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Indonesia News Digest 23 – June 15-22, 2008
Associated Press - June 22, 2008
Sara Schonhardt, Jakarta – Thirteen-year-old Yulianto has spent
half his life in an orphanage, but not because his parents are
dead.
His mom and dad, he quietly explained as he stared at the ground,
were too poor to feed him and put him through school. And he
longs to leave Parapattan Orphanage in central Jakarta and return
to them. "I just want to be with my parents, even if it means I
cannot get an education," he said.
Across Indonesia, there are thousands of children like Yulianto.
A major survey of the nation's child care institutions this month
found orphanages flooded with children separated from their
parents not by death, but because of poverty.
Staff at four Jakarta orphanages and a child protection worker
say they expect more of these children as soaring fuel and food
prices put greater pressure on already strained families.
"They were already facing problems and the increase in fuel and
food prices will certainly make it more difficult," said Florence
Martin, a Save the Children child protection adviser in Jakarta.
Indonesia has up to 500,000 children – or 0.6 percent of the
country's roughly 85 million children – living in institutions,
one of the highest rates in the world, the report said. Of those,
90 percent still have one or more parent alive.
World Bank figures show that around half of Indonesia's 235
million people live on less than $2 a day. Adding to the hardship
are soaring prices of staple foods and a 30 percent increase in
fuel costs in May.
"I know my children are angry with me, but I try to convince them
that is the best choice for us," said Tinor Niang, a 38-year-old
noodle vendor who brought her two sons to Parapattan nine years
ago. "As a mother I want to take care of my children but I cannot
be selfish. I want the best future for them, so I have no
choice."
The study by US-based charity Save the Children and the
Indonesian government was the first detailed look at children's
homes. It surveyed six provinces and analyzed the legal and
political issues facing the institutions. The survey found
government policy was in part fueling the surge in parents giving
up their kids.
As part of efforts to combat poverty, the government has for five
years funded orphanages based on the number of children they
register, leading religious and social organizations to establish
new institutions and actively "recruit" children, the survey
found. The survey pointed to a dramatic rise in the number of
orphanages – as many as 8,000, up from 1,600 in 1998.
"If you wanted to be mean, you could say running an institution
is a pretty good business," said Martin. "When you've got 10
children coming out, you need to find 10 children to come in."
Makmur Sunusi, director general for social services and
rehabilitation at the Welfare Ministry, said the government was
looking at ways to help poor families without breaking them up.
Almost all of Indonesia's children's homes are privately run,
many by Islamic organizations in this majority Muslim country.
Nearly half run on less than $10,000 a year, the report found.
In the 36 homes surveyed, the children spent much of the time
when they were not at school cooking, cleaning and looking after
younger children because the institutions were understaffed.
Staff quoted in the report were not worried about this, saying
the children were receiving free food and education and would
almost certainly be working in the fields or helping their
parents if they had remained at home.
Most children have very little contact with their families –
perhaps a brief visit home once a year – because they are too poor
to travel, according to the report.
Some institutions discourage relationships between children and
their families because "it is believed the moral guidance
children get in institutions would be weakened by contact with
parents," Martin said.
Yulianto, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, lives in
Parapattan with 65 other kids. The home encourages families to
visit, but many parents say they cannot often do so because they
lack money and work long hours. The buildings are clean, but
signs of wear and tear are everywhere. Paint peels from the
walls, grass grows up between cracked concrete flooring. In the
yard, boys use sandals to bat plastic balls over a shredded net.
Farm laborer Noldi Jacob held back tears explaining why he left
his children at Parapattan.
"The economic situation is getting more difficult and I cannot
depend on my brothers and sisters to pay for my children," he
said. "As a father it pains me to admit that I cannot finance my
children, but I believe this orphanage can guide, love and teach
them."
Jakarta Post - June 21, 2008
Jakarta – A student from National University (Unas) died Friday
after being detained by police for 13 days and then treated at
two Jakarta hospitals another two weeks, Pertamina Hospital
officials said.
Maftuh Fauzi was among 31 students arrested at dawn on May 24 and
detained for almost two weeks at the South Jakarta Police
station.
The arrest followed a protest over the fuel price increase by
hundreds of students at their campus in Pasar Minggu, South
Jakarta. The protest turned ugly when both students and the
police threw rocks at each other.
Police released the students June 2 after the university's rector
and parents guaranteed they would report to the police twice a
week.
In the first of two press conferences Friday afternoon, the
hospital said Maftuh had died of an infection. They added a CT-
scan had not revealed any sign of injury to Maftuh's head.
Later in the evening, hospital executives held another
conference. "Based on our examination, the patient died of HIV,"
Widya Sarkawi, the hospital's vice medical director said.
Widya said hospital management was not supposed to disclose such
information to the public without permission from Maftuh's
family. "But we were asked to announce it, so we did."
The statement was booed by dozens of Unas students, who believed
their friend died as a result of wounds inflicted by police
officers. Witnesses said they saw Maftuh being beaten by police
officers during the rally.
Students said they were not beaten while detained by police.
Maftuh was rushed to Indonesian Christian University (UKI)
Hospital a day after he was released from detention. He was
treated for two weeks at the hospital.
Later on June 18, he was transferred to Pertamina Hospital. Widya
said Maftuh was barely conscious when he entered the hospital.
State Palace spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said the palace conveyed
deep condolences over Maftuh's death.
Around 200 students staged a protest and blocked the street in
front of the South Jakarta Police station. They demanded the
police be held responsible for their harsh methods in halting the
protest last month, which they claimed resulted in Maftuh's
death.
The body of the English literature student, who was in his fifth
year at Unas, was taken by his family to Kebumen, Central Java,
in the afternoon. The family refused an autopsy.
Aceh
West Papua
Human rights/law
Environment/natural disasters
Agriculture & food security
Health & education
War on corruption
Reconciliation & justice
Islam/religion
Elections/political parties
Economy & investment
Opinion & analysis
News & issues
Indonesian parents facing poverty give up children
Unas student dies a month after protest clash, detention
Police prohibit protest schedules being published on internet
Tempo Interactive - June 16, 2008
Rika Panda, Jakarta – Starting from today, Monday June 16, the planned schedule for protest actions or demonstrations by the public in and around Jakarta will no longer be published though the interactive media to the broader public.
According to an official from the Metro Jaya Regional Police Traffic Management Centre, First Inspector Sidik, the schedule is longer allowed to be published because there is a prohibition against publishing it.
"Indeed it is no longer permissible to publish the schedule of demonstrations to the broader public", he said. It is unclear why it cannot be published.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Jakarta Post - June 16, 2008
Jakarta – Around 4,000 activists nationwide will gather at the Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta between June 23 and 25 to discuss their position on government policies.
The event, which will bring together activists from all generations, will be larger than the university student movement of 1998, activist Adian Napitupulu said in a press conference on Sunday.
The event will feature public discussions attended by, among others, former head of the National Development Planning Agency Kwik Kian Gie and politician Eros Djarot, followed by a series of political speeches by activists.
On the agenda for discussion are the fuel price rise, the overthrow of the Yudhoyono-Kalla government and the recapture of national oil and gas assets.
"We will come up with a decision on whether to invade the House of Representatives as in 1998, besiege the State Palace or something else, but we are positive this movement will bring changes to the country," Adian said, as quoted by kompas.com.
Kompas - June 15, 2008
Jakarta – Activists throughout Indonesia will change their strategy in the war against the government, which they say is issuing policies that bring suffering to the people. They will no longer wage war in a spontaneous manner, but unit to fight against government policies that fail to side with the poor.
This will be realised at an Inter-Generational Activists Meeting (Tali Generasi) at the Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta on June 23-25. Around 4,000 activists will use the opportunity to hold a discussion to decide on a position to take on government policies, particularly the recent increase in the price of fuel.
"Not only that, they will also be inviting the mass base from throughout Indonesia, including among others from Jakarta, Bogor, Cirebon, Cianjur, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Malang, Jambi and Makassar. We, will use this opportunity to invite all the universities in Jakarta that number some 126 campuses, members of the DPR [House of Representatives], SMU [State High School] students, workers and farmers", said 1998 activist Adian Napitupulu in a press statement in Jakarta on Sunday June 15.
According to Napitupulu, the forum will take up three programs – the fuel price increases, the fight for oil and gas assets and the overthrow of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Napitupulu said he was positive that the forum would bring change to the country. "If [we] were not positive, we would not hold the meeting", he added.
The series of events on July 23 will start with an open discussion with speakers such as Eros Djarot, Bondan Gunawan, Ratna Sarumpaet, Fadjroel Rachman and Kwik Kian Gie. In the afternoon this will be followed by political speeches by movement figures from various generations.
On June 24, they will [discuss] what steps will be undertaken to confront future events that will take place in Indonesia. "Weather the meeting decides to again occupy the DPR like in 1998, or in fact besiege the Palace for several days or whatever the decision, thousands of activist will make the decision, with of course an ethical contract, not to return home until change has taken place!", he explained.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Aceh |
Jakarta Post - June 19, 2008
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Proposals for the establishment of two new provinces in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam have met with criticism from a prominent activist and a local politician.
Elfian Effendi, executive director of Greenomics Indonesia, an independent policy development institute, and Nasir Djamil, a provincial legislator from the Prosperous Justice Party, on Wednesday said the proposals were unrealistic, and called instead for increased sustainable development and security.
The proposed formation of the new provinces, Aceh Leuser Antara (ALA) and Southwest Aceh (ABAS), is intended to focus development efforts in specific areas, particularly along the west coast, which was devastated by the December 2004 tsunami.
However, Elfian and Nasir said it would threaten the fragile peace agreement between the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian government. They added the proposals could revive separatist sentiments that wracked the province over the past three decades.
"The idea of establishing the two new provinces has raised pros and cons among the people and has raised specters from a past conflict that left many people bereaved, impoverished and without hope," Elfian told The Jakarta Post. He said the formation of the new provinces would not help boost development, and would only threaten the province's sovereignty.
"Both the 2005 Helsinki peace deal and the law clearly stipulate Aceh's boundaries extend from the east coast to the west coast, and leave no room for the formation of new provinces," he said.
He called on all interested parties, including the government and security forces, to value the peaceful situation in the province and not make any decisions that would threaten it.
"This peaceful condition should be maintained to allow the province to catch up with other provinces in terms of development," Elfian said.
Nasir Djamil admitted there was a disparity in the development of the east and west coasts, but said this was mainly due to the separatist uprising and the tsunami.
He said increasing demands for the creation of the new provinces would gradually die down if the current administration, particularly at regency and municipal levels, used the considerable provincial budget wisely in funding social development programs.
Nasir also called into question the commitment of regional leaders in developing the west coast of the province, and said a large part of the budget had already been allocated to education, health, social services and infrastructure in regencies and municipalities.
He said of the province's 2008 budget of Rp 26 trillion, some Rp 17.6 trillion had been evenly distributed to all regencies and municipalities. "Besides, the governor has set up a special team to speed up development along the west coast, and their funding comes directly from the provincial budget," he said.
Nasir said the onus was now squarely on the governor to persuade regents and mayors to prioritize lower income residents when planning their respective budgets, just as required by the qanun (bylaw).
"With the huge funds provided by international donors, regional heads should be able to provide free healthcare, free education and repair all damaged infrastructure, including roads, schools and hospitals, to stimulate economic development in rural areas, especially along the west coast."
Jakarta Post - June 16, 2008
Hotli Simanjuntak, Lhokseumawe – Residents in a North Aceh village almost cut off a thief's hand late Saturday, in what was the first known attempt at sharia-style punishment of its kind in the province.
Saidan, 50, was rushed to the hospital unconscious after locals in Meurah Mulia district accused him of stealing cattle and beat him up before attempting to sever his left hand.
Residents of Desa Manyang said they had heard a villager cry for help when Saidan was killing a goat in a shed behind a house. They ambushed Saidan and tried to carry out the first sharia- style punishment for stealing in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, although no such penalty formally exists here.
A local, Muhammad, said villagers had been frustrated for some time with thieves targeting their cattle. "Usually thieves kill their catch in their sheds and take the meat to market," he said.
Police said residents should not have taken the law into their own hands, adding that Aceh does not have a regulation on stealing.
Since sharia law was introduced in 2004 the provincial government has formulated bylaws on four issues – Muslim clothing, liquor, gambling and sexual behavior – all punishable by flogging in public. Natsir Ilyas, the head of the provincial sharia agency, said so far there had been 22 cases of such punishments.
North Aceh Police chief Adj. Snr. Comr. Zulkifli said locals should have delivered the suspect to the police.
"They should not have tried to cut off his hand; we have other legal ways of dealing with thieves," he told The Jakarta Post. There was no immediate report of arrests of residents involved in the incident.
Critics of sharia law in Aceh, based on its special autonomy law, say its implementation discriminates against women and the poor. Dozens of other regencies across the country have also adopted "Islamic" bylaws, making use of unprecedented authority under regional autonomy.
The government said it would review bylaws in violation of the Constitution. However in February home minister Mardiyanto said there was no problem with the bylaws, saying they were only on public order and did not apply to non Muslims.
| West Papua |
Jakarta Post - June 21, 2008
Antara, Wamena, Papua – Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto officiated Saturday five new regencies in Papua as well as installing five temporary regents.
The five new regencies were Central Mamberamo regency with five districts with Kobakma as the regental seat. Created by the Law No. 3/2008, the first regent is David Pagawak.
Yalimo regency also has five districts with Elelim as the regental capital. Created by the Law No. 4/2008, the first regent is Elia Ibrahim Loupatty.
Meanwhile, Lanny Jaya was created by the Law No.5/2008 and has 10 districts. Its first regent is Pribadi Sukartono. The regental capital is Tiom.
The Law No. 6/2008 creates Nduga regency with eight districts and Kenyam as the administrative center. Hans Dortheus is the first regnt.
Puncak regency also has eight districts with Ilaga as the regental seat being created by the Law No. 7/2008. The first regent is Simon Alom.
The regents will work for one year to prepare the new regencies' administrations as well as preparing for elections to pick definitive regents.
With the creation of these five regencies – as well as Dogiyai regency which was created earlier – currently there are 12 regencies in the Central Mountain region of Papua province.
The ceremony was highlighted with the bakar batu traditional feast to express the people's gratitude of having their own regencies.
Agence France Presse - June 20, 2008
Jakarta – Anglo-Australian giant BHP Billiton and an Indonesian firm announced Thursday a massive nickel mining partnership that has environmentalists raising concerns about a protected island paradise.
The 50-50 joint venture between BHP and state-owned Antam in eastern Indonesia has raised fears for marine life in the rich waters off Gag Island in West Papua province.
The companies have released few details of the plan, which is subject to their boards' approvals, but a BHP Billiton spokeswoman in Melbourne said it related to deposits on Gag and Halmahera Island in North Maluku.
She could not confirm reports that it could lead to the development of a 4.9-billion-dollar nickel smelter.
"This is really early days. The agreement's conditional on approval by the boards of BHP Billiton and Antam. The BHP Billiton board hasn't yet approved any specific project," she told AFP.
Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board has said the joint venture will involve the creation of nickel mines and refineries in Maluku and West Papua valued at 2.5 billion dollars.
The forests of Gag Island, adjacent to the Raja Ampat island group off the western tip of the Papuan mainland, are technically protected but in 2004 the government allowed exceptions for certain companies to mine there.
The removal of the restrictions came amid reports that BHP was pressuring Jakarta to drop environmental obstacles to the island's exploitation. BHP has denied these allegations in the past.
The United Nations' education and scientific agency, UNESCO, has been considering putting the Raja Ampat and Gag islands on its world heritage list as the richest area of marine biodiversity on earth.
"Most mining companies have an agreement that you don't mine in world heritage sites," UNESCO environmental scientist Koen Meyers said.
But because the islands are only nominated for heritage listing the Indonesian government "has the decision" on mining, he said.
The islands' formal listing as a heritage site had been stalled by Jakarta's failure to designate them as a national park. "The problem with Raja Ampat is that it does not have the highest protection status in the country," Meyers said.
Siti Maimunah, executive director of mining watchdog Jatam, said the joint venture was a "scandal."
"It's a scandal for a company from a developed country to mine an area with some of the richest biodiversity in the world," Maimunah said. "The economy in the region will collapse. Traditional fishing will die and the locals will lose their land."
Conservation International Indonesia director Jatna Supriatna said irresponsible large-scale mining could pose a major risk to the entire ecosystem.
"Exploration on Gag Island has started but we hope that before exploiting the island's rich nickel deposits the companies' environmental impact analysis is carefully done," he said.
"If they dump their tailing into the sea... the tailings will impact the Raja Ampat islands and destroy an area that has been proposed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site."
He said small-scale illegal mining was already rampant in the Raja Ampat islands.
The joint venture comes amid a long-term trend of rising nickel prices, which have doubled in the past five years driven by demand from China for stainless steel.
Jakarta has been desperate to boost foreign direct investment, particularly in the mining sector where companies have complained of confusing regulations and red tape.
Jakarta Post - June 19, 2008
Jayapura, Papua – In a bid to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, the National AIDS Commission (KPAD) in Merauke has marked red light districts and entertainment centers employing workers infected with HIV/AIDS with red flags.
"Red light districts and discotheques whose owners send their workers for regular medical checkups are given blue flags to show they're safe," Joseph Rinta, head of the Merauke health office, said Wednesday in a phone interview.
The decision to mark out establishments was reached by owners of the entertainment centers, non-governmental organizations and the KPAD, Rinta said.
The choice of color was purely arbitrary, he said, while the crux of the exercise was to protect the public from the dangers of HIV/AIDS. "Anyone visiting a brothel and intending to have sex is advised to use a condom if the brothel is marked with a red flag," he said.
He added the marking system was still in its infancy. "This actually serves as a kind of shock therapy. Our aim is to discourage people from having more than one sex partner," he said.
At least 10 sex workers in the regency are confirmed to have HIV/AIDS, but they continue to work in the red light districts. Some 987 cases of the disease have been reported, with 242 fatalities.
Sydney Morning Herald - June 17, 2008
Mark Forbes, Jakarta – Rising tensions between hardline Islamic groups moving into Indonesia's Papuan and Christian communities could erupt into violent conflict, the International Crisis Group warns.
A group senior adviser, Sidney Jones, said the situation could seriously deteriorate. Several incidents last year came close to violence, with the blocking of plans to build a new mosque and Christian groups being forced to take down a large Christmas tree, Ms Jones said.
"The potential for communal conflict is high in Papua because both sides consider themselves aggrieved," she said.
Christian Pentecostals and charistmatics are gaining ground at the same time as hardline Islamic groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, exacerbating the problem.
"Relations between Muslims and Christians are strained in Papua and likely to worsen because of demographics, aggressive proselytising by hardline elements on both sides, political use of religious history and outside developments that harden perceptions of the other as enemy," the report states.
"The communal divide is overlain by a political one: many Christian Papuans believe autonomy has not gone nearly far enough, while many Muslim migrants see it as a disaster and are fervent supporters of centralised rule from Jakarta."
Government-backed migration of Indonesians into the province has led to a dramatic increase in the proportion of Muslims to close to half the population, the report estimates. "Most Papuan leaders are in a state of denial," Ms Jones said. "But at the grassroots level, feelings are very strong."
Religious tensions are exacerbating Papua's long-running independence disputes, with Islamic extremists claiming Christians supported by Australia and the US are attempting to separate the province from Indonesia.
Jakarta Post - June 17, 2008
Jakarta – The International Crisis Group (ICG) has warned Indonesia of potential communal conflict in the country's easternmost province due to strained relations between Muslims and Christians.
"Papua has seen periodic clashes between pro-independence supporters and government forces, but conflict between Muslim and Christian communities could also erupt unless rising tensions are effectively managed," the ICG said in a report released Monday.
It said the interreligious ties were likely to worsen because of "demographics, aggressive proselytizing by hard-line elements (among) both sides' demographics, political use of religious history and outside developments that harden perceptions of the other as enemy".
"The potential for communal conflict is high in Papua because both sides consider themselves aggrieved," ICG senior advisor Sidney Jones said.
"Indigenous Christians feel threatened by ongoing Muslim migration and a sense that the government is endorsing Islamic orthodoxy at the expense of non-Muslim minorities.
"Muslim migrants feel democracy may be leading to a tyranny of the majority, where in the long term they will face discrimination or even expulsion," Sidney said.
The report said tensions were most acute along Papua's west coast, where they almost erupted into an open conflict in Manokwari and Kaimana districts in 2007.
The Manokwari drama started in 2005, when Christians mobilized to prevent the establishment of an Islamic center and mosque on a site they considered holy.
The communal tensions intensified in 2007 when a draft of a local government ordinance, believed to discriminate against non- Christians, surfaced among the public.
A new draft, much milder but still likely to face opposition from the Muslim community, appeared in May 2008.
The ICG noted an influx of more exclusivist groups in both communities, including hard-line Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia and, on the Christian side, evangelical churches such as Jemaah Jalan Suci (Congregation of the Holy Way).
The report recommended that authorities avoid supporting exclusivist religious groups, reject discriminatory local regulations and seek to identify areas of high tension.
It also called for public debate on the percentage of jobs for Papuans and the impact on further migration of non-Papuans.
Wahidin Ismail, a member of the Regional Representatives Council from West Papua, however, doubted the report.
"I've just come back from several districts in West Papua. The situation is not as dramatic as the report suggests," he told The Jakarta Post.
Wahidin said there had been a demand for a regional bylaw aimed to change Manokwari into a sort of "Bible city", but this initiative was never heeded.
Wahidin said West Papua had an interreligious forum to prevent communal conflict in the province.
"This forum works actively to prevent West Papua from entering the communal conflict seen in areas like Maluku and Poso (Central Sulawesi)," he said. (alf)
| Human rights/law |
Tempo Interactive - June 20, 2008
Nanang Sutisna, Purwakarta – Domestic Violence has increased every year. Activist from the Functional Group (Golkar), Nurul Arifin, said domestic violence and human trafficking to only Juni 2008 has reached 15,000 cases. Last year, it was 25,000 cases for one year.
Nurul said investigators should not use the criminal code for investigating domestic violence cases. "Instead, they should use the anti-domestic violence regulation," said Nurul.
She explained that women trafficking usually occurs to those living on the north coast like Karawang and Indramayu. "But mostly, it happens in Nusa Tenggara," said Nurul.
Anne Ratna Mustika, head of a community family welfare organization (PKK) for Purwakarta recorded 20 people involved in human trafficking in 2007-2008. " PKK now is legally investigating them," said Anne.
Jakarta Post - June 21, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Police are being urged to widen the probe on the murder of human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib following the arrest of ex-State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono.
Activists, legal experts and lawmakers said Friday there may have been a "grand scenario" to kill Munir, involving higher-ranking officials above Muchdi. Police should not end the investigation with Muchdi's detention, they said.
Prominent legal expert Frans H. Winata said the alleged grand conspiracy was clear from the evidence presented during the trial of Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who was jailed for 20 years for the premeditated murder of Munir.
"I think there is no question about the involvement of Muchdi. But because many believe he is just an executor, the question is then whether the police and prosecutors can come up with key suspects," he said.
Frans said the cross-examination of Muchdi and BIN agents – Pollycarpus and key witness Budi Santoso – would open the possibility of discovering the masterminds behind the murder.
After years of uncertainty, the police arrested Muchdi on charges of violating Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death. His name was mentioned in a written statement issued by Budi Santoso and read out during the trial of Pollycarpus.
In his written testimony, Budi said he had been ordered by Muchdi to give Pollycarpus Rp 10 million (US$1,075) on June 14, 2004, and another Rp 3-4 million for an unknown reason when Pollycarpus was under investigation over Munir's murder.
Human rights activist Hendardi, who is a former fact-finding team member on the Munir murder, said the arrest of Muchdi was just the start of a long journey to find the murder masterminds.
"When the fact-finding team submitted its report, we concluded that it was a criminal conspiracy to eliminate Munir. We proposed names, including Muchdi and his BIN superior, to the police for investigation. But they have only taken action now," he said.
Hendardi, who is now chairman of the Setara Institute, said the investigators must also unravel the motives behind the murder. "If they manage to find the motives then we can also find for whom Muchdi and others work, and for what political interests," he said.
Hendardi argued that Muchdi and his group may have worked as individuals or on behalf of BIN. "Muchdi must reject any attempt to make himself a scapegoat. He must tell the police about his accomplices," he said.
Munir was poisoned to death with arsenic on board a Garuda Indonesia flight on Sept. 7, 2004, from Singapore to Amsterdam. Pollycarpus was on the same flight as Munir, which was made possible by an assignment letter signed by Garuda president director Indra Setiawan.
Indra was sentenced to one year in prison for assisting the premeditated murder of Munir but walked free in April after serving 10 months in detention at the National Police headquarters.
Another former BIN deputy chief M. As'ad was also linked to the high-profile murder. He allegedly assigned Pollycarpus to act as a security officer on the flight between Jakarta and Amsterdam.
Detik.com - June 21, 2008
Rafiqa Qurrata A., Jakarta – The deputy chairperson of the House of Representatives Commission III on law and human rights, Soeripto says the plan to assassinate Munir was put together during a National Intelligence Agency (BIN) meeting in 2004. At the time, Munir was included in the category 'G" list or a 'problem'.
"What I heard was that according the evaluation at the time, Munir was included in the category of a 'problem' but not yet a 'threat'", said Soeripto during a discussion with Detik.com on Saturday June 21.
Soeripto explained that there were four categories used as a reference in intelligence operations to cope with threats against the state. The terms were ATHG - threat (ancaman), challenge (tantangan), hindrance (hambatan) and problem (gangguan).
Those categorised as a 'threat' were for example people who were suspected of planning a coup d'etat or rebellion.
"If they were still at the problem level, they were not considered a serious [threat] and did not have to be eliminated. At most just a warning", added the intelligence observer who is also a politician from the Justice and Prosperity Party.
Soeripto added that BIN is an intelligence institution whose user is the president, meaning BIN operations must be reported to the president.
"Because the user is the president, the intelligence product should, according to regulations, be reported to the president. The question is then, did BIN report this matter (the plan to murder Munir) to the president, who at the time was Megawati [Sukarnoputri]", he said. (fiq/ana)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Detik.com - June 21, 2008
Rafiqa Qurrata A, Jakarta – The plan to eliminate Munir was reportedly hatched during a National Intelligence Agency (BIN) leadership meeting that took place in 2004. Muchdi Purwo Prandjono – who at the time was Deputy Chief V at BIN – was actually nothing more than the executor.
"That was the result of the joint meeting, the one that took the decision was of course BIN chief Hendropriyono. Muchdi was just the executor, because his post was deputy chief for agent mobilisation", said Soeripto, the deputy chairperson of the House of Representatives Commission III on law and human rights and intelligence observer when speaking with Detik.com on Saturday June 21.
Soeripto explained that from the information that he has gathered the meeting took place several weeks before Munir died on September 7, 2004. "Around one or two weeks earlier", said the bald headed man.
The meeting, he continued, was chaired by BIN chief A.M. Hendropriyono. Present at the meeting, among others, was BIN Deputy Chief M. As'ad Said Ali, Deputy II for Security Affairs Manunggal Maladi, Deputy V for Agent Mobilisation Muchdi and BIN Secretary Nurhadi, who now holds the post of Indonesian Ambassador to Kenya.
"There was only one agenda item at the meeting, eliminating Munir", said the Justice and Prosperity Party politician.
Soeripto is asking that all BIN officials who were present at the meeting be questioned by those investigating the Munir case. "All of these issues must be examined", he added. (fiq/ana)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Kompas - June 20, 2008
Malang – Munir's family, who live in the East Java city of Malang, have expressed their appreciation to the government for the progress made in the investigation of the murder of the human rights activists. It is hoped that the uncovering of a new suspect in the case – Muchdi Purwo Prandjono – will be able to bring all of the central actors in the murder before the courts.
"We commend the developments in the investigation with the arrest of Muchdi PR. At least things are heading along the right track. Only Muchdi is not alone. His was only a secondary person at the State Intelligence Agency (BIN). There is undoubtedly a first, a third person and so on. We hope that the government can finalise this case, so that the law will become the 'supreme commander' in this country", said Munir's older brother Rasyid Said Thalib on Friday June 20 in Malang.
According to Rasyid, Munir's family already knew that Prandjono would be dragged into the case around 10 days beforehand. Because at the time all of the indications and developments in the investigation were heading in the direction of the former BIN deputy. "Although we commend the government's steps in not being hasty about the arrest. So that in the end the arrest will not end up being in vain", said Rasyid.
For Rasyid, the naming of Prandjono as a suspect should not just be seen in terms of being satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The problem is a wider one – the issue of law enforcement. "Hopefully this can become a test case that the government's pledge to uphold the law can actually be carried out. It is hoped that later on the public will be able to know what the true motive for the murder was. Was there was a political element or not?", said Rasyid.
Military observer Muhadjir Effendy from the Malang Muhammadiyah University said that with the arrest of Prandjono BIN's credibility is on the line. He is not too convinced however that Prandjono's arrest will lead to a quick resolution of the case.
"Up until now those arrested have only been Munir's murderers. What about in terms of Munir himself. Why was he murdered and so forth. That has yet to be revealed. Whereas this could be the key to speeding up the resolution of this case", said Effendy.
In addition to this, according to Effendy, up until now Indonesia has yet to take an explicit line on the Indonesian military's (TNI) authority in terms of its basic military duties while on the other hand it is sometimes seen as a civil violation.
Many of the cases involving the TNI exist within grey areas. Including actions that on the one hand represent its basic duties, and on the other hand are seen as violations of civil law. "This is what sometimes becomes quite a complex problem", said Effendy.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Kompas - June 20, 2008
Jakarta – With the naming of former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy Muchdi Purwo Prandjono as a suspect in the Munir murder case, it is appropriate that police be commended. Munir's widow Suciwati however admits to being worried about the continuation of the case, particularly in relation to the integrity of other law enforcement agencies such as the Attorney General's Office and the courts.
"Will there still be a commitment because the police's hard work must also be accompanied by a quality prosecutor and judge that can compliment it. Don't let it turn out like Pollycarpus [Budihari Priyanto] that had to drag on for so long whereas the fact already existed", said Suciwati at a press conference at the offices of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in Jakarta on Friday June 20.
Suciwati revealed that the naming of Prandjono as a suspect represents a long wait after Munir's death four years ago and repeated rejections of recommendations [that he be investigated].
Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (KASUM) chairperson Usman Hamid said that there is no need to form a new Fact Finding Team (TPF). "The most important thing is monitoring from other institutions", said Hamid.
Former TPF member Hendardi meanwhile said that police have a duty to find out whether Prandjono's involvement also indicates the involvement of BIN as an institution in the premeditated murder or whether Prandjono is simply involved as an individual because he once saw Munir as a figure that was vocal on human rights issues.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Kompas - June 20, 2008
Jakarta – The naming of former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy Muchdi Purwo Prandjono as a new suspect by police in the murder of human rights activist Munir should be commended. The Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (KASUM) however believes that this is not the end of the case, but rather the start of a process to resolve the Munir case and uncover the hidden conspiracy behind the premeditated murder.
It is because of this therefore, that KASUM chairperson Usman Hamid is also asking police to question former BIN chief retired General A.M. Hendropriyono. "By tracing the role of other people who have yet to be revealed, we are asking police to question Hendropriyono to reveal who planned Munir's murder", said Hamid at the office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in Jakarta on Friday June 20.
Meanwhile an activist from KASUM's legal division, Choirul Anam, said that according to the records of the Munir Fact Finding Team (TPF), based on all of the documents and new evidence that emerged during the trial of Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, Prandjono's was not the sole individual in planning the murder. "When Polly[carpus] was tried in court it showed that he [Prandjono] was not the sole planner. There are still others [at large]", said Anam.
KASUM hopes that the police will be able to work optimally and discover the other powerful figures who were involved in the premeditated murder of Munir.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Jakarta Post - June 20, 2008
Jakarta – Former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono was detained by the National Police late Thursday, a day after being named a suspect in the murder case of human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira said Muchdi could be charged in violation of Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death.
Muchdi arrived at the National Police headquarters at about 7 p.m., escorted by his team of lawyers and police detectives led by National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri. "Muchdi is now being questioned by the investigators," Abubakar said.
He said the police had sent a letter to Muchdi on Wednesday declaring him a new suspect in the Munir case. The letter also said Muchdi was expected to turn himself in to the police by Friday at the latest. "However, Muchdi's lawyer called us this afternoon (Thursday), telling us that he would surrender earlier," he added.
Muchdi has been alleged to have played a part in the murder of Munir, who died from arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight on Sept. 7, 2004, from Singapore to Amsterdam.
The name of Muchdi was mentioned in a written statement issued by BIN agent Budi Santoso that was read out in court during the trial of Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto. Pollycarpus was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for the premeditated murder of Munir.
In his written testimony, Budi said based on Muchdi's orders, he gave Pollycarpus Rp 10 million (US$1,075) on June 14, 2004, and another Rp 3-4 million for an unknown purpose when Pollycarpus was under investigation in connection with Munir's murder. Pollycarpus repeatedly claimed he did not know Muchdi.
Pollycarpus was on the same flight with Munir, which was made possible by the fact an assignment letter was signed by Garuda president director Indra Setiawan. Indra was sentenced to one year in prison for assisting the premeditated murder of Munir but walked free in April after serving 10 months in detention at the National Police headquarters.
Initial evidence indicated that Munir was poisoned on the flight between Jakarta and Singapore. However, the latest evidence suggests Munir was poisoned at Singapore's Changi Airport.
Besides Muchdi, former BIN deputy chief M. As'ad has also been linked to the high-profile murder. As'ad allegedly assigned Pollycarpus as a security officer on the flight between Jakarta and Amsterdam.
Antara News - June 20, 2008
Jakarta – Former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono said he did not know former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who was convicted of murdering human rights activist Munir Thalib.
"Muchdi does not know Pollycarpus and is neither involved directly nor indirectly in the Munir case," Luthfi Hakim, one of Muchdi's lawyers, said Friday in between his client's questioning.
He said his client knew nothing about the murder and that he had not had any phone conversation with Pollycarpus, but admitted that his client's office number was once used to dial Pollycarpus' home. "It was just a connection between phone numbers, not between Muchdi and Pollycarpus," Hakim said.
Muchdi also denied sending a letter to PT Garuda, the country's flag carrier, to request for Pollycarpus to be placed on the same flight as Munir, the lawyer said. "Muchdi never wrote the letter nor asked anyone to write the letter," he said.
Commenting on laboratory analysis indicating that the letter was typed on Muchdi's computer, the lawyer further denied his client's involvement as the latter was said to not have owned a computer in his office and could not operate a computer.
Muchdi responded to 36 questions posed by the police during the first round of questioning, which was temporarily halted for lunch and Friday prayer, he said. Muchdi signed an arrest warrant but has not been jailed yet as he was still being questioned Friday.
Police previously named Muchdi as a suspect in the murder of the country's leading rights activist Munir, summoning him to the National Police Headquarters for questioning on Friday, June 20. Muchdi, however, handed himself in on Thursday, Nataprawira said.
Muchdi PR's name was mentioned during the trials of two other people involved in Munir's murder. A Munir case fact-finding team had also recommended he should be questioned.
The two people who have already been tried and convicted for Munir's murder are former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto and former PT Garuda airline company president director Indra Setiawan. The two were sentenced to 20 years and 1 year imprisonment, respectively.
Munir died of arsenic poisoning during a Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam in September 2004.
Associated Press - June 19, 2008
Jakarta – A coalition of legal advocacy groups urged Indonesia Thursday to honor a promise to join the international Criminal Court by 2009.
The world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, based in The Hague, Netherlands, has the backing of more than 100 countries, including the entire European Union, but just six nations in Asia.
A decree issued under former Indonesia President Megawati Sukarnoputri voted to ratify the court's founding document, the Rome Statute, by the end of 2008, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court said in a statement.
Joining the court "will signify Indonesia's commitment to ending impunity once and for all, and to becoming a truly dignified nation," said Mugiyanto, member of the coalition, which groups together more than 2,500 lawyers and rights groups that support the court's work.
Mugiyanto, who goes by a single name, heads an association for families of people who went missing during Indonesia's 32-year Suharto dictatorship, which ended a decade ago.
Government officials were not immediately available for comment.
The ICC can investigate allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the states that ratify its treaty. Its jurisdiction is not retroactive. The court relies on individual states or internationally sanctioned peacekeeping troops to make arrests and hand over suspects.
Jakarta Post - June 18, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Civil society groups have warned the government against including provisions dealing with defamation in the revised draft of the Criminal Code, saying the move would violate the amended 1945 Constitution.
The government team's inclusion of stronger defamation provisions in the draft showed officials still wanted such rules in place to protect themselves from criticism and to stifle freedom of expression, the groups claimed.
Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) director Hendrayana said the inclusion of these articles ran counter to Article 28(e) of the Constitution on freedom of expression and Article 28(f) on freedom to obtain and distribute information, as well as Article 19 on civil and political rights in the 1948 Universal Human Rights Declaration.
"Including provisions on defamation in the Criminal Code is a legacy from the New Order era, which sought to shut down criticism and protect the regime. We must stop criminalizing people for expressing their opinions," he told a joint news briefing Friday.
A study conducted by LBH Pers shows defamation has been dropped from the criminal codes of most countries and is now covered only in civil law, Hendrayana said.
Anggara, a lawyer with LBH Pers, said the push for including defamation in the Criminal Code in Indonesia was weakened after the Constitutional Court scrapped the articles against defaming the president.
"So it is no longer relevant to include defamation in the Criminal Code. People who feel offended or insulted can still file a civil lawsuit for material compensation for damages," he said.
Abdul Manan of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) expressed his organization's support for scrapping articles that criminalize defamation. "We hope no more journalists will be jailed for defamation charges," he said.
The Constitutional Court is hearing a request from two journalists to review four articles in the Criminal Code that they claim can be used to silence the press.
The two journalists, Risang Bima Wijaya and Bersihar Lubis – who both received prison sentences for defamation – have petitioned the court to review Articles 207, 310(1,2), 311(1) and 316 of the Criminal Code. Under Articles 310(1,2) and 311(1), those found guilty of defamation or libel face jail terms of up to four years.
The petitioners said the court should also review Articles 207 and 316 because they provided "special treatment and protection" to state officials and could harm freedom of expression.
"We ask the court to remove the jail sentences from these articles, as the penalties have harmed the petitioners' constitutional right to freedom of expression," said Anggara, who is also acting for the two journalists.
He said the court would resume the trial next week to hear from expert witnesses.
Risang, a journalist with Radar Jogja newspaper, is serving a six-month jail term after the Sleman District Court convicted him earlier this month for insulting PT Kedaulatan Rakyat director Sumadi M. Wonohito in an article on sexual harassment.
Bersihar, a columnist with daily newspaper Koran Tempo, was given a suspended one-month prison term by the Depok District Court for his opinion article criticizing the Attorney General's Office for its decision to ban a history textbook.
Jakarta Post - June 16, 2008
Jakarta – The government has been "dragging its feet" and "lacking seriousness" in solving the murder of human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib, his widow said, but she gave two thumbs-up to the National Police for their work.
"It's been four years now, and the government has yet to resolve it," Munir's widow, Suciwati, told The Jakarta Post recently.
"However, the National Police team – under detective chief (Comr. Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri) – has performed much better in carrying out its investigations. The team keeps a low profile by working more – especially in targeting new suspects in the case – and making fewer public statements," she said.
The National Police claimed last Thursday to have enough evidence to arrest the mastermind of the September 2004 murder of Munir, who died on board a Garuda plane from Singapore to Amsterdam. The new suspect ordered and provided the opportunity for the assassination, the police said.
Suciwati said she believed the suspect might be someone affiliated with the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) who has been mentioned during previous trials.
"One of the trials heard mention of BIN former deputy chief Muchdi, who allegedly made 41 calls to Pollycarpus (Budihari Priyanto, an off-duty Garuda pilot convicted of involvement in the murder). Later on, the House of Representatives also mentioned four names that could be targeted as suspects," Suciwati said.
She did not elaborate on her statement. "But if the police named Muchdi as the mastermind, I wouldn't buy it. I believe there is one person who should be held responsible for the murder. That person might no longer officially be in a certain position, but surely still has the power to make orders," she said.
Asmara Nababan, a human rights activist and member of Munir's fact-finding team, said the criminal investigations agency had mentioned the new suspect's name during a meeting with the fact- finding team some time ago.
"But I cannot publicize it yet because of an agreement with the police. However, the new suspect is identified as a male and a former official of a certain institution. His name was often mentioned during trials of Pollycarpus and Indra (Setiawan, director of Garuda Indonesia)," he said.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira said the name of the suspect would be announced in the near future.
"We're still collecting evidence to support our accusations against the new suspect. We are being really careful in doing this because we don't want to make any mistakes," he said. "I cannot tell the public now about the details of the investigation. Just wait and see." (nkn)
| Environment/natural disasters |
Jakarta Post - June 18, 2008
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The new West Java governor's plans to revive a number of infrastructure projects were opposed Tuesday by environmentalists who said the foreign loans used would overburden the community.
Governor Ahmad Heryawan's plans, including the construction of the Jati Gede dam, are worth some Rp 2.2 trillion (US$244 million) and were devised by his predecessor, Danny Setiawan.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi)'s Bandung chapter spokesman Dadang Sudardja said the forum were seeking support from other non-government organizations to boycott the projects.
"Whoever the governor is, or future elected president will be, we will continue to oppose these projects because they are not worthwhile. They will become an increasing burden for the community who will have to pay off overseas debts," Dadang told The Jakarta Post in Bandung on Monday.
Heryawan, however, reiterated that his administration would go ahead with the projects, which he said would benefit the majority of people in the province. "Why should we stop projects which have been running well. We will go ahead and complete them for the community's sake," Heryawan said.
The administration claims it needs to build the Jatigede Dam to overcome water shortages in thousands of hectares of farmland in Cirebon, Majalengka and Indramayu. The 800-million-cubic-meter Jatigede dam is projected to irrigate some 97,000 hectares of paddy.
The planned construction of the Jatigede dam should be reviewed due to disparities between past and present cost estimates, Dadang said.
The dam, which was first planned in 1963, Dadang said, would displace more than 70,000 people, submerge five districts and 30 villages. It would also damage the ecosystem because it would inundate some 1,200 hectares of Perhutani state forest, he said.
"We are concerned that the ecosystem would be damaged and that the dam would contribute significantly to the greenhouse effect because, based on research, it would create massive amounts of methane and carbon dioxide gas," Dadang said.
Around 3,200 ha of the total 4,892 ha area planned for the dam is arable land, and has the potential to yield 80,000 tons of rice annually, Walhi estimates.
Local residents first opposed the project when the government began offering compensation to landowners in 1983.
The Bandung Legal Aid Institute, alongside the West Java and Banten chapters of the Land Reform Alliance Movement, have assertively opposed the project which has reportedly involved human rights violations due to unfair land compensation marred with intimidation of villagers by security personnel.
The latest protests occurred early May this year when around 200 residents of seven surrounding villages, naming themselves the Jatigede Planned Submersion Alliance, presented their case to the West Java legislature.
Villagers were extremely disadvantaged in the land compensation process from 1984 to 1986 when they were forced to accept compensation after facing being labeled PKI (communist) if they refused, villagers' spokesman Wahidin said.
Heryawan was apparently unmoved by the villagers protests and predicted environmental impact of the project. "In every development project, it's normal to have pros and cons," he reiterated.
Dadang said it would be better if the provincial administration reforested areas around the Cimanuk river delta which are key to irrigating the province's north coast area.
"Of the 360,000 ha of damaged land, 47 percent is in the Cimanuk river delta area. The government should prioritize the reforestation of this area. They must not wait until the dam is built because it will only fill up with sediment from Cimanuk," Dadang said.
Tempo Interactive - June 16, 2008
Syaipul Bakhori, Jambi – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) is predicting that forests in Sumatra will be gone within five years as a result of being exploited and changed into plantation areas.
The forests will be gone unless the government immediately takes the appropriate measures.
According to Walhi's executive director, Jhoni S. Mundung, as a result of the forests vanishing, Sumatra will not only no longer be known as the lungs of the world lungs but will also experience droughts in the dry season and floods in the rainy season.
"There will be a food crisis," said Jhoni during a meeting of the Walhi Sumatra chapter in Jambi yesterday (15/6).
Forests in Sumatra cover nine provinces from coast of Aceh to Lampung.
Jhoni cited that productive forests, protected forests, and national parks in Riau were almost all gone as most of them had been turned switched into oil palm plantation land and industry forest estates.
This analysis, he said, was proved by the fact that during the rainy season Riau now experiences large floods.
During the last 10 years, the Siak and Kampar rivers have not been able to hold back water overflows while water absorbing areas are very limited. "This caused Rp3.7 billion in losses, more than Riau's regional budget of Rp3.5 trillion," said Jhoni.
Bambang Antariksa, the Walhi administrator for Aceh, said that 50 percent of forests that are still in good condition are only to be found in Aceh, including the Leuser National Park.
According to Berian Porkan, a director at Walhi headquarters, there are damaged forests not only in Sumatra but also in Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
He said damaged forest in Indonesia caused by multi-dimensional crises involving economic, political, social and cultural sectors.
Berian suggested the government be more selective in receiving outside assistance aimed at protecting the forests. "We have to be careful in case there are different interests involved," he said.
Jakarta Post - June 15, 2008
Jakarta – Prosecutors have again rejected the dossier of a mud volcano case because police insist human error, not an earthquake, was behind the disaster that has been devastating Sidoarjo, East Java, for more than two years.
"The case file is with the police. We returned it for the fourth time," said East Java senior prosecutor Mulyono, as quoted by Antara, on Saturday in Surabaya.
He said different opinions among experts about the cause of the mudflow made it difficult for them to complete the case.
Mulyono said the experts were divided over whether the mudflow was caused by the volcano erupting after a powerful earthquake in Yogyakarta or by the drilling for gas by private company PT Lapindo Brantas, owned by the family of welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie.
If the cause is not determined, Lapindo could be acquitted from all charges, Mulyono said.
"So expert witnesses accusing Lapindo should be very clear about how it happened," he said.
However, police said the prosecutors wanted the varying opinions to be included in the dossier, while the police were certain the gas drilling carried out by Lapindo unleased the mudflow.
National Police chief Gen. Sutanto confirmed his office believed Lapindo was to blame and questioned the East Java prosecutor's office on why it considered the dossier incomplete.
"The prosecutors are the problem. What else do the witnesses want? We have already fulfilled all requirements," National Police chief Gen. Sutanto said at a hearing Friday night with the House of Representatives' Commission III for legal affairs.
He was quoted by Kompas daily as saying the police were completing the mudflow case file.
National Police chief of criminal detectives Insp. Gen. Hendarso Danuri said his office had strong evidence based on testimonies from independent scientists that Lapindo's negligence was to blame for the Sidoarjo disaster.
He said Lapindo was negligent because it did not install protective casing in the borehole during the drilling process.
But the prosecutors asked the police to include statements from expert witnesses presented by Lapindo in the case file, Hendarso said at the same hearing. "Of course, Lapindo's witnesses would say it was a natural disaster," he said.
Hendarso said the dispute over the two rival groups of expert witnesses had stalled the completion of the mudflow dossier. At the hearing, several lawmakers asked the police about the stalled investigation into the case, which started two years ago.
The volcano has been spewing mud every day since erupting on May 29, 2006. It reportedly unleashes enough mud to fill scores of Olympic-size swimming pools each day. Fifteen villages have been affected by the mud and at least 36,000 people are now homeless.
Scientists on Monday delivered a rebuttal to Lapindo's claims that the Sidoarjo volcano was unleashed by the powerful quake two days earlier in Yogyakarta, some 250 kilometers away.
"We are more certain than ever the Lusi mud volcano is an unnatural disaster and was triggered by drilling the Banjar-Panji-1 well," British professor Richard Davies said, as quoted by AFP.
The new study, published in the peer-assessed academic journal Earth Planetary Science and Letters, outlines and analyses a detailed record of operational incidents in the drilling of Banjar-Panji-1. Lapindo says the data in the study is incorrect.
| Agriculture & food security |
Jakarta Post - June 22, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora And Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – A 65-year old farmer from Banten province still has no idea why he was put in prison for five years, as his family cultivated their land that was later taken over by a state-owned forestry firm.
The father of seven children, Rais Amsar said the land dispute came after PT Perhutani claimed ownership of 3,000 hectares of land covering four villages there in 1982. "I was born in Cibalio village. I have a document showing ownership of a four-hectare piece of land and my family pays annual taxes to the government. But the company came and used its power to force us to abandon the land," Rais told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
"If I had no ownership papers or did not pay the tax, I wouldn't dare claim the land as mine."
Since the land conflict, Rais, who had been sent to jail twice, has no land for farming.
"And to survive with my family, I became a street vendor selling various snacks to school children. But I sometimes work for a landlord as many others in my village do," said Rais, whose youngest child is now in third grade at elementary school.
Rais is one of about 1,000 farmers from 26 countries who are gathering in Jakarta, urging the United Nations to set up an international legal framework to recognize peasants' rights and stop violence against farmers.
"Peasants represent almost half of the world's population and are the backbone of the food system, but their rights are still systematically violated," said Henry Saragih, coordinator of the La Via Campesina, an international farmers movement organizing the five-day conference.
"Via Campesina requires each government to take responsibility and implement small producers' rights by supporting sustainable family farming, agrarian reform and promoting local food markets," he said.
The conference, which began on Saturday, is being held when dozen of countries including Haiti and the Philippines are facing severe food crises triggering social conflicts in the two nations.
Henry said many small farmers with less than one hectare of land were expelled to create space for large plantations, industrial or commercial projects.
Data from Via Campesina shows over 196,179 hectares of agricultural land were expropriated in Indonesia last year, with at least eight people killed in agrarian conflicts and more than 166 peasants arrested.
Similar incidents took place in other countries thanks to the liberalization of trade policies, it added.
Via Campesina said land disputes in Brazil left about 4,340 families expelled from their land by private companies in 2007, while 259 people received death threats.
"In Europe, one farming family disappears every minute. In Turkey, one farming family leaves the land every 50 seconds. And in the EU, farmers only account for 3 percent of the population," said Paul Nicholson, a member of the international committee of La Via Campesina for the Basque country.
He said the European La Via Campesina has been struggling to defend the rights of an agriculture policy that prioritizes domestic markets, in order to ensure food sovereignty.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to housing said an average of 71 percent of rural households in Africa, Latin America and Western and Eastern Asia are landless.
Indonesia, home to over 200 million people with many of them farmers, is currently facing problems with land shortages, forcing people to work for landlords.
| Health & education |
Jakarta Post - June 18, 2008
Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The disbursement of school assistance (BOS) funds has failed to prevent 125,850 children from having to drop out of school in Surabaya, East Java, a municipal councilor says.
City councilor Ahmad Jabir, from the Justice Prosperity Party, said he obtained the data on the number of school dropouts from the Surabaya mayor's 2007 financial and accountability report.
According to the report, there were 447,452 children attending school in Surabaya in 2007, while the number of school-aged children in the city stood at 573,302.
"This is a sad situation given Surabaya's annual budget of Rp 3 trillion (US$333 million), and still around 22 percent of school-aged children remain deprived of an education," Jabir told The Jakarta Post.
He said that in addition to the problem of dropouts, many schools in the city enrolled more students than they were equipped to accommodate, lowering the standard of education.
Jabir said he expected the number of dropouts to rise as a result of the recent increase in fuel prices. He said the fuel price rise could double the number of poor people in Surabaya, which last year, according to official statistics, stood at 460,000 families. Out of a population of 2,861,928 in 2007, there were 228,120 unemployed people.
"The direct cash assistance (to offset the increase in fuel prices) and the BOS cannot be used as a benchmark for the alleviation of poverty and the school dropout rate in Indonesia, particularly owing to the ineffective distribution of the funds," Jabir said.
In a speech during the recent commemoration of National Education Day at Airlangga University in Surabaya, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to increase the national budget for education as part of efforts to ensure all children can attend school
Two candidates in East Java's upcoming gubernatorial election, Soekarwo and Soenarjo, have promised during campaigning to provide free education for less privileged students. Both candidates said they would set aside funds from the provincial budget for education.
"The budgetary allocation now apparently is not yet in favor of education now," Soekarwo said.
National Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo said the compulsory nine-year education program would remain a priority this year.
He said the ministry would continue to provided assistance funds and free textbooks to elementary and junior high schools, grant scholarships to needy but talented students, renovate schools and initiate other programs.
Bambang said the government had disbursed funds for a number of programs, including quality management operations, scholarships and free textbooks.
He added that in 2007 the government disbursed Rp 11 trillion in school operational funds, 70 percent of which went toward paying school fees for elementary and junior high school students from low-income families.
"The BOS exempts needy students from paying school fees. A large portion of the BOS is apparently set aside for Java, with East Java getting the bulk compared to other provinces," Bambang said in Surabaya.
He said his ministry was currently streamlining the national curriculum, including the textbook system, with the goal of cutting textbook prices by at least a third and ensuring they can be used by students for at least five years.
Many parents have complained about textbook prices and their use for only one year. "Schools will also be obligated to provide free textbooks for needy students. The government will also enact a new law for to ensure greater access to education," Bambang said.
Jakarta Post - June 16, 2008
Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – An activist and a councillor have lambasted the East Nusa Tenggara government, saying it did nothing to address widespread malnutrition that has contributed to the deaths of 22 children over the past six months.
Executive director of the Public Initiative Development Centre Lery Mbuik said the province's 2008 budget paid more attention to development projects than to serious social problems in the education and health sectors.
"The 2008 budget pays less attention to human rights, including for women and children," she told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta on Saturday.
She cited as examples a Rp 15 billion (US$1.6 million) ongoing rehabilitation project of the Kupan municipality governor's official residence and a Rp 2 billion allocation for a project to prevent malnutrition.
"If the malnutrition fund was distributed to the 512,407 toddlers suffering from malnutrition in the province, they would receive Rp 4,000 ($42 US cents) each. Is that fair and wise?," she said.
Certain provincial offices have spent billions of rupiahs to fund official itineraries to Jakarta and other cities, but have allocated nothing to address health problems affecting women and children, Lery said.
"The province receives annually some Rp 7 trillion in general and special allocation funds from the central government, foreign donors and international agencies, but the provincial government has never unveiled what the funds were used on," she said.
Marselina Sulla, a seven-month-old baby of Tobias Sulla in Oenaek, West Kupang district, recently died of a combination of diarrhea, TB and a lung disorder at the W.Z. Yohannes General Hospital, bringing this year's tally of deaths owing to malnutrition to 22.
The provincial health office previously announced that 21 toddlers had died from malnutrition-caused complications combined with numerous diseases, including marasmus, TB and diarrhea over the past six month.
The deaths have come after the central government cut its Rp 57 billion proposed budget allocation for fighting such incidents to only Rp 2 billion.
Separately, deputy chairman of the provincial legislative council Kristo Blasin said the provincial government had spent Rp 100 billion to hold its gubernatorial election, while many people could not afford their daily needs, and more than 500,000 children were malnourished.
"Much energy and funds have been spent to finance the democracy fiesta while millions of people facing food crises and malnutrition gain no assistance from authorities," he said.
Some 2.3 million voters were expected to go to polling stations Saturday to elect a new governor to replace ailing Piet Tallo.
However, a number of women were unable to exercise their rights as citizens because they were with their children who were undergoing medical treatment at the general hospital in Kupang.
Nelcy Bana, whose son, Alfarido Bana, has been hospitalized for almost a month, said all governors and other regional heads had given too many promises during their political campaigns, but had done nothing when they were in power.
"Every time we visit the public health center, health workers are unable to give free medication because the government does not assist the poor," she said.
| War on corruption |
Jakarta Post - June 20, 2008
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Attorney General Hendarman Supandji admitted Thursday he approved the plan for his office to detain bribery suspect Artalyta Suryani following the arrest of state prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Hendarman said the deputy attorney general of intelligence, Wisnu Subroto, had initiated the plan to arrest Artalyta. He had approved Wisnu's plan on the grounds the KPK might have had a connection with Artalyta and so had chosen not to arrest her, despite detaining Urip, he said.
KPK chief Antasari Azhar had called him to inform him of Urip's arrest, Hendarman said.
"A few minutes later, I was called by Wisnu, and he asked me why we didn't arrest Artalyta, considering she had bribed Urip," he told reporters at the State Palace.
"We thought the arrest of Urip was merely a scenario made up by the KPK. But I was also worried if we were wrong about that and there was no link between the KPK and Artalyta. If so, we would have made the situation worse by arresting Artalyta, because the KPK was handling the case, not my office."
He said he therefore told Wisnu to advise Antasari before arresting Artalyta. "But then we found out the KPK, which in fact does not have any connection with Artalyta, had already arrested her at her house before the prosecutors got there."
Hendarman said he had had no idea Artalyta had been involved with senior AGO prosecutors until revelations of their "friendly" phone conversations. "This case has opened my eyes and made me realize we need thorough improvements within the AGO."
He did not offer details of concrete measures he would undertake in implementing the "thorough improvements", saying he would wait for a report from the deputy attorney general for internal affairs, MS Rahardjo. "I will take action after receiving the findings of the entire investigation," he said.
Hendarman's story was similar to statements made by Wisnu after he was questioned by the Attorney General's Office internal affairs Thursday.
Wisnu claimed he phoned Hendarman to report Urip's detention and proposed the plan to arrest Artalyta. "In the phone conversation, Pak Attorney General approved the plan," he said.
Wisnu admitted he knew Artalyta while serving as chief public prosecutor in Bandarlampung, Lampung, in 2003.
Wisnu faced 22 questions by the chief investigator, Rahardjo, during the internal inquiry. The questions were mostly related to the plan to arrest Artalyta and to Wisnu's possible involvement in the embezzlement of trillions of rupiah in Bank Indonesia liquidity support funds. He denied the allegation.
Wisnu told Rahardjo the arrest plan was "spontaneous and for the sake of justice", adding that both the parties engaged in a bribery act must be arrested. (nkn)
Jakarta Post - June 19, 2008
Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office has been accused of trying to protect bribery suspect Artalyta Suryani by conspiring to help her evade arrest by the graft body.
The scenario formed part of a major conspiracy between AGO prosecutors and those suspected of embezzling Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds, experts and activists said Wednesday.
"Clearly there are intimate relationships between them. The prosecutors have been used as tools," said Ismet Hasan Putro, chairman of the Professional Civil Society.
Earlier in the day, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) confirmed the AGO had wanted to arrest Artalyta at the time the graft commission was about to make the arrest at a South Jakarta house on March 2, 2008.
Emerson Yuntho of Indonesia Corruption Watch said the AGO's denial over a taped conversation, in which deputy attorney general for state administration Untung Udji Santoso is heard telling Artalyta about an AGO plan to arrest her, was a desperate measure from the office.
"The AGO has been cornered over this scandal, which is implicating its top officials," he said.
The Artalyta-Untung conversation reportedly took place a few hours after KPK investigators arrested AGO prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan for allegedly accepting a US$660,000 bribe from Artalyta.
The bribe is allegedly related to Urip's investigation into tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim, one of the suspects in the embezzlement of BLBI funds.
"It was very obvious from the taped conversations between Artalyta and AGO officials. The public can see that the office's denial was a lie," Emerson said.
Sidik Latuconsina, an AGO prosecutor involved in the arrest plan, said Tuesday the arrest had been planned for the sake of justice and had been approved by the head of the KPK.
But KPK deputy for prevention Chandra Hamzah denied his office had okayed the AGO's plan to arrest Artalyta.
"We planned to arrest both Urip and Artalyta right after the bribery took place. But we couldn't arrest her immediately because she locked herself in her room and demanded her lawyer," he said Wednesday.
Chandra admitted the KPK had received a call from an AGO official about the arrest, but insisted the graft body did not approve the plan.
He said the KPK was sure from the beginning of their investigation into the alleged bribery by Artalyta that no other party was conducting a similar investigation. "But the AGO can claim whatever it wants," Chandra said.
Artalyta is believed to have a good relationship with Sjamsul and to have been helping him with his case.
Her arrest came only two days after the AGO dropped Sjamsul's case due to lack of evidence on Feb. 29, 2008. Sjamsul, former director of Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia, had been suspected of misappropriating Rp 28.4 trillion in BLBI funds.
The BLBI funds were loans extended under the government's blanket guarantee program during the financial crisis of the late 1990s. About Rp 51.7 trillion (US$5.5 billion), out of a total of Rp 144.5 trillion BLBI loans issued since 1997, have been bad. (dre)
Agence France Presse - June 18, 2008
Presi Mandari, Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Court has come under the spotlight of an aggressive anti-corruption drive which has already shamed the attorney general's and customs offices, officials said Wednesday.
Investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) have confiscated documents from the court in search of evidence of embezzlement of administrative fees, commission officials said.
"We went to the Supreme Court on Monday to gather documents linked to the case, and we're investigating those papers to find evidence that will enable us to bring the case to court," commission spokesman Johan Budi said.
"Our preliminary suspicion, based on information from the BPK (Supreme Audit Agency), is that there are some alleged irregularities related to the Supreme Court's administration fees."
The probe is the latest in a string of high-profile cases launched by the powerful anti-corruption commission, which was established after the fall of the corrupt Suharto regime in the late 1990s.
One investigation has found an alleged web of bribes and influence-peddling in the heart of the attorney general's office, while another resulted in the seizure of thousands of dollars in bribe money at a customs office last month.
Indonesia is one of the world's most corrupt countries and ranks 143rd on Transparency International's global corruption perceptions index, level with Russia, Togo and Gambia.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has vowed to use "shock therapy" to break the hold of corruption on all levels of the country's bureaucracy as a major focus for his government ahead of elections next year.
So far the anti-vice drive has had only patchy success but a new KPK team headed by former criminal investigator Antasari Azhar, who took over the job in December, has provided fresh impetus.
The recent allegations against top institutions in the country's judicial and law enforcement branches have shocked even the most cynical Indonesians and led to mounting calls for Attorney General Hendarman Supandji to resign.
Supandji has denied any involvement in the scandal that has rocked his office after one of his top investigators was arrested for allegedly taking a 660,000-dollar bribe from a businesswoman.
Several top prosecutors have been implicated in the allegations, which have been backed by secretly taped conversations released by the KPK at the businesswoman's ongoing trial.
"What can we expect from an attorney general who shows no remorse for his failure to stop flagrant abuses of power by his very own subordinates?" The Jakarta Post asked in an editorial.
Forced to act, the attorney general has launched an internal investigation into at least 11 prosecutors but he says he still has Yudhoyono's full confidence.
Taped phone transcripts played at the trial of businesswoman Artalyta Suryani, accused of bribing prosecutors to drop an embezzlement case into banking tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim, have made headlines for weeks.
In one of the calls, prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan, who allegedly accepted 660,000 dollars to end the investigation into Nursalim, is heard asking for a "bonus."
"What I said the other day, is it done?" he says.
"Last time I said six," Artalyta replies.
"There's no bonus?" asks Gunawan.
"Yes, yes, later," says the businesswoman.
Gunawan was arrested by KPK officials in March as he left Nursalim's home in Jakarta with the cash, only days after the attorney general's office dropped its 10-year investigation into the banker citing a lack of evidence.
Nursalim is accused of embezzling 3.4 billion dollars in state funds used to bail out his bank during the Asian financial crisis in 1998. He is believed to be living in Singapore.
Jakarta Post - June 18, 2008
Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) is conducting an internal probe into several top officials implicated in the Artalyta Suryani-Urip Tri Gunawan bribery scandal.
However, the move raised questions over the credibility of such a investigation since it was being carried out by an internal team of the corruption-tainted AGO.
Anti-corruption activists said the probe would be credible and effective only if it involved experts from outside the institution.
"I strongly advise the AGO to take the current opportunity to totally reform its institution by welcoming outsiders to join," Mas Achmad Santosa, senior United Nations Development Program advisor for human rights, legal and justice reform, said Tuesday.
Attorney General Hendarman Supandji "really needs colleagues with strong leadership skills" to boost his office's image, he added.
Tuesday's internal probe started with Deputy Attorney General for State Administration Untung Udji Santoso and former investigation director M. Salim being questioned about their alleged ties to the Artalyta bribery case.
The investigation was led by Deputy Attorney General for Internal Affairs MS Rahardjo with team members including his secretary, Halius Hussein, and supervised by AGO commission members Amir Hasan Ketaren and Puspo Aji.
Rahardjo said Untung admitted that the man's voice on the recorded conversation with Artalyta, played during her recent trial, was his.
However, Untung denied he was trying to help Artalyta escape from arrest by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Rahardjo added.
Artalyta's ongoing trial at the Corruption Court has heard testimony and tapped telephone conversations implicating top AGO prosecutors in her alleged attempts to help tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim escape justice.
Sjamsul, owner of now the defunct Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia, was a suspect in the embezzlement of trillions of rupiah in Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds.
"Untung said that neither he nor anyone else had the ability to keep the KPK from doing its job," he added. The KPK arrested Urip March 2 for allegedly taking a US$660,000 bribe from Artalyta, who was also detained around two hours later.
Rahardjo said the AGO had issued an arrest warrant for Artalyta and assigned several prosecutors to detain her shortly after hearing of the arrest of Urip. The warrant was signed by Salim, he added.
Sidik Latuconsina, a prosecutor involved in Artalyta's arrest plan, said the detention was ordered by Deputy Attorney General for Intelligence Wisnu Subroto with the warrant from Salim.
"I was ordered by the deputy attorney for intelligence to get some good prosecutors to arrest Artalyta shortly after we heard Urip was caught.
"At that time, Pak Wisnu said all parties involved in the bribery case should be arrested for the sake of justice. To support the plan, we also called up the KPK chief to get his permission. He approved our request, but it turned out his team got Artalyta first," Sidik said.
Rahardjo said the AGO heard of the arrest from Untung. "We got the information about Urip's arrest from Untung. He then passed on the news to Wisnu."
Rahardjo refused to answer reporters' questions on who informed Untung about Urip's arrest. Rahardjo further said the results of the investigation would be reported to Attorney General Hendarman Supandji.
The internal investigation will continue Wednesday with the questioning of former deputy attorney general for special crimes Kemas Yahya Rahman.
"We have to wait for the whole investigation and see whether the AGO resolves the problems afterward," said Mas Achmad. "However, the main point is really to implement bureaucratic reform. (nkn)
Jakarta Post - June 17, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Lawmakers are joining the calls for the government to rid the Attorney General's Office (AGO) of corrupt prosecutors in a move to build up the institution's credibility.
A major bribery scandal involving businesswoman Artalyta Suryani and prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan should be used as a "stepping stone" to clean up the AGO, they told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
This could start with Attorney General Hendarman Supandji dismissing all his deputies implicated in the Artalyta bribery case, they added.
Legislators from the Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) agreed with a call for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to replace Hendarman should he fail to take swift action to overhaul his office to regain public trust.
"All the deputies mentioned during the Artalyta trials for their roles in trying to help the graft suspects avoid justice must be dismissed to face investigations," senior PDI-P politician Gayus Lumbuun said.
He said that besides launching an internal probe, the attorney general must also let the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) summon his deputies without intervening.
A series of Artalyta's trials at the Corruption Court have revealed the alleged involvement of top AGO prosecutors in attempting to help her and tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim escape justice. Sjamsul, owner of now defunct Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia, was a suspect in the embezzlement of trillions of rupiah from the Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds.
Last Wednesday, KPK prosecutors presented taped phone conversations between Artalyta and then deputy attorney general for special crimes Kemas Yahya Rahman, and between her and Deputy Attorney General for State Administration Untung Udji Santoso.
Artalyta confirmed the conversations, in which she sought advice from the two senior AGO officials on how to deal with the KPK.
The latest trial also presented a taped conversation indicating the role of Deputy Attorney General for Intelligence Wisnu Subroto in the bribery case.
The recordings were presented as evidence against Artalyta, who is charged with bribing Urip while he was leading an investigation into Sjamsul. Artalyta reportedly has ties to Sjamsul.
The KPK has alleged that Artalyta bribed Urip US$660,000 to ensure the BLBI investigation targeting Sjamsul would be dropped.
The uncovered roles of the senior AGO prosecutors in the Artalyta case drew condemnations from anti-corruption activists and legal experts who urged the government to dismiss them all.
Mahfudz Siddiq, who chairs the PKS faction at the House of Representatives, said the Artalyta case should be used by Yudhoyono as an "entry gate" to fight graft within the AGO.
"The KPK should summon all the top prosecutors to testify before the court so that the public would know the roles of each of them. "If the court finds these high-ranking prosecutors involved in the case, then they can be declared suspects as well," he said.
Harry Azhar Azis of Golkar was of a similar opinion, saying the government had failed to resolve the BLBI cases and that the President should order Hendarman to hand over these cases to the KPK.
"The AGO must undergo a total clean-up to be able to handle such big cases. How can a law enforcement office resolve graft cases if it is corrupt itself?" he said.
Speaking to the press Monday, Hendarman vowed he would not protect his deputies from facing justice, and would let the KPK question them.
AGO spokesman BD Nainggolan said Deputy Attorney General for Internal Affairs MS Rahardjo would lead a team to start an investigation into all the prosecutors implicated in the Artalyta case for alleged violations of their code of ethics. (nkn)
Jakarta Post - June 17, 2008
Jakarta – The Corruption Court questioned Monday the role of presidential advisor Adnan Buyung Nasution, a former lawyer for Sjamsul Nursalim, in helping the tycoon evade a graft inquiry at the Attorney General's Office (AGO).
Judge Andi Bachtiar read out a taped phone conversation transcript between businesswoman Artalyta Suryani, who is on bribery trial, and AGO prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan, who is being detained for allegedly taking a US$660,000 bribe from her.
In a conversation on Jan. 15, 2008, Artalyta told Urip she had consulted Buyung about Sjamsul's letter requesting the AGO refrain from questioning him. Sjamsul had been charged with misusing Rp 28.4 trillion in Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds. "I'm telling Buyung to sign the letter first," Artalyta said to Urip.
"Buyung said, Well, the questioning is only about verifying data; it doesn't mean that the person has to show up'," she added.
Urip was then leading the AGO team to investigate the BLBI case of Sjamsul, former owner of the now defunct Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia.
Sjamsul had defied AGO summonses twice before the office received an excuse letter dated Jan. 16, 2008, bearing the Adnan Buyung Nasution & Partners (ABNP) law firm's insignia. The firm wrote that their client had been ill.
On Feb. 29, the AGO dropped its investigation into the Sjamsul case, citing a lack of evidence. Two days later the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested both Urip and Artalyta for alleged bribery.
In their indictment, KPK prosecutors said that early in January 2008 Urip had advised Artalyta to make a letter requesting Sjamsul be excused from questioning due to illness, and to have his lawyers sign the letter.
Artalyta claimed that she forgot whether she had made any conversation with Buyung or met with him. "I don't remember it," she told Monday's court hearing.
Buyung was Sjamsul's lawyer until he joined the Presidential Advisory Council in March 2007, but his ABNP law firm team remains defending the tycoon.
The KPK prosecutors said in the indictment that a day after the conversation on Jan. 16, Artalyta submitted Sjamsul's excuse letter to the AGO. The letter was signed by Eri Hertiawan of the ABNP and Maqdir Ismail, a former lawyer for the law firm.
Eri, who testified Monday, said Buyung knew Sjamsul was going to defy the summons due to health problems. He also admitted the lawyers failed to attach any medical notice for their client.
The KPK has alleged that Artalyta bribed Urip $660,000 to ensure the AGO halt its BLBI investigation targeting Sjamsul.
Buyung was another big name mentioned in the Artalyta bribery trial. At previous hearings, the prosecutors revealed links between Artalyta and three top AGO officials.
KPK prosecutor Sarjono Turin said his office was summoning former AGO deputy attorney general for special crimes Kemas Yahya Rahman and former director of special criminal investigation Muhammad Salim to the trial.
"I hope they can testify in next week's hearing session," Sarjono said. The presiding judge adjourned the trial until Wednesday to hear other witnesses. (dre)
Jakarta Post - June 16, 2008
Jakarta – Pressure is mounting for the President to dismiss Attorney General Hendarman Supandji for the latter's alleged failure to fight corruption in his office and boost its credibility.
"We can no longer count on the current attorney general. We need a new person with more credibility and a clean track record to lead reform at the Attorney General's Office (AGO)," Emerson Yuntho of Indonesia Corruption Watch said Saturday.
He said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should set up an independent team to monitor the reform process within the AGO and to make sure rules are not flouted.
"It only needs strong political will from the President. After all, he has promised to prioritize the corruption fight," Emerson told The Jakarta Post.
The AGO came under fire after recent Corruption Court hearings revealed connections between bribery trial defendant Artalyta Suryani and three top state prosecutors.
Last week, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) presented taped phone conversations between the businesswoman and Deputy Attorney General for State Administration Untung Udji Santoso.
The conversations were presented to the Corruption Court as evidence against Artalyta, who is on trial for allegedly giving a US$660,000 bribe to AGO prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan. Artalyta confirmed the conversations, in which Udji told her about an AGO arrest scenario to save her from detention by the KPK following Urip's arrest a few hours earlier.
Two other senior officials, former deputy attorney general for special crimes Kemas Yahya Rahman and former director of special criminal investigations Muhammad Salim, were also implicated in the case.
Yudhoyono has urged Hendarman to take prompt action to address the tainted image of the AGO following the court revelations of systemic corruption within the office.
"The President has recently instructed the attorney general to immediately take important and proper measures to restore people's trust in the AGO as one of the pillars of law enforcement," presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said as quoted by kompas.com in Bontang, East Kalimantan, on Sunday.
Ismed Hasan Putro, who chairs the Professional Civil Society, said Saturday the government should take more extreme measures to reform the AGO.
"The President should take strong actions with this. It's not enough just to show regret and then leave the matter to the attorney general. With the prosecutors no longer credible, the AGO has been tainted," he said.
Ismed said freezing the AGO to reorganize the prosecutors and handing over their tasks to another body would be the most effective way of reforming the legal institution.
Denny Indrayana, a legal expert from Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University, said the government should make sure whether Hendarman was clearly involved in Artalyta's alleged bribery.
"If they later discover his involvement or that he received money in the case, then the replacement of the attorney general will be an appropriate response," he said.
Hendarman said he will wait for the outcome of Artalyta's trial before moving forward on reform of his much-criticized office.
Artalyta has been linked to tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim, who was one of the suspects in the embezzlement of Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds for commercial banks during the financial crisis of the late 1990s.
The funds were loans extended under the government's blanket guarantee program. Debts of about Rp 51.7 trillion (US$5.5 billion), out of total BLBI loans of Rp 144.5 trillion issued since 1997, have been bad. (dre)
Jakarta Post - June 16, 2008
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – A coalition of civil society groups is seeking help from the Constitutional Court to put pressure on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the House of Representatives to speed up the enactment of a Corruption Court bill.
The coalition, which includes Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Partnership for Governance Reform, made the request during a meeting on Friday with Constitutional Court chief Jimly Asshiddiqie. The NGOs urged the court to pressure the government and the House to finish drafting the bill immediately.
"We ask the Constitutional Court to take action to urge the government and the House to speed up the formulation of the bill because we see no certainty in this process," ICW coordinator Teten Masduki said.
According to the coalition, the Constitutional Court is responsible for pressing for the completion of the bill because of its decision to revoke an article on the Corruption Court in the 2002 law that established the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
The Constitutional Court ruled on Dec. 19, 2006, that regulation of the Corruption Court should be covered in a separate law, and allowed the government and the House three years to enact such a law.
"It is feared if the government and the House fail to meet the deadline, a Corruption Court will not be established. This could be dreadful because all corruption cases would then be processed in ordinary courts," Teten said.
"We believe the Corruption Court is still reliable because it has never dropped any corruption cases submitted by the KPK. We demand the President immediately submit the bill to the House so its deliberation can be completed this year."
He said the Constitutional Court had promised to take further action on the matter.
Jimly said he expected the bill would be finalized before the end of this year, considering the government and the House might not have enough time to process the bill next year because of the general elections. "But we should not be worried because there's still enough time to get the bill finished," he said.
In response to the coalition's request, Jimly said he would send Yudhoyono the copy of a letter sent by the coalition to the Constitutional Court, along with the court's response.
"People should also not worry that the establishment of the Corruption Court will be cancelled, because I believe the President is aware people want the court to exist," he added.
| Reconciliation & justice |
Jakarta Post - June 16, 2008
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Blitar, East Java – For 54-year-old Sugito, owning a plot of land with a yard and a field in his village was previously just a dream.
When he first followed his father and moved from Bakung to Banyu Urip hamlet in Ngadipuro village, in the East Java town of Blitar back in 1965, Sugito could only find work as a kapok picker in privately managed plantations owned by the Blitar regency administration.
At that time, around 70 percent of Banyu Urip residents, including Sugito's parents, lived under the shadow of the political stigma enforced by Soeharto's New Order regime – the residents were labeled as members or allies of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
This stigma made Sugito and most members of the Banyu Urip community afraid to put a foot wrong: They lived in despair for many years, lacked self-confidence and were afraid of newcomers.
Their education and economic levels were left far behind those of other communities in the regency, as could be seen from the small number of children who passed elementary school and the number of illiterate people in the community.
Now, however, the lives of the people living in Banyu Urip village have changed considerably.
Sugito said the change started when an anthropology graduate from Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University, Cecilia Yulianti Hendayani, came to the village with three of her colleagues from the Bishopric Youth Commission in Surabaya at the end of 1996.
Cecilia, or Yanti as she is known, has slowly succeeded in changing the attitudes of villagers oppressed by previous government's political stigma and encouraging them to be brave and more open.
Through her work, Yanti has bridged the cultural and religious complexities of the village community. She introduced the idea of ethnic, racial and religious pluralism to Banyu Urip villagers, in particular to young children who attend the village's inter- faith kindergarten, Griyo Pitoyo.
Her work even won her a 2008 Maarif Award, which acknowledges the efforts of those involved in community and social work.
The inter-faith kindergarten's religious and cultural studies became an entry point for Yanti to empower members of the community.
She said it all began when she undertook field studies in the village during her 1996 visit.
"I had to stay and mix together with the people in this village. I saw that there was something that wasn't quite right in their lives. They looked as though they didn't have any spirit for life... they were always fearful," Yanti told The Jakarta Post at her home in Blitar.
In the beginning, Yanti sought to dig up information about what occurred in the village's past. She initially did this by going from door-to-door, but this method proved to be ineffective.
Yanti then began to interact directly with community members who gathered at the belik (a communal pool near a water source) in the afternoons. Once the villagers got used to Yanti, they found the courage to talk to her.
From then on, little-by-little, Yanti started to discover what was really troubling the people in the village. She discovered that the community had many needs and wishes but the stigma they had been labeled with kept them from openly expressing their feelings.
"When people met face-to-face, there was no one courageous enough to stare back. They all just bowed and shook their heads, then went away. My heart felt as though it had been sliced. Why was there a community like this in Java?" said Yanti of her initial encounters with the Banyu Urip villagers.
She discovered that most of the villagers had been marked as people who had been involved with the PKI organization: Most of them were "fugitives" from other villages in Blitar regency.
Banyu Urip is located on top of a hill, 32 kilometers south of Blitar. The village is only accessible by a rocky road that passes through a thick teak forest, making it virtually isolated from other villages – hence the stigma prevailed and the community became somewhat "forgotten" by outsiders.
When Yanti first visited the village, there was neither electricity nor piped water supplied by the government.
Yanti first invited the teenagers in the village to gather and join in group activities, in which they were taught the values of tolerance and mutual appreciation.
She then invited parents to gather, and encouraged them to speak out. Graduates from Surabaya's 17th August University School of Commerce and Administration helped develop small discussion groups.
"There were various topics open for discussion. But it started simply. The most important thing was that the villagers were courageous enough to speak out and express their opinions, especially if they didn't agree on something," Yanti said.
She also invited young children to form a playgroup. The members included children from different religious and cultural backgrounds who were taught to interact and develop tolerance and appreciation for others, regardless of their religious backgrounds and cultural differences.
The playgroup then became a model for teenagers and adults. Through the playgroup, and from learning religious tolerance, the lives of the people in Banyu Urip have improved and their dignity is slowly being restored.
| Islam/religion |
Jakarta Post - June 21, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Attorney General Hendarman Supandji may have lost credibility among the public following a major bribery scandal implicating his deputies and other top prosecutors, but Vice President Jusuf Kalla has rejected calls to dismiss him.
Kalla said Hendarman was a "good man" with a high level of professionalism, including the fight against corruption within the Attorney General's Office (AGO).
"In my view, Hendarman is hard working and tough. Among the attorney generals, Hendarman is the one with the highest professionalism. He memorizes law articles in detail," he said.
Asked whether the government would dismiss Hendarman over the bribery scandal hitting his office, Kalla said, "If so, who would then take action to clean up the AGO".
"If staff make a mistake, it does not mean their leader is wrong too," he said.
The recent bribery trial of businesswoman Artalyta Suryani exposed the alleged roles of top AGO prosecutors in her case.
The Corruption Court heard taped "friendly" conversations between Artalyta with then deputy attorney general for special crimes Kemas Yahya Rachman and deputy attorney general for state administration Untung Udji Santoso.
The recording was used by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as evidence against Artalyta, who is charged with bribing state prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan. Urip led an investigation into tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim in relation to the embezzlement of Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds, and Artalyta reportedly has ties to Sjamsul.
Urip was arrested just two days after the AGO dropped the BLBI cases against Sjamsul and another tycoon Anthony Salim on Feb. 29, 2008. The taped conversations angered anti-corruption activists who demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono fire Hendarman.
The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) also urged Yudhoyono to set up a special team to overhaul the AGO over internal corruption. It said the taped conversations should serve as an entry point to widen the investigations into corruption within the AGO.
The AGO is conducting an internal probe into the bribery case, having already questioned Untung, Kemas, deputy attorney general of intelligence Wisnu Subroto and investigation director Muhammad Salim. The investigation is led by deputy attorney general for internal affairs MS Rahardjo and supervised by the Attorney Commission.
Kalla also rejected calls for the government to involve outsiders in the internal probe to ensure its impartiality and to form a new attorney commission to reform the AGO.
The vice president said it was the job of the existing Attorney Commission to supervise the probe into the case and restore the AGO's image. "There are already too many commissions in the country. It is the job of the Attorney Commission to oversee the internal probe," he said
Hendarman had refused to step down to account for his alleged failure to make the AGO a credible institution.
"I will not resign because I have things to fix. I have nothing to do with this crime, so why should I quit? If I make a mistake, then it would be fine for me to step down."
"If I was considered a failure, how could it be? I'm still in the process of fixing the troubles. If eventually I cannot fix them, then you can call me a failure. I'm not protecting any one connected to the case. I'm independent," Hendarman said.
He called for the public to be patient in waiting for the results of the international investigation into the bribery case. "Of course, I'm really disappointed. Actually since Urip was arrested, I have publicly stated my disappointment. And now the case is evolving."
Jakarta Post - June 21, 2008
Jakarta – Radical Muslims have intensified their campaign for the government to ban Ahmadiyah and for followers of the sect to return to the fold of mainstream Islam.
Police in Ahmadiyah enclaves across the archipelago have beefed up security in anticipation of attacks on Ahmadis and their property.
Opponents of Ahmadiyah, which started in Indonesia in 1925 and has no record of violence, have apparently exploited a recent government decree which requires Ahmadis to cease religious activities in public.
Radical Muslims who consider Ahmadiyah "heretical" have threatened to take the law into their hands unless the government formally bans the sect whose following in Indonesia is estimated to number more than 200,000.
In Tangerang, just west of Jakarta, hundreds of people of all ages picketed Ahmadiyah's An Nur Mosque in Babakan subdistrict, demanding its closure. They said the mosque had been used since it was founded in 1960 to spread heretical teachings of Islam.
Nurhasan Idris, a local neighborhood chief, said the Ahmadiyah activities did not cause any trouble but added that residents were afraid their property would be attacked by mobs from outside the hamlet, as has already happened in other places.
"That's why residents demanded the Ahmadis carry out their religious activities elsewhere," Idris told The Jakarta Post.
Attacks by outsiders on Ahmadiyah property have reportedly occurred in Sukabumi, West Java. Last month, an Ahmadiyah mosque in Parakansalak hamlet was destroyed.
Tension in Sukabumi rose after mobs forcibly closed down four Ahmadiyah mosques in the neighboring Cianjur.
"We have increased the number of personnel in highly vulnerable areas such as Parakansalak and Warung Kiara," Sukabumi Police chief Snr. Comr. Guntor Gaffar told Antara news agency Friday.
Parakansalak, known as a local Ahmadiyah enclave, has been guarded by between 20 and 30 police officers around the clock, Guntor said.
In South Sulawesi, members of the fundamentalist Islam Defenders Front (FPI), which has gained infamy for its violent acts, shut down the local Ahmadiyah headquarters in the capital Makassar on Friday.
There they broke up a police cordon, entered the complex and put up a "Closed down by the South Sulawesi FPI" sign in the office before they peacefully dispersed.
The campaign against Ahmadiyah also found its way to the North Sumatra capital of Medan on Friday. Local radical Muslim leaders led a mass gathering at Al-Mashun Grand Mosque, where they repeated their demand that the government ban Ahmadiyah once and for all.
In his fiery speech, cleric Syarifin Maloko also demanded that police in Jakarta unconditionally release FPI leader Rizieq Shihab.
Rizieq was arrested in Jakarta for his alleged role in the FPI attack on participants of a pro-tolerance rally at the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta on June 1, in which dozens of people were injured, some seriously.
The Medan rally also demanded that police arrest leaders of the National Alliance for the Freedom of Religion and Faith who led the Monas gathering and, according to the FPI, incited the violence.
[Multa Fidrus contributed to this story from Tangerang.]
Jakarta Post - June 20, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Violence by members of a radical Islamic group earlier this month has damaged the international image of Indonesian Muslims, chairman of the country's second-largest Muslim group said.
The attack by the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) on a pro-pluralism group had undone five years of hard work spent eradicating the violent image of Indonesian Muslims after religious-based bombings and horizontal conflicts, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said Thursday.
"We have to start again from square one to recapture the image of moderation after the attack," Din told The Jakarta Post.
He said after horizontal conflicts in Central Sulawesi, Maluku and West Kalimantan as well as vertical conflicts in Aceh and several terrorist bombings in Bali and Jakarta, Indonesian Muslims had had a hard time convincing the world they were moderate and that there were only few radical groups.
The image was tarnished after FPI members, armed with bamboo sticks, beat and kicked activists of the National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion during a rally at the National Monument park on June 1, leaving some 70 people injured.
The peaceful rally was to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of Pancasila state ideology and to show support for Islamic minority sect Ahmadiyah.
Before the attack, Din said, Indonesian Muslims had been gathering trust for their moderate stance. "But with newspapers globally publishing the story of the attacks and TV stations vividly broadcasting the pictures, I can't say what kind of image we have now," he said.
He admitted criticisms of mainstream organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah for their failure to speak out against extremist and conservative elements were partly justified, but said the attacks should not be linked to religion.
"A violent attack is a purely criminal act and the state should take action against it. Violence has no root in Islam. It's a misuse or abuse of religion," Din said. "The reason we seem to be doing nothing is because we don't want to be provoked."
Observers have criticized moderate Muslim organizations for failing to demonstrate their religious tolerance following a government decree against Ahmadiyah. They said NU and Muhammadiyah had allowed hard-line groups too much leeway in taking the public stage and claiming to represent all Indonesian Muslims.
The anti-Ahmadiyah decree was issued by the government earlier this month amid intense pressure from several extremist groups, including the FPI and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia.
Din criticized the media for failing to report on the actions of moderate Muslims, compared with the coverage of radical groups. He said moderate organizations such as NU and Muhammadiyah had been very active in fostering an image of Islam that spreads blessings for all.
"We reach the majority with teachings of moderation. We fight poverty, injustice and ignorance with our education and cultural activities," he said.
Jakarta Post - June 19, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Moderate Muslim organizations and political parties have come under fire for failing to demonstrate their religious tolerance following a government decree against an Islamic minority sect.
As major moderate groups, the nation's two largest Muslim organizations Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah should have prevented the issuance of a joint ministerial decree against Jamaah Ahmadiyah, say Muslim scholars and political observers.
They told The Jakarta Post the decree showed the NU and Muhammadiyah were powerless to counter extremist and conservative elements in their campaigns for Islamism.
The anti-Ahmadiyah decree was issued by the government earlier this month amid intense pressure from many extremist groups, including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia. The government-sanctioned Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) landed support for the decree.
"The NU and Muhammadiyah have so far been just too soft and too tolerant against small militant groups," political expert Indra J. Pilliang of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said.
He said the two organizations had given too much space for hard- line groups to take the public stage claiming to represent Indonesian Muslims.
Indra warned that a "culture of violence" against minority groups would rise more quickly thanks to the inaction of the NU, Muhammadiyah and moderate political parties to foster religious tolerance and pluralism in the country.
The issuance of the anti-Ahmadiyah decree and a recent attack by FPI members on pro-pluralism activists from the National Alliance for the Freedom of Religion and Faith (AKKBB), who were staging a rally for religious tolerance, were clear examples of the dysfunctionality of the two moderate Islamic groups and political parties, he added.
"They have to get tough against extremist groups and strongly condemn any attacks to avoid widespread violence that can turn into mass fascism," Indra said.
Muslim scholar and Paramadina University rector Anies Baswedan said the NU and Muhammadiyah had failed to control the MUI with their pluralism mission.
The MUI is led by clerics from the NU and Muhammadiyah but the council has often issued extremist fatwa, banning pluralism, liberalism and secularism as well as branding Ahmadiyah a heretical sect. "What happens is the MUI doesn't represent the voice of Muslims as a whole," he said.
Anies said the NU and Muhammadiyah should take the lead in preventing several Muslim individuals or groups from taking violent actions in the name of Islam.
Rafendi Jamin of the Human Rights Working Group blamed the political parties for only caring about their short-term political interests and neglecting their mission for the betterment of the country, including promoting religious pluralism and tolerance.
All the parties should work together to fix Indonesia's international image by not tolerating violence and respecting human rights, he said.
Indra said the country's political parties were trying to woo more voters ahead of the 2009 elections by giving support for the anti-Ahmadiyah decree or taking side with the majority Muslim groups. Such a stance was more popular than acting otherwise, he added.
Anies warned the religious violence could increase due to the government's failure to provide jobs for people.
Jakarta Post - June 19, 2008
Cianjur – Around 150 militant Muslims have swept through housing complexes where members of the Ahmadiyah sect live, sealing off and vandalizing four mosques belonging to the sect.
Using motorcycles to roam around areas in the West Java regency on Wednesday, the unknown group had ended their expedition by the afternoon without any intervention by police, detik.com news portal reported.
They sealed off Ahmadiyah mosques in Penyairan, Cisakra, Ciparay and Neglasari, all in Cianjur, before spraying paint over the walls of the mosques.
There was no violence reported as Ahmadiyah members kept themselves hidden. "We were all very afraid so we did not come out of our houses. We just did not want anything to happen to us," Dili Sadili, an Ahmadiyah leader in Penyairan, said.
The situation remained tense even after the group had left the housing areas, local residents said.
Jakarta Post - June 19, 2008
Jakarta – More than a thousand protesters swarmed the State Palace and the Jakarta Police headquarters in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, demanding the release of Rizieq Shihab, leader of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), and Munarman, leader of Islam Troop Command (KLI).
The protesters, who were members of the FPI, the Islam Community Forum (FUI), Muslim organizations and Islamic boarding schools in the city and surrounding areas also demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ban minority Islamic sect Ahmadiyah and asked police to arrest a man who was holding a gun during the National Monument attack, which happened three weeks ago.
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Ketut Untung Yoga Ana told 17 leaders of the protest the police had named the unidentified man a fugitive and were looking for him. "Residents can bring him to the police or give us information about his whereabouts if they happen to find him," he said. He warned protesters not to hurt him should they find him.
The FPI earlier reported to police the man they accused of being a provocateur from the National Alliance of Freedom of Faith and Religion (AKKBB) and submitted his photograph to them.
Although the protest leaders looked satisfied after hearing of the gunman, they still demanded the police release Rizieq, FPI members and Munarman. They also insisted on meeting the Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Adang Firman. They were upset when the chief refused to meet them.
"The police did not treat us Muslims fairly. They did not arrest the members of AKKBB like they arrested the FPI members and their leader," M. Al Khaththa, general secretary of FUI said to Ketut.
Jl. Sudirman, where it heads to Blok M in front of the police headquarters, was jammed with protesters and their vehicles, forcing the police to redirect the traffic to other thoroughfares, like Jl. Casablanca and Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta. The congestion on Jl. Sudirman caused traffic jams in other busy main thoroughfares in the city.
In the demonstration in front of the State Palace, state spokesman Andi Mallarangeng was available to meet the protest leaders. But the protesters did not want to meet him, saying they wanted to meet the President instead.
"We met him last week. He is not the person who can respond to our demands. The President should give us his attention, considering the number of people who are staging the demonstration," Ali Hasan, one of the leaders said. (ind)
| Elections/political parties |
Jakarta Post - June 18, 2008
Jakarta – Lawmakers are using their policy monitoring right for the political benefit of their parties rather than for evaluating government public policies, experts said Tuesday.
"It has become very easy for our lawmakers to suddenly cancel their initiatives to question government policies. I think they pass around petitions just to promote themselves and their parties," said Bivitri Susanti, a senior researcher with the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies.
She and other experts were commenting on the rejection of the interpellation and inquiry moves in the House of Representatives' plenary session.
In the past four months alone, the House has knocked back three internal petitions. The first, in February, was to summon the government over the Lapindo mudflow disaster. The two others were in June, one to investigate the government's failure to recover trillions of rupiah in Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds, and the other on transfer pricing allegations involving the country's second-largest coal producer, PT Adaro Energy.
The House has accepted one petition on summoning the government over soaring prices for basic commodities. The government is scheduled to answer questions from the House on this issue on July 1.
The House also heard two other petitions related to the fuel price rise policy in June – one to summon the government and the other to form a team to investigate the policy. The House has scheduled a plenary session next week to decide these matters.
Bivitri said all of these petitions were politically motivated. "I think these are all related to the 2009 general elections," she said. She said the lawmakers' monitoring right was good for evaluating government policies, but had been misused for political ends.
Syamsuddin Harris, a political observer from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, voiced a similar argument. "The monitoring functions are only cosmetic. House factions use them for political bargaining," he told The Jakarta Post.
Syamsuddin said the weakest coalitions among the political parties contributed to this phenomenon. "There are no strong political contracts among the parties that support the government. As a result, parties can have a minister in the Cabinet and at the same time oppose the government's policies in the legislature," he added.
Lawmaker Dradjad Wibowo of the National Mandate Party said both the petitions on the fuel price rise policy were good. "I signed both of them. They are important and can be carried out simultaneously," he said.
But Dradjad acknowledged that recently it seemed lawmakers were just playing an endless game of tug-of-war with the petitions. "I am now seeing indications some lawmakers want to halt the inquiry petitions about the fuel price rise policy," he said.
Aria Bima of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle expressed concern that the decisions about the two petitions would be made on the same day. "Based on our experience, petitions tend to fail when the decisions are made in the same plenary session," he said. (alf)
| Economy & investment |
Tempo Interactive - June 20, 2008
Nanang Sutisna, Subang – Hundreds of fishermen from Java's northern coast at Blanakan, Subang district, West Java, are unable to work for a month as they cannot afford to buy fuel any more. They now work as fish carriers or transportation drivers with motorbikes.
Darman, 50 years old, said he has to store his boat on the shore of Blanakan beach after the government increased the fuel price as he needs at least 70-80 liters of diesel to operate it. "I cannot buy it any more," said Darman.
Karmidi, another fisherman forces himself to go to sea by replacing diesel with kerosene, although he knows it will damage his boat. "We have to do this. Otherwise, my family cannot eat," said another fisherman, Karla.
Mohammad Ali, head of community cooperation of Mina Fajar Sidik Blanakan, said many cooperation members cannot go to the sea after the fuel price increased. Ali suggested the government to give soft credit to fishermen. "Or, special subsidized-fuel for fishermen," said Ali.
Jakarta Post - June 20, 2008
Jakarta – Indonesia is good at attracting international trade with its relatively competitive tariff barriers, but our border controls and distribution channels create major obstacles, a report says.
The Enabling Trade Index in the 2008 Global Trade Report published Wednesday by the World Economic Forum compares 118 countries' openness and international trade capabilities.
Overall, Indonesia ranked 47th among the 118 countries. Hong Kong topped the list, followed by Singapore, Sweden, Norway and Canada. Malaysia ranked 29th, China 48, Thailand 52 and Vietnam 91.
The index sums up countries' market access, border administration, transport and communications infrastructure, and business environments.
Indonesia's trade has been well supported by regulatory openness and a competitive business environment, but has been stalled by poor infrastructure and difficult processes at its borders.
The country's trade policies allow relatively open market access for foreign goods. Indonesia has low non-tariff barriers and moderate tariff barriers. It is cheap to import, although goods may be held up with customs and domestic transport problems, meaning there are more procedural steps to clear along the way.
In terms of trade policies, Indonesia was ranked in the top 22 countries, ahead of Britain, Australia, Italy, Singapore, and Malaysia.
The index also showed a very good regulatory environment including the ease of hiring foreign labor, ease of foreign ownership, and regulations encouraging foreign investment. Indonesia was ranked 34th in this category.
On top of that, Indonesia has competitive liners connectivity, perhaps due to its location, competitive shipping costs and logistics companies.
However, as soon as the goods arrive in Indonesia, they are welcomed with inefficient customs administration, irregular payments and corruption at the border.
According to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), exporters and importers must set aside between 5 and 15 percent in additional costs to cover bureaucracy at the customs office.
The challenges bubble up as distribution is held up by low quality roads, ports and airports – all of which are ranked among the bottom 20.
As of March, Jakarta's traffic management center recorded 120 sites where roads were damaged in Jakarta, causing traffic congestion and putting road users at risk.
In infrastructure, Indonesia scored much lower than Malaysia, China, Thailand and India, although it was comparable to Vietnam. Indonesia came in at 74th in transport and communications infrastructure, and 63rd in the border administration section.
"Transportation costs have often been more important than trade barriers in inhibiting trade. These costs are not simply a factor of distance, but also the quality of the infrastructure," the report says.
Of Indonesia's 350,000 km of roads, around 6 percent (21,000 km) are damaged, the Public Works Ministry reported last month. This was an improvement from 10 percent in 2005. (mri)
Jakarta Post - June 17, 2008
Jakarta – Indonesia's high rate of inflation will not be quelled by the central bank's decision to increase its benchmark rate earlier this month, an economist says.
Independent commissioner at state owned Bank BRI Aviliani said inflation was not the result of excess money supply, but rather due to high global oil and food prices.
"Even if the central bank tried to reduce the amount of money flowing by raising the rate, it would not have the desired effect on inflation. It would only negatively impact the industries," Aviliani said.
The central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI), raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 8.5 percent on June 5.
Despite the increase, inflation will likely reach new heights, particularly owing to the recent on-average 28.7 percent increase in fuel prices, she said.
She also questioned the effectiveness of the increment in attracting foreign funds, which would have a positive impact on the rupiah.
She said regardless of the high inflation, the inflow of foreign funds was already healthy as Indonesia offered a much higher return compared to many countries with lower interest rates, including China, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
"Even at this rate, the inflow of foreign funds is already high at about US$1.5 million dollars per day, so why should we increase it?" she said.
The rupiah, she said, was already stable at about Rp 9,300 to the dollar, and that there was therefore no need to re-adjust it by raising the rate. There is no cause for further increasing the rate until the US Federal Reserve raises its benchmark, she said
The federal reserve on May 1 lowered its rate by 25 basis points to 2 percent amid a weakening economy.
However, Tony Prasetiantono, chief economic analyst of Bank BNI, said it was still necessary to regularly increase the BI rate in small increments to maintain the value of the rupiah.
He said the widening gap between the interest rate and inflation made the rupiah unattractive to foreign investors. The weakening of the rupiah is related to the higher prices of imported goods and raw materials that are essential for many of Indonesia's industries. The weak currency also makes it more expensive to repay debts in foreign currencies.
Another drawback of the high rate, Aviliani said, was that it could lead to an abundance of short-term, or portfolio, investments, further burdening state monetary expenses.
BI is estimated to suffer a Rp 8.02 trillion deficit by the end of the year, the bank's new governor Boediono reported to the House of Representative last week. In 2007, it reported a financial shortfall of around Rp 1.4 trillion.
BI posted a surplus of Rp 2.22 trillion in the first quarter of this year, as a policy budget deficit of Rp 4.57 trillion was offset by an operating budget surplus of Rp 6.79 trillion, Boediono said.
Aviliani said rather than adjusting the monetary instrument, the government, including local administrations, should try to curb inflation by monitoring the distribution of subsidized products that have a history of drawing heavily on the state budget.
"Local governments should play a greater role in preventing them (subsidized products) from falling into the wrong hands and causing shortages that can push up prices even more," she said. (mri)
Jakarta Post - June 17, 2008
Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – Domestic investment in the January-May period dropped by 68.3 percent from a year earlier because of uncertainty before and after the fuel price rises, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) says.
Domestic investment in the first five months declined to US$660 million from $2.07 billion in the same period last year.
"I expect the investment slowdown for 2007 commitments will continue in the next six to nine months as investors are still recalculating their investment plans in line with the increased fuel price," BKPM head M. Lutfi said Monday.
He was speaking during a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission VI overseeing trade, industry and investment affairs.
But Lutfi said the 2005 fuel price rises showed the slowdown could be managed, especially as the oil phenomenon was also hurting other national economies.
The government raised fuel prices twice in 2005, resulting in a 30 percent drop in the value of investment in 2006. But investment started to pick up again in 2007, reaching three times the amount of investment in 2005, Lutfi said.
"Judging from this experience, investment will recover in 2009 even though there are general elections ahead," he said.
Overall, total investment in the first five months rose 80.9 percent to $10.44 billion from $5.77 billion in the same period of 2007, mostly generated by foreign investment, which accounted for $9.78 billion, up from $3.7 billion a year earlier.
According to the BKPM, domestic investment between January and May mostly went to food-related sectors with a total investment of Rp 2.43 trillion, followed by the metal, machinery and electronics industries with Rp 1.49 trillion.
By location, Banten received the most, taking in investment to the value of Rp 1.41 billion, followed by West Java with Rp 1.1 billion, East Java with Rp 663 million, Lampung with Rp 650 million and Greater Jakarta with Rp 531.5 million.
Foreign investment mostly went into the telecommunications and transportation sectors to the value of $6.54 million, followed by the metal, machinery and electronic industries with $499 million.
"Investors invested mainly in telecommunications as it is considered attractive because of Indonesia's huge population and rapid growth in the sector," Lutfi said.
During the January-May period, Mauritius became Indonesia's largest foreign investor with $6.48 billion of investment, followed by Japan with $827 million, Singapore with $600 million, Malaysia with $228.5 million and Germany with $151.4 million.
| Opinion & analysis |
Pacific Journalism Review - 14 (1), 2008
Marie Leadbeater – Indonesia is trying to build an international reputation as a nascent democracy and is proud of having been re-elected in 2007 to the United Nations Human Rights Council for a three-year term. But the problems in West Papua1 make this democratic reform story questionable. While human rights investigators, Indonesia's human rights credibility should be critically examined.
Indonesia's incorporation of West Papua has been contested ever since it took control in 1963. West Papua's fate was sealed by a 1969 'Act of Free Choice' which is known as the 'Act of No Choice' by the Papuans, since it was carried out under extreme duress and only 1022 men were allowed to vote (Saltford, 2003). The province remains heavily militarised and opposition to Indonesia's rule persists. Grave human rights abuses have been exposed, especially in the post-Suharto years when Papuan nationalists have begun to work with an international solidarity movement to publicise their problems.
Some academics consider the survival of the West Papuan people is under threat because of cumulative impacts including poverty, HIV/AIDs, loss of life-sustaining forests, and uncontrolled migration (Wing & King, 2005).
Rarely to international journalists get official approval to visit West Papua. While the West Papua story stays out of international headlines, public realisation and concern remains low. There is little awareness that this Melanesian territory shares the island of New Guinea with its Pacific neighbour Papua New Guinea.
Solidarity activists have a struggle to make the issue better known outside the human rights community. As a New Zealand activist, I have found that when we host a West Papuan human rights leader, it is hard to time to interview our guest. For example, when Reverend Socrates Sofyan Yoman, head of the Papuan Baptist Churches, toured New Zealand in 2006 no metropolitan daily published an interview or quoted his views. Radio New Zealand international is an exception to this pattern. It frequently interviews West Papuan representatives with varying political views both those who are on the ground as well as those on exile.
In a departure from previous practice, Indonesia allowed two United Nations rapporteurs to visit West Papua in 2007. Hina Jilani, the UN Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders, and Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. A third rapporteur, Philip Jilani (United Nations, 2007) highlighted her concerns about the military and police harassment and intimidation of human rights activists. She referred to 'credible reports' of arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment of those who sought to investigate human rights violations. Some of the people she met with reported being targeted with death threats and intimidation after her departure.
These reports were not covered by mainstream media in New Zealand.
In September 2007, Lucy Williamson, a BBC Jakarta correspondent, gained a rare permit to visit the Central Highlands to report on the opening of an independent radio network, Newsroom 68H, and an associated hydro-electric dam. She also gave a graphic account of underdevelopment and extreme poverty in the area and reported on allegations of human rights abuses.
Some West Papuans believe that access may have tightened up again since the BBC visit. Access did not seem to be a problem for one journalist, Trish Sentori, who writes for the English language Jakarta Post. She was hosted by the giant gold and copper mine Freeport McMoran and her articles were human interest small Papuan woman drives an enormous earth moving truckrather than dealing with political or environmental issues (The Jakarta Post, 25 November 2007).
However, when West Papuan academic Father Neles Tebay wrote an opinion article entitled 'Papuan peace lovers want troops to leave' and calling for greater respect for Papuan rights and demilitarisation (The Jakarta Post, 6 November, 20007), the was a strong rejoinder. The Indonesian Military (known by its acronym TNI) wrote that Tebay's op-ed 'harmed the institution of the TNI and negated Indonesian integrity'. The TNI spokesperson, Vice Marshall Sagom Tamboen, sounded an intimidating note when he accused Tebay of supporting 'those wishing to see Indonesia's disintegration' (The Jakarta Post, 1 December, 2007).
One of the strongest international advocates for West Papuan self-determination in recent years has been United States Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, a Samoan. He has successfully rallied support from Congressional colleagues, particularly those in the Black Caucus and he has promoted the international campaign for the UN to review its role in the 'Act of Free Choice'. He currently holds the post of Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, so when he was refused permission to visit West Papua in July, the snub was highly publicised. But Congressman Faleomavaega himself adopted a conciliatory approach and in November the Indonesian authorities facilitated a brief tour for him and the US Ambassador.
Brief is the operative word. In the course of two days the US guests were rushed in and out of Timikawhere Freeport McMoran mine is locatedBiak and Manokwari. The itinerary did not include the capital, Jayapura, and it certainly did not include any interviews with waiting at the places they believed he would visit. However, they were out manoeuvred by police who managed to ensure the US guests had time only for formal meetings with the governor and a handful of other political leaders. In Manokwari the authorities were so concerned to 'protect' their guests that they transported the US pair along a badly potholed back road from the airport into town. According to an emailed report from West Papua, a few determined Papuans managed to garland him as he was ushered through the airport tarmac with banners as the plane was taking off (Warinussy, 2007). story remains untold.
New Zealand foreign policy and West Papua
There is another interlinked story which is also not being toldabout New Zealand's role in West Papua and New Zealand's ongoing support for Indonesia. It is interesting to note that New Zealand diplomats do not get the run around when they request permission to visit West Papua. New Zealand puts high value on its good bilateral relationship with Indonesia and has worked to put the relationship on a good footing again after a period of instability following East Timor's liberation and the horrendous Indonesian military and militia violence which preceded it. New Zealand Embassy staff make regular visits to West Papua to oversee aid projects including a special training programme in conflict resolution and community policing for the West Papuan police (Peters, 2007).
The New Zealand government has chosen a strategy of 'engagement' government is careful to signal its continuing support for Indonesia's 'territorial integrity'. The military ties which were suspended in 1999 in response to the cataclysmic violence in East Timor were quietly resumed in 2006 (Peters, 2006), and the government has said little on the issue of impunity despite the fact that many of those responsible for crimes against humanity in East Timor have been promoted to new posts in West Papua and other conflict areas.
Australian academic and writer on West Papua, Dr Peter King (2006), describes both the Indonesian military and police as 'quasi states' to illustrate their deep involvement in corruption and lack of accountability to the civilian government. In West Papua he notes that of the 137 cases brought by the police in a logging scandal in 2005, not one has resulted in conviction.
In 2000 there was a tantalising window on New Zealand's West Papua diplomacy when the government seemed prepared to risk the possibility of Indonesian disapproval. In October that year, the Indonesia Human Rights Committee hosted the international representative of the Free West Papua Movement (OPM), John Ondawame. NZ Foreign Minister Phil Goff agreed to meet him against his officials' advice (MFAT 2000a). As Ondawame arrived at Parliament on October 18, Green Party Foreign Affairs spokesperson Keith Locke staged a colourful welcome as he and several MPs including Goff said he was also willing to meet privately with the Papua Presidium's charismatic leader Chief Theys Eluay (MFAT, 2000b), although this visit never eventuated before Theys Eluay's death at the hands of the Indonesia military in November 2001.
At the UN Millennium Summit in New York the leaders of Nauru and Vanuatu had both spoken in support of self-determination for their fellow Melanesians in West Papua. (Sope, 2000; and Dowiyogo, 2000) and were to the concern of Indonesia.
For a few months New Zealand was the focus of a diplomatic offensive from both Indonesia and West Papuan representatives. Indonesia sent a delegation for pro-Indonesia Papuan MPs and officials to coincide with John Ondawame's visit. The official's reports to summarise both these visits suggests that New Zealand was contemplating taking a more robust stand. In his discussions with the Indonesian delegation, the then Minister referred to recent violence in Papua and stressed that while New Zealand wished to see a 'stable, democratic, prosperous and united Indonesia. Indonesia's unity was dependent on how Jakarta sought to resolve separatist tensions, rather than external statements about Indonesia's territorial integrity' (MFAT, 2000c).
After the Pacific Islands Forum, leaders of the pro-independence Papua Presidium called on Foreign Minister Goff to ask New Zealand to play a mediation role as a 'neutral third party'. While the delegation was told this was unlikely to happen 'given Indonesia's views on outside involvement in matters of territorial integrity' (MFAT, 2000d), New Zealand's 'offer' to help with dialogue was discussed in newspaper articles in Australia and New Zealand (West Papua requires cautious approach, 2000; Indonesia plans regional summit, 2000).
By the end of 2000, the Papuan 'spring' was over key independence leaders, including Theys Eluay, had been detained and Brimob police had just perpetrated a grave crime against defenceless students killing three and beating and torturing and jailing more than 100 others. (King 2004, pp 33)
But the 'spring' in New Zealand West Papua diplomacy was also coming to an end (New Zealand Herald, 8 October 2002). New Zealand warmly welcomed the 2001 Special Autonomy legislation for Papua, and ever in Papua' is the full implementation of the special autonomy package (Goff, 2003).
Not only has New Zealand chosen to work with the wrong people, there seems any group or person connected to the self- determination cause.
A heavily censored copy of the December 2006 report by the Second Secretary of the New Zealand Embassy has been released to IHRC under the the full implementation of the Special Autonomy Law on Papua (OTSUS) in the context of our commitment to the territorial integrity of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) and to do what we can do to encourage stronger adherence to basic human rights standards in the province'.
The Embassy official was anxious to make it clear that the government distanced itself from 'some' NGOs. 'We fully appreciate that in a free society New Zealand NGOs have every right to make their views known and that some will continue to support the Papuan separatist cause and inevitably irritate the Indonesian authorities. At the same time, care is needed to ensure that there to NGO activities that support Papuan separatism and thus undermine New Zealand government policy' (NZ Embassy, 2007).
New Zealand now has privileged and rare access to West Papua. This the controversial Freeport McMoran Mine (NZ Embassy, 2006) and have witnessed illegal logging inside Wasur National Park' (Van der Vloodt, 2007).
In recent years, the West Papuan movement has united around the call for peaceful dialogue with Indonesia, and a recent leaders' summit formed a new alliance, the West Papua Coalition for National Liberation (WPCNL) (Makabory, 2007). The new umbrella organisation includes the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and is calling for the involvement of an internationally recognised mediator. Vanuatu is proposing to call on the United Nations Decolonisation Committee to re-inscribe West Papua on its list of nonself-governing territories. New Zealand is not supporting these initiatives, and the Green Party is the only Parliamentary voice which consistently takes a stand for West Papua's right to self-determination and in support of Melanesian initiatives.2
During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, New Zealand played a key role in the United Nations supporting the Indonesian position, and now the same scenario is playing out over West Papua. There are exceptions, including the work of Scoop writer Joseph Barratt (2007), but the New Zealand media is essentially ignoring this important story.
Notes
1. In 2001, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid conferred the name 'Papua' on the province which had previously been known as Irian Jaya. However, Papuan nationalists and their supporters use 'West Papua', the name chosen in 1961 by the New Guinea Council when the Dutch were beginning to prepare the territory for independence.
2. The Green parliamentarians have flown the Papua Morning Star flag on the steps of Parliament many times, most controversially during the first visit of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to New Zealand on 6 April 2005.
Green Left Weekly - June 18, 2008
Data Brainanta – Fuel price hikes have always sparked widespread mass protests in Indonesia since the overthrow of the dictator Suharto in a popular uprising in 1998. However, the timing this year was special.
The hike occurred near the time of the 10-year anniversary Suharto's fall on May 21 and the National Awakening Day on the 20th, which commemorates the birth of Indonesia's first nationalist organisation. Three leftist fronts, each representing different tactics, took to the streets to reject the policy.
Three fronts
At one end of the left spectrum is the People Demands Front (FRM) that includes the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) – a coalition party initiated by the People's Democratic Party (PRD) – and other organisations like the National Students' League for Democracy (LMND) and the Indonesian Poor Union (SRMI).
The front also includes other students and political groups affiliated with larger opposition parties, as well as several well known figures who occupied positions during president Abdurrahman Wahid's administration – such as ex-finance minister Rizal Ramli who was imprisoned by Suharto for criticising his economic policy and ex-presidential spokesperson, Adhi Massardi.
The front chose May 20 as the major day of protest, although some smaller demonstrations had been carried out for more than a week before. Papernas' leader Dita Sari gave a speech during the big rally, but the mainstream media positioned Rizal Ramli as the protest leader. More than 8000 people joined the protest.
The other two coalitions, People's Struggle Front (FPR) and National Liberation Front (FPN), consisted mainly of students, leftists, grassroots organisations and NGOs.
The main constituents of FPN are labour coalitions like Workers Demands Alliance (ABM) and Congress of Indonesian Trade Union Alliances (KASBI), some leftist groups such as the Working People Association (PRP) and Poor Peoples Political Union (PPRM), and a militant student group – the Indonesian Students' League (SMI). It was formed after May Day this year to confront the planned fuel price hike.
FPR was initially formed as a coalition for May Day actions and was dominated by the big peasant organisation, the Agrarian Reform Movements Alliance (AGRA). Ideologically-related organisations, such as the student group National Students' Front (FMN), and the Indonesia Independent Labour Union (GSBI) are also involved. FPR also includes some more moderate student and religious groups.
Both FPR and FPN chose the 10th anniversary of Suharto's fall as their day of action to reject the fuel price hike. Thousands of protesters staged their protests separately, with various visits to the state palace. More than 500 people from FPN and 300 from FPR marched side by side. About 150 people from FRM's student organisations also took to the street along with other student groups.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the city, about 3000 students from All-Indonesia Student Executives Bodies demonstrated against the hike in front of the parliament building. The protest in front of the state palace and some in other parts of the country ended with clashes and arrests.
Tactical differences
While FRM concentrated their attack against pro-neoliberal ministers in the government, FPN outrightly rejected any non- leftist "elite" politicians inside and outside of the government. In an interview with Metro TV, an FPN activist declared that theirs is a "pure movement" and not "a movement steered by politicians".
Both FPR and FPN believe that politicians who support anti-fuel price rise protests do so to delegitimise the president and to gain popularity needed for their electoral goals. Consequently, both groups are moving towards a boycott of the 2009 elections.
The demand that differentiates the FPR from the rest of the leftist coalitions is for agrarian reform, which reflects the peasant base of their biggest organisation, AGRA. The absence of any public demands for the nationalisation the oil and mining industries (raised by both the FRM and FPN) also sets the FPR apart.
The FPN advocate nationalisation and add the clause "under workers' control". This is a departure from its earlier focus on cutting the price of basic goods and rejecting workers' outsourcing. The FRM has also not mentioned nationalisation in its statement, although Papernas has been strongly campaigning for it. According a Papernas leader has explained that there is an internal discussion in the FRM on nationalisation demands.
Indeed, the issue of nationalisation has risen to the surface as a fraction of the parliament, affiliated to Wahid's party, suggested: "If necessary, following the courage of Latin American leaders, the government should consider the nationalisation of strategic national industries in energy and mining sectors."
The government, on the other hand, seems unmoved. On May 23, two days after the initial protests, a 30% fuel price increase was announced, sparking another round of protests across the country. Student demonstrations, involving the burning of tires on university campuses, were dealt with harshly by security forces. The most well known incident occurred at the National University, Jakarta, when police stormed the campus and hunted down students.
As waves of protests continued, the LMND with a newly formed students coalition held hunger strikes in several cities in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the FPN and FPR strove to maintain the momentum with mass mobilisations. On May 29, about 500 people from FPN protested in front of the state palace.
A member of parliament came to the protest to express solidarity with the demonstrators, but FPN protesters told him to go away. On June 1, about 200 people from FPN and 500 from FPR took to the street separately.
On the same day, an unrelated incident unfolded and temporarily overshadowed the fuel price issue. A Muslim fundamentalist right-wing group, Defenders of Islam Front (FPI), whose foundation was initiated by elements in the military, attacked and beat protesters from a broad civil society coalition – the National Alliance for Freedom of Religion and Faith (AKKBB).
The latter had defended the rights of a Muslim sect, Ahmadiyah, that is currently under attack by the fundamentalists. In the days following the attack, the mainstream media magnified the incident, thus drawing attention away from the already declining fuel price protests.
In response to this, FPR and PRP issued statements denouncing the violence as the government's deliberate attempt to distract public attention from fuel price demands. This pattern is not new; previous protests were also dampened when public discontent was diverted by terrorist bomb attacks or other sensational incidents.
Leftist rivalry
Clearly, there exists a fierce rivalry between the three fronts. Three organisations from the island of Ternate in North Mollucas who were related or in cooperation with PPRM and FPN issued a statement condemning LMND for mistakenly claiming that all 14 protesters arrested there were LMND members. Apparently one of the detained was a PPRM member, while two were from LMND.
Furthermore, they accused LMND of being one of a number of "people-deceiving organisations", which, they said, must be supervised and rejected by all pro-democracy movements.
In Yogyakarta, the People United Committee (KRB), an FPN affiliate coalition, experienced a dispute with one of its own member organisations that was accused of sabotaging the protest and collaborating with state intelligence. The accused activists responded by attacking the other coalition members.
Many activists have expressed concern at this development, as can be seen from comments in some internet mailing lists. An Indonesian leftist website, http://rumahkiri.net, for example, carried the heading "Leftists, stop fighting each other, end sectarianism!"
[Data Brainanta is a supporter of Papernas who is currently in Canada.]