTV.
"Obliging women to lock their underwear means the administration considers all massage parlors to be places of prostitution. In fact, many people go to the parlor purely for health reasons, not for sex."
Following the move by the Batu administration, the Jakarta Tourism Agency said it was considering implementing the same rule to improve the tarnished image of massage parlors across the capital.
Amid intense efforts by the government to combat pornography, the ministry of women's empowerment launched the National Action Plan on Anti-Pornography Families.
"This action plan is expected to increase awareness among parents that the future of their children... is in danger due to negative effects of pornography. We are encouraging parents to have better supervision... of their children. Through this, we also hope for better law enforcement against pornographic practices and better protection for the victims, especially women and children."
The state minister office will jointly conduct the action with the Office of the State Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, the Religious Affairs Ministry, the National Police and the Communication and Information Ministry.
According to a survey by toptenreviews.com, Indonesia ranks seventh in the world among countries with the most access to porn websites.
"In 2006, some 80 percent of youths aged 15 to 17 were prone to access websites containing hardcore pornography, and most of them access the websites while they are studying," Meutia said.
"This is a fact that many parents are not aware of. Parents just believe their children tell them about working on schoolwork, but in fact the children access porn sites."
She said it would take across-the-board measures to combat pornography, not just by blocking the access to porn sites as recently announced by the Communication and Information Ministry.
| War on corruption |
Jakarta Post - April 14, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The Prosperous and Justice Party (PKS) has turned over Rp 1 billion (US$109,000) in cash to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) related to last week's bribery arrest of lawmaker Al Amin Nasution.
Suswono, a member of the PKS and deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission IV overseeing agriculture, plantations, forestry and fisheries, said Sunday the money was given to four PKS members on the commission by officials from several regional administrations, including Bintan regency in Riau Islands province.
"I don't want to speculate on the case as I believe in the due process of the law. That's why we call on the KPK to question each member of Commission IV to prove any allegations. We don't want the public to look suspiciously at the House," Suswono said.
The graft body arrested Amin of the United Development Party (PPP) last Wednesday after he allegedly accepted a Rp 4 million (US$434) bribe from Bintan regency secretary Azirwan.
Investigators confiscated another Rp 67 million in cash from Amin. An additional S$33,000 in cash was seized, but the KPK has not yet determined whether it is connected to the bribery case.
Deputy chairman of the House's disciplinary council, Gayus Lumbuun, said they would question nine members of Commission IV over their possible involvement in the bribery case.
He indicated he had received reports the nine lawmakers were present at the same hotel where the KPK arrested Amin and Azirwan.
"Remember, the money received by the PKS members indicates others could have gotten a similar amount. This will be the starting point for our investigation, and I ask the KPK to investigate it as well," Gayus said. He refused to identify the lawmakers, saying he would wait for more evidence.
The nine lawmakers, together with Amin, are members of a team that visited Bintan in February 2007 to survey a protected forest the local government was petitioning to transform into industrial forest. The commission approved the conversion hours before the arrest of Amin.
Syamsul Huda, Azirwan's lawyer, said earlier other Commission IV members were with Amin at the time of his arrest.
KPK deputy chairman Moch. Jasin did not rule out the possibility other lawmakers were involved or the prospect of an expanded investigation by the graft body.
"But for now, we will concentrate on the people we have as we can't rely on outside statements. If the suspects and witnesses we have testify that other lawmakers were involved, then we will investigate them," he said.
The House was rated the most corrupt institution last year in a survey by Transparency International.
Jakarta Post - April 12, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – With the fight against corruption under the President hitting its stride a year ahead of elections, politicians and observers on Friday accused the efforts of being politically motivated and discriminative.
They pointed to a series of investigations into graft cases targeting politicians in potential competition with Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, saying politicians or officials linked to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP) had felt the brunt of the anti-graft campaign.
PDI-P politician Gayus Lumbuun expressed fear that other parties would now only wait for their turn to be publicly humiliated when their members were arrested for graft cases.
"We can feel the anti-corruption drive is both politicized and discriminative. If you look at people arrested or accused of corruption, none have affiliations with the President," Gayus, a member of the House commission overseeing legal affairs, told The Jakarta Post.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested scores of politicians and officials in 2008, the latest being Al Amin Nasution of the PPP for allegedly receiving a bribe from Bintan government officials.
Last month, the KPK arrested former Riau governor Saleh Djasit, a Golkar lawmaker. The KPK is now probing a case involving the misuse of BI funds that implicates other politicians, including Bomer Pasaribu of Golkar, Ganjar Pranowo of the PDI-P, Ali Masykur Musa of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Andi Rahmat of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
Democratic Party lawmaker Aziddin was dismissed in July 2006 for allegedly acting as a middleman in the procurement of dormitories and meals for Indonesian haj pilgrims, but the Yudhoyono government opted not to launch a formal investigation into the case.
Former People's Consultative Assembly speaker Amien Rais joined the criticism, saying Yudhoyono had failed to clean up his own office. "I am sure the heart of corruption is located at the palace," he was quoted as saying by Antara on Friday.
Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng, however, dismissed the accusations, underlining that it was since Yudhoyono took office that the government had taken corruption eradication seriously.
"Before Yudhoyono, corruptors were immune from law enforcement. But now we can see all people ranging from regents, mayors, governors, high-ranking officials or even lawmakers arrested. Let people decide who is really serious in eradicating corruption," he said.
Political expert Indra J. Pilliang of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, however, declined to give credit to Yudhoyono in the fight against corruption.
"The credit should go to the KPK. The President has nothing to do with this as the KPK is an independent body. With the Attorney General's Office and the police failing in anti-corruption efforts, how we can say Yudhoyono is successful in eradicating corruption?" he said.
He said even the KPK upheld discrimination, pointing to the failure of the anti-graft body to name former Bank Indonesia deputy governor Aulia Pohan, the father-in-law of Yudhoyono's son, as a suspect in the Rp 100 billion BI graft case.
Jakarta Post - April 11, 2008
Jakarta – An audit has revealed evidence that state funds may have been used inappropriately by the central and local governments, ministries and state firms in the second semester of 2007, with potential losses of up to Rp 23.34 trillion (US$2.56 billion).
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) reported its findings to the House of Representatives on Thursday, after focusing its audit on 127 divisions within central government departments, 562 divisions of regional administrations and 16 state enterprises.
BPK chairman Anwar Nasution said the main causes of irregularities were the lack of transparency and accountability as well as insufficient internal control.
"The agency found 267 indications of state losses worth Rp 420.01 billion and 158 indications of uncollected local incomes worth Rp 249.79 billion.
"There are also 733 indications of administrative malfeasance in local governments worth Rp 20.12 trillion, 193 indications of budget inefficiency worth Rp 459.27 billion and 214 indications of budget misuse worth Rp 2.1 trillion," Anwar said.
Evidence of possible irregularities in state enterprises was also present, he said. "Some significant findings are a Rp 17.88 trillion inaccuracy of PT Taspen's 2006 financial statement, an indication of PT Taspen's fake fixed deposit worth Rp 110 billion and an indication of state logistic company Bulog losses worth Rp 77.49 billion."
During a press conference after the agency's presentation, Anwar said the audit results were not that surprising.
"Indonesia is still in a transition period. We must remember that we used to live in an era where the state financial management system was awful. Efforts to establish a respectable state budget system, which the government is currently undertaking, are actually new and have not yet shown major progress," he said.
Under existing regulations, BPK reports to the House regarding the results of its audit – conducted at least once per semester in a fiscal year – before lawmakers seek confirmation from relevant government institutions.
If deemed sufficient, the House then can forward the BPK reports to the Attorney General's Office or the National Police. However, in some cases BPK is actively assisting authorities in their investigations, as confirmed by a BPK member, Udju Djuhaeri. (uwi)
Jakarta Post - April 11, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – In an effort to boost transparency, the Supreme Court released its 2007 performance report here Thursday, sparking confusion over the amounts of restitution and fines it collected from convicts.
The report also met immediate skepticism from judiciary officials and experts of whether the top court was serious about fighting corrupt judges.
The report said all district courts across Indonesia had managed to collect a total of around Rp 143 billion last year, after resolving some 21,000 cases of corruption, drugs and illegal logging. At appeal levels, the Supreme Court said it could recover Rp 896 billion from the 14,728 cases resolved.
University of Indonesia legal expert Rudy Satrio questioned the reported amount, saying it was not enough. He estimated the amount was a third of the true amount court should have collected from criminal convictions.
The Judiciary Commission (KY) and National Ombudsman Commission could not comment on the report, which they said needed more clarification from the Supreme Court.
KY chairman Busyro Muqoddas said he could not say whether the amounts were realistic or not, as he would need to examine the money involved in each of the cases resolved. "We don't see the how much money was involved in cases, so we don't know," he said.
National Ombudsman Commission chairman Antonius Sujata shared Busyro's view, saying that the Supreme Court needed an audit to determine if the amounts were legitimate or not. "We should cross-check it with data from the Attorney General's Office and conduct an external audit to make sure it is the right amount," he said.
Chief Justice Bagir Manan, however, said he would not allow an audit of his office. The Supreme Court also said it had handed down administrative sanctions on 17 judges found guilty of non- criminal offenses. The report shows only one judge was charged by police with corruption.
"The sanctions include discharging as judge, dismissals from posts and transferring to other areas," Bagir said.
This report demonstrated a lack of commitment on the part of the Supreme Court to be tough on corrupt judges, said Busyro, Antonius and Rudy. They pointed to the fact that only one judge was prosecuted with criminal charges.
"I think the Supreme Court is too soft. The number of judges charged should have been much higher," Rudy said. "We can't depend on internal monitoring as it doesn't work. You see, many lawyers have confessed to bribing judges. But they don't want to testify because they fear the consequences."
Sujata similarly said external control, including from the Ombudsman body and the Judiciary Commission, was key to reforming the judicial system. "We have received many complaints from the public about bad judges. But compared to the police, the Supreme Court is much less ignorant of our input," he said.
Jakarta Post - April 11, 2008
Hari Bhaskara and Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The arrest of House of Representatives member Al Amin Nasution for allegedly accepting a bribe is something of a cause celebre for many, but a senior lawmaker admits many legislative members take any chance they can to make some money.
Didik Rachbini, who chairs the House's Commission VI for trade and industry, said self-serving legislators often resorted to threats in pursuit of their own interests. An example of a threat is "If you don't do as we ask, I will make sure future meetings do not work," he told a discussion forum Thursday.
Didik calls this approach "banditry" in his new book Teori Bandit (Bandit Theory), launched at the University of Paramadina, where he is a professor. Banditry is a collective measure by a group of people that has a devastating effect on public interests, the economist said.
This group of people can be members of the House, the bureaucracy or the military, politicians, businesspeople or top government officials. "And because Indonesia is a resource-rich country, the devastating effects of these groups' activities are massive," Didik said.
Andrinof Chaniago of the University of Indonesia, another speaker in the discussion, said it was not unusual for legislators to receive a kind of commission for drafting the budget for a project.
"Legislators may get Rp 250 million (US$27,300) or more for drafting a project worth Rp 2 billion," Andrinof said. He lamented the bandits were becoming more rational over time while society remained stagnant in its level of irrationality.
Didik said he attempted in his book to portray bandits and their activities in a way that would serve as a warning to the nation. Banditry continues to flourish, he said, citing the national budget as a victim.
"What the KPK uncovers is trivial by comparison," Didik said, referring to the Corruption Eradication Commission, which arrested Amin on Wednesday.
Emerson Yuntho of Indonesia Corruption Watch said Amin's arrest justified surveys ranking the House among the country's most corrupt institutions. "Al Amin's arrest is only the tip of the iceberg. In this case, we believe some other lawmakers must be involved. In other cases, we don't know how many more legislators have received bribes," Emerson said.
Hendardi, chairman of the Setara Institute, a nongovernmental organization that focuses on anti-corruption and pluralism, said the Amin case constituted only a small fraction of corruption in the House, and it confirmed allegations the institution was corrupt. "I'm sure more and more lawmakers will be found to have been involved in graft if more investigations are conducted," he said.
Legal expert Denny Indrayana of the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta praised the KPK's work but said the commission needed more courage to investigate bigger cases involving more powerful lawmakers, as Amin was only a minor player in the House.
| Land/rural issues |
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Sugar cane farmers in Cirebon regency, West Java, on Wednesday urged the government to immediately raise the basic price of sugar to prevent a massive loss of jobs in the sector.
The West Java branch of the Sugar Cane Farmers Association (APTRI) said farmers would shift to other crops if the government failed to immediately adjust the basic price of the commodity, thus affecting national sugar production levels.
Another serious threat was the loss of around 30,000 jobs in the industry in the province, it said.
APTRI branch chairman Anwar Asmali deemed the current government-set sugar price of Rp 4,900 (approximately 54 US cents) very low compared to Rp 6,400 per kg on the market.
"With such a price difference, farmers would be disadvantaged. The only ones who would enjoy profits were large-scale distributors," Anwar said.
APTRI has proposed a more appropriate basic price of Rp 5,200 per kg. "With such a price adjustment, farmers' fate could still be saved," he added.
Anwar was concerned that farmers would switch to more profitable crops without the price adjustment. "Subsequently, this would have negative impacts on the national sugar production. Farmers would no longer be interested in growing sugar cane if the price is very low," he said.
The group, Anwar added, would make concerted efforts to pressure the government to immediately raise the price of the commodity.
He acknowledged to have conveyed the matter to Vice President Jusuf Kalla when he visited Cirebon on April 6, 2008. "We appealed to him to sincerely pay attention to the fate of sugar cane farmers, and he promised to look into the matter," Anwar said.
Most farmers would stop growing sugar, he said, if it was no longer profitable, and thousands of sugar cane laborers could lose their jobs.
"Each hectare of sugar cane is usually cultivated by at least three farm workers and the total area of sugar cane farms spans 12,500 ha, so imagine the number of farm workers whose livelihood could be affected," he said.
Jakarta Post - April 9, 2008
Suherdjoko, Grobogan – Grobogan, previously one of the poorest regencies in Central Java, is now known as a soybean production center and a major rice producing center.
The regency is the second biggest in Central Java in terms of area, spanning 197,586 hectares, and is inhabited by around 1.4 million people, 62 percent of whom are farmers. A third of its area is made up of non-irrigated farmland and the remainder is forest.
Farmers in the region were left disadvantaged when the government opened the country to bean imports, allowing higher quality varieties to enter the market.
"The majority of people are farmers, so when the agricultural sector is volatile, we are the most susceptible. Farmers here are the ones adversely impacted by soybean imports. Grobogan produces 30 percent of the province's soybean supplies," said Grobogan Agricultural Office head Mochammad Sumarsono.
Poor farmers in dire need of hard cash were often lured into selling their crops to middlemen for low prices before the harvest, sacrificing their toil in the field to compensate for debts incurred during the off-season.
Farmers in Grobogan also once were reluctant to expand beyond their local variety of crops, which reaped less profitable harvests.
However, as of 2005, they began to gradually form groups, exchanging information about seedlings, crop prices and other issue, learning from and protecting one another. The solid groupings are seen as a way of preventing intervention by middlemen.
Sumarsono said the number of such groups in Grobogan was growing. Soybean farmers across the regency's 17 districts have formed groups, with at least five in each district.
Soybean farms are located in Pulo Kulon, Kradenan, Gabus, Toroh and Tawangsari districts, spanning 26,000 hectares in total.
"The area of soybean farms fluctuates. In 2007, there were only 21,000 hectares, with each hectare producing 2.4 tons," Sumarsono said.
"The farming system is considered quite good. Other areas in Central Java can only produce 1.6 tons per hectare. Here, we are able to create the superior Grobogan soybean variety which is nationally certified."
The Grobogan variety seedling was developed from the Malabar variety, which Grobogan farmers predominately grew beforehand,
The local agricultural office conducted studies, taking into account the regency's natural surroundings, and eventually produced the Grobogan soybean.
The new variety has a shorter planting period of only 79 days compared to other varieties, including Lumajang Bewok, 90 days, Malabar and Petek (85 days) and Wilis (90 days).
The Grobogan seedling also produces taller plants, with leaves falling during the immediate approach of harvest, helping farmers during the processing phase.
"For farmers, a difference of 10 planting days is very helpful. We can till the land again to plant the next crops. This is called time efficiency," said Ali Mukhtar, a farmer from Pulo Kulon who won first prize in the National Soybean Intensification Contest in 2007.
The central government has not yet been able to provide seed assistance to farmers.
"In 2007 farmers were persistent in growing the Grobogan variety, which is more profitable, but the government could not provide the variety because it had not yet been nationally certified," said Sumarsono.
"Subsequently, we had to return Rp 2.4 billion (around US$266,000) in subsidies intended to help farmers buy seeds."
To avoid a similar situation in the future, the local agricultural office has made efforts to ensure the certification of Grobogan variety seeds by the end of this year. "Hopefully, funds to help farmers can be disbursed so farmers can obtain seeds more easily and for less," he said.
Thanks to the Grobogan bean, farmers were able to produce 51,000 tons of soybeans in 2007, and will be hoping for a bumper harvest this season.
| Islam/religion |
Jakarta Post - April 11, 2008
Jakarta – The government's block on access to websites that carry the controversial Dutch film Fitna is part of an attempt to restrict citizens' freedom in the name of religion, scholars warn.
Political and media expert Wimar Witoelar said the government was on the wrong track and had damaged its credibility with the public by ordering the Internet block.
"This is a really clumsy move by the government. It shows how the government is exploiting certain religious issues to suppress the freedom of its citizens," Wimar told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. "It's like turning back the clock to the Soeharto era, when the government was always suspicious."
Blocked websites include YouTube, MySpace and Rapidshare.
Wimar, who hosts the TV program Perspektif and was previously a spokesman for former president Abdurrahman Wahid, said the block revealed the government's failure to understand why and how people use the Internet.
"Ninety-nine percent of YouTube users are visiting the site for productive purposes, not to watch Fitna," Wimar said. He said the move showed how easily the government had caved in to those offended by the movie, which has been condemned worldwide.
Political expert Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, from the National Institute of Sciences, said the block could be interpreted as evidence of the government's support for minor extremist groups. "The government's support of the hardliners justifies the view that Indonesian Muslims often overreact to religious issues," Ikrar told the Post.
He said the ban on the film and its maker Dutch politician Geert Wilders spoke volumes about the government's immaturity despite the democratic era. "The government's intervention will impede its citizens from becoming mature. The public will never be able to tell good from bad because the government always dictates to them," Ikrar said.
He said the ban would not work, but rather would ignite public curiosity about the film and encourage people to find alternative ways to watch it. "If the government is seriously concerned that movies could destroy this country, it should ban TV soap operas, which often teach young people negative behavior," Ikrar said.
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) said the government's move was a form of censorship that denied the public their right to information, in contravention of Article 28F of the 1945 Constitution. "We need to be selective, but not reactive and arbitrative," AJI chairman Heru Hendratmoko said in a statement.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced a ban on Fitna for disturbing social harmony in the country. The government recently asked 146 Internet service providers and 30 network access providers to block websites that carry the film. The film features images of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the 2004 Madrid bombings, juxtaposed with quotes from the Koran.
Ikrar said the government would have done better to ignore the movie. "He (Wilders) is just someone who wants popularity. The government should have ignored him instead of dancing to his tune," Ikrar said. (dia)
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The government's move to block access to YouTube, MySpace and other websites showing the Dutch film Fitna, deemed anti-Islamic, sparked protests on Wednesday.
Agus Sudibyo of the Science, Esthetics and Technology Foundation said because European communities had condemned the film themselves, it was unnecessary for the government to ban the websites.
"There's no need to act in that way. Blocking access may strengthen the 'stereotype' that the Indonesian and Islamic community here have always overreacted when faced with these kinds of issues," Agus told The Jakarta Post.
He feared the bans reflected the state's intention to seize control of information, which is against democratic principles.
Internet service providers blocked the websites upon request of the Communication and Information Minister, Muhammad Nuh, saying the 17-minute film was a "disturbance to religious and civil harmony at a global level".
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced a ban on the film and asked all Internet service providers to block the film recently. He said the government would also ban the filmmaker, Dutch parliament member Geert Wilders, from visiting Indonesia.
Agus challenges the justification of the government's policy. "So where's the proof the film disturbs religious harmony? Are there any other Islamic countries across the world that concur with Indonesia? I don't think so. This is too much," said Agus. He said the government had often bothered itself by taking on issues it could not cope with.
The blocking of YouTube and MySpace has also upset independent musicians and filmmakers, who find the websites have provided great opportunities for them to distribute their work to the global community.
Many short filmmakers have received invitations from international festival curators and film critics after posting their work on the two websites.
"YouTube and MySpace have connected us to the global community. Several songs composed by Indonesian bands have been used as soundtracks for independent American films through MySpace," rock band vocalist Anto Arief said. "Why should the government completely block access to the websites? Why not just ban the URL to the film? It's too extreme."
Short-film maker Paul Agusta said "The continued blocking of these two websites will do irreparable harm to the independent music and film scenes in Indonesia. This is mass censorship against the creative."
By blocking these particular sites, he said, the government is gagging the creative voices of artists throughout the country.
However, bloggers can still find leeway to access the websites through proxy sites www.vtunnel.com and www.youhide.com. "The government has always lagged behind. We can always find more sophisticated ways to resist its control," Anto said.
In February, YouTube was inaccessible globally for several hours after the government of Pakistan blocked it, citing what it said were clips in which Wilders made denigrating remarks about Islam.
Wilders' film intersperses scenes of recent terror attacks with verses from the Koran and speeches from Islamic extremists calling for attacks on non-Muslims. It has been condemned as racist and misleading by governments around the world.
| Elections/political parties |
Jakarta Post - April 14, 2008
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – According to unofficial "quick counts", Ahmad Heryawan and Dede Yusuf have pulled off an unexpected victory in Sunday's West Java gubernatorial election.
Most observers gave Ahmad and Dede, nominated by the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and National Mandate Party (PAN), little chance against their better funded opponents from major parties.
According to so-called quick counts conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), Kompas daily, the Center for Public Policy and Development Studies and the Voter Education for People Network, Ahmad and Dede won the vote in the country's most densely populated province.
LSI's quick count, with a multistage random sampling conducted at 400 polling stations across the province, has Ahmad and Dede winning almost 40 percent of the vote.
Two other candidates, Agum Gumelar and Danny Setiawan, received 34.23 percent and 26 percent of the vote respectively, according to the LSI count. Similar results were reported by the three other institutions conducting quick counts.
Incumbent Governor Danny and running mate Iwan Sulandjana were nominated by Golkar Party and the Democratic Party (PD). Agum and his running mate, Nu'man Abdul Hakim, were nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).
According to unofficial data from the provincial chapter of the General Elections Commission (KPUD), of more than 144,000 ballots that reached the commission on Sunday, 38.6 percent were for Ahmad, 34.4 percent for Agum and 26.8 percent for Danny.
"If these results hold up, it would be quite surprising and not at all what had been predicted. It's strange but shows the people's dissatisfaction with the incumbent governor," said Widi Aswidi, head of the LSI's elections division.
He said the quick count showed Ahmad and Dede dominating in Bandung, Garut, Bekasi, Bogor and Depok, the last three being regencies that border with Jakarta and PKS strongholds.
"The incumbent governor is less popular in the province, with its population of almost 42 million, and those living in the border areas are more familiar with Ahmad and Dede, both Jakarta residents," he said.
Of 27.9 million eligible voters in West Java, 64.7 percent cast ballots Sunday.
Ahmad and Dede, or the so-called Hade pair, were unfancied by most observers heading into the election. They were nominated by two relatively small parties that lacked the political and financial clout of Golkar and the PDI-P.
The Prosperous Justice Party and National Mandate Party control just about 20 percent of seats in the local legislative councils in the province.
There were no reports of violence or disturbances during the voting.
Observers are attributing the relatively low voter turnout to general apathy among residents and the candidates' failure to convince voters they could offer anything to improve their lives.
In the meantime, the KPUD has reminded the public that the quick count results are not official and might look different from the final results announced by the poll body.
"The quick counts are not official. They are based on a multistage sampling. The public should not be trapped into accepting the results as official. The final results will be available in several days, while the winner will be officially announced April 20," said KPUD member Ferry Kurnia Rizkiansyah.
If the results do hold up, it would be a major rebuke to Golkar and the Democratic Party, and a blow to PDI-P, which had been talking about a sweep of the gubernatorial races in Java heading into the 2009 legislative and presidential elections.
Jakarta Post - April 13, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Six minor political parties failed to show up at the General Elections Commission (KPU) office on Saturday, the final day to pick up registration forms.
"Only 69 political parties have come to take registration forms. The KPU will not extend the deadline as we have been open for a week," Deden Supriadi, a staff member at the KPU told reporters Saturday. He said three of the six parties that did not turn up included the Patriot Party, the Moon and Star Party and Marhaenism Nationalist Party (PNI Marhaenism)
The parties with no registration forms can not continue with the verification process to determine the eligibility of candidates for the 2009 elections.
The Center for Electoral Reform said the parties that did not take forms were not serious about contesting the elections. "If they are serious in taking part, a week is enough time to for them to pick up a form. The KPU must close its doors," he told The Jakarta Post.
Data from the KPU shows seven political parties that took registration forms have double leadership due to internal rifts.
PNI Marhaenism picked up three registration forms for different leaders while the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Prosperous Peace Party, the Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party and Pro- Republic party took two forms each.
The KPU is slated to hold a meeting to decide which of the troubled parties are eligible to continue in the registration process.
According to the KPU, parties are required to return the registration forms before May 14. The KPU will then need three months to verify the parties before announcing eligible candidates on July 5 at the latest. It will then decide whether the parties meet the requirements set in the 2008 political parties law.
The law requires each party to have at least 50 members with chapters in at least 60 percent of the country's 33 provinces and branches in half of the 500 regencies. The law also obliges parties to allocate 30 percent of their central board executive seats to women.
However, parties which currently hold seats at the House of Representative will automatically be eligible to contest in the elections without verification. There are 16 parties with seats at the House, including ruling Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and PKB.
The country is set to hold legislative elections to elect members of the House, legislative councils in the provincial and municipal levels and the Regional Representatives Council on April 5, 2009.
Jakarta Post - April 12, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) has asked political parties embroiled in internal conflicts to solve their problems by Monday, when it plans to name which party factions are eligible to contest the 2009 polls.
KPU Chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary said Friday the poll commission would keep accepting registrations from any party, including those plagued by internal dispute.
"There is a party with three different boards of executives taking registration forms. We served them since they all claimed to be the legitimate leaders of the party," Abdul told reporters after a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
Internal split has rocked the Marhaen Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI Marhaenism), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party (PPDI), three of 74 political parties that have passed administrative screening.
The KPU is set to hold a meeting Monday to determine which of the factions within the troubled parties are eligible to continue in the registration process. "We must choose only one of them," said Abdul.
Seventy-four political parties have been cleared to register for the KPU's screening process. As of Friday, 52 had taken registration forms, with the deadline to pick up the forms falling on Saturday.
KPU has set the period between April 14 and May 14 for its return of the registration forms. The KPU then requires three months to verify the parties, before the eligible contestants are announced on July 5 at the latest.
In response to the conflicts, the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) urged the KPU to bar the dispute-ridden parties. "The KPU must reject and return the registration forms of all parties which have more than one board of executives," Cetro director Hadar Gumay said in a statement.
The PKB, the fifth largest faction within the House of Representatives, split after party executives loyal to co-founder Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid dismissed Muhaimin Iskandar as the party's chairman last week. Muhaimin, however, resists his dismissal, which he said was illegitimate. Muhaimin's faction took the registration forms on Wednesday, while his rivals went on Friday.
Abdul said the KPU would cross-check data on the parties with the Justice and Human Rights Ministry. "The parties must report any changes to their leadership, logo or names to the ministry. We will rely on the ministry's data to determine which factions are eligible," Abdul said.
The KPU has announced the legislative elections would be held on April 5, 2009, to select members of the House, provincial and regional legislative councils and the Regional Representatives Council.
KPU member in charge of verification Andi Nurpati said the verification process in the field would check whether parties met requirements set in the 2008 political party law.
The law requires a party to have at least 50 members with chapters in at least 60 percent of the country's 33 provinces and branches in 50 percent of over 500 regencies. The law also obliges the parties to allocate 30 percent of their central board executive seats to women.
Jakarta Post - April 11, 2008
Jakarta – The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) and several nongovernmental organizations are challenging the new election law that allows members of political parties to contest DPD seats.
DPD deputy chairman Laode Ida, council member Muspani and DPD lawyer Todung Mulya formally petitioned the Constitutional Court on Thursday to review the law.
Todung said the plaintiffs had requested the court to revoke or amend Articles 12 and 67 of the election law, which was recently passed by the House of Representatives.
The articles stipulate political party members are permitted to run in DPD elections and candidates can contest seats in regions where they do not reside. These conditions were banned under the previous election law.
According to Todung, the new law contravenes Article 22 of the amended 1945 Constitution, which deals with elections. "This law has violated the original intent of our constitution drafters," he said.
Todung asked the court to prioritize the case because a delayed trial could disrupt next year's general elections. "We do not want to disturb the electoral process," he said. "We just want this law amended."
Constitutional Court secretary Ahmad Fadlil Sumadi, who received the request, said the judges would meet to determine the case's priority "If things go well, we can have a preliminary hearing as early as next week," he said.
Since the House approved the law on March 3, which was signed by the President on March 31, the DPD has repeatedly said it would challenge the law in the court. Muspani said having nonresidents in DPD seats would threaten regional interests.
"How can a leader of a regional council seat in Bengkulu come from, for example, Jakarta? What do Jakartans know about Bengkulu?" he said. "The same thing applies with political parties, who are trying to spread their influence to other regions."
Todung said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono could intervene if a court ruling in favor of the plaintiffs required the House to redraft the law. "It would take too long for the House to have a legislative review of the election law. Another way to deal with it would be via a presidential decree," he said.
About 80 people, mostly DPD members from the 33 provinces, along with lawyers and representatives from various nongovernmental organizations, attended the Thursday meeting at the court.
Present at the hearing were representatives from civil society groups such as the Center for Electoral Reform, the Indonesian Parliamentary Center, the Forum of Citizens Concerned About the Indonesian Legislature and the National Secretariat for People with Traditional Laws. (anw)
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – A year out from the general elections, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla have launched early campaigns to woo voters.
Yudhoyono kicked off a three-day tour starting in Indramayu, West Java, on Tuesday, a day after Kalla wrapped up a four-day field trip across Java, which included Malang and Yogyakarta.
The President attended a celebration for the Prophet Muhammad's birthday in Pekalongan, Central Java, on Wednesday, despite having previously attended three similar celebrations.
The two leaders spoke with people who earn low incomes, such as farmers, and small business owners. They distributed staple food packages to locals at stops along the way.
In Indramayu, for instance, Yudhoyono promised a welfare program for residents and donated 3,000 staple food packages to fishermen. Three directors of state-owned banks who accompanied the President on the tour provided unsecured loans to local businesspeople.
BRI president director Sofyan Basir, BNI president director Gatot M. Suwondo and Mandiri president director Agus Martowardojo provided credit worth Rp 28.34 billion (US$3.08 million), Rp 8.1 billion and Rp 3.54 billion, respectively, to Indramayu businesspeople.
Kalla's promises to farmers in Bantul, Yogyakarta, and Tambung, Malang, East Java, made during a harvest ceremony, included securing the affordability of rice and other staple foods, building dams and making available cheap fertilizer.
In Bantul on Monday, Kalla took his entourage of officials and journalists on an unscheduled visit to a traditional market to meet vendors of leather products.
"It's like a contest," said Ikrar Nusa Shakti of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. "If Kalla does something or goes somewhere, Yudhoyono must do the same. What is the point of traveling as far as Pekalongan just to attend the Prophet Muhammad's birthday celebrations? Wouldn't it be better for him to tackle poverty?"
He said the two leaders' populist policies included only consumptive programs, such as the distribution of staple food packages, without providing people with income-generating activities.
Effendi Gozali of the University of Indonesia said the most important question was whether the leaders would follow up their policies with concrete actions.
"If not, they will give people false hope and create even greater disappointment. If SBY promises better delivery of gas, for instance, then it should be made to happen," he said.
Daniel Sparringa of Airlangga University in Surabaya said Yudhoyono and Kalla had taken advantage of their position as incumbents to start their early campaigns. "It is common for incumbents to link their campaign agenda to state duties using state resources," he said.
All observers said the early campaigns should not be allowed to take the leaders' time, energy and funds away from their current duties.
Tempo Interactive - April 9, 2008
Jems de Fortuna, Kupang – Former East Timor militias for integration support Eurico Gutteres for becoming a member of the House of Representatives (DPR) from the National Mandate Party (PAN) in the 2009 legislative election.
Former commander of the Aitarak militia, Dominggus Pareira (Ompong) said that they support Eurico for no one in the House is fighting for the life of the community.
"He (Eurico) is our leader," said Dominggus. He said, former militias and members of the community are happy for the supreme court's decision to release Eurico. "I and the other 500 supporters will go to Kupang to welcome Eurico at the El Tari airport on Friday," he said.
The executive staff of PAN of East Nusa Tenggara, Gonzalo GM Sada, said that PAN is confirmed to nominate Eurico for legislators. "Eurico has clear supporters. He has 41,000 people behind him beyond the PAN adherents," said Gonzalo.
ABC Radio Austrlia - April 8, 2008
Ashley Hall: One of the most notorious leaders of the militia violence in which 1,400 East Timorese people were killed in 1999, has been released from a Jakarta jail after serving only two years of a 10 year sentence.
Eurico Guterres is the only militia member ever to be jailed for the violence co-ordinated by the Indonesian military and intelligence agencies. And he capitalised on his release with an announcement that he's planning to run for the Parliament when Indonesia goes to the polls next year.
Jakarta correspondent, Geoff Thompson, reports.
(Sound of protesters yelling)
Geoff Thompson: Waving the red and white flag of Indonesia, Eurico Guterres emerged late last night from Jakarta's Cipinang Prison, where East Timor's current Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao spent seven years behind bars.
Eurico Guterres spent only two, despite actually being caught on tape in 1999 ordering his militia men to find and kill independence supporters. Late last week, his appeal against the conviction and 10-year sentence he received in 2006, was upheld by Indonesia's Supreme Court.
Judge Iskandar Kamil even declared that Guterres was "entitled to rehabilitation of his name and receive compensation from the state".
Surrounded by a small band of zealous acolytes, some who imitate his long hairstyle and beard, Guterres was jostled into a car and away to a cafe where he announced his political intentions.
(Eurico Guterres speaking)
"I'm ready, I'm ready to do that," he said, "I belong to that world. What I'm going to do is openly run and let the people decide who they would choose. I'm going to run for the province in West Timor".
(Applause)
It's not an idle ambition either. Sitting next to Guterres, was Zulkifli Hasan, the Secretary-General of the moderate and secular National Mandate Party known as PAN, which was founded by Amien Rais after the fall of Suharto.
(Zulkifli Hasan speaking)
"No law can prohibit Eurico running for office. He could run for parliament, he could run to be regent, or even governor," said Zulkifli Hasan.
"According to Indonesian laws on political parties, there's no prohibition. It's different if the person was involved in criminal cases. We believe that Eurico is not a war criminal and he is not a killer either. We believe Eurico is a warrior for the red and white flag. He's a warrior for Indonesia".
He does have powerful friends. Before leaving prison last night, Suharto's son-in-law and former Kopassus commander, Prabowo Subianto, paid Guterres a visit.
(Prabowo Subianto speaking)
"I come to congratulate Eurico Guterres, I heard he's going to be released soon and I'm happy because finally a patriot, an Indonesian man who is loyal to the red and white flag, is given justice".
As Kopassus chief, Prabowo himself was accused of human rights abuses in East Timor. Perhaps Guterres political aspirations should not be surprising in a country where Yunus Yosfiah, the man who ordered the killings of the Balibo Five, remains in Indonesia's Parliament today.
Ashley Hall: Geoff Thompson reporting from Jakarta.
| Economy & investment |
Jakarta Post - April 11, 2008
Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a revised 2008 state budget projecting lower growth and a bigger fiscal deficit amid a weakening global economy.
Even after the major changes the budget remains vulnerable to downside risks as the global economy is flirting with a deep recession amid a high inflationary environment caused by high energy and food prices.
The revised budget lowers the growth target from 6.8 percent as set in the original budget to 6.4 percent and raises the fiscal deficit by almost 30 percent to Rp 95 trillion (US$10.4 billion). Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said setting macroeconomic assumptions and aggregate revenue and spending estimates in the budget was like shooting at a moving target.
"Therefore, this global economic uncertainty requires better cooperation between the government and the Parliament in responding to new developments with appropriate and quick contingency measures," Sri Mulyani told the plenary session.
The government, Sri Mulyani added, would continue to monitor the situation and had prepared a set of contingency measures to cope with any rapid deterioration of the economic condition. "But we need good cooperation on the part of the House," she said.
She said the budget had needed significant revision so the macroeconomic assumptions used for revenue and spending estimates would be adequately realistic and give the market the right signal on fiscal sustainability.
The budget sets aside Rp 13.5 trillion in contingency funds to cope with an unexpected rise in spending caused by bigger fuel, electricity and food subsidy allocations and other expenditures.
The minister acknowledged the budget was highly vulnerable to significant changes in oil prices. "The average oil price assumption has been raised to $95 which consequently doubles fuel and electricity subsidies to Rp 187 trillion. Things could get worse still if oil prices rise to more than $100 per barrel."
She said the government had prepared a set of contingency measures to ready for a potential ballooning of fuel subsidies, including severe restrictions on the use of subsidized gasoline through the application of smart cards.
Other macroeconomic assumptions used by the revised budget include Bank Indonesia's benchmark interest rate of 7.5 percent and an average crude oil production of 927,000 barrels per day (bpd).
"This crude oil lifting estimate is still rather optimistic given the natural declining output of old wells and because our daily output over the last three days averaged only 916,000 barrels," Sri Mulyani said.
Since Indonesia is already a net oil importer, a lower crude oil lifting means larger imports and consequently bigger subsidies.
The 2008 budget revisions also raise government borrowing from the domestic and international debt markets (bonds) to Rp 117.8 trillion from the Rp 91.6 trillion originally planned. (uwi)
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Novia D.Rulistia, Jakarta – After three years of deliberation, lawmakers endorsed Tuesday a revised shipping bill that will end decades of state monopoly on port ownership.
The bill, however, has led thousands of state port workers to threaten strikes in the coming days.
The bill will allow foreign and domestic private entities to operate ports in Indonesia without having to partner or seek the aid of state port operators PT Pelindo I, II and III, which partly function as port regulators, as well.
"With the arrival of the private sector, Pelindo will no longer be the sole port operator. It will be treated similar to the private entities in a bid to create healthy competition," Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said.
Pelindo's monopoly rights have been blamed by many port stakeholders as the main culprit behind the country's messy port management, leading to a protracted inefficiency in the transport chain.
Under Pelindo's management, Indonesia has yet to have an international port capable of serving direct shipments of Indonesian goods to overseas destinations.
Most Indonesian goods have to stop over in Singapore or Malaysia for collection before being shipped onto final destinations, costing exporters extra shipment fees.
"We expect top-notch international port operators to invest in Indonesia and compete with Pelindo. Eventually, Pelindo will be driven to improve its services in order to survive. This is good for stakeholders," said Jusman.
The bill contains 22 chapters and 355 articles, with eight new chapters regulating, among other things, mortgages and loans, maritime safety and security, the harbor master and the establishment of a sea and coast guard.
Another crucial issue in the bill relates to the "cabotage principle", allowing only locally registered vessels to ship domestic commodities between ports in Indonesian waters.
Jusman said the regulation would help boost demand for services from local shipping firms and create more orders for local shipyards.
According to the ministry of transportation, Indonesian flag vessels last year carried 148.7 million tons of domestic cargo, or 65.3 percent of the total cargo, while the remainder was served by foreign shipping companies.
The bill also provides a legal basis for the industry to put up vessels as collateral for loans. Local banks have long been reluctant to provide loans to the industry due to a lack of collateral.
Last year, the banking sector disbursed Rp 9.8 trillion in loans to the shipping industry, just a small portion of the sector's total lending of Rp 1,000.8 trillion.
The ministry of transportation previously revealed the financial needs of more than Rp 34 trillion (US$3.7 billion) to expand local fleets and shipyard capacity through 2010.
In response to the bill, Pelindo's worker unions have pledged to stage more rallies in the coming days, and may aim a strike at the country's 112 ports.
"We are considering holding a strike, demanding the government and the lawmakers return the function of Pelindo," said chairman of the Pelindo workers union Sudjarwo, adding the workers were concerned Pelindo would respond with massive layoffs as part of efficiency measures to prepare for open competition.
Some key articles in the shipping bill
1. Article 8 (cabotage principle): Activities in domestic sea transportation by national flag vessels. Point 1: Foreign vessels are prohibited from transporting passengers and cargo between islands and ports in Indonesian waters.
2. Article 60 (on mortgages): A more detailed regulation than article 49 in the 1992 shipping law, the article includes provisions for using vessels as collateral.
3. Article 81: Port managers comprise of port authorities for commercial ports, and a port operator for noncommercial use.
4. Article 207: A regulation calling for the presence of a harbor master as a government official who is appointed by a minister and has the highest authority over a port.
5. Article 276: The establishment of a sea and coast guard, an institution set up for supervision and law enforcement at sea and along coasts.
6. Article 344, Point 3: (Pelindo) will remain managing existing activities at ports already under its management.
Jakarta Post - April 10, 2008
Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The government remains upbeat the economy will grow 6.4 percent this year on the back of strong domestic consumption, despite a high inflation rate caused by a surge in key global commodity prices.
Anggito Abimanyu, head of fiscal policy at the Finance Ministry, told a press briefing Wednesday the economy was growing as forecast this year, as demonstrated by an encouraging first quarter performance.
"In the first three months of 2008, the country's economy is estimated to have grown by between 6.2 and 6.3 percent, driven by private consumption," Anggito said.
The official economic growth figure will be revealed by the Central Statistics Agency later in the month.
Anggito said consumption contributed about 60 percent of the national economy, with investment and exports each accounting for about 20 percent.
The rate of private consumption in the first quarter is estimated to be 5.15 percent higher than in the same period last year, a rise attributed mainly to increases in consumer credit, car and motorcycle sales and electricity consumption, he said.
Car sales between January and March this year are estimated to have grown by 60.5 percent on the same period last year. Motorcycle sales have grown 28.6 percent. The national economy grew by 5.98 percent in the first three months of 2007.
"We are optimistic the country's GDP growth can reach 6.4 percent, but we need to control the high inflation rate, which can eventually dampen consumption," Anggito said.
The inflation rate reached 3.41 percent in first quarter, more than half the government's full-year inflation target of 6.5 percent, due to rising global prices of commodities such as soybeans, flour, corn and rice.
The high price of key commodities increases the burden on poor households, which spend most of their income on food. To lower the price of key commodities, the government has implemented measures such as removing the import duty on soybeans and subsidizing rice for poor people.
Anggito said investment growth in the first quarter was estimated at around 9.5 percent, compared with 7 percent recorded in the same period last year. "Investment and working capital loans are showing signs of increasing, meaning the banking sector is supporting them," he said.
Exports are estimated to have dropped from 8.12 percent in the first quarter of 2007 to 7.6 percent between January and March this year.
Economist Cyrillus Harinowo also said he was optimistic about the national economy because domestic consumption remained robust. "I believe the economy can grow by more than 6.2 percent this year, due to the growing consumption rate," he said. He said some consumer goods and food companies had exceeded their first quarter targets.
Jakarta Post - April 8, 2008
Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Despite the government's recent measures to ease panic in domestic debt market, concerns over the sustainability of the state budget, coupled with accelerating inflation, have caused portfolio investors to remain on high alert.
Chairman of the government bond traders Thomas Arifin said on Monday government bond investors were still jittery over the rising risk of bonds following signs that soaring fuel subsidies would undermine fiscal sustainability.
"The market was confused, waiting for a decisive fiscal policy from the government," Thomas, who is also the Bank Mandiri director for treasury, said.
"The market was waiting for answers on how the government would cover the (state budget) deficit amid the soaring fuel subsidy," he said.
Since early last week, investors have jumped on the bandwagon to dump government bonds due to a concern, among others, that accelerating inflation would undermine economic growth.
During the year's first quarter inflation reached 3.41 percent, more than half the government's target of 6.5 percent, according to the Central Statistic Agency.
Concerns among investors have been exacerbated by a projected swelling of the state budget deficit from increasing fuel subsidies, following higher global oil prices.
The widening deficit will force the government to flood the market with more bonds to compensate for the shortfall, a move which will raise the risk on bonds, since investors will demand a higher yield.
On Thursday, panic among investors triggered an increase in government bond yield. The yield from the 20-year FR0047 bond, one of the market benchmarks, rose to 12.58 percent, from 10.92 percent on Feb. 29.
The government, however, bought back Rp 2 trillion (US$217 million) worth of short-term bonds the following day, and temporarily eased pressure on the bonds, which are now considered fairly risky.
Thomas said intense cooperation between the government and the central bank to synchronize their monetary and fiscal policies was crucial to ease panic in the debt market.
He explained that while the market was grateful the government had responded well in stabilizing short-term bond prices, more efforts were needed to stabilize bond prices in the long term.
The government said it was committed to buying back bonds to retain market confidence by launching treasury bills between April 22 and 29.
Zero-coupon and floating-rate bonds are expected to hit the debt market this month.
Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor Budi Mulya said the market had asked for higher yields to offset the declining bond prices.
Budi said in a bid to stabilize bond prices BI had prepared several measures, including storing bonds with declining prices at the central bank for 14 days, and returning them to the market when the fluctuation eased.
"We want to assure the market that the bond prices will not decrease while we are holding them," he said.
| Opinion & analysis |
The Solomon Star - April 14, 2008
Finally, hope for the forgotten Melanesians. And a chance for Prime Minister Derek Sikua and this country to try to help right one of the great wrongs of Melanesia.
It comes with Vanuatu's move to push the cause of the Indonesian- ruled West Papuans at next month's Melanesian Spearhead Group meeting. This is being held in the Vanuatu capital, Port Vila.
Vanuatu Foreign Minister George Wells promised support after the West Papua National Coalition of Liberation met in Port Vila the other day.
Vanuatu wants the West Papuans to be given observer status within the Melanesian Spearhead Group. It would link them with Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Kanaks of New Caledonia.
Dr Sikua should support this Vanuatu move despite all the behind-the-scenes pressures he will now come under not to. For the Indonesians have no more right to occupy West Papua than they did East Timor.
Indonesia's mistreatment of the Papuans and exploitation of West Papua's rich resources are well documented. Just the other day, for instance, TV viewers in Honiara saw a graphic Australia Network documentary telling of the spreading of HIV/AIDS amongst the Papuan population.
There were suggestions this is part of a strategy to weaken the Papuans and strengthen the position of Asian Indonesians being moved into Papua.
So let's never forget the following despite all the huff and puff from Jakarta. Indonesia's occupation of West Papua has no credibility. It was only allowed to happen because it suited American Government interests during the Cold War.
More recently Australian and Papua New Guinean governments have largely kept West Papua off the Pacific Islands Forum agenda. They have thwarted efforts to get the Forum to address the issue of West Papuan self determination.
Canberra does this because it worries about maintaining Australia's own relationships with its massive and sensitive neighbour to its north.
To appease Jakarta, Canberra pragmatically turns a blind eye to the rights of the West Papuans. This has been especially important to Canberra since the fallout with Jakarta over East Timor.
In Port Moresby, there is personal sympathy for their fellow Melanesians across the border in the west.
But Papua New Guinea governments also fear provoking any confrontation with the Indonesians. They are especially wary of the powerful Indonesian military who hold such sway in West Papua and benefit so much from the occupation there.
There are also some in Papua New Guinea who see benefits, perhaps personal, in snuggling up to the Indonesians.
Vanuatu alone has long supported the West Papuan cause. It has been prepared to stand up to all the pressure over this. Not just from the Indonesians but also from Canberra and Port Moresby.
The West Papua National Coalition of Liberation is said to bring together 28 pro-independence groups. Its vice chairman, Dr John Ondawame, told Radio Australia after they met in Port Vila that there are now signs of support from Fiji and Solomon Islands too.
Let's hope this finally translates into a true Melanesian effort to right one of the great wrongs of this part of the world. And Solomon Islands joins Vanuatu in leading this effort.
Granting the West Papuans observer status in the Melanesian Spearhead Group is an important first step.
Jakarta Post Editorial - April 11, 2008
The first thought that came to mind when the government said it planned to block Internet sites that host the anti-Islam documentary Fitna was: What a dumb idea. Those who understand how the Internet works know full well that you cannot censor this medium, unlike television, radio and newspapers. You can block particular sites, but those who look hard enough can find Fitna, the hate documentary produced by a Dutch politician, elsewhere in the ever-expanding virtual world.
Sure enough, in the past few days, those trying to access YouTube from Indonesia found the site was no longer accessible.
YouTube, one of the most popular file-sharing communities on the Internet, hosts the film. The government gave it a few days notice in demanding the removal of the film from YouTube and other similar file-sharing sites. When this demand went largely ignored, Indonesia-based ISPs, at the behest of the government, started blocking access to YouTube and other sites on Wednesday.
Voila, the Indonesian government makes its first foray into censoring the Internet. What a futile effort. What it has done is not quite censoring, for Fitna can be still found on numerous other websites and blogs. Instead, the government has deprived Indonesians access to one of the world's most popular file- sharing communities. This is like the Indonesian expression, "to catch a rat, you burn down the entire rice barn. The rat escapes, and you are left with a razed barn".
YouTube, which is owned by Google, is one of the latest wonders of the Internet. It allows people around the globe to share videos of all kinds. Yes, there are the hate documentaries, far worse than Fitna, posted there.
But by and large, this file-sharing community does more good than harm. Indonesian artists seeking to penetrate the global film industry have a chance to break the mold through this medium. Talents that otherwise would have been ignored can now find space, and perhaps their big break, through YouTube.
Education, the dissemination of information and exchange of cultural products are just some of the areas that benefit tremendously from sites like YouTube.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must have received some frighteningly dumb advice when he, at a press conference, demanded that YouTube remove Fitna from its site. There was no way YouTube would have complied, and besides, now that the site is blocked, people can still get hold of the film.
It is not clear who the President was trying to appease. The religious conservatives? They too are among the prime beneficiaries of YouTube. What the President has done is to alienate millions of Indonesians, particularly the young generation, who find file-sharing communities on the Internet not only useful but an indispensable part of their lives. If Barack Obama is appealing to the young Internet generation to vote in this year's presidential election in the United States, Yudhoyono seems to be doing exactly the opposite.
Those dumb advisers could not have been completely ignorant of the ineffectiveness of Internet censorship. The fact that they went ahead, and the President took their advice, sends a disturbing sign that they are not only dumb, but also dangerous. It shows a mindset that takes us a decade back to the era of censorship.
We see the signs in the present administration's efforts to restore some form of control over the media. The plan to review the 1999 Press Law, the latest draft of the Criminal Code that reinstates restrictions on freedom of expression and the new law on the cybermedia with its censorship clauses all point to an administration ever eager to give itself some control over what society reads, listens to and views.
Indonesia's commitment to freedom of expression and the right to information, both of which are guaranteed in the Constitution, are now being put in doubt. When Indonesia hosts the next Global Inter-Media Dialogue in Bali, President Yudhoyono will have to answer a lot of questions about his own personal commitment to guaranteeing freedom of expression in Indonesia.