Nograhany Widhi K., Jakarta – On the first day of the new school term, Jakarta will be besieged by six demonstrations. One of them will be held in front of the Chinese Embassy in the Mega Kuningan area of South Jakarta.

According to the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Centre, the action will be organized by the Islamic Community Forum (FUI) at 10.30am in response to the riots involving Uighur ethnic Muslims in Xinjiang on Monday July 12.

Demonstrators from the Nestle Indonesia Panjang Trade Union meanwhile will 'descend' upon the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta at 9am. They will then continue the action at the Department of Labour and Transmigration on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta and finish the their protests at the PT Nestle offices on Jl. TB Simatupang.

Also at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, protesters from the group People in Motion will gather between 3-5pm.

Between 9am and 4pm meanwhile, a group call the Dompu Society will hold a demonstration at the Department of Maritime and Fishery Affairs on Jl. Moh Ridwan Rais in Central Jakarta, then move off to the offices of the Minister for People's Housing on Jl. Raden Patah and then the House of Representatives building on Jl. Gatot Subroto.

Still in Central Jakarta, at 11am the Zoning and Construction Supervisory Office building on Jl. Jati Baru, the Gambir train station and a house at Jl. Teuku Umar 42-44 in Menteng will be 'attacked en masse' by members of the Cultural Preserve Youth and Student Alliance of Concern from various different universities.

The Judicial Commission offices on Jl. Abdul Muis in the Harmony area will also not be spared. The Student Movement of Legal Concern (GMPH) will hold a protest action there after first demonstrating at the East Jakarta District Court at 9am. (nwk/amd)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Aceh

SBY's victory unfavorable for Aceh, NGO says

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2009

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – A civil society group in Aceh has said Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election will place the Acehnese people in an unfavorable position.

The groups say that while Yudhoyono's victory is a sign peace will prevail in Aceh, it will not help Acehnese people prosper or protect their identity, which they have held closely to.

"This means that the Acehnese people have been totally integrated into the national political mainstream.

This is part of political reintegration which is in line which the national political system," said Juanda Jamal, secretary of the Consortium of New Aceh in Banda Aceh on Friday.

Juanda said that implementing the peace treaty in Aceh had been done so ideally, so much so that the underlying issues related to the sustainability of peace were no longer relevant and would not be considered at the national level.

Besides that, Aceh would loose political bargaining power due to the different political character of the Acehnese people from other provinces.

Juanda expressed fear that during Yudhoyono's next term, the Acehnese people would no longer get special privileges and that issues in Aceh, including sensitive issues related to peace and development would be handled similarly to those in other provinces in Indonesia.

Sensitive issues related to the peace process would be regarded as a regional, and no longer a national issue, he said.

Of particular sensitivity are human rights issues, particularly the pending establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR). Despite the fact that in accordance with the Helsinki MoU and Aceh administrative Law No. 11/2006 the comission should have been established years ago, its formation remains in doubt.

"An issue like this would not be important for Indonesia if the Aceh administration is unable to negotiate with the central government," Juanda said.

Political observers have raised doubts that the Aceh administration will be able to negotiate with the government given its poor performance over the past few years, especially under the leadership of Irwandi Yusuf, a former GAM leader.

Juanda cited the issuance of the Qanun local ordinances in relation with issues on the KKR and Human Rights Court in Aceh, according to Aceh political observer Otto Syamsuddin Ishak.

He expressed pessimism that Yudhoyono would work to resolve the underlying human rights issues related with to the implemantation of the Helsinki MoU and Aceh Administrative Law, and expressed concern Yudhoyono's administration would later try to make the KKR issue a local concern.

SBY excels in Aceh despite Kalla's peace contribution

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2009

Hotli Simanjuntak and Andi Hajramurni, Banda Aceh/Makassar – Incumbent President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the majority of votes in several previously conflict-torn provinces that were expected to go to Jusuf Kalla because of his role in peace negotiations.

According to the results of the Indonesian Survey Circle's (LSI) quick count, Yudhoyono received an overwhelming 93.99 percent of votes in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, with Kalla and Megawati Soekarnoputri gaining just 4.44 percent and 1.56 percent respectively.

Based on preliminary results from the Aceh chapter of the Independent Elections Commission (KIP), Yudhoyono, popularly called SBY, secured 92.32 percent of the nearly 645,000 votes tabulated by a number of regencies and municipalities in Aceh.

Yudhoyono's domination in Aceh indicates that many Acehnese people remain drawn to Yudhoyono, despite the fact that some in Aceh believe that Kalla was the initiator of the regions' peace talks.

"I voted for Yudhoyono given his good performance as president," said Kamil, a resident in Lambira, Aceh Besar, Banda Aceh.

"Although Kalla played an important role in the Aceh peace agreement, Yudhoyono was still the president then. I'm sure Kalla's involvement in the peace talks would not have been successful without Yudhoyono," Kamil added.

According to Kamil, the Aceh peace pact was reached thanks to Yudhoyono and Kalla's teamwork.

"I was very disappointed when they broke up and chose to compete against each other in the presidential race," said Kamil, adding the claims made by Yudhoyono's and Kalla's campaign teams about forging peace in the region had not influenced his decision.

In Maluku and North Maluku provinces, another region which has seen religious conflict in the past, Yudhoyono again defeated Kalla by a clear majority.

Although Kalla's success in South Sulawesi, his home province, was expected from the beginning, the chairman of Golkar Party failed to reach his highest targeted number of votes.

Based on preliminary vote counting conducted by the South Sulawesi General Elections Commission and quick counts by the LSI and Adhiyaksa Supporting House, Kalla garnered between 64 and 66 percent of votes. Yudhoyono won between 27 and 31 percent, while the Megawati-Prabowo pair secured between 4 and 7 percent.

The Kalla campaign team had set a target of 80 percent, based not only on the fact that he is a local, but that his Golkar party received the highest number of votes in April's legislative election.

However, chairman of Golkar's South Sulawesi regional executive board, Ilham Arief Siradjuddin, explained the target of 80 percent was their most optimistic, and that the party expected him to get no less than 60 percent – putting the 66-64 percent he received in the end within their target range.

"Our target was between 60 and 80 percent. In reality we were still able to get around 65 percent, meaning our target has been reached, although not to its maximum," said Ilham, who is also the mayor of Makassar.

Ilham said the voting reflected the political maturity of the people of South Sulawesi, as they were not swayed by rumors or ethnocentrism.

West Papua

Military, police can't agree on source of Papua attacks

Jakarta Globe - July 14, 2009

Farouk Arnaz & April Aswadi – While publicly agreeing to cooperate in a joint operation to find the perpetrators of the deadly weekend ambushes near the US miner Freeport McMoRan's complex in Papua, military and police officials publicly disagreed on Tuesday about who was responsible for them.

Armed Forces (TNI) commander Djoko Santoso said the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) was likely behind the three shooting attacks on Saturday and Sunday, during which an Australian national working as a project manager for PT Freeport Indonesia, a Freeport security guard, and a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) police officer were killed. In addition, five Freeport employees and two police officers were wounded by gunfire.

The ambushes occurred within a 3-kilometer stretch on the Timika-Tembagapura road leading to Freeport's Grasberg mine complex, between the Mile 51 and 53 markers.

"It's likely [that the rebels carried out the attacks], as there are indications of OPM presence at Mile 50," Djoko told reporters at the State Palace.

However, Papua provincial police chief Bagus Ekodanto told the Jakarta Globe there was no evidence the OPM or anyone else in particular was involved, but noted that the attackers appeared to be well trained.

"There are indications they were experts with weapons with 5.56 millimeter bullets, which is a standard weapon for the TNI and National Police," he said. "But it doesn't mean they aren't OPM and if they are, then they are well-trained OPM."

One well-placed government source and a top official with the National Police's intelligence directorate told the Jakarta Globe that an elite military unit may have been behind the attacks. They declined to reveal the name of the unit.

"Based on past experience, this is what has been going on. To begin with, the military is unhappy with the security arrangement in which Freeport pays the police and not the military," the government source said. "Maybe they did it to show [Freeport] they need better security."

The Grasberg mining complex is one of the world's biggest gold and copper production sites. The weekend's violence was the worst in the area since a 2002 ambush on a convoy of Freeport vehicles on the same road that left two US nationals and an Indonesian worker dead. The case strained relations between the US and Indonesia because police investigators initially implicated military personnel in that attack.

Freeport previously paid the TNI to provide security around the mining site, but it has now contracted a police task force for the duty. Military critics claim rogue commanders have ordered attacks to pressure Freeport to rehire the TNI.

Separately, the National Police announced on Tuesday that the TNI would join an ongoing operation next week find the perpetrators of the attacks.

"We will conduct a joint operation with the military there," National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri told reporters. He declined to speculate on whether the attackers were well trained despite the fact that they used standard police and military-issue 5.56 millimeter bullets.

Police confirm type of bullet used in Papua killings

Jakarta Globe - July 14, 2009

Farouk Arnaz, Christian Motte & April Aswadi – Autopsy results show that the victims of the weekend killings near Timika in Papua were shot with 5.56-millimeter caliber weapons. But a police investigator said on Monday that this information would not help determine who the perpetrators might be.

The 5.56-mm bullets, of which remnants were found in the victims' bodies, are used in M-16, SS-1, Steyr and AK-47 long-barrel weapons, which are issued to the military and police.

However, Brig. Gen. Budiono, the head of the police forensic unit, told the Jakarta Globe that no material evidence that may help narrow down the type of weapon had been recoverd from the crime scenes. "We do not know what gun they used," he said.

"My subordinates are still collecting the necessary evidence like projectiles and cartridges to conduct ballistic examinations. This only takes a week, if everything is complete."

Not even the kind of ammunition used will help narrow down the investigation as members of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) are believed to have weapons seized from police or the military since 2003.

In January, an OPM member seized at least four SS-1 rifles and 61 bullets at Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya, from the police. In December 2006, the OPM took an AK-47 and 75 bullets from a police officer in Mulia, Puncak Jaya.

"The investigation is still ongoing," Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Bagus Ekodanto said on Monday. "No one [has claimed] responsibility for this incident."

Widodo AS, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, reiterated that a presidential regulation issued in 2004 stated that it was the duty of the police to secure vital locations, including the Freeport mine.

However, as stated in the regulation, the police could seek assistance from the military if police deemed it necessary.

Police deny bullets removed from Australian's body

ABC News - July 14, 2009

Geoff Thompson, Jakarta – Papua's police chief has denied bullets were removed from the body of murdered Australian Drew Grant before an autopsy was performed in Jakarta.

Mr Grant, 29, was shot in Papua on a road to the Freeport Mine on Saturday.

Yesterday Dr Abdul Mun'im Idries said it was possible bullets were removed before an autopsy 16 hours after the Australian engineer was murdered.

Papua's police chief, Bagus Ekodanto, has rejected this suggestion. "No such thing. All was done according to procedure. Nothing was changed, so this statement should clear those rumours," he said.

National police spokesman Nanan Soekarna says only Mr Grant's outer body was examined in Papua.

Yesterday Dr Mun'im told the ABC Mr Grant was killed by four bullets and not five, and all were fired from a distance and from above, except for one which possibly ricocheted from below. The forensic specialist said he found no intact bullets or exit wounds, only fragmentation.

He could not say with certainty whether the bullets came from military-grade weapons, but he said all of the fragments were from bullets with metal casings, which would be consistent with bullets of a military grade, but also other bullets.

Dr Mun'im said there could have been more than one shooter, as Mr Grant had been shot from two different directions.

Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch, who spent two-and-a-half years investigating the ambush killings of two American teachers on the Freeport road in 2002, says without intact bullets it would be impossible to tell precisely which weapon was used.

Meanwhile, a local rebel leader in Papua says his forces were not responsible for shooting Mr Grant.

The death toll from the bloody weekend in the region is now three, after Indonesian police said a policeman who fled an ambush had been found dead.

The local commander of the Free Papua Movement, Kelly Kwalik, has denied any role in the attack which killed Mr Grant.

Free Papua Movement denies involvement in shootings

Radio Australia - July 13, 2009

Some Papuan police sources are blaming the shootings on the Free Papua Movement, but one rebel representatives has denied involvement.

Papua Police say it is likely those involved used weapons belonging to the police or military. However, an Indonesian military spokesman says three rebels from the Free Papua Movement are being questioned about the shooting. They were detained in Yapen, 440 kilometres northwest of the scene.

Presenter: Sen Lam

Speakers: John Ondawame, tribal chief and exiled leader of the Free Papua Movement

Ondawame: Not at all, OPM not involved in this attack as we recognise, we know that OPM have been involved in the earlier days 8th of July, in peaceful activities, raising the West Papua flag around the area. That happened in the two days before the killing of the Melbourne man, the Australian friend who was injured and killed.

Lam: But the OPM a few years ago were accused of, or were known to have staged these hit and run attacks on these American mines?

Ondawame: Not at all, it was said even if you go back to 2002 cases, says we can come clear that OPM is not involved in this attack.

Lam: This is the Tinika case you're talking about?

Ondawame: Yes, yes, it was a military, actually involved in attack and they blamed the OPM for the justification of their presence in the Freeport.

Lam: And yet John, three men were reportedly detained at Yapen helping local police there with investigations. Can you tell us who they are? They are apparently from the OPM?

Ondawame: They are member of the OPM, yes, that no doubt about, but these are far away from Tinika area. It is nothing [in] connection with them in Tinika area.

Lam: Well, this shooting comes just a few days off the burning of a Freeport bus, do you think the two evenets were linked?

Ondawame: There is that activities have been not linked at all, but separate activities from different organisations or factions within the FPM or member of the OPM, is that they would like to remind the world that what happened during the presidential election is not of benefit for the West Papuans. So it was common understanding that they should have, giving some international attention for their elections.

Lam: So do you think then that there might be some rogue elements of the Free Papua Movement, the OPM, that might be behind these attacks?

Ondawame: Which attack are you referred to?

Lam: The weekend attacks in Papua.

Ondawame: The killing of the innocent Australian man?

Lam: That's right, yes.

Ondawame: Not at all. Already said earlier said that OPM not involved in the attack of this man.

Lam: So are you saying then that the Indonesian military is blaming the OPM for something that it did not do?

Ondawame: Exactly, exactly, the same history repeat again when in the election 2002 case they blame the OPM to take the responsibility, but in fact the military of Indonesia was responsible for the killing. Now an innocent man, Anton Wamang, has to get back to prison, this is really wrong.

Mimika councillors condemn shooting incidents in Freeport area

Antara News - July 14, 2009

Jakarta – The Mimika District Legislative Council (DPRD) in Papua Province has condemned the shooting incidents which occurred in an area controlled by US mining company PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) on Sunday (July 11) and Monday (July 12).

"We regret the shooting incidents. We condemn the actions of the culprits, whatever their reasons are because what they did cannot be justified from whatever point of view, especially because the victims were innocent," Mimika DPRD Chairman Yoseph Yopi Kilangin told ANTARA on the phone from Timika, Tuesday.

According to Yopi Kilangin, no one had so far claimed responsibility for the violence.

Yopi Kilangin quoted Timika police reports saying that the shooting incidents near Mile 50-53 on the road between Timika and Tembagapura killed three persons and injured five others who are currently still being treated at Kuala Kencana Clinic, Timika. One of the injured persons was in critical condition, according to him.

The killed persons were Drew Nicholas Grant, an Australian who worked for PT Freeport and was shot at Mile 52, early Saturday (July 11); Markus Rante Allo, a security guard of PTFI who was shot at Mile 51 on Sunday (July 12); and Second Brigadier Marson Patipelohi, a police officer of the Papua provincial police and a member of the Amole VII task force.

The body of Marson was found at around 50-meter deep ravine at Mile 64, Monday (July 13).

Yopi Kilangin suspected that the criminals targeted PTFI in their shooting incidents. It could be related to the policy of PTFI's security system in the mining area which was very tight.

"The PTFI security system is very tight, it cannot be accessed by anyone from the public. And this issue has never been discussed openly by all parties," said Yopi Kilangin, an indigenous member of the Amungme tribe which has made ownership claims to the PTFI area at Grassberg, Tembagapura.

He hoped that in the future PTFI and the Mimika district administration as well as local indigenous people could discuss the company's security system so that it would not hamper local people's activities.

The banning of traditional mining activities along Kali Kabur (Ajkwa) river last February-March, had angered traditional miners whose camps were burned by security guards. "We ask the people to stay calm. Leave this case to the police to find out who did the shootings," Yopi said.

Indonesia deaths expose murky history of gold mine

Agence France Presse - July 14, 2009

Aubrey Belford, Jakarta – A series of killings in the remote highlands of Indonesia's Papua region have thrown a spotlight on the murky history of a massive US-owned mine sitting atop the world's biggest haul of gold.

Two workers of Arizona-based mining giant Freeport McMoRan, including a 29-year-old Australian technician, were shot dead by unidentified attackers near the company's Grasberg gold and copper mine over the weekend.

A third victim, a policeman, was found dead in a ravine Monday after fleeing an ambush the day before. A police spokesman in Jakarta said he fell to his death but a policeman in the field said he appeared to have been stabbed.

The violence is the latest to hit a mine that has for decades extracted billions of dollars of wealth in the face of accusations ranging from environmental vandalism to the bankrolling of rights abuses by security forces.

The mine – whose operations are closed to unwanted visitors, including foreign journalists, in an area of often brutal fighting between security forces and separatist rebels – is a "magnet" for violence, Human Rights Working Group head Rafendi Djamin told AFP.

"It's difficult to speculate on any scenario behind the weekend attacks. But one thing is for sure: they are part of a wave of violence in Papua over the last six months," Djamin said. "(The attacks) are heavily politically tainted, but from which side we don't know."

Seen by many as a symbol of outside exploitation amid grinding poverty, the Freeport mine is a natural target for the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM).

But Freeport also has a long history of paying Indonesian security forces for protection, a practice that some observers say provides an incentive for security forces to attack the mine to justify their lucrative presence.

The company disclosed to AFP earlier this year it continues to pay for the allowances of troops guarding its mine, despite government rules designed to get the military out of the security business.

Freeport said it paid less than 1.6 million dollars, out of an overall eight million dollars in "support costs" to the security forces, to provide a "monthly allowance" for 1,850 police and soldiers last year.

A 2002 ambush on the winding road down from the mine in which two American schoolteachers and one Indonesian colleague died was officially blamed on OPM rebels, but some rights groups and academics allege a military hand in the killings.

A 2008 peer-reviewed article in the journal South East Asia Research argued the Indonesian authorities and American investigators colluded to cover up military involvement in the attack.

Indonesia has granted access to Australian investigators probing the weekend's deaths but ensuring a transparent investigation will be difficult, the author of the article, Human Rights Watch analyst Andreas Harsono said.

"Foreign investigators are needed but they have to work harder than the FBI back in 2002," he said.

Police for their part have so far not pointed to any group behind the attacks. They have said the weapons used were likely military or police-issued.

Any investigators wading into the jungles and mountains surrounding Freeport's Papua operations will have to deal with an environment complicated by decades of mistrust.

The company signed a contract with the Indonesian government to exploit the mine even before Jakarta won sovereignty in a 1969 – largest single taxpayer.

The environmental impact of the mine can be seen flying over to the main nearby town of Timika, where tailings dumped from up in the cloud-topped mine stretch in a wide smear towards the Arafura sea.

The company responds by pointing towards spending on public services in areas surrounding the mine and an increasing share of revenues from the mine going to Papuans under new government regulations giving the region more autonomy.

Australian Federal Police investigating murder in Papua

Radio Australia - July 13, 2009

Tony Eastley: It's been a weekend of deadly violence in the troubled Indonesian province of Papua.

On Saturday, a Melbourne man, Drew Grant, was shot to death and yesterday a security guard was killed in the same area. And several members of a police anti-terrorism squad investigating the Australian's murder were injured.

Australian Federal Police are now in Papua assisting the investigation; Jakarta correspondent Geoff Thompson reports.

Geoff Thompson: Drew Grant was a new young father to be reunited in Papua next week with his wife Lauren and their nine-week-old baby Ella, who were due to travel to Melbourne to join him.

Instead the 29-year-old is dead killed by up to five bullets fired from 25 metres away, or the surrounding hills, and with weapons normally used by the Indonesian military or police.

Yesterday another attack was launched near the site of the original murder. At least one Freeport mine security guard was killed, and up to five others were injured. They include two police officers from the Densus 88 anti-terrorism unit, which was established after the Bali bombings with Australia support.

Some police say they still do not know whether the attacks were the work of OPM Papuan separatist rebels or not. But others have been quoted saying the OPM are the main suspects in the attacks.

Victor Yeimo, the chairman of the West Papua National Committee, which is closely aligned with the rebels, says that there were OPM operations going on in the area where the deaths occurred.

"Yes, in the area where Drew was," he told AM. "It's clear that OPM did an attack in that area, according to the information I've received from them. But it's unclear whether they hit Drew's car or not because that was not the only place where they did the attacks. They attacked in other places too, but far from Drew's car; so it's not clear whether the shots could hit Drew or not," he said.

But an Australian source from within Freeport who has worked with security services at the mine, and wishes to remain anonymous, has told AM that he suspects some degree of military or police involvement in the weekend's violence.

He does not offer any evidence for the allegation other than to point out that the security role at the mine of Indonesia's mobile police brigade known as Brimob, is under threat, as the company is considering replacing them with private security contractors. Before Brimob the Indonesian military guarded the mine.

The Freeport source argues that because Indonesian military forces make money directly and indirectly from one of the world's biggest reserves of gold and copper it is in their interest to create the sort of security that necessitates their presence.

Dr Eben Kirksey is a cultural anthropologist with the University of California who extensively investigated the ambush shooting deaths of two American teachers in the mines area of operations in Timika in 2002. A Papuan man name Anthonius Wamang was sentenced to life in prison for the attack. But Dr Kirksey is among those in and outside of Papua who still suspects Indonesian military involvement.

He says that whilst it's too early to assess the latest violence, he thinks there are parallels with 2002 and lessons to be learned for Australian Federal Police investigators now on the ground in Papua.

Eben Kirksey: I think the Australian labs have the right to analyse these ballistics evidence. There is a precedent with the Timika case. Eventually the bullets and everything else was taken to Quantico Virginia and analysed there. So I think Australia has every right to push right now before the trail gets cold, for all these things.

Medical examiner raises doubts about worker's death in Papua

Radio Australia - July 13, 2009

Peter Cave: The death toll from a weekend of violence in Papua has now risen to three.

Police have confirmed that another Freeport mine security guard has been found dead. The body was found roughly 20 kilometres from where 29-year-old Australian Drew Grant was killed on Saturday and where another Freeport guard was shot dead yesterday.

But, in an exclusive interview with the ABC, the doctor who performed an autopsy on Drew Grant's body says it's possible that bullets were removed from it before he could perform an examination of the body in Jakarta on Saturday night.

Our Indonesia correspondent Geoff Thompson joins me now.

The import of not finding those bullets Geoff, what does it mean?

Geoff Thompson: Well, what it means is there were no whole bullets Peter, that's what Dr Abdul Munim Idris told us. There were no exit wounds, there were no whole bullets, only fragmentation.

He did contradict what the police have said so far; he said that there were four bullets not five fired into Drew Grant's body. There were two in the neck, one from each direction and two in the chest; the fatal shot being the one to the neck.

But asked whether he thought there may have been manipulation, he clearly said on repeated occasions, possibly. Possibly and agreed with the statement that possibly the bullets were removed.

Peter Cave: And what could that manipulation be?

Geoff Thompson: Well, look he wasn't prepared to speculate about that but he was surprised to find that there were no intact bullets, only fragmentation.

He would not reveal the calibre of the rounds or the time of death but he said that... what he did say was that shots were consistent with coming from a distance and by distance that could mean 25 metres as mentioned by police. There could be one or more than one shooters and whilst there, because there were no whole bullets, crucially he couldn't say with certainty whether they came from military grade weapons. But he said they had metal casings; all of the fragments were bullets with metal casings which would be consistent with bullets of a military grade, but also other bullets.

But most importantly he suggests that it's possible that there was manipulation with Drew Grant's body, removing any intact bullet remains before he could arrive in Jakarta on Saturday night, 16 hours after the incident early on Saturday morning.

Peter Cave: Is there any other reason for manipulation other than trying to divert attention from a possible involvement of security forces?

Geoff Thompson: Look it's impossible to say; we can only speculate. What he did confirm also is that Australian Embassy officials were present during the autopsy in Jakarta. So, they were there and are also familiar with this evidence no doubt. Now, he said that in terms of speculating any further he said, "Look, that is up to the police ballistics department".

He did say also that Indonesian intelligence is also involved in this case, in that they are one of the parties that he has to answer to. Now he is an independent forensic specialists, connected to a university and based at the hospital, who performed this and I think clearly takes his independence very seriously.

Now in terms of why the body could have been... he's not saying the body has been manipulated but he is saying it is possible that the whole fragments or the whole bullets were removed before he could examine it.

Peter Cave: There have been previous incidents of the mine where security forces have been accused of becoming involved in violence because they weren't satisfied with the payments they were receiving from the mine; isn't that right?

Geoff Thompson: That's correct. In 2002 three teachers, two Americans and one Indonesian, were killed in an ambush near Timika. Now this attack was quite... went on for quite some time. It was found to be by police in their initial investigations be consistent with a sort of military style assault. Later, this investigation went on to include the FBI and Indonesian authorities.

In the end a Papuan man was sentenced to life in prison, Antonius Wamang, for that crime and others received, other Papuans received other terms. Except there's always been a lot of people, within civil rights groups within Papua and within Indonesia and also some independent analysis from the US and elsewhere who believe that the finger still points to some level of involvement from the Indonesian military; whether putting these guys up to it or otherwise. But in terms of what's on the record and what's been proven in court, that's not the case.

Peter Cave: Our Indonesia correspondent Geoff Thompson there, live on the line.

TNI denies receiving Freeport money to provide security

Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2009

Nurfika Osman – The Armed Forces on Sunday again denied that it was still receiving payments from US mining company Freeport McMoran to provide security around the giant Grasberg mine, which was the scene of two deadly attacks over the weekend.

"This is only gossip made up by an irresponsible party who wants to divide us," military spokesman Air Vice Marshall Sagom Tamboen said. "The division of the Armed Forces [TNI] and the National Police is a rumor-prone matter."

He said the military would never accept payments because it was its job "to protect all citizens in the country. Besides, the law states that the security of all vital installations are now handled by the police."

In March, the TNI denied reports from Bill Collier, a Freeport spokesman, to AFP that its local subsidiary PT Freeport Indonesia paid "less than" $1.6 million through wire transfers and checks in 2008 to provide a "monthly allowance" to police and soldiers at and around the mine, which had three incidents on Saturday and Sunday.

Collier said the direct payments were part of $8 million Freeport paid in broader "support costs" for 1,850 police and soldiers protecting Grasberg last year. At the time, Sagom denied the claims, stating that the law barred the TNI from securing objects of vital national interest.

Speaking on Sunday, Sagom said that if any officers were involved in accepting payments, they would be punished.

"I cannot say that all TNI officers are good but if that happens, let us resolve the matter together and we will punish the irresponsible officer," he said. "People accused us of receiving security payments maybe because they think that we are jealous of the National Police. And it is not true."

TNI and the National Police were separated back in 2000 during Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's presidency.

Mindo Pangaribuan, a spokesman for Freeport Indonsia, also denied the report stating that they paid the TNI. "It is not true at all. We never give them any money to protect us," Mindo said. "We are now mourning as shootings occurred again in the province and that is only gossip."

An Australian national and an Indonesian employed by Freeport were killed in separate ambushes on vehicle convoys on Saturday and Sunday, while five mining company employees were injured. In a third incident, two police officers were wounded in an ambush on their convoy on Sunday.

An Indonesian-based researcher on Papua, who only spoke on condition of anonymity, said allegations that the TNI received military payments from the mining company haven't gone away.

"As of around 2005 or 2006, the Army's not getting payments, officially. But there are still military units there that are part of the task force that's under police command," he said. "They get part of the official security payments. There was an allegation that Freeport was still paying money to the military, which the TNI denied."

Melbourne man shot dead near Papuan mine

Melbourne Age - July 12, 2009

Tom Allard, Jakarta – A Melbourne man has been shot dead near the giant Freeport mine in Indonesia's Papua province in an apparent sniper attack.

Drew Nicholas Grant, 29, was shot in the back of the neck by a gunman hiding in nearby hills as he travelled in the back seat of a car with four others yesterday, said Inspector-General Nanan Sukarna of Indonesian police. He was heading to an early morning round of golf.

Mr Grant, from Moorabbin, is survived by his wife Lauren and their nine-week-old daughter, Ella.

Initial police reports suggest only one bullet was fired in the dawn attack, but his family told The Sunday Age they were informed that several shots were fired. Mr Grant was rushed to the hospital at Kuala Kencara but died within an hour of the shooting.

Three rebels suspects were reportedly detained in the afternoon ater a shootout with soldiers and police in Yapen, 440 kilometres north-west of the scene, but it was unclear whether they were linked with the shooting.

Mr Grant was a project manager for the gold and copper mine, which has been beset by unrest for decades. A similar shooting of two US teachers returning to the site from a picnic in 2002 hampered relations with Indonesia, leading to an FBI investigation.

None of the other passengers in the car, which included at least two other foreigners, were injured. The five men had been on their way to the Hotel Rimba resort, a luxury hotel and golf course carved out of the jungle near Timika, the main town servicing the mine.

"He was shot in the neck and has passed away," General Sukarna said. "We suspect the shot came from the top of a nearby hill."

A spokesman for Freeport's local subsidiary, Mindo Pangaribuan, said: "(Freeport) is co-operating fully with the police investigation and deeply regrets the loss of an employee. Shots were fired at a vehicle, fatally wounding an employee who was a passenger in the vehicle. Other passengers were not injured."

Mr Grant's father, Leigh Grant, said Freeport officials contacted Drew's wife, Lauren, yesterday morning with the devastating news. He said the family was in shock and trying to come to terms with the tragedy. Lauren and Ella were due to fly to Indonesia next week to be with Drew, Mr Grant said.

"He was an extremely hard worker in Papua and he was there to set up a good steady future for Lauren and Ella." Mrs Grant said her husband "didn't have a bad bone in his body, and he never said a bad word about anybody. "He was an adoring father, who flew straight back to Melbourne last week to be with his wife and ill baby daughter," she said.

Drew, a qualified master builder who graduated from Mentone Grammar, started working in Indonesia three years ago, before marrying Lauren in October 2007.

Freeport operates the giant gold and copper concession in Papua that has been a flashpoint for the region's discontented indigenous population, who regard it as a symbol of Jakarta's oppression and resent the environmental damage it has caused in the past.

Indonesia has been battling a long-running, if poorly organised, separatist insurgency in Papua for decades. Last week there was an arson attack on a security post and bus on the road leading to Freeport's enormous open-cut mine, known as Grasberg.

Papua has seen an escalation in separatist violence this year, mostly hit-and-run attacks. The region is heavily militarised and there have been numerous allegations of military personnel operating as standover men and engaging in illegal activities.

For a period, the military guarded the mine and were paid directly by Freeport for the service. That security role ended shortly before two US teachers, and an Indonesian who worked for Freeport, were killed in an ambush in 2002.

A lengthy investigation, that included the involvement of the FBI, led to a local man being charged. The man was linked to the Papuan independence movement, the OPM.

However, many Papuans and human rights activists believe that the military was involved. Indonesia's security forces have received large payments from Freeport in return for upgrading security around the mine.

Following yesterday's shooting, security was raised around the mine and anti-terrorism police were investigating, but mining activities were not disrupted, a company spokesman said.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said consular staff from the Australian embassy in Jakarta "remain in close contact with the man's employer and local police". A departmental spokesman said: "Police have advised they are investigating the man's murder."

The mining operation has been a source of friction, with local Papuans angered over the profits to foreign investors while they remain poor. Freeport has extracted billions of dollars in gold from the mine. It is one of the world's largest producers of copper and gold and has been the biggest single contributor to Indonesia's revenue.

New shootings near Freeport mine in Papua kill one

Reuters - July 12, 2009

Jayapura – A security guard employed at the huge Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia's Papua province was shot dead and several police officers wounded in two separate shootings on Sunday, a mine official and police said.

The latest violence around the mine run by a unit of U.S firm Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc comes after an Australian technical expert was shot dead in his vehicle on Saturday.

Shots were fired on Sunday at about 10.45 a.m. at two security vehicles, killing a Freeport security guard and causing minor injuries to five other people, PT Freeport spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan said in a statement.

The company said operations were not affected after the shooting which took place outside the mine area near the spot where the 29-year-old Australian was killed a day earlier.

Freeport said police and members of Indonesia's anti-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, were on the scene.

Separately, Sulistyo Ishak, Indonesia's deputy national police spokesman, said that two officers were shot in the thigh on Sunday in another area around the mine after an exchange of fire during a search for those responsible for Saturday's attack.

The official said police believed the gunmen were members of the separatist Free Papua Movement. "There was an exchange of fire between police and a group that we suspect were OPM. Our personnel were shot," Ishak said.

The resource-rich province of Papua has suffered a low-level separatist insurgency for decades, although there has been a spike in violence over the last few months.

The mine has been a frequent source of friction in Papua related to its environmental impact, the share of revenue going to Papuans and the legality of payments to Indonesian security forces who help guard the site.

In 2002, two American teachers and their Indonesian companion were killed in an ambush outside the Freeport installation.

Previous attacks blamed on separatists have often been fairly unsophisticated with attackers often poorly armed, while the military and police who keep a tight rein on the province generally have far more fire power.

The Grasberg mine has the world's largest recoverable reserves of copper and the largest gold reserves. It accounts for nearly 40 percent of Freeport's total copper reserves of 93 billion pounds, according to Freeport's website.

[Reporting by Oka Barta Daud in Jayapura and Telly Nathalia in Jakarta; Editing by Ed Davies and Sugita Katyal.]

Gunmen pre-planned fatal shooting in Papua: police

Agence France Presse - July 12, 2009

Timika – Gunmen using military-issue weapons pre-planned an ambush that killed an Australian mine worker in Indonesia's restive Papua province, police have said.

Drew Grant, 38, who worked for the Indonesian subsidiary of US- based mining giant Freeport McMoRan, was shot dead as he travelled in a car with three others on a road between Tembagapura and Timika, Papua police chief Bagus Ekodanto told reporters in Timika late Saturday.

"The shooting was pre-planned. (It's) clear they (the attackers) were using weapons belonging to the police or the military," he added.

The attack occurred in Freeport's vast concession area, which includes the massive Grasberg gold and copper mine. Police are still investigating the number of attackers involved and their motive for killing, Ekodanto said.

"He (Grant) was shot five times in the neck, chest and stomach from a distance of 25 metres. We're still investigating the case. We don't want to be hasty and say they are from separatist groups," he added.

Freeport Indonesia is the largest single taxpayer to the Indonesian government. Grasberg sits on the world's largest gold and copper reserves on the far eastern extreme of the Indonesian archipelago.

Pro-independence militants have waged a long-running insurgency against Indonesian rule in Papua, which is off-limits to foreign journalists without special permission.

Australian shot dead near Freeport Papua mine

Reuters - July 11, 2009

Jakarta – An Australian worker has been shot dead near the massive Grasberg mine in Indonesia's Papua province run by a unit of Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc, Papua's police chief said on Saturday.

"An Australian working for Freeport got shot at 5.30 this morning," police chief Bagus Ekodanto said by telephone, adding the shooting happened between Tembagapura and Timika.

A spokesman for PT Freeport Indonesia confirmed a company worker had been shot dead. He said the attack took place outside the mining area and operations were not affected.

"We confirm there was a shooting around mile-post 52 to 53 of a Freeport vehicle where one passenger who sat in the back was shot dead," said Freeport spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan. He said it was unclear who was behind the attack and police were investigating.

A spokesman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the dead man was 29 years old and a technical expert from the state of Victoria.

Timika police chief Godhelp C. Mansnembra said three people were wounded in the shooting and were being treated at a local hospital. But Freeport Indonesia said in a statement that the other passengers were unharmed.

Police and Indonesia's anti-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, tightened security in the area after the shooting, the company said.

The mine has been a frequent source of controversy over its environmental impact, the share of revenue going to Papuans and the legality of payments to Indonesian security forces who help guard the site.

In 2002, two American teachers and their Indonesian companion were killed in an ambush outside the Freeport installation.

There was an arson attack near the mine earlier this week when a bus and a security post were set on fire in what police said was an attempt to block a road leading to the mine.

Papua has suffered a low-level separatist insurgency for decades. Indonesia's human rights record has also been hurt by persistent allegations of abuses by the military in Papua. The Grasberg mine has the world's largest recoverable reserves of copper and the largest gold reserves. It accounts for nearly 40 percent of Freeport's total copper reserves of 93 billion pounds, according to Freeport's website.

[Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu, Karima Anjani and Sunanda Creagh in Jakarta, Oka Barta Daud in Jayapura and John Pakage in Nabire; writing by Ed Davies; editing by Tim Pearce.]

Papuan figure calls for professional probe into Freeport shooting

Antara News - July 11, 2009

Jakarta – Security agencies should conduct a professional investigation into the fatal shooting on Saturday of Drew Nicholas Grant, an Australian working for PT Freeport in Papua, a Papuan community figure said.

"Conduct a professional investigation into the shooting and try to unveil the mystery behind it," senior Papuan community figure Yoris Raweyai said here on Saturday.

Yoris said repeated shooting incidents in the Freeport area in Papua so far had never been handled thoroughly because the investigations eventually bogged down in a mixture of political and legal matters.

"Legal matter and political matters should not be mixed up in the shooting incident," Yoris said. He added that each time a shooting incident happened in Papua, the separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM) was made a scapegoat.

"I do not agree that the stigma of OPM continues to be exposed as it has been developing since 1965. The government should have made a breakthrough to disclose the root of the problem and to find the best possible solution," Yoris said.

Therefore he called on the government to pursue a wiser policy in handling all sorts of incidents that tended to disturb the security situation in Papua.

"The government should be wise in handling the shooting incident that claimed the life of a foreigner because otherwise it will have negative implications for Indonesia," Yoris said, adding that he wondered how the shooting incident could have occurred in the Freeport area which was actually closed to outsiders.

Drew Nicholas Grant, an Australian working for the Indonesian subsidiary of US-based mining giant Freeport, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen when he was traveling with other workers, Jhon Biggs, Maju Panjaitan, and Lidan Madandan in a car from Timika to Tembagapura at 5:30 a.m. local time on Saturday.

Grant (38) was shot in the neck and chest. His body was evacuated to Tembagapura Hospital and flown back to Australia via Jakarta later on Saturday afternoon. In an attack in the Freeport area in 2002, two American teachers and an Indonesian who worked for the company were also shot dead.

Three OPM members arrested after shootout in Papua

Antara News - July 11, 2009

Jakarta – Security forces arrested three separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) members following a firefight in the district of Anatowai, Yapen, Papua, Saturday afternoon.

The firefight occurred at around 11 am local time, the Indonesian military (TNI) spokesman, Rear Marshal Sagom Tamboen, told Antara.

"Noone was killed in the incident but we arrested three OPM members," he said. From the three insurgents security officers seized several OPM documents and guns which were now being kept at the local police station.

"We hope the arrested rebels will enable us to know the location of their base and their forces strength and also whether they were connected with the shooting incident that claimed the life of an Australian national early Saturday," he said.

Australian Drew Nicholas Grant (38) was killed after the car he was in with Lia Madandan, Maju Panjaitan and Lukan Jon Biggs was fired at while passing Mile 53 in the area of PT Freeport Indonesia. The fire was believed to have come from a hill.

At the time Lukan was driving the car belonging to PT Freeport when they were suddenly fired at leading to the death of Drew Nicholas Grant. Lia, Maju and Lukan were safe and are now being treated at the local Kuala Kencana hospital.

PT Freeport spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan meanwhile said a police detachment had been sent to the scene to prevent more shooting incidents. "We are deeply sorry over the death of one of our employees in the incident," he said.

Ongoing clashes with police in Kapeso leave four Papuans dead

Radio New Zealand International - July 10, 2009

Reports from Indonesia's Papua say continuing clashes with anti- terrorist police in Kapeso of Mamberamo Raya district have left at least four Papuans dead.

The Antara news agency reports that three members of the OPM Free West Papua movement have surrendered to the local police command this week.

They are believed to be part of a larger group of about 100 OPM fighters who controlled Kapeso and its airstrip by armed blockade for almost a month before police took control of the village early last month.

However the Synod of Christian Evangelical Churches claims that sporadic clashes continue in Kapeso, with the latest leaving four local Papuans dead, believed to be shot by troops from Indonesia's Densus 88 crack anti-terrorist unit.

Four arrested over poll-related attacks in Papua

Jakarta Globe - July 8, 2009

Arientha Primanita – The National Police chief said on Wednesday four men had been arrested over attacks on polling stations in Papua's Yapen Waropen and Timika districts on the eve of Wednesday's presidential election.

"We have arrested four people in relation to the attacks," Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said. "We also confiscated weapons and ammunition during the arrests."

Bambang said the attack in Timika late on Tuesday involved the use of arrows and sharp weapons but the local police were able to handle the situation.

He said that in Yapen Waropen, the attackers were caught after a short chase by police. Bambang added that an outlawed Morning Star separatist flag was found at the location of the arrest.

He said officers exchanged gunfire with the attackers as they attempted to cause a disturbance at a polling station, but he declined to give the exact location of the incident.

Bambang said there were no other reports of poll-related violence from regional police commands around the country. "From the reports from all the regional police chiefs, the situation is safe and under control," he said. "The voting process also went smoothly."

Violence marred the run-up to April's legislative elections in Papua, with five people dying in a string of attacks. The incidents included an attack by more than a hundred people in Abepura, near Papua's capital Jayapura, in which one person was killed, and a blast at the Pertamina oil depot in Biak that also left one dead. Three people were killed in an attack by unknown assailants in Wamena district.

Bambang said the government suspected certain groups were trying to scuttle the elections, though he did not name the groups.

Papua has long been home to a low-level separatist campaign, but pro-independence sentiment has risen in the past few years due to perceptions of socioeconomic injustice and abuses of power and violence by security forces stationed in the country's easternmost province.

Human rights/law

AGO indecisive over review options for Muchdi case

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2009

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Prosecutors are still deciding whether or not to file for a review of a Supreme Court ruling that saw a former intelligence official acquitted of all charges related to the murder of a prominent human rights activist.

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by prosecutors against the South Jakarta District Court decision in December 2008 to clear Muchdi Purwopranjono of all charges for his alleged role in the murder of Munir Said Thalib in September 2004.

"We have not received a copy of the ruling," Junior Attorney General for General Crimes, Abdul Hakim Ritonga, told journalists Monday. "If we had received it, we would have been going over the procedure to identify whether or not we could file a review of this case."

He denied accusations that prosecutors were not employing all their skills to prepare the appeal for the Supreme Court, claiming he himself edited the legal draft and had overseen other aspects of the case.

"As far as I remember, we included all the necessary evidence and legal considerations to show the district court had not tried this case correctly," he said.

Supreme Court spokesman Hatta Ali said earlier that the court had found prosecutors failed to convince the panel of justices that the South Jakarta District Court wrongly tried the case.

Now the only option left for the prosecutors is to file a case review of the Supreme Court's rejection.

However, in order for that rejection to be successfully appealed, prosecutors would have to either identify inconsistencies in the legal considerations taken by judges, or significant new evidence that would question the integrity of the prior decisions.

Rights activist Hendardi criticized the judges at the Supreme Court for lacking the motivation to uncover the truth behind the murder of this prominent activist.

"This rejection is concrete evidence that the justices are only concerned with formal legal materials," he said. "The justices should have examined the logistical links between Muchdi and the murder that has been presented in evidence throughout the trial."

Hendardi said prosecutors were faced with no other choice but to conduct a thorough examination of the case to establish any legal weaknesses in the ruling and find strong new evidence into the murder that could link Muchdi to those who have already been sentenced to prison.

"We will assist prosecutors in finding that new evidence. We will still fight for this case no matter how hard the struggle will be," he said.

Muchdi is a retired Army general accused of masterminding the murder of Munir. He was a deputy chief at the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) when the murder took place. Munir died on board a Garuda Indonesia flight en route to Amsterdam from arsenic poisoning.

So far three people besides Muchdi have been tried in this case. Former Garuda secretary Rohainil Aini was acquitted, while former Garuda pilot Polycarpus Budihari Priyanto was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Garuda president director Indra Setiawan was sentenced to 16 years in jail.

Munir death to stay a mystery following top court's ruling

Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2009

Heru Andriyanto – New questions were being asked over the performance of prosecutors as the possibility that the mastermind behind the high-profile murder of rights activist Munir Said Thaib may never be identified began to sink in at the weekend.

The Supreme Court last week revelaed that it had thrown out an appeal against the acquittal of former top intelligence official Muchdi Purwoprandjono, who had been accused of ordering the September 2004 murder.

But the Attorney General's Office said on Sunday there was still a slim hope of challenging the ruling and getting Muchdi back in court. "We have to find new evidence before we can request a case review," said Abdul Hakim Ritonga, the AGO's deputy for general crimes.

"The AGO cannot make a move until it receives a copy of the Supreme Court ruling. We need to learn the legal reasons used by the judges to reject our appeal," Ritonga told the Jakarta Globe.

The ruling means that only three people – all former employees of state-run carrier Garuda Indonesia – have been found guilty of involvement in the murder, despite widespread belief that the intelligence agency was involved.

Prosecutors came under fire soon after a district court in Jakarta on Dec. 31, 2008, acquitted Muchdi of all charges in a verdict that sparked uproar among local and international rights groups.

The panel of judges said in their verdict that the prosecution had failed to prove any links between Muchdi, a retired Army general and former deputy head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), and Pollycarpus Priyanto, a former pilot who was sentenced to 20 years in jail for carrying out the murder.

Nearly all the witnesses presented by the prosecution to testify against Muchdi either retracted earlier statements they had made to police or made statements that helped the defendant.

The Committee of Action and Solidarity for Munir (Kasum) has said that the prosecution's poor performance was a key factor in the acquittal of Muchdi.

The leading prosecutors in the case, Cyrrus Sinaga, the head of the prosecution team, and his deputy, Maju Ambarita, were appointed by the AGO on the basis of their work in prosecuting military officers for alleged human rights violations in Indonesia's former province East Timor.

However, the military personnel brought before a rights tribunal by the two prosecutors were ultimately acquitted of all charges in the East Timor case, the solidarity group said in the wake of Muchdi's acquittal.

But Ritonga dismissed allegations that his men were incompetent, saying the prosecutors had done all they could to convict Muchdi.

Choirul Anam, a member of Kasum, called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to act on the case. "SBY pledged five years ago that he would bring those responsible for the murder to justice if he won the presidency, including the masterminds," Choirul said.

"By coincidence, the latest court ruling was issued [just before he won] the presidency for another five years. We call on the president to deliver on his promise by ordering the prosecutors and the police to find new evidence against Muchdi."

Top court rejects AGO appeal over Muchdi acquittal

Jakarta Globe - July 10, 2009

Farouk Arnas, Nivell Rayda & Heru Andriyanto – The Supreme Court has thrown out an appeal by prosecutors against the acquittal of former top intelligence official Muchdi Purwoprandjono over the murder of renowned rights activist Munir Said Thalib in 2004.

The Attorney General's Office will probably not challenge the decision, spokesman Jasman Panjaitan said. "Requesting a case review requires us to present new evidence or find a compelling national interest in the case," he said.

The court had declared the AGO's appeal unacceptable because an acquittal could not be challenged by prosecutors, he said. "The Supreme Court judges have not discussed the substance of Muchdi's case – the decision was based on procedural considerations," Jasman said.

Supreme Court spokesman Hatta Ali, also a judge, said on Friday that the decision was made on June 15, but he declined to explain the delay in announcing it. The deciding panel was presided over by Judge Nyak Pa, accompanied by Muchsin and Valerine Krierkhoff.

Munir's widow, Suciwati, responded to the news with outrage and urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intervene.

"I learned about the bad news this afternoon after my friends called me," Suciwati told the Jakarta Globe from Yogyakarta. "But for me, it's not the end of the journey. I call on SBY to make a breakthrough and continue with the legal proceedings on this case."

Muchdi, a former deputy chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) and current deputy chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), was acquitted by the South Jakarta District Court on Dec. 31, 2008, of charges that he ordered the September 2004 murder.

Munir died of arsenic poisoning on a Garuda flight to Amsterdam. The founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) was traveling to Utrecht University to study international law and human rights.

After Muchdi's acquittal, the AGO immediately lodged an appeal, followed by a counter-appeal by Muchdi's defense team on Feb. 15. The prosecution team, led by Cirus Sinaga, challenged the district court's verdict on the grounds that Muchdi's acquittal was "conditional."

It noted several precedent-setting cases in which the Supreme Court accepted the prosecution's appeal against the acquittal of former PT Bank Mandiri president Edward Cornelius William Neloe on graft charges and the acquittal of businessman Adelin Lis in an illegal logging case.

Friday's news also drew protests from the Committee of Action and Solidarity for Munir (Kasum), because the Supreme Court had earlier accepted the prosecution's appeal against the release of another defendant in the case.

"It is very important for police and prosecutors to find new evidence so they can request a case review," Kasum said. "This case is not over yet."

Muchdi remains untouchable in Munir case

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2009

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal filed by prosecutors challenging the South Jakarta District Court's decision acquitting Muchdi Purwopranjono in the murder case of noted rights activist Munir Said Thalib.

The rejection was made as the prosecutors failed to convince the panel of justices that there had been a mistake behind Muchdi's acquittal, an official said.

"The Court found that there was no mistake made by the District Court when trying this case," Supreme Court's spokesman Hatta Ali said Friday.

However Hatta refused to elaborate further on other considerations used by the justices in rejecting the appeal request. The ruling was issued on June 15.

Commenting on the ruling, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) spokesman, Jasman Pandjaitan, said the AGO would thoroughly evaluate the rejection although the AGO had yet to receive the court's ruling.

"Once we receive the ruling, we will study why the panel of justices rejected the appeal," he said as quoted by detik.com on Friday. "We will also study every possibility to ask for a case review later on."

A case review could be made if prosecutors could present new, solid evidence that could influence the previous ruling's integrity.

Choirul Anam from the Solidarity Alliance for Munir (KASUM) regretted the ruling, saying such a ruling had betrayed public justice. "Thus I strongly encourage the prosecutors and the police to find novum (new evidence) and request a case review after that."

Muchdi is a retired army major general accused of masterminding Munir's murder in 2004.

The accusation toward Muchdi was a result of follow ups made toward evidence found in the trial of Polycarpus Budihari Priyanto, a former pilot of flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

Polycarpus was sent to 20 years in prison for his role in the murder. He is serving his term at the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta.

It was revealed in Polycarpus' trial that there had been more than 40 phone calls made between Polycarpus and Muchdi. Some of the calls were made through private number while the other made using telephone numbers owned by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

The phone calls were denied by Muchdi, who said that such calls could have been made by other people. "Even my driver used to play with my cellular phone," Muchdi once told the court.

Later on during Muchdi's trial, the relationship between Muchdi and the murder was also revealed by testimonies made by former BIN agents.

However, all agents later retracted their written testimonies saying that they were not serious with the testimonies. The agents also said that they had written the testimonies under pressure.

In addition to Polycarpus, two other people had been brought to the court in the murder case.

Former Garuda secretary, Rohainil Aini, was acquitted by the panel of judges after it failed to find any connections between her and the murder.

Meanwhile, former Garuda president director, Indra Setiawan, was sentenced 16 months for his role in the murder.

Munir was found dead abroad a Garuda aircraft just before arriving in Amsterdam. The flight included a stopover in Singapore.

Indonesia court upholds former top spy's poisoning acquittal

Agence France Presse - July 10, 2009

Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Court has upheld the acquittal of a former senior spy accused of ordering the deadly poisoning of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, a spokesman said Friday.

The court rejected an appeal by prosecutors against the December acquittal by a Jakarta court of former State Intelligence Agency deputy director Muchdi Purwopranjono over the 2004 killing, Hatta Ali said.

Purwopranjono was accused of ordering the killing of the outspoken military critic, who died of arsenic poisoning on a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam via Singapore.

"The supreme court judges issued the ruling on June 15 that an appeal filed by prosecutors against the acquittal of (Purwopranjono) cannot be accepted," Ali said. "The prosecutors failed to provide (the necessary) evidence to overrule the acquittal," he said.

Former Garuda boss Indra Setiawan and pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto were previously handed jail terms over the poisoning, but activists have long accused senior spies of being behind it.

Pollycarpus was jailed for 20 years last year for carrying out the poisoning, while Setiawan was sentenced to a year in jail for being an accomplice.

The case has been seen as a test of how far Indonesia has come in curtailing the power of the military since the 1998 fall of the country's former dictator Suharto.

Environment/natural disasters

Plans for carbon revenue-sharing premature: NGOs

Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2009

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – A number of environmental non- government organizations have criticized the speed at which the government has issued carbon-trading regulations about revenue sharing, saying that there were many issues to be resolved before benefits could be considered.

Wirendro Sumargo, executive director of Forest Watch Indonesia, said it was far too premature to issue regulations for carbon- trading mechanisms, known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).

"I don't think that we are quite ready for these new carbon- trading regulations, especially revenue sharing," Wirendro said. "Discussions concerning REDD have not even been completed, yet we're already talking about benefit sharing."

The Forestry Ministry in May this year issued its regulations on carbon trading, which including an addendum outlining the proportional revenue-sharing plans for the three tiers of government. According to the addendum, the central government would get 40 percent, provincial governments 20 percent with the remainder going to district governments.

Wirendro said the core issues such as on the overlapping jurisdictions between the central government and local governments had still not being resolved until now.

"These government levels are still fighting over the ownership of the land," he said. "Issuing binding revenue-sharing proportions now will only intensify the problem because we're talking about money here."

However, Suparno, head of the law bureau at the Forestry Ministry, said the regulations concerning revenue sharing were not set in stone as they still needed the approval from the Finance Ministry.

"Revenue sharing is not going to take effect for at least a few years, because we still need to consult with the Finance Ministry to include revenues based on non-taxed state revenue," Suparno said. "What we have issued are just a guidelines."

He said there could be changes in the details of the revenue- sharing system before it was settled by a government decree.

Yuyun Indradi, a forest campaigner of Greenpeace, said the regulations would not be effective because local communities, who would be mostly responsible for preserving the forests, were not included.

"There is no specific article or statement in the regulations mentioning compensation for local communities," Yuyun said. "Meanwhile, the central government is talking about their share when they, basically, won't be doing anything much about preserving forests."

He said the proposed revenue-sharing system could result in bigger leakages in the system leaving nothing for local communities.

However, Suparno said the role of the local communities and their compensation would be discussed in the next government decree.

"We've thought about that issue and we are still considering including their share of the revenue in the government decree," he said.

More victims demand compensation for mudflow

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2009

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo, East Java – Residents living outside the areas officially affected by the Lapindo mudflow disaster have demanded compensation following the provincial administration's announcement of a plan to relocate them from West Siring, Porong District.

The residents are arguing that simply relocating them, without providing compensation for their homes and land, would make it very difficult for them to buy another house.

"If they don't give us the compensation, we'd rather take refuge at the Pasar Baru market," local resident Mahmud Marzuki told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

East Java Governor Soekarwo earlier said that he would relocate residents of West Siring out of fears the subdistrict is becoming increasingly prone to disaster due to the high possibility new mudflow and gas geysers will erupt in the area.

He said the provincial administration would provide each of the families with Rp 2.5 million (US$250) with which to rent a house, a Rp 500,000 evacuation allowance and a monthly living stipend of Rp 300,000 per family member for six months. "We decided to relocated the residents after meeting with local people," Soekarwo said.

After receiving compensation worth 20 percent of the value of their homes from Lapindo Brantas Inc., the company at the center of the disaster, over 350 families displaced by the mudflow left the Pasar Baru market where they had been taking refuge for nearly three years. They have since moved to a specially constructed site in Kedungsolo subdistrict, Porong.

Head of a West Siring neighborhood unit, Ikwan, said most of his people would take refugee at the Pasar Baru market as they were sick of trying to deal with the regular mudflow and gas eruptions that have erupted in the past two years.

"We do hope the government will give us the same amount of compensation given to the victims from the regions that fall within the officially affected area. We want the government and the people know how hard it is to live in a region affected by flash mudflows," Ikwan said.

Over 2,000 people live in West Siring subdistrict, which is located outside the area officially affected by the mudflow disaster, as determined by the central government.

Meanwhile, after stemming a flash mudflow that erupted inside a local's house, the Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency (BPLS) is now dealing with another one, in another house.

Head of BPLS' public relation s division, Achmad Zulkarnain, said that apart from solid debris, inflammable gas also spews from the eruptions. "It's very dangerous. We have closed the area and put 'no smoking' sings up because of the inflammable methane gas. We also have built a mini dam to prevent the mud from spreading," he said on Friday.

This has however led to protests from the PT Lion Mesk Group, who can no longer access their business because of the closure. "We have yet to calculate, but we have definitely lost tens of millions of rupiahs," company spokesman Nur Ahmad Ridhoi said.

Meanwhile, head of the Sidoarjo Police's detective and crime unit, Adj. Comr. Agung Pribadi, has concluded that flash gas flows that burst into flames were not lit deliberately. "It was a natural occurrence, the result of poorly managed flash mudflows," he said.

Farmers demand BPLS stop dumping mud into rivers

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2009

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo, East Java – Hundreds of fish and shrimp farmers in Porong and Jabon districts, Sidoarjo regency, East Java, have demanded the Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency (BPLS) stop dumping mud into the Ketapang and Porong Rivers, saying the practice has caused a sharp drop in the productivity of their farms.

Suharsono, a coordinator of a group of fish farmers in Permisan subdistrict, Jabon, said that hundreds of fish and shrimp farmers were facing harvest failure because dozens of tons of fish and shrimp have died because of the mud that has been dumped into both rivers.

"Dozens of farmers in Permisan subdistrict failed to harvest twice in June and have incurred tens of millions of rupiah in losses. We demand the BPLS temporarily stop dumping mud into the rivers for a month because we are currently raising new hatchlings," Suharsono told The Jakarta Post earlier this week.

Suharsono explained that during that hatching period farmers needed clean water from the rivers to fill their shrimp ponds.

Based on previous experience, the hatchlings die when farmers fill the ponds with water from the muddied rivers.

"We believe the river water has been polluted. Before the mudflow disaster, farmers used to take water from the rivers and they never encountered problems," he said.

The disposal of mud into the Porong River is stipulated in Presidential Decree No. 14/2007, that the entire cost of managing the mud be covered by Lapindo Brantas Inc., the company at the center of the disaster.

The company claims it has so far spent Rp 6.1 trillion (US$6.1 million) handling both social and physical issue stemming from the mudflow.

A number of environmentalists and maritime experts from the Surabaya based November 10 Institute of Technology (ITS) including Mukhtasor, however, are opposed to the disposal of mud into the Porong River.

According to Mukhtasor, disposing of the mud into the river could damage the river biota, harm hundreds of milk fish farmers, reduce the catch of fishermen in Pasuruan regency and obstruct the shipping route through the Madura Strait.

Surabaya Mayor Bambang Dwi Hartono said his office had asked the relevant agencies to conduct studies on the risks the hot mudflow might pose to the Mangrove Center, which is located along the east coast of Surabaya.

He said the municipal administration plans to develop the region into a bird and mangrove conservation area.

BPLS deputy operational manager Soffian Hadi said his office was working together with the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry to conduct research to determine what impact the dumping of the hot mud into the river is having on local fish production.

"There is yet to be any research indicating that mud disposal into the rivers has caused the death of thousands of fish in the rivers and fish farms," he said. He added that the mud would not reach the Madura Strait or the coast of Pasuruan, but would settle along the coast of Sidoarjo, where it is neutralized by the mangroves planted by the BPLS.

"I myself conducted a study on the Porong River some dozens of years ago, long before the mudflow disaster occurred. There is no need to worry about the dumping of the mud into the Porong River," Soffian said.

BPLS public relations staffer Akhmad Kusairi said his office would coordinate with the farmers, to arrange a schedule for the dumping in an effort to appease the farmers.

"We are currently minimizing mud disposal into the river due to limited funds from Lapindo Brantas Inc. We are channelling the mud into a retaining pool in Renokenongo subdistrict for the time being," he said.

Women & gender

Domestic violence claims more silent victims

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2009

Jakarta – Domestic violence cases of the rich and famous have made the front page recently, with cases like that of Manohara, the model-turned-Malaysian-princess who was allegedly assaulted by her husband.

A sadder picture of dangdut singer Cici Paramida with an apparent broken jaw, who claims her violent husband tried to run her over, added to the celebrities-in-distress picture.

Every form of media has joined the stampede to cover these cases and their surrounding dramas, turning them into an incessant flow of news.

Some dramas however are left unnoticed, some buried for years and some still loom large in the shadows despite their actors' fervent wishes to forget the scenarios. "I am still traumatized until this day," Gita Ayu, a victim of domestic violence during her childhood, told The Jakarta Post.

Gita's father beat her and her mother up since she could remember, sometimes using scissors. The abuse went on until her college days and only ended when she left home permanently to get married.

"I learned to fight back since I was in the third grade," she said, "I would fight and kick back when my drunk father came home to beat me and my mother up, but I didn't take any legal action because I didn't know where to go."

Gita's father is now sober and much less violent, especially since she bore him a grandson.

"I told him to change his ways or I will not have anything to do with him anymore," she said, "It's amazing how quitting drinking changed him enormously."

However, the years of abuse have made their mark. "I was afraid of getting married at first, because I thought it would turn out badly like in my family."

Memories of her violent childhood resurface frequently, causing her to experience depression and mood swings.

"During the first years of my marriage I would often be angry. Like my father, I would punch and kick my husband," Gita said, "Perhaps (the violent trait) is hereditary, or it has rub off on me."

Andre, not his real name, said he too absorbed his father's aggressiveness, having gone through years of harsh words and beatings.

"I have a tendency to be hotheaded, and get easily upset when someone disagrees with me," he said, adding that such traits were the very ones he despised in his father.

Andre's father, a religious man and a recognized figure in the legal and political world, often punched him and his younger brothers during their primary school years and teenage years.

As in Gita's case, Andre's father has become much less violent these last few years, but his children's memories of him are already tainted.

Andre said his mother, who is his father's second wife, refrained from reporting his father to the police or legal bodies for fear of tarnishing the family's reputation.

"She always told us to be patient and tolerate his behavior."

Tolerance and the desire to keep a family together are reasons that are keeping Rena, not her real name, from divorcing her husband, who, according to her, has been rude and neglectful toward her for years.

"Once in 2003, he slapped me and held my head underwater in our bathroom," Rena recalled with a bitter smile. "I told his mother about the incident and he never attacked me physically since then."

What followed, however, was a mix of dishonesty, negligence and unkind words.

"He started having an affair and would be oblivious to his surroundings at home, even to his own two children," Rena said.

She went to LBH APIK, a Jakarta-based NGO that handles cases of domestic violence, and was told to bring her husband for a counseling session or divorce him altogether, but she said both were almost impossible for her. "My husband will not get counseling. He was offended for being called a domestic violence perpetrator because he thinks that his swearing and negligence cannot be categorized as acts of violence," Rena said.

As for divorce, the thought of her two children, now aged 2 and 4 years old, growing up without a father makes her uneasy.

Siska Christanty from Mitra Perempuan, a women's crisis center, said the fear of losing a father figure for one's children was a common reason for women to refrain from reporting domestic violence or separating from their husband.

"Some fear what their neighbors, friends and family will think of them, and some depend financially on their husbands," she said.

Mitra Perempuan's 2008 statistics showed around 279 cases of reported domestic violence in Jakarta, Bogor and Tangerang.

Recently, LBH APIK's director, Estu Rahmi Fanani said the NGO had received approximately 300 domestic violence cases as of June this year.

Siska said the number had increased from the past years because more and more victims were speaking up.

"The government and NGOs have been educating the people about domestic violence, thus they have become more aware of what constitutes it and that there's a law against it," she said.

The 2004 law on domestic violence stipulates that physical and mental abuse directed to someone in the household is illegal, thus victims are entitled to sue the perpetrators.

The increasing number of reports was a good sign, but it was still the tip of the iceberg, Siska said. "The actual number of cases might be ten times more than that." (dis)

Corruption & graft

NGOs submit draft on graft bill to House

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2009

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Several NGOs on Thursday handed over to the House of Representatives their draft on the Corruption Crime Bill saying the government's draft would weaken corruption eradication efforts in the country.

"We see there are many flaws in the government version of the Corruption Crime Bill, which we are afraid will weaken corruption eradication efforts," Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Emerson Yuntho said Thursday when meeting with member of the House' legislation body Motamimmul Ula.

"Therefore ICW and several other NGOs have drafted our own version of the bill for comparison."

The NGOs include Indonesia's Judiciary Supervisory Community (Mappi), Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), National Consortium for Legal Reform (KRHN), Indonesia Legal Resource Center (ILRC), Independent Institution and Advocacy for Independent Judicature (LeIP) and Indonesia's Center for Legal and Policy Study (PSHK).

The Corruption Crime Law is an obligation after Indonesia signed the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2003. The House passed in 2006 a law on UNCAC ratification.

So far Indonesia has two graft-related laws: the 2001 Anti-Graft Law and the 2002 Law on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). "So this Corruption Crime Bill is instructed by the UNCAC ratification law," Emerson said.

He revealed there were at least 20 problems in the government version of the bill allegedly not supportive of graft eradication drives.

Emerson said the government draft did not stipulate the minimal sentence allowing judges to issue lenient or even probationary sentences for corruptors. The NGOs include minimum and maximum sentences in their draft and did not include probation.

Emerson also said the government draft stipulated that corruptors embezzling less than Rp 25 million (US$2,435) and who had returned the money to the state could avoid criminal charges.

"The article should be removed because all [corruption] criminal actions, no matter how much the value is should be sentenced and returning state loses should not eliminate their criminal actions."

The government version also did not stipulate anything about substituting state losses. which allowed for the possibility the state might not get the embezzled funds back.

Emerson also pointed out an article stipulating the KPK is only authorized to investigate and not prosecute corruptors.

KPK limitation is strengthened by Article 31 of the government draft bill stipulating that prosecution and hearing of corruption cases to be conducted according to Criminal Procedure Code Law.

"There lies the problem; Criminal Procedure Code Law says the National Police are responsible for investigation, while the Attorney General's Office is responsible for prosecution," ICW researcher Febri Diansyah said.

"The bill contradicts the 2002 KPK law which authorizes the commission to investigate and prosecute suspects."

Febri added this made it possible for the KPK to be sued using the basis that the bill did not stipulate KPK authority to prosecute.

Motamimmul said he and other members at the House' legislation body would evaluate substances of the NGOs' version of the bill carefully.

"I personally agree with all effective efforts to eradicate corruption but I cannot promise you if there will be political will to finish this bill in the current House term."

Murder case may trigger sidebar one

Jakarta Post - July 8, 2009

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – An official at the Attorney General's Office (AGO) said while prosecutors were investigating nine suspects in the Nasruddin murder case, police were exploring a sidebar case regarding the alleged crime abuse by officials from the antigraft body.

The Nasruddin murder case also implicates suspended chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Antasari Azhar,

"There will be a new investigation conducted by the police to find whether there was any abuse of authority in this case. During this time, these suspects would be still indicted by planning and committing premeditated murder," Junior Attorney General for General Crimes Abdul Hakim Ritonga told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

However, he declined to elaborate further on who the police were shooting in the investigation.

Chief Detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji revealed last week that he was wiretapped, an action he regretted, saying it was aimed at finding out non-graft activities.

He added the only institutions that were allowed to conduct wiretapping activities in investigating all cases were the AGO, the police and the antigraft body.

"While other institutions [such as the KPK] can only wiretap graft allegations."

Susno said if those conducting wiretapping had already stolen information on the murder case, as alleged, the antigraft body should have let the police know about it for preventive purposes.

The KPK's Johan Budi however denied such allegations, saying that KPK officials had stopped the wiretapping as soon as they discovered there was nothing related to the graft allegation.

He also added that none of the officials were aware of who possessed the telephones that had been wiretapped.

The case was originated when Nasruddin Zulkarnaen, director of PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran was killed on his way back home from golfing at the Modernland golf course on March 14 2009.

Later on the police in their investigation into the case found out proves that connected the killing to Antasari. He was accused of having masterminded the killing.

Both nine field executors in the murder case and those who were behind the murder were to stand trial in an immediate future since prosecutors have already found the suspects' dossiers complete and would bring them to the court.

The nine field executors were, among others, Hendrikus Kia Walens, Fransiskus Tadon Kerans, Daniel Daen, Heri Santosa and Eduardus Ndopo Mbete. "We had given the dossiers to the police so they could make final revision before we deliver it to the court," Susno said.

He added the police have already sent the dossiers of "intellectual actors" behind the murder to the Attorney General Office, which has begun studying the case.

The intellectual actors included media businessman Sigid Haryo, former West Jakarta police Chief Sr. Comr. Wiliardi Wizar, Jerry Hermawan and Antasari.

General Attorney Hendarman Supandj said earlier that the hearing session for this case was likely to be held at the South Jakarta District Court, referring to Sigid's residence where the murder plot was discussed and prepared.

He added while the executioners could be tried at the Tangerang District Court in Banten because the murder took place in the regency. "But this will depend on the panel of judges to decide where the trial will be conducted," Hendarman said. (bbs)

Islam/religion

Muslim dress code imposed in Pekanbaru

Jakarta Globe - July 14, 2009

Municipal officials in Pekanbaru, Riau, are requiring school children to wear traditional Muslim dress every Friday as part of an effort to bolster the region's Malay identity, an official said on Tuesday.

The policy, which came into effect this week with the start of the new school year, means that pupils from elementary to senior high schools would have to wear traditional dress, said Giman, an official with the Pekanbaru municipal education office. "It is aimed at getting the younger generation to appreciate the Malay Muslim heritage of the region."

Female students would be required to wear long skirts, long- sleeved blouses and headscarves, while male students would have to wear loose-fitting pants, collarless long-sleeved shirts and the peci, a traditional brimless Malay cap.

"The same policy is already in force for civil servants," Gimin said, adding that there would not be any immediate penalties imposed on those who failed to comply with the dress code.

He said that for other days of the week, students would wear their usual national school uniforms. Gimin declined to comment further, and would not say whether the rule would also be applied to non-Muslim students and private schools.

Pekanbaru Deputy Mayor Erizal Muluk, however, was quoted by state new agency Antara as saying that the regulation would only apply to Muslim children and state schools.

"If there are schools with predominantly non-Muslim students, and the basis of the schools is also not Islam, then we will not force them to dress in the Muslim way," he said. (JG, Antara)

Groom in child bride case blasts his lawyer for fraud

Jakarta Globe - July 11, 2009

Farouk Arnaz – A Muslim cleric charged for breaking child protection laws by marrying a 12-year-old girl accused his former lawyer of fraud for failing to make good on promises to spring him from jail.

Pujiono Cahyo Widianto, also known as Sheikh Puji, filed his complaint against the lawyer, Nasihin, with the National Police on Friday after attempting to lay the complaint with the Jakarta Police on Thursday.

"I have come here to lodge a complaint. I felt I was being fooled by [Nasihin]. He promised to get me leased from jail and any charges after I paid him more than Rp 2.4 billion [$237,600]," he said.

He added that despite the promises, he was still being prosecuted for breaching the country's Child Protection Law in relation to his marriage. "I hope the police can act on my complaint," he said.

The cleric acknowledged he had no evidence of Nasihin's alleged promises. "But I have a document signed by Nasihin acknowledging payment of Rp 2.4 billion," he said.

Nasihin could not be reached for comment on Friday. However, he told a local newspaper that the money he received was for legal fees. "I didn't defraud or blackmail him," he said.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Nana Soekarna said the complaint would be forwarded to the East Java or Semarang Police, where the original allegation was made.

The 43-year-old cleric was declared a suspect in May after police established the age of the girl, Lutfiana Ulfa. He was arrested in May and held for 12 days before being released.

The fluidity of Islam and Yudhoyono's presidential triumph

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2009

Bachtiar Effendy, Jakarta – Again, for the second time this year, the moment of truth is finally here. On July 8, just three hours after the polling stations closed, who would likely serve as Indonesia's president for the next five years was already known.

Not only that, based on several quick count results Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono captured the victory of the 2009 presidential election by a landslide. With it, speculations over the merit, value, and objectivity of the polls and surveys that had consistently put Yudhoyono on the top, as well as his two contenders Megawati Soekarnoputri and Jusuf Kalla, were left behind.

But of course the legality and constitutionality of Yudhoyono's triumph must wait until the General Elections Commission (KPU) completes the official counting of the ballots. The waiting period could be much longer if the losing candidates decide to go to the Constitutional Court to contest the election results. The much debated electoral roll and the fraud that allegedly took place during the vote could serve as the basis of the dispute.

Nevertheless, weighing up all the circumstances, it would be very difficult for the Constitutional Court to overturn the election results that are not likely to be significantly different from those of the quick counts. Though one should always bear in mind that not too long ago, because of the compelling evidence, the Constitutional Court nullified the KPU's decision on a number of individuals that had been allocated seats in parliament.

How did Yudhoyono win the presidency? There are a number of factors. I would like, however, to see it from the perspective of Islam – whether or not Islam actually still plays an important role in Indonesian politics.

There is logic to the argument that Islam is an important ingredient in Indonesian politics. The basis of this position has always been the statistical figure that Islam is the majority religion of the country. Eighty seven percent of 230 million Indonesians declare Islam as their religious belief.

Indonesia's political history solidified the close connection between Islam and politics. But it was only briefly that Islam was able to emerge as a single political identity when Muslims formed Masyumi in 1945. For this, Sjahrir predicted that had the first elections been held in 1946, Masyumi would have collected the majority of the votes.

That did not happen. Elections did not take place that year and the political unity of Islam crumbled – Masyumi was abandoned by Sarekat Islam in 1947 and Nahdlatul Ulama in 1952. So when the very first elections were held in 1955, four and two other smaller Islamic parties contested the election. Together they collected almost 44 percent of the vote.

This electoral strength declined dramatically during the 32 years of the New Order. Through a carefully orchestrated political restructuring, the state managed not only to debunk the electoral strength of political Islam, but also the partisan position of Islam in politics. With it, especially in the 1980s, Islam was no longer the monopoly of the existing Islamic party – the PPP.

As early as 1971 many Muslim activists began to cast their support for Golkar. Coupled with the growth of new Islamic political ideas promulgated especially by Nurcholish Majid, the partisan position of Islam in politics was almost completely neutralized.

The resignation of president Soeharto in 1998 changed the pattern of Islam in politics. It differed from the one that had been put into practice, but was still not dramatic enough to be able to make Islam a single political identity. Many political parties that do not have Islamic credentials are still able to enjoy the support of Muslims.

Under these circumstances, Muslim voters were still highly dispersed. They were not distributed to Islamic parties. Collectively, Islamic parties were able to marshal only 37 percent (1999), 38 percent (2004), and 24 percent (2009) of the total votes. This means that there were Muslims who voted for non Muslim-based parties.

In other words, the political position of Islam remained fluid. As such, because Muslims gave their supports to Yudhoyono instead of Amien Rais or Hamzah Haz, two notable Muslim leaders, in the 2004 presidential election.

With regard to the Islamic factor, Yudhoyono's 2009 victory did not differ from that of the 2004 presidential election. Almost all Islamic and Muslim-based parties like the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) supported Yudhoyono, even though Kalla was perceived to have more Islamic credentials. But Kalla seemed to have the unofficial support of many leaders of non-political Islamic organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah.

The fluidity of Islam in politics became stronger considering the fact that there is always a gap between the leaders and their followers when it comes to voting. Not long after all Islamic and Muslim-based parties gave their allegiances of support for Yudhoyono, many of their leaders said that they could not guarantee that party members would vote the way they would. Even more so, they could not guarantee that party organs would follow their direction. This made the dispersion of votes among Muslims inevitable.

The same story went for non-party Islamic organizations. The unofficial demonstration of support of some of Nahdatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah leaders to either Megawati or Kalla were not fully shared by the Muslim community at the grass-roots level. An independent pollster who conducted a quick count and exit poll indicated that around 16 percent of the Nahdlatul Ulama's votes went to Kalla, 26 percent to Megawati, and 60 percent to Yudhoyono. The distribution of Muhammadiyah support was not significantly different: 19 percent to Kalla, 23 percent to Megawati, and 59 percent to Yudhoyono.

What does this fluidity of Islam mean for Yudhoyono's presidential triumph? One can always argue differently, but I would like to propose that it was Yudhoyono himself who had made the majority of voters attracted to him. Backed by a very well- financed campaign machinery, a targeted percentage of votes in the high 50s or low 60s was easily reachable.

Should this be the case, it can be said that Islam did not play an important role in Yudhoyono's road to victory. A number of religious sentiments, such as the issue of head covering or even religion itself, that were brought to surface, did not seem to influence voters.

However, it would be a mistake to assume that Islam has no function whatsoever in Indonesian politics. Certainly, Islam still has a certain degree of influence in our day-to-day politics, but many Muslims were simply overwhelmed by the political presence of Yudhoyono.

This is not something that Yudhoyono does not notice. Because of that, he does not feel especially grateful to Islamic parties or his Muslim voters. Likewise, he would not punish those who supported his rivals.

His principal reasoning in allocating the available resources, including the Cabinet posts, will be to create a decent and workable arrangement to ensure that his policies will not be challenged in parliament and on the street.

Because of this, Yudhoyono is likely to create a delicate balance among the existing political forces. His leaning toward left or right, liberalism or conservatism, Islamism or secularism – if all these terms are appropriate and able to capture the nuance and substance of our socioeconomic and political realities – will be determined by what he perceives necessary.

[The writer is a professor of political science at the State Islamic University.]

Pesantren students learn to make their own choices

Jakarta Globe - July 8, 2009

Febriamy Hutapea – "Everything just goes on as usual. Nothing's changed," Muhammad Riskonhasan, 22, said.

Having spent seven years in a traditional Islamic boarding school, or pesantren, in Rembang, Central Java, Riskonhasan said from his viewpoint the current administration had done little.

Considering the presidential election was more difficult than in 2004, because this time around he has to make his own choice, free from others' influence.

"All the candidates have their own strengths and weaknesses. I just believe that I should choose my leader based on my own conscience," Riskonhasan said.

However, he held no high hopes for whoever would be elected. He said he viewed voting as "just dropping our hopes in a box" and then seeing which were realized – if any.

Ahmad, a resident of Rembang, said the region had in the past been the territory of the "bull," alluding to the symbol of presidential candidate Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democracy Party of Struggle (PDI-P), but had now instead "turned blue," the color of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

Although students at the city's pesantren are still spending their time studying and reciting the Koran during the current school holiday, many were equally as enthusiastic about casting their votes in Wednesday's election.

During the campaign, these Islamic boarding schools were seen as a potentially rich source of votes by all three pairs of presidential candidates.

In the past, in areas that had strong systems of Islamic boarding schools, politicians knew that forming a relationship with a few school principals was enough to guarantee them the votes of the students.

But times have begun to change and when it comes to politics, boarding school students are no longer required to have blind faith in their principals, the kyais, whose word had long been law.

Toni, 18, said he had trouble deciding who to vote for because he didn't have much time to study the profiles and track records of each of the candidates. "In past years, it would have been easy because we would have been advised to vote for a particular candidate," Toni said.

Having spent most of the last five years within the close confines of his boarding school, Toni said that he and his fellow students had little idea about what was happening in the outside world. "We live in the boarding school, which makes it difficult to see development taking place outside," he said.

Maftukhah, 20, said students "don't watch television. We only subscribe to one newspaper, and we have little time to read it because we spend so much time reciting the Koran."

He said that unlike the April 8 legislative elections, when about 80 percent of the students at his school were not on the final voters list, the majority of the students were included on the voter rolls for Wednesday's election. "We can vote now," Maftukhah said.

Ahmad Mustofa Bisri, a prominent cleric and head of Roudlatut Talibin Islamic boarding school in Rembang, said he did not try to influence the votes of his students in the presidential election.

He said the students had to become used to following their own guidance when it came to electing political leaders. "They have learned and are becoming more rational," Mustofa said.

He said that just like his students, he did not expect much from the election. "Only that the winner will lend an ear to the people."

Elections/political parties

Experts demand Yudhoyono restructure Cabinet

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2009

Jakarta – Political experts have called on the likely presidential election winner, incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to streamline the "redundant" Cabinet if re-elected by reducing the number of ministers in its ranks.

"I think currently 33 ministers [in the Cabinet] is too many," a political observer from the University of Indonesia, Arbi Sanit, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

"Yudhoyono needs to cut any ministerial posts that accommodate power sharing between parties in his coalition, for the sake of state budget efficiency."

He said through merging and scrapping some ministries, the Cabinet could be made up of around 20 ministers and run far more efficiently. The industry and trade ministries could be merged, he said, while the religious affairs and social services ministries could be disbanded.

The acting dean of social and political sciences at Pelita Harapan University, Aleksius Jemadu, said Yudhoyono should focus on serving the public through a more streamlined Cabinet rather than cater to the interests of his political allies.

"Power sharing should be considered a second priority when it comes to establishing a well-functioning Cabinet," he said. "Yudhoyono should appoint more professionals to economic posts."

The best policy for Yudhoyono, Arbi said, was to allow political parties to have as little influence as possible in the next Cabinet.

"We cannot deny that political parties' interests must be served but Yudhoyono should keep it to a minimum," he said. "For instance, if the next Cabinet contains 20 ministers, Yudhoyono should only allocate one post per party, while the rest of the positions should be for experts."

Prior to the election, Yudhoyono established a coalition with four Islamic parties: the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party (PPP).

Head of the Research Institute for Democracy and a Prosperous State (Pedoman), Fadjroel Rachman, said Yudhoyono did not need to worry about any possible resistance from his coalition partners.

"Yudhoyono does not need to consider establishing a coalition- based cabinet simply because of the massive 60 percent victory he likely achieved in the election," he said.

"He must focus on establishing an effective working cabinet manned by experts. He should also scrap ineffective and needless minister posts, such as the coordinating minister posts and the communication minister post."

PKS President Tifatul Sembiring, however, saw no reason for cutting the number of ministerial posts.

"Having 33 ministers, like we do now, is good," he said. "However, we should have a ministry for children's affairs. There are around 80 million children in Indonesia, many of whom have to deal with complicated issues such as poverty, forced labor, trafficking and poor education."

PKS was the first party to pledge allegiance to Yudhoyono's Democratic Party (PD) prior to the July 8 presidential election.

However, an expert from Surabaya's Airlangga University, Airlangga Pribadi, said there was no need for an additional ministry to deal with children's affairs. "We can incorporate children's affairs into existing ministries." (hdt)

PDI-P in need of fresh new leader

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2009

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Party stalwarts and political analysts agree now is the right time for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to conduct a serious evaluation of its internal management.

The evaluation will include grooming new potential leaders to replace chairwoman Megawati Soekarnowati following a series of election losses.

"Although we are now still focusing on finding evidence of polling violations from the presidential election, we are also concerned about the party's future, including grooming new leaders and evaluating the party's internal management following the losses," Cahyo Kumolo chairman of the PDI-P at the House of Representatives, said Sunday. "We're going to discuss that at the upcoming leaders' meeting."

However, he admitted that with regard to a new leader, the party could not see anyone other than Megawati who could galvanize the trust of the party's grass roots. "To be honest, we still have no idea who would be appropriate to replace Megawati right now," he said.

The PDI-P nominated Megawati as its presidential candidate in the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections, both of which she lost.

Another PDI-P executive, Eva Kusuma Sundari, concurred on Megawati's importance to the party, saying she was considered the only person who could unite the dozens of different interest groups within the party.

"However, I realize we can't rely solely on Megawati as chairwoman forever. But we will still need her to closely monitor the party," she told The Jakarta Post. "Megawati can become the party's chief patron, while at the same time a fresh yet capable figure leads the way as the party's new head."

University of Indonesia political analyst Maswadi Rauf said the PDI-P should have replaced Megawati after she lost her re- election bid in 2004.

"Finding a new leader remains the party's biggest task," he said. "The party should do this whether it likes it or not, because this will be the only way it can survive in the next few years."

A source from the party told the Post it was actually the PDI-P secretary-general, Pramono Anung, who had been next in line for the chair; however, a series of losses in recent regional elections had led to a lack of faith in his performance.

"It's Pramono and Puan Maharani, Megawati's daughter, who were being groomed as the next chairman and secretary-general, but then the recent losses changed everything," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"I've now heard that even Maruarar Sirait is putting himself forward to be the party's leader." Maruarar is one of the members of the PDI-P's central executive board.

Eva criticized the board, which she said was largely responsible for the recent slew of losses.

PAN leadership rift appears to mirror Golkar trouble

Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2009

Febriamy Hutapea – Calls are growing within the divided National Mandate Party for a change of leadership, as the party tries to cozy up to the coalition aligned with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

The development comes as Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the embattled chairman of the Golkar Party and the apparent loser of last Wednesday's presidential election, faces similar calls to bring forward the party's national congress from the end of the year to before the new government takes power in October.

A senior source within the National Mandate Party (PAN) told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday that there were growing demands to bring forward the party's national congress, at which time a new party chairman can be elected.

The source said several senior party officials were concerned because PAN chairman Sutrisno Bachir had failed to give his full backing to Yudhoyono in his re-election bid and had remained silent during the campaign.

Former PAN chairman Amien Rais spearheaded the party's effort to support Yudhoyono, while Sutrisno earlier declared his support for the chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), Prabowo Subianto, who eventually became the running mate of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Some within PAN believe that Sutrisno's position could weaken the party's bargaining position in the next government, as a number of PAN members are believed to be seeking spots in the next cabinet.

Two members of Yudhoyono's current cabinet are from PAN: State Secretary Hatta Rajasa and Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo.

Abdillah Toha, a senior PAN politician, said that he regretted the attempt by a number of senior party members to move up the date of the national congress.

"I hope that all party members will be consistent and proceed with the party congress on the terms that were agreed to," Abdillah said.

He said that he did not see an internal rift developing in his party like the one that is threatening to divide Golkar.

Golkar, which has suffered two consecutive electoral defeats this year, is facing a deepening political split as calls increase within the party to move up the date of its congress, at which time Kalla is expected to be replaced as chairman.

Abdillah said that calling for PAN to hold an emergency meeting would only harm the image the party had tried to build by supporting Yudhoyono.

He explained that he was concerned outside observers would think that the president himself was interfering in the internal affairs of other political parties.

The chairman of PAN's central board, Patrialis Akbar, who supported Yudhoyono along with Amien, denied that some high- ranking PAN members wanted to hold an emergency meeting for the purpose of unseating the party's chairman.

"Nothing has happened," he said. "We're doing fine and are just waiting to hear the official election result."

PAN performed below its expectations in the legislative elections, finishing fifth and securing just 42 seats in the House.

Similar party rifts occurred across the political spectrum in the lead-up to the presidential election, as party leaders mulled over which candidates they would endorse.

Yudhoyono likely to embrace Golkar's return

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2009

Jakarta – Like the classic Bible story about "The prodigal son", incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is very likely to embrace the Golkar Party back into his coalition, should the party decide to make up and renew its allegiance with his Democratic Party (PD).

"SBY is the kind of man who holds no grudges at all. He is willing to accept Golkar back into his political circle and give some ministerial posts to a number of Golkar executives," PD deputy chairman, Achmad Mubarok, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Achmad was referring to Yudhoyono by using his well-known acronym SBY.

The political marriage between Golkar and PD ended when Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla, also the incumbent Vice President, declared his presidential candidacy and decided to compete head on with SBY.

The idea of renewing the coalition between the two parties emerged as soon as unofficial quick count results showed Kalla could probably come out short during the July 8 presidential election.

Quick count results indicate that Kalla secured only around 12 percent of the votes, while Yudhoyono seemed to win with around 60 percent of votes.

Achmad said the PD already knew Golkar would crawl back to Yudhoyono long before the quick count results came up.

"First, Golkar has never traditionally been part of the opposition. Second, our internal survey prior to the election showed that around 40 percent of Golkar members would not vote for Jusuf Kalla," he said.

"So, we already knew that we would win and that Golkar would most likely come back to us."

Kalla's campaign team head Fahmi Idris also said recently that as a party that had spent most of its time in the governmental structure, Golkar found it challenging and a little "awkward" to switch to the opposition.

However, Golkar's planned return might face a lot of resistance from the PD's original coalition partners, such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

The PKS was the first party to pledge its allegiance to the PD to win the election. Three other Islamists parties: the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party (PPP) then soon followed suit.

"Ethically speaking, Golkar as the losing challenger must be willing to become the opposition, which will allow a proper system of checks and balances in the legislative body," PKS President Tifatul Sembiring told the Post via a text message.

"Golkar must take responsibility for its actions. It should not continuously ride on other parties' hard work and efforts."

An executive from PAN, Patrialis Akbar, said he doubted Golkar would be willing to sacrifice its pride by asking for ministerial posts in the future Cabinet. However, Achmad said the established coalition for the presidential election did not have any impact on Yudhoyono's future decision to re-embrace Golkar.

The PD executive who chairs the party's political education and development team, Ruhut Sitompul, said coalition partners needed to calm down about the Cabinet seat distribution. (hdt)

KPU urged to carry out new election for disenfranchised voters

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2009

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – The Advocating Team for the People's Right to Vote (TAHPR) urged the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Sunday to organize another election for the millions of people who were not able to vote in the presidential election.

Around 35 million people were believed to have been denied their right to vote in the July 8 presidential election because of the chaotic electoral roll (DPT), whereas voting is a constitutional and human right for all Indonesian citizens, THAPR spokesman Habiburokhman said at a conference on Sunday.

The KPU listed more than 176 million eligible voters in the July presidential election.

"Even though the Constitutional Court later ruled that citizens who were not registered in the DPT were allowed to vote by showing their identity cards along with family cards, such a decision failed to uphold people's voting rights."

"There were so many other disfranchised people in the July 8 election because they were not listed in the DPT or did not have family cards corresponding to their voting areas. Therefore we urge the KPU to carry out another election," he said.

Yoseph, an Ambonese who resides in Depok, West Java, said the Constitutional Court's ruling did not help him vote.

"I did bring my ID card and family card to a polling station in Depok, but I was rejected because my ID and family card were issued in Ambon so they said I could only submit my vote in Ambon," he said.

Meanwhile, Dedi Rochman, from Lampung, who works at a surveyor company in Kalimantan, also admitted he was not able to vote because the KPU did not provide enough additional ballots.

"I know I was not listed in the DPT, so when I heard about the Constitutional Court's ruling I went back to my hometown in Lampung and brought both my ID card and family card, but I still could not vote because the polling station I went to had run out of voting paper," he said.

Arif Poyuono, a member of TAHPR, also the chairman of the State Owned Workers Union, said that as a result of the huge number of disenfranchised voters, they would file a lawsuit to the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday against the KPU and the President.

"We will sue the KPU as the executor of a disorderly presidential election and the President because the mess with the DPT started with the government's electoral roll."

PDI-P scrutinizes electoral roll, Golkar at crossroads

Jakarta Post - July 12, 2009

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – There is no such thing as weekend downtime for the teams of defeated presidential candidates former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Just three days after several major quick count results flagged incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the winner of the July 8 presidential election, Megawati and her running mate Prabowo Subianto's campaign team reported the General Elections Commission (KPU) to the Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu).

"The KPU should have announced and fixed the permanent voter list by July 6. But on July 6, it appeared that the KPU had only released the temporary list," the team's lawyer, Arteria Dahlan, said, as quoted by vivanews.com at the Bawaslu office on Saturday.

He said it was one of the KPU's alleged violations of the existing regulation on the election roll.

Arteria added that following the KPU's failure to announce the permanent list on July 6, the Megawati-Prabowo team checked the election roll the next day until Saturday and found seven million problematic names in the electoral roll.

The team accuses the KPU of not doing its job finalizing the list, and questions the commission's decision not to use 69,000 poll stations.

Earlier in the day, secretary of the team Fadli Zon said he would coordinate with the Kalla-Wiranto campaign team that was conducting separate checks. "We will compare our findings on the problematic election roll," Fadli said.

Besides asking Kalla's Golkar Party to team up in scrutinizing the problematic election roll, Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has asked Golkar to join its coalition in the House of Representatives.

PDI-P chief patron and Megawati's husband Taufiq Kiemas said it would be better for Golkar to do so than to renew its alliance with Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, which already has 60 percent of the House's 560 seats when combined with its coalition partners.

"Together we can increase our power in the Parliament," said Taufiq, adding that the PDI-P had so far only coalesced with Prabowo's Gerindra Party.

However, Golkar does not appear to have decided yet what it will do after Kalla's landslide defeat, with the quick count results placing him third in the presidential race with some mere 13 percent of votes, compared to Megawati's 27 percent and Yudhoyono's 60 percent of votes.

Golkar legislator Hari Azhar Azis told The Jakarta Post the party was likely to renew its coalition with the Democratic Party. Observers predict a similar outcome as Golkar has never been away from power.

The Democratic Party's coalition partners responded to the issue differently. While the National Mandate Party's (PAN) Patrialis Akbar "welcomes" Golkar's likely return, the Prosperous Justice Party's (PKS) Mahfudz Siddiq has expressed concern that it will "disrupt the allocation of seats in the Cabinet" for alliance partners.

The campaign team head for the Yudhoyono-Boediono ticket, State Secretary Hatta Radjasa, said Yudhoyono was open to possibilities of coalescing with Golkar and even the PDI-P. Some Golkar executives have called for an early national meeting to decide on the issue.

Kalla rapidly losing his grip on the reins of losing Golkar party

Jakarta Globe - July 10, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ferry Irwanto – The Golkar Party, which has suffered two consecutive electoral defeats this year, is facing a worsening internal rift as calls increase to move up the date of the party congress to replace chairman Jusuf Kalla.

Kalla, who has chaired the party since 2004 and ran in Wednesday's presidential polls, is under pressure to resign following the party's defeat in April's legislative elections and his failure to win the presidency.

Quick counts and exit polls have consistently shown that Kalla, who ran with Gen. (ret.) Wiranto, finished last in the presidential race, well behind the winner, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Bambang Soesatyo, a spokesman for Kalla's campaign team, on Friday accused several senior Golkar executives of being behind the drive to hold the party congress ahead of schedule.

He identified them as Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono, Surya Paloh, the chairman of the Golkar Advisory Council, and former Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung.

"Pressure on the party to hold the five-yearly national convention earlier than scheduled is coming from those senior members," Bambang said. The Golkar national convention is scheduled for December.

Another senior Golkar member, Marzuki Darusman, earlier said that Golkar now found itself at lowest point in its history, and urged Kalla to resign before the party's national convention.

Bambang said "it is too early" to make such statements. "Kalla has said that he will resign from his position as chairman, but he would do that at the national convention in December, not in July or August. Golkar's executive board agreed to have the five-yearly Golkar convention as scheduled in December, not at any other time, and let's follow the mechanism."

Separately, Indra J. Piliang, another Kalla supporter, pointed out that from the beginning, Kalla had said that he intended to step down as Golkar chairman, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election. "He already said he did not want to stay there any longer, so he does not need to be pushed to step down," Indra said.

Bambang said Golkar's failure in the elections was a collective one and could not be laid solely at the feet of the chairman. He said that Kalla had entered the presidential race because of a "political accident."

"Everybody knew we were not ready for a presidential candidacy," Bambang said. "We were only ready for a vice presidential candidacy. So this is our struggle." "The fact that we lost the election must be accepted with an open heart," he added.

He acknowledged that some Golkar executives had distanced themselves from Kalla before the presidential election.

"It's all about personal habit and personal ambition," he said. "Some of them needed to save their position in the government's cabinet, others wanted to be chosen for positions in the next cabinet."

Asked about where the party would go from here, Bambang said, "Golkar will put itself in the pro-people position. If the government follows policies that are not pro-poor, we will criticize it and will become the opposition; if the government adopts pro-poor policies, then we will support it. As simple as that."

Meanwhile, another Golkar senior member, Fahmi Idris, said that some party leaders were already planning for an early national convention while Kalla was still campaigning for the presidential election.

"I heard that there are many candidates [planning to replace Kalla], including Aburizal Bakrie and Surya Paloh," Fahmi said. "It explains why it was difficult for us to win the presidential election."

Maswadi Rauf, a political analyst, said on Thursday that Golkar would only create a new conflict within the party if it moves too quickly to find a replacement for Kalla.

Internal rifts ensue after quick victory

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2009

Andra Wisnu, Jakarta – Party officials who supported President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's campaign have already begun jostling for positions in his Cabinet, weeks before the official results of the election are due.

Yudhoyono, widely believed to have won the election by a landslide, is reportedly already taking names and considering candidates for his next Cabinet.

However, should he be re-elected, SBY will have to perform a balancing act, as only nine parties managed to get seats at the House of Representatives, compared to 15 parties in the 2004-2009 term.

The Golkar Party, whose candidate Jusuf Kalla is believed to have lost the election, is reportedly trying to curry favor with the incumbent. This move might anger Yudhoyono's vast coalition. Golkar supported Yudhoyono in his first term.

Industry Minister and Golkar member Fahmi Idris has already hinted he will join the new government, saying his party is not suited to be the opposition.

Meanwhile, a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) official suggested his party should get more seats in the next Cabinet.

"The PKS has three ministers with the number of seats we have at the current House of Representatives. It is only logical that we get more since we will hold more seats in the next House," chief of the PKS House caucus, Mahfud Siddiq, said Friday.

The PKS, which is a member of SBY's coalition, secured 57 seats in the House for the 2009-2014 term, up from the 45 it currently holds.

When asked whether Golkar might be included in Yudhoyono's Cabinet, Mahfud said: "I believe that is something he would want to talk over with the coalition that supported him".

Bara Hasibuan, deputy chief of Yudhoyono's campaign team, assured the President would not sacrifice professional quality to please supporting parties, though he admitted that concessions to the coalition would be "guaranteed".

He said Yudhoyono's main goal would be to strengthen the presidential system. Observers seem to agree.

"There are strong indications Yudhoyono will not pick his team based on concessions to his coalition, because there will be fewer parties in the House," said Bima Arya from Paramadina University.

"He seems to be leaning towards officials not aligned with political parties, as exemplified by his choice of Boediono as his running mate."

Noted economist Faisal Basri agreed Yudhoyono would leave less room for parties to influence his cabinet.

Faisal urged Yudhoyono to restructure the Cabinet before naming names, saying that his previous Cabinet did not reflect his promise to reform the bureaucracy. Yudhoyono appointed 33 ministers to oversee his 2004-2009 government.

"I know we're a big country and we need a lot of leaders, but China has 1 billion people and they only have 21 ministers," Faisal said.

Electoral roll still prone to fraud: Observers

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2009

Andra Wisnu, Jakarta – The presidential election may have been widely regarded as being largely free and fair, but the electoral count was still prone to fraud due to the recent Constitutional Court (MK) ruling, a coalition of poll observers warned Friday.

The Indonesian Voters Committee (TEPI), a member of the NGO coalition, said the recent MK decision that allowed voters to use ID cards to vote on election day had the potential to allow corrupt polling officers to add or reduce votes, as the verdict rendered the electoral roll nearly useless.

"The MK ruling allowed unregistered people to vote, making the election more accessible," said Jerry Sumampouw, the coordinator of TEPI, at the General Election Commission's (KPU) office in Jakarta, on Friday.

"However, it also makes the electoral roll obsolete because corrupt officers could tick extra ballots with the excuse that the extra vote was done by a person who registered using ID cards."

The Constitutional Court ruled a day before polling day on July 8 that the public who wanted to vote but were not on the electoral roll may use their ID cards or passports to register on site, provided that they brought additional proof of identification such as a family card.

The ruling was made after several issues were raised regarding the electoral roll on the previous legislative election, which according to observers preventing 49 million people from voting.

Jerry said such practices were possible during the vote counting at the district level and the regional level, citing the number of procedural violations that his organization found during vote counting at the polling station level.

"According to the observations of our 800 volunteers, which we had in 800 polling stations in 26 municipalities or cities in 19 provinces, 33 percent of the polling officers did not give copies of the electoral roll to the election witnesses because they said they didn't have the money to copy the lists.

"So how can we tell how many people actually voted if we can't see the electoral roll? How would we know if the list had been added to or reduced at the district or regional level?"

In a related development, the KPU stopped updating its national tabulation site due to technical difficulties in receiving text messages of vote count results from polling station officers. The tabulation site, which was supposed to show how 20 percent of Indonesians voted, was stopped Thursday with 18,908,132 votes tallied, or about 9 percent of the total registered voters.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono still leads the counting with over 61 percent, followed by Megawati Soekarnoputri with 29 percent and Kalla with 10 percent.

Legal threat to 'fraudulent' Indonesia poll

The Australian - July 10, 2009

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Retired army general Prabowo Subianto has threatened legal action after coming second in Indonesia's presidential elections, which he branded "far from democratic".

General Prabowo, who is tarnished by human rights abuse allegations relating to the 1998 fall of former dictator Suharto, claimed the likely existence of millions of incorrect names on the electoral rolls made the results invalid.

In Wednesday's nationwide poll, the incumbent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was returned in a landslide.

Although official results are not expected until the end of the month, a range of respected "quick count" organisations all put the result for Dr Yudhoyono and his running mate, economist and former central bank chief Boediono, at more than 60 per cent.

General Prabowo, running as the vice-presidential candidate on a ticket headed by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, held a press conference late on Wednesday night to declare the team's intention to pursue the matter in the courts.

"We've conducted an election with a voter roll that had problems, and yet the election was allowed to continue," he said.

"We had already warned and pleaded with the electoral commission to resolve this matter, but they did not. We understand that there has been widespread fraud in all regions (of the country)."

The Megawati-Prabowo team appears to have won about 27 per cent of the popular vote, based on the quick-count results.

The third place-getters, current Vice-President Jusuf Kalla and retired army general Wiranto won less than 13 per cent and applauded the winners yesterday.

"As head of the JK-Wiranto campaign team, I express congratulations on the election of SBY-Boediono," campaign official Fahmi Idris said.

There had been widespread concern at the lack of accuracy on voter lists, a circumstance partly brought about by laws that restricted the electoral commission's budget and therefore its ability to cross-check data.

However, this week's Constitutional Court decision allowing people greater access to voting booths largely took the heat out of that issue.

Political analyst Anies Baswedan said yesterday that discrepancies between initial exit polling and the later quick count indicated many people had voted for the Megawati-Prabowo ticket "but did not want to admit it".

"Perhaps they felt under some pressure. However, it's clear that Prabowo also contributed in a large way to the result, since on her own Megawati was not polling above 20 per cent," Dr Baswedan said.

As General Prabowo and his billionaire campaign manager brother, Hasyim Djoyohadikusumo, made their claims of fraud, they were being investigated for breaking the election law.

The national electoral watchdog, known by its Indonesian-language acronym Bawaslu, said yesterday that it wanted General Prabowo and Ms Megawati to explain why they had held a televised press conference the day before voters went to the polls.

Under laws governing campaigning, all candidates are required to engage in "days of calm" from several days before the polls are held.

However, the pair made a last-minute attempt to attract voters, inviting television reporters to Ms Megawati's central Jakarta home where she gave a demonstration of how to make "soto", or traditional Indonesian soup.

It was a telling display from someone who has often been seen by her critics as better suited to the role of housewife than that of national leader.

New Order influence unlikely to fade

Jakarta Globe - July 9, 2009

Febriamy Hutapea & Nivell Rayda – Despite predictions that the current crop of political parties will seek young, fresh politicians untainted by the New Order regime to run in the next presidential election, analysts say the sentiment may amount to little more than wishful thinking.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is widely expected to secure a second term after Wednesday's poll, would be unable to run in 2014, 16 years after former dictator and kleptocrat Suharto was forced from office, igniting flickers of hope that the country will finally shed itself of its destructive pre-1998 influences.

But Ikrar Nusa Bakti, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), maintains that the influence of the old guard remains strong and very much a part of the fabric of today's political parties and their leaders.

"Unless there are major internal reforms within the parties, it is highly unlikely that anything will change," Ikrar said.

He said he feared the new batch of politicians elected into office during the nation's first truly democratic legislative elections in April, would be tainted by the powerful influence of New Order-era politicians, particularly those who were close to Suharto and his former political vehicle, the Golkar Party.

"The new politicians are bound by the old rules, old ideologies and old systems; otherwise they will be excluded from their parties," he said.

These senior politicians, he said, now held prominent and powerful positions in almost every political party, including not only Golkar, but new political parties that had managed to secure seats in the House of Representatives.

He singled out not only the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) – the political vehicles, respectively, of controversial former generals Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto, both former members of Golkar – but also Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, which swept April's elections.

Ikrar said, however, that although 32 years of oppression had weakened the nation after it emerged from the shackles of Dutch imperialism, the country was still maturing.

Andrinof Chaniago, a political expert at the University of Indonesia, said the climate had changed since the start of the reform era in 1998, and if parties wished to remain relevant they had to maneuver wisely.

"That's why they need fresh faces, people who are seen as incorruptible and idealistic," he said.

Kalla's fate in the balance as Golkar chiefs ponder loss

Jakarta Globe - July 9, 2009

Ferry Irwanto, Febriamy Hutapea & Heru Andriyanto – Jusuf Kalla's poor performance in the presidential election has prompted several leaders of his Golkar Party to call on him to step down as party chairman.

All six election quick counts show Kalla and his running mate Wiranto, from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), trailing well behind the other candidates with only 12 percent of the vote.

Senior Golkar member Marzuki Darusman described the result as "the worst in Golkar's history," and urged Kalla to resign before the party's convention, which is scheduled for October.

"We predicted the results long before the election because Golkar never prepared its own candidate," Marzuki said.

"We entered the election knowing that we didn't have a candidate because, in the beginning, JK positioned himself as the running mate of SBY," he said, referring to Kalla and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono by their initials.

"The party must now speed up the leadership succession without waiting for the five-yearly national convention scheduled for October. The convention must be held in the next one or two months."

Former Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung, who is regarded as an opponent of Kalla, also called for an early convention so that the party could better prepare for the 2014 polls.

"Kalla's mistake was that he refused to consolidate the party in his first year leading Golkar. He said at the time everything could be arranged six months ahead of the election," said Akbar, who openly challenged Kalla's presidential bid by gathering party leaders at the district level to question Golkar's poor showing in April's legislative elections.

"We need to hear the accountability report from the party leader so representatives from regional chapters can evaluate whether or not his leadership is good, and the sooner the better," he said.

Akbar, who lost the chairmanship to Kalla at the 2004 convention, suggested that Golkar return to a coalition with Yudhoyono's Democratic Party on the basis of mutual respect, saying the party had experienced individuals who could make a positive contribution to the partnership.

Yuddy Chrisnandi, who was a spokesman for Kalla during the presidential race, said his camp preferred to wait until October to hold the national convention.

"I'm confident the national convention will follow the schedule; there will be no extraordinary convention," he said. "I believe party leaders will put the interests of the party ahead of their personal interests."

Meanwhile, political analyst Maswadi Rauf said on Thursday there was a considerable chance that Golkar could resume its role as one of Yudhoyono's biggest political supporters if Kalla were to step down.

Maswadi said he believed that Golkar would prefer to share power rather than serve in opposition. "That is why, before looking for a replacement for Kalla, Golkar should first determine whether to support or oppose the new government," he said.

If Golkar chooses to support the next government, Maswadi suggested the party replace Kalla after the new president's inauguration in October because it would only cause conflict if it pushed to appoint someone earlier.

Voters give Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono another five years

The Australian - July 9, 2009

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will lead the country for another five years, starting in October, after a massive victory in national elections last night.

Unofficial counting across a host of independent media and political polling organisations had Dr Yudhoyono and his offsider, former Bank Indonesia chief Boediono, pulling in up to 60 per cent of the vote across the country.

In second place were former president Megawati Sukarnoputri and her running mate, retired general Prabowo Subianto, with about 25 per cent of the vote.

The Golkar party's team, Vice-President Jusuf Kalla and retired army general Wiranto, did not look like doing any better than about 15 per cent, based on the provisional figures. The result means there will be no need for a second-round run-off vote.

Ms Megawati had argued that democracy would be better served if the contest went to a second round, although Mr Kalla had said in his campaign that a single round would be a good cost saving in the current economic climate.

Dr Yudhoyono and Mr Kalla face an uneasy three months of seeing out their current term in government, particularly with the latter likely to be the target of bloodletting in his own party. An extraordinary Golkar national congress is expected to be called, with Mr Kalla unlikely to remain head of the party.

However, the Yudhoyono-Kalla administration, as well as the 550- seat national parliament, will not be dissolved until early October, ahead of the inauguration shortly afterwards of the new one.

Dr Yudhoyono's private residence near Bogor, south of Jakarta, was swamped by excited wellwishers and members of his campaign team yesterday afternoon, but the former army general refused to claim victory immediately.

Instead, he thanked Indonesians for voting for all three sets of candidates, and praised his opponents, saying he would await official results from the electoral commission. "From the survey organisations, the results, thank God, favour us and our fellow campaigners," he said.

"But we will continue to await the results from the General Election Commission when they are disclosed to the entire people of Indonesia."

This could take several days.

He urged his Democrat Party supporters to be measured in their joy, so as not to offend the other candidates. There was a veiled warning, however, in his statement "to Ms Mega and Jusuf Kalla – let us build a culture of mutual respect. What's important is that the next five years are better."

In the central Java city of Yogyakarta, future vice-president Boediono expressed happiness at the early numbers but warned Indonesians to wait for official results and said the orderly way the elections had been conducted was impressive.

"His is the victory for the people of Indonesia," the urbane Australian- and US-educated university professor said.

The often-fiery General Prabowo, speaking at Ms Megawati's South Jakarta home, described the quick-count figures as "baseless" and "wrong".

Voting went remarkably smoothly across the country, with just over 176 million voters registered in the 33 provinces.

Although there were criticisms by the Megawati-Prabowo and Kalla-Wiranto teams of the accuracy of the electoral rolls, this issue was largely defused on Monday with a court decision allowing more people to vote.

Criticism was levelled at several television stations that began broadcasting quick-count results before the polls had closed, with electoral commissioner IGusti Putu Arta warning that this could affect voting patterns.

Yudhoyono sweeps the board

Melbourne Age - July 9, 2009

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was on course for a thumping victory in Indonesia's presidential elections, as voters yesterday overwhelmingly endorsed another five years of his steady, reformist policies.

Across the country's archipelago, exit polls and "quick counts" showed voters heavily backed Mr Yudhoyono, the first time they have re-elected a leader since the country's emergence as a democracy 11 years ago.

In the troubled region of West Papua, he got more than 70 per cent of votes. In Aceh, where a long-running civil war ended in 2005, support for the President and his running mate, the former central banker Boediono, was at more than 90 per cent.

Densely populated Java also swung emphatically behind the Indonesian leader.

All up, the quick counts showed Mr Yudhoyono secured 60 per cent of votes, compared to 27 per cent for Megawati Sukarnoputri and 13 per cent for Golkar party leader Jusuf Kalla.

If confirmed, that level of support is easily enough for Mr Yudhoyono to win the poll in one round. To do so, he needs 50 per cent of the overall vote, plus support of 20 per cent or more of voters in at least 17 of Indonesia's 34 provinces.

Mr Yudhoyono greeted ecstatic supporters late yesterday and said the results "thank God, show the success of my friends in the struggle". He did not claim victory, however, saying, "We will just wait until the Election Commission completes its counting."

In Kampung Bali, a poor central Jakarta neighbourhood nestled behind glittering five-star hotels and shopping malls, most of those surveyed by The Age said they had voted for Mr Yudhoyono, universally known by his initials SBY.

"SBY is honest and a man with dignity," said security guard Muhammad Isa, clutching his young daughter at a makeshift polling station.

"I like everything he did, especially corruption eradication. Besides, it is easier for me to borrow money to start a little business of my own. I sell hand-phone vouchers and make motorcycle repairs."

While the global financial crisis has battered Indonesia's neighbours, its financial system and economy have emerged almost unscathed.

Falling petrol prices, rising real incomes and cash handouts to Indonesia's poor have underpinned a surge in consumer sentiment, which is at a four-year high. Further evidence of the optimism that has swept Mr Yudhoyono to an apparent victory is the 50 per cent rise in share prices this year and the fortunes of the Indonesian rupiah, Asia's best-performing currency.

It's a far cry from Indonesia's blood-soaked introduction to democracy, when the dictator Suharto was ousted in the wake of the Asian financial crisis that hit Indonesia worse than any other country.

The election was also a resounding rejection of Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto, retired generals from the Suharto era accused of serious human rights violations. They were the vice-presidential running mates of Mrs Sukarnoputri and Mr Kalla, respectively.

And, by re-electing Mr Yudhoyono, Indonesians have shown they believe the democratic system can deliver a leader who adequately addresses their needs and aspirations.

According to the Australian National University's Marcus Mietzner, this should help entrench Indonesia's fledgling democracy.

"This is the first time Indonesians have re-elected a president under democratic circumstances, and they have done so by rejecting alternatives who were widely believed to be more sympathetic to non-democratic forms of governance," Mr Mietzner said. "Australia should be very pleased with this outcome."

Businesses laud SBY's lead, expect action in next term

Jakarta Globe - July 8, 2009

Muhamad Al Azhari & Ardian Wibisono – The business community welcomed quick-count poll figures suggesting that incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, had easily won a second term without a runoff. But those interviewed also said they would expect the president to honor his campaign promises and act faster on a number of economic issues.

Multiple polls have shown Yudhoyono and running-mate Boediono breaching the 51 percent vote threshold needed to prevail without a second round of voting. Many of the quick counts predicted that the pair would win as much as 61 percent of the vote. Official results are expected to be announced on July 27.

"Basically, if SBY and Boediono win, they are likely to continue the government's current policies," said Ernovian G Ismy, secretary general of the Indonesian Textile Association (API).

"If one looks at the 2007 presidential decree on the real sector, they already have a very comprehensive plan to accelerate development. But this decree still needs to be implemented."

Djimanto, secretary general of Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said that the business community was working through the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) to prepare a road-map for industrial development through 2014, which would be submitted to the next president.

An important proposal in the plan was putting an increased emphasis on processing raw materials rather than just exporting them, Djimanto said.

"Currently, far too many mining and agricultural products are exported raw," he said. "We are asking the government to focus on how we can process these products domestically to add value and expand our manufacturing and export sectors."

Further expanding domestic industry, he said, would also require the speedy development of supporting infrastructure and aid with financing.

Djimanto said the business community would also look to the new government to speed up the process of obtaining licenses from government bodies.

Thomas Darmawan, chairman of the Indonesian Food and Beverages Association (Gapmi), said businesses expected the next cabinet to be filled with professionals rather than politicians, saying that professionals would do a better job.

"In the past, many policies took too long to be implemented because ministers often consulted with their parties first," he said. "But if the cabinet was full of professionals, things would improve quickly."

Sigit Pramono, chairman of the Indonesian Banking Association (Perbanas) and publisher of the Jakarta Globe, said that the next government should set specific and measurable economic targets for its first 90 days in power. If those goals were met, he said, public confidence would increase and further propel growth.

What now, SBY? The only thing certain is certainty

Jakarta Globe - July 9, 2009

Muninggar Sri Saraswati & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Indonesians have opted for certainty in their lives over the next five years.

That's the verdict of political observers who saw voters making a clarion call for stability. "People have been through many problems in our country. They want certainty. They are not necessarily satisfied with Yudhoyono's performance, but they chose him rather than other candidates whose records are not seen to be better than his," said Imam Prasodjo, a political sociologist from the University of Indonesia.

Political analyst Sunny Tanuwijaya, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed, saying Indonesians voted for Yudhoyono because "they know what they will get." "They want continuity to ensure a betterment of their life. Remember, we all experienced turbulence when we started with democracy in 1998," he said.

Ikrar Nusa Bakti, a political expert from the state-run Indonesian Institute of Scieces (LIPI) put it in other words. "Most voters are conservative, afraid of change. Apparently, they believe in the 'slowly but surely' principle."

Neither Imam nor Sunny expected major change under Yudhoyono and Boediono, but said their government would likely get all its programs through without too much resistance from the House of Representatives.

"I predict Golkar will join the Democratic Party coalition. If it happens, the government would face no problem at all in implementing its programs as the House would most likely approve legislation submitted by the government," Sunny said.

Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla, who has vowed to leave politics if he lost the election, is likely to give up his party position.

Ikrar was more critical of Yudhoyono, saying that those who voted for the incumbent may be in for a disappointment because of his perceived indecisiveness. "Both Yudhoyono and Boediono are Javanese, who are known to be slow in making decisions. This could create public disappointment," said the observer, himself Javanese.

He also raised concerns about Yudhoyono's recent statement seen as weakening the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Yudhoyono campaigned in 2004 on a promise to crack down on rampant graft.

Sunny and Imam, however, believed that Yudhoyono would do his best to develop the country in his last five years in office.

"Yudhoyono is known as an image-conscious man. He puts a lot of effort into keeping his good image both here and abroad. I am sure he will do his best, not necessarily because he cares about the country but because he wants to leave a good imprint in our country's history," Sunny said.

Early results show second term for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

The Australian - July 8, 2009

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Early unofficial results in Indonesia's presidential election have Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono being returned to office for a second five-year term.

With the biggest question leading into today's vote being by how much the incumbent would beat his two challengers, Dr Yudhoyono appears to have easily won a clear majority.

To avoid a second-round run-off election, he needed to attract at least 50 per cent of the national vote comprising 20 per cent of votes in at least half of the country's 33 provinces.

Several independent organisations providing "quick-count" results have Dr Yudhoyono and his running mate, respected economics professor Boediono, at 60 per cent of the national vote, with results in from all provinces.

Trailing a long way behind in second place are former president Megawati Sukarnoputri and retired general Prabowo Subianto, with around 26 or 27 per cent of the vote.

Golkar party candidates Jusuf Kalla, a businessman who is currently Vice President, and retired army general Wiranto, are in third place with less than 13 per cent.

Indonesia's political opinion polling organizations have been criticized for being too closely linked to individual campaign teams.

However in parliamentary elections in April they proved remarkably accurate, tending to back their claims that although they received funding from political groups, they operated independently of them.

Three national television stations were blasted this afternoon for broadcasting running updates on the quick count results before polling booths officially closed at 1pm local time (4pm AEST). "This can have a direct effect on voting behaviour," election commissioner I Gusti Putu Arta said.

Dr Yudhoyono appeared at his Jakarta home flanked by family and supporters to warn that, while the successful conduct of the elections was to be applauded, the official figures from the country's electoral commission were the real test.

"We will continue to await (these) results," he said, to a cheering crowd. The official figures could take days to be made public.

General Prabowo dismissed the quick-count results, calling them "baseless" and "wrong".

SBY wins in Kalla's neighborhood

Jakarta Post - July 8, 2009

Jakarta – The majority of votes made at a polling station near the residence of presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla in Central Jakarta have been won by his rival, incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY).

SBY won 219 votes at polling station 19 in Surapati park in Menteng, where the incumbent Vice President Kalla voted earlier this morning.

Vote count results from the station reveal that SBY has won more than 50 percent of the counted votes, detik.com reported. Of a total 667 voters listed at the station, only 323 turned up to vote today.

At the station, Kalla and his running mate Wiranto won 105 votes, while Megawati Soekarnoputri and Prabowo Subianto trailed behind with 40 votes.

Earlier, quick counts from the Indonesian Survey Institute and the Indonesian Survey Circle found that presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and running mate Boediono have won more than 50 percent of votes in the presidential election. (dre)

Mega wins slightly at her station, but not all voters show up

Jakarta Post - July 8, 2009

Jakarta – Megawati Soekarnoputri won the most votes from her polling station in Kebagusan, South Jakarta, on Wednesday morning, but some people registered to vote failed to turn up.

Megawati collected a total of 110 votes, followed by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono with 89 votes and Jusuf Kalla with 21 votes.

However, some registered voters failed to vote. Out of a total 387 eligible voters at the polling station, 174 did not show up.

Murniati, head of the polling station where Megawati cast her vote, said his working committee had distributed all invitations to the registered voters.

"We distributed the invitations to each registered voter. We did our best and it's up to them whether or not they choose to vote," Murniati told kompas.com.

Out of the 231 people that voted at the Kebagusan polling station, four unregistered residents voted by showing their identity cards. (ewd)

Cooking, worrying, going to the office: All in a day for hopefuls

Jakarta Globe - July 8, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Muninggar Sri Saraswati – The candidates spent Tuesday, the final day before their fates are decided, keeping busy, but with very different, and somewhat characteristic, activities.

Megawati Sukarnoputri and Prabowo Subianto

In what seemed to emphasize her sometime reputation as the nation's mother, Megawati opted to show off her cooking prowess at her residence in Kebagusan, South Jakarta, with locals and journalists looking on and sampling the results. Megawati made a family-favorite, soto ayam (clear chicken soup) and iced fruit cocktails. Prabowo arrived too late, however, with the soto already having been slurped down when the doors of the residence were opened to the public. Despite missing out, the former general donned an apron anyway, saying: "Hey, this could be recorded with MURI, as I've never worn one before," referring to the Museum of Records.

Prabowo and Megawati's husband, Taufik Kiemas, later went to the Bantar Gebang dump to open 250 houses they had built for rubbish scavengers there. The candidates had kicked off their candidacy at the same dump, in an apparent effort to boost their populist image.

Today, Megawati and her family plan to vote close to their residence in Kebagusan, where they also voted during April's legislative elections. Prabowo will vote close to his private ranch in Bogor, instead of at polling stations near his private residence in Kemang, where he cast his vote in April.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono

In keeping with his role as statesman, President Yudhoyono focused on a video conference with all the governors from the country's 33 provinces on Tuesday morning to go over election preparations.

His running mate, Boediono, relished a calm moment after the hectic campaign season to visit his home in Yogyakarta, where he shared a candid moment with reporters, enjoying pecel (vegetables in a peanut sauce) for lunch.

Yudhoyono is scheduled to vote today close to his Cikeas residence, together with the first lady, Kristiani Herrawati, youngest son Edhie Baskoro, daughter-in-law Annisa Larasati Pohan and mother Habibah Soekotjo.

Boediono is expected to vote in the sprawling complex of the state-run Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. His family will also host a get-together with locals and members of the media to watch the quick counts on television, a campaign aide said.

Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto

Ever the multi-tasking businessman, Vice President Kalla spent most of Tuesday in his campaign headquarters, next to his official vice presidential residence in Menteng, Central Jakarta. He received a number of guests, talked to journalists and hosted a prayer session with a number of Muslim clerics and leaders and members of his campaign team to pray for the smooth and safe running of the election today.

"We have done our best, now the only thing we can do is pray to God to give what is the best for us," he told reporters, expecting the poll to run well and in a fair and transparent manner.

Kalla's wife, Mufidah, their children and children-in-law are expected to vote at a polling station in Menteng.

His running mate, Gen. (ret.) Wiranto, and wife Rugaya Usman, were not seen in public on Tuesday. The couple have plans to vote near their Bambu Apus home in East Jakarta.

Armed forces/defense

TNI insists on avoiding civil court

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2009

Jakarta – The Indonesia Military (TNI) insists military officers suspected of committing public crimes will be processed by military investigators and tried at military court despite the pressure from activists to implement a civilian legal process for military officers charged with civilian crimes.

The dispute about whether the civilian investigators can probe military officers allegedly committing crimes has triggered the stalemate in the four-year protracted military tribunal bill.

TNI spokesman Air Rear Marshal Sagom Tamboen told The Jakarta Post in a statement sent Thursday that military officers gained "different legal positions" compared to civilians, and therefore, deserved specialized legal treatment if suspected of committing both military or public offenses.

"Activists may have not learned our constitution comprehensively. The 'equality before the law' principle doesn't mean that every Indonesian citizen must be treated by the same legal process. The principle implies that every citizen, both military and civilian, is obligated to obey the law."

According to Sagom, military officers are distinct citizens and have privileges before the public.

Director of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Usman Hamid disagreed Friday with Sagom. "His idea is very conservative, obsolete, and no longer fits our current democracy system," he told the Post.

Usman said military officers suspected of committing public crimes must face public legal treatment. "If they are suspected of committing military offenses, then go to the military court."

According to Usman, the principle of "equality before the law" fitted the military officers who were charged with public crimes. "Pak Sagom may misunderstand the concept. Everyone, without exception, charged with public crimes must face public legal process."

Usman said that implementing the military legal process to officers suspected of offending public crimes, might be unjust for the low-ranked soldiers.

"The military police, prosecutors, and judges may be not as the same rank level as the suspects. Are they brave enough to equally treat the top-ranked suspects? No way."

He cited the 1998 activists kidnapping case, where only low- ranked soldiers faced trial and were found guilty. "If we stay with that system, all top-ranked officers would remain untouched."

According to Sagom, military legal treatment as well as military investigators, prosecutors, and judges, are supposed to be considered the same as civilian ones. "We have never implemented inequality in military legal process."

Usman denied Sagom's statement. "We have recorded that the police arrested military officers allegedly involved in several illegal logging and illegal fishing cases. They later handed over all military suspects to the military police. And what happened then? The military suspects, particularly the top-ranked ones, have remained unhampered."

Lawmaker Djoko Susilo, from the House of Representatives' Commission I on defense, said recently the TNI insisted on their stance and were reluctant to be investigated by the police due to defending their "prestige".

History has prompted the military to be "psychologically jealous" of the police, Djoko said. (bbs)

Proposed army base near East Timor opposed

Jakarta Globe - July 9, 2009

Eras Poke – Residents of a remote district along the country's border with East Timor continue to oppose plans to establish a military headquarters there.

The Armed Forces wants to build a facility to support an infantry battalion and a calvary company in the Timor Tengah Utara district of East Nusa Tenggara, but opponents of the move say this is unnecessary as the area is secure enough.

Although the district borders East Timor, the area is still peaceful," said Goris Dudy, a district community leader. "The number of military personnel now assigned here is more than enough to deal with threats to territorial integrity." Indonesia occupied East Timor from 1975 until the region voted to become independent during a UN-backed referendum in 1999.

If the TNI [Armed Forces] goes ahead with its plan to build infantry and cavalry headquarters here, local residents will again hold street protests to reject them," Goris said.

Residents have staged several street rallies against the plan, and the district's legislative council decided on June 18 to officially reject the move.

Despite the strong opposition, Maj. Gen. Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan, chief of the Udayana Military Command overseeing the provinces of Bali as well as West and East Nusa Tenggara, recently insisted that the plan would go ahead because the region's location was strategic in defending the country against foreign enemies.

It is necessary to establish new units there because the area has strategic value in shielding [the country] from any outside interference," he said.

Col. Dodi Usodo Hargo, chief of the Kupang military district, promised on Monday to hold a dialogue with people who opposed the plan, though he declined to name a specific date for such a meeting.

Companies seek profit from lucrative military deals

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2009

Yuli Tri Sumarni, Bandung – Strategic industry firms are still seeking ways to do business with the Indonesian Military (TNI), which they hope will boost profits.

State aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) is still not hitting its potential, with sales of planes to the military valued at only Rp 254 billion (US$25 million) between 2005 and 2009, while arms manufacturer PT Pindad, which received an order for 154 armored personnel carriers, is still seeking a solution on stalled payments.

DI aircraft integration director Budi Wuraskito said Friday aircraft purchases from the Defense Ministry over the past five years were relatively small, compared to orders from South Korea for six CN235 planes, worth $94 million, based on a contract period of three years.

South Korea had earlier bought six military and two VIP transport planes of the CN235 type from DI, while the TNI has only used seven CN235s and a maritime patrol aircraft, modified from a similar type.

That figure, Budi said, was almost the same as the eight CN235s used by the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

The Turkish government has also assembled six CN235 anti- submarine planes – built, designed and modified by 40 DI employees in that country over the last four years. Budi said financing was the main obstacle DI had faced from the TNI in aircraft procurement.

"Former finance minister Yusuf Anwar didn't approve management guidelines to finance the strategic industry," Budi said on the sidelines of a technology exhibition held at DI's CN235 hangar in Bandung. "If he had done so, more purchases would have been made."

Friday's event was held in conjunction with the handing over ceremony of 40 Pindad armored cars to the Defense Ministry, attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

From the aircraft service and product support sector, the TNI has only contributed 20 percent of around $13 million in earnings from both businesses to DI. DI's total income in 2008 stood at $80 million. It is expected to earn $110 million this year thanks to new purchase contracts for aircraft from South Korea, the Philippines and the Indonesian Navy.

DI's dependability in the eyes of other countries has further improved. It is currently involved in talks over eight CN235 anti-submarine planes for the Malaysian government, and the planned purchase of planes by the Philippines and Qatar.

"Our political will is strong now, evident from the message conveyed by the President and Vice President to buy domestic products," Budi said. "Only financing remains an obstacle." Pindad director Andik Avainto Sudarsono expressed similar sentiments.

The firm is currently trying to complete orders for 150 APS 6x6 armored cars and four 4x4 armored scout cars worth Rp 1.2 trillion for the Defense Ministry.

Andik said it was tough doing business with the TNI, due to the force's yearly allocation policy. He said this made it difficult to build the products, because orders for raw materials, engines and other materials must be prepared six months before production commences.

He pointed out his company had not received the down payment for 40 armored cars completed in the first half of this year, which it handed over to the Defense Ministry on Friday. The ministry should have paid the 20 percent down payment of the total Rp 317 billion bill by June this year for the order of 40 armored cars.

Pindad has had to part with 10 percent of its profit from the total transaction to pay interest payments to three state-run banks, now inflated to Rp 12 billion.

"This is why it's hard to support domestic products," Andik said. "We propose the President apply the long-term weaponry procurement system so financing can be done over several years.

Indonesia to increase defense budget in 2010 - Report

Agence France Presse - July 10, 2009

Jakarta – Indonesia will increase its defense budget by 20% next year to compensate for years of low spending, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Friday.

Speaking two days after apparently winning reelection for a second five-year term, Yudhoyono said new defense spending was possible thanks to economic growth forecast at around 6% next year.

"Starting in 2010, we'll significantly increase our defense budget from IDR33.6 trillion ($3.3 billion) in 2009 into IDR40.6 trillion by adding about IDR7 trillion, or 20%," he was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

"We'll increase that each year... so we can be closer to the needed minimum force" with a budget of IDR100-IDR120 trillion.

At IDR33.6 trillion, the defense budget is just 0.67% of Indonesia's total budget.

Years of low defense spending in the mainly Muslim country of 234 million people have been blamed for equipment shortfalls and fatal accidents involving military aircraft.

A military helicopter crash in June killed two personnel while a Hercules transport aircraft crash in May killed more than 100 people. Another 24 military personnel were killed in April when their training aircraft crashed into a hangar at an airbase in West Java.

Analysis & opinion

Democratic disconnects in Indonesia

Asia Times - July 14, 2009

Jacqueline Hicks, Jakarta – As Indonesia's politicians and powerbrokers tentatively begin to cobble together a new ruling coalition, there is a great deal of optimism both here and abroad about the country's democratic future, much of it surrounding the personality of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the incumbent president and provisional winner of last week's polls.

The country's first directly elected president in 2004, Yudhoyono this year became the only head of state in the post-Suharto reformasi era to serve a full term of office. Now, he is the first president in the same era to be democratically re-elected. So what do the historic polls say about the broader state of Indonesian democracy?

Procedurally, Indonesia has shown that its institutions are capable of staging a largely free and fair election. The National Election Commission's (KPU) failure to register tens of millions of potential voters was certainly a problem, but its roots are deeper than just the KPU's competence.

Runner-up and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri has indicated she plans to legally challenge the validity of the results, despite earning less than half of the 60% Yudhoyono appears to have won. Incumbent Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who appears to have placed a distant third at around 10%, could also mount a challenge to the results.

Few have acknowledged that the same problem occurred in 2004. In November of that year, the previous KPU was found guilty in court of not registering some 30 million potential voters. Then the political parties showed little interest in the issue, unlike this year when it was ruthlessly exploited for political gain.

The voter list problem cannot be separated from the wider difficulties the Indonesian government has in registering its citizens, whether for tax purposes, births and deaths or voting in elections, across the massive archipelago. What counts is that, in the end, the results of both this year's legislative and presidential elections were considered legitimate by most of its participants as well as by the vast majority of the population – a notable achievement in such an administratively complex country as Indonesia.

Looking back over the substance of the campaign, there was certainly no shortage of the usual vague rhetoric and personality driven politicking. But there was also evidence of substantially more policy detail compared with the 2004 campaigns. For instance, Megawati said she would set up health insurance for students, abolish outsourcing contracts for workers and throw out an education bill that allows for private investment into schools.

Yudhoyono also made some fairly specific promises, such as vows to extend micro-credit facilities, to keep the present labor- friendly manpower law intact, and to maintain oil subsidies and direct monthly government payments to the poor. To be sure, sometimes there were crossed wires: while Yudhoyono's campaign team claimed their candidate would not sell state assets, his running mate and former central bank governor Boediono was giving speeches detailing why privatization was a good policy idea.

Nevertheless, the usual characterization of these being personality-driven political platforms completely without substance was a misleading analysis in this year's legislative and presidential campaigns. Concrete differences between candidates and parties did exist, one indication of a maturing democratic process.

Mass electoral movement

However, the elections also highlighted a more fundamental weakness in Indonesian democracy, one that may prove hard to shake. Sustaining a trend that started in 2004, this year showed just how divorced political party elites have become from their grassroots constituencies. Unlike in the past, elections are no longer won or lost on the support of local party chapters or mass organizations linked to political parties.

Sometimes called by their Dutch name onderbouws, these mass organizations are traditionally religious, explicitly political or ostensibly for other purposes such as youth organizations or farmers' associations. Ex-president Suharto's party, Golkar, was founded on affiliation to many such grassroots groups while outlawing similar ties to other parties.

It was these organizations, along with local branches of political parties, that brought out the vote in 1999 and to a lesser but significant extent in 2004. This year their role was much reduced. Suhardi Suryadi, head of research organization LP3ES, and Muhammad Qodari, director of pollsters Indo Barometer, are two analysts who have detected just such a sea change in voting behavior. "There are no longer any parties based on grassroots activities," they told a seminar in June. "Onderbouws that are not supported in between elections will not make much effort at election time."

Surveys have shown that Islamic parties cannot count on the support of mass Islamic organizations to win them votes. Even when the leaders of Islamic organizations set up political parties or publicly supported candidates, only a tiny minority of their organizations' members actually voted the way they were encouraged.

The relations between political party leaders and their local branch members are also weakening. Heads of some parties heard criticism and dissent from their own grassroots members for supporting particular presidential candidates.

The Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN), Partai Bintang Reformasi (PBR) and Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP) had particular internal problems, but there was also a marked lack of enthusiasm from within former powerhouse Golkar for their own candidate and chairman, Kalla, who was essentially chosen by the party elite.

With such disjuncture between the top and bottom of political organizations, it is the media which now connects the grassroots to the political elites. The political advertising spent for each election is well-documented by Nielson Media Research, which counts the party advertising in newspapers and on television all over Indonesia before calculating the cost from the media outlets' published rates.

Nielson's survey estimated that political parties spent 97 billion rupiahs (US$9.6 million) for the 1999 elections and 494 billion rupiahs in 2004. The total amount for the 2009 elections has not yet been made public, but with the figure for January to March already standing at 1.06 trillion rupiahs, it is likely to be many times what it was in 2004.

In some ways, the triumph of the media over political organizations is simply a sign of the times, a more modern method of political communication. But its effects can also be detrimental for a democracy, especially one that is only 10 years old. Without robust political organization at the grassroots level, people are only heard in the political process at election time – anathema to democracy in which the whole raison d'etre is to channel the aspirations of ordinary people to those in power.

Grassroots political organizations are also essential to developing strong party ideologies and identities – two components that are sorely missing from Indonesian politics. All too often, political parties seem to represent the interests of the party elite rather than their members, making for volatile coalitions in parliament and difficulties in passing legislation.

Until the links between the grassroots and those in power are strengthened, Yudhoyono may find the political stability he has been elected to provide elusive and the much-cheered consolidation of Indonesian democracy more shallow than deep.

[Dr Jacqueline Hicks has written on Indonesian politics for newspapers, journals and institutions over the past 10 years. She is currently in Jakarta researching mass political organizations and may be reached at hicks.jacky@google.com.]

Indonesia's police and military at open war

S. Eben Kirksey - July 13, 2009

Timika, a city in West Papua, has become a site where an open war over money, involving the Indonesian military (TNI) and the police (POLRI), is taking place.

In 2008 the US mining giant Freeport McMoRan paid $8 million in support costs to security forces, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year $1.6 million of this money went to TNI despite a 2007 Ministerial decree handing over all security for "vital national projects" (provit) to POLRI.

TNI had financial incentive to stage the attack last weekend that left Drew Grant, an Australian national, dead. A disturbance would show that POLRI was doing a poor job at providing security for this national project.

At the same time POLRI is now in a situation, much like they were with the 2002 attacks that killed three teachers in Timika, where it is in their best interest to pursue evidence of TNI involvement in the ambush.

The battle between TNI and POLRI in Timika is a microcosm for a war between these two institutions on a national level. Very lucrative security contracts at other vital national projects, like BP's Tangguh project in Bintuni Bay, are at stake.

The jury is still out about who conducted the attacks over the weekend. Allegations and denials are flying from all possible corners. If investigators identify marksmen, my first questions will be: Where did they get their guns? and Who trained them?

Poised for reelection, SBY faces economic challenges, corruption

Christian Science Monitor - July 8, 2009

Simon Montlake, Bangkok – Voters in Indonesia appear to have handed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a second five-year term, raising hopes for continuity in steering an underperforming economy and keeping a lid on ethnic and religious tensions.

Sample results tallied by private polling agencies point to a landslide for Mr. Yudhoyono in Wednesday's election. Around 30 percentage points separate Yudhoyono from former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, with Vice President Yusuf Kalla trailing even further behind. Neither opponent is likely to concede just yet, however, as official results won't be released for nearly three weeks.

For many observers, the main question has been the margin of victory. If the winner polls below 50 percent, he or she faces a runoff in September against the second-place candidate. That now seems unlikely as unofficial tallies put Yudhoyono between 58 and 61 percent, with Ms. Sukarnoputri between 26 and 28 percent.

In recent weeks, Yudhoyono's allies placed newspaper ads urging supporters to turn out Wednesday so that the country would save around $400 million by not staging a runoff vote. Mr. Kalla criticized the ads as inappropriate and said it was impossible to put a price on democracy.

Opinion polls showed Yudhoyono's lead barely faltered during months of campaigning that included three televised debates between the candidates. "It's clear that neither of his opponents could get any traction," says Jeffrey Winters, a politics professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., who is currently in Indonesia.

Yudhoyono is a retired Army general who served as security chief under Sukarnoputri before winning Indonesia's first-ever direct presidential election in 2004. He is known as a cautious, indecisive reformer who favors stability and moderation over radical changes.

Economy focus of campaign

Much of the campaign turned on promises to maintain economic growth and spread the benefits among Indonesia's 235 million people, scattered across thousands of islands.

This allowed Yudhoyono to highlight his benign economic stewardship and social programs that have put cash and subsidized rice in the hands of the poor. The economy is slowing, but hasn't felt the whiplash of crashing export demand that has sunk other Asian trading partners.

Islam, the majority faith in Indonesia, had a symbolic role in the campaign as the wives of Kalla and his running mate were featured prominently wearing head scarves. Neither Sukarnoputri nor Yudhoyono's wife wears one, a fact that Kalla's camp sought to spotlight, apparently to little effect.

By completing his first term, Yudhoyono is already Indonesia's third longest-serving leader after Sukarno, the first president after independence in 1945, and Army General Suharto, whose 32- year iron-fisted rule ended in violent unrest in 1998. The restoration of democracy brought more chaos and ethnic conflict, fanning fears of a breakup, but the country has since regained its equilibrium.

Yudhoyono won praise from the United States and other allies for containing Islamic militants who plotted the 2002 Bali bombings and other Al Qaeda-inspired attacks. But he's been less eager to take on intolerant Islamic agitators who oppose liberal interpretations of the faith. Critics say he may become more beholden to such views as his coalition in Parliament depends on Islamic-based parties.

Will Yudhoyono push reform?

A bigger question is Yudhoyono's ability to attract foreign investors to an economy that is rich in natural resources but plagued by corruption, threadbare infrastructure, and inept governance.

By choosing Finance Minister Boediono, a nonpartisan reformer, as his vice president, Yudhoyono has encouraged those seeking root- and-branch reforms of the judiciary and other institutions.

But Yudhoyono will be constrained in his second term by a fractured Parliament and other centers of power that mitigate reforms, particularly those that penalize powerful business elites.

"There's not necessarily much ground for optimism in faster reforms or significant improvements [during a second term]. He still seems to be accommodating multiple interests," says Kevin O'Rourke, an independent political analyst in Jakarta.

Yudhoyono has a strong image as a clean pair of hands in a country awash in corruption. But critics say his probity doesn't extend to his Democrat Party, the largest in Parliament. The party recently proposed legislation that would hobble an independent anticorruption agency that had begun to make headway against rampant graft among politicians and bureaucrats.

In April, Indonesia's parliamentary elections were dogged by complaints over faulty voter rolls that excluded millions of potential voters. On Monday, the Constitutional Court ruled that unregistered voters could use an identity card to cast their ballot after a challenge from Kalla and Sukarnoputri. Over 176 million people were eligible to vote in Wednesday's election.

Indonesia votes for more of the same

Asia Times - July 8, 2009

Megawati Wijaya and Shawn W. Crispin, Jakarta – As Indonesians headed to Wednesday's presidential polls, the only uncertainty surrounded by how large a margin the incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would win.

If as expected he garners at least 50% of the vote against his two rivals, incumbent Vice President Jusuf Kalla and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, Yudhoyono will be swept into a second term with a thumping electoral mandate and have further consolidated the country's exceptional democratic transition.

According to the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), an independent polling agency, Yudhoyono was set to take 63% of the vote based on a survey of 3,000 respondents across 33 provinces conducted between June 30 and July 2. Megawati placed second with 19.6% and Kalla third with 10.6% in the same poll. If that forecast is accurate, Yudhoyono will be the first president elected in a single round of voting, avoiding a two candidate run-off tentatively set for August. (At the time of going to press, with 94% of the vote counted, Yudhoyono had 60.8% of the vote, according to LSI, Reuters reported.)

A resounding Yudhoyono win would have profound implications for Indonesia's politics and economics. His upstart Democrat Party already won April's legislative elections, notching 21% of the vote, up from only 7.5% in 2004, giving Yudhoyono unprecedented sway inside the influential legislature, or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR). Those legislative numbers coupled with a strong presidential mandate would allow a new Yudhoyono-led administration to push through economic reforms and liberalization measures previous nationalistic elements in the DPR have voted down.

Indonesia made stealthy economic progress during Yudhoyono's first term, witnessed in the fact the economy is one of the region's few on course to record positive gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year. That's in part been driven by decentralization measures that have broken the center's long-time stranglehold on natural resource revenues and allowed for more geographically broad-based economic activity – a feat regional neighbors like Thailand and the Philippines have failed to achieve.

His government's anti-corruption efforts have addressed investors' main complaint and some market analysts believe that he will accelerate the campaign during a second term. Sriyan Pietersz, JP Morgan's head of research for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)/Frontier Markets, believes a solid Yudhoyono win will allow him to appoint a "dream team" of technocrats and "nail down a superstructure to what's been done so far".

Pietersz foresees a virtuous case scenario where a feel-good "Yudhoyono factor" helps to reduce Indonesia's market risk premium, in turn appreciates the rupiah and eventually allows the government to borrow more cheaply on international credit markets. That, the analysis follows, would drive a structural lowering of interest rates, reduce the current crowding out of private investment and provide greater incentive for foreign direct investment in the country.

Senior HSBC economist Fredric Neumann in a recent report ranks Indonesia in its top three Asian economic recovery stories, along with China and India. "With politics out of the way, the [Indonesian] economy should steer a robust path," he wrote, presaging a Yudhoyono second term.

Yudhoyono's upside has already been well noted by Indonesian voters. According to LSI, the incumbent president began his election campaign in May with a sky-high approval rating of 73%. That rating was backed by big money, with the Yudhoyono-Boediono ticket declaring Rp20 billion (US$1.9 million) in campaign funds, substantially more than Megawati-Prabowo's Rp15 billion and twice Kalla-Wiranto's Rp10 billion, according to the General Election Commission.

Yudhoyono's comparative largesse, analysts say, is indicative of the broad private sector's strong support for his candidacy and proposed policies. Yudhoyono's popularity has, however, dipped slightly over the past two months, dampened partially by his rivals' populist charges that his technocratic running mate, Boediono, adheres more to neo-liberal rather than pro-poor economic policies. His campaign was also hit by a number of public relations debacles, detracting some from his carefully crafted clean-hands image.

One of his campaign team's members reportedly beat and kicked a female journalist who was covering a Democrat Party rally in Papua province, sparking a threatened news coverage boycott of future Yudhoyono events by many local and Jakarta-based journalists. In another incident, campaign member Ruhut Sitompul spewed racist commentary against Arabs during a nationally televised debate.

And at a rally in Kalla's home base in South Sulawesi, presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng simultaneously jabbed at Kalla and angered locals by saying an ethnic Bugis person was not fit to lead the country. Yudhoyono, like all previous Indonesian presidents, is ethnically Javanese. Voters-cum-protesters took the racial slight to the streets.

Those isolated incidents gathered more media attention than Kalla's and Megawati's broad bids to highlight Yudhoyono's statistical failure to bring down substantially unemployment and poverty rates, as he vowed upon taking office in 2004. Both Yudhoyono and Kalla promised to bring down unemployment, which peaked at 9.9% in 2004, to 5.1% when their term expired. The current rate is stuck at 8.5%. Meanwhile, the poverty rate is mired at 15.4%, down from the 16.7% they inherited in 2004, but substantially higher than their stated 8.5% goal.

Megawati and her running mate former soldier Prabowo Subianto, who eyed strong support from grass-roots farmers, fisher-folk and small traders, however, failed to effectively elaborate on their people-based economy alternative, judging by their lack of upward movement in voter opinion polls. Megawati was also perceived to have performed poorly in three rounds of televised debates, all shown live on national television for the first time.

In comparison, Kalla outshone both Yudhoyono and Megawati during the debates and steadily built momentum throughout the campaign. Over 80 million Indonesians tuned into the debates, representing one-third of the total population, and some analysts believe Kalla's performance would have swayed many undecided voters in his ticket's favor. But with an overall popularity rating of only 3% as of April, leagues behind Yudhoyono's 70% in the same poll, his surge was likely too little, too late.

Kalla tried to capitalize on a "the faster, the better" campaign slogan, a jab aimed at Yudhoyono's perceived slow and deliberate decision-making, and claimed that he was often the brains behind the incumbent administration's many policy successes. Striking nationalistic chords, Kalla also criticized Yudhoyono's neo- liberal economic policies and threatened war against neighboring Malaysia to defend Indonesia's claim to the oil-rich and contested Ambalat Island.

Whether those tactics will be enough to split the vote and keep Yudhoyono under the 50% threshold seems to most analysts highly unlikely. Yudhoyono's victory, according to Imam Prasodjo, political analyst from Universitas Indonesia as well as the moderator of a presidential debate held in 1999, was partly a case of "saved by the bell". Other analysts say the election was from the start Yudhoyono's to lose and that he ran a modest campaign aimed specifically at preserving his position rather than undermining his opponents.

Previous legislative and presidential election results showed that Indonesian voters tend to shy from extreme candidates and opt for more moderate ones. Because both Kalla and Megawati were forced by coalition partners to take on former soldiers implicated in human rights violations as their running mates, the Yudhoyono-Boediono ticket's conservative track record is more in-line with what Indonesians have looked for in a candidate. If that trend holds, a historic Yudhoyono win is likely in the cards.

[Megawati Wijaya is a Singapore-based journalist and may be contacted at megawati.wijaya@gmail.com. Shawn W Crispin is Asia Times Online's Southeast Asia Editor.]

A normal, minimal-choice election - Indonesia picks its killer

Counterpunch - July 8, 2009

Allan Nairn – International Herald Tribune headlined it "A Proudly Normal Election" in Indonesia, and it was – a minimal- choice election, as normally happens in most countries (Jacob Ramsay, "A Proudly Normal Election, " International Herald Tribune, July 8, 2009).

This election was a de facto choice among three mass-killing Suharto generals – each of them old US proteges – one of whom actually embodied the specter of something like fascist dictatorship, and people voted for the smoothest, least frightening general, the incumbent, Gen. Susilo.

But it was impossible on the ballot to vote for the poor or to vote against killing civilians, because none of the candidates, pre-screened by the establishment, stood for anything like that: these were candidates of the rich, and of murder.

Gen. Susilo had most of the army and most of the rich people behind him, so he had most of the media propaganda and also most of the campaign money. In Indonesia a lot of poor people like the election season because they get direct cash bribes. Party messengers come to their homes and give each family several dollars, and this time everyone I met said Gen. Susilo's footmen gave the most money.

Beyond that, his two rivals were repulsive to many people. They selected as their running mates the two most hated generals in the country. One, Gen. Prabowo, has a neo-fascist style and made his name as a hands-on torturer and as Suharto's son-in-law, and the other, Gen. Wiranto, saved the army in 1998 when he threatened a Tienanmen-style massacre of demonstrators if they challenged the army after toppling Suharto.

So compared to those two, Gen. Susilo seemed less bloodthirsty, even though he's been high in the chain of command for some of the country's most famous massacres, including Jakarta '96, occupied East Timor '99, Aceh in the early 2000s, and as President he's backed nationwide police torture and army torture and murder in sealed-off Papua, and has a practice of arresting people who insult him or who hoist local independence flags.

Economically, Gen. Susilo broke the law and canceled severance pay for workers, and hunger and diarrhea have been increasing nationwide, especially in Nusatenggara in eastern Indonesia.

But he's done all that smoothly. He's seen as smart, and he gets lots of foreign money. The US and investors like him because he does the necessary killing and holds down wages discreetly – without bragging about it – and he lets them take minerals and forests and labor while demanding smaller bribes than Suharto.

And at the same time he's made life better for city elites, lots of condos and spectacular malls. If you have money, life in Jakarta can be Valhalla. That gets him good press coverage.

But if you're poor, police thugs will come and bulldoze your home to put up those fancy condos, and your chances of working, eating, or putting your kid through primary school are the same or worse than before Susilo.

So the Herald Tribune is right, this was a normal election. There was voting but there wasn't much choice.

[Allan Nairn writes the blog News and Comment at www.newsc.blogspot.com.]

Indonesia elections: A win for democracy

Time Magazine - July 8, 2009

Hannah Beech – At first glance, it hardly looked like a vision of democratic perfection. One presidential candidate was the nationalist daughter of a former strongman, while the incumbent was a retired general whose in-law was just jailed for corruption. Two of the vice-presidential nominees have been accused of directing human-rights abuses during their military careers. Yet the election that took place in Indonesia on July 8 is, in fact, testament to the remarkable political experiment unfolding in the world's fourth most-populous nation.

Upwards of 100 million voters scattered across 920-plus permanently inhabited islands went to the voting booth on Wednesday, with early polls showing incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono commanding a comfortable lead over challengers Megawati Sukarnoputri and Jusuf Kalla. But regardless of whether SBY, as Yudhoyono is commonly known, prevails, just the fact that the election proceeded with a minimum of violence and vote-rigging accusations is very good news.

Little more than a decade ago, tens of thousands of Indonesians joined together in a People-Power overthrow of dictator Suharto, who had ruled for 32 years. Since then, the country has had four presidents, with peaceful transitions of power between each leader. Indonesia's success at the ballot box has silenced skeptics who used geographic or religious rationales to spell doom for the country's political future. Indeed, compared to places like Malaysia and Thailand, where democratic institutions are stagnating if not backsliding, Indonesia has cemented its status as the region's political role model.

As the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia proves that democracy and Islam need not be incompatible. Even though many leaders of Indonesian Islamic political parties first gained inspiration from the Iranian revolution in 1979, Indonesia today is hardly in danger of hardening into a theocracy willing to gun down unarmed protesters. True, shari'a-based initiatives have proliferated on the local level and more Indonesian women wear the veil today than three decades ago. But on a national level, Islamic parties fared poorly in April's legislative polls, winning nine percentage points fewer than they did in 2004. And since a spate of deadly bombings on vacation isle Bali and capital Jakarta a few years ago, the country's intelligence service has been more successful in dismantling the local Jemaah Islamiah terrorist network than practically any other country with homegrown terror movements.

Of course, many Indonesians feel that change hasn't come fast enough. Around 15% of the country subsists below the poverty line. Corruption still corrodes efforts to increase foreign investment and degrades daily life for everyone from pedi-cab drivers to entrepreneurs. On its graft perception index that assigns the cleanest countries a rank of 1, global corruption watchdog Transparency International rates Indonesia a dismal 126th out of 180 nations, worse than Nigeria or Nepal.

Nevertheless, Indonesia has so far emerged from the global financial crisis surprisingly unscathed. Although exports are down, the country recorded 4.4% growth in the first quarter of this year. Local banks are unburdened with the kind of debt crippling financial institutions in other countries. A monthly consumer-confidence survey elicited the second-highest level of optimism since August 2006. Buoying hopes is SBY's choice for vice-presidential running mate, principled former central-bank governor Boediono. Expectations are high that the incumbent President, if re-elected as expected, will continue the anti- graft drive that animated his first term. (Ranking 126th in the most recent Transparency International index was still a big improvement over the year before when the country ranked 143.) Indeed, investment bank Morgan Stanley is so impressed with Indonesia's performance that it wondered in a June report whether the country should be added to the so-called "BRIC club" of economic up-and-comers – Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Before the April legislative elections, in which SBY's Democratic Party proved its burgeoning popularity by tripling its showing from the last polls, I walked the streets of Yogyakarta in central Java, marveling at the colorful profusion of campaign posters, the red-and-white star motif of the Democrats, the black bull of Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the green banyan tree of Kalla's Golkar Party. Taxis had their radios tuned to political talk shows, and youths on motorcycles revved their engines as they carried their chosen parties' flags through town. I knew that many of these young campaigners were canvassing in exchange for pocket money or gas for their bikes. Still, the democratic energy in Indonesia was undeniable, as omnipresent as the smell of fried shallots and clove cigarettes. On a continent where so many people doubt that their vote can make a difference, that's impressive enough.