Putri Fitria, Yogyakarta – In a mind-boggling example of the Indonesian justice system, a search and rescue volunteer who spent more than 100 days behind bars for possessing a weapon – a Rp 45,000 ($5) pocketknife – was on Monday cleared of all charges.

It took more than six months and nine hearings for the Sleman District Court in Yogyakarta to acquit Arief Johar Cahyadi Permana, 24, a university student who had volunteered to help search and rescue efforts during last year's eruptions of Mount Merapi.

Arief was arrested by the Sleman Police on Nov. 23 at a roadblock after he was found to be carrying the pocketknife. He was charged with violating the 1951 Emergency Law on possession of weapons.

Arief was returning home after helping with search and rescue efforts when he was arrested.

He spent 105 days behind bars before his appeal to be released from detention was granted on March 8. The court ruled that the prosecution's indictment had been proven, but that Arief was not guilty of a crime.

"From the facts and statements of witnesses, it was revealed in court that the defendant's act of carrying a sharp weapon, or a multi-tool pocketknife, was not a crime, because at the time the defendant had just returned from helping to burn cow caracasses on the slopes of Merapi," Suratno, the presiding judge, said in reading out the verdict.

Hendardi, a lawyer and activist from the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, said Arief could sue for wrongful arrest and investigation.

"The police should not have been so insensitive as to detain a person for such a long time when the matter could have been resolved quickly," he said. "Also, I was not aware that carrying a folded pocketknife was a crime in this country."

Arief, who was defended for free by a team of 14 lawyers, said he would continue to volunteer for search and rescue operations.

Despite resigning, PKS lawmaker appears at the house

Jakarta Globe - April 19, 2011

Anita Rachman – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Arifinto who had announced his resignation last week appeared at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, stating that he still had work to complete at the House Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP).

He told reporters at the House that the process of his resignation would take time and it was "not like a magic formula."

He said he was yet to submit his resignation letter to his faction nor party yet because the House was in the recess. Even if he has announced his resignation, his party has the the final word on whether or not they would accept his resignation, he said.

Arifinto said that he went to the House to coordinate with BKSAP chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid, a senior politician from PKS. He said that he remained active in the party and was waiting for his resignation to be completed.

Arifinto announced his resignation last week after being photographed viewing pornographic material on his tablet computer during a House plenary session. "[I am] waiting for a decree from the president," he said, adding that he still had legislative responsibility.

While waiting for the presidential decree, he added, he would see out his duty at the House. Arifinto said that he wanted to be a disciplined worker of the House and, thus, wanted to uphold his responsibilities.

"When there are no more responsibilities, all the matters have been cleared and the party has issued its verdict, I am ready. Whatever decisions made by the party I will follow," he said.

Besides working with BKSAP, Arifinto said he would travel to North Sulawesi to meet fellow Commission V members. He also said that he would also meet his constituents, as normal lawmakers do during their resting period.

LBGT group seeks justice for murdered transsexual

Jakarta Post - April 17, 2011

Jakarta – LBGT rights group Arus Pelangi is pursuing justice for Faizal "Shakira" Harahap, a transsexual shot dead in a robbery last month, saying transgender groups were frequently targets of violence.

Arus Pelangi program coordinator Widodo Budidarmo said the coalition had brought the case to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Friday. "We hope the murderer will be apprehended soon," he said.

Widodo said Komnas HAM would issue letters to the Menteng Police, Central Jakarta Police, Jakarta Police and the National Police on Monday so police would speed up the investigation into the case.

Shakira was killed on March 10 at Taman Lawang in Central Jakarta, a well known transgender red light district, when two assailants fired shots at a group of transsexuals gathered there.

She was hit in the chest while two friends, Agus "Venus" Yuliaman and Tantan "Astrid" Setianugraha, sustained injuries. Widodo, who also witnessed the shooting, said there did not seem to be a motive for the shooting.

Police were quick to identify the shooter as a "short, fat and dark-skinned male", but no further developments have emerged.

The Jakarta Post on Saturday spoke to representatives of the transgendered community in Jakarta, who said that because of their sexual orientation and way of life, they were targets of violence and derision.

"Last night [Friday], some teenage boys threw mineral water bottles at me from a car," said Maya, who claims she "turned" transsexual because her parents used to abuse her when she was younger.

Maya, who has lived in Jakarta for two years, added she was recently the victim of a robbery when "some men punched me in the head and took my cell phone".

"Ranti" Saefrudin, a transsexual prostitute from Medan, North Sumatra, said Shakira's death unnerved her. "I feel anxious. I am afraid my customers may harbor ill intentions [toward me]," said Ranti, who has lived in the city for 12 years.

Rianti, however, poured scorn on transsexuals who annoyed other people. "That sort of behavior leads to the assumption that transsexuals are wicked. Innocent transsexuals are becoming victims because of that," she said. (aaa)

Hanung's new film raises hard-line ire

Jakarta Post - April 17, 2011

Indah Setiawati, Jakarta – Bad news may mean good promotion for some, as in the case of prominent filmmaker Hanung Bramantyo's latest pluralism- themed film, the simply titled ?.

If critics get their way, movie buffs may have to rush to theaters to watch the film, which was released on April 7 and centers on relationships between families from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds.

The film has incurred the seemingly never-ending wrath of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) and the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI) for promoting pluralism and liberalism, with the FPI threatening to raid cinemas if the film is not removed from the big screen this month.

Rika Rosvianti, a Muslim resident who has watched the film, said it boldly portrayed existing inter-religious conflicts, a fact often denied by many.

"Many people protest this film maybe because it describes some realities that disturb the majority [Muslims]. Many Muslims don't like to be criticized," she told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

However, Rika said the movie touched her, making her burst into laughter or break out in tears. "There are many funny and touching moments. This film talks about reality, which we can make better," she said.

Rika said she hoped the MUI would not issue an edict against the film after protests were staged by the FPI at the offices of Republika daily and the Film Censorship Body.

The MUI has set up a team to formulate recommendations, which will be submitted to the council on Tuesday. The team has also met with media tycoon Erick Thohir – the owner of Mahaka Pictures, which co-produced the film with Dapur Film – who is also the Republika president director.

Erick, whose paper has a wide Muslim readership, said he would respect the MUI's recommendations. "I had good intentions in making ?. I was disturbed by the fact that Indonesian films have declined in quality," he told the Post.

Erick said he was satisfied with the film, saying it met his expectations a film that told a story about nationalism. "Making films is a business, but I also have to make sure my films are high quality and deliver a message on nationalism and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika [unity in diversity, the state motto]," Erick said.

Film critic Yan Wijaya said quality films were still overshadowed in the domestic box office by sleazy horror films.

Arwah Goyang Karawang (Karawang Dancing Spirit), which stars dangdut singers Dewi Persik and Julia Perez, is so far the most watched Indonesian film in 2011, attracting 710,000 viewers, he added. "? has only been seen by 150,000 people so far," he told the Post.

The head of the MUI's inter-religious harmony department, Slamet Effendy Yusuf, said he believed the council would not issue an edict banning Muslims from watching the film. The MUI issued an edict against pluralism, secularism and liberalism in 2005.

This is not director Hanung's first foray into religious-themed films. He was behind the heavily Islamic blockbuster Ayat-ayat Cinta (Verses of Love) and Sang Pencerah (The Enlightener), a biopic of Muhammadiyah founder Ahmad Dahlan. Responding on Twitter to the controversy over ?, Hanung said he considered the protests free promotion for his film.

Actions, demos, protests...

Mob runs riot over fish prices in Lombok

Jakarta Globe - April 22, 2011

Fitri R., Mataram – Hundreds of vendors and fishermen destroyed stalls and storage boxes at a market in Mataram, Lombok, on Friday to protest an influx of fish from outside the area that they said was threatening their livelihoods.

As the mob rampaged through the Kebon Roek traditional market in Ampenan, one person was heard shouting, "Burn them, so that they will no longer sell here."

The mob vented its wrath on stalls selling fish brought in from outside the area, mostly by traders from the east of the island and from the neighboring island of Sumbawa.

"We do not want to see fish from outside the west coast of Lombok and Mataram in Kebon Roek market. This only causes losses to us fishermen and fish traders," said Asnami, a protester.

Traders from outside the area bring anywhere from dozens to more than 100 boxes of fish to the market every day, and sell their products cheaper than the locals, he said.

Fish traders at the market said one box of locally caught fish usually sold for Rp 350,000 ($40), while a box from outside the region sold for about Rp 150,000.

It was not clear how many fish were in each box or the types of fish. Nurhasanah, a local vendor, said traders from outside the area began showing up at the market about a year ago.

Saharuddin, head of North Ampenan ward, said, "All these fish being brought in from outside, which are not particularly fresh anymore, has affected prices at the market and led to conflict."

Police quickly intervened and brought the situation at the market under control.

Muhardi, a trader from East Lombok, said he suffered losses of Rp 5 million on Friday.

Officials have imposed a temporary ban on the sale of fish from outside the area at the market.

Lombok villagers rally against plans to tear up districts for budget boost

Jakarta Globe - April 21, 2011

Fitri – Hundreds of residents marched toward the Batu Layar subdistrict office in West Nusa Tenggara on Wednesday to demand that officials immediately cancel plans to split their village in two.

Armed with bamboo sticks and blocks of wood, the mob protested outside subdistrict chief Mujitahidin's office, insisting the plan would trigger new land disputes and conflicts with neighboring areas.

The demonstrators said the administration planned to divide Batu Layar village – named after the subdistrict in West Lombok – into West Batu Layar and East Batu Layar without consulting with the people.

Village chief Nur Taufik, who joined Wednesday's rally, said he believed the move was meant to increase the subdistrict's annual budget allocation by adding more constituent areas.

He claimed this was part of West Lombok district's grand plan to add 20 more villages to the existing 101 by dividing territories into smaller ones so it could receive a bigger slice of the provincial budget.

The protesters, however, argued that increased funds would only be pocketed by subdistrict officials.

"We demand accountability from the West Lombok administration," said Martadi, one of the protesters. "There has never been any agreement with the villagers in regard to this planned expansion – not even on the simple matter of where the border will be," he added.

Residents also feared that completely redrawing the village's borders would cause land disputes among property owners.

Nur said they would "block the main road leading to the Senggigi resort area until someone – preferably Mujitahidin – explains to us what is happening."

"What is being done by the West Lombok administration, particularly its chief, Zaini Arony, is an attempt to fracture our community," he said. "And our subdistrict chief [Mujitahidin], who should act as our representative, is instead neglecting our calls."

Students demand halt to reclamation

Jakarta Post - April 19, 2011

Makassar – Gowa-Makassar Students' Forum for Solidarity held a rally in front of Makassar City Hall on Monday, demanding a termination of beach reclamation on Jl. Penghibur where the heritage Rotterdam Fort lies.

The students believe reclamation will destroy the heritage site. "The reclamation plans are without permission and there has been no assessment on environmental impact," the rally's coordinator, Gunawan Ginting said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

After about an hour, the students dispersed because nobody from the city administration was willing to meet the student re-presentative.

The city's spokesman, Mukhtar Tahir, said the deputy mayor was hosting a guest from the Public Works Ministry so he could not receive the student representative.

However, before leaving the city hall, the students threatened that they would return with more people if the authority did not realize their demand within three days.

Aceh

Mass sect conversion in Banda Aceh

Jakarta Globe - April 22, 2011

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Over a hundred members of the recently banned Millata Abraham Muslim sect on Friday underwent a mass conversion to mainstream faith at the Baiturrahman Raya Mosque in Banda Aceh.

The 139 conversions were witnessed by hundreds of residents and officials, including Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf and provincial Police Chief Insp. Gen. Iskandar Hasan. The conversions were conducted by Teungku Muslim Ibrahim, chief of the provincial capital's Ulema Consultative Assembly (MPU).

The sect's leader, Zainuddin, said the idea to convert came to him in a dream on April 19 that he had while locked away in a jail cell. He is facing a five-year sentence for blasphemy stemming from his practice of the banned religion.

The mass conversion comes in the wake of pronounced relgious hostility in the province. On April 6, Irwandi issued a gubernatorial decree banning the Millata Abraham, along with 13 other sects, from conducting religious activities in the province. The decree carries a maximum five-year jail term for those caught practicing.

A day after Irwandi issued his decree, thousands of Muslim teachers and students took to the streets of the capital to call on the governor to dismantle the sect for insulting Islam. The sect has also been declared haram, or forbidden, by the MPU.

Millata Abraham's devotees do not recognize the Prophet Muhammad and only pray once a day at midnight, instead of five times a day as mainstream Muslims are required. Before the mass conversion, the faith, which began in 2007, said it had about 700 members.

On Friday, before being taken to the historic mosque to be converted, the sect members were individually photographed by police and had their personal histories written down.

Police official Sr. Comr. Armensyah Thay said official statements would be issued for each of the converted confirming that they had embraced mainstream Islam.

Many of the sect members were university students, according to a man identified as the group's leader, Zainuddin. Thirty of those converted were women. "They come from Langsa, Bireuen and Pidie [districts in Aceh]. They were gathered up by their own leader, Zainuddin," Armensyah said.

Before being converted, Zainuddin, who is under arrest and facing five years in prison on charges of blasphemy for practicing his faith, read a statement in front of the crowd at the mosque.

He said he was converting to Islam of his own free will, that he regretted having preached teachings that were in violation of Islam's core teachings and that he had led a deviant sect.

At the conclusion to the mass conversion, MPU chief Teungku said he hoped the former sect members would, of their own free conscience, follow the correct path of Islam and ask forgiveness from Allah. He also urged the people of Aceh to accept the converts back into their communities.

After the conversion, Zainuddin once again stressed to those present that he had converted of his own free will, adding, however, that the realization of his wrongdoing had come upon him during the three weeks he had spent in police custody.

"After 23 nights in detention, I prayed continuously in the correct Islamic way. I then realized that all this time what I had done was wrong. I asked Allah's forgiveness for this. I also ask all the officials and people of Aceh to forgive us for this," he said.

Last month, 33 members of the beleaguered Ahmadiyah Islamic sect living in Bogor decided to convert to mainstream faith, following a wave of attacks, intimidation and murder against sect members in recent months.There has been speculation the converts in Bogor were pressured into renouncing their faith.

West Papua

PT Medco refuses to pay compensation for Papuan land used for three years

Tabloid JUBI - April 21, 2011

The inhabitants of Sanggase kampung, district of Okaba, district of Merauke, have submitted a demand for compensation of sixty-five billion rupiahs from PT Medco for their operations in the kampung for the past three years, but they have had no response from the company.

In other words, the company has simply washed its hands and is not prepared to pay any compensation.

At a meeting held on Thursday this week with the district chief (bupati) of Merauke which was also attended by representatives of the local administration and military chiefs, as well as a number of local people, the representative of PT Medco in Papua Aradea Arifin, said that paying compensation of sixty-billion rupiahs would mean that the company would not be able to function any more.

He said that the land being used by the company is 2,800 hectares. Should such a large amount of money be paid in a case like this?. "It simply means asking us to close down our company," he said. "So it is quite impossible for us to pay the community such a huge amount of money."

He claimed that during the years of its operations in Kampung Boepe, the company had given assistance to the local people in the form of building houses, building a church, provided motor cycles and so on which he claimed meant that the company had acknowledged the problems confronted by the people there.

Papua dismisses suspicions over development funds

Jakarta Globe - April 19, 2011

Banjir Ambarita, Camelia Pasandaran & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Officials in Papua on Monday defended the decision to deposit development funds worth Rp 1.25 trillion ($145 million) at a state bank and denied allegations that the money had been misused.

Ahmad Hatari, head of the provincial asset and finance management agency, said a 2007 decree by the Ministry of Home Affairs made it legal for state funds to be deposited in a bank.

"The deposit wasn't made in the name of an individual, but in the name of the provincial administration, and the interest accrued went straight to the provincial treasury," he said.

Previously, Rizal Djalil, a member of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), said his office had found indications special autonomy funds from the 2008-10 period might have been misused after being deposited in a bank.

He said trips to Europe by local officials were specific expenses that should be looked into.

Hatari said the Papua administration had already explained to the BPK and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) that the money had been deposited at the end of the year because "we couldn't have spent such a large amount on development programs in just one or two months."

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi also defended the decision, saying it was allowed as long as it did not disrupt the flow of funds to the province's development programs.

However, Velix Wanggai, the presidential adviser for regional autonomy, said the incident had prompted the president to call for improvements in the way special autonomy funds were used.

"There should be a clear scenario for the special autonomy budget to be used for education, health care, infrastructure and the economy," he said.

Velix said the president believed the way the special autonomy budget had been spent since 2009 was ineffective.

Priyo Budi Santoso, a deputy speaker at the House of Representatives and head of the House team monitoring special autonomy in Papua and Aceh, said he had been notified by the BPK of the possible misuse of funds.

"It's really shocking. The central government is spending trillions of rupiah to develop the province," he said.

"The Papua administration must clarify this, and we'll summon them immediately. If the allegations prove to be true, we'll urge the KPK to investigate."

Food crisis after Papua floods

Jakarta Globe - April 17, 2011

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – Thousands of people are at risk of starvation and disease after heavy flooding in Papua's Paniai district, an official said over the weekend.

District head Naftali Yogi said heavy rains over the past three months have led to Lake Paniai overflowing and flooding at least seven subdistricts in up to 4 meters of water, destroying homes and farmland and rendering thousands of families homeless.

There have been no reports of casualties as a direct result of the flooding. "The situation now is pretty grim because so much agricultural land and so many fish farms have been flooded and can't be harvested," he said.

"This means that around 10,000 people who are subsistence farmers and rely on prompt harvests are at risk of starvation." Naftali said the extent of the flooding also made outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, respiratory ailments and malaria more likely.

"We don't have enough medical supplies or health workers to respond to a potential outbreak," he said. "So we're calling on all residents not to drink water from the lake. Drink rainwater instead."

He added his administration was already distributing food supplies to residents, including uncooked rice and instant noodles – both of which need to be cooked in clean water. However, authorities have not distributed any potable water.

"We've been given Rp 1 billion [$115,000] in relief aid from the provincial administration and Rp 500 million from Jakarta, but that's only enough for a month," Naftali said. "We expect many residents won't be able to farm for another two years, so they'll need food aid until then."

Authorities have not set up shelters for the evacuees, who have been forced to stay with family and friends or out in the open. "We're still looking for sites where we can set up temporary shelters for those rendered homeless," Naftali said.

He blamed the flooding on the increased sedimentation in Lake Paniai, which he said was a result of the clearing of forests in areas adjacent to the lake.

"About 10 years ago the military scorched the forests because they suspected that separatists were hiding out there, and since then there hasn't been any effort to reforest the area," he said.

Besides the effects of deforestation and subsequent flooding, Naftali said the district was also at threat from illegal mining. He said illegal gold mines in Baya Biru subdistrict were responsible for large-scale pollution and environmental degradation.

"We've given the companies responsible until June to halt their activities, but obviously this is a tricky issue to handle," Naftali said. "There are an estimated 7,000 people working in the industry there."

He said previous calls by the district and Papuan administrations for a halt to the illegal mining had fallen on deaf ears because of the many interests involved in the industry.

"Those mines are so remote that you can only get there by helicopter," he said. "If those helicopter services could be stopped, there would be no more mining, but they continue to transport workers, supplies and ore in and out of there."

Two shot dead in Dogiyai but no action has been taken to solve the case

Tabloid JUBI - April 16, 2011

Following a number of shootings of inhabitants in the district of Dogiyai in the past few weeks, the place is now like a ghost town. Many of the inhabitants along with their wives and children have left town.

"All the offices are closed and nothing is happening here any more because all the inhabitants have fled," Hanen Sendu, head of public relations of the district, told Bintang Papua over the phone.

He said that during sweepings by the police and the security forces, a number of houses were burnt to the ground. "This is now regarded as a 'red' (ie highly dangerous) zone by the security forces," he said.

According to inhabitants from Dogiyai, a number of homes near the Moanemani building where agricultural training was taking place have been burnt down by security forces who were sent there by Brimob based in Enarotali. "They arrived from Enarotali and burnt down people's homes," according to a source in the area.

Many young people from Dogiyai are not going to school any more because the security forces have spread fear among the local people. "The women and children have also left. We were being shot at all the time and we were very afraid, so we have left Dogiyai," they said, according to a brief message received from the area.

A member of the local legislative assembly, Frits Agapa said that young people were also afraid and have fled into the forests and to kampungs in a nearby district. "This is not a war, but when the security behave like this, nobody would want to accept such treatment."

A few young people who remained in Dogiyai say that they are afraid to leave their homes because they are afraid of being shot at just like their colleagues were shot at a few days ago. "The security forces are shooting people for no reason at all," said one person living in the area.

Freedom of expression & press

Indonesia's online world only partly free: Study

Jakarta Globe - April 20, 2011

Ismira Lutfia – A US report has labeled Indonesia's Internet as "partly free," citing concerns about the possibility of emerging government attempts to restrict online expression and content.

The Freedom on the Net 2011 report, released on Monday by US-based watchdog Freedom House, gave Indonesia a score of 46 for its Internet freedom, where 100 represents the highest number of obstacles to freedom. That puts it with 17 other countries with partial Internet freedom.

The report measured conditions of Internet and digital media freedoms in 37 countries worldwide, focusing on developments that took place in those countries between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2010.

Margiono, an advocacy coordinator for the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), said the report reflected the events linked to moves to curtail Internet freedom here over that span.

"That was the period following the passage of the 2008 Information and Electronic Transactions [ITE] Law and the proposed Communications Ministry regulation that threatened to limit Internet content," he told the Jakarta Globe.

He said the government's order to Internet service providers to block content deemed offensive by the Communications and Information Technology Ministry was a stumbling block that resulted in Indonesia getting the "partly free" rating.

The choice to filter offensive content should have been left to users instead of the ISPs, Margiono said.

What was worrying for Indonesia in terms of Internet freedom, Margiono said, was the pending deliberations of the telematics convergence and cybercrimes bills. "There are some proposed clauses in the two bills that might hamper freedom of expression online," he said.

Indonesia's ranking in the report comes in contrast to its rating as a "free" country in terms of political rights and civil liberties, as highlighted in Freedom House's Freedom in the World report issued in January.

Five Southeast countries were included in the Internet report. Malaysia was also listed as "partly free" with an overall score of 41, while Thailand, Vietnam and Burma were rated "not free."

Estonia had the fewest obstacles to Internet freedom, topping the list with a score of 10, while Iran was last at 89.

This is the second edition of the report since the 2009 version, which surveyed 15 countries but not Indonesia. The authors say that despite the lack of earlier scores for comparison for the newly added countries, "conditions in at least half of them suggest a negative trajectory."

Politics & political parties

Tommy in mix for leadership of the National Republic Party

Jakarta Globe - April 23, 2011

The son of the late President Suharto was not physically present at Friday's debut of the party, but a photograph of him in sunglasses and a baseball cap was ubiquitous on the walls alongside the party's symbol.

Although it remained unclear whether or not the party is simply riding the coattails of Tommy's fame, one party cofounder insisted that Tommy was the real deal.

Retired Maj. Gen. Edi Waluyo, a former lawmaker, said on Friday that the party would be officially launched soon and was expected to run in the 2014 presidential polls. The party will only be formally launched after it has been registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

Tommy, Edi said, and a string of senior political figures had become concerned with the lackluster performance of the existing political parties and were listening to the people's wishes and complaints. In a speech at the event, Edi said the party's founders had discussed with Tommy the need for a new party in Indonesia.

"Tommy agreed. This is a shared commitment," Edi said. The registration deadline, he said, was in July. "Our expectation is that we can complete all the processes and the verification procedures to contest in the 2014 presidential polls," he said.

Edi emphasized that the party had yet to decide whether or not Tommy would hold the position of party chair. Neither Tommy nor his lawyers could be reached for comment.

A revised law on political parties tightens the requirements for parties to contest elections. The most significant change is that parties intending to run in the 2014 election now have six months to prove they have 990 members spread throughout the country's 33 provinces. Parties previously only needed 50 members to be officially recognized.

The amended law requires parties to have at least 30 registered members – married or at least 21 years of age – in each of the 33 provinces, or a total of 990 individual members.

Siti Zuhro, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, told the Jakarta Globe that competition would be "very tough" for the National Republic Party.

She said Indonesians were better-educated voters after the 2009 presidential elections, and that to be elected as a serious political party, members should have a clear vision and ideology. Siti reminded voters that Tommy had failed "in his earlier political test, when he lost Golkar Party chairmanship in 2009."

Tommy Soeharto cofounds new political group

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2011

Jakarta – Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, son of the late president Soeharto, has cofounded the National Republic mass organization, or Nasrep, another of its founders has said.

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Edi Waluyo said Tommy was involved in the founding of Nasrep, but he did not divulge Tommy's position in the party. Edi said Nasrep was not established as a party but that it would go in that direction.

"We will discuss it later after we finish discussing the organization. It will depend on Tommy's consent," he said after the opening of a national coordination meeting of Nasrep's founding council on Friday, as quoted by news portal kompas.com.

Tommy's picture was on a banner welcoming the group's founding council members at the meeting in Jakarta. Edi said the meeting would discuss developing the group into a political party.

He said the party would be established very soon because Nasrep wanted to be verified as a party by the General Elections Commission for the 2014 legislative election.

Recent problems the work of other parties: PKS

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2011

Malang, East Java – Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq has said recent problems that have hit his party were contrived by other parties as a test.

"Given the PKS' age [13 this year], which is that of reaching puberty, it's not surprising that many have come to tease us," he said in a East Java regional meeting on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.

The party's reputation has been rocked by a spate of scandals in the past month. The latest embarrassment saw PKS lawmaker Arifinto photographed by a journalist watching porn on his tablet computer during a House of Representatives plenary meeting. Previously, PKS founder Yusuf Supendi published claims that PKS politicians were not reputable.

"PKS is simply the target of teasing by other parties. We have to be patient." He said Arifinto's case had been set up by another party.

Media Indonesia photojournalist M. Irfan, who took the photos of Arifinto watching porn, said that when he had taken the pictures – about 60 in total – he had not known who Arifinto was.

Indonesia must tame oligarchs to reach prosperity

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2011

Jakarta – An independent legal system and strong mass organizations could prevent Indonesia's oligarchy from dominating politics, an American democratic activist says.

Indonesia has been a democracy for 13 years following the fall of president Soeharto in May 1998 after 32 years of rule, but there is still widespread poverty in the nation.

Capgemini – a Merrill Lynch world wealth report – showed that in 2010 Indonesia had 43,000 rich people (with assets of more than US$1 million), which is about 0.2 percent of the population. Their combined wealth equals 25 percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product.

Jeffrey A. Winters, a professor of political science at Northwestern University in the United States, said the wide gap between the rich and the poor in Indonesia had created oligarchs in Indonesia's democratic system.

The oligarchs, using their wealth, would seek to gain access to power through political parties as a way to protect their wealth. That leaves Indonesians with only oligarchs to vote for in the elections, he said.

"We cannot 'delete' oligarchy by taking their private property rights because that is against democracy itself, but we can use a strong legal system to 'tame' oligarchs," he said during a public discussion at Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta.

To build a potent law, he said, Indonesia had to enforce its court and legal system. "For instance, Indonesia has to double the penalty for law violations by judges, prosecutors and policemen," he said.

"If they appeal, they will have to file their appeals to a special court comprising professional judges and prosecutors from other countries, preferably from Southeast Asian countries, who were deliberately hired to 'judge the judges'."

In addition to empowering the law, Winters said the public needed to have organizations and leaders from outside the structure ruled by oligarchs and elites. Indonesians also must be able to elect individuals not tied to political parties.

"As a control system, the voters have to have the rights to recall their representatives both in regional and national levels to increase pressure on the representatives. In the way the representatives would have to be responsible to their voters, not only to their parties," he said.

He said independent presidential candidates should be allowed. "That could open doors for strong figures who don't belong to any parties to compete in the election."

Winters mentioned individuals like Rizal Ramli, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Anies Baswedan and Adnan Buyung Nasution as potential leaders for Indonesia. Those who don't get support from political parties can gather support and funds from their supporters, he said.

"To avoid money politics, you have to limit how much money a supporter can give to the candidate. Like in America, you can't give more than US$4,000 to a candidate," he cited, adding that US President Barack Obama was an example of how a candidate who was not rich but was able to secure funds for his campaign from his supporters.

However, he warned that building a strong law in a democratic system would be much harder than toppling a dictator. "But I am sure, once oligarchs are 'tamed', Indonesian economic growth could increase by more than 10 percent, otherwise Indonesia will not take off," he said. (swd)

PKS holds party in gloomy mood

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – For the first time since being established in 1998, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) celebrated its anniversary in a gloomy mood Sunday, with party leaders attempting to stave off possible demoralization among supporters.

In its previous 12 celebrations, party leaders could easily count off the list of achievements the Islamist party – the self-professed moral guardian of the nation – has attained. This time they had to defend themselves from embarrassing internal conflicts. A prominent PKS legislator was recently forced to quit from the House of Representatives after he was caught watching porn during a plenary session.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself did not attend the party gathering. There was no explanation for his absence, but the President had issued strong signals that he was not satisfied with the party's behavior in the ruling coalition.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said the President had been with his family and close aides at Cipanas Palace since Saturday for "internal matters".

The PKS has four ministers in the Cabinet and is the only coalition partner not to have signed a new "political contract" with the President, a sign critics say indicated the President's reluctance to keep the PKS in the coalition.

"Be solid and enduring even though more obstacles and challenges are headed our way," party president Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq shouted Sunday before more than 250,000 PKS members and supporters who came from across the nation to the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. "Keep working for Indonesia, God will make us strong."

Luthfi refrained from blaming specific people or parties for the PKS' recent woes. The party has been crippled by public criticism especially since one of its lawmakers, Arifinto, was captured by a photo-journalist watching a porn clip on his tablet computer during a plenary session at the House earlier this month.

Internet users lambasted the incident in droves, saying the PKS was one of the most aggressive supporters of the controversial 2008 Pornography Law. Controversial Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring, a PKS member, has repeatedly boasted of his "success" in blocking porn from the Internet in Indonesia.

A few weeks earlier, Anis Matta, a member of the party's national executive board and a House deputy speaker, was reported to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) by party cofounder Yusuf Supendi for allegedly embezzling Rp 10 billion (US$1.15 million) in campaign funds. Yusuf threatened to air more of the party's dirty laundry. The PKS leadership described Yusuf's accusation as baseless.

Another PKS legislator, Mukhamad Misbakhun, is currently serving a two-year prison sentence following a high-profile corruption case. PKS leaders were publicly criticized for their reluctance to fire Misbakhun from the House despite his guilty verdict.

"Slanderous claims have been spread and traps [against us] have been set. This will continue until [the 2014 general elections]," Luthfi told the audience.

Despite a reputation of efficiently organizing its public meetings, Sunday's gathering caused hours of gridlock in key city streets around the Senayan sports complex. "The enthusiasm has caused traffic jams. We apologize for that," Triwisaksana, the chairman of the event's steering committee, said.

Party chief patron Hilmi Aminuddin suggested the audience "keep asking for God's help".

Of the six ruling coalition parties, only two sent their top leaders to attend the PKS' biggest event of the year: Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum and Golkar Party boss Aburizal Bakrie were both in attendance.

Although Luthfi has not signed the coalition's new agreement, the party's patron council decided on Saturday to approve it with a few reservations.

"We have some comments, questions and suggestions on the new agreement that we think the President should be made aware of," Luthfi told news portal tempointeraktif.com.

He said his party would send Yudhoyono a confidential letter containing the party's reaction to the agreement from the party's patron council meeting last week.

PPP chairman vows to stick with SBY until 2014

Jakarta Globe - April 16, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The United Development Party on Friday pledged to support President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono until 2014 despite calls from some groups within the party to leave the government coalition.

"We are the front guard of the government – PPP cadres will remain in the cabinet," Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, also general chairman of the party known as PPP, said during a national party meeting at the Hotel Borobudur Jakarta on Friday. Suharso Monoarfa, the public housing minister, is also from the PPP.

Suryadharma was criticized by some senior party officials when the PPP followed the government to oppose the House of Representatives inquiries into the Bank Century scandal and tax mafia cases.

On Friday he asked PPP members to understand that being in the cabinet would give the party more opportunity to warn the government of bad policies.

"We will become the first to warn the government if it deviated from the pro-public policy," said the minister, who has been controversial for advocating the disbandment of the minority Islamic Ahmadiyah group.

The party's national coordination meeting on Friday gathered hundreds of the group's leaders from across the country to discuss rules pertaining to the election of the next general chairman.

Party members have speculated that at least two candidates could challenge Suryadharma to lead the party: Ahmad Muqowam, a senior PPP lawmaker, and Muchdi Purwoprandjono, a former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) official and former member of the Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra). He was earlier acquitted of the murder of activist Munir Said Thalib.

Muchdi left Gerindra in February to join PPP. Rumors at the time suggested he planned to nominate himself for the chairmanship, although he has yet to make a statement on the matter.

Muqowam on Thursday night publicly announced his readiness to run as candidate to become the next top leader of the party. "There are many requests from local PPP members for me to run as the next general chairman. Now I am ready to bring substantial reform to this party," he said.

Islamic parties will remain divided despite new law

Jakarta Post - April 16, 2011

Jakarta – The United Development Party (PPP), which was established by a group of Islamic parties in 1970s, doubted that the existing Islamic parties will merge ahead of the 2014 polls despite a new legislation raising the bar for political parties to join elections.

PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali said during the party's national working meeting on Friday that his party was open to everyone but admitted that it would be difficult for the existing Islamic parties to merge and form a single party. "A formal fusion of Islamic parties is very unlikely," he said.

The idea of unifying the existing Islamic parties was recently thrown by Crescent Star Party (PBB) founder Yusril Ihza Mahendra in response to the passing of the new law on political parties that imposes harder electoral requirements.

The law stipulates that the verification process must end two-and-a-half years before the next elections. This means all registering parties have to fulfill requirements by July or face being excluded from the next elections.

It also requires parties to have offices in all 33 provinces, 75 percent of the cities and regencies in each province, and 50 percent of the districts in each city and regency. The offices must be permanent, at least until the election has ended.

The legislators are also currently mulling increasing the parliamentary threshold from the current 2.5 percent to between 3 and 5 percent, a policy that could edge out smaller Islamic parties.

Yusril said that he had encouraged his colleagues in PBB to join PPP to empower political Islam in the 2014 elections. Officials from the two parties said that they had met several times to talk about possible alliance but no agreements have so far been reached.

Despite Suryadharma's doubts, PPP officials are currently in talks with several Islamic or Muslim-based parties such as the Ulema National Awakening Party (PKNU) and the Reform Star Party (PBR).

PPP deputy secretary general Ngudi Astuti said her party would welcome if smaller Islamic parties such as PBB and the PBR want to join them to anticipate the increase in parliamentary threshold. "If the parliamentary threshold increases to 10 percent, the Islamic parties absolutely have to cooperate," she said.

Political analyst Arbi Sanit said that it was virtually impossible for Islamic parties to merge to their different interpretations of Islam. "In Islam, there are those who are called modernists, traditionalists and radicals. Each of these groups think that what they believe is the only truth," he told The Jakarta Post.

The PBB is known as a modernist Islamic party while the PPP is now closer to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), an organization that representes traditional Islam.

The Justice Prosperous Party (PKS), the other Islamic party at the House of Representatives besides the PPP, is known for its link to the tarbiyah movement inspired by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna.

Arbi said that the future of political Islam was bleak. "The performance of Islamic parties continue to decline since the 1955 elections. They cannot even coalesce, let alone merge into a single party."

The PPP, however, insisted that Islamic party is indispensable in Indonesian politics. "Islamic political party is very important in Indonesia, as the country is dominated by muslims," PPP's Ahmad Yani said.

The party is now readying for the 2014 elections, including by holding its national congress earlier. "We have yet to decide what month of holding the congress. But, it's surely will be held this year, one year ahead of its schedule in 2012, in order to prepare for the next election." (rcf)

10 small parties merge to contest 2014 elections

Jakarta Post - April 16, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – As many as 10 non-legislative parties have agreed to merge into one bigger party in an attempt to pass the recently increased electoral requirements ahead of the 2014 general elections.

The National Union Party (PPN) would be officially inaugurated in June, said Didi Supriyanto, head of the 10 parties' team tasked with preparing the new party's establishment. "We just finished consolidating the parties' branches at regional levels in all 33 provinces," Didi told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He said the party would be registered at the Law and Human Rights Ministry by the end of June.

The ministry has announced that the registration will be closed in mid- August, after which ministry officials will begin verifying the registered parties.

Once the PPN is established, Didi will leave his position as secretary general of the Democratic Renewal Party (PDP), one of the 10 merging parties.

The other nine parties are the Freedom Bull National Party (PNBK), the Regional Unity Party (PPD), the National Sun Party (PMB), the Indonesian Democracy Vanguard Party (PPDI), the Indonesian Democracy Devotion Party (PKDI), the Pioneer Party, the Patriot Party, the Prosperous Indonesia Party (PIS) and the Indonesian Youth Party (PPI).

The PPN would be a nationalist party with the slogan, "the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika [Unity in Diversity] and Pancasila are not negotiable!" Didi said. One of the forming parties, the PMB, is a Muslim-based party linked to Muhammadiyah, the nation's second-largest Islamic organization.

Imam Addaruqutni of the PMB said an Islamic element in the PPN would strengthen the democratic aspect of the new party. "We are confident we can compete with other established parties in 2014," he said.

The 10 parties were among the 29 political parties that failed to meet the 2.5-percent legislative threshold in the 2009 elections. Although they failed to send representatives to the House of Representatives, these parties managed to fill councilor seats at regional levels.

After the Law on political parties was passed this year, non-legislative parties had no choice but to merge and form new parties or join legislative parties.

Politicians from small parties considered the law deliberately designed to "kill" smaller parties by setting difficult eligibility requirements. The law, for example, obliges political parties to have offices in all 33 provinces, in 75 percent of the cities and regencies in each province and in 50 percent of the districts in cities and regencies before it can field candidates.

Other parties opting to join bigger parties include the Reform Star Party (PBR), the Freedom Party, the Labor Party, the Indonesian Nahdlatul Ulama United Party (PPNUI), the Marhaenism Indonesian National Party, the Sovereignty Party and the Indonesian Union Party (PSI). They joined the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party.

Media & journalism

Rosihan Anwar, a role model for Indonesian journalists

Jakarta Post - April 16, 2011

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – The sheer number of prominent figures – no less than President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono – paying their respects Thursday to senior journalist Rosihan Anwar, who passed away at the age of 88, was testimony to the contribution he made to Indonesian journalism and public affairs.

Rosihan, who began his journalism career in 1942, was widely respected for his integrity. In the course of his journalism career, he persistently stayed true to his principle that truth had to be fought for and upheld no matter what, despite the huge risks faced. He never compromised his conscience and his deeds were shown through real actions.

Indonesia's first president Sukarno forcibly shut down a newspaper Rosihan founded, the Pedoman, in 1961 because the newspaper often carried stories that were critical of Soekarno's policies. He resurrected the respected newspaper after Soekarno was forced from power by Soeharto in 1966-1968, but again it was shut down by Soeharto for the same reasons in 1974.

Earlier, Soeharto offered Rosihan the post of ambassador to Vietnam in the early years of the New Order, but he turned it down. "Soeharto was very upset. Since then, Soeharto never appointed journalists as ambassadors to friendly countries.

Soeharto started to relax the unwritten rule only in 1991," recalled veteran journalist Sabam Siagian. Sabam, who was then chief editor of The Jakarta Post, was appointed by Soeharto as Indonesian ambassador to Australia in 1991.

Apart from his steadfastness to upholding the truth and the ethics of journalism, Rosihan was also known as a "walking dictionary of Indonesian history". He earned the nickname as he was often present during, and then diligently chronicled, important events in Indonesian history.

Among the historical events he witnessed and eventually reported on was the famous revolutionary battle in Surabaya in November 1945, which is now commemorated nationwide as National Heroes Day.

Later, he was also present during a series of crucial negotiations between Indonesia and the Dutch colonial government that eventually led to the recognition of Indonesian sovereignty by the former colonial master.

Even after he was no longer employed by any press organization on the grounds that he already passed retirement age, he still eagerly reported milestone events in the country's history, including the Malino Conference in South Sulawesi in the 1990s that ended prolonged bloody sectarian conflict between Muslims and Christians in Maluku.

Apart from his relentless curiosity, another quality young journalists can look to Rosihan as an example of is his passion for the writing world. He continued to write even until the final weeks of his life. He authored more than 40 books and countless newspaper and magazine articles.

Rosihan had his own reasons for his passion for writing. "I will continue to write until I drop dead. It is to prevent senility. And besides that, I have to write because there is no social welfare in this damned country. I have no pension so I have to write," he joked to the Post in an interview two years ago.

Although his health deteriorated due to old age, he still frequently attended journalism and public events, a testament to his penchant for public affairs. The journalist of four generations (the Indonesian revolution, Old Order, New Order and Reform era) often offered critical accounts on current affairs at various public events.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono admitted that Rosihan had a critical mind, the prime asset of being a great journalist. "I still remember our last talk at the State Palace. He put forth his critical views with sense of responsibility and good intentions," the President said Thursday.

The critical views were not only uttered during public discussions, but were also expressed in poems. One of poems he wrote in the final years of his life was about anticorruption, which was inspired by a famous poem by Taufiq Ismail titled Malu Aku Jadi Orang Indonesia (I am ashamed of being Indonesian).

Given his dedication and contribution to journalism and public affairs, Rosihan deserves the title "The father of Indonesian journalism". His legacy will always be remembered and should serve as guidance for journalists doing their job – strengthening the contribution of journalism to the betterment of this country.

[The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.]

Environment & natural disasters

Indonesia loses forests as politicians bicker

Straits Times - April 19, 2011

Zubaidah Nazeer – Indonesia is losing forest area about four times the size of Jakarta as politicians continue to bicker over a moratorium on cutting down trees.

Much of the delay, now into its fourth month, is also being pinned on bureaucratic inefficiencies, with two drafts of the moratorium being shoved around by different ministries.

The moratorium was part of a deal with Norway which pledged $1 billion last year to help Indonesia reduce carbon emissions. In return for the funds, Jakarta agreed to stop issuing new concessions to forest areas for two years and cut carbon emissions by 26 per cent by 2020, or by 41 per cent with international support.

Indonesia is one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases because of the widespread destruction of its forests.

In order to effect the moratorium, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has to sign a decree to back it up. He set up a nine-member task force comprising activists and politicians across various ministries to draft it.

But their efforts have become bogged down. Dicky Simorangkir of The Nature Conservancy, who was consulted on the draft prepared by the task force, said: "There is a lack of mechanism for clear communication and coordination among the ministries."

To complicate matters, the task force members also sought input from civil society groups, researchers, scientists and private sector players such as investors. "It is a case of having too many cooks spoiling the broth."

Adding to the cacophony of different views is a political tug of war. Added Dicky: "Now, we also have a political fight between the task force members and the other ministers. The question is – who do you accommodate?"

Much of the friction has been between the chief of the presidential task force, former minister Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, and a camp consisting of the Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hassan, Coordinating Minister for Economy Hatta Rajasa and Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad.

Mr Zulkifli was dissatisfied with the initial draft by Kuntoro and came up with another one, after consulting Hatta and Gusti.

The parties remain deadlocked over several points in the moratorium, such as the definition of what constitutes forest area and peatlands, and whether the new task force would be given authority over forest management.

Vice-President Boediono has stepped in to mediate between the two camps but some analysts said this might not be enough to resolve matters. Herry Purnomo, a scientist with the Centre for International Forestry Research, said: "The President should be the one taking the lead, but he has been too careful, resulting in this stalemate."

Some environmentalists however dismissed the current debate as meaningless as the moratorium may have little impact. A Greenpeace report claimed both drafts still leave unprotected 45 million hectares of natural forest and peatland, an area almost twice the size of Britain.

Yuyun Indradi, a campaigner for Greenpeace, said: "Based on the two drafts, most of the areas where they plan to ban concessions are already designated as protected forests or conservation areas."

Still, Kuntoro expects the moratorium to be ready by next month. He has been quoted as saying that major corporate players have thrown their support behind it.

NTB miner under fire for waste disposal practices

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2011

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – Environmentalists have urged the government not to allow the operators of a gold mine in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, to continue dumping their tailings into the sea.

The tailing permit for Newmont Nusa Tenggara, the local unit of US mining giant Newmont Mining Corp., for its Batu Hijau gold and copper mine was granted in 2005 and expires this May.

Pius Ginting, campaign manager for mining at the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said on Sunday that the dumping of tailings into the sea had reduced the coastal fish population and polluted the water.

He said tests by Walhi had shown the phytoplankton population in the water had decreased by almost 15 percent between 2006 and 2010, thus impacting the rest of the food chain and forcing fishermen to go further out to sea to catch fish.

Yani Sagaroa, head of Walhi's national board and a Sumbawa resident, said that fishermen were now only making Rp 20,000 to Rp 25,000 ($2.30 to $2.90) a day from their dwindling catches, whereas in 2005, before the dumping began, they easily made Rp 100,000 a day.

"The tailings have even drifted as far as Lombok Island, and the fishermen have had to sail an extra 70 kilometers from their usual fishing grounds to get as many fish," he said, adding that Newmont was dumping 110,000 to 160,000 tons of waste daily into the sea. "This is obviously hard on the subsistence fishermen sailing in small boats."

Pius said the dumping had also clouded the water off the Sumbawa coast. He said the level of total suspended solids in the water there, a measure of the nonsoluble residue, had increased by almost 112 percent between 2006 and 2010.

"If you refer to the Marine Water Quality Criteria for the Asean region, then the normal change in TSS level is 10 percent per year," he said.

"So over a period of four years, it should only be about 40 percent. But here it's gone up by 111.7 percent, which is way too high."

Pius said Walhi had sent a letter last month to the Environment Ministry to ask that it reject any extension of Newmont's permit for submarine tailings disposal. He said there had been no response yet from the ministry.

Masnellyarti Hilman, the ministry's deputy for toxic waste management, said her office was still reviewing the permit.

"Our team is conducting research in the field, so we're still discussing the issue," she said.

Indonesia is the only country where Newmont uses the STD method to dump its tailings, which it claims costs more than conventional methods but is more environmentally sound.

Health & education

Health ministry tackles child obesity

Jakarta Globe - April 21, 2011

Dessy Sagita – The Health Ministry said on Wednesday that it was preparing programs to fight increasing cases of overnutrition among Indonesian children.

"It's a serious problem, it's alarming that when we are still grappling with malnutrition we also have to deal with increasing overnutrition among children at the same time," Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih told a seminar in Jakarta.

A survey released by the Health Ministry at the end of 2010 found that 14 percent of Indonesian children under the age of 5 were overweight. The same report found that 9.2 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 12 were overweight. By contrast, in 1990, 4 percent of all children were overweight.

Jakarta has the highest number of overweight children with nearly 20 percent of those under 5 suffering from overnutrition.

Endang said the fight against excessive nutrition and obesity could no longer rely on previous methods and therefore a national movement was needed, involving the National Education Ministry.

"The fight against both malnutrition and overnutrition will be part of the curriculum for those who want to become teachers, it also should be included in school extracurricular [lessons]."

Obesity is on the rise not necessarily because children eat excessive amounts of food, but because they eat unhealthy fare due to their parents' poor knowledge of proper nutrition, she said.

Endang added Indonesian children also did not have many options for physical activities. "In Singapore, the elementary schools have a special physical program for overweight students, we don't have it here," she said.

She said the ministry would use community health clinics (Puskesmas) to disseminate information about the dangers of overnutrition. "And in the meantime, parents, please prepare a healthy breakfast and other meal for your children so they won't have to buy unhealthy food out there," she said.

Rini Sekartini, from the Indonesian Pediatric Society (IDAI), said in the long run, weight issues could cause depression, anxiety and low self-esteem in children. Obesity could also trigger some cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and a host of other ailments.

The Health Ministry suggests parents monitor their children's eating habits and ensure they get enough physical activity.

Fasli Jalal, deputy education minister, said children, due to their daily interactions with teachers, were actually the easiest target for intervention and spreading awareness of the dangers of obesity.

Ministry seeks standard exam for Islamic studies

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2011

Jakarta – The Religious Affairs Ministry has called on regions to adopt an official standardized exam for Islamic studies in schools.

The ministry's Islamic Education director Imam Tholhah said that introducing a standardized test would lend importance to the subject, which he added served as a tool to control students' behavior.

"Students tend to prioritize subjects tested in the national exam, so the Muslim students studying in regular schools only have minimum knowledge about their religion," Imam said.

He said that the National Education Ministry required that students be able to read the Koran in elementary school and understand the scripture's meanings when they were senior high students. "Only 55 percent of high school graduates cannot read the [Arabic] Koran," he said.

Imam said the test was not compulsory, and had not been adopted by all regions. Only 44 regencies adopted the test in 2009 when it was first introduced, and 144 regencies and municipalities by the end of 2010.

A standardized test requires 75 percent of its questions are written by teachers in the regions that have adopted the test while another 25 percent by a group of teachers appointed by the Religious Affairs Ministry.

Imam said his ministry had not made the test obligatory at all schools and in all regions because the religion is a sensitive issue in Indonesia, a home to many Islamic sects. However, not everyone is convinced the test does any good.

Abdul Mu'ti, the secretary of the central board of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization, said that students would likely be inclined to study for the test to get good grades whether they believed in the material or not.

"The uniformity of religious understanding can be created through the test's questions because the test uses a multiple choice format where there is only one correct answer," Abdul said.

He said that Muhammadiyah, as an organization, was concerned that the test would prompt the need to have similar tests for all of the other religions recognized in Indonesia.

In Suara Muhammadiyah, the organization's publication, a Christian scholar, Benny Susetyo, said that the government's intention to standardize religious education was problematic. "Religious education is an experience-based journey, which cannot measured by formal standards," Benny said.

Supriyoko, the director of postgraduate studies at Yogyakarta-based Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa University, said that Islamic school students would have an automatic advantage in taking the test. "The level of difficulty should be increased gradually from easiest for the non-Islamic school students," he said. (rcf)

Organized cheating mars national exams: NGO

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2011

Medan – National exams held at senior high schools in Medan have been marred by cheating involving the schools and students, an NGO says.

Komunitas Air Mata Guru (Teachers' Tears Community), or KAMG, an education-based NGO, said the exams were marred by sophisticated and well- organized cheating techniques.

KAMG chairman Abdi Muskarya Saragih said the NGO had sent monitoring teams to a number of schools. "The teams found several schools in Medan had been mischievous in organizing the exams by having the students come a few hours before the test," he said.

Some students were reported to have arrived in schools at 4 a.m. – four hours before the exams started – which was a sign they might have come to see the test papers, he said. "Some of them copied [the answers] onto mobile phones," he said, adding that KAMG had reported its findings to the National Education Ministry.

Separately, students celebrated the end of the three-day national exam period by drawing graffiti on one another's shirts, on Wednesday. "We are relieved that we have gotten through the exams. We are doing the graffiti to make mementos," David, a student of SMU Immanuel, said.

SBY agrees to expand national ideology curriculum: MPR

Jakarta Globe - April 21, 2011

Amid growing radicalism in Indonesia, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reportedly supported the People's Consultative Assembly's call to extend the teaching of national ideology and the four pillars in school.

"He [Yudhoyono] promised to follow up the idea, but we need to further discuss implementation," said Lukman Hakim, the deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), at the presidential office on Thursday.

"MPR realizes that in almost all regions in the country, Pancasila and the four pillars have been forgotten. We need to refresh it."

MPR believes there is a need to strengthen the o-called four pillars of the state: the Pancasila state ideology, the Constitution, national unity and the national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).

Lukman said that growing radicalism was the result of a lack of understanding of the national ideology. He said an the government should create an institution in charge of overseeing the teaching of this ideology in schools, with branches at district and municipal levels.

"How do we refresh the memory of our children toward the four pillars?" he asked. "The teaching method should not be one of indoctrination. Ideology among the people should be more open. It should strengthen through dialogue."

Lukman said the current curriculum on Pancasila and citizenship (PPKN) was inadequate. "Radicalism too prevelant and has resulted in terrorism and conflicts involving villages or football supporters, among others," Lukman said. "Young people are now easily brainwashed. It is our challenge in the era of globalization with the extraordinary development of science."

Lack of funds blocks road to universal care

Jakarta Post - April 16, 2011

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Indonesia will need to make significant strides in resolving financial problems impeding its efforts to establish universal healthcare coverage by 2014, an official says.

Supriyantoro, the director general of health development efforts, said Friday that Indonesians may receive health services at public hospitals' third-class facilities for free once a universal coverage scheme is implemented.

"Under universal coverage, we will not probe into a patient's social and financial background. As long as they seek healthcare at third-class facilities, we will provide full coverage for them for free," he said at the official opening of a new patient care facility at Fatmawati Hospital.

The government is targeting to establish full free healthcare coverage, or universal coverage, for patients seeking treatment at third-class facilities at public hospitals. "We hope universal coverage is rolled out by 2014," Supriyantoro said.

However, much depends on the government's finances. Supriyantoro said universal coverage in Indonesia would cost between Rp 30 trillion (US$3.45 billion) and Rp 50 trillion per year. "It's quite high," he said.

He said the government had funded the national health insurance scheme Jamkesmas to the tune of Rp 6.3 trillion since 2008. This subsidy covers 74.6 million people categorized as poor.

Universal coverage would require more funds since it would cover all patients seeking treatment in third-class facilities of public hospitals, not just 74.6 million people. "We should develop universal coverage in stages due to the financial constraints," Supriyantoro said.

Many Indonesians, especially from low-income backgrounds, do not have adequate access to even the most basic healthcare services, while both infectious and non-communicable diseases continue to blight the poor.

The government has implemented universal coverage at public hospitals in remote areas and cross-border regions in four provinces: Aceh, Bali, South Sumatra and South Sulawesi. Such full coverage is also available at public health centers in almost 400 regencies.

"We should prioritize people living in remote areas and border regions due to their economic difficulties," Supriyantoro said.

The Health Ministry says only 53 to 54 percent of the country's poor people were covered by Jamkesmas.

The country's childbirth insurance scheme Jampersal is currently the only universal coverage available to pregnant women seeking treatment at third- class facilities at public hospitals during childbirth and if the women agree to join a family planning program.

Apart from health insurance programs, the government is also attempting to provide better healthcare for the poor, Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih said.

"Public hospitals should allocate 25 percent of their beds to third-class wards, while private hospitals should allocate 10 percent," she said.

She added that it was a minimum requirement stipulated in a 1986 ministerial regulation on private health service.

The Health Minister says Indonesia had 1,523 hospitals, both public and private, with 151,000 beds, while 45,000 of the 64,441 third-class facility beds were in public hospitals.

"We should increase the number of third-class facility beds both in public and private hospitals," Ribka Tjiptaning, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission IX overseeing health, women and social affairs, said.

She praised a recent decision by Fatmawati Hospital, a public hospital founded by late first lady Fatmawati Soekarno, to increase the number of third-class beds to 750, 63 percent of the total beds, from the current 624.

Indonesian doctors criticized for 'alarming' use of antibiotics

IRIN - April 16, 2011

The use of antibiotics has reached an alarming level in Indonesia, fueled by poor diagnosis, ignorance and poor regulation of drugs, experts say.

"Irrational use of drugs, including antibiotics, is a global problem, but sporadic surveys show that the use of antibiotics in Indonesia has reached an excessive level," said Purnamawati, a pediatrician and founder of the Foundation for Concerned Parents.

The most recent survey, conducted by Purnamawati's foundation in 17 Indonesian cities, revealed that antibiotics were prescribed in 78.4 percent of cases of respiratory and stomach illnesses in children in 2008 – against 54.5 percent in 2006.

Such conditions are generally caused by viruses that are not treated by antibiotics, Purnamawati said.

The survey also showed that on average five different brands of drugs, including antibiotics and antihistamines, were prescribed for every case of respiratory infection, with generic drugs accounting for less than a quarter of drugs prescribed.

"Polypharmacy [the use of more drugs than necessary] is rampant not only in Jakarta, but also in other cities," Purnamawati told IRIN. "Apart from the financial cost, there's an intangible cost when we are prescribed antibiotics when we don't need them. It's a very high price to pay."

Misuse of medicines, particularly antibiotics, leaves patients with fewer options for treatment when bacteria become resistant, said the World Health Organization's representative in Indonesia, Khanchit Limpakarnjanarat, at a recent seminar.

In Southeast Asia, misuse and poor access to other drugs continue to be major components of the widespread inappropriate use of antibiotics, according to WHO. A comprehensive study led by the WHO and government is under way.

Patients too often demand that doctors prescribe antibiotics because they believe the drugs will speed up recovery, said Hari Paraton, chairman of the Antimicrobial Resistance Control Programme at Dr Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya.

"The situation is the same across Indonesia," he said. "Doctors, pharmacists and the public contribute to the problems."

Women & gender

Activists plea for change, not ceremonies

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2011

Jakarta – To commemorate Kartini Day this year, a coalition of women's rights activists under the Indonesian Women Front demanded the government prioritize the provision of adequate social security for working women across the country.

In an official statement, the activists highlighted four problems that have plagued Indonesian women since the days of Kartini: early marriage, work, education and reproduction health.

"Instead of celebrating Kartini Day with kebaya [traditional Indonesian dress] fashion shows, schools across Indonesia should regard the commemoration day as a medium to educate youth about the current social conditions of Indonesian women," the group said in a statement.

The activists cited illiteracy and length of education as two major problems in the education system.

A 2009 Central Statistics Agency (BPS) report shows that almost 13 million women in Indonesia, accounting for 5.9 percent of the entire population, are illiterate. The same report shows that the average length of education for females in Indonesia is 7.3 years.

"Poverty and access to schools are the two main problems factoring into these low numbers," Front member Dian Kartikasari told The Jakarta Post at the office of the Independent Journalists Alliance at Senen, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.

According to Dian, many areas in Indonesia did not have any education institutions higher than elementary schools, which usually resulted in early marriage.

"The 2009 BPS report stated that more than 15 million Indonesian women marry between 10 and 15 years of age and another 39.4 million marry between the ages of 16 and 18," she said.

She added that early marriage was the main factor behind unnecessarily high maternal and infant mortality rates. "When they are marrying at a very young age, they are not mature enough to become mothers," Dian said.

Another present problem for women, according to the activists, is the lack of equal workplace rights.

Front spokesperson Ruth Indiah Rahayu said the problems women workers face at workplace concern equal pay, working status and reproduction health. "Some companies see menstruation periods and pregnancy as inefficiencies toward their business productivity," Ruth said.

"Lack of medical benefits and vague health insurance policies regarding pregnancy are also huge issues," she added.

Problems of equal pay become apparent when a recently married female worker does not receive any salary increases or family allowances, unlike their male counterparts, Ruth said.

At the core of the problem, according to Veronika from the Apik Legal Aid Foundation, is an outdated marriage law, passed in 1974, with no revisions until today. "According to the law, men are the sole breadwinner in a household and women should only act as housewives," Veronika said.

Veronika said this paradigm should change because many wives today are as capable as their husbands in providing for the family.

"Further proof that the law must be revised is the legal age for marriage. The law stipulated that the legal age for female to marry is 16," Veronika said. "This is against the UN Convention for Children's Rights, which stipulates that the legal age of marriage is 18."

"All the ideas of women's rights that Kartini fought for in her lifetime are still relevant today. We have to continue her struggle," Veronika said. (mim)

Kartini Day: A long ride to emancipation

Jakarta Globe - April 21, 2011

Johannes Nugroho – Today marks the 132nd anniversary of the birth of Raden Ajeng Kartini, Indonesia's most celebrated feminist. Kartini's ideas were radically avant garde at a time when women were seen as subservient to men. This Kartini Day, two figures perhaps best summarize the state of women's emancipation in our country: the hitherto unknown Almira Safa Adinda and the notorious Inong Malinda Dee.

The late Almira was an 18-month-old girl from Surabaya who was recently tortured to death by her own father, who complained that the infant had been too noisy. The most disturbing confession came when he confirmed his wife's allegation that he had been disappointed with Almira's birth because he had wanted a boy.

Kartini once wrote bitterly how girls were seen as not equal to boys in her days. Today, it would appear that community consensus on that score has not altered radically. Most Indonesian families would consider a son to be preferable to a daughter, and even the 2010 census revealed that there are more males than females in the country now.

In a largely patrilineal society like Indonesia, a son is a surer bet toward ensuring the survival of the patronym, as well as the family's fortunes staying within the same "name." Compounded with the prevalent moral values biased against women, it is also assumed to be more difficult to bring up girls. A boy who loses his virginity before marriage is simply considered naughty while a girl in the same shoes is a disgrace to the family and religion.

Conservative religious mores in the country continue to undermine women's emancipation. During the presidency of Megawati Sukarnoputri, Muslim clerics were often publicly quoted as saying that female leadership is un- Islamic.

Her presidency was also marred by persistent rumors that the real power behind the throne was her husband Taufik Kiemas. Irrespective of the truth of the matter, in portraying her as such the echo of the stereotypical weak and subjugated Indonesian woman was too strong to ignore. It was as if the country could not possibly believe that a woman could rule the country on her own terms.

Comparatively, there were similar rumors about former President Suharto's own wife, Madame Tien, alleged to influence her husband in state matters behind closed doors. Although this depiction of Madame Tien suggests that she was a co-ruler, it still strengthens the taboo for women to be visibly influential. In the Indonesian psyche, it is permissible for women to be cleverer than their husbands, as long as they do not tell the world as such.

While Megawati's own tenure was unremarkable, history has indeed recorded a number of outstanding female achievements in politics. Figures such as the Majapahit Queen Regnant Tribuana Tunggadewi, the Demak female ruler Ratu Kalimanyat and the Acehnese freedom fighter Tjoet Nyak Dien are a testimony that, given the same chance and encouragement, Indonesian women have always been capable of leadership.

Ratu Kalimanyat of Jepara, incidentally the same town Kartini was born in, is an especially special case because Demak was a Muslim sultanate. Ratu was such an accomplished ruler that she managed to hold back Demak's decline due to European encroachments.

Almost mythically, women are also seen as less productive than men, and yet it is this exact prejudice that acts against women in the workforce. This brings us to Inong Malinda Dee, who, before the frauds she committed came to the surface, was an archetype of a successful modern Indonesian woman.

With income that could compete even with the richest male executives, Malinda was indeed a masterful female player in a masculine field. Going as far as augmenting her physique to become the big-busted sexy woman she has come to be known as, Malinda instinctively knew that her sexuality, rather than her skills alone, was her advantage when pursuing grace and favors from powerful and rich male tycoons.

Her life story alone tells us the degree of unorthodoxy of means that an ordinary woman in Indonesia must employ to become liberated, at least financially. Nevertheless, even the resourceful Malinda can never hope to unshackle herself from the strength of prejudice against women in our society. Her controversial marriage to a man decades her junior is almost the perfect solution for a woman of her stature could hope for.

To be married to a man of the same stature as herself would almost certainly mean having to forsake her own career and thus her independence. So, she opted for a man much younger than herself who would become her dependent rather than vice versa.

In her own way, even the criminal Malinda is a Kartini, a woman trying to make her way through a male-dominated society. So was little Almira, who, partly due to the discrimination against her own gender, would never witness the world and its ways. Kartini undoubtedly regretted how much she had to compromise her ideals to an unmerciful society. Sadly, if she were alive today, she would still find herself unable to realize her old ideals again, even after 132 years.

[Johannes Nugroho is a writer based in Surabaya.]

Women activists to rally on Kartini Day

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2011

Jakarta – Female activists from the Indonesia Women's Front plan to march for women's rights on Kartini Day in Jakarta on Thursday.

The march is expected to start at 10 a.m. near the Arjuna Wiwaha statue on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat and end with a demonstration in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta.

"During the rally, we will hold a ceremony to charge the state with telling lies about women's rights," the group's spokesperson and a senior member of the Working People Association, Ruth Indiah Rahayu, told The Jakarta Post at the office of the Independent Journalist Alliance in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.

In a statement, the activists said the government had lied by claiming "tremendous improvement in women's rights in Indonesia". "One of the examples is the Marriage Law, which still stipulates that men should be the sole breadwinner of a household and women should only act as housewives," said Veronika from the APIK Legal Aid Foundation.

Kartini Day, which falls every April 21, marks the birthday of Raden Ajeng Kartini, a pioneer in the field of Indonesian women's rights.

During her short lifetime – she died when she was 25 – Kartini established a school for women – the first ever in Indonesia, which at that time was under the rule of the Dutch.

Graft & corruption

Money laundering allegations hit Citibank

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2011

Hans David Tampubolon and Nani Afrida – Amid irregularities in the police investigation of the death of a Citibank client while talking to bank debt collectors, the local unit of US banking giant is now under scrutiny for money laundering allegations in the wake of an alleged fraud case implicating another bank employee. The Jakarta Post's Hans David Tampubolon and Nani Afrida explore the issue:

"We'll have to go through some unprecedented hurdles before we can finally get a green light from the central bank to investigate money laundering allegations at Citibank," Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) chairman Yunus Husein said.

Yunus' remark may suggest the conspicuously daunting task the watchdog has to bear in investigating the case, as the fate of a dozen of active and retired public officials – as well as the reputation of Citibank as a prominent player in the financial world – are at stake.

Despite the looming opposition, the PPATK officially launched the investigation on Monday.

The investigation follows in the wake of allegations that Citibank senior relationship manager Inong Malinda embezzled at least Rp 17 billion (US$2 million) from bank customers and laundered the proceeds through material purchases and an investment company.

The PPATK found indications that public officials were among Malinda's clients in Citibank's Citigold program, which requires customers to have a balance of at least Rp 500 million.

According to a source at the PPATK who declined to be named, Malinda's clients included police generals, local administration leaders and their families. The police have repeatedly denied that any of its officers had Citibank accounts.

"The watchdog wants to verify indications that public officials are laundering their money at the bank. That's why we are deploying our investigators to look into the bank accounts," said Yunus.

The investigation, which was expected to take about 30 days, would also follow the trail of funds related to Malinda's alleged embezzlement and verify Citibank's compliance with regulations designed to prevent money laundering.

Investigators, Yunus said, would determine if Citibank exercised due diligence in opening accounts for "politically exposed" customers, such as public officials who might be more likely to engage in money laundering.

"It's about time Citibank and other banks to go beyond the 'Know Your Customer' policy, and start applying a 'Customer Due Diligence' policy to clients who are public officials."

Normally, it takes more than seven years for the highest rank of public officials to accumulate Rp 500 million in savings, based entirely on their official take-home pay.

Suspicions that Malinda's clients might include such officials were bolstered after only three of her clients came forward and filed police reports.

The three alleged that a total of Rp 17 billion was withdrawn from their accounts without authorization. However, Malinda might have allegedly embezzled Rp 90 billion from her customers, according to police.

"Of course no one will stand up to report Malinda as her clients may include wealthy public officials who are afraid that if they file reports then they may end up being investigated for money laundering," economist Dradjat Wibowo, a former legislator with the National Mandate Party (PAN), said. According to a former Citibank employee who declined to be named, no action was taken after the bank's compliance division flagged Malinda for alleged money laundering during an audit around five years ago.

"There was a kind of unwritten regulation that nobody could touch Malinda and her high-value clients," the former employee said.

Citibank's senior management also apparently did not transfer Malinda, a 22-year veteran of the bank, to another position out of fear of upsetting her clients.

Bank Indonesia (BI) requires banks to regularly rotate their executives to avoid conflicts of interest and the potential for collusion.

"We couldn't rotate Malinda because of opposition from her clients," Citibank's vice president for customer care Hotman Simbolon said at a recent hearing at the House of Representatives.

Citibank's decision to compromise regulatory compliance so as to please its clients may not be exclusive to Indonesia.

In June 2009, Japan's Financial Services Agency ordered Citibank to suspend retail banking operations for one month after it failed to beef up money laundering prevention programs targeting criminal syndicates and other underground organizations. The agency alleged that Citibank had insufficiently monitored suspicious transactions.

Citibank eventually apologized to customers after the ban and pledged to implement all measures needed to prevent a reoccurrence of the problems identified by Japanese regulators.

BI instructed Citibank to freeze its high-value client Citigold program in the wake of the embezzlement allegations. No sanctions, however, were handed out to Citibank executives.

The question remains as to the susceptibility of high-value customer banking services in Indonesia to money laundering.

President director of state-run Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) Gatot Suwondo said the services were extremely susceptible to money laundering. Gatot said many bureaucrats had money invested in such programs, which usually required a minimum balance of Rp 1 billion.

"There are some [bureaucrats] in the program. But [it's] mostly rich people from the regions," he said on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting in Bogor, West Java, on Monday.

BNI is among several lenders that reported suspicious transactions connected to the accounts held by the relatives of former tax official Bahasyim Assifie, who used a private banking service to disguise the origins of funds he embezzled.

Bahasyim was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in February for money laundering.

When it comes to suspicious transactions, bankers usually have three options: take a customer's money and then report it to the PPATK, decline to accept the money out of fear it might damage the bank's reputation or take the money and ignore any violations.

"The risks outweigh the benefits if you tolerate suspicious transaction at your bank – particularly to your reputation," state-run Bank Mandiri president director Zulkifli Zaini said.

In response to the money laundering allegation, Citibank spokesperson Ditta Amahorseya said while the PPATK was conducting their audit, it would be premature to comment on the issue. "Citi has a robust anti-money laundering policy and strong internal controls – this is the rationale behind our decision to report it to the authority."

The bank has retained the services of Roesmanhadi Law Firm – owned by former National Police chief Gen. (ret) Roesmanhadi – to deal with the cases.

Country addicted to the politics of corruption: ICW

Jakarta Globe - April 21, 2011

Ulma Haryanto – It's all a matter of politics, corruption watchdogs say, when figuring out why efforts to eradicate corruption over the past decade seem to have done very little.

"Political parties in this country do not think that they have to be accountable to their constituents," Danang Widoyoko, chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch, said in a lecture at the Education Ministry organized by government reform advisory institution Kemitraan.

"They listen more to their donors who gave them money during the election period."

In the political arena, Danang continued, there is almost no real opposition, because every party wants to join the ruling coalition. "Running a political party is expensive, so they only act based on financial gain," he said.

Further, the people running today's major political parties are still either the same old players or their children. "Major parties who are backed by the conglomerates of the New Order will continue to reign while smaller, newer parties will have a very slim chance to make it through the elections," the activist said.

According to a national corruption survey by Kemitraan, the people's perception toward the government in 2001 was not much different from 2010. "In 2001, 70 percent of our 2,300 respondents admitted that corruption is rooted and entrenched in the country and the police, court, prosecutors, were the top three institutions that they don't trust," Kemitraan official Laode Syarief said.

In 2010, a similar survey was conducted, and it showed that the average level of people's distrust toward legislators, police, judicial and prosecutorial institutions were still on average high.

"Corruption eradication efforts in the country were relatively stagnant because the decision makers in the legislative, executive and judicial institutions were corrupt," Laode continued.

As a result, he said, the country has no holistic anticorruption program, weak commitment from the leaders and lack of realistic and measurable corruption eradication targets.

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman M. Jasin said that since 2004, the antigraft body has handled cases involving 43 legislators and councillors, 131 state officials and one judge. "Last year, we also received 394 gratification reports that implicated state officials," he said.

Danang suggested looking into the possibility of state-funded parties, which would not be accountable to private interests and could be held to standards of good governance.

Laode also added that a clear corruption eradication plan should be written out for every state institution, including regional governments.

"There should be clear and measurable targets, the president should lead the implementation and [there should be] a clear sanction for those who failed to comply, and a balance between pre-emptive, prevention and prosecution of corruption," he said.

Cirus Sinaga finally behind bars

Jakarta Globe - April 16, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – High-profile prosecutor Cirus Sinaga was officially taken into custody for alleged corruption on Saturday, with police admitting the investigation had been a "slow" one.

Gen. Mathius Salempang, National Police deputy chief detective, said Curus would be behind bars on Saturday night after 24 hours of questioning. The detention period is for a minimum of 20 days, which can be extended to 120 days, as police prepare their case against the prosecutor.

Mathius said Cirus had not only been charged with falsifying documents used to prosecute the infamous Gayus Tambunan, but also taking bribes from the rogue tax official.

The charges relate to allegations Cirus received payment from Gayus in exchange for helping secure his controversial acquittal for corruption in his first trial in Tangerang.

Gayus has since been jailed, as has the judge who handled the initial trial, as well as two policeman and a lawyer linked to the tubby taxman.

War on terror

How the Good Friday bomb plot was foiled

Jakarta Globe - April 23, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – A lucky turn of events appeared to have led police to the timely discovery of the plan to blow up a church and weapons warehouse in Serpong, Tangerang.

According to police, P., a graduate from Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University (UIN), accompanied by a friend, surveyed a gas pipeline in the area. The site was familiar, as P. had gone fishing at a nearby river several times before.

According to antiterrorism sources, P. and his group were particularly interested in the pipeline's proximity to the Christ Cathedral and an Army weapons warehouse.

On Palm Sunday, five small pipe bombs weighing a kilogram each and two massive backpack bombs weighing around 100 kilograms apiece were rigged underneath the pipeline. Each bomb had a timer installed, set to go off at 9 a.m. on Good Friday. The idea was that the gas pipeline would create a much bigger explosion that would blow up the church and the weapons cache.

"They had prepared to film the bombing of the church and broadcast it. That was their plan," said Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam, National Police spokesman, according to the Associated Press.

It seemed like a solid plan, police said, except P. and his team were amateurs. Ultimately, however, it was a coincidence that led to their timely arrest.

Firstly, two of the pipe bombs went off prematurely on Monday. Unfortunately, no one reported the explosions as, according to antiterrorism sources, they were likely small and may not have caused obvious damage.

Then on Thursday, Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Sutarman leaked to the media that five suspects had been identified in the relation to the book bomb attacks, forcing the antiterrorism squad to arrest the 19 suspects they had been investigating for the past two weeks.

The arrests turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as P. bragged about the existence of the bombs, which he said were created "based on Internet sites."

When members of the bomb squad found the explosives, a police source said, P. even challenged them to dismantle his creation. But police said the amateurs were let down by their work: one bomb's cable was connected to the wrong side.

Indonesian terrorists planned to film Indonesia church blasts: Police

Agence France Presse - April 22, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – The plotters of a foiled Easter church bombing in Indonesia planned to film the attack and could be behind other atrocities, police said Friday, with the nation on its highest alert level.

Antiterror police arrested 19 suspects and defused five bombs around the church, on the outskirts of Jakarta, on Thursday. Some of the devices had been positioned on a nearby empty plot where a gas pipe runs underground.

"They had prepared to shoot the bombing of the church and broadcast it. That was their plan," National Police spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam said.

He said police arrested the mastermind of the planned attack in Aceh after he fled Jakarta. "This is a new cell. The mastermind had planned to activate the bombs on Friday at 9 a.m. using timers," Alam said.

The suspects were also behind recent "book bombs" sent to several addresses including those of liberal Muslim figures and a counter-terrorism official, police said. No one was killed in those attacks.

Many of the detainees had university degrees, according to police. Several of the 19 arrested could also be linked to last week's suicide bombing inside a local police headquarters compound in the city of Cirebon, in West Java, police said.

The bomber, who detonated his explosives during Friday prayers in a mosque, was killed instantly and injured 30 people.

The attack was the first suicide bombing inside a mosque in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation of 240 million people.

"We are still on highest level of alert," Alam cautioned. Jakarta police deployed 20,000 officers to safeguard Easter celebrations in the capital.

Buky Sudradjat, a Christian who lives in South Jakarta, said that he attended a Good Friday church service and found it guarded by dozens of police.

"The church service this morning was still packed with people despite the church bomb," Sudradjat said. "It's quite horrifying when I think about the bomb threat, but I still plan to come to church on Sunday for Easter service no matter what," he said.

Indonesia has been rocked by a series of attacks staged by regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah in recent years, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people.

Brussels-based think-tank International Crisis Group on Tuesday pointed to a new trend of small violent groups adopting "individual jihad" aimed at local "enemies", including police and Christians.

Indonesia's changing face of terrorism

Associated Press - April 22, 2011

Niniek Karmini, Cirebon, Indonesia – Muhammad Syarif was by all accounts a hothead: He smashed up shops that sold liquor, argued about religion, kicked people he deemed lazy. Last week, he blew himself up in a mosque packed with police, injuring 30.

Police investigating the attack say the 31-year-old Islamic militant likely acted alone and had little or no ties to Al Qaeda or its Southeast Asian offshoots, making him emblematic of the changing face of terrorism in Indonesia.

Recent attacks in Indonesia have been by individuals or small groups, with less deadly results and targeting local "infidels" instead of Westerners.

The change signals Indonesia's success in tamping down on its main underground terror networks, but also shows how radical groups still operating in the open remain potent breeding grounds where angry young men can turn into attackers.

Syarif felt bitter and abandoned after his parents divorced a decade ago, family members said. A fan of firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Bashir – even ducking out of his own wedding to attend a sermon – he became increasingly difficult to be around.

"I didn't see much of him in the last few years," said Abdul Ghafur, his 66-year-old father, who was shocked when a picture of the bomber's face appeared on television after the April 15 attack. "We'd argue about religion. He'd call me an infidel... Finally, I just gave up."

Indonesia, a secular nation of 237 million, was thrust onto the front lines in the battle against terrorism when the Al Qaeda-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah attacked two crowded nightclubs in Bali in 2002, killing 202 people, most of them foreign tourists.

While the group abandoned such tactics soon after, members of a violent offshoot continued near-annual suicide bombings on glitzy hotels, restaurants and an embassy, though those attacks claimed far fewer lives.

The last occurred almost two years ago. Experts credited a security crackdown that resulted in hundreds of arrests and convictions.

But that also contributed to the emergence of solo "jihadis" and small cells of former convicts or young men who meet at religious study groups and are able to operate beneath the police radar.

The shift is also in part ideological, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a new report "Indonesian Jihadism: Small Groups, Big Plans." Low-level, targeted attacks result in fewer unintended Muslim victims – something militants in the Middle East have long advocated.

That's not to say Jemaah Islamiyah and other groups have lost their influence in Indonesia.

Although authorities believe they have dismantled Jemaah Islamiyah's militant structure, remaining members operate legally, hosting religious study sessions, translating Arabic texts and handing out vitriolic leaflets.

They main goal is creating an Islamic state. They are most critical of the security forces and moderate Muslim leaders for joining the anti-terrorism fight and often fall just short of advocating violence.

In the last six months, small cells with no known links to Jemaah Islamiyah or other large jihadi organizations have raided police stations and assassinated officers. Mail bombs have been sent to liberal Muslim activists and an antiterror chief and now, for the first time in Indonesia, a suicide bomber has targeted a mosque.

Police are still trying to determine if a foiled plot to attack a church outside of Jakarta on Good Friday fit the same pattern or was the work of an organized group.

All this poses new challenges to authorities, said Ansyaad Mbai, who heads the country's Anti-Terrorism Agency. "The book bombs, Molotov cocktails left at police stations and religious sites, attacks on officers – they might not be as deadly," he said, "but that doesn't make them less serious."

Police are still trying to understand what motivated Syarif, whose home at Cirebon in West Java was found to have materials for bombs and how-to books on assembling them.

"For the time being we suspect that Syarif acted alone on his own initiative as a suicide bomber," said national police spokesman Col. Boy Rafli Amar said, though authorities were questioning his younger brother.

The portrait of Syarif drawn by relatives, friends and neighbors is of a troublemaker quick to judge fellow Muslims. Even those who empathized with his radical views often found him unpleasant.

While attending rallies against members of the minority Ahmadi sect, he would scream and shred banners. He was known to ransack stores for selling liquor.

Andi Mulya, who heads a chapter of a hard-line Islamic group, said he first met Syarif when he threw a tantrum at a mosque, kicking men who were resting on the grounds.

"He later told me the mosque is not a place for people to sleep or be lazy," said Mulya. "I know he had point, but I didn't agree with the way he handled it."

Syarif's father, Ghafur, had some forewarning, but only understood it after the attack, when words once said by his estranged son came flooding back: "Father, I will make a big surprise for you and the whole family."

Authorities are trying to determine whether Syarif built his suicide belt or obtained it elsewhere. It was packed with nails, nuts and bolts, but was either not very powerful or failed to exploded properly. It did not kill any intended victims.

Still, the belt and bomb appeared similar to those used in earlier attacks.

"Nowadays it's not hard to find people who can make bombs, "terrorism analyst Noor Huda Ismail said, adding that Indonesian militants who went to Afghanistan in the 1980s and 90s brought home bomb-making skills later used during sectarian conflicts in the eastern Indonesian districts of Ambon and Poso.

Sidney Jones, a leading expert on Southeast Asia terror groups, cautioned that the weakening of al Qaida-linked networks in Indonesia does erase the threat to Westerners.

Several key members of Jemaah Islamiyah and other violent factions are on the run, she said, and continue to forge ties with militants elsewhere in Southeast Asia and in the Middle East.

Indonesia must change anti-terror strategies, ICG says

Bloomberg - April 21, 2011

Femi Adi – Indonesia's government must adopt new strategies to target terrorist acts carried out by individuals after authorities dismantled or disrupted larger organizations, the International Crisis Group said.

The country's National Anti-Terrorism Agency should "immediately" take measures such as creating a database of schools and mosques whose attendees have been arrested for terrorism, the Brussels-based group said in a report released today. Authorities should also compile examples of communities that have rejected extremist preachings, the report said.

"A database is critical because if you look at the pattern of radicalization and recruitment, it tends to concentrate in certain areas," Sidney Jones, a senior adviser with Crisis Group in Jakarta, said by e-mail today. "One mosque in Laweyan, Solo, Central Java, for example, has been producing extremists for the last decade."

The actions are necessary as individuals without clear ties to larger groups have carried out bombings over the last two years in isolated acts of religious intolerance, the group said.

Examples include a suicide attack in a mosque in Cirebon, West Java that killed the bomber and wounded 30 people on April 15 and bombs concealed in books delivered in Jakarta in March.

"With 800,000 mosques across the country, it would be a huge waste of time and money to try and reach them all. You have to target the programs where the problem is," Jones said.

The formation of small groups acting independently of larger jihadist organizations is in part the result of the weakening of the Jemaah Islamiyah, Jama'ah Anshorut Tauhid and other groups, the report said. The October 2002 attacks on a Bali nightclub that killed 202 people including 88 Australians are blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaeda linked group.

Terror groups get smaller, harder to detect

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2011

Jakarta – As terrorists in the country shift from forming larger to smaller groups, the police's early terror-plot detection ability becomes more challenging, experts say.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) said in its latest report issued on Tuesday that Indonesian law enforcers' aggressive clamping down on terrorism had driven terrorists to act in smaller groups independent of larger organizations.

"The suicide bombing inside a police station mosque on April 15, 2011, and a spate of letter bombs delivered in Jakarta in mid-March are emblematic of the shift," the group said.

Dynno Chressbon, intelligence expert and director of the Study Center for Intelligence and National Security said Wednesday that the shift meant acts of terrorism would likely be harder to monitor.

"[These acts] will be harder to detect because the database the police have is limited to the old terrorist networks. New players from smaller groups will be difficult to detect until post-bombing," he added.

Another terrorism expert, Noor Huda Ismail, told The Jakarta Post that smaller terror groups meant bomb attacks would be conducted on a minor scale with a smaller explosion impact but more sporadically. "Terrorists today are 'just-do-it' terrorists," he said.

Dynno said the change in terrorist movements in Indonesia started as early as 2008, and as terrorists shift to act in smaller groups, they cut the usual long chain of command.

"It was decided in a consolidation in 2008, followed by [the military- style] training of Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid [JAT] in Aceh, that there was no longer a need to have a long chain of command. Now small groups can act on their own to launch executions," he said.

Their targets were clear: law enforcers and Muslims whose ideology differed from theirs, or in short, secular Muslims, Dynno added.

The ICG said while police still top the list of targets in attacks conducted by small-scale terror groups, it also pointed out there were other new targets in such attacks.

"Police are at top of the list, partly to avenge the deaths of suspected terrorists in law enforcement operations; the April 15 suicide bombing at a police station mosque in Cirebon is the most recent example. Other targets include Muslim officials who are deemed oppressors, as well as prominent non-Muslims," the ICG said, adding that Christians and members of the Ahmadiyah sect were included in the list of targets.

The targets of the small-scale terror group "are increasingly local", the Brussels-based group said.

The reports said the shift in violent extremism in Indonesia is in part a response to effective law enforcement that has resulted in widespread arrests and structural weakening of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), JAT and other organizations accused of links to terrorism.

But ideological shifts within the communities of Islamic extremists in Indonesia have also played a role in their change of strategy.

Extremists in the country, ICG said, were divided between those who upheld organized jihad (jihad tanzim) and those who advocated individual jihad (jihad fardiyah).

The second group, it said, believes that if jihad is defensive in nature, such that war becomes an individual obligation for all Muslims, no leader or organization is necessary. Thus, "Children can wage war without their parents' permission, wives without their husbands."

The ICG urged the government to develop prevention strategies to reduce the likelihood of more groups emerging.

Tactics, targets change as smaller terror groups emerge: ICG

Jakarta Post - April 19, 2011

Jakarta – A report released by the International Crisis Group (ICG) on Tuesday stated that the emergence of small terror groups in the country was accompanied by a change in tactics and targets.

"The preferred method of operation [amaliyah] is no longer the bombing of iconic buildings but secret assassinations [ightiyalat] that are less likely to cause inadvertent Muslim deaths or prompt massive arrests," the report, which highlighted the shift in violent extremism in Indonesia, said.

The ICG reported that violent extremism in the country was increasingly taking the form of small groups acting independently of large jihadi organizations, but sometimes with their encouragement. The targets of the small-scale terror groups "are increasingly local," it says.

"Police are top of the list, partly to avenge the deaths of suspected terrorists in law enforcement operations; the 15 April, 2011, suicide bombing at a police station mosque in Cirebon is the most recent example. Other targets include Muslim officials who are deemed oppressors [thaghut], as well as prominent non-Muslims [kafir]," the ICG said, adding that Christians and members of the Ahmadiyah sect are included in the list of targets.

The group also highlights ideological shifts within the Indonesian jihadi communities, which are divided between those who uphold organized jihad (jihad tanzim) and those who advocate individual jihad (jihad fardiyah).

The ICG says the second group believes that, if jihad is defensive in nature, meaning war becomes an individual obligation for all Muslims, no leader or organization is necessary. Thus, "children can wage war without their parents' permission, wives without their husbands'."

"Force of circumstance, particularly the weakening of jihadi organizations through effective law enforcement, has propelled more Indonesian jihadis to look favorably on jihad fardiyah – of which the letter bombs that hit Jakarta in early March 2011 may have been one example," the ICG said.

Cooperation key to coping with terror scourge: SBY

Jakarta Globe - April 20, 2011

Camelia Pasandaran, Bogor – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on Tuesday for state an law-enforcement institutions to work together to prevent terrorism, radicalization and inter-community conflict.

"I invite you all, ministers, governors, military and police officers to cooperate and seriously uphold security and order among our people, to prevent and solve acts of terrorism," Yudhoyono said before a cabinet meeting on security at the Bogor State Palace.

"Prevention is better than cure," he said. "We should not neglect deradicalization."

Yudhoyono warned that the country was still beset by problems of terrorism, extremism and horizontal, or inter-community, conflict.

"Acts of terror still occur, and there are signs of radicalization in several corners of the nation," he said. "These three problems, if we let them, could disturb national security, and our people."

Yudhoyono said people's sense of security should not be violated, otherwise they would take actions into their own hands.

Meanwhile, Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in its latest report, "Indonesian Jihadism," that last week's suicide bombing at a police mosque in Cirebon was indicative of a growing pattern of "individual over organizational jihad."

This shift meant that extreme acts were increasingly carried out by small groups against local targets acting independently of larger organizations, the report said.

"The emergence of these small groups undertaking jihad on their own highlights the urgent need for prevention programs – which are virtually nonexistent in Indonesia", said Sidney Jones, a Jakarta-based senior adviser with ICG.

She said it was essential that vulnerable communities were identified urgently, starting with areas that have produced extremist groups in the recent past. Jones added that Indonesia also needed to create programs that might strengthen community resistance to extremist teaching.

The report pointed out that the small violent groups that emerged over the past couple of years in Medan and Lampung in Sumatra, and in Bandung and Klaten in Java, all involved at least one former prisoner.

Three had links to Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid, the organization founded by radical cleric and terrorism suspect Abu Bakar Bashir, but seemed to have planned and carried out operations on their own. Three of the four also involved mosque-based study groups that eventually became hit squads.

By contrast, advocates of "organizational" jihad believe that if the ultimate goal is an Islamic state, then public support is critical. Rather than engage in violence, groups like Jemaah Islamiyah and JAT are focused, for the moment, on building up a mass base, by finding issues that resonate with their target audience.

This means a greater focus on domestic rather than foreign "enemies," with officials such as the police, who are seen as oppressors, Christians and members of the Ahmadiyah sect the most common targets. It also means a greater willingness than in the past to form coalitions with non-jihadi groups.

"The last two years have seen an increasing merger of violent and non- violent extremist agendas in Indonesia," said Jim Della-Giacoma, ICG's Southeast Asia project director. "Counterradicalisation programs need to move beyond law enforcement to stop extremism at the source."

Activist uses film to bolster claims that government exploits terror

Jakarta Post - April 19, 2011

Jakarta – Activists on Monday alleged that the Indonesian government let violence and terror reign in the country as it resulted in the disbursement of foreign funds in the name of the war on terror.

The accusation was made after human rights activist Ratna Sarumpaet uncovered a five-year-old Australian TV documentary alleging that Indonesian authorities were behind the perpetrators of many acts terror and violence in the past decade.

The documentary cited as examples the 2000 Christmas Eve bombings of churches in six provinces, the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005, the violent riots in Poso, Central Sulawesi, in 1998 and 2000 and bombings in Jakarta in 2003, 2004, and 2009.

"Even though the content of the video can't be viewed totally as accurate evidence, what is clearly presented in it, including the statements, confessions, and analysis, is relevant as initial evidence of state crimes against the people," Sarumpaet said after a screening of the documentary at the Kineforum, Jakarta's renowned independent cinema venue, at Taman Ismail Marzuki, in Central Jakarta.

The 44-minute documentary was produced by the Australian television network SBS and was first aired on SBS's current affairs program Dateline on Oct. 12, 2005.

Prominent scenes in the documentary include an interview with former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who believed that the military forces were behind several acts of terrorism in the country.

Also shown were statements from several convicted terrorists who alleged they received encouragement from police officers to carry out terrorist acts.

The documentary featured interviews with regional religious leaders who accused the Indonesian Military of using proxy armies to do their work and a scene with former National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar telling House legislators about how he managed to secure massive funding from foreign countries to be used on the war on terror.

"There is no way the state can dismantle this network of terror when there are actors within its body who foster, sponsor, and supply arms to terrorist groups," human rights activist Usman Hamid said.

Usman said the documentary showed the involvement of Indonesian authorities in supporting terrorism, including supplying terrorists with firearms and explosives.

"The authorities also have a habit of pointing their fingers at Muslim hardliners and inciting fear of the so-called danger of terrorism in the hearts of the public, while their own involvement in the horrendous acts is hardly ever discussed," Usman added.

"Violence against humanity is equal to violence against God," Catholic priest Santo from the Indonesian Bishops Conference said. "We have to widely disseminate this documentary so that the public knows the truth."

"If the documentary is accurate, then the government has gone against its own raison d'etre, which is to protect the public," political analyst Yudi Latief said. "If we condemn all acts of terrorism, then, by default, we must also condemn the state if it becomes a perpetrator."

World Council of Churches president Soritua Nababan said a government apology would be useless. "An apology from the government is too late right now. However, it is never too late to dismantle this network of crimes against humanity." (mim)

National police officially confirms suicide bomber's identity

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2011

The National Police officially confirmed the identity of the man who bombed At-Taqwa mosque in Cirebon Police Headquarters on Friday, killing himself and injuring 30.

"DNA testing scientifically proves that Mr. X, the suicide bomber, was Muhammad Syarif," the National Police Spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said at a press conference on Monday.

"Finger print identification found that there are 12 similar points on the bomber's finger print with Syarif's finger print on his driver's license," Anton said. Syarif, 31, of Cirebon was the son of Ibu Srimulat and Bapak Abdul Ghofur, Anton added.

On Sunday, the head of the National Police's fingerprint identification system told the Jakarta Globe that tests had confirmed the identity of the Cirebon suicide bomber as Syarif. "It was 100 percent him, no doubt," Brig. Gen Bekti Suhartono said.

Syarif leaves behind his wife, who is pregnant and understood to be expecting their child any day. His family refused to talk to the media, but neighbors told Metro TV that funeral preparations were underway.

Indonesian extremist sentenced to eight years

Agence France Presse - April 18, 2011

An Indonesian court on Monday sentenced an Islamic extremist to eight years in jail for possession of firearms and explosives, but left out a charge of plotting to attack the Danish Embassy.

Heri Sigo Samboja, alias Sogir, 28, was found to be guilty of an "evil conspiracy," chief judge Mirdin Alamsyah told a Jakarta district court. "The defendant is found guilty of committing a terror act and sentenced to eight years in prison," he said.

The sentence was lighter than the 12 years sought by prosecutors, who had also charged Samboja with plotting to attack the Danish Embassy in Jakarta in revenge for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in a Danish newspaper in 2005. Alamsyah however did not mention the charge and gave no reason for the omission.

Samboja is one of more than 100 people detained after the discovery of a militant training camp in Aceh province, Sumatra, in February. The camp allegedly included militants from various regional groups, including some with links to Al Qaeda, under the leadership of Indonesian terror mastermind Dulmatin, who was killed by police in March.

MUI: Bombing perpetrators are enemy of Islam

Jakarta Post - April 16, 2011

Indah Setiawati, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) urges the whole nation to condemn the suicide bomb attack that hit a mosque at the Cirebon Police complex during Friday prayers.

"The bombing attack is a real evidence that the terror perpetrators are the enemy of Islam followers," head of the Inter Religion Harmony Affair Slamet Effendy Yusuf told The Jakarta Post over the telephone on Friday.

Concerning the bombing attack in Cirebon, people and Islam followers should be determined in giving no support and sympathy to terrorism, he said.

Slamet said he believed people behind the bombing attack did not understand the values in Islam. "If the perpetrators think that they are carrying out Jihad, they are wrong and they must be misled!" Slamet said.

Mosque bomber's motive a mystery

Jakarta Globe - April 16, 2011

Farouk Arnaz & Elisabeth Oktofani – Condemnation of Friday's suicide bombing in Cirebon, the first such attack inside a mosque in this country, came quickly from all corners of society – but answers have been scarce.

The blast, which took place during Friday prayers at the Cirebon Police's compound in West Java, left 26 people injured, including policemen and intelligence officers.

Only the suicide bomber perished after he detonated what police sources described as a low-level explosive filled with nails and shrapnel.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono strongly condemned the terrorist bombing and ordered law-enforcement agencies to find out who was responsible, according to Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.

West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan decried the attack as a human rights violation that had disrupted peace in the province.

In a statement on Friday, the Maarif Institute, a think tank, said it was a "heinous act that hurt Muslims," while the head of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) in West Java, K.H. Hafidz Utsman, called it an attempt to pit people against each other.

Radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, facing the death penalty for terrorism- related charges, said the assailant was a kafir, or infidel, according to his personal assistant, Hasyim Abdullah. "It's haram [forbidden] to bomb a mosque. Only kafir do that," Hasyim said, quoting Bashir.

The blast is the first major terrorist attack in the country since the July 2009 hotel bombings in Jakarta. The attack – which shocked many due to its unusual locale – came in the wake of the arrests of suspected Muslim extremists, as well as a string of book-bomb scares last month.

"This has never happened before in Indonesia. It's outrageous," said Mardigu Prasantyo, a terror analyst at Narapatih Center. "This is much more dangerous than previous attacks in the country [because] we never thought a mosque would be a target."

In 1999, a bomb exploded in the basement of the country's largest mosque, the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta. Three were injured, but it was not a suicide bombing.

Though officials said it was too early to speculate on who was behind Friday's attack, an antiterror police source said it could be linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network or Negara Islam Indonesia, a group seeking to establish an Shariah state.

"From our initial analysis, we suspect that the group behind this could be related to the NII movement that has been radicalized by the JI," the source said on condition of anonymity.

Two suspected terrorists killed in a police raid following the 2009 bombings, Zaifuddin Zuhri and Ibrohim, hailed from Cirebon and were both known as NII activists, the source added.

However, military expert Andi Widjajanto said targeting a mosque ran counter to NII and JI ideology. "It appears that the target is the National Police, similar to the bicycle bomb," he said, referring to last year's bombing attempt in Kalimalang, Bekasi.

Noor Huda Ismail, a security analyst, did not rule out JI or NII involvement, saying they could have been targeting a dhirar mosque, which he said deviate from Islamic teachings and shelter hypocrites. He also said the Al Qaeda-style attack appeared to be carried out by an amateur.

[Additional reporting from Fidelis Satriastanti, Yuli Krisna & AFP.]

Freedom of religion & worship

Growing intolerance in West Java

Straits Times - April 21, 2011

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja – The suicide bombing in a mosque last week was only the latest terrorist attack in West Java, where minority sects and churches have also been hit by a recent wave of violence.

The troubles have underlined the sharp contrast between the extreme brand of Islam that has emerged there and the more benign and tolerant kind found in other parts of Indonesia.

Weak enforcement of laws against religious intolerance is one of the key reasons for rising violence in Indonesia, especially West Java, say analysts, while circumstances in the province also lend themselves to radicalism.

In fact, 49 of the 81 cases of religious intolerance nationwide last year were recorded in West Java, according to the Moderate Muslim Society, which promotes pluralism, democracy and human rights.

East Java province placed a distant second, with six cases last year, while there were four cases each in Jakarta and South Sulawesi. These incidents included attacks, vandalism, threats, intimidation, and the forced closure of churches and other places of worship.

Groups that promote violence have "proliferated" quickly in West Java in recent years, said Moderate Muslim Society chairman Zuhairi Misrawi. He blamed the disturbing trend on the victories of the Islamic-leaning Prosperous Justice Party in the province during the legislative elections in 2004 and 2009, and in the executive polls for governor in 2008.

The radicals have "sort of a political umbrella" in West Java, said Mr Zuhairi by telephone. "If it weren't for this, the radicals wouldn't have been able to act the way they have been acting. The moderate groups in West Java are not as strong and have been talking less than the hardliners have."

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, but most people follow a moderate form of Islam and are sickened by terrorist acts – such as last Friday's suicide bombing in a police compound mosque that injured 30 worshippers, mostly policemen.

The bombing followed a series of similar attacks by militants, including one in Pandeglang in Banten province where three members of the minority Ahmadiyah Muslim sect were brutally murdered in February.

Last August in Bekasi, West Java, a mob of 150 people tried to take over a local church. Members of its congregation were chased and beaten up while about 100 police officers stood and looked on without intervening.

Mr Masdar Farid Mas'udi, an executive member of Indonesia's moderate Muslim organisation Nahdlatul Ulama, painted a bleak picture of West Java. He said radical groups in the province are funded by individuals and organisations in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.

"West Java is easy to penetrate because the idea of radical Islam has been there for a long time already," Mr Masdar said. Areas especially prone to such penetration include Tasikmalaya, Ciamis, Bandung, Cirebon and Kuningan.

Saudi-trained clerics who return to West Java spread radical ideologies to residents and reinforce West Java radicalism, he said.

West Java was the centre of an infamous radical Islamic separatist movement called Darul Islam that fought for an Islamic state there in the late 1940s. After long battles against the government under Indonesia's first president Sukarno, the movement was crushed with the arrest of its leader S.M. Kartosoewirjo in 1962.

During the three decades of president Suharto's authoritarian rule to 1998, the movement was kept dormant.

Mr Mustafa Kamal, head of the Prosperous Justice Party faction at the national Parliament, does not agree that religious intolerance is especially acute in West Java.

"West Java is a geographically big and very populous province, so there seems to be more of a problem there," said Mr Mustafa by telephone. "But incidents in West Java have been over-exposed because of its prominence and proximity to Jakarta, the centre of all the attention."

His views clash with those of the Moderate Muslim Society's Mr Zuhair, who has called for the disbanding of a West Java-based radical organisation called the Forum of Islamic Devotees, or FUI, because of its link to the Cirebon suicide bomber.

The man identified as the bomber, M. Syarif, 32, had taken part in a number of unruly street rallies organised by the FUI to demand the government disband the minority Ahmadiyah sect.

"The latest Cirebon attack clearly proves that the hardliners are real threats to the nation's security and stability," said Mr Zuhairi. "Now the question is whether the central government wants to continue to coalesce with the radicals or not. If the answer is yes, then we should anticipate their next massive attacks in West Java."

Indonesia urged to ensure security at trial for Ahmadiyah killings

Jakarta Globe - April 20, 2011

Human Rights Watch issued a statement on Wednesday urging Indonesian authorities to provide full protection for everyone attending the trial of 11 men charged with the deadly attacks on the Ahmadiyah community in Cikeusik, West Java, in February.

The US-based NGO said the trial, which starts on Thursday in Serang, Banten, could help stem violence toward Ahmadis if it met international fair trial standards and ensured the safety of victims, witnesses and court officials attending the court.

"For the Cikeusik trial to be a step toward ending religious violence in Indonesia, the police need to ensure the security of everyone in the courtroom," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Witnesses brave enough to testify, as well as judges and prosecutors, should not have to face intimidation."

Three Ahmadis were murdered and five injured in Cikeusik on Feb. 6 when a 1,500-strong mob attacked 20 Ahmadiyah followers.

Recently, witnesses, judges and prosecutors were intimidated and harassed by Islamic extremists at a trial in Bogor, which saw three young men sentenced to between four and six months in prison.

In its statement, Human Rights Watch also said longstanding impunity for religious violence had fostered more attacks, possibly contributing to the suicide bombing at a mosque inside Cirebon Police Headquarters on Friday.

"President [Susilo Bambang] Yudhoyono should rein in Islamist militants before they claim more lives, and that starts with revoking policies that promote religious intolerance," Pearson said.

"The government should be aggressively prosecuting all those responsible for scores of attacks against religious minorities in recent years."

Government to enter the fray over Bogor church dispute

Jakarta Globe - April 20, 2011

Camelia Pasandaran & Arientha Primanita – The government has said it will weigh in on the long-running standoff between the Bogor administration and a beleaguered Christian congregation.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said on Tuesday that his office would evaluate whether the Bogor authorities had abused their power in repealing the building permit for the GKI Yasmin Church and sealing off its site in direct violation of a Supreme Court order.

"The authority to issue building permits is entirely up to each regional administration," he said. "So what we're evaluating is whether that authority was used in the right way or not."

He said the results of the evaluation would be announced at the end of the week.

Although in possession of a valid building permit issued in 2006, the church was sealed off by the Bogor authorities last year on the grounds that residents opposed the building of the church.

The Supreme Court in January ruled against the revocation of the church's permit and ordered the building reopened.

However, the city has refused to comply, citing a ruling by the Bogor District Court that church officials had falsified residents' signatures in order to get the building permit. Church officials have since reported the Bogor administration to the Ombudsman Commission for defying the Supreme Court ruling.

Gamawan said that if the Bogor administration was found to have made a mistake, "we can warn them."

"However, we need to listen to their argument," he said. "We'll also evaluate their authority and the court ruling. "If the latter isn't final, then both the city and the church have the same [legal] standing."

West Java Deputy Governor Dede Yusuf declined to comment on the proposed evaluation by the government, saying only that the issue should be settled through legal avenues. "We need to [call in] legal experts for this matter because it's a legal issue," he said.

He said that even though the initial building permit for the church had been revoked, the congregation could still apply for a new permit. He referred all questions on the issue to Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto.

Dede denied the mayor was flouting the rule of law by ignoring the Supreme Court's order. "If the mayor decided on that option, then he must have legal considerations of his own," he said.

Involving the police could help to resolve the church dispute, Dede said. "The police could have the answers because there are many [law enforcement] aspects in this case."

Nine months for Ahmadi found guilty of stabbing

Jakarta Globe - April 19, 2011

Vento Saudale, Bogor – An Ahmadi man was sentenced to nine months in jail on Monday for stabbing a teenager following an attack by hundreds of hard- line Muslims on an Ahmadiyah community in Cisalada, Bogor district, in October.

Ahmad Nuryamin, 30, was found guilty of stabbing 15-year-old Rendy Apriansyah, from the neighboring village of Pasar Salasa, during the commotion following a mob attack on the Cisalada Ahmadiyah community on Oct. 1, said Eddy Wibisono, the head of the panel of judges.

Eddy said witnesses, including the victim himself, had identified the defendant as the man who carried out the stabbing. Eddy also said the panel of judges took into consideration the fact that "before the stabbing, the Ahmadiyah complex was set on fire."

Ahmad was charged with violating an article of the penal code on abuse and a 1951 emergency law on possession and use of a pointed weapon. The charges carry up to five years in jail Eddy said that Ahmad was only found guilty of the penal code violation.

Both the defendant's lawyer, Nurkholis Hidayat, and the prosecutor, Nuraini, said they needed time to decide whether to lodge an appeal against the verdict.

Nurkholis, who is from the Jakarta Institute of Legal Aid, said the judges had ignored the background to the stabbing.

"It is true that in the hearing, Yamin [Ahmad] admitted that he had stabbed someone, but the judges ignored testimonies that said there was an attack that prompted the stabbing," he said.

He said the defense counsel might appeal, arguing that the stabbing was an act of self-defence in the face of an attack, but lawyers would first discuss the matter with the defendant and his family.

Meanwhile, Ahmad said he accepted the verdict. "I accept it, but will leave it entirely in the hands of my lawyer," he said.

A court in Cibinong district last week sentenced three of those who attacked Ahmadiyah followers to terms of between four and six months.

The attack in Cisalada, home to about 600 followers of Ahmadiyah, also targeted homes and schools of the group, which has come under increasing attack by Islamic hard-liners in Bogor and other parts of West Java.

Church faithful stage protest in Jakarta, want SBY to intervene

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2011

Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – Dozens of members of the congregation of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) from Greater Jakarta staged a protest Sunday by performing a symbolic Sunday service on the sidewalk in front of the State Palace.

Members of the congregation are frustrated by the persecution they face at the hands of the city administration in Bogor and called on the central government to intervene.

GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging said the church urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to put pressure on the Bogor administration to comply with a Supreme Court ruling upholding the legality of the church. "We're here to urge the state to protect our basic rights to practice our faith," he said.

The two-hour rally began at 1 p.m. and transpired without incident. Protesters gathered at one corner of the National Monument Square in front of the State Palace. Under a scorching sun, members of the congregation were led in prayer by GKI Yasmin priest Ujang Tanu Saputra.

Members of the wider GKI congregation said taking part in the rally was a symbol of their support for the long campaign against the injustice of the Bogor administration.

"We're here to show our support for GKI Yasmin. With this rally, we want the government to know that freedom of worship remains an unfinished business in this country," Edi Panatas from GKI Cipinang Indah in East Jakarta said.

Also present at the rally was the president of the World's Council of Churches, Albert Nababan. He said the rally was indicative of GKI Yasmin's determination to fight against discrimination and threats to their freedom of worship.

"They're here to show their faith in God and I want them to keep fighting for their constitutionally guaranteed right," Albert said.

Bondan Goenawan, former state secretary in the administration of late president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, was also present. He said he backed the protesters because he believed the Constitution was being violated.

In 2008, the Bogor administration, led by Mayor Diani Budiarto, revoked the church's building permit citing complaints from residents who claimed the church was a hub for proselytizing in the Muslim-majority city.

On Jan. 13, church lawyers received a copy of a Supreme Court ruling overturning the administration's request to uphold a lower court decision to shut down the church.

The verdict only came to light after church lawyers and Bogor administration secretary Bambang Gunawan came to the Supreme Court to obtain a copy of the ruling.

Despite the ruling, the congregation remains locked out of their church, which was cordoned off by the police and public order officers.

The Bogor administration claims it would not reopen the church because it had not received a copy of the Supreme Court ruling. However, soon after receiving copies of the verdict, the administration issued a building permit for the church before revoking it again.

GKI Yasmin has filed a request to the Supreme Court to issue a ruling to annul the administration's latest decision to revoke the building permit.

Land disputes & evictions

Seven killed in clash over disputed plantation

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2011

Khairul Saleh and Oyos Saroso H.N., Palembang/Lampung – A clash between employees of a plantation firm and local residents in South Sumatra left seven people dead on Thursday.

The clash took place in Sungai Sodong village, Mesuji district, Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) regency. The seven victims were three local residents and four company security guards. Only two of them were identified – Syafei, 18, and Matchan, 21, both from the village.

According to a Sodong community figure, Chican Syafei, the incident occured when PT Sumber Wangi Alam (SWA) hired 40 "hoodlums" to secure the oil palm plantation area measuring 298 hectares, whose ownership the villagers disputed. Two residents told the 40 security guards not to occupy the area because its status was disputed.

"They [hoodlums] were not happy, and they became furious. An unequal fight then ensued and resulted in the death of three villagers," said Chican, adding that the dead villagers had been shot and their throats cut.

After learning about the incident, villagers went to the SWA office located 4 kilometers from their village. There they clashed with company security guards, killing four guards. Frightened employees fled to a nearby company for safety.

The local and provincial police could not be reached to confirm the incident because their phones were not active.

Separately, in Lampung, relatives of victims who were killed in separate incidents in West Tulangbawang regency demanded the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) investigate the cases.

They claimed human rights violations had occurred in the shooting deaths of a man called Sahab at a music show on April 19 and Anton Saputra, a farmer, in a riot that ensued at the Tulangbawang Udik Police station on the same day. The families of the two victims demanded the police apologize for the shootings.

"The police officer who shot my uncle is from the internal affairs division. If my uncle was accused of being a drug trafficker, then why would an officer from the internal affairs get involved," Sahab's nephew, Iwan, 26, said on Thursday.

"My uncle was shot when he was shaking hands with a female singer at an entertainment event in the neighboring village of Gunungmenanti in Tumijajar district. Even if he was accused of being a repeat offender by the police, that doesn't mean that he can simply be shot and killed," Iwan said.

A Gunungbatin villager, Aliwansyah, who is also a Central Lampung regency councilor from the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction, said his faction would help the victims' families obtain justice.

"Based on information we received from eyewitnesses, the police shot at the crowd first. The crowd had not yet reached the Tulangbawang Udik Police station when they were shot at by hundreds of police personnel," Aliwansyah said.

He said that if the authorities did not resolve the case, there would be serious consequences, such as vandalism against police stations and communal conflicts.

As of Thursday, Anton's family was still awaiting the results of Anton's autopsy at Abdoel Moeloek General Hospital in Bandarlampung. X-ray photos showed that seven projectiles had lodged in his body; three in ribs on his left side and four in ribs on his right side.

Soldiers must leave disputed land: Kontras

Jakarta Globe - April 22, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Activists have called for the Army to pull out hundreds of soldiers who are guarding a disputed plot of land in the Urutsewu area of Kebumen district, where a violent clash with farmers took place last week.

"The presence of the soldiers had raised fears among the local villagers. The police have also yet to investigate the soldiers who fired the shots during the last clash," said Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

At least 14 farmers from Setrojenar village in Kebumen were wounded by gunfire during a confrontation with soldiers guarding an Army research and development office on April 11.

Haris said many children skipped schools because they were afraid of the soldiers' presence, and that the soldiers prevented young resort workers from going to their jobs, he said.

Haris added that the Central Java Police Office should take over the function of securing the areas from the soldiers. "We must really implement the principle that civilian security is in the hand of the police as legal enforcer," he said.

The conflict erupted after residents, who have long protested the Army's use of the area for weaponry and ballistics training, blocked troops from using the location and vandalized a nearby research facility.

Komnas HAM to probe clash in Central Java

Jakarta Globe - April 21, 2011

Candra Malik & Antara – The country's leading rights body said on Wednesday that it had sent investigators to Central Java to probe a bloody weekend clash between soldiers and farmers.

Kabul Supriyadhie, from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said the incident was triggered by suspicions from both sides of land grabbing in the Urutsewu area of Kebumen district.

"According to preliminary information we have obtained, the status of this land in Urutsewu is unclear," he told reporters in Kebumen. "Both sides, farmers and the military, have been unable to come up with valid land ownership documents."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the Army on Sunday to look into the clash that left 14 farmers from Setrojenar village injured after being shot at with rubber bullets.

The conflict erupted after the farmers, who have long protested the Army's use of the area for weapons and ballistics training, blocked troops from using the location last week and vandalized a nearby research facility.

Kabul said Komnas HAM would make public its findings at a House plenary session in May.

"We have met with the villagers, the victims of the shooting, the district chief and the police. We have yet to find violations of human rights," he said.

"A lot of land that the military claims does not have a clear status. According to our records, only 16 percent of hundreds of hectares of land claimed to be owned of the military has certificates. The remainder is unclear. We have received many public complaints in regard to land disputes involving military."

Kabul said a similar land dispute was ongoing between the Army and villagers of Nirwa in Palembang – Komnas HAM found some 200 land titles there were under both the names of residents and the Army.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Toisutta said an internal investigation had found that the soldiers who fired on the farmers in Kebumen had not violated any procedures. He said the soldiers only resorted to using rubber bullets after negotiations and warnings failed to quell the riot.

However, Toisutta stressed the clash had not been instigated by local residents. "This is not the work of locals but rioters, because they burned down our weapons warehouse," he said. "Even if we shot at them, this was in accordance with standard procedures. We had provided them with several warnings."

106 land disputes recorded last year

Jakarta Globe - April 21, 2011

Ulma Haryanto – A watchdog on agrarian-related conflict has said it had recorded 106 land disputes across the nation in the whole of last year.

The Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA) – in its 2010 year-end report that was brought back into the limelight because of Saturday's violent clash over land in Central Java – pointed out that last year's disputes affected over 500,000 households nationwide.

"The total area under dispute reached over 535,000 hectares of land, and had an immediate effect on the lives of 517,000 families," according to a statement issued in the report by Idham Arsyad, the KPA's secretary general.

"Such conflicts are crisis indicators when it comes to agrarian politics and law. In the current situation, the interests of farmers, fishermen, laborers and indigenous people are neglected."

Idham added that the nation's imperfect judicial system would always side with investors aiming to take control of the land and its natural resources, and not the local population.

In 2010, most of the conflicts were between local people and plantation owners (45 cases), followed closely by cases over the construction of public facilities and infrastructure (41), forestry (13), mining (3), aquaculture and maritime issues (1 case each), Idham said.

"In addition to that, 80 farmers went to prison for defending their rights. In handling conflicts, the government still resorted to violence rather than using mediation and litigation," he added.

In their recommendations, the KPA suggested a special institution be created to solve agrarian conflicts.

Meanwhile, the country's biggest Islamic organization on Tuesday vowed to probe Saturday's clash over disputed land between farmers and the military in which soldiers opened fire with rubber bullets.

Malik Madani, secretary of the consultative board of the Nahdlatul Ulama, said most of the farmers injured in the incident in Kebumen were also NU members and local administrators.

"We'll soon form an investigatory team to look into the shooting incident," Malik said. "Whatever the case, soldiers should never open fire on civilians," he added.

"We'll investigate who was the provocateur behind this incident. We were actually surprised when the accusations were directed at the NU board in Kebumen."

He added that if local NU officials were indeed found to be behind the farmers' demands for the military-controlled land at the center of the dispute, then they were not acting on behalf of the organization.

At least 14 farmers from Setrojenar village in Kebumen were wounded by rubber bullets during the confrontation with soldiers at a military building.

Video of clash between farmers and TNI in Kebumen released

Detik.com - April 20, 2011

Parwito, Kebumen – A video of a clash between the Indonesian military (TNI) and residents of Urut Sewu in the area of the army's Research and Development Office (Dislitbang) in Kebumen regency is being circulated. Released by the Urut Sewu Kebumen Farmers Advocacy Team (TAPUK), it is an amateur video recording taken by a Kebumen resident.

The 1 minute 59 second video only depicts two scenes. The first is a scene of farmers planting rice. The picture cuts out and is then followed by a scene of TNI members wearing camouflage uniforms chasing and beating the farmers.

When Detik.com spoke with TAPUK chairperson Teguh Purnomo on April 20 at the Democracy and Legal Advocacy Study Central Leadership Legal Aid Foundation secretariat on Jl. Nusa Tenggara in Kebumen, he said that the video is evidence of the TNI's brutality against residents and farmers.

"Since yesterday we have indeed been sure that what was said by the military, that residents were brutal, is untrue. So the TNI making out as if it was local residents that provoked the clash, as if they provoked the clash, is untrue", asserted Purnomo.

Purnomo stated that it can be seen from the video that it was the TNI that was proactive in committing the violence against local residents and farmers who were working in the fields. It was these residents that are believed to have committed the vandalism from outside the army's Research and Development Office in the village of Setrojenar, Bulus Pesantren sub-district, Kebumen regency, East Java.

"We will continue to look for evidence scattered on the ground and will compile the fragments of evidence that will be our reference for providing assistance for as long as the legal process continues", said Purnomo.

A similar view was conveyed by TAPUK coordinator Yusuf Sumarto who said that the video shows that the military acted brutally towards farmers from the Setrojenar village.

"You can see. The farmer in a red T-shirts who is on the edge of the rice paddy and is approached by soldiers is the Setrojenar village chief who is planting rice in the field, who is now in hospital after becoming a victim of the military's brutality", asserted Sumarto.

Sumarto explained that there are other videos that show the military's brutality against residents and farmers. "However, we must put it away as supporting material for the legal process that is still proceeding", he said.

There were in fact three videos recorded by NGO friends that were incorporated by TAPUK. This includes a video camera owned by Devi, a semester eight University of Indonesia student who was conducting research when the clash broke out. During the incident the camera was seized by the TNI or police and despite requests has still not been returned.

"Their reason is that it's evidence. Yet at camera is not a tool to commit violence right. Why did they seize it", said Sumarto. (fay/fay)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Army finds no fault in soldiers involved in Kebumen clash

Antara News - April 20, 2011

An internal investigation has found that the soldiers who fired rubber bullets at farmers over the weekend did not violate any procedure, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Toisutta said on Wednesday. "A probe has been completed, and no violations have been found," he said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday ordered the Army to investigate the weekend clash that left at least 14 farmers from Setrojenar village in Kebumen, Central Java, wounded by rubber bullets.

But George said the soldiers had followed the standard procedure during riots and had only fired the rubber bullets after persuasion methods and warnings failed to stop the riot.

He added that the mass action, which resulted in the damaging of the headquarters, was the work of rioters, not local residents. "This is not the work of locals, but rioters, because they burned down our weapons warehouse," George said.

He added: "Even if we shot at them, this was in accordance to standard procedures. We had provided them with several warnings."

The farmers also allege that investors have lobbied the Army for permission to mine in the iron-rich area.

Local figures push for multi-party approach in TNI-civil dispute

Jakarta Post - April 20, 2011

Agus Maryono, Kebumen – Authorities have been urged to involve local figures and ulema in the search for solutions to the prolonged dispute between local farmers and the Indonesian Military (TNI) in Urut Sewu region, Kebumen regency, Central Java.

"We know for sure that people in the region are religious and easy to talk with. An informal dialog will really help solve the conflict," said Muhammad Sujangi, 48.

Sujangi, a manager of the Nahdlatul Ulama's (NU) environment and forestry national movement, said he had been following the case intently. He said the deadlock could be attributed to the fact that the methods had been too formal and the two sides had been too stubborn in claiming that the land was theirs.

He called for initiative to work together from the regency administration, legislature council, the military, local ulema and community figures. "Involving only formal figures will make it difficult to find a solution because each has strong, legally-based claims," he said.

Hundreds of Setrojenar subdistrict residents in the Bulus Pesantren district were involved in a clash with TNI personnel on Saturday. The TNI allegedly injured four by shooting them with rubber bullets and six others by blunt trauma.

The clash was rooted in a land dispute between the two sides. The farmers claimed they had certificates of ownership for the land, and the TNI insisted that they had strong legal grounds to use the land as a training site for heavy weapons.

The farmers blame the exercises for damage to their plantation due to explosions on the disputed land. In the past, explosions from the training have claimed lives.

Paryono, another local figure, said that in 1997, five children were killed instantly by a live mortar round they found. In 2008, two farmers were badly injured in a similar incident.

Paryono said the disputed land covered over 1,000 hectares throughout nine subdistricts, expanding for some 22 kilometers from Bocor beach at the western tip of the Luk Ulo River to the eastern tip of the Wawar River.

Central Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said the police were investigating the Setrojenar incident.

"We are professional and proportional. No matter their reason, the residents cannot be justified for destroying the military office in Setrojenar. So, we summoned them for questioning," he said on Tuesday.

The police reported that they had named five suspects from the 11 residents they questioned. "For the military personnel involved in the brawl, we leave it to the military police. We're only coordinating with them," he said.

He also said that mediation involving a number of parties had been attempted to solve the dispute.

Only 16 percent of the ownership of land controlled by the TNI is clear

Detik.com - April 19, 2011

Parwito, Kebumen – Only 16 percent of the ownership of all the land controlled by the Indonesian military in Indonesia is clear. The ownership of the remainder, 84 percent, is unclear and to this day is still the subject of disputes with local people.

This statement was conveyed by National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Commissioner Kabul Supriyadi on Tuesday April 19 during an investigation when he met with residents and victims of a clash with the TNI at the Urut Sewu Kebumen Farmers Advocacy Team (TAPUK) secretariat, which doubles as the Democracy and Legal Advocacy Study Central Leadership (PAKHIS) secretariat at the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) on Jl. Nusa Tenggara Number 2, Kebumen regency, East Java.

"Of all the land controlled in Indonesia by the TNI only 16 percent is clearly owned by the TNI", explained Supriyadi.

This data was obtained by Komnas HAM from complaints received over cases of land disputes between the TNI and local people. This includes the land dispute involving farmers from the village of Setrojenar in Bulus Pesantren sub-district, Kebumen regency.

Kabul cited as examples several other cases that resembled the dispute in Kebumen, including the Alastlogo case in Pasuruan (East Java), the Oku Timur case in Palembang (South Sumatra) and the Sidoarjo case in Surabaya (East Java). "This includes cases of land disputes related to problems surrounding official TNI housing that extremely complicated and intricate in nature", said Supriyadi.

The Oku Timur case in Palembang, which occurred in the village of Nirwa, makes no sense whatsoever. There are 200 property rights (hak milik, HM) land certificates belonging to local people. On top of the same certificates are business permits (hak guna usaha, HGU) belonging to the TNI.

"Were do you find certificates on top of other certificates? So these land disputes are quite serious and have to be settled. Leave the navy, the army, the air force, which are authorised, to safe guard national defense. The police meanwhile [should] safeguard the people. Land issues [should] be handled by the National Land Agency (BPN). But sometimes the BPN is also afraid", said Supriyadi accusingly.

In the case of Sidoarjo, the Brawijaya Surabaya V Regional Military Command (Kodam) consciously and with good will was prepared to resolve the land case dispute by sitting down and discussing it with residents. But what happened in the end was that after the deliberations they said, "We are only use the land and cannot make a decision. Yet the status of the land and boundaries are very important, right", said Supriyadi quoting form the response by Kodam V Brawijaya.

Supriyadi also regretted why the tragic clash between the army and the resident of Setrojenar village could have broken out in Kebumen. Yet only two weeks before the clash, Komnas HAM and the TNI headquarters met and agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

"In the MoU with the TNI commander [it was agreed] that in resolving the problem of land disputes they would prioritise the human rights of civilians and farmers. Honestly I'm very disappointed. Because before even being able to read through points of the draft one by one the clash had already occurred in Kebumen" said Supriyadi.

Following the meeting with TAPUK, which is acting as an advocacy team and legal advisor to Setrojenar village, Supriyadi also visited victims of the clash being treated at the Kebumen regional public hospital. Supriyadi asked about matters related to the condition of residents who suffered gunshot wounds and injuries as a result of the TNI's brutality in the clash that occurred on Friday April 16.

On Wednesday April 20 Komnas HAM plans to meet with Kebumen Regent Buyar Winarso and the Kebumen Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) to ask for further information on the clash that occurred at the army's research and development office in the Urut Sewu beach area located in the village of Setrojenar. (lrn/did)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Watchdog to probe shooting of villagers by army

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ismira Lutfia – The national human rights body said on Monday that it had sent a team to Kebumen, Central Java, to investigate last weekend's clash there between soldiers and farmers.

Ifdhal Kasim, chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said one of the investigation team's two main areas of concern was whether the soldiers had violated standard operating procedures by opening fire on civilians.

"The other is whether there was collusion between Army officers and private investors [in their effort] to mine the disputed area for iron," he said.

At least 14 farmers from Setrojenar village in Kebumen were wounded by gunfire during a confrontation with soldiers guarding an Army research and development office.

The conflict erupted after residents, who have long protested the Army's use of the area for weaponry and ballistics training, blocked troops from using the location last week and vandalized a nearby research facility.

An Army spokesman said farmers had gone to the research facility armed with sharp tools and knives, prompting soldiers to fire rubber bullets at them.

A member of the Forum for South Kebumen Farmers (FPPKS) had earlier claimed the villagers held legal documents showing them to be the real owners of the disputed land.

Ifdhal said Komnas HAM had since last year been trying to mediate between both sides. "That's why it's regrettable that the soldiers used violence against the farmers," he said. "[Soldiers] should refrain from abusive actions, although there is an impression that the farmers tried to provoke them."

Military spokesman Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul said the soldiers had not violated standard procedures in opening fire on the farmers. However, he said the Army would abide by the outcome of the legal investigation into the incident.

Air Marshal Eris Herryanto, the Defense Ministry's secretary general, said any land disputes between civilians and the military should be brought to court and should steer clear of violence.

"We just want to seek legal avenues to handle such disputes," he said. He added that the military always set up human settlement-free buffer zones around its training grounds, but lack of budget and manpower to enforce the zones had allowed people to encroach on them.

Eris said the villagers in Kebumen should have known that the land was used as a military training ground because it had hosted several live-fire artillery exercises.

"But because it hadn't been used for a while, the villages might have thought the military wasn't using it anymore," he said. "There should be a national formulation for allocating land for military exercises, which we're now working on."

SBY orders probe into shooting of 14 villagers during clash with army

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ismira Lutfia – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the Army to investigate a weekend clash involving soldiers that left several farmers injured in Kebumen, Central Java.

"As ordered by the president and the Army leadership, an investigative team has been deployed to the clash site," Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Wiryantoro said on Sunday.

At least 14 farmers from Setrojenar village, Urutsewu district, in Kebumen were wounded by gunfire during a confrontation with soldiers guarding an Army research and development office. Nine of the wounded were treated at a local hospital.

Wiryantoro said farmers went to the research facility on Sunday armed with sharp tools and knives, prompting soldiers to retaliate with rubber bullets.

"We have a warehouse there and it must be secured. Moreover, the mass used sharp tools like knives, and a soldier was injured. Our soldiers used rubber bullets to block the attackers," he said.

A member of the Forum for South Kebumen Farmers (FPPKS) had earlier claimed the villages held legal documents showing them to be the real owners of the disputed land.

Anas Urbaningrum, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party, demanded a swift investigation into the case and said: "Anyone found violating the law must be punished."

Tjahjo Kumolo, secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the military "must publicly explain this matter." He urged House Commission I, which oversees defense affairs, to immediately summon the head of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).

In 2007, soldiers trying to evict farmers from a plot of land claimed by the Navy shot four villagers dead.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bahrul Alam said the Central Java Police chief had inspected the location and reported that the farmers had only vandalized the gate to the Army's research and development office.

Indria Fernida, deputy chairwoman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said the villagers had vandalized the gate in "an expression of mounting disappointment since their protests have fallen on the Army's deaf ears for years."

Regional autonomy & government

Amendments 'swell' legislative power, 'undermine' President

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2011

Jakarta – A series of amendments to the Constitution have expanded the authority of the legislative body while undermining the prominence of other governing powers, experts say.

"These amendments mean the House of Representatives tends to have much more authority than others. It seems Indonesia is using the parliamentary system rather than the presidential system," said Muladi, a board member of The Habibie Center, during a discussion on democracy.

Excessive legislative intervention on executive authority was the main cause of political gridlock in Indonesia, he continued. He also cited there was an inequality in terms of authority and membership between the House and the Regional Representatives Council.

"Both members were selected through direct elections but the council does not have the authority to control and pass laws," the National Resilience Institute former governor said.

Veteran Indonesian diplomat and legal expert Hasjim Djalal said the amendments had also deprived the political clout of the People's Consultative Assembly.

"The assembly no longer composes the state policy outline [previously known as GBHN] and the President is no longer responsible to the assembly but to the House," Hasjim said during the dialogue.

The amendment to the Constitution was made four times during the 1999-2002 period, resulting in 129 new articles.

Both Muladi and Hasjim agreed that Indonesia needs another amendment due to several weaknesses in the amended Constitution. Muladi recommended a few things for revising.

"The council has to be involved in budgeting, supervising and legislating. The President must have the rights to veto law drafts proposed by the House," he said.

To make ground for democratic consolidation, Muladi said the planned amendment should be effective before the 2014 election. In March, the council officially submitted the new amendment's proposal to the assembly. Maria Goreti, a regional council member from West Kalimantan said the council had support from the academic society to propose the new amendment.

"They asked in a focus group discussion what it meant to have representatives who cannot decide anything?" Maria told The Jakarta Post.

Maria acknowledged she was worried political parties in the House would resist the proposal aiming to empower the council.

"If they do not play blind they should understand the importance of the checks and balances system. They do not have to worry about giving the council more power because the council represents the Indonesian people too," she said.

Article 37 of the Constitution stipulates that the proposal for amendment can be listed in the people's assembly sitting session if approved by at least one-third of its members. (swd)

Indonesia struggling with cost of regional democracy

Sydney Morning Herald - April 23, 2011

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Indonesia's grand experiment with participatory government is stumbling badly amid rampant corruption. The problem, critics argue, is too much democracy.

As Indonesia emerged from the long dictatorship of Suharto in 1998, its new president, B. J. Habibie, decided to delegate power to the country's regencies, cities and municipalities.

The motives were both honourable and cynical. The abiding wisdom, promoted by institutions such as the World Bank, was that good governance should bring government as close to the people as possible.

But it was also hoped that smaller districts would be unlikely to have the critical mass to launch independence movements. "Regional autonomy did ease tensions and gave dignity to all these different communities," said Ryaas Rasyid, a former minister instrumental in setting up the policy but now one of its leading critics.

"But while we have solved the problems of ethnicity and religion, we have created another problem of social disintegration."

The explosion of new provinces has spawned a culture of money politics, Professor Ryaas said.

Each regency head or mayor spends at least $110,000 to get elected, while governors can spend $2.5 million on their campaigns. "Almost in every province, region and municipality, you see the increase in corruptive practices because they have to repay their sponsorship," he said.

Regional governments are allocated a huge amount of money. Some $38 billion – more than a third of the national budget – will be handed this year to the lower governments.

"I would say only 10 per cent of that money actually goes to development," said Sofyan Wanandi, a businessman who heads up a regional government watchdog. "The rest is for routine things, facilities for bureaucrats, salaries... or misappropriated."

More than 200 regional leaders have been before the courts on corruption charges, or are under investigation.

Australian National University academic Ed Aspinall is more positive about regional autonomy, describing it as "messy but extremely effective". Calls to end direct elections, he says, are a "potentially worrying sign of a loss of impetus behind Indonesia's democratic impulses".

But Professor Ryaas says such concerns are misplaced. "These lovers of democracy say we will learn from this experience and maybe after 20 or 30 years, things will get better. But, of course, we have to pay a price for these years – and it's too much."

Legislation & parliament

Erratic Indonesian legislature stirs anger, mockery

Reuters - April 22, 2011

Olivia Rondonuwu – For anyone interested in the state of democracy in Indonesia, a look at recent headlines is instructive: a lawmaker caught watching porn in the legislature, 15 politicians indicted for graft and parties more interested in overseas jaunts than passing laws.

Indonesia is an ambitious emerging market on the cusp of securing an investment-grade sovereign rating, but the slow pace of policy-making and the related problem of poor infrastructure need fixing, investors say.

"You'd rather have that decisions are taken more expeditiously, and that is something that would help growth prospects and also be a good help to strengthen the investment environment," said Leif Eskesen, chief economist for ASEAN at HSBC in Singapore.

After the toppling of authoritarian ex-president Suharto in 1998, the House of Representatives (DPR) was transformed from a rubber-stamping body into an assembly with a say in the appointment of top officials such as the central bank governor and military chiefs, in addition to its role of passing laws and government oversight.

So the quality of lawmakers and the ability of the legislature to do its job are of concern to investors. The current legislators took office in 2009 amid hopes of greater reform of Indonesia's sometimes ramshackle institutions, but nearly two years on much legislation seen as a priority is still waiting to be passed.

"When they were sworn in, we had high hopes. We hoped they'd be better than the last lot, but even one year on it became clear that this was just a false hope," said Ronald Rofiandri of the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies.

A law to provide land for infrastructure, for example, was delayed last year and is now set for September at the earliest, says Taufik Hidayat of Golkar Party, part of the ruling coalition. A bill to set up a new financial services authority is in limbo.

In the first year, only seven bills out of a target of 70 were passed and that included ratification of four international conventions, said Sebastian Salang, coordinator for parliamentary watchdog Formappi.

Lawmakers – nearly 60 percent of whom new to the house in 2009 – have passed about 20 bills as they approach two years of service, so the target of 248 in the five-year life of the legislature looks well out of reach.

Salang said they were doing a reasonable job monitoring the government but little to push through change.

New building

Instead, many lawmakers seem more interested in pushing for a new building, specifically one shaped like an upturned "U" that will cost at least Rp 1.2 trillion ($138 million).

"They need support systems to work, but they come up with a solution to get themselves a new building. That's a mistake, and it only grinds public trust further," Salang said.

The Forum for Budget Transparency, or FITRA, has condemned the plan, saying the money could be better spent on houses for the poor. Indonesia Corruption Watch says it could go towards building 32,000 basic schools.

Outrage over the plan, with a dose of mockery, is fuelling dissent on social media, even if its reach is limited so far. On Facebook, the "One million facebookers reject new parliament building movement" has 20,730 supporters; the more sarcastic "Support the tilted parliament building as one of the world's wonders" has 14,000 fans.

Since the proposed new building was announced, the popularity of the House has slumped. Some 68.8 percent of people felt the 560 lawmakers were doing a bad job, the worst showing since they were sworn in, a Kompas poll showed in April.

Speaker Marzuki Alie, from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling party, sniffily dismissed the complaints.

"Only the elites can understand and discuss (the new building plan), not ordinary people," he told Tribunnews.

"If we involve ordinary people in discussing how to fix the system, they could get a headache... For commoners, if there's a road, food, a job, a house, education, that's enough for them. This is a matter for smart people, ask the campuses to talk about it," he said.

Belly dance show

Unabashed, lawmakers are pressing ahead with a bid to double their travel budget for next year, so they don't have to travel coach class, for example.

Lawmakers get a salary of Rp 50-55 million ($5,800 to $6,400) a month, which compares with the minimum wage in the capital of around Rp 1.2 million rupiah, Rofiandri said.

On top of that, FITRA says, lawmakers want to spend Rp 12 billion rupiah of taxpayers' money on junkets around the world, including Rp 1.4 billion for trips to China and Australia to conduct research on a social services bill.

In October, the Ethics Council went on a field trip to Greece to examine how ancient philosophers there developed the concept. Critics said "Google it up," but the council still went, stopping off in Turkey to catch a belly dance show.

The reputation of House took another dive this month when Arifinto, a lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), was caught by a photojournalist watching porn on his tablet computer during a plenary session. Arifinto said he would resign, but a week later he hasn't.

The Islamist PKS was the promoter of of an anti-pornography law passed in 2008 in the predominantly Muslim yet secular state. Communication Minister Tifatul Sembiring, another party member, got Blackberry maker Research in Motion to filter access to porn this year.

Last week, the anti-graft court kicked off a case against 15 politicians relating to the appointment of Miranda Goeltom as the central bank's senior deputy governor in 2004.

Despite the dysfunctional legislature, Indonesia remains popular with emerging market investors for now, thanks to a consumer demand-led economy seen growing at a rate of more than 6 percent this year.

Jakarta's stock market hit a record high on Thursday and has risen 2.4 percent so far this year, helped by a net inflow of $1.4 billion of foreign money.

There was a sell-off in the bond market early this year as investors worried about inflation and the benchmark 10-year yield hit 9.5 percent in January. But the market calmed down after the central bank raised interest rates in February and the yield has now fallen to 7.82 percent.

"Notwithstanding some of this political rigidity, I still think Indonesia is perceived as a promising place both for the short- and medium-term perspective," said HSBC's Eskesen. But a businessman who declined to be named was more worried about the future.

"Whether or not there is good policy, the private sector can still make money in Indonesia. What's happening now is that investments tend to be exploitative and are thinking about the short-term," he said. "But for longer-term investment, if we want to survive sustainably, we need certainty and good governance."

Jet-setting lawmakers' Rp 13 billion 'junket' splurge

Jakarta Globe - April 19, 2011

Anita Rachman – Despite recent public outrage about their extravagant spending, lawmakers are set to rack up a bill of close to Rp 13 billion ($1.5 million) on overseas "study" trips over the next couple of months, a government watchdog has said.

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) revealed on Monday that delegations from the House of Representatives' various commissions were leaving for as many as seven overseas trips during April and May, costing taxpayers an estimated Rp 12.7 billion.

Fitra's secretary general, Uchok Sky Khadafi, said House Commission VIII, which oversees religious and social affairs, are undertaking two trips to China and Australia from April 17-24 to complete research into - ironically - the poverty bill. The trips to cost Rp 668.7 million and Rp 811.8 million, respectively.

Commission X for education, culture, sports and youth affairs was scheduled to fly to Spain and China from April 24-30 at a cost of Rp 1.3 billion and Rp 668.7 million, respectively, Uchok said.

The House's Household Affairs Committee (BURT), meanwhile, was planning to go to England and the United States next month, with the trips costing Rp 1.5 billion and Rp 1.9 billion, respectively, he said.

A group from Commission I for security, defence and foreign affairs would also leave for the United States next month, following on the heels of a delegation that recently left for Europe, he added.

The House Secretariat has declined to make public details of the trips, saying it needed at least a week to prepare the data.

"From those countries mentioned, the two favorite places for our lawmakers to visit are the United States and Spain," Uchok said. "Traveling to those countries will cost you a lot. And just within a month, [two separate groups of] lawmakers are spending taxpayers' money to go to the same countries."

He said in order to save money, the House should form joint delegations from commissions sending lawmakers to the same place.

A member of Commission VIII who would not be taking part in the China and Australia trips and spoke on the condition of anonymity said its delegation consisted of 13 lawmakers.

When asked why the commission needed to travel to China and Australia to study poverty, the source said it aimed to look at the poverty-reduction programs in place there and learn how to apply them in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Arwani Thomafi, a BURT member from the United Development Party (PPP), said he would not be taking part in its overseas trips. "I don't know what the purpose is," he said.

BURT's deputy chairman, Refrizal, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said the US and England trips were to "help it improve its management."

Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, from the Golkar Party, said all trips had been approved by the House leadership.

He said while it was difficult for the House leadership to stop the trips, he promised that it would tighten its regulations. "We will listen to what the public has to say. We will change it, and be more selective in the future."

But Priyo said banning overseas trips altogether would only make lawmakers ignorant of conditions abroad.

House leaders snub civil suit on office tower

Jakarta Globe - April 19, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The opening of the first lawsuit aimed at halting the construction of a controversial new office tower for legislators had to be adjourned on Monday when none of the respondents showed up.

The hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court was only attended by the group of concerned citizens who had filed the suit against the Rp 1.13 trillion ($130 million) project for the House of Representatives.

Judge Antonius Widiantoro, presiding in the case, adjourned proceedings to May 2 to give the House leaders – the respondents in the case – time to attend. But Habiburrokhman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he was disappointed by the court's decision, which he claimed favored the House.

"Whenever those in political power are sued, the judges will happily protect them," he said. "Why do we need to wait so long for the House leadership to attend the trial? The court isn't that far from the House."

He also complained about the judge's refusal to allow the plaintiffs to call President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a witness.

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) and several other nongovernmental organizations have also prepared a civil suit against the project, but that case has yet to go to court.

House Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, one of the respondents named in the suit, said on Monday that he knew nothing about it. He added he had never been informed of the court case or asked to attend.

Even if he had been aware of it, he went on, that was no guarantee that he would have gone to court in person. "We in the House leadership wouldn't have necessarily attended the trial," he said. "In such a case we might delegate responsibility to our legal staff."

Priyo also said the House leadership had no plans to postpone the office project, which now is in the bidding phase, despite the legal challenge against it.

"Let them go ahead with the lawsuit," he said. "The most important thing is that this project is carried out without any violations of the law. We have also requested that the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] supervise the entire process."

Four state-owned contractors and one private company have passed the first qualification phase for the construction of the new office tower.

However, the bidding process cannot proceed any further until the Public Works Ministry has evaluated the building plan. The House has given the ministry a month to carry out the evaluation from the time of the announcement of the first-phase winners.

The office tower project has been widely criticized by budget watchdogs, particularly Fitra, as well as the public and individual legislators as both wasteful and unnecessary.

However, the House has refused to budge on the issue, insisting the growing number of staff employed by each legislator warrants a new building, which it says will cost Rp 1.13 trillion but which watchdogs say will climb to Rp 1.8 trillion once furniture and fixtures are included.

It's not all bad in the house, but space can be at a premium

Jakarta Globe - April 18, 2011

Ulma Haryanto – One of the main refrains from members of the House of Representatives who say a costly new office tower needs to be built is, "Our offices are cramped."

When the Jakarta Globe visited a number of offices at the House over the weekend, it was clear that while the House leadership has little to complain about, other offices could certainly be described as packed.

The 24-story Nusantara I building at the House complex in South Jakarta hosts offices for 560 legislators from nine political parties. Each party typically takes up 2 floors, with the exception of major ones such as Democratic Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party, which occupy four levels. Legislators typically share a 32 square-meter room with their staffers.

When they were built in the 1980s, the offices were designed to accommodate three assistants per legislator. Today's legislators, though, can have as many as six assistants – an argument used to quadruple the office area in the planned new building to about 111 square meters per lawmaker.

The new building is estimated to cost 1.13 trillion ($130 million), and the cost per square meter of office space for the lawmakers is about Rp 7.2 million.

The current building apparently lacks proper spatial planning. Some spaces, the Globe found, were hardly used at all, or for non-essential purposes. On Level 13, for instance, there was a shoe-polish machine.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie, one of the main backers of the construction plan, has little reason to complain. His spacious office in the Nusantara III building has enough room for the tables of his four aides, a small living room and a meeting room. He has another room for six assistants, a grand living room for honorary guests and a separate meeting room for the House leadership.

At the time of the Globe's visit, the sound of his 48-inch flatscreen television echoed across his quarters.

In contrast, many other offices were fairly cramped, such that of Lenny and Sofia, assistants to Nudirman Munir, deputy chairman of the House Ethics Council and a leading Golkar lawmaker.

Located on the 12th floor of Nusantara I, Nudirman's office seemed to lack furniture. "Nudirman sometimes has meetings with all of us, and some have to sit on the floor," Sofia said. His staff members have to share one computer with a CRT screen. "There is also this long line when it's time to pray because we only have one bathroom for a block shared with six other offices," Lenny said.

The lobby on the 12th floor was more attractive, with a thick-cushioned leather sofa and a 24-inch flatscreen TV.

Some still had hopes for the current building. "In my opinion, this building only needs a renovation and better spatial planning," said Yudha, one of six people working for PDI-P legislator Eva Kusuma Sundari in a nine square-meter office, though not all at the same time.

"When all of us have to meet, we do it outside. However, we have just moved the separator between the rooms by two meters. Previously, it was even smaller than this," Yudha said.

The PDI-P has a total of 56 legislator offices, two meeting rooms and a consultation room. "Don't ask me when they last changed the carpets," Yudha said with a laugh.

For DPR members, life's a trip

Straits Times - April 16, 2011

Bruce Gale – "We are stuck with this bunch of mostly political clowns for four more years."

This grim assessment of the lawmakers that make up Indonesia's House of Representatives was published in an editorial in a Jakarta newspaper in October last year. But judging from the outpouring of criticism of the DPR's performance in recent months, it could easily have come from any one of a large number of local and foreign political observers.

The DPR regularly does badly in opinion surveys rating the performance of national institutions, with Indonesians generally regarding the House as only slightly better than the nation's graft-ridden law enforcement agencies.

The results of a poll published in the Indonesian-language Seputar Indonesia newspaper on April 4 underlined the point. Only 27 per cent of a random sample of 400 respondents contacted by telephone in six cities across the country believed that the DPR was doing a satisfactory job.

The DPR certainly performs poorly when it comes to deliberating and passing draft legislation. After initially setting itself the ambitious target of passing 70 Bills last year, for example, the House reduced the number to 40, only to find as the year drew to a close that even this figure was far too high. As a result, the year ended with badly needed legislation still awaiting approval.

For the public, however, such considerations are probably secondary. After all, the inordinate amount of time the DPR spent on high-profile controversies last year, such as the Bank Century scandal, were nothing if not entertaining. Instead, the ire of most Indonesians is more likely directed at reports of corruption, sex scandals and the low level of attendance at parliamentary sessions. Many have also been angered by proposals to construct a luxurious office tower for legislators.

But the biggest bugbear of the critics – and certainly the one that attracts the most public condemnation – are the so-called foreign study tours. These involve groups of lawmakers traveling overseas, supposedly to research topics of relevance to laws currently under consideration.

At a public forum in Jakarta in October last year, Yuna Farhan of Budget Transparency, a local non-governmental organization, noted that every lawmaker participating in a trip received a 20 million rupiah to 25 million rupiah (S$3,600) daily allowance, plus an additional US$2,000 "representation allowance."

"Legislators usually work only four out of the seven days allocated for the trip. The rest is mainly for fun," Yuna said.

There are certainly plenty of tours to keep DPR members occupied. In October last year alone, there were at least four. Members of Commission VIII (which oversees religious affairs) flew to the United States to study life among believers of different religions, and 15 DPR members flew to Greece to study parliamentary ethics. In the same month, members studying the financial services authorization bill visited Britain, Germany, Japan, and South Korea, while another group went to the Netherlands to research a draft legal aid bill.

DPR members made 58 visits to 20 countries last year. Detailed information on the cost of such trips is not readily available. However, local non- governmental organizations estimate that the budget for such study tours has ballooned in recent years. From just Rp 23.55 billion in 2005, it reportedly reached Rp 162.94 billion in 2010.

Many observers regard these tours as a waste of taxpayers' money. And the public seems to agree. Asked in the Seputar Indonesia survey whether such working visits helped improve the quality of national legislation, 71 per cent of respondents said they did not. Only 16 per cent thought they were useful, while a further 13 per cent were undecided.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie has nevertheless defended the study tours, arguing that parliamentary leaders (who have to approve tour proposals) know better than the people whether an overseas comparative study was worth the cost. He also pointed out that not all proposals were accepted.

Critics respond that many such tour groups collect trivial information, much of which could be obtained either by surfing the Internet or sending a few well-targeted e-mails. One of the aims of the trip by the ethics committee to Greece, for example, was to find out if the House Speaker in Greece could dismiss a plenary meeting unilaterally, and whether members of the Greek Parliament were allowed to smoke in meeting rooms. The reports produced as a result of these visits have also been criticized for their brevity.

The negative publicity has had some impact. Ethics committee member Gayus Lumbuun refused to go on the trip to the Netherlands last year, alleging that the expenditure involved – Rp 2.2 billion – was riddled with graft. National Mandate Party (PAN) members have also announced a boycott of such tours.

But with other lawmakers still participating in such trips, convincing Indonesians that their legislators are performing their duties in an appropriate manner remains an uphill task.

Armed forces & defense

TNI admits soldiers involved in debt collector's death

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2011

Jakarta – A spokesman for the Indonesian Military (TNI) confirmed on Wednesday that three TNI members were involved in the alleged torture and murder of a debt collector in Jakarta on Monday.

The Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) was investigating the three TNI members allegedly implicated in the death of Helmy Yohanes Manuputty, Kostrad chief Lt. Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo said on Wednesday.

"Those found guilty will be punished," Pramono told reporters, adding that the TNI would be transparent in its handling of the case.

Pramono also confirmed that a TNI member had been given a Rp 6.4 million automobile loan from leasing company PT Sinar Mitra Sepadan (SMS), where Helmy worked as debt collector.

Helmy, 34, was assigned to collect payment from the TNI member, who allegedly failed to pay his last two monthly installments.

The debtor and about 100 TNI members in civilian clothes allegedly attacked PT SMS's office in Margonda, Depok, on Monday, brandishing machetes and firearms, and attacking Helmy and his colleagues.

Helmy and three colleagues, A.T., Aldo and Videl, were allegedly taken by the mob from the company's office and tortured in Cilodong, Bogor, where the headquarters of Kostrad's Division I is located.

Helmy reportedly was released in Cililitan, South Jakarta, returned home by motorcycle taxi and died from his wounds at Indonesian Christian University (UKI) Hospital in Cawang, East Jakarta, on Monday evening.

"The three [TNI members] are under investigation," TNI spokesperson Brig. Gen. Wiryantoro told reporters on Wednesday.

PT SMS offices were abandoned when The Jakarta Post visited on Wednesday, and a banner with the company's name had been removed. A local resident who declined to be named said that he saw on Monday a debt collector fleeing an assailant who was driving a motorcycle and trying to run him over.

"The assailants looked young and most of them drove motorcycles. After the assault the debt collectors were taken away by the assailants. They were seated in the middle of motorcycle, sandwiched between two assailants," he added.

Junaedi, a security guard from an adjacent building, told the Post that the debt collectors were usually hanging out in front of the PT SMS office in the place where they parked their motorcycles. "Many people here were not really sympathetic due to the debt collectors' attitudes," he said.

Junaedi added that about three months ago there was a fight between debt collectors at the PT SMS office over how to conduct their business.

"The debt collectors brought wooden logs and then used them to smash the office windows," Junaedi added. Andi, a PT SMS customer, told the Post that he was surprised that there were no debt collectors hanging out in front of the office as usual on Wednesday.

"Since a lot of collectors used to hang out in front, I often was afraid to come to pay my debt," he said. Andi said that he had often came to the leasing company over the last six months to make payments on his car loan. (rpt)

TNI members allegedly torture, kill debt collector

Jakarta Post - April 20, 2011

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – An angry group of Indonesian Military (TNI) members allegedly tortured and killed a debt collector in Depok, West Java, on Monday.

Helmy Yohanes Manuputty, 34, died from his wounds at Indonesian Christian University (UKI) Hospital in Cawang, East Jakarta, on Monday evening.

The death of Helmy, a debt collector who worked for leasing company PT Sinar Mitra Sepadan (SMS), came less than a month after politician Irzen Octa died while meeting Citibank debt collectors in Jakarta.

According to allegations made by family and friends, Helmy was taken away from PT SMS's offices by several TNI members.

Helmy was assigned by PT SMS to collect payments on a car loan held by a TNI member who failed to make payments for the last two months. An eyewitness, identified as A.T., alleged that the debtor, accompanied by about 100 TNI members in civilian clothes, mobbed the company's office in Margonda, brandishing machetes and firearms, and attacking Helmy and his colleagues.

Helmy and three colleagues, A.T., Aldo and Videl, were allegedly taken away by the group. A.T. said he escaped while the others remained with their captors. Helmy was allegedly tortured in Cilodong and was released in Cililitan, South Jakarta.

Cilodong – in Bogor, West Java – is headquarters to Division I of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), one of the TNI's most powerful units.

Helmy returned home by motorcycle taxi before going to the hospital. Helmy's mother, Ena, said her son's body was covered with cuts and bruises.

"When I bathed him he told me that his hands and feet had been tied. He was beaten while he was blindfolded. He had bruises on his body. His arms were struck by a steel object. He lost half of his left ear because it had been cut. There were also cuts on his legs that were likely from machetes," Ena said.

Abdul Fatah Pasolo, the lawyer for Helmy's family, said on Tuesday that the family would file a complaint with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

"We found that violence was committed by members of the Indonesian Military and we want the commission to find the motive behind the attack," Pasolo told reporters.

Depok Police chief Sr. Comr. Ferry Abraham said no complaint had been made to the police by Helmy's family although he confirmed he received a report that a debt collector had died after allegedly being tortured by a client.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said that police were investigating a complaint against PT SMS filed by a TNI member on Monday before the attack.

"The Depok Police have so far only received a complaint of misconduct involving TNI members. This is what we are investigating," Baharudin said on Tuesday.

TNI chief Adm. Agus Suhartono said he would look into the allegations. "I haven't received any report about it," he told reporters on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting in the Bogor Palace.

A spokesman for Kostrad said none of its members were involved in the attack. "We have checked and found that none of our members were involved. We hope that this will clear up all the confusion," Capt. Agus said as quoted by detik.com newsportal.

Police & law enforcement

Police suspected of gambling link

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2011

Medan – The backing of gambling by military and police personnel has been increasing over the years, according to a police officer.

The issue was raised following the police's failure to raid a gambling den in Rengas Pulau subdistrict, Medan, Wednesday, which was blamed on the presence of an authoritative link.

Several people, believed to be military or police members in civil attire, were reported to have hindered the attempted raid on the gambling den, which was said to take in millions of rupiah per day.

A member of the raiding police team – Brig. Swasta Sinuhaji – sustained a head injury and was treated at the hospital.

"We don't know yet who beat Swasta during the raid," police chief detective Sr. Comr. Andrianto said on Thursday. He said he had heard about people from his institution providing protection to gambling dens but said it was difficult to uncover.

Irregularities surround police investigation

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2011

Hans David Tampubolon and Nani Afrida – It has been more than three weeks since the death of National Unity Party (PBB) secretary-general Irzen Octa, 50.

While five suspects have been detained in connection with Octa's death, irregularities in the police investigation have raised questions on how Octa died and the seriousness of the authorities in pursuing the case.

Octa arrived at Citibank's branch office at Jamsostek tower on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, on March 29 to dispute his credit card bill and was ushered to a meeting room on the fifth floor.

The details of Octa's meeting with three contract debt collectors employed by Citibank remain unclear. Octa lost consciousness during the meeting and was rushed to Mintohardjo Naval Hospital, where he was declared dead upon arrival.

The police named a senior debt collector, identified by his initials, DT, and three other debt collectors – H, D and A – as suspects for possible physical abuse that led to Octa's death.

Investigators also detained a fifth suspect, BT, the owner of the debt collection company hired by Citibank. But the police have issued contradictory statements throughout the investigation.

South Jakarta Police chief detective Adj. Sr. Comr. Budi Irawan said on April 1 that blood splatters found on the curtains and walls of the meeting room were evidence that Octa had been treated violently.

Budi's statement was reinforced a day later by South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Gatot Edi Pramono, who said at a press conference that Octa had allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of the debt collectors, who took turns interrogating Octa while kicking and punching him.

However, on April 5, Budi made a different statement on Octa's death, denying that there had been violence.

At about the same time, different versions of Octa's autopsy results were released.

Ade Firmansyah, a forensic pathologist at the University of Indonesia, allegedly issued two contradictory reports on an autopsy performed on March 29 at 6:35 p.m., according to the lawyer of Octa's family, OC Kaligis,

The Jakarta Post obtained copies of both reports.

The first report reviewed said that while Octa tested negative for drugs, there were bruises on his back, his jaw was stiff, his nose was blistered and dripping blood, and that his face and the skin under his fingernails had a purple hue.

According to that report's conclusion, "blisters on the nose due to blunt object trauma and signs of asphyxiation were found on this 50-year-old male body. The cause of the death cannot be fully determined until an internal autopsy of the body is conducted".

The second autopsy report obtained by the Post also indicated that Octa's nose was blistered and dripping blood and that his face and the skin under his fingernails had a purple hue.

However, the second report said there were indications of a brain hemorrhage, frozen blood inside the brain and bruises to the brainstem.

The second report concluded that "the cause of the death was an illness in which there was a stroke in the brain and under the meninges that pressed against the brainstem, and these findings need to be further confirmed by laboratories examination".

Kaligis did not accept Ade's later statement that both reports reflected initial findings and that the final confidential results of the autopsy had been submitted to the police.

"There's something fishy behind all of this. I believe Citibank will do everything they can to cover up this case because they are afraid about the implications for their business," he said.

The police have not responded to demands from Octa's family for a second autopsy to be made by independent forensic experts.

University of Indonesia criminologist Adrianus Meliala said it was not unusual for pathologists to issue different autopsy reports. "However, in this case, I am curious as to the urgency that forced the pathologist to issue two different autopsy results for something that is essential for investigations," Adrianus said.

According to Adrianus, there were two different kinds of autopsies for criminal investigations, internal and external.

"Usually the internal autopsy only takes one or two hours after the external one. I believe the second result included the internal autopsy but was not specifically stated," he said.

Kaligis also alleged that Citibank disturbed the scene of Octa's death by removing Octa's body and taking it to the hospital.

"After he died it took two hours for them to call the police. The body had been taken away," he said. "They should have called the police the moment the victim died. Or Citibank should have immediately called an ambulance when the victim complained about his health."

Octa family has since filed a lawsuit demanding Rp 3 trillion in damages from Citibank. Citibank Country Corporate Affairs Head Citi Indonesia Director Ditta Amahorseya said the bank had complied with police requests in an appropriate manner, and will continue to cooperate fully with them.

Intelligence & state secrecy

Eyes on spies in Indonesia

Asia Times - April 16, 2011

Megawati Wijaya, Jakarta – New legislation before Indonesia's parliament aims to give special powers to intelligence agencies charged with fighting terrorism. While advocates of the bill argue tougher laws are needed to pre-empt attacks, if passed as proposed the legislation will erode civil liberties and represent a significant setback for the country's fledgling democracy.

The bill proposes to grant the main state intelligence agency, known as BIN, the power to arrest suspected terrorists before they attack. It also allows for the pre-emptive arrest of espionage and subversion suspects and empowers BIN to wiretap phone conversations, intercept without a court order social media content such as Facebook and Twitter and secretly access suspects' bank accounts.

Many Western governments, including the United States, have hailed Indonesia's counter-terrorism efforts, including its crackdown on Islamic militants linked to the regional Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group. JI has been held responsible for various attacks, including the 2002 Bali bombing that killed over 200 people, and is known to have links with al- Qaeda's global network.

Those successes have been chalked up partly to close cooperation with US and Australian officials through the police-run Detachment 88 counter- terrorism task force, which has managed a series of high profile arrests and executions of wanted terrorists.

In September last year, the government created the interdepartmental National Antiterrorism Agency (BNPT), which sets the country's broad counter-terrorism agenda and oversees the "deradicalization" of convicted terrorists. Recent arrests and incidents, meanwhile, have given strong impetus to the controversial new intelligence bill's passage.

Authorities recently arrested erstwhile terror suspect Abu Bakar Bashir on charges he was involved with an underground terrorist training camp in Aceh province. Operatives at the camp stand accused of plotting attacks on hotels and embassies in Jakarta and assassinations of high-profile figures, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Last month, parcel bombs were sent to activists involved in promoting pluralism in a known civil society center in Jakarta. One of the bombs exploded and injured three people. No suspects have been identified or apprehended but media reports noted those targeted were known to be at loggerheads with Islamic fundamentalist groups.

BIN, which is tasked with tracking terror suspects and their activities, was a subject of controversy long before the advent of the "war on terror".

In his book Intel: Inside Indonesia's Intelligence Service, security expert Kenneth Conboy wrote that during Suharto's authoritarian regime BIN's predecessor, Bakin, regularly detained and clamped down on the government's domestic political opponents. It was also instrumental in tracking and combating local insurgent groups, he wrote.

While the military has undergone significant reforms since Suharto's 1998 downfall, progress in making BIN more accountable has been less apparent, experts say. Throughout its 60 plus years of existence, BIN and its earlier incarnations operated without a firm legal and political foundation.

BIN is currently one among several Indonesian intelligence agencies, including the military's BAIS, the police's Intelpam and a separate intelligence unit responsible to the attorney general. Analysts believe inter-agency competition and suspicion has hampered intelligence sharing and hence operations over the years.

Regulations for national intelligence bodies are covered only by presidential decree that generally fail to spell out clearly their functions and activities. Until now BIN reports directly to only the president and is not held accountable to parliament for its actions. That, critics and analysts say, has historically provided cover for abuses.

Accountable spooks

Some security experts anticipate the proposed new bill, which took some eight years to draft, will provide greater checks and balances on BIN.

"While intelligence operations have to be very exclusive and secretive, there needs to be laws to regulate them," said Andi Widjajanto, a social and political science lecturer at the University of Indonesia and long-time observer of Indonesia's intelligence agencies. "It's very dangerous not to have laws regulating intelligence [bodies] as it can lead to abuse of power," he said.

Those future powers are now a matter of hot dispute between the ministry of defense and parliament. In particular, the military has pushed for the power to detain and interrogate suspects without a court order for up to seven days, a period during which the suspect would not be allowed access to a lawyer or other outside counsel.

De facto opposition party Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), whose predecessor party strongly opposed Suharto's authoritarian rule, has taken issue with the provision.

"The provision is prone to abuse. It could be used to legalize kidnapping," PDI-P secretary general Tjahjo Kumolo told the local media earlier this week. "Taking a person from a place without an arrest warrant, without clear identity of the arrestor, without a specific identification of the interrogation place, without wife and kids knowing for seven times 24 hours. How is that different to kidnapping?" he said.

Meanwhile, a coalition comprised of 21 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also lodged complaints with the House of Representatives, arguing that clauses in the bill violate the presumption of innocence and equality before the law that assures the fair treatment of all Indonesian people, including suspected criminals and terrorists.

BIN's head, Sutanto, has publicly countered those criticisms for reasons of national security. "It's impossible to find out everything in seven days. How can we produce optimal results if we're being hindered by the laws?" he said. Defense minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro added: "When bombs are found everywhere because we cannot make arrests prior to the incident, don't blame us."

University of Indonesia's Widjajanto takes a more nuanced view of the contested provision.

"Counter-terrorism efforts in Indonesia have been quite successful. There focus has always been based on maintenance of law and order. Until today, not even one suspected terrorist, including the Bali bombers, has told the trial that they have been tortured during investigation," said Widjajanto.

"Compared to the Patriot Act in the US and ISA [Internal Security Act] in Singapore, where investigations can be months or years long, our provision that limits investigation to 7 x 24 hours is already very lenient," he said.

Graver concerns surround the provisions that will allow BIN to wiretap phone conversations, intercept with a court order social media messages and secret scrutiny of bank accounts. Elsam, a local rights group, has proposed that the power to eavesdrop should be deliberated in separate legislation.

House of Representatives (DPR) speaker Marzuki Alie has expressed similar concerns, telling local media, "BIN can use the power to target certain people it hates." Tubagus Hasanudin, deputy chief of the DPR's defense commission, has proposed a monthly meeting between BIN and legislators to review wiretapping results and ensure that surveillance technology has been used only for its agreed upon purpose.

Critics note that the intelligence bill also lacks provisions prohibiting BIN from supporting political parties or becoming directly involved in politics. Spies playing politics was common practice during the Suharto era, when several loyal BIN agents rose to the rank of minister, and has continued through the country's post-Suharto transition to democracy.

For example, in 2004 then BIN chief A M Hendropriyono was openly involved in the re-election campaign of then president Megawati Sukarnoputri and her PDI-P party candidates. Current BIN head Sutanto is a known close friend to Yudhoyono dating to their days as cadets at the Armed Forces Academy. Then as a member of the police force, he openly supported Yudhoyono's re- election campaign in 2009.

Given BIN's current obligation to report only to the president and not to parliament, it's impossible to separate BIN from politics, said Widjajanto. Indeed, there is widespread speculation that the long delays in passing the intelligence bill is due in part to a lack of political will at the top. But without greater regulation and scrutiny over BIN's activities, nobody can be sure if that is the case.

[Megawati Wijaya is a Singapore-based journalist. She may be contacted at megawati.wijaya@gmail.com.]

Intelligence bill urgent following bombs: BIN

Jakarta Post - April 16, 2011

Jakarta – On the heels of the bombing of a mosque at police headquarters in Cirebon on Friday, the head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Sutanto, said the House of Representatives must quickly pass the much- debated intelligence bill.

Sutanto said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com on Friday that law enforcers found it difficult under existing laws to act against people who spawned hatred and triggered terrorism. The law required that law enforcers present solid evidence before arresting such people.

The bill has been under debate between the House of Representatives and the government, especially on articles regulating wiretapping and arrests. Human rights NGOs have also aired objections to several articles they deem in violation of human rights.

Aid & development

NGOs demand appraisal on foreign aid

Jakarta Post - April 19, 2011

Jakarta – On the heels of House Speaker Marzuki Alie's recent comments on the presence of a United Nations body at the House of Representatives, several NGOs urged the government to evaluate foreign donor programs in Indonesia.

Marzuki expressed shock on Friday at the 11-year presence of a UN Development Programme (UNDP) office at the House. Though Marzuki's concerns centered on security issues, others focused on issues of efficiency.

"The government needs to assess foreign donor programs' impact and development to decide if they are still effective and needed here," Indonesian Civilized Circle director (LIMA) Ray Rangkuti said on Monday.

He said he had not seen progress from several bodies receiving funds and assistance from foreign donors.

Ray mentioned the UNDP efforts in empowering Indonesia's legislature as an example. "The UNDP has been helping the House of Representatives since 2005, but we cannot see any improvement [in the legislators performance]. As a matter of fact, they are getting weaker," Ray said at the General Elections Commission's media center.

In the general election in 2009, the UNDP announced the NGOs receipt of funds for implementing voter education programs only a month before the election took place, rendering the program useless, the NGOs said.

The NGOs said the problem with foreign donors did not stop there.

"The International Foundation for Electoral Systems [IFES] had yet to submit a report on the tragedy in 2009 when the IFES' vote-counting system was jammed during the general election while they were assisting the General Elections Commission [KPU]," he said.

Ray said the government often gave "special treatment" to foreign donors by letting them occupy rooms in government offices.

The UNDP has been at the House since 2000, where it occupies one room on the seventh floor of the House Secretariat building and one room on the third floor of the Council building.

The agency also has offices at the Home Ministry, the KPU and local government offices. In the general election in 2009, many foreign donors had offices in the KPU building.

Several foreign institutions managing social funds for Indonesia also have offices in the National Development Planning Agency's building.

"It seems like the government owes foreign donors something or feels obliged to give them such facilities because the government earns funds from them, while [the government] actually has its own budget for that," he said.

Also speaking at the press conference, poll watchdog Jeirry Sumampow said that foreign donors had affected the government in implementing their own programs.

"Foreign programs were actually similar to the Indonesian government's programs, so there was an overlap in budget and program implementation. Most of the time, the central government prioritized foreign donors' programs because they already earned the money and then pushed local administrations to do so," Jeirry said.

For those reasons, Ray suggested that the government propose a new law governing the mechanism of cooperation with foreign donors.

"We have to determine our national interests so foreign donors will have to adjust to our interests and values when they create programs for Indonesia," Ray said.

The NGOs said they supported foreign donors, as many NGOs depend on such donors. They said, however, it was better if the foreign funds were channeled to the people than to the government.

"We still need their skill and experience in so many cases, such as emergency responses. We also connect to the global world through them. We only suggest the government treat them proportionally and protect our national interests," he said. (swd)

Marzuki wrongly classifies UNDP as foreign NGO

Jakarta Globe - April 16, 2011

Indonesia's gaffe-prone speaker of the House of Representatives has done it again, this time suggesting that the United Nations Development Programme should vacate their offices in the legislature because it is a "foreign" nongovernmental organization.

Speaking on Friday, Marzuki Alie, speaker of the House, also known as the DPR, said he would "seek an explanation" from the House secretary general about the UNDP's presence in the House compound. "No NGO's are allowed inside the compound and the UNDP is a foreign NGO," Marzuki claimed.

UNDP assistant country director Irman G Lanti said Marzuki was wrong in his classification of the global development network. "We are a UN agency and Indonesia is a member of the UN," Irman explained.

He said, however, that if Marzuki continued to object to the agency's presence, it would vacate the DPR.

Michele Zaccheo, director of the United Nations Information Center, said UN agencies generally had their own premises but sometimes they were housed in government offices. He said for "practical reasons," some UN staff able to provide technical capacity support to governments were housed in government offices.

"These arrangements are common the world over, and they are entirely at the discretion of the host country," Michele said.

"Indonesia is a member of the United Nations, and the UN agency presence in Indonesia is at the request of the government. It is part of a joint partnership agreement with the government to support its programs for the benefit of the Indonesian people, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable."

On its Web site, UNDP Indonesia says it is working in four priority areas, namely democratic governance, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, and the environment and energy. The agency was "also committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS and the promotion of gender equality," it says. (Antara, JG)

Economy & investment

Foreign investment climbs nearly 12%

Jakarta Globe - April 20, 2011

Francezka Nangoy – Amid a bumper day of positive economic news for the country, the Investment Coordinating Board announced that foreign direct investment in Indonesia rose 11.6 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier.

News of the increase from the board, also known as the BKPM, complemented a standout day on the Jakarta Composite Index. The JCI rose 62.11 points, or 1.7 percent, to a record close of 3,794.76.

Sustained confidence in Indonesia's economy showed as foreign direct investment rose to Rp 39.5 trillion ($4.6 billion) from Rp 35.4 trillion a year earlier, while domestic investment jumped to Rp 14.1 trillion from Rp 6.7 trillion a year earlier.

"Investors' level of confidence can be seen here, especially after the central bank showed all the necessary statistics to support it and with rating agencies backing it up with improved ratings for Indonesia," said Azhar Lubis, deputy chairman of investment controlling and implementation at BKPM.

Total realized investment grew 27.3 percent to Rp 53.6 trillion. Azhar said total investment is projected at Rp 240 trillion this year, with foreign investment accounting for Rp 170.4 trillion of that amount.

Private consumption accounts for about two-thirds of Indonesia's economy, while investment makes up about 15 percent. The economy is projected to expand by 6.5 percent this year, up from 6.1 percent growth last year. Azhar said the growth in investment was triggered by growing confidence in Indonesia's business environment, as well as concrete steps from the government to improve the investment climate.

Destry Damayanti, an economist at Mandiri Sekuritas, said the news from BKPM showed Indonesia's rising stature among foreign investors.

"This is clearly a positive sign. The talk about it being a good time to invest in Indonesia is finally starting to materialize," Destri said on Wednesday. "The BKPM is targeting a 15 percent increase in foreign investment, so I think the first-quarter progress is on track and on schedule.

"The investment trend in the near future is also good. One of the drivers is the improvement in Indonesia's rating, which indicates lower investment risk, better investment climate and good prospects for [economic] development."

In January, Moody's Investor Service upgraded Indonesia's rating to one level below investment grade at Ba1. In February, Fitch Ratings upgraded Indonesia to BB+, while Standard & Poor's did likewise in March.

Singapore is still Indonesia's top foreign investor with $1.14 billion in 142 projects. Azhar pointed out that investors from Singapore are actually multinational companies that are not necessarily based in Singapore, but the subsidiaries in Singapore are the ones investing in Indonesia.

The United States was second after Singapore with 24 projects worth $359.1 million, while Japan followed in third place with $345.2 million.

The mining sector was the favorite among foreign investors, receiving $1.02 billion in 79 projects. Infrastructure projects, such as power plants, received $606.7 million, while transportation and communications received $593.1 million. "We want more investment, but we also know which sectors need more attention than others," Azhar said.

He also said the fate of a discussed tax holiday would be determined "around August." The tax holiday would be directed toward investments considered a pioneer in their field or those in infrastructure.

Analysis & opinion

View Point: When prosecution becomes persecution

Jakarta Post - April 21, 2011

Julia Suryakusuma, Jakarta – First we had Ariel "Peterporn", then something even better. Yep, "politico-porn", courtesy of Arifinto, former member of the House of Representatives (DPR). Huh! Some representation!

Arifinto was the latest person to be involved in a spate of alleged corruption and sex scandals involving Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmakers. His case ended with vows of repentance and his resignation on 12 April 2011, one day after he was caught watching porn on a tablet under a table in the DPR.

Everyone knows sex scandals often lead to the downfall of politicians or public figures. Arifinto's fall was all his own work, but sometimes these scandals can be manufactured to bring prominent people down. It's an old trick, but a very effective one.

And that's what seems to be happening to Anand Krishna. A renowned spiritual leader, head of the Anand Ashram and author of more than 130 books, Anand has been accused of sexual harassment by two former female students.

Early last year, one of them pressed charges against Anand. His supporters have said the women were attention-seekers, and worse, that the sexual harassment case was just an excuse to nail Anand for a bigger "crime": religious difference.

Strangely, this was confirmed by the accuser's lawyer Agung Mattauch himself: "Harassment is just an entry point for a more serious problem, religious blasphemy".

The trial has been ongoing since Aug. 25 last year but so far it's going nowhere. People have been questioning why, since Anand has complied with all the court's conditions.

The accuser claims she was hypnotized and brainwashed by Anand to comply with his every wish, including sexual ones (short of intercourse, she admits).

The accuser also claimed she had repressed the memory of the alleged harassment, and by undergoing hypnotherapy was able to recall the events. However, there's a problem here, because repressed memory theory is highly controversial, and is now widely discredited as unreliable. Should it be used as evidence in a court case?

The judges, however, have already made remarks suggesting Anand was guilty, even though the trial remains ongoing. Noted human rights lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution (who's practiced law for 50 years) was aghast.

"This is the first time I have ever seen anything like this... a judge who pronounces a defendant guilty before he delivers the official verdict of court."

It gets worse. Anand was arrested and jailed on March 9. Desperate, he embarked on a hunger strike. After 44 days nothing has been done about this, so he's now starving to death. He may not even make it to the verdict.

In today's Indonesia, where the persecution of religious minorities is fast becoming a spectator sport, many Islamist "hard-liners" dislike Anand and feel threatened by his teachings. After all, he teaches universal love, peace, spiritualism, health and healing – ideas that are the total opposite of their fixation on religious fanaticism, sectarianism, bigotry, hatred and violence.

Anand is also popular and successful. In the last 19 years he's spoken to millions through TV, radio, print media, in-house trainings, and, of course, meetings and courses at his Anand Ashram in Jakarta, and the three other meditation centers in Bogor, Bali and Yogyakarta.

His message of universal love and peace has appealed to many Muslims, especially from the middle and upper classes. And that's haram and polytheistic says the Islamic Umat Movement of Indonesia (GUII), whose membership consists largely of former thugs.

On top of all these unforgivable "crimes", Anand also made a speech in 2008 against the Anti-Pornography Bill before it was passed. You'll remember it was passed into law in October of that year in the face of widespread opposition, including from many Muslims. Anand's speech didn't do much to help his popularity rating with the hard-liners.

Isn't it strange that most of the questioning in court related more to Anand's teachings rather than the sexual harassment claims? Hmm... The trial couldn't possibly be an excuse to bring him down because his spiritual ideas are different – could it?

Anand is being subjected to another trial outside the court as well... by the media. From the start, it was a case of "guilty until proven innocent" as the headlines show: "Anand Krishna's Victim Testifies", "Interview with X, Victim of Anand Krishna's Obscene Act", and "Uncovering Anand Krishna's Deviance".

In many other countries, newspapers are banned from mentioning the names of people facing serious allegations until they are convicted, to ensure they get a fair trial. But here our media is making people's suffering into entertainment, confusing salacious speculation with news, in true kampong gossip style. Hey, where's the Press Council in all this?

And where's the Judicial Commission too? After much delay, they finally had a look at the case of Antasari Azhar, the former Corruption Eradication Commission head, finding indications that the judges in Antasari's trial ignored important evidence and testimony that might have cleared him of murder charges.

Maybe they'll have a go at Anand's case some time too – although by then he could be dead. In the meantime, Anand's character has been well and truly assassinated (not that either kind of death ever bothers our authorities much).

Whatever he did or didn't do, Anand is in deep trouble because he has unconventional spiritual views, and it looks like he's being bullied to death for them. But remember, we are all ultimately minorities of one, and his fate is also ours. So when are we going to stop letting the religious bullies have their way?

[The writer (www.juliasuryakusuma.com) is the author of Jihad Julia.]