Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Activists have accused the police and several religious groups of breaking the law by shutting down a planned congress on sexual orientation in Surabaya, East Java, and by banning conference participants from speaking to the media.

As of Sunday – the deadline given by extremist Islamic groups to foreign participants from 16 countries arriving in the city to attend the 4th regional Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA) conference to leave the country – none of the participants have spoken to the press.

Leading gay rights activist Dede Oetomo apologized to journalists for not being able to give a statement, saying the participants' and organizers' safety was under threat.

"The police should have been able to ensure the citizens' rights to convene," the founder of the Gaya Nusantara organization told The Jakarta Post via telephone on Sunday. "It turned out that they could not even ensure the safety and security of the participants and organizers."

Organizers of the conference, scheduled to run from March 26-28, canceled the event on Thursday, citing security reasons.

Militant members from several hardline Islamic groups on Friday forced their way into a Surabaya hotel thought to be hosting the congress and ordered participants to leave the country by Sunday.

The secretary-general of the East Java branch of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), Mohammad Chaeruddin, said the foreigners were told to leave because Surabaya Muslims allegedly believed the conference violated religious principles.

A participant of the planned congress, Gayatri, who is also a founder and activist of the Coalition of Indonesian Women and the Voice of Concerned Mothers, said she would report the attack to international rights watchdogs Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Women's activist Vivi Widyawati, who is the spokeswoman of the Mahardhika women's organization, said the attackers broke the law and should be punished. "The move violates democratic principles and humiliates Indonesia in the international forum," she told the Post.

She also said the incident was evidence of the failure of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, lawmakers and the political elite to protect minorities in the country. "We demand the police arrest and imprison the attackers. I doubt, however, that the police have the balls to do so," Vivi said.

The raid on the hotel turned violent for Maria, a women's activist in Surabaya invited by congress organizers along with several other activists. When she was seen talking to journalists, she was pushed by members of the Islamic groups and almost fell to the ground.

The hardline groups had demanded participants not speak to the press. "We weren't trying to ignite tempers, we were simply trying to interview a participant," a television station cameraman told South Surabaya Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bahagia Dachi.

He spoke to the police chief after journalists tried to interview a participant seen leaving the hotel, but prevented from doing so by militant Islamic groups.

In a crackdown on press freedom and clearly pandering to the hardline groups' illegal call to muzzle participants, Bahagia told journalists to leave the hotel and not attempt to seek statements from participants or organizers.

"It's better that you go home. If you need an interview, call me," he said.

The head of Surabaya's Alliance of Independent Journalists, Donny Maulana, criticized the Islamic groups for "banning" the congress' participants from speaking out, saying that such a "ban" would lead to unbalanced reporting.

"A move to ban a news source from speaking to the media is illegal," he said Sunday, adding that the 1999 Press Law stipulates that preventing journalists from seeking and publishing information was a crime. Those found guilty of doing so face up to two years imprisonment and up to Rp 500 million in fines.

Indonesian radicals 'raid' gay conference

Jakarta Globe - March 26, 2010

Amir Tejom Surabaya – Led by the East Java chapter of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), hardline groups descended on a Surabaya hotel on Friday, intimidating delegates who had planned to attend an international gay conference that was canceled after pressure from Islamic organizations.

"We found 130 people, including foreign participants from 13 countries, who were gathering in the hotel," said a spokesman for the groups, Arukat Jaswadi, who is also chairman of the Center for Indonesian Community Studies. The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) also took part in the raid.

The radical Islamic groups also demanded that the management of the Oval Hotel ask the guests registered for the event to leave. "How can the hotel management guarantee us that those people are not having a conference in the hotel?" said Arukat.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA) was scheduled to hold a conference in Surabaya from Friday to Sunday. The event, hosted by gay rights group Gaya Nusantara, had been expected to attract more than 150 activists.

A minor clash occurred during the raid as hotel guests resisted the checks by FPI members. Arukat said scuffles broke out because the ILGA members did not want to cooperate with them and "always argue with us."

When the ILGA members planned to hold a news conference after the raid, the FPI members prevented them, leading to another skirmish. "They are undermining us. It's clear that we don't want them to be here for the conference, now they want to hold a press conference," Arukat said.

The groups said they would "keep an eye on the participants and make sure they leave the hotel on Friday afternoon."

Rafael Dacosta, one of the event organizers, said there was no secret conference. "We canceled the event and the hotel guests are staying while waiting for their flights," he said.

Rafael said there were only 30 conference participants staying in the hotel – not 130 as claimed by the hardline groups. An agreement was reached later that participants from Indonesia would leave the hotel on Friday while foreign guests would stay until Sunday.

Separately, Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X rejected a suggestion that the event be moved to his city. "For me, we have an ethical problem in this case. If the Surabaya government rejects the conference, so does Yogyakarta," he said.

[Additional reporting by Candra Malik.]

Indonesian Islamists vow that gay conference will not proceed

Jakarta Globe - March 25, 2010

Amir Tejo – Pressure from Islamic organizations has finally forced the organizers of the planned International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA) conference in Surabaya to cancel the event.

"We have contacted the participants [and told them] that the congress is being cancelled," said Tan Oey, one of the organizing committee of ILGA's fourth Asian conference, which was to be held from today until Sunday.

As for foreign participants who had already arrived in Indonesia, the committee would receive them as guests, Tan said. The organizers had said that 100 participants from Asia were scheduled to attend the meeting.

He said that those participants already in the country would still hold discussions on the topics that had been slated for debate at the congress. "We will just talk. It is not a congress," Tan said.

The planned congress sparked widespread opposition from Islamic groups, especially in Surabaya, the capital of East Java, which is a strongholds for conservative religious groups.

In the latest protest against the event, the Surabaya chapter of the Indonesian Muslim Students' Action Front (KAMMI) and the Islamic Student Union of Airlangga University in Surabaya rallied in front of the governor's office.

"Surabaya is not a city of gays or lesbians. Reject the lesbian and gay conference in Surabaya or in any other city in Indonesia," said Agus Kusdiyanto, the chairman of KAMMI Surabaya.

Agus said that homosexuality was not just a sexual disorder but a moral evil that must be eradicated.

He said KAMMI asked the authorities not to grant a permit for that event in Surabaya or in any other cities. The group also called on the government not to provide space for gay and lesbian organizations in Indonesia.

Twenty members of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) of East Java, as well as the local chapters of Hizbut Tahrir and the Al-Irsyad Association, on Thursday went to the Mirama Mercure Hotel on Jalan Darmo Surabaya, where the meeting was due to be held, to ensure that it had been cancelled.

"We guarantee that the meeting has been cancelled," said Windiarto, the general manager of the hotel.

Windiarto said that the hotel management always reminded its clients to first seek police permission before holding events. He said that the downpayment for the booking of 10 rooms and the rental of the hotel's Grand Ballroom would be refunded by the hotel.

Despite the assurances from the hotel and the cancellation announcement by the committee, the FPI said it remained concerned that the congress would be held somewhere else.

"We have spies. FPI has 2,000 members in East Java. We asked them to remain vigilant even though the event was canceled in Surabaya," said Muhammad Dhofir, vice chairman of FPI in East Java.

Democrats support gay, lesbian congress

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Politicians from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party have called the police's banning of a planned gay and lesbian congress in East Java as "unconstitutional".

"[Holding a congress] is part of every citizen's basic human rights," Benny Kabur Harman, chairman of the House of Representatives' justice and human rights commission, said Friday.

"Gays and lesbians are citizens whose political and legal rights are guaranteed and protected by the Constitution, which allows for freedom of opinion and freedom to associate. So the state should in no way forbid such a congress from being held.

"Any such prohibition is baseless. The state must instead protect gays and lesbians in their bid to host a peaceful congress."

Benny's colleague, Pieter Zulkifli, said the congress should be seen as "a celebration of democracy and human rights".

The congress was set to run from March 26 to 28, but was canceled by the police following complaints by local Muslim groups.

PKB shouts down gay and lesbian congress in Indonesia

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The National Awakening Party (PKB) says a gay and lesbian congress initially scheduled to take place in Surabaya, East Java, must be relocated overseas "for the sake of the country's moral values".

"Indonesia is not a liberal country and still clings to Eastern values," Marwan Ja'far, the PKB chairman at the House of Representatives, said Friday.

"The event must be reviewed and relocated. East Java is also widely known as a religious province, so holding the event there is improper."

The congress was set to run from March 26 to 28, but was canceled by the police following complaints by local Muslim groups.

Resistances over gays and lesbians go on, GAYa Nusantara sealed

Kompas - March 26, 2010

Surabaya – The cancelled gay-lesbian conference in Surabaya has incited further resistance among the people. The Islamic Forum (FUI) of East Java has sealed the office of GAYa Nusantara at Mojo Kidul street 1/11A, Surabaya.

Chanting prayers, the FUI members sealed the gay community's building and wrote "Gay-Lesbian are Moral Terrorists" on the wall. The East Java FUI spokesman, Jatim Abdurrahman Aziz stated, Friday, that actually FUI only came for a peaceful discussion.

"We've confirmed (the meeting) with Mr. Rafael. He said he was going to accept us. But they weren't there at all and the office building was empty. This is a public manipulation." For that reason, the FUI members padlocked the building and gave the key to the local community leader, Pujo Utomo.

Previously, Rafael Da Costa had stated that since the conference was off, most of the participants who'd arrived already decided to have a vacation in Indonesia instead.

But the East Java FUI chairman Arukat Jaswadi stated, Friday, "We ask the government to immediately deport all the foreign participants (of the gay-lesbian conference)." He was concerned that the cancelled event might be replaced with another kind of gathering which would be substantially the same.

The FUI has traced the movements of the participants from a certain hotel in Kota Batu. The participants, including Dede Utomo (former chairman of GAYa Nusantara), were spotted on several buses. The FUI claimed they will continue observing the movements of the participants. (C5-10/C17-09)

Surabaya police withhold permit for gay conference

Jakarta Globe - March 24, 2010

Amir Tejo – Surabaya Police have buckled to continuing threats from Islamic clerics in conservative East Java and refused to issue a permit for a regional conference to discuss the rights of members of the gay, lesbian and transgender communities in Asia, scheduled to commence on Friday.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Sri Setyo Rahayu, who heads the city's community policing department, confirmed that the force had decided not to provide a permit for the fourth regional conference of the Asia chapter of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association from Friday to Sunday due to strong protests from the local branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI).

"We will not issue the permit due to security reasons," Sri said. "If it is allowed to be held, many parties will stage protests."

She said the police were concerned that allowing the conference to proceed had the potential to create unrest, including the possibility of clashes given that many groups had expressed opposition.

She said the group concerned had been informed of the decision and that if it chose to proceed, police would not hesitate to take action to prevent it from holding the conference.

The event, hosted by gay rights group Gaya Nusantara, had been expected to attract more than 150 activists to discuss how gay, lesbian and transgender communities across the region might move toward a "common vision, mission and goal," according to the ILGA Web site.

Abdusshomad Buchori, chairman of the East Java chapter of the MUI, said the conference was an attempt "to ruin the people and the young generation."

"According to Islamic teachings, the same-sex relationships of gays or lesbians as well as bisexuals are condemned by the Almighty," he said, adding that his organization had sent a formal request to the National Police headquarters and the East Java administration not to permit the conference to go ahead.

Abdusshomad said his organization would not hesitate "to use our own methods" to break up the event should authorities allow it to go forward. "If there are parties that insist on holding the event, we will play hard," he warned.

Abdusshomad criticized the activists for using human rights to defend their movement, saying "their actions are contrary to human rights because people feel disturbed by their activities."

Pujiatiam, who chairs the organizing committee of the conference, said the group would negotiate with the police to try and secure the permit while discussing other possibilities to ensure the conference went ahead in some form or another.

Cancel sexuality talks: MUI

Jakarta Post - March 25, 2010

Indra Harsaputra and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya/Malang – The police refused Wednesday to grant a permit for the upcoming conference of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex associations across Asia set to be held in Surabaya, East Java, citing fears of protests from religious groups.

Chief of the Surabaya Police community alliance division, Adj. Sr. Comr. Sri Setyo Rahayu, said the National Police had instructed the Surabaya office not to issue a permit for the three-day conference set to be attended by 200 participants from across Asia.

"Based on a police intelligence report, the event could trigger social unrest. The East Java chapter Indonesian Ulema Council [MUI] also recommends that the event be canceled as it's against religious teachings and culture," she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Under the plan, the 4th Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (ILGA) regional conference will be held from March 26 to 28. The last three conferences were held in Mumbai, India (2002); Cebu, the Philippines (2005); and Chiangmai, Thailand (2008).

ILGA Asia Regional Conference organizing committee head Poedjianti Tan said the group would try to lobby and approach religious figures to change their minds since it had already distributed invitations to group members and activists in 16 countries including in Japan, China, Thailand and Singapore.

"The event is actually held to seek a way out on social issues faced by the minority group. We will also hold a seminar on health, education, discrimination and others," she said.

Tan said the meeting was not exclusively held for the lesbian, gay and transgender communities, but would also pay special attention to women's issues in Asia.

The East Java MUI and clerics from Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah Muslim organizations have strongly opposed the conference.

East Java MUI head Abdussomad Bukhori said the event would hurt Muslims in Indonesia because lesbianism and homosexuality are against religious norms. "We will make strenuous efforts to call off the event because it would likely spark social unrest and waves of protests," he said.

An Islamic sociologist at the Muhammadiyah University in Malang, Syamsul Arifin said homosexuality and lesbianism were still controversial issues here but encouraged religious leaders not to perceive the issue only from religious aspects.

"I'm in favor of the event. We will even invite clerics and religious figures to attend it," he said.

"There would definitely be pros and cons. The devout would definitely see the issue as a form of pathology that should be set aside since it's apparently against any religion," the university's post-graduate program deputy director said.

He urged the public to look at the issue from the sociological perspectives, saying the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities are a social reality. "Basically, they only wish people to recognize their existence, socially and legally."

Perempuan Mahardika condemns banning of ILGA congress

Detik.com - March 25, 2010

Support for the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) congress that was planned to be held in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya continues to flow in, although there are many that oppose it.

One of the organisations that supports the congress, the Perempuan Mahardika (Free Women) National Network (JNPM) believes that Surabaya municipal district police is acting undemocratically.

"The rejection, banning and criticisms against holding the ILGA congress in Surabaya is a violation of basic human rights and an undemocratic act," said JNPM spokesperson Sharina in a press release received by Detik.com Surabaya on Wednesday March 24.

Sharina also condemned the actions of the Surabaya municipal police for refusing to issue a permit for the event and called on the government and officials to take firm action against anyone who attempts to restrict such meetings.

"We condemn the actions of the district municipal police who have refused to provide a permit to organise the ILGA meeting. It should by the police's duty to safeguard, protect and guarantee [the right] to hold ILGA meeting until it closes and the government must act firmly against anyone, any group, which [tries] to stop the meeting, not the reverse," she explained.

Sharina also said that the group hopes that all parties will acknowledge the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people. "We are also calling for the recognition of the rights of marginal groups such as the right to obtain an education, healthcare, gainful employment, to organise and to live without fear," she concluded.

The congress, which ILGA had planned to hold on March 26-28 in Surabaya, was to be attended by participants from various different countries across Asia.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

International gays and lesbians banned from flocking to Surabaya

Kompas - March 24, 2010

Surabaya – Surabaya deputy mayor Arif Affandi has banned the international gay-lesbian conference from being held in Surabaya on March 26-28, 2010. The committee of the conference will have to find a new city for its venue.

Arif stated that the rejection can't be categorized as antidemocratic or against human rights. Democracy and human rights must also mind socio-cultural conditions.

"I don't think Surabaya is suitable for such an international seminar or conference," he said in Surabaya, Wednesday. But the Surabaya government can't declare an official statement on the issue. The permit is entirely up to the police.

"Because it has an international scale, so the permit must come from the police HQ by recommendation of the regional and district police. But I heard that the Surabaya chief police has also denied the permit with the reason that it has a potential to disturb law and order."

The gay-lesbian conference was scheduled for this weekend in Surabaya, and to be attended by 200 people from various countries. (RAZ/C17-09)

Actions, demos, protests...

Muhammadiyah students slam new edict

Jakarta Post - March 25, 2010

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Malang, East Java – Student Executive Bodies of Muhammadiyah universities across the country staged a rally Wednesday in Malang, East Java, protesting the haram edict, which bans smoking issued by Muhammadiyah's Tarjih Islamic Law Council.

Marching for a kilometer from Gajayana Stadium to Malang City Square while carrying banners expressing their demands, the students urged the council to review the edict, arguing it could negatively affect workers in cigarette factories.

"The Tarjih Council did not consider the fate of thousands of cigarette companies' employees whose livelihoods depend on the existence of cigarette factories," protesters' coordinator Nasrudin Khoiriza said.

He said numerous social problems could emerge if smoking was considered haram or banned according to the Islamic teaching.

"Thousands of employees of cigarette factories will lose their jobs, not mentioning others who also make a living from sectors related to cigarette production such as tobacco farmers and cigarette street vendors."

He said there were more than 40,000 people who worked as cigarette rollers at more than 500 cigarette factories across the greater Malang regions, which comprise Batu and Malang municipalities and Malang regency.

Muhammadiyah's deputy chairman overseeing Islamic law, Yunahar Ilyas said earlier the edict was internally binding.

Yunahar also said the edict was a religious opinion and was not an instruction or a law. It will become an organizational decision that has to be followed by its members only when it has been approved by a national congress.

For years Muhammadiyah had determined smoking as mubah or allowed but not considered as meritorious. The haram edict was issued because smoking was considered to be endangering both smokers and non-smokers.

Supermarket pelted in protest against SBY's visit to Makassar

Jakarta Post - March 24, 2010

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Heavy security by military and police during the President's brief visit did not stop a violent rally in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Tuesday.

Separate protests occurred in several parts of the city, notorious for its violent rallies, while President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was making a speech to officially open the 32nd national congress of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the nation's largest Muslim organization.

A group of some 30 student protesters pelted rocks at an outlet of the French-based hypermarket Carrefour on Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, Makassar, braving tight security by gun-brandishing military soldiers and police along the roads leading the venue.

The attackers smashed the windows of a security post and two parking booths at the outlet. They also hurled rocks at a car parked inside the compound and tore down banners held up near Carrefour's entry gate.

A perfume trading booth in the outlet's corridor suffered the brunt of the damage. After venting their anger, the protesters ran away and the rally dissipated.

"I was shocked when I heard loud noises. When I checked it out, I saw people throwing rocks [at Carrefour]. Other traders and I, as well as visitors fled for safety," said Halijah, 30, who owns a ceramic stall on the same floor as the hypermarket.

The protesters were wearing black clothing and carried protest banners, she added.

The banner and leaflets conveyed the protesters' demands for equal and cheap education and lower prices for basic goods.

They also rejected foreign investment and a government plan to raise electricity prices.

Burhanuddin, a security officer at the hypermarket, said the protestors threw rocks for several minutes.

On Monday, Wirabuana military commander Maj. Gen. Hari Krisnowo, warned that his troops would not tolerate unruly behavior and would instead take firm action against those trying to disrupt the President's visit to Makassar.

However, a wave of demonstrations rejecting the President's visit still occurred.

Protests were staged at a number of university campuses, at the South Sulawesi Legislative Council and under the city's flyover, as well as outside the Makassar National Heroes Cemetery.

Student protesters burned tires during a free speech forum outside the campus of the State University of Makassar (UNM), the Alauddin State Islamic University (UIN) and Muhammadiyah University.

The protesters accused the President of "not being consistent with his promises", particularly in relation to the Bank Century bailout.

They urged Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to resign for their alleged "abuse of power and embezzlement" in the Bank Century case.

Aceh

Aceh rights group demands inquiry after skeletons found in sacks

Jakarta Globe - March 31, 2010

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – An activist from a leading Indonesian rights group on Wednesday called for a comprehensive investigation into the recent finding of sacks full of bones in an area formerly used as a police base during the decades of violent conflict in Aceh.

Four gunny sacks, each containing the bones of one individual, were found by a villagers in an area in Sungai Raya, East Aceh on Monday. The site, an abandoned warehouse belonging to woodworking company PT Wiralano, was used as an outpost by the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) paramilitary police for three years until 2005, when a peace pact ended the separatist conflict in Aceh.

"Many know that the area formerly used by PT Wiralano is one of the locations used for posts of the Brimob when Aceh was still under the military and civilian emergency status from 2003 until 2005 and feared by local residents," said activist Hendra Fadli.

Hendra, a coordinator of the Aceh chapter of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said he believed the remains were those of victims of violence during the armed conflict.

A peace treaty signed in August 2005 between the government and the exiled leadership of the pro-independence Free Aceh Movement (GAM) ended almost three decades of violent separatist conflict in Aceh which had claimed more than 15,000 lives.

Hendra said that Acehnese have no tradition of burying their dead in gunny sacks and therefore an investigation was necessary to determine the cause of death of the four.

He said that according to Kontras records, at least 38 cases in which human remains were found have been registered since peace came in Aceh. The 38 cases involved the remains of 74 people.

"The many cases of human remains discovered only strengthen the suspicion that crimes against humanity had taken place during the military and civilian emergency period between 2003 and 2005," he said.

The police have so far taken a passive stand and limited their action to monitoring the retrieval of the remains by local residents.

West Papua

Large food estate in Merauke will alienate Papuans, says NGO

Radio New Zealand Internatinal - March 29, 2010

A number of NGOs have raised concern over the Indonesian government's plan to develop a massive food estate in Papua province.

The government hopes the 1.6 million hectare Integrated Food and Energy Estate in Merauke will turn Indonesia into one of the world's biggest food producers, growing rice, sugar cane, soybeans and maize.

But Indonesian environmentalist NGOs, such as Greenomics and Walhi, warn the project would amount to a land grab and cause local farmers to suffer because they would be unable to compete with major corporations.

And Ed McWilliams of the West Papua Advoacy team says it would exacerbate the already significant poverty and unemployment issues in Papua.

"This project, if it were to go forward, would involve the in- migration of a lot of labour, non-Papuans. They would be displacing many people who have traditional land tenure there. And there has been, as yet, no provision at all for fair and equitable settlement with these people who own the land or actually live on the land."

Greens fear Indonesia forest loss for food estate

Reuters - March 25, 2010

Sunanda Creagh, Jakarta – Indonesia would have to clear about 700,000 hectares of forest, an area 10 times the size of Singapore, if it proceeds with plans for a vast agricultural estate in Papua province, an activist group said on Thursday.

Indonesia wants to develop the 1.2 million hectare (3 million acres) food estate in the Papua district of Merauke, the eastern-most part of Indonesia, to shore up supplies of rice, sugar, corn, soybean and beef and ensure more stable food prices.

The country has a rapidly growing population estimated at 240 million and wants to avoid rising food import bills. The government is trying to use more land for agricultural purposes to be self-sufficient.

The government previously said that unforested scrubland in areas classified as production forest would be used to develop the estate. But a Jakarta-based environmental NGO, Greenomics, said huge swathes of healthy Papua forest would need to be cleared to develop a food estate of that size.

Using satellite images and data from the ministry of environment and the ministry of forestry, Greenomics has calculated that Merauke has only 505,945 hectares of unforested scrubland in areas classified as production forest.

"That amount is far from the development target," said Greenomics executive director Elfian Effendi. "If they have to cut down this much forest, this is not consistent with the Indonesian government's plan to not convert natural forests in Merauke."

Under Indonesian law, there are different categories of forest and that some areas classified as production forest are in fact idle scrubland.

But Effendi said even if all the idle scrubland in Merauke's production forest was used, the government would still need more land to develop the food estate, suggesting that healthy forest would have to be cut down.

Green lungs Several investors have already joined the Merauke food estate project including PT Medco Energy International Tbk, PT Bangun Cipta, PT Wilmar International and PT Industri Gula Nusantara, according to the Indonesian government's State Secretariat website.

Indonesia has vowed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent from business as usual levels by 2020, or 41 percent by 2020 if international funding is made available.

Forest preservation is seen as crucial to slowing dangerous global warming because trees absorb large amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which is emitted when fossil fuels are burned or forests are cleared.

Indonesia's tropical forests, along with those in the Amazon Basin and equatorial Africa, act like "lungs of the planet" but its deforestation rate is among the highest in the world.

Effendi said the Merauke food estate "was really an issue about carbon emissions".

He also warned that the large numbers of farm workers that would need to be transported – most probably from the majority Muslim island of Java – to predominantly Christian Merauke could create social conflict.

"It would mean a sudden concentration of foreign workers in one area and could mean the local people are marginalised," he said.

Masnellyarti Hilman, a deputy environment minister, said the environment ministry would meet Greenomics next week to discuss their findings.

"I cannot tell you right now if their assessment is right or wrong because I do not have the detail of their study, but they used our data so we have to consider it," she told Reuters by phone.

Indonesia sees need for more troops in Papua

Agence France Presse - March 24, 2010

Jakarta – The Indonesian military is considering sending thousands of extra troops to restive Papua province where it stands accused of widespread human rights abuses, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Rear Marshal Sagom Tamboen said up to four battalions from a "Rapid Reaction Strike Force" division based in Jakarta could be sent to the restive province to "maintain the territory's unity within eastern Indonesia".

"There are many things we took into consideration... including tackling the separatist movement and terrorism," he told AFP.

"In case of an emergency, it takes at least eight hours to send troops from Jakarta to Papua. If we have (more) troops there, automatically we can save time and can react swiftly," he said.

He did not say how many troops were currently stationed in Papua but an independent analyst said there were about 10 battalions.

Poorly armed Papuan separatists have waged a low-level insurgency against Indonesian rule for decades but are not seen as posing any serious threat to Jakarta's control of the resource-rich region.

Tamboen said the planned deployment – which has not yet been approved by the government – had nothing to do with recent shootings targeting police and employees of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan.

An Australian mine technician, a Freeport security guard and a policeman were killed near Freeport's massive gold and copper mine last July, the first of a spate of such attacks which have left several other people injured.

Many indigenous Papuans accuse Indonesian security forces of human rights abuses and complain that the province's natural riches are being stolen by outsiders.

A report last year by New York-based Human Rights Watch backed up the Papuans' claims and urged Western governments such as Australia to cut military aid for the Indonesian special forces.

Indonesia denies allegations of systematic rights abuses but bars foreign journalists from independently reporting in the province.

Papuans 'need guidance' to escape poverty, health issues

Jakarta Post - March 24, 2010

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Lidya is 12 years old but unlike most girls her age, she only weighs 9 kilograms, suffers from leprosy and spends most of her time in bed.

Since she fell off her bicycle and broke her right ankle six months ago, her condition has worsened. Lidya has been diagnosed with malnutrition and has had to leave school due to her poor health.

Conny, a medical staff member at East Kroya community health center, which is located half a kilometer from Lidya's home, said the girl now had to consume vitamins and milk provided monthly by the center.

"But her condition is unstable. If she feels motivated and well enough to fetch the vitamins and milk from the center, she can walk. If not, she can only lie in bed." Lidya's parents, Bertha Mamtiamti and Thobias Eway, were only poor farmers who could not afford to buy milk and nutritious food for their daughter.

Eway abandoned his wife and five children, leaving Bertha to fend for her family alone. Lidya's younger brother, nine-year-old Doni, has also dropped out of school.

"It's not because the school [dismissed him], it's because it's long distance. It costs Rp 2,000 [20 US cents] to get there by public van. It's 7 kilometers away, quite far to reach on foot," Conny said.

Doni now lives with Conny and he will return to school next year. "I'll pay for his transport. It's a pity [Doni] has to drop out of school just because he doesn't have money for transportation," Conny said.

Lidya and Doni are not the only Papuan children who have to face the hard reality that comes with poverty.

Nine-month-old Marie, daughter of Yosina Dude and the late Benny Yongky, could not even sit up. Marie could only lie down with her head turned to the left. "She's never been immunized," Conny said.

The health worker added distance from the center was not the problem, as the family only lived 100 meters away.

Instead, Conny blamed the situation on the lack of awareness on the need to visit integrated health posts or posyandu, which provide healthcare assistance for babies and mothers.

She said this meant children like Marie did not benefit from health programs or immunization drives. The health post, Conny said, was organized every month and attended by doctor and nurses.

"Since the health counseling is focused at posyandu, how can she be aware of the need to vaccinate her baby if she never visits the posyandu?"

Evangelist Budi Priyono from the Kalam Kudus Christian Church, which parish includes East Kroya where Lidya, Doni and Maria live, said facilities alone were not enough to lift Papuans out of poverty.

Despite the presence of facilities like schools and health centers, Budi said Papuans still did not understand how to take advantage of the facilities for their benefits.

Many poor Papuans are also faced with problems like simply putting food on the table, let alone going to school or health centers, which would mean they have to spend money for transport.

"We don't know when they will be aware of the need to visit health centers on their own," Budi said. "We wish that we owned a car so the children could be taken to school. They may not attend school if they are left on their own."

Budi said thousands of Papuans whose conditions were similar to Lidya, Doni and Maria should be provided with counseling to help them escape poverty.

"Efforts to improve the lives of Papuans would be in vain without door-to-door counseling," he said. "There should be continued intervention from the outside [to stimulate the change] to realize this until they can be left on their own."

Human rights/law

No execution in 2009, but 98 convicts still on death row

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2010

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Anti-death penalty activists welcomed Tuesday that the Indonesian government did not carry out executions in 2009, the first year it has not exercised the death penalty in the country since 2004.

It means Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian country with the penalty that did not apply the punishment last year, according to a report issued by Amnesty International, with the politically volatile Thailand carrying out its first executions in six years.

But activists stressed that more needed to be done to abolish what they called a "cruel form of punishment" in the country, with a remaining 98 people on death row.

"Unfortunately the death penalty as a punishment still features in many Indonesian laws. Last year, the Aceh local parliament passed a bylaw stipulating that adultery be punished by stoning to death," Amnesty International Indonesia researcher Isabelle Arradon told The Jakarta Post.

"No criminal justice system is immune from the miscarriage of justice and Indonesia should remove the death penalty from the books to ensure it does not execute innocent people," she added.

Papang Hidayat from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said the country needed to revise 11 legislations to abolish the death penalty.

The legislations include the criminal law, the 1951 Emergency Law, the 1999 Corruption Law, the 1997 Narcotics Law, the 2000 Human Rights Tribunal Law and the 2003 Counterterrorism Law.

The criminal law alone classified 10 crimes, including treason and premeditated murder, as punishable by execution. "We still have a number of draft laws that carry out the death penalty," Papang said, citing draft laws on state secrecy and intelligence.

Indonesian activists have been pushing the government to apply a moratorium on death-penalty convicts, whose number has reached 119 since 1998.

The Attorney General's Office has executed 21 people, including the Bali bombers in 2008. The latest criminal to receive the death sentence is Very Idham Henyansyah, who was convicted for premeditated murder in a high-profile mutilation case last year.

Poengky Indarti from Imparsial said 72 death convicts had been charged with drug offenses, highlighting the plight of foreign drug suspects who often stood trial without being accompanied by competent translators.

Arradon acknowledged that there had been a debate on the death penalty in Indonesia in recent years, adding it was "now time for action".

"The Indonesian authorities should seize the opportunity and align themselves to the landmark decision of the Philippines, which abolished the death penalty in law and practice in 2006.

Army officers assault four minors for stealing bicycle

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2010

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) found Tuesday that several army officers abused four minors in Depok, West Java, for stealing a bicycle.

Komnas PA secretary-general Arist Merdeka Sirait said the commission received reports from parents of the children – Yono, 12; Yusuf Maulana, 11; Sulaiman, 10; and Taufik, 14, who live in Cilodong, Depok – on Tuesday morning.

"After interviewing the children, we found strong indications that the children had been abused in the incident," Arist said.

The reports said that early Sunday a number of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) detachment officers in Cilodong attacked the four children for allegedly entered their housing complex and stealing a bicycle.

Taufik, victim, said the officers had, among other acts, beat his face and body. "There was more than one officer, but I do not remember how many," he said.

After confirming the reports, Arist took the parents to the Military Police in Cijantung, East Jakarta, to file their report. The parents then met several investigators for questioning while their children underwent medical examinations at hospital.

"The children are exhausted [after the medical examination], so the investigators have agreed to begin questioning them [Wednesday]," Arist said.

Yuyun, Yono's mother, said officers took her son from her house at around 3 a.m. and dragged him along the road. "They beat my son in front of me and took him away," she said. "I could not help crying."

After reportedly bullying the children in the evening, the officers then took the children to the Sukmajaya Police at 5 a.m. The police released the children two hours later, after army officers could not provide evidence to support their allegation.

Kostrad spokesman Let. Col. (Inf) Husni admitted the alleged involvement of "some Kostrad officers" in the case, saying that, as of Tuesday evening, three officers had been questioned by the military police. Husni, however, denied an allegation saying that the incident was intentional.

He also said that the incident had occurred after the officers caught the children entering the military complex without clear purpose. "We will also question the victims get the facts straight" he said.

Meanwhile, Aris said the officers could be charged with a 15-year sentence for violating the 2002 Child Protection Law. "This incident can be considered a serious abuse of human rights," he said.

Experts and activists have said violence against children, including physical abuse, harassment, sexual abuse, humiliation and negligence, is caused mostly by a lack of public awareness of what constitutes abuse, poverty, as well as overpopulation.

Many adults view certain forms of violence as helpful to discipline children.

Earlier this month, the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry launched a national action plan to address violence against children.

The action plan underlines the need to promote and improve public awareness of violence against children, in cooperation with government agencies, NGOs, the public and the media.

Many convicts denied copies of their verdict

Jakarta Post - March 30, 2010

Jakarta – Thousands of prisoners have been denied copies of their verdicts, a top official said on Monday.

The absence of these documents have left their cases shrouded with legal uncertainties, including the exact date of their release, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said.

"In Jakarta, 1,900 convicts have not received copies of their court documents," Hendarman said after a meeting with Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar. The figure could reach the tens of thousands, he added. "This is a matter of human rights."

Hendarman and Patrialis met to discuss a plan for an integrated criminal justice system. The absence of a system means civil and criminal cases get confused, Patrialis said. "We agreed to coordinate with the police, who began the investigation."

NGOs advocate support for Bajau Pela'u community

Jakarta Post - March 29, 2010

Jakarta – Four Indonesian organizations are calling for the public to support a seafaring community known as Bajau Pela'u, whose members are being held at a shelter in Berau, East Kalimantan, after they were arrested by Berau Police.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the People's Coalition for Justice in Fisheries (Kiara), the Center for Ocean Development and Maritime Civilization (Commit) and the Archipelago People's Advocacy Service (Layar Nusantara) said in a press release that on March 12, the Berau Police had arrested 103 Bajau people who lived near Balikukup Island in East Kalimantan and escorted them to the social shelter in Tanjung Redeb.

The police found them without ID cards and originally planned to send the community to Malaysia or the Philippines. In the shelter, away from their usual surroundings, some Bajau Pela'u have fallen ill, the release said. The community lives on boats as their ancestors have done for centuries.

Bajau Pela'u people are stateless. For centuries, they have considered the waters around Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia their home, said the release.

The group of 103 people, which has now grown to 105 with the birth of two babies in the shelter, have chosen to live in Indonesian territory, around Balikukup and Tanjung Buaya-buaya islands.

NGOs have called for the government to recognize and protect the Bajau Pela'u as a special tribe that lives mostly out at sea. They have also asked the government to return the people to their home, which is the 16 boats they usually live on.

Victims demand more from Asean as human rights body gets to work

Jakarta Globe - March 29, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Victims of human rights abuses on Sunday called for thorough investigations into serious cases as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' new rights body opened its inaugural meetings in Jakarta.

The start of the previously unannounced five-day session, which comes five months after the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) was created in Thailand, wasn't open to the public and focused only on housekeeping matters, including internal regulations and the scope of the body's work for the next five years. The commissioners, some of whom will not arrive in Jakarta until today, are scheduled to meet through Thursday.

The rights body, which has one member from each of Asean's 10 member nations, said in its political declaration that the commission was a milestone in the development of the Asean community.

Human rights victims from across Southeast Asia gathered in Jakarta on Sunday to demand a session with commission members. Critics have said the body is toothless because it lacks the authority to impose punishment.

"The AICHR has to protect us, the peoples of Asean," Khin Ohmar, a representative from Burma, told a news conference. "For instance, crimes against humanity and war crimes such as extrajudicial killings and military rapes against ethnic minorities in Burma occur on a daily basis with impunity."

From Indonesia, a group of female survivors from the 1965-66 purges of suspected Communists expressed frustration with the Indonesian government's lack of acknowledgement of mass killings.

"We want the AICHR to push the Indonesian government to answer our calls to redress justice and reparations," said Sumini, an 81-year-old victim.

Noemi E Parcon, the widow of a Filipino journalist killed in last November's election-related massacre of 57 people in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, said: "I appeal to the commission to help our families to seek justice. The killing of 32 journalists is the worst-ever [incident] in the world for journalists, and the Philippine government is not responsive to our petition."

Rafendi Djamin, Indonesia's representative to the rights body, said they would consider the victims' request for a meeting.

"Although we have yet to decide whether the AICHR will have authority to investigate human rights violations, it would be better if the AICHR received them first in a meeting," Rafendi said.

Haris Azhar, from Indonesia's Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) asked why the inaugural session wasn't announced in advance. "Maybe they're hiding something," Haris said.

Activists urge military to investigate Aceh killings

Jakarta Post - March 27, 2010

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The military should conduct an independent investigation to prove its personnel were not involved in the killing of political activists in Aceh as accused by US journalist Allan Nairn, activists said Friday.

"We strongly encourage the military to cooperate with the police in conducting a thorough examination into the allegations. They could summon Allan to testify and support his allegations," Usman Hamid of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) told a press conference in Friday.

"The military needs to do that to avoid losing face. They have to be able to prove they are innocent in this case," he added.

Otto Samsudin Ishak, a senior researcher from human rights NGO Imparsial, also spoke at the press conference, saying the police could take the initiative in conducting the investigation.

"If the police find indications of military involvement they could then hand the suspects over to the military police for processing," he said.

He said it was reprehensible that neither the military nor the police had taken such an initiative. Denying Allan's allegation without conducting thorough investigation into the case will only spark speculations, he added.

"I am afraid there might have been an agreement between the police, the military and the Aceh local administration to not probe the killings due to concerns it might implicate those institutions," he said.

Nairn, a freelance journalist, wrote in his personal blog that military personnel from the special forces division, known as Kopassus, had murdered eight political activists during the regional election in Aceh last year.

"The killings were part of a secret government program authorized by Jakarta, and were coordinated in part by an active-duty, US- trained Kopassus special forces General who has acknowledged on record that his TNI men had a role in the killings," he said.

Allan claimed in his report that he had received highly sensitive information from several military officials who asked for anonymity.

The activists belonged to the Aceh Party, a political party that was formed by former members of separatist group Free Aceh Movement. According to Nairn, the activists were killed to prevent them from bringing up the issue of Aceh independence during the elections.

Among those activists was Tumijan, a plantation worker at Nagan Raya, Aceh, whose body was found near a river. His body had been mutilated and his throat cut. Another activist, Dedi Novandi, was shot in the middle of a street in Aceh.

Nairn said these killings were orchestrated by a group of young Kopassus officers along with their local militants.

Commenting on this, Kopassus Chief Maj. Gen. Lodewijk Freidrich Paulus denied Kopassus' involvement, saying that the unit had not been assigned to Aceh since the reform movement in 1998. The military is also considering filing a legal complaint against Nairn, who played down the threat.

"In today's Indonesia it can be a crime to report assassinations, but, given that no generals have gone to prison for such murders, it is not treated as a crime to commit them," Nairn said on his blog.

Journalist Allan Nairn facing possible arrest in Indonesia

Democracy Now - March 24, 2010

In Indonesia, investigative journalist Allan Nairn is facing possible arrest for exposing that US-backed Indonesian armed forces assassinated a series of civilian activists last year.

Since Allan Nairn broke the news of the assassination program on Democracy Now! on Friday, the Indonesian press has been buzzing with the allegations. A military spokesman told the Jakarta Globe that the military is considering legal action against Nairn.

Earlier today, Nairn issued a public challenge to the Indonesian military to arrest him so that he could face off with the military in open court.

Guests: Allan Nairn, investigative journalist and activist. Damien Kingsbury, professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of several books on Indonesia, including Power Politics and the Indonesian Military.

Amy Goodman: President Obama dedicated the signing of healthcare legislation yesterday to a number of people, including his mother, S. Ann Dunham Soetoro.

President Barack Obama: Today, I'm signing this reform bill into law on behalf of my mother, who argued with insurance companies even as she battled cancer in her final days.

Amy Goodman: The healthcare legislative process and its frenetic endgame prompted the President to postpone a trip to the country where his mother raised him for several years of his childhood: Indonesia.

While his healthcare bill is considered by many a huge step forward, Obama is simultaneously, and with far less scrutiny, taking what many human rights activists consider to be a huge step backward with Indonesia. News is breaking about the role of the Indonesian military in the murder of political activists in the province of Aceh last year in the lead-up to local elections there. Investigative journalist Allan Nairn is facing possible arrest for the expose that shows the US-backed Indonesian armed forces assassinated a series of civilian activists last year.

The story is breaking at a time when the White House is engaged in fierce behind-the-scenes negotiations with Congress on whether to restore aid to the Indonesian military, including one of its most notorious elements, the special forces command known as Kopassus. President Obama had been scheduled to visit Indonesia this week, but the trip was postponed until June due to the healthcare debate.

Since Allan Nairn broke the news of the assassination program here on Democracy Now! last Friday, the Indonesian press has been buzzing with the allegations. A military spokesman told the Jakarta Globe that the military is considering legal action against Allan Nairn. Earlier today, Allan issued a public threat – a public challenge to the Indonesian military to arrest him so that he could face off with the military in open court.

Allan Nairn is no stranger to the Indonesian military. In 1991, Allan and I survived a massacre in East Timor, when more than 270 Timorese were killed by US-backed Indonesian soldiers. In 1999, Allan sneaked back into East Timor and reported on the Indonesian military atrocities there as the Indonesian soldiers burned much of East Timor to the ground. They arrested Allan, but he continued reporting from prison.

Well, last night we reached Allan in Indonesia to discuss the latest developments.

Allan Nairn: In the article, I described how the Indonesian armed forces, which are armed and trained by the United States, have been running a program of assassinating political activists, and I described in detail their assassinations in Aceh in 2009 in the run-up to the local elections there, where at least eight activists for the pro-independence PA, Partai Aceh, were assassinated. And I quote senior Indonesian officials saying that these assassinations were coordinated on the regional level by a general named Sunarko, a Kopassus general. I reached Sunarko on the phone, and he acknowledged to me that his men were involved in these assassinations. But he said, "But that doesn't necessarily mean that this was a project of the military as an institution."

He also, this general who ran the assassination program, told me that he was an enthusiastic supporter of President Obama's plan to restore full aid to the Indonesian armed forces, and he then went on to describe in detail his own training by the United States. He says they've been training him since the 1980s. He regards them as close partners, and he loves Obama's plan because he says it will make the partnership still more intimate, in his words. General Sunarko, the Kopassus general who in Timor in 1999 helped run the militias that burned 80 percent of the buildings in Timor, that conducted church massacres, etc., and who now has been running this assassinations program in Aceh, he said that he was trained by the US military, the US Pacific Command, mobile training teams in jungle warfare, logistics and many other subjects, and he said that he was most recently trained by the US in 2006. So he's a very enthusiastic backer of Obama's plan to restore aid for the US military, and specifically for Kopassus, the special forces, the most notorious unit of that military.

Now, in response to this – a few hours ago, this story broke in the Indonesian press. It ran on TV. The government press agency put out a series of stories about it. Kompas, the main newspaper, had five or six stories about it. And the Indonesian army is now threatening to arrest me. They apparently are threatening to charge me with criminal defamation, which, under various Indonesian laws, can carry a sentence of four to six years.

And I welcome this threat. I just put out a statement on my website saying I welcome this threat. They should arrest me, so that we can face – have a face-off in open court. And we'll describe in open court, before the Indonesian public, how the Indonesian armed forces are assassinating civilians. I'll detail the massacres, the disappearances, etc. And I will attempt to call TNI generals as witnesses and question them under oath and will also attempt to call US officials as witnesses – US officials from the White House, the CIA, the Pentagon, the State Department – and ask them, under oath, to tell the Indonesian public in a trial why they have been giving arms and training, year after year after year, to an Indonesian armed forces as they've been killing civilians.

As the US has seen the results of their arming and training of people like General Sunarko of thousands of other top officers, the US has continued to pour in weapons and training to facilitate these murders. So I want to get a chance to put the CIA station chiefs, the US military attaches to Indonesia, the generals from the Pentagon, the national security advisers – maybe the presidents, if that's legally possible – put them on the stand here in Indonesia in court and ask them, under oath, "Why did you do this? Why have you done this to the civilians of Indonesia?" and ask the same questions to Indonesian generals. So I'm challenging the Indonesian military, if they're serious, if they really believe their own denials, I'm challenging them to arrest me.

Amy Goodman: But, Allan, you're talking about President Obama saying he's going to restore aid to Kopassus and the Indonesian military. These killings took place in 2009. Were they getting the aid then?

Allan Nairn: The Indonesian military has always been getting aid from the US. After the Dili massacre in '91, which we survived, the activist movement which grew up, including the East Timor Action Network, we succeeded in cutting off much of the aid, and especially after the 1999 massacre in Timor, after the Timorese voted for independence, almost all it was cut off. But there's always been some. And over recent years, it has been slowly restored.

And right now, the Indonesian defense ministry claims that 2,800 Indonesian military people are right now getting training in the United States. The US is now selling some weapons and equipment to the armed forces. The CIA and US – various covert US units have extensive programs going on with the Indonesian military and police. So, yes, they're getting US backing right now.

And Obama wants to strengthen that backing. If Obama succeeds in going ahead with his plan, if he's not stopped by Congress and the US public, this will effectively be the ultimate green light to the Indonesian armed forces and their dreaded special forces, Kopassus, a green light to go ahead and do what they want to the Indonesian public. And many of the survivors of their terror are very worried about this.

Amy Goodman: We'll return to my interview with investigative journalist Allan Nairn in Indonesia in a minute. He faces possible arrest. Stay with us.

[break]

Amy Goodman: We return to my interview with investigative journalist Allan Nairn in Indonesia, facing possible arrest for exposing that US-backed Indonesian armed forces assassinated a series of civilian activists last year. The Indonesian military has publicly denied Allan's report.

A spokesman for the armed forces, Air Vice Marshal Sagom Tamboen, told the Jakarta Globe that the military is considering filing a legal complaint against Nairn. Sagom said, quote, "If he is a good journalist and if he does have evidence, then he should come forward with the information that he has... But the problem is that [Nairn] hasn't been able to give us any clear evidence or tell us who his sources are. So how can we believe him?" unquote. Well, I asked Allan Nairn to respond to Sagom's comments.

Allan Nairn: Well, first, he should read the article. The article lays out evidence. For example, the Indonesian police made a deal with the military and some other Indonesian officials, who stumbled across this assassination program and who weren't supposed to know about it, and they actually detained a number of the low-level military and military-sponsored hit men who carried out one of the assassinations, the assassination of a man named Tumijan, who was a palm oil from Nagan Raya in Aceh. In that case, an officer named Captain Wahyu, a soldier named Oktavianus, and at least seven militia members, who work for the TNI, are under detention. I name them in my piece. The commander of the Aceh police confirmed to me, on the record – Police General Aditya confirmed to me, on the record, that these men had in fact been detained for these murders. General Sunarko, the Kopassus general who ran the assassination program, also confirmed to me that his subordinates had been detained for the Tumijan murder. That's as specific as you can get.

Yet, in their response, the Indonesian military doesn't even mention these detentions, and neither does the Indonesian press, as far as I've been able to see so far. There seems to be some fear about reporting – about getting that specific about reporting the full facts about these military assassinations.

Amy Goodman: Allan Nairn, I want to play for you President Obama being interviewed – I believe this was last Thursday, in the height of the healthcare debate. He had just – was just going to be announcing that he would be delaying his trip to Indonesia. But he did do an interview with Indonesian television. This is what he had to say.

President Barack Obama: Obviously, there has been some controversy, in terms of military assistance in the past, but since the advent of democracy in Indonesia, what you've seen is the TNI make significant progress, separating itself out from the police, focusing more on broad external security issues, as opposed to internal security issues. And so, we've already begun more interactions, and our hope is, is that we can continue to improve on that front.

Reporter: Is that a signal that your administration is satisfied with the military reforms and the resolution of the past human rights abuses in Indonesia?

President Barack Obama: Well, I think that the – we have acknowledge that those past human rights abuses existed. And so, we can't go forward without looking backwards and understanding that that was an enormous problem, not just for America, but it was a problem for the Indonesian people. We have seen significant progress, and so what we want to do is to continue to improve our consultation and move this forward into a more positive direction, because we want Indonesia to be a close partner for many years to come, and we want a prosperous and secure Indonesia.

Amy Goodman: Can you respond, Allan Nairn, to what President Obama has said?

Allan Nairn: Well, Obama is saying these – he's saying these crimes were in the distant past. These assassinations that I'm just reporting happened while Obama was president. They happened while Obama was president, while he was presiding over the training of, according to the Indonesian defense ministry, thousands of Indonesian military people. While he was shipping weapons and equipment to the Indonesian military, they were assassinating a political activist in Aceh, as Obama was sitting in the White House. So this is not a thing of the past.

Secondly, when he refers to external security issues that the Indonesian armed forces are focusing on, I would challenge the President to name one. There is absolutely no external security threat to Indonesia. Singapore is not about to invade. Australia is not about to invade. What the Indonesian armed forces are focusing on is what they've always focused on: the internal repression of the population. And now it's most intensive in the eastern part of the country, in Papua, which is under de facto occupation. But also, they were doing these – they've been doing these political assassinations in Aceh. So what Obama says is just false.

Amy Goodman: Finally, Allan, President Obama says he will be going to Indonesia in June. What is happening between now and then? How set in stone is the resumption of aid to the Indonesian military?

Allan Nairn: Well, that's a good question. The pact, the aid deal, has not yet been announced. It was due to be announced when Obama was due to be here, in fact probably would have been announced yesterday. And now it's a bit up in the air. So if the US public and Congress would weigh in now and demand that Obama stop all aid to Kopassus, stop all aid to the Indonesian armed forces, there is some chance that this package could be defeated or cut back. So this is an opportunity. The delay of Obama's trip is an opportunity to save some lives, prevent some further murders in Indonesia, by again cutting off US aid to this military.

Amy Goodman: Investigative journalist Allan Nairn speaking from Indonesia, again facing arrest.

To talk more about this story, we're joined by Damien Kingsbury. He's a professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, the author of several books on Indonesia, including Power Politics and the Indonesian Military. In 2006, he was on the negotiating team to the Aceh peace agreement.

Welcome to Democracy Now!, Professor Kingsbury. If you could briefly talk about the significance of Allan Nairn's expose and what is happening now in Indonesia and the US relationship with it, what renewed aid would mean.

Damien Kingsbury: Well, there is already a significant level of military aid to Indonesia. It has been carrying out for a number of years what Allan specifically referred to. And the real problem now is the renewal of aid to Kopassus, the special forces, which, as Allan has correctly pointed out, is guilty of numerous human rights abuses up until, we know for a fact, the end of last year. We also know that human rights abuses are continuing to occur, almost as we speak, in West Papua. So this is an organization that has not reformed and continues to perpetrate the sorts of crimes that the Leahy Amendment, American legislation, bans the United States government from assisting with.

Amy Goodman: And the significance of the threats by the Indonesian military right now around what Allan has exposed?

Damien Kingsbury: Well, look, if I was Allan and if I was in Indonesia, I think I'd be pretty concerned, because, of course, he's being very brave, and if he goes to court, he may well have his moment in the sun, but the courts are notoriously corrupt, and the military does hold great sway over the judicial process. So he would not get a fair hearing. He would not get to call the witnesses he wants. He would be found guilty. He would go to jail. I mean, apart from [inaudible], I think they would concoct a visa violation, a crime against him, and that, in itself, would mean that he could go to jail for several years.

Amy Goodman: But is it possible they would have to then deal with the public being the audience to the expose that Allan has just done, both at Democracy Now! and on his blog?

Damien Kingsbury: I guess what we're assuming here is they have the same sort of open system that we have in more developed Western countries, such as the United States and Australia. The reality is that Kopassus officers have been charged with various crimes in the past, and they have even occasionally – not often, but occasionally – taken to court. And what Kopassus does is they stack the gallery. They stop people from entering. They intimidate the judges. And the very few sentences that are handed down are very light, given the crimes that they are up on, which are usually murder and the like. And very often these people are actually exonerated and allowed to go free. So it's not an open judicial process. It's not the sort of judicial process that we would expect to see in a developed Western country. And there being anything like a fair trial, I think, would be a very big ask at this stage.

Amy Goodman: Damien Kingsbury, I want to thank you for being with us, professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia.

Damien Kingsbury: My pleasure.

Amy Goodman: Among his books, Power Politics and the Indonesian Military.

Human trafficking a 'low priority' for Indonesian officials

Jakarta Globe - March 25, 2010

Nurfika Osman – A lack of concern by local administrations is the primary reason for rampant human trafficking in the country, especially of children, activists say.

"Local governments do not take human trafficking as a priority, while it has become increasingly rampant and the areas of trafficking are expanding in the country," Hadi Supeno, head of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

Hadi said the measure showing this insufficient concern was the fact that there was no special budget allotted by these local governments to combat human trafficking.

"I have found that in many cases, a local government does not want to return victims of trafficking to the places they came from just because it does not have the budget for such a case," he said.

"They also do not have special centers to treat the victims' mental wounds, one of the most important things that need to be addressed."

He said human trafficking operations were once primarily in West Java, East Java and East Nusa Tenggara, while the destinations were Batam, East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and Jakarta.

"But now, the sources can also become destinations as well, and there are new places that have become destinations of trafficking," he said.

North Sulawesi and Papua, he said, had become sources of children for trafficking as well as destinations.

Recently, a 14-year-old girl was found to have been abducted by traffickers in Central Java and taken to Aceh, where she was forced to work as a housemaid. Aceh, he said, had not previously been a trafficking destination.

He said these changing dynamics made it impossible to predict whether a region would become a source or a destination for human trafficking.

"We cannot map that anymore, and our children are more at risk of exploitation, especially those who are living in poverty."

Sri Wiyanti Eddyono, a former member of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), told the Globe on Thursday that poverty was at the root of human trafficking.

"Poverty and the patriarchal system have forced our society into sacrificing women, and they have become a commodity," Sri Wiyanti said.

She said she had uncovered many cases where young girls were sold into prostitution or forced to become domestic workers by traffickers. "Even parents are among the agents in human trafficking cases," she said.

Despite the 2007 Law on Human Trafficking, enforcement remains weak, she said. "Lack of law enforcement is also one of the causes that make the spread of human trafficking out of control," Hadi said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection has reaffirmed its commitment to fight trafficking.

"We are aware that human trafficking is a serious situation and we take this in a sense of urgency," ministry spokesman Rudy Purboyo told the Globe on Thursday.

"We are now the head of the working committee in combating human trafficking in the country, which shows that we use our staff to handle cases in field," Rudy said.

The International Labor Organization estimates that between 40,000 and 70,000 children in the country are victims of sexual exploitation, and that 100,000 children are trafficked every year.

According to the ILO, about 30 percent of female prostitutes in the country are below 18 years of age, with some as young as 10 years old.

Environment/natural disasters

Polluted rivers 'are a CO2 ticking time bomb'

Jakarta Post - March 30, 2010

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Nine of Indonesia's main rivers are contaminated with dangerously high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) due to the dumping of industrial chemicals and agriculture and domestic waste, a four-year study shows.

There is a far higher percentage of CO2 in the nine rivers than in the atmosphere, the survey shows.

"The rivers are far more polluted than the atmosphere," said Elvin Alrian, director of the climate change and air quality unit at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, during an international workshop on climate change Monday.

The survey, conducted from 2005 to 2009, studied nine rivers: Cisadane in Tangerang; Citanduy and Serayu in Cilacap; Bengawan Solo in Gresik; Cimanuk in Indramayu; Citarum in Bekasi; Brantas in Surabaya; Ciujung in Cibinong and Musi in Palembang.

The study reveals that carbon emission levels in the river Brantas stand at about 9,000 parts per million (ppm) and emissions are at 7,500 ppm in the river Musi. Carbon levels in the atmosphere are estimated at 387 ppm, the study says.

Elvin said it was possible the rivers would not be able to hold higher levels of carbon, meaning they would begin to emit CO2 into the atmosphere.

"But we can't predict yet how much of the dissolved emissions in rivers evaporates into the atmosphere," he said. "However, we believe that most of the carbon in the rivers is flushed into the ocean."

Polluted rivers that emit CO2 would undermine the government's move to promote its surrounding seas as a giant carbon sink.

Elvin, who is one of Indonesia's negotiators in the climate talks, said that the major contributor to increased carbon levels in rivers was human waste.

Indonesia is the world's third-largest carbon emitter, due in large part to carbon emissions from forest fires and deforestation.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has yet to include river emissions in its calculations of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Activists from the People's Coalition for Justice in Fisheries have warned the government not to promote Indonesian waters as a carbon sink. A 2009 study by the United Nations Environment Programme shows that oceans absorb about one-quarter of all CO2 emitted into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other human activities.

However, absorption of atmospheric CO2 has increased the acidity of the world's oceans. The study shows that ocean acidity levels could double by 2050, leading to wide-scale coral bleaching, and diminishing oceanic fish feeding grounds.

SBY wants mudflow victims paid

Jakarta Post - March 30, 2010

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo, East Java – The President has instructed Lapindo Brantas Inc. to speed up the paying of compensation to victims of the mudflow, even though the firm, controlled by the group of the powerful Golkar chairman, is legally not guilty of the disaster.

The statement could be seen as renewing tension between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Aburizal Bakrie, in the aftermath of strong signs of their coalition falling apart.

During his second visit to the disaster site on Monday, President Yudhoyono inspected a former drilling site where the mudflow was reported to have occurred in 2006.

"The process of paying compensation is ongoing," he said on the sidelines of the inspection. "I ask everyone to coordinate to speed up the payment."

The mudflow started in May 2006 at the time Lapindo Brantas, owned by Aburizal's Bakrie Group, drilled into the ground in parts of the area. He was then coordinating public welfare minister.

Last year the Supreme Court ruled there was no evidence that Lapindo caused the mudflow, which has displaced 40,000 people from their homes. In 2008 the government declared the mudflow a "natural disaster".

One-hundred-and-thirty people affected by the mudflow gathered during the President's inspection on Monday. Darmaji, a teacher at SDN Pejarakan elementary school in Jabon district, told journalists mudflow victims were instructed by their superiors to welcome Yudhoyono.

However, resident Sumiatin showed discontent. "Pak President Yudhoyono, I ask for money, not promises," she said. "We would like to stage a protest, however we are getting tired. We are also tired of promises from the government and receiving nothing."

Victims have frequently held rallies in their hometown and in Jakarta.

Andi Darussalam Tabussala, vice president of PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya, which has been appointed to pay compensation, said that compensation payment would be paid by 2012.

He said although Lapindo was declared not guilty regarding the mudflow case, it was committed to compensating about 40,000 affected residents in 12 villages and subdistricts.

He said that of the 13,237 compensation cases listed in the map of mudflow-affected areas, many were completed. Apart from that, "Forty-one percent of the compensation files are in the payment process," Andi said.

Minarak's operational director, Totok Kusdianto, said that as of March 22 this year, the company had spent more than Rp 6 trillion (US$660 million) on repair expenses including technical and property expenses.

The government has also allocated Rp 700 billion from the state budget to compensate victims outside those listed on the mudflow-affected map, as well as infrastructure.

The mudflow has reportedly been embarrassing for the government because Lapindo is linked to the Bakrie Group. Now Aburizal's Golkar Party is part of the coalition at the House of Representatives supporting President Yudhoyono.

The political situation regarding the House of Representatives' inquiry into the Bank Century bailout had put the coalition to the test. Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) voted against the coalition government in the House's final decision on the bailout.

Their position cost the pro-government parties the vote. It also allowed the House to pass a resolution that declared the bailout was flawed and recommended Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati face due legal processes for their roles in the controversial policy.

The tax office has also announced it is investigating possible tax evasion by three coal mining firms under the Bakrie group, a move to which Aburizal responded by saying, "I will not be threatened".

Mudflow victims take complaint to Komnas HAM

Jakarta Post - March 24, 2010

Jakarta – Eleven representatives of mudflow victims in Sidoarjo, East Java, left for Jakarta on Tuesday to protest at the delayed payment for their lost property as promised by the government and the mining company PT Lapindo Brantas which allegedly triggered the natural disaster in 2006.

"We are yet to receive compensation as promised," said one of the victims' representatives, Edi Pasopang.

They plan to file their complaint to the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) The mud volcano has buried thousands of homes and factories in the densely populated area since the hot mud began gushing from a drilling site more than three years ago. More than 12,000 people have been displaced, many without proper compensation.

Edi said that more than 300 residents of Siring Barat hamlet have been sticking to their demand for compensation and refused to move until their demand is met.

Marriage & polygamy

Nahdlatul Ulama approves underage marriage

Jakarta Globe - March 26, 2010

Makassar, South Sulawesi – The country's largest Muslim organization proclaimed on Friday that underage marriage is allowed, even if the bride or groom has not yet reached puberty, as long as the purpose of the marriage is to build a happy family.

Cholil Nafis, secretary of the religious issues committee at the 32nd Nahdlatul Ulama congress, said Islamic law stated that it is better to marry after reaching sexual maturity. However, he added, the law does not require waiting.

"They can get married at any age, even girls that haven't yet menstruated are allowed," he said. "And they can have an intimate relations, intercourse, if they are able to."

He emphasized that the objectives of the marriage must be positive. "Mind you that we don't encourage people to just get married to fulfill their desires, no," he said.

Cholil said NU was aware that other groups might disagree with the ruling. But the organization looks at the issue from a religious point of view, he said, while others may view it from other perspectives such as that of human rights.

"If people disagree with our fatwa, so be it," he said. "We never force people to follow what we say."

In its official report, NU wrote that underage marriages happened in several areas of the country in order to bind young couples. It mentioned a case in which a 10-year-old boy married a similarly young girl.

"There are some people who want their sons to marry certain girls, mostly, both families know each other and they want to keep their good relationship," Cholil said.

The marriage is like a normal wedding, the report says, except that the parents stand in for the children. The girl and boy are then separated. After they finish school and are read for adult responsibilities, they are re-married. "That's the common thing that happens," said Cholil.

Health & education

Students hail court ruling on education legal entity law

Jakarta Globe - March 31, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran & Anita Rachman – The Constitutional Court, criticized last week for rejecting a judicial review of the Anti-Pornography Law, is back in favor, at least with university students and education experts, after annulling the controversial Education Legal Entity Law.

But the celebrations on Wednesday were cautious as students and experts said the fight was not over. "This is not the end of the struggle," said Imaduddin Abdullah, head of student executive body of the University of Indonesia.

"We should ensure that education remains cheap, of good quality and easily accessed by all students. This is another inspiration for us to keep up the fight."

The government claimed the 2008 law, which cut government spending on higher education, would improve education by making universities more independent, especially in managing financial affairs. But critics said the law would hamper the ability of citizens to have equal access to education. Education expert Darmaningtyas said all universities that had become autonomous entities should now be turned back into public universities.

"It might not reduce the cost of education but it should be covered by the state to guarantee the same access for rich and poor," he said. "The source should be from our tax."

But Suryo Baskoro, spokesman for Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University, one of the universities granted autonomy, said it was impossible to be forced back to the old system without autonomy and flexibility.

"I am not sure that we should go back to the old system," he said. "I think there will be some regulations to accommodate our needs. But we respect the decision and will follow whatever the regulations say."

Ade Irawan, a public service monitoring coordinator with Indonesia Corruption Watch, welcomed the decision but also warned that people should not let down their guard.

"All of us should still be aware of any possibilities, of new regulations, that have the same spirit of privatization," he said. "We support educational autonomy, such as how lecturers teach students, but not privatization, under which universities could raise the tuition."

Graft & corruption

Gayus questioned after return from Singapore

Jakarta Globe - March 31, 2010

Farouk Arnaz & Nivell Rayda – He was an unknown tax official a few weeks ago, but when Gayus Tambunan arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon, a mob of hundreds of journalists and curious onlookers awaited him.

As police and officials escorted Gayus out of Soekarno-Hatta Inter-national Airport, many shouted "thief... thief... thief" at the 30-year-old civil servant, who appeared unperturbed.

His return comes a week after he fled the country and barely a day after Indonesian officials flew to Singapore to persuade him to return.

Two members of the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force, Denny Indrayana and Mas Achmad Santosa, went to Singapore on Tuesday evening to meet the fugitive and talked with him for two hours at the Lucky Plaza shopping mall on busy Orchard Road.

"The team emphasized several things to persuade Gayus to return to Jakarta," Denny said in an e-mail to the Jakarta Globe.

"Gayus's passport used to enter Singapore is a fake, because his original passport had been revoked. Gayus entered the country illegally and thus could be prosecuted by the Singaporean authorities."

It was therefore only a matter of time before Singapore police would arrest him.

At about 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Gayus, Denny and Santosa met with National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi, several Indonesian Embassy officials and Singapore police.

"Gayus eventually agreed to return to Indonesia," Ito said. "We tried hard to persuade Gayus to return home, and we promised to be professional in handling his case by upholding presumption of innocence," Ito said.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Patrialis Akbar said that at the behest of the task force "we immediately issued an SPLP," a travel document in lieu of passport, to allow Gayus to return.

Upon landing, Gayus was rushed under tight police escort to the National Police headquarters for questioning by an independent team, not the police detective unit that had originally handled his case.

The mid-ranking tax official first caught the attention of the National Police after his bank account mysteriously ballooned to Rp 28 billion ($3.1 million).

But instead of charging Gayus with money-laundering, police opted for the lesser charge of embezzlement. The Tangerang district court in Banten later acquitted Gayus of all charges.

But he was thrust into the headlines after the former National Police chief detective told the task force that Gayus had bribed senior police to build a weaker case and allow him to access his previously frozen account.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hopes the case will serve as an entry point for reform of the tax office and law-enforcement agencies, his spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said.

Vice presidential spokesman Yopie Hidayat said the case "unraveled an Achilles' heel in tax collection. Tax tribunals must be given extra monitoring. The vice president applauds [Finance Minister] Sri Mulyani Indrawati's action to suspend all officials with indications of corruption."

Gayus's lawyer Haposan Hutagalung and Comr. Arafat Enanie of the National Police economic crimes division were declared as bribery suspects on Tuesday. Businessman Andi Kosasih, who allegedly provided Gayus with Rp 25 billion, is charged with giving false testimony.

The Attorney General's Office said on Tuesday that an internal inquiry had found suspected violations of procedures.

[Additional Reporting by Camelia Pasandaran & Antara.]

Ex-energy minister denies policy linked to bribery

Jakarta Post - March 30, 2010

Alfian, Jakarta – Former energy and mineral resources minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the delay in phasing out leaded fuel had nothing to do with bribery by a UK-based company, but was caused by the subsidy shortage.

Purnomo, who currently serves as defense minister, said Monday that the energy and mineral resources ministry had proposed to stop using Tetraethyl Lead (TEL), a lead-based fuel additive, in the country's subsidized Premium gasoline in 2003.

"We proposed to replace TEL with HOMC (High Octane Mogas Component), but the finance minister rejected the proposal as it would stretch the fuel subsidy," said Purnomo who was served as energy and mineral resources minister from 2000 to 2009.

The government produced a plan to phase out the use of TEL in 1999 because of its harmful environmental effects, but this was not implemented until 2006.

The delay did not provoke much debate until March 2010, when a court session at London's Southwark Crown Court revealed a UK company Innospec Ltd had pleaded guilty to bribing former high ranking officials at Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.

Names of the former director general for oil and gas at the ministry Rachmat Sudibyo and former Pertamina's processing director Suroso Atmomartoyo were mentioned as having received bribes in the opening remarks presented by UK anticorruption body the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and in sentencing remarks presented by Lord Justice Thomas on March 26, 2010.

Rachmat served as the Director General for Oil and Gas between 2001 and 2002. From 2002 to 2005, he served with upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas. Suroso served as Pertamina's refining director between 2004 to 2008.

Justice Thomas said total bribes paid were around US$8 million. "It is not possible to calculate precisely the total amount of bribes, but the best estimate is approximately 5 percent of $160 million, namely $8 million," said the judge, adding that the bribes paid to Rachmat Sudibyo exceeded $1 million.

The document did not mention the estimated bribes paid to Suroso. In the SFO's opening statement, it was mentioned that, only for a TEL shipment in November 2004, Suroso was bribed $500 per metric ton of shipped TEL. The total volume of the shipment was 450 metric tons.

Total bribes to Indonesian officials could have been higher than this as the indictment only covered between Feb. 14 2002 and Dec. 31, 2006, while Innospec had appointed its agent PT Soegih Interjaya (PTSI) to sell TEL to Pertamina since 1982.

Both Rachmat and Suroso denied involvement in the case, but have not yet said what they will do in response to the outcome of the UK legal process. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said it would follow up and would possibly cooperate with the UK SFO to collect more information.

Police too slow as Gayus flees Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - March 26, 2010

Nivell Rayda, Heru Andriyanto & Dessy Sagita – Police on Friday declared a tax official who was found with Rp 25 billion ($2.75 million) in his personal bank accounts a suspect in a case of obstruction of justice – just days after the suspect fled the country, leaving behind many red-faced investigators.

The change of heart on declaring Gayus Tambunan, 30, a suspect came two days after he fled to Singapore, which has no extradition treaty with Indonesia and has been a frequent haven for the country's white-collar criminals.

During a telephone interview earlier in the week, Gayus told an Indonesian television news program that he was already in Singapore. An immigration official on Friday confirmed that Gayus had left the country on Wednesday, bound for the city-state.

Gayus is also the subject of allegations by Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the National Police's former chief detective, who says Gayus bribed senior police officials to stop investigating a case. As a result of his allegations, however, police this week declared Susno a suspect in a defamation case for implicating two police generals in the scandal.

National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Sulistyo Ishak said Andi Kosasih, a businessman from Batam whom Gayus said was the actual owner of the bulk of the money found in his accounts, was also declared a suspect.

Sulistyo alleged that both men gave false testimony to the police and the court. He said they could each face up to seven years in prison. On Friday, Andi surrendered to police.

Susno has told the presidential Judicial Mafia Elimination Task Force that several of his former subordinates had received bribes from Gayus in return for halting an investigation into source of the money in his account.

Gayus had been charged with embezzlement in relation to the Rp 25 billion in his accounts, but was acquitted by the Tangerang District Court in Banten. Supreme Court Chief Justice Harifin Andi Tumpa said the court would examine Gayus's acquittal and question the judges involved in the case.

The Judicial Commission, which monitors the performance of judges, visited the Tangerang court on Friday to interview the judges involved. "The curtains concealing this case must be fully pulled back," commission chairman Busyro Muqoddas said after the visit.

The Attorney General's Office pledged to speed up an internal inquiry into the prosecutors that handled Gayus's initial case, with results expected by Tuesday at the latest. The prosecution was under fire for ignoring initial charges of money laundering and corruption filed by the police.

Sulistyo said the police had formed an independent team to evaluate the earlier investigation of Gayus. "We noticed several irregularities only after the court reached a verdict," he said.

Maroloan Barimbing, a spokesman for the Directorate General of Immigration at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said Gayus was able to leave the country on Wednesday because the police had failed to issue a travel ban against him.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said that if Gayus was in Singapore, an extradition agreement was still possible. "For a special case such as with financial crimes, extradition is possible based on a good understanding between the two countries," he said.

Indonesian police try to shut Susno up in defamation case

Jakarta Globe - March 24, 2010

Farouk Arnaz – The National Police on Wednesday followed through on threats to silence renegade Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji by naming him as a suspect in a criminal defamation complaint filed by two senior police officials. They say he accused them of taking bribes in return for halting a probe into a Rp 25 billion ($2.75 million) corruption case.

Lampung Police Chief Brig. Gen. Edmond Ilyas and Brig. Gen. Radja Erisman, the National Police director of economic crimes, based their complaint on television footage of Susno speaking to reporters. They were among three officials believed to have been identified by Susno by their ranks and initials during a televised news conference last week.

Susno, the former National Police chief of detectives, said after being declared a suspect that he was ready for the consequences. "I am ready to face every possibility including facing a libel case."

Susno has gone from jailing two senior Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officials on questionable bribery charges to being a criminal suspect in just six months. He said he was also ready for an police hearing this week to address professional misconduct for his being off duty for 78 days without notice after being relieved of his post on Nov. 30, after he was implicated for allegedly framing the KPK commissioners.

National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said the hearing on Susno's conduct was an internal police matter. "I will take responsibility and I will decide what kind of punishment we will make," he said.

Bambang acknowledged, however, that something "strange" occurred during the investigation into Gayus Tambunan, 30, a tax official who was investigated last year concerning Rp 25 billion he had in two bank accounts.

Susno claims the sum was a bribe for the three police officials he identified by name and rank.

Police say they only found Rp 395 million of the funds in Gayus's accounts to be illegal, which they reported to prosecutors. In October, police charged Gayus with money laundering, corruption and embezzlement. Prosecutors, however, only indicted him for embezzlement, for which the Tangerang District Court acquitted him on March 12.

"Its abnormal because my investigator never arrested the suspect [Gayus] even though he was charged under the anticorruption law," Bambang said. "And there is another suspect involved with this case with the initial 'R' [believed to be tax official Robertus Santonius] but his dossier was never transferred to the prosecutor. What happened?"

Bambang said he would establish an independent team to investigate the tax case and invited the judicial mafia task force and National Police Commission to join.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said the time had come to take firm action against Susno.

"It's not because we are running out of patience, but because we need to protect the morale of our 400,000 officers who are now waiting to see how we handle this case," he said, adding that Susno would be summoned to appear at the internal affairs division on Friday.

[Additional reporting from Heru Andriyanto.]

Susno named suspect for defamation

Jakarta Globe - March 24, 2010

The National Police Criminal Investigation Division has named former chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji as suspect in a defamation case, relying on videos of Susno's statements on television.

In recent days, Susno has repeatedly claimed that high-ranking police officers accepted bribes to drop a tax-evasion investigation.

A presidential task force aimed at rooting out case fixers in the judicial system responded poorly to the move.

"The police should have made the eradication of the judicial mafia their number one priority, rather than naming Susno as a suspect," task force spokesman Denny Indrayana told Metro TV.

Lawmaker Melani Leimena Suharli also struck a critical note. "It would be much better for the police to settle the conflict among themselves first," said the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Deputy Speaker.

"People should be aware of Susno's motivations. Look at his background. If he has a good background maybe he means well. Otherwise, he's only looking for attention," she added.

Susno was himself implicated in an alleged conspiracy to fabricate a criminal case against two leaders of Indonesia' Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) late last year. He has never been named a suspect in connection to those allegations.

War on terror

'True Islam' key against terrorism: NU

Jakarta Globe - March 26, 2010

Anita Rachman – The country's largest Islamic organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama, on Friday said that its clerics should help the fight against terrorism.

It also recommended that the government's anti-terrorism desk, currently attached to a super ministry, be upgraded into a special body.

"Combating terrorism is about the cultural and ideological approach of NU clerics toward their followers in villages," said Masykuri Abdillah, chief of the recommendations committee at the ongoing Nahdlatul Ulama's national congress.

"It is our job to straighten out those who have been turned against or misguided about true Islam," he added.

In battling terrorism, Islam must grow in line with the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah principle, or the words and deeds applied by Prophet Muhammad and his companions.

"The recommendation we've issued is not only to our government but to all parties across the nation, about safeguards for religion in Indonesia. Religion should never again be hijacked by terrorists or radicals," Masykuri said.

He said combating terrorism was not only the job of the National Police's anti-terrorism unit, Densus 88, but of clerics at every NU branch in the country.

"Jihad, in Arabic, is a noun that means 'struggle.' Jihad does not mean terrorism. Islam is not terrorism. Because terrorism hides behind the name of religion, NU would also like to recommend that the status of the government's Anti-Terrorism Desk [at the Coordinating Ministry for Security, Political and Legal Affairs] be upgraded to that of a special body."

That body, Masykuri said, should be occupied not only by law- enforcement officials, but by religious clerics as well.

"Cracking down on terrorism should be implemented via the cultural and ideological approach of the NU, aside from the tactics applied by anti-terrorism forces in the police," he said.

Teachings by religious leaders should also broach the topic of what was the actual understanding of Shariah among their followers.

Masyhuri Na'im, deputy chairman of the NU legal advisory board, said that for some, the idea of implementing Shariah, in accordance with a very strict inter-pretation of the religion, was ideal. "However, we have seen many times that it is not good," he said.

Indonesian police arrest more terrorism suspects

Jakarta Globe - March 24, 2010

Farouk Arnaz, Putri Prameshwari & Made Arya Kencana – Police have arrested three more people suspected of links to the armed group being hunted down in Aceh, a national police spokesman said on Wednesday.

Comr. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana said the three men, identified as Aman Abdurrahman, Abu Musa and Kuncoro, were arrested in Bekasi and Sumedang, West Java, over the weekend. "They were involved with the armed group that held military training in Aceh," he said.

News of the arrests came as Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar announced on Wednesday that all convicted terrorists would in the future be allowed to have cellphones inside their cells.

"I am confirming that we will allow all terrorist suspects to have cellphones inside their cells as long as they ask permission from us," he said.

Patrialis was speaking on the sidelines of the 12th anniversary of the founding of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in Central Jakarta.

However, he refused to explain this controversial policy. "I can't talk about the reason because it is related to national secrets," he said.

The government has been criticized for letting down its guard after jailed terrorists were found to be in possession of cellphones and communicating with active terrorist networks outside of prison.

Sidney Jones, a terrorism expert at the International Crisis Group, said earlier on Wednesday that poor monitoring in prisons had allowed new militant groups to develop.

"[The Indonesian government] must escalate its current monitoring in prisons," she said, adding that the country has no need for a special prison for terrorists.

At a discussion on terrorism held by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club, Jones said the lack of surveillance of imprisoned terrorists made it easier for them to expand their networks and plan attacks. She said some of the militants arrested in Aceh last month had met in prison.

She noted that Aman served time at the Sukamiskin Penitentiary in Bandung. Aman was arrested for his involvement in a bomb-making cell in 2004. "He gained a large number of followers in Jakarta after he was released in July 2008," she said.

Jones said her research team had found militants with several cellphones inside their cells, including one with 15 cellphones.

Earlier this month, convicted terrorist Iwan Dharmawan, also known as Rois Abu Syaukat, was reported to have had eight cellphones with him while serving time at Jakarta's Cipinang prison and to have been communicating with his networks in Aceh.

Meanwhile, in Denpasar on Tuesday, Untung Sugiyono, the director general of penitentiaries at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, vowed to "reevaluate where we failed" in handling militant inmates.

Nasir Abbas, a former JI member who is now assisting the police, said new militant groups had been formed after key terrorist leaders Noordin M Top and Dulmatin were killed in raids in 2009 and this year. "Several members of JI now think the group is sleeping and not productive, so they are frustrated and have formed new groups," he said.

UN spokesman Michele Zaccheo said a temporary ban on foreign staff traveling to Aceh remained in place despite the arrests.

Captured members of the Aceh militant group claimed to have made surveys on possible targets in Aceh, including UN-related offices, according to the police.

Aceh terror group shows extent of network

Jakarta Post - March 25, 2010

Jakarta – The recent police success in busting an Aceh-based terrorist network reveals the emergence of new alliances of organizations in the jihad movement in Indonesia.

Counterterrorism experts say it calls for a fresh approach to effectively counter the threat of terrorism.

They also said the terrorist training camp discovered in Aceh belonged to a new group that was not directly linked to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), blamed for the series of previous bomb attacks in Bali and Jakarta, or Noordin M. Top's cell, a JI splinter named after its Malaysian-born leader who was killed in September.

Three experts – Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group, former JI member Nassir Abbas and Andi Widjajanto of the University of Indonesia – gave their views about the latest developments in counterterrorism measures in a discussion organized by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club on Wednesday.

Police raided the Aceh camp and a safe house in Pamulang, just south of Jakarta, earlier in March, killing Indonesia's most wanted terrorists including Dulmatin and scores of others, arresting 71 people in two separate raids.

The Aceh group, according to Nassir, was formed by people who trained together in Mindanao, the Philippines. They combined from separate groups to work for a common cause. "Whoever wants to participate in jihad is welcome to join," he said.

Most were disillusioned about JI, who they thought was losing its power, said Nassir. He left JI and now assists authorities in fighting terrorism.

Jones believed that the group was formed after Dulmatin returned from hiding in the Philippines sometime in 2008. The new group, she said, "showed the extent of the jihad network in Indonesia."

Andi warned that the discovery showed that the issue of terrorism had become more complex and there was a serious risk of a terrorist threat. "The Aceh and Pamulang incidents are strong indications that the network is strengthening."

Jones and Nassir said the Aceh group was comprised of people from many organizations including JI, the Noordin M. Top cell, the Negara Islam Indonesia (NII), Wadah Islamiyah and other smaller groups.

Nassir said one major difference from JI and the Noordin group, which conducted suicide bombings, was that the Aceh group engaged its recruits in military training.

Rather than attacking foreigners, this group appears to be targeting Indonesian figures, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, he said.

Nassir said he did not know why Aceh was chosen as a base, given that the group was not supported by the local power as JI was when it opened training camps in Mindanao, Maluku and the Central Sulawesi district of Poso. None of those arrested had an organizational link to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the former local separatist group that signed a peace agreement with the government in 2005.

"They have built a graveyard, not a training camp," he said, saying that locals notified the police about the camp in Aceh.

Neither Jones nor Nassir could provide insight into the group's possible new location or where its funds came from."Its financing is the biggest mystery," Jones said.

The speakers doubted the government's plan to develop a new national anti-terror agency next month would be effective in fighting terrorism.

Jones identified Indonesia's weaknesses were poor intelligence, poor monitoring of current and former prisoners, as well as a poor understanding about the radicalization process and recruitment methods. "These problems cannot be solved by creating a new national agency."

Andi said this type of agency would be an inter-ministerial body. He said because ministers were likely to be focused on their fields of expertise, the agency would not likely be effective.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) will need to be involved if the threat of terrorism escalated, Andi argued. "This would be the last resort. We hope we can avoid employing this measure."

Currently the police and their counterterrorism unit Densus 88 have sole authority in fighting terrorism. The TNI is ready to assist the police if they are requested, Andi said.

A recent joint training by the National Police and the TNI at the capital's strategic spots was undertaken to prepare for the highest-level possible scenario.

Indonesia's prisons still breeding terror: Analyst

Agence France Presse - March 24, 2010

Indonesian terrorists are using their time in jail to recruit and plan new attacks in blatant disregard for prison rules which often are not enforced, a senior security analyst said Wednesday.

International Crisis Group expert Sidney Jones said several of the leaders of a new terror alliance discovered in Aceh province last month had met in prison or through prison contacts.

These included one of the group's chief ideologues, Aman Abdurrahman, who had "conducted regular religious study sessions" and laid plans with other terrorists during his time behind bars, she said.

Abdurrahman was arrested over his involvement in a bomb-making cell in 2004 and was released from Sukamiskin correctional facility in Bandung in July, 2008.

"We went to Sukamiskin and both the wardens and the prison administrators, this was a couple of years ago, were completely unaware of who Aman Abdurrahman was," Jones said.

She said they were not even aware that he was holding religious study sessions with other inmates.

"There is supposed to be a ban on hand phones (for prisoners) but it is not enforced and there doesn't seem to be any capacity to be able to do that," she said, adding that she met one terrorist inmate who had 15 mobile phones.

"I don't think you need a special prison for terrorists, I think you can just use basic control techniques, for example making sure they don't have hand phones in their cells. It shouldn't be that difficult."

Abdurrahman was arrested again recently after police discovered the "Al-Qaeda in Aceh" group, an alliance of extremists from various networks from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Dulmatin, a senior leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant outfit who masterminded the 2002 Bali bombings, was shot dead by police in follow-up raids in Jakarta.

Police seized three remote-controlled bomb detonators, firearms and tens of thousand of bullets, including those for assault rifles such as M-16 and AK-47s during the raids.

Jones said Indonesia needed to consider separating hardline ideologues like Abdurrahman from other prisoners and monitoring certain inmates more closely after they were released.

Islam/religion

'Infidel' not to be said lightly, NU cleric says

Jakarta Globe - March 27, 2010

Senior cleric and deputy chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama's legal advisory board Masyhuri Na'im said on Friday that Muslims should not use the term kafir, or infidel, lightly.

The nation's largest Islamic group has discussed the matter at its annual congress in Makassar this week because it had received numerous reports of Muslims labeling those both inside and outside the faith as infidels as a means of attack, he said.

"I have heard that people who do not wear a kopiah [Muslim skull cap] are called infidels. Muslims not growing their beards are called infidels. People are being declared kafirs and then attacked," Masyhuri said, adding that NU was greatly saddened to hear that members of the Ahmadiyah, a minority Muslim sect, had been assaulted many times and seen their mosques destroyed by those who called them infidels.

"Have you ever seen any NU followers attacking Ahmadiyah followers? No. We would never do that because the Prophet [Muhammad] would never use violence. We talk to people. The Prophet would never physically attack people because they were not Muslims," Masyhuri said, adding that there were several criteria to be met before someone could be called an infidel.

"God should be considered as the creator of the universe. Only God can punish us. To call someone an infidel who is actually a Muslim over small differences is forbidden by the Prophet. The Prophet has clearly instructed us that whosoever calls a Muslim an infidel, himself is the infidel," Masyhuri said.

He added that those who were misguided needed to be brought back toward the correct path of Islam.

Experts insist blasphemy law undermines freedom

Jakarta Post - March 25, 2010

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Critically acclaimed cinematographer and cultural observer Garin Nugroho, who testified as an expert in a hearing of the judicial review request of the 45-year-old Blasphemy Law on Wednesday, said the law discouraged people from discussing religious issues.

"It is the biggest setback in the history of this nation in terms of democracy and its agenda for pluralism," said Garin, whose controversial interpretation of a Hindu epic in his piece Shinta Obong drew rebukes from a Hindu youth organization.

"Several articles in the law have vague interpretations. This law has the potential to side with the majority to the detriment of minorities," he said.

Cole Durham, a professor of law at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA, said in his testimony that the law failed the necessity test in several respects.

Apart from discriminating against certain groups, Durham said via teleconference, the language used in the law was vague and therefore left open the possibility of arbitrary application.

"When 'deviation' from the tenets of a religion occurs, or when one 'resembles' another excessively, it is far from clear to ordinary citizens," he added. He was testifying as an expert on behalf of petitioners.

He highlighted that while desecration of sacred objects was frowned upon and reflected modern societies' poverty of spirit, "it is equally important to remember that, except in most repressive regimes, apostasy and heresy fall under religious, not civil, jurisdiction".

"Invoking the machinery of the state to carry out recriminations is extremely dangerous, both because of the unpredictable consequences it may unleash, and also because the empowered state may create other problems, even for the prevailing groups," he added.

Former justice and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who testified as an expert presented by the court, challenged Durham's view, saying the law had become a means to prevent interreligious conflict in Indonesia.

Violence marred Wednesday's hearing at the Constitutional Court – the last hearing before the court issues a ruling next month – when members of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) intimidated lawyers of the petitioners, calling on them to drop their bid to repeal the law.

Bystanders began taking pictures, further enraging FPI members, who attacked three men, yelling "Erase the pictures".

One of the men attacked was Novel, a member of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), who had come to the hearing to assist expert witness SAE Nababan who testified at the hearing. He captured several pictures and video clips of the incident.

"I was slapped, kicked and punched in the stomach when a huge crowd chased me up the ramp leading to the first floor. One of them tried to strangle me," he said.

FPI attacks four people at Constitutional Court building

Jakarta Globe - March 24, 2010

Ulma Haryanto – Members of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front assaulted four people in the basement of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday on the last day of arguments in a case seeking to overturn the country's controversial 1965 Blasphemy Law.

Witnessed by the Jakarta Globe, the violence began when members of the group, known as the FPI, observed a lawyer, Sidik, and Novel, a member of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), attempting to photograph the group's confrontation with two other lawyers.

Sidik, a member of the petitioners' legal team, also known as the Religious Freedom Advocacy Team, said he observed several men clad in the FPI's Arabic-style uniforms intimidating colleagues Uli Sihombing and Nurkholis Hidayat near the cafeteria and prayer room during a two-hour lunch break.

"I caught some FPI people intimidating Uli and Nurkholis and I wanted to take pictures as proof that there had been intimidation," Sidik told reporters. "But one of them saw me with the camera, and took the camera away from me."

Nurkholis corroborated the account, saying the two were having lunch in the cafeteria when several FPI members began questioning them. "They asked us if we were Muslims or not," Nurkholis said.

All four were held with arms around their necks and punched and kicked by the FPI members.

While Nurkholis and Uli ran toward an elevator, Sidik and Novel ran toward a ramp that leads to the main entrance of the building, and were followed by angry FPI supporters.

"The police saw me get beaten and kicked at, but somehow they did not arrest anyone," Sidik said. "I think they clearly saw who did it."

About 50 FPI supporters gathered in front of the entrance after police escorted Sidik and Novel to safety.

The crowd stayed for several minutes, condemning the people for seeking a revision of the law and the police who had stopped them. "I told them that I am a Muslim, too," one officer told the Globe.

Pre-dawn prayer too early? Indonesian clerics suggest wiggle room

Jakarta Globe - March 24, 2010

Muninggar Sri Saraswati & Anita Rachman – After recently shocking many by issuing a religious edict banning smoking, the country's second-largest Islamic organization has stirred a new controversy by saying it would discuss whether the predawn prayer time for Muslims was too early.

"The time for the predawn prayer in Indonesia is the earliest, compared to other countries," Syamsul Anwar, the chair of the Muhammadiyah's lawmaking council, said on Wednesday from Surabaya.

While there, he met with East Java Governor Sukarwo to inform him of the organization's national meeting in Malang on April 1-4. "If the morning prayer is a bit later, maybe more [Muslims] will perform the prayer," Syamsul added.

He said the issue of the predawn prayer was one of the things Muhammadiyah's central board was planning to take up at the meeting.

The morning prayer for Indonesian Muslims starts when the sun is 20 degrees under the horizon (the point when the sun starts rising), or about 4:45 a.m. in the western part of the country.

Syamsul said the time for the predawn prayer in Morocco starts when the sun is 18 degrees under the horizon, while in Egypt it is when the sun is 19.5 degrees under the horizon.

"Actually, the predawn prayer time here does not violate the rule as according to the Islamic law. It should be done between 20 degrees to zero degrees," he said.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) and the Religious Affairs Ministry were quick to brush aside the idea, saying the prayer times have been considered thoroughly. "The predawn prayer time in Indonesia is correct," said an MUI chairman, Ma'ruf Amin.

Nasaruddin Umar, the Ministry of Religious Affairs' Islamic directorate general, concurred, saying the prayer time had been determined after a thorough consideration involving all elements of Muslim society and experts, including astronomers.

Nahdlatul Ulama's West Java chairman, Havidz Usman, took a more conciliatory approach to the question. "We set the time based on the Koran, but we welcome a discussion should there be strong evidence that our predawn prayer time is not correct," he said.

Religion minister defends Indonesia's blasphemy law

Jakarta Globe - March 24, 2010

Anita Rachman, Makassar (South Sulawesi) – Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali defended Indonesia's blasphemy law at a conference of the nation's largest Muslim organization, and asked the group for its support as the law undergoes a court challenge.

Without the stricture against blasphemy, people "could establish new religions, declaring new prophets, new angels," Suryadharma said during a plenary session in front of thousands of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leaders here. "It could cause the breakdown of harmony". Freedom is not absolute," he added. "There must still be rules."

The 1965 law recognizes only six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. Other religions are officially banned.

The law also bars variants of recognized religions, particularly Islam. In 2008, the government invoked it to ban Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect which believes that its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the last prophet of Islam. That claim is a serious departure from mainstream Muslim beliefs.

Indonesia's Constitutional Court is currently reviewing the law after it was challenged in 2009 by the late President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and several human rights organizations.

In a series of emotional, sometimes raucous hearings, witnesses have described suffering discrimination under the law, while conservative Islamic organizations have rallied in its support.

Anti-pornography law

Papuans lambast 'useless' anti-porn law

Jakarta Post - March 30, 2010

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A community group in Papua has denounced the Constitutional Court's recent rejection of a judicial review of the 2008 Pornography Law as a threat to their way of life.

Central Mountains Student Association secretary-general Markus Haluk said the ruling to uphold the controversial law would effectively outlaw the wearing of penis gourds among indigenous tribesmen. The koteka is made from a dried, scooped-out gourd.

Another traditional vestment under threat, Markus said, was the sali, a skirt made from woven tree bark to cover the lower part of the women's body, leaving their breasts bare.

"We have been wearing the koteka and sali since long before the law was passed," Markus said. "So should we be regarded as violating the law for not fully covering up our bodies in public?"

He added implementing the law in Papua would "threaten the existence of Papuans" simply because so many of them could be charged for wearing the koteka or the sali. The law, he went on, would be useless in places like Papua and Bali, which has opted not to adopt it.

Markus added some provinces should be exempt from the law. Papua legislative councilor Komaruddin Watubun agreed. "The fact is, in Papua, not wearing full clothing is a tradition," he said.

Supporting regulations for implementing the law must exempt certain provinces, he added. "Our culture is part of the nation's diversity," Komaruddin said.

Court chief denies pressure over porn law verdict

Jakarta Post - March 30, 2010

Jakarta – Constitutional Court chief Mahfud M.D. said Monday the court's recent refusal to review the highly controversial pornography law was decided without external pressure as some may have suspected.

"We are not influenced by pressure. We did not bow to demonstrators. Even if President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attempted to apply pressure we would have fought back," Mahmud said.

Mahfud said the law was controversial regardless of what the court decided.

Last week, the court refused a review petition filed by a number of parties, including the Balinese and North Sulawesi provincial administrations, women groups and human rights activists.

These parties dismissed the law as a threat to local culture and women rights, and because it was based on Islamic values that were not shared by all citizens. The law allegedly receives most support from Muslim groups and resistance from others.

In its ruling, the court argued that petitioners' arguments did not have sound legal arguments and the law did not conflict with the 1945 Constitution. A judge who disagreed with the verdict was outvoted.

"We cannot please everybody," Mahfud said as quoted by detik.com.

The holiday island of Bali has reoprtedly been steadfast in rejecting the morality law, which it fears will negatively impact on tourism.

Commission slams court for supporting porn law

Jakarta Post - March 27, 2010

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women on Friday slammed the Constitutional Court for its decision to reject a judicial review filed against the 2008 Pornography Law.

The commission accused the court's decision as an "encouragement to divide the nation".

"The pornography law sparked heated debates in and outside parliament in its deliberation. This is because the regulation emphasizes issues of morality, defying the country's diverse cultures, customs and religious interpretations.

"The decision has distanced Indonesia from its dream of becoming a united, just and prosperous nation," the commission said in a press statement.

A number of organizations, including the Indonesian Women's Coalition for Justice and Democracy, the Anand Ashram Foundation, the Jakarta branch of the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH APIK) and the Women's Solidarity Alliance, filed for a judicial review of several articles in the 2008 Pornography Law.

On Thursday, however, eight out of nine Constitutional Court justices rejected the request. "The plaintiffs' arguments are baseless and have no legal grounds," court chief Mahfud M.D. said.

Maria Farida Indrati, the only female justice at the court, was the only justice who supported the request.

"The short and incomplete definition of pornography as mentioned in Article 1 of the porn law has the potential to cause legal uncertainties, and its implementation will lead to violations of the principles of a law-based nation," the commission said, citing Maria's statements.

The commission reiterated how the law made women vulnerable to abuse. It added that as 154 bylaws nationwide had articles that discriminated against women, the pornography law could add to insecurity among women and even criminalize them.

The Constitutional Court's verdicts are final and binding, meaning with its rejection of the review request there is nothing else that can be done to alter the law.

Apparently as a last resort, the commission called for the public to monitor the implementation of the law.

"The women's commission is calling all elements of the nation and the civil communities concerned with democratization... and the upholding of citizens' constitutional rights, to join the monitoring and help prevent violence and vigilantes acting on the moral polices in the implementation of the porn law."

The commission is also criticizing the 1974 Law on Marriage. It said the legal minimum age to be married should be changed to 18 for both the bride and groom, from 16 and 19 at present.

"We should use the same standards with those in the child protection law, which states that children are those under 18 years of age," commission deputy chairman Masruchah said in a discussion Friday at the commission's office in Jakarta.

She also expressed her objection to the bill, saying it was, among others things, discriminatory to male expatriates seeking to marry Indonesian women, since they had to first provide Rp 500 million (approximatrely US$53,620) as a guarantee.

Anti-porn law is sexist and discriminatory, activists say

Jakarta Globe - March 26, 2010

Nurfika Osman, Anita Rachman & AP – Anti-pornography laws judged women's bodies according to religious and moral values, which was not only sexist but also designed to target them, activists claimed on Friday.

They were speaking a day after the Constitutional Court rejected an appeal against the controversial 2008 law despite claims that its definition of pornography was vague, misleading and open to multiple interpretations.

"Women are the target, according to this law. Women who are victims of exploitation are addressed as perpetrators," said Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan).

Yuniyanti pointed out that the law had been used to jail at least eight people, mostly female erotic dancers.

"The law has similar characteristics to some 154 regional bylaws across the country, which we believe reduce the security and safety of women in Indonesia," she said. "The law legalizes discrimination against women and opposes their rights to legal certainty."

Yuniyanti was referring to bylaws such as those in Aceh, which call for adulterers to be stoned to death and those who engage in premarital or homosexual sex to receive 100 lashes.

Many critics of the anti-pornography law said it endangers pluralism because many clauses are open to interpretation.

Komnas Perempuan's deputy chairwoman, Masruchah, said the law was passed after pressure from groups that believed they had control over women's bodies. "What if erotic dancers are male? Will we use the law on them, too?" she said.

Masruchah said the government must act to regulate the law, which should provide a clearer definition of pornography and the limitations. "A regulation could help stop officials arresting the wrong people," Masruchah said.

The Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Islamic organization, has also demanded the government act to ensure the correct implementation of the law.

It said at its congress on Thursday that aside from a clearer definition of pornography, the law should not be related to religious practices, educational activities or artistic expressions.

Authorities in Papua and Bali have said they will not enforce the 2008 law because it stifles traditional Balinese and Papuan cultures.

Legislators in Papua, a largely tribal region where women customarily go topless, said the law had never been implemented because it could not be effectively enforced.

Deputy House speaker Komarudin Watubun said it would be impractical to impose the law in Papua. "The people here in Papua have never bothered with the law. It's like other laws in Indonesia where many people just realize that it cannot be enforced so why should we bother with it," he said.

Bali governor Made Mangku Pastika said he had long objected to the anti-pornography law because it contradicted the norms of Balinese society.

"We reject porn crimes, but this law also does not suit the sociological and psychological aspect of Balinese society," he said.

The legislation passed with strong support from conservative Islamist parties, though more than 100 legislators walked out in protest. It outlaws overtly sexual images, gestures and even conversations. Violators can be jailed for up to 12 years and fined $795,000.

Constitutional Court upholds divisive pornography law

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court almost unanimously turned down Thursday a judicial review filed against the controversial pornography law, but the ruling failed to extinguish the legislation's divisive nature.

In their verdict, all but one judge found no clauses in the law that contradicted the Constitution. They said the plaintiffs' argument that numerous clauses within the law ran counter to each other.

"Therefore, the Constitutional Court rejects the request to revise the clauses within the law," court chief Mahfud M.D. told a hearing. Bali was quick to respond to the court's verdict, with Governor Made Mangku Pastika saying the province would not comply with the law.

"Bali cannot enforce the pornography law because it does not suit the region's socio-psychological elements," Pastika said Thursday.

He insisted that the law as national legislation only met the judicial requirement as it was endorsed by the House, but it went against the social and cultural norms of Bali and its people.

Long before its endorsement by the House of Representatives in 2008, the law sparked criticism from civil groups and communities in East Indonesia, who fear it will stifle freedom of expression and the pluralist nature of Indonesian society.

Individuals and civil society groups such as the Indonesian Women's Coalition for Justice and Democracy, the Anand Ashram Foundation, the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute and the Women's Solidarity Union had sought the judicial review representing the sections of the public who are against the law.

The law also divided the panel of judges, as Maria Farida Indrati raised her dissenting opinion, which would hold no sway in the final outcome. Maria said she doubted the necessity of the law because regulations on moral behavior were prevalent in other laws.

"With so many regulations [on moral behavior], should we enact the pornography law that only provides mediocre regulations and sparks a host of problems in its formulation and implementation?" she said.

Maria deemed the law's very first clause, which stipulates the definition of "porn", to be open to interpretation and legally ambiguous.

The clause defines porn as "pictures, sketches, illustrations, photographs, articles, sounds, voices, moving pictures, animations, cartoons, conversations, body movements or other forms of messages through various communication mediums and/or public displays, that contain obscenity or sexual exploitation that violates community norms".

"So, based on my conclusion, I belief the plaintiffs' demands should be fulfilled," Maria said.

One of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, Taufik Bashari, told a press conference he appreciated Maria's stance. "The dissenting opinion also shows that there are still a lot of problems with this law. This is not the end," he said.

He said the court ruling had failed to solve the substantive issue of the judicial review motion. "The ruling fails to look deeper into substantial issues, such as women's rights. The court failed to see that the real victims of this law will be women," he said.

Taufik said the plaintiffs would not stop their fight against the law and would continue to monitor its implementation. "There is still a way to revise this law through a legislative revision mechanism. So, we expect the House to take notice of the dissenting opinion and conduct a revision of the law," he said.

Activists resume opposition to pornography bill

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2010

I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar – Bali People Component (KRB), a coalition of rights activists, pledged Thursday to continue opposition to the controversial pornography bill.

The statement was made following the Constitutional Court's ruling on Thursday that the bill did not violate any constitutional rights.

"We believe the bill does not respect the country's multicultural nature, the traditional heritage of the indigenous people as well as the diverse religious beliefs of the country's citizens. Therefore, we will continue our struggle against this bill," KRB coordinator I Gusti Ngurah Harta said Thursday evening.

The panel of judges at the Court issued its ruling on a judicial review motion filed by the opponents of the bill. The court refused the motion and declared that the bill didn't violate the constitutional rights of the country's citizens.

Harta objected to the ruling, claiming it undermined the spirit of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) professed by the nation's founding fathers.

"[The ruling] is a setback for our nation and for our continuing effort to establish a democratic society based on mutual respect toward cultural diversity..." Harta said.

KRB has spearheaded a popular opposition to the bill since 2006, when legislators from Muslim-based parties presented the first draft of the "anti pornography and anti porno-action law".

Led by several respected Balinese figures including scholar I Made Bandem, dramatist Cok Sawitri and Hindu high priest Sebali Tianyar Arimbawa, KRB successfully mobilized island-wide support for the opposition.

Its main objection focused on the ambiguous nature of the law, as evident in several articles open to interpretation.

"The articles equate nudity with pornography. This notion blatantly disregards the fact nudity has different social, cultural and even religious contexts in different parts of the country," Bandem said previously.

One of the most sacred objects in Balinese Hinduism is the Lingga-Yoni, a physical depiction of a phallus and vagina, which is also the symbolic depiction of Lord Siwa and Goddess Uma. "How could we accept a bill that prohibits the symbols we hold sacred?" Harta said.

Public opposition, including from other regions, forced legislators in Jakarta to shelve the bill's draft. But two years later its revamped version was presented to the House of Representatives. This time public outcry failed to stop the bill's passage. The House endorsed the bill in October 2008.

Earlier on Thursday, a KRB delegation asked Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika to clarify the province's stance on the issue.

"Given Bali's unique social and cultural setting, the Bali administration will not implement the bill. This bill does not reflect the sociological and philosophical values deemed important by Balinese," Pastika said.

Constitutional court upholds anti-pornography law

Jakarta Globe - March 25, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran – The Constitutional Court upheld Indonesia's controversial Anti-Pornography Law on Thursday, rejecting plaintiff's arguments that it failed to clearly define porn.

"The constitutional rights of the applicants are indeed being guaranteed, because it gives a good picture of the definition of porn," said Judge Achmad Sodiki.

"We should uphold morality and the national character, as well as respecting differences to protect people's dignity, and protecting women and children."

The court also said the law would not have a stifling effect on the arts, since it excludes artistic and cultural performances.

Judge Maria Farida Indrati dissented, however, saying the law failed to comprehend Indonesia's diversity. "The law cannot be implemented based on varying social norms," she said.

The judicial review was filed by a number of organizations, including the National Committee for Indonesian Youth and the South Minahasa Student and Youth Alliance.

Politics/political parties

Family affairs to mark PDI-P congress

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2010

Hans David Tampobolon, Jakarta – Debate over whether the party will move closer to the ruling coalition looks to highlight the national congress of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in Bali next week, but key event will focus on family affairs.

There has been speculation that Prananda Prabowo and Puan Maharani, the children of party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, will contest a key post that could catapult them to the top of the party.

PDI-P executives speaking on condition of anonymity say Megawati wants the party to remain in the opposition, and has groomed Prananda, her son from her late first husband, to be the party's future leader.

Megawati's husband and party chief adviser Taufik Kiemas, who has called for the PDI-P to form an ideological alliance with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, is said to favor Puan, his biological daughter.

"The Constitution states that there is no such thing as an opposition party in Indonesia," Taufik on Tuesday denied any rivalry between his stepson Prananda and his daughter Puan, who is also a legislator at the House of Representatives, for the party's future leadership.

Taufik, who is also the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, said he believed Puan and Prananda had an equal chance of being in the party's vanguard for the 2010-2015 tenure.

Taufik, however, refused to comment on the posts his children were seeking, instead telling reporters to "ask the children's mother". He said reports of bitter rivalry between his children were only intended to divide the party.

"It's an ugly tactic. Anyone is free to join the party's leadership structure, including both [Prananda and Puan]. Let's not frame this in a context of bitter rivalry," he said.

A potential family feud could result if Guruh Soekarnoputra, Megawati's brother, makes a bid to challenge his sister for the party's top post in the upcoming congress. Guruh, a renowned artist, has vowed to contest the race, saying he would restore the party's past glory.

Guruh has claimed support from many regional branches of the party.

Prananda, Puan and Guruh's standing in the party will be determined at the congress, scheduled to take place from April 6 to 9. Participants to the congress will also vote on whether to keep the party in the opposition or consolidate with the ruling coalition.

Taufik and PDI-P secretary-general Pramono Anung both claim that the party's grassroots constituents want the PDI-P to become a strategic and critical partner of the government.

Taufik said Tuesday that the country's political system did not recognize an opposition party.

"The Constitution states that there is no such thing as an opposition party in Indonesia," he said. "So, if we take the wrong stance, we will find ourselves on the wrong side of the Constitution."

Muhammadiyah leader insists group will not 'back off' of politics

Jakarta Globe - March 31, 2010

Anita Rachman – Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin on Wednesday said stepping completely out of politics was an impossibility for the country's second largest Muslim organization, arguing that its role was to strengthen civil society and prevent political monopolization.

"Those parties, including the government, who are advising organizations like ours to back off, do not understand the true teachings of Islam," he said.

"They are ignoring the historical fact that for years Islamic organizations have played a pivotal role in the development of the nation, which in fact is what politics is all about."

Although he did not name any group or individual, Din said certain elements in society wanted to neuter the 28 million- strong organization's political role in society. "We will never listen to any discouraging comments and we will keep encouraging our followers to serve the nation," he said.

Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization with 40 million followers, has been under significant pressure from grassroots members to withdraw from politics after a public spat caused a major internal rift in its political entity, the National Awakening Party (PKB). At its recent national congress in Makassar, NU's newly-elected chairman, Said Aqil Siradj, vowed to steer the group clear from politics.

Din, however, said Muhammadiyah had no such problems, pointing out that Islam had never drawn a line between religion and politics.

"We have forbidden our cadres from leading political parties, but that does not mean we will stay out of politics," he said.

"If we see something going wrong in our country, such as corruption in the case of the Bank Century scandal, it is impossible for us to stay quiet. If we drive our people to speak against it, that is politics. It has nothing to do with party politics. It is a political movement to pinpoint what we aim to achieve."

The difference between Muhammadiyah and NU, political analysts have said, is that Muhammadiyah represents a modernist challenge to the traditions of NU. Muhammadiyah is known not to revere ulemas or other religious leaders – which is at the core of NU – and for following a more orthodox version of Islam.

Since it was founded in 1912, Muhammadiyah has set up schools, universities and madrassas across Java and Sumatra. The group's schools, modeled after the Western education system, are one of its main achievements, successfully merging religious and secular curriculums.

The organization is governed by a democratic system that requires frequent voting on decision-making and the election of leaders.

Din said Muhammadiyah's future lay in it becoming an influential political movement, and that this idea would be stressed at the organization's national congress slated for July in Yogyakarta.

While he acknowledged that a split had formed within the organization – those who agreed with the political agenda and those who wanted it to maintain purely religious and social pursuits – he said it was working on convincing its followers that nothing was wrong with engaging in politics.

"But I want to warn our followers not to be influenced by interference from political parties," he added.

Bahtiar Effendy, a political expert from Jakarta's Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University, said there was nothing wrong with groups such as Muhammadiyah and other nongovernmental organizations getting involved in politics, so long as it stayed away from party politics.

"To step out of politics totally means that you leave your daily lives in the hands of political parties. Is that fair? While there are many players in the field, including nongovernmental organizations," he said.

"For Muhammadiyah to fight for the country only via its schools and hospitals is not enough. It is impossible for Muhammadiyah to not touch on politics."

Earlier this month, Muhammadiyah issued a controversial fatwa that declared smoking as forbidden in Islam. The group is also expected to lobby the government to immediately ratify the World Heath Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which mandates that signatories implement methods to reduce tobacco use.

PDI-P snubs SBY, gears toward alignment shift

Jakarta Post - March 30, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has finalized the invitation list for its upcoming congress in Bali, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Cabinet ministers are not on it.

"We have not invited anyone from the government because we do not want our congress to be interfered with," PDI-P congress committee chairman Tjahjo Kumolo said during a media gathering at the Sultan Hotel in Jakarta on Monday.

"We also do not want to disturb the President, because he has so many matters of greater importance to attend to," he added.

Yudhoyono's rocky relationship with PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri has been a hot topic since Yudhoyono seized the presidential office from Megawati six years ago. Now the two political heavyweights rarely appear in public together.

Backing up its claims of objectivity, the PDI-P has included on its list of invitees House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie, who is currently running for chairmanship of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, according to Tjahjo.

"The PDI-P will also invite the speaker's deputies, the top leaders of the People's Consultative Assembly and the Regional Representatives Council," he said.

High-profile invitees include former vice presidents Hamzah Haz and Jusuf Kalla, who is a Golkar Party senior politician and founder of the National Democrat mass organization. Also invited are Surya Paloh and Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

Tjahjo said the congress would also request the attendance of newly elected Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Said Agil Siradj, as well as religious leaders representing all five officially recognized beliefs under the Constitution, and that each would be invited to lead a prayer at the gathering.

The focus of the congress, which will run from April 6 to 9, will be the appointment of a new party chairman, to spearhead the party until 2015.

However, several PDI-P executives have said the election will be a non-event, pointing to Megawati's recent sweep of votes at the party's regional branches as evidence of her inevitable victory.

"Based on regional conference results across 471 branches, more than 98 percent have pledged their support for ibu Mega," PDI-P secretary-general Pramono Anung told reporters at the House on Monday. Pramono said the party's main aim was to increase its ability to monitor and control the government.

Meanwhile, speculation abounds that the party is mulling a shift in its political stance that could position it as an ally of the Democratic Party's government. Rumors began to manifest after Megawati's husband, Taufik Kiemas, who is also chief patron of the PDI-P, said that the time for opposing the government had passed and that his party would do well to become an ideological ally of the Democratic Party. Taufik once refered to Yudhoyono as "a childish general".

Coalition may be revised, but nothing 'drastic'

Jakarta Post - March 27, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Vice President Boediono's concerns over the coalition's lack of support for the government will not prompt the President to drastically revise its political alliances, a senior ruling party official says.

Achmad Mubarok, deputy chairman of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, said the party shared Boediono's feelings and would take action to cope with the problem.

"We take note of Pak Boediono's remarks and probably there will be a revision of the coalition, but it will not be drastic," Mubarok said Friday.

At the opening of the Indonesia Summit on Thursday, Boediono said the political fallout from the House of Representatives' inquiry into the Bank Century bailout had put the coalition to the test, albeit only for the time being.

The fallout materialized when the Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) voted against the coalition government in the Houses final decision on the bailout.

Their position cost the pro-government parties the vote, and allowed the House to pass a resolution that declared the bailout had been flawed and recommended Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati face due legal processes for their roles in the controversial policy.

Some legislators have also demanded Boediono and Mulyani step down and threatened to boycott future hearings with them.

In support of Boediono's remarks, the Democratic Party's Benny Kabur Harman said the Bank Century case proved the fragility of power sharing in the coalition.

"Some coalition partners are fighting for their own interests and agendas," he said. "Therefore, coalition members need to renew their commitment to the reform agenda under President SBY's leadership. Those who are not in line with the SBY-Boediono government must leave the coalition."

Golkar's Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa criticized Boediono for his speech concerning the fallout. "If Pak Boediono thinks the coalition needs revising, he should go directly to the President rather than stating it in public," Agun said.

Political experts have suggested that the coalition partners need to improve political communication among themselves for the sake of an effective government.

"From the beginning... the Democratic Party should have offered a detailed political contract to its partners. The contract must contain a detailed agenda and plans for the next five years," Charta Politika political analyst Yunarto Wijaya said.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) warned that Boediono would pay for his statement. "The coalition partners could now be more motivated to target Boediono."

He said a limited Cabinet reshuffle was needed to tame defecting coalition partners.

Megawati pours cold water on PDI-P joining ruling coalition

Jakarta Globe - March 25, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Muninggar Sri Saraswati – Megawati Sukarnoputri on Thursday firmly ruled out an alliance between her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, effectively putting an end to weeks of speculation about the move.

"For me, it would be ludicrous for representatives of all political parties to end up joining the cabinet. Who will then carry out the checks and balances?" the former president said after attending an event in Bogor organized by her party, also known as the PDI-P.

"With this in mind, joining the coalition, according to us, is not a goal. So, I decide – I still decide – that we will not go there."

The PDI-P is scheduled to hold its national congress in Bali next month to not only elect a new chairperson, but to also discuss a range of issues affecting the party, including the matter of joining the ruling coalition.

Megawati's statement comes after weeks of growing speculation, fueled largely by senior Democratic officials whose party has been on the offensive ever since a vote in the House of Representatives this month went against them, declaring the government bailout of Bank Century illegal.

Democratic Party deputy chairman Ahmad Mubarok and presidential spokesman Heru Lelono both said it was very likely that the PDI-P would join Yudhoyono's tattered coalition, with Lelono even saying that he was "99.99 percent sure" it would join.

The Democrats have aggressively lobbied the PDI-P to join its coalition to possibly replace the Golkar Party, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) or United Development Party (PPP), all of which crossed the floor to vote that the Bank Century bailout was illegal.

Megawati's husband, Taufik Kiemas, the speaker for the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), had reportedly warmed to the idea of joining the coalition and attempted to convince other members of the PDI-P elite about its merits.

Taufik has been a long-time proponent of an alliance with the Democrats, despite Megawati's strained relationship with Yudhoyono, who served as one of her cabinet ministers before he defeated her in the 2004 presidential election.

Some PDI-P members had earlier said the coalition proposal would be lucrative for the party considering cabinet positions might be on offer. Political analysts pointed out that joining the coalition would have other benefits for the party, including giving them more leverage to help past and present PDI-P lawmakers who were currently in trouble over a graft scandal linked to the appointment of a central bank official in 2004.

PDI-P legislator Ganjar Pranowo on Thursday said the Democrats owed his party an explanation about their offer to join the coalition, although he had no intention of going against his chairwoman's decision to remain in opposition. "Of course, surely I would straightaway choose in accordance to Ibu Megawati's wishes," he said.

Apart from the issue of joining the ruling coalition, Megawati said the PDI-P would also discuss its line of succession at next month's congress and whether the next chairperson should come from the Sukarno family dynasty. Megawati herself is the daughter of the country's charismatic first president, Sukarno.

Meanwhile, a group from the PDI-P's youth wing also held a news conference on Thursday to support their chairwoman's stance. "We expect Megawati to maintain our ideology by not joining the coalition," Cepi Budi Muliawan said.

Many rank-and-file party members want the party to remain in opposition and have thrown their weight behind Megawati running for her fourth term as chairwoman. There is also widespread support for her son, Prananda Prabowo, to take up a senior position in the party, ahead of his sister, Puan Maharani.

"We support Prananda as the party's deputy chairman," Cepi said, adding that Prananda's "ideological" camp, which included PDI-P heavyweights Kwik Kian Gie, Yakobus Mayongpadang, Cornelis Lay and Ribka Tjiptaning, was opposed to the "pragmatic" camp of Puan and PDI-P secretary general Pramono Anung.

Megawati's daughter being groomed for greatness

Jakarta Globe - March 25, 2010

Muninggar Sri Saraswati – While Megawati Sukarnoputri seems certain to lead the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle at the faction's congress next month, daughter Puan Maharani is set to fight for the new position of deputy chairman with party heavyweights Pramono Anung and Tjahjo Kumolo.

Party member and lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari said on Wednesday that the three would likely compete for the position as part of a regeneration within the faction.

Puan holds the ticket mainly due to her status as a granddaughter of Sukarno, the charismatic former president. Her father, Taufik Kiemas, who is also the party advisory council chairman and head of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), has thrown his weight behind her and expects her to eventually replace Megawati.

Pramono, the party secretary general, and Tjahjo, the party's top executive, have extensive political experience. Pramono is a House deputy speaker, while Tjahjo chairs the party there.

But Tjahjo has been implicated in the bribery case involving former Bank Indonesia Senior Deputy Governor Miranda Goeltom. "We need Megawati to unite [the party] for now, but there has to be a regeneration," Eva said.

She said the creation of the new position was considered the best way to prepare party members for a successor to Megawati.

Pramono said it would be up to the congress in Bali next month to decide whether the party needed a deputy chairman. He declined to comment on his possible bid for the post.

Political observers Airlangga Pribadi of Airlangga University and M Qodari of IndoBarometer said the party, also known as the PDI-P desperately needed to elect a new leader for the 2014 election.

"Megawati still attracts voters, but their numbers are declining day by day. PDI-P needs fresh figures to replace her, but the internal party still relies heavily on her to unite them," Airlangga said.

Qodari said the new position of deputy chairman may not be the answer to the problem. "If PDI-P really wants a regeneration, they have to give more responsibilities to their top executives. A deputy chairman, I believe, has no clear job description," he said.

Fundamental differences to the fore at NU meeting

Jakarta Globe - March 24, 2010

Anita Rachman, Makassar – A banner hanging prominently at the Sudiang Hajj dormitory boldly proclaims: "Save Nahdlatul Ulama From the Influence of Fundamentalism, Radicalism, and Liberalism."

For many participants at the 32nd national congress of the Nahdlatul Ulama, the banner signed by the Riau Islands chapter is just a banner, one of scores, at the venue.

But on Wednesday the slogan took on a foreboding meaning for some.

A plenary congress late on Tuesday declared that only those who follow the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah principle (followers of the Sunnah, the method applied by Prophet Muhammad and his companions) could contest the chairmanship of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization.

The congress, however, stopped short of adopting a suggestion that a chairman must not have any connection to the Liberal Islam Network (JIL).

Senior NU clerics said at the meeting that there was no room for liberalism in the organization.

Hafidz Usman, head of the congress committee, told the Jakarta Globe that on Tuesday night a branch had suggested the plenary add another clause to the requirements for a chairman – that the person not be from JIL.

Ulil Abshar Abdalla, one of the seven potential candidates running for the NU chairmanship, is the founder of JIL, a loose forum that discusses and disseminates the concept of Islamic liberalism in Indonesia.

"It was the East Java chapter that suggested the idea," Hafidz said. "Our requirements are: those who have been actively working for NU for at least four years and those who follow NU's ideology of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah."

A senior cleric from East Java and head of the province's NU chapter, Mohammad Hasan Mutawakkil Alallah, pointed out that it was actually a subdistrict chapter, Sampang in Madura, that had made the suggestion.

"But of course, clearly, NU does not have space for liberalism, although I must say that a congress is not the right place to discuss that," he said. He defined liberalism as an ideology that was either too "left" or "right" and freely interpreted the holy book.

Another senior cleric from Central Java and a member of the NU advisory council, Masruri Mughni, said the NU would never let liberalism grow within its ranks because it would be "crossing the line."

"They say the objective of shalat (praying) is to remember God. That is why, if we already remember God, why do we need to pray? That's what they say and that is wrong."

Ulil, while admitting to being a "liberal Muslim thinker," said he was also a traditionalist. "I still kiss clerics' hands when we meet, I still visit tombs. I also take part in tahlil, prayers for the dead," he said.

Ulil said that his only wish was to develop an Islam that encouraged the spirit of humanism and pluralism while upholding democratic values. "I know that there are some senior clerics who disagree, but there are also other senior clerics who agree or sympathize with my thoughts," Ulil said.

Masdar Farid Mas'udi, a n NU deputy chairman and potential candidate, said that bringing up the liberalism issue was a political move and thus inappropriate for the congress and its election for chairman.

Grassroots democrats 'Want Golkar, PKS out'

Jakarta Globe - March 24, 2010

A top Democratic Party official said on Tuesday that grassroots members were demanding that the party kick the Golkar Party and Prosperous Justice Party out of the governing coalition.

"We will do it if it is in the interest of the people," said Moh. Jafar Hafsah, a deputy chairman of the party, adding that the issue would be discussed at the party's national congress in May.

The party's board, however, would not make a decision based on emotion only, as the Democrats wanted better cooperation between the government and the House of Representatives in the future, Jafar said. Members of the ruling coalition could withdraw their membership should they have a different stance from the Democrats, he said.

The Democratic Party has repeatedly pressured President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to reshuffle his cabinet after the results of the recent vote on the House recommendation concerning Bank Century bailout inquiry. Three members of the coalition – Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party, also known as the PKS – voted against the Democrats.

The Democratic Party has since reportedly approached the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to join the coalition.

The PKS, however, dismissed talk of being kicked out of the coalition, saying the Democrats had been approaching the PDI-P to improve their popularity ahead of the 2014 elections. "I think it's just an expression of fear," said Agus Purnomo, a top PKS executive.

Press freedom & censorship

Media groups cry foul as station forced from air

Jakarta Globe - March 25, 2010

Ismira Lutfia & Putri Prameshwari – Media organizations and activists have denounced the seizure of Batam-based Erabaru radio station's transmission equipment by local authorities, warning of a government crackdown on free speech.

In a news conference on Thursday, Wahyu Dhyatmika, from the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), called the equipment seizure "hard proof of the authorities' arbitrariness."

Tuesday's seizure "was a careless move and could backfire on them since we can use it as evidence" in future complaints, Wahyu said. He said AJI would sue the Ministry of Communication and Information technology in a show of solidarity with the station.

On Tuesday morning, local police and officials from the Riau Islands Radio Frequency Monitoring Body (Balmon) confiscated the equipment after warning the station to stop broadcasting without a valid license.

The station has an appeal working through the Supreme Court after two lower courts threw out a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology's 2008 denial of its license.

The confiscation came less than a week after Tifatul Sembiring, the minister of communications and information technology, reasserted his support of press freedom in the country in a March 18 discussion with journalists and media activists.

"We are now doubtful of Tifatul's promise last week," Wahyu said, adding that any parties who objected to Erabaru's operation should have taken the proper steps by first lodging their complaints with the Press Council.

While the station is not broadcasting on its 106.5 frequency following the seizure, it is still streaming programs on the Internet, director Gatot Machali said.

Erabaru claimed in its lawsuit that the ministry declined to grant it a broadcasting license at the request of the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta because of the station's links to the Falun Gong movement, which is banned by the Chinese government.

The station based that claim on a letter dated April 8, 2007, purportedly from the Chinese Embassy and addressed to various Indonesian agencies, asking the government to deny the license.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has previously denied receiving the letter. It did not reply to a request for comment on Thursday. The Communications Ministry said on Wednesday that the seizure had no political motive. It has not elaborated on why it denied the station's 2008 application.

Sholeh Ali, the litigation director for Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers), called the case a violation of constitutional rights to freedom of expression and access to information. He said authorities' disregard for the pending court appeal had dented the whole legal process.

"We might lodge a complaint with the United Nations since Indonesia is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the authorities here are failing to address the case properly," Sholeh said.

Aid & development

Regions accused of dragging heels on UN development goals

Jakarta Globe - March 25, 2010

Dessy Sagita – A lack of commitment by regional governments has hampered efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare said on Thursday.

"Governors and mayors need to be reminded to be more involved in the effort to achieve MDG indicators because they're the ones who really know their people," the ministry's secretary, Indroyono Soesilo, told a news conference.

Indroyono said most regional officials did not have any specific concept that could accelerate reaching the targets.

The MDGs set out eight universal goals for 2015 that correspond with the world's main development challenges. They are drawn from the targets outlined in the Millennium Declaration, which was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

Arum Atmawikarta, the director of public health nutrition at the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), said most regional development planning programs did not give MDGs the proper priority.

He said many provinces did not allocate enough money to their health programs and often the central government could not interfere because of their autonomy.

"Theoretically, if we want a program to work well, we need to plan it properly, but in most regional development planning programs, MDGs are not even mentioned," he said.

Arum said many regions of Indonesia did not deliver the correct information about their areas, making it difficult for the central government to arrange appropriate programs.

Sri Palupi, the director of Ecosoc, a nongovernmental organization focusing on reducing malnutrition in Indonesia, said that most MDG indicators did not work, especially in the poorer provinces.

She said many regional governments in poor provinces were too dependent on foreign donors.

"Instead of empowering their own people to be independent, many regional government rely on the aid provided by international NGOs. It is no wonder it is very hard to achieve the MDG indicators," she said.

Palupi also said there had been little progress in addressing health problems in many provinces because local governments did not know how to allocate their budgets properly.

"Most of the regional budgets go to improving infrastructure and not to guaranteeing the health of mothers and their babies," she said. According to a 2002 nationwide demographic and health survey, Indonesia has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in Asia, with 228 mothers dying from maternity-related causes for every 100,000 births.

Compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors, Indonesia's maternal mortality rate is 65 times that of Singapore's, 9.5 times that of Malaysia's, 8.9 times that of Thailand's and 2.3 times that of the Philippines.

Armed forces/defense

Defense Military command split gets international attention: TNI

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2010

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI)'s plans to split its military district command in Kalimantan and to deploy a new army base in Papua have attracted international attention, particularly in China, Malaysia, and Australia, TNI spokesman Rear Marshall Sagoem Tamboen said.

"Indeed, neighboring countries would pay attention to them [the plans]. When neighboring countries make a significant move, we would definitely also pay attention to them," he said Tuesday.

Deputy Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsuddin explained that the Tanjungpura military district command now overseeing four provinces in Kalimantan would be split into two district commands, each overseeing two provinces.

The split is aimed at strengthening security with neighboring Malaysia, with which Indonesia shares a 2,000-kilometer border area, he said.

The TNI is also preparing a new infantry base in Sorong, West Papua, but the schedule is not yet fixed.

Sagoem said a number of foreign journalists had sought deeper information about the plan from both the TNI and the Defense Ministry.

"We told them there was nothing special about the military command split. They should not worry about it," he said, adding that the split would not be followed by personnel additions. "This is only to intensify patrols and security surveillance on the border with Malaysia."

The University of Indonesia (UI) defense expert Andi Widjajanto said he understood why the plans have attracted international attentions.

"For China, additional commands in Kalimantan might mean a new threat as the country is the major consumer of the coal explored in the region," he told The Jakarta Post. Malaysia might also think the same way, he added, but the country might worry more about timber resources.

More military personnel meant stricter security and would definitely make it more difficult to illegally exploit natural resources in Kalimantan, Andi said. "Australia, meanwhile, may focus more on the plan to develop a new [military] base in Papua," he added.

Australia has been expressing concern about human rights issues in Papua. The new additional military base might be considered as having the potential to worsen human rights abuse, Andi said.

"However, what they are worrying about will not happen as the plan to expand bases will not followed by installing additional personnel."

When it splits later this year, Tanjungpura military district command in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, will move back to its original base in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, before the 1984 merger of the three military district commands in the island. Meanwhile, Balikpapan will host the Mulawarman military district command.

"Mulawarman will oversee two provinces: East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan," Sjafrie said.

Army deploys troops to outermost islands

Jakarta Post - March 25, 2010

Manado (North Sulawesi) – The Army dispatched 102 reinforcement troops Wednesday for a border security mission on six of the outermost islands in North Sulawesi.

Regional military commander Col. Istu Hari Subagyo said the troops would protect the remote islands of Miangas, Marore, Tinakaren, Marampit, Kawaluso and Matutuang near the Philippines from terrorist threats.

"This is related to the fact the South Philippines is home to training grounds for terrorists operating in Asia. Therefore, security on the islands needs to be tightened."

Police/law enforcement

Police watchdog needs more bite than bark: Commission chief

Jakarta Globe - March 26, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The role of the National Police Commission should be strengthened to give it teeth when dealing with complaints about police misconduct, the body's chief said on Friday.

"We are very aware that its primary weakness is that it only can make recommendations. It has no authority to conduct investigations of cases involving police officers or act on investigation results," said Djoko, who is also the coordinating minister of political, legal and security affairs. "Both government bodies need to have a system that makes it much easier for anybody to lodge complaints of bad police behavior."

Djoko was speaking after meeting members of the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force.

Civil society activists have accused the commission, also known as Kompolnas, of being ineffective since it was established in 2005.

The day before, Djoko delivered recommendations to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono regarding alleged judicial mafia operating at the National Police.

"First, we think that case brokers should be eradicated, as it goes along with the government's commitment," Djoko said at the president's office.

The commission's last recommendation, he said, was for an evaluation of the police after a string of scandals over the past year, including indications that former top detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji had violated the police code of ethics, he said.

The recommendations were made following investigations into a young mid-ranking tax official who was found to have about Rp 25 billion ($2.75 million) in two accounts in his name and who is at the center of police bribery allegations.

The police have also been under heavy criticism for quickly tagging whistle-blower Susno a defamation suspect rather than probing his allegations that police officials had taken bribes to halt the investigation into tax official Gayus Tambunan.

When asked whether he had discussed the case with Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force members, Djoko acknowledged that it had come up, but only as part of broader talks on rooting out case brokers at the National Police headquarters.

He said Kompolnas and the task force agreed to let the National Police independently investigate the bribery allegations, as well as the defamation case against Susno.

Task force secretary Denny Indrayana said on Friday that complaints about police performance were second only to those received about the court system.

"There were 137 reports on courts, followed by 122 on police performance and 72 on the Attorney General's Office," he said. The rest of the reports were about the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] and the BPN [National Land Agency]."

Economy & investment

Indonesia to ease property, foreign investment rules

Bloomberg - March 31, 2010

Katrina Nicholas – Indonesia will allow foreigners to buy property in the country and own bigger stakes in health-care companies as it completes a review of investment rules, the country's investment coordination agency said.

Southeast Asia's largest economy plans to deregulate its property industry by the end of the first half, allowing foreigners to buy homes and commercial real estate directly, Gita Wirjawan, chairman of the Investment Coordination Board of Indonesia, said in a forum in Singapore today. The move will "unleash value," he said.

"The government is committed to continuously comb through policies to make it easier to invest in Indonesia," Wirjawan said in an interview after the forum. "I am optimistic that once we can be seen to be taking steps in the right direction, we'll be able to reach a 15 percent increase in foreign investment over last year's" $14 billion, he said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who won re-election to a second term last year, has pledged to double spending on roads, seaports and airports to $140 billion over the next five years as he aims to deliver average economic growth of 6.6 percent over the remainder of his term ending 2014. He won the election after pledging to attract investment and generate jobs.

Buying property

"Property companies that sell apartments will benefit the most, especially those who are currently building," said Natalia Sutanto, a property analyst at PT Bahana Securities. Sutanto covers at least six Indonesian property companies including PT Ciputra Development, PT Bakrieland Development and PT Lippo Karawaci which all own high-end condominiums. She recommends "buy" for the three companies.

"The prices for secondary apartments have reached maturity and they won't rise too much, especially because the foreigners will likely enter the middle to upper level apartments due to their budget," she said in a telephone interview in Jakarta.

The Indonesian government is still working on the details of the regulation and there have been talks that the new rights for foreigners may be limited to high-rise housing purchases with a value above 1.5 billion rupiah ($165,000), Sutanto said. The regulation also may stop short of allowing total ownership of the property and only give foreigners a right to its use for a certain time period, she said.

Education, logistics

Indonesia has finished reviewing a 2007 presidential decree known as the "negative investment list," which limits overseas ownership in companies, Wirjawan said. The new rules, which may be released as soon as next week, will include changes in the cap on foreign stakes in industries such as health care, education, logistics and agriculture, he said.

"There is a spirit of liberalization with respect to health care and hospitals, which was closed off to foreign investment in the past," the investment agency chief said in the interview. Foreign investment in health care will be capped at 67 percent, versus 49 percent for other industries, because "there is a recognition Indonesia needs better health care facilities," he said.

A draft of the revised investment rules is with President Yudhoyono, Wirjawan said during the forum on Indonesia's investment climate.

"This has been a long overdue process, and we've finally gotten to a point where all the relevant ministers agreed," he said. "We've all signed off and sent it over to the President and it's waiting on his desk to be signed."

Credit ratings

Wirjawan also said he sees no reason why Indonesia's credit ratings won't rise to investment grade in the next 18 months.

Standard & Poor's raised the country's sovereign credit rating to a 12-year high of BB from BB- on March 12, prompting investors such as Cornel Bruhin at Clariden Leu AG in Zurich to predict more upgrades by rating companies in the coming months. The S&P rating, which has a positive outlook, is two levels below investment grade.

Moody's Investors Service in September raised Indonesia's sovereign debt ratings one level to Ba2, the highest level in 11 years. Fitch Ratings on Jan. 25 raised Indonesia's credit rating to BB+, one level below investment grade.

"Indonesia will continue on its upward trajectory for years to come and with the government's renewed mandate and commitment to reforms, Indonesia's ability to remedy its mistakes will continue to improve," Wirjawan said.

He expects investment to come from Indonesia's neighbors, and the country will also target "new frontiers" including the Middle East, China and India, he said.

"Those are the guys that are hungry for investments in Indonesia," he said. "The English, the Europeans and the Americans, those are the toughest bunch because of what they've gone through in the last 15 months and they see Indonesia as a basket case. It's off their radar."

Investment board admits difficulty to lure foreign investors

Jakarta Post - March 25, 2010

Jakarta – The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) admitted Thursday that it was difficult to lure investors from the US and European countries to invest in Indonesia.

BKPM head Gita Wirjawan said the declining number of Indonesian workers and students in the US and Europe had made it hard to promote Indonesia.

"Maybe we need to open more Indonesian restaurants and send more workers to [the US and Europe]," he said as quoted by kompas.com. "They could promote Indonesia and show that the Indonesian economy has changed."

However, Gita was upbeat that Indonesia could attract more investors from the US and Europe. "Mercedes, Nokia, Siemens Network and many other large companies operate here. They already know the scene here," he said.

Indonesia's tax hike on alcohol 'to fuel black market'

Jakarta Globe - March 24, 2010

Irvan Tisnabudi – Indonesia is likely to see higher prices for alcoholic beverages and more black market trading as a result of the government's decision to effectively replace the luxury tax on alcohol with a higher rate of excise tax, industry players said.

Just over a week after the government said it would scrap the luxury tax from April, the Finance Ministry on Tuesday released a decree that raised the excise tax on alcoholic drinks by 100 percent to 214 percent, depending on the alcohol content.

Krisnadi, chairman of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI), told the Jakarta Globe that the move would trigger more black market trading of alcoholic beverages.

"Based on my understanding, the government was cutting the luxury tax for alcoholic beverages to make the [liquor] price cheaper in the market," he said. "But now that they've decided to increase the excise tax for alcoholic beverages it will lead to the same old problems for retailers, such as inadequate supplies and high prices."

Prior to the removal of the luxury goods tax and the increase in the excise tax, many alcoholic drinks cost as much as 500 percent more than their wholesale price by the time they were sold in bars and restaurants. Such high prices led to a growth in illegal imports.

Ipung Nimpuno, a representative of the Indonesian Malt Beverages Association (GMMI), said on Tuesday that the increase in the excise tax could cause prices of alcoholic beverages to soar by 20 percent to 40 percent.

Jonker Hamonangan, head of the Jakarta branch of the Indonesia Customs Services Association (Asakindo), an organization comprised of executives whose businesses sell goods that are subject to excise tax, said the new tax would lead to price increases of 10 percent to 40 percent, depending on the alcohol content.

Christoph Darjanto, who manages the Immigrant bar in Jakarta, said his suppliers will decide whether to raise prices.

"If the price increases, demand and sales will no doubt be affected," he said.

Teguh Yudo Wicaksono, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the excise tax rise would have a bigger impact on consumers of type A drinks like beer, who tend to have lower incomes.

"With more money to spend, [those who drink type B and type C drinks] won't be affected too much by the higher price," Teguh said.

Type A beverages have an alcohol level of 5 percent or less. Type B drinks have an alcohol level of 5 percent to 20 percent, and type C drinks contain more than 20 percent alcohol.

Analysis & opinion

Kopassus and the legend of 'Mpu Gandring'

Jakarta Post - March 31, 2010

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Jakarta – Men and weapons are sometimes seen as a pair of symbolic importance in maintaining the greatness of the state. In Javanese mythology, one such weapon was named after the great master artisan (Mpu) who created it: Mpu Gandring. But once the master was illegitimately disowned from his creation, the weapon – the Mpu Gandring kris – turned into a curse that shaped a bloody discourse in which its users lost their divine blessing (wahyu).

Modern reality is complex. However, the imagery (rather than the reality) and the public discourse (rather than the history) about Indonesia's elite Army Special Forces (Kopassus), as a killing machine, has shown parallels with the bloody Mpu Gandring legend.

The American journalist Allan Nairn recently accused the Kopassus of killing unarmed civilians. Such allegations are not new, except that they now refer to what he claims to be "a program of assassinations" of former rebels, who led the Aceh Party in the run up to the general elections last year.

While the details are not fully known, the tragic events could hardly be surprising to Aceh observers and local journalists.

At least 29 mysterious assaults and killings (the party claimed 55 incidents) occurred in Aceh early last year when this writer was there to cover the elections, and now Nairn has attempted to substantiate the story of just two of them.

It is a fact that Army members continue to harbor a deep distrust toward former GAM (Free Aceh Movement) rebels, including even the regional commander most respected by the ex-GAMs, in particular since the latter won the 2006 gubernatorial election.

However, never since the Helsinki peace (2005) have conditions been so bad, since early last year when the regional command was led by a Kopassus general who was dismissed shortly afterwards.

Such was the tense atmosphere then that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the visiting Helsinki architect Martti Ahtisaari (March 2009) expressed serious concerns.

A bomb was put under the car and various dirty tricks were played out to victimize or incriminate ex-GAM leaders, but none of the incidents have been resolved despite the fact that three of the perpetrators have been brought to Jakarta. The local police was unable to handle the cases and witnesses chose to remain silent – both apparently out fear of reprisal.

The Jakarta media and commentators have alas stopped short of considering Aceh sources, while the military denial ("there is no Kopassus there") have missed the point. For, at issue is not a formal Kopassus assignment (which was probably none since this would explicitly violate the Helsinki pact), but covert operations involving individual Kopassus members.

Neither, unfortunately, has the military been able to spell out the reform of the Kopassus, which they claim to have performed during the last 12 years.

Nairn's investigation was intended to hit Indonesia's bid to lift the US ban on military training that President Barack Obama reportedly intended to review. Recalling the Aceh incidents is important for us, first because they highlight the urgency of unresolved human rights cases here; second, they refresh the public memory by reinforcing the existing Kopassus' imagery in Aceh and elsewhere.

Many of the atrocities in the former conflict areas, the killings, poisoning and missing activists elsewhere in Indonesia have been linked to the Kopassus or its individual members. None of these has been brought to justice or satisfactorily resolved. Impunity thus runs as a thread from the 1965-66 tragedy, to troubles in East Timor, Aceh and Papua.

This series of repeated state violence – many cases of which have been well documented for example, see the C.A.V.R. (Timor- Leste Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation) report on East Timor (2004) – have created the imagery of what Kopassus "did" among the people affected.

Ask any local around the former Rumah Geudong in Pidie, Aceh, or the surviving families in Kraras, near Viqueque, East Timor. They will tell you what they know about the Kopassus (or its predecessors, the RPKAD).

To be fair, the killing-machine image should include some infamous battalions of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command or Kostrad (in the case of East Timor) and the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in Aceh. The point here, however, is that this popular image was shaped by recent history of brutality as interpreted in the local discourse and blamed on the Kopassus.

Now legend has it that the Mpu Gandring kris precipitated a series of assassinations, each of which led to power usurpation. A villager named Ken Arok betrayed and killed the great master Gandring and used the unfinished kris to kill the King in order to claim the throne and the divine blessing. The kris, however, took its own course and later disappeared. Only then did the killings stop and could the kingdom celebrate its greatness.

This discourse shows that once you use the weapon for a purpose without the consent of its great master-creator you will lose your legitimacy: A powerful moral message. Army members continue to harbor a deep distrust toward former GAM rebels since the latter won the 2006 gubernatorial election.

[The writer is a journalist.]

A journalist's gamble with Indonesia's special forces

Melbourne Age - March 29, 2010

Damien Kingsbury – American journalist Allan Nairn's game of cat and mouse with the Indonesian military is a brave attempt to show that it continues to represent the greatest challenge to Indonesia's process of reform and democratisation. It is also one that could well see him spending time – potentially up to six years – in an Indonesian prison.

Nairn recently detailed how the Indonesian military's special forces, Kopassus, continued to be involved in illegal activities, including murdering civilians. His report comes at a time when the US is considering renewing direct support for Kopassus, after having banned working with it more than 10 years ago.

US President Barak Obama says that the US military should resume full military to military co-operation with the Indonesian armed forces, the TNI, as a result of their reform. Military contact was broken off in 1996, following the 1991 Dili Massacre in which 300 or more people were murdered by the Indonesian military. Nairn was in Dili during the massacre and was himself seriously beaten by TNI members.

Under US law passed in response to that event, the US military is banned from working with elements of the TNI that have perpetrated human rights abuses or war crimes. Nairn detailed how two Kopassus members were arrested after the murder of two members of Partai Aceh (Aceh Party) late last year. Partai Aceh is largely comprised of former combatants of the Free Aceh Movement, who changed their status to a legal political party under the terms of the 2005 Aceh peace agreement.

Nairn also claimed that others in Aceh had also been murdered by Kopassus members. Yet the TNI has refuted Nairn's claims and says it wants to arrest him on charges of criminal defamation. Nairn says he welcomes the charge, as it will give him an opportunity to call witnesses, including TNI generals and CIA and US army officers, and detail his claims in an open court.

Indonesia's defamation law remains a criminal, not a civil, offence, established by the Dutch in 1918 to suppress dissent against its colonial rule. Following the departure of the Dutch, the law was retained to suppress dissent against the government.

There is no doubt that despite Indonesia's more general democratisation in the past 11 years, the TNI has been slow to reform. It has effectively refused to let go of its private business interests and has continued criminal activities such as smuggling and extortion among others.

The TNI also continues to be an internally focused military organisation, involved in what amounts to internal policing, rather than being an externally focused defence force. There continue to be regular reports from West Papua of human rights abuses, including torture and disappearances, as well as those from Aceh.

Members of the TNI, including Kopassus, who have been found guilty of serious crimes, such as the kidnapping, torture and murder of pro-democracy activists in 1998, also continue in the service. No TNI members have been held accountable for the murder of about 1500 people after the East Timorese voted for independence in 1999; many have since been promoted.

Nairn is on strong grounds in making his claims about the TNI generally and Kopassus in particular. The problem is, the Indonesian legal system is not likely to give him the opportunity to establish his case.

In part, if Nairn is arrested, he will likely spend months in jail before going to court. Once he gets to court, few if any of the witnesses he would like to call will attend. If any TNI officers do attend, they can be all but guaranteed not to confirm Nairn's allegations, regardless of their veracity. In that Nairn has more confidential sources, despite TNI demands, he is highly unlikely to expose them to the dangers that being public would entail.

But more importantly, Indonesia's judiciary remains vulnerable to external pressure, no more so than from the TNI. Under Indonesia's legal system, once one is charged, the burden of proving innocence effectively falls of the accused. Given Nairn's spoken and written comments, there is a prima facie case that he has damaged the "reputation and honor" of the TNI and will be found guilty. He faces up to four years for defamation and a potential further two years for doing so in the case of public officials in the course of their duty.

Unlike in many other countries, truth is not a defence in defamation cases, although it can be a mitigating factor. Public interest can be used as a defence under Indonesia's defamation law, but this is conditioned by it being done in a "proper way". Should Nairn go to court, the prosecution will argue that his claims damaged the "reputation and honour" of the TNI in pursuing its duty, that as the defender of the state this is against public interest, and that it was not done in a "proper way".

Nairn may also likely to be charged with visa violation. Even if Nairn has a journalist's visa, there is a precedent for punishing troublesome journalists. In 2003, US journalist William Nessen was arrested and held for his work in Aceh, despite having a journalist's visa.

Allan Nairn clearly wants to highlight the longstanding and continuing problems associated with Indonesia's military and in particular its notorious special forces. He is putting himself on the line to do so.

The question will be whether he pays the price for doing so, and whether US strategic interests in South-East Asia override the inconvenient fact that Allan Nairn's claims are correct.

[Professor Damien Kingsbury is author of Power Politics and the Indonesian Military and is in the School of International and Political Studies at Deakin University, Melbourne.]

Blog the Kopassus kerfuffle

MacArthur Foundation - March 29, 2010

If there is a silver lining for US-Indonesian relations in President Obama's latest trip postponement, it might be that the two countries have more time to consider if and how Kopassus, the Indonesian Army's special forces unit, fits into the bilateral security relationship.

Kopassus was formed in 1952 to combat insurgencies in Java and has been integral to the Indonesian government's response to internal conflict in provinces such as Aceh and Papua, and the former province of East Timor. Many Kopassus operations have been secret, and the unit has periodically drawn criticism for human rights abuses from the international community as well as Indonesian watch dog groups.

Kopassus activities in East Timor in the 1990's drew particular attention from the United States and the unit was sanctioned under the 1997 Leahy Law, which prohibits foreign military units from participating in the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program or receiving assistance for weapons purchases if unit members have committed human rights abuses for which they have not been brought to account. The logic of sanctioning the entire unit lies in encouraging the foreign government to remove human rights offenders from the leadership structure. The Leahy Law applies to two appropriations bills, one for Foreign Operations and the other for Defense. The Defense Appropriations side of the law has a waiver mechanism, but the Foreign Operations side does not.

Under the Leahy Law and other Congressional actions, the US- Indonesian military-to-military relationship was largely dismantled for the better part of a decade. In 2005 a cautious new start was made with cooperation on counter-terrorism, and roughly $20 million is now appropriated for the TNI, much of it for military reform. However, Kopassus continues to be excluded under the Leahy Law.

In early March, Kopassus suddenly emerged as an issue in negotiation of the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The momentum for this appeared to originate in Jakarta. The Indonesian press reported on government attempts to lobby the Obama administration to remove the prohibition as part of the agenda for the Obama visit. In mid-March a delegation from Kopassus visited Washington, led by the unit commander, Major General Lodewijk Paulus. Ann Marie Murphy, Seton Hall professor and author of a forthcoming book on the impact of democratization on Indonesia's foreign policy, believes that Jakarta views training for Kopassus as a litmus test for the new US-Indonesia relationship. "They wonder how the Comprehensive Partnership can be comprehensive without full military-to-military relations," she said.

Administration officials downplayed Indonesian press accounts that predicted Obama would announce the restoration of IMET assistance to Kopassus when he visited Jakarta but did not dismiss the possibility in principle. Jeffrey Bader, National Security Council Senior Director for Asia, acknowledged past human rights violations by Kopassus but said that the administration "hopes to be able, at some point, to move past and resolve those concerns."

Bader's comments, although cautious, are consonant with a new international view of Kopassus. The unit has attempted to reinvent itself in the post-Suharto era. Its mandate has expanded beyond internal security and extends to protecting Indonesian government facilities abroad, such as the Indonesian embassy in Papua New Guinea. Kopassus troops have served in United Nations peace-keeping missions in Sierra Leone, Sudan, Georgia and Lebanon. Australia has restored training to Kopassus, and the UK appears to be on the verge of doing so as well. Kopassus has regular contact with other Southeast Asian military units.

But debate within the US policy community over the human rights issues with Kopassus is still unresolved. Opponents of restoring assistance argue that Kopassus has not sufficiently accounted for human rights abuse in East Timor. Moreover, they believe that the unit continues to commit abuses and report recent incidents in Papua and Aceh, the latter during the 2009 elections. Proponents of resuming training argue osmosis, that closer contact with the United States will strengthen awareness of human rights in Kopassus. They also maintain that sanctioning the entire unit, as the law requires, punishes officers who have not committed abuses and prevents younger generation officers from receiving training because of the actions of more senior officers.

These issues are too complicated to resolve overnight, and they make the Kopassus issue a very poor "deliverable" for a Presidential visit to Indonesia. Attempts to circumvent the vetting process under the Leahy Law may achieve a short-term political objective but they would most likely stir up enough opposition among US and Indonesian human rights groups to prolong conflict over this issue for some time to come. Contrary to impressions in some Indonesian media accounts, the Leahy Law was not promulgated specifically for Indonesia. It applies globally, and other countries – Columbia in particular – have received greater scrutiny under the law than Indonesia. As the two countries look ahead to Obama's visit to Indonesia in June, they should take the Kopassus negotiations offline and let the issue itself determine the timeline for resolution.