Yogyakarta – Scores of demonstrators from the Yogyakarta Domestic Worker Protection Network (JPPRT) took to the streets on Monday February 14 demanding decent wages and protection for domestic workers.

According to action coordinator Henny, the domestic workers' demands are totally reasonable because in reality domestic workers are still vulnerable to physical, psychological, social and economic violence.

Domestic workers (PRT) represent the largest group of working women, which in global terms total more than 100 million around the world, with 4 million in Indonesia and more than 6 million others working overseas. In the special Yogyakarta province of Central Java alone there are more than 36,000 domestic workers.

Domestic workers' living and working conditions are still inadequate and they often experience rights violations, being paid extremely low wages, are vulnerable to exploitation and have no labour guarantees.

Domestic workers are still not acknowledged as part of the work force and legal protection, both at the national as well as international level, is still very low. This situation provides more and more room for the violation of domestic workers' rights. The government meanwhile gives the impression of simply waiting for a new case of abuse to occur and only then does it takes steps.

"Because of this we are demanding that immediate wage improvements be made, the immediate enactment of a domestic workers' protection law and the immediate establishment of a legal protection system for domestic workers at the municipal and regency level", said Henny in a speech. [bw]

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Domestic workers turn Hotel Indonesia into 'giant laundry'

Detik.com - February 14, 2011

Andi Saputra, Jakarta – Despite the drizzle, scores of domestic workers (PRT) remained indifferent to the falling rain and continued washing their bosses' clothing. After being washed, it was then dried and ironed. So it was that on February 14 the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle in Central Jakarta became a giant laundry encircling the entire roundabout.

During the action the protesters also hung up T-shirts with "Bosses prosperous because of domestic workers" and "Recognition, rights and decent work for domestic workers" written on them along with a giant billboard with the message "100 pieces of domestic workers' washing drying so the bosses can wear neat and clean clothes".

The demonstrators, who came from the Domestic Workers Action Committee (KAPRT), also held a theatrical action depicting their demands and symbolising the labour performed by domestic workers.

"When Indonesia commemorates National Domestic Workers Day on February 15, around 2.6 million domestic workers will still lack legal protection", said one of the speakers, Umi (26), at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Jl. MH Thamrin on Monday.

"We are demanding the immediate enactment of the Domestic Workers' Law. This domestic workers' day [falls against] the backdrop of a 14 year-old domestic worker Sunarsih who died after being mistreated by their employer in 2001. The employer repeated this again with four of their domestic workers in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. However they were never punished", asserted Umi.

The action attracted the attention of drivers racing past the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle with several opening their car windows to watch the comical theatrical action. One road user who also has a domestic worker said they were greatly assisted by the presence of a domestic worker in the home.

"In my case, everything is discussed with the domestic worker. If my domestic worker appears tired, okay enough, they're not made to work any more. There's also a washing machine in the house right, a vacuum cleaner and so on. So yes, it's quite light work for the domestic worker", commented Bayu (46), a resident of Pondok Labu in South Jakarta as they passed through the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle. (asp/nwk)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Women sew lips closed in Indonesian apartments protest

Jakarta Globe - February 14, 2011

Zaky Pawas & Arientha Primanita – Dozens of demonstrators on Sunday continued their protest over plans to build a block of apartments in Rawasari, Central Jakarta, with at least two of the female demonstrators sewing their lips closed in protest.

Local resident Seno Budiarto said four women had been on a hunger strike since Saturday and two of them – 45-year-old Eet and 53-year-old Lusi – had sewn their lips together early on Sunday morning.

"We were duped by the city administration," Seno told reporters. "We were kicked off this land in 2008 because the administration said the land would be turned into green space. The administration even planted trees ceremonially.

"Two years later, they uprooted the trees, and now they are building these apartments," he said. "We have been lied to. So many of us now have no homes and are just renting places, here and there. The city won't speak with us. What are we to do?"

Separately, Jakarta government spokesman Cucu Ahmad Kurnia said it was not true that the city was going back on its promise to create a green space on the plot.

"The apartment is not taking up any of the area allocated for green space. The development of the apartment is in accordance with legal procedures," Cucu said.

"As far as the protesters are concerned, such actions are unnecessary. They are only hurting themselves. That land is being converted into green space and for construction of apartments for the sake of the city's programs and public interest."

The city has said it is working on efforts to increase the amount of green space. Its target for the end of 2010 was 13.9 percent of its total land area. The current amount of green space is 9.6 percent.

Aceh

Activists criticize clerics over dress code

Jakarta Post - February 10, 2011

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – The Network for Civil Society Concerned with Sharia (JMSPS) in Aceh has criticized clerics and asked them not to overly interfere in enforcing the Muslim dress code, especially for Muslim women in the province.

"Aceh clerics should not stunt their important position by dealing with trivial matters related to the daily lives of Aceh residents," said Hendra Fadli from the Aceh Legal Aid Institute (LBH). The Aceh LBH is one of 15 NGOs affiliated with the JMSPS in Aceh.

According to Hendra, the role of clerics is far more important than just dealing with matters concerning how people dress, such as criticizing the provincial administration which has not yet improved the welfare of people in Aceh.

The clerical council in Aceh is regarded as a credible institution and is influential in the lives of people in Aceh.

"There is a possibility that the clerical institution is currently being exploited by politicians for personal or groups' interests, especially ahead of the leadership election," said Hendra.

The issue came to light after pressure from clerics urging the provincial administration to issue a bylaw on Islamic dress code for Muslim men and women in Aceh, in line with Islamic sharia law.

"The dress issue is a personal matter, so clerics should not deal with it as it is too trivial," said Hendra.

The pressure to enforce the Islamic dress code arose during the 4th Aceh Islamic boarding school (pesantren) students' conference at the Darul Hikmah pesantren in West Aceh recently. One of the recommendations issued in the meeting was to push for a bylaw on the Islamic dress code for residents in Aceh.

"We urge the provincial administration to immediately issue a regulation on the Islamic dress code in Aceh in line with sharia law, which has been announced," said Aceh cleric Tengku Jalaluddin.

According to Jalaluddin, the Islamic dress code ordinance must be immediately issued by the provincial administration because many people in Aceh, especially women, are wearing clothes regarded as too revealing.

The clerics also claimed that the condition had led to the high rate of sexual harassment cases faced by women in Aceh. Activists said the claims by clerics were irrelevant.

"Regardless of wearing clothes the Islamic way or not, women and children are often subject to sexual harassment and violence. Many of the abuse cases experienced by women in Aceh have even taken place under the name of sharia law," said Fatimah Syah from Aceh LBH Apik.

According to Fatimah, many of the abuse cases faced by Aceh women have come from sharia police members, citing raids conducted by the Wilayatul Hisbah sharia police, the extension of the Islamic Sharia Office in Aceh, enforcing sharia law.

"How many women in Aceh have been treated rudely and arbitrarily by state apparatus? They have even been treated as criminals during raids," said Fatimah. She added that implementation of sharia law in Aceh had instead caused new violence within the Aceh community.

Activists deride shariah focus on women

Jakarta Globe - February 8, 2011

Nurdin Hasan – A group of 18 civil society organizations in Aceh has lashed out at local clerics' interpretation of Shariah, which it says is unduly focused on women's clothing.

Arabiyani, coordinator of the Care for Shariah Civil Society Network (JMSPS), said on Monday that while Islamic jurisprudence could be put to good use in addressing far more pressing matters, it always seemed to get hung up on the issue of how women dressed.

"The implementation of Shariah in Aceh constantly focuses on women and what they wear, while ignoring other matters like corruption, human rights and education," she said.

"We're extremely fed up with the authorities and the clerics for their lack of response to the big issues and their constant niggling on this one topic."

She added that while requiring Islamic dress for Muslim women was a relevant matter, "it's not going to end corruption or bring about prosperity for all members of society."

The JMSPS, comprising human rights and women's rights groups, was responding to a call at the end of last month by clerics and Islamic school students for Governor Irwandi Yusuf to make Islamic dress for Muslim women mandatory across the province.

West Aceh district has introduced mandatory Islamic dress for women, but the province's 22 other districts and cities have not followed suit. Irwandi said he would consider the request.

Arabiyani said it would be regrettable if the administration focused its attention on such an unimportant matter, and launched into satirical tirade.

"It's a shame that most of the scholarships and postgraduate programs the administration offers don't focus on the science behind Islamic attire," she said.

"The funds for employment programs have also failed to meet the province's need for workers who are skilled in Islamic dress matters, understand sewing-machine technology and are experts in the field of managing and marketing Islamic attire."

Still satirizing the issue, she called on the governor to approve the clerics' demand for a provincewide bylaw requiring women to wear Islamic dress, and to set up an institute responsible for designing the clothes "as part of the administration's medium- and long-term development plan."

Since 2010, Muslim women in West Aceh have been required to wear full-body clothing that does not reveal their figure and only shows their face and palms. They are also forbidden from wearing jeans or trousers.

While the regulation was strictly enforced at the beginning, crackdowns against women wearing pants or forgoing the jilbab have become less frequent.

West Papua

AJI has urged press to monitor rights violations in Papua

Tabloid JUBI - February 11, 2011

The chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in Jayapura, Victor Mambor, has called on the press in Papua to regularly monitor cases of human rights violations in Papua.

'Reports written in the media about these violations are helpful to organisations that fight for the rights of the victims of violations,' he said, during a speech at a workshop on the Papuan perspective regarding human rights violations.

He stressed the importance of the role of the press in reporting the human rights situation in Papua because this can help reduce acts of repression against the civilian population.

'Reports about human rights in Papua are only available from NGOs active in the field, and these are frequently quoted in reports that appear in the media,' said Mambor.

He also sstressed the importance in ensuring that these published reports are accurate and credible. It was also important, he said, for journalists to provide the appropriate references so as to make it easier for others to investigate the violations that occur.

Pressing need for human rights court in Papua

Bintang Papua - February 11, 2011

Jayapura – Although Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy (OTSUS) provides for the establishment of a human rights court in Papua, the fact is that this has not been done even though OTSUS is already ten years old.

Responding to this situation, the head of the human rights and law department in Papua, Abdul Kadir, said that this had not happened because of the lack of personnel to run the court.

He made this comment at a workshop on human rights and civil and political rights, in response to questions raised by journalists. He also said that bringing a judge to Papua to preside over an ad hoc court would be very expensive indeed.

Despite this problem, various groups, including the National Human Rights Commission in Papua, stressed the need for a human rights court because of the many human rights violations that have occurred in Papua.

The government should show some good will to act in this matter, but this has not been the case up to the present, even though the OTSUS is clear on the matter. If the government were to understand this in view of the many violations that occur, the reasons they give for not setting up the court such as the lack of personnel or the expense involved would be seen as being quite unacceptable.

Abdul Kadir also said that on 8 and 9 March, a Law Centre will be set up in Papua. This was very necessary in view of the many reports and complaints coming from the general public because this would make it possible for many of these cases to be resolved outside the court.

Poengky Indarti, the director of Imparsial, welcomed the intention to set up a Law Centre in Papua because this would make it easier for people in Papua to submit reports about the problems they are facing so as to ensure that they are acted upon. She told Bintang Papua that such a Law Centre would also play a role in protecting human rights.

Flag raisers to go on trial in Manokwari

Tabloid JUBI - February 11, 2011

Two Papuans are due to go on trial in Manokwari for raising the 14-star flag. The two men are Melkinus Bleskadit and Dance Bleskadit who, along with five others, raised flags on 14 December 2010. The documents regarding the two men were handed over by the police to the attorney's office.

A lawyer acting for the two men, Yan Christian Warinussy, said that this is the second stage in the judicial process, following interrogation and bringing together other evidence.

"The two men are now awaiting action on their case by the prosecutors who will present the charges against them," he said. He said that the two men were likely to be charged for treason – makar – and the lawyer hoped that the trial proceedings would commence as soon as possible.

Four others involved in the flag raising are Jhon Wena, 21, George Rawiay, 20, Benha Supangha, 20, and Alex Duwen, 22. [The name of the fifth person was not mentioned.] The ages of the two men due to be formally charged were not given.

The seven men were arrested as they were commemorating the anniversary of the independence declaration of the West Melanesian Republic on 14 December 2010.

The five men are being held in police custody and are still undergoing interrogation by the police.

PNG military fly dozens of Papuans to refugee camp in Western Province

Radio New Zealand International - February 11, 2011

Up to 100 people, arrested by Papua New Guinea police for allegedly illegally crossing the border from Indonesia, have been flown from Vanimo in Sandaun Province to Western Province.

The multi departmental Operation Sunset Merona has swept through seven suspected camps for the Papuan militant group, the OPM, on the PNG side of the border, over the past 3 weeks.

The Post Courier newspaper reports that a total of 170 people, including women and children, have been arrested in the operation. Of these up to 100 have now been flown to a refugee camp at East Awin in Western Province, with the others to follow.

The police are reported to have confirmed that only those whose immigration or residency papers were not in order or who had no papers at all were moved. 37 people were found to have their papers in order.

Papuans urged not stand for MRP

Tabloid JUBI - February 10, 2011

The legal aid organisation, LP3BH, has called on Papuans not to agree to be nominated for a seat on the MRP (Papuan People's Assembly) in the forthcoming elections. They should also reject the entire nominations process which is now being organised by two agencies, the Kesbangpol and the LMA.

Speaking on behalf of the LP3BH, its executive director, Yan Christian Warinussy urged Papuans to reject any offers to be nominated for the MRP. He said that by accepting nominations, Papuans would be indicating that they support the election of a new MRP. If Papuans refuse to be nominated, this will thwart the efforts of the government to continue with the election process.

He said that by adopting such a position, Papuans will be showing that they do not support the efforts currently under way throughout West Papua to elect members of a new MRP in all parts of the territory.

On 26 January 2011, thousands of Papuans from a variety of communities and churches took part in a demonstration calling on the Papuan provincial council, the DPRP, to halt the election of members of the MRP. The demonstrators called on the DPRP, the central government and the provincial government to respond to the eleven recommendations adopted on 9 June 2010 by the grand assembly of Papuan communities and the MRP.

Stop silencing Papuans with the separatist stigma

Bintang Papua - February 9, 2011

The chairman of Commission A of the provincial legislative assembly, the DPRP, Ruben Magai, has called on the police chief to stop using political stigmatisation when conducting operations in Papua. Such statements, he said, result in scaring the indigenous Papuan people and trying to silence them.

These remarks followed a recent statement by a police officer [lower down, it is clear that the statement was made by the police chief] alleging that the OPM is present in the region of Degeuwo, on the border between Paniai and Nabire, where security disturbances have recently occurred. Regardless of whether the police have firm evidence, such statements are a form of character assassination, in a region that is known to have abundant natural resources where investors would be keen to invest, with the backing of the security apparatus.

'This kind of thing is very bad and should be corrected,' he said. 'It is as if all the security disturbances are the work of separatists and have nothing to do with injustice. When the term separatism is used in Papua, it is clearly directed against the Papuans who live in the area.'

He warned of a high-level conspiracy by people in authority. All this makes the indigenous Papuans harbour feelings of hostility towards those who make such baseless statements.

The term NKRI (Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia) should not be the exclusive property of people in officialdom. People throughout the territory, including those living in the interior, should be able to speak loud and clear about the NKRI.

But at a time when the state is engaged in a number of questionable activities, including acts of violence against the population in the interior as well as making all kinds of baseless accusations, such things can only spread a feeling of insecurity and anxiety for isolated communities in the interior who know very little about what is going on. 'What they do know is that they are suffering from injustice as well as the consequences of development which have destroyed their natural resources.'

They are living without any guarantees for security in their old age, which is something that should be taken into consideration, he said.

The age-long problems will remain unresolved as long as the security forces pursue the approach of violence and intimidation, he said.

Similar views have been expressed by the Alliance of Intellectuals of Suku Wolani Moni, who regret the statement made by the chief of police to the effect that the OPM has a base in Degeuwo. An Alliance deputy chairmen, Tobias Bagubau, said that a week ago the chief of police promised that they would put an end to illegal logging in Degeuwo. 'As a representative of the Wolani Moni people, I regret the police chief's statement to the effect that the OPM is based in Degeuwo whereas in fact there are no OPM members in Degeuwo.'

He said that he thinks the police chief is playing a new game of distracting attention from all the unresolved problems. 'Please stop making such allegations about the OPM in Degeuwo. What we want is for the problem of illegal mining to be halted,' he said.

He said that he can't stop wondering why the police chief is always making such statements which can only lead to widespread feelings of dissatisfaction and result in insecurity for the state.

'If the OPM is indeed here, they should be arrested. After all, there are plenty of members of the security forces based here,' he said.

[Abridged in translation by TAPOL]

Human rights & law

Film reveals violence suffered by women survivors of the 1965 affair

Kompas - February 12, 2011

Jakarta – The political events of 1965 are estimated to have cost the lives of millions of people. Those accused of being members or sympathisers of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) were forcibly disappeared, incarcerated and jailed without judicial process. Many women also became victims.

"Around 500 women were incarcerated in Plantungan (Kendal, Central Java). There, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) found at least two cases of pregnancies due to sexual violence", said Komnas Perempuan deputy chairperson Desti Murdijana in Jakarta on Thursday February 10 at the launch of a documentary film titled "Plantungan: A Portrait of the Suffering and Strength of Women".

In 2007 Komnas Perempuan published a monitoring report titled "Crimes against Humanity Based on Gender: Listening to the Voices of Women Victims of the 1965 Affair". The report was written based on the testimonies of 122 women who were allegedly involved in the 1965 affair, along with records of 1,192 cases of violence comprising 165 cases of sexual violence and 1,027 cases of non- sexual violence.

The film Plantungan, which is directed by Putu Oka Sukanta and Fadillah Vamp Saleh, documents the violence experienced by women victims and survivors of the 1965 affair. The film was produced by the Humanitarian Creativity Institute, a foundation established by artists and the families of former political prisoners. Plantungan reveals the lives of women in detention and the pressures and violence that they experienced, one of which was sexual exploitation.

Two 1965 survivors, Suci Danarti and Pujiyati, tell the stories of their lives when they were detained in Plantungan, which is located 15 kilometers southwest of Sukorejo, Kendal regency, Central Java. "During the Dutch colonial era Plantungan was a used to accommodate leprosy sufferers", said Danarti. (LOK)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

New report finds human rights violations on the rise post-reformasi

Kompas - February 12, 2011

Jakarta – A joint report by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has found that the number of human rights violations have risen post-reformasi – the political reform process that began in 1998.

The report, titled "Shadows and Clouds: Human Rights in Indonesia – Shady Legacy, Uncertain Future", found that although there have been improvements, serous human rights violations are still taking place and, moreover have been escalating over the last two years.

Speaking in Jakarta on Friday February 11, FIDH researcher Anne- Christine Habbard said that the serious problems in upholding the commitment to human rights post-reformasi should quite rightly be questioned. Habbard cited problems such as the impunity of state security forces, the weak judicial system with regard to human rights and growing intolerance towards minorities, both ethnic as well as religious.

"In a county that practices a democratic system, the state's treatment of minority groups is a bench mark", said Habbard.

The joint report portrays the state of human rights enforcement post-reformasi with a focus on the years 2009-2010. There are three main problems in the commitment to uphold human rights that represent a serious challenge for Indonesia, namely the impunity of human rights violators that are also security personnel, the problem of violations in the war against terrorism and violations against minority groups.

The report notes that as of 2010 there have been 75 cases of violence against minority groups and in 2009-2010 there were 36 cases committed by security personnel in the campaign against terrorism.

"We are still surprised about the case in Pandeglang [in which three members of the Ahmadiyah minority Muslim sect were killed – JB]. All of it was actually predicted earlier by the security forces. This was not a case that erupted suddenly", said Habbard.

Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said that although Indonesia had adopted many laws and regulations on upholding human rights their implementation is very weak. Problems post-reformasi within the Indonesian military and national police have been addressed half-heartedly as part of their weak commitment to upholding human rights in Indonesia.

The report includes a number of recommendations including, among others, the establishment of an ad hoc court to resolve the case of activists abducted in 1997-98. (BIL)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Politics & political parties

Disgraced Misbakhun should get the boot: Lawmaker

Jakarta Globe - February 14, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – For the sake of the Prosperous Justice Party's public image, the party should replace disgraced lawmaker Misbakhun in the Indonesian House of Representatives after his punishment was doubled by a Jakarta Court, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party said Monday.

Ruhut Sitompul, who is also a member of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs, said political parties should replace lawmakers who are convicted of criminal activity. "If they keep him here, it's the party that will suffer the bigger loss," Ruhut said.

Ruhut was responding to an announcement by the Jakarta High Court that Misbakhun's sentence for falsifying documents was increased to two years. The lawmaker was accused of acting on behalf of a private company he controlled, Selalang Prima Internasional, which was trying to obtain a loan from Bank Century worth $22.5 million.

Bank Century later collapsed in 2008 and was rescued by the government. It is currently known as Bank Mutiara.

Ruhut said his party has never tried to intervene in a court's verdict. "If he [Misbakhun] decided to appeal the verdict, he should go ahead and let's pray he won't get an even heavier sentence".

PKS deputy secretary general Machfudz Siddiq said the party would not act against Misbakhun's political standing until he exhausts all appeals.

He said Misbakhun will appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court. "So he's still a lawmaker from PKS because his legal process is not yet over," Machfudz said.

Three lawmakers are currently facing possible possible dismissal over legal troubles, Muhammad Izzul Islam from the United Development Party (PPP), As'ad Syam, from the Democratic Party and Misbakhun.

Lawmakers Panda Nababan and Dudhie Makmun Murod from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) were recently named suspects in the bribery case related to the appointment of Miranda Gultom as a senior deputy governor of the Central Bank in 2004 but they have not yet been convicted. PDI-P leader Taufik Kiemas said his party would dismiss any lawmakers convicted of criminal charges, including Panda and Dudhie.

"If they were proven guilty and the court punishes them, then PDI-P will dismiss them [from the House]," Taufik said.

Earlier, former PKS chairman and current communication and information minister, Tifatul Sembiring, had said his party would not protect any member who violated the law.

"No one is immune before the law," Tifatul said last March when asked about Misbakhun's troubles. "The PKS will never protect those who violate the law."

Allegations Indonesian government money used to recruit clerics

Jakarta Globe - February 13, 2011

Anita Rachman – A lawmaker on Sunday said the budget of the Religious Affairs Ministry would be re-evaluated after he accused Minister Suryadharma Ali of using state funds to woo clerics to his party.

The statement came the same day as Suryadharma's faction, the Islam-based United Development Party (PPP), announced that 23 clerics from Brebes, Central Java, had pledged to join it following a meeting between the minister and about 3,000 clerics at a pesantren, or Islamic boarding school, in the district.

Abdul Kadir Karding, the chairman of the House of Representatives Commission VIII, which oversees religious affairs, said the minister had provided up to Rp 1 billion ($112,000) each in state aid to madrasas, or religious schools, to further his political interests. The commission, Abdul said, never agreed to allot such a huge budget to madrasas.

"He has a political motive to recruit clerics [who advise the madrasas] to join the party. It's not ethical and must not be continued," he said. "The state budget is for all people, not for certain groups only."

Abdul said the House and government had agreed madrasas should receive aid at a maximum of "around Rp 60 million to Rp 100 million, but not a billion rupiah."

The minister, he added, should focus on more urgent matters, like religious violence, rather than "his party's interests."

Abdul is a lawmaker from the National Awakening Party (PKB), which over the past few months has been competing with its rival Islam-based PPP for support from the country's clerics.

PPP officials have claimed that dozens of imams have been moving to their party from other Islamic faction, like the PKB.

The PPP deputy secretary general, Arwani Thomafi, denied Abdul's accusations. The minister has never given anything to the clerics he meets, he told the Jakarta Globe from Brebes. "You can check here by yourself. These clerics are from villages, they want to meet the minister."

Arwani said providing aid to religious schools was not in violation of any regulation, "because that's one of the minister's responsibilities, to improve the quality of religious schools."

Arwani, a PPP lawmaker who also serves in Commission VIII, said the ministry's biggest budget allocation is for the education sector. "And I don't remember any agreement suggesting the minister should limit aid to madrasas. I will check the commission's meeting notes," he said.

Arwani stressed that Suryadharma in his capacity as PPP chairman held meetings with clerics to build better relationships. He said that the minister would hold gatherings with clerics in several other provinces.

Ahmad Zainuddin, the deputy head of Commission VIII from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), another Islamic-based faction, said Rp 1 billion per school was too much. The ministry is only allowed to build three new classrooms per school, "each worth Rp 100 million to Rp 120 million," he said.

But he added that Commission VIII was not the proper body to probe the ministry budget. "It's the domain of the Supreme Audit Agency [BPK]. I cannot judge whether the minister is using the program for his political interests," he said.

Bahrul Hayat, the ministry's secretary general, said the ministry always gave aid to madrasas regardless of who was minister. "Madrasas [development] is one of our programs. It's not only the minister, if I get the chance to visit madrasas, I will also give them aid," he said.

PDI-P again suggests it is open to cabinet offers

Jakarta Globe - February 10, 2011

Anita Rachman – Rising politician Puan Maharani of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on Wednesday said that although the party would never join the pro-government coalition, it remained prepared to accept offers of seats in the cabinet.

Puan, the daughter of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri and the party's head of political affairs, had in the past said it was possible that the PDI-P could work together with the ruling Democratic Party.

But on Wednesday, Puan said that although her party was enjoying close relations with the Democrats, it would be impossible for the opposition to join the ruling coalition.

However, she said that should a PDI-P member be offered a cabinet position by the president, the party would not necessarily discourage the member from accepting.

"Cadres will accept the offer as an individual and not as a party cadre," Puan said. She said the concerned members would also have to report the offer to the party and explain their intentions. "I know it is complicated, but politics is indeed complicated," Puan said.

However, she raised doubts as to whether President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was actually interested in having opposition members in his cabinet. "Is it really true that [the president] wants cadres from PDI-P to sit in the cabinet? So far, there have been no talks on that."

There have been persistent rumors of a cabinet reshuffle in recent months and PDI-P secretary general Tjahjo Kumolo on Saturday called on the president to replace 10 ministers due to poor performance.

Ade Komaruddin, House chairman of Golkar Party, said he had heard nothing regarding an impending reshuffle, adding that Puan's stated position was confusing.

"How should we formulate this? They [PDI-P] refuse to join the coalition but will consider offers for positions in the cabinet? I don't understand," he said.

Saan Mustopha, the Democrat's deputy secretary general, said his party did have a good relationship with the PDI-P, but that any cabinet staffing decisions were the president's domain.

"It is not about offering positions in the cabinet, because this is the president's prerogative. Only the president knows whether there will be one [a reshuffle]." PDI-P House secretary Bambang Wuryanto said Puan's statement could be read two ways.

"You might interpret it as that there has been an intimate communication. It could also be interpreted as that the offer must be publicly announced."

Airlangga Pribadi, a political analyst from Surabaya's Airlangga University, said Puan's statement was ambiguous and not reflecting a clear party stance.

He said if the PDI-P refused to join the coalition, it should also reject offers to sit in the Yudhoyono cabinet. "The best decision is to stay as the opposition," he said.

Elections

Budget worries lead KPK to focus on local money politics

Jakarta Post - February 10, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Amid concerns that some regional leaders are misusing public money and state facilities to advance their political careers, the KPK has vowed to make money politics one of its focuses in 2011.

"It may not be directly linked to corruption, but incumbent leaders are most likely to use government money for their campaigns," Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chief Mochammad Jasin told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"Although it cannot be called money politics, such misuse of both local and central government budgets has a strong connection with the image and performance of the incumbent leaders," he said.

Recently, the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) slammed programs in several municipalities and regencies distributing a series of 10 books on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's leadership to school libraries.

ICW accused the Yudhoyono of using the education system as a personal propaganda tool. The National Education Ministry said nothing was wrong with the procedures used to procure the books, which were published by PT Remaja Rosdakarya.

National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh said every year publishers proposed thousands of book titles to the ministry for selection. He said the ministry approved about 1,000 of 12,000 proposed titles in 2009, of which municipalities could pick 30 to 40 titles for distribution in school libraries.

Critics, especially Yudhoyono's rivals, insisted that the practice was questionable since local administrations bought the books using the government's special allocation funds while the books benefitted the image of the President.

According to Jasin, some cases, especially those related to image building, fell into a gray area where the KPK could step in as long as there were indications that state officials had misused government budget for their own campaigns.

"Whoever they are, KPK can step in. But this is hard, since there is a strong connection between state officials and the government budget," Jasin said. He added that it would not be wise to judge without first studying the allegations.

Claims of money politics, especially claims related to the misuse of local government funds, would be one of the focuses of the KPK's corruption prevention division this year, he said.

Jasin cited the example Bekasi Mayor Mochtar Muhammad, currently in KPK custody in a detention center in Salemba, Central Jakarta. Mochtar allegedly used money from Bekasi's 2010 budget to bribe organizers to win the Adipura Cleanliness Award for the city.

"This is a case of bribery which has a connection with the image of the city and of course his image as well. It's not directly connected with money politics as usual, but somehow it led to it," Jasin said.

Competition for the Adipura awards, which were launched in 1984, has been mandatory for all cities since 2002.

Over the years Bekasi had been considered one of the dirtiest cities in the country due to the poor waste management at the Bantar Gebang landfill, which received 6,000 tons of garbage a day from Jakarta.

Mochtar repeatedly said he used the money to run programs to clean and beautify the city, such as a massive tree planting campaign, a program to relocate street vendors, and programs to improve waste management, dredge rivers and expand green areas.

One critic, Effendi Ghazali, said such things were ineffective strategies for image building. "[It's] not a smart move; they do not realize that it violates ethics," he told the Post. "Many local leaders use indirect budgets to avoid presumptions of budget misuse, such as the Idul Fitri greeting cards," he said.

Effendi was referring to West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan and Deputy Governor Dede Yusuf, who sent personalized Idul Fitri greeting cards in 2010 funded by the provincial budget. The cards displayed large pictures of Ahmad or Dede, respectively.

"Some leaders and state officials also think that using public service advertising for image-building does not violate any law," he said.

Ibnu Hamad, a communications expert from the University of Indonesia, said that the success or failure of local government programs was automatically attached to the local leaders' images. "Such programs make room for misappropriations for image-building because people judge their leaders by their programs," he said.

Political dynasties must be neutralized: KPU

Jakarta Post - February 8, 2011

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Political dynasties, a growing trend in regional elections in Indonesia, should be curbed, as they undermine democracy and limit opportunities for other candidates, according to the General Elections Commission (KPU).

KPU chairman Hafiz Anshari raised the issue in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Monday where he was attending a meeting with local KPU members.

According to Hafiz, a proposal to curb political dynasties was stipulated in the draft amendment to the law on regional leadership elections. "The amendment is currently being deliberated at the House of Representatives," he said.

The draft would prohibit close relatives of incumbents from contesting local elections. Close relatives in this case are defined as parents, siblings, spouses and children of incumbents.

Although an incumbent's spouse or blood relative might have received masked government aid for an election bid, not all have succeeded in their campaigns.

Aida Zulaikha, the wife of former Riau Islands Governor Ismeth Abdullah, was beaten by Muhammad Sani. In the regencies, Bambang Riyanto, then the governor of Sukoharjo, failed to help his wife, Titik Suprapti, win the poll.

Political dynasties, added Hafiz, encouraged nepotism and were violations of electoral laws and regulations because the candidates allegedly received facilities from the incumbents, such as the use of state facilities, mobilization of civil servants and abuse of power by the incumbents.

Internet & social networking

Independent news web site offers alternative view

Jakarta Globe - February 9, 2011

Ismira Lutfia – An Indonesian Web site modeled as an alternative platform for news reports not picked up by the mainstream media has officially gone live with the aim of hosting newsroom leaks.

Iman D. Nugroho, editor in chief of Mediaindependen.com, said at its official launch on Sunday that what set it apart from other media watchdogs was its "spirit and packaging."

"We are all members of the Alliance of Independent Journalist [AJI] but we are not compliant to it," said Iman, who is also a senior reporter for jurnalparlemen.com, a news portal specializing in covering the country's legislature.

Mediaindependen.com went online in October, created from an idea first raised in May when a group of journalists participated in a three-week course at the Radio Netherlands Training Center near Amsterdam on how new media could support independent journalism.

Promising to host stories that were spiked for various reasons by news desks at mainstream media outlets, it was inspired in part by the success of WikiLeaks. The Web site currently has 18 contributors, all of whom also work for various mainstream news outlets.

Budiman Tanuredjo, managing editor of Kompas, said the establishment of a watchdog like Mediaindependen.com was a positive move to safeguard freedom of the press given the increasing threat of self-censorship by media owners.

Meanwhile, Ignatius Haryanto, a media analyst, said that while the Reform Era had ended government controls on media organizations, that role was now being filled by media owners. Business interests, he said, forced many media outlets to be careful about reporting on certain issues.

Current stories on Mediaindependen.com cover the news industry itself, including allegations of unfair treatment of employees by a magazine in the Kompas group. No stories axed by the mainstream media are featured yet.

Wicaksono, a journalist and noted blogger, said the Web site would have its work cut out trying to stay current, given that its contributors also worked for various other news outlets.

"How long can the site last? Will you all have enough time [to contribute]?" he said. "The important thing is that the site be well maintained."

Labour & migrant workers

Domestic workers day slated for February 15

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2011

Activists will demand stronger protection of domestic workers from excessive working hours, physical and sexual abuse and underpaid and unpaid salaries during the observation of Domestic Workers Day on Feb. 15, according to a network of domestic worker NGOs.

"The Indonesian government should provide stronger legal protections to domestic workers by enacting [the proposed] law on domestic worker protection and the Convention on Proper Jobs for Domestic Workers," said a representative from the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (Jala PRT) on Sunday.

This year's celebration would be marked by discussions, a rally, and appearances on radio and television talk shows on Monday in Jakarta Denpasar, Lampung, Medan, Palembang, Pontianak, Samarinda, Semarang, Solo, Surabaya and Yogyakarta.

In Mataram, a domestic worker fled from her employers on Sunday, after allegedly being tortured, Jala PRT reported in a press release.

Kamrah, 32, from Dasan Bagek, East Lombok, fled from her employer's house at the BTN Panorama Alam complex in North Rembiga, Mataram.

The domestic worker fled by jumping over the wall of her employer's house, alleging poor treatment. Kamrah said she did not been paid in 10 months.

After delays, workers demand PT DI pay salaries, healthcare

Jakarta Post - February 11, 2011

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Unions representing thousands of employees of PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) have demanded that the state-run aircraft maker pay workers' January salaries and restore healthcare benefits.

The demands were raised in a letter signed by the leaders of four labor unions that was sent to PT DI managing director Budi Santoso on Feb. 8. The unions signing the letter were the Dirgantara Indonesia Workers Union (SPEDI), the Dirgantara Indonesia Workers Federation (SKDI), the Dirgantara Indonesia Workers Association (HKDI) and the Sekar CN 235 Workers Union.

SPEDI leader Haribes Alinoesin said PT DI had again failed to pay the full salaries of more than 4,900 workers in January.

The company previously failed pay employee salaries from September to December, while employee healthcare at Hasan Sadikin General Hospital and other partner hospitals lapsed as of September after the company did not pay hospital claims, he said.

"In January this year, each of us only received Rp 2.5 million [US$280], while the company announced that it would pay the outstanding amount immediately. However we have yet to receive it as of now," Haribes said in Bandung on Thursday.

Employees said they were concerned about the decline in the company's ability to meet its obligations, which might negatively affect their productivity.

"Late salary payments and medical expenses have caused workers to be trapped in debt. Some of them have even had to sell their belongings [to pay] for household needs, their children's education and medical bills," Henny said.

PT DI spokesman Rakhendi Triyatna said the company was facing liquidity problems due to a gap between its spending and income and a lack of working capital.

"We spent a specific amount and expected to gain a particular amount, but it was quite late," said Rakhendi who declined discuss the company's cash flow in detail.

Rakhendi said outstanding salaries would be paid by Feb. 11 thanks to injection of funds from Assets Management Company (PPA) which took over PT DI in December.

The takeover, he added, would hopefully solve PT DI's financial woes.

30 percent of university graduates jobless

Jakarta Post - February 11, 2011

Jakarta – Thirty percent of university graduates are unemployed, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar says.

Many of them are jobless because they are not well informed about available vacancies or they are not qualified for the positions, he said after opening a career and scholarship expo at the University of Indonesia in Depok on Thursday, kompas.com reported.

To cope with the problem, universities should produce qualified graduates and provide them with career planning, he said.

He called for universities to build better cooperation with industries so there would be more jobs for graduates, including those who were handicapped.

The expo involved 68 companies and 14 scholarship providers, and will last until Saturday.

Environment & natural disasters

Forests dwindling fast, orangutan face extinction, say activists

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2011

Apriadi Gunawan and Sri Wahyuni, Medan/Yogyakarta – Conservationist have voiced fears that orangutans in Sumatra are facing extinction due to habitat destruction, while some have alleged the animal is badly treated at zoos.

Researchers in Medan, North Sumatra, said that the orangutan population in Sumatra had declined rapidly to about 6,667.

Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari researcher Riswan Zen blamed damage in tropical forests for the rapid decrease in the orangutan population.

He said uncontrolled land conversions, forest fires and unsustainable logging activities had contributed to forest destruction.

Reports in 2007 said at least 35 percent of forests in Aceh were damaged, while 78% of forest area in North Sumatra was threatened. "If the damage keep increasing, orangutans face complete extinction," Riswan told a workshop on 'REDD and orangutans in Sumatra' held in Medan on Thursday.

Riswan said that the population of orangutans in Rawa Tripa, Nagan Raya regency, Aceh, had dropped from 1,000 in 1990 some 280. "Unless something is done about it, they are feared to be extinct within five years."

Yayasan Ekosistem Leuser (YEL) chairman Sofyan Tan expressed the same concern, saying that preserving the orangutan population would a daunting task due to the fact that logging practices were rampant and that the most suitable habitats for orangutans in Sumatra were largely gone.

"It leaves us to decide whether or not Sumatran orangutans will survive in the wild," said Sofyan, adding that the World Conservation Union had included the species on its most endangered list.

In Yogyakarta, the Center for Orangutan Protection (COP) revealed on Thursday that most orangutans in urban conservation centers, including zoos and safari parks, were not sufficiently protected. Some had died because of poor facilities and treatment.

"The assessment that we had from April 2009 to February 2011 in 12 urban conservation centers showed that they generally displayed abnormal and stressful behaviors partly due to bad facilities and bad treatment both from management and visitors," COP director Hardi Baktiantoro said.

He said the observations were based on five main indicators to determine if the orangutans were free from hunger and thirst, from physical discomfort, from illness, from fear and stress and had freedom to express themselves naturally.

Other factors observed included the conditions of their sheds, their environment, privacy, shed ornaments, protection and security. "We also observed if they showed any stereotype behaviors, or behaviors not normally found in their natural habitats," said Hardi, who is also the founder of COP.

Behaviors like vomiting, aggressiveness, self-mutilation, pacing and unusual tongue play, Hardi said, could be indicators that the animals were not happy, poorly treated or under stress.

COP conservation specialist Daniek Hendarto said the assessment was initially done at the five biggest zoos in Indonesia: Surabaya Zoo, Taru Jurug Zoo in Surakarta (Central Java), Gembiraloka Zoo in Yogyakarta, Tamansari Zoo in Bandung (West Java) and Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta.

It was later expanded to Batu Secret Zoo Malang (East Java), Maharani Zoo (Lamongan, East Java), Romensy Recreational Park (Kartasura, Central Java), Wersut Seguni Recreational Park (Kendal, Central Java), Safari Park in Bogor (West Java), Pasuruan (East Java) and Banjarnegara Zoo (Central Java).

"This further showed that orangutans kept in conservation institutions applying expensive entrance fees appeared to be treated much better," Daniek said.

The assessment also found that clean water facilities for orangutans in most of the zoos were assessed as poor. "Poor facilities had led to the death of Toni, an orangutan at Taru Jurug Zoo," Daniek said.

COP therefore suggested that zoos and other similar institutions apply higher entrance ticket prices so they would also be better able to take care of the animals. Healthy, well-treated animals, he said, would in turn attract more visitors.

COP also suggested the government close down troubled zoos and transfer the animals to quarantine centers and to ban zoos and other conservation institutions from conducting shows or activities that exploit the animals.

House, forestry ministry bicker over illegal logging

Jakarta Globe - February 9, 2011

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – The House of Representatives has called for the establishment of an independent commission to tackle illegal logging, but the Forestry Ministry is adamant that a sub-ministerial agency should do the job.

The opposing calls were made on Monday night at a hearing between House Commission IV, which oversees forestry affairs, and the ministry. They discussed a landmark bill on illegal logging that was proposed eight years ago but is still not passed into law.

Firman Soebagyo, deputy chairman of Commission IV, said it would take an independent commission with sweeping powers similar to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to crack down effectively on illegal logging.

"The House believes that it is necessary to set up a commission so there will be a legal basis [to fight illegal logging]," he said. "We must establish an independent body with a strong authority to investigate and prosecute, hopefully serving a similar function as the KPK."

Firman added the House was concerned that if the task of tracking down illegal loggers was left to a lower-level institution, it would not have the required power to act, particularly if the institution in question fell under the Forestry Ministry's auspices.

"We're under the international spotlight because we're considered to be far from serious in tackling illegal logging," he said.

"I'm sorry to say this, but this scrutiny is a reflection of the Forestry Ministry's performance. There are concerns from legislators that if we delegate the task to a coordinating agency under the ministry, we'll get more funny looks from the international community."

However, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said that since several existing institutions were already involved in the fight against illegal loggers, it made sense to set up an agency under his ministry to coordinate their efforts.

Bodies already tackling the issue include the police, prosecutors, the KPK and the presidentially appointed Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force, which has highlighted the forestry sector as particularly prone to institutional corruption.

"We propose that there be a coordinating agency, answerable to the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, the daily operations of which would be managed by the forestry minister," Zulkifli said.

While the House and the Forestry Ministry are at loggerheads over the issue, they both agreed that punishment for illegal loggers should be defined in terms of the minimum sentence applicable for a violation, rather than the maximum. This suggestion was made to ensure perpetrators receive longer jail terms.

The fight against illegal logging should target not just those cutting down the trees, but their superiors as well, Zulkifli said. "With this bill on illegal logging, we're after the white-collar criminals, the corporations and investors," he said.

Number of Sumatran tigers fast dwindling in Jambi

Antara News - February 8, 2011

Jambi – The population of the critically endangered Sumatran tiger – scientific name Panthera tigris Sumatrae – in Jambi province has continued to dwindle to an alarmingly low number.

Tri Siswo, Jambi Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) spokesman, said on Tuesday that there were only an estimated 40 tigers left in the area.

According to Tri Siswo, poaching and deforestation activities were the biggest threats against the tigers and eventually caused them to prey on humans.

Tri said the population of the tigers in Berbak National Park (TNB), Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS) and the southern area of the province continued to decline because of activities by humans.

Meanwhile, the population of Sumatran tigers in Way Kambas National Park (TNWK), which covers 1,300 square kilometers in Lampung province, is also facing the same situation. According to the latest data issued by TNWK, the number of the tigers in the park has dwindled rapidly.

Sumianto, coordinator of the Sumatran Tiger Rescue and Conservation Foundation (PKHS), said that the current number of tigers found at the park is estimated to be less than 30. In 2,000, there were about 40 tigers.

Long legal process hampers justice: Report

Jakarta Post - February 8, 2011

Jakarta – Local communities will suffer greater difficulty in achieving environmental justice due to the absence of a simpler dispute mechanism in the midst of a steady increase of environmental damage caused by human activities, an institute says in its recent research report.

Prayekti Murharjanti, a researcher from the Leiden University's Van Vollenhoven Institute (VVI), said only a few environmental disputes resolved by litigations or mediations had ended with a just solution for local communities afflicted by the environmental damage.

"Justice has not been on the side of the victims because it is very difficult for victims of pollution to prove their case at court," she said at the launch of the report titled "The Effectiveness of Environmental Dispute Resolution in Indonesia".

VVI Project Manager, Ward Berenschot, said Indonesia had seen an excessive proliferation of environmental disputes triggered by, among others, intensified deforestation and big mining operations.

"A more effective and efficient environmental dispute mechanism is in dire need to make sure that the developmental costs are not a burden on the weakest groups only," he said.

According to the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the country's environmental disputes in 2009 reached 387 cases, comprising 127 in forestry, 120 in mining and energy, 48 in coastal areas and sea, 38 in big plantations, 17 in water and food, and 47 in environment and other natural resources.

"Environmental damage in Indonesia will increase by 50 to 70 percent in 2011 from last year's figure," said Walhi activist Mukri Priatna as quoted by tempointeraktif.com news portal.

Meanwhile, according to the Environment Ministry, people's pollution and environmental destruction complaints in 2009 reached 98 cases. Only 33 of 98 cases have been resolved by the ministry, including three cases through mediation.

In the research, the VVI researchers studied 44 environmental disputes that occurred between 1989 and 2009, of which 17 cases were dealt with through mediation and 27 cases through litigation. Only 23 verdicts of the 27 litigation cases were known, the team said.

During the disputes, many victims reportedly had difficult experiences with the justice system. The report says that victims could win only 13 percent of 23 cases, while the remaining saw the communities losing.

It even takes a long process for the victims to win the disputes. "It takes between two to 10 years after their legal process starts," Prayekti said.

Many litigants and judges showed poor knowledge on the existing environmental laws, including environmental principles, resulting in a low success rate. "They often fail to understand scientific evidence as legal proof that is needed in court," Prayekti said.

Citing an example, she said a judge could not hand down a penalty in a recent forest fire case caused by land clearing, saying that no significant proof, including the person who burned the forests, could be found.

"It's so silly because scientifically we can prove whether the forest fire is caused by human activities or not," she said.

The report concludes that mediation is a much more effective mechanism. About 82 percent of 17 environmental mediations have achieved agreements, of which 64 percent of their compensation claims have been paid by the companies.

Prayekti said the mediation process was relatively quick. "It takes 1.2 years only on average," she said. However, it is not easy to get polluters to attend a mediation process, which takes 10.1 years on average. Because alleged polluters come on a voluntary basis, they cannot be forced.

Mediation failures usually relate to unbalanced power between corporates and their opponents. "A polluting company has financial power and strong political support to win disputes," she said.

Prayekti said that a simpler environmental dispute mechanism would not only give a just solution to people afflicted by environmental destruction, but would also keep the environment clean and sustainable." (ebf)

Graft & corruption

Police must reveal fat bank accounts data: Commission

Jakarta Globe - February 9, 2011

Ismira Lutfia – The Information Commission ruled on Tuesday that data on the 17 suspiciously large bank accounts of senior police officers could be deemed of public interest and hence must be made available to the public.

However, police said immediately after the ruling that they would appeal to the State Administrative Court.

The ruling was made in a non-litigation adjudication hearing filed last September by Indonesia Corruption Watch against the National Police after the latter refused to release details of their investigation into the accounts.

"The Information Commission has decided to grant the plaintiff's motion in full and rules that the information containing data and figures of the 17 bank accounts belonging to police officers is open information," Ahmad Alamsyah Saragih, the commission chairman, said at the hearing at the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta.

Abdul Rahman Ma'mun, a commission member, said that if police refuse to hand over the information after the verdict becomes legally binding – which happens if neither of the parties involved files an appeal within 14 days of the ruling – ICW could file a criminal suit that could see the police officials in charge of submitting the information face up to a year in prison.

Brig. Gen. Iza Fadri, head of the National Police's legal bureau, said that while the police respected the Information Commission's decision, they disagreed with its argument that disclosing information such as the bank account holders' names and the exact amount in the accounts would not violate the privacy of the account holders.

"This is not a final verdict," he said. "The interpretation [of the 2008 Freedom of Information Law] can vary, so we'll have it verified again."

The police had argued in the hearing that disclosing any information about the accounts would disrupt their probe into the case.

However, the court said it could not support that line of reasoning because the police had already conducted an internal affairs investigation into the account holders and cleared them of any wrongdoing in connection with the accounts.

Tama Satrya Langkun, the ICW researcher who helped bring the issue to the fore, said the antigraft watchdog would wait and see if police would really file an appeal. He said that even if they did not, the subsequent legal moves to get them to disclose the data could be complicated if they refused to comply.

"We certainly can't file a criminal complaint against the National Police with the police, so we'd have to file an appeal instead," Tama said.

In June, the weekly magazine Tempo – based on suspicious transactions noted by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) – ran an in-depth report about the accounts as its cover story.

The Tempo office was firebombed by attackers shortly after the publication of the fat bank account issue, just days after Tama was assaulted by a group of unknown assailants. No arrests have been made in either of these cases.

The National Police have since said irregularities were only found in three of the 17 bank accounts and that it had taken action against those implicated. The three accounts that were found to be "improper" belonged to officers already convicted or on trial in other criminal cases.

In December, National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo announced the case of the suspicious bank accounts was closed and would not be reopened.

Gayus lawyer calls it quits over 'politicized' case

Jakarta Globe - February 9, 2011

Farouk Arnaz, Eddy Pratama & Heru Andriyanto – Lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution on Tuesday quit as legal counsel for graft convict Gayus Tambunan, saying the case had become politicized by groups seeking to further their own interests.

"We believe this case has become a political issue and has been marred by overlapping interests," Adnan told reporters in Jakarta. "And we've simply lost confidence in our client."

Adnan said he had agreed to defend Gayus after the former taxman convinced him they shared a common goal to expose corruption in the graft-riddled tax office and judiciary.

The veteran lawyer said Gayus had told him that he was "committed to uncovering the tax and judicial mafia," and was prepared to face capital punishment to achieve that.

However, Gayus has since recanted testimony made during police questioning, in the courtroom and to the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force. He said last week that he had been pressured by the task force into making claims about accepting Rp 35 billion ($3.9 million) in payments from three Bakrie Group firms.

"He had talked about that a number of times and I can't accept that he is now retracting that testimony," Adnan said. "I've lost my trust in him and no longer know what the truth is. That is the main reason why we're ending our relationship with him."

Adnan also said that Gayus had not told him about his illicit trips to Bali, Macau and Singapore while he was supposed to be in detention, and had read a statement to the court after the final hearing of his trial without the consent of his defense team.

"But I can't put the blame solely on Gayus. None of his valuable testimony elicited a response," he said, referring to the fact that many of the allegations made by Gayus in court had not been followed up by law enforcers.

Separately, Emerson Yuntho, deputy chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch, said the Gayus case should have been handled from the start by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which only became involved in the investigation late last month.

"The scandal came to a dead end in the hands of the police and prosecutors," he said. "Cases related to the judicial or tax mafias should always be handled by the antigraft commission, which is relatively free of vested interests."

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar, meanwhile, confirmed that two middle-ranking officers identified by Gayus as having helped him evade an embezzlement conviction last March would face a tribunal to determine whether they had violated the police code of conduct.

War on terror

Bashir's Aceh camp start of Islamic state: Prosecutors

Jakarta Globe - February 14, 2011

Heru Andriyanto – Prosecutors on Monday told a Jakarta courtroom of how firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Bashir envisioned the establishment of an Islamic state by all means necessary, including through terror and heists, starting with a paramilitary training camp in Aceh.

Sometime in July 2009, Bashir told his followers that "before waging jihad, we must first occupy a territory, albeit small, and gain full control of it," a prosecutor said as he read the 250-page indictment against the hard-line cleric at the South Jakarta District Court.

The defendant was also accused of inciting followers by providing the rationale for heists and murders: the need to seek funds for jihad, known as "fa'i", as well as carrying out acts of terror against infidels.

"The defendant said... fa'i is directed against infidels and the governments who observe Islam but do not apply Islamic sharia," prosecutor Muhammad Taufik said.

To establish an Islamic state, Bashir recommended terror attacks using the same weapons of the enemies, including rifles and bombs, he said.

"The purpose of the terror is to spread panic and to divide the people and the ruling government, thus paving the way for a takeover," he said. The indictment said Bashir approved the plan by fellow militants Dulmatin, Ubaid and Abu Tholut to conduct a survey in Aceh in their search for a homebase, and provided an initial fund of Rp 15 million for this purpose.

The 72-year-old cleric was also accused of approaching potential donors for the Aceh camp and collecting at least Rp 1 billion to buy weapons and ammunitions and to finance the Aceh camp.

"The weapons were used by participants of the paramilitary training to attack police officers in several public places... and to carry out heists at the Newnet internet cafe and CIMB bank in Medan," the indictment said.

The cleric is charged with multiple counts of terrorism, including "mobilizing people for the acts of terror" that carries the death sentence.

The hearing was adjourned for Thursday for the preliminary defense.

Ba'asyir raised Rp 1 billion to fund terror: Prosecutors

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2011

Terror suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir allegedly raised Rp 1 billion (US$112,000) to buy firearms, ammunition and set up a terrorist training camp in Aceh, prosecutors say.

Ba'asyir allegedly gave Rp 5 million (US$560) and an additional $5,000 directly to Joko Pitono in Ngruki, Central Java, according to the sentence demand read by prosecutors at Ba'asyir's trial at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday.

Prosecutors said that Ba'asyir instructed Jamaah Anshorud Tauhid (JAT) members in several areas to donate money to support terrorism, raising Rp 80 million from supporters in Bima, Rp 160 million from supporters in Surakarta, Rp 25 million from those East Java and Rp 250 million in Bekasi. Also implicated in the fund raising by prosecutors were Thoyib, Syarif Usman, Hariyadi Usman, Abul Hakim, Uqbah, Afif Abul Majid, Abdul Haris, Yudo, and Ubaid.

According to prosecutors, money collected by Ubaid was transferred to Dulmatin, the notorious terrorist in charge of the training, to purchase firearms such as AK-47 assault rifles, revolvers and ammunition.

Prosecutors further said that the weapons were used in the deadly heist of CIMB Niaga Bank and the Newnet Internet cafe in Medan. "The attack sparked fear in those who directly experienced or witnessed the actions," lead prosecutor M. Taufiq said as quoted by kompas.com.

Firebrand Islamic cleric's trial adjourned in Indonesia

Reuters - February 10, 2011

Olivia Rondonuwu – The trial of a firebrand Indonesian Islamic cleric on terror charges opened on Thursday and was swiftly adjourned on a technicality.

Abu Bakar Bashir, spiritual leader of the outlawed southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiah, faces fresh charges that carry the death penalty in a trial which refocuses attention on Indonesia's fight against Islamic terror groups.

Indonesia has won praise for largely defeating Islamic terror, but analysts and rights groups are concerned a recent spike in religious intolerance shows extremism still has a hold on the world's most populous Muslim nation.

The trial opened under tight security in the capital, but was adjourned until Monday after judges granted a defence request for a postponement on technical grounds.

Foreign investment has poured into Indonesia's bond and stock markets thanks to improved political stability and successful efforts to combat Islamic militancy since the last significant attack – the bombing of two hotels in Jakarta in 2009.

But this week has twice seen mobs of youths running riot in the name of defending Islam – first killing three members of the Ahmadiyya sect are considered heretical by mainstream Muslims, and then torching two churches to protest against the perceived light sentence of a Catholic accused of blasphemy.

Despite no significant terror attacks in Indonesia for nearly two years, security in the capital is pervasive, with checkpoints placed at the entrance of all major shopping malls, hotels, embassies and government buildings.

Wednesday's trial will be the third for the frail 72-year-old Bashir, who is officially the caretaker of an Islamic boarding school on Java island but has long been considered the spiritual leader of the shadowy Jemaah Islamiyah movement, which seeks to establish a Muslim caliphate across Southeast Asia.

He was found not guilty of terror offences in two previous trials that attempted to link him to the 2002 Bali bombings, but only spent time in prison for lesser charges such as immigration offences.

On Thursday scores of his supporters filled the public gallery of a south Jakarta courtroom, waiting for him to be brought to the dock where he will be charged with helping establish a terror training camp and funding terror organizations – offences which carry the death penalty.

Bashir is also the "Amir" of above-ground Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) Islamic group, which draws support from thousands of often unemployed youths who attend public rallies and sermons by firebrand preachers. Their ranks have provided recruits for even more radical organizations with links to Jemaah Islamiyah and Al Qaeda.

Analysts say that if Bashir is found guilty he would more likely face a long jail term than execution. But they say the threat remains of other terror groups forming across the archipelago of more than 17,000 islands which are home to around 240 million people, most of them moderate Muslims.

"Bashir is an important figure and there is stronger evidence against him this time," said Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group (ICG). "But locking him away does not change the security situation here – there are still small groups, some with no connection to Bashir, that could carry out attacks.

"The difficult problem is not so much the terrorists but the radical civil society activists who preach intolerance and incite violence against religious minorities. The government has been firm against terrorists but it has allowed religious intolerance to escalate out of control."

Jakarta Police said they had deployed about 3,000 personnel to guard the court where the trial was taking place and armored trucks with water cannon at the ready were stationed in the vicinity.

A team of 32 prosecutors have prepared a 93-page indictment against Bashir, court officials said "The highlight (of the indictment) is the defendant was gathering funds... to be used for paramilitary training in Aceh and to purchase weapons," Andi Muhammad Taufik said.

Before that camp was fully established it was shut down by authorities following a raid in which three police officers and a civilian were killed.

Police said the Aceh-based group had planned to assassinate President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other government officials at an independence day ceremony last August.

Police also said they held documents saying Bashir was the leader of a group which calls itself al Qaeda of Indonesia and which is the umbrella for four militant Islamic groups including JI, JAT, Kompak and Indonesia Islamic State (NII).

Supporters label Bashir charges 'absurd' as terror trial begins

Jakarta Globe - February 10, 2011

Heru Andriyanto – The South Jakarta District Court was packed with supporters of Abu Bakar Bashir on Wednesday morning ahead of the controversial cleric's terrorism trial, which is being guarded by 1,500 police personnel inside and outside the courtroom.

The supporters said the seven counts of terrorism laid against Bashir were absurd.

"This trial is a comedy. Bashir was charged with terrorism related to the paramilitary training in Aceh, while the Anti-Terror Law doesn't cover paramilitary training," said Son Hadi, spokesman for Islamic group Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid. The group was founded by the 72-year-old cleric.

"If paramilitary training is classified as an act of terrorism, then police should charge student regiments of various groups that also conduct paramilitary training under the Anti-Terror Law," he told the Jakarta Globe ahead of the hearing.

Court official Supriyantorro said they expected about 2,000 Bashir supporters. "They have come from Solo, Banten, Surabaya, Bandung, Mojokerto and Jakarta," he said.

The trial has been overshadowed by recent sectarian conflicts in Pandeglang, Banten, and Temanggung, Central Java, but Son said he had instructed the supporters to maintain a low profile and avoid violence.

"It's up to the police. We hope they don't provoke us or do excessive things that may send the wrong message to the mass," he said.

Despite his claim, dozens of supporters staged a rally at the entrance gate demanding access to the court. They were shouting "Allahu Akbar" and chanting slogans.

Extremist & hard-line groups

FPI denies involvement in Temanggung, asserts authority

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2011

Jakarta – The Islam Defenders Front (FPI) says it was not behind the Tuesday attacks on three churches and the court building in Temanggung, Central Java.

"Our organization has one command system; and there was no order to go [to Temanggung]," FPI Central Java-Yogyakarta branch chief Bambang Tedi said Wednesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Bambang denied allegations that the group was involved in the attacks, reiterating that the FPI had sent no one to Temanggung and that it would punish anyone found committing actions not approved by the organization's leaders.

He added that the FPI always reported its activities to the police before it went ahead with them, and that it obeyed existing laws and never committed acts of anarchy.

If there was no response from police and its warnings were ignored, the FPI would take "firm action", Bambang said.

Disbanding violent groups not the answer: Mahfud M.D.

Jakarta Globe - February 11, 2011

Dessy Sagita – The head of Indonesia's Constitutional Court on Friday said calls by the president to disband violent organizations in the wake of the recent religious violence would do little to address intolerance.

Mahfud M.D. said the best solution was to take "firm legal action" against anyone implicated in violence.

On Wednesday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke out against what many perceive to be as a growing wave of intolerance by the Muslim majority, saying the law should be used to disband groups advocating violence.

"For those groups proven to have violated the law, engaged in violence and caused unrest in society, if they need to be dissolved, then ways should be sought to do that in line with the law and democracy," Yudhoyono said.

He said the murder of three members of Ahmadiyah, a minority Muslim sect, in Pandeglang, Banten, on Sunday and anti-Christian violence in Temanggung, Central Java, on Tuesday must not happen again. "If it is allowed, we will regress," he said.

Mahfud said dissolving an organization was a complicated and lengthy process.

"First, we have to make sure that the organization is registered at the Ministry of Home Affairs, because if it's not registered it's considered non-existent, thus impossible to dissolve," he said.

"Second, there must be evidence that he organization violated the country's ideology, received grants from another country or helped those countries without informing the government: only then they can be dissolved."

He said the most viable option was to enforce the law. "What we need is the real action on the field, when someone is playing judge, arrest them right away, bring them to court," he said.

Mahfud said that from a constitutional perspective, the Ahmadiyah case was problematic.

He said the Constitution stipulated that freedom of religion should be upheld. However, he said, the Constitution also stated that the government must regulate religious communities to ensure there was no conflict because of multiple interpretations or multiple beliefs.

FPI threatens to topple Yudhoyono

Jakarta Post - February 10, 2011

Jakarta – The Islam Defenders Front (FPI) warns it will overthrow President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono from government if he dares disband any mass organization, including FPI.

"Yudhoyono will become like Ben Ali of Tunisia. Indonesia will be like Egypt. We will topple SBY because he has diverted [attention from] the [Ahmadiyah] issue," FPI militia commander Munarman told tempointeraktif.com over the phone on Thursday.

Munarman made the statement in response to Yudhoyono's calls for the disbanding of any violent mass organizations following barbaric attack on a Ahmadiyah congregation in Cikeusik, Banten, which led to the death of three of its members.

He said that Yudhoyono had made a mistake because the incident, as well as the burning of three churches in Temanggung, Central Java, on Tuesday, had not involved any mass organizations.

Munarman, a former chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, said the FPI would make every effort to prevent the government from disbanding any mass organizations.

Indonesia president calls for disbanding of 'violent' groups

Antara News - February 9, 2011

In his strongest comments since the killing of three members of an Islamic sect and anti-Christian unrest, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday called on authorities to disband any organization that urged its members to resort to violence.

"If there is an official public group or mass organization that has repeatedly conducted or even suggested violence, legal authorities must disband the organization, according to the rule of law and democratic ethics," Yudhoyono said in Kupang, West Timor, on Wednesday.

"Even though a democratic country upholds freedom of expression and the right to assemble, we must not give any space and tolerance to public speech or calls to carry out violence or murder on anyone."

He said the anti-Ahmadiyah attacks in Pandeglang, Banten, and unrest in Temanggung, Central Java, in which two churches and a Christian school were targeted, could have been prevented if authorities had been proactive and swifter in their responses.

"In this country, there are no villages or districts that do not have leaders and security officers," Yudhoyono said.

He also asked the press to support the government in maintaining harmony among different religions "as well as to prevent violence done by a group or a community that could damage the harmony," he said.

Freedom of religion & worship

Activists say police allowed Ahmadiyah attacks

Jakarta Globe - February 14, 2011

Farouk Arnaz & Zaky Pawas – A nongovernmental organization has accused the National Police of being complicit in a deadly attack on members of the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect, saying the police's failure to provide the Ahmadis with protection signaled they were allowing the attack to occur.

Nurkholis Hidayat, the chairman of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), said on Sunday that police reluctance to confront anti-Ahmadiyah protesters played a role in permitting the attack on Feb. 6, which left three Ahmadiyah members dead in Cikeusik in Pandeglang, Banten.

He pointed out that a regulation issued by former National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri last October allowed officers to used live bullets to handle protesters if they became uncooperative or started attacking officers.

The regulation, Protap 01, was conspicuously "not put into use" during the recent attack, he said. "The police neglected to provide any form of security. They stood back and allowed the attack to occur," Nurkholis said at the Jakarta office of the human rights watchdog Imparsial.

He was accompanied by members of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas Ham). "Police knew of the threat. They knew that an attack could occur, but they did not take any action to stop the Pandeglang incident," Nurkholis said.

"The police admitted to knowing that the attack would occur and that people were being mobilized," he said. "The police did not fulfill their basic duty – to offer maximum protection to Indonesian citizens."

Nurkholis said that according to LBH investigations into the Pandeglang violence, police officers said that the Ahmadis had "challenged" protesters to launch the attack by failing to leave the house of an Ahmadiyah leader they were protecting.

"When the police knowingly do nothing during a blatant attack such as this, they are willingly allowing the attack and the murders to occur," he added.

Banten Police Chief Brig. Gen. Agus Kusnadi has previously rejected accusations that the attack was the result of police negligence.

"We didn't let it happen, we had anticipated it," he said, pointing out that they tried to evacuate the Ahmadis. "The clash happened because there was provocation from the people who were attacked and the big number of attackers."

Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said on Sunday that many people were also questioning why, given the regulations in place, the police did not take firm action against the rioters in Temanggung, Central Java.

"They have Protap 01 in place. It was issued for such incidents," he said. "But it was not put into use in either the Temanggung or Pandeglang incidents."

He was referring to an attack on churches in Temanggung, Central Java, just two days after the violence in Banten.

In a separate development, Mahendradatta, a lawyer who represents prominent Islamic hard-liners such as Abu Bakar Bashir, said on Sunday that he had suspicions that one of the men shown to be leading the attack in Pandeglang had shown a form of respect to Arief, said to be an Ahmadi who filmed the violence.

Arief has been placed into protective custody by Komnas Ham and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK). "There is a possibility that Arief belongs to the same group as the attacker," he said.

One of the attackers, identified as Ujang bin Sahari, has said he became angry after Ahmadiyah followers attacked his brother, Suparta, a day earlier.

Police have so far named five suspects in the case, including Ujang. All of them have been identified as local clerics in Cikeusik.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently spoke out against what many people perceive to be a growing wave of religious intolerance across the country, saying the law should be used to disband groups advocating violence.

Temanggung riot leaders arrested: Sources

Jakarta Globe - February 14, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – Moving swiftly in the face of mounting concerns over religious violence, the Central Java Police have identified the alleged ringleaders of last week's riot and burning of churches in Temanggung.

Nine people were injured, and police sources have identified the leader of the attack as local cleric Syhabudin, 46, and his accomplice as Lutfi Hakim Aziz, 33, although the police have refused to officially confirm the names.

"I cannot mention their names, but for sure one of them is a cleric from a local Islamic boarding school," said the province's chief of detectives, Sr. Comr. Didit Widjanardi.

The 24 suspects, including Syhabudin and Lutfi, arrested as of Friday were mostly villagers from Sigedhong who were "mobilized" by the ringleaders, he added.

Temanggung has long been a breeding ground for Islamist extremists and was one of the areas where early members of Jemaah Islamiyah were recruited.

In 2009, police killed Ibrohim, the florist at the Marriott Hotel who is believed to have smuggled the bomb into the hotel in advance of the July 2009 terrorist attack, in Temanggung.

In 2007, officers arrested Temanggung resident Mujaddid, an accomplice of Noordin M. Top, for his involvement in the sectarian conflict in Poso, Central Sulawesi, in the late 1990s.

Police officials said over the weekend that they were moving quickly on this case because it has drawn intense public scrutiny, including pressure from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who denounced the church attacks and threatened to disband groups that promoted violence.

Coming two days after the deadly attack on Ahmadiyah followers in Banten, the church attacks drew widespread condemnation and international concern over the scope of religious intolerance in Indonesia.

In the Temanggung riot, police say the violence appeared to be premeditated and well-organized, with the ringleaders seeking to use the verdict in a blasphemy trial to stir up trouble.

"The investigation is still on going," Didit said. "We are very busy completing their dossiers, extracting information and making arrests because this case is drawing public attention."

Didit said the suspects were moved for their own safety on Saturday to the provincial police headquarters in Semarang.

Police have so far identified the leader only as "SYB," saying he was a cleric from Wonoboyo.

"SYB is the one who organized and gave directions," Central Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said on Saturday. "They [the rioters] received fuel money and a rice box that SYB probably bought using his own money or money from his sympathizers. We are still investigating where the funds came from."

Meanwhile, Mahendradatta, a member of the Muslim Defenders Team (TPM), which has provided legal representation for radical suspects in the past, said it had not yet decided if it would defend the leader of the Temanggung riot. "We received a request [to represent him] from the head of the Ka'abah Youth Movement [GPK]," he said.

GPK is the youth wing of the Islam-based United Development Party (PPP), which is chaired by Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali.

Unchecked hate speech 'exacerbates intolerance'

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Speeches by religious leaders that spread messages of hatred are believed to play a role in the increase in religious violence across the country as many leaders still spout hate speech in their sermons without fear of legal repercussions.

Human rights activists claimed they had evidence that angry mobs in two recent incidents of religious violence were motivated by gradually built up anger at minority groups.

More than a thousand villagers in Cikeusik, Banten, attacked Ahmadiyah followers on Feb. 6, killing three Ahmadis.

"We began monitoring the situation in Cikeusik a year ago," Andreas Harsono, the Indonesian consultant for US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), said, "Provocative speeches by local clerics that tend to justify hatred of the Ahmadis were around since then."

A 2008 joint ministerial decree banning Ahmadis from propagating their faith was seen as a "legal basis to take any necessary measures to dissolve Ahmadiyah from Indonesia," Usman Hamid from the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) said.

In 2005, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a second fatwa against Ahmadiyah.

Transparency International Indonesia (TII) chief patron Todung Mulya Lubis called the Cikeusik and Temanggung incidents "government-sponsored violence" because of the decree and the lack of preventative measures by security forces.

The decree, which stipulates theological differences between Islam and Ahmadiyah, as well as the fatwas, has become the platform for clerics to vilify Ahmadiyah. "The result of all this hate speech is more extremists," Yenny Zannuba Wahid, the director of the Wahid Institute, said.

HRW said the number of attacks on Ahmadiyah rose rapidly since the issuance of the decree. "We saw an increase of about 30 percent annually. We recorded at least 50 attacks in 2010 alone," Andreas said.

Apart from the decree, the soft stance and lack of legal actions taken against attackers also helped people continue to bully Ahmadis, he said.

Yenny blamed the problem of religious violence on cultural and structural causes. "Hate speech is cultural while the decree as well as the poor law enforcement are structural causes. I believe the government is aware of both causes, but I cannot see any effort on their side to solve the problem," Yenny, the daughter of late former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, said.

In February 2008, a shocking video circulated on the Internet showing Sobri Lubis, a cleric from the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI), preaching to hundreds of people and calling on his audience to kill Ahmadis. "Kill them, don't worry. [FPI leader] Rizieq [Shihab] and I will take responsibility," he said.

Rizieq was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for inciting violence against activists at a rally calling for religious freedom in Jakarta, but Sobri has never been prosecuted.

"When Rizieq was in prison, the acts of violence by the FPI dropped significantly. Instead of taking similar measures against other hate-speech preachers, the government issued a joint ministerial decree that has clearly led to a rise of religious intolerance," Yenny said.

Apart from criticizing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his lack of actions, Yenny also directed her criticism to the country's two largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah. Leaders of both organizations seemed afraid of being considered "un-Islamic" if they appeared to be supportive to Ahmadiyah, she said.

"Hardliners claim Ahmadiyah deviates from orthodox Islam. I don't disagree, but that doesn't justify violence against the Ahmadis. Let them practice their faith their way," Yenny said.

Both NU and Muhammadiyah had also been trapped by political interests, forcing them to "remain friendly with the [religious] majority," she said.

Both Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin and NU executive board member Slamet Effendy Yusuf claimed their organizations rejected all forms of violence. "Our stance is clear: Don't be provoked and stay away from anarchy," Slamet said.

Fight against radicals won't be tweeted

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2011

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The public outcry over the attack against Ahmadis in Pandeglang, Banten, and the burning of churches in Temanggung, Central Java, reached a feverish pitch on Twitter. But when it comes to taking concrete action, there was little the popular microblogging site could do.

As if to confirm what writer Malcolm Gladwell said that "revolution will not be tweeted", Twitter users in the city apparently think updating their 140-character status update was more than enough.

On Feb. 6, when dozens of Muslims attacked an Ahmadi compound in Pandeglang, killing three of the sect's followers, news about the attack travelled fast on Twitter and nearly everybody in the city with a Twitter account quickly expressed their anger.

People responded in disgust when some tweets that day carried links to a YouTube video depicting the attackers lynching one of the three victims.

On the night of the attack, the daughter of late president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, Anita Wahid, posted her tweet, inviting people to attend a rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle the next morning.

One hundred people attended the rally in the midst of the Monday morning hustle and bustle.

The response on Twitter was also deafening when Muslims in Temanggung burned churches. But beyond channeling the outcry, there has been no direct outcome that Twitter could produce.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi of the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) said that social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook could only provide tools, but not solutions.

"Social media like Twitter is very useful to raise awareness on a number of problems, but people need to do more to get into concrete actions and make Twitter an effective tool," he said.

Twitter users themselves are also aware of the limitations of the social networking site in effecting change in the city, especially in the face of social media-generated changes in Egypt and Tunisia.

"Twitter is very effective if you just want to express anger or let the world know about individual emotions, because a lot of people are on Twitter. But I don't believe that it will be effective to solve our problems. Not just yet," said Gilang Ayunda, a Twitter user living in Jakarta.

Girez Gitareza, another Twitter user, concurred. "All the anger on Twitter would completely be useless if the government decided to just ignore it," she said.

NTT Christians demand Yudhoyono guarantee religious freedom for all

Jakarta Globe - February 12, 2011

Eras Poke, Kupang – Hundreds of students and church leaders took part in a peace rally on Thursday night in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, to urge a return to peace and interfaith harmony following a recent spate of religious violence in several parts of the country.

Participants at the rally lit 1,000 candles to symbolize the return to peace and the end of mob actions. They also called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to make good on his promise to uphold religious freedom and the supremacy of law.

The rally was held in front of the East Nusa Tenggara Police headquarters, with participants taking turns giving speeches calling for a thorough investigation into the recent violence by Islamic hard-liners that they said had tainted the country's image as one whose people were united amid their diversity.

The rally leaders called on the younger generation to be active participants in promoting religious freedom and tolerance in the country.

Some students in the rally carried placards with messages criticizing the government for what they perceived as its inability to ensure religious freedom and its lax law enforcement against those who committed violent acts in the name of religion.

One pastors in the rally, Romo Leo Mali, said the president's promises to uphold religious freedom had yet to come true. As a result, he said, several groups that did not hold pluralism in high regard felt emboldened in carrying out acts that demeaned the nation's principles and basic human rights.

Romo said he hoped the government would take firm action to maintain the country's dignity and uphold the supremacy of the law.

Are De Peskin, the coordinator of students in the rally, said it was regrettable that the government had become so permissive under Yudhoyono's leadership that it had allowed religious- and ethnic-based conflicts to erupt across the country.

"This sectarian unrest keeps occurring because the president fails to act firmly against those inciting the acts and their supporters," he said.

He added that this failure to guarantee religious freedom was most apparent when the president came to Kupang to inaugurate the Peace Gong earlier this week, amid the backdrop of attacks against minority religious groups by Islamic hard-liners in Banten and Central Java.

"Mass organizations that support mob attacks are being allowed to act as though the government has no power over them," Are said. "The government should show some dignity."

Friday's rally concluded with the singing of the national anthem and songs calling for unity in diversity. There was a heavy police presence at the rally to prevent rioting or an attack by rival groups.

Indonesia's Ahmadis are exiled in their own country

Sydney Morning Herald - February 12, 2011

Tom Allard, Lombok – The killing of three followers of the Ahmadiyah faith by a frenzied group of Islamists this week has left Indonesia reflecting on how closely it lives up to its national credo "unity in diversity".

Captured in horrific detail, on a video taken with a mobile phone, were the lifeless bodies of three men, stripped naked, being battered by stones and staves as hundreds of onlookers cheer. The police either stand back or, in the case of one officer, try half-heartedly to shoo away the attackers.

It was grotesque, stomach-churning stuff. And it was widely circulated throughout the country.

Then, two days later, a marauding mob of militants attacked churches and torched vehicles in central Java, upset that a man who had been found to have blasphemed Islam was given a five-year sentence, the maximum, and not death.

The country's reputation for religious harmony – lauded by US President Barack Obama as an "example to the world" on his historic visit to his boyhood home last year – is in tatters. After the violence, comes the self-examination.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has condemned the violence as "intolerable" and vowed a full investigation. Many Muslim leaders also voiced their abhorrence, and there were soul-searching editorials in the press.

Yet the response of many Indonesian lawmakers and officials to the murder of the Ahmadis betrayed the sentiments that have underpinned the apparent disregard of anti-Ahmadiyah violence that has been evident in Indonesia for years.

Members of Ahmadiyah – a variant of Islam that follows the teachings of the Koran but regards an Indian preacher, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, as a "messiah" who followed the Prophet Muhammad – "should repent", said Imran Muchtar, a parliamentarian from Dr Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

Hazrul Azwar, a lawmaker from an Islamic party in Dr Yudhoyono's coalition, bemoaned that "the fake prophet [Ghulam Ahmad] is a disgrace to my religion. Clerics in the whole world have banned Ahmadiyah; why is the government not doing the same thing?"

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, who has called for the group to be outlawed, said: "The government hasn't made any decision on what to do [but] the suggestion to disband the Ahmadiyah will be a very valuable input for us."

Put simply, for many, the problems suffered by Ahmadiyah – which has about 200,000 adherents in Indonesia and has been here since 1925 – are brought on themselves.

In Mataram, the capital of West Lombok district, Ahmadis driven from their homes live in a decrepit refugee centre, families packed into tiny cubicles fashioned from bamboo and rattan inside a crumbling building.

Clutching his grandson, Harun, a fisherman, sums up a life on the move since his village Kruak was first attacked in 1998. He had lived peacefully there for more than 15 years, he says, when, with no warning, a group of 50 men from outside Kruak destroyed the homes and prayer room of 15 Ahmadis.

He moved to Pancor, another small village. In 2002, the Ahmadis were attacked again by a group of teenagers.

Harun and some of the other Ahmadis then shifted to Gegerung, moving into a housing development that no one would inhabit because it was on the edge of a sand mine and close to a cemetery.

The locals were welcoming and, initially, it seemed the Ahmadis had found a safe place. But in 2006, a group of Islamists destroyed their homes. The Ahmadis returned to rebuild, and were attacked again in November. "It is very sad. I don't understand why this happens, and why the police do nothing," Harun said.

Rather than attempt to find and prosecute the perpetrators and their ideological leaders, authorities here have proposed to send the Ahmadis to a deserted island, Gili Tangkong.

It would be exile in their own country, says Sahidin, another Ahmadi at the shelter. "I have been there. It is 300 metres long. It has no fresh water. It's small and not liveable. Why can't we return to our homes?"

DPR's religious harmony bill gets wings

Jakarta Globe - February 12, 2011

Anita Rachman & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The deadly attack on an Ahmadiyah community last Sunday has prompted lawmakers and the government to speed up work on a religious harmony bill meant to prevent future violence.

"Ideally, we need three to four sitting periods to deliberate a law," said Ahmad Zainuddin, deputy head of House of Representatives Commission VIII, which oversees religious affairs.

"But given the urgency, I am sure that we could push for the completion of the religious harmony bill by the end of the year," he said on Friday.

The bill being drafted by the House's expert staff at the Secretariat General is part of the 2011 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), or the list of priority bills for the year.

Ahmad said the bill would serve as a shield for religious groups and would ensure that everyone would be able to practice their faith without fear of violence or intimidation.

However, M. Arwani Thomafi, a member of Commission VIII from the Islam- based United Development Party (PPP), said although the spirit of the bill was to respect all faiths, it would not recognize groups established to defame other religions.

"It won't legitimize fallacious groups," Arwani said. "Freedom [to worship] doesn't mean that you can tarnish the teachings of other religions."

He said the bill would not address the 2008 join ministerial decree limiting the activities of the Ahmadiyah, a minority Muslim sect deemed deviant for its teachings.

However, Arwani said the bill, if passed into law, would provide the Ahmadis with more protection, but added that regulations alone would never be able to completely eradicate religious violence in the country.

He said families, civic groups and religious figures needed to work together to promote tolerance and harmony.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said on Friday that it was considering whether to use the House's right to question the government to call in officials over the failure to prevent religious violence.

Ahmad Basarah, deputy secretary general of the PDI-P, said in a news conference at the party's headquarters in South Jakarta that chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri had urged members to discuss the issue in the House.

"We will soon summon members of the House leadership from the PDI-P to accelerate the establishment of a special committee to talk about violence related to religion," he said after a party meeting on Thursday.

"The special committee could end up exercising its interpellation rights and summoning the president to question him about the matter," Ahmad said.

Hamka Haq, a senior PDI-P official, blamed state officials for the violence, saying some had made statements encouraging attacks on minority sects.

He cited edicts from the Religious Affairs Ministry ordering the Ahmadiyah sect to disband and the Justice Ministry's statement that religious attacks were not human rights violations. "Those statements from the president's helpers encouraged and boosted the confidence of the attackers," he said. "They make the situation worse."

Hamka said the state needed to stop condoning violence. "We won't say that Ahmadiyah beliefs are true," he said. "We only want to stress that it's wrong if the government cannot provide protection for Ahmadiyah members."

Students, religious leaders want tolerance restored

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2011

Apriadi Gunawan and Yemris Fointuna, Medan/Kupang – University students and religious leaders in some regions have called for the spirit of tolerance to be revived among people of different religions, races and ethnicities.

Students took to streets on Friday in response to the woeful social interaction developments triggered by the deadly attack on Ahmadiyah followers in Cikeusik, Banten province, and the rampage against churches in Temanggung, Central Java.

In Medan, North Sumatra, students from the Indonesian Christian Students Movement (GMKI) staged a rally at Bundaran Majestik on Jl. Gatot Subroto on Friday denouncing all forms of violence committed in the name of ethnicity, religion or race.

Protest coordinator Supriadi Purba said Indonesia's highly regarded state ideology of Pancasila and national motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity) were essential because of the country's rich diversity.

"But the freedom to adhere to and perform religious practices has been tainted by oppressive acts," he said addressing fellow protesters.

The attack on Ahmadis, who are considered as practicing heretical teachings of Islam, killed three members of the sect on Sunday, while the incidents in Temanggung the following day left several churches damaged and burned.

The frustrated crowd vented their anger at churches due to their dissatisfaction with a court verdict in a case involving blasphemy against Islam.

In some parts of the country, minority Christians are often confronted by protests from local residents opposed to their worshipping practices, which often leads to violence, such as occurred recently in Bekasi, West Java.

Supriadi said that in several cases the government and law apparatus seemingly failed to carrying out their duties. "The perpetrators were not deterred and the victims did not receive justice. That's why cases of intolerance keep recurring."

The GMKI Medan branch demanded that perpetrators of violence be given harsh punishments, Supriadi said, and called on the people not to be easily provoked by acts that potentially threatened tolerance, solidarity and brotherhood among people of different faiths, races and ethnicities.

In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), hundreds of students and religious leaders staged a rally in front of NTT police headquarters by lighting 1000 candles.

They said they were sending a message of regret over the demise of religious freedom. They read out what they called the NTT Youth Oath to express their demand for a just country with a character that was free from oppression.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has to prove what he has said by ensuring religious freedom and banning anarchic organizations that have been damaging religious tolerance in Indonesia," priest Leo Mali said.

Leo added that the government had let illegal institutions act like the state apparatus, committing violence without legal measures being applied to them.

The rally coincided with the President's four-day visit to the province, which ended on Friday. One of the President's activities in the province was his inauguration of the Gong Perdamaian peace monument in Kupang.

"We hope President SBY will act firmly. The violence was committed in front of the law apparatus, but the state seemed to be incapable of managing them," he said.

The protesters said that the unveiling of the monument, the construction of which was said to cost Rp 1 billion (US$111,111), was based on shallow ideology which made it a waste of money. "The government has just wasted a budget for a meaningless monument," one protester said.

Enforce the law, activists demand

Jakarta Globe - February 11, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Farouk Arnaz – With the recent rise in religion-related violence and people seeking ways to curb the worrying trend, rights activists claim all that is needed is serious enforcement of the current laws.

Several rights organizations held a closed-door meeting with National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo on Thursday to urge stronger action against those responsible for the deadly attack on the Ahmadiyah community in Banten on Sunday and the violent rampage in Temanggung, Central Java, on Tuesday.

Haris Azhar, the Jakarta coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said the purpose of the meeting was to show Timur that activists backed the police but wanted stronger action against offenders.

"There should be no doubt that only the police have the authority to use force in upholding the law," he said.

Activists say that when police take firm action against anarchic groups, they have proven to be able to prevent or minimize bloody incidents such as the ones in Temanggung and Banten. "But whenever the police keep silent, this encourages [anarchic groups] to spread terror," Haris said.

Other participants included Hendardi from the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy and Usman Hamid, chairman of the Kontras board, as well as representatives from Imparsial, the Wahid Institute, the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) and Benny Susetyo of the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI).

The meeting came a day after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for the disbanding of violent organizations, which received a mixed response. The hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) denounced the call and threatened to topple the government if it tries to dissolve the group.

The Home Affairs Ministry, which oversees organizations such as the FPI, also had a lukewarm response, saying dissolving them would be no easy task.

Even Usman said the idea should be shelved for now because it could be used by some parties as a pretext for attacking the government. "Now is the time to focus on arresting the culprits first," he emphasized.

The chairman of the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), Denny Tewu, proposed the formation of a new task force to eradicate violence. "The president has established a special task force on corruption eradication. We hope he will establish a new one to eradicate violence," he said at a seminar on the violence.

The House of Representatives must also work on the establishment of a new national commission against ethnic, religious and racial discrimination and violence, he added.

However, Ifdhal Kasim, chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said all the government needed to do was strengthen security institutions already in place.

The priority should be for the state to ensure protection of its citizens against violence and crimes in the name of religion by launching comprehensive probes and punishing the guilty, Ifdhal said.

He cited the case of Europe, where many racist groups were allowed to exist. "But once they commit violent actions in the name of their beliefs, then they will be prosecuted and punished," he said.

Hard-liners demand government ban Ahmadiyah sect

Jakarta Globe - February 11, 2011

Heru Andriyanto, Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Anita Rachman & Farouk Arnaz – While officials and analysts debated the merits of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's call to disband violent organizations, calls grew louder on Thursday for the minority Ahmadiyah sect to be disbanded instead.

Speaking at a discussion in Jakarta, Hasrul Azwar, House faction chairman of the Islam-based United Development Party (PPP), said the only way to stop the violence was to disband Ahmadiyah as an organization.

"The government must make its stance clear," he said. "It's not about human rights, it's about the defamation of Islam."

Calls for the sect to be disbanded come just days after a mob of around 1,500 Muslims attacked a house occupied by 25 Ahmadiyah followers in a village in Banten, leaving three dead.

Muslim groups have accused Ahmadiyah members of heresy, saying that they profess their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, to be the final prophet of Islam – a tenet that runs directly against mainstream Islamic beliefs that reserve that claim for the Prophet Muhammad.

This accusation has been disputed by the Ahmadiyah community, but is the main reason behind the government's 2008 joint ministerial decree banning Ahmadiyah members from spreading their faith.

Activists say there have been at least 100 attacks against Ahmadiyah communities in Indonesia over the past decade, and that the 2008 decree has been used by hard-liners as a cover to further attack the sect.

Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso of the Golkar Party suggested Ahmadiyah should declare itself as a new religion to end the continuing conflict that has surrounded its existence in Indonesia.

If Ahmadis could not "repent, recognize their mistake and come back to mainstream Islam," then they should "leave Islam and declare a new religion," he said on Thursday, echoing calls made a day earlier by Imran Muchtar, from the ruling Democratic Party.

However, Priyo clarified that he did not condone banning the sect outright.

"No, their beliefs should not be banned here; I don't have the heart for that," he said. "So, [I say to] Ahmadis, don't hesitate to declare Ahmadiyah as a new religion."

He said if Ahmadiyah was established as a new religion then its followers would be allowed to hold religious services and would be protected from persecution.

Two hard-line Muslim activists on Thursday called for the sect to be banned altogether.

Achmad Michdan, a member of the Muslim Defenders Team (TPM), said the Ahmadiyah sect should be disbanded because it was clearly deviating from Islamic teachings and was guilty of committing blasphemy.

"Ahmadiyah must be prosecuted and disbanded. Under our law, violations of intellectual property rights in music, for instance, risk criminal conviction and punishment," the lawyer told reporters at the South Jakarta District Court.

"What Ahmadiyah does is much more serious than that. They bring a different interpretation of Islam and disregard its basic teachings, such as Mohammed being the last prophet.

"I can't believe that having committed such serious offenses Ahmadiyah can go unpunished under our law."

Muhammad Al Khaththath, secretary general of the Islamic People's Forum (FUI), said the continued sectarian conflicts over the Ahmadiyah were in part due to government inertia on the issue.

"When conflicts regarding the Ahmadiyah occur, it is always the Muslims who are blamed. Why is that?" Khaththath said. "Ahmadiyah must be disbanded. If [Yudhoyono] can't find a solution then he had better step down."

The sect has faced frequent calls for disbandment, including from Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali.

In September last year, the minister said the government had two options to deal with the Ahmadiyah: either maintain the current restrictions on the group's activities, or ban the group altogether.

A ban, he said, would protect group members from attack and may help bring them back into the fold of mainstream Islam.

Hard-liners vow to attack Ahmadiyah in Tasikmalaya

Jakarta Post - February 10, 2011

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Bandung/Malang – A group claiming to represent the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI) in Tasikmalaya, West Java, vowed on Wednesday to launch sweeping raids against Ahmadiyah property unless the organization was disbanded within 24 hours.

The threat seemingly mocked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's call to disband organizations that engage in anarchic violence, which he said threatened national unity and religious harmony. Yudhoyono made his call at a speech on Wednesday marking National Press Day in Kupang.

About 100 people riding on motorbikes and four trucks protested in front of the Tasikmalaya legislative council building on Wednesday, voicing opposition to Ahmadiyah.

"We just want Ahmadiyah to not use the name of Islam because they are not Islam. They have a different prophet and use the Tadzikoroh, not the Koran," rally leader Acep Sofyan said.

Attacks against Ahmadiyah first began in 1992 and became more frequent after the 2005 law on blasphemy was enacted. Many blame the government for not cracking down on the perpetrators of the attacks.

Acep accused the government of intentionally stalling a decision on whether Ahmadiyah should be forced to stop claiming it was an Islamic group and to not provoke Islamic organizations.

"Based on the joint ministerial decree passed in 2009, the government should disband Ahmadiyah. But they still exist," he said.

He said the FPI would destroy all Ahmadiyah property in Tasikmalaya – which is about 60 kilometers east of West Java's capital city, Bandung – if the council did not ban Ahmadiyah within 24 hours.

"We promise to bring more people and... don't prevent us from carrying out our actions," Acep said.

Ahmadiyah coordinator Encang Zarkasih blamed their prosecution on misinterpretations of the joint ministerial decree.

"The decree is being misconceived as a vehicle to disband Ahmadiyah. The decree only tells us not to worship openly. We still have the right to perform religious worship – that is stipulated in the decree," he said.

Encang said that the local Ahmadiyah community trusted the police and military to protect the 600 Ahmadis in Tasikmalaya.

Security around Ahmadi-owned properties in the area has been heightened following the Ciekusik massacre in Banten province, in which three Ahmadis were killed by a mob.

In December two Ahmadis were killed in Tasikmalaya by a mob who claimed the joint ministerial decree had disbanded Ahamadiyah. "We are resigned to accept whatever will happen," Encang said.

The Cikeusik incident has terrified Ahamadiyah communities throughout the country. In Palembang, South Sumatra, home to 1,000 Ahmadis, local leader Basuki Ahmad appealed to the security forces to protect his community.

"We are here only doing religious worship, saying prayers and attending learning forums. We never preach because that would violate the decree," he said.

In Malang, East Java, Ahmadiyah followers were urged to abandon their houses of worship and pray in mainstream mosques. This was a way for Ahmadiyah communityto still practise their religion, Faishal Haq, a lecturer at the Surabaya's Sunan Ampel Institute of Islamic Studies, said.

"I think there is no differences between religious practices. They also perform prayers five times a day."

He said religious differences should be settled within the Islamic community. "Islam is the religion that gives peace to mankind. Why should there be violence?" he said.

[Khairul Saleh contributed to the reports from Palembang.]

Religious affairs minister defends government decree vs Ahmadiyah

Jakarta Globe - February 10, 2011

Dessy Sagita – The 2008 joint ministerial decree forbidding Ahmadiyah followers from promoting their activities is not to blame for the discrimination suffered by the minority sect's followers, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said on Wednesday evening.

"The decree was not made to discriminate against a certain group, it was aimed at maintaining religious harmony, including to protect Ahmadiyah," he said in a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission VIII, which oversees religious affairs.

The minister, along with National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo, were summoned by lawmakers in response to the deadly attack on the Ahmadiyah community in Banten on Sunday, as well as to the violent rampage on Tuesday in Temanggung, Central Java, that left several buildings, including two churches, vandalized.

Mainstream Muslim groups accuse Ahmadiyah members of heresy, saying that they profess their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, to be the final prophet of Islam – a tenet that runs directly against Islamic beliefs that reserve that claim for Muhammad.

The accusation is disputed by the Ahmadiyah community, but this claim is largely behind the 2008 joint ministerial decree banning Ahmadiyah members from spreading its faith. Activists say this decree gave cover for extremists to act out their hatred.

Suryadharma added that the government has exerted a lot of effort to prevent religious clashes, including establishing the interfaith religious forum (FKUB) in 33 provinces and 421 districts.

He said the ministry has tried to promote the joint decree, but he admitted that not all FKUB were familiar with it.

Imran Muchtar, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, said he agreed with the solution offered by the minister. "First, Ahmadiyah members should repent, recognize their mistake and come back to the mainstream Islam," he said. "The second option they have is to leave Islam and declare a new religion. Otherwise the conflict will never end."

Hazrul Azwar, a lawmaker from the Islam-based United Development Party (PPP), called for stronger action. "The Ahmadiyah should be disbanded permanently, as long as the government is not strict enough the conflict is never going to end," he said. "The fake prophet is a disgrace to my religion. Clerics in the whole world have banned Ahmadiyah, why is the government not doing the same thing?"

In response, the minister said it would be considered. "The government hasn't made any decision on what to do with the Ahmadiyah yet, all options are being discussed. But the suggestion to disband the Ahmadiyah will be a very valuable input for us," Suryadharma said.

Ahmadis should declare a new religion: Politician

Jakarta Globe - February 10, 2011

Anita Rachman – Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso says followers of an Islamic sect deemed heretic by mainstream Indonesian Muslims should declare a new religion.

The calls from the Golkar legislator echo those made a day earlier by Imran Muchtar, from the ruling Democratic Party.

He said if followers of Ahmadiyah could not "repent, recognize their mistake and come back to mainstream Islam," then they should "leave Islam and declare a new religion."

Priyo, speaking on Thursday, said declaring Ahmadiyah a new religion would end the growing conflict. "I suggest [Ahmadis] declare Ahmadiyah as a new religion because of the complicated problem," he said.

Priyo said that even though Ahmadiyah was banned in a number of Middle Eastern countries, he disagreed that Indonesia should adopt similar policies. "No, their belief should not be banned here; I don't have a heart for that," he said. "So, [to] Ahmadis, don't hesitate to declare Ahmadiyah as a new religion."

He said that if Ahmadiyah was established as a new, then followers must not be persecuted and allowed to hold religious services.

Lynch mobs batter Indonesia's tolerant image

Agence France Presse - February 9, 2011

Mobs screaming "God is greatest" as they stone people to death; mobs calling for death to blasphemers and vandalizing churches; mobs beating liberals in the capital's thoroughfares: these are not scenes from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, but Indonesia, a so-called model of pluralism.

United States President Barack Obama adopted the obligatory tone of visiting Western politicians when he lauded mainly Muslim Indonesia's "spirit of religious tolerance" during a visit to Jakarta in November.

But three months later his ambassador, Scot Marciel, was forced this week to issue a statement deploring religious violence and encouraging President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to uphold the rule of law in the ostensibly secular state.

Indonesia's cherished image as a "moderate" Muslim-majority nation has taken a battering at the hands of mobs of angry Muslims who slaughtered three members of a minority sect on Sunday and damaged two churches on Tuesday.

The attack on the Ahmadiyah sect was particularly heinous. Captured on film that is too graphic even for Indonesian television to broadcast in full, the lynchers clubbed and stoned their victims to death in front of police, then laughed at their limp, shattered bodies.

Police admit they knew the attack was coming but said they could do nothing to stop it, an explanation dismissed as absurd by human rights groups.

"It's always the same pattern. They knew there was a potential religious conflict but they let it happen," said Rumadi Ahmad from the Wahid Institute, a lobby group for pluralism.

"If they let such situations happen repeatedly, and if the religious figures and officials give statements to justify the violence, it's not impossible that intolerance will increase alarmingly in the future," he added.

Human rights activists say the latest attacks provide stark new evidence that Yudhoyono's administration is allowing extremism to fester in the archipelago of 240 million people, 80 percent of whom are Muslims.

The appearance of sectarian violence on the main island of Java, rather than the outlying islands of the Malukus where Christian-Muslim clashes claimed thousands of lives from 1999 to 2002, has only fuelled such concerns.

And there are fears of more to come – possibly as soon as Thursday when radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual leader of regional jihadist movement Jemaah Islamiyah, faces trial on terrorism charges.

Yudhoyono has condemned Sunday's violence and ordered police to track down the perpetrators, but activists and minority leaders say they have heard it all before.

"How many Ahmadiyah have to die at the hands of mobs before the police step in?" asked Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson. Indonesia is in the grip of a "wave of hate crimes," she added.

Activists say a 2008 decree banning Ahmadiyah from spreading their version of Islam – namely that their founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, not Mohammed, was the final prophet of Islam – gave cover for extremists to act out their hatred.

Local rights groups have also demanded the resignation of Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, who says the Ahmadiyah would be safe if they simply renounced Islam. Last year he called for the sect to be banned outright.

Donna Guest, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific deputy director, said Indonesia's respect for freedom of religion and tolerance had "clearly deteriorated in recent years."

Gomar Gultom, secretary-general of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, which represents 85 percent of the country's Christians, scoffed at Yudhoyono's latest promise to stop the violence. "We are furious with the president's leadership. He keeps making promises but he's all talk and no action," he said.

For all this there is no question that the vast majority of Indonesians are moderate in their religious beliefs. This makes recent events all the more baffling to ordinary people.

Dudi, 45, teaches at a Catholic school in Temanggung, Central Java, where the mob set fire to the churches on Tuesday to demand the execution of a Christian man who had been sentenced to jail for blaspheming Islam.

The mob chanted "kill, kill" outside the court, then unleashed what Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini called a "very serious demonstration of anti-Christian fanaticism."

"I've been living here for decades and nothing like this has ever happened. Christians and Muslims have been living peacefully here all this while," Dudi said. "I'm sure this is the work of trouble-makers, not our Muslim neighbors."

Scores of police keep Bekasi church protest peaceful

Jakarta Globe - February 10, 2011

Ulma Haryanto – In a fresh case of religious friction, some 50 people rallied on Wednesday outside an unfinished church in Bekasi, where a heavy police presence prevented any violence.

The reverend of the would-be Galilea Church, Telelepta, told the Jakarta Globe the group held a noisy protest in front of the building site in Bekasi's Taman Galaxy housing complex.

"They stayed for two hours. They brought banners and called themselves the forum of Bekasi Mosques and Mushollas," he said.

The group hung a banner on the fence around the site and made speeches. Some protesters reportedly also tried to climb the fence but failed.

Telelepta said three truckloads of police personnel had been sent to secure the area. "They were already there before the protesters came, so I guess the police had been better informed and were well prepared this time, unlike other incidents," he said.

On Sunday, three members of the Ahmadiyah Muslim sect died after a mob attacked a house in Banten. On Monday, two churches and a school were attacked in Central Java.

Bekasi administration spokesman Endang Suharyadi confirmed that it had been informed of the protest in advance and had coordinated with police. Bekasi Police Chief Sr. Comr. Imam Sugianto said about 60 officers had been deployed to prevent outbreaks of violence.

Endang said the Galilea Church had all the necessary building permits. "That is what matters to us. The church has an official permit, according to the requirements in the 2006 ministerial decree," he said, referring to the government directive on houses of worship.

The Galilea Church site became the center of dispute after the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) rallied at the site in February 2010, claiming its congregation would try to convert Muslims in the area.

"They used planks of wood to seal the entrance to the church, but it was never officially sealed by the municipal government," Tetelepta said. "We continued with our construction plans, even though we tried to do it as discreetly as we could."

There have been at least three previous, small protests in front of the site, he added.

However, Saleh Mangara Sitompul, general secretary of the Bekasi Islamic Congress, challenged the city to make the permit public, saying that if everything was legitimate as it said, then "people would not demonstrate like that."

Meanwhile, Gomar Gultom, secretary general of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), called on the authorities in Bekasi to do more to protect freedom of religion in the city.

"The protests mean that people from different religions nowadays can't live side by side anymore," he said. "When a minority cannot build its house of worship, there is no such thing as religious harmony."

Wave of condemnation at attacks on religious minorities

Jakarta Globe - February 9, 2011

Nurfika Osman & Obey Wibinnov Sianipar – From private citizens to organizations both local and international, the growing sense of frustration was palpable.

The violent protests by hard-line Islamic groups in Temanggung, Central Java, on Tuesday, taking place as they did just two days after the deadly attack on the Ahmadiyah sect in Banten, helped further galvanize the opinion that intolerance toward minority religious groups in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation has gotten out of hand.

Moderate Muslims are worried and frustrated. "I am fed up with this. Islam has never taught that violence should be used to achieve anything," said Amenia, a civil servant. "Our people have become more and more anarchic. We look like uncivilized people."

Sarah Sagita, a company employee, said she hoped her fellow Indonesians would learn that violence would only make things worse.

"People should think clearly and know that the basis of Ahmadiyah is Islam," Sarah said, adding that while she believed the sect was not following the true path of Islam, violence against them was not the answer.

Condemnation of Tuesday's violence came swiftly. "These two cases are proof of the government's failure to put an end to continual injustices toward minorities," said Ricky Gunawan, program director for the People's Legal Aid Institution (LBH Masyarakat).

Ricky worried that the short space of time between the two cases would send a message that this kind of violence was tolerated.

"People will feel that [violence] is condoned by the government. The perpetrators should be arrested immediately and processed," he said. "The Ahmadiyah case, in particular, is beyond reasoning. It's as if [the perpetrators] are no longer human. I'm sad to see that the president is slow in taking action."

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, deputy chairman of the Setara Institute of Peace and Democracy, said the government's response has been inadequate.

"The government should be reminded that regret and condemnation are not enough. It needs to stop victimizing the victims," Bonar said in a statement. "The statement by Indonesian Police Chief Timur Pradopo that Ahmadiyah provoked [the incident] and refused to be evacuated is irresponsible."

Amnesty International likewise issued a statement on Tuesday urging the government to investigate the killings.

"This brutal attack on Ahmadiyah followers reflects the continued failure of the Indonesian government to protect religious minorities from harassment and attacks and to hold the perpetrators accountable," said Donna Guest, Asia Pacific deputy director at Amnesty International.

Amnesty said harassment and attacks against the Ahmadiyah community were also fueled by a 2008 joint ministerial decree forbidding Ahmadiyah followers from promoting their activities.

"Indonesia must develop a concrete strategy to strengthen respect for freedom of religion and religious tolerance, which has clearly deteriorated in recent years," the Amnesty statement said.

The incidents have even attracted the attention of the United States and the European Union.

Scot Marciel, US ambassador to Indonesia, said in a statement that the United States joined the vast majority of Indonesians in deploring the recent violence directed at members of the Ahmadiyah community.

"We also note with concern the recent burning of churches in Central Java. President Yudhoyono's statement condemning the attack on the Ahmadiyah and calling for an investigation underlines Indonesia's commitment to the rule of law. We encourage the Indonesian government to continue to foster tolerance and protect the rights of all communities."

The EU delegation to Indonesia and Brunei said it "shares the strong concerns expressed over the [Ahmadiyah] incident and emphasizes the need for an effective response."

US panel wants Indonesia to act after killings

Agence France Presse - February 8, 2011

A United States government watchdog called Monday on Indonesia to take action against extremists and reform its laws after a mob beat and stoned to death three members of a minority Muslim group.

A video showed the crowd of more than 1,000 people storming a house in West Java on Sunday to prevent Ahmadiyah Muslims from worship, with police doing nothing as fanatics went berserk with stones, knives and sticks.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, an autonomous board which advises the US government, renewed its call on Indonesia to review its 1965 Blasphemy Law that bars deviations from six sanctioned faiths.

"This is just more deadly evidence that blasphemy laws are the cause of sectarian violence, not the solution," said Leonard Leo, chair of the commission.

"Indonesia is a tolerant county that should be more intolerant of extremist groups," he said. "It's time the Indonesian government brings them to account for the violence and hatred they spread."

The violence comes less than three months after US President Barack Obama visited the world's largest Muslim-majority country and praised its "spirit of religious tolerance" as an "example to the world."

Indonesia's constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of religion. But under pressure from Islamic conservatives, Indonesia in 2008 banned the Ahmadiyah from spreading their faith.

The Ahmadiyah break with most Muslims by believing their founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who was born in 1835 in India, was a divine messenger. The Ahmadiyah, who have also faced a wave of attacks in Pakistan, reject the use of violence in jihad, or holy war.

The leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyah community, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, criticized the "barbarity" of the attacks in Indonesia, noting that "people watching the merciless beatings were clapping and cheering."

"Whenever such attacks occur, the Ahmadiyah Muslim Community both in Indonesia and worldwide always displays patience and seeks solace not in revenge or violence but through prayers to God Almighty, and this will always remain the case," he said in a statement.

"It is, however, certain that those who have inflicted these cruelties will be answerable to God Almighty and will have to face His punishment," he said.

Religious freedom in Indonesia in tatters: Amnesty

Jakarta Post - February 8, 2011

Mariel Grazella, Jakarta – The fatal Sunday attack on Ahmadis in Banten has captured the concern of not only local, but also international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, which condemned the violence.

During the attack on Sunday, the Ahmadiyah congregation in Cikeusik, Banten, were mobbed by a group of locals, and three Ahmadis died in the raid after being beaten or stabbed to death.

According to Amnesty International Asia-Pacific deputy director Donna Guest, the "brutal attack" on the Ahmadis reflected the Indonesian government's "continued failure" to protect "religious minorities from harassment and attacks and to hold the perpetrators accountable".

The Cikeusik incident was the latest in a string of attacks on Ahmadis, a disputed religious sect whose practice has been criticized by hard line and intolerant religious groups including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI). Earlier, Ahmadiyah settlements were attacked in Manis Lor village, Kuningan regency.

Guest added that Indonesia should repeal all laws and regulations that restrict the right to freedom of religion, which is guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

"Indonesia must develop a concrete strategy to strengthen respect for freedom of religion and religious tolerance, which has clearly deteriorated in recent years," she said, adding that the perpetrators of violence must receive punishment.

"The Indonesian police must initiate a prompt, thorough and effective investigation into the violence and ensure that those suspected of involvement are prosecuted in fair trials," she said.

On Tuesday, another string of violence against religious minority groups broke out in Temanggung, Central Java. Three churches were reportedly vandalized by mobs.

SBY pressured over sect killing

The Australian - February 8, 2011

Peter Alford – Civil and religious rights group have demanded the dismissal of Indonesia's Religious Affairs Minister.

Suryadharma Ali is under fire after the mob killing of three devotees of Ahmadiyah, a sect he wants banned.

A coalition of NGOs yesterday called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to get rid of Mr Suryadharma, criticised often for failing to differentiate his ministerial responsibility to protect the religious rights of all Indonesians from his leadership of the Islamic United Development Party (PPP).

"The quality of democracy in Indonesia is decreasing, religious harmony is reducing and the pity is the minister, Suryadharma Ali, is not neutral or objective, in building religious harmony," said Usman Hamid, director of Kontras, the commission for the disappeared and victims of violence.

The House of Representatives religious affairs commission moved to summons Mr Suryadharma, national police chief Timur Pradopo and possibly Islamic religious leaders to account for attacks on the Ahmadiyah Muslim Community's estimated 500,000 Indonesian adherents.

A heterodox movement ruled heretical by the conservative Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), Ahmadiyah has been subjected to increased violence in the past 12 months and Sunday's incident was the worst so far.

Outrage was fanned by circulation yesterday of a video showing how police allegedly made minimal efforts to restrain the attack by more than 1000 people on a house in a village in Banten province, southwest of Jakarta.

The house was occupied by 25 Ahmadis, who had refused police orders to disperse.

As the house was overrun by a mob wielding machetes, bamboo staves and rocks, three men were fatally stabbed and beaten, five people were seriously injured and two young men were still missing yesterday.

Eight people were being questioned yesterday afternoon but no charges had yet been laid, said national police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar.

Dr Yudhoyono was "deeply concerned" and had instructed police to act against the perpetrators, "to capture them and haul them to court if need be," senior adviser Daniel Sparingga told Agence France Presse.

However, the incident has again drawn attention to police failures to protect religious minorities, the President's characteristic reluctance to speak out publicly on this issue and Mr Suryadharma's conflicted role.

Last year, the minister called for all Ahmadiyah activities to be banned, prompting Human Rights Watch to accuse him of "playing with fire" by increasing the movement's vulnerability to physical attacks by mainstream Islamists.

Now Mr Suryadharma and General Timur have been instructed by Dr Yudhoyono to make a public report on the Banten attack.

Mr Suryadharma yesterday called for an end to all "anarchic" actions, but questioned by reporters about his attitude and behaviour, he responded: "You can judge for yourself whether they are against Islam or not."

Banten violence too graphic for national TV

Jakarta Globe - February 8, 2011

Nivell Rayda & Dessy Sagita – Footage of the mob violence and apparent killing of an Ahmadiyah member in Cikeusik, Banten, on Sunday was too brutal for the country's national television as most channels aired a heavily edited version to avoid adding fuel to the flames of hatred.

Metro TV deputy chief editor Makroen Sanjaya said the TV station acquired 30 minutes of footage from the clash – which was shot by another member of the sect – but decided to air only two minutes of it, leaving out the graphic mob killing scenes.

"The video was showing too many inhumane acts. It would have been unethical to show this on TV," he said. "No violence at all. We cut out all parts containing any brutality in line with our internal standards."

Makroen said the media should be cautious in deciding to broadcast pictures as violent as those of the Cikeusik attack to prevent stirring further negative sentiments.

"Videos like these can provoke people or give them the idea to copy the violent acts. It is our social and moral duty as a media outlet to prevent that," he said.

Another national TV channel, TVOne, was notably cautious in its reports on the Cikeusik attack, in which three Ahmadiyah members were killed and several others injured.

While TVOne showed scenes of the mob attacking the residence of an Ahmadiyah member in the village and pelting it with rocks, it did not show any of the violent content from the original video, which can also be accessed through YouTube.

When asked to comment on their decisions on the matter, TVOne and RCTI, another national TV channel, refused to comment.

Ezki Suyanto, a member of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), said TV stations in the country have their own regulations regarding what to broadcast, which are in line with those of the KPI.

"TV stations are not allowed to show graphic acts of violence or excessive amounts of blood, while the faces of victims must be blurred," she said, adding that TV stations are only allowed to describe such extreme situations by narration.

Ezki said any TV station violating the broadcasting rules would face severe administrative sanctions.

The footage of the attack, seen by the Jakarta Globe late on Sunday, showed police avoiding going out of their way to stop the mob from attacking the house of local Ahmadiyah cleric Ismail Suparman.

Around 30 policemen were overwhelmed by some 1,500 people carrying thick bamboo sticks and machetes.

"Police get out. Burn these Ahmadiyah people!" one man shouted to the rest of the mob. The mob immediately started pelting the house with rocks and the people still inside were forced to flee. The mob then chased the scattered Ahmadiyah members.

In another scene, the mob attacked an Ahmadiyah member with sticks and rocks as the man lied flat on the ground with his hands protecting the back of his head.

One of the attackers then picked up a heavy rock and smashed it against the man's skull – seemingly killing him instantly. The man's lifeless body continued to be pelted and hit long after he appeared to have been killed.

Police across the country heed calls to protect sect communities

Jakarta Globe - February 8, 2011

As the National Human Rights Commission launched a team on Monday to probe the violent attack on the Ahmadiyah community in Banten, police and authorities in Java and Lombok stepped up measures to prevent similar incidents from erupting in their areas.

The commission, also known as Komnas HAM, had already formed a team charged with investigating the case, chairman Ifdhal Kasim said. "The team has started working [on Monday] and they will depart soon for Pandeglang," he told a news conference.

In the capital, Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Sutarman offered his guarantee that Ahmadiyah members were safe in the city and its immediate surroundings.

Sutarman said he had ordered stepped-up patrols and close monitoring of areas where Ahmadiyah communities were known to live. Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said that there were 13 such locations being watched in the city.

In West Java, which has seen a series of attacks on Ahmadiyah communities in the past years, Governor Ahmad Heryawan said the provincial police chief had ordered all district and municipal police chiefs to anticipate and prepare for any violence against Ahmadiyah communities in their jurisdictions.

Heryawan also issued a message to district and municipal leaders to work to prevent any outbreaks of violence in their locales. "What is expected is that there should be no cases of violence. There should be no violence in our region," he said.

In West Lombok, a district which has also seen eight cases of violence against Ahmadiyah communities since 1998, district chief Zainal Arony said Sunday's fatal attack in Banten "should not infect other regions."

Central Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang ordered all district and municipal police chiefs to display a show of force on Monday while guarding pockets of Ahmadis in the region. "Guards them openly, by uniformed police as well as plainclothes detectives," he said.

Yogyakarta governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X called on all residents to learn from the Banten tragedy and prevent it from repeating itself in the province. "The point was not who sparked the dispute, but [people are] not supposed to impose their will for personal or class interests," he said.

In Solo, Mayor Joko Widodo gave assurances that the city remained safe for all believers. He added, "Harmony between people is the non-negotiable final value."

Alissa Qotrunnada Munawaroh, better known as Alissa Wahid, daughter of the late President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, said she was redoubling efforts to establish networking with various groups in the country to continue her father's goal of safeguarding pluralism in Indonesia. "We call it a movement of the Gusdurian Network," she said.

Indriaswati Saptaningrum, executive director of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), said the violence in Banten involved a mob claiming to act in the name of their religion.

Condemnation of the incident on Monday also came from the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) and the Forum of the Muslim Community of South Sulawesi.

Ahmadiyah death toll rises to four

Jakarta Globe - February 8, 2011

The death toll in the horrifying attack on members of the Ahmadiyah community in Banten province on Sunday has increased to four after a victim succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. The man was identified as Deden. He had been in a coma for two days following the attack.

The Jakarta man was transferred from Sari Asih Hospital in Serang, Banten, to the Pertamina Hospital in the capital because of his severe injuries. Another four remain in hospital.

The National Police, meanwhile, said they had arrested a group of people allegedly involved in the attack.

"There are three potential suspects who are currently being questioned intensively by our investigators," spokesman Brig. Gen. Ketut Untung Yoga was quoted as saying by news portal Detik.com.

Police had also questioned a number of witnesses, both members of the Ahmadiyah community and local residents.

Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah said the attack was a disaster "beyond human power," and called on the estimated 1,120 Ahmadis to return to the "right path."

She added that the Banten provincial government, in conjunction with the Indonesia Council of Ulema (MUI) and Ministry of Religious Affairs, had made repeated attempts to approach and guide the Ahmadi.

"We have sent 3,014 preachers to approach the Ahmadi and so far 24 followers have returned to the right path. I hope others will soon follow," Ratu said during a coordination meeting at the Ministry of Political, Legal and Security Affairs in Jakarta on Monday. (Antara, JG)

Islam & religion

MUI has change of heart on Valentine's 'fad'

Jakarta Globe - February 14, 2011

Nurfika Osman – Roses, chocolates and candlelight dinner may be OK after all. Just in time for today, Indonesia's ulema council appears to be backing down from its previous attempt to label Valentine's Day as forbidden for Muslims.

The council's secretary general said on Sunday that while Valentine's Day is not part of Islamic culture, the council, known as MUI, would "allow" people to celebrate it if they choose.

"Valentine's Day is just a fad among youngsters and just like any fad, it will fade away as it tends to get boring as time goes by," the MUI's Ichwan Sam said.

MUI has tried in the past to ban Valentine's Day because of its origins as a Christian holiday – a move that has been largely greeted with derision and apathy.

Last week, MUI chairman Amidhan said the occasion was considered bid'ah in Islam, referring to something never recommended or undertaken by the Prophet Muhammad and therefore unwanted.

In reality, of course, it is a bit of Western holiday fluff long divorced from any Christian roots and mostly driven by people pushing expensive dinners and long-stemmed roses and other pricey presents.

Niken, 18, said she did not celebrate Valentine's Day because it is not part of Indonesian culture.

"Expressing love is done every day and I think it is better to spend money on something more valuable," she said. "Love does not have to be expressed with a gift."

The MUI, she said, has nothing to do with it. "But maybe we should just celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, which falls on Tuesday," she said.

In an effort to show MUI itself some love, Jakarta resident Alex Junaidi has started a campaign on Twitter asking people to send the council Valentine's Day greeting cards. "I am still looking for a nice card for them and I will send it on Tuesday," Junaidi said.

Past MUI fatwas against aerobics in "sexy" attire and infotainment gossip shows on TV have largely been ignored.

Indonesian clerics ban Valentine's day

Jakarta Globe - February 10, 2011

The Indonesia Council of Ulema has made its annual – and regularly ignored – call for Muslims to avoid celebrating Saint Valentine's Day on Monday.

Roza'i Akbar, head of the Dumai, Riau, branch of the council, also known as MUI, said Valentine's Day – an annual celebration of love – was a Western occasion and not permitted (haram) under Islam.

Roza'i said the celebration was inappropriate as it was identified with pre-marital relationships among teenagers. "What would happen if Valentine's Day became part of the culture of Islam? This is our consideration as to why the celebration is haram for Muslims," he said.

The celebration remains hugely popular in Indonesia, particularly the urban centers, with restaurants and bars doing a roaring trade.

Roza'i advised Muslim parents to teach their children that Valentine's was not something to be celebrated. Last year, MUI, in banning celebrations, said celebrating Valentine's Day was tantamount to spreading Christianity. (Antara/JG)

Jakarta & urban life

Convenience stores drive customers away from wet markets

Jakarta Post - February 11, 2011

Irawaty Wardany – The city administration may have imposed a ban on the construction of new convenience stores and minimarkets in Jakarta from 2006, but it seems that new establishments pop up every week.

Customers may be delighted that convenience stores are now closer to their homes, but traders from the traditional and wet markets cried foul against what they deemed was a mortal threat to their existence.

Even city-run traditional market operator PD Pasar Jaya is dealing with its consequences.

"The problem is most of these minimarkets sell almost anything that you can find at traditional markets," PD Pasar Jaya Djangga Lubis head told reporters recently.

One traditional market operated by PD Pasar Jaya, the Johar Baru market, was one casualty of the onslaught of modern minimarkets.

Djangga said that Johar Baru Market now looked dead with no customers buying supplies as they were all using minimarkets and convenience stores available at almost every corner of the area.

"I have filed complaints to the Central Jakarta administration about this, but we have received no response yet," he said.

Djangga suspected that a similar condition had occurred in all municipalities in Jakarta.

The developer of the Johar Baru Market, Itqoni Group, said that there were at least nine minimarkets operating in the vicinity of the wet market.

A 2002 bylaw on market stipulates that a private market with the size of no more than 200 square meters should be built at least 500 meters away from traditional markets. The bylaw also said that minimarkets of sizes up to 1,000 square meters must be located at least 1 kilometer away.

In 2006, then governor Sutiyoso issued a gubernatorial decree that effectively banned the issuance of permits for the construction of minimarkets and convenience stores in the capital. One official suspected that most minimarkets and convenience stores in the city had operated illegally.

Nurjanah, Central Jakarta's micro, small and medium enterprises division head at the City Trade Agency said that minimarkets opened after 2006 had broken the city bylaw on market.

"Those minimarkets are illegal as we no longer issued permits after the date," Nurjanah was quoted by tempointeraktif.com as saying.

Nurjanah said that her division had already wrapped up listing illegal minimarkets in the city and would soon take action against them. "We have to do something about this. However, we need to consult the economics division of our agency," she said.

Nurjanah said data collection on illegal minimarkets would be finished next week.

But for some customers, the ubiquity of minimarkets and convenience stores has been a boon for them, especially those who dreaded the prospect of visiting wet markets in the city.

"I have never gone to the traditional market, not even once, because it is very far from where I live. I also have no skills in haggling," said 27- year-old office worker Heppy Hapsari.

Beside, there was nothing at wet markets she said she would use. "I also don't cook, so I never have to buy fresh vegetables at the traditional market," she said.

The market share of minimarkets in the country is controlled by two companies Alfamart and Indomaret. As of September last year, Alfamart had 4,700 stores in Indonesia, half of which are in Jakarta, whereas Indomaret has 4,626 stores, with 500 of its stores in Jakarta.

Saturating the market in Jakarta are foreign brands of convenience stores including Circle K, 7 Eleven and Carrefour.

Data from the Indonesian Retail Merchants Association said that it had more than 300 members with around 8,500 outlets throughout the nation, 40 percent of which are franchised.

Judiciary & legal system

Constitutional court justice steps down over Kin's alleged bribery

Jakarta Globe - February 12, 2011

Dessy Sagita – A Constitutional Court judge resigned on Friday, the first on that bench to do so, after an ethics tribunal ruled that he must take responsibility for bribes allegedly received by his family.

Judge Arsyad Sanusi made his announcement at a press conference at the court on Friday.

"As my moral responsibility being a justice, I willingly resign and ask for early retirement," Arsyad said tearfully. "This is to maintain the image [of] and trust [for] the institution."

The Judges Ethics Council (MKH) said Arsyad had been negligent for failing to be aware that his daughter and brother-in-law frequently met with Dirwan Mahmuad, a plaintiff in a case the judge was reviewing at the time.

The tribunal said Arsyad's relatives may have taken bribes from Dirwan to sway the judge's decision on a petition for a judicial review filed by the plaintiff.

Dirwan, who ran for South Bengkulu district head in 2008, had sought a review of the regional governance law. Six judges on the panel ruled against him, with Arsyad dissenting.

Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud M.D. said on Friday that it was regrettable that Arsyad should take the blame for something he was not aware of.

"His brother-in-law repeatedly met with Dirwan. It happened without Arsyad knowing," the justice said.

"Judges should ensure that their family members or subordinates do not meet with anyone involved in a case they are handling."

In a separate case, the ethics tribunal cleared Judge Akil Mochtar of bribery allegations for lack of evidence.

Akil was suspected of taking Rp 1 billion ($111,000) from Jopinus Ramli Saragih, head of North Sumatra's Simalungung district, in exchange for upholding the official's election victory last year.

"There has been no evidence found, directly or indirectly, that Jopinus actually handed the money to judge Akil Mochtar," Mahfud said. "They have never even met outside the court."

Akil welcomed the ruling, saying the case had been "a burden, especially for my family."

He said he was not worried about another investigation by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) into his alleged bribe-taking.

He said the tribunal was much harsher than a formal probe because it "not only affected the judge as an individual, but also the court as a state institution."

Judges concerned over mob pressure

Jakarta Post - February 11, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Supreme Court is concerned about the rising number of incidents where angry mobs have intimidated judges and prosecutors during court hearings, and called the government to ensure security in courts.

A riot broke out Tuesday following a blasphemy trial in Temanggung, Central Java, where prosecutors demanded that the defendant be sentenced to five years in jail. A group of people who were not satisfied with the sentence demand attacked the defendant, the prosecutors and the judges, while another group outside the courtroom broke windows and burned cars.

The incident occurred only days after a clash between Nazriel "Ariel" Irham's supporters and those who wanted him to be harshly punished after being found guilty of violating the pornography law.

Supreme Court spokesman Djoko Sarwoko said such incidents, including demonstrations during trials, had surely affected the judges at the benches. "They try to intimidate the judges; I'd say many of the groups are actually being used by certain actors to direct the trial for their benefits," he told the The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He emphasized that controversial cases tried in local tribunals were ones that were likely to attract the masses and were prone to violence.

Yet, he refused to be blamed for a failure to ensure security at the courts, saying that "we do not hold guns". "And please don't lay the blame on the judges; they were being intimidated. And most of all, regardless of such pressures, they have done their job," he said.

He added that the standard procedures for maintaining security at the court were in the hands of each head of the court.

The Judicial Commission condemned any attempts made by any groups to reduce the court's independence. "Such intimidation of course frightens judges and threatens the court's independency," commission spokesman Asep Rahmat Fajar told the Post.

In the wake of many incidents that have recently occurred, the commission urged the government to pay extra attention to the issue by providing adequate security for both judges and courts, especially on trials of cases where there is the potential for conflict.

"It is the government's responsibility to provide a situation that is conducive to any trial by ensuring its security to prevent contempt of court," Asep said.

Kamari, an internal security coordinator at the South Jakarta District Court, said that it was hard to maintain security there due to the lack of security personnel.

The district court had tried high-profile cases, including that of terror suspect and firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, whose trial was attended by hundreds of his followers. He urged the government to ensure security at any court to ensure the independence of judges in court.

The Criminal Code does not say what constitutes contempt of court, Asep said.

The code "partially" specifies contempt of court as several attempts to influence the bench. Among these are causing an uproar or riot at a trial; giving or promising something to a judge; as well as conducting an action against an official who is running a legitimate task during a trial.

Therefore, the commission pushes the government and the House of Representatives to immediately legislate the new law defining contempt of court, Asep said.

"Most of the time, the crowds are too big so it is hard to apply the contempt of court charge, which is stipulated in the code, against them," he said.

Police & law enforcement

AGO reform in doubt with prosecutor arrest

Jakarta Globe - February 14, 2011

Nivell Rayda – Following the dramatic arrest of yet another Indonesian prosecutor on extortion allegations, the spotlight is again on corruption within the Attorney General's Office and whether the recently appointed attorney general can deliver much-needed reforms.

Dwi Seno Widjanarko, a mid-ranking official from the Tangerang Prosecutor's Office's intelligence unit, was arrested at 9 p.m. on Friday shortly after he received Rp 50 million ($5600) in cash stashed inside a brown paper bag from a Bank Rakyat Indonesia official identified as Feri.

Seno, who was tasked with examining public complaints at the office, allegedly threatened Feri's friend Agus with charges of document forgery and fraud unless he delivered the money.

Adnan Topan Husodo, deputy chairman of leading antigraft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch, said that since Basrief Arief was appointed to lead the AGO last year, the attorney general had done little to conduct internal reform.

"Instead, he said what his predecessors had done was enough," Adnan said. "Basrief has not ensured that all the loopholes that allow for case manipulations are shut permanently."

Antigraft campaigners greeted Basrief's appointment last November with cynicism as they had been hoping an outsider would be appointed to reform the institution. In response, Basrief, a veteran prosecutor, said during his inauguration that he would prove the skeptics wrong.

"We don't see Basrief as a figure who has a great commitment to removing the rampant practices of graft inside the AGO, or at least someone who pays enough attention to it," Adnan added.

"This case is the tip of the iceberg. In fact, there are reports that corruption is getting worse. I am not at all surprised by this arrest."

Transparency International Indonesia chairman Todung Mulya Lubis, however, said that it was too soon to say that Basrief had failed.

"Corruption inside the AGO is the product of failed reform under the previous administrations," Todung said. "Only time will tell if Basrief is able to conduct the much-needed overhaul inside the AGO."

The AGO has been under fire with allegations of corruption since the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested senior prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan for accepting $660,000 in bribes in 2008.

The money was given to halt an embezzlement case Urip was investigating linked to the bailout funds injected to ailing banks at the height of the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis.

Despite suspicion that other officials were collaborating with Urip, who was later sentenced to 20 years in prison, former Attorney General Hendarman Supandji protected his subordinates, saying "the case ends with Urip."

The AGO was dealt another major blow when senior prosecutors were caught on wiretapped telephone conversations with graft convict Anggodo Widjojo discussing an apparent plot to frame KPK deputies Bibit Samad Riyanto and Chandra Hamzah.

Despite mounting pressure, the AGO refused to dismiss the implicated officials. The officials later resigned.

Zainal Arifin Mochtar, a legal expert from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said Basrief seemed to have the right track record to tackle graft.

"Basrief was the deputy attorney general during the administration of Abdul Rahman Saleh who had a strong stance against graft," he said.

"Basrief has tried to create greater transparency by building an online system. But as far as reforming the structure, establishing an anticorruption culture and regaining public trust, he has done very little."

Zainal said the government can no longer rely on the AGO to conduct reform efforts internally. "The president, as the leader of this country, must drive reform. The president must give external bodies more teeth," he said.

Among the external bodies highlighted by the legal expert was the Prosecutors Commission, which was established in 2005 to counterbalance the AGO and strictly supervise the conduct of prosecutors.

"I have high hopes for the proposed amendment to the law on the Prosecutors Commission. Right now the commission is toothless with no real power to sanction rogue prosecutors," he said. "There is no guarantee that it will not fail, but we should see significant improvement inside the AGO if the law is enacted."

Finance & banking

Indonesians piling up credit card debt

Straits Times - February 11, 2011

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja – An aggressive drive by Indonesia's banks has succeeded in putting more plastic in their customers' hands, but it seems to be giving rise to a generation mired in credit card debt.

Card transactions have more than tripled in value over the past five years while the country's economy boomed, but about 70 per cent of those who use the cards pay their bills in installments despite the high interest rates.

Local banks have taken out big advertisements in newspapers and offered special discounts to entice new customers. In Indonesia, 20 million people qualify for a card but fewer than 10 million have one card or more. A monthly income of Rp 3 million ($336) is required to get one.

These marketing moves have paid off for the banks, which see strong potential in the credit card business. The Indonesian economy, which grew 6.1 per cent last year, is forecast to expand 6.3 per cent this year.

"A credit card is the most attractive type of loan to offer," said a senior officer in charge of credit card business at Bank Mega.

Indeed, for those who pay their card bills in installments, the annual interest rate is typically around 40 per cent – about three times the bank lending rate.

Even so, about 70 per cent of Indonesia's credit card holders choose to pay in installments rather than in full each month, according to data from the Indonesian Credit Card Association.

As a result, many – like Wahyu Ananta, 40, are now in a bind. The IT officer had to sell one of his two cars after he ran up debts on his card that exceeded his monthly salary.

"You feel you have money all the time when you have credit cards," he said. "You gradually realize the truth when you see your bills in the months that follow. And you can't seem to stop them from growing bigger."

Indeed, the latest figures available reveal that in the first six months of last year, the proportion of Indonesian credit card holders who defaulted soared to between 8 per cent and 9 per cent, industry officials said. The figure was 6 per cent for the full year in 2009 and 2.5 per cent in 2008.

However, some users do make the most of their cards without suffering any ill effects.

Iis Amien, 32, a bank officer, said: "I use plastic money just to get various discounts. I make a full payment each time the bill comes." These users say most of their card transactions are for groceries and dining out. More and more people are also buying plane tickets and other products on the Internet with plastic.

The number of card holders in Indonesia has risen around 13 per cent in the past year to about seven million.

The value of card transactions jumped to 161.4 trillion rupiah last year, more than three times the 45.7 trillion rupiah seen in 2005, according to central bank data.

In a common tactic, Bank Mandiri, the country's largest credit card issuer with more than two million card holders, ran a half-page ad last week that showcased an offer many found hard to refuse. Half-price discounts were handed out at around 30 restaurant outlets to customers who paid with their cards.

The bank's senior media relations manager, Iskandar Tumbuan, said: "Banks are now flocking to popular food outlets and cafes as they want to get there ahead of everybody else."

Other promotions range from free airport lounge services and factory outlet discounts to reward points that can be redeemed for everything from mobile phones to plane tickets.

Foreign banks operating in Indonesia are also keen to increase the number of locals holding their credit cards.

For instance, Singapore's Bank UOB Buana wants to triple the number of its Indonesian card holders to 800,000 within three years. To achieve this aim, it is offering Singapore-related incentives.

"If our card holders make transactions in Singapore, they get double reward points," said Iwan Notowidigdo, who oversees the bank's credit card business. "We also give the lowest Singdollar- rupiah exchange rate, free Changi Airport lounge services and various merchant discounts by Singapore shops."

Iwan said that according to the bank's estimates, half of the overseas transactions made by its Indonesian card holders had been conducted in Singapore.

Analysis & opinion

Death to minorities in Indonesia

Asia Times - February 12, 2011

Katherine Demopoulos, Jakarta – Indonesia's status as a thriving pluralist democracy is under threat as the country's religious minorities face increasingly violent persecution and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government responds with what critics perceive as passivity and inaction.

An attack on three churches on Tuesday follows the killing on Sunday of three followers of Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect perceived by some here as heretical. Ahmadis believe their founder is a prophet, in contradiction to mainstream Islam which views Mohammad as the final prophet.

Video footage has emerged showing the murders in graphic detail. First a mob armed with knives, sticks and stones attacked a group of Ahmadis defending a home. Rocks fly, glass shatters, a man smiles for the camera and the overwhelmed police mill about helplessly.

Later, two men are shown, stripped from the waist down, lying lifeless and muddied on the ground. Blood oozes into the mud, shouts of "Allahu Akbar" (God is great in Arabic) erupt and the attackers launch another savage volley of blows using sticks and bamboo poles, as others use their phones to record it.

Condemnation of the killings has come from the United States and European Union, as well as human-rights advocacy groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and Indonesian activists.

"The United States joins the vast majority of Indonesians in deploring the violence in Indonesia directed at members of the Ahmadiyah community that resulted in the deaths of three people and the wounding of several others over this past weekend. We also note with concern the recent church burnings in Central Java," US ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel said in a statement.

Indonesia has both a history of sectarian violence and internationally respected pluralists, such as Abdurrahman Wahid, briefly Indonesia's fourth president. On Monday, small numbers of protestors of various beliefs, mostly non-governmental organizations, activists and professionals on their lunch hour, gathered at the iconic Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, united by Twitter messages and a common goal of expressing solidarity with Indonesia's religious minorities.

Yudhoyono has promised an investigation into the killings and has now called for violent groups to be disbanded, but critics argue that his government is part of the problem. In 2008, a triumvirate comprising the religious affairs minister, the attorney general and the interior minister passed a decree preventing Ahmadiyah from proselytizing and there are no indications of any intention to revoke the order.

Ismail Hasani, a researcher at the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, says attacks against Ahmadiyah were stepped up since the decree was imposed and calls for it to be revoked.

"After the decree was launched the incidents increased. The decree has been used as a tool of legitimation in various incidents," he said, pointing also to comments from the current religious affairs minister, Suryadharma Ali. "I'm sure the violence increases because the minister of religion always provokes the public [with calls] to ban Ahmadiyah," he said.

The Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace says attacks on Ahmadiyah rose to 50 in 2010 from 33 in 2009 and 15 in 2008. The local Wahid Institute also records increases from 2009 to 2010 in violations of religious freedom, intolerance and discrimination.

Passive policy

Government passivity in dealing with the attacks is also an issue, says Lutfi Assyaukanie, co-founder of the Liberal Islam Network and a lecturer at Paramadina University. "The roots of the problem lie in the firmness of government and in the religious authority. We are a big nation with no big leader. SBY [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] doesn't do anything. Only statements, statements, statements."

Assyaukanie says the leadership of Indonesia's two main Muslim organizations, Nadhlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, is "so weak" and "very political". He says the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) is also to blame because in 2005 it reiterated a fatwa (edict) denouncing Ahmadiyah as heretic.

"As long as the MUI is ultra-conservative like now – they are still issuing fatwas against Ahmadiyah – if they are still blaming Ahmadiyah, we cannot stop the attack on Ahmadiyah. We cannot stop the violence. There is a strong relation between violence and the fatwa of MUI."

Budiman Sudjatmiko, a legislator for Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan (PDIP), the party of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, said the government is failing in its duty to protect all Indonesians. "The state should protect those citizens and the state failed to do that. They [the government] have been intimidated by the radicals."

The radicals he refers to are small pockets of Islamic networks, which include the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), religious vigilantes with links to the police. FPI members are now on trial in connection with the 2010 stabbing of a Christian pastor from the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan church in Jakarta's suburbs following a dispute over the church's permits.

Luspida Simanjuntak, a fellow leader at the church, was also beaten. She says the government promised land for a new church, but has still not handed over the plot. Although the church is still active, she remains "uneasy" since the attack and says banners are now hanging near the proposed site, saying, "We strongly reject the church's establishment".

Activists say while they don't yet know which specific groups were behind the Ahmadiyah killings, with violence often hijacked for political and economic reasons, it is clear that the attack was organized.

The police, they say, are culpable in their consistent failure to enforce the law and protect Ahmadis, both in this recent incident, when they were warned several days in advance of possible trouble, as well as other assaults on the sect elsewhere on the islands of Java, Lombok and Sulawesi. The police themselves have claimed a lack of capacity to deal with the violence.

The threats to freedoms and the links to Muslim hardliners broadens into other arenas. Pop singer Nazril Irham, known as Ariel, was recently sentenced to three and a half years under Indonesia's controversial 2008 anti-pornography law, in a sex video case seen by many as a useful media distraction from an ongoing corruption saga in Indonesia's tax office. Muslim hardliners demonstrated at the court and were vociferous in their condemnation of Ariel.

The broad concern is that Indonesia is turning back the clock on what is generally viewed as a flourishing democracy and a successful emerging economy with impressive growth. Syafi'i Anwar, executive director of the International Center for Islam and Pluralism, wants the radical groups that perpetrate such attacks to be banned, but contends it won't be easy. He warns that Indonesia is showing regressive tendencies. "Sometimes we are questioning – where is Indonesia heading right now?"

[Katherine Demopoulos is a journalist based in Jakarta, Indonesia. She works as a freelance reporter for the BBC and Financial Times and writes extensively on Asian energy markets.]

Indonesian military gets away with torture

Global Post - February 9, 2011

Elaine Pearson – Last July, when the United States lifted its ban on military assistance to Indonesia's elite Special Forces, Kopassus, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised the Indonesian government, noting that important military reforms have taken place over the last decade, since the fall of Suharto.

"The Ministry of Defense has publicly pledged to protect human rights and advance human rights accountability and committed to suspend from active duty military officials credibly accused of human rights abuses, remove from military service any member convicted of such abuses, and cooperate with the prosecution of members of the military who have violated human rights," Gates said.

But the light sentences issued Jan. 24 by a military tribunal in Papua province for three soldiers convicted of a torture episode caught on mobile-phone video indicates otherwise.

The 10-minute, mobile-phone video, which came to light in October, shows soldiers kicking one of the men, Tunaliwor Kiwo, in the face and chest, burning his face with a cigarette, and applying burning wood to his penis. The soldiers placed a knife to the neck of the other man, Telangga Gire, while threatening to kill him. Kiwo later described in a videotaped interview how the torture went on for three days. The soldiers beat him with their hands and sticks, crushed his toes with pliers, suffocated him with plastic bags, burnt his genitals and other body parts, cut his face and head and smeared the wounds with chilies.

But military prosecutors clearly didn't think that such acts constituted torture – the soldiers were only charged with the lesser offense of disobeying orders. Even so, prosecutors failed to ask for the maximum sentence of 30 months, and only charged three of the six soldiers in the video. No commanding officer has been charged. In the end, the military tribunal convicted the three, but handed down sentences of between eight and 10 months. Given past army practice, it is not even clear the three will be discharged after their brief sentence is served.

Three days of torture, it seems, is not a serious human rights violation in Indonesia, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seems to agree. On Jan. 21, in a speech to military and police officers, he dismissed this case as a "minor incident" and claimed that since he took office in 2004 "no gross violations of human rights in Indonesia have occurred."

From top to bottom, the Indonesian authorities' response to this case shows all that is wrong with Indonesia's military justice system. And it shows why the United States and other military partners need to push for civilian prosecution of members of Indonesia's military who commit crimes against civilians. Experience has shown that Indonesia's military prosecutors fail to adequately investigate and prosecute alleged serious human rights abuses by soldiers and officers, and that the military courts lack transparency, independence and impartiality. And that's only the cases that reach the public – doubtless many more extrajudicial killings and cases of rape, and torture by military personnel are never reported, much less make it to a military court. It's clear the only reason this case made it to a military tribunal was because it was captured on film and caused an international outcry.

But this is the second time in recent months that the same battalion – Kostrad 753 – has been caught on film mistreating civilians. In the other case, as well, military prosecutors charged soldiers with disobeying orders instead of assault. The two soldiers convicted have filed an appeal with the military high court in Surabaya, East Java, which often fails to make its verdicts public.

The United States lifted its ban on military assistance to Kopassus because of promises from the Indonesian military, despite continuing concerns from some parts of the Obama administration about its human rights record. Although the soldiers involved in this incident are not Kopassus, given the close military relationship, it's entirely appropriate for the United States to call out the Indonesian government for breaking its promise to hold soldiers accountable.

The State Department spokesman, Philip Crowley, said in a statement on Twitter on Jan. 26 that the sentences "do not reflect the seriousness of the abuses of two Papuan men depicted in a 2010 video... Indonesia must hold its armed forces accountable for violations of human rights. We are concerned and will continue to follow this case."

In line with this statement, given that two cases were recorded on film by the same battalion, the United States should ask why the battalion is not facing further investigation. Disobeying orders seems to be a convenient way to cover up accountability for more serious crimes. In line with the Leahy law, which prohibits US military assistance to units implicated in serious human rights violations, the United States should clarify whether they have had dealings with Kostrad 753, and review their relations with any unit with members tried on insubordination charges.

Clearly the Indonesian military is not capable of prosecuting these serious crimes effectively, and the message is not coming from the top to do more about torture. The United States and other military partners who want to engage with the Indonesian military should speak up publicly about the need to hold soldiers to account. The United States, Australia and other military partners should show that they do not wish to be complicit in torture by Indonesian troops, by speaking up about this case and calling for President Yudhoyono to endorse a pending bill to try such cases in civilian courts, which has been blocked by the military's backers in parliament.

Many ordinary Indonesians want to see justice done for crimes like torture. The parliament itself has called for inquiries into past abuses by the military. The United States, Australia and other governments should stand with Indonesians calling for reform, and stand against sweeping these abuses under the carpet.

[Elaine Pearson is the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.]

Ahmadiyah: State terrorism

Jakarta Post Editorial - February 8, 2011

The murder of three Ahmadiyah followers in Banten on Sunday is a concrete example of state-sponsored terrorism against the country's own citizens. With the full – very sorry to say – backing of the state, bloody oppression and even the butchering of Indonesians will continue to haunt us.

This street-side persecution of those with different views, faiths or backgrounds than the majority by those with swords in their hands will continue and even spread to other parts of society, and may do so without reason or pretext.

All Indonesians, regardless of what group they belong to, should consider the killing of Ahmadis in Banten an emergency beacon, because such extremely discriminatory treatment could also happen to them in a different form or at a different time. What if other religions also had similarly violent responses to different sects or religions just because they differed from the mainstream?

But, is this state terrorism? The Religious Affairs Ministry officially declared Ahmadiyah defiant of Islam and urged Ahmadis to repent. Yet the government was quick to criticize the killings on Sunday in Pandeglang, Banten. Every time Ahmadiyah followers are harassed or expelled from areas the government routinely expresses its regret and vows to conduct a thorough investigation.

If state officials are honest enough to listen to their own consciences, then they will admit that state-supported discrimination has been developing rapidly in this country.

We would like to remind President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as the head of state, of his constitutional obligation to protect all Indonesian citizens regardless of their faith, ethnicity or ideology, and to ensure equal treatment for all the shareholders and stakeholders in this nation.

We strongly defend the right of Ahmadiyah to exist, not because we share or agree with their ideology, but purely because our Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and freedom of expression. The state should not allow the prosecution and criminalization of citizens just because of their personal beliefs.

To be honest, there is little hope the President will be determined enough to say "enough is enough" to those who attempt to impose street justice. The President, his ministers and other state officials will certainly defend their "do nothing" position on minorities.

Hundreds of churches have been forced to close or were burned down in this country. But, it is just a matter of time before a similar thing happens in other areas where Islam is a minority religion.

Mosques will not be allowed to open or Muslims will find it difficult to practice their faith. The majority – not just in terms of religious belief – will force the minority to follow their ways or else face brutal treatment.

But, we should also remember what history has shown us. The more minority groups are oppressed, the more creative they will become to ensure their survival. Oppression can often be a blessing in disguise for those who are hunted down because they are different from people who think they command absolute truths. It is not difficult to find examples like this in our world.

It is distressing that Ahmadis have had to face state-sponsored terrorism just because their personal faith is not recognized by the state. And, what is even more tragic, our head of state is reluctant to carry out his constitutional obligation to protect the country's citizens as he vowed to do in his oath of office.