Fourteen demonstrations are planned in Jakarta on Thursday, adding to already increased road congestion as a result of the ongoing police crackdown on traffic violations and private motorists using the busway lanes.

The Traffic Management Center said on its Web site that rallies would occur throughout the city, from the usual almost daily protests outside the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to a demonstration by the Alliance of Outsourcing Workers at the Jakarta International Container Terminal at Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta.

Another anticorruption rally is scheduled for outside the historical Gedung Juang 45 in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

The Indosair Workers Union were also expected to protest outside the West Jakarta District Court.

Other rallies are expected outside the Constitutional Court, State Palace, City Hall and Hotel Indonesia Traffic Circle, all in Central Jakarta.

Jakarta Police warn that traffic delays are expected and have advised drivers to take alternative routes where possible.

Citizens' groups, benefit concert support evicted widows on trial

Jakarta Globe - April 19, 2010

Nurfika Osman – The case of two elderly widows threatened with eviction from their government-owned homes continues to draw the ire of citizens' groups, even as the government fails to speak up.

Artists and musicians held a concert on Saturday at Lake Cipondoh in Tangerang to raise funds for Soetarti Soekarno, 79, and Rusmini, 80, who are standing trial at the East Jakarta District Court on the charge of illegal occupation of a home, which carries a prison sentence of up to two years and fines of up to Rp 20 million ($2,200).

The pair took up residence at the houses decades ago when their husbands left the Armed Forces to work for state pawnshop operator PT Perum Pegadaian, which is the legal owner of the homes and has ordered their eviction.

Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said the case was typical of the country's attitude toward women.

"The state views the man as being the head of the family, thus when the wife of a civil servant is widowed or divorced, she must leave the state-provided residence," she told the Jakarta Globe. "This case shows there is no substantial protection in place for women or children of civil servants. And this is not the first case of its kind."

Pegadaian says that while it will let the court decide on the issue, the homes are meant for current employees of the company.

"We wish they'd just leave," Chandra Purnama of the company said, as quoted by Antara. "They know they're not entitled to the houses." He said the company had reclaimed 44 of 49 houses occupied by retired workers.

Soetarti's husband, R Soekarno, worked at Pegadaian between 1954 and 1987, while Rusmini's husband worked there from 1952 to 1985. The government has pledged to find new homes for the widows if they are driven out.

Aceh

PDI-P wants Aceh truth, reconciliation commission

Jakarta Post - April 22, 2010

Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is calling for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission to resolve the lingering problems over past gross violation of human rights in Aceh.

Karimun Usman, the chairman of the Aceh branch of the PDI-P, said Thursday that the call for a commission was endorsed by the recent party congress in Bali.

"The PDI-P is also seeking the establishment of a similar commission in Papua," he was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

So far, the central government has been reluctant to bow to pressure from various parties to investigate past human rights abuses that occurred during military operations between 1989 and 1998 as well as the subsequent operations against Free Aceh Movement rebels that ended with the 2005 Helsinki peace accord.

The establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission is part of the Helsinki agreement.

West Papua

Political prisoner 'denied proper health treatment'

Jakarta Globe - April 22, 2010

Nivell Rayda – Papuan political prisoner Filep Karma suffered for eight months with a bladder infection but in that time the only help he received was to be told by prison officers to lift his legs to ease the pain, human rights activists said on Thursday.

Human Rights group Amnesty International ranks Filep on a par with Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi as a champion for human rights, for the way he has consistently employed non-violence to promote his cause.

Filep, 50, was sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2004 for raising the banned Bintang Kejora, or Morning Star flag, an outlawed separatist symbol. The activist is now serving his sentence at the Abepura Penitentiary, located in the outskirts of Jayapura, the provincial capital.

In August 2009, Filep complained about his condition to prison officials but did not receive any medical treatment.

"It wasn't until August 17 when a reporter from a local newspaper, who came to cover remissions or pardons granted to prisoners as part of the Independence Day pardon program, took a picture of Filep," Cyntia Warwe, a close friend of Filep, told the Jakarta Globe.

"The day the news was published, Filep was rushed to Jayapura Hospital. He spent three days in intensive care." However, Cyntia said, doctors there could do little to help him and recommended that he be transferred to the Cikini Hospital in Jakarta.

Cyntia said the penitentiary has been making excuses ever since for not letting Filep move to Jakarta.

"They said they didn't have money for his medical treatment. Later we chipped in to cover all the medical expenses, but now the officials are saying that they need us to cover expenses for his police escort as well," Cyntia said.

Chandran Lestyono, spokesman for the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, which oversees the country's penal system, urged the family to be patient.

"The process is long," Chandran said. "We have to coordinate with the police to guard the prisoner during his time in Jakarta. Then there are financial issues. The medical budget at each prison is limited, sometimes as little as Rp 15,000 [$1.67] per prisoner per year. To cope with the financial problem we must coordinate with the Ministry of Health."

Benny Giay, chairman of Papuan human rights group Elsham, alleged that the government had denied Filep medical care, one of the most basic of human rights. "Many political prisoners are left to die in prison. They become outcasts and are discriminated against," Benny said.

Cyntia said time was running out for Filep. "I met him last week. He was very skinny and pale," she said.

Andreas Harsono, Indonesian representative of New York-based Human Rights Watch, lamented Filep's treatment.

"People like Filep have to live in inhumane conditions, particularly political prisoners. They also become victims of extortion and constant human rights violations," Andreas told the Globe. "There are 70 political prisoners in Papua and some are seriously ill, some because of physical abuse, but they are not receiving proper treatment."

Papuans cry foul in arrest of Boven Digul regent

Jakarta Post - April 20, 2010

Jakarta – An estimated 50 people from the People's Concern for Papua Alliance demonstrated in front of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) office in Jakarta on Monday to demand the release of Boven Digul regent, Yusak Yaluwo.

The regent was arrested by the commission last Thursday in Jakarta on charges of graft resulting in Rp 49 billion in state losses.

The alliance's coordinator, Benny Martin, said he believed the regent's arrest was part of a political conspiracy designed to sabotage the regent's reelection chances in the upcoming regional polls.

"The arrest might be aimed at blocking off Yusak Yaluwo's path to running for a second term," he told The Jakarta Post.

The alliance said they would allow the commission two days to respond to their demand before returning with more demonstrators.

Obama's June visit seen as window for possible Papua resolution

Radio New Zealand International - April 19, 2010

A Papua analyst says a visit to Indonesia by US President Barak Obama in June could be pivotal in preventing a further deterioration towards violent conflict in Papua region.

This comes as the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, or LIPPI, reports that 90 percent of Papuans want dialogue with Jakarta over their region's future but that the government is afraid of dialogue.

However LIPPI's ongoing consultations with Indonesian and Papuan communities have found a willingness to try to forge a resolution to the Papuan question.

Jim Elmslie from Sydney University says international pressure is still essential if Jakarta is to support a meaningful resolution.

"The key event will be the Obama visit and what happens in the wake of that. There might be no great announcement or press releases but if we see some progress on the ground there through the appointment of more progressive military and political leaders and dialogue, even if it's low key dialogue, it's possible that the situation could start improving."

Signs of strong backing in Jakarta for dialogue on Papua

Radio New Zealand International - April 19, 2010

The Indonesian Institute of Sciences, or LIPPI, says there is support in Jakarta for dialogue over the key issues concerning Papua region.

Together with the Papua Peace Network LIPPI has been holding consultations in several Papuan districts about local views over how to facilitate the dialogue.

The LIPPI researcher Muridan Widjoyo says the format for high level dialogue still needs to be worked out.

He says that as for the government's response to this aspiration for dialogue, there is a great deal of fear on the part of some in Jakarta over the issue.

Mr Widjoyo says the Network is linked to a group that is holding ongoing focus discussions with various government and parliamentary agencies over the issue.

"So it is a very significant support. And it is a process. Our target is that we should manage to convince the President to accept this (dialogue) as the initiative of the Indonesian government."

Military ties

US shouldn't re-engage with Kopassus, says Papua analyst

Radio New Zealand International - April 19, 2010

A Papua analyst says the US should not re-engage with Kopassus, the Indonesian Army's special forces unit, while it remains unaccountable for past and present abuses in Papua and other regions of Indonesia.

Kopassus was sanctioned under a 1997 US law prohibiting foreign military units from receiving military assistance or training if unit members have not been held accountable for human rights abuses they have committed.

But in recent weeks, Kopassus has emerged as an issue in negotiation of the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership ahead of the visit to Indonesia by US President Barak Obama. Jim Elmslie from Sydney University says Mr Obama's visit could be pivotal in preventing further abuses in Papua region.

"To re-engage... the US to re-engage with Kopassus without those military officers who have been accused of serious human rights abuses, without them being brought to account, in effect it waters down the US commitment on human rights."

Human rights/law

Exemptions in information law may undermine its use: Experts

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2010

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Experts have argued that certain exemptions contained within the new freedom of information law, particularly those on state defense and strategies, will hinder the monitoring of the Indonesian Military's accountability, which is one of the main purposes of the law.

The freedom of information law will be enacted next week, two years after the House of Representatives passed it.

"We will monitor the implementation of the law. We must avoid any attempt to abuse the law by any party," Information Commission Chief Ahmad Alamsyah Saragih told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The new commission is tasked with presiding over information sharing disputes between state institutions and the public.

He said he expected all parties to read the Freedom of Information Law thoroughly to comprehend what kind of state defense information could be made available to the public.

"Later on, we will act as a panel of judges to tackle disputes that may occur as a result of the implementation of this law," he said.

Legislator Tubagus Hasanudin of the House's Commission I overseeing defense and intelligence said it was necessary for representatives from state institutions, NGOs and all related parties to sit down together and attempt to understand what kind of state defense information could be shared with the public.

"Thus we will have the same perception on many things on this particular subject, and therefore will avoid many potential misinterpretations," he said.

The law forbids the disclosure of any information on military strategy, intelligence, personnel composition and weaponry allocations and estimations on military capabilities.

However, the same law requires state institutions to uphold transparency for policies, cooperation with third parties and other information as long as the publication of that information would not negatively effect the state.

Military spokesman Rear Marshall Sagom Tamboen said the military had no complaints about the information law, and added that the military was more than ready to discuss the possibility of giving information regarding state defense to the public.

"If the public requires us to reveal information regarding the state defense then so be it. But of course we need to discuss a set of limitations because we can not just open up all information. No country has ever done such a thing," he said.

Exemptions for defense-related information

Information and documents on strategy, intelligence, operations, tactics and techniques related to defense and the state security system ranging from planning, implementation and finalization or evaluation in relation to threats from inside or outside of the country.
Numbers, compositions, disposition and dislocation of power and capacity of the defense and state security systems and its development planning.
Drawings and data revealing locations and conditions of military bases and installations.
Data on estimations of military and defense capacities of other countries limited to all acts or indications that the countries pose a threat to the country's sovereignty or data relating to military cooperation with foreign countries that has been agreed by the parties to be confidential.
State code systems and state intelligence systems.

Taufik Darusman: All is not forgiven for Kopassus

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2010

Taufik Darusman – Sometime in mid-1998, in the aftermath of the fall of the Suharto regime, a number of kidnapped antigovernment activists suddenly found themselves freed as they were dropped off on the streets of Jakarta by their captors.

They would later describe their lengthy abduction experience to the media, recounting that they had been held in captivity for months in several newly constructed cells in the capital and that they were always blindfolded whenever they faced interrogation and torture.

At the time, they said, they had no clue as to who their "host" was until one of them by chance saw the wrapper of their take- away food. It was from a small eatery in Cijantung, East Jakarta, close to the headquarters of the Indonesian Army's Special Forces, or Kopassus.

Putting this together with other tell-tale signs from inside the huge Kopassus complex, including demolished small buildings that housed the cells, and one thing led to another. Eventually, several Kopassus officers and personnel were arrested, court- martialed and put behind bars.

All in all, 22 pro-democracy activists disappeared during the turbulent 1997-98 period, which was marked by student demonstratinos across the nation and violent riots in major cities, culminating in Suharto's resignation in May 1998. Nine of them were later released and gave accounts of torture at the hands of the military, but 13 remain missing.

When Kopassus marked its 58th anniversary last week, its commander, Maj. Gen. Lodewijk Paulus, called on the public to forget the Special Forces' sordid past, as it was "a psychological burden" for the soldiers.

Admittedly, the unit is undergoing a thorough reform, with any soldiers found guilty of committing rights violations now subject to a military tribunal and civilian prosecution. It is also a fact, however, that this policy is not retroactive.

The unit is now banned from receiving US military education or training, with Washington saying it will only lift the ban if the government prosecutes those allegedly involved in past abuses.

Papang Hidayat, head of research and development at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), lambasted the unit's attitude toward the alleged crimes, saying it "has never been subjected to real justice."

Were the unit to face "real justice," many of its past leaders now active in politics would likely be implicated.

Given the sensitivity of the matter, one would think Kopassus would just lay low for a while and go about being what it is; the country's best-trained military unit.

Kopassus has always been at the forefront in defending the country's sovereignty by fighting armed insurgencies in Aceh and Papua, and it gained national prominence in 1981 when it foiled a Garuda Indonesia aircraft hijacking by Muslim extremists in Bangkok.

On a non-military level, it staged a remarkable public relations stunt when several of its personnel became the only Indonesians to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

However, ever since its involvement in the abductions of antigovernment activists and the subsequent arrests of several of its members, Kopassus has been on a downward slide. So much so that when terrorist attacks within the country reached new heights, the government set up a new unit under the National Police, Densus 88, instead of calling on Kopassus to deal with the problem.

Given the intense interforces rivalry that prevails in this country, one can imagine Kopassus leaders smarting in their offices as Densus 88 earned the kudos for doing a fine job in what was once the domain of a military unit.

In what appears to be a bid to regain its past primacy on terrorism matters, Paulus and several high-ranking officers recently visited Washington to seek the lifting of the aforementioned US ban, which could provide an entry point for Kopassus to stage a comeback.

Their visit left Washington with a tricky decision to make. Though the United States would like to assist Indonesian forces in combating terrorism, how can it lift the ban after it denied a visa to the deputy minister of defense, Sjafrie Sjamsuddin, in November, remembering that not only is Sjafrie Kopassus-trained, but that he was also Jakarta Military commander when the activists disappeared and the bloody riots took place in the city?

Though the parents of the 13 missing activists have not seen justice done, they can take some consolation in the fact that many have not yet forgotten the deaths of their loved ones.

[Taufik Darusman is a veteran Jakarta-based journalist.]

Labour/migrant workers

Workers start warming up round for May Day

Tempo Interactive - April 20, 2010

Ahmad Fikri, Jakarta – Dozens of workers in West Java took part in a rally on Tuesday (20/4) outside Bandung City Hall as a preliminary act to the international worker's day that falls on May 1st.

Organiser of the protest Congress of Indonesia Unions Alliance, a non-governmental union said to use the May Day moment this year to reject plans to reduce severance pay in the amendment to the Law No.13 of 2003 on Employment.

The amendment would also faciliate outsourcing and temporary employment system that already reduced workers rights to a permanent and secure employment.

Workers also denounced the Special Economic Zone regulation in several regions which workers said would violate their rights.

Riot sweeps Batam dry dock

Jakarta Globe - April 23, 2010

Farouk Arnaz, Ismira Lutfia & Nivell Rayda – About 5,000 workers at a dry dock company on Batam Island rioted on Thursday, attacking their company's executives and foreign staff, mostly ethnic Indians, over racist remarks allegedly made by one of them.

"They were provoked by an Indian employee who said Indonesian workers were stupid," National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Zulkarnaen said.

The unrest at PT Drydocks Word Graha in Tanjung Uncang, Batam, in Riau Islands, was under control and an investigation has been launched, Zulkarnaen said.

"It was a spontaneous action. However, the Batam Police are now investigating to determine if there was a mastermind," he said.

Batam Police chief Chief Comr. Leonidas Braksan immediately went to the scene to try to disperse the crowd. "I am on your side. I want you all to keep working well. Your families are waiting for you and your salaries at home," he told the workers through a loudspeaker.

The call was greeted with cheers, and by 1 p.m. the crowd had been pushed out of the dock area. Police then erected barbed-wire fences to prevent the rioters from returning.

One worker said that the racist remark was at the core of the violent unrest. "This is about national pride, so we were all angry," said a man identified as Baim.

About 10,000 Indonesians were later observed outside the company, singing the National Anthem and other patriotic songs.

Zulkarnaen also said 41 Indian employees of the company were escorted out by 400 Batam Police officers, including members of the elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob). "There is no report of fatalities. The mob only destroyed 12 vehicles," he said.

Antara, however, reported 22 vehicles burned. There were also reports that the mob set a company building ablaze.

The foreign workers were evacuated by boat. Four were injured in the clash, including an Indian citizen identified as Wilendra, who is being treated at an undisclosed hospital.

The Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration on Thursday dispatched teams to try to resolve the conflict and mediate a solution between the Indonesian workers and the foreign staff working for the company.

"We regret the incident, which was caused by a misunderstanding," Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said at his office. "We have dispatched a fact-finding team to resolve the matter. The team will monitor developments in the case and prevent similar incidents from ever occurring again."

The team is led by Haiyani Rumondang the director of industrial relations dispute resolution, the minister said.

Drydocks World Graha's 49-hectare facilities, previously known as Labroy Marine's shipyard in Batam, is managed by Singapore-based Drydocks World SE Asia.

The incident was just the latest social unrest to take place near a port area. A violent riot prompted by an eviction plan in near Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta last week left three municipal public order officials killed and some 140 people wounded.

[Additional reporting by Antara.]

Environment/natural disasters

Lampung mangroves could be extinct in 5 years: Activist

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2010

Oyos Saroso H.N., Lampung – Activists have warned that the uncontrolled conversion of mangrove forests into fish farms in a number of coastal regions across Lampung could make the plant species extinct in the province within five years.

Data compiled by Lampung's Marine and Fisheries Agency showed that 736,000 hectares or 60 percent of the province's 1.9 million hectares of mangrove forests have been severely damaged due to uncontrolled conversion of the forests into fish ponds by large fishing companies and local fish breeders.

In South Lampung regency, the destruction of mangrove forests has allowed seawater to enter coastal farms, destroying crops. Tens of hectares of rice fields have been converted into fish ponds.

In East Lampung, mangrove destruction has also led to increased coastal erosion.

Mangrove forests are essential to fish farming company Proteina Prima's prawn production center in Tulangbawang regency, the largest in Southeast Asia, has been compromised by mangrove destruction by local residents because the coastal habitat attracts prawns to the region.

The director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) in Lampung, Hendrawan, said 3,000 hectares of mangrove forests had been destroyed in the regency. He said the local administration had failed to rehabilitate the forests despite the central government allocating billions of rupiah for a mangrove rehabilitation program.

"No significant results can be seen so far," Hendrawan said, adding that most mangrove rehabilitation programs did not produce significant results.

Data compiled by Walhi Lampung, he said, showed there were only some 160,000 hectares of mangroves left in Lampung, 85 percent of which were in critical condition.

Meanwhile, Mitra Bentala, a nongovernmental organization for mangrove forest conservation, found that between only 5 and 20 percent of mangrove forests in the province's coastal areas were still intact.

"Some coastal areas no longer have any [mangrove forests]," Mitra Bentala's director Herza Yulianto said.

He said that all mangroves in Lampung would be gone within five years if steps were taken.

"So far, no strong commitment has been shown by either the governor or regents to save the remaining 30 percent of mangrove forests and rehabilitate the rest, or 70 percent, of the damaged ones," he said.

Herza said with no mangrove forests to protect coastal regions and attract wildlife, the number of fresh fish would decline dramatically.

"Ninety percent of fish in the sea depend on a healthy coast, comprising mangrove forests to coral reefs," he said. "A healthy ecosystem will be favored by fish as a breeding ground."

Head of Lampung Forestry Agency's forest exploitation division Priyanto Putro said 48 percent of the mangrove ecosystem in the province was damaged due to the conversion of mangrove forest into fish farms.

"We have been trying to restore the condition by replanting mangroves in a number of regions," he said. "We also have devised a master plan for mangrove rehabilitation, especially in eastern coastal regions."

For farmers, fishermen, climate change already close to home

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2010

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – For some, climate change is something on the horizon not requiring immediate attention, while for others it has hit close to home and adaptation is an urgent issue.

Local communities living in coastal areas in Bengkulu, for example, once predicted weather patterns from the position of the stars, which they used to determine times for fishing and when to begin planting crops.

Before 2000, such traditional knowledge had been used for generations of fishermen and farmers, including in Sukamenanti, Waihawang, Linau and Tanjung Beringin villages in Kaur regency around 360 kilometers from the capital of Bengkulu.

But the story has changed now. And they can no longer tell how big the waves will be when they go out to sea.

"Erratic rains and waves have inflicted serious damage to local communities in Bengkulu," activist Zenzi Aekido from Bengkulu told a dialog held to commemorate Earth Day, in Jakarta on Thursday. The Earth Day falls on April 22 every year.

Zenzi, who is also the executive director of the Bengkulu chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said many of the people in these communities had changed jobs as a result.

"To adapt to unexpected weather conditions, communities have three options: to migrate to new areas, to change jobs or to continue with their existing condition," he said.

Migrating could also mean they cleared forested areas, he said. Some farmers had also shifted to sand or coal mining.

The People's Coalition for Equal Fisheries (Kiara) found that many fishermen in Jakarta could no longer go to sea because of the unpredictable tides.

The government said farmers and people living in coastal areas were most prone to impacts of climate change. The Central Bureau of Statistic (BPS) says there were 46.7 million farmers in Indonesia as of 2009.

Activists commemorating Earth Day called on the government to change its priority to adaptation measures, to help local people adjust to the impacts of climate change. The activists said the government needed to start thinking about adaptation, not just mitigation.

"Local communities have been seriously affected by unpredictable weather, but the government is still busy seeking funds to mitigate climate change," Nadia Hadad from the Bank Information Center said. "Now is the time for the government to take real action to help people who have [already] suffered from climate change."

The international climate talks so far have focused more on mitigation measures with a number of wealthier nations promising to provide funds to Indonesia to mitigate climate change.

The UN Adaptation Board, for the first time, opened the application for developing countries to apply adaptation funds. But all the money stored at the UN adaptation board was collected from 2 percent of proceeds of carbon sales by developing countries.

On several occasions the government has said there was a shortage of funding allocated to adaptation measures.

Officials accused of ending probe in Riau logging case

Jakarta Globe - April 22, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran & Fidelis E Satriastanti – A coalition of activist groups on Thursday reported 12 public officials to the presidential Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force for suspected involvement in a major illegal logging case in Riau province.

The public officials include one governor, four district heads, two high-ranking police officials, an official from the Ministry of Forestry and four former officials from Riau's forestry agency.

The coalition said that in December 2008, the Riau Police halted a probe into 13 companies suspected of illegal logging after being advised by "an expert" that the companies had not broken any laws.

The case had been investigated for about two years under Sutjiptadi, who was then head of the Riau Police, the activists said, but was immediately put on hold when it came to the current deputy chief of its criminal investigation division, Hadiatmoko.

Other high-ranking officials accused of involvement in the dropping of the case included Riau Governor Rusli Zaenal and the former Forestry Minister MS Kaban.

"We think the decision to stop the investigation is controversial and suspect that a 'forestry mafia' is involved," said Febri Diansyah, legal coordinator at Indonesia Corruption Watch, which was part of the coalition.

He said the groups had leveled 15 charges against the public officials, including alleged abuse of power in issuing permits and paying bribes to central and local government officials.

Riau Police spokesman Zulkili said he had not yet heard about the allegations and declined to comment.

The head of the mafia eradication task force, Denny Indrayana, said it planned to re-open the illegal logging case. "We will see whether there was indications of a judicial mafia," he said.

Denny said many illegal logging cases, in other provinces as well as Riau, had been dropped under suspicious circumstances. "Vast areas of our forests have been destroyed," he said. "We need to send a clear message, a message that will make people involved in illegal logging think twice."

Denny said the task force would comply with an order issued last week by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to investigate the country's notoriously corrupt forestry sector.

"We will follow up the president's directives," he said. "The mafia task force has accepted, and will always accept, input from any party regarding illegal logging and indications of mafia involvement."

Denny said the mafia eradication task force would work with the Forestry Ministry to investigate the illegal logging claims.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan recently said that up to 3.5 million hectares of land was cleared each year between 1997 and 2002. The current rate of deforestation is about 700,000 hectares a year, mostly in Papua.

Of the 131 million hectares of forests across the country, only about a third is estimated to be original old-growth forest.

[Additional reporting by Budi Otmansyah.]

Latest mudflow bubble on roadway raises fears of explosion

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2010

Amir Tejo, Sidoarjo (East Java) – Another bubble has emerged on the Porong highway near Sidoarjo in East Java after the appearance of gas bubbles and mud in the middle of the highway last week.

The new bubble, near Porong fruit market, is just 80 meters from the earlier one, said Acmad Zulkarnaen, spokesman of the Sidoarjo Mud Flow Mitigation Agency (BPLS).

It is the 169th to appear since the devastating mud flow eruption on May 29, 2006. The latest fissure contains flammable gas, and its proximity to railway tracks has caused safety concerns among officials.

Herry Winarno, the acting spokesman of state railway company Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) in East Java, is calling on train passengers not to throw cigarette butts out the window between the Tanggulangin area of Sidoarjo and Porong.

"This prohibition was issued to anticipate unwanted situations because those bubbles are easily flammable," Herry said.

The earlier bubble, in the middle of the highway, which is the main road linking Surabaya to towns in the east such as Pasuruan and Probolinggo, consists of mud and gas. An analysis by the BPLS showed that the gas contained methane.

"Flammable gas of the methane type was clearly detected," Achmad said. He added that the methane content was fluctuating, sometimes exceeding safe levels.

Achmad said possible danger came from the carelessness of road users, who often threw lit cigarette butts out of vehicle windows or lit up anywhere. "We are coordinating with the police to minimize the danger," he said.

The BPLS and the Sidoarjo district police have already issued a ban on tossing cigarette butts along the Porong highway.

The areas around the bubbles have been cordoned off from traffic. The appearance of the bubbles on and around the highway makes it more urgent than ever to press ahead with plans for another highway to connect Siring to Porong.

Achmad said the BBPLS had also told local residents whose land would be needed for the new highway to agree with the price offered by the local district administration so that construction could begin as soon as possible.

"We hope that those people who are still reluctant to release their land soon agree to the price offered by the district administration," Achmad said.

The Siring-Porong alternative highway was scheduled to be completed this year, but so far only 65 percent of the needed land has been acquired.

The price of the purchase of another 24 hectares has been agreed but the deals have not yet gone ahead.

The seven-kilometer road will need about 124 hectares for completion. Many landowners want more for their land than that being offered by the local administration.

The road that links the Tanggulangin subdistrict in Sidoarjo to Gempol in Pasuruan district through Porong and Jabon will also be upgraded with a 10-meter-wide, 600- meter-long flyover in Porong.

Women & gender

Women's group blasts Court for lacking gender awareness

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2010

Jakarta – Women's rights activists said the Constitutional Court's decision to refuse to repeal the widely criticized pornography law was a blatant example of gender bias in Indonesia's legal system.

Kemala Chandra Kirana, an expert on women's rights, said the two laws could be used to curb women's basic rights.

"These laws carry a sort of a preemptive strike against women," said Kemala, who is also the former head of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, at a disscussion organized by the University of Indonesia on Tuesday.

The discussion was also attended by activists from the Solidarity for Women, the Apik Legal Aid Institute, the Journalist Alliance for Diversity, the Foundations of Indonesian Legal Aid Institutes and the Indonesian Women's Coalition.

The meeting aimed to raise awareness on gender equality and also to discuss the court's ruling within the perspectives of women's rights and pluralism.

"The court is not neutral and has no sense of gender equality," Kemala said, adding that the rulings highlighted the fact that most state officials had a very limited perspective of gender and pluralism.

Up to 30 indigenous women from different provinces in Indonesia attended the discussion. They objected to the pornography law because it could hamper their freedom. Women activists have repeatedly said the law criminalized women and should be revoked.

Only one of nine justices in the court, Maria Farida Indrati, objected to the ruling. (She also happens to be a woman.)

The discussion also called on the media to foster gender equality in the country because of its crucial role as the fourth estate in shaping public opinion.

"Nowadays the media fails to side with pluralism and gender equality because there are other interests in the mechanism that work against exposing more on these issues," said Nugroho Dewanto from Tempo, adding that gender equality and pluralism were parts of democratic thinking.

Women activists have repeatedly said the pornography law criminalized women and should be revoked.

Debunking myths on the Indonesian women's movements

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2010

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Little Saskia Eleonora Wieringa felt tortured every time her parents asked her to dress up like a girl.

"I've always been a bit of a tomboy," recalled the 60-year-old professor from the University of Amsterdam. "My parents were angry at me. They wanted me to dress up like a girl."

So, Wieringa's rejection of gender stereotypes started at an early age.

"The culture in the Netherlands was so patriarchal back then. It was torturing me," she confessed. "Women were taught to be housewives. I couldn't agree with that. I didn't want to be a housewife. I wanted equality; I wanted freedom," she added.

Wieringa then found her freedom during her university years in the mid 1970s, when she occupied herself with women issues. At that time, she founded several women's organizations and published journals highlighting women issues.

Her interest in women issues led her to visit Indonesia in 1977. At the time, her goal was only to complete her academic research on women batik workers in Surakarta, Central Java. The supposedly short-visit, however, became a lifetime attachment for her, as Wieringa spent years doing research on the outlawed Gerwani (the Indonesian Women's Movement).

"At first, when I started my research on the women batik workers, I found out these workers lived in very poor conditions," Wieringa said during her recent visit to Jakarta for the Festival April event. "At that time, I thought I should share this problem with local women groups.

"I met with women groups like Dharma Wanita, Dharma Pertiwi and PKK [Family Empowerment and Welfare Movement], but I was very surprised to learn that these groups only carried out activities like cooking and costume shows – things that looked silly to me."

Wieringa had her own reason to feel surprised. Back in the Netherlands, she said, she had heard about a very influential women's movement from Indonesia, called Gerwani. Gerwani members, she said, were known to be smart and prominent in defending women's and workers' rights at many international forums.

"So, at that time, I was wondering, what has happened to Gerwani? Where are its members?" she said. "I asked many locals about Gerwani, and their responses were: 'Ooow, yes we know Gerwani – they were all prostitutes.'"

The responses surprised Wieringa, because she had heard that Gerwani was a socialist movement, and that socialism was against prostitution. In addition to that, she understood that Gerwani was totally against polygamy, making her believe that the rumor that Gerwani's members were involved in sex parties must be nothing but slander.

"I sensed something wrong was going on and that was how I started to find more information on Gerwani for my research," said Wieringa of the movement banned by former president Soeharto following the alleged 1965 coup attempt by the subsequently outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). In the tragic events that followed, six military generals and an officer was killed, and Gerwani – said to be an affiliate of the PKI – was deemed responsible for torturing them to death.

But the more Wieringa studied Gerwani and the accusations made against it, the more she had questions dancing in her mind.

"There's no way girls aged 13 to 15 would mutilate the private parts of those 60-year-old something generals," she said. "It's illogical. Where would those very young girls get such an idea from?"

Such thoughts led her to dig deeper into countless documents to satisfy her curiosity. Luckily for Wieringa, she found a very important document, containing autopsy reports on the generals. The reports, part of scholar Benedict Anderson's papers, clearly stated that there was no trace of razors and penknives on the generals' bodies, and that their genitals were intact.

"So, those stories about Gerwani were all fabricated by Soeharto. Those women never tortured the generals and didn't cut off their genitals," Wieringa lamented.

Forensic evidence also confirmed Wieringa's previous interviews with some Gerwani members she met in the early 1980s. Under the highly traumatic conditions following their arrest by Soeharto's people, these women maintained that they were not involved in the massacre.

"At that time, I found many of them were in a traumatic state after surviving Soeharto's cruelty," said Wieringa, who co- founded the Kartini Asia Network. Following Soeharto's banning of Gerwani, she went on, thousands of its members were murdered, while many others were held in prison – tortured and sexually abused.

"It was difficult to talk to Gerwani members at that time," said Wieringa, who was once banned by Soeharto from entering Indonesia. "There were military officers who were always keeping their eyes on them. "I secretly and carefully carried out my research because we [my sources and I] were in danger," she added.

Being trapped in such a dangerous situation also forced her to halt her research. It took years before she could return to Indonesia to continue and crosscheck her research in 1995.

At that time, although she managed to complete the research for her dissertation under the title The Aborted Women's Movement in Indonesia, she needed to hide many identities of her sources for safety reasons.

However, the research, which was later published in the form of a book, has been regarded as the most influential work on the Indonesian women's movement and inspired many Indonesian feminists and right activists.

Now, 30 years after she first deconstructed the myths about Gerwani, Wieringa took the chance to launch the revised version of her book, entitled Penghancuran Gerakan Perempuan: Politik Seksual di Indonesia Pasca Kejatuhan PKI (The Destruction of the Women's Movement: Sexual Politics in Indonesia after the Downfall of the Indonesian Communist Party).

"It took me a long time to publish this [revised version of my] book because my research was considered dangerous and I was blacklisted [by Soeharto]," she said. "I had to hide many facts in the previous version, but here [in the revised one], I revealed everything."

Although she finally had the chance to share her research with the Indonesian public, who has lived with Soeharto's lies about Gerwani for years, Wieringa said she wouldn't stop working on women issues in the country.

"I've become so attached to Indonesia and these Gerwani women," Wieringa said, referring to a number of older women, who attended her book launching that day. "I just couldn't come taking facts from them and [then simply] say good bye. I don't want to leave them."

That was why, Wieringa went on, she was planning to spend the rest of her life in Indonesia.

"My plan is to move to Indonesia after retiring from teaching at the University of Amsterdam," she smiled. "I'm also a mualaf [a convert to Islam] now. So I feel that Indonesia would be a perfect place for me to spend the rest of my life."

Is celebrating Kartini's Day still relevant today?

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2010

Vissia Ita Yulianto, Freiburg, Germa – The question is at least raised by Gadis Arivia, founder of the Indonesian Women Journal, and Dr. Joost Cote, a historian who specializes in Indonesian cultural history. There are both pros and cons toward this "unexpected" question.

While the pros say that Kartini's Day has been simplifiying the other Indonesian feminist movement, the cons respond negatively to this very logical question. But, what if the pros are perhaps right?

The increasing contemporary women's involvement in public domain tells us that patriarchal power and social order have been shaken off. Besides, it is a fact that the majority of post-colonial Indonesia has a wrong understanding of Kartini's thoughts.

This is simply seen from their response when asked about Kartini. While high school students say that Kartini is a figure of traditional women who dressed with kebaya, others say that Kartini is merely a daughter of RMAA Sosroningrat who had a tragic life. She campaigned against the practice of polygamy but is finally made to accept an arranged marriage.

But how have people come to this collective misunderstanding? Generally, the wrong reading of Kartini is definitely ensured by the social and political position of the New Order state.

Here, we need to remember that it is Sukarno's Old Order state which had chosen Kartini as a national hero and established Kartini's Day. There are of course many considerations on why Kartini was chosen ahead of other feminist figures.

In demanding emancipation, Kartini identifies many fundamental and pivotal values that are in line with Sukarno's Old Order state's project for revolution. She insists on taking a stand against her society's traditional and feudal values which deny women to be part of non domestic sphere.

History records that Kartini is notable in a Javanese context for the degree of her access to the European world and her struggle for women's freedom from oppression.

Her criticism of the Javanese patriarchal society and the evils of Dutch racism to indigenous people was not only rhetoric but was put into action.

Her intelligence led her to receive – although for some political reasons she was unable to take it – a formal scholarship in the Netherlands, where her brother, Kartono, and a number of Indonesian men were already studying. Behind the walls of the kabupaten (regency), the 20-year-old Kartini dynamically wrote more than 160 letters to her European friends.

She also voiced out a very critical and rigid memo entitled Give Javanese Education to the Netherlands administration demanding a new path to educate her people, both men and women. What a shame that Kartini's popular legacy today has been reduced to referring to her as only a woman dressed in a kebayawho can cook?

Second, Sukarno's Old Order chose Kartini to be the model of a progressive native woman. In a sense of nationalism, she gave sharp criticism against imperialism. Although she was the golden girl of the ethical policy elite, Kartini was clearly aware of the Dutch colonial rhetoric.

In Joost Cote's words, "in the colonial context of Java, Kartini's vision of new women as social educator, the nurturer of a new generation of the enlightened, inaugurates not only radical transformation of the traditional women's role but also establishes a significant nationalist and political ethos" (2000).

In speaking out in her letters against Javanese aristocracy and Dutch colonialism, and for women's education, Kartini gave the women's movement the possibility of something it had never had before. And this is obviously the values which lie at the heart of Sukarno's nationalist project – against colonialism – for the 1945 revolution.

Ironically, when the New Order came to power, Kartini was distorted from a demolisher of patriarchal, traditional and colonial breakthrough to – what we can see from the Kartini hymne – putri sejati (a real daughter). This is of course a legal women's withdrawal from their involvement in public domain to return to domestic affairs.

There is clear evidence that the New Order male nation reinvented Kartini with a different identity from an figurehead of emancipation to a putri sejati. In clarifying this shifting, much has been written.

The main setting for Kartini's activities toward the end of her life becomes the central and the establishment of the "traditional feminine" Kartini is to tell Indonesian women at large to imitate her obedience to – what they call as kodrat wanita or women's destiny – come back to their domestic role, that is getting married.

The kodrat of Indonesian women prescribes that they should be meek, passive and obedient to the male members of the family, sexually shy and modest, self-sacrificing and nurturing, and that they find their main vocation as a wife and mother (Wierrengga: 2002).

Indeed, there has been an emphasis on the degree of women's independence as Surya Kusuma describes as Ibuism. This engages women to domestic and familial duties and managed to avoid women's involvement in public spheres.

At this level, Kartini's devotion to nation building is totally removed. As a result, these symbolic figure of Kartini as a putri sejati and the propaganda of a militant wife led to a change of public attitude of what they should know of the real Kartini and what they should celebrate.

This happens because people know Kartini's ideas and aspirations as they were written in the New Order's official history. According to this view, the celebration of Kartini appears to be no longer necessary.

Of course, Kartini is very central to the embodiment of the Indonesian women's movement. But its relevance becomes a question today. Kartini's Day celebrations ignore and even marginalize other relevant Indonesian feminist movements that have protested against the social order.

Even today, people merely draw their attention to only the New Order face of Kartini's Day, rather than, maybe, a celebration of Indonesian women's day.

I think it would be more enlightening for all of us to look at other figures, who remain Kartini's shadow – such as Maria Walanda Maramis, Cut Nyak Dien, Inggit Ganarsih, Rasuna Said, Khofifah Indar Parawangsa, Saparinah Sadli, Musdah Mulia, Ratna Sarumpaet and others – and uphold their vision together of an ideal social order in one voice.

For the sake of future generations, we need to open another page of women's voice which departs their awareness from being women who are still politically, culturally and economically marginalized by the state, social and religious systems. While there are many ongoing analysis on Kartini's thoughts and aspirations, I however would like to question whether the celebration of the domestic Kartini's Day is still relevant for post-New Order state generation.

It is time for contemporary Indonesia to look at a more general – not only Java centered – enlightening figure.

And even if, later, we no longer celebrate Kartini's Day, Kartini would remain central of the embodiment of the Indonesian feminist and nationalist movement.

The increasing women's involvement in public domain tells us that patriarchal power and social order have been shaken off.

[The writer is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. The opinion expressed is personal.]

As Indonesia celebrates Kartini Day, women's rights lacking

Jakarta Globe - April 21, 2010

Nurfika Osman & Ismira Lutfia – If Indonesia were to be graded on its efforts to empower women and uphold their rights, it would score poorly, according to activists and academics.

The country today marks Kartini Day, which celebrates the Indonesian heroine who led the struggle for women's equality. Indonesia's efforts to empower women, however, have been hampered by the weak implementation of laws designed to accomplish that goal, and other pieces of legislation that are seen to infringe upon the rights of women.

Ida Rowaida, head of the gender studies department at the University of Indonesia, told the Jakarta Globe that Indonesia had made progress with the passage of the 2007 Law on Trafficking, the 2004 Law on Domestic Violence and a new law on gender equality, which is currently being drafted. She said the laws should serve as a legal reference to ensure that all government policies are gender sensitive.

"However, we have not seen the translation of these laws in the field," she said.

Mariana Amiruddin, executive director of Jurnal Perempuan, a women's rights magazine, said no significant achievements had resulted from these laws, as "many people do not even understand the definition of gender and women's empowerment."

There is a severe lack of awareness, Mariana said. In the case of trafficking, for example, "how can people implement the law when they do not understand what trafficking is? Government programs have not reached targets," she said. "Ask people in villages that have many cases of trafficking. They do not know anything about it."

The 2008 Anti-Pornography Law, recently upheld by the Constitutional Court, the existence of more than 150 discriminative bylaws that still have not been annulled despite repeated calls and the proposed law on marriage were cited as huge setbacks to women's rights.

The wife of late former President Abdurrahman Wahid, Sinta Nuriyah, said legislation such as the Anti-Pornography Law "put barriers on women." Mariana criticized the government for its failure to annul 154 bylaws nationwide that are considered discriminatory, 64 of which discriminate against a woman's right to freely express herself and women's right to gainful employment. "This is a reality in our society and this shows backwardness," she said.

Ida said these discriminatory laws "are showing us how the state views women. The concept of gender and equality remains a big question mark. How can we implement a gender-sensitive budget and so on?" she said, referring to the State Ministry for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection's push for seven ministries to implement a gender-responsive budget system.

Kasmawati, the deputy for public institution empowerment at the ministry, acknowledged that women's development in Indonesia was still far from satisfactory, based on the United Nations Development Program's Gender Development Index. In a report released in March, Indonesia ranked 90th out of 156 countries in the index for 2009, down from the 80th position it held in 2007.

"We are still lagging behind and we still have to work hard to catch up because women are still marginalized even though there are laws [on women's rights]," she said.

To address the issue of discriminatory laws, she said female lawmakers should be empowered by the political parties they represent. "The parties have to fully support them so women's rights are upheld," Kasmawati said.

She also applauded the House for having some male lawmakers who had good gender perspectives, but said that "we need more of them."

Sinta and Ida said the prevailing culture was to blame for many of the problems. "Structural intervention such as in law is important, but cultural intervention such as education is more important," Ida said. "There are people who see gender as a threat."

Sinta said that barriers to proper implementation of the gender laws sometimes came from women themselves. "They relish their subordinance [to men]."

Female officer fights bias in military to claim high rank

Jakarta Globe - April 21, 2010

Nurfika Osman – Eastern Indonesia marked Kartini Day on Wednesday with the appointment of its first female military sub- district commander.

Kartini Day, celebrated nationwide, celebrates the Indonesian heroine who led the struggle for women's equality.

Wirabuana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Hari Krisnomo appointed Nurrahmi to the post of Mamajang Sub-District Commander in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The appointment is some feat, with Nurrahmi being only the second woman in the history of the Indonesian military to hold such a position. Lili Febriyanti last year was appointed to the post of sub-district commander in Java.

Born in 1980, Nurrahmi is the eighth of nine children and single. She was a karate gold medalist at the 2006 SEA Games. She will have 14 male military officers working under her command in her new post.

"Nurrahmi was appointed to the post fair and square," military spokesman Air Vice Marshall Sagom Tamboen told the Jakarta Globe.

Sagom said only 5,000 of the 415,000 members of the military were women and they were hampered when it came to scaling the ranks. "Women cannot go to the most dangerous places and they cannot separate themselves from families when they get married," he said. "Women are not set to go to war. Men are more ready than they are."

But he said the military was giving women the same chances to develop their careers. "Most women who join the military work in administrative posts as they are more diligent, detail-oriented and meticulous," he said. "And they tend to obey regulations. Working with women is easier than men."

Sagom said that only five women held high-ranking positions – three brigadier generals in the army, a vice marshal in the air force and a navy admiral.

"It is a problem when a female military officer gets pregnant," he said. "They become unable to fully concentrate on their jobs when having a baby. It is tough for women to be in the military. They are not allowed to become pregnant during their studies and then they cannot have more than two children."

Sagom said another problem with female military officers was the family. "When they get married their work concentration is often disturbed," he said.

But Andy Yentriyani, who heads the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said the country should not see women as a burden. "Unfortunately, the state does not understand and fulfill women's rights in the military," she said.

Andy also said putting women in administrative posts was a backward step. "When they are working in administrative posts, they do not have the power to make decisions to defend their country. It means that it is hard for them to gain high rank positions," she said.

Women should go to conflict zones as most of the victims were women and children, she said. "Put women in war or conflict zones and they can make better decisions for women victims of violence as women understand each other," Andy claimed.

131 years on, women still strive for equality

Jakarta Post - April 20, 2010

Jakarta – "We are sure that a civilization of a nation will not grow as long as the women are not involved in the development. If the job to foster a civilization is handed over to women, the growth of the civilization is only a matter of time."

This was written in 1903 by Kartini, national heroine and pioneer of women's rights, in one of the hundreds of letters she addressed to friends and members of the public during her short lifetime.

The posthumous publication of Kartini's letters inspired women at home and abroad to fight for their rights.

Indonesia will celebrate Kartini Day on April 21, which will mark 131 years since her birth. But can we truly say that Kartini's dream of the emancipation of women in Indonesia has come true?

The note that Kartini wrote in 1903 emphasizes that discrimination against women would serve only to restrain the country's development, argued ministry expert Irma Alamsyah Djaya Putra. She said today's society still promoted gender inequality.

"The government has established many regulations and laws both nationwide and regionally but has not implemented them successfully," Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar said.

The following are some of the laws in Indonesia that promote gender equality. The 1999 Law on Human Rights Law states that women's rights and human rights are the same.

A 1984 law forbids all forms of discrimination against women. The 2003 General Elections Law states that at least 30 percent of seats in the legislature should be allocated to women. This was followed by the 2008 Political Law and the 2008 Women's Representation Law. A 2001 Presidential Decree emphasizes gender equality in national development.

A 2003 Ministerial Decree encourages the involvement of women in regional development. Above all these is the amendment of the 1945 Constitution that states that women's rights are the same as human rights.

"But substantively, Indonesia is still far from embracing gender equality despite that Indonesia's economy and gross domestic product are progressing well," Legislator Eva Kusuma Sundari from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said, highlighting the disparity between social and economic development in the country.

She said that according to the UNDP's 2009 Report, Indonesia ranked 90th out of 155 countries on the gender-related development index (GDI), with a value of 0.726, which is slightly lower that its human development index (HDI) score of 0.734. Its GDI value is therefore 98.9 percent of its HDI value.

The GDI measures life expectancy, education, living standards, income and purchasing power. The HDI highlights inequalities in achievements and opportunities between men and women.

Although today the majority of women are entitled by law to the same opportunities as men, such as education, Indonesia still ranks 96th out of 109 countries on the UNDP's gender empowerment scale, which focuses on opportunities to participate in political and economic forums and decision-making.

"We aim for a 30 percent female legislator quota," Eva said. The percentage of female legislators in the House of Representatives has increased to 18 percent in the 2009-2014 period from 11 percent in the 2004-2009 period.

Cases of violence against women increases

Tempo Interactive - April 20, 2010

Mahbub Djunaidy, Jember – The number of cases of violence against women in Indonesia keeps on increasing this year.

According to the Deputy Head of Women's National Commission, Masruchah, from 2008 to 2009, there has been an increase of 263 percent.

According to available data, the largest number of cases is domestic violence. The Women's National Commission recorded that in 2008, there were 53,000 cases. In 2009, the number increased to 154,000 cases.

"Whereas not all provinces have reported their cases to the Women's National Commission," she said in Jember, East Java, yesterday.

Women eye leadership positions in parties

Jakarta Post - April 17, 2010

Jakarta – An upcoming amendment of the 2008 Political Party Law must require political parties to fill a 30 percent female quota for their top legislator positions so that women can effectively advocate related issues, a woman legislator said.

A lawmaker from the National Awakening Party (PKB), Ida Fauziah, said Thursday at the Borobudur Hotel in Jakarta that most political parties did not encourage female empowerment because they failed to provide women with opportunities to become top legislators.

"The process to pass the plan is very difficult because the number of seats is very limited, but we keep trying," she said. She said the House of Representatives had many qualified female legislators, but that only a few occupied senior positions.

The current Political Party Law stipulates that political parties have to meet a 30 percent quota for women on their national and regional boards to be eligible to compete in elections.

According to data from the Women's Research Institute, in the latest general elections some parties, including the United Development Party (PPP) – which had a 28 percent female quota, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Greater Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra), both with 29 percent, fell short of the requirement.

There are 101 female legislators at the House of Representatives, or 18 percent, which is higher than 11 percent during the last House period.

Masruchah of the National Commission on Violence Against Women said the legislature should expand the 30 percent female quota from political party boards to subdistrict and village levels before it applied the quota to the legislature's top ranking posts.

"This expansion aims to empower and improve the political capability of women so they will not be underestimated once they occupy seats at regional or national legislatures," she told The Jakarta Post.

The expansion of the quota would encourage political parties to make a point of producing well-trained female legislators, she added. "So the female members will no longer just be political party accessories," she said.

She said the biggest challenge for female legislators was overthrowing the stereotype that women are incapable and inexperienced. "Beyond the competition between genders there is also money politics at play to get the top leadership positions at the legislature," she said, adding that female legislators typically rejected involvement in money politics. (rdf)

Refugees/asylum seekers

Detention centre like a prison, say Tamils

ABC News - April 21, 2010

Kerri Ritchie – Sri Lankan asylum seekers who were removed from an Indonesian port earlier this week say they are now being kept in cramped conditions in a detention centre which is like a prison.

About 150 Tamil boat people were put on buses on Monday and transported from the Port of Merak to Jakarta's main airport. They were then flown to the Indonesian city of Tanjung Pinang where they are now in a detention centre.

Two of the asylum seekers, who do not want to be identified, have contacted the ABC. One likened the detention centre to a prison and says the accommodation is not what was promised by the Indonesian government.

Another asylum seeker said one hall has up to 45 people in it, but husbands, wives and children have been separated. The Tamils say the water they are being given to bath in is yellow in colour and they are not allowed to use their mobile phones.

The boat people were on their way to Australia when they were seized by the Indonesian government in October last year.

Merak stand-off close to ending as 122 head into detention

Sydney Morning Herald - April 20, 2010

Tom Allard, Merak – It was a desperate final plea, sad and futile. As a gallant, if ultimately pointless, six-month stand- off by Sri Lankan asylum seekers at the Indonesian port of Merak drew to a close yesterday, their spokesman, Nimal, began sobbing.

"We don't know what they are going to do... They are going to take us to detention but they did not give us any guarantee about our resettlement," Nimal cried. "We are waiting for you, Australia. We are waiting for your response."

A day earlier, Nimal had been talking defiantly. The asylum seekers, he said, would not shift if they were heading to detention and joining the queue to be resettled by the United Nations refugee program.

However, besides Nimal's pubic anguish, the conclusion to the long saga at the port of Merak, in north-west Java, came with an exhausted whimper. The ethnic Tamils moved quietly on to the buses that were to transport them to Jakarta, from where they would fly to one of the Riau Islands, where there is an Australian-funded detention centre.

Some were forlorn, others fatalistic. One or two were positive. "They told us we will be resettled in a year," said Kavijan. "The immigration official said Canada or Australia."

No such deal exists, said Sujatmiko, the Indonesian foreign affairs official overseeing the negotiations at Merak. Mr Sujatmiko again urged Australia to help. "We need Australian people, the Australian government to help them."

The Sri Lankans were heading to Australia when they were intercepted by the Indonesian Navy after a personal request from Kevin Rudd.

The Prime Minister's role gave them false hope. So, too, did the quick resettlement of a boatload of 78 Sri Lankans who were picked up by an Australian Customs vessel and taken to Indonesia.

That special deal brokered by the Rudd Government caused it domestic political pain for appearing soft on border control and hardened the resolve of Australia to stare down the Sri Lankans at Merak. They are now at the very back of a long queue.

Only 138 of the 254 originally taken to Merak remained there after six months. A total of 122 got on the buses yesterday; 14 refused to go, and a pregnant woman and a sick person remained under medical care.

Most of the remainder had the money and guile to escape and engage a people smuggler to try to reach Australia. Some are believed to have already made it. But for those who stayed behind, a new life in Australia appears more distant than ever.

Tamils agree to leave camp at port of Merak after standoff

The Australian - April 19, 2010

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – A six-month asylum-seeker deadlock in Indonesia has finally been broken, with more than 200 Tamils agreeing to be taken from their makeshift dockside camp at the western Java port of Merak to an immigration detention centre.

A spokesman for the Sri Lankans, Nimal, said the group's leaders had finally agreed to end their protest after assurances that Australia would facilitate their resettlement within 12 months.

"(Senior foreign ministry official) Sujatmiko said he negotiated with Australia to give us resettlement within 12 months," Nimal told The Australian. "We are ready to go to Tanjung Pinang if they give us such assurance."

The reported offer appears to contradict the Australian Government's announcement that no more Sri Lankan or Afghan refugee applications would be processed.

However, not all of the group, which has been camped on the dock at Merak since their capture by an Indonesian Navy patrol boat at Canberra's request last October, were happy to be going today.

As the asylum-seekers were loaded onto buses, to be ferried to Jakarta's main airport and then flown to Tanjung Pinang, at least one tearful woman held up a sign reading: "help me, we don't want to".

The Australian-built and funded Tanjung Pinang detention centre was where the 78 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers from the Oceanic Viking fiasco were taken last November before rapid resettlement, in a deal others including those on the dock at Merak described as "unfair".

Bank Century inquiry

Lawmakers' impeachment petition moving ahead

Jakarta Globe - April 23, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – A petition to get the House of Representatives to push ahead with the use of its so called right to express an opinion, the first step to impeaching the vice president, had garnered 106 signatures, a lawmaker said on Friday.

The petition was initiated by five lawmakers who, with four others, pushed for the House inquiry into the Bank Century bailout. It is expected they will get a further 184 signatures before it is submitted to the House leadership, said Maruarar Sirait, a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Maruarar said 67 of the signatories were from his party, 20 from the Golkar Party, 17 from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) and one each from the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

"We will keep distributing this petition to all lawmakers, no matter from which faction they come from. We are optimistic in getting 300 signatures," Maruarar said.

The petition needed only 25 signatures for the House leadership to bring it for discussion at a plenary meeting.

Asked what the motivation was for initiating the petition, Maruarar said it was because it was feared the whole bailout controversy would be shoved under the carpet following allegedly secret agreements between political parties and the government.

"We want to show Indonesian people that it's not true that the Century case is closed following political deals," Marurar said. "By this movement, we want to tell people of our existence. Yes, it's not an easy step, but we will struggle on."

Lily Wahid, a lawmaker from the National Awakening Party (PKB), which is siding with the government, urged colleagues in her faction to sign the petition. Lily said almost all PKB constituents she had visited wanted the party to push for the right to express opinion.

"If PKB sticks with its current stance of supporting the government without settling the Century case, then it can never hope to get significant number of voters supporting it in the 2014 election," Lily said.

So far, the United Development Party (PPP) and PKB have banned their lawmakers from signing the petition. The Democratic Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and the National Mandate Party (PAN) are expected to do the same.

PKB faction chairman Marwan Jaffar confirmed on Friday that his party had issued a letter prohibiting its members from signing the petition and calling on those who already had to remove their signatures.

"We have formed a special team to meet with Lily Wahid to talk about this matter," he said. But Lily said she had no intention of withdrawing her signature from the petition.

Separately, Hanura chairman Abdilla Fauzi Achmad said his party supported all legal and political steps to settle the Century bailout saga.

"Law enforcers are investigating the case, the House of Representative is establishing a monitoring team, and some lawmakers are signing a petition to push the right to express an opinion. All of it must be conducted at the same time," Abdilla said.

Century monitors nearly finalized

Jakarta Globe - April 23, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The House of Representatives on Thursday finally approved a list of 30 lawmakers set to monitor the criminal investigations into the Bank Century bailout.

"The team itself should be formally approved by next Tuesday in a House plenary session, according to our schedule. Once that is done, we can begin work soon," House Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso said, adding that the team would look into all investigations by the National Police, Attorney General's Office and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The probe follows the House's adoption of a resolution that determined the government's Rp 6.7 trillion ($744 million) bailout in 2008 had violated the law.

According to House Speaker Marzuki Alie, a Democratic Party lawmaker, the delay in forming the monitoring team was because of two factions in the House – the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and People's Conscience Party (Hanura) – and was not the fault of the House leadership, as Hanura lawmaker Sarifuddin Sudding had claimed on Tuesday.

"Please do not throw mud in the face of the House leaders. They are the problem, not us," Marzuki said.

Sarifuddin said the House leaders had not announced that the names of candidates for the monitoring team had to be submitted by Wednesday.

Marzuki, however, said the House leadership immediately sent off formal notifications to each faction requesting candidates before Wednesday's deadline after the decision to establish the team was made last week. Both Hanura and Gerindra missed that deadline, he added.

Gerindra secretary Edhy Prabowo said there had just been a misunderstanding over the issue, although a reminder should have been sent.

Edhy also dismissed rumors that Gerindra no longer had any interest in monitoring the Bank Century investigations because the party's chairman, Prabowo Subianto, had developed a closer relationship with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo, from the Golkar Party, on Thursday railed against the House leadership over the delay in forming the monitoring team. "I will file an official protest if the House leaders have not established the team by next Tuesday," he said.

The Democrats have proposed Anas Urbaningrum, Ruhut Sitompul, Achsanul Qosasi, Benny K Harman, Gondo Radityo Gambiro, Agus Hermanto, I Wayan Gunarsa and Yahya Sacawiria for the team.

The six Golkar nominees, which were made public two days ago, include Ade Komaruddin, Agun Gunanjar Sudarsa, Bambang Susatyo and Idrus Marham.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has proposed Sidharto Dhanusubroto, Trimedya Panjaitan, Gayus Lumbuun, Ganjar Pranowo and Hendrawan Supratignyo.

Activists question slow investigation of Century case

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2010

Jakarta – The Saving State Assets group, the Clean Indonesia Movement (GBI) and the Indonesian Muslim Students for Unitary Movement (KAMMI) questioned the Corruption Eradication Committee (KPK) about its slow investigation of the parties allegedly involved in the Bank Century bailed out case.

"There is a powerful force that wants to reduce the KPK's authority, "Adhie Massardi from the Clean Indonesia Movement said Wednesday. He added that an effective commission was the key to maintaining Indonesia's political stability.

Marwan Batubara from the Saving State Assets group said that the activists had met with the commission Wednesday to state that they fully supported its handling of the case.

In the meeting, the commission emphasized that they were still committed to resolving the Bank Century case, but it would take time as there would be procedures to follow in any investigation of Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in relation to the case.

"We also demand that the Judicial Commission scrutinize each of the judges in the current pre-trial of the reopened Bibit and Chandra case," Adhie said.

On Monday, April 19, the court granted a pre-trial request filed by bribery suspect Anggodo Widjojo against the Attorney General's Office's decision to suspend the investigation into Bibit and Chandra, who are alleged to have been involved in a bribery case in November last year. (ipa)

Parties could try to scupper monitoring of bank probe: Lawmaker

Jakarta Globe - April 19, 2010

Anita Rachman – One of the lawmakers who initiated the House of Representatives inquiry into the Bank Century scandal has warned political parties could be aiming to slow further investigations.

Golkar Party lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo, a critic of the Rp 6.7 trillion ($743 million) bailout in 2008, said on Sunday there could be several attempts to interfere with the soon-to-be established House team that would monitor the Bank Century criminal probe and the initiative to the use the legislature's right to express an opinion.

Without going into detail, he told a discussion some political parties did not want to lose their power in the cabinet.

"The pressure is strong. It is possible that some parties will name people to serve on the monitoring team who do not understand the Bank Century case well," Bambang said. "We have also heard that some parties have warned their lawmakers not to sign the initiative to use the right to express an opinion."

On Tuesday, the House is scheduled to name the lawmakers who will compose the 30-member team that will monitor the ongoing investigation into the Century bailout by the National Police, Attorney General's Office and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The team's task is to follow up on the House's conclusions that the government bailout was illegal and that a criminal investigation was needed.

Each of the nine parties in the House will propose names for the team, which will work for 60 days. The seats will be allocated proportionally.

Bambang, along with four other lawmakers who initiated the Century inquiry, on Tuesday also began collecting signatures for the legislature's so-called right to express an opinion, the first step toward impeaching Vice President Boediono, who was Bank Indonesia governor at the time of the bailout.

They need at least 25 signatures to bring the initiative to the full House. As of Sunday, 21 had signed up, compared with the group's stated goal of 100 names.

Eva Kusuma Sundari, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), told the Globe on Sunday that political interference was nothing new. Since the start of the scandal, several parties had removed lawmakers who were "too vocal" from the stage.

"Look at the National Mandate Party [PAN]. At first they seemed to support option C [declaring there was abuse of power in the bailout and recommending expanded criminal investigations], but they ended up with option A [which said the bailout was legal but warranted investigation of Bank Century officials and some in the central bank for alleged involvement in unspecified crimes]," she said.

Eva said the House should next focus on the right to express an opinion, instead of arguing about the monitoring team.

Bambang himself recently launched a book on the Century scandal in which he claims Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie asked party lawmakers to side with the state and find no wrongdoing.

But Maruarar Sirait, from the PDI-P, said the party would appoint its best lawmakers to the monitoring team.

Ahmad Yani, a United Development Party (PPP) lawmaker on House Commission III, which oversees political and legal affairs, said even if there was a slow down within the House because of interference, the commission would ensure law-enforcement agencies stayed on track.

"Actually, the commission has more authority because we can summon them," he said. He expressed disappointment at how the KPK was handling the case, saying it was slow and unfocused in following up the House Bank Century recommendations.

Graft & corruption

AGO never serious about ending KPK prosecution, experts say

Jakarta Globe - April 23, 2010

Heru Andriyanto – A recent court ruling that overturned the decision by prosecutors to discontinue a criminal case against two antigraft officials has raised questions about the competence and intentions of those who originally handled the case.

According to the ruling, the two deputies from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) – Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto – are officially suspects again for abuse of power and extortion.

The South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office last December issued a letter known as an SKPP to halt the prosecutions, for what it termed "sociological reasons."

At the time, legal experts suggested that a better, stronger, option would have been to adopt a legal principle left over from Dutch colonial system known as "deponering," in which prosecutors drop a case in the common interest even if they possess solid evidence against the suspects.

"The attorney general [Hendarman Supandji] should have opted to adopt the legal principle [of deponering] because it completely eliminates any opportunity for the injured party to appeal," Eddy Hiariej, a criminal law expert from Gadjah Mada University, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.

Marwan Effendy, the deputy attorney general for special crimes, said prosecutors opted to issue the SKPP as a speedy response to rising public pressure for the case against the KPK officials to be dropped.

"Any delay would have brought us daily criticism. Deponering would have taken longer to prepare because we would have needed to consult first with relevant state agencies," Marwan said. "We had no problems with the presidential office, but [House of Representatives] Commission III urged us to bring the case to court. Under the law on court proceedings, the court is barred from rejecting a case, so it was less likely the court would have supported [the application of] deponering in this case."

Eddy, however, dismissed this argument, saying deponering did not require House approval. "What the attorney general needed to do was to consult with relevant law enforcement agencies such as the National Police and the KPK," he said.

Chairul Huda, a law lecturer at Jakarta's Muhammadiyah University, said the Attorney General's Office halfheartedly terminated the case because it did not want to lose face after previously declaring it had a strong case against Bibit and Chandra.

"I think the AGO lacked seriousness in dropping the case, because it knew very well that the decision letter from the district prosecutor's office could easily be dismissed by a court ruling," he said.

"If they had planned to drop the case for a good cause, they would have picked the most appropriate avenue, namely deponering," Chairul added. "Their argument that bringing the case to court would have done more harm than good was baseless, because the law doesn't recognize such a reason."

The South Jakarta District Court on Monday ruled that the district prosecutor's letter was unlawful because the Criminal Procedures Code did not recognize the "sociological reasons" used to drop the charges against the KPK deputies. The judge also said that once prosecutors had declared a criminal case fit for trial, it must be go to court.

The decision favored a motion filed by graft suspect Anggodo Widjojo, who is being detained by the KPK for attempting to bribe its officials and obstructing justice.

Anggodo disputed the termination of the Chandra and Bibit case. He claimed he had paid the two deputies and other officials Rp 5.1 billion ($565,000) through a middleman to halt an investigation into his brother, graft fugitive Anggoro Widjojo.

Trial 'best option' for Bibit and Chandra

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2010

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Todung Mulya Lubis, a member of the presidential fact-finding team that investigated the alleged framing of two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputies, said Thursday it was best that the pair stand trial to settle the case.

Todung was responding to the South Jakarta District Court order for the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to continue its indictment against KPK deputies Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah. The court also ordered a trial for both.

The ruling was in favor of plaintiff businessman Anggodo Widjojo, the brother of graft fugitive Anggoro Widjojo. Anggodo had allegedly plotted to frame Bibit and Chandra, and subsequently filed a pre-trial lawsuit against the AGO's decision to drop the prosecution of the pair.

The AGO had suspended its prosecution following recommendations made by the fact-finding team and the President himself last year, amid mounting public pressure to release Bibit and Chandra. The alleged plot against them was widely regarded as an attempt to weaken the KPK.

"[It's better] to bring Bibit and Chandra to court to dismiss developing controversy among the public and clear up the impression that they're afraid to appear in court," Todung said.

"The AGO can perhaps stop its prosecution for the public's sake, but this would make AGO seem like an unreliable institution. [Whereas] the court could serve as a forum to prove that all the previous investigations were biased and baseless," he said.

Todung said another option was that the President used his abolition right, but added that this would be unlikely because of the protracted process.

Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes Marwan Effendy said the AGO had submitted an appeal to the South Jakarta Distric Court over its pre-trial verdict (to continue with the trial), saying it was "inappropriate" and that the judge had failed to understand the circumstances under which the AGO had issued the letter to cease the indictment.

He said the letter was issued "for the sake of the national interest". "It was situational. We had to do it quickly... It was the best option," Marwan said.

He also questioned Anggodo's move, saying he had no legal grounds to file a pre-trial lawsuit against the AGO.

The Judicial Mafia Taskforce, which was set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in January, as part of its follow-up to recommendations made by the fact-finding team, also said earlier this week it had reported the judge handling Anggodo's pre-trial lawsuit, Nugroho Setiaji, to the Judicial Commission.

Taskforce member Mas Achmad Santosa said it was strange that the court had accepted Anggodo's request.

Marwan said since the AGO had filed an appeal to challenge the court verdict and consequently Bibit's and Chandra's status as suspects would be postponed, pending the decision.

Separately, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the KPK was prepared for a "worst-case scenario". "We have prepared ourselves to have two leaders left. The KPK believes efforts to eradicate corruption will not stop," Johan said. (rdf/ipa)

Commission seeks greater power to halt case brokers

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2010

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – As the government begins to step up efforts to cleanse the judiciary of corruption, the Judicial Commission has requested that it be authorized to wiretap judges suspected of breaking the law.

"Illegal practices in the judiciary are becoming increasingly sophisticated. I believe the authority to wiretap phone calls is a requisite for us to protect the public from unfair rulings," commission chairman Busyro Muqoddas said Thursday.

The House of Representatives' commission on legal affairs will begin deliberating the revision of the 2004 Judicial commission Law after the Constitutional Court in 2006 curtailed its power to oversee justices and suggested legislators amend the law.

Busyro said he hoped the wiretapping authority would be included in the revised law. "We only need the room to wiretap judges or other judiciary officials," he said, adding that the legislation should be made carefully to avoid abuse.

Syarifuddin Sudding, a legislator from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) and a member of the legal affairs commission, voiced his support for Busyro's request.

"The case broker rings in the judiciary are strong. They are present in almost all judiciary institutions. We need the commission to wield more power than it does now," he said.

Bambang Soesatyo of the Golkar Party concurred, saying that the commission should be given the added authority of obtaining information on judges' wealth.

Under the existing law, the commission can only oversee district and high court judges and does not have the power to punish judges found guilty of abusing their positions. The commission can issue recommendations, but the authority to punish judges remains with the Supreme Court.

Calls to empower the Judicial commission resurfaced after a Tangerang District Court judge admitted to receiving Rp 50 million (US$5,550) from tax officer Gayus Tambunan when questioned by the commission.

Muhtadi Asnun faced similar questioning by the Supreme Court's supervision division, which concluded Muhtadi was innocent. The success of the commission's questioning has been lauded by observers and politicians. However, not all parties support the commission's request for wiretapping authority.

"The Judicial commission should cooperate with other institutions that possess the authority to wiretap, such as the KPK [Corruption Eradication commission]," Nasir Djamil of the Prosperous and Justice Party (PKS) said.

"Too many institutions having wiretapping devices would not be good: They are expensive," he said.

Indonesia Corruption Watch analyst Febri Diansyah agreed with Nasir. "What the Judicial commission needs is greater judicial power to oversee judges. It could collaborate with the KPK to wiretap," he said.

The commission can issue recommendations, but the authority to punish judges remains with the Supreme Court.

Weak supervision, light sanctions blamed for graft

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2010

Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has been criticized for failing to encourage honesty within its ranks after it handed down weak punishments to 12 prosecutors who failed to conduct a proper examination of a corruption case involving tax employee Gayus Tambunan, who was later acquitted.

The six members of the prosecution team and six high-ranking prosecution office officials who approved the indictment of Gayus without adequate legal basis face either delayed promotion, demotion or dismissal. Two members of the prosecution team, Cirus Sinaga and Poltak Manullang, were officially demoted for allegedly "engineering" the indictment against Gayus.

The AGO handed out "light and moderate" punishments to four members of the team, Fadil Regan, Eka Kurnia Sukmasari, Ika Syafitri Salim and Nazran Azis, said Junior Attorney General for Monitoring Hamzah Tadja. The six high-ranking prosecution office officials also face deferred promotion or written warnings.

The 12 prosecutors were questioned by the AGO following their indictment of Gayus using the 2003 Money Laundering Law and the Criminal Code, which carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, instead of the Corruption Law, which carries heavier punishments.

The AGO's punishments for the 12 prosecutors has raised public concern about the weak supervision of prosecutors. A member of the National Law Commission, Frans Hendra Winarta, said that internal and external supervision of prosecutors was inefficient and ineffective.

"Internal supervision is nonsense, they tend to protect each other," he said, adding that the current system in which bureaucrats monitor bureaucrats was not working.

He urged the government to strengthen the Judicial Commission, which currently can only investigate and recommend sanctions but not impose them.

Frans said his Commission had recommended the government establish an honors council comprising former police officers, former judges, former prosecutors and civil society elements to supervise all law enforcement agencies. "But the government never listens to any of our recommendations," he said.

A member of the Presidential Advisory Council, Ryaas Rasyid, agreed the government had to strengthen its supervision of prosecutors, but added that this step alone would not be enough unless the AGO fixed its system of recruitment and promotion.

"Integrity and competency must be the ultimate considerations in recruiting new members or promoting officers to higher posts," he said. Ryaas said the government should also consider improving remuneration for prosecutors because their salaries were not high enough. (rdf)

AGO issues next round of wrist slaps to prosecutors in Gayus case

Jakarta Globe - April 22, 2010

Heru Andriyanto – The Attorney General's Office, under pressure over its controversial handling of a case against taxman Gayus Tambunan, announced on Thursday that it had sanctioned 10 more officials, but the heaviest punishment was the demotion of a low-ranking prosecutor.

The most senior among the 10, AGO Deputy for General Crimes Kamal Sofyan Nasution, received a written reprimand for "approving the prosecution plan [against Gayus] without first carefully examining it," said Hamzah Tadja, AGO deputy for internal supervision, identifying him by initials.

Prosecutor Fadil Regan was demoted one rank for one year because he played an active role in influencing the indictment document, Hamzah said without specifying Fadil's post. Fadil, who had joined the team examining the case, currently serves in the AGO's general crimes unit.

"According to the facts, he has actively coordinated with the police, but unfortunately not in a positive way. Other [prosecutors] said the corruption charge should be handed to the special crimes unit, but FR said it shouldn't," Hamzah said.

The light disciplinary sanctions are in contrast to stern action by the National Police, who have a number of officers as suspects and suspended a general in connection to the case.

The police charged Gayus with money-laundering, corruption and embezzlement, but prosecutors only indicted him for embezzlement, of which he was acquitted by the Tangerang District Court in March. After fleeing to Singapore, he surrendered to police.

Other prosecutors who received written reprimands were Pohan Lashpy, director of prosecution in the unit; Dita Prawita- ningsih, assistant for general crimes in the Banten office; and Nofarida, deputy chief prosecutor in Banten.

Five more prosecutors were denied a promotion for one year, including Suyono, former chief prosecutor in Tangerang, who recently was promoted as assistant for intelligence in the South Sulawesi office; Irfan Jaya Aziz, head of the general crimes section in the Tangerang office; and Nasran Aziz, Eka Kurnia and Ika Safitri Salim, three low-ranking officials who joined the prosecution team on the Gayus case.

The AGO earlier removed prosecution head Cirus Sinaga from his post as the assistant for special crimes at the Central Java office and Poltak Manullang from his new post as chief prosecutor in Maluku Province.

The AGO has claimed it could not find proof that the prosecutors had taken money from Gayus as suggested by the Financial Transaction Reports Analysis Center (PPATK).

"My job is concerned mainly with internal disciplinary rules, so everything has been concluded now. If it is later found that money flowed to A or B, that will come under the criminal law domain that can be investigated by either the AGO's special crimes unit, the police or the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission]," Hamzah said. "If they are found guilty of a crime, according to the rules, they will be dismissed dishonorably."

Police have detained Gayus and reimposed corruption and money- laundering charges.

Court ruling will undermine KPK: Taskforce

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2010

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Members of the fact-finding team set up to investigate the alleged framing of two antigraft body chairmen are slated to meet Thursday to discuss the South Jakarta District Court's ruling that has now ordered the two officials to stand trial.

Todung Mulya Lubis, a member of the team, admitted that the reason used by prosecutors to drop the prosecution against Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders, Bibit Samad Riyanto and Chandra M. Hamzah was flawed.

"One of the recommendations issued by the team of eight was to stop the investigation of Pak Bibit and Pak Chandra. But it seems that the Attorney General's Office (AGO) only half-heartedly implemented our recommendations as they used ambiguous reasons in the letter to stop the prosecution," the noted lawyer said.

The team was formed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last year following pressure from the public to probe the alleged incrimination of Bibit and Chandra by Anggodo Widjojo, brother of graft fugitive Anggoro Widjojo.

Anggodo filed a pre-trial lawsuit against the AGO's decision last month. On Monday, the court ruled in favor of Anggodo, ordering the prosecutors to bring the case of Bibit and Chandra to trial. It said the "sociological reasons" cited by prosecutors to stop the prosecution against the pair had no legal basis.

Judicial Mafia Taskforce member Mas Achmad Santosa said the verdict would undermine the antigraft commission. "I don't know who is behind the attempt to discourage the KPK. But, if Pak Bibit and Pak Chandra are suspended again, the KPK would only have two leaders left, and that will definitely weaken the commission," he said.

The Taskforce, formed by President Yudhoyono following the Bibit-Chandra case, on Tuesday reported the judge handling Anggodo's pre-trial lawsuit to the Judicial Commission. Taskforce members Mas Achmad Santosa, Yunus Husein and Darmono requested the commission to examine Nugroho Setiaji, the sole judge handling the trial.

Mas Achmad said the Taskforce did not oppose the ruling because it went against the fact-finding team's recommendation. "We are just curious why the court accepted Anggodo's request," he said.

Mas Achmad declined to comment when asked if the Taskforce's quick action was ordered by the President, who said in a speech last year that law enforcers should drop the prosecution against Bibit and Chandra. "Just wait for the Judicial Commission to finish the examination," he said.

Judicial Commission chairman Busyro Muqoddas said the commission had responded to the Taskforce's request by sending a letter to the South Jakarta District Court requesting a copy of the verdict.

"We will possibly summon the judge trying the case," Busyro said, referring to Judge Nugroho Setiadi. (rdf) Taskforce members requested the commission to examine Nugroho Setiaji, the sole judge handling the trial.

KPK in jeopardy again as court rules in favor of Anggodo

Jakarta Post - April 20, 2010

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court issued a verdict on Monday retracting the letter of order to stop the Attorney General's Office (AGO) prosecution of a bribery case involving the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen as requested by plaintiff Anggodo Widjojo.

The verdict surprised many since Anggodo – whose recorded conversation revealed an alleged attempt to frame KPK deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah – is charged with article 15 of the corruption law, concerning conspiracy to commit graft; and article 21 on attempts to hinder investigations into graft cases.

Anggodo is accused of attempting to bribe Chandra and Bibit in hopes of stopping the KPK's corruption investigation into his brother Anggoro Widjojo, who is believed to have fled to Singapore, for allegedly being involved in illegal procurement of radio and communications equipment at the Forestry Ministry in 2007. The verdict is seen as a threat to the KPK.

"The ruling jeopardizes the KPK. I'm afraid the commission is facing another 'counter attack' like it experienced during the Bibit-Chandra case," said Teten Masduki, secretary-general of the Transparency International Indonesia (TII).

Presiding judge Nugroho Setyadi ruled in favor of Anggodo, saying: "...the prosecution must go on and [the Bibit and Chandra] case must be brought to the court."

The verdict will likely leave the KPK to be chaired by only two deputy chairmen, namely M. Jasin and Haryono Umar. Former chief Antasari Azhar was sentenced to 18 years for masterminding the murder of businessman Nasruddin Zulkarnaen.

"As a consequence [of the ruling], the KPK will face hard times to deal with big cases they are probing now," Teten said. "This is another counter-attack from corruptors, as happened in the past. I'm afraid the court ruling was a form of intervention to undermine the KPK," he added.

Bibit responded to the ruling by saying that he hoped the AGO would file an appeal. "The point is that the bribery accusation against me and Pak Chandra was fabricated. The taped conversation played in the Constitutional Court last November explained that," he said.

AGO spokesman Didiek Darmanto said the prosecutors would file an appeal with the Jakarta High Court within 14 days. "Our position stays the same. We think the issuance of the letter to stop the prosecutions was correct," he told the press.

Rudy Satriyo, a law expert from the University of Indonesia, said the issuance of the letter to stop the prosecution was correct and therefore the court's ruling to retract it was not relevant.

Teten feared there was an effort from parties to prevent the KPK from continuing its investigation on the traveler's checks bribery case.

The case took place in the 2004 election of Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor. Documents indicate many legislators, including prominent names, received the bribes but the KPK has only named four of them as suspects in the case.

Court orders KPK pair to stand trial

Jakarta Globe - April 20, 2010

Heru Andriyanto, Farouk Arnaz & Nivell Rayda – The saga of extortion allegations against two antigraft commissioners that gripped the nation last year appears set to repeat itself after a Jakarta court sensationally overturned the prosecution's decision to drop charges and ordered the pair to face trial.

South Jakarta District Court Judge Nugroho Setiadji on Monday ordered prosecutors to file the case against Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, saying Criminal Code procedures did not recognize the "sociological reasons" used to drop it.

Siding with the plaintiff, businessman and graft suspect Anggodo Widjojo, Nugroho pointed out that once prosecutors had declared a criminal case fit for trial, it must be go to court.

"To meet the key legal principle of equality before the law, to meet the public demand for justice and to ensure the law is upheld, the criminal case against Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah must be decided by a court verdict," he said.

The Attorney General's Office said it would lodge an appeal with the High Court, its only avenue of appeal.

Bibit and Chandra were arrested last year over charges of extortion linked to a graft probe into a telecommunications company owned by Anggodo's brother, graft fugitive Anggoro Widjojo. But amid growing public pressure, and after a call from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the AGO dropped the investigation, saying it had a case but that "it would be morally harmful rather than beneficial to try the two in court."

The decision came amid strong suspicions that elements in the National Police and AGO had set up the case to bring down the commissioners, with recordings played in the Supreme Court revealing case brokers discussing how to testify with prosecutors.

Anggodo faces up to life in jail on charges of attempted bribery, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit a crime. He claimed he had bribed the KPK officials with Rp 6 billion ($666,000) in exchange for halting his brother's case.

AGO spokesman Didiek Darmanto said it would follow the High Court's decision. A ruling upholding Monday's verdict would force the KPK to again suspend Bibit and Chandra.

Another suspension could cripple the agency, warned defense lawyer Bambang Widjojanto. "The KPK has no chairman. If the case is reopened, Chandra and Bibit will be suspended, leaving only two commissioners."

Lawyers and legal experts had earlier failed to get the same ruling from court, as they were not considered parties with a direct interest in the case. Anggodo's motion was accepted as he was a victim, according to the court.

Ray Rangkuti, a political observer from the Anti-Corruption Civil Society Coalition (Kompak), speculated that a political motive to hamper the KPK's probe of the 2008 government bailout of Bank Century was possible. With only two commissioners, "the investigation would be delayed or even halted. I believe we are missing the bigger picture."

Presidential legal adviser Denny Indrayana said Yudhoyono "will not intervene" and would only issue a decree suspending the pair following a legally binding final ruling.

Indonesia Corruption Watch deputy Emerson Yuntho accused the AGO of intentionally leaving the case open to invite a legal challenge.

"Prosecutors should have said there was simply not enough evidence to continue the prosecution," he said. "By saying the case was dropped for sociological reasons, it left the door open for pre-trial motions such as this."

[Additional reporting by Markus Junianto Silaholo & Armando Siahaan.]

All parts of nation's legal system caught in web of Gayus scandal

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2010

Heru Andriyanto – The full extent of an ingrained culture of graft in the judicial system has come to light after police officers, prosecutors and a defense lawyer have been arrested for allegedly taking bribes from rogue tax official Gayus Tambunan.

This comes in addition to the reported admission by the presiding judge in the case that he took Rp 50 million ($5,500) to rule in Gayus's favor.

The Judicial Commission said over the weekend it would consider pressing charges against judge Muhtadi Asnun. Muhtadi, who is head of the Tangerang District Court, has denied allegations that he also accepted additional payments of $40,000 and 650,000 Singapore dollars ($473,000).

"Our powers are limited to the judges' code of conduct, but if we find proof of criminal behavior, such as bribery, we will report Muhtadi to the police," commission member Sukotjo Suparto told the Jakarta Globe.

"We questioned Muhtadi based on information from the police, with whom we agreed on terms of cooperation. Now we have a chance to put that agreement into action."

Sukotjo said the commission would make a final decision after questioning two other judges in the case, Haran Tarigan and Bambang Widyatmoko, scheduled for today.

The three judges remain the only party in the case not punished or charged with a crime. Police have arrested several of their own officers and one of Gayus's lawyers and declared them as suspects, while the Attorney General's Office has dismissed two veteran prosecutors who tried the case.

The furor is centered around Rp 28 billion that Gayus, a middle- ranking tax official, had amassed in his bank accounts.

Despite being acquitted of the initial embezzlement charge due to insufficient evidence, Gayus is now being prosecuted for money- laundering and corruption.

In a hearing on Thursday, Supreme Court Chief Justice Harifin Tumpa said he saw nothing wrong in the Tangerang judges' March verdict to acquit Gayus on charges that he had embezzled Rp 370 million from a businessman seeking his assistance in paying taxes.

Gayus had argued that the businessman should have filed his tax return in person but never showed up, thus leaving the money in Gayus's account. None of the witnesses in the trial were even aware of the funds, thus leaving the judges no choice but to acquit Gayus, Harifin said.

"The only disturbing fact was that the Rp 28 billion didn't show up in the prosecutors' dossier," he said, referring to the total amount in Gayus's accounts.

Critics say the case is symptomatic of the deep-rooted culture of corruption within the judiciary, and should be used as a starting point from which to clean out the system.

"Because this case involves law enforcement officers, the only agency strong enough and independent enough to follow through is the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK]," said Andri Gunawan, secretary general of nongovernmental group Indonesian Judicial Watch Society (Mappi).

The Supreme Court has not taken any action against the three Tangerang judges. The police, meanwhile, have named several officers as suspects in the case and have arrested defense counsel Haposan Hutagalung on embezzlement and perjury charges.

Haposan is alleged to have concocted an alibi about the money and paid off the police and prosecutors. Critics have called for the Indonesian Bar Association to punish Haposan, but the association says it is unsure if he is a member.

Jack Sidabutar, chairman of the association's ethics council, said the maximum punishment it could issue would be to disbar Haposan. "But we'd need a court ruling to do that," he added.

The AGO, meanwhile, claims it has dismissed prosecutors Cirus Sinaga and Poltak Manullang for omitting the money laundering and corruption charges. The two, however, will remain in their positions pending a court ruling.

Poltak was recently named district attorney in Maluku, while Cirus, recently promoted to deputy head of the Central Java district attorney's office, is still on the job. "Between the lawyer suspected of channeling the bribes, and the judge who admitted to taking Rp 50 million, there are prosecutors and police officers," Andri said.

"The way the legal system is set up, it is very difficult to believe that no one in between took anything. The police have named their suspects and suspended a general, but the AGO seems to be shielding its own."

Short of an intervention by the KPK, Andri said the follow-up for the Gayus case could once again go to the AGO. Heru Andriyanto

War on terror

Police arranged weapons, training for terrorists: Report

Reuters - April 21, 2010

Corruption in Indonesia is allowing Islamist militants access to weapons and falsified documents, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Some of Southeast Asia's most notorious jihadist networks have used Indonesia as a base to plan and execute deadly bomb attacks on targets seen as un-Islamic.

Police have arrested scores of militants in a series of recent raids in Aceh province, North Sumatra, and killed several more in operations on the outskirts of Jakarta.

The raids uncovered a new stream of militants training in Aceh, where they planned assassinations on targets seen as un-Islamic – including officials from Indonesia's secular government and Western NGOs.

The recent arrests have also revealed how corrupt police officials helped jihadists acquire weapons, according to the report, released by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.

"Corruption continues to be a major lubricant for terrorist activities in Indonesia," said the report, titled Jihadi Surprise in Aceh.

The report details how one militant linked to the Aceh group, a policeman named Mohhamed Sofyan Tsauri, was able to buy weapons from an official called Trisno in the logistics department of the Indonesian police headquarters.

Tsauri also arranged shooting practice for militants inside the headquarters of Brimob, Indonesia's paramilitary police, on the outskirts of Jakarta. Tsauri, who owned a vast collection of jihadi literature, was arrested in early March.

The report also said Dulmatin, a top bomb-maker with a $10 million bounty on his head and who was killed by police this year, obtained a passport under a fake name from the East Jakarta immigration office.

The report said corruption probably helped jailed militants operate from their prison cells. "Payments to prison guards undoubtedly facilitated smuggling in mobile phones and other means of communication," the report found.

The report recommended the Indonesian government tighten monitoring of jihadist prisoners and ex-prisoners, consider a ban on paramilitary training by non-state actors and train police on how to capture armed militants alive. More should also be done to tackle document forgery, the report also found.

"The forgers themselves, not just the users of fake documents, should be tracked down and prosecuted," the report said. "There are whole syndicates operating in Jakarta with ties to government departments, and putting them out of business would help address more crimes than terrorism."

Islam/religion

MUI declares European burqa bans a rights issue

Agence France Presse - April 22, 2010

France and Belgium would be guilty of abusing women's rights if they followed through on plans to ban the wearing of burqas in public, Indonesia's top Islamic body said on Thursday.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) said religious beliefs should be respected, even if they presented security concerns by covering the face.

"We're clearly against the proposed ban. If it becomes law, it will mean Belgium and France are restricting the rights of Muslim women to fulfil their religious obligations," MUI chairman Amidhan said. "If it's for security reasons, the fears are excessive. It's unfair to consider all veiled women a threat."

Although the vast majority of Indonesian women do not wear the full body-covering burqa or face-covering niqab, Muslims in other parts of the world have different interpretations of Islamic scripture and their beliefs should be respected, he said.

"Interpretation of the Koran is different in different countries," he said. "Indonesian Muslim women don't have to cover their faces with veils, unlike Muslim women in some countries in the Middle East. But we have to respect their beliefs."

Belgium was set to pass a ban on burqas on Thursday, which would be the first such clampdown in Europe, just a day after France promised a similar law.

The French government said a bill would be presented to ministers in May banning the niqab and the burqa from streets, shops and markets, and not just from public buildings as is the case now.

A French minister said Muslim tourists in France would also be forbidden to wear the full-face veil, along with French residents, under the government's plan to ban the garment.

"When you arrive in France, you respect the laws in force," Nadine Morano, a junior minister for families, said on the radio station France Info. "Everyone will have to respect the laws in France. That's how it is."

Hundreds of thousands of tourists from the Middle East visit France each year, according to estimates from its Tourism Ministry, and veiled women are a common sight in the luxury stores along Paris's shopping boulevards.

Morano said women breaching the ban would be fined but would not be unveiled "on the spot."

She said that the planned ban was in line with France's secular principles, but also aimed to give "a message at international level" and would apply equally to all visitors from abroad.

Medan MUI wants 'blasphemous' blog closed

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2010

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Medan branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has condemned a blog it claims goes under the guise of Islam but is in fact misleading and insults Islam.

The blog, titled Berita Muslim Sahih (True Muslim News) and written in Indonesian, can be found at beritamuslim.wordpress.com. It first appeared in April 2009. Most of the articles in the blog are believed to be written by contributors.

Medan MUI head Mohammad Hatta said the blog was insulting to Islam. He called on the government to immediately shut down the website and launch an investigation into its creators. "The website creators should be arrested," Hatta said Tuesday.

An entry in the website reads "Allah is not a true god. He is a fictitious figure made up by an evil Arabian psychopath who was a self-proclaimed prophet".

Hatta said similar sites were mushrooming on the Internet. Two months ago, the Medan MUI also filed a complaint against the ayotindak.com website, which they claimed hosted articles insulting Muslims.

The MUI said the website hurt religious harmony, particularly for Muslims, due to the offensive articles. "I'm sad that Islam has been the target of offense through the Internet. Such actions are unethical and the motives of the perpetrators must be investigated," Hatta said.

He added that the website had caused public unrest, especially among Muslims, saying the articles were misleading and even went so far as to insult God and the Prophet Muhammad. He called on the Communications and Information Technology Ministry to look into the matter.

Medan Denai resident Abdika said he often accessed the Berita Muslim Sahih website and added that the website should be blocked, saying the content was misleading and derogatory toward Muslims.

Court justices accused of 'distorting' testimonies

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2010

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court has again become the target of criticism following its ruling on the controversial Blasphemy Law, with plaintiffs accusing the judges of distorting the opinions of expert witnesses.

Just weeks after giving the nod to the divisive pornography law in late March, the Court on Monday ruled to uphold the 45-year- old law on religious blasphemy. Only one judge, Maria Farida Indrati, had a dissenting opinion.

But this held no sway in the final outcome as the Court turned down a judicial review request by human rights groups and high- profile figures such as late former president Abdurrahman Wahid and progressive Muslim scholar Siti Musdah Mulia.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Uli Parulian Sihombing, on Tuesday criticized the way judges had claimed that the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) had recommended keeping the law when in fact the latter had requested revisions to be made to it.

The panel of judges in its argument said that of the 24 parties whose testimonies were heard, two – Komnas HAM and the Indonesia Confucianism High Assembly (Matakin) – had said that the contested articles in the law were still needed and should not be revoked before a new and more comprehensive regulation was enacted.

Chief justice Mahfud MD did not return numerous calls from The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim, who testified in February, said several articles in the law needed to be revised. He argued that the law "rests on the old Constitution, which opposes the new [amended] Constitution".

"That's why, based on the new Constitution, there needs to be a review [of laws] produced by former administrations," he said.

The law stipulates criminal penalties for those who intentionally publicize, recommend or organize public support for a different interpretation of the six officially recognized religions.

Opponents say the law has been used to persecute members of religious minorities and of traditional beliefs, including when members of the Ahmadiyah sect were forced to take refuge after enduring violent attacks against them. The Court, however, said the law was needed to maintain public order.

On Tuesday, Uli also said that judges had not made an objective decision based on facts and evidence.

Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Amidhan, on the other hand, expressed his support for the Court ruling. He said that the law was needed to maintain harmony among religions. "Without the law, there would be chaos. I fear people would take the law into their own hands," he added.

Amidhan also said that the law could be revoked only if Indonesians were "wiser". "But the people are not as wise as in the US, where religion is a personal matter," he told the Post.

Masdar Farid Mas'udi from Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization, voiced a different opinion, despite the organization's official position supporting the court's ruling.

He said that by keeping the law, the numerous Islamic preachers who criticized other religions and therefore broke the law "would now have to be prepared to be arrested and face criminal charges".

"They are the ones who supported this law and they cannot be above it," he said.

Court upholds Blasphemy Law

Jakarta Post - April 20, 2010

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court on Monday ruled to uphold the controversial Blasphemy Law, a decision that plaintiffs said was mainly based on fears of a public backlash.

With only one dissenting judge, the court argued that the law "is still needed to maintain public order among religious groups".

"If the Blasphemy Law was scrapped before a new law was enacted... it was feared that misuses and contempt of religion would occur and trigger conflicts in society," Constitutional justice Akil Mochtar said. "This law is very important... to prevent both horizontal and vertical conflicts from occurring," another judge said.

The dissenting opinion came from justice Maria Farida Indrati, who said the 1965 law had many shortcomings relating to the fundamental amendments on human rights in the Constitution.

"With the many problems that have often triggered arbitrary actions in the implementation of this law... I think that the petition should have been granted," she said.

Maria was also the only judge that took an opposing stance in a previous court ruling on the pornography law.

In many instances, minority Islamic sects have been targets of harassment, violence and expulsion from their communities.

A plaintiff, Poengky Indarti of Imparsial (The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor), said "the dictatorship of the majority has contributed [to the decision]."

"It is very disappointing that the Constitutional Court, which is supposed to be the guardian of the constitution, is not doing its job well," she said.

Petitioners, comprising human rights groups and self-proclaimed backers of pluralism, filed for the judicial review request of the law last October. The court has since heard the views of 49 experts in 12 hearings.

The verdict reading Monday invoked a cry of joy in the courtroom, with dozens of supporters from various Islamic groups shouting "Allahu Akbar! [Allah is great]" the moment presiding judge Mahfud MD declared the petition was turned down.

The groups had rallied in front of the court's building during each hearing. During the final hearing last month, members of the Islam Defenders' Front clashed with a hearing attendee and members of the team of lawyers for the petitioners.

After Monday's hearing, a lawyer for the petitioners, M. Choirul Anam, said the court "would be held responsible if religious clashes grew even bigger after it decided to uphold the law that was the root of such conflicts". "The court does not believe that our society has a wiser mechanism to deal with possible conflicts," he added.

The panel of judges said it had decided to take a "middle course" as suggested by a court expert, noted scholar Jalaludin Rakhmat, to give an official interpretation of the law without repealing it.

This interpretation includes giving new meaning to the explanation of Article 1 in the law, which states that aside from acknowledging six religions, the state "leaves alone" followers of other religions.

"The phrase 'leaves alone' has to be interpreted as [their followers not being] obstructed and even given the right to flourish and thrive; it cannot be interpreted as 'ignored'," judge Muhammad Alim said.

The judges said the law was imperfect and that they could understand requests to revise the 45-year-old law. The state recognizes Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

Misleading logic reigns in blasphemy law ruling

Jakarta Post - April 20, 2010

Jakarta – Renowned lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said Tuesday that the Constitutional Court's (MK) ruling to uphold the Blasphemy Law for its role in preventing vertical and horizontal conflicts contained misleading logic.

"The law never prevents conflict.... On the contrary, it causes conflicts by allowing certain groups of people, who claim to be defenders of formal religions, to take harsh actions," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said that religious groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) could find legal justification in the law for their repressive actions, which violate human rights. "They act as if they are a private religious police force," he said.

He said that the Blasphemy Law disregards the freedom of religion and faith, which is acknowledged as a basic human right. "It also neglects the diversity and the plurality of our nation," said Todung.

The Constitutional Court ruled to uphold the Blasphemy Law on Monday after a judicial review was filed in October last year by petitioners comprised of human right groups and self-proclaimed backers of pluralism.

The panel of judges made a split decision with eight favoring the law. The dissenting opinion came from Justice Maria Farida Indrawati. (rdf)

US group warns blasphemy law may embolden religious extremists

Agence France Presse - April 20, 2010

Washington – A United States government watchdog on Monday criticized Indonesia's Constitutional Court for upholding a law against blasphemy, fearing it may embolden extremists.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a non- partisan body that advises the government, said that blasphemy laws often can cause rather than prevent sectarian strife.

"The Constitutional Court's decision may give extremists cover to enforce a version of religious conformity not shared by the majority of Indonesians," said the Commission's chair, Leonard Leo.

"Hopefully, the Indonesian government will recognize that overturning the blasphemy decree advances its fight against terrorism and extremism and enhances its reputation for religious tolerance and pluralism," he said.

The 1965 law makes it illegal to "publicize, recommend or organize public support" for any religion other than or different to the orthodox versions of six sanctioned faiths: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Confucianism.

It was used in 2008 to force followers of the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect to go underground and is regularly cited by minority groups as a source of discrimination and intimidation.

The Constitutional Court on Monday rejected a petition against the law that was filed by moderate Muslims, minorities and rights groups.

The United States has been seeking to build a broader relationship with Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country. President Barack Obama is expected in June to travel to Indonesia, where he spent part of his youth.

House roots for upholding blasphemy law as it stands

Jakarta Globe - April 19, 2010

Anita Rachman & Amir Tejo – Legislators overseeing religious affairs say they expect the Constitutional Court today to issue the "correct" verdict in regard to the 1965 Blasphemy Law – to dismiss the request for its review and put a stop to sensitive debate that has increased tensions between religious hard-liners and rights activists.

Abdul Kadir Karding, chairman of the House of Representatives' Commission VIII, expressed his concern on Sunday over the possible social impact should the court agree to review or annul the law. Any change to the law, Abdul said, would lead to debate and trigger disharmony between religious groups.

"It would be hugely negative and the benefits minuscule if the law is to be reviewed," the National Awakening Party (PKB) legislator told the Jakarta Globe.

After at least 12 hearings filled with controversy, the Constitutional Court is expected to rule at 2 p.m. today on a judicial review request filed by human rights groups.

"What if there are religions with only one or two followers conducting rituals, much like rituals in Islam or Christianity, but these people believe in neither Islam or Christianity?" Abdul said. "Of course people will get mad."

Toward the end of March, members of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front assaulted four people in the basement of the Constitutional Court on the last day of arguments in the case. The court's chief, Mahfud MD, has himself made controversial statements linked to attempts to influence him, made by religious groups petitioning against the law's annulment.

"As long as the statements are made within the courtroom hearings, we will accept them," Mahfud previously said.

"Nothing outside is acceptable. If expert witnesses from Mecca are presented, we will accept them [in the courtroom]. Even if expert witnesses from hell are presented, we cannot refuse them."

The 1965 Blasphemy Law recognizes only six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. All others are officially banned.

House Commission VIII legislator Hasrul Azwar said on Sunday that the review of the law would "tarnish the sanctity" of the recognized religions. He said he understood that some groups believed the law violated the right to freedom of worship, but said no one should be allowed to defame a religion.

"In the case of the Ahmadiyah [minority sect], they say they are Muslims but that their last prophet is not Muhammad. That's blasphemy," the United Development Party (PPP) legislator said.

"Members of the entire House Commission VIII share the same beliefs as I do. [Any sane person] would want this law maintained as it is."

In 2008, the government used the law to ban the Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect, because its members held that its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the last prophet of Islam, a claim that contradicts mainstream Muslim beliefs.

Minister of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali has opposed the review of the law, arguing that putting no limits to the establishment of religions would result in people "openly declaring new prophets and angels."

Ignatius Mulyono, chairman of the House Legislation Body, said legislators should prepare for the court's outcome.

"If there are some articles annulled, the commission should make the changes required, and along with the government we will discuss it, irrespective of legislators' own personal beliefs," he said.

Mahfud on Sunday guaranteed that the court's decision would be independent, and that the verdict would be based not on religious biases but the study of articles in the Constitution.

"I threw out all the letters from clerics and community groups that weren't directly addressed to me during a court hearing," he said. "The court can only decide based on legal facts in a hearing. Beyond that, nothing else will be taken into consideration."

Legislator Eva Kusuma Sundari, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), told the Globe that although she was not of the same opinion as her colleagues on Commission VIII, she was pessimistic the court would approve the review.

"The issue is not about justice, but power," Eva said. "Consequently, once we ratified the law on human rights, we should work on related laws, including the blasphemy law."

She said it was very unfair that the nation only recognized six religions, when one's religious belief was a personal matter and people should be allowed to choose their own faith. She said the right to freedom of worship was a basic one that the state should respect.

Court ruling will decide fate of nation's pluralism: Plaintiff

Jakarta Post - April 17, 2010

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Ahead of the much-awaited ruling on the controversial Blasphemy Law, plaintiffs are holding their breath in anticipation of what they expect to be a historic ruling that could decide the fate of pluralism in the country.

Setara Institute, an NGO focusing on democratic and peacekeeping issues, and one of the plaintiffs for the judicial review request of the law at the Constitutional Court, said Friday that the ruling would have a huge impact on the country.

Setara executive director Hendardi reiterated his demand for the court to issue the ruling "with real intention to defend the Indonesian people's constitutional rights, which have been violated by the law".

Rafendi Djamin, who is from the Human Rights Working Group and also a commissioner for the ASEAN human rights commission, said that members of minority religious groups held high hopes that the court would rule in favor of the plaintiffs, who filed the judicial review request in October last year.

The move was mostly driven by concerns over prevailing discrimination against minority religious groups.

The court is set to issue its ruling next Monday after 49 experts took to the stand to share their views on the 45-year-old law over a marathon 12 hearings held since early February.

Dozens, and on some occasions hundreds of members of hard-line Islamic groups staged rallies in front of the court's office every day there was a hearing.

One of the rallies turned violent on the final day of the hearings when members of the Islamic Defenders Front punched and kicked several members of a team of lawyers for the plaintiffs.

Concerns have been voiced over possible conflicts should the court decide to scrap the law. "This (ruling) is a test of the statesmanship and integrity of the (Constitutional Court) judges to defend the constitution," Hendardi said.

M. Choirul Anam, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said that the Constitutional Court had to ensure that "no certain groups would tarnish the legal process by forcing (the issue)."

In an apparent move to prevent further conflict, the Constitutional Court chief blogged several notices ahead of the verdict reading.

Mahfud M.D. wrote on his personal blog mahfudmd.com late Thursday that the court would be independent in its ruling and "will not be influenced by growing pressure or public opinion outside the court room". "The court can never be pushed around by any group or any form of protest," he wrote.

He also said public support would not affect the court ruling. "The court will present a legal argument and analyze every argument that has been presented by all parties and experts in the hearings."

Politics/political parties

We need new blood in PDI-P, says Taufik

Jakarta Globe - April 20, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Arguing that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is in deep need of fresh blood, the party's advisory board chairman Taufik Kiemas on Monday said he hoped he would not get re-elected to the board.

Unlike in the previous party congress in 2005, the advisory board is not chosen by the congress but by re-elected party chairwoman Megawati Sukarno-putri and her executive board.

"I hope I will not be chosen for the next period. Let the younger members lead the board," said Taufik, who is also Megawati's husband.

Taufik, who has chaired the board since 2005, said the new advisory board lineup would be issued soon but gave no details.

Although the PDI-P's structural chart places the authority of the board's chairman directly beneath that of the party's chairwoman, decisions made by the board have often been referred to party members and politicians from other parties.

Taufik said he would bow to the decision of the younger members on the new executive board. "They're the ones who should pick the people for the board," he said. "If they vote for me to serve again, what can I say?"

He said he was aware of complaints from within the party about the new executive board, but dismissed them as sour grapes on the part of members excluded from the new board.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "If anyone's got a complaint, just hand in your resignation. No need to take it to the media."

Separately, Hatta Radjasa's National Mandate Party (PAN) announced on Monday that it had fired seven members for violating internal regulations by forming a rival national executive board.

The seven people are Djunaedi, Hamid Husein, M Hata Taliwang, Perwanto, Mukhtar Efendi, Andi Rusdianto and Baron Danardono.

"They violated our party's good name and our internal regulations," said senior PAN official Viva Yoga Mauladi, adding that the party would bring them up on unspecified criminal charges. "It's what we do to enforce discipline, organization rules, among members," he said as quoted by Vivanews.com.

Last week, the seven men announced they had established a new PAN leadership, called PAN LEGAL. They said they did not recognize the party's current national leader board chaired by Hatta, the coordinating minister for the economy, elected during the party's congress in January.

Megawati may be reduced to party symbol

Jakarta Post - April 17, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Newly re-elected Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri is said to be tireless in keeping the party from aligning with the ruling coalition, but the party's new structure shows it may ultimately result in reform.

In the eyes of a party youth wing leader, the composition of PDI-P central executive board Megawati unveiled at the conclusion of the party's congress in Bali last week, grants her symbolic status, which will deprive her of the authority to dictate the party's future agenda and political stance, including whether the PDI-P will accept an offer to join the coalition to support the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"The new structure confirms our concern that the PDI-P will emerge as a party that works based on vested interests. This was what happened in Megawati's previous five-year term.

"The party claimed itself to be an opposition force, albeit halt- heartedly," he said. Megawati appointed seasoned politician Tjahjo Kumolo, known for his close ties with Megawati's husband and the party's chief adviser Taufik Kiemas, as the secretary-general, and entrusted some key posts to new faces whose idealism has not born fruits.

Cepi Budi Mulyawan, PDI-P official, recalled PDI-P diehard supporters, urging Megawati to recruit only non-compromising figures if she was to maintain the party's opposition character.

"Ibu Mega faced a major dilemma. On one side, she understood our wishes, but on the other hand she wanted to serve the interests of Taufik," Cepi said, referring to Taufik, who has consistently promoted an ideological coalition between the PDI-P and Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

"At the end of the day, Ibu Mega had no choice but to accept the structure proposed by Taufik, because she thought it was the best and most suitable for the party," Cepi recounted.

He said between 60 and 70 percent of the party's executive seats went to the reform camp.

"The conciliatory figures are characterized by the fact that they are new faces who have not yet built a reputation within the party. They also secure the posts not because of their political proficiency and service, but their financial power," he said.

With Megawati's re-election as the party chairwoman for the third straight term a foregone conclusion, a number of PDI-P senior politicians said that the battle was for the party secretary- general post, which went to Tjahjo.

Other candidates for the post included the then incumbent, Pramono Anung, and PDI-P legislators Maruarar Sirait, Ganjar Pranowo and Effendi Simbolon.

Regional elections

It seems only saints are fit to run in regional elections

Jakarta Globe - April 23, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran – The government is bent on demanding a spotless moral track record for anyone aspiring to run for top regional posts, setting the bar even higher for candidates.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, who last week highlighted adultery as a moral defect that would make a candidate unfit for public office, on Friday said the government had a responsibility to save people from themselves.

He said other vices and sins were also on the list of behavior that candidates should not have engaged in.

"People assume it is only about affairs," he said. But the Regional Governance Law "explicitly includes in its explanation drinkers, gamblers, drug users and adulterers."

The 2004 Regional Governance Law required candidates to be morally clean. But in its second revision in 2008, the requirement was dropped following the argument that morality should be judged by voters and that it was difficult to define good morality.

The government is working on another revision that will reinstate the morality clauses. The revision is expected to be submitted to the House of Representatives in June.

The minister was speaking at a news conference at his office with Denny JA, chairman of the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI), which has criticized the government's plan to include morality and experience as part of the requirements for regional head candidates.

"In America, to be a president there is a short list of requirements, while here we have 16 requirements for regional head candidates," Denny said. "Morality and experience should be the consideration of the people during the vote, not laid down in government standards."

Indonesia will see 244 regional elections this year. Several entertainers, including Julia Perez, Maria Eva, Venna Melinda and Ayu Azhari, have announced plans to join the elections.

Defending his plan to return the morality criteria and add experience to the next revision of the law, Gamawan said unlike in more advanced countries, access to information and education was still very limited in Indonesia, especially in rural areas.

"How many percent of our people have access to information or read a newspaper every day?" he asked. "This means the public will not be well informed about the track records of the candidates."

Gamawan cited his own case when he ran for governor of West Sumatra. His supporters did not care for his vision and mission statement. "Instead, they asked me to sing. They said, 'Just sing and we will vote for you,'?" he said.

Gamawan said the government needed to intervene until the people were much better educated and there was greater access to information. "We cannot compare Papua to America, or East Nusa Tenggara to America. We're in a transition period and we need to have our feet on the ground," he said.

But Denny said morality was difficult to gauge and stipulating moral rectitude for candidates would be against the principle of equality before the law.

"Moral criteria are related to personal life. We won't be able to expose all of them," he said. "We will never really know which people have moral defects and which people are clever enough to cover them up."

Gamawan said police records would suffice when it came to deciding whether candidates had moral defects. "Adultery is not a legal case," he said. "However, police issue reference letters so they have the track records of people who might have been caught having affairs."

Government targets 'adulterers' in local elections

Jakarta Post - April 17, 2010

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said Friday the government plans to exclude individuals with no experience in governance from running for regional elections in a move that will likely bar entertainers aspiring to become regents.

The regulation is said to have been incorporated in the draft revision of the 2004 Regional Administration Law that will be submitted to the House of Representatives for deliberation in the middle of the year.

The minister told reporters at the State Palace that the government would also enforce a regulation in the existing law banning "morally flawed" regent hopefuls.

"A candidate must not have moral flaws. A person who commits adultery cannot be a regent. If they are caught (committing adultery) on video, they should be disqualified by the poll commission," Gamawan was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

The government's plans come on the heels of a surprise announcement by singer-actress Julia Perez that she planned to run in Pacitan, East Java, the hometown of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Julia has publicly admitted to having no experience in politics, but stressed her willingness to learn. "I believe the planned regulation is not only aimed at entertainers in general, but directed against me," she was quoted as saying by news portal detik.com.

Julia aroused controversy when she attached condoms to her cassettes and CDs for her album Belah Duren (Splitting Durian), an act deemed a campaign for promiscuity. Defending herself on television, she said that it was better to be "a former naughty girl than a former good girl".

The policy could also spell the end of the road for dangdut singer Maria Eva, who recently announced her bid to run as deputy Sidoarjo regent. Maria shot to fame when a video of her engaging in an affair with Golkar politician Yahya Zaini circulated on the Internet in 2006.

She was quoted as saying Friday by news portal tempointeraktif.com that she was not an adulterer and the regulation would not derail her political bid. "I was married to Yahya, although it was not registered."

Gamawan said the regulation was not meant to filter out entertainers wanting to become regional heads. He also dismissed Julia's allegations that the regulation was aimed at her.

He said that "experience in governance" should not be interpreted narrowly and that it also covered experience in political parties, parliament, regional councils and social organizations.

"We will not let a candidate with no experience win an election just because they are popular. The livelihoods of more than a million people are at stake here. Anyone is eligible to be a regional head, but not everybody should become one."

Despite facing skepticism and criticism, a number of entertainers have run for regional elections recently. Only a few of them, including actors Rano Karno and Dede Yusuf, ended up winning.

A 2009 survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute showed that of 65 entertainers running for legislative seats, only 17 were elected.

"Popularity is not a factor in regional elections," institute's analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi said, adding that according to the survey, moral integrity was the most important element voters looked for when electing their leaders.

He criticized the government's plan, saying that barring individuals with no expertise in bureaucracy from becoming regional heads was a violation of the Constitution. "What about academics who have the intellectual capacity to head regencies?" he said.

Administration & government

National archive system a mess: Government official

Jakarta Post - April 17, 2010

Rana Akbari Fitriawan, Bandung – The outdated and inefficient national archives system must be renovated quickly to streamline bureaucracy and transparency at government institutions, a government official says.

"This is partly due to the fact that a number of institutions regard archival work as merely 'documentation'," said Tasdik Kinanto, the secretary of the Administrative Reforms Ministry, in Bandung.

Law No 43 2009 on national archives stipulates that all government institutions keep well-organized and efficient archives. Tasdik said that good management of government archives was essential because the performances of state administrations and institutions were judged and compared with historical records contained in the archives, and that the archives also had educational and strategic value.

"The national archive system is essential to the bureaucratic reform," he said, adding that the nation's bureaucracy was one of 11 major targets of the government's reform programs.

"To make it happen, good administration management, including of the national archive system, is urgent. Swift and effective coordination between government institutions both on national and regional levels is needed to help improve respect for the archival system," he said.

He said the archives were in desperate need of improved information technology and qualified bureaucrats. "Many regions have this, including Bandung," he said.

He said many bureaucrats regarded reform programs as a way to make themselves rich rather than essential to the country's development.

National Archive chairman M. Asichin also acknowledged weaknesses in the country's archive system. He said human resources needed to be improved and that new financial and technological systems needed to be implemented.

He added that his office was working to address such bureaucratic problems, including by offering assistance at regional administrations down to the sub-district level. "Sub-districts are in fact the spearhead of the national archive system," he said.

Jakarta/urban life

Fauzi blames Tanjung Priok clashes on provocateurs

Jakarta Globe - April 22, 2010

Arientha Primanita – Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said on Thursday that he suspected provocateurs were primarily to blame for deadly clashes on April 14 in which more than 1,700 public order officers faced incensed demonstrators, some of them armed, in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

The rioting, sparked by a misunderstanding with local residents who had turned out in the hundreds to protect the tomb of Mbah Priok, an 18th-century religious leader, left three officers from the city Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) dead and more than 150 people injured.

"Misinformation was already present [among locals]. There was even a Facebook page created before the incident occurred linked to the tearing down of the tomb. We had no intention to do that," Fauzi said at City Council's formal plenary session as he attempted to answer questions that had been posed by angry city councilors days ago at an initial session. "Big numbers of demonstrators turned up [and] they could have been provoked by certain parties."

When the Jakarta Globe looked for the Facebook page Fauzi referred to, it found that a page had indeed been created to that effect but it was dated April 14, the day the incident occurred. Its first posting on the page was recorded at 2 p.m., hours after rioting had broken out.

Fauzi said the formal instructions issued by the city administration were aimed at tearing down illegal structures surrounding the tomb.

"The responsibility is in the hands of the governor even though the actual operations in the field were to be executed by the North Jakarta Mayor's Office," Fauzi said.

In response to a city councilor's question about a permit that had not been officially stamped but was used by Satpol PP to execute the tearing down of structures, Fauzi said: "The instructions had been formally stamped. We shall investigate the matter."

He did not elaborate, but implied once again that provocateurs had triggered the rioting. Fauzi also said the deployment of 1,750 public order officers, supported by the Jakarta Police, the National Police's elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob) and the military, was not excessive because the city had expected "negative reaction" toward the tearing down of illegal structures around the tomb.

He did not elaborate on the disputed 5.4 hectares of land on which the tomb sits, though the North Jakarta District Court ruled in 2002 that state port operator PT Pelindo II held the rights to it.

Fauzi dismissed allegations that the city had received Rp 11 billion ($1.22 million) from Pelindo to deploy the public order officers. "The budget was just Rp 324 million," he said, adding that the funding was in accordance to the 1993 gubernatorial decree.

Councilor Matnoor Tindoan, of the United Development Party (PPP), and councilor S Andyka, of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), said they were dissatisfied with Fauzi's answers, noting that Rp 324 million could not have covered the cost of deploying so many public order officers.

Meanwhile, Harianto Badjuri, who led the Satpol PP officers on April 14 and was subsequently suspended as chief of the agency, visited the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) for questioning over the incident. He said he provided the full chronology, as well as pictures and videos, of the event to members of the commission.

Commissioner Ahmad Baso said that based on the questioning on Thursday, he concluded that "when conditions escalated and ended up in chaos, the Satpol PP chief had no concept as to how to lead his men in the midst of the violence."

Jakarta's busway a total failure, Sutiyoso claims

Jakarta Globe - April 22, 2010

Putri Prameshwari & Arientha Primanita – The TransJakarta busway is a complete failure when it comes to easing traffic jams and passengers are often the victims of pickpockets, former Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said on Thursday.

"I am disappointed. TransJakarta faces so many problems that it is useless having the system at all if improvements cannot be made. It was supposed to ease traffic," he said at the launch of a new watchdog called Busway Users' Community.

Governor from 1997 to 2007, the former Army lieutenant general said the current administration, led by his former deputy, Governor Fauzi Bowo, had failed when it came to maintaining the busway system.

Patterned after the TransMilenio busway in Bogota, Colombia, the TransJakarta lanes were introduced by Sutiyoso in January 2004 as part of efforts to ease crippling traffic jams.

TransJakarta has eight dedicated corridors spanning 143.35 kilometers with 426 buses. A daily average of 250,000 people ride the busway, or more than 83 million last year, according to the system's operator, TransJakarta Busway Management.

"It initially aimed to provide a secure, comfortable and affordable alternative. I see no such thing today," Sutiyoso said.

The former governor added that passengers often "met with thieves in the crammed, uncomfortable buses". "The busway is now useless. Many people drive their cars on the dedicated lane along most of the corridors," he said.

Sutiyoso said the whole idea of having exclusive lanes for the busway was to ease the horrendous traffic jams in the capital. Today, he added, those lanes are often packed with private vehicles, motorcycles and public minivans.

Amid protests and doubts, Sutiyoso initiated the construction of the TransJakarta busway system, aiming to reduce the city's traffic by encouraging people to take the buses.

Protesters at the time said the busway system would cause even more traffic jams because it was taking over lanes on already clogged roads. But Sutiyoso ignored the criticism and went ahead and established corridors across the city.

Sutiyoso said on Thursday that the current administration must be more assertive in keeping the busway secured and exclusive, no matter what the circumstances. "It takes consistency to make the system work," he said.

Muhammad Akbar, head of the Jakarta Transportation Agency's traffic-management division, said improvements were in the works, adding that 25 new portals would be installed across the busway lanes in the city.

"Hopefully starting in July, all lanes will be exclusive and free of cars or motorcycles," Akbar said. He added that the administration needed the help of police if it was going to improve the system.

Jakarta Police traffic director Sr. Comr. Condro Kirono said the police were always ready to help. "But at several points in Jakarta it is impossible to keep the lanes exclusive [only for the busway's buses]," Condro said.

A spokesman for the Jakarta administration, Cucu Ahmad Kurnia, said that in any case, it would continue trying to improve the quality of the busway, which he described as "the backbone of transportation in Jakarta". "It is one of [Jakarta Governor] Fauzi Bowo's priorities in 2010," Cucu said.

Murky trade in clean water still blights Jakarta's slums

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2010

Dimas Siregar – For years, the residents of Muara Baru, North Jakarta, have had to rely on vendors selling drinking water door to door at inflated prices.

The vendors are often referred to as the water mafia, taking advantage of the lack of a clean water supply in the area, but they say what they do is completely legal.

Vendor Rusdi said he usually sold a jerrycan of clean water for Rp 1,000. "But if it's drier than usual, I can sell them for Rp 2,500," he said.

Rusdi, who began selling water in the area in 1988, gets his supply from a veteran trader called Mailang Rari. He said Mailang was a "legal water trader" licensed by municipal water operator PAM.

Mailang reportedly controls a hydrant, complete with its own security guard, from which anyone can get water for Rp 3,500 a cubic meter, payable directly to the PAM office in North Jakarta.

Among those who buy from him are vendors like Rusdi. "I'm pretty certain Mailang's legit because he's been selling water since I was a child," Rusdi says.

Fellow trader Herman Felando also says Mailang's operation is legitimate, saying he once had a sign outside his house attesting to his appointment by PAM. "But the sign was stolen a while back," Herman says.

But Muhammad Reza Sahib, from the People's Coalition for Water Rights (Kruha), said it was illegal for vendors to sell water. He said a governor's decree stipulated that the sale of water from a hydrant was illegal if the hydrant was in an area served by a water network.

"This practice has gone on in Muara Baru for years, and the government continues to ignore it," Reza said. "Their attitude is ambiguous. The sale of water is burdening people unfairly."

He said water was a basic need and as such its distribution should never be monopolized but regulated by the government. "The deal between the government-run PAM and the private operator PAM Lyonnaise Jaya [Palyja] to supply water to the area 12 years ago is a failure," he said.

Palyja should be transparent in reporting its operations and PAM should notify the private operator about its hydrant sales. This would help rid Muara Baru of it extortionist water vendors, Reza said.

Palyja spokeswoman Meyritha Maryanie said the hydrants and the practice of selling water from them had been in place long before the company was established. She said it was aware of the violations but some people in Muara Baru treated the hydrants as their own property, making it difficult to resolve the problem.

"The residents of Muara Baru need clean water every day," she said. "Some unscrupulous individuals there believe the hydrants are theirs and that they are entitled to sell the water from them."

Meyritha said Palyja was working with PAM and the Jakarta administration to draft a regulation on use of the hydrants.

She also said the company was carrying out a public awareness campaign, but to little effect. Palyja could simply shut off the water to the hydrants, but such a confrontational approach would not serve anyone's interests.

"We want to avoid any kind of conflict with the Muara Baru residents, and that's why we're trying to approach them through a campaign," Meyritha said.

The company had cut off water to several hydrants in area served by a mains network but there was a concerted effort by "hydrant thugs" to prevent anyone else from subscribing to Palyja's network. "Even our officers out in the field are intimidated by them," Meyritha said.'

PAM regulatory agency (BR PAM) spokesman Irzal Djamal said water sales did not fall under his office's jurisdiction.

Public Order Agency head suspended over bloody clash

Jakarta Post - April 17, 2010

Indah Setiawati, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo suspended the city's Public Order Agency head Harianto Badjoeri on Friday, while the probe into the riot in Koja, North Jakarta, was handed over to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI).

"To ensure the independence of the investigation, I am temporarily relieving the head of the agency from his duties," he told the city council exercising interpellation rights over the clash at the Mbah Priuk memorial complex that claimed three lives and injured 128 people.

The city handed the investigation to the PMI, saying it expected it to highlight issues in the fatal clash, while the city council also formed its own investigation team.

City Council Deputy Speaker Lulung Lunggana said an evaluation would be conducted to identify those in the city administration that should be held responsible for the violence.

The clash was triggered by a land dispute between state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II and the self-proclaimed heirs of revered Muslim figure, Arif Billah Hasan bin Muhammad Al Haddad, known as Mbah Priok, whose grave used to be at the memorial complex.

On Friday, Mbah Priuk heirs spoke with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"I have serious concerns about the incident. It could have been prevented if there was coordination between the authorities and the residents," Yudhoyono was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

The City Council exercised its first interpellation rights on Friday afternoon by questioning Governor Fauzi Bowo over the incident.

The line of inquiry by representatives from the eight parties in the council was directed at establishing who was responsible at the time.

They asked why public order officers did not pull back despite the tense situation and request by councilors attempting to mediate at the scene.

"Who instructed (the public order officers) to launch an attack? What about the alcoholic drinks that were allegedly found in Public Order Agency vehicles?" H.M. Subki, a councilor from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), asked.

Wanda Hamidah from the National Mandate Party faction (PAN) questioned why the governor ordered the raid on illegal buildings on the memorial site of a revered Muslim figure despite a warning from the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

S. Andyka from the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) questioned the legal basis for the raid, claiming that the verdict issued by the North Jakarta District Court did not state that Pelindo had won the case over ownership of the land.

Fauzi responded that the North Jakarta municipality only received the Komnas HAM warning on the day of the raid. He said the raid was launched because Pelindo reported that illegal buildings around the tomb were included in a black list by the US Coast Guard in its audit of the ISPS Code for the Koja Container Terminal. The ISPS Code, a set of rules guaranteeing international ships' safety and access to terminal facilities is issued by the International Maritime Organization.

He said the verdict by the North Jakarta District Court on June 5, 2002, stated that the lawsuit filed by Mbah Priuk followers was not clear and that the city concluded that the land belonged to Pelindo, as stated in the 1987 land certificate.

The administration said it incurred financial losses from the clash of Rp. 22.9 billion, with 24 trucks, 36 cars, 14 pick-up trucks, one motorcycle, and 575 antiriot helmets, shields and vests destroyed.

Judiciary & legal system

Activists point finger at judge recruiting system

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2010

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Petitioners of a judicial review of the 1965 Blasphemy Law demanded Thursday that legislators review the recruitment process for Constitutional justices over allegations of partiality in a recent ruling by the court to uphold the controversial law.

Representatives from the Setara Institute and Elsam, both of which were plaintiffs in the case, and a team of lawyers met with several members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction at the House of Representatives on Thursday.

Among their demands was for the faction to seek a mechanism to ensure the appointment of more "credible" Constitutional justices. "The ruling [on the Blasphemy Law] shows that the justices are not credible," one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, M. Choirul Anam, said.

The court's ruling, issued Monday with only one dissenting opinion, has since been criticized as a setback to democracy.

Petitioners comprising human rights groups and high-profile personalities have also said the justices distorted the opinions of several experts heard during the review. Anam said all justices must be free of conflicts of interest when dealing with a case.

"Because the Constitutional justices were formerly legislators, whose jobs concerned formulating and deliberating laws, there will be conflicts of interest when they have to decide on contested laws," he added.

The Constitutional Court has nine justices. Candidates' names for the positions are submitted by the Supreme Court, the House and the President.

Gayus Lumbuun, a PDI-P lawmaker, said that he would discuss the plaintiffs' demands in a faction meeting.

"They requested the House choose people well-versed on issues about religions and human rights and aware of the fact that the [amended] Constitution is more focused on human rights," he told The Jakarta Post.

The plaintiffs also urged the faction to start an examination of the court ruling. "We believe that the ruling legitimizes discrimination against religious minorities. The result of the examination can be used to state whether the law is in fact constitutional or not," Anam said.

Economy & investment

Indonesia's fuel subsidies help rich, not poor: World Bank Report

Jakarta Globe - April 20, 2010

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – The country must eliminate fuel subsidies to ensure an efficient, sustainable, and secure energy sector, according to a World Bank report on sustainable energy released on Monday.

The report, "Winds of Change: East Asia's Sustainable Energy Future," finds that energy subsidies intended to protect the poor end up benefiting the rich, thus increasing the burden on the country's budget.

Based on studies in Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, the World Bank estimates the region needs additional investment of $80 billion a year to reach a sustainable energy growth path.

Vijay Jagannathan, the World Bank's energy sector manager for East Asia and the Pacific, said the question of subsidies was a political one with no simple solution.

"We're working with our partners in those countries to find ways to reach the target," he said.

"I don't think anyone can deny the fact that there are many poor people, particularly in countries like Indonesia and the Philippines, who require some amount of government assistance. But we're also experimenting in terms of targeting outputs by which those families and individuals are provided with subsidies and unconditional cash transfer programs [that proved] effective in Indonesia a few years ago."

Jagannathan said one option was for the poor to switch from kerosene to solar power.

"The World Bank started a program back in 1995-96 in Indonesia [on solar power] but it failed because of the economic crisis," he said.

"We have many other programs in Bangladesh with one million households using solar systems and no longer using kerosene. There were many ways to shift fossil fuel use toward lighting or cooking, but they're not common in Indonesia."

He added the World Bank was not against fuel subsidies for the lower class. "But the bank is looking at ways for poor people to improve their lives through these methods we're suggesting," he said.

WWF Indonesia climate and energy director Fitrian Ardiansyah said the country's fuel subsidies had missed their mark, agreeing that the rich benefited more from them than the poor.

"However, you can't just end it, because it's grounded more in politics than economics," he said, adding the government could instead gradually introduce alternative energy to phase out subsidized fossil fuels.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati says subsidy spending this year will be Rp 201.8 trillion ($22.3 billion), up 43.9 trillion from last year, making it the second-largest subsidy budget in 10 years after the Rp 223 trillion spent in 2008.

Around 71 percent of total subsidies, or Rp 143.2 trillion, will go toward energy, much higher than last year's Rp 99.9 trillion.

Xiaodong Wang, lead author of the report and senior energy specialist for the World Bank, said Indonesia's huge geothermal potential offered a solution.

"Indonesia has the world's largest geothermal resources, and the government already has a blueprint to develop at least 6,000 megawatts of geothermal power capacity by 2020," he said.

"We believe the [geothermal] market is visible and large. The key question is to put the right policy framework into place and for the government to [enforce] serious regulations."

SBY sets ambitious economic targets

Jakarta Post - April 20, 2010

Endy M. Bayuni, Tampaksiring – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced ambitious targets for his economic plan on Monday and then turned to the major stakeholders assembled for a retreat in this hill village in Bali to draw up a roadmap to achieve the goals.

In a 10-point presidential directive, the President called for per capita income to increase to US$4,500 a year by 2014 from $2,590, an economic growth rate of 7 percent a year, a cut in the jobless rate to a range of 5-6 percent from 7.9 percent or 9 million people, and a reduction in the poverty rate to a range of 8-10 percent from 14.1 percent.

The plan also called for maintaining economic stability, more government financing from local sources, stronger food and water security, better energy security, a more competitive economy and the promotion of a "green" economy.

The retreat at the Tampaksiring Presidential Palace on the skirt of Mt. Agung, is being attended by Vice President Boediono, the entire Cabinet, all provincial governors and chairs of provincial legislative councils as well as a host of business leaders and academicians.

The seat of the government has practically been moved here from Jakarta with all the top government echelons attending the retreat to come up with an economic strategy to accelerate and strengthen economic development.

Yudhoyono's second term as president ends in 2014, and he is constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term. Success on the economic front would be his chief legacy, if he can pull it off.

Yudhoyono said the economic plan should promote growth with equity, underlining once again his triple-track strategy that should be "pro-growth, pro-jobs and pro-poor".

Recent growth rates have been neutral or detrimental to the equity objectives. The huge disparity is also reflected in the income of the 33 provinces in the country.

One important aspect that the retreat looks at is the role of technological innovation in economic development. The President will later this week inaugurate the Council for Technological Innovation and the Council for the Economy to help implement the "Tampaksiring Strategy."

The President said he brought the participants to the hill resort in the hope that the cool atmosphere and beautiful surroundings would inspire new and innovative ideas to achieve the targets.

He said Indonesia had been fortunate to have weathered the global economic recession and come out with 4.5 percent growth in 2009 to emerge as one of the strongest economies in Asia.

"We have many reasons to be grateful for the good news," he said. "But we have to realize that we have plenty of challenges and we must do our homework," he said.

One of the suggestions that came up during the deliberation was for Indonesia to adopt the Chinese model of economic development.

To this, the President said: "Indonesia has chosen democracy. Returning to the old authoritarian model is not an option." He added however that there are values in the Chinese model that could be applied in a democracy like Indonesia.

Analysis & opinion

Jakarta's appointment of general challenged in court

UPI Asia.com - April 23, 2010

Yati Andriyani, Jakarta – The democratic transition in Indonesia is still hampered by a number of government policies. Civil supremacy, law enforcement and human rights are not priority issues for the government in drafting these policies. This is true even of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration, even though it is considered reformist.

There has been no resolution to many cases of severe human rights violations that occurred during Soeharto's authoritarian regime from 1965 to 1998. In fact, some policies can potentially hamper efforts to encourage accountability from parties involved in violence, including the military.

In January, the Indonesian government again made a decision that defies the values and spirit of human rights and the rule of law. The president appointed Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, an army officer with a poor track record on human rights violations during Soeharto's regime, as deputy defense minister. The president also appointed other officials including Dr. Ir. Lukita Dinarsyah Tuwo as deputy minister of national development planning and Dr. Fasli Jalal as deputy minister of education.

Sjafrie's appointment shocked human rights and democracy activists, as well as victims and victoms' families, as he is a high military official considered responsible for human rights violations in May 1998, before and after Soeharto's fall.

During the kidnapping and forced disappearances of activists in 1997-1998, and the violence against civilians at Trisakti and the riots that followed in May, 1998, Sjafrie was commander of Kodam Jaya, as well as second in command after Gen. Wiranto in a security operation called Mantap Jaya III in the same period. The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) mentioned Sjafrie's name in the context of command responsibility in its investigation report.

A number of victims and the families of people who were kidnapped or disappeared during those events, assisted by legal counselors from the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Jakarta Legal Aid, Imparsial and the Setara Institute, have taken legal action to have the presidential appointments revoked. Their case was filed in Jakarta on April 5.

In their petition, the complainants point out that the presidential decree contradicts a number of laws and is detrimental to victims of human rights violations.

It is contradictory to victims' right to a fair trial and to the principles of truth and justice. The appointment of Sjafrie violates the principle of equality before the law for the complainants who are currently involved in legal processes at the Supreme Court. However, their complaint may face complications because there is no direct connection between the results of state investigations and the appointment of Sjafrie as deputy defense minister.

The complainants also point out that the presidential decree is detrimental to the prevention of future violence by the military. Indonesia has passed a law aimed at preventing institutions including the national police and the State Intelligence Agency from misusing violence. The law orders the establishment of a Human Rights Court to demand accountability for acts of violence, to enable legal proceedings to prevent recurrence, and to correct any wrong behavior of the state apparatus and in political activities.

Finally, the complainants state that the presidential decree violates a national law on the establishment of laws and regulations, which demands respect for humanity, the protection of human rights, and equal worth and dignity for every citizen of Indonesia.

This civil litigation is being enacted to prevent impunity on the part of the military and the government during the process of democratic transition, for which civil supremacy, law and human rights are prerequisites. The presidential decree is detrimental to the victims' efforts to achieve justice through the Human Rights Court, as well as threatening the future of democracy, which requires accountability from the perpetrators of human rights violations and military reforms.

[Yati Andriyani works for the Commission for Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), in Jakarta as head of Impunity Watch and Fulfillment of Victims' Rights.]

Still searching for Papua's sunlit uplands

The Economist - April 23, 2010

One of the joys of my job is that if I sidled up to my employers to suggest that a jaunt to the Papuan highlands was in order, "off you go" is what they would say. Sadly, it's not as simple as that. Indonesia, though still a young democracy, is admirably open about most of its affairs. The exception is Papua. The security apparatus ensures that the country's easternmost province remains a closed book. In Jakarta, foreigners – and journalists above all – are turned away before they can board the six-hour flight.

Papua (first known as Dutch New Guinea, then West New Guinea and later Irian Jaya) is the glaring exception to Indonesia's progress in tackling the explosion of ethnic, sectarian and separatist violence that only a decade ago threatened to tear the country apart. Today peace prevails in once strife-torn places such as Aceh, Ambon and Poso, along with a measure of reconciliation. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono can take a good chunk of the credit. But all this progress now serves mainly to highlight the failure of Indonesia's approach to Papua, heavily militarised already and now seeing a fresh troop surge.

Papuans' resentment towards their overlords – first Dutch, later Indonesian – has been nourished for half a century, with much to justify it. Over the past year, it has been expressed in intensified violence. In particular, a number of fatal shootings have taken place around the giant Grasberg gold-and-copper mine, run by America's Freeport-McMoRan. The hideous mine has long been a focus of discontent.

Much is murky about the upsurge in violence. Among other incidents, a cult group seized a government airstrip. Its leader claimed the strip to be the site on which the "Great General" Jesus had ordered her to create the Kingdom of Heaven. For a fuller understanding of the murk, I recommend a recent report by the International Crisis Group which can be found here.

A chief factor behind the violence, it is clear, is the recent radicalisation of a group of Papuan university students, past and present, from the central highlands. This group, along with many Papuans, questions the legitimacy of the Act of Free Choice, supervised by the United Nations in 1969, that brought Papua into the Indonesian republic. Student frustration has grown over the fact that peaceful methods have brought no progress towards a review of the act, while state repression and abuses of human rights continue. Meanwhile, the students have strengthened contacts with the Free Papua Movement, whose guerrilla commanders have for decades conducted a low-level insurgence from the remoter reaches of the highlands.

Many Papuans believe that independence or at least self- determination can only happen if their cause is given international prominence. And indeed some Western politicians set up a support group, International Parliamentarians for West Papua, in 2008. Violence around the time of Indonesian elections last year was probably the doing of the students, with the intention of highlighting the Papuan crisis. Some part of the Free Papua Movement is thought to be behind the killings last year and this on the road to the mine, in which foreign mineworkers have died as well as Indonesians. But to add to the murk, parts of the paramilitary forces that guard the mine are also suspected. This is far from proven. But their motive might be that heightened insecurity could easily lead to lucrative new contracts from the mine-owners.

Back in Jakarta, officials say the government is getting a bad rap over Papua. They say it has poured investment in, bringing measurable improvements in infrastructure, health and education. On the political front, it has guaranteed that nearly all positions of government, from the governor down, go to locals rather than to Indonesians from further west, a process known as "Papuanisation". Democracy and decentralisation, officials say, applies as much to Papua as to anywhere in Indonesia.

Juwono Sudarsono, defence minister until last year, gives a rather subtle justification of the army's role. It is not just that the army helps keep the country together while democracy puts down roots. In Papua, he says, the contribution is material, in the form of road- and bridge-building and other assistance to rural folk. Most important, the army (particularly its younger officers) plays a crucial conciliatory role in what Mr Sudarsono claims is Papua's chief conflict: a fight over resources and political power between Papuan highlanders and lowlanders. Military officers as anthropologists, mediating among myriad tribal groups; Mr Sudarsono paints a not entirely unconvincing picture.

Elsewhere the signs are that the authorities' handling of separatist violence is better, ie, less dogmatic and iron-fisted, than once it was. Arrests are still made on the flimsiest of evidence, much of it still coerced from illiterate innocents. But at least there are more acquittals and lighter sentences. So if the government has a generally good story to tell, why doesn't it let journalists like me in? Mr Sudarsono says that our presence "would become a magnet for local groups vying for attention over human-rights problems." What moderation there is would go out of the window.

That does not sound plausible to me. More likely, as John Braithwaite of the Australian National University (ANU) argues, the army, part of the solution in Aceh and elsewhere, remains part of the problem in Papua. Mr Yudhoyono has been bullied by the army to take a timid approach to Papua.

International efforts towards a constructive settlement seem to offer Papua's – and Indonesia's – best hope for peace. President Barack Obama's eagerly awaited pulang kampung, or homecoming (he spent four boyhood years in Jakarta) has been set for June, having been postponed once already. With a bit of flair, his visit could set in train a fresh process in Papua. As Andrew MacIntyre, also of the ANU, points out, Indonesia and the United States want to find ways to revive army-to-army relations. These have been suspended for more than a decade by the Leahy Act, which forbids America to offer training to military units with a record of human-rights abuses – and, Kopassus, the army's special forces, had plenty, in Papua included. The offer to engage with younger Kopassus officers, their hands less bloodied, could give Mr Obama what he needs to prod the Indonesian government into a dialogue with Papuans over a more peaceful future.

A conservative court

Jakarta Post Editorial - April 21, 2010

Higher courts are regarded as the definitive bastion of justice. Unbound by the rigidity of legalese, they are sought to contemplate rulings with consequence through a wider socio- political spectrum reaching towards a progressive society.

Supreme court-level rulings are often nation-changing ones which shape the evolution of communities, expanding what many thought was impossible or improbable. In essence, supreme courts don't just function as adjudicators but as important agents of change.

It was regrettable that the Constitutional Court on Monday failed to fulfill their duty beyond the limited reason of strict judicial logic.

By upholding the 1965 Blasphemy Law, the court chose to effectively retain the status quo instead of bolstering liberal innovation. The statements of judges revealed them trapped to be in the cliches of the rhetorical past: "This law is very important... to prevent horizontal and vertical conflicts," one Constitutional justice said.

The request for a judicial review of Law No. 1/PNPS/1965 on Religious Blasphemy was filed by plaintiffs who argued that the law contained articles discriminatory to interfaith adherents and against the principles of diversity, open-mindedness and religious freedom of the 1945 Constitution.

At the heart of the argument was not the question of whether there should be laws on libel related to religion, but that the 1965 law was an inherent part of a set of regulations which perpetuated restrictions on freedom of faith.

At the very center of this debate was the question of why the state deemed it necessary to only acknowledge the existence of six religions – Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism – and in effect, make other denominations easy prey and more liable to fall into the category of being blasphemous.

The sole dissenting voice of the nine-panel judges was that of Maria Farida Indrati, who said the law often triggered arbitrary actions in the implementation of the law.

It is becomingly clear that the Constitutional Court is made up of eight conservative men and an open-minded female.

Monday's decision comes a month after the Constitutional Court also rejected the judicial review filed against the controversial pornography law. Maria Farida Indrati was again the sole dissenting voice during that ruling.

In the wake of this disappointing ruling, we believe the door to freedom of faith is still ajar. Changing attitudes, education and increasing social consciousness are just as effecting in moving the national mindset towards broader freedoms.

Not least, novel laws could be solicited which would make previous legislation invalid and free God from the shackles of the state. Amen!

The rise and fall of Indonesia's women's movement

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2010

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Girls are made of sugar and spice, and everything nice. Boys are made of snips and snails, and puppy-dog tails.

The famous lines – made popular through an old nursery rhyme – might sound nothing but funny to us. But if we look beyond those amusing words, we will soon realize they are ridden with gender stereotypes.

Yes, like it or not, the rhyme assumes that women should possess loving, kind and sweet personalities – as opposed to the tough, rough and aggressive traits said to belong to men.

And poor Kartini. Although she has been hailed as Indonesia's first feminist, the Javanese aristocrat, who was born in 1879, was actually the "victim" of this kind of gender construction. Over the past decades, her image has been "remodeled" to reinforce the country's patriarchal culture, as revealed by feminist scholar Saskia Eleonora Wieringa.

As far back as Indonesia's colonial period, "Kartini was actually depicted as a brilliant and rebellious woman who fought for women's right to education," said Wieringa, who currently visited Jakarta to attend the April Festival, a celebration of women.

During the Old Order regime under former president Sukarno, she went on, Kartini symbolized the struggle against Dutch colonial arrogance, as her mother come from an oppressed working class background.

But then, "the New Order regime tamed [the image of] Kartini and narrowed her to a woman with a domestic role," said the professor at the University of Amsterdam. "Her spirit and fight against male domination were thus erased," she added.

So thanks to Soeharto's New Order regime, we have until today acknowledged Kartini as nothing but a graceful Javanese aristocrat, with decent manners. And because of that, every year when we celebrate Kartini Day on April 21, we witness children marching in colorful traditional costumes and women slaving over cooking contests, flower arrangements and fashion modeling. The essence of Kartini's struggle, thus, has shifted away to irrelevant issues.

So, what makes this changing image of Kartini important today? Well, realize it or not, it has marked the rise and fall of the women's emancipation movement in the country.

Mariana Amiruddin, director of Jurnal Perempuan Foundation, explained how powerful the image of Kartini created by Soeharto remains until today, with women still trapped in the New Order's "motherly" concept of "good women". Exacerbating this, she went on, were religious doctrines of fundamentalists reinforcing this perception of the role of women.

So today, the concept of the ideal woman has been reduced to the following: "Indonesian women are supposed to embrace Eastern and Islamic cultures, where they dress in appropriate clothing that covers their aurat [parts of the body that are mustn't be showed], as well as become good mothers who serve their husbands, nurture their children and support the family," as stated by Mariana, also during the April Festival.

This kind of narrow perception on the role of women, Mariana said, has hampered the efforts of today's feminists to fight for women's rights. When these feminist groups fought against the recently passed Pornography Law, for example, they were accused of being immoral, while they actually tried to protect women from being criminalized by the law.

"Today, we [feminists] are no longer perceived as the guard of the Reform Era," Mariana lamented. "Instead, we're known as groups of girls who are out of control."

Feminism, on the other hand, she added, was seen as a doctrine preached by immoral liberal activists. "No matter how many times we told them about Kartini, they still think feminism came from the West," Mariana said.

Parallels can be drawn between today's Indonesian feminist movement and Gerwani, the Indonesian Women's Movement that was destroyed by former president Soeharto following the 1965 tragedy – which was blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

"Although we haven't been jailed or murdered like Gerwani members, we feel the old New Order's practice of barring [women's] freedom has now been revived," Mariana argued. "While Gerwani was besmirched for being PKI's affiliate during that era, feminists today have been accused of being part of Western movements aiming to destroy Indonesia."

Gerwani – a mass women's movement with millions of members from the grassroots and global community – was known as group of young and brilliant women activists fighting for women's rights in the fields of ideology, education, politic and economy – all inspired by Kartini's progressive ideas.

An expert in Gerwani history, Wieringa, said the destruction of the organization marked the worst setback for the Indonesian women's movement. Yes, while there once was a progressive and influential women's movement, Indonesia today has turned into a breeding place for kuntilanak wangi, or perfumed female ghosts – a term Wieringa used to depict women groups carrying out Soeharto's patriarchal agenda.

These kuntilanak wangi, Wieringa explained, were groups of women wearing fashionable clothes and perfume. Instead of voicing women's rights like Gerwani did, these women worked on "diverting" women's focus on domestic issues such as "dapur-sumur-kasur" (kitchen, bathroom and bedroom).

Under government-controlled organizations like Dharma Wanita, Dharma Pertiwi and PKK (Family Empowerment and Welfare Movement), these kuntilanak wangi had buried women's critical thinking on violence and oppression.

And as mentioned before, we can see how successful they were from the way we narrowly celebrate Kartini Day.

April Festival's director Faiza Hidayati Mardzoeki said that a number of feminists like herself were concerned that Kartini's inspirational ideas had been lost along the way, and all she would be remembered for was her politeness and her dress sense.

"Kartini, thus, has lived among us only as a myth – a polite Javanese aristocrat, who finally had to accept the fact that she had to share her husband with other women – although she never agreed with polygamy," Faiza said. "No one will remember her as a rebellious figure with progressive ideas."

Of course, like the feminists have suggested, the Reform Era in 1998 has given women opportunities to revive the real spirit of Kartini. However, as Mariana suggested, the Reform Era was nothing but "a short-term honeymoon" moment for women's movement.

When the late former president Abdurrahman Wahid changed the name of the ministry of women affairs into the ministry of women's empowerment, for example, feminists felt very confident about their cause. In addition to that, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) was given full support to continue its investigation into the May 1998 tragedy, where many Chinese women were sexually abused.

"During Megawati's era, we were more enthusiastic because the first woman was finally installed as a president amid opposition from some religious leaders," Mariana said. "Megawati then also succeeded in passing the law on domestic violence."

Celebrating women's achievement even more, she added, was the policy of granting women a 30 percent quota of seats in the Parliament. However, this celebration of women's movement had to end in 2005, when Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won his first presidential term.

"The year marked the introduction of the pornography bill, which was mentioned by President SBY during his first [presidential] speech," said Mariana. "He even took the opportunity to comment about women's belly buttons!"

And from that moment on, she went on, the women's movement in Indonesia started to lose its ground. While battling against the criminalization of women, feminists have been labeled as "Western devilish agents", gaining a bad reputation in society.

Social order will never exist until we establish supremacy of law

Jakarta Globe - April 19, 2010

Johannes Nugroh – Horrific scenes during last week's riots in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, have led to a welter of accusations of human rights breaches and oppressive conduct by public order officers.

The riots also made it patently clear to the world that the supremacy of the law is a long way from realization in Indonesia. Furthermore, the violence was a clear indication that many of our citizens hold the judicial system in contempt, preferring the concept of "might is right" over rational orderly protest.

The fact is that the riots started as an attempt by the Jakarta government to clear illegal settlements surrounding the historic tomb of a revered religious leader. It was, by any definition, a large operation, involving around 2,000 officers, and it resulted in an orgy of violence. It was both a public relations disaster and a blunder for the government, and it was an incident that will cast a long shadow.

That the operation was poorly planned and managed is a foregone conclusion, apparent by the fact that the majority of local residents were under the impression that the officers were there to tear down the hallowed mausoleum. It is galling that the government failed to explain the objective of the operation before sending in thousands of officers in full riot gear. What is more astounding is that the large show of force proved to be such a huge flop.

Knowing that the site had religious significance and that militant groups such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) were involved, the government should have used both diplomacy and intelligence before conducting the operation. It was also evident from the presence of Molotov cocktails and the gathering of thousands of rioters in such a short space of time that the residents were well-prepared to counter the operation.

The Tanjung Priok debacle will set back efforts to ensure the supremacy of the law in Indonesia. It will also send the signal that government agencies, accustomed to intimidating ordinary citizens, only cower when people turn the tables on them through violent resistance. Either way, it is bad news for law enforcement, and a blow to moves to establish a civil and democratic society.

Evidence of a new sense of caution is already at hand. The day after the riots, the Surabaya municipal government postponed a scheduled operation to clear illegal buildings. Last week in Sampang, Madura, public order officers confessed to being nervous when carrying out a court order to seize a disputed property, fearing copycat resistance by local residents.

Nor is this the first failure to uphold property laws in the country. A court order to seize almost 10 hectares of land in Tandes, Surabaya, has so far come to nothing despite repeated attempts in 1999, 2000 and 2001 because local residents occupying the property threatened the government with a bloodbath.

On a larger scale, the failure of the government to protect followers of Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect, from assault by religious fanatics is also testimony to the way Indonesian law enforcers cower helplessly before mob rule. That the police officers allowed organizers of a recently proposed gay and lesbian rights international conference to be physically assaulted by protesters is further proof of this selective treatment by the state of its citizens.

The fact remains that the attackers of minority groups are indeed criminals, but so far they have escaped justice, either due to the cowardice of our law enforcers or because, on a more sinister level, our police officers are biased when it comes to interpreting the law.

This is perhaps a recurrent theme in the history of law enforcement in the country. The law is still seen by many not as a tool to guarantee the rights of the people, but rather as a tool of the state to oppress, and a useless paper tiger in the face of mob rule.

This may explain why the Tanjung Priok residents chose armed resistance to impose their will on the government, in spite of the fact that they were illegally occupying the disputed land. This alone may explain why the battered gay rights activists in Surabaya recently chose not to file charges against their attackers. Why bother? Police officers were indeed present during the assault but no arrests were made.

One major hurdle to unbiased law enforcement in Indonesia is the pervasive tendency by state officials to opt for political expediency. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself rebuked the provincial government of Jakarta for the riots, saying that any government action, although legally correct, must not go ahead if the circumstances appear unfavorable.

Although there is much pragmatic wisdom in this approach, the president is also signaling that the law discriminates in its treatment of citizens. Justice is no longer blind, but a prudent opportunist that strikes most efficiently when the majority are clapping, but looks on indifferently when an unpopular underdog is trampled upon.

Another equally insurmountable hurdle is the integrity of government officials in the eyes of the people. With the recent sensational exposure of the workings of the judicial mafia, and corruption within the ranks of the National Police, Indonesians as a whole have very little faith in the law.

This distrust only leads to conspiracy theories against government officials, with the public suspecting that the government is only enriching itself and at the same time making fools of ordinary Indonesians. And when this happens, the people are easily provoked into going on the rampage against what they perceive as deliberate injustice against them by a corrupt government.

Perhaps the government did try to explain to the people of Tanjung Priok why it wanted to clear the area of illegal settlements. After all, a revitalized international port at Tanjung Priok could only be good for the country. But where did the message get lost along the way? The answer may well be a matter of trust. Whatever the government says, the people simply no longer trust it, and it will remain that way until they see evidence to the contrary.

[Johannes Nugroho is a writer based in Surabaya.]