Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Indonesia's twitter users were once again shocked by another statement from Information and Communication Minister Tifatul Sembiring, who said that adulterous nations unfaithful to God will receive "Godly condemnation".

Tifatul, who represents the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet, said in a statement on one of his tweets Tuesday "if they deny Our verses, then we will curse them for whatever (sins) they commit".

Numerous twitter users condemned Tifatul for his statement, saying it was improper in the midst of two almost simultaneous natural disasters – a tsunami in Mentawai and a volcanic eruption in Central Java.

This was not the first time Tifatul's tweets caused widespread controversy and public derision.

"The government should ease chaos, not add more controversy, especially when it comes to religion," twitter user Dian Paramita told The Jakarta Post. Mario Hadiwono added that Tifatul had shown his lack of empathy towards the disaster victims.

However, not all twitter users opposed Tifatul. One commentator said Tifatul was only giving warning to the Indonesian people and did not specifically say that Mentawai residents were unfaithful.

In his later tweets, Tifatul also talked about institutions people could go to if they wanted to help the disaster victims.

Youth Pledge Day points to conflicts

Jakarta Post - October 28, 2010

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – More than anything else, the youth pledge taken by Indonesia's young leaders 82 years ago stressed the importance of living in unity in a nation with a legacy of diversity.

But the country observes Youth Pledge Day today at a time marked by persecution and ostracism of the Ahmadis, with sharia-based bylaws discriminating against minorities and clashes between church congregations and the Muslim majority.

In a report released in August, the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy recorded 291 incidents categorized as violations of freedom of faith in Indonesia. Of this number, 33 targeted followers of the Ahmadiyah religious sect.

In 2008, the figures were even higher. Of 367 incidents, 238 related to persecution of Ahmadis. Setara Institute blames this on the issuance of a joint ministerial decree seeking to regulate the sect's activities.

A conflict resolution and security expert at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Samsu Rizal Panggabean, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that a trend towards social segregation had become more marked since the adoption of democracy, as part of a natural process.

"During the New Order regime, it seemed like we had unity in Indonesia. But it was a false unity. It was based on authoritarianism and did not grow naturally. We had a controlled harmony in which our laborers, farmers and press were repressed from speaking against [the government]," he said.

When democracy came in more than a decade ago, it brought with it the freedom of speech and choice.

And among other things it entailed were that sectarian conflicts began to develop here and there.

The cry for democracy culminated in riots infused with anti-Chinese sentiment in May 1998. By the year end, a street brawl in Poso, Central Sulawesi, triggered a bloody conflict lasting eight years, claiming more than 1,000 lives and displacing 25,000 people.

In 2001, a conflict erupted in Central Kalimantan's cities of Sampit and Palangkaraya between native Dayaks and migrant Madurese settlers. Hundreds were killed and more than 50,000 displaced.

In the past few years, the country has witnessed sharia-based bylaws introduced in many regions.

Many have criticized these as discriminating against women and minorities and as a violation of rights.

Legal efforts to overturn several bylaws stumbled. The Supreme Court, for example, turned down a 2007 request to review a Tangerang municipality bylaw that bans "everyone exhibiting suspicious behavior, and therefore creating suspicion that he or she is a prostitute" from wandering public areas.

More recently, disputes and clashes between Christians and Muslims occurred in several areas. These rows have centered on the building of new Christian churches.

Rizal said Indonesians needed to learn how to manage their newly found freedom of speech and choice.

"We should determine whether we will allow hate speeches or discrimination against minorities? But we cannot have violence, that's where we have to draw the line. The law should be enforced against those who use violence," he added.

In a new era of democracy, he said, the people and the government are required to make adjustments here and there to maintain harmony.

"The people should now think in the framework of pluralism and the government needs to come up with regulations that improve social harmony. We also need to remember that living side by side with others in harmony is not a new experience for us Indonesians," he said.

Suharto deserves to be hero despite sinking the country in debt: PKS

Jakarta Post - October 25, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) says that former dictator Soeharto deserves to be named a national hero.

"Judging from his [Suharto] contributions to this country during his 32- reign, we believe he deserves to be named as a national hero," PKS secretary general Anis Matta told reporters at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Monday. "Suharto's most significant contribution is our country's development," he added.

Anis said that even though many critics deemed most of Suharto's accomplishments were made possible through foreign debts, the PKS did not see that issue as a major problem.

"Even until now we are still borrowing debts from abroad," Anis said. "Besides, all heroes are not purely innocent," he added.

Suharto's candidacy as a national hero has sparked controversies due to his New Order regime's iron fist policy on civil movements and groups.

At the beginning of the regime, up to 3 million people were reportedly killed for being suspected communists. The end of the regime was also marked by bloody riots taking place in several cities in Indonesia. The tragedy is known as the May tragedy.

After 1,000 days to reflect, we still don't miss Suharto

Jakarta Globe - October 23, 2010

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Suharto may be on the verge of being named a national hero, but a survey released on the 1,000th day since his death suggests that most Indonesians far prefer a messy democracy to life under the repressive New Order regime.

The study by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) found that 70 percent of 2,500 respondents believed democracy was the best system for the country, while almost 60 percent said Suharto's administration was autocratic.

"The people consider Suharto's regime as undemocratic," said Kuskridho Ambardi, the executive director of the institute. "The claim that the people miss Suharto's government goes against, and betrays, the people's real aspirations."

The survey, conducted between Oct. 7 and 20, was done in response to the perception among some people that the country was better off under Suharto, who seized power in the chaos that followed an aborted coup against founding President Sukarno.

While Suharto was a hero for some because of the robust economic growth during his time, the price for relative prosperity was a lack of political liberty, no press freedom, rampant human rights violations and a culture of cronyism that made corruption endemic in the country.

His rule eventually ended as a result of the economic crisis of 1997-98 and anti-Chinese rioting and unrest in Jakarta. He stepped down in May 1998.

All that aside, the Ministry of Social Affairs has included Suharto as one of the 10 people nominated to be a national hero.

On Thursday night, thousands attended a commemoration of the 1,000th day since Suharto's death at the At-Tien Mosque in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, while other ceremonies took place elsewhere in Java as Suharto loyalists gath e red to remember their man.

"The survey provides a scientific conclusion that the people trust democracy, and it shatters these claims that the people are longing for the past," said Bara Hasibuan, a political analyst from the National Mandate Party (PAN), whose founder, Amien Rais, broke ranks with Suharto and became a critic toward the end of the New Order era.

Bara said that for the government to bestow national hero status on Suharto would be insensitive to people who were still suffering from wounds inflicted by his regime.

Rachland Nashidik, an activist-turned-politician from the Democratic Party, said many of the problems facing the country 12 years after the reform movement began had their roots in Suharto's rule.

"Corruption is still rampant, but corruption was a product of the New Order," he said. At least now, he added, people are free to address the issue.

The survey institute's Kuskridho also pointed to the lack of success Suharto's children have had in reviving the family's political legacy.

While some small political parties have considered courting Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra as a leader, the survey found that if a presidential election were held today, only 0.8 percent of the respondents would vote for Tommy. "Tommy's popular, but his electability rate is low," Kuskridho said. "Suharto's political legacy is over."

Actions, demos, protests...

Market vendors protest relocation

Jakarta Post - October 26, 2010

Bekasi – A number of traditional "family" market vendors at Kota Harapan Indah, Bekasi, staged a hunger strike in front of the Bekasi municipality office Monday.

Eleven merchants and three student activists joined the protest. They urged the local administration to take over the management of the 15-year-old market so 417 vendors could continue their operations.

The family market, with a total 4,000 square meter area, has been barricaded by a fence since Oct 15. The market's management has asked the vendors to move to a modern market in Tarumajaya district five kilometers from the current location. The relocation suggestion was rejected by the market vendors.

"I'd go on a hunger strike before letting my children starve," 43-year-old vegetable vendor Kasyuit said, as quoted by beritajakarta.com.

Police disperse student protest at airport

Jakarta Post - October 23, 2010

Soekarno-Hatta Airport police dispersed on Saturday dozens of students grouped under the People's Alliance against Legislators' Overseas Outing who rallied to protest House of Representatives lawmakers' planned overseas trip.

The students had asked for a meeting with members of the House's honors council who would leave for Greece for a comparative study, but the police rejected their demand.

Airport police chief Sr. Comr. Turnagogo Sihombing said the students were not allowed to stage a rally at the airport in accordance with Law No. 9/2009 on national education system.

"We have to create peace and convenient atmosphere at airports. Therefore we have to tell them they cannot demonstrate at the airport. No one can stage a rally, there is no exception," Turnagogo said as quoted by kompas.com.

Disappointed, the students gathered outside the airport's departure gate for a public speech for nearly one hour. "Our rally does not disturb public order, but the police refuse to give us a chance," one of the students said. Until they left the airport, the students failed to meet the lawmakers.

Aceh

Improper to name suharto a hero, Aceh activists say

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Nurdin Hasan & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Banda Aceh & Jakarta – Seventy- eight civil society groups in Aceh have denounced a proposal to confer national hero status on former President Suharto, who they say bears most responsibility for a spate of human rights abuses in the province.

In a letter addressed to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the groups said naming the former strongman a national hero deeply hurts the sense of justice of the people of Aceh.

"While in power, Suharto took several decisions that defied the state of law and justice in Aceh, and that upheld the interests of power rather than human rights," read the letter, dated Monday.

The activists also denounced Suharto's decision to designate Aceh an "area of military operations" between 1989 and 1998, which "created untold suffering for the people, especially women and children."

Thousands of civilians were killed or "disappeared" during this period of de facto martial law as the military engaged in a guerrilla war against the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Ghazali Abbas Adan, a former legislator and member of a fact-finding team probing rights abuses in Aceh, said the "military operations" period ushered in "a form of genocide or ethnic cleansing by the New Order [regime led by Suharto]." "As such, it would be highly improper to name Suharto a national hero," he told a press conference organized by the 78 groups on Monday.

Hendra Fadli, coordinator of the Aceh office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), called the rights abuses carried out in Aceh on Suharto's orders "systematic and widespread crimes against humanity". "If the government decides to name him a national hero, we'll file a judicial review against it," Hendra said.

In Jakarta, meanwhile, legislators' opinions on whether to approve the proposal are mixed.

Taufik Kiemas, speaker of the People's Representative Assembly (MPR), said that as a former president, Suharto does not need to be named a national hero. "This debate will only trigger conflict," he said. "We shouldn't confer the title of hero on the former president."

Similarly, Ramadhan Pohan, from Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, said the issue would reopen old wounds and cause a rift within society. "I believe it's enough just for us to respect him as a former president," he said.

Pramono Anung, a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI-P), said the government must heed public opinion on the issue, citing a recent survey that showed most respondents did not approve of the Suharto regime.

"Besides, we already have too many national heroes," Pramono said. "If the government keeps handing it out so easily to just about anybody, the title will pretty soon carry no weight."

However, legislators from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Golkar, Suharto's political vehicle throughout his 32-year rule, say the former president deserves the honor.

Priyo Budi Santoso, a deputy House speaker from the Golkar Party, said that while opposition to the proposal was normal, protesters should not miss the bigger picture that Suharto did much good for the country.

"Any resentment over Suharto is just a historical grudge," he said. "I believe all presidents, including Sukarno, Suharto, Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati Sukarnoputri and Yudhoyono deserve to be named heroes."

Another deputy House speaker, PKS secretary general Anis Matta, said the public should not forget Suharto's role in Indonesia's development. "You could accuse him of leaving the country with huge debts, but then you could accuse the current administration of doing the same," he said.

West Papua

Cyber attacks cripple sites raising Papua human rights abuses

Radio New Zealand International - October 29, 2010

The websites of several NGOs campaigning for human rights in West Papua have come under cyber attack this week, with commentators suspecting Indonesia as being behind it.

Survival International, the Asian Human Rights Commission, Friends of People Close to Nature, Free West Papua Campaign and West Papua Media Alerts have seen their websites crippled in what is being described as a co-ordinated cyber terrorism act.

All these campaign groups recently hosted video footage showing Indonesian troops torturing Papuans which Jakarta this week confirmed was authentic. New Zealand activist Nicky Hager says such cyber attacks are becoming more frequent:

"Yeah this is a growth area in international conflict. You'll find that many of the larger or more aggressive countries in the world have invested in this capability where they can do cyber attacks. And you're seeing it more and more around the world and because the potential is there, countries are using it."

Concern over lack of independent probe into Papua torture video

Radio New Zealand International - October 28, 2010

Amnesty International is concerned that there may be no independent probe into the recent video footage of Indonesian soldiers torturing two Papuans.

Jakarta this week confirmed that the graphic video showing scenes of torture was authentic and said the soldiers involved had been unprofessional. An internal investigation has been launched by the military.

However, NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty say previous internal probes have failed to investigate adequately or prosecute military abuses. Amnesty's Josef Benedict says there's very little information about how the military probe will proceed.

"The Human Rights Commission is also looking into the matter but what we're calling for is an independent investigation by the Human Rights Commission or by an independent body and this body should be given all the information and evidence with regards to this case. And they should be able to publish their findings and make those public and transparent."

Papuans want government to put end to violence

Jakarta Post - October 27, 2010

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua lawmakers insisted Tuesday that government take stern action against security personnel involved in a controversial video of alleged torture of Papuans by members of the Indonesian Military.

Papua legislative councilors Yan Mandenas and Ruben Magai said that Papuans fervently hope that the perpetrators be punished for their actions, and the matter not being treated lightly, to ensure violence against Papuans should be stopped.

Yan Mandenas said violence committed by security personnel against civilians in Papua had taken place too frequently due to light punishments given to perpetrators, sending the message that taking the life of a civilian could be a normal matter.

In the past two months, four civilians in Papua and West Papua have been shot and killed in clashes with security personnel. They included Naftali Kwan and Septinus Kwan, who were shot and killed by Police Mobile Brigade personnel in Manokwari on Sept. 16; Ismail Lokobal, who was also shot and killed by Mobile Brigade personnel in a clash in Wamena on Oct. 4; and Timika resident Frans Jeuyanan, who was shot and killed in a clash with TNI personnel on Oct. 18.

Yan said violence by security personnel, which was prevalent, should have made TNI and police leaders evaluate personnel more carefully. "Their presence in Papua has not curbed violence but they have become the perpetrators instead," said Yan.

Videos showing two Papuan men being tortured by two men wearing camouflage military uniforms have been circulating on the Internet. According to the sound track of video transcripts, the incident occurred in Puncak Jaya regency.

The footage has drawn international attention and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered a "thorough investigation" into the video, which a senior minister confirmed was a genuine record of events taking place in Papua.

Ruben Magai said violence committed by TNI and police members in Papua has hurt the feelings of Papuans and fomented hatred against the Indonesia, confirming some antipathy by local people.

Since Papua's integration with the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia, cases of human rights violation have continued to increase and none of them has been legally resolved, he said.

"If the cases are stacked high, they might reach the sky, but they have never been settled but have been overlooked instead," said Magai.

Fresh talks due between Papua clans and Freeport miner

Radio New Zealand International - October 27, 2010

Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission has rescheduled for today a meeting between four Papuan clans and copper-and-gold company, Freeport.

Mediation talks were to be held last week but Freeport failed to send delegates and sent the convenors a letter. The two sides are locked in a dispute over land use.

The Commission, known as Komnas-HAM, says by staying away, Freeport has shown disrespect and ill-will towards an institution of the Indonesian Republic as well as disrespect for the legal system of this country.

It says the Amungme people who live in mountains and the Kamoro people who live along the coast will organise a peaceful mass action which will take the form of a boycott of all the products of Freeport.

New Zealand welcomes Jakarta's Papua torture video probe

Radio New Zealand International - October 26, 2010

The New Zealand foreign minister, Murray McCully, says he welcomes an announcement by the Indonesian government of a full investigation into the apparent torture of two Papuan men by military personnel.

Graphic video images of the incident were released via the internet early last week, coinciding with an official visit by Mr McCully to Indonesia.

In a statement, the minister says he was assured by his Indonesian counterpart that the government was concerned about the allegations and would investigate them thoroughly.

Mr McCully says the willingness shown by the Indonesian government to openly acknowledge the incident and commit to a full and transparent investigation is a positive step. He says New Zealand will remain in close contact with Indonesia on the situation.

SBY orders thorough probe of Papua torture video

Jakarta Post - October 23, 2010

Erwida Maulia and Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered a "thorough investigation" of a controversial video of the alleged torture of Papuans by Indonesian Military (TNI) members, which a senior minister said was genuine.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto told a press conference here Friday that his agencies, including the Defense Ministry and the TNI, started a probe of the alleged torture footage soon after it was uploaded to YouTube last week.

"I can only explain that the incident indeed happened, that the perpetrators are indeed military soldiers," Djoko said after a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office to discuss the videos.

He added that the victims were allegedly implicated in unrelated shooting incidents. "The President is very concerned about the matter and has been paying close attention to it. He said there should be follow-up [after the investigation] and the investigation should be carried out thoroughly," he added.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said that any TNI members alleged to have committed wrongdoings would be brought before military tribunals.

Videos showing two Papuan men tortured by two other men wearing camouflage military uniforms have been circulating on the Internet. According to video transcripts, the conversation between the torturers and the Papuans indicated that the incident occurred in Puncak Jaya regency.

The footage has drawn attention from the international community, and many foreign governments have lodged inquires with Indonesia, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa.

Marty confirmed in a separate press conference that the US government had sent a letter to Yudhoyono to ask the Indonesian government to investigate alleged human rights abuses in Papua, as depicted in the footage.

Djoko denied that the TNI had been conducting a military operation in Papua, saying that TNI members were there to secure the area from occasional guerrilla attacks allegedly perpetrated by separatist groups.

"There are still armed groups disrupting security. It is in this context that the TNI and the National Police do their work, to ensure security so that economic activity can run well," he said.

Djoko said that unlike previous administrations that focused on security when handling Papua, Yudhoyono preferred economic and prosperity approaches.

The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) previously said that it had received reports of other human rights violations in Puncak Jaya, including allegations of rape and terrorism in a village that was burned to the ground by a group of men. Komnas HAM also said there were indications that there had been military operations in the regency.

Human rights NGO Imparsial executive director Poengky Indarti said the government should include Komnas HAM in the investigation of the alleged torture video.

She added that reports showed an increase in the number of alleged human rights violation cases in Papua, prompting Imparsial and other NGOs to demand that the government and the House of Representatives deliberate a law to protect human rights activists.

"We also expect the President to take firm action by immediately ordering state bodies to stop using torture. It is time for Indonesia to pay serious attention to the United Nations' recommendations against torture," she said, on behalf of several groups, including Kontras and the Wamena Women Voice.

[Dicky Christanto contributed to the story from Jakarta.]

Military ties

Activists divided over future of TNI link with US military after torture

Jakarta Globe - October 24, 2010

Ismira Lutfia & AFP, Jakarta – Some Papuan activists have called on foreign governments to cease cooperation with the Indonesian military as evidence of torture has come to light, but human rights activists said that foreign governments should instead maintain ties and help push forward military reforms.

In a statement issued over the weekend, Forkorus Yoboisembut, chairman of Papua Traditional Council, called on the US and Australian governments as well as the European Union to cease military cooperation with Indonesia.

The statement comes after the government on Friday acknowledged the authenticity of a graphic, 10-minute video that shows six soldiers burning their prisoners' genitals and threatening them with knives, guns and a cigar.

But Ifdhal Kasim, chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said the resumption of limited military cooperation between the United States and Indonesia is needed to assist change and improvement within the military. The United States, he said, must ensure there will be firm action taken against the soldiers in the video.

"The military should show that they are taking accountability for what happened in the video," he said. He called the torture "shocking," especially in light of the "progressive internal reform" the military is undertaking.

The military should see the scandal as an impetus to push for reform, he added. "This will be the defense minister's task: to convey to the world that reform is indeed taking place in the military," Ifdhal said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Indonesia in July and announced a resumption of ties with the special forces, known as Kopassus, after a 12- year hiatus. But he said the engagement would be limited until the army undertakes reforms.

The United States on Friday praised Indonesia for being forthcoming in its investigation of torture of Papuan detainees and said it would not affect the resumption of military ties.

US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said the Indonesian government had promised a "full and transparent investigation" into the video.

"They have undertaken, under democratic law, specific reforms, and we will continue to work with them," Crowley said. "What they announced today is consistent with the terms under which we resumed limited security cooperation with Kopassas," he said.

Yoseph Adi Prasetyo, better known as Stanley, also from Komnas HAM, said the commission's main interest for the military was to see that there would be no more abusive soldiers within the TNI.

He also urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) Chief Agus Suhartono to investigate the case before it got worse. "Otherwise we have to exercise our mandate to use the 2000 Law on Human Rights Courts to investigate the case," he said.

The scenes depicted on the video, he said, were only a small glimpse into the rampant torture of native Papuans by Indonesian military personnel.

US to keep Indonesia engagement despite torture

Agence France Presse - October 24, 2010

Washington – The United States on Friday praised Indonesia as upfront in its investigation of torture of Papuan detainees and said it would not affect a resumption of military ties.

Human rights activists have criticized the US decision this year to restart military training to the elite military unit Kopassus, pointing to what they call a culture of impunity for abuses.

But State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said that the Indonesian government had promised a "full and transparent investigation" after an online video surfaced of the beating and humiliation of detainees.

"They have undertaken, under democratic law, specific reforms and we will continue to work with them," Crowley told reporters. "What they announced today is consistent with terms under which we resumed limited security cooperation with Kopassas," he said.

The United States has been seeking to expand relations with Indonesia, seeing the moderate Muslim-majority nation as an ideal ally. President Barack Obama is due next month to visit Indonesia, where he spent part of his childhood.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Indonesia in July and announced a resumption of ties with Kopassus after a 12-year hiatus but said the engagement would be limited until the army undertakes reforms.

In the video, soldiers are seen applying a burning stick to the genitals of an unarmed man and threatening another with a knife as they interrogated them over the location of a weapons cache.

Foreign media have minimal access to Papua, whose people are racially distinct from the majority of Indonesians and have long spoken of ill treatment.

Human rights & law

Raising Indonesia military abuses may hurt ties, Australian PM told

Jakarta Globe - October 30, 2010

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Critics on Friday lambasted an international watchdog's demand that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard discuss the issue of human rights with the Indonesian government during her official visit on Monday.

Gillard is scheduled to meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, among others.

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch wrote an open letter to Gillard asking her to "use her upcoming trip to Indonesia to press for accountability of abusive Indonesian security forces."

Earlier this month, a cellphone video dated May 30 showing the brutal torture of two Papuan men became public. Top-level Indonesian government officials have since acknowledged that the torturers are Indonesian soldiers, the group said.

Moreover, it added, in a separate incident in August, police officers of the elite antiterrorist unit Densus 88 reportedly severely beat and tortured peaceful Moluccan independence activists during their arrest and interrogation.

"Prime Minister Gillard should demand that recent cases of torture by Indonesian security forces are credibly investigated, not swept under the carpet," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at HRW.

Mahfudz Siddiq, the chairman of House Commission I, which oversees foreign affairs, said the Australian government must not let an NGO's request disturb the two countries' relationship.

"What all sides must understand is that Indonesia's record in human rights has greatly improved," he said. "The number of human rights violations by our security forces has decreased."

Mahfudz said that heads of state should not let themselves be pressured into magnifying relatively small violations by organizations such as HRW. "A prime minister represents a country, and not an international NGO," he said.

Bantarto Bandoro, an analyst from the Jakarta-based Center of Strategic and International Studies, said the bilateral meeting is not the right forum to express Australia's concern with the Indonesian military.

"If [Gillard] conveys that message blatantly, then our government could see that as intervention in our country's internal affairs," he said. "Don't let this idea [of HRW] create problems in the relationship between Indonesia and Australia."

Teuku Faizasyah, presidential spokesperson for international affairs, said he was not certain if human rights would be on the meeting's agenda. But he also said that it was not an area the Australian government should be concerned about.

"Indonesia's enforcement of human rights policies is already beyond doubt. The government is committed in ensuring that [human rights are respected], and this has already been recognized internationally," he said.

HRW is particularly concerned about Densus 88 and the special forces unit Kopassus. Australia collaborates closely with both units.

According to Gillard's Web site, she and Yudhoyono will discuss ways to further strengthen the bilateral relationship and increase cooperation across a number of economic, security, development and environment challenges.

It will be Gillard's first trip to the country after she barely won Australia's June elections.

Land acquisition bill could trample owners' rights, critics claim

Jakarta Globe - October 29, 2010

Dion Bisara, Jakarta – The draft of a land regulation aimed at attracting more infrastructure investment could violate landowners' rights, activists and lawmakers claim.

The government wants the bill to create a stronger legal basis to speed up land acquisition, a key factor hampering development. Land acquisition now is regulated by a 2005 presidential decree that was revised a year later.

The draft bill, expected to be submitted to the House of Representatives this year, would replace the decree. The draft bill says landowners must sell if the land has been designated for a public project.

These would cover projects such as dams, transport facilities including roads and railways, drainage systems or "other projects" considered by the president as serving the public interest.

The executive director of Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Berry Nahdian Furqon is worried about the "other projects" that can be determined by the president. "This could justify eviction for whatever suits the government's interest," Berry said.

The potential of human rights abuse was high because not all landowners had certificated proof of ownership. "In the end the land owners must accept whatever price tag is put on their land, even though they might principally disagree with the project because they think it has nothing to do with them."

According to the bill, if a piece of land is needed for a project deemed to be in the public interest, an independent appraisal will determine the price before the owner sits down with a committee to determine payment, whether in the form of cash, a new house, land swap or shares in the project.

The committee will include officials from the local mayor's and governor's offices and the national land agency, known as BPN. Landowners must receive compensation within 60 days for cash compensation, while other compensation will be within an agreed time. The bill aims to cut the complex land acquisition process in half.

Landlords who disagreed with the compensation after the two-month negotiation period would have 14 days to appeal to the High Court, which must issue a verdict within 30 days.

However, the project can go ahead during the appeal as the government has the right to take the land in the public interest. Once the High Court issues a verdict, land owners have no further avenue of appeals.

"The main idea is that the negotiation process and construction process could be done separately, therefore any disputes would not disrupt construction," said Lucky Eko Wuryanto, deputy for infrastructure and area development at the Economy Coordinating Ministry.

Analysts have said a problem arises when just one landowner rejects an offer, holding up a project for possibly years. However, Arif Wibowo, a legislator with the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), opposes the idea of separating the negotiation and construction processes.

"I agree that the infrastructure is crucial, but it should not take away people's land rights," Arif said. "If those processes are separated, all acquisition processes will be chaotic. I just want this law to guarantee that the land will be given sincerely by the owners. Putting a cap on the negotiation time will not help."

Golkar Party lawmaker Harry Azhar Azis said there was much to discuss to ensure landowners would get a fair price. "For example, the land might be priced at market value but other landowners beside the road project will enjoy a better price in future. Things like this need more consideration," Harry said. He warned that legislators might not be able to finish the bill by this year.

Lucky Eko said it was important the government inform the public about its infrastructure plans. "Communicating the master plan to the public is crucial, so that when land acquisition begins, people will not be surprised," he said.

Frans Sunito, the president director at toll road builder Jasa Marga, supports the bill.

"Speaking about fairness, public interest should be first. How come you say it's fair for a few land owners to block a flood canal project at the expense of millions of others who will suffer because of floods," he said. "We are talking about the greater good here and I hope everyone plays their part."

Frans said the government had to ensure everybody knew the master plan. "In the past, people did not know about the land plan, allowing speculators to manipulate the land price. Transparency will stop this," he said.

Australia PM urged to press Indonesia on military torture

Agence France Presse - October 29, 2010

Sydney – A leading rights body Friday urged Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to press Indonesia for a full investigation into torture by its military when she visits next week.

Gillard should "demand that recent cases of torture by Indonesian security forces are credibly investigated, not swept under the carpet," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The call comes after a video showing two Papuan man being kicked and abused appeared on the Internet, sparking international outrage. Indonesia later admitted its soldiers were involved, calling their behaviour "unprofessional".

In August, police officers of Detachment 88 are alleged to have tortured a group of detained Maluku province independence activists. Canberra gives millions of dollars for funding to the Detachment 88, the Indonesian counter-terrorist unit born in the wake of the 2002 Bali bombing.

Gillard will meet Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta next week during her first regional trip since becoming prime minister.

Australia provides assistance to Indonesia, its closest neighbour, on a range of counter-terrorism policies through the training of the Indonesian military forces. Recently, Australia's special forces held anti-terror exercises with their Indonesian counterparts in Bali.

Indonesian lawmakers back a beefed up Komnas HAM for rights cases

Jakarta Globe - October 28, 2010

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights' quest to increase its powers is gaining favor among legislators.

Current laws stipulate that the commission, known as Komnas HAM, can only conduct informal probes into grave human rights violations – or what the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines as "crimes against humanity" – but it cannot conduct criminal investigations.

"When the probe and [criminal] investigation are conducted by two separate institutions, it is difficult to reach the prosecution stage," Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim said on Monday.

He said the Attorney General's Office had failed to follow up on the commission's inquiries regarding killings in Talangsari, Lampung, in 1989, the kidnapping of political activists in 1997 and the shooting of students in 1998.

"Komnas HAM wants investigative powers," Ifdhal said. The commission, he added, is preparing a revision to the law that established Komnas HAM, and hopes to submit it to the House of Representatives by the end of the year.

Legislators on Wednesday expressed their support for the commission. Nasir Djamil, a member of House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, said he welcomed the revision "because Indonesia is a country that disregards the enforcement of human rights". "Many recommendations by Komnas HAM have been ignored by the government," he added.

Tjatur Sapto Edy, a deputy chairman of the same commission, said he was open to a possible revision of the law, but Komnas HAM must justify its attempt to increase its powers. "We first need to look at the commission's achievements in the past in conducting probes and fact-finding missions," he said on Wednesday.

He acknowledged criticisms that in the past the AGO had ignored Komnas HAM's recommendations, and it should be determined which of the two institutions had been at fault. "We have to see how many recommendations by Komnas HAM were followed up by the government," Tjatur said.

But he said that Komnas HAM also had to demonstrate the credibility of its reports, as questions had been raised about the commission's competence. It could be that Komnas HAM failed to submit credible recommendations, he added.

Syarifuddin Sudding, a lawmaker from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), said the country needed a body that focused on human rights violations. He cited the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which only deals with graft. "I agree that Komnas HAM should be given the power to investigate and prosecute," he said.

Desmon Mahesa, a lawmaker from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), said that besides strengthening the human rights body, it was equally important for the government to establish a human rights court. In September 2009, a House special committee came up with a four-point recommendation urging the government to play a greater role in resolving the problem of enforced disappearances.

One of the recommendations was to create an ad hoc human rights court. "The government tends to ignore human rights enforcement," Desmon said.

Ifdhal said the government might not show the same level of support as members of the House, "as it is a politically sensitive issue because it may involve people in power." He specifically urged the Attorney General's Office "to work harder in responding to the public's demands regarding ending human rights violations."

Legal aid bill inadequate for women, kids

Jakarta Post - October 27, 2010

Jakarta – Legal aid workers call on the government to provide legal aid for women, children and the disabled, who often experience discrimination in seeking justice, through a legal aid bill that caters to their unique needs.

The legal aid bill, listed in the 2010-2014 National Legislation Program, aims to provide legal aid for those with limited access to the law, including the marginalized, indigenous and low-income groups, by dispensing the state budget to provide legal assistance through legal aid institutes.

However, Fauzi, a legal worker at the Legal Aid Institute for Women, said the bill offered little protection for women, children and the disabled since none of the articles specifically addressed their particular needs.

"As vulnerable groups, women, children and the disabled have different needs and face different situations from that of low-income groups," he said. "The poor face financial constraints but women, children and the disabled face physical ones, which necessitate separate legal aid approaches," he told The Jakarta Post.

A case in which a financially able woman is denied alimony by her husband exemplified how women's cases differed from those living in poverty, he said.

The National Commission on Violence Against Women recorded 143,586 cases of violence against women in 2009, a 263 percent increase from the previous year at 54,425 cases. An astounding percentage, 96 percent, of cases fell under domestic violence.

Alvon Kurnia Palma, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, added that women and children who experienced sexual abuse, such as rape, needed assistance from legal aid workers, including paralegals, adept at trauma healing.

The National Commission on Child Protection handled 1,998 cases in 2009, an increase compared to 1,736 in 2008. Sixty-seven percent of violence was sexual in nature.

"Police stations and precincts provide lawyers for victims to simply fulfill case-file requirements," Alvon said, adding that these lawyers could not safeguard the victims from secondary trauma during the questioning session. "That's why they need assistance from legal aid workers, including paralegals, experienced in such situations from the start to end," he said.

Erna Ratnaningsih, Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation chairperson, added that having legal aid institutes should rest with the victims, as it was now, instead of having a state-run legal aid commission to appoint advocates to handle a case.

The bill advocates the creation of a National Legal Aid Commission to manage legal aid services at the central, provincial, district and city level. Erna said that the system was prone to legal corruption whereby judges might appoint advocates who could arrange cases and then split the allocated state budget.

"The legal aid commission should focus on administrative functions and strengthening the budget for legal aid," Erna said, adding that allowing clients to choose their legal assistants better guaranteed that the state budget went entirely to finance the client's legal processes. "Legal aid institutes have proven their existence in their work over the years." (gzl)

Freedom of expression & press

In young democracy, violence against journalists remains a true threat

Jakarta Globe - October 24, 2010

Nivell Rayda & Ismira Lutfia, Jakarta – Ignatius Haryanto, the author of a number of books on press freedom, knows that a police investigation has concluded there was no foul play in the untimely death of Kompas daily journalist Muhammad Syaifullah last July.

But he can't seem to shake off a nagging feeling that there's more to the story. "I'm not too sure what it is but I just felt that something isn't right" with Syaifullah's death, he told the Jakarta Globe. "It's been bothering me so much that I felt I had to do something."

Haryanto, who is also a lecturer at the Kompas Multimedia Institute, says he decided to compile Syaifullah's work, even though he's not sure what he would do with it. "It's for my private collection. I'm not writing a book or an academic paper on Ful," he said, referring to Syaifullah by his nickname.

Shrouded in mystery

Ignatius isn't the only one with these doubts. Syaifullah was found dead at his home in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on July 26 by two journalist friends. He was 43.

Wahyu Hidayat, one of those who found the body, recounted that when they saw Syaifullah, he had a foamy mouth and he was sitting in front of a switched-on television with the remote control still in his hand. The door was even 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 had a heart attack."

Since he was named as Kompas's Kalimantan bureau chief in 2007, Syaifullah consistently wrote about environmental damage in the area and was known to be very critical toward mining and logging companies operating in the resource-rich region.

"He was not afraid to name names and identify the companies involved in illicit activities in Kalimantan," Kompas managing editor Budiman Tanuredjo said. "His consistency and passion for environmental issues was an asset to us."

A report released last week by French-based Reporters Without Borders, which ranked Indonesia 117th out of 178 countries in its 2010 World Press Freedom Index, down 17 spots from last year, made note of Syaifullah's death.

His death led to Indonesia's lower ranking, along with that of Ridwan Salamun, a contributor for Jakarta-based Sun TV, in addition to several cases of intimidation and death threats toward reporters, particularly those working on environmental issues, the group said.

Ridwan was killed in August while covering a clash between residents of Fiditan village in Tual, Southeast Maluku. But unlike his case, Syaifullah's death is shrouded in mystery.

"There were never any complaints about [Syaifullah's] articles. He also had never alerted us if he had received threats or intimidation," said Budiman, the Kompas editor. "So you can see why although we feel that his death was suspicious it is difficult for us to prove that he was murdered.

"His stories have surely upset a lot of people but we cannot pinpoint a single party that might be responsible for his death."

Lack of transparency

The newspaper eventually set up two teams to investigate the death. One team was sent to Balikpapan and another to Surabaya, East Java, where police conducted an autopsy and tested for poisons.

"We lobbied the police to appoint a leading toxicologist, Professor Syukri from Airlangga University in Surabaya, because we felt that he would be independent," one Kompas reporter, who chose to remain anonymous, told the Globe.

"But over time, Syukri became less accessible. He was always avoiding reporters and wouldn't answer our calls. That's when we grew even more suspicious."

Balikpapan Police eventually stopped the entire investigation on Oct. 6, saying that "no indication of crime was found," and that Syaifullah died of natural causes from heart failure combined with hypertension.

"The autopsy result was never disclosed to Kompas or Syaifullah's family, who gave the initial consent for the test to be conducted," the Kompas source said.

The Kompas team that set out to monitor the investigation "left Jakarta with a 90 percent conviction that Syaifullah died of natural causes, but the lack of transparency of the [police] investigation made us believe otherwise."

Syaifullah's wife, Isnainijah Sri Rohmani, confirmed that the family was never given the autopsy result. Police "told me that the autopsy result was a state secret. I needed the result to claim my husband's insurance money but all I got was a letter from the police notifying his death," she said. "I don't know if that is true. I don't understand the law."

Noted lawyer Taufik Basari, however, said Syaifullah's heir had every right to claim the autopsy result despite the fact that the examination is a part of criminal investigation.

"An autopsy is the same as a medical record. By law, both are bound to acts of confidentiality between doctors and patients, and their rightful heirs," he said.

"So it is false to say that an autopsy is a part of an investigation that cannot be disclosed to the public. It is, in fact, the other way around. An autopsy is commissioned by the heir of the deceased to be used in an investigation, which means the results are owned by the family."

The lawyer added that Syaifullah's heir could take the case to the Information Commission and report police for withholding declassified information. "Now that the investigation has stopped, there is absolutely no excuse for police not to disclose the autopsy result."

Dangers in the environment

According to the London-based free speech advocacy group Article 19, Indonesian journalists reporting on environmental impacts and degradation, particularly those in remote areas, face intense pressure ranging from death threats to physical abuse.

A Merauke TV journalist, Ardiansyah Matra'is, committed suicide and his body was found in the Gudang Arand River on July 30, near Merauke, Papua. He was reportedly suffering from chronic mental depression after being threatened for months by soldiers for his investigative reporting on illegal logging in the area.

Ahmadi, a photographer for the daily Harian Aceh, faced the same type of intimidation. Ahmadi was kidnapped by a local army officer after taking pictures of soldiers protecting an illegal logging operation on May 19.

The picture appeared in the newspaper the following day and Ahmadi went missing for several days before he was released. Ahmadi later told a local human rights group about his ordeal, saying he was stripped naked and tortured by army officials. The officials later faced administrative sanctions.

Agnes Callamard, Article 19's executive director, said intimidation cases like these had substantial impact on the overall quality of journalism in Indonesia and its burgeoning democracy.

"Journalists must be able to operate in a safe environment, free from intimidation," Callamard said. "The efforts to combat the impact of climate change will be significantly undermined should such violent acts against journalists go unpunished."

Weak law enforcement

Hendrayana, chairman of the Legal Aid Foundation for the Press (LBH Pers), said the apparent lack of response from law enforcement agencies on these press violence cases had undoubtedly "raised questions from the international community."

He said that despite making progress toward democratization, the government should pledge more solid guarantees for press freedom by amending the laws and regulations under which journalists may be prosecuted with criminal charges.

"There are many court rulings on journalistic cases that don't refer to the 1999 Press Law, and instead use the Criminal Code," Hendrayana said.

He said other repressive regulations jeopardizing press freedom in the country included the 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law, the 2008 Anti-Pornography Law and the criminal defamation provisions under the Criminal Code.

Margiono, an advocacy coordinator for the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), agreed that the rising number of cases of violence against journalists was the result of weak law enforcement and poor protection of press freedom by the government.

The AJI coordinator said press freedom in Indonesia could worsen unless the government took a strict line against alleged attackers of the press and campaigned for greater awareness of press freedom among the authorities and the public.

"But such a campaign would be ineffective without stringent law enforcement to serve as a deterrent, so both have to be put into action simultaneously," Margiono said.

Even after the reform movement that began during the fall of former President Suharto, AJI said protection of journalists against life- threatening intimidation continued to take a back seat. He pointed out that investigation and prosecution of perpetrators in these cases was extremely rare.

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

Police later arrested nine suspects, including Regional Representatives Council (DPRD) member Nyoman Susrama, who a district court in Bali later sentenced to life in prison in February for masterminding and helping carry out Prabangsa's murder.

"I knew that being a reporter could be dangerous, but that is the life [Syaifullah] chose. It was his calling," Syaifullah's wife Isnainijah said. "I guess every line of work has its risks. [The risk of being a journalist] certainly didn't bother my husband."

Although her husband's death has left many riddles, Isnainijah said she and her two daughters are ready to move on.

"My eldest daughter took [her father's death] better than me. She was even the one who comforted me and not the other way around," Isnainijah said with a trembling voice.

"My only regret is that my daughters didn't get the chance to know their father very well. He was always away on assignment and we lived in Samarinda [South Kalimantan] while my husband was in Balikpapan.

"There is so much that my husband could have taught our children. I want to tell them that their father never complained about anything. I want to say to them that their father was always persistent in his work and never gave up. I want them to be like their father," she said.

World group condemns Erwin's imprisonment

Jakarta Post - October 23, 2010

Jakarta – Member groups of the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations expressed their deep concern on Friday over the continued persecution of Erwin Arnada, the former chief editor of the Indonesian edition of Playboy magazine, over charges that two courts had ruled to be unfounded.

The government prosecutor nevertheless appealed to Indonesia's Supreme Court and obtained a two-year prison sentence that the Supreme Court is now reviewing on a new appeal by the defense.

"Since Arnada has cooperated with judicial authorities at every stage of the proceedings, it is hard to escape the conclusion that imprisoning him pending the outcome of the review is in fact a form of political harassment," the group said in a statement.

"We understand that the Indonesian society may enforce its own standards of decency; however this must be done with full respect for international standards on press freedom and freedom of expression, to which Indonesia has subscribed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international agreements."

The group urged the Indonesian Supreme Court to refer to the 1999 Law on the Press rather than the Criminal Code in reviewing Erwin's sentence, and to take into consideration that a prison sentence would not only violate international standards on press freedom, but also have a chilling effect on press freedom in Indonesia.

It said the government must release Erwin immediately since no legal purpose was served by imprisoning him pending a judicial review.

Politics & political parties

SBY urged to overhaul 'under-performing' Cabinet

Jakarta Post - October 29, 2010

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono faces calls to carry out a "major reshuffle" of his Cabinet as a unit evaluating the performance of the ministers is expected to complete and announce its findings by the end of the month.

Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) political observer Burhanuddin Muhtadi said the majority of ministers affiliated with political parties should be removed, adding that their performances were "below standard".

"I say 12 of the 19 ministers with party affiliations should receive red marks and be removed," Burhanuddin told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

In late October 2009, 34 ministers were sworn in. They included 19 ministers with party affiliations, with the others from professional backgrounds.

Burhanuddin and Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) political expert Ikrar Nusa Bakti agreed that among the ministers that should be removed from the Cabinet were Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, the chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), and Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring, the former chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Both the PPP and PKS are members of the ruling coalition led by Yudhoyono's Democratic Party. Ikrar said Suryadharma failed to protect religious minorities, and criticized Tifatul for his numerous controversial statements.

Both Ikrar and Burhanuddin also criticized the poor performance of Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi, who recently faced public anger following several train accidents and an alleged sex scandal. Also lambasted was Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksonoand Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar for his failure to protect Indonesian migrant workers overseas.

Freddy is a member of the Democratic Party, Agung is from the Golkar Party, while Muhaimin is the chairman of the National Awakening Party.

"Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh [of the Democratic Party] also needs to be removed, especially because of his failure to address the widespread incidents of gas canister explosions and other issues," Burhanuddin said.

Ikrar said that although a major reshuffle would highlight Yudhoyono's failure to pick the right people for the job, he still needed to take the risk.

Mohammad Qodari, the executive director of political survey institute Indo Barometer, however, said Yudhoyono could still give under-performing ministers up to four months to improve once the Presidential Work Unit for Development Monitoring and Control (UKP4) announces the results of its Cabinet performance evaluation.

UKP4 head Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said earlier the unit would complete the evaluation by the end of the month. Yudhoyono said he would use the evaluation to consider the need for a possible reshuffle.

Labour & migrant workers

Workers say no to law revision

Jakarta Post - October 27, 2010

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Thousands of workers from across West Java staged a rally in Bandung on Tuesday protesting a plan to revise Law No 13/2003 on manpower, claiming it was planned to enhance the investment climate by satisfying businesspeople while sacrificing workers' rights.

The protest was held during a visit to Bandung made by Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar to officially launch the one- million job creation program in the province.

Arriving on motorbikes and in trucks from the Bandung area, Sumedang, Purwakarta, Karawang and Bekasi, demonstrators blocked Jl. Diponegoro, which connects the provincial legislative building and the governor's office at the Gasibu Square where the launching ceremony was held.

The draft revision would cut the lump sum severance for dismissed employees down from the present level of nine times their monthly salary to only seven months compensation, rally coordinator Roy Jinto Ferianto said. "We will fight very hard to reject it," he said.

The Tuesday protest went peacefully, with personnel from the Bandung Police standing guard. The protesters were not able to directly convey their message to the minister or the governor.

Muhaimin, who refused to meet worker representatives, said it would require a long process before revisions to the law could be made, but added that inputs from workers and businesspeople were still being considered.

"Revision is a long-term process which needs to be done to eliminate labor difficulties while at the same time developing a better business climate," Muhaimin said. Muhaiman called on workers not to worry, adding that his ministry would soon issue an outsourcing regulation to ensure their protection and welfare.

Telkom workers protest Bakrie merger

Jakarta Globe - October 25, 2010

Made Arya Kencaya, Denpasar – Hundreds of employees of state-owned Telekomunikasi Indonesia rallied on Monday in front of the Bali Regional House of Representatives. They were protesting the planned merger of the company's CDMA unit, Telkom Flexi, with private mobile firm Bakrie Telecom due to concerns about job security.

Putu Edy Swantajaya, the chairman of the Telkom Bali Employees Union, claimed the merger plan was thrown together hastily. "It came in a rush and is potentially legally flawed," he said.

Reuters reported on Oct. 13 that Bakrie Telecom was set to acquire Flexi in a share deal worth up to $1 billion. The two CDMA operators have reportedly been in talks for sometime, but have never announced any details for the terms of the deal.

According to Reuters, Bakrie Telecom would issue new shares to be swapped with Telkom's CDMA assets worth between Rp 7 trillion and Rp 9 trillion ($784 million to $1 billion).

Reuters said the acquisition would be the biggest in Indonesia since Qatar Telecom took over Indosat in a $1.35 billion deal in 2008.

Putu said the merger between Flexi and Bakrie's CDMA service Esia meant state assets would be sold, meaning Flexi would be vulnerable to political intervention. He also questioned why a unit of Telkom, with an annual revenue of Rp 64 trillion, needed support from Bakrie Telecom.

Flexi is the country's largest CDMA operator, with around 15 million subscribers and a strong presence beyond Java. Bakrie Telecom has about 11 million subscribers, mostly in Java. But Eddy Kurnia, Telkom's corporate secretary, said a deal with Bakrie Telecom had not been reached yet.

"It is still a long way to go, we cannot say anything yet. [The workers] should not be worried, we will pay attention to their welfare," he said. Rahmat Djunaidi, Bakrie Telecom's director for corporate affairs, confirmed negotiations were ongoing.

"We are still discussing the merger plan. And we have not signed any documents," he said. Rahmat declined to comment on Monday's protests in Bali.

Cigarette workers fear mass layoffs

Jakarta Post - October 25, 2010

Slamet Susanto, Bantul – Cigarette producer partners (MPS) are earning less than the Rp 1.5 million (US$150) a month they received four years ago producing hand-rolled cigarettes for a renowned brand in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta.

"We earn less due to repeated increases in the cigarette excise applied by the government," said Dwi Nusantari, one of the workers.

An MPS owner in Bantul, Suluh Suadiarto, said the decrease in the workers' take-home pay was mostly due to a decrease in working hours. He said until about four years ago workers' hours could amount to 60 hours per week while currently they only work 40 to 44 hours.

"We have to reduce working hours because we produce less. We produce less because we receive less orders due to the hike in the price as a result of an increase in the cigarette excise," Suluh said.

Chairman of the MPS association, Djoko Wahyudi, said there were currently some 60,000 workers employed by 38 MPS across Indonesia.

He expressed concern that a government plan to further increase the cigarette excise by 5 percent next year would badly influence the workers. "If hand-rolled cigarette become more expensive, mass layoffs may be a matter of time," Djoko said.

This increase, he said, would raise the price of hand-rolled cigarette products and they would not be able to compete with manufactured ones. If this is the case, there is possibility that producers would replace human labor with machines.

A machine, he said, can substitute up to 1,500 workers. "You can imagine how many workers would lose their jobs if the 5 percent increase is applied," said Djoko, an owner of an MPS in Lamongan, East Java.

Djoko suggested that the government apply different excises to hand-rolled products and machine-made ones. That way, handmade cigarettes could compete with manufactured ones meaning workers in the sector could keep their jobs.

"If the excise of machine-made products is increased by 5 percent then hand-rolled ones can increase by 2 percent only. The government will still generate income but the legacy of hand-rolling can also be maintained," he said.

He added that the federation of the cigarette workers' association overseeing Java Island had sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono regarding the negative impact of excise hike on workers. They asked for the government's serious attention in dealing with the situation.

Tri Asih, another worker, expressed fear that limited life skills and educational background would render them unemployed if they were dismissed.

"It's not impossible that pretty female workers may force themselves to become commercial sex workers to help support their families," Tri Asih said.

Environment & natural disasters

Panicked exodus as Indonesia volcano spews new ash

Associated Press - October 31, 2010

Slamet Riyadi, Mount Merapi, Indonesia – A deadly volcano in Indonesia spewed another searing cloud of ash down its slopes Sunday, prompting panic and chaos among thousands of villagers who had taken advantage of a lull in activity to rush home and check on their livestock.

Sirens and loudspeakers blared, and people jumped into rivers trying to escape the heat, while others sprinted down the mountain or sped off in cars and trucks, local disaster official Rusdiyanto said.

It wasn't clear if there were any new casualties Sunday, though an official said the ash cloud was not near populated areas. Explosions from Mount Merapi, in central Java, have killed 38 people in the past week.

The new blast came as rescuers hundreds of miles (kilometers) away finally were able to resume food deliveries and evacuate injured victims of a tsunami triggered by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake near a chain of remote islands off western Sumatra.

The number of people killed in the twin catastrophes climbed to almost 500 on Sunday.

The notoriously unpredictable mountain had been mostly quiet Sunday after letting out its most powerful eruption of the week the previous day, sending fiery lava oozing down its slopes, temporarily closing a nearby airport and claiming another life. In the morning, a red glow emanated from the volcano's peak, but the violent bursts and rumbling of the past 48 hours were reduced to a mere murmur.

Despite the risk and warnings from officials, thousands of the more than 53,000 people who had been evacuated from the danger zone rushed back Sunday morning to check on their livestock high up on the scorched slopes.

"My farm has been destroyed by volcanic debris and thick dust... All I have left now are my cows and goats," said Subarkah, who lives less than two miles (three kilometers) from the peak. "I have to find grass and bring it up to them, otherwise they'll die."

Since the eruptions began Tuesday, officials have struggled to keep villagers off the slopes of Merapi, which means Fire Mountain. More than 2,000 troops had to be called in Saturday to force men, women and children to leave.

The eruption Sunday lasted 46 minutes but was smaller than previous ones, said Surono, chief of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation. The mountain shot dust about a mile (two kilometers) into the air and a cloud of hot ash a half mile (a kilometer) down its eastern and southern slopes.

"There should be no casualties from the new eruption because the flow of hot ash is lower and far from populated areas," Surono said. He added that heavy rain that was falling during the eruption would reduce the spread of dust.

However, the rain also increases the danger of another larger eruption because water falling into the fiery crater can create sudden vapor pressure in the lava dome, he said.

In the last century, more than 1,400 have been killed by Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanos.

Since Saturday's large eruption, the volcano has had 63 lava bursts and nine small gas emissions, said Subandrio, an official with the volcano's monitoring agency. "The trend seems to be that the volcanic activity is increasing," he said.

More than 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) to the west, a break in stormy weather made it possible for boats and helicopters to ferry aid to the most distant corners of the Mentawai Islands, where some coastal communities were pounded by waves up to 18 feet (six meters) high last Monday. The tsunami swept entire villages to sea, and hundreds of homes, schools, churches and mosques were destroyed.

A military helicopter evacuated badly injured survivors who had languished in an overwhelmed hospital with only Tylenol to ease their pain, said Ade Edward, a disaster management official. Among those evacuated was a baby girl born in a shelter after the tsunami and a 12-year-old girl with a life-threatening chest wound.

A C-130 transport plane, six helicopters and four motorized longboats were ferrying food and emergency supplies Sunday, he said. Relief efforts were brought to a complete stop Saturday by stormy weather and rough seas.

"We're really glad to finally see the relief workers, doctors and rescue teams able to reach devastated areas," Edward said, adding that two navy ships arrived Sunday with many more police and soldiers deployed to speed up relief efforts.

The tsunami death toll climbed to 449 on Sunday with the discovery of dozens more bodies, said Nelis Zuliastri from the National Disaster Management Agency.

Indonesia, a vast island nation of 235 million people, straddles a series of fault lines and volcanoes known as the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The fault that ruptured Monday, running the length of the west coast of Sumatra island, also caused the 9.1-magnitude quake that unleashed a monster tsunami around the Indian Ocean in 2004, killing 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

[Associated Press writers Achmad Ibrahim and Kristen Gelineau in the Mentawai islands and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.]

Survivors left waiting as aid officials battle weather

Jakarta Globe - October 29, 2010

Nivell Rayda & Agencies, Padang, Indonesia – At least 413 people have now been confirmed killed in the tsunami that slammed into the Mentawai Islands in West Sumatra on Monday, as rescuers battle logistics and bad weather to locate the missing and evacuate survivors.

Fifty more bodies were located on the islands of North and South Pagai on Friday, bringing the official toll to 413, according to the Disaster Relief Operational Control Center. At least 298 people are still missing.

A Navy ship brought relief supplies to the town of Sikakap in North Pagai, on the unaffected northern tip of the island. From there the aid will have to be distributed to the worst-hit areas by boat or helicopter because of the lack of roads.

However, a shortage of aviation fuel and the lack of working phone lines are slowing the distribution of aid, officials say. Relief officials said helicopters began dropping aid packets on Friday. According to the officials, they had reached "around 20 to 30 percent" of the affected areas that could not be reached by land or sea.

"We've started sending relief supplies, which are still limited but enough for the people to survive on," said Gagah Prakoso, a spokesman for the national search and rescue agency.

Some aid workers have reported being stuck in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, for days as they wait for a ride to the Mentawai Islands.

Zulhendri, a coordinator at the West Sumatra office of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), said relief aid had not yet reached some victims, particularly on the southern tip of South Pagai, just 50 kilometers from the epicenter of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that triggered the three-meter-high waves.

"Our volunteers tried to reach the locations by boat [on Thursday afternoon], but they were forced to return because of bad weather and rough seas," he said. "Their boat nearly capsized. Thank God they survived the weather."

The islands are sparsely populated, with less than 50 people per square kilometer, forcing rescuers to cover vast areas in search of survivors. The majority of houses in many of the fishing villages on the island were destroyed by the giant waves.

"Coordination is difficult because communication is limited," said Surung Sinaga, chairman of the West Sumatra Disaster Relief Agency (BPBD). "We're trying to evacuate those who were gravely injured in the disaster and get them to nearby hospitals and health centers," he said.

At least 23,000 people, he added, had been evacuated, and most of them are now in Sikakap, from where the relief effort is being coordinated.

Survivors in a village reached by an Agence France-Presse photographer said 30 of the community's 100 children had been killed. One man said they still had not received any assistance from the government.

"The relief from the government is very late. We still haven't received anything from the government," he told the photographer, who reached the area on North Pagai Island by boat.

Local hospitals and health centers said they were overwhelmed and in dire need of more medical supplies and personnel. "We need doctors, specialists," said Anputra, a nurse at a small hospital in North Pagai.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the heavy rains and high seas hampering the aid effort would persist into next week. Syamsul Muarif, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said the BMKG had warned of inclement weather, including waves up to five meters high, until at least Monday.

He said that if the bad weather dragged out much longer, the distribution of aid by helicopter would have to be run from Muko-Muko in Bengkulu province, rather than from Padang. "Flying time between Muko-Muko and the Mentawai Islands is only 30 minutes, whereas from Padang to the Mentawais it's 90 minutes," he said.

Activists warn rising permits on mining in forests

Jakarta Post - October 29, 2010

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A year after the government's vow to cut emissions, activists say they have yet to witness the government's real actions to meet the target, while hundreds of mining firms are ready to dig forests.

The Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) and the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) warned of the rising demand for new permits for mining activities in protected forests in several provinces.

"When the Southeast Sulawesi administration proposes a conversion of 481,000 hectares of conservation areas into mining area, the central government allowed it to happen," Jatam campaigner Hendrik Siregar said Thursday.

Data from Jatam showed that the 481,000 hectares of conservation and protected forests would be allotted to 253 mining companies in the province.

He said that the latest case was when the government approved the conversion of 14,000 hectares of Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park for commercial purposes in Gorontalo this year. Jatam said that four mining companies had secured permits to operate in the national park.

Data compiled by Jatam showed that a number of permits had also been issued for mining activities to operate in national parks such as in Batang Gadis National Park in North Sumatra, Laiwangi Wanggameti National Park in East Nusa Tenggara, Tangkoko Dua Saudara National Park in North Sulawesi and Lalobata National Park in North Maluku.

The activists said the proposals were in addition to 153 companies, which had secured permits since the New Order. The companies have yet to operate but for various reasons. "In addition, thousands of permits on small-scale mining firms have been issued since the regional autonomy period," he said.

The government has promised to cut 26 percent in emissions by 2020 with a national budget and an additional 15 percent with the support of foreign countries. The commitment was made last year with half of the target to be reached by improving forest management and cutting forest fires.

Indonesia has also signed a US$1 billion climate change deal with Norway requiring Indonesia to reduce the forest-loss rate with a two-year moratorium on new permits to dig natural forests and peatland.

Forests have become central in international talks on climate change as forest-related emissions contributed about 20 percent of global emissions.

Walhi forest campaigner Deddy Ratih expressed doubt that the government would reach the 26 percent target, provided there was no breakthrough in forest management. "Allowing conversion of protected and conservation forests into the mining sector is a serious threat to the commitment to cut emissions," he said.

He said without shifting to more sustainable forest management and less extractive and exploitative enterprises, Indonesia would likely fail. Forest Minister Zulkifli Hasan denied that his office had issued permits to shift protected and conservation forests into mining activities.

Regulator warns broadcasters over graphic disaster coverage

Jakarta Globe - October 28, 2010

Ismira Lutfia, Jakarta – The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission on Thursday issued a stern reminder for all television stations to be more conscientious in broadcasting disaster footage in light of this week's tsunami and volcanic eruption.

Nina Armando, a member of the commission also known as KPI, said broadcasters needed to take into account the grief that the victims' families and survivors were going through.

"They should remember to blur footage of corpses and body parts," she said. "We will continue monitoring the broadcasts and if they still fail to comply with the guidelines, we will issue a reprimand to the stations," she said.

The warning was issued after private broadcaster TVOne was criticized both by viewers and its own management for its inappropriate handling of the disaster coverage and then later criticizing viewers who complained.

Ardi Bakrie, the chief executive of TVOne and son of politician Aburizal Bakrie, used his Twitter account to say that it was inappropriate that @tvOneNews tweeted viewers to suggest they switch channels to a comedy or entertainment show if they did not want to see bodies.

"Dear tweeps, on behalf of TVOne management," Ardi wrote, "I apologize from the bottom of my heart for the tweet. WHATEVER the reason was, it was VERY INAPPROPRIATE for an official social media representing a company to write such a thing. Therefore, we will give A HARSH WARNING to those who are responsible. Once more, please forgive us. Wassalam,"

Ardi was responding to criticism directed against the channel for offensive coverage of the disaster and the posting from @tvOneNews.

It read: "We are focusing on covering the disaster. We apologize to the audience who keep throwing tantrums at us. Please just switch channels to entertainment or comedy."

The tweet prompted criticism from TVOne followers. "Hahaha, TVOne is mad! I wonder why," posted @dmyLy, while @thr3no wrote, "TVOne is thin-skinned. I didn't know that a TV station could be annoyed."

"I'm not interested in the moods of the operator of the @TVOne account. The audience was angry because TVOne showed footage of dead bodies without blurring it. And now [TVOne] is mad?" @treespotter chimed in.

Alois Agus Nugroho, a communications lecturer at Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, said TVOne's defensive tweet was "inappropriate." He said it was the same as applying the caveat emptor principle, whereby a buyer is responsible for checking the quality of goods before making a purchase.

Dian Noeh Abubakar, the vice president of Weber Shandwick Indonesia, a public relations firm, said the official Twitter account of a media outlet could serve two functions: to disseminate news and to convey the outlet's vision as an organization.

The latter, Dian said, was part of a public relations role with a company. "Being defensive, however, is inadvisable for any company in any industry when it comes to public relations," she said.

Death toll in Indonesian tsunami, volcano tops 340

Associated Press - October 28, 2010

Achmad Ibrahim and Slamet Riyadi, Mentawai Islands, Indonesia – The death toll from a tsunami and a volcano rose to more than 340 Thursday as more victims of Indonesia's double disasters were found and an official said a warning system installed after a deadly ocean wave in 2004 had broken from a lack of maintenance.

Hundreds were still missing after Monday's 10-foot (3-meter) wave spawned by a massive quake struck the remote Mentawi islands off western Sumatra, where rescue officials – kept away for days because of stormy seas and bad weather – started arriving at the scene to chart the scope of the devastation.

Some wore face masks as they wrapped swollen corpses littering roads and beaches in black body bags. Huge swaths of land were underwater and houses lay crumpled with tires and slabs of concrete piled up on the surrounding sand.

At least 311 people died as the tsunami washed away hundreds of wooden and bamboo homes in 20 villages, displacing more than 20,000 people, said Ade Edward, a government disaster official.

About 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) to the east in central Java, the Mount Merapi volcano was mostly quiet but still a threat after Tuesday's eruption that sent searing ash clouds into the air, killing at least 33 people and injuring 17, said Agustinus, a doctor at the local health department who like many Indonesians goes by one name. A mass burial was planned for later Thursday.

Among the dead was a revered elder who had refused to leave his ceremonial post as caretaker of the mountain's spirits.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rushed home from a state visit to Vietnam to deal with the catastrophes, which struck within 24 hours along different points of the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a series of fault lines prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

The first cargo plane loaded with tents, medicine, food and clothes landed Wednesday in the tsunami-hit area, Edward said.

Vice President Boediono toured devastated villages on hardest hit Pagai Utara island and met with survivors and local officials, his office said. At one point, he paused solemnly in front of several corpses in body bags.

The charity SurfAid International is getting "grim news" from village contacts, said Andrew Judge, head of the group founded by surfers who have been helping deliver aid. He said he is hearing of "more death, large numbers of deaths in some villages."

With the arrival of help, Edward said officials "finally... have a chance now to look for more than 400 still missing."

The islands lie close to the epicenter of the 7.7-magnitude quake that struck late Monday beneath the ocean floor. The fault line on Sumatra island's coast is the same one that caused the 2004 quake and tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries around the Indian Ocean.

After that monster wave, many countries set up early warning systems in their waters hoping to give people time to flee to higher ground before a tsunami – which can travel hundreds of miles (kilometers) – crashed ashore.

Indonesia's version, completed in 2008 with German aid, has since fallen into such disrepair that it effectively stopped working about a month ago, according to the head of the Meteorology and Geophysic Agency.

The system, which uses buoys to electronically detect sudden changes in water level, worked when it was completed, but by 2009 routine tests of it were showing problems, said the agency chief, who uses the single name Fauzi. By last month, he said, the entire system was broken because of inexperienced operators. "We do not have the expertise to monitor the buoys to function as intended," he said.

As a result, he said, not a single siren sounded after Monday's quake. It was unclear if any sirens could have made a difference, since the islands worst affected were so close to the epicenter that the tsunami would have reached them within minutes.

The group that set up the system, the Germany-Indonesia agency Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS), could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but the questions Fauzi raised highlighted the difficulty for a poor country such as Indonesia in disaster prevention and response.

On the ash-covered slopes of Mount Merapi, authorities continued a search for more victims. The eruption sent thousands streaming into makeshift emergency shelters, although the ash did not disrupt flights over Indonesia. About 36,000 people have been evacuated, according to the Indonesian Red Cross.

Some defied authorities and returned home to check on crops and possessions left behind. More than 11,000 people live on Merapi's fertile slopes.

Tuesday's blast eased pressure that had been building behind a lava dome on the crater. Experts warned that the dome could still collapse, causing an avalanche of the blistering gas and debris trapped beneath it.

The volcano, whose name means "Fire Mountain," has erupted many times in the last 200 years. In 1994, 60 people were killed, while in 1930 more than a dozen villages were incinerated, leaving up to 1,300 dead.

Among the dead from Tuesday's eruption was an 83-year-old man named Maridjan, who was entrusted by a late king from the nearby city of Yogyakarta to watch over the mountain's unpredictable spirits. He had refused to leave his house high on its slopes.

The discovery Wednesday of his ash-covered body, reportedly found in a position of Islamic prayer, kneeling face-down on the floor, rattled residents who for years joined his ceremonies to appease the rumbling giant by throwing rice, clothes and chickens into the crater.

Many Indonesians paid tribute to Maridjan on Facebook and Twitter. "I'm more afraid than ever," said Prapto Wiyono, a 60-year-old farmer from the mountain village of Pangukrejo. "Who's going to tell us what's going on with Merapi?"

[Ibrahim reported from the Mentawai Islands and Riyadi from Mount Merapi. Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini and Irwan Firdaus contributed to this report.]

Outrage after Indonesian house speaker's 'senseless' tsunami comments

Jakarta Globe - October 28, 2010

Jakarta – A legislator from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party apologized on Thursday after House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Ali said people who live on islands should expect to be swept away by tsunamis and that they should be relocated.

"On behalf of the Democratic Party, I apologize for Marzuki's statement," Ruhut told Metro TV.

Marzuki, a Democrat, said on Wednesday that tsunami's were a "risk for people who live beside the ocean."

"It took a long time before news of the Mentawai tsunami reached the public because the Mentawais are remote," Marzuki was quoted as saying. "To be swept away by a big wave or by a tsunami is probably the consequence of living on an island," Marzuki said.

He also said an early warning system would not have helped prevent hundreds of deaths because locals would not have had time to leave the island. "Anyone who is afraid of waves shouldn't live near seashore," he said, adding that relocating people who lived on islands should be considered.

West Sumatra scholar Ricky Avenzora also criticized the comments, labeling them naive and hurtful. "Marzuki Alie's statement about the tsunami in Mentawai did not only show the naivete of a legislative leader but it is also very very painful for the people of West Sumatra," he said.

Ricky said the statement was insensitive and senseless because many people had lost loved ones in the disaster. "And you can't take people from their homes and relocate them. How much strength does Marzuki have to relocate all the islanders in Indonesia and what will he do with the islands afterwards?" he said.

Marzuki, speaking on Thursday, said he did not intend to be insensitive or offensive and that his comments had been taken out of context. "Yes, I did say that people living near the sea were at risk of experiencing a tsunami, but [the media] just published my last statement... I was saying it in a joking tone... but look at the results. Very hurting." (Antara, JG)

Indonesia fights on two fronts as tsunami, eruption toll rises

Bloomberg - October 27, 2010

Widya Utami & Eko Listiyorini, Indonesia – Rescuers searched for survivors of a tsunami in Indonesia's remote west while aid workers headed for the site of a volcano eruption as the death toll from the two disasters hours apart rose to more than 130.

The toll from the Oct. 25 tsunami that hit the Mentawai Islands off the west coast of Sumatra reached 112 with 152 missing as of 10 p.m. on Tuesday night, Ade Edward, head of operations at the West Sumatra Regional Disaster Management Agency, said. At least 24 died in the eruption of Mount Merapi in Central Java.

"The areas are remote and communication is difficult," Edward said by phone today. "Our officials over there are supposed to report at least every hour."

In central Java, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of Jakarta, Red Cross Indonesia workers are treating people who were burned or otherwise injured after the Mt. Merapi volcano erupted three times, spewing superheated ash into the air and killing at least 24 people.

"We need more masks, tents, and medicine to treat burn injuries," Oka Wahid, a spokesman at Red Cross Indonesia's Yogyakarta branch, said by phone. "We also need food because more people from villages near Merapi are coming down to evacuation point."

There were 1,360 people from five villages heading to the evacuation center in Yogyakarta, he said.

The 7.5-magnitude temblor struck the Kepulauan Mentawai region of Indonesia, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) from Padang, the provincial capital of West Sumatra, and 640 kilometers from Singapore at 9:42 p.m. local time Oct. 25, the US Geological Survey said. The quake triggered a 3-meter (10- foot) tsunami that that reached 400 meters inland, the agency said yesterday.

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake in the same area in October 2009 left more than 1,000 people dead in Padang, many of whom were buried in mudslides and the rubble of collapses buildings. Less than a month earlier, a magnitude-7 temblor south of Java on Sept. 2 left 82 people dead.

A tsunami generated by a magnitude-9.1 earthquake off northern Sumatra in December 2004 left about 220,000 people dead or missing in 12 countries around the Indian Ocean.

23 dead, scores missing after Indonesia quake

Agence France Presse - October 26, 2010

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – At least 23 people are dead and scores missing, including nine Australians, after a powerful earthquake hit Indonesia's west coast and triggered a tsunami, officials said on Tuesday.

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, which struck in the Mentawai Islands area west of Sumatra late on Monday, caused waves as high as three meters (10 feet) that damaged residential areas in several islands.

A tsunami warning was issued after the quake and a group of Australian visitors reported that their boat was destroyed by a "wall of white water" crashing into a bay.

Rick Hallet, an Australian who operates a boat-chartering business in Sumatra, said he had 15 people on board his vessel in a bay off the islands when the quake struck.

"We felt a bit of a shake underneath the boat... then within several minutes we heard an almighty roar... I immediately thought of tsunami and looked out to sea and that's when we saw the wall of white water coming at us," he said.

Arlyno, an official from the Disaster Management Agency, said that 23 people were killed in the Mentawai islands and that 167 people had gone missing. While remote, the Mentawai Islands are popular with tourists, especially surfers.

Health Ministry Crisis Centre head Mudjiharto, who goes by one name, said the waves reached three metres high and waters swept as far as 600 meters (yards) inland on South Pagai island, one of the Mentawai chain.

"Eighty percent of buildings in Muntei village have been damaged by the waves and many people are missing there," Mudjiharto said. He said medical personnel were on their way to the hardest-hit areas.

Rescuers launched a hunt for a boat believed to be carrying a group of nine Australians which has been missing since the quake. "We are sending a boat and a chartered plane to search for the boat," said Andrew Judge of SurfAid International.

It was reportedly not equipped with a satellite telephone but SurfAid's Dave Jenkins said its Australian captain Chris Scurrah had "been around here for a long time. He knew to contact in if he could. So that's why we're extra concerned."

The undersea quake hit at 9:42 p.m. (1442 GMT) at a depth of 20.6 kilometers (12.8 miles), 240 kilometers west of Bengkulu on Sumatra island and 280 kilometers south of Padang, the US Geological Survey said.

"A significant tsunami was generated by this earthquake," said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The warning was later withdrawn after the danger of further waves had passed. The first tremor was followed by strong magnitude 6.1 and 6.2 aftershocks several hours later.

Hallet recounted his group's ordeal when the quake struck, with some climbing trees to survive. "The bay we were in was several hundred meters across and the wall of white water was from one side to the other, it was quite scary," he told Fairfax Radio Network.

Another boat was anchored next to them, he said. "The wave picked that boat up and brought it towards us and ran straight into us and our boat exploded, caught on fire, we had a fireball on the back deck and right through the saloon within seconds.

"I ordered everyone up to the top deck to get as high as possible, then the boat exploded and we had to abandon ship," he told Australia's Nine Network.

The group jumped into the water, some of them being swept 200 meters inland, and took shelter by climbing trees, waiting for 20 minutes to half an hour until the surges passed. Eventually all the group, nine of whom were Australian, were accounted for, he said.

Residents reported shaking as far away as the West Sumatran provincial capital of Padang when the main quake struck.

A 7.1-magnitude quake off the north coast of Papua in June killed 17 people and left thousands homeless. The 2004 Asian tsunami – triggered by a 9.3- magnitude quake off Sumatra – killed at least 168,000 people in Indonesia alone. A 7.6-magnitude quake killed about 1,000 people in the port of Padang on September 30 last year.

Thousands ordered to flee from Indonesia volcano

Agence France Presse - October 25, 2010

Tarko Sudiarno, Mount Merapi, Indonesia – Indonesia ordered thousands of people to evacuate from around Mount Merapi on Monday as it raised the alert for its most active volcano to red, warning of a possible imminent eruption.

Seismic activity has escalated dramatically at the volcano on the densely populated island of Java, with increasing lava spurts and about 500 multi- phased volcanic earthquakes recorded over the weekend, officials said.

The state office of volcanology had upgraded its alert level to red at 6:00 am (2300 GMT), signalling an eruption could be imminent. "The magma has been pushed upwards due to the escalating seismic energy and it's about a kilometer below the crater," government volcanologist Surono said.

About 19,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate a danger zone of 10 kilometers from the crater of the 2,914-metre (9,616-foot) mountain. About 3,000 have already moved to makeshift camps, mostly women, children and the elderly.

"The evacuation has been underway since this morning. We put a priority on children, women and elderly," field coordinator Widi Sutikno of the main Sleman district on the southern slopes of the mountain said.

Merapi – whose name means "Mountain of Fire" – has been blanketed with clouds since the morning. Local resident Yanto, 38, said he would remain in his village to tend his sheep.

"I haven't seen any visible threats from Merapi. It is better for young men like me to stay here to look after our livestock. If the volcano does erupt, we can escape quickly," he said. "Let the children and old people go first to a safer place," he added.

The volcano, which lies 26 kilometers north of the town of Yogyakarta in the centre of Java, is the most active of 69 volcanoes with histories of eruptions in Indonesia.

It last erupted in June 2006 killing two people, but its deadliest eruption occurred in 1930 when more than 1,300 people were killed. Heat clouds from another eruption in 1994 killed more than 60 people.

"It currently has more energy than before the 2006 eruption. We haven't found strong indications that it will erupt explosively as it did in 1930 but there is still a possibility," Surono said.

Health & education

Activists welcome cigarette advertising ban

Jakarta Post - October 28, 2010

Jakarta – Supporters of tobacco control welcome the Health Ministry's move to issue a new decree to ban tobacco advertising next year.

Recently, Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said that the government was preparing a new decree on tobacco control, which would include extension of smoke-free zones, a total ban on cigarette advertisements in the mass media, restrictions of cigarette sales and cigarette package visual warnings.

Kartono Mohamad from the Tobacco Control Support Center said that the new decree would be important to discourage young people from smoking. "Currently, the tobacco industry is targeting young people as new consumers as it intensively attempts to regenerate its market," he said.

He said he welcomed the decree because it would protect children and young people from advertising.

According to Kartono, the decree will be sufficient to start to curb tobacco consumption in the country for now, as Indonesia has not yet ratified the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

The convention, which has been signed by 168 parties, requires member countries to curb global tobacco consumption through a variety of measures in compliance with the convention.

Kartono emphasized that the decree would not be detrimental to the tobacco industry or farmers.

"In the United States, for instance, regulations to control tobacco are very strict. However, the tobacco industry survives there," he said.

Tulus Abadi, a member of the National Commission on Tobacco Control, said the decree aimed to curb expansion of the cigarette market, targeting more to protect non-smokers to stay away from cigarettes.

He cited data from the 2009 National Social and Economic Survey, which showed there were 60 million adult smokers in Indonesia, with two out of three adults as smokers.

"Visual warnings on cigarette packages, for example, are very urgent because verbal warnings are proven as not effective," Tulus said.

He added it was ironic that Indonesia included visual warning on exported cigarette packs as required by other countries' regulations, but not on the domestic market. Visual warnings include a picture of the blackened lungs of a smoker and of other impacts of tobacco.

Tulus said that the planned decree would be good for the implementation of the regulation on smoke-free zones, to improve air quality and ensure non- smokers rights to fresh air.

According to Tulus, the decree can also help the government to receive greater state income by increasing tax on tobacco.

"Right now, the industry is enjoying the greatest financial gains. The government can get significant additional revenue by increasing tax on cigarette sales," he said.

The Alliance of Indonesia Tobacco Society, which represents the tobacco industry, could not be reached on Wednesday. (lnd)

Indonesia's HIV/AIDS programs at risk

Jakarta Post - October 28, 2010

Jakarta – The fight against HIV/AIDS in Indonesia is precarious since most civil society groups working to prevent the disease rely on foreign funding, a report said Wednesday.

Indonesia's executive summary for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on AIDS reported the international community contributed US$29.7 million to the country's HIV/AIDS funds, which totaled $49.5 million in 2009.

In 2008, 61 percent or $30.9 million of Indonesia's AIDS funding came from international donations, while the remaining 39 percent came from central and district governments, the Indonesian National AIDS Commission (KPA) reported.

The sixth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) set by the United Nations is to halt and reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015.

According to Aditya Wardana from Indonesia's UNGASS Forum, HIV/AIDS programs run by civil society groups and NGOs are at risk of falling by the wayside when donations stop.

The Indonesia UNGASS Forum is a coalition of 17 civil society groups working in HIV/AIDS prevention who monitor the execution of the HIV/AIDS prevention road map drawn up by the UNGASS. They recently released a report which highlighted, among other things, government spending for HIV/AIDS programs.

"When the funds stop, the achievements attained during the period when the programs were running will be wasted. Without funds, these societies wouldn't be able to follow up with their clients," he said.

The KPA National HIV and AIDS Strategy and Action Plan 2010 – 2014 reports that the AIDS epidemic in Indonesia is one of the fastest growing in Asia. The report estimated that there were 227,700 people living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia in 2007, a figure it said would double to 501,400 by 2014.

"Those who previously received free condoms and syringes might start getting those items for themselves, but some may not," Aditya added.

In one case more than 100 civil society groups ceased catering to people with HIV/AIDS when their common foreign donor stopped their funding, forcing groups to fire workers and therefore severing links to their clients, he said.

"As Indonesia's economy grows, international donors are questioning why they should continue channeling funds to Indonesia. They do not realize that economic gain does not trickle down to HIV/AIDS programs," he said.

The KPA's report included predictions that the gap between funds available and funds needed will continue to widen. In 2010, there would be a $30 million deficit and by 2015 the deficit would near $150 million.

National AIDS Commission secretary Nafsiah Mboi said the commission predicted an increase in the need for funds as new cases of HIV/AIDS crop up every year.

"Our strategy is to continually advocate for increases in state and regional budgets for HIV/AIDS programs, especially for at-risk regions, districts and cities," she said, adding that the KPA trained local officials to recognize epidemics and what can be done.

She said the state had other plans and priorities besides HIV/AIDS programs.

The stigma certain decision makers harbored against HIV/AIDS further encumbered generous government funding, she said. "The budget for HIV/AIDS is not large."

Aditya said one way to secure government funding was to require certain sectors to allocate resources to HIV/AIDS prevention programs.(gzl)

Last gasp for Indonesian tobacco advertising?

Jakarta Globe - October 25, 2010

Ismira Lutfia, Nurfika Osman & Ririn Radiawati Kusuma, Jakarta – Activists expressed hope on Sunday that the advertising restrictions on tobacco and formula milk that they had long been fighting for would finally become reality after the health minister said such regulations were being drafted.

If issued, the regulations would have widespread implications, not only on the tobacco and formula-milk industries, but also on the media, which would lose a large chunk of its revenue from the major advertisers.

Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih made the announcement on Friday at an event on strategies to achieve the UN's Millennium Development Goals at Padjadjaran University in Bandung.

She said regulations were being drafted to impose a complete ban on all forms of tobacco advertising as well as on formula milk aimed at infants under the age of 12 months.

For tobacco, she also said she hoped the draft would be "all-clear" by the end of this year. "It must be understood there are a lot of interests at stake," she said. "That's why we need to proceed wisely in drafting this regulation. What's important is that we're consistent and we make progress step by step."

The "interests" the minister was referring to were the nation's tobacco companies, which last year produced 245 billion cigarettes. Industry lobbyists often cite the negative impact on tobacco farmers as an argument against restrictions on the industry.

Hakim Sorimuda Pohan, a former lawmaker who now works with the Coalition Against Corruption of the Anti-Tobacco Clause (Kakar), said "the cigarette industry will soon become a sunset industry" if Endang made good on her word.

Yos Ginting, the director of corporate affairs for Sampoerna, said he hoped the ban would be implemented gradually and that "advertisements in distribution areas would still be allowed."

The formula-milk ad ban, on the other hand, was needed because "the number of mothers feeding their babies exclusively with breast milk is still low, because they prefer to give them formula milk," Endang said.

As part of the ban, milk producers would no longer be allowed to sponsor or work in partnership with health authorities, including hospitals, clinics and individual doctors.

"We're now drafting the regulation on the ban," she said. "It will probably be finished quicker than the regulation on tobacco, which requires more discussion, but we'll try to get both of them done by next year."

Advocates have been saying that increasing breast-feeding rates in Indonesia would help reduce infant mortality rates, as targeted in the UN's Millennium Development Goals.

Health Ministry data show that less than 60 percent of Indonesian women fed their babies an exclusive diet of breast milk within the first six months after giving birth.

"[The ban] will be good as advertisements on formula milk are encouraging mothers to stop breast feeding," said Prijo Sidipratomo, the chairman of Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI).

But Ricky Pesik, from the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Association of Advertising Agencies (PPPI) said the regulations could squash media revenue.

"Tobacco companies are among the five biggest advertisers in media over the years, notably in television," he said. Hakim said the tobacco companies' lobbyists were aware that their room to operate was getting smaller as other countries with large populations were becoming stricter in their antismoking drives.

"Indonesia as the world's fourth-most populous country, and its persuadable government officials are [lobbyists'] last hope," Hakim said. "Hopefully the health minister can keep her promises," he said.

Activists give red mark to education ministry

Jakarta Post - October 23, 2010

Jakarta – In an evaluation of the first year's performance of the National Education Ministry, a coalition of activists said it had failed to deal with key problems.

Lody Paat from the Forum of Transformative Pedagogy Study at the Jakarta State University said Thursday that the ministry had failed to provide access to quality education for all.

"The access to free and compulsory primary education for all has yet to be fulfilled," he said. The quality of education, according to Lody, is closely related to the quality of teachers.

"The government does not pay any attention to teacher training institutes. Teachers play an important role in education and these should be well- managed," he said.

Chairwoman of the Jakarta Teachers Forum Retno Listyarti agreed, saying government's policy did not engage a number of substantial problems faced by teachers.

"For example, the only policy related to teachers in the 100-day program of the ministry was one targeting those serving in border and remote areas," she said.

Retno said capacity building for teachers had not been addressed. "Teachers have to struggle alone to enhance their professional capacity. At the same time they have to make both ends meet," she said.

Retno said that government opted to improve the capacity of school principals and supervisors at basic education level, instead of teachers.

Jumono from the Students' Parents Alliance for Education said that the government still did not distribute adequate financial aid to schools.

"The school operational funds provided for elementary schools only cover 30 percent of the total cost needed by each student per year. However, the government always claims its success in fulfilling the schools' needs," he said.

Jumono said data from the research and development division at the ministry showed that each elementary school student needed Rp 1.7 million (US$190) per year, while government gave only Rp 400,000.

"The goal of these funds to help students' parents is not achieved because they still have to pay a lot of money for education. This is even worse for poor parents who cannot afford it," he said.

Ade Irawan, the chairman of the public service monitoring division of Indonesia Corruption Watch said the programs offered by the ministry were not relevant to deal with current educational problems.

"For instance, the government puts Internet provision at schools as one of its priorities. In fact, many schools still do not have electricity, computers or teachers who can operate computers," he said.

Despite criticisms, the ministry is confident about the result of its one- year performance. In a recent report, it said that, for example, the target to provide Internet connections to 100 percent of 17,500 basic schools had actually achieved 105 percent of target, with 18,358 Internet connections installed in 9,937 elementary schools, 5,564 junior high schools, 1,104 Islamic elementary schools, and 1,736 Islamic junior high schools. (lnd)

Graft & corruption

AGO drops Bibit-Chandra case, but not its suspicions

Jakarta Globe - October 29, 2010

Heru Andriyanto – Indonesia's Attorney General's Office has finally decided: the criminal charges against two antigraft agency deputy chairmen would be dropped using the old Dutch law principle of "deponering."

Deponering, which allows prosecutors to halt a prosecution in the public interest, has long been recommended by legal experts to the AGO to end what many believe is a fraudulent case against Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah.

But the AGO only resorted to it almost 11 months after they first issued a letter dropping the case that was later successfully challenged in all levels of court by the antigraft pair's accuser, Anggodo Widjojo.

Anggodo said Bibit and Chandra extorted Rp 5.1 billion ($570,000) from him in exchange for halting a criminal investigation into his brother, Anggoro Widjojo, and lifting an overseas travel ban on him. But Anggodo is now serving time for trying to bribe the antigraft officials.

"According to the law, the attorney general reserves the rights to set aside a criminal case in the public interest," acting Attorney General Darmono told a press conference on Friday, four days after he scolded a deputy for announcing the same.

If the two deputy commissioners of the powerful Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) were brought to the court as defendants, "they would risk suspension from their job and it could disrupt and impede the works of the KPK," Darmono said.

"We have concluded that the fight against corruption is the national agenda that must be carried out to the utmost. This is what we mean as the interest of the public, the nation and most of the Indonesian people."

Darmono added his decision might not satisfy everyone, "and I apologize to those whose interest is not met by my decision."

But before the decision is signed, Darmono said he would formally seek advice from the House of Representatives, the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "The Supreme Court has earlier suggested that we issue deponering so its advice may be unnecessary," he said.

However, Darmono maintained that the absence of evidence against Bibit and Chandra was not part of the reason for dropping the case, which is widely believed to have been fabricated. "We maintain our stance that their case was actually complete and ready for trial. It has been dropped in the public interest and I think it's not relevant anymore to talk about evidence," Darmono said.

Renowned legal expert Todung Mulya Lubis welcomed the AGO's decision, saying it ended the ongoing leadership crisis at the antigraft commission.

"The commission is no longer taken hostage by the case against Bibit and Chandra. Deponering will for sure trigger more debates but the most important thing is that the commission can work normally in our fight against corruption," said Todung, who was part of the presidentially- sanctioned fact-finding team into the Chandra-Bibit case last year.

Last week, Bibit said he couldn't accept deponering as the best way to end the saga. "Deponering means that the criminal case did exist, and was dropped in the public interest," he said. "For me, the case never existed. It has been fabricated and it's not only me who said that, but also the Constitutional Court. The case should have been dropped because of no evidence, not for other reasons."

Prosecutor Cirus involved in Gayus extortion: AGO

Jakarta Post - October 30, 2010

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) said Friday they had proof that prosecutor Cirus Sinaga had conspired with attorney Haposan Hutagalung to extort his client, former tax officer Gayus Tambunan.

Marwan Effendy, the AGO's top internal monitoring official, told the press the AGO had evidence and testimony that Cirus had given a draft copy of Gayus' indictment to Haposan, which Haposan later allegedly used to extort money from Gayus during his embezzlement trial.

The AGO said such a draft should have been confidential and was not to be given to defendants. The draft said the prosecution would demand a year of probation for Gayus. In order to extort money from Gayus, Haposan blacked out the word "probation" so it appeared prosecutors would ask that Gayus be imprisoned for a year.

Gayus, who had amassed billions of rupiah from helping companies dodge taxes, claimed he gave US$50,000 to Haposan to reduce his charges. Marwan said the AGO had reported the allegations to the National Police, and expected to discover whether or not Cirus received money from Gayus through Haposan.

"It is as clear as day. There's no way [Cirus] would give [a copy to Haposan] if there was no hanky-panky. It must be money. If not money, what else?" Marwan said.

It was reported that Cirus ordered a copy of the indictment from the Tangerang Prosecutors' Office, which, along with the AGO, handled Gayus' embezzlement case earlier this year.

The AGO said on Wednesday Cirus received the document from prosecutor F, believed to be Fadil Regan, who in turn was faxed a copy from B, believed to be Benu El Amrusya, a clerk in the Tangerang Prosecutors' Office.

Marwan said apart from the criminal charges to be handled by the National Police, Cirus would be dismissed if proven guilty. National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi said he would set up a special team to respond to the AGO report.

Earlier, an ad hoc team set up by the police to investigate case engineering behind Gayus' acquittal in March named Cirus and a pre- indictment prosecutor, Poltak Manulang, as suspects.

The team, however, failed to gather enough evidence to charge the pair. They did bring two police officers and a judge to trial in South Jakarta District Court for allegedly engineering the case.

The AGO previously defended Cirus and other prosecutors allegedly involved, saying the testimony about Cirus' involvement was hearsay.

The esprit de corps display took a different turn following Gayus' statement in court earlier this month that he was shown a draft indictment that stated that he would be sentenced to a year in prison. Gayus seemed surprised to learn the original draft said he would be given a year's probation.

In a court session in South Jakarta District Court on Friday, Nazran Aziz from the Tangerang Prosecutor's Office testified that while he was the one who appeared active in reading out the indictment and sentence at Gayus' trial, Cirus and three other prosecutors were the ones responsible for the indictment.

"Cirus Sinaga, Fadil Regan, Ika Savitri and Eka Kurnia were the ones," he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Nazran said the draft of Gayus' proposed sentence had gone through several hands: three officers, including himself, at the Tangerang Prosecutor's Office, the Tangerang High Prosecutor's Office and prosecutors at the AGO.

Presiding judge Albertina Ho questioned the involvement of that many offices, especially the AGO, in one embezzlement case.

Nazran said the AGO was involved because the case was forwarded from the National Police.

AGO decides to conduct 'deponeering' on KPK deputies

Jakarta Post - October 29, 2010

Jakarta – The Attorney General Office (AGO) decided Friday to conduct "deponeering" on the alleged bribery case involving two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputies – Bibit Samad Riyanto and Chandra M. Hamzah.

'Deponeering' is an Indonesian term for a legal action whereby the AGO can halt a case, with the backing of the House of Representatives, for the sake of national stability.

"Based on various considerations, a team has advised (me) to take the decision for the sake of public interest," acting Attorney General Darmono said as quoted by kompas.com.

One of the considerations that the Attorney General Office preferred 'deponeering' than continuing the case to court was to protect the fight against corruption practices.

"We do not protect individuals or institutions or anything, but the fight against corruption has to be guarded as it is already in the county's agenda," Darmono told a press conference.

The allegations against KPK deputies Bibit and Chandra had been deemed controversial because a hearing at the Constitutional Court indicated there was a conspiracy to frame the anti-graft officials involving high-ranking officers from the National Police and the AGO.

Corruption allegations at top court to be probed

Jakarta Globe - October 28, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court said it would establish a team to investigate allegations that the judicial mafia had breached its sanctum and was now at work in one of the last government bodies widely considered free of corruption.

On Thursday, court Chief Justice Mahfud MD announced the formation of the five-member team, which he said constitutional law expert Refly Harun would lead.

"In order for the court and the public to get to the bottom of the real problem, I've given Refly and his team until the end of November to conduct a probe," he said. "The team should reveal who gave the money, and which justices or court officials received it."

Refly, also an election observer, accused the mafia, a network of brokers and officials involved in institutional graft within government bodies, of rigging electoral disputes.

In an opinion piece published on Monday in Kompas, the country's biggest daily, Refly said he had heard of regional head candidates paying Rp 10 billion to 12 billion ($1.1 million-$1.3 million) to ensure favorable outcomes in polling disputes brought to the Constitutional Court.

He cited a case in which a Constitutional Court justice had allegedly demanded Rp 1 billion from the plaintiff, but later threw out the suit after the plaintiff failed to pay. Refly also wrote that he had personally witnessed another candidate bring the equivalent of Rp 1 billion in dollars to the court to bribe a justice.

Previously, Mahfud had insisted that all justices at the Constitutional Court were clean. He said what may have occurred in the cases highlighted by Refly was that the regional candidates filing the suits had been bamboozled by people claiming to be close to court officials.

"These people then kept the money for themselves," Mahfud said. "I'm sure it's just a trick being played by those seeking to take advantage of an electoral dispute." However, he said that if the allegations of court officials taking bribes turned out to be true, he would report the offenders to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Refly said he stood by the allegations he had made about the court and was prepared to lead the investigation. "We need to ensure that the Constitutional Court remains a credible institution, and is free of the judicial mafia," he told the Jakarta Globe.

He added that while the probe could unearth indications of corruption, it would ultimately be up to police and prosecutors to pursue a criminal investigation. "We're not authorized to haul up people for questioning and make them testify because we're not law-enforcement officers," Refly said.

Indonesia's fight against corruption stalls: Transparency International

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – Indonesia's fight against corruption has hit the wall based on Transparency International's latest global Corruption Perception Index released on Tuesday.

Indonesia ranked 110 out of 178 countries surveyed by the Berlin-based group, a slight improvement on last year's ranking of 111, though less countries were surveyed. Indonesia, like last year, received an appalling 2.8, with 0 being the most corrupt and 10 the least.

"I am not surprised at all. In fact I am shocked that Indonesia could maintain a score of 2.8," Transparency International Indonesia chairman Todung Mulya Lubis said. "I was suspecting that we would score lower than last year because the fight against corruption has weakened in the past year."

Todung cited last year's spat between elements within the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the police. Many suspected that law enforcers attempted to frame KPK deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Riyanto and Chandra Hamzah, who are accused of receiving Rp 5.1 billion in bribes from a businessman.

"This is a battle between two ideologies, that of anticorruption and against corruption," he said. "Antigraft institutions are systematically weakened. The government has failed to raise the integrity of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. People are asking is the government committed to eradicating corruption?"

Three countries are tied with a score 9.3 as the cleanest countries: Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore. This year's most corrupt country is Somalia with a score of 1.1.

Neighboring country Brunei scored 5.5 this year and ranked number 38, making it the second cleanest country in Southeast Asia after Singapore. Malaysia, another Southeast Asian county, ranked 56 with a score of 4.4 while Thailand ranked 78 with 3.5.

Indonesia fairs slightly better than Vietnam (116 with a score of 2.7) and the Philippines (134 with a score 2.4). Burma is the second most corrupt in the world with a score of 1.4.

Bibit-Chandra saga may take a new turn

Jakarta Post - October 26, 2010

Jakarta – Prosecutors at the Attorney General's Office (AGO) are considering halting legal proceedings against two KPK deputy chairmen accused of blackmail and abuse of power.

Interim Attorney General Darmono said the AGO not decided whether to halt legal proceedings for the sake of public welfare in a process referred to as deponeering, or to allow the case to enter court.

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah's legal woes began when bribery convict Anggodo Widjojo accused the pair of abusing their power and blackmailing his brother, fugitive graft suspect Anggoro Widjojo.

Following rallying public pressure to end attempts to criminalize the two KPK deputies, the AGO issued a prosecution cessation order at the end of last year.

However, the order was later overturned by South Jakarta District Court and Jakarta High Court, since it failed to fulfill certain legal considerations, which prompted the AGO to file a case review with the Supreme Court.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court overturned the AGO's case review, leaving them with two main options: deponeering or allowing the case to go to trial.

An evaluation team, headed by AGO special crimes secretary Andi Nirwanto will review the Supreme Court decision and recommend what option the AGO should take on the Bibit and Chandra case during the week, Darmono said.

"We shall wait for the team's decision, which we hope will be delivered as soon as possible," Andi said, as reported by kompas.com. "This is clearly the [option] that bears the least risks," he said.

Darmono also clarified a statement issued previously by the assistant attorney general for special crimes, Amari, who said the AGO had opted for deponeering, acknowledging that his subordinate experienced "a slip of the tongue".

"I have already spoken to him and he has apologized regarding his statement about the legal option," Darmono said. Earlier in the day, Amari said the AGO had chosen "deponeering as our position", firing up widespread media reports that the AGO has finalized its next move.

M. Jasin, another KPK deputy chairman, said the commission would wait for and respect whatever the decision the AGO made.

Constitutional Court justice Akil Mochtar said that deponeering would be the best choice because it would prevent "draining the nation's energy unnecessarily".

He added that deponeering would not imply that the deputies were indeed culpable for the crimes they were accused of. Akil said the deponeering option was within the interim attorney general's authority.

Previously, a debate ensued between legal experts on whether the interim attorney general held the authority to issue a deponeering. The "best move [for this case] is for it to go to court," Commission III lawmaker Gayus Lumbuun said, adding that opinion polls needed to be conducted to gauge whether the public still demanded an end to the prosecution. (gzl)

Indonesian president taking it easy in antigraft campaign: Critics

Jakarta Globe - October 24, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – In the six years that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been in power, he has increasingly failed to make good on his pledges to battle corruption, critics said on Sunday.

Indonesia Corruption Watch, the country's leading watchdog on graft, said the president had instead allowed rivalries between law-enforcement agencies to escalate and had gone easy on members of his Democratic Party implicated in graft cases.

"The president should make his party an example of his commitment to eradicate corruption, by showing that even his close aides can't escape the antigraft program," ICW official Febridiansyah said.

He added that Yudhoyono had made 17 pledges related to the anticorruption drive, but had only made good on three of them.

"The president's statements are only lip service that clearly shows his political style of public image trumping concrete achievements," he said. "It also explains why the president panders to corruption convicts by handing remissions to 341 of them, parole to 318 and clemency for one of them."

Separately, J Kristiadi, a political analyst from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the president had been too busy building his personal image to see the rising trend of regional heads building their own mini dynasties and thus solidifying the culture of corruption. "The president shouldn't run the government on auto-pilot," he said. "More importantly, he should stop preening because the people are tired of that."

Achmad Rifai, a lawyer, said the Justice and Human Rights Ministry and law-enforcement agencies such as the National Police and the Attorney General's Office had fared poorly in fighting graft under the president's leadership.

"Take the case of [anticorruption commissioners] Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah," said Rifai, the legal counsel for the two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen.

"The police charged them without any evidence, and prosecutors took up the case immediately," he said. "The Justice Ministry has done no better," he added. "The KPK works very hard to arrest and prosecute graft suspects, but once they're convicted, the ministry grants them sentence cuts."

However, Achmad Mubarok, a member of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, blamed the perceived shielding of corruption suspects on the limited resources available to combat graft. "If you've got 1,000 trees to chop down, but you only have three axes, you've got to start prioritizing," he said. "We have to select a few at first, but it's better than doing nothing."

One of the high-profile Democrats implicated in graft but never prosecuted is Djufri, former mayor of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, and chairman of the party's provincial branch, who is suspected of embezzling Rp 1.2 billion ($135,000) from the city budget.

Another is Bengkulu Governor Agusrin Najamuddin, who was allowed to compete in the gubernatorial election this year despite being named a suspect in a Rp 21.3 billion embezzlement case in 2009.

Similarly, Sukawi Sutarip, the former mayor of Semarang was in 2008 named a suspect for embezzling Rp 5 billion from the municipal budget, but was never brought trial.

Police require the president's permission to arrest and investigate regional heads. But in these cases, Yudhoyono never granted his consent.

KPK deputy decries facing trial over 'foolish, fabricated' charges

Jakarta Globe - October 24, 2010

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Antigraft commissioner Bibit Samad Rianto, facing the threat of a criminal trial for bribery, insists the case against him is fabricated and blames the Attorney General's Office for not burying it for good.

Bibit and Chandra M Hamzah, both deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), were accused of extorting a bribe from businessman Anggodo Widjojo and abusing their power in imposing and then lifting a travel ban against his brother, Anggoro.

However, wiretapped recordings played back at the Constitutional Court last year indicated the charges were fabricated, prompting the creation of a presidentially appointed team to look into the case.

The team recommended the AGO drop the case for lack of evidence under the deponering principle held over from the Dutch colonial period, but the AGO chose to abandon it because prosecuting it would be "morally harmful."

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court overruled the AGO's decision, effectively ordering it to take Bibit and Chandra to trial. That came after the conviction in August of Anggodo, widely believed to have orchestrated the framing of the KPK deputies after he attempted to bribe the two.

Bibit said on Sunday any trial would be unnecessary in light of fabrication allegations and the failure by police to back their charges with strong evidence. "I served as a police officer for 37 years, so I know full well that no case lacking evidence should ever be prosecuted."

He also slammed the AGO for not invoking the deponering principle, which gives it the right to drop the case in the public interest. "There hasn't been any conclusive progress in the case within the past year, so why has the AGO left our fate hanging in the balance?" Bibit said.

On Friday, acting Attorney General Darmono said the AGO "never had the intention" of dragging out the case, adding his office was working closely with the National Police and the antigraft commission to resolve the legal wrangle.

While supporters of Bibit and Chandra say they must be absolved of all charges, legal and antigraft experts Todung Mulya Lubis and Adnan Buyung Nasution said the trial should proceed in order to uncover the truth about the role of the police and the prosecutors in the alleged fabrication of charges.

But Bibit said this was unfair. "The court isn't the only place to seek justice," he said. "I face the threat of a trial based on a legal motion filed by Anggodo, but the man in question has already been convicted of corruption, so why should I be tried?"

However, he said he would accept a trial if all other options ran out. "I'm a suspect now, and if they finally take the case to court, I'll accept that because maybe a trial would be my biggest chance to uphold justice," Bibit said. "I'm a law enforcer and here I am, getting fooled by them. Imagine what would happen in the case of an ordinary citizen who knew nothing of the law."

Bibit said the KPK remained solid and fully committed to its antigraft campaign, despite the distraction of the case implicating him and Chandra, and the leadership vacuum following the sacking of former chairman Antasari Azhar.

KPK 'must look into housing mark-ups'

Jakarta Globe - October 24, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission must look into apparent fraud involved in the renovation of lawmakers' residences, a watchdog said on Sunday.

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) made the call in light of its claims that just one-fifth of the budget allocated for each home was actually spent on renovations.

Uchok Sky Khadafi, from Fitra, said it had submitted a complaint to the antigraft agency, also known as the KPK. "We hope that before lawmakers occupy the homes in January, the KPK investigates the case. It must be a priority," Uchok said, adding that poor monitoring had created fertile ground for corruption and collusion.

Uchok urged the Household Affairs Committee (BURT) to take responsibility and explain the renovation budget. "The BURT has a supervisory role, which means it should stop contractors' violations," he said.

A total of Rp 445 billion ($50 million) was approved for the project, Rp 335 billion to renovating the official residences of 495 legislators and the rest to build 10 new homes, a mosque and a school building at the House of Representatives housing complex in South of Jakarta. About Rp 717 million was allotted for each house, according to the watchdog.

State construction company Adhi Karya won the tender and sub-contracted it to another state-owned builder, Pembangunan Perumahan. The latter company again sub-contracted the project, this time to nine private companies that spent just Rp 152 million on each house, for a total of Rp 75 billion, leaving Rp 260 billion unaccounted for, Fitra said.

The deal between PP and the contractors was signed by three officials, with initial HN, S and DM, Uchok said. "Clearly there is a major mark-up of the project. That's the first violation," Uchok said.

The project also violated a rule that said government projects could only be sub-contracted when it involved additional work and even then could not be sub-contracted more than once.

BURT Deputy Chairman Pius Lustrilanang confirmed that Adhi Karya and PP had subcontracted the renovation work to some private contractors but refused to be pinned down for failing to be prudent with the budget allocation. "This project was approved by BURT members of the previous period, not us. So we know nothing about the deal and the subcontracts," Pius said.

War on terror

Noordin M. Top's father-in-law gets 5 years on terrorism charges

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – A court in Jakarta on Tuesday sentenced the father-in-law of Noordin M Top to five years in prison for harboring the slain terrorist mastermind and helping him evade arrest.

Baharudin Latif, 55, also known as Baridin, was charged by the South Jakarta District Court for violating Article 13 of the Anti-Terrorism Law. Presiding judge Didik Setyo Handono read out the verdict.

Later in the day, the court sentenced Baridin's son, Ata Sabiq Alim, 24, to four and a half years in prison on the same charges.

Baridin consented to Noordin marrying his daughter, Arina Rahmah, at his Cilacap home in Central Java in 2006. Arina, one of Noordin's many wives, bore him two children. Baridin kept the marriage secret from neighbors, according to the court.

Baridin, head of the Al Muaddib Islamic Boarding School in Cilacap, also provided financial assistance to Noordin, even selling his rice field for Rp 4 million ($448) to finance his activities.

The five-year sentence imposed on Baridin is a year less than what prosecutors demanded. The defendant's counsel, Nurlan, welcomed the shorter jail term and said he would not appeal the sentence.

"I would like to compare today's verdict to the conviction of Saefudin Zuhri, who stood trial for similar charges of concealing information about Noordin," the lawyer said on Tuesday.

"The prosecution demanded 10 years for Saefudin and the judges sentenced him to eight years," he said. "In this regard, the jail term for Baridin is good enough for us."

Saefudin, a relative of Baridin, was convicted for his role in the Jakarta hotel bombings. He introduced Arina to Noordin and was witness to their wedding. Experts believe Noordin, who was killed in a police raid in Solo in September 2009, used marriage to hide from police, taking advantage of a "culture of protection" for him and his terrorist group.

Baridin was arrested in July last year, shortly after the bombings of two luxury hotels in Jakarta, of which Noordin was alleged to be the mastermind. During the raid on Baridin's house, police uncovered explosives buried in his backyard.

However, he told the court that he knew his son-in-law as Andi Abdul Halim, not Noordin, and was unaware that his daughter had married a fugitive who led a series of suicide bombing attacks starting in 2002.

But according to prosecutors, Baridin joined the outlawed extremist group Islamic State of Indonesia, or NII, which pushed for an Islamic caliphate across Southeast Asia.

They also said Baridin joined Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terrorist network of which Noordin was a leader, in 1995.

Baridin reportedly led a local cell of JI in 2000, before embarking on a jihad, or holy war, to Maluku, Ambon, when the province was wracked by religious strife.

Freedom of religion & worship

Religious affairs minister to ban Ahmadiyah

Jakarta Post - October 30, 2010

Garut, West Java – Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said he wanted to disband Ahmadiyah but he did not offer timetable for the sect's dissolution.

He said that after a long period of contemplation and asking for divine advice, he concluded that banning Ahmadiyah would be the best solution for all the problems relating to the group, which mainstream Muslims view as heretical.

Suryadharma said that Ahmadiyah should abandon Islam and stop using Islamic symbols such as the Koran and mosques. "If they refuse to join the mainstream, they must not use Islamic symbols," he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Suryadharma and strict Muslims have objected to Ahmadiyah's refusal to acknowledge that Muhammad was Islam's last prophet.

Local Ahmadiyah leader Rahmat Syukur Maskawan rejected the minister's ideas, saying that, fundamentally, Ahmadis were Muslims who believed that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the person who continued Muhammad's propagation of Islam.

Church violence spreading 'outside Jakarta, West Java'

Jakarta Post - October 25, 2010

Incidents of church attacks and religious violence are spreading throughout Java, outside of traditional "hot spots" such as Greater Jakarta and West Java, activists said on Sunday.

The latest violent incident occurred in Sukoharjo, Central Java, on Oct. 13, when 12 people on motorcycles set fire to a Protestant church, said Theophilus Bella of the Jakarta Christian Communication Forum (FKKJ), which documents sectarian violence in Indonesia.

A day before, an attempt to set fire to St. Joseph Catholic church in Klaten, Central Java, was foiled and caused only minor damage, he said in a report made available to The Jakarta Post. On Oct. 17, radical Muslims threatened to attack a Catholic church in Karanganyar, Central Java.

Last month, an unidentified group attacked a Catholic church in Pasir regency, East Kalimantan, it said.

Most of the incidents over the last several years took place in Greater Jakarta and West Java, including attacks and forcible church closures that occurred with little or no intervention from the government, the report said.

According to the FKKJ, officials of Lubuk Linggau, Sumatra, said Huria Kristen Indonesia (HKI) congregation members lacked an official permit and could not conduct religious activities in their church, in apparent response to complaints from local residents.

The FKKJ said religious violence in Indonesia has escalated since the country gained independence in 1945. Between 1945 and 1967, two churches were set on fire. Between 1967 and 1969, after former president Soeharto took power, 10 attacks were recorded.

Church attacks soared to 460 between 1969 and 1998, after Soeharto's government issued a joint ministerial decree on establishing places of worship, which was seen as favoring the nation's Muslim majority.

After the start of the reform era in 1998, the number of cases skyrocketed to 700, bringing the total number of church attacks between 1945 and 2010 to 1,200. "It's not wrong to say that Indonesia is the world champion of church burnings," Theophilus said.

Catholic priest Benny Susetyo, executive secretary of the Indonesian Bishops' Council, said that the attacks were due to weak law enforcement.

"Terror has increased due to negligence on the part of law enforcement officials," he said. Benny added that violence against the churches had continued since perpetrators could act with impunity.

"This is dangerous because violence may escalate in other areas," he said, adding that narrow-minded local administrations were also partly to blame.

Hendardi from the Indonesian human rights watchdog Imparsial said that attacks on religious groups in Central Java and other places were copycat attacks based on incidents in Greater Jakarta and West Java.

Imparsial said West Java had the most cases of violence perpetrated against minority religious groups. "The attacks, especially in West Java, which have yet to be properly handled by the government, have set a bad precedent," he said. (JP/lnd)

Sex & pornography

Islamic Defender's Front visit Ariel in prison over porn case

Antara - October 27, 2010

Bandung, Indonesia – Indonesia's infamous Islamic Defender's Front visited beleaguered pop singer Nazriel Irham in the Kebonwaru Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday because they were told that the Peterpan frontman wanted to repent.

Ariel – in police detention since June after two pornographic videos featuring himself and television celebrities Luna Maya and Cut Tari were leaked on the Internet – met with Hilman Firdaus, one of the leaders of the hard-line group, also known as the FPI, on Wednesday.

"The manager of Peterpan came to us and asked us to help Ariel return to the right path," Hilman said. "I can't just trust him so I came to meet Ariel today. I want to hear it, straight from his mouth, [that he wants to repent]," he added.

According to Hilman, if Ariel was serious about repenting, Bandung's FPI branch would be willing to provide moral support during his court hearing and help his band regain popularity.

"If Ariel really wants to repent, we will give as much motivation and support as we can so his group can be accepted again in Bandung," Hilman said, adding that he had a Koran for the popular singer. "I will ask Ariel to be serious in his self-repentance," he said.

Meanwhile, Suharman, the head of the Kebonwaru Penitentiary, said that anyone could visit Ariel. "We will accommodate those who want to visit him as long as it is done with good intentions," Suharman said.

Ariel was transferred from National Police headquarters in Jakarta to the Bandung Prosecutor's Office last week for trial in the capital of West Java, where the offenses allegedly occurred.

US porn star stunt 'poking fun' at Indonesian ethics: Minister

Jakarta Globe - October 25, 2010

Ismira Lutfia, Jakarta – Featuring a foreign porn star in a local horror movie was tantamount to "poking fun" at the country's antipornography campaign, Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring said on Monday.

Tifatul was referring to American porn star Tera Patrick's role in a movie titled "Rintihan Kuntilanak Perawan" ("The Moans of a Virgin Ghost"), which also starred local actresses Catherine Wilson and Angelique, and was released earlier this month.

He was speaking after launching a national campaign for healthy and safe use of the Internet initiated by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and with the backing of the National Education Ministry, the Religious Affairs Ministry and the State Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection.

"I call on the public at large to support this national campaign instead of mocking it. We try to block [pornography] but yet we have a porn star being brought in," he said.

He said that though there was apparent resistance to the antipornography drive in the media, particularly on the Internet, "I am sure that the silent majority of Indonesians actually support the drive."

He said other than the three ministries which already pledged their support to the campaign, the communications ministry also has the backing of religious communities, whose representatives showed up at the launch because "they are also worried."

He said that all religions decry adultery and pornography but the easily accessible online material and those responsible for it seemed to "demean" parental and religious ethics "as if they were nothing"

He called on film producers to take part in the campaign, and to avoid looking for sensationalism by hiring foreign porn stars such as Patrick. "She personifies the resistance to morality," he said.

Habib Salim Alatas, head of the Jakarta chapter of the Islamic Defenders Front, also known as FPI, has said he was unaware that Patrick was in Indonesia to shoot the movie.

"The movie producers have been so underhand. It makes us stressed," Habib said. "The next time a porn film star lands at Soekarno Hatta airport, we will block them. Nobody told us that the actress had already come and shot the movie in Indonesia," he said.

Agriculture & food security

Land reform program not genuine: Experts

Jakarta Post - October 25, 2010

Jakarta – Activists and agrarian experts agreed on Sunday that the government's effort to distribute hundreds of hectares of land to farmers was still far from a "genuine land reform program".

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday presented symbolic land certificates that granted 260 hectares of land to more than 5,100 farmers in four villages in Cilacap, Central Java, with each farmer reportedly receiving 500 square meters of land.

H.C. Gunawan Wiradi, an expert who has authored more than 270 publications on agrarian issues, told The Jakarta Post that the President's move Thursday represented only a key "precondition" for the country's still far-fetched genuine land reform.

"Real land reform is usually very drastic in nature, has a fixed implementation time, and is usually fast. The reform is to completely alter the structural ownership and use of not only land, but also land holdings, including plantation, large ranches and agribusiness plots," Gunawan said. The government has so far been unable to lay the prerequisites for such a reform, he added.

Those prerequisites include a strong political will, better understanding of agrarian issues, a solid national farmers' organization, and a separation of the political elite from the business sector, as well as the provision of national agrarian data and analyses.

In the latter case, Gunawan said he did not understand why the Central Statistics Agency had not been able to produce accurate data on how much land the country had and was available for farming.

"The Netherlands East Indies once conducted agrarian research in 1860, surveying more than 888 villages across the country for two years to obtain thorough agrarian-related information. Why can't we do the same thing?" he said.

Gunawan, who received his honoris causa from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, added that all sectors would also need to sit down together to discuss the possibility of forming a national institution, the tasks of which would be to execute and monitor the national land reform programs.

Meanwhile, Usep Setiawan, the chairman of the Consortium for Agrarian Reform's national council, said that what the President did Thursday was positive, but said the government also needed to provide farmers with access to better infrastructure and farming facilities.

"Land reform is also about access reform," he said. The government has launched its Land for Justice and People's Welfare program in 2007, and it plans to distribute 142,000 hectares of land scattered over 389 villages in 21 provinces by the end of 2010.

According to the Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI), there are now more than 12.4 million hectares of abandoned land. It recommends that the land be distributed to each farmer's family owning an average of less than 0.5 hectares of land. In Central Java, many farming families possess less than 0.25 hectares of land.

SPI also said in 2008 there were 28.3 million farmer families in Indonesia, with 45 percent of the total land area owned by only 11 percent of such families. In the case of crude and palm oil plantation, the state and private sector dominate 66 percent of the total plantation area in the country. (tsy)

Legislation & parliament

Indonesian politicians delay controversial overseas trips 'to show empathy'

Jakarta Globe - October 29, 2010

Armando Siahaan & Anita Rachman, Jakarta – As the country faces two devastating natural disasters, lawmakers have decided to postpone – but not cancel – the trips abroad that have frequently been lambasted as wasteful and unnecessary.

House Commission II, which oversees domestic affairs, has delayed a trip to China, scheduled for Monday, to study population administration. "We want to show empathy with our brothers who were struck by the disasters," said commission chairman Chairuman Harahap, from the Golkar Party.

Chairuman said the trip would most likely be rescheduled rather than scrapped because "the tickets have been purchased."

But Anis Matta, a deputy speaker from the Prosperous Justic Party (PKS), said the postponements were "unnecessary." Lawmakers must carry on with their obligations, he said, and did not need to focus all their attention on the disasters.

Commission members are also due to leave for India on Nov. 8 but have not yet decided whether to postpone this trip.

Whether the trips forward or not, commission members from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have decided to skip them altogether.

"We can download the material from the Internet," party member Budiman Sudjatmiko said. He said that instead of sending lawmakers to those countries, which was costly, the commission should invite experts from those countries to visit.

The House Legislation Body also said it would postpone sending a delegation to the Netherlands as part of deliberations on a bill on legal assistance.

"The country is in a grave condition," chairman Ignatius Mulyono said. "We have to be sensitive toward that, even though we must also perform our responsibilities."

Ignatius said a date for the trip had not been fixed "but the disaster becomes a consideration for us not to conduct the trip in the immediate future."

He said that the trip would take place sometime in November but the number of lawmakers going would be reduced. The chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Hatta Rajasa, has also instructed the party's faction in the House to skip overseas trips until the crises were resolved.

"Based on the chairman's direction, all PAN lawmakers are asked to postpone all overseas trips in relation to the country's situation," said Taufik Kurniawan, the secretary general of the party and also a House deputy speaker.

Priyo Budi Santoso, a House deputy speaker from Golkar, said he had urged fellow lawmakers to cancel any scheduled journeys abroad.

"These days, our country is going through a trial," he said, referring to this week's tsunami and volcanic eruption. "I have called commission leaders and other House bodies, urging them to postpone any overseas trips that they might have."

However, Priyo said that postponing the trips did not necessarily mean cancelling them altogether. "It could be rescheduled to anytime," he said.

Anis, meanwhile, said the situation must be examined "proportionally," and that lawmakers must carry out their duties.

He also said it was unnecessary to allocate the money budgeted for the overseas trips to help handle the disasters. "The amount is insignificant," he said. "We don't need to focus all our attention there."

Anis denied claims that lawmakers' overseas trips showed a disregard to the plight of the victims of the disaster. He said that the House as an institution had contributed by approving the budget for natural disaster.

Anis, who visited Yogyakarta on Thursday, said that the individual lawmakers' contributions were represented directly by their respective political parties.

"When I went to Yogyakarta, representations from all political parties were seen in the area," he said. "We have shown our solidarity through our respective political parties."

Indonesia's failing DPR sets sights even higher

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Anita Rachman & Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Having failed abjectly to meet its initial target of passing 70 bills into law this year, the House of Representatives has set itself what would seem a fairly impossible goal of 90 bills for 2011. The House has already slashed this year's legislative target to 35, but even that revised goal looks beyond its reach.

Ignatius Mulyono, chairman of the House Legislative Body, said on Tuesday that the House had passed 14 bills into law since being inaugurated in October 2009. "In the near future, we're set to pass 15 more bills, so we're sure we'll be able to have passed 30 bills by the end of this year," he said.

The remaining 40 from the initial target of 70 will be carried over to next year, he added. Those 40 bills are targeted for passage between January and July 2011. After that the House will turn its attention to passing a new batch of 50 bills, which Ignatius called the target for 2011, before the end of the year.

"Next year, each oversight commission must deliberate at least four bills," he said. "Other bodies, such as the House Legislative Body and special committees within the commissions, will work on two or three bills."

He was speaking after a plenary session in which legislators passed five bills into law. The bills were on cultural heritage, the Scout movement, protocol, horticulture and the 2011 state budget. It was the last plenary session before the House goes into recess until mid-November.

The House has faced a steady stream of criticism over the past year for the glacial pace of its work, blamed in large part on legislators' poor attendance at plenary meetings and hearings for bills under deliberation.

To address the issue, the Legislative Body vowed to set aside Wednesdays and Thursdays purely for legislation, but legislators continue to be absent.

In a written statement prepared for Tuesday's session, House Speaker Marzuki Alie said that while the House was committed to meeting its legislative target, the process was also partly the responsibility of the government, which drafts most of the bills. "I hope we will do better next year," he said. "We will catch up."

Ronald Rofiandri, director of advocacy at the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK), said it was overly ambitious to think the House could pass 50 bills in the second half of 2011.

"Even after they cut this year's target from 70 to 35, lawmakers still failed to meet the target," he said. "The legislature shouldn't be obsessed with the number of bills it can pass, but should focus on those that are of the utmost priority."

He added that a target of 30 bills in the second half of 2011 was more realistic, with each of the 11 House commissions deliberating at least two bills per year, and others coming from the Legislative Body and special committees.

He also urged the House leadership to scrap the controversial program of overseas study trips as part of the deliberation process. The results of the trips, he said, added no value to the substance of the bills, but contributed significantly to delaying their passage.

At least two of the bills passed on Tuesday – on the Scout movement and horticulture – involved legislators going on much-criticized overseas trips last month.

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) said the trips cost about Rp 3.7 billion ($415,000). It added that the trips were unnecessary because when lawmakers took them both bills were virtually ready for passage.

Legislator calls for end to house trips abroad, gets booed

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – A lawmaker from the House of Representatives was booed by fellow legislators on Tuesday for calling on the House leadership to seriously evaluate deeply unpopular policies, including elaborate plans for a new parliamentary building and tax-payer funded overseas trips that are considered nothing more expensive holidays.

Nabiel Al Musawa, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), interrupted Tuesday's plenary session to tell House leaders that he was tired of being criticized by the public.

"Speakers, if we notice the recent situation, we really have come to the very lowest level [in the eyes of the public]. We have been criticized for the new office building construction plan, aspiration funds and overseas trips," he said.

He was referring to the the proposed Rp 1.6 trillion ($180 million) building for lawmakers, complete with swimming pool and spa, the so-called aspiration funds, a proposal that would see each of the 560 lawmakers receive Rp 15 billion to be used on various development projects in their constituencies and the much-derided foreign junkets.

"[The public] have been using the very bad words to describe us, such as insensitive. And I am not willing to be called that. I demand the House evaluate all programs that are not popular." Lawmakers reacted to Nabiel's comments with a long "boo."

Teguh Juwarno, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party (PAN), urged the House to suspend overseas trips to review the program. A number of legislators rejected the proposals.

Saan Mustopha, from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democrat Party, said it would be "too hard" to suspend the overseas trip, arguing that not all overseas trips were wasteful. On Wednesday, the House recesses until Nov. 15.

Legislators, families heading on overseas trip estimated to cost $190,000

Jakarta Globe - October 25, 2010

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is continuing to ignore the tide of public opinion firmly against taxpayer-funded overseas trips for legislators, confirming on Monday that yet another batch of legislators and family members were heading overseas.

Democratic Party lawmaker I Wayan Gunastra, a member of House Commission XI for finance, said members of the commission had been divided in two groups and would depart on Saturday for comparative trips to either England and Germany or South Korea and Japan.

The aim of the trip, he said, was to study the Financial Services Supervisory Authority (OJK), which is expected to strip Bank Indonesia of many of its powers to monitor non-banking financial institutions.

"I understand there have been criticisms of the overseas study trips undertaken by the legislators, but OJK is very important and we need to look directly at the countries that failed to apply it and those that were successful," he said.

He said that England was one of the country's that had failed to implement an OJK policy and "we would like to know why." He refused to say how much the trip involving around 30 legislators was costing but the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) put the cost at Rp 1.25 billion ($140,000).

Golkar legislator Nusron Wahid, another member of the expected delegation, put the figure at closer to Rp 1.7 billion as a number of family members were expected to join the tour party.

He confirmed the South Korea and Japan trip would depart on Saturday, but that the trip to London and Germany would be delayed because of visa issues.

The Forum of Citizens Concerned about the Indonesian Legislature (Formappi) says that between October 2009 and September 2010, lawmakers conducted at least 19 overseas trip to 14 different countries without any clear objectives.

Despite undertaking about 140 trips abroad since 2004, legislators have produced only three basic reports that contained information readily available on the Internet.

On Saturday, eight legislators on the House Ethics Council deported for Greece to study ethics, which, according to one critic, showed the lawmakers did not have any.

Clip Indonesian lawmakers' wings, experts urge

Jakarta Globe - October 24, 2010

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – As eight lawmakers flew to Greece on Saturday to study ethics, the public is left asking: If overwhelming opposition can't stop legislators from jetting off to various parts of the world, what will?

Constitutional law expert Irman Putra Sidin said the problem was that the law did not prohibit legislators from going abroad. But he said they should be more sensitive to public demand.

Iberamsjah, a political analyst from University of Indonesia, says the trip only showed that the House of Representatives Ethics Council "has no ethics."

"At the same time, they are also embarrassing most Indonesians because they admit that most Indonesians know nothing about ethics, and that they must learn it from other countries," he said.

Ronald Rofiandri, from the Center for Law and Policy Studies, added the trip was clear evidence that lawmakers did not really listen to the public they supposedly represented.

"The lawmakers are betraying their roles as representative of the citizens, they have no sensibility whatsoever and are only distancing themselves further from the people," Ronald said.

He believes the House leadership should impose a moratorium on overseas trips. "The House leadership must heed public demand and immediately impose a moratorium on any planned overseas trips," he said, adding that the House should conduct a study on how to make these trips more effective.

Yurist Oloan, from the Forum of Citizens Concerned about the Indonesian Legislature (Formappi), said lawmakers have conducted at least 19 overseas trips to 14 different countries without any clear objectives or results from October 2009 to September 2010. "There is no accountability and transparency over any overseas trips," Yurist said.

He does not believe lawmakers would stop the study trips and said foreign countries should ban visits from Indonesian legislators. "Please reject their visa application," he said.

Jakarta & urban life

Fauzi reserves his traffic apologies for foreign officials

Jakarta Globe - October 28, 2010

Arientha Primanita, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo finally apologized for Monday evening's monstrous traffic gridlock – but to a visiting foreign delegation instead of his constituents.

"I'm sorry for the traffic you have to go through while you're here," he told delegates from the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on Thursday, during a governors' and mayors' convention. "It's because of the increased population and [low public] welfare."

The governor was widely criticized for attempting to deflect blame over severe traffic congestion on Monday, which was caused by heavy rains and flooding. Fauzi called the incident "extraordinary," but said the situation was out of his hands.

He blamed nature for causing the snarl, while experts blamed inadequate infrastructure. "The rain wasn't my fault, and it was heavy," Fauzi said.

Critics have pointed out that the condition of the city's storm drains, which an official had acknowledged were only 20 percent functional, was well within his authority to fix.

The city's TransJakarta busway network, meant to help ease congestion, was paralyzed in Monday's downpour. The busway network has been touted by Fauzi's administration as one of the solutions to the city's chronic traffic problems, mainly due to the increasing number of private vehicles hitting the roads, which has been costing the government billions of rupiah every year to address.

On Thursday, however, Fauzi once again played up TransJakarta's merits as a solution to traffic issues. He told the ASEM delegates about the eight routes that the busway currently served, and said that two more corridors were due to open later this year.

He also told them about the city's plans, unveiled last month, to have a fully-operating Mass Rapid Transit rail line by 2016, equipped with 13 stops along a 15.5-kilometer route. He said the government would also revitalize existing rail networks and improve traffic management.

Muhammad Sanusi, chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and a member of the Jakarta City Council, said Fauzi's statements on Thursday were not the kind of assurances people were looking for. "What the people want is action, not just words," he said. "People are angry because traffic congestion and flooding remain the biggest problems in the city."

Fauzi noted the public's anger over Monday's nightmare, saying he would welcome any class-action lawsuit filed against his administration over the traffic fiasco.

The Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) said it had received numerous complaints from citizens, urging it to sue the administration in the hope that the government would improve the delivery of public services and boost infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, part of the ASEM delegation, said floods and traffic jams were common problems in highly urbanized areas. "I think big cities must invest more in the public transportation system and infrastructure for the public because that is the goal for the future," he said.

Wowereit said the administrations of Jakarta and Berlin, which are sister cities, planned to "engage in greater cooperation and sharing of experience to help each other boost the provision of public services."

Jakarta's 'situation gridlock' preview of future

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Yanto Soegiarto & Muhamad Al Azhari, Jakarta – Monday night's flooding and subsequent citywide traffic jam was a preview of Jakarta's future if no significant changes are done, business leaders said.

The traffic madness that plagued commuters after the skies dumped an unusually large amount of rain on Monday has businessmen worried over the future of the capital and offering private sector participation as a solution.

Suryo Bambang Sulisto, the newly elected chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said the "situation gridlock" on Monday night was because of "stupidity" and the inclination to always seek to do things the easy way.

"We should learn from this, that we have to change from doing everything the easy way, especially when it comes to policies impacting the public at large," Suryo told the Jakarta Globe.

The best solution to the capital's infrastructure woes, he said, was to incentivise the participation of the private sector. "It will work. The toll roads and the monorail will be built soon if the private sector takes over," he said.

Erwin Aksa, chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi), said Jakarta's infrastructure problems made it an increasingly poor place to live and do business. "If the government had enforced discipline, such disasters would not be happening" he said.

Jakarta remains a top destination for foreign investment, but as the population grows and vehicle sales soar, experts have predicted total gridlock by 2012 unless drastic action is taken. The traffic jams already costs the city about $1.4 billion a year in lost productivity, according to one study.

The government has announced various plans to tackle the traffic problems, including the construction of a mass rapid transit system, but little progress has been made.

James D. Filgo, a director at US company Consolidated Services International, said the excruciating traffic jams caused by heavy rains were cutting business productivity by 30 to 40 percent. He said the situation called for an official declaration of a "state of emergency."

"People are afraid to make appointments in the afternoon or evening," said Filgo, who also is a representative of the US Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia.

James Castle, founder of Jakarta-based business consulting firm CastleAsia, also said the private sector should be given a bigger role in the city's infrastructure.

"For Jakarta, obviously the priority should be the water-management system, sewers and drainage. After that, it needs an efficient mass transit system. The government should provide supportive policies to mobilize the money" from the private sector.

Fauzi blames nature, experts point to chaotic drainage system

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Arientha Primanita, Ulma Haryanto & Zaky Pawas, Jakarta – Blame it on the rain? That's what the administration wants to do, but critics say Monday evening's traffic hell ultimately had more to do with a poor drainage system and residents' waste-disposal habits.

Torrential rains throughout Monday afternoon and evening caused some of the worst traffic congestion ever seen in the city as entire roads were rendered impassable due to flooding.

On Tuesday, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said the intensity of the rain – 100 millimeters in three hours – was the reason for the mess. "The rain on Monday was extraordinary," he said. "I ask the people for understanding. The rain wasn't my fault, and it was heavy." He also blamed climate change for recent waves of unpredictable weather.

Experts, however, have pointed their fingers squarely at the state of drains across the capital. Ery Basworo, the head of the city's Public Works Office, said only 20 percent of Jakarta's drains worked, while the other 80 percent were clogged with garbage, mud and utility cables.

Yayat Supriyatna, an urban planning expert from Jakarta's Trisakti University, said the flooding was the result of chaotic spatial planning and non-functioning drains.

"If a city's spatial planning is well-organized, there wouldn't be disasters such as floods," he said. "So if a city is paralyzed by flooding, then there's something wrong with that city."

He said that with 92 percent of the land area in Jakarta already developed, there were few spaces left to serve as water catchment areas. He also pointed out that the city's drainage system was 20 years old and poorly maintained, with some open drains having been closed over to allow developers to construct buildings above them.

Yayat called on the city administration to allow the central government to help resolve this and other problems plaguing the capital. He also said residents needed to change their attitude toward disposing waste.

"The people help worsen the situation," he said. "Jakartans tend to abuse nature. They clog up the drains with their garbage, and sometimes even close them off with concrete. So it's the cumulative effect from developers, residents and the administration."

He called for a campaign to educate residents not to throw their trash into drains. "People should start at home by adopting responsible waste management or simply cleaning out the drains in front of their homes," he said.

Gunawan Tjahjono, an urban planning expert from the University of Indonesia, said the city should conduct an audit of its drainage network to optimize it.

"All assumptions about Jakarta's drainage system should be re-evaluated," he said. "It's not as straightforward as we used to think, because property developments in Jakarta have been extreme and we've taken over a lot of land, so there are no more water catchment areas. This city is drowning."

Gunawan also stressed the need to consider external factors into any redesign of the drainage system. "We need to consider the geology and topography in the map of the city's plumbing, and see the whole city as one big system," he said. "Revitalization or reconstruction of the drainage system should not be sporadic."

He also said it was time for residents to be more aware of their impact on the capital. "Urban society is growing, but it has neglected the environment," he said. "People pave the earth in concrete, which prevents rainwater absorption. They have to realize they're burdening the city and the administration. People shouldn't just complain."

Fears of worsening floods as rain cripples Jakarta

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Ulma Haryanto, Jakarta – In what is becoming an increasingly nightmarish routine, Jakarta was once again crippled as a torrential rainstorm pounded the city on Monday afternoon.

Jakarta's traffic management center and crisis center Web sites reported that up to 50 centimeters of water had inundated several parts of main traffic arteries, including Jalan Sudirman, Gatot Subroto and Kemang Raya in South Jakarta, and Jalan Wahid Hasyim and MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta.

The deepest flood reported as of press time was in front of the Pondok Pinang complex of Dutch telecom KPN, which was under two meters of water. The Mintoharjo Navy Hospital in Bendungan Hilir was under a meter of water, while parts of Kapuk Muara subdistrict in North Jakarta reported water reaching up to 80 centimeters.

The traffic management center's Web site reported the three-in-one rule had been lifted due to the heavy traffic.

Inundated roads in Warung Buncit also paralyzed the TransJakarta busway route between Ragunan and Mampang. Traffic on Jalan Rasuna Said was at a standstill, with commuters reporting that cars did not move for more than two hours. Many people opted to walk, sloshing through the water next to the gridlock of traffic and paralyzed busway routes.

"I usually take public transportation such as buses or the busway, but none of them are available right now," said one commuter, Dinto Pramudyo. It took Deni Ferdian four hours to get home to Depok from his office in Mampang, normally a 45-minute trip. "My parents, who both work in Slipi, left for their home in Kelapa Gading at 5 p.m. and they're not there yet," Angela Beata Yachya said at 10 p.m.

The Jakarta crisis management center reported that the surge against the floodgates in Karet, South Jakarta, had reached the critical level of 630 centimeters at the peak of the storm, with other flood channels at or near capacity citywide.

Trains from Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta to Serpong were delayed for four hours after water from the West Flood Canal inundated several sections of track as well as stations in Palmerah, Kebayoran and Pondok Ranji.

"Water started to flood in at 4:10 p.m. We have notified all the passengers at our stations and suggested they try to take alternative means of transport," said Mateta Rizalulhaq, the Jakarta region spokesman for state-owned rail operator Kereta Api. However, many opted to wait, discouraged by the traffic outside, he said.

Ade Pudjiati, who operates a learning center at her home in Pancoran, South Jakarta, said her house was flooded, ankle deep, for the first time in 46 years.

Ery Basworo, who heads the Jakarta Public Works Office, said work was still ongoing at several main drainage systems. "But since it's the rainy season I think it's going to be delayed," he said.

Yayat Supriatna, an urban planning expert from Trisakti University, said Monday's floods were worse than the normal annual floods.

"The annual floods happen at regular places, so people can take precautions, but this one happened at main roads and took everyone by surprise, effectively paralyzing the city," he said. "Officials time and time again blame this on the rain, and act like there is nothing they can do, which is very fatalistic," he said.

'It was the worst traffic I have ever seen in Jakarta'

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Cameron Bates, Ulma Haryanto & Kinanti Pinta Karana, Jakarta – Jakarta Globe readers and Facebook and Twitter followers have shared their stories from Monday, when heavy rains brought Indonesia's capital city to a grinding halt.

Office worker Edison Vincentius said a meeting he had scheduled for 3 p.m. at Wisma Mulia on Gatot Subroto was canceled due to "knee-deep floodwaters" outside the building so he attempted to drive home to Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta.

"It took me 2.5 hours to get to the traffic lights near Taman Anggrek Mall," Edison said, "and that's when my misery started. The traffic didn't move at all from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Cars, motorcycles, buses, everything, were stuck. People simply turned off their engines because there was nothing they could do."

He said floodwaters in front of Citraland and Indosiar television station were to blame. "Busway corridor VIII stopped operating because the traffic was totally jammed from the direction of Tomang to the front of the Taman Anggrek Mall. Corridor III that connects Pulo Gadung and Kali Deres was the same. The busway lane could not be used because the road in front of Roxy [Mall] was inundated," he said.

He said he was finally able to make it home at 12:30. With persistent, medium to heavy rains again expected on Tuesday, Edison said he would be better prepared today.

"I will keep the meeting short, so we can return to the office immediately. I have also charged my phone. I have prepared snacks, drinks, hand- sanitizer, extra clothing, a plastic bag, raincoat, and empty bottles just in case I need to go to the bathroom on the road," he said.

There were numerous other stories of workers being forced to walk from the central city to South Jakarta because of the near total gridlock and severed roads and busway lines.

Nurini Widowati told the Globe that she was one of many "thousands of victims" caught out, spending six hours aboard a public bus traveling from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to Planet Hollywood on Jalana Gatot Subroto.

"It was the most horrible traffic I've ever seen in the 10 years I have lived here in Jakarta," Nurini said, adding that if her husband had not come to pick her up, it would have been dawn before she reached home. "I do hope, that there is 'something' the government could do to avoid another tragedy. The sad thing is some people lost their lives because of the flood and the traffic."

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo is yet to make a statement on the floods. During the time of the chaos, he was attending a United Nations Day celebration at the Sultan Hotel.

There are reports that at least one person was electrocuted in their home due to floodwaters, while at least one other student, Dian Nur Afrianti, 21, was swept away to their death. Reports said she was standing a bus shelter in South Jakarta when she was hit by a wall of water.

The electrocuted victim was identified as Dimas Bagus, 31. His brother, Oling, told the Globe that Dimas was killed as he attempted to move valuables out of his flooding home.

Rahma e-mailed the Globe to say that the traffic congestion was "the worst traffic jam that I ever experienced during my life in Jakarta," which is quite some statement because he spends six hours every day commuting to work from his home in Tangerang.

He said during his seven-hour return journey home, he was confronted with a number of surreal scenes, including scores of broken down vehicles and even a drenched woman crying on the side of the road because she couldn't get home. They were able to help the poor woman home, who appeared to be having a breakdown due to stress.

Vissy Pressia Arifin, who was raised in Jakarta but spent most of her adult life abroad, said in the 10 months that she had been back in Jakarta she could see why "so many people get depressed." She said she paid Rp 500,000 ($56) for a 6.5-hour cab fare from Kelapa Gading to Mampang.

Wita Waisnawan said Monday night was "really hell." He said he was forced to walk through floodwaters along Jalan Thamrin where his office was located to the Dukuh Atas train station, where the heavy rain had caused havoc with the signal lights, resulting in the cancellation of a number of services. What was normally a one-hour trip became a five-hour ordeal, he said. "This city is no longer appropriate to live in or work in," he said.

Mira, an engineer who works for city-owned water company PT Palyja, said it took her 5.5 hours to get from her office in Pejompongan, Central Jakarta, to her home in Ciganjur, South Jakarta. Mira said she was left stranded after floodwaters severed the TransJakarta Busway corridor to Ragunan.

She said walked to Duren Tiga in the hope of catching a ride to Pasar Minggu bus station. "But when I got to Duren Tiga, I was stuck because the street was flooded. So I just stood there and I didn't know what else to do," she said. Fortunately, a teenage boy on a motorcycle stopped and offered her a ride to Pasar Minggu, she said.

"He was wearing a senior high school uniform. I said 'yes' without thinking and he took me to Lenteng Agung. From there, I took a cab home and arrived at 10:30 p.m.," Mira said, adding that she forgot to ask the boy's name. "I like to believe that he's an angel, I didn't even see his face because he was wearing a helmet."

Meliana Lumban Raja, writing on the Jakarta Globe Facebook, said the journey from Karawaci to Slipi took six hours.

Dina Begum, on the other hand, was not quite so put out. "I work at home so it was no problem for me," she wrote. This story is developing.

Transport & communication

Indonesia's new cars overtake slow road building

Reuters - October 26, 2010

Neil Chatterjee, Jakarta – Indonesia is selling cars faster than it is building roads, increasing gridlock in cities and doing its efforts to attract foreign investment no favors.

Analysts expect Southeast Asia's largest economy to build just 14 kilometers of toll roads next year, about as much road as India is building each day.

By contrast, the record number of 700,000 new cars being sold in Indonesia this year would stretch 2,800 km if placed end-to-end – as long as the main islands of Java and Sumatra together – based on cars from dominant seller Toyota.

"How to accelerate infrastructure development, how to build more toll roads... that's something we are waiting for," said Standard Chartered economist Fauzi Ichsan in Jakarta, a city where traffic and heavy rains can lead to four-hour commutes.

Indonesia's investment chief Gita Wirjawan told Reuters there was no point making cars if there were no roads, and building infrastructure could not stay as just rhetoric. The problem is not only in Jakarta. Cities such as Balikpapan in coal-rich Borneo are now full of new sports utility vehicles.

The government aims to get 800 kilometers of toll roads built by the end of its term in 2014, though infrastructure analyst Pandu Anugrah at Bahana Securities in Jakarta sees just half of this being realised – still a sharp improvement if it happens.

The focal point is the Trans-Java toll road, which would cross the archipelago's main volcano-studded island to aid the country's economic growth through improving trade.

However, it was due for completion in 2009. Wrangling over land acquisition means construction on some sections may not start until 2013. The collapse this year of a new road being built to Jakarta's main port is symbolic of efforts so far.

Inadequate transport infrastructure in the archipelago, from a lack of good roads and railways to a deadly air and shipping safety record, has long been a deterrent to attracting investors.

Now, with demand from a youthful population for consumer products booming and the government clamoring for foreign firms to use commodities from metals to cocoa to manufacture higher-value products locally, investors such as private equity firms are eyeing infrastructure as an investment opportunity.

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, under pressure over the slow pace of action so far, plans to increase infrastructure spending by 28 percent next year to $13.6 billion, to build roads, bridges and new airports. A law to speed up land acquisition for infrastructure is also expected.

"There are three main issues that we face in the toll road industry: land acquisition, land acquisition, and land acquisition," Frans Sunito, the chief executive of the country's top toll builder Jasa Marga, said. "We're like a racing car waiting for its track to be built."

But Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo's main priority is not to blow his budget as he hopes for an investment grade sovereign rating next year, which would drive down his borrowing costs.

Martowardojo admits the state can only fund 35 percent of $140 billion of infrastructure needs in the next five years, leaving it reliant for two- thirds on public-private partnerships – a ratio many feel is not achievable given the investment risk.

"The thousands of kilometers of planned roads are not happening because the investment is not being released," said Malcolm Llewellyn, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce and a long-term Indonesia resident. "Sorting out the roads is essential for us all and it will take 10 years."

Literature & the arts

Indonesia's first English newspaper

Jakarta Globe - October 25, 2010

Tim Hannigan – The Jakarta Globe might be Indonesia's newest English language newspaper, but which was its first? Many people assume that it was the Jakarta Post (founded in 1983), those with longer memories might recall the now defunct Indonesian Times (launched in 1974), or the Indonesian Observer (founded in 1955).

Fans of historic trivia might even suggest the short-lived Independent, a weekly newssheet printed in Jakarta at the end of World War II during the Allied re-occupation of Indonesia.

But in truth the inky ancestor of all those publications first rolled off the presses almost 200 years ago. Its name was the Java Government Gazette. In 1811, Britain occupied Java, ousting Dutch colonial forces from the East Indies.

The invasion was a far-flung sideshow of the Napoleonic Wars causing havoc in Europe at the time: France had annexed Holland, making Dutch overseas possessions de facto enemy territory in British eyes. For five years, Java and a scattering of other archipelago outposts were under a British administration based in Jakarta, then known as Batavia.

Under the energetic lieutenant governor, Thomas Stamford Raffles (who later founded Singapore), the administration implemented all sorts of changes – Indonesian traffic today travels on left as in Britain thanks to laws laid down in this period, for example.

Among the first innovations was the launch of a weekly newspaper. An entire printing press was shipped in from Calcutta, but before the first edition of the Java Government Gazette hit the stands, the chief printer, Dr. Hunter, succumbed to Batavia's notoriously insalubrious climate, and it was his young assistant, Amos H. Hubbard, who oversaw the launch of the paper.

Hubbard came from a family of venerable American newsmen. His father was the proprietor of the Norwich Courier in Connecticut, and his older brother, Thomas, had worked as a government printer for the British in Calcutta.

Hubbard was the printer and the acting editor of the Gazette for its entire run. The first edition of the Java Government Gazette was delivered to subscribers on Feb. 29, 1812, and for the next four years it appeared without fail every Saturday.

It was a broadsheet, more or less the same size as your modern Globe, though it usually ran to only four pages. The paper's principal role was as a government mouthpiece.

The first column on its front page was usually taken up by the latest pronouncements from the lieutenant governor on issues as diverse as the official prices of opium and arak (palm wine), slave laws and the value of the official paper currency.

A strap-line under the imposing masthead declared that all such notifications were to "be considered official, and duly attended to accordingly by the parties concerned."

Many Dutch citizens remained in Java during the British rule and these notices were usually also translated into Dutch.

But there was more to the Gazette than pronouncements and propaganda. Scattered in its pages were intriguing advertisements for everything from "handsome second-hand carriages" to "valuable men and women slaves."

There were also lively correspondence columns featuring haughty discussions of moral issues such as slavery and dueling, flowery poems from contributors and the occasional bout of literary bickering.

There was also plenty of local news. Dramatic reports of bloody British victories over local rulers in Palembang and Yogyakarta were not uncommon, while descriptions of more peaceful encounters – usually penned by Hubbard himself – were full of intriguing color.

In March 1812, the Gazette reported a picnic hosted for the Sultans of Cirebon in Batavia. The entertainment consisted of a "Malay dance" which did not go down well with the European observers: "Their uncouth attitude and gestures surprised the English spectators, whilst they evidently delighted the Javanese nobility."

According to the article, following the festivities, the guests were ferried to a specially constructed bamboo bungalow on stilts in the middle of the Ciliwung River to engage in a spot of fishing.

Later the same year, the Gazette carried its debut sports report, covering the results of the first annual Salatiga horse races, held in the hills of Central Java.

There were also unintentionally hilarious editorials passing judgment on the standards of dress amongst Batavia's resident Dutch women, and ethnographic reports on Balinese princes and Kalimantan tribes from intrepid English travelers.

The second half of the paper was filled with international news usually lifted wholesale from any Calcutta and London papers that arrived with passengers disembarking from sailing ships at Batavia's teeming harbor.

News of the wars in Europe was often six months out-of-date. When a particularly exciting batch of overseas newspapers arrived in town, a special edition of the Gazette was hurried out midweek.

Editor Hubbard also oversaw the publication of the Java Annual Directory, which included full listings of government officials, services and private businesses, and was available to Gazette subscribers for 8 Java rupees (non-subscribers had to pay the full 12).

In 1815, the Napoleonic Wars came to an end, and Dutch sovereignty was re- established as Britain agreed to hand back the Indonesian territories it had seized four years earlier. Raffles left for England in early 1816, and later in the year Dutchman Godert van der Capellen arrived to oversee the restoration of Dutch rule.

The Java Government Gazette limped on for a few months, and its front pages were peppered with advertisements for passages to England and for auctions of English homes and household goods. Its readership was vanishing, and the number of columns filled with Dutch text rose.

The last edition of the Gazette went out to its dwindling body of subscribers on Aug. 10, 1816, almost exactly five years after the British first arrived in Java. The paper was later replaced by the Dutch-language Bataviasche Courant.

Today, the role of the Java Government Gazette as the predecessor of modern Indonesia's entire English-language print media has been largely forgotten, and back copies are few and far between.

As for what happened to the erstwhile editor, Hubbard – he did not join the initial English exodus in 1816. What he did after the Gazette folded is not clear, but a rather sad little "situation wanted" ad near the bottom of page one of the last edition offers a clue:

"A YOUNG MAN, who understands the Dutch Language, would have no objections to engage himself in any of the Merchant Houses – for particulars enquire at the Printing Office."

The following year, Hubbard chartered a ship, filled its hold with his goods, and headed home to America. It was probably the best decision he could have made – he would have had a rather long wait for the next editorial position on an English language publication in Indonesia.

Sacred Cows and Burning Widows Feb. 29, 1812

A tantalizing glimpse of life in Bali: "The Bali people pay divine honors to the Cow; they do not make use of its hide, nor will they sit upon it from reverential respect. The wife burns herself with the body of her deceased husband, she ascends the funeral pile, adorned with flowers, and holding in her hand a dove, which she liberates. On the bird's flying off she leaps voluntarily into the fire."

Toothless and Clueless Thieves Flee April 25, 1812

A pair of Indian servants on the run: "On Saturday morning, the 25th April, 1812, deserted from Surabaya, two Bengal servants, both named Peerbuccus, after robbing their employers of a considerable amount. One of them is a robust-looking man, about 35 years of age, and has lost many of his front teeth; he speaks the Malay language tolerable fluently, and has rather an effeminate voice. The other is a very tall, thin, black, miserable-looking creature, has no one good quality to recommend him and may be easily known from his great stupidity which approaches nearly to idiotism. Any person giving information so as they may be apprehended, shall be handsomely rewarded"

New Fashion Hits Batavia May 2, 1812

An editorial praises the latest trends among ladies of the city: "At the entertainment recently given at Batavia it was remarked how great an improvement has been introduced in respect to the attire of the Dutch Ladies since British authority has been established. The Cabaya appears now generally disused and the more elegant English costume adopted. We congratulate our friends on the amelioration of the public taste, because we see in it the dawn of still greater and more important improvements."

Poison Pen Writer Says Sorry Dec. 12, 1813

A court-sanctioned apology from a foul-mouthed tax dodger, who "neglected to pay certain duties at Batavia": "I John Williams Welsh, formerly known by the name of John Williams, commanding the ship Claudine, do this eleventh day of December 1813, before the Supreme Court of Judicature in Batavia, declare that on the ninth day of April 1812, I did at Surabaya write a most false, malicious, abusive and threatening letter, addressed to Messrs Wallis and Co. Prize Agents for the Captors of Java, and I do acknowledge that I wrote this letter under the impulse of passion, for had I at the time been capable of reflection, I must have been sensible that I had no reason whatever for using such gross and improper language."

Rumble in the Jungle Dec. 14, 1814 A gruesome report of a fight between a tiger and a buffalo, a traditional entertainment for the guest of the sultan in Yogyakarta: "A Royal Tyger... was enclosed together with a very fine Buffaloe of the true fighting breed, within a strong circular fence of about thirty yards in circumference. For some moments they stood on the defensive, each seeming unwilling to begin the fight; the appearance of the Tyger during this interval was highly characteristic of his nature; he seemed perfectly aware of the prowess of his adversary, and would fain have avoided the impending contest – his furious eyes which glared like fireballs, darted in wistful glances around him, apparently in search of the means of escape or of a less powerful antagonist on whom to wreak his vengeance. Meantime the Buffaloe stood as if conscious of superiority, steadily awaiting the attack of his formidable adversary. This state of inaction might have lasted for some time had not the Buffaloe been aroused to furious pitch of irritation by the application of bunches of nettles attached to long bamboos, which with the assistance of chilly water which was poured on him from above seemed at once to exhaust his caution and forbearance; he roared with pain and indignation, spurned the ground he trod on, and then darted with inconceivable velocity on his wary antagonist, who avoided his horns and fastened on his neck, which tore in a dreadful manner. As soon as the Buffaloe disengaged himself he charged again but with equal ill success, the Tyger still avoided the fury of his onset, yet seldom failed to inflict some terrible wound upon his opponent. In this manner the battle raged for nearly an hour, when the Buffaloe, contrary to the usual result, was completely defeated."

The Java Government Gazette functioned as the British government's mouthpiece in Indonesia. Besides the propaganda, however, the paper also contained advertisements, correspondence columns, editorials as well as local and international news. Launched in 1812, the Java Government Gazette was the forerunner of the country's English-language print media.

Armed forces & defense

Army speeds up top promotions

Jakarta Post - October 30, 2010

Arya Dipa, Bandung – The Indonesian Army is stepping up the development of top officers to prepare them to be future leaders, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Toisutta said Friday.

In the latest development, he said, the Army had promoted Maj. Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo – the Siliwangi Military Commander overseeing security in West Java and Banten provinces – to lead the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad).

Pramono is the younger brother-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his recent appointment has been met with suspicion of cronyism, something the Army has fiercely denied.

Born in 1955, Pramono is the son of Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, one of the troops who helped bring in the New Order under Lt. Gen. Soeharto in 1965-1966. Soeharto was later sworn in as president and ruled the country with an iron fist for 32 years before being forced to step down in 1998.

Some observers believe Pramono's appointment was fast-tracked by Yudhoyono's Democratic Party to allow him to enter the presidential race in 2014, as Yudhoyono cannot seek a third term because of constitutional limits.

Despite handily winning the 2009 general elections, the Democratic Party has no strong candidates to field for the 2014 presidential race. "The promotion of officers groomed to be future leaders will be speeded up," Toisutta said.

The accelerated promotions will affect Academy alumni who graduated between 1976 and 1980. Toisutta said the number of senior officers from these years was a lot less than the graduating classes of 1973, 1974 and 1975. In Indonesian military politics, the year of graduation plays an important role in hierarchy and promotion.

"The number of senior officers from 1976 to 1980 is the same as from 1975. The regeneration should be speeded up to fill strategic posts," Toisutta said.

On Friday, Pramono handed over his post as Siliwangi Military Commander to Maj. Gen. Moeldoko, a 1981 Academy graduate. Moeldoko leaves his role as Tanjung Pura Military Commander overseeing security in South and West Kalimantan. Based in the West Kalimantan capital of Pontianak, Tanjung Pura is a new military command officially inaugurated on June 1, 2010.

Toisutta played down criticism of the promotions, saying there was nothing suspicious about them. Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Suwarno Widjanarko said the number of senior officers who graduated from the Academy in 1975 was the same as the number of graduates between 1977 and 1980.

"There are only about 100 graduates from between 1977 and 1980. Currently, there are 300 cadets at the Academy. Unless regeneration is speeded up, there will be unfilled posts when officers from the graduating classes of 1975 and 1976 retire," he said.

Widjanarko added that accelerated regeneration within the Army had been planned for far into the future by past Army leaders. He also said regeneration would be implemented in all "strategic Army positions".

Police & law enforcement

Bambang ends two years of turmoil with two words: 'I'm sorry'

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – Outgoing National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri took the unusual step of apologizing on Monday for any wrongdoings his officers had committed on his watch, including violence, extortion and case-fixing.

Speaking at his last scheduled news conference, Bambang said the public would judge what kind of job he did as the nation's top police officer, but he took responsibility, not very convincingly, for misdeeds within the force, without naming any.

"Let the public decide [if I was a success]," said Bambang, who leaves office on Wednesday. "But I apologize if during my term there were things we did not achieve. I also apologize if any of my officers engineered cases or committed violence and extortion."

With the National Police a habitual target of public anger and accusations of corruption, Bambang appealed for understanding and said he had done his best to steer a consistent course. "Please support the new police chief," he said of his successor, Comr. Gen. Timur Pradopo, who was formally appointed last Friday.

In a reflective mood after two tumultuous years that saw officers under his command accusing one another of fixing cases, accepting bribes and framing suspects, he even thanked NGOs and the media for criticizing his policies. "Once again, I want to convey my apologies if I failed," he said.

He was careful, however, to deny that the high-profile abuse of power case against Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was fabricated – a charge that NGOs, human rights groups and others have made repeatedly. "We did not engineer anything against them," Bambang said.

Bambang said he was prepared to be summoned in a legal proceeding to explain what happened during his term, but said the new chief would handle the case.

A group of nongovernmental organizations recently said there were dozens of documented cases of abuse involving police officers over the past two years, a sign that reforms have yet to yield results within the National Police.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has said that torture and ill-treatment of suspects in police custody is still rampant 12 years after Indonesia ratified the UN Convention Against Torture.

Meanwhile, Indonesia Corruption Watch has said it will report more than a dozen senior police officers with suspicious bank accounts to the KPK.

Mining & energy

Indonesian government eyeing Bangka island for two nuclear power plants

Jakarta Globe - October 28, 2010

Ririn Radiawati Kusuma, Jakarta – The National Nuclear Energy Agency on Thursday said it was looking for locations on Bangka Island to build two large nuclear power plants worth Rp 54 trillion ($6 billion).

Hudi Hastowo, the chief of the agency also known as Batan, said the agency had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bangka-Belitung provincial government on Tuesday regarding plans to build the nuclear plants on Bangka. "We are doing the survey, but I have not yet received the results," he said.

Herman Agustiawan, a member of the National Energy Council, said the government planned to build two nuclear plants on Bangka: A 10,000 megawatt plant in west Bangka and an 8,000 megawatt plant in south Bangka. "The governor already agreed and there is no complaint from the public," he said.

Herman said all the necessary legal paperwork had been completed to proceed – except for the permission of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "As soon as the president says 'go nuclear' we will start to build it," he said, adding that construction could begin as soon as 2011, and would take about 10 years.

Bangka was chosen partly because it is not located in the earthquake-prone region known as the Ring of Fire, Herman said. Plans to build nuclear power plants on Bangka follow Batan's defeated attempts to build a nuclear plant on the Muria Peninsula in Central Java.

In July, Hudi conceded that the government would be unlikely to meet its goal of building a nuclear power plant by 2016, due to strong opposition from residents of Jepara district on the Muria Peninsula, which forced Batan to abandon its plans there. He predicted then that it would take another two or three years to find a suitable location, given the need for painstaking studies.

The provincial administrations of Banten, Gorontalo, and West, South and East Kalimantan had also expressed an interest in hosting the nuclear plants after the Muria plant was abandoned.

Herman said the biggest remaining question was who would own and operate the plants. He said the government would form a team called the nuclear energy program implementation organization to decide whether the government or private sector would build and operate them.

Arif Fiyanto, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said the group would fight plans to build nuclear plants on Bangka. "It's SBY's commitment to not build nuclear power plants under his presidency," he said, referring to the president by his initials.

Arif said that recently the government had been promoting nuclear power through television advertisements. "But they only mention the good side of it." The bad side, he said, was that its radiation and waste could harm those living nearby.

House pulls the plug on electricity rate rise

Jakarta Globe - October 26, 2010

Ririn Radiawati Kusuma & Dion Bisara, Jakarta – The on-again, off-again electricity rate hike for next year is officially off, with the House of Representatives voting on Tuesday to approve a 2011 state budget that does not include a rate hike.

The decision was a major blow to state-electricity provider Perusahaan Listrik Negara because the government has slashed its electricity subsidy bill in the 2011 budget by 25 percent to Rp 41 trillion ($4.59 billion).

That figure, according to PLN executives, is not enough to cover operational costs. PLN said the operational cost shortfall without the power rate hikes is equivalent to Rp 12.7 trillion.

"We expect PLN can fix its performance so that we do not have to bear a high subsidy bill," said Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo, who was present during the voting.

The government has instructed PLN to cut as much as Rp 8.1 trillion in operating costs through converting diesel-powered generating plants to use cheaper natural gas, and trimming maintenance, human resources and administrative budgets. But the rest of the Rp 4.6 trillion in shortfalls remains PLN's big challenge.

The government has budgeted Rp 10 trillion in a "fiscal risk" budget, or funds that are set aside to cover any severe fluctuations in macro-economic indicators, such as oil prices, inflation or the foreign exchange rate, that may cause subsidies to soar. The government also owes Rp 4.6 trillion from an unpaid subsidy bill in 2009, but it plans to give the funds to PLN in 2012.

Agus said the fiscal risk budget is only for emergencies, and not applicable in PLN's case. The government had previously discussed raising the electricity rate by an average of 15 percent for next year after PLN made a request for an increase.

After a marathon debate with lawmakers in the House's Commission VII, which oversees energy issues, the government agreed to lower the hike to 5.4 percent. But strong cries of protest from business owners and the public over PLN's performance put pressure on lawmakers to refuse the rate hike plan.

Melchias Markus Mekeng, head of the House budget committee, said the government can use the remaining 2010 budget to cover the debt to PLN.

The decision to rule out an electricity rate hike was welcomed by Chris Kanter, a member of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), who said that with no increase in price, the private sector would have room to improve their competitiveness.

"It would be good for the companies. It means that we won't have to raise our operational costs. It makes our businesses steadier," he said, adding that he hoped the government would keep its promise and not reverse its decision during the process of revising the 2011 budget next year.

That budget was approved on Tuesday during a plenary session of the House. The 2011 budget sets a deficit of 1.8 percent of gross domestic product, equivalent to Rp 124.7 trillion, higher than the initial proposal of 1.7 percent of GDP. This year's deficit was set at 1.5 percent of GDP.

The economic growth target for next year is set at 6.4 percent, higher than the 6.3 percent the government had proposed. The rupiah was expected to hover at an average of Rp 9,250 per dollar, lower than the initial projection of Rp 9,300 per dollar.

The total energy subsidy for 2011 is set at Rp 136.6 trillion, compared to Rp 133.8 proposed by the government. The fuel subsidy was raised to Rp 95.9 trillion from Rp 92.8 trillion proposed. In total, government spending increased to Rp 1,229.5 trillion from Rp 1,202 trillion proposed by the government.

Economy & investment

Foreign investment in Indonesia up 32%, with property leading way

Jakarta Globe - October 31, 2010

Shirley Christie, Indonesia – Indonesia saw foreign direct investment jump 32 percent to Rp 111.1 trillion ($12.4 billion), excluding oil and gas, and banking, in the first nine months of the year, with the property sector attracting the most investment.

"The investment realization figures are very promising," Gita Wirjawan, chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), said at the board's headquarters in Jakarta on Sunday.

He said the increase had been supported by improvements in investment regulations and better coordination between the central and regional governments.

"If we continue to work hard to further enhance these synergies, I firmly believe this will continually be reflected in the investment figures," he said.

Eric Sugandi, an economist from Standard Chartered in Jakarta, backed Gita's assessment. "In 2009, investors might have had doubts, but this year they are confident," he said

The BKPM on Sunday announced investment figures from foreign and domestic investors. Foreign and domestic investment came to Rp 149.8 trillion this year through September.

Among notable recipients of foreign funding were the real estate, industrial estate and office-building sector, with $800 million. It was followed by mining ($700 million; 88 projects); transportation, storage and telecommunications ($600 million); foodstuffs ($400 million); and plantations ($300 million).

The BKPM also released data on domestic investment showing it had risen 36.5 percent to Rp 38.5 trillion from a year earlier.

The top five sectors were plantations (Rp 4.5 trillion); transportation, storage and telecommunications (Rp 3.1 trillion); foodstuffs (Rp 2.8 trillion); chemicals and pharmaceuticals (Rp 1.4 trillion); and other services (Rp 1.1 trillion).

"Besides a significant increase in the total investment figures, two positive outcomes must be underlined," Gita said. "The first is the increase in domestic investment, and the second an increase in investments outside of Java."

Investments outside Java, Indonesia's most populous island and economic hub, contributed 37.7 percent, or Rp 21.4 trillion, of the nation's total. Regional investment more than tripled from Rp 5.9 trillion a year earlier.

Foreign investors have been drawn by the country's resilience in the face of the global economic downturn. Indonesia' strong domestic market, paired with a lack of reliance on exports, saw the economy grow 4.5 percent last year as many of its regional rivals were mired in recession.

Indonesia's relatively high key interest rate of 6.5 percent has also drawn attention from investors seeking higher returns. Growing political stability and the prospect of gaining investment-grade ratings for sovereign debt have also reassured investors.

"Considering the realization through the third quarter of 2010, we are sure that the target of Rp 160.1 trillion is going to be accomplished. We might even surpass Rp 180 trillion by the end of year," said the BKPM's deputy chairman, M Yusan.

According to Fauzi Ichsan, another Standard Chartered economist, the key to making Indonesia more attractive is improving infrastructure, including roadways, power plants and harbors.

Beginning this year, investment figures have been gathered by a data collection agency, Investment Activity Reports (LKPM), which requires all companies to report investment realizations every quarter.

Last year, the calculation method was based on the issuance of permanent business licenses, under which companies reported investment only after the project was completed. The BKPM said the 2009 and 2010 figures were not directly comparable as a result.

The BKPM data excluded investment in the oil and gas sector, banking, non- banking financial institutions and leasing.

People

Obituary: Human rights campaigner Asmara Nababan dies at 64

Jakarta Post - October 29, 2010

Jakarta – Leading human rights activist Asmara Nababan died Thursday in Fuda Cancer Hospital, Guangzhou, China, where he was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. He was 64.

Asmara, who was diagnosed for cancer a year ago, had undergone surgery at Dharmais Hospital in Jakarta earlier. He had also sought treatment in Singapore. Doctors said his condition worsened after the cancer spread to his heart and brain.

Earlier this month, Asmara was admitted to Gading Pluit Hospital in Jakarta before departing for China on Oct. 12. He died following surgery earlier on Oct. 25.

His body will be laid to rest at his home on Jl. Rasamala Raya No. 31 in Pancoran, South Jakarta, from Sunday to Monday and will lie in state at the office of the National Commission on Human Rights in Central Jakarta on Tuesday morning.

A requiem will be held at Hang Lekiu HKBP Church before he is buried at Tanah Kusir public cemetery on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.

Asmara was born in Siborong-borong, North Tapanuli, North Sumatra, on Sept. 2, 1946. He married Magdalena Helmina Sitorus and had three children.

Asmara's interest in human rights began when he was a law student at the University of Indonesia in the 1960s. He was active a human rights advocate. He took part in an investigation led by the National Commission on Human Rights into mass killings in Aceh in 1994 and in Timika, Papua, in 1995. He was secretary-general of the Commission from 1998 to 2002.

Asmara also handled other cases of human rights abuses, including the bloody takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party's headquarters on July 27, 1996, the bloody riots in Jakarta and other cities between May 12 and 15, 1998, and the riots following the UN-sanctioned referendum in East Timor in 1999.

He once said that he was often subject to intimidation for his activity but that such threats failed to dampen his spirit. "My life and fate depend not on human rights abusers but on Almighty God. I am ready to die here and now if that's His will," he told The Jakarta Post in 2005.

Asmara also contributed to civil society movements in the country by cofounding the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam).

His last post was as executive director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (Demos), which he established with other human rights and democracy advocates such as the late Munir, the late Th. Sumartana and Arief Budiman.

"Bang [brother] As [as Asmara was colloquially called] was our teacher, friend and father. He was a loyal figure in the struggle to defend human rights. He is a role model of consistency and courage in struggling for human values," Kontras chairman Haris Azhar said. "He fully dedicated his life to efforts to promote democracy, defend victims of human rights violations and empower civil society." (lnd)

Human right activist Asmara Nababan dies at 64

Jakarta Globe - October 28, 2010

Ulma Haryanto, Jakarta – Asmara Nababan, a prominent Indonesian human rights activist passed away at the age of 64 on Thursday morning after battling pulmonary cancer.

He was taken to Fuda Hospital in Guangzhou, China on Oct. 12 when his health deteriorated.

Asmara's nephew, journalist Putra Nababan, confirmed the news of his uncle's death. "He was treated in the ICU for a week but his condition worsened this morning," he told the Globe.

Asmara was pronounced dead at 12:30 p.m. local time. "His wife and children were there with him. They are in a meeting to discuss when the body can be flown to Indonesia, because they have to follow the regulations there. We hope this will be as soon as possible," Putra said.

Asmara was the secretary general of the National Human Rights Commission. Before he fell ill, he was the chairman of the Democracy Research Center, which he founded with other human right activists such as Munir Said Thalib and Arief Budiman.

Analysis & opinion

Jakarta set on military shopping spree

Asia Times - October 26, 2010

Trefor Moss – Southeast Asia's sleeping giant has begun to make some surprisingly wakeful noises. After decades of underinvestment and international isolation, the Indonesian Armed Forces, known as the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI), are set for a capability overhaul that could reset the strategic balance of the Asia-Pacific region – at least if the ambitious pronouncements of Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro are anything to go by.

Having painstakingly assembled its first squadron of 10 modern Sukhoi fighter aircraft over the course of the last decade, the TNI's under- strength air force now aims to put together another nine Sukhoi squadrons in remarkably short order, Purnomo announced in late September – that's 180 planes in total by around 2024. This would be in addition to the 50 next-generation fighters which Jakarta agreed in July to develop jointly with South Korea, and which could also be in service by the early 2020s.

Plans to buy two new submarines, probably from Russia or South Korea, are more in keeping with Jakarta's traditionally modest levels of aspiration. More striking, however, was Purnomo's insistence that the procurement program would be used to secure an indigenous submarine-building capability, enabling Indonesian shipbuilder PT Pal to build additional boats domestically. A pledge from Purnomo to invest in a range of airborne and naval assets to improve maritime surveillance further promises to redress a long-standing imbalance in Indonesia's defense apparatus, and bring the neglected navy and air force into line with the army, whose political influence has always enabled it to monopolize scarce defense dollars.

The question is whether Purnomo's grand plans will founder on the same financial and political rocks that have sunk TNI modernization drives in the past. The minister himself remains under intense scrutiny; as government appointments go, Purnomo's was a strange one. His predecessor, Juwono Sudarsono, was widely regarded as a capable technocrat with solid defense credentials, while Purnomo, appointed in 2009, brought with him a blotted copybook from the energy ministry and nothing in the way of defense pedigree.

However, it would be a mistake to dismiss Purnomo's ideas as the overreaching of a novice. In late October, Indonesian lawmakers showed a desire to fund the minister's plans by agreeing to increase the country's 2011 defense budget to US$6.3 billion (over $1 billion more than previously contemplated), potentially taking spending beyond the 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) threshold for the first time in many years. Strong economic growth of around 7% annually could now enable President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to realize his stated aim of increasing the defense budget to 1.5% of GDP by 2014.

Nonetheless, these boosts in funding may still trail Purnomo's big-ticket procurement aims. "The ambition is there and the need is real," says Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a former assistant minister of foreign affairs and now with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. "Defense has been neglected for so long and Indonesia needs to rebuild. But Purnomo is really talking about aspirations – there is a huge gap between desired needs and what Indonesia can realistically achieve. At the level of real procurement, the government will still be aiming only for the minimum."

Talk of acquiring 180 Sukhois might indeed be fanciful, yet Anwar defends the Sukhoi program from criticisms that the money spent on the one squadron assembled thus far could have been put to better use. "The Sukhois are more than just a prestige project," she insists. "Of course, one squadron is not enough – but there's been no money for any more than that. Right now it has an important training function." Anwar agrees that a sharper focus is needed on basic naval procurement: she applauds the defense ministry's ongoing attempts to procure new frigates for the navy, but reckons that 300 new ships are needed to give the island nation the navy it requires.

Even with rising budgets, Jakarta will almost certainly improve its defense capabilities more gradually than Purnomo's blue-sky thinking might suggest. For countries like Australia and Malaysia, which would be wary of a militarily more capable Indonesia, this is an important consideration. "There's a perception in Indonesia that the country's military weakness has been taken advantage of by neighboring countries," says Anwar, "but there's no clamor for us to have more planes than Malaysia, or anything like that. Indonesia is a developing country. We are not ambitious militarily, and will not sacrifice any development projects for defense."

Just as important as updating the TNI's aging inventory is the boost that an increased defense budget could give to Indonesia's military reform process. Off-budget funding has always been a serious barrier to TNI professionalization, and adequate central funding should finally enable the government to force the military to divest its business interests – if there is the political will to do so.

In this respect, the Yudhoyono presidency has a mixed record: while the TNI has been removed from front-line politics, it retains some important privileges, chiefly its territorial command structure, which enhances the army's ability to operate locally without too much oversight from Jakarta. However, new allegations of army abuses in Papua could force the government into a further wave of military reform, according to Anwar. "Papua certainly puts pressure on the government," she says. "There must be an end to the military's impunity."

To a change-averse military, the bitter pill of reform would certainly be sweetened by a clear government commitment to a properly funded modernization program. As such, Purnomo's ambitious plans – even if they are over-ambitious – should be welcomed. As Western militaries contend with sinking morale in the face of budget cuts and program cancellations, the Indonesian military finds itself in the happy position of dealing with a ministry of defense imbued with a new culture of aspiration backed up, for the first time, by budgetary resources.

If Purnomo now satisfies the TNI by delivering on at least half of his procurement promises, he could buy invaluable space for the government to pursue further military reforms - reforms which, as events in Papua suggest, need to be driven through.

[Trefor Moss is a freelance journalist who covers Asian politics, in particular defense, security and economic issues. He is a former Asia- Pacific Editor of Jane's Defense Weekly.]

How low can the House go?

Jakarta Post Editorial - October 26, 2010

It doesn't get any lower than this. Or does it? The Honorary Board of the House of Representatives has launched an investigation into allegations of sexual impropriety among legislators. Some of the elected representatives quickly went up in arms responding to this news last week, stating that such behavior was only human even though deplorable, that it was not confined to politicians only and that this can be found in other professions. Point well taken, dear honorary members, but we still want to see the sex-scandal investigation proceed.

This is only the latest scandal to hit the House that is undermining its already tattered public reputation and image. So what else is new?

House members are already embroiled by criticism over their planned foreign trips. The latest was the group from the Honorary Board, which left for Greece on the weekend supposedly on a comparative study to look into ethics in politics.

The fact that this trip, and others by other House groups earlier, went ahead in spite of public criticism, provides further evidence of how insensitive, deaf and unethical, our elected representatives have become toward those who put them there.

Earlier in the year, the House had to scrap a plan to renovate the House building after reports surfaced that the new facility would include a spa and other luxury amenities that do not befit the House's main function as the representatives of the people. On this one, at least the House was responsive toward public sentiments.

But why is the House coming under so much attention and why are the public and media scrutinizing just about every single move it makes?

These are highly paid elected politicians who live off taxpayers' money. So, naturally the people demand a better performance.

One year since these elected politicians were installed, their performance has been nothing but disappointing. They were fortunate that most of the attention and criticism this month went to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who also marked the first anniversary of his second term in office. This does not mean, however, that the House has been spared from the people's wrath.

The spate of scandals and scathing public criticism suggest that the House has been under close public scrutiny all year round, so much so that most of us missed the one-year anniversary when it happened.

Our elected representatives have enjoyed a high public profile in the past year, but this has not been matched by what they actually have delivered. The House spent considerable time picking on high profile cases, such as the Bank Century scandal and its scathing attacks against Malaysia, all of which sustained them in the news every night. But on legislation, which is its other main duty, the House has very little to show for.

The House has scaled down its ambitious target of deliberating and passing 70 bills in its first year to 40, and even this seems ambitious by late October. At the last count, they have passed 20 bills, and most were minor and insignificant legislations. Yet, our democracy and nation building hinges on how fast the House can pass these badly needed laws.

People have been urging President Yudhoyono to replace his Cabinet members who fall short of expectations after one year. If the same criterion was used in judging House members, we should probably replace the entire 550 elected legislators for their poor performance in the last 12 months.

Unfortunately, we are stuck with this bunch of mostly political clowns for four more years. If only to keep the people amused, then bring the sex scandals to the surface. It is still not worth the taxpayers' money we spend on them, but at least we learn who is sleeping with who, and who is just simply sleeping on the job.

There may be some entertainment value there after all, which is better than nothing.

Civilised society has no place for torture

Jakarta Globe Editorial - October 23, 2010

Torture has no place in a modern, civilized society. Period. It is thus distressing to learn that certain members of the military have engaged in such practices against innocent civilians in Papua.

After more than a decade of democratic reforms, especially within the security forces, the emergence of evidence of the torture carried out by soldiers is inexcusable.

The video of two Papuans being burned and beaten has been played and viewed worldwide, damaging the reputation of both the nation and the institution.

Indonesia has boasted of its record of protecting human rights in recent years. Even terrorists who have been arrested have been allowed due process and tried in an open court.

Human rights form a fundamental principle of democracy and must be protected at all costs. This latest incident clearly undermines this belief.

To its credit, the TNI has not attempted to conceal the episode or sweep it under the rug. Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs, Djoko Suyanto, speaking to journalists after a limited cabinet meeting to discuss the video, has said the military was still investigating the report.

"But the preliminary explanation is that the incident really took place, and it is true that the perpetrators are members of the military," Djoko said.

This is a good start toward tackling the problem. The military must conduct a transparent and thorough investigation into the incident and punish those involved.

And the sanctions meted out should be proportionate to the crime they did as well as to the damage it inflicted on the country's image. The military must also apologize and compensate the Papuans who were tortured and also ensure the safety of the witnesses and their families.

A professional and disciplined military is critical to national defense and to countering separatist movements.

Excessive actions and physical abuse by soldiers in the field in handling those who have been arrested or suspected of waging war against the state not only damages the reputation of the TNI but is also counter-productive.

To effectively fight a separatist movement, the army must win over the confidence and trust of the local population.

The economic and prosperity approach taken by the government in dealing with Papua is not enough. Despite the billions poured into Papua and neighboring West Papua, resentment against the central government has remained high.

Torturing civilians will only drive a wedge between the military and local communities, making it significantly more difficult to achieve the stated objective.

We hope the torture captured on video is a one-off incident and not systemic within the organization. It will be difficult for the TNI to win the trust of the Papuans after this but making a public apology will go a long way toward healing the open wound.