Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Indonesia's territorial sovereignty could be under threat, following a recent ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found that Kosovo's unilateral secession from Serbia did not violate international law, legislators say.

However, the government has said otherwise. "Will (the ruling) inspire separatist movements in other countries (including in Indonesia)? The answer is yes," Golkar legislator Tantowi Yahya of House of Representatives' Commission I overseeing communications military and international affairs and, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

"But separatist movements in Papua and Aceh (provinces), for instance, are different from that in Kosovo in terms of historical backgrounds," he said.

Tantowi said how the Indonesian government dealt with separatists was also different to the Serbian government's methods. The Indonesian government approached separatist groups through welfare programs, he said, instead of using military force.

The commission's Ahmad Muzani from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) lawmaker echoed Tantowi's sentiments.

"With or without the international court's ruling, the threat of separatist movements in Aceh and Papua is already established," Muzani told the Post. "With the international court handing down such a ruling, it may indeed inspire separatists."

He said the Indonesian government, in particular the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry, needed to take immediate measures because it had not yet completely resolved problems in Papua, for example, with Jakarta refusing to enter serious dialogue with separatists.

According to Muzani, Jakarta perceives that Papua is trying to gain independence because the Papuan people never see benefits from the Rp 7 trillion (US$777 million) to Rp 8 trillion the central government gives annually to the Papua and West Papua administrations as a share of the provinces' natural resources.

"The money falls, not to the people, but to local administration officials," he said. "Jakarta has once again failed."

In contrast with legislators, Defense Ministry spokesman I Wayan Midhio said there would be no growing separatist movements affected by the ruling.

"A country's sovereignty and integrity is part of its national interest and a country is obliged to improve its people's welfare," he told the Post. "When that obligation is missed, separatist movements will rise."

Moreover, he said, the government had secured Indonesians' welfare in all regions through the delegation of power as mandated by the 2004 Regional Autonomy Law.

In response to the ruling, Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said the government would look further into it before making any decisions.

"For the record, the ICJ's ruling was not unanimous and there was dissenting opinion," he told the Post. "(The ruling) was more of a procedural matter and cannot be defined as a recognition of the freedom (of Kosovo legally)."

In Thursday's 9-5 non-binding ruling on the 2008 secession, the international court said it considered "that general international law contains no applicable prohibition of declaration of independence," Reuters reported.

Diplomats at the UN said the ruling underscored the clash between two cardinal principles dear to rank-and-file UN member states: self-determination, in this case for Kosovo's majority Albanians, and territorial integrity, in this case, Serbia's.

From the outset, Kosovo's international recognition has caused division among the UN's 192 member nations. Sixty-nine, including the US and many of its allies, have done so but the rest have not, with many waiting for the World Court's verdict.

Children's Day incidents draw strong criticism

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2010

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – Two incidents marring National Children's Day celebrations, have led activists to question the way the government celebrates the day, which they said prioritized the needs of adults.

"July 23 has turned into children's sadness day," Arist Merdeka Sirait, the head of National Commission for Child's Protection (Komnas PA), said on Saturday.

On Friday, the celebration at the Taman Mini theme park, which was attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh, saw the cancellation of the reading of National Children's Congress IX result.

At the end of the ceremony, a boy, identified as CL, reported that he was allegedly hit in the head by a presidential security guard. CL was among the children who got the opportunity to shake Yudhoyono's hand on stage at the event. When he was walking off stage, a man near the President pushed him for being unruly.

Earlier, due to the event being shortened from three to two hours, ceremony organizers told two representatives from the children's congress their time slot had been canceled.

The two representatives, Maesa Ranggawati and Arief Rachman, who flew all the way from Bangka Belitung where the children's congress took place, begged that their presentation would only take five minutes.

Maesa said they planned to read out to the President the eight- point results from 300 children's hard work during the congress from July 19-24.

Minister Nuh, however, still had the opportunity to deliver a speech despite the time reduction. "The government announced a movement it called 'Indonesia loves children' but what we saw at the event yesterday contradicted that statement," Arist said.

Arist said at Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung, 300 congress participants from 33 provinces, waited in front of the television to watch their voices being heard by the nation's leader.

"They waited but their two friends never appeared to read their declaration. Many cried, six of them got so emotional they fainted," Arist said. "The image of the President in the eyes of these children has been tarnished."

Arist said the celebration was more for the adults. "Children were standing under the sun to greet the arriving adults," he went on. Arist said next year's celebrations should prioritize children. "Create activities for children instead of a ceremony for adults".

Presidential spokesman Julian Pasha said the national education minister had received the copy of Indonesian Children's Voice, the congress' results, and said that would be enough.

As for CL, who reported the violence, Julian said the presidential office had investigated the matter and could not find any presidential guards who matched CL's description of the man who pushed him.

"All the guards wore batik shirt yesterday, none wore a dark suit like the boy said," the head of the presidential detail, Maj. Gen. Waris, was quoted by detik.com on Saturday.

Arist said Komnas PA would visit CL's family on Sunday, and help the family should they decide to file a complaint to the police.

Seen, not heard, on Indonesian Children's Day

Jakarta Globe - July 24, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran & Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – In an ironic twist, the day intended to celebrate children did not even allow them a chance to be heard.

On Friday, National Children's Day, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on parents to guide their children properly and not allow them to grow aimless.

"We should give them freedom to choose their goals and the way they will pursue their future, but help them to make sure that they have taken the right choice and way," Yudhoyono said during celebrations held at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah theme park in East Jakarta.

However, two children representing the 300-strong Indonesian Children's Congress were not given the freedom to read "Voice of Indonesian Children," an eight-point declaration they prepared over the past week.

Just an hour before the celebrations, the organizing committee informed Arif Rochman Hakim, 16, and Maesa Ranggawati, 15, that the Presidential Palace had ordered their presentation scrapped, with no official reason given.

"We just wanted to give a voice to the nation's children," Arif said. "Three hundred of us from Aceh to Papua gathered together to come up with this eight-point list that would take five minutes, tops, to read out. We're very disappointed. When we called up the other kids in the congress and told them, they cried."

The declaration included, among other things, calls for greater religious and ethnic tolerance, a bigger budget allocation for children's issues and protection for homeless children.

But a children's congress official said the cancellation might have been because of the last point in the declaration: that Indonesian children be protected "from the danger of tobacco through the banning of cigarette advertisements, increasing the price of cigarettes, putting more prominent warning signs on cigarette packaging, and restricting children's access to cigarettes."

"We suspect this was what forced the cancelation of the declaration being read out," congress official Puspa Sari said.

She added she had spoken about the snub to National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh, who oversaw Friday's celebration, but Nuh said he was powerless to do anything.

He declined to comment on the issue, saying he needed to "speak to the kids first," while presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said he knew nothing about the decision.

"We were told the decision came from the palace, but I hope it wasn't from the president, because we'd like to think he's on the children's side," Puspa said. "This situation must be rectified, because today is the children's day, not that of the authorities."

Arist Merdeka Sirait, chairman of the National Commission for Children's Protection (Komnas Anak), said he made a deal with the event committee a month ago to have the declaration be part of the agenda.

"Basically today's event was the high-ranking officials' day and not the National Children's Day, as if our country didn't have any problem regarding children and violence."

Komnas Anak on Friday released new data showing that the number of cases of violence against children, especially physical and sexual violence, has increased. In the first five months of 2010, 1,826 cases were recorded, as opposed to 1,891 in the whole of 2009 and 1,626 cases in 2008.

Officer arrested over fatal game of Russian roulette

Jakarta Globe - July 24, 2010

Zaky Pawas – A student at Garut Teachers' College was allegedly killed by a police-issued revolver during a game of Russian roulette, police have said.

The victim, who police identified as Herman, had invited National Police First Brig. Sofyan to visit his friend Lia's rented room in Garut, West Java, on Monday, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Marwoto said.

Herman "praised Sofyan, saying that Sofyan looked macho using a pistol," he said. Three of Herman's friends, including Lia, were also in the room, Marwoto said, and witnessed the death.

Marwoto said that upon reaching Lia's room, Herman allegedly challenged Sofyan to use his gun in a game of deadly Russian roulette. The game is played by placing a single round in the chamber of a revolver, spinning the cylinder, placing the gun against the head and pulling the trigger.

Herman "apparently wanted to see if [the gun] was lethal or not," Marwoto said. Sofyan reportedly agreed to the game.

Sofyan "removed four bullets from the magazine and left one inside. Herman then challenged Sofyan to guess whether or not the pistol would go off if Sofyan put it against Herman's head and pulled the trigger.

"First Brigadier Sofyan knew that if he pulled the trigger, the gun would go off. He still pulled the trigger. The gun went off, and Herman died on the spot," Marwoto said.

Sofyan is currently being held at Garut Police precinct, and is being charged with Article 359 of the Criminal Code on negligence causing severe injury or death. He could face a maximum 10 years in jail if found guilty.

"An ad hoc ethics tribunal will be held once the criminal trial is done and over with," Marwoto said. Administratively, "the worst that could happen to him is being fired from the force."

Marwoto said there was no other suspected motive to the case than mischief. The situation he said, was one of "everything getting out of hand" very fast. He added that National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri had been briefed on the incident.

Actions, demos, protests...

Actor will not stop 'graffiti campaign' despite police warning

Jakarta Globe - July 30, 2010

Jakarta – Veteran actor Pong Harjatmo, who was arrested after spray painting a protest message on the roof of Jakarta's Parliament Building, said he will not be stopped from continuing his "graffiti campaign" elsewhere.

Pong, 68, was arrested on Friday after spray painting the rooftop with the words "jujur" (honest), "tegas" (firm) and "adil" (fair).

"I won't stop. I am not allowed to do it here but I will do it elsewhere," Pong told the reporters at the Parliament building, according to news portal Detik.com. He said he would write a longer message next time.

"Just wait. I will write 'love your country, love your people and work for the people," Pong said.

A legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Ganjar Pranowo, said Pong's protest was a criticism of the House of Representatives' (DPR) efficacy and veracity.

"This is a harsh criticism of us. This is a message for us not to play around, especially with our attendance," Ganjar said, referring to the newly issued attendance list of legislators which revealed that several lawmakers often skipped plenary sessions.

However, Ganjar said criticism should not be conducted in the form of spray painting the Parliament Building.

"Just tell us in a hearing, for example. Do not make any graffiti, even if it is to make us aware of the public's concern," Ganjar said.

Meanwhile, Pong has been released. His action was not considered to be a crime. "He didn't mean any harm. But if he had something to say to the legislators, he should have followed the right procedures. We also have actresses in the House," First Insp. Suharyanto, an officer at the DPR's security division said.

Pong was only asked to write in a statement that he would not repeat his actions. "If he tries this again, there will be legal implications," Suharyanto said.

Part-time teachers demand promotion as civil servants

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2010

Makassar, South Sulawesi – Part time teachers in Makassar demanded Thursday the local authorities promote them as civil servants as soon as possible, especially those who have worked for years and passed certification tests.

The demand was disclosed in a rally by about 50 representatives of the part-time teachers who were grouped in the Indonesian Part Time Teachers Association (IGHI) in front of the South Sulawesi Legislative Council in Makassar. In their speeches, part-time teachers complained of the uncertainty of their future even though they had worked for years with a small wage.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has to show his care for us... We've worked for years but we have received no promotion," Agusman, head of IGHI Makassar, said. He said there were at least 18,000 part-time teachers in South Sulawesi with 5,600 working in Makassar.

Even though their workload is known to be similar to civil servants, their wages are very low, he said. There are part-time teachers who are paid only Rp 300,000 [US$33.4], Rp 200,000 or even Rp 50,000 per month, he added.

Mass blockades road, rejects inauguration of regent

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2010

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar, South Sulawesi – Hundreds of people blockaded the road connecting Gowa regency and Makassar on Thursday in a bid to foil a planned inauguration ceremony of reelected regent Ichsan Yasin Limpo and his running mate Abdul Razad Badjidu.

The mass, mostly supporters of losing candidate Andi Maddusila Andi Idjo and his running mate Jamaluddin Rustam, took a fuel tanker belonging to state oil and gas company PT Pertamina and an operational car of state bus company Damri. The protesters parked the two vehicles in the middle of the road, blocking the traffic from and to Gowa. Local police rerouted the traffic due to the blockade.

Rally coordinator Karaeng Moncong said the people took to the streets as they were disappointed by the Constitutional Court's decision to uphold the victory of Ichsan, who is a brother of South Sulawesi governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo, in the June 23 election. The court rejected a complaint by Maddusila and Jamaluddin over the election results, as it was filed behind the deadline.

The home minister has ordered an inauguration of the winning pair, who were nominated by the Golkar Party, although the local police are still investigating an alleged school diploma forgery involving Ichsan.

Gowa election commission member Sudirman told the people the inauguration ceremony could not be canceled as the Constitutional Court had validated Ichsan's reelection. He added that the election result would stand despite the police investigation.

Aceh

Aceh Shariah police launch raid a week late

Jakarta Globe - July 28, 2010

Meulaboh, Aceh – Almost a full week after three American citizens were deported from Indonesia's Aceh province for allegedly converting local Muslims to Christianity, Shariah Police and local government security officers swooped on their rented home on Tuesday.

Robin Kay Jordan, his wife Kelly and their daughter Claire were expelled from the devout Islamic province on July 21 after three locals were converted to Christianity.

Tuesday's raid by religious police and officers from the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) uncovered religious compact discs and books.

Teuku Ahmad Dadek, head of both Shariah Police and Satpol PP in West Aceh district, told Metro TV the raid was part of a follow up to the Jordan investigation though he did not say whey authorities had taken so long to act.

Aceh Deputy Governor Muhammad Nazar told local media last week that they were forming a team to investigate the conversion activities conducted by foreigners.

Nazar said any attempts to convert locals must be prevented because they were contrary to the Islamic values of Muslims in Aceh. He urged any NGO's in Aceh to communicate with the local government and report their activities.

"If we enter somebody else's house or village, we must tell them who we are and what we are doing. Newcomers must respect the locals' values," he said.

The Jordans were taken to Medan, North Sumatra, before they were deported to the United States.

West Papua

Papua political prisoner finally given surgery

Associated Press - July 31, 2010

Jakarta – A high-profile prisoner sentenced to 15 years' jail for raising a banned flag in Indonesia's Papua province returned to prison Saturday after surgery for a potentially life- threatening prostate ailment that had been denied for nearly a year.

Felip Karma, 51, told The Associated Press that many other Papuan separatists held in the easternmost province also urgently need medical care. He reiterated allegations that many had been abused in prisons.

"Many prisoners in Papua have been brutally tortured," said Karma, who returned to the Abepura prison in the city of Jayapura on Saturday.

Candran Listiyono, spokesman for the Directorate General of Prisons in Jakarta, told AP last month he was not aware of any mistreatment of inmates and promised to investigate.

Abepura prison chief Liberti Sintinjak said no inmates have been tortured since he took over in May.

Karma's case – and those of several other high-profile prisoners of conscience in far-flung separatist-torn regions – was highlighted in a 40-page report released last month by New York- based Human Rights Watch.

Karma had been denied medical treatment for the prostate ailment for almost a year. He was granted permission to go to a hospital in the capital, Jakarta, arrived two weeks ago and underwent laser surgery.

SBY calls for Papua audit to deal with grievances

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday demanded an audit of Papua's special autonomous status following rising complaints that it had failed to improve the welfare of the people after nine years.

"There is a need for audits, for example of development in the special autonomous region of Papua," Yudhoyono said after receiving reports from his ministers on recent developments.

"There have been so many letters sent to me, as if Jakarta were neglecting the issue, as if there were not enough funds."

Yudhoyono said that of Indonesia's 33 provinces, Papua received the most money from the state budget, followed by Aceh, another region with broad autonomy and a secessionist history.

"Therefore, if it's stagnant and there's no progress, we should find out why," he said. "The audit will be conducted with that in mind, to find out if there's been anything appropriate in terms of the management, the budgeting, the supervision or its efficiency."

A report by an Australian university earlier this month warned that mass violence could occur in Papua over the lack of progress.

The report, prepared by the University of Sydney's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, found that most Papuans believed the special autonomous status granted in 2001 had failed to bring prosperity and had opened the door to corruption.

The discontent has led to increasing calls for independence from Indonesia. In the latest incident, thousands held a peaceful march in Papua to demand a referendum of self-determination.

The special autonomous status was granted to curb separatist sentiments following the fall of President Suharto in 1998. The deal offered a degree of economic independence by promising Papuans a greater share of receipts from the province's wealth of natural resources.

Yudhoyono said the government had since 2005 changed its approach from a security-oriented one to a prosperity-based one.

"It's now time for us to see everything in its entirety so that we don't trade blame or become the target of criticism by domestic and overseas NGOs," he said.

"We need to know, and the only way to do that is through an accountable audit." The president did not elaborate on the audit, including who would conduct it.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar has accused Papuans of not knowing what they want. He said the central government had spent Rp 30 trillion ($3.3 billion) on Papua's development.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto has blamed the provincial administration for the lack of development.

"If there are funds for the region that haven't been disbursed, that's the job of the governor and the provincial legislature to supervise," he said.

Benny Giay, the secretary general of the United Papua People's Democracy Forum (Fordem), said the blame also lay with Jakarta for failing to address human rights issues in Papua.

"Many policies coming from Jakarta are confusing," he told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday. "They shouldn't only refer to the money, but also analyze the regulations they're implementing here."

Benny said problems such as the wide economic gap between natives and migrants in the region and fulfilling the basic needs and rights of Papuan people should be properly addressed instead of Jakarta simply claiming that it had distributed money.

'Prejudice and distrust' leave Papua roadmap in limbo

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2010

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A planned dialogue between the central government and Papua to seek a comprehensive settlement to long-standing problems is in limbo because both sides still deeply distrust one another, researchers say.

"Jakarta and Papua no longer share mutual trust or common ground... Both sides bear prejudices. Papuans accuse Jakarta of ignorance and militarism, while Jakarta accuses Papua of secessionism," Muridan S. Widjojo said Monday.

His team at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) was assigned by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2005 to identify the most serious problems in Papua. The team produced the Papua Roadmap, which was published as a book earlier this year. However, so far all attempts to meet the President or his officials have failed, Muridan said.

Last month Papuan leaders and civil society groups gathering in Jayapura concluded that nine years of special autonomy had "failed". They demanded among others "a dialogue with neutral international mediation", and a "referendum on political freedom".

The summary of the June 9-10 gathering, attended by 450 representatives and leaders, will be submitted to the President pending approval from the governors of Papua and West Papua.

The delegates cited continued problems including poverty of "81.52 percent", or more than 391,000 households; 70 percent of residents with HIV/AIDS are indigenous Papuans; and 95 percent of local budget funds "are spent outside Papua."

"Special autonomy does not mean money," said religious leader Benny Giay, who joined the June talks. "It has only enriched local elites, while most indigenous people have been marginalized by immigrants or remain isolated in the jungle."

Jakarta has declined to draft regulations that would allow the Papuan People's Council (MRP) and the provincial legislature to issue regulations, including affirmative action for indigenous people and the settlement of human rights abuses, MRP spokesman Agus Alua said.

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi blamed the disappointment on rampant graft and dissatisfaction with local elites in Papua and West Papua.

"If the special autonomy program has become corrupted and stagnant, the people should seek accountability from their elites," Gamawan said.

He added that he did not see problems with political stability in either of the two provinces. The Free Papua Movement has been the main reason for the presence of the troops in Papua, despite human rights groups reporting regular cases of military abuse against civilians.

The new Papua monitoring team at the legislature is discussing the situation with high-level officials.

Muridan said Jakarta should learn from now independent Timor Leste and the peace talks ending the war with separatists in Aceh. In Timor Leste, "we relied too much on the Indonesian Military and the National Intelligence Agency."

Neles Tebay, rector of the Fajar Timur Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Abepura, urged Yudhoyono to capitalize on the proposed dialogue as a timely opportunity to resolve outstanding issues and strengthen national unity. "The people will likely regain confidence in Jakarta if the President holds the dialogue and listens to the people's aspirations," Neles said.

Papuans call for independent autonomy budget

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2010

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua's special autonomy fund should be kept separate from the province's budget and independently managed by a new institution, a DPR member says.

Chairman of the Papua Legislative Council (DPRP)'s Commission C on financial affairs, Carolus Bolly, said that the fund, which has been disbursed directly to the province for the last nine years, should not be managed as part of the province's budget.

Joint management of the special autonomy fund and the provincial budget will make its use unclear, he said. The special autonomy fund, amounts to two percent of the province's annual General Allocation Fund from the central government.

The province's special autonomy under a 2001 law stipulates that the fund can only be used to finance four sectors – education, health, welfare and infrastructure.

"The use of the special autonomy fund became unclear once it was placed into the province's budget and listed as other income," Carolus said.

"It is also unclear how much is actually spent from the special autonomy fund on education, health, welfare and infrastructure," he told The Jakarta Post.

A lack of transparency in the use of special autonomy funds is one factor that has triggered criticism of special autonomy in Papua, he said.

The central government granted Papua special autonomy in 2001 in what critics said was an effort to win the hearts and minds of Papuans while muting their demands for independence.

The law on special autonomy allows Papua to keep up to 80 percent of revenue generated from the exploitation of its local resources and authorized the province to change its name from Irian Jaya to Papua.

The law also stipulates that the province has autonomy in the social, political, economic and cultural fields. Defense, foreign policy, monetary affairs and the legal system were reserved for the central government.

Papua is allowed to have its own flag, symbol and anthem to representits own cultural identity. The province was also authorized to establish a bicameral legislature – comprised of an assembly and a council – that could issue bylaws, policies and control the executive.

Protestors in a series of recent rallies in several cities, including the provincial capital of Jayapura, demanded authorities revoke province's special autonomy status and return to central government rule since autonomy has failed to improve popular welfare.

"The latest protests at the DPRP, which demanded that we revoke special autonomy status and return to central government rule, is one of the effects of poor management and lack of transparency in administering trillions of rupiah from the annual fund," council commission chairman Ruben Magai told the Post.

"The fund should be managed independently and transparently so that the people know where the money goes. This will also ensure that the fund's use is controlled."

Carolus suggested the formation of an institution to manage the special autonomy fund in Papua and in Aceh.

These proposed institutions should serve as a facilitator for supervising, evaluating and examining the funds, while an independent institution plans, budgets and disburses funds, he said.

The institution will need to be established by a new law, he said.

The initiative was supported by head of Papua provincial administration's Financial and Asset Management, Ahmad Hatari.

"It's not hard to create a law on special autonomy fund management since it is badly needed," Ahmad said.

The province has received more than Rp 18.7 trillion for the special autonomy fund from 2002-2009 and is expected to receive Rp 2.6 trillion in 2010.

"Special autonomy status has been the law for nine years in Papua, but its management is not transparent and it has been poorly implemented for Papuans. Those reasons have created a need for good management under the law," Carolus said.

Pacific Islands rally to help free West Papua

New Zealand Herald - July 24, 2010

Dev Nadkarni – A push for independence in Indonesia's rich but troubled territory of Papua is set to become an issue for the Pacific Island Forum.

Vanuatu is leading the regional charge in lending open support for the long-standing cause of the territory's independence from Indonesia.

The people of Vanuatu consider West Papuans "Wantok" – brothers or "someone who speaks my language" – part of the larger Melanesian brotherhood and have long been supportive of their cause for sovereignty.

In the Vanuatu Parliament, Prime Minister Eduard Natapei and Opposition leader Maxime Carlot Korman jointly sponsored a motion stating Vanuatu's position on Papua.

Last month's motion is now a bill called the "Wantok blong yumi Bill" (our wantok bill) reflecting a pan-Melanesian spirit across political boundaries.

Essentially, the bill clears the way for the Vanuatu Government to develop specific policies on how to support the independence struggle of West Papua.

Vanuatu has previously supported decolonisation moves in New Caledonia and kept the issue in front of annual Forum summits – most notably in Auckland in 2003 – and has opened an office for the Free West Papua Movement in its capital of Port Vila.

The bill is timely in that it has created a platform for Vanuatu's efforts to get forum leaders to focus on the issue once more when it hosts the 41st summit on August 3-6 in Port Vila.

Natapei has already stated that Vanuatu would work towards getting the forum and the Melanesian Spearhead Group – of which it is the current chairman – to confer observer status on West Papua.

It would be a message to Indonesia from the Pacific Islands region and may have repercussions in areas such as security and fisheries, where forum countries work closely with Jakarta.

Papua, formerly known as the province of Irian Jaya, is the western half of the large island of New Guinea (the eastern half is Papua New Guinea).

The Indonesian Government split western Papua from the rest of Papua to form the administrative region of West Papua in 2003. Vanuatu's backing for independence covers the whole Papua region.

The territory of larger Papua remained under Dutch control for more than a decade-and-a-half after Indonesia gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1949. But when the Dutch administration agreed to support Papua's sovereignty bid in 1961, Indonesian President Sukarno enforced Jakarta's control militarily, putting paid to Papuan ambitions.

Towards the end of the decade, the United States facilitated talks between the Dutch administrators and Indonesian leaders, resulting in the United Nations sponsoring a referendum in 1969, called "Act of Free Choice", giving a choice for West Papuans to decide whether to secede from Indonesia.

Only about 1000 Papuans are reported to have voted. Most Papuans believe the referendum was not representative of the vastly larger numbers that never participated.

Successive Indonesian governments have countered even the slightest hint of separatism by strict policing and enacting laws of the kind that make flying the West Papua flag anywhere in Indonesian territory punishable by imprisonment (Indonesia's embassy in London is reported to have asked the British Foreign Office to prevail upon the Oxford town council not to fly the morning star flag on December 1 last year).

In recent years, however, the Indonesian Government has granted Papua special autonomy status, allowing indigenous Papuans greater control over tax and other local revenues from natural resources.

But activists say centrally sponsored projects are implemented without adequate consultation and regard to local rights.

West Papua and Papua provinces are the least populated and the poorest areas of the Indonesian archipelago. But the two provinces are also some of the most mineral rich within Indonesia, especially for gold, timber and natural gas.

The huge Grasberg mine, run by Freeport-McMoran, the world's largest combined copper and gold mine, is in Papua. The complex is enormously profitable. It provided US$4 billion ($5.6 billion) of Freeport's operating profit of US$6.5 billion last year.

The mining facilities are protected by about 3000 soldiers and police, which were supported by Freeport with US$10 million last year, according to the company.

Last December the police shot dead Kelly Kwalik, a leading figure in the Free Papua Movement or OPM. Police accused him of a series of attacks on Freeport's operations, a charge he repeatedly denied.

Vanuatu's backing for Papua comes amid renewed stirrings in the independence struggle itself.

Earlier this month, thousands marched in the Papua centres of Jayapura, Manokwari and Sorong, rejecting the autonomy and demanding instead a referendum and a UN-mediated dialogue towards self-rule.

There is concern in the regional leadership of the growing discontent at the grass-roots level in West Papua and fears people will take up violent measures of protest in a bid to bring their plight into international focus.

Military ties

Kopassus still has long road to go despite ban lifting

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2010

Donny Syofyan, Padang – During his visit to Indonesia, US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced Thursday (July 22) that the US government would lift the ban on the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus). The military cooperation between the US and Indonesia, Gates asserted, would be based on a measured and gradual program of security cooperation activities.

The US government decided to take the measure following Indonesian military reforms over the past decade, the ongoing professionalization of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and recent measures taken by the Defense Ministry in response to human rights issues.

Despite the US's commitment to place importance on human rights and accountability, the resumption of ties with Kopassus has attracted rejection abroad and at home. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the author of the law that bans US support to foreign militaries that violate human rights in 1999, believed that Kopassus remains unrepentant, essentially unreformed and unaccountable.

In Indonesia, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence had long lobbied the US Congress against resumption of cooperation with the Kopassus without taking two important conditions into account: The unit's past accountability and Indonesian military reforms.

Current surveys conducted in Indonesia present that Kopassus actually arrives at the point of winning public trust, in contrast to the National Police suffering from lack of public confidence. Widespread opposition to American military reinstatement of ties with Kopassus suggests that the unit still has a long way to go in its reform attempts on three crucial matters.

First, the TNI must show its abilities to respect and defend human rights in practice. On many occasions, TNI generals asked for the public not to accuse their soldiers of violating human rights any more. They argue that human rights education has been integrated into Indonesia's military schools and training, noting TNI soldiers especially Kopassus are getting familiar with or knowledgeable about human right issues.

However, it is less than enough as Kopassus has failed to reform and the officers accused of human rights crimes continue to serve with the unit. Prabowo Subianto and Sjafrie Sjamsuddin, former Kopassus leaders blamed for gross human rights violations, remain free from any trial or legal cases.

The country's military court's position to take no legal action against those violating human rights not only confirms the TNI's approach to settle human rights cases out of court, but also provides the opportunity for future human rights violations.

Reforming the Indonesian military justice system, therefore, is a must. For years, military suspects are not provided with many of the basic protections in line with the civilian Criminal Code Procedures, such as the right to an immediate trial, right to advice throughout the process, and access to family members or medical treatment.

Things get worse as the Indonesian military justice system has a record of limiting tribunals and sentencing those convicted of serious crimes to extremely light sentences. A credible trial will only succeed if Kopassus cooperates by handing down documents and personnel necessary to prosecuting attorney.

Second, reform of the territorial command structure is needed. Despite the TNI's political role has terminated, the Indonesian army's presence at local levels are still there. Such a policy is believed to channel its new power and position into law enforcement, business and even politics.

It is ironic while the TNI's role in internal security has reduced, the number of regional military commands has increased, like in West Kalimantan and West Papua. The step has great potential to undermine peace efforts in conflict zone such as Papua, unnecessarily spends state budget, and extends over and covers a part of the police function.

Numerous cases at local levels show how military officers are involved in backing businessmen up for land acquisition, harassing, extorting money from, and in some cases using violence against lay people.

Hence, the US military aid to Indonesian military should stipulate a friendly, democratic and humanitarian approach of the TNI's territorial command structure. The US should ensure that the content and participants in training, joint exercises, and other assistance must be clear of legal and illegal business activities, human rights violations, and surveillance of government critics.

Third, civilian supremacy becomes non-compromised. Military cooperation between the US and Indonesia will be in vain without egging civilian supremacy on. Encouraging civilian supremacy is important to bolster political institutions and democracy, not only to make Indonesian military more professional and capable, but also more accountable.

For that purpose, US military training programs should involve civilians to be trained in security sector reform, among others government officials, parliamentary expert staff and members of think tanks and NGOs that monitor the military.

Failure to inject expertise into legislators and staff would cause civilians to undergo an inferiority complex when it comes to making strategic decisions, particularly with regards to political stability and social security. It is expected that such civilian supremacy will give civilians control of policy or its execution.

[The writer is a lecturer at Andalas University, Padang, and a graduate of the University of Canberra, Australia.]

Military denies United States pressure in Kopassus shuffle

Jakarta Globe - July 28, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Indonesia – Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro denied on Tuesday that the US government had negotiated with Indonesia over the removal of members of the Army's Kopassus special forces unit who had been convicted of previous human rights abuses.

Speaking to journalists in Jakarta, Purnomo acknowledged that US Defense Secretary Robert Gates had discussed several issues with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono related to improving ties between the two countries during his visit to Jakarta last week, but that none involved the removal of certain Kopassus officers.

During the visit, Gates announced the lifting of a decade-long training ban on Kopassus, but stressed it was contingent on key reforms within the military.

The New York Times reported that in preparation for lifting the ban, US Defense Department officials said they had asked the Indonesian government in recent months to remove "less than a dozen" members of Kopassus who had been convicted of human rights abuses but were still part of the unit.

"So far, I have received no reports that someone was removed because of a human rights abuse," Purnomo said. The minister acknowledged that several middle-ranking military officers, including several from within Kopassus, had recently been reassigned, but said those moves were part of a normal rotation.

Two Kopassus officers – Lt. Col. Tri Hartomo and Lt. Col. Untung Budiharto – were part of a military reshuffle in March. Hartomo was convicted by an Indonesian military court in 2003 and served time in prison for abuse leading to the death of a Papuan activist, Theys Eluay.

It is not clear where he was moved to, but The New York Times report quoted US Defense Department officials as saying Hartomo was still a member of the Indonesian military.

Untung, who was sentenced by a military tribunal to 32 months in prison for his involvement in the kidnapping of pro-democracy student activists in 1997 and 1998, was moved to a teaching job at the Army Staff College in Bandung.

But Purnomo maintained that the two officers were not moved as a result of political pressure from the US government. "The principle of international relationships is equality. If someone is alleged to be guilty of something, we have our own legal system to process him," he said.

Separately, Deputy Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said the timing of the reshuffle, which happened around the time of US President Barack Obama's earlier scheduled visit to Indonesia, was just a coincidence.

"It would be unfortunate for a Kopassus officer if he never got any experience with other units," he said.

Sjafrie himself has been implicated in a massacre in East Timor while serving in Kopassus. But US Defense Department officials said he was only implicated, not convicted.

US Senator Patrick Leahy, who authored the legislation prohibiting US support for foreign militaries that violate human rights, has said that the conditions for lifting the ban on Kopassus must be thoroughly fulfilled.

"As far as I am concerned, that includes suspending any Kopassus officers who have been credibly linked to abuses, and pledging to cooperate in prosecutions of past and future crimes," Leahy said.

Indonesian victims want answers as US lifts Kopassus ban

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta - The families of people allegedly killed by the Army's Kopassus special forces plan to march on the US Embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday to demand answers for why the Obama administration lifted a no-contact ban on the elite unit accused of widespread human rights abuses.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Jakarta on Thursday to announce the lifting of the ban on Kopassus as "a result of Indonesian military reforms over the past decade, the ongoing professionalization of the TNI [Indonesian Armed Forces] and recent actions taken by the Ministry of Defense to address human rights issues."

The US Defense Department severed all ties with Kopassus in 1999 under a law banning cooperation with foreign troops implicated in rights abuses.

At a Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) news conference on Sunday, Maria Catarina Sumarsih said the US decision to reverse the ban would hurt chances to punish those responsible for her son's death.

"As an ordinary person, I am very disappointed with this turn of events. The US is acting like a washing machine by cleaning the dirt from the Indonesian military," Sumarsih said.

Maria's son, Norma Irawan Benardinus Realino, died after being shot by soldiers during a demonstration against former President Suharto on Nov. 13, 1998.

"I have been seeking justice for more than 12 years, since my son was brutally shot by the military, and today the US is saying that what they did is correct by reviving defense ties. Maybe they think killing innocent people is correct," she said.

Kontras's head of research, Papang Hidayat, also criticized Armed Forces Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso's declaration on Friday that Kopassus had already sanctioned personnel involved in questionable conduct and that the issue of past human rights violations was over.

"The fact is that 13 activists remain missing. We believe that Kopassus was behind their disappearance," said Kontras's deputy chief, Haris Azhar.

He was referring to allegations that Kopassus troops kidnapped 23 student activists during the last months of the Suharto regime. The nine who resurfaced said they had been interrogated and tortured, one was found dead and 13 are still missing.

Rights groups also criticized the decision to renew cooperation. "It's hard to see the administration's decision as anything other than a victory for abusive militaries worldwide," said Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch Asia's advocacy director.

US lifting of Kopassus ban hits snag

Jakarta Globe - July 24, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta - Thursday's announcement of revived defense ties between the US military and Indonesia's special forces could prove premature as critics denounced the conditions of the agreement.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the lifting of the training ban on Kopassus in Jakarta on Thursday, but stressed it was contingent on key reforms within the military.

In preparation for lifting the ban, Defense Department officials said they asked the Indonesian government in recent months to remove "less than a dozen" members of Kopassus who had been convicted of previous human rights abuses but were still part of the unit

Among those who recently left was Lt. Col. Tri Hartomo, who was convicted by an Indonesian military court in 2003 and served time in prison for abuse leading to the death of a Papuan activist, Theys Eluay.

Defense Department officials said that Colonel Hartomo was still a member of the Indonesian military.

Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, who was implicated in a massacre in East Timor while he served in Kopassus, was appointed deputy defense minister in January, and remains there. Defense Department officials said the distinction for them was that General Sjamsoeddin was only implicated, not convicted.

US Senator Patrick Leahy, who authored the legislation prohibiting US support for foreign militaries that violate human rights, said on Friday that the conditions must be thoroughly fulfilled.

"As far as I am concerned, that includes suspending any Kopassus officers who have been credibly linked to abuses, and pledging to cooperate in prosecutions of past and future crimes," he said.

Leahy, who heads the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that authorizes funding for foreign operations, said he was relieved that Gates did not announce full-fledged cooperation. "A conditional toe in the water is wiser at this stage than diving in," he said.

But Armed Forces (TNI) Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said Kopassus had already sanctioned personnel involved in questionable conduct, but stopped short of saying whether they had been dismissed. "As far as the TNI is concerned, the issue of past human rights violations is over," Djoko said. "The officers in question have all undergone due legal process as required by Indonesian law."

Djoko declined to say if that meant Indonesia had fulfilled the requirements laid down by the United States.

Legislators at the Indonesian House of Representatives also criticized the US for "meddling." Mahfud Siddiq, chairman of House Commission I, overseeing defense and foreign affairs, said the United States needed Indonesia as a strategic partner in the region, therefore it should base the relationship on fairness and cooperation.

"Any requirement for a defense agreement must be based on regional interests and shouldn't see one country meddling in the internal affairs of another, especially in past cases," said Mahfud, of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

"And besides, the US military is hardly free from allegations of war crimes and rights violations itself."

Ramadhan Pohan, of the ruling Democratic Party, also blasted the US demand, saying it should not "play around with threats" and adding that it had no authority to order Indonesia about.

"The government must make a clear statement that Indonesia cannot be dictated to by the US government or anyone else," he said. "If they want to cooperate with us, then let's do it. But if they want to intervene, then no way."

[Additional reports from AFP, New York Times.]

Rights groups say Kopassus still 'far from reformed'

Jakarta Post - July 24, 2010

Human rights bodies in the country said Friday the US should not lift its ban on ties with the Indonesian Army Special Forces (Kopassus) as it had not reformed, a claim refuted by the military.

Papang Hidayat from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said the Indonesian government had not fulfilled several conditions demanded by the US government before the ban was lifted.

"Kopassus members implicated in human rights abuses, such as those from the Rose team, who were punished and released, have been promoted and hold strategic positions in military as well as civil institutions," he said without elaborating further.

The Rose team is believed to be responsible for the kidnapping of political activists in 1998.

Papang said the military had not yet officially admitted the rights abuses allegedly committed in the past, let alone issued a report similar to the one produced by Indonesia and Timor Leste's Truth and Friendship Commission.

"Such a report is important to uncover Kopasssus' involvement in human rights violations, such as in Aceh and Papua," Papang said.

He added that the mechanism to punish military perpetrators of rights violations through military courts, which did not satisfy victims and victims' families, had not changed.

"The revision of the law regulating this is not finished and a legislative draft on it met with resistance from the military," he said, adding that this proved the military's unwillingness to be held accountable.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) said in a statement Friday that the US decision to resume engagement with Kopassus, announced Thursday during the visit of US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to Jakarta, was "a betrayal of the brutal unit's many victims in Timor Leste, West Papua and throughout Indonesia".

Mugiyanto from the Association of Families of Missing Persons (Ikohi) said victims and their families were living witnesses to the lack of efforts from the state to tackle past human rights violations.

"The government should show its accountability in dealing with the issue. So far we have not seen either judicial accountability or non-judicial accountability," said Mugiyanto, who was kidnapped by Kopassus members in 1998 when he was an activist with the Indonesian Student Solidarity for Democracy.

He added that judicial accountability meant that the government had to bring perpetrators of human rights abuses to court and punish them as well as uphold the victims' rights.

"This has not happened. The government uses false diplomacy to assure the US government that everything is fine here."

US senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont criticized the US administration's decision to resume cooperation with Kopassus, saying the military force "remains unrepentant, essentially unreformed and unaccountable", Agence France-Presse reported.

Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. I Wayan Midhio said the issue of human rights had been politicized in the US.

He insisted the Indonesian government had made efforts to reform Kopassus, including punishing perpetrators of human rights abuses, including members of Kopassus' Rose team.

Midhio said the resumption of joint activities with US forces would be conducted with certain restrictions to conform to the military reforms promised by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. (lnd)

Legislator lashes out at Robert Gates

Jakarta Post - July 24, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – One of the deputy chairmen of House of Representatives Commission I on Defense and Foreign Affairs criticized United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' recent statement on military cooperation between Indonesia and the US.

"Robert Gates' statement on July 22 in Jakarta about past human rights abuses conducted by the Indonesian Military (TNI), and to link that statement with military aids, is no longer relevant and has the tendency to be bossy," Tubagus Hasanuddin from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

"We respect the US secretary of defense's statement as inputs, however, as a dignified nation, we want to stress that we are not going to rely on anyone for joint cooperation," he added.

The US had officially lifted its ban on the participation of the Indonesian Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) in any joint Indonesia-US military activities.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who made a short visit to Indonesia, said after meeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday that the US government had done so following improvements in human rights and defense reforms in Indonesia, a view echoed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The ban on Kopassus was part of a US military embargo, in addition to a ban on military equipment sales to Indonesia.

The embargo was imposed more than a decade ago in response to repeated human rights abuses committed by Kopassus in West Papua and Timor Leste (then East Timor).

Kopassus has not been brought to justice - or cleaned up its act

Washington Post - July 24, 2010

Suciwati, Jakarta – In announcing this week that the United States would lift a 12-year-long ban on providing military assistance and training to Indonesia's special forces unit, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates spoke about the Indonesian military's reforms and said it is prepared to ensure accountability for any human rights abuses by its soldiers. My experience with Indonesia's special forces and its justice system lead me to think President Obama is making a dangerous mistake.

My husband, the late Munir Said Thalib, was one of Indonesia's most prominent human rights leaders. He was close in age to and had much in common with President Obama. Munir, too, worked as a community organizer, helping the weak, the poor and victims of political repression. Both men spoke the language of human rights, and both received international recognition for their contributions to humanity: Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize; Munir won Sweden's prestigious Right Livelihood Award in 2000. Obama's boyhood home in Jakarta's Menteng neighborhood is a short distance from the office of Kontras, the human rights organization where my husband worked.

Like the Obamas, my husband and I had two beautiful children, now ages 11 and 7. Unlike Malia and Sasha, my children have lost their father.

In September 2004, my husband was fatally poisoned on a flight from Indonesia to the Netherlands. Nearly six years later, no one has been held accountable for ordering his murder.

Indonesian courts have found three people guilty of directly causing Munir's death: two employees of the airline and an off- duty Garuda pilot who was also an intelligence agent. These individuals had no personal motive to kill my husband. All indications are that they did not act on their own initiative. Yet authorities have not determined whether other members of the security or intelligence services ordered Munir's death. In December 2008, a senior intelligence official, Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono, was acquitted of ordering the murder in a trial that our National Commission on Human Rights has called seriously flawed. Indonesian police and the Office of the Attorney General have taken no further steps to resolve the case.

Years earlier, Muchdi Purwopranjono lost his job in Kopassus, the special forces, after my husband revealed the general's involvement in the abduction and torture of pro-reform student activists in the late 1990s. I helped Munir investigate the disappearances. Munir also brought to light allegations of Kopassus's involvement in other serious human rights abuses in East Timor and Papua, and he strongly opposed the brutal practices of the Indonesian military – including Kopassus – in the province of Aceh.

The United States rightly refused to support Kopassus because of its members' involvement in these and other incidents of abuse. But the Obama administration, seeking to improve ties with Indonesia, has agreed to allow training to resume if the government will ensure that those convicted of abuse would be moved out of Kopassus.

Promises to shift abusers out of Kopassus and into other military units are simply not enough. Members of Kopassus have no fear that they will be prosecuted for serious wrongdoing. The special forces protect members who are implicated in such abuses. Even the few who have been convicted by military courts are largely still serving. This will not change until members of the security service who have committed abuses are brought to justice.

The US decision also undercuts the work of civil society groups. In March four prominent Indonesian non-governmental human rights organizations suggested strict conditions for any US reengagement with Kopassus, noting that "nothing has been done to restore the rights of the victims or punish those who were responsible."

The Obama administration opted for a lower standard for reengagement than what we in Indonesian civil society have asked for, even as the Pentagon points to meetings with people like me as evidence of Indonesia's transition to a rights-respecting democracy.

Indonesia has made much progress on the road to democracy and stability, but enhancing the reach of a powerful military force that lacks respect for the rule of law jeopardizes those hard- fought gains. Obama is rewarding Kopassus without requiring accountability. I fear that the Indonesian security services will again get away with murder.

The people of Indonesia have faith in Obama's humanitarian values, particularly his power to encourage positive change in our country. The next steps for his administration are clear: Reverse the decision to train Kopassus in the absence of such change and persuade President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to honor Indonesia's international obligations for justice. Help me give my children an answer about their father's murder.

[The writer was married to Indonesian human rights activist Munir Thalib, who was killed in 2004.]

Politics & political parties

Indonesia's PDI-P hopes to stem tide of defectors

Jakarta Globe - July 30, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The main opposition party will convene a key national meeting next week to put a stop to a spate of defections among its 5,000 regional officials, including governors, mayors, district heads and legislators, a party leader announced on Friday.

Puan Maharani, a senior member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and chairwoman of the meeting's organizing committee, said the event would take place in Bogor next Wednesday and Thursday.

Puan, who is the eldest daughter of party chairwoman and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, said it was important to address the issue of party loyalty amid real and potential threats.

"That's why we've invited all national and local legislators from the PDI-P, as well regional party branch heads and regional administration heads backed by the party," she said.

The meeting follows on a series of high-level defections by PDI-P-backed regional heads who have joined other parties.

Some of the high-profile ones include Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, who previously served as West Sumatra governor on the PDI-P's platform, and North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Harry Sarundajang, who was recently appointed to the ruling Democratic Party's advisory board.

Puan said that technically, such officials were not required to become PDI-P members.

"However, what's at issue here is their sense of political ethics, whether they're loyal to their constituents," she said. "This issue will receive special focus at the meeting."

Bambang Wuryanto, secretary of the PDI-P at the House of Representatives, said it was unlikely the party would require future regional head candidates to become members. "That kind of commitment is a matter of ideology and habit, and we can't force that on anyone," he said.

The PDI-P has also raised concerns about the political ambitions of the National Democrats social organization.

On Monday, Eriko Sotarduga, a PDI-P deputy secretary general, said the party had notified all its members to dissociate themselves from the nascent group, founded by media mogul and former Golkar Party heavyweight Surya Paloh.

Golkar, reportedly concerned over the potential share of voters it would hemorrhage to the new group, has already warned its own members to distance themselves from it.

Meanwhile, Puan said next week's meeting would also try to boost coordination efforts among PDI-P members occupying high public positions, as well discuss current issues and the party's response to them. "We want to synergize our various work programs in line with the party's principles," she said.

Another PDI-P deputy secretary general, Hasto Kristianto, said the meeting would discuss alternatives to current government policies on key issues, which the party deems inadequate.

PDI-P joins Golkar in telling members to avoid National Democrats

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The opposition juggernaut Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has become the latest party after Golkar to caution against the rising prominence of the National Democrats, a social organization with seeming political ambitions.

Eriko Sotarduga, the deputy secretary general of the PDI-P, said on Monday that the party had notified all its members to dissociate themselves from the National Democrats.

The National Democrats, founded by media mogul and former Golkar heavyweight Surya Paloh, have previously hinted at mobilizing as a political party in time to contest the 2014 general elections, although Surya has consistently avoided addressing the issue directly.

Golkar, reportedly concerned over the potential share of voters it would hemorrhage to the new group, has already warned its own members to distance themselves from it.

Eriko said the PDI-P's warning was issued last week as part of recommendations to improve party members' performance.

He said the PDI-P would not tolerate any of its members dedicating more efforts to other organizations, particularly if it had funded their various campaigns and projects.

"Why should we work for the benefit of others?" he said. "We need to prioritize the party's own interests."

Eriko added that most of the PDI-P members currently active with the National Democrats were also legislators at either the House of Representatives or at regional legislatures, and should focus on their official duties and constituents rather than on the nascent group.

Eriko argued that Surya's noncommittal stance belied the fact that the most of the activities in which the National Democrats were currently engaged were of a political nature, and said the PDI-P needed to consolidate to prevent the group taking away the party's votes if and when it mobilized as a party.

Eriko also denied reports that PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri had permitted Surya to canvass the party's members to staff his organization. "We've never spoken about anything of the sort," he said.

Another party leery of the National Democrats is the Islamic- based National Awakening Party (PKB).

Senior PKB official Marwan Ja'far said a recent national-level meeting of the party had concluded that the only civil society group that party members could be affiliated to was Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's biggest Islamic organization and an important voter base for the PKB.

"Organizations other than the NU, such as the National Democrats, should be off-limits to our members," Marwan said, adding that party members not heeding the order would be disciplined accordingly.

"It's common knowledge that the National Democrats plan to become a political party, even though they front as a nonpolitical group."

High-ranking officials from several parties currently hold posts with the National Democrats, including the PDI-P's Rustriningsih, who is the Central Java deputy governor, and Golkar's Syamsul Ma'arif, from the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU).

A senior Golkar Party official previously said the party had warned its members against joining the National Democrats in response to a call by the latter for regional Golkar members to join the organization.

However, the National Democrats said the warning was inappropriate, and called for a high-level dialogue between officials from the two groups to settle any differences between them.

Electoral commission & elections

Lapindo chiefs fail in Sidoarjo poll

Jakarta Post - July 31, 2010

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo, East Java – PT Lapindo Brantas' latest effort to win public support after triggering a disastrous mudflow in Sidoarjo failed when its top executives were beaten in the regional election.

The company, owned by Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, has been blamed for the mudflow disaster that has displaced thousands of people in the region since May 2006.

The official election results released by the Sidoarjo General Elections Commission (KPUD) showed that Bambang Prasetyo Widodo and Yuniwati Teryana, both Lapindo Brantas executives who ran for regent, were soundly defeated.

The Saiful Illah-Hadi Sutjipto ticket won the election with 450,586 votes, or 60.46 percent of total votes.

"Saiful and his running mate Hadi will be sworn in as Sidoarjo regent and deputy regent on Oct. 31," KPUD head Ansori told The Jakarta Post.

One of Saiful's campaign themes was "Don't vote for leaders from Lapindo".

Bambang Prasetyo Widodo, who is a director of a PT Lapindo Brantas subsidiary, came in second with 132,977 votes, or 17.84 percent. Bambang and running mate Khoirul Huda, a Sidoarjo mudflow community group figure, were nominated by the Golkar Party and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Sidoarjo Regent Win Hendrarso's wife, Emy Susanti, who ran with Khulaim Djunaidi, a Sidoarjo legislator for the 2009-2014 tenure, secured 82,918 votes, or 11.13 percent. They were nominated by the National Mandate Party and Gerindra.

Yuniwati Teryana, a Lapindo Brantas vice president and her running mate – nominated by the Democratic Party – collected 54,593 votes, or 7.32 percent.

They were followed by independent candidates Agung Subali and Samsul Wahid, who won 24,247 votes, or 3.25 percent. Some 1,286,649 people cast votes on the July 27 election.

Regent-elect Saiful vowed secure compensation for mudflow victims.

Abdul Rokhim, a mudflow victim, said none of the candidates had outlined a clear plan to resolve the mudflow issue.

Rokhim said Aburizal Bakrie had supported the campaign of the Lapindo executives to muffle the issue. "Everyone knows that the two candidates from Lapindo are part of an effort to protect the interests of Aburizal Bakrie in Porong, Sidoarjo," he said.

A member of Yuniwati's campaign team, Asip Hasani, said Lapindo Brantas would resolve the compensation issue regardless of the poll results.

Saiful, nominated by the National Awakening Party, the United Development Party, the Peace Prosperity Party and the Justice Prosperity Party, served as deputy regent for the 2005-2010 term.

In July 2005, the Alliance of Independent Journalists reported that Saiful had physically abused a journalist. Saiful has also been accused of fraud and unlawful land seizure during his tenure.

Human rights & law

Victim tells of Jakarta police hit-&-run to rights watchdog

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Zaky Pawas, Jakarta – A student on Thursday reported police officers to the National Commission on Human Rights for a hit-and-run that happened at a street protest more than two years ago.

"I reported the case to Komnas HAM because I want it to be thoroughly investigated," said Apriyanto, a student at the State Islamic Institute of Jambi. "I want the guilty police officers to be fired."

The incident occurred on June 24, 2008, during a student protest against government-backed fuel price hikes, in front of the House of Representatives in Senayan.

The incident has garnered renewed prominence after the release this week of a video showing Apriyanto being struck by the police car before being launched spectacularly through the air as the car speeds off. The video was posted on the Internet through micro blogging site Twitter.

"I was getting ready to leave when the police car suddenly hit me," Apriyanto said. "I was thrown three to four meters. I remember being thrown to the pavement, but after that I don't remember anything."

He said he was hospitalized at the Indonesian Christian University Hospital in East Jakarta, suffering from a bruised neck and a knee injury.

"I had injuries to my knee, neck, and bruises on my body," Apriyanto said, adding that he was treated for three days, while his friends paid his medical bills. "I'm here today to demand that whoever did this to me be punished, and I demand compensation as well."

He acknowledged that the Jakarta Police, through spokesman Boy Rafli Amar, had apologized for the incident. "It means that the police admit that it happened," he said.

According to Boy, the patrol car was driven by West Jakarta Police officer Sahut Sihombing, who claimed that Apriyanto was carrying a firebomb.

"The protesters were carrying Molotov cocktails," he said, adding that Apriyanto was not thrown all that far. "He was only slightly bruised by the car."

Apriyanto denied that he was carrying any kind of weapon. "I wasn't carrying anything. The street was empty at the time because the crowd had already dispersed, and traffic was running smoothly," he said after filing his complaint.

National Police spokesman Marwoto Soeto said he doubted the video was uploaded for political purposes.

"I don't think so," he said. "Nobody hates the police. The police are humanitarians now."

Student lays complaint two years after police hit-and-run

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Jakarta – An Indonesian student protester struck by a police car during a demonstration in 2008 filed a complaint with the National Commission of Human Rights in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

Though the incident happened two years ago during a protest against government fuel price hikes, it has only recently gained prominence after a video emerged of the unfortunate student flying spectacularly through the air before the police car speeds off.

Apriyanto, a university student from Jambi, said he rejected police claims that he was brandishing a Molotov cocktail when the incident happened as well as allegations of actual rioting at the time of the hit-and-run.

"I wasn't carrying anything. Instead the street was empty at the time because the rallying crowd had already dispersed and traffic was running smoothly," Apriyanto told journalists after lodging his complaint.

Police have launched an investigation to determine who uploaded the Internet video, which has gone viral. Apriyanto said thiat on June 24, 2008, around 1,000 students staged a rally to protest the raising price of oil fuel in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) before dispersing.

"I was on my way to leave when suddenly a police car hit me. I was thrown three to four meters in distance."

He said he was hospitalized at the Indonesian Christian University Hospital in East Jakarta, suffering from a bruised neck and a knee injury.

"So I am here to demand that whoever did this to me be punished and I demand compensation," he said.

Police say hit-and-run video implicating officer was faked

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2010

Jakarta – Jakarta Police said that a 15-second video that depicts a police cruiser hitting a student protester and flinging him into the air was faked in an attempt to defame the institution, a spokesman says.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said Wednesday that the police were now trying to determine who uploaded the video to the Internet. "The video has been edited. The car indeed grazed a person but did not fling him into the air," Boy said.

The short video, which is widely available on the Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter sites, shows a police car slowing down on a city street. The police cruiser then sped away after students emerged and began throwing objects at the car.

Boy said it wasn't a hit-and-run incident. "The police officer was trying to save himself and the car from a mob," he added.

Boy said the video was recorded on June 24, 2008, during riots in Jakarta that followed an increase in fuel prices.

The police officer who drove the car, which was assigned the official number of 3024, was Saut Sihombing, an officer of the West Jakarta Police, Boy added.

Saut was on his way into a gas station in Semanggi, Central Jakarta, when his police cruiser was surrounded by protesters, Boy said.

"The car was hit by stones, while some Molotov cocktails were thrown but missed. The car's speed was 20 kilometers per hour," he said, while showing pictures of the police cruiser's broken windows.

Saut later admitted that he grazed someone with his police car, but it was done in self-defense, Boy said.

The victim was identified as Arpianto, 22, a student at Jambi's State Islamic University. Reports said the student was not injured badly and was taken to Jakarta Hospital in Central Jakarta and later moved to Christian University Hospital in Cawang, East Jakarta.

The government raised fuel prices by an average 28.7 percent per liter in May 2008. The price of premium gasoline was raised from Rp 4,500 (48 US cents) to Rp 6,000, diesel from Rp 4,300 to Rp 5,500 and kerosene from Rp 2,000 to Rp 2,500.

Rioters responded by destroying two cars outside the House of Representatives and Atma Jaya Catholic University, Central Jakarta.

Police later named five suspects in the brutal protests, who were alleged to have committed mass attacks and vandalism during the rallies. One of five, Joko Julianto, was later convicted of provoking the riot. There were no deaths reported.

"The case was closed. If the victim wants to appeal, we can start an investigation," Boy said. "It is up to the public to judge this incident," he added. (not)

LPSK vows to protect assaulted ICW activist

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – The nation's witness protection agency has begun assigning security guards and legal assistance to antigraft activist Tama Satrya Langkun, who was brutally assaulted this month.

Tama, a researcher with Indonesia Corruption Watch, was ambushed by four unknown assailants on July 8, leaving him hospitalized with serious injuries.

ICW said Tama was the key researcher behind its report to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force that alleged several National Police generals held suspiciously large bank accounts.

Abdul Haris Semendawai, chairman of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), said Tama's request for protection was filed on July 13 and had been duly approved. "We concluded last week that Tama was still under grave physical and legal threats," he told the Jakarta Globe on Monday.

He said the LPSK would ensure Tama was shielded from possible criminal defamation charges in relation to the ICW report, as well as from future acts of intimidation.

"Tama requested that his protection be limited to a personal day-to-day escort and legal assistance," Semendawai said, adding that the agency would also provide a lawyer to accompany Tama to police interviews.

"He won't be placed in a safe house for the moment and will be allowed to continue working unhindered at ICW, although his social activities may be curtailed."

Tama on Monday signed the agreement for protection at the LPSK office in Central Jakarta, where he was accompanied by advocates from the Jakarta chapter of the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH). "From today onward, I'm officially under LPSK protection," Tama told the Globe.

He has been interviewed by police three times since the attack, and provided them with the phone numbers of people who had made threatening calls as well as the license plate numbers of vehicles he believed had been tailing him prior to the attack.

Police say they have identified at least two of Tama's attackers but have not yet arrested them. They added some of the license plate numbers were fake.

Last week, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said it would conduct its own investigation into the case, citing the police's seeming reluctance to take any action.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the LBH have also taken up similar inquiries. Last week, LBH advocate Nurcholis said that hours before the assault, a Jakarta Police officer, identified only as an adjutant senior commissioner, had met with Tama at the ICW office to warn him he could be in danger.

Police ask for calm after video shows cop car striking student

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2010

Jakarta Police have launched an investigation after a video emerged of a police car striking a student protester and sending him flying before speeding off – not because of the actions of the officer behind the wheel, but to determine the motivation of the person who uploaded the clip on the Internet.

"We are investigating who uploaded the video and what his or her motive was," Jakarta Police Spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafly Amar told Detik.com.

The short video, which is widely available on the Internet, clearly shows the car striking the student. It appears the police car initially slows down but is forced to speed off when other students emerge and pelt it with objects.

Twitter users have identified the victim as Arpianto, a student from Jambi's State Islamic University (IAIN). He was reportedly not badly injured, though he spent a couple of days in Jakarta Hospital.

Boy said the incident on Jalan Sudirman happened in June 2008 when students rallied against fuel price increases. He said the officer had reported the incident to his superiors at Jakarta Police.

National Police Spokesman Marwoto Soeto, meanwhile, said he doubted the person who uploaded the video had political motives or a hatred of National Police.

"I don't think so. Nobody hates the police. The police are humanitarians now," he said. "However, I am asking the public not to spread things that could damage the police image. Just calm down, let us conduct an investigation first."

Twitter users said the victim was Arpianto, a student from Jambi's State Islamic University (IAIN) who joined the rally. He survived the accident and he was taken to Jakarta Hospital.

My Jakarta: Putri Kanesia, Kontras Lawyer

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Zack Petersen – Putri Kanesia, a lawyer at Kontras, may not be at today's protest of renewed ties between the US military and the Kopassus special forces unit, which has been accused of human rights violations, but her heart is certainly with the cause.

Here, Putri talks about alleged torture tactics used by the police, violations of the Ahmadiyah's religious freedoms, her passion for activism and why she has nothing to fear.

Can you tell us about Kontras [Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence]?

Kontras was founded in 1998 by several civil society organizations, victims and student organizations, and is responsible for investigating past cases – usually from the year 2000 or before that – – involving disappearances and torture.

We probe various massacres and violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings, unlawful murder, censure of activists, torture and religious oppression.

Can you talk about the photos behind you?

We can see Wiji Thukul, a vocal pro-democracy activist, who was abducted under former President Suharto's regime in 1998.

There's also a picture of Munir [Said Thalib]. He was coordinator for Kontras who was allegedly poisoned in 2004 on his way to the Netherlands. There are also images of Elang and Yun Hap, victims of the Triskati University and Semanggi I shootings of 1998.

Tell us about the cases that you're working on right now.

Day-by-day activities include handling various cases and issues; not only the past human rights violations, but also facing lots of complaints related to human rights violations.

Our desk is focused on acts of torture committed by the military and police. We usually represent and aid the victims in any way we can.

Recently, we saw instances when hard-line religious groups, in the name of their faith, oppressed people by trying to limit their activities, like what happened with the Ahmadiyah [an Islamic minority sect]. Religious rights are severely oppressed in Indonesia.

What kind of investigations result in torture?

Usually, it's cases concerning terrorism, murder or cases that are so severe that the police use torture so suspects confess. Several police stations in Jakarta still resort to unconventional forms of interrogation, either through violence or electrocution.

But I recently stumbled upon a case where the suspect's wife was electrocuted so police could force a confession. So it's not just the captured person who is tortured, but also family and loved ones.

Should activists in Jakarta be afraid of the police?

There are times when activists are prevented from speaking out. Activists try to fight for human rights through different means, like winning seats in the House of Representatives [DPR]in order to fight back through politics.

These threats and actions against activists point out a key fact: That what we are doing is right. These people fear us, and we are capable of change.

Do you consider yourself an activist or lawyer first?

I'm an activist, first and foremost.

Do you fear for your safety?

Actually, I never really set out to be part of Kontras. But since I was a child, I have always wanted to be a lawyer. By chance, I became involved in the life of an activist.

Working in Kontras, I've learned things about life that I probably wouldn't have known if I didn't work here. Concerning my fears as an activist, I think everybody has some level of fear. Yet, if we are speaking the truth and doing the right thing, then we have no reason to be afraid.

Do you think that Indonesians are as free as they believe?

Indonesia, the only Asean country with laws that protect freedom of the press, is seen as free. Of course there are often cases where the press are attacked for speaking out, like what happened with Tempo magazine.

On the other hand, freedom of religion is severely violated. In fact, I find it extremely difficult to even say that Indonesia has any freedom of religion.

Last February, Kontras and other nongovernmental organizations conducted a national review that questioned the Indonesian Constitution for recognizing only six major religions [Islam, Catholicism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism].

Limiting the nation to six religions is unfounded, since Indonesia's numerous islands and cultures are subject to a variety of religions and ethnic beliefs.

Because of these limitations, minorities cannot obtain marriage licenses, birth certificates or identity cards unless they check off one of the six religions recognized by the government. People are forced to choose from the six options.

What is the media's role in terms of human rights?

In the event of a case, the media can help Kontras with its investigations and access avenues we can't. I think the media is a great way to spread information.

People wake up in the morning and the first thing they do is read the paper. But on the other hand, the media can be difficult because it is possible that they can spread the wrong information or provoke the people's response. For example, they can say, 'This religion is a cult' or 'This group is right and this group is wrong.'

What's a typical day for you?

I work in the office and tackle cases handed to me. If cases require me to go out in the field, then I go to the police station or other places to investigate.

Which case are you most proud of successfully closing?

We can't necessarily measure our worth by the outcome of each case. We must measure it through the overall effect our efforts have in society and in the government, like whether or not the DPR passes laws in our favor and things like that. So if we see evidence of change, then that is satisfying enough.

Freedom of expression & press

Merauke food estate linked with journalist's death

Tempo Interactive - July 30, 2010

Jakarta – A second journalist death reported today (30/7) four days after a senior journalist with Indonesia's major paper Kompas found dead at the beginning of the week, which sparked another reaction from the Alliance of Independent Journalists.

Ardiansyah a reporter who is listed with a local Tabloid called "Jubi" was found dead today on Gudang Arang River in Merauke, a regency in the southern tip of Papua province, 670 kilometers south of Jayapura.

His body was found floating naked on the water early in the day two days after he was reported disappeared and reportedly had been buried this afternoon at local cemetery.

Jayapura Chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists linked the death with the regional election which conflict fueled by the giant food estate project in the regency which drawn huge investors, among others, from the middle east and asia.

"Based on the record there were at least four journalist terrorized through text message or phone calls. The Merauke Food Estate has made the competition for regional chief unhealthy," Victor Mambor chairman of the local branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalist told Tempo in a telephone interview.

The regional election committee is now at the stage of verifying the contenders for the regent of Merauke and election is expected next month or in September. Victor said what is behind the death should be uncovered.

The Legal Aid Press an affiliate of the Alliance of Independent Journalist based in Jakarta also released a statement urging the police to investigate the death.

Merauke police said there were no abusive marks found on Ardiansyah's body and that they are sending the autopsy report to the police forensic lab in Makassar.

This is the second journalist death reported in five days after the death report of a bureau chief with Kompas in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan who is known for his environmental reports, on Monday (26/7). Ardiansyah had previously worked for national private TV channel ANTV and local Merauke TV.

Journalists in Papua on edge as body of colleague found

Jakarta Globe - July 30, 2010

Banjir Ambarita, Papua – The body of Ardiansyah Matra'is, a journalist for Merauke TV, was found in the Gudang Arang River in Merauke, Papua, on Friday morning, two days after he had been declared missing.

Merauke Police Chief Adj. Comr. Joko Prihadi said the body of the missing journalist had been located at about 6:30 a.m. by members of the National Search and Rescue Agency and the police.

The officer said the body had been transported to Merauke General Hospital, but that it was still uncertain whether an autopsy would be performed to help determine a cause of death.

"The victim's family is reluctant for an autopsy to be performed," Joko said. He said residents had found Ardiansyah's motorcycle and helmet near a bridge in Merauke.

Ardiansyah worked as a stringer for ANTV, a national television network, and as a reporter for Papua's Rajawali daily before joining Merauke TV.

Jojo, the chief editor of Rajawali, told news portal Kompas.com that journalists in Papua had received death threats in text messages over the past week.

"The SMS messages said that journalists in Papua would be killed and that there would be no action taken by the police or the military," Jojo said.

"Several journalists filed a report with the Merauke Police over the death threats."

Jojo speculated the threats were related to the upcoming election for district head in Merauke.

He said one text message read: "To cowardly journalists, never play with fire if you don't want to be burned. If you still want to make a living on this land, don't do weird things. We have data on all of you and be prepared for death."

A spokesman for the Papua Police, Sr. Comr. Wachyono, confirmed complaints had been filed over threatening messages. "Merauke Police have received reports of SMS threats to journalists and an investigation is ongoing," Wachyono said.

US defamation bill puts free speech protections in spotlight

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Ismira Lutfia – The recent passage of a bill aimed to protect US citizens from libel lawsuits in foreign countries has once again put the spotlight on Indonesia's defamation laws, with Human Rights Watch saying it should serve as a "wake-up call."

Backers of the bill, which was passed on Tuesday by the US House of Representatives, have cited Indonesia as one of the places where it was easier for a plaintiff suing for libel to get a favorable court ruling.

According to Senator Patrick Leahy, one of the sponsors of the bill, one goal of the law is "to protect people who live and work in the United States from the chilling effect on free speech of overbroad defamation laws in force around the world."

Journalists and human rights organizations have long criticized Indonesia's criminal defamation laws, which Human Rights Watch says "undermine democracy, the rule of law and freedom of expression in Indonesia."

Christen Broecker, from Human Rights Watch's Asia, wrote in an e-mail to the Jakarta Globe that "Indonesian government officials should see the US bill as a wake-up call," that laws such as the 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law, which authorizes steep fines and prison sentences for Internet defamation, raise concerns abroad that the nation remains a place where free speech is at risk.

Hendrayana, who is chairman of the Legal Aid Foundation for the Press (LBH Pers), added that although the Constitution guarantees the freedom of expression in the country, it still lacks clear protocols on what constitutes free speech and press freedom.

Even if press freedom is further guaranteed by the 1999 Press Law, a Human Rights Watch report on criminal defamation law released in May said the law "is insufficient to protect journalists. As a result, despite parliament's intention to encourage media freedom, journalists and editors remain exposed to the risk of criminalization for doing their work."

"The government could take the bill as an example to provide better protection for freedom of expression and press freedom here, and to ensure that there are no laws that hinder free speech," Hendrayana said.

The US law will not have a direct effect on Indonesian court rulings, but media experts warn of the fine line between a country protecting its citizens and intruding on another nation's business.

"The law will permit US courts to evaluate defamation judgments rendered by foreign courts, including Indonesian courts, against American writers or publishers and determine whether those judgments are inconsistent with the free speech protections of the US Constitution," Broecker said.

Human rights activist Todung Mulya Lubis agreed, saying that Indonesian court rulings on defamation charges would not be executable in the United States, especially if the journalist or writer was not a resident of Indonesia.

Press Council chairman Bagir Manan said it was normal for countries to protect its citizens, but added that the United States "also has to respect Indonesia's national sovereignty."

The LBH's Hendrayana, who is critical of Indonesia's defamation laws, says that "each country must observe and respect that other countries have their own jurisdictions."

Suspicion hangs over Kompas editor's death

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Kinanti Pinta Karana & Nivell Rayda, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan – The head of Kompas newspaper's Kalimantan bureau, Muhammad Syaifullah, was found dead at his house in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Monday.

Initial autopsy results indicated he had suffered a stroke but further tests will be carried out at the police forensic laboratory in Surabaya to rule out any possibility of foul play.

Some journalists believe Syaifullah could have been killed because of his reports on sensitive environmental issues.

RCTI journalist Nurhadi and a colleague found his body. He told the Jakarta Globe they went to the house at the request of Syaifullah's wife, who lives in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, as she had been unable to reach him since Saturday night.

"He was on the sofa in front of the TV set, with the remote control in his right hand," Nurhadi said. "His face was blue."

Wahyu Hidayat, the other journalist who found the body, said the door was unlocked when they arrived.

"I knew him for a long time," Wahyu said. "We once shared a house and I know he never had any serious illnesses. Syaifullah liked playing sports so there is no way he suffered a heart attack."

Born in South Kalimantan in 1967, Syaifullah joined Kompas in 1996. He is survived by his wife, Isnainijah Sri Rohmani, and two young daughters.

As the Kalimantan bureau chief for Kompas, Syaifullah's main focus was environmental issues. He oversaw articles written about the numerous coal-mining permits issued by the provincial government of East Kalimantan.

As word of his death spread, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) said it was planning to investigate.

"We are still monitoring the case of our friend's death," Nezar Patria, chairman of the organization also known as AJI, told the Jakarta Globe. "We will wait for the autopsy results to determine whether his death was due to natural causes or foul play.

"If he was murdered or poisoned, AJI will form a team to investigate if his death was related to his journalistic work."

Nezar said the AJI would also liaise with the province's mining authorities. "The connection to the mining industry will be included in our investigation, but we have to see what the autopsy results are," he said.

Hendrayana, chairman of the Legal Aid Foundation for the Press (LBH Press), said his group had deployed several advocates to monitor the police investigation into the death.

"There are suspicions that he was poisoned because of the news he was covering. We will coordinate with the police to ensure that they are serious about investigating the cause of death," Hendrayana said.

Balikpapan Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Aji Rafik said there were no indications of foul play.

"So far we haven't found any indication that he was murdered. For now, all evidence suggests Syaifullah died of natural causes," he said.

"We are now conducting interviews of several witnesses linked to his death, including the security guards monitoring the deceased's housing complex, for any suspicious activities."

LBH Press said last month there had been seven reports this year of intimidation of journalists reporting on deforestation and illegal mining.

Hendrayana said local police were unresponsive to journalists' complaints about such treatment, and only investigated if there was pressure from the public or advocates.

In a statement released on June 3 to mark World Environment Day, Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said: "Attacks on journalists and bloggers who try to cover any kind of environmental damage are growing steadily all over the world, but those who investigate industrial pollution or the destruction of forests are particularly exposed."

AJI to look into death of Kompas journalist

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Kinanti Pinta Karana, Jakarta – The Alliance of Independent Journalists said that they are planning to investigate the death of Kompas journalist Muhammad Syaifullah depending on the autopsy results.

"We are still monitoring the case of our friend's death, Muhammad Syaifullah. We will wait for the autopsy results to determine whether his death was due to natural causes or foul play," Nezar Patria, chairman of the organization also known as AJI, told the Jakarta Globe.

"If he was murdered or poisoned, AJI will form a team to investigate if his death was related to his journalistic work."

In the past, AJI was closely involved in the the murder investigation of Anak Agung Narendra Prabangsa, a journalist for Radar Bali newspaper. Prabangsa was killed last year over a series of articles he had written for Radar Bali outlining widespread corruption in local government projects.

As the Kalimantan bureau head for Kompas, one of Syaifullah's main focus was on the area's environmental issues. He oversaw articles written about the numerous coal-mining permits issued by the provincial government of East Kalimantan.

Nezar said AJI would also communicate with the province's mining authorities. "The connection to the mining industry will be included in our investigation, but we have to see what the autopsy results are," Nezar said.

"Syaifullah's demise is a huge loss for all of us [journalists], and if he was murdered, it's a black day for the Indonesian press," he added.

Meanwhile, Balikpapan Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Aji Rafik said the police did not find any indication of foul play. "So far, we haven't found any indication that he was murdered. His house was neat and no valuables were missing," he said.

He also said that they found a number of over-the-counter and prescription medicines on the scene. Rafik alleged that Syaifullah died of a heart condition, high blood pressure and diabetes, even though the results of the autopsy have yet to be revealed.

Wahyu, a friend of Syaifullah's who found his body, refuted the police's statement as inaccurate. "There was only headache medicine, Bodrex and migraine tablets," he told online news portal detik.com.

"I knew him for a long time. We once shared a house and I know for sure that he had never had any serious diseases. Syaifullah liked doing sports activities," the former TV stringer said.

Wahyu went to the house upon the request of Syaifullah's wife to check on her husband, as he lived at the staff house by himself. Syaifullah's family lives in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. The autopsy is currently being performed at the Bhayangkara Hospital in Balikpapan.

Intimidation of Indonesian journalists nothing new

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Indonesian journalists covering green issues are "frequently threatened or bribed," Reporters Without Borders warned two months before the suspicious death of environmental journalist Muhammad Syaifullah.

The nongovernmental organization that advocates freedom of the press, in a June 9 statement posted on its Web site, said it was concerned about a journalist in Aceh who was forced into hiding after he was threatened by a military officer for writing about illegal logging.

"It is unacceptable just days after World Environment Day on 5 June that a journalist is being treated like this for writing about deforestation," Reporters Without Borders said. "The Indonesian authorities, especially the defense minister, must react by punishing the army officer responsible for these threats."

The organization identified the journalist as Ahmadi, who works for the local daily Harian Aceh.

In its recent report "Deforestation and pollution, high-risk subjects," Reporters Without Borders, in its statement, noted that local and foreign journalists were frequently threatened or bribed in connection with their coverage of illegal logging in Indonesia, which leads the world in deforestation.

That statement continued that Ahmadi was warned by a local Army officer, Lt. Faisal Amin, not to write about alleged illegal logging on land belonging to local police.

When the article still appeared, Lt. Faisal invited Ahmadi to a military base. When he arrived his laptop and mobile phone were taken, Lt. Faisal discharged his weapon and he shouted: "You liar. You have humiliated me three times. I told you not to publish it but you insisted."

"Lt. Amin then beat Ahmadi about the head, face and chest and threatened to kill his family if he did not retract the article's claims. Ahmadi nonetheless refused and, after four hours of mistreatment, he was released. He filed a complaint at the Simeulue district police station before going to a hospital for treatment to his injuries," the statement read.

No action was ever taken against Lt. Faisal, though soldiers were sent to protect Ahmadi's family at their home.

Ahmadi, who has been living in hiding, far from his family, since the incident, told Reporters Without Borders: "I want justice to be done. I want my assailant to be tried before a civilian court. I also request protection for my family and myself during and after the trial. Despite the appointment of a new commander in the district of Simeulue and his attempts to reassure me about our safety, I am still worried."

Labour & migrant workers

Indonesia still heavily reliant on domestic workers

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2010

Jakarta – Millions of households in Indonesia depend heavily on the services of domestic workers, such as nannies and housemaids, who are practically in charge of doing most basic household chores.

Baby-sitting, cooking, cleaning, and even some non-household work, such as carrying heavy items, have all become part of their daily tasks.

"We can clearly see the impact of these workers on the country's economic productivity, which falls to 40 percent before and after the Idul Fitri holiday, when housemaids and nannies return to their hometowns," Lita Anggraini, the chairwoman of the Domestic Workers Advocacy Network (Jala PRT), said.

The National Economic Census in 2002 estimated there were 2.6 million domestic workers, but the number has risen since, reaching around 4 million now, Lita said.

Of the 4 million, 2.8 million work full time (up to 14 hours per day), from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., and as many as 80 percent of the full-timers usually live with their employers. The average monthly salary for full-time domestic workers in Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, Semarang, and Tangerang is between Rp 300,000 (US$33.3) and Rp 500,000.

Part-time housemaids usually only clean and wash clothes, working in multiple households for an average 48 hours a week and a monthly salary of between Rp 300,000 and Rp 400,000.

Apart from the low wages, domestic helpers, both those working in the country and abroad, are vulnerable to human rights abuses and are often denied the protection of regular labor laws.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) said that these workers, including children, are often forced to work more than 15 hours a day seven days a week for low wages or even no wages at all, and sometimes fall victim to sexual or physical abuse.

Jala PRT says that in the case of domestic workers, there were 472 reported cases of labor rights violations committed by employers since 2004, with 30 percent of them involving children as young as 12 in exploitative conditions, and with the rest relating to unpaid wages or late payment of wages.

A recent case of physical abuse hit headlines on July 14 in Pasawaran, Lampung, where 16-year-old housemaid Devi Puspitasari escaped from her employers, who allegedly frequently beat and whipped her since 2009.

But not all housemaids in the country are treated abusively by their employers, so some stories offer hopeful and positive messages.

Siti Aminah, 45, from Kudus, Central Java, for instance, said she was grateful to work for her employer in Sunter, North Jakarta, since the 1970s. "I have Sunday off every week when I usually visit my daughter and her husband in Kemayoran," she said.

Siti's salary is around Rp 700,000, and she gets a bonus at Idul Fitri. "But what really matters is the fact that my employers care not only about me but also my family," she said.

"They even helped pay for my daughter's wedding last year," Siti said, adding that she was satisfied with the bond and trust between her and her employers. (tsy)

PLN trying to break up union, workers charge

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Farouk Arnaz & Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – Members of a labor union at state electricity utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara have filed a criminal complaint against the company's board of directors over claims of union-busting.

PLN workers' union chairman Ahmad Daryoko filed the complaint on Monday with the National Police, accompanied by legal representatives from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH).

It claims PLN president director Dahlan Iskan unfairly punished several union members who had opposed the firm's decision to increase electricity rates on the first of this month.

"It seems that the board of directors did not take to kindly to our position on this issue and has begun alienating us," Ahmad said.

Management had rescinded several of the facilities the workers previously enjoyed, including a fax machine and telephones. The board had also set up a new trade union, ostensibly to undermine the existing one.

Ahmad said the treatment of unionized workers was particularly harsh because they had also called for a judicial review of the new electricity law that opens up the power market to private sector competition.

The law is aimed at gradually ending PLN's monopoly on the domestic power market, which the union deems unconstitutional because it takes control of the key sector out of the government's hands.

"We believe the PLN management is trying to intimidate us into silence by imposing sanctions, reassigning individual workers and in some cases firing workers strongly opposed to their policy," Achmad said. The charge, under the 2000 Union Law, could see Dahlan and other PLN executives face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Dahlan, meanwhile, shrugged off the complaint against him as a pointless move on the part of the workers. "I'm fine with it because it only serves to make me more famous," he said with a laugh.

The new electricity law, which replaces legislation from 1985, was passed in September after five years of deliberations.

The government is still finalizing exactly how it will be implemented, but it is clear that it will remove PLN's long-held monopoly on selling electricity directly to consumers by allowing private companies into the sector, which stakeholders say is in dire need of investment.

The union's Achmad previously said that customers would be vulnerable to price volatility if the sector was privatized.

"If the companies that generate the power are different from those that distribute it and sell it, there will be a much more complex process that may cost customers triple the taxes and overhead fees," he said.

"If current production costs stand at an average Rp 1,200 [13 cents] per kilowatt hour, with the new scheme it may end up being more than Rp 1,500 per kilowatt hour."

Environment & natural disasters

Damage claims in Timor oil spill keep spreading

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran& Fidelis E Satriastanti, Jakarta – Government officials on Thursday said more compensation was needed to pay for the Timor Sea oil spill, because the coastal residents faced long-term losses and the recovery process would take at least 10 years.

Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi declined to quote a figure, but emphasized the need for greater payments from those at fault.

"The mangroves need 10 years to recover, not to mention the fish stocks, which are only expected to return to normal after two years," he said. "According to scientific calculations, this will take a long time, and we need money to cover the losses."

Last August, the Montara oil rig blew out in the Timor Sea, polluting waters near East Nusa Tenggara with a large oil slick. The crude has been said to cover 16,420 square kilometers of Indonesian territorial waters.

The well, located 690 kilometers west of Darwin and operated by PTT Exploration & Production Australasia, a unit of the Thai energy major, was staunched 74 days after the spill began.

"In principal, [PTTEP] has agree to pay for losses incurred, but they need time and they need to verify claims. We have requested their data for comparison," Freddy said.

He had earlier said officials involved in the recovery had demanded that the Thai oil company pay $5 million in reparations for the loss of business suffered by local fishing communities.

According to government data, direct losses from the oil spill add up to Rp 247 billion ($27.4 million) while indirect losses amount to Rp 42 billion.

"The East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration wanted more than Rp 800 billion, but we came up with a more pragmatic amount which doesn't include the value of environmental losses, which account for the biggest claims," Freddy said.

Separately, Ferdi Tanoni from the West Timor Care Foundation, which supports impoverished fishermen in Eastern Indonesia, claimed the numbers were nonsense because they were not based on scientific research.

"The numbers keep changing. It just shows how unprofessional the [recovery] team is. We have been strongly demanding that they not come forward with numbers until independent scientific investigations have been conducted," he said.

"We cannot say for sure how long the environment will take to recover. What if it takes 30 years? Then how do we distribute the money to sustain the livelihoods of those people most effected by this spill?"

Meanwhile, Jose Martins, director and chief financial officer of PTTEP Australasia, said in a statement that no claims for compensation with verifiable evidence of any damage have been presented to the company yet.

Martins also said that the company and the government would exchange and review scientific data, and that the government would present a formal written claim to PTTEP.

Greenpeace slams Indonesian palm oil giant

Agence France Presse - July 29, 2010

Greenpeace has made fresh allegations that units of Indonesian paper and palm oil giant Sinar Mas are logging in high conservation-value forests including habitats of endangered orangutans.

Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaigner Bustar Maitar said new investigations showed Sinar Mas subsidiaries logging peat forests and orangutan habitats on Borneo island despite repeated promises to end such practices.

"Our photos provide fresh evidence of Sinar Mas's continued active clearance of remaining rainforests and deep peatlands," he told AFP as the environmental group released a new report on Sinar Mas's activities.

"Contrary to their claims of sustainability, land-clearing is still happening on the ground."

The allegations are the latest in a string of Greenpeace attacks on Sinar Mas, whose palm oil unit PT SMART has recently suffered the loss of major clients Unilever and Nestle over environmental concerns.

"Sinar Mas is the leading palm oil producer in Indonesia. It is their duty to show the way and that's the reason why we have targeted them. We would be more than happy to stop this campaign," Maitar said.

In addition to sheltering critically endangered species like orangutans, high convervation-value forests are also rich stores of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Sinar Mas denies the Greenpeace allegations and SMART has promised to release an audit on August 10 to prove that its operations are sustainable.

Indonesia is considered the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, mainly through deforestation, much of which is done illegally with the alleged connivance of officials and security forces.

The Greenpeace report published on Thursday says Sinar Mas, which is controlled by the Widjaja family headed by company founder Eka Tjipta Widjaja, is planning to aggressively target sensitive forests in Papua province.

"Analysis by Greenpeace of areas targeted by Sinar Mas for oil palm development in Papua indicates that these areas contain 50 per cent primary forest cover and significant areas of peatland," it said.

"Its future expansion into rainforest areas and peatlands will further contribute to habitat loss and climate change."

Indonesia risks losing 117 bird species

Jakarta Post - July 24, 2010

Jakarta – Environmental degradation will cause 117 bird species in Indonesia to vanish, a non-governmental organization predicts.

Fahrul Paja Amama of Burung Indonesia said on Saturday that 17 species were in a critical condition, 30 species were endangered and 70 others were vulnerable to extinction.

Conversion of green areas as habitat of the birds into buildings has been blamed for the disappearance of the species, other than uncontrolled hunting.

Indonesia is home to 1,599 bird species, including 353 endemic birds, joining the ranks of the world's mega bird diversity. There are approximately 10,000 bird species all over the world.

Burung Indonesia's head of business and communication development Henny M Sembiring added that rapid disappearance of bird species was even more obvious in Bogor Botanical Garden.

She said there were only about 50 bird species currently found in the garden, down from roughly 90 in 2006.

"We are not certain yet what have caused the birds to disappear, but we suspect their food supply has diminished due to the conversion of green areas into resettlement areas and the worsening quality of Ciliwung River," she said as quoted by kompas.com.

Agriculture & food security

Food security top priority in meeting MDG on hunger

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2010

Jakarta – Indonesia will make food security its top priority as the country speeds up progress toward reducing hunger and poverty as part of its commitment to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, a minister says.

"We are determined to place food security at the top of our agenda. Indonesia needs to go beyond food self-sufficiency, as in the future it also needs to help feed other countries devastated by famine," Agriculture Minister Suswono said Friday.

At macro-policy levels, Indonesia managed to post a steady gradual increase in food productivity, which helped the government combat the recent increase in food prices, he said at the launch of the 1BillionHungry campaign, an FAO global drive to end poverty and hunger.

The Agriculture Ministry says Indonesia boosted last year's production of rice and corn to 64 million and 17 million tons – up 6.2 percent and 7.2 percent – respectively, from 2008. Rice and corn are the main staple foods in Indonesia.

The productions of soy and meat also jumped 20.45 percent and 3 percent to 1 million and 500,000 tons, respectively.

However, at micro-policy levels, Indonesia had to double its efforts to meet the MDGs because some areas in Indonesia, such as Papua and Kalimantan, were still prone to food scarcity, especially rice.

"Apart from the lack of infrastructure, another factor contributing to food insufficiency is culture. In Papua, for instance, many people have changed their staple food from tubers to rice," the minister said.

He added that as a consequence, the shortage of rice in Papua was inevitable due to problems of distance and high transportation costs, causing the price of rice there to skyrocket.

In terms of poverty and hunger reduction efforts, food security played a huge role in curbing cases of poverty and hunger in Indonesia.

Achmad Suryana, the head of food security at the ministry, said the government had succeeded in bringing down the number of people living on less than US$1 a day from 20.6 percent in 1990 to 5.9 percent in 2008, meaning the country had surpassed the 2015 MDG target, which was to reduce the figure to 10.3 percent.

However, the number of people living in poverty in general was still high at around 32.2 million in 2009, 14 percent of the total population.

"When we talk about hunger, we can't ignore poverty as one of the root causes of hunger itself," Achmad said, adding that Indonesia had decreased malnutrition rates, especially among infants, from 31 percent in 1990 to 18.4 percent in 2007. The MDG target stands at 15.5 percent.

"The good news is that we have also been able to boost Indonesians' energy and protein intake, which is now on average around 3,900 kilocalories per capita per day," he said, adding that the number doubled that of the minimum standard of food rations of 1,400 kilocalories suggested by the World Food Program.

FAO representative in Indonesia Man Ho So said the organization now focused on its 1 Billion Hungry campaign, an online petition drive to attract at least one million signatures to a petition calling on the world "to get angry about hunger".

"The petition will be presented to the UN at the end of 2010 and will coincide with World Food Day," he said.

Health & education

'Sick obsession' seen as a waste of time, money

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2010

Dessy Sagita – The government's focus on treating illnesses rather that preventing them by promoting healthy lifestyles is costing the country valuable time and money, according to an expert.

"There's been no progress regarding Indonesia's health management, especially since decentralization, under which regional administrations have used the promise of free health care as a campaign draw," said Does Sampurno, the senior adviser to the Indonesian Health Experts Association (IAKMI).

Does was speaking ahead of the association's national congress next week in Bandung. He said that more than 85 percent of the national health budget, which he said was insufficient to begin with, was used to treat the sick.

"The number of people who actually need treatment is probably less than 10 percent of the total population, but the way the government is doing it is very inefficient because treating people is extremely expensive and takes a lot time," he said.

Instead, Does said, the government should allocate more money for programs that promote the importance of healthy lifestyles, sports and vaccinations.

He said the government's current health care approach was fundamentally flawed. The state has allocated Rp 21 trillion ($2.3 billion) to health care this year, or 2.5 percent of the total budget.

The World Health Organization, meanwhile, recommends that state spending on health be no less than 5 percent of a country's total budget.

"The government promises to provide decent health services for all, which is beside the point because most of the population isn't sick to begin with," Does said. "What really matters is to make people more productive by adopting healthy lifestyles."

He said the current Indonesian idea of what constituted successful health service management involved a high number of hospitals, clinics, doctors and nurses.

"But once you get sick, you lose your productivity, which in the long run cripples the whole country," Does said. "The government needs to realize that maintaining good health is an individual responsibility, and that it can't afford to keep on treating the sick."

Adang Bachtiar, the chairman of the IAKMI, said one way the government could begin changing its philosophy would be to immediately pass the bill on social security, known as the BPJS bill.

"The government has been talking about universal coverage and giving everyone equal access to decent health care, but so far it has just been rhetoric," he said.

Adang said next week's IAKMI congress would focus on this issue as well as come up with recommendations for the government and the House of Representatives to consider in their deliberations of the bill. Once passed, the bill would change the way high-risk groups were covered, he said.

"The bill includes a provision for a body that will decide if, say, a heavy smoker or an alcoholic or a drug user should be registered in the scheme," Adang said.

Some health officials have proposed excluding smokers and alcoholics from free health care schemes, saying it is unfair to subsidize those who do not look after their health.

Bank Century inquiry

House team monitoring Century probe should quit meddling

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Democrat legislator Benny K Harman has accused the House of Representatives of meddling in the criminal investigation of the Bank Century bailout.

Benny, the chairman of House Commission III, overseeing legal affairs, said on Monday it was time for the House to put the case to rest and let law enforcement agencies do their job undisturbed.

He said the constant criticism by a House monitoring team that the police, the Attorney General's Office and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) were ignoring House recommendations was unwarranted interference.

"The House expects these agencies to investigate the case based on findings from the House inquiry into the bailout," he said. "But those findings don't constitute legally recognized evidence, and only the law enforcement agencies can determine what is or isn't evidence."

Legislators opposed to the November 2008 bailout blamed then Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Vice President Boediono, the central bank governor at the time, for what they deemed was an unwarranted move peppered with irregularities.

The Democrats, however, were adamant that the bailout was justified in light of the ongoing global financial turmoil, and resisted moves to hold Mulyani and Boediono criminally liable.

Benny said all three law enforcement agencies had so far concluded that there were no indications of wrongdoing in the government's handling of the Rp 6.7 trillion ($744 million) bailout, and thus "the case should be closed once and for all."

At a meeting between the House team monitoring the investigation and the three agencies in June, the KPK and the AGO said in interim reports they had not yet found any indications of corruption so far.

In response to Benny's comments, House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the House had earlier identified at least 40 irregularities in the bailout, and chided the KPK, AGO and police for not following up on the House's recommendations.

Pramono said the decision to probe the bailout had been made by the House and thus any calls to drop it were tantamount to questioning the validity of its decision. He said that while the investigation was not going the way that the House monitoring team would have liked, it was still making progress.

Golkar Party legislator Bambang Susatyo, one of the most vocal opponents of the bailout, said Benny's comments were to be expected, given the Democrats' opposition to any move to investigate the bailout or the officials who authorized it. "Benny's leadership of Commission III must be reconsidered," Bambang said.

Graft & corruption

Police chief under fire over 'key evidence' in KPK case

Jakarta Globe - July 30, 2010

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri was criticized on Friday over his vague responses to the existence of key evidence in the case against two Corruption Eradication Commission deputies.

Bambang and Attorney General Hendarman Supandji told legislators last November they were convinced they had been right to charge Bibit Samad Riyanto and Chandra Hamzah over a Rp 5.1 billion ($571,000) payoff from businessman Anggodo Widjojo.

Bambang and Hendarman said they had obtained 64 wiretaps of conversations between an official at the antigraft commission, also known as the KPK, and a suspected middleman for Anggodo, as well as CCTV footage, all of which indicated that Bibit and Chandra did take the bribe.

But since the Anti-Corruption Court last week ordered the National Police to disclose the recordings and footage, both officials have been vague about the existence of the evidence.

Bambang said this week police did have the recordings. "We're still looking for them but they're in our possession," he said. "At the moment we can't respond to the court's demand."

"This is ridiculous and shameful," Hasril Hertanto, a legal analyst from the University of Indonesia, told the Jakarta Globe. "How can a key piece of evidence in a major case being investigated get misplaced? It's possible they're just looking for excuses because they didn't have the recordings to begin with."

Bambang's statement, however, was inconsistent with that of his subordinates. During Anggodo's trial, Comr. Farman, who led the probe into Bibit and Chandra, said police did not have such recordings.

University of Indonesia professor and former police officer Bambang Widodo Umar said that if police failed to present the evidence, the National Police chief should make a public apology.

"The president can't keep quiet about this," he said. "Police Chief Bambang must be punished because the absence of the evidence clearly indicates there's an attempt to undermine the KPK."

Even Anggodo's lawyer, Thomson Situmeang, who requested the court order the National Police to present the evidence, has begun to question its existence.

"The Attorney General's Office and the police should walk the talk and prove they weren't lying," he said. "The case was submitted to the AGO, so the prosecutors should have examined the evidence. If they have the evidence, it shouldn't be too hard for them to disclose it."

Bank account probe triggers rift between police, taskforce

Jakarta Post - July 31, 2010

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Questions over the thoroughness of a police investigation into the implausibly large bank accounts of several high-ranking National Police chiefs have caused a rift within the presidential taskforce.

Denny Indrayana, a civilian member of the taskforce, sent a short text message to several journalists on Thursday saying that the police's investigation into the scandal, which had cleared 17 of the 23 accounts, had been inadequate.

"The police's results leave so many questions and therefore President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the National Police chief to conduct a second investigation," Denny said in the message.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono summoned National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri last Saturday to update him about the investigation.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said Denny should have voiced his criticism in private. However, Edward said, the police would not take Denny's action personally.

Edward said that Insp. Gen. Herman Effendi, one of the presidential taskforce's members from the police force, had officially tendered his resignation. He said the police had not influenced his decision.

Edward said he was not aware if Herman's resignation was related to Denny's message. It had been reported that Herman had decided to resign after a heated discussion with other members of the taskforce.

Herman reportedly had disagreed with other members of the taskforce who had proposed the police launch a second investigation into the case. The other members reportedly called Herman "uncooperative".

Edward said Herman had told his colleagues that during the argument Denny said the bank accounts were related to the "judiciary mafia". "If he has proof that could confirm his statement, it would be better if he comes to us," Edward said.

Edward also said that according to Herman's account of the argument, Denny had told Herman that if Herman did not disagree with the others it meant Herman was part of the mafia.

Taskforce member Mas Achmad Santosa said the spat was not a major issue. "No big deal. None of those situations has resulted in an internal fracture within our organization," he said.

Edward said the taskforce had not responded to Herman's resignation.

Prosecutor calls foul in web scandal

Jakarta Post - July 31, 2010

Jakarta – Junior attorney general for internal monitoring Marwan Effendy has criticized Attorney General Hendarman Supandji for asking a business tycoon to pay Rp 1 trillion in recompense for state money lost in a ministry website graft case.

Marwan said the state losses incurred in the graft case had been only Rp 420 billion (US$47.04 million) as recorded by the State Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP).

Prosecutors do not have the authority to willfully raise the amount of financial losses born by the state in alleged graft cases, he said.

The Supreme Court fixed the losses at Rp 378 billion. The website booked a total profit of Rp 420 billion during the nine years it was operating. The site, operated by the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, issued notarized acts and allowed companies to register for permits.

The website is operated by PT Sarana Rekatama Dinamika (SRD), which is owned by Hartono Tanoesoedibyo. "The amount to be repaid should be based on evidence," Marwan said. "The country is in danger if anyone can willfully determine [state losses]."

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji reportedly ordered Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes Muhammad Amari to deliver a message saying that Hartono, a principal suspect in the case, should hand over Rp 1 trillion in compensation for state losses.

Amari relayed the message via Hartono's brother, media mogul Hary Tanoesoedibyo, as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that Amari should not have met directly with Hary to discuss the sum to be repaid but should have resorted to formal measures. "The act has caused a polemic, problems and prejudices to rise which some may take advantage of," he said.

"We might end up missing the point of the case, which is proving Yusril and Hartono's involvement."

Yusril Ihza Mahendra, another suspect in the case, was the justice and human rights minister when the website went online.

However, Marwan said the meeting did not violate any regulations. "We're currently focusing strictly on the case because we are afraid that outside parties will take advantage of the situation by making statements."

Marwan's statement came amid circulating rumors that he is competing against Amari to replace Hendarman, whose position as an Attorney General has become the subject of intense scrutiny.

However, Marwan refuted the rumors, saying that he had appointed Amari to his current post. Marwan was the Special Crimes Attorney General before he was appointed to Internal Monitoring Attorney General.

Hendarman said Marwan had shown great ability in his previous position but had been replaced because Amari was younger.(gzl)

The tape's not with us, AGO official says

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2010

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – A wiretapped conversation between Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chief Insp. Gen. Ade Rahardja and suspected case broker Ary Muladi was never received by the Attorney General's Office's, an official says.

Junior Attorney General for Internal Monitoring Marwan Effendy said Thursday that his office never received the recording in the list of evidence presented by National Police investigators in a case of alleged extortion and abuse of power implicating two KPK deputy chairmen, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah.

The bugged conversation, if it exists, could prove businessman Anggodo Widjojo's claim that he bribed Bibit and Chandra through Ary to halt the KPK's investigation into Anggodo's fugitive brother Anggoro, who is wanted in a graft case for misappropriating radio equipment for the Forestry Ministry.

Anggodo is currently facing trial on charges of attempted bribery and obstruction of justice.

On Thursday, Marwan said the AGO had declared that the police case against Bibit and Chandra were complete, even without the tape as evidence.

"We based [our decision] on expert testimony and evidence from letters. There was also a travel ban and investigation warrant," he added. "We requested the recording, whether it was a CCTV recording or a wiretapped conversation. But at the time the investigators told us the [recording] could not be played back," he said.

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji claimed: "I never listened [to the tape]. [I heard about it] from the National Police chief's report."

Hendarman previously said in a hearing at the House of Representatives on Nov. 9, 2009, that he had "ample evidence" that the KPK leaders had received bribes from Anggodo as proved by a bugged conversation between Ary and Ade.

Both Ary and Ade deny having telephone conversations. The KPK, which bugged conversations between Anggodo and law enforcement officials alleging a conspiracy to frame the KPK leaders, also denied it had the recording.

The AGO's statement raises doubts over whether the tape really exists. But National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said he "would provide [the tape] if requested".

Legislators from the House's Commission III overseeing legal affairs said they would seek clarification from Hendarman and Marwan regarding their statements.

"Marwan's statement contradicts what Hendarman said in a previous hearing with Commission III. This shows poor coordination between a superior and his subordinate," legislator Daday Hudaya was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

Legislator Yahdil Abdi Harahap of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said that if what Marwan said was true, "it means the attorney general has lied to the people. In that case, indications of fabricated evidence in Bibit and Chandra's case would be even clearer".

He said he did not know why Bambang and Hendarman held back from presenting the key evidence.

The AGO dropped their case against Bibit and Chandra last December, with the South Jakarta prosecutor's office issuing a letter to stop the prosecution, or SKPP, citing reasons of public pressure.

But a district court ruled the SKPP was flawed. A high court upheld the decision in June, requiring Bibit and Chandra to stand trial and be suspended in line with KPK regulations.

Anggodo's lawyers have requested the Corruption Court play the wiretapped conversation between Ade and Ary. The court said it planned to do so during a hearing Tuesday but failed to do so. Judges said the police would have to present the tape in court.

Java bureaucrats protest prosecutor's dedication to doing his job

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Candra Malik, Batang, Central Java – Thousands of local officials and civil servants staged a protest in Batang, Central Java, on Thursday to demand the sacking of local chief prosecutor Jhoni Manurung, whom they accuse of terrorizing development project contractors and officials by playing it too straight.

The protesters claimed that Jhoni's proclivity for bringing criminal charges against corrupt contractors and officials was setting back the district's development and costing valuable jobs, adding that even when an issue could be "resolved amicably," Jhoni still preferred to throw the book at them.

"His heavy-handed actions are making our jobs harder because we fear we may be next to face criminal charges," said local bureaucrat Bustanul Arifin. "He's already had one head of office arrested."

Jhoni has mounted an intensive campaign against fiscal and procedural irregularities in development projects, which are often rife with allegations of bribery and markups.

He denies that he is being unduly harsh on project contractors and local officials, and says that his campaign is saving money for the local administration.

"We found that nine out of 13 projects currently under way may be in breach of work specifications and execution," he said. "Our investigations into all of these cases have always abided by the presumption of innocence."

Jhoni added that he would continue his campaign in spite of the bureaucrats' protests.

The most prominent of the investigations centers on the construction of a health clinic. On Tuesday, prosecutors arrested local health office head Budi Utomo Raharjo for allegedly embezzling Rp 55 million from the project's Rp 1.3 billion budget.

That move prompted contractors of the 12 other development projects in the district to suspend their operations indefinitely, in turn leading to the bureaucrats linked to them taking to the streets in protest.

On Tuesday, 168 civil servants certified as National Procurement Experts, which is a qualification required by officials working on development projects, handed in their certificates, in a symbolic protest against Jhoni's strict adherence to the rules.

"We don't want to be the next target of Jhoni's prosecution," Bustanul, one of the officials, said at Thursday's protest. "We'll only go back to work once we receive guarantees from the district head that we have immunity against prosecution."

Backroom dealings AGO's idea: Prosecutor

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Heru Andriyanto & Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – The controversy over a secret meeting between media mogul Hary Tanoesoedibjo and prosecutors has taken another turn, with a senior official saying that a prosecutor, not Hary, requested it.

Hary reportedly requested the June 15 meeting with Muhammad Amari, the deputy attorney general for special crimes, to discuss dropping embezzlement charges against Hary's brother Hartono in exchange for paying unspecified damages.

However, Marwan Effendy, the deputy attorney general for internal supervision, said on Thursday that the meeting was actually called by Amari.

"Amari was the one who came up with the idea of recovering the state losses incurred in Hartono's case, and he made the offer through Hartono's lawyer," Marwan said. "So it was entirely Amari's initiative."

Amari is Marwan's successor in the special crimes unit, which deals with corruption cases. "Hary has clarified to inspectors at the special crimes unit that he got the offer through his lawyer, Martin Pengrekun," Marwan added.

"Hartono was unlikely to join the meeting because of his legal status as a suspect in the case, so Hary came on his behalf."

Hartono may well have had a hard time making the meeting because he was questioned as a suspect on the same day. Amari earlier insisted that Hary had demanded the meeting.

Hartono's case centers around a Web site at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry that allowed companies to register for business permits.

Prosecutors say site operator PT Sarana Rekatama Dinamika, which was set up by Hartono, embezzled 90 percent of the revenue generated by the site, stealing Rp 410 billion ($45.3 million) in revenue between 2001 and 2006.

A Sarana executive and several ministry officials have already been convicted in the case, while Hartono and Yusril Ihza Mahendra, the justice minister at the time, have been charged.

The controversy over the meeting between Hary and Amari came about because it violated an AGO regulation banning prosecutors from meeting with case brokers or other parties attempting to influence the handling or outcome of an ongoing investigation.

That regulation went into effect in March 2008, following the arrest of prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan, who was caught taking a bribe from a businesswoman seeking to have charges against her partner dropped.

However, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji insisted on Wednesday that the meeting was called by Hary.

He also said that once informed about it by Amari, he had ordered Amari to seek Rp 1 trillion in damages from Hary, but declined to explain this discrepancy with the stated losses of Rp 410 billion.

Meanwhile, Marwan denounced claims by Romli Atmasasmita, a former director general at the ministry who was earlier this year convicted for his role in the Web site case, that the evidence against him was fabricated.

He said that Romli, who had his two-year sentence reduced to one by the Jakarta High Court, was trying to influence the Supreme Court's ongoing hearing of his appeal. Marwan also labelled Romli "the most active person" behind the establishment of the Web site.

"I call on the Supreme Court not to be swayed by the recent remarks made by a certain convict to the House of Representatives," Marwan said, referring to Romli.

KPK puts Miranda probe on hold after canceled house meeting

Jakarta Globe - July 28, 2010

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission said on Wednesday that a planned joint investigation with the House into bribery allegations surrounding a high-level central bank appointment would have to be put on hold.

The investigation would look into claims that Rp 24 billion ($2.6 million) was distributed to lawmakers to secure economist Miranda Goeltom's appointment as Bank Indonesia's senior deputy governor in 2004.

Johan Budi, a spokesman for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said the postponement was due to the failure of KPK deputy chairman Chandra M Hamzah to attend a hearing on Wednesday with House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees legal affairs. The hearing was to address a bill on money laundering that is currently being drafted.

"Bibit is also out of town and so are some of the investigators handling the case," Budi said in reference to Bibit Samad Riyanto, another KPK deputy chairman.

The meeting was going to address a May decision by the Anti- Corruption Court that found four active and former lawmakers guilty of distributing bribes in the form of 480 traveler's checks to members of their respective parties in the House in exchange for their support for Miranda's nomination.

The court found the checks were provided by businesswoman Nunun Nurbaetie Daradjatun, an associate of Miranda's. At least 35 other lawmakers received the checks, the court ruled.

"The plan was to discuss the court decision and to determine if there is enough evidence to name more suspects in the case," Johan said of the canceled meeting.

Indonesia Corruption Watch deputy chairman Emerson Yuntho said KPK should already have enough evidence to charge Nunun in the case.

"Nunun is a central figure in the case. The lawmakers sentenced by the court all admitted they received checks from Nunun. By charging her, the KPK could nail the financier of the bribe and possibly Miranda herself," Emerson said.

The Financial Transaction Report and Analysis Center (PPATK) traced all 480 checks allegedly used in the bribe and discovered they were issued by PT Bank International Indonesia and purchased by PT First Mujur Plantation and Industry, a palm oil company owned by Tommy Winata.

Nunun, the wife of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Adang Daradjatun, has failed to answer several summonses from the KPK. There have been reports that she is being treated at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for a mysterious illness that causes severe memory problems.

The KPK has been trying to conduct its own assessment of Nunun's medical condition since early this year.

Hasril Hertanto, a legal analyst at the University of Indonesia, said Nunun could face charges of obstruction of justice if the KPK found her fit to testify.

"By declaring her as a witness, the KPK could file an extradition request with Singapore or have her passport revoked, thus forcing her to return to Indonesian legal jurisdiction," he said.

Andi Bachtiar, an Anti-Corruption Court judge, wrote a dissenting opinion when the court found the lawmakers guilty of accepting bribes. Andi said it was crucial for the KPK to charge Nunun and suggested that the businesswoman be tried in absentia.

Sitting lawmakers Dudhie Makmun Murod, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and Endin Soefihara, from the United Development Party (PPP), and former lawmakers Hamka Yandhu, from Golkar, and Udju Djuhaeri, from the now-defunct Police and Military faction, were sentenced to 30 months in prison each by the court.

Emerson of the ICW added that the KPK should also charge the remaining 35 lawmakers for their roles in the case.

Indonesian police 'knew' no case against anti-corruption pair

Jakarta Globe - July 25, 2010

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – In the eyes of the public, the charges leveled against Corruption Eradication Commission deputies Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah last year in a scandal that dominated headlines for weeks were always weak.

But now, a police source close to the investigation has said that the National Police knew all along that the case was built on shaky evidence, but persisted anyway.

The complex case revolves around businessman Anggodo Widjojo, who claims to have given Rp 5.1 billion ($565,000) to Bibit and Chandra through a middleman, Ary Muladi, to drop a graft case against his brother, businessman Anggoro Widjojo.

A hesitant investigator

The source, who agreed to speak to the Jakarta Globe on condition of anonymity, said there had been at least three telephone conversations between Comr. Farman, the police investigator who led the Bibit and Chandra probe, and Ade Rahardja, deputy director for enforcement at the antigraft commission, known as the KPK.

In the conversations, between Aug. 3 and 20, Farman reportedly discussed the case with Ade, a two-star police general assigned to the KPK. On Aug. 20, the same day a key witness retracted his testimony, the conversation reportedly lasted almost two hours.

"Farman didn't want to take the case. He told Kaba many times that he wanted to stay out of it because there was little evidence to begin with. But Kaba remained steadfast," the source said.

Kaba is short for Kabareskrim, or chief of detectives, a position inside the National Police held at the time by the controversial Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji.

"[Farman] told me the case had become a huge burden for him. But at the same time, it was impossible to disobey a superior," the source said.

The source said Ade had told Farman to keep a record of every instruction from Susno: what the instruction was, when it was made and who could verify the order, so as to "save his own skin."

Ade promised to help Farman if he was confronted by Susno or if internal affairs looked into the case, the source added.

On Sept. 16, a few weeks after the conversations took place, the National Police leveled an initial abuse of power charge against Bibit and Chandra in relation to the lifting of travel bans, including one requested for Anggodo.

Ade acknowledged he had been in contact with Farman on several occasions. "We coordinated on the case many times. I can't recall how many, but it was definitely more than once or twice," he told the Globe.

"Farman sought confirmation on a lot of things, such as the identity of people claiming to be KPK officials, which later proved to be untrue, my whereabouts and a fake letter annulling a travel ban."

Farman, who is a prosecution witness in Anggodo's ongoing graft trial, declined to comment. "I can't talk about anything," he said after testifying at the Anti-Corruption Court.

The weakest link

On July 11, 2009, middleman Ary Muladi emerged as a supposed key witness backing up Anggodo's bribery claims, saying he gave the Rp 5.1 billion to the KPK deputies through Ade, whom he said he had met several times.

"We noticed some inconsistencies in Ary's remarks. He claimed to have given the money to Ade in a parking lot in front of Trattoria at Bellagio," the source said, referring to a restaurant at the Bellagio Residence apartments in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta.

"But he couldn't provide proof, such as parking tickets, and security guards said that Ary's car never entered the premises.

"Ary later changed his story, saying that he met Ade in Bandung when visiting his sick mother. Ade's mother is old but was never sick.

"He later said he met Ade at the KPK, but his cellphone records showed that he was in Lebak Bulus," 15 kilometers away from the KPK office, at the time of the supposed visit.

Farman tried to confront Ary over these anomalies, the source said. "Ary tried to run," the source said. "He didn't answer our calls. So we arrested him."

It was after he was arrested on Aug. 20 that Ary retracted his testimony, saying that he had been lying the whole time. The money, Ary claimed, went to another person, identified as Yulianto, who has never been found.

"Everything Ary said was a lie. There might not even be a Yulianto. We suspect that Ary kept all of Anggodo's money for himself," the source said.

"There was only proof of 15 money transfers to a person named Eddy Rachman, who [Ary] said worked for the KPK. But again this is false. Eddy was actually working for Anggodo." Police recently charged Ary with embezzlement.

A conflict of interest

"When we arrested Ary, Kaba acknowledged that we had nothing on Bibit and Chandra. But he kept on talking to the media, suggesting otherwise," the source said.

Susno allegedly instructed his officers to charge the KPK deputies despite the fact there was not enough proof the bribery had ever taken place.

"We were told to use charges that could be loosely interpreted," the source said. "We knew that if the case went to trial we would have lost. But Kaba didn't seem to care."

Only in November did police charge Bibit and Chandra with extortion in relation to the Rp 5.1 billion allegedly received from Anggodo. The source said that by the time Bibit and Chandra were charged with abuse of power in September, Susno had taken Farman off the case.

Critics, including Bibit and Chandra, have always claimed that the police actions were designed to oust the two deputies from the KPK because they were gearing up for an investigation into Susno in relation to a major corruption case.

Under the 2002 Law on the KPK, commissioners face automatic suspension once named criminal suspects, which was what happened in September.

Bibit said that in March 2009, the KPK began investigating Susno for allegedly receiving bribes from a lawyer in exchange for unfreezing Rp 2 trillion belonging to tycoon Budi Sampoerna, which had been frozen when PT Bank Century was saved from collapse by the government. Susno allegedly solicited a Rp 10 billion payoff, a charge he tearfully denied in a hearing at the House of Representatives last year.

"It was never our intention to wiretap Susno. We had been wiretapping someone else, but Susno contacted this person," Bibit said. "I don't know how the word got out but eventually Susno knew that he was being wiretapped and followed."

Susno repeatedly told the media that he was merely testing the KPK's surveillance abilities by pretending to be involved in a bribery case.

Susno did, however, acknowledge in the House hearing that he helped Budi get his Rp 2 trillion back despite the fact that the Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) only covered accounts of up to Rp 2 billion.

In January, during a House probe into the bailout, a Bank Century official said he had been forced to divide Budi's assets into 1,000 separate accounts to make it appear as though the withdrawals were legitimate.

"Kaba early on wanted the case [against Bibit and Chandra] to be dealt with swiftly. Kaba also wanted us to ensure that Anggodo, Anggoro and Ary were protected by the LPSK," the police source said, referring to the Witness and Victim Protection Agency.

But the airing of wiretapped conversations at the Constitutional Court, that showed Anggodo and various other officials attempting to cook up charges against the two commissioners led to a public backlash.

It led to the president to appoint a team to evaluate the police's handling of the case. On Nov. 17, the team concluded that "the charges against Bibit and Chandra were not based on enough preliminary evidence... and motivated by a deep conflict of interest or an act of retaliation."

Police persistence

Muhammad Assegaf, a lawyer representing Susno, who was removed from his post after the scandal broke, denied his client had masterminded the alleged framing of Bibit and Chandra.

"There is no evidence to suggest that Susno fabricated a case against Bibit and Chandra. Police work was based on evidence and the investigators were given independence in executing their job," Assegaf told the Globe. "Susno only gave one instruction to his subordinates, which was to remain objective and stick to the facts obtained from the field."

On Dec. 2, the Attorney General's Office halted the criminal prosecution of Bibit and Chandra. But Anggodo, who was arrested by the KPK for attempted bribery and obstruction of justice in January, challenged the decision to drop the charges, and the South Jakarta District Court in April sided with him, ordering the AGO to proceed with the case.

Despite Susno's arrest by the National Police in connection with two separate graft cases, police maintain they were correct to charge Bibit and Chandra, citing records of 64 conversations between Ary and Ade, as well as CCTV footage. The contents of the footage remain a closely guarded secret.

During Anggodo's graft trial last week, Farman told the Anti- Corruption Court that the call records were "not on the list of evidence that we had obtained."

The National Police's current chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi, however, said on Friday that evidence against Bibit and Chandra did exist. "The case is being handled by more than one unit. It is possible that Farman didn't know that we had the call records," Ito said.

The Anti-Corruption Court this month ordered the National Police to disclose all the evidence against Bibit and Chandra in a bid to resolve the legal quandary surrounding the case.

Bibit and Chandra's lawyer, Taufik Basari, said this was a positive move. "Since early on, we believed the case was full of fabrications. If the police do have evidence, then it shouldn't be hard for them to present it before the court," Taufik told the Globe.

"However, if the police fail to present the evidence, then suffice it to say the police didn't have enough preliminary evidence to charge Bibit and Chandra and must issue a public apology."

War on terror

Military's involvement in terror agency dangerous, ICG warns

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2010

Jakarta – The International Crisis Group (ICG) warned on Monday of possible dangers of military involvement in the newly established National Anti-Terror Agency (BNPT).

ICG director for Southeast Asia Sidney Jones said the danger stemmed from the possibility of "increased competition between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the police over terrorism in the agency".

Increased competition may compromise antiterror operations as institutions try to outdo each other or refuse to share information, she said, which would thwart the original purpose of facilitating inter-agency cooperation.

"I think the authority for countering terrorism should remain with the police," said "The danger is trying to use this agency to find a role for the military in counter-terrorism," she told The Jakarta Post.

The government set up the agency with a presidential decree early this month. The interim head is Insp. Gen. (ret.) Ansyaad Mbai from the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry.

In the past, the elite counterterrorism squad was the National Police's Special Detachment (Densus) 88.

Jones said "the authority for countering terrorism should remain with the police" and it was " actually a mistake to try to bring the military into an operational role".

"I don't think the military should have any role in counterterrorism except under the most extreme conditions," she said, adding that military involvement could lead to approaching terror like wars.

According to her, the government could avoid such pitfalls by choosing the right people for key positions within the agency. "I think it is critically important that the head of this agency be a civilian," she said.

Meanwhile, the "authority for countering terrorism should remain with the police" since they have "shown themselves to be very effective as a law enforcement agency", she said.

"What I hope is that this agency does not simply become a vehicle to bring in more agencies without increasing effectiveness," she added.

Between 2003 and 2009, Densus 88 shot dead 40 alleged terrorists during raids and caught 464 suspects. Between January and May this year, they arrested 58 suspects and killed 13 during raids.

Spokesperson for the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry, Rear Marshall Sagom Tamboen, said the TNI personnel involved in the BNPT would report directly to the agency's head, cutting structural ties with the TNI.

Sagom said the arrangement would avoid leadership conflicts, adding that personnel outside the military, including Densus 88, would similarly report to the agency's head.

"However, military personnel' status as military will remain. Their role in the agency's various units will depend on the skills they possess," said, adding that units included those in the field of intelligence, terror and staff.

He said the agency would neither place any quota on the number of personnel from the military or any of the other involved institutions, nor would it allot specific posts for certain institutions. (gzl)

Rights group slams 'vague' anti-terror board decree

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – A presidential decree to establish a counterterrorism agency could do more harm than good, human rights group Imparsial warned on Monday.

The group – which claims to have obtained a copy of the "Presidential Decree on the National Counterterrorism Board," signed on July 16, from an unofficial source – raised concerns about the "vague" provisions within the decree.

"This new decree is a blank check for the board to do whatever it likes and get away with it," said Imparsial research coordinator Al Araf.

"We're concerned, in particular, about a clause granting the board the power to repress. Our question is, who has the right to repress? The police, military or both? This decree can be interpreted in many ways."

The board, Imparsial said, would be tasked to "prevent terrorism, protect civilians, deradicalize terrorists and build national preparedness." The body will only be answerable to the president, the group said.

Araf said there was no justification for the establishment of a "repressive body answerable only to the president." He added that there needed to be an executive review of the decree before the board was officially staffed.

Imparsial researcher Junaidi Simon said the decree also provided a legal loophole for the Armed Forces to lead the counterterrorism board.

"This decree allows the military a foot in the door, through its lack of restrictions on who can serve as the head of the counterterrorism board," he said.

Counterterrorism investigations and raids are currently the domain of the National Police's Densus 88 unit.

Rights groups have consistently opposed the idea of the Armed Forces getting involved in anti-terror operations because of the institution's abysmal rights record.

Earlier, the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs announced that a National Counterterrorism Board would be launched later this year to address shortcomings in the government's drive against terrorist groups.

Ansyad Mbai, the head of the ministry's anti-terror desk, told the Jakarta Globe in May that the new body would coordinate with the police and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

"This body will work directly under the president. Hopefully, it will start to work before the end of the year," he said.

The government was widely criticized in the wake of the July 17 twin hotel bombings in Jakarta last year, which highlighted failures in the state's terrorist rehabilitation program. Several bombing suspects were found to have undergone rehabilitation.

Earlier this year, more than a dozen terrorists released from detention joined a militant group's combat training in the forests of Aceh, before clashing with security forces. The group has since been outlawed.

The government is seeking to amend existing anti-terror legislation so it can charge the Aceh militants and crack down on hate speech by hard-line clerics such as Abu Bakar Bashir, believed to be the spiritual head of militant network Jemaah Islamiyah, which is said to be affiliated with Al Qaeda.

New body to have TNI, police as partners

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2010

Jakarta – The new National Antiterror Agency (BNPT) has united Indonesia's antiterror agencies under one authority, shifting the weight to include other institutions besides the National Police's Detachment 88.

A spokesman from the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister's Office, Sagom Tamboen, said besides the Detachment 88 antiterror squad, the BNPT comprised the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), and antiterror units from the Indonesian Military (TNI) including army, navy and air force as well as the Coordinating Political Legal and Security Affairs Minister's Office.

"Placing all these units under one command will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of human resources," he said, adding that the move "would hopefully mean budgetary efficiency as well".

The agency, he continued, would create various units to undertake all antiterror efforts; from intelligence, arresting suspected terrorists and deradicalization programs.

"We will equip all units with personnel from various fields who possess the specific skills to perform the tasks required," Sagom told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The agency has officially been in operation since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a decree for its formation early this month. Insp. Gen. (ret.) Ansyaad Mbai from the minister's office will act as the interim head until the President appointed the official head.

Sagom said the position would be open to those coming from existing antiterror agencies as well as civilian ranks. He added the structure of the agency was being settled as well as the staffing of core personnel, although units from antiterror agencies would operate as normal.

"We will settle everything as soon as possible, as mandated by the President," he said, adding that everything would hopefully be completed by the end of the year.

Al-Araf, an activist at Imparsial, said the government must ensure no antiterror agency held too much authority to avoid abuses of power and must have clear-cut roles to avoid human rights abuses including wrongful arrests and illegal wire taps.

"The agency should not create a fresh set of problems," he told the Post.

Araf said one of the greatest flaws in the 2003 Antiterrorism Law is the wide definition of who is considered a terrorist.

"This causes the government to use its authority to brand anyone who voices their opinion against the state as terrorists," he said, adding that certain farmer and labor activist have been labeled as terrorists.

Furthermore, there was still a lack of clarity among the public regarding the role and responsibility of the new agency, he said.

"We urge the President and the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister to explain the rationale behind establishing the agency so that the public can determine whether such agency is directly related to antiterrorism," he said.

He added that if the agency brought more benefit than harm, there would be no reason to halt its inception.

Indonesia has been the target of numerous terrorist attacks in the past decade, which have killed at least 320 Indonesians and foreigners in blasts in Jakarta, Bali and Makassar.

As many as 58 suspects were arrested and 13 killed by the police's counterterrorism squad between January and May this year. (gzl)

Ethnic & religious conflicts

Hard-line groups renew attack on Ahmadiyah

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2010

Nana Rukmana, Kuningan, West Java – Three people were allegedly injured and houses damaged when clashes broke out between an angry mob and members of Islamic sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah in Kuningan regency, West Java, on Thursday.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto slammed the incident and told people to stop resorting to violence. "The problem should be taken care of peacefully, not through violence," he told Antara news agency.

The incident drew immediate criticism, with National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) official Hesty Armiwulan saying it showed the country's poor law enforcement. "The government should find a solution to this problem instead of siding with one group and violating the rights of minorities."

The clash erupted after 500 protesters from several hard-line Islamic groups pushed their way into the sect's complex at Manis Lor village, located some 40 kilometers south of nearby Cirebon city and home to the 3,000 Ahmadiyah adherents since 1954, the largest Ahmadiyah community in the country.

The two groups threw stones and fought with wooden sticks. "Ahmadiyah should be banned. Our demand is not negotiable," said Andi Mulya, leader of the Movement against Illegal Sects and Non-Believers (GAPAS).

He said the protestors included members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), the Indonesia Mujahidin Council (MMI) and the Islamic Community Forum (FUI) from outside the regency,

"We're united in our demand," Andi said, adding that three members from the hard-line groups were injured in the clash.

The demand was made after public order officers sealed off eight Ahmadiyah mosques in the village on Monday and Wednesday. But residents later reopened the mosques.

Before Thursday's clash, protesters held a prayer vigil outside the village administration office, demanding the regency and the central government disband the sect.

After the prayer, the protesters marched on Manis Lor village and clashed with Ahmadiyah members, triggering panic among women and children, who rushed to take shelter inside their houses to avoid being attacked.

Authorities deployed 600 officers, including from the police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) and public order officials, to the scene to prevent an escalation.

Kuningan Police chief Comr. Taufik Asrori said his personnel would not tolerate any acts of violence. "Our priority is to prevent the clash from erupting again," he said. No one was arrested following the incident.

Security commission chief of the Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia executive board, Deden Sujana, said Ahmadiyah would not bow to the bigoted demand.

He said the protesters and public order officers violated a 2008 joint ministerial decree on Ahmadiyah. "They had no right to ban or shut down the Ahmadiyah complex in Manis Lor."

Under the decree, Ahmadiyah members are banned from propagating their religion, but allowed to practice their faith and perform their daily religious duties.

The incident was not the first in Manis Lor, where a 2007 clash resulted in four injuries and damage to property. This latest attack follows on from recent ones in the West Java towns of Garut and Bogor.

Ahmadiyah clashes continue in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - July 30, 2010

Nurfika Osman, Ronna Nirmala & Camelia Pasandaran – As the standoff between West Java villagers and followers of the Ahmadiyah sect entered its fourth day, the Ministry of Religious Affairs said it was trying to mediate the week-long dispute, which flared into violence again on Thursday.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said the tension was essentially a "political problem." He did not elaborate further but urged the warring parties to settle their dispute peacefully.

"Differences of opinion over religion should not be solved with violence but through discussion," he said.

The Ahmadiyah is perceived as a deviant sect by mainstream Islam. The government has stopped the group from worshiping in public but has fallen short of banning it altogether.

After a failed attempt to seal the sect's mosques in a village in Kuningan on Monday, police and the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) followed through with the closures on Wednesday, meeting fierce resistance.

"Government officials have an obligation to protect citizens without looking at their beliefs," Ifdhal Kasim, the chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday. "Sealing their house of worship is against the Constitution."

Ahmadiyah followers and security forces clashed again on Thursday as groups opposed to the sect joined local police and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) units trying to close several mosques.

Groups claiming to support a pure form of Islam against the Ahmadiyah gathered around the entrance to Manis Lor village in Kuningan in the morning, following the sealing of eight Ahmadiyah mosques in the village, a local police officer said.

"At first, the anti-Ahmadiyah groups pelted the mosque with stones. The followers of Ahmadiyah were angry because their mosque was attacked, and there was fighting," the officer said of Thursday's violence, which reportedly stopped just after midday prayers.

Ifdhal said Ahmadiyah followers were the real victims in the violence. "They face many forms of discrimination. Their access to education and livelihood is limited and at the same time they are facing a government that facilitates the discrimination," he said.

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, deputy chairman of the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, said the state should guarantee religious freedom to all, including the Ahmadiyah.

The group is often a target of orthodox Muslims worldwide because of its claim that the sect's founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, is the last prophet, a view many consider blasphemy.

The government passed a decree in 2008 prohibiting the sect from practicing its faith in public or trying to convert others to its beliefs.

According to Setara, which monitors religious tolerance, the past month has seen a sharp increase in acts of violence against the Ahmadiyah, especially in West Java.

"The use of public pressure and regional government power has been a systematic pattern in violations of religious freedom recently," Bonar said.

The Kuningan district government has used pressure groups to back its effort to close the Ahmadiyah mosques in Manis Lor, but Bonar doubts they are local villagers. "According to our sources, these people did not come from Kuningan, but from other areas such as Ciamis and Tasikmalaya," he said.

Bonar urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to show his commitment to pluralism by speaking out against the violence.

Tense standoff after police attempt to close Ahmadiyah mosque

Jakarta Globe - July 28, 2010

Kuningan, West Java – Violent scenes erupted in Kuningan, West Java, early on Wednesday morning when police and local government security officers attempted to seal a mosque belonging to a branch of Islam considered deviant by mainstream Indonesian Muslims.

As police and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers moved in on the Ahmadiyah mosque in Manislor village, enraged followers began pelting them with rocks and sticks.

Ahmadiyah is a controversial sect that believes its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the last prophet of Islam, a claim that contradicts mainstream Muslim beliefs.

Outnumbered, policemen and Satpol PP finally withdrew but the group chased them to the village boundary.

According to Metro TV, the order to seal the mosque came from Aang Hamid Suganda, head of Kuningan district.

As of 10 a.m. this morning, the sect followers were still guarding and blocking the street leading to the mosque.

It was the local government's second attempt to seal the mosque in the past three days. On Monday, the officers were forced to abort the plan because hundreds of people blocked the street.

On Monday, the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy released a report saying that the government's one-way system of monitoring religious harmony was ineffective.

"It seems that people and the government do not realize that the right to worship, as stipulated in the Constitution, comes with the right to have a house of worship," Setara's Bonar Tigor Naipospos said.

Local governments 'main actors' in faith attacks

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2010

Jakarta – The trend of employing violent means to suppress the religious freedom of minority groups is escalating, with local governments acting as the greatest violator, a report shows.

The research, carried out by the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, shows there were 28 attacks on Christian churches between January and July this year. The figure is higher than 2009's year-end total of 18 cases and 2008's 17 attacks.

According to Setara deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos, the trend was troublesome because it reflected a continuing trend of violations against the constitutional and human rights of certain citizens.

"It's true that no congregation members were hospitalized from being beaten up. But isn't intimidation, the banning of houses of worship, and the sealing of churches by government a form of violence?"

The sealing of churches and the refusal to grant building permits top the list of major violations. The forceful closure of churches, the burning of churches and obstruction of services are next, with three cases each.

As an example, Bekasi administration sealed the Filadelfia Batak Protestant church in January after protests from hard-line religious groups contested the absence of the church's building permit. Church officials said they had obeyed all the government's requirements.

A 2006 joint ministerial decree outlines requirements needed to build a house of worship, including obtaining signatures from congregations and residents living nearby, as well as approval from the local administration.

The research supports the finding that name local administrations, organizations and citizens as the main violators, with 12, 10 and five cases attributed to each.

"The puritan and radical Islamic movement is strong in West Java," Bonar said. "Sixteen cases were seen in Jakarta's satellite cities of Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi and even in Karawang."

Political motives, economic interests involving illegal extortion, and ideological clashes of "intolerant groups" refusing the presence of those with different religion mired most cases, he added.

"The local administration sees these groups as assets for local elections," he said. "They bow to pressure from mass organizations that insist the churches' presence and activities have caused unrest."

Bonar said churches in Jakarta mainly faced trouble in renovating and expanding their buildings, which require building permits.

"They have to start over again by obtaining 60 signatures from residents living around the church and sometimes residents refuse to provide signatures," he said.

Bonar urged the government to take legal action against violent groups as a deterrent for future cases. However, the government has remained unresponsive to intolerant groups who violate the Constitution.

"We have a hesitant President. He is too busy maintaining his image," he said. "It's time to show a strong and definite leadership that would decide the political future of the country."

The report recommends President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono review the 2006 joint ministerial decree and facilitate the establishment of houses of worship that have suffered rejections from local administrations and society.

A Catholic priest from the Indonesian Bishops Council, Father Beni Susetyo, said the problem lay in regional administrations' inconsistency and lack of commitment to complying with regulations on the establishment of houses of worship.

"We are witnessing the politics of negligence, which makes people feel discrimination has taken place because the Constitution grants everyone the right to practice religions. If [local] administrations can be intimidated by those who commit violence, this country is doomed," he said. (gzl)

Attacks on Christian congregations soaring, rights group reports

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2010

Ulma Haryanto, Indonesia – The first seven months of the year has seen a surge in attacks on Christian groups, according to the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy.

A report released by the group on Monday says 28 attacks and violation of the churches' right to worship had been recorded this year, compared with 18 incidents in all of 2009 and 17 in 2008.

Bekasi has seen the most number of incidents with seven, followed by six in Greater Jakarta. If the trend continues, the institute warned the total for the year would be more than triple that of last year.

Ismail Hasani, a senior Setara researcher, told the Jakarta Globe this was only the tip of the iceberg. "We rely on our network to record the incidents, but there are others outside our coverage area," he said.

Ismail said attacks against church congregations this year had been more conspicuous than those against the Ahmadiyah, a controversial sect that believes its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the last prophet of Islam, a claim that contradicts mainstream Muslim beliefs.

In 2008, the government banned the group from conducting religious activities in public. "Last year we recorded around 33 cases against Ahmadiyah but this semester, from a rough estimation, we have seen about four cases," Ismail said.

The Setara report also noted that regional governments often played a part in the violations, using the criteria for a church to be established – the need for approval of local residents – as a reason to deny a permit or order a demolition.

"Twelve of the violations this year have included district heads sealing or rejecting requests to build a church, with them citing 'public pressure' as the reason," Setara deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos said.

"It seems that people and the government do not realize that the right to worship, as stipulated in the Constitution, comes with the right to have a house of worship."

The central government, however, defended its handling of the situation. Ahmad Syafi'i Mufid, head of Jakarta's Forum of Religious Tolerance and head researcher at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, said the ministry had done enough.

"They are the ones who are trying hard to avert conflicts. Too bad their voice is drowned out," he said.

Ahmad played down suggestions of religious intolerance, saying the root cause of the disputes was economic disparity. "When people are being unfairly treated, then they do the same to others," he said.

He also defended local administrations' conduct. "I think regional governments are just confused. They receive so much information that they do not know who is right or wrong," he said.

Saut Situmorang, a spokesman for the Home Affairs Ministry, said the Religious Tolerance Forum was the proper avenue to resolve such conflicts.

"The Home Affairs Ministry and the Religious Affairs Ministry should receive regular reports from regional governments and the forum can determine what is going on," he said.

Setara's Bonar, however, said the escalating problem showed that the government's one-way system of monitoring religious harmony was ineffective.

Muslim attacks on Christian churches rising: Activists

Agence France Presse - July 26, 2010

Jakarta – Indonesian human rights activists on Monday urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to investigate attacks on Christian churches, which they say have increased in the last two years.

From January to July, there were 28 cases of religious freedom violations by "intolerant groups targeting Christians," up from 17 for the whole of 2008 and 18 in 2009, the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace said in a report.

Based on reports by churches and the media, the violations – mostly by radical Muslim groups – include forced closure of churches, revocation and delays in issuing building permits, and attacks such as torching and damaging churches, the institute said.

"These incidents are a breach of law and human rights. The President and the government have been very silent on this matter and have not provided enough protection to citizens," Setara's deputy chief Bonar Tigor Naipospos said.

"The attackers have become bolder as law enforcement is weak. We can't let the incidents continue as peace in the country will be jeopardized," he added.

The attacks, which mostly took place in Jakarta and West Java province, have made Christians "scared and anxious," said Parasian Hutasoit, spokesman for Huria Christian Protestant Batak Church Filadelfia.

His church in Bekasi, an outer suburb of Jakarta, was forced to close in January after Muslim residents held protests there, saying it was built illegally.

"More than a hundred came to the church and demanded we shut down. We felt intimidated and discriminated against. We just want a place to practise our faith in peace," he said.

Indonesian lawmakers in June demanded the government outlaw a violent Islamist vigilante group that has threatened "war" against Christians in Jakarta and urged mosques to set up militia forces.

The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) – a private militia with a self-appointed mission to protect "Islamic" values in the secular country – urged Bekasi authorities to introduce Islamic Shariah law and warned they would attack Christians unless the "Christianization" ceased.

Observers have said communal tensions could erupt into violence in Indonesia, a constitutionally secular country of 240 million people, 90 percent of whom are Muslim.

Islam & religion

Gossip shows face Ramadan ban

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ismira lutfia, Indonesia – Embattled purveyors of "infotainment," or gossip, shows could be dealt another blow in the wake of a ban imposed by Muslim clerics: a halt to daytime broadcasts during Ramadan.

The call came on Thursday from lawmakers at the House of Representatives' Commission I, overseeing information, and follows Tuesday's edict by the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) branding the shows haram, or forbidden, under Islam.

Commission I member Ramadhan Pohan, from the ruling Democratic Party, said the proposed suspension, agreed on several days earlier, would see the shows shunted to after 10 p.m. from their usual time slots in the morning and afternoon.

"The whole point is to ensure everyone who fasts can do so in the best possible circumstances," Ramadhan said.

He said talks were still ongoing over whether to extend the broadcast ban to after midnight. "Despite this minor point, we all agree infotainment shows must be limited," Ramadhan said.

He said an informal study by Commission I showed such programs across all free-to-air TV stations accounted for 14 hours of programming a day.

Ramadhan argued that because the airwaves were in the pubic domain, they should not be used to air shows concerning the private lives of individuals, which he claimed was of no public interest during Ramadan.

Commission I plans to meet with the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) to adopt its proposal for the expected start of Ramadan on Aug. 11.

Tantowi Yahya, a Commission I legislator from the Golkar Party, said the proposal was not aimed at crippling the infotainment industry but rather at bringing about a TV-viewing climate conducive to Muslims who were fasting and needed to abstain from immoral thoughts.

"Broadcast media must be responsible for the programs aired," said Tantowi, a former country singer and game-show host.

Ramadhan said Indonesian infotainment producers had it relatively easy, claiming that in other countries such shows were restricted to cable TV. "That system makes sense, whereby the viewers can choose what they want to watch, unlike here where infotainment is free-to-air, leaving viewers with no option," he said.

The House proposal, coupled with the MUI's edict, are just the latest attacks against infotainment programs, deemed morally irresponsible and gratuitous.

However, Press Council member Agus Sudibyo said the MUI edict was not legally binding.

Earlier this month, the KPI classified infotainment shows as "non-factual," thus rendering them subject to censorship.

Religious biases hinder education, marriage: Report

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2010

Jakarta, Jakarta – Indonesia's educational and civil registration systems violate the constitutional right to freedom of religion of people who follow faiths not recognized by the government, the nation's human rights commission says.

National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) researcher Yossa Nainggolan said many people who do not subscribe to the six official religions – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism – were uneasy since they could not perform "normal" daily activities due to their beliefs.

"Unrealized social and political rights adversely affect the realization of other rights pertaining to society, economics, education and health," he said.

Komnas HAM conducted research between Oct. 2008 and Feb. 2009 in six regencies: Blora and Solo, Central Java; Sukabumi and Tasikmalaya, West Java and Tangerang and Lebak, Banten.

Its final research report documented several cases where people experienced indirect religious coercion, such as the forced "adoption" of a recognized religion, when registering for schools or to be married. The report also said there was religious coercion in the work and health sectors in three provinces, as well.

In one case, a local registry office failed to grant a marriage license to a couple who were members of the Sunda Wiwitan faith. The couple's children were unable to obtain birth certificates, which complicated their enrollment in school.

"They had to admit that they belonged to an officially recognized religion for the sake of paperwork," Yossa said.

The report indicates that the government has poorly implemented what the constitution has mandated, Komnas HAM representative Hesti Armiwulan said.

"The problem is that state officials are unaware of people's freedom to worship in accordance with their religion and faith," she said. "We must demand that the government proactively create awareness within their officials so that citizen rights are completely fulfilled."

Fifteen women with religious beliefs outside the six official religions experienced discrimination at school and were "interrogated" due to their beliefs, the report said, including twelve women in Tangerang municipality.

Religious issues have been smoldering in Tangerang, which enacted a "public order" bylaw that prohibited women from walking the streets at night without chaperones. Representatives of the Jakarta Baptist Christian Church (GKBJ) in Pisangan, Tangerang said its Sunday masses were disrupted by Islamic organizations in 2009.

The commission recommended that the government revise the law on blasphemy, which was a reference for the 1974 marriage law; the 2006 Population Administration Law and the 2003 National Education Law.

Hesti said that the commission would soon share its findings and recommendations to Commission III of the House of Representatives but did not specify a date.

"The commission's mandate is limited to giving recommendations. To strengthen our position, we will partner with Commission III so they will forward our recommendations to the government," she added.

Fulfillment of religious rights for everyone will require more than amending laws since the idea that there are only five religions has been "embedded in daily life", she said.

"The marriage law, for example, was enacted in 1974, reflecting that such perspectives have existed a long time," she added. (gzl)

Clerics take on corruption with fatwa on accountability

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2010

Jakarta – Charismatic Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) cleric Sahal Mahfudh has been re-elected chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which wrapped up its national congress Wednesday with a number of new fatwas.

Some fatwas, including one concerning the need to apply the retroactive accountability principle in tackling corruption, have been lauded by the public as "progressive", while others are said to be controversial.

Sahal, also chairman of NU's lawmaking body, has held the position since 2000. Wednesday's election will make him the longest serving leader of the MUI, which was jointly set up by representatives from the country's major Islamic groups in 1975. His predecessor, Ali Yafie, has chaired the council since 1990.

"The election for the members of the next MUI's executive board began Tuesday night and finished at 7 a.m. [Wednesday] morning," Ichwan Syam, a member of a team tasked with forming the executive board, said as quoted by Antara.

The four-day congress also re-elected Din Syamsuddin, who was recently mandated to lead Muhammadiyah for the second time, as Sahal's deputy. NU and Muhammadiyah are the country's two largest Islamic groups.

The council produced seven fatwas during the congress. A fatwa is a legal opinion produced by a single or group of Muslim scholars. It is not legally binding and could be ignored as long as one has strong arguments to refute it.

One fatwa was made to push the law enforcers to apply the retroactive accountability principle. The council said Islam upheld presumption of innocence. In certain cases where an individual is alleged to have amounted wealth illegally, they are required to prove their innocence, the clerics said. A similar fatwa was issued by Muhammadiyah during its centennial congress in Yogyakarta early this month.

The MUI called for the revision of the country's legislations to enable law enforcers to track down wealth from questionable origins of high ranking officials. Currently, when an official reports his wealth, the Corruption Eradication Commission, for example, cannot ask the person to explain the sources of accumulated wealth.

The council also urged housewives to ensure their husbands get their money through legal means. "Women's role is very strategic in many aspects of life, including in corruption eradication efforts," the council's propagation department head Amrulllah Ahmad said as quoted by detik.com.

Hasril Hertanto, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia said, "[The MUI] must provide arguments from the Islamic perspective, strengthening its calls using religious principles."

People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy speaker Lukman Hakim Saifuddin also commended the council for supporting the nation's anticorruption drive.

Responding to a recent controversy on if the government should censor gossip shows, the council declared watching them as forbidden according to Islam. The NU issued a similar fatwa in 2009 and Muslims apparently ignored it as so-called "infotainment" remains popular.

The clerics also issued fatwas banning sex changes and sperm banks. They also issued fatwas allowing pilots to break their fast while on duty as long as they pay compensation and the usage of breast milk banks.

MUI urges return to Islamic values

Jakarta Globe - July 28, 2010

Nurfika Osman, Indonesia – Rolling out laws based on Islamic values would address the "degradation of morality among Indonesia's students," a leader of the country's highest Islamic authority has said, despite not providing any evidence of an actual decline in morality in schools.

"The degradation of morality among students in this country has reached a very serious stage – from the elementary to the high school level," Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) head Amrullah Ahmad said as the organization closed its four-day national congress on Wednesday.

"We have also witnessed the development of culture and arts that impart hedonistic values in Indonesians, which deviates from the true teachings of Islam."

Amrullah's warning came on the back of a Tuesday decision by the MUI to declare infotainment television programs as forbidden to Muslims in one of seven fatwas, or religious edicts.

"Gossip involves exposing embarrassing details of someone's private life to the public, and this is haram," said Ma'ruf Amin, head of the MUI's fatwa body. "Profiting from broadcasting that news to the public is haram."

The fatwa comes amid a debate over infotainment after the recent decision by the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) to classify such shows as "non-factual," which means they are not journalistic and can therefore be censored.

That debate and a number of other morality story lines have dominated newspaper headlines in the country since a celebrity sex video scandal received extensive coverage by infotainment shows.

Critics of the shows claim that their wholesale coverage of the scandal prompted people to download copies of the sex tapes alledgedly featuring a pop star and two television presenters.

Amrullah also spoke on Wednesday of a need to empower women and children, without going into detail about how to accomplish these goals.

"Women play strategic roles in the development of the nation and we urge the government to empower women at the grassroots level," he said. "Every party must be able to protect women from domestic violence, human trafficking and acts of intimidation and exploitation."

The MUI also called for more to be done to fight poverty.

From gossip to sex changes, MUI weighs in with fatwas

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2010

Nurfika Osman & Lisa Siregar – The country's highest Islamic authority declared infotainment as forbidden to Muslims in one of seven fatwa, or religious edicts, issued on Tuesday.

"Infotainment is haram [forbidden]," said Ma'ruf Amin, head of the fatwa body at the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI). "Gossip involves exposing embarrassing details of someone's private life to the public, and this is haram."

Also forbidden, he said, is the consumption of infotainment news, as well as profiting from it. "Profiting from broadcasting that news to the public is haram."

Ma'ruf clarified, however, that this did not mean all news about celebrities was forbidden. "When it is published in order to uphold the law, fight infidelity, warn people, report or ask for help, it is mubah [allowed but not recommended]," he said.

Infotainment was not originally on the agenda for the ongoing MUI congress, but the fatwa body decided at the last minute to drop discussions about social security to take up the hot topic.

Veteran journalist Ilham Bintang, a pioneer in the infotainment industry, said he was unconcerned by news of the fatwa.

"I'm convinced that what the MUI meant by haram applies only to infotainment programs that contain ghibah [slander]," he said.

"If infotainment programs are produced in accordance with the journalistic code of ethics and the Press Law, they will not broadcast or disseminate information that is against religious values."

The MUI's fatwa body also declared the organ trade, sex-change surgery and nikah wisata (marriages of convenience) haram.

"Nikah wisata is haram because it is usually only for those who want temporary unions," said Asrorun Ni'am Soleh, the fatwa body's secretary, "whereby men go to a certain region and marry women there for a while, make contracts and then leave them."

Sex-change surgery without a medical reason is forbidden and "performing or aiding the surgery is haram too," he said. However, if the surgery is for sound medical reasons, it is allowed.

He said selling organs was haram, as was the case for sperm, but organ transplants were allowed, even when it involved organs from non-Muslims.

"Organs from dead people are allowed as long as it is witnessed by two Muslim doctors," Asrorun said. "And organs from animals, including filthy ones, are allowed as long as it is an emergency and there is no alternative."

"Breast milk banks are also allowed as long as there is an agreement between the donor and the parents of the child," he added.

The MUI's fatwas are not legally binding.

Indonesian Council of Ulema takes aim at celebrity gossip shows

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran & Ismira Lutfia, Jakarta – The nation's highest authority on Islamic law is expected to use its national congress this week to issue several new fatwas, including an edict on racy television infotainment shows, one of its members said on Sunday.

"We will endorse more specific edicts, mainly in relation to technology," Ichwan Sam, secretary general of Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), said after the opening of the group's eighth national congress in Jakarta.

"For what is probably a hot topic for the public and due to a public request, we're going to discuss infotainment programs that have been widely criticized," he said.

Ichwan said infotainment shows should steer clear of invading the privacy of the individual and should instead focus on providing good moral examples for the public.

"We've said that infotainment was haram [not allowed under Islam], so this time, we will think of ways to give guidance to the public on which infotainment can be watched and which can't."

Ichwan did not say why infotainment had been deemed haram, but said the shows were on the docket because this year's congress was focused on the morality of the country.

Opening the congress, MUI chief Sahal Mahfud said that morality was selected because the public's character had regressed. "MUI wants to ask all people including the government to intensify efforts to improve the morality and character of the nation," Mahfud said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Indonesia's moral fiber was the responsibility of the public at large. "We need to be concerned about our moral and ethical problems," Yudhoyono said at the opening of the congress.

The other edicts in the pipeline include one on breast milk and human organ banks and another on the burden of proof in corruption cases, whereby public officials should be required to prove that they came by their wealth legally.

Dadang Rachmat, chairman of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), said over the weekend that despite mounting public complaints, infotainment shows had not cleaned up their act.

The racy gossip shows have been under fire for airing celebrities' dirty laundry. The programs also dominate the lineup of private stations, including at times when children are most likely to be watching.

"We are going to evaluate their content and broadcasting hours, because these two items were what most viewers complained about as being unsuitable for children," Dadang said on Friday.

Nezar Patria, chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), said public officials' private details could be used as material for media reports, provided they were of public interest.

Although celebrities are certainly in the public eye, they should not face the same scrutiny as public officials, whose livelihoods were supported by taxpayers, Nezar said. People who "continuously breach the journalistic code of ethics do not deserve public acknowledgment as journalists."

The Indonesia Television Journalists Association (IJTI) called on the KPI and the Press Council to evaluate infotainment shows' violations and make them public.

Sex & pornography

Bid to block porn sites hits technical, political snags

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Ismira Lutfia, Jakarta – The Communications and Information Technology Ministry says it can block access to up to 3,000 pornographic Web sites a day, as part of Minister Tifatul Sembiring's plan for smut-free Internet.

Ashwin Sasongko, the ministry's director general for telematics applications, said on Wednesday that his office had already installed filtering software called the Massive Trust Positive in all Internet-enabled computers supplied to villages under the government-sponsored Desa Pintar (Smart Village) program.

He acknowledged, however, that with an estimated four million new pornography pages added to the Internet each day, it would be impossible to completely block access to such sites for Indonesian Web users, and called on the public to participate by reporting offending sites.

But Internet service providers say they need the government to formalize its policy before they can take steps toward blocking the content.

Valens Riyadi, from the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII), told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday that a regulation on the issue was necessary, "to ensure that what we do [in terms of filtering sites] doesn't violate public's right to access information."

He added the need for the regulation was stipulated in both the 2008 Anti-Pornography Law and the 2008 Information and Electronic Transactions Law (ITE).

Ashwin, however, argued that ISPs were better-placed to identify offending sites, saying "it should not be too difficult to filter pornographic content on the Internet" and that the ministry would provide them with the list if officially requested.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Telecommunications Users Group said it supported the ministry's antipornography campaign, but questioned how effective it would be, given that many Indonesians access the Internet through their cellphones.

"It's technically quite difficult to filter sites for a BlackBerry user, so we wonder if the government plans to rope [manufacturer] Research in Motion into doing the filtering," said Muhammad Jumadi, the group's secretary general.

Meanwhile, ministry spokesman Gatot Dewa Broto told the Globe that the controversial bill on monitoring Internet content was currently being revised, after being widely panned by the public in February.

The changes include a new title, "Guidelines for Public Complaints on Unlawful Internet Content," signifying its change of focus to get increased public participation in the plan.

"Reports from the public should be justifiable and will be reviewed by a monitoring team, whose proposed makeup we've also changed to include 60 percent public appointees and 40 percent government representatives," Gatot said, adding that the team's chairperson would be selected through a vote.

The first draft of the bill called for a 50-50 split between public and government representatives, while stipulating that the team head be the current director general for telematics applications.

An almost identical plan in Australia ignited a similar public outcry, says Stephen Hutcheon, an online editor for the Sydney Morning Herald, prompting the government there, "to put off the bill for Internet filtering until after the election because [it was] very unpopular."

The bill, proposed by the Australian government, was initially aimed at blocking access to pornographic content and hate sites.

Hutcheon argued that the public backlash to the legislation should not be seen as approval for pornography.

Rather, he said, "they feel that any regulation could be used to prevent non-pornographic material from being published and there's a debate on the technical way in which it's going to be done, for example that it will slow down the Internet."

He said that while the government was carrying out research to disprove such objections, most ISPs were still leery of the filtering plan.

"I think one of the reasons is because there's a blacklist of Web sites that the government doesn't want to publish," Hutcheon told the Globe recently on the sidelines of a journalism workshop hosted by the Press Council and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. "It argues that if the list is published, people will find ways to access the sites."

Although the fears were warranted, he said, they conflicted with the key issue of government transparency and accountability.

"How do people know the government isn't blocking sites that in the future might be unfavorable to them and not actually have any pornography at all?" Hutcheon said. "People have no faith that the government will keep an accurate list."

Reconciliation & justice

Democratic activists renew call for justice

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2010

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Fourteen years after "Black Saturday" on July 27, 1996, when several democratic activists were killed and hundreds more arrested under then president Soeharto's New Order regime, little progress has been made in identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators of the killings.

Siti Zuhro, a political observer from the Indonesian Institute of Science, said that even Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman of Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), appeared to have ceased efforts to demand justice for the victims, many of whom had been rallying to support her on the day.

"Instead of encouraging legal action, party leaders, including Megawati, have apparently turned their back on the victims and are acting as if nothing happened," Siti said Tuesday.

She said the PDI-P should have brought the case to court during Megawati presidency's from 2000 to 2004.

The riots began when the then Indonesia Democratic Party (PDI) split, with Megawati and the New Order-backed Surjadi both claiming themselves party leader. Megawati, then considered a symbol of hope for democracy, garnered support from party members and democratic activists.

On July 27, 1996, dozens of young men resembling military cadets, attacked the PDI's head-quarters on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta, where thousands of people had gathered in support of Megawati.

The attackers claimed they were supporters of Surjadi. However, the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) later revealed that on July 24 a meeting led by Jakarta's then Military Command chief of staff Brig. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had decided to seize the PDI headquarters from Megawati's supporters.

Komnas HAM also reported that five died in the attack and 74 went missing, and are now believed to be dead, and 149 people were injured, including several soldiers.

In remembrance of the attack, 124 survivors of the incident grouped under the Communication Forum of the Harmonious 124, held a small annual ceremony at the former PDI headquarters Tuesday.

"We ask President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to step forward to reveal what really happened at the PDI headquarters in 1996. Moreover, he was among those who should be held responsible for the brawl," head of the group Arnoldus Noldy said Tuesday as quoted by detik.com.

After July 27, the New Order intensified efforts to suppress democratic supporters. The New Order said the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and other democratic activists were responsible for Black Saturday.

Many of the activists, including Budiman Sudjatmiko, were arrested by the government and prosecuted and others survivors, including Faisol Reza, Andi Arief, Desmond J. Mahesa and Pius Lustrilanang were kidnapped from 1997 to 1998.

The Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence said that of the 23 people who were kidnapped, nine were released, one was later found dead, and 13 were still missing, including poet Wiji Thukul.

"The July 27 tragedy should be remembered as the day that ignited the flame of reform in this country. Thus here we are, we have managed to come this far through the bittersweet of democracy in our country. Please safeguard the process," Budiman, who is now a lawmaker from the PDI-P, said.

Indonesia 'burdened' by July 27 tragedy

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The government has done virtually nothing to bring to justice those who 14 years ago launched a violent attack on pro-democracy activists that precipitated the downfall of the New Order regime, a prominent human rights group has said.

Speaking at an event on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of the July 27, 1996, attack on the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Usman Hamid, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said that the tragedy should never be forgotten.

He cited the case of leading pro-democracy activist Wiji Thukul, who went missing during the incident and has never been heard from since. "We want to remind everyone that there were serious human rights violation in the case, and no one should forget it," he said.

The PDI, which was then headed by Megawati Sukarnoputri, eldest daughter of founding President Sukarno, was attacked by supporters of a splinter group from the party.

The attack on the PDI headquarters on Jalan Diponegoro in Central Jakarta, however, was shored up by local police officers and soldiers from the Jakarta Military Command, and led to the deaths of five PDI members and the disappearance of many more.

Critics contend that it may have been orchestrated by then President Suharto to tighten his hold on power, but the New Order regime blamed it on the newly formed People's Democratic Party (PRD).

Usman said the case needed to be resolved because of its importance in setting the stage for Suharto's ouster two years later. It also served to highlight that democracy could not be based on repression and militaristic values, he added.

According to Kontras, no meaningful prosecutions have ever followed from the official findings into the case. "Any progress toward resolving the issue always seems to end in some sort of political compromise," Usman said.

A probe by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) found five people had been killed, 149 injured and 136 arrested in the attack.

It also found that the military's role in the attack was approved three days beforehand at a meeting that was hosted by the Jakarta Military Command's chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and also involved Djoko Santoso – the current president and military chief, respectively.

The PDI went on to become the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) under Megawati's leadership.

During her presidency, several suspects went on trial for their alleged roles in the attack, but only a laborer, Jonathan Marpaung, was jailed for inciting the attack, while military officers Col. Budi Purnama and Lt. Suharto were acquitted.

PDI-P legislator Andreas Pareira on Tuesday said the July 27 tragedy would never really be resolved as long as Yudhoyono, Djoko and several other military top brass from the time continued to wield power.

"The PDI-P wants this case resolved once and for all to prevent it becoming yet another psychological burden on the country," he said.

Land disputes & evictions

Violent land dispute between police and farmers caught on tape

Jakarta Globe - July 28, 2010

Nivell Rayda & Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch have reacted strongly to reports that police in Bengkulu Province sexually harassed and physically abused 50 villagers in Seluma district as they protested against what they claim is a land grab by the state.

ICW activist Tama Satrya Langkun, recently in the headlines after he was beaten by unknown assailants after reporting a number of senior police generals to the Corruption Eradication Commission, said they had received concerning reports of a clash between farmers from Pering Baru village and Seluma Police on Friday.

He alleged that police had sexually harassed six women, injured 20 farmers and arrested 21 people in the incident.

The villagers were protesting against state plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) VII in a land dispute.

On Tuesday, six women from the village laid charges of sexual harassment against the officers with Bengkulu Police's Bureau of Professionalism and Security Affairs (Propam).

Zenzi Suhadi, deputy director of the Bengkulu branch of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), told state news agency Antara that the officers forced the women to take off some of their clothes.

"The police officers forced them to strip in front of their children and their parents. It was obviously harassment," he said.

Part of the incident was filmed and uploaded on Youtube. It is titled "kekerasan & pelecehan seksual aparat terhadap rakyat di bengkulu."

The video also shows police filming the incident. Gunfire can also be heard and at least one officer is filmed discharging his weapon in the air. The women can be seen removing outer garments.

Walhi also alleged that a number of police officers physically abused several locals. Zenzi said one man, identified as Tahuin, was reportedly beaten by three officers.

"Another local named Subir was strangled and repeatedly kicked by four policemen until he passed out, while another man, named Yuyun, was beaten by three officers." he said.

Walhi activists Firmansyah and Dwi Nanto, who assisted the locals during the rally, were arrested along with 18 farmers. They were taken to Bengkulu Police headquarter and have been named suspects for allegedly obstructing the activities of PTPN VII.

"What really happened was that PTPN VII stole the land owned by locals and physically abused the people who were protecting their property," Zenzi said, adding that he had reported the case to the National Commission for Human Rights and had prepared a legal team to defend the farmers and Walhi activists.

Meanwhile, Usman Hamid from Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said Kontras regretted the incident.

"Similar incidents occur from time and time and there seems to be no improvement whatsoever in the handling of government officials and law enforcers. Protesters are only armed with their passionate words and pieces of picket fences but the government almost always responds with brute force," Usman told The Jakarta Globe.

"There must be a change in the operation procedures, a change which is more towards a persuasive approach and peaceful negotiation," Usman said, adding that "the government should also reform itself to address the root cause of the problem, which is the chaos of our land management system." Representatives from PTPN VII were not available for comment.

Emotional scenes as court rules in favor of elderly woman

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2010

Stephanie Riady, Jakarta – The elderly widow of one of Indonesia's independence heroes has won a battle of David and Goliath proportions against state pawnshop company PT Perum Pegadaian.

To cheers of delight from an overflowing public gallery and cries of "merdeka" ("freedom"), the East Jakarta District Court "declares Soetarti Soekarno free of all charges" in a ruling that will allow her to live out her final years in the home she has been occupying for the last 20 years.

In wildly emotional scenes, members of the media and supporters rushed the woman, who is in her 70s, jumping the bar of the court to take photographs and offer their congratulations.

As police screamed at reporters to control themselves, others in the court started singing the Indonesian national anthem.

Similar scenes were replayed outside the courtroom, as news of the verdict traveled like the wind to supporters and demonstrators protesting outside.

Two other widows similarly prosecuted by Pegadaian are awaiting their verdicts in separate trials. The rulings are expected later today.

State prosecutors, led by Ibnu Suud, had been demanding a two- month jail sentence after Pegadaian accused the elderly trio of illegally squatting in the homes owned by the company. Pegadaian wanted to tear down the homes and convert them to townhouses for its high-ranking officials.

The women have been attempting to take advantage of government subsidies and buy back the homes they have lived in for decades. A 1994 law stipulates that petitioners can apply to buy the company-issued homes they live in, provided they can pay for half of the house in installments over a five- to 20-year period.

The widows were encouraged by earlier cases in which residents were able to buy back their company-issued homes. However, the three women's requests have been turned down.

The women and their families have been living on Jalan Cipinang Jaya, East Jakarta, since 1979. Their husbands all worked for Pegadaian.

Widows wait for verdict in land dispute case

Jakarta Globe - July 24, 2010

Ulma Haryanto – Three widows are anxiously waiting for Tuesday. After 18 exhausting hearings, Soetarti Soekarno, Rusmini and Timoria Manurung, all in their 70s, will on Tuesday hear whether the East Jakarta District Court will declare them illegal squatters in their own homes.

"Lately I keep thinking about what would it feel like, you know, being labeled a criminal in court," Timoria, 73, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.

The case has baffled city residents as the elderly widows have been taken to court and interrogated by judges and prosecutors in a dispute over housing. "I think about my grandchildren. They're going to remember their grandmother as a criminal," Timoria said.

The three widows face up to two months in prison and four months of probation if they are found guilty of occupying their houses without the consent of state pawnshop company PT Perum Pegadaian, the properties' legally recognized owner.

Sambodo Agung Nugroho, the son of 78-year-old Soetarti, said that he was more worried about his mother's reputation than the prison sentence she may have to serve out. "Our concern here is that our mothers could end up being convicted and called criminals. That's not fair," he said.

Pegadaian wants to raze the women's homes and construct townhouses for its high-ranking officials. The women have attempted to take advantage of a government subsidy and buy back the homes they have lived in for decades.

A 1994 law stipulates petitioners can apply to buy the company- issued homes they live in, provided they can pay for half of the house in installments over a five- to 20-year period.

The widows were encouraged by earlier cases in which residents were able to buy back their company-issued homes. However, the three women's requests have been turned down.

Rusmini, 78, said that all three women had been blessed with an outpouring of support since their trial began in March. So far, 16,000 members have shown their support on a page dedicated to the women on the social networking Web site Facebook.

Members of a string of organizations – from Laskar Merah Putih (Red and White Troops) to human rights groups – have also attended the hearings in the women's trials in a show of solidarity for their cause.

The women and their families have been living on Jalan Cipinang Jaya since 1979. Their husbands all worked for Pegadaian.

Soetarti is currently living with her son Sambodo, while Rusmini lives with her youngest daughter.

Rusmini's late husband, Achmad Kuseini, and Soetarti's late husband, Soekarno, both fought in the country's war for independence and were decorated national heroes. Both are buried at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta.

"After serving the country, our husbands chose to live as ordinary civil servants. The old Pegadaian was different. Now it's more profit-oriented, the directors are enjoying big salaries," Rusmini said.

"They ignore their seniors. They don't know about history. Now all they want is to take advantage as much as they can."

Rusmini also said that none of the officials from had Pergadaian ever visited them.

"The finance director lives just around the corner. Living here used to be like a big family, but not anymore," Soetarti lamented. The widows' legal representative, Kiagus Ahmad from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), said that Pegadaian had lied to the women.

"In 1994, they tried to apply for the right to buy their houses, which was allowed [under the law]," he said. "Their request was denied at the time by the company, which said the houses were needed for other employees."

When prosecutors presented a witness from the company, human resources director Sumanto Hadi, he revealed that the company was planning to raze the women's houses to make room for managers' townhouses.

"The women's requests to buy their houses were still under consideration in the Supreme Court, but apparently the company sued them before the ruling came out," Kiagus said.

Along with the three women, another resident, Soegita, 81, was indicted in the same case.

"When the police first came with their summons in March 2009, it was for the four of them. But Soegita was considered too ill to stand trial," Sambodo said.

The old man, who lives a few houses down from Soetarti, is paralyzed. He served with Soetarti and Rusmini's husbands in the country's independence struggle and was also honored with a service medal.

During the Globe's visit, Soegita was alone at his home. His oldest son was away for Friday prayers and his nearly blind wife was asleep.

"If my mother is convicted, then what happens to [Soegita]? When he dies, will he be buried as a criminal, or a national hero?" Sambodo asked.

He added that if the court ruled against Rusmini and Soetarti, the families would request that their husbands' remains be exhumed and buried in a public cemetery.

"We would also like to return all the awards and certificates from the state that were granted to our parents," Sambodo said.

Administration & government

Government accused of negligence in handling key state agencies

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2010

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – The tardy selection processes of public officials in several crucial state commissions and agencies are, according to a group of NGOs, proof of the government's negligence in judicial supervision efforts.

The director of the Indonesia Legal Roundtable, Asep Rahmat Fajar, on Sunday said the government had repeatedly shown carelessness in selecting public officials.

The organization is one of 10 NGOs that have set up a Judiciary Watchdog Coalition. Other groups include the Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Transparency International Indonesia (TII), the National Consortium for Legal Reform (KRHN) and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW).

In a statement received by The Jakarta Post the watchdog said it "has given the President [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] a second letter of warning for the government's negligence in selecting public officials".

Jamil Mubarak from the Indonesian Society for Transparency said the first warning letter was sent to the President in early July. "We reminded him that Aug. 2 would be the day the Judicial Commission dies," he told the Post.

The late selection of new commissioners for the Judicial Commission has put the institution, which is in charge of monitoring judges, in jeopardy amid threats of a power vacuum due to the imminent end of tenure of its current commissioners.

The 2004 Judicial Commission Law stipulates that the selection period be limited to six months. The watchdog said the government was late in setting up selection committee in April this year.

"We urged the President to use his powers to have seven new Judicial Commission members inducted, but we were ignored," he added.

The watchdog said the government had committed other "sins". The process of selecting seven commissioners to the Attorney General's Office Commission has also dragged on, leaving empty seats at both 4-year-old institutions.

The AGO commission was established to be at the front line of attorney monitoring. But a selection committee for the new commissioners was only formed several days before the tenure of the previous ones ended in March 16.

The Judiciary Watchdog Coalition also pointed out the government had failed to fulfill the mandate of the 2006 Witnesses and Victim Protection Law, which stipulates the establishment of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) within a year of the law being enacted.

LPSK officials were eventually sworn in August 2008. The watchdog said the delay was a result of, among others, budget problems for the selection process.

The National Ombudsman Commission is facing a problem similar to the LPSK. The commission is responsible for supervising public services conducted by state and private institutions, and offers recommendations to institutions that receive complaints.

The commission has now been issued greater authority with the passing of the 2008 Ombudsman Law, which allows it to impose administrative sanctions on institutions that ignore its recommendations.

The law gives the government one year to acquire new commission members. A presidential regulation was issued in 2008 on the establishment of the selection committee, just days late of the deadline. The committee, chaired by Administrative Reforms Minister E.E. Mangindaan, only opened candidate registrations on July 19.

Legislation & parliament

Legislature to widen check on truants

Jakarta Globe - July 30, 2010

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' Ethics Council has said that it will scrutinize lawmakers' attendance at all meetings, not just plenary sessions.

"Attendance correlates with productivity," council chairman Nudirman Munir said on Friday. "Soon we will check the attendance at each commission meeting, because this is more important. Commissions are where legislation is discussed."

The poor attendance record of lawmakers at plenary sessions has been the source of public outrage in recent weeks.

But Nudirman said merely checking lawmakers' attendance at full meetings was not enough, and that their performance could best be assessed at the commissions, House special committees and working groups.

"How can we pass laws and make them good if many of us are skipping commission meetings?" he said. Nudirman said checking the attendance records at the commissions would not be easy but must be done.

The Ethics Council has vowed to make the attendance issue its top priority and summon the worst offenders when the House resumes in mid-August.

Nudirman said at least 12 lawmakers who had missed more than three plenary sessions in a row would be summoned. The council also would ask parties to provide data on lawmakers' work schedules to determine if that caused them to miss meetings.

The current crop of lawmakers took their seats in late 2009 and have so far only passed seven laws, all recently. A total of 70 bills have been proposed by the legislature and the government.

"We have 16 bills at the moment that are being discussed," House Legislative Body chairman Ignatius Mulyono said on Friday. They include bill on protocol, legal aid, cultural heritage, horticulture and the currency.

Ignatius, from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling Democratic Party, has harshly criticized absenteeism and supports using fingerprinting to enforce attendance.

Saan Mustofa, also from the Democrats, said missing plenary sessions or commission meetings was unforgivable. "We are being paid to talk, discuss and attend meetings. So if we are not doing any of those things, then we are not doing our jobs," he said.

Saan said it was hard to believe some lawmakers were missing meetings after less than a year in the job. He said they needed to realize they had three priorities: legislating, monitoring and budgeting, with the most important being producing quality laws.

Saan said there should be monitoring, as well as a system of punishments and rewards supervised by the parties. "The Ethics Council must follow up the reports. It should give warnings and let each faction know the results," he said.

Roll call unfair, cry absentee legislators

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Anita Rachman & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – Session- skipping lawmakers on Wednesday reacted with anger to the House of Representatives secretariat's move to reveal their poor attendance records.

"The House secretariat released unconfirmed data, which is very harmful because once they get it wrong, any party could sue them for defamation," the Golkar Party's Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said, adding that the data on his absences was incorrect.

Earlier this week, the secretariat released information showing that none of the nine parties in the House has ever had all of its lawmakers in attendance at a plenary session.

The House Ethics panel threatened to discipline the truants and the public reaction has been sharply critical.

The data showed that dozens of lawmakers skipped plenary sessions, with 12 of them ducking out of three or more sessions.

Ratu Munawaroh from the National Mandate Party (PAN) missed 10 plenary sessions. Democrat Nurcahyo Anggoro was not present for eight. The data also said Jeffrie Geovani from Golkar skipped six sessions, while his party comrades Agus and Ibnu Muzir missed four each.

"I have permits from the party to skip plenary sessions because I have work to do," Agus said, showing a permission letter issued by the party. He acknowledged there were lazy lawmakers who were truant for no good reason, but insisted he was not one of them.

Other lawmakers said the report was unfair because it measured only attendance at plenary meetings. Akbar Faisal from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), who missed six sessions, said he had good reasons for his absences.

"I worked on the Bank Century scandal. I had meetings until 2 a.m. sometimes. I was very tired so I couldn't make it to the plenary sessions," he said.

He said the House should have a mechanism other than attendance reports to assess lawmakers. "The most crucial [work] is in the commissions," he said.

House energy chairman Abdul Kadir Karding from the National Awakening Party (PKB), who skipped four plenary sessions, said accusing him of being lazy was unfair because his contribution to the commission was being ignored. "I am a commission chairman, I always lead meetings in my commission," he said.

Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum said attendance was part of a lawmaker's responsibility, and that his party pushes its members to show up.

"I often tell our members that many cadres with a better spirit stand ready to replace them as lawmakers," Anas said. He called on all parties to be stricter with their members.

Watchdog group says house salaries are a big waste of cash

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2010

Armando Siahaan – Legislators at the House of Representatives are overpaid for essentially doing nothing, a budgetary watchdog says.

"The state allocates around Rp 511 billion [$56.7 million] a year for legislators' salaries, but their performance in turn has been extremely poor," Uchok Sky Khadafi, from the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), said on Tuesday.

Uchok was speaking at the release of a report that Fitra claims is based on the pay slips of several legislators. The report shows each legislator makes an average of Rp 913 million a year.

This figure includes the base monthly salary of Rp 57 million, Rp 5.5 million in monthly health benefits, Rp 1.1 million in annual health benefits, and a Rp 154 million vehicle allowance.

The basic monthly salary, meanwhile, includes Rp 2 million to attend meetings and Rp 9 million in "occupational benefits" and household allowances. Beyond that, the state also pays legislators' utilities bills and hands out various other allowances, Fitra says.

Those serving higher positions, including the chairmen and deputy chairmen of the House's oversight commissions, as well as the House speaker and his four deputies, receive far more benefits, Uchok said.

Despite the high figures, he said, legislators continued to performing poorly at basic tasks – passing legislation, budgeting, and supervising policies.

"Fitra is very concerned that the legislators are wasting the budget, skipping hearings, and otherwise acting as rabble- rousers," Uchok said.

He pointed out that in terms of legislation, the House had performed abysmally. Legislators previously vowed to pass 70 pieces of priority legislation this year, but slashed that target to 17.

So far, the House has only passed six, all of which were amendments to existing laws, and has failed to pass a single new bill into law.

Fitra also accused legislators of failing to carry out their supervisory role by preventing the electricity rate hike or taking a leading role in the issue of exploding gas cylinders.

The group also highlighted wasteful spending by the House, including the Rp 1.8 trillion allocated for a new office building for legislators, allegations of markups in a project to renovate legislators' residences and allocations of Rp 1.1 billion to each oversight commission for unspecified programs.

More recently, legislators have been lambasted for their chronic absenteeism, which Fitra said had forced the scrapping of several plenary sessions.

Fitra secretary general Yuna Farhan called on the House to introduce fines for individual legislators deemed to be slacking off on the job.

"The law on state finances calls for accountability for every rupiah spent," he said. "In light of this, it is at best questionable whether legislators are earning their keep."

On the issue of absenteeism, Uchok suggested the House Secretariat and the House Ethics Council work together to publish the names of legislators who frequently skipped meetings, as a way of shaming them.

Public criticism brings absentee lawmakers back to the house

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Apparently alarmed by the public's heavy criticism of their tendency to skip meetings at the House of Representatives, lawmakers turned up in droves to attend Monday's plenary session.

Unlike the last plenary, which saw a dismal attendance by 284 out of the total of 560 House members, 407 were present on Monday, House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung said.

The public was angered when a series of plenary sessions were postponed because the House could not muster enough lawmakers to reach a quorum.

The agenda on Monday included passing a clemency law, accepting the draft budget and discussing ties between the House and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD).

Later, lawmakers rejected a number of measures, suggested by experts and the public, to curb absenteeism in the House.

One option was requiring members to use fingerprint clock-in devices as the basis for docking their pay if they were chronically absent.

Ethics Council Chairman Gayus Lumbuun said such measures would not be effective in forcing lawmakers to attend meetings. Most are rich, he said, making penalties pointless. "Many would not mind and would still avoid attending meetings.

Cutting the salary, as well as a fingerprint system, is only suitable for company workers, not high-ranking officials such as lawmakers," Gayus said.

"Such programs will not educate the lawmakers. It's better for us to stick with the current regulations but give them more attention in their implementation," he added.

"Of course, the public should be more active in reporting any violations to the Ethics Council. Without that, we cannot investigate," he said.

Golkar Party secretary general Idrus Marham agreed that neither financial sanctions nor clock-in systems would be effective.

"It won't affect them. What does cutting lawmakers' salaries mean? It is just like [threatening] to take candy away from children," he said.

Idrus said lawmakers must simply have commitment and integrity, two elements that could only be fixed by the parties. They should monitor their members' performance more closely, he said.

Mahfudz Siddiq, chairman of House Commission I from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said it should be mandatory for all House commissions to note lawmakers' monthly attendance and announce it to the public. He said this would scare lawmakers more than salary cuts.

Meanwhile, Golkar's Harry Azhar Azis said that the performance of lawmakers should not be evaluated solely on their attendance level but also on their achievements. Fulfilling their targets and holding the government accountable is more important than attendance, he said.

"If the evaluation was based on attendance, then most lawmakers would be very happy because it's an easy task to do," Harry said.

Tough measures urged against AWOL Indonesian politicians

Jakarta Globe - July 26, 2010

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Docking legislators' salaries would be a far more effective way of tackling rising absenteeism at the House of Representatives than installing fingerprint scanners, analysts said on Sunday.

"I don't think fingerprint scanners are the best solution, because you can still manipulate the technology," said Siti Zuhro, a political observer from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

"Instead, we should have financial disincentives in place to counter this attitude that legislators have that they can enjoy their large salaries and perks without having to put in any work."

The issue came to the fore recently when the House Secretariat released attendance records showing that legislators routinely skipped meetings or signed the attendance register and then left soon after. The data showed none of the nine parties in the House had ever had all of its legislators attend a plenary session.

The issue had led some legislators to call for fingerprint scanners to be used to gauge actual attendance rates.

House Deputy Speaker Anis Matta, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday that there had already been discussions about installing the devices, but no agreement had been reached.

"I don't believe fingerprint scanners are what we need, though," he said. "What really needs to be eradicated is the proclivity for long and useless debates and discussions, which discourages legislators from attending."

Anis said that legislators had a wide range of duties, including overseas visits, that sometimes forced them to skip plenary meetings. The best way to get them to show up for meetings, he added, was to set clear mechanisms and time constraints for sessions.

However, Siti said the real problem was the legislators' lack of commitment and integrity. "Only the respective political parties can resolve this problem through their recruitment methods," she said. "Do they go for committed members or just the popular ones?"

Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political analyst from the Indonesian Survey institute (LSI), agreed that any system to improve attendance would be better than the current system whereby legislators signed an attendance register.

"As it stands now, they can easily get their staffers to sign in for them, but the fingerprint scanners – though ultimately surmountable – would at least make it more difficult for them to cheat the system," he said.

Burhanuddin called on the House to take some sort of disciplinary action against regular truants, "be it administrative, moral or financial."

He also suggested attendance records be published regularly to shame absentee legislators, while their salaries should be docked according to the number of mandatory meetings they skipped.

The House Ethics Council, Burhanuddin added, should take more seriously regulations stipulating that legislators found skipping six straight sessions without valid excuses be dismissed.

Ignatius Mulyono, a Democratic Party legislator, and Ganjar Pranowo, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P), said installing fingerprint scanners would be a positive step to shore up attendance rates and discipline lawmakers.

Ignatius said the House already had a working group to monitor legislators' performances, which had been discussing the idea for several months now. He urged the House to implement the system as soon as possible.

"We'll require all legislators to scan their fingers once at the start of the meeting and a second time at the end of the meeting," he said. "Let's give this technology a try and hope that it does the job."

Ganjar, however, said the system would only work if parties were also involved in monitoring and disciplining their legislators for skipping House meetings.

"Even if we have the fingerprint scanners in place, that won't help improve attendance rates if the parties still cover for their legislators and make excuses for their absenteeism," he said.

"The parties need to get on board with this plan."

Regional autonomy & government

Yudhoyono threatens to punish underperforming regional heads

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – Disappointed at the slow pace of regional development, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday vowed to make amends by disciplining regional leaders who failed to perform.

"I have to have the tools to discipline regional heads so that they perform their duties well," he said during a cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace.

"After six years leading the nation, it is time to correct this, otherwise we will stray further down the wrong path. Democracy doesn't mean unlimited freedom. We must exercise responsibility in running the country, in order for the people to get the maximum benefit from the system we chose," he said.

Yudhoyono added he had received information regarding poor regional governance through letters and text messages, as well as through visiting the regions in question.

"Our Constitution states that the president holds the authority to govern," he said. "Although regional leaders are elected directly, be they governors, district heads or mayors, they're still part of the government and the president is the one who holds sway over them all."

Yudhoyono added that it was his obligation to ensure that regional leaders were fulfilling their duties. "The right policies, the large budgets, our seriousness – all of this would mean nothing if at the implementation stage things are missing here and there," Yudhoyono said.

He said that regional leaders, especially at the district and municipal levels, often adopted policies that later turned out to negatively impact many sectors, citing the case of coal mines that polluted the environment. "Regional budgets that have been approved by local legislatures often miss the target and are excessive," he added.

While reshuffling the cabinet to replace underperforming ministers was one way to improve regional governance, Yudhoyono went on, the case with governors, district heads and mayors was different because they were elected by their constituents.

"We're also talking about discipline and integrity," he said. "I can only temporarily suspend them in legal cases."

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said he would seek ways to punish elected regional officials through a revision of the law on regional governance, which is scheduled for deliberation at the House of Representatives later this year.

"The president should have the power to warn and remind, as well as to punish regional leaders, to ensure that the country is run effectively," Gamawan said. The minister declined to elaborate on the possible form the punishment might take.

Earlier this year, Yudhoyono called for better relations between the central government and regional administrations, saying many of the government's programs failed at the regional level due to lack of coordination.

He also urged legislators to monitor the performance of governors and district heads with a critical eye.

Government indecisive on overlapping bylaws

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2010

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Overlapping policies blamed for severely hurting competitiveness will remain effective until the end of 2011 unless annulled by a proposed revision to the country's current tax law.

The country has been left with thousands of such policies as the Home Ministry said the authority to drop local bylaws lies with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said his office was preparing a "more efficient" single draft government regulation to annul all overlapping bylaws and regulations because a single presidential regulation takes up to six months to process.

The Finance Ministry previously identified 3,735 overlapping bylaws, regulations and circulars issued by governors, mayors and regents issued in the past decade on the subjects of taxation and retribution alone.

The ministry has proposed that the regulations be annulled immediately as they violated the 2009 Tax and Retribution Law. However, the Home Ministry, which has the authority to supervise and evaluate the regulations, yet to make a final decision. The law lists 16 taxes and retributions to be imposed only by the central government.

This year the Finance Ministry increased that figure to 4,885 overlapping policies, of which only 1,843 were dropped, according to the independent Regional Autonomy Watch (KPPOD).

Gamawan said he did not know how many overlapping regulations had been issued by provincial, regency and municipal administrations because the ministry could only directly monitor bylaws issued by provinces. Governors have also proposed the annulment of dozens of overlapping regulations issued by regency and municipal authorities.

Regulations can be annulled within 85 days after they are approved by local administrations. However government offices such as the Finance Ministry say regencies, townships and provinces often fail to report new policies.

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) have criticized overlapping policies in numerous sectors that have led to illegal levies.

"If our products are more expensive than imports, it's barely possible for us to compete," Apindo deputy secretary-general Franky Sibarani said Saturday.

Regional Autonomy Watch executive director Agung Pambudhi said he questioned the government's political will to help create a positive business climate in the regions, adding that many domestic and foreign investors have declined to invest in regions imposing overlapping taxes and retributions.

Gamawan said he would propose a cut of general and special allocation funds (DAU and DAK) to penalize local administrations that declined to voluntarily annul overlapping bylaws and circulars.

Agung said regional autonomy should no longer be in transition 10 years after its introduction in 1999.

Autonomy should "move further from power decentralization and local elections to accelerate economic development and develop infrastructures to improve people's welfare."

Jakarta & urban life

Moving the capital a 'utopian' notion: Analysts

Jakarta Globe - July 29, 2010

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Renewed notions of relocating the nation's capital from the chaos of Jakarta may have merits, but the difficulties of implementing such a plan would likely doom the idea, experts say.

Yayat Supriatna, an urban planning expert from Trisakti University, said relocation would be extremely difficult. "Economists would argue that relocation would require massive costs, as it entails new buildings, infrastructure and all," he said.

The debate was ignited again by Teguh Juwarno, the deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission II, which oversees home affairs, who said Jakarta was already overburdened.

"It is the government center, but at the same time it is the center of finance, trade and services," Teguh, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party (PAN), told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

"We need to offload the burdens to another area." Teguh said the country needed to split the government and business hubs, noting that other countries have relocated their federal administrative centers. Australia moved its capital from Sydney to Canberra, Japan from Kyoto to Tokyo, and Malaysia from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya.

It would help break unhealthy ties between politicians and businessmen, he said. "The affairs between the two are too tight. Distance would make a difference," he said.

Teguh said the move could also improve government performance. "The government buildings in Jakarta are scattered all over the place, affecting efficiency," he said, adding that the move would allow for a district with offices and ministries near one other to promote efficiency.

This would have a domino effect, Teguh argued, fostering development outside Java. "Once we start developing an area outside Java as the government hub, it would encourage new growth" in line with decentralization, he said.

Further, with Jakarta paralyzed by traffic congestion, overpopulation and pollution, the city needs a break.

In December 2009, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also broached the idea. "The idea of moving the center of the administration must again be considered and developed, because Jakarta has become exceedingly crowded," he said at the time.

It is a dream that goes back to the days of President Sukarno, who first raised the idea of putting the capital in undeveloped Central Kalimantan.

But Trisakti's Yayat said many developments outside Java have failed. Unless a new government center has a clear vision, it would just imitate the problems Jakarta suffers from, he said.

The idea also could lead to unhealthy tussles among provinces wanting the honor of being the new No. 1, he said.

Yunarto Wijaya, a political analyst from Charta Politika, said political resistance would be tough to overcome. "Lawmakers will see no relevance in this idea," he said. "It is mere utopian thinking."

Jakarta's income gap stretches from cradle to grave

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2010

Jakarta – The capital city has entered an "age of extremity" where some families spend billions of rupiah to bury relatives in luxury graves, and others struggle to find the few thousand rupiah needed to ensure their children are born safely.

Deden, a contract security guard, earns Rp 1.2 million (US$133) per month. He said he could not afford to send his wife to a hospital with a standard maternity facility to give birth to their child.

"My wife gave birth to my first son six months ago with the help of a midwife in Ciledug, Tangerang," said Deden, who lives in Cipulir, Kebayoran Lama, in South Jakarta.

Deden paid Rp 300,000 for his wife to stay two nights in hospital room shared with five other women when she gave birth, he said.

Deden took his wife to the midwife every month during her pregnancy for a simple, low-technology examination for a relatively cheap fee of Rp 25,000.

"During labor, my wife suffered from excessive bleeding, but the midwife could only help her by giving an intravenous infusion," he said. "Luckily, she and the baby survived," he added, when recalling his wife's struggle.

If a more severe problem occurs during childbirth, midwives will usually refer patients to hospitals that are equipped with complete facilities, Deden said.

The income gap between the city's residents has created a vast social gap between the rich and the poor. The disparity is obvious even for basic issues such as maternity and funeral services.

In private hospitals, maternity packages cost from Rp 10 million to Rp 50 million, depending on the services and facilities.

High-end hospitals provide services such as obstetricians, birth certificate processing, obstetric ultrasound diagnosis and photography, videography of childbirth, diet and lactation management consultation, interpreters for expatriates and home care services.

Erika (not her real name), who is four months pregnant with her first child, said spends about Rp 600,000 every month to see an obstetrician.

"My husband and I just want to make sure that our child, whom the doctor said will be a baby girl, is born in a safe and healthy condition," she said.

Erika comes from a wealthy business family in Jakarta. She can afford the best services for her pregnancy, and for other things, such as the funeral of her grandmother.

The family paid a total of Rp 30 million to inter the grandmother in a cemetery in Tangerang, Banten, 10 years ago, she said.

Several big companies, sensing a great opportunity in the funeral business, have started to provide "luxury" cemeteries, targeting the rich in Greater Jakarta.

Among them are San Diego Hills, Graha Sentosa Memorial Park and Lestari Memorial Park in Karawang in West Java, which can charge more than a billion rupiah per funeral.

The Lestari Memorial Park and Graha Sentosa Memorial Park sell grave plots for Rp 10 million ($1,100) to Rp 1 billion. Each company said it had sold more than 2,500 plots over the last three years.

The San Diego Hills cemetery, which features several helicopter landing pads, a lake, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a 24- hour security force, said it had already taken more than 1,000 orders for luxury graves over the same period.

Atia, a vendor with no fixed income, shook her head when told about the luxury cemeteries. She has not visited her father's grave in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, for many years, she said. "I think my father's grave has been used to bury another body," Atia added.

A grave digger at Kebayoran Lama cemetery said that people spent an average of about Rp 1.2 million per grave, which included digging and refilling plots.

Imam Prasodjo, a sociologist at the University of Indonesia, said that Jakarta has entered an age of extremity, in which citizens were segregated geographically and otherwise according to their wealth, race and religion.

"Such segmentation within the society could lead to conflict with a great chance to escalate if it is provoked," he said.

He said the city administration had failed to encourage the integration of populations with different income, religious, ethnic and educational backgrounds.

"The administration has instead supported an infrastructure that has led to segregation," Imam told The Jakarta Post.

The administration should follow the model of New York City, which actively promoted efforts to harmonize the relations between its African-American and white communities, Imam said.

Jakarta could start by building public parks and other facilities that could serve as venues for social gatherings for people from vastly different backgrounds to mingle and talk, he added. (rch)

Criminal justice & prison system

Clemency law amended as requests spill over

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2010

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Monday passed a revision of the 2002 Clemency Law, which will allow a greater role for the government, shorten the appeals process, and restrict convicts to one pardon for life.

The amendment, the sixth piece of legislation passed since October, was considered urgent in light of the 2,106 requests for clemency currently pending, Tjatur Sapto Edy, deputy chairman of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs, said at Monday's plenary session.

"All the pending requests will be processed and resolved by October 22, 2012," said the National Mandate Party (PAN) lawmaker.

Under the amended law, the government has more authority to review pleas for clemency as well as to interview applicants to evaluate their eligibility for a presidential pardon.

The government is also authorized to flag outstanding cases to the president, include those involving convicts who have not applied for a pardon, such as children and the elderly, because they are unaware of the legal option available to them.

"The amended law will also oblige the Supreme Court to limit the time in which it must give a ruling on each request for clemency to 30 days," Tjatur said.

Under the 2002 Clemency Law, the court was allowed three months to deliberate a clemency request and advise the president of its final recommendations.

Another major change is that convicts will only be allowed to apply for clemency once, and the supporting documents must be submitted within a year of their conviction at the latest.

Previously, convicts were allowed to file a repeat request two years after their first appeal was rejected, while death-row convicts who had their sentences commuted to life were allowed to seek a pardon two years after the commute.

Meanwhile, Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar welcomed the passage of the amended law and vowed to have all the pending clemency requests resolved by October 2012.

"The legal framework is all clear, and we have sufficient time to process the requests," he said.

"Our priority at this point is to process the cases of those who are either ignorant of their right to seek clemency or don't know how to go about applying for it, who in most cases happen to be kids and the elderly."

Commission III began deliberations on the proposed amendments in April this year, and have held several hearings with Patrialis and other ministry officials on the issue.

Tjatur said the commission's ultimate objective for prioritizing this piece of legislation was to speedily resolve the backlog of clemency requests, which under the 2002 Clemency Law were supposed to have been resolved by October 2004.

"We proposed extending the period in which to deal with these cases up to 2012, which, given the amendments, should be enough time," he said.

Fachri Hamzah, a Commission III legislator from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), called on the government to immediately issue supporting regulations to enforce the amended law, which is not legally binding until the regulations have been issued.

"During our deliberations of the amendment, we've encountered many cases of people who have been wrongly imprisoned," he said.

"They are victims of a rogue justice system, and so the government must issue the supporting regulations as soon as possible."

Economy & investment

Investment in Indonesia increases: Government

Reuters - July 26, 2010

Jakarta – Investment in Indonesia, including from both foreign and domestic investors, rose 40 percent in the second quarter of 2010 from the same period a year ago, said the country's investment chief Gita Wirjawan on Monday.

The increase could show that strong economic growth and increasing consumer demand in Indonesia is leading more investors to make longer-term bets on the country, which has struggled to attract as much foreign direct investment as regional peers.

"Q2 investment growth rose more than 40 percent in total, year-on-year. Both domestic and foreign investment grew significantly. Investor confidence to our investment climate improved," Wirjawan said after a meeting of government ministers.

He did not give the total investment level or a breakdown between foreign and domestic investment, but said further details would be released this week.

The state investment agency forecast that foreign direct investment would rebound 15 percent this year, after falling 27 percent to $10.8 billion last year. Foreign investors staked $3.8 billion in Indonesia in the first quarter of 2010.

Indonesia has so far failed to match the levels of direct foreign investment attracted into regional powerhouses China and India, as investors are often put off by red tape, rampant corruption, and a shaky legal system.

Investors have, however, poured into the country's markets in the past year, with the stock index and net foreign ownership of local debt both hitting record highs this month.

Analysis & opinion

The US and us

Jakarta Post Editorial - July 27, 2010

In a widely anticipated move, the US government eventually lifted the 13-year-old ban on Indonesian Army's Special Forces' (Kopassus) participation in any joint Indonesia-US military activities. The decision to resume relations with Kopassus was proclaimed by visiting US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates on Thursday amid uncertainty on President Barack Obama's Indonesian visit after it was canceled twice this year.

Yes, the restoration of cooperation with Kopassus, initiated during the preceding Bush administration, was not personally announced by Obama, as previously expected during his two canceled visits here.

However, the announcement made by the defense secretary did not lessen the significance of the US government's policy to lift the ban and should be highly commended as it signaled a completely restored bilateral US-Indonesia relation.

The ban on cooperation with Kopassus was one of the two key obstacles in US-Indonesia military relations as a result of allegedly repeated human rights abuses by the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the past – particularly during Soeharto's New Order administration. The other, on the US ban on military equipment sales to Indonesia, was lifted in 2005.

To the agreement of many, the decision to lift the bans on Kopassus and the military sales to Indonesia, were not a one-size-fits-all policy of the US government.

As secretary Gates has stated: "This initial step will take place within the limit of US law and does not signal any lessening of the importance we place on human rights and accountability," the policy is obviously subject to further examination and review, if the Indonesian military violate human rights principles in the future.

The US government's precautionary move at the same time signals the necessity for the Indonesian side to improve its monitoring mechanism and justice system – both the civilian court and military tribunal – against alleged wrongdoings committed by military personnel.

It is true that several cases of human rights violation had been tried in the military tribunal, but the verdicts issued had been far from the Indonesian peoples' expectation, while the tribunal had failed to try the most responsible persons in the cases.

To a certain extent, the US government's "conditional" decision to lift the bans could be understood as dictating Indonesia's internal affairs. But, rather than politicizing the US government's decision, let's put the issue on the US government's and peoples' perspective.

Isn't it logical for the US government to demand such accountability from the Indonesian side, as any resumption of military cooperation with Indonesia would involve US funds that originate from none other than American taxpayers' money?

After all, such conditional restoration of military ties with Indonesia will be fruitful for smooth democratization in Indonesia as it will undoubtedly help prevent the repetition of past human rights abuses in the future. Otherwise, we all will sing the same old story again without significant efforts to put it to a complete halt.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as head of state and the supreme commander of the Indonesian military, has guaranteed that there would be no more rights abuses by the TNI in the future, and that he would take the lead in continuing reforms in the TNI.

Such a commitment needs the support of all the country's stakeholders, and most importantly the military organization itself.

Support for sharia law is in the minority - and declining

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2010

Debnath Guharoy, Jakarta – The army is in the barracks. The press is free. The constitution is alive. But from the way many elected leaders continue to behave, voter may well think politicians were put in office by divine intervention.

The mayor of Bekasi, eager to follow in the footsteps of the mayor of Tangerang, has now declared that he too would like to introduce sharia law. If the mayors believe they are acting in the name of the people who put them in power and enforcing the will of the electorate, then they are both wrong.

True to form, the politicians are again displaying the arrogance of ill-informed bullies who are eager to force their individual whims on a growing majority who reject narrow religious rules.

If both mayors believe they are acting in the name of the voting public, enacting into law what they believe has a groundswell of popular support, they would do well to look at the facts. Not anywhere else, just in their cities, where ignorance is bliss.

That both cities are integral parts of the Republic of Indonesia warrants mention, lest basic truths are forgotten. Indonesia, rather than with Indonesians, is a good place to begin looking for the truth.

In the last 12 months alone, there has been a palpable hardening in the attitude of Indonesians against sharia law. From April 2009 to March 2010, the number of people who said "Islamic sharia law should be introduced in my area" declined from 43 to 36 percent of the population. That's one in three people, not what an elected mayor could call a majority.

Expressions of support for sharia law have even less support. A year ago, 38 percent of the population believed "thieves should have their hands cut off". By March of 2010, that number had slipped to 32.

"Those committing adultery should be whipped to death in public" also lost steam, with an almost identical decline during the same period.

Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring would do well to take note, not just members of religious political parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), of which he is a former leader.

Always a delicate subject, sharia law is increasingly being rejected, not embraced, by growing numbers of Muslims around the country. Even people unfamiliar with Islam know that sharia is a way of life for all believers, not a set of laws.

When asked the question, most Muslims would understandably have difficulty separating sharia from Islam. Rejecting the imposition of sharia law in that sense is an act of courage, a choice made consciously. In much the same way, a practicing Christian might be troubled if asked whether the Virgin Mary was indeed a virgin.

In this world's Muslim majority nation, steadily growing numbers of moderate Muslims are looking at tomorrow's Indonesia, differently. The purists and the fundamentalists are in the minority, and shrinking.

The politicians are reading the signs and even religious parties are seeking to redefine themselves.

Only opportunists are using the religious card for political gain, by ignoring the popular view and promoting the incendiary actions of the fundamentalist fringe instead.

The bigots and their political supporters have yet to buckle under the popular winds of change. Sabres drawn, they are the defenders of a faith they share with only their diminishing ranks. They aren't exactly keen to go with the flow.

In the minority, they are the elected leaders who provide protection to lawless groups like the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), imposing their will on a peaceful, moderate, gentle majority eager to see a modern Indonesia blossom.

The economy is in good shape, consumer confidence is running high. But the meaningless distractions created by elected leaders are just that, distractions and meaningless.

In a country where religions have lived side by side for centuries, where the constitution endorses plurality, the views of a diminishing minority being imposed on a growing majority has a surreal air, similar to the days of Idi Amin in Uganda.

Will the president of this republic please take note? And let the people know which side he is on?

Focusing on the runaway mayors of Tangerang and Bekasi, the picture is similar. Undoubtedly, they are imposing the minority will on the majority. Like the rest of the nation, that includes the majority of Muslims in their jurisdictions.

Only 38 percent of Muslims in Tangerang think "Islamic sharia law should be implemented in my area."

In the past, its mayor had neither the authority nor mandate to impose his beliefs on the majority.

In Bekasi, only 42 percent of the population and 42 percent of Muslims agree. Who is the mayor of Bekasi aiming to please, in the future? The majority of voters everywhere, not just in Bekasi, would like the President to throw the book at him. The constitutional book, that is. Everybody who loves Indonesia must be wondering what's stopping him.

By shrugging off these wanton acts, by allowing them to mold a society against its own will, the silent majority will hurt itself for generations to come. A people capable of defining modern Islam should not allow themselves to be hijacked by a diminishing fundamentalist minority. A nation capable of influencing the balance of power in the 21st century cannot allow itself to be ridiculed on the world stage. Now is not the time for silent acquiescence.

Any attempt to challenge the research on which these conclusions are based, is a waste of time. With more than adequate numbers of respondents, the margin of error is insignificant.

This is not a flimsy one-off poll conducted on the web with a handful of interviews. The opinions are based on Roy Morgan Single Source, country's largest syndicated consumer survey with over 25,000 respondents annually. Interviews are conducted face- to-face each week, continuously, with results released every quarter. The findings are projected to reflect over 85 percent of the population, 14 years of age and older.

[The writer is regional director-Asia for Roy Morgan Research. He is also a columnist and speaker at investment forums overseas and a frequent visitor to Indonesia. He can be contacted at debnath.guharoy@roymorgan.com.]