Bogor – Residents in Ciawi, Bogor, took to the street on Monday protesting the activities of some drinking water supply companies which they accused of damaging roads in their neighborhood.

People in two villages in Ciawi staged the protest by sealing off the road leading to the companies' water collection points and occupied a water refill depot run by the errant companies.

The residents of Cibeduk and Banjar Baru villages said that the 8 kilometer road connecting their villages with Ciawi was badly damaged, as indicated by the potholes and puddles dotting the road, and accused the private company, CV Mata Air Pangrango, of being responsible for causing the damage.

"We usually live peacefully. The roads were well-paved but now it's different," local leader Marzuki said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Responding to the outcry, head of Ciawi sub-district Ade Hasrat said that he would enforce regulation more strictly. "The road can only withstand at most five tons of load and we will ensure that that is enforced," he said.

Protestors demand police arrest thugs

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2011

Palu – Hundreds of people from the Palu Anti-violence Coalition staged a rally to demand that police arrest the perpetrators of an attack on a media office.

The protesters met with Palu Police chief Snr. Comr. Dewa Parsana and local councilor As'ad Lawali.

A group of people calling themselves the Kaili Youth Front (FPK) attacked reporters Thursday at the Indonesian Journalists Alliance (AJI) office, leaving several injured. One of the victims appeared on television to show his injuries.

The attack was in retaliation for news reports that the FPK had vandalized the offices of the Palu branch of the National Committee of Indonesian Youth (KNPI) earlier following the election for a new committee leader, which FPK leader Erwin Lamporo lost.

"If in 48 hours the perpetrators are not caught, we will stage a larger demonstration. Our rallies are also being held in other places in Indonesia," AJI official M. Ridwan Lapasere said.

Aceh

Light sentence sought in military officer's assault on journalist

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2011

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – A military prosecutor has lowered his demand for punishment from five years to less than 10 months in jail for a former intelligence officer who attacked a journalist and threatened to kill him and his family in Aceh in May.

Military prosecutor Maj. Jamingun told the Iskandar Muda tribunal hearing on Thursday that First Lt. Faizal Amin was guilty of inflicting a grievous assault on Ahmadi, a reporter for the Harian Aceh daily newspaper.

Jamingun said the defendant had kicked and punched Ahmadi before threatening to kill him and his family if the journalist continued to report on the alleged role of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) in illegal logging activities in Simeulue, an island off Aceh.

The 29-year-old officer has since been removed from his post within the military intelligence division for his violent actions against Ahmadi.

"We demand the panel of judges sentence [Faizal] to 10 months in jail, minus the time already served in detention," Jamingun told the hearing presided over by Judge C.H.K. Waluyo.

"We also demand the court return all evidence to the concerned parties – the pistol fired by the defendant to scare the victim should be returned to the defendant and the laptop and mobile phone forcibly taken from Ahmadi should be returned to Ahmadi," Jamingun added.

Surprisingly, the prosecutor dropped charges he had initially made against the defendant when the trial opened in December for damage to military property, which would have carried a maximum punishment of five years' imprisonment.

Jamingun had initially recommended that Faizal be charged with damage to military property for wasting bullets by firing them to frighten the victim.

However, Jamingun retracted the recommendation at Thursday's hearing, confirming that only the pistol itself could be defined as state property and not the bullets fired.

"What I really meant was the pistol itself and not the bullets. The pistol was never damaged. It can still be used. Therefore, I request that the court cancel the charge," he said.

Jamingun then attacked Ahmadi's news report that sparked the assault, claiming it was based on untrue allegations.

The reporter had been working at Sinabang on the island of Simeulue when he discovered illegally felled timber in the mountainous region of Seraton.

When Ahmadi sought to clarify the issue with the military command in the Simeulue district, he was informed that the commander was unavailable and was instead directed to Faizal for more information.

"Faizal told Ahmadi that if he was going to report on the case, he was not to mention the TNI in the story," Jamingun told the tribunal. "However, a story turned up on page nine of Harian Aceh in May linking a military official, eventually identified as Zulfitra, to illegal logging activities in Simeulue." Jamingun said there was no basis to Ahmadi's story.

"It was not illegally felled timber. It had been felled and there was a permit for it," he said.

However, after the article was published, Faizal instructed his men to look for Ahmadi. When Ahmadi was found, he was allegedly dragged to the district military command's shooting range, according to the indictment.

"The defendant screamed at Ahmadi, telling him that he was a liar and a traitor. Ahmadi was slapped, punched and kicked by the defendant," Jamingun said. The defendant then took out his gun and fired it in the air, near the left and right shoulders of the victim.

The hearing is adjourned until Thursday.

Judges urged to put end to prosecution of Aceh antigraft activists

Jakarta Globe - January 4, 2011

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – An antigraft watchdog has called for the acquittal of two men facing defamation charges in Central Aceh, saying they were just doing their jobs when they reported corruption allegations possibly involving a district head.

The Aceh Anti-Graft Movement (GeRAK Aceh) said on Tuesday that the Takengon District Court must free anticorruption activists Idrus Saputra and Hamdani, who had dared to file their findings in regard to Central Aceh district head Nasaruddin with police. The men ended up jailed, accused of defaming the official.

GeRAK Aceh coordinator Askhalani said the defendants, members of the Central Aceh Anti-Graft Coalition (Jang-Ko), had reported to police suspicious population numbers they thought might have been inflated. The numbers led to 5 seats being added to the 25-seat Central Aceh legislative council in early 2009.

"However, instead of following up on the graft allegations by Jang-Ko, police began to look into a report filed by Nasaruddin against these two activists, accusing them of defamation," Askhalani said.

He added that the allegations had been raised by the activists based on glaring discrepancies found in population numbers issued by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), registered voters lists issued by the Independent Committee for Election Monitoring (KIPP) and official population records from the local administration.

"This case has become very political, which is why we humbly request the panel of judges presiding over this defamation case to annul all charges brought against these two activists," Askhalani said.

"Ever since police started to investigate this defamation case, all of the anticorruption activists in Central Aceh have been unable to do their jobs – which is to monitor indications of corruption by government officials," he added.

"The concentration of these activists has been broken because of the police investigations, so they are no longer able to focus on their anticorruption campaigns."

Askhalani also urged law enforcers in Central Aceh to finally start investigating the possible corruption of the Central Aceh district head, as raised by Jang-Ko, as well as the inflated numbers of the district's population.

"If it is proven [that the numbers were manipulated] then it is clearly a violation of the law, and police should question the Central Aceh district head about it."

Rights activist warns of arms smuggling in Aceh

Jakarta Globe - January 4, 2011

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Aceh is fast becoming a key destination for firearms smuggled into and around the country, a human rights activist said on Tuesday.

Zulfikar Muhammad, from the Aceh Human Rights Coalition, said the province's role in the illegal gun trade over the past year has become more apparent following a surge in armed crimes there last year.

"From our monitoring throughout 2010, we saw lots of cases of armed crimes," he said. "What was particularly shocking was the discovery last February of the heavily armed terrorist training camp right here in Aceh."

The Aceh group was also linked to a series of deadly armed robberies – ostensibly carried out to secure funds for the camp's operations – and to an attack on a police station.

The camp and its members were the subject of a series of raids conducted by the police across the nation that left several suspected terrorists dead and many more arrested.

Zulfikar said the raids also netted at least 74 firearms, most of them assault rifles such as AK-47s, M-16s and military-issued Pindad SS1s.

Besides the terrorist camp, Zulfikar said another group with a considerable stash of firearms was the former separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), now disbanded.

He said the possibility was high that former guerrillas still possessed firearms because they kept coming forward to hand in their weapons to the police following the 2005 peace deal that ended the secessionist movement.

"Given these groups and the spate of armed robberies across the province last year, there can be no doubt that the proliferation of illegal firearms in Aceh is staggering," Zulfikar said.

"The ease with which weapons enter the province outpaces the police's ability to recover them." He said he suspected most of the weapons came in by sea, through the Malacca Strait.

"It's possible that those supplying the weapons are armed service personnel, much as they did during the time of the separatist struggle," he said.

Zulfikar urged the police to kick off an awareness campaign to get people to hand in any weapons they may possess and to report those suspected of hiding a weapon.

"The public must be encouraged to report illegal weapons possession, and the police must ensure that any future weapon raids don't result in civilian casualties," he said.

He added there also needs for better security in the province's coastline to scupper attempts of smuggling firearms from abroad.

However, the Aceh Police have denied there is an influx of firearms into the province, arguing that all the weapons used in last year's armed crimes came from the GAM stock that are circulating in the community.

"Our raids and sea patrols have never uncovered any indication that these weapons might have been smuggled in from abroad," Sr. Comr. Farid Ahmad Saleh, a police spokesman, said.

He said the maritime patrols included those carried out by the water police as well as joint patrols with Malaysian authorities.

"As for the guns recovered from the terrorists, those clearly came from Java," Farid added.

He said his office would nonetheless keep working to solve the spate of armed crimes and trace the origins of the guns.

West Papua

Komnas HAM accused of being indecisive, wishy-washy over Papua torture case

Kompas - January 8, 2011

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission's (Komnas HAM) recommendations on the torture of Papuans by Indonesian military (TNI) personnel is indecisive and wishy-washy.

"Komnas HAM is being permissive, wishy-washy and indecisive in the handling of the torture cases in Papua", said Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) Executive Director Poengky Indarti. Imparsial is also asking the chief of the TNI not to take a permissive stand, let alone protect the perpetrators of violence that involve military personnel.

This was conveyed by Imparsial at a press conference on Friday January 7. Imparsial is calling on Komnas HAM to follow up on the results of its investigation. Komnas HAM must be more active and serious so that cases such as this are not repeated.

Several days earlier, Komnas HAM announced its results of its findings on human rights violations, including the murder of Reverend Kinderman Gire, in the interrogation and torture [of Papuans] as shown in the video uploaded on the YouTube website. Komnas HAM's recommendations revolved around an evaluation and improvement of the professionalism of TNI members, coordination and a plea to uphold the law.

"There were no clear recommendations", said Al Araf from Imparsial. According to Araf, there should be a clear follow up such as an additional investigation into whether or not there were gross human rights violations or not, submitting the results of the investigation to police or the formation of a Human Right Violations Investigation Commission.

"If there is no resoluteness on Komnas HAM's part, new [cases] of violence will emerge because there is no deterrent effect", he said.

Poengky meanwhile highlighted that the Komnas HAM investigation should look into the systematic nature of the violence taking place in Papua.

Imparsial human rights research director Bhatara Ibnu Reza questioned Komnas HAM's interpretation the torture cases that have occurred in Papua, which concluded that there were no gross human rights violations. According to Bhatara, the extensive and systematic nature of these cases is a parameter indicating that gross violations have taken place. (EDN)

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the report was "Papua Case – Komnas HAM seen as indecisive".]

Papua torture not 'heavy violation'

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2011

Armando Siahaan, Ismira Lutfia & AFP – The chief of Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) Adm. Agus Suhartono on Thursday said that while the abuse perpetrated by soldiers in Papua might fall under the human rights violation category, they were "not heavy violations."

"In the context of the military court, what the soldiers did falls under excessive misconduct," Agus said. "In the context of human rights perspective, it is a human rights violation. It depends on where we see it from. But I see it from the perspective of the military court."

Last October, a 10-minute video circulated on the Internet showing soldiers interrogating and torturing two civilians in Puncak Jaya, Papua.

In the video, which received international condemnation, the soldiers were seen burning the genitals of one of the civilians with a smoldering stick while the other was threatened with a knife.

Agus said the military already has measures to prevent such heinous acts, including during the education phase and pre-operation briefings.

"What we need to realize is that certain situations could change human emotions. Papua is not like Jakarta. It is a complex place where you hear guns frequently," he said.

Agus also said the TNI would not increase the punishment for such violations for preventive measures.

"We already have regulations for the punishment. If the violation is heavy, then the punishment will be heavy," he said. "I entrust the judgment to the military court that is very objective, and the Komnas HAM that can judge."

Komnas HAM refers to the National Human Rights Commission, which on Thursday once again urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take action against "serious" rights violations by security forces in Papua.

Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim said they have submitted to Yudhoyono a report on its investigations, including the alleged torture of Papuans by soldiers in Puncak Jaya.

"Our investigations found that the military had committed serious human rights violations and we ask for those responsible to be brought to justice," Kasim said.

Kasim said the commission was told by high-ranking military officials that an "investigation is under way and a hearing will be held end in January."

Meanwhile, human rights advocates on Thursday called on the government to make human rights protection its top priority as Indonesia assumes the chairmanship of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year.

"Indonesia's favorable image within the international community as a democratic country that respects human rights should be reflected on Indonesia's chairmanship," Atnike Nova Sigiro of Forum-Asia, a Bangkok- based regional rights watchdog, said.

There are still many armed groups in Papua: TNI chief

Kompas - January 6, 2011

Jakarta - Responding to the results of an investigation into acts of violence in Puncak Jaya, Papua province, which was carried out by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), Indonesian military (TNI) commander-in-chief Admiral Agus Suhartono says that it must be understood that there are still many armed groups in Papua.

"The TNI's Inspectorate General and Komnas HAM will discuss [the findings] jointly in order that there is a similarity of perspective", said Suhartono in Jakarta on Wednesday January 5.

Earlier, the TNI stated that there were no human rights violations in the torture case in Papua. A ruling by the Cendrawasih military tribunal stated that the soldiers involved in the torture had violated the orders of a superior. The soldiers involved have been sentenced to five and seven months in jail.

The results of the Komnas HAM investigation that was published last Tuesday meanwhile found that there were human rights violations, including the murder of Reverend Kinderman Gire, during the interrogations and torture depicted in a video uploaded on the YouTube website.

Suhartono said the TNI will invite Komnas HAM to sit down together to make an assessment of the case. In this way a similarity of perception on what took place can be achieved. "If you only view it from outside and don't understand and look into it from within, the perspective will be different", he said.

With regard to the ruling in the military tribunal, Suhartono stated that the TNI remains committed to achieving a sense of justice in society. Moreover according to Suhartono, the sentences handed down by military courts are heavier than civil courts.

With regard to the sentence of only seven months jail, according to Suhartono it is in accordance with the errors committed by the soldiers. "We [have] to look at the nature of the [legal] process. The nature of the [soldiers'] confessions. The nature of the facts. Only then can we understand", he explained.

According to Suhartono, the cases of torture that have occurred in Papua are not systematic in nature and are purely a case of mistakes made by subordinates.

He also emphasised the difference between the situation in Papua and other regions in Indonesia. According to Suhartono there are still many groups in Papua that have weapons that may be used at any time.

"This has become general knowledge for soldiers, including the [general] public, which finds it hard to accept that these armed [groups] exist", said Suhartono. (EDN)

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the report was "Torture in Papua - TNI Chief: There are still many armed groups".]

Indonesia rights body denounces torture in Papua

Agence France Presse - January 6, 2011

Jakarta – Indonesia's top human rights body on Thursday urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take action against "serious" rights violations by security forces in eastern Papua region.

The National Human Rights Commission has submitted to Yudhoyono a report on its investigations, including alleged torture of Papuans by soldiers in Puncak Jaya district last May, its chairman Ifdhal Kasim told AFP.

The footage, posted on YouTube, shows soldiers applying a burning stick to the genitals of an unarmed man and threatening another with a knife as they interrogate them over the location of a weapons cache.

"Our investigations found that the military had committed serious human rights violations and we ask for those responsible to be brought to justice," Kasim said.

"Military (personnel) carried out torture and cruel and inhuman treatment which demeans Papuans," he added.

The graphic video drew international media attention to allegations of widespread torture and abuse of activists and civilians in restive Indonesian regions such as Papua and the Maluku islands.

Rights groups including Amnesty International have demanded Indonesia investigate and punish the unidentified soldiers in the video, citing an entrenched culture of impunity in the country's security forces.

Kasim said the commission was told by high-ranking military officials that an "investigation is under way and a hearing will be held end January".

TNI to hand over torture cases to tribunal

Jakarta Post - January 6, 2011

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military or TNI said on Wednesday said they would forward alleged torture cases against Papuans to the military tribunal.

"We will have the decision later, at the military tribunal," Lt. Gen. Noer Muis, the TNI's inspector general, said as reported by tempointeraktif.com.

The National Commission for Human Rights publicized their report on Tuesday on military members' torture of Papuans. They said the three cases from last year were "serious human rights violations".

One of the three cases went to a military tribunal in Jayapura, which punished the perpetrators in March last year for "undisciplined acts". Four soldiers interrogated dozens of villagers about a separatist, kicking and beating them in the process.

The other two cases, recorded on video, are more violent, involving dissected stomachs and burned genitals.

Komnas HAM finds widespread torture, murder committed by TNI in Papua

Kompas - January 5, 2011

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) says human rights violations were committed in cases of torture and murder that took place in Puncak Jaya, Papua, although it is not recommending the formation of a human rights court.

"Reverend Kinderman Gire was murdered by TNI [Indonesian military] personnel. This was confirmed during the interrogations", said Komnas HAM chairperson Ifdhal Kasim on Tuesday January 4. The head of the Acts of Violence Investigation and Monitoring Team in Puncak Jaya, Ridha Saleh emphasised that the findings are also a refutation of a TNI statement not long ago that the incident in Papua was a case of disobedience of a superior's orders, not a human rights violation.

According to the account obtained by Komnas HAM, Reverend Kinderman Gire, who was a member of the Toragi Evangelical Church of Indonesia Synod in Tinggi Nambut district, was waiting for a vehicle that was to deliver fuel that he had ordered. When a group of TNI soldiers from Infantry Battalion 756 passed by going in the opposite direction Kinderman was tortured then taken away. Two weeks later his [decapitated] head was found on the banks of a river.

In relation to the violent incident recorded on video and later uploaded on YouTube, the torture and abuse depicted was also a form of human rights violations because it involved the depravation of physical liberty and torture by TNI soldiers.

Based on the results of this investigation, Komnas HAM will be submitting a recommendation that there be a change to the state's security approach, improvements in the TNI's professionalism and that an investigation and action be taken by law enforcement agencies.

"We are not recommending a human rights court because the [legal] framework we are using is Law Number 39/1999 [on basic human rights]", said Ifdhal. Unlike Law Number 26/2000 on human rights courts, Law Number 39 does not cover the establishment of a human rights court. Although Ifdhal admitted there was a debate on the matter, Komnas HAM did not find that there were systematic human rights violations.

Stanley Adi Prasetyo from Komnas HAM said there were no systematic violations although they found more than 70 cases of torture in Papua between 2004 and 2010. "It wasn't systematic, but widespread", said Ifdhal. (EDN)

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the report was "Human rights: Komnas HAM finds violations".]

Komnas HAM rules out rights tribunal

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2011

Ina Parlina – The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Tuesday urged the government to conduct a through evaluation of its security operations in Papua following the emergence of three cases in which native Papuans were tortured by members of the military there.

"After investigating the case, we urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to use a human security approach in implementing Papua's special autonomy and in resolving conflict there," commission head Ifdhal Kasim said Tuesday.

The commission also called for Papua to be opened to national and international personnel who could provide constructive input, partake in lobbying efforts and help monitor the process of conflict resolution and the implementation of special autonomy in Papua.

The torture cases surfaced after a video depicting one of the torture incidents was posted on YouTube in October before the website pulled it. The video appears to show several men in military fatigues torturing two Papuans, Anggen Pugu Kiwo and Telengga Gire, in May 2010.

The soldiers in the video threatened the two men with sharp weapons and pressed a burning bamboo stick against one of the men's genitals.

According to Ifdhal, Kiwo and Gire were being questioned about the outlawed Free Papua Movement during the torturing.

The commission also received and later investigated the murder of Papuan Reverent Kindeman Gire from Tingginambut in the village of Gorage. They also processed another torture case in which military officers beat and kicked 27 Puncak Jaya residents in March last year.

Ifdhal said his office had found that the military had violated human rights by torturing the Papuans and imposing cruel and inhumane treatment when questioning them. "The military officers have also violated their rights to feel safe".

However, the commission did not consider the incidents gross human rights violations and therefore they did not recommend the establishment of a rights tribunal to prosecute the perpetrators, commission member Ridha Saleh told The Jakarta Post.

The commission demanded the Cenderawasih Military Command, which oversees Papua and West Papua, to investigate the military's efforts to probe the torture of Kiwo and Gire, as well as the murder of Rev. Kindeman Gire. So far, the military has not investigated either case, but has investigated the torture of the 27 Puncak Jaya residents in March.

In November, the Jayapura military tribunal sentenced Chief Pvt. Sahminan Husain Lubis, Second Pvt. Joko Sulistiono and Second Pvt. Dwi Purwanto to five months in prison for their roles in the beatings.

Their superior, Second Lt. Cosmos, was sentenced to seven months in prison for his role.

Civil and political rights violations will continue to occur in Papua

Bintang Papua - January 4, 2011

In this year of 2011, violations of civil and political rights [will] still continue to occur in Papua, with such incidents as demonstrations, shootings, torture, hostage-taking, killings and so on, which result in conflict between the law enforcement agencies and civil society, according to a human rights observer, Yusack Reba.

He said that freedom of expression is regarded by law enforcement agencies as treasonous actions or separatism.

He said that there were two irreconcilable positions. According to the state, every person is guaranteed the constitutional right to freedom of expression, and there is nothing about people not being able to talk about freedom. But according to the Criminal Code, expressions of opinion are seen as being acts of separatism, which is treated by the authorities as being a threat to the territorial integrity of the state.

As a result, the law enforcement agencies dont regard this as expressing an opinion but as an act of treason.

He said that when people express their opinions in the provincial legislative assembly (DPRP), this is not seen as an attempt to change the philosophy of the state.

There is nothing in law that prohibits people from giving expression to their aspirations but when such expressions go in the direction of wanting independence, that enters into a diffrent legal framework. "But if this is done peacefully and in a well-behaved manner, this is quite legal and acceptable. If these are handled according to a different procedure, human rights violations will be perpetrated in the form of shootings, torture, and other actions".

He said that for the Papuan people, there are numerous instances of human rights violations but they are not seen as being within the legal framework and are not handled according to the rule of law, such as for instance the Abepura case and other major cases which were not handled by a proper court process.

"This is why Papuan people have no confidence in the law as regards actions to deal with human rights violations".

Komnas HAM finds evidence of serious rights violations in Puncak Jaya

Detik.com - January 4, 2011

Adi Nugroho, Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has concluded that serious human rights violations were committed by the Indonesian military (TNI) against people in Puncak Jaya, Papua. Komnas HAM has also submitted its recommendations on the results of an investigation it has been conducting since November 11 last year to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY).

"From the findings and data gathered, we concluded that serious human rights violations occurred. The team will submit the recommendations to several parties, [but] first the president", said Komnas HAM chairperson Ifdhal Kasim during a press conference at the Komnas HAM offices on Jl. Latuharhari in Central Jakarta on Tuesday January 4.

According to Kasim, the violence and monitoring team in Puncak Jaya will urge Yudhoyono to immediately conduct a comprehensive evaluation into the approach used by security forces in Papua. In addition to the president, the team will also be making recommendations to the commander-in-chief of the TNI, the Papuan chief of police, the Cendrawasih regional military commander as well as the Puncak Jaya regent and regional House of Representatives.

Kasim added that the team found evidence of human rights violations such as torture, harsh and inhuman treatment and the lost of the right to a sense of security.

Although Komnas HAM concluded that serious human rights violations occurred, it did not find evidence of systematic violence or murder in the sense of policies intended to murder the Papuans as a people. Because of this, the team has decided not to establish an ad hoc team.

"Because it does not fulfill the material or formal conditions, at the Komnas HAM's plenary meeting it was decided not to form a pro-judicial or pro-ad hoc team", said Kasim.

Earlier on Friday December 31, TNI chief Admiral Agus Suhartono claimed that sentences have been handed down against TNI members from the Cendrawasih XVII Regional Military Command AVT/NABIRE 753 unit, who were seen on a video recording committing violence against Puncak Jaya residents. Suhartono stated however that these actions were not gross human rights violations.

"What must be understood is that the situation there is tense, it's not like Jakarta. There were no orders from a superior to torture people. It cannot be called a gross human rights violation. It was simply a case of exceeding the authority given to them by their officers", said Suhartono. (nik/fay)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Human rights & law

Indonesia to push for more 'effective' Asean human rights commission

Jakarta Globe - January 7, 2011

Ismira Lutfia – Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Friday that Indonesia expected to see significant progress in the work of the Asean human rights body during its chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year.

"Indonesia hopes that in 2011, the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights will be more effective in fulfilling its mandate, reflecting the commitment of Asean countries to respect human rights," he said.

The AICHR is Asean's human rights body. It was inaugurated in 2009 with great fanfare by the regional grouping during Thailand's chairmanship of Asean.

But rights activists criticized the body as a powerless commission that focused on promoting, rather than protecting, human rights. Critics also pointed out that the body lacked the authority to impose punishments for rights violations.

Atnike Nova Sigiro, from Forum-Asia, a Bangkok-based regional rights watchdog, has urged Indonesia to empower the rights body so that it can operate more effectively.

Atnike said political constraints among member states, including Asean's often-criticized noninterference policy, and the lack of the necessary resources such as a secretariat and a support staff have hampered the work of the rights commission.

Asean members are also expected to complete the Asean Human Rights Declaration this year.

"Therefore, we strongly urge the Indonesian government to exert its diplomatic influence to ensure that the declaration will finish on time so it can become a sound human rights instrument in the region that is in line with universal values," Atnike said.

Choirul Anam, from the group Human Rights Watch, said Indonesia could propose to the body to involve civil society groups more regarding issues like the protection of migrant workers.

Marty also brought up the topic on Friday, saying Indonesia will seek to improve protections for migrant workers in the region.

Most of the region's migrant workers come from Indonesia and the Philippines, with Malaysia and Singapore the main destination countries for the workers.

Marty said another priority was to begin the deliberation of the Global Community of Nations, which will underline Asean's role in the international community.

That role, he added, "serves as the vanguard for the promotion of democratic values, human rights and tolerance at the global level."

Indonesia officially took over the Asean chairmanship from Vietnam on Jan. 1. Indonesia requested the Asean chairmanship this year – which was originally designated for Brunei – at the 16th Asean Summit in April 2009.

Rights leaders call for end to torture

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2011

Jakarta – The extent of torture perpetrated on suspects and convicts by law enforcement officials has drawn demands to implement stronger regulations to punish perpetrators.

Rights activists on Sunday said emergency regulations needed to take effect immediately in the country's law enforcement institutions to promote human rights and provide mechanisms to punish perpetrators.

"According to the law, abuse is a crime but not torture committed by the state. A revision of the criminal code may take more than a year and we simply cannot wait for that. That's why we need law enforcement institutions to come up with internal regulations that can take effect immediately to stop official practices of torture," Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) executive director Rafendi Djamin told The Jakarta Post.

Activists have called for an end to the practice of torture since a report released last week by the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation showed how torture was used as part of normal interrogation procedures by law enforcement officers dealing with suspects and convicts.

The foundation, which spoke to 748 suspects, defendants and convicts in five cities from 2009 to 2010 for the study, concluded that police officers were the most violent law enforcement institution.

"The National Police have actually issued a regulation on human rights in 2008 but it seems not everyone is aware of it. Another problem with the regulation is that it does not cover sanctions for violators," Rafendi said, adding that the Attorney General's Office did not have a similar regulation.

Rafendi, who also chairs the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), said the report made it clear that the issue of torture was still a big challenge for Indonesia, which often touted itself as a champion of human rights in the region.

Haris Azhar, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said the report showed that it was high time that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a blueprint to end human rights abuses in state institutions.

"The blueprint has to reflect his vision to promote human rights in the country. It needs to detail how laws on human rights have to be implemented in each state institution," he said.

Haris highlighted on the importance of ensuring that certain watchdog bodies, including the National Police Commission and the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), were given more access to investigate alleged violations committed by law enforcement officials.

Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim said his commission was working on an MoU with the National Police to open the way to investigating alleged violations.

"The MoU will guarantee our access in investigating and monitoring the police force. It will also make it easier for us to communicate with police precincts where incidents of violence are reported," he told the Post.

Ifdhal said the police needed a mechanism to deter officers from torturing suspects.

Central Java's poor people need legal aid: NGO

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2011

Imung Yuniardi, Semarang – Thousands of low-income people in Central Java have been deprived of their right to legal aid, according to an NGO.

According to a recent Legal Aid Institute (LBH) report, 2,866 people marginalized or economically residents of Central Java have been barred from legal access.

"The real number could be many times more as that figure just includes those who receive legal aid from us," LBH's Semarang office director Siti Rahma Mary Herwaty said.

She said the government was at fault for its failure to protect the people's rights to justice. "Equality before the law is manifested by providing legal aid to economically poor people, as it is their constitutional right," Siti said.

The government's responsibilities, according to Siti, were ascribed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stipulates that a state was absolutely obliged to fulfill the people's political and civil rights.

Indonesia had ratified the convention by law, she said, adding that "The 1945 Constitution also mentions such rights. This means that the state has been violating both."

She said the bill on legal aid currently under discussion by the House of Representatives and the government, though welcome, contained several points that might weaken the provision of legal aid to low-income people.

"A review must be done to ensure that the rights of the economically poor, the marginalized and the legally illiterate are guaranteed," she said.

Siti said that 85 percent of LBH Semarang's clients were communities or groups that had annual incomes of less than Rp 2 million (US$222).

Of the 19 structural legal aids that the institute provides, she said, four were advocacy on legal products and bylaws.

Central Java provincial legal bureau chief Prasetyo Ariwibowo said the administration had to issue policies and field complaints.

"Up to now, the provincial administration has not had the authority to provide legal aid to the people because there has not been a regulation," Prasetyo said.

Budget limitations, the limited coverage of the legal bureau, the centralization of most legal aid providers in the provincial capital and bureaucracy have also impeded services to low-income people, according to reports.

Freedom of expression & press

Fresh probe urged into Maluku journalist's killing

Jakarta Globe - January 5, 2011

Ismira Lutfia, Jakarta – A team of independent investigators from the Maluku Media Center claims to have found proof of police involvement in the suspected murder of a journalist in the province.

Alfrets Mirulewan, editor in chief of local newspaper Pelangi Weekly, had been working on an investigative report on illegal gasoline trading on Kisar Island when he went missing in mid-December.

His body was found by locals at Wonreli beach on Dec. 17, marked with wounds and bruises.

Alfrets was accompanied to the island by colleague Leksi Kikilay from the Lensa Maluku tabloid, who has since faced four rounds of questioning from police as a witness in the case.

Insany Syahbarwaty, a coordinator from the Maluku Media Center, said the center's independent investigators have in their possession a recording extracted from Alfrets's mobile phone.

She said the content of the recording was an argument between Alfrets and a security guard at the Pantai Nama Port, where illegal gasoline supplies were supposedly being loaded for shipping.

According to Insany, the recording reveals that in the heat of the argument, the security guard let slip that a port security police unit (KP3) member was the owner of the illegal gasoline supply.

Insany said the center has also obtained photographs of Alfrets's body, taken shortly after he was found dead and before the autopsy had been conducted, showing bruises on his face and scratch wounds on his knees.

"It is evident that there were marks of abuse on his body," she said, contrary to a police statement that the autopsy found no signs of assault and that the death appeared to be accidental.

Once discovered, Alfrets's body was taken immediately to a community health center on the island for autopsy, but Insany said she doubted the results were reliable. She urged police to repeat the autopsy.

"We can't be sure whether the community health center was independent in conducting the autopsy and we also doubt their competence in conducting the postmortem," she said.

The press community in the province has also demanded that the National Police send a forensic team to further investigate the case.

Insany agreed, saying she doubted the Maluku police chief's credibility in probing Alfrets's death. Maluku Police Chief Brig. Gen. Syarif Gunawan was not available for comment on Wednesday.

The Media Center's investigation results, following a 10-day probe of the case on the island, will be forwarded to the Press Council for further processing.

Advocates from the Legal Aid Center for the Press (LBH Pers) will assist Leksi and another colleague in facing police questioning, Insany said.

Alfrets's death has also drawn the attention of the international press community, with global press watchdog Reporters Without Borders issuing a statement on Tuesday saying that Alfrets's family and colleagues have the organization's full support.

"We also note that, after an initially botched investigation, the authorities have taken the necessary steps to ensure that no hypotheses are ruled out, including the possibility that the murder was linked to the victim's work as a journalist," the Reporters Without Borders statement read.

The organization has urged the central government to take any steps necessary to protect witnesses to the case who are liable to be threatened for cooperating with investigators.

Probe into AJI assault slammed

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2011

Dessy Sagita – Police in Palu, Central Sulawesi, have yet to name any suspects in last week's violent attack on the office of a journalists' association in apparent retribution for a critical article.

Members of a youth group on Thursday allegedly attacked the Palu office of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), assaulting four journalists and ransacking the building.

"A day after the attack, we marched to the police office and demanded they name suspects within 48 hours," the chairman of AJI Palu, Ridwan Lapasere, told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday.

He said the Palu Police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Deden Garnada, had promised the police would track down the assailants in less that 24 hours. "It's been three days now but the police say they still need more time and refuse to tell us when the investigation will be completed," he said.

Palu Police's chief of detectives, Darno, said nine people had been questioned but the investigation was ongoing and more people needed to be questioned before suspects could be named.

"The investigation was halted because of the New Year's celebration and some witnesses we summoned did not show up," he said. "I hope that the AJI can continue to be patient."

Darno said those questioned included the victims of the attack and members of the Kaili Youth Front (FPK), a youth organization that represents the indigenous ethnic group in Palu.

The victims have told police that the attackers, judging by the uniforms they were wearing belonged to the FPK.

Darno said more witnesses would be summoned today and police expected to name suspects soon. "It's not that easy to solve a case like this," he said. "The victims were unable to give a full description of the attackers."

As many as 30 young men are reported to have arrived at the AJI office in Palu at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, demanding to know the identity of a journalist who had written an article they said had been unfair to the FPK and its chairman, Erwin S.L. The AJI office is also the newsroom for the online news site beritapalu.com.

When they were unable to find out the name of the journalist, the men trashed the office and assaulted Ridwan, another AJI official, Muhammad Sharfin, and two other journalists who tried to stop the attack.

Ridwan and Sharfin said police officers had arrived at the office during the attack but failed to try and stop the assault.

"It's ironic, we are a professional organization focused on protecting journalists, but these people came to our office and attacked us," Ridwan said. "I'm sure this thuggery does not represent the whole Kaili community, it's just the act of some immature offenders."

The incident in Palu is only one in a string of recent attacks on journalists across the country. In August, television reporter Ridwan Salamun was killed during a clash between villagers in southeast Maluku. His death led to demonstrations and calls for greater protection for journalists.

Politics & political parties

PDI-P, Dems friendship rumor 'mere maneuver'

Jakarta Post - January 8, 2011

Medan – A politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said on Friday that the rumor about the growing friendship between his party and the ruling Democratic Party was only a political maneuver conjured by unidentified people.

Senior PDI-P politician Panda Nababan said the party's official standpoint would be clear after the National Leaders Meeting in the near future.

PDI-P, which claimed to an opposition party, had been rumored to be growing closer to the Democratic Party amid speculation of increasing friction within the coalition, which includes the Democratic Party, Golkar Party, National Mandate Party (PAN), United Development Party (PPP), National Awakening Party (PKB) and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

The two largest parties in the coalition, the Democratic Party and Golkar, have squabbled several times over differing opinions on several issues. Last month, the remaining four parties said they increasingly felt that the coalition was only about the two larger parties, and the smaller parties felt sidelined.

The Democratic Party and PDI-P were reported to becoming closer, with, among others, speculation about potential 2014 presidential candidates, including a possible alliance between the daughter of PDI-P chief patron Taufik Kiemas and chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, Puan Maharani, and current First Lady Kristiani Herawati.

Panda said the idea of the pair was "premature"

Parties vow less squabbles as political climate turns

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2011

Jakarta – Ruling coalition parties on Sunday vowed to focus more on work in 2011, while pundits predicted that the political climate in the country would heat up this year with parties starting to gear up for the 2014 polls.

In a speech Sunday night, National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Radjasa said it was too early to focus on the 2014 elections. The coalition parties, he said, should avoid unnecessary bickering and begin spending their energy working on government programs.

His statement came on the heels of widespread media speculation that the ruling Democratic Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) had touted first lady Kristiani Herawati and Puan Maharani, the daughter of PDI-P chief patron Taufiq Kiemas, as running mates for the 2014 presidential elections.

Both parties denied having officially nominated candidates for the 2014 presidential election, but the rumors have left several coalition partners jittery and triggered debate over who would replace President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who according to the Constitution cannot run for a third term.

The situation, analysts said, would trigger competition among political parties. "Currently there is no strong candidate to replace Yudhoyono. Everyone believes they have a fair shot in 2014 and the competition may begin as early as this year," Yunarto Wijaya, an analyst with Charta Politika, said.

Other issues that could create political tension this year include the deliberation of the revision to a series of political reform bills in which legislators will decide whether to raise the parliamentary threshold from the current 2.5 percent to between 3 and 5 percent. The plan to increase the threshold has been opposed by small parties who claim the move would favor major parties.

Analysts said it was possible that increased infighting among political parties this year could change the country's political constellation by leading to a breakup of the coalition or a possible alliance between the Democratic Party and the PDI-P.

Coalition parties are already concerned over a possible Cabinet reshuffle this year as the President is set to announce an evaluation of the performance of the ministers this month.

"The coalition is held together only by transactional politics, trading favors. It will not last," Hasyim Asy'ari, a political observer from the Partnership for Governance Reform (Kemitraan), said.

Recently, leaders of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), expressing resentment at how issues were tackled by the coalition's joint secretariat, floated the idea of creating a "central axis" to rival the Golkar Party and the Democratic Party's clout in the first signs of serious cracks in the coalition. The United Development Party (PPP) backed the calls by the PKS.

However, politicians are adamant the political situation this year would be less antagonistic than in 2010, when the coalition was split by issues ranging from the Bank Century scandal to the special status of Yogyakarta.

Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum hoped coalition partners would be more cooperative. "Communication within the joint secretariat should be better and address substantial issues," he said.

Hatta believed the coalition would become stronger if all members focused on building the country together. "We have to minimize differences because we have already agreed to be part of a coalition," he said.

SBY must show who's boss, analysts say

Jakarta Globe - January 2, 2011

Anita Rachman – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono faces a tough year if he is to make good on his promises to continue tackling corruption, violent extremism and terrorism, analysts say.

The problem, most of the analysts agree, is that Yudhoyono has, through his characteristic lack of resolve, allowed members of his ruling coalition to step out of line far too frequently over the past year, and has as a result fallen hostage to their agendas.

"The president's challenge is to free himself from the political entrapment he finds himself in," Airlangga Pribadi, a political analyst from Surabaya's Airlangga University, told the Jakarta Globe.

He said the squabbling by the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) against the coalition's domination by Yudhoyono's Democrats and Golkar would only continue this year unless the president stepped in.

Yudhoyono, Airlangga said, needed to be firm when resolving this conflict. "He must retake control of the coalition's joint secretariat from Golkar," he said.

The secretariat was formed in May, and was widely considered a concession to Golkar, which was pushing its considerable weight in calling for a criminal investigation into the Bank Century bailout.

Though officially chaired by Yudhoyono, the secretariat is managed by Golkar godfather Aburizal Bakrie.

"The Century case is what trapped the president," Airlangga said. "To put an end to it, he must be firm and have the courage to reveal everything about the bailout to the public, to prove that he's innocent in the case and that his party, the Democrats, didn't take advantage of the bailout."

The political tensions created by the case have not only stalled the anticorruption drive, Airlangga said, but also hampered wider-reaching programs such as the Millennium Development Goals.

Ray Rangkuti, executive director of the Indonesian Civic Network (LIMA), agreed that without a show of firm resolve on the part of the president, the political situation in 2011 would be similar to last year.

He said prospects for the war on graft would only worsen, while the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) would lack the strong leadership it needed to help direct its efforts.

"If the commission moves, it won't touch strategic issues such as the bribery of legislators in the selection of the central bank's deputy governor, or the information and technology case involving the General Elections Commission [KPU]," Ray said.

He said that overhauls of the bureaucracy and law-enforcement agencies would also stall.

"No one's really serious about bureaucractic reform," he said. "And there won't be any significant change in the Attorney's General Office under the new attorney general, Basrief Arief, or in the National Police under Chief Timur Pradopo."

Ari Dwipayana, a political analyst from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, also said it was important that Yudhoyono end his style of weak leadership if his key campaign goals were to be achieved this year.

He said several issues could have been resolved by now if the president had shown more resolve.

"This image politics needs to end," he said. "Yudhoyono must be braver and assert the mandate he received. He was elected by 60 percent of voters, after all."

Yudhoyono's coalition also enjoys a 74 percent majority in the House of Representatives, but despite this has failed to meet its 2010 legislation target.

Ari said the president needed to be honest about carrying out serious reforms, particularly within his own circle.

"He needs to make sure that his Democratic Party doesn't become a refuge for corruptors," he said. He added that if there were no reforms within Yudhoyono's inner circle this year, then the political situation would be much as it was last year.

Ari also warned that Yudhoyono was at risk of losing more public trust if he consistently refused to take a firm stance on key issues.

"This is especially true among people who live in cities that are already saturated with government incompetency," he said. "The president could try regaining that trust through development or rural empowerment programs, but those aren't substantial enough."

Syafi'i Maarif, a prominent cleric and former chairman of Muhammadiyah, the country's biggest Islamic organization, told the Globe that the president still had about 75 percent of his work left to do, given that "last year he only did 25 percent of his job."

He also said it was high time that Vice President Boediono began addressing pressing national issues. "Pak Boediono is a good man, but well... he's just so-so," Syafi'i said.

He added another problem from 2010 that would need to be dealt with this year was that of "feudalism at the Presidential Palace."

He said many ministers had reportedly been prevented from working properly because their policies on certain issues differed from Yudhoyono's, and given the feudalistic feel of the presidency, "they could hardly be honest with the president."

The cleric added that while he expected the antigraft drive to go nowhere this year, he foresaw progress would be made in tackling the rising issue of anarchism.

Daniel Sparingga, the presidential adviser for political communication, agreed that criticism from within the coalition had made the president uncomfortable, but said 2011 would be a significant year for the coalition.

He had said at one time he hoped it would be a year in which the palace could "breathe easy," as opposed to 2010, when it was mostly "holding its breath." He declined to elaborate, but signaled that something needed to be done to get out of the rut.

Elections

Big parties accused of killing the minnows

Jakarta Post - January 7, 2011

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – A proposal to revise the legislative election law was an attempt by the big political parties to kill smaller parties, as the revisions would make it harder for the smaller parties to survive, a democracy watchdog said.

The Center for Electoral Reforms (Cetro) said the big parties wanted to maintain the status quo by proposing to increase the parliamentary threshold and electoral districts in a limited revision of the 2008 legislative election law.

The institution was suspicious that a conspiracy among the big parties was behind the proposed increase of the threshold from 2.5 percent to 5 percent and electoral districts from 77 to about 100.

"The higher threshold would close the door for small parties to represent their constituents. Their political aspirations at the House of Representatives and the seats they would have won would be taken instead by the bigger parties.

"Had the 5 percent parliamentary threshold been implemented in the April 2009 legislative elections, Yudhoyono's Democratic Party would have grabbed 178 seats in the House while the National Awakening Party [PKB] would have gotten none. Despite earning 19 million votes, 4 percent, they would have had no representation," he said. With the current 2.5 percent threshold, the Democratic Party only earned 148 seats.

The Golkar Party, the Democratic Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have proposed an increase to the threshold and the electoral districts in an effort to have a simpler multi-party system and improve the legitimacy of House members.

Nurul Arifin, a Golkar legislator and member of the House Commission II that is preparing the law revision, said her party and the PDI-P would fight for the proposed 5 percent threshold and the increase in the electoral districts to create a more effective government in 2014.

She said the two parties would also propose an open proportional system with more electoral districts to make closer ties between legislators and their constituents.

Sucipto, a Democratic Party legislator, said his faction would lobby all other factions to accept 4 percent in a political compromise, adding that the big ones should meet the small ones halfway.

The revision bill proposes a 4 percent vote tally for the parliamentary threshold in the House, provincial legislative councils and regental and municipal legislatures, and requires strict requirements for electoral districts with hope that five to seven parties will be represented at the House.

It also allows the General Election Commission (KPU) to hold electronic voting in regions prepared for such mechanisms.

Ida Fauziah, a PKB legislator and deputy chairperson of the legislative committee, was of the same opinion with Cetro and said the revision of crucial points proposed by the big parties would undermine the democracy and the minority groups in the country.

"There will be no space for minority groups like small religious communities, labor unions and small ethnic groups to have or send their representatives to the House," said Ida.

In response to the proposal, smaller parties have pursued several strategies, from courting other small parties with a merger proposal, to establishing a confederation of individual parties.

National Mandate Party's Arya Bima said he might seek to revise to the law to accommodate the idea after 2014 elections. PKB splinters have also sought party reconciliation to pass the higher threshold.

Hadar of Cetro warned that the much-tarnished perceptions of political parties and the House left the public skeptical of quality elections ever happening.

"The proposed simplification of the multi-party system is good but in a pluralist nation like this, one should use its wisdom to accommodate the political aspirations of all sides. The effectiveness of a government depends not only on its parliamentary system but also on the national leadership style," Hadar said.

Still 'too early' to talk about Ani, Mulyani, Puan or Ical

Jakarta Post - January 7, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Political parties have begun discussing potential candidates for the 2014 presidential election, while observers and politicians say it is counterproductive to think so far ahead.

Politicians, from the ruling coalition and opposition parties, have made statements about prospective presidential candidates. Some have backed their losing nominees from the 2009 election, and some have dropped the names of fresh faces like Puan Maharani, First Lady Kristiani "Ani" Herawati and Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

Several politicians, however, have said it is too early to begin discussing names for 2014. Earlier, United Development Party (PPP) chairman Lukman Hakim Syaefuddin said the country's economy was more urgent.

Political observer J. Kristiadi said it was too early for the Democratic Party to market Ani Yudhoyono as their candidate.

"The current Cabinet has worked only for about a year and the ruling party already wants to talk about naming a candidate," he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com on Thursday. "It would seem like they wanted to be forever in power."

A political observer from the Indonesian Survey Institute, Burhanudin Muhtadi, said most of the statements made so far about potential candidates were just attempts to test the water. "They want to see responses from the public or fellow politicians to asses whether the candidate they come up with would be prospective," he said Wednesday.

Speculations have arisen that PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo and deputy chair Puan Maharani, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Taufiq Kiemas' daughter, are credible potential candidates for 2014.

One of the most discussed names has been First Lady Ani Yudhoyono of the ruling Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party's deputy secretary-general Saan Mustafa acknowledged there was increasing support for Ani Yudhoyono, but said his party would continue to concentrate on supporting the government in its programs for now.

"It's too early [to talk about 2014 presidential candidates]. We will focus on that in 2013," he said.

As speculations about a potential alliance between the Democratic Party and opposition party PDI-P in 2014 grow, many have suggested that Ani could pair with Puan Maharani as her vice presidential candidate.

Former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who is now a World Bank managing director, has also been named as a possible candidate. Irgan Chairul Mahfidz, the secretary-general of the PPP, said his party would support Mulyani if she ran for president.

The Golkar Party, meanwhile, seems to be paving the way to have party chairman and business tycoon Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie spearhead its presidential bid.

Islamic parties need early start on 2014: Experts

Jakarta Globe - January 5, 2011

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Islamic parties need to start preparing as early as this year for the 2014 elections to keep from losing more votes to secular rivals, an analyst said on Wednesday.

Kacung Maridjan, a political analyst from Surabaya's Airlangga University, said Islamic parties had seen a serious drop in support from the time of the New Order regime until the most recent elections in 2009.

In 2009, he said political parties based on Islamic values garnered less than 28 percent of the total vote.

The Islam-based United Development Party (PPP) by itself accounted for the same share of the vote in 1977.

"Muslims in this country have this principle: 'Islam, yes! Islamic parties, not necessarily.' It's related to their performance," he said.

"There have been some significant declines that must be tackled by Islamic political parties in the country. They must boost their performance."

Three secular parties topped the 2009 polls – the ruling Democratic Party, Golkar Party, and the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). They were followed by four Islamic-based political parties, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), PPP and the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Kacung said in the 1955 election, Islamic parties garnered 43 percent of all votes. "In 1999 it still stood at 37 percent, and 38 percent in 2004, but in [2009], it was less than 28 percent," he said.

If Islamic political parties don't want to see this trend continue in 2014, he added, they should answer the call to improve immediately by recruiting more influential figures, stronger leadership and finding enough funding.

"In 2009, Islamic political parties only had small fund/capital and they don't have a magnet to attract people, like the late Gus Dur with PKB," he said, referring to the PKB founder and former President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

Speaking separately, M. Romahurmuziy, secretary general of the PPP, acknowledged that some Islam-based parties have been suffering from a serious decline in votes largely because of internal conflicts.

"It seems that people leave conflicted Islam-based parties more easily, rather than leave conflicted nationalist-secular parties," he said. "The punishment is terrible, the number of seats [in the legislative] is getting smaller."

The PKB, for instance, has been beset by conflict since 2004, when Gus Dur dismissed Muhaimin Iskandar as the party's secretary general after an internal spat.

Muhaimin contested his dismissal in court and won. He organized a congress that elected him as chairman and the government recognized his camp as the official bearer of the party name.

However, a faction of followers loyal to Gus Dur led by his daughter Yenny Wahid is still trying to consolidate the party.

But Romahurmuziy believed Islamic parties would learn from history and do better come 2014. He also said PPP was positioning itself as "a huge Islamic political home" in Indonesia. He hoped it would be a turning point for Islam-based parties.

However, PKS chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaq said the decline in votes was not a trend limited to Islamic parties alone, citing the fact that both Golkar and PDI-P in 2009 received less support than before. "It's just not our problem, not only Islamic parties," he said.

With the ruling Democrats grabbing the biggest share in the last poll, he said all other parties should figure out a response.

But he added that the political situation might be different by the next national elections. "So it depends on how we see the situation today, and what it will be in the next poll," he said.

With Megawati wavering on a 2014 run, talk turns to her daughter

Jakarta Globe - January 5, 2011

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – The biggest question facing the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle is who the party will nominate as its presidential candidate for 2014.

Debate has begun to heat up after Taufiq Kiemas, husband of former president and current party chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri, said his wife would most likely not seek Indonesia's highest office again.

Taufiq on Tuesday said his wife would turn 67 in 2014. "There should be a regeneration," he said, adding that a presidential candidate should ideally be between 40 and 50 years old.

Taufiq, a party stalwart who is also the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), said his wife "will probably not run" after having lost in two earlier presidential elections in 2004 and 2009.

Effendi Simbolon, vice chairman of the party, which is also known as the PDI-P, said that nothing was final. "Pak Taufiq was trying to give a picture of how the situation would be in 2014. But so far, there have been no official talks about it in the party."

But while the pros and cons of another Megawati run may have not been discussed officially, party insiders and analysts are already floating another potential candidate with name recognition: Megawati's daughter, Puan Maharani.

Effendi on Wednesday said chances were high that Puan would run in 2014. "Mbak Puan is capable and is one of our brightest members. Three years is enough to boost her credibility and capacity."

Puan, 37, heads the PDI-P's political affairs department. She was elected to the legislature in 2009, and currently serves as a member of House Commission VI, which oversees state enterprises.

Speaking separately, PDI-P House Secretary Bambang Wuryanto also said that Puan was a likely candidate to run in 2014. "Seeing the trend, it is very possible [that Puan will be nominated]," Bambang said.

He said Puan had garnered the highest number of PDI-P votes in the 2009 legislative election. He also praised her tireless efforts at local-level party initiatives. "And last but not least, she is the only daughter of the MPR speaker and party chairman."

M. Qodari, a political observer from polling firm Indo Barometer, said Puan appeared the likeliest PDI-P member to seek the presidency.

Qodari said Puan would be a strong candidate inside the party due to the fact that Sukarno, the country's founding president, was her grandfather. "Sukarno's name is still PDI-P's attraction," Qodari said.

However, he told the Jakarta Globe that according to an Indo Barometer survey, Megawati was still quite popular among voters.

But he added that it would be better if the PDI-P did not rely solely on Megawati's recognition. He said preparing her successor while gauging her electability was an important strategy.

Yunarto Wijaya, a political analyst from Charta Politika, said 2014 would be a crucial point for the PDI-P, deciding whether it insisted on relying on a political dynasty or was willing to evolve into a modern party.

He added that the party should begin shedding its dependency on the Sukarno dynasty and start promoting its promising young politicians. He cited members such as deputy House speaker Pramono Anung, House Commission II deputy chairman Ganjar Pranowo and Maruarar Sirait, PDI-P chairman for youth and sports affairs.

"[But] it is better to keep Megawati [rather than promoting Puan] if they insist on using the Sukarno connection," Yunarto said.

Megawati will not run for president in 2014: Taufiq

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2011

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Former president and current Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chair Megawati Soekarnoputri will not run for president in 2014, her husband and PDI-P chief patron Taufiq Kiemas says.

"Ibu Mega will be 67 in 2014. She will be too old then to compete with the younger hopefuls. It would be better if she won, but if she was defeated again it would be more disappointing. This is the main reason the PDI-P will not nominate Megawati," Taufiq said Tuesday.

He said it was important for the party to regenerate smoothly and revitalize its programs in order to survive.

Megawati, who was a president from 2000 to 2004 replacing Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, was defeated in the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections.

Taufiq declined to name which PDI-P figures were being considered as suitable presidential and vice presidential nominees, but PDI-P secretary- general Tjahjo Kumolo and deputy chair Puan Maharani have been mentioned as an ideal pair to contend in the race.

The PDI-P would likely join forces with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's (SBY's) Democratic Party in the 2014 presidential elections, Taufiq recently announced to the surprise of many.

He said the PDI-P had intensified discussions with the Democratic Party regarding the next presidential election.

Taufiq said it was probably too early to discuss the presidential election as it was still three years away, but he said although the election was still far away, most major parties had begun making preparations and seeking prospective candidates.

Asked about certain political maneuverings to allow SBY to seek reelection through an amendment to the 1945 Constitution, Taufiq said he did not believe SBY would choose that path as it would be wrong and would negate the 1998 reform movement.

"I am sure SBY won't seek reelection for a third term because it is against the constitution," he said.

Aside from Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, SBY's wife Kristiani Herawati has also been frequently mentioned as a potential figure to contend in the presidential race, but the party has declined to discuss the issue publicly.

The Democratic Party's deputy secretary-general Saan Mustafa said there was increasing support for Ani (Kristiani), but said his party would continue to concentrate on supporting the government in its programs for now.

It has been suggested that Ani may take National Mandate Party (PAN) chair Hatta Rajasa as her running mate, but PAN secretary-general Taufik Kurniawan declined to comment as the race was still too far away.

The Golkar Party has also begun preparing the ground for its chair Aburizal Bakrie to announce his candidacy. Aburizal's potential candidacy for president has encountered strong opposition due to the Lapindo mudflow disaster and tax scandals involving a number of his companies.

Labour & migrant workers

Minister wants migrant worker ban repealed

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2011

Made Arya Kencana & Ismira Lutfia, Denpasar – Linda Gumelar, the minister for women's empowerment and child protection, on Monday called on the government to end the moratorium on sending migrant workers abroad to some countries.

She said the ban on sending domestic helpers to Malaysia, Jordan and Kuwait highlighted the government's inability to provide decent employment opportunities in their home country.

"If the demand [to work abroad] and the opportunities there are high, the ban will only encourage illegal placement," she said in a discussion with students and representatives from women's organizations in Denpasar.

Linda said that only 4,000 out of the four million Indonesian labor migrant workers ran into legal problems each year.

She added that 80 percent of migrant workers' problems started at home because of poor recruitment and training, including the forging of documents for underage job seekers.

She said the best way to tackle the issue was to amend the 2004 Law on the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers Abroad, which currently focuses more on placement rather than protection.

The amendment of the law is included in the House of Representatives' National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), but deliberation of the bill was stalled last year.

Linda said an example of the poor protection migrant workers received was the incomplete data kept at Indonesian offices in receiving countries. For many workers, their employer's post office box number is their only listed address.

The fact that they did not have employers' actual addresses on file made it very difficult for consulates and embassies to monitor the situation of domestic workers, she said.

"We must make sure their complete addresses are listed. The workers must also have access to telecommunications services," she said, adding that the government planned to send more skilled workers and vocational school graduates instead of unskilled laborers.

The government last month also launched the People's Enterprise Credit (KUR) scheme to provide job seekers with the initial capital to work abroad, she said. The program is designed to prevent workers from borrowing money for the recruitment process from loan sharks.

Meanwhile, Wahyu Susilo, a migrant worker policy analyst, told the Jakarta Globe that imposing a moratorium was never going to solve the problems faced by Indonesian migrant workers.

He said that the government could not stop people from seeking jobs abroad because employment was a basic human right.

"What the government should do is to negotiate better with destination countries so that we have a memorandum of understanding that includes better provisions on protection of migrant workers," Wahyu said.

He added that government responses to migrant workers' issues tended to be ad hoc and did not solve the underlying problems.

Wahyu said that the stalled amendment of the 2004 migrant workers abroad law showed the lawmakers' and government's reluctance to provide the migrant workers with better protection.

He said it was not appropriate to weigh up the positive experiences of migrant workers against the negative ones. "Even if it was only one or two sad stories, they still count as problematic since we are dealing with people's lives," he said.

Denpasar Mayor Ida Bagus Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra said that adequate training and the provision of capital were effective ways to prevent women from seeking jobs abroad. "But it is more important to be creative when faced with challenges," Ida Bagus said.

Plant closure threatens 1,200 jobs

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2011

Fadli, Batam – Up to 1,200 people could lose their jobs following the announcement that a Japan-based electronics manufacturer plans to close its plant in Batam, Riau Islands, in April.

The management of PT Panasonic Shikoku Electronics Batam said it would close down the plant because production costs there were too high, which meant its products were not competitive with those of rival overseas companies.

"Our products are considered too expensive compared with the competition. We have already implemented an efficiency minded scheme in production, [but] still we cannot suppress production costs," Herry Pranata, the company's official in charge of human resources, told The Jakarta Post in Batam on Monday.

"The city's minimum wages are increasing every year... how can we push [prices] down further if operational components there increase," he said, adding that the management planned to lay off the plant's 1,200 workers in stages.

He said Batam's Free Trade Zone had not significantly benefitted production costs, but stopped short of blaming the closure on this alone.

"These two things are in fact not related. This is purely business... demand for production is based on orders; if orders continue to drop we have no option but to close down," he said.

The Batam Labor Office responded to the news by saying it expected the number of unemployed in Batam, which is currently at about 11,000 to 12,000 people, to further increase.

"We have received the report that they are going to send home 1,200 workers. I assume this is not because of Batam but purely [down to] business competition," labor office head Rudy Syakyakirty said.

He said it did not make sense to blame the plant's closure on a number of regional minimum wage hikes over the past few years, "because the wages set by the Batam authorities are still competitive with those in Malaysia and Vietnam".

"I guess our government is implementing a flexible labor policy. In China, companies are obliged to provide accommodation, stipend and transport facilities. In Batam, many workers are only given their wages," Rudy said.

PT Panasonic, which has operated in Batam since 1998, has two business units that produce fluid dynamic bearings, which are used in computers.

The company closed down its plant producing batteries in Batamindo in 2008. The company has plants in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam in the Southeast Asia region.

Environment & natural disasters

Moratorium won't save Indonesia's forests: Activist

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2011

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – With a moratorium on new forestry concessions facing delays, an activist said on Thursday that even when in place it would have little impact on helping to preserve the environment.

The country's forests have been in the spotlight since Indonesia signed a $1 billion funding agreement with Norway last year on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, known as REDD Plus, a UN-backed mechanism on carbon trading.

The key part of the agreement is Indonesia's commitment to implement a moratorium on new concessions in natural forests and peatland for two years, starting on Jan. 1 this year.

However, the government is still struggling to provide the legal basis for the agreement, with at least two different drafts currently being studied by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The two drafts were submitted by the Forestry Ministry and the REDD Task Force, established by Yudhoyono to prepare institutions to implement REDD projects.

But Nordin, director of Save Our Borneo, a nongovernmental organization based in Kalimantan, said he doubted that either draft would prove effective.

"This moratorium will not be enough to improve the issuance of permits in the country or to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation in the way they want to because, if it's only applicable to primary forests, then what is the use?" he said.

"Primary or virgin forests only account for around 3 percent [of all forests]. The rest is what we call 'logged areas,' or forest areas that have been managed before."

While the Forestry Ministry draft only covers conversion permits for primary forests and peatland, the draft from the REDD Task Force is much more specific about the types of permits that should no longer be issued, including those for logging, land lease, plantations and mining. It also includes secondary forests.

"You could say that this [REDD Task Force] draft is trying to solve the problem," Nordin said.

"But this is a massive issue when you're talking about forestry permits in Indonesia. We are talking about a mafia here, a mafia that involves almost everyone here. If one gets hit, everyone gets hit too, and that's why they will try to protect one another."

Hadi Daryanto, the Forestry Ministry's director general of forestry management, said in an earlier interview with the Jakarta Globe that the ministry was already in the process of implementing a moratorium.

"It's not something new to us, in fact, we had already taken steps before the draft was signed," Hadi said.

He cited nine companies – seven in Papua and two in Gorontalo, on Sulawesi Island – that had been given principal permits to open forest areas for palm oil plantations last year.

These companies have since been told that their forest areas are to become High Conservation Value Forest areas, which are conservation areas within managed lands.

"Of the at least 380,000 hectares accorded to those nine companies, around 20 to 60 percent of that should be allocated for HCVF where they will not be allowed to cut down any trees," Hadi said.

"That means that we have put a moratorium on primary forests in the converted forest areas."

Nordin praised the ministry's move but pointed out that trees could be cut down without the need of a permit from the central government.

"The permit to convert forest areas starts with a location permit issued by district heads," he said.

"Then they must ask for a permit to release the forest areas for conversion from the Forestry Ministry. In addition, they also need also to obtain land ownership and business permits."

But in practice, he said, companies could begin exploiting the forests with only the permit from the district head in hand. "Or worse, they could just not apply for land ownership, which would mean they don't have to pay taxes," he said.

Palm farms, miners were 2010's worst water polluters

Antara News - January 5, 2011

Oil palm plantations and mining companies were the biggest polluters in the country last year, an environmental group said.

Mukri Friatna, head of advocacy for the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said on Monday that firms in these sectors polluted at least 57 out of 65 affected rivers in 2010.

"Oil palm plantations ranked first as producers of pollutants, followed by mining companies," he said.

The plantations, he added, were responsible for sullying at least 31 rivers across the country, while coal companies dumped toxic waste and other harmful residue in at least 19 rivers. Mukri said gold miners were responsible for polluting seven more rivers.

He said the affected rivers did not include those in Jakarta and other urban areas, which were already heavily polluted by domestic and industrial waste.

Walhi reported last year that at least 65 rivers, five lakes and five marine areas were contaminated by waste from private and state-run companies, an increase from 53 polluted rivers in 2009.

Polluted lakes include Situ Rawa Badung in West Java, which was contaminated with mercury; Sembuluh in Central Kalimantan, which became a dumping ground for crude palm oil waste; and Penantian in South Sumatra, which was tainted by slick from a nearby coal power plant.

These toxic pollutants decreased the amount of oxygen available to organisms, caused imbalances in natural processes and made the water unsafe to drink or use, Mukri said.

Besides being extremely hazardous to health, these substances also harm the environment, killing off fish, marine life and micro-organisms, by starving them of oxygen.

But Mukri said that only 14 pollution cases reported by Walhi had been brought to court.

The dumping of industrial waste into rivers – whether deliberate or out of negligence – is illegal under the 2009 Environmental Protection and Management Law. The law also penalizes regional administrations that fail to take any action against polluters.

Walhi has urged the state to revise a law on environmental impact analysis (Amdal) so there would be stricter requirements for companies seeking to set up factories or processing plants in Indonesia.

The group also called on the government to issue its long-awaited strategic study of the environment.

Too many draft decrees delay Indonesia's logging moratorium

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2011

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – Indonesia's much-hyped promise to enact a moratorium on new logging concessions from Jan. 1 has been held up over the question of which of the two draft presidential decrees on the issue should be signed.

The two-year moratorium on new concessions in peatland and primary forests is part of a bilateral deal with Norway, in exchange for which Indonesia will receive $1 billion in funding for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD-Plus) schemes.

In order to make the moratorium legally binding, it must be backed by a presidential decree. However, the government has drafted two substantially different texts.

The version submitted by the Ministry of Forestry is titled "Suspension of New Permits for Primary Forest and Peatland Conversion."

Another draft was later penned by the national REDD-Plus task force. It is titled "Suspension of Services and Issuance of New Permits for Primary and Secondary Forests and Peatland in Forest Areas and Other Uses Areas."

Copies of both drafts were obtained by the Jakarta Globe. The REDD-Plus task force's draft text was more specific about which kinds of permits would no longer be issued. Such permits included those for logging, plantations and mining.

The Ministry of Forestry draft, by contrast, only states that the moratorium applies to "new conversion permits for primary forests and peatland for two years, starting Jan. 1, 2011, to Dec. 31, 2012."

The task force draft also gives specific instructions to the Forestry Ministry, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the National Land Agency, the national REDD agency, governors and district heads to cease granting permits related to the management of primary and secondary forests.

The Forestry Ministry's version only issues this instruction to the Home Affairs Ministry, governors and district heads.

Agus Purnomo, the presidential adviser for climate change, said both drafts were still being examined by the president's office and that no decision had been made on which to sign. He could not confirm how many drafts had been submitted, but said at least three had been drawn up.

"I don't know exactly how many draft decrees have been proposed for the moratorium," he said. "There was one from Emil Salim [the presidential adviser for environmental affairs], one from the Ministry of Forestry and one from Kuntoro Mangkusborto [head of the REDD-Plus task force]."

Agus added that it was unclear which of the drafts President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would finally sign. "All I know is that all those institutions are still working out how to formulate the final draft," he said.

He added that the government had missed the deadline to make the moratorium legally binding, but said the deal would still be valid once the decree was finally signed.

65 rivers, 5 lakes in Indonesia added to polluted list in 2010

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2011

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – At least five lakes and 65 rivers across the country were contaminated as a result of human activity last year, the country's leading environmental group says.

Mukri Friatna, head of advocacy for the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said on Monday that the figure for rivers found to be polluted was up from 53 in 2009.

"These are all newly polluted rivers because we didn't count those that were already heavily polluted, such as the Ciliwung River [in Jakarta]," he said.

The lakes polluted last year include Sentani in Papua, which has been contaminated with domestic waste, and Unhas in South Sulawesi, which is polluted with heavy metals.

The other lakes are Situ Rawa Badung in West Java (contaminated with mercury), Sembuluh in Central Kalimantan (a dumping ground for crude palm oil waste), and Penantian in South Sumatra (polluted by a nearby coal-fired power plant).

Mukri said the contamination problem has been exacerbated by the proliferation of industrial waste.

"Industries tend to dump their liquid waste during the rainy season, assuming that the rain will help wash it out to sea," he said. "However, these days we see them dumping their waste more indiscriminately, even outside the rainy season. We found cases of this in Kalimantan. The government should be serious about assessing companies' environmental impact."

He added the government should also update its liquid waste disposal standards because they were no longer applicable to current conditions.

Mukri said any given stretch of the Ciliwung, for example, hosts fewer factories dumping their waste directly into the water than a similar stretch of the Citarum River, thus requiring a different policy.

The Citarum passes through several heavy-polluting industrial estates in Bekasi and has been called the world's dirtiest river by the Asian Development Bank.

"The more factories are concentrated in an area, the more waste is dumped and hence the higher the need to boost the waste disposal standards," Mukri said. "This is the kind of thing that the Environment Ministry needs to address."

Sigit Hermono, the assistant deputy for river and lake degradation at the Environment Ministry, acknowledged Walhi's findings but said he had not read the report. "I'm not directly responsible for those rivers, but I'm sure the regional [environmental] offices will be able to provide similar data," he said.

He added the ministry had prioritized 13 rivers in Java for restoration, including the Ciliwung, and also said it would look into sources of the contamination before evaluating waste disposal standards. "You need to make sure what kinds of waste are out there."

Health & education

Indonesian government witnesses say tobacco not addictive

Jakarta Globe - January 5, 2011

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – In a bizarre twist to the ongoing legal debate over tobacco's addictive nature, the government contradicted its own law by siding with the country's powerful cigarette industry.

One of the witnesses, Mualimin Abdi, the director of litigation at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, said it was preposterous to call tobacco addictive.

"It's nonsense to say that it's difficult to quit smoking," he told the Constitutional Court. "It didn't take me weeks to stop smoking. I just stopped. It only takes strong willpower."

After Wednesday's hearing in a judicial review called for by Bambang Sukarno, a legislator from the tobacco-growing hub of Temanggung in Central Java, Mualimin expounded further on the merits of tobacco. "Tobacco is a halal product [accepted under Islam], therefore cigarettes are halal too," he said.

"People should also not close their eyes to the fact that we receive Rp 60 trillion [$6.66 billion] in tobacco excise every year."

The debate centers on an article in the 2009 Health Law that lists tobacco as an addictive substance.

Hearings in the review so far have produced some jaw-dropping testimonies from witnesses for the applicant, including theories that smoking does not cause lung cancer and can actually be healthy.

No less mind-boggling was Wednesday's testimony by witnesses for the state, ostensibly meant to defend the law.

Another state witness, Iswanto, a tobacco farmer from Temanggung, testified that the industry was important to the people of his community.

The other witnesses for the state were lifelong heavy smokers who testified about the toll the habit had taken on their health.

None of the state witnesses was a tobacco industry representative or health expert.

The Constitutional Court invited its own witnesses, three tobacco industry executives, to testify on Wednesday. Justice Harjono justified the move by arguing they were industry stakeholders who would be affected by the outcome of the judicial review.

The executive from Djarum, the country's second-biggest cigarette producer, said any move to further regulate the industry would have a negative impact on the tens of thousands of people employed in the sector.

"In 2010, we had 73,896 employees and had a turnover of Rp 21.8 trillion, of which 56 percent went to the government," said Subronto, an industrial relations executive for Djarum. "Our workers are now being threatened with discriminatory laws."

Yos Adiguna Ginting, director of external relations for Sampoerna, the country's third-biggest cigarette producer, skirted the question of whether labeling tobacco an addictive substance would hurt the company.

"We don't have any tobacco farms ourselves so we don't have the capacity to answer that question," Yos said.

"Sampoerna is open to the idea that smoking may be addictive, but we demand a new law on tobacco product control, one that is comprehensive and pays attention to all stakeholders, including the government, workers and producers."

Speaking after the hearing, Tulus Abadi, from the Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI), criticized the court for inviting the executives to testify, arguing that their take on the judicial review was irrelevant.

"We question the relevance of the cigarette industry in this discussion," he said. "Addiction is a medical phenomenon, not an economic one. The cigarette industry shouldn't be considered a stakeholder in the Health Law."

Another witness who testified on Wednesday was Hakim Sorimuda Pohan, a former House of Representatives member who helped draft the original 2009 Health Law.

He said lawmakers' intention in labeling tobacco as addictive was to stem the number of children who take up smoking.

"Health economists have calculated the loss caused by smoking is five times what the state gets in tobacco excise," he said. "The generations that we lose cannot be justified by the money that we receive."

He added tobacco production had increased sevenfold between 1970 and 2009, while the country's total tobacco-growing area had only increased by one- seventh during the same period.

Critics have long lambasted the government for turning a blind eye to the dangers of tobacco in favor of the hefty revenue raised from the industry.

Indonesia is the only country in the Asia-Pacific region that has not ratified the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The FCTC requires its members to ban all tobacco advertising, including sponsorship and promotion by the tobacco industry.

The government's stance on the issue can also be seen in the highest institution in the land: the State Palace. Under to a 2010 gubernatorial decree, smoking is forbidden in all buildings in Jakarta. Yet smoking remains allowed in the palace's media room, which is air-conditioned, no less.

Women & gender

Indonesian women's ignorance of MDGs a huge setback: Experts

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2011

Nurfika Osman – Indonesian women are largely unfamiliar with the Millennium Development Goals despite being a key target demographic, hence hurting the government's chances of achieving the campaign's objectives, experts say.

The MDGs that specifically target women include reducing the maternal and infant mortality rates, ensuring universal primary education for girls and providing decent employment for women and men alike.

However, Dian Kartika Sari, secretary general of the Indonesian Women's Coalition (KPI), said most women were unaware of these objectives.

She said this ignorance was not just limited to women in poor rural communities, but also to educated ones including female legislators in West Nusa Tenggara province, for instance.

"This is a serious problem, because when we vote women into legislative councils, we have great hopes that they'll champion women's issues and influence policymaking to the advantage of women," Dian said.

"But these legislators claimed they'd never heard the expression 'MDGs' before, so we have to educate them about the issue."

She said the KPI made the startling discovery during a discussion on women's issues last month.

She added other provinces like Aceh have the same problem. "This indicates the increased quota for women in the legislature after the 2009 elections wasn't effective even," Dian said.

She added this phenomenon could also indicate the wider problem of unstable political conditions.

"How can we campaign about the issue of MDGs to women at the grass-roots level when those at the top don't even know what important issues they should be addressing?" she said.

"To tackle this backwardness, we're working with regional legislatures throughout the country to train their female members on how to address problems related to gender and children in order to achieve the MDGs."

Dian added the KPI had around 28,000 registered members in 14 of the country's 33 provinces, 10 percent of whom were qualified trainers.

"We also need to partner with the government and with other nongovernmental organizations to promote MDGs, because Indonesia is a vast country with special characteristics in every region, far different from any other country in Southeast Asia."

Dwi Faiz, the program officer for UN Women, agreed that the government needs to urgently address the issue of ignorance about the MDGs among female legislators.

"The women's aspects of MDGs haven't been touched on by the government, so lots of work needs to be done by the authorities together with civil society and women's groups," she said.

"We need to revise how the MDG campaign is promoted, because the efforts so far clearly haven't done enough."

Dwi added that NGOs like Fatayat, the women's wing of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's biggest Islamic organization, and Rahima, another Islamic group, are fully aware of the campaign and promotes them to women at the grass-roots level.

"We're also working with the National Commission on Violence Against Women [Komnas Perempuan] and the Ministry for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection to conduct a national campaign on MDG awareness this year," Dwi said.

Women's roles downplayed by Indonesian media: Survey

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2011

Ismira Lutfia, Jakarta – For the most part, women only ever seem to make the headlines for their role as a famous person's relative, a victim or a criminal, a reporters' guild says.

In a study carried out between July and September last year, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) looked for mention of female news sources in seven Indonesian-language dailies.

"These are the three types of women who often appear in the seven daily papers' news reports," Rach Alida Bahaweres, the AJI coordinator for women's issues, said at a public discussion last month.

The newspapers Kompas, Koran Tempo, Republika, Media Indonesia, Suara Pembaruan, Warta Kota and Indo Pos were studied.

Rach said the finding corresponded to that from a similar study between January and March 2009, which trawled for mentions of female legislators in news reports in The Jakarta Post, Kompas, Koran Tempo, Republika and Media Indonesia.

The earlier study showed that despite the increased number of women at the House of Representatives, most of whom were campaigning for re-election at the time, the legislators themselves were only mentioned an average of three times a month in each paper, less than a tenth of total coverage devoted to women in the House.

Ninety percent of that coverage was focused in the planned increase in the quota for women at the House. The rest of the coverage touched on elements of the female legislators' campaign platforms.

"The media hardly quotes women as news sources in its reports, and this situation happens not just in political issues but also in other issues," Rach said. "Women often appear on news reports only when they're victims, such as in sexual harassment cases."

Ignatius Haryanto, a media analyst, agreed, saying the problem was even more acute in television news reporting, which only ever seemed to quote women as a way of dramatizing a report, especially in coverage of natural disasters.

"The more they cry, the better," he said. "That's the logic of a television news report. They always need drama."

He added journalists often mistakenly believed that by interviewing grieving women who had lost their children or husbands in a disaster, they were paying more attention to women.

In the case of coverage of women in power, Ignatius urged women's rights groups to push for better media representation of these women by highlighting positive examples of how they performed better than their male counterparts.

"News organizations should be fair and allow the female legislators or leaders to prove their worth, even those with backgrounds as celebrities," he said.

Media organizations should consider quoting more female sources to balance out appearances by males in media reports, giving a variety of perspectives to their audience, he said.

News outlets should also look inside their own organizations and consider how engaging more female editors could influence their own editorial policies, Ignatius said.

The discussion concluded with an awards ceremony to honor news organizations and journalists for their extensive coverage of women's issues.

Dwi Faiz, a program coordinator from UN Women, which supported the Swara Sarasvati 2010 awards, said promoting women's causes required the help of a media system that allowed them to have their voices heard fairly. "The media plays an important role in this case," she said.

However, the fact that only a handful of media outlets qualified for the award poses a challenge in trying to bring women's issues into the media spotlight, she added.

Group addresses politics, laws, love affairs

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2011

Jakarta – Women's rights group LBH Apik released its year-end letter on Monday, in which it highlighted several topics concerning women's rights; from weak enforcement of the domestic violence law to the Health Minister's decision to allow one of her subordinates to take a second wife.

LBH Apik said even though Indonesia had an advanced law on domestic violence, the implementation of the law last year was weak. The group said prosecutors tended to avoid seeking the maximum penalty for violent husbands. Most of them sought four to six months' imprisonment.

The group also said the government still sanctioned polygamy among civil servants, which was attainable but through strict procedures. "In 2010, the Health Minister [Endang R. Sedyaningsih] issued a permit for Zulkifli Amin, a doctor and a civil servant at Ciptomangunkusumo Hospital to take a second wife," Nursjahbani Katjasungkana, the group director, said.

Zulkifli claimed his first wife was sickly but the minister failed to consult the first wife who later sought consultancy from LBH Apik and filed a lawsuit against the license at a State Administrative Court, which revoked the minister's permit.

LBH Apik also addressed the problem surrounding discriminative bylaws, which reached 182 as of 2010, love affairs involving male legislators as reported by their wives, to the House of Representatives' Ethical Board and several cases like in Bireun, Aceh, where some community members objected to having a female district head.

Level of domestic violence 'alarming'

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2011

Khairul Saleh, Palembang – The level of domestic violence in Palembang has dropped but the figure is still alarming and more preventive efforts are needed, the Women's Crisis Center (WCC) says.

In its report, the WCC said there were 138 incidents of domestic violence in the South Sumatran capital, 35.3 percent of the 391 reported incidents of violence against women during 2010.

Although the figure showed a drop from the 194 cases in 2009, or 51.8 percent of the 374 reported acts of violence against women, the true figure is believed to be much higher.

WCC executive director Yeni Roslaini Izi said the real level of violence against women in the region could be 10 times higher because most victims did not report the incidents.

"The victims are mostly women between the ages of 19 and 40," Yeni said, adding that there were 126 reported incidents in the 19-24 age group and 119 reported incidents in the 25-40 age group.

Apart from domestic violence, Yeni said, the WCC also tracked a high number of incidents of rape (90 cases or 23 percent), sexual harassment (15 percent) and premarital violence (45 cases of 11.5 percent).

She added that 57 of the perpetrators in the reported cases were in the 19-24 age range and 175 of them in the 25-40 age range.

The WCC said 114 of the victims were high school graduates and 86 were junior high graduates. The WCC added that 127 of the perpetrators were high school graduates and 89 were university graduates.

"This shows that people with a high level of education also commit violence," Yeni said.

The WCC data also showed that 97 of the victims were homemakers, 76 were students, 39 were university students, 17 were teachers or lecturers and 13 were civil servants.

The WCC said 51 of the perpetrators were university students, 37 were civil servants, 36 were students, 33 were employed in the private sector, and 32 were teachers or lecturers. "In some cases, the perpetrators were mid-level civil servants," Yeni said.

The report indicated that 80 percent of the reports of domestic violence in South Sumatra originated in Palembang, partly due to the town's high population.

Yeni said investigations into 20 percent of the cases had gone through to the legal phase, 14 percent were halted for a variety of reasons and the rest were settled through mediation.

The level of violence, Yeni said, spanned the range from minor injuries to death, sexual violence including unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, and psychological violence such as trauma, depression and mental disorder.

She expressed concern that both the local administration and the community did not do enough to prevent the violence.

However, Yeni welcomed the recent passage of a bylaw on violence against women by the provincial legislature.

She said she hoped the administration would allocate adequate funds to protect victims' rights and work with integrated service centers helping women and children.

WCC counselor Sintia pointed out that joint efforts were needed to reduce the level of violence.

"The level of violence endured by women is something that concerns us all," she said.

She underlined the importance of creating awareness and courage among women to report any incidents of violence they experience both in their family and in a wider social context.

Graft & corruption

Brokers offer fake passport, fast process at a price

Jakarta Post - January 8, 2011

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – It appears that the country's redundant bureaucracy can be a boon for some.

A case in point: The East Jakarta Immigration Office. The hassle that comes from applying for passports has created a cottage industry of passport brokers.

It was here that former tax official Gayus H. Tambunan allegedly obtained a passport under a fake name, Sony Laksono, that he later used to travel to Macau and Kuala Lumpur in September last year.

But you don't have to be a well-connected suspect in a tax scam trial to be able to obtain a passport quickly. All you need is cash, lots of it.

Officially, the East Jakarta Immigration Office charges applicants Rp 270,000 (US$30) for a regular passport and Rp 600,000 for an electronic passport, both processed in eight days.

But in case you need it sooner, there has never been a short supply of brokers who can be as powerful as the immigration officials.

At first glance, it is difficult to tell the difference between these middlemen and regular applicants. But to the trained eye, the dress and demeanor is a giveaway.

"If you want them to come to you, just hang around near the desk where applicants fill out the forms. They will soon greet you and offer you their services," Edra, who regularly makes use of the brokers, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The Post loitered long enough at the spot but no one approached and we soon asked a newspaper vendor about the brokers. "You want your passport to be processed quickly? I know the people you are looking for, come with me," Ivan (not his real name) told the Post.

Ivan then introduced the Post to a middle-aged woman, Lulu (not her real name), who sat in the corner of a hall close to the passport processing section. Lulu was very friendly, and on first impression, nobody would have thought that she was a heavyweight broker who had run her operation for years at the office.

"I can get your passport done in three days for Rp 750,000. If you want it to be finished in one day, you need to pay Rp 1,500,000," said Lulu, who claimed that she ran the brokerage operation with her husband for the past 20 years.

She said her fees was not negotiable as all brokers used a standard price. "However, if you want to make passports for more than one person, we can chisel the price down to Rp 650,000 per person," she said.

As lucrative as it might seem, the passport brokering business only provides a small cut for its brokers, Lulu said. "We only get Rp 100,000 of the Rp 750,000 for helping applicants get their passports quicker," she said. Brokers also spend Rp 25,000 paying go-betweens such as Ivan, who connect clients and brokers, Lulu added.

Things turned sour after the Gayus fake passport scandal broke, she added. "Ever since the Gayus case, there has been a bit of a shortage in demand, and it's getting more difficult to process requests from clients who want their passports in less than three days," Lulu said.

Minister Patrialis Akbar has strenuously denied that the East Jakarta Immigration Office issued Gayus' new passport, but the reality is that the system is porous.

Gayus Tambunan admits to Macau, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore travel

Jakarta Globe - January 7, 2011

After being interrogated by a joint team from the National Police's criminal division and Immigration's directorate general, rogue taxman Gayus Tambunan finally confessed that he went to Singapore, Macau and Kuala Lumpur while he was supposed to be jailed awaiting trial.

"Based on the interrogation, [Gayus] indeed went to Macau, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore too," said National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam to reporters at National Police Headquarters on Friday, as quoted by news portal Kompas.com.

He was accompanied by his wife, Milana Anggraeni, during the 'vacation,' Anton said.

Gayus also confessed to having used the passport with the name of 'Sony Laksono' and that he obtained the passport from an agent. However, it is still unclear if the agent was a government insider or not.

"We are still investigating if the agent is related to the Immigration Office," Anton said.

The National Police on Thursday confirmed that a forged passport bearing the known alias of graft suspect Gayus Tambunan was used for travel to Singapore in September.

Sony Laksono is also the name reportedly used by Gayus during his visit Bali in November, when he was photographed by the Jakarta Globe wearing a wig at an international tennis tournament.

Separately, the minister of justice and human rights, Patrialis Akbar, said the passport in question, although authentic, had not been issued by the immigration office.

"There are so many discrepancies on the passport that we could ascertain that it was not issued by the East Jakarta immigration office," he said. He said that although the passport was an original, the contents had been tampered with.

Politics continues to derail anti-corruption fight: Experts

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Politics is stalling the country's antigraft campaign, with the powers that be allegedly directly interfering with the legal processes of cases implicating high-profile figures.

On Dec. 23, Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud M.D. claimed that he received a threat that one of the court's justices would be charged with corruption should the court declare then attorney general Hendarman Supandji illegitimate. "It was a threat from the mafia, just before we issued the ruling," he said.

The former defense minister defied the threat and went on with his decision to declare Hendarman illegitimate and ordered President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to immediately replace him.

Many believe that it is not unusual for the people in power to influence decision makers in law enforcement institutions.

"The threat to charge a judge with corruption means the blackmailer was close to power," said Indonesia Corruption Watch coordinator Febri Diansyah.

"We have warned for months that a number of corruption cases might have been 'politically traded'. The government and ruling party's politicians have always denied such allegations but Pak Mahfud's statement confirmed such practices really exist," he added.

The prominent graft watchdog said that at least five corruption cases could potentially be used as "political trade-offs", including the multibillion rupiah bribery and tax evasion case centering on former tax official Gayus Tambunan.

Many believe that political interests have prevented those suspected of bribing Gayus from undergoing legal processes.

As trial hearings reveal that giant mining companies partly belonging to the family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie were among corporate taxpayers allegedly bribing Gayus, speculations arose that the case has also been used to "attack" the second-largest party in the coalition government.

Golkar, which was embroiled in a political battle against the Democratic Party over a bank bailout scandal last year, has complained that the Gayus case had been "politicized" to corner Aburizal, who has repeatedly denied the allegations that he had a role in the case.

Febri said it was likely that the ruling Democratic Party had "interfered with the legal process" in the Gayus case to attack Golkar. On the other hand, he added, Golkar might have maximized its power in parliament to balance the pressure.

Observers alleged that the House of Representatives' plan to probe the IPO fiasco of state-owned steel maker PT Krakatau Steel was triggered by the development of the Gayus case. Sources say the company's controversial IPO involved a number of high-profile Democratic Party politicians.

Senior politician and outspoken critic from the National Mandate Party, Amien Rais, said "the power of the invisible" was trying to bury the Krakatau Steel scandal. "... Now the case has died down and will possibly disappear," he said on Sunday.

Transparency International Indonesia (TII) secretary-general Teten Masduki said that politicking had resulted in a poor anti-corruption performance and had reduced public faith in the government.

The group gave Indonesia a Corruption Perception Index score of 2.8 this year, putting the country in 110th place out of 178 countries. The score is the same as it was last year.

Presidential special staffer for legal affairs Denny Indrayana has repeatedly reiterated that the President would never allow any legal cases to be politically traded. But doubts linger.

In the words of former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who left her job for a post in the World Bank following bickering over the Bank Century bailout scandal, "Corruption [in Indonesia] remains intertwined with politics, and there are brazen attacks on those fighting corruption".

Understaffed KPK faces huge challenges in regions

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has requested additional prosecutors and investigators following the establishment of three regional antigraft tribunals.

"We are running seriously short of prosecutors and investigators," KPK deputy chief for prevention Haryono Umar told The Jakarta Post on Monday. "This hinders our performance."

Haryono was concerned the commission would fail to deliver at the local level after the Supreme Court established three Corruption Courts in Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya. The three courts are scheduled to begin hearing cases this year.

The KPK will be responsible for deploying its prosecutors from the KPK headquarters in Jakarta whenever there is trial in any of the three local graft courts, he said. "That having been said, additional prosecutors are obviously essential."

The KPK recently announced that it was now eying rampant corruption allegations in the regions. KPK deputy chairman for enforcement Chandra M. Hamzah recently said that his office found that regional budget funds were more likely to be misused by local administrative officials.

"There's an accumulation of state funds in the regions since the government implemented regional autonomy. The funds are more likely to be misused by local administration officials," Chandra said.

The government implemented Indonesia's sweeping regional autonomy program in 1999. More than 30 percent of the state budget has been directly allocated to the regions each year since then.

The central government distributes two kinds of funds to support regions in developing infrastructure projects: general allocation and special allocation funds.

To manage nationwide oversight of such huge budgetary disbursements, the KPK has a total of 638 personnel: 191 people for its enforcement unit; 116 people for its prevention unit; 127 for the information and data management unit; 72 for the Center for Information and Public Complaints (PIPM); and 125 for the secretariat unit. The KPK also has five unit leaders and two advisors.

For comparison, in 2009 KPK had a total 648 personnel, comprising 187 members for the enforcement unit; 122 for the prevention unit; 131 for the information and data unit; 74 for the PIPM; 127 for its secretariat unit; and five leaders and two advisors.

"The KPK needs around another 60 prosecutors, 100 more researchers, including police and auditors, and 100 additional police investigators," Haryono said.

As of Dec. 31, 2010, the KPK has around 35 prosecutors who were transferred from the Attorney General's Office (AGO), 50 investigators from the National Police and around 50 researchers, including those coming from the police, the Development and Finance Surveillance Agency and other law enforcement institutions.

Haryono, who lamented that until this time the AGO and National Police had stationed their personnel is a piecemeal manner, said that his office had already tried to lobby Attorney General Basyrif Arief to approve their request to have more prosecutors.

As for the police, Haryono added the KPK would lobby them as well.

Another KPK deputy chief for prevention, Mochammad Jasin, told the Post that his office would set forth to establish KPK representatives offices in the three areas where new local Corruption Courts have been established.

However, the KPK representative offices will be designated for focus on preventing corruption, before administering justice, Jasin said.

"Representatives' offices will be a place for local officials to report their wealth and any gratuities they may receive," he said, adding that the KPK would also administer its corruption prevention education program in the areas.

Facing 20 years, Gayus counter attacks prosecutors, police

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2011

Heru Andriyanto – In his defense on Monday at the South Jakarta District Court, former tax official, Gayus Tambunan, said that his 20-year sentence was recommended by "incompetent prosecutors" in a highly charged graft case prepared by "interest-driven police."

"Frankly speaking, I taught (police) investigators about tax issues because their knowledge in the area was zero," Gayus told the court as he described the bribery investigation against him by the police's independent team.

"But then they acted as if they were the smartest, especially prosecutors who demanded 20 years for me," Gayus said as the court audience burst into laughter.

He alleged that his case had been largely modified and fabricated to keep top police officers and prosecutors from criminal charges, despite the "bright facts" of their role in his first controversial trial in Tangerang that ended in an acquittal.

He singled out officers Raja Erisman, Edmon Ilyas, Pambudi Pamungkas and Mardiani who remained free despite having intervened in his original case through the manipulation of dossiers, the coercion of witnesses and changing the status of a fellow suspect to that of a witness.

Among the prosecutors, Gayus singled out Cirus Sinaga, Poltak Manulang, Fadil Regan and Kamal Sofyan for bringing his case to the general crimes unit of the Attorney General's Office, when he claimed the case should have gone to the special crimes unit.

The prosecutors added the embezzlement charge so that they could handle his case, said Gayus.

He also questioned why he was charged with the mishandling of a state refund to a corporate tax payer, PT Surya Alam Tunggal, while his first trial in Tangerang and the ongoing one in South Jakarta had nothing to do with the company.

Moreover, he complained that the legal proceedings targeted himself and SAT and missed the opportunity to launch a major probe into the tax directorate.

"I am wondering why police didn't continue their probe to the tax directorate? Is it considered as clean?" he asked.

"If I am found guilty based on evidence and facts, I can accept punishment. If there is no evidence against me, I demand the court to acquit me," he said. "I am not a good person, I must admit, but I am not a criminal either."

Freedom of religion & worship

Worship decree an excuse for attack

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2011

Elisabeth Oktofani & Yuli Krisna – Two men standing trial for a brutal assault on two church leaders in Bekasi told the district court on Thursday that they had been motivated to confront the victims because of a government decree that placed restrictions on houses of worship.

In total, 13 men stand accused of assaulting Asia Sihombing and the Rev. Luspida Simandjuntak, leaders of a congregation of the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP), on Sept. 12.

Asia was stabbed during the attack while Luspida was beaten with a bamboo stick. The incident occurred as the congregation was on its way to a vacant lot in Ciketing, where it had been holding services after authorities sealed off the home it was using as a church in Pondok Timur Indah.

Questioned by prosecutor Indra Pribadi, the first defendant, Supriyanto, said that even though he was not from Bekasi, he had been motivated to confront the church leaders by updates on the Facebook page of Murhali Barda, a suspended leader of the Bekasi chapter of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). Murhali is also a suspect in the case.

Indra read out one of Murhali's updates to the court. "Praise be to God. Reskon Sitorus, the HKBP priest who likes to hide under a woman's armpit, I challenge you to show up.

On the 12th [of September] we will fight one-on-one," it said. "Hey, you priests who like to use their congregation to gain popularity and respect, I challenge you next Sunday."

Supriyanto told the hearing that news about the Ciketing services had made him angry. "More so after reading Murhali's Facebook update. I was motivated to help the government to enforce the law."

A 2006 joint ministerial decree on houses of worship requires the approval of at least 60 residents in the immediate vicinity of a house of worship, copies of 90 identity cards from congregation members and written recommendations from the local offices of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interreligious Communication Forum (FKUB).

Supriyanto added that he did not know Murhali personally, having only met him on Sept. 12, the day of the attack, at Miftahul Jannah Mosque in Ciketing.

Meanwhile, Ade Firman, another defendant in the case, said he had met with at least eight of the other suspects at an Islamic get-together when he received a message from Murhali.

"It said that society should reject the HKBP's Sunday services in the vacant lot in Ciketing because it violated the 2006 joint ministerial decree," he said.

Ade said Murhali had suggested they meet at Nurul Huda Mosque, which is located some distance away from Miftahul Jannah Mosque.

"We did not get to Nurul Huda because before we could, we saw the HKBP congregation. We saw some of the congregation members beating up a motorcyclist," he said.

"Some minutes later, I saw a motorbike with three people coming toward me. I was trying to defend myself and I hit the woman who was sitting on the back of the motorcycle."

The woman that was hit was identified as Luspida. The motorcyclist allegedly beaten by the HKBP congregation was Ismail bin Abdullah, another defendant who addressed the court on Thursday.

"I was driving my bike when suddenly the HKBP congregation got hold of me and called me a thief," he said.

"All I knew was that I was supposed to meet my friends for a get-together at the Nurul Huda Mosque. Ade asked some of us to go to Ciketing, but he did not explain why."

Near run-in with police at Setara meeting in Bandung

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2011

Yuli Krisna – Police in Bandung on Thursday nearly disbanded a group discussion organized by the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy. In the end, however, they provided security for the meeting to push through.

During the meeting, Setara tried to bring together congregation members of churches that were forcibly shut down, as well as believers of the Ahmadiyah, a Muslim minority sect, who were scheduled to meet up with officials of the West Java administration.

"The incident [with the police] occurred after members of the FPI [Islamic Defenders Front] showed up to protest the discussion, saying that Setara was anti-Islam," Setara researcher Ismail Hasani told the Jakarta Globe.

"Even as the discussion commenced at the Amaroossa Hotel on Jalan Aceh in Bandung as planned, following negotiations between Setara and the police, not a single invited official from the West Java administration arrived to attend the discussion," he added.

A string of houses of worship, including Ahmadiyah mosques, under the jurisdiction of West Java, like Bekasi, Bogor and Depok, have been forcibly shut down by local administrations following pressure from Islamic hard- line organizations.

The Setara Institute recorded 28 attacks and violations of Christians' right to worship in the first seven months of 2010 alone, up from 18 in all of 2009 and 17 in 2008.

Islam & religion

Religious affairs ministry courts controversy with Islamic awards

Jakarta Globe - January 5, 2011

Elisabeth Oktofani, Ulma Haryanto & Fitri R. – Critics have lashed out at the Ministry of Religious Affairs for recently handing out awards to Muslim leaders, saying it unduly favored Islam over other faiths.

The ministry on Monday presented awards to six governors and 10 district heads and mayors for "explicitly including Islamic education in regional bylaws."

Recipients included the governors of Bangka-Belitung, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi.

The winning district heads and mayors were from Lhokseumawe and Sabang in Aceh, East Ogan Komering Ulu and Palembang in South Sumatra, Lebak and Tangerang in Banten, Sukabumi in West Java, Jepara in Central Java, West Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara and Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi.

Ismail Hasani, a senior researcher at the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, said the ministry "showed favoritism" by handing out the awards. "It's supposed to be the Religious Affairs Ministry, not the Islamic Affairs Ministry," Ismail said on Tuesday.

"I fear that the objectivity of the country's public officials has been compromised," he added. "They no longer work for all groups in society, but rather they see things based on the dichotomy of majority and minority."

In particular, Ismail questioned the ministry's decision to honor West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zainul Majdi, who pushed for a ban on Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect considered deviant by most mainstream Muslims, in his province.

"Zainul is an Islamic cleric whose grandfather founded Nahdlatul Wathan, the biggest Islamic organization in the province," Ismail said. "Now he has ambitions to build the country's biggest Islamic center there, for which he's already had two schools bulldozed. Not to mention he's already quarantined the Ahmadiyah."

Members of the sect have been forced to live in temporary shelters in Mataram after being barred from returning to their homes. Several provincial officials have proposed relocating sect members to a deserted island.

Taqiuddin Mansur, director of the Al Mansuryah Islamic boarding school in Central Lombok, said Zainul's administration treated Nahdatul Wathan institutions more favorably than those run by Muhammadiyah or Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's two biggest Islamic organizations. "A governor shouldn't be so primordial or sectarian like that," he said.

Tantowi, a coordinator for the Institute of Humanitarian Studies (LenSA) in West Nusa Tenggara, said funding was skewed toward Zainul's pet organization and projects.

"The provincial Islamic center gets an annual budget of Rp 500 billion [$56 million]," he said. "Meanwhile, anyone wanting to build a church or house of worship for any other religion gets a hard time from the authorities."

Noorhaidi Hasan, from Jakarta's Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, said the awards might have been politically motivated.

"Research shows that religious bylaws are often used only to accumulate power or influence, and they're not always implemented," he said. "That the administrations getting the awards are those that pushed for Islamic interests – there might be something there."

Ismail said the awards were introduced after Suryadharma Ali became the religious affairs minister in October 2009. "During his rule, he has often made decisions that reflect his Islamic political background and not his role as a public official," he said.

Afrizal Zein, a spokesman of the Religious Affairs Ministry, said the awards were initiated by the head of the Directorate of Islamic Education, which naturally recognized efforts to help Muslim schools.

"If other directorate heads want to do the same thing, they are allowed to do so," he said. "It just depends on whether they have the budget for it."

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Setara's deputy chairman, said the state should "maintain its distance" from all faiths. "Unfortunately, the government does things that it thinks are right, but that only turn out to be discriminative," he said.

Poverty & hunger

Reality reveals harsh flaws in government fuzzy statistics

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2011

Mariel Grazella, Jakarta – Poverty left no options for six siblings but to consume a cheap traditional meal made of processed cassava mixed with palm sugar, called tiwul, which led to lethal food poisoning that claimed their lives over the weekend in Jebol village in Jepara, Central Java.

"The first to die were Lutfiana, 22, and Abdul Amin, 3, who passed away at Kartini General Hospital in Jepara on Sunday morning and Sunday evening," Jamhamid, the children's father, was quoted as saying by news portal tribunnews.com.

Lutfiana and Abdul Amin were buried along with Jamhamid's other children who died eating the meal: Ahmad Kusrianto, 5, Saidatul Kusniah, 8, Ahmad Hisyam Ali, 13, and Faridatul Solihah, 15.

Jamhamid, who works as a tailor in nearby Semarang, said his family ate cassava because that was all they could afford on his paltry weekly income of Rp 150,000 (US$16.60), which he stretched over four days.

Jamhamid's income is higher than the official poverty line set by the Indonesian government between March 2009 and March 2010 at Rp 211,726 per month to fulfill a 2100-calorie daily intake.

"Sometimes we can only buy 10 kilograms of rice instead of the usual 16 kilograms to feed eight members of the family," Jamhamid said. His wife, Siti, added that the family had been subsisting on cassava for two weeks because of the financial restraints they suffered from.

Jamhamid and Siti's six children died just days after Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono announced that the country experienced a decline in poverty, adding that the government aimed to further reduce poverty to 12 percent or less in 2012.

The official poverty rate fell from 16.7 percent of the total population in 2004 to 13.3 percent of the total population in 2010, he said.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that as of March 2010, 31.02 million Indonesians lived below the poverty line, 1.5 million less than the 32.53 million people recorded as living in poverty in the same month in 2009.

However, Gadjah Mada University economist Revrisond Baswir said a gap between the data and reality existed, reflecting the government's effort to "lie through statistics".

"The government uses politically driven statistical variables and this is what causes the gap with reality," he said, adding that this method helped the government manipulate reality by hiding undesirable facts.

"If the government were to use the World Bank's definition of poverty, setting the poverty line at $2 per day, the actual number of poor people would skyrocket," he said.

The BPS previously scoffed at the World Bank, which reported that 100 million Indonesians lived in poverty, defining poverty as living on $2 or less per day.

Economist Aviliani said the poverty line should be periodically adjusted according to inflation. She added that the government would fail to accurately respond to real conditions if it relied on inaccurate data.

"Prices keep increasing but the definition of poverty doesn't," she told The Jakarta Post.

Indonesia's overall inflation for 2010 stood at 6.96 percent, a figure higher than both the state's budget estimate at 5.3 percent and the central bank's estimate of 4 to 6 percent, the BPS reported.

Revrisond said inaccurate statistics would cause "wide deviations" between the government's poverty reduction plans and the actual results achieved.

Land disputes & evictions

Land conflicts over palm oil plantations on the rise

Kompas - January 5, 2011

Jakarta – Agrarian conflicts in palm oil plantation areas – followed by the criminalisation of local residents who object to these palm oil plantations – have in creased two-fold in 2010 compared with 2009.

It is estimated that the number of conflicts will further increase in 2011 due to the massive clearing of forests and the overlapping of location permits (to convert forest areas) with community forest areas.

Palm Oil Watch Department of Social and Environmental Mitigation head Norman Jiwan says that 660 case of agrarian conflicts occurred in palm oil plantation areas in 2010.

"Throughout 2009, the number of cases agrarian conflicts in palm oil plantations was only around 240. The criminalisation of local residents involved in these conflicts increased from 112 in 2009 to more than 130 in 2010" said Jiwan on Tuesday January 4.

Separately, Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) national executive forest and plantation campaigner Deddy Ratih said that the criminalisation of local residences has occurred in 13 plantation conflicts in nine provinces.

Between January and December 2010, 125 local residents were criminalised for their involvement in palm oil plantation agrarian conflicts. "In several cases there were incidence of violence, three people were killed", said Deddy.

Deddy said that many palm oil plantation location permits were issued in 2009. "In Central Kalimantan, in 2009 location permits were issued to 336 companies.

The total area of land covered by palm oil plantation location permits has reached 4.7 million hectares. These location permits were issued to 268 companies that do not have forest conversion permits.

"In 2010, these permit holders cleared forests for their plantations, and conflicts also arose", said Deddy.

Norman believes that Ministerial Plantation Regulation Number 26/Permentan/OT.140/2/2007 increases the risk of agrarian conflicts in palm oil plantation areas.

"First, it changed the limit on the size of palm oil plantations for each company in a province from 20,000 to 100,000 hectares. Second, the regulation states, if within three years [after] the clearing of land the permit holders do not use more than 50 percent [of the land], then the permit will be revoked. This makes companies race to clear their land by any and all means. Agrarian conflicts then arise", he said.

It is estimated that agrarian conflicts in 2011 will increase further. "The moratorium on the issuance of new permits in the cooperation between Indonesia and Norway will not reduce agrarian conflicts in palm oil plantation areas", said Norman.

The government has already issued in principle licenses for forest areas covering 26 million hectares. Meanwhile the palm oil plantations that have been realised only cover 9 million hectares. "There are still 15 million hectares of forest left that can be converted into palm oil plantations and this will certainly give rise to new agrarian conflicts", said Norman. (ROW)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Legislation & parliament

Plans for new house a done deal: DPR speaker

Jakarta Globe - January 8, 2011

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) says it is confident it can further trim the projected cost of a proposed new House building once discussions on the project resume on Monday.

The controversial plan had an initial price tag of Rp 1.8 trillion ($199.8 million) when it was first raised last year, but was subsequently reduced to Rp 1.3 trillion following a public outcry and opposition from some parties in the House over the extravagance of the project.

On Friday, House Speaker Marzuki Alie said the new House project was "inevitable" despite the criticisms over costs and necessity. But he was confident legislators could bring down the cost even further when the House reconvenes next week.

"I'm sure it can be trimmed to under Rp 1 trillion," he said. "We can save a lot on the furniture and IT equipment. I'll ask the technical team [overseeing the project] to re-evaluate the cost."

Original plans reportedly called for the building to include a pool, gym and sauna, which some lawmakers argued were necessary facilities. However, Marzuki said the gym and sauna were never part of the plan, while the pool was.

He added the House had returned to the state budget the Rp 250 billion allocated for the first phase of the project last year, but could not say if that amount would be added to the Rp 800 billion the House is set to get in the second phase this year.

"We don't know yet, but it's not necessary to spend it all," he said. "Ultimately, we want to lower the building's cost."

Marzuki is also the chairman of the House's Household Affairs Committee (BURT), which is in charge of the project. Earlier this week, BURT deputy chairman Pius Lustrilanang said the engineering design is expected to be finished in February, after which the project could be tendered out.

He said the process could take up to three months, while "construction will probably begin around the middle of the year."

Marzuki confirmed the project would proceed despite the widespread opposition to it, calling it "inevitable."

"We've spoken to all House parties about the need for the new building and none of them have rejected the plan," he said. "So I urge legislators not to play up this issue for their own political purposes, because they've all agreed to it."

He said if any of the nine parties formally rejected the project, "I will cancel it, even if it's just one party."

However, Gayus Lumbuun, a legislator from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), denied that there was any consensus to proceed.

He said the House should hold a plenary session to formally decide whether to construct the new building, and accused the House leadership of using the issue to "selfishly push their own plans."

"It might seem that all the parties agree for now on the plan, but this really should be brought before a plenary session, where all legislators are present," Gayus told the Jakarta Globe. "Legislators have a constitutional right to speak out on the issue."

He added that without unanimous agreement, "the plan is simply invalid." He also said the House leadership had "crossed the line" by pushing for the new building despite public outrage.

House revives plan for new building that includes swimming pool

Jakarta Globe - January 7, 2011

Anita Rachman – House Speaker Marzuki Alie confirmed on Friday that they have set a revised budget for the new building of the House of Representatives. He said that it will be built for less than Rp 1 trillion ($110,9 million).

The Household Affairs Committee (BURT) had initially proposed a Rp 1.8 trillion ($200 million) budget for the new building. The committee claimed that this was necessary to accommodate the increased number of staff members for each of the 560 lawmakers.

Original plans called for the building to include a pool, gym and sauna, which some lawmakers argued were necessary facilities. However, Marzuki said that the gym and the sauna will not be installed due to cost cutting.

"The pool is needed as a water reservoir to anticipate fire because it is a building with 36 floors. But the consultant said it would be a waste if we just used it as a reservoir, so why not use it into a swimming pool as well?," Marzuki said.

Budget for furniture and IT facilities will also be minimized. "I am sure it could [be trimmed] under Rp 1 trillion," Marzuki said. "We could save a lot from furniture and IT. I will ask the technical team to review it."

The new building plan is supervised under the legislature's Household Affairs Committee chaired by Marzuki.

Marzuki said that a new building was urgently needed because in the future, a legislator is projected to have a total of five advisers. At the moment, each of the 560 legislators only has one adviser and a personal assistant.

"About the urgency of this new office building, we have talked to all party factions, and none of them refused the plan," he said. "So I urged lawmakers not to dance over this issue for their own political purposes because all factions have agreed to the proposal."

Judiciary & legal system

Ethics tribunal formed at Constitutional Court

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2011

Camelia Pasandaran & Nivell Rayda – The Constitutional Court on Monday announced it had set up an ethics tribunal for two justices alleged to have taken bribes for favorable rulings in an electoral dispute and a judicial review.

Chief Justice Mahfud M.D. said the tribunal had been formed at the request of the judges in question, Arsyad Sanusi and Akil Mochtar, and had bypassed the preliminary step of setting up an ethics panel to determine if a tribunal was necessary. "We made this legal breakthrough upon the request of Arsyad and Akil, who demanded that they be investigated by a tribunal," Mahfud said.

Akil is alleged to have received Rp 1 billion ($111,000) from J.R. Saragih, the head of Simalungun district in North Sumatra, to uphold his victory in an election there last year. The court went on to rule in Saragih's favor.

However, Akil denies ever receiving money and has reported Saragih and Refly Harun, who was Saragih's lawyer at the time and who raised the allegation, to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Arsyad's daughter and brother-in-law are alleged to have taken bribes from Dirwan Mahmud, a candidate in the 2008 election for district head of South Bengkulu, in connection with a judicial review of the regional governance law.

The court ruled against Dirwan in that case, with Arsyad the only justice on the panel of seven to rule in favor of the plaintiff. Arsyad has denied knowing anything about his daughter's involvement in the case.

Mahfud, in defense of his fellow justices, said the supervision at the court was very strict. "No bribe or family connection can influence the judges' decisions," he said.

The formation of the tribunal has been welcomed by antigraft watchdogs, although concerns have been raised about how the members of the tribunal were selected. Those appointed to serve on the tribunal are Justices Harjono and Achmad Sodiki, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan, former Constitutional Court Justice Abdul Mukthie Fajar and Esmi Warassih Pujirahayu, a legal expert from Jakarta's Diponegoro University.

Febri Diansyah, coordinator of legal and court monitoring at Indonesia Corruption Watch, said there were concerns that the public was not involved in the process of selecting tribunal members.

"The law says the composition of the ethics tribunal should take into consideration input from the public," he said. "But we at the ICW never heard of the Constitutional Court introducing any mechanism through which the public could offer suggestions on selecting tribunal members.

"The ICW proposes that the court review the appointment of the three non- Constitutional Court members as it's still not too late to remedy the situation."

However, Mahfud said there could be no doubt about the credibility of everyone appointed to the tribunal. He also brushed off criticism of the tribunal holding hearings behind closed doors.

"The law states that such a tribunal should not be open to the public," he said. "While the results will be made public, the process won't. Not even I will get to sit in on it."

Criminal justice & prison system

Fake Indonesian inmate exposes prison corruption

Agence France Presse - January 7, 2011

Jakarta – When Kasiem, a 55-year-old Indonesian woman, was condemned to seven months in prison she decided she would prefer not to serve the sentence. So she hired someone else to go to jail on her behalf.

Kasiem was convicted of selling government-subsidised fertiliser, a crime in Indonesia, but during her transfer to prison swapped places with Karni, a 50-year-old widow to whom she allegedly paid 10 million rupiah (1,100 dollars).

It is the latest in a series of prison corruption scandals that have activists calling for deep reforms.

The case was uncovered last week when one of Kasiem's neighbours went to visit her in jail only to be presented with the impostor.

Kasiem was arrested and taken to prison to start her sentence for real the following day, while Karni – both women use only one name – has yet to be charged.

Erna Ratnaningsih, director of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, said it was unlikely the incident at Bojonegoro Penitentiary in East Java province was a first for Indonesia.

"The prison system here is very weak, both for its administration and monitoring. How could somebody who was not a convict be able to break into a prison?" she asked.

"The prisons are like an independent country of their own. It's hard for any outside bodies to do any inspections there," she told AFP.

Comprehensive prison reform including better monitoring and coordination was essential, she said, but added that a "legal mafia" – corrupt officials ranging from members of the police and prosecutors to judges – could peddle influence and turn justice upside down for the highest bidder.

"It's just hard to boil down the problem into just one side as there is the existence of the legal mafia," she said. "We suspect that the officials were involved there."

A spokesman for the government's Directorate General of Prisons, Chandra Lestiono, admitted that there were loopholes in the administration.

"We realise the system is not perfect," he said, adding that high-tech improvements would help. "Our database system is still manual. We need to build an integrated online database system from the police all the way to the prisons."

But whether such technical changes would address the underlying issue is far from clear. Corruption is rampant in Indonesia, which scored only 2.8 out of 10 in Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index for 2010.

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in November 2009 that "it will be our priority... to eradicate the 'legal mafia'. I know it's not as easy as we imagine, we can't clean it up easily, but I'm sure if we're serious we'll get results.

"Let's eradicate this mafia so that we uphold the law," he said. But positive changes have been few and far between.

The prisoner swap incident was only the latest example of influential or well-off inmates being able to buy their way out or furnish their cells as lavishly as they wish.

Former tax official Gayus Tambunan, who was supposedly being held in custody while standing trial for corruption, was able to leave and return to prison at will.

In November he was spotted at a tennis tournament on the holiday island of Bali, and police said nine officers were suspected of taking bribes ranging from 700 to 7,000 dollars to let him slip in and out of jail.

Businesswoman Artalyta Suryani, convicted in 2009 of bribing prosecutors, was undergoing a laser beauty treatment in prison when she was interrupted by officials from Yudhoyono's Task Force for Legal Mafia Eradication on a snap inspection.

They found her incarcerated in an apartment-style 690-square-foot (64- square-metre) cell complete with air conditioning, a double bed, flat- screen television, refrigerator, private kitchen and bathroom, and a playpen for children.

More twists and turns in East java jail swap saga

Jakarta Globe - January 5, 2011

Amir Tejo, Heru Andriyanto & Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – The war of blame between two law enforcing government institutions over a prisoner- substitution scandal in East Java continued on Wednesday with the Attorney General's Office saying that the switch had been proposed by a jail official.

The Justice and Human Rights Ministry, which oversees prison officials, had on the previous day said prosecutors were responsible for the switch, in which a female convict paid another woman to serve her seven-month sentence.

An investigation by the AGO into the case found that a prison official named Atmari, who is responsible for receiving new prisoners at the state penitentiary in Bojonegoro, East Java, originally proposed finding someone else to serve the jail term for graft convict Kasiem.

Parts of the investigation report, made public by the AGO, showed that Kasiem's lawyer, Hasnomo, said Atmari had come up with the idea for a substitution.

According to the document, Hasnomo first contacted district prosecutor Hendro Sasmito to ask that his client not be jailed, but the official told him the request was impossible to meet.

Hasnomo said that he then contacted Atmari who said, "That could be arranged as long as there was a substitute for the convict."

In a press conference earlier in the day, AGO spokesman Babul Khoir Harahap said four officials at the Bojonegoro district prosecutor's office had been handed sanctions, including written reprimands and job suspensions.

The heaviest went to Widodo Priyono, an administrative staffer who drove the convict to the prison and allowed the switch en route. "Widodo Priyono was dismissed dishonorably as a civil servant," Babul said.

The investigation also found that Kasiem gave her lawyer Rp 20 million ($2,220) to get a replacement for her, but the stand-in, Karni, was only paid Rp 7.5 million, Babul said.

Widodo told interrogators he had agreed to the switch after he was assured that Atmari had approved the plan, Babul said.

The Bojonegoro district police have declared Hasnomo, his associate Angga and Widodo as criminal suspects in the switching case. They face charges of robbing the rights to freedom of an individual and of document falsification. The handover of the convict was also not accompanied by court order as required.

"For the time being, the three will face charges of violating article 33 of the Criminal Code on robbing the rights of others, a charge carrying up to five years in jail, and of article 263 on document falsification, which carries up to six years in jail," Bojonegoro Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Widodo said.

The chief said that, as the investigation was still ongoing, more suspects may be announced, including the prosecutors.

Hasnomo on Tuesday told Metro TV that the switch was made in front of the Bojonegoro jail at 11:30 a.m. late in December.

The lawyer's whereabouts are unknown but the police have issued a summons for him to appear for questioning on Friday.

Meanwhile, Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said that the prison officials were not to blame. According to a report made by the ministry's branch in the area, the prison officials had followed all procedures correctly.

"A prisoner was submitted, (the prison officials) checked her complete identity as well as the one who took her there," he said. "That's enough, right?"

Instead, Patrialis said that the prison official who first discovered the swap should be rewarded. "There was an initiative. Imagine if they were not aware (of the swap)," he said.

Graft convict allegedly paid substitute to serve sentence

Jakarta Globe - January 2, 2011

Heru Andriyanto – The country's much-derided penal system has taken yet another hit as reports emerge of a female convict in East Java paying another woman Rp 10 million ($1,100) to serve a seven-month sentence in her place.

The Attorney General's Office said over the weekend that it was preparing to investigate the incident, and would question the prosecutors in charge of the case. "We plan to question the officials involved on Monday," said Marwan Effendy, the deputy attorney general supervising internal monitoring.

He said those to be questioned included Hendro Sasmito, head of the special crimes unit at the prosecutors' office in Bojonegoro, East Java, and a staff member named Priyono. He also said prison officials would be questioned.

The controversy came to light when a prison in Bojonegoro received a "suspicious prisoner" on Dec. 27, registered under the name Kasiem.

Kasiem had been convicted of illegally selling government-subsidized fertilizer in two separate cases. She was sentenced to three and a half months in prison for each conviction.

Several prison guards who knew Kasiem from when she had been remanded prior to her convictions raised their suspicions from the first day that the new inmate arrived and began serving the sentence, but an investigation was not ordered until a neighbor of Kasiem's came for a visit.

After meeting with the inmate, the neighbor told guards it was not Kasiem, prompting prison officials to question the inmate. She told the officials that her real name was Karni and that she had been paid Rp 10 million to serve Kasiem's sentence. Karni was eventually released and the real Kasiem was sent to prison on Friday.

According to reports, Kasiem visited the prosecutors' office on Dec. 27, accompanied by her lawyer, Hasnowo, to sign some documents, but on the way to the prison switched places with Karni.

Untung Sugiyono, the director general of correctional institutions with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, denied that his office was at fault, saying the imprisonment of convicts was the responsibility of prosecutors.

The scandal in Bojonegoro comes nearly a year after authorities on an unannounced inspection of Pondok Bambu Women's Penitentiary in East Jakarta found graft convict Artalyta Suryani's cell had a stereo, television, refrigerator, air-conditioner and adjoining karaoke parlor.

At the time of the visit by officials from the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force, Artalyta, who was serving a four-year sentence for bribing an AGO official, was getting a facial treatment from a beautician.

In November, rogue taxman Gayus Tambunan, supposedly in police custody during his ongoing graft trial, was spotted at a tennis tournament in Bali, wearing a wig and glasses.

Infrastructure & development

Weather, skittish officials blamed for Indonesia's spending woes

Jakarta Globe - January 4, 2011

Dion Bisara – A long wet season and regulatory bottlenecks at the provincial level were blamed for slow budget spending last year, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday.

"Last year was marred with long wet seasons and natural disasters that halted many infrastructure projects," said Askolani, chief of the state budget center at the Finance Ministry's Fiscal Policy Office.

"Moreover, problems of land acquisition also contributed to the delay in some projects."

The government spent Rp 1,053.5 trillion ($117 billion) last year, only 93.5 percent of its Rp 1,126.1 trillion target.

Revenue from taxes exceeded its target. Total revenue reached Rp 1,014 trillion, or 2.2 percent higher than the target of Rp 992.4 trillion. That saw the country post a narrow budget deficit of 0.62 percent of GDP, or Rp 39.5 trilion. That was lower than the original target of 2.1 percent, or 133.7 trillion, as stated in the the 2010 revised budget.

Government officials pointed to land acqusition problems as hampering the nation's efforts to complete upgrades to infrastructure. The government has submitted a new draft bill that was expected to clear the House of Representatives last year but is now expected to pass in the first half of 2011.

Askolani also said officials at the provincial level were reluctant to spend the funds alloted to them for fear of being targeted by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

"Officials have been too cautious in the procurement process, making the goods and services budget fall short of its target," Askolani said on Tuesday.

The government promised to improve the procurement system and allow regional officials to have more flexibility in determining the size of projects. Under the current regulations, Askolani said, a tender is required for any procurement vaued at more than Rp 50 million.

Such mechanisms can complicate matters as often there is only one eligible bidder for the procurement. Starting this year, the government will increase the tender limit to Rp 100 million with the hope of giving officials more flexibility, he said.

Askolani noted that all revenue targets except income tax and value-added tax were met.

"According to the 2009 tax law, which became effective last year, taxpayers were allowed to postpone their payment if they objected to the amount until the matter was settled. This seems to have hurt our tax revenue," he said.

Non-oil and gas tax revenue, comprising income tax and value-added tax, reached Rp 590.1 trillion, or 97.4 percent of target. However, income from oil and gas taxes (Rp 58.8 trillion, 106.3 percent) and customs and excise (Rp 66.2 trillion, 111.6 percent) finished above their targets.

Economy & investment

Lingering inflation concerns dull otherwise sharp prospects

Jakarta Globe - January 2, 2011

SK Zainuddin & Francezka Nangoy – Indonesia enjoyed a bumper year in 2010 as rising consumer demand, strong commodity prices and low interest rates combined to create a virtuous cycle.

Nearly every sector experienced growth, including manufacturing, which had struggled to join the economic upswing in the past few years. The only sector that continues to struggle is oil and gas, where investors are wary after complaints of unclear regulations.

Years of fiscal discipline and demographic dividends are paying off for Indonesia. Its foreign reserves stand at close to $94.7 billion, and its banking and corporate sectors are healthy. Strong economic growth has put more money into consumers' hands, with per-capita income expected to hit $3,000 in the near future.

International ratings agencies such as Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service have indicated the country is close to receiving an investment grade rating. Once that happens, it can expect more foreign fund inflows and, more importantly, longer-term capital.

The government's belated push to improve infrastructure will likely continue in 2011 and support economic growth. Better infrastructure will provide a massive multiplier effect for the economy, creating new jobs and improving cost efficiency.

Given the buoyant mood in the country, the government is confident the economy will expand by 6.4 percent in 2011, up from 6 percent this year. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday said, "With that economic growth target, we expect the welfare of the people will improve, marked by a declining poverty rate to 11.5 percent and the unemployment rate to decline to 7 percent from 7.4 percent this year."

"It's hard to ignore Indonesia," said Fauzi Ichsan, Indonesia economist at Standard Chartered Bank. "Given that 70 percent of the economy is based on domestic consumption with net exports contributing 10 percent, better infrastructure would be a huge boost to the economy."

Despite the rosy outlook, though, economists and policy makers are still cautious as 2011 could see an inflation spike. Commodity prices are on the rise, with oil now back to more than $90 a barrel and prices of commodities such as corn, crude palm oil, wheat and sugar all up significantly.

According to Harry Su, senior vice president and head of Research at Bahana Securities, GDP growth could be less than the 6.4 percent targeted by the government in 2011 because of higher than expected inflation. "We believe that inflation could erode purchasing power if it breaks 7 percent," he said.

Bank Indonesia has not yet acted on the possibility of higher inflation, holding the benchmark interest rate at 6.5 percent.

"The BI governor is pro-growth, but the risk is that the central bank could be behind the curve so it could be difficult to reign in inflation," Su said. "That is the single biggest risk I see for the economy in 2011."

Bank Indonesia flagged the risk of higher inflation when its deputy governor said in early December that global commodity prices would rise sharply in 2011. "We will not hesitate to raise rates if the core inflation exceeds 5 percent," Hartadi said.

Core inflation, which measures consumer prices while excluding volatile items such as food, rose 4.31 percent year-on-year in November. Headline inflation reached 6.33 percent year-on-year that month.

Unlike its counterparts in countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, which tightened their monetary policies, Bank Indonesia has been reluctant to raise rates on concerns that investors seeking higher returns in emerging economies would flood the country's markets, triggering inflation and economic volatility.

Like many emerging economies, Indonesia was able to escape a recession in 2009 because of its strong domestic economy and robust banking system.

Foreign direct investment in Indonesia could surpass $14 billion, a significant increase over 2009, when realized investment amounted to $10.5 billion. Total foreign investment, including portfolio investment, could exceed $22 billion.

People

Wife of late novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer passes away

Jakarta Post - January 8, 2011

Jakarta – The wife of the late novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Maemunah Thamrin, 81, passed away at her residence in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta on Saturday afternoon after suffering from the effects of a prior stroke.

The family plans to bury Maemunah's remains at the Karet Bivak public cemetery, where the body of her late husband is also laid, on Sunday at 9 a.m., as reported by kompas.com.

Maemunah had been admitted to the Husni Thamrin hospital for a period of two weeks before returning home two months ago, her grandson Adit said.

Maemunah's health reportedly slipped into crisis two days ago after she insisted on consuming food orally instead of through a food pipe, causing her lungs to swell, Adit said.

"Although the pipe, which she removed herself, had been reattached, it was too late," he said.

The family is holding a wake at a funeral home on Jl. Multikarya 11, No.26 in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta, tempointeraktif.com reported.

Maemunah is survived by seven children, eight grandchildren and two great- grandchildren. She died at the same age as her husband, scholar and writer Pramoedya.

Analysis & opinion

Dateline Jakarta: The year that was-graft, sex and hope

Jakarta Globe - January 4, 2011

Joe Cochrane – Black it out, Indonesia, black... it... out. Don't give another thought to 2010, because if you do, you might just recall what really happened during what was a torrid year.

With a few days of breathing space, it's time to take a no-nonsense look back on the abomination that was 2010. It began with the resurgence of Suharto-era political-business figures, who ran reform-minded Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati literally out of the country. The year ended with those same figures holding even more power and being as impervious to the law as they were in decades past.

Wasn't it Sri Mulyani herself who said that a cabal of vested interests were attempting to "hijack" Indonesia's hard-won democratic and economic successes for their own narrow benefit? What happened to her was arguably the most important story of 2010 in Indonesia, given the brazen way in which the most talented, reform-minded official in government was shown the door.

But that story drifted away by April and was overtaken by political fights, protests, natural disasters, a sex video scandal and a "successful" ban on pornographic Web sites that actually never happened.

Similarly, the other big story of 2010 – the ongoing corruption, malfeasance and abuse of power by the National Police – was also largely forgotten by the end of the year. That is impressive considering that the Boys in Brown were, rightly or wrongly, accused of: Fabricating evidence to frame two anticorruption officials; torturing detained activists in Maluku; gagging a prominent police whistle-blower by throwing him in jail; allegedly being behind the beating of an activist who helped publicize the existence of multimillion-dollar bank accounts belonging to senior police officials; whitewashing an investigation into those same accounts; and taking bribes to let suspects out of detention.

But by December, all that was eclipsed by the Gayus Tambunan scandal. Ironically, the Gayus case, while certainly deserving a Top 5 place in the 2010 roll call, is just a symptom of the larger disease of corruption afflicting the National Police, the Attorney General's Office, the judiciary and the tax office.

It makes one wonder whether crime would increase or decrease if these state institutions were shut down.

Of course, let's give an honorable mention to the House of Representatives, whose shameless behavior seemingly knows no limits. It is certainly not an easy task to be corrupt, abuse your position, waste public funds and then try to act like the guardians of morality. Same goes for many high-ranking officials. Is it O.K. to enforce a ridiculous antipornography law while turning a blind eye to alleged extramarital affairs by two cabinet ministers and rape allegations against a lawmaker from the president's Democratic Party?

And what do we make of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's 2010? The overwhelming perception is that he appeased political forces to maintain harmony at the expense of the larger reform agenda and his own anticorruption drive. I'm not so sure.

Yudhoyono is the first directly elected (and re-elected) president in Indonesian history, and was only six years removed from Suharto's final days when he took office in 2004. It's a bit much to expect him to benignly wield massive power when the country is going through a deliberate system of decentralizing political and economic power. Maybe the president did the best he could, given the realities of the political landscape in 2010.

But certainly he could have shown better judgment. I'm not even going to mention his governing "coalition," which has as many political enemies inside it as allies. In other matters, his handling of the fallout of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) bribery scandal was lacking, as he seemingly protected the police. He also vowed not to interfere in the country's legal system, but then waded straight into the "Peterporn" sex tape mess by encouraging the police to go after everyone involved. Apparently Yudhoyono felt the sex tapes embarrassed Indonesia internationally, but he fails to realize that knee-jerk reactions to such events draw international attention and scorn. Did anyone even notice the movie "Balibo" before it was banned in Indonesia?

Same goes for Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika and his provincial police force, which made complete fools of themselves in April by rounding up "alleged gigolos" and trying to extradite a Singaporean filmmaker who made a very truthful documentary on the worst-kept secret in Indonesia: Balinese beach boys romancing female tourists.

The gigolo story, the Ariel/Luna/Cut Tari sex tapes, the return of violent radical Muslim groups, the Alterina Hofan male/female chromosome trial and many other headlines that came and went show that Indonesia's moral compass was out of whack in 2010. Do I need mention the country's infant mortality rate, or the fact that 100 million Indonesians live on less than $2 a day?

But was 2010 all bad? Certainly not. Look at Indonesia's economic rise, with a record-breaking stock market, newfound respect among global economic players, visits by heads of large multinational companies, not to mention a homecoming by Barack Obama.

But these are just a few of many positive things that make Indonesia one of the places to be in the coming decade. Look at the positive changes in society: The dazzling continuing influence of the Internet and online activism, the power of the press, the strength of voters in local elections. And back to economics, how about the many grand plans for infrastructure development, land reform, economic expansion, new jobs and the rising middle class? These all deserve their places in the sun of 2010.

A few months ago, I met an Indonesian businessman who eloquently summed up the country's current situation like this: "The middle class, we are lucky, but the masses are suffering right now. But also remember that Indonesia's democracy is going through teething pains. Both will eventually get better."

I certainly can't disagree with his view because I share it. But at the same time, it's important to experience, understand and demand accountability from the powers that be for those teething pains the country will feel along the way to unprecedented heights.

That sounds a lot more prudent – and fun – than just blacking it out.

[Joe Cochrane is a contributing editor for the Jakarta Globe. His writings appear at www.datelinejakarta.com.]

Key political risks to watch in Indonesia

Reuters - January 3, 2011

Jakarta – A booming economy, falling debt and market-friendly reforms could see Indonesia secure an investment grade credit rating as early as this year, putting it on a par with BRIC nations and enabling more institutional interest in its bonds.

That trajectory, however, is threatened by vested interests who stand to lose out if measures aimed at increasing transparency and creating a level playing field succeed. Fund inflows could also be reversed if policy makers fail to keep a lid on inflation, or introduce more steps to control capital.

Following is the summary of two out of five key Indonesia risks:

Corruption and governance

Yudhoyono was elected on promises to tackle graft, but early in his second term the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has been under attack with attempts by senior law enforcement officials to frame two KPK leaders. Many felt Yudhoyono was slow to defend his top graft-busters. Transparency International's latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) put Indonesia's score at 2.8 out of 10 – the same as in 2009 – signalling a perception that there has been no progress on corruption eradication.

In late November parliament choose soft-spoken academic Busjro Muqoddas to be the new head of the KPK, but gave him just a year to complete the tenure vacancy caused by the jailing of his predecessor, Antasari Azhar, for murder. Analysts said it was a positive sign that the KPK now had a leader to drive the anti-graft campaign but doubt how effective he can be in 12 months.

Yudhoyono followed up the KPK appointment by naming Basrief Arief as attorney general – a position that is meant to work with the KPK to try graft suspects – but the choice of an internal candidate in a body widely seen as being corrupt disappointed campaigners, who said this signaled the president was not committed to reform.

What to Watch:

How the new KPK chief performs and how the anti-graft body uses new powers to investigate unusual financial transactions.
The effectiveness of the presidential delivery unit in tackling legal reform and other issues that deter investors.
The pace of reform of Indonesia's civil service, police and courts. Investors have already had to adjust expectations.

Security

Suicide bombings at two luxury hotels in Jakarta in July 2009 were the first major attacks in Indonesia since 2005 and raised concerns that the threat from militants was again on the rise. Since then, the killings of Noordin Mohammad Top and, more recently, the bomb-making expert Dulmatin, have significantly reduced that threat, but some risk persists.

Last year, police discovered a new network of armed militants operating a secret training base in Aceh in Sumatra province. The group wanted to create an Islamic state, police said.

In late June, police captured preacher and suspected Aceh group member Abdullah Sonata, who had been jailed in the past but released early. His return to militancy raises questions about effectiveness of prison rehabilitation programmes.

Police also arrested firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Bashir in August for allegedly supporting and financing the Aceh group. Police have failed in the past to pin terrorism charges on Bashir, and analysts say it is crucial they back up the charges this time, or risk turning Bashir into even more of a martyr. His trial is due to start early this year.

What to watch:

Ability of militants to regroup and launch more attacks. If remaining militants are able to establish firm enough links with al Qaeda or allies to secure sustained funding, expertise and recruits, the threat may be far from over. Still, Indonesia's markets have proven highly resilient to militant attacks and unless there is a sustained deterioration in security, any sell-off would be limited and brief.