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Indonesia News Digest 39 – October 17-24, 2008
Jakarta Post - October 23, 2008
Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – A farmer from Terbanggi Besar
district, 58-year-old Surono Danu, has been diligently carrying
out research into superior rice seedlings for decades.
The Bogor Institute of Agriculture alumnus has been leading a
quiet life in Nambah Dadi village in the Lampung countryside
since his early retirement.
Over the past year however, he has become very prominent in
Lampung thanks to the superior rice strain he discovered and
named Mari Sejahterakan Petani, literally meaning "Let's make
farmers prosperous", or better known as Emespe (MSP).
Surono became the topic of conversation in Lampung not only due
to his success developing the local prime seedling, but also
because of a visit paid by PDI-P chairwoman Megawati
Soekarnoputri to his home in February this year.
During the visit to Surono's small home with walls made of woven
bamboo skin, Megawati and fellow party members sat on mats on the
dirt floor due to a lack of chairs.
The visit received extensive media coverage, with Megawati saying
she wishes to show her appreciation to Surono for developing the
rice seedling. Megawati later asked central and regional party
leaders to work with Surono to develop the rice seedling further.
"This is a superior seedling. Ibu Mega has given me the right to
spread the MSP rice seed into East Java," said Surono during a
meeting between farmers and PDI-P secretary-general Soetjipto in
Mulyodadi village, East Java, in July. The meeting coincided with
the East Java gubernatorial election campaign period.
The MSP rice seedling has since been welcomed by almost every
province in the country due to widespread promotion by PDI-P
leaders.
In trial harvests in Lampung, West Java and North Sumatra, the
MSP seedling has proved to produce strong yields, with each
hectare producing between 13 and 14 tons of unhusked rice.
Despite these successes, some trials, such as those in Serdang
Bedagai regency, North Sumatra, failed. In that regency, farmers
recently held a protest over the small 5 tons per hectare yield
the MSP seedling produced.
Farmers said it was natural that the MSP seedling was often
dubbed the "political rice".
In Lampung farmers said it was currently hard to find the MSP
seedling, and the 5 kilogram sacks had changed in appearance and
were being circulated outside the province.
"The 5 kilogram sack bears an image of Megawati and the words
'Let's Make Farmers Prosperous. Use Emespe prime rice seedling'
below the picture. "Megawati Soekarnoputri is abbreviated as MSP.
So, it's convenient," said a farmer in the outskirts of
Bandarlampung, Sunoto.
Surono claimed to have entirely financed the research himself
without any assistance from PDI-P. "Everything came from my own
pocket. My capital is my diligence and a pair of pincers," he
said.
Surono developed the strain after more than 20 years conducting
experiments in the field. Motivated after seeing farmers hindered
by poor yields, and in an attempt to preserve local prime
seedlings from extinction, he strived at his research.
"Eventually local seedlings would have become extinct if they
were not developed."
Surono has been traveling across Lampung, South Sumatra and
Bengkulu since 1982 collecting local prime variety seedlings.
Surono declined to reveal how much he was assisted financially by
the PDI-P, who used the rice project successfully in their
campaign. "I dedicate my discovery to farmers across the country.
I will not apply for a patent. Everyone can make use of it," he
said.
In September, the PDI-P was reported to have stockpiled 100 tons
of the MSP seedling in anticipation of the 2009 elections. It
will be distributed free to farmers by PDI-P legislative
candidates, who will reimburse them between Rp 5,000 and Rp 6,000
for production costs.
How the profits from the sale of MSP rice is to be shared between
the PDI-P and Surono remains unclear, as do the promises made by
party leaders and candidates to farmers who intend to grow the
MSP rice strain.
The MSP rice seedling has now become a political commodity and
has faced public criticism at protests in Ajibarang, Banyumas and
Central Java in mid-October. Farmers, outraged when PDI-P leaders
failed to pay for their rice, burned their harvests in protest.
The party promised to pay farmers Rp 7,000 per kilogram of
harvest, around Rp 1,000 higher than the market price. But after
three months, farmers are yet to receive any money.
Jakarta Post - October 23, 2008
Villagers from Julah in Tejakula, Buleleng, tow (see photo) a
pregnant cow behind a boat into open sea as part of a local
traditional ritual.
The cow, which is five months pregnant, was thrown out to the sea
about 3 kilometers from land Monday. The villagers believe the
animal was impregnated by a village elder.
During the ritual the man, who was caught red-handed having
sexual intercourse with the cow two months ago, joined the boat
trip in order to throw away his clothes to to symbolize him
discarding his sins.
Julah customary village head Ketut Sidemen said the ritual,
called gamya gamana, or freak weeding, and had been conducted
there for generations. The decision to perform the ritual was
made a local residents meeting.
In line with customary regulations, the perpetrator, identified
only as PS, 70, was sanctioned to fund the expensive ceremony,
which aimed to cleanse him of any bad influences.
Luh Ketut Suryani, a professor and activist, deplored the
sancation against PS.
She said drowning a cow was baseless because sexual intercourse
between a human being and am animal could not cause pregnancy due
to the different chromosomes and genes of the two.
"The cow is not guilty, why shoud it be drowned? Why don't just
use a symbol like what was done by the perpetrator?" she said.
Suryani's said she was concerned dealt with the financial
situation of the owner, who lives below the poverty line.
"The cow, which has a high price, had to be thrown away. It will
be a pity for the owner, who is already poor and is now forced to
lose his priceless belonging." – JP/Alit Kertaraharja
Actions, demos, protests...
Pornography & morality
Aceh
West Papua
Human rights/law
Environment/natural disasters
War on corruption
War on terror
Islam/religion
Elections/political parties
Government/civil service
Armed forces/defense
Economy & investment
Analysis & opinion
News & issues
Scientist best in field with 'political rice' strain discovery
Cow drowned into the sea for being impregnated by human
Artists summoned over communist symbol exhibition
Jakarta Post - October 20, 2008
Dicky Christanto, Denpasar – The East Denpasar Police has summoned a group of young artists for using symbols of the now defunct communist party during an art exhibition organized last September.
An art exhibition dubbed the G-30-S (30 artists' movement) was organized from Sept. 16 to 30 at the Denpasar Art Centre featuring contemporary art pieces that tried to redefine the meaning of some symbols, including communist symbols like the hammer and sickle.
"We want to ask about their motivation behind all of this because we all know that publicly showing or exhibiting communist symbols is prohibited," East Denpasar Police chief Adj. Comr. Gede Ariantha told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
A temporary 1996 People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS) decree prohibits the Indonesia Communist Party's existence throughout the country. The decree also prohibits the public display of the party's symbols.
The decree was made after Indonesians experienced the so-called failed coup on Sept. 30, 1965, an attempt that took the lives of six army generals and one army lieutenant.
Ariantha said two out of the 30 artists had been questioned by the police so far. The two – Gusti Putu Hardana Putra and Made Sudiadana – acknowledged that the use of some communist symbols at the art exhibition represented the artist's intention to impute new meaning into the symbols.
"They said the symbols were used for the sake of art and no other political purposes or motivations," Ariantha said.
"But we will still summon the other artists to collect and cross check some more information. The two artists also acknowledged that it was only one artist that used the communist symbols in his art pieces,"he said. The artist's name is Made Agus Swesnawa and we are going to summon him immediately to hear his perspective."
Swesnawa's artworks are now stored at the East Denpasar Police office after they were confiscated by soldiers of the Udayana Military Command from the art gallery. "Soon after we noticed that the paintings contained communist symbols we decided to confiscate and bring them to the police for further investigation," Udayana Military Command' intelligence assistant Col. Mudjib Ali said.
He said the confiscation was conducted as a necessary caution because every symbol related to the communist party was still considered insensitive among Indonesians.
| Actions, demos, protests... |
Detik.com - October 20, 2008
Ken Yunita, Jakarta – It has become like a 'regular customer', traffic crossing Jl. Warung Buncit Raya in South Jakarta from Ragunan in the direction of Mampang Prapatan is invariably congested in the mornings.
This situation will be worsened today, Monday October 20 by a protest action in front of the offices of the Justice and Prosperity Party's (PKS) central leadership board, which is located on this stretch of road.
According to the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Centre website, the demonstration by a group calling themselves the Papua National Coalition (KNP) will take place at 8am. The demonstrators will fill almost half of the road and result in traffic being even more chaotic than usual.
Following the protest in front of the PKS offices, the protesters will switch to the Department of Home Affairs on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta.
In addition to the KNP, after protesting at the State Palace at 9am the Papuan Traditional Social Community Against Corruption (Kampak) will also hold a demonstration at the Department of Home Affairs.
Following this at 10am, the South Sumatra Social Alliance of Concern for the Organisation of Clean Elections (AMSSPPPB) will be holding a protest action at the offices of the General Elections Commission on Jl. Imam Bonjol. (ken/nrl)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Pornography & morality |
Jakarta Post - October 24, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Two contentious issues have once again held up deliberations of the presidential election bill, leaving the way open for legislators to pass the bill through a vote.
The most controversial issue concerns the threshold – the minimum percentage of House seats a party or coalition requires to be able to nominate its own presidential candidate.
The other sticking point is whether the president and vice president should be also be allowed to chair a political party.
A plenary session of the House of Representatives' special committee deliberating the bill failed Thursday to resolve these two critical issues.
"If we fail to compromise then we already have the option to vote," committee chairman Ferry Mursyidan Baldan told The Jakarta Post.
The committee plans to pass the bill at a House plenary session scheduled for Oct. 28, 2008.
Legislators attending Thursday's meeting were split over the three proposed thresholds on offer, which were: 15 percent of House seats or 20 percent of total votes won in the legislative election; 20 percent of House seats or 20 percent of votes; and 25 percent of House seats.
Legislators are also preparing to vote on whether an elected president or vice president should be allowed to chair a party.
Thursday's meeting kicked off in a mood of compromise, with factions such as the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) agreeing to raise their proposed thresholds to 20 percent of House seats, up from their initial position of 15 percent.
The Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lowered their proposed thresholds to 25 percent of House seats, down from 30 percent.
"We were about to begin finding a compromise somewhere between 20 and 25 percent. But it turned out not all parties were on the same footing, so we couldn't continue," said PKS faction chairman Mahfudz Siddiq.
The failure to reach a compromise during the meeting was blamed on the National Mandate Party's (PAN) insistence on sticking to its proposed threshold of 15 percent.
Tjahyo Kumolo, chairman of the PDI-P faction at the House, said if the decision on the threshold finally went to a vote, then many parties would fall back to their original positions, with Golkar and the PDI-P pushing for 30 percent and the others likely to vote for 15 percent. Tjahyo hinted the PDI-P was ready to compromise, saying the best option was 20 percent of House seats or 25 percent of votes – a proposal put forth by several other parties.
On the issue of dual positions, only the PDI-P and Golkar rejected an article in the bill requiring an elected president or vice president to resign as party chairperson.
Legislators will meet again next Monday in a final push to find a compromise threshold to prevent the bill's passage from being decided in a vote.
Jakarta Post - October 24, 2008
Dicky Christanto, Bali – As many as 30 people from the Bali People's Component (KRB) organized a silent protest against the pornography bill at Sanur Beach on Thursday.
The group, mainly consisting of youngsters, unfurled giant banners stating their opposition to the bill. The silent protest was organized because the group believed lawmakers in Jakarta had not taken the Balinese people's views into consideration, Wayan Semaracipta, the protest's field coordinator, said.
"We want to draw the attention of many foreign athletes currently competing at the Asian Beach Games. We want them to know that Indonesians are currently facing serious threats to humanity and civil liberties through the bill's deliberation," he told reporters.
Besides holding giant banners, the group presented contemporary art performances and meditated for an hour. Following their ancestors' lead, the group meditated because it was a peaceful way to protest, Semaracipta said.
"We have done our part by yelling and rallying to refuse the bill. Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika himself has officially sent a letter of objection against the bill to the central government," he said.
"Now, we want to give out everything to the God Almighty by doing the meditation, just like our ancestors used to do if they thought that they had carried put every effort to cope with a problem."
Reuters - October 23, 2008
Jakarta – At least 500 Muslims from an Islamic party marched through the Indonesian capital on Thursday to push legislators to pass a controversial anti-pornography bill.
The supporters of the bill from the United Development Party, or PPP, said the anti-porn bill would save the nation from moral destruction and called to protect the nation's morals through bills based on sharia or Islamic law.
They marched to parliament with their party's green flags and banners that read "Pass anti-pornography bill immediately."
The bill, which aims to shield the young from pornographic materials and lewd acts, is being pushed by a small group of Islamist parties in predominantly Muslim, but officially secular, Indonesia.
The plan to pass the bill has been condemned by minority groups in the country, including the Balinese, who are Hindu, as well as Christians.
Lawmakers have so far stopped short of passing the bill, which has been watered down from its original version after concerns that it could be misused against minority groups. (Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu; Writing by Telly Nathalia; Editing by Sugita Katyal and Sanjeev Miglani)
Jakarta Post - October 21, 2008
Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has decided to postpone the deliberation of the anti-pornography bill until late November, with two groups still at odds over the bill's definition of "pornography".
Agung Sasongko, deputy head of the House's special committee deliberating the bill, said the opposing groups in the legislature had failed to reach an agreement on the definition after a three-day meeting outside the House last week.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) insist on excluding indecent acts from the definition of pornography, but eight rival factions disagree.
Agung, a PDI-P legislator, said the bill was unchanged since its Sept. 4, 2008, form in which pornography was defined as "man-made sexuality materials either in the form of drawings, sketches, illustrations, photographs, text, voice, sound, moving pictures, animation, cartoons, poetry, conversations, gestures, or other forms of communicative messages through various kinds of media; and or performances in front of the public, which may incite sexual desire and or violate moral ethics in the community".
Fellow PDI-P legislator Eva Kusuma Sundari said her party and the PDS wanted the definition to "focus" and "stick" to only graphic forms of pornography.
Eva said the two factions demanded the bill also cover other forms of sexual exploitation, including sexual harassment, while the eight opposing factions wanted it to cover only those related to obscenity.
Agung said that with the House going into recess in Nov. 1, the deliberation of the bill, first discussed at the legislature four years ago, would resume in late November.
Special committee chairman Balkan Kaplale of the Democratic Party said last week there had been "drastic changes" to the bill following strong opposition to the initial draft.
Committee member Husein Abdul Azis said the bill would make several exemptions, including for tourists wearing bikinis at resorts such as Bali. "The porn bill will treat recreational and leisure areas differently," he said.
However, Reform Institute executive director Yudi Latif said such exemptions were "discriminative", arguing the law should apply to all people without discriminating against certain groups.
Yudi said the bill should be rejected because it went against the freedom of expression granted by the Constitution.
"Even if the majority of House factions support the bill, we have to see how far the deliberation process has developed," Yudi said at a discussion over the bill.
"It's obvious our Constitution guarantees the rights of all citizens, so any act violating these rights should be considered unconstitutional and should be criminalized."
Kamala Chandra Kirana, chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) that hosted the discussion, said many aspects of the bill could lead to the "victimization of women".
"If the bill really wants to address sexual harassment and exploitation cases, it shouldn't be politicized. Pornography is just one of the elements in sexual exploitation," she said.
Jakarta Post - October 17, 2008
Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' special committee debating the controversial pornography bill will allow tourists to wear bikinis at tourist resorts in a bid to ensure tourism is not negatively affected by the controversial legislation.
"Tourists are allowed to wear bikinis in tourism resorts like Bali and Parang Tritis beach (in Yogyakarta). The porn bill will treat recreational and leisure areas differently," lawmaker Husein Abdul Azis of the Democratic Party said Thursday.
There have been fears among domestic tourism operators that the bill would deter tourists from visiting because it would recquire them to wear "appropriate" clothing.
Bali is the country's top tourist destination. Indonesia aims to attract 7 million tourists this year and collect some US$6.7 billion in foreign exchange revenue.
Head of the House's special committee deliberating the pornography bill, Balkan Kaplale, said his team had made some changes to contentious articles in the bill, finalizing the terms before lawmakers begin their recess period starting on Oct. 30.
"I can say there have been drastic changes in the bill," said Balkan of the Golkar Party. The changes act as a compromise to the growing opposition movements to the bill.
Despite concerns for tourism, speculation continues to mount over Articles 21 and 22 of the bill, which stipulate that the public is allowed to "directly involve" itself in preventive measures against pornography. Critics have said the articles could put the law into the hands of civilians, including hardliners.
Husein said the committee had already added additional explanations to those particular articles of concern. "The bill has made it clear now that such preventive measures are only applicable to the authority of the police and prosecutors," he said.
However, lawmakers are still discussing the much criticized definition of pornography, he said.
Article 1 of the bill defines pornography as any man-made work that includes sexual material in the form of drawings, sketches, illustrations, photographs, text, sound, moving pictures, animation, cartoons, poetry, conversations or any other form of communicative message.
Lawmaker Muhaimin Iskandar of the National Awakening Party (PKB) said the committee would inform the public about changes to the bill before Oct. 28. "We must publicize the changes in the media. This bill should no longer be creating controversy and should be ready to be passed," Muhaimin said.
The committee will bring the bill to the House consultative body next Tuesday. "If the body approves the bill, the House will bring it to the plenary session and pass it either on Oct. 28 or Oct. 30."
| Aceh |
Reuters - October 23, 2008
Banda Aceh, Indonesia – A grenade exploded outside the office of former separatist rebels in Indonesia's once-restive Aceh province Thursday, but no one was reported injured, a police official said.
Resource-rich Aceh was torn by conflict for nearly 30 years before a peace deal between Jakarta and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in 2005.
The peace agreement has generally been regarded as successful although there are concerns next year's election could fan tensions in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra.
The blast damaged two cars and the office windows of the Aceh Transitional Commission (KPA) office, said Ilsarudin, police chief of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh. Police were questioning four witnesses, he added.
The explosion occurred about two weeks after the GAM founder, Hasan di Tiro, returned home from Sweden after more than 30 years in exile. (Writing by Telly Nathalia; Editing by Sugita Katyal and Bill Tarrant)
Jakarta Post - October 20, 2008
Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Challenges await 11 Acehnese villagers who have succeeded in bringing giant company ExxonMobil Corp. to a US Federal Court, with the judge handling the case resigning from his post amid fears that revealing their identities might endanger their lives.
Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) chairman Rafendi Djamin said Friday the plaintiffs were entitled to protection from the government as soon as they revealed their identities in court. The 11 Acehneses are currently hiding their identities under the names of John Doe I to John Doe XI.
"As the trial starts, the public would find out their identities. This would endanger them as they could become a target of certain people," Rafendi told The Jakarta Post.
"There are fears there will be some efforts to silence them, either through abuses or offering them reconciliation. In some human rights abuse cases, the victims were asked to withdraw their claims and offered (material) things in return," he added.
The 11 Acehnese plaintiffs filed a pretrial motion against ExxonMobil to the US District Court for the District of Columbia in June 2001. They accused the company of supporting the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s alleged kidnappings, killings and torture in Aceh.
In their motion, they have said the company was responsible for hiring security guards from the ranks of the TNI to provide security at ExxonMobil's natural gas facility in Indonesia, in spite of the soldiers' well-documented history of abusing Indonesian citizens.
The motion was filed under the Alien Torts Claim Act (ATCA), which enables US courts to try any US company accused of perpetrating human rights abuses outside the country.
On Aug. 27, 2008 the court's Judge Louis Oberdorfer ruled to proceed with the trial, saying the 11 Acehnese plaintiffs had provided "sufficient evidence, at this stage, for their allegations of serious abuse".
Oberdorfer denied a motion for summary judgment from Exxon Mobil Corp. and its Indonesian subsidiary ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia (EMOI).
The trial is expected to start by the end of this year or early next year, according to HRWG. However, another hurdle might block the way with Judge Oberdorfer resigning from his post.
"This means there will be a new judge, who might have to study this case from the beginning. And we don't know yet whether the new judge shares the same views with Oberdorfer," Rafendi said on the sidelines of the HRWG launching of the case report.
Rafendi asked the government to pay attention to the case, particularly to the protection issue.
"The Foreign Ministry is responsible for accompanying and protecting the plaintiffs while going through the trial sessions," he said, adding the newly established Witness Protection Program Institute (LPSK) should also make a move on this.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said it was still far from the moment to talk about the protection issue, because the government itself still could not accept the extra-territorial jurisdiction aspect in this case.
"Basically, we can't agree to the trial because it has gone outside our country's jurisdiction," he said.
Moreover, "Because the trial is in the US, the plaintiffs would get the protection from the local court and authorities. The government is surely responsible to protect its citizens abroad, but we should also consider our office's resources there," Teuku added.
EMOI spokeswoman Deva Rachman had previously dismissed all allegations against the company, saying the case was baseless as EMOI condemned all human rights abuses.
"We're just an operator of state facilities. The state, in this case the Indonesian government, has the authority to guard its own strategic assets. All along, we have always shared everything we do with the government," she said.
The National Commission on Human Rights deputy chairman Ridha Saleh said the Exxon case would serve as a reference for the commission in determining its next steps against human rights cases in Aceh.
"We already established a special team to study human rights abuses in military operation areas in Aceh. The team will finish studying next month, and this (the US court ruling) would contribute to our final result," Ridha said in the same discussion.
The Australian - October 18, 2008
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – When Acehnese independence hero Hasan di Tiro visited the grave of his rebel organisation's former military commander this week, tears flowed.
Abdullah Syafi'ie, who stood with Mr di Tiro at the 1976 declaration of Acehnese independence, died in a fierce battle with Indonesian soldiers in 2002, cut down alongside his own wife and bodyguards.
At the time, Syafi'ie's death was hailed by luminaries such as the then defence minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who said he hoped it would herald "a negotiation for peace" after almost 30 years of civil war with Jakarta.
But in the end, peace in Aceh had little to do with the deaths of its separatists and everything to do with the tsunami of December 2004, which killed hundreds of thousands – rebels as well as Indonesian military and their families.
A reluctant Jakarta accepted there had to be a new way of dealing with the province, which long argued it had only ever fought alongside Indonesia in the post-World War II independence struggle in order to help win its own independence.
Dr Yudhoyono, by then President, and his deputy, Yusuf Kalla, were even mentioned as odds-on favourites for the Nobel peace prize after the 2005 peace agreement, which was brokered by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari.
So it was a significant confluence when Mr Ahtisaari was named a week ago as the prize's 2008 recipient, hours before Mr di Tiro returned to Aceh from long-term exile in Sweden.
Mr di Tiro, 83, did not have much to say on his arrival, apart from a terse "Thank God, I've been able to come home".
Pointedly, he spoke in Acehnese, not Indonesian – a language Mr di Tiro, despite being a former representative for Jakarta to the UN, refuses to speak.
In a speech read for him by Malik Mahmud, the ex-prime minister- in-exile of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) which Mr di Tiro founded, there was a warning to any who would seek to undermine the peace.
"Guard the unity of Aceh and don't be goaded into criminal activities by subversive groups, (which try) in their attempts to sabotage the peace to make us fight amongst each other and break Aceh apart; if we are not careful, a bloody conflict will arise again... which will be to everyone's detriment," the speech urged.
Later, at a function that the elderly hero was too tired to attend, Mr Mahmud unexpectedly berated Aceh Governor – and former GAM spokesman – Yusuf Irwandi and others for their failure to "adequately" welcome Mr di Tiro to the capital, Banda Aceh.
The chair provided for him was only plastic and not befitting a leader of his importance, Mr Mahmud complained, and there had not even been a proper step for him to ascend to the stage set up in the forecourt of the city's majestic Baiturrahman mosque.
Mr Irwandi, seated in the audience, was quietly furious. It seemed he was being publicly blamed for the rocky state of civil society in Aceh – which, a recent International Crisis Group report has warned, exists in a state of peace that is "sustainable, but (which) no one should take... for granted".
Kidnappings, extortion rackets and low-level bombings have become almost daily events, according to figures kept by organisations such as the World Bank.
However, criminal groups – whose activities are on the rise – across Aceh are one thing; political splits, most notably displayed in continuing antagonism between the Irwandi and Mahmud camps despite an apparent rapprochement early this year, could threaten the peaceful conduct of national parliamentary elections next April.
The cracks are spreading, and squabbling over what has otherwise been a triumphant visit by Mr di Tiro could result in the legacy not only of his and Mr Ahtisaari's efforts, but those of others, including Mr Irwandi, being squandered.
| West Papua |
Antara News - October 22, 2008
Jakarta – Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal stated here on Tuesday that no country supported separatism in Papua.
"Not a single member country of the United Nations supports separatism in Papua so that Indonesia's position in the matter is solid," he said at the president's office.
He made the statement in response to the launching of an "International Parliamentarians for West Papua" caucus in London recently. Dino however admitted that there were indeed some parliamentarians and non-governmental organizations that supported the action.
"The initiative of the International Parliamentarians has failed and the British government's position of supporting Indonesia's territorial integrity has not changed," he said.
The British parliament, he said, also respected Indonesia's territorial integrity. "The situation on the field is also good," he said.
Earlier, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said the International Parliamentary action was not significant.
He said the launching of International Parliamentarians for West Papua in Britain on October 15, 2008 was only attended by two British parliament members – the British parliament consists of the House of Lords with 746 members and the House of Commons with 646 members – and around 30 members of non-governmental organizations were so far supporting the idea of Papuan independence.
The incident only showed that Papua's independence question was not really an issue, he said.
Faiza said the action was only supported by the same persons who saw Papua using a reference of the Indonesian situation in the 90s while the situation in the region had changed after it was given special autonomy that had made the idea of independence no longer relevant.
According to the Indonesian embassy in London, the activity that was held on the premises of the parliament did not draw the attention of other British MPs, the media or the public. Neither was West Papua officially put on the agenda of the House of Commons nor on the notice board in the lobby of the building.
Post Courier PNG - October 22, 2008
The West Sepik provincial police commander Sakawar Kasieng yesterday warned people in Vanimo and border villages not to travel to Jayapura in the Papua Province of Indonesia because of current unrest there.
Mr Kasieng said police manning the border post at Wutung had been put on alert as the situation in Jayapura was tense with fully armed Indonesian soldiers conducting intensive checks on motorists at the border and the Jayapura District in search of firearms and offensive weapons following a demonstration last Saturday.
According to unconfirmed reports three civilians in Waena in Jayapura about 80 kilometres from the PNG-Indonesian border were shot dead by the Indonesian military during the demonstration.
Mr Kasieng said the situation across the Papua Province was tense and confirmed in a brief he received yesterday from the PNG Consul General's office in Jayapura. Students had petitioned the Indonesian Government to guarantee autonomy for Papua and not to sub-divide the province, which resulted in the shootings, Mr Kasieng said.
The Indonesian military are monitoring the towns of Jayapura, Abepura and Sentani in search of locals carrying offensive weapons to retaliate.
He said Papua New Guineans should be wary of travelling to those towns in case they were mistaken for Papuans involved in the demonstration. He added that there is a military build up at Scou and Arso near the border on the Indonesian side already and that the PNG Government needed to support the border post with resources to monitor movements and staff the border.
"We are years behind with our monitoring resources comparing to the Indonesians checkpoint base about 500 metres from the PNG border. We need adequate funding to improve the border post immediately," Mr Kasieng said.
Jakarta Post - October 21, 2008
Nethy Dharma Somba and Dian Kuswandini, Jayapura/Jakarta – Police on Monday arrested separatist leader Buchtar Tabuni as he was about to attend a massive rally in Jayapura, Papua, to show support for the newly created international parliamentarian caucus for West Papua in London.
In Jakarta, a leading legislator said the House of Representatives would file a protest against the British Parliament through the British Embassy for supporting separatism.
Buchtar and 17 other Papuan separatists were arrested by police at Imbi Park and taken for questioning to Jayapura City Police headquarters some 30 meters from the park.
Buchtar was later transferred to Papua Provincial Police headquarters to be questioned as a witness in Thursday's rally to celebrate the establishment of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) in London.
The provincial police accused Buchtar as the rally organizer of violating Articles 106, 110, 160, 212 and 216 of the Criminal Code on sedition, agitating the public and resisting security officers.
Buchtar was released after complaining of illness. His questioning will continue next week.
Lawyer Latifah Anum Siregar, representing the separatists, said she regretted the way police had summoned the separatists to testify. "They were beaten in public and then forced at gunpoint to enter police cars," Latifah told The Jakarta Post.
The IPWP was launched with the aim of revising the 1969 Act of Free Choice, or Pepera referendum, calling it unfair because it was based on a representative system rather than the one-person- one-vote principle. However, not all Papuans support the IPWP, with three prominent Papuan chieftains – Amandus Mabel, Dasik Asso and Jimmi Asso from the Central Mountain Range area – saying Papua's choice to be a part of Indonesia was already final.
"There was no such thing as the establishment of an international caucus for West Papua in London. It was just an issue created by an irresponsible group aiming to destabilize Papua," Jimmi told the local Cenderawasih Pos newspaper published Monday.
In Jakarta, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said he had not been informed yet about recent events in Papua, in which Free Papua Movement (OPM) supporters reportedly held separatist activities over the last two days.
"All I know is the Office of the Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs is currently handling it," Juwono said Monday at the House.
He called on the public not to label all activities in Papua as separatist acts. "Don't correlate every activity there as something that will lead to disturbances," he said.
Theo L. Sambuaga, chairman of the House's Commission I overseeing defense, information, foreign and political affairs, said the protest would be sent to the British Embassy in Jakarta on Monday evening.
"We can't accept any efforts to support such a separatist movement, because it indicates foreign intervention in our country's affairs," he said.
"The House will also bring the case to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which has stated it will not tolerate any separatist movement."
Dismissing the fact the caucus was supported by only two British MPs – Andrew Smith and Lord Harries – legislator Abdillah Toha said such partial support could lead to a bigger movement.
"The government must be aware of 'small waves' because they can turn into bigger ones," he said.
National Development Party (PPP) legislator Ali Mudatsir said the government had always been weak in responding to such issues. "The government must take a firm stance because this has to do with our sovereignty," he said.
Tempo Interactive - October 21, 2008
Anton Aprianto/Heru Triyon, Jakarta – Two Papua residents who had asked for political asylum in Australia came to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) office for protection.
The two Papuans, Yubel Kareni, 22, and Hana Gobay, 23 said they received threats from people against Papua's integration with Indonesia. "If we insist on returning to Indonesia, they threatened to kill us because we were considered as traitors," Hana said at the Komnas HAM office yesterday.
Yubel and Hana said that on May 2004, they left for Australia along with 43 other Papuans, sailing on a traditional boat through Merauke, Papua. On January 2005 they arrived on Australia shores. Hana – who was a student at Manado University – said the 43 people were lured by the promise to receive free education in Australia. Each of them had to pay Rp 7 million to Herman Wainggai – later known to be the main leader of the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
In Australia, besides political asylum, they were also promised funding from the Australian government amounting US$450 every two weeks plus free housing. They later discovered that they were to be politically indoctrinated to support Papua's separatist movement from Indonesia. Yubel didn't even know until recently that he was categorized as a refugee seeking asylum. "We felt deceived," said Yubel, who was a senior at Serui High school in Papua.
Komnas HAM has sent a letter to the Papua governor and the Papua Regional Police. The letter, signed by commissioner Johny Nelson Simanjuntak, requested that the two youths be given protection and given their rights, especially in the field of education.
Reuters - October 20, 2008
Indonesian police detained at least 15 people and stopped over 2,000 people from participating in a planned independence rally in resource-rich Papua province on Monday, a Reuters witness said.
Police blocked roads as hundreds of Papuans began streaming in for the rally in Jayapura, capital of remote Papua, where independence activists have waged a campaign for nearly 40 years to break away from Indonesia.
The coordinator of the rally, Buchtar Tabuni, said he had sought police permission for the rally.
Separatist groups have stepped up protests in Papua in recent months. The province has witnessed several rallies to demand a referendum on Papuan independence and Papuans have hoisted the outlawed separatist "Morning Star" flag in public places on some occasions.
There have also been small bomb blasts, including at an airport and near a copper mine run by the local unit of US mining firm Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc..
Freeport's Grasberg mine in Papua – believed to have the world's third-largest copper reserve – has been a frequent source of controversy over its environmental impact and the share of revenue going to Papuans.
Papua, which occupies the western half of New Guinea island, was under Dutch colonial rule until 1963, when Indonesia took over. Jakarta formalised its rule in 1969 in a vote by community leaders that was widely criticised as flawed.
[Reporting by Oka Barta Daud and John Pakage;; Writing by Olivia Rondonuwu; Editing by Bill Tarrant.]
Australian Associated Press - October 20, 2008
Jakarta – Two Papuan asylum seekers today said they travelled to Australia seeking a university education, rather than asylum for human rights abuses.
Hana Gobay, 23, and Yubel Kareni, 22, returned to Indonesian voluntarily last month, two years after they were granted temporary protection in Australia.
They were part of a group of 43 Papuans who successfully sought political asylum in Australia in 2006, sparking a diplomatic crisis between Jakarta and Canberra.
"That was our main goal – we really wanted to continue our studies, (to go) to university in Australia," Gobay, of Merauke in Papua, told AAP in Jakarta.
"When I got there we could not continue to university. We were only learning English and computer courses. My main intention was to go to university."
She declined to talk about the human rights situation in Papua, saying: "I know nothing about it".
The pair is currently in Jakarta and today met with members of the National Human Rights Commission and parliament to discuss their situation.
She earlier told Indonesia's El Shinta radio station she returned to Indonesia for three reasons.
"The first reason was because I wanted to meet my family, secondly I have the right as an Indonesian citizen to go back to Indonesia – I love Indonesia," she said.
"Thirdly, I feel that we were treated like objects to gain something (for someone else), for personal gain. ... I went to Australia to have an education there, but in fact it was not like what I had been told."
Yubel Kareni, 22, from Serui in Papua, said he decided to return to Indonesia because he missed his family.
"We went there (to Australia) to continue study," he said. "I was disappointed when I was there... I could not continue with university."
He believed at least one other member of the group was preparing to return to Indonesia.
Last month, the leader of the group in Australia, Herman Wainggai said he had concerns for the pair's long-term safety. He could not be contacted tonight.
"All refugees want to go home. We became refugees because our home is not safe," Wainggai said last month in a statement issued through the Australia West Papua Association.
"The Australian government granted asylum to all of the 43 based on this. The Australian West Papuan community supports Hana and Yubel in their decision as it is a deeply personal one, but I have concerns for their long-term safety."
| Human rights/law |
Jakarta Post - October 24, 2008
Jakarta – Most child molestation cases are committed by teachers, a study by the National Commission for Child Protection (KPIA) recently revealed.
"What's worst is that most of these teachers commit sexual transgressions," KPIA chairwoman Masnah Sari told a media gathering on Friday.
According to Masnah, KPIA's data collection revealed that a great proportion of these victims are females. "This means that female students are more vulnerable to sexual harrasment," she said, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Based on the reports received by KPIA in 2007, out of a total of 555 registered cases, 18 percent of them were committed by people in their close social circles.
"Worst still, as many as 11.8 percent of these reports involved teachers and their students," Sari said, adding that 86 cases have so far been reported this year – 39 percent of which were committed by teachers.
Jakarta Post - October 23, 2008
Jakarta – House of Representatives inquiry team tasked with investigating the kidnappings of democratic activists from 1997- 1998 summoned human rights activist Hendardi on Thursday.
Inquiry team chairman Effendi Simbolon of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said Hendardi would help the team collect data about the missing activists.
Hendardi, former director of the Human Rights and Legal Aid Federation, said he welcomed the summons, but warned that the House should be serious in its efforts to uncover the truth behind the abductions.
"Currently, the House is very much gambling on this issue. If it fails to achieve the goals, it will only lower the victims of human rights violations' trust in the House," Hendardi said as quoted by Antara news agency.
The team's revival has sparked controversy, with many saying certain big political parties, including the PDI-P, are trying to discredit rival parties' presidential candidates with military backgrounds, including Prabowo Subianto, Sutiyoso and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. (rid)
Jakarta Post - October 23, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' move to probe the abductions of democracy activists in the 1997-1998 period has received mixed reactions, with some pundits calling it politically motivated, and others supporting its legal validity.
On Wednesday, political experts were quick to criticize the probe as "politicking", pointing out that the retired military generals to be summoned by the House's special committee on the abductions were mostly presidential hopefuls, and that the probe would take place just months before the presidential election next year.
"Welcome to the period of politicking. We have reason to believe the committee's revival is politically motivated, considering the timing of the probe's announcement and the people linked to the cases," Paramadina University lecturer Bima Arya Sugiarto said.
Last week, committee chairman Effendi Simbolon announced the committee would summon several retired generals, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) chief of socio-political affairs at the time – former ABRI commander Wiranto, former Army Special Forces (Kopassus) chief Prabowo Subianto, and former Jakarta military chiefs Sutiyoso and Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.
Citing Effendi's status as a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), many observers claim the party is targeting rival parties and rival presidential candidates to PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Prabowo and his Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and Wiranto and his People's Conscience Party (Hanura) could provide stiff opposition to Megawati and the PDI-P in the 2009 elections, considering the three parties run on a nationalist platform.
The plan to summon Yudhoyono for questioning has also been dubbed an attempt by rival parties to tarnish his image ahead of the elections. "I'm sure the issue is only to remind the public that the retired generals have a tainted past," Bima said.
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) expressed similar concerns the probe could be used by House members to launch character assassinations against certain presidential aspirants from the military.
The commission warned the special committee against seeking political gain by disgracing the retired generals. "The cases should be investigated to serve justice for the victims, not for political benefit," Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim told a press conference Wednesday.
He said a report from Komnas HAM last year found there were gross human rights violations committed prior to the fall of then president Soeharto. The cases cannot be closed because there are 13 democracy activists still missing, Ifdhal added.
The report, he said, had been submitted to the Attorney General's Office as preliminary evidence for opening a probe. But Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said his office could not investigate the cases because it would violate the "double jeopardy" principle, in which people cannot be tried twice for the same crime.
Padjadjaran University legal expert Rudi Rizki, however, said prosecutors had valid legal grounds to probe these abduction cases because the court had only tried and punished 11 low- ranking military officers, not the commanders.
"The 11 officers could not have acted alone, they must have received orders from their commanders. What the AGO can do now is to find command links between the officers and the commanders," he said.
Jakarta Post - October 22, 2008
Another person has revoked his testimony against former State Intelligent Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono, who is on trial for the murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib.
A BIN agent identified only as Kawan, testified on Tuesday that his own testimony in a case file read by prosecutors was false.
"The testimony is different from what I had said to the police," Kawan told the South Jakarta District Court. "Therefore, I retract my testimony and clarify that my statements in this court are the truth."
According to police Kawan testified last June that he had seen former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto visit the BIN office. Pollycarpus was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the murder of Munir.
Kawan denied he had made the statement. "I had never seen him (Pollycarpus). I knew him from the media," he said.
He also denied receiving orders from former BIN director Budi Santoso to monitor, track and hunt activists from the Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras). "I never did it and I never testified that," Kawan said.
He added that he had trusted the detectives questioning him not to revise his testimony. "I had just returned from Timor Leste and Bali when I testified to the police. I was very tired and the police asked me lots of questions," he added.
Kawan was the fourth witness to revoke his statement during Muchdi's trial. Last month, Budi revoked his testimony through a letter he sent from Pakistan, where he is stationed. Prosecutors questioned the authenticity of the letter. Agents Zondhy Anwar and Arifin Rahman also retracted their testimonies, denying they had seen Pollycarpus visit BIN.
Tuesday's trial session also saw the presentation of evidence from expert witness Joni Torino, a computer forensic investigator. In his testimony, Joni said the police had asked him to copy the data from BIN's hard drives.
"The police wanted to find deleted documents from the hard drive," he said, adding that cloned data was 100 percent accurate.
With Joni's help, the police were able to find a recommendation letter from BIN to former Garuda president Indra Setiawan, asking him to assign Pollycarpus as a corporate security officer in the company. The assignment enabled Pollycarpus to fly on the same flight with Munir.
Munir was found dead on board a Garuda Indonesia flight to Amsterdam on Sept. 7, 2004. The cause of death was poisoning by arsenic, which was administered during a stopover in Singapore. – JP/Dian Kuswandini
Jakarta Post - October 22, 2008
Abdul Khalik and Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' special committee on the abduction of democracy activists in 1997-1998 decided Tuesday to continue summoning retired generals to clarify their roles in the cases.
At a plenary meeting of the committee, also attended by House Speaker Agung Laksono, all members pledged to follow standard procedure in carrying out the probe.
The committee dismissed accusations they were using these cases to attack several retired military generals contesting the 2009 presidential election.
Committee chairman Effendi Simbolon said all the abduction victims would be summoned to testify on Wednesday.
The committee, he added, would later call several retired generals, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) chief of socio-political affairs at the time – former ABRI commander Wiranto, former Army Special Forces (Kopassus) chief Prabowo Subianto, and former Jakarta military chiefs Sutiyoso and Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.
"If the government decides the case is closed, then we will stop the probe. But it should be made in a formal and written policy," Effendi said. "Why close the case when there are 13 activists still missing?"
Agung Laksono expressed his support for the committee, saying it was necessary for the House to seek clarification from all relevant parties and individuals, including retired generals.
The committee was established last year but has done absolutely nothing until Effendi's recent announcement to summon the retired generals.
Observers are questioning the motives behind the committee's sudden jump into action, pointing out that those being summoned were mostly presidential hopefuls from the military and that the probe would take place a matter of months before the presidential election next year.
To counter these claims, Yudhoyono held a limited Cabinet meeting twice on Monday.
After the meetings, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Djoko Santoso, Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi and Attorney General Hendarman Supandji told reporters the President had nothing to do with the abduction cases.
They also said the government had brought these cases to justice by punishing all military officers responsible for the cases, including Prabowo, a presidential hopeful.
"The President has expressed concern over unhealthy statements that are full of false allegations, character assassination and barbaric politics," Sudi said.
University of Paramadina political expert Bima Arya Sugiarto said the revival of the abduction probe could be seen as politically motivated ahead of the election.
Human rights activist Poengky Indarti, however, expressed support for the committee to press ahead with summoning all people involved in the cases. "Only 11 low-ranking officers were punished, yet we know they just acted on orders from their (military) commanders," she said.
Jakarta Post - October 22, 2008
Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the state ministry bill, which limits the number of ministries to 34 and allows ministers to have deputies. The passage ends a three-year deadlock in deliberations over the bill.
During the deliberation process, the House had proposed a limit to the number of ministries to only 25.
"The bill is expected to push for bureaucratic reforms by limiting the number of ministries for a more efficient and effective presidential system," House Speaker Agung Laksono told a plenary session to endorse the new law.
Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa, head of the House's special committee deliberating the bill, said the new law forbade the president from naming state ministries they would set up.
"However, the ministries of defense, home affairs and legal affairs must stay in the Cabinet and cannot be dissolved because they are already recognized in our Constitution," he said.
The bill obliges the president to consult with the House before merging, separating or dissolving certain ministerial offices.
"The president must also obtain approval from the House to dissolve the ministries of justice, finance, religious affairs and security," Agun said.
The bill also requires the president to set up their own Cabinet within 14 working days after being sworn in.
To better deal with special tasks, the bill will allow the president to appoint deputy ministers.
Agun said the House had dropped a stipulation barring ministers from also leading political parties.
"The House wanted ministers to maintain their professionalism, but the government rejected this idea.
"We finally dropped the idea, considering the president would need support from political parties in order to establish a strong Cabinet," Agun said.
The bill leaves the president the choice of whether to allow ministers to also serve as leaders of political parties.
"However, a minister is not allowed to have a second job in other departments, state-owned or private companies and organizations financed by the government," Agun said.
Under the bill, a Cabinet member will be suspended from their post should they face a criminal charge with a minimum prison sentence of five years.
"Once a minister is brought to trial as a defendant, they must be temporarily dismissed," Agun said.
Agence France Presse - October 21, 2008
Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday ratified the Southeast Asian charter committing ASEAN member nations to promote democracy and human rights, clearing the way for its formal adoption before year's end.
The country was the last member of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations to ratify the charter, which also sets out rules, transforms ASEAN into a legal entity and envisages a single free trade area by 2015. It is now expected to be formally adopted at the regional bloc's annual summit in Bangkok in December.
But opponents in Indonesia criticised it as a purely symbolic document with no power to bring real democratic reform to errant members like military-ruled Myanmar.
Lawmakers said they had ratified it with four key conditions which will be submitted for further discussion, aimed at strengthening the charter and setting serious consequences for rule-breakers.
"The charter is open to amendments in the future and we can always fine-tune them along the way," Foreign Minister Hasan Wirajuda said.
He said he hoped the charter would bring human rights improvements in rogue ASEAN states like Myanmar. "Once the charter is formed, we will see how serious Myanmar is in making its roadmap to democracy. We will see if it keeps to its promise," he said.
ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The charter will give the bloc, much maligned as a pointless talking shop, greater clout in international negotiations but critics argue black sheep like Myanmar will continue to get away with gross human rights abuses.
Its proposed new rights body is toothless and the charter has no provision to sanction members such as Myanmar, where the junta has kept democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for most of the past 18 years.
Myanmar ratified the charter amid much fanfare at an ASEAN ministerial conference in Singapore in July. The country's secretive junta is under European Union and United States sanctions over its long record of human rights abuses.
Lawmaker Marzuki Darusman, who was on the committee that helped draft the ratification law, said Indonesia must show "solidarity" with other member states on the charter but it still wanted changes.
"Some members of the parliament feel that as a big country we have been pressured to address the Myanmar issue so that it will conform to international norms," he said.
"We have to show that ratification is not just a formality... Non-compliance should not just be set aside, ignored or allowed to happen without responsibility."
Among Indonesia's conditions was the establishment of a rights body which "conforms to international standards" and provision for the suspension of non-compliant members, Darusman said.
ASEAN should also consider the possibility of decision-making by majority vote rather than consensus.
Asmara Nababan, head of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights in Jakarta, said the charter was a step forward even if it needed improvements.
"This is a milestone for Indonesia and ASEAN and it will put human rights more at the centre of the agenda," he told AFP.
"But there is a lot of work to do to make it more effective in the promotion and protection of human rights if you compare the region to Europe and the United States."
Kompas - October 18, 2008
Jakarta – In the lead up to the 2009 general elections, the House of Representatives (DPR) Special Committee on the 1997/1998 Abduction of Activists has been revived again. Moreover, within a short time, the special committee plans to summon Wiranto, Prabowo Subianto, Sutiyoso and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who are alleged to be involved in the case.
At the time of the abductions, retired General Wiranto was the chief of the Indonesian military (TNI), retired Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto was the commander of the army's special forces (Kopassus), retired Lieutenant General Sutiyoso was the Jakarta military commander and General Yudhoyono was the assistant to the TNI's chief of staff for social and political affairs.
"We're not just trying to dig up dirt on these people, but because it is based on a recommendation by Komnas HAM (the National Human Rights Commission)", said the DPR Special Committee for Missing Persons chairperson Effendi MS Simbolon from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle faction when speaking to the press on Friday October 17.
According to Simbolon, the Komnas HAM recommendation also mentioned the name of late President Suharto, who at the time was still leading the country.
The committee plans to begin summoning victims and the family members of abduction victims on Wednesday and Thursday next week. The summoning of various figures is expected to be done during the next sitting of the house. "If the victims stated that they are involved, yes, we'll summon them," he said.
When contacted separately, committee deputy chairperson Hilang Yorrys Raweyai from the Golkar Party faction confirmed that the committee has been revived by the certain factions in the DPR. The stand of the Golkar faction however, is to oppose the plan. "I have already asked the central leadership board. We don't want to look to the past," he said.
Komnas HAM conclusions
Komnas HAM concluded that there was prima facie evidence of gross human rights violations in the forced abductions of activists in 1997-1998. This conclusion was based on an investigation and the testimonies of 58 victims and community members, 18 active and retired members of the national police and a retired TNI officer.
There were 23 victims of the forced abductions in 1997-1998. The fate of as many as 13 of these people remain unknown to this day. They are Yani Afrie, Sony, Herman Hendrawan, Dedi Hamdun, Noval Alkatiri, Ismail, Suyat, Petrus Bima Anugrah, Wiji Thukul, Ucok Munandar Siahaan, Hendra Hambali, Yadin Muhidin and Abdun Naser.
Ten others meanwhile, who were also arrested and detained, were later released. The are Mugiyanto, Aan Rusdianto, Nezar Patria, Faisol Riza, Raharja Waluyo Jati, Haryanto Taslam, Andi Arief, Pius Lustrilanang, Desmond J. Mahesa and "St".
On December 22, 2006, Komnas HAM asked the DPR to urge the president to deploy and mobilise all law enforcement officials to investigate the case. On February 7, 2007, DPR speaker Agung Laksono also asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to order Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh to carry out an investigation based on Komnas HAM's findings and resolve the case of the 13 abducted activists. (sut)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Detik.com - October 18, 2008
Novia Chandra Dewi, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) believes that plan to summon former generals by the House of Representatives' (DPR) Special Committing for Missing Persons is ridden with political motivations. The DPR should wait and decide whether or not to establish an ad hoc human rights court first.
"It's difficult to avoid [the feeling] that reviving the Missing Persons Special Committee is ridden with political motivations, especially with the approach of the general elections," said Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid following a discussion at the Daun Eatery on Jl. Pakubuwono in the Kebayoran Lama area of South Jakarta on Saturday October 18.
Hamid said that they are not too optimistic that these summons will result in the establishment of an ad hoc human rights court in the near future. "Don't let these efforts be only a political endeavour, there is concern that it will only conducted like the previous special committee, which ended in stead in the subordination of the Semanggi I and II cases into a political fight, that is the president and the parliament at that time", he explained.
According to Hamid, the Special Committee for Missing Persons does not need to reduplicate the work of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) by summoning these figures, or conducting another investigation. This is precisely what is of concern, that the investigation will be politically motivated and end up being used a forum of clarification.
Usman said that the DPR should go ahead and summon former Indonesian military (TNI) commander in chief retired General Wiranto, former army special forces (Kopassus) commander retired General Prabowo Subianto, former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono, Defense Ministry Secretary General Lieutenant General, former Jakarta military commander retired General Sutiyoso and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), however it depends upon what the real purpose is.
"On the question of summoning President SBY, why not directly access [information] from TNI headquarters? At the time SBY was the chief of the Officers Honour Council right, why is SBY only now [being summoned]? This is clearly very political", said Hamid critically.
What about the discourse about issuing a subpoena if the former generals choose not to fulfill the summons? "This is also a political consideration, not judicial in the context of making them appear," asserted Hamid. (zal/iy)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Environment/natural disasters |
Jakarta Post - October 23, 2008
Jakarta – Jakarta should brace for even stronger flooding this rainy season after forest in the north of the city was cleared to make way for a road project, a group of NGOs said Wednesday.
The NGOs called a press conference to draw attention to the destruction of 19 hectares of mangrove forest on the northern shore of the city cut so the toll road to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport could be widened and elevated.
"We urge the authority to stop this project and replace the destroyed forest," said Selamet Daroyni from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi).
Eight NGOs protested the activity on the government's Sedyatmo toll road in the hope of preventing floods. The eight organizations included the Environmental Task Force, the Indonesian Consumer Agency (YLKI), the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) and the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH).
Selamet said the project would worsen flooding in the capital and the fishermen who rely on the mangrove forest for their livelihoods would suffer.
PT Jasa Marga, the toll road operator, commenced the project a few months ago in an attempt to prevent annual flood damage, which affects the airport roadway during the rainy season.
The groups said more than 19 hectares of mangrove forest had been cleared for the 3 km stretch of road and more would be cut down before the project was finished.
Ahmad Safruddin from the Environment Task Force said Jasa Marga should replace the destroyed mangrove forest by planting trees in nearby locations.
"Our mangrove forest is dwindling day by day. We had more than 1,100 hectares of mangrove forest during the Dutch colonial period. That number is getting smaller and smaller because of the development of houses and roads," said Ahmad.
The environment organizations believe that currently Jakarta has only 70 hectares of mangroves left.
Tulus Abadi from YLKI said the government should give priority to the planned railway project to the airport.
Jasa Marga corporate secretary, Okke Marlina, said the company had prepared a plot of land in another location to replace the destroyed mangrove forest.
"This is the jurisdiction of the forestry agency and public work agencies. We were just hired to reconstruct the toll road. But I know we had prepared it (the land) already," Okke said to The Jakarta Post.
The toll road has been flooded a number of times in the past, paralyzing access to the country's main airport and causing the delays for passengers and the cancellation of hundreds of flights. (naf)
Jakarta Post - October 22, 2008
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Temperature rises of three to four degrees Celsius, phenomena that should take decades to complete, have been recorded in Indonesia in a matter of days, a leading climatologist said Tuesday.
Bandung Institute of Technology climatologist Armi Susandi said the effects of global warming were being felt with weather anomalies in southern Sumatra, Java and central Sulawesi, with rapid temperature increases of four to six degrees that should otherwise take 100 years.
"Extreme climate change due to global warming in the form of northern tropical storms is the main cause of the current prolonged drought in Indonesia," he told reporters.
"The temperature increase of three to four degrees in cities in southern Indonesia is caused by cumulus clouds being sucked to low-pressure areas in the north."
Cumulus clouds consist of rain-making vapor that also serves to block heat from the sun. Only alto-cumulus clouds now remain above Indonesia, Armi went on, with less potential to cause rain, and low humidity, leading to drier conditions.
"During the daytime, heat from the sun reaches the earth unhindered because the vapor has been sucked to low-pressure areas," he said. "It is also hot in the evenings because the radiation has been absorbed and emits long waves in the form of heat waves."
Relative humidity in Jakarta is between 65 and 70 percent, with 70-80 percent in Bandung and only 60 percent in East Nusa Tenggara.
Armi also said that being a maritime country on the equator brought its own uniqueness to Indonesia because the weather could not be predicted precisely by any weather prediction models. "Atmospheric dynamics in Indonesia change very quickly with so many variables influencing them," Armi said.
Armi, who is also the ITB alumni association's task leader for global climate change, said weather uncertainty should be made up for by conducting public preparedness programs to help minimize losses.
"The biggest effect of climate change is public inability to adapt, causing a 10-15 percent decrease in productivity due to weather uncertainty," he said.
Referring to recent high temperatures, Armi said current solar radiation was registering at 440 to 450 watts per square meter, while intensity of 400 watts per square meter was already considered high.
Jaya Murjaya, head of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency's (BMG) Bandung weather station, said daytime temperatures in the West Java capital were averaging 33-34 degrees, higher than Bandung's annual average of 28-30 degrees.
"It is still categorized as average and has yet to become extreme, because this time last year it was also 33 degrees," he said.
The hottest point in West Java was Jatiwangi, in Subang, with the mercury peaking at 37 degrees on Monday, BMG data shows.
| War on corruption |
Jakarta Post - October 23, 2008
Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has established four special teams to probe graft cases centered on Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds, which it will take over from the Attorney General's Office.
The AGO and the KPK met at the latter's headquarters in South Jakarta on Wednesday to discuss the BLBI cases, before the anti- graft body took over their investigation.
The KPK has been under mounting pressure from the public to take over investigations into the BLBI cases after the AGO was slammed by several groups for failing to resolve them.
Senior AGO prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for receiving bribes from a businesswoman linked to tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim, one of those implicated in a BLBI case.
"We split up the discussion of the BLBI cases into four groups. The first concerns cases that have been handed over to the court, especially the execution of asset recovery to the state," KPK chairman Antasari Azhar told a press conference after Wednesday's meeting.
The second group, he went on, focused on BLBI cases whose investigations had been stopped by the AGO due to the issuance of a "release-and-discharge" letter from the government, including those involving the Indonesian National Commercial Bank (BDNI) and the Asian Central Bank (BCA).
Antasari said the KPK would also investigate the issuance process for the release-and-discharge letters by the administration of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri.
"Because it was a government policy, we will focus more on the officials who committed wrongdoings in the process (of the letter's issuance)," he said. He said the KPK was also evaluating which cases needed to be investigated further.
"We will be objective in the handling of each case; we will declare it clear if the issuance was done according to regulations," he said.
"The third group of cases comprises those whose investigations were dropped because they were not proven to have caused state losses," Antasari said.
He said the KPK would also calculate the value of assets recovered by BLBI debtors to check whether they matched with the value of their debts. "The fourth group comprises cases taken over by the Finance Ministry," he said, but did not elaborate.
Antasari said Wednesday's meeting was the first in a series of meetings between the KPK and the AGO to determine which BLBI cases would be taken over by the anticorruption body.
He said in addition to all the documents from the AGO, the KPK would also consider facts revealed in court, to decide which BLBI cases to take over.
Assistant attorney for special crimes Marwan Effendi said the AGO was open to working with the KPK in resolving the BLBI cases. "We will hand over to the KPK all documents related to the BLBI cases," he said. He added the AGO would be ready to summon the attorneys who handled the cases.
The BLBI scandal revolves around Rp 144.5 trillion (US$14.5 billion) in BLBI money, disbursed to 48 banks during the 1997- 1998 Asian financial crisis.
Jakarta Post - October 22, 2008
Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) said Tuesday it had found some irregularities in Indonesia's energy sector that might indicate corruption, after auditing the 2007 financial reports of government agencies and ministries.
BPK chairman Anwar Nasution said the 2007 non-tax revenue and income tax on oil and gas, worth Rp 106.93 trillion (US$10.86 billion), were not transparently reported by contractors.
He said the proceeds were not directly transferred to the state's account in accordance with the state budget mechanism but instead to other accounts held by local administrations.
The BPK on Tuesday submitted its audit on the 2007 financial reports of government agencies, ministries and local administration institutions to the House of Representatives with a disclaimer opinion.
Udju said the BPK would continue investigating irregularities in the oil and gas sector, with a special task from the House to probe the oil and gas swap between Chevron Pacific Indonesia and ConocoPhillips, and the exploration and production of state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.
He said the BPK expected to finish the investigation in November and submit the results to the House soon afterward.
According to the BPK report, state power firm PLN and Pertamina allegedly misused electricity and fuel subsidies allocated in the 2007 budget.
Anwar said the BPK found that PLN revised down the subsidy amount from Rp 39.26 trillion, as stated in the revised 2007 state budget, to Rp 37.48 trillion. This leaves Rp 1.78 trillion currently unaccounted for.
PLN also allegedly spent Rp 16.30 trillion on maintenance and Rp 62.59 billion shifting the operation of gas power plant Borang to the Apung plant.
Pertamina has been accused by the BPK of inflating the bill on certain fuel subsidies by Rp 1.17 trillion in 2006 and Rp 6.60 trillion in 2007, defying benchmark prices stated in the presidential and Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry regulations.
From 2004 to the first half of 2008, the state lost Rp 31.14 trillion and Rp $458 million from various sectors, the BPK audit showed.
The report has been widely adopted by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to clamp down on illegal activity. However, law enforcers have been unable to bring any oil and gas executives to court regardless of the BPK findings.
The report also highlighted poor management in royalty proceeds from mining commodities by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.
The agency accused the ministry of refusing to include royalties for nickel, gold, silver and copper in its 2007 account. The ministry only included royalty revenue from coal.
Anwar said the government should immediately improve its accounting system, starting with the establishment of a single account for pooling all state revenues.
| War on terror |
Associated Press - October 22, 2008
Indonesian police say they have arrested five suspected Muslim militants plotting to attack a major fuel depot.
National police spokesman Sulistyo Ishaq said Wednesday anti- terror operations also netted bomb-making materials, weapons and ammunition.
He says explosive devices found in the Tuesday raids were a sophisticated version of those used in the 2004 Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta. A manhunt was continuing for two other suspects.
One of those already in custody, Wahyu Ramadhan, was renting a house up the road from the country's largest fuel depot.
The men are believed to have ties to Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian terror group blamed for a series of bombings in Indonesia that have killed more than 240 people.
Agence France Presse - October 17, 2008
Aubrey Belford, Ngruki – An Indonesian Islamic cleric linked to the three extremists awaiting execution for the Bali bombings said Thursday the 2002 attack which killed more than 200 people was the work of the CIA.
Abu Bakar Bashir told AFP the US intelligence agency had fired a nuclear missile at the Bali tourist strip from a ship off the coast.
"It has been mentioned as being a micro-nuclear bomb, not a regular bomb... The bomb was made by the CIA, it could be no one else," he said in his house at the Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding school on Indonesia's Java island.
He said the attack was a conspiracy between "America, Australia and the Jews" and the three convicted bombers – Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron – had been framed.
"The bomb Amrozi set off, the first one, at most it shattered glass and didn't wound people, or at most wounded them a little," he said, sitting on the floor and wearing the white clothes and skullcap of a religious man.
Amrozi had been "used by the CIA in coordination with America, Australia and the Jews. The police and the prosecutors aren't brave enough to prove it."
The coordinated October 12, 2002 bomb attacks ripped through packed nightspots on the holiday island's main tourist strip and killed 202 people, mostly foreign visitors including 88 Australians.
Radical Islamist preacher Bashir, aged around 70, served almost 26 months for conspiracy over the attacks before being cleared and released in 2006.
He had been accused of providing spiritual leadership to the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror group, a claim he denies.
His comments come amid speculation the government is preparing to execute the three bombers by firing squad next week, in line with their 2003 convictions.
The executions have been put off by a series of failed appeals and most recently by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, raising questions about the government's willingness to kill the men ahead of elections in April.
More than 90 percent of Indonesia's 234 million people are Muslims, but most follow a more moderate version of Islam.
Dismissing Indonesia's Islamic groups as "Jewish organisations," he said he would split from the Indonesian Council of Mujahedin which he had led and form a new group to push for pure Islamic law.
He said he would launch the new group, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid ("partisans of the oneness of God"), on October 25.
| Islam/religion |
Jakarta Post - October 25, 2008
Suherdjoko, Semarang – The marriage of an underage girl to a wealthy Muslim cleric in Bedono village, Semarang regency, Central Java, has sparked controversy in the community.
A Muslim boarding school head, 43-year-old Pujiono Cahyo, known also as Syech Puji, married 12-year-old Lutfiana Ulfa at his home on August 8. He told reporters Friday that the wedding ceremony, held at 3 p.m. local time, was witnessed by thousands of guests.
"The wedding was carried out openly. If people want to comment, please do. I don't care about the legal threats because I have my own basic reasons. I know the limitations. If she hasn't menstruated, I won't have sexual intercourse with her," said Puji.
Puji is the director of PT Sinar Lendoh Terang and owner of the Miftahul Jannah boarding school, an impressive building along the highway between Semarang and Yogyakarta. Apparently his first wife, 26-tear-old Umi Hani, was the one who suggested he marry again.
"She was the one who proposed it. Then, a campaign team went looking for a prospective wife. So, not only politicians have campaign teams," he added jokingly.
He said he met Ulfa's parents for their consent and that Ulfa had also agreed to the marriage. "So, what have I done wrong? My reasons stem from a book titled Aisyah Saja Nikah Muda (Aisyah Herself Married Young), written by Ummu Aisyah."
Puji revealed his intention to marry for a second time to reporters on Sept. 26, when he distributed Rp 1.3 billion (US$140,000) in tithes for the poor during the Ramadan fasting month.
An ulema at the Soko Tunggal Islamic boarding school in Semarang, Nuril Arifin Husein, strongly criticized Puji's marriage to the girl.
"If he claims to be a syech, which means professor, he should be a role model for the community. In Islam, a marriage should be a union of the same stature. What he has done is clearly against Islamic law," said Nuril.
"However, Prophet Muhammad only had intercourse with Aisyah when she had reached 18, meaning she was an adult. If Puji has sex with an underage girl, he will have violated religious and existing laws," he said.
Sri Mulyanah from Central Java Women's Empowerment and Children Rights and Family Planning Agency, said Puji violated the 1974 Marriage Law which requires a minimum age of 16 for a woman and 19 for a man in a legal marriage.
"If we look at the marriage and child protection laws, what Puji has done is definitely against the law. We will immediately discuss the issue with the relevant agencies and observe the case from various aspects. Later, we will decide on the appropriate action," she said.
Sri said children were entitled to the right to live, grow and develop while being provided with protection and participative rights.
Jakarta Post - October 21, 2008
Jakarta – Islam Defenders Front leaders Rizieq Shihab and Munarman claimed innocence in the attack on religious-tolerance activists in June, and asked the Central Jakarta District Court Monday to acquit them of charges of involvement in the attack.
Last week prosecutors charged Rizieq with masterminding the attack and Munarman with direct involvement, asking that they receive two-year prison sentences each.
In a three-hour statement he read in his defense, Rizieq rejected a few items put into evidence by the prosecuting team, such as video recordings of his speech and of the June attack. He claimed recordings were not recognized by Indonesia's criminal code and had been obtained without proper seizure orders from FPI's library.
He further said that, even if he were to accept the tapes, prosecutors could not prove his involvement in the attack, as he neither appeared in nor was mentioned in the recordings; prosecutors had furnished no eyewitness linking him to the attack.
"No eyewitness testified in court they had seen or knew about or heard said I was directing (my members) to do violence or anarchist action toward anyone."
FPI's paramilitary units Islam Commando Troop (KLI) and Islam Defender Troop (LPI) were allegedly involved in the attack on members of the National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion (AKKBB) who staged a rally in June for religious tolerance at National Monument.
"The charges the prosecutors came up with cannot be proven legally and convincingly, so I should be released without charges," he concluded after delivering his defense, two-thirds of which was devoted to slamming AKKBB and the banned Ahmadiyah community.
His team of lawyers, who presented their case afterward, also implied some eyewitnesses had been cooked up.
They insisted the statements KLI members made to police – later withdrew when members claimed they were made under duress – must be ignored. Instead, in accordance with the law, the defense team insisted only the adherents' court statements should be taken into account. In those statements they said to a man they had no ties with Rizieq.
KLI commander Munarman told the press, after Rizieq's hearing and before his own, that prosecutors could not prove he had hit AKKBB member Yakobus Edi Yuwono, who was assaulted from behind at the Monas incident.
"There is no witness who saw me hit him. Yakobus himself did not see who did it. He and Nasri Ahmad (another witness) also gave conflicting statements. In court, there is no room for guessing, only certainty," he said.
Rizieq and Munarman also said politics had affected their cases. (JP/mri)
| Elections/political parties |
Jakarta Post - October 24, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Entering their final year in office, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla remain unable to live up to their campaign promises to significantly cut the poverty rate and provide more employment, a discussion concluded Thursday.
The forum said the current administration had failed to improve the economy, although it had been successful in securing the country and fighting corruption and illegal logging.
The discussion, organized by the Committee to Rescue State Assets, was aimed at evaluating the performance of the Yudhoyono government after four years in office.
In attendance were former People's Consultative Assembly speaker Amien Rais, former chief economic minister Rizal Ramli, economist Fadhil Hasan and Regional Representatives Council member Marwan Batubara.
Amien said the current government's success in bringing peace to Aceh, Maluku and Poso in Central Sulawesi and in reducing gambling and illegal logging should be fairly recognized.
"But what I can't accept is the fact that we are becoming dependent on foreign corporations and global capitalism as we allow them to control our natural resources," he said.
Amien cited an article in the gas and oil law that limits the domestic use of oil and gas to only 25 percent, saying this proved the Yudhoyono administration was "dictated to by foreign companies".
"The state has been hijacked by big companies which cooperate with state officials and legislators to legalize the theft of state assets worth trillions of rupiah," he said.
Rizal similarly blasted Yudhoyono for worsening Indonesia's economic condition, leaving the poverty rate stuck at 30 million to 40 million people. He accused Yudhoyono of lying to the public by saying Indonesia would only be slightly affected by the current global financial crisis.
"Yudhoyono's administration has said our economic foundation or our macroeconomic condition are strong just because there is a lot of hot money pouring into the country and that the prices of commodities are going up, but these (increases) are all temporary," the economist said.
Rizal said that because of the crisis substantial short-term funds had gone out of the country and that prices of commodities had gone down, threatening to take the economy down further.
"We don't know how low the slump will be but as of now, many businesspeople and farmers in the region have seen their exports slashed. We are entering a crisis because it won't be long before people start to lose their jobs or will be crying to meet their basic needs," he said.
Marwan similarly accused the Yudhoyono administration of not siding with the ordinary people, pointing to the fact that he had raised the fuel prices three times during his four year term, while taking no action against corruption cases in the oil and gas sector. The fuel price increases have caused many people to suffer, he added.
He said Indonesia's foreign debts continued to rise during the Yudhoyono administration, standing at some Rp 1,486 trillion this year. "In 2008, the government must pay Rp 94.7 trillion in interest alone. This is because we must pay the burden of the BLBI (Bank Indonesia liquidity support) debts. That's why, resolving the BLBI cases must be a top priority for the government," he said.
Jakarta Post - October 23, 2008
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Observers are warning the 2009 legislative elections could fail because of the poor performance by the General Elections Commission (KPU) in preparing the national event.
At a discussion here Wednesday, members of the Coalition of the Election Monitoring Society, a group of NGOs, criticized the commission for not meeting schedules and for enforcing election regulations inconsistently.
"The KPU did not focus on things that it should have prioritized. This is a sign of the polls body's bad performance," said Jojo Rohi of the Election Monitoring Independent Committee.
He cited as an example the KPU's recent overseas trip to distribute information on the upcoming elections to other countries' election committees, despite the remaining backlog of work here.
The KPU insisted the trip was important to maximize the participation of the 3.12 million Indonesians living abroad.
Several KPU officials traveled to Beijing earlier this week and are planning to visit another 13 capitals worldwide for similar purposes.
Ray Rangkuti of Lingkar Madani Institute criticized the KPU for delaying the publication of the final list of eligible voters and the final list of legislative candidates.
The KPU was originally scheduled to announce the voter data on Oct. 10, but then extended the deadline to Oct. 24. The commission argued that the delay was due to some local election bodies failing to submit updated lists of voters in time. "I doubt the KPU will announce it (the information) on Oct. 24," Ray said.
An estimated 170 million people will cast their votes when Indonesia holds its second direct legislative elections on Apr. 9 next year.
Ray also criticized the KPU for extending the period given to the public to scrutinize the preliminary list of legislative candidates from 10 days to 14 days. "There should have been a legal basis for this extra time. They cannot just extend it," he said.
A total of 11,868 candidates from 38 political parties made it onto the KPU's preliminary list (DCS). They will vie for 560 seats at the House of Representatives.
The list was published in the media on Oct. 7. The public was given until Oct. 14 to file complaints against candidates on the list, and parties had to respond to the complaints by this Wednesday. The KPU is scheduled to announce the final list of legislative candidates on Oct. 31.
Wahidah Suaib of the Elections Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) said some political parties had intervened in KPU decision-making. She said the delay in announcing the DCS was evidence of this.
"The KPU did take into consideration the parties' wishes, but it ruined its own credibility. It should have taught the parties to be disciplined in complying with the initial election schedule," she said.
Sebastian Salang of the Indonesian Parliamentary Watch Forum warned that the KPU must remain independent from any vested political interests in the lead-up to the upcoming elections.
Jakarta Post - October 21, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The fear of losing in voting on the presidential election bill is forcing factions in the House of Representatives to seek compromises.
The most contentious issue in the bill centers on the threshold – the minimum percentage of House seats a party or coalition of parties needs in order to be allowed to nominate its own presidential candidate.
The factions agreed to postpone a meeting of the House's special committee deliberating the bill, from Monday to Thursday to allow for more lobbying to reach an agreeable threshold figure.
Monday's meeting was used to confirm that a voting mechanism would be used in a House plenary meeting scheduled for Wednesday to pass the bill.
"The plenary meeting is postponed to Oct. 28 from the initially scheduled Oct. 22, to allow for more lobbying, and to avoid going to a vote," said special committee chairman Ferry Mursyidan Baldan.
After sticking to their proposed 15 percent threshold, the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) eventually raised their demanded limit to 20 percent, following intense lobbying between leaders of major parties over the weekend.
The increase in the threshold closes the gap on the threshold proposed by the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which had both reduced their initial 30 percent threshold to 25 percent.
Other major parties, including the United Development Party (PPP), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the National Awakening Party (PKB), are pushing for a 20 percent threshold, putting pressure on Golkar and the PDI-P to further lower their limits.
"We hope the one-week delay will allow us to agree on a threshold percentage of between 20 and 25 percent, and to avoid passing the bill through a vote," said Mahfudz Siddiq, chairman of the PKS faction at the House.
A vote is considered the least desirable way of passing the bill, because no faction in the House believes it can win in a vote.
In addition, if the voting mechanism was used, all the factions could be forced to choose between either a 15 percent or 30 percent threshold, thus putting them back at square one, with Golkar and the PDI-P staying at 30 percent, and the others likely to vote for 15 percent.
"We don't want to vote on the threshold because we are not sure we can win, even though Golkar and the PDI-P can unite over this. If we lose, then we have to live with a 15 percent threshold," said Rully Chairul Azwar, Golkar deputy secretary-general.
Golkar and the PDI-P have 128 and 109 House seats respectively out of the total 550.
With his only support coming from the Democratic Party, which has 57 seats in the House, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono needs to keep the threshold low to allow him to run for a second term without needing to form a coalition with other parties.
The PDI-P is pushing for a high threshold, to guarantee a maximum of only three candidates contest the presidential election. This would give PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri a much better chance of winning the election in one round.
Recent surveys suggest she could win in a single round if the election was contested by more than two candidates, but would lose in a head-to-head against Yudhoyono.
Golkar is also seeking a high threshold as it tries to boost party chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla's bargaining position vis-a-vis the PDI-P and Yudhoyono.
Observers say the 15 percent threshold would ensure that at least four presidential candidates contest the 2009 race, making a runoff vote highly likely, with no contender expected to win more than 50 percent of votes in the first round.
A 30 percent threshold, observers add, would allow only for two contenders.
Jakarta Post - October 21, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The internal bickering within the Golkar Party could develop into a bitter split, following its failure to address local branches' demands for the party to name its own presidential candidate, political experts warned Monday.
Golkar, the country's largest party, ended a three-day national leadership meeting here Sunday, but refused to include such a demand into its official decision.
Some provincial branches of the party had demanded the party choose its own presidential candidate, regardless of its prospects for the 2009 legislative elections; while others called for the party to wait until after the election results were announced before nominating a candidate.
Political analysts say the growing internal tensions are rooted in the fact Golkar has no prominent figures, including party chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, popular enough at the national level to be nominated as viable presidential candidates.
"They feel they have the same chance of being elected. If the party nominates a certain figure, others will be disappointed, creating tensions and rebellion within the party," said Mohammad Qodari, executive director of the Indo Barometer polling body.
He added although Kalla stood a good chance of being nominated, he could realistically only run as vice president, citing his 1-2 percent popularity rating in many surveys.
University of Indonesia political expert Arbi Sanit called all top Golkar figures "second graders" deserving of only ministerial posts, or the vice presidency at best.
"How can you nominate a figure with a less than 5 percent rating? Even Sri Sultan (Hamengkubowono X) can't compete with Megawati (Soekarnoputri) or President (Susilo Bambang) Yudhoyono," he said.
Indonesian Institute of Sciences political analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti said that unlike Megawati's position in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) or Yudhoyono's role in the Democratic Party, Kalla's influence over Golkar was much weaker, allowing provincial branches and senior figures to express their own aspirations freely.
"Golkar doesn't have a central figure in control of the party's branches and affiliated organizations. So we can expect more challenges to Kalla's leadership in the future," he said.
Kalla has hinted he would run again with incumbent President Yudhoyono, who also indicated he would team up with Kalla for the 2009 presidential election.
Ikrar said the move by Golkar's provincial branches and organizations to release a list of presidential candidates other than Kalla during the national meeting showed some party faithfuls doubted Kalla's chances of winning the presidency.
This challenge also means resistance to Kalla's plan to team up again with Yudhoyono, Ikrar added.
He said should Golkar win more votes in the next election than in the 2004 polls, the pressure on the party to name its own presidential candidate would be unavoidable.
But if the party performs poorly in the election, he went on, many would question Kalla's legitimacy, thus opening the way for his being ousted as Golkar chairman.
"If the party does well and surveys show other figures are more popular than Kalla, then he must allow the party to nominate a presidential candidate other than him," Ikrar said.
But if Kalla insists on forging a coalition with Yudhoyono, Ikrar said, the rift would widen, with many senior figures likely to leave the party and run with other presidential hopefuls.
This would mirror the 2004 campaign when Kalla ran with Yudhoyono against the official Golkar nominee Wiranto and his running mate Solahudin Wahid, he added.
Jakarta Post - October 20, 2008
Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's popularity is on the rebound after previous polls put him behind rival Megawati Soekarnoputri, but is facing a new threat from the global financial meltdown, a new survey reveals.
The survey, conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) from Sept. 8-20, 2008, involved 1,239 respondents from 33 provinces, and was released on Sunday.
The survey also showed former Army Special Forces chief Prabowo Subianto gaining in popularity, although in absolute numbers he still lags far behind both Yudhoyono and Megawati.
Other presidential hopefuls, including former Indonesian Military commander Wiranto, Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Amin Rais and Akbar Tandjung have seen their popularity erode from 2003 levels, according to the survey.
Some 32 percent of respondents supported Yudhoyono, with only 24 percent backing Megawati. A similar LSI survey carried out in June this year gave Megawati 30 percent of public support and Yudhoyono 25 percent.
Support for Wiranto declined from 9 percent in June to 6 percent in September, and from 5 percent to 3 percent for Hamengkubuwono.
Prabowo's support rose from 3 percent to 5 percent, while Vice President Jusuf Kalla remained unpopular with only 2 percent of votes.
LSI executive director Saiful Mujani said Yudhoyono's decision to raise fuel prices in May proved detrimental to his popularity, but the compensation programs he launched afterwards seemingly managed to counter the negative impact of the contentious policy, winning back most public support.
The programs included direct cash assistance for lower-income families, school operational aid, and loans for micro, small and medium enterprises.
"During four years of Yudhoyono's presidency, public support has fluctuated a lot, but there is a declining trend of public satisfaction over his performance. The level usually drops in the first semester, but recovers in the second," Saiful said.
He added Yudhoyono's lowest rating was recorded in June, backed up by other surveys conducted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Indo Barometer and the Reform Institute. All of the surveys indicated Megawati's popularity surpassed that of Yudhoyono shortly after the May fuel price hike.
Saiful predicted Yudhoyono would maintain his popularity until December and had a good chance of winning a second term in office if the economic situation remained under control.
That chance, however, is under threat from the looming US-led global financial turmoil. Some observers have predicted that the wider Indonesian public will begin feeling the impact of the crisis by early next year.
"Yudhoyono's popularity depends heavily on the economic situation," Saiful said.
"If most voters consider the economic situation under his administration to be negative, then public satisfaction over his performance will decline sharply. It was this declining level that allowed him to fall behind Megawati in the June 2008 (survey)."
Jakarta Post - October 19, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A week away from its Oct. 24 deadline to announce the final list of eligible voters, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has yet to finish updating voters' data from its regional branches.
As of Saturday, the KPU listed 169 million people eligible to cast their votes in the April 9, 2009, legislative elections.
"We are still waiting for the updated list of voters from East Kalimantan, South Sumatra, North Maluku and West Papua provinces. We're also waiting for the latest data on voters living overseas," Sri Nuryanti, the KPU member dealing with the registration of voters, said Saturday.
"However, I estimate the total number of voters will be close to 169 million."
Sri had just completed a one-day meeting with staff from regional elections commissions (KPUD) from 17 provinces.
Hours before Sri briefed the press, KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary had said the number of eligible voters would be around 171 million – a 2 million difference from Sri's.
The KPU had announced in September that the preliminary list of voters had reached 172 million. The figure was a slight decrease from the previous estimate of 174 million.
Abdul said the continued decline in total voters was due to problems faced by KPUDs and the delay in updating the list from overseas.
"There are misperceptions among the KPUDs in the registration process. Some KPUDs have also miscalculated the number of eligible voters," he said.
He added that the Yogyakarta KPUD had refused to enlist about 8,000 students who had failed to show ID cards issued by the Yogyakarta administration even though they did have ID cards issued by their respective hometowns' administrations.
"It also happened in Batam, where newcomers are unregistered as they don't have local ID cards yet. We have asked the KPUDs in Yogyakarta and Batam to register those people," he said.
Abdul highlighted another problem as Central Java KPUD had submitted an unverified list which had been used in recent local elections.
The 2008 law on legislative elections requires the KPU to update population data from the government to obtain the final voter list.
Abdul said the KPU had yet to receive the latest data on eligible voters living overseas.
"We have estimated there are about 1.6 million eligible voters living abroad," he said.
The KPU blamed the slow budget disbursement from the government as the main reason for failing to update the overseas list.
"We have decided to extend the deadline to Nov. 20 to enable our embassies overseas to submit the verified voters," he said.
The KPU plans to set up polling stations in 117 countries to enable Indonesians to vote.
"We will also create mobile polling stations, primarily in Kuala Lumpur, to reach Indonesian voters who work on plantations and as housemaids," Abdul said.
Jakarta Post - October 18, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Public support for older parties are expected to stagnate, paving the ways for new political groups to seize significant backing from millions of swing voters by flooding them with media advertisements, according to a survey.
A poll by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) showed the deluge of TV spots from the Greater Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra) has boosted the popularity of the new party to levels above those of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development Party (PPP).
The survey found 3.2 percent of 1,249 surveyed respondents would vote for Gerindra, compared to 2.7 percent for PAN and 2.4 percent for PPP.
"For a newcomer, it's a great achievement, which they owe to the massive TV advertising," LSI senior researcher Dodi Ambardi said when announcing the survey results Thursday.
PAN won 6.4 percent of votes in the 2004 elections; PPP got 8.2 percent.
The survey, conducted between Sept. 8 and Sept. 20, 2008, revealed 25 percent of respondents were still undecided.
Dodi said Gerindra ran the most successful TV campaign with its clear message to its targeted market: the party offers assistance to farmers, fishermen and other disadvantaged groups.
The survey showed 51 percent of respondents had memorized Gerindra's TV ads featuring the party's founder Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto who is seeking a presidential bid next year.
The survey said 42 percent of TV viewers recalled political ads by the Democratic Party featuring President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, only 31 percent were familiar with the Golkar Party's TV spots, and 27 percent knew the ads from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Golkar features the party chair and Vice President Jusuf Kalla in its TV ads; while PDI-P uses the image of party chair Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Gerindra, officially established in February, decided Thursday to promote Prabowo, a former Army special forces commander, as its presidential candidate in the 2009 election.
Dodi said the media, particularly television networks, have become the most powerful tool for disseminating political massages to the public.
"This is the impact of a silent revolution, where political parties no longer serve as the main channel for disseminating information. That position has been taken over by television," he said.
The LSI survey still ranks PDI-P at the top: 18.6 percent of the respondents said they would vote for the party, followed closely by 18.5 percent for Golkar. PDI-P won 18.6 percent of votes in 2004 elections and Golkar got 21.6 percent.
"The two parties are expected to retain basically the same percentages of the votes in upcoming elections, unless the parties change their campaign methods including bombarding TV viewers with effective ads," he said.
This latest survey indicates the Democratic Party could increase its support from 7.4 percent in the 2004 elections to 12.1 percent in upcoming elections.
The PKS, meanwhile, suffered a fall-off of adherents, 6.3 percent now compared with 7.2 percent in 2004.
An LSI survey conducted in July showed only 16.6 percent of 1,249 surveyed Muslim voters would cast their ballots for Islamic- oriented parties in upcoming elections.
It said 60 percent of Muslim voters would vote for nationalist political groups: either Golkar, PDI-P or the Democratic Party.
Jakarta Post - October 18, 2008
Abdul Khalik and Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Political parties' ambitions to cling to power and their attempts to improve on their bargaining position ahead of the 2009 elections have dominated and delayed the deliberation of the presidential election bill.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, through his ministers and his Democratic Party, has tried to keep the threshold – the minimum percentage of House seats held by a party or coalition of parties to nominate their presidential candidate – as low as possible.
With his only support coming from the Democratic Party, which garnered 8 percent of national votes, Yudhoyono needs to keep the threshold low to allow him to run for president again without needing to form a coalition.
Both Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto and State Secretary Hatta Radjasa have said the government-proposed 15 percent threshold was an ideal choice because it would allow for more presidential candidates.
"The government is just being consistent. In 2004, we had a 3 percent threshold. That's why a 15 percent threshold is already a huge leap," Hatta said Friday.
Observers say the 15 percent threshold would also ensure the presence of at least four presidential candidates for the 2009 election, and make a runoff vote highly likely because no contender would get more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round of polling.
Recent surveys suggest Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), could win the first round if it was contested by more than two candidates, while Yudhoyono would win a head-to-head against Megawati.
Analysts say this explains the PDI-P's push for a 26 to 30 percent threshold to allow for only three candidates to contest the election and thus hand Megawati a big chance of winning the presidency in one round.
Mahfudz Siddiq, head of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction at the House of Representatives, said his party's analysis suggested that even a 20 percent threshold would allow for only three candidates to run.
"Our party supports a single round of voting, to cut costs in this time of crisis. I think a 20 to 25 percent threshold will guarantee a one-round election, but we are still willing to set the threshold somewhere between 15 and 30 percent," he said.
The Golkar Party, the country's biggest, is also calling for a high threshold as it tries to improve on its own and Vice President Jusuf Kalla's bargaining position vis-a-vis the PDI-P and Yudhoyono. Golkar has reduced its initial proposal of a 30 percent threshold to 25 percent, and insists it will not go lower.
"We are ready to vote for that," Golkar secretary-general Sumarsono said.
Kalla, the Golkar chairman, earlier hinted at his willingness to run again with Yudhoyono. On Thursday, however, Kalla met with National Awakening Party (PKB) and PKS leaders to lobby for Golkar's 25 percent threshold proposal.
Jakarta Post - October 20, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – In an attempt to boost its showing in next year's elections, the Golkar Party has assured its supporters it is serious about implementing an open system to determine its legislative candidates.
Under the system, Golkar legislators will win seats at the House of Representatives based on the most votes won in the 2009 legislative elections.
The party made this public assurance as it ended its three-day national leadership meeting here Sunday, saying the adoption of the open system was intended to heal rifts within the party and between its legislative candidates.
"The party's central board will not intervene, and candidates with the most votes will automatically win seats," said Golkar deputy secretary-general Rully Chairul Azwar.
He added that to avoid unhealthy competition among candidates, Golkar had issued a regulation preventing candidates in the same electoral district from conducting smear campaigns against each other.
Earlier, scores of Golkar politicians questioned the party's policy of allocating House seats to winning candidates based on a numerical system, in which those at the top of the candidate list are automatically given House seats, regardless of the number of votes they win.
This closed system, the critics said, allowed Golkar leaders' loyalists and cronies to be placed at the top of the list, thus creating resentment within the party.
The critics also expressed doubt that top Golkar figures were serious in adopting the open system to avoid intervention in determining legislative candidates, after Vice President and Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla announced the adoption last month.
The party also decided that ballots in which voters punch only the party's logo rather than the names or photos of candidates, would not be allocated to any individual candidate.
"The unallocated votes will only determine how many seats Golkar will get in a certain electoral district. The regulation remains in force that candidates will be elected based on the most votes they get, no matter how little, as long as Golkar meets the threshold needed to get a seat in the district," Rully said.
To show the party's seriousness in applying the open system, Rully said Golkar would require all candidates to sign a document expressing their willingness to be struck off the candidate list should they fail to win the most votes.
"Because we are adopting the numerical system, they have signed an agreement to resign from the candidate list if those below them on the list win more votes than they do," he said.
Golkar legislator Yuddy Chrisnandi, who resigned as a legislative candidate to protest the party's numerical system, welcomed the announcement. "It's good for the party. Now the candidates will seriously work to woo voters," he said.
Many observers claim the adoption of the open system is a last- ditch effort by Golkar to stem its increasing unpopularity, reflected in a several recent surveys, as well as defeats in key regional direct elections.
"It will only work if it is consistently and transparently applied," said the Reform Institute's Yudi Latief.
Jakarta Post - October 17, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Legislator Ferry Mursyidan Baldan of the Golkar Party is undoubtedly an experienced politician, but in terms of popularity he is far behind comedian Eko Patrio of the National Mandate Party (PAN), a survey shows.
Conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), the results show that Eko is just one of a few local artists beating experienced politicians in the popularity front, thanks to their frequent appearances on television programs.
"Popularity will be more important than competency to win supports from voters in the election. It is the impact of what we call the silent revolution," LSI senior researcher Dodi Ambardi told reporters Thursday.
The Sept. 8-20 survey sample – 1,249 respondents from the country's 33 provinces – has a 3 percent margin of error and found 6 percent of respondents would vote for Eko while only 0.1 percent voted for Ferry.
Dodi said the "silent revolution" shows that television has played a crucial role boosting the popularity of artists – who are invited to party's to attract votes – vieing for a seat in the House of Representatives.
The survey found the House Speaker Agung Laksono was the most popular politician, securing 18 percent of votes. However, the four below him were local celebrities.
"The support is likely due to Agung's massive media exposure rather that his competency as a politician," Dodi said.
Malam Sambat Ka'ban, a Forestry Minister and member of the Crescent Star Party, apparently only received 1 percent of support from the respondents. "If such a trend continues, it will effect the quality and performance of the House in the long term," Dodi said.
Indonesia will host its second direct legislative elections on April 9, 2009. From 11,868 legislative candidates already verified by the General Elections Commission (KPU), less than 5 percent are local celebrities.
Effendi Gazali, political communication expert from the University of Indonesia, said the direct election system had switched voters' main concerns from political parties to individuals. "The popularity of local artists will be a crucial asset to compete in the political arena," he said.
Effendi said the popularity could be achieved through public appearances in television programs or advertisements in the media.
"The skyrocketing popularity of Prabowo Subianto, with his Great Indonesia's Movement (Gerindra), is due to the massive television ads," he said. He added Prabowo, former commander of Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), delivered a clear message to his target market in offering assistance to farmers, fishermen and traditional market vendors.
Jakarta Post - October 17, 2008
Abdul Khalik and Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – A voting mechanism will be legislators' last resort to pass the presidential election bill, with most major factions at the House of Representatives sticking to their guns on the contentious point of nominating a president.
Political parties are split over the threshold – the minimum percentage of House seats held by a party or coalition – needed for the party or coalition to nominate its own presidential candidate.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) held their position of proposing a 15 percent threshold. At the other end, the country's two biggest political parties, the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), insisted on a 25-30 percent threshold.
Other parties – including the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) – have compromised on a 20 percent threshold.
PDI-P legislator and deputy head of the House's special committee deliberating the bill, Yasonna Laoly, said Wednesday evening's lobby had failed to reach a consensus.
"Most factions agreed to between 20 and 26 percent of total seats threshold, except for the PAN and the Democratic Party, which insisted on 15 percent," she said.
PAN legislator Andi Yuliani Paris said her party would stick with 15 percent. "It's fine if we lose in the voting mechanism. We already compromised and gradually increased our percentage six times," she said.
The voting mechanism was also welcomed by Golkar and the PDI-P.
Golkar secretary-general Sumarsono said his party would not lower the threshold below 25 percent, saying it had compromised by cutting it down from 30 percent. Tjahyo Kumolo, chairman of the PDI-P's faction at the House, said a 26 percent threshold was his party's limit. "We'll be ready to vote," he said.
The House has extended the sitting period to Oct. 30 from the previously scheduled Oct. 24, to accommodate prolonged lobbying over the issue. However, House deputy speaker Muhaimin Iskandar of the PKB said the bill would be passed in the Oct. 22 plenary session, cutting lobbying possibilities and opening the way for voting.
The voting means Golkar and the PDI-P, with 128 and 109 House seats respectively, could force for bill adoption with threshold. "If we have to vote, then we want a 30 percent threshold," Sumarsono said.
With his only support coming from the Democratic Party, which garnered only 8 percent of national votes, Yudhoyono needs to keep the threshold as low as possible to allow him run for president again without needing to form a coalition.
In Bandung, Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto said the government would lobby all parties at the House to prevent the presidential nomination threshold being decided through a vote.
[Yuli Tri Wahyuni contributed to the story from Bandung.]
| Government/civil service |
Jakarta Post - October 23, 2008
Dadan Widjaksana and Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta, Beijing – The government has brushed aside claims there is a conflict among Cabinet members that has placed the position Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in jeopardy, in relation with her handling of companies hammered by the recent stock market dive.
As reported earlier by The Jakarta Post, sources say attempts are underway to unseat Mulyani for her stern moves to safeguard the state budget and reportedly reject government assistance to rescue a business empire struggling to deal with the impact of its plummeting share prices.
Sources name the business empire as the Bakrie group of companies – controlled by the politically wired family of welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie – whose share-price dive helped drag down the Jakarta stock market.
However, presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng rejected the claims, saying relations between Cabinet members were just as good as ever.
"No, that's not true. I was a bit surprised myself to read (the report)," he told reporters on Wednesday on board a Garuda flight carrying an Indonesian delegation, led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to Beijing, where leaders of Asian and European countries will gather for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
Mulyani has carved out a formidable ministerial career since 2004, thanks in part to her fearless stance in making tough decisions.
In her early years as a minister, for instance, she initiated a massive overhaul in two units under her ministry known to be among the most corrupt state institutions in the country – the tax and customs offices.
But her efforts have brought her plenty of enemies, the sources claim, who are now teaming up in a bid to unseat her.
Ministry sources say businessmen involved in violations in the mining sector, the customs and excise business, and the tax sector are among those teaming up with businessmen who recently got burned in the stock market and could not recover their losses.
Andi, however, dismissed this as "mere speculation". He said the President had never discussed the issue with his Cabinet ministers, saying "there is no such thing at all."
Mulyani refused to comment on the issue Wednesday, saying only that it was a difficult question to answer. However, when asked for her response to businessmen who were unsatisfied with her recent policy in dealing with the havoc in the financial sector, Mulyani said the ministry remained committed to upholding transparency and accountability.
"Financial market stakeholders believe we have enforced all regulations based on the highest standards of responsibility and accountability," she said.
"We are requesting companies facing special situations that need special attention to settle their problems based on capital market protocols."
Jakarta Post - October 22, 2008
Rendi A. Witular and Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Vested interests are launching a covert attempt to replace Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati following her stern moves to guard the state budget from abuse and clamp down on violators, sources say.
Efforts to topple the "iron lady" intensified after she turned down requests from a major conglomerate for government assistance in saving its business empire in the wake of the global financial meltdown, sources said.
"Speculation has been rife for the past two or three weeks. I think the political motive is bigger than those of the economy, with the market showing confidence in the minister," said Andi Rahmat, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission XI, which oversees financial affairs, on Tuesday.
Andi said a possible replacement for Mulyani, proposed by the vested interest, was Darmin Nasution, the Finance Ministry's director general of taxation.
"It's going to be a very risky move by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to replace Mulyani at a time when a figure like her is badly needed to shield Indonesia from the impact of the global downturn," he said.
Finance Ministry sources and some businessmen said one of the moves being made to discredit Mulyani was to promote an image of her as lacking nationalism, a sentiment widely touted since her appointment as minister back in 2004.
Mulyani's previous post as an executive at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been used by her opponents to question her nationalism following criticism over the agency's poor performance in helping the country survive the late-1997 Asian financial crisis.
Economist Faisal Basri, Mulyani's close friend and former colleague at the University of Indonesia, blamed certain parties, inconvenienced by Mulyani's moves to deal with the financial meltdown, as the main sponsors of the efforts.
"There are some politicians who suffered losses from the havoc in the stock market. Besides, knowing Mulyani well, it is not her 'style' to take a policy of suddenly closing down the stock market," he said.
Faisal added it was unlikely Mulyani would be replaced by Darmin – a close confidant of hers and a mentor during her time at the University of Indonesia.
Ministry sources say businessmen involved in violations in the mining sector, the customs and excise business, and the tax sector were among those teaming up with businessmen who recently got burned in the stock market and could not recover their losses.
Mulyani has been praised for her efforts in reforming the once corruption-infested customs and tax offices, including refusing to allow 10 helicopters belonging to a firm linked to Vice President Jusuf Kalla to pass through customs before paying duties.
Her courage was on show again when she ordered state-run Bank Mandiri to transfer disputed funds worth Rp 1.23 trillion (US$126 million) from Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, son of the late former president Soeharto, to the state account for development use.
However, her latest move in refusing to help a politically wired business group has ignited a backlash of rage which may cost her her job unless Yudhoyono ensures Mulyani remains in her post until his administration ends.
Finance Ministry spokesman Samsuar Said said the "cost will be too expensive for the Cabinet" if Mulyani leaves before the current administration ends its term next year. "Use common sense. What is the motive in this kind of situation for unseating her?" he said.
Economist Pande Raja Silalahi said some businessmen were likely offended by Mulyani's statement during a recent speech at the office of the powerful lobby group the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).
"I am the Finance Minister, my job is to protect the state fund. Companies have a job to protect their own financial affairs. If they fail, it is their fault and they deserve to go bust," said Pande, quoting Mulyani.
| Armed forces/defense |
Jakarta Post - October 23, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has exercised a "disclaimer opinion" on financial reports from the Defense Ministry and the Indonesian Military (TNI) over the last two years for failing to include huge amounts of non-tax income.
The reports did not present clear income, estimated at billions of rupiah, generated mostly from productive assets such as rented land and buildings, because the money had not been reported to the Finance Ministry.
The BPK also found the lost state money from the undervaluation of the two institutions' assets that may have been sold illegally or rented out by certain military officers.
BPK chief Anwar Nasution said here Wednesday the TNI and Defense Ministry did not have a standardized accounting system that would have allowed them to detect such incomes and audit all their assets.
"In reports on accounting management, the Defense Ministry is neither transparent nor accountable," he told a gathering with officers from the ministry as well as TNI, Army, Navy and Air Force headquarters.
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono and TNI chief Gen. Djoko Santoso attended the meeting to discuss how the ministry and the TNI could fix their accounting and financial management system to avoid another disclaimer opinion in 2008.
Anwar said the unaccountable reports were also caused by the two institutions' outdated computers and financial control system that did not meet the requirements of the Indonesian Accounting Standard (SAI), creating significant discrepancies between the money reported by the Finance Ministry and that by the Defense Ministry.
In addition, records of logistics, assets and military equipment belonging to the ministry and the TNI were not up to standard.
In its July 17 report, the BPK found land owned by the TNI, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force had been misused.
Some 283 plots of land owned by the Army in its nine territorial commands had been converted into plantation and agriculture areas, the BPK said. It was not clear whether the land was rented out or sold, or where the income was reported to, it added.
In West Java, for instance, 379 official homes at the Siliwangi military command were converted into factory outlets, while Navy land worth around Rp 653 billion in Jakarta was used for private homes, with no financial accountability.
The BPK said land owned by the Air Force in 42 locations, valued at around Rp 2.1 billion, had been rented out, and that the supposed income of Rp 61 billion from the transaction had not been submitted to the state.
Further, the Air Force's land and a building in Pancoran, South Jakarta, were rented out at low prices to PT Aldiron, the BPK said, adding the case had caused Rp 278.49 billion in state losses.
However, Anwar praised the defense minister and the TNI for their efforts and systematic targets with a clear time frame to fix their financial system and reports. Many other ministries had not even submitted their reports to BPK, he added.
Speaking at the discussion, Juwono vowed to fix the ministry's financial accounting system, saying his office had noted some 4,000 problematic assets.
"We will enhance the accounting capability of officers in Jakarta and elsewhere to meet the requirements. They are the ones who report the expenses in detail," he said.
Djoko also promised to improve the TNI's financial accountability report, underlining a wide range of assets under control of the military.
| Economy & investment |
Jakarta Post - October 22, 2008
Rendi Akhmad Witular and Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The central bank has been accused of misleading local and foreign banks by providing a guarantee letter for its Netherlands-based Indonesische Overzeese Bank N.V. (Indover) unit to get loans.
On Tuesday, Anwar Nasution, chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), said Bank Indonesia had issued a "comfort letter" to enable Indover to easily get loans from creditors.
"The comfort letter was the key tool Indover used to get loans. Bank Indonesia should be responsible for this kind of assurance because it could not fulfill any guarantee to support Indover," he said.
A Dutch court, on an order from the country's central bank, froze the assets of Indover due to liquidity shortage after BI, a 100 percent owner of the bank, could not provide liquidity to support Indover in weathering the impact of the financial crisis.
BI claimed it was forbidden under an amendment of the Central Bank Law for it to operate a business firm effective January next year, and help for Indover would burden BI with responsibility for the bank beyond that period.
A copy of the guarantee letter obtained by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday showed a commitment from BI signed by deputy governor Budi Mulya, dated Feb. 5, 2008, for purposes used to show Indover would not be short-lived.
"Confirmation of Supporting Indover Bank. Herewith we would like to confirm that as shareholder of Indover Bank, we will continue to support the activities of the bank as long as BI owns the shares in the bank.
"In view of the forthcoming divestment of Indover Bank, it is our present intention to undertake a transfer of ownership to one of Indonesia's state-owned banks," the letter said.
Sources from foreign banks, which have loan exposure in Indover, said their senior officials were enraged at BI's decision to dissolve Indover, accusing the central bank of issuing an empty guarantee.
"BI has misled banks. We want to make one thing clear: How can we trust the central bank after this mess? They can't even clean up their own mess, how can they even tell us to act according to their standards?" said one source.
BI officials refused to comment on the issue. BI senior deputy governor Miranda Goeltom said Monday at the House of Representatives that BI was still in the process of settling the Indover affair.
Sources at Indover also told the Post that there was currently an offer from a Chinese bank to take over Indover and make use of its EU operating license, considered difficult to obtain.
Jakarta Post - October 18, 2008
Desy Nurhayati and Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – With a trio of state firms exploring the possibility of buying a stake in the Bakrie group's PT Bumi Resources, the government has rejected claims the plan is meant as a helping hand for the Bakrie family's most prized company.
State miners PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA), PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) and PT Timah are in talks to seek a way of acquiring up to 35 percent of Bumi, Asia's largest coal exporter, estimated at Rp 14 trillion (US$1.45 billion). The firms have also been encouraged by State Minister for State Enterprises Sofyan A. Djalil to team up with private companies.
On Friday, however, State Secretary Hatta Radjasa refuted suggestions the move by the three state miners was a government- backed rescue deal for the Bakrie family, insisting any deal between the state miners and Bumi would be under the business-to-business framework.
"No, there's no such bailout. A bailout refers to funds from the state budget. That has nothing to do with this issue," Hatta told reporters at the Presidential Palace.
"If the state firms want to buy (Bumi shares), it's a business-to- business transaction. They have their own system," he said, adding the government would leave the matter to Bakrie and would only participate by providing the legal framework.
The government's denial comes as Bumi's parent company, PT Bakrie & Brothers – controlled by the family of welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie – sells some of its assets to raise up to $1.2 billion to repay debts backed by stakes in its units.
The payment acceleration is aimed at limiting a dilution, with the value of the companies' shares nosediving during last week's stock market rout.
In addition to the three state miners, other state firms have been encouraged to buy back shares to shore up confidence in the market, which last week was dragged down in part by the slumping shares of the Bakrie companies amid speculation the group would default on its debts.
Bakrie & Brothers has denied the speculations and has since held talks with various investors to raise the $1.2 billion. It has so far completed the first phase of the offering.
Avenue Luxembourg SARL has taken another 15 percent stake worth $46 million in PT Bakrieland Development, and Longines Offshore Co. Ltd., through the Royal Bank of Scotland, has purchased a 5.6 percent stake worth $10 million in PT Bakrie Sumatra Plantation.
Negotiations to sell PT Bakrie Telecom and Bumi are still underway, the group added.
Following the announcement, trading in shares of the three companies resumed on Friday, but a sell-off hit them right away.
Bakrieland Development dropped 10 percent, from Rp 15 to Rp 135, while Bakrie Sumatera Plantations, a palm oil producer, tumbled 9.8 percent to Rp 415, and PT Bakrie Telecom plunged 9.7 percent to Rp 167.
These three are among six Bakrie companies whose shares had been suspended from trading since Oct. 7.
IDX president director Erry Firmansyah said the three firms had submitted all the information needed to resume trading, particularly on the ongoing restructuring process.
Jakarta Post - October 18, 2008
Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The central bank – which has just been equipped with a legal basis to facilitate reactions, including injecting liquidity, in the event of a potential financial crisis – pledged Friday there would not be a repetition of the misuse of funds that occurred in the 1990s crisis.
"Our supervisors will be in the banks that receive such facilities (liquidity supports). Our supervision will be more intensive than that in 1997," Bank Indonesia (BI) governor Boediono said.
When the country was hit by the regional financial crisis in 1997-1998, the central bank extended bail-out funds amounting to more than Rp 600 trillion to help rescue the banking sector, but without a clear legal framework to cover its actions.
Ten years on, the experience still leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Not only that the government, meaning the taxpayer, is still paying for these costly measures, but that it has been proven in the courts that abuses took place during and after the bail-out.
Boediono said there would not be a repeat of these practices, brushing aside concerns that the recently issued regulation allowing it to inject funds into banks could lead to another round of abuses, thereby causing state losses.
Under the regulation in lieu of law on the financial system safety net issued on Thursday, BI is now allowed to take over the control of bank shareholders' meetings if the bank is in receipt of liquidity support.
BI can also change the bank's officials.
Boediono added that the central bank would soon issue a regulation which will set tight and prudent criteria to determine the eligibility of banks to qualify to receive liquidity support.
In 1997, he said, banks were able to provide many kinds of assets, including personal guarantees, to help them obtain financing support.
"The source (of assets) did not actually make sense, but the problems were urgent at that time. We will now be tighter (in channeling support)."
The new regulation complements two earlier regulations in lieu of laws, covering activities of the deposit insurance agency (LPS) and the central bank. The government issued these regulations to help instill confidence in the market and to help shield the economy from current global financial shocks.
Included in the package of the three regulations is an extension of the guarantee on bank deposits, from Rp 100 million previously to Rp 2 billion now – a measure in line with a worldwide policy trend aimed at restoring market confidence in the banking system.
Many analysts believe that Indonesia's economy has learned the lessons of the last crisis and is now strong enough to weather the global financial storm, although this could lead to an even bigger recession than is now emerging in the world's top economies.
To start with, Indonesia's banking sector is now far sturdier than it was in 1997. According to BI, the capital adequacy ratio of the banks stood as of August at 16 percent, far above the international standard of 8 percent, indicating that Indonesian banks have more than enough capital reserves.
The rate of non-performing loans (NPLs), meanwhile, stood at 3.95 percent, below the central bank's required compliance target of 5 percent, indicating fairly healthy lending portfolios.
| Analysis & opinion |
Jakarta Post - October 24, 2008
Sunny Tanuwidjaja, Jakarta – The latest survey by Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI) seems to confirm a pattern of declining support for Islamic political parties since the reform era. Using a simple typology, Islamic political parties received 40 percent of total votes in the 1999 elections. In the 2004 election, votes for Islamic political parties decreased to 30 percent.
According to the surveys done by LSI in 2005, 2006, 2007 and now in 2008, support for Islamic political parties has stagnated at around 17 percent.
There are three interesting issues from this survey that should be examined by the public.
First, the claim that a Pancasilais image is likely to get more votes is not necessarily true (LSI uses the term Pancasilais political parties as a substitute for the term nationalist political parties).
Second, the "cannibalism" among Islamic political parties needs to be further tested using empirical data. Cannibalism among Islamic political parties refers to the expansion of one Islamic political party by taking voters away from another.
Third, although there is some decline in support for Islamic political parties, they continue to enjoy more than enough to make them important players in national politics.
The claim that a Pancasilais platform will get more votes is problematic for three reasons.
First, the survey done by LSI, and many surveys from other institutions, shows that welfare is the main concern among voters. Voters will tend to support parties they believe are capable of increasing people's welfare.
The latest LSI survey shows that political parties considered able to increase people's welfare are coincidentally the ones known to be Pancasilais.
So, it is very possible that the Pancasilais image is not really what will garner support, but instead public perception regarding a party's abilities to improve welfare.
Second, the claim is problematic because the empirical evidence shows that many political parties perceived to be Pancasilais are not improving their political standing. This shows that a Pancasilais image does not guarantee votes.
Third, the claim is problematic because it contradicts the survey's conclusion, which suggests that Indonesian voters have become more rational in the sense that ideology and primordial factors are no longer important in affecting the voters' political choice.
Another conclusion from the latest LSI survey that needs to be reconsidered is the cannibalism among Islamic political parties. One specific point that it makes is that the increase in support for the PKS is due to its success in getting voters to switch from other Islamic political parties.
On the one hand this is true because in several areas the decline of the PAN and the PPP directly correlated to increased support for the PKS. However, a CSIS (Centre for Strategic and International Studies) survey conducted last May shows that the new PKS supporters are highly diverse. The survey result even shows that most of the PKS's new supporters are individuals who voted for nationalist political parties in the 2004 election.
The CSIS survey finds that among the respondents who state that they will choose the PKS in the 2009 election, 50 percent of voted for them in the 2004 election. About 30 percent are voters who previously voted for Pancasilais political parties, and the other 20 percent previously voted for Islamic political parties. Thus, even if the decline of other Islamic parties is one reason for the rise of PKS, it is voters switching from Pancasilais parties who contributed the most.
The above assessment demonstrates that the movement of voters is not a one-way street. There is a significant movement of voters from Pancasilais to Islamic political parties and vice versa.
Within a multiparty system, the current level of support enjoyed by Islamic political parties, although in decline, is still very significant.
It seems that the three biggest Pancasilais political parties (i.e. the PDI-P, The Golkar Party and The Democratic Party, will not support the same presidential and vice presidential candidates. Instead, two of the three will form a coalition against the other one. This scenario will make political parties like the PKS and the PKB attractive coalition partners.
Even if a coalition between Pancasilais and Islamic political parties failed to win the presidential election, with 20 to 30 percent of seats, Islamic political parties are very appealing partners for an opposition coalition. Thus Islamic political parties remain a very important political force in Indonesia.
In addition, there is something of a paradox in Indonesian politics; despite declining support for religious political parties and the dominance of Pancasilais parties, the government remains reluctant to take action against criminal acts in the name of religion. The passing of regional sharia bylaws are seldom stopped and the government has failed to act against those who suppress the religious freedom of others.
If it is true that Indonesian voters have become more rational, it no longer makes sense for political parties to create a Pancasilais image. Instead, they should concentrate on developing social programs that can help improve the welfare of the people.
Based on the above evaluation, what needs to be tested in future surveys is whether support for political parties with an Pancasilais image is due to that image, or because of the public perception of their ability to increase welfare and the quality of their programs.
It could be possible that support for the PDI-P has more to do with the charisma of Megawati, and support for The Democratic Party is helped by the popularity of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Support for PDI-P and Golkar may be due to the high loyalty of their traditional voters. The support Golkar currently enjoys probably has a lot to do with its well-established organizational and party structure, which have penetrated deeply into many regions.
[The writer is a researcher at the Politics and Social Change Department at CSIS Jakarta, and is currently a PhD candidate at Northern Illinois University. He can be reached at sunny_tanuwidjaja@csis.or.id.]
Straits Times (Singapore) - October 17, 2008
Bruce Gale, Senior Writer – During a visit to Jakarta in August, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith described relations between Indonesia and Australia as having reached a 'historic high'. The two countries, he said, were entering the dawn of 'a new partnership'.
Diplomatic relations have certainly improved in recent years. The Lombok Treaty, which came into force in February, for example, was a significant step forward in bilateral cooperation in defence, law enforcement, counterterrorism, maritime security and disaster response.
It will be some time yet, however, before Mr Smith's 'new partnership' becomes anything more than an arrangement of convenience between political elites. Jakarta and Canberra may be on good terms now, but the reality is that the populations of the two countries know very little about each other.
And what they do know continues to feed stereotypes that hold within them the seeds of future diplomatic spats. The cultural differences are both myriad and fundamental. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, while Australian culture is heavily influenced by its Western Judeo-Christian roots.
Australians may be proud of their egalitarian social values, democratic tradition and unique wildlife. But to many Indonesians, Australia is defined instead by the likes of anti- immigration campaigner Pauline Hanson and the December 2005 Cronulla riots. The latter, which took place in Sydney, involved large numbers of white Australians attacking people of Middle Eastern appearance after the local media reported incidents of assaults and intimidatory behaviour by groups of non-locals.
And while Indonesians see themselves as a tolerant, socially accommodating people with a rich culture, Australians see the country through the prism of the 2002 Bali bombings. The apparent reluctance of the authorities to execute the perpetrators of this heinous crime is regarded as particularly galling, given the recent death sentences handed down to three Australians for drug trafficking.
The fate of Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby, now serving a 20-year jail sentence, is yet another frequently quoted example. Her sentence outraged many Australians, partly due to its severity and partly because many believed the photogenic beautician's claims of innocence. Ordinary Indonesians, however, are hardly aware that she exists.
Relations between the two countries have blown hot and cold for decades. Diplomatic ties reached one of their lowest points in 1999, when Canberra led an international peacekeeping force into Timor Leste. The move prompted Jakarta to tear up a defence agreement with the country. Tensions worsened in the following years when Australia demanded Indonesian action over asylum seekers and backed the 2003 United States-led invasion of Iraq.
The current improvement in diplomatic ties began when Canberra responded to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami by providing a A$1 billion (S$1 billion) relief package. Yet public opinion in both countries still regards the other as a potential threat. The results of a survey by the Roy Morgan group for Melbourne University's Asialink Institute last month revealed that 53 per cent of Australians regard Indonesia as the country they are most worried about.
A matching poll in Indonesia found that 55 per cent of Indonesians had concerns about 'another country promoting dissent' inside theirs. The respondents were not asked which country they saw as most likely to interfere, but the Australian pollsters were fairly certain they knew. 'That's us meddling,' Roy Morgan's Mr Guharoy said.
Indonesians and Australians also have very different concerns about the future. Almost 60 per cent of Australians said climate change was their main worry. Indonesians, on the other hand, were more likely to fear the erosion of their religious beliefs.
Two out of three Indonesians also worry about 'the breakup of the country', which explains Jakarta's sensitivities over Australian actions regarding Timor Leste and Papua.
Yet there are reasons for optimism. The May 2008 federal Australian budget included a A$62 million allocation aimed at boosting the study of Asian languages, including Indonesian.
Part of the money will go towards helping Australian teachers spend time in Indonesia improving their language proficiency and cultural knowledge. Hopefully, they will also learn how unpopular the Bali bombers are in their own country.
Interestingly, the Roy Morgan survey revealed that half the populations in the two countries were afraid of another terrorist attack.
The road ahead is nevertheless likely to be rocky. And it will be a long time yet before Mr Smith's 'new partnership' becomes more
Jakarta Post - October 17, 2008
Usman Hamid and Syaiful Haq, Jakarta – In his remarks during the ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in Surabaya on Tuesday, TNI Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso reported briefly on the five-point implementation of TNI's internal reform agenda over the past 10 years:
TNI's neutrality in politics, the cessation of its involvement in business, the reform of the military tribunal, the improvement of soldiers' welfare and TNI professionalism. Let us try to evaluate Gen. Djoko's report.
The success of TNI reform is a normative one. The implementation of reform has only gone a quarter of the way down the long road to genuine transformation. It is still weighed down by the New Order paradigm, which is related to the 1960s domestic political struggle and the threat of communism within the context of the Cold War.
This is clearly reflected in various documents and facts found in the field, including the Defense White Book published in 2008. The dominant perception during the past 10 years is one that views the domestic sphere as the source of a security threat, a view that has hindered the transformation of the organization into a more professional one.
First of all, the success of eliminating the TNI's political role should not be measured by the revocation of the TNI's seats in the parliament (DPR). It also needs to be signified by the loss of military domination in the formulation of the state's political policies.
Although the TNI's presence in the parliament ceased in 2004, the stipulations in certain legal instruments such as the Law on the TNI and Law on the Truth and Reconciliation Committee show the strong influence the armed forces continue to wield.
In the Law on the TNI, for example, several of the TNI's old positions, such as the presence of territorial command (koter) and the "functionality" function, are still justified. The Law on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which was expected to be a medium to resolve past human right violations within the framework of TNI's institutional reform, was found to be an example of a problematic political product and revoked by the Constitutional Court.
The TNI still maintains the Army's territorial command structure, such as Kodam (military regional command), Korem (military regiment command), Kodim (the military district command) and Babinsa (village guidance), whereas the 1998 reform demands the retraction of the military "dual function" and the removal of territorial command structure. The Armed Forces Faction in the parliament was abolished in 2004 but the territorial command remained.
This decision set the TNI further apart from its need to adjust to the global strategic environment, which has the prerequisite of attaining an ideal defense posture appropriate to the challenges of the 21st century.
This means that it should not be dependent on ground defense, but rather on a technology-based and integrated defense system between the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. This is the agenda to push for, because TNI reform needs to be directed by the more general agenda of security system reform, by setting up the National Defense Assembly (DPN), which has still not been established.
The DPN is crucial to synergize the whole security policy framework with the policies of other sectors in order to establish the welfare and well-being of the people. This is an agency that should be the medium for all actors to determine together the direction of the defense policy. Second, the political regulation succeeded in prohibiting the TNI from engaging in business. However, during its implementation, the state was slow in taking over the TNI's businesses.
Amid the delayed implementation, the state has neglected to take action against ongoing business practices, and even failed to stop the transfer of the TNI's assets to private parties. There appears to be a large amount of the state's assets used by the TNI that have been misused for illegal objectives.
Third, the delay in amending the Law on the Military Tribunal has caused the low public accountability of the TNI before the law. TNI members and the former officers of the military still have access to special treatment when they are brought before the court.
Various forms of denial have been dealt with, whether by utilizing political history claims, gaps in laws or influence or power. This culture of impunity is hard to eliminate, and one of the causes is that the Law on Military Tribunal has never been revised.
In many cases, military tribunals are used as a mechanism to calm public protest without any guarantee for the delivery of justice. The process of promotion to strategic positions in the TNI does not give enough consideration to a person's human rights record. Thus impunity and military violence endure, which demonstrates the strong influence of the TNI on the national political stage.
Fourth, soldiers' welfare only serves as a political commodity to ask for an increase in the defense budget, even to legitimize illegal practices. The welfare of the soldiers has never been achieved because, since the beginning, there has never been any serious effort exerted on behalf of the government to achieve it.
The government submitted a draft bill on the TNI without inserting any stipulation on soldiers' welfare, even though that is a crucial consideration when one seeks to achieve professionalism within the TNI as the state's instrument for defense. The argument that TNI businesses would increase the capacity and welfare of the soldiers is a bifurcation of truth, because the profit has always been enjoyed by a few elites in the TNI.
Fifth, the TNI's professionalism can be built through the modernization of the weapon system's main instrument (alutsista). However, the development of state defense policy such as this will require a large budget.
The development of professionalism can be done by making the organization efficient, such as by eliminating territorial command, or by limiting the system to only the border areas and the outermost islands.
We appreciate all that has been achieved during the decade of TNI reform. However, to increase this to achieve thorough transformation of the TNI, the government and the parliament must act on the above mentioned issues. The main problem is the paradigm change in formulating the state defense strategic policies.
[The writers work for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).]